Breed
Part Two
'Neo, calm down. Just relax. It's going to be all right. You're not going to hurt anyone. You're going to be just fine.' Law gritted his teeth and growled when she showed no sight of hearing him. He watched helplessly as Breed inspected Neo's terrified expression. Crap! If he takes an interest in her and tries to control her, it's all over. I won't be able to stop her with this collar on. He'll be able to stop me before I can even get the powder out of my pocket to disorient her.
Luffy growled, desperately tugging on his collar. "Darn it! I can't take it off!"
"What's wrong with you, girl? You look so terrified. Do you finally realize the power I have over you?" Breed asked. He chuckled. "No matter. Set her down, Chappy. She won't be a problem for us now."
Chopper struggled to disobey, but sat Neo down on the floor. "Neo?"
Law watched the concern in the reindeer's eyes. The concerned he had over Neo was obvious. Law gulped. If only he knew how the animal and Straw Hat would react if they knew the truth about her. He couldn't decide if it was best they didn't know or not.
"Forget about her, Chappy. Attack Trafalgar Law and Straw Hat," Breed ordered. "Destroy them!"
"No!" Chopper cried, but his body was already charging towards Luffy. He tossed a punch at his captain. "Luffy! Look out!"
Luffy looked up just in time to dodge Chopper's attack. He leaped backwards, just narrowly missing being hit. Both he and Law jumped and dove around the room. Each time their feet hit the floor, Chopper swung at them again.
…
Breed laughed while watching the pirates struggle. He looked at Neo and grinned. She was still on the floor with her eyes widened in terror. He hummed to himself. If I remember correctly, she has control over the elements. Playing with her might be fun. But I'll keep her like that for now. Besides, I don't think she could hear me at the moment anyway. Breed turned his eyes back to the pirates.
…
"I can't control myself!" Chopper said, even though it was obvious and unnecessary.
"Dang it!" Luffy hiss. He tugged at his collar, stretching out his neck.
"Watch out!" Chopper swung his fist. "Get out of the way! I'm going to hit you!"
"Wait!" Breed ordered just before Chopper could hit them. He jumped in front of the punch with his hand held out. Chopper's body froze.
"He stopped!" Luffy said.
"I have a better idea," Breed said. He turned his eyes to Neo.
Law glared and cursed under his breath.
"No! Leave her alone!" Chopper and Luffy snapped.
"Silence!" Breed cracked his whip at them then cracked it several times at Neo, a couple hitting her skin, slicing it open. He growled and stomped over to her when he noticed she didn't even notice he hit her. He raised his hand.
"Hey! Stop that!" Luffy demanded. He rushed forward.
"Breed!" Law hissed, ignoring the stinging of pain from the hits Neo took. He stalked towards the man.
"Trafalgar Law! Straw Hat! Stay!" Breed ordered. When the pirates' bodies froze, he turned back to Neo and struck her face with his hand. Her body collided with the ground. All the animals gasped and flinched. Chopper stared wide-eyed and angry.
"Breed!" Law glared daggers into the man's back. Several murder methods ran through his mind at what he was going to do with this man if he got his hands on him.
…
Neo whimpered. Finally back to her senses, she reached up and touched her now hot cheek. Both it and the cuts on her skin stung.
"You married Trafalgar Law," Breed said with a grin. "All right then. Trafalgar Neo, attack your lover and Straw Hat."
"No!" Neo shrieked. She attempted to dig her nails into the floor to keep herself in place. But there was nothing for her to grab on to. Her nail drug across the floor as her body defied her and stood up. "Please!"
"Attack them with your crystals!" Breed roared. "Attack!"
"No!" Neo cried. Tears rapidly poured down her cheeks. Her breaths came in sharp, short gasps that made her dizzy within seconds. Her crystals flickered into existence. She stepped towards Law and Luffy. Her muscles ached from trying to control her body. The elements gathered around her crystals, flicking and spinning, threatening to attack.
"No! Don't! Let her go!" Chopper demanded. He rushed forward. "Leave her alone! She hasn't done anything wrong!"
"Stay!" Breed commanded.
Chopper's body froze.
"Law!" Neo begged through her now hyperventilating breaths. Her winds spreading out into the room making anything that was loose flap uncontrollably. "Stop! Me!"
…
Law gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He had a pouch of disorienting powder inside of his pocket that could do just that. He could stop her, if Breed would let him. His chest tightened. Her justified fears were hammered into his entire being. Her breathing was making him feel lightheaded. If only Breed would just give him the chance to stop her.
…
Neo's winds picked up even more. Luffy and Law raised their arms to block it, uselessly, the winds pushed them back several inches, threatening to blow them away. She closed her eyes and tried to stop herself from attacking. She tried to will her crystals to stop on their own. But they didn't. Fire flared up around the fire crystals, threatening to burn them. Vines grew from the earth crystals, threatening to strangle them. Salt water spun around the water crystals, threatening to drown them.
Her stomach spun and flipped wildly. Visions from Mertensia pounded her head. She was going to kill her friends. She was going to kill Law and herself. She was going to be sick. She lifted Law and Luffy up into the air. Her earth crystals moved towards them. Vine snapped and lashed out while thorns began to grow out of her crystals.
"Ah!" Luffy cried. He flung his body to the right, narrowly missing being impaled by a thorn that shot out at him. He dodged to the left when a ball of fire shot at him. "Careful! I'm a rubberman!"
"Don't shout at her! She can't control it, Straw Hat!" Law snapped. He grabbed a couple vines that snapped at him. He pulled on them until they snapped in half. More vines snapped out and wrapped around him.
Luffy threw his fist out at her. It slammed into her chin, sending her flying. "Ah! I'm sorry, Neo!"
Neo flew backwards from Luffy's punch. Landing on her hand, she sprung herself to her feet then shot fire rings. Luffy and Law dodge some of them, but others burnt their skin. She flinched at the shared pain just before Luffy fired more punches at her while apologizing for each one. She dodged them all then used her winds to slam their bodies to the floor. She then gathered all of the elements and fired them simultaneously. "Stop this! I don't want to hurt them! I won't hurt them! Law! You have to do it!"
"Ah!" Luffy shrieked at the attacks coming towards them.
"Room! Shambles!" Law warped them at the last second. He hoped that Luffy was trying to hold back his punches since the hit she took from him didn't hurt that bad.
Neo's attack shattered the floor. Her body turned to them when they reappeared. When Luffy threw more punches at her, she wrapped vine around his arms. She flung him up to the air then slammed him to the floor. She then fired a stream of seawater at Law. When he ran from it, she guided the stream to follow him. "Law, please! Stop me!"
Breed laughed. "Oh yes! By all means, Trafalgar Law! Do try and stop her! I'd love to see how you handle someone with her abilities! Trafalgar Neo, hold back on your attacks there. I'd say about half will do. Give the others a fair chance to stop you."
A small wave of relief washed through her. She knew she was still fairly strong with only half of her magic, but at least Law now had decent chance to stop her. She saw Law's eyes flashing. That was exactly what he wanted to hear as well. She felt glad when he rushed forward towards her.
…
"What?!" Luffy gasped when Law bolted towards Neo. He shook his arms wildly. "What are you doing?! Don't tell me you're going to fight her!"
…
"Don't do it, Law!" Chopper pleaded. "Please! This is his doing! Try and fight it!"
…
Law ignored them. He knew what he was doing after all. Once he got within a few yards of her, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the prepared package that could save them all. Keeping the pouch within his fist, he tossed a punch at her. He was hoping to get close enough to release it without Breed noticing. But, they were under orders to fight. He had to make this look good.
Neo dodged his attempt. She pulled back her own fist and nailed him in the jaw. Pain shot through them both. "Law! I'm sorry!"
"Don't worry about it," Law said. He tossed a few punches at her, trying his best not to hit her. Luckily they had their bond so he could give her a heads up on what he was going to do. 'Right punch! Left hook! Uppercut!' He sighed internally as she easily dodged him with his instructions. "Think of this as training. That's all we're doing. We're not trying to hurt each other."
"Okay. I'll try," Neo replied with a nod. 'Two punches then a roundhouse kick.' She was glad he was able to easily dodge her attempts. Despite not ever fighting each other they still knew each other's moves pretty well. "Fire Flare!"
"Room! Shambles!" Law called out. He warped Neo's fire to the other side of the room. The fire hit the wall and fizzled out.
"Wind Ringlets!" Neo moved her wind crystals closer to Law. She wrapped her winds around him. She then moved her earth crystals to the inside of the wind rings. Her eyes widened when sharp thorns slowly extended from the crystals. "Law!"
"Shambles!" Law called. He warped himself closer to Neo. Wrapping one arm around her, pinning her arms to her sides, he angled her body so Breed couldn't see him break the leaf packet over her eyes. She struggled against him, but both knew she wasn't physically strong enough to escape from his hold.
…
"What?!" Breed snapped when he saw Neo's crystals fade.
…
"What happened?" Chopper asked. He watched as Neo's crystals fade away.
The animal pirates were just as confused as he was.
…
"How was he able to do that?" Luffy wondered. His arms hung limp at his sides as he stared at Law and Neo. "What happened to her crystals?"
…
Law gave her a solemn look when he knew he still had to prevent her from fighting. To keep her from being used by Breed he had to knock her out completely. "I'm sorry, Neo."
"It's okay, Law." Neo nodded in understand of his expression. "Just do it. You know I'd rather be taken out by you than controlled by him."
Law gritted his teeth. Clenching the empty pouch in his hand, he pulled his arm back. Both of their hearts taking a sharp beat that stole their breath. They both closed their eyes. He swung his fist towards her stomach. Suddenly, he couldn't do it. Something inside of him screamed not to hit her there, not to hit her at all. He cursed himself for even thinking about hitting her. He had promised to never hurt her. And he was a doctor after all. There was another way. His fist changed directions. His hand shot up and he hit a pressure point on her neck. She went limp in his hold. He knelt down with her and shot a death glare at Breed. He hissed, "Breed! Leave her out of this! She can no longer fight now!"
"Fine. She's not important anyway," Breed said. He took a step forward. He looked at Law and Luffy. "My real target was you two from the start. Trafalgar Law, move over here to Straw Hat."
Law growled, but had no choice in putting Neo down and walking over to Luffy.
"What did you say?! How dare you do that to Neo! She didn't do anything to you!" Luffy growled. He leaped forward, fist at the ready to pound in Breed's face.
"Wait!" Breed ordered. He threw up his palm at Luffy.
Luffy's body froze in mid-punch. "Ah! Not again!"
Law stood up. He lifted his hand. "Roo-"
"Wait!" Breed said, causing Law's attempt of creating a Room to disappear. "Now that I have you three under my control, you all are going to be eating out of the palm of my hand forever. As long as I hold you three as my slaves, there's nothing to be afraid of!"
The dugong rushed forward, but stopped when Breed snapped his whip. Breed then said, "Straw Hat! Trafalgar Law! Sit!"
Luffy and Law's collars started to glow. They struggled against the control and the command but inevitably their knees bent and they squatted down, Law's sword dropping to the floor with a clank. Luffy shrieked while Law cast his eyes to the side in aggravation. Breed gave his next order. "Shake hands!"
Luffy and Law's left hands lifted up and placed themselves into Breed's extended fingers. Law growled, his hat falling over his eyes. Luffy shrieked in disbelief. "What?!"
Throwing his head back, Breed laughed. "See what I am capable of doing?! This is the power of my peto peto fruit! Whether you're a warlord or a rascal pirate with a 400 million bounty, you are completely powerless against me!" Breed rested his whip on his shoulder. "If you were an animal, you could have become my pet! But stinking humans like you will become my slaves!"
…
Chopper was watching Neo lay motionless on the floor. He wanted to check on her to see if she was okay. He knew Law wouldn't hurt her, but he was still worried about her. She looked so terrified when Breed had control of her. It was like she has been controlled before.
He looked down just before his transformation came to an end. He turned back to his normal self and dropped to the floor. He looked up at Breed who was staring down at him in confusion. He watched as the man's face twitched in confusion before his eyes became round and his cheeks flushed. Chopper gasped before the man grabbed him and squished him in his embrace.
"How cute! I didn't realize you were so cute because you had on that strange outfit before! Your blue nose is so cute, Raccoon! I never had a pet like you before!" Breed swung Chopper around by his horns. "I'll dress you up right away!"
"Don't," Chopper begged, but Breed didn't hear him. "Let me go! I need to check on Neo!"
"Oh, good boy, good boy, good boy!" Breed cooed. He rubbed his cheek against Chopper.
"Get your hands off Chopper!" Luffy snapped, still in his sit position that Breed left him and Law in.
"Shut up! You pathetic humans are going to get locket up!" Breed leaned down to Luffy and growled. He then turned back to the animal pirates. "Put sea prism stone handcuffs on them all! I want them locked up!"
The dugong sighed but carried out his orders. He left the room to get the sea prism stone cuffs.
Breed's lips spread out into the big grin. Finally! Soon my dream kingdom will become reality!
…
A few minutes later, the dugong returned with the cuffs. He and the Sea Lapins placed them on the pirates' wrists. The dugong's shoulders slumped at Neo. She was still laying on the floor, unconscious. He brushed back her bangs before letting them fall back into place. He noticed she had no reaction to his touch. Pushing her bangs back again, he cocked his head and inspected her. He noticed that she wasn't human.
A crack of the whip made him jump. Breed said, "Don't play with her! Put her with the rest!"
The dugong sighed. He signaled for one of the sea lapins. The sea lapin moved over to them. He bent down and picked Neo up. He started to follow after the others when Breed stopped him. He said, "Wait! I have a better plan for her."
"What are you going to do to her?!" Luffy demanded. He tried to run back over to Breed and Neo, but the Sea Lapin was holding his too tight.
"She is none of your concern anymore, Straw Hat," Breed said with a wave of his hand. "Leave now. Go get locked up."
Law struggled pointlessly against the sea lapin leading him away. His neck was aching from cranking his head around to keep his eyes on Neo. There was nothing he could do for her now. And it killed him. He had no clue what Breed was planning on doing to her. And with her magic disrupted, when she woke up, they wouldn't be able to contact each other. He gritted his teeth against the pain spinning in his stomach. While watching her, he noticed the sea lapin holding her was taking obvious notice of Neo inhuman nature. It was a small spark of hope, but maybe they could help her.
…
"Hn." Neo groan as she started to wake up. She opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred. She blinked and they cleared up a bit.
"Neo?" a familiar voice called. "Neo?"
She turned her head to the voice. Chopper was lying beside her with a worried expression on his face. He asked, "Are you okay?"
"No, not really," she replied honestly. Her head was throbbing and her stomach spun uncontrollably. Her body hurt from both the fight and from the hard floor she was laying on. "Where's Law?"
"I'm not sure. I'm not sure where we are. It looks like we're in some kind of dressing room," Chopper replied. He continued to stare at her. He noticed her electric blue eyes had turned gray and her body was slightly trembling. She looked sick to him. He placed his hoof on her shoulder, before he could speak, Breed walked into the room.
"Ah, you're finally awake," Breed said. "Good. Now, get up, Trafalgar Neo."
Neo, not bothering to try and fight it, pushed up on her weak arms. She wished she didn't have to move. Her stomach lurched. She leaned over, away from Chopper, and heaved up everything in her stomach.
"Leave her alone! Can't you see she's not feeling well?!" Chopper snapped.
"She'll be fine," Breed said, looking disgusted at Neo vomiting up on his floor. "It matters not. We have more important things to do. And I thought that you would be happy I decided to keep her."
"Keep her?" Chopper asked.
"She's going to be my slave. She's going to take care of you, Chappy," Breed said. He looked at Neo then turned away. He looked at some clothes that where hanging on the racks before plucking one off its hanger. He tossed it at her. "Get dress, girl."
Neo did. She knew it was pointless to try and fight him. Looked at the black and white dress he tossed at her before slipping it on over her clothes. It reminded her of Topaz. It was a maid outfit. Her brain barely registered Chopper's words. He said this room looked like a dressing room, but she was too upset before to even notice all the outfits around them. Now she did. There were tons of clothes around them, hanging on racks or piled in boxes. She wondered if he's used these before. And why he had them in the first place.
"And this one is for Chappy!" Breed then cooed, holding a pink dress in his hands. He tossed it at Neo. "Put this on, Chappy!"
A blur of pink landed in her arms. She knelt down and pulled Chopper into her lap. "I'm sorry, Chopper."
"It's okay, Neo," Chopper replied. "It's not your fault."
Neo nodded then started to dress Chopper in the pink dress and bloomers. She tied a pink ribbon to each horn and placed a crown on his hat that was attached to some fabric that went around his hat. It was something she didn't have a name for. Once she had him in the outfit, a bit of her senses came back to her. If she felt like herself, she could have squealed happily at the outfit the reindeer was now wearing. He looked incredibly cute.
…
"Hey! Peto peto guy! Let us out of here! Give us back Chopper and Neo! Darn it!" Luffy growled. He grabbed onto the bars, unaware that they were made of sea prism stone. It drained his energy. "You…I'm losing my strength…"
"I guess this cage is made of sea prism stone as well," Law said as Luffy's body slumped to the floor. He turned his eyes from the Straw Hat pirate and looked around the small, square, stone room they were being held in. He noticed there was only one cell door to escape from, but it was locked and two sea lapins were standing on guard outside it, and loud speakers hanging from the ceiling. He continued to look around the room until his eyes landed on a familiar figure in the room with them.
"You guys are so pathetic," Caesar said with a laugh.
"Caesar?" Law asked.
Luffy jumped up at the mention of the scientist name and ran to the other side of the cage. "Caesar?! Let us out!"
"Shut up, you moron! Why does everybody always order me around?!" Caesar snapped.
"Did he take control over you too?" Law asked.
"Of course he did! Don't you see this collar and leash on me?!" Caesar said. He lifted his chin so the pirates could get a good look at his collar and strangled a leash in his hands. "I feel like I'm a stupid pet! But I'm a great scientist! This is an outrage!"
"He said that he's a peto peto fruit eater. And with that power, he can make people obey whatever order he feels like giving them. Caesar, is he one of Doflamingo's associates?" Law asked.
"Are you stupid or something? If he work for Joker, why would I still be held captive like this?" Caesar asked. He shook his leash for emphases and pointed at his collar. "As far as I know, Doflamingo doesn't have any subordinates like him in his crew. That guy told me he wants to create some kind of dream kingdom or something."
"What kingdom?" Luffy asked.
"How should I know?!" Caesar growled. "It's so humiliating for me to take that whip fool's orders! Screw him!"
"Caesar! Lie down!" Breed's voice echoed out of three loudspeakers hanging down from the ceiling. Caesar didn't move. "Hey, Caesar! I told you to lie down! Can't you hear me?!"
With his collar glowing, Caesar's body then fell forward onto the floor. "Darn it! That jerk! I can't take it!"
Light glinted over Law's eyes when he noticed Caesar didn't immediately obey Breed's orders. He looked up at the three loudspeakers then around the room. His brain working over a plan to get them out of this.
…
Neo, with Chopper in her arms, stared at the screens that displayed the room Law and Luffy was is. She was relieved that they were okay.
"Let's go!" Breed ordered. He stood up from his chair and headed for the door.
Neo followed him quietly as he led them down the hall to the room Law and Luffy were in, flanked by some of the animal pirates. She jumped when the door to the room hit the wall, she then heard Breed say, "This is a really good look for you pathetic humans. It just backs up the fact that you guys can't get away from me! Now, it's all ready! I wonder what should I make you do for me?"
Neo looked up, but Breed was blocking her view of the cage. She heard Luffy's voice, accompanied by a thump, cry out then fade a bit. "Peto-guy! Give us back Chopper and Neo!"
Neo figured it was sea prism stone that made the Straw Hat pirate's voice fade like that.
"You crappy humans never learn," Breed said, walking over to the cage. "Don't worry. Chappy's here."
"Chappy?" Luffy asked, confused. The pirates turned their eyes down from Breed when the man stepped aside and revealed Chopper and Neo.
"Chappy!" Breed grinned and blushed at the display. "Girl, sit Chappy down on the floor!"
Neo did, but against her will. She felt a jolt of joy at seeing Chopper dressed in such a cute outfit and making a sparkling cute expression. But that faded quickly. She looked up at Law. Her heart ached to be with him. She watched as his eyes roamed over her maid-clad outfit with a frown before settling on her eyes. Her attention was brought back to Chopper when he screamed, "I'm not Chappy!"
"Chopper!" Luffy shot to his feet and looked at his doctor and crewmate in disbelief.
"Chappy!" Breed crooned again.
"Stop calling me that! I'm Chopper!" Chopper growled.
Luffy threw his head back and laughed. "Chopper, what are you and Neo wearing?!"
"Hey, Luffy! Stop laughing! This isn't funny!" Chopper snapped before suddenly becoming dizzy. He wobbled around. "Oh…I'm exhausted because of the rumble ball."
Neo grabbed him and pulled him back into her arms. "Chopper."
"Are you being shy because you're all dressed up?!" Breed asked. He stepped over to them and held out his hands.
Neo gritted her teeth and growled. She tightened her hold. "Don't touch him."
"Hand him over," Breed demanded.
Neo gritted her teeth even harder as her hands betrayed her and handed her friend over to the deranged man.
"No," Chopper said, once again in Breed's hold. "Let go."
"Oh, somebody's in a bad mood!" Breed squealed. He rubbed Chopper against his cheek in an attempt to be affectionate.
"Stop it!" Chopper demanded. He struggled to get away from Breed. Waving his hooves around he sliced the man's cheek with his sharp hoof. He dropped from the man's hands when the grip on him loosened. Landing on the floor, he stood up and walked towards the cage. "Luffy!"
Breed growled at the stinging pain in his cheek and the warm blood running down his skin, the smell of iron wafting into his nose, fueling his anger. Pulling out his whip, he snapped it across Chopper's back causing the reindeer to fall to the ground.
Luffy stopped laughing at the same time Neo growled, "Leave him alone!"
"Trafalgar Neo, stop! Don't push your luck, you two! You must be happy when I pet you, Chappy!" Breed said. His hands trembled with anger. "Submit to my demands!"
"Are you okay, Chopper?!" Luffy asked.
Chopper pushed up to his hooves, turned and face Breed with a glare in his eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"Chappy, get on your knees! Get lower to the ground! Now, it's time for your punishment!" Breed ordered. Unable to stop it, Chopper dropped to his knees, glaring up at Breed as the man tugged on the whip in his hands before whacking Chopper multiple times with it.
"Leave him alone!" Neo growled, frozen in place.
"Stop it!" Luffy screamed. When Breed didn't, he grabbed the bars again, not carrying about the sea prism stone. "I said to stop! What are you doing to my friend?!"
Breed suddenly stopped. "Friend? Friend? Friend?! Friend! Cut the friend crap! I don't believe in friendship! It doesn't mean a thing! Listen!" His hat fell from his head from the angry jerks of his body. His eyes widened with enraged fury. "All I need is loyal followers, tools, who just work for me! I have no need for insubordinates! Everyone should just do as I say without complaint! Worthless humans always stand against me! That's why I have no need for their friendship! I don't need them. But animals…pets are different from humans! They just follow my orders quietly and submissively! Animals! Pets! They're the best! They're better than humans!" Breed paused. His breath was labored. Continuing, he said, "That's why I need you! Caesar! To make this!"
"Is that…SMILE?! Where did you get that?!" Caesar asked when Breed held up a red and yellow spotted fruit.
"I have a connection with the underground. I'm going to use this zoan type, man made devil fruit to turn humans into animals by force! Then there will be no more detestable, pathetic humans in the world!" Breed said.
"You creep! What are you really up to?" Caesar demanded.
"A kingdom. I will create an animal-only kingdom-without a single stinking human! And I will conquer all the animals using my peto peto power!" Breed answered. "I will turn them into loyal pets! That's my dream kingdom!"
"Fine! You can do whatever you want! But you can't make me follow you!" Luffy stated.
"What are you talking about?!" Breed demanded. "Didn't you see what I'm capable of with the peto peto power?!"
"That means nothing to me!" Luffy snapped.
"You silly human!" Breed snapped his whip through the bars. When the whip wrapped around Luffy's shoulders, he jerked the young pirate forward, slamming him against the bars. "Worthless humans like you should just shut your mouths and follow my orders! Stop resisting me!"
"I'm a pirate! I'm not going to follow anybody's orders!" Luffy declared. "Pirates should be free!"
"Pirates?! Free?!" Breed's eyes became wild with hatred. "I hate humans like you the most! All right! I was going to spare your life and enslave you! But all you cursed humans deserve death after all!" He snapped his fingers, grabbed Caesar then stormed out of the room. "Girl, grab Chappy and follow!"
Neo did. She picked up Chopper, gave Law a desperate look then followed Breed out of the room. She remained silent as Breed led them to a room that was filled with a lot unfamiliar and familiar objects. Ropes were hanging down from the ceiling. Some of the ropes were attached together with a bar on the ends of them. There were several other strange structures in the room. Some of them resembled towers. They were made of bars, shaped in squares and held a large ball on the top of them. Directly in front of them was another strange structure that was circled at the top and bottom. It dipped in at the middle like someone had squeezed it.
"Line up!" Breed ordered.
Neo walked to one side of the strange platform with Chopper in her arms and the dugong at her side. The sea lapins lined up on the other side of the structure. Feeling a loss of energy, she slumped down to the ground. Chopper looked up at her from her lap. "Neo?"
"I'll be fine. I'm just tired," Neo said, but she didn't sound convincing to any of them, including herself. Her eyes lifted up when she heard humming and clanking of some kind of machinery. The cage holding Law and Luffy rose up from an opening in the floor.
…
Luffy asked, "What is this place?"
The bars on their cage suddenly broke apart. The cuffs on their wrists fell off, confusing them all. Several spotlights turned on, lighting up the room. Luffy asked, "Where are we?!"
"It's show time! I'll show you the terror of my peto peto power! All right, Trafalgar Law, here is my order to you!" Breed said. He drug his thumb over his neck like he was slicing himself. "Kill Straw Hat!"
…
Neo's heart dropped. Her body turned cold. She squeaked, "No. Don't."
…
Law grabbed his collar and stumbled backwards.
"Tra!" Luffy screamed.
"Straw Hat, I want you to kill Trafalgar Law!" Breed added.
Luffy gasped. His eyes flashed red and his collar started to glow. He pulled on it to no avail. He cursed out loud. "Stop it!"
"Go ahead and kill each other! You can't use your devil fruit power though! Breed clarified. "Put each other to death like idiots! Just as you pathetic humans are! Now, let the bloody show begin!"
Luffy and Law faced each other, both struggling against their collars and their orders.
…
"Luffy! Law!" Chopper called out. He struggled to get out of Neo's hold, to get his body to move. It was useless. "I can't believe this is happening!"
Beside him, the dugong was just as shocked and helpless to do anything.
Neo looked at them then looked at Law. There had to be someway to get out of this. Breed's power had a weakness. It had too. And Law had to have figured it out. He was smart. She knew that. She knew he had to have come up with a plan by now.
…
"Tra! It's no good! I can't control my body!" Luffy said. His head snapped up seconds before he charged at Law. He pulled back his right fist at the same time Law swung his. Their fists collided. They exchanged a couple punches and kicks before Luffy tried to stop himself again. Unable to, he charged back at Law.
Law jumped over Luffy. When he looked up, Luffy's foot slammed into his head. He went flying away from Luffy. He righted himself. Once his boots tapped the floor, he kicked off and landed a punch on Luffy's left cheek. The two locked into a round of punches before Luffy landed another punch on Law's cheek at the same time Law landed one on Luffy's stomach. Blood spewed from both their mouths.
…
Neo gritted her teeth at the pain shooting through her body and the nausea in her stomach. She was glad Breed wasn't paying attention to her. She really didn't want him to notice her connection to Law.
At the sight of Luffy and Law's blood, she wrapped an arm around her spinning stomach and forced back a gag. When she gagged, out loud, both Chopper and the dugong looked at her. Chopper asked, "Are you going to get sick again?"
"I don't think so. Even if I did, there's nothing left in my stomach," Neo replied. She took a couple deep breaths then looked at her animal companions. "It's nothing. I just really don't like watching Law fight."
"All right then," Chopper said. "But let me know if it continues. I can give you something when we get back to the Sunny."
Neo nodded with a light smile. "Thanks."
…
"Yes! This is the greatest show ever!" Breed declared. He watched as Luffy and Law exchanged more punches, more blood coming from them both.
…
Luffy slammed another punch onto Law's body, sending him crashing into the platform that Breed and Caesar were on.
Law recovered and kicked at Luffy's head, stretching the rubber man's neck out. Luffy jumped away from Law. He cursed, "I can't stop myself!"
Luffy charged forward. He rammed into Law, causing them both to crashing into one of the circus structures and then into another one. They slammed their fists together then their foreheads. Blood leaked down Luffy's forehead as he said, "I don't want to fight you like this!"
Luffy shoved Law away from him. Law flew through the air and landed on his back. Lying there, he huffed, trying to catch his breath. Before he could, Luffy threw a rapid round of punches at him. Law leaped up, narrowly avoiding the pummeling. He grabbed onto one of the trapeze bars and swung himself away from Luffy, who was following him. Law jumped and blocked Luffy's hits, but one hit him. He flew back towards the platform that Breed was on.
…
What? Neo asked herself. She narrowed her eyebrows as she studied Law's fighting. Something wasn't right. The way Law was getting hit by Luffy, the way Law was glancing around with inconspicuous moves than anyone else would have missed. Her breath hiccuped when Luffy smashed a punch into Law's head. She flinched at the pain, but kept her eyes locked on Law. He jumped up and grabbed a hold of one of the bars hanging from the ropes then swung himself towards Breed and Caesar. He's up to something! He must have figured a way to get us out of this! Law's letting Luffy beat him! He's letting Luffy drive him towards Breed and Caesar!
…
"Ah! Get away from me!" Caesar wailed when Luffy headed for them with a readied punch. He turned and tried to escape. "I don't want involved in this fight! Go away!"
Breed jerked Caesar back to his side. "Destroy each other! You foul humans!"
Law ricochet off the platform floor just before Luffy's punch hit it, shattering it to pieces, causing them all to fall from it.
Caesar cried out as he fell. He then realized he was free from Breed's hold. "The leash!"
…
Law glanced around when he landed on the floor. He located Neo. When his eyes locked onto hers, he could instantly tell she figured out what he was doing. He nodded then noticed Caesar trying to slip out of the room.
…
"Keep fighting!" Breed said, picking himself up off the floor. He straightened his hat as the dust settled around him. He noticed Caesar sneaking off.
"Tiptoe, stealthy steps…Goodbye!" Caesar said before disappearing into the dust.
"What a fool. He still doesn't understand that nobody can get away from me. Well, I'll let him go for now." Breed smiled and turned back to the battle. "I'm enjoying this bloody show!"
…
Neo started when Luffy landed hard in front of them. She panted from the pain and exhaustion coming from Law's body. Feeling nauseous again, she turned her eyes away from the battle. The sudden cry of the dugong made her turned back. She gasped when the dugong leaped right into the middle of the fight.
…
"Seal, watch out!" Luffy cried, both his and Law's punches just barely missing the animal. The dugong grabbed onto Law. Luffy swung another punch, this time it clipped the animal. The dugong crashed to the floor.
"Hey you, stay out of this!" Breed demanded. "Do you want to get whipped?!"
The dugong pushed up on his flippers and squawked.
"What?! Stop that barking!" Breed hissed.
But he didn't. The dugong continued squawking. Then he bowed down in front of Breed.
"You fool! Don't tell me you're speaking out against me!" Breed said with a frown. The dugong looked up in confirmation. "Curse you!"
The dugong squawked and bowed multiple times.
Breed reared back and slapped the animal with his whip several times while cursing at him. Despite the hits, the dugong grabbed onto Breed's leg, pleading with the man. Breed pulled the animal off his leg then threw him onto the floor. "You idiot!"
The dugong grabbed onto Breed's leg again. He looked up at the man with tears in his eyes.
Breed ignored him. Slapping the whip more times than anyone could count until the dugong was back on the floor.
…
"Stop it!" Chopper cried out. Breed didn't. He hit the dugong again. "Dugong!"
"Stop! Just stay down!" Neo said when the dugong picked himself up.
…
"Do you want to help them so bad?" Breed asked through his pants. The dugong nodded. "All right, if you insist, I will stop them. Straw Hat, Trafalgar Law, wait!"
Luffy jerked to a stop. Panting hard, he said, "I stopped."
Law also stopped. He too was panting hard. Blood dripped from their faces.
The dugong cheered.
"Instead, you do it," Breed said. He laughed when the dugong looked at him. "Since you like them so much, it'll be far more interesting to see you beating them up! Kill those two, Dugong! Now, go!"
The dugong moved towards Luffy and Law.
…
"That guy's terrible!" Chopper said, tears in his eyes.
"He says he loves animals, but treats them so cruelly. It's sickening," Neo said. She touched her fingers to the corner of her eyes. It almost makes me wish this powder wasn't on my face. If I wasn't being controlled by this stupid collar…
…
Breed laughed as the dugong continued to try and stop himself. When close enough, the dugong looked up at Luffy, crying.
"Seal, I'll be all right!" Luffy said.
The dugong lifted his flipper. Engulfing it in haki, he punched Luffy in the chest. Luffy still slid back a few feet. The dugong whacked Law with his tail before throw several tear-filled, haki infused punches. It was obvious the dugong was holding back.
"Do you realize what happens if you disobey me?!" Breed demanded. "Now, throw them into the sea!"
The dugong pulled back his fist and shook his head.
"Seal! I told you to use the lower half of your body and pull your arm back all the way!" Luffy smiled when the dugong looked at him confused. "But you sure got stronger!"
Pulling back his haki infused fist, the dugong charged forward and knocked Luffy and Law out the window. He rushed to the window and cried at the ripples in the ocean.
…
Neo clenched her fists. Her fingernails dug into her palms so hard that she broke the skin. Warm blood seeped out of the wounds. She knew Law had to have a plan. She trusted him. The look he gave her before confirmed her suspicions. But she was still worried when his body went sailing out the window.
…
The dugong pressed his forehead to the broken window, tears dripping from his eyes. He hung his head. They all turned and looked when Breed started laughing and clapping. The deranged man said, "That was quite a punch, Kung Fu Dugong! How do you feel now? You sent some crappy humans to hell with your own hands."
The dugong clenched his eyes shut tight. His body trembled. When Breed started laughing again, he lunged forward with his fist pulled back in rage. Just before the punch could slam into Breed's face, the man said, "Lie down."
The dugong's body paused in midair before slamming to the floor. Breed tugged on his whip with both of his hands. He said, "Now I have to discipline you because you disappointed me!"
Breed stepped on the dugong's head when the animal looked up at him.
…
"Stop!" Chopper shouted. He tried to get off Neo's lap.
"Chopper, please, stop trying to move," Neo pleaded. She tightened her hold on him. "You're going to hurt yourself."
"But Luffy…"
"They're going to be fine," Neo whispered. Chopper glanced up at her. "Trust me. Law figured away out of this."
"But how do you…"
"I know how Law fights. Despite all the punches Straw Hat gave him, Law was actually in control," Neo replied. "Trust me."
Chopper swallowed then nodded. They both jumped when Breed spoke.
"Oh, Chappy!" Breed cooed. He stretched out his arms to his sides. He then walked towards the reindeer. He bent down and reached for Chopper. "What's the matter? You must forget about Straw Hat now! He's gone!"
"No!" Neo shouted when the man started to reach for Chopper. She pulled him to her chest. "Don't touch him!"
Breed frowned. "You crappy human! Give him to me!"
"No!" Neo cried again. She held Chopper tighter.
"I told you to give him to me!" Breed said again.
Neo struggled to keep her arms from stretching out. Her heart clenched in her chest. She felt like she couldn't breath as her hands betrayed her and she handed Chopper over to the madman in front of her. "No…"
"That's better," Breed said once Chopper was in his hold. "Now, you will live in a kingdom that I will create as my loyal pet for the rest of your life!"
Chopper glared at the man holding him. He reached up and slapped him.
Breed turned his confused eyes back to Chopper. His eyebrows narrowed. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm a pirate!" Chopper screamed. He grabbed the crown from his head and tossed it to the floor. The crown clanked, bounced and rolled to a stop. He glared up at the man holding him. "Pirates should be free! I'm not going to become your pet even if it means death!"
"Are you going to betray me?!" Breed asked.
"Betray you?! Luffy is my only captain!" Chopper snapped. He winced when pain shot through his small body.
"Are you stupid?! Straw Hat has been swallowed by the sea along with Trafalgar Law! You know what happens to devil fruit eaters when they fall into water-" Breed started.
"Luffy will never be defeated by a guy like you!" Chopper growled. "He's going to become the king of the pirates!"
"The king of the pirates?!" Breed pulled Chopper back over his shoulder and flung him to the ground. "Are you out of your mind?!"
"Chopper!" Neo screamed.
"You say you're going to create a kingdom of submissive animals?!" Chopper struggled to push up on his hooves. "There's no chance for you to create such a thing! You never try to understand the people around you! No one's going to follow someone like you!"
Breed's eyes took on a look of pure hatred. His body shook uncontrollably. Cracking his whip on Chopper, he shouted, "Shut up!"
The whip collided with Chopper's already injured body. He bounced across the floor, rolling to a painful stop. Both the dugong and Neo pushed themselves to their feet. They rushed over to Chopper. Neo placed her hand on his back. "Chopper!"
"I'm okay," Chopper replied through gritted teeth.
Neo shook her head, but remained silent. She looked over at Breed, ever fiber in her being wanted to turn every single one of her crystals on him.
Breed, hunched over, panted hard. He straightened himself up and said to the Sea Lapins, "I'll leave the rest up to you guys!"
The sea lapins didn't move.
"Hey, didn't you hear me?!" Breed snapped his harsh eyes to them. The sea lapins ducked their heads and cringed. "I want you to finish them off! Kill them!"
The sea lapins collars started to glow. They straightened their bodies, eyes flashing red.
What? Maybe, the peto peto fruit is…Chopper squinted through one open eye when he noticed the sea lapins didn't immediately react to the command given to them.
"Now, do it!" Breed commanded. The sea lapins leaped into the air. They angled their bodies towards the small group of three.
Law! Help! Do something! Neo pleaded. She wanted to shut her eyes, but she remained staring up at the attacking sea lapins.
Suddenly, the Sea Lapins attack was disrupted. Their bodies dropped to the floor.
"What's going on?!" Breed demanded as the unconscious sea lapins crashed to the ground around him. "What?!"
…
Neo shot her eyes to Law and Luffy as they walked towards them. She rubbed the heel of her right hand in her teary eyes. "Law…Straw Hat…"
She smiled. She read Law correctly. He did figure it out. Or he figured something out at least. Beside her, Chopper's eyes and smile grew large. He cried, "Luffy!"
…
Luffy placed his hand on a sea lapin and patted him. "Excuse us for awhile, you guys." He looked up and glared at Breed. He said, "I'm here to get Chopper and Neo back! And to give you a good, solid punch!"
"What?! How is it possible that you two are here?! I saw you get thrown into the sea!" Breed shouted.
"Your little power won't work on us anymore," Law said.
"Huh?! What are you talking about?!" Breed demanded. He gritted his teeth before shouting out a command. "Trafalgar! Straw Hat! Sit down!"
They didn't. They remained standing with a defiant air around them.
"Hey! I said to sit down!" Breed shouted again. "Don't you hear me?!"
"I thought so." Law smiled. He lifted his left hand and pointed to his ear. "If we can't hear your command, your special power won't affect us. Am I right?"
Breed gasped in shock as Law pulled out an earplug from his ear.
"I can't hear your orders like this. With these earplugs, I can shut out your voice," Law said. "You have transponder snails and loudspeakers everywhere so you can give the animals commands all at once, don't you?"
"What?! When did you figure it out?!" Breed demanded.
"It occurred to me when you had us locked up. That one time you gave Caesar a command. He didn't listen because he didn't hear you. After I figured it out, I was only pretending to be controlled by you and looked for a chance to take Caesar back," Law said.
"Even the fight against Straw Hat, you…" Breed's voice trailed off.
"Yes, during that entire fight, I was pretending to be controlled by you. He, however…" Law jerked his thumb at Luffy. "…was really being controlled."
"Huh? Did you say something?" Luffy asked, turning his eyes to Law. He pouched out his lips. "I can't hear what you're saying with these earplugs in."
"It wasn't too hard for me to break our fall because I could use my devil fruit power," Law said turning back to Breed. "I just switched ourselves with two rocks so it still looked like we fell into the ocean. We entered back inside where we parked the submersible. Luckily, Caesar was right there. I was able to capture him again."
"I wasn't lucky at all! It couldn't have been worse!" Caesar complained. He looked like he wanted to strangle Law's neck.
"Huh? What did you say?" Luffy asked. He put his hand up to his ear and leaned closer to Law.
"If you want to join the conversation, then take out your earplugs!" Caesar said.
"What did you say?!" Luffy asked.
"I said to take out your earplugs!" Caesar hissed.
Law tucked his earplug back into his ear. The lights then went out, causing everyone to look up.
"Pets are useless! Humans are worthless! Everyone is a piece of trash!" Purple lights turned on around the room. They angled up towards the ceiling, highlighting Breed's body. He was standing on a piece of wrecked circus equipment. "Earplugs?! What a stupid gimmick! Do you think you're outsmarting me?! Let me show you the true, formidable power of the peto peto fruit!"
"What?" Luffy asked. He pushed up his hat so he could get a better look at Breed.
"Now, "me"!" Breed held out his hands. The green substance burbled out of his palms. He slapped the substance around his neck, giving himself a collar. "Kill all those stinking humans!"
"What is he doing? He put a collar on himself!" Luffy said.
"He is…No way!" Law gasped.
Breed laughed manically as his glowing green collar turned red. His muscles bulged out to impossible size, ripping his clothes, his hair grew long and spiky. "That's right! Once you have been giving an order through the peto peto power, it will bring forth all of your power even that is normally impossible!" His transformation was completed with a loud roar. He looked down towards the floor. "Fall in, my cursed pets!"
"What's going on?!" Luffy demanded.
"Now, guys, those lousy humans are not following my orders! Kill them!" Breed ordered. He flung his hands forward as if he was throwing the sea lapins. Following his movements, the sea lapins shot forward. They crashed into the floor.
Luffy, Law and Caesar jumped, dodged and ran around in an attempted to keep from getting hit.
…
"Stop!" Chopper cried. He pushed upon his hooves.
Neo watched the Sea Lapins until one came flying towards them. She grabbed Chopper and leaped out of the way. She ran until her foot caught on a piece of debris. She tripped and fell onto her shoulder. Looking up to see another sea lapin falling towards him. They both clenched their eyes shut and clung to each other. Suddenly a familiar hand placed itself on her shoulder. "You're safe now."
Neo looked up. Law had saved them from getting hit. "Law."
"Thank you! You saved us!" Chopper cried, tears running down his face.
Law nodded. He then took Neo's hand and helped her to her feet before leading her away from that spot.
Neo looked out into the floating dust when she heard another crash of the floor breaking. She then hear Luffy say, "How could you do that to your own crew?!"
They stepped out of the dust just in time to see Breed holding the tail of an unconscious Sea Lapin and the dugong leaping in front of Luffy.
…
Luffy pulled back his fist, readying to punch Breed. He paused when the dugong leaped in front of him. "Huh? Seal?"
"What do you want?!" Breed asked when the dugong started squawking.
"We're not your tools!" Chopper said, translating for the dugong. "We might be your crew but we won't be your tools! We're no longer your pets! We're not going to give in to your power! We're pirates!"
Breed opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when the sea lapins started to stand up. He then said, "You traitors! What do you think you're doing?!"
The animals growled and bared their teeth at them. Clearly showing that they agreed with their friend. They were no longer going to be used as tools.
Luffy slammed his fist into his palm. "Seal! Let's knock him on his butt!"
The dugong squawked in agreement.
Breed cursed. "How dare you all go against me?! Fine! I'll destroy everything! Come on, sea lapin!"
One sea lapin's collar started glowing. He turned around and dug his nails into the floor, trying not to obey the command. Other sea lapins tried to pounce on their friend, but his body flew over to Breed. His tail landed in Breed's hand and the man started spinning him around. The movement created a tornado, pulling the rest of the animals into the spinning funnel. "How do you like my overwhelming power?! I'll let you all be swallowed by the sea!"
…
Neo anchored her feet to the floor in an attempt to not get pulled into the funnel. She tightened her hold on Chopper and clenched her eyes. Her feet slid a couple inches on the floor, until Law's strong arm wrapped around her waist. She glanced up at him. He didn't look at her. She followed his gaze and found Luffy and the dugong were standing strong and in place against the funnel.
…
"There's nothing you can do!" Breed said from inside the funnel.
"Let's do it, Seal!" Luffy said. The dugong barked in agreement.
"Those of you who disobey me are all worthless! All of you deserve death! Straight to hell with you all…" Breed suddenly stopped spinning. The animals clung to him with determination in their eyes. "What's wrong with you guys?! Hey! Let go of me!" They held on tighter. "Hey! I said to let go!"
"Gum Gum…" Luffy swung his fist backwards. He and the dugong moved forward at the same time. "…Fore-fist…" They slammed their fists into Breed's stomach. "…Punch!"
They pushed through their punch. Breed went flying backwards. He shot through the wall and sailed into the distant darkened sky. They all smiled when their collars shattered and fell off of them. The dugong cheered happily while Luffy chuckled with a huge grin.
…
Author's Note: Not a fan of how this chapter came out. All well. :/
Miss-Sakurako: Thanks. Glad you like it.
PuddyKatz: He's easy to hate.
Rodinaashraf: Yup. No more secrets now. The Straw Hats will know next chapter.
Apple Bloom: I wish there could have been a better fight with Neo.
KittyCCCC: He is a jerk to do that to her, isn't he?
