Alasse-m: Maybe this chapter will allude a bit to Sanji's backstory…maybe the next. :D Enjoy!

DedicatedFan: Not exactly, just a mind trick, just one of many the pair used to get their way. Maybe the true villain will explain how. :D Or not.

Musical Bear: You could be right! …Or, not…this story was completed, and only edited because I never inserted chapters in it. So inserting chapters required a bit of editing before posting. I'm surprise I had so much restraint in not posting all at once. But I needed people to absorb before moving onto the next chapter. :D

: 12 :

Once upstairs, Luffy ran for Sanji's room, bellowing his name. But he saw that it was closed, and the entire floor felt wrong, to him. It was too silent, and a heavy heat in the air made his skin itchy. There was a low vibration that rustled his hair, caused pieces of the paint to curdle. Wood paneling rattled ever so slightly around him, and he couldn't help but notice the different voices whispering away from him. With a worried expression, Luffy wondered if the place were haunted. He gripped his arm cast with a terrified expression, then relaxed, figuring that if it were haunted, then maybe he'd see a ghost. And since he hadn't seen one, before, this might be his chance.

"Sanji?" he called out tentatively. The smell of smoke was faint up here, but he could see it occasionally slipping through the planks in the floor. As he walked towards the bedrooms, he saw that Ace had attempted to dig out the window, using a nail he must have found loose in the floor. He chuckled at the damage caused, then continued on. Once he reached Sanji's door, he stood on his tip toes to look inside, and saw that it was empty. He pushed the door open, calling his name, worried at the absence of his friend.

He saw a couple of pills on the floor, and frowned. He turned away from Sanji's room, and discovered that the air was hotter coming from down the hall. Deciding to investigate, Luffy turned in that direction and ventured towards Penguin's door. The vibration was heavier, here, making his ear canals uncomfortable, his muscles a little twitchy with a curious response to run away. He was a little frightened, but his curiosity was stronger, and he wanted to see why the air was so much different here.

He stood on his tip toes, cast bumping against the door, carefully propping his hands on the metal and immediately distracted by the vibration he felt. The door felt hotter, here, and while he was concerned for the only man that didn't seem like he was even there at all, he knew something about Penguin had upset Ace. He had to know details.

The man was just standing there within the center of his room, looking at nothing. He didn't look any different. But even as he stood there, things had shifted slightly around him; the vibration had been so strong that his bed had shifted parallel to the wall, and his meager pile of clothes were scattering, ever so slightly, away from him. There was nothing in his eyes to tell Luffy what he was thinking, or even an expression to show any discomfort. The voices were louder in here, but all of them were talking at once. He heard a woman, but then he heard a child, and he heard men, and none of them were distinct to even pick out what the conversation was. It was just a constant drone of noise. In the midst of this clamor, there was a sound of a man muttering to himself; the conversation he had was bitter, and he was asking for his money, for an apology.

"Say you're sorry, fucker, you say you're sorry, you fucking bitch, you tell me you're sorry. I need my money, I need my pay, I didn't do this for free, fucking hell, I'm a good boy."

Luffy narrowed his eyes. The feeling of 'wrongness' was coming from this room. It was everywhere, and it pushed against him, like a fan pushing hot air his way. The feeling of constant vibration made his insides tickle.

"Hey," he whispered, a little tentative to raise his voice in such an environment, but he wanted to reach out to the man just in case. Sanji had said that he still needed care – Penguin couldn't be all that bad if Sanji was still trying to help him. "Psst. Hey. Penguin. You okay?"

All the sounds stopped, and Luffy grimaced, because that wasn't a good sign. For several seconds, nothing happened, and he started to push away from the door to creep away because there was just something utterly wrong about this situation. The vibration stopped, and it was an abrupt change in force. He looked down the hall to see if Sanji were nearby, or for any sign of the others, then looked back to tell Penguin he'd let him out once he found the key. But he gave a startled shout as he saw the man peering out the door window at him, looking at him with bloodshot dark brown eyes.

He started to run away, but the door slammed open, clipping him in the back of the heel, and hit the wall with a resounding bang. Luffy turned around, slouching to reach for his heel, rubbing at it painfully as the door vibrated upon impact. The air grew hot again, and the voices started to collect in volume. Luffy felt that uncomfortable twitching in his ear canal, again, and his skin itched. But he definitely did not want to stand here in the midst of it, anymore.

He turned to start walking away when the man left the room in that slow waddle he had. Luffy looked at him from over his shoulder, unsure of what was worse – that the man didn't need physical prompting to move, that he was moving on his own, or the fact that the vibration was harder, louder in volume, prompting Penguin to move. Luffy couldn't figure it out. But he walked away at a steady pace, grimacing, because maybe he wasn't supposed to be here.

"Goddamn little bitch!" he heard barked out from behind him. The man's voice was unfamiliar to him, creaky, but every word was an effort, as if drawn from deep inside the thinkbox and pulled out slowly. So it made Luffy think that maybe he was a man like them. Mentally incapacitated.

"Come back here, be a good boy, come back here."

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope," Luffy repeated to himself.

"I hear you making fun of me! I hear it! I know you're making faces behind my back! I can hear your little mind talking down on me! Making fun of me, goddamn little bitches. All boys, all little boys should be removed, all removed from the face of this life!"

"Good to know you're okay, so I'm going to go downstairs," Luffy said, breaking into a run, sweat building at his temple. But he watched with horror as it slammed shut with such strength and power that it caused the frame to crack. Luffy veered away from the door and ran for the medical ward with a loud shout of horror, promptly forgetting why he was up here in the first place.

The man laughed loudly, and Luffy looked behind him, seeing that the man didn't look like Penguin at all. In those span of seconds, he'd transformed into a man wearing clown makeup, walking with a strong gait, blue hair fluttering behind him. He screamed because this had been one of his personal nightmares, and it came to life. He reached the ward, finding the door open, and slammed it shut, pushing the lock into place. He wheezed, backing away from the door, and looking around himself.

Hand to his heart, Luffy headed towards the other door leading out to the offices, figuring if he did so, he could bypass the man entirely. As he opened the door, he ran into Sanji sitting on one of the beds, staring at the ground. He approached him with a cry of relief, reaching out to touch his shoulder. But he was discomforted to see the far away look to his face, the struggle of eyelids fighting to stay open. Sanji did not look like himself – he looked as he did when he was heavily sedated on his arrival. As if he'd taken too many pills and was only a slug, a zombie.

"Neh, Sanji…let's go, okay? Let's go downstairs, Ace needs a way out. You have keys, right?" Luffy said, patting his pockets, hearing the jingle of keys in his inside jacket pocket. He took them, but Sanji gave him no reaction. Luffy forced his chin up, to make him focus on him. "Hey, let's go. Let's go, there's a guy outside that's extra creepy!"

Sanji shook his head slightly and pulled away, still staring at the floor. Luffy grabbed his arm, yanked hard enough to pull him off the bed. But even if Sanji's disease had taken over, he was still dead weight, and Luffy wasn't capable of carrying any one. He pulled at him with some frustration, but after a few moments, the door slammed with heavy force. Mighty knocking then followed, delivered by an impatient hand. The vibration started again, rattling the nearby counters, causing the floor to tremble. The sound was much too loud, and Luffy dropped his hand to cover his ears. There wasn't a way to escape it – it seemed as if the sound was physically making its way into him, causing an uneasy jitter of movement inside of him, inside of his thoughts.

Sanji pulled away from him, sitting back against the bed. He had no intention of leaving.

Luffy refused this behavior, his choice unacceptable to him. "No. No! You'll come with us! That guy is after us - !"

When Sanji didn't respond to either his physical action or denial, Luffy grabbed him again, struggling to get the taller man to stand. But as he did so, the door opened with a loud creak, and he dropped his hold, stepping away from the bed to watch as that man walked in, spying him with an unnatural grin to his face. Facing him again had Luffy's skin rippling with goosebumps, but now that he had a reason to stay, he wasn't going to move. Not until he could convince Sanji to go with him. Sanji gave no reaction to the man, continuing to sit without a lift to his head, and Luffy clenched his fists, ready to fight.

"There you are," the man said, dribbling with a heavy wash of spit. He wiped his face. "There you are. I was finding you. Bad boy. Bad, bad, boy."

"Who the hell are you?" Luffy demanded, wishing he could remove his casts. They were too much weight, but he'd use them if he had to. He had to make it back downstairs with the keys, with Sanji, so they could escape.

"I'm Buggy! Don't you remember me? I'm Buggy…That's my name, right? That's my name, that's…want to see a trick?" he then asked, eyebrows lifting. He walked into the room, his gait slow and unsteady. As he stood, stretching one arm out, Luffy's face ceased with puzzlement. After several silent moments, he lowered his arm, seemingly confused.

Then he looked at Luffy with a set frown, his clownish features dissolving to once again reveal Penguin's expressionless face. Only this time, he muttered, "All of you need to die. No more of you should be released to the streets."

Luffy blinked owlishly, unable to understand how hearing Penguin's voice for the first time made him uneasy. The man wasn't looking at anything, still looking at a point on the floor, reflecting nothing. So his voice was flat and emotionless, but because of the content, was cold and indifferent.

He leaned down, whispering to Sanji, "There's two of them in one. Like Law."

When Sanji still didn't respond to him, Luffy looked at him with frustration. He pulled at him. "Get up! Get up! Don't be a wimp, don't do this! We need to get out of here!"

"Just leave me alone. There's nothing out there, for me," Sanji muttered sluggishly, yanking his arm back.

"No, there's more out there, there's freedom, there's new starts, there's new stuff – we don't have to be here, you don't have to go home!" Luffy pleaded. "You don't have to go back home - !"

Giving the younger male an exasperated look, Sanji said, "Luffy, look at me. Once outside, do you really think I have a chance? This isn't…I can't start again. And going home is not…"

"Then come with me! Come with us! We have a home, we have - !"

"Ah, yes, Vinsmoke!" the man, Buggy, cried suddenly, drawing Luffy's attention. He looked at him, still not letting go of Sanji, to see Buggy's features shifting. Shadowed, as if one face was fighting another for control. They kept changing, colors merging and re-emerging to form a rattled expression. His voice was muffled, distorted by the vibrations he kept emitting.

"Father Vinsmoke, greedy bitch. Greedy. Foul. So many children, for only one reason. But only one gave himself up so the others could be free! I saw it. I saw it, that's why I won't – that's why I couldn't get my pay. This was his revenge! I took this body for revenge! Mine, his...i don't know. It's the same...I...it might be the same..." Buggy trailed off with confusion, unable to understand who he was, at that moment. His motives were so mixed up with Penguin that he couldn't see himself, anymore. Taking on the body of the boy whose friend he murdered, who he forced to participate in the dismembering, mixed his own emotions and thought processes - he was given permission with the spirit board, bringing with him powers only associated with death and destruction, but he couldn't remember his own motives, anymore.

When nothing came from Sanji, Buggy laughed erratically. "I saw! I saw it happen! Pitiful. You should join me, let's get our revenge!"

"I don't know what happened, but it doesn't matter. Sanji's coming with us, we're leaving. We have nothing to do with you, and I don't feel like winding up dead," Luffy said stubbornly, yanking hard on Sanji, pulling him towards a nearby door and fiddling with keys.

"You'll not go anywhere," Penguin said suddenly, having control. "No one will leave."

"I'm so confused!" Luffy cried, looking for a key. But Sanji yanked away from him, crawling away towards the bed, resettling against it once more with his back to them. Luffy moved to grab him, but Buggy charged forward, and Luffy had to stand and fight.

He threw his free hand out, Buggy reaching forward to shove him away with a startled expression. Seeing his advantage in the surprise move, Luffy caught him in the jaw, the man knocked backward, landing hard on the floor. He sprawled out with a startled scream, scrambling to cover himself with haste. Luffy charged after him, kicking him with his free foot. But he felt bad because the man screamed with panic and fright, covering his head, the eerie heat dissipating immediately.

Cowering in front of him, Buggy did nothing to retaliate. He whimpered and cried, Luffy feeling bad for the move when the man clearly had no power to fight back. It was as if he were viewing a pitifully weak person, helplessly curled in a ball. He drew back with a frown, but once he did, Buggy struck out with a foot, catching his casted leg. The surprising pain made Luffy shout, stumbling, and suddenly Buggy rushed him. He picked Luffy up easily, running for the operating room while Luffy struggled to right himself. He hit Buggy across the head with his casted arm, shouting out with the ringing pain, then drove his elbow down. Both of them slammed into the operating table, where they struggled briefly, Luffy shrimping out of his grasp and kicking out, catching him to create space between them.

Buggy straightened up, throwing fists, Luffy blocking easily. He grunted and cursed when his cast was hit, the bigger man driving him away from the table. He reached out to a cabinet, withdrawing a tin full of tools. Luffy plowed a knee into his liver, causing Buggy to curse and call out, slamming against the counter and dropping the tin. Tools scattered over the counter and floor with a noisy clatter. Before Luffy could throw another fist or limb, Buggy caught his shirt, whirling around to shove him far across the floor from him.

At that moment, the floor shuddered. Something groaned noisily, and both of them paused with bewilderment. Smoke began filtering through the floorboards, causing them to look around themselves.

"That jerk!" Buggy cursed, looking outraged. "That jerk! He's going to kill me, too!"

"Are you a ghost?" Luffy asked him, finding the doorknob to the main operating room, pushing it. The lock sounded, and he pushed on it with frustration, looking for the keys. He'd dropped them near the operating table, and lunged for them as Buggy spotted them at the same time.

"That would mean I was dead!' Buggy snapped at him. "Clearly, I am not."

"You are, because you aren't real," Luffy said firmly, slamming into him to get the keys. The man slammed off the table, caught himself, then looked at him with confusion. Once he had the keys in hand, Luffy made his way back to the door, finding the right one. He looked over his shoulder at Buggy, finding his expression puzzled.

"Oh…oh, that's not right…I don't feel…oh, but I am, I…I killed that kid. That…and Akainu, he let it happen, he let me go. Said there were no funds for me," Buggy muttered, scratching his blue head. His drool slipped past his open lips, slurped back in, wiped with an impatient hand. "Said there were no funds. Said…so, so I found others. And…but that's not right. I told him…no, that wasn't me. That wasn't me, there…there was another. He was mad at me. There was another…I needed to finish my work, I had to finish my show…I borrowed…I borrowed another, I needed it, he let me in, he gave me permission, I borrowed it, borrowed…"

Completely confused by his rambling, Luffy pushed out into the hallway, limping on his way to the staircase. But it was spewing out clouds of smoke, the smell horrendous. Smoke drifted up from the floorboards, hitting and gathering on the ceiling. The heat rising was uncomfortable, and he remembered that Ace and Zoro were still downstairs. Alarmed, he took the stairs two at a time, the heat nearly unbearable.

Coughing at the inhalation, he raced out onto the First Floor, finding that most of it had sunken down into the basement. There were only large support beams, joists that had yet to fall, standing out from the embers below. Large bursts of flames were licking at the hallway walls, eating though the offices – the visiting room was non-existent, having sunk down into the basement. The sanatorium was collapsing within itself, and Luffy stared at the damage, confused.

"ACE!" he shouted, the roar of flames, the spark and crack of wood making it near impossible to hear anything. His eyes stung with the heat and smoke, and he coughed, covering his mouth. He couldn't see no more than a few feet ahead of him when he turned to the left, to the medical ward. But the hallway there was still standing, the walls lit with flame. "ZORO!"

He ventured cautiously as something began to break apart, falling into the basement. Looking over, he saw that it was the hallway leading to the back of the mansion, to the kitchen, the back yard. That exposed most of the stairway, a skeleton that slowly started to shift under the weight of the upstairs. His feet burned with rising heat, and he tip-toed, desperate to find somebody.

He caught sight of movement ahead of him, and saw Law wander out from the ward. His face twisted with sick delight upon seeing him.

"Ah! Luffy! Luffy, come here! Come here, here's your friend! He's waiting for you!" he shouted, waving at him. It wasn't Law's voice – it was another man, and his face was twisted with a devilish smile.

The stairway shifted noisily, parts of it raining down onto the floor below. That section began to tilt, warping from underneath, wood snapping noisily. Looking up to the second floor, Luffy could see Penguin making his way down, showing nothing on his face. He thought he'd see the man fall once he touched down on the missing steps, but he continued moving as if it hadn't fallen. Somehow, the man was still moving – floating, even. That vibration began to build again, and Luffy forgot his intention to investigate Law's call.

Shoving the keys into his pocket, Luffy threw a fist at Penguin, but the man gave no reaction – taking the punch without a flinch or reaction, ambling past him to stand near a stable section of floor. He looked to his right, not lifting his head – and that section of the mansion began to crumble before their eyes, the Second Floor crashing into the First, pushing all debris towards the basement with a tremendous crash of sound. Luffy ran because it looked as if the mansion would fall completely over them, Law beckoning him with an encouraging expression. Luffy veered right to him, leaping up and kicking into him with both legs. Impact caused Law to fly back and slam into the wall behind him, caught unprepared with the action.

Luffy regained his footing and ran into the ward, seeing it being eaten away by flames. It was brilliant lit, agonizingly hot, causing the upstairs ward to creak and moan as supports were weakened. After seeing that this place wasn't safe, he looked around, seeing Zoro mindlessly stabbing a scalpel into his right ear, scraping hard deep inside. He was mumbling words that Luffy couldn't hear, twitching as he did so. Blooding dribbled over his shoulder, coated his neck and jaw, his hand unrelenting. Horrified, Luffy's mouth dropped open. With how mechanical Zoro was at that moment, Luffy knew there was no saving him. He whirled around at hearing a creak of noise, and jumped at Law to create space once more. But the man's taller frame, his longer reach, grabbed him around his neck, shoving him back into the ward. Luffy struggled to loosen those fingers, seemingly made of steel.

He struggled to breathe, struggled to get firm footing. But he tripped backwards over Zoro, Law following him, giggling.

"Naughty, naughty! Stupid kid, this is for every time you got away with your senseless crimes! Taking my food, taking my attention!" Law snarled at him, still using that voice, shifting to settle down on top of him. Luffy struggling mightily, kicking, but he couldn't get enough air. The heat, the smoke of the building, the feel of heated boards beneath him – his panic shot into overdrive, and he threw everything he had to roll them off and away from Zoro. It was Law's longer form that kept him over Luffy, laughing and coughing as he inhaled smoke.

One of his coughing fits caused him to loosen his grip, and Luffy used that opportunity to swing hard, catching him upside the head with a loud clunk. Law fell to the side, and Luffy scrambled out of his grip, inhaling deeply with needed air. But he only inhaled smoke, and that caused him to seize, choking on the force of it. He used Zoro to climb over, kicking him into Law's path – he didn't notice if the man was still alive, if he said anything. His mind was just strumming with the urgent need to survive, to get away, because there was danger all around him. Law twisted, reaching out to grab his casted leg, and Luffy's nails scraped over the wood as he found himself drawn back. He turned, and kicked at the man, then sat up and delivered several punches. Law drew back, covered his face, and Luffy kicked him hard, one more time, just to deliver insurance in his escape.

Without a look back, he raced out from the medical ward, keys in hand. He saw that the entire east wing was down, burning brilliant, plumes of black smoke drifting their way, escaping into the daylight. But he couldn't go that way. Penguin stood there at that particular hallway, watching him. Making eye contact. That hot sensation still floated around him, and Luffy turned, giving a desperate sound as he raced for the side door. But once he saw the key twisted and broken in the lock, he turned with a determined expression to bulrush the man waiting there.

Something invisible pushed him back. It was hot, forceful, and it made that same sound as it had upstairs. It was as if someone massive was standing there between them, his feet sliding over the floor. Luffy turned away from that invisible force, and ran back into the medical ward, but Law was standing there, with the scalpel he'd taken from Zoro. That man was lying on the floor, twitching violently, frothing bloody foam as he stared at nothing. Law giggled, wiping his sweaty forehead.

"Don't worry, Strawhat-ya," he said cheerfully. "I can make it painless for you. Just a right slice over the neck. Then you and Zoro-ya can walk each other down to Hell, where the others went."

"Try it!" Luffy shouted at him, erupting into coughs as heat surged against him. "Just you try it! Try it! Come at me!"

"You'll never take my food again!" Law shouted at him, lunging towards him. Luffy jerked back to avoid the scalpel, but he slammed hard into that unmoving force again. Twisting a look over his shoulder, he saw that Penguin was in the doorway, just watching him silently. He felt Law's hand splay over his face, and he cried out, hands shooting out to protect himself, and the man started slicing at him. Drawing the blade over and over his arms, stabbing into his neck and shoulders. With a roar of effort, Luffy ducked underneath his arms, wrapped his own tight around Law's upper thighs, and lifted. With a hard slam onto the floor, he drove Law into the wood, the man cursing as he lost the scalpel.

The floor collapsed underneath them at that moment, embers scattering around them. Luffy cried out with surprise as he hit hard, hot dirt, and the smoke, the heat, was suffocating. Law caught himself at the edge of the broken, weakened planks, shouting aloud as he sought to escape heat and smoke as it billowed up from the basement. He scrambled for footing, fingers and hands scraping over the surface.

Penguin silently watched him struggle as Luffy screamed with agony from the basement, scrambling to find somewhere cool, to find precious air. But the floor continued to warp around Law, falling, collapsing – pulling at the walls, the counters, the floor above them.

Panicked, Law looked at Penguin for help – but the man turned to walk away, saying or doing nothing.

"You fuck! You traitorous fuck!" he screamed at him, the ceiling falling noisily around them. The upstairs medical ward began collapsing, supplies raining down with a rush of noise and force. He couldn't escape the heat. All at once, recognizing his peril as Luffy continued to scream, touching his legs in an effort to climb up him, Law's various personalities began to shriek – with pain, anger, horror. All different voices from one mouth.

Shadows separated from him as they tried to escape the danger.

"I want to live!" Robin cried, nails ripping over the wood. "I want to live!"

"It hurts! It hurts! I'm burning! I'm burning!" Shachi shrilled, erupting into panicked cries; a child in agony.

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! I'll see you in Hell, pig!" Shiliew bellowed, long arms losing grip before falling backward.

Moments after Penguin left the medical ward, something heavy and thick plowed straight into him, causing him to fly back into the room, losing his footing. Caught entirely unprepared, he slammed off a burning support beam, being followed by the piece of wood used to take him down. He still didn't utter a sound as he was beaten into the wall, each driving force of the wood knocking sense, orientation from him. He started to reach upward, to react, but he was too slow, and effort required unused action. Every hit exploded against his head, driving hard into his jaw, his temple.

With one another drive, that piece of wood shattered the bones in his face, flinging teeth and blood into the burning wall, over the floor. He started to slump, the power around him failing, silencing. The screams from Law's direction stopped abruptly, dying with volume. The shadows disappeared as wisps of black smoke, emblazoning their last shapes into tile and wood. Then, Penguin drooped completely, and that encouraged one more drive of the weapon into his weakened skull, flattening face and ear into an unrecognizable mess.

The silence afterward was intense, save for the roar of the fire raging over and around them, Law managing to get a firm grip on the wood, feeling nothing around his legs. Seeing Penguin being destroyed by the other man gave Law some relief, seeing a way out of his hell. He couldn't hear any more screams coming from the voices that had been familiar with him, and the peace, the silence in his head overall, was such a powerful release. He clamored over the edge, pulling and struggling over the edges of tile and wood, using a too hot support joist to get his footing. Once he was up and over the warped floor, fighting for breath, he felt helping hands on his shirt and arm, yanking him from the collapsed section of the ward.

But before he could get a breath, say anything, he was forcefully pulled up and slammed hard into immovable surface, head bouncing violently against the nearest bedframe. Though the mattress had burned halfway, melting material into the metal, he was awkwardly placed against the bottom supports, and leather whispered as the restraining straps, still attached to the bed, were pulled and latched over him. Recognizing that he was being strapped down, heavy disorientation making it difficult for him to understand the action, Law struggled to settle his coughing, to get breath.

He looked at his captor with wide-eyed surprise, horror, understanding that he was going to die. Terror at dying, trying to understand why he was there in the first place, ravaged his features. All around him, the sanatorium burned, collapsing noisily, with loud crashes and cracks of wood.

In front of him, Ace struggled to breathe. Most of his hair had been burned away from his face and head, skin melted into his clothing. But he rested against Law, struggling to find strength. Half of his back was blackened, skin stretched and peeled away to expose the brilliant red of his muscle, fat. But he had strength to feel relief, satisfaction, after everything he'd been through with Law, being that he was the only one standing. He'd successfully eliminated the pair that had caused the staff, the group, such terror and grief; at the cost of losing everyone, but at least Law and Penguin couldn't kill anyone else. It would end here.

With a fiercely twisted expression, he laughed as he saw that Law understood his fate.