[If you're still following this story though I haven't updated in months, thank you :) I hope you like it.]


A Second Chance

Chapter 8

The Truth Of Her Origins

When the small row boat hit the shore, Trafalgar Law clambered out in a muddle of arms and legs. The cold had frozen his limbs and numbed them. He gave them a shake or two to loosen them up and once he deemed they were functional, lifted the little white ball of fuzz from the helm. "Bepo," he whispered, "Wake up. I need you to do something for me." After a few gentle nudges and a little prodding, the small polar bear gave a yawn and looked around blearily till he found Law.

Excitement spilled into Bepo's eyes at once as he took notice of his surroundings. He was never allowed off the ship! Trafalgar Law rolled his eyes as Bepo tried to jump up and lick his face, "Yes, yes, I know you're excited but we're on a mission here," he said sternly. Law held up his jacket - the one he had given to Paige - and held it to Bepo's nose. As Bepo thoroughly sniffed the scent, he began to walk towards the mouth of the tunnels. A couple of minutes into the Outer, Law let Bepo on the ground and bent to the bear's level. "Track and find, Bepo," he urged, "Just like we practiced, okay?" With a final ruffle of the head, Trafalgar straightened, ready to follow his pet.

At once, Bepo dashed off, as fast as his short, stubby legs could carry him. Law maintained a quick pace behind Bepo as they both navigated a maze of tunnels deeper and deeper into the cave. The walls of the tunnels grew more and more narrow, and the air became damper as time went by. At first, Law had tried to map the path but there were simply far too many twists and turns to keep count of. Eventually, he gave up remembering the trail and with a sigh, hoped Bepo could find his way back.

After an hour, Bepo came to an abrupt stop. He had run headlong into a stone wall. At the light of a torch, Law saw that they had reached a dead end. He picked up his bear and as he rubbed Bepo's injured nose, surveyed the scene. A solid wall stood before him and he could touch the tunnel walls with both his arms without having to stretch. It was a narrow space and Law pushed his nausea down. Think, he muttered to himself. There had to be a way out. Paige couldn't have simply vanished into thin air. Not for the first time, he wondered if the girl was worth all the trouble. It was always the same conclusion - she had helped him and he'd be damned if he didn't pay back his debts. His honor as a pirate was at stake. Resigned, Law let Bepo to the ground and felt for hidden doors and panels and secret switches along the cave wall. He hit the walls in frustration when he found none. Unbidden, Law remembered Paige escorting him to the Underground Mall. Then too, they had happened on a dead end but there had been a trap door. That was it! Struck by inspiration, Law swept the floor with his hands, certain that was the way out. Once again, he found nothing but he didn't give up. He was now certain that there was only one way out - the ceiling.

Law grinned to himself as he unsheathed his nodachi and began poking at the ceiling. He knew he'd find a way out in the end. He always did. Screw the dead end, he'd shown it who was boss. His grin widened when a rope ladder unfurled to the ground. Sword in one hand, he picked Bepo with his other and placed him on his shoulder. "Hold tight," he muttered and began the climb upwards.

At the top of the rope ladder, merely a minute later, Law twisted this way and that trying to sheathe his sword while at the same time maintaining a grip on the ladder and making sure Bepo didn't fall. When he was stable, he tested the trap door above his head. It swung upwards and it didn't have any furniture on it. All the better for him. He pushed the door up slowly and always alert, looking through the slice it provided of the room above for approaching people. No one came into the room and soon enough, Trafalgar Law was hauling himself up onto the floor above. He assessed his surroundings and once it was clear there was no immediate threat, he allowed his eyes to wander about the room.

It was dim, lit only by candles. A staircase teetered up on the far right leading to a door. There wasn't much by way of furniture in the room, except for a dusty shelf on the left and a wooden chair. In the left corner of the room, a large pillar stood - probably one of the supporting ones, the Blood Pirate mused. Now that his eye sight had adjusted to the relatively bright light, he was able to make out a frail form on the floor, half hidden behind the pillar. The coppery red hair was instantly recognizable. Paige. She was curled on the floor in a fetal position, unconscious. As Law made his way towards her, the bruises and cuts that marred her face came into view. Her clothes were torn and her face was dirty, save for two streaks running vertical from her eyes. Later, Law realized that they were tracks made by her tears.

Not wasting another second, Law unsheathed his sword and set to work ridding Paige of her ties. She had been bound with rope to the pillar in a crude fashion. Rope burns were evident on her skin. It was clear she had struggled and tried to escape. The wounds she had were probably a consequence of the same. Rage burned in Trafalgar Law, it coursed thick and slow in his veins. He had no idea what Paige had gotten herself into but he was going to make sure the people responsible for this would pay. He was glad she was out cold, she wasn't feeling the pain from the injuries she had sustained - but she would be as soon as she was awake. Law grimaced as he moved Paige's body to a sitting position. Her condition was worse than he had assumed. Blood matted the front of her shirt and made it stick to her abdomen. She reminded him of Nina - all his protective instincts rose. He couldn't save his childhood friend, but he would damn well make sure he saved Paige.

Just as Law was about to assess Paige's injuries, a creak sounded through the room. Someone had entered the room, and was making their way down the stairs. Muttering a few choice curses, but eyes eager all the same, Law hid himself behind the pillar. He didn't know who he had been expecting - a bulky man, perhaps - but the sight that greeted Law raised his eyebrows. A little old woman hobbled towards Paige. As she neared, Law inched his way around the pillar trying to stay out of view. Was she the one who had taken Paige? By now, it was obvious she hadn't come of her own will. Maybe this grandma had nothing to do with it.

All such thoughts vanished from his mind as the lady bent down. She scanned Paige and spit on her face. "Still haven't woken up from the little beating, have you, you worthless wench!" She kicked Paige and began pacing. "I told the twins to go easy on you but couldn't bear even that, could you! I always knew you were good for nothing. I'd hoped that perhaps your powers would begin to manifest. I was certain they would but you had to go and get yourself captured like the fool you are!"

Law had heard enough. Fury surged through him. He moved behind the woman in a fluid step and held his sword against her throat between breaths. "Scream, and I'll kill you," he whispered savagely.

"How dare you accost me! I am Martha Dobbins, Prale Priestess of th-"

Law pressed his blade till a thin stream of blood oozed from Martha's throat. "I told you to shut up. Speak out of turn again, and you'll be missing a head. Understand?"

Martha slowly nodded her head, cautious of the blade.

By then, Law had begun putting things together. Martha Dobbins was one of the people Myrill had briefed him on. Paige's...mother? And what powers had she been speaking of? Just as Law was about to interrogate her, the door opened and two bulky figures clumsily made their way down, bickering all the while.

"I toldja we shouldn'ta hit 'er so hard, Lug."

"You didn't say anything, you big lump. You were too busy hitting her too hard!"

"But I still toldja we shouldn'ta-"

"Oh, shut up and get the broom. And stay away from the girl!"

Martha began screaming at the sight of the men, "I'm here! Help me! There's a ma-"

Law sighed and knocked her out with the blunt edge of his nodachi. She had just made things unnecessarily complicated...but he would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to working off some steam.

The stupid one went down easily. He crumpled to the ground soundlessly as Law slipped from shadow to shadow getting closer to Lug. Lug proved to be a bit of a challenge. He had found the broom they had come for, and was parrying Law with it. He was surprisingly holding well against a sword with a piece of wood. Law's swings grew wilder as he became more enraged. That piece of wood should've been no match for his nodachi! Lug alternated between offense and defense and countered Law every time.

Law grew tired of the standstill they had come to and with a shout, disarmed his opponent with a risky move. He was about to throw his sword away as well and combat the man arm to arm, but Lug withdrew a small ball from his cargo pants and grinned a feral smile at Law. "Good thing I'm always prepared, eh?" He said and threw the sphere at Law. It exploded on impact. Law dodged the worst of it, but he still had a gash on his arm and a small cut on his forehead that was leaking blood and screwing with his vision. The fight had just gone from fun to serious. He was in actual danger now. If one of the spheres managed to land on him, he was a goner. Law moved as best he could to avoid the explosions, but he couldn't keep it up forever. He had to wait for Lug to run out of them, or find a way to use the balls against him. Since it didn't seem like Lug's supply would get over any time soon, option two it was.

Law surveyed the room looking for anything he could use. Then it struck him. The pillar! If he could get Lug to throw a sphere at it, the building would most likely collapse. The tricky part was making sure nothing fell on Paige and Bepo. He weighed the odds. They weren't good, but they were better than nothing. Law started a full out run to the pillar. "Hiding like a little girl now are we?" Lug taunted. Law paid him no mind. He picked up Bepo from the corner he was cowering in and placed him on his back once more. "Hold tight, this is going to be a close one," he muttered and wrestled Paige over his shoulder. " Come and get me, you big oaf!" Law yelled from behind the pillar, "We'll see who the girl is then!" Lug responded to the bait and withdrew three spheres. "You're going to wish you hadn't said that!" he yelled and threw all of them at the pillar at once.

The Blood Pirate saw the balls sailing at him in slow motion. Adrenaline was pumping through his system, making him hyper-focus. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as he watched the approaching spheres. Not yet, he thought, just a moment more... A second before impact, Law jumped out of the way and scrambled to the trap door. Just as he had suspected, the pillar had been one of the main foundations of the building. When the bombs hit the pillar, at first, nothing happened. Then a large crack resounded and it snapped in two like a stick. The ceiling collapsed and the floors above fell into the basement, for a basement the room was. Not waiting to be crushed by pieces of floor, Law dropped into the trap door and landed hard in the cave below. He set Bepo and Paige down, and climbed up the ladder once more. Above, it seemed like the worst of it was over. He heard a groan a few feet away. With an unrestrained smile, Law made his way to the sound. He had won the fight though all the odds were against him. He was good.

Martha Dobbins moaned for help from beneath the debris that once used to be her house. That little ingrate had been the cause of all of this! Her house was gone, her beautiful dress was ruined, and her twins were dead! It was so hard to find good help these days too. Martha had woken up a few minutes before the pillar exploded and managed to shelter herself under the wooden chair. Her leg was trapped, but that was it. Of course, her head was throbbing from when she was knocked out - but for all intents and purposes Martha Dobbins was fine and for the most part, unharmed. A tendril of fear crept up the Prale Priestess's spine as she heard approaching footsteps. She gulped when she saw the silhouette of the Blood Pirate against the morning light streaming in from above.

"What do you want?" Martha said in an attempt to be brave, a tremor in her voice betraying her.

The boy - no, man - standing over her bent down till his face was an inch from her own. "Answer my questions, and I'll let you live. Refuse, and you die. Painfully." Each word he enunciated was emphasized with a glide over his sword. "What powers does Paige have?"

Martha was confused for a moment. Paige? Who was that? Oh, he must have meant the ingrate - the bane of her existence. She cleared her throat, "I found Paige in a cave when she was a baby. There was nothing next to her except a half eaten fruit. A Devil Fruit."

Law sucked in a breath, surprised. He had not been expecting that. He cupped Martha's face roughly, "What fruit? Describe it to me!"

Curiously lightheaded, Martha began, "It had swirls on it. And it was pink with a green-" The Prale Priestess couldn't speak anymore. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her face went slack.

Law shook her hard, his eyes widening, "Tell me, woman! What was the fruit? What does it do?" He yelled, but Martha couldn't hear him. The lightheaded feeling spread throughout her body and soon, she was floating. Law let go of the limp body and cursed. He picked himself up and trudged through the debris to the trap door. He something to go on, at the very least. Paige was proving more and more valuable. Glad he had made the trip, Law jumped into the tunnel below. Bepo was unhurt and was playing with Paige's hair.

Wearily, Law picked up the redhead, "To the ship, Bepo." At his command, Bepo lead the journey back to the Blood Vessel, a tired pirate trudging behind.


[Constructive criticism is much appreciated :) I apologize for not updating for a long time. I grew out of my manga phase but I'm easing into it again so expect quicker updates. I know, I know, I always say that but this time - I mean it.]

[Huge love goes to BluePhoenix0101, TENNIS-w-GUITARS, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Vegetable of Darkness (lol), evewolf123, PirateZoro-san, mks 12 98, Miss Doflamingo, RockPrincess410, KittyWillCutYou, Velonica14 and robotsftw232 for reviewing :)]

[Tell me what you think of this chapter, please ^^ Was it good? Was it missing something? What would you like to see more of in the story? Is it progressing the way you thought it would?]