A Force Against Inertia

By Dixxy Mouri

Chapter Two: Withdrawl

It had been no more than ten minutes since Mac had last excused himself that 0543 started to feel ill. This shouldn't have surprised her – she'd downed the food the nice man had given them rather quickly, and this was after a year of living on nothing but the mushy stuff the scientists gave them. Of course her stomach wasn't used to real food anymore.

She found a wastebasket to vomit into. But that didn't solve the problem.

But it seemed like it was maybe more than that. It was too hot, and she still felt nauseous, and everything just felt terrible in a way she couldn't put her finger on. She felt tense and anxious. Her body started to tremble. She was surprised 0544 hadn't said anything, but then noticed he was lying next to her, looking just as sick as she was and trembling as well.

She clenched her eyes shut, thinking over everything that had happened to them, and felt cold for a moment as a heavy realization weighed on her heart. We knew that if we escaped we might be escaping to our deaths. But, considering what Tesla's done to us . . . we may have not been long for the world no matter where we were. "They're going to kill us, aren't they?" she said, clinging to her companion.

0544, who was also feeling very overheated and uncomfortable grunted in response.

"The Devil Fruits – they're killing us. We're dying," she said.

"Damn it," he responded. He reached for her hand and grabbed it. "You think so?"

"Tesla was wrong – he was wrong. He was wrong. We're still gonna die."

0544 wiped some of the hair from her face. "We don't know that."

"He may as well had been feeding us poison this whole time, right?"

0544 wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure he could.

Mac came back to see that his charges were asleep again. He smiled for a brief moment, thinking they were resting, but then he realized both were shuddering. Perhaps they're cold? Doesn't feel too bad in here, but I suppose where they're so skinny . . . Mac stepped into the room, thinking about draping the blankets over them to warm them up a bit.

Then he realized they were both breathing heavily, their brows dripping with sweat.

He paled. Gala needs to get here RIGHT NOW. He knew the doctor should be at least on his way by now, but there was a sudden sense of urgency to see the man as soon as possible. He closed his eyes, hoping and praying that his friend was on his way to the house. He was afraid to leave the room, though – what if something happened? He couldn't leave them alone, could he?

The mayor heard a knocking on his door. It's either Gala or Braeburn. If it's Gala, great. If it's Braeburn. . . not so great. Mac started to run towards the stairs but felt a sharp pain in his bad knee and nearly doubled over in pain. He gritted his teeth together. He'd been ignoring the old injury ever since the drifters showed up, but it wasn't going to be ignored any longer. He hobbled out of the guest room and towards the stairs, where he saw Gala coming up.

"Mac!" The doctor's eyes were wide and he looked concerned as he hurried up the stairs and knelt down by the mayor. "I'm sorry, I just let myself in but are you all right? What did you do to your knee?"

"I'm not the one you need to worry about – something is wrong with your patients," Mac said. He explained that "0543" and "0544" had woken up and moved around a bit but were now sweating bullets and having trouble breathing. Gala listened and nodded as he led the mayor back into the guest room, sat him down in a chair, and then went to look at his patients.

"Why did you use the numbers on their necks? Don't tell me those are their names," said Gala.

"Yes and no," said Mac, rubbing his knee to try and make the pain stop. "I am confident they have real names but for some reason they won't say them and I don't know why. It was like they were afraid to."

Gala shook his head. "I'll be looking into that when they wake up again."

The mayor frowned at the doctor. "I don't think they like doctors," said Mac.

The doctor looked pensive, trying to figure out what was wrong with his patients. "That's got to say a lot, I just wish I knew what. Let me help you to your room – try to lie down and get some rest. Let me worry about my patients. All right? I'm going to look over their chairs again and try to figure out what's going on here."

0544 woke up back in the other bed still feeling like shit and, more importantly, away from 0543. He looked at where she was resting, breathing heavily as her body fought to stay alive. He felt himself shudder, bolting upright to start gagging. Someone handed him a bucket, but all he could do was dry heave. Everything Mac had fed them had come back up.

"Breathe."

0544 turned his head to see a man with a stethoscope around his neck looking at him warmly. Doctor. He just stared at him blankly . I know this man isn't one of the scientists. I know that – he seems different. So why am I having trouble moving? 0544 soon felt another surge of retching and dipped his head over the bucket, spitting and sputtering.

The doctor man started to rub his back, and he tensed up, dropping the bucket and pushing himself away from. He looked at him with wider eyes. The doctor looked at him sadly and put his hands in his lap. 0544 almost relaxed, but still felt his hands twitching. It was quiet for several minutes, the two staring at each other while 0543 slept uneasily in the next bed.

"It's okay. I don't bite," the other man said quietly and soothingly, much in the way a person might talk to a scared animal or a child. It made 0544 want to lash out – he was not an animal, Devil Fruit or no Devil Fruit. He glowered, snarling at the doctor. I am not an animal, I am not an animal, I am NOT an ANIMAL.

He felt his body begin to shift and was soon snarling at him in his half-fox, half human body.

The transformation took the doctor aback and he moved away. "All right, all right," he said, putting his hands up defensively. 0544 calmed, but looking down at his body made him want to start crying. He forced himself to take his human form again, then wished he hadn't, because fur probably hid tears better than skin.

Why can't we control our powers? I didn't want to shift into my fox body. So why . . .

The man stood there for several moments, then knelt down before him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so forward. I just want to help you," he said. 0544 looked away – he didn't want to be crying in front of this man. "I know you're been though something awful. I can see it. In your bodies, your behavior . . . I'm here because I want to make you better."

0544 was skeptical. "How can you possibly help us? We're dying."

"Let's not jump to conclusions."

0544 scoffed. This doctor had no idea what the scientists had done them (even HE wasn't sure what they did – or at the very least, he didn't know HOW they did it). "What's been done to us can't be fixed," he said. He turned away. "I'm sorry if that's not good enough for you but it's true."

The doctor was quiet for several moments, trying to evaluate what he'd said. He sighed and moved to sit in a chair between the beds. "Well then, tell me what was done to you," he said. He crossed his legs. "I don't know where the two of you came from, but I don't think you did this to yourselves. Someone's been hurting you. How did they hurt you?"

0544 stared. It sounded crazy. He didn't think the doctor would believe him.

"All right, let's start again," he said. He held out his hand. "My name is Dr. Robert Gala. Call me whatever you'd like – most people just call me 'Gala'. Excluding a few midwives and a handful of nurses, I'm the only person with medical knowledge on the island. If there's a way to fix you, I'm the best equipped to do it."

The drifter looked away. "I can't say my name," 0544 said in response.

Gala frowned. "Mac mentioned that. Why?"

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists around the quilt. "They did something. They kept hurting us whenever they said our names or we tried to use them. I don't think they're here anymore, but I can't . . . I don't know why." He started to shake, his body trembling. Gala handed him a bucket and he dry heaved into his, coughing and spitting and ready to cry.

"Conditioning," said Gala. "It's the process of reinforcing good behavior or punishing bad behavior. That's what was done to you. I can fix it, but I would need to know your names," he said. Gala turned to 0543, who was still sleeping – not restfully, but definitely sleeping. "Can you tell me her name? And then she can tell me yours?"

"No. They did it for both of our names to both of us," he said, putting the bucket down.

"Can you tell me who 'they' are?" asked Gala. "Was it the World Government? Pirates?"

"Pirates – kind of," said 0544. He swallowed. "Thomas Tesla."

Gala's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Thomas Tesla!"

0544 shuddered. "So you've heard of him."

Gala put his head in his hands. "Bastard. I don't know why I didn't think of him before. Of course that makes sense – fits his M.O. perfectively," he said. "I feel like an idiot for not thinking of him before. Although, then again, I've never heard of any survivors before – you and your friend are very, very lucky."

0544 shook his head. "He had us a long time."

"How long?"

His eyes started to well with tears. "A year." 0544 nearly lost it and started telling Gala about the details of their living conditions – the holding cell, the experiments, their punishments – especially the shock collars and the Tank – and the way they were treated. He didn't mention they were pirates – maybe Gala already knew Tesla targeted pirates, but if he didn't he was afraid of what the doctor might do if he knew.

Gala patiently listened, his eyes filled with horror but his head nodding along in understanding. The doctor was listening to him, trying to figure out what was making them sick and giving him a sympathetic ear to vent to. It was exactly what they needed in a doctor – not the harsh, borderline abusive treatment of the old women or the panicky shrieking of the little reindeer.

0544's heart pained at the memory. Chopper . . .

"It's all right. Continue," said Gala. "I'm listening."

"The worst thing he did was the very first day he had us," 0544 said. He paused, trying to regain his composure. "He had us strapped into chairs and he had Devil Fruits. He forced our mouths open and made up each take a bite." Gala stared in horror. "We thought, well, maybe he was just experimenting on Devil Fruit users, but that wasn't it at all."

"Forcing people to eat Devil Fruits is . . . that's serious," said Gala, his eyes wide in disbelief. He took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. "But none of that is enough to be killing you." He cleared his throat. "I have no doubts that you're both traumatized. None. And I won't trivialize the horrors you've gone through. But even the way it happened, Devil Fruit consumption is far from lethal. Not unless you've already eaten one."

"That's why we're dying," said 0544. He closed his eyes, covering his mouth. "We don't know what he did but someone there are two powers in each other us. He must've slipped them into our food or something." He felt his eyes start to water. "It's how we got away from him and we were okay for a little while but now it's making us sick and we're going to die."

Gala was on his feet, his hands on his shoulders. 0544 looked at him in confusion. The doctor gave him a small smile. "I don't think you're dying. I don't know what is happening to you, or how he did it, but I know for a fact that the Devil Fruits aren't what's making you sick right now. You don't have Devil Fruit poisoning."

0544 was about to go on but was staring at the doctor in confusion. "What?"

"Devil Fruit poisoning is accompanied by discoloration of the skin – usually purple or blue – and severe bloating. The two of you are skinny and pale. Whatever's making you sick isn't related to Devil Fruits," said Gala. Before 0544 could question him any further, 0543 started to wake up, making whimpering noises as she shuffled into a sitting position. Gala turned, smiled, and waved. "Good morning, sunshine!"

0543 blinked. "Who the fuck are you?"

"He's a doctor – he knows Mac," said 0544. "He says we aren't sick from the Devil Fruits."

"Then what's making us sick?" she asked. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and hobbled to 0544's bed, taking a seat next to him. "If it's not that then why are we so sick right now? What else could be doing this?" She turned to 0544, fear and worry in her eyes. She was tired of not knowing what was wrong with them and what was happening to them. 0544 couldn't blame her for that.

"He told me you were victims of the Science Pirates and he had you for a year. He went into some detail about what he did you, but so far we can't figure out why you're not feeling good right now. What I do know is that, as far as I can tell, you aren't dealing with anything lethal. So, once I get you into good enough shape to travel, we'll see what we can do about getting you back to your island. I'm sure your friends and family are probably worried sick about you."

Island? 0544 thought. He kept his epiphany to himself. So Gala DOESN'T know that Tesla goes after pirates. He thinks we're villagers from some random island on the Grand Line that got attacked by the Science Pirates – he has no idea that we're pirates, too. He couldn't tell if 0543 picked up on this as well, but squeezed her hand for comfort.

"All right. We'll get you home when you can, but for now let's solve the immediate problem," said Gala. Neither had a response – 0544 closed his eyes and 0543 started rubbing the inside of her elbow. The doctor watched her in interest, mouthing something to himself, then paused as a look of realization lit up on his face. He turned and looked at 0544. "You said that they were giving your injections and pills on a regular basis?"

"Yeah. Daily," said 0544. His eyes snapped open. "Oh, shit. I think I know what's making us sick."

0543 looked at her companion and the doctor in confusion. "What?"

"Your bodies developed a chemical dependence on whatever it is the scientists were giving you. Sometimes it can take a few days for your body to react to the sudden absence of a chemical it's become dependant on, but this is withdrawal," said Gala. "Everything I'm seeing can be explained by it. Whatever he was giving you is still in your system – for how long or how much I can't say – but your body is looking for more of it."

That news didn't sit well with 0543. "So he made us drug addicts? We're JUNKIES?" asked the young woman. She looked like she was about to cry, but her companion wrapped his arms around her, trying to soothe her. "I didn't . . . oh God . . . I didn't want them . . . it's not fair. . ." The young man started to rub her back as she cried into his shoulder.

"It's okay, we're going to get through it. If I survived my cigarette withdrawal you and I will get through this, okay?" he said soothingly. "We're not going to die – we just have to get through the next couple of days and things we be a lot better. We'll be able to eat without throwing up, and we won't be shaking and shivering, and it'll all be another bad memory."

Gala was surprised to find himself smiling at the pair. The young man seemed so sure that they were going to get through it, and his companion was nodding along, trusting what he was telling her. It was sweet. The young man laid down with the young woman, continuing to talk softly to her as he brushed his hand against her face and told her about all the things they were going to do when they got better.

Author's Notes

A lot of the sick they had at the start (now that I'm thinking about it) probably came from drug withdrawal. Yes, exposure to the elements and not eating or drinking anything for however long the Going Merry had them probably didn't help, but they had also gone a while without getting any of the drugs Tesla had been giving them. As such, most of what's hitting them now is a nasty case of withdrawal.

As Gala explained, it doesn't matter how much Sanji and Nami did not want those shots and pills – they were introduced into their systems regularly and, as far as their bodies are concerned, they are a "normal" presence, and suddenly something that is "normal" has gone missing. Voila. Withdrawal.

Speaking of the sick, no, I have no idea what actually accompanies someone dying from multiple Devil Fruit consumption (I got the idea Jyabura was incorrect when he said "explode"). This chapter was published in late November, early December of 2011 during the Fishman Island arc in the manga. I am under the assumption what I've written here is write so if Oda does explain this later on don't come back to me complaining that I got it wrong. If I'm right, good for me, I guessed a plot of a Japanese children's comic book.

Sorry this took so long – I was struggling with this chapter and how to handle Gala's introduction (there was an alphabet chart at one point . . . it wasn't working). Ria and the girls will be introduced to our heroes next, followed by Braeburn in the chapter after, which will end with some PLOT.

Lastly, if you haven't already, I urge you all to call or e-mail your representative (if you are in the US) to ask them to vote "No" on the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA for short. Look up the bill online because there are plenty of sources that can explain it better than I can.

Dixxy