Chapter 16: Check! The Queen Captured!
At that moment, the object of everyone's growing wrath was slinking through the bowels of his ship. He may have had control of the stupid island, but he never did feel all that comfortable on dry land. Too solid, not enough give, he always said. So, he, and his most precious of crew members were still aboard the Wonderland. The corridor in particular he was skulking around was flanked by doors of every shape and size, each one looking like a drug addict's idea of bedrooms. Behind the doors wasn't much better. Rooms with furniture so large giants would have found it dwarfing were placed next to rooms decorated in miniature, giving the disconcerting feeling of being terrified to break something. There were rooms that were upside down, rooms that were inverted, rooms with twisting motifs, and all manner of psychedelic colors.
A grin not unlike the symbol he stole accompanied by a small twitch in his eye brought him to a door that appeared to be off center, painted bright red and shaped like a heart. This was his Queen's bedroom—cell.
He opened the door with an even bigger grin and a cackle. "Good MORN-ing! And how is our precious little mother today?"
The inside of the room was decorated completely in red hearts. Heart-shaped bed, dresser, lamps, rugs, paintings of heart-shaped red rose bushes, etc. It was literally drowning in red hearts, and the sole occupant was dressed in a fitting gown, all brocade and taffeta in crimson and vermillion with accents of gold and black—just like the queen of hearts from a deck of playing cards.
She sat up in the chair at the table with a bit of a wild look to her that was quickly squashed. She'd learned quickly that one, she was not strong enough to hurt the blond's most vulnerable weak spot, and two, he only found her attempts amusing for about a week. She'd also, once she'd learned of her condition, tried to keep more or less on the insane male's good side. This was all she had left of her husband. This baby was the only thing that still contained any part of Usopp, the man she loved more than anything.
"As well as can be expected," was her cautious reply, hand protectively on her gently rounded swell of belly. "The morning sickness makes things difficult, as usual."
Instantly the captain swung around the back of her chair to snake his own hand under hers. "Good good."
He punctuated it with a rubbing motion more akin to the stroke of affection on a cat than to an expectant woman. His grin was sideways with a manic light in his eyes that spoke of excitement that couldn't possibly be good for anyone.
"Are we lonely? Tired of just ourselves for company?"
The shudder that rippled over her skin, and up and down her spine, from his touch was extremely noticeable and she didn't bother to hide it. She hated him touching her and he knew it. But she couldn't make him stop, she wasn't that strong. And she knew it amused him deeply. She didn't want to think about the consequences if she should cease to amuse.
"...I have company enough in my little one... Bellamy."
He liked her to use his name too. That part, she didn't understand, but it usually kept him in a fairly decent mood. She was a doctor, but not a psychiatrist; she couldn't even begin to analyze this broken creature with his twisted morals. But she knew that keeping him pleased meant it was much more likely that glint wouldn't be turned on her.
And she didn't want any of his men for company. Too few of them adhered to even his twisted morality.
"Oh, ho ho ho... but wouldn't you like to have someone to relate to? After all, I'm going to all this trouble to keep you comfortable. I even let you hit me. See?" He angled his cheek so she could clearly make out the faint scratches left under his eye after the last time she'd attempted to attack him.
She colored slightly, that one hadn't been intentional. That was the only reason she'd got him before he could read her intent in her body language. She had just been so angry...
"Yes, I know you have gone to great lengths for me. And I really didn't mean that one... I had no idea my nails had gotten so sharp. That's why I wouldn't want you to trouble yourself more by trying to find me company..."
Oh this was a minefield. But the doctor in her drove her to reach up and touch the scratches delicately, checking for infection and inflammation. Keep him happy. Don't offend him. This was her chant. Anything to keep her child.
"Wounds of battle, my Queen." He waved her off and waltzed around to the other side of the table to lean on both hands with his chin. "Now then, let's answer honestly, shall we? Are. You. Lonely?"
Kaya sighed. "A little. But you know perfectly well why. If we're being honest, I have honestly told you what I think of your men... and the way I've seen them looking at me. When I see such things, it rather sours me to the idea of company."
Both hands cupped her belly protectively, that had been another angry day. There had been a lot of screaming on her part. And an awful lot of men had been thrown overboard to swim for Jaya when Kaya had told—or rather screamed at—Bellamy the things she'd heard them threaten to do.
"You're the best company on the Wonderland, and you have other things to tend to than an often angry... Queen, Bellamy."
"Ah, that's better. It does make me feel so much better to hear you being honest." His cheek twitched at the word, a forgotten memory perhaps, or a long over-used phrase. "That is why I've decided to reward you. This evening we'll have a guest. And I want you to be on board to welcome our White Queen. So, make sure you're stunning as usual! It's sure to be a blast."
With that he breezed out of the room, a literal spring in his step, and the lock slammed into place to the sound of his maniacal laughter echoing through the mostly empty halls.
Kaya went white. Another guest? Another Queen?! Queen was his specific term; 'queen' only applied to one kind of woman: a pregnant one. While he might not harm them, even she knew there was going to be psychological repercussions from this. He was going to do this to some other woman?
"Oh no," she moaned, hands covering her face as she sank down further in her chair.
In the name of all the Gods, she prayed, let him fail. He'd be in a terrible mood for days, but please, whatever was listening, protect that other woman! However, the only thing that might have listened to her silent pleas was the wind.
On the other side of the door, cloaked in shadows, as always, the most slippery woman on the Wonderland adjusted her glasses. This was not good in the least. She felt an uncharacteristic panic well up in her throat, and breaking her place faster than she thought anyone could see, she dove for the next door, Blueno's Key at the ready. She hesitated only a moment, looking from one side to the other, consumed with the need to inform the others of what the psychotic Slinky was planning. Her heels echoed as she took the first few steps, then the coiling of a spring made her glance over her shoulder. Her eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open and she may even have screamed, she wasn't sure, but Bellamy exploded through the door just before it closed completely, something that he was only able to do thanks to her absolute pressing desperation to get to Lucci and Kaku.
"Wha—N-NO!"
Tackled by two of what the Hyena was calling his 'Cards', the bulky men in spade-shaped hats were immediately treated with a wet bar of soap through their hands. She flipped over their arms, and dashed down the corridor between places, using bubbles on her feet like skates. But it was nothing compared with the velocity Bellamy could achieve, which he proved as he rocketed past her to bring a spring-loaded heel into her stomach.
"Now, now, now, we can't have you ruining all the fun, Rabbit. Our guest needs to be surprised for everything to turn out ok." He bounced up to her prone form. She hadn't even had time to use her Tekkai before he was on her again, pinning her down with coils of steel shaved from the dead skin on his arms like the scrape of a file against a blank. "Thank you so much for showing us your hole. We were quite interested in how you got to and from Wonderland." He turned to the Cards. "Take her to the Tea Room with the Red Queen, and serve her from the Dormouse's stash."
"You can't do this! They'll kill you! You'll pay for this, Hyena! You'll never be what the Joker was!" Kalifa screamed as they hauled her away, for some reason her bubbles kept popping as they touched the steel of her bindings.
Bellamy's whole body actually twitched at the mention of his previous master. "WHAT HE WAS!? I'M A MILLION TIMES WHAT THAT BASTARD WAS! I WILL GO DOWN AS A LEGEND WHEN I'M DONE!"
He started to go after her but a calm hand on his shoulder brought his psychotic rage to heel. "Now is not the time, Bellamy-chan. Fosh fosh fosh."
The blond growled at the other, but spun on his heel and stalked down the non-hallway on springs because the motion made him giggly. By the time he reached the other door, he was all smiles and laughter again. In fact, it was his laughter that preceded him when the Cards broke open the other end of Blueno's tunnel.
"Queen, oh Queen, I've come to take you to your throne!" He cackled, exploding through the door with both feet aimed at the back of Jyabura's head.
The wolf's ears swiveled and he was just barely able to dive out of the way, rolling to his feet or rather paws as he slipped immediately into wolf form and turned on the spring man, snarling and clawing.
Lucci launched himself backward—the 'queen' Bellamy was after could only be his client. Jyabura could keep the bastard occupied while Lucci got her to safety, or at least he hoped the wolf could keep him off that long. The fact that Bellamy was here, that he had successfully infiltrated, showed a disturbing level of cunning. And it meant Kalifa had been captured. Possibly killed. His mind raced as his leopard legs carried him forward. Had he always known her double-agent status, or merely used it to his advantage? And God damn it, how did he know about CP9's connection?!
"Ah, ah, ah. Bad kitty! You shouldn't run... you should disappear!" Springs shot out of the Hyena's arms aiming for Lucci as a pair of Cards pounced Jyabura. The blond cackled, speeding after the leopard, not distracted by the wolf at all. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, Queenie! We've come to take you home. The Cheshire Cat can even come too! IF he can get it up that long! AH HAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
He bounced from wall to wall, knocking over furniture and shattering anything breakable.
"FUCK YOU, SPRINGTOY!" the massive cat roared as he thundered on, not bothering to do so over his shoulder. It echoed well enough—hopefully all the way to the 'queen' to inform her things were not right. "THE WORLD GOVERNMENT DIDN'T GET ME, THEIR FUCKNUT ASSASSIN TEAM THAT REPLACED MINE DIDN'T GET ME, AND THE PIRATE KING HIMSELF DIDN'T GET ME! LIKE HELL I'LL DISAPPEAR!"
He, of course, didn't know that Bellamy meant 'hide'. He didn't realize he was the Cheshire Cat. The only 'disappear' he knew, the only one any CP9 agent knew, was to die. Where the fuck was Kaku?! He ducked both fists and clawed them as they retracted, but did not dare slow his manic run.
Jyabura howled and fought, biting, clawing, snarling, howling, and using every trick he possibly could. Deception was no good but brute strength he had. It just wasn't fucking working fast enough!
There seemed to be an endless supply of Cards, and why the fuck did they keep getting back up!? It was like they were possessed or something! Broken jaw? No problem. Sidesweep to the legs? Piece of cake. Spitting up blood? Not worth sweating over. WHAT WAS THEIR PROBLEM?! It didn't take long for the sheer massive numbers to overwhelm the canine, holding him down with their own oddly shaped shackles. For some reason they felt like hands binding his wrists and ankles.
"You are such a naughty kitty! I'll have to teach you how to play your part, and here I thought all this hiding was good practice! Hahaha!" Another shot of springs exploded the doorframe that the leopard was about to dart through. Where his queen was, the Hyena didn't know, but even if all he had to do was keep the Cat busy, his March Hare would ensure her capture. Nobody could escape the March Hare now that he had the powers he needed to create Cards.
Then out of nowhere a cry came through the wall, "Rankyaku! Shuriken!" And a flurry of energy blades sliced across Bellamy's path. The giraffe had arrived.
"Late to the party, White Knight? Aren't you always a step behind?" A spring wrapped around Kaku's nose, burning the kirin's flesh.
"AUGH!" He collapsed pawing at the white-hot metal.
Lucci felt the pull to help his comrade for only a second, but the man's true target was the one who really needed the protection. With a final snarl at his Command Second to Get The Fuck Up, the Chesire Cat disappeared. He didn't even go through a door, no flick, no twitch. He was just gone.
And he played right into Bellamy's hands. Kaku and Jyabura were not enough, there was no time to smuggle the Queen to safety.
The explosion that rocked the home was only preceded by a round of entirely too-satisfied laughter. Kaku and Jyabura's eyes went wide the second their sensitive hearing caught the plastic SCHNKT! of a switch being pressed. Then everything around them was hot, unbearably hot, and brown liquid of some sort was pouring over them as they were hauled in hand-manacles that somehow drained their very life-energy through Blueno's non-hallway. Kaku was vaguely aware that the large Door-man was also being manhandled by the Cards, but worse was the gleeful expression their captor had as he ran his hand over the impressive swell of the Queen's belly. She was unconscious, whether from the explosion or something else, the giraffe didn't know, but she hung limply in a large male's arms. He wasn't someone the swordsman knew, but the most distinctive features about him were the lion muzzle and hungry look in his empty eyes.
"G-get your hands off her!" Kaku mumbled against the spring around his nose and mouth.
Bellamy laughed heartily. "Still fighting the good fight, White Knight? Never fear, you'll have your chance against the Red Knight soon enough, but for now the White Queen sleeps safely in his arms. No harm will come to her." He drew a large hand over her belly again.
It made the giraffe growl and glare, but he said nothing more, as the smoke and debris from his home began to clear around them. The place was devastated, and the final glimpse he had of it, showed a yellow and black spotted tail sticking out from under the entirety of the roof and upper floors. His heart sank. Even their leader couldn't withstand that much force being dropped on him at once. He was sure of it.
The last sound heard on the island was the cackling of Bellamy's laughter as Blueno's Door closed. However, when it had completely disappeared, the shaft of sunlight coming through what was left of the second story, glinted off of a metallic object roughly three inches long, with a specific configuration of teeth and the head of a flamingo wearing sunglasses on the opposite end. It rested conspicuously next to the pile of rubble that covered the feline leader.
After a moment, the tail outside the rubble shot to life, wrapping around the key as Lucci shifted to Hybrid form and the sheer bulk of muscle forced the rubble up and off him. Taking the key, he jammed it roughly into the only door still standing and twisted, and when he opened the door his battered face was like thunder.
"You have to fucking do something about him. Look at this! He's out of fucking control—and apparently the rest of the world can't FUCKING stop him! He managed to develop fucking Haki and apparently good fucking allies!"
The other side of the door was very quiet for a moment.
"I know. But the biggest problem is that he's found himself someone new to pull his strings. And well, that just won't do."
A shift, and a long leg carried a longer body through the door to stand looking Lucci in the eye.
"Time to clean up my mess, fufufufufufu~!"