A/N: four more ahhhh! And two chapters in a week? wild. another warning for blood this chapter...theres a lot of it.


56. The Advantage


8:00 PM

The Don Quixote Mansion

It's clear who has the advantage.

Law grins against the blood and pain as he knocks Diamante to the floor, stabbing him hard in his stomach. The man screams and retaliates with a gunshot that whizzes by the air between Law's shoulder and ear. Law grins and twists the blade in his gut, relishing the squelch of blood.

"You bastard," Diamante growls, holding onto the blade and tugging it out of him. Law allows the action, backing away and swiping the sword towards the ground to get rid of the blood. He then raises the blade with a devilish look and slices open his calves, sending a spray of blood all over his chest. Diamante screams and grabs his injured legs, blood spilling over his fingers.

But the man manages to stand regardless, gritting his teeth against the pain. He lands a punch in Law's chest, sending him spiraling backwards. Law spits out blood, coughing afterwards because of the smoke in the air. Though he had the advantage, Law wasn't in the best shape ever— his limbs feel heavy and he feels lightheaded from all the blood he lost. Not to mention the stab wound in his shoulder. The only thing keeping him going now was pure adrenaline. In all honesty, he felt like he was going to collapse at any moment.

But if he was going down, he would take the oaf with him.

Law roars and raises his blade, slashing down across Diamanté's chest. The man falls to the floor with a large crash, screaming out in pain. He starts crawling away from him, making desperate little movements to put distance between himself and his pursuer. Law watches with a dangerous gleam in his eyes, following him slowly to soak up the feeling.

"G-Get away from me," Diamante pants, wiping blood from his mouth. Law ignores him and gets close enough to kick him in the stomach, sending him tumbling over himself and crashing into a nearby wall of flames. Upon catching fire the man shrieks, and the sound is music to Law's ears.

Not enough.

He kicks the man back into the fire as he tries to get away.

Not enough.

He slices up his arms so he can't drag himself anymore. He lays with his body half in the flames, and the smell of burning flesh fills his nostrils.

Not enough.

Law's smile takes up his whole face, and then he's laughing, almost giggling at the fact that Diamante was dying. He sheaths his sword and takes to physical blows, punching and kicking the broken man, unleashing his rage and anger for Luffy upon his body.

"You will pay," Law growls, pummeling him much like he did to Law earlier. "You will pay."

As Diamante falls limp under his attacks, he laughs hysterically. "You did all this to me not too long ago, huh? Funny how things turn around. It's nice seeing you all bloodied up and shit. It fits you."

The man below him is a mess of red, but Law's fists don't stop. Even when he hears bones crack they don't stop. Even when the man opens his chapped lips to beg for mercy, Law doesn't stop. Fuck, he might even get off to the tears on his face, they were so deserved, so right.

This is what he gets.

But then he hears a voice.

His fist pauses in its downward advance, eyes narrowing as his gaze veers towards the hallway. "Who's there?"

"Law? Is that you?"

The tension seems to leave his body all at once. Law turns completely to the area, surprise on his features, shocking him out of his murderous rampage.

"Sabo?"


A Few Minutes Prior

"Yo, is that a fucking fire?" Kidd wonders aloud.

Barty looks out the window and makes a low whistle. "Shit, you're right."

The party of the Revolutionaries have finally arrived at the Don Quixote mansion, helicopter landing right next to the one already stationed on the roof. Zoro and Sanji are the first ones off, followed by Sabo and Koala, then by Kidd and Barty.

Sabo frowns at the fire, then peers into the broken doorway leading down into the building. "Guys, come look at this."

"Holy-" Zoro gasps, bringing a hand to his mouth. "What the hell happened here?"

Bodies.

Slumped bodies filled the stairway, the stench of blood almost overpowering. It looks like they've been shot. Sanji gags, holding onto Zoro's shoulder for stability.

"That's awful..." Koala mutters. She bends down and inspects one of them, brows drawn together in worry. She's not there for long before straightening. "They're dead."

Kidd makes a strangled sound in his throat. "Who could've done this?"

"I have no idea." Sabo steps over them carefully. "But I have a bad feeling about this. Let's go."

"It couldn't be Law...right?" Sanji says under his breath. "There's no way Law would do all of this."

"I've no idea," Zoro answers truthfully, "we're gonna have to find out."

The group slowly maneuvers through the crowded stairwell, exiting through the first door they see. Beyond the door was smoke; something major had to be happening on the floor. Sabo is the one who burst through first, motioning with his head for the group to follow.

"According to the map, this way should lead to the Main Hall," Koala announces, pointing towards the thick of the smoke.

Barty coughs. "When the hell did you get a map?"

The woman smiles at him. "The same Revolutionary that spotted the Don Quixote insignia earlier was able to scout the place out and draw us a rough map." She flexes the paper in her hands, squinting at it. "He wrote as a note that the Family members usually hang around here a lot, but I don't see anyone."

"That's because there's a fire, smart one," Kidd growls. "Why the hell would they stay around?"

"Or," Zoro butts in, looking deep into the flames. "Maybe they've been beaten."

"The hell do you mean, beat-"

The sound of flesh striking flesh greets them, and everyone goes deathly silent. Over the roar of the fire, there was certainly a pounding sound, resonating over and over again. Sabo makes a motion for everyone to stay quiet, and he creeps forward by himself. The rest follow behind at a steady pace, exploring the place with their eyes and ears, jumping back from the billowing flames that managed the escape from the big room.

"There's a hole in the wall ahead," Sabo says. "That's where most of the flames are."

"Will you be okay?" Koala asks, tapping his shoulder lightly.

Sabo reaches for her hand and squeezes. "I'll be fine. The rest of you, watch out for anyone coming near."

Kidd huffs. "Like I need to be told what to do."

Sabo smiles at him before turning to face the fire. There was a small opening devoid of flames, and Sabo peeks through it, wondering if anyone might still be in the deteriorating room.

His eyes widen. "No way..."

"What is it?" Sanji asks sharply. "Do you see someone?"

"Not just someone," Sabo grumbles, "it's Law!"

"Law?" Zoro repeats, brows furrowed. "What is he doing in there?"

"I'm about to find out." Sabo jumps through the area where the flames were absent, clenching his teeth against the edges of the fire that happened to lick him. He quickly pats out the heat on his clothes, then turns to Law.

He almost can't believe what he sees.

The man looks an absolute mess, something straight out of a gory movie. There's more blood than skin, more red than clothing. He straddles a man that Sabo recognizes as one of the top Family members, and repeatedly punches him with heavy fists. His stomach sinks as he hears cracks with every strike, when he hears surges of blood with every hit.

Law turns quickly in his direction. "Who's there?"

The blonde feels every nerve in his body tighten with danger. "Law? Is that you?"

The man freezes, recognition fitting across his face. "Sabo?"

The two stare at each other for a long moment, but the silence is broken by the sounds of the other men and lone woman filing into the room.

"God, it's like a horror scene in here," Barty notes, taking in the bodies littered across the floor. "I wonder what happened."

Sanji almost does a double take. "Gah! Is that Law?"

"Yeah," Zoro says, voice stony, "it is."

"What the hell happened, Law?" Kidd asks, "where's Luffy?"

Law gets up from the man below him reluctantly, staring at them as if it were the first time seeing them. He opens his mouth to say something, but he's suddenly cut off by a hand wrapping around his ankle.

"You a revolutionary dog now, boy?" Diamante asks brokenly, smirking through his obvious pain. "Oh how the mighty have fallen."

Law's eyes swivel down to Diamante, dark with bloodlust. He grabs his sword, and with a blur of metal, offs the offending hand. Koala gasps as the useless limb falls to the floor in a mess of sliced muscle and bone, blood spewing from the injury.

"Law," Sabo says in a low tone, "what're you-"

Then Law brings out his gun, and takes aim.

The revolutionaries are too shocked to move, and even if they did, they were too late, anyway. Law fires. One, two, three shots into his body. Five shots. Eight.

It's on the ninth that a hand clamps over his own, stopping him. "That's enough," Zoro grits, glaring at him. "What the fuck are you doing? You just killed a man."

Law looks at him lifelessly. "It's what he deserved."

Sanji's hands are on his shoulders, pulling him back. "We need to get out of here! The fire is gonna trap us in any minute now!"

"Sanji is right," Koala clips, eyes worried but voice business. "We can talk later."

"The rest of them..." Kidd motions to the bodies around the room. "Did you kill them as well?"

Law looks at him with haunted eyes. "And if I did?"

"Jesus," Sanji murmurs, tugging further on his shoulders. "Let's talk more after we leave. We've got to go."

Law's gaze flickers down to Diamante, whose mouth was dropped open in a silent scream, body riddled with holes. "But-"

"Enough, Law," Sabo says softly, standing between the corpse and his ally. "He's dead."

"That's not good enough." Law shrugs off Sanji and pushes past Zoro. "I need to...I need to-"

Sabo curls his fingers into a fist and punches Law's right temple. Hard.

"Sabo! What're you doing?" Koala shrieks.

Law's head jerks back sharply, earning a tired groan from the man. He soon begins to sink to his knees, but is captured by Sabo, who holds him up gently. "Knocking him out," he responds, frowning. "He was going to kill himself at this rate. I've seen eyes like his- he won't stop until he's forced to."

"Was that really the right choice though?" Zoro comes up behind him, looking down at Law's slumped form. "He'll be pissed at you once he wakes up."

Sabo purses his lips. "We'll deal with that later. For now, let's leave before it's too late."

He turns to his comrades. "I want the priority to move all the bodies out of the room. No matter their crimes, they don't deserve this as their final resting place."

"Hah?" Kidd challenges, "we're not here just to get ordered around, man."

Sabo smiles. "I wasn't talking to you."

A sound behind them alerts their attention. The men and Koala all turn to see a young woman with a crowd of people behind her, all dressed in the Revolutionary uniform, giving Sabo a salute.

"Right away sir!" the woman in front complies with a grin.

Sanji blinks at her. "You're...if I remember right..."

"Bea," the woman introduces with a light bow, "I'm glad to be here."

"How the hell did you get here?" Kidd questions roughly.

Bea ignores his tone and smiles at him. "We weren't too far behind your heli. Didn't Sabo mention backup coming?"

All eyes turn to Sabo, and the man rubs the back of his neck with his free hand not holding Law up. "I swear I did..."

Koala only shakes her head with a light laugh. "Typical Sabo."

"Anyway." Sabo readjusts Law, carrying him piggyback style, limp arms hanging loosely over his shoulders. "I leave the cleanup to you. Get out of here once it becomes too dangerous, alright?"

"Sir yes sir!" the group responds, immediately getting to work.

"Alright," Sabo grins, "that's our cue. Let's go!"

"Wait," Koala announces quickly, "I think I'm gonna stay behind after all."

"Koala?" Sanji looks worried. "Why?"

"Who's gonna lead them to the exit?" she questions, clutching the map in her hands. "They're gonna need someone who knows this place inside out like we do, Sabo."

The blonde inhales deeply, then lets it out through his mouth. "You're not gonna say no to this, are you?"

When Koala firmly shakes her head, Sabo runs a hand through his hair. "Fuck," he curses, looking off to the side. "God, okay. Okay. Barty!"

The man snaps to attention. "Yes?"

"You stay behind too."

"Wait what?" he whines, "why?"

Sabo looks deep into his eyes, completely serious. "Protect her."

Barty looks at a loss for words. "But-"

"Please."

Barty opens his mouth then shuts it before sighing. "Fine. Fine, whatever."

Sabo physically relaxes at that. "Thank you."

Koala runs over to Sabo. "You guys be careful too, alright?" She gets on her tippy toes and plants a kiss on his cheek that gets Sabo blushing despite everything. Koala's face shows nothing but concern as she comes back down. "Alright?"

"Of course," Sabo agrees, voice soft with affection. "We're off."

As the group walks back through the broken hole in the wall leading to the hallway, Barty pouts with crossed arms. "Damn, I wanted to help Luffy."

Koala looks at him pointedly. "If you have time to complain, you have time to help Bea and the rest. Now go!"

Barty grumbles under his breath as he stumbles over to a body in the heat of the room, bending to begin the process of moving it out of harm's way.

Back with the other group that just left the room, Sabo smiles awkwardly at Sanji and Zoro. "Sorry, you two," he begins, "but I'll need your help with my stupid brother again."

"No problem," Zoro returns the grin, "I've always had to clean up after his ass, anyway."

"Agreed," Sanji says with a knowing shake of the head. "That Luffy, he's always needing our help for something."

Kidd only grumbles to himself, something along the same lines. Sabo nods and starts off to the hallway, Law heavy on his back.

But then someone appears.

Sabo almost chokes on air. "Cavendish! Is that you?"

The blonde stands panting in the ruins of the passage, holding a hand to the wall to support himself. "Yeah," he manages between gulps of air, "it's me."

Sabo looks like he wants to drop Law and hug him. "You're finally here! Great!"

"Who is he?" Sanji leans in to whisper in Sabo's ear.

"An ally," he returns, grin widening. He gives the man a once over, and the grin turns strained. "You look like you've been running," Sabo notes with worry. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Cavendish waves off the worry, "but more importantly, you want to see Luffy right?"

That gets Kidd's attention. "Hell yeah we do. Where is he?"

Cavendish turns. "Follow me. I'll lead you all to him. He's with some Family members at the moment."

Zoro stiffens. "Family members?"

"I'll explain on the way there."

As Sabo's group runs off with the blonde, Barty stares at them from inside the room, mouth dropped open.

"Was that Cavendish?" he asks, emotion filling him. "God, I think that was."

"Focus," Koala chides, slapping him across the head. "You can kiss and makeup with your ex later. We've got work to do."

"Fine," Barty grumbles, rubbing the back of his head. "Not like I wanted to talk to him or anything..."

Another female voice laughs off in the distance. "You're not fooling anyone, Barty."

"Oh shut up, Bea!"


A/N: thanks for reading!

P.S. barty and cavendish were mentioned a looooong time ago as lovers. back in *checks notes* ch 27. wow.