He felt hot. He was groggy and there was a heavy taste of blood in his mouth. He blinked; his body exhaustedly sore and stiff. He opened his eyes, his black lashes fluttering heavily. He was in a large bedroom, it would have been very impeccably decorated if it wasn't completely destroyed.

There was uncomfortable pressure on his neck. It felt difficult to swallow. 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, looking around at the pool of blood that had dried beneath him. He wriggled his toes and touched the chain tethered to his ankle. He examined the lock with great interest. If he had enough time,…

He looked over at the side table. There was a tray of food waiting for him. And an outfit was prepared, laid out on the vanity. He sniffed the breakfast, crinkling up his nose in distaste. He wasn't hungry. If anything he felt nauseatingly full.

Law stood up, unhooking the chain from the foot of the bed. He walked into the bathroom and paused, staring at the gallons of blood smeared across the marble floor. There was a message scrawled through the blood with a messy, almost unintelligible hand, Alive.

Law caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He pressed his finger against his heavy eyelids. He pulled his gaunt cheeks tight, exposing two rows of red teeth. He examined himself with a sort of detached curiosity. Is that me?, was what he thought.

Alive. Law dropped down against the counter, leaning his head into the sink. He turned on the faucet, letting the cold water pour over his head. Who's alive? There was something indescribably lonely in forgetfulness.

There was a knock on Law's door and he jumped, knocking his head against the steel faucet. He grunted loudly, turning off the water and straightening up. He grabbed a towel, wiping his hair roughly. "What?"

The exquisite French doors opened and Marco entered the room. He looked around curiously, clocking the blood-soaked bed and immediately focusing his attention elsewhere. "Good afternoon…"

"Ah," Law murmured, nodding his head. "So you're alive."

"Hmm?" Marco asked, his eyes half-lidded.

Law shook his head and shrugged, "Nothing. I just found a cryptic message that I left myself… And now I know what it means." Law didn't bother with a shower. He dressed quickly. "I thought you killed yourself."

"That was the rumor," Marco sighed, sitting in one of the chairs along the wall.

"Why?" Law asked, zipping his jacket. "I mean, couldn't you have come and said something to us?"

"I didn't have time," Marco admitted. "The transfer was so quick. Ace was in a coma for six months before he woke up and after that they wouldn't let me back into Deadhouse…"

Law froze. The memory of the bar in Mexico flooded back in. Law swallowed, his eyes narrowed, "Ah. Yeah. Ace…" Law closed his eyes, "Where is he?"

"We didn't want you to freak out again," Marco explained. "So I thought I should come in first."

"Freak out?" Law wondered.

But he knew before Marco answered, "Yeah. You had an episode. Really bad one. You've been out of it for a week now."

Law threw his pants at Marco, "Find someone to unlock my fucking chain." He gestured to his bare bottom half, "Can't exactly get dressed like this…"

Marco nodded, tossing the jeans over his arm as he stood, "Sure thing."

"Quick question, Marco," Law breathed out, facing the window.

"Yeah?"

"What has Ace been doing all these years? I mean, is he okay?" Law cleared his throat unsurely. "Was it just another Deadhouse?"

Marco shrugged, "I think you should talk to Ace about that."

"Why?" Law demanded.

Marco sighed, "Because I can't speak for someone else's experiences."

"Did he know? That Ace was alive? That you were merely transferred?"

Marco asked "Who?" before he'd thought it out. He realized exactly who Law meant a moment later when Law's eyes narrowed into hateful slits.

"Why are you here?" Law asked.

"They've had a hard time recapturing some stolen assets," Marco said. "They've asked me and Ace's units for assistance."

"You and Ace's units?" Law shook his head.

"Yeah."

"So, you're here to capture Luffy?"

"Well, sorta, and another asset that was released by the Revolutionary Army."

"I see."

"It's not safe for them out there, you have to know that…"

Law smiled, "I don't have a lot of say in my life. But you sure as shit can't tell me what to think…"

"That's not what I meant, I just wanted you to know that it's dangerous and-"

"Pants," Law commanded, crossing his legs. "Key. Now."

Marco nodded, "Yeah. Okay."

It wasn't long before Marco returned with the keys. He unlocked the padlock on Law's ankle and dropped it to the floor with an unceremonious clink. He rubbed Law's foot and ankle, massaging deeply. "Ace is coming. He'd like to talk."

Law stood silently, grabbing the pants that Marco had slung over his shoulder. He finished dressing quickly, just zipping and buttoning his pants when there was another knock on the door. "What?"

The double doors opened and Ace stood in the doorway. He smiled warmly, his small eyes creased in the corners. "Glad you're up. You look better."

"I could say the same thing," Law murmured, "Last time I saw you, you were dead."

"Yeah," Ace nodded his head slowly. "I just found out. I had no idea you guys didn't know what happened to me…"

"No matter what I say to you in the next few weeks or months or whatever," Law whispered, "I'm glad you're alive."

"Thanks," Ace said softly. "It was pretty touch and go for a while, but-"

"That said," Law interrupted sternly. "Fuck you both."

Ace laughed nervously, "Yeah. I get it…"

"Fuck you. Fuck you. And fuck your bosses," Law snapped. "And if you ruin Luffy's life, I swear on whatever soul I possess, I will fucking murder you…"

"He seems like he's up for a discussion," Ace sighed, looking to Marco.

"We have nothing to discuss, if you capture Luffy-"

"If we capture Luffy he'll get to live."

"What kind of life could the D Foundation possibly offer? I'm insulted that you'd even-"

"Law, listen to me a fucking minute," Ace shouted over Law. "You don't understand. It's not just the D Foundation and Germa Six Six that want him. He's also got the Revolutionary Army on him. If any foreign government makes a move, I don't doubt they'll kill him…" Ace and Marco exchanged a heavy look. "And besides, without the T serum…"

"Without T serum what?" Law asked quietly.

"Without a continuous regimen of T serum, eventually his body will replace those cells," Marco explained. "And he'll… well…"

"He'll be human? He'll be what?" Law pressed.

"He'll be dead."

"But yet you're standing here," Law breathed out. "How so?"

"I can't regenerate anymore, Law," Ace argued. "And I have to have two shots a month or I'll fucking die. I went without T serum and went into a damn coma. And when I get the shots, I'm so fucking sick I can't move for a few hours. And I have to lay down like a pathetic piece of shit and breathe in oxygen…"

"The people he's with," Marco pointed out. "They won't have the knowledge or the resources to care for him."

"How long does it take?" Law asked, looking out the window.

"It depends."

"On?" Law pressed impatiently.

Marco frowned, "How many times he resets."

"They already have Teach," Ace acknowledged. "He's currently in a facility in Guam."

"Being tortured?"

Marco shook his head, "Eating and drinking and chasing after women."

"Getting fatter. Getting his shots. Minding his own damn business."

Law wanted to shake them both, "If everything was so fucking marvelous and happy then why were we tortured for so fucking long? So they escape and suddenly they're going to be treated like people?!"

"It's over, Law," Marco sighed. "The funding, the experiments, the government contracts. Everything is over and done. It's just about survival now."

"Do you believe the bullshit you're feeding me or are you that cruel?" Law questioned, turning around to face them. "They're gonna feed us and clothe us and house us and give us healthcare until we die… just because? Just because they don't want the other governments to get ahold of us?"

"They don't need you anymore," Ace said simply. "You're finished. It's that simple. The weapon you were needed for has been exposed. It's over."

"I see," Law nodded. "They only need the cure now. Is that right?"

"I think the situation is beyond that now…" Marco admitted. "But if we're being optimistic…"

Law smiled tightly, "If they don't need the weapon and they don't need the cure, they don't need us alive. It's that simple. They're going to get us all together and kill us. If they haven't killed Teach already…"

"There is a rumor," Marco explained. "That another government has expressed interest in the project and is offering significant funding, for all three of you alive…"

Law laughed humorlessly, "You'll have to forgive me, I don't listen to rumors anymore."

"Whether we do it for the D Foundation or not, we have to find Luffy," Ace insisted, serious. "If we don't… Well, look, we're just gonna have to find him first. Before everyone else. Because without the T serum injections…"

"Say I believe you about the injections," Law said dryly, "What time frame are we looking at?"

"We can't be certain," Marco admitted.

Law grimaced, "See, I don't like answers like that."

"That's how they found Teach," Ace explained. "Didn't take long at all for him to get sick."

Law grabbed the carafe of juice from the breakfast tray. He sloshed the orange juice across the pearl tile and immediately vomited blood into the empty carafe. He choked slightly, blood spewing from his mouth and dripping out his nose. He vomited twice more before he placed the carafe back on the tray.

"What exactly is the T serum?" Law asked, "I'm not getting it, am I?"

Ace and Marco looked at each other in confusion before Marco answered, "Sorry. I have no idea."

"I'm sure Caesar and Doflami-"

"I'm not that curious," Law groaned, making a face.

Marco pulled a blue passport from his pocket, waving it pointedly, "Pack. We're heading out."

Law smiled tightly, "I don't own a single thing in the world. I don't need to pack."

Marco nodded, "Yeah. Okay."

"They're letting me go with you?" Law asked in surprise, watching Marco slip his passport back in his jacket.

Ace nodded, "They think you can find him, if you don't already know where he is."

"How could I possibly know where he is?!"

"And we're going to make sure you don't let him go again," Marco interjected sternly.

Law looked from Ace to Marco unsurely, "Are you really doing this? Are you that delusional?"

"You find Luffy, we can treat him. He lives. We take you both back," Marco explained. "You don't find Luffy, he dies. Teach is violent, you are unpredictable… Luffy is the selling point. If no one wants to fund the project, the plug gets pulled. The plug gets pulled, you all die."

"You die and there's no way to stop the infection," Ace added. "Hundreds of millions of people will die the first year alone."

Law smiled, "Brilliant. Let's go with that option."

"You're gonna help us," Ace snapped. "And you're gonna save the world."

Law scoffed, rolling his eyes hard, "Fuck me. Do you know who I am?"

"I know exactly who you are," Ace said simply. "Do you know who I am?"

"I'm not sure," Law admitted quietly.

"Think it over, raccoon face," Ace snapped. "And then you can get back to me."

Law flicked both of his middle fingers up in Ace's face, "Blow me."

"I don't think you understand the situation you are in, Law," Ace breathed, shoving Law roughly until they hit the windows. He forced Law's arms down at his sides and stared up at him with glowing eyes, "I'm not asking. You're going to find Luffy."

"I'm not afraid of a little pain, boy-o," Law hissed. "Let Luffy be happy."

"Even if he dies?" Ace growled.

Law smiled and nodded, "He'd rather die free than live like an animal."

Ace knocked his head roughly against Law's, the glass window cracking from the force. Ace grabbed Law by the metal ring around his neck, "If you're so done with the world why haven't you taken this off yet?" Law stammered unsurely over his answer. Ace nodded, "Yeah. That's what I thought. You're holding out, aren't you? You want to live for some reason… Or else you could end it right here…"

"It's really none of your business," Law choked out, struggling against Ace's hold.

"Law, man," Ace breathed out, nearly a whisper, "Just find him."

"There are worse things than death," Law said quietly. "Do you agree?"

Ace laughed bitterly, "Yes. I do."

"What about you?" Law asked, looking to Marco.

"Absolutely."

Law nodded, accepting their answers, "Fine. I'll help you find him. But I make no promises. I'll kill you if I have to… Hell, I'll kill you if I want to…"

Ace nodded, "I can live with that."

"I'm not sure how it works," Marco said, walking toward the doors, "But you know where he is, right?"

Law shook his head, "No."

"Seriously?" Marco pressed.

"Seriously," Law replied dryly. "I'm not a GPS."

"But you can find him, right?" Ace questioned.

Law nodded, "Yes."

"Alright then," Marco said, nodding his head. "Where are we headed? I need to arrange the flight."

"I can't be certain, I'm too far away from him," Law said simply, "but we should go back to where it started." Law smirked, "He's a simple man. He probably hasn't gone far."

"He's with two ex-D Foundation keepers," Marco explained. "There are several unidentified people with him. One military…"

Law's yellow eyes flashed, "Oh?"

"That might change things," Ace realized.

Law shook his head, "Ever try telling Luffy to do something? How'd that work out for you…" Law smiled, despite himself, "No. He's exactly where he wants to be."

"The entire world is watching ground zero," Marco sighed. "This won't be an easy extraction."

Law closed his eyes, rubbing his temples, "Good."

"That's not very nice," Marco murmured in amusement, "My team might get hurt."

Law opened his eyes, "Good."