Chapter 1 – Memories
Snow.
He usually loves watching it fall.
It always gave him a feeling of safety, nostalgia, home.
But not this time.
No, today he hates seeing it.
He hates how it feels cold on his skin and in his heart.
So freezing that he can't breathe.
He feels the wetness on his face, tear-drops turning into icy remnants of pain. His whole body feels frozen, numb. He doesn't move. He just stares while the snow keeps falling on his heart. He stares down at the red dashes cutting through the white ground like strings of fate before him.
He will never like the sight of snow again.
20 years ago on the Grand Line
"Captain! I see an island, north-western direction!", called the ship's navigator down from his post on the main mast.
"It doesn't exist on the map!"
The next thing to be heard was a short whoosh through the air as the ship's captain suddenly appeared seemingly out of thin air next to his navigator. Although his subordinates were used to their captain's devil fruit powers the navigator flinched slightly. The man beside him noticed his reaction and chuckled to himself. A rather big hand with long slender fingers clapped down on the navigator's shoulder.
"Let me see."
The captain took the spyglass from his subordinate and smiled widely as he spotted the rather unpopulated looking island with its snow-capped mountains.
"I would like to make a detour.", he said and glanced at the Log Pose around his navigator's wrist.
The compass' needle seemed to rotate in confusion.
"You sure, Captain? It doesn't look like that island holds any value to us. I see no buildings or other signs of civilisation. Maybe there isn't even a harbour for us to..."
The navigator's protests were ignored as his captain jumped down on the next second. But instead of landing on the wooden floor he seemed to land on an invisible rope and balanced in the air.
"Doflamingo wait!"
Another older looking crew member called from the railing. But his captain had already made up his mind. Doflamingo adjusted his colored sunglasses with his middle finger.
He gave a quick look over his shoulder and smiled again revealing two bright rows of teeth.
"I won't take long."
And with that he started to jump on the invisible strings and moved towards the mysterious island his navigator had spotted. The navigator watched him with a stunned expression and looked down on deck where the other crew members exchanged confused expressions. The old man down by the railing buried his face in his hand and grumbled something along the lines of "not this again".
The captain of the Donquixote Pirates still smiled to himself as he made his way through the clouds and towards his destination. If the death of Gol D. Roger four years ago had showed him one thing, it was that he could achieve everything he desired as the free-living pirate that he was. This was his era, he would become the new pirate king and regain the status and power of his birthright that fate had taken from him. He would be king and never have to live in poverty again. He would show the world who Donquixote Doflamingo really was.
"DOFY!"
He almost tripped and missed the next string as someone shouted his name angrily from beneath.
"THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
Doflamingo looked down and spotted the person following him on a sea scooter. His smile dropped but he felt positively surprised anyway.
"Cora.", he muttered and stopped his movements just floating in the air.
The sea scooter came to a halt as well and the person driving it brought up her hands to remove her helmet. A wave of long red hair was freed from the confines of the headpiece and flipped behind the woman's shoulder.
"What were you thinking taking off on your own again?"
Despite her angry tone, a playful smile was showing on her lips. Doflamingo noticed that her lipstick was matching the color of her hair perfectly today. He found himself smiling again as he looked into Cora's magenta eyes that narrowed on him.
"I'm the captain which means I get to do as I please.", he replied with a singsong voice.
"Tsk. Since when do just the captains get to have all the fun?"
Doflamingo laughed down at her.
"I would have taken you with me but I'm not gonna relive that experience of flying with you."
"Hey! It's not my fault that I'm afraid of heights!", Cora exclaimed obviously embarrassed.
Her cheeks were turning a light shade of red and she turned away quickly as she noticed Doflamingo gazing at her.
"What's with that silly look?", she muttered in a small voice.
Her words brought Doflamingo back to reality with a jolt and he quickly shook his head and regained his balance.
"Alright okay you can come with me. I didn't plan on taking long anyway."
Magenta eyes looked up at him cunningly.
"Then let's see who's faster!", Cora called out and started the scooter's engine again.
"Hey! That was jumping the gun!", Doflamingo yelled after her as she dashed through the waves and away from him.
"Damn cheater.", me muttered to himself as the corner's of his mouth curled up magically.
Cora chuckled at the mental image of Doflamingo's surprised expression as she left him behind. He was a smart man but kind of easy to fool if one knew how his mind worked. She had been on his crew for years now but felt like they had known eachother for decades. Most of her crewmates treated Doflamingo with a mixture of respect and fear but she had never felt scared of him despite his reputation. Cora knew what he was capable of, she had often witnessed his wrath and brutality towards enemies but even if she despised how he tended to relish in the bloodshed, she never wanted to leave his crew. She was no angel herself even though she had never killed anyone. Doflamingo always teased her for not enjoying her fights, calling her a "softie" and "too kind for her own good".
But he never blamed her either.
Cora was ripped out of her thoughts when she smelled smoke in the air near the island. Looking up she noticed little flakes of ash falling from the sky. She left the scooter on a beach within a small cove and turned around.
"You smell that?", she asked Doflamingo who was sitting on a rock a good ten feet above her.
"Yeah... something's burning this island up. I saw a huge pile of smoke coming from a place near this cove.", he replied thoughtfully.
"I'm gonna follow the column of smoke and find out what's causing the fire."
They exchanged a quick look and Doflamingo disappeared in the sky again.
Cora narrowed her eyes. There didn't seem to be any major city on this island. If someone set this fire on purpose then what was their reason? With a few precise jumps she climbed up on a rock as well to get a better view. She looked around and suddenly gasped in surprise.
Not far away on top of a cliff line she saw a single house and a man standing in front of it. Cora ran up a hill and made her way to the house. The mean wore dark clothes and as Cora neared him she recognised a red symbol on the back of his coat. She had seen it before but couldn't quite remember where.
The man fumbled with something and didn't notice her getting closer. Cora realised that he was busy covering the house's walls with gasoline as the stench reached her nostrils. Soon he brought out a lighter and threw it down setting the house on fire.
"Hey!", she called out and caught the man by surprise.
He looked at her with dark expression and drew a gun from his belt.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing?", Cora asked.
He responded by shooting at her without hesitation. Cora managed to dive away and dodge the attack. She drew the sword from the sheath attached to the holster around her back and jumped towards the man. With a quick movement Cora buried hilt in his stomach and brought up her knee between his legs causing him to cough and tumble. She used her boot to turn him on his back and let her blade hover above his throat.
"I'm gonna ask again, who-..."
She stopped herself as she registered a movement out of the corner of her eyes behind one of the house's windows.
Cora stepped closer and saw that a small boy was cowering in the corner opposite the window. The flames weren't reaching him yet but he was trapped by burning wreckage around him and unable to get out. Cora sucked in a quick breath and the thoughts were racing in her head. With a grunt she kicked in the door and jumped inside.
It was hard to see clearly throw the smoke but she spotted the terrified boy and made her way to his position whilst slicing the burning furniture that blocked her way. He looked up at her with a pair of teary grey eyes that reflected the bright orange flames surrounding him. Cora coughed loudly but reached the kid in time to save him from a falling tie-beam.
She carried him in her arms and wanted to get back outside as quick as possible but the way back was now completely covered in flames. Her eyes darted to the window and with a yell of pain she jumped through the glass and rolled over the snow-capped ground. All the while she was still holding the boy close and managed to keep his small fragile body from harm.
Unfortunately her own body was now covered in cuts and burns but at least they had both made it out alive. Cora was about to get back up as she felt the cold muzzle of a gun being pointed at her head. The boy in her arms gasped in shock and clinched the collar of her coat tightly. Cora glared at the man in front of her with an icy look.
"How dare you hit me you bitch!", he growled.
"You and the brat will die too!"
Cora laid a protective hand on the boy's head and used the other to grip the hilt of her sword. But before any of them made a move she saw a familiar figure appearing behind the man's back.
"I wouldn't be so sure on who will be dying soon..."
The man's eyes widened in shock and he had just enough time to look over his shoulder when a couple of invisible strings tightened around his body. Unable to move, he grunted in frustration as he fought against the strings without any chance of escaping them.
"Why don't you point that pistol at someone who really deserves to die?", Doflamingo chuckled and moved his fingers.
The man observed terrified how his own arm was now raising the gun to his head.
Cora covered the boys eyes with her palm just in time.
Only a loud bang was heard and the man before them fell to the ground to never stand up again. The silence which followed after was only disturbed by the boy's heavy breathing and the crackle of flames and the collapsing building behind them. Cora frowned deeply and got up slowly with the kid in her arms.
"Are you okay?", she heard Doflamingo ask with a soft voice.
She only nodded and walked past the corpse to her feet whose blood was staining the snow in a bright red color. Doflamingo looked back at the burning house before he started to follow Cora. Both made their way back to the beach in silence.