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As you finished off the last of the Marine Vice Captains near you, you looked around. Unable to see the distinctive blue sphere of Law's Room anywhere, you hurried over to where you had last seen your partner. As you scrambled across the wet earth, slipping and sliding on the mud of clay and blood, a familiar sensation passed through you as the sky turned a shade darker. Appearing in front of you, with none of his usual grace, was Law.
"Y/N, you're here," he puffs, none of his usual prickly temperament on display, "good. I've made it in time"
"Made it in time? Law, what's going on?" You question him, bewildered, registering how ragged his breathing and clothing are, "are you okay? You look terrible"
"It was a trap. They knew we were gonna be here somehow. Akainu cornered me. I only barely escaped." He gestures with his hand and you realize that the Room around you is much smaller than his usual creations and red. You look around and then up to see the last little bit of its typical azure hue disappear under the creeping crimson.
"I'm sorry, Y/N. I don't have much time, and if we did, I wouldn't be doing this"
"Doing what? Law, what's going on?" You shout, your confusion becoming frustration tinged with fear "Law, please"
Law steps towards you, clutching Kikoku in a white knuckle grip, the support from the sword being the only thing allowing him to walk. He gestures once more and the crimson orb around you darkens, fading to black at a startling speed. His voice echoes in the darkened dome, as you know it will in your mind forever.
" PERENNIAL YOUTH OPERATION "
He takes several steps towards you, glowing with a faint golden light, letting Kikoku fall from his grasp, as he becomes unburdened and unbothered by his injuries, unshackled from the world. You stand, shocked and frozen, your thoughts racing. As he reaches you, he speaks again, golden motes of light flying from his mouth with every word.
"I'm sorry, my heart. But my injuries were fatal, I would have died either way. But this way, you get to live, no matter what comes."
"No!" You scream, his words breaking through your stupor, "I want to live with you. Not without you." You taste salt as tears flow down your cheeks.
"Please, I want to live with you," your voice cracks, "What kind of a life is it, if you're not here to share it with me?"
He opens his arms, steadying himself to hold you.
"Come here, let me spend my last few moments with you."
You nod, sniffling and wiping the snot from your nose as you close the distance to him. You go to rest your head on his shoulder. And stumble through his glowing body, a shower of golden sparks cascading out of his back with you. Falling to your knees, you pound the mud in grief and rage, tears pouring from your eyes.
"I wanted to live with you, damn it. Not live forever without you. To grow old with you, share my life with you. Not this. I didn't want this"
Law comes and kneels in front of you, speaking softly.
"It will be okay, my dear. I love you. This is my final gift to you. Live long and well"
He plants a soft kiss on your forehead and dissolves into a swarm of golden sparkles, his hat, the only remaining remnant of him, fluttering the ground. You have only a moment to register this, before the black dome collapses in on you.
You blink awake, sun shining in your eyes. Judging by the angle of the shadows, you've been out for a couple of hours. You look down at yourself, covered in dried mud and blood, remembering, and find something unexpected. A sword, marine issue, one of the identical millions around the world, rammed through your gut, and into the dirt beneath you. Upon seeing it, you feel a twinge of pain in your gut. Not the searing inferno of pain you expected, but more like an uncomfortable itch. You reach up and pull it out by the hilt, holding it out, away from your body. Your blood falls from the tip of the blade, splashing on the ground. It stays there for a second, before briefly gleaming gold and gathering up the little puddle it made, streaming up off the ground and back into your wound. The rest of the blood from the blade follows, leaving the blade dirtied only by the ground it was slammed into. Your flesh knits itself back together, leaving the gash in your shirt as the only evidence you were ever wounded. You sit up, and look to the horizon. Nothing can kill you, and there's a Fleet Admiral that is going to learn that the hard way.