#again: my headcanon is that Dressrosan is the unholy love child of Castilian Spanish and Catalan | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nehswritesstuffs · 9 months

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banish every gaslight; let clarity shine - Part 2

I feel like a little gremlin posting this already, but meh whatever.

Part 1 [FFN/AO3]

Doflamingo makes sure his Elite Officers are prepared, while Viola makes a chilling discovery via an unlikely ally. [2632 words; AU where there is a Third Corazón, whose very existence makes Law’s life hell]

Antonia knew she was dreaming as she sat at the kitchen table, her father sitting across from her as her mother was at the stove. It was a rare day when her father was not working during dinnertime, having come home early for a change.

“What is it that you do for work, Papa?” she asked curiously. Her father, lacking the signature makeup he would later be known for, paused to think.

“It’s difficult to explain unless you know a lot of things,” he nodded. “I can explain it, once you’ve been to school for a few years, but for now, you can know that I work in an office.”

“Oh… okay…”

“You’re making her sad,” her mother chided gently. She put plates down in front of Antonia and Papa, her face blurred and out-of-focus. “Even if she doesn’t understand yet, she can know what it is you do.”

“Fine,” Papa whined dramatically, giving Antonia a sly wink. She giggled quietly as Mama got her own plate and sat down. “You see, it’s—”

A low rumble cut Papa off, making him and Mama both put their forks down.

“What’s that…?” Antonia wondered. She watched as her parents exchanged worried looks, not knowing what it meant. “Mama…? Papa…?”

“I’m going to take a look,” Mama said. Papa put his hand on hers, but she stood up anyhow. She went into the other room and looked out the window…

DO-DON

The adult Antonia woke up with a gasp, a sickening shiver wracking her entire body. She grabbed at her chest and tried to breathe, the action difficult as her panic refused to leave, instead settling in as it had so many times before. Trembling, she held herself steady on the couch as she attempted to breathe—in, hold, out—in, hold, out—in, hold, out—ignoring the blood pounding in her ears and how dizzy she felt.

It had been a long time since she had dreamt of the day her mother died, and part of her wondered why she needed a relapse right then and there. That day had been such a blur, with her father taking her from their country that had been plunged into war and brought her to Uncle Doffy’s place in Spider Miles. Papa and Uncle Doffy had been estranged from fighting before then, but when he saw her, his face lit up, and he immediately made her father Corazón.

She could barely remember back then—it had only been bits and pieces due to how young she was—so why of all things to remember from when she was five years old, it was watching her mother get blown apart by a mortar?

Breathing and heart rate finally leveled out, Antonia carefully stood and tested her balance—normal. She looked at the clock and saw that she overslept; a couple more minutes and it would be time for the Elite Officers meeting. After checking herself in the mirror and putting on her boots, cloak, and mask, she left her room and headed towards the Hall of Suites, stepping foot inside just as the minute arrived.

“You’re late, girl,” Trebol sniffed sourly. Sure enough, she had been the only one missing.

“I am on time, as you often fail to notice,” she sniped. Antonia took the seat of her birthright and became Corazón, proud that the tall back showed the Heart design that put her above the others. She looked at her uncle as he stood on the other side of the hall. “Why such a gathering, Joker?”

“We need to be on high alert,” he said. “I have reason to believe that Trafalgar Law is coming towards our lovely little chateau, complete with a housewarming present.”

“Your source is positive that he’s coming?” Diamante frowned.

“Fufufu, of course. Buffalo is too stupid to lie about a thing like that, and Law himself confirmed it. He thinks he’s being cute, claiming he has Cesar Clown hostage.”

“I thought Vergo was monitoring Punk Hazard,” Corazón noted. “Why would he let a deserter like Trafalgar take custody of him?”

“Vergo and Monet are both dead,” Joker said, the grin vanishing from his face. “He’s made an alliance with some upstarts from his Generation, thinking he can pressure me into giving up the throne and my Warlord status by dangling that little shit in front of me.”

The Hall went quiet. Trafalgar being out in the wild with no contact had definitely been a wild card, but none of them had designs as to how that card would be played. This had to be a bluff…

“Who has he allied with?” Corazón wondered.

“The Straw Hat Pirates, it seems,” Joker replied. “A little rubber freak and his adequately small-time buddies… I doubt they’ll be of much use compared to his normal crew.”

“How do you want us to proceed?” Pica asked.

“Indeed,” Diamante added. “There is the tournament to think about, Young Master.”

“The tournament continues as normal,” Joker said, waving a hand dismissively. “Tighten security, but do so discreetly. That’s still bait and plenty of upstarts and desperate has-beens are going to want a crack at it.”

“As you wish,” Diamante nodded.

“Then I shall stay with Sugar at her post,” Trebol added. “She is going to need to be in top form for the tournament, especially if the wayward brat is coming back home.”

“Then you, my darling Corazón,” Joker grinned, mirth returning to his voice, “are going to do what you do best.”

Keep the Organization beating and full of life.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Your tears are sincere, my dear; when you asked me to kill a man, those tears, your emotions… they were genuine.”

Viola huffed and her subordinates laughed. They currently were trying to beat information out of a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, the blond pervert taken in by the Donquixote Officer’s beauty.

“I know what you must be here for—to take on Doffy and pin the blame elsewhere.”

“Except, I know the tears of a woman, and you are a woman who wishes to be free of this life,” the blond crooned. Viola looked at her subordinates as they chuckled.

“Didn’t think we’d see one like him again for a while,” one said.

“No kidding—his simp game is stupid,” said another. “Shall we dispose of him, ma’am?”

“I don’t know…” She went and kicked the pirate in the face without warning, knocking him back a few feet so that he lay splayed out before her. Putting her thumb and forefinger together, she activated her Devil Fruit ability, beginning to look deep into the man’s soul. “I wonder what sort of trivialities I’ll find here…”

…except, as Viola scoured his mind, all she saw was as the blond said: he was in awe and wonder at her beauty, was in love with her fiery soul, and was ready to lay down his life if it meant she was able to live without fear or pain. She gasped, her chest feeling tight; his intentions might have involved lecherous leanings, but he was the genuine article…

“A million people of good standing could denounce you and I would still never doubt your tears.”

Viola was almost gasping for breath as his genuine convictions almost suffocated her. If this was the type of man that Law allowed himself to be allied with, then there was no way she could kill him.

Els mares siguin maleïts… if she was wrong about this…

“Hierro Lágrima… MEKUJIRA!”

It took only mere moments for Viola to take out the men assigned to her with her Devil Fruit, summoning giant whales made of tears. They all were knocked unconscious and she breathed a sigh of relief, resting long enough to get her bearings before slinging one of the blond’s arms over her shoulder.

“Quickly, before they wake,” she ordered. The blond seemed to be in a daze as he was hauled out of the warehouse and off to where Viola could help clean him up. “We need to get you out of here.”

“My crew goes when our captain says so,” he replied. She cringed at that admission.

“You have Law amongst your numbers, and he needs to fall back so we can parley with him,” she explained. She found a crate to sit him on while she began wiping his face with a handkerchief. “If anything is going to go right then he needs to work with those of us who can get him to the Corazón…”

“Wait… you’d help him kill the Corazón…?” he wondered, completely confused.

“…wait… you mean… he’s not here to rescue her…?” He shook his head at that and she cussed under her breath. “Why… why would he want to kill her…?”

“…to be thorough…?”

Viola stopped cleaning the blond’s face and stared at him, eyes wide in shock. “What…?”

“He… uh… wants to kill the Elite Officers if he at all can,” he explained. “That includes Corazón, even though he doesn’t know her.”

“…but… he does…” A weight seemed to drop in her stomach. “Oh no… I have to contact someone! Do you have a transponder snail?!”

“Yes, but I…!”

“I need to contact the Corazón’s subordinate,” Viola stated, “or else someone very important to Law is going to die and I promised I wouldn’t let that happen to her.”

That, honestly, was all the convincing the blond needed.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“This place sure is something,” Franky muttered as he sat down on some of the coliseum’s bench seating. Thunder Soldier slid in next to him, trying to keep a low profile.

“Blood sports often are,” the toy mused sourly. It scanned the crowd, pensive. “Do you really think that the boy can win?”

“Tch, yeah, I’d put money on him every day of the week,” Franky scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. He understood why someone would be wary of Luffy’s abilities at first glance. “You’ve never seen the kid in action—he’s the real deal.”

“He needs to be if he’s going to make it far,” Thunder Soldier replied. The entire stadium then hushed as someone walked out onto the battle arena.

“It’s the princeseta!” someone gasped.

“Princess Antonia?!”

“As if this couldn’t get any better!”

“Wow! A member of the royal family!”

“Whoever wins this tournament is going to be truly favored!”

“Princess…?” Franky wondered. He allowed his eyes to zoom in on the person on the battlefield, ignoring the blurry image of her on the giant snail-screens. She was dressed in an elegant pale pink blouse with hearts on it, as well as the sort of tailored slacks one would see in a high-profile business meeting. Her bronzed skin suggested plenty of recreational time outdoors, which was only complimented by her light-brown, wavy, shoulder-length hair.

“That is Princess Antonia,” Thunder Soldier said, voice deflated. “She is the pride and joy of the Donquixote Family and all of Dressrosa. Her late father was Doflamingo’s younger brother.”

“So the rumor goes.” Franky continued to stare, hoping that no one would realize what he was doing; the fact he was able to get in as a toy was a great cover so far and he didn’t want the resulting anonymity ruined so quickly. “I’ve been led to believe that she’s not entirely what she seems.”

“Correct,” Thunder Soldier said. “She is honestly the most ruthless of the Donquixote Generals, working with only one subordinate under her command. Without her, even if they were capable in their own rights, the Family would have a much tougher time keeping a hold on things.”

“I take it the little sis is a super PR machine?”

“In more ways than one.” The princess opened the tournament with pithy platitudes and the crowd roared in admiration; it was a true love for their monarch. “Just remember: she is a victim too, even though she does not know it.”

“How is she Donquixote’s most ruthless general, but still a victim?”

“…because there is a goodness in her that has not been entirely quashed by the king’s plot, and I have on good faith that underneath it all, she is still a scared little girl who doesn’t truly know what has happened over the past ten years.”

“I hope you’re right there, brother,” Franky said. He watched as Antonia waved to the crowd with a billion-watt smile, clearly in her element. “She’s just a kid—I don’t want to hurt a kid if I don’t gotta.”

“With any luck,” Thunder Soldier sighed, “we won’t.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Slipping back into the entrance tunnel, Antonia saw Diamante leaned casually up against the wall, glaring at her.

“What…?” she asked.

“I don’t get it,” he said. “What about you makes them go crazy like that? You’re not opening an orphanage or off to some diplomatic mission…”

“They know that I’m one of the strongest people here, that’s why,” she replied. The sounds of A Block getting into place was muffled by the stone around them. “They know I’m next in line.”

“…for an accident of birth.”

“…and what if it is…?” she shrugged. “I am the greatest Corazón to have ever claimed the seat, and I am their wonderful and loving princess all the while. It’s the perfect dichotomy.”

“How long can you keep it up, though?” he posed. She glared at him, which made him raise his hands in a gesture of false surrender. “All I’m saying is if you’re so tough, why aren’t you fighting for the Mera-Mera?”

“…because as much of an upstart as you think I am, I still know my place,” she fired back. “Now if you excuse me, I have other matters to attend to.” She walked off, knowing that Diamante was staring at her, sizing her up for some future spat, hoping that the day he would be taken out would be at least the day after she was cut down as well.

Then again, it did not matter. All Antonia needed to do was her job.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Law, we need to get out of here,” Sanji hissed into the transponder snail in his hand. It peered at him suspiciously.

“I know it’s a trap,” was the reply. “It’s Doflamingo—at least some part of this is meant to be a trap.”

“You see, that’s the thing: it’s more of a trap than I think any of us anticipated.”

The Den Den narrowed its eyes. “How big?”

“Big enough to where we need to get out of here, now,” Sanji repeated. He glanced over at Viola, who was watching the conversation nervously. “I’ve got Luffy’s bunch, you get the others. Avoid the Elite Officers.”

“I don’t take orders from you,” Law reminded him.

“True, but this is something where I think you’re just going to have to trust me.” Sanji ran his free hand through his hair, careful not to expose both eyebrows at once. “I know Luffy can’t follow a plan to save his life, but what I’m talking about is legitimate strategy. We have to fall back.”

“I can’t… not when we’re so close.”

“Fuck your martyr complex, Trafalgar! It’s not going to work! We! Need! To! Fall! Back!”

“Have fun.” At that, the Den Den went to sleep, making Sanji want to throw the poor snail down the alley’s length.

“That fucking idiot!” he hissed. He looked at Viola and frowned, trying to rein in his emotions. He needed to be calm now—this was the time he needed to have his head the clearest. “I’m going to extract them.”

“Then while you do that, I’ll try to take care of my end,” Viola nodded. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Sanji’s cheek, making the blond blush intensely. “Good luck.”

...because of the amount of blood he was losing? He was going to need it.

#One Piece #fan fiction #Trafalgar Law #Riku Viola #Donquixote Pirates #Donquixote Doflamingo #Straw Hat Pirates #Blackleg Sanji #Franky #Kyros #Mugiwara Kaizoku #Alternate Universe fic #again: my headcanon is that Dressrosan is the unholy love child of Castilian Spanish and Catalan #Trafalgar D. Water Law #Vinsmoke Sanji #Trafalgar Lami #Trafalgar D. Water Lami

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