Memory Trap
Chapter Three: Fall of the White City
A/N: So I went through the whole story in my head and, sorry guys, but I have come to the conclusion that this should stay as a no-pairing story. Because it's going to continue on after the memories all through Dressrosa arc. It seemed better as a no-pairing. But I'll add tiny hints of LawLu, though you could interpret them as friendship if you want. :] And as for the rape, I'm still contemplating over it. But it might happen. Don't worry, I'll put up a tag and a warning on the chapter so you can skip if it happens. (And if it does, it'll be done by Doffy. That much I know has been settled.)
Mayday, mayday; the ship is slowly sinking
They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling
When the next memory came into sight, the Straw Hats were surrounded by chaos. There was smoke in the air and several buildings were up in flames. People held their children close with packs on their backs, looking terribly frightened as they ran through the streets. The City of White was no longer the beautiful place they had just seen moments ago. All the white was smudged with dirt, blood, and ash. "What the… What happened?"
Zoro threw Robin a glance and asked, "What's happening right now?"
"This is the fall of Frevance," she quietly spoke.
"Fall?" Usopp asked.
"The neighboring countries of Frevance began to think that Amber Lead Disease was an epidemic and they closed off every passage out of the country. It was put under quarantine. Some of the citizens of the city tried to find safety in other countries, but they were treated like monsters. They were feared and misunderstood, and they were shot and killed on sight in fear of the disease. But Frevance didn't stay quiet, and took up weapons to fight back. A war broke out, but they were shown no mercy from the other countries." Her eyes ran over the chaos around them with sadness. "This must be them trying to survive the war."
"But…" Chopper furrowed his brow in confusion. "It wasn't contagious. The World Government knew this, right? So why didn't they tell the other countries that?"
"The pain of an illness isn't something others can feel," Brook said, looking away from the memory as a crying woman held her sickly and unmoving child tightly to her chest.
Sanji grit his teeth. "They probably wanted the whole thing to be over with. Why try to stop a war when they know no one will listen?"
"Exactly. Everyone already believed it was contagious, they wouldn't have taken any chances even if the World Government declared it contained."
"Look, there's Law." All eyes fell onto the small boy. He didn't look any older from the last memory so they knew hardly any time had passed. He wore another button-up shirt with his spotted hats and black shorts. They didn't fail to notice the white bruises on his arms. Before him was a nun and group of scared children. They all looked to be around Law's age and they all wore the same outfit as him. The crew figured they were students.
Every single one of them had white bruises on their body.
"Law, you too! Come with us! The soldiers said they'd let just the children escape!" She had tears of relief in her eyes. There was no doubt she'd been worried for the children put under her care.
But Law shook his head. "Sister, my sister's about to die. I can't just leave now."
"Oh, Lamy, is… That's right. We'll just have you leave on the next evacuation ship then. It'll come again." Law gave a nod, though the crew could see worry in his eyes.
"Law! You're not coming? Let's go together!" one of the students behind the nun yelled.
"You can have them save Lamy afterwards," another student shouted.
"My daddy and mommy died! But they told me to live on, so that's what I'm gonna do!" another student cried, his small body trembling as tears ran down his cheeks.
Nami's heart throbbed at the scene, and she could feel a few tears begin to pool in her eyes. Usopp's eyes teared up too, and they couldn't help but feel sorry for the children who had to experience so much pain and witness such horrible acts at such a young age. But there they stood, strong and willing to live. They were glad the soldiers had some mercy at least.
The nun kneeled down in front of Law and put a hand around the back of his neck, giving a smile at the small boy. "See, Law? There is no such thing as despair in this world. A merciful hand will always reach out."
Robin stared at the nun with mild surprise. While she was wrong about there being no despair in the world – because there was, unfortunately – she had been right about the last part. A merciful hand will always reach out. For Robin, for all of the members, that merciful hand had been Luffy. He took them in without any problems, he beat away their fears and darkness until all that was left in their world was nothing but bright sunshine.
Luffy was their savior, their bright sun.
Law gave a nod and watched as the nun ushered the children away. He wasted no time in going back to the hospital where his sister was. As he ran into the hospital, he noticed a line of people waiting at the gate; all with injuries or holding someone with Amber Lead Disease that wasn't moving. "Doctor! Help us!"
"Doctor!" Chopper ran over to several of the people who were wounded. Upon quick inspection, he noticed they were all bullet wounds.
"Someone's shooting these people…!"
"That's what happens in war," Zoro said, his arms crossed over his chest.
"But these people don't look like they were trying to fight–"
"A lot of innocent people get caught up in war," the cyborg stated. As harsh was it sounded, it was true. Too many casualties happened simply because someone was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But to some people, there were no innocents in war. Civilians were still seen as potential soldiers, and thus labeled a threat.
Luffy couldn't help but be reminded of Marineford, remembering how many people had fallen at his side while trying to escort and protect him. He wished he could forget those memories, but it was impossible. There were just some things you couldn't forget no matter how hard you tried.
Law's eyes froze on all the wounded. It looked like he wanted to go over and help them but something else was more important to him at the moment. He focused back on running for the top floor. As he passed by his father's work room, he slowed down his pace to overhear the conversation the adult was having. He peeked into the room to see his father standing near a Den Den Mushi and his mother writing something down in a notebook
"I'm sorry. There's simply nothing we can do."
"We don't have enough doctors here! Or blood for transfusions! Anything! There must be a way to eliminate Amber Lead from the body! The disease itself isn't even contagious! Why won't the government report this fact?!"
"They're trying so hard to save everyone," Chopper murmured. He looked around the room. He had no doubt it was once perfectly organized. But now open books were scattered everywhere, and several tubes of varying liquids took up all the tables. Paperwork with panicked and desperate handwriting covered the floors and he could see how many attempts the two doctors had made in trying to cure Amber Lead Disease. The woman gave a frustrated hiss as she slammed the book shut and walked over to another table, looking for a piece of paperwork that would assist her in looking for a cure.
Both had white bruises on their faces.
Law pushed away from the room and continued down the hall until he came to the room he was looking for. Quietly opening and closing the door, he hurried over to his sister's side. Her breathing was heavy and a thin layer of sweat covered her brow. She gave a pained groan, and Law instantly reached out and held her hand. "Brother…my body hurts… It's becoming white…"
"Hang in there just a little longer," Law urged, trying to sound strong for his little sister. He gave her a smile and the crew had a hard time telling if it was forced or not. "Dad's the best doctor in the country! I just know he'll make you better!"
Lamy tried to give a small smile back and looked over at her brother. "Why is it so noisy outside?"
"Oh… That's a festival! You know Frevance is always lively," Law lied.
"Why did he lie?" Luffy asked, looking over at Usopp.
"He didn't want to frighten his sister," the long-nosed male replied. "In her sickened state, it would have only caused her more pain and stress. It was his way of trying to protect her from the horrors happening outside."
"Did mother or father give you a shot of morphine yet?" When the small girl shook his head, Law headed over to the nightstand beside the bed. Opening the first drawer, he pulled out a small bottle of morphine and a syringe. Filling it to the right dosage, he made sure there were no air bubbles before giving it to his sister. "There, that should help with the pain a little."
"Thanks, big brother," Lamy managed, her smile strengthening a little. "You always take such good care of me."
"That's what older siblings do," he smiled back, running his hand through her hair as he gave her hand a tight squeeze. "We look after our little siblings."
"You're the best," she mumbled, giving a yawn.
"Get some sleep," he said. "I'll be back when you wake up." The crew watched in silence as the little girl's eyes fluttered close and Law's smile slowly fell from his face. He quietly backed out of the room, closing the door as gently as he could. As he exited the room, he saw his mother and father walking briskly down the long hall; their arms filled with bags of what Chopper figured were bandages and disinfectants. Law decided to follow them in hopes of being able to help them out.
He followed them downstairs and to the gate where they were met by all the wounded civilians. They began treating the more heavily wounded first, and Law finally approached his parents. "Is there anything I can help with?"
"Law!" His mother was surprised to see him there. "What are you doing here? It's not safe!"
"I want to help," he said. "I know how to dress wounds, you and father showed me how."
"Law," his father said. "I want you to go back inside and stay with Lamy."
"She's asleep. I gave her some morphine already, too."
"Law, please," his mother said. "It's not safe for you to be in here right now. I want you to go inside, okay?" The crew watched as Law silently nodded. It was obvious he didn't want to go back inside, that he wanted to stay and be of some help because he cared for the people around him who were wounded. But the look the woman was giving him left no room for arguments. He turned and began to head back inside. It was when he entered the building did he hear it. Gunshots.
The crew and Law both turned on their heels when the sound reached their ears. "No way," Usopp breathed, his eyes wide.
"Did they just…?" Brook was hoping that if they were to go outside, he wouldn't see what he thought they would. That hopefully it was one of the civilians that pulled out a gun and took a few shots at soldiers. But when Law ran back out of the hospital, he was horrified to see the patients his parents had been treating moments ago were now lying on the ground; blood seeping from freshly made bullet wounds. For a moment, Law couldn't move; his eyes frozen on the lifeless bodies. But then he snapped from his stupor and ran down the stairs.
"Mother, father…" The crew picked up the worry in the boy's voice. The crew themselves felt anxious, hoping Law's parents would make it out alive. His parents weren't there. Looking off to the side, he saw a soldier turn the corner on the street, following something white. He quickly followed after him. As he turned the corner though, he was met with a heart stopping sight.
His parents turned to see if the soldier was still behind them. He was, and he aimed his gun right at them.
Before Law could even blink, the gun was fired several times.
Nami gave a horrified gasp, bringing her mouth to her hand as Sanji quietly comforted her. It was exactly how her mother had died, shot in the chest right before her eyes. The crew sent her worried glances, silently hoping she would be okay. They knew how traumatizing it for her see people get shot. The sound of a gun going off still had her flinching most times, and none of them could blame her.
Zoro watched on, face emotionless. But even he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sorrow. Those two had been of the few people who had never lost hope in finding a cure, doing everything in their power to try and save a country from being massacred.
Maybe they would have found a cure if they had been given more time. Maybe not. They would never know.
Law's eyes filled with tears, and another memory swirled in and mixed with the one they were watching.
Law sat at a desk; his father sitting beside him with a smile and pointing to a photograph in a book. "This particular surgery utilizes this blood vessel."
"Oh, I see," Law said, scribbling down some notes. In the back, Lamy and her mother waited for Law to finish his studies.
"Brother, let's go to the festival!"
"Just for thirty minutes, okay? We have a patient in right now," her mother said, giving a smile at her daughter's eagerness. When Law was done with his studies, he turned in his seat to look at his sister and mother. "Law, let's go to the festival," his mother smiled softly, reaching out her hand for him to take. He gave a smile and nodded, grabbing it.
The memory faded away and they were left to stare at the two dead bodies on the ground. The soldier took out a mini-transponder snail as he walked over the bodies without a care. "Two infected, exterminated."
Exterminated.
As if they had been nothing more than pesky insects.
Law trembled as tears poured from his eyes. "MOTHER! FATHER!" He ran to them, falling to his knees as he pressed a hand to their wounds. "Wake up! Wake up!" But he knew it. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew it.
His parents were dead.
"No, no, no," he repeated, reaching up to feel for any vital signs. He was met with none. His trembling hands left their throats and instead reached for their hands, holding them tightly despite the fact his hands were covered in their blood.
"This is messed up," Sanji grit, still holding Nami as she quietly trembled. Franky and Brook remained quiet, though they held grim expressions. Luffy's hat covered his eyes, but everyone could see how tightly his fists were clenched.
The sound of screaming reached their ears. It was children. The sound of gunfire accompanied the screams, and several of the crew members felt their heart drop. "Y-You don't think…? I mean, they wouldn't kill children, right…? Didn't that nun say they were evacuating the children?"
Law gave one last look at his parents before he forcefully pushed himself to his feet, running towards the sound of the screams. He gave a quiet sob as he tripped over one of the dead patients who had been at the hospital earlier. The crew recognized the person as Ms. Tizako, the woman who worked at the ice cream shop.
When Law rounded the corner and looked up, he felt himself freeze. As the crew looked at what he was looking at, they gave horrified gasps.
The nun and all the students that'd been with her…were dead.
"T-This… can't be right," Usopp whispered, his eyes wide. He felt himself grow sick at the sight, and he had to look away before he threw up his lunch.
"This is wrong," Brook whispered. Law's trembling legs slowly carried him through the crowd of bodies, and he stopped before the lifeless form of the nun from earlier. He fell to his knees as more tears poured from his eyes.
"See, Law? There is no such thing as despair in this world. A merciful hand…"
"SISTEEEEER!"
"…will always reach out."
Beside the nun's hand was her cross. The children surrounding Law all held terrified expressions as they laid in a pool of their own blood.
"Let's go together!"
"I will live on!"
Nami buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. "I don't want to see this," she whispered. Usopp closed his eyes and wiped away the tears on his cheeks. Chopper sobbed beside the sniper, holding the male's pants tightly as he, too, closed his eyes. Even Robin had to look away. While Ohara had indeed been buster called, she had not witnessed anyone's death except Saul and the Professor. Here, though, Law had grown up with these students. He had known each of their names and seemed rather close with the nun. To see their bodies…must have been traumatizing and haunting.
Still, they had been just children. How could you take the life of so many children and not feel single a shred of guilt?
Law continued to cry, not even bothering to wipe away his tears. "Mother, father," he whispered. "Sister…" His eyes suddenly widened. "Sister," he repeated. "Lamy…!" He quickly got to his feet, running around all the bodies of the students and making sure not to trip on any of them. He looked down and saw one child had tried to duck when being shot at. Her eye was missing, the bullet piercing it and going right through her skull.
He choked down another sob and focused on running towards the hospital. But as he grew closer, the night sky began to grow brighter. The smell of smoke was stronger than it ever was before. And when he finally reached the hospital's gate, he was horrified to see the building was up in flames. "The hospital..!" He fell to his knees again, his tumbling legs unable to hold him up any longer. "L-Lamy," he whispered. "LAMY!"
The image of her smiling happily, holding an ice cream cone up popped into his mind. "I'll always be by your side. I'll always be there for you." "That's what older siblings do. We look after our little siblings." Luffy felt his fists curl as those words echoed throughout the scene. It reminded him of Ace so much. Ace had always looked after Luffy, had always taken care of him and protected him no matter what the cost. "I'm your big brother, it's only natural I protect you since you're such a weak crybaby!" Oh, how he missed Ace.
Law repeated his sister's name again and again. She had been so young, so innocent. Why did she have to die? She hadn't done a single thing wrong in her entire life! Why did she have to die? Why? Why?!
Why couldn't it have been him instead?
He failed to protect his own sister. He promised he'd keep her safe, that'd he'd always be by her side. He hadn't been there when she needed him the most. He hadn't been there when the hospital was set aflame. He hadn't been there to tell her it was all okay and that he'd protect her no matter what. He hadn't been there to save her. He hadn't been there.
He hadn't been able to save anyone.
His mind couldn't take it.
No…
His heart couldn't take it.
He threw back his head, and screamed to the heavens.
The crew couldn't stare at the scene, nor listen to his screams any longer. "It's just like what happened in Marineford," Franky said, trying to ignore the broken child's anguished cries. "His mind just couldn't handle it…"
"To have a mental breakdown at such a young age," Usopp whispered, shaking his head. "And it's all the World Governments fault…!"
"So that's what Law meant," Luffy's quietly said.
"What do you mean?" Brook asked.
"After the war, when Jinbei made me realize I still had my friends left, Law came and talked to me afterwards."
"Oh yeah," Nami whispered, wiping away her own tears. "I remember seeing that."
The sound of grass crunching weight had Luffy and Jinbei looking up. There stood Law, a straw hat grasped in his hand. "I would like to speak to Mugiwara-ya alone," he said, eyes never leaving the crying teen. The fishman gave a nod and left to give the two captains privacy. When they were alone, Law walked over to Luffy, holding out the straw hat. "Here."
Luffy's shaky fingers reached out and grabbed the hat tightly, holding it like it was his only lifeline. "Thank you," he sniffed.
"I suggest you take it easy from now on until you're healed," Law said, turning around. "I'm leaving with my crew now. If you reopen your wounds, you'll die." Luffy simply nodded, wiping away the tears on his cheeks.
"Why did you save me?" Law did not answer right away.
"…It was a spur of the moment decision," he finally replied. His voice was even and emotionless, just as his face was. "That's all." He went quiet for another moment. Then, "I'm sorry for your loss."
Law began to walk away, but he could still hear Luffy whisper something under his breath. "It should have been me." The words stopped Law in his tracks, but he did not turn around.
"It's better that he died and you lived, than having you die and he live." Luffy's eyes widened and he snapped his head up to glare at the surgeon.
"What did you say?" he quietly snarled.
"I believe you heard me just fine."
"You bastard!" Luffy shot to his feet and turned Law around, grabbing the front of the man's hoodie with clenched fists. Angry and regret burned fiercely in Luffy's eyes, but the surgeon was unaffected by the look. Was Law like everyone else in the world? Did this man believe that Ace should never have been born simply because he was the child of Roger? "How dare you say that! I'll kick your–"
"You and Ace-ya seemed rather close," Law suddenly interrupted, cutting of Luffy's anger. "He was willing to sacrifice everything for you without a moment's hesitation. He also seemed quite protective of you, more protective than a normal older sibling should be. I'm guessing you meant more to him than you can even begin to realize. Tell me, why did Ace-ya continue to live?"
Luffy's eyes slightly widened, and the grip on the man's hoodie slackened. "Because…of me…"
"If you were his reason of living, how do you think he would have felt if you had died because he had failed to protect you? Because he wasn't at your side when you needed him the most?" Something flashed in the surgeon's eyes at that moment, but Luffy couldn't place what it was. "If he had woken up after the war and discovered he failed to protect the only thing that kept him alive, he would have been utterly broken. If you thought what you're feeling now is guilt, it's nothing compared to how Ace-ya would have felt."
The hands completely fell away from Law's hoodie.
"It was better that he died and you lived…than him having to wake to realize he couldn't protect his younger brother."
Luffy knew Law was right. He remembered the time when he fought the Bear King back on his home island, and how frightened Ace had been when the bear managed to badly injure Luffy. That had been the first time Luffy had seen Ace cry. His brother kept repeating the words, "I'm sorry, Luffy. I'm so sorry, it's my fault. I'm sorry" all throughout the night.
Law words helped melt away a lot of the regret.
Not all of it, because he still knew it was his fault Ace died, but most of it was indeed gone now as he thought over the man's words.
The surgeon around and began walking back towards his submarine. "Take care, Mugiwara-ya. It would be a shame for you to die so early in the race." And with that, Law was gone.
"He was speaking from experience," Luffy said, realizing that what had flashed in the surgeon's eyes during their conversation had been understanding.
"I hate this," Usopp said, his fists shaking from anger. "It's not right to see this, it's not right at all!"
"It can't get any worse…right? I mean, that was pretty horrifying."
"I doubt it can," another member answered before shaking their head. "But you never know. Either way, we're going to find out."
"I feel bad for Law," Chopper said quietly. "When he wakes up, he's going to remember every single bad memory all at once. We all did, and it look what did to us. We could barely talk to each other for almost two days. How is he going to react, being on a ship full of people he doesn't really know?" Not only that, but quite a few of them had small panic attacks upon waking up with their minds filled with nothing but horrible memories. Robin and Luffy, though, had the worst panic attacks. The little reindeer had to give them mild sedatives to calm them down.
No one had an answer for Chopper's question.
Finally, Law's screams died down, and the memory faded back to black. The crew remained silent, trying to forget the horrible images they just saw. But in the back of their minds, they now knew they had an answer for Nami's earlier question.
"How can you be so cruel?!"
- Back on the ship -
Honbee sat in the darkness with her eyes closed. She could feel her Devil Fruit starting to take affect, converting the memory into power. Her mind replayed what she had just seen; all the horror and cruelty a war could bring. How it and the loss of so many loved ones could affect one so deeply. "What a truly horrible memory," she whispered, her voice quivering lightly.
A sinister grin pulled at her lips.
"How utterly perfect."
A/N: I HOPE IT WAS OKAY. I don't know. I feel like…this chapter could have been better. If you think so, tell me what I could have added. And I'll go back and try to add it in. I think I rushed some scenes. Didn't mean to if I did. Anyway, the next chapter is going to based off the song Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones. I think it matches Law perfectly after Lamy dies.
I got so excited yesterday thinking, "I can't wait to write the scenes with Law and Corazon during their six months together! I'm gonna add so much fluffy stuff!" And then I realized this story is only focusing on the bad memories of Law's past. And I got sad. XD So after this story is finished, I'll probably upload one that has all of Law's adventures with our big, lovable, clumsy Cora-san. :D
But again, thank you all so much for your kind and wonderful reviews! I wish I could reply to them all! I may, someday. But until then… *bows* THANK YOU. I LOVE YOU GUYS.
Your shy ice elemental,
~»roo the psycho«