Chapter Text
Meanwhile, a world away...
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Trafalgar D Water Law, a young boy plagued with Amber Lead Syndrome, had been sitting inside a large treasure chest. He was placed there by his guardian and, though he would certainly not admit it should someone ask, father figure, Corazon, in a desperate attempt to save him from Doflamingo’s clutches.
Law did his best to muffle his sobs (though they wouldn’t be heard anyway with the help of Corazon’s devil fruit ability), trying hard to hear what they were talking about out there. He could hear voices, but could barely keep himself coherent enough to even begin to understand what they were saying.
The young boy was ravaged by fever, sickness clinging to his aching bones even with the miraculous power of the Op-Op fruit humming under his skin.
His vision tunneled for a moment in what he assumed was simply another flare up of the Amber Lead sickness, causing him to squeeze his eyes tightly shut and curl into himself in hopes that the unpleasant feeling would recede soon.
It lasted much longer than the previous fits he’s had, which was more than enough cause for the boy to be concerned. Finally feeling the vertigo-inducing feeling ebb, his eyes fluttered open as he once again tried to tune into the conversation happening outside of his hiding place.
It took a moment to notice that the scenery had changed. It took much too long in his opinion, even if he was wracked with fever to the point where trembling laced his every movement.
Law looked around in confusion, his overworked mind trying desperately to make sense of what he was seeing. It seemed as if he was on a pirate ship, but that was impossible, unless…
Unless he was out of it for long enough that Doflamingo managed to take the chest Law was hiding in and find him.
Quick as a whip, Law’s head shot up with eyes wide as dinnerplates as they surveyed the scene around him.
Several people were scattered about the deck, but he didn’t recognize any of them. That meant they couldn’t be Doflamingo’s men, right?
He was pulled from his thoughts by yet another coughing fit clawing up his throat and causing him to collapse against the deck in a heap. Several sets of footsteps rushed up to him, and it was only then that he realized the inhabitants of this ship had been trying to talk to him. Though he could hear the fuzzy din of their voices, he couldn’t make out anything they were saying.
For the second time, his vision grew a black tinge around the edge. As he huddled into himself and began to lose consciousness, Law whispered a silent prayer to anyone who would listen to his soul’s cry:
“Please… let Cora be alive…”