A/N: Alrighty. Let's get down to business.
24. Dirtied With Red
Law wasn't sure what he expected when he rounded the final corner to the club's parking lot, but it certainly wasn't this.
The Going Merry was on fire.
Thick, viscid dread oozed down his spine and rooted him to the ground as he took in the bright orange flames licking the night sky. The entire building emitted an intense heat that left his throat dry and his skin raw. There's a large crowd in front of the catastrophe, pulsing with hurried movement. Screams of fear and pain pierce the air, accompanied by frantic commands and updates on the situation. Cars were flying out of the parking lot to escape as more and more people tumbled from out of the flames, coughing and wheezing. There's a small explosion from inside the burning club, and the people in front screech in fright as brick collapses.
The surgeon doesn't hear his name being called until he's being shaken.
"Law! Law!"
Law has to tear his gaze away from the chaos to see Shachi's worried face watching him. The man had a hand on each of his shoulders, but stepped back once he had Law's attention. "God, we were worried sick. We couldn't find you in the club, and I thought-"
"I'm sorry," Law exhales breathlessly. "I was taken away by security. They were trying to kill me."
"Wait, what the fuck?"
"It's a long ass story. I had to run to get back here." He glances down to the dried blood on the man's shoulder, and he frowns deeply. "Are you okay?"
Shachi shakes his head sadly as Bepo and Penguin appear behind the nurse, expressions portraying disturbing levels of distress.
The tattooed man's eyes dart between the two of them before turning back to the heat and destruction. "What the hell happened?"
"The building..." Bepo seems to be fighting tears, but they're from physical pain. There's several cuts along his chest, bandaged hastily over his dress shirt. Penguin comes to put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, but that's bloodied and bandaged, too. The man's jaw hardens as he faces Law to explain.
"We were waiting outside to get in the club with a whole bunch of other people when something inside the Going Merry exploded." He gestures to the three of them. "We were caught up in force of the blast. Threw us yards away from the door. Didn't exactly land the most painlessly, but we're faring somehow."
The surgeon tries to swallow but his throat constricts from the heat, from the sickening feeling he was getting. "What...about the people in the club?"
Shachi nods to the crowd. "That's most, if not all of them. According to what people saw from the inside, the blasts came from the ceilings and walls. It was hectic in the beginning because people were rushing to leave the club, but from the outside, it looks like most were able to escape before the flames got this bad."
Law tries to piece together the clues, because they were all these, but his mind whirls with one thought and one thought only. "Where is Corazon?"
The men before him quiet. "We...haven't heard any news from him," Penguin says softly.
The surgeon growls low in his throat before pushing past the trio and practically sprinting towards the crowd. No. Absolutely fucking not. This was not happening.
"Move!" he hisses, shoving through the throng of people. His eyes and mouth were robbed of moisture as he approaches, and when he inhales he does so with ash and soot. Law's body still resisted the movements as he over-exerts himself once more, but he didn't care. Fuck it all, he didn't care.
He finds himself a few yards from the billowing wall of flame he was once able to call the entrance. Yes, he was going to willingly dive into a fiery building to search for Corazon, and no, he didn't care about how much it would hurt. Law takes a few breaths to calm his heart, readying himself for the inevitable pain, then lunges forward. But he's stopped.
The entrance collapses before him in a heap of smoke and flame, and Law skirts back from the heat, wincing. Fire roared and wood crackled at him, daring the man to take a step closer. And Law would've taken the dare, too, if not for the murky silhouettes that struggled through the hot debris a little beyond the entry.
"Oh my god," he breathes, heart in his throat. It looked as though they were trying to get through the entrance, but at its demise, had to find another way out. There was a slightly taller figure among the shadows, and his heart skips a few beats. Could it be..?
Law moves without thinking. Worried escapees call out to him as he enters the hell through a crumbling wall on his left.
The heat is overwhelming. The floor sears his feet and his clothing clings to his skin from sweat. Law brings his shirt over his nose and mouth as he squints through the fire to the hunch of people. They seemed to be crouching down and looking at something. Law grits his teeth. Did they not realize they were in the middle of an inferno?
"Hey!" he calls out hoarsely, coughing at the lack of moisture. His throat punished him by constricting in an attempt to preserve what little liquid it had left, and Law's coughing fit doubled.
A figure stands up in the smoke. "Oh my god," the male voice mutters. Louder, it calls out, "Is that you, Law?"
Law feels his heart lodge in his throat. That was Sanji. "Yeah, fuck, I'm coming to help."
The surgeon licks his chapped lips as he steadily maneuvers around the flaming chunks of wall and ceiling. The bar to his left was destroyed, completely engulfed in wavy tendrils of red. A little ways beyond the bar was the stage, where fire stands as the performer, swirling, waltzing, and waving down at its audience. The dance floor was dotted with small bursts of flame that steadily consumed its surroundings, and parts of the ceiling had collapsed inward, feeding the fires sharp wood. The pockets of leather seats in the wall where Law had sat the first time visiting the club each had sparks of light that were eating away at the tables and couches. Further down, the VIP section was fraught with flames and danger- the fire greedily consumed the light fabric surrounding the tables, the carpet, the alcohol at the bar. Lights dangled treacherously from the ceiling, connected by fraying wires, and sparks flew without rhyme or reason. The once magical flair that enticed Law to the space was now gone, replaced by disastrous perils that pushed life away. A bottle from the bar explodes from behind him, and he jumps at the noise, causing his leg to accidentally brush flame. He curses and jerks away, pausing to rub his right shin gingerly.
"This-" Several dry coughs. "-this way!"
Law focuses on following Sanji's voice, grimacing against the raging heat that singed the fine hairs off his limbs. He walks parallel to the VIP area on the other side of the club. There's a hole in the crumbling wall, and the surgeon kicks it down so it's big enough to carefully step through. As Law comes closer to Sanji's voice, the other bodies come into view. Zoro is crouching, something on the ground grabbing his attention. Sanji stands behind the green haired, wrapping an arm around a large figure. Next to him is-
Relief buckles his knees, and Law brings a trembling hand to his mouth.
It's Corazon.
The surgeon would've teared up if his tear ducts weren't fried. The blonde was leaning heavily on Sanji, hunched over slightly, holding his side. Or was it his arm? Something on his left. Corazon turns to him haggardly, and the celebrations are put on pause. The man was a bruised and bloody mess. Scratches, scrapes, dirt, and bruises of all colors darken the man's skin. Not to mention the expression he wore. It made the surgeon very, very nervous. Law couldn't even begin to put into words just how distraught the blonde looked, a grim contrast to his usual happy-go-lucky demeanor. The expression set him on every edge in the damn building.
"Corazon!" Law cries out, stepping forward quickly and slinging an arm around the man for support. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you sooner."
The blonde's breaths are shallow, but he gives Law a weak smile. "I'm glad you're safe, my son. We can go over details later. But right now, this takes priority."
Relinquished from his task, Sanji drops to the floor beside Zoro. The pair were dirty, injured, and seemed extremely tired. There's burns and ripped clothing and blood, and the surgeon frowns at the injuries. They've been through the wringer, no doubt.
Law watches Sanji lower with curious eyes. "What takes prior-...fucking hell."
The two dancers were peering under a burnt table. It takes Law about half a second to realize that this is the same desk that Monet sat at. Then another half second to deduce that his crumbling surroundings once stood as the small entryway to the VIP section. The fire had already washed through here and burned down the room and everything in it to near embers. Law hadn't recognized it.
But he recognized the man shoved below the desk, body blackened with flame.
It was Crocodile.
Law feels bile rise up in his throat as he takes in the sight, his brain finally working long enough to discern the scent of burnt flesh in the air. No matter how many fucking times he sees corpses, from his job at Flevlance to his days as a kid, he could never numb to the anguish when he realizes it was someone he knew. Crocodile was practically unrecognizable, save for stray strands of shiny black hair and the barely visible scar that halved his face. From his position and expression, he seemed to have died in tremendous pain.
Law turns away, unable to look at the man's corpse any longer. "What're we gonna do about him?" he hears Zoro ask quietly. He sounds strained.
"As cruel as this is, we have to leave him." Corazon's voice is weak and brittle coming out of him, and Law's hold on him tightens. "Emergency services are on the way, let's leave him to them. We need to get out of here."
Sanji curses in some language Law could only guess originated in some European country, and he stands swiftly. "Let's go."
Law licks his lips again in a vain attempt to moisture them, but his tongue is dry. His eyes burn as he blinks away the pain but he nods, heart heavy. He's right. They had to go. They couldn't waste any more time here.
Sanji and Zoro lead the way, forging a path through the debris. The entrance that collapsed in front left them with no choice to go down the hall to the VIP section and exit through the wall there. As they enter the slightly cooler hallway- a small section of the ceiling had caved in, letting smoke escape upwards- Law turns over the previous scene in his mind. Crocodile was dead. He died. But why was he under the desk? He wasn't even supposed to be there. He was supposedly sick.
Law makes a face as his memory from not even an hour back becomes clearer. He had smelled blood back then. Could it be that Crocodile had been under the desk the entire time? Chills run down his spine at the thought. What if someone had left him there to die?
Zoro stops and bends to study a struggling patch in the wall. "Here, I think I see a place we could kick down to get outside."
"Thank god," Sanji says breathlessly. "I'll help you kick it down."
Law frowns, deep in thought as the pair begin striking the hot material. The only person who was close to that area was Monet. God, if he ever saw her again, there would be some fucking explaining to do or there'd be hell to pay. He trips over something at his feet, nearly toppling Corazon in the process. The blonde groans painfully, and Law curses an apology.
"Shit, my bad," he grumbles as the blonde in his arms shakes his head at the words, that it's okay. Law backtracks, about to step over the object when he pauses, eyes wide. It's not an object, but a human being. "Jesus fucking christ."
Below him lay Monet, half charred from the explosion. The surgeon makes a strangled sound as he takes in the broken woman. She seemed to be making a dash for the VIP section when the explosions hit. Judging from the damage done to the walls, she was caught right in the middle of it.
There's a small explosion from the main dance floor of the club, and Sanji looks back worriedly. "That's only going to get worse, isn't it?" His gaze falls to Monet and the air leaves his body. "Oh my god..."
"Likely," Zoro grunts over his shoulder. Then he spots her. "I'm sorry to whoever that woman is, but we've got to hurry before we end up like her. Now hurry the fuck up and help me finish kicking down this wall. I can hear it giving way."
Sanji wordlessly returns to striking against the wall, easing the deteriorating wood outwards, to freedom. Law watches on from under Corazon's arm silently, unable to help. Monet had been shady from the start, no doubt, but why in the world was she dead? If she was working with security, then they should've helped her escape.
If Monet had perished in the explosions, then...who the hell orchestrated this?
Law's head began to hurt, likely from overheating. Nothing made sense. He tried to wrack his brain for answers but came up with nothing. Frustrated, he pushes the thoughts to the back of his mind for another time. Before him, Zoro and Sanji continue to try and break through the thick wood and brick with a flurry of kicks.
There's a few breathless moments where all he hears is the pound of melted rubber sole on wall and the energetic crackle of flames. Then finally, finally there's a breakthrough. The wall breaks off onto the ground outside, garnering the attention of some bystanders.
"Go, go now!" Zoro yells at Law, and the surgeon doesn't think twice before making a dash for the hole with Corazon. Law ducks his head and holds the tattered black boa close to him as the two crash through the opening, landing in a tangle of limbs on hot grass, wood and brick. The surgeon groans as another jolt of pain wrecks his left side. Zoro and Sanji follow soon after, crashing onto the ground with pained grunts of their own. Behind them, the Going Merry folds in on itself, shuddering with another internal explosion. The crash blows out a heaping ball of black smoke into the air. As people pull them farther away from the heat and into the cool of the night, the surgeon watches the building fall apart with a touch of sadness. Though there was no reason to be sentimental in the midst of all of this, yet Law was astounded to find out that he was, just a little.
He had unknowingly become fond of the Going Merry.
Law had met Luffy here, after all.
After their encounter, he's spent countless days and nights in the club. He had memories of this place that reminded him of the early awkward days of their relationship. Of the nights him and his friends would come to relax once in a while over drinks. Of the times backstage where Sanji and Zoro would fight like cats and dogs to the tune of Luffy's laughter. Of the times where Corazon would sweep him in an unknowing hug, squeezing him until he had to tap out.
It wasn't the Going Merry's fault that shady business came and took her life.
Law must have been delirious at this point, he almost had half a mind to apologize to the dying structure. How the words of remorse end up on his tongue, muttered under his breath he doesn't know. But what he does know was that he most definitely had to be delirious at this point, because he swears he hears a response on the wind.
You've always treated me well...thank you.
Law blinks owlishly up at the flames encompassing the Going Merry. God, he really was losing it. Buildings were talking.
The bystanders had let them go once they were a safer distance from the danger. The man breaks eye contact with the bright fire for Corazon, who was laying serenely on his stomach, turned away from him. Law reaches out and jostles his shoulder gently. When he doesn't rouse a response from the blonde, panic takes hold of Law. Was the man more injured than he let on?
"Corazon," Law says urgently. He pushes with more force. "Dad." He feels his breath come out in harsh huffs. "Dad!"
There's something being lowered next to Corazon, and strong hands heave him onto the stretch of white. Law watches helplessly as metal bars extend and Corazon is lifted into the air, disappearing out of his sight. Further beyond where the blonde laid was Zoro, who was panting on the grass with his back to Law. Men and women in dark uniforms swiftly descend upon him, asking him questions in low voices and hauling him onto another stretch of white, which Law's brain finally identifies as a gurney. He squints lazily at the back of one of the men close to him, and he has to read the words a few times before they make any sort of sense.
They were EMTs from Flevance.
Thank god, thank god.
Almost as soon as Zoro leaves, he feels his own body being gently laid on his back. There's a lot of people surrounding him, and he makes sense of none of them, nor the questions they ask. Expert hands position themselves about his body and raise him swiftly onto something soft and cold, but comfortable. As he's strapped down for transport, Law glances to the right. He sees Sanji sitting up, refusing treatment and yelling at the EMTs about something. Law catches tidbits, but concludes something awful has happened to Zoro, and that their focus should be on the green haired instead of him.
Well shit.
"Law!"
The surgeon's headache was growing to astronomical heights at this point, and he almost doesn't recognize the voice. Law isn't sure how his lids are so heavy, but they are, and it takes him a hot minute to open his eyes again to the man calling him. The EMTs around him are kind enough to pause for the quick exchange.
Law takes in hot air through his mouth. "Bepo."
The blonde was crying. "Law...god, you terrified us. Please be okay. We saw you jump into the building and we thought-" His big, puppy eyes swell with tears that flow silently, letting the unspoken words hang in the air.
"Law!" cuts off Shachi, poking his head over the blonde's shoulder. He'd obviously been crying, but he masks it with anger. "You better not be fucking dead or I'm gonna kill you, you bastard."
Penguin pokes his head over the other blonde's shoulder, fraught with worry. "We'll meet you there with Luffy, okay?"
Law finds an agreement slip past his lips before he's wheeled forward. As he gets situated into the ambulance, the surgeon tiredly sighs at the familiarity of the scene. It was the second time he was injured in a van that night. At least he didn't have to fight for his life this time.
...He hopes.
He was pretty fucked up from everything that transpired. Maybe he didn't have to fight others for his life, maybe he had to fight himself. Law didn't know the full extent of his injuries, but judging from the frantic whispers and hands flying over him, the situation wasn't good. His body hummed from pain as if to drive the point home. It drove it home and asked him to sleep, because his lids came down heavy and low over his eyes, closing without his permission. It's okay though, because it felt as though his head was swimming and he was drowning, so the extra leverage above the waves was greatly appreciated. Almost simultaneously, Law gives in to his limbs' exhausted pleas, finally allowing them to rest. His body turns slack under the EMTs, and he eases his mind into a relaxed state.
As soon as the water ebbs away from his mind, Law drifts off into a soundless sleep.
A cloaked man watches as the medical vehicles drive away with the injured. Authorities work quickly to calm and disperse the crowd, and soon there's fire fighters on the scene, spraying gushes of water onto the flames. He watches on sadly, and with a hint of deja vu, as the fire swells despite the efforts to put it down. The glint of the flame catches his golden tuft of hair in a subtle glow, and illuminates his high arching bows and deep frown. Feeling too exposed, he curls the fabric tighter about him, concealing his body. He was an idiot to think that the fight was over. It fucking happened again. He turns away from the scene with his mind set.
No more hiding. It was time to stand up and fight back.
Law hears him before he sees him.
He makes a small noise, stirring. His right hand reaches out to the voice, searching, wanting some sort of contact. Law is rewarded with soft hands tangling around his own, and he sighs lightly. Opening his eyes required a strength he didn't have, but he does it because he missed him.
Luffy's eyes are red as he meets his gaze. He breaks out into a sad smile when he sees Law looking at him, wells filling up with tears again. "You told me you'd come back," he whispers.
Law's expression falls. He cranes his neck to their intertwined fingers. "I didn't mean to lie." He shakily brings up their hands and plants soft kisses on Luffy's knuckles. "I'm sorry," he murmurs.
Luffy's breath catches from above him. "I'm just happy you're okay."
"Should...we leave?"
Law rests his forehead against Luffy's hand. He knew the others were here from their voices, but he wanted to pretend that they weren't.
"It's fine," Luffy tells Shachi, voice cracking.
Law leans back, hand still laced with Luffy's, and looks about him. He was in a hospital room in Flevance, likely on the seventh floor, the burn unit. Penguin, Bepo, and Shachi lined the left side of his bed, and Luffy stood on his right. He looks down at himself, and he's dressed in a simple gown, a light blanket covering him up to his chest. His head hurt like a motherfucker, and there were dull aches all over his body.
But he wasn't important now.
"Where's Corazon?"
Luffy's expression turns bittersweet. "He's resting in the recovery room from his surgery."
That caught his attention. "Surgery?"
"You were badly injured," Penguin begins from beside him, "but Corazon's life was in danger. He apparently had some pretty bad internal bleeding."
"He got out of surgery like, an hour ago," Bepo chimes in softly. "We've been waiting for you to wake up before we go see him."
Law brings his hands to rake over his eyes, taking deep breaths. He was okay. "Thank god. Oh my god."
Luffy squeezes his hand slightly. "I already visited Sanji. He was pretty much fine. I mean, as fine as someone who's been in an explosive fire could really be. He has pretty nasty burns and cuts all over, but he's faring well."
Penguin makes a sound beside Law. "I saw him and Zoro leading people out of the club. If anyone's gonna be more injured than usual, it's those two."
The surgeon feels his eyes round. "They've been enduring those flames to help people?"
At the dark haired's nod, Law's gaze lowers to Penguin's knees in amazement. Those fuckers had hearts of gold. Law felt like he was going to suffocate the few minutes he was in the club. He couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to be in there for an extended period of time, helping others evacuate, disregarding your own safety until others' were insured. It makes the surgeon see the two in a new light, pun unintended. Especially Zoro.
Speaking of which.
"What about Zoro?" Law asks. A dark shadow comes over Penguin.
Luffy's voice is strained above him. "He...is still in surgery."
Law feels his stomach drop. "My god, is he okay?"
The silence that followed in the room after was thick enough for Law to think he was suffocating. His eyes snapped wildly between the men, waiting for someone to speak, but no one was speaking, and dread surged hot and fast through his body.
"What happened?" he croaks.
It's Shachi who responds. "When we saw you and the others crash through the building...all eyes went to Zoro." He looks to the floor. "He was bleeding. A lot. I don't know what happened, but there was this giant gash across his chest. Though the heat from the flames should've closed it somewhat, he was still bleeding so much."
Bepo palms his eyes. "It was honestly one of the scariest things I'd ever seen. It looked...really fucking bad."
At Law's horrified expression, Shachi grims. "We were talking to his surgeons before they went into the OR. They said that it was a miracle he was still alive despite all the blood he lost."
The surgeon was reeling. "Holy shit..." Zoro's life was in danger just like Corazon's had been. The man could've fucking died. The news makes a cold ripple go through Law. Now that he thought about it, he never saw Zoro's front. The man was being careful to not worry him like he probably did Sanji. He was too consumed with Corazon to take notice.
"You've been out for a few hours now, so his surgery should be in its final stages." Penguin leans forward on his knees and rubs his eyes tiredly. "We promised Sanji that if we got any news to tell him. He'd fight the nurses to go visit, if he has to."
Law's throat dries. "What time is it, anyway?"
Luffy whips out his phone. "It's ten after five."
Fuck. "I've been out for...over four hours?" And Zoro was still in surgery? That wasn't good.
Luffy bites his lip and tries to blink the tears away. He nods over to the Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo. "They came and got me just before one. I almost couldn't believe my ears when I heard the news. But when I came here and saw you…" He blows out a long stream of cool air, trying to stop himself from crying. "God, I was terrified. You had so many doctors and nurses fussing over you. It just reminded me of Ace and I..."
Luffy sighs shakily, giving him a rueful smile. "You know, I'm really tired of waking up to news of a fire in the middle of the night, where someone I love is hurt."
Law's heart drops at the words. God, he was such an insensitive idiot. How could he have reminded Luffy of the one thing he didn't want to get reminded of? The poor boy's mental state was probably shot to shit, having two of the closest people in his life in a hospital bed within a little over a week of each other.
And love? They yet to say the words to each other. They've felt it in the air, sure, but they've never voiced it. It's heartbreaking that the first time it's used is in a hospital room.
The surgeon stretches out his arms as best he can with the IVs attached to them, and Luffy melts into them, choking on a sob. Law feels his little heart racing against his chest as his own clenched with guilt. No matter how the events of the night unfolded, and how it wasn't Law's fault, this was not right. The younger did not deserve to be hurting so much like this because of his recklessness. It wasn't fair.
"I'm so sorry, Luffy," Law sighs deeply against Luffy's hair. He plants slow loving kisses on his hairline. "I'm sorry."
Luffy raises himself just high enough to get eye level with the surgeon. His eyes are wet but determined. "Stop apologizing to me."
Law furrows his brows slightly at the authority in his voice. Luffy holds his gaze levelly as he continues, "I don't know what happened to you, but something…something bad was happening at the Going Merry, wasn't it? And you were trying to figure it out."
He jerks his head in the other men's direction. "They told me you asked them to go with you as insurance or something. You wouldn't say that unless you were going into something risky."
Law studies him carefully. "If you knew, then...why did you say what you said earlier? About me not coming back?"
Luffy pulls away from him and gives him the best glower he can manage, which turns out to be an indignant pout. "A little payback of sorts..." His shoulders drop. "For scaring the living hell outta me."
There's another apology on his lips, but Luffy looks at him pointedly, and Law swallows it.
Shachi fidgets in the corner of Law's vision. "We should probably leave after all."
Luffy shakes his head. "No. Let's just...go visit Corazon, okay? I'm sure he's lonely in the recovery room without all of us. We've held him up long enough."
Penguin stands. "That's true. Law, can you walk?"
The surgeon finally reigns in his mind from Corazon's situation to tune in to his own body. There's pain for sure, but it's much duller than it was before. His nose vibrated with warmth from smashing it against the wooden bench in the van, and the side that got kicked tingled with medicine. The bullet wound on his shoulder nearly made him woozy with pain, but if he grit his teeth he could muster enough strength to drown out the feeling. Law could tell that there's been swelling in his face, but it seems to have gone down significantly. Then there were the burns that rattled his frame with hot, tender sores. Each and every one of them competed to see which could out-throb the other.
To be completely honest, Law didn't want to move. His body was nowhere near ready for him to be awake and walking about.
Yet here he was, sitting up in bed and having Luffy and Shachi support him on either side. Penguin moves to his side to yank out the tubes that disappear under his skin. He braces his hand on his forearm and gives him an apologetic glance.
"Sorry for this, Law. Grit your teeth."
The surgeon does as instructed, but still hisses at the sharp pain of the tube leaving him. Then it doubles. Triples. The Law squeezes his eyes shut and holds his breath, grimacing as he loses count.
Then it's over, and Law lets out the air in pained pants. "Shit," he curses, looking up and down his arms. Two punctures at both wrists and one at each elbow. What the fuck.
"You lost a lot of fluids," Bepo reminds quietly, watching Shachi and Luffy ease him onto his feet.
As Law finally stands up, supported by Luffy, he turns to Bepo as he continues. "Sometimes we have to add multiple to prevent burn shock, and make sure that proper amounts of oxygen return to the affected areas."
"Ah." The information makes his head pound. Standing makes his head pound. He just had a massive, never ending headache. "Could I get some water?"
Shachi grabs a half empty bottle from his bag and passes it to Luffy, who unscrews the top and hands it to Law. The surgeon partakes of the liquid greedily, rivulets of water crawling down to his chin and throat.
He sighs as he removes the bottle. "What room is Corazon in?"
"Recovery Room 7A," Bepo answers, standing. His tears are long gone, having dried them at Law's awakening. "Come on, I'll lead you all there."
The party makes way for the doctor, and he glides through them to the door. Penguin trails him, followed by Shachi. Luffy grunts under Law's weight as he tries to move, and Law tries to situate himself more on his own feet.
"It's okay. Lean," Luffy urges, wrapping his arm more firmly around Law's waist. "I can handle it."
Law laughs weakly as he takes a few steps forward with him. "Are you trying to say I'm fat? I'm hurt, Luffy."
They steadily walk through the door, held open for them by Penguin. Under him, Luffy scoffs sarcastically. "Yeah, I can see that."
Law frowns. Not the reaction he was going for. Luffy's been through a lot of shit- now was really not the time for jokes, as much as he wanted to lighten the mood to make the teen feel better.
They follow Bepo down the familiar hallways of the burn unit. Law chances a glance back at his door. He had been in Room 711. It's a hop and skip away from where Ace used to be. Law swallows thickly but returns to the front, where they pass rooms with increasing numbers.
Bepo turns into a dimly lit hall, just past the final doors of '720' and '721'. A gray sign above welcomes them into the area, reading 'Recovery Rooms'.
The blonde stops dead in his tracks at the sight before him, expression morphing into one of terror.
"What the hell..."
Penguin and Shachi join the blonde at his side, eyes going wide at the scene. "Good god..."
Luffy and Law exchange worried glances as they slowly catch up to the men, wondering what they're seeing that's got them so riled up. As they round the corner and face the short hall, Law makes a strangled sound in the back of his throat and tenses harshly against the teen. Luffy shakes beside him.
"What...the fuck is this?" Luffy whispers.
It's the body of a nurse sprawled out on the floor, blood haloing her body. There's a bullet between her eyes, and her face is frozen mid-scream.
Shachi and Bepo are by her side in an instant, checking desperately for signs of life, for any sort of movement, any reaction. Luffy's grip on him is painfully tight, but it grounds Law from dashing after his friends to check to see if she was okay. But it was so painfully obvious she wasn't.
The woman was dead.
Penguin's eyes slid to the door to his right, kicked down off its hinges. Law follows his gaze and feels cold grip his body. "That's...that's 7A," the surgeon breathes. He feels his heart beat at a merciless pace in his ears. No. No, no no, this wasn't happening. He was supposed to be fine, straight out of surgery, resting. He was supposed to be recovering.
Law wrestles out of Luffy's grip and beats Penguin through the door. Every hair on his body stood on end as he entered, panting. A curtain from the ceiling was pulled around the bed, masking the patient from prying eyes. As he approaches the curtain, the smell attacks his senses. It's familiar. Metallic. Law swallows thickly as he wrestles with the reality of it all. This had to be some sort of dream, and he was going to wake up any moment. The surgeon feels himself shaking as he brings up a clammy hand to draw back the cover. He goes so, so still at the scene before him.
Corazon laid on the bed with thick blood oozing over his chest. His trademark black feathers, dirted with red, cushioned him against the bed. Through the mess of soiled clothing, the floor under Law gives way as he sees a slew of bullet holes. There's so fucking many of them, and they riddle his entire torso mercilessly. It's needlessly cruel. Whoever did this wanted Corazon to suffer greatly before he died, but for some odd reason, the blonde had a peaceful smile on his face.
A smile!
"Look at what's in his hands," Penguin says softly, just a hair louder than the thick silence.
Law wrenches his eyes away from the blonde's face to his hands, which were slack by his sides on the bed. In his right lay his abandoned cellphone. Penguin glances up at him. "Is it possible he was…?"
The surgeon's fingers fly to his own phone, trembling hands unlocking it and discovering a new text from the blonde. Law's air leaves him as he opens the final message from his father.
i hope you're recovering well
my son💜 💜 im quite hurt
apparently, but the doctors here
are awesome. got me patched up in
no time~ 💜 we have so much to
talk about regarding what happened
tonight, but thats a convo for
another day. I can't wait to see
your smiling face again~ i miss you.
i love you. get back to me soon :((
God, he even said he loved him. The word was seldom exchanged between the two, because they didn't need it. They already knew. But seeing it in writing with such finalization made Law choke on his tears as they flowed silently down his face. There's a gaping hole in his chest as his mind finally comes to terms with the fact that his father was really gone from this world. The surgeon realizes that Corazon was, quite literally, his heart. He gave him the emotions to function in this shitty world, and he could sure as hell take them back. Because here Law was, empty, broken, and shaken to the core. His shoulders heave with quiet sobs, grieving over the loss of the beloved man. Penguin has given him space, and was inching towards the door with each passing second.
Through the blur of his tears, something catches his eye.
The surgeon braces himself against waves of pain as he wipes the wetness away with the back of his hand and takes in Corazon's body once more. He squints through the tears, blinking them out his eyes. Then it comes into focus.
And everything goes red.
There's a breathless moment when the world slows to a stop, and everything is so silent one could hear a pin drop. There's a growl in the quiet, so animalistic and dangerous and dark, and it's strange that it was coming from Law. "Penguin."
The man, whose hand was on the door handle, jumps at being summoned so threateningly. His eyes dart between Law's back and the edge of the bed where he sees Corazon's feet. "...Yes?" he squeaks.
"Come look at this."
The black haired nurse is left with no choice but to obey. Not that he could have refused regardless, but there was something about the way that Law said the command that made his limbs twitch from frightening anticipation.
When Penguin appears beside him, he studies Corazon closely. When he sees it, his eyes widen, and he turns to Law, jaw slack. "Is that..?"
Law nods, fury hardening his gaze. In his silent, red world, there's a gate with a lock. Thick tape, engraved with Corazon's smile, criss cross about the barricade, the words 'DO NOT OPEN' repeated on the plastic. Behind the iron bars stands a dangerous figure of swirling heat and flame. It smiles evilly.
The surgeon feels as though every cell in his body caught fire. "It is."
The figure pounds on its confinements, desperate to be let out. There's a foggy resemblance to Corazon standing a ways away from the bars, smiling teasingly as he twirls a ring with a key on his finger. The fiery form burns brighter, snarling at Corazon, and the blonde sticks out a tongue as he walks away, bouncing on his heels. Then the figure of Corazon disappears, and the keys drop to the floor. The form behind bars rejoices at the sight, but then Law's there to pick them up, and a scowl replaces his cheers. The surgeon looks between the lock before him and the keys in his dark hands, blackened with grief. The swirl of flame grins to wide it splits its face in two.
Usually, it would take Law remembering the blonde's smile to get the figure to calm down. Or he would recall the times they spent together growing up. Worked like a charm every time. As of late, Law would even show it his stubbornness to only show Luffy his best sides, and the figure would defeatedly slink back into the recesses of his memory, of his mind. Law had let it out just earlier that morning in the van with his captors, for the first time in a long time. The surgeon needed its ruthlessness if he wanted to live. It wreaked havoc, which saved his life, but Law ushered him back behind bars quickly. It being out for too long wasn't good- Law didn't want to break down what Corazon tried so hard to build up. The figure had protested, but reluctantly returned when it saw Law focusing on the situation at the Going Merry, earnest and genuinely worried.
But now it turned aggressive, raging savagely at the world with bared teeth, and it begged, no, it demanded to be let out. To be let loose once again. To continue its reign of terror from sixteen years back.
Law's eyes never leaves the object nearly hidden under the folds of dirty red feathers. It's not black like the others.
It's pink.
It's dipped in blood like the others, but it's an unmistakable pink. A recognizable pink. It's like a fuckin signature. It's like claiming this murder as a victory, his victory. Law knows that the feather was left there on purpose. That conniving man wouldn't be so thorough as to kill and leave behind such incriminating evidence without reason. It's almost as if the man was inviting, urging Law to come after him, to seek him out and discover the truth. The whole thing was a fucking game to him. He wanted to laugh as Law played along, dancing in the palm of his hand.
Because that's the type of man Doflamingo was.
"That's Doflamingo's feather, isn't it?"
Law doesn't turn to Luffy, who stood beside him. The teen had probably been there the entire time, pained as he took in the scene. Law was so blinded by anger, he never noticed.
Law isn't sure how he musters enough strength to speak. "It is. The fucker, he knows I'd fucking see this shit. I can't believe he…" His hands ball into fists so tight his entire arm shakes with the force.
"I'm so sorry, Law," Luffy says sadly, features pulled downward. The surgeon makes a sound of acknowledgment in the back of his throat. It's so unlike Law and it catches Luffy off guard. He wonders briefly what the older could be thinking, then doesn't, because that much should be obvious.
The teen draws in a shuddering breath. "He wants you to go after him."
At Law's stiff nod, Luffy gently touches his arm to try and ease the tension. It does nothing. "This might sound really messed up, but...I can't help but think this is some sort of trap."
"Funny," Law scoffs humorlessly. "Me too. It's a sick, twisted one, too. But Doflamingo fucking asked for it, so he's gonna fucking get it."
Penguin lets out a long string of colorful curses, turning away from the bed and heading towards the cloaked window. He pulls back the curtains slightly to watch the warming skies, and his body language is from back in the day. Calculating, poised. "Why would he do it?"
"To silence him." Law's words are flat and emotionless. "Corazon must have discovered something that he didn't like. Question is, what was it?"
Penguin furrows his brows. "Like the drug?"
"Worse," the surgeon frowns so deeply he probably left permanent lines. "The truth."
"Hey," Luffy interrupts suddenly, looking between the two of them with angry confusion. "What the fuck? Why are you guys acting so calm and rational about this? Corazon, he-" He turns a pointed glare in Law's direction. "Your dad just got killed, and you're acting like a detective in a murder mystery!"
Law almost laughs. Calm? Rational? There was nothing calm or rational about this at all. Everything inside him was imploding. His mind was so far gone that Law detached himself from it just to keep from going down with the sinking ship. Everything was cold, so freezing fucking cold from the ice that pumped through his veins at the sight. It chilled him to the bone and ripped out everything warm and right in the world.
The surgeon was about to lose a fucking grip on himself. On the Law that Corazon worked so hard to raise with love, the Law that craved human connection, the Law that lived as normally as possible, the Law that grew to be with Luffy. It was slipping, burning in the fire that was slowly making its way out from the gates within his mind. The silence around him grows to an almost deafening roar, and he hears himself speaking.
"Luffy."
The teen freezes at the way he says his name, and Penguin from the window purses his lips. He was used to this feeling, of being overwhelmed and terrified and compliant all at the same time, but Luffy was not.
"It's going to be okay," Law lies low through gritted teeth.
The surgeon turns from the bed, the cavern where his heart used to be throbbing painfully. His mind drains everything out to a numbing hum. Luffy's calling after him, but his cries fall victim to the silence. Shachi seemed to be trying to say something as well, but he too falls on deaf ears. After what seems like miles of walking, he gets to the door of the room and exits, closing his eyes. He hears nothing in his world of red for a long, long time.
Then finally, there's a sound in the silence.
The sound of a lock coming undone, falling to the ground in a heap of metal and chain. Maniacal laughter rings through his head, drunk on the giddy feeling of freedom. When Law opens his eyes, he's no longer the Law he should be, and he knows it.
"...Law?" Shachi calls out tentatively from the ground on his right. He's still with Bepo beside the woman, except with noticeably more bodies surrounding them. "Are you alright?"
The surgeon gives him a wary look. He wanted to sleep everything away. "No."
It's his voice, the dark undertones to it, that makes the redhead and blonde pause. They exchange troubled glances before standing. Bepo is serious as he marches past Law into the room, Shachi right on his heels. There's a strangled cry from within, and the doctors swarming the woman snap to the sound.
Law lets them do their thing as he stalks away, needing a breather from it all. He glares hard at the floor with his hands shoved in his pockets. His father has passed away. No, he was murdered. Murdered in cold blood, without remorse or sympathy. The blonde had even wanted to see him again, god damn it, but his life was brutally ripped away from him.
His head was nothing but flames.
I'm sorry, Corazon, he thinks, and there's regret. There's grief. There's remorse.
And there's an all encompassing rage.
I'm sorry I gave in to him, even after all you did to seal him away. His world turns a more vivid red.
But I don't think I'll be able to hold back this time.
⎡ END OF PHASE ONE ⎦
A/N: Did I mention this story would have phases? And that this was the first of three? ...No? Oopsies, haha~ I think the second part is the shortest, and the third part is...something else. Thank you for reading, as always. Until the next~
P.S. If you're having trouble imagining Law's inner mind turmoil thing, if you've watched Naruto, think of the jail Kurama was in. It's exactly that.
P.P.S. Fun fact. This chapter is what sparked the idea of this entire saga of a story, hence the title.