I don't own anything but my ideas.

And over there in the corner, there hangs a strange bird /

Sings a strange song but it won't be heard*

"…Well, yeah he's here, but why didn't you just call him?"

Zoro looked up from where he'd been staring off blankly into space. The only thing keeping his blood from boiling over at the moment was counting the street lights at they flashed by the car windshield in time—542—and he'd barely noticed when Nami had gotten the call at all. The statement had made both Chopper and Usopp glance over at her, though Usopp immediately looked back towards the road. Zoro could see that he was losing his nerve fast. A thick sheen of sweat was collecting on the back of his neck and his upper lip and his eyebrows looked like they'd been sewn together above his nose to create a permanent scowl for him. Whether that was because of how fast they were driving or where they were going, one would never know. Although, knowing Usopp, it was probably both, as well as a mixture of other things that would make him sweat.

"Well, yeah, I guess… I don't know. Maybe he lost it after the fight. The one I broke after talking with Robin was Usopp's. I couldn't find mine then. …Yeah, here."

She turned around in the passenger seat to offer the phone to Zoro. He took it after a moment—ignoring the momentarily blinding pain in his shoulder as he reached—giving her a confused look, and she mouthed "Law."

"Yeah?"

-I've been calling you for twenty minutes.-

Zoro's already pinched lips threatened to pull back into a snarl. He was pretty sure Law was doing the same thing at the moment based on his malicious tone and it only served to make him angrier.

"I'm so sorry that me and Luffy almost dying threw off your schedule," he spat into the phone, which he was damn near ready to throw out—through the window. Who did the bastard think he was?

-Where is your phone?-

"Well apparently not here, but I thought that was obvious."

-You have a phone so that people can contact you. You cannot just go charging blindly headfirst like a bumbling, enraged bull into situations like—-

-Traf.-

That was Kid. He was on speaker. Better keep his language in check until he knew if Killer was around. Some key words that would make even Killer's eyes pop were tumbling around in his head.

-Zoro… are you ok?-

Killer's pained voice made the anger drop from him like water off of an oiled pan. He sighed heavily, leaning back into the seat from where his spine had straightened like an iron rod and had him nearly in a fighting stance.

"I'm fine," he murmured. "…I'm sorry. I don't know where my phone is. I'm still not even sure I know what happened. The whole damn thing took only took a couple hours."

-Robin told us what you told her,- Kid spoke up. Apparently Law was still too pissy to bother with telling Zoro that he was glad everyone was alive.

Well, that everyone that they had with them was still alive. The thought made something clench painfully in Zoro's chest and he shifted uncomfortably, the corners of his eyes pricking.

-She found something else too.-

"…Yeah?"

-Spam-damn, or whatever the fuck his name is, he's working with Doflamingo. Doflamingo is working with the government now, like Mihawk and Kuma.-

Well wasn't that just dandy. As if they weren't already balls deep in government dogs. Now the government was deliberately backing a drug lord with a slave house and a human trade system. Any attack Zoro made on him was that much more dangerous.

Zoro ground his free hand into one eye. "…And? I'm still going in there. I'm getting him out."

-I wasn't telling you not to.- Kid's voice was gruff and unfamiliar. Like he wasn't exactly sure how to phrase what he wanted to say. Normally he left the long speeches to Law, who was still being a fucking infant and skulking in the back corner of the conversation. In the back of his mind Zoro knew that Law didn't skulk and the fact that he wasn't saying anything was strange, but he was too angry to care. Sanji's broken and… betrayed expression—there was no better word for it—when Zoro had hit him and knocked him unconscious was playing like a broken record through his mind, and every time he thought about it, the simmering temperature in his veins roared to life and his stomach tried to get rid of everything it had in it.

He didn't have time to feel guilty.

He didn't have the right to feel guilty.

-…Look…- Kid tried again, but trailed off uncomfortably. Zoro was losing patience fast and about to scream at Law for being so immature at such an inopportune time. -When Robin found Doflamingo's name attached to Spam, she got ahold of Shanks again—after the first time she called—and Shanks did some more digging. …Uh, have you ever heard of Caesar?-

"…Who?" Zoro asked blandly, the phone creaking in his hand at the next pause as Kid stuttered, again trying to come up with the words.

-He's, uh… fuck. Traf, just talk to him.-

Zoro felt the growl rising up in the back of his throat, half a second away from screaming his agreement into the phone when Kid spoke up again.

-It's just Zoro.-

That made him stop, and he pulled the phone back from his ear to stare stupidly at it for a moment before listening in again. Why did Kid sound so… reserved? Reserved wasn't a setting that Kid had in his brain.

A rustle came from the other end of the line as the phone exchanged hands, and Zoro's lips pinched together tighter as he caught the tiny conversation whispered between the two of them.

-Do you want Killer out?-

-…No, he can stay.- Law answered after a good, long moment.

Zoro had never heard Law sound so withdrawn before. He wasn't angry at all. What the fuck was going on?

-You sure?-

-…Yeah. If one kid knows, they both might as well.-

"…Law?" Zoro asked carefully. He hadn't seen Law scared in… years now.

He was almost positive he heard Law swallow from the other end of the line. -…Yes Zoro?-

"…Who is Caesar?"

Law was quiet for a long time before he suddenly sucked in a huge breath, and then let it out very slowly. Zoro shifted uncomfortably in his seat, imagining Law playing with his bangs as they all sat in the living room, twisting them as he did when he was uncomfortable, lips pinched together tightly. Killer was probably in his normal chair, the one closest to the doorway, ready to leave if anything escalated. Maybe Law was sitting down too. He sounded so… tired.

-…H-He's…-

Zoro swallowed heavily, closing his eyes as thick fear settled deep into his stomach. Something was really very wrong, and he knew that whatever Law was about to tell him was going to make it that much worse.

"How much longer until we get there?" he whispered to the front seat, covering the receiver with his other hand.

Usopp shrugged. "Maybe… another ten minutes? It's not far, but we can't go much faster than this on the highway. We can't get pulled over now. If we do we'll basically have to shoot the cop and burn his car HAHA not funny," he blurted out awkwardly. Usopp was trying so hard to alleviate the system.

Zoro nodded and then turned his attention back to the phone. He wasn't sure what to do. He'd never been in a position of having to… comfort Law. He didn't know such a thing was even possible in the real world for anyone other than Kid. Law snapped, not nearly as often as Kid, but anger was the only emotion he had for acting out. Even when he got scared it was an annoyed-scared. This was…

Frankly this was terrifying.

Law chuckled to himself, probably from all the nerves. -I… um, I have to tell you a little more of my history for the answer to that question to really make sense. …I didn't think Caesar and Doflamingo were working together anymore, but I was wrong.-

"…Ok."

-…It makes this situation a lot worse.-

"…Ok."

-…And you have to know this before you go streaking into one of Spandam's facilities. Especially if Doflamingo is running it.-

Zoro didn't bother answering again, just waiting this time. He could hear the unspoken follow-up comment in his head, "Especially if Caesar is working with him."

Law was quiet for another long and painful moment before he started.

-…I lived in a top-secret research facility until I was seven years old. Both my sister and I were born there, just like my parents and their parents. It was a drug-testing lab, though I'm not really sure on what overall. My parents were scientists there, working on developing biological warfare weapons and antidotes to weaponized gasses. They and many other scientists—along with their families—were all fulltime, live-in personnel and had been for three generations, because the facility was top-secret and we weren't allowed to come and go as we pleased. Most of the substances they worked with were safe, or handled in safe manners, but at some point over the years of them working there, the government decided that the scientists would be a better service if the testing they did was a little more… direct. They started giving the scientists more dangerous substances to work with without telling them of the dangers involved. They needed the research done and this was the only way to do so without putting themselves at risk, and legally they wouldn't be allowed to do the research at all. It wasn't very long before everyone started to get sick.-

Zoro's mind had gone blank, imagining a seven year old Law living in a hospital setting all of his life, never allowed to go outside, never allowed to leave, told that this was his life and that was that. Images of Law and other kids running around, playing, just being children, were flashing across his eyes, and he couldn't help but try and find the mindset of whoever had first given the families these substances, damning everyone in the facility…how fucked up you would have to be to hand someone their own death certificate and those of all of their friends and family.

-…I have something called Amber Lead Syndrome. Or, had at least. There is no cure, but… well, I'll get to that in a minute.-

Amber Lead?

-Amber lead is an ore that was used to make bullets because of its density. It holds up much stronger than most metals without having the excess weight, but it isn't the easiest to synthesize and normal factories can't process it, which is why they could convince the scientists to work with it. They weren't informed of how toxic it was. The intent of using the ore was to ensure that—even if the fight was lost—the toxicity would keep fighting the battle against their enemies and eventually wipe out the entire population.-

The entire population?! "…How?"

Law sighed heavily. -…Amber Lead Syndrome occurs at a high point of build up of the ore in the blood, before that you only have Amber Lead Toxicity. It develops slowly, with very few syndromes at first, so no one suspected anything. When the levels of Amber Lead reach a high enough level, the hair loses all of its color first, and then white patches start appearing on the skin as it also loses its pigment. It causes extreme chronic pain, spreading until it eventually causes death. What happens generationally is that any children born receive their parents' levels of toxicity, so each generation has a shorter and shorter lifespan because it takes less and less time to reach that critical point. …I was about three when my parents started exhibiting symptoms along with the rest of the scientists. They all started to work on a cure immediately, because it wasn't contagious—outside workers still came to visit with no observed issues, the only difference was that they were never in contact with the ore—but after a couple of years the chronic pain became so bad that none of the scientists could continue their work and none of the other parents could take care of any of the children. …Everyone was basically dead anyways. Even the other children my age were starting to lose color sparsely in their hair. My generation had until about ten years to live, so we would be the last generation of scientists working in the facility. That wasn't nearly enough time to be worth it to any government.-

Zoro swallowed, knowing what was coming but still not wanting to hear it.

-…They came in and exterminated everyone, removed the ore, carried out the bodies, and the issue was resolved and they could start on another substance with a new round of scientists.-

"…How did you get out?"

Law cut off, like he'd been hoping Zoro wouldn't ask that question. But Law had never lied to him. Omitted information, yes, but never lied.

-…I snuck out. …Hiding under a couple of cadavers on one of the carts they used to wheel the bodies out. …They just happened not to hit me in the shooting, and then didn't recheck the bodies once they were in the cart, so I climbed in when no one was looking.-

Zoro closed his eyes, leaning forward until his head was resting against the back of the seat. The nausea was rolling over him in waves again, and the longer he was awake, the more his adrenaline wore off and the pain was hitting him triple fold.

-…I stayed hidden with the other bodies until the government left. …That's when I first met Doflamingo.-

"The corpses aren't contagious."

Trafalgar Law jolted, not having heard the small crowd walking towards him until they were basically standing on top of him. He was still shaking from the escape, buried under bodies that he refused to try and identify. He'd know them. He knew all of them.

"You can only get Amber lead poisoning by being in contact with the ore itself. Grab some of the bodies—three should be enough to synthesize the blood, but don't touch any that are bleeding, the blood can transfer the toxin to you. After that, we're going home."

The man's voice was silky and slick. He sounded like a buttered snake, a deep anger in his voice that Traf recognized. An anger driven by power, and a need for death.

He shoved the dead body off of his back, too close to death to care if this didn't work. It was his only way out. His only chance to avenge his family.

"Let me join you!" he ordered to the group of people, standing up in their immediate midst. Several yelped and jumped away from the sudden and dead-looking small child that had appeared like a ghost, but the man in the pink boa and sunglasses hadn't flinched. Good. Traf didn't have time to mess around with people that weren't serious about what they were doing. This man was a killer.

"I have a lot of people to kill," Traf continued without hesitation, his fists clenched, trying to keep his bottom lip from shaking as he realized that he was standing on someone else's arm. He wouldn't show weakness to this man. He wasn't weak. "And only a little bit of time before I die to do it."

The pink man's posse burst into laughter, cackling at the resolve in this tiny, promised-to-death child. Traf grit his teeth. They wouldn't laugh at him for long.

The man stared at him long and hard, sizing him up, before a maniacal grin split his face. "You can try. Let's see if you're worthy enough to join our family. My name is Doflamingo… keep up or you'll stay behind."

He had barely finished speaking when a collapsing wall tipped over beside the group, exploding in rubble and making everyone but Doflamingo—who flashed the remains an unimpressed look—stumbled back and out of the way. A man with Doflamingo's lanky height and eye-catchingly bright hair stepped through the dust, kicking chunks of cement as he went. He had on a black feather boa cape very similar to the one Doflamingo had on and a hat pulled down low over his eyes, but that didn't hide the star he'd drawn in eyeliner around his eye or the way he seemed to be completely incapable of applying lipstick correctly. He was almost to Doflamingo's side when he suddenly tripped and tipped forward, driving his face straight into the dirt underneath him. Doflamingo's expression remained indifferent.

Traf sat staring from where he'd jumped out of the way of the wall—not scared by the sudden movement—hating the man with his face in the earth for making him show weakness and for the fact that his flailing leg had landed right across Traf's lap. What an idiot.

"Watch it!" Traf yelled, shoving the leg off of him and scrambling to his feet, fists up like he was about to fight the giant man on the ground.

A low murmur of "ooh" echoed from Doflamingo's "family" as the lanky man stood, still a little wobbly from the impact, and slowly turned to face Traf. Good, let them know that he wasn't scared—

The man's foot snapped out suddenly like a viper and caught Traf square in the stomach. Traf oofed, air rushing out of his lungs, and then he was flying like a ragdoll, clear across the room, sailing over debris and dead bodies before finally coming to a crashing stop against the wall on the other side of the room. He sat gasping, trying to get the air back into his lungs.

"Corazon doesn't like kids!" the small girl with Doflamingo called from across the room, a useless and late warning.

Thanks, Traf thought nastily, still trying to breathe right. From where he was sitting, he could watch as this Corazon pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit up, crossed his arms as he let out a cloud of smoke, and proceeded to catch his feather cape on fire with the cherry of his cigarette.

Traf hated him. With everything in him, he hated this idiot of a man.

-oOo-

Corazon was dumb and useless, Trafalgar had decided, but only with good and due consideration. The conclusion was still pretty easy to reach though. Aside from their first encounter, Traf had witnessed the moron scald himself with boiling hot tea, fall over backwards in chairs, trip others and himself, and walk into so many walls and doors that Traf hadn't even bothered keeping count of how many times it happened. He hadn't set himself on fire since the first time, but Traf was sure that it was only a matter of time before it happened again.

He'd been warned by others in Doflamingo's family—Baby5 and Buffalo—not to mess with Corazon. Corazon was strange, they'd said, but he was still blood, and Doflamingo took family very seriously. He was still Doflamingo's brother and Doflamingo would make his end long and messy if Traf tried anything. But Traf didn't care. The man had kicked him clean across a room—he'd been humiliated and insulted and he was going to teach the daft man not to mess with him.

Corazon was going to die.

-I hated everything. I didn't believe in anything. I wanted to destroy the world.-

Zoro had no idea how to take in all of this. He knew Law was a psycho but… Law could very well have been legitimately crazy. Just a really intelligent insane person who could use his talents to still do the crazy things he wanted to do. Law was traumatized maybe irreparably. And it didn't sound like the story was going to get better. No wonder he had a soft spot for kids.

-I ran Corazon through with a sword I stole from one of Doflamingo's men the second I saw an opportunity, but I was mad and lashing out and I missed his lung and Corazon lived. I discovered this after I'd left him to die, and then arrived back at Doflamingo's place to find the two of them there, Corazon with his shirt off, bandaging the wound, and Doflamingo asking about it.

"What happened? That looks nasty."

Corazon looked up over his shoulder at his brother, scribbling down "enemy" on a piece of paper and passing it over.

"He got you pretty good. But you took care of him?"

Corazon nodded, slipping his shirt back on. Traf gritted his teeth. The man didn't even look like he was in pain. But he hadn't turned Traf in. …Why?

"Huh. Well alright, be careful next time."

-I learned to fight in the underground world. I spent almost two years with them, training, fighting, using weapons, stealing, killing, studying to be a doctor, traveling, helping Doflamingo plan every death we wanted in the world… having a family again. It was around that time that Doflamingo started working with Caesar. Caesar was cruel, he would use his subordinates as bait and experimental tools but I never cared because I had an end goal and an end date and I didn't care how many people died as long as I killed as many of the people I wanted to as possible. When I was good enough to actually compete for Doflamingo, to try and win him money and his team better ranks, I met Eustass. I don't even remember how. We didn't fight each other, we might have been in the same prefight room, but it doesn't matter. Eventually we started sparring during our free time—all you do is practice when you're young in the underground. We ran into each other enough times to decide to meet up purposefully outside the arena, and then consistently… we got pretty close, but Corazon ended that all one day.-

Zoro blinked, confused why there wasn't any anger in Law's voice, especially after how he'd been seething earlier.

-The Amber lead syndrome got really bad. My skin and hair started turning white, and I was in so much pain some times that I would just drop to the ground practically seizing. Once was during a fight, and Eustass—who was on the sidelines—realized that I hadn't fallen in pain from an injury from my opponent and leapt into the ring and beat him back. Eustass was better than me then and at a higher level at the time, so it didn't take long, but long enough for both Doflamingo's men to jump in and grab me, and for Eustass's team to pull him off of my opponent and back to the sidelines.- Law paused, a weird tightness in his voice that Zoro recognized—oddly—as embarrassment. It was strange in Law's voice.

-Eustass, uh, was screaming for me, fighting against his own crew. It was causing quite an uproar, mostly with his team, but Corazon was there and took notice. He must have seen how we'd been spending time together. When I finally woke up from the fit, I was three hundred miles from Doflamingo's home and family and in a makeshift camping bed with Corazon cooking dinner over a fire next to me. The man had played mute for years, everyone thought he was too traumatized by whatever caused Doflamingo to want so much death in the world to ever speak again, but it was a ruse. He told me that he'd seen something in Eustass and I—and me specifically—that I didn't have when I asked to join Doflamingo's family. A… dedication to someone, a want to fight for another reason than to cause pain. …Heart, I guess. He said that he'd left a note for Doflamingo that he was going to find a cure for my Amber Lead Syndrome and he'd be back with me alive. I thought he was crazy. I'd been kidnapped and told that I might live when I knew there was no cure. I wanted to be back with the new family I'd joined, I wanted…- Law huffed heavily, skipping to the next topic noticeably. -Corazon told me that his brother was a monster.-

You wanted Kid, Zoro filled in what Law had been unable to say. Kid was just as crazy as Law, they'd probably been the only two to really understand each other ever.

-Doflamingo killed his father when he was ten for giving up their family status as lords who owned slaves, stole food and resources from thousands of people, and killed just because they could. Doflamingo swore to kill every civilian, one by one, until they all belong to him again, and Corazon believed that his brother would do it and had promised to stop him. At first I threatened to tell Doflamingo. I tried to get away, I attacked Corazon, I used every moment I had to insult him, and still he kept taking me to doctor after doctor after doctor, defending me against the ones who were scared of me, insulting their dedication to the profession and their promise to help people, bribing people to run tests, seeking out names of people who might be able to help, even killing people when they tried to go to the police. He wouldn't let me think of myself as a lost cause when doctors ran from me in fear. He didn't let me consider myself inhuman for being rejected by so many. He never once gave up on me. I stopped trying to run, and even though this man was the clumsiest, most ridiculous man I'd ever met, I started believing in something again—in him. And in the possibility of having my own life beyond the toxicity. We traveled for six months looking for a cure, and one night Corazon was drinking and broke down and admitted to me that he was sorry for putting me through everything that had happened, that when I stabbed him all he felt was my pain and not his own, and that he was going to save me if it was the last thing he did. He couldn't go back to Doflamingo, we'd been gone for too long and everyone would think he was a traitor. I was his one cause.-

-Cora-san got a call at some point during that sixth month, saying that he'd heard from someone of a government-run program that was synthesizing a virus known to have incredible healing qualities, and thought it might be able to supplement a cure.-

Oh my god. Zoro's mouth dropped open. It couldn't be. He's not—no—he's not—no—he's not—no—he's not—is he—?

-Corazon swung me around like a little kid he was so happy and then sent me out of the room to go buy me a soda and him a beer in celebration before we set out to raid this government lab. I sprinted the whole way I was so excited. I trusted this man, and he was sure that this could save me, so I believed his every word he said like a message from God. When I got back, he was on the phone, so I waited outside so he could finish his conversation, but I could hear everything from where I was. It took me a second to understand why he was using such official jargon, but he was calling in a favor with the marines to find out if there was an exchange of the synthesized virus anywhere. I was horrified when I realized.-

The breath was stuck in the back of Trafalgar's throat, bottles shaking in his hand and threatening to clink together and reveal his location.

Wait! Traf didn't care a damn bit if Cora-san knew he was listening!

Traf stormed into the room, hurling the bottles at the ground where they shattered, soda and beer exploding everywhere. Corazon shrieked, slipping on the fresh spill and crashing to the ground, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. The phone cord had been yanked from the wall in his fall, and Traf kicked it as hard as he could, splitting it down the middle with a sharp and choked ringing sound, quivering like a time bomb in fury.

"Are you a marine?!" he screamed. Red-hot liquid was washing into his eyes and down his cheeks and he didn't understand why.

"No no!" Corazon said quickly, trying to scramble to his feet and tripping on his feathers, knocking him back into the floor in his haste, face first.

"Did you lie to me?!" It couldn't be true.

"I'm not a marine!" Corazon yelled, his voice damn near a plea. Traf felt like a volcano. He wanted to lunge at Corazon and bite his head off.

"I know what I heard!" he wailed. The bastard! The bastard had tricked him! "You were talking to a marine! You called a marine! You're working with them! I never should have trusted you!"

"Traf, no, come on!" Corazon grabbed his shoulders, holding him tight when he tried to shove away, but not close enough so that Traf could actually sink his teeth into Corazon's body like he wanted to.

"Listen to me! I'm not working with them! I'm working for Doflamingo, but not with him, right?"

Traf slowed, bottom lip jutting out, tears still flowing freely, but he let Corazon speak. He didn't want it to be true. It couldn't be true. Cora-san wouldn't do that to him.

"Come on," Corazon pulled him in close, tucking Traf into his lanky body. "We're going to intercept the serum when the marines transport it from one lab to another. I know Doflamingo is going to try and beat us there. If Caesar gets ahold of it, he could replicate it, and Doflamingo could give it to all his men. If they get the serum into the lab we'll never be able to get in and out without being found, we have to get it before. I had to call in a favor from a friend I have on the inside."

Traf sucked in a watery sob, grabbing onto Corazon's shirt, letting himself be held. It had been a long, long time since he'd felt this safe. He should have killed Corazon when he had the chance. This man was screwing him up in the head.

A lightning bolt of pain shot up his spine, bleeding into every bleached-white spot on his body. His vocal chords locked, rendering him unable to make any indication that he was about to pass out.

"We're going to heal you and go into hiding," Corazon continued, unaware of the unbearable pain Traf was in. "Just you and me. …Traf? …Hey?"

Corazon shifted to move him out of the hug and Traf found his voice, letting out an ear-splitting wail and curling in on himself as his body screamed against the movement. He didn't have much longer to live now.

"Traf! Come on, kiddo, you're gonna make it! U-uh, uh, here! We're going now! Just hold tight, we're gonna fix you up!"

Traf was too far gone in the searing agony to hear anything. Unconsciousness was a welcome gift.

-Corazon snuck me into the facility where the exchange was taking place and made me wait as he dressed as a marine, helping to move crates, one of them with the vial of the serum. He managed to find which crate was hiding it and steal it, but he must have been seen, because when he came back with the vial and a needle and injected me with it, he was barely conscious from blood loss from bullet wounds.-

Oh my fucking god he is.

-I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of what that serum was.-

"…L-Law… are you…"

Law sighed heavily. -The serum was synthesized from the negligible senescent porphyric humanoid virus, and it was the miracle drug of the century. I started healing immediately, white spots disappearing, color returning to my hair, pain gone in an instant. I felt better and stronger than I ever had. But Corazon was dying and he'd used the whole vial on me, maybe scared that if I didn't get enough, it wouldn't work. In all honesty, he was probably scared that it might not work at all. …I watched the man who had never given up on me for a single second dying on the floor, and I had to do something. I knew that he'd been lying, that he was a marine, and I knew the best shot he had was to get someone to help him. He'd be able to explain himself before they even put him on trial for being a criminal, explain that everything he did was undercover. He had to be fine if he had medical help. They would even get him his own vial of the serum, so I ran and brought back the first marine I could find, only to have Corazon lunge at him like an enemy, attacking him before he was barely in the room. Suddenly they were shooting at each other, and I couldn't understand. I knew that Corazon was a marine, you don't pretend to be undercover marines unless you're actually doing the job, it's impossible to fake. Corazon grabbed me and ran, leaving a trail of blood as we went. He told me that I'd found Vergo, Doflamingo's best spy in the marines, and if we wanted to live, we had to leave right then, because Vergo was going to call Doflamingo immediately, and he was almost certain that Vergo being here meant Doflamingo was also here to intercept the serum.-

Zoro was starting to realize why Law had never mentioned this man before, and his heart ached for the poor little boy with the deadly toxicity and just one person there for him.

-Vergo pulled the alarm and shut off all of our escape options. We had no way out. Eventually Corazon couldn't run anymore from lack of blood, and he hid me in a shipping crate that had been emptied of the serum and he knew was going back to the other government lab, which meant outside. I begged him to hide with me, but he all he would say was that I was going to live. He told me he'd be fine, that he was Doflamingo's family, and locked me in the crate-

"I want you to always remember me smiling!"

"But Cora-san—!"

"I'll be ok, Doflamingo might be mad at me, but he won't do anything to his brother," Corazon cut him off with a huge smile. "Keep quiet, although this crate should keep in most of the sound, it's pretty thick. We'll meet up at the town to the north, find a café and stay there until I can come find you,"

He moved to shut the top of the crate before he paused and then pushed it back open.

"Hey Traf."

"…Yeah?"

"…I love you!" and he slammed the lid.

Traf sat staring at the inside of the dark crate, too many emotions whirling around inside of him to process any of what he was feeling, but he couldn't stop the stupid grin from taking over his face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt really, honestly happy.

…Stupid Cora-san.

Long, lanky steps tapped deliberately into the room, and Traf felt his body tighten—in fear this time, though he was so used to that happening in pain. He'd recognize Doflamingo's footsteps anywhere.

"…It's been six months, Corazon."

Law swallowed heavily, realizing how loud it sounded and covering his mouth. He wouldn't be the one to give Corazon away.

A lighter clicked once, twice, three times. Traf could imagine Corazon lighting his cigarette and setting his shoulder on fire in the process.

A gun clicked as it was cocked, too close to the crate to be anyone but Corazon.

"Code 01746. Marine Base Commander Rocinante. Doflamingo, Captain of the Don Quixote pirates, I have infiltrated your ranks to stop you and the atrocities you were going to commit."

Even low on breath, blood, and options, Corazon's voice was strong and unwavering. He was in charge of the situation. It still made Traf's heart lurch to hear him admit it out loud. Corazon was a marine spy.

Traf jumped at the sudden thunk against the crate, Corazon knocking on it. "I'm sorry I lied. I didn't want you to hate me."

"…What?" Doflamingo asked blandly, not really interested. With how injured Corazon was, he could have been saying anything in delirium. "Nevermind, enough. I just have two questions for you. Where is Law, and where is the serum?"

"…He's safe… I healed him with the NSPH serum… you'll be happy to know that his body is taking care of the toxicity. Hopefully he'll live a long, healthy life."

"Where is he?"

"I sent him to escape before you pulled the alarm. He got out with the marine ship. He's probably already in protective custody. You'll have to attack a navy base now to get him. They know how valuable he is."

There was a thick silence, and Traf felt his breathing get tighter and tighter. He leaned up against the inside of the crate, willing Corazon to run and escape while he could, that he'd be ok and he'd escape when he had the chance.

Doflamingo chuckled quietly. "Looks like we'll be sneaking into that navy base. I guess I'll have to educate Law on the importance of dying for me! He's healed, but we have the NSPH virus now, I'll inject him with it and turn him into the greatest weapon we have, with an endless supply of blood to synthesize and make more compounds from!"

Another gun cocked, and Law choked on his tongue. He could almost see it pointed at Corazon with his own eyes. Corazon said he'd be all right, he had to be all right!

"Why are you getting in my way, Corazon? Why are you making me do this do another blood relative?"

"You can't have Law," Traf heard Corazon stand. "He won't listen to you anymore, he's not the lost boy that you took on those years ago. He's beaten his curse. He's going to live, and you're no family of his. He's free from everything, from your hold, from his short lifespan, from the fear others have of him. Nothing is holding him back. He'll get far away and he'll never stop."

Doflamingo's growl was clear even through the walls of the crate, but maybe that was just because Traf could imagine it so well.

"You lost, Doffy."

BANG.

Law was an NSPH.

Law was a fucking NSPH.

-I escaped after Doflamingo left and continued studying as a doctor. Eventually I got an internship with an underground doctor and met Eustass again. But that's unimportant. Zoro—-

"You're an NSPH!" Zoro barked. He couldn't help himself. How had that never become apparent to him?! "Why don't you drink blood?! Why don't you have fangs?!" At this point, everyone in the truck was staring at him like he was crazy. Maybe he was.

-Well, no not technically. But it doesn't matter—-

"It does matter! It fucking matters! Why haven't you said anything?! Does Kid know?!"

-Zoro! Doflamingo is going to create an army of NSPH and Sanji is their key!-

Zoro swallowed his voice, going cold again at the mention of his beautiful blond on a lab table somewhere.

-Before Sanji,- Law continued, -NSPH superior and minor were easy to create, but as far as I could find out, Sanji was the first NSPH major they got right. If Killer were ever to get bitten, he'd most likely become a superior because the level of the virus is so hard to get right based on one's individual physical body. Sanji had the right physical components, the right metabolism, the right mindset, the right level of the NSPH virus, all by accident, and now that they have him they have him they have a formula for more NSPH major. The first time Sanji broke out, they did more testing on him then they did on any other NSPH subject, but Sanji survived it all, far beyond what anyone else had survived. It didn't take them long to realize how strong he was and how different he was from every other test subject in the fact that along with his strength he also retained his humanity, but just when they realized his potential, Zeff broke him out again and the key to their army was lost. Doflamingo has the manpower, now he just needs the virus, and if he gets it he'll be damn near unstoppable. I'm a lost cause, I only have the NSPH healing component—so no, technically I'm no an NSPH—and they can synthesize parts of Sanji's virus much easier than they can mine, so no one has come after me, but everyone and their mothers and the fucking pope wants Sanji—dead or alive. Shanks thinks Moriah wants Sanji for the healing properties in the virus because he's closely tied with so many hospitals and he deals organs on the black market. If he could get useless organs and heal them, and sell the serum to hospital patients on the side, he could die rich. Shanks also thinks Moriah had something to do with the first rise of NSPH years ago. All they had to do was collect the organs of the people that had been slaughtered, and then when there were no more, they could hunt down the NSPH and take their organs. We don't know about Blackbeard yet, but he might have stumbled across Sanji when the government was transporting him and intercepted the shipment, offering him to Doflamingo in exchange for something. Zeff runs a sort of "search and rescue program," hiding people on the run and hunting down people with huge bounties on their heads. We know of a couple under his care, and he's watching over some high-profile people. Blackbeard might want something from him.-

"Ok," Zoro said weakly, trying to take everything in, but nothing was really sticking in his head. It didn't sound important at the moment, or like it would help him rescue Sanji.

-Doflamingo's territory is miles from the factory where you're thinking Sanji is, so even if he's on his way, you have some time. You need to get in there and get him out. And you have to intercept them before they try to transport him anywhere. All they need is a strong sedative and Sanji isn't a threat. Get there fast, get him, and get out. Do nothing else. Do you understand?-

Zoro nodded before remembering that he had to speak, muttering "yes," but he couldn't get any more words out and he couldn't move the phone away from his ear. Sanji was the only thing gracing his mind.

-…Zoro.-

"…Yeah?"

-Be careful.-

"…Thanks."

-oOo-

They'd parked the truck far enough away from the old factory so that even Usopp felt comfortable (enough) that it wasn't going to be seen. They'd decided that Chopper would stay with Usopp (without Chopper's consent) because they couldn't risk the only person that could save Sanji's life if he was really in bad shape. Doflamingo only really needed Sanji's blood if Sanji got to be too much to handle, so transporting him dead might be easier, and they couldn't risk not having their doctor. So they'd left Chopper sobbing in Usopp's arms and clutching at his cellphone, just incase they called him in. They weren't going to call him in.

Nami and Zoro each had phones and had dialed each other, keeping the call going while they snuck up to the only door that wasn't boarded over. Nami had her staff clutched tightly in her hands, Zoro already with Wado in his teeth, his phone taped to Wado's hilt. He and Nami shared a glance, took a deep breath, and then shoved quietly against the door, ducking through it when it was open wide enough.

The plan was to get in, get Sanij, and get out. Whoever found Sanji first would call for the other and direct them to where they were (Nami was pretty sure they were fucked and had insisted on activating the GPS locations on their phones, even though that meant if they were caught it would lead their captors right to the other) and then they'd remove any adversaries and get the fuck out, even if that meant jumping out a freaking window. Nami wanted to wait until Robin and Franky got there, but they couldn't. They didn't have any time to waste.

This was their only shot to save Sanji.

Zoro threw up at the thought the moment he was out of Nami's sight, wiped his mouth, swallowed the pain rocketing through his body, and continued running as silently as he could through the dead, grey walls.

-oOo-

The place had been abandoned for a long time. Most of the doors were open, making checking every room almost stupidly easy, and any that were locked were so weakened by the elements and rust that they broke open just as easily, but there was only wrecked furniture, ancient equipment, and cobwebs. Most of the rooms had been cleaned out long ago.

Zoro's every footstep echoed for what felt like miles down the dead hallways, no matter how quiet he tried to be. But honestly, his best bet wasn't sneaking in if there were in fact people here, it was to cut now and ask later. Sanji was his only priority, and this place was definitely abandoned, so anyone here wasn't supposed to be here.

He took a undistinguished flight of stairs up to the next undistinguished floor, repeating the same routine, door after door after door after door. No change.

"Anything?" he hissed into the phone.

-Nothing.- Nami said back. -Not a goddamn thing.-

Neither of them said what they were thinking. Maybe Sanji wasn't here.

He had to be here. Zoro wasn't going to accept the alternative.

But just the thought made him pick up his stride even though it made his steps louder.

Zoro rounded a corner and slowed. The walls here had been painted with a thick white paint that Zoro recognized from visits with Law to the hospital, which was waxy and easy to wash any fluids from. He pushed doors open slower now, checking around corners before he continued, tapping his toe occasionally to see how far the sound would echo and how far away he'd be able to detect something.

And then he heard it.

It sounded like a machine rumbling at first, but Zoro had lived with too many NSPH not to know what the growl of an angry NSPH sounded like. This wasn't like the noise Killer made though, and it didn't even sound like Sanji at his worst. There was no human voice in this, no intonation, no deliberate thought process driving the sound. This was just a low, predatory sound. The creator probably wasn't even cognizant that it was making it.

NSPH superior? Zoro thought idly, not stopping. Maybe there were others nearby, and that would be the place to find Sanji. Either way, he knew he was in the right place.

"Nami," he whispered, "I might have something."

-What? Sanji?-

"No, but… growling. Like NSPH but worse."

-Super?-

"Superior, but yeah. I'll let you know, but quiet for a bit until I know they won't hear you."

-Ok.-

The sound grew the closer he got, going from animal to killer to monstrous in volume. Zoro felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, memories of running through the destroyed city with Killer strapped to Kid's back when the NSPH took over invading his mind. He was close.

There was a metal door at the end of the hallway lined with three enormous bolts, but the door had been cracked and Zoro could tell beyond a shadow of a doubt that the growling was coming from inside. The fact that the NSPH hadn't attacked him yet meant that it was either starving and wasn't conscious enough to smell his blood, or it was tied down. Either way, whatever was inside was not was in good shape. Zoro hoped to god that they weren't doing the same with Sanji. He knew that with Sanji's past, they'd be starving him to try and weaken his resolve.

I'm coming, Sanji. He leaned his shoulder up against the door and pushed, amazed when it gave way to him silently despite the rust covering the rest of the factory, albeit stupidly slowly because of how heavy it was. It seemed that this place wasn't so abandoned. His shoulder protested loudly against the pain as he pushed and made spots appear over his vision, but he ignored it.

The door opened to a large, gaping room, ceiling high enough to make the windowless walls dwarf the bland hospital cots lining the exterior, each one paired with a metal tank and tubes running to the bed where a face mask had been attached to the headrest, but Zoro was only focused on the body in the center of the room.

The person looked so small from where Zoro was, hunched over themself, arms wrapped over their head as they rocked back and forth in shuddering jerks, emitting the horrible starved growl that Zoro had heard hundreds of yards ago. Their clothes were shredded, shirt maybe white at one point but now dyed so red with blood that the color was soaking over into their pants. No wonder it was so crazed. Being able to smell blood and be that hungry would have had Killer screaming against the ache. Despite himself, Zoro grimaced in pain for the NSPH. If he had something to carry the blood in, he would have stepped back outside the room and taken a bit from his own arm to try and bring it back to sanity, damned Chopper's warning against not injuring himself any further. They might be able to help him find Sanji, or would know if there were any other NSPH in the… "hospital."

…Hell, he might as well see how much sanity they had left.

"Hey," Zoro called out, and the body froze, curling in more on itself at the shock of Zoro's voice. His one word bounced back and forth between the enormous walls and Zoro winced. He hadn't meant to make that much noise; hopefully it hadn't upset them too much, especially with how sensitive they was right now.

He had no idea what to say now that he had their attention. "…Do… do you need… I can help you." He could practically hear Nami rolling her eyes over the phone. "What's your name?"

The body turned slowly, still hunched like a gargoyle, to stare at him through its arms with one cloudy, scarred eye. Zoro's lips pinched together, and he prepared himself for the NSPH to attack him.

The NSPH's—man's hands found the ground for stability, revealing grey-blond hair crusted with dried blood, and turned to look at him with one iridescent blue-black eye.

Sanji!

But… no, it wasn't. The man's eyes were sunken deep in sallow skin stretched so tight that it pulled his nose back against his face, cheekbones jutting out under hair that really was more grey than it was blond, claws longer than Sanji's had ever gotten gouging marks deep into the painted cement floors.

-Zoro! Who's there?-

"…Uh, I…"

The man… creature cocked its head at Zoro, sniffing deeply at the air, finally zeroing on the smell of Zoro's blood and its eye bled solid black, fangs ripping open the man's own gums as they grew in anticipation, where a thick, dark sludge instead of blood leaked from the tears.

-Is it Sanji?!- Nami demanded.

"I—uh—no—I mean—"

-Is it?!-

"I don't know!—I-I don't think so!"

The creature lunged, just a flash of grey-blond, and Zoro dove to the side as it smashed into the door behind him, the bang echoing around the room. Zoro landed and rolled on the floor, sweeping up with the blunt side of Shusui to knock the NSPH back where it landed harshly on the floor. He grunted at the flash of pain from the movement, btu didn't give himself time to process it.

It couldn't be Sanji. There was no way. NSPH major didn't get like this when they were starved, and either way there hadn't been enough time for Sanji to get this hungry. He'd only been missing a couple of hours.

"It's not him!" Zoro called into the phone, and then almost changed his mind immediately. "I mean… I don't know! Nami, it's like Sanji but NSPH superior. Law said they wanted to create an army off of Sanji's physical… form or virus or whatever!" He slashed again, knocking the creature back, wincing at the next flash of pain. The thing was out for blood, and Zoro was too scared to really go for its hands, whether out of habit or that he was still scared that it was Sanji. He couldn't do this for long though, the only reason he was able to hold it off now was because of how starved it was. He could feel the power in the NSPH's body through every connection his sword made. Pretty soon the smell of him would make it forget how tired it was. That or Zoro would run out of energy and adrenaline to keep him from feeling how injured he was.

-Just hold him off, I'm in this weird hallway, the doors are the same but the rooms inside have bars so whatever's inside can't escape. I'm running, just don't hurt him, I might find Sanji!-

Please do, Zoro thought, diving out of the way as the creature came back at him, shrieking like a banshee in the night as it dove.

-oOo-

"Fuck," Nami hissed to herself as she ran, kicking in the doors on her right and jabbing them open with her staff on her left, revealing empty barred room after empty barred room. Nothing. Fucking nothing. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" she could hear Zoro's swords and the NSPH's screaming through the phone, and it was only making her more frantic.

That couldn't be Sanji, it sounded like a real vampire from old folklore!

But they couldn't risk it.

She had to find Sanji.

She dashed up the flight of stairs at the end of the hall and started her same procedure, kicking in one side and bashing in the other. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

She kicked in the next door as hard as she could, shaking physically, and ground to a halt.

There was someone in there!

"Hey!" she yelled, running up to the bars and grabbing onto them to try and get a better look at the lanky man slumped over the bench against the back wall, blood dripping steadily to the floor where a large pool had formed underneath him.

The man stirred slowly, raising his head just enough for the light from the hallway to illuminate the numerous bruises decorating his face and the oddly signature curly-q eyebrow tucked beneath golden-blond hair.

"…Nami?" Sanji's weak voice called out, barely able to talk.

"Zoro, I found him!" Nami screamed into the phone, looking for something to pick the lock on the bars, giving it one sharp kick just to see how strong the door was. These rooms weren't rusty. Not so abandoned after all.

-You're sure?!-

"Nami, what's going on? Is that Zoro?" Sanji pushed himself slowly into a sitting position, moving to stand with a pained groan.

"I'm sure! He's here and curly-browed and standing and talking to me!" she yelled. "Don't worry, Sanji, we're getting you out of here."

-oOo-

Zoro let out a relieved sigh through the phone and turned on the monster lunging for him. He was breathing hard, oozing blood steadily from several good slashes that it had landed on him.

"Come on, I can't dance with you anymore," he breathed, cracking his neck, ripping the phone from Wado's hilt so he could get a better grip on it with his teeth and dropping the device to the ground.

The NSPH snarled at him, death in its one good eye, and shot toward him. It was tired and panting hard, and definitely not as strong as Sanji. Almost immediately Sandai tore through it's shoulder, and it let out an ear-splitting scream. Zoro almost felt bad for the person this monster had once been, but it was so far gone that it was only slowing down. Even in the old city when most of the people had been killed off and the NSPH were running out of food he'd never seen one slow at the prospect of eating. This one had a horrible past in the lab it seemed. They might have even abandoned it here when they left because it was in such terrible shape.

-oOo-

Sanji pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tucked one between his lips, his back suddenly straighter. Nami blinked. They let him keep his cigarettes?

"How are you, Nami?"

…What? "Sanji…?"

Sanji stood, moving towards her, a slight swagger in his step that she… didn't recognize…

And then someone stepped out into the light of the hallway, same blond hair, same roll of the cigarette between his lips, same lean, lanky body, same curled eyebrow, but definitely not Sanji.

Nami gasped, a hand snapping over her mouth.

The man put an arm up above his head slowly and leaned against the bars, sucking in a deep breath of smoke before he pulled the cigarette from his lips and blew coolly to Nami's side, exactly how Sanji did.

"Nice to meet you, young lady… Nami. I am Duval. I'm sorry to say, well, sorry for you at least, that I was offered a small price because of my resemblance to your young… friend," —he said the word with a disgusted grimace— "to play his part to whoever found me."

He grinned. "It looks like their plan worked better than even they thought it would. I have to say I'm happy that such a lovely young lady didn't find the monster. I was quite convincing, no? Being that you didn't realize at all that I wasn't the freak."

Nami couldn't speak. What the absolute fuck had just happened?

"Your green-haired friend can at least defend himself. Maybe he'll even kill the monster if we're lucky."

Zoro!

"Zoro!" Nami screamed into the phone, bolting from the room. "Zoro, don't hurt him! Zoro, that's Sanji! ZORO!"

Nothing. No answer. Just horrible, vicious, pained screaming from the NSPH—from Sanji.

"No no no!" Nami wailed, sprinting down the hallway to the other side of the building where Zoro had been looking. She had to find him before he killed Sanji! Behind her, Duval's echoing laugh faded in the featurelessness of the disgustingly grey hallway.

"ZORO!"

Nami ran until her lungs were heaving from the strain, but she didn't allow herself to slow, and in the back of her mind she knew that screaming for Zoro was dangerous for anyone that was still in this place, but there was no other way.

"ZORO!"

All of a sudden she could hear them, a floor above her, swords clanging and Sanji shrieking like a rabid animal straight through the cement walls. Part of her hoped to everything that one might believe in that it wasn't really Sanji, that this was all some huge mistake, a sick joke, that the man behind bars was just crazy, but even so she pushed herself faster down the nearest flight of stairs. Ahead of her was a metal door that looked like it was built for a submarine, ready to hold back the blast of a bomb, the sounds of the fight echoing through crack in the door, guiding her.

"ZORO!" she screamed, slamming into door and shoving forward with all her might. It was heavy, and not moving nearly fast enough. Sanji let out a pained wail from inside.

"COME ON!" Nami screamed, turning and jamming her feet into the open part of the doorframe, throwing all of her body weight against it, slowly forcing it open.

Finally it was open enough to get her body through, and Nami wriggled through to a white room covered nearly floor to wall in fresh, thick blood, just as Zoro and what she guessed was a deranged and starved Sanji, both layered with gashes and soaked through with blood, lunged at each other. Sanji's eyes were crazed from the smell of blood everywhere, and Nami honestly didn't know how he was still standing with how much damage Zoro had done, but he was out to kill and Zoro was defending himself with just as much violence. Zoro didn't look good either, though it was clear he had the upper hand.

"Zoro, stop! That's Sanji! That's really Sanji!" Nami cried.

Zoro's eyes went wide and he leaned back, sliding in the blood on the floor and losing his balance, arms flailing out to the side to steady himself.

What?

Zoro's brain locked, taking in the creature's—Sanji's—mangled body, gaping wounds, gushing blood, slices on every limb, immediately checking to make sure Sanji had all ten fingers.

No, that couldn't be Sanji.

His body wouldn't move. Sanji, seeing a falter in his food's stance and an opportunity, grabbed both of Zoro's arms and threw his head back, snapped forward, and sank his fangs deep into Zoro's throat with a victorious snarl as they toppled to the floor, a mass of limbs and weapons spewing blood as they rolled.

-oOo-