The Puppet Master [One Piece]

Your Enemies Are My Enemies Too

~Echo’s POV~

                When someone eats a devil fruit, the cultivator of that fruit is struck with a vision or dream about the type of person consuming the fruit. The gomu gomu no mi was the first fruit I’d ever cultivated. I grew and harvested it with love in hopes that it would one day help change the world. When I was ten years old I had a dream about a boy a few years younger than myself. He was carefree and had a buoyant personality. I saw him grow as he learned to manifest the power of the gomu gomu no mi. Even then, at ten years old, I knew the fruit I cultivated had fallen into the right hands and it would change the world forever.

                “Echo-chan the captain is looking for you.” A young man with perfectly tousled sandy blonde hair and a spattering of freckles across his boyish face shouted as he found me hiding below deck. We’d set sail a few days ago after the perverted swordsman told captain about the pirate rookie with the 30,000,000 beri bounty.

                “What does he want?” I sighed.

                The young man shrugged, “I’m not sure.”

                “Then tell him I’m busy.” I shrugged and turned my back on him to once again lose myself in my contemplations.

                “He thought you might say that.” The young man grimaced.

                “Huh?” I turned to question him only to be caught up in a wire net. “What the hell are you doing?!” I demanded as I struggled to fight my way out of the net.

                “Sorry, Echo-chan.” The blonde cringed as if my shrieks of rage were hurting him.

                “LET ME GO!” I screamed as the net became restricting.

                “Stop struggling, Echo-chan it’ll only get tighter.” He panicked.

                My heart started to race as dark memories of captivity inched into my consciousness. The tortured screams of all the other victims echoed across my mind. I thrashed about wildly in a feeble attempt at escape not caring that the wire net was now causing my own wires to dig into my skin.

                “Echo-chan!” The man panicked as blood dripped from my arms.

                The net disappeared and I collapsed to the deck desperately panting and gasping for air.

                “Echo-chan, are you alright?” He asked cautiously as he knelt beside me.

                I glared up at him, “What’s your name?”

                The young man looked momentarily confused, “Travis, why?”

                “I just wanted to know what to write on your headstone.” I snarled as I lashed out at him with my wires.

                Before I could tear the young man to shreds, strong arms encircled me and I was hoisted over someone’s shoulder effortlessly, “I was right, she got hostile.” Yassop laughed.

                “PUT ME DOWN!” I snarled.

                “Echo, you’re bleeding.” Shanks’ voice sounded from the doorway.

                “What the hell do you want?” I growled as I continued to struggle, futilely, to get out of Yassop’s hold.

                “I wanted to make another bet.” Shanks chuckled.