Just as Anberlyn wasn't the easiest to predict, Doflamingo wasn't much better. He always planning, plotting, calculating and scheming to further whatever it was he was currently interested in. And even though he tended to be more spontaneous and whimsical, he was always changing his mind there was always a hint of sadistic cruelty that followed all of his actions, a smile that was always painted upon his face.

Doflamingo was always the one pulling the strings, getting what he wanted from those he wanted, even if she were the one he wanted something from.

He hadn't changed at all in that aspect. Of course, he hadn't really changed at all in the past years she had been with him. It was she who had done all of the changing.

At one point of time in their relationship, he wanted loyalty and he wanted it proven. Even though she had managed to prove it, it wasn't until later that her hate lost its grip around her heart and she could honestly say that she was a loyal member of the Donquixote Family. Doflamingo wasn't an easy man to prove your loyalty to, let alone fool, but she had done it.

"What do I have to do?" Anberlyn asked, steeling herself for his answer. Whatever it was, she was bound to not want to do it. He would most likely want her to do some kind of horrific act that would make her well known for all of the wrong reasons.

With a gleaming smile, Doflamingo sat forwards and said, "I was hoping you would say that Sweetheart. You see my foes are dropping like flies at an almost alarming rage and I've already put that marvelous body to good use," Doflamingo laughed as Anberlyn shifted, her face alight with a deep blush, her mouth turned down in a scowl, her eyes saying 'don't remind me'. "So, I'm running out of options, out of things to do with you. But, don't worry, I'll think of something."

"I already proved my loyalty by slaying those traitors and returning to this god forsaken ship, to you. I could have run, I could have gone to the Marines and-"

The man clapped his hands together, interrupting Anberlyn and pointed at her saying, "That's it Sweetheart-"

"Anberlyn." She grumbled quietly.

",Turn yourself into the Marines."

Turn yourself into the Marines?! Her thoughts silently echoed. No sane person would do that! Even though she was hell bent on killing this guy, even though she hated him and had to see him more often than she would like, Anberlyn liked living; she did not wish to kick the bucket, not yet. Even if they would provide safety from this man, they were more likely to kill her than to treat her nicely.

"You are aware of the fact that they want me dead no thanks to my affiliation with you, right?" She snapped.

"Are you worried?" He sneered, unfolding himself from his place on the back of his chair, and perching on the desk in front of her, arms dangling over knees.

"To say no would be a blatant lie. But, that grin on your face tells me that you've got something up your sleeves."

The blonde made a big display showing that his sleeves were void of cards and tricks. "I've got nothing up my sleeves Sweetheart." He chuckled.

She scowled, realizing that it was pointless to keep insisting that he had a plan; she could already map out the circles they would go in if she kept insisting that he tell her of what he was planning.

Trusting that this man had a plan, that he wasn't planning on killing her, she merely said, "I'll go, just tell me this, why does it have to be me? Aren't you worried that I'll betray you to save my own hide?"

He grinned; thrilled that she was accepting the initiation mission. "My current inside source isn't available at the moment and I'm getting rather impatient, so I'm sending you." He reached out and tapped the tip of her nose. "But, do not fret Sweetheart, strings will be pulled and you should be out in no time, head still on your shoulders, life intact."

Should? Well that was promising.

"After this you will be a full-fledged member of the Donquixote Family." He told her after a second, as if she needed any more convincing as to why she shouldn't have agreed.

That's such an accomplishment. Anberlyn dryly thought, not having the nerve to vocalize such thoughts.

Surviving would be the true accomplishment. She was about to dive head first into the mouth of the beast in hopes that she would be cut out of the stomach before the acids got to her. The rather unfortunate part of that was that she was depending on Doflamingo, and that was something no one should do.

"Now, while you're there, I need you to do something for me." Doflamingo started, reaching out and pulling her close so that he would not have to repeat himself

So getting captured by the Marines was quite an easy feat. Anberlyn thought that it would have been harder since she was always running from them and trying NOT to get caught.

Turns out, if you randomly show up on a deck of their ship, completely out of nowhere, break down into a fit of tears and body shaking sobs, and confess that you are ready to give up a life of crime and devote yourself to justice, that they will either believe you or take pity on you and decide not to slit your throat.

"I'm really sorry about this but; this is more for our safety than your detainment." A young boy, around nineteen, with teal hair said as he clasped a pair of sea stone cuffs around her wrists.

"I-it's ok. I understand. I mean I could still be under Doflamingo's control like I was before." Anberlyn tried soothing the boy with gentle words and what she hoped to be a kind, smile.

He nodded and led her down to the otherwise empty brig and locked her in a cell, promising her good treatment for repenting and quite possibly even a second chance, especially if she had been under Doflamingo's control while committing horrendous crimes.

Before Doflamingo's poison had infected her, Anberlyn would have felt bad for deceiving these people, for planning on slaughtering every single one of them once what Doflamingo wanted was in her possession. But, then again, before Doflamingo had sunk his claws into her, she never would have been in this situation.

"Thank you." Anberlyn called after the boy as he started up the ladder that they had descended to get down where they were. He offered her an over the shoulder wave and continued on his way, closing the hatch at the top of the ladder and leaving without another word.

The ship had three levels. The deck, the middle level where everyone slept and ate and, of course, the brig in which she was currently being detained. The good news was that she had been allowed to keep her katars, the not so good news, the bars and the cuffs were both sea stone.

But, once she was alone, she reached into her shirt and pulled out a pink baby transponder snail. "I'm in." She spoke into the receiver.

"Good Good. Tell me all about it."

"Now?"

Shouldn't he wait until she had returned to get all of the juicy details instead of jeopardizing this initiation mission to amuse himself?

"You have nothing but time Sweetheart." It wasn't a question.

So, with a heavy sigh, she gave in, telling the story of her 'capture' as she got comfortable in the cell. If she got caught, his 'resources' had better save her.

Even though he was quite amused and somewhat impressed that her acting skills were able to fool those bastard Marines, he still wasn't too happy and she was about to know it.

"That wasn't the plan." He half hissed, half growled, the smile usually on his face most definitely was not there at the moment.

Anberlyn shrugged. She hadn't really cared for his original plan. And the only reason he knew that she wasn't following it was because she was being an honest person and telling him as much. "I get more freedom this way."

"You're in the brig." He pointed out, that was the opposite of freedom.

"And? It's not like you want is on the ship. And besides, you told me that Vergo could get me out of any situation due to his powerful position."

"Fuck up bad enough and not even he will be able to fix it." If the girl thought that she could do anything, right or wrong, andstill make it out alive no thanks to Vergo, then she was sadly mistaken.

"Are you saying there's a possibility that I'll end up getting executed?"

"An exponentially high chance." He confirmed.

Why am I just now being informed of this? She wondered looking down at the sea stone cuffs around her wrists. The Katars wouldn't be much good; they were too wide to dig into the lock of the cuffs or the door that kept her in the cell.

"Am I that expendable?"

"You didn't think you were something special did you Anberlyn?" He crooned, almost wishing he could see her face.

"You value my Devil Fruit's power." She argued, scrambling to find solid ground. It wasn't as though she had thought that she was special, not to someone like Doflamingo, but, she thought that her devil fruit was reason enough to keep her safe.

He chuckled darkly. "The funny thing about Devil Fruits, Anberlyn, is that once their consumer dies, they reappear somewhere in the world. All one has to do after that is find it."

Silence fell between the two pirates as these harsh words sank into the air between them. Anberlyn was trying to let the words sink in, she didn't want to believe them, to believe that Doflamingo would kill her, or let her die, and then search for her Devil Fruit. The possibility of him even finding it in fruit form was slim, surely he knew that.

Again, Doflamingo wished that he could see Anberlyn's face; he could just imagine the hurt, the confusion, the shock that was scattered across her expression.

The one to break the silence, however, was the one who caused it. "But, that's why we have a plan Sweetheart."

"I understand." She wasn't surprised by his words, just hurt, which in all honesty, she had no reason to be. After all, she was the one after his life.

"Since we can't change your deviation from the original plan, why don't we utilize and exercise the freedom you've earned us?"

Unfortunately, she did not have to be in the same room as Doflamingo to see the smile on his face blossom like a flower in spring.

Above, on the deck, the Marines of the vessel did not phone into the base, they decided that it would be best if they were to leave out the part where their newest female member was a highly wanted member of the Donquixote Pirates. They full heartedly believed that Doflamingo had used his devil fruit power to control her, and that she had come to them in hopes of redemption. They knew that if they told the higher ups, she would have no second chance; she would not be able to redeem herself.

So, instead, they sent Casey down to the brig with a spare uniform.

He found the girl sound asleep, curled up in the corner, the slit of her skirt revealing a tantalizing amount of leg, the low neck line revealing even more, but leaving most of her figure up for imagination, her long hair spilled over her shoulders and her mouth hung slightly agape.

Anberlyn had been told that there was at least a week's time before they reached the base, so she had decided to make herself comfortable. What time wasn't spent casually talking to a curious Marine, crying crocodile tears and spinning webs of white lies laced with the slightest of truths, was spent eating, sleeping and talking to Doflamingo.

They were nice enough to give her the daily paper, to give her updates on their progress and so on; the teal haired guy was doing a damn good job at keeping his promise. Sure, she was detained, and even though she knew she was and felt like a prisoner, they tried their hardest to make sure that she wasn't too uncomfortable.

She was sleeping soundly, dreams spiked with mysterious imagery of things that only vaguely resembled reality. And currently, she was facing a grining blonde man with purple eyes and the color pink surrounding him and twisting around his limbs. There was this smile on his face and words were coming from it even though his lips never moved. She wouldn't make out what he was saying until the radio dial was turned and the static cleared,

"Hey…Hello pirate girl? … I've brought you some clothes." At that, her mind yanked her out of the dream and she sat up, looking around until her eyes landed on the teal haired boy, Casey as he had introduced himself as after their third meeting.

Anberlyn rubbed at her eyes and got to her feet, sauntering up to him, watching as his eyes followed the movement of her hips. That was most definitely one thing that she did not miss.

Being one of Doflamingo's 'family' members meant that people kept their hands and eyes off of her; they kept their obvious stares to themselves until she had passed by and Doflamingo's back was to them. Of course there were the man's allies who thought she was a piece of meat, a present from Doflamingo to them, a whore they could share. But even they were quickly put in their places. Doflamingo made it very clear that there would be no sharing of Anberlyn.

But now, she had no such protection. Of course she could defend herself, or use her 'womanly skills' as Doflamingo had called them, to seduce the Marines into giving her what he wanted.

"I am graced by your presence once again. What's the reason this time?" Anberlyn asked silkily. But, before he could offer her a reply, she looked down and asked, "Are these for me?" In his arms was what looked like a Marine's uniform.

He nodded and thrust the clothes into her arms, his face flushed as he tried to answer. "Y-Yeah…it's…they are…for you…you're supposed to…" He choked his now empty hands going up to his face and cupping around his nose. "Change." He finally managed.

She giggled softly into her hands and said, "And how am I supposed to do that with these cuffs on?"

He cleared his throat, stood up straight, wiped his hands on his pants and said, "Let me get that for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key. He reached into the room, inserted the key into the lock and the cuffs fell from her wrists.

Anberlyn smiled and thanked him, gesturing with one hand to turn around as she said, "No peeking now Casey." He turned around, as did she.

He glanced down at his crossed arm and moved his wrist, finding that the porthole was reflected on the glass of his watch. He watched as her skirt was dropped and the pants slid up and over her hips. Then the shirt came off, even though he only got a view of her back, one's imagination was a horrid thing at times.

"Well thank you for the change of clothes. It was awfully considerate of you guys." She said turning around, the verbal ok that it was fine for him to turn around as well.

And when he did, he had to cover his nose once again. The pants fit nicely, but the top, well it most certainly didn't disappoint. Not only did the top three buttons not button, but it clung to her bust.

"Even if it is a bit small…" she tugged at the buttons, trying to get the button and the hole to at least come near each other. When that didn't work, she looked up and giggled apologetically and waved away the embarrassment. "But don't worry about getting me anything else."

He wasn't about to argue, so he wished her a good day, stopping when he was about to call her Anberlyn. "Hey, we can't have everyone calling you Anberlyn, that would defeat the purpose…So what's your name?"

"Annie?"

"Too close." He shot that down without a moment's hesitation.

She frowned, having never been one for nicknames. If Annie was too close, then so was Lyn, Ren or anything that ended in 'en'.

"Come one, don't you have some kind of nickname that everyone calls you?" He asked after several beats of silence.

Thoughtlessly, she replied, "Sweetheart." As she realized what she had said, she tried snatching the word from the air between them, but it was too quick and eluded her grasp.

"Good enough. But you're still recognizable. The higher up's will recognize you within the minute…" He trailed off, stroking his hairless chin as he thought about how to make her less recognizable. Too deep in thought, he didn't see the locks of maroon fall to the ground, he didn't see her shake out the loose strands, he hardly felt her grab his wrist and check herself out in the reflection of his watch.

Only when Anberlyn asked, "Does this work?" Did he snap back to reality.

"Your-when did you…yes."

She smiled and hopefully asked, "Good. So am I free to wander the ship?"

"No, not yet." He answered grabbing the sea stone cuffs off of the ground and clasping them around her wrists.

"Then when?"

"In just a few more days, before we reach the base, I promise." He told her before turning away, walking off, leaving her alone once again.

The rest of the journey, the next few days weren't that bad to be honest. It could have been worse. She was never alone very often; there was always one or two a man, or women, that kept her company. They talked and she managed to weasel tidbits of information out of them, relaying them to Doflamingo when time permitted.

The transponder snail was kept in her shirt, and at one point of time she had the realization that Doflamingo was hiding in her shirt, which was a rather disturbing thought.

Finally though, the door was opened and she was led to the deck. They were still a ways off, but they decided that she didn't have to be down in the brig anymore. They, for some reason, thought that if she was planning on committing any crimes, or if she were still controlled by Doflamingo, she would have acted already.

Oh how wrong those oh so naive Marines were.

She walked over to the edge of the ship and leaned onto the railing, watching the island slowly drift closer.

She stood before a hulking man who could have very well been as tall as Doflamingo. He towered over her and the rest of the fleet, inspecting them with scrutinizing eyes.

Casey stepped forwards and said, "Commodore Bane, we have recruited a new member." He turned towards her, gestured her forwards and when she stepped up to his side, he added, "This is Sweetheart."

Anberlyn bowed, trying to remember her etiquette. "It's a pleasure to work for the Marines sir." She said.

He scoffed at her words and barked for Casey to show her around.

So, he grabbed her elbow and pulled her away. The tour, as necessary as it was, was worse than sitting in a cell rotting away with only a transponder snail, a newspaper, strangers and your own devices. Finally, when it wrapped up and she was delivered to a room all her own, Anberlyn was shocked but, she accepted it and waited until after dinner to make her move.

With her shoes in hand, she slunk through the hallways, sticking close to the wall and keeping an eye out of surveillance snails. And only once this point was reached, did Anberlyn admit that Doflamingo's original way was a lot easier.

See, he had wanted her to kill everyone in her path, then steal the information that he wanted then get her ass back to the ship.

But nooo, she had to be the one to 'become a Marine' then start sneaking around in order to slowly feed what he wanted to him through the transponder snail and a series of packages sent by mail carrier. She was the one who had to be a good person and try not to kill, because once the thrill shot through her bloodstream, there was no stopping until everything around her was dead.

It seemed less risky to infiltrate the Marine base, steal information and then slip out because if she just started killing everyone, then they could call for back up and she was only one person. She wasn't one of the Whitebeard Pirates; she couldn't take several ships out with a single punch or turn into a freaking phoenix!

Anberlyn should have listened to the man with more criminal experience. But, it was too late for that.

She rushed down the hallway until she reached Bane's office, which was conveniently labeled. She slipped into the room and went straight to the desk. The locks on the drawers stood no chance, not between her Devil fruit power and her Katars.

The transponder snail was placed on the top of the desk and as she worked, she spoke into it, asking, "So what exactly am I looking for?"

"Do you really need help figuring that out?"

"Fine, I'll surprise you if you don't want to tell me." She snapped, ending the call and putting the snail back where it had been for the past week.

With several manila folders and an empty folder in hand, Anberlyn snuck back into her room, stuffed the documents under a loose floorboard and went to bed.

The next few nights went just as they had that first night. Granted she didn't bother calling Doflamingo, she hardly had the time to do so any other time during the day, when she was being friendly and challenged by the conditioning that had started upon their arrival.

And one night, after nearly being caught by commodore Bane, Doflamingo called her, which wasn't something he was supposed to do so that she didn't get caught and have to rely on Vergo to save her sorry ass.

She wasn't a princess, saving was not something that would be required of anybody to do for her.

"I want you to come back." He told her, seemingly out of the blue. She was in the middle of collecting files with things that could be important within them, skimming them for juicy details while keeping a look out for Bane or any other passerby.

"Why? There's still so much here."

"Yes. I'm sure that place is a treasure trove. But, you went straight for the throat." Doflamingo informed the girl on the other side as he skimmed through the papers she had already sent. There were only three large envelopes, each of them filled with paper worth a fortune.

Anberlyn had not yet gone for anyone's throats, not yet at least. She was merely following his orders, trying her hardest not to get caught and killed. Confusion made her pause and ask, "What do you mean?"

Not wanting to lose the girl and go on a devil fruit hunt, he said, "I've got everything I need with me. Don't bother with anything else."

"But-"

"Get out of there now Sweetheart."

"Don't tell me you're starting to miss me."

He just laughed and said, "I expect you to be here in a few days." And with that, he hung up on her.

Growling quietly, she slammed the drawer closed, gathered the papers in her arms and slipped out the door, only to run into what felt like a brick wall. She stumbled back, papers falling around her like snow.

"Cadet Sweetheart." The man grumbled. "What are you doing with these papers so late night?" he asked, knuckles cracking menacingly.

"I was told that-"

"Oh, hey, Anberlyn," Doflamingo's voice came from the transponder snail.

Bane's smile turned cruel.

"One more thing."

"What?" She hissed.

"Kill everyone on the island." He told her with a little laugh, making Anberlyn wonder if he had actually hung up.

Doflamingo lounged on the couch, looking up at the stars, grinning as he listened to a fight unfold on the other end. Surely, she wasn't holding the receiver in one hand, so that begged the question as to how she was keeping him on the line as she fought.

Of course, he could only imagine where the snail had been placed.

For a commodore, Bane wasn't too difficult of a man to kill. All she had to do was liquefy him in his metal form. Of course, when he figured out her intentions, he adapted and used it on and off, not changing any large portion of his body into the metal at the same time. Of course his chest was already a melted mess, and that slowed him down, but, he was full of himself, taunting Doflamingo directly as they exchanged blows.

Ever been hit in the face by a crow bar? No? Well it doesn't compare to being battered by two metallic fists.

As she dodged his foot and slashed across his fleshy, non melty abdomen, the laughter that had been bubbling up spilled from her throat and into the air.

He wasn't yet dead, but the thrill, the dreaded thrill, was rising up inside her. Carrying out Doflamingo's orders wasn't going to be as difficult as it sounded. Already, she could hear the cackle of the fire and screaming of the blasted Marines. They were fools to have believed her, to have had faith, to be deceived by appearances and lies.

But, before she could kill them all, she had to kill this guy.

In her hand, she caught his fist and grinned wickedly as it began oozing between her fingers, dripping to the ground. He was quick to pull away, but his fist was history. Her attacks were always stronger if she was touching the item, but it wasn't necessary for her to change the states of matter.

All too quickly, the fight ended and she picked up the papers and returned to the office. On the desk was an intercom system, whose button she pressed.

"It has been discovered that there is a mole within your ranks. So, kill any suspicious person. On top of that, we are having a lock down. No one gets in, no one leaves." She pulled away from the microphone and smiled.

"Having fun yet Sweetheart?" Doflamingo asked with a dark laugh. He wasn't so blind that he was unable to notice the change in her mood, in her demeanor when she killed. Anberlyn might not want to admit such a thing, but she liked it, loved it even. All he had to do was ignite the fire and she would burn until there was nothing left to consume, no one else to kill.

"Tell me, Honey," She sneered the first term of endearment that she could think of. ", what do you think?"

"Tell me all about it when you return."

"I'll be back in a flash." Anberlyn told him, ignoring the Marines that were rushing by. She ducked into several rooms and started several different fires on her way.

Bursting forth from the main door, she got the attention of nearly everyone. "B-Bane." She panted; hand over her chest, documents tucked within her waistband. "He-we have to get out of here!" She tried her best to look panicked, to seem as though she was as innocent as the rest of them.

The Marine base was absolute chaos. Some people were running towards the ships to get away from the fire and to safety, though they wouldn't be as safe as they thought they would be, others turned on each other, killing at the slightest hint of suspicion, and yet others were trying to put the fires out and reassure everyone that everything would be ok.

"Are you listening to all of this?" She asked the man on the other side of the transponder snail.

"It's music to my ears Sweetheart. I'm glad you've been paying attention."

"Would you care to reign over this island?" Anberlyn asked.

Doflamingo had to think about that for a minute. He had to consider the benefits and disadvantages of having reign over said island. But, in the end, the benefits were much more than that of the disadvantages. After all, if worse came to it, he could just burn the island, or something like that.

"That would be delightful Anberlyn." He smiled.

There was no hope for her anymore. He had dragged her into the darkness.

Anberlyn may delude herself by claiming that she was only after his head, rationalizing her killings and cozying up to him as her gaining his trust so that her betrayal would be that much sweeter when she was finally strong enough to actually kill him, but, he knew better. She enjoyed killing far too much and didn't fight near as hard as someone who truly hated him and wanted him dead should have. Doflamingo had broken her will to resist, even if she didn't know it yet. Or so he thought.

And even though that made her a broken toy, she still had her uses. Sometimes, broken in was better than brand new. He had beaten the flaws out of her, well some of them at least. He had desensitized her to killing and the cruelty and injustices of the world. He had hardened her heart, but her entertaining personality hadn't changed one bit, not when it came to her mannerism with him, but that was ok.

Doflamingo had created a monster, and he was perfectly fine with that.

And so, his wish became reality. She used a megaphone system on the Marine ship to tell the island of its current situation. She forced the Marines to fly Doflamingo's flag and threatened them all and then left as another Marine ship was spotted on the horizon.

Instead of bothering with a ship, or even a row boat, she started across the water, every spot her foot touched; turning into a stepping stone of solid water that faded once she had passed over it and was several feet beyond.

Only when the adrenaline stopped flowing, when the thrill wore off, did she realize how bad of an idea running into the middle of the ocean without a ship really was. But, it was too late to turn around. She was too damn stubborn to call Doflamingo and tell him of her stupidity, so after a rest, Anberlyn pushed on, at a much slower pace.

It wasn't long after she came to terms with her stupid choices did she realize that she had no navigational tools to get her back to the ship.

With a frown, Anberlyn stopped short and pulled out the transponder snail. She stared at it, as if it were the reason for all of her problems, and mentally debated with herself about calling Doflamingo and telling him that she was as good as lost at sea and that she would need some assistance.

Deciding that if she didn't have the temptation, she wouldn't be able to give in, Anberlyn dropped the grinning, pink, transponder snail.

"Oops." She muttered before stepping over the floating snail and continuing on.

Maybe a day or so later there was a boat on the not far from her, it was a Marine's ship, but maybe she could still fool them, maybe she would get lucky and they would be as stupid as the previous ones.

After a lot of yelling, carrying on and flailing about, she finally got their attention and was pulled aboard.

"Whew, thank you." She gasped, her legs giving out from under her.

"Who are you?" A fairly tall man asked. Even though his glasses were nothing like Doflamingo's, the fact that he was wearing sunglasses made her think of the blond.

"Cadet Sweetheart?" Anberlyn answered.

Looming over her, he sneered, "Is that a question or a statement cadet?"

There was no real answer to that question, not when they both knew that she wasn't a cadet and her name wasn't Sweetheart.

"Did you really think that a change of clothes and a hair cut would fool anyone?"

"I-I…Doflamingo…He was m-manipulating, yeah he was manipulating me." She stammered, trying to recall the story she had told the other Marines.

"Yes, well that's nothing personal." The man said before stooping down, grabbing her upper arm and driving her into the Captain's quarters.

"What are you going to do with me now that I've been captured?" She asked, her mind panicking as she realized that this man was a real Marine, that he was more than likely going to kill her. There was no way he was letting her go, not when he knew her true identity.

Truth be told, Anberlyn was scared to death.

Vergo couldn't get her out of this situation that was for damn sure.

The door was shut behind her, cutting off the sight of the sky and the Marines on the deck. Now, she was trapped in a room with a Marine, and he didn't seem to want to be best friends.

"Young Master?" A familiar voice came from the receiver of the transponder snail.

"Ah, Vergo, as always, it is a delight to hear from you." Such calls from his subordinate were uncommon. After all, he couldn't have the Marines discovering their connection. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Doflamingo asked, in the back ground, he heard someone stuttering,

"Y-You're V-Vergo…" That was followed by a thump and an even quieter, "Fuck.", that was filled with relief. He could all but see her scrubbing a hand up the side of her face and running it back through her hair.

"Anberlyn, Sweetheart, what are you doing in Vergo's care?" Last time he checked, she had to take care of the Marines and place the island under his control and she would be on her way. Where had she gone wrong? Anberlyn was usually so good at getting things done and sticking to her word.

"Funny story…" She trailed off.

"I'm sure it is." Doflamingo wasn't too thrilled. "Does this mean that I will have to be making a trip just to get you?"

"Weren't you expecting things to come to this?" She snapped, getting angry at Doflamingo's irritated tone.

There was the solid sound of someone being punched and Doflamingo chuckled. "Now, now Vergo, there's no need for that."

"What do you want me to do with her?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Anberlyn grumbled, frowning at the man with strange sideburns.

"Set her adrift." Doflamingo declared.

"What?! Are you trying to kill me?" She shouted at him.

"Understood." And with that, Vergo set the receiver down, ending the call.

"Hey! We weren't done talking!"

"I got my orders; there was no need for further conversation." He bluntly said, throwing her over his shoulder, walked out of the cabin and to one of the escape boats, in which he threw her into and then cut the ropes.

"You're letting her go?" One of his subordinates asked looking over the edge of the ship.

"Yes. Starvation is a slow, painful way to die don't you think?" The Marine agreed, but didn't seem satisfied. "We'll be collecting her bounty soon. She won't survive between no food, water or shelter from the elements and creatures of the sea. Not only that, but, she's a devil fruit user, meaning that if she capsizes, that's the end of her."

That seemed to satisfy the man because he pushed away from the failing of the ship and went below deck.

Hungry.

She was more than hungry, starving in fact. Her stomach was empty, trying to turn itself inside out jut for something to nibble on.

Thirsty.

She was oh so thirsty, and the worst part was that she was surrounded by water as far as the eye could see.

The sun was too hot, her throat too dry, her eyes practically glued shut due to the sand that was accumulating because she was too worn out to even rub her eyes.

To say that this sucked, was an understatement. This death was worse than execution, or by dying by Doflamingo's hand- well she was dying by his orders…that damn flamingo! Her thoughts raged.

He would admit it, he had waited a few days before setting out to look for Anberlyn, kind of hoping that someone else had picked her up and he would get to have some fun, or recruit new family members.

But, despite his hopes for such things, he found her in a boat, lying on her back, her bare skin beet red, a Marine hat covering her face and a Marine uniform covering her body. Next to her was a pile of papers, which he tucked away for later examination.

Tsking and shaking his head, he muttered, "This just won't do." He produced a flask from nowhere and crouched down. He unscrewed the cap and started forcing Anberlyn to drink. His goal hadn't been to kill her, after all, she had done so well on her initiation mission, but, he did have a lesson to teach her.

"Have you learned your lesson?" He asked as he took the hat off Anberlyn's face, flung it in a random direction and sat her up.

"Huh?" She groggily asked, looking around as if she was seeing everything for the first time. "Yeah." She slurred. "I think so."

"This is what happens when you make me go out of my way. Most people aren't fortunate enough to be liberated by me and then saved from a slow death."

If she had the energy, if her eyes weren't nearly closed as it was, she would have glared at him. Doflamingo was no fucking saint! There was no reason he should be painting himself as one!

Despite this however, she asked, "Can we go home now?"

"Not yet." He told her, shaking his head.

Doflamingo grabbed a handful of the white top, and with a smile, pulled the fistful back, ripping the fabric from her body. Handful after handful, the Marine uniform slowly dissipated from her body. And only when she was clothed in just her undergarments, was he satisfied.

"Was that necessary?" Anberlyn grumbled as she locked her arms around his neck and pressed her face into the pink feathers of his jacket.

"Of course. I can't have a Marine on my ship can I?"

"You just wanted to see me naked."

"You're not quite there yet Anberlyn. And, if I were you, I wouldn't push it." He threatened, almost wishing that she would.

Her face turned bright red at the memory; thankfully, he didn't see such an embarrassment. "Just take me home." She muttered, her voice slowly trailing off, sleep taking hold of her mind as the last word was uttered.

Home, she had called his ship, her home. This little fact delighted Doflamingo.

Not because he wanted her to feel as though his ship was her home, or because he wanted her to be comfortable with her living arrangements, after all, a house (or a room) was not a home. The word home had an emotional value to it.

And if she used the word home to describe their destination, then she was only cementing his belief that he had broken Anberlyn. She might not know it yet, but he had already won. LIttle did he know that she was too delirious to know the difference between house and home.

A/n: Hey! A longer chappie. Did anyone notice?

No?

Well it was a thousand or so words longer than the other chapters. I hope that you enjoyed per usual. This one gave me a little more trouble the other chapters and now I've gotta figure some things out, but I promise I'll get another chapter up asap.

Review please. I would be delighted to hear your thoughts and opinions. Please, if you think that I have gotten anyone OOC, tells me. Thank you much for reading and I hope to see you next chapter.