A/N: Ahh, this chapter is long!
Naghi-Tan: He has his moments :D I share your love of DP! God, I can't wait for the next movie! Ryan Reynolds is absolutely PERFECT! Sanji kinda explains it here – Robin has emerged from the shadows! :D And you're almost right ;D Her team is special.
Penumbra: They do have a bunch of explaining to do, and I swear it'll come soon! He keeps proving himself positively! Of course it isn't that easy to do away with him and these two have a lot of words that need to be expressed.
Nosh Ram: Ah – maybe this chapter will be easier? Hehe, still more explanations to come. Digging myself out of this hole!
Harmonica Smile: Robin will share her story soon – it's too early for her to bring it just yet. Law needs to get himself together. Now the concept of humanity a clone has will be discussed, partly(?) here in this chapter. Law had some priorities he needs to have closure on, though, so it'll be a little tough – it starts here with this chapter. Cora walks the line rather clumsily! But with the way the four speak of him, while he follows orders, he tends to be the 'good guy' of the pair. D:
Sarge1130: Thank you for your barrage of reviews! :D To start from chapter 28 – yes, that was very awkward for me to write but I had a good time doing it. They're the easiest pair lol Perona would have been horrified and would never let them forget how awkward they are. Law is smart, but he's not very good with people or socialization – poor Sanji. Who cannot help but have a heart to pity that (oh, spoiler!) He can be deceptive but somehow for a good cause in the end – he doesn't realize that it can have an ending like that, he's only focused on what he gains from it. So the others suffer lol but they bounce back quick! That scene actually inspired me! Spandem was prepared but not enough – Kid can think pretty well around obstacles and while not as conniving as law is, he gets his own results! Kid chose the manliest of men because he's pretty (ahem) manly himself lol Yes, the chapter was surpising but Law isn't all without heart about it – he learned a hard lesson, and he's still paying for it now. Law has yet to reveal what about Sanji caused his suspicions, but it'll come soon – once he gets a few things out of the way, first. His mind is constantly working and this makes him unreasonable because he just wants answers and assurances – beneath it all, he's just an insecure (kid) that needs stability. Hopefully he'll find it. Sanji couldn't believe how much Law went through, but it helped him (somewhat) with his own feelings to see exactly where these guys came from. To his own misfortune, of course. Robin was always a sneaky character but for good reasons! That should be a headsup for the remainder of her part in this story. :D Thanks again for your reviews!
: : Thirty Four
With the sheet covering his face, Law was unclear where he was being taken. All he knew was that there were many twists and turns through empty halls, and he tried to picture the structure as it was when Spandem was in control of it. Sanji only had to answer twice to superior officers meandering about what and where he was taking his "trash" – one of them expressed disgust at the sight of the stain that colored the bed and sheets.
But once a heavy metal door closed behind him, Sanji ordered, "Open that door."
"Did you kill him yourself?" a gruff voice responded, another metal door opening soundly. With the way their voices seemed to ring within a large room, and the horrendous stench of trash all around them, Law could already determine what they planned on doing.
"I should've! Gimme that key."
"Three minutes, Sanji."
"It'll be easy from here. Sengokou made it easy for us," Sanji muttered, whipping off the sheet and exposing a beast smoking a cigarette that looked down at Law with barely repressed contempt. It had similar features as Lucci's but with flowing blond hair, an eye patch, and what looked like laborer's clothes.
"He is so ugly," he commented gravely as Law frowned at him.
"Inside and out," Sanji agreed bitterly, unlocking the seastone cuff at Law's wrist. He untangled the cuff from the security bar as Law withdrew his wrist, aching to have his other arm to rub feeling back into it. He clumsily sat up as Sanji detached the strap around his middle.
The beast gave his missing arm a concerned frown. "Are you missing some parts?"
"No, this is it," Sanji said gruffly, aiding Law out of the bed and steadying him when his legs nearly gave out from underneath him. Stubbornly, Law stood as Sanji pulled the stained sheets from the bed, tossing them to the beast. He then shoved the bed away and gestured at a slot in the wall. It was heavily stained, flies buzzing around it as a particular scent wafted around it. The beast grunted as he bent, wrapped the sheets around a body lying on the floor. Law watched as he then shoved it into the nearby incinerator, which flared brightly with the added mass.
"Go through there. Don't make any noise. Make it impossible for anyone to smell you," the beast told Law as he shut the door to the incinerator.
"Your hair is a fire hazard," Law told him as he prepared to climb up into the slot.
"You're only saying that because I have hair," the monster grunted back, flipping the length of it over one shoulder. Sanji shoved Law through the slot before he could reply. At the sound of his weight traveling through the tunnel, he heaved a tired sigh. Then he quickly changed into a set of clothes Pedro had covered with some cardboard products nearby, the beast turning away to give him some privacy. Once his clothing matched Pedro's, he pulled a battered hat low over his forehead. In the flurry of his own movement, he didn't notice Pedro stealthily taking the seastone cuff for himself.
Assured that Sanji was fully clothed, Pedro looked at him. "Robin is nuts to draw you into the beehive."
"It wasn't her choice, it was mine, Pedro."
"Zoro must be going crazy right now."
"Are you going to keep abusing that sauce box of yours, or you gonna make the deadline?" Sanji snapped at him, straightening his uniform before waving his hands in the air with frustration. "And stop smoking around me! Y'know I can't have one yet!"
"Two minutes!' Pedro said unnecessary, following him out the door.
"Hey you two, hurry up! Get that trash out of here!" a Marine snapped at them while passing by. "Wasting time on those deathsticks of yours, eh?"
Both of them meandered down a nearby stairway and took an exit door outside, where the tank-like trash truck rumbled steadily, the driver waiting patiently. Pedro took to the back step while Sanji climbed into the front. Once the truck began moving, he found his cigarettes on the seat and lit up with an exhale of relief. The driver adjusted her hat smartly as she resettled her hands atop of the wheel and worked the pedals.
"That wasn't hard," she commented lightly.
"We're not out of the hole just yet, Robin" Sanji said grimly. "You find what you was looking for?"
"And then some! But we haven't done enough," Robin replied, slipping on some sunglasses. "Their security access was challenging but thanks to Violet, I was able to slip through without much trouble. I couldn't hear much of the conversation that was being held between them to understand what was happening – all I knew was that he told Trafalgar nearly everything that they know on the basis of him being executed right after. It was an act of kindness."
Sanji stared out the window for some moments before he muttered, "You still think this is a good idea?"
"I've had years to think it over."
"Well…he does want to stop them. But his ideals probably won't match yours or mine."
Robin gave a vague nod. She had given it plenty of consideration. She understood Sanji's hesitation. "I think we'll be fine."
They came to the back gate, where a couple of beasts prowled around the vehicle, sniffing for anything extra. Pensively, Sanji watched them from the side view mirrors and was relieved when they indicated that the gates could be raised. Then he shifted his vision to the building they were leaving behind. He was waiting for the discovery of Corazon and the Marines to cause an uprise of activity behind them, but Sengokou was apparently confident with Corazon's ability.
"That room was made of seastone, so how'd you do it?" he asked curiously.
"Every room they had placed Law into had deposits of the mineral present. But the only pure substance was the cuff they'd attached to him – Corazon was able to use his in order to keep his words silent, so I figured it was more than enough for me to try my hand. Took some effort, but I was able to do it. With limited travel on sea waters, it would be difficult for them to gather enough to form rooms similar to that of the bunker. The only true matter was placed into the single medical ward Spandem had built off from the building. They used that for Law's sequestering, but it wasn't enough to fully contain him without the use of that cuff."
"I don't know what was said," Sanji murmured regretfully. "But expressions were enough. Rosci wasn't gloating about things – just…relaying them as he knew them. He seemed so confident in the things he was saying..."
"After much searching, I'd learned that his and Sengokou's abilities aren't as strong as theirs – theirs are only scare tactics," Robin said confidently.
Sanji considered this for a few moments, then said, "What you going to do 'bout his arm?"
Robin shrugged. "Maybe it'll be a good lesson for him to learn from."
Sanji nodded, having nothing more to say about it. They traveled quietly along a road that was maintained by plenty of travel, but there were no signs of city dwellers like that first day. This colony was under Marine control and he'd come to realize that those busy people on the streets had only been Marines under disguise. Once they reached the dump area, heavy machinery working to burn separated piles of trash and others baling scrap, they parked the trash-tank near a concrete building. Pedro opened the back of the truck and hauled Law out before he could do anything, the man giving an insulted curse by the treatment.
The beast took him into the building under one arm as the others hastily followed.
"We're gonna get smuggled out with the scraps," Sanji said, hurrying ahead to open up what looked like a box made out of metal pieces. The dimensions were a tight fit, but already stocked with a Thermos and a lunch pail. Pedro deposited Law inside as Robin went to a canvas covered wagon driven by large oxen – the back already packed with several heavy pieces already labeled for delivery. The beast retrieved a single-stand forklift and fired it up.
Reluctantly, Law made himself as small as possible as Sanji shifted form. Once they were inside, Law shut the lid as Pedro maneuvered the equipment over. While he loaded the container into the back of the wagon, carefully maneuvering them into an allotted space, the oxen cried out anxiously. The movement of the wagon alerted them that they were on their way. The fox settled over his chest with a loud sigh, tail moving from side to side with some agitation.
While appreciative of the trouble taken to remove him from the facility, Law couldn't relax just yet. He had all of Corazon's information running through his thoughts, wrapping around the material he had already learned. He had a timeline running at the back of his thoughts, and while there were questions about the smaller things that needed some general verification, he had all the big pieces in place.
A leak in the organization had prompted Sengokou to make the decision to plant false appearances to other outside parties; they had already started the cloning process in order to keep their successful projects running for however long they needed them to. Providing the needed keys to those that were aware of both programs, only they could essentially power the cloning program to bring back their weapons of war. A leak in that lab had given the Germa Kingdom the necessary ingredients to formulate their own successful experiments, which far exceeded those of the original planning. But once it was confirmed that Judge would not stand with Sengokou and his program after discovering a leak in his own secret project, Corazon had aided Sengokou in eliminating the man and his entire kingdom based on that unwillingness to cooperate. They planned on keeping Sanji for future planning but had lost sight of him and Zoro as they crossed the sea and disembarked onto the Wastelands. But Corazon had expressed suspicion that they were aided by another that had an essential hand in causing Judge's discovery of copied 'immortality' serum – a serum that would regenerate missing parts or revitalize after a death to produce a successful clone.
From death emerged a new copy – which was used to apparently revive them from their containment pods; it made more sense that they'd perished eventually after a certain amount of time due to equipment failure. The entire bunker had no use to continue running – that shut down as well; the life preserving fluids remaining stale until they were revived. It was only a short amount of time when they breathed in the fluid – for him, less, considering that the spithood should have suffocated him. Only those three fit the timeline on reviving them, Law insisted to himself.
Energy had been saved over the years by undamaged but outdated solar equipment. Once they were revived, the bunker was back in service; unaware that they'd died and been revived had given them no other memories other than what they were left with before the containment.
While what was done was done in Sanji's words, Law needed to know why they were revived if it wasn't Corazon and the others that had done so in the first place. That was an important question to know – Sengokou was implicit in that he wanted to continue using them as weapons of war to conquer and 'settle' this new world. Did this other person have the same intention?
Another factor he had to think about was that Corazon and Sengokou had mentioned they had already started the process of building a clone of him; so there would be another him running about, with all the corrupted memories of a world he'd left behind. Law was sure of himself, but he wasn't sure what another active, living/breathing Trafalgar Law would think of the moment he discovered that he was not in his own timeline. He was already considerably dangerous; what would another one of him be like? Could he face himself when the moment came down to it?
He was brought back from his thoughts at the repeated thumps of a furry tail beating against his stomach. He saw the fox look at him with what seemed like wariness. The small space given to each of them was like a coffin – the fox was nearly flattened atop of him, with the lunch pail and Thermos at Law's head rattling against the dirty barriers that kept them enclosed.
Restless, Law felt his missing arm twitching – he could still feel his fingers, and he had to remind himself that they weren't there anymore. He wondered where his sword was. The fox emitted a painfully loud screech that rattled his thoughts and made his entire body jump, his mind automatically conjuring up being back in the room. He reached up with his other hand and closed his fingers around the animal's muzzle, the fox pulling out of his grasp with a sharp nip.
"My ears still ache," he muttered. The fox's claws dug into him as the animal paced restlessly over his chest before resettling back onto his sternum, paws underneath his chin to continue looking at him. Big ears wiggled from time to time, listening to the various sounds outside of their box.
Law thought about the others – what if the other him was used to approach them? Not like anything could be done if their powers canceled each other out, but Zoro was the only true danger to him. Not that Law should be concerned with his other self. He hoped they didn't let their guard down. Kid knew enough to be prepared for a just in case scenario –
"Have you talked to the others at all?" he asked the fox.
The animal shook his head before giving one of his paws some biting attention.
"Then they'll think the one that approaches them is only me," Law said, furrowing his brow with concentration. "Of course, the discord will prevent any such fast repairs – they'll make their demands, and the other I will be…bothered by the accusations."
Sanji looked at him with question, head tilting to the side.
"The other I hasn't experienced what I already had – unless they somehow managed to use what was used to revive me in the first place. But it wouldn't make sense because the other I has already felt reluctant to cooperate – it'd be a repeat of this past event. If there was a way to harvest it for other uses, they could still use the other I from their own – "
Sanji bit him underside the chin, causing Law to hiss, reaching up to touch his face but forgetting he lacked that arm. So his left clumsily lifted to push the fox aside, and the animal made his way around his head, emitting small noises of discontent that hurt Law's sensitive ears. He winced, feeling a hard shiver rack his body – a part of him expected the cold and rain to hit, but when it didn't he had to school his thoughts back to the present. For several long moments he studied the box lid, momentarily lost in memory and sensation. His thoughts were rattled off course, and it was frustrating. Whether that was Sanji's intent or not, it kept him from thinking anymore on the subject.
In what seemed like hours later in uncomfortable silence, the wagon finally came to a stop. The box was unloaded under the smooth action of what felt like rollers – lifted up and away from the wagon and propped carefully to a steady space. The lid opened and Sanji popped out before Law could sit up, every part of him aching from the hard metal surface. But he observed the night sky and the temperature, the smells of a campfire and the weight of a tense silence.
Sluggishly, he pushed himself up to sit with his one arm, catching sight of Pedro already crouched at the fire – there were familiar faces there, looking at him warily. Violet and Rebecca, with Robin swinging her long, black hair out of her cap to shake over her back. The camp was settled within what looked like stone, with high elevation brush tipped with frost around them. The sound of the night life was different from those he'd known already – so he wasn't familiar with the area.
Violet stood up cautiously, glaring at him while her niece nervously played with her pink hair. Law looked to Robin as the woman sat down with a light sigh, long legs splayed out before her. In the time it took for Law to observe his surroundings, Sanji had gotten dressed, holding a pile of clothes in one hand while he gestured at Law to take his outstretched hand to help him out. Law ignored the gesture and rose to his feet unsteadily.
"What's the point?" he asked sharply of Robin while Violet's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You're welcome," Violet snapped at him. Law didn't want to acknowledge her just yet.
"I'm afraid it's not time to share, yet," Robin said. "As sharp of a thinker as you are, your mind is not settled to accept answers easily."
"Learn to say 'thank you,'" Sanji snapped at him. "She didn't have to interfere when she did!"
"I need to know what exactly I'm thanking her for!"
"It's okay, Sanji," Robin said to the fox. "Pedro? Show him where he'll sleep for now."
"I don't want to sleep, I want to know answers," Law said, venturing close to the fire. The warmth was immediate – despite himself he sat at the very edge, feeling the heat eat at his seemingly frozen skin. Sanji yanked him back hastily, hissing at him.
"Is he missing a piece?" Violet asked with a frown, seeing the folded sleeve.
"Unfortunately," Robin confirmed. "It appears Zoro is stronger than one thought."
"You were the one behind all of this," Law stated, looking at her.
"I was."
"Then - !"
"Before you say anything else, tell me – what happens to a wound when it's opened? Do you continue to play with it, or do you treat it carefully to allow it to heal fully to give it another chance?" Robin interrupted smoothly, looking back at him. "Your wounds are far too raw to hold the weight of a normal action – all the salt poured into yours is only encouraging infection, rotting you from the inside out. There is time to sit. I'll be willing to answer all the questions you have after you've sufficiently healed."
"I've waited all this time to hear something – "
"You have. Now hear this – I won't speak any other word of what you wish to know until you're healed. Your mind needs resetting – you're unable to trust because you've already made up the answers in your own mind. You want my answers – you'll get them when I feel you're ready to have them."
Law exhaled shortly. He could feel his veins simmering with heat and anger, thoughts already winding up into ways he could use to force this woman to talk to him. Robin rose to her feet, looking at the others. "I'm ready."
"You'll be okay?" Rebecca asked Sanji tentatively, to which he smiled pleasantly.
"I'll be fine! You've left me extra cigarettes, that's all I need."
"We won't be far," Pedro said, lighting up another one of his. He passed a burlap sack to Sanji, who took it with a questioning expression. Law understood as they were moving that they were going to leave him with Sanji. He could feel his breath quickening with rising frustration as they walked away, headed back to the wagon. "Just gonna keep them Marines distracted until your mind gets fixed. No doubt they'll come sniffing for you, but won't expect you here."
"Before you do that, I demand to know why you at least broke me out of there! That's something I should know," Law snapped, left hand trembling as he made to lift it. Sanji looked at him with warning, quickly stepping forward to stand directly in front of him.
"You'll just thank 'em with words for somethin' they risked their lives for, an' let that be the end of it," Sanji told him low. "They don't owe you anything more than that."
"I can answer that, actually," Robin said, pausing near the wagon to look back at them. Once she had Law's attention, she said, "It's because I wanted to be sure where you stood. You passed the test."
Bombarded with incredulity, dismay and exasperation, Law snapped, "All you had to do was ask!"
She smiled lightly at him before climbing back into the wagon while Law glared after them with outrage. As the oxen pulled away, he felt breathless with frustration, hand clenched tightly at his side as he considered an appropriate sort of revenge for the tact.
"Think about it," Sanji then said as he walked away, tossing the burlap sack aside onto a pile of provisions that had yet to be stored away. "What better way to test loyalty than to see it right up?"
"All of us have claimed our lack of loyalty to their program since we left the bunker!"
"Robin knows what she's doing. I trust her decisions."
"If you're going up against them, then it's no question where I will stand - !"
"Not with us, you ain't. You've always had your own mind 'bout something."
"Is this suspicion similar of the others?" Law demanded, marching over to the fire, standing close enough to feel the burn of his clothes. He couldn't seem to get close enough to feel the warmth in his bones – his marrow felt frozen. Sanji lightly kicked him back so that his clothes didn't catch fire, causing Law to look at him with a snarl.
"Stop trying to burn yourself up! Enough of that! She picked this place out, shut your sauce box! Come over here." With that, Sanji strode away from him, moving around a setting of rocks that had a suspiciously immaculate wall formation. Reluctantly, Law followed before he still had words building on his tongue to release. Ducking into what looked like an overhang, Sanji disappeared into a tunnel of darkness – Law followed cautiously, reaching out to touch the walls of the cool rock and feeling a temperature change as he did so. The cavern was wide and spacious, already brightly lit with some oil lamps. Centered within was a hot springs. The walls seemed too perfect to have natural degradation to them, but they showed no other signs of being human made.
"Take it gently," Sanji warned. "I'm going to move stuff to another cave, but I'll be within hollering distance if you need me."
Law examined the pool with awkward action. He looked down at his clothes, then at the shallow end that would allow him entry. Balance was still so troublesome – he was sure to slip and fall easing his way in. Seeing his reflection in the waters startled him – he truly did look a bedraggled mess. Close cropped hair, skeletal features, a lacking right arm – the dark bags underneath his eyes looked like they were eating up the rest of his face. Around his cheeks and jaw were errant sprouts of stubble, considering that it was difficult for him to grow any type of facial hair. At least they'd left his hard-grown goatee.
The new clone of himself would easily wipe him out in this state. Sanji noticed his hesitation, frowning back at him.
"You need some help?" he asked reluctantly.
Law couldn't stomach looking at himself. His own looks hadn't been of too much importance to him, so seeing himself now just made a feeling of self-hate burn up from his stomach and well up towards his throat. It was surprising how much he felt looking at himself when all he had been focused on was the weight of everything else on his shoulders. While the others had pranced and preened in response to their appearance based on whatever they were wearing at the time, all he'd been concerned was whether it was functional in response to his activity. He felt he didn't look human; he felt he looked like someone with a misshapen image like those recorded in the journals Spandem had showed them.
"This was worth your lives?" Law muttered in response, watching his reflection as he reached to touch his missing arm. He could imagine making contact with it, so it was confusing to not see it present as his fingers met empty space. The stump seemed to ache in response, just as confused.
Sanji's expression darkened in response. "You thought nothin' of it to take mine."
"It was because I'd suspected you were a clone in the first place, operating with them," Law snapped, but there wasn't any weight to it. He felt exhausted all over again. "You told me nothing, and you would answer nothing. I had thought that if I killed you then Cora and the others would have to respond. I didn't expect this."
"All that overthinking of yours does nothin', does it?" Sanji retorted. "Didn't I tell ya that? Buncha times! You were wrong, an' you got hurt because of it! All you had to do was trust me!"
"Why should I? Robin said she was testing my loyalty, which only means that she seeks to use me – "
"Her reasons are for her to explain, not mine! And you're overthinkin' it once again! Will you be making anymore rash decisions? Tell me now before I start movin' stuff. Don't wanna waste my time."
Law couldn't think of any reason to do anything of the sort; nothing could compare to the emotions he'd experienced finding out that he'd been both right and wrong about Sanji. Now that he had the concept of it, a clone's life felt no different from that of a non-clone. All of the weight of his emotions and thoughts – the way his body responded to danger, to starvation and torture felt real enough. The loss of a limb was jarring, and even as he expected help to have it back, even that wasn't guaranteed. Out of everything he currently felt, uselessness was a big one.
"No," he responded shortly.
"Then do you want some help?"
"Why would you help me after what I did to you?"
"I told you, I ain't no monster."
"Then do you think that I am?"
Sanji sighed heavily. He scratched at his head impatiently. "No," he said reluctantly. "I just think you're stupid."
Law frowned back at him. "Someone that uses 'ain't' as a regular part of his speech to give away his lack of education – "
"Oh, bother, even when you all beaten up, you still gotta tick up your rear 'bout that!"
" – shouldn't be calling – "
Sanji peevishly pulled his shirt off, nearly causing him to stumble into the pool as Law sought to balance himself. "Enough of you barking at me like some ankle biter cuz things ain't to your spe-cifa-cations."
Self-consciously, Law reached across himself to cover the end of his right arm as Sanji continued muttering to himself, pulling at his pants. Undressing him like a child – it made Law feel that much more hateful of himself, being unable to do this on his own and reduced to a useless mess in front of a man that was physically lesser than him. He was aware that he picked on Sanji's lack of a proper education too much – he recognized that he shouldn't because this man had been the only one to match him. It occurred to him that Sanji wasn't even a 'man' – if he were still in his late teens, he was just a boy.
"How old are you?" he then asked curiously.
"Why's that matter, now?" Sanji asked tiredly, straightening. "It don't, it really don't."
"Is this even legal?" Law asked suspiciously.
After a few moments, Sanji asked tentatively, "You're askin' if my age is proper for what we got?"
Law realized it was a pointless question, and maybe Sanji was right about him overthinking things. So his lips tightened.
Sanji rolled his eyes, stepping into the water first. Then he gave a bark of laughter while he impatiently waved at Law to either use him as support or take his hand. Releasing his own arm, Law reached out and grabbed his shoulder to slowly ease into the water. It was delightfully warm – seizing onto his body like a hot hand, causing a zing through his blood. The rocky bed was surprisingly smooth, inclining towards the center of the pool while leaving puzzling ridges that allowed for natural seating.
"Robin said this was once a natural hot springs that a hotel built over, so everything pretty much the same as it was back then," Sanji explained, guiding him towards one of the edges. The rocks and debris outside made more sense, and Law exhaled with a hiss as he slowly sat. His body appreciated the heat that seemed to permeate through his skin and warm him straight to the bones.
Sanji gave him a cautious look as he left the pool, shaking out his boots. "Don't sit in there too long. I'll be back in a minute."
Left with his thoughts in the immense quiet, Law reflected back on the situation at hand. The warmth of the water seemed to gradually usher away the intense cold that had settled in his bones, wrapping him with gentle comfort. He wet his hand and wiped his face and head, lingering on his shortened hair. The things he'd endured were things he was used to – the four of them had gone through it at some point or another. Always nursed back to perfect health by those that knew how.
Like lab rats, he thought. It plunged him down another road of uncertainty, quietly reflecting on the various reasons why.
Sanji returned some time later, fiddling with what looked like a blanket. "Come out, now."
Not moving, Law said, "What if we aren't even human at all? Grown directly from petri dishes, a series of clay blocks shaped into what we are now?"
"Only thing is, we think more than clay does, eh? Feel, see, hear – all those things. Now, c'mon – you're cooking in there."
"Only some of us do," Law muttered, looking at his reflection again. "Feel all the necessary things. Some given more than others."
"If you were, ya wouldn't feel so much about it," Sanji said with some exasperation. He gestured with the blanket. "Come up here. I got food cooking – soup."
"If you were just a robot," he then said before Law could open his mouth, "then ya wouldn't feel some things. Happy when things go your way, mad when things don't, frustrated when someone eludes your big noggin with some facts. Those human emotions. You bleed, right? Obviously break. It still hurts? Then you feeling somethin'. Heck, you have a good time in bed! You feel stuff for another human. I'm human. I know I am."
Law considered these things, then muttered, "Then why don't they think of us as human?"
"Cuz they the monsters! Get out, c'mon."
"They could've train us to feel these things."
Exasperated, Sanji crouched at the edge with a gusty sigh. "They trained ya to do specific jobs and did all this nonsense ta make sure you followed they orders. If'n you were a perfect machine at their hand, then you wouldn't have to be told how what why when. You'd just be. Won't question their order, or their methods. Won't be rebellin' against them, either."
"There will be another me running around here, feeling the same way as I do," Law warned.
"Is that what they said they'd do?" Sanji asked, thinking about it. He had to wince. "That why it was easy for them to get rid of you."
"He might be more manageable for them. If they had been present instead of you guys, it would have been easy to forget about any attempt to try for freedom."
"Think we can tell you guys apart, now," Sanji said skeptically, gesturing with the blanket once more. Law slowly rose, feeling dizzy as he did so. Sanji ended up having to jerk him out once movement became blurry, and wrapped the blanket around him. Law went still for a few moments, sure he was going to pass out. Sure that he was sufficiently covered, Sanji then easily picked him up with a grunt, Law horrified with rising humiliation as the smaller – younger – man carried him bridal style from the cavern. "I can get things done faster this way – I have your stuff spread out so I can make sure you eat while you get rest."
"Don't manhandle me!"
"You actin' like an old man! Take advantage of it right now, cuz when you start getting yaself back, I ain't gonna be so helpful," Sanji warned him, depositing him to stand within another large room – the decorations were wind-faded and long destroyed by time, but Law could make out the design as that of the former hotel's lobby area. It had a sunken room where Sanji had heaped various blankets and pillows near some oil lamps, their supplies stacked neatly nearby. It was cold – more of this outdoor living –the wind whistled through some invisible spaces that gave it a ghostly hoot, and the enclosure prevented him from seeing anything outside.
"Here are your clothes," Sanji said, patting a stack of material nearby. "I'm going to get the food and put out the fire. If'n you need help, I be right back."
With a disgusted expression, Law fought to get his dignity back, clutching the blanket around him. It was getting cold as the heat left him fast, so he crouched and sluggishly picked at the pile until he identified the pieces. They weren't Perona's creations, but basic jeans with some type of animal print on them, along with a long-sleeved t-shirt meant to be layered underneath a thick vest with animal fur lining the lapels and high collar. Judging by the climate, he figured this was necessary. He wasn't keen on wearing any type of animal print but he felt uplifted by the appearance of jeans.
He managed to get halfway dressed, frustrated immensely with only one hand by the time Sanji came in. The fox set down a cauldron and Thermos and intended on helping when Law snapped at him that he had it. So Sanji straightened up and watched him with a sullen expression. When it became obvious that he couldn't complete a few tasks, he didn't give a verbal ask but abandoned it with a glare off to the side. Sanji quickly zipped, buttoned and straightened the garments around him before Law pulled away from him to sit on the blankets with a hard sigh.
Heaving a sigh of his own, Sanji served him a wooden bowl and spoon. It smelled fragrant and inviting, causing Law's stomach to growl noisily. He set it down in front of him, crossing his legs. The spoon had a deep enough round to it that he could get enough soup into it without having to dig for more – the tasty was nutty and salty, thick to make his lips curl back and his eyes to water as he contemplated spitting it out. Sanji watched him with a glare, daring him to do so, so it took all Law had to swallow it down.
"'Sides, no one can program one to feel things," Sanji said, serving himself. "You learn 'em on your own, figure out what to do with them and act appropriate."
"Obviously, I'm lacking if everyone keeps telling me – "
"Cuz you still running on what they do! Never seen someone so willin' to get hurt. A normal person would avoid that," Sanji muttered uncomfortably.
"They can't kill me – " Law cut himself off, reconsidering this. He examined his fingers, which had healed to near perfect condition. He gave an uneasy exhale. "Or…that was the thought."
"You don't like certain treatment, then why do the same to others?"
"Because it's what I know."
Sanji slurped down half of his bowl before wiping his mouth and saying, "That a lame excuse. Cuz I obviously ain't my family."
Law studied him for a few moments. He wondered if his clone would pause at the sight of the younger man and think the same things he had. Drawn to him unconsciously, developing feelings he couldn't explain or separate because they were things he hadn't felt before, or was knowledgeable of. Could he be jealous of himself? He wore an irritable expression at this enigma.
"What 'bout the others?" Sanji asked. "We can expect them, too?"
"No. Cora fucked up the storage lab…somehow."
"Then it makes things easier."
"No. If…the other I – "
"Clone. Say 'clone'."
"No, because it's weird. It's a concept I can hardly accept."
"Even if you're one yourself?"
Law exhaled again. "It's easier to think of the other I as a…physical split of myself as I am now. Like…a physical representation of - "
"Just say 'clone' and stop muddling your head with all these extra thoughts," Sanji said impatiently.
Law couldn't exactly let this word escape him. He said, "I can't. It feels that I am expendable – "
"It is near disbelieving that you'd say so of yourself, but think nothing of it when it came to me."
Law sighed heavily, looking down at the soup he'd yet to finish. He set his spoon aside.
"I think the same way as you," Sanji muttered bitterly. "Did everything it took to live, and yet when it came to you, no one as surprised as me when ya decided to gamble."
Law couldn't muster up any words in response, and Sanji set his bowl down, standing up. He found his cigarettes, giving him a disgusted look before leaving the room. Law watched him go, trying to sort out the heavy feelings he felt in response to the situation. He couldn't quite attach the words to them, so they swirled uselessly in his head for several minutes before he rose to his feet.
He was surprised to see how bright it was outside – the area was illuminated enough to see that this area was an abandoned town. Lumps of building debris was nestled amongst overgrown flora, and night animals called out sporadically throughout the open area. He couldn't picture where exactly they were on the map he'd taken from Drum Peak, observing the area with an uncomfortable look until he saw Sanji smoking atop of some rocks. Because of the proximity, he couldn't tell what those rocks had been. The nighttime chill hit him hard and he shivered briefly, reaching up to touch his head in response.
He walked over, feeling shaky with each step.
Leaning against the base of the rocks, Law struggled with his words before saying, "It was one of my biggest regrets to do so. I was frustrated with the lack of answers in a tense situation."
Sanji blew smoke into the air before looking down at him with repugnance. "Now that you know what you do, you're gonna feel comfortable doing it again."
"I won't," Law said quickly, anticipating that answer. "Now that I know what it feels like to be in the same situation."
"Ain't gonna trust you again."
"Then why are you here? Why did you take me out of there, knowing that it was you they were looking for?" Law asked with exasperation.
Sullenly, Sanji flicked ashes to the side. He gestured upward, Law looking up in the direction he was pointing. It took him a few moments to realize he was looking at a full moon. "I took a gamble, too," Sanji muttered. "Seemed to have worked."
Law looked back at him, surprised. "But you're in no heat state."
"That's why I did it. I dunno how my biology works, am learnin' like everyone else. Figured if I made a decision, it couldn't hurt to see what happened. It being the first time in ages my mind clear like this during it." Sanji sucked in some smoke before adding, "My loyalty towards someone I chose as my mate won't let me ignore common sense."
Law felt his face fill with heat as he scowled hard. "It's your own fault."
"Right?"
"You can't be mad at me for a decision you made!"
"You ain't got no right to be mad at me for makin' one! Not after what you did!"
"I'm – I'm sorry!" The words felt awkward leaving Law, causing him to fumble with it. But they felt right because he truly felt them. Only difficult that they'd leave him when he hadn't heard the words given to him at all. He didn't know whether to be angry or express more on this train, but he added, "It's a regret I'll have to live with. But I didn't ask you to make that decision."
"Shut up! I hate hearing you talk right now," Sanji snapped at him, finishing that cigarette and tossing it aside, lighting up another one. "Everything you say now just makes me mad."
Law thinned his lips, stubbornly saying, "I apologized and that's the end of it."
Sanji looked down at him, sliding the cancerstick to the side of his mouth. "So don't question my loyalty."
"So I have to be grateful?"
"Why are you such a pill?"
"Because I don't deserve it! I treated you almost similarly as they treated me, and you think I'd know how to be a - ! A proper person! You have no right to be mad at me for your own stupid decision - !"
"I can be mad all I want! You killed me!"
It was so weird hearing that from a dead person that was fully alive in front of him. Mindbending. Law had a hard time accepting the concept despite it glaring down at him and hearing the words bounce around his head. He rubbed at his shoulder, missing the weight and length of that arm. It felt like his fingers were clenching hard at his hip – he wanted to cross his arms to combat the cold and the personal attack he was feeling.
"Jerk," Sanji muttered bitterly, looking down at his boots while crossing his arms, temper keeping him warm in the chill.
"Well, how long are you going to be mad at me?"
"I don't know! It shouldn't have a limit!"
"I'm not going to do it again."
"I am so relieved hearin' that."
"What do you want me to do or say? I can't take it back! It is what it is!"
"Then get used to me bein' mad."
"Then why not just find another mate?" Law asked with exasperation, but hating the thought of it. "No. Never mind. I would be angry at that."
Sanji snorted, shaking his head incredulously. "I just went and told you, I don't know how this works! I can't think that way – 'sides, how that gonna work if both of us got multiple chances comin' back to life, anyway?"
"Then I'll just work on eliminating that possibility for the rest of my life!"
Sanji snorted again and Law looked back up at him with frustration. "Luffy is the animal expert, you can ask him how it works."
"I don't wanna ask nobody about this type of thing!"
"Then being mad is pointless!"
"It's not! It's a perfectly acceptable thing for a normal human being!"
"It's not normal if neither of us is 'normal'!"
"You're such a buffoon, you're a moron, stupid rat waste, infectious plague on a shit stick still wet from the ass!'
Law figured he deserved that creative name calling, thinking if he continued speaking with Sanji and somehow educating him on proper speech that it'll only continue to improve.
"Are you done?" he asked impatiently. "We need to move onto more relevant things."
"This is relevant!" Sanji hissed at him, hopping down from the rock to face him. "Right now, it matters what and how I feel so you can understand, get it through that dung thick head of yours, and maybe you'll learn it and feel it and - !"
"Oh, so you're my emotions coach, now?"
"You the one always cryin' about not having any!"
"I have some! This is a stupid waste of time, we should be planning for the next step – you're the one that made the dumb decision to make some lifetime commitment to me, so even if you don't like me, I can still use you to - "
"I am not a thing for you to use for your own personal service!"
"You are a thing, just as I am a thing – we're all things in this stupid world, none of us have choices until I gain total freedom!"
"Agh, you're so annoying! None of us are things, we just as human as the rest! You're so darn stubborn, you vomit faced jerk - !"
"If we're easily replaceable, we're things, manufactured things made up by something other than God - !"
"Thinkin' like that won't help you after you succeed," Sanji warned him. "You can't be bothered to change now, you think you'll be happier later? You'll never be happy, you'll just find something else to obsess over to fill that empty spot."
"I am pretty sure that after I succeed I will be satisfied with my life then. Free to do whatever I want, however I want – "
"There are rules - !"
"I follow no one's rules! I'm tired of other people's rules!"
"Natural laws and rules exist for a reason, jerk-off!'
"Whether they're acceptable by me, I'll follow them – "
"It's not up to you, you're not king of the world! You wanna be a normal human being, then start actin' like one!"
"That's what I'm trying to do - !"
"You're just arguing just to hear yaself! How long you gonna fight yaself over this?"
"Until you stop forcing your opinion on me!"
"'Forcing'?" Sanji repeated reedily until he laughed, removing his cigarette to do so. He shook his head, turning away from Law. He ended up throwing his cigarette to the side, arms waving about. "I am 'forcing' you to feel things, I am holding you back! Everyone gets the blame but you, eh?"
"Why should I get the blame? The only thing that I should carry the responsibility for is the decision I made with testing you. All the rest – that has nothing to do with the situation at hand, which has a greater impact on my life than this," Law said firmly. He watched as Sanji stopped pacing, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. He still had his back to him, so he couldn't see the expression he was wearing. He unclenched his fist, unaware that it was held so tightly. "Why are you so unreasonable about this? Why am I fighting with you over it? Why can't you understand how I feel?"
The silence after was long and uncomfortable, and Law felt restless the longer Sanji kept quiet. He kept looking at the moon, but Law couldn't see his face. He felt bugged that he couldn't.
"All right," Sanji said low. "That how it gonna be."
Law felt worry build up from the pit of his stomach, but it felt strange. Sanji turned to face him, but his expression was hard and unforgiving. "I was built to follow my father's rules and meet his expectations. I will follow you in the same way I was built."
"I don't want that from you," Law said slowly. "I admit to being…stubborn and willful, but…with you I feel…human. Maybe not the right human, but these feelings do tend to motivate me to want to fight for complete freedom to experience a life denied to me by others. That's all I want."
"Then ta order to make things easier, it'll be easier to just give my loyalty to ya without the trouble of my feelings."
For a few moments, Law considered his answer, then said quietly, "I want your feelings."
"What's the point of that trouble? You can just depend on me, and I'll use this bond to prevent my heats. Each of us works out well with this."
To go this far just to avoid his heat stages made Law feel bad. He was frustrated to be put into this spot when he had just left a facility that left him broken down for weeks. He was sure he was only throwing words about because he was just used to fighting, and he wasn't thinking clearly to be a manageable person. He felt angry being put in this uncomfortable spot.
"I don't want that," he repeated.
"Too bad, because I made my decision."
"Then un-make it! Because I don't want it! I want your goddamn feelings and for you to make me second guess myself! I don't want a fucking robot! If I wanted one, I'd go and – and get one!" Law shouted, feeling his face and neck heat up.
"Then make an effort!" Sanji shouted back. "Instead of stubbornly holding your ground an' sayin' that it's just what you know, make an effort to consider another person's thoughts and feelings!"
Law stared at him. He could see himself asking how a person felt about their incoming demise over some wrong they'd done to gain his attention, and following through with his decision anyway. At least he'd know what they thought before he got rid of them –
"And your stupid face says it's appropriate to ask a person what they feel before you kill 'em, right?"
Law looked at him suspiciously. "Are you with telepathy abilities?"
Giving him a disgusted look, Sanji set his hands on his hips and then glared at him.
So Law gave it some reluctant thought, reaching up to rub at his missing arm with absent action. "Then, will you still be mad at me?"
"I cannot express enough how I'm still gonna be mad at you for killing me."
"Then you owe me an explanation why it's wrong if I turned out to be right."
Sanji dragged his hands down his face with agitation. "How 'bout if I get rid of you and make claim on the new one of you, instead? Maybe you'll get it then."
"That won't make me any happier, considering the entire action would be erased if they'd used their method of cloning rather than perfecting the type taken from me that was used on you, so – "
"Making any sort of point with you is like arguing with a child! You bother me!"
Law thought about it for a few moments, then added, "Potentially two of me might be running amuck, soon, if they're able to do so. I'm going to have to ask you a favor – and it will possibly make you happy. You can take out those clones of me in response to getting your revenge."
Sanji just stared at him, exhausting any further arguments that he had.
"They might drop their guard around you," Law continued. "So if you can strike a killing blow right away…"
He trailed off, finding it horrid that even these clones, capable of his same feelings and thoughts, would be unknowing that they were clones. Confused why they were being ordered to find another one of them – him – and why there was two of them in the first place. It would be uncomfortable murder. But he couldn't find rationality in three of them co-existing peacefully together when all of them had similar goals and if they happened to disagree with each other –
"I have a headache," he then said slowly. "I think I will retire to bed and try to sleep."
"It's cuz you think too much," Sanji complained.
"I might have a hard time sleeping – I will require your assistance." After a brief pause, Law asked awkwardly, "How would you feel assisting me with that?"
"Killing the other yous?"
"No, helping me sleep."
"I'd be glad to render some service," Sanji muttered, tapping his boot against the dirt.
"Will you continue to be angry at me doing it?"
"I'm still mad at you!"
"Well, when will you get over it so that we can cooperate peacefully again?"
Sanji scraped his fingers over his hair once more, eking a frustrated noise.
"I do feel bad about it, but I don't know how to fix it. I'm just relieved that I was right. So perhaps you should work on that issue, resolve it, and we can move on from it. But for now, I require your presence when I sleep. I…" Law searched for the right words to use then decided to say, "It'll take at least a week to regain a proper sleeping method after weeks of which I had undertaken under the direction of Corazon and Sengokou. Plus, you react to me rationally and noisily, which will make it difficult for me to kill you again. Also, I will require you to assure me that I am not hallucinating in the event I do wake up and get confused at my surroundings. It was smart of the others to just leave you here instead of sticking around because in that state, I might kill them without a second thought. I was always a little trigger responsive afterward."
With a sullen expression, Sanji muttered, "You want me to sleep with you cuz it makes you feel better. Just say what you feel. Treat me the way you want to be treated."
It was what he intended to say, but it hadn't come out the way he'd thought. So Law shrugged. "That would be okay with you?"
"It couldn't be that bad, considering how you demand to be treated."
Law thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. It seems ideal."
Law had to admit he felt some relief to be able to share such a long conversation with the other man. It felt right and it felt comfortable – things just felt lighter being around the fox, and even if it were troublesome for the fox, Law felt selfishness was necessary right now. He wanted that comfort – it felt so much better being in his company than recovering from the Marine's disruptive tactics on his own. He wondered if he should express that, and he considered their earlier discussion.
He cleared his throat. "Being around you is…soothing."
Sanji made a face – it looked like a mixture of guilt and irritability, so Law expanded on it to say, "You allow me to feel things that are difficult to express, but it makes me feel human. So…that is why I cling to you selfishly. Maybe one day it'll ease up, if that will make you feel better."
At the glare from the fox, the way he grit his teeth and seemed to tense up, Law made a troubled frown and wondered how his expression was taken wrong.
"Good to know," Sanji retorted. "Putting a limit to your feelings."
In exasperation, Law made with shrug to indicate his confusion, but the pain at the point of his missing arm made him retract that movement. "I'm trying, and you're never happy with what I do tend to give."
Sanji continued frowning at him, considering his words. He seemed to take his time measuring Law's expression and body language, and something in him eased down. He came to some type of conclusion of his own, and relaxed his entire stance.
"Thank you," he said tightly. "It's nice to see the effort."
Pleased, Law then said, "Then you'll work on not being mad at me?"
Sanji wasn't sure how to look at him, but he shrugged. "I'll do my best."
Despite everything that had occurred, Law did feel much better than before. He felt his facial expression relax – it was troubling enough to have Sanji's turn into a sulk.