One Piece 1. Chapter 1

Labeling him as evil would be a stretch, but coloring him kind would be preposterous. He wasn't a blindly malicious creature, yet apathy wrecked his heart. Law wasn't born into this borderline sociopathy; years of warped mistreatment from those appointed to protect him, coupled with devastating losses wore on his psyche. The rancid souls he encountered throughout his relatively young lifespan dwindled his over all faith in humanity. He wasn't going to be the one to cleanse the world, but he wouldn't mind a front row seat, or to even help in his own jurisdiction of personal gain.

The only humans he ever felt compassion or sympathy for were children. Athough there were exceptions, as there were with everything, he felt that generally children were innocent and deserved the best of the world. A little known fact was that of the one hundred hearts he used as his admission to become a member of the shichibukai, more than half belonged to those who were confirmed child predators, whether it be selling them into prostitution, slavery, to their own hunger, or any combination of the horrors. He felt a surge of authority and righteousness as he exterminated the vermin. Caesar Clown's experimentation on children struck a nerve in Law, who wished nothing more to destroy his heart when it was in his possession, the mission being the only thing grounding his well internalized fury. People like that convinced Law that he was nothing more than an audience member to the most macabre freak show in existence: Earth.

Despite his overall hatred and distrust for demented humanity, he still had a crevice in his heart where he had genuine concern for people; his crew was his first priority, always. Beyond his responsibility as captain, he would be more than ready to exchange his life for theirs, under any circumstance. This eventually extended to his alliance with the Straw Hats, an unlikely but strong union. He also had a flare for women. Not too often, as he believed all pleasures in life were only pleasurable in rarity and moderation. On nights when his crew would go to the town's bar and enjoy a bacchanalian splurge, he'd only accompany them once in a while. He would only drink enough for a light buzz, as he did not like the feeling of not being in complete control of himself and immediate surroundings.

This night was the blue moon of his appearance with his crew. Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo partook in particularly obnoxious drinking activities, such as a make shift beer pong game with other participants at the bar table, to loudly recounting funny stories of their travels on the seas. Law remained quiet and thoughtful in a booth as he watched his bubbly crew enjoy themselves. His eyes wandered around the room until they fell upon a petite maiden he found attractive, at a table to his left. Her eyes eventually found his; he flashed a devilish, handsome smirk, earning a giggle and smile. The first few minutes of their interaction had been a mere game of eye-tag, until she initiated the first move by ordering two shots and sitting opposite of him in the booth.

There hadn't been much intelligible conversation between them, but Law was quite used to this, and therefore never expected it to come from young women in bars. He had no intention of connecting with her on a mental or emotional level, just feeding his arousal from the lack of sexual intimacy of late. She was nothing more to him than another nameless one night stand. And if she had any common sense, she would know that if they should leave together, it would be nothing more than that, seeing as bars weren't the ideal setting of romance.

As the other patrons began vacating the premises, Law and the lady figured it time to leave as well. Their exchange was blunt and direct; a night of sex and dispatch. They walked out of the bar and made way for his submarine. She had recognized him as a pirate from all of the wanted fliers that clothed the naked walls of buildings, though he was untouchable, between being an "ally" of the government, to his frightening disposition and history all together. This didn't make him any less attractive, as the lady had confirmed. It was the wee hours of the night, the main evidence being the day's newspapers were already getting ready for purchase and circulation. He tossed a coin the vendor's way, much more than the cost of the paper, and took one for himself so he could have reading material for that morning later. Soon enough, they were in his room, and they partook in the primal instinct.

He wasn't a cuddly or compassionate man after sex, leading to her disappointment. He actually had a strict rule of dispassion for those who weren't significant in his life, as that harsh reality made his easier. She arose from the mattress to shower his smell and combined sweat off of her. While she was gone, he took this opportunity to read the newspaper, headlined with "Ringleader in Infamous Child Prostitution Cartel Finally Identified". Although it greatly disgusted him, he continued to read. From what the paper offered, it had been that human trafficking system that had been circulating kids around the world for sex that had been running for almost three years.

When they finally revealed the name, they had placed a picture of the criminal, and it appeared to be no other than the lady in his shower. The list of crimes included child trafficking, soliciting underage prostitution, and even murder of unwilling children. The ages ranged from five to fifteen. The most common practice was to have them in bulk and cheap, attracting a mass of business. The evidence had been indefinite until there had been a fourteen year old who miraculously escaped and gave physical evidence of the abuse, including a file of one of the transactions with her fingerprints, along with the boy's physical abuse easily found. Law knew exactly what he was to do. He patiently waited for her shower to finish. She came out of his bathroom, clothed and hair wet. She gave a snide smirk to him as she went for the door.

"Excuse me, miss."

She turned on her heel, still smirking to the man. He hated to admit that he was fooled by her beautiful appearance and seemingly inexperienced face.

"I'd like to know your name, if you're willing to disclose."

"It's Libera."

He knew she was lying, as the article named her "Sanctus", which was Latin for "holy", a fact that troubled Law with a terrible irony. He stood before her; his menacing, plain face was beginning to haunt her, though she could not take it too seriously when he stood naked. He slipped on his night shorts from the headboard and walked to her, taking her hand.

"I'd like to direct you to the kitchen. It would be a burden on my conscience to allow you to leave without the full treatment."

She wasn't one to pass an offer for free food, so with temerity, she followed him. The lunar glow seeping in from the windows served as their only light source, which was waning. The submarine had been descending, but she hadn't really noticed. In a few minutes they were heading into a room she assumed to be the kitchen. He courteously allowed her to go first. The doorway was too dark for her to see, so she took baby steps inside, an inexplicable fear manifesting inside of her. Law turned on the light switch from behind her, revealing it not to be the kitchen, but his laboratory. She took notice of the table with restraints laying in the middle of the room. Her eyes darted around to find many tools, books, microscopes, and lastly, numerous jars of preserved dismembered body parts, all ranging from human hands to pig fetuses. Her scream echoed off from the steel walls that surrounded them.

Law inexorably silenced her with his strong hand clamping on her throat. He pushed her in that fashion onto the table, letting her head band loudly on the hard surface. That subdued her long enough to restrain her left hand. Despite her futile thrashing, he easily managed her other hand, then feet. She continued screaming, so he callously shoved used bandaging from the garbage into her mouth. Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo's attention was already evidently acquired since they appeared in the doorway. Law turned his head to the trio.

"Leave." He commanded darkly.

They didn't need any further convincing. The men knew two things for certain; one, she was going to be his latest experiment, and two, it must be for good reason, as he never did his torturous experimentation without rationalized consideration. He put on his lab jacket that hung next to the door, then slipped on his latex gloves, and mask, draping around his neck, mostly for show.

Law averted his attention to his latest object of hate. Whenever he punished anybody, he always tried to make it so that it mirrored their own sins. His plans for her hadn't evolved too much past the restraining, so he had to be creative. He slowly walked over to Sanctus, each footstep melodramatically loud. She flinched at every step.

"Should you scream after the gag is removed, you will receive an excruciating death. Should you comply with me, I'll try to tap into my credence."

She was too frightened to scream, anyway. The soiled bandages were removed from her mouth, leaving an unpleasant taste. She looked into the indifferent eyes of her recent lover, seeing nothing but unadulterated malice.

"Y-you lied t-to me..." She lightly cried out.

"As you did to me. You're only reaping what you've sown in this circumstance."

"Please don't rape me."

"I fear that your pink sea shall not be parted for quite some time, Sanctus."

Her face fell to a new dimension of terror as she heard her birth name. She wanted to ask how he knew of such a truth, but he seemed distracted, digging around in a large duffle bag on his desk due south of her. She couldn't see what he was pulling out, but she heard him set some tools down onto a tray on his desk. He closed his bag and walked back to her. He impassively removed her clothing, reviving her fears of violation. He would never again look at her in a passionate way, it was too impossible for him knowing what he did.

"I am a man of many qualifications, Sanctus. I have had success in cardiovascular, neurological, obstetrician, optical, dermatological, skeletal, and muscular surgery. I am well versed in pharmacology as well. But that does not mean that my mind is at its capacity quite yet, no."

He walked behind her and came back with an intention of placing her under intravenous therapy, bags filled with anticoagulants. Still strictly following his professional procedures, he sanitized the local area before putting the needle in her vein. He used this time to take the rest of her vitals, something he should have done first, in hindsight.

"I-is this gonna knock me out?" She quivered.

"Not quite. This will thin your blood; we don't need you bleeding out."

He appeared to have what looked like pliers. He snipped them a few times to ensure they worked efficiently. She started thrashing about again, nearly knocking out her I.V. Law rested his hand on her shoulder, gently shushing her as he stroked her side in a platonic manner. He assured her that the less he struggled, the faster and easier the whole ordeal would pass by.

"There wasn't an accurate count of the total amount of children you distributed, but you've been confirmed to have murdered at least twenty of them. I wonder where you have the time to do so, when I can barely get any reading done anymore."

He placed the pliers to her pinkie finger before he scourged her fingernail, earning a nasty cry. One by one, he managed all of her nails, all for the memory of each child murdered. He didn't bother to gag her again, for he enjoyed the tormented screams of the demon.

"Don't fret about them, dear. It's not like you're going to be walking any time soon."

Ignoring her pleas for forgiveness and release, he went on to his next experiment. He figured that he'd need more restraints to successfully pull his next procedure off, so he placed additional straps to her thighs, arms, and chest, covering her breasts. The sadist cleaned her abdomen before grabbing his scalpel from his desk. Before his incision started, he realized that she could possibly pass out from shock. To prevent this, he added a stimulant to her I.V. He left for a few minutes to let it kick in.

The submarine was deep in the ocean at this point. The captain and doctor went into his bedroom and sat on his bed, contemplating. He was well aware of his crew that stood in the hallway a minute after he got there, their eyes full of quizzical worry. Obviously none was for the girl, for they worried about what could have set him off so in the first place. They knew better than to ask him, but curiosity was evident on their faces. Law looked to the bewildered crew. He sighed, feeling bad that he was potentially depriving them of a good night's sleep by implementing the torture.

"How long will she last?"

"As long as I deem this one necessary."

Law handed Shachi the newspaper as he walked out of his room, destination being his lab. As they read the headline, their mutual justification grew. However, they didn't enjoy the sadism to the extent Law did, if at all. They had wished to dock at the island they had just vacated, but it would look to suspicious to come back in such a manner. They had decided to drown it out with music, all in the same bedroom. On nights like these, they found sleep easier to come by when they were together.

Law was back into the laboratory, where his patient was fully stimulated. He put the mask over his mouth as he made for his scalpel once more, and began slicing into her abdomen. Her screaming hit a new level of decibels and agony, much to his pleasure. He managed to peel back her skin in four directions, making a square shape. He was able to make view of many organs, her large intestine being the focal point. He sliced at the beginning, clamping the internal section. He slowly began to pull out her intestine, letting what was out fall onto her body. Little by little he released the organ until he had his arm's length. He sliced off the section, leaving it on her body still. To make her intestine intact once more, he had to mend them together. He grabbed the newest tool he had gotten himself for his last birthday- a hand held torch specifically for cauterization. He had to use the clamps to hold the smaller section of large intestine upright as he aligned the rest. He then used the torch to seal it back together. It wasn't the first time he had done a partial disembowelment, but he had never cauterized the wound. So long as she wasn't dying from shock, he didn't see any foreseeable consequences. He placed the section of intestine into a bin that laid on the counter behind him. He proceeded to stitch her abdomen together again.

She was too tired to scream from the lack of anesthetics applied at that point. Law had wished to continue his festive activities, but he knew that if he continued all at once, she'd die before he'd get to implement everything he wanted to. He removed his jacket, gloves, and mask, discarding the latter two into the garbage. He turned to her as he stood in the doorway.

"Conventionally, I'd recommend that my patient go without eating before invasive surgery, but I've never seen the inverse before. Goodnight."

He left the room, figuring she'd passed out by then.

Over the next few weeks, he had a schedule in place: she'd be starved for three days at a time, and would only receive water every other day, just for the sake of keeping her alive. He'd transact the heavy tortures every other day, and filled the other days with (comparatively) minute pains. The crew hadn't mentioned anything about her since the first night, but they still heard her cries resonate throughout the ship, feeling little sympathy for her.

For the heavy trauma, she had been handling herself fairly well. Once a week, he'd run a full check up on her, taking in weight, vitals, testing for any illnesses, and keeping track of her menstruation. He had feared that she had caught an infection when she began to vomit on a regular basis. He also noticed that she had begun to suffer from amenorrhea. He took a sample of her blood to run more tests on her. The results came back, ruling out sickness, much to his surprise. To his even greater bewilderment was the discovery of her pregnancy.

She felt more or less indifferent to the news. Though it caused him great scorn, he himself could not force the suffering of a child, let alone one that was unborn. Until the paternity was established, he decided that he would discontinue his experiments with her. Her nails had grown back during the weeks spent down in the room. For the first time since she was trapped down, he had let the restraints off of her, revealing bad chaffing. As he helped her sit up, he noticed many sores coating her back. She was skinnier everywhere in her body. Her eyes were glossy and sunken in, with bags that could compete with Law's. Her skin was deeply jaundiced. She breathed as she looked dead.

The next week was spent on actually making more ideal conditions for her, truly tearing every fiber of his being. He made it very clear that he was only giving her leniency due to her pregnancy, as well as the fact that he would terminate her if the child was not his. She was given an actual bed placed in the laboratory. She was now to be provided with three healthy meals a day with unlimited water. But that's where the courtesy ended; she was still confined to the room, and had to hear handcuffs on her wrists and ankles. Law wasn't afraid of an attack, for he could easily disarm and subdue her due to his battle tested life as a pirate.

After a week of improved living conditions, he figured it time to give the first prenatal check up. He began with taking her weight and blood pressure, then measured her abdomen. He then decided it time to give the first ultrasound to find an estimate on the age of the baby, as well as see the position. He laid her down on the metal table she had grown to resent. He was grateful for his additional qualifications as on obstetrician at the moment. He squirted a blue jelly onto her scarred stomach and rubbed it over for a second. He gently ran the transducer over her stomach until an image appeared onto the screen. Undoubtedly, residing within her womb, was a baby.

She hadn't bothered to look at the screen during the process. He estimated that the baby was eleven weeks old, which seemed consistent with the time frame of their intercourse. He shut the machine off, wheeled it back to the wall, then cleaned off the jelly from her abdomen. He sat her up right as he prepared her for a small extraction of her blood.

"What do you need it for?" She sneered, sick of needles.

"This will be a noninvasive method of establishing the paternity of the child, rather than amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. It will also determine if the child will have any chromosomal disorders, such as Turner's or Down Syndrome, as well as the gender. Your blood carries the DNA of your child."

"Just kill it now!" She bitterly spat.

"That I am saving for you."

He took the blood he needed from her and began to work on its properties. The whole procedure would span over a week, so they would all have to wait for the report. After he confined her to the bed for her night schedule of sleep, he decided to walk on the deck and embrace the lunar light as his substitute for vitamin D. His loyal companion, Bepo, had already been there, admiring the stars. Law had not spent significant time with his crew the last few weeks, and for that he felt guilty. Although he had to take special care of Sanctus in her condition for the time being, he made a promise to Bepo that he would resume his captain duties. After a nice star gazing session, he commanded Bepo to follow him into the submarine, calling for Shachi and Penguin to join them. They all met in the kitchen.

"I do wish to sincerely apologize for my excessive absence as of late. It was inexcusable and will not happen again for my own selfish agenda. That being said, I would also like to apologize for making you hear the activities I've been pursuing. I know it's not easy to sleep with the screaming."

His loyal crew immediately forgave him, having not been too upset in the first place, and overwhelmed with relief that they had their captain back. The bacchanalian pirates had suggested a night out in the town to celebrate, but he had to respectfully decline. They shrugged it off and let him be, docking on an island about an hour later. With that, Law receded into his bedroom and had a long deserved sleep.

When the end of the week rolled by, the test results were finally conclusive. What Law had discovered what that the baby had no detectable chromosomal disorders, the child was in fact his, and that it was going to be a little girl.

With that discovery, he had no other choice in his moral obligation but to let her live until the baby was born. She was still to be confined to her room and allowed the healthier feeding schedule, specifically designed for a pregnant woman. He also started her on a prenatal vitamin regiment to ensure the child's health. Sanctus was devastated that the psycho had fathered her baby after all, praying for a miscarriage. Law had predicted that she would want to terminate her baby, for she had no qualms about murdering already born children, so he made it so she could not cause any harm to his child. He would have to take her on monitored walks around the room to ensure that she did not produce any more bed sores.

Hours after the blood test results revealed the news to Law, he knew that he had no other choice but to come clean with what he knew with the rest of his crew. They had been preoccupied stuffing their faces to satiate their gluttonous tendencies. He sat down at the table with them, taking a bit of food for himself, for he did not eat yet that whole day. He figured it best to wait until their stomachs were full until he relayed the news. When they were content with their stomachs, he knocked on the table a few times to avert their attention to him.

"I have some news that pertains to our guest down in the laboratory. My initial plans were to use her as my guinea pig until she succumbed to, but those plans are halted as of now. As a result of the first night we met, she is now pregnant with my child."

Nobody at the table, even Law himself, could fully process what he had just said. They had immediately bombarded him with the most cliché questions, such as "How could you let that happen?", "Are you going to keep it?", "Why the hell are you?!". He frankly explained that the child was completely innocent in this whole circumstance, and that the mother would have absolutely no involvement in the parental process.

"But what makes you think you're ready?" Penguin inquired.

"Yeah, he's right. You're a Goddamn pirate, cruising in a sea where we could get attacked at any time, by anyone. What if you need to be doing something and nobody can watch the kid? Don't you know how much work they are? Babies aren't for the pirate lifestyle. It just doesn't work." Shachi reasoned as Bepo apologized for the whole situation.

Law merely chuckled at the worried claims of his crew.

"You all know better than anybody that I wouldn't get myself into what I couldn't handle."

Bepo meekly asked, "Do you know what you're having?"

Law smiled. "It's a girl."

They had all begun to awe at the thought. Although the men weren't exactly excited over the prospect of a consistently crying baby, they began to warm up to the idea as time passed by, eventually becoming a little excited. They realized the potential risk of thrusting a child into the world of pirates, but knew wholeheartedly that they, and especially Law, would sooner die that allow another to ever harm the girl.

Sanctus was never more ready for death. The physical torture that bastard put her through ruined her enough, but the mental was starting to really take its toll on her now. Day in, day out, all she did was sit on the bed, eat her three squares, walk around a bit, then went to bed. She had no books, newspapers, or magazines to read. No people to talk to. She was certain her underground empire had either been taken over or collapsed by now. She only had her intuition to tell her. The only calender she had to keep track of time was her expanding abdomen. Every two weeks, Law would look at the new sonogram to make sure the fetal development went along smoothly. In all honesty, he was shocked that she was able to even conceive under such trauma.

Law knew all to well that to uphold your greatest codes of morality, you sometimes had to let the lesser forms granulate. The whole situation had never been his picture of starting a family; nor had his young age. Preferably, he wanted to wait until he found the One Piece, or he retired from being a pirate as a whole. He also wanted to carefully select the mother, her being a lady he could be proud to court. He could only imagine the execution of Sanctus, every day mounting to his desire to. She did not deserve to have children in his eyes, and the fact that he gave her leniency was a bit uncharacteristic of him, this idiosyncrasy completely attributed to his child. He found himself baffled every time he attempted to fathom his impending fatherhood. He wasn't sure if he would be able to be the affectionate father a daughter deserved, but at the bare minimum, she would never have to need or want. He also found that the challenge was exemplified with the presence of a daughter rather than a son.

The months were slowly but surely dragging on, and before he knew it, the eighth month was upon them. Her check ups always brought back pleasant results, much to Law's relief. Sanctus was left alone to whether morning sickness emptied into a bucket, only to be cleaned out when it was about to overflow. Mood swings were in confinement, only ever augmented in her predicament. She also faced unfulfilled cravings and gestational depression. Law never heeded much attention to the psyche's condition during his experiments, but was growing to appreciate it with it being his only option in her condition. Every day, he'd condescend to her, break her spirit, tear her heart. Whenever she tried to get snippy or cocky with him, he'd pull out the jar with her dismembered intestine and jostle it in front of her face until she began to weep once more. One particular night when she tried to escape, he forced her to eat all of the nails he scourged from her digits, and even went as far as to force her to eat all of the vomit produced from the incident.

Law sat in his dark, chamber room. He rested his upper torso on the crib he had recently purchase from the latest island as he sat on the edge of his bed. It was a simple mahogany fixture, with plain bedding and blankets. He had also stocked up on formula, diapers, wipes, outfits, and even a little butterscotch teddy bear he found cute. He had the typical expectant parental angst build up inside of him. What he found most worrying was the fact that one day, the girl may ask why she had an absentee mother. Parental references were impossible to avoid, come in the form of stories and real life examples. He wanted to keep her existence a secret for as long as possible, but he couldn't deprive her of real world experience, either. He sighed as he picked up the bear, studying its face.

The silence that kept him favorable company was damaged by the scream of Sanctus in the laboratory. He wasn't happy with having to attend to her needs, but nonetheless did. She had been complaining about sharp pains in her abdominal area, of which started many hours ago, and recently intensified in strength and timing. The wetness on the sheets around her legs told him the obvious. He had to hook her up to the heart monitor to make sure conditions were well. He prepped her for the final ultrasound, monitoring the baby's heartbeat and position. It seemed to be coming earlier than anticipated, but all vitals and visuals deemed the child healthy enough for delivery. He found her to already be six centimeters dilated; she must have grown a tolerance for pain if she'd been in labor for so long. She made no mention to any discomfort during her meals, so he was blissfully unaware. Another wave of pain wracked her body.

"Can you please give me something? I can't take anything anymore." She pleaded.

"I'm sure numerous children uttered the latter statement in a futile attempt for your mercy."

He informed her that he'd check on her periodically in fifteen minutes at a time, during which he had changed into scrubs. It was only three hours in that she was fully dilated and ready for pushing. During said time, Law had informed his loyal crew of the impending birth of his daughter, of which caused great excitement in the men. He cordially invited them to witness the ordeal so long as they promised to not be cumbersome in any form. They felt beyond unnerved in his laboratory, between her agonized screams, his choice of appendage décor, or the photographs of his experiments on her that hung on a line over their heads. They had seen her evisceration, scourging of nails, bone switching, molar removal, flogging, just to name a few. Shachi particularly hated Sanctus the most out of the trio that watched the miracle, also having a soft spot for children. Bepo and Penguin were disturbed by how... regular she looked for a child prostitution ringleader. They had since heard from paper sources that their headquarters had been infiltrated and shut down, rendering the business out.

Law hadn't been holding her hand, encouraging her strength, or being any support other than instructing her when to push. She countered that it shouldn't hurt as much and pleaded for a cesarean section, but Law said that it was not necessary. In the mean time, he asked one of his crew mates to prepare a bottle of formula since he expected the birth any second. He was able to see the head start to push past the cervix, indicating she was even closer.

"Dear God, it's tearing me apart!" She agonizingly lamented.

"We can only hope so." Law jeered.

In a matter of five minutes, she was at the final push. Her endurance and pain was impossible to ignore. She pleaded that she was not ready to eject life out of her, but the baby, and Law, felt otherwise, as it finally crowned. After a minute, it finished its external rotation, and Law had suctioned out the mouth and nose. The babe then came out of the mother, into Law's expectant arms, immediately swaddled into a towel for warmth. Penguin had taken the liberty of handing him the clamps and scissors, which Law used to cut the umbilical cord, separating mother and child forever.

As Law was busy giving his new daughter an Apgar assessment, the three inexperienced men could not help but notice the significant blood loss Sanctus was experiencing in between her legs.

"Let... me see my baby, please." She asked weakly, barely above a whisper.

"You do not deserve to be a mother." Law said, making sure to have her not see the infant as he examined her. It was by the time the baby had been wrapped and cleaned that he heard the heart monitor skewer and looked at her. Her hand reached for the baby she so desperately wanted to see, or so it seemed. Moments later, Sanctus was dead, leaving with not a scream, not a yell, but a whimper.

Law shut off the monitor as the sound of a flat line grew annoying. Bepo came back into the laboratory with a bottle of freshly made formula. He gratefully took the bottle from his friend and walked to the incubator where his daughter laid. He gently scooped the quiet babe into his arms, his first time holding her as a parent, not a doctor. He observed her raw, red face, scrunched up while it met with the world outside of the womb. Logically, he knew that it newborns were borderline indistinguishable, but he could not help but notice how beautiful she was to him. As she began to cry again, he gently cooed her and fed her the bottle. He also knew that the best thing for a newborn was genuine breast milk, but he could not allow the baby to bond with a mother he planned to kill. He looked at the corpse of one of the most vile humans to have ever existed in his book, then at his seraphic newborn, wondering how such an innocent miracle have been the product of her and him.

"Looks like you did my job for me. Daddy's proud, sweet heart." He smiled at his little girl.

The crew admired the baby being held in Law's arms. They proceeded to make ridiculous sounds and faces to try and incite laughter, to no avail. She finally opened her eyes, her first sight being her father.

"Shachi, Penguin, please do escort Sanctus out of this room." The two nodded as they took the feet and upper torso, walking up to dispose the body into the ocean. She was consumed by marine life nearly instantaneously, leaving little traces of life, other than shards of a hospital gown.

The baby slept peacefully as Law held her in his bedroom that night. He had gentle lights illuminate the windows of the submarine, enjoying the scenery of aquatic life that passed. His little girl awoke with a subtle moan, to which he responded by gently rocking her. He smiled at his baby, never expecting this feeling of completeness. Her head slightly turned to a window, so he carefully turned her around so she could see. A few fish swam by, along with lose plants that arose from the deep. It wasn't long until they both saw the severed head of Sanctus, face half eaten, left eye gone. She bobbed around a bit before a fish took a chunk out of her face, causing it to leave the line of sight.

"Did you see that, honey? That was mommy." Law cooed.

"I love you." He kissed her forehead.

He hadn't thought of a name yet. But whatever it would turn out to be, she was not to be held holy.


	2. Chapter 2

Nearly seven years twirled past Law so incredulously fast that he hardly even realized his youthful twenties faded into his thirties. The trademark darkness underneath his eyes had more character to them as apprehension became second instinct, first being great over-protectiveness. Every minute step his precious daughter was scrupulously monitored; he was not sure if it were to give him peace of mind or if it were a self-defeating plot to run him into madness. He loved this madness more than any other than he had ever known.

She was astronomically beautiful. He saw this not through the lenses of her father, but in a non-biased standpoint of common sense. Much to his relief, she resembled absolutely nothing of her mother; it were as if she had merely donated a blank egg and Law's genes went to work on his little angel. She had his onyx hair and gray eyes, shaped into vibrant spheres. He couldn't deny that she inherited the lovely alabastrine skin and heart shaped face from the only maternal source he could ever refer to with pride: his own mother's.

Shachi and Penguin became roommates in order to supply the girl with the larger bedroom of the submarine, a favor she did not forget to be grateful for. Against the initial angst that swelled within the three crew members, they had deeply fallen in love with her, from her sweet and demure mannerisms to her charismatic wit. She deeply loved all of her "uncles", or so they had appointed themselves. Their adulation extended towards the child had been so strong that Law had requested that in the event of his untimely but likely death, they should do him the favor of being her legal guardians. Initially, he had wanted to grant the title of godparent to a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, Robin, but did not want her to be raised in such a reckless environment with a captain like Luffy (who was still in hot pursuit of the ever elusive One Piece).

Law watched in admiration of his twirling ballerina, who had been practicing her basic routines for a while now. She was practically a being of pure energy, so he had found a constructive outlet for her in order to refrain her from running around the submarine and chance getting injured. He had purchased the finest leotard and tutu for her, sparing no expense on the real jewels that shimmered in the embroidery, flashing a magnificent crimson. She had been dancing to an instrumental violin track, her favorite instrument. He was proud that she had such intelligent tastes at the tender age of seven, untainted by the outside world. With a graceful back flip, she concluded her dance with a split that almost made him cringe.

"How was it, daddy? Did I do well?"

He responded with an opening of his arms and the warm grin he reserved only for her. She ran into his expectant arms, wrapping herself around his torso as tightly as she could, half intending to constrict him of air. She eased when he coughed, but still remained in his embrace, relishing in the prospect of being a daddy's girl. In the joy of the moment, Law picked up his trademark had from his nightstand and placed it upon her head. Their hug was interrupted by a crashing sound from the kitchen, followed by Bepo's apology and announcement that dinner was ready. The hungry child abandoned her father in the pursuit of food, earning a chuckle from him. She turned on her heel when she noticed her father remained on his bed while she stood in the doorway.

"Aren't you coming to dinner, daddy?"

"I'm not hungry, sweet heart. Eat without me."

She flashed a small frown that was replaced with a smile and drool as the smell of supper enticed her sense of smell. After she was out of sight, he laid down on his bed, feeling his back's soreness especially brutal today. He sighed as he closed his eyes, trying to ease his mind. He wracked his brain in search of the perfect present for his daughter's impending birthday. Every year, he had made a special effort to get her something both personal and appealing. She was never disappointed, so Law took it as a personal challenge to outdo himself every year, no matter how trivial it seemed. He traced his thoughts back through her short life, trying to recollect every significant milestone. Soon, he found himself at the earliest of their time together; the process of choosing her name.

Moments after her mother's corpse was disposed of, the new father found himself sitting at the edge of the soiled bed, completely enamored by the delicacy of her appearance. He hadn't thought of a name throughout the entire pregnancy, so he was at a loss for words. She had begun to writhe in his arms, arms poking out of the soft towel that provided her with warmth. He lowered her down to his lap as his arms grew weary from the whole birthing process. Her right hand had found its way into a pool of her late mother's blood, then smearing it on her face in a grisly swipe. She had cried when the stroke was complete; Law gently brought her back into his arms against his chest, effectively calming her. It was then that the perfect name emerged from his mind; he whispered softly: "Scarlet."

He gave up the fruitless effort and put it on reserve. He slowly rose from his bed, back still aching, then walked to the window of his surfaced submarine to find that they were approaching an island, likely to land within five minutes. He walked into the kitchen to find the dishes emptied and his whole crew and daughter fed to beyond content. He informed them that they were about to dock, and asked if one of them would stay behind to babysit Scarlet. She had pouted and asked why she was never allowed to visit any of the islands they stopped at, wanting to play with the other children, or at least explore a new landscape.

"No, Scarlet," He sternly replied, "you know it's too dangerous for you to vacate this submarine."

She knew better than to try and rebuttal, or they would be at a stalemate for the entire day and night. Law placed his sword upon its holder above the table, shoulder and back aching from the extra weight of seventy pounds. Penguin volunteered to stay behind, to which Law was grateful. Scarlet had swallowed sadness and tears; she was not one to cry, especially in front of others, but she longed for escape. The doctor was truly somber in the aspect of having to deny his only child a basic liberty of freedom and exploration, but feared too greatly the possibility of her discovery by others making her a target in order to get to him. He crouched down to her level as she sat on the chair at the head of the table. He gingerly wiped away a stray tear with his thumb, promising to bring her back a souvenir from the island that she would truly love. He kissed her on the forehead and hugged her before he, Bepo, and Shachi walked to the deck of the aquatic transportation to prepare for docking.

Penguin was no stranger to her unattainable freedom, seeing the poor child desperately wishing to leave the submarine for a good amount of time for a while. Only if an island was guaranteed to be desolate would he allow her to travel, and even then she was not allowed to stop holding his hand the entire time. He sometimes wondered how much longer Law would be able to keep the strict restriction on her before she rebelled or was finally old enough in his eyes. Scarlet sat at the table with her hands supporting her head as she stared down.

"Hey, kiddo. Want me to help you with your violin practice?" He flashed a cheeky grin.

Though she wanted to stay upset for the sake of argument against her father, she could not help but give in and smile at the desire to play the instrument. She led the way to her bedroom with Penguin close behind. It was a not well known fact that he was classically trained in both the piano and violin, the latter of which Scarlet had inexplicably fallen in love with. Soon, they were lost in the musical world of great instrumentalist sound.

The Heart Pirates had discovered the diminutive island was an all around antique store with little farming resources. Against his better judgment, he trusted Bepo and Shachi to purchase the food for the week whilst he shopped around. He came across a small venue with fogged windows and an elderly lady peacefully rocking in her chair on the porch. She smiled warmly, asking if she could be of any service to him.

"Yes please, madam. I wish to acquire a gift for my young daughter's birthday. Something aesthetically pleasing with obvious sentiment."

"Ah, and how old is the deary turning?"

"Seven."

"Such a fine age, indeed. Cherish these years, sonny. They go by faster than you could imagine. They go along with your sight. Before you know it, everybody is dead. And you live with the fact that it's your fault.

Law felt quite unsettled. "Believe me, I know." He said, looking away for a moment. "Her interests include ballet, violin, reading, drawing; most of the arts."

"You seem to have a bright young lady. Hold on a second sonny." The kindly lady struggled to rise from her chair, so Law cordially walked over to her and offered his strong arm for support, which she gratefully took, laughing that it was uncommon for young and attractive men to help her around. He escorted her inside until she broke from his arm, walking to behind her counter. She had pulled out a sketch book and pencils, then changed her glasses for an even thicker pair.

"These are my sketching glasses. No matter which I wear, I can't really distinguish your face. Vaguely handsome, though."

He blushed as she began sketching. Though he knew it to be quite unmannerly, he walked over to the counter where she was drawing and watched the creative process unfold. She drew a perfect circle with the shape of a lady on the inside, standing on one leg. She detailed the arms as holding a violin in the position as if it were about to be played.

"What is the girl's favorite color?"

"Scarlet. That happens to be her name as well." Normally, he would not even dream of acknowledging her to a stranger, but he deemed her as not a threat.

The lady tenderly smiled as she began coloring in the dress of the figure. After a few more minutes, the finished result was a ballerina wielding a violin, wearing a red tutu dress, inside of a snow globe. There had been notes to add in plastic gems for false rubies, along with making the features of the figurine correspond with the girl, to which Law provided the details. Pulling out his money, he requested that she used real rubies if she could, assuring her that she could keep the change. She was beyond bewildered when she saw the copious amount of money, but complied, stating that a friend of hers on the island was a jeweler. She assured to him that the snow globe would be finished in three days time. He thanked her and left the store. All he had to do now was find a way to stall three days, her birthday coming in four.

Penguin had been impressed by the youngster's advancement with the instrument, playing Silent Night with ease. Christmas (or Saturnalia, as Law preferred) was not any time soon, but she had favored that song over many. She was lost within the realm of music, completely forgetting that she was upset about being confined to the submarine. As the final notes played, the duo heard the banter and footsteps of Law, Bepo, and Shachi. After gently placing the violin onto the ground, she raced to the deck of the submarine and jumped into her father's arms. He grunted as he felt his back act up, but ignored the pain, happy to be in her embrace once more.

"I have found the perfect present for you." He hinted with a smile.

"You know what I want for my birthday, daddy?"

"What is it, sweet heart?" He asked as they descended into the submarine.

"I'd love to go outside on a new island!"

He sighed, wishing not to disappoint her once again. "You know I can not do that, Scarlet."

She subtly resigned, holding back any hurt that she felt. The sun had left the skies, draining Scarlet of her energy. Like her father, she was a morning person, but unlike him, she actually acquired decent sleep in the hours of the night. He had her bathed, dried, and dressed in her nightgown. He laid her in her bed and pulled the blankets over her, tucking her in to add to her security.

"Daddy?" She asked with a yawn.

"Yes, sweet heart?"

"Can you tell me about mommy?"

Usually he had been able to dodge this question on the rare occasions that it did come up. Eventually, he did intend on revealing the truth to her, but he could not bare to let a nearly seven year old, innocent girl learn that her legacy was a serial killing pirate father and a child prostitution ringleader mother. He had never conceived of a false back story.

"What do you want to know?"

"What was she like? Where is she?"

"She was beautiful. She had blond hair, blue eyes. Skinny frame." He honestly recounted. "But mommy and daddy did not get along well. I took care of you immediately after you were born. She left."

"Mommy didn't love me?"

"No. But I do." He kissed her head and told her goodnight. He left the night light on as he left her bedroom, unaware of the silent tears that polluted her face.

The days had rolled on, and before Scarlet knew it, she awoke on her seventh birthday. She had jumped out of her bed at the crack of dawn, racing into her father's bedroom, connected to hers by a door. She was taken aback to find his bed empty, looking around the room with her eyes for a moment. Disregarding that, she felt her morning hunger initiate, and ran into the kitchen to find her fathers and uncles sitting there with balloons and a banner that read "Happy Birthday!". Her uncles beamed like fools as her father kept a gentle stoic face with the slightest traces of a smile. A chocolate cake awaited her at her place at the table, adding to her excitement. She sat down and devoured her slice, inviting the rest to eat it with her as per her birthday wish. The men complied, all making sure not to fight over the savory confection.

Her day had been filled with her favorite activities; ballet dancing, violin practice, Law reading to her, and Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo playing nonsensical games with her to her heart's desire. Around seven at night was when the real birthday cake was presented, another chocolate, but nearly as tall as Scarlet.

"Make a wish, sweet heart." Law asserted.

She blew out the candles, hoping for her birthday miracle. It took her a few attempts as they were cascaded all over the side facing her. She opened numerous gifts from her uncles, each gift outdoing the last. She was most esteemed to open the one from her father, as he always provided the best. When she opened the small box and delicately held the snow globe, she reached a new level of awestruck. It had resembled her with the alabaster skin, raven hair, crimson dress with what looked like genuine rubies, and extremely small fragments of emeralds and diamonds in place of snow. She set it on the table in fear of breaking it.

"Do you like it Scarlet?" He asked.

"Daddy I love it almost as much as I love you!" She raced into his arms, cloaking his face with sloppy and appreciative kisses. She asked if she could be excused for a few moments so she could place all of her gifts into her room. He had helped her carry everything in one load save for her snow globe, which stayed on the table. They had placed everything in her bedroom before turning back. They spent the next few hours laughing and talking, celebrating a very special lady's day. Law eventually had to put her to bed, with the other exhausted crew mates believing that turning in sounded sublime. He too was ready to pass out, so he laid on his bed, falling into the deep sleep he had been unfamiliar with.

Scarlet was restless, still amplified on birthday energy. Despite what her father may have thought, her real wish was to see her mother, in some way, shape, or form. She realized that this wish was to go unfulfilled, so she settled for some late night exploration. She furtively wandered down into his laboratory. She had never been in there without her father present, as he stated that she, and the crew, were forbidden to go inside without him as the chaperone. She stood on her toes to reach and turn the handle and light the switch.

Walking inside, she noticed it looked much different that what she had seen before. He had always had drapes and cloaks over many of his "tools", so she had no idea what to make of the scenery. In the dead center of the room, there laid the metal table, as always. Along the right wall was his desk with his duffel bag full of his hand held equipment. The left wall had the mobile monitors and devices, such as the heart monitor and respirator. The wall directly ahead had the cabinets, all of which were closed. The wall she was closest to consisted of a single shelf holding numerous jars. She had trouble making them out; the first one to the left had what looked like a snake without a head or tail, and it was bumpy. The next jar looked like a hand, without a doubt, but she didn't believe it was real, along with the foot, heart, brain, and skull. She picked up the jar with the ropey-like object inside and jostled it, laughing lightly as it bounced. She placed it on the table in the middle of the room before exploring further. She opened the pull out drawer that was the farthest from the door, finding nothing but a yellow envelope. Curiosity's loins coiled around her imagination, prompting her to take it to the table. She crawled atop the metal surface and opened her discovery. What looked like pictures spilled out, all white side facing up.

Before she could turn over the first photograph, the two legs that supported half of the table went out, sending all on it's surface. The first to hit the floor was the jar, shattering instantaneously, only for Scarlet to land on the mess with both feet, large shards of glass breaking into her bare feet. She screamed as soon as she felt the breakage, landing on her ass with a thud. She didn't attempt to mask the tears that flowed freely from her eyes. The ropey substance was on her legs; in an attempt to distract herself, she held on to it as she looked at the photographs that fell with her.

The first was a naked lady on that very table that just broke. She was petite, blond, and had stark blue eyes. She still cried aloud as she read this, sobbing more than wailing. The next picture had the same lady, but she saw her daddy hunched over her slightly, holding what she believed to be a scalpel.

"Mommy?" She said through the pained sobs.

She looked at her pierced feet, unbelievably cloaked with blood, small pools already forming, the burn intensifying. The next photo had a huge square in her abdomen, with what looked like what Scarlet was holding in her hands at the very moment. She shrieked as she threw it, figuring it to be the large intestine her father mentioned before. Other photos included her hung upside down while her daddy flogged her, scourging her nails, slicing up her arms and legs and switching the bones, only to make her walk soon after, pouring drops of hydrochloric acid on her body in various places, and the chemical peeling of her entire skin.

Law had finally arrived in his laboratory, sourcing Scarlet's screams. He was aghast to find her bloodied feet, but immediately noticed after the jar of Sanctus' disembodied intestine right next to her, surrounded by the pictures he had taken during his experimentation with her mother. Initially, he thought that he would be the one to hold anger for her trespassing, but the face of pure horror struck Scarlet.

"Honey, let me look at your feet." He said, bending down to try to pick her up. She squirmed away the best she could.

"Daddy, please stay away from me!" She screamed. She had never once in her entire existence been afraid of her father. Though it pained her immeasurably, she scrambled to her feet and ran past him, only to fall after four feet. He turned to her, beyond concerned for her physical and mental well being.

"Sweet heart, let me expl-"

"You're the reason I don't have a mommy! You killed her!"

"I did not kill her-"

"Yes you did! Stay away from me, I don't want to die!" Once again she attempted to run away, but in the cloudy mist of terror she failed to see the desk directly in front of her and smashed her head roughly, knocking her our cold and leaving a bloody gash on her head and on the wood. Law's heart nearly physically shattered as he fell to his knees, scooping his unconscious daughter into his arms. His breathing accelerated as panic set in for him- what was she going to do when she woke up? Would she be afraid of him for the rest of her life?

As a doctor and father, he had to ignore the voices of indiscretion that plagued his hopes of being liked, and medical instinct took over as he grabbed the necessary extraction tools and antibiotics as he held his daughter. He raced into the kitchen, seeing as it was the only reliable table in the whole submarine. His crew had been in the kitchen with him, seeing a bloodied little girl being worked on by her disheveled and distressed father and doctor. He had begun extracting the many glass fragments from her feet, only to feel even more helpless as he realized many, many small pieces were shoved well into her feet.

"What the hell happened!?" They all exclaimed.

"Laboratory... fell on her mother's intestine jar... found her pictures."

He raced to the sink to sterilize the equipment before operating again. In his absence, she came to consciousness, giving a scream and convulse, sending her precious globe to the ground, breaking the feet and head off of the ballerina. Law only turned around to see his sword unsheathe and slice into her throat, nearly decapitating her. It fell to the ground next to the broken globe, painted in her blood.

Law had never screamed to such despair as he raced over to Scarlet, along with his loyal crew, all screaming in disbelief. He scooped his daughter into his arms, life nearly drained out of her, along with her blood. Her eyes weakly met with the weeping ones of Law's, his tears falling onto her face as he gasped in grief. He futilely tried to stop the bleeding, to no avail.

"I love you daddy." She said, not in a scream, not a whisper, but a whimper. She fell dead right after, in his arms. His hands covered the gash in her throat, repeating his pleas of no and for her to open her eyes, saying it was what daddy was telling her to do.

"No! It's your birthday, sweet heart! You have to celebrate with me! Please open your eyes baby girl!"

As she laid limp in his arms, his eyes, blinded with tears met the forlorn faces of his crew. In that moment, he never cried so intensely, even more than the day he witnessed his own father and mother were shot down along with those he had considered to be cordial neighbors; as if that atrocity was not enough, his own innocent sister had fallen victim to being burned alive in a hospital by the very evil souls that took his parents. He screamed her name before professing another denial to the heavens. A distraught Penguin tried to take the corpse from the hysterical man's arms, only to see his captain refrain from his presence, falling to the floor, kneeling over Scarlet as he cried even more. His sobs became incoherent.

He rose, still on his knees, and regretfully glanced at his only child, cascaded in death. With a trembling hand, the disgraced father gently pried her left eye open with his index; he cringed and sobbed once more when her pupils did not dilate to expose her beautiful onyx iris. His hand traveled down to her slaughtered throat, catching the last of the flowing blood. He had inadvertently wiped the crimson substance upon his forehead; his crew grew mortified and depressed watching the gruesome scene unfold. It was only by examining her abiotic state his screams were temporarily silenced. His tears fell upon her doll face, clearing trails across her blood stained cheeks. He could not stop stroking her hair, himself being grief stricken to the stage of utter denial.

"Just sleep, my darling. You may sleep and never wake."

He just barely articulated the final sentence before breaking down once more into the cries only a parent who has lost their child can emit. Soon his screams were drowned out by Scarlet's. He opened his eyes and looked down to find his hands empty and clean. To his left was Scarlet, who still had the badly bloodied feet. When she looked up to see him, she screamed even louder and tried to run, but the pain proved too intense as she fell backward, smashing her head off of the ground, slipping out of consciousness. He realized that the latter half of the events were merely one of his walking hallucinations. A great feeling of relief and pained happiness swept over him like a born again, scooping her into his arms and into his soul. He raced into the kitchen and laid her on the table, but made the effort to move his sword, which was dangerously loose from its sheathe.

As soon as he noticed his loyal crew, he commanded the to grab his extraction tools, antibiotics, local anesthesia, and bandages, to which they intrepidly began to work on. He removed his shirt, folded it, and placed it under her head gently. Her eyes flickered open; he could see it was labored on her part.

"D-daddy..." She muttered weakly, "it's my birthday."

"I know it is, sweetheart. I got you this." He held the ballerina globe as he repetitively caressed her cheek. The three men had emerged with everything he needed to perform the extraction.

"Sweet heart, I'm going to need you to stay awake for me. Please don't sleep."

"It hurts." She delicately whispered, careful not to send blood flow to her head, or risk throbbing. It had felt like the migraines she got. Whenever they bombarded her, Law would lay with her all night after treating it, making sure she fell asleep from the pain, more often than not sleeping as well.

He applied the local anesthesia to her feet and near hear head, which all felt significantly better within a minute. She knew that she had to be completely still, but not why. All she knew was that it was her birthday.

It took Law a few hours, but he managed to extract all of the glass from her feet and stitch the major cuts together before wrapping them. Her head was going to be fine, much to his relief; he still would monitor her, as it seemed that she didn't remember how she was injured in the first place, or any other events before hand on her birthday. He felt a guilty relief.

She awoke the next morning with pains in her head and feet. As she stretched her arms, her first accidentally punched her father in the face, who was sleeping next to her on the bed on his back.

"I guess I deserved that." He got up from the bed and handed her a blue pill, telling her it would make her feel better. She swallowed it dry, like a little champion.

"Do you remember anything about yesterday, sweet heart?"

"No."

"You stepped on broken glass, then hit your head. You honestly had me worried."

"I'm sorry daddy."

He sighed, stroking her short hair. "No, I am sorry. I do love you, Scarlet. Please do know that." He kissed her cheek gently.

"I'm feeling a lot better, daddy."

He chuckled. "You should be. That's the strongest medication I can safely give you. I'm sorry you do not remember your birthday."

"I'm seven now?"

"Yes. You are a young lady now, sweet heart."

He gently scooped her into his arms, explaining both that this was her method of transportation from now own, and that her uncles were greatly concerned about her well being. Much to their surprise, they were all around the table, immediately swarming around the father and daughter, grateful that she was going to be alright. They all walked onto the deck, agreeing that she could use fresh air. The island they reached did not appear on any map that they had seen. It was a mountainous landscape with numerous waterfalls cascading from the apex into the ocean, the whole island coated with an assortment of colorful flowers of almost every species they were familiar with, leading to sandy shores.

Bepo took in a long whiff, "Looks like there aren't any humans on this island."

Law held his daughter close to him, seeing the amazement and wonder in her eyes.

"I think it to be beneficial to your recovery if we were to take a walk on this island, do you agree, sweet heart?"

"Really?" She beamed.

"Of course."

She hugged him around his neck, once again cascading his face with joyous kisses. He smiled as they began their trek into the uncharted territory. The first flowers they encountered were scarlet begonia's, the girl's and Law's favorite flower.

"You know, what's what the B. in your name stands for, sweet heart."

"I guess I'm pretty all around. Thank you for that, daddy."

"I love you over a mountain, Scarlet." He kissed her cheek, thankful for the back pain that he was feeling flare up. Inside the submarine, where the remainder of the Heart pirates slept with their heads on the table, stood the snow globe, which inexplicably began to twirl as it played a xylophone like tune of Silent Night.


	3. Chapter 3

Circumstances comprising of Law getting shot, stabbed, nearly mutilated, beaten, nearly arrested before becoming a shichibukai, and everything in between, merely demonstrated to him that despite his great and undeniable power, he was still only a vulnerable individual who had only luck and fortune to thank. This was further extended from his professional to his personal life, such as his young daughter coming hazardously close to finding the truth of her conception and the events that followed.

To the outside world, his exterior of cruelty had branded him as a one dimensional sentience, incapable of empathy or compassion. This had worked in his favor, discouraging many potential setbacks in the forms of enemies, all of which would be in over their heads if they could ever conceive of holding their own against the likes of him and his crew. Within the steel reinforcements of his submarine, his perceived image was quite the antithesis, particularly through the eyes of Scarlet. She only knew him to be cuddly, loving, patient, attentive, and authoritative. With the added guidance of her peculiar uncles, she had little reason to question the absence of her mother; one the rare occasions she came up, it would be nothing more than a fleeting moment, easily forgotten. Nowadays, Scarlet had come to hate her absent mother, believing her to have no conscious love for the child she bore. Her father more than compensated for that, so she was a content and happy child.

For the better of half an hour, Law had been holding her hands as a steady system of support as they exercised her walking. Her arms were nearly suspended over her head as she took light steps, the cringe worthy stinging sensation gradually waning. At the beginning of their physical therapy session, each moment of contact with the ground ignited tears and shrieks from Scarlet, tearing Law's heart. He hated that he could do nothing to ease her pain other than to medicate her, but she could not take any more foreign substances to her liver, so she had to deal with the full sensation of feeling. It had been approximately two months since she had injured herself, and in that time, her only means of movement had been being carried around by Law himself. Though he feared it would weaken her muscles, it had proved to be a bonding mechanism, bringing the already close father and daughter to a new level of understanding.

The duo had traveled a distance of one hundred feet in that half an hour. Her stitches were removed a week before as her scars were closed and safe from infection. He had bought her the softest material for socks to soften the blow to little avail.

"Daddy, I can't do it anymore! It hurts too much!" She complained.

"I know, sweet heart. Just five more steps and we will be finished."

She bravely finished her assignment, after which Law scooped her into his arms and walked towards the kitchen for dinner. Bepo turned out to be quite the cook, or at least by the standards of pirates. Like most other nights, grilled fish was their entree, which happened to be Law's favorite. Scarlet neither liked nor disliked the menu, usually finding it bland and tolerable. She did, however, devour any and all vegetables in any fashion. She would have been a vegetarian if it were not for her father acting as her dietician and mandating regular protein.

The crew ate as if they had been starved for weeks while Scarlet ate like a little lady, preferring most of her food to land in her mouth. Dinner time was the perfect window of opportunity to actually sit down and discuss the courses of their days, as well as bring up pressing matters that they felt needed to be dealt with.

"How's the walking again coming along, Scarlet?" Shachi asked, mouth overflowing with baked potato.

"I hate it. It hurts and I take forever. But it has to be done or I won't get better."

Law patted her back in support. She gave the uneaten half of her fish to her father, who would never refuse it. She in turn took the rest of his vegetables, a fair trade in his eyes.

"I remember when I was seventeen," Penguin began, "I was doing some stupid shit I don't remember, probably rock climbing at night. Anyway, I fell off the side of a mountain about twenty feet, and I broke my left ankle and both arms. I had my buddy help me limp home. The next day, I was at work at six in the morning at the docks, loading and unloading hundred pound boxes onto boats all day. It wasn't until a couple coworkers heard my arms snap three hours in until I actually went to a hospital. Just be grateful you're not an idiot like your Uncle Penguin."

He downed his shot of rum, shuddering at the unpleasant memory, which was not any gentler on Scarlet's imagination. The bottle was passed around to all of the adults, sparking a bit of jealousy from the seven year old. She had already asked before, earning a stern denial from Law. Said father was finished with his meal, and began cleaning after himself and Scarlet, bringing the dishes to the sink.

"So, what's the deal with the construction guys coming in and out of here from two weeks ago?" Bepo inquired.

"I have taken it upon myself to hire a qualified group to install a morgue as an extension of my lab. I figured it a conservation method for my experimentation, rather than waiting for the unfortunate bastards to expire."

"Since when did you take that Hippocratic Oath seriously, anyway?" Bepo mocked, earning a frightening glare.

"Sorry!"

"If you all will excuse me, I have business to attend to in my laboratory. Please do not disturb me unless it is of the utmost importance, as I intend to leave the door locked. Scarlet, I expect you to be in bed by nine."

He walked back to his daughter and kissed her head before disappearing down into his chambers. She was promised upon her natural maturation, she would eventually be permitted to watch some of his complex surgeries take place, as she began to show interest in following in her father's footsteps. He stated that before that time would arise, she would first need to learn how to walk again herself.

The next few hours involved the bacchanalian pirates polishing off three whole bottles of rum, with much more left in stock. If it were not for their lifestyle, the amounts of alcohol consumed would have killed them, but the grand scheme got them pretty drunk and happy. They had noted that Law would not emerge from his laboratory for quite some time, so with a few chuckles, they poured Scarlet a small shot for her, prompting doubt in her.

"Come on sweetie, just taste it. You've been dying to know forever." Shachi egged.

With a simple shrug, she drank the shot, expecting a terrible burn, but found that it was much smoother than anticipated. The taste itself was not anything remarkable, but it was certainly not bad, either. The men rationally thought that only two more shots would safely provide a buzz for her, not intending to potentially poison their niece. Back to back, she finished her drinks before being cut of, much to her chagrin.

"How you feeling?" Penguin slurred a bit.

"Good. A bit groovy." She felt even the most minute movements had a fluidity to them, bleeding into each other, but her cognitive function was far from impaired. She could get used to the feeling, but knew that it was not to come for quite a long time.

"My, my, what a beautiful little lady you're becoming, Scarlet. Your father's gonna have a hell of a time keeping the boys away when you're a teenager." They had all agreed.

"I doubt it. I never leave this sub much." She frowned.

"Don't worry, little girl, you'll get some space soon enough." Shachi gulped down his glass before a refill. "Thank God you didn't inherit anything from your mother. What a bitch!"

The three men toasted to that statement, of which caught Scarlet's attention quickly. When she asked why their opinion of her was so sour, they merely replied that she hurt many people, and would have readily done the same to her. All of the resentment she already felt only amplified with the conjecture of atrocity she held. Bepo looked at the clock on the wall to find that it was nine thirty, sloppily apologizing about them losing track. He picked up his ostensible niece and laid her down in her room, wishing her a good night before going back to the table for their drinking session.

"I can't believe it's been, like, eight years since we met that whore." Shachi grumbled.

"I hear ya. I can't believe we detested Law for wanting to keep the baby in the first place, but now I can't imagine life without her." Bepo stated.

They all sat in silence, having nothing more to say. Meanwhile, in the newly installed mortuary, Law had been observing the dozen or so corpses he already accumulated over the course of a few days. Half were women, the other half obviously being males. They all had been failed test subjects, not withstanding his new techniques of study. As per his modus operandi, they had all been evil, or so he had judged them to be. Although most of the corpses resided on cots within the walls, three had been hanging from the ceiling from their ankles.

"So do tell me, Thomas, what inspired you to become a kingpin in the first place? I find it most intriguing."

"Needed the money. Why the fuck else?"

"No need to get snippy with me," He snapped as he slapped him across the face, "I understand when money is an issue. What I do not understand, however, is why your greed would extend to forcing your own children to deal for you."

There was no answer, so he turned to his partner, Violet.

"And you. You had many opportunities to get yourself and your children away from this crooked man, but beyond staying, you had suggested employing the boys yourself. Anything you wish to explain."

"Fuck off!" She screamed.

"If you insist..."

He unhinged the chain from the wall, cascading Violet from where she hung onto the frigid floor. He squatted down in order to pick her up, minding his aching back. He carried her to the metal table that laid at the far corner of the mortuary, laying her down flat on her back. It was quiet enough for him to hear his own heartbeat, which was rising with every passing moment, ever so gradually. He mounted on top of her, his response being silence. It was commonly accepted that parents, especially new ones, would abstain from sexual intercourse, whether it be from fear of further procreation or general lack of drive with their energy being drained from the child. Law's reasons had been a hybrid of those excuses, among others. Tracing his hand over her cold body, he proceeded to copulate, as his whim desired.

When he was finished, he placed her into a cot and slid her into the wall, which then later went through a sealed tunnel that shot her into the ocean, her corpse presumably consumed by marine life. He walked back over to Thomas, who was screaming a string of angered obscenities at his captor.

"Now, now... It was not without precedence."

Thomas' complaining had struck a nerve within Law, who could no longer withstand his voice. Grabbing the ax installed next to the fire extinguisher on the wall, he sliced his jaw off in one swift motion, effectively silencing the deceased kingpin. He then stuffed him into the chute to send him into the sea, leaving behind his blood.

"Such a pity to waste a great amount of fresh blood... Perhaps it was tainted, though." He rationalized.

He slipped out of his soiled attire and stepped into the installed shower, washing the stench of dead woman off of him, along with man's blood. When he stepped out, the cold air of the mortuary really hit Law, sending shivers up his spine. Drying all precipitation from his body, he slipped on his stock sleeping pants and socks. He left the morgue, passed through the laboratory, up two flights up the stairs, and straight into Scarlet's room; the owner of the space was fast asleep. He sat upon her bed after kissing her cheek, stroking her soft hair while she dreamed. He smiled gratefully at his child, wondering what he could have possibly done do have deserved the blessing that she was. He found himself falling asleep on her floor that night, his hand in hers.

Installing the morgue cost a pretty penny, but paid for itself instantaneously from Law's perspective. The next weeks had been much more organized for the surgeon, spending time on Scarlet's physical therapy, of which was improving, to assuming his duties as a captain, and sporadically operating on the damned who sought his help after critical injury. Those who were beyond saving were conveniently stored in the mortuary, providing Law company at night.

It was a peaceful Friday afternoon when the Heart Pirates docked on an island previously unseen by them. In a twist of events, it was Law who babysat while he trusted his crew to get the necessary supplies without getting wasted, despite the sun still hanging in the sky. They had used this time to play cards; Law had been teaching her the basics of poker, though she truly wanted to play "Go Fish", finding this concept a bit advanced for her mental capacity.

"You can do this, sweet heart. Your daddy was the best player in all of the Blue, just ask your uncles."

"If you were so good, why are you a pirate?"

"I figured looting fools our of their money upfront saved more time than feigning honest playing."

Their lazy card session was abruptly interrupted by the screams of numerous civilians near the docking area. Peaking his interest, Law instructed Scarlet to stay put as he raced out of the surfaced submarine, locking it before he left. He found a man laying in the middle of the street as a crowd circled around him, nobody brave enough to encounter him. Law wormed his way through until he was kneeling by the bloodied man tentatively grasping his stomach. His crew had been among the spectators; the surgeon and captain commanded them to carry the man to his laboratory. They had done so, Law unlocking the door that immediately led into the kitchen.

Scarlet was not sure what to make of the sight before her; she had seen many people enter with the most bizarre of injuries, so it did not phase her greatly. The worst she had seen was somebody burned terribly on the face, eye nearly melting. With her feet healed to a great extent, she furtively followed her father and his crew to the laboratory to see what the induced the agonized screaming. They had placed their patient on the metal table, him still holding his abdomen as if his life depended upon it. Law had to practically pry his hands off, which caused his intestines to spew out of him and into Law's hands. This absolutely mortified Scarlet, who instantaneously ran off, catching their attention.

"Shachi, console her!" Law yelled, intent on saving both this stranger and his daughter's innocence, or whatever could remain after such a sight.

The pirate ran off as the doctor went to work. Though he doubted anything positive would result from the emergency surgery, after two or so hours, the procedure had been a success, the man finally being in a stable condition. He requested that Bepo fetch Scarlet and bring her into the laboratory as he reexamined the man's vitals. Soon, his daughter joined him, face carrying evidence of fear. He held her against his hip, bringing her closer to the unconscious man, showing her that he was going to be alright, her then showing visible signs of relaxation. Slowly, the stranger's eyes fluttered open; he was too heavily sedated to begin thrashing about like most patients attempt to do, or even speak out coherently.

"Do not worry. I have treated your evisceration injuries. You will be safe and released as soon as you are fully recuperated, no charge of course."

The man sluggishly but gratefully nodded, moving around what body parts he could. Law placed Scarlet in a seat situated next to the table, as he left to go into the storage room next door to get bandages to wrap around his room, having run out in the laboratory. As soon as he left, Scarlet looked at the man, who returned with an unsettling smile as his eyes scanned the girl. She looked away, then quietly gasped as she felt his hand upon her upper thigh, lightly rubbing. He only retracted his hand when he heard the doctor's footsteps draw closer. He looked inconspicuous when he was bandaged again. When he was finished, Law grabbed Scarlet and left the man to rest.

"I don't like him, daddy."

"Neither do I, sweet heart, but I had to help him."

She grumbled a bit, evoking a sigh from Law. The sun was setting when they were back in the kitchen. From the windows, he could see that the shops and stores were closing, so he figured it logical to wait until tomorrow morning to get food and supplies. The only shop remaining open was the pizza shop conveniently close to the docks, so Law cordially ordered his crew to fetch a few boxes of variously topped pizzas for dinner. They had feasted well that night, distracting Scarlet from the ominous feeling of uneasiness she felt brewing. As he laid his daughter down for bed later that night, she confessed that she did not feel safe with that man on board. Law had figured out a reasonable compromise to cease her worries.

"Here," He said as he handed her a pocket knife, which was as wide as his hand when closed, "I trust that you will not treat this as a toy, rather as the potentially dangerous weapon that it is. I only want you to use this when it it absolutely necessary, do you understand?"

Scarlet nodded, taking her gift. He kissed her goodnight, then walked out to the doorway as she snuggled into the blankets. He turned as he reached the doorway, looking at his little girl, smiling.

"You realize I love you with all of my heart, correct?"

"Yes. I love you too daddy."

With that being said, he turned off her night switched. He walked into the burrows of his prided submarine into his new favorite mortuary. He slipped into his soiled attire, confronting a new member of his collection.

"And how are we today?" 

"Just fucking dandy!"

"Why do I always attain the sassy ones?"

"Why do I always find myself taken by Goddamn lunatics?!"

"I am not crazy." Law coldly stated.

"Said the man to the corpse."

In response to the man's rude remarks, he had grabbed the saw he attained for 'medical purposes', situated upon the shelf he had custom installed, and started sawing from the genitalia to the middle of the torso, filling his ears with melodic wails. Law could only maniacally laugh at the perceived cries from the object of his torment. He then decided to fill the hour with trials, seeing how different parts of the body reacted to a sulfuric acid formula he synthesized a while back. To his surprise, it had an easier time eating through the chest into the heart more than anything.

"You're a sick bastard! How the fuck do they even make you!?"

"I am practically a product of a tangible recipe. Do pay attention."

He brought forth a medial waste tub that had yet to be used. He then brought out various measuring instruments, prompting the captive to swing to and fro in a futile attempt of escape. Law found this mildly amusing, opting to swing him with his own hands, hearing a clanking sound from the chains rustling around his ankles. Thoughts returning to his original goal, he placed the tub directly under his botched experiment.

"Listen closely. Any variables that are changed within this recipe will yield disastrous results."

Using his trusty scalpel, he sliced into his cranium and extracted the frontal lobes of his brain, measuring to a half of a cup. Scraping inside his scrotum next, he managed a teaspoon of his now impotent semen, going on to slice an amount of his own hair from the back, doing so in a fashion that would make the cut unrecognizable. He finally grabbed his grater and scrapped a sprinkle of the remaining skin on the man.

"Here's the recipe; A half a cup satanical, a teaspoon puritanical," He dropped the ingredients into the shallow tub, then slicing off the man's arm, stating you need to stir it with a bloody hand, "a quarter cup messiahcal, a sprinkle of maniacal; now you are a Surgeon of Death."

The man gave no detectable response, infuriating the doctor greatly. He poured the contents of the bin onto himself whilst hissing, smearing the blood on his face. Covering the man's mouth with his hand, he placed upon it a chaste kiss, then expelling the corpse.

As he had intended, the Heart Pirates seized the Saturday morning to attain much needed groceries and medical supplies. Despite the massive amount of convincing she managed, she was still denied the right to stay alone aboard, her citing she needed an hour or so of privacy. Law had managed to come to a compromise with her: he would work in his mortuary, and she was free to go about the submarine unsupervised. Though she still yearned for independence, she took the bargain, knowing that another was unlikely to come along anytime soon. With that being set in stone, Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo vacated the premises in search of what they needed the most, while Law descended into the depths of the ship.

Scarlet realized that the silence in the submarine was indeed an idiosyncratic quality of her living situation, she took this opportunity to catch up on some reading with a book she received for her last birthday. Her stream of literacy appreciation was cut short when she heard an incessant rattling downstairs. It became cumbersome enough for her to place the bookmark on the page she was reading, close the book, and investigate the annoying noise.

During this time, the trio of pirates had made it into their first destination, obviously being the food market. Half way down the bustling street, they found a paper boy exclaiming the headline for the day, the title catching their interest. After purchasing a paper, they found that the day's quote was _"Man Disemboweled Turns Out to be Convicted Child Predator", _with the first paragraph stating he was a serial rapist who specifically targeted children. To add to their disgusted horror, they found themselves in the smaller front page picture beneath the main, captioned _"Four unidentified spectators grabbed the man,with witnesses stating they have overheard the quartet planning to perform surgery." _They needed not to read any further to realize the catastrophic mistake they had made, all frantically screaming in synchronization;

"SCARLET!"

Mentioned child had traced the source of the sound to the laboratory. Though she was apprehensive, the rustling became too much to bear. With limited temerity, she boldly ventured into the forbidden laboratory, noticing the lights were off. As she went to flip the switch, she heard the door shut, sending her heart into acceleration. Before a scream could have been emitted, she was grabbed from behind and had a hand held to her mouth, the appendage belonging to the formerly eviscerated man. As she thrashed about, her foot managed to hit the light switch, revealing he removed his intravenous therapy needle dripping into a decently sized pool, liquid containing the numbing morphine. She was briskly turned around in mid air, him catching her by the hips as he hungrily licked his lips. Without her consent, he ravished his lips onto hers, coating them in a slime that contained a foul taste. His tongue feverishly writhed its way into her mouth, trying to taste every inch as she drew hers back and tried to scream. Without even thinking, she bit as hard as she could down, slicing his tongue clean off, prompting him to drop her as he screamed while blood squirted out of him. Scarlet tried to run, but he had the door locked and he was directly blocking it, and she was told the morgue was always locked as well. The man began to regain his stealth and lunged for her, but she had her knife drawn, and followed the scar that her father recently repaired, sticking the blade in as deep as it would go. When she withdrew, his intestines once again spilling out of him uncontrollably as he fell to his knees. In a blind fury, Scarlet grabbed the spewing organs and wrapped them around his neck thrice, her pulling as hard as she could from behind. She pulled like this for a few minutes, until she saw the back of his bald head turn purple, letting his body fall to the ground. Her father taught her how to check a pulse, and she was able to confirm with confidence he was dead.

She had never felt a soulless hatred consume her fragile heart before; the whole ordeal traumatized her on a scale she would nor could ever understand. Her thoughts abandoned coherency as she ran for the door for the morgue, which was oddly unlocked. She was crying, as she had been the whole time, tears partially clearing the splatter of blood from her face. As she entered, the most heinous of odors offended her nose, momentarily distracting her from the misery. As it flooded her heart once more, she ventured inside to find corpses hanging upside down from the ceiling in the dead center of the room after exiting the small corridor. More disturbing, she found no other than her father, performing a waltz dance routine with a naked female corpse with his jolly roger carved all over her body, practically serving as clothing. His eyes were closed contently, until she complained that he was not talking to her enough.

"Silence is golden."

Although Scarlet only heard Law speak, she saw him become enraged with another suspended body,

"To reap what you sow is to truly withstand the majesty of this universe, Charlie."

"I sacrificed her, but not before I made practical use of her genitalia."

"NO!" He dropped his partner and crouched down, grabbing his ears before falling back.

"I would never do that you fuck! I love her too much!"

"Daddy!"

"You just want me to be like you, so we can be friends Charlie. I refuse, Charlie!"

His laughter ignited once more before Scarlet began sobbing heavily.

"There isn't anybody here daddy! What are you doing!?"

He could not stand the noise everybody seemed to effortlessly produce, prompting him to exclaim over and over for them to shut up, further frightening and confusing poor Scarlet. With the clanking increasing as he pushed the bodies, he begged them to stop moving, only for the shaking to worsen. Grabbing a machete he had stashed for safety purposes, he massacred the corpses of which were barely in tact to begin with. It was not until every single body was mutilated beyond comprehension he heard Scarlet crying, finding her a bloodied mess. His mouth hung ajar, finding him in a quiet stammer.

It was only luck that cleaned his slate with her in the previous incident. Though he never wanted to see harm come to his little girl, she would have completely feared and resented him if she had never bashed her head off of his desk. But there was no conceivable way that she would ever forget what she had just witnessed him do. He thought a lifestyle of his controlled chaos with a spark of insanity could balance itself out, but the biggest piece of evidence stood right before him, beyond petrified.

"I killed him, daddy." She simply muttered, staring off into space.

He slowly approached his daughter, bewildered she did not attempt to escape. He bent down to her level, gently cupping her cheek to raise her to meet eye contact. They shimmered, but only credible to the tears that moistened her face.

"I killed him, daddy." She reiterated.

"Who, sweet heart? Who did you kill?" He asked, breathing slightly becoming labored.

She took his hand and led him into his laboratory, where he found his patient seemingly strangled by his own intestines. Though he could not believe this was coming to mind, he was having a hard time debating who caused her more trauma: him or herself. She began sobbing uncontrollably, fully releasing the demons that festered within her. She audibly but shakily admitted that he forced kisses on her was trying to rub her all over. As Law comprehended what she told him, he quite nearly vomited in pure anguish. He began to weep like a child as he held her, saying that she was forgiven.

"I killed a man! I never killed anyone!" She didn't know what to believe at that moment.

"That's not true." Penguin said from the door way, the trio's eyes fixated on the mangled body that laid before them. She asked what they possibly meant, only for them to sternly look at Law, who has since then mostly composed himself, despite his tired eyes being reddened and brimmed with tears.

"Baby girl, your mother did not leave you. She died immediately after you were born. She just bled out."

"You mean a-a-all this time, I-I killed m-m-m-mommy!?" She sobbed again.

"I-I should never have been born, daddy! I'm so sorry!"

"NEVER say that, Scarlet! Mommy deserved exactly what she got, just like this despicable bastard! You are the only reason I wake up, sleep, eat, breathe. Smile."

She raised her head, wails quieting down to sniffles.

"I'm unimaginably sorry, Scarlet. You deserve a much better life than this. I never wanted to be a terrible father! I never wanted to scare you or put you in danger. I knew that was a given since I found out mommy was pregnant with you, but I loved you so much, and I still do, so I was selfish and I kept you anyway! Mommy was a terrible person!... She was terrible, like me."

He lowered his head in shame, sniffling with the occasional yelp of anguish.

"Daddy?" She cried slightly.

He raised his head, looking at his beautiful little girl. She removed the scalpel from his pocket, then walked over to her attacker's shirtless body, slicing into where she believed his circulatory system's catalyst to be. In a few seconds, her hands were inside of him, and she pulled out his inactive heart. She walked back to Law, placing his hand on the organ a she held it.

"You do realize I love you with all of my heart, correct?"

His grip on the heart faltered as hers did, and they embraced in a tight hug, needing it more than ever. They remained that way until the grief and strain wore out the girl, and she fell asleep in his arms. He carried her past his mortified crew, ascending to bathe her. When she was dried, she was placed into her favorite pajamas, being awake again at this point.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, sweet heart?"

"I don't ever want to remember this day. Can you make it go away?"

The frightening part of her request was that he could make it come true, though he doubted that it was a good plan. Yet again, was letting a seven year old feel the guilt of nearly being molested, then strangling the attacker with his own intestines? He drew a weary sigh.

"Are you sure that is what you wish?"

"I can't live with this. Life won't go on."

Against his better judgment, he carried her down into the recently cleaned laboratory, credits going towards his loyal and ever faithful crew. He laid her down on the metal table, cleaned her arm with rubbing alcohol, and entered in the intravenous therapy into her veins. The first medicine put her to sleep, but not before he kissed her forehead and proclaimed how dearly he loved her. As she was in her apparently peaceful slumber, he slipped the next drug into the bag, an amnesiac that was guaranteed to clean her slate for the past couple of days. He projected that she would be asleep for about twelve hours, to wake up a bit confused, but calm. The bag's contents were finally empty, so he removed the intravenous therapy from her vein and carried her to his room, where he laid on his mattress while she slept contently on his chest. He stroked her raven hair, it being the only thing to calm him down. After seeing her defend himself, he felt a conflict that tore at his soul; he now knew that she was able to defend herself, which put him at a bit more ease. However, he realized something that haunted him, although he felt that in her circumstance, it was completely and utterly justified:

She had the sinister capacity he did.


End file.
