A/N: So, how 'bout them scambots, eh? Terrible, I know, but I'm not going anywhere just because of them. I've been here over twenty years and they're not gonna stop me. I've been blocking a lot of accounts lately because of it, so apologies if you accidentally got caught up in the fray (I tried to be careful, but you know). If you, dear reader, are one of the ones jumping ship because of the bots (or any other reason), I'm on tumblr at nehswritesstuffs and on AO3 as Nehszriah, where I update this as well as other stories.

Four

After cleaning themselves up, Law and Robin left the flat and headed towards his parents' house. They walked while holding hands, enjoying the afterglow as twilight eased down upon them, washing the pale world in vibrant colors. They did not talk much and simply saved their energy for the upcoming dinner, which was bound to be a tough one.

Except, as the couple were wandering the streets of Flevance, Robin was doing her best to take in the scenery and gather what information she could. It was obviously not Flevance—Torao had said he had been ten when everything happened and the records matched, meaning there were details that would have been fuzzy by nature—but everything was so detailed that it was very clearly a construct of his own imagination. For her, what were the rules of this make-believe place? What could she exploit to make him believe her when it came to the fact none of this was real? How long would it take in both the dream and in real life?

She wasn't worried about meeting his family, but more what his family's ghosts were doing to him.

Finally, they turned down a residential street lined with tidy and well-kept rowhouses dividing multiple buildings, passing through a lively neighborhood filled with people both winding down for the evening as well as gearing up for a night out. Law directed her towards the steps of a unit at the end of a building; a narrow cross-street ran between it and the next cluster of rowhouses, leading towards other streets and shared gardens. Robin followed him in, unsure what awaited them.

"Ah! You're here!" Robin had just barely shut the door when the young woman whom she met in front of the university came out of a nearby room and nearly tackled Torao in a hug. "I was wondering what took so long!"

"Lami, get off," Law grunted. She didn't, instead keeping a vice-grip on her brother. He looked at Robin and mouthed help, which was honestly cuter than Robin wanted to admit.

"…and where's my hug?" she asked. Lami let go of Law and turned her attention to Robin, indeed enveloping her in a tight embrace. As she released Robin, a smell hit the older woman's nose and she was taken aback. "What… what are we having for dinner…?"

"My parents somehow learned that you like paella and…?" Law punctuated the sentence with a shrug, trying to pass the blame on to anyone but himself.

"Lami… you still need to set the table before Robin gets here!" a man's voice shouted from further into the house. Lami grimaced and escaped down the corridor into a different room, disappearing just as a man brandishing a dish cloth walked out of another room, looking ready to scold his daughter before realizing that his son and his guest had arrived. "Ah, there you are! Hon, Law and Robin are here."

Robin then went through what she could only describe as a surreal experience. Law's mother—Angela—and his father—Lars—were terrifying echoes of their children, both with more wrinkles on their faces and grays in their hair and yet so much life that it hurt her heart. They excitedly hugged her and immediately began to pull her into the kitchen to inspect the paella that they would be having for dinner. It honestly looked perfect and before long they were all sitting at the dining room table serving themselves from the dish.

"So, Law tells us that you're one of Professor Clover's brightest students to come from Ohara," Angela said in an attempt to start conversation, "and that your mother is the Nico Olvia? His successor as Caretaker to the Oharan Tree of Knowledge? It must be quite the honor."

"Fantastic things seem more mundane if you grow up with them," Robin replied sweetly. "Professor Clover was more like a grandfather to me than a grand figure in archeology—his memory is different for me in that regard."

"You're being modest," Lars said. "Then again, I understand why you'd move here to the North Blue for post-doctorate work—I almost went to the Drum Kingdom for studying to get away from the Trafalgar name, but life had other plans."

"…such as…?"

"Here we go," Lami groaned, rolling her eyes. She then squeaked and glared at Law—he must have kicked her under the table.

"I met Angela when I enrolled in my last year before graduation," Lars explained. "We were in the same graduating class, but it wasn't until the final year that the remnants of the three cohorts were combined. She was technically a year ahead, I was technically behind thanks to a gap year, and we hit it off from Day One."

"He mansplained the endocrine system within five minutes of learning my name," Angela quipped. The pair shared a smile before turning back to Robin. "We were engaged between graduation and board exams, and the rest is history." She ate a spoonful of paella to give the conversation a pause. "How did you and Law meet?"

"Through a mutual friend," Robin claimed.

"That Luffy kid, right?" Lars wondered. Robin nodded. "Ah, so when you and the guys took that time off to get Bepo back to Zou for that thing of his."

"More or less," Law shrugged. "I'm just glad the rest of them aren't around right now—this pan of paella would not survive."

"Not much survives Luffy when it comes to food," Robin smirked. Seas forbid—this was almost fun in an odd way, and would be had the circumstances been different. "What do you both specialize in?"

"Amber Lead disorders," Angela said, tone almost melancholy. "I used to be a hematologist and oncologist, while my husband was mostly in infectious diseases. When the first rounds of the classic Amber Lead Syndrome appeared, we applied our concentrations to the cure effort."

"What do you know about Amber Lead?" Lars asked. Robin shook her head.

"Most of what I know comes from what I read in the papers at the time it first became a problem," Robin said, which was the truth. She knew very little about the condition and figured that the Flevance of the dreamscape had been able to tackle whatever the real world couldn't. Lami sighed again—a medical lecture was coming.

"Amber Lead—the substance you see all around you that makes Flevance so rich—used to be mined with the thought that it was safe for living beings to come into contact with like most metals we use," Lars explained. "When it's in the ground, it's inert as it is now, but before we found the stabilization process it lowly leeched into our bodies and poisoned subsequent generations stronger than their elders."

"Law and Lami were little when almost the entire country began to show signs of poisoning, including them," Angela continued. "Due to our respective specializations, we were recruited to help find an effective treatment. Luckily, we succeeded with help from Flevance's neighbors."

Huh… the way Robin understood it, things had been the opposite. "They weren't afraid of developing Amber Lead Syndrome themselves?"

"We all knew it was poison, and besides: they were already exposed simply by proximity," Lars said. "Once we were able to begin extracting the Amber Lead from bodies, a way to deactivate what had already been mined was developed and now Flevance is a safe place to live again."

"What kind of system was developed?"

"Well, we're not entirely certain on the methodology, since that was done in the chemists' domain, but it's mostly solution baths and pastes and waxes that are applied that deactivate the heavy metals that would otherwise leech into the body," Angela said. Robin nodded at that.

"To do such a thing would be like making the mercury in a thermometer safe to touch if it breaks."

"That's something they're actually working on now," Lars said, "to see what they need to do in order to transfer the toxicity nullification to other heavy metals without changing their properties. In the meantime, Angela and I are observing the long-term effects of Amber Lead on the Humanoid body, since it does many different things to different people outside of the classic symptoms."

"Watching them take care of Lami was part of what made me want to get into medicine," Law admitted. "It's in our blood like archaeology is for you, though it was genuinely my choice in the end."

"Well, it wasn't my choice to get sick the worst," Lami scowled. Robin saw how irritated the younger Trafalgar sibling was—it was clear she was not engaged in the conversation at all. "Does Robin really need to hear all this?"

"She might as well," Lars said. "I'd be surprised if anyone from here would want to talk to her about Amber Lead and risk spooking her. It's a miracle Flevance doesn't suffer from brain drain, let alone is still capable of attracting outside talent. Amber Lead could have driven everyone with means out."

"It's not even amber-colored," Lami pouted.

"It is when unrefined material reflects light, and that luster is part of what made people interested in it in the first place," Angela stated. "I will enjoy the day when no one comes through my office door saying they came from some distant country because their antique Amber Lead-coated imports poisoned them."

"There are still cases of Amber Lead Syndrome?" Robin asked. Lami made a noise—how boring!

"Mostly people who bought old tableware and other similar goods treated with Amber Lead, or inherited them from parents and grandparents," Angela said. "There is a small number of new cases from Flevance, but they seem to be isolated."

"We hope," Lars added. Angela threw him a glare, which he proceeded to ignore. "I am of the opinion that it's a potential rebound of symptoms, since we don't know the genuine full breadth of long-term exposure, especially after recovery."

"I'm the oncologist—it hasn't shown any similarities to recurring cancer."

"You said yourself that we've been seeing Amber Lead poisoning behaving lately in ways unlike we've ever seen."

"Maybe that's enough of that for now," Law suggested. He and Robin shared a glance across the table—things were likely going to get worse if the topic continued. "Lami, what have you been covering in classes lately?"

As the topic of conversation shifted to Lami's schoolwork, Robin felt sick again. She had not needed Law to tell her about how Amber Lead ravaged Flevance and her neighbors turned their backs; what she hadn't been able to glean from the papers, she knew from accounts of people who were affected by the poison later on. This version of history was one cobbled together by the hopes Law had as a child and it showed. She politely continued to follow the conversation, wondering how much of the ghosts in front of her were genuine and what was conjecture based on what Torao had grown up missing… what he thought he grew up missing. He blushed in irritation at something one of the ghosts said and it almost broke Robin's heart.

Although she could see past his walls as he slowly let her in, this was well beyond what he normally broadcast. What was it going to take to shatter this layer of comfort that had been built up around him? Would he allow himself to be this vulnerable around her again?

Eventually, dinner ended and Robin was heartily denied the ability to help clean up. Law instead took her into the sitting room, where he stole a kiss free from prying eyes.

"Now that wasn't bad," he said, seemingly trying to convince them both. "See? Nothing to worry about."

"I guess not," she replied. They sat next to one another on the sofa, just far enough apart to be safe from teasing should his family reappear. "This is a lovely home. This is where you grew up?"

"With exception for a little bit when Lami was sick, yeah," he nodded.

"Law, we need to talk." The confused look in his eyes hurt, but she knew this was the only way to get to him. "This… this life… it's all a dream, a lie." She watched as he let out a breath—he seemed almost… relieved…?

"Yeah, I know," he agreed. Wait, what…? He was too calm for that admission. "We're almost there, though. There's just a couple formalities that need to happen."

"What… what are you talking about…?" Robin immediately noticed that Law was getting sweaty. "What's wrong?" She watched as he jammed his hand in his trouser pocket and pulled something out, immediately putting it in her hands and closing them around it.

"Please, think about it before you say anything, even if it means we don't talk about it tonight," he said. She furrowed her brow as she looked at what was in her hands—a felted box. Opening it up, Robin felt her stomach drop at the contents.

An engagement ring.

"I know it's a lot to consider," he continued, "but I think we can do it. If we stop lying to ourselves, then we can make it work, I know we can, even if it takes a while to complete the upgrade."

"I…" All the words she wanted to say became stuck in her throat. This wasn't fair; this parasite… it was pulling out all the stops. They could never be this normal—this average—even if they tried. An engagement, a wedding, a marriage… was a life for them even possible in reality? For once she found herself cursing a book—whichever one had planted the image of two people romantically being swept away into a life together into Torao's brain and subsequently made it fodder for the parasite, and she was ready to snap a neck over it.

"Robin…?" She was shaken from her thoughts to see the confusion on his face and it hurt even more. "What's wrong?" He tucked some of her hair behind her ear, his fingertips trailing down along her jaw. "Are you okay…?"

"I… I can't do this." The words hung heavy in the air, seemingly paralyzing Law. He clearly hadn't expected anything other than an offer to talk about it at-worst, with his calculations leaning towards a yes. She stood and let the box snap shut as it fell to the floor. "I'm sorry."

Before she knew it, Robin was out the door and headed down the pavement, simply wanting to put some space between her and the lie. That's all it was, even if Law didn't realize it, and one of them needed to stay level-headed about it… even if it meant breaking his heart.

There it was, clear as day: a Road Poneglyph. Both Robin and Law stared slackjawed at it, sitting under so much rock and water that it was hidden from all but them and their guide. Sukiyaki was silent, letting the information he had just imparted on them to sink in, for it was truly much to come to grips with. A submerged Wano hiding an ancient weapon? The resting place of one of the most dangerous pieces of stone in history? How opening Wano would have to be a physical act, releasing all the rainwater within its walls? It was plenty to consider.

"You're very trusting, giving us this information," Law stated. He turned his attention to Sukiyaki in time to see the old man shrug.

"You helped my grandchildren and my country—I can't ask for much more in return," he replied. "Use this knowledge as you see fit, provided you do not share the location of this cavern." Sukiyaki then turned back towards the staircase. "I'll leave you two be; there is much to do and I shall guard the kokeshi doll room until then."

"Seal it up," Law requested. Sukiyaki raised an eyebrow at him, causing the younger man to open up a Room and Takt some pebbles into the air in front of the former shogun. "Leave these in the room; I can swap us out with them when we're done."

"Are you willing to allow such a thing?" Sukiyaki asked Robin. She turned towards him, her eyes sparkling with something akin to glee.

"Yes, I am perfectly safe with Torao," she assured. "Do you have any large sheets of paper? I am going to need to make three copies."

"Aye; I can procure that. It shall be in the doll room." Sukiyaki then left, the clack-clack-clack of his geta slowly vanishing up the stairs. Law both watched him ascend the staircase and kept on the lookout with his Haki, now feeling as though he would be able to flex such an ability with ease in battle.

"So, Nico-ya, what does it say…?" Law saw Robin absolutely entranced by the Road Poneglyph; an expression he had never seen on her before made her absolutely glow in delight. She was finally and truly in her element—this was what she was supposed to do. He slowly approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Can you believe it?" she whispered, voice wavering. "We're almost there."

"What… what does it say?"

"Well, it's written in dialect, so that takes a bit of maneuvering in of itself," she began. "There are two separate kinds of glyphs—ones that portray a complete word or concept and ones that are functionally individual letters—and that is what makes deciphering the Poneglyphs so intricate, since you can have the same word be transcribed in multiple ways and…!"

Robin gasped as Law grabbed and kissed her without warning, effectively cutting off her train of thought. She forgave him and melted into the kiss, draping her arms around his neck and shoulders as she materialized others to gently rest Kikoku against the railing.

"What was that for?" she chuckled as he broke the kiss. He bit the insides of his lips in embarrassment as he let her go.

"I'm sorry—you're very attractive when you go on a tangent like that."

"Now you know how I feel when you start talking about Sora," she teased, walking out of his grasp. Robin touched the Road Poneglyph—first with her hand, then her forehead—and sighed. "It's been such a long journey, and now I can see the end goal." She felt him gingerly place a hand on her upper back—he was with her.

"Can you…" he whispered, "…teach me?"

"We'd be here all night and you wouldn't be able to grasp the basics," she claimed with a smirk.

"Is that a challenge?" he laughed in near-disbelief. "You weren't the only gifted kid, you know."

"Gifted kids peak early; talented learners are the ones you need to concentrate on." She placed a finger on a moss-filled glyph and gave him a sultry glance. "A."

He began repeating after her, watching how her lips and tongue formed the sounds and words etched into the stone before them. They made their way around the Poneglyph slowly as the lesson continued, ending with him putting his hands on either side of her, flat against the stone, while pressing his growing erection against her thigh.

"Please," he murmured. "I've been a good student, don't you think?"

"Not good enough to do what you want on the lesson plan," she replied. He felt hands grab him from behind and jerk him back as she smiled, the action nearly making him lose his footing. "Now what is this glyph?"

That's how she was going to be, hmm? Alright, then he would play.

Robin ran through the streets of Flevance, trying to put as much distance between her and Law as possible. It was all a dream, it was all a dream, it was all a dream! She needed some time to figure the place out before she dove straight into trying to get out, and this proved it. Coming to a stop on a pedestrian bridge over a canal, she breathed deeply as she tried to catch her breath.

'How am I going to do this if everything is so realistic?' she wondered. 'The parasite thought of everything to mimic and now the lines are so blurred even I'm having a hard time…' She leaned against the railing and tried to steady herself—what in the hell was going on…?!

"…Miss Robin…?" She looked over her shoulder and saw three men from Torao's crew; they were here too? The one with red hair stepped forward with a concerned look on his face. "We thought you were supposed to be at the Captain's tonight. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, of course it is," she lied. "I just forgot something at work and need to grab it before the building is locked down for the night."

"Uh… the university's that way…" the polar bear Mink noted, pointing between the canal and where she was running from.

"Contract work," she said quickly. "I'm fine; don't worry."

"Alright…" the third man said, not entirely convinced. "You could just use the Captain's Devil Fruit to get in, you know."

"That would be breaking and entering," the redhead scoffed. "With friends like she's got, getting a criminal record isn't one of the things she wants to work on or we're gonna be the ones who keep posting their bail. Isn't that righ—hey!"

Robin began to run again, leaving Torao's crew behind her on the bridge. She ran until she found the street she supposedly lived on and the flat she apparently rented out. Once she was upstairs she locked both doors and collapsed onto the couch.

When was the last time she was this nervous? It couldn't've solely been because of the ring, could it? This was only a dream! Her life was never this—never had the chance to be this—and yet there was so much about it that felt both right and wrong at the same time! Perhaps that was where her nerves were coming from: the fact she was going through such an impossible life event. Mundane, yes, but still impossible. If only the parasite's hallucination was set after Luffy became Pirate King… after they had solved the puzzle of the Void Century… after traveling together…

No… she was the Nico Robin who infiltrated dozens of pirate crews and organizations, eventually bringing them all to their knees until the Straw Hat Pirates changed all that. She was the Nico Robin who was a talented spy and information-gatherer. She was the Nico Robin who was able to acclimate herself to foreign lands and their customs so seamlessly everyone mistook her for a sultry native. This was not going to get the best of her, this… this… nightmare… this perversion of everything that shaped them both… all it was was a distraction.

Now how in the hell was she going to manage her way out of this distraction and keep them both alive?

Law stared at the felt box as it lay discarded on the floor, not entirely registering what was going on around him until he heard the front door shut. The sound snapped him out of his stupor and he picked up the box. Shoving it in his pocket, he hoped that none of his family saw what just happened. He looked in the corridor that led up and down the length of the house and saw no one was there.

Okay, good; you could possibly salvage some of this, Law. He rushed over to the front door and hurriedly put on his boots and coat, barely hearing his sister question what was going on when he closed the door behind him and made his way out into the night. It was difficult to not draw attention to himself—or at least feel like he was—and he tried to think about what had just happened as he made his way to his girlfriend's flat. Where else would she be? The rest of the Straw Hats were scattered across the Blues, her mother was in Ohara, the university was closed… then again, it wasn't like that was liable to stop her… no. Flat first, then the university, then the park. That order. He continued on towards Robin's place, only to be stopped by… his friends…?

"Hey, Cap, what's going on?" Penguin asked. He, Shachi, and Bepo were walking together, most likely on their way to his parents' house to pry after work; it seemed almost too convenient. "We just saw Robin headed over towards her flat in a hurry."

"She looked upset," Bepo added. "Is she okay?"

"Did your parents scare her off?" Shachi joked.

"Are you sure she was going towards her flat?" Law asked. His friends looked at one another before turning back to him.

"Yeah… what happened…?" Shachi wondered, now completely serious. Law did not give them any answer, instead walking directly past them and continuing on towards Robin's despite their protests.

What in the hell was this about? He proposed after having waited for so long, waiting until he was certain she would say yes, only to have it backfire spectacularly in his face. What about their relationship had he misjudged? About her? About… himself…? He wanted to start a real life with her and yet… how far away was it? Truly? As he turned down the street and approached the building, he could see a little bit of light from her windows filtering through the tree branches—she was there!

Once he was sure the goobers did not follow him, he took a deep breath to steady himself and failed several times at putting his key in the lock. Fuck, his hands were so shaky; how could he be so calm and steady when holding others' literal lives in his hands and yet this was just so… so… nerve-wracking…? He shut the street-level door behind him and went up the stairs, seeing that light was, yes, pouring out from underneath the flat door. He took another breath, then hesitated, before knocking softly three times.

"Robin…?" No answer. "Hey, you in there?"

"Go away," she ordered harshly from the other side, making him flinch. "I'm not in the mood."

"Not only did you give me a key, but I can swap myself with anything in there," he reminded her. Seas, this was difficult. It was taking everything he had to not Shamble himself in and bring her in for a hug until she explained what was going on, but he at least had the self-awareness to understand that was one of the last things he should have been doing. He let that sit for a moment before adding, "Please, I just want to talk."

A couple contemplative moments passed before Law could hear the lock unlatch. He turned the knob and entered just as a Devil Fruit arm dissolved from the side of the wall—she looked visibly shaken as she sat on the couch, as though she was retreating further and further into herself. It made him fear what was going on… what in the hell in was he had done to make her like this…

"Hey," he said as he closed the door behind him. She didn't say anything, allowing him to walk further into the flat. He sat down next to her on the couch kept his eyes on his hands as he waited for her to say something. She didn't, so he took a chance. "Are you okay?" Nothing. "Are… are we okay…?"

"Not in the way you're thinking," she replied. There was something… off about her voice, something wrong. "I… didn't think this would happen so quickly…"

"We've been dating a while now," he reminded her. He caught a glimpse of her out the corner of his eye and his chest felt tight at how she was avoiding eye contact. Law knew that face: that was the face she made when she was figuring out how to get them out of something… which meant… she was figuring how to get herself out of this. Why…? "Is this just… cold feet…? Because if it is, you can tell me without all… all this. I'd understand."

…because he truly would. He'd make himself understand if that's what it took. He turned towards her and tucked some hair behind her ear so he could see her face clearer. She was acting so differently compared to before she had left for the conference… wait, was that it…?

"Talk to me," he requested. "It's the only way I'll know what's going on."

She let out a heavy breath—it was difficult to tell who was more on-edge. "Do you trust me?"

"Robin, I just proposed marriage after having you meet my parents—of course I trust you," he assured. He was only just holding back the ears welling in his eyes, hoping he wouldn't crack. She held his shoulders and at looked him directly.

"We're dying," she said. He blinked, confused.

"Well, yeah…" he replied, mood completely whipped around. "That's an integral facet to humanity; our impermanence is a—"

"I'm not talking about philosophy here, but actually dying, in the real world."

Huh…?

"Robin… this is real…" Her eyes flashed in something dark as she stared into his own; there was something she clearly wanted to tell him, yet could not find the words. "Are you alright? This isn't like you."

"No, what's like me—what's like us—is being on the Grand Line, in the New World, having just left Wano after helping to liberate it, not in a place that no longer exists." She was trembling and he didn't like it one bit. "This place is dead, Torao."

He scoffed uncomfortably. "Surely you don't—!"

"Ohara is too," she added. "The reality of the situation is that neither of us have our homelands, our families… not even our friends were gained how this world tells us they were. We worked and clawed our way not to the top of our fields, but just to survive growing up in a world that hated us. If it weren't for our friends and our own desires, we would have been dead before our twenties."

"That doesn't sound right," Law frowned. He was attempting to figure out what was making her say these things other than…? Hysteria…? That was a pretty old-fashioned diagnosis, not to mention well-outside his normal field. "What's gotten into you? You're talking nonsense, about a nightmare I've been having, plus you haven't called me Torao in ages. Are you sure you're not under too much stress at the university? Because I had a feeling your workload was getting too much once they put that conference on you, and…"

"When did we first start seeing one another?" she asked abruptly. He blinked.

"You know when…"

"…then tell me: confirm how we started dating."

"That's easy, it's…"

Suddenly, Law's mind went almost blank. How had they started dating…? He could remember kissing her while they were on a ship, his heart racing as though he was still a schoolboy, but the details were extraordinarily fuzzy. They were mutually avoiding someone, allowing them to nurture a prior spark in a dark hideaway. What had they been doing? Where were they going? Better yet: where were they? He could remember her many hands on him, how sweet she tasted, the ache in his thighs and knees as they tried to stay still as possible to… avoid…?

"You…" He hesitated. "You know how complicated it was when we first got together."

"There has to be a way to get you to understand!" Robin stood and began to pace around the room. Her brows were furrowed as she thought and thought. "It can't be that; it should be in bloom. No, that's not it… ah! My books!"

"What about your books?"

"Take one of my books off the shelf, don't let me see it, but try to read it. If I don't know what it is, then my mind can't fill in the blanks."

"Robin…"

"Law, please, for me." Her brown eyes were so sad, so uncomfortable with everything… what choice did he have? He ran his fingers through his hair and scratched at his scalp—this had better be good.

"Alright, if it will make you feel better, I will," he relented. She smiled in relief and turned around, allowing him to choose a book at his leisure. Law looked at one of the bookshelves and skimmed the titles on the spine before he settled on a good one.

West Blue Kingdoms of the Pre-Void Era

For as much as he had listened to Robin talk, Law knew there was no way he could know what was covered by such a title. Carefully, he slid it off the shelf and held it in his hands. It was a thick book—likely very technical. He glanced over at Robin as he opened it up, seeing that her back was still turned. Hopefully they'd be able to put this to a rest so that they could move on with their lives…

…except when Law looked back at the pages from the middle of the book, he saw they were blank. He raised an eyebrow and flipped through the tome—empty.

"There's nothing in this," he frowned. "Robin, I…"

"What are you holding?" she wondered.

"You told me not to—"

"I know what I said: what book are you holding?"

"It's… uh… 'West Blue Kingdoms of the Pre-Void Era'… but how would that…?"

Then, without warning, words and pictures began to appear on the pages of the book in his hands, filling it with all sorts of knowledge that was presumably from Robin's brain, whether she could remember it consciously or not. He nearly dropped the book in shock; what the fuck was going on?!

"Nika above and below…!" He watched as Robin turned back around with tears in her eyes. "How did you do this?!"

"It's because we are sharing this dream," she stated. "We currently are capable of exchanging knowledge through it, but only if we are aware of what's being passed between us."

"That's the stuff of sci-fi novels," he said, putting the book down on the table. Something ached in the back of his head… huh…?

"Novels certainly, but also thanks to whomever attacked you in that port marketplace in the New World," she replied. Robin looked so much calmer now, though now it meant she was more sad than anything. "Your crew found you with a parasite attached to your face. By the time we figured out what was going on, it had grown to the point it could take my brain as well as yours so that I could help you figure out how to defeat it from the inside. In order to reconcile both our thought processes, it had to fuse our dreams into a single dreamscape, hence the knowledge-sharing."

"…and what is going on…?"

"Jean Bart says that the parasite is made by a Devil Fruit normally in possession of someone in the employ of the Celestial Dragons." She watched as his face scrunched up—Jean Bart…? "I knew it had to be me to come get you, no one else."

Law swallowed hard. "Wh-why is that…?"

"…because…" It was Robin's turn to hesitate, her cheeks flushing with blush. "They think it's because I used to infiltrate crews for my own survival, but in reality…"

The pause was deafening.

"…it was because you told me you loved me, back in Wano, after we had sex on the Thousand Sunny before departing." She seemed to not believe what she was saying either, despite the fact her words held all their normal amounts of conviction for this frank of a conversation. "It was gentle and sweet and it almost convinced me to go with you instead of Luffy. I don't want what we have to end so soon… I'm as done with being left behind as you are."

"Say that is the truth: how come you remember this and I can't?"

"The parasite wants to limit your access to your real memories, or else you might fight back and damage it. Between Jean Bart's first-hand experience and Chopper's research, they agree that the best way to get rid of it and not harm you is to destroy it from the inside."

"This sounds a little too fantastic," Law tried to reason. Who ever heard of a Devil Fruit ability like that? What would the Celestial Dragons, of all people, want with it? Why would it want him? Only threads of it truly made sense and those threads started to unravel when he remembered where they were—Jean Bart was one of the charge nurses on his floor, with the closest he'd come to seeing a Celestial Dragon being on the other side of a large harbor years ago. "I think that maybe… we should talk about this… maybe over some tea… yeah, herbal tea…" He stepped into the kitchen space and busied his hands with the kettle, taking deep, shaky breaths until Robin slid an arm around him from the side and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Herbal tea… a very Minkfolk response," she stated. He froze, his stare remaining fixed on the kettle in his hands. She then began to trace her fingers over his chest in a very specific motion, mimicking something he knew he had never told her about. As she finished tracing the tattoo that wasn't there, she leaned in and murmured in his ear, "I wonder what Cora-san would have said to seeing them."

At that, Law dropped the kettle in the sink, metal clanging on metal.

Cora-san!

Shit!

He forgot Cora-san!

Everything suddenly began rushing back to Law at once. His head exploded in pain as what he had thought was the dream—the nightmare—all invaded his mind at once. He remembered fighting monsters in Wano, watching Doflamingo get the shit beat out of him in Dressrosa, stealing pirate hearts on a pirate island and using that as leverage against the World Government, traveling the Grand Line and the North Blue before that in a submarine ship staffed by his friends, scraping to survive with Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi…

…and he remembered Cora-san, who stank of cigarettes and cheap booze, hauling his ass all over the North to try to find a cure for his acute Amber Lead poisoning. The former Marine spy who went worse than native—he grew a fucking conscious at the sight of a sick child and abandoned his mission. Law had only been cured when he could carve the metal out of his body himself with his Devil Fruit, because no one else would help him…

…the only ones willing having already gone up in smoke if not down from bullets.

He cursed to himself, letting the Flevench words he'd clung to so desperately ring in his mind. Or did they flow over his lips? Law clutched his head as it felt like it was going to burst, stumbling out of Robin's grasp. He could barely feel her grab at him to keep him steady as it truly sank in.

He was living in a lie.

He did not live with his parents and sister in his childhood home; they were long-dead. Killed by soldiers. Immolated. In fact, he had spent more time with his friends than he had with anyone from Flevance. So little about this life was based in what amounted to fuzzy memories, book-learned facts, and wishful thinking that it made him want to be sick. It felt like both forever and no time at all before he realized he was sitting on the couch with a glass of water in his hands.

"Drink." It was Robin's voice, far-off and gentle. He did as he was told and drank some of the water, his entire sense of self shaken to the core. Fingers gently carded through his hair as the glass was taken from him and he was eased down into something soft, warm, and comforting.

"Why does this feel so real…?" he whispered hoarsely. Were those his tears on his face, or…?

"What better way to keep a man with a bounty on-par with an Emperor of the Sea docile enough to kill?" She touched his face as a sob heaved in her chest, wracking him as well. He shifted so that he could put his arms around her as he hid in her bosom. Neither were going to admit they were crying, because what good would that do? "I almost lost you."

Even worse… he almost lost himself. It sat in the pit of his stomach as he realized the implications, gnawing at him painfully as he did his best to not think—thinking was the Darkness that would consume him again if he let it. He couldn't let himself succumb to it… not again… not as Robin had come to pull him out of his own head.

A church bell in the distance began to announce the time and both of them let everything go.

It was morning by the time both Robin and Law were finally composed enough to think rationally. They were sitting at the dining table, both nursing a mug of coffee while picking at some fruit that had been in the fridge. Neither were hungry, but it was the mere act of eating that was comfortable and familiar even if it wasn't real. It was still so difficult to let sink in that everything around them was only a mental construct—from the tears they had shed to the food they were eating—that it made Law extra-cautious.

"Okay, so how are we going to get out of here?" he asked. After the rough night that found them moving from the couch to the bed in various states of dress, he was only dressed in his jeans, while Robin was next to him in an old t-shirt emblazoned with Flevance's med school's logo and shorts. "There had to of been some clue Chopper and Jean Bart uncovered."

"My guess is that there is something holding us here… something that is not supposed to exist acting as the anchor."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but that's the entire country, along with everyone and everything in it."

"I would think that it would have to be something personal," Robin theorized. "If the parasite keeps its victims tethered to an alternate reality, then what better way to keep the charade going then by making the lynchpin something they cannot bear to lose?"

"Fuck, you don't think…"

"Everything is conjecture at this point," she clarified. "The good thing is that we're not in any immediate danger since Chopper is taking care of us. Traditional threats involved with the parasite are minimal, being starvation and torture under the Celestial Dragons…"

"…but we're still not safe," Law surmised. "The crews could come under attack by powerful New World forces, we could take so long to escape that our bodies atrophy, we could never figure out what the anchor is and suffer a horrific fate within the dreamscape that could permanently damage our mental processes…"

"Well, the first thing I would do is figure out who 'owns' the dream and a potential list of fulfilled wishes this environment provides them." She picked up a pad of paper and a pen. "You're the one who was attacked first, so let's operate under the assumption that the dreamscape's anchor is yours. Now, what are the things around here that would be the toughest to let go?"

"You, for one," he admitted. She smiled at him and he blushed; to be openly dating was something they only wished they could normally afford. "I also have my family, friends, a stable and fulfilling career, my homeland… there's a lot here that's at stake."

"Then we should probably go with the conceit of this place while we try to get a better grasp on what it is about," she suggested. Robin put the pen down and took another sip of coffee. "The engagement ring."

"What about it?"

"How many people did you discuss it with?"

"M… my dad… Penguin and Shachi… Bepo…"

"Then I think we should act as though this is reality and we're now engaged." She had a hand sprout next to the jewelry box and passed it between a row of them before it reached Law. He took it and stared at the velvet covering as though it was not the thing that caused the shake-down of what he had been convinced was his entire life to that point. "It will at least give us an excuse to be together more often than what this reality expects."

"Yeah." He opened the box and took out the ring—it was a soft golden color, inset with a modest stone of amethyst flanked by two smaller precious opals whose colors danced in the early morning light. "This is going to be a bitch when I have to keep reminding myself it's not real."

"At least you know you won't be alone in that sentiment." Robin held out her hands and Law slid the ring on her right ring finger. "What is the custom in Flevance?"

"It moves to the left hand during the ceremony. Vaor's cousin got married when I was eight and I saw it then." She held her hand up and watched the stones catch the light. "What about Ohara?"

"Women on the right, men on the left; makes it so they touch when holding hands."

"Mmm." He sighed awkwardly, shaking his head. "Now that I know the truth, this feels so… empty."

"Maybe, after everything's calmed down a bit, we can consider what we would really do."

Suddenly, the bell that was next to the door began to ring, the sound bright and loud against the otherwise quiet morning. It was accompanied by a faint noise, as though someone was knocking on the downstairs door. Law and Robin both went to the window, leaning out until they could see the door at street-level—Penguin was pounding his fist on the door and Shachi ringing the doorbell, while Bepo and Lami stood close by.

"We're up, you idiots," Law said, catching their attention. All four looked up at them, expressions becoming giddy. "Lami, why are they here?"

"That's rude, Captain!" Bepo huffed. "We're your best friends!"

"I have idiots," he parried. They all began to boo him, giving him thumbs-down. "Alright, alright—let me get a shirt on." The Goofball Quartet high-fived one another in celebration; there was no amount of coffee that was going to make this bearable. Law popped his head back into the flat and began to hunt around for a clean shirt; too many of his that were lying around smelled of serious funk, the least of which was already on Robin.

"At least they waited until morning," she noted as she closed the window. Robin grabbed her robe and pulled it on, waiting until Law was negotiating a different t-shirt over his head before using her Devil Fruit ability to unlock and open both doors. Their visitors came barreling up the stairs, bursting into the flat with little regard to anything.

"What in the hell is going on?!" Lami asked the moment she passed over the threshold. "Vaor was being cagey all night after you left!"

"Didja do it, Cap?!" Penguin added. "C'mon—don't be secretive about this!"

Law exhaled heavily and nudged Robin in the side. She took that as her cue and held up her right hand, showing off the ring. Law's friends cheered and pumped their fists in celebration, while his sister let out a shrill squeal.

"Aaah! It's about time!" She pulled them both into a hug that was so tight that Robin was honestly taken by surprise. "I knew that's what was going on! Why didn't you stay at the house so we could celebrate?!"

"It took me by surprise, is all," Robin assured. That much was the truth, after all. "I'm sorry for running out; I didn't mean to ruin your evening."

"No—Vaor was the one who didn't mention anything," Lami pouted. "I wasn't able to learn anything until I snuck out and met up with Law-nii's friends."

"We were headed over to your parents' house to see if you were there visiting with your hand or what," Shachi shrugged. Law shot him a sharp glare.

"Since you weren't there, we decided to look here," Penguin said in an attempt to save face. "It's only natural."

"Now you know, and if you excuse us, we have to get ready for work," Law scowled. "I have consultations all day and you know what I'm like on Consultation Day." The echoes of his friends cringed; fuck… he was right…

"…and Lami has a lecture to crash if I'm not mistaking the time," Robin added. Lami indeed looked at a clock on the wall and hissed. "Better get going if any of you want to be on-time."

The Goofball Quartet all raced out of the flat in a panic—there was too much for them to do yet before they had time to stand around and gossip! Law and Robin were left alone again, the former staring at the closed door with eyes that were not quite focused.

"It's going to threaten to break me if I have to keep reminding myself that she's been dead for sixteen years," he said. She sighed and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"We're engaged now," she reminded him. "You can move in if that'll make it easier."

"N-no… I'll just do what the dreamscape has been making me do: visiting. It makes more sense within," he gestured at the entire flat with one hand, "everything. It'll make the parasite less suspicious."

"I'm sure it already realizes what's going on," she said, "so in the meantime, let's just pretend that everything is as-normal. We'll claim we're getting married 'next year' to give ourselves a buffer and instead use that time to figure out what the anchor is so we can destroy it and get out of here."

"I… don't know if I'll be able to do it," Law said. He looked at Robin and felt a massive weight on his shoulders. She was in this mess because of him, and he was already asking too much. "If I can't… will you…?"

"Of course," she crooned. She held his face gently and pulled him into a kiss. "Anything to get you back where you belong."