A/N: I smile as I think of the upcoming events in this story. I smile wiiiiiiide.

19. Vital Signs

Law noticed something was off the moment he stepped through the VIP entrance of the Going Merry.

He crinkles his nose as he breathes. What the hell was that smell? It's the same scent he's been smelling on Luffy from time to time. Slightly metallic, but otherwise odorless. The smell reminds him of a laboratory, similar to the ones in Flevance, but not quite. It prickled his nose and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Smelling it on Luffy was one thing, but in the Going Merry?

"How long you gonna stand there, pal?"

Law's attention is drawn to Crocodile, who watches him expectantly. "You waiting on a party or something?"

"No," Law mutters. He should probably get a move on. He shoves his hands in his pockets and begins walking towards the VIP area. The man pauses and turns back to the bouncer. "You smell anything, man?"

The dark haired man muses for a moment. "Aside from alcohol and sweat, nothing. Why?"

The surgeon sighs. "Never mind then."

Law continues down the hall to the club that's become ever so familiar to him within the past month. He's been through this place so many times before, and now knew how to act and dress for the occasion. Law donned simple dark slacks with a dark jacket, light enough to wear in the fall. His white dress shirt underneath was cut down the middle by a stark black tie. The man entered the establishment looking like a young CEO, practically blending in with the dark walls of the club.

Nami was finishing on stage at the moment, flipping her curly orange hair as she's showered with money. Brook isn't behind the VIP bar, and a woman he's never seen before serves drinks to customers. Law moves past the bar with a quick acknowledgement to her, and maneuvers around the tables until he reaches the staff room. Law punches in the code Corazon taught him, and pushes through the double doors.

"Law, you made it!"

The surgeon turns to the voice of Luffy, who waves him over to Sanji and Zoro. Each stripper was dressed head to toe in a solid color- Luffy wore red, Sanji wore blue, and Zoro wore black with accents of green. The attire of the trio seemed to be more risqué and expensive than usual, as they wore patterns from luxurious, high end brands. They sat on a bench near the stage door, discussing something in low voices. As he approaches, the blonde offers him a smile, but the green haired man ignores him.

Law strolls over to the group and pulls up a chair from the vanities in the middle of the room. "Hey," he greets.

"How's things, Law?" Sanji asks as he takes a seat.

"Good, good." He looks between the trio. "What're you guys performing? You all look like money. Some kind of special, right?"

"Yeah," Sanji slouches back and rests his head on the wall behind him. He closes his blue lids. "It's the girl's night actually, but we're doing a special group performance."

Luffy beams at Law. "We've been practicing for a few weeks now, so hopefully it turns out well."

Confusion lines Law's face. "Wait, I thought you guys host on girl's nights?"

"Doflamingo's been...getting lots of new hires." Sanji gives Law a tired look. "A lot of them are assholes, but they get the job we don't have to do anymore done."

Zoro scoffs, rolling his eyes. "Barely."

"For once, I agree with him," Sanji shakes his head. "These new guys...I don't like 'em. But we just gotta live with it, I guess."

Luffy groans in agreement. "They're all so damn rude."

"Huh." Law turns over the information in his head. He doesn't dwell too much on it. "Hey, do you guys...smell anything weird in here?"

"What do you mean?"

The surgeon turns to the blonde. "As in, something that just smells strange. Soon as I stepped in this place it's been irritating the crap outta me. I've been catching whiffs of it here and there on Luffy, but this is the first time I've smelled it being this pungent."

Zoro watches him for a moment but shakes his head. Sanji follows suit. "No, I'm smelling nothing."

Luffy frowns. "So that first time way back at the Baratie when you said I smelled was really this?"

At Law's stiff nod, Luffy furrows his brows. "But I don't smell anything."

The three turn puzzled looks in Law's direction, and the surgeon is taken aback. Was he dreaming? It seemed to be only him that could smell it. But then again, as a surgeon, his nose was more sensitive to subtle nuances in the air concerning anything medical. But the only place that he could even somewhat trace the scent to is a lab. Why the Going Merry was completely doused in the smell Law had no idea. The revelation did nothing to soothe his nerves.

Nami bursts backstage with money sticking out in various places from her outfit, face flushed from the rush of the stage. As she passed through the doors, everyone seemed to let go of a much needed breath.

"Nami! How'd you do?" Sanji smiles, thankful for the distraction. The red head waves a wad of cash at him.

"They ate it up!" she grins wide. "Lots of people out tonight, the crowd is insane."

Robin and Vivi enter from the women's bathroom at the commotion. "I heard them all the way from back here, Nami. I'm sure you did amazing!"

The red head winks at Vivi. "Thanks girlie. You two did so good out there too!"

Robin tucks a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Thank you."

Nami heads to a locker and pulls out a different pair of shoes. "I need to start changing to meet the guests." She turns to the men in the room. "You guys better start getting ready to go onstage and finish out the night."

The trio around Law all make sounds of agreement, and they stand. Sanji and Zoro head to the stage first, conversing in uncharacteristically low tones about their choreography. Luffy bends down and gives Law a soft kiss, and the surgeon smiles warmly at him.

"Go kill it out there, Luffy."

The stripper pulls away with a smile. "You're watching, right?"

Law huffs through his nose. "Of course I am."

Luffy's smile widens as he gives him his back and starts making his way after his fellow strippers. Law checks out his form as he leaves, following the soft stretches of olive skin until it dips and weaves under the red straps that wound his body. Patterned strips curve around Luffy, just barely covering his crotch, and dips down his exposed backside. The scarce pieces of cloth connected to each other intricately, leaving nearly nothing to the imagination. Luffy's heels put him at nearly Law's height; the matte red hugged his ankles, and were laced with black. The teen oozes an effortless confidence as he slips through the door to the stage.

Law may have familiarized himself with the Going Merry over the past month, and he may have been around more near naked men and women than he's ever been around in his entire life, but being in Luffy's presence while he was dressed up was always something to be blown away by. God, no one should be allowed to look that fine. Even though the makeup was minimal- a red liner paired with matching shadow under the eyes- it made him look fierce, unstoppable.

The surgeon didn't even realize he'd been watching the door for a long minute until the sound of the music snaps him out of his trance. He needed to get back to the VIP section before they began. He stands, making quick work of the space between him and the exit. Nami, Robin, and Vivi seemed to have taken to the women's restroom, judging by the amount of noise that came from behind the closed door. Law spares them a quick glance before he pushes through the staff doors and enters the pink lights.

Stepping into the area was now like stepping into a second home. He's been here enough times to know the place to go for the best view of the stage. Law side steps the sheer curtained tables and makes a beeline for the bench near the bar. It was set against the outer ring of the VIP area, overseeing the lower dance floor, and just beyond it, the stage. As Law sits, a waitress comes to his side just as the curtains begin to open.

"Anything tonight, sir?"

The surgeon's focus never leaves the stage. "No thank you."

There's a sound of understanding before the woman sashays away to another cluster of customers. Law breathes in deep and lets the music from the speakers strum through his limbs. Lazy claps of the instrumental fill the air, fraught with mystery. The singer's delivery toes the border between monotone and cocky, giving the otherwise soft music an energetic bite. It fills Law with a sense of anticipation and excitement. The other clubbers seem to feel similarly, as they nearly trip over each other to gather around the main stage of the club. The curtains are fully open, exposing the strippers inside, and the cheers increase threefold. Luffy stands front and center, with Sanji on his left and Zoro on his right. They sway in time to the beat, keeping a calm countenance, and step forward as the singer dives into a verse.

Strip club and dollar bills

I still got my money

Patron shots, can I get a refill?

I still got my money

Luffy leads the pack by using more of his hips as he bounces side to side, feeling himself and tossing imaginary hair. He then reaches up with his left arm, making a sign for money as his right hip thrusts the air. With quick movements and a smirk to the crowd, he throws his arms out and steps forward. He brings the limbs down to form an 'x' in front of his chest, then brings up the left to his mouth as if to call someone, hips swinging. Sanji and Zoro follow in sync, each putting their own spin on the levels of energy and sharpness.

Scattered cash lines the stage's edge, though they had barely started their performance. Green rains upon the strippers as they twerk and drop to the beat, their hypnotizing gazes scouring the crowds for their potential patron of the night. Luffy catches Law's gaze and gives him a shit-eating grin, drunk off the energy of the stage. How the teen managed to find him in the darkness was a talent Law could never attain, but when he did, sparks flew. His eyes honed in on Law as he stood, legs a hair wider than shoulder width apart, and started sinking. His knees turned in and out as he made his way to the floor, strength and precision locked into each snap of the beat. Luffy clasps his hands roughly as he drops, making a face that made Law want to jump on stage and take him to his apartment. Law glues his attention to Luffy as he feels the familiar caress of attraction run down his sides.

Bands make your girl go down

And I still got my money

Lot more where that came from

I still got my money

Law's breath hitches as Luffy's dark gaze lands on him again. The trio toss their heads into a twist that lands them on the floor, heads down, ass up. Their hands support them as they arch into the air, legs spread wide, looking to the side at their audience. The crowds scream in approval, and throw absurd amounts of cash onto the stage. For a split second, there's more green than air.

Luffy bites his bottom lip as he lowers himself to start twerking on the floor, backing up in time to the beat. He makes sure his audience eats everything up, but doesn't give them a chance to swallow. The three men then flip onto their knees with their backs to the crows. Their hands claw up their ass passionately as they wink over their shoulders to their onlookers. Luffy smirks at Law, giving him a look so raw and full of want that the man blushes like a schoolgirl. The teen stated clearly what he wanted with the expression, and it nearly drove his heart into tachycardia at the thought. Luffy pivots to the front while twerking, hyping up the audience with energetic waves of the arm. His smirk widens as the people before him respond with even louder shrieks.

Throw it up, throw it up

Watch it all fall out

Pour it up, pour it up

That's how we ball out

The music turns softer, more sensual, and the choreography on the stage mirrors the change. Luffy's movements become smooth, almost delicate. He brings his arms above his hand and melts them into his body as he turns to the back, hips propelling the move. He turns over his left shoulder, facing his audience with a regal air. The teen body rolls to the beat as he snaps down his left leg, arms extended to steady himself. Luffy feels himself up and down as he faces the audience. Then. He begins to slip downwards into a front split. Zoro and Sanji match the tempo of the drop, legs widening at an infuriatingly slow pace.

"Fuck it up, Punter!"

"We see you, Black Leg!"

"Hot damn, Straw Hat!"

The green haired drops first, bringing down his arms to steady himself on the floor. Sanji follows soon after. Luffy however keeps his steady balance, hands feeling down his torso as he descends. When he reaches his crotch area he finally drops the little ways left he had to the ground. The people before them scream their names in a garbled, noisy mess. Law watches sprouts of money hit the stage once again as the trio dissolve into their own freestyles to the music. Luffy quickly steals the show, however, as he had turned on the floor to toss it back in the audience's face.

The dancing continues until the middle of the next verse before the curtains begin to close, signaling the end of the show. At the roar of the audience, Law stands, ears ringing. He wanted to go back and see Luffy. The teen had outdone himself yet again. Though Zoro and Sanji each had their own unique styles of dancing, watching Luffy work was a hypnotizing experience. He abandons his seat and begins making his way back to the staff room through the sea of noise, light, and bodies. The man unlocks and enters through doors just as the strippers entered through the far stage door, panting.

Luffy bounces up to him, sweating glistening from the vanity mirror lights, with eyes of flame. He jumps into Law's arms, giddy and ecstatic. The man catches him and chuckles, holding him tight.

"You did amazing, Luffy." Law tightens his hold on the slick skin, kissing his hair. "That was sexy as hell."

When Luffy rises to him, it's pure exhilaration on his features. This was Straw Hat. This was the Luffy of the night, of the stage, of the club. "Yeah?" the teen grins lopsidedly. "I wanted it to be. You'd be here, after all."

"...Was your goal on stage to drive me crazy?"

"My only goal is you."

"Well then. Mission accomplished."

"Can you two stop fucking flirting right in front of me? Makes me wanna puke."

The pair ignore the demands of Zoro, who stalks by them to get to his locker. Sanji's on his heels, shaking his head.

"Fuck off Marimo, you're just jealous no one's flirting with you."

"That's rich coming from the number one perpetrator."

"I swear you- wait what?"

Law drowns out the two as he bends to join Luffy's waiting lips to his own. He's warm, hot even, and the energy that vibrates of Luffy hummed on Law's tongue. The older let his hands run down Luffy's bare back, resting to a stop at the fabric around his waist. He dips a teasing finger under the red strap right before his ass, and Luffy retaliates by bringing Law's head closer, tilting his mouth to make the kiss deeper.

Several moments pass before Law breaks the kiss, breathless, and leans his head against Luffy's own. He meets Luffy's lidded gaze with a sharp pang of hunger for more. "Let's finish at my place, hm?"

The teen narrows his eyes. "Let's go to the back rooms."

At this rate, Law was going to lose his ability to reign in his libido. "...But you have a job to do." His control was slipping with Luffy barely clothed and clinging to him and wanting.

"I don't give a shit," Luffy snarls, grip tightening around Law's neck. He grabs Law's tie and pulls him closer to his face. "I want you."

"God damn, time and place Luffy," Sanji groans as he pulls on different shoes. Zoro had put in some headphones, and was blissfully unaware. "I don't care if y'all kiss but I don't wanna hear all that shit."

Luffy leans away from Law, throwing Sanji an annoyed look over his left arm. "Then don't hear!"

"I can't turn off my hearing, dumbass."

"Zoro did it just fine!"

"I can still hear you, you know," Zoro drawls lifelessly, zipping up a pair of shorter platforms to his feet. He pulls off his headphones and chucks them back in his locker with a sigh. "I don't know why I gotta be sentenced to this."

Luffy makes a frustrated sound and pats Law twice with the back of his hand. "How could I not keep my hands off him? Look at him! With his fine ass."

Law's eyebrows reach for the ceiling. Even his speech changes when he's in 'Straw Hat' mode. He's been around Luffy so much outside the Going Merry that the fact tended to slip from his brain, only for it to be slapped back into it during times like this.

This...was hot.

Sanji throws his head back and laughs throatily. "Think you misunderstand. No one's disagreeing with you-"

The green haired shoots him a pointed glower. "I'm disagreeing, the fuck?"

"-but you gotta reel it in man."

Luffy pouts, and it's the cutest fucking thing Law's ever seen. "But Sanji! I want to-"

"Get back to work, perhaps?"

Law's blood instantly runs cold at the familiar sickly sweet voice. He doesn't turn, but judging by Luffy's tense expression, he isn't too happy to see their visitor either.

Doflamingo enters the dressing room from the manager's office, smiling wickedly. "The girls are already out and mingling. Why don't you all get to it as well?"

Zoro frowns deeply and Sanji averts his eyes. Luffy grips onto Law a little tighter, and the older doesn't move. He hasn't spoken to Doflamingo face to face in god knows how long. Law had always made sure to only come on nights when the pink feathered man wasn't here. If he ever had to communicate something to Doflamingo, which was a rarity in and of itself, it had always been through Corazon. How could he have been so careless as to forget?

Law mentally facepalms. Because of Luffy. He couldn't let him down by not coming tonight, for their special performance as a trio.

"Law," comes his name off the pink feathered man's lips. The surgeon feels hot icicles dig deep into his spine. Doflamingo chuckles, barely contained amusement filtering through his voice. "Do you mind letting go of our staff member there? We need him to help attend to our guests."

Law blinks down to Luffy, who was crushed in his frigid embrace. The surgeon hastily jerks away, as though he were a hot stove. He exhales harshly watching Luffy rub his arm, soothing the muscles there. "Fuck, Luffy, I am so sorry."

The teen gives him a close lipped smile. "It's alright. I need to get out there, anyway."

Luffy seems to leave with the warmth of Law's chest as well, because it's suddenly very, very cold. The surgeon has yet to face Doflamingo, and makes no move to. He wanted to keep this false pretense of cordiality between him and the man in front of the others, else it'd be a sorry sight on all sides.

Sanji and Zoro move wordlessly to follow Luffy to the door leading out to the club. The taller blonde man turns to them with a grin. "Don't forget, you all. Open drinks tonight. Bring your guest a drink from the bar."

"Didn't Corazon want closed drinks though? Like straight from the bottle or something?" Luffy questions with a raised eyebrow. "I could've sworn-"

"Did I stutter, Straw Hat?" the man interrupts with a sneer, and the words get under every layer of skin in Law's body. Oh hell no.

The surgeon moves faster than he can think between the three strippers and their boss. He scowls up to the imposing man, who only grins wider at his long awaited appearance.

"Look who finally joins the party," Doflamingo purrs, lips curling. The molten voice pours liquid fire down Law's neck. "Unfortunately, you were not handed an invitation. Do excuse us, as we have work to do."

Law stands rooted to the floor as the man glides by to converse with the strippers behind him. The surgeon clenches his hands into fists as the feathers brush his skin, leaving chills in their wake. Anger begins to build up within Law, an anger he thought he had quenched long ago. He could tame it, he could reign it in, but when he came to Luffy, the man was taking no bullshit.

The surgeon whirls to face Doflamingo, who was talking in hushed tones to the three men. He begins stepping to the blonde when a phone's ringtone pierces through the air. The heads in the room snap to the sound, and Luffy's cheeks burn a self-concious red.

"...I forgot to turn it off," he mutters, walking briskly to the locker. Doflamingo watches him go with a frown but turns to the remaining strippers.

"Go," he says firmly. "They've been waiting for you."

Zoro and Sanji leave without being told twice. Law marvels at how obedient they are around the blonde- it was very unlike them. Either that, or they couldn't stand being in the guy's presence any more than he did.

And if that was the case, Law understood.

Doflamingo turns over his shoulder to Luffy. "Join P. Hunter and Black Leg when you've finished."

"Okay," the teen says quietly, and his voice is so small. Law narrows his eyes at the taller blonde, who doesn't spare him any words. The co-owner steps to his office, enters, and closes the door behind him without so much as looking in Law's direction. The surgeon watches him go curiously, unsure of what to make of the interaction.

"Go on ahead of me, Law." Luffy stands in front of his opened locker, but has made no move to his phone. It has long since silenced by now. Law rushes over to the younger and hugs him gently, much more so than earlier. Luffy wraps his arms around Law and focuses on breathing, stilling his heart.

"I'm not leaving you alone here," Law states simply, holding Luffy tighter. "Not while that fucker's nearby."

Luffy closes his eyes and nods. "I get it. I do. But I want to be alone for a little bit. I need to...get back into Straw Hat mode, you know?"

Law fidgets, unsure, but Luffy playfully punches him in the arm, giving him a sly smile. "If you're here, I'll be too distracted to focus, silly."

As much as everything in Law didn't want it to happen, he knew Luffy was as headstrong and as steadfast as they come. There was no use putting up a counterargument, especially since they both felt so drained. "...I'll be in the VIP area," Law relents, sighing. "The usual seat."

"Okay," Luffy whispers, reaching up to kiss him lightly. Ripples of much needed warmth spread throughout Law at the gesture. "I'll be there as soon as I'm done with my rounds."

"Alright," Law replies quietly, heading for the door to the club. At a thought, he faces Luffy again. "If he tries anything, I'm coming back here to kick his ass."

Luffy chuckles at that. "And I'd help you. But don't worry, I won't be long."

The surgeon pouts slightly but turns for the door despite his internal protests. At the close of the second outside door, Luffy sighs against the lockers. The day felt long and heavy on his shoulders. It was the last part of the night before he was able to finally go home. Just make it through this, and Luffy could finally sleep.

He turns to the open space before him and digs through his gym bag, searching for the device. Luffy feels familiar dents and ridges, followed by a wide smooth surface. Once he pulls his phone out, he lazily scrolls through the notifications.

Barty had called him. He didn't leave a voicemail, but left a text instead. He would be out late, so Luffy shouldn't expect him there when he arrives. As Luffy lazily checks out his other messages, he freezes.

There's one from Kidd.

Luffy blinks a few times to make sure he wasn't making shit up, but nope. Those numbers that haunted him from time to time shone bright on his screen. How had the text gone through? Luffy knows for a fact that he blocked the man. There was no way he would tamper with that…

The stripper combs a rough hand through his hair and curses. The fucking truth or dare game back at Law's place. He had given Shachi his phone. The man must've messed around with his settings or something, because now, Kidd was able to text him. And if Shachi really did mess with his blocked callers, then all the other creeps he's shut out over the months could possibly contact him again, too. God fucking damn it Shachi.

Luffy swiftly begins the blocking process again when he finally reads the message that the red head sent him.

Please respond...it's about Ace.

The teen looks at the time it was sent. Just earlier that evening. Not days ago or weeks ago, but that evening. His mind backtracks to what Jewelry said at the auto shop, that Kidd has been missing for a while. Luffy didn't know what to think, but he found himself opening the message...only to see more from the man.

Luffy reads through the texts that Kidd sporadically sent him over the last few weeks, concerning news that he absolutely had to give him. Yet not once did he mention it over text. Luffy frowns. What in the world was this?

The earliest text that concerned this news came from as far back as a month ago.

Luffy, please listen. This is urgent.

We really need to talk. Preferably

in person, but over the phone is

alright, too. It's about the incident

from two years back. Please respond,

this is important.

The stripper holds his head as he reads the text once, twice, then enough times to make his eyes cross and his mind sag with the information. This was insane. What was Kidd trying to get across? God, it was sheer coincidence that he even saw these texts. What if he hadn't? What could Kidd possibly know about Ace that he didn't? About the incident from years back?

Luffy isn't given the chance to answer the questions mulling over in his mind. A loud commotion sounds from outside the dressing room. Yelps of surprise from customers greet his ears, along with the sounds of multiple things being knocked over. Adrenaline runs through the stripper as he slams his locker and heads to the noise. He had to see what was happening. His heart beats wildly in his throat as he flings open the door to the VIP area. Luffy narrows his eyes, getting used to the darkness. His gaze lands on a small crowd that has gathered near the bar.

The stripper feels dread settle in his gut as he makes his way to the throng of people, pushing through the bodies to see what the issue was. When Luffy finally sees the body on the ground, the dread in his stomach squirmed. When he sees Law over the fallen woman, frantically checking for vital signs, the dread absolutely convulses.

"Dude," a customer behind Law says, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just let them take care of her."

Law shakes him off, glaring hard at the man. "No, I told you already, I'm a doctor. Please let me at least-"

"Sir, we are warning you one last time. Please remove yourself."

Luffy whirls to the voice. It sounded so familiar.

It's security. They crowd around Law, pulling him away from the woman. Law bares teeth as he's separated from her. "The fuck you all think you're doing? This woman has passed out!"

The stripper's breath catches in his throat. She was just like Bellamy.

The team of men don't seem to take any concern with this information. "We understand time is of the essence," the head of security steps forward. "We've seen scenes like this before here. Please let us take care of it."

Luffy's expression darkens at the words. They were exactly the same as back then.

"Luffy?" Zoro pushes through the crowd as well. "What the fuck is going on?"

As his gaze landed on Law and the woman, wide eyed confusion slowly etched itself onto his bronzed face. Sanji appears behind him, paling at the scene. "What the fuck-"

"Wait a damn minute," Luffy grits, stepping into the small circle to address the leader.

Law looks up to him with wide eyes. "Luffy..." he breathes. "When did you..?"

"Just now," he answers, gaze never leaving the dark clothed men before him. He points to the pair loading the woman onto a cot. "Where the hell is she going?"

The leader nods to the exit of the club. "There's an ambulance."

Luffy and Law follow his gaze to the outside of the club. Sure enough, there were red and blue lights from the vehicles there. Luffy turns back to him, mouth turned down in a scowl. The whole situation screamed deja vu.

"Perfect," Law huffs, standing. "I'll talk to the EMTs that arrive. I was right there when she collapsed."

"Hey," Sanji whispers. Luffy jumps at the voice so close to him. He didn't even notice that Sanji had moved. "What's going on here? Why is there a woman passed out?"

"I have no idea," the younger replies, worried. "Your guess is as good as mine."

As security begins taking her away, Law begins to follow. Luffy felt the need to tail him as well, but the head of security gets in their way once more. "There is no need."

"Why the fuck would there be 'no need'?" Law's voice was getting louder by the second. "A woman just collapsed, and I can't go out there to help her?"

Sanji stands behind Luffy and glares down at the head of security. "Why the hell are there objections to this shit?"

"This man is a doctor," Zoro gruffs, crossing his arms. "I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to follow you guys."

Ignoring his surprise at Zoro's statement, Luffy comes up behind Law and places a hand on his back to show his support. The man before them sighs.

"We're the security here, sir. We're trained to deal with situations like this, and frankly, we've seen worse."

Law's about to but in more but Luffy stops him, growling angrily. These people were only going to dance around his words, so it was best to try and stab them with words instead.

"The last one- Bellamy- what happened to him? About a month ago, blonde? Passed out in front of me?"

Law looks at him with open mouthed horror. "This has happened before?"

Luffy averts his eyes. "It's been so long that I had practically forgot..."

The security man nods. "I recall the incident. The man you call Bellamy is fine. He simply passed out, as did this woman."

Luffy shakes his head. "Then why the hell couldn't I feel a pulse?"

"I wasn't with her long enough to get an accurate reading..." Law murmurs, "but I felt something faint."

The security man nods to Law. "A faint pulse is what we concluded from that Bellamy fellow as well. This woman is going to the hospital now. You don't need to concern yourself with her any longer."

Those stupid words. They weren't very original.

The man looks between Law and Luffy once more, as if waiting for more questions, but at their silence, he purses his lips and turns to the gathered customers in the area.

"She is being taken care of! Please relax and enjoy the rest of your night."

The people around them let go of a collective sigh as they returned to their seats, thankful that the situation was getting resolved. Law and Luffy watch helplessly as the security team march out of the club. They operated in such a way that the other party goers outside the VIP section didn't pay them much attention. They follow the group with their eyes until they file out the front door.

Law hasn't moved from beside him. "Luffy."

"Yeah?" Luffy croaks.

The surgeon narrows his eyes at the door. "This isn't sitting right with me."

"Me neither."

Zoro and Sanji crowd around them. "This is fucked up. How could they ignore you like that?" the blonde asks roughly. "Fuckers brushed you off!" Zoro makes a sound of agreement from beside him.

Law shrugs, glaring at the floor. "I don't know. I have half a mind to follow them, but something isn't sitting right with me."

"What is it?" Luffy asks, tugging on his arm.

"...That woman," he begins after a spell, staring at the front doors. "She reeked of that stench I've been smelling around here."

Luffy's nose crinkles, as if trying to sniff the air. "What...exactly have you been smelling?"

Law lets out a breath between his teeth. "If it's what I'm thinking, it's nothing good." The surgeon rubs his temples. "I'm gonna get in contact with Corazon. He should know about this as well."

"That's a good idea," Luffy says, fists clenching. One of his hands doesn't close all the way, obstructed by some object. He brings his fists up into his field of vision and sees his phone, still clenched between his fingers. Luffy didn't even realize he still had it with him.

"I'm gonna put this back and come back out," Luffy says, starting for the back rooms.

Law watches him worriedly. "You still gonna work after seeing that?"

The teen studies the floor. "I need the money. I can't really afford to go home so early into the night."

"I'm staying too," Zoro adds quietly. From beside him, Sanji sighs deeply. "I don't want to, but if Marimo's staying, then I will as well."

Luffy leans towards Law and laces his fingers with his. He squeezes. "Let's just...try to forget about this for the moment, okay? You text Corazon, and have him handle it. It's his place just as much as it's Doflamingo's."

Although Law's doctoral moral code was screaming at him to run after the security team, he felt himself relaxing in Luffy's grip. He squints to the front door of the building, and the ambulances are gone. They made off with the woman pretty quickly. Nothing more he could really do now.

"I'll do that," he breathes, squeezing back. Luffy lets go, smiling sadly, and quickly jogs back to the dressing room.

Zoro slinks away from him, and Sanji scrambles to follow. "Sorry Law, we'll be heading back to it too." The surgeon nods as the duo return to the bustle of the club life.

Nothing sat right with Law. Nothing. He returns to his seat on the bench, eyeing the chair behind him where the woman once sat. When she passed out, the world around Law seemed to pass away with her. He panicked for a split second before falling into a practiced routine, sprinting to her side to see what was amiss. Though he was pulled away before he could confirm, he knew she had a faint pulse. But that in and of itself was nothing to fuck around with. Law clenches his jaw as he looks out to the oblivious dancers on the lower level. He just hopes she'll be ok.

Luffy throws his phone in his locker silently in the back room, closing the door. His head swam with the events of the night. Something was wrong. No, everything was wrong. There's something more that they're missing here. For this to happen once? Maybe. But twice? With the exact same situation, exact same wording, from the exact same people?

And for all Luffy knew, this wasn't all. It's entirely possible more incidents have occurred without his knowledge.

Luffy was thinking so intensely that when he heard the distinctive laugh, he almost thought it was in his head. Or was it? The stripper furrows his brows, pausing in his return to the VIP area. He waits a few moments, but when he hears no further sound, he exits the back room to rejoin those outside.

Inside the manager room, Doflamingo waits until he hears the door close before he lets out another maniacal laugh. He couldn't help himself. This was just too damn good. "Trebol that guy, he's outdone himself again!"

The blonde was absolutely giddy. This settled it. A phone rings nearby, and Doflamingo picks it up, licking his lips.

"Do you have the final test, Head of Security?"

"C'mon Doffy, you know I hate being called that. Makes me tired just thinking of the act I have to keep up."

Doflamingo chuckles. "Fine, then. Trebol. Do you have it?"

"Yeah," comes the reply on the other end. "We're taking her to Caesar's lab now for confirmation."

"Perfect," the blonde chuckles. "I can't wait to hear the good news."

"The good news?"

"Yes..." Doflamingo trails off as he studies a chart on his desk. It details the states of the test subjects of SMILE over the last month of business. The marking steadily faded from red to green in every department. As he flicks through the columns, he feels his smile growing wider and wider.

"...the good news of Phase Two finally being complete."

A/N: Thank you for reading! Watch the trio's choreo here. 'Pour It Up' by Rihanna.

P.S. I probably should have done this earlier, but here's a link to a Pinterest board outlining everyone's outfits better. I know they can be kind of hard to visualize, so maybe actual images would help. I'll be going back to the previous chapters and adding this link in as well. Links in AO3.