Part VI: Enemy Lines

He could feel the heat slowly dissipating from beside him. He was groggy, a strange and metallic taste in his mouth. He blinked sleepily, his body inexplicably sore and stiff. He opened his eyes, his black lashes fluttering heavily. He was in a large bedroom, fancy and impeccably decorated.

There was pressure on his neck. He ran his fingers over the sleek metal, slowly remembering when it had first been put on him. It was slim and cold and heavier than it ought to be. He laughed humorlessly, his voice vibrating through the metal. Slowly, everything was coming back to him.

He sat up, the white, unbelievably soft sheets, pooling at his bare waist. He tried to stand but his legs gave out and he collapsed to the cold, hard marble and pearl floor. Even the fucking tile was impeccable. He hissed in discomfort, one of his legs held awkwardly above him.

He reached up and touched the chain tethered to his ankle. He examined the lock, realizing quickly it was practically crack-proof. His ankle was bruised terribly where the metal rubbed against his skin. It surprised him; he regenerated with such ease, but he was bruised?

The exquisite French doors opened and a butler entered the room. He looked from the empty bed to Law spilled onto the floor and let out a flustered gasp, "Sorry, I didn't realize you were awake."

Law pulled the fluffy comforter off the bed to cover his nakedness. He nodded, closing his eyes in embarrassment, "What are you doing in here?"

"Your breakfast," the man said simply, placing the tray on the table on the opposite side of the bed. He looked from the bed to Law unsurely. "Do you… do you need… help?"

Law realized the wide berth he'd been given, not out of privacy but out of fear. Law smiled, his yellow eyes nearly glowing in the dim light. "I'm fine, but if you could," Law drawled, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Could you open the blinds?"

The butler nodded, "Of course."

Law climbed back onto the bed, noting how wonderful the breakfast smelled. Law tossed the comforter into a ball and crawled across the massive bed. He was fairly certain that no one could need such a large bed, ever.

He watched the butler opening the blinds as he pulled the tray of food onto his lap. There was a fresh flower on the wooden tray and the food was served on fine China. Law stared from his eggs to the spoon provided in amusement, "No fork?"

"Ah, no, I'm sorry," the butler replied, drawing the curtains neatly aside.

"You realize I don't need a fork to kill you, right?" Law murmured lowly, relishing the sweat that beaded down the man's temple. "I wouldn't need a spoon for that matter, either."

"The young Master will return shortly," the butler announced, backing toward the closet, his eyes on Law. He assembled a tasteful black ensemble, "He wishes you to wear this today."

Law rolled his eyes and threw himself back to the bed. He grabbed the frittata from the plate and chewed it messily in bed, not caring where the crumbs fell. "Do you need assistance getting to the bath?"

Law turned in confusion, "I can't very well reach it from here, can I?"

"Ah, I see, remember," the butler said softly, removing a pin from a large bar at the foot of the bed. Several more yards of chain spilled out from inside the bar. "You remove this and it releases more, uh, chain…"

Law felt his cheeks fill with warmth. His memory was still foggy. Law nodded, "I can manage from here."

"Ring the bell if there's anything you need," the butler insisted, backing toward the double doors. He gestured with his hand to the pull cord beside the bed, "Anything at all. I'm at your service."

"Wanna let me out then?" Law chuckled humorlessly. The man didn't even bother to reply. The doors clicking shut behind him were answer enough.

Law looked around the elegant room in confusion, wracking his brain. Finally he couldn't hold it in any longer. He growled in frustration, kicking the side table and scattering his breakfast across the floor, "Where the fuck am I?!"

He heard movement behind the door and stood as Doflamingo Donquixote entered the room. Doflamingo smiled, tossing his jacket over one of the fine chairs along the wall. He looked at the mess of thrown food and grinned even wider, "Breakfast not to your taste?"

"What…?" Was all Law managed to say. He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest uncomfortably.

"I wasn't gone long," Doflamingo murmured, placing his wallet in a crystal bowl. "Did you miss me? Is that why you're throwing tantrums?"

"I did not…!" Law shouted, his eyes closing. He licked his lips and sat down on the bed, facing the wall of windows. "And I wasn't throwing a tantrum I was-"

"Go shower," Doflamingo interrupted, speaking over Law. "Get dressed. We're leaving soon."

"Where are we going?" Law asked, standing again unsurely.

Doflamingo smiled, "Wanna get married and honeymoon somewhere warm and sandy?"

"What?! No… that's…"

"I'm just fucking with you," Doflamingo breathed out, shaking his head. "That's disgusting. Go shower. You're disgusting." Law walked around the bed, tripping when a bit of his chain wrapped around the leg of the bed. He stumbled and hit the wall with his hand, catching himself. Doflamingo laughed, tossing himself into one of the chairs. "Hurry. Go on."

Law jumped when he saw his own reflection in the mirror. His face was covered with dried blood. His teeth were stained pink. There was bruising all over his body and flakes of long dried blood.

Law leaned heavily against the sink vanity. He tried to remember the last thing he, well, remembered. He turned on the sink and rinsed his mouth, spitting back into the basin. He looked at his reflection critically; he pulled at the corners of his eyes, stretching the darkened skin. He shook his head and sighed, "What the hell, Law?"

There was something dreadful and painful about the silence. He showered in the beautiful stone shower. The water was soft and warm. The soap was fragrant and expensive. Everything was luxurious, whether you were from Deadhouse or not. But the isolation was unbearable.

"I'll find you. I promise."

Law dropped the shampoo. He looked around the empty shower in disbelief. He knew he'd heard it. He knew he heard Luffy's voice. It was as clear as anything. But no one was there. Especially not Luffy.

"Need help reaching anything?" Doflamingo called into the bathroom.

"Fuck you," Law snapped, rinsing quickly. He turned off the water and turned, stepping carefully over his chain. He climbed out and wrapped himself several times with the enormous towel, fresh from the warmer.

"Let me shave for you," Doflamingo breathed out, stepping into the bathroom. He reached into the cabinet, pulling out his grooming kit. He gestured to the counter space and patted pointedly, "Take a seat."

"I can take care of myself."

Doflamingo smiled, scrunching up his nose, "Sorry, Lawww, just can't trust you with sharp objects yet…"

"You'll never be able to trust me with sharp objects," Law warned, stepping away from Doflamingo.

"Take a seat and let me fix your god damn face," Doflamingo demanded impatiently. "We are on a time table today, Law."

Once Law had given in, Doflamingo spread the scented cream across Law's face. He removed the straight edge razor from his kit and began to cleanly shave the hair from Law's face and neck, leaving only his goatee.

Doflamingo's large hands were warm and he moved Law carefully, his fingers pressing against his veins and lingering just a moment too long. When he wiped Law's face clean with a warm cloth he finally dropped his hand to Law's throat, pressing his thumb painfully into it.

"Aren't we…" Law gasped, his throat constricted, "in a rush…?"

Doflamingo lightly sliced the blade over the dark blue vein in Law's neck. Blood trickled down, spilling over Law's wet body and into the towel. Doflamingo licked the blade before rinsing it in the sink. He put the kit back up in his cabinet and smiled, "Get dressed then."

Law stared after Doflamingo incredulously, "Fucking piece of shit…" He grabbed toilet paper and stuck it against his small cut, staunching the bleeding. "Fucking lunatic."

An hour later they were on a plane to Mexico. In the new world order, it wasn't easy getting anywhere with the United States on your passport. But Donquixote money was good money, and Doflamingo easily paid their way through political red tape.

Almost immediately upon landing they were in a meeting. Law never understood why he was expected to go along to these things. He realized he was simply decoration to Doflamingo Donquixote, but he still couldn't understand the elder man's desire to show him off. He sat in his chair, brooding and silent.

Every once in a while, one of the chairman would get brave; they'd let their gaze linger a little too long. He'd catch them and stare them down with bright yellow eyes. And he never looked away first.

As usual, Luffy was the main topic of the meeting. L.U.F. had been spotted and near capture multiple times, but always got away in the end. It infuriated them. Law chewed on his fingernails, tearing at the rough skin as he listened to all the ways these men planned on incapacitating his former cellmate.

"We have the others," one of the chairman insisted. "That should be enough. One isn't going to do anything…"

"L.U.F is enough," Caesar insisted, slapping his hand on the table. "If the Russians get a hold of him…"

Law sighed heavily, sinking further into his chair. Doflamingo turned and smiled down at him, "Bored, dear?" Dear. It was Doflamingo Donquixote's way of calling someone a cunt. "If you'd captured him when you had the chance, we wouldn't be sitting here."

"He got away," Law said dryly. "I did what I could."

"Of course, dear."

"Doflamingo, there has to be some accountability," one of the Germa Six Six representatives complained. "You provide security, we provide the scientists. We have to have L.U.F. back. Out of all the others, his tests showed the highest-"

Caesar snapped his fingers loudly, "Suffice it to say, each of them are needed."

"Why? The cat's out of the bag. The government will never give us another dime. We're finished in the U.S." One of the chairman argued, "We should just move on with the assets the company has left."

"I would love to agree with you, but that little boy has really pissed me off," Doflamingo said, dipping his chair back as he spoke. "We're going to find him and drag him back here by his fucking ears if we have to. And then I'm going to rip him apart at the seams for causing me so much damn trouble."

"Sorry about Vergo," Law said, suddenly speaking. "I hadn't really had a chance to express my sympathies yet…" He met Doflamingo's gaze, his lips twitching up in the corner. "Sorry for your loss."

Doflamingo counted on his fingers slowly, "Let's see, you've reset four times since your last episode, so I have two more…?" He pulled his pistol out of his waistband and fired rapidly into Law's stomach. He sat back and licked his lips, watching as Law struggled. He lifted his foot, pressing his shoe painfully hard against Law's wound. "Does it hurt, dear? No sense in hanging on…" Doflamingo ground his foot roughly against Law's bleeding stomach. "Just die."

Law spit up a mouthful of thick, red blood. He smiled with red teeth, a wild look in his wild eyes, "Worth it, motherfucker…" His head drooped forward and he began to twitch.

"You can't rely on the 6 reset rule," Caesar insisted. "It's not foolproof."

"Nothing is," Doflamingo sighed in annoyance. "And so what? I can handle him any way he comes at me."

"It's rather unethical to drag him around like that," one of the scientists complained.

Doflamingo laughed deeply, "I don't wanna hear that from anyone like you. I watched you, remember? I know what you've done. I know what you were too afraid to even write down…"

"Let's not argue," Caesar panicked, waving his hands in a cease fire. "We all want the same thing. And that is for this LUF issue to be resolved."

"I say we nuke Texas and be done with it."

"That's insane, do you have any idea…"

"It's fucking hell down there now…"

"I own property out in the Hill Country and…"

Law gasped as he inhaled his first breath. He looked around the room in confusion, his eyes finally settling on Doflamingo beside him. He cleared his throat and reached for the glass of water he'd long ago abandoned on the table. He drank quickly, rinsing the taste of blood from his mouth.

"Good morning, sunshine."

Law looked at Doflamingo wordlessly. In a few minutes he'd remember what happened, but for now he was confused and uncomfortable. He turned toward Doflamingo, a strange needful pleading to his voice, "I want to leave."

Doflamingo chuckled indulgently, "Sure." Doflamingo stood up, rising to his full impressive height. He pulled Law's chair out from the table and grabbed Law's slender wrist. He tugged the dazed man from his chair and led him toward the door, "This meeting is over."

"But…"

"My feet are falling asleep," Doflamingo complained, frowning. "Let's continue this conversation later…"

"When?!"

Doflamingo adjusted his sunglasses and smiled, "Later."

Law remembered why he reset by the time they were in the back of the limo. He glared at Doflamingo, his arms crossed over his chest. He hissed as Doflamingo hit him with a clean shirt he'd launched at him.

"Change."

Law didn't respond. He ripped the torn, bloody shirt over his head and wiped his stomach as clean as possible. He shrugged the fresh shirt over his shoulders and pulled it down into place.

"Purple's a good color on you."

Law still didn't respond. He stared out the window, secretly amazed by the sights he was seeing. He'd never let Doflamingo know, but he was captivated by the outside world. The Law before Deadhouse was gone and everything not Deadhouse was new and strange and wondrous. And even in the worst circumstance, in the worst company, Law couldn't help but try to absorb everything.

"Stop here," Doflamingo instructed the driver, popping open his door before it had even slowed. He climbed from the limo awkwardly, his large size a challenge. "Come on, Law. Walk with me."

"Why are we here?" Law asked, ignoring the uneasy glances from the locals.

Doflamingo smiled, his ankles clicking slightly as they walked down the street. He adjusted his sunglasses, his hands sliding into his pockets, "I've had a craving for Mexican food. And with California and Texas quarantined…" Doflamingo smiled. "How else was I supposed to get some flautas?"

Law snarled under his breath, "Be serious."

"You're such a brat," Doflamingo complained, "LUF wouldn't treat me this way."

Law swiveled, his hands bent into threatening claws. He hesitated as Doflamingo pressed his pistol against his cheek. And then his demeanor changed, Law smiled, "Go ahead. Shoot me. What's it matter to me?"

"If I shoot you, you'll die," Doflamingo breathed, leaning down to address Law. "And when you reset you'll start tearing through this place like tissue paper. 'Oh Dios mÍo!' They'll all scream…"

Law clicked his tongue in frustration, "Fine."

"Now," Doflamingo drawled. "About dinner…"

"You didn't really bring me all the way out here for some fucking taquitos did you?"

"Flautas and no," Doflamingo admitted. He grabbed Law's chin and tilted his head, directing him to look in a specific direction. "Notice anything?"

Law didn't know how he didn't realize. He didn't know how it could possibly have taken him so long to notice. Law was speechless, stammering over his words. He didn't even need a second glance to recognize the man sleeping at the bar across the street.

"What? It's… What is he doing here?" Law demanded, turning toward Doflamingo. "What is this?"

Doflamingo pulled Law against him tightly, "It's a bit of a shock isn't it? I understand. But calm down…"

"What's going on?" Law breathed out, shaking his head. He let Doflamingo pull on him and hold him tight. He felt faint, or perhaps, like he'd vomit. "I don't understand."

"Come on, Law, don't be so dramatic," Doflamingo chuckled, holding Law so he wouldn't fall. "Let's go have a seat. Shall we?"

"That's not…"

Doflamingo released his hold on Law and walked off. He crossed the street quickly, ducking as he entered the small bar. He sat down next to the sleeping man, smiling at the blonde man beside him.

Law stood motionlessly for a long time. He finally moved forward, too stunned to check the traffic before crossing the street. He ignored the car horns and the angry shouts and ran into the bar. He immediately gripped the sleeping man's shoulder, twisting him around on his stool.

The sleeping man woke, his eyelashes fluttering as they opened. The sleep dissipated from his freckled face and his lips turned upward in excitement as he recognized the man in front of him, "Law!"

Law shook his head, "No… No… You're dead… You're both dead…"

Marco cleared his throat, turning to get a better look at Law, "Hey, kid. You grew a lot. You look good."

Law sat down on the dusty floor. His head was tilted back as he stared up at the young man on the barstool above him. He couldn't find the words. He couldn't even form the thoughts. Finally he managed to whisper, "It can't be…"

"I never said they were dead," Doflamingo breathed. "I just said they weren't coming back."

"Where have you been?" Law breathed out, his eyes wide.

Ace smiled, "I got transferred out of Deadhouse."

"But… but why? How?" Law gaped.

Ace shrugged, "I don't have the virus anymore. I don't tolerate injections anymore and I can't reset without intervention."

"W-where have you been?" Law questioned, his throat tight.

"We were moved from Deadhouse into Bellator," Marco explained. "A unit that specializes in military strength, physical upgrades, that sort of thing…"

"It's been forever," Ace breathed out. "How's Luffy?"

Law shrugged unsurely, "Good. I think. I guess… I mean… I don't know…"

"Oh, you poor thing," Doflamingo chuckled, "Get off the floor. You look so pathetic down there, Law."

Law looked toward Doflamingo, "Wait a moment, is Corazon-?"

Doflamingo laughed forcefully, "Nah. He's fucking dead." He pulled Law to his feet forcefully, "And he's staying that way."