"That thing makes no fucking sense." Muret tuned out Lily's complaints. After all, it wasn't like this was the first time she was voicing them. Rather, every single day since she'd rescued Funkfreed, Lily had not failed to mention how unreasonable it was that an object had 'eaten' a devil fruit. "It's a bloody fucking sword."
Arguments boiled down to: One, objects can't eat. Two, objects can't have sentience, something which Funkfreed had in abundance. And three, objects shouldn't need or even want sustenance, but Funkfreed was at the moment happily destroying a basket of fruit. He seemed particularly partial to peaches.
"Lily! Don't call Funkfreed a thing! What if you hurt his feelings?" Ignoring Lily's scoff of disbelief, Muret scratches Funkfreed behind his ears in a comforting manner. "Don't listen to the mean woman, Funkfreed. She never learned manners."
For all intents and purposes, her new pet was a child with childish innocence. Thankfully, his previous owner hadn't managed to wipe that away.
"I'll have you know that I did learn manners, thank you very much." Lily protested. "I just don't fucking give a shit."
"Language!"
"What? You didn't bloody care before."
"There's a child in the room." Muret points out. Very reasonably too in her own expert opinion.
"You know what? Fine, Funkfreed is a child. I swear around Aisa."
"Thanks for reminding me. That's stopping too." she says, putting her foot down, much to Lily's incredulousness.
"You can't fucking tell me how to talk."
"I can and I will sedate you."
"Oh please, I'm not like one of your usual idiots. I'd like to see you try."
Potential violence is averted though, when Funkfreed picks that moment to nuzzle Lily in the side and takes all the wind out of her sails. Muret can't help but giggle as a scandalized Lily tries unsuccessfully to push the elephant-sword away but in a contest of strength between a baseline human and an elephant, the elephant usually wins.
Eventually, Lily resigns herself to being attached to Funkfreed for the time being, even going as far as to idly scratch the elephant.
"Muret, why do you think the captain brought him along?" The 'him' being an comatose weasel-like man lying a few beds down the aisle. Muret doesn't know either, the captain having been tightlipped on the issue. All she knew was that Bellamy had been very excited to have him on board. But judging from the last time he kidnapped an unconscious man?
"Perhaps he's like Shura? As in, having some skill the captain wants us to learn?"
"This guy? He looks flimsy." To be honest, it isn't like Lily can't see the wiry muscle hidden just underneath her patient's skin, testament to the amount of training he must have done. It's particularly pronounced in his legs, the musculature they're being highly developed beyond anything on the crew. From what she knows of her crew, only the captain would be able to match him in that department. But would the captain truly be that excited for merely a well-trained runner?
"Shura looks flimsy." Muret counters. Something that had been obvious to her had been how muscle strength was underdeveloped in sky island dwellers. It wasn't anything debilitating and neither Laki nor Shura were weak by any standard. However, if one considered the combat heavy lifestyle both had led, it was several percentage points below what Muret would have expected from someone like say, Sarquiss. This was likely from the slightly lower gravitational pull and the lower atmospheric pressure they experienced every day compared to Blue Sea residents.
Though, her new crewmates were catching up very quickly. Laki had struggled at first to adapt to the new environment, not least to the greater concentration of oxygen. Thankfully, it never reached the level of oxygen poisoning and some supplements had sped up muscle growth, such that she had been fit for combat within a few weeks.
Unlike Shura whose daily exercise was limited to walking around the deck while wearing a ball and chain. Muret almost thought this was deliberate on Bellamy's part, trying to reduce Shura's combat potential and thus the risk to the crew. Regardless of how docile Shura was now, it didn't change the fact that he had been a very dangerous combatant rivalling if not surpassing her captain.
That was also why nobody on the crew disagreed with the training Shura was putting them through. Precognition. Who wouldn't want that in a combat situation? A couple…hundred welts to the head and body were a small price to pay in Muret's opinion.
"So you think this guy knows mantra too?"
Muret shakes her head. "If that were the case, the captain wouldn't have been that happy. We already have Shura after all. I think this guy knows some speed technique or something."
"That would have been fucking useful against Satori."
"Language."
"Gah! Seriously! Fuck!" It's very interesting to watch how Lily's face distorts when Funkfreed mournfully blows his trunk. Almost as if she's trying to suppress the instinct to coo at something cute. "Alright, alright! I'm sorry! Stop looking at me like that!"
It is a challenge, but Muret does manage to suppress her giggles long enough to come to Lily's rescue and call Funkfreed back to her instead of flustering Lily any further. Though, then she decides to stop tiptoeing around the issue and address the elephant in the room. (Heh)
"Why do you think Doflamingo wanted to see the captain?" It would obviously have to be something connected to the events at St. Poplar, an after-action report at the very least.
"I certainly do hope it's to apologize for the clusterf…" Lily trails off when Muret gives her a look before hurriedly backpedaling. "For the mess on St. Poplar. Just because things worked out doesn't mean Dellinger could use us as bait."
"It is unbecoming of someone of his standing to discard an affiliated crew like that. But was it truly on his orders? A lot probably hinges on that."
"Either way, I'm all for beating Dellinger's face in. And Doflamingo's too if he was responsible." Lily grinds out making Muret raise a delicate eyebrow.
"Would you be able tell Doflamingo that to his face?"
"Fuck no! I'm angry, not suicidal."
"Language!"
"Fuck!"
(Bellamy POV)
There's this presence to Doflamingo, very different to what I felt from Enel back on the Upper Yard. Not sure gravitas is the right word but it's really difficult to be at ease around him and it's not just because the man is a psychopath. And I'm not just saying that because I watched him slowly take Crack apart at the seams. I did not want to know what humans look like if they forcefully try to imitate Buggy-Mihawk Edition.
I fight the urge to fidget. Despite everything, there's this small part inside of me that yearns for his acknowledgement and dare I say it, respect. If I had to guess, I would wager it is a side effect of me assimilating the original Bellamy. Aisa had mentioned that I felt less fuzzy with every passing day. I also felt stronger and more at ease in my body so that matched, the effects of which were much more discernible during my 'battle' at Crack's mansion. The OG Bellamy would not have been able to handle a rear admiral, drugged or not.
I blame a combination of new combat experience, harder training with bullshit one piece physiology and some synergy between my two selves. Fuck if I know, I'm just glad I'm stronger.
Doesn't change the fact that I'm still essentially just fodder to Doflamingo. By this time Luffy had beaten two shichibukai and survived a third, mostly by luck and plot armor but still. I don't care that Doffy was way stronger than Moriah and required two years of training under Rayleigh to defeat or that Crocodile really should have wiped the floor with Luffy regardless of the water.
I hate knowing that he could kill me right now and that there would be nothing I could do about it. That my survival and that of my crew depends on this man being in a good mood.
Doffy listens silently as I recount the events leading up to and at Crack's mansion, not reacting when I mention Dellinger's jailbreak. He does smile slightly when I describe Crack's mental meltdown, but that's gone so fast that I almost thought I had imagined it.
By the time I'm finished, I'm almost wishing he'd just say something just to have him react…somehow. But when he does speak, I get a strong sense of déjà vu.
"You feel different. Fuzzy. Unique. Why?" Clearly he isn't expecting me to reply because he starts muttering under his breath. I understand nothing of what he's saying, though the occasional words do make me believe he's running through potential theories in his head. Not sure what conclusion he reached because five minutes later, he's all smiles.
Which tells me almost nothing because Doffy smiles when he's happy and smiles when he's angry. Thankfully in this case it does seem to be the former as he congratulates me for a job well done.
"And you brought me a present too. How thoughtful of you. Little Bellamy-kun, all grown up."
"I'm glad you liked it." I reply, inwardly struggling not to feel irritated by the condescending tone he's using. Can't just hide it because I'm certain he'd know. "It was no trouble."
If that meant ignoring the shit Dellinger pulled, so be it. To Doffy, Dellinger is family. I'm not. That makes the equations pretty clear.
"No trouble, eh? That why you decided to beat up the director of CP7? To make trouble?"
"He threatened one of my crew, my family." I reply softly but firmly, and I can see Doffy stilling. My choice of words was very deliberate, aimed at the few things he cares about. Those being his family, his crew which is de facto family and his pride, a remnant of his time as a celestial dragon.
While Viola is a prime example of Doffy not shying away from using the family others to ensure he gets his way, it's also the only potential shield I have to offer for my crew. Traumatized people after all tend to empathize more easily with people with similar trauma or in similar situations…so long as they aren't too mentally unstable.
"Family is important." He agrees, but he soon follows up with something that chills me to my bones. "You're not family." Hence he has no reason to protect me.
"I fly your flag." I point out, but he just waves negligently.
"Yes, you do. As do a dozen others." He retorts. "And most of them don't go around punching government directors."
Translation: why should I cover for you? What makes you valuable?
I'm pretty sure he's already decided to shield me on this one occasion seeing as I'm not dead yet, but that may just be him playing games. However, when he cut off Disco, he was much more direct about it instead of giving him a chance to convince him, which gives me hope.
"Amongst that dozen, who is the most interesting?"
And this was going to be my selling point. Doffy had multiple subordinate crews and even more affiliate gangs across the whole world. And yet, the only two that ever made it onto the show had been Bellamy and Disco. Thus, I'm going to hazard a guess and claim that most of them were standard goons doing standard jobs in a standard manner. In other words, boring. The big difference between them and OG Bellamy had been that Doffy had expectations of Bellamy. That alone spoke well for OG Bellamy's potential but when that potential wasn't realized and worse, when it was seemingly ruined, Doffy was disappointed and he tried to take out the trash. A second chance was only given after Bellamy proved himself to be different…proved himself to be interesting by bringing a pillar of gold from the sky.
The gold really didn't matter, I don't think, but it was the uniqueness factor that granted OG Bellamy another opportunity. Of course, we all know how that ended, but I'm fairly confident that I'm much more interesting than the OG Bellamy had been. Plus, my soul is fuzzy.
"Fufufufu." Should I laugh too? I think this is a good sign? "You've changed, Bellamy-kun."
"Going to heaven tends to have that effect on people. Personally, I like the new me."
"Fufufufu. So do I, Bellamy-kun. You were becoming boring. Aren't we glad that I don't find you boring anymore? I so hate disposing of failures."
Well, that was blunt. Still, this does mean he's not going to dispose of me, which begs the question of Dellinger's motives. I do have one more guess before I conclude that it was just Dellinger being a prick.
"Are you done testing me, then?" I ask, simultaneously asking him whether he had manipulated events at St. Poplar and whether I was being acknowledged as something greater than a disposable pawn.
"Life always tests us, Bellamy-kun. It would be boring if everything was predictable." Says the puppetmaster. Hypocrite. "But for now, you can assume you passed any tests I may have set."
Considering Dellinger's status as part of the Donquixote Family, I think I can infer that the half-fish weirdo acted without orders. Doffy is never shy about admitting his deeds, heck he blackmailed the world government for the warlord position. If he had ordered Dellinger to crash the party as a test, he would have outright boasted about it.
No, Doffy is covering for Dellinger, making it seem like he ordered it without actually saying it.
"That is good news. I wouldn't want to disappoint you by bringing back subpar results." So pay me for a job well done.
"Let it not be said that I am not a generous boss. I hope you and your crew will put this to good use." he grins, pushing a small box across the table. You sir, are anything but a generous boss as Disco will later attest. But this is an olive branch and a bribe to not ask any further questions. From now on if anyone asks, Dellinger did not act on his own. For if he had, it would seem to outsiders that Doffy's control over his family is not absolute. It is, but it still looks bad if Dellinger becomes overly enthusiastic.
I accept the small casket with a simple 'thank you', mostly just grateful that he isn't going after Aisa. Maybe he doesn't know about her yet?
"Well, I must be off. Sengoku has called me…us into active service. The new era is coming faster than anyone guessed. Exiting times are ahead, Bellamy-kun." He says, walking out the door, but not before giving me a warning/word of advice. "Do protect your little logia, Bellamy-kun. It's never nice losing family."
…he knows. I suspected as much with Aisa's showing at Crack's mansion but this is too fast. And if Doffy knows, so does the world government. Fiddlesticks.
I'm going to have to step up my training. Though it's odd that he hasn't mentioned her haki or Shura. Can he not sense that they have haki? Does he deem it unimportant?
Regardless, two minutes later Doffy is 'flying' away into the horizon and it's only after I've seen him disappear on the horizon, that I manage to breathe easy again. Things worked out as well as they could have, I suppose.
Doffy is not going to touch Aisa, mission accomplished, got paid and I'm alive. Now what did Doffy give me…
…that son of a bitch!
Author's note:
In my mind, Doffy is someone who seeks to escape the boredom of his existence (and climb the social ladder while doing so). Which is why he came to check up on Bellamy after hearing that he went to the sky. It's just coincidence that he arrived just after Bellamy finished the mission.
When he arrived, it was to find Bellamy being much more interesting than he had initially thought (surviving Crack which he shouldn't have that easily; a fuzzy soul though much less than during skypiea, and much more calm and less fanboyish). Plus a bit of violence put him in a better mood (killing the agent Dellinger brought back and Crack) and the coming war made him happy.
So he was much more inclined to be a bit more 'generous' with Bellamy.
P.S. Three guesses as to what Doffy gave Bellamy and the first two don't count.
P.P.S. comments and discussions make the author happy.