MAD PUPPY

Room 304 of the Plaza Grand hotel stood inches from him, its massive door the last line of defense between the suite's unsuspecting guests, and Echo's rage.

He took a second to collect his thoughts, or tried to, as even deep breaths had lost their calming effect. His focus had narrowed down to but one thing; His daughter's face, distorted in fear, carved into his cornea.

But where his mind had fallen victim to the storm, his body remained centered, a feeling of near-anesthetic calmth surfing through his veins as he detached a taser disk from his bracelet and pressed it to the door's magnetic lock.

A spark, some crackling, the subtle smell of melted plastic, and the door—thick and sturdy yet so very useless in the wake of his frenzy—clicked open.

Echo crept through the crack, silent feet gliding over the foyer's viridian carpet, and tortured his body once more, deaf to its pleas, to scan the vicinity.

There were three men in the sitting room, and a peek behind the entry's wall confirmed it was the stony-faced gorillas he'd met by the fountain. So, the fourth presence he felt deep down the hallway was his soon-to-be-dead prey.

He detached three more disks from his bracelet and sent them flying at the flabbergasted goons. They crashed to the ground, their landing muted by the room's thick carpet, and before the convulsing bodyguards had a chance to regain their senses, he popped his sea-stone claws out of their powdered sheaths and made a mess of their faces.

Deep-ingrained instinct took over as Echo scanned his surroundings, fiery eyes narrowed and pupils split with concentration. The room's survey took less than two seconds. Ilsa would be proud.

With the foyer and sitting room secured, Echo proceeded to the master bedroom.

His feet glided across the floor, the ghostly press of his soles feather-light where he crossed a candle-lit hallway only to halt at the bedroom's threshold.

"Who dares—?" Surprise strangled Wig-man's outrage. "HELP—."

Echo pounced. His legs wrapped around the man's skinny chest while his hands muffled his plea. They tumbled to the ground, Echo's coiled muscles unmoved by the impact nor his victim's squirming. With one hand still clasped over wig-man's mouth, he ripped the last taser off his bracelet, and pressed the inactive disk against the man's neck. It latched onto his throbbing pulse point, a single bead of blood traveling the length of the noble's throat.

"This contains an electric charge the equivalent of a lightning bolt," Echo said with a press of his index on the disk. "So here are your options: One, you play nice, answer my questions, and you might just walk out of here alive. Or two, you play dumb or try to defeat the soundproof walls and walking will be the least of your problems."

Echo re-positioned himself until he sat straddling the quivering man's back.

"W-What do you want?" Wig-man asked. "Is it money? I-I've spent it all on elixirs but you can have them," he said, beet-red face nodding to a wide vanity desk.

"I don't want your fucking elixirs!" Echo growled, one hand straying down to grab a hold of the man's right pinky, "I want my daughter!"

"... Who?"

Snap.

"Ahhh!"

Echo curled his fingers around the man's ring finger. "Big ears, sharp teeth, cute as a button... You met her this afternoon."

"T-The half-mink? I—I don't know where she is! I have nothing to do with this!"

"Liar!"

Snap.

"AH! I'm not! I swear!" Wig-man said between broken sobs. "I wish I knew... I wish I knew… I'd tell you... Please..."

Echo's dark gaze narrowed on his useless catch's slobbering form, attention momentarily enraptured by the near ethereal smoothness of his skin. Fat tears rolled down silky cheeks, snot collecting on the man's upper-lip.

Disgusting.

With a growl, Echo viciously plucked some of the thin strands adorning the man's scalp.

"What do you know about Clear Water's abductions?"

"..."

He tore a handful.

"Nothing! I don't know what you're talking about!"

The acrid smell of urine slapped his nostrils.

"Urg." Echo's nose crinkling. "Hey asshole, we've barely started."

"P-Please, I'm sorry... I'm sorry about earlier. I'm sorry I—... I'll never do it again... Please, have mercy... I-I know that deep in your heart you—"

Echo jumped to his feet, a sneer distorting his features as he bent low and activated the noble's taser disk before the fool could wax poetic about Echo's heart. There wasn't much to praise about it. It was a shriveling shell, as dark as his legacy and as void as Celestial Dragon's humanity. A failing organ whose only reason to beat had been stolen from him.

If Cleo was dead...

No! Echo chased the thought. She couldn't be dead. But she wasn't here either. A shallow self-intitled prick Wig-man may be, but he had yet to stoop so low as kidnapping.

"Fuck!"

He landed a frustrated kick to the unconscious noble's face.

Blood erupted from his broken nose and flooded over the long gash Echo had just carved with his claws.

Echo pinched the bridge of his nose, and with one last glare at the limp man, he stalked over to the vanity desk and whisked the small brightly-colored vials laying on top. He didn't know if these held the secret to eternal youth, but they'd have their use. Despite the ringing in his ears and the dark spots permeating his vision, he hadn't lost hope. Not yet. There was still someone on this island that could help, a man whose entire existence revolved around secrets.

With a clench of his jaw, Echo extended his observation haki.

*

The trip to Sabo's hotel was a blur of despair, fear and guilt.

Echo's feelings screamed at him. Loud, so loud, louder than all the other emotions stuck in his chest. His body... Was it still his body?... This vessel was in pain. So much pain. Its head throbbed; its skull too small to contain its over-heated brain. Its chest felt too full and too empty both at once. Maddening. Echo... Was he still Echo?... The vessel climbed the small inn's stairs, calves and thighs convulsing with every step, and with one last desperate push of his observation haki, he paused in front of a dancing door.

"What's up?" it asked.

It's okay, you're okay.

"I'm okay."

But was he?

"Obviously not," the undulating door said with a disdainful snort. "Did you see the receptionist's face?"

Shut up.

"Shut up," Echo whispered, quivering hands pulling at his hair.

A sob broke past his lips. Five times. He'd had to extend his observation haki again five more times over a large chunk of the island to track Sabo.

The rude-ass door snorted. "Yeah, well, it shows. Look at you, you're a fucking mess."

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

"Breath. Imagine you're blowing out a candle. Take a deep inhale... and blow. Pffft."

Quivering turned to twitching. It was... That was progress, wasn't it? Twitching was better than shaking, right?

"What kinda dumb logic's this? Only an idiot would—Hey!" The scandalized door spat out a flurry of insults at the "brutish rat" who'd torn it open, but Sabo didn't spare it so much as a glance. His eyes were on Echo, a concerned pool of ink searching through wild amber.

They felt grounding, those eyes, enough so to mute the insufferable background noise.

"Puppy?"

Echo looked around in confusion.

What puppy?... No! Irrelevant! Focus!

He had it all planned. He was going to trade the elixirs in his pocket for information. Act nonchalant, like he was doing Sabo a favor. It was a solid plan. Infallible. Success guaranteed.

"I was searching for my daughter but only found these dumb vials," he said, pressing said vials to the other's chest. "Then you wouldn't stop moving, so I messed up my head. And your door's rude as fuck."

Case in point, the door guffawed. "Stellar execution, my friend!"