Ch. 12- The Yeti Cool Brothers
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Aika, Kumi, and Jupiter © Me
"At the foot of the cliff in Sector F-16…you'll find three bodies in the snow: 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro, 'Cat Burglar' Nami, and 'Soul King' Brook. Find and collect them."
"Y-you killed them!?"
"If that was a problem, you shouldn't have called us."
"N-no, no! Master stated 'dead or alive'…carry on then!"
"Good."
The two shadowy figures are seen walking away from the motionless bodies of Zoro, Sanji (still in Nami's body), and Brook, throwing aside their wanted posters as they did.
XXX
Meanwhile, in Caesar's laboratory…
"So, did you hear that?" asked Caesar, who is sitting beside Law. "Three of them are already dead, Monet! Shulololololo!"
"What a disappointment," Monet chuckled as she sat on the sofa across from Caesar. "They're fellow members of Law's Worst Generation, and the Government is as afraid of them as it is of Blackbeard. With the way the papers claimed they were fully back in action, I figured they'd have a bit more backbone…am I right, Law?"
"…" Law was quiet, as was Jupiter, who is lying on the floor at the Warlord's feet.
"You and Jupiter know 'Straw Hat' Luffy and 'White Wolf' Blizzard rather well, don't you?" Monet asked with a sly grin. "You've met him twice- two years ago at Sabaody, then at the Marineford War."
"What?" Caesar questioned while Law hung his head to the point where his eyes are hidden beneath the brim of his hat.
Just then, Caesar held up a pistol…and pointed it at the Warlord. Jupiter's response, naturally, was to stand up and growl at the scientist.
"You didn't call them here…did you, Law?" Caesar asked, angrily.
"I already told you," Law replied, "I didn't even know they were being held up in the lab until I ran into them. If I had known, I would have warned you that locking them up in some prison cell isn't enough. Thanks to your negligence, I was unable to drive the Marines away, and this operation being exposed is a bad thing for me, too…remember?"
Caesar stared at Law…as he remembered the day they met.
Flashback
Caesar is seen, working in his laboratory, when suddenly, some of his minions, who are using what looked like balloons to float above the floor, approached him.
"Master!" said one of them. "One of the Seven Warlords, Trafalgar Law and his dog, 'Beastly Bird' Jupiter, have landed!"
After giving them permission to come in, Caesar, who is now in his swirling gas form, sat before Law and Jupiter, who only had one request.
"You wish to stay here on Punk Hazard?" asked Caesar.
"It was a pain to reach this place, since it doesn't have its own log," Law said. "It was a secret Government facility, after all. No doubt that this laboratory still holds many traces of the Government research that has continued to this very day. As long as I can move about freely and island, I will be happy, and in return, I will provide you with useful assistance of a kind. We keep it clean and stay out of each other's business…provided that you DON'T tell anyone I'm here…especially Joker."
"So you do know more than you let on," Caesar noted. "Where did you get that kind of information?"
"Would you rather have some ignorant dumb-ass wandering around here?" asked Law.
"Shulololololo!" Caesar laughed. "Good point. 'Birds of a feather flock together', they say. I don't trust you, lad, but I don't see the harm. What do you think, Monet?"
Law turned to look at Monet, who did not have any wings or bird legs, but regular human limbs.
"Trafalgar Law," Monet said, writing in a book. "A pirate from the North Blue. Alias, 'Surgeon of Death'. User of the Op-Op Devil Fruit. His profession is a doctor. His dog's name is Jupiter. Alias, 'Beastly Bird'. User of the Bird-Bird Fruit; Great Horned Owl model. He is Law's guard dog and often his mode of transportation."
"I see you do your homework," Law said.
"Let me ask you something," said Monet. "There are many former prisoners her on this island who have been crippled by the poison gas…so…can you heal them?"
Law seemed quiet for a moment…but then he sighed.
"Fine…but I'm not doing this to be praised," he said.
Flashback end
Caesar smirked as he put his gun away, causing Jupiter to settle down.
"Well, Law," he said, "I suppose if you wanted to bring friends along, you'd have been a bit more clever about it. After sucking up to the Government to get a cushy Warlord job, you wouldn't screw it all up by making a mess of things around here. Forgive me for doubting you."
"Earlier," Law said, "you said those kids would come back on their own."
"Ah, yes," Caesar replied…as he held up what looked like a piece of round, reddish-purple candy…with purple mist hissing from it. "You see…every day, I drug them with this candy. Nice and sweet with a fizzy stimulant gas effect. Shulolololo! And if they try to go back home, they won't be able to get their precious 'candy' anymore!"
"…I don't really like your style," Law said. "You remind me of someone I know. Also…didn't you say there was that one little girl who refused to take this 'candy'? What are you going to do with her? Not that I'm concerned, mind you."
"That's none of your affair, Law," Caesar hissed. "However…let's just say that when I get my hands on her…it won't be pretty."
Law scoffed before he got up and left.
"Jupiter, come," he ordered, and the spotted dog followed him.
"What about the battle?" Monet asked.
"Call me if you need me," Law answered. "I'll bring you any head you want."
"…Shulololo…!" Caesar chuckled. "It's hard to manage the clever ones."
XXX
Meanwhile, at the remains of the first and second lab where Nami and Chopper are hiding with the kids…BOOM! A huge explosion went off, followed by a shriek of terror coming from Aika, who ducked down under some debris with Kumi in an attempt to dodge the falling stalactites.
"What is going on?!" Nami questioned. "That's the 4th explosion, so far!"
"It's not an earthquake!" Chopper answered. "There must be enemies outside! The children are in here! What if this place collapses?!"
"I'm scared~!" Aika wailed with tears in her eyes.
"Where's Luffy!? And Franky and Blizzard and Robin and Usopp?!" Nami questioned.
"They already left for the lab, Nami!" Chopper answered as he went outside to look. "It's just the two of us in here!"
"Can you see anyone, Chopper?!" Nami asked. "How many enemies are there and what type are they?!"
"…That's the thing!" Chopper replied. "I can't see anybody!"
"Is there too much snow?!"
"It's not the snow that's the problem! There's…no one out here!"
"What?! But that can't be!"
XXX
Meanwhile, Team Luffy is descending the slope, when suddenly, they all heard the ruckus coming from where they just came.
"Luffy, you hear that?" Blizzard asked with Luffy sitting on his back. "Sounded like an explosion."
"Yeah," Luffy answered. "I heard it loud and clear."
"It sounded like it was coming from the direction where we just came from," Robin noted.
"It might have something to do with whoever left these SUPER huge footprints!" Franky added, looking at the giant prints left in the snow.
"Luffy…you sense it, right?" Blizzard asked.
"Yeah," Luffy replied. "There's definitely something out here…like two wild beasts!"
"W-w-what do you mean?!" Usopp asked, nervously.
"We gotta get back up there!" Luffy said. "Nami and Chopper are in trouble! Blizzard, let's ride!"
ROWF! Blizzard barked before he took off running with Robin, Usopp, and Franky following behind.
XXX
Back with Nami and Chopper, the explosions still went on in short bursts, and at that moment, Brownbeard woke up from all the commotion.
"Oh! I fell asleep!" the former pirate exclaimed as another explosion was heard. "Hmm? It's a bit noisy out there…could it be that someone has come to rescue me?! Law and Jupiter?! Master?! Or…no…we're in the snowy mountains! It must be them! WOHOHOHO! Happy day!"
"Hey, Brownie!" Nami shouted. "Do you know anything about this?! Who's out there and what are they doing?! You better tell us now, or suffer the consequences! Answer me or you'll pay the price!" She then put Franky's fingers to her mask. "Laser! GO!"
"DON'T YOU DARE MOCK THE LASER BEAM!" Chopper shouted.
"You won't find them," Brownbeard answered. "They never show themselves…not even WE know their faces!"
"Huh?!" Nami muttered.
"However," Brownbeard continued, "they always carry out a hit upon payment. The only thing we know about them…is that their footprints are large and their voices are deep! The only other thing we know is that they are giant beast-men, covered in fur all over! An assassin duo that prowl the snowy peaks, appearing when a blizzard strikes! We only know their names! They are known as Rock & Scotch…the Yeti Cool Brothers! They hail from a snowy land, both age 25-"
"IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU KNOW PLENTY TO ME!" Nami shouted.
"Even so, nobody knows what they look like! WOHOHOHO!" Brownbeard laughed. "They are huge and mighty, and they've come to save me! You're on their hit list, now-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Nami shrieked as she looked up at something behind Brownbeard.
"I…IT'S HUGE!" Chopper cried.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT THING?!" Kumi questioned.
"MONSTER!" Aika screamed.
Brownbeard turned and gasped upon seeing…a huge, furry being with a shadowy face. It looked it was wearing glasses or goggles of some kind, as well as what looked like a bowler hat…and it was pointing a giant, cannon-sized gun at him.
"W-w-what in the-?!" Brownbeard stammered.
"You're Brownbeard, right?" asked the figure. "You're on the list, too."
"R…Rock?! Is that you?!" Brownbeard questioned.
"Actually, I'm Scotch."
"But…but that can't be right!" Brownbeard said before he put on a smile. "M-maybe I misheard you! The Master hired you to rescue me, didn't he?! WOHO…ho…?"
"No," Scotch answered. "Master hired us to KILL you, too."
"Huh…?!" Brownbeard muttered, his smile drooping.
"If you don't believe me, then listen," said Scotch before he held out a Transponder Snail, which played Caesar's voice.
"When you find the Straw Hats, kill them on sight. Oh, and…what was the name of that man? The one they captured…with the stupid braided beard who was famous for being an oaf."
"M…Master…?" Brownbeard whispered…as tears began to form in his eyes.
"Ah, yes! That's right! Brownbeard!"
Nami and Chopper gasped, and even Aika and Kumi gasped, as well.
"He's useless to me at this point. I don't need that fool anymore…so you can kill him, too."
Brownbeard whimpered in disbelief as his tears began to fall.
XXX
Blizzard panted as he ran towards the abandoned lab with Luffy mounted on his back, when suddenly, he saw plumes of smoke rising from the lab.
"Luffy! I see smoke!" Blizzard said.
"Me, too!" Luffy answered. "HEY! NAMI! CHOPPER! AIKA! KUMI! ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?!"
XXX
"That makes you Brownbeard," Scotch said as he pointed his gun at Brownbeard. "Am I right?"
Brownbeard whimpered as he remembered the words Caesar said to him when he first encountered him.
"Ah, I see…I'm glad you made it here! You're safe now, my friend. You can relax."
"It…it can't be…!" Brownbeard sobbed.
"You're a very valuable patrolman, Brownbeard. I'm glad I have someone like you for this job."
"WOHOHO! Not at all, Master! It's almost embarrassing, getting this kind of praise!"
"MASTEEEEEERR~!" Brownbeard wailed before…KABOOM! Scotch fired his gun directly at him, much to Nami, Chopper, Aika, and Kumi's shock! And he didn't stop! He continued to shoot him, over and over to the point where he wasn't even conscious anymore, and even then, he still didn't stop!
"Hey, Scotch!" a voice shouted from outside. "Stop shooting so much, in there! You'll cause a cave-in and kill the kids! The Captain's on his way back! We kill him, first!"
"Right, Rock!" Scotch agreed before he headed back outside while Brownbeard collapsed, his body smoldering from the blasts of Scotch's gun.
"BROWNBEARD!" Chopper cried.
"Oh, no!" Nami whispered in horror.
Aika whimpered as she and Kumi continued to hide under the debris.
XXX
"Luffy, look!" Franky shouted as he pointed to another shadowy figure standing on top of the lab. "There's a really big one up there!"
"You better not have touched my friends~!" Luffy roared as he jumped off Blizzard and charged forward.
"Hold it, Luffy!" Blizzard shouted. "Don't be reckless!"
"Ah," said the figure as Scotch appeared beside him. "You're Straw Hat Luffy. Let's go, Scotch."
"Right, Rock," Scotch replied.
KA-CHAK! KAKABOOM! They fired their guns at Luffy, who jumped out of the way at the last second, his body steaming and leg outstretched.
"Gum…GUUUUUUM…JET WHIP!" he roared, but then, just as he was about to attack, Rock and Scotch suddenly disappeared, as if into thin air!
"Huh?!" Blizzard muttered. "Where'd they go?!"
"They've vanished!" Franky said.
THUD! Luffy ended up falling into the snow!
"LUFFY!" Chopper cried as he came outside.
"Chopper!" Luffy said. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine!" Chopper replied. "But those guys took Nami! I'm sorry!"
"They WHAT?!" Luffy questioned in anger.
XXX
The Yeti Cool Brothers are seen, walking away from the lab. However…Scotch is holding something in his hand.
"MRUHEE! MMMHEE!"
(Translation: "LUFFY! HELP ME!")
"This is the only one we have to take alive," said Scotch. "He has Vegapunk's lasers or something like that."
"After that, we kill the rest," Rock said.
"I like it that way," Scotch said.
XXX
At laboratory's rear entrance, Law and Jupiter are seen walking away.
"Huh?" a guard muttered. "Hey, Law! Where are you and Jupiter going? The Marines in this area!"
"…I don't give a shit," Law replied.
"Huh?!" the guard questioned.
Suddenly, a clear dome appeared around him…and with a swing of his sword, Law sliced him into pieces.
"H-HEY!" the guard cried. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I'm free to go…wherever I wish," Law said as he climbed on the back of Jupiter, who turned into a giant Great Horned Owl…and flew off in the direction of the first and second laboratories.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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