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“You shouldn’t even be up right now, not with how CP0 shredded your guts.” Law glared at the shadow lurking in the storage room. It answered him, voice gruff, “As if that old hag did any less to you?”
The speaker listed into the dim light from the overhead- it cast long shadows across Drake’s face, emphasizing his raised brow. Law could’ve rebutted that he can fix his own injuries much more easily than Drake could, but decided it wasn’t worth the energy.
The other was leaned against the wall, trying for a nonchalant manner, but Law noted the stiffness in his muscles- his doctor’s instincts were drawing up a mental catalogue of injuries.
He was still trying to justify to himself the decision to take Drake onboard in the wake of the Beast Pirates’ fall- the other had been an ally during the battle. He was a strong fighter, and could be an asset against the overwhelming forces facing them all.
Patient and subtle, also- not one to run head-first into things, as Luffy and Kidd were wont to do, and Law was relieved to know that at least one other Supernova recognized the worth of a plan. He had information about the marine’s movements- possibly the World Government’s plans, even.
Drake had, as well, freed Law from that prison- healing him would be more than enough to repay that debt. For the most part, though, Drake was a mystery, and his motivations were intriguing- Law wanted to know more.
The damaged child deep inside him was perpetually wary, however- Drake was a marine. Not just ‘was a marine, now a pirate’, but ‘still a marine as well as a pirate’.
Did that make him worse than just a marine, this Drake who was secretly a spy for a covert marine group? Or was this Drake who actively bucked the world government's hold on the marines’ leash better than the one who had chased Law around the North Blue, towing their line about truth and justice? He would have to wait and see.
And he would never admit it, but he couldn’t handle the death of another soft marine on his conscience. Another foolish, stupid, kind marine who thought he could save everyone if he just worked hard enough at it. He hadn’t been able to turn away and leave Drake there, in the aftermath.
“So where’s your crew?” “Stationed around the island- protecting villages under the guise of Kaido’s men.” “Are they also… like you?” 'Also undercover marines?’, went unsaid.
A shallow nod, “Most came with me- fellow ‘defectors’. Some I picked up later. Good men. I’ve ordered them to fall back and regroup once the last of the Beast Pirates have been run off- we’ve got a spot to meet up.”
Curious. Drake wasn’t hiding his identity, not quite as reticent as Law had expected from someone so deeply undercover for so long. He hesitated, then decided to play a card.
“So you’re a marine.” It wasn’t a question. Drake had pretty thoroughly blown his carefully constructed cover in order to fight alongside the Alliance during the final battle.
Drake didn’t make a single move, however- Law could read no surprise or anger, even when he subtly scanned the other's frustratingly steady pulse. “Sometimes. We’re not exactly in good standing with the marines at large, but those who need to know do, and if things end up right, no one else will have to.”
Law assessed, decided to prod further- he wanted to see where the other’s buttons lay, and how much pressure he needed to apply to press them. He paid careful attention to Drake's systems, as if keeping fingers on his pulse. “Even though they all compare you to your father, for defecting?”
Drake’s shoulders were tight, his hands clenched slightly tighter, but nothing changed in his heart rate. He seemed to be well-reigned in terms of self-discipline. Necessary, likely, due both to his fruit and his role in undercover work.
Drake only shrugged, “It’s worth it. You can call me naïve if you want, but… I want to believe the marines can be so much better than we are now. I want to believe in something, otherwise what’s the point.” Law refrained from speaking, seeing if the other would elaborate further, and Drake obliged, “‘Justice’ doesn’t mean much if it’s only decided by power.”
There was silence for a long moment, Law contemplating the ramifications of what that meant- it was just vague enough to tell him little about the motivations of Drake’s mysterious organization, but left open several avenues of thought to follow, several possibilities as to their goals and means. The man himself simply seemed to rest as he was examined, eyes closed and frame loose.
Suddenly, Drake nodded to himself and spoke up, “I saw how you took her down- that ‘silent’ move. Been a long time since I’ve experienced that.” The other looked at him then, eyes sharp and knowing.
Law blinked at the nonsequitor, his own eyes narrowing suspiciously, before the realization hit. Right- Sengoku had told him to research more into that incident all those years ago, given him some leads to follow. What he had learned had been… enlightening.
Drake saw the recognition in his eyes, and tucked his chin to his chest, voice going low. “That day… seems to have been a turning point in both of our lives.” He crossed his arms, looking away. “I suppose I should thank you- what went down on that island finally got me away from my pops. Even if I did ultimately go back to a life of piracy, it was nice to be free of him.”
Law hesitated, before nodding, “Same to you- your capture by the marines that day is part of what allowed me to escape Doflamingo’s crew. They thought I was the one who had been taken in.”
He sighed, shaking his head, "I didn’t put together that it was you until recently- after Dressrosa I learned the name of the pirate crew that was destroyed that day: Barrels. Named after their captain-“
“Diez Barrels. My pops.” Drake huffed, "I, on the other hand, knew it was you all the way back- as soon as you popped up as the up-and-coming pirate, bearing the fruit my pops lost his life over.” Law’s eyes sharpened, but Drake waved him off casually, "No hard feelings, I promise. He was a shitty dad anyways.”
He sat on a nearby crate, crossing one leg over the other and rubbing at the scar on his chin thoughtfully, “I tried to meet you, way back on Sabaody, but then everything went to hell when the admiral arrived.” He waved a hand carelessly. “Just wanted to talk, confirm some suspicions. Shame that we finally meet here, in the middle of all this.”
Law scanned him more thoroughly- no muscle tightening as if to pounce, no sparking of nerves except from pain, and his heart rate was still infuriatingly even. “What kind of suspicions?” “Wanted to see for myself. Pops talked up the fruit like it was some kind of miracle- I wanted to know what the hype was about, why he cared more about that fruit than his own son. The opportunity to be 'a god in a bubble’, my pops called it. You’ll have to show me how it works sometime. I didn’t exactly have time to watch the show.” Law couldn’t help the barb, slightly defensive now, “Too busy getting stabbed, apparently."
A roll of dark eyes, and Drake changed the subject, “Anyway, that’s why I insisted on being the one to chase you, back in the North.”
Law was having another realization, some sneaking suspicion about the sorties his crew had fought with Drake’s marines. “You never were trying to really take me in, were you, Drake-ya?” This man only became more intriguing with every new thing he learned.
Drake crossed his arms over his chest, raising one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug, “If you were in Impel Down, I couldn’t’ve seen what I wanted to. And besides, I was too cautious- the rumors about you weren’t kind, and we didn’t know if there were side effects to being cut up by your powers. I wasn’t willing to risk my men.”
He let it stand there, as if it explained everything, as if Law wasn't suddenly reevaluating every interaction he'd ever had with this man, knowing now that the past he'd thought hidden, known only to himself and the dead, had been chasing him in very real form this whole time. Knowing that he'd been identified from the very beginning, and he hadn't identified Drake in return. It was unsettling.
Another flash of those sharp eyes. “I saw him, y’know?” Drake’s head fell lazily back against the wall, but he recognized the confusion in Law’s silence, and elaborated, "Your whoever he was? That day on the island.”
Law fought to keep his expression from twisting- he was talking about Cora-san. Another unpleasant shift of perspective rocked him at the realization.
Drake's voice was barely above a whisper, shrouded in mists of memory, “Everything went all silent and the lanterns went out and everyone else was panicking, but I couldn’t move. I just hid behind a pillar to avoid the random shooting from the crew. But I saw that dark shadow- huge and covered in feathers, like some giant blackbird.”
Law’s mouth quirked into a faint grin- that sounded about right. His hand drifted to the guard of his sword- its plush texture had always reminded him of feathers, of the dense warmth of that coat that had covered him so often.
“He looked at me, then. Still couldn’t hear anything, but his mouth said ‘Run’. And I did. And I never stopped.”
Law was thrown very off balance, although he refused to show it. Drake knew far more about him, about Cora-san, about the events on Minion Island, than he'd even suspected. Part of him felt exposed to be so perceived, vulnerable at being the one at a loss in this situation when he'd prided himself for so long on his forethought and strategy, on being steps ahead of the others.
But also, it was… comforting, in a way, to know that his savior also existed in the memory of someone who technically wasn’t his enemy. Sengoku had brought a bit of that feeling, but given that the former fleet admiral had thought of Cora-san as his own son, and Law was the reason that son had betrayed him and ended up dead… Sengoku hadn’t openly blamed him for that, but Law still felt the rejection, the… guilt, almost.
Drake, however… he didn’t know Cora-san as a marine or as a member of the Family, he just knew him as someone who had facilitated his escape from an abusive situation. In that way, at least, he and Law were similar- both part, whether directly or indirectly, of Cora-san’s legacy.
Drake’s own mouth tilted in a wry smirk, the dimness exaggerating the sharp angles of his face. “I have it on good authority that he’s the reason our division exists- it was originally created to combat the influence of the World Nobles, to create a marine force free of their corruption. To prevent situations like Dressrosa, and monsters like Doflamingo.”
Law stopped still, mind going into overdrive. So that was the drive behind Drake’s secret marines, then. He wouldn’t have thought… And Cora-san being the cause-?! Did that mean Sengoku was the head of this organization? Had he really formed this group after Cora-san’s death? Because of Cora-san's death? Another thing Law would need to look further into- Drake had given up valuable information in his reminiscences.
He didn’t miss Drake’s use of the word ‘originally’, either- did that imply that this was no longer their goal? No longer their only goal, rather? He had a lot of digging to do, and new reasons to do so, as well.
There was a long silence that hung like fog, like snow years past. Drake opened his mouth once, then shut it again- he seemed to be contemplating something, weighing whether or not to speak. Finally, he looked Law head-on. “Also, I have intel you may be interested in. That fruit- the calm-calm fruit."
Law went suddenly tense, a single-minded focus driving him, all else momentarily forgotten, “Do you have it?” Something in him rebelled. It felt fundamentally wrong for someone else to have that fruit, somehow. He had no plan for what to do with it, but… no one else should have it.
Drake shook his head, “I’m just saying I know where it is. If you wanted to… find it.” Law's suspicions began to whisper at him, greatly disliking how easily the other was giving up information- was he simply that easily coaxed out of secrets, or did he have deeper motivations? He glared, “Why are you telling me all this? We’re not friends.”
Drake found his eyes, the low light glinting from their darkness, sharp and unreadable. “No. But I recognize something in you- something that’s in me as well. You see the better world- the dawn- that could be, just as I can. It’s just over the horizon, and people like us, like Strawhat, can drag the world into it and burn away the darkness weighing the people down.”
Law looked down his nose at the other almost instinctively- it was a laughably foolish optimism, if that was what he truly believed. “You were right- you are naïve.” Drake only shrugged again, “Hasn’t killed me yet.” His heart rate still hadn't made even the slightest deviation from normal, infuriatingly enough. Why?
The two men simply looked at each other for a long moment, eyes holding in the echoing background of the submarine’s engines. Law was searching for something, Drake simply leaving him the space to ponder.
The mystery that was the other was growing more complex. Law soon realized he had to change his perspective entirely- it wasn’t that Drake was falling for his prodding or letting slip more than he meant to. He simply knew exactly what he was willing to share, and was well aware that, information-wise, he held the high ground between them.
Drake’s goal was not the One Piece at all, where Law held the greater wealth of knowledge- it was the eradication of the corrupting influences of the World Nobles and the Yonkou both, the bringing of this 'dawn' he spoke of.
His wasn’t the optimism of foolishness, as Law had first suspected- it was the determination of a single-minded dedication to a purpose larger than oneself. And he was deliberately offering information, extending an olive branch to exhibit his worth as an ally, what Law stood to gain by working together.
No wonder his heart rate hadn't changed- a spy like himself was no doubt quite at home in this subtle art of words and information. A board was being laid out, Law could now see, and Drake was leaving it to Law to decide where he wanted to place himself, whether he wanted to put in his lot with Drake’s organization.
The question was whether Law was willing to align their goals in terms longer than immediate survival, willing to work alongside not only marines, but this mysterious, largely anonymous division with unknown ends, just because they may have short-term goals in common.
He needed to know more, first. But if this organization was truly a product of Cora-san’s death, created in response to his sacrifice, then it, too, was part of his legacy, and Law felt some obligation to at least understand it.
He looked Drake over once more- the man had turned his eyes to the metal wall, expression impassive and unreadable. Letting Law have space to ruminate. He looked around himself at the storage room they were in, ran a hand unconsciously over the smiling tattoo on his chest. Two men, only here at this point because of the sacrifice of another man, fates irreversibly entwined on that day so many years ago, now at a turning point- to further entwine that destiny and see where it led, or to pull away.
He made his decision then, settling down on a crate opposite Drake’s and summoning a Room around the two to ensure complete privacy. The other glanced back at him then, calmly considering, and Law nodded curtly.
“I’ll hear you out, Drake-ya." He received a sharp-toothed grin in response, and couldn't help but mirror it. Perhaps this could be a fruitful alliance.