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Having spent almost two decades in the North Blue, Law was very accustomed to the cold and biting chill. So, being the winter half of Punk Hazard, was very much not a hardship. Mom wasn't thrilled by the weather but he'd always had trouble adjusting to the cold, despite his big coat. Law wondered if his body had ever truly gotten over the shock of being in the perfectly temperature controlled Mary Geoise one day and the real world the next. Fascinating but he wasn't a scientist. He was a surgeon.
Although, as a doctor, he was firmly against anything and everything that Caesar Clown was doing. Especially when it came to the children. He was beyond grateful that he hadn't brought his brothers with him, Caesar would've had a field day with a Mink and two half-breeds and then Law and Mom would've had to kill him before they could get close to Doflamingo. Even if Mom didn't see the point in all this sneaking around, insisting that all he had to do was go straight to Dressrosa and Doffy will let me in. Fuck no. No way in hell was Mom going anywhere near that insane pink-feathered idiot without backup.
So no. Law was going to go with his plan and try to get as much information and backup as he possibly could before they wound up taking on Kaido. But Doflamingo was definitely his top priority.
Although…what the fuck were the Straw Hats doing here?
Robin should have known things would escalate when they decided to stop at Punk Hazard. Of course, she hadn't anticipated meeting the grandson of the former Fleet Admiral and some of her Nakama getting body-swapped. Then there was Cora-San, the nine-foot-tall man trying to soothe the upset children. He was sparing little attention for the Straw Hats, instead offering suckers to the children. She was curious as to why he was there but, he was part of Trafalgar's crew after all, so maybe that was why. Though, she hadn't seen any of the others, including the Mink and the ones with the funny hats. But no matter. They weren't allies-
Nope. They were allies now. Robin readjusted her priorities. Cora-San didn't seem to be overly thrilled himself but he didn't say anything against it, seemingly content to trust Law's judgment. Law himself seemed to be regretting all of his life choices as he was dragged into one of Luffy's hugs. Cora-San was watching in amusement, eyes crinkled as he smiled.
Robin found it amusing as well, the stoic Warlord and "Surgeon of Death" carrying cute little Chopper around on a hobo stick. She found herself next to Cora-San as he watched the sleeping children. "I haven't seen the rest of your crew," she commented.
Cora-San gave her a side-eye look. "Not that it's any of your concern but our Nakama are off visiting relatives while we deal with this."
Robin briefly wondered what this consisted of before dismissing it. If it was important then they would tell Luffy who would let the others know. Nami looked ready to cry so that meant it was probably something scary. Robin didn't mind though. She liked a good challenge. "I hope they're having fun," was all she said.
Zoro wasn't sure what to make of Trafalgar Law. The man had a ton of tattoos and a giant sword, everything about him screaming don't touch me. And yet, that same man, was currently curled against Cora-San, snoring as he slept. Cora-San was still wide awake, the two taking turns keeping watch at night for themselves. Smart. Zoro could respect them for not letting their guards down. Though he doubted Cora-San was actually going to wake Law up when it was his turn to keep watch. Cora-San was many things, enigmatic mostly, but he seemed to be very overprotective of Law. Zoro had to wonder if he was that way with all of his children. He supposed he'd find out when they went to Zou after Dressrosa.
Kin'emon and Momonosuke were curled against each other as well, both loudly snoring. They seemed content to trust the Straw Hats, despite their original hatred of pirates. Which, Zoro didn't blame them on that, getting kidnapped by Doflamingo's men and sliced to pieces by Law but, it still seemed like there was something deeper going on. Their hatred ran deep and even their newfound friendship with Luffy seemed to be a little on edge. Zoro couldn't help but wonder what they were hiding. He could only hope that it wouldn't come back to haunt them.
The rest of his Nakama were all scattered across the Sunny. Luffy and Chopper were cuddled together on deck, rubber limbs taking up a lot of extra space. Brook and Franky were deep in conversation and, if he tilted his head just right, he could see Sanji in the kitchen, most likely making a late night snack for Robin and Nami. Usopp had tripped over Luffy's legs at one point and chosen to just stay lying there, his obnoxious snores reaching the crow's nest. Zoro wanted to join them in sleeping but he was still on watch. Once stupid curly brows relieved him he would happily find a quiet spot to sleep.
Dressrosa could only be described as a shitshow in Law's humble opinion. Everything that could go wrong, did. Thank goodness for Mom though. He had been able to drive Doflamingo back when he attacked the ship, otherwise, Sanji and some of the others would've had to leave for Zou early. He was still going to strangle Caesar though, for not telling them that Big Mom was going to be coming after him. Honestly this was just so…aggravating. Then Luffy had gone and made friends with the former princess of Dressrosa and somehow managed to rally the toys into joining their cause.
Law really wanted to bury his face in his hands and just…scream. Especially after meeting Bartolomeo, Luffy's number one fan. So…fucking…annoying. Truth be told, though, he really just wanted his brothers, his grandpa, and his Nakama back. They'd been together for over two decades now and it was harder than he'd originally thought, being away from them for so long. He'd never admit it to anyone other than Mom of course, but he couldn't wait to go to Zou and see them again. He kind of regretted not bringing them now. They would've loved the Straw Hats and Dressrosa. Oh well. He'd had his reasons for leaving them behind and they hadn't changed any.
Cora unwrapped a sucker, blueberry flavored, and shoved it in his mouth. He really wanted a cigarette but he hadn't had one in over twenty years, he wasn't about to break his promise to his sons now. Doffy was defeated, taken down by Straw Hat Luffy and Law. He was still alive though, something that wouldn't have happened if Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo had gotten their hands on him. The rest of the Hearts wouldn't have let him survive either in all honesty. They were weirdly overprotective of him and Law. He was grateful though.
"Rosinante," Doffy's voice was weak but it still stopped Cora in his tracks.
"What is it, Doffy?" Cora asked, voice tight and controlled, not turning to look at his brother.
A cough then, "I won't apologize, not for any of this."
"I didn't expect one." The truth. Cora hadn't expected an apology from his brother but it would've been nice. He wouldn't tell his sons that though, they'd really want to kill him then.
"I…didn't understand why you'd betray me. I still don't."
"You betrayed me first," Cora said calmly. "Or at least, I thought you had, when you killed our father. My sons though, they see your point of view on that, even if they hate you with a passion." Doffy was at the top of their hate list, even above Shachi's aunt and uncle which was a hard bar.
"My crew?" Doffy asked.
"All in custody," Cora informed him, staring at the destruction of Dressrosa. "Except for Dellinger and Baby 5. They've both disappeared."
Not a total lie. Baby 5 had somehow found herself a real fiance in the midst of the battle and Cora had seen her sneak Dellinger on their ship before the Navy came sweeping through. Cora didn't begrudge them. They had been literal children when Doffy got his hands on them, he'd practically raised them after all. Besides, Dellinger was also a half-breed and Cora would be damned if he let the Navy get their hands on him to experiment on. He'd managed to warn Baby 5 about letting him go near Fishman Island though. It was only thanks to Whitebeard that Penguin and Shachi had been able to go visit.
The rest of Doffy's crew had already been taken in by Vice Admiral Tsuru, who'd cuffed Cora on the head before shoving some of Sengoku's personal belongings in his hands. She was standing nearby, waiting to take Doffy into custody. Cora almost wished he could tell her not to, that he'd take responsibility for his brother. But he couldn't.
"For what it's worth, Rosinante, I'm…glad that you survived."
Cora told himself that he wasn't going to cry and spent a few moments blinking away tears before turning to face his brother. Doffy looked…tired and defeated, something Cora had never associated with him before. "It's Cora now," he said, smiling around his sucker. "Or Mom, depending on who you're talking to."
Doffy looked surprised, even as the Navy began swarming him, kairoseki cuffs in hand. "Well then, it was good to see you…Cora."
"You too, Doffy," Cora turned away again and headed back to where Law was leaning on Luffy, clutching at his injured arm. He had a son to check up on and then a trip to see his other ones. He couldn't help but smile though. Maybe he'd send Doffy a letter one day. Maybe.