Disclaimer: I can't believe I'm still putting this. I will never make as great of a masterpiece like Odacchi has done.
"A madman hath no lucidity."
…
"You summoned me?" With the usual eerie smile on his face, Shichibukai Trafalgar Law strolled into the Fleet Admiral's room without knocking, disregarding all the rules of etiquette as he leaned against the doorway, arms crossed indifferently. There was a suspicious stain on his black coat that resembled much like dried blood, though it went unnoticed by most.
Akainu let the show of disrespect slide as he weighed the more important issues at hand, shuffling a heavy stack of paper work and pushing it neatly to the right of his desk. Folding his hands together, he surveyed the young pirate with distaste in his eyes. It was common knowledge that the Fleet Admiral did not approve of Law because of his cunning and cryptic nature, and his affiliation with Straw Hat. But rules were rules. "PX666," he stated, tugging out a sheet from the stack. "A newly constructed concoction you were under orders to create for the World Government's project."
"That is so," Law replied with a nod. "What are you trying to say aside from the obvious?"
A vein pulsed in Akainu's forehead. "What stage is it at, again?"
"Near perfected, though there are several unpleasant side effects," the other drawled, emphasizing on the word 'unpleasant'.
When the Surgeon of Death used such a word, it was bad news. "Exactly what side effects?" Akainu was developing half a mind to fire him, that dratted man who did his work too well.
"Vomiting, headaches, fevers, symptoms that indicate a very bad flu and such, the effects vary from the dosage used. It is recommended to use the amount I have clearly stated to in order to assure the victi- patient will not die from it, or suffer permanent mental damages. However, it does prolong memory block by twice the original amount of time, you know that very well."
Akainu's eyes narrowed at the Shichibukai's odd slip up and decided to ignore the small blip. His tone was grim as he said, "Then if double the recommended dosage was administered, what will happen?"
"Then… the memory block would be more effective, but the possibility of more lethal side-effects will double as well." Law was morbidly cheerful as he responded, eyes shining strangely. "Death becomes a very real possibility."
"Does the same apply to the weapon?"
"Perhaps not. He's a pretty strong one, but who knows?" The Shichibukai shrugged nonchalantly, adjusting his fluffy spotted cap. "I can't guarantee his health. Be thankful if the weapon comes back physically fit with his mental sanity intact at all." He was exaggerating slightly but he wasn't about to let the other man know, although the overdose situation was worrying. In theory Ace's devil fruit powers would allow him to burn off the drug fairly quickly before too much settled in, yet he had specifically set the amount in accordance to that. What he wouldn't give for another experimenting session with the freckled man…
Sakazuki pounded the mahogany table in frustration, upsetting the pile of paperwork as they fluttered in the air and scattered themselves among the room. "Damn him!" he spat out.
"Fleet Admiral, you really shouldn't do that. It's an expensive desk you have there." Law's creepy smirk grew wider as his irritated superior bent down with a huff to pick up the dispersed papers. "By the way, isn't he your subordinate? You should be able to control him and keep him in line as his superior."
"I told him not to even use it yet!" Akainu growled. furiously.
"Maybe it would've been a better idea to not even put this entire retarded plan set by the World Government into action, don't you think? They really didn't think through it, since there are numerous amount of flaws I can easily pick out."
Taking a long, deep breath, the Fleet Admiral shoved down his boiling fury over Law's insulting and blasphemous words. He counted silently to ten, then finally said, "Didn't you two grow up together?"
"It was merely a business partnership for a short while and nothing more. I wish you good luck in your case." And with that, Law left behind a still fuming and infuriated Fleet Admiral, savoring over the older man's helplessness and aggravation. Serves him right.
Before Ace had time to reply, his keen ears picked up the slightest sound of controlled footsteps brushing past the smooth seastone floor. In panic, he whirled around to see the figure of his commander silhouetted by the moonlight, face contorted into the expression of anger. "What the hell are you doing here?" he thundered, unperturbed by the sleeping presence of the pirates.
Shit.
Cold sweat broke out as Ace's heart pounded faster, mouth dried and unable to produce any words. There were no excuses he could use, not when Shigeru had made it clear he was to stay away from the Straw Hats because of the circumstances he was in and the chances of him sleepwalking and chancing upon the lower floor was zero, even if he did have strange sleeping habits. As far as he could think, there was no way he could save himself. He cursed at his blind sight; it was obvious Shigeru would guess he'd try something like this, and he was simply too ignorant and conveniently overlooked that fact, falling directly into the unintentional trap.
"Well?" Scowling, Shigeru tapped his feet impatiently as he crossed his arms, awaiting an answer.
"I have no excuses." He bowed his head in an ashamed manner, voice apologetic and somber. "I won't try it again." Hopefully, Shigeru would buy his submissive act and let down his guard enough to not be overly paranoid when Ace came up with a surefire way to communicate with Straw Hat.
It worked as Shigeru's tone softened minutely. "There are honestly things you'd be better off not knowing… honestly better for all of us." Beckoning him forwards, the older man turned around and limped awkwardly back the stairs, glancing back every now and then for any suspicious movements. He was satisfied to see that there was none as Ace trailed obediently behind, albeit his expression was a disappointed one.
Little did he know that within the time span, the freckled man had discreetly seared a small insignificant piece of paper with a message, and the piece floated gently to the bars where Straw Hat was held, unnoticed by all but him.
Frustration settled in Luffy as he watched his brother's dwindling shadow disappear up the stairs with that other man.
So close, yet so far away.
He gritted his teeth, hands clenching together tightly into fists as he fought to restrain his anger. Out of the corner of his eye, Luffy noticed a tiny scrap resting innocently by the metal bars and crawled closer, leaning in to take a look. His eyes widened when he saw a neat blackened script imprinted on the piece and reached out to read it properly, rattling his obnoxious seastone chains as he did so. "I'll be back," he read quietly to himself, looking back up to the staircase where his brother had disappeared up.
Hope flared in his chest, fierce and bright. Ace will be back, and he always kept his promises.
Tucking the paper carefully in the folds of the red sash always wrapped tightly around his straw hat, he curled back up onto the grimy mat, twisting into a somewhat comfortable position as he hugged his precious hat closer to himself.
"Ne, Captain."
Luffy jerked in shock, hearing Robin's voice as if she was leaning right next to him. "… Robin?" he said in a hushed whisper, eyes darting around the dim cells to see that the historian was lying on her side, apparently deep in sleep. Then he noticed rosy lips jutting out from the walls, along with a pale ear. So that was it.
"What was on the piece of paper?" It was strange watching only lips move and seeing no face that corresponded to the voice.
Grinning, he read out loud, "I'll be back."
"… I see…" she muttered thoughtfully. "That will definitely help with our plan."
"Yeah," Luffy agreed. "So when are we gonna start? I'm getting impatient."
Robin chuckled. "We have to wait at least until we reach the headquarters, you know that."
The rubber teen pouted. "But it's sooo long! I don't want to be stuck here forever. It already feels like it."
"I understand, Captain. But as you know very well, we cannot do anything at the current stage except wait. Perhaps you can talk to your brother about this when he comes back."
Luffy was silent for a moment. Then he said at last. "He also doesn't seem completely brainwashed, you know. 'Cause the way Zoro said it it's like he became a completely different person, but I can still feel Ace there."
He saw the floating lips smile as she replied, "Your brother is a strong person. He hasn't been broken yet, so he maintains his personality, but are you sure we can trust him? We do not fully understand what he went through these past two years, or how much he understands about himself."
"Yeah, I know that. But I trust my brother. He's not going to betray us."
"You can't know that," Robin said cautiously. "After all, he seems to be confused right now. I do not know what stories the Government fed him, and he could very well believe himself to be a volunteer to their sick experiment. But Captain, let us discuss this tomorrow. Please sleep now, it's late."
"Awww, okay then. Night!"
"Goodnight."
Robin's face disappeared into cherry blossoms and Luffy childishly batted one of them, only to find the flower petals to melt to nothing at touch like delicate snowflakes.
After his failed expedition late last night, Ace spent most of the next day holed up in his room, drawing up detailed plans on how to engage Straw Hat again without any interference. He was steadily running out of precious time, he knew, as they were to be put on an elaborate trial at the Marine Headquarters itself, then almost certainly sentenced to Impel down to be executed at a later notice. There was merely five days counting today until their arrival at the HQ, and in the duration of the five days Shigeru had constructed a complex graph of soldiers to be patrolling on the different hallways at specific times, giving Ace a very hard job of finding the correct time placement to weave through to the holding cells, not to mention a permanent sentry that switched duty every two hours in front of the staircase down. Worst case scenario, he knocked out everyone and proceeded onwards, but he couldn't help but feel that Straw Hat had a plan up his sleeves as well and doing so might jeopardize whatever the pirates had in mind.
He also spent a fair amount of time pondering his current situation, trying to discern truth from lie. It was definite that a mind wipe was administered on him before his first solid memory and from there on he spent his life dealing with missions he was handed as well as trying to uncover his lost memories. However, there was always a flicker of uncertainty that perhaps he had willingly offered himself to the experiment without knowing the full repercussions of his decision and with nothing to refute that fact, he couldn't dismiss the small chance either.
And now the swordsman from the Straw Hats had used the word brainwash, seemingly implying that he was forced into his miserable position through manipulation. He honestly hoped that was true. The possibility was obviously far more tempting and believable, but he had seen enough examples to know people often leaned towards one direction with bias though it may not inherently be the right one. Was that him now?
"Um, Ace."
The freckled man literally leaped into the air as his concentration was shattered, jostling the detailed notes everywhere and sending them in a flurry. He hastily snatched them out of the air and stuffed them in a drawer, away from curious watching eyes. "Hi," he said with an uneasy smile.
"Do you want to eat dinner?" the young soldier said timidly, running a hand through chestnut brown locks. "Commander noticed you didn't eat breakfast or lunch, so…"
"Err…" Frankly, Ace had all but forgotten about food for the entire day, and his stomach rumbled obnoxiously as a reminder. His cheeks became a delicate shade of red.
"Great!" the other said brightly. "That's settled, then, I'll tell the cook to make something extra nice." And with that, the door slid shut once more, leaving Ace to his own peace and quiet.
With a sigh, he drew out the sheaf of blueprints and meticulously made schedules once more, examining them even more closely. If he was right, the visit exactly coincided with the scheduled time. It had to be Shigeru checking up on him.
Sighing a second time, he stuffed all the papers back into another drawer and locked it, stowing the key away in his pocket. Around this time, it'd be safe to venture out and begin with the first step. The control and steering room was located in a convenient location in the hall running parallel to his, and it was also on the way to the galley and mess hall if he took a small detour. If he was correct in his assumptions, they'd be traveling on the fastest knot, and he'd have to slow down the process somehow. It was risky due to New World's unpredictable and downright uncanny weather, but he had minimized the chances of running to the dangerous spots.
In another few minutes, there would be a fresh guard that'd show up on his wing, right after the one down the halls, at least in theory. He was willing to bet most of them had run off duty in anticipation for an early dinner, and true to his thoughts they were nowhere in sight. Confidence renewed, he took off, amused to see all the inhabited rooms slightly ajar and vacant. He had to admit that the rich aroma drifting down was very tempting as his stomach growled a second time.
He ducked back into the hall and peeked towards the commanding room, letting out a silent sigh of relief that he ran back just in time before the navigator spotted him.
The navigator was a jolly mid-aged man with a bushy mustache and a bulging waistline, who paid no notice to the watching shadow as he conversed cheerfully with one of the soldiers, making several hand gestures as he talked. "I get you, young man," he laughed and clapped the younger strongly on the back. Pushing the soldier forwards, the two strolled off towards the direction of the kitchen.
Thank goodness, Ace thought inwardly. Taking a final look to make sure the two were gone, he darted into the now-empty room filled with multiple computer screens, each showcasing a different segment of the ship. In the middle was the helm, along with a log pose placed to the side. Snapping on a pair of gloves, he drew out a round piece of magnet cleverly painted as wood, sticking it meticulously onto the back of the sea compass to make sure no sides stuck out. This should confuse the log pose with its magnetic field and slow down the process of locking onto another island. The ship was designed to set its speed and direction in accordance to the log pose, so confusing it would hopefully buy him some more much-needed plan.
Satisfied with his makeshift work, he glanced out the room, glad that there was no one in sight. Once more, Ace made his way towards the mess hall with a small grin.
There were obviously several flaws in the plan. The navigator would surely notice a noticeable decrease in speed, and it'll all go downhill from there. But he was banking on the fact that he wouldn't notice the change immediately and before it happened he'll have talked to Straw Hat before then.
With the optimistic thought in mind, he continued onwards and arrived at the mess hall, already beginning to drool from the delicious fragrance the food had emitted.
Oh Law, how much I love you~ I am in a Law mood these days because he finally showed up in the anime, goodness how long I've waited for the moment. I am drooling in his awesomeness and his voice.
After much editing, I finally deemed it fit to publish this chapter. I'm glad I had the foresight to write most of it before I fell sick (pretty much got kicked out of school because they didn't want me to spread my sickness to other people and I even missed a big test, darn it!). Please pay attention to small details, because I have been hinting towards a very obvious conclusion about the serum, and I pretty much spelled it out fully in this chapter so if you still don't understand… well… Also, I am starting to insert random sentences in the beginning of the chapter that is relevant to what the chapter is about, or foreshadow something so do pay attention to those as well.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading it! And as always, remember to review, it makes me happy and update faster as I have done here.
~Shen