After the whole fiasco of fighting off the human traffickers and finding Raleigh, y/n and Camie were both unfortunately shackled inside the cage alongside other people. Poor Camie was trembling from fear as she and y/n held each other in comfort, the latter of which kept up a brave front, despite her heart hammering in her chest as well.
Her ears twitches at the sound of the auction starting and she rubs Camie's back,"Y/n, I don't... I wanna go home..." Camie cries softly,"Shh, I know. But, we'll be fine. Our friends are looking for us, I know it. We just need to have faith in them." y/n soothes her and Camie sniffs.
"Old man, if you're listening, you better have a plan to get us out of here." y/n growls lowly while Rayleigh took a swig of his drink,"No worries kid, I've got it under control." he tells her just as an employee opened the cage to grab and prepare the first two humans to be sold off.
"Y/n, do you know someone in here?" Camie asks softly as she fiddles with her friend's tail,"It's my guardian. Old fool got himself caught. Don't know how though." y/n scoffs,"Aw, now you're just hurting my feelings." Rayleigh jokes with a smile as his eyes follow the next slaves being taken out.
Most of the slaves were taken out already and next up was a pirate man, who was pleading to not be sold off as a slave. Camie trembles at his desperate plea and covers her ears while y/n held her shoulders,"Hatchen... Save us..." Camie whimpers and y/n rests her head on her shoulder,"Shh, we'll be okay." she whispers to her, smoothing her hair down as bets are being placed.
"There once was a ship that put to sea~
The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea~
The winds blew up, her bow dipped down~
Oh blow, my bully boys, blow~"
"My, I haven't heard that little tune in ages." Rayleigh comments as Camie clams down a little,"My mom taught me it when I was little. You already know this, Old Man." y/n huffs, her tail twitching slightly just as the workers stopped before them.
"Get out number 17 and 18, and get them ready." one orders and Camie tenses up as the gate opens,"Camie, listen to me. Just don't resist and everything will be fine. I'll be with you on stage." y/n whispers as the workers closed in on them, one holding a muzzle,"No, y/n, please no!" Camie pleads as she grabbed onto her.
"Just relax. We'll get out of here." y/n reassures her and Camie tears up as the workers rips her away from her friend while the other snaps the muzzle on y/n,"Obedient now, huh? That's good. People don't like disobedient pets." he yanks y/n up to her feet and both girls are dragged off to get ready. Y/n simply growls at them as her wrists are bound by chains and connected to her collar while Camie is tossed into a giant fishbowl.
Suddenly, they dragged the previous pirate man in and y/n jolts at the heavy scent of blood coming from him and came to one conclusion,[Suicide...] she thought grimly as the almost deceased man is dropped to the ground,"No good, sorry sir." one worker says,"Damn it all! Now I'm not gonna make one berry off of you! You idiot!" the main man, Disco, spat in a heartless manner.
"Mister Disco! Good news sir, doctor's on his way." one worker ran up to Disco,"Bastard! Do you have any idea how much it'll cost to fix you!?" Disco growls before composing himself somewhat,"The mermaid and hybrid's next, right?" he asks.
"Yes sir! Everything's all set! They can go up at any time!" one worker salutes while Camie and y/n couldn't take their eyes off the pirate,"Good, high profile items like them should clear away the stink this walking piece of excrement has left in the air! Get them on stage now!" Disco orders,"Yes sir!" the worker salutes and Camie is wheeled off with y/n being dragged right behind her.
Before that, Camie's tank is covered by a sheet and y/n is put on a wheel stage thing covered by a sheet as well,"At least I won't see your ugly mugs for a bit." she spat,"You shut your filthy mouth." Disco glares at her before walking on stage with a mic in hand.
"It seems entry number 16, the pirate captain Lacuba, was so nervous to see well that he collapsed from a nosebleed. His auction will have to wait. We apologize for any inconvenience." Disco announces and a lot of people seemed relieved by this.
"Bullshit." y/n hisses as her fists tightens,"But ladies and gentlemen, the next items I have to show you are nothing sort of incredible! These highly sought after prizes are sure to be on everyone's wishlist! Nooooow, bring them to the stage!"
Y/n feels herself be wheeled out as flashes of lights could be seen through the cloth along with drumrolls,[You know what? Imma put on a show for them.] y/n smirks deviously before pulling her lips into a snarl.
"These items are far too amazing to reveal all at once, so we'll take it in steps. Observe the silhouettes!" a bright turns on to reveal y/n and Camie's shadows through the cloths and y/n flicks her tail and ears a bit, hearing all the pigs 'Oh' and 'Ah' at them like they're pieces of meat.
[Take it all in, filthy pigs. You'll regret your life choices soon enough.] y/n thought with narrowed eyes,"Did that wedge your appetite? Well try not to drool folks, because here comes the real deal. It's time for the unveiling. Feast your eyes on this!" the cloths were immediately ripped off to show off Camie and y/n, who immediately growls and screams at the people. This of course scared them all.
"Oh my!"
"What a ruthless animal!"
"Somebody dart it!"
"I'm gonna kill you all! You filthy pigs!" y/n snarls as she yanks at her chains before her eyes lands on a familiar pig,"Hey! Hey! Hey! Look who's here! The pig I scratched earlier." y/n grins in a bloodthirsty manner at the Celestial Dragons, causing their eyes to widen with disgust and offense.
"Brother, is that the wench that freed your slaves and landed a scratch on you?" the female pig asks with narrowed eyes,"Indeed. Father, I want her killed!" the pig orders while the elder pig ponders for a moment, staring y/n down.
"Hah, you kill me!? Please, I've already killed Celestial Dragons when I was eight!" y/n brags, earning sharp gasps from the pig family and the rest of the auction house as everything went quiet,"Y-you... What?" the elder pig stammers in horror.
"You heard me! You filthy pigs deserve nothing but death! Try to enslave me again! I'll rip your heads off like I did to the last people!" y/n snarls as her fur and hair bristles up,"And if you so much as touch Camie, I'll rip your throats out!" she threatens, unaware of the eyes on her from two certain pirate groups.
"Well damn, girl's got some spunk. I like that." Kid smirks with crossed arms, relishing in the fact that the girl brought the auction house to total silence,"Kid, you might wanna see this." Killer had pulled out a certain bounty and hands it to his captain, who's smirk and eyes widen,"Well I'll be damned. It's her."
"The Celestial Killer, huh? Didn't know that was who was hiding under the hood." Law grins in amusement, head tilted back a bit,"Gotta say, she is crazy." he chuckles lowly.
"You, be quiet over there!" Disco glares at the hybrid before turning back to the crowd,"Not to worry folks, she's all chained down, muzzled and have a collar on. There's no way she would even dare to attack you on sight. If so, she'll immediately explode." he reassures the crowd, who all became relieved. Some even dared to laugh.
"That's right, she can't do anything."
"What a pathetic threat."
"Though, she still did kill Celestial Dragons. How utterly sad, reduced to a slave once more."
Y/n growls, but backs off, knowing what's to come if the Old Man hurries it up. She then spots Hatchen and the Straw Hats way up at the auction house entrance while the crowd starts to cheer. Hatchen was calling out to them, but the pigs screams were deafening to y/n's ears.
"I see there's a lot of interest in these items. It is our first mermaid in quite some time after all and our very first hybrid. Now then, at what price should we start the betting!?" Disco shouts into the mix while y/n straightens her back,"Let's get this show on the road. We'll start at-"
"Five hundred million!" the pig suddenly shouts and y/n stares at him with wide eyes, disgust swirling in them while the auction house fell silent once again, every pair of eyes staring at him with utter shock and defeat. Even Nami.
"I bet 500-million!" the pig repeats himself and y/n snarls at him with her ears pinned back, the pig looking pleased with himself,[I'm gonna rip his face off.] y/n thought before sparing a glance at her friends, seeing the defeated looks on their faces.
"What a waste of money. Did you forget the piranhas in your aquarium? She won't last an hour in there. And just where are you going to put the animal?" elder pig questions,"It'll be fun to watch her try though. Merfolk are the fastest swimmers in the world, or so they say. As for the beast, she'll be caged up in the basement." the pig tells him and y/n tugs on the chains cuffed around her wrists.
She perks up when she hears Camie banging on the glass, crying something out as her tears mixes in with the water. Y/n looks to the side in frustration. She feels helpless, useless even, because she knows she can't do anything yet until Rayleigh gets these collars off.
"E-Everyone appears to be at a loss for words, but... I'll ask just the same. Does anyone else there have a bid higher than 500-million berries?" Disco stammers, but nobody speaks up.
"Cowards." y/n mutters as she spits to the side with a glare,"If not, then I'll bring the bidding straight to a close, now." Disco announces and y/n sees the anger and hatred taking over Hatchen's face just as Disco slams the mallet, signaling the end of the bidding.
"And that's it! Times up!" the pig looks extremely pleased with himself and y/n sighs as she looks down,"I did it." the pig utters smugly and y/n growls under her breath.
"This is just a taste of what the world holds. It's all a damn farse." Kid spat as he stares straight at y/n,"Let's go men." he orders as they turn to leave,"Bidding has ended ladies and gentlemen!" Disco officially announces.
"Today showcased items, the younger mermaid Camie and young hybrid, goes to the World Noble, Saint Charles for his bid of 500-million-" a scream, a familiar scream catches y/n's ears as she whips her head up just in time to see Luffy bursts right through the front doors of the auction house, sending most nobles flying.
"What the heck!?" Disco growls,"What is all that racket?" elder pig frowns deeply,"Luffy!?" y/n beams with hope and that turns into shock when she spots Zoro emerging from the rubble as well, completely unscathed,"Zoro... He's alive..." she smiles softly with tears in her eyes.
She sees that Luffy was looking around frantically and she figures he's looking for her and Camie,"Luffy!!!" she shouts and Luffy immediately turns around at her call,"Ah! Y/n! Camie!" Luffy calls out to them, glaring at the chains bounding them and Luffy ran down the stairs towards them.
"Camie! Y/n! I've been looking for you both everywhere! Haha!" he laughs with relief and y/n tears up with joy, but that was short lived when Hatchen grabs the back of his shirt, but surprisingly Luffy kept running.
"Hold on Straw Hat! What do you think you're doing!?" Hatchen scolds,"What's it look like!? I'm saving Camie and y/n!" Luffy shouts the obvious,"They're wearing explosive collars! They'll never make it out alive! Plus the Celestial Dragons are here! Don't do anything rash!" Hatchen tells him urgently.
"See if I care!" Luffy growls and y/n's tail wags with joy,"Camie, y/n, I'm coming!" Luffy shouts,"Straw Hat stop this!" Hatchen shouts as he throws his jacket off to reveal the rest of his arms to wrap around the boy to stop him in his pursuit, but it only slowed him down while people stared at Hatchen with disgust.
"Hatchen, what're you doing!?" y/n screams in horror as people start to scream at the sight of Hatchen. This made Hatchen aware of his situation now as he released Luffy,"Hold on Camie, y/n, I'm on my way!" Luffy kept screaming while y/n stares at Hatchen with pure worry.
"Seize him at once!" Disco orders as he points at Luffy,"Camie and y/n are my friends and they're not for sale, you got that?!" Luffy exclaims and y/n is extremely touched by his words,[He considers me... His friend? Luffy...] she thought as her muscles relaxes a bit.
The employees ran to stand in Luffy's way while Hatchen received insults left and right. They were calling him a freak and that he should just go home,"Leave him alone, you monsters!! Filthy pigs! Sons of bitches! Don't you dare insult my friend when you're the real freaks!" y/n yowls, but she went ignored as the people start throwing things at Hatchen.
Meanwhile Luffy was throwing the employees off of himself as be continues to run towards his friends. But, the unthinkable then happens.
A gunshot went off and blood was sent flying as Luffy stops in his tracks, staring in front of him with wide eyes while Camie covered her mouth in horror and y/n cried out with tears flying from her eyes.
"Hatchen!!!"
Her friend was shot by the filthy pig and he rolled down the stairs, unmoving, blood pouring down the steps,"Hatchen, no!!" y/n cries out while Pappag stumbles towards Hatchen, and Luffy could only watch in shock at what's happening before him.
"Hahah, I did it! I shot it! I took down a Fishman!" the pig celebrates as he jumped around and the people are relieved by this. Fat tears rolled down y/n's cheeks, mad at herself that she couldn't do anything to stop it. Camie was banging on her glass bowl, most likely crying out Hatchen's name.
"Look father, I got a Fishman! I shot it and caught it all by myself! That means I can have it for free!" the pig continues to celebrate,"It's free! It's free! An octopus for me!" he sings while Luffy slowly walks towards him with most murderous look on his face, eyes solely trained on his target.
But, he was stopped by Hatchen's hands grabbing onto him,"Wait... Straw Hat... Don't do this..." he wheezes, struggling to breathe. Y/n's heart broke into a million pieces by the sound of his voice,"It's my fault... I'm the one... Who screwed up, okay?"
Luffy looks at him,"Please don't forget your promise... Like I said, you can't defy the Celestial Dragons even if they kill someone!" Hatchen croaks, but Luffy's look doesn't waver,"There was a time when... I was a pirate! A criminal! This is the punishment I deserve... For doing all of those horrible things..."
"I'm so sorry... I didn't mean for everything to turn out like this... I just wanted to... Make amends with Nami however I could..." Hatchen coughs a bit,"Even if it wasn't much I wanted to be helpful to you and your crew... But I screwed that up I guess... Just like every other time..."
Luffy turns to kneel beside Hatchen, listening to him all the way,"I wanted to do... Something right for once... And show Nami how sorry I am..."
Nami was extremely shocked to hear this and felt a bit of guilt as well, for treating him so coldly before,"All my life, all I've ever done is cause trouble! I'm sorry! Forgive me!" Hatchen cries and y/n cries with him,"Hatchen..." she whimpers as she bows her head.
"That's enough! Stop all that annoying babbling fish before I shut you up for good!" the pig speaks up with clear annoyance as he points his gun at them. Luffy immediately turns around on guard, a glare on his face that shocked the pig before him, but also angered him.
"How dare you... Don't look at me like that!" the pig orders, but Luffy ignores him in favor of stalking towards him. Pappag tried to stop him, but it was futile. All Luffy saw was red.
"Easy, you see this?" the pig points his gun at the boy, but Luffy doesn't waver and tightens his fist,"Now you're annoying me too!" the pig took a shot that zipped by Luffy's head then another that Luffy dodges.
He's flabbergasted by this and mostly afraid as Luffy reaches him, pulling his arm back and takes a strong swing at his face. He send the pig flying right into the stand, horrifying everyone in the room.