A/N: Umm… oops… my finger slipped and an AU of the AU happened. It is not going be the last time this will happen for this particular AU. [*stares at LibreOffice and sweats*] I just need to get more of it done first, so have this in the meantime.

6331 words to start, but will be well over 17k at estimation of this posting; picks up immediately after chapter two of fly little seagull, the world awaits, so do read that please if you'd like to know what in the hell's going on (I mean, tl;dr is that Law is transmorgifying into a 7yo's version of Cora-san, but yeah it's an extra 15.7k words if you haven't gotten there yet), as this entire thing will function as an alternate third chapter to that fic (I'll update the author's notes accordingly); congrats y'all are gonna be subjected to more of my OC and my weird Dressrosa headcanons enjoy

fly little seagull, you're too far from the nest

One

It was late in the evening when Law and Bepo finally made their way back to the Polar Tang; their talk with Fred had been fruitful enough to where the captain felt he could build plans utilizing the knowledge she gave them. Law knew he couldn't include his fuzzy best friend in the deliberations that needed to be done—he needed Penguin and Shachi so that he could start preparing them to helm the crew themselves. There were contingencies to plan, failsafes to put into place, and he was going to need to do them quickly.

What he needed most was to make sure the crew would be alright if… no, when he died fighting Doflamingo… that Nauja was going to be cared for… or else he couldn't begin the next stage with a clear mind and no regrets. He knew that things could naturally fall into place, but he knew the peace of mind involved in planning everything out beforehand could either make or break him, and this was something too fragile to allow free reign.

"I wonder how everyone else is doing," Bepo mused as they walked along the street. There weren't nearly as many people wandering around as earlier, but it was still fairly busy for the hour. "Oh no… some of my friends could be married with cubs…"

"We all have different paths," Law reminded him, using words that had not personally brought him comfort in years. "Besides, all the cubs will think you're the coolest adult ever."

"You really think so?"

"I know so." They then turned a corner and something felt wrong. "Bepo… something's off. Do you smell anything?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," the Mink replied. "This is a pretty rough part of town, so nothing I smell surprises me…"

Together, Law and Bepo both broke out into a run, heading towards the docks fast as they could. By the time they got there, it looked as though they had been too late. Hakugan and Clione were attempting to drag some of their unconscious crewmates into the Tang, while Penguin and Shachi were trying to bandage up some of the others, and the rest were doing their best to not move.

"What happened?!" Soon as the others saw Law, the color left their faces. "Is everyone alright?!"

"We don't know," Shachi admitted. His voice wavered, which made the hairs on his captain's neck stand on-end. "There was this weird guy waiting for us when we got here and took us by surprise. Beat us all up and knocked us all unconscious…"

"Where's Nauja-ya…?"

"He took her!" Penguin sobbed. He couldn't look at Law, too ashamed of what he was admitting. "We tried to get her into the Polar Tang, but when woke up she was gone!"

"Fuck!" Law kicked a nearby bottle, it shattering on the wall of a building; there was no telling where they were now. "What did he look like?!"

"You won't get a hold of him," Jean Bart said solemnly. "I got a good look at him—he's a high-ranking Marine."

"What's a Marine want with Our Nauja?" Bepo shivered.

"More importantly," Ikkaku mentioned, "what sort of Marine kidnaps a little girl from a Warlord's custody but leaves a hot ticket item like Jean Bart behind?"

Dread settled down on Law, creeping down into his bones. Oh, fuck, something was seriously off about this. He tried to think of all the Marines that they had crossed paths with the past few months; no one was really of the caliber to take on all the crew on their own, even without him and Bepo there. Why did the Marine take Nauja, of all of them, and completely ignore that Jean Bart was a Celestial's runaway slave?

Oh… oh no…

"Was he tall? With dark hair and a beard? Lightning bolt sideburns? Sunglasses? Food on his face?"

"Fried rice, yeah…"

Law tasted bile.

"Captain…?" He could hear Bepo's voice, yet the bear sounded so far away. Law's chest tightened and his eyes slipped out of focus as he stumbled.

Vergo had Nauja.

Doflamingo would soon have Nauja.

All he knew was the crew's panicked voices in the distance before he blacked out.

Nauja struggled against the material of the sack she had been stuffed in at the wharf, unable to break it. She couldn't even stab it open with her dirk—it was protected by something that made it too tough. It was bad enough that the sack had been suspended from something while they were on a ship so that she couldn't roll away, but now she was being carried like she was just some potatoes. Well, these potatoes were going to fight back!

"I brought what you asked for, Young Master," the man said. He threw the sack into the air and something caught it, jostling the little girl inside.

"Don't be so rough with our guest," another man chided, his accent strange. The sack was gingerly put down on the floor and the top opened, allowing Nauja to pop out. It was bright and sunny, causing her to raise her hands to block out the light until her eyes adjusted. "What a little cutie—she'll do well with us."

As Nauja's eyes adjusted to the light, she began to take in her surroundings. It was warm and smelled nice, like fruit trees and pretty perfume. An in-ground pool was nearby where people were laughing and playing. Ladies were lounging around in swimwear, relaxed and soaking up the sun.

"I still don't like this."

Nauja turned around and took a step back as she saw the two men staring at her. One was the man who knocked out all the crew at the wharf with a piece of bamboo and the other… well… there was something about him that made her tremble in fear. He was very tall, blond, and wore pink sunglasses and a pink feather coat. Although she had never seen him before, he looked disturbingly familiar, to the point where she wanted to run away.

"Where am I?" she squeaked. "Where's Law-san? Where's the crew?"

"They're not here right now, little one," the pink man grinned. Nauja could feel something heavy pressing down on her shoulders, although she knew there was nothing there. "Hmm… interesting…"

"I need Law-san!" she demanded. "Where is Law-san?!"

"We're actually hoping he comes for you," the pink man said. He sat down on a nearby chair, lounging smugly. "It's been so long since I've seen him… not since my younger brother stole him and filled his head and heart with lies."

"…s-s-stole…? L-l-lies…?"

"Yes, you see, I take in people who have been thrown away by the world," he explained, and edge to his voice the girl could not describe. "I give them a home and make them mine. Law was one of those people when he was just a child. I treated him like a brother… a nephew, even…"

Nauja furrowed her brow in thought—this man wasn't Cora-san.

"So I guess this makes me your Uncle Doffy," the pink man declared. "How good it is to finally meet my niece after so long. I didn't even know you existed until recently!" He picked her up and sat her on his knee—it didn't feel right… not like when she sat with Law-san or the crew. "We'll have plenty of fun until your daddy comes for you."

"…but… I…"

"Tu home cruel!" Nauja saw a lady storm up to them, looking very much like Ikkaku when the settings in the engine room were messed with, except this lady's hair was smooth and long and she wore a pretty dress and heeled shoes instead of a boilersuit and boots.

"Violet, meva vida…"

"Don't you meva vida me, Doffy!" she hissed. "What is this?!"

"My niece." He paused and placed a hand on Nauja's head. "Maybe more."

"If this is your niece, then why do I suspect your goon brought her here in that sack?!" She pointed at the still-visible heap of burlap.

"I am not a goon," the man from the wharf huffed.

"Then why did you have this nena as though you abducted her from her bed?!"

"She's fine," the man from the wharf said. "Better here than who she was with."

"Don't talk about Law-san and the crew that way!" Nauja snapped. "They're good people, even if they are pirates! They take care of me!"

"Fufufu… that might be so, but now we're going to take care of you," the pink man chuckled. "Law was a naughty boy and ran away from us, but you're a good girl, aren't you?" Nauja cringed, trying to move from his grasp. He instead gripped her skull, keeping her on his lap. "We are family, and family takes care of one another."

"Marxa enrere; give her to me," the lady said. She plucked Nauja from the pink man's lap and held her close. "What fool plan do you mean to put in place by kidnapping a child?"

"I want to bring the Third Corazón home, give the Heart Seat someone to sit in it, bring my brother's folly back into our folds," the pink man said. Nauja felt the pressure again, which only made the lady brace her against her shoulder. "If you want to play with her, then be my guest. Just know she's here to serve a purpose."

"…and if it doesn't work…?" the man from the wharf asked.

"Then we simply have to wait for the Third Corazón to grow into a fine young woman," the pink man smirked. The lady holding Nauja scoffed and left, carrying the girl with her.

"Quins nervis té!" the woman hissed as she took Nauja inside. "He must be losing his mind if he thinks that this is a good idea…" She stopped as she realized Nauja was sniffling, threatening to break into a full-on sob. "Oh, no, no, no… nena, don't cry… don't cry…" She set the girl down on the polished tile floor and held her face, wiping tears away with her thumbs. "There, there… we shall figure out what to do…"

"I want Law-san…"

"…and I'm sure Doffy's banking on him wanting you back," the woman assured. She reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, which she used to clean the girl's face. "My name is Viola, but the others refer to me as Violet. What is your name?"

"Nauja."

"Well then, my darling little Nauja," she poked her nose with the handkerchief, "I'll bet that you're hungry after what Vergo put you through."

"Vergo…?"

"Yes, the imbècil with food on his face. It was him that took you from your family, wasn't it?" Nauja nodded. "It is okay: we do not like him either. Anyhow… are you hungry? What would you like to eat?" Nauja shook her head, but was betrayed by her stomach making a gurgling noise. "Come now, it is nearly lunchtime. What does your father feed you?"

"…uh… onigiri…?"

"I don't know if we have the correct rice for onigiri, but let us see what's in the kitchen." Viola offered the girl her hand, which only got her a stare. "I promise I will not hurt you. In fact, I hope your father is able to take you far away from this place very soon."

Nauja nodded and took Viola's hand. She didn't know this lady, though she did not seem like the pink man or the man who stole her from the crew. There was something very, very different about her, and it made Nauja feel a little better. It wasn't much, but it was all she had.

It was dark.

"Just let him go!"

It was cold.

"He is free!"

Gunshots rang out; one, two, three, four, five.

It was the day he was alone again… except…

"Don't hurt him!"

…Nauja…?!

He beat on the chest again, trying to escape.

Six.

Law sucked down air as he sat up, shaking violently. A scream left him and he felt familiar hands holding him still as he tried to reorient himself to where he was; the Polar Tang, and she was underwater.

"Captain!" His eyes came into focus and he saw that he was in the infirmary, with most of the crew standing there. Penguin and Shachi were holding him by the arms and shoulders, his entire body still shaking.

"Where are we…?" he asked, voice rough.

"We're in a holding pattern just offshore," Penguin explained. "Ikkaku, Uni, and Hakugan were able to get us settled. It looked like you dinged your head pretty bad when you fell, but luckily there's no concussion that we can see…"

"What about Nauja-ya?"

"We did recon of the island soon as we were able to," Clione offered. "Whoever that guy was has her far away from here."

"You know who he is, don't you?" Shachi asked. Silence. "Law… who took the kid…?"

He paused, knowing that the inevitable had finally happened.

"Crew meeting, fifteen minutes," Law ordered. "Out, now." Most of the crew filed out, leaving just Bepo standing there in the corner, wringing his paws. "I said out."

"I'm sorry," the Mink whimpered. "If it wasn't for Fred and me…"

"No—just, no, Bepo. Don't apologize. That man was hunting us." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and shakily stood up. "If he didn't hit us now, it only would have been some other time… a worse time. I hate to say it, but we're almost lucky that this is all we're dealing with."

"I'm scared," Bepo admitted.

I am too.

"Just… make sure everyone's in the mess hall, alright?" Bepo nodded and tearfully left the infirmary, affording Law some time alone to gather his thoughts.

Vergo… Vergo had Nauja… and, fuck, he was likely taking her to Doflamingo. Was she hurt? How fast were they traveling? Was she scared? What were they going to do with her? If any of them harmed even one hair on her…

Fuck.

Just… fuck.

Law decided it would be good to at least check himself over and went to his cabin, shutting the door behind him. Kikoku was already laid atop his bed—the sword seemingly pulsing in empathetic anger—as well as his hat. Ignoring them for the time being, he looked at himself in the toilet mirror, seeing that at least he didn't split his face open when he fainted. Seas, he learned that she was gone and he fucking fainted and knocked himself unconscious like he was in some melodrama where that's what fainting did to a person. He washed his face and avoided looking in the mirror again; too much longer and his father would start to stare back at him, as though that wouldn't add insult to injury.

Father… he really was Nauja's father, wasn't he? For all the not wanting her on the Polar Tang to begin with, he was the one who she latched onto the most… the one who took most responsibility for her… the one who seemed to be guiding her the most. That was what being a father—being a parent in general—was, right? Shit… he had been her father all this time and he couldn't even call it what it was until it was too late.

Stepping over to his desk, Law looked at the photos on the wall—images of Nauja had joined the ghosts of his family, her smile bright and cheerful against the cold metal of the wall. Yes… she was his as much as they were and there was no going back from it.

'I'm coming for you,' he thought silently. 'I will not let him hurt you.' He touched a photo, then let his fingers drift towards one of him and Cora-san, the dead man's dopey grin almost able to settle his nerves. 'If this wasn't such a dangerous situation, I'd say you were laughing in your grave.'

Then, something caught Law's eye. A folded piece of paper was poking out of a copy of Sora, Warrior of the Sea that he did not remember putting there earlier. He opened the compilation and saw that it was marking a spot where Sora was trying to rescue a citizen from Poison Pink's grasp—it was a tragic arc, as he knew that the hostage didn't make it in the end. After putting the book down, he unfolded the paper, seeing an unfamiliar script.

A body does not thrive without its Heart.

Fuck… Vergo didn't just kidnap Nauja, but he had boarded the Polar Tang long enough to leave him a note. Law put a Room up around the entire ship and checked for any bugs or other surveillance equipment—nothing. It was a taunt. A way to rile him up. A way to give Doflamingo the upper hand.

He wasn't going to fall for it.

After pocketing the note and taking a deep, steadying breath, Law grabbed Kikoku off his bed and went to the mess hall where everyone was already nervously assembled. Their whispers died down as he entered the room, all eyes falling on him.

"Captain, we're…!"

"Save it," he said, raising a hand. "No one here is at-fault. If anyone is, it's me."

"Cap…" Ikkaku was cut off by him shaking his head.

"I need to come clean," he admitted. The mess hall remained silent—good. "Most of you have figured out by now if you weren't out-right told that I'm from Flevance, that I've been with Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi since I ate my Devil Fruit at thirteen, but none of you know exactly what happened in the gap between Flevance and then."

"Everyone always said you sort of drifted," Clione offered. "You would have been, what, ten?"

"Yeah," someone else said. "Three years is kind of a big gap for being that young, but you clearly didn't want to talk about it."

"I didn't want to talk about it because I had drifted to Spider Miles and into the clutches of the Donquixote Pirates." Gasps and whispered curses rose from the crew—if they hadn't heard of the infamous North Blue crew before they left their home sea, they definitely learned their name while sailing the Grand Line. "Doflamingo himself saw my potential and began grooming me to become a lead officer within his organization. In another life, I likely would have done so."

"What made you… not…?" someone asked.

"The Corazón—the man who had the Heart Seat amongst Doflamingo's elite officers—recognized me for what I was: a lost kid being abused and manipulated for someone else's gain. He spirited me away from Doflamingo's lies and treated me like his son as we ran in search for something to cure Amber Lead Syndrome, which I was dying from at the time. We were caught not long after he found the Op-Op Fruit and fed it to me, and paid the ultimate price for it." Law saw how his crew was looking at him, as though they saw him for the first time again, and it hurt. "Cora-san is the reason why I exist… why all of this exists… and Doflamingo means to punish me further."

"…by kidnapping your daughter…"

Everyone turned towards Bepo, the navigator's brow furrowed in worry. He fidgeted at the attention.

"Sorry, but, I think it's fair to say that although I found her, and we all love her, she became the captain's daughter."

"He's right," Law agreed. "Killing Cora-san was not enough—he wants to take my child as he thinks I was taken from him. That's why he sent that Marine to kidnap Nauja; he's on the payroll."

"You are a pain in the fucking ass, you know that?" Penguin groaned. "You know what this means, right? We're going to help you get your kid back."

"Penguin, I…"

"Hey," Shachi added, "I know I want to see her being a feral fucking terror like you were at thirteen. We ain't gonna get there by just sitting back and watching."

"She might be the captain's daughter, but she's our kid too!" someone piped up.

"Yeah! We can't let that asshole have the last laugh!"

"Who the fuck does he think he is, stealing little kids like that?!"

"We'll make him regret ever thinking he can fuck with us!"

"We're with you, Captain!"

"Nothing can stop us!"

Tears began to form in the corners of Law's eyes—his crew really was full of the best idiots.

"Alright," he nodded, letting out a breath of relief. "If we're going to take down Doflamingo and get our kid back, we're going to need a plan…"

Nauja was certain that she did not like Dressrosa. Well, there were some things that she did—it didn't smell of farts and the sun was a pleasant sort of warm—but most of it she did not like at all. It was lonely and weird, with odd people and living toys that screamed on the inside but were silent on the outside. The only person who didn't make her feel uneasy was Viola-ya, but even she couldn't be with her all the time.

"Oh, she is just the most precious little thing!" Giolla cooed, pinching Nauja's cheek. "We're going to have to do something about those clothes though… and this hair! You can't do anything with it!"

"It will be nice to have a child in the Family again," Baby 5 noted. She was crouched down next to the girl and gave her a smile. "Tell me: what do kids like to do these days? Rob banks? Burn down islands? Stab people?"

"Uhh… I like reading Sora, Warrior of the Sea, and practicing my drawing for medical things…?"

"Oh, well that figures," Baby 5 huffed.

"Violet called dibs for now," Doflamingo said idly from his chair on the other side of the room. He was barely paying attention, his nose still in a book as he waited for dinner.

"Law's ruining her," Baby 5 griped. "She's a little nerd like him."

"That might just be what we need around here," Dellinger shrugged. He sat at the table next to Buffalo and poured himself a glass of water from a nearby pitcher. "We're a bunch of weirdos, but I wouldn't say any of us are nerds."

"Are you just sore you're not the baby of the Family anymore?" Baby 5 smirked. Dellinger tossed her a middle finger, confirming her theory. "I was happy that we found you, for the record."

"I also have been able to take down full-grown Marines since I was a toddler."

"Tch; don't listen to him," Baby 5 huffed. She swat away Giolla's fussing hands when she saw that Nauja was pouting. "Aww… you have his glare. That's almost cute."

"How would you know?"

"He and I grew up together; I'm your tante," she beamed.

"Tieta," Giolla insisted. "We are Dressrosan now."

"Fine—I'm your Tieta Cinca, and if you need anything…" Baby 5 gave Nauja a wink, which did admittedly make her feel a little better.

"Alright, food's up!" Machvise boomed as he entered the dining hall. He, Lao G, and Gladius were carrying in pizza, followed by the remaining, hungry officers. Everyone sat down at the table except for Nauja, who stood a ways back, not wanting to join them.

"Come on," encouraged Doflamingo. "Eat with us."

"No thank you," Nauja squeaked. "I don't like pizza very much."

"You don't like pizza?!" Machvise marveled. "What sort of a kid doesn't like pizza?!"

"Leave her alone," Diamante scoffed.

"I'm going to need you to sit down at the table, little one," Doflamingo insisted. Nauja could feel the Pressure again and she knew it had to come from him. She went and sat between Señor Pink and Lao G; Viola-san was not there, but then again, neither was Vergo. "Good girl."

An old man with a bodysuit and an old man with a pacifier and baby's bib? And neither of them wore real pants? And the one with the pacifier was wearing a diaper…? It almost made her want to cry.

"Now, before we get too far into dinner, I want to formally introduce the newest member of our Family," Doflamingo said. "Law has been very naughty while away, and this is his daughter. What is your name again, little one?"

"…Nauja…"

"Repeat that; I didn't hear it."

"My name is Nauja," she said clearly. "I'm not a part of your family. I have my own family."

"…but if you're Law's child, then you should have always been part of our family to begin with," Trebol sniffled. He sucked some snot back into his nose and continued eating. "The Young Master rescues people from mediocrity and raises them to greatness." Gladius elbowed him, nearly causing him to choke on his pizza.

"She's a kid—don't use words like mediocrity. She won't understand."

"Mediocrity means boring and nothing special," Nauja scowled. She tried to do her best imitation of Law-san, glaring at the two men at the end of the table. Doflamingo only laughed.

"Fufufu; an intelligent little thing. I expect nothing less from my niece."

The table went silent—everyone stopped eating.

"I'll bite—what do you mean by that?" Señor Pink wondered.

"Precisely what it sounds like," Doflamingo replied. "My niece has now come to live with us. She will be many things, even if her father refuses to cooperate due to all the lies my brother fed him."

"She's just a kid," Dellinger frowned. "What's she going to do?"

"She is a candidate for the Heart Seat and will be trained to be a good little girl and act as a Princess of Dressrosa, helping her uncle with all the things he no longer has time for." He saw as she grew confused and chuckled. "Fufufu… didn't Daddy ever tell you? I am the King of Dressrosa. Your father was to be my Prince and right-hand man, but his mind was poisoned to turn against me. You shall be a princess and have everything you've ever wanted. Because I can make that happen."

"A… princess…?"

"Yes." Doflamingo smiled wickedly as he took a drink of his wine. "What better an heir than the child of one who broke the rules? It will be sweet and poetic."

"I'm not sure if that's the wisest idea, Young Master," Señor Pink frowned. "Children are always underfoot and in the way."

"True, but when you raise them right, they are worth more than all the gold in the Grand Line once they begin to use the gifts you have carefully given them." Doflamingo motioned towards the younger members of the group with his glass. "If I can raise Buffalo, Baby 5, and Dellinger to be jewels within my organization, then I can raise Nauja as I wished to raise Law: to run it."

"Then I propose a toast," Pica said, raising his own glass. "To the Little Mistress finally finding her way to where she belongs: home, with us."

"To the Little Mistress," everyone else echoed. They lifted their glasses in a toast, everyone staring at Nauja as they did so.

She needed to get out of there, and fast.

Law's brow furrowed as he read over the intel. It made sense given everything else he knew, but it almost felt too good to be true. With all the research they were doing into their enemy the whispers began to blend together after a while.

"Your contact is sure about this?" he asked. "As in: a hundred-percent without a singular doubt?"

"Of course they are, Captain," Clione assured. "They are never wrong… not about shit like this."

"Good." Law placed the paper down on his desk and palmed his eyes—he was getting even less sleep than usual and was really beginning to feel it. "Then we'll see what sort of things we can get regarding the layout of Dressrosa and we'll go from there."

"This might end up being more than we can chew," Clione noted.

"I'll be the judge of that," Law replied. His crewmate bowed his head slightly and left, the captain now alone in his quarters again.

Joker's main customer for SMILE fruits was Kaidou of the Beast Pirates, and from what it looked like, he was holed up on some isolationist rock called Wano. Not only that, but if he remembered his rumors correctly, Big Mom's children often referred to him as their uncle, if begrudgingly. This meant that the connections between everyone at and towards the top were too big to ignore. Any little change in the status quo would be dangerous to not only Doflamingo, but to half the Emperors, all the Marines, and a decent chunk of the Grand Line.

If he was going to take on the world to get back his kid, then the least he could do was destabilize it along the way. A body did not thrive without its Heart, after all, and the Heart of the criminal underworld? A fitting trophy if he knew one.

Nauja stood very still as she waited for Giolla to finish measuring her. She was standing atop a stool in the woman's eclectic art studio, all sorts of fabrics and baubles laid out for use. Dellinger sat on a plush chair in the corner while seemingly pouting behind a magazine.

"Hold still, Little Mistress; I am going to design some outfits for you that shall properly befit your station," the old woman beamed. She pinched Nauja's face between her thumb and forefinger, relishing in the fact she had a young girl to raise again. "You shall make the perfect addition to the Family when we're all done with you."

"She's just a little kid," Dellinger scoffed. "It's not even like she signed up. What would she possibly do with the Heart Seat of all things?"

"I know you're not old enough to remember, but the Heart Seat is a very important place in our organization," Giolla said idly. She picked up some fabric swatches and began to hold them against Nauja's face and arms, checking them against her complexion. "Those who sit on the Heart Seat are the ones the Young Master loves and trusts the most… the ones who he gives only the most important responsibilities… the ones that weigh the most. A body does not thrive without its Heart, after all."

"Yeah, that's what you all keep saying." Dellinger inspected his nails before going back to the magazine. "I just think it's interesting how we go from the Heart Seat being almost a memorial to a man I barely remember to the idea that a child will sit in it."

"It might be her father first, remember that," Giolla tutted.

"He won't work for you," Nauja said sourly.

"Except he will, pet," Giolla assured threateningly. She stroked Nauja's hair, going down her face so that her fingernails scratched the underside of her chin as they flicked up and towards her. "He was ours when he was only a little older than you are now, and he'll be ours again. Once someone is in the Family, they are in for life."

"You're not his family; he won't work for you," she repeated.

"He shall, if he knows what's good for him," Giolla replied. "Before long, the Heart Seat will have an occupant, the Young Master will have his Family whole again, and you shall be the princess of a grand kingdom. You do want to be a princess, don't you?"

"I want to be a doctor."

"You can be both, silly. Now hold still while I see which fabric I want to work with first…"

Nauja didn't want to hold still. In fact, Nauja wanted to push the weird old lady over and run away. She probably could have too, but there was the fact that Dellinger was still on the other side of the room, watching them over the top of the magazine. There was something about his face that she didn't like… that made her want to run in a different way.

"Are you making me a boilersuit in that?" the girl wondered, crinkling her nose as she noticed the fabric in Giolla's hand.

"Nonsense—I'm making you a dress."

"I don't want a dress."

"You're getting a dress. Several, in fact."

"…but they don't fit nice under boilersuits!"

"Then it's a good thing that princesses don't wear boilersuits."

"Baby 5-ya wears a maid uniform! Isn't she like a princess? And Viola-ya wears dresses but they're not that." She scrunched her nose at the pink-and-red shot silk. "It's ugly."

"It is not ugly!" Giolla huffed. "With these fabrics, you shall become a work of art! Fashion is art and art is fashion! You shall see in time, Little Mistress, and thank me when you are older."

Nauja pouted and she could almost hear Dellinger's snickering from there.

Law was not exactly having the best of days. Granted, they hadn't been exactly stellar since Nauja was kidnapped, but this was ratcheting itself up towards the top of the list. It had long past 'Lami coloring in his comic books' and was quickly reaching 'First Ever Day in Sabaody'. Vergo had bolted soon as he showed up on Punk Hazard and now Cesar Clown was at his feet, barely alive as he struggled against the multiple seastone bullets in his back.

"Seas, Luffy, you allied us with a fucking psychopath," Usopp cringed, staring in horror as Law began putting bits of Cesar in a sack. He looked to Luffy and saw his captain merely had a confused look on his face. "Luffy…?"

"Huh…" Luffy watched as Law continued packing Cesar Clown, his head tilting in confusion. "Torao isn't telling us everything."

"You think?" Nami deadpanned. The only comfort she took in the entire thing was that the Marines looked just as disturbed as she felt.

"This doesn't look good, I'll hope you know," Smoker frowned. Law shrugged.

"I'm not much in the mood to care about optics," the Warlord scowled. "Doflamingo has captured someone important to me and I'm not making the same mistake twice."

"Someone important?" Luffy wondered. "Who's that, Torao?"

"None of your business."

"Luffy asked; you know that means he's making it his business," Nami warned flatly.

"It's not like you'll have the manpower to go in by yourself," Sanji noted. "Doflamingo… that's serious business. You're one guy."

"I am, but I am one very pissed off guy, so it'll work. He needs to be surprised."

"Then let's surprise him together!" Luffy grinned. "I don't like the sound of this Mingo guy anyhow. You can't just keep people if they don't want to be somewhere."

"Question is, what are we going to do with them?" Zoro wondered, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder at the still-unconscious Buffalo and Baby 5. "We just gonna leave them like that?"

"No; I've got other plans," Law said. He finished loading the living bits of Cesar into the sack and tied it up, swapping it with a blade of grass on the deck of the Thousand Sunny. "Keep going with what you were doing—I've got them."

"You, uh, sure…?" Usopp asked cautiously. Law brought up another Room and sliced off Buffalo and Baby 5's heads, allowing them to plop to the ground. "Oh, yeah, fuck, that's going to haunt my nightmares for years to come."

"Are you sure that's necessary, Torao?" Luffy asked, tilting this head to the other side. He wasn't frowning, but he wasn't smiling either. "I understand Clown-guy, but what are you going to do with them?"

"Send a message to Doflamingo. He only speaks in grotesque."

"Are you sure you really want to do that?" They all looked and saw that Baby 5 was smirking; she had woken up, though Buffalo was still unconscious. "You really want to risk her safety?"

Law crouched down, sitting on his haunches and elbows resting on his knees. "I have to show Doflamingo that I mean business or else everything will be for naught."

"…but she's a cute thing, and you know how the Young Master loves cute things…"

"What, does he have your girlfriend?" Zoro scoffed. Baby 5 let out a laugh.

"They have my daughter," Law stated, voice cold and even. He picked up Baby 5's head and looked her dead in the eyes—his glare icy and piercing and predatory. "What is he doing to her?"

"She has everything a girl can want," she replied. "The Little Mistress has plenty of toys and dresses and studies often so that she may do what her father refuses to: become the Heart that becomes the Head. She's a princess and she doesn't need you anymore."

A few moments passed in silence before Law dropped Baby 5's head directly into Buffalo's crotch as he stood up and walked away towards where there was a raft he began to prep. The disembodied head protested, sound muffled by her companion's coat.

"That's interesting," Smoker stated. Usopp and Nami both stared flatly at the Marine.

"That's a word," Nami said.

"No kidding," Usopp added. "Why 'interesting' of all words?"

"Remember: the man bought his way into the Shichibukai by handing over a hundred pirates' hearts," Smoker replied, contemplative. "Him having a child—a young daughter from the sounds of it—is an interesting development. It could… change things."

"It makes sense," Luffy shrugged. "That's why he's so angry and why he didn't need convincing to help the kids." A grin then crept across his face. "I knew I made the right choice to be friends with him! He just wants his own kid back!"

"Allies, Luffy," Nami reminded him. "Temporary allies. Not friends."

"It's the same thing," her captain grinned. She pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing that this was going to end up being an uphill battle with someone who likely had never even seen a dictionary, let alone used one.