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Bepo’s eyes drift open as the floorboards begin to quake beneath him. It’s not unusual, per se. It seems like there is always something going on out there, outside this cell. Chaos appears to be the status quo on this wretched island.
Still, he can’t help but wonder what’s happening. His eyes scan the room, falling upon the door where a watery sliver of light pours through the gap along the floor. It’s enough for him to see clearly, but he’s the lucky one. Chopper had warned him that there might be side-effects of forcing his body through the transformation. His eyesight remains Sulong sharp. It’s as if that rumble ball has rewritten the very fiber of his DNA.
He knows that the rest of the Heart Pirates cannot escape the darkness, and that with each hour that passes, it threatens to consume them whole.
“Maybe someone is coming,” he says. Hope is good for morale. They can desperately use some more of that right now.
Nearby, Jean Bart grunts. Bepo can’t tell if it’s acknowledgement or pain. Perhaps the darkness is preserving them in a wicked sort of way. If anyone else could see the way the wound on the man’s leg is festering, they might not be so calm.
Penguin sits with his back against the wall, running his fingers through Ikkaku’s curls. She sleeps fitfully with her head in his lap. “I don’t know. It's probably just the island man again,” he replies quietly. “What do you think, Shachi?”
They both know he isn’t going to answer. The redhead hasn’t spoken a word in weeks. He lies on his side, curled around Kikoku. It’s the only thing they have left of their Captain.
Bepo wonders if he’s okay. After getting Law to safety, he went back for the others. Now they’re all trapped.
They’d known that Blackbeard was a problem, though they couldn’t have imagined what that really meant. Before they’d been shoved in here and left to rot, they’d gotten a glimpse of what the Emperor was up to.
A shiver runs down his spine, making his fur stand on edge. That man is actively seeking out Devil Fruit abilities to pass onto his crew. It’s horrific. It shouldn’t be possible. There is only one reason for him to keep them alive. They have no powers to harvest. They are useless as bargaining chips.
Bepo would love nothing more than to see his Captain again, but a part of him prays that Law does not come.
He knows that they are bait.
A series of loud explosions shake dust from the ceiling above their heads. It rouses the remainder of the crew from their torpor. That’s not normal. Something is definitely happening out there. He pulls himself to his feet, fighting back the waves of dizziness and nausea. He can’t remember the last time they’ve been given anything to eat.
If there is any way for them to get out of here and prevent Law from doing something reckless, they have to try.
“This might be our chance. Maybe we can slip away unnoticed.”
“We can’t even figure out a way to break out of this cell, much less get off the island.” Hakugan argues.
“We have to do something! If the Blackbeard Pirates are distracted, we can escape.”
“We’ll never make it,” Clione sighs. “We’re too weak.”
Jean Bart grunts again. “You might if you leave me behind. I’ll be okay here on my own.”
“Absolutely not!” Bepo snaps. “If we go, we go together. We’ll carry you out if we have to.”
“I don’t know,” Penguin says pragmatically. He’s always been the voice of reason. “Where would we even go?”
The explosions are getting closer. Bepo starts to back up as the shaking becomes more and more violent, sending crates and bundles of rope outside their cell skidding across the floor.
There’s one final crash, then everything goes quiet – a beat of heavy silence that curdles the air around them before the iron door crumples in on itself like paper, shorn clean off its hinges.
The light is intense enough to blind them instantly. All of them gasp as they scramble to cover their eyes. It has been so long since they’ve seen the sun.
A man stands in the threshold, silhouetted against the overwhelming brilliance. Dark hair, dark clothes, dark, round glasses. A presence that is equal parts soothing and deadly. This could be the angel of death himself.
Boots click across the wooden floorboards as he approaches. The bars of the cell sever with the turn of his hand. He steps into the holding cell and falls to his knees before them, stretching his arms out.
Bepo’s eyes have adjusted enough that he can really see him. His breath squeezes itself from his lungs in a long, keening moan. How had he not recognized him?
“CAPTAIN!”
The cry is a chorus echoed amongst each member of the crew. It’s a frenzy. Fatigue, injury, hunger – none of it can prevent the way they throw themselves at him.
Bepo’s vision blurs again, with tears this time. Law is alive. He came to rescue them. This crazy, stupid, fantastic man. He thought he’d never see him again.
Law is being ragdolled from one crew member to the next, laughing, sobbing, holding on to each one of them like they may disappear if he lets go of them. When his eyes land on Shachi he starts as he sees what’s in his hands.
“You saved her for me!”
“Of course I did, you idiot! Where the hell have you been?!” His voice is scratchy and weak from disuse. Kikoku clatters to the ground as they fold into each other’s embrace.
Law saves him for last, or at least that’s what it feels like. Bepo shudders as his fingers card through the fur behind his ears, nails scraping lightly against the skin. It’s an affront to his Mink pride, but he’s always loved being petted by humans. Law does it better than anyone in the world.
He wraps his arms around him, lifting him off his feet. Although he would have preferred Law put himself first for once, picturing this moment has been the only thing that’s kept him going through all of this. It’s everything he imagined it would be, even if the time and the distance has made Law feel strangely unfamiliar.
“I know you took care of them for me, Bepo. Thank you so much.” Law’s tears soak through his tattered jumpsuit, wetting his shoulder.
There are a thousand questions he could ask about how he is and what he’s been doing, but he can’t take his eyes off the tiny creature standing by the door, shuffling his feet like he doesn’t know what to do with himself.
Bepo pulls back to arms length. “Who is that?”
Law turns around like he’d momentarily forgotten in his excitement. “Come here, Lani. Meet your crewmates.”
The Tontatta scuttles over to them and leaps into Law’s hand, giving them all a respectful bow. “It’s vewy nice to meet you. I’ve heard so many great things about you all.”
“Where did you pick him up?” Penguin asks. “Don’t tell me you went back to Dressrosa!”
Law shakes his head, chuckling at some inside joke. “No, I didn’t. He was a gift.”
Bepo screws his face up at the odd description. “Captain, where have you been this whole time? And what’s with these?” He swipes his claw under the arm of the opaque glasses, lifting them up the man’s forehead.
His heart skips a beat when he sees his eyes. They are the same honey gold they’ve always been, but harder, brighter. If his senses were not telling him this is his beloved childhood friend, he might accuse him of being an impostor.
He doesn’t look like himself.
There’s no time to process what that could possibly mean, because the room is shaking again. A crack forms in the ceiling overhead as the building they’re in starts to collapse under the force of whatever is going on outside. They’re going to be flattened. Bepo throws himself on top of Law on instinct, trying to save him.
He steels himself for an end that never comes. The falling stones shred to fine dust that rains down over them harmlessly.
“What just happened?!” someone asks in alarm.
Although Bepo can feel Law beneath him, he starts to question whether any of this is real. He must be dreaming. He looks up to see a monster straight out of a nightmare.
Donquixote Doflamingo, staring down at them with a scowl on his face. He’s supposed to be in prison. Did he just…save their lives? The entire crew closes rank around their Captain, ready to defend him at any cost.
Doflamingo’s fingers twitch like he is aching to use his strings for something other than protection. “We don’t have much time.”
Unbelievably, Law extracts himself from the tight group, waving at them to stand down. He doesn’t look the least bit concerned about coming face to face with his mortal enemy. “It’s okay, he’s with me.”
“What’s going on?” Bepo asks, completely baffled.
Law gives him a tight smile. “I don’t have time to explain. We have to move.”
Outside is pandemonium.
They race behind their Captain and his mysterious ally, struggling to keep up as they carry the injured and infirm between them. People are screaming. Parts of the city are burning. The skull mountain in the center of the island barks commands to the pirates below.
It’s a full scale battle of armies. Bepo can’t believe it. Someone is actually raiding Hachinosu.
A laughing figure looms overhead, leading a battalion of men. The Heart Pirates dare not stop their furious downhill flight, though they all marvel at the familiar, larger than life persona. Buggy the Clown, his hair wild and billowing in the wind as he watches them pass below.
“Oho! You found them! That’s amazing, Law. I’ve got your back.”
“Thanks, Buggy! I’ll be back soon.”
Bepo drops to all fours so he can run faster, pushing his ailing body to the limit as he falls into step at Law’s side.
“Was that who I thought it was?! Why are the Emperors fighting each other?!”
Law’s laugh is hardy. “I convinced them it was a good idea! Hurry, we’ve got a ship waiting at the coast.”
At the edge of the city, just a few hundred feet from the port, a nine-tailed fox jumps out from behind a building, blocking their path.
Bepo and the others skid to a terrified halt. That must be Catarina Devon. After they’d been imprisoned, she’d tortured poor Ikkaku for two days until Blackbeard finally told her to stop. The sadistic piratetess lunges for Law, ready to tear him apart.
Law draws Kikoku, but before he can even defend himself, a column of sand from the nearby beach spirals upward and blasts into her, sending her flying.
The grains coalesce into the form of a man. He drapes his hook over Law’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Master Crocodile,” Law says with a sarcastic grin.
The Sandman snickers. “You’re welcome, you cheeky brat. Get them out of here already, we could use your help.” He and Doflamingo give each other a brief nod of acknowledgement before his body dissolves again and he is gone.
At the docks, one ship stands out from the rest: a sleek topsail schooner, brand new by the looks of her. Their roger is flying on the mast. The figurehead is a flamingo. Law bundles them all onboard to safety, taking advantage of their bewildered daze.
Bepo grabs him by the shoulders, shaking him harder than necessary. “Captain! Answer me! Why are you working with them?!” His eyes drift to where Doflamingo stands on the dock, watching Law with a simmering possessiveness.
“It’s not a story I could tell in five minutes. I promise I will answer all of your questions one day soon. Right now the only thing that matters is getting you guys off this island.”
The whole crew goes whisper quiet.
“Are you not coming with us?” Penguin asks incredulously.
“You can’t leave us again, we just got you back!” Shachi cries. The sentiment is echoed amongst the others.
“I’m sorry,” Law says, shaking his head apologetically. “Lani is going to take you to a safe place. It’s nice there, you’ll like it. I will come back for you as soon as possible. First, I am going to go get Doffy his crown.” The glow in his eyes intensifies to the point Bepo releases him and takes a step back.
“Since when do you call him that?”
Waves lap onto the deck as the island trembles. Avalo Pizzaro is on the move, stretching out his limbs, trying to prevent them from escaping. His massive arm reaches out to crush the ship.
Doflamingo looks over his shoulder nonchalantly. “Handle that, Hawkeyes.”
Dracule Mihawk appears out of thin air, carrying a young woman over his shoulder. He sets her down and unstraps his sword from his back. “Don’t tell me what to do, Joker.”
One slash of the black blade and Pizarro’s arm is obliterated, falling upon the city in house-sized chunks.
Mihawk tosses the woman unceremoniously onto their ship. Bepo catches her before she can land on her butt.
“Mihawkkk!” She blubbers. “You came here for me?!”
The Swordsman looks embarrassed. He tilts his head down to hide his face with his hat.
“I can’t leave! He still has Master Moria!” she laments, wriggling out of Bepo’s arms.
“Stay on the ship,” Mihawk says, eyes flashing dangerously.
“But–”
“I’ll do what I can for Moria. Just…get to safety.” He turns to Law. “Are you ready, son?”
“Almost.”
The Captain takes one more lap around the entire crew, hugging all of them one final time. “Trust in Lani. He’s in charge until you get to Ilsabella.”
Bepo squeezes him to his chest, pleading with him. “Law, please don’t do this. Come with us. For once, I need you to take care of yourself.”
The expression Law gives him is one he doesn’t think he’s ever seen before. “Don’t worry about me. I plan on surviving this no matter what. I have strong allies with me and also…” he turns to look at Doflamingo, cheeks flushing softly, before pulling his glasses down and back over his eyes. “They will look out for me.”
Bepo doesn’t want to do it but he lets go because somehow, he believes him.
It’s rough getting under way. They might not have been able to do it at all without the Tontatta’s help. Most of them aren’t familiar with how to work the sails of a normal ship.
As Bepo lays on the yardarm undoing the ropes, he watches Law join Doflamingo, Mihawk, Crocodile and Buggy on the dock.
From somewhere deep within the island, a wicked laugh rises above the sounds of battle.
“ZEHAHAHAHA!”
All five of the former Warlords launch themselves into the fray.
An hour or so later, the island is already fading into the distance. They can still hear the sound of the fight, but it comes with a delay, warbling and distorted as it travels over the sea.
Bepo sits on the stern of the ship, unable to tear his eyes away.
Chopper is a genius. Bless him and that wonderful rumble ball. Even this far away, he can see the coast of the island clearly. Smoke billows out onto the beach as the city continues to burn.
He gasps when he sees his Captain fly through it, knocked backwards by what must have been a terribly hard blow. Doflamingo is right behind him, scooping him up midair before he can hit the sand.
The tyrant sets him gently on his feet, running his hands over him, turning him this way and that, making sure he is okay. Law is smiling at him, practically giggling over the concern the man is lavishing on him. It feels like time itself slows as he reaches up and pulls him down into a kiss. Doflamingo melts into the touch, pulling Law so close it looks like they become one body.
The moment is brief, because war stops for no one. They pull away from each other reluctantly, then turn and dive back into the smoke together.
Bepo watches the entire interaction in awe. There is no way for him to know what has happened over the last few months to alter things so drastically. Still, he feels like he finally understands.
They might have only been together for a handful of minutes, but Law had seemed so different. He would be lying if he said that the Captain hadn’t seemed a touch colder, a little scarier. Regardless, the way he’d held them lets him know he loves them the same as he always has, maybe more.
He, Shachi, and Penguin like to tell people that they’ve been with him “since the beginning”. It’s a nice turn of phrase, though they know it’s not true. In his twenty-six years, Law has lived several lives, the majority of which were filled with the type of despair that people don’t come back from. He’d soldiered on through all of it, trying his best along the way.
They’d seen that dark yearning in him soon after they met him. They made a pact never to say the word out loud. Instead, they showered him with more affection than he could handle, fed him, demanded he sleep more, and made certain to never let him out of their sight for too long. They knew it helped, even if it was not enough to erase the desire entirely.
In a perverse way, Doflamingo has always been the reason Law is still around. Bepo knows that he is the worst kind of person imaginable. Based on some of the things he’s done, it’s a stretch to call him human. He actually thinks he might have hated him more than Law did, because his malice came with the clear-eyed knowledge that revenge was never going to bring his friend peace.
After seeing what he just saw, the Mink thinks he might find it in his heart to forgive him.
The realization creeps up on him. The change he’d witnessed in his Captain wasn’t anything physical. It is something far more profound than the new sharpness in his smile or the gleam behind his eyes.
For the first time in the ten years he has known him,
Law looks genuinely happy.