Clang, clang, clang...
Footsteps drew closer down the corridor, mingled with the sound of something hard striking the walls.
Each blow rang sharply against the metal walls. The sound kept coming closer to Caesar.
To Caesar, it felt as though the blows were landing on his heart instead.
Suddenly, the corridor fell silent, as if everything he had heard had been his imagination.
That did nothing to ease his fear. It only multiplied it.
Boom!
The sudden crash made Caesar flinch. Then he saw the laboratory door burst inward, fly across the room, slam into the opposite wall, and fall to the floor with a clatter.
The metal door was gone, but the dim light let him make out only a figure standing in the corridor, apparently dragging something behind him.
"Caesar, I told you I'd come find you myself."
The newcomer was Werther. The whole performance had been nothing more than an attempt to scare Caesar.
Caesar had been far too arrogant earlier, so Werther had decided to have some fun with him.
"Th-Thunder Swordsman, the Artificial Devil Fruit is yours! I'll go get it right now!"
Werther answered by swinging Dragon Bone, wreathed in black Armament Haki. Caesar felt a jolt at the back of his head, heard a buzz inside his skull, and everything went dark.
He had no idea how much time passed before he regained consciousness. A stab of pain from the back of his head made him cry out.
He was a Scientist, not a fighter. Despite having a Logia Devil Fruit ability, his combat experience was practically nonexistent, and Werther had knocked him out in a single blow.
Now Caesar hung in his own laboratory, restrained with Seastone cuffs.
Werther stood at Caesar's workbench, fiddling with something.
"Hey, what are you doing? Let