ᴛʀᴀғᴀʟɢᴀʀ ᴅ. ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ ʟᴀᴡ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
countershocks) wrote2020-06-29 04:08 pm
countershocks) wrote2020-06-29 04:08 pm
Aside from being a doctor, I'm a pirate captain with a bounty of three billion, [ comes law's laconic response. ] I can handle a terrorist.
[ what he can't handle, however, is... ] But if you're asking me not to tell him because he told you not to tell anyone, I really couldn't care less. If using your name gets him to agree to being treated, then I will use it.
[ what he can't handle, however, is... ] But if you're asking me not to tell him because he told you not to tell anyone, I really couldn't care less. If using your name gets him to agree to being treated, then I will use it.
[Treating a man like Takasugi is a tall task. Rinne shouldn't be calling just anybody for it. If this doctor wanted to give up on Takasugi, Rinne wouldn't blame him. But Law says something curious, and it's curious enough to make him give in.]
...Kyaha! Fine. Have it your way. It already sounds like I called the right guy.
[If they all have to face something as dull as Takasugi's health, then at least let Law make it interesting.]
I'll leave him to you, Doc. Be careful with him now!
...Kyaha! Fine. Have it your way. It already sounds like I called the right guy.
[If they all have to face something as dull as Takasugi's health, then at least let Law make it interesting.]
I'll leave him to you, Doc. Be careful with him now!
We'll see.
[ whether he's the right guy or not. with a sigh, he imparts some final words: ] Just remember I make no guarantees. I will see him, and try, but that is all I can promise. I'm just a doctor, not a miracle cure.
[ so don't be disappointed if nothing much can be done, he doesn't say, but the thought lingers in the spaces between his words.
and then, finally, ] And my name isn't "doc." It's Trafalgar Law.
[ whether he's the right guy or not. with a sigh, he imparts some final words: ] Just remember I make no guarantees. I will see him, and try, but that is all I can promise. I'm just a doctor, not a miracle cure.
[ so don't be disappointed if nothing much can be done, he doesn't say, but the thought lingers in the spaces between his words.
and then, finally, ] And my name isn't "doc." It's Trafalgar Law.
[ I thought you'd prefer it, is — to him — a great kindness. Ace is friendly, for sure, but even he can be worn down when things spiral rapidly out of his control. He doesn't know when he became such a good liar ( or worse yet, when people actually believed him when he said everything was good, he was okay, he wasn't anything but at the top of his game ), but it's not often anymore than he feels someone cut down to the core of what he's hiding. Law's a thoughtful person, he thinks, as he sits down on one of the backless, round-cushioned chairs that he can reach with his toes. And deflates, quieter and darker-eyed than ever — even if the pupils have begun to pale, oddly. ]
Actually, yeah. And I'm not really hiding anything, I just don't know what's going on.
[ A partial lie. He has an idea, and doesn't want to believe it.
He widens his knees, dropping his hands between them to hold the round edge of his seat to act as a brace as he spins back and forth in a shallow arc. Rocking, as if on a ship. There's no fight in him, even as Law advances with Kikoku in hand — as if he's already decided to trust everything to him. ( He has. ) ]
Actually, yeah. And I'm not really hiding anything, I just don't know what's going on.
[ A partial lie. He has an idea, and doesn't want to believe it.
He widens his knees, dropping his hands between them to hold the round edge of his seat to act as a brace as he spins back and forth in a shallow arc. Rocking, as if on a ship. There's no fight in him, even as Law advances with Kikoku in hand — as if he's already decided to trust everything to him. ( He has. ) ]
[ he would protest the thought if he knew it, of course — thoughtful isn't something most people would describe him as, at least those outside of his own crew, and he yelled at ikkaku about that once and they've never brought it up in his face since... but it isn't exactly wrong.
and so he watches ace sit there, quiet and somehow devoid of the life patho-gen have breathed back into him, and he thinks it is wrong, wrong, wrong — ]
Scan, [ he says, to distract himself. to focus on something else than the fact fire fist trusts him enough to not so much as tense up.
what his ability tells him freezes his blood in his veins. ]
That's... [ it is as if ace's body is decaying from the inside out, as if the shell of him is alive while his insides have realised they should be dead and are on the way there, rapidly, for absolutely no discernible reason law can see. ]
and so he watches ace sit there, quiet and somehow devoid of the life patho-gen have breathed back into him, and he thinks it is wrong, wrong, wrong — ]
Scan, [ he says, to distract himself. to focus on something else than the fact fire fist trusts him enough to not so much as tense up.
what his ability tells him freezes his blood in his veins. ]
That's... [ it is as if ace's body is decaying from the inside out, as if the shell of him is alive while his insides have realised they should be dead and are on the way there, rapidly, for absolutely no discernible reason law can see. ]
[ If someone can confirm "it", without frills or pity, he suspects it would be Law. It's not that Ace doesn't want for comfort ( he craves it, actually ), it's that right now — he would rather have something clinical, precise. Something he can hold onto that won't drop him into the sudden throb of dread-despair-doom that claws at his chest and up his throat. It's not in his head, it's real. It's real, and inescapable. Someone else can see it, see him. SEE HIM.
The temperature in the room drops, a few degrees. A cold chill beginning to rise, radiating from the epicenter where he's sitting — ramrod straight, still. His eyes aglow, suddenly and violently, as if something eerie is watching from the darkness. Observing, like a predator. His Natural Soul is rotting him from the inside out, and in the silence, where it usually lies quiet and subtle, it is clearly unhappy with being perceived. Ace's figure seems to fade slightly, eager to become nothing. His face, slowly melting into something formless, something threatening: a singular presence that ought to evoke the urge to flee, freeze, cower against a simmering, stomach-clenching dread aura.
His voice both rasps like a corpse, and sounds like his throat is full of blood. ]
— yeah? What do you see, Trafalgar?
The temperature in the room drops, a few degrees. A cold chill beginning to rise, radiating from the epicenter where he's sitting — ramrod straight, still. His eyes aglow, suddenly and violently, as if something eerie is watching from the darkness. Observing, like a predator. His Natural Soul is rotting him from the inside out, and in the silence, where it usually lies quiet and subtle, it is clearly unhappy with being perceived. Ace's figure seems to fade slightly, eager to become nothing. His face, slowly melting into something formless, something threatening: a singular presence that ought to evoke the urge to flee, freeze, cower against a simmering, stomach-clenching dread aura.
His voice both rasps like a corpse, and sounds like his throat is full of blood. ]
— yeah? What do you see, Trafalgar?
[ there is a chill in the air. a part of law expects to see snow falling, his breath curling in tendrils of fog in front of him; but there is nothing, nothing but the otherworldly glow of fire fist's eyes, as if his eyes have themselves burst into flame.
as the edges of him fade and flicker, as all expression melts from his face until all is left but those fire-bright eyes, burning dots in the quiet room, law feels the cold seep into his bones, coil in the marrow until his breath freezes in his lungs, until his veins bleed the same kind of fear he'd felt every single day for thirteen years —
but he is an expert, in fear. in pushing through it. in feeling it, and speaking regardless. ]
You, [ he responds, his mouth tilting up into a smile, a sharp and cutting thing. ] How interesting. You're killing him — but I suppose you'd know that. [ you. something separate from what makes up the soul of portgas d. ace, the man he has never once heard anyone say anything bad about. ]
as the edges of him fade and flicker, as all expression melts from his face until all is left but those fire-bright eyes, burning dots in the quiet room, law feels the cold seep into his bones, coil in the marrow until his breath freezes in his lungs, until his veins bleed the same kind of fear he'd felt every single day for thirteen years —
but he is an expert, in fear. in pushing through it. in feeling it, and speaking regardless. ]
You, [ he responds, his mouth tilting up into a smile, a sharp and cutting thing. ] How interesting. You're killing him — but I suppose you'd know that. [ you. something separate from what makes up the soul of portgas d. ace, the man he has never once heard anyone say anything bad about. ]
hey. i heard you're a doctor?
i have some corruption problems
how affiliated are you with patho gen, and also if i come see you are you just gonna tell me to go to them?
[Because he's not going to go to them, so he doesn't want to waste his time.]
i have some corruption problems
how affiliated are you with patho gen, and also if i come see you are you just gonna tell me to go to them?
[Because he's not going to go to them, so he doesn't want to waste his time.]
You heard correctly.
I use their equipment, that is all. They don't even need to know you've been to see me.
I use their equipment, that is all. They don't even need to know you've been to see me.
( apropos of nothing and with no further explanation — )
We need to talk about Ace.
We need to talk about Ace.
Seven to three.
Let me know when you are near the building, and I will get you in the room without anyone being the wiser.
Let me know when you are near the building, and I will get you in the room without anyone being the wiser.
[ sabo wanting to talk about ace? colour him unsurprised. also that's another tally-mark on the board, ]
Yes, we do.
Did you know he is dying?
Yes, we do.
Did you know he is dying?
ok. im pretty nocturnal lately so i'll come when you open
thanks
[As in, he's up all night. So by the end of his "day", when the sun is rising, he stops by the clinic at 7am. He messages Law when he arrives, finding a shady place to hang out in the front and wait.]
thanks
[As in, he's up all night. So by the end of his "day", when the sun is rising, he stops by the clinic at 7am. He messages Law when he arrives, finding a shady place to hang out in the front and wait.]
He's
( driving me crazy and i need to know if this is normal is what he's typing when law's last message comes in — and he doesn't even bother sending it because
ring ring bitch! )
He's what?
( driving me crazy and i need to know if this is normal is what he's typing when law's last message comes in — and he doesn't even bother sending it because
ring ring bitch! )
He's what?
Dying, [ comes the deadpan response in law's bored drawl. ]
I'm sure you're familiar with the concept.
[ just like he's about to be, after this response, ]
I'm sure you're familiar with the concept.
[ just like he's about to be, after this response, ]
( hissing: ) Yes, I'm familiar with the concept, Trafalgar. Don't patronize me.
( the problem is: why didn't he tell me? (of course he didn't tell me.) why didn't i notice? (i should have noticed.) how could i be so stupid? ("i heard you're stupid, haha! mother and father have been saying so behind your back.")
logically, sabo knows it's not his fault. but isn't it, in some way? )
Is it — his Soul?
( because at least then he can blame patho-gen more than he blames himself. he's here this time and he's still — helpless, useless, incapable. ace is dying. not going to die. dying. which means: he's too late, again. )
Can you — slow it down? There has to be something we can do. I'm not — I won't let him die again.
( bargaining thy name is sabo. )
( the problem is: why didn't he tell me? (of course he didn't tell me.) why didn't i notice? (i should have noticed.) how could i be so stupid? ("i heard you're stupid, haha! mother and father have been saying so behind your back.")
logically, sabo knows it's not his fault. but isn't it, in some way? )
Is it — his Soul?
( because at least then he can blame patho-gen more than he blames himself. he's here this time and he's still — helpless, useless, incapable. ace is dying. not going to die. dying. which means: he's too late, again. )
Can you — slow it down? There has to be something we can do. I'm not — I won't let him die again.
( bargaining thy name is sabo. )
[ but if he does, then he doesn't have to think about how powerless he is, in the face of whatever the hell in this place is causing it all — why would patho-gen imbue some of the augmented with a soul that will, inevitably, pull them towards death?
(because they don't care. because they don't care about them, not as people, individuals, not as anything except a resource that is easily replaceable, and it makes his blood boil —) ]
I believe so. When I examined him, his Soul... reacted.
[ he sighs. there is some real regret in it. ]
Revolutionary-ya. He's going to die. The best you can do is to try and be there for him. I can't imagine it's a pleasant thing to go through twice.
(because they don't care. because they don't care about them, not as people, individuals, not as anything except a resource that is easily replaceable, and it makes his blood boil —) ]
I believe so. When I examined him, his Soul... reacted.
[ he sighs. there is some real regret in it. ]
Revolutionary-ya. He's going to die. The best you can do is to try and be there for him. I can't imagine it's a pleasant thing to go through twice.
[ it happens a few minutes after he has sent the message: a blue film spreads through the air, barely visible, and then one moment eli is standing near the front, and the next he is standing inside law's office, having switched places with a scrunched-up paper. ]
Eli? Take a seat, [ says the man behind the desk, dressed in a tank top that shows the curling edges of his tattoos on his chest, and a proper doctor's coat. golden earrings hang from his ears, and his black hair is a mess. ]
Eli? Take a seat, [ says the man behind the desk, dressed in a tank top that shows the curling edges of his tattoos on his chest, and a proper doctor's coat. golden earrings hang from his ears, and his black hair is a mess. ]
[Eli blinks as his surroundings abruptly change, but overall, he doesn't seem too perturbed by it. He's accustomed to perceiving odd things, and he's also teleported many times before. It just wasn't what he expected from a doctor's office.
So the guy is magic. That bodes... Probably well. He doesn't look all that professional, but Eli doesn't care much about that.]
Uh. Yeah. Hi.
[He floats over to the chair and sits. It immediately obvious by looking at him that his corruption is in full swing, with his hands and feet blackened and clawed, his wrists and ankle bandaged, black horns poking out of his hair, and black patches with red boils on his ears, now spreading to his face. He is missing a foot and wears no prosthetic.
He waits for Law to say something.]
So the guy is magic. That bodes... Probably well. He doesn't look all that professional, but Eli doesn't care much about that.]
Uh. Yeah. Hi.
[He floats over to the chair and sits. It immediately obvious by looking at him that his corruption is in full swing, with his hands and feet blackened and clawed, his wrists and ankle bandaged, black horns poking out of his hair, and black patches with red boils on his ears, now spreading to his face. He is missing a foot and wears no prosthetic.
He waits for Law to say something.]
[ for about half a minute, law simply looks at eli, makes a mental catalogue of all the things that look strange about him — but because he comes from a place where his best friend is a talking polar bear and some people have horns of their own, he feels the need to ask, ]
Is any of that something you had prior to waking up here?
[ please. he needs a full list of symptoms. ]
Is any of that something you had prior to waking up here?
[ please. he needs a full list of symptoms. ]
[Eli shifts uncomfortably in his chair during the silence. He's about to fill it with his yammering when Law finally speaks.]
Uh... My extremities were blackened when I came here, from corruption in a place called the Shadowfell, but it wasn't anywhere near this bad. And I've always had pointed ears. I'm an elf, if you know what that is.
[He looks down at his wrists.]
It feels like a bad burn, but heat isn't the source. My soul is some kind of shadow monster or demon. It seems like it's consuming my flesh, from my extremities inward. Not just my skin, but all of it, down to my bones. Extremely painful, and I don't know what's gonna happen when it reaches my vital organs. But... My hands and foot aren't warm anymore, and they don't seem to bleed. So...
[It's turning him undead, he guesses.]
Uh... My extremities were blackened when I came here, from corruption in a place called the Shadowfell, but it wasn't anywhere near this bad. And I've always had pointed ears. I'm an elf, if you know what that is.
[He looks down at his wrists.]
It feels like a bad burn, but heat isn't the source. My soul is some kind of shadow monster or demon. It seems like it's consuming my flesh, from my extremities inward. Not just my skin, but all of it, down to my bones. Extremely painful, and I don't know what's gonna happen when it reaches my vital organs. But... My hands and foot aren't warm anymore, and they don't seem to bleed. So...
[It's turning him undead, he guesses.]
Hello, doctor. I have something that could be beneficial to your research, if you're interested.
No, [ he says laconically in response to the elf bit — elves aren't a thing in his world, but he assumes it to mean at least the ears are a sign of that particular race.
then, silent again to let eli speak of his suspicions, law meets his eyes with a grave look. ]
I believe you have a very good idea of what it is doing, already. What do you want, then? For me to confirm it? I can do that. But if it is the effect of your natural soul — and I have good reason to believe it is — there is nothing I can do to stop it. Only relieve any possible pain you may have.
then, silent again to let eli speak of his suspicions, law meets his eyes with a grave look. ]
I believe you have a very good idea of what it is doing, already. What do you want, then? For me to confirm it? I can do that. But if it is the effect of your natural soul — and I have good reason to believe it is — there is nothing I can do to stop it. Only relieve any possible pain you may have.
[He doesn't want to explain what elves are right now- it doesn't matter, anyway.]
I know. I know it's corruption and can't be stopped. But I need some relief from the pain, and... Yes, I want you to confirm it. That I'm dying, and whether you have any idea if that death is going to be permanent. If I'll still be- me, afterward, or something else.
[His stomach ties into a knot. He wants to curl up in a ball. Instead, he grits his teeth, makes his expression stoic.]
I know. I know it's corruption and can't be stopped. But I need some relief from the pain, and... Yes, I want you to confirm it. That I'm dying, and whether you have any idea if that death is going to be permanent. If I'll still be- me, afterward, or something else.
[His stomach ties into a knot. He wants to curl up in a ball. Instead, he grits his teeth, makes his expression stoic.]
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