The Puppet Master [One Piece]

Imprisoned

[Sorry, I know this is really short but wanted to get one more chapter out before I had to go to work, I shall try to write more tonight after work, but no promises <3]

~Echo’s POV~

                I woke to the steady sway of footsteps as I was being carried between two people. What happened? My eyes took a moment to adjust to the din of the cell lined corridor; it was some sort of prison. Everything was still hazy, my brain was completely disoriented and I found it difficult to string conscious thoughts together. Someone must have hit me on the back of the neck and caused some small amount of injury to my brain stem.

                Basic motor function was beyond me at this point. My fingers refused to move as I attempted to wiggle them. I scanned the area around me, there were two guards carrying me another trailing along behind and I could hear another set of footsteps ahead of us. Four in all. They wouldn’t be too hard to deal with if my body would work properly. I needed to find Ace.

                “Stand back prisoners!” A voice ahead of us barked and my heart began to race anxiously as I heard the shriek of a rusted cell door being wrenched open.

                No! Not yet! I still couldn’t move! Frantically I tried to get my body to function, but felt almost paralyzed.

                “Hurry, the demon is waking up.” The guard behind me hissed.

                The guards currently supporting me between them hastened their pace as my fingers began to move. I got enough leeway to loose some of my wires just as we were rounding on a wide open cell door and managed to lash out at my captors. They dropped me in their surprise as miniscule cuts began appearing all over their arms and torsos.

                I managed to maneuver swiftly in the air so I landed in a crouch.

                “She really is a demon!” One of the guards gaped staring at my wrists in horror.

                I chanced a glance downward and resisted the urge to roll my eyes; they used sea prism stone shackles. “I’m not a devil fruit user, you imbeciles.” I hissed as I darted forward cursing under my breath as I heard frantic shouts from the direction we’d come as back up began to arrive.

                Using my wires I managed to gain control of two of the guards and forced them to fire upon the men rushing to their aid. My gaze flitted to the cell opposite the one they were trying to put me in and I nearly gaped, it was Ace! He barely raised his head at the commotion, but now that gunfire was being thrown into the mix he looked up and our eyes met. His dark eyes widened in awe.

                “Security breach!” One of the guards called through a small portable transponder snail on his wrist.

                “Stay out of my way!” I snarled forcing the two guards acting as my puppets to fight off the help.

                “Help!” One of my puppets shrieked, “She’s controlling me!”

                “What kind of devilish magic is this?” Another guard panicked as he stumbled upon the scene to answer the security breach call. He stared in horror as two of his allies cut down the aiding guards mercilessly.

                Inmates in the surrounding cells began cheering and rioting. They called out obscenely gruesome things. A bullet hit me in the back as more guards began filing in from behind. The bullet fell to the floor with a soft ‘clink’ leaving the guards stunned.

                “Demon!” A few shouted in terror.

                I turned on them with a glare and cast out a slew of wires managing to hack their weapons into pieces. Though I was outnumbered, I had the upper hand. I could see a ray of hope. If I could just get to the keys, we had a chance at escape.

                A familiar chill swept over my body and I shuddered involuntarily. No! Not now! Pain shot through my entire skull and I released my puppets from my wires as I lightly pressed my hands to my temples in a meager attempt to numb the pain. The guards surrounded me with guns at the ready not knowing if this was some kind of trick or not.

                “No.” I whimpered in pain as my vision turned cloudy. Why now?! Strong hands gripped me by the arms as I felt myself fall forward and I was roughly shoved into the dark cell they’d opened for me.

                The door slammed shut with a loud clang as I hit the cold hard stone floor and I realized in dismay that I’d failed as I slipped into the vision.

                I no longer felt like a specter as I did in the visions I’d had of Ace. Now I was nothing more than a spectator with absolutely no physical or ethereal being. Everything played out as if I were watching a broadcast. The devil fruit user with the straw hat was fighting his way through impel down with a slew of criminals in his wake. They were nearing the exit when I spotted myself in the mix looking somewhat beaten down and weakened.

                I allowed myself to drift off as I realized there was still hope left. Somehow, I had a hunch my original plan would fail, but now I had a little bit to go on to recalculate. We could still manage, somehow.