It been so long. I'm so sorry.
I must say I had lost faith in this story for a time and translating it was too much work for the little spare time I had.
Then my laptop brock and I loose all my data, including those on my stories. It was verry depressing, but I'm on holliday now and I resmumed writting it in frensh, so, why not comming back here to.

It's strange to be back at the begining like that with how far the story had gone in frensh, but it's refreeeshing at the same time.
I hope you'll enjoying the chapter. ^^

Chapter 10:

His father's refelection.

Law's plan couldn't be simpler. As he had planned earlier in the afternoon, he divided their forces into two groups. The first, Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Law himself, would have to explore the mine. While Luffy and Zoro would cause as much ruckus as possible by eliminating everyone standing in their way and freeing the prisoners, Law and Usopp would put explosives in strategic locations to destroy the damned mine. The second group, with Seran, Bepo, Nami, Sanji and Robin, would have to enter as discreetly as possible in the children hidden cells and free them before the end of the countdown. Law was careful to tell to everyone that they had only two hours to complete their task. After that, he could not guarantee their safety. Those who will remain on the ships were ordered to stay on alert and be prepared to take action if needed.

Called by Den Den Mushi, Usopp, Robin and Bepo joined the main group after nightfall. The three of them brought explosives and all the materials that Law would use to close the mine. Most of the women were already back home, realizing they would get no further answer from Milo tonight, while pirates settled in the saloon to prepare their action. Maria left her kitchen available to Sanji who intended to cook for everyone while Law and Usopp were preparing their explosives. The cook also cooked a carefully studied meal for Milo to help him recover quickly.

The room was quiet while Usopp and Law focused on their task. Luffy, who seemed rather bored, had laid his head on the table and let his arms hanging to the ground. The lavish meal that Sanji had just give him seemed to have calmed him down for a little while, which prevented him from complaining about the lack of action. The others were as busy as they could with the least possible noise to not disturb the delicate work of the wanabe blasters.

Sitting by Law, Seran watched a moment in silence, trying to figure out how worked the bomblets he was preparing. They couldn't have been simpler, a few explosive sticks bound together and connected to a small box which probably was used as an ignition system. She knew what it was, explosives were not unknown in Atlantis, but she had never seen one like those. It was basic but she was careful not to point it out. As long as they fulfilled their function, she wanted nothing more.

Tired and overwhelmed with boredom, the young woman did not really realize she closed her eyes and let herself slide against the back of her chair until her head falls on her captain's shoulder. Law raised his eyes and looked down at the blonde mane that was spreading on his shirt. Disturbed by his movement, Seran clenched her lips like a baby disturbed in its sleep. Law sighed, raising his eyes to heaven and then focused again on his task.

While the pirates were busy with their preparation, Milo, who had slipped out of his room and knelt behind the railing of the balcony, watched what was going on down in the main room. He could not deny he was curious. These pirates intrigued him more than he wanted to admit. He did not understand why they do not behaved as the bloodthirsty beast they were supposed to be. Why none of them had even attacked the women? They were easy targets for them. His father had always told him that pirates were monsters. He even told him scary stories proving their cruelty. He could not be so wrong!

"Something is bothering you, Milo?"
The boy looked at Maria who leaned toward him with a smile.

"I don't understand," he said, turning back to what was going on below. "Father told me the pirates are bloodthirsty monsters. So why those are so different?"

"You know, there are many kinds of people in this world," said the barmaid as she knelt beside him. "There are villains and nice peoples. Some can't stand injustice and others like hurting innocent peoples. It's true that pirates are monsters. Well, most of them, at least. Young people became pirates for many reasons. Greed is the main; the thirst for power is another. But there are also peoples who choose to become pirates for other reasons: for freedom, adventures, revenge, spite or even some, out of defiance against the established laws they found unfair. We can't know what prompted those to become pirates but I'm sure of one thing: they have no bad intent. Well, not against us. If they wanted to hurt us, they would have done so a long time ago."
Milo took a long, slow breath, as if he were struggling to assimilate this answer.

"Father said that pirates were monsters, without exception. He would never lie to me."

"You're right," said Maria. "Not deliberately. But you know, the doctor was a former Marine, and Marines are trained to see all the pirates as a threat and to eliminate them without question. For him, all pirates were monsters, yes. But you have the proof that even the Marine can be wrong."

"Why?" the child asked in an almost desperate voice.

"Many things come into play. Things we can't understand because they are too complex. Politics, ideals of the World Government and the law it decides. The Marines' duties are driven by many things. If the Government want all pirates to be monsters and the Marines to annihilate every last one of then, so this is what they will do, because it's their duty. But remember that, Milo. This Justice the Marine holds is nothing other than the idea the ruler of this world have of it. Nothing more, nothing less."
The boy frowned and sat up.

"When I'll be older, will I understand all this?"

"Yes, I'm sure you will," Maria replied, laughing. "In the meantime, your bath is ready, come!"
Leaving his observation, Milo followed her into the bathroom where a well-deserved bath was waiting for him.

Maria joined her guests, no long after helping Milo to soap and wash his dirty hair. She let him soak quietly before lending him clothes belonging to her eldest son. Milo was a bit older than him and taller by far, and the pants and shirt proved too small for him, but it was better than walking in rags ... or naked! She let the teenager choose if he wanted to stay alone in his room, or to come down and satisfy his curiosity.

"Look like Miss Seran is tired," she noted, walking down the stairs. "I can have a room ready for her, if you want."
Hearing her name, the Atlantean raised her head.

"Nah, I'm not asleep!" She stated with her eyes closed.
A few seconds later, however, her head fell back in its spot on Law's shoulder and a happy kitten's purring sounded in the young man ear.

"So she tells," the captain sighed, while Luffy was choking with laughter.
Maria stood near the table where Law and Usopp were working:

"I send a message to the others women," she announced. "Darkov had taken most of our otardes, but by pooling those we still have, it should be enough."

"Otarde? What's that?" Usopp asked in a trembling voice.
He seemed anxious about meeting a beast he had never seen.

"They are mounts used on the island," explained Maria.
The coward swallowed hard.

"Are they dangerous?"

"No," said the barmaid in a reassuring voice, "as long as they are not excited, there is nothing to fear."
It did not seem to make him better but a glare from Law sent him back to work.

It was really late in the night when the wanabe blasters finally finished their task. Seeing Usopp get up and Law straighten while massaging his neck, Luffy jumped on his feet.

"Are we going, now?"
It took all the mastery Law had to not cut the rubber boy in pieces on the spot.

"Leave them a few minutes to breathe, Luffy," Sanji reprimanded.
He put a mug of hot coffee and a plate of homemade cookies in front of them. Seeing Luffy walk toward the table with an eager look, the cook threw him a kick to be sure the idiot did not plunder the other two's food.

Law leaned back in his chair holding the growing urge to stretch. Seran still took his shoulder as a pillow and was still busy purring in his ear. The young man's arm was a little numb and he would gladly move to get rid of the numbness making him uncomfortable.

"Well, that's a lot of bombs!" said a voice to his right.
Turning his head, Law saw Luffy standing near him, his wide eyes staring at the explosives carefully lined on the table.

"Where did you get all that?"

"The Marine has kindly provided me," the surgeon replied with a smirk.
Fully understanding what he meant by that, Luffy smiled, seeming satisfied with the answer.

"It's time to go."

"Finally!" Luffy cried, raising his arms above his head in a cheering motion.
Law shook Seran awake.

"Wake up," he ordered.
Waking with a stat, the young woman straightened and looked around, her eyes still full of sleep. Law stood up and stretched, trying to lighten his numb arm.

"Ready?" he asked.
All pirates nodded. Law and Usopp carefully lined up the bombs in their bags. Seran leaned on the table and buried her head in her arms with a yawn.

"Seran," called Law.
The young woman jumped to her feet.

"I'm awake!" she asserted before looking around her, still sleepy.
A few laughs were heard. Seran rubbed her eyes to help them stay open longer than five seconds, before turning to her captain.

"I slept?"

"Actually, yes."

"Oh, sorry!"
She yawned once more, hiding it behind her hand.

Maria, the barmaid, came back to the saloon, telling she had gathered all otardes available in her barn. There was not enough for everyone but they should make it nonetheless. The pirates left the saloon, leaving Law waiting Seran to eventually fully wake when steps sounded from the stairs. Looking up, they were surprised to see Milo walking down. Washed and dressed in clean clothes, the boy was unrecognizable. His hair had lost their reddish dirty and dull color in favor of a bright blonde and his pale skin was no longer covered by that filthy dried mud and bloody clotted red dust. His bright blue almond shaped eyes seemed more alive than ever. He seemed taller and lankier he really was with those clothes too small for him. His pants stopped mid-calf and his shirt was half open on his chest.

Seeing him like that gave Law a violent blow on the chest. Instead of the kid it was another figure, cruelly familiar, he saw approaching. Growling, the young man leaned against the back of a chair, closing his eyes while a flood of bad memories came to him, unwanted.

"Captain?" Seran worried beside him.
Law opened his eyes.

"It's okay," he stated, trying to get rid of the strange feeling the kid suddenly inspired him.
Milo stood before them. It was only then, they could fully realize how young he really was.

"I'm coming with you," he said with determined look in his eyes.

"Certainly not," was Law's categorical answer.
The boy gave him a look of defiance.

"I do not ask for permission," he growled. "I'm coming with you. I want to be useful. I want to help my friends."
And most importantly, I want to understand what makes you so special! He added to himself.

"Useful by annoying us?" Law quipped.

"There are traps along the way to the prison." Stated the kid. "I can help you to avoid them."
This statement made Law frown.

"How?"
Understanding the pirate captain was giving him a chance, the kid jumped on it.

"Like this!" he said with a smile that made Law uncomfortable.
A second later, the boy's body dissolved in a misty cloud.

"The Mysto-Mysto Fruit," he explained, returning to his normal physical form. "I am only beginning to master it. It is thanks to it that I was able to escape."
Shocked, Law stepped back and leaned against the table, massaging his temples in a gesture that became more and more familiar.

"He's fine?" He heard Milo ask Seran.

"A little tired, I guess," she said.

"How did you get this fruit?" Law asked without opening his eyes.
A moment of silence followed, then:

"By my mother. She told me she had taken it before leaving her home, before my birth. She thought she could sell it for enough money to be able to find a quiet place to raise me. But eventually, she did not need to sell it, or she did not want to, I do not know. When she died she left it to me. This is the only valuable thing she had. I had the choice between eat it or sell it to find a better place. I chose to eat it."
Law took a long, slow breath before releasing it, suddenly very pale.

"What do you know about your real father?"
The boy shook his head:

"Except that my mother loved him like a crazy and he was a dangerous and powerful pirate, nothing."
It seemed to be too much for Law.

"Captain?" Seran called, really worried now. "Are you sure you are feeling well?"
She moved towards him but he stopped her by raising a hand.

"Yes, it's just ..."
He ran his hand over his face.

"We'll see that later."
He straightened up and adjusted the strap of his bag over his shoulder.

"If this kid cause you problems, leave him behind," he ordered the Atlantean, regaining his usual composure.
Realizing it was the pirate's way to give him his permission, Milo left a victorious smile stretch his lips. It was hard not to jump up as he came out of the saloon behind the two pirates to join their allies.

They were waiting in front of a barn, near the saloon. Maria and two other women were talking a little further. They interrupted their chat when seeing them approaching. A second, Maria looked at Milo with surprise, but she said nothing, which seemed to reassure Milo. Maria walked toward the group while her two friends stayed behind.

"Well," she said, facing the pirates. "Lilly and Sania agreed to lend us their otardes, but as I said, there is not enough for you all. You'll have to ride both on the same beast."
It did not seem to upset the pirates. On the contrary, some even seemed delighted.

"You heard that, Nami-swan," Sanji cried, rushing towards the redhead, hearts in his eyes. "You'll be able to ride on my white horse, your body tight against mine."

"In your dream!" She replied, clutching her staff.
Lightning split the night sky and struck the cook.

"Love came to blast me", he cried, stretching out full length on the ground.

"You're such a moron," Zoro said, staring at the blond with his good eye.

"Say that again, you, gorilla!"
Sanji jumped to his feet and swung a kick to his teammate who used one of his swords as a shield without even taking it out of its sheath. They exchanged a few blows under the amused eyes of their companions. Law, on the other hand, had to make an effort not to let the anger rising in him get the better of him.

"They're all crazy," Seran was wondering whether to laugh or start to worry.

"Well, they come, these mounts?" growled her captain, growing impatient.
With a nod, Maria opened the barn's door. A stunned silence followed the discovery of their proud steeds.

"They do not know of horses in there?" Seran whistled softly.
The otardes were actually large yellow ostriches like birds, taller than Law, with long legs and three toes with claws longer than the hand. Even their hooked beak seemed quite dangerous. Saddled and bridled like horses, the mount, however, seemed particularly ridiculous. It does not however prevent Luffy from rushing towards them while shouting:

"Wahooooooooooo! Giant chickens! Can you imagine the size of the drumstick?"
He turned to Law with his usual goofy smile but the other captain did not answer. Luffy ran to one of the creature. Distraught by his shouts, it uttered a shrill squeal and immediately grabbed Luffy's head in its beak, shaking the boy like an empty bag. Luffy gave a little strangled cry while his neck stretched out, his body trailing behind the bird, forcing his companions to run on his tail to make it let go of their captain.

"You idiot" wailed Zoro. "How the hell did you do to put yourself in this situation?"
Law turned away, rubbing his temples while Seran looked the Straw Hat snatch their captain from the bird's beak, thinking if she should tell that one day, no one would believe her.

Maria quickly explained them how to mount an otarde then the pirate took a few minutes to decide who would ride with whom. Obeying a logic that only he understood, Luffy screamed he would ride with Bepo and the polar bear did not dare to refuse. Seran opened her mouth to offer Law to take her on his mount but he was faster than her.

"You stay with me," he ordered, giving her a look that clearly warned her to not refuse.
The young woman replied with a smile and looked to one of the creatures near her. Maria told Law how to mount and a few seconds later he was in the saddle. The beast, however, did not seem to appreciate its rider and, with a huge leap, managed to unseat him. The few mocking laugh that could be heard died almost immediately in front of the evil look Law had when in getting up. Dusting his black coat with all the dignity he had left, he walked toward the bird. The beast seemed to understand the danger, because the egret standing proudly on its head flattened suddenly and it did not even try to escape when Law grabbed the bridle around its beak.

"Look, you stupid sparrow," he growled in a low voice only the bird could hear. "If you dare to do that again, if you refuse to obey me, I swear I will let the idiot eat you for breakfast, understood?"
Curiously the bird glanced at Luffy who was dancing and laughing with one of a huge feather from the tail of his own mount stuck into his straw hat. Whether it was because of Law's menacing aura or something else, Law managed to get the message with an unexpected efficiency. The bird bowed its neck to him and let him get back in the saddle without moving. Using the bridle, Law walked his now more cooperative mount to Seran and extended a hand to help her up. Although still holding Kikoku, the Atlantean managed to climb behind her captain before putting the nodachi between them.

After long minutes of trading and some acrobatics almost as spectacular as Law's fall, everyone was finally mounted. Knowing the path, Maria took the head of the group, followed by Milo to whom Usopp was clinging like a lifeline. Luffy laughed and joked like a kid in an amusement park and Zoro cried once or twice to pay attention to what he was doing while Nami swore against the idiot who left her captain take the reins. Bepo shyly excuse them to whenever their mount threatened to overthrow.

Arms tight around Law's waist, Kikoku stuck between them, Seran could not help thinking, her eyes glued on the bird Milo and Usopp rode, meters in front of them. Although Law had acted as if nothing had happened, she could not get the young man's reaction out of her head. It was obvious something had shocked her captain when he saw Milo walking down the stairs. He had discovered something that had shaken him. She knew it was probably better to let it slip, but she could not get rid of her anxiety. She felt it was important.

"Captain?"
A grunt answered her.

"What happened with Milo-kun, earlier?"
Silence followed. For a moment, Seran thought he was not going to answer.

"I told you about Donquixote Doflamingo?"
Seran nodded mechanically tightening her grip around the young man chest.

"The man who inflicted these injuries on you, right?"

"Yes."
He paused a moment before resuming in a slow voice, carefully choosing his words.

"I worked for him long ago. It was not by choice. He literally kidnapped me when I was a child. When I joined his crew, thirteen years ago, he was looking for a woman. His lover. She had betrayed him and fled, taking one of his most precious treasures: one of the Devil Fruits he owned: the Mysto-Mysto fruit."

"The fruit Milo's mother left him?"

"Yeah. But there is more. This kid, Milo… I had not noticed when he was in this room, covered in mud. But ... His hair, the shape and color of his eyes, his size and even the way he stands and walks... He is exactly like Doflamingo when he was younger."
It did not take more to Seran to assemble what she just learnt to what Milo had told them. Law felt her strengthening her grip on his waist and her face hiding between his shoulder blades. The young woman's muffled voice came to him a minute later.

"You think the kid is ..."
She let her sentence slip, knowing he understood what she meant.

"I think, yes!"