Memory Trap
Chapter Seven: Sifting Through Nightmares

A/N: Sorry for such a late update. Computer was out of order for three weeks and then I ran out of wifi, and then I discovered the chapter I had written up was deleted so I had to rewrite it, except I forgot what I wrote… (It's times like this that really curse my horrible memory…) And do you guys have any suggestion as what to write during the two years Law was with Doffy's family? I can only think of his training and that's it. ^^;

Also, spoilers if you haven't watched One Piece movie 6!

Mayday, mayday; the ship is slowly sinking
They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling

It was not the first time the Straw Hats had witnessed a nightmare; they had come across their fair share of them when forced to view each other's memories.

A lot Nami's revolved around her mother's death, as well as the idea of her coming home only to find everyone in her village dead with Arlong laughing in the middle of the massacre. She would have detailed dreams of watching the bullet tear through Bell-mère's chest, or seeing Genzo lying on the ground with blood seeping from his many new lacerations. Usopp's was similar to Nami's with him discovering his villagers all dead, along with Kaya and the Usopp Pirates' corpses lying at the feet of a darkly grinning Kuro. He would dream of how Luffy never showed up and he was forced to hear everyone's screams while he tried to off the pirates in vain.

For Sanji, he would occasionally find himself stuck on that rock with Zeff in the middle of the ocean with nothing to eat. He would feel the horrible pains of hunger as he became nothing but bones. His other nightmares consisted of the time he spent in the Kamabakka Kingdom. (Which, to be honest, many of the other crew members found rather funny to watch, much to Sanji's horror and embarrassment.) Chopper's had mostly focused on Doctor Hiriluk's death and his time spent before he found the doctor when he traveled through the snowy kingdom alone, hunted by the villagers he would later treat. The feeling of being called a monster back then tore at his heart, and the loneliness he felt was nearly suffocating in the cold temperatures.

Robin's were focused on the death of Ohara, how she was finally reunited with her mother only to have her be ripped away again; how she watched Saul die before her eyes and watched her island go up in flames. She'd dream of all those years she spent alone as a little girl, running from island to island in a desperate attempt to live. And if it wasn't about that, then it was about her crossing the Bridge of Hesitation and nearing the Gates of Justice; being sent away to Impel Down where she would be tortured for information regarding the poneglyphs. She even dreamt how she would be the cause of death to all her friends, that the World Government finally managed to kill Luffy and the others and she was left to live with the guilt festering inside her.

Franky's, the few he had, were mostly about nearly losing Iceburg to CP9, and about the guilt he felt when they took Tom away to Impel Down. How the world lost a brilliant shipwright and inventor all because he was obsessed with building ships and refused to take them apart afterwards. And Brook's would focus on wandering through the mist alone for years on end, and remembering how he watched his crew mates die as they played Bink's Sake together for the last time. How he wasn't strong enough to get his shadow back and leave Thriller Bark to go find Laboon.

One of rare nightmares Zoro had had been about Kuina, and how disappointed she had been about him losing to Mihawk. Though Chopper explained the dream could easily have been blamed on the pain Zoro had been in after that fight with Mihawk. His other one had been about if he hadn't been awake during the Thriller Bark incident, that Kuma would have taken Luffy and they all would have simply slept through it. And Luffy… The crew had been surprised to see just what Luffy's nightmares had been about, and just how frequent he had them.

The first time they came across one of his nightmares had been after Shanks saved Luffy. He'd dream about drowning in the sea, the sea king coming closer and looming over him with its large teeth. It was understandable, seeing as he was only seven years old when such a terrifying thing happened. The second time was when Ace and Dadan were missing during the fire in Goa; how he was alone, that Sabo was with his parents now and Ace was lying dead among the burning garbage. The third had been when Sabo died. He'd dream of the last time he saw Sabo, how the blond child gave himself up to save his brothers' lives with tears falling down his cheeks. Sabo hadn't been happy when he died, and that was what killed Luffy and Ace the most; knowing that they could have gone to save him from being forced to live in a place he didn't belong.

The fourth time they came across the nightmares was after they escaped Omatsuri Island. Those nightmares lasted longer than the previous ones, and he'd dream almost every night for two months about how he almost wasn't strong enough to save his friends. That, for a fleeting moment, he had been alone, and that he had given up the fight to live. He'd dream of Sanji telling him it was his fault he lost all his nakama, and how he watched up close as Zoro disappeared into that…thing called Lily. It had been the first, and last, time Luffy had ever killed someone.

The fifth was after the fight with Lucci, after they got Robin back. He'd dream about how he wasn't strong enough to win against Lucci, and he would be forced to watch the leopard man kill his friends mercilessly. He would dream that he wasn't able to save Robin and she was taken away from them forever. The sixth time was after the Sabaody incident, how he really wasn't strong enough to keep all his nakama safe and he was forced to watch them disappear right before his very eyes.

It was after Marineford when the nightmares got really bad.

The repeated dreams of watching his brother die protecting him, seeing the fist of lava tear through his brother's body so easily and smelling the scent of burning flesh everywhere.

Of seeing his brother's blood soaking his hand.

Those were the nightmares the crew had the hardest time to watch, because never did the dream of Marineford lack any details. Every time the dreams came up, they could smell the burning flesh, feel the heat radiating off Akainu's fist, could hear Ace's wheezing breaths as he tried to continue to talk loud enough for his brother to hear him above the sound of war. Luffy, on the rare occasion, would also dream of Ace blaming him for his death; saying that because Luffy was weak, he had to die to protect his younger brother. He'd dream that he lost his nakama along with his brother, and that he was truly left alone in the world.

So yes, the Straw Hats had had their fair share of nightmares in their last Memory Trap.

But none had been so disturbing as Law's had been.

Seeing the charred body of a little girl was something none of the Straw Hats wanted to remember, and they could only imagine what sort of guilt Law felt for not being able to save his sister when she needed him. Robin knew what it was like to be the only survivor of massacre, and the thoughts that would, at many times, nag at the mind.

Why am I still alive?

Why didn't I die with the others?

Why was I the only one?

Why?

She had no doubt those questions plagued Law's mind when he wasn't focused on something. "Nightmares like that are to be expected," she said, her voice quiet. A near haunting look flashed through her eyes and the crew knew why. They had no doubt it reminded of her the Buster Call on Ohara, and how she watched Saul die before her eyes. Nami laid a comforting hand on Robin's shoulder and offered her a soft smile.

"You alright?"

"Yes," Robin answered before turning to her captain. "Luffy, are you okay?"

He flashed her a smile, but everyone could see that it had been forced since it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm fine, don't worry about me," he replied before focusing on the darkness around them. Law's nightmare reminded him of Marineford, of the smell of burning flesh when Ace's chest was pierced. Both of them had lost a sibling to due to a fire-related incident. Both had mental breakdowns after their loss, and both had reoccurring nightmares after the incident. Too many similarities between them, and yet he still couldn't get that one question out his mind.

How?

How had Law moved on?

Law stayed up the entire night with his nose buried in the medical book Doflamingo had gotten him, making sure to keep his mind busy so it wouldn't wander back to the nightmare he'd had. As long as he focused on the textbook he would be fine. The first rays of sunshine began to shine upon the pirate base and a few of the family members began waking up. An hour rolled by and the call of breakfast had everyone flocking to the dining room save for Law.

A knock at his door was the only thing that managed to break Law out of his concentration, and he tore his eyes away from the textbook to see who was visiting him. The door cracked open a little bit to reveal the face of Doflamingo. "Breakfast is ready," he said.

Law turned back to book before him. "I'm not hungry," he responded, picking up his pencil to write down several notes. The sound of footsteps approaching alerted him that Doflamingo was now standing directly behind him. The young master leaned down, taking a quick look at the notes Law written. The Straw Hat crew, too, leaned over to check them out. The boy's handwriting was neat and clear. He was a great note taker, all his notes were to the point and informative.

"You did manage any sleep last night?"

"A little, yes," Law answered, keeping his answers brief. He wasn't much of a talker to start with, and he certainly wasn't one now.

"Nightmares, I presume?" The child's hand barely twitched, causing his y to look more like a x, but the crew and Doflamingo caught it. It was all the blond needed to see to know the answer. He didn't say anything but instead placed his large hand on the child's small shoulder for a moment before leaving the room. Law furrowed his brows at Doflamingo's action, not exactly sure what it meant. The crew knew, though. It was not only a sign of comfort, but a sign of empathy.

For whatever reason, apparently Doflamingo suffered from nightmares as well.

"I wonder what things he could possibly dream about that keeps him up sometimes," Usopp mused aloud. From what he heard from Law, Doflamingo wasn't exactly someone you went up against unless you had a death wish. Men like that usually had nothing to fear. Fear nothing, feared by all.

"I doubt he gets many nightmares," Chopper added. "He doesn't really seem like someone who does."

"Looks can be deceiving," Zoro said, his eyes flickering over to Luffy's direction. They thought, out of the entire crew, Luffy would have the least amount of nightmares before Marineford. They had been wrong. How their captain managed to keep such dreams from them was surprising and concerning. "Besides," he continued, "he wears glasses. We can't tell if he's like Law, who has dark skin beneath his eyes from insomnia."

"Do you think it has anything to do with those scars we saw on Corazon?" Franky asked. "I mean, like Chopper said, he must have gotten them when he was just a kid. And since they're brothers–"

"They always stuck together," Sanji finished.

"Meaning whatever Corazon went through, Doflamingo went through as well."

"Maybe that's the real reason he took Law in," Nami spoke up, turning to the other crew members. "If Doflamingo and his brother went through such a hard time as children and became so strong in a little more than ten years, then maybe he believes Law will grow up the same way as long as they find the Ope Ope no Mi."

"That would make sense."

The sound of the door to the room closing caught everyone's attention. When Law turned around, he was surprised to see a plate of food sitting on the table.

And a dark purple feather resting next to it.

A/N: Sorry it's so short and sorry if it was boring. I'm seriously disappointed in myself that this took nearly three months to update. I'm sorry guys, I really am, but I had such a struggle rewriting this to where I found acceptable. I'll try my best not to let it take so long again to update. But yeah, do you guys know what else I could write about for the two years Law is with the Donquixote family besides his training?

But beside that, thank you all for your wonderful reviews! Seriously, I can't believe you guys! :'D Arigatou gozaimasu! I'm not c-crying! Not at a-all!

(Also, the song My Demons, the version I listen to can be found on the youtube AMV called One Piece AMV - My Demons. It's done by Erolox. Check it out! :D)

Your shy ice elemental,
~»roo the psycho«