One of a Kind (Trafalgar Law)

2 - "There's No Such Thing"

Hearing such a bold claim without any sort of convincing evidence from a pure stranger made him scoff at the idea.

"There's no such thing." He said as he shook his head. "If something like that truly existed, then why hasn't anyone gone out to search for it... Maybe it's already been found and will only be a waste of my time."

"It sounds crazy. I know. If I were you, then I'd have a hard time believing such a thing too. But I promise you, it's out there. Really." I said. "Tell you what, when we both manage to get out of this island alive then I'll be able to give you more details. For now, hold on to that for me. It'll be safer in your hands." With a small shrug I started to walk away from him. "Make sure you stay alive until then. Anything can happen from here on out, so until I find my captain I'll try to be careful out here too."

Placing the mysterious charm in his pocket, he started to walk the other way from me and it looked like he was deep in thought.

'I hope my words were enough to convince him to keep it safe. I know that I should've said more in detail, but my priority is to find the Straw Hats first.'

When I made it to the other hallway, I sensed that I wasn't alone. I knew it couldn't have been one of my friends, there was an air of danger. But it was too late to turn back now... Because I was already in their sights.

Faster than I could counter attack, a tall darkened figure had darted across the hallway to reach me. Their fist was aiming towards me, but I somehow managed to dodge just in time. In my haste, I lost my balance and fell backwards to the floor. The loud boom from the speed at which they hit the floor, where I was standing mere moments ago, left behind a crater of a significant and terrifying size.

The mysterious attacker had fully stood up and I looked up at them. Now being able to see clearly, I recognized this man. Quickly getting off the floor, I was shocked at who I saw stood before me.

"Vice Admiral Vergo?! Sir, what are yo-" He didn't say anything as he took another step forward and grabbed the collar of my shirt to lift me upwards. "Wait! Stop! It's me!"

At eye level with him as I struggled to get free of his grip, I didn't understand why he was acting this way and tried to reason with him.

"D- Don't you recognize me?!" I asked desperately as I hit the arm holding me up repeatedly to no avail.

The noise of his attack from before was enough to catch Law's attention who returned in a rush to see what was going on.

"It seems that today is full of unexpected reunions..." Vergo said when his eyes landed on Law who stood there in a moment of shock at who he saw. "How many years has it been? You've grown, Law. I hear you've become one of the warlords now. How mighty you've become..."

When realizing the identity of the man who held me, Law now wore an aggressive expression and prepared himself to fight back.

"VERGO!" Law called out to him in anger.

In response, Vergo had suddenly jerked his hand that held me and threw me in the direction of Law who had instinctively reached out to grab me. With the both of us on the floor, I glanced over to Law who looked up at me. I nodded once to let him know I was okay. He stood up and held a hand out to me, helping me up as Vergo stood there watching us as if calculating his next move.

"You don't have to do this!" I raised my voice to get his attention. "Listen, whatever it is, we can talk about it. Just like old times, r- right?" I tried to talk to him again but his demeanor was unchanging.

"Here's the thing... I heard you had become a pirate when you left the Marines but, for me, I was always a pirate. I answer to Joker, nobody else." Vergo revealed.

For a moment, his words didn't sink in and it felt as if time had slowed down. When they finally did, the growing anger within me had dissipated all of my previous fear. That nickname, I've heard it before, and only then did I realize the kind of situation that I was in.

"You... YOU TRAITOR!" I yelled at him in anger and took a step forward.

"Stand down." Holding up his hand in front of my face to stop me, Law kept his position in between Vergo and myself.

"Law? What are you saying?!" I asked in disbelief, pulling him back by his sleeve. "You can't be serious!"

"This has nothing to do with you. Law and I have... Some unfinished business. You aren't worth my time." Vergo said in a condescending tone at me. "Get out of my way or you'll regret it."

"Do as he says. You're not welcome here." Law added in, trying to get me to leave.

'Even knowing the truth about him, he had been my superior for so many years... Stop that! I have to get it in my head that he's now my enemy!'

"No!" I tried to protest and earned a disapproving glare from Law, raising my hands and preparing to fight back. "I can't just run away for you to fight alone against him and then get yourself kil-"

"Time's up." Vergo said in a dark tone in a way that sent chills down my spine.

Seeing his face now, compared to the face of the man I knew before in my memories made me hesitate and lower my guard.

'I can't... I can't fight him...'

Realizing that Vergo was ready to launch another rushed attack, I did what I could on the defensive front instead. In a quick movement, I pushed Law out of harms way on instinct to safety.

"Vergo, don't!" Law called out to him as he attempted to stand up and reach me before Vergo did.

Immediately after receiving the full blow of the brutal attack, pain shot everywhere on my body as I landed on the hard wall opposite of where I last stood. I was coughing violently, trying to catch my breath. Not a moment later, Vergo was standing above me, who couldn't find the strength to get back up on my feet in time.

"Your fight is with me!" Law spoke up as he picked up his sword once more and pointed it toward Vergo, trying to get attention away from me.

Kneeling down to grab a fistful of my hair and forcing me to look up at him, Vergo didn't have the slightest hint of the man that I thought he was before.

'So much for telling Law earlier we have to be careful on this cursed island.'

"My only regret is not recruiting you to be on my side with my true self. Doffy would've welcomed you..." He told me before releasing my hair and getting up to stand before Law who successfully got Vergo to break his concentration towards me.

'Am I too weak?... I couldn't even lift a finger to fight back! Even though I knew he wasn't the Vice Admiral that I used to look up to.'

My whole world turned slowly turned black as the sound of an intense battle became a distant muffled noise.

Twitch: Enrita11

September 24th, 2022