"For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first."

-Donquixote Doflamingo, a year before Trafalgar Law's birth.

Law dodged another deadly blow from the sharpened knife and rolled on the green beautiful grass trying to get away from his attacker. The assassin followed him, his posture firm but now angry, his gestures precise and trained despite the prolonged fight. Law was beyond talking him out of the attack, the other four men that had come with this one hadn't listened, so why would this man act differently?

Law finally found his feet under him and jumped up delivering his own attack. The kick connected with the assassins stomach and the man grunted. Law didn't gave him time to think after the initial surprise and punched him right onto the nose, the most fragile bone in the face. Something crunched, and as expected the man huffed as blood covered his face. Instinct taking control, the man raised one hand to his face. Law used the moment to slice the man's throat open with the knife in his other hand which he had stolen from a previous assassin.

The man fell lifeless to the ground and silence surrounded them. Law tried to recover his breath as he stared down at the five bodies now laying around him. If it hadn't been because of his training in the god's world, and the change in the weather who had allowed the swamp to grow into a beautiful forest full of prey and food, Law would have been easy prey to this men, too weak and tired from the journey to fight properly.

He kicked the closest body, turning it face up. The man was wearing black clothes like the rest of them, a cloak covering his foreign face -no local dared to try fight against him nowadays- and hidden weapons. Law had stabbed him through the heart and now the black clothes were beginning to soak with the blood quickly and messily, the arrows and bow he had carried were now useless. Still, it was nothing compared to the decapitated one who was now a puddle of viscera and black blood.

So Law rummaged through the clothing of the stabbed man before it was to late and the blood ruined everything. He eventually found what he was looking for, a little letter from the man who had hired the assassins, there was no name on the envelope, like always, no simbol or signature as this was a dark business and no men would want to leave any prove. But instead there were two simple letters this time: D.D.

Donquixote Doflamingo.

Law sat down on the grass. In the middle of the idyllic landscape -the green lush forest at his back, the emerald hill of grass sprinkled with flowers in front of him and an open blue sky above- feeling...nothing. He had gone to the land of the gods risking his life because Doflamingo had promised him freedom. However, he had been planning to kill him from the start.

The lack of surprise or any betrayed feelings was a surprise in itself.

Law had known it from the start. Doflamingo would never let him go, Law didn't know why, he couldn't understand it, but deep down he had known it. Then why had he gone to the land of the gods in a suicide mission?

'I had hope' a part of his mind supplied 'Despite everything that had been done to me, despite the tortures and the death, despite me knowing what trusting and hoping again would mean, I hoped that there would be a better place. I still had some stupid hope'

Law felt numb. Again he had trusted. Again he had been stabbed. Doflamingo had sent assassins despite the promises. The world he had dreamed of had been a frozen evil paramo even gods despised. Even the man he had loved like no one else had been taken away from him in the blink of an eye as if he meant nothing. Like his friends, his family and his life, it had been taken away.

Law expected the hurt, the betrayal and the frustration to come back and attack him like it had always happened before. It will take some hours but Law knew how to keep those feeling under control, how to muffle the pained, hurted screams, and the cries for answers. But this time they didn't come, instead that annoying part of him that never seemed to learn, whispered again.

'You can find another door. Go back to him. Be happy'

Hope. Again. Why? Why was always a part of him that searched the light? Why couldn't he learn? Hadn't he been hurt enough? What else did he have to lose? His life? Would that voice shut up when he was dead?

"There is no other door" he said to himself. He couldn't let the hope grow, let the idea start to sprout. He couldn't start a search around the whole island for something he already knew didn't exist. Doflamingo had tried to kill him. He had better things to do.

'You don't actually know it. There could be another door' the voice whispered again, low, alluring, like a stubborn child that won't accept the harsh reality.

Law suddenly found himself crying.

Not like the other times when the pain had overwhelmed his barriers and he had doubled over in his bed trying to relieve it. This weren't the tears of one of his rage attacks when he destroyed the room he was staying in out of frustration. No, this time it felt warm, good and calming, as if a weight had been taken away from his shoulders.

"There could be another door" such a simple imposible thing. Like entering the lands of gods. Like falling in love with Kaliarte the deadly goddess. Like bringing the sun back. Like surviving five assassins on your own with no weapons.

Law had done so many impossible things.

Hope was such a stupid thing. Yet it was so wonderful. Law stood up and looked up at the sun, at the warmth, at the shine, at the gift Kidd had given him. Then he started walking.

He would find the door. Even if it took him the rest of his life, even if it didn't exist, Law would spend every hour of his time trying to get back to Kidd, the man who meant so much to him. But first, there were things he needed to do, problems he needed to face, answers he needed to find.

And people, who needed to disappear from this world.

...oOo...

Shanks entered his private office with Luffy sulkin behind him. He lived with his wife in one of the small houses in the outskirts of the city of Inverness, capital of the North. The house was a two-story building made of resistant black rock to stand the cold unpleasant weather, and warm caramel wood that had costed more than it should. Makino, his wife, had fallen in love with the house at first sight and had soon made it a home with flowers, fluffy carpets, and the beautiful screams of a baby. Despite the small size of the building and his new little family starting to live in it, Shanks had also enough space in it to direct his merchant business all over the world and at the same time, spy on the other members of the assembly.

The main reason why Luffy, his dear assistant and adopted son, was sulking behind him.

Shanks mood wasn't much better. Things were getting out of control in the city, it was more than obvious now that Doflamingo controlled the assembly. At first he had had doubts about Crocodile or Aokiji but it was clear now that the two men had forged some kind of alliance with Doflamingo on their own and were supporting him, and together, they were all destroying the little piece of earth humans still retained.

Doflamingo was abusing his power, imposible taxes, increase in the price of the most simple and necessary items like bread or soap, public executions of men who had done nothing but whisper a few things. Fear was starting to take hold in the population, and from his own experience, Shanks knew what that fear could turn into, just so easily.

Shanks sat on his desk and ran his hands through his hair feeling exhausted from the fight that was yet to come. What could he do? He was just a man with no voice now in the assembly full of enemies. He also had no military power, he was just a merchant. Maybe it was time to abandon his utopic dreams and go back to the countryside. His family would be happy there, and more importantly, safe.

Luffy on the other side of the room looked at him worried. He had adopted the boy from the streets a few years ago, Makino called him 'his first son' and Shanks couldn't disagree. He could escape with Makino and the child, but Luffy won't come with him. The boy didn't surrender, he was even more stupid and idealistic than Shanks himself, he would stay and fight for what was right.

Shanks was so proud of the boy.

It was then that the window of the office bursted open and a cloaked figure entered the room surrounded by the mists that never left these lands near the river. Luffy gasped at the intrusion, but Shanks reacted out of instinct. If someone had sent assassins to kill him, he would protect his family and all he had fought for, he would go down fighting!

The figure however did nothing and didn't try to attack him, he just rose his hands in a placating gesture and took his hood off, revealing a well-know face.

Trafalgar Law.

Luffy gasped again, but was soon running to hug the lone and dangerous boy as the friends they had been, with a huge grin on his face. Shanks however just stared at the boy disbelievingly. It was a miracle. He had tried to stop the stupid mission, he had tried to stop the assassins, placate Doflamingo, finally he had just assumed the boy dead.

But here he was. Alive. Unscratched. Having accomplished what no one would have dared posible. He was a miracle, their miracle, the man who should be sitting on the throne reigning this city, the true hero of Inverness who had risked his life for the people of this land.

He could also become the lightning match Shanks had feared so much he would come. The reason the crowds of the city could stop feeling fearful and would become violent. Law was now a simbol, a man who had survived even death.

"You have come back" Shanks said to the boy feeling something similar to relief despite his worries. Luffy hadn't been the only boy of the streets he had wanted to adopt, but unlike Luffy, Law had always be a lone boy, a boy with eyes to old for his age and something dark looming behind them.

Still, he had been a boy.

Shanks walked forward and hugged the boy like a father hugs a son. Law returned the hug easily, something they had done several times. Law curiously looked even better now after the trip, his body fuller, as if he had been eating well, his muscled toned, and his eyes still dark but with a spark of fire that hadn't been there before. He ha become the man he was supposed to be.

For the second time in the night, Shanks felt pride overwhelm him and gratefulness made him smile.

"I have too many questions to ask" and by the look in his son's eyes, Luffy also had a few questions himself "However, I would only ask you one. Why? Why have you returned? You could have escaped, we thought you were dead" he asked with a serious tone.

Shanks had been trying to protect the boy from Doflamingo for years, but the man seemed to have an obsession with the boy.

Law's eyes darkened, but unlike other times, fear didn't appear in them as it used to at the mention of Doflamingo. Instead a strange calmness and acceptance appeared in them. A cold horrible acceptance Shanks didn't like one bit.

"I have business I need to finish with Doflamingo first. A few questions that need answering" his mind seemed set, a plan already formed. Shanks couldn't help but be amazed by the sudden security and almost royal air that surrounded Law.

'The boy should be our king' Shanks thought again surprised, now seriously.

Still, it was Doflamingo they were talking about, he couldn't let Law face him again, he couldn't stand to see him broken again, or even worse, dead. Not now when the world was about to crumble, not when his memory would be used as a martir and as a beginning for a war.

"He tried to kill you Law, don't be stupid, escape, we can help you, he still doesn't know you are here, right?" he asked the boy taking him by the arm. Luffy was beginning to look worried and also had that stubborn look in his eyes, the one that had helped him survive on the streets, the one that made him Law's friend.

Law however pushed Shanks's hand away and faced him with his expressionless face now filled with something dark. "Yeah, he tried to kill me, several times, and I'm sure he would try again." he said making Shanks cringe at the tone "But I'm done, Shanks. I done running away. I need to face him. I need answers"

For a little short moment, Shanks could see the future in the grey eyes of the boy with a certainty that scared him. He could see the confrontation of the two of them, the shouts and hate between the boy and the king, he could see Law dead on the royal floor stabbed by one of Doflamingo assassins or Doflamingo himself. He saw the revolution that would come, the destruction and chaos. He saw humanity perishing once again.

He needed to stop it. But how? Law was not going to change his opinion, his revenge plan. Shanks saw it with the same clarity as he saw the future. He could only help him defeat Doflamingo, take down the evil king that was threatening with destroying the city himself.

Shanks sat on his desk again surrendering. This was his answer, what he should do. Luffy was grinning for some reason and looking dangerously pleased at Law. Law was just waiting, his expression as unreadable as always. He had always been so intelligent, this boy that had the soul of a king.

"What do you need?" Shanks finally asked.

...oOo...

Law walked among the streets with his head held high and whispers surrounding him. It was plain midnight, normal families were usually at home, but on the poorest streets of the city, sleep was a commodity not many dared to have. The vagabonds and prostitutes pointed at him and whispered to their companions with big eyes. Drunk mercenaries and the worst people from the streets of Inverness just smirked at him and gave him finger ups, as if they were proud of him. Law had worked with many of them and had lived with them all on the streets, so yeah, this were his people. They knew who he was and his history, they knew what he has done, and they knew that he was back now.

And if they knew, so would Doflamingo's men.

Law had been doing this for a few days, walking on the streets on plain sight and then mysteriously disappearing. Spreading rumors, lies and truths with the help of Shanks and his organization. People were curious about him, guards had tried to capture him a few times and failed pathetically, but now, Inverness was aware of his miraculous survival and what he had done for them. And they were also becoming aware of how their leader was not acknowledging any of that.

If Doflamingo was not going to give him what he rightfully deserved, Law would humiliate him in revenge. He would make him pay and ruin his opportunity to rule over this land, he would make the people hate him so much that he would have to get out of this town if he wanted to survive.

He would also make the man unable to refuse his demands and questions.

Disappearing from the sight of another patrol of royal knights who were not so subtly following him, Law mingled with the night. He wore his weapons today, he had gone back to his several hidden places all over the town and retrieved weapons and all he needed. He was wearing assassin clothes today, black on black, silent boots and weapons that will slice a man's throat without waking his lover.

Today was the night.

Law walked among the streets and over houses, getting to the center of the town and the royal palace overlooking the river. Mist curled from the river and covered the town as it always did, but from up in the castle, Law could spot the bell towers of the church and the towers of the castle above the sea of clouds.

There was a known window in the royal alcoves that was lit despite the hour. Law took a deep breath and entered the room.

As always the royal chambers were decorated with luxury, fluffy beds of silks and cotton, polished floors and exotics woods, and all kind of extravagant furniture. As a child, the palace had always impressed Law, so much gold in such plain sight, so easy to steal and escape with and yet left untouched. It spoke of a new kind of power. However, after the visit to the lands of the gods, this place looked like a poor attempt at luxury. The walls were made of black unpleasant rocks not polished glass that overlooked the ocean, the light were mundane candles not exotic creatures swimming beyond, there wasn't an old ancient and mysterious library, no swords of legends hanging on the walls as decorations. It was just too plain.

And the man amid it all was not really a king, but a man trying to take that place and doing a pretty bad job at it.

Donquixote Doflamingo hadn't changed one bit since the last time Law had seen him. As a man who had know wealth all his life, he was tall and nicely built. He had blond hair and blue eyes as the kings and princes of the stories, but his eyes were mean and cruel, his smile making you feel worthless and dirty.

Law had been scared of the man when he was a child, he had cried in bed scared of the nightmares the man inspired. Now, after facing Zoro and Kidd, two really big and imposing men, two true nightmares, Doflamingo looked like a man too easy to stab.

The man finally realized his presence and got up from his chair behind a desk filled with papers, in a surprised motion. He was wearing some kind of long pajama robe that looked ridiculous on him despite the fine embroidery, and had no weapon he could use in sight.

Law perched on the window and said nothing, but still, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction and amusement at the man's sudden uneasiness and ridiculous appearance. The unseasiness hadn't been there before. Doflamingo still smiled with that annoying big smile, but now it seemed weirdly forced.

Was he scared of him?~ Law couldn't stop a crazed smile of his own.

"Hello your highness" he said mockingly. Using the honorary he had been forced to use when a child. The brutal beatings he had received when he made a mistake with the name still clear in his mind " I think we need to talk"

He threw five ears on the floor he had taken from the assassins out in the swamp.

Doflamingo stared at him, turning even more pale. Still he smiled back uncaring and with the gesture, he seemed to get his bearings under control again. He straightened, he looked tall and imposing, he found again that annoyed glare he always used, as if the blood and mutilation had remained him of something.

"Law!" He said as if surprised "I see you are back, I have been waiting for you" he smiled evilly, then he snapped his fingers once and ten men entered the room in quick succession.

Seven guards armed with the royal armors and long straight swords jumped first standing between the king and him. Two mercenaries Law had worked with before and knew about their brutality. And an assassin with short black hair that had enjoyed beating him when he was a child. Vergo, another of his nightmares.

Law jumped down from the window and fully entered the room with a bored uncaring face. The ten men stepped back as if scared and Law couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculousness of all this.

Then, he let the fun start.

I'm sorry for the delay, but I am done trying to publish this thing on time. I will do it when I have time, sorry guys, try to understand and be patient. As you can see we are arriving at the end of the fic, I hope you are liking the story and where it is going. The fun part would start now, for both, u guys and me. XD