A/N: Just a little warning of some steaminess located somewhere within this mess of almost four thousand words. And the fact that I'm no chemist, which you'll understand what i mean also within this mess of almost four thousand words but i swear there's a surprise at the end if you just push through it! Also to my wonderful, amazing, beautiful reviewers...I love you! Thank you for the awesome feedback!
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece
Law was slightly concerned that he may have played a little too rough with his new toy, breaking her far sooner than he had expected as she remained on her knees, her mind struggling to grasp the overwhelming amount of devastation that took place in a matter of seconds. Her hands were cupped over her mouth to prevent a scream that threatened to rise but never did due to the immense shock that caused it to be stuck somewhere within her throat. The treasures she had earned, the years of obtaining the necessary maps and log poses, her clothes and keepsakes, all gone with a just swift gesture of Law's nimble finger.
"C-captain?" several of her crewmates called out cautiously to her. They were all too familiar with what usually comes next after someone has deeply crossed the Zoan user.
Ember ignored the concerned calls from her crewmembers and looked up at the shichibukai from her position on her knees, eyes glassy with stubborn tears that refused to ruin what was left of her dignity.
"Looks like rescuing your lot proved to be a big waste," she said darkly. "Considering now under the certain circumstances, you were going to die anyway."
"I would be delighted to see your best attempt." Law answered.
His casual response dug a way underneath Ember's tough skin that just infuriated her to an unnecessary degree. Destroying her ship then questioning her ability to do something about it just rubbed her the wrong way, yet a small sense of comfort made all of this slightly easier to bear, knowing that this will be the last time he will take a jab at her credibility.
Leaning forward on her hands to be on all fours, she allowed the rage to take hold from the tight coil within her being, coursing throughout her body like a raging fire. It traveled to the tips of her fingers down to her toes as her limbs began to lose their human characteristics and morph into something unrecognizable. Sharp horns sprouted from her head, skin stretching until it tore, revealing a black scaly mass underneath that grew and grew until towered above anything else on the island.
Law watched in slight amusement as she took form of her Mythical Zoan, an enormous black dragon whose wingspan was large enough to spread over several shops and homes. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he recalled their previous conversation about whether her Zoan animal is to be considered an extravagant creature. Law figured that as a man who lives by a certain honor system, he could remember to share his new solid opinion that maybe the creature does fit the criteria. Who knows? Perhaps the compliment and the ability to admit that he underestimated her ability would ease the pain of her inevitable defeat.
Spectating villagers began to disperse in panic as the sheer mass of her form shrouded the small town in a dark shade like an eclipse, creating an ominous setting. The ground trembled beneath her talons as she approached Law who wore a rather bored expression.
"You sure know how to piss off the right people Captain," Shachi whispered, unconsciously taking several paces back along with his other crewmates who were doing the same. Law however did the exact opposite, taking casual steps toward her as if he was on his way to greet a friend he hasn't seen in ages.
"Miss Ember, I do understand you may be upset with the loss of your ship, but I would be more than willing to return the favor by allowing you to reside among my vessel, considering you have no where else to go."
Ember went to strike Law with sharp teeth that craved for the crunch of his bones but only ended up with a mouthful of dirt when he dodged her attack.
The Heart captain wore a frown of disappointment. "It appears your anger is clouding your better judgment. Allow me to clear the fog. Room."
The familiar blue film formed a dome around the two captains and from the experience of several moments ago; Ember knew that it signified the first step to something disastrous. With wings spread in preparation to fly, her enormous size caused some delay in which Law took no time in using it to his advantage. A swift swing from his nodachi had Ember's wings on the floor, eliciting a cry of sheer terror from the dragon.
But he didn't stop there. Distracted by the sight of her wings convulsing on the ground, Law used this second opportunity to slice one of her front legs and like a crazed lumberjack, he cut her down limb by limb until she was left as an immobile stump. Unable to enter the dome without the risk of getting dismembered, Ember's crew could only watch in horror as their captain became stripped of her defenses.
But Ember still possessed one last trick up her sleeve, opening her mouth wide to prepare for her major offensive attack. Law detected the faint smell of gas in the air followed by a flickering of light deep within her opened jaws as a burst of scorching flame erupted, which he just barely avoided.
Getting frustrated with her misses, her long neck thrashed around wildly, spewing the flames all around with no particular aim or precision. Heart pirates and her own crew took cover wherever the flames haven't reached yet and Law was growing rather annoyed by her mindless desperation.
"This simply will not do." He growled before making one final slice down neck, separating it from the rest of her. The flames stopped and Ember began growl and whine in confusion when she couldn't access her fire anymore. Law slung his nodachi over his shoulder, one hand gripping the handle while the other casually resting in his pocket as he strolled over to the completely dismembered creature.
"Now how can I thoroughly explain this to you without getting too scientific," Law asked himself out loud as he climbed onto her face where he plopped down cross-legged along her snout. Red eyes eyed him dangerously and he couldn't help but return a smug look, adding more fuel to the fire that she couldn't access at the moment.
"That little check up I gave you revealed to me a lot of information, which was surprising since I didn't even need to split you open" he says as he rests his stubble covered chin in his hand. "While listening to your heart, I noticed a strange breathing pattern which indicated you had a second pair of lungs, a pair that housed methane gas, considering the black carbonized residue at the back of your throat. Although I'm a surgeon and not a scientist, it wasn't t hard to figure that if I separated your neck from the rest of your body, the methane wouldn't be able to reach your throat, thus ceasing your fire."
Just when Law had gotten comfortable, he quickly hopped off her snout when he felt her tremble beneath him, shriveling down back to human form. Her parts and limbs were still scattered about however, so Law proceeded to collect them and reassemble her although there was no point. She was already broken on the inside.
Once she felt most of herself back to normal, she quickly got to her feet and made an attempt to lunge at the shichibukai but fell face first in the ground. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to remain calm when she realized she was unable to walk. Ember's body has been failing her several times today and she knew it was all due to this sick doctor.
Law whipped Ember's tail around in front of her face teasingly. "A tail provides a sense of balance and equilibrium, Miss Ember. Without it, consider yourself crippled." He said with a twisted smile. "I'm going to hold on to these dragon parts of yours for safe keeping. I don't need you making more of a mess than you already have."
Ember remained on the ground, making no attempt to stand back up and fight. It would just make her look more desperate than she would ever want herself to be and she wasn't going to grind the shards of her broken dignity into an irreversible dust. She needed to save them for when she was ready to rebuild her reputation, which was pretty much non-existent now.
And there was Law, standing above her with that smug smile that she just wanted to rip right off his face. He just stood and watched her wallow in her defeat on the ground, probably feeling so high and mighty knowing he stripped her away of the ability that had molded her into the individual she was today. For the first time since eating her fruit ages ago, she felt like a mortal human, defenseless and naked to the cruel world around her. Out of all the foes to come across in the New World, she had to meet another Devil Fruit user whose powers only purpose was to strip her of her own. It was as if Law held a spoon, scooping out all the deliciousness that was her Devil Fruit ability until there was nothing left, leaving her behind as an empty husk with an inability to swim.
"I trusted you." Ember said in a broken whisper. She didn't even bother to look up at Law from the ground, her cheek resting comfortably against the cool earth.
"Which was your biggest mistake but we shall discuss that later. Now cheer up as one of my men will escort you to your new quarters."
Jean Bart scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder like a rag doll and although she didn't protest, her crewmates did for her behalf.
"Where the hell do you think your going with our captain?" Komodo shouts.
"Why, bringing her to my ship of course. Unless you have a course of action planned to stop me." Law says, raising an eyebrow at the lot. By the way they hesitated, he was surprised that they weren't as stupid as he first assumed. They knew better than to take on the Surgeon of Death, which made everything a tad easier for the doctor since he didn't feel like wasting time on something that didn't hold a challenge. "Run along now and find another pirate captain who is willing to let you freeload off their ship."
With that being said, Law turned on his heel, leaving Ember's crew to their own devices as they try to figure out what to do now.
Ember was tossed, literally tossed into the room where she skidded across the floor and bumped her head against the foot of the bed. While she remained on the floor to allow time for the disorientation to cease, she retraced her steps to determine what her first mistake was that put her in this situation. Oh right, it was allowing him to board my ship. If this was Law's plan all along, she couldn't help but applaud the man for his amazing skill at deceit. Here she was, thinking she was fulfilling her good deed of the day when all along he was simply just plotting against her.
Which is what confused Ember to the greatest degree. What was his motive behind going out of his way to ruin her? It definitely couldn't be for competition purposes; she was just a novice, a guppy in a sea full of pirates swimming around decades of experience. He couldn't possibly feel threatened by her so what could the underlying factor be?
The total amount of time Ember spent on the ground today was enough to motivate her to get on her feet. She crawled toward a desk in the room, reaching for the edges so it could provide some support when she stood herself up and like a drunken man trying to find his way back to his hotel, she took awkward footsteps toward the door, hands grasping at the wall for balance.
Just when she was about to turn the knob, the door opened on it's own, revealing the last man she wanted to see.
"I must say, your determination for escape despite your current condition is quite admirable." Law says, tilting his head ever so slightly to look at her as if watching her struggle was the cutest thing he has ever seen. He was somewhat relieved that she still had some fight in her or else there would be no excitement in the process of taming this creature. "Allow me to help."
Law spun her around and pushed her so that she fell face forward on the desk. When she attempted to straighten herself, he held her head down firmly against the surface, keeping her bent over the furniture.
"Don't you think you have helped me enough?" she growled, trying to turn her head to look behind her but Law would have none of that. She didn't like this strange submissive position she was in and she certainly didn't like her enemy being where she couldn't see them. She writhed underneath the pressure of his hand until he dangled her tail in front of her face, which was enough to make her stop immediately.
"I can reattach this back to its proper place if you simply behave yourself." Law stated. He was pleased to see her relax against the surface of the desk, only to tense back up again when his hands reached forward from behind her to fumble with the buttons of her high waist shorts. "I need to lower these just a tad so I can align it properly with your spine. Room"
The blue aurora returned to circle them both and Law didn't need a degree in psychology to know that his power left a traumatic scar on Ember, who had begun to shift nervously beneath his hand.
"Is this blue circle of yours really necessary?" she asked, voice laced with dread.
"It makes the process easier, unless you prefer I reattach it manually through legitimate surgery which would be a pleasure for me." Ember didn't need to look behind her to know that Law wore his smirk that always made an appearance when finding something dark to be humorous. With a sigh, she complied with the doctors wishes, even ignoring the hands that pushed her sweater up towards her neck, revealing her entire, wingless back.
She felt the nimble fingers of Law prod the three bones at the base of her neck, using that as a starting point as they trailed a slow, careful path down her spine. As best as she tried to fight it, she was unable to suppress the shudder that slightly shook her and she could practically feel his dark grin boring itself into her back. She knew he was taking his time, savoring every bit of her submission and reveling in every slight reaction of unease and discomfort she displayed.
Ember felt Law's groin was practically flush against her rear and she couldn't determine whether it was just unbeknownst to him or just a ploy to make her more uncomfortable than she already was in this compromising position he had her in. She simply tried reassuring herself that it was the first option but by the way he would slightly press himself against her further told her otherwise.
His fingers arrived along her lower back, where they checked and double-checked a particular area to make sure it was the right spot. Ember's body went slack against the desk with relief when she felt her appendage return back to its rightful place. Now all she was missing were her wings. Law immediately responded to her thought as if reading her mind.
"I am keeping your wings as collateral. It would simply break my heart to have you fly away on me."
Ember growled softly, proceeding to straighten herself when Law quickly snatched her, pulling her back against his chest. Possessive arms locked her in with a vice grip, one around her midsection and the other across her chest, hand holding a shoulder firmly. Ember didn't bother with escape. She was curious as to what the doctor could be planning this time.
"What is your reason of keeping me here?" she whispered calmly although her heart was racing. It killed her to have her enemy so close yet not available for her to see.
"I'm simply returning the favor of your generosity by housing you on my ship, since you no longer possess one of your own."
"You're simply delivering a generous amount of cruelty to someone who just saved you and your crew."
Law nuzzled his face against the crook of her neck, chuckling against the textured skin. "I have never met anyone with the ability to match me in the battle of witty remarks the way you do, Miss Ember, and for the record" his index and middle fingers from the hand around her waist made a little walking motion along her stomach, tiptoeing down until they slipped into the lacey underwear left exposed by her undone shorts. "I can deliver a generous amount of something else in particular…"
Law felt her stiffen against him and he could hear her doing her best to maintain steady breaths through her nose, suppressing the urge to pant softly. Whether it be from timidity or slight arousal, Law wasn't going to allow her to keep whatever wonderful sounds she could make to herself.
"I know what game your attempting to play," he whispers almost sadistically into her ear. "And I can assure you that pretending your not enjoying yourself simply to deprive me the satisfaction in making you submit isn't going to work for very long. Your resolve is just not strong enough."
Even though he hit the nail right on the head, Ember was determined to prove him wrong. Her mind screamed to fight against him however, she knew it would frustrate the man to no end if she were to act like he has no effect on her although in reality, it was quite the contrary.
Law usually took his time when toying with his victims but this was now more of a challenge than anything else, so his fingers took no time in going straight for the bundle of nerves that rested above her opening. Ember threw her head back, not even caring that it now rested on Law's shoulder, so long as her lips remained pursed to contain whatever cry that fought to get out. It was a good thing the sensation was wonderfully mind numbing because if she really thought about how it was skillful fingers of Law making her fight back the urge to moan, it would have made her sick.
"Like I said before, your determination is quite admirable," he said with a hot and heavy breath against her neck. The sheer excitement of this little game they were playing was starting to arouse the Heart captain an incredible amount. "But I am a doctor and have a rather extensive amount of knowledge for female anatomy."
With that being said, Law's finger delve deep within her, like a lock pick moving in a certain combination until Ember clicked open. The smirk of succession Law wore almost held a deranged look when Ember cried out in sweet agony that was music to his ears. She was even briefly surprised that she was even capable of such a sound.
Absolutely enraged now by her loss, she had Law with his back on the ground in a matter of seconds, whipping herself around and sweeping her heavy tail beneath his feet. She was on top of his chest in a moments notice, trying to ignore the ache of wanting more between her legs as she wrapped her hands around his throat. It was something about the way she looked, so predatory and feral on his chest that excited him in a way that slightly disturbed the twisted surgeon.
"Although I have never been in such a position before," Law's tone held a sick playfulness to it despite the strain against her tight grip on his neck. "I find myself rather enjoying it."
Ember could kill him, right then and there, but she didn't. She just couldn't bring herself to do so…at least not until she found her wings which were hidden somewhere on this forsaken vessel. She would prefer to wait until she was in her full dragon form so her carnivorous Zoan could savor the taste of his blood when she crunches him between her teeth. Until then, Ember felt the best thing to do at the moment was to make a dash for the door.
Buttoning her shorts back up in the process, she jetted down the hall, adrenaline fueling her bold and rather reckless attempt for escape. Judging by the furious footfalls behind her, she didn't need to glance over her shoulder to know that Law was chasing after her. She just concentrated on retracing the steps Jean Bart had took when leading her from outside to her room.
She didn't even bother wasting time on the ladder to lead her safely to the dock. Ember took a leap of faith over the ledge of the deck, rolling several times along the wooden planks in an ungraceful landing, grateful her ankles hadn't snapped in the process.
Her plan was to lead Law on a wild goose chase through town and when she gave him the slip, she would sneak back on the ship to steal her wings back. It was when Ember recited the plan for the first time in her head did she realize the huge flaw.
Law is the only one who can reattach them
Well, shit. It was too late now. She was already on the run, weaving her way through town now with no plan whatsoever. She would have to remember for future reference that running and thinking were not so good when done together since she was more focused on her thoughts that rather what was in front of her.
She bumped into a strong, muscular figure that had caused her to rebound on impact, landing painfully on her rear. Whoever she had bumped into appeared to be unaffected since he was still standing and very, very irate.
"You damn, whore! Watch where the hell-" the man cut himself off in absolute shock when his eyes laid upon Ember, who was rubbing her sore bottom as she picked herself up off the ground. When her red gems made contact with the mystery man, she fought the urge to pass out in pure relief of his presence.
"Red!" she shouted, throwing herself into his arms that eagerly welcomed her. They hugged her tight, hands running along her back, feeling her to make sure this isn't some cruel illusion. The thought soon became a consideration when the hands stopped over her back. He wasn't supposed to feel her back.
"What the hell happened to you wings?!" the man exclaimed, more angry than shocked. Heads were going to roll for this.
"I would really prefer not to be reminded of that fact." She grumbled.
A loud cough was made behind Ember for the sole purpose of catching her attention.
"It's very rude not to properly introduce me, Miss Ember." Law scolded calmly.
The bulky man roared with laughter. "Well that explains a fucking lot."
Law frowned deeply, tilting his head in a way that caused his furry hat to cast a shadow along his eyes, giving him a dark, dangerous look. He was not happy, even more so when the man wrapped a protective metal arm around Law's plaything.
"What an unpleasant surprise, Mister Eustass."