Ch. 19- Vergo and Joker
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Aika, Kumi, and Jupiter © Me
On an island in the New World, the citizens are in full-scale panic. Why? Because their children are still missing to this very day. Every time I asked what happened, they were simply told that their children died at sea…but they still refuse to believe that.
"Please! You have to look for our children!"
"Just one more time! That's all we ask! Please!"
"I told you, it's pointless! Too pointless!"
The crowd of villagers of the missing children, which turned out to be pictures of a smaller looking Mocha, getting ready for school, Synd petting his pet dog, and Dolan, playing with a soccer ball.
"Please!" cried Synd's father. "We're begging you to use the Marines' power to find them! Can't you at least bring this up with Captain Tashigi or something?!"
"We've heard she's quite receptive to requests like ours!" added Mocha's mother.
"What?!" a voice questioned. "Enough of this tomfoolery! I will not hear such contempt from the likes of you!"
THWAK! Synd's father was suddenly kicked to the ground, and some dogs wearing Marine collars and dog tags barked at him.
"We are fellow sailors from Base G-5!" said his assailant. "And now, you doubt official Marine reports and accuse of incompetence?! How dare you! You dare, too much!"
"GYAHAHAHA!" laughed a G-5 soldier. "You're going too far again, Commodore!"
It is revealed that the citizens are speaking to Marine Commodore Yarisugi of G-5, an average-sized, muscular man who wears a cap with a short, dark brim and the number 5 on the front. He also has light colored hair sticking out on the sides of his head to form an odd circle shape with a darker mustache and beard. He also has a scar on his left cheek. Under a light fur-lined coat, he wears a bowtie and a white leotard with black polka dots with the Marine insignia and "G-5" on the front which goes from the middle of his chest to the middle of his thighs. He has 3 white badges with dark blue stars on them, two on right of his coat and one on the left. He also wears a belt that is strapped on diagonally across his chest which he uses to carry his sword on his back, and finally, he wears a pair of golden greaves on his legs.
"Now shut your mouths and listen to your betters!" Yarisugi shouted. "Listen too well! Your children have all suffered accidental deaths! We've gone over this too many times with G-5's top commander, Vice-Admiral Vergo! We conducted 10,000 searches!"
'He's exaggerating!' thought one of the civilians.
"If you lot keep complaining about this," Yarisugi began, "then I'll have no choice but to have you all executed and set your town ablaze for continuous obstruction of Government work!"
"GYAHAHAHA!" laughed one of his men. "You're going too far again, Commodore!"
While some of the civilians gritted their teeth in anger, some of the mothers were left in tears at the thought of never seeing their beloved sons and daughters again. They could only watch as the commodore left with his soldiers following behind.
"Humph!" Yarisugi scoffed. "You want Tashigi, eh?! Far too presumptuous! Yes, I admit, I wish she was under my command! Wish too much! She's the right hand of that Vice-Admiral Smoker in Unit 01! Too right-handed! And I've got far too little time to deal with a bunch of people who can't get over a damn accident that happened 3 years ago! GET OVER YOURSELVES! TOO OVER YOURSELVES!"
"GYAHAHA!" laughed one of his men. "Too far, man!"
"Ugh…!" groaned Synd's father. "I wonder…if Vice-Admiral Vergo really has heard about this…? After all, he once protected this island from pirates! He was a proper gentleman, not like the rest of G-5. Would he claim that was an 'accident'?!" He clutched his head in anger and despair.
"Neighborhood kids are playing in the street," he continued, "and the next thing we know, they're saying they died in an accident at sea?! How are we supposed to believe such a tale?!"
A crying mother looked at a picture of her missing daughter.
"…They're alive," she whispered. "I know they're alive out there, somewhere! I know it!"
XXX
Back on the icy side of Punk Hazard, in the ruins of Labs #1 and #2, Nami (still in Sanji's body) and Usopp have run into a problem.
The children have all woken…and worse, the withdrawal symptoms are still in effect!
"Ugh!" Synd cried. "Take off these stupid chains! Please!"
"AAAAAH! My head hurts!" cried Dolan.
"Make it stop!" Mocha shouted. "I want my candy!"
"Oh, jeez! Not now!" Usopp cried.
"I really wish Robin had stayed here with us!" Nami cried. "Usopp, do something! Can't you put them back to sleep or anything?!"
"Well, I could try a Sleep Star!" Usopp said. "But it only works so well! Besides, I think the tranquilizer's not strong enough!"
"Then what can we do?!" Nami asked.
"We just need to keep them under control somehow!" Usopp said. "Help me out here, Sanji!"
"I'M NAMI, YOU DUMB-ASS!" Nami shouted.
"Oh, yeah," Usopp said. "You only looked like you'd be useful."
"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE MEAN?!" Nami questioned in anger.
Aika, who had become frightened of the other children's behavior (as well as Nami's temper), quickly ran and hid behind some debris with Kumi.
Soon, some of the children broke free of their bonds and began stomping towards Nami and Usopp!
"AAAAH! I-its hurts!"
"Candy…we need the candy…!"
"My head is POUNDING!"
"Ugh…I think I'm gonna throw up!"
"It hurts! But the candy…will make it all better!"
"GIVE US THE CANDY!" the children shouted before they grabbed a large metal pipe started to charge!
"YAAAAAAAH!" Usopp screamed. "THEY'RE COMING! WHAT DO WE DO?! C-can't we just fight them?! They look like zombies!"
"NO, YOU IDIOT! THEY'RE JUST CHILDREN!" Nami barked.
Suddenly, the children stopped before gasping in delight, while Aika and Kumi gasped in horror.
"Huh?" Nami muttered.
"W-what?" Usopp asked. "What's going on?!"
"G…guys…look behind you!" Aika stammered, shrinking back in fear while the children started cheering.
"Look! It's the Master!"
"Master's come to give us the candy!"
Nami and Usopp gasped…before they turned and saw…Caesar, holding a piece of "candy" in his hand.
"Shulolololololo!" Caesar laughed. "Are you all right, children? Let us all go back to the lab. It's too dangerous for you all here. I know what you all want…your favorite candies, don't you?"
"Master!" the children cheered.
"M…MASTER?!" Usopp and Nami repeated in shock.
Aika whimpered while Kumi stood in front of her, baring her fangs and growling viciously. Both of them could tell that Caesar's intentions were not really to save the children…but to take them for his wicked experiments. Unfortunately…she, Kumi, Nami, and Usopp are the only ones who could see the truth. The other children, overwhelmed by their pain from withdrawal, were blinded by their hunger for their "candy", and thus…they could not see the darkness that dwells within this man.
To them…Caesar was the hero.
XXX
Meanwhile, at the center lake of Punk Hazard, Zoro, Sanji, Brook, and the fully formed Kin'emon are seen running away from the slime, which seemed to be roaring in anger.
"It's…angry?!" Brook questioned in disbelief.
"What's gotten into it all of a sudden?!" Sanji asked.
"Was it because all those baby slimes got blown up?!" Zoro asked.
"Is it like parent and child?!" Kin'emon questioned. "Alas, I had no choice."
Suddenly, the monster began to change shape, turning into a what looked like a giant axolotl.
"It's…shape-shifting?!" Brook asked.
"What is it, now?!" Kin'emon asked.
The slime creature is actually called Smiley, Caesar's pet. It is a gel-form poisonous gas that ate the Sala-Sala Fruit; Axolotl Model.
"Is that…a frog?!" Sanji asked.
"Or maybe a giant lizard?" Zoro asked.
Suddenly, Smiley's cheeks puffed up before he spat out an even bigger piece of himself, and then another, and then another, and then another!
"Oh, shit!" Sanji cursed. "If it starts raising hell over here, then we're all in big trouble!"
"Quite so!" Brook agreed. "Cutting it makes it spit gas, and burning it causes an explosion of massive proportions!"
"And if the whole thing blows, then the lab's gonna blow with it!" Zoro added.
"What?!" Kin'emon questioned. "Then time is of the essence! HOLD TIGHT, MOMONOSUKE, MY SON! YOUR FATHER IS ON HIS WAY!"
With that, they began to run!
"So what's your plan?!" Zoro asked. "I'm going to the lab!"
"If that's the case, we gotta go with you, dumb-ass Moss-head!" Sanji barked. "Where the hell do you think you'll wind up if you get separated from Kin'emon?! We'd have to search the WHOLE FREAKING ISLAND FOR YOU!"
"Yohohoho!" Brook laughed. "I'd actually like to see more of his swordplay!"
"All right! It's decided!" Sanji said. "TO THE LAB, EVERYONE!"
XXX
In the front entrance of Caesar's lab, G-5 is currently trying to force their way in to get Smoker and Tashigi back, as well as trying to fight off the pieces of Smiley that are trying to get to them, not to mention the fact that they were joining together and growing bigger.
"Open this damn door, Caesar, you coward!" shouted a soldier as he tried to shoot the door with a bazooka. "Give back Smokey! And Tashigi, too!"
KABOOM! He tried to shoot again, but the door just wouldn't budge!
"Dammit!" cursed another soldier. "What the hell is with these massive shutters?! They won't budge!"
"Even our bazookas aren't working against this thing!" added another.
"Hey! What about the back entrance?!" asked a soldier smoking a cigarette.
"No good!" said his rifle-brandishing comrade. "The whole place is on lockdown!"
"Damn that gas-bag!" shouted a soldier with a starry cape. "Well, at least that creepy slime stuff stopped falling outta the sky and such!"
"Yeah!" said one with a polka-dot shirt. "But now it's condensing into an even bigger bob! What the hell are we supposed to do about this stuff?! We can't even steal the ship!"
"Yeah, our escape route is block!" shouted a soldier with a long, braided beard. "And we can't call for help, either! That damned Law stole our Transponder Snails! We're trapped in this frozen tundra!"
XXX
Inside the lab, Vergo is seen, talking to Monet.
"What kind of bullshit is Caesar starting here?!" asked Vergo.
"Who knows?" Monet replied. "The fact that he's woken up Smiley, his pet slime monster, would suggest he's about to launch a big experiment, no?"
Vergo scoffed and sat down on the couch.
"By the way, Vergo," Monet said, "did you happen to have a hamburger for breakfast today?"
"Yes, as a matter of face," Vergo said. "It's my favorite. How did you know?"
"Oh…the fact that you've got a little leftover patty stuck on your face," Monet answered.
Yes, the Vergo that attacked Law is actually Vice-Admiral Vergo, the Commander of G-5 Base.
"I'd actually love to observe this little experiment," Vergo said. "Will everyone outside die?"
"Probably," Monet answered, nonchalantly, "but you'll be safe as long as you stay in the lab."
"Hey, Vergo!"
Vergo turned to see Smoker, still in Tashigi's body, bound in chains and trapped in a cage.
"Those are G-5 men out there, you know!" Smoker barked.
"Hmm…good point," Vergo said before he ate the leftover hamburger on his cheek and walked over to the cage, where it is revealed that along with Smoker, Tashigi, Luffy, Law, Robin, and Franky are also trapped.
"Anyway," the Vice-Admiral said, "this is a quite a lineup of faces to see all in one prison cell. Quite a nice view, I must say."
"Humph," Law scoffed.
"Makes you think of the old days, eh, Luffy?" Robin asked with Franky asleep beside her. "To be stuck in the same cage!"
"Oh, yeah!" Luffy said. "That was back you were in Baroque Works, and you had me, Nami, Usopp, and Smokey in a cage in Alabasta! Good times!"
"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" Smoker shouted.
"…Party pooper," Luffy pouted.
"Smoker!" Tashigi cried, struggling. "How am I supposed to process this awful emotion?!"
"Looks like your worst fears have been confirmed, Tashigi," Smoker said. "Caesar's abduction of those children was covered up and labeled a 'sailing accident', and the mastermind behind it was the very head of our base? True, it seems fitting for G-5...but it makes of a mockery of our military honor!"
"I don't blame you for not noticing," Law said. "Vergo hasn't suddenly gone turncoat on the Marines."
"What?!" Smoker and Tashigi questioned in surprise.
"That's right," Law said. "He's a pirate, through and through. He enlisted into the Marines on Joker's orders before he made a name for himself. 15 years of service have carried him through the ranks. There isn't a more useful and trustworthy sailor in Joker's employ. He's been Joker's lapdog from the very start!"
"Lapdog?" Vergo repeated. "Now Law…you know better than to use hurtful words."
"Joker," Smoker repeated. "The name of an underground broker in the black market. I'm disgusted with myself. How could I fail to pick up the stench of a damned sewer rat right under my very nose?!"
"Come to think of it," Tashigi said, "I've noticed some of the Marine K9s start barking at Vergo whenever they see him…like they were trying to attack him. I think they were trying to alert us to what kind of man he really was, all along, but we shook it off as nothing."
"Why don't you stow the disappointment," Vergo began, "and instead find admiration for the clever 'rat' who avoided the hunter's sharp gaze, Smoker? From the day you were transferred to G-5 from headquarters, I've been on maximum alert. You have no idea how happy I am knowing that I'm finally free from that crushing stress. And you know what it means that my secret identity has been revealed to you…don't you?"
Smoker and Tashigi sneered at this.
"I will ensure your silence by seeing to it that you both die here, Vice-Admiral Smoker and Captain Tashigi. Your men outside will be given to Caesar for his experiments…but don't you worry. It'll go into the books as an accident, just like always."
Smoker gasped and growled angrily at this.
"Motherfucker!" he shouted. "When I get outta this cage, I'll rip your intestines out and wring your neck with them!"
"Temper, temper," Vergo said, mockingly.
"Hey, Traffy," Luffy said. "I've got a question. Who's this 'Joker' guy you keep talking about? You mean Joker from Batman? I love Batman!"
"No, you dumb-ass!" Law barked…before he sighed. "There was a time…when Jupiter and I use to work under him. That's how we met Vergo."
"Really?" Luffy asked.
"But 'Joker' is only his underground alias," Law explained. "In reality, he's a pirate known throughout the whole world…one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Joker's real name…is Donquixote Doflamingo!"
Everyone gasped in shock at this, except Franky, who is still asleep.
"…Wait, who's that again?" Luffy asked, stupidly, causing Law, Smoker, and Tashigi to groan.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Vergo is one stone cold bastard.
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