A/N: six chapters left! mild warning for gun violence.
54. Couldn't Ask For More
The Don Quixote Mansion
7PM
At last.
When Law steps down off the helicopter and onto the roof of the mansion, it's with great anticipation and adrenaline flowing through his veins. After what seemed like ages, he was finally, finally here.
Baby 5 and Buffalo seemed to share the same sentiment, stretching and yawning once they disembarked. "Those two hours passed by so slowly," Buffalo comments in a mumble.
"No thanks to Law talking our ears off," Baby 5 adds on, rubbing the back of her neck. "And nearly killing us."
Law rolls his eyes and makes his way to the door stationed in the middle of the roof. "After that bullshit you told me about Luffy, I really should've. Be grateful I spared your lives."
Baby 5 huffs and saunters over to the door after him. "Whatever. Anyway, he's in your old room. If you wanna see him, head there."
Law hums and opens the door, to which he's greeted by a group of the Family's underlings. They seemed to have been waiting for his arrival. Of course he expected some when they came, but not this many people. If Law wasn't so pissed he might've been thrown off guard.
The one in front gasps as the door opens to reveal sunlight and a frowning Law, sunglasses slipping down his face. "Oh my god, it's La-"
He didn't have time for this.
"Shut the fuck up," Law seethes, drawing the gun and pulling the trigger. The bullet snaps between his ribs, and he goes down with a scream, clutching his injured side. The others around him pause in shock for a few seconds before blinking up horridly at Law.
The man glares down at all of them. "Move out of my way or the rest of you are eating lead, too."
The woman beside her fallen comrade growls low in her throat. "As if! We're not letting you near the Family anymore, Law! You've caused too much-"
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Three shots to her legs, two in her right thigh, one in her left. She screams bloody murder as red bursts forth, staining her legs and tinting her hands. She goes down with a solid thump against the top of the staircase. The rest behind her yell out in terror as she bleeds out to death before them, scared hands covering their mouths.
Law walks over their bodies and continues down the stairway, tired of talking, only shooting. He didn't care anymore, whether these fools lived or died. Now, he was his epithet. Now, he was the Surgeon of Death.
No one was going to stand in his way of Luffy anymore.
"Ah ah," Baby 5 shakes her head to the chorus of screams and the barrage of bullets. "He's off the chain again."
"Just like good old times," Buffalo grins. "Kinda nostalgic, don't you think?"
"I guess," she murmurs, dodging as a riddled body flies over the edge of the railing and down to its demise below. "Can't say I'm completely against it."
"Damn extras." Law puts a bullet between the eyes of the final man in their way, then wipes the blood off his hands onto his shirt. He continues down the stairwell as though he had just walked through a serene garden. "Giving me a fucking headache."
"There were quite a lot," Buffalo notes, scanning the bodies behind them. "Came to intercept us, huh?"
"They must be insane if they think something like that is going to stop me." Law pockets his gun and opts for his sword, drawing it from its sheath and flashing it in the fluorescent lights. "You said he was in my old bedroom, right?"
Baby 5 nods, and Law snorts, pulling open a door to the main floor. "Doubt he's still there. Knowing those clowns, they've probably moved him somewhere else."
Buffalo raises a brow. "What makes you say that?"
Law motions for the duo to follow him into the hall. Empty. He looks around suspiciously, eyes flitting for any sign of Family members in the area. There are none.
"Because it's too quiet," he finally answers, slowly walking down the hallway. "It's like someone is holding their breath for something to happen."
"Law."
The man pauses and whirls to the sound of his name, teeth grit, hands steady. It's Viola, standing in the middle of the passageway, hands on her hips, looking mildly annoyed.
"Viola," Law growls, hackles rising. "Don't get in my way."
It comes off as a threat; the silent message must've gotten to her, because her eyes widen just a fraction, and she tenses.
"On the contrary," the woman lilts with a dangerous edge to her voice, "I'm not here to stop you. The Family isn't stupid, Law. we know why you're here."
She turns and juts her chin over her shoulder. "Follow me. I'll lead you to Luffy."
"What game are you playing?" Law asks, sword pointed at her. "Why in the world would I follow you?"
She turns to study him, eyes giving nothing away. "Like I said, we aren't idiots. We know what you've come here for...why wait until you've killed half our staff before giving you what you want?"
She turns and starts walking down the hallway, waving a hand behind her. "Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but do you really want to waste your time exploring this place top to bottom? Our castle isn't exactly small."
Law stares after her retreating back, feeling conflicted.
Baby 5 touches his shoulder lightly, coming close to his ear. "Law, that has got to be a trap."
"Yeah!" Buffalo chirps.
"I agree," Law nods, sighing, lowering his sword. "But she has a point. I want to get to Luffy as soon as possible. I don't have time to waste dawdling around here."
"So what are you going to do?" Baby 5 inquiries softly.
Law's shoulders relax, sword now pointed to the floor. His brows furrow in worry, eyes steeled. He needed to get to Luffy no matter what. Even if that meant willingly walking into a trap.
"What else can I do?" He sheaths his sword and begins walking after his former comrade. "I'll follow her."
Buffalo and Baby 5 share concerned looks behind him before following as well, unsure of what else to do.
Law looks around to the pristine stone walls and the high ceiling above them and the doors passing on his left and right, and memories from his childhood almost overload him. He remembers these walls like the back of his hand, remembers growing up and living here. The familiarity brings back memories he'd rather not remember. It makes his insides squirm with it all.
But he was here for Luffy. For him, he'd endure anything.
Viola stops before a door after a sizable stroll through their home, looking down at the knob with something akin to confliction. Law raises a brow at her strange behavior. "Viola? Is Luffy in here, in the Main Hall?"
She bites her lower lip. "Yes."
"Then open the door."
Instead she looks up at him, then looks past him. "...Where did Baby 5 and Buffalo go?"
"Huh?"
When Law looks behind him, he discovers he is alone. Frowning, he returns to Viola. "Doesn't matter where they've gone. Frankly, I don't care. I just want to see Luffy."
"Okay…" Viola trails off, opening the door. "But don't say I tried to stop you."
Law tosses her a quizzical stare as he enters the threshold. "What do you mean, tried to stop-"
He pauses mid-sentence. He was being watched.
Narrowed eyes scan the- at face value- vacant room, drawing his sword almost instantly. He was being watched by quite the amount of people, and it makes ice run down the length of his spine. It's uncomfortable being stared down by so many, and on all sides of him as well. It makes the hair on his arms all stand on end, makes the alarm bells in his head go off.
But everything dwindles down to moot, because there, chained down to the heart seat in the middle of the room, is Luffy.
Everything stops in this moment. The world comes to a pause, the eyes aren't on him anymore, Viola is no longer behind him. It's only him and Luffy and Luffy and him, and no one else mattered, because he was here. Finally he sees him, finally they reunite.
His heart beats achingly in his chest as he takes in the sight of his lover bandaged, bleeding, and restrained, but otherwise alive. He breathes out a soft breath of relieved air, thankful that Luffy was alright in the barest sense. It makes all of his struggles seem worth it, now he was just a breath's walk away.
Suddenly, the door behind him closes.
Law spins around to see the door behind him shut, with Viola on the other side of it. When he goes to test the knob, he discovers it's locked. Great. Now he was stuck in here by himself, aside from Luffy. Was this the trap that Baby 5 warned him of?
Ignoring the feeling of the eyes on him, he instead slowly makes his way to Luffy, thanking his lucky stars that he's able to see him again. He stops in front of the heart chair and kneels down before it, hands ghosting over Luffy's cuffed wrists.
"Hey," he says softly, squeezing his cold fingers. "Luffy."
Upon further examination, Law discovers a gag within Luffy's mouth. Vaguely wondering why someone would take the time to gag him, he reaches out with gentle hands and removes the ball from his lips. His anger is doused by worry.
"Luffy," he repeats, stroking his sore cheek, "wake up. Are you alright?"
Luffy stirs with a groan, head rolling off to the side. He cracks open one eye, then two, blinking a few times groggily. Upon realizing exactly who was before him, his eyes fly open in shock.
"Law!" he shrieks, jerking up in his cuffs. Emotion overcomes Law, and he bends forward and crushes Luffy in a large hug, counting his blessings that his lover was warm here in his arms, breathing into his neck, crying happy tears.
He can't help a few tears pricking at his own eyes as well, swallowing thickly in his throat. "I missed you, idiot," he whispers into his dirty locks.
Luffy sniffles, and Law feels his tiny heart beat wildly against his chest. "Me too. Thank you for coming."
"Stupid, of course I would've come." Law releases him and wipes a tear away from his gorgeous eyes. "I love you too much to leave you."
Luffy's breath gets caught in his throat. "Law..."
Just as he's about to say something else, a bullet whizzes past his arm, just brushing against the wood of Luffy's chair. Luffy jerks up at the sound, eyes bulging as though remembering something.
"Oh, right, Law," Luffy says in a hurried whisper. "The Family is hiding in the room, you're surrounded by-"
"Dellinger," Law warns in a low voice, not turning around. "What if that had hit Luffy? What the fuck are you trying to do?"
Luffy looks past Law in confusion. "Dellinger?"
A bubbly laugh comes from the shadows, followed by the feminine footsteps of a man. "Oh man, it missed."
Law stands straight and draws his sword. "Since you're out, the rest of you all might as well come and join the party."
Various family members, each with a lethal weapon of choice, emerge from shadows and fixtures around the room. Viola is among them- it seems as though she had slipped into the shadows with them rather than locked herself out of the room. Law glares at her, to which she returns with a smile.
Law turns to Luffy with a soft smile. "Stay right here."
Luffy spits out blood, then cracks a strained smile. "Like I could go anywhere, anyway."
Law snorts, then grips his sword with a vengeance. He rushes the woman despite bullets flying past him, clipping his arms and legs. Viola steps back, gun shaky in her hand as she shoots at him. He deflects a few with his sword, then sheaths it and pulls out his own gun in the same breath. Once he reaches her, he wraps a hand around her neck and pushes the barrel to her head.
"Stop shooting," he orders in a booming voice, "or she gets it."
"Now, now, Law," Diamante supplies, stepping into the limelight. "Let's all be civil here."
"Civil?" Law practically spits. "Civil my ass. You all have fallen below scum. I can't be civil."
Pica stops beside him, lazily fingering his weapon. "Law, let's talk about this. Let go of Viola."
The poor woman trembles in his grip, and Law only pushes the metal further into her ear, scowling. "No. You let go of Luffy first."
"You know we can't do that," Gladius says, sword in hand. Señor Pink appears behind him, nodding in agreement.
Law scans his enemies. "Where's the rest of the Family?"
"None of your business," Diamante clips.
"Not here," Viola chokes, coughing. "They didn't want to do this so they left."
"Heh," Law smirks, "smart choice."
He shifts so Viola gets more air, and the woman sucks in greedily, licking her lips and clawing at Law's forearm. Law's dark eyes meet the Family's, glowering dangerously. "So. Anyone care to tell me what warranted all of this? Kidnapping him, hurting him, marking him, and for what? Just to talk to me? Or did you want me to blow all your faces off, is that it?"
Pica swings his flail over his shoulder and huffs down at Law. "Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? You're a fucking snowflake now, Trafalgar Law. Look at you, getting all worked up over a teenage boy."
"The Law of sixteen years ago wouldn't have been so soft," Señor Pink adds on. "You've changed, and for the worst."
"Not to mention the bullshit you pulled with Doffy," Diamante snarls, hands shaking as they ball into fists. "You've ruined him forever."
"You've done many things to piss us off," Gladius concludes with a frown. "Don't act like you have no idea what's going on."
"So because of a stupid reason like that, you hurt my boyfriend," Law says in a trembling voice. "Because of that, you laid your hands on him and hurt him."
"Well of course," Diamante grins wide. "There's such a serious reason, after all."
The Family laughs at him then, giggles and chuckles and guffaws alike. They ridicule and point at him, eyes crinkling up at the corners at his despair. Law feels his blood boil, anger within him bursting at the seams. The gun in his hand shakes from fury, and he can see red along the edges of his vision. It's as though they forgot he has a hostage.
How dare they.
How dare they.
Then…
His finger tightens on the trigger.
...It was only right he take down one of their own as well.
"...Law?" Dellinger manages between giggles.
He steadies his grip as the woman in his arms thrashes about more, desperate kicks to his legs, hands clawing at him with a newfound energy. "Please don't, Law," Viola begs, "please forgive me, I didn't want to-"
Law shuts up her with a bullet to her head, right into her ear. She falls limp within his grip, blood flowing from the injury, eyes rolling back in her head. Luffy watches with horrified eyes, jaw dropped in complete shock. Law lets her fall to the ground, kicking her body for good measure.
"There," Law grunts, bending down to wipe the reddened barrel off with her shirt. "Now we're even."
There's no sound from anyone in the room for a long, long time. Law rolls lazy eyes up to the Family members, who all stare in a mixture of terror and anger. "What, did you expect otherwise?"
"No," Diamante drawls with a lick of his lips. "It just means that our Law is slowly coming back to us."
Law grunts and stands, pocketing his gun and redrawing his sword. "You asked for me? Then you're gonna get me."
Diamante draws his own sword, aiming it at the man. "I couldn't ask for more."
7:20 PM
Luffy can't believe Law killed a person right before his eyes.
It leaves a sick feeling in his stomach, makes him want to throw up and wash his eyes of the murder. But he can't do either, he's stuck in a chair, bleeding and in pain, while his lover fights to the death before him. He didn't want to believe the story Koby told him about Law and his past, didn't want to listen to Zoro's inability to trust him, didn't believe the rumors. Because Law was a good person.
But here he was, proving himself to be a murderer.
Luffy feels sick.
After a quick exchange of words, the men all attacked at once from all sides, surrounding Law in a death circle of sorts. How Law managed to parry and dance around all of them Luffy has no idea, but he has to look away as Law manages to strike and stab with one hand, and aim and shoot his gun with the other.
Despite how good he seemed to be doing, the Family seemed to know his tricks. It was as though they saw right through his attacks, meeting every thrust with one of their own, dodging his bullets and returning their own fire. His heart went out to Law; he wanted nothing more but for him to be safe and sound, but alas, he was fighting a battle with his former Family that, despite all odds, he might lose.
Lose. As in he would die.
Luffy can't have that.
There's pain in his chest from watching him fight, watching him struggle, and Luffy can't take it. It's too much for him, but what could he do? He was useless here, bound to the chair, hurt beyond belief. He couldn't do anything to help Law, no matter how much he wanted to. All he could do is scream at him to not give up, to keep going, to kick their asses.
He was useless.
Luffy let this new truth sink in along with his dread. He continues watching his love fight, nails curving bloody crescents into the meat of his palms, eyes blurring with tears.
"Law…" he whispers. "Please be okay."
7:25 PM
Another Part of the Don Quixote Mansion
"The fighting is showing no signs of slowing down, huh?"
Baby 5 scowls at Buffalo as she stomps away from the Main Hall. "That's none of my business."
Buffalo hums and walks behind her. "You know, if you hate it so much, why not try to stop it?"
Baby 5 stops and whirls on him. "Are you crazy? Why would I go in there? Do you want to get killed?"
"Of course I don't," Buffalo says with an obvious annoyance.
Baby 5 shakes her head. "I'm not about to become the target of Law's bloodlust any earlier than I have to be, Buffalo." She lowers her eyes. "Although…I do want to help him. I just...this is just too much. I can't stand our family sometimes, you know? They're so heartless and cruel."
"But you were the same way when you met him in the warehouse," Buffalo points out.
Baby 5 frowns deeply at him. "Shut up! I can't act how I want to around here or I'll get in trouble, you know this!"
Buffalo snickers. "You really act colder towards the people you care about the most, huh?"
"Shut up!"
She continues stomping down the hallway, Buffalo right on her heels. As they get further and further away from all the action, Baby 5 calms down a bit, looking thoughtful.
"I wonder if the Revolutionaries got my message..."
"Revolutionaries?" Buffalo questions.
"Yeah," Baby 5 sighs, "the people I was talking about to Law earlier."
Buffalo looks shocked. "They exist?"
"Duh, idiot. Why are you so behind on the times?" Baby 5 chuckles.
Buffalo tsks and crosses his arms. "Ok, fine, they exist. So what about them? Have you been in contact or something?"
"What? No," she hastily denies. "I just hope they picked up my little hint, wearing my coat with the Doflamingo logo while taking Luffy on his walk earlier."
Baby 5 lowers her gaze. "I don't know any of them personally, but I know they're everywhere...I felt eyes on me while walking him."
"I see," Buffalo murmurs.
Baby 5 nods. "They're the type to bring help when help is needed. If they recognized the logo and saw that I was with someone who wasn't in the Family, I'm sure they'd connect the dots. I hope."
"Let's hope," Buffalo agrees as he turns the corner, following the woman. "Also...where are we going?"
"We're going to get Luffy out of there," she responds with a grit in her voice. "If Luffy really is Law's weak spot, then he won't be able to fight too seriously with him in the way. Let's at least do that for him."
"But how are we going to do that?" Buffalo asks.
Baby 5 tosses him a grin. "I have no idea. But we're going to do it anyway."
"Baby 5!"
7:30 PM
In the Helicopter, En Route to Dressrosa
"Are we there yet?"
"Only halfway," Koala sighs, bonking Sabo on the head. "Hold your horses, Sabo. You'll need that energy for when we arrive."
Sanji looks up tiredly. "Can you blame him, though? After learning what happened to Luffy, I'd be anxious to get there too."
"Exactly!" Sabo says almost pleadingly to Koala. "My brother senses have been tingling nonstop! They're never wrong!"
"While I'll admit fault in this situation," Koala relents, rubbing her temples, "I hope you're wrong and Luffy is actually alright."
"He's not," Sabo mutters, "I can tell."
After telling Sabo about the current affairs with Luffy, his anger towards Barty has all but dissipated. Worry has taken over his emotions now, lined by a thick veil of anger. And of course he was angry- Luffy was in hot shit at the moment, and who knows what he was up to now.
With a sigh Sabo turns to him. "Barty."
"Yeah?"
"You mentioned that Luffy was kidnapped," Sabo starts, "but you never said why. The Family has no reason to target him."
"Maybe because he was the one who fought alongside Law to defeat Doflamingo?" Zoro offers.
Sabo shakes his head. "They couldn't have known that...right?"
"That Family of Law's, they probably do know," Kidd grumbles. "That might be the reason."
"Everything ties back to my brother's boyfriend, huh..." Sabo sighs.
Zoro arches a brow. "Wait, you knew he used to be with them?"
"Yeah," Sabo nods, "for a while, too."
Barty thinks back to the time right before they left to go to raid Kaido and Doflamingo's hideout.
"Don't worry," Sabo says softly. "I only looked you up to make sure you were a good guy. For Luffy's sake."
"I don't mind your background, Law. Shachi. Penguin. Bepo." He sighs. "You guys were just kids after all, being coerced into that stuff. However..." He fixes Law with a serious stare.
"I just hope that it doesn't come back to bite you in the ass one day."
Guess he has known for a while.
"Ah," Zoro says, as though remembering as well, "I guess that's true."
"At the time, I thought it would be harmless," Sabo groans, running a hand through his hair, "but obviously I was wrong."
"Well whatever the reason," Koala says firmly, "we're getting him back. No need to talk about the details."
"Right," Barty agrees, "let's just hurry."
"Only twenty-five more minutes until we get there guys," Koala says, giving the men in the back a thumbs-up. "Just buckle up and hold on! We'll be there soon."
A/N: thanks for reading! until the next!
P.S. the best part of this chapter to write was the reunion scene. man, i just want them to be happy :((
P.P.S. ngl these chapters are getting harder and harder to write as i reach the end. . how the heck was i once able to churn out 5k a day once?
