FicWad

Vivi drops the last of the pineapples in the crate. 'Well,' she dusts off her hands. 'I think that's as much as Karoo can comfortably carry.'

The massive crate filled with delicious foodstuffs lies on the giant Duck's back. The small glade they find themselves in is stripped of anything edible.

'Wert!' Karoo grunts.

'Of course you can carry more Karoo!' Vivi smiles, feeling a breeze on the exposed skin of her left arm. 'But remember, we have to make multiple trips to fill up the Merry. We don't want you too tired.'

The princess looks around. 'Now we just have to find our way back, and one of the people in our party is Zoro.'

'Wert Weert!'

'We are not doomed, Karoo!' Vivi points to a thread hanging from her metal hand. 'In fact, I prepared for this by attaching a string to Zoro five minutes ago!'

'...' the skeptical duck points his yellow wing towards the other end of the string.

Vivi turns her head.

"Went to take a piss." A crudely written sign says. The string tied to it flutters in the wind. "Be back in five."

'...'

'...wert wert wert.'

'...shut up, Karoo.'

......

Sanji sets down a massive load of food on the deck of the Merry. On any other day, his thoughts would be churning out potential recipes from the plentiful supply. Now, though, all he could think about was Giants, and gods only knows what dangers there were crawling through the jungle.

With a larger thud, Usopp slams down his massive crate next to his. The size of the Sniper dwarfs Sanji's backpack. 'Well, it looks like we were the first guys back. Wonder when the others will show up.'

If they show up. A pessimistic side of Sanji whispers into his mind. The chef shakes his head. 'They'll be here soon. Start by washing the fruits and vegetables. Just make sure not to rub your boils over the food.'

'So no setting off the Usopp Flare early?'

'...'

'...Sanji?'

'No.' The cook says. 'If there really are Giants out there, launching a flare would literally be like ringing their dinner bell. It's better to keep it as a last resort. Now get to cleaning!'

Usopp salutes. 'Aye aye, master chef. And I have just the thing for it!' He reaches a spindly arm down into the decks and pulls out a rusty-looking pipe. 'Introducing the Water Drill mark U. See, I can use my back legs to turn the crank, then I can...'

'Whatever. Just start washing them. Who knows what diseases tropical, unwashed produce carries? Sanji turns his focus to a particularly large fruit. Pulling out a cutting board and canning set he fished out before he left, Sanji sets up his station and picks up the fruit. With focus and precision, the chef begins to peel back the rind, exposing the juicy, blood-red interior.

Hopefully, giving Usopp a task will keep him from bringing up the G-word. That and focusing on preparing a fruit bowl will keep him from thinking about his friends' heads being bitten off by a twenty-story monster.

No. Stop thinking about it. They are fine. They'll come back before the four hours are up.

Launching a flare should be a last resort. Now that he knew this Island was possibly inhabited by monsters, it was dangerous to signal their location. Just calm down and wait. Nami can literally navigate through a typhoon, and Vivi is a skilled bounty hunter; they will lead the others back.

Sanji looks over for a moment to distract his tumultuous mind. He finds Usopp's twisted hind legs cycling a pedal, which sends clean water cascading over the pile of vegetables.

The chef settles into slowly dicing the fruit on deck. The calming, repetitive movements stilling his tumultuous soul.

'You still got giants on the brain, Sanji?' Usopp says, scrubbing a thick hairy vegetable.

The chef flinches at Usopp's comment.

'I don't know why you're so worried about them. My dad used to tell me tales about the honorable warriors of Elblaf.' The young man beams with pride. 'Just because you met a few bad ones doesn't mean all Giants are like that.'

Sanji cringes . 'Can we not talk about this? Just... focus on your work. In silence.'

'I just want to understand why you're so prejudiced against them, that's all.' Usopp continues his work. 'Washing dirt off of these weird carrots is boring anyhow.'

'They're called cassava Ussop.' Sanji places the diced fruit in airtight cans for storage. 'Just find something else to do to distract yourself.'

'Okay then, how about I show off some impressions I've been working on with Merry?' The sniper clears his throat. 'This is Zoro. "What's the matter, shitty cook? Got googo eyes for the ladies again?" Was that good?'

Sanji gives Usopp a dead stare.

'No good, huh? Okay, how about Nami? "I really love-'

……

CRRRRUUUNNNCHHHH

Blood and gore cover a young Sanji’s face.

……

'A giant devoured my mother in front of me when I was eight.'

Usopps' humor evaporates in an instant. He looks to Sanji to find any hint of deception or exaggeration on his face. All he finds is pain.

'And then my life went straight to the Abyss immediately afterwards. So if possible, I would REALLY prefer we don't talk about giants. Okay, Usopp?’

Sanji angrily turns back to the canning. He pounds the fleshy fruit into the metal and seals it shut with a grunt before moving on to the next can.

'So similar to the Nami situation with Fishmen?'

'...similar enough, Usopp. Please drop it, okay?'

'...sorry.'

An awkward silence descends on deck as the two men cut and dice vegetables.

The smooth, mechanical process and the chirping insects are all that can be heard.

'...'

'...'

'...did...have you told anyone else?'

'No, Usopp, I haven't.'

'Then... why me?'

Sanji glares at him. 'Other than the fact you won't stop bothering me about it?'

Ussop looks back at him. 'Well, I just didn't really expect you to confide in me about anything. You were always closer to Nami and (in a weird way) Zoro. So why tell me this?'

The chef sighs. 'Because you need to know. I don't know when you got your ideas about them, but Giants are dangerous.' Sanji looks at him with a jaded expression. 'Honestly, you're a good person for not wanting to judge based on appearances.'

'Yeah, it would be pretty hypocritical if I did that.' The sniper gestures to the horrific mass of tumors comprising his lower half.

The chef nods. 'But blindly trusting others, that's just as bad. Take it from someone who grew up blindly believing everything he was told.' Sanji starts

pealing the fruits again. 'You should form your own beliefs rather than completely trusting what someone else says. Your thoughts and dreams should be yours, not something your old man pounded into your head.'

'My father is a great pirate! He wouldn't lie!'

The chef raises his hands in a conciliatory way. 'I'm not saying he's not. What I am saying is that you're free to believe what you want. I just don't want you to die because someone gave you bad advice.'

Sanji picks up another fruit and begins to carve off the peel with his knife. 'So take this opinion from someone who survived the Revolt: Giants are dangerous monsters. Do with that warning what you will.'

'....revolt?' Usopp cocks his head. 'What revolt?'

slice

'Gods Damn it!!' Sanji clutches his cut palm, dropping the fruit and knife.

'Sanji!?' Usopp nearly leaps to his feet. 'Are you...'

'Don't move Usopp!' Sanji shouts.

Usopp freezes.

'You're infected, remember?' Sanji presses his fingers against the wound before fishing out a roll of bandages.

'Sanji, are you...okay?'

'That explains it.' Sanji wraps a thin line of gauze around his wrist and fingers. 'You've never heard of the revolt. Let alone lived through it.'

'The revolt?' Usopp asks, growing more and more confused.

'I'll...' Sanji looks into the innocent face of his friend. Someone who was told his entire life of how the Giants were brave and noble creatures by a man he respected. A young man who believed with all his heart in the nobility of warriors. A man who lost everything and was now clinging to something pure and beautiful. 'I'll... tell you later.'

'Sanji?'

'It's not important.' He stands up. 'Now come on. Let's look for the others.'

'H-Hold on now! What happened to “sit here and wash vegetables”, Sanji?'

The chef looks out at the jungle surrounding their tiny boat. He is picturing the evils out there with a vivid imagination. 'Well, like I was saying before. Jumping to conclusions is bad. If we're worried about our friends, we shouldn't assume they're fine. Real men don't sit on their buts. They act.'

'And because sitting around talking about giants has gotten you worried about everyone.' The keen-eyed sniper notices.

'That too.' Sanji says with a smile. 'Now listen up. I've got an idea.'

......

'Nami. I said I was sorry-'

'IDIOT!!'

WHAM

A fist capable of denting rubber deforms the space between Luffy's ears. The space that should contain a brain, if he ever had one, is cratered as the captain's head is driven into the ground.

Safely concealed between two massive warehouses, Nami dusts off her hands. With her "genius" captain buried in the dirt, the woman examines her surroundings more closely.

She had expected a palace past the fortress walls; rather, she found a series of near-identical white warehouses. The buildings themselves were as plain as could be imagined, literally giant rectangles two stories high, two hundred meters long, and fifty wide. Only the droning sound of fans pulling in air and a strange sound just below her threshold of hearing differentiates it from a graveyard. Boxes with faded logos line the alleyway the Strawhats now find themselves in.

'Well, this definitely wasn't what I expected to find on the other side.' She feels the white wall next to her and tests the residue between her fingers. 'It's made of some kind of... wax? Resin? Except it's much stronger than it has any right to be.'

'Uuuuugh!' Nojiko lies on her belly, rubbing her hand against the wall.

Luffy pulls his head from the ground. 'Maybe Usopp could make you a new staff from it?'

Nami turns to pummel him again.

The captain's eyes flash. In a fluid movement, he grabs Nami and Nojiko, dragging them behind a crate.

'Luf-'

Luffy places a hand over Nami's mouth. He places a finger over his lips as Nami picks up the sound of voices.

'We're always getting all the dirty work and none of the rewards.'

'Well, if you hadn't swiped one of the doctor's meals...'

'What, is it a crime to be hungry for real food!? Why are we the ones eating dog food while the beasts get everything fresh!?'

Nami glances around the corner as the

source of the voices comes into view.

The first man, wearing a green hat with a melon stem and a red shirt, is dragging a live... creature behind it.

The thing looks to be some form of hooved goat, its entire body and head covered in yellow, plague-filled sacks.

The short-haired blonde man behind both of them follows, his bulky black jacket emblazoned with the words "I Love Miss Valentine".

'Ssshhhh!' The second guard shushes his friend. 'Not so loud, Mellow!'

'I mean, what gives?!' The green-hatted man protests. 'They can ship all this tainted livestock in, but they can't offer us basic meals?!'

'Shut it!' He whispers harshly. 'Do you want the boss to hear you!?'

'I don't care! I'm sick of this!' The first guard drags the animal behind him. 'I joined Baroque Works to make money. Not to starve to death while being the footman of a psycho and his doctor slaves!'

'Keep complaining, and you won't be!' The second whispers harder. 'You'll be dead! The boss hates back talk!'

'Why would they know?' The first man stops and turns. 'Are you going to blab on me, Mr Love?'

'Of course not!' The second insists. 'Let's just get this done. If we're lucky, they'll let us out of the compound so we can scrounge something to eat from the jungle.'

The first man looks at the blonde man; his lips curl into a sneer. 'Little luck of that. Mr 3's psycho partner got the last of the monsters a month ago. Nobody's letting us out to catch animals that aren't around.'

The blonde man pushes past the man in the green hat. 'Let's just get this done, Mellow. We're both tired and hungry.'

'...fine!' Mellow drags the bleating goat behind him. 'But only because I don't want you turning me in. I don't want to be a subject in the boss's freaky Plague research!'

They walk beyond the rim of the alleyway, missing the intruders. Both Nami and Luffy look at each other.

'Uuuuuhhhh?'

'Not so loud, Nojiko.' Nami turns to her sister. 'And yes, we're following them.'

'And we don't have to follow them very far.'

Nami turns back to see Luffy gone. She finds him peeking around the corner, no doubt watching their guides.

The captain points to the building next to them. 'They just went inside.'

Nami nods. Looking around, she spies a pipe attached to a fan unit. Picking up the collar and leash around Nojiko, she ties her to the metal.

'Uhhhh!?'

'Sorry, Nojiko.' She grunts as she manages a bowline knot. 'But it's too dangerous to run around. Stay here. We'll be back soon.'

'Uuuuuuuhhh!'

'Please, Nojiko!' Nami pleads. 'Be quiet and wait.'

'Uuuuuu...' The girl slumps on the ground, seemingly understanding the instructions.

'Good girl.' Nami turns to her captain. 'Let's go and get some answers.'

......

The duck sniffs the air.

'Weeerrrt weert Wert!'

Vivi, lounging on Karoo's back, sighs. 'Keep trying, Karoo. He has to be here somewhere!'

Without the weight of the crate weighing him down, the leader of the supersonic duck squad was making tracks through the jungle. Vivi had wisely dropped the container in a waterway and watched for a minute as it drifted downstream. With any luck, one of the others who made it back to the Merry would pick it up. Now she just had to find Zoro.

Vivi grips the saddle horn, looking around for a sign of her... friend? No, still too early. Maybe Luffy, but she wasn't sure how far the others would go to help her. But whether they were friends or not was a question for later. Now she had to hunt down a man who could get lost on his way to the bathroom.

In the middle of a massive forest filled with unknown horrors.

No pressure.

Vivi keeps her thoughts focused. She had to find Zoro.

'Try someplace up high, Karoo.' Vivi suggests. 'We can scout from there.'

'Wweeert!' The duck changes direction on a dime dashing up a hill. 'Wwert wert. Weeeert wert weert weert!'

Vivi giggles. 'No, I don't know if that's why Zoro gets lost so easily.' She playfully jabs him. 'We can ask him when we find him, though.'

A bead of sweat that has nothing to do with his exertion appears on Karoo's brow. 'Wert weert.'

Vivi strokes his head. Yeah. That's right, she does have another friend on the ship. Karoo was her friend. He understood her and would always be there for her.

Unless she got him killed too.

Vivi takes that dark thought and shoots it dead before tossing it into the pit of her unconscious mind.

No more questions.

She had to find Zoro.

Still, it was a marvel at how easily he got lost. Once they found a doctor, she'd have to ask them if there was a medical reason for it. Maybe a disturbance in his inner ears?

She feels Karoo come to a stop beneath her and finds herself on top of a large rocky outcropping.

'Werrrt werrt wert!'

She rubs her friend's feathers. 'Good work, Karoo!' She takes a look. 'Now let's see if... we... can't...'

'Wert weeert?'

The princess ignores her friend.

'Wer wert!?'

'No... no Karoo. It's not a mirage.' She states.

The view from the top is stunning. Miles and miles of forests untouched by men for thousands of years. A carpet of green swaying in the breeze is highlighted by cracks of blue, crystal-clean rivers. A dormant volcano smokes in the distance, letting out a thin wisp of white cloudy smoke. The sky is blue and clear, making it a perfect day to see and experience all the wonders this natural wonderland has to offer.

And squatting against the sea like a cancer is a mass of white blocky buildings surrounded by a wall of rainbow-painted wax. Long piers claw out into the water like spindly limbs with the massive ships docked, clinging to the port like blood-sucking ticks. Factories pour industrial waste into the pure blue seas. brown gunk spewing from their pipes irreversibly taints the surrounding ecosystems for short-term gain. The entire complex is ugly and wrong on every level, clashing so thoroughly with the natural beauty that it is hard to believe it could even exist.

'No,' Vivi mouths. 'The Rainbow City... it was here!?'

The Center for Baroque Works' research into the plague. Specifically, the facility where they coordinated their research into infecting everything with a pulse.

It was here.

On this Island.

Literally a stop away from where she spent two years undercover.

She grits her teeth at the Irony. The bitterness in her soul is nearly all-consuming.

Rainbase in Alabasta had served as the organization's front, a place where the poor and afflicted could be treated. Sir Crocodile standing hand in hand with plaque-afflicted children. His smiling face was plastered on billboards promising free treatment. Each person whose life was improved was financed by his piracy of Alabasta's enemies. And while the leader of Baroque Works was playing philanthropist, the Rainbow City he created was devoted to one thing alone.

Spreading the plague to everyone as quickly and painfully as medically possible.

She had heard rumors that it had changed recently with the arrival of some "hot shot guest" to Rainbase. Even so, this city was the original Plague Factory whose goods maimed and tortured her people. Insane plague cultists would arrive to receive the "blessings" of the mad scientists who worked here. Horrific mutants who could spew infected bile from every orifice would leave in giant cargo trawlers. These living biological weapons would then be organized on arrival by the Plague Daughter to corrupt and destroy the people in her kingdom.

And those were just the rumors. If she could believe the half-mad ramblings of the man she interrogated, it was much, much worse. Biological experimentation, "improving" the Plague, increasing the speed at which it grew, making it more infectious, creating monsters as weapons of war.

The thought of this place existing made her sick with rage.

And it was here, in front of her eyes.

The origin of all her people's suffering and pain.

'Wert? Weeert wert weeeeert?!'

Karoo tries to calm her down, to distract her with something else.

He fails miserably.

'Oh. Vivi, there you are. Looks like you got lost.'

She barely even registers Zoro's presence. She's too busy hating the buildings in front of her with every fiber of her being.

'So, do you know what that place is? It doesn't look like a town.'

If looks could kill, then no doubt the entire facility would be a smoking crater. Then all the people who worked here would be thrown into the deepest, darkest pit in Alabasta and eaten alive by venomous scorpions.

'...Uh, Vivi, you okay?'

'...Weert?'

'...Vivi?'

'Zoro.' Vivi turns to the swordsman of the Strawhats. A man who has killed thousands and was the terror of the East Blue. She smiles sweetly. 'What are your thoughts on mass murder?'

.......

'What's up with all these cages?' Luffy asks while walking through the warehouse. 'Nami, can you see what's inside? It's way too dark.'

The navigator pulls him behind a pillar. Her paranoid eyes scan the surroundings. 'Luffy. We're trying to be stealthy. Just follow me and don't touch anything.'

She pulls her captain behind another boxed-off cage, following the two guards to a more well-lit section of the building. Compared to the oppressively dark entryway filled with cages, the illuminated lab was almost a welcome sight. Especially since Nami could swear she heard breathing coming from inside the cages.

However, the fact that the area was populated by doctors, who would no doubt sound the alarm, meant they could go no farther. Each of these doctors are dressed identically: wearing pink medical scrubs and a cap, together with white gloves, and a mask. Each and every one of the group is working on various tasks, from taking notes to examining samples through glass microscopes. They seem to run about in a nervous frenzy, going from desk to desk, writing notes and communicating their findings to their fellows.

'Follow you where? Into the scary doctor's office?' Luffy asks. 'I thought we were trying to be stealthy and stuff.'

'We are. Just give me a minute.' The experienced navigator and cat burglar looks around for a point of ingress.

'Come on, Nami. Let's just go.' The captain looks around. 'This place is creepy. We can come back later when we tell the others.'

'You mean the group who wouldn't know what stealth was if they read the description in a Vegapunk Dictionary?' The navigator shakes her head. 'No way. Small group like ours stands the best chance of breaking in and getting out.'

Nami thinks to herself, possibilities fill her mind. 'A facility this size run by Baroque Works, an organization devoted to understanding the plague, has got to have some valuable research.' She smiles. 'Look, Luffy! They even have doctors! We grab one of those, and half our worries are over. If we're lucky, they may even have a possible cure!'

Luffy frowns. 'Then let's get the others, come back, beat everyone up, and take it. These guys hurt Vivi's country, right? We should...'

'There!' Nami points upwards to a hanging catwalk. The rickety structure hangs far above the electric lights. 'Luffy stretches us up.'

'Nami, come on, let's...'

'Luffy. Please.' Nami turns to him. 'I promise we'll leave if things get bad, but gathering info now will help us later.'

The captain looks at his navigator. He sighs. 'Gomu no rocket.'

He stretches his arm up and pulls them both into the rafters. Nami lets go of Luffy's hand and looks down from her new perch.

From their new location, they gain a new perspective on the laboratory below them. Beakers of fluid with fleshy bulbs rest in front of men taking notes. Large open pens are surrounded by cameras and microphones. Typewriters chime as results are organized and extrapolated.

Moving as quietly as a mouse, Nami gestures for Luffy to follow. 'Come on, Captain, let's see if we can find the senior doctor here.'

'Okay.... uh Nami? What's a senior doctor look like?'

'I don't know. Look for someone important-looking.'

'Okay.' Luffy follows his navigator across the catwalk, scanning the crowd of people beneath him. 'Nami? Why are we looking for an old Doctor's guy?'

Nami groans. 'Because they know the most stuff, Luffy. We'll wait till they're alone and drag them back to the ship for questioning. After that, we can force them to be our doctor.'

'I don't know, Nami. These guys don't look like they'd be good pirates.' Luffy watches the doctors work frantically beneath them. 'They look really weak.'

Nami nearly face-palms. 'They're doctors, Luffy! They can treat our injuries and help treat the Plague. They don't need to fight.'

'No. Not that.' The captain glares down at them. 'I mean, they look like cowards.'

'If they can help Nojiko, I don't care if they're a filthy Fishstick.' Nami elbows him and points towards a door opening in the wall itself. 'Quiet. Someone's coming!'

The wall opens below them, and two individuals walk into the midst of the medical professionals.

The first strolls in with a demeanor that screams arrogant and obnoxious in equal measure. His black, slicked-back hair has a knot done up in the shape of a "3" and embellished with purple ribbons. As he walks, he straightens his red bow tie across his frilled undershirt and dark and light blue vest. Despite his frail body, his aura of confidence and the blue glasses obscuring glare give him a menacing appearance. The rosy pink tumors on his cheek and exposed arms don't detract at all from his immaculately constructed appearance.

In contrast, the girl behind him appears submissive and quiet, walking three steps behind him. She is a small red-haired girl with pigtails and a wide-brimmed pink hat. Her blue shirt and dark red pants are covered in multi-colored paints that no doubt came from the easel and brush hanging from her belt.

Luffy hums. 'Nami, he looks important and old. Is he the senior guy we're looking for?

'Luffy shush.'

'My good doctors.' The arriving man addresses the crowd. 'What wonderful results do you have for me today?'

The group of twelve or so doctors in pink scrubs cowers behind their research and clipboards.

'Come now! No need to be shy! We're all friends here! Now.' He claps cheerfully. 'Come on up and tell me what wonderful findings you have for me today.'

The doctors look at each other. Eventually, though, a young-looking man with a hunch back walks up. His hairnet and mask drip with sweat. 'W-Well, Mr 3. You'll be pleased to learn our experiments on accelerating the plague have borne fruit!' He shows off his board. 'The new nutrient formula shows a twenty-three percent mass growth in under one minute and twenty seconds, assuming that...'

'Wonderful!' Mr 3 applauds. 'Most excellent work. Of course, I would expect nothing less of the illustrious Isshi-20!' He looks around. 'Well, Isshi-13 now. I forgot that we've had some... budget cuts lately.'

The entire room, save him, looked very uncomfortable at Mr 3's statement. 'Now, where is the demonstration? You know, not putting on a show for your supervisor is simply rude!'

'O-Of course, Mr 3!' One of the doctors steps forward. 'We had the drugged sample brought in already! We were just waiting on you to recommend a test subject.'

The doctor gestures to the pair of guards the Strawhats followed, who flip a series of switches. A caged arena next to the lab practically glows, its bare white floor containing only one thing, the plague-infested goat from before.

'You wish for me to choose?' Mr 3 chuckles. 'That's the problem with doctors. Too much brain, not enough guts!'

The man paces next to the small arena, eyeing the bleating, cancer-consumed goat. 'Let me see. The larger the subject, the more apparent the results should be...' He snaps. 'Of course, an “AL” model should be acceptable; I think we still have one or two left.'

'What!?' The guard wearing a green hat shouts. 'You want to let out one of those!? Are you mad!?'

Another Dr jumps in front of the objecting man. 'What our brainless guest is saying, my benevolent boss...' The woman struggles to devise the words that will save all their lives. ‘Is the cage too small for a model AL?’

Mr 3 stares blankly at the female doctor.

'...Meaning, it might escape?'

Mr 3 puffs his chest. 'So? I'm here to protect you. You are perfectly safe while I am around.'

'But...'

He glares at the woman. 'Are the drugs keeping them sedated until we choose?'

'O-Of course, Mr 3!'

'Then there is no problem.' He leans towards her. 'Correct, miss doctor?'

'...yes.'

He cups his hand around his ear. 'Yes, what?'

The female doctor lowers her head. 'Yes, sir, Mr 3.'

'Good!' He smiles, looking at the two terrified guards. 'Now get an AL in this cage in five minutes, or I might be forced to demote you.'

The two men look at each other, sweat dripping down their faces.

'Now.'

They run off, and Mr 3 turns his attention back to the doctors. 'While we wait for our idiot followers, why don't you all regale me on our other research?' He snaps once, and the red-haired girl bows and pulls out a thermos. Let's start with the Utopia project and the S.A.D. compound. Our glorious leader is particularly interested in that.'

Mr 3 falls backwards, and an eloquent chair of white wax forms under his rear end. Holding out his hand, the boss of the rainbow city forms a cup that the girl pours the thermos liquid into.

The doctors look at each other. 'Mr 3. You must understand, even with Dr Kurhea's notes, making it so that the plague can exist without a host is... dangerous. If it were to escape confinement...'

A spear of wax pierces the front most doctor's leg.

Luffy in the rafters above clenches his fists. Nami looks at him and shakes her head. Her gesture says "No".

'Did I ask if it were dangerous?' Mr 3 says with a dangerous tone. He looks over to a small brown stain on the floor. 'And look what you made do! My good tea is spilled!'

He snaps again. 'Golden week. Clean.'

The girl shakes with rage before getting down on all fours and licking the leaf juice on the floor.

'Very good Golden week!' Mr 5 lifts his feet, placing them on her back like a glorified footrest. 'See, this is what an ideal member of our organization looks like. No questions. No objections. Just doing whatever her glorious boss asks for.'

Luffy growls far above the man's head. Nami grits her teeth.

Mr 3 clears his throat. 'Now I'll repeat myself since I'm in a good mood.' He forms another nail of wax in his free hand. 'What is your status on modifying the plague's transmission?'

One of the doctors who isn't patching up one of his friends speaks up. 'Dr Kureha's notes were very helpful, Mr 3, but they were difficult to follow. Were we to meet her in person, perhaps together we can...'

Another nail in another leg. Another doctor is screaming on the floor.

'I'm growing impatient. I believed I asked a simple question.' He conjectures another nail. 'What is your status on making the Plague able to survive in water? Tell me you’ve made progress on the S.A.D. compound!'

Another doctor steps forward. 'Slow, my glorious boss! Though not through lack of trying. We estimate six months, maybe more, before we can modify our samples to feed off the nutrients of algae in the water!'

'Now was that so hard?' Mr 3 groans in disappointment. 'Great! That means Mr 2's little pet prisoner is outperforming my entire workforce! And you idiots call yourselves the best doctors in Drum.'

None of the doctors dares challenge his assertion by pointing out they are charged with multiple lines of research and work simultaneously.

'Dullards and idiots.' Mr 3 finishes up his cup of tea. 'I'm surrounded by dullards and idiots! This workplace is so stressful for middle managers like me, wouldn't you say so, Miss Golden Week?'

The human footstool shakes under the weight of his legs. 'Of course, boss. It's very stressful for you!'

'I know, right?' He leaps up, kicking the girl aside in the process. 'I take all the risk, make all the hard decisions, perform hours of construction, and sacrifice my artistic integrity. And this is what I get.'

He sneers at the flinching scientists 'Brainless gutless doctors undermining me with their blatant incompetence! It could drive a man to drink.' He conjures another cup, which the bruised Miss Golden Week quickly fills.

Mr 3 takes a sip. 'You know I was the one who put this whole operation together. I found this abandoned Island. Set up a disgustingly bland base, caught hundreds of test subjects, and I did it all without complaining.'

He looks to the doctors. 'Do you know why that is?'

The doctors look at each other.

'Don't be shy!' Mr 3 smiles. 'Remember there are no wrong answers here!'

One shakily raises his hand. 'Because Crocodile will kill you if you fail?'

The man's head is perforated by a wax spike. The body falls back into a group of screaming Doctors.

Luffy nearly leaps on the man then and there. Nami grabs him. 'Luffy. No!'

Mr 3 sighs. 'It looks like we're down to the Isshi-12.' He conjures another spear of wax. 'And soon to be Isshi-11 unless someone comes up with a genuine answer in the next ten seconds.'

Panic fills the room, and the doctors scream helplessly, knowing there is no escape. The ones with nails in their legs desperately try to crawl further away.

'Luffy. Stop!' Nami struggles to hold her captain back far outside the madman's range of hearing. 'Wait for the others! We'll come back later once we have everyone! We're just here to scout!'

'Time's up!' Mr 3 smiles. 'So now it's time to answer my question. Why do I, the greatest artist in the world, Mr 3, reduce myself to the level of a babysitter?'

One of the doctors swallows, making a desperate guess. 'B-Because it-t-t's impo-o-ortant?!'

Mr 3's eyes widen at this statement. Then he smiles, and all trace of anger or malice disappears. 'Yes, my good friend! That is exactly right! Because it's important.'

Everyone, literally everyone aside from Mr 3, sighs in pure relief.

The "boss" turns the spear in his hand to harmless wax and paces in front of the cage. 'I know I like to ramble about myself from time to time, and yes, I'm sometimes a little hard on you all.'

He looks at the doctors with a plastered fake smile, completely missing (or ignoring) his captives' open terror. 'But that's only because I believe in our mission. I believe in each and every one of us doing our part to make our dream of a Utopia a reality.'

'I believe in the mission of Baroque Works. I believe in our goal of creating a perfect society where all are equal, and none are discriminated against. A society where beauty and righteousness prevail.' He smiles. 'Now doesn't that sound like a marvelous cause? Doesn't that sound like something worth a little sacrifice to achieve?'

Mr 3 walks towards the group of doctors who try to back away from him. 'So that's why when you make these excuses and sabotage our attempts to reach this perfect world, I get a little upset. So from now on remember...'

'Every mistake you make pushes that perfect Utopia a little further away from us. So don't think. Just do what I say, and everything will be... perfect.' Mr 3 turns towards the young girl. 'Isn't that right, Miss Golden Week?'

The girl's back snaps ramrod straight. 'Yes, Mr 3. You are absolutely right!'

The delusional man nods happily. 'What a model employee you are, Miss Golden Week! Someone is earning that promotion! And would you look at that, our fellow employees have returned.'

The entire room was so focused on Mr 3's "motivational" speech that they completely missed the massive darkness-filled cage being dragged to the rim of the arena. Working quickly, the two men latch it into place against the gate, working as if their lives depended on it. The blonde-haired man inserts a key into a nearby knee-high pillar with a red light. With a turn, the button turns green, and he slams his fist into it. The gate for the arena slides open.

The man on the right inserts his key beneath a glowing red light on the cage. He turns it with a click. The light turns green.

'Better be getting fed well for this!' He slams the button.

The cage's gate opens.

'...'

'...'

The darkness inside the cage stirs.

'...well? What are you waiting for? Instructions?' Mr 3 shouts. 'Did you even give it the waking serum?'

'Give it a minute, boss!' The man in the green hat shouts. It's been given triple-strength sleeping powder. It'll wake up-'

A claw comes out of the darkness. The three-fingered, scaled limb grips the left opening of the arena. The bars bend like tin foil.

'AAAAAAAAIIIEEEE!' The protesting man runs.

A second claw comes out, crushing the left side of the arena.

The other faints dead away.

And then the monster pulls itself into the light.

Its mouth is long and rimmed with sharp teeth longer than a human forearm. Its slitted eyes scan its surroundings for new prey with a predatory instinct. A sharp fin that runs down its muscular back crests over its angular head. Its rear legs stomp into the waxy ground, shattering the floor into chunks of wax. Its long whip-like tail becomes uncoiled, snapping in the open air.

Finally, the entire body of the Allosaurus emerges from the cage. Its massive body dwarfs the meager humans surrounding its enclosure.

RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWAAAAARRRRRR!!!!

Its roar vibrates everything in the building. Glass breaks. Teeth chatter. The ground rumbles.

Many of the doctors pass out on the spot, fearing they will shortly be devoured.

The straw hats in the rafters are torn between awe and fear.

Mr 3 just smiles.

'Miss Golden Week?'

The girl pulls out her brush as fast as a marksman, expertly mixing her colors. 'Red and yellow together create... appetizing orange!'

A flick from her wrist and an orange circle is drawn on the beast's skin.

Suddenly, the creature stops mid-roar. Its pupils dilate, and it licks its teeth as its hunger grows beyond its control. It throws itself against the bars to get to its next meal.

The doctors scream louder and run. Those far too injured to run on their own are dragged.

Fortunately, the bars hold.

RRRRRRAAAAAAWWWWW

......

RRRRRRAAAAAAWWWWW

The beast roars. It is hungry. It needs to

eat. Eat now!

Why was it so hungry? Was sleep long time. Trapped by a scrawny monkey. Couldn't move. Then wake. Hungry!

It needs to eat. It needs to eat now.

Then it smells something. Something gross.

It turns its head, seeing a dead... no, half-dead creature, sleeping from fear. It smells wrong, but it can smell its meat. The hunger... It's too great. It must eat! It must eat now!

With a snap of its jaw, the animal is grasped in its razor-sharp jaws. It rips the thing from its metal rope, throws it in the air, and with practiced ease catches it. The creature's blood and gore drip down its snout and jaw. It swallows the meat down.

It is hungry. It is still... PAIN!

RRRRRAAAAWWWWWWRRRRR

It hurts!! It hurts!! Pain!!! Pain!!!!

It claws at its belly. It feels like the creature fight back. But it dead? How does it still hurt him?

RRRRRAAAAAAAWWWWWW

It roars. It bashes its head. Pain won't go away! Pain gets worse!!!

Body feel weak. Scales... hurt... peel off!! Why!?!

RRRRAAAAAWWWWRRRRR

Its eyes hurt!! Yellow stuff. In the eyes. Mouth hard open!! Why pain!!?

It hear noise. Shrill noise.

It turns its head. PAIN!!!

Scrawny monkey!? It sees a scrawny thing behind metal trees. Scrawny man... happy!? Happy in PAIN!?!

...monkey did... this!?! Monkey causes PAIN!?!

It feels its belly tear. Pain!! Pain

scrawny!!! It hurt!!!

RRaarrWwRrraaaRrrWwwRrrrr!!!!

........

RRaarrWwRrraaaRrrWwwRrrrr!!!!

'Oh ho ho ho ho ho!!'

Mr 3 laughs maniacally as the beast slams its head into the bars in front of him.

The Allosaurus is a disgusting wreck of its former self. Its belly is ripped open, swollen pustule covered intestines spill out on the ground. Tumors cloud its once proud eyes and push out several teeth in their unnatural growth. Its face is a mask of pain, yellow-tinged tears running down its cheeks.

And Mr 3 stands there laughing. 'Oh ho ho ho ho ho!! Magnificent! Superb! Beautiful! Just look at it, Miss Golden Week!' He gestures to the pain-maddened beast. 'With this new formula, we can accelerate the plague's development in seconds! No more waiting around for days or hours!'

He cackles with glee as the creature grows weaker and weaker by the second. 'Now we just have to mass produce it, and project Utopia will be as good as done! And best of all, this was all due to my efforts! That cross-dressing freak, Mr 2, can't take credit for it!'

Luffy looks down at the proud creature reduced to its pitiful state. He hears its cries of pain. He's heard enough.

'Luffy...'

Luffy cracks his knuckles. 'Don't try to stop me, Nami. This place needs to be destroyed. And he...' the captain points at the laughing madman. 'He needs a punch in the face. Badly.'

Nami looks down at the man laughing himself into hysterics at inflicting a fate worse than death on a living creature. '...and you're sure I can't make you wait till we get the others?'

Luffy pops his neck. 'Nope.'

Nami draws a pistol. 'Fine. You beat him down. I'll grab a doctor and get back to the ship.' She tries to spy on the medical professional in the best shape to escape with her. 'I'll try to bring the others. You just... no....'

'Nami?'

Nami forgets she is currently hiding. She forgets the monsters and the madmen. She forgets caution and shouts.

'NOJIKO RUN AWAY!!'

'Hum?' Mr 3 finally hears someone else speaking over him. 'Who dares...'

He turns, running face first into a strange woman in a latex suit. He falls on his but hard.

'What!? Who the devil are you!?'

'Uuuuuuugggh!' Nojiko, groaning, sits on her knees, staring at the monster like a lost puppy.

Mr 3 grits his teeth, staring at the freak who dared run into him. He turns to the doctors. 'Is this waste of space your intern!? Whoever left this thing out is getting demoted.'

The doctors shake their heads, indicating they have no idea who this new arrival is.

'Golden Week!?'

The girl shakes her head "no".

Mr 3 Sighs. He creates a cruel wax trident and uses it to rise to his feet. 'Forget it. Sometimes, if you want something done right...' He raises his weapon to strike Nojiko. 'You do it yourself...'

'GOMU NO RIFLE!!'

A spinning armored fist slams into Mr 3's face. His glasses shatter, his face and pink sores comically deform as he bounces off the ground.

The entire room watches in dumbfounded shock as a new guest arrives. Monkey D Luffy lands in their midst, glaring hatefully at the "boss" of the island. Some of the doctors even look hopeful.

'You...You bastard!!' Mr 3 stands up, the swollen tumor on his right cheek bruising into a vile dark purple. 'How dare you trespass on private property!'

The man snaps his fingers and Miss Golden Week runs to his side. 'Do you know how much work you're getting in the way of? How many quotas are you interfering with!?'

'Not really.' Luffy takes a fighting stance. 'Now hand over your seniors.'

'...'

'...'

He gapes in disbelief. '...what!? You broke into my business and assaulted me... for some decrepit grandparents!?'

'Uh, no.' Luffy points to the hugging mass of doctors pressed so far against the wall they might as well be part of it. 'Just those guys. And to beat you up.' He thinks for a moment. 'And a cure if you have it.'

'Y-You're here for us?' A skittish doctor asks.

'More ugh...' Nami rappels down from the ceiling and unhooks the rope. 'More or less.' She picks up Nojiko and waves a gun in their general direction. 'As of now, you're our prisoners.'

'Uuuuuu!' Nojiko gives a thumbs up.

The surviving doctors look at the orange-haired woman. Then each other.

They all let out a cheer.

'Oh, thank the gods!'

'The nightmare is over!'

'No more black companies for us!'

'Forget medicine! I'm going into dentistry!'

'Traitors!' Mr 3 shouts. 'You...You're all betraying me!? Betraying our cause!?'

'Cluck your cause!' One of the doctors yells.

'You bought us as slaves and worked several of us to death!' A female doctor shouts.

'You stabbed me in the leg!' One of the doctors with a bleeding thigh points out.

'You had us create biological weapons to commit mass murder.' An older bearded doctor says from behind his mask. 'Even if your cause was world peace, your means are vile beyond words and have no justification.'

'Yeah!' Luffy shouts. 'What the senior senior doctor said. You're evil and crazy.' He prepares his fists. 'And I'm gonna beat you up.'

A silence fills the room. Mr 3's face turns purple from rage as he grinds his teeth.

Then he stops. His face returns to its normal hue. Even the pink tumors replacing his cheeks seem to become a less vibrant shade.

'Oh ho ho ho ho ho.'

'Uh. Okay, so...' Luffy looks around. 'I'm a little creeped out. Are you ready for me to beat you up now?'

'Oh ho ho ho ho ho!!' Mr 3 continues to laugh the same nasily self-obsessed laugh.

He stops. Leveling the group with a smug grin.

'Honestly, I'm glad. I'm very glad you've turned against me!' Mr 3 reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handheld switch with a blinking green light.

At the sight of it, the young girl by his side freezes in terror.

'Now I won't feel bad when I do this!'

'G-Galdino!' The young girl by his side shouts. 'There's no need to go that far! Your superior wax powers can easily...'

Mr 3 backhands her to the ground. 'Shut up, you useless artistic sellout! You and your useless paints are cheap parlor tricks to make MY wax look better!! You don't get to talk back to me!!'

Luffy growls and prepares to beat the man senseless.

Mr 3 presses the button in his hand.

A piercing alarm fills the room. Red sirens flash. Metallic rattling is heard everywhere, echoing off the walls.

'What?' Luffy looks around for a sign of a threat.

'What's happening!?' Nami asks, gripping Nojiko tightly.

'Uuuuuuu!' Nojiko tries to cover her ears.

'Miss Golden Week.' Mr 3 drops the switch from his hand with a smug grin. 'Prepare for my candle champion mark 6!'

'Yes, sir...'

'Hey, you!' Luffy turns to the man. 'What did you do?'

Mr 3's body ripples as wax pools out of it. The wax pools and hardens, growing hulking, spiked shoulders and a slim, muscled waist. From this center, two beautiful-looking humanized arms and legs pop out, the very picture of beauty and strength. Only Mr 3's face sticking from the top of the armor retains its disgusting appearance.

'I'm insuring all you trespassing fools.’ He looks at the pirates. 'And your treacherous employees.' He spits out in the doctor's direction. 'Will never leave this Island alive. I'll get new, better employees later, but for right now...'

Miss Golden Week's paint covers the armor in a grotesque collage. Hot sun yellows next to bloody pinks. Excrement browns next to brilliant silver. Sea blue and black are next to white and gold.

He licks his lips. 'Now I get to... indulge in my baser instincts.'

A grotesque multicolored monster looms over them, easily twenty feet tall and twenty wide.

But to Mr 3's detriment, for once, he is not the center of attention.

No. That would be the hundreds upon hundreds of cages opening up around them. And of course, the figures coming out of them.

Hundreds of dinosaurs emerge in all shapes and sizes. Every single one of them is consumed by growths of flesh popping out of their scales. Raptors with blue eyes swollen so much they dangle from optical nerves. Triceratops with hundreds of dripping bony spikes pushing their way out of their skulls. A duckbill with red human-looking teeth going all the way down its throat. A pterosaur flaps out, its wings covered in green, sickly sores. Every single one is a variety of mutation and shape, sharing only two traits. The first is a green flashing box embedded somewhere on their bodies. The second is that all of them look ravenous.

The crazed creatures take in the sight of their new prey with wild eyes.

'Now!' Mr 3 raises his gigantic colored wax fists in the air. 'Let the feast begin!'