February 12, 801 WG
The next morning, Luffy hopped up and down on the frozen ground, howling, "COLD! It's cold! So cold! I wanna stay in bed!"
Ann and Lance's youngest son, Nicholas, thought his hopping looked like fun and were similarly bouncing while crying, "It's cold!" Shawn, being the ripe old age of seven, stood by the house and watched the three like there was something very wrong with them. Luna watched seeming to enjoy the show. Lance stood by the door thoroughly amused by the young man's antics.
"Oh the temptation was there, but if we don't clear the ice the shore-side buildings will be in trouble. The shallows froze last night and all that ice is being shoved onto the beach by the tide," said Lance.
"Why'd I have to get up?" shouted Luffy as he continued to jog in place while hugging himself.
"Uh? Good manners?"
"AAAHHH!"
"Oh Hak! Good morning!" called Lance, looking past Luffy. Dragon, his comrades and the Straw Hats were walking up. Everyone was now bundled head to toe, except the reindeer that seemed to be in his element, even as a chibi. Luffy was hollering more complaints and being echoed by Ann and Nicholas who laughed and giggled in between. The sound of shrieking toddlers from down the street and few lanes over indicated Luffy's hopping was being picked up by other youngsters. The whole town would soon have a parade of hopping toddlers loudly proclaiming it was cold. Lance suppressed his laughter. Whatever got them moving and warming themselves up.
The crew was staring at their captain. Hope seemed to have entered their eyes as they watched their captain's energetic theatrics. Sabo watched Luffy with a soft smile, looking a little relieved. Luffy turned to face them when Lance called out.
"You seem to have a lot of energy this morning," said Sanji.
"Shut up!" snapped Luffy while high stepping.
Lance chuckled and shouted to his friend, "It's good thing he didn't join the Marines, if the crazy didn't get them I'm sure the nostalgia would have."
Dragon snorted. The lower half of his face was hidden by a scarf and he appeared unmoved by Lance, though, he caught the glint of laughter in his eyes. The snort must have been unusual enough. His companions were now staring at him in surprise.
"Definitely his mother's son," agreed Dragon.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked the young man, looking between the two of them.
"Oh, I am just thinking about that time, long long ago, when Luffy's mother grabbed a steel dinner platter from the mess hall and slid down the backside of Marineford. It ended in an explosion."
"She barreled into Kong," said Dragon.
"How many battleships did she take out that time?"
"Seven."
"Only seven?"
"They were starting to realize it wasn't a good idea to line them up by then."
"And Garp wanted Luffy to be a Marine?" said Sabo with his hand over his face.
"You'd think the Vice-Admiral would remember who it was that gave him his early gray hairs," said Lance with a chuckle.
Lance heard an exhausted sigh and leapt forward to catch Luffy. Who had just hit the end of his still limited stamina. It wouldn't do for the young man to fall down onto the frozen ground, particularly since he was not made of rubber anymore and was sensitive to temperatures. Sabo rushed over as well.
"Luffy, are you all right?"
"Man this sucks," said Luffy.
"Here, how about you carry him and head over to the community hall. All the women headed over there to get the fires started. They should have hot drinks and you can sit at the tables to discuss life. While I enjoyed catching up with you, Dragon, I need to go clear ice."
Lance picked up the too light frame of the Straw Hat captain and laid him on the Sabo's back. Luffy grumbled but wrapped his arms around the other's shoulders and buried his face into the black coat. Once Luffy was settled, he said his good-byes and headed out.
Sabo watched as the other man left, floored. In the Revolutionary Army, Dragon had been an enigma, something other than human until they learned about his son. He was still viewed with awe and admiration but to hear someone talk to Dragon so familiarly and chat about old times made their leader even more human. It was probably just as well no one else from the army was here. Lance was definitely an interesting fellow.
Sabo shifted Luffy on his back, bothered by the younger man's lack of weight. "So, shall we?" asked Sabo as he turned to face the others.
"Yeah, seems like a good idea," replied Zoro.
"I'll take you there," chirped the young girl who had been following Luffy everywhere.
"Thanks, Luna," said Nami with a smile.
"I'm going to head back to the ship. I don't think I'm needed anymore. Sabo we should get underway soon," said Dragon.
Hack looked at Sabo and said, "I'll head back as well and make certain the freeze didn't damage the vessel."
"I'll stay and make certain Sabo doesn't take too long," said Koala.
"Hey!"
The girl giggled then led them toward the community building, the three other children following, as Dragon and Hack walked toward the docks.
"How are you feeling, Luffy? I didn't get to talk to you yesterday," said Sabo as they walked.
"Weak, pathetic, and I hate it," replied Luffy.
"What are you going to do?" Sabo asked. He would not bring up Luffy's statement of leaving the ship, not even as a question.
Luffy was silent for a moment then said, "I don't know what to do. Right now I can't think about what I should do. I'm stuck."
"Luffy…"
"I need to see Tra-o again," said Luffy.
Sabo nearly dropped him. The other Straw Hats had spent the whole last night telling him what happened between Luffy and Law in as much detail as they could recall. They even brought up Pudding's attack. Sabo had broken out into a cold sweat when he listened to them talk. They had been on Mendora for the last week and he hadn't bothered to check on his brother's progress that whole time. Lance's call had been the only reason he had pulled Luffy's vivre card out that night. Sabo was angry on behalf of Luffy over Law and Pudding and now Luffy wanted to see Law again?
"Whatever for?" asked Sabo, his voice cracking. The rest of the crew had frozen in shock, too surprised to say anything.
"I think he's in trouble."
Sabo ground his teeth then turned his head to shout at his brother. "Good! Let him rot in his trouble for killing you!"
"No! I want to know what's going on!"
"Forget him! Concentrate on becoming Pirate King!"
"I refuse!"
"Luffy!" Sabo dumped his brother on the ground, not a nice thing considering Luffy's poor physical state, but he needed to face him. Luffy climbed to his feet slowly while rubbing his butt and glared at Sabo.
"I can't! I have to figure this out first or I won't be able to set foot on Raftel. I have to know why he did it!"
"To become Pirate King, why else would he? He's a contender!" snapped Sabo his nose an inch from Luffy's
"You're wrong! He did it for another reason. He kept saying 'I'm out of time!' He said if I went now I could still beat him! Why was time a problem? Why did he try to persuade me with stating that I could still reach Raftel before him as if he were going to be delayed? If he took the coordinates and left he should get there first because of the head start he had but instead he said it would be us! Why?"
"He was lying! He was trying to get you give him the coordinates by pretending it wouldn't cause you to lose."
"Why not just fight me and steal them, then?"
"He did! He killed you!"
"He didn't want to and he didn't steal them!"
"He stabbed you in the chest!"
"He missed my heart!"
"It was poison and you were charging!"
"He was crying!"
Sabo didn't know how to respond to that. Luffy was panting, his body shaking with emotions and weakness.
"As you said, I was charging him. He brought up the sword to make me stop but I didn't. I impaled myself. He didn't want to kill me. It was all over his face! He was crying. He didn't want to kill me."
"Luffy…" Sabo felt himself losing the argument. Luffy's eyes were set, his gaze focused on something beyond the present world. He couldn't convince him. His crew must have realized it as well.
"Are you sure, Luffy-kun?" asked Jinbei as he stepped forward to place a steadying hand on his captain's shoulder. "You really want to face Law again?"
"Yes."
Jinbei smiled an expression of resignation but with a small amount of relief mixed in. "Then we'll find Law and settle this."
Zoro grinned. "Seems an appropriate thing for us to do before for we make landfall on the island of legends."
"All right, let's put a certain punk captain in his place," said Sanji.
Nami sighed then pumped her fist. Robin smiled.
"Yeah, let's kick Law's butt!" cried Carrot.
"Yohohohohoho!"
"Oh gods, Luffy, can't we just get the One Piece and rub in his face afterwards?" lamented Usopp.
"You're not allowed to get yourself stabbed again!" snapped Chopper.
"Super!"
Luffy turned to look at all of them, his eyes shining. "Guys… thank you so much!"
Sabo sighed in surrender then smiled. They were a good crew.
Law sat in his cabin, separated from his men. He used his Haki to check for eavesdroppers but sensed no one nearby. He then answered the den den mushi that was quietly chirping for his attention.
"What do you want?" demanded Law, though his voice was merely weary instead of harsh like he wanted it to be.
"Do you really want me to answer the obvious?" said the smooth baritone of the Cypher Pol assassin. It seemed to never bother with his bird when the conversation was over a den den mushi.
"I know where the fourth coordinates are and I'm my way to retrieve them."
"Why didn't you just take them from the Straw Hats?"
Law was silent.
"No matter. You did well enough. With Straw Hat gone, you are free to take your time. Just bring the coordinates to Veranian once you have them."
The den den mushi went to sleep signaling the end of the call.
Law stared at it for several minutes as his mind thought back to that night.
"Why are you doing this? If you just wanted help in locating the fourth Road Poneglyph, I would have told you it was at Elbaf."
Law hissed and gritted his teeth his hands trembling. That's not the help I needed! he thought.
"How can you trust Straw Hat so much?"
I didn't trust him at all. I trusted his naïve nature to follow through on whatever we agreed to. Even then, when he went and changed the plan for his own reasons, it always seemed to work out in the end. I just used him back then for my own agenda, him and his good luck.
He told himself this. He told himself this so many times, yet… Straw Hat's dying face, his final single word question, had slashed him to the core. The last time he had felt like this was on the night Cora-san had died. Straw Hat wasn't a friend yet his death hurt him that much.
The Cypher Pol agent thought he had done well.
That blasted vivre card Straw Hat had stupidly given him when they parted company in Wano, the agent had searched Law and pulled it from his coat back then. He then tore it in half and kept a piece for himself. If Law didn't try to head toward the path the vivre card indicated, Cypher Pol would track the Straw Hats down themselves using the stolen vivre card. Law had known that. Not that it would have changed his behavior. It just meant that if he failed or chose to not follow orders they could still do it themselves. Thanks to that card the agent knew the results of his confrontation with Straw Hat… and he was pleased.
However, the agent didn't know he had had the Straw Hat navigator in his clutches before her captain had showed up. He didn't know that Law had delayed returning to the ship with her in attempt not to screw over Straw Hat, to get the coordinates but still leave a window of opportunity for Straw Hat to finish his journey.
Law wasn't stupid. He knew the World Government was planning something for Raftel. Possibly a way to destroy it so its secrets could never be used against them. Law had wanted Straw Hat to get there before the World Government and take the treasure, and its secrets, before it was destroyed. The World Government would then think it had won only for them to realize too late that they had lost. That would have been Law's revenge against them for everything they had done to him, Cora-san and Flevance. It would have been his only peace before he left this world but it was all for naught.
Straw Hat was dead and so were Law's dreams. All was left to him was the fragile fading light that Cypher Pol had placed before him. He had to continue on this final path. There was no reason to hold back anymore. He would get the fourth coordinates and then give up his life to give Vegapunk his. In doing so the one tiny hope he had left would be allowed to live.
In the main area, Ikkaku's pointed red ears twitched. She heard the conversation between her captain and the unknown person that seemed to have commandeered him. Ikkaku didn't like it. She had been suspicious of her captain's motives for a while. Now she was certain of it. He was working for someone else. It wouldn't be the first time he played such a game, but it didn't seem he was the game master this time. The fact he didn't not say anything to them was equally disturbing.
Ikkaku had been voicing her doubts to the rest of the crew when Law wasn't about. They had dismissed her at first but she could tell they were beginning to wonder. Law wasn't acting like himself. Law had made a career out of betraying his allies but she always thought friends were safe.
Now she wasn't sure. Veranian was a World Government Facility. If he was heading there as a non-warlord, they would be in danger. She didn't trust the World Government not to betray them. She didn't care what Law was scheming but he needed to let them know what the plan was.
Ikkaku was growing more and more troubled. Her captain wasn't behaving as himself and she feared what that might mean for the rest of them.