"Shit."
Trafalgar Law held out his arms in front of him. His palms were turned up towards the metal roof of his private study. Suddenly the man felt so much more sober as he stared down at the running blood trickling down his wrists. He started to shake as the red lines grew and dripped faster. "I think," Law whispered in an unsteady voice, "I may have fucked up."
The captain swallowed a dry lump in his throat as his dark golden eyes swept over his chambers. There were papers and medical books scattered throughout the metal room. Empty bottles of booze and medicine lined the shelves, desk, and bed side table. The stench of confinement made the air thick and harder to breath in. Even with the air conditioning running full blast on the sub, it was still hot as hell.
Tears blurred his eyes as he continued to look at the mess he was leaving behind. Hot, salty rivers flowed over his dark and light patchy skin. "All that work to help me live." The tears started to flow as fast and heavy as the blood from his wrists. "I'm sorry you wasted so much of your life on me, Cora."
He hung his head as the world was blurred by water around him. A crimson puddle started to form on the metal floor under him as he sat, curled in on himself on his bed. "It's all your damn brother's fault!" Law screamed out as loud as his lungs could manage. "He's the asshole who abused me!" Shaking hands clutched at his shoulders as he held himself. Memories of the past flooded his already over worked mind. It was like a video snail stuck on repeat in his head. The same moments he had been going over again and again for the last week played out behind closed eyes.
"Even with Doflamingo out of the picture, I can still hear him insulting me." Finger nails dug into his wrinkled shirt as he continued. "I can feel his damn hands all over me. The bruises are gone, and the scars are faded but his touch on my skin, every single inch, is burned into me." He held his hands out in front of him once more to look over the damage. Two deep, defined cuts ran from his wrists up his arms. They were smooth and looked like that of a well train surgeon. Even during a break down the man had a steady touch. "I can't forget any of what he did to me. How he used to beat me, how I went days with no food or drink, or how he used to hold me down and... and how he touched..." his voice broke. Shaky bloody hands shot up to cover his tear swollen eyes. "I just want to be free!" The strong voice bounced off of the metal walls and echoed his wish back to him. By now his whole body felt heavy. He could barely keep himself sitting up.
"Tooooooraooooo!" A loud voice rang out as the door to Law's private chamber slammed open. He was almost certain the door had been locked. Damn rubber band with his super human strength. "Hey, hey, Torao! You've been stuck in here for...ever." Luffy's bright happy eyes scanned the disheveled room and finally rested on the blood soaked arms of the depressed captain. The happy-go-lucky boy's voice faltered as he took in the situation.
Hazy gold eyes stared at the shocked captain as Law's voice carried through the room. "I-I think I fucked up." A few shaky laughs fell from his trembling lips as he stared deep into Luffy's onyx eyes. "Fuck Mugiwara-ya, I didn't... I don't want to die." The man fell apart as tears fell down his tear stained face. "Not like this."
The smaller captain rushed forward and took the bleeding arms in his hands, soaking himself in the flowing crimson. His hands gripped tightly around the older man's thin wrists as strong eyes stared back. "Help me, Luffy-ya." Law whispered in a weak voice. "Help me." Tears stung his eyes and warmed his cheeks as he repeated his words. Trafalgar kept chanting those words over and over like a mantra that would bring him luck. He was feeling weak and sick. The blood loss was already getting to him. The room was blurring, time was slowing, or maybe he was just blacking out for milliseconds at a time.
"Tra-guy! I won't let you die!" The boy snapped his head around the room. What should he do? He didn't know anything about patching people up aside from a few band-aids he had placed on himself in his youth. Normally it was Zoro, Nami, or Chopper who fixed him up. Chopper! He was on the ship too.
Luffy picked up Law in his arms and started running as fast as his short, skinny legs could carry the two men. His flip flops smacked against the metal floors and halls as he raced through the sub. Last time he had seen the little reindeer, Chopper was in the medical bay pouring over some big hospital book. Slowing down to take corners was too much of a hassle as blood continued to drip down Law's arms and leave a trail behind the two. Luffy did what he figured was more logical and just landed against the walls and ran on those if he needed to change direction. A few steps later his flip flops hit the floors once again. The younger captain was snapping his neck all about trying to read the signs they were passing at near super sonic speeds.
"Hey, Torao. Where's the med bay?" Luffy shouted out as he continued to run with no real idea where he was. This part of the submarine seemed familiar at least.
"Are you dumb?" Trafalgar bit out between pained gasps. "Take a right, second door down."
"Dumb!?" Luffy retorted. "It's your ship that's dumb! It doesn't even sail on the water. It's like a stone." The angry little captain burst through the door that Law had mentioned and slid into the sterile room. There were 3 metal beds set up and a rather startled doctor in the corner.
"Chopper!" Luffy shouted as he rushed in and placed Law on the closest bed. "He needs help! Save him!"
The tiny reindeer doctor jumped up from one of the desks at the far end of the room. His hooves clung loosely to a large medical book out of Trafalgar's private collection. The small boy scanned the scene as he tried to make sense of what just happened. Luffy was covered in blood and his entire front was soaked. By now Chopper was used to this from the captain, but usually there was some kind of battle before hand. Some enemy that Luffy beat up and limped away victoriously. The captain's face would always be bashed in but full of pride and determination. Luffy didn't look anything like that today. His face was pale and showed something Chopper had never seen from him before: fear.
The medical book dropped to the tile floor with a muffled thunk as Chopper rushed over and tore open Luffy's shirt. A wound that size had to be treated immediately. However, he found nothing. "Not me!" Luffy quickly corrected. "Traffy!" With that, the reindeer snapped his head over and finally took a good long look at the other captain in the room. Chopper jumped up on a chair next to the bed and stared in pure horror at what lay before him.
Never in a hundred years did Chopper think he'd have to treat a suicide victim. His mind buzzed as he tried to fit together pieces with jagged edges to create the whole story. What could have lead Trafalgar to this? His hooves shook just above Law's body as he took in the traumatic sight.
"Hurry up and make him better!" Luffy shouted. Chopper snapped out of his shocked stance and sprung to work. His body ran on adrenaline and memory at this point. He followed the sea of crimson that stained the taller man's body and found two long deep cuts running down each arm. How could a person cut themselves so deeply without stopping or hesitating? How far down were they really? At first glance it had to have some muscle damage.
"Get me something to put under his arms. I need to raise them up!" Chopper shouted out as he looked around the room. He had explored it a little, but had no clue where most things were. There was a rolling tray with some important items on it. The little doctor ran over and wheeled it back to Law. Luffy snapped his head back and forth as his brain ran laps around the room. What could he use? Books? Books!
"Closet. Second shelf." Trafalgar muttered as his brow furrowed. He was in pain and started to feel queasy. The blood loss was really getting to him already. The smaller captain followed instructions and found some padded cushions to put under both of Law's arms. Chopper was already hard at work cleaning the wounds to asses the severity. They were deep but not to the bone. Law did, however, slice up his veins pretty bad. The blood was oozing out continuously, painting the bed and tiles below in dark red pools.
"I can't do this alone!" Chopper's voice faltered as he continued to wash out the wounds. "Luffy do as I tell you!"
"I don't know anything about-"
"LUFFY!" Chopper had such demand and authority behind his voice as his eyes fixated on the tattooed arms in front of him. The rubbery captain just nodded his head and waited for what to do. "Grab as much cleaning solution from the closet as you can find. We're going to need a lot for this."
"Scissors, sewing kit... lidocaine..." Law muttered out as he laid there with his arms raised up for Chopper. His face was paling and his eyes were darker and half lidded. The doctor in him just wanted to take charge of this situation. He lived for emergencies like these. He vaguely remembered the rush he would get from directing these kind of situations. Maybe it was the smell of the sanitized room or the bright white bulbs ahead but his mind kicked into gear as it automatically calmed down. "Get the jar that has the word Epinephrine on it, Luffy-ya." His voice was quiet and weak but it didn't take much to be heard in this tension.
"I'll need needles too!" Chopper called out. "The ones that say 1.8 on them." The boy clarified.
The teen boy struggled to find everything the two of them were calling out. He was ready to resort to grabbing everything and letting Chopper pick out what he needed. His brow furrowed in distress as he reached for another vial of clear liquid. Now was a bad time to admit he was horrible at reading.
"Move over!" A sudden voice commanded. Luffy's head snapped around to see one of the jump suit clothed members of Law's crew. The large, gruff looking man all but shoved the tiny captain out of the way as he started picking items by the handful out of the closet.
"Shit! Call Penguin! Code T14.91." Another voice shouted out. A yellow capped member rushed in and took up the arm that Chopper wasn't working on. "Get to work numbing that and Ikkaku will help hold the wound closed." He then ordered the younger doctor. The reindeer took no time in following orders as a third member ran up and applied pressure to the wound.
"Luffy?" Law whispered out from the crowded table. The tiny captain walked back over and hovered above Law for a second. Blood covered hands hesitant to touch. Salty tears welled up in his eyes as he stared down. "I don't want to die." The captain cried again. More tears streamed down his face as he spoke. His voice wavered as his lips twitched into a pained frown. "Help me."
"They're- they're trying." Luffy stuttered his shoulders shaking. He wished so bad for it to be an enemy to fight. Someone to beat up and win against. Something he could actually handle. As it was, all he could do was stand by and watch. Finally his hands rested on the older captain's stubble covered cheeks. Blood smeared and mixed with tears on the man's face. "You'll be okay." Luffy squeaked out, not sure if he believed his own words.
Somewhere deep in the passages of the submarine people were calling out the code number and shouting to one another. In no time flat the whole crew had filled the room and gotten to work around the metallic bed. The whole room seemed to spin as Luffy watched paralyzed standing at the head of the bed. Bepo hooked Law up to a heart monitor as gloved hands soaked in blood worked on Law's arms and tore open packages of medal equipment. Voices called to one another and every one seemed to follow a dance that Luffy didn't know. He heard a few people suggest he move out of the room, but the static noise buzzing in his mind quieted the notions. The tiny captain was determined to stay there and watch over Trafalgar. His hands rubbed soft circles on the older captain's cheeks.
"Hey Traffy, you're going to be fine." Luffy's voice some how came out calmer than he felt. "Stay with us okay. You just have to lay here and let them help you." Onyx eyes glistened behind shimmering tears as he stared down at the cold, pale face of the other man. The skin felt rough and clammy against his blood stained hands. The teen boy shook as he waited for Law's golden eyes to look back at him. He seemed weaker.
"He's going into shock!" Sachi called out from Law's left side. The crew started rushing around faster than before. "Grab the O negative blood. Bepo adjust the temperature. We can't have hypothermia on top of this."
Penguin took command of the transfusion as Sachi continued to call out for the wounds and shock. The two worked in a perfect unison like cogs created to mesh with one another. The two of them controlled the room and seemed to keep calm as they called out the text book answers to each problem that arose.
"Luffy." Trafalgar whispered out. His lips paling and turning the softest shade of blue. "I'm scared Luffy."
"We're all right here. You'll be fine. You're going to be just fine." Luffy cooed out support as he continued to stroke the older man's face.
"What's it like, I wonder... death." Law asked out loud. Tears welled up in his eyes, almost too light to fall down his stained cheeks. "I don't..." His voice lowers to a hiss as dry tears push out. He has little strength left . "I don't want to die, Luffy."
"You're too stubborn to die, Torao." Luffy argues, getting hot headed and tears burning his own face.
A needle with a tube attached was placed and blood started to flow back into the man. Chopper and Sachi were done cleaning and numbing the wounds. The two worked tirelessly to stitch the gaping openings together as Ikkaku and Jean helped close and keep pressure on the area. The room started to heat up. It was hard to tell if the sweat was from the fear, the stress, or the temperature.
"I'm going to die." Law cried out. His voice was low but shook with pain and fear. "I took some pills too. I don't want to die. I'm scared." He started to blubber out as his lips shook. His whole body was trying as hard as it could to hold on just from the cuts.
Sachi over heard the confession. "Of fucking course you did." He muttered to himself. "Penguin, we need a stomach pump." Sachi motions for one of the other members to take over the final few stitches as he frees himself. "What pills did you take?" Trafalgar's head dipped to the side. He became unresponsive and tired. The toll was starting to effect him. "What shitty timing." Sachi bites out. He starts ripping at the new package that Penguin brought over as the other man slides a thick tube down Law's throat.
The two men work around Luffy since the tiny captain can't be moved from his spot. Instead he just watches as his hands fumble through the older captain's hair. Luffy holds law tighter than he should, leaving bruises on his cold pale body. "I won't let someone I love die!" Luffy strains to say. His chest tightening as he holds the dying captain in his hands. "Not again."
Penguin hooked a large syringe to the tube and pushed some air into the tube. Sachi had a stethoscope on the captain's stomach and gave a thumbs up to continue. "I heard it." He stated as he pulled away and jumped to action. Penguin got to work filling the tube with clear liquid, pushing it down the tube, and pulling up contents from Law's stomach. The first few pumps yielded nothing except the strong smell of alcohol. Luffy watched over the dying captain. His hands buzzing like static in a long worn out tv.
"Got something." Penguin shouted as he pushed out pills from the syringe. Two bile covered, half dissolved pills clunked against the plastic tray with the rest of the pumped contents.
Sachi took a quick look at the tiny pink pills before he recognized them. "Those are the sleeping pills I gave him last month! He hoarded them." The pirate loudly griped before rushing over to a large medical cabinet. "Leave it to a fucking doctor to know how to die." The man bitterly spat out. He riffled through the countless vials looking for the one he had hidden in the back. Only Penguin and he knew of it since they were the two who usually kept on top of the captain and his destructive behaviors. Ever since meeting the man and setting sail, they feared it would come to this. The two had plans in place, measurements to prevent it, and stock to save him. Neither of them were truly prepared for it though.
"The wounds are closed now!" Chopper called from across the room. A few of the Heart Pirate members were wrapping gauze around the bruised and tattoo covered arms. Bloody needles and syringes laid in the metal stands as they finished cleaning up the cuts. "His temperature is still dropping." The reindeer announced as did a quick take of the man's vitals.
"Bepo, the blanket." Penguin directed quickly as more mostly-dissolved pills were pumped from the captain's stomach.
A large heated blanket was placed on the captain's motionless body as more members started to assist with the shock. The table Law laid on was heated up as well to fight off impending hypothermia. Ikkaku monitored the blood transfusion as Sachi hurried back over with the new syringe. "How many pills?" He asked
"Seven so far. There doesn't seem to be much left in his stomach." Penguin called as he pushed out another large amount of clear liquid. Sachi filled the syringe up and injected what he guessed to be the appropriate amount into his captain. "This should nullify the pills." He announced more to Luffy than anyone else. After a few more fruitless pumps, Penguin finished removing everything from the older captain's stomach. The tube was removed and left the man alone and breathing heavily.
The smaller captain was still in the room refusing to move from Law's side as everything was going on. His hands stroked at the bloody pale face under him. "Is he better?" Luffy hesitantly asked. His head shifting upwards towards the doctors that surrounded them.
No one seemed to have an answer for him. Or rather, they didn't have time to answer. They all buzzed around rushing to take vitals again. "His heart rate is slowing." Chopper shouted from Luffy's right. How could that be right? They just saved Law... right? More and more shouts of declining health fill Luffy's ears as his head fills with white sound and his body becomes light. The boy started to feel like he wasn't even in the medical room anymore. As if he didn't exist. The only things that kept him grounded were his hands on the other captain's face and the burning tears that dripped on them.
"It's too low. Get a defibrillator." Sachi called out as he started to remove Law's black button up shirt. The heart pirates rushed around Luffy as they prepped the man for the eclectic procedure.
Beep... beep...
The doctors consult among themselves. Most of the words Luffy doesn't recognize. He does, however, feel Chopper's hoof on his arm as the reindeer tells him to step away.
beep... beep...
Tears wash down the young captain's face as he refuses to leave Law's side. His long rubbery arms wrap around the man laying in front of him. He screams out his resolve to stay by Torao's side until he wakes up. The machine powers on and fills the air with a high pitched hum.
...beep... This one took longer
Chopper transformed to his larger size and picked his captain up. The doctor struggled to pull the stubborn boy away. "You'll get shocked!" Chopper shouted as he pulled harder to dislodge the crying mess.
"Go ahead!" Luffy screams as he fights to stay put. "It won't do anything to me."
"It may effect Trafalgar." Sachi tried to rationalize their decision to remove the other captain from the bed.
"No." Luffy feels his very core shake. "What's the point of being strong if I can't save my friends!" Luffy screams. His arms begrudgingly untied themselves from the tall, sickly captain as Chopper holds him back. A thick layer of gel was applied to Law's heart tattoo.
...beep...beep...beep
Sachi and Penguin begin the procedure. Bepo calls out the amps and counts down. The metal paddles are placed against Law's chest and Sachi calls it as he shocks the man. His body jumps with the electricity surging through him. The heart monitor shows no change of pace.
Bepo starts to count down again after waiting for a moment. The electric hum is drowned out by Luffy's sobbing screams as he watches Law's body get shocked helplessly. There's nothing he can do. No way he can help. Worst of all, he can't even keep his promise to save the captain. Luffy starts to black out as the sound of another wave of electric energy rushes through the unresponsive man.
...
It had been several days since the incident. The submarine seemed to have a heavy quiet air around it. Luffy stood in the hatch to Law's metal room looking at the blood stained floor. The crew had tried their best to get the blood out, but it seemed that the metal had soaked up the deep crimson colour. It would forever remain their as a reminder of what happened.
"Hey Torao..." Luffy's voice shook as he quietly spoke to the empty room. "You weren't allowed to do this."
"I'll be sure to ask permission during my next breakdown." Law smirked before biting back a pained gasp. The older man leaned heavily on the small boy as they shuffled into the room. "For now, just don't leave my side?"
