Back to the World
Opening his eyes, Law was very confused when he saw the outline of a person before him. He moved forward only to touch a glass wall. It was strange to him. Moving his hand in front of him, Law found out that he was in some sort of liquid. This was not okay with him. The good thing was that he wasn't drowning, but it was still unusual.
"It seems that he is awake," a masculine voice said. It was slightly muffled because of the strange liquid and the glass in front of him. "Opening the tank now."
Suddenly, the liquid started to drain from the area, and he was being lowered to the ground. He realized he had been floating before. The glass panel was opening from the bottom and letting the liquid out that way. When his feet hit the floor, he almost fell over. Law used the walls of the object to keep himself upright.
"The subject seems to be unsteady on his feet. Not unexpected for him. It is only a natural reaction for the circumstances." Law looked up to the man that was speaking to seemingly no one but himself. He had a slightly deep voice. "Do you know who you are?" That question made Law confused.
"I...I'm Trafalgar Law from the North Blue. Captain of the Heart Pirates," Law answered as he tried to take a step forward. He didn't know what was going on around him. He couldn't see the man's face. The bottom half was covered by a medical mask and his eyes were covered by glasses. "Where...Where am I? Who...Who are you?"
"My name is Dr. Vegapunk. You are in my laboratory." The man walked over to a cabinet. He, soon, came back over to Law with some articles of clothing. "Here. These are for you. They were dropped off a few days ago." Law shakily took the clothes from him. "There is a shower room to your left so you can get the gel off your body." He nodded as Vegapunk walked over to a snail and dialed a number.
Stumbling to the room indicated, Law entered and shut the door after him. It was, indeed, a shower room. He set the clothes to the side before going to stand underneath a showerhead. Turning it on, he began to wash the clumps of gel off his body and clean himself up. He didn't understand anything that was happening. "Why am I here? What was I doing in the tank?"
When he was finished cleaning himself up, Law slowly dried off. He struggled to get dressed because his movements were sluggish from being asleep. Once he was fully dressed, Law walked out of the room. A new person was in the room. They looked familiar but he wasn't quite sure.
"Are you sure that it worked?" Law knew that voice all too well. He was very confused now.
"Yes, Straw Hat Luffy. I am sure that he remembers almost everything. Though, I'm not sure about his last memories before now." He gestured to him. "Ask him about it. I can only assure you that he remembers most things. After that, we can do the next thing. But first, you need to ask him if that is what he really wants."
"Can someone, please, explain to me what the hell is going on here?" Law asked. "Straw Hat-ya? What are you doing here? What's going on?" He watched Luffy turn to him. He looked exactly the same as he remembered him. It was reassuring to him.
"Torao!" Luffy ran over to him before wrapping his arms around him in a hug. He rubbed his face into Law's chest. "I missed you so much!"
"M-Missed me? What happened? Can you tell me?" Luffy nodded as he got off of him. There was something off about the events that were happening around him.
"Vega, I'm going to go get lunch with him. Is that okay?" The man was looking at some papers.
"Yes. He should eat something. There is the possibility that he will need it to get back to normal. But, I really want to know if he can hold it down without throwing it up." Law was grabbed by the hand and led out of the room. He saw that they were in a place that looked similar to a hospital.
They got to a cafeteria. A group of people were sitting together at a table. They all looked very familiar but very different all at the same time. "Luffy! Did it work?!" Law knew that voice. It was Usopp's, but it just didn't match the face.
Luffy led him over to the table. He got him to sit down with him. "Wow. He looks just like he did before. Is that what you really wanted?" Law didn't like that he didn't know what the fuck they were talking about.
"Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on? Who are all of you?" That got him looks of sympathy from around the table. There was something very off about all this.
"Torao-kun, do you not remember us?" Law's eyebrows furrowed. He was sure that she was Robin, but her face didn't match what he remembered her to look like.
"You...You all sound like the Straw Hats but you don't look like them." He looked to Brook. "Except for Bone-ya and Straw Hat-ya." That got a laugh out of the skeleton.
"We are the Straw Hats," the man that looked like an older Zoro said. Law didn't understand.
"What happened to all of you?"
"Law, what do you remember before you woke up?" Sanji asked. He blew out some smoke as he spoke to him.
"Um..." He had to think really hard about that question. It was fuzzy but he could remember bits and pieces of what had happened. "We...We were fighting Kaido. I...I remember putting my hand to Straw Hat-ya's chest then saying something. Then...it's all blank after that." There was a grim look on everyone's face. "What don't I remember?"
"Law, you gave your life for Luffy," Chopper answered him. It took Law a few moments to process what he was just told. He couldn't quite get what he was telling him.
"Are you saying I used the Perpetual Youth Surgery on Straw Hat-ya?" There was a slow nod from everyone in the room. It took him even longer to acknowledge that. "Then...why am I alive? If I used it, I would be dead."
Everyone looked down. Law looked back to Luffy for answers. "Chopper, can you tell him what happened?" He looked back to the reindeer. Chopper was slightly bigger than what he remembered and that was strange to him.
Luffy got up and walked off to somewhere else. He wanted to ask why but decided not to. "After you...died, Luffy didn't take it well at all. He killed Kaido for making you have to do that." Chopper went quiet for a moment. "When the fight was over, Luffy refused to leave your body behind. So, we carried your body with us. Dr. Vegapunk got in touch with us after a week or so." Law didn't know if he like where this explanation was going. "He told us that he could...he could bring you back. Luffy practically jumped at the opportunity. We brought your body to him and he started to work."
"What happened after that?" Law wanted to know what had become of him after he had died.
"I'm not really sure. Luffy was the only one that Dr. Vegapunk would talk to about it." Chopper gave off a deep sigh. "It has been ten years since your death. And it took Dr. Vegapunk ten years to bring you back to life."
There was a long silence between them as they sat there. Law couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So, am I in the same body or not?" That was a question he wanted to know.
"Only Luffy and Dr. Vegapunk know the answer to that. If you really want to know the answer, you can always asked Luffy or him. Though, Luffy might not answer you at first." Law nodded. He wanted to know what had happened to bring him back.
"Torao." Luffy came back to the table with two bowls of soup in his hands. Law thanked him before digging in. It felt like he hadn't eaten in ages. That thought made him want to laugh out loud. Haha. I've been dead for ten years. That's funny.
After eating, Luffy got Law to follow him back to the room with Vegapunk. "Luffy, how did he fair with food?"
"He didn't throw up." Vegapunk wrote something down in a notebook. Law wondered what was written there.
"Luffy, have you told him what you want to do yet?"
"No. He hasn't told me a Goddamn thing. What does Straw Hat-ya want to do?" Law was getting a little frustrated with this. He was in the dark and wanted to be in the light like everyone else.
"Can you tell me for me?" Luffy asked Vegapunk. Law didn't understand why the kid wanted others to tell him things instead of doing it himself.
"Very well. I understand that this is a...sensitive subject for you to talk about." Is that re reason he doesn't want to answer some of my questions and gets other to do it? "Trafalgar, Luffy wants you to live like him." Law didn't understand what he meant.
"Can you explain what you mean by that?"
"Since you did the Perpetual Youth Surgery on him, he wants it to be done to you as well." Law's eyes widened in realization.
"Why?" he asked as he looked down at Luffy. The kid was not looking at him at all. It was as if he didn't want to or couldn't.
"Because I don't want you to die again." There was something else that he wasn't telling him. It was important and Law wanted to know what it was.
"Is that all?" Luffy tensed up at his question. Finally, Luffy looked up at him with tears in his eyes. The look made Law tense up and feel horrible for even asking him that question.
The young man wrapped him in a hug before answering him. "I don't want to live alone. I want you to stay with me. I love you and want you to stay with me." Law felt wetness on his shirt as Luffy started to cry. "I don't to lose you again. It was horrible the first time and it almost made me want to die with you." He couldn't believe what he was hearing from the other. "The others will die someday but I will never die. Chopper told me what the surgery you did would do to me. I don't want to live alone without someone." Luffy rubbed his face into his shirt like he was trying to merge with it. "Even Sabo will die someday."
Law hesitantly placed a hand on his back. He understood what Luffy was getting at. The kid would live forever and have no one around him anymore. There would not be a single person he knew to be with him. It was a horrible life to live. "S-Straw Hat-ya...it's...it's okay. I understand."
Luffy lifted his head. "Then, will you?" Tears stained his face. Law didn't know if he wanted to do that. It was not something he had ever thought about doing. Living forever.
"I...I don't know." Luffy still smiled.
"Mr. Trafalgar, we have a person on standby that is willing to use that surgery on you. Take as much time as you need to think it over. I do need you to stay at the laboratory for the time being to make sure you are alright, though."
"That should be fine," Law replied. He didn't know how to feel to know that someone was on standby to die for him. It was not a good thing to know.
"I have been letting the Straw Hat Pirates stay here without the Navy nor the Government knowing. This was a personal...experiment that I was willing to do with Luffy's permission."
That brought up the question he had asked Chopper before eating lunch. "I have a question to ask."
"Ask away. I will answer any questions you have for me." Law nodded as Vegapunk put his hands behind his back.
"Am I in my original body or not?" There was a long, tense silence after the question was asked. Vegapunk lowered his head. That was not always a good sign. He had learned that it meant that there was something that he didn't want to know.
"Follow me." Vegapunk walked out of the room. Law followed with Luffy right behind him. Is there something bad he's going to show me? What is it that happened? Law wondered what was going to happen.
Vegapunk stopped at a door a few doors down from his room. Law read the words right above the door. It was his name. "Is there a reason that my name is above this door?" The man nodded as he keyed in a password to open it.
"You may go in. There is a container in the back of the room. You may open it to see what is inside." Law nodded. Vegapunk grabbed his arm before he could even set foot inside the room. "I want you to know that your mind might not be ready to handle what you are about to see. It...is not something a person would want to ever see."
"Are you saying that I should wait to see what it is?"
"No. I am just saying that if you think you are ready, I am not stopping you from looking into the container." Vegapunk let him go. "You can look now or later. You have as long as you want to know the truth to your question."
Law nodded again. He decided he wanted to know then. Taking a step inside the room, Law noticed that the room was freezing. "Torao, I'm going to stay by the door." He nodded to Luffy as he walked to the back of the room.
There was a pure white, metal pod about seven feet long and four feet wide against the wall. It was pretty much the only object in the room. "You can press the button on the side to open it," Vegapunk told him as he approached it.
Doing as he was told, Law looked for the button. There was a large, dark-blue button about halfway down the left side. Pressing it, Law waited for something bad to happen. The container hissed as it opened. Smoke bellowed out of it as it opened up. Prying it the rest of the way open, he waited for the smoke to clear so he could see what was inside the pod.
When it did clear, Law stood in shock. He couldn't believe what he saw in the container. It was not something he ever thought he would see in his life. Law stared into the pod for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes. "Torao, are you okay?" He didn't answer the other. He was still trying to understand what he was seeing.
Law couldn't take his eyes off of what was in front of him. His body was in the pod. He was beaten and bloody but somehow, looked peaceful as he laid there. Reaching out a heavily shaking hand, Law touched his own face. The skin was extremely cold but felt like his own. he looked just like how he did when he remembered fighting Kaido. The only exception was that he was more beat up than he previously thought.
His features were still the same and everything was just...so real. It was like looking at himself from outside his own body. It was not okay with him at all. His eyes roamed over his body. He was still wearing the same clothes from that day. His light-blue spotted jeans, his boots, his 'Corazon' jacket that got fixed up, and his earrings. His hat was missing, though.
Taking a closer look at his head, Law saw a thin line around the crown of his head. "Wh-What is...is with the...l-line?" Law asked with a shaky voice. He couldn't help it. Law was freaking the fuck out on the inside.
"Well, I thought it would work better, with memories and such, if I used the original brain," Vegapunk answered. He sounded worried about how Law spoke. "Are you okay?" Law continued to stare at his own body.
"Torao, can you answer us? Are you okay?" Law still didn't answer them. NO! I'M NOT FUCKING OKAY! I'M LOOKING AT MY OWN DEAD BODY! Law didn't say that to them. He didn't have the will to tell them that.
Moving his left hand across his original face, Law did the same to his face with his right hand. Every detail was correct. Every mark, indention, and texture were the same as what his original had. It was disturbing and scary as shit.
"Y-You...c-cloned me." It was more of a statement than a question. There was silence for God knew how long before Vegapunk replied to his question. It was not something he liked but he sort of understood is reasoning.
"I...couldn't use your original body. It was not possible since you were all beat up and wounded badly. I couldn't heal you because you were already dead." Law just nodded. "I was able to take a sample of your blood and recreate your body from scratch. I was meticulous to make every part of you the same. That is why it took me ten years to get you where you are right now." He nodded again. It was all he could muster to do at the moment. "I know it is not something you are okay with but Luffy insisted that I do this when I proposed it. It was also an experiment that I really wanted to try. The Government never knew that I was doing this. I kept it under wraps for the sake of Luffy."
Law said nothing to him. He didn't know what to say. He was still trying to process what he couldn't take his eyes away from. Law took his own hand in his. There was no life in his body anymore. There was something not quite right about seeing yourself like this.
Slowly, Law sunk to his knees, still holding onto his own hand. "Torao, is everything alright?" Luffy asked him again as he stepped closer to him. Law still didn't acknowledge him.
Opening his mouth, Law started to scream. He didn't know what else to do. It was a scream of fear, sadness, and shock. It was something that felt like he needed to do at the time. "Luffy, this is was I was afraid of! He wasn't ready for this!" Vegapunk shouted over Law's screaming.
"What should I do?!" Luffy yelled back to him. He was so close to Law. He was still screaming as tears escaped his eyes and fell to the tiled floor.
"Get him out of here! He needs to rest from all of this!" Law felt hands grab him. He tightened his grip on his hand.
"He won't let go!" Someone rushed over to him.
"I'm sorry, Trafalgar! But this is necessary for you right now!" Vegapunk apologized to him as a sting entered his neck. After a minute, his screaming slowly died down to nothing. His body was relaxing, and his consciousness was fading away.
"Will it damage him in any way?" he head Luffy ask. He didn't know what he was taking about.
"It shouldn't. It's only a mild sedative. He should be awake in just a few hours after he falls asleep." Law felt his grip on his hand start to slip. He didn't want that. It was like letting go of his own past. His past life.
"Torao." Sluggishly, Law lifted his head to look up to Luffy. He looked to be on the verge of tears. Law couldn't really tell, though, because of his blurry vision from the tears and medicine. "I'm really sorry about this. Please, forgive me if I have upset you in any way."
Law didn't say anything before he fell unconscious from the medicine. He didn't want to sleep but knew he couldn't fight it off. Law hoped that he would be able to handle it better when he got up from his nap.
This was just an experiment story. If you all like it, I will continue it. Please let me know if you do. It will help me greatly. Have a great day. I love you all. Tatty-bye!