Pain…
Absolute agony…
Some might say that dying is similar to falling asleep. Such a thing may be true, if one weren’t to pass away due to lacerations and gunshot wounds. The pain always stayed with you, even as you passed on from one life into the next.
Such was the case for Trafalgar D. Water Law; Captain of the Heart pirates, Surgeon of Death, Shichibukai, and a man with a 440 million bounty over his head. None of that mattered to him at the moment as he gazed up at the barrel of a pistol, currently in the hands of his old leader: Donquixote Doflamingo.
Another crack rung out through the area as another bullet lodged itself in his chest. He could barely make out the cries of Straw Hat Luffy off to his right. His attention was directed to the heavenly demon as yet another bullet lodged itself in his body, making him writhe in pain.
Doflamingo laughed as he watched his once promising subordinate squirm on the ground. He licked his lips in sick pleasure, noticing the growing pool of blood beneath the surgeon. Tired of the game, he aimed the pistol at Law’s heart.
“Goodbye, Law.”
Law gasped as the final bullet pierced through the flesh in his chest. He gripped his sword until his knuckles turned white, desperately clinging onto life.
Darkness began to consume his vision, giving way to maniacal laughter, which gave way to silence.
Not many individuals are aware of the existence of Changelings. Books claim that such creatures are escapees from the pits of Tartarus. Others tell of vast underground societies where pony and bug hybrids take shelter. Yet more say that the beings seek out, and devour love from their prey, disguising themselves to blend in.
As it would happen, sources are correct in some regards. While they hardly strolled out from the gates of hell, they do conduct many operations that most would view as ‘immoral’.
For the Changelings, however, this was simply a way of life. The process of disguising as their prey and feasting on their emotions is one that has continued for countless generations. Many Changelings wished this wasn’t the case, but there was no other way. Changelings have tried to start relationships with others from different species, but the end result was always the same. No individual could love the black shelled beasts for what they are, not what they represent.
It’s for this reason that only steeled individuals became infiltrators for the hive. Those who did not have second thoughts about providing for the hive would be chosen from a select few to travel large distances. They would settle down in towns for several decades and make friends, slowly gathering energy for the hive. Occasional trips would be made to deposit emotions back home so the others could eat.
Once the time frame was reached, the disguised infiltrator would declare to any friends it had made that they would be moving away. In reality, the infiltrator would simply return home and deposit the large amounts of love it had gathered over its time. A year later and it would be sent out again in a different part of the world.
Such a complicated life style was hard on the mind, even for those who were specifically selected for such a task. In the hive they were hailed as heroes, and for good reason. Some Changelings didn’t want the praise though, or the benefits of living healthier lives. Some wanted this position for the thrill of heading off into the unknown and the adventure that awaited them.
That was all one particular Changeling wanted as it buzzed its wings, traveling west as it skimmed across the canopy of the Everfree forest. Doppel was an energetic Changeling mare, always looking for excitement in her day to day, boring mundane routines. Even as a young nymph she would always cause problems for others and herself.
When she was old enough to apply for work she was given a list of options to choose from, everything from nursery to mining. Of course, her energetic personality demanded she settle for nothing less than the most exciting of jobs: Infiltration.
It required more studying and learning than she would have liked, but the payout was simply too good to give up. After years of hard schooling she was finally qualified to work as an infiltrator to her Queen’s hive. It was only today that she had finally been given her target location and flew off towards a town called Ponyville.
Doppel hummed happily to herself as she soared through the air, thinking of what she should disguise herself as for the next some odd decades. It was at this moment that she decided to glance down in thought. She was hovering over a small clearing in the forest, a natural spring bubbling up from the earth at the edge.
Doppel’s train of thought halted as she took another look at the ground. She rubbed her eyes with her hooves, wondering if she was hallucinating. She blinked as her mind caught up with her actions. She wasn’t imagining things. Down below on the forest floor lay a prone body, a bipedal creature Doppel had never seen before.
While investigating strange creatures was hardly part of her mission, her adventurous mindset wouldn’t let her ignore the discovery of something new and foreign.
With barely restrained excitement, Doppel descended into the clearing, landing a few yards away from the body. She began to walk towards the creature, one slow step at a time. Up close it was clear to see that this being was wearing some type of clothing. A black coat of some kind hugged its upper body while it’s hind legs were covered with blue cloth. It also wore a puffy, white bowled capped hat.
As she got closer, her nerves began to slip away when the creature showed no signs of movement. It was only until she was a few feet away did she start to notice the red splotches on its chest, as well as the small puddle of blood underneath it.
Dopple’s eyes widened in horror as she took in the mutilated body. It was then that she noticed the large sword gripped in its right forearm, leaving her little to the imagination what kind of being this was.
Inner turmoil plagued Dopple’s mind as she sat on her haunches, considering her options. The safest thing to do would be to leave the being by itself in its weakened state. It was clearly a fighter of some kind if it wielded a sword.
It was such a large sword too.
Part of Dopple’s mind wondered if the creature was overcompensating for something.
The other option would be to help the biped recover until it awoke. This would delay her mission somewhat, but not by much. After all, she had decades to settle down before she was actually required to return home.
With that in mind she settled on option two. The creature was clearly in a lot of pain, but Dopple didn’t know enough healing magic to help it. Even if she did, it could be dangerous to work on a creature one didn’t know about.
She was startled from her thoughts when a cough came from the creature. She blanched as she saw blood spray from its mouth, coating its chest even further with the coppery substance. Her instincts kicked in as she rushed over to the creature's side, speaking softly, “Shh, it’s alright, don’t push yourself.”
The creature seemed to ignore her warning as it tried to lift itself with its arms. The attempt was pathetic at best, and only elicited a small gasp of pain from the figure. When it failed to rise, it tried to open its eyes. The attempt was met with equal amounts of failure as it was forced to immediately shut its eyes due to the streams of blood running down its face.
The creature was breathing heavily, each intake of air seemed to bring it some small amount of pain. Doppel attempted to calm it down by rubbing its hand. She forced down her gag reflex as she got blood on her chitin.
The creature tensed as contact was made and it spoke out in a hoarse whisper, “Who are you? Where am I?”
The voice was clearly masculine, and easy to tell that the being wasn’t from around these parts.
“That doesn’t matter right now. Rest, and let me help you,” Doppel cooed softly.
The being had enough energy to frown, clearly against such an action, but his body forced him to accept the offer. Fatigue and loss of blood finally caught up with him as his consciousness once more began to fade away.
Doppel remained by his side until he passed out before she got to work. She had no idea what compelled her to help the stallion, but it was clear enough he wasn’t from around here. Most changelings might frown upon her for offering such aid to one outside her species, but she didn’t care. Her parents raised her better than that, and all life should be considered sacred.
Working quickly, she tore off strips of his jacket, starting at the base and working up. The cloth hung low, almost down to his knees, so she was certain that a few inches off would be an acceptable loss in turn for his life. Once she had enough strips, she carried one over to the spring with her magic, soaking it thoroughly.
Returning to the prone figure, she gently lifted him up with her magic and placed him on a fresh patch of grass. She felt her bile rise in her throat as she took in the large pool of blood, but quickly pushed it down as she got to work.
She needed to work quickly and gently to clean his wounds and bandage them.
For his sake.
Law opened his eyes to the night sky, the stars scattered haphazardly against the black canvas. He remained still as he recollected his thoughts. His memory was fuzzy, and he strained to recall something, anything that may explain why he felt so weak.
His eyes widened as it all came back to him at once. Escaping Doflamingo and Issho at Green Bit, handing Caesar off to the Straw Hats, his fight with the Heavenly Demon on the bridge, and his final moments as Doflamingo executed him in front of the Colosseum.
Executed… he felt his life slip away, the cold embrace of death claim him. How could he possibly still be alive after what he went through? He fought to remember more, but the only thing he could remember was a voice.
A crack jolted him into awareness, the sound all too similar to that of a pistol. He turned his head to the side, finding himself laid next to a small fire. Seated on the other side was some kind of creature he had never seen before. It was hard to fully make out in the dark, but the fangs, blue eyes, and curved horn dominated its features.
He grunted as he forced himself into a sitting position, wincing as he grasped his chest in pain. He could feel the bandages wrapped around his body, and upon closer inspection the material used looked familiar. A quick check and he found his sweatshirt a few inches shorter, much to his annoyance.
He turned his body so he faced the fire. He looked to his side and was pleased to see his sword, Kikoku. He relieved it from the ground and placed it on his lap as he looked across the flames at the creature.
Upon closer inspection, he could pick out a few more details. It seemed to be some sort of horse-bug hybrid. It was covered in black chitin and looked to be diseased ridden if the holes in its legs were anything to go by. The large blue eyes, however, appeared to hold some intelligence, more so than a mindless animal.
He was proven right when it spoke, “Are you feeling alright?”
Law furrowed his brow as the creature spoke to him. It was clearly sapient, but unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was most likely a Zoan type user, but of what he didn’t know.
“I’ve been better,” Law began warily, “but I don’t know where I am. I also don’t know who, or what you are at the moment.”
The insect gave him a, well, what he thought constituted as a grin. The creature introduced itself, “My name is Doppel, and I’m a Changeling. So, what’s your name?”
“Law. Are you the one who helped me?”
Dopple nodded. “I am. You’re lucky to be alive, you know. By the time I found you, you had lost a lot of blood. I tried to dress the wounds, but I didn’t have any bandages, so I had to use your cloths.”
Law scowled as he was reminded of his sweatshirt, the action causing Dopple to flinch in fear. Law forced himself to remain calm, he needed to if he wanted to approach this situation logically.
“Dopple,” the changeling perked an ear, “where exactly am I right now?”
“Well… right now you’re in the Everfree forest, just on the outskirts of the badlands, which is located in the country of Equestria.”
Law sighed as he took in the information. It was clear he was no longer in Dressrosa, but he held some hope that he was on an island he knew. Instead, it would seem he was stranded in the middle of a foreign country, and one he had never heard of as well. Doflamingo is no doubt behind all this, trying to separate himself from the Straw Hats.
He did a damned fine job of it too.
Dopple, for her part, found Law to be amusing. The moment Law started to examine her, she realized that, in all of the excitement, she forgot to transform. She was pleased Law refrained from running away in fear, but it only heightened her curiosity. She could understand not knowing what a Changeling is, but he must be more lost than she thought if he doesn’t even know the name out the forest he’s in, let alone the country.
She cleared her throat to get his attention, “I understand your concern, but you need to rest. You lost a lot of blood and, to be quite honest, I’m amazed you’re even alive right now. Recover your strength before you do anything else.”
Law gave a grunt of defeat, finding the advice to be sound. He lay back upon the ground, closing his eyes and quickly falling asleep as fatigue consumed him once more.
Dopple watched Law slowly drift off to sleep, his breathing slowing in time to the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. She only just realized she had never asked what species Law was. She shook her head and sighed, the day's events starting to catch up with her.
She lay upon the ground next to the fire as her mind replayed the day’s events. When she signed up to be an infiltrator, she never expected to be helping unknown creatures in the middle of a forest.
She silently scoffed at the strangeness of it all. Nothing could be done about it now, and she owed it to Law to be there for him when he woke up. Besides, it was an interesting experience to speak to another outside her own species that didn’t outright label her a monster. Her accursed desire for excitement always got her into trouble, and this time it seemed no different.
There was nothing to it. She was stuck with Law for the time being and she promised herself she would stick by him until he healed. Who knows, maybe she’ll actually make a friend, one that can tolerate her antics?
With that pleasant thought in mind she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.