A/N: I can't believe I've been whittled down to a chapter a week. My god.
Harmonica Smile: Hopefully this chapter concludes all the questions! D:
Naghi-Tan: It's totally okay! Work first, then fun! Yeah, it's finally whittling down. I'm exhausted lol
Sarge1130: Oh, he's a mess all right. But hopefully time spent with Sanji and settling his thoughts will help a little. D: He's slowly starting to turn his thoughts and actions around as time passes and it isn't what he's used to – that conscience is slowly easing into place. He was starting to worry about the age difference lol no problem now!
: : Thirty Five
Kid noticed that Zoro had grown a little tense over the past few days. While behaving normally, his frowns seemed heavier while he was in the middle of some quiet reflection. Kid had thought this tension was only because of the loss of his friend, and all of them had done their best to ease things around him. Zoro kept expressing puzzlement over their actions until he was reminded that these things were done because Sanji was gone. Kid thought it was odd that Zoro would then 'remember' that his friend was gone; it tickled the back of his brain.
None of them missed Law in the slightest. Things seemed more chaotic as a result of his absence. Without any of his plans or actions to follow, they happened to make rash decisions based on what they wanted; not what they needed. It was their quest to search for powerful opponents and conquer them, and unfortunately part of their search often ended up inside colony walls, causing chaos. Kid knew that dominating entire colonies wasn't part of their intentions, but it seemed that many of them felled had people relieved at the exchange in power.
They were almost heroes.
They were recovering from a hard battle fought in Alabasta, Luffy letting Crocodile cling to life while they raided the palace for things useful on the road. Kid was looking for a map that would lead them away further inland, wandering from one room to another for any source of information. Dressed in desert garb, Kid was sweating uncomfortably as the hot air sucked at his energy levels. Zoro and Ussop was wandering some distance behind him, talking low about the battle but Kid tuned them out.
In one room, he came upon piles of scrolls and old books. The walls were decorated with sand paintings and shelves with pottery pieces – vaguely interesting but not interesting enough to catch his attention. He shuffled through the various stacks stuffed into long vases, growing annoyed with the task. He upended one large vase, scrolls unraveling at his feet – as he kicked them aside, he caught sight of a few thick bound books with extra long pages stacked underneath a desk. He retrieved one of them, seeing that they were written in some language he didn't recognize – but the pictures detailed human anatomy and formulas. He wondered if this was part of the project – Crocodile had been the only opponent with abilities, and it seemed that the man had made sure that this stayed so.
He flipped through another, finding copies laminated and taped to pages – these suggested that they could be stolen plans on the superman project, the toner lines streaming down the pages on the left. It took him several moments, but he became aware that he couldn't hear the others' voices. He lifted his head, listening for any sign of the pair that hadn't been that far behind him. Zoro would have said something to him about wandering off, and Ussop wouldn't let him disappear for that long.
He lowered the book, looking to the doorway until something at the corner of his eye moved. He emitted a startled gasp at the familiar form standing there, looking over a bookshelf stacked with leatherbound books. He slammed the one he had in his hands onto the table.
"The fuck you doing here?" he demanded in outrage.
"It's a free country," Law replied lightly. "I can be anywhere I want."
Kid glowered at him. He was disappointed that the man had survived after all. "You're not welcome here."
"This isn't your kingdom, and your rules wouldn't apply to me, anyway," Law said, pulling a book down. "I won't be here for very long. It's too hot."
"Once those other guys know you're here, they're not going to be very happy about it," Kid warned him, pulling out another book.
"Then it'll be on you, wouldn't it? They trusted you with a task, and you failed to follow through." Law tsked as he flipped through the pages. It suddenly occurred to Kid that the guy wasn't wearing the same garb as them – the bright white outfit was eerily similar to something he'd seen Corazon and Sengokou wear back in their day. He also noticed that Law was using both arms – and the one that Zoro had cut off didn't have any indications that it was a prosthetic in any sense.
He gestured at it with his chin. "Where'd you get that?"
"From this shelf."
"No, ass, your fucking arm!"
"God, that voice of yours just sears straight through my ossicles," Law complained, setting the book aside. He looked at Kid with a frown. "What was wrong with my arm?"
"What do you mean – Zoro took it! Stop fucking with me, I'm not in the mood."
"Why would they do that?"
"Because you killed Sanji, you dipshit!"
Law gave him a puzzled look, but he said, "So, you didn't find the body after all?"
Kid squinted at him, crossing his arms over his chest with impatience. "Whatever you did with it you sick fuck, it's up to you. I was hoping you weren't storing it someplace for some weird fetish of yours, but I guess I'm relieved that's not the case."
Law once again gave him a puzzled look, then looked at the ceiling for some divine guidance. Finally he said, "Well, I guess the details aren't that important. I came to ask Zoro what he'd done with it. After all, he'd be the one to know."
"You are one sick puppy," Kid decided. "First, you make us beat your ass into tomorrow, then you come back to confront the one person who's most upset about it. He's gonna take your other arm with him, probably use it as a chewtoy."
"We are talking about that dirty, green haired guy, right? Who looks like he stepped off a Mad Max set?" Law then scoffed. "I have a strange urge to plant him."
"I didn't miss this," Kid said, waving at him. His nose wrinkled with judgement as he took in the gold buttons on Law's tunic, the way the shoulders were padded with material to look extra sharp. The blue sash over his striped pants and suspiciously clean boots made Kid's teeth tighten with irritation – all of it screamed 'Marine'. "So, did you defect? Or is this a sick joke?"
"The sick joke in the room happens to be that kohl you picked up," Law said, looking at him skeptically. "And those pants – what are those? They look like something you'd see on the floor in 'The Shining'."
"Enough complimenting me! What are you doing here?" Kid snapped at him. Then he froze. "Did you have some sort of a mental breakdown?"
"I'm here to ask a few questions," Law said. "Mainly of this Roronoa person."
Kid frowned at him. He felt bewildered with the way Law spoke of Zoro – it was with a completely detached, unfamiliar manner. He had thought that Law was only talking down of the other man with the way he seemed to 'forget' him, but it was growing apparent that Law had forgotten a few things regarding the wolf. So he stared blankly back at the man, lowering his arms to his sides.
"Are you serious?" he then asked again.
"Dead serious," Law said. "This is as good a time as any to get the answers I'm looking for. Then you guys can move on and do your thing, and I'll return and do my thing. It both works."
Kid's thoughts scrambled. The more he stared at the other man, the more things seemed to slowly stand out to him. Law was roughly the same size he was when they'd first emerged into this world; his skin untouched by the sun. The way he wore the uniform and seemed to have a nervous look to his eyes as he looked around them suggested of the time they'd first emerged from the bunker.
An unsettled feeling grew from his gut. He swallowed tightly. "You miss him?"
"Miss who?"
"Sanji. You miss him, don't you? That's why you're all fucked up."
Law's brow furrowed as he stared back at him. Bewilderment caused his lips to tighten. "I don't know why I would," he said slowly. Kid could practically see his gears turning. "Considering how…easy it was to kill him in the first place."
Kid exhaled slowly. He worked his jaw from side to side. Something was wrong, his gut told him, but he wasn't sure of what.
"What do you want to know from him? I can tell you," he said casually. "After all, we talk a lot. Probably a lot like how you and Sanji did."
"I don't see what common interests I'd share with a nineteen year old, uneducated hick with suggested virtue problems," Law said.
"Ah, so that's it," Kid said with understanding. "He's got a past. You don't. You were always such a jealous, selfish person."
Law tilted his head with bewildered. "Why would I be…? You know what, never mind. Just tell me where that rat took the body."
"Why do you want to know?"
Law exhaled through his nose, folding his arms behind him. "It's not to interfere with what you're doing, Eustess. You're doing a great job on your own. Rather, it's of common interest to find and retrieve the person or persons responsible in renewing that clone. His ties fit in neatly with ours – I thought we went over this? Has the sun baked your brain?"
Kid absorbed this information. He knew the way Law worked – admittedly, sometimes he was slow to the draw when it came down to it, but he understood that Law was still running off the things Spandem was telling them. Spandem's interest in 'the last Vinsmoke' had suggested that their cloning facility was now depending on whatever it was that made up Sanji. Law had suspected that he was a clone – so it aroused Kid's curiosity.
"How'd you know, man?" he then asked. "That Sanji was a clone?"
Law frowned slightly at him, and Kid thought that he looked a little troubled by the question. But he cleared his throat, saying, "We talk, as you said. He gave enough information for me to understand that his last formation was cause of a recent layering that made it possible for the potential of retrieving certain – "
"So, he told you he was a clone. Those were his, like, exact words," Kid verified.
"Yes, he told me."
Kid's fingers clenched. "Why you lying?"
"Why would I lie about that – ?"
"Because on the day of, you told us all you suspected he was a clone! So if you killed him on suspicion of him being one, then it doesn't make sense that you'd actually kill him in the first place! I told you then, and I'm telling you now, you're a sick, twisted fuck!"
Law's frown deepened before he looked around himself, noting the various decorations on the walls and lingering on the nearby window. Kid thought that he looked a little anxious – pausing just to reflect and gather until he was settled with the ammunition he had.
"Nothing wrong with removing the smaller fry, Eustess," Law then said in response.
Kid made to yell at him once more before he caught himself. It struck him that he'd left Law incapacitated in a stronghold that belonged to a Marine-like formation. He hadn't died, but he'd regained his arm somehow. Considering the weight packed on him, the lack of color – it struck Kid that he was looking upon a clone. The possibility was so striking that his breath actually caught in his throat. Of course his mind exploded with panic and risks – if there was one of Law, were there others of the rest of them?
Law had snapped at him that he might end up facing against himself one day, and Kid thought that perhaps his words had come true. But how - ?
He felt his eyes widen with horror. "Who are you with?"
"Myself," Law answered.
Kid listened for Zoro and Ussop, and realized he hadn't heard their voices in awhile. For a moment he panicked that this Law had gotten to them when Kid wasn't paying any attention – but surely Zoro would detect the man by scent alone. His sense of smell was nearly impeccable in sniffing out potential enemies. And Ussop would not have gone down without making any noise.
He felt for the weight of metal embedded into the walls, the floor beneath him. Once he caught the heaviness in his detection, he made a grand show of flailing his arms and stomping his feet, causing Law to look at him with utter bewilderment. Out of Law's sight, Kid was pushing whatever it was out from the floor beneath them into the floor below that. It would cause a tremendous barrage of noises, considering how forceful the action was, but he heard absolutely nothing.
Which only told Kid one thing.
Breathlessly, Kid said, "New dance move I picked up. Kinda cool, huh?"
"This desert environment baked your head," Law decided, looking at him with confusion.
Kid was confident that even if he couldn't hear the others, they would no doubt interpret that action as something being wrong. Zoro would investigate immediately. But his throat felt tight because of the conclusions he'd come to. He looked at Law with a tight jaw.
"Why you still workin' for them?" he asked. "You've hated it for so long, just like us – why?"
"I work mainly for myself," Law told him with a fold of his arms over his chest. "I want answers. The more information I learn, the more interesting it is. Now, where is Roronoa?"
Before Kid could answer, Zoro and Ussop hurried through the nearby doorway, catching sight of Law with startled expressions. Zoro withdrew his swords with a snarl as Ussop reacted with a gasp.
"How are you alive?" he cried. "You're supposed to be dead!"
"We've got to get out of here," Kid told them. "We've got to get out of here, now."
"We're not running from this guy!" Zoro snarled at him, handle already between his teeth.
"He's not alone! This one's a clone!" Kid spat.
"A what?" Ussop repeated dumbly while Zoro looked perturbed.
"A clone?" Law repeated, then gave Kid a look of pity. "It's a shame that this environment has completely rendered you even more idiotic than you were, before. With so many modern resources and technology missing from this time period, there is no way that sort of sci-fi shit is available here."
"You're a dumb fuck! You're looking for a clone as a clone! Don't be calling me 'idiotic' when you've been replaced by something that works better for them!" Kid shouted at him. "You're the idiot for still following their rules when it's your time to revolt!"
After a moment, Law said, "It's not that I'm following their rules – it's just that things seem interesting, now. I'm interested."
Law lifted a hand – before he could do anything, the pipes Kid had dislodged below them reversed and burst through the floor, causing a cave-in that sent the three tumbling down into the mess below. That floor collapsed under the forceful weight, spilling them onto the first with a loud clatter of sound. What mattered was that they were out of Law's sight so he couldn't teleport or exchange Zoro away from them. Kid snatched the wolf from the rubble, tucking him under one arm while Zoro shouted out with surprise. Ussop managed to wobble after them, dazed and confused.
"PERONA!" he bellowed as Zoro shouted at him to let him go, unable to sheathe his swords in this humiliating position. "LUFFY! OUT!"
"Why?" Luffy asked, swinging into view from a nearby archway, cheeks full of food. His stained face and clothes suggested he'd already found the kitchen.
"Full retreat – Corazon is here," Kid told him, Luffy looking horrified as he dropped to the floor and hurried after them.
"Did you see him? How do you know?"
"Because I couldn't hear anything outside of that room, nor could we hear anything coming in!" Kid huffed, ignoring Zoro's demands to be let go. He was afraid once he released him Law would snatch him – his heart pounded with nervousness as he kept an eye over his shoulder. "And that was a fucking clone – he had no fuckin' clue what I was talkin' about!"
"How could he be a clone?" Ussop cried. Luffy shouted for Perona, the woman's answering shriek coming from a distance away.
Before they could emerge out into the courtyard, a series of ground movements prompted them all to a stop. Pillars rose grandly to trap them inside, and Kid hissed with impatience. He looked to Ussop.
"You got that ammo we worked on back there?" he asked as Ussop nodded in response, rummaging through his side bag to find it. He quickly loaded his handgun with it, fingers shaking with the effort. Luffy looked around at the pillars with concentration, stretching an arm out.
Law said from a short distance away, "I'm assuming you made some sort of ammunition with some metal casing that contains seastone – seems blindly reasonable of you to do something so stupid. I'm not some damn werewolf, felled by silver."
"Why is he attacking us? Is he mad at us?" Luffy asked, confused. Then his face grew dark with anger. "We should be the ones attack him! He's the one that killed Sanji!"
"All in the name of good science," Law assured Luffy.
"'Science'? You'd remove our friend just for some science?" Luffy roared back. "Fucked up! We starved forever without him! Shit our pants from bad food! Nearly died because Zoro can't cook! And you're making me mad, again!"
"That's not my fault," Law said with disgust, standing a safe distance from Ussop's firing range.
"We can't do anything directly to him, stupid!" Kid hissed at Luffy, catching his outstretched arm before he could do anything. "We just need to get out of here before it's too late!"
"It's already too late," Law told him. "All I want is that dog – you three can go on your way."
"I'm here, too!" Ussop shouted.
"You don't count, you're a secondary character. Expendable."
Ussop growled, aiming at him before Kid reached out and pushed the gun away. "Save your ammo until he gets closer."
"What's going on over here?" Perona demanded, observing the scene from the second floor until she caught sight of Law. "What the hell? How are you alive? Are you a zombie?"
As she struggled to get control of him, Law glanced at her impatiently before bringing the entire second floor down underneath her feet, her shrieks covered up by the noisy sound of the structure collapse. He looked back at Kid and the others as the dust rose into the air.
"Luffy, your job is to make sure Zoro gets out of here," Kid hissed to the teen. "Ussop and I will bring the battle to him. Make sure you get out of – "
"I'm not here to make this scene that entirely confrontational," Law said skeptically, hands slipping into his pockets. "I just have a few questions I want that dog to answer."
Zoro glared after the man. "About what?"
"Where do you take his body once it is dead?"
"You don't need to know anything! Why?" Ussop then demanded. "Are you trying to bring him back? Feeling guilty about your damn crime?"
"I don't feel guilt," Law told him. "And don't talk to me. I'm not talking to you."
Zoro said low, "There's a chemical smell to him. Throwin' off his scent."
"Probably using ammonia," Kid muttered. "He did his research, but who's giving it to him?"
"So it's really not him?" Ussop hissed back.
"All it takes is a couple of names, and you can go on your way," Law said over them. "Otherwise, I can drag it out. I have a few things I want to try."
"Or, what, you'll burn us all down?" Kid snapped. "Throwing a fit cuz you can't get your way?"
"I'm burning enough as it is," Law complained, fanning his face as sweat started to dribble down his temples. But as he pulled his hand back, Zoro gave a grunt, reaching for his neck as a hard force snatched him. Ussop threw himself over him, firing off in Law's direction. All Law did was drop his hold and move his head to avoid the impact, frowning at the teen.
Luffy shot through the air, breaking through a few of the pillars as he did so. Law watched him draw close, Kid hastily drawing up water pipes from below the ground. Before Zoro could say anything, Kid had him wrapped up and plunging back down into the broken earth, hoping for just a few minutes needed to get Law away from the scene. Luffy's limbs retracted the closer he grew to Law, and before he could make impact with him, Law was gone. Luffy caught his footing once he made connection with the surface, the ground shuddering and erupting as another pillar of earth rose up between Kid and Ussop, pushing Zoro out into the air.
The wolf gasped for air and sputtered indignantly, covered with dirt. Kid retrieved him, yanking on the metal bindings with a grunt before Law could get to him. Law was standing atop of one of the pillars nearby, and teleported before Ussop could shoot him. He appeared behind the man, punching him sharply into the back of his neck and retrieving the gun as Ussop dropped. He unloaded the clip and ejected the bullet from the chambers before scattering the parts away from him. Kid retrieved the empty weapon, breaking it into several smaller parts before thrusting them at him. The man only smirked at him as they fell uselessly inches away from him, reminding Kid that he couldn't use his powers against him. Law then disappeared and reappeared right in front of him – Kid quickly hopped away, avoiding the sharp jab aiming for his groin. He quickly tossed Zoro outside of the courtyard, the wolf yelling in dismay to the harsh treatment.
"Luffy! Get him away from here!" Kid shouted at him, the teen giving a disappointed look at the scene before shooting after Zoro.
"Why are you doing this to irritate me, Eustess?" Law asked him impatiently. "There's really nothing in it for you."
Kid stared at him, standing rigidly. He searched for any type of understanding in those features, vaguely hoping to be proved wrong. But Law hadn't any clue why Kid was making the efforts in keeping Zoro from him – which continued to terrify him with the thought that he'd be facing himself one day soon. He exhaled slowly.
"How sad," he said lightly. "You remember nothing."
"About what?"
"So, did they do away with your last copy? Called it defective and replaced it with you? You're an 'it' now, you know that?" Kid said shortly. "You're not a human being, anymore. You're an expendable piece to them. Meanwhile, we're living our best lives without their command, doing our own thing – no one to tell us otherwise, or how."
"Sounds lovely," Law commented lightly. "It's funny how the other two abide to your commands. How'd you do that?"
"We all work together, now. Easier with you gone, you nut."
"I suppose it's easy to dangle a shiny thing in front of their eyes and entice them that way. I don't see what merit you get out of it – the promise of chicken nuggets and endless amounts of bacon will fall flat."
"We've been doing this for some months, now, so we got the upper hand on whatever it is you've got. We already know the story," Kid told him. "You're fresh out the lab, buddy. You're still a pawn for them."
Law frowned up at him, wearing a sullen expression Kid was used to. He knew he hit a nerve, so he grinned wide.
"We're enjoying the freedom while you're stuck halfway up their asses, following their bidding. What's keeping you on a leash, Trafalgar? They had to contain us with seastone shit twenty-four seven, and they don't have it on ya now. Now's the chance to escape – they can't stop you."
"Interesting," Law murmured. Kid thought he had it made when the man added, "It appears you all lack toothbrushes and access to mouthwash. Your teeth are starting to look horrid."
"Aw, man, fuck you!"
"You can keep up with the makeup trends, but not with your basic health needs? Why is it not interesting that there is a potential chance that you and the others are being groomed for another purpose?" Law asked seriously. "There is someone with access to a cloning system that has the ability to clone you and the others, and that dog is the one who would confirm this, being that he's directly involved. You all are an unpleasant lot – what if they had a chance to make more of you more to their liking?"
"Shut up, that's not true. Those guys don't have those sorta plans for us – they like us, they - !"
"You're going around the new world, Eustess, breaking down colonies that were being held in higher power by beings clinging tightly to power because they are the only power available. You are unknowingly fighting a war for the invisible persons that have yet to reveal their real intentions to you, because you don't ask the right questions. What happens to the colonies that you've broken up? Who is in power, now?"
Kid frowned at him, clenching his fists. "We don't care."
"You should. You're being used similarly as I am." Law gave him a smug smile, then turned away from him. "I'm bored. Having a conversation with you has dulled my thought capacities. I'll come for that dog another day. So get to a place that isn't so fucking hot."
Kid watched him stroll away, feeling uneasy.
He helped Perona out of the rubble, the woman gasping for air as the last piece was removed from atop of her.
"What was that about?" she asked, hands flattened around herself as she searched for injury. "Was that really him? He was still alive?"
"That wasn't him," Kid confirmed. "It was…it was a fuckin' clone. He remembered nothing about…any of those guys. But he was looking for answers. We need to get out of here. Corazon is here somewhere, I just know he is."
Worry clouded Perona's features, and she was on her feet as he quickly began moving for the courtyard gates. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know! I mean, I know…I know there's stuff we don't know, and he was on it – this stuff is too crazy, I can't…it's weirding me out," Kid mumbled, mind racing. Both of them scurried away from the palace, looking over their shoulders back at the building with apprehension.
That night far from the colony, all of them were huddled around a campfire with pensive expressions. More than one stomach growled noisily, heavy blankets tugged on tightly to combat the night chill. Ussop noticed that the trio looked very unsettled – none of them had expressed their usual determination or joy to set out onto the next colony with another win behind them. Zoro looked pissed, scowling at Kid every so often.
Ussop wasn't sure what to say or how to bring the subject up, sure that it needed to be discussed. So he took a deep breath. "That wasn't him, guys. He was twenty pounds heavier than the one we left behind, lookin' like he was grown under lights. Plus, he was movin' his right arm about like it was nothing – uninjured. He was right balanced to the way he was when we first met."
"Knowing that he's a clone gets me tense," Kid mumbled. "Knowing Corazon is around gets me tense. They're spying on us, and it sucks that I think Law wasn't talking shit about still working for them!"
"Why didn't he show himself?" Zoro muttered bitterly. "If that guy's so powerful, why not show himself?"
"He didn't have to," Perona said. "If Kid couldn't hear a thing when they were talking, that's enough for us to know he's here."
"If they're here, then they're going to try to rope us in to them," Luffy said sullenly.
Kid swallowed hard, then looked to Zoro. "They think they're associated with what they want."
"To hell with them," Zoro muttered in response, brow furrowing. "Don't know what they want."
"People keep insisting you – "
"I ain't giving them nothing."
"At least, tell us now," Kid said firmly, "are we next in line like him?"
Zoro frowned, then realized three sets of eyes were on him with apprehensive frowns. Another gave away nothing. Because of how quickly the situation seemed to be escalating, he knew it was only a matter of time before a truth slipped out. Without Sanji there to nullify it and redirect it, he was clumsy with keeping lies and misdirection – too tiresome to keep all in line.
So he said, "Probably not."
"So is it true, Zoro?" Perona asked. "There are clones?"
"You just saw one today. If'n he was with Corazon, then they got their own system runnin'. Nothing…like…the one I know."
"Then was Law right?" Kid asked shakily. "He was right about Sanji?"
Zoro chewed on that one for a bit. He looked to Ussop, but Ussop was looking at the fire, pushing on embers with a stick.
"He was," he said finally.
Luffy shot to his feet. "Then where's Sanji now, Zoro? Can't you go get him? We're starving!"
After a few moments, Zoro exhaled slowly. "I don't know if I got to him in time, this time. I don't know if he made it."
The silence grew heavy as they all absorbed this with dropping expressions. Feeling his jaw twitch, Zoro said, "I dunno how it works. All I know is that he wakes up. All of them did."
"All of who?" Kid asked.
"Him and his brothers."
"So…you are involved," Kid said heavily, looking at his own clenched fists.
Zoro was silent for a few moments, then he looked to Ussop. Ussop shrugged his shoulders without looking at him.
"We can't talk about it," he mumbled. "Because of the mess it causes."
"There's a huge mess right in front of us, I don't know if you'd noticed!" Perona snapped. "So maybe we should know more about it!"
"So Law was right?" Luffy asked plaintively. He started to look guilty.
"I dunno how he knew," Zoro said. "It's not up to me to say."
Kid thought about it for some time, frowning at the fire. He felt mad, but he felt irritated that Law had been right. He felt suspicious now, and he wasn't sure how much bigger the picture actually was. He'd pretty much convinced himself that all the information Spandem had been spitting at them had been nothing but a lie to entice them close for a trap. But to see all of it in the clone that had approached them earlier that day had been jarring.
He understood why they'd be considered that valuable – being the only true successes in the project – but to go and clone them after one fell? And what if they hadn't died? What made Sanji that valuable?
"Is that how they're going to do us in?" Perona asked quietly. "Get rid of us now so they have better versions? They were prepared for us like you said, Kid."
"It sounds like they're still looking for something," Kid replied. "I guess that Germa island had all the answers, and cuz they blew it up…something fell through the cracks. They keep asking about 'im, so…I'm thinking he knows something or is involved with something bigger. They want it so they don't have it, yet. I don't know what it is, either."
"Far as I know, it only works on him," Zoro said tensely. "It don't work on anybody else."
"This one had to have been made by…I don't know, the Marine's? Spandem's? That other cloning facility he talked about? If they could get ahold of him, they can find it," Kid said with disgust. "That's why they want him."
"That's why we don't talk about it," Zoro said. "None of it."
"How much of it are you involved with?" Kid then asked him shortly. "We should know."
Zoro fell stubbornly silent, then said, "If you don't know 'bout it, then no point in giving it to ya just in case."
"If he said anything to us, they can get it out of us," Perona told Kid before he could argue. "They have their ways."
"Breaking us down to get the truth," Luffy said listlessly. "Don't tell us, then. If we don't know about it, we can't give them anything."
Kid saw the truthfulness in those words, but it didn't make anything better. He rested his elbows atop of his knees, folding his hands underneath his chin. "Plus he talked about what's goin' on behind us when we leave a colony. People taking advantage of it when we took out the stronger guys."
"We should backtrack to see what's going on before we move forward," Perona said. "Without television or smartphones, we don't know what's going on out there. Communication only goes through radio, and I'm betting those towers are taken down before word can spread what we're doing."
"Oh my god, so are we still doing our jobs?" Luffy asked on an exasperated cry. "We're taking down big guys, but giving someone else power!"
"We come in, take down the king or whatever, end up fucking with their power positions, take what we need, and that gives someone else position to swoop in and take over. We don't stick around so we don't know what we leave behind," Kid said bitterly. "So, yeah, I guess it is exactly like that!"
"Law said he didn't care what happened – but I bet he knew," Luffy said. "His brain knows a lot of stuff and plans it out that way."
"But he didn't know about this stuff until we got to Spandem's!"
"I bet if he were here he'd want us to go back and check it out. So maybe we should do that."
"I don't want to fight Marines because they know how we fight," Perona muttered. "It won't be that easy, now."
"The fact that they're awake and they're operating like before isn't good. I think we need to know what exactly they're looking for and remove it from existence," Kid said. "So that means finding out the rest of it, Zoro."
Zoro shrugged. "It ain't up to me."
"It should be! It's about the rest of us!"
"Like I said before, I ain't talkin' about it."
Kid exhaled hard. A tense silence fell over all of them, the fire popping occasionally. Ussop finally spoke.
"How does the mate thing work, Zoro?" he asked tentatively. At the odd placement of the question in regards to the situation at hand, he was given puzzled looks. "I mean, Sanji made a decision, right? If he's still alive – "
"Wouldn't you know, Zoro?" Luffy interrupted. "You know all the time when things happen to him!"
" – wouldn't he follow after Law?"
Zoro shrugged in response to Ussop's question. But he said to Luffy, "I haven't felt or seen anything since that day. So I dunno."
"If bonded, mates won't separate until one of them dies," Luffy mumbled. "If they did out of sight, they'd go find them to see what happened. Then move on."
"That's if he's even alive in the first place! If Zoro don't know, then we don't know!"
"I'm just saying that if this mate thing was true," Ussop said slowly, "then takin' in account of Luffy's explanation, Sanji would be there where Law was."
"We saw him today!"
"But he knew nothing about all this stuff!" Ussop reasoned, gesturing in a wide circle to indicate all of them. "Which meant he was formed elsewhere. And they're still looking for Sanji, but I know that guy. He'd want answers to know what happened to his mate in the first place, and he'd do whatever it took to get them. If the Law we knew was actually dead, and Sanji was alive, Sanji would have already found us and reunited with us, right? So was this – our Law actually dead?"
"They'd need his genetic information to make a clone, Ussop."
"So can they get that from a dead body?"
"They can – "
"So wouldn't he know of these relationships because of the amount of time spent with us?"
Kid thought about it while Perona scrunched her face. Luffy looked entirely lost so he wore a pouty expression while poking at the fire with his own sandal. Zoro frowned.
"A clone is a copy, right?" Ussop pressed. "A copy made up from the most recent genetic information. Right? So if this one had no idea, then it stands to say that it was made from something else. Then we must assume that it was made in another facility. That facility might have all your information, too, BUT if they're looking for Sanji it means that they ain't got all the complete information, and they're scratching at ends to complete the project. I'm sayin' that they sent only him to ask – and knowing Sanji, he would have found out and told us in advance."
"And you're saying, Zoro, that you don't know if Sanji even made it on time," Kid verified. "So they're looking for a body. What happened to the body that day?"
Zoro frowned. "It's in safe hands, then."
"Could those safe hands be working with them, too?"
"No."
"Do you know that for sure?"
"Yep."
"Was Law dead for sure, Kid?" Ussop asked, looking at him.
Kid tightened his lips. Perona and Luffy looked at him with stupefied expressions while Zoro frowned at him.
"He wasn't," he said slowly. "I locked him up in that room tight. If…whoever it was moved in right after we left, he could've been found. But Ussop's right – if this one didn't know what the hell was goin' on, then he was made somewhere else. And the one we know is still alive somewhere, on hold until they get that other stuff."
Ussop nodded firmly. "Then if Sanji is still alive, he's there with him."
"But Zoro just said - !"
"If they can't find either body or living person, then Sanji is still alive," Ussop said with confidence. "So we should be somewhere where he can find us to catch up. I'm sure both of them by now have all the information you're looking for. I'm sure they know what's already happened."
"That's a lot of confidence," Kid said skeptically. "We don't know nothing for sure."
"I do."
Zoro looked to Ussop with a frown. "But if they have this one, why'd they want a broken one? All that stuff you said earlier – a copy of a recent one. This one showed no signs of rebellion. I doubt the other one would go along with what's being said."
"Why would they wanna clone that one, anyway?" Perona asked sullenly. "Because he was an out of control brat."
Troubled, Kid muttered, "If they're watching us, how much of us did they watch?"
Ussop made a face as both he and Zoro reddened immensely. Perona looked at them with disgust, cringing while Luffy looked skyward, mouth open as he thought of all the things he'd done when he thought he was out of sight of others.
"Oh, man that's the pits," he said slowly.
Kid cleared his throat noisily. "This other side…the one that's doing all the other stuff…if they're hiding it from these guys, then does that make them the good guys?"
"Good in what way?" Perona asked. "Are we being used anyway?"
"I wouldn't think so," Zoro answered slowly. "Because no one is telling us what to do. Or how to do it."
"Would Sanji know?" Kid asked dully.
Zoro nodded once.
Kid heaved a gusty sigh. "That does it, then. Tomorrow, we go find him."
"How?" Luffy cried. "If he's not here, then how are we supposed to find him?"
"Go back to Spandem's."
"We can't just go marching back there! What if the Marines are occupying it again?" Perona asked shrilly. "If Corazon is here, then Sengokou is here, and they're probably there because of all that information that we found there!"
"Then we risk it. We have to find either a body or the guy himself to ask what the fuck. And," Kid added with a face, "break the other guy out of there so that they aren't upgrading him into something we can't deal with."
"Can they do that?"
"They're making clones! Let's just assume they can do anything!"
"You won't have to go far for your answers," Robin assured them, startling them all as she stepped out from the shadows. Perona screamed, Luffy sucking in startled spit as Kid jerked around, stepping into the fire.
Zoro frowned at the fire as Kid danced away hurriedly, swatting at the flames on his boots and pants. "You're late."
"I was waiting to make a dramatic entrance," Robin assured him, Ussop gaping at her as she removed her cloak hood. She sat down next to Zoro, hands out to capture the fire's warmth. She sighed heavily.
Behind them, Violet, Rebecca and Pedro emerged from the shadows, and their appearance caused confusion amongst the others.
Robin smiled at the confused faces. "I'm sorry for taking so long. I hadn't thought that things would fall apart so quickly."
"Sanji's not with you?" Luffy asked with disappointment, stomach gurgling noisily.
"No. He chose to stay behind while he helped his mate recover," she said, watching faces light up with delight and then following disappointment.
"Then he is alive?"
"It all worked out well."
"Things did not work out fine if the Marines are back and on our asses about stuff we know nothing about!" Kid shouted impatiently at her.
Pedro winced. "Wanna give us all away, kid?"
"Who the hell are you?"
"The perimeters are clear," Pedro said to Robin. "They weren't followed."
"They're going to keep close eye on the colonies and not on the Wastelands," Robin assured them, Violet and Rebecca sitting next to her while puzzled expressions were shared. "I'm sorry. With the way things are going now, it's vital that I share with you why the circumstances are what they are."
"You should've done so a long time ago, lady! I knew there was something fishy about you!" Kid huffed, still standing. "So, Trafalgar's still alive, huh?"
"You will be able to tell a difference," Robin assured him. "I hadn't bothered fixing his arm just yet. He's aware of most, but not all."
"Why can't I sense him?" Zoro asked dully.
Robin chuckled, picking up a stick to poke at the fire. "Both of you don't need to. Both of you found focus elsewhere. Right?"
Zoro wasn't sure what to think of that, furrowing his brow.
"We've got some food," Rebecca said cautiously to Luffy. "Should I give you some?"
"PLEASE!"
"We've had a run in with one of their clones. Only of him, though," Zoro told Robin.
"It'll be the only one," Robin assured the others. "There was a tragic lab accident in which all of your genetic information was lost – Corazon is still extremely clumsy."
There were relieved faces and exhales, Kid sitting slowly down, Perona pushing him away to avoid being crushed underneath his weight.
"Let me start from the beginning," Robin said slowly. "I was a small girl when I came across some incredibly unreal pages in my mother's archeological lab. It felt like I was reading a journal, but it wasn't until years later when I realized it was Corazon's personal documentation of his work time spent in a secret lab buried in Water Seven's ruins. In it, he described four superhuman beings. He had all of your personalities, your habits, your progress down on paper. As fantastic as the journal was, I'd come to realize that what my mother had found were actually parts of saved products from the bunker – things that were potentially dangerous for our future. She understood that this was going to be used for later domination tactics by a so-called sleeper group. What she had in her hands were the plans for cloning and for regeneration methods to revive four perfect weapons – you four. At the time, the bunker was still hidden away.
"But our shelter was raided – someone had tipped Germa off about our findings, and Judge wanted those journals and plans. After a forceful takeover, the information was taken from our hands and most of those living there were slaughtered so that they couldn't talk about what happened. My mother, during an archeological scrounging, had found these pieces throughout her travels – I couldn't say exactly where they were found. But she'd hoped to keep them hidden from hands that could misuse them. I was the only survivor. Because of how threatening of a direction this was taking, I took it upon myself to finish what my mother had started. The plans were already in Judge's hands and I knew that he had already started the process of making renditions of these weapons.
"I had not known that the Marines were already settled and in place to recreate those that were more familiar with the project," she added regretfully. "By the time I was able to infiltrate and make my way comfortably within Germa to find information useful in looking for the bunker, carrying off on how well Judge knew of the plans in the first place, they were set to establish themselves once they rid the world of Judge and his family. So I took the only thing that I knew would stop both Judge and the Marines – the cloning serum formula that he'd made exclusively for his children. He kept it secret priority from even his own workers, eliminating those that had established it. His children would replace the four weapons that were still just a rumor amongst those that were doing their best to replicate the program.
"I left the island and returned to the mainland. I was not a perfect avenger," she said. "I came across Zoro and Sanji drifting towards the shore. I knew who they were, and I had no love for Germa's children or their projects based on Judge's vision. But seeing two dead children roused some sort of instinct of mine, and I did revive them both before setting on my way. I did not expect to run into them again years later, and I do feel terrible about their upbringing between then and now."
Kid processed this then looked at Zoro, who found it convenient to look in the other direction. He would save his incredulity for later.
"Once on the mainland, I began searching for the bunker and taking notes of all the quote-unquote failed projects already established out here, thinking I would eventually run into revived projects. I suppose that's how I made such a notorious reputation of myself. The bunker's location was not known in the documents I had once poured over with my mother. It was that much of a secret. Water Seven was very different from when you first saw it – it was an unguarded land, full of flora and wildlife that made wandering through it very difficult. I knew the bunker was in the area, but I couldn't find it. At that time, Germa was destroyed. The Marines had made their way onto the mainlands but they kept a very low profile. Very low on number and might, but strong enough to begin rebuilding on what was lost to them. I knew I didn't have that much time. I settled into the colony, and discovered that Zoro and Sanji were already established there. Because of Sanji's background, I…was unsure where he stood. If he should remember me as a potential spy and a villain that didn't put much effort into saving his and Zoro's lives. I didn't reveal myself to him until I was sure of what sort of person he was.
"But I used the three of them to search for the bunker. They didn't know what they were looking for," Robin added, looking at them all in turn. "All they knew was to bring certain items of interest back to me. Time was running out. The Marines had spies established in the colony, but I wasn't certain who. So I set fire to the lands to make the search easier for my workers. I was able to find the bunker through the mountainside. That was how I infiltrated the place before the trio could. It was in near perfect condition. I used the serum to revive four mummified individuals that were preserved in lifepods, activate the faulty generator to run once more, and told Ussop I'd seen what looked like an untouched Marine base on the day the three found you," Robin finished. "The serum worked on individuals other than the Vinsmoke siblings – it was able to work on you four. I had hoped that the influence of this world and the trio would steer you into a direction against the Marines to stop them from taking over this one and causing a mess like they had with theirs."
She paused to let them absorb this information, watching their faces. Ussop looked extremely troubled, Zoro frowning as he watched Kid's from the corner of his eye.
"So," Kid said slowly, "we're clones."
"Essentially."
"I don't feel so good," Perona whispered, hand to her stomach.
Luffy scrunched his face with concentration, arms crossed tightly over his chest. "So, Robin," he said, "if I die right now, you can make another one of me?"
"The process is simple – the serum will use what is left of your body to grow another. It's basically an immortal serum. You can die, but…you won't, either."
Luffy thought about it, then nodded. "Okay, as long as you have it, then it's fine, right?"
"I was able to revive Sanji successfully three times, Zoro once – and of course, the four of you."
Luffy shrugged, finishing off the rest of what was left in the basket. "No big deal for me, then. I'm breathing, I'm hungry, I think – so it's not that huge of an issue for me."
"So no matter what state of the body is in, you can revive it successfully?" Kid asked slowly.
"I haven't been able to revive bones, but I haven't actually tried," Robin said.
"This is what they want? The Marines?"
"Yes. Corazon and Sengokou are corrupted copies – they lack everything that their original selves once were. They would like the serum for their own use and to continue creating copies of yourselves in order to help take the world back into their state of control. They argue that it's for the peace and benefit of mankind, but I doubt their intentions."
"If that's so…they're going to have a lot of trouble getting us to cooperate," Kid muttered. "Because I'm not under their control, anymore."
"Me, either," Perona added.
"I'm really enjoying this do-your-own-thing, and I want to stick with it," Luffy said. "I'm not interested in conquering worlds. I just want to live."
"Once the Marines have the serum in their hands, it'll be impossible to stop them," Robin added. "If they should make more clones of themselves and of yourselves as they had done to Law, then this world will not be as it is right now."
"I mean, I understand what they're thinking," Kid interrupted. "They want the world as it was, but they wanna be the boss. And that ain't going to sit well with anyone. The colonies dropped because we went in looking for the strongest guy to fight and…"
"You inadvertently continued with the task they'd created you for," Robin said gently. "All of the colonies left behind in your wake are now under their control."
Three faces fell with weight as Ussop and Zoro frowned heavily.
"All we have to do is remove them," she said. "Eliminate all of them and their plans."
"This was something Law was telling us to do from the start, but none of us listened to him because he's crazy," Perona complained.
"I had to make sure of his actual intentions," Robin said. "He's very independent. But I'm convinced we're all on the same thread."
Kid's shoulders slumped as Perona sighed noisily. "I feel a misplaced guilt," she said.
"I should have come forward earlier with this information, but I had to be sure which line all of you stood upon," Robin said. "It was unfortunate for Sanji to have experienced what he had, but…I'm hoping he'll forgive me."
"What happens after it's all done?" Kid asked her. "You gonna remove us, too?"
Robin shrugged. "Don't try and take over the world. It appears with these last few weeks of travel that you're doing nothing but amusing yourselves with a freedom you were lacking growing up. It's time to rein yourselves in and abide by this world's rules and do the proper thing."
"That sounds like a threat!" Kid insisted, rising to stand, Pedro immediately backing Robin while Violet and Rebecca readied themselves.
"It's only a threat if you feel threatened, and if you feel threatened then perhaps you should think about your life's choices," Robin said to Kid evenly.
"It feels like you're using us in place of them!"
"Not really," Perona chimed in. "She let us run wild without trying to interfere."
"Yeah, but - !"
"Robin's never told me I can't do something, or that I should do something," Luffy said with a puzzled expression.
"And what better way to keep them off your back if not to confront them?" Zoro asked.
Kid realized he was outnumbered, giving the wolf a sullen look. He sat down hard, wearing a bitter expression.
"Gee, so Traflagar was right to get all obsessed with this, wasn't he?" Perona asked with a disgusted face.
"He was right to assume many things, but he was going about it all the wrong way," Robin said. "Hopefully after he's healed he'll start to think differently. For the people and not against the people. I'm hoping Sanji's regular influence will continue to steer him back onto a proper road. I don't fear a want for him to desire power – I fear pointless destruction and deaths in his want to be free. You all have to work together."
"Spandem kept saying you were a project, too," Kid said. He pointed at Violet. "And Sanji mentioned you knowing the future."
"We are," Violet said. "But you don't need to know details."
"We will be useful," Robin assured Kid.
"Then can't you tell us how this will all end up?" Kid barked at Violet. "So we're not killing ourselves trying to get free?"
"It doesn't work that way," she said tightly.
"So, can we meet Sanji now?" Luffy asked, wiping his mouth.
"This is all so ridiculous," Kid muttered, rubbing his temples.
"Right now," Robin said, hand out as Violet passed her a scroll, "Sengokou and Corazon have established themselves at Enies Lobby. The Corazon you met today was a basic clone – capable of carrying out simple orders. Even if you had engaged with him, you wouldn't have gained much – not until the new one is complete. There was an unfortunate neck snapping incident that incapacitated his earlier, long running clone. The next shall have only the minimum of knowledge and capabilities the last clone was capable of – he has to relearn years of his own history in order to be comfortable where he stands."
"I'm assuming that's how you broke Law out of there," Ussop said slowly.
"While there, I was able to locate their cloning facility and destroy the project they were currently working on. As you are all established successes of the immortal serum, they were able to withdraw the information needed from our Law to start a replication process – unfortunately, they failed and it's all my fault," Robin said with a smile, unrolling the scroll. "So there is only one clone of Law out there; the one you met today. He knows only what he's told and what he remembers of a life before the bunker; still somewhat obedient to those in charge."
The scroll revealed a map of the areas Robin had traveled, along with notations of projects, labs and Marine held colonies. She pointed at an area outside of Alabasta. "Here is where we are currently. Beyond this one is the Wastelands. The map in Warpol's castle wasn't accurate, as the mapmakers had never really traveled outside of established colony zones. Those two are here, ten miles south of Enies Lobby. We will meet them here, along this ridge. Giving him plenty of time to recuperate from solitary confinement. I'm hoping he'll be of sound mind by then."
"Don't worry about it," Perona said. "He was always in there. If not him, Kid. Or Luffy. Those dorks get off on being broken down."
"It wasn't pleasant, but it made me the man I am today," Kid boasted. "Plus, it'll probably make him madder about things."
"A bee willing to sting, knowing that it'll be the end of its life anyway is still a dangerous one," Robin warned.
"Don't make him sound cool."
"We just all want to be on the same page," Violet interrupted. "So if any of you feels like chickening out, we're going to come after you to make sure the job is finished. Know your time is limited."
Ussop exhaled gustily, looking pained.
"So, what, are we going to attack the place directly, then?" Zoro asked skeptically. "Why didn't you do that while you were there?"
Robin smiled. "Wouldn't it feel better for all of you to declare your freedom if you do it yourselves?"
"Lame," Perona whispered.
"Kinda," Kid admitted.
"It sounds cool in theory? But…those guys are ready and waiting for us, now," Luffy said.
"So you're going to wimp out, now when you have the chance?" Violet asked sharply. "What kind of trained fools are you? Did all this time out here on your own only sissify you, or did it have a chance to evoke some bravery from the bottom of your guts?"
"My guts went bad from Zoro's cooking," Perona admitted.
"I wouldn't say 'sissy' but how the fuck do we knock down seastone?" Kid asked impatiently.
"Like, I would like to fight them but they're…they always have a plan."
Robin rolled up her scroll and handed it to Pedro. "Well…apparently we approached the wrong persons for the job. We shall be on our way to meet with the only one that seems determined to take on the Marines on his own. If you should happen to change your minds, you know where to find us."
"We didn't mean it like that!" Kid snapped out, hand up to stop them from leaving, the three of them muttering amongst themselves about the waste of time spent here. "But we want to live our lives – we want to live! But there has to be a better way of approaching this without throwing our lives away, even with the promise of a goddamn immortal serum!"
"You think we'd do this without a plan?" Robin asked. "I have the entire compound mapped out, and Sanji spent enough time undercover to know how it operates. Law should have already figured out their weak points and who to hit first – "
"We're going. We're gonna be there. Anybody else wanna complain about it, just stay here and let the big kids handle it," Kid huffed, snatching up his blanket and bag. "Show me where to stow my stuff, Barney."
"My name's not 'Barney'," Pedro huffed. "And carry it yourself."
"Nothing else to do, I guess," Zoro muttered, picking up his things and following after Kid.
"Uwaaaa! I don't wanna! I'm not mentally prepared!" Perona cried, looking aghast.
"I have some really nice infiltrator suits that may fit you with some altering," Robin told her. After thinking about it, giving the woman's curvier shape a skeptical look, Perona stood up to gather her things.
"I can't wait to see Sanji again!" Luffy cried, already running ahead, Ussop crying out with dismay as he realized he had to gather and pick up his things.
"That was a little scary," Violet admitted to Robin. "I didn't think they'd agree that fast."
"I've done some research," Robin said, pulling up her hood. "I know how to hit at their weakest points."