Chapter 36

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but Kyra was my idea

Beta'd by Tomas the Betrayer

Demon Witch Kyra mechanically punches a man in the face, caving in his skull and adding a fresh coat to the blood splashed over her like paint. His cored corpse falls to the ground, leaving his three shrieking children alone and unprotected. The siblings are dead in the next instant, their necks broken by a gesture of a gore-coated hand.

"Going to deliver Bink's sake," the woman slurs out, stumbling after fleeing civilians on wobbly legs, "we are pirates sailing the sea, the waves are our pillows, the ship our roost, flying the proud skull on our flag and sails..."

Someone is screaming behind her. She makes an unsteady circle, spots the woman she missed earlier on the ground. The stranger is shrieking, wailing, her arms wrapped around a child's dead body, face buried in bloodied curls. Must have been her kid; Mama used to hold Kyra, that's what mamas do, right? Kyra absently waves a hand; the woman dies instantly, still cradling her kid's cadaver.

There is someone else there, a man, watching Kyra with a strangely enthralled look on his face. Is he hoping she'll kill him next? She can do that. He has to die anyway; if he wants to be next, then that's okay. She makes another absent gesture, aiming to end the stranger's life painlessly and quickly.

Nothing happens other than the agony that instantly inflames every nerve in Kyra's skinny, weak, blood-covered body.

"Now, now, lovey. I'm not for killing, remember?" the man coos to her, crossing the space between them and cupping her sweaty face with a gentle hand. "Turn around, Kyra. There are plenty to kill in the opposite direction."

Merrick; right. Can't kill him. Can't rip his guts out and strangle him with them, can't yank his still-beating heart out of his chest and eat it while he dies at her feet. The bite mark on her right wrist throbs in warning.

Do it!

Kill him, girl, kill him!

You can do it, woman!

Do it do it do it!

"Can't," she mutters absently, turning away from her unassailable mate and wandering after the distant figures running from death. "Can't. Sorry, sorry. Sing for you, where was I, where... Now comes a storm through the far-off sky; now the waves are dancing, beat upon the drums; if you lose your nerve this breath could be your last, but if you just hold on the morning sun will rise... Yo-ho-ho-hooo, yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-hooo, yo-ho-ho-ho..."

Kyra sings to the souls that follow her as she massacres yet another New World island. She stumbles around like a drunk, slurring her words, losing her place in whichever song she stutters out; her mind will not stay focused long enough to remember the right words.

Go to sleep, you fucking stupid stubborn bitch!

Talk to that guy again! He'll help you!

Maybe he can free us!

Yeah! C'mon, kid, go to sleep for fuck's sake! It's been three days!

Kyra shakes her head rapidly, her stringy, oily curls slapping against her face as she flicks a woman in the temple. She steps over the new body and kicks a man in the head, taking it right off his neck as easy as pulling apart a piece of paper. "Can't. Gotta protect him. Gotta keep him safe, keep him away. Gotta keep him safe. Protect him... safe... Love's young dream alas is over; yet my strains of love shall hover near the presence of my lover... all through the night..."

Once the slaughter is done she sits listlessly on the killing fields of the island, listening to the weeping of the newly dead as the souls of the others she has killed and trapped with her alternate between trying to soothe their fresh companions and berating her to fucking go to sleep already. Their collective compassion is frankly amazing; they are dead because she killed them, locked to this plane by her magic because Merrick wills it to be so. They should hate her. They should fling words of well-deserved abuse down upon her. They should not be concerned with her physical or psychological health to the point where they are scolding her for not getting any sleep in the three nights that have passed since she reunited with Law in her dreams.

A hysterical giggle bursts from her mouth. Once upon a time Kyra didn't have anyone around her that gave a shit about her health. Used to be that Kyra was completely alone in the world. Back then, she would have been beyond ecstatic to have so many 'people' all around her every minute of every day that nagged her to take better care of herself. Now look at her; haunted by the hundreds of people Merrick has forced her to kill.

Her life is such a fucked up existence.

"Dead," she says eventually, feeling Merrick's loathsome presence behind her. "All of them. Everyone. All dead."

Unwelcome fingers come to rest in her hair, stroking through her bloody curls as though thinking to comfort her. "Yes. You've done well, Kyra. I'm very pleased with you."

"Why?" Kyra mumbles, ducking out from under his touch, lying on the ground and curling in on herself. Her eyes lock with those of a corpse, hazy now in death, the fear that person felt still clear on his face. "Why dead? Why kill them?"

A pause in which her most hated mate crouches behind her, laying a disgusting hand against her hip and giving a light squeeze. "You'll find out soon, lovey. There are only a few more little pit stops for us before we visit Fishman Island. After that, I will show you what these people died for. You don't mind waiting a little longer, do you, lovey?"

She doesn't answer, just closes her eyes and lets her powers wrap around them. She feels the change of location in the texture of the foliage pressing against her skin, smells it in the lack of copper in the air. Merrick sweeps her up and carries her into his house, exchanging quiet words with his mother before trooping upstairs to Kyra's prison. He sets her gently in the armchair by the fireplace, strokes tender fingers down her cheek.

"I wish you wouldn't fight me anymore, lovey," he murmurs, warm breath bathing Kyra's face; she shudders in disgust at his touch and tone, feeling sick to be caressed by this freak. He doesn't even seem to notice her reaction.

"I hate that you hurt yourself like this. Why can't you see that it's pointless? We're bonded, lovey; bound together until death. Wouldn't it be so easy for you to just accept that? I would give you the world, if only you would choose to stand beside me at the top. No one would ever hurt you again; the government that gave you to me for torture all those years ago would die under your might; the Tenryūbito would be your slaves. Soon, we will have all the power, Kyra; we'll be like gods. Everything will be ours for the taking. We will make a new world, one without the Navy or Government or pirate scum -"

Kyra jerks away from his hand, curls herself into a shivering ball in the chair and whimpers.

After a taut silence, she hears the rustle of fabric as her own personal devil rises to his feet and walks away.

"Clean her up. Put her to bed and come to collect food for her. She's done for the night."

The bedroom door closes with a snap.

Lihla ushers her into the hot bath and scrubs harshly at her skin, sneering at the knobs of her spine and the ladder of her ribs. Kyra lets her former childhood bane wash her hair, dry her and put her back in the chair before the roaring fire, disregarding the woman's biting commentary in favor of listening to the whispers of the dead.

Why's she doing this?

What's that bastard want with us? Why can't we go on?

Where should we be going?

What's after this?

Heaven!

Hell!

Idiots. Heaven's an island in the sky that anybody can get to and Hell's a layer of Impel Down. There ain't nothin' after this.

Maybe we'll be reincarnated.

I want to be a wolf.

A cat.

A fuckin' big-ass Sea King! Try killing me then, fuckers!

But... but... Tomas bemused!

Why are we still here?

What does he want?

Why'd we die?

Why'd this happen?

Why?

Why?

Why?

The question is repeated by countless thousands of voices, and Kyra can give no answer. She is so tired; her bones ache, her left arm from fingertips to bicep screaming in constant agony. She yearns for Law: his voice, his scent, the snowy field of his subconscious. She longs to close her eyes and sleep for a week, safe with Law, out of Merrick's reach and free of the burden of a thousand too many souls tied to hers. Oh, how she longs for rest...

No! No, she can't sleep. She has to stay awake, away from Law, however much she wants to go to him. It's not safe. What if Merrick figures out how to get into her dreams? What if he follows her to Law and kills him? No, she can't let that happen.

Her dead companions don't seem to agree, if all the bitching they are now doing is anything to go by.

Go to sleep, for fuck's sake!

Seriously!

Stop being such a stupid little bitch!

Go to sleep so that guy from before can get us all out of this mess!

Sleep! Sleep, you idiot!

GO TO SLEEP ALREADY, GODS YOU'RE SUCH A DUMB SHIT!

"Shut up," Kyra mumbles, unconsciously reaching up and covering her ears with her hands as though that will do any good. "Shut up, shut up, leave me alone. No sleep. Keep him safe. Just shut up, shut up, all of you..."

...ittle on...

She pauses in her refrain, shoulders tense and pulse pounding in her throat. Her absentee heart gives a mighty leap, wherever Merrick has it hidden away. Kyra curls even tighter into herself, a small ball of trembling woman in the large chair, desperately searching for that hated, familiar voice amongst thousands.

...I don't understand, Mommy, why's this happening, where's heaven? I wanna go to heaven...

...Why won't she sleep?! Lover-boy's gonna be pissed when she passes out and he gets his dreamy hands on her, heheh...

...Have mercy on me, oh God, according to Thy great mercy, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercy...

...isten to me, little one. Kyra, my beloved savior, listen. Can you hear my voice?

"You..." Kyra whispers, awe and shock nearly choking her own.

Yes, the voice replies, stronger now, drowning out the thousands of others. Yes, little one, it is I. I am here.

The Divine has found her.

Kyra leaps from the chair with a weak shout of pure joy, stumbling over the fur rug and nearly pitching forward into the fire. Over by the bed, Lihla gives a surprised shriek at her companion's sudden movement, jumping up onto the mattress and scanning the floor as though expecting to find something revolting slithering towards her.

"What?! What is it?! What are you yelling about, sordes?"

Kyra spins in wobbling circles, arms extended to the ceiling as though her immortal annoyance will reach down and pluck her from this hell.

"Get me out! Get me out!" she bawls, tripping over the rug again and crashing to the floor. "Wanna go home, want out! Take me home!"

A faint sensation of feathers around her. A vague sense of guilt not her own. Her previous crystal clear connection with the ancient creature has obviously degraded drastically. A few months ago such a realization would have had Kyra practically dancing with glee; now she just wants to scream in frustration.

Calm yourself, little Kyra. You must calm down and listen. I cannot part you from the abomination. To do so would result in your death. You must stay with the half-breed for now.

"No!" Kyra howls, every fiber of her being rebelling at the suggestion that she is well and truly trapped with Merrick forever. She fists her hands in the fur of the rug as tears stream from her bloodshot eyes, sobs wracking her weak frame. "No, no, noooooo! Don't leave me here! Gotta go home, gotta take me back to Law! Pleeeaaase!"

"Is it that thing?" Lihla babbles from the bed, sounding both terrified and hopeful in equal measures. "The creature you unleashed? You command it, don't you, sordes? Get us out of here! Tell it to come for us at once!"

Even over the sound of her own sobbing, Kyra can clearly hear the Divine's answering growl.

I would not waste my time saving one of her line. Perhaps I shall kill her, little one, and save you from suffering her presence.

"No," Kyra immediately barks, sniffling in an attempt to stem the flood of weeping. She must pull herself together. Fuck it, fuck the Divine, she can't trust that monster. Who cares if it won't help her? It'd probably just make things worse anyway. Law may have made the mistake of letting it 'help' him, but considering Kyra's still suffering the consequences of that particular fuck up, she's not in the mood to repeat history.

"Leave her. Don't kill her. Kill him," she hisses, hands now fisted so tightly in the fur rug that the skin of her palms is starting to sting.

Very well. I suppose even one as odious as she is better than no company at all. The Divine sounds unbelievably pompous as he says this, rather like Law when someone makes a stupid mistake and cannot produce an adequate excuse. I am sorry, Kyra, but I cannot kill the half-breed without ending your life as well. I refuse to allow that to happen. You must hold on until such a time as you are no longer bonded to the creature.

Fuck! Why is Merrick so fucking hard to kill, for Roger's sake?!

He is not invincible, little one, the Divine assures her, as though such a platitude will be a comfort. And you are not alone. You have me. I have given your true mate access to your dreams once again, if only you will sleep. It is not all dark, little one. I swear I shall see you free again soon. Even now your beloved searches for you; I will not let him rest until you are found, though it is beyond me to bring him here. The half-breed's father seems to have safeguarded that particular island from me before his murder. It is barred to me for miles in all directions.

Disappointed eyes wander to Lihla, who has clammed up over on the bed and is now as white as snow. Obviously she has deduced from Kyra's words that the Divine is perfectly willing to rip her innards from her body should Kyra allow it. But what is the point in killing her? That is too easy an end for the bitchy blonde whose father gave Kyra's mother to Merrick. She should suffer first. She should be in pain; she should be physically and mentally destroyed, then cast out without her magic to fend for herself in the deadly New World. Besides which, why let the Divine murder Lihla instead of doing it herself, alone or with Law's sadistic helping hands?

An idea comes to her then; a wonderful, awful, mad idea that has semi-hysterical cackles bubbling out of her mouth even as she silently berates her own stupidity. Why the hell hasn't she thought of this before? It's so damn obvious.

"Give her to him," Kyra blurts out, giggling like a lunatic. "Make her pay, make her suffer, make her lead him here. Came here with him; knows where we are. Bring Law. Give her to him."

It's perfect - so totally fucking perfect. What better revenge could she ever exact on Lihla than to send her to Law, who hates her with a feverish passion for her role in Kyra's desertion of his crew two years ago? Trafalgar Law is a master at torture, a genius at causing indescribable agony. Lihla will beg for death long before Law grants it. It will be child's play for the Dark Doctor to extract the location of Merrick's little hideaway, along with a route. So what if the fucking Divine can't kill Merrick? So what if it has apparently failed thus far to simply zap Law and the crew - and possibly a bunch of immensely powerful, bloodthirsty buddies willing to slaughter a Rear-Admiral - to the island? To find Kyra, Law will drag every last drop of the information he needs from Lihla's screaming lips before he rips her apart.

Her previous refusal to even think of Law coming here is pointless. She cannot continue like this. She will not be Merrick's scythe to mow down every living person on the planet. She cannot stay awake forever, hiding from her lover like a coward in a misguided attempt to keep him safe. With or without her approval, Law would come for her; she might as well give him something fun to do on the way. Perhaps once he forgives her recent stubbornness, he will even show Kyra what he ends up doing to Lihla in their shared dreams.

It will be glorious.

"What are you doing?! Stop it, you bitch, stop it! You can't do this!" Lihla is screaming denial; she has crossed the room again to throw herself on the floor next to Kyra. She grabs the cackling sorceress by the shoulders, shakes her, draws back a hand and slaps her across the face. The blow does not even faze her victim, who is still laughing so hard that tears are pouring down her reddened cheeks.

"You can't do this! You can't give me to that damned lunatic pirate, he'll kill me! He'll kill me, sordes! You can't just send me off to die!"

Kyra responds with a crazed grin, hiccupping slightly by this point, still chuckling uncontrollably.

"Give my love to Law, you bitch," she says with a thousand different voices, words perfectly clear and utterly terrifying.

Kyra howls when Lihla abruptly vanishes mid-scream; sits there on the floor and simply howls with mirth. Her ribs and diaphragm ache from the prolonged laughing. She feels lightheaded and nauseous, her face hurts from the strain; but she cannot seem to stop. It's just so fucking funny. She can so easily picture what kind of crazed smile will light up Law's face the instant he realizes what Kyra means for him to do with Lihla. She can think of a dozen different ways in which her lover will make the woman suffer - at least a dozen, just off the top of her head. Or the top off of Lihla's head! The thought makes her giggle. And best of all, she knows damn well that Law has such iron control over himself that he will not kill his new toy until she leads him right to Kyra and Merrick.

And when the hour comes that the Surgeon of Death and the Heart Pirates land on this godforsaken island, Rafe Merrick will rue the day he ever so much as set eyes on Demon Witch Kyra.

She chortles some more as the bane of her existence barrels into the room, a thunderous look on his face even before he notices Lihla's mysterious absence. It doesn't matter what Merrick does to Kyra now. It doesn't matter if the damn Divine refuses to be fucking useful. Law will find her; he will free her from Merrick's hold and shatter the forced bond, and he will do all of this with style and a smirk.

And then he will step back and watch as Kyra slaughters Merrick with her bare hands.

Law is coming for her.

He is coming.

He is.

Law stands to the right of Red-Haired Shanks on the Yonkou's ship, eyeballing the barrel-chested Vice Admiral through the cloud of smoke around his head. White Hunter Smoker, in turn, looks to be imagining all the different ways in which he would like to make the Surgeon of Death pay for the inconvenience of being forced to share space with the young pirate. His pretty bespectacled captain stands a step behind him, one dainty hand wrapped around the hilt of her sheathed katana.

Behind Law, Bepo is growling softly, a continuous rumble that the twisted doctor finds oddly soothing. He had point-blank refused to leave his captain's side for this little meeting, much to the shock of the rest of the Heart Pirates. The loyal bear has grown a stubborn streak in the last few weeks; since the arrival of Fire Fist Ace and Phoenix Marco to the Heart Pirates submarine, Bepo has never been further away from Law than the floor outside of his captain's bathroom. It is blatantly clear that the fluffy kung-fu warrior does not trust the visiting pair of pirates, and Law finds himself disinclined to reprimand his old friend for his overprotectiveness. If it annoys those two imbeciles, then all the better.

Said imbeciles are standing on Shanks' other side next to Ben Beckman, Fire Fist shooting provoking grins at Vice-Admiral Smoker while Marco just looks perpetually bored as usual. Blue-gold flames are licking the Zoan Fruit user's shoulders while the son of Gol D. Roger is smoking slightly all over. Law is fairly sure that only their perceived debt to his magician and the threat of Beckman's fury are keeping the two from doing something stupid - like starting a fight for shits and giggles.

The current situation is tense enough as it is.

Smoker heaves a put-upon sigh, sending a plume of smoke directly into Law's face as a result.

"They'll ignore you," he states bluntly, glare swinging from Law to Shanks and back again. "There's no way in hell anybody in the hierarchy of the Navy or World Government is going to concern themselves with the warnings of a bunch of pirate scum. Especially not a dead man," here he gives Fire Fist a glare of deepest loathing, "a Yonkou, and the captain of the monster that's slaughtered half the New World by now."

Bepo gives a full out roar. Only a subtle hand gesture from Law keeps the bear from trying to maul the mouthy Marine.

Fire Fist is also pissed, his expression changing from teasing challenge to protective offense in seconds.

"Lay off her, Smoky," the human torch barks sharply, darting forward lightning-fast to get into the bigger man's face. "Kyra ain't no fucking monster. We told you, she's being controlled by that Merrick guy - one of your precious Marines!"

"That doesn't matter," Smoker growls right back, glaring at Ace with visible annoyance as he chews on his cigars. "In the eyes of the World Government and therefore the Navy, Demon Witch Kyra is a mass murdering psychopath with a current bounty of 500,000,000 beli."

The blood drains from Law's face so fast that for a moment the man feels as though he might faint. He is suddenly so angry that he literally feels ill. 500,000,000 beli? His magician's bounty has risen that high? The fucking World Government is truly willing to do that... to ignore the real threat while branding Kyra as that dangerous... and Merrick...

"What of Merrick?" Law demands, so beyond furious that his voice is actually shaking. "What is his bounty?"

Smoker doesn't answer; behind him, his pretty captain adjusts her glasses, expression somewhere between ashamed and apprehensive.

That is more than answer enough.

Law can feel his lips turn up into something that might resemble a grin. Damn the Government. Damn the fucking Marines. Damn Shanks for making Law leave his nodachi on the submarine earlier. If Law had a weapon in his hands right now, he would tear the whole fucking world apart with his anger.

The same old story again and again. A baby of Gol D. Rogers? Kill it, of course; too dangerous to let it live. A whole fucking town infected with Amber Lead syndrome because the World Government lied to them all? Slaughter them - down to the last helpless child. A woman turned into a weapon of mass destruction at the whim of an insane man under the employee of the Marines?

Well, obviously it's all the woman's fault.

"How can you serve them?!" Law bursts out in a fit of fury, literally snarling at Smoker. He strides over to the Marine, shoves Fire Fist Ace out of the way to get into the older man's face. Bepo is growling louder than ever, sounding feral as Smoker meets Law's gaze with an impassive expression. "How the fuck do you justify any of this shit?!" he rages. "Do you know what they did to her? Experiments and torture on a fucking twelve-year-old girl! They gave her a bounty for protecting herself! And now they're going to let Merrick off scot-free when he's forcing her to kill those fucking people! Kyra would never harm a goddamn civilian for anything short of saving the life of one of my men! He's using her for something, and your precious World Government is ignoring the bigger problem!"

"Watch your tone, pirate!" the female Marine barks indignantly. "Vice-Admiral Smoker doesn't have to explain himself to the likes of you!"

"If you idiots don't take precautions, he's not going to be explaining himself to the geezers in Mariejois either, sister!" Ace shoots back from Law's elbow. "Kyra'll slaughter 'em all, if that Merrick bastard makes her! Go tell em' to pull their heads out of their asses before they get themselves killed!"

Law draws away from the still silent Smoker, shaking with the force of his anger. He is done here. This has all been completely pointless, as he should have known it would be. Screw those corrupt fools in Mariejois, anyway; if they want to stick their heads in the sand until Kyra tears them from their thrones, so be it. Hell, they deserve it! It's about time someone made those bastards pay for the countless atrocities carried out in their name for the last eight hundred fucking years. If he manages to stop her and kill Merrick before the Government feels her wrath, he'll loose her on the bastards himself!

While Law seethes, Shanks has stepped up to speak to the Marines. "Is there any hope of getting your superiors to at least set guards of some kind up around Mariejois? You don't have to tell them it was on the suggestion of pirates; isn't there anything you could say that would convince them? If Kyra gets into the Holy Land, all of those people living there are going to die."

"I'll speak to the Fleet Admiral," Smoker replies guardedly. "No promises."

Law scoffs loudly, signaling to Bepo even as he digs in a pocket for the baby Den-Den he'd brought from his submarine. That bastard Akainu isn't going to do shit. He hopes that Kyra has the chance to splatter the fucking Fleet Admiral's guts all over Mariejois before Law kills Merrick and frees her. Screw him. Screw the Marines. Why should Law give a shit if they all die? Dead Marines can't fucking kill his magician the same as they've killed everyone else he's ever given a shit about. To hell with them. To hell with them all.

He has just pulled the Den-Den from his pocket when several surprised shouts have him spinning on the spot, once again mentally cursing his lack of a weapon. He then curses aloud at seeing the Divine of all things, standing before him with wings outstretched in a magnificent display - one hand fisted in the blonde hair of a woman on her knees in front of it.

"Our little one has sent this offal as a gift to you, human," the Divine declares, shaking the woman by its grip on her golden locks. It doesn't bother to acknowledge any of the other people standing on Shanks' ship: not the uncharacteristically gaping Vice-Admiral or his incredulously shrieking captain, not the Whitebeard duo now both covered in protective flames... and not the crew of the Red Force, who look shocked but strangely unsurprised.

And doesn't that lack of reaction raise dozens of mental alarms?

Before Law can deal with Shanks, he must handle the Divine. He turns his attention to the screeching banshee trapped in the monster's grasp. She is screaming at him, demanding that he force the immortal to release her. It's almost funny; the foolish woman seriously thinks Law has power over the creature? Imbecile.

Bepo, standing to Law's left, is growling. As he has been doing practically nonstop since setting foot on the Red Force; his captain only now registers that the timbre of the rumble emitting from the polar bear's chest has changed pitch. Something is different.

"What is it, Bepo?"

"I know that woman's smell, Captain. I know her."

That has all of the Dark Doctor's considerable mind focused directly onto his first mate.

"You know her?" he repeats softly. Bepo, teeth bared in a terrifying snarl, gives a single sharp nod.

"Yes, Captain. You told me to take care of her until we could leave her somewhere. You saved her after we killed her Marine crew. Before Kyra disappeared the first time."

The nurse.

Lily.

Lihla.

The fucking shaman's daughter who tricked Kyra into going home and spent three months torturing her. Three months torturing Law's magician.

Law clears the space between them in an instant and punches the woman in the face.

Pandemonium ensues. The two Marines prepare to do battle, probably to protect the innocent civilian; Shanks' crew reaches for their own weapons; Ace and Marco lunge for Law. Bepo roars at them, covering Law's back as his irate captain closes his hand around Lihla's throat and yanks her away from the Divine. The immortal doesn't try to keep ahold of her; instead it steps back and immediately erects a very familiar type of barrier around itself, pushing everyone but Law, Lihla, and Bepo away.

"Kyra wishes for this human to suffer greatly before you kill her," it informs the pirate in a bland tone, not seeming perturbed to be reduced to a messenger. "Kyra has said that the woman will know where the half-breed nests with its mother."

"Of course," Law murmurs, voice colder than the blizzards of his childhood home. "She handed Kyra over to Merrick's mercies once before; now Kyra is repaying the favor. And rest assured, Mr. Divine: I am much crueler than Merrick."

"Law..."

The Surgeon of Death glances over his shoulder and pins the Yonkou with a glare. "This doesn't concern you, Mr. Shanks. This woman will return to my submarine with me. If you are wise, you will not attempt to interfere."

He moves his gaze to Smoker, dropping any civility as he does so. "If the Marines succeed in killing my magician, I will rain such destruction on them and the World Government as to turn the world on its head. I'll kill every one of the Tenryubito, I'll raze the new Marineford to the ground; I'll slaughter every man and woman wearing the Marine insignia and anyone else who gets in my way. You should keep that in mind, Vice-Admiral."

Again Law turns his back, dismissing all of them as he gestures to the Divine. "Can you take us to my submarine? Kyra made a request of me; I'd like to get started."

The quartet appears in the galley of Law's sub a moment later, much to the surprise of the dining crew. After the initial exclamations of surprise, a deadly quiet fills the room as the Heart Pirates register the blonde woman's presence and the hold their scowling captain still has on her throat.

"This," the Dark Doctor declares in a loud voice to be heard over the hellcat raking her nails down the backs of his hands hard enough to draw blood, screaming and sobbing, "is Miss Lihla. You might recognize her: she once took advantage of our hospitality while posing as a Navy nurse. We parted ways with her just in time for Kyra to run off with her late cousin."

He examines his men's faces, watching as recognition dawns upon them, as their expressions begin to darken in fury as they realize exactly who this bitch is.

"Miss Lihla then enjoyed torturing my magician for three months, and would have murdered young Aaron had Kyra not saved both the boy and herself by returning to us. More recently, Miss Lihla has been with Kyra in whatever hellhole Mr. Merrick has hidden her. Thanks to the help of Mr. Divine here, Kyra sent Miss Lihla to us."

Law falls quiet at this, trying to master his fury both at this fucking woman and at his damn magician. What, she won't sleep to see him and talk to him in their dreams but she'll send someone to him like a fucked up birthday present? How much worse has her situation become in the last three days for her to abandon her idiotic plan to keep him from finding her? He wants to talk to her, see the damage she's picked up for himself.

If she doesn't show up tonight, he's going to ask the Divine to knock her ass out. Stubborn fool.

"Miss Lihla," he finally continues, voice deadly quiet, "is going to be leading us to Kyra's location. Until such time as we reclaim our missing crewmate, Miss Lihla will be enjoying our hospitality once again."

By now the crew is on their feet, rather terrifying looks on every face. Bepo is actually slathering at the mouth, foam-flecked drool dripping from his jaws to the floor as he sends out a continuous, low level snarl. Law smiles at them all before throwing Lihla towards the table.

"Please entertain our guest for the night," he instructs, tone perfectly polite. "Once she's settled in for an extended stay, I have a few questions to ask of her. Jambarl, bring her to the infirmary before breakfast tomorrow. Until then, men... have fun."

Law walks out of the galley, ignoring the jeers that start up immediately upon his departure. He doesn't falter at the screams from Lihla or the roars from Bepo. He keeps right on walking until the door to his room is closed behind him, at which time he sinks onto the edge of his bed and buries his face in his hands, knocking his cap loose as he does.

He's so tired. He's been drugging himself for the last three nights, trying to get to Kyra; but since the damned fool won't sleep, his attempts have been useless. Instead he's been treated to yet more scenes from her early life, watching Merrick perform atrocities upon her under sanction of the fucking World Government. He's woken every morning feeling more exhausted than when he put himself under. He needs real sleep.

"Rest, human. You are no good to me or her if you make yourself ill."

Law musters up the energy to raise his head and glare. "It is usually considered polite to knock, Mr. Divine. And I seem to remember you scolding me the last time I tried to sleep in your presence."

The immortal ignores him. "She is asleep now. Three nights without rest and the stress of her days has plunged her into oblivion. Your comrades will begin breaking the woman, as Kyra wishes. You must see to her."

The weary pirate is shucking his boots and tossing his jacket onto his desk before the Divine is finished speaking. He lies down on the bed, body welcoming the soft mattress and feather pillow. Ignoring the creature still watching him, Law closes his eyes and waits for sleep.

"On the wings of the wind o'er the dark rolling deep...Angels are coming to watch o'er thy sleep...Angels are coming to watch over thee...So list to the wind coming over the sea..."

A haunting, beautiful voice reaches out to him in the dark. He stands, looking all around, unable to see as the voice sings.

"Hear the wind blow love, hear the wind blow...Lean your head over and hear the wind blow..."

Law knows that voice, even if he has only heard it sing once. One time in two years, while its owner was unconscious and still wary of him. Any attempts to get the stubborn woman to sing for him have since ended in failure.

"Oh, winds of the night, may your fury be crossed...May no one who's dear to our crew be lost...Blow the winds gently, calm be the foam...Shine the light brightly and guide me back home..."

His surroundings fade in around him, a familiar field in the gently falling snow. A figure lies some steps ahead of him, flat on her back, her body stretched out and relaxed as though she hadn't a care in the world. Her wild hair is like a stained halo around her head.

"Hear the wind blow love, hear the wind blow...Lean your head over and hear the wind blow..."

"Kyra."

She immediately falls silent; Law isn't surprised. She's always had some fool idea that her voice isn't as ethereal as he's tried to claim. He closes the distance separating them and kneels by her head, transferring it from the ground to his lap. The blue-green eyes that meet his are a thousand years too old and unbelievably exhausted.

"Missed you," his magician croaks, sounding terribly close to tears.

"You should have slept," and damn it all, his own voice is gruff with every emotion he doesn't want to unload on her at the moment. When Merrick is dead and Kyra's physical self is in his arms again, then he can blow up at her. Doing it now won't do either of them any good.

A thin hand reaches up to close around one of his wrists, gripping with palpable desperation as his own free hand buries itself in black and white curls.

"Want you to be safe," Kyra whispers, clutching him as if she's afraid he'll disappear at any moment. The surgeon himself is gripping her hair tightly enough that she should probably be crying out in pain by now, but she doesn't even seem to notice. "Don't want him to kill you. Don't want to kill you for him."

Before he can begin to disabuse Kyra of the idea that her wishes would have an impact on his actions, the Demon Witch closes her eyes and mumbles, "Know how she felt. Understand, now."

Thrown off at this seemingly random change of topic, Law can only ask, "Understand who?"

Kyra doesn't seem to hear him over the strange whispering that has suddenly started all around them. She continues to ramble in a soft murmur almost lost amongst what must be the voices of the dead.

"Used to be sad all the time. Even before Papa died. Stared out to sea, sang that song when I was s'pposed to sleep. Always had the ring. Don't think she ever stopped loving him. Never stopped thinking he'd come back. Never did."

Law is fairly confident that 'she' is Kyra's late mother, but that doesn't do much to clear up his confusion. "What does that have to do with you?"

"You're gone, too. Like he was. She never saw him again."

Ah. Law tightens his grip on his magician, scowling at her in irritation. "I have not left you. I have every intention of reclaiming you and spreading Merrick's guts to the winds. You are not your mother, and I am not the man who left her."

"Sent me away," Kyra mutters, sounding rather like a petulant child being chided by her elders.

"For your protection."

Here the wench gives him a look, as if to say 'Yes, and look how well that worked out.'

Smartass.

"Have you found your heart? Perhaps you've discovered why Merrick has you killing the New World in the three days you've been avoiding me?"

Kyra has the good grace to blush in embarrassment even as she gives a shake of her salt-and-pepper head. "Busy killing. No time to look. Never lets me out in the house. Always stuck in a room with Lihla."

She pauses for a moment before bursting into a fit of somewhat hysterical laughter, her ragged, bitten nails digging into Law's wrist hard enough to hurt.

"Got her? It gave her to you? You have her?" she babbles excitedly, a large grin splitting her painfully thin face. She lets out a childish whoop of glee when Law nods, laughing even as she sags against him in exhaustion.

"Kill her slow! Want her to hurt! Promise?" his magician giggles, plucking at his shirt.

"I will."

Kyra is gasping with laughter, her face wet with tears. Law gathers her to him and cradles her in his lap, holding her close as the laughter fades to hiccupping sobs. He has never seen her like this before, her mood swinging on a whim. She's so thin that his fingers can count the knobs of her spine through her shirt, and she's trembling in his arms. Again Law is forced to face the reality that the longer his magician is under Merrick's control, the more she fades away. Soon there will be nothing left. Kyra will die.

That cannot happen. He will not let that happen.

"I'm coming, Kyra," Law whispers into her hair. "Shanks and his crew, Fire Fist and the Whitebeard leftovers, Straw Hat and his friends; we're coming for you. I will free you from Merrick. Just hold on for me until we catch up to you."

"The children," she moans into his shoulder, her voice taking on the layer quality he associates with her powers. "The children are crying. I make them cry. Kill them. Kill them all. Me."

Law can do nothing to help her, nothing to soothe her tears.

"The void is coming... open the doorway and unleash the Hounds... command the Legion and rain destruction upon the world... the souls are the key. Trade the souls and gain power."

The pirate captain meets his magician's pure black gaze when she lifts her face from his shoulder, a small part of him noting that her tone and cadence had completely changed for a moment as she spoke. Her face, wet with tears, is totally expressionless for a long moment before anguish crashes upon her features once again.

"Trafalgar," she whispers, "I'm scared."

Law's breath catches in his throat at the sound of his name. Kyra has never called him that before. Nigh on three years they have sailed together, fought together, shared lies and truths and secrets and touches; not once in that time has Kyra addressed him solely by his first name.

He kisses her, tries to put all the things he cannot say into the act. He cannot tell her how much he loves her. He cannot tell her with his words that he would tear the world apart for her, that he would move the stars or reorder time on a whim to please her. He is not the type of man to whisper sweet nothings while he watches his woman waste away and scrambles across the globe to find her.

So Law kisses her with all that he is, and hopes that she will understand.

"What is the void?" he murmurs against her lips, needing to know. Something is nagging him now, something itches at the back of his mind. His instincts are screaming that her toneless words of moments ago are important, and questions must be asked.

To his displeasure, Kyra's face once again drops all expression as she speaks in that same monotone that is so uncharacteristic of her, voice once again layered with many others in a way that still sets the hairs upon Law's nape on edge.

"Endless. Fathomless. Darkness and shadow, fire and brightness, punishment and cage. Purgatory. Hell. The names are many."

"What are the Hounds?" Law holds his magician's body tighter, as though to anchor her seemingly empty mind to him as that blank face answers again.

"Guardians. Jailers. Torment given flesh. Killers of mortals. He who opens the gates leashes them to his will. He who commands the Hounds commands the Legions."

"What are the Legions?"

"They are the armies of the damned, warriors of the Void. They are the tool he will use to destroy your world. The Legions will spread until nothing but death remains. To free the Legions is to bring about the age of the void. A hundred years of darkness and chaos will follow. Millions will fall before them." Kyra's hand comes up to gently caress his cheek, even as the power controlling her never once alters expression. "You must stop us. You must save her. A hundred thousand souls for Legions vast; he is close to his goal. The Fallen must aid you. The strength of your allies will be necessary. Go to the Gates of Heaven; wait for us there. We are coming."

"What are you?" Law demands, cupping Kyra's face in his hands even as her own fingers gently card through the hair at his nape and that blank expression never falters. "What the hell are you? If you hurt her -"

"We are Kyra. She is us. Without us she would be but a mortal. Without her we would be of the Void. The Fallen called to us in the dark, long ago when he rested in the earth. He planted our essence in the First Family of his chosen humans, to grow strong on their borrowed abilities until the day came that we could free him. He promised our deliverance in exchange for his liberation. But he could not have foreseen his First Family losing their status amongst the humans, the death of their abilities, or the time it would take for us to find one who possessed the required constitution to harbor us. When we freed him, he assumed that we were too integrated with this human to remove us. He is right. Our separation would lead to her death."

Law's head is spinning under this onslaught of information. So what, Kyra was infected from birth by some kind of ancient parasite? The fucking Divine knew this all along and said nothing? And this still doesn't adequately answer his question of just what the fucking hell this voice actually is. He is about to demand an answer when the thing controlling Kyra places cool fingers against his lips to silence him.

"We are ancient beyond imagination. We are many. We are of the Void. We are Formless; we are Nameless. The Fallen called out and it was we who answered. Now the time for him to pay his debt approaches. A sacrifice will be necessary to close the Void, once opened. A hundred thousand souls are needed to open the way, but a single soul freely given is all it takes to close the gates and pull the Legions from this plane. By rights, he should be that soul."

Law would snort if the discussion weren't so serious. He pushes Kyra's hand away from his mouth. "The Divine would never be so selfless."

The fingers in his hair tighten slightly. "He is Divine no longer. It is time he returned to his rightful place. When the time comes, we will prompt him to selflessness. He may claim we are but a part of him, but he will learn his folly if this human dies."

"Does Kyra know any of this? Have you warned her of Merrick's intentions?"

"We cannot. She can no longer hear us. The souls she carries are too loud."

Of course it's not that fucking easy. "Would she believe me if I told her any of this? Can she hear me speaking to you?"

"Tell her. She must know."

The blankness immediately drains from Kyra's face, leaving tear-streaked confusion in its wake.

"W-what... Law, I don't -"

"Listen, and don't interrupt," Law urges quickly, fisting one hand in her hair and cupping her chin in the other. "I know this will sound insane, but just listen. Alright?"

Clearly bewildered, Kyra nods. Law repeats everything he has just been told, explaining the presence of the entities within her, which Kyra accepts without a blink of surprise; relating what this presence has told him about Merrick's aims, which draw a shudder from the girl; and rounding out his recitation with the fact that someone will have to sacrifice their soul to put Merrick's monsters back in their cage, should he succeed in freeing them. This brings a contemplative expression to his magician's face that Law does not like in the least.

The pirate immediately yanks her hair where it is caught in his fist, growling his displeasure.

"Don't even think about it," Law warns, tone menacing. Kyra doesn't seem to hear him, gazing blankly ahead with that unwanted look still on her thin face.

" 'S only fair. 'S my fault anyway. Should be me that fixes it. My responsibility..."

"No."

"Can't let him win. Can't let them out. Have to... have to close it... beat him -"

"I SAID NO!"

Law's enraged bellow echoes through the snowy field of their shared minds, jolting Kyra out of whatever daze she has sunk into. Law himself hardly notices, so infuriated at the mere idea that his magician thinks he will let her throw her life away like that.

"I FORBID YOU TO DIE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?! DON'T YOU DARE KILL YOURSELF TO BEAT THAT SON OF A BITCH! YOU WILL NOT DIE! AM I CLEAR!?"

He can't stomach that thought. Kyra's death must not happen. He will not allow it. He will not lose the most important person in his world, not permanently, not again. Law has lost enough people he loves in this life; Kyra's name will not be added to that list. Not ever. The Surgeon of Death clutches the Demon Witch to him, shaking with rage and fear at the mere suggestion of this woman being removed from his life for good.

"You will not die," Law informs her again, hissing into her ear this time as they shudder against each other. "I forbid it. Let the world burn; I don't care. I forbid you to die."

"...Okay," Kyra whispers faintly, as though anything louder will cause Law to shout again. Her grip on his wrist has loosened slightly; her thumbs rubs against the rapid beat of his pulse, elevated with his loss of control. "Won't then. Won't do it. Won't die."

The young Shichibukai huffs, tugging his unresisting magician closer still and burying his nose in her hair. Damn right she won't die. Stupid woman, thinking he would ever let her do something so asinine. He'll slaughter every last person on the damn planet before he lets Kyra sacrifice herself to save them all. She will not make a martyr of herself, not on Law's watch.

They will defeat Merrick. They will stop him, Law will take an insane amount of pleasure in killing him, and life will go back to normal. Law will get back to his quest for One Piece, his magician at his side once more. He will become the Pirate King with her aid, and they will glory in their triumph together.

Come hell or high water, Law will regain his living, breathing Kyra; her wishes for self-sacrifice be damned.

A/N: It's been awhile! Thanks for all the reviews, people. They mean a lot and are greatly appreciated.