A/N: I'm really proud of part of this and I'll let you figure out which part it is

Three

He doesn't know she's alive.

Viola's words rang through Baby 5's head as she navigated the palace's corridors. She skittered to a halt in front of the Hall of Suites and barreled headlong inside, hoping that she wasn't too late. Her heels scraped against the floor as she slid to a stop—Antonia was not there… and neither was Law. Good.

"…and what are you doing here, Baby 5…?"

Blood running cold, Baby 5 turned to see Trebol standing next to the door, leering at her from behind his glasses. She looked around—Sugar was not there—yet she knew she was caught.

"I asked: what are you doing here?"

"What I do has never been any of your business," she replied firmly.

"Except, I have not been at the Young Master's side for as long as I have without learning how to identify the cogs of rebellion," he explained. He then sniffled, sucking some snot into his nose. "You disappoint me, girl… you disappoint the Young Master…"

"The only person I have to worry about disappointing is my superior officer," she reminded him. "Wouldn't her approval matter the most if it is what beats life into the organization?"

"You almost sound clever…" Trebol frowned. "You were not taken in by the Young Master because you were clever…"

"Then why was I taken in?" she asked. He stayed silent and she turned her arm into a rifle. "Think about it: why was I taken in? We all know I'm not smart… so then why? He doesn't do things for no reason."

"You used to have such a desire to be needed… where did it all go…? You would have done anything for the Young Master when we first brought you into the Family…"

"I found something better to dedicate my life to other than being a sacrificial lamb," she replied, finally giving voice to something she figured out a long time ago. "That's where you all went wrong."

"…by giving you a home…?"

"…by giving me a sister."

"You're dumber than we thought."

Baby 5 turned around at the sound of the new voice, only to be met with Gladius's hand as it exploded in her face, knocking her unconscious. She collapsed into his arms and he was able to lift her up with ease.

"First Violet, now her," Gladius noted. "We almost should keep an eye on Antonia at this rate…"

"I knew we should have had that woman fix them as well," Trebol huffed. He waited as Gladius brought Baby 5 to him for inspection—it was such a waste. "Neutralize and dump her. I've got to get back to Sugar, just as I'm sure Pica and the Young Master have orders for you."

"Understood." Gladius shifted Baby 5's unconscious form in his arms before looking at Trebol. "How long do you think this has been going on?"

"Long enough," the older man sniffed sourly. To say he didn't like this was an understatement. "Now be quick about it; we don't need the Young Master finding out about this until he absolutely has to."

Gladius shivered before making to leave—he was not going to enjoy this.

The first thing that Baby 5 noticed was the searing pain in her shoulder. Everything else filtered in quickly after that: the throbbing headache; the way her legs felt like lead; the jagged, stiff, unforgiving surface she was laying on; metallic and bloody tang sitting on the back of her tongue; the… rank scent of… sweat…?

"I think she's coming around."

She inhaled sharply as she sat up, realizing precisely where she was. Gladiators from the tournament were sitting around her, most staring at her as though the sight confused them.

"Shit…" she cursed. "I have to get out of here…"

"We all do," a grey-haired man frowned. Dread settled over Baby 5 as she realized that she was looking directly at King Riku Doldo III, the monarch that they had deposed ten years prior. "I have to admit: it is a surprise to see you in here. I didn't think it'd be a safe place for a member of the Donquixote Family."

"No one is safe in here," she said, looking up at the ceiling. Knowing they were being monitored, she didn't dare speak the truth of the chamber's purposes or else she would be a target in an instant. "We have to get out of here. Now." She tried to turn into a rocket and couldn't, instead falling on her face. "What the…?"

"You were bleeding from a fresh wound on your shoulder when they threw you down here," a man said as he helped her up. He seemed to be a few years older than her, unlike most of the others. Aside from a few younger fighters, many of them were the Young Master's age and older. "We tried to see if there was something we could do, but whatever it is that's in there is stuck."

"Stuck…?" Her eyebrows raised nearly to her hairline. "Shit—they put seastone in me."

"…and the big question is: why would they do that?"

Baby 5 stared at the former king awkwardly, with most of the others in the pit keeping their eyes on her instead. She knew the former regent must have suspected something was up, yet she didn't know how much he was privy to…

"I proved my loyalty was not to Doflamingo," she replied gravely. "They don't take kindly to that."

"Who is your loyalty towards, my dear?" an old man with a pointy head asked. Baby 5 swallowed hard, bracing herself for a trail of mucus to come down and snatch any one of them.

"The girl who became Donquixote Antonia," she said. "I promised I'd never forget her… that I'd always take care of her…"

"The princess…?" someone else asked. She nodded.

"The princess, the Corazón, the one I grew up with…" She exhaled heavily, almost as though she was accepting her fate. "I don't want her to get lost."

"…and why, of all things, would she be lost?" another wondered. Shit—she knew him as a neighboring monarch. "All the times I've seen her, she has seemed very grounded in her ambitions."

"I don't know how much I can tell you without getting us all in danger," Baby 5 said, her eyes flicking to the ceiling for a moment, "but if you are to believe anything I'll ever say, it's that there is much more to Nia than you can ever know."

"Why should we believe you?" the foreign monarch huffed. Baby 5 felt a chill wash over her, knowing she needed to make this count.

"…because nothing is what it seems here in Dressrosa, not even our dear princess."

Unaware of anything else outside of himself, everything about Law hurt as he drifted back into consciousness. It hurt even more than when he blacked out, his entire body screaming silent obscenities. The seastone cuffs burned at his wrists, attempting to distract him from the rest of his injuries. He was certain there were ruptures and internal bleeding, some of which weren't even related to having been shot in the open street like a mad dog, but if he could only open a Room…

"Ah, you're awake," Doflamingo chuckled. Law's eyes snapped open and he inhaled sharply—shit, breathing hurt. "It's been a long time since we've been able to talk."

"Fuck off," Law hissed. He then realized he was on a chair. Looking, he saw that it was the Heart Seat… they were in the Hall of Suites, it having been recreated in this foreign land. "Still into tacky interior design, I see."

"You wouldn't know tacky if you were drowning in it," Doflamingo replied. "Even if you did, it's not like you could appreciate it. I mean, your ship is yellow…"

"What are you going to do to me?" Law asked, voice quiet. "Was taking my family away from me not enough?"

"Taking your family away? I'm hurt." The older man gave a wicked grin, all sharp and gnashing. "If anything, I've preserved your family."

"Tell that to Cora-san," he hissed. "I heard you found someone else to sit here—what broken kid did you find so you could feed them lies?"

Because he knew who it couldn't be—she was long-dead and he was only going to invoke her name when it would be most-needed.

Instead of taking the bait, Doflamingo's Haki pressed down on Law, stressing his injuries.

"It should have been you, Law," the older man jeered. "You would have been perfect. I was preparing you to be a wonderful, loyal Heart for my organization. You were to be the Third Corazón! I gave you everything!"

"The gifts you gave me were to keep me distracted, to let you continue to abuse me, abuse us," Law spat, careful not to sully her name by putting it in his ears. "I'm not going to fall for any of it, Doflamingo. That time has long passed."

"…which is why I prepared such a fitting end for you," the older man grinned. "Fufufu… Antonia, someone is sitting in your seat."

It was then that someone stepped out of the shadows, completely hidden to Law's blurred vision until then. She was about as tall as him in her heeled boots and otherwise was hitting the description of the Third Corazón perfectly. His chest tightened as she approached him, looking as though she was trying to be him.

"So you are the one the others have made such a fuss about," she frowned. She folded her arms underneath her half-opened roquelaure and frowned, the lipstick on her face twisting cruelly. "Now what are we to do with you?"

"Fuck off," Law snarled. So much about this was wrong… her Northern accent filtering through Dressrosan tones, the Water 7-esque mask adorned in the tell-tale sunburst he had watched Cora-san paint on every day… how confident and cocky she was about the whole thing…? It was like a lie made specifically to torture him and him alone. "I don't know what sort of kicks you get by trying to imitate him, but it's not going to work on me."

"Imitate who? My father? You're as dense as they come, aren't you?" Corazón braced the Heart Seat with her foot and hefted Law up by the shoulder of his coat, ramming him into the backrest. "I just want to know why it was you he chose… why you were supposed to inherit his seat."

"You can drop the gaslighting," he wheezed. "Donquixote Rosinante had no children."

"He had me, and I don't remember you being around, so now who's gaslighting?" she snapped. "You know, people usually just call that lying."

"My underground criminal empire isn't at risk; why would I lie about something like that?" He met her eyes behind the mask—amber and haunting and so much unlike Cora-san's—and dread settled over him. "I was in Spider Miles for three years before Cora-san died… why don't you remember me?"

"I was young, grieving; plenty of reasons."

"…then why don't I remember you…?"

Corazón snarled as she threw Law down onto the stone floor behind her, choosing instead it sit on the Heart Seat herself. He hacked and coughed as he willed himself to his knees to glare at her. She sat tall and proud, the sun from the window bathing her in a soft light that glinted off her mask and the brooch that held her cloak in place…

…her brooch.

"What is it? It looks familiar."

"It was Oma's."

"What's the matter, Law?" Doflamingo wondered, false innocence layered on his voice. The younger man snapped from his memory, eyes wide and breath hitched. Doflamingo crouched down and held Law's jaw in one oversized hand, forcing him to look at Corazón. "See something that brings you back to old times?"

"It was hers," Law croaked. "Why didn't you bury it with her?"

"Now why would I do that if the owner is right here?" He then turned to Corazón, smug and confident. "Fufufu… Antonia, darling, do your Uncle Doffy a favor and take off your mask, will you?"

She tilted her head curiously. "Now…? But why…?"

"Some people need to see to believe."

A nod and Corazón complied, untying the mask and letting her hair down in one movement. She shook the strands loose and focused once again on Law. His stomach dropped as he realized who she was, unable to look away, unable to run to her.

She looked just like their mother, except with their father's eyes.

"L… Lami…?" he breathed. "Lami… oh, seas, Lami… how are you…?"

"Lami…?" Corazón scoffed. "Who is that?"

Fuck, Law wanted to be sick. He did not feel Doflamingo let go of him or the oppressive weight of his Haki lift. All he knew was that she was staring at a face he never expected to see until he was long dead.

"You…" he replied, voice wavering. "You're Lami."

"Antonia," she corrected, using a Dressrosan flair. "I am and have always been Donquixote Antonia, Daughter of Rosinante and Heir to my Uncle Doflamingo's empires." She then stood, towering over him. "Who do you think you are, Trafalgar Law?"

"…your brother…"

"I have no brother."

"Lami…" Tears welled in Law's eyes as he tried to not break down. "What did he do to you…?"

"Fufufu… I have only taken care of my last surviving blood family member," Doflamingo lied. "I found her in a treasure chest—my brother's precious little daughter—after I thought I was the last of our line. She had stowed away, you see, and escaped the fate her father did when he was murdered by Marines. Now she is my pride and joy, heir to my kingdom and empire, the Heart that keeps my organization beating and full of life."

"That's not true…" Law hissed. "What the fuck did you do to her?!"

"Uncle Doffy raised me, like any good uncle would his orphaned niece," Antonia replied coolly. When Law did not respond, she kicked him in the stomach, bending him in two. "Well? What do you have to say about that?"

"The clasp of your cloak is Flevench in make," he coughed. "It belonged to our grandmother—it was made before Amber Lead was discovered…"

"Flevance burned for its sins long ago; if you're going to tell a lie, at least make it a good one."

The toe of her boot connected with his face and the world went black.