A/N: I realize that I have other stories that need updates, but frankly, I need a bit of a break from them. As for this fic, while I sort of think that amnesia is cliché, this is hopefully going to be a bit different, since the memory loss/jumble isn't due to an injury (which seems to be the case for some stories that I've come across in the past).

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from One Piece. I just enjoy tormenting Law for some reason.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Hindsight was 20/20.

It was a fact that Trafalgar Law should have been well aware of by now, considering the circumstances. He almost felt as if he should get the phrase tattooed on his skin, along with what was there already, when all of this was over with. Driven the idea into his mind so that he would never forget to look ahead. To remember to keep every possible outcome in the forefront of his mind, should something go wrong. Because when all was said and done, Luffy and plans went together about as well as Devil Fruit users and the sea. Law had been a fool to think that sneaking into a highly guarded naval base with Straw Hat and his crew could ever have gone smoothly. Past experience should have pointed to the obvious fact that nothing would ever go according to plan when Luffy was involved.

But what was done was done, and all that was left to do now was to not be caught by the now highly on alert marine base he and the Straw Hat pirates had broken into.

The alarms were blaring, and had been ever since they'd been spotted. The shouts of the marines as they pursued all of them were showing no sign of letting up any time soon. Not even when Law and the Straw Hats had been split up. The force of marines had merely broken off into two sections. Law wasn't sure whether or not he should feel slighted that the smaller group was pursuing him. After all, he had a more dangerous reputation than Straw Hat Luffy.

But now was not the time to dwell on the number of his pursuers. There was nothing else that could be done but to run and try to keep ahead of those that were now pursuing him. Not that he was concerned that any of the small fries could actually capture him, or otherwise do anything that would impede his progress. No, what Law was more concerned about was the reason that he'd come to this godforsaken place in the first place. The Heart Pirate captain hoped that it was worth it in the end, because he wasn't feeling all that great about it as he raced through the marine base toward what he hoped was an exit.

Everything that could go wrong had. It wasn't enough that the initial plan had been all but ignored. Some nonsensical, ludicrous bare handed brute force had taken the place of common sense, completely shattering Law's carefully calculated plans. Plans that would have worked perfectly had Luffy not gotten slack jawed at the explanation, and asleep the latter half. Law was sure that lack of hearing it all was part of the problem, even if the rest of the crew had heard him out. But he wasn't their captain, so they had changed tactics as soon as Luffy had blow all pretenses and gotten straight to the heart of the matter.

The spectacular destruction of the front doors of the base had been the signal that all was not well with Law's plan. The second had been that his temporary allies had no concept of stealth, least of all their captain. After leaving a sizeable hole in the door, the straw hat wearing captain had decided to yell at the top of his lungs, which would have drawn attention had the debris that used to be the front door had not. That loud chaotic mess that was Luffy had led to all of them being immediately sighted by their enemies when they hadn't wanted to draw attention their at all. At least, not until they had been making their way out of the base with what they'd come to seize.

Maps and a certain something that Law had no doubt would be trouble in the future should the marines utilize it. It was imperative that they got their hands on the item in question. The maps were wanted but not a necessity if there wasn't the time to acquire them.

Trafalgar Law was not easily shaken, even if he was beyond exasperated with Straw Hat. Luffy ignoring all that he had said before they'd come to the island. With a heavy sigh at the sight of explosions rocking one section of the building, no doubt the work of Luffy's shipwright, Law had made the attempt to salvage what was left of his initial plan. With the Straw Hats drawing noisy attention to themselves, the Heart Pirate captain had been able to sneak into a few rooms with relative ease. Not that it had helped, because what he was looking for couldn't be found with the all out brawl the Straw Hat pirates' appearance in the marine base had brought.

Law tore around a corner, narrowly avoiding a barrage of bullets of the swifter marines. Law wasn't about to bother wasting his stamina unless it was absolutely vital that he did so in order to make a clean getaway. He hoped that the reputation of the base was as he had heard of in a town. That they lacked discipline, and were so far away from the other bases that no one of great power would ever want to be stuck there.

The fact that Law had seen Luffy sending a group of men flying over the railing and onto a lower floor earlier proved what pushovers the naval officers were. So even though they had lost the element of surprise, they should be able to accomplish what they came to do.

The dark haired pirate absently used his Devil Fruit powers to divert bullets meant for him. Interesting, he hadn't expected them to catch up with him so quickly. The surprised cries rang out as expected, but Law didn't bother to look back and see if he had slowed down his pursuers or not. That wasn't the point. He needed to do the bare minimum to escape this place, and rethink things in an attempt to salvage what little of his plan he had left to work with. Law would have what he came for, one way or another, and if he had to do it solo the next time, he would.

The problem with making plans up on the fly while being pursued by people that likely wanted him dead was that it was hard to predict the unpredictable. And that was what had just appeared in the doorframe of a large steel door. A tall man with a coat perched over his shoulders, and a wild shock of brown hair watched his approach. As Law drew nearer, he could make out that there was a permanent look of distain etched on the marine's face, and it grew more pronounced the closer the dark haired pirate got.

Law took one look at the marine that was blocking his way, and immediately halted in his tracks. He didn't have to have eyes in the back of his head to know that those marines that had been chasing him had left a fair distance between himself and the lone marine standing before the door. The Heart Pirate captain remained tense, ready to draw his nodachi at a moment's notice. He was fairly certain that the man now impeding his progress was either a commander or someone of a higher rank. Mainly due to the fact that the man had no trace of fear in him that Law could discern. He certainly had picked it up from some of the lower ranked marines. Probably from the rumors going around about him. The marine in front of the steel doors appeared to think otherwise about said rumors.

Or perhaps he just didn't care, because he could have done something even nastier to get himself shipped off to such a destitute place.

At that thought, Law allowed himself a small smirk. "I didn't think that such a backwash, out of the way island would have anyone of importance on its shores."

The lone marine didn't smile, but the look of distain seemed to lessen. His voice, however, was full of arrogant scorn for the pirate standing at ease before him. "Someone has to keep everyone in line and doing their jobs. Such as running down damn pirates that think they can take whatever they wish and get away with it."

Law tilted his head as he regarded the man. "Whatever makes you think I came to steal something?" Inwardly Law was already spotting likely places to make his escape, should the situation take a turn for the worse. "If you can't protect whatever I or another might happen to wish to 'take' then you shouldn't have it in the first place."

"All you pirates are the same." That was all the marine growled before he suddenly rushed forward, his hand in a fist as he swung it at Law.

Law activated his Devil Fruit powers and easily evaded the strike. The marine in his place was not so fortunate, but the man was lucky the higher level officer did not punch with all his strength. Law narrowed his eyes as he watched the marine about face. So much for not using his powers. Law could see the marine he'd swapped places with. He'd been mistaken. The marine hadn't punched his subordinate at all. He'd managed to swing at empty air past the other man's head. It didn't prevent the lower lever officer from slumping to the ground, shaking all over from how close he'd come to being struck.

"Vice admiral Fall. The other pirates that entered the base are headed for the port."

Law again made sure he knew where all the potential exits were. He wasn't about to stick around and duke it out with a vice admiral. He wasn't really a hand to hand fighter anyway. The Heart Pirate captain was fairly sure that Luffy would get a kick out of fighting someone one on one in close quarters though.

"Then what are you lot standing around here for? Take half of the unit and prevent them from leaving. Get on our ships and send out canon fire if you must to stop them from escaping." The vice admiral, Fall, called back. His piercing gaze settled on the Heart Pirate. "I'll take care of this one."

Law couldn't help but smile back in equal arrogance. "I think not." Law swapped places with a confused officer from a higher up level of the base, and was almost at the door when Fall was suddenly there, blocking his way again. With a fist. Law hastily backed out of range, before he was forced to bring up his sheathed blade to deflect the next strike.

Fall went back into a ready stance, eyes narrowed as he looked for an opening. "Devil Fruit user, huh? Bet you've met many in the New World." The vice admiral backed Law into a corner, and after giving the room the Heart Pirate had created a dismissive glance, his lip curved into the faintest hint of a smile. "I'm going to make you turn yourself in."

"It is in my best interest to remain out of marine and government custody." Law commented. "I highly doubt you or any other officer has that level of persuasion to get a wanted man to turn himself in willingly." It was highly inconvenient that he had lost his status as a warlord of the sea.

"I never said you would do it all on your own. But you will, since you won't remember that you're a wanted man. For a short time, anyway, when I'm through with you. You're not going anywhere."

Law felt that sounded rather ominous. Not to mention that the vice admiral remained as calm as he had been when the Heart Pirate captain had first set eyes on him. "I'll pass on that offer." Without missing a beat, Law's powers flared and the dark haired pirate tore the scaffolding he and Fall stood on, and sent it crashing to the ground to cause confusion amongst the officers on the lower floor. The Heart Pirate captain leapt nimbly from piece to piece of falling debris, confident that with the destruction he would make a clean getaway.

"I told you that you weren't going anywhere."

A hand appeared to come out of nowhere, headed straight for him. Before Law could react amongst the falling pieces of scaffolding that substituted a floor of the base, the hand wrapped around his throat. Law grunted as he was pinned against the nearest wall, though he was confused that instead of being sucker punched, the vice admiral merely placed his free hand on his head. What was the man going to do now? Crush his head in? Right before Law could use his powers to get out of the vice admiral's grasp, the vice admiral snapped two words, and everything became a confused, jumbled mess after that.

"Nix Memoria."

The words seemed to work their way straight into his mind. An insidious presence nestled there, nudging thoughts here and there. The Heart Pirate continued to struggle against the grasp the vice admiral had on him, but he was now perplexed. Things weren't making as much sense to him any more, the longer that strange presence in his mind remained. Whispers accompanied the presence, which increased his confusion, even though the odd sensation of his own thoughts drifting away from him remained. The voice was overlaying his common sense, and he started to wonder why he was resisting in the first place. Why wouldn't he just go along with the people around him? It seemed like an obvious thing to do...

But to go along with someone that was choking him seemed...

Seemed...

The willingness to obey the suggestion of the voice in his mind fled him as fury arced through him. The voice that was still in his head. It was as if it was trying to twist his reasoning. Trying to get him to look past something obvious. Look past what made immediate sense.

For example, the dark haired man didn't think it made much sense that he would go anywhere willingly with someone that was currently attacking him. Or with anyone associated with that person. He was being strangled, from the feel of the hand around his throat. He didn't have a clue or reason as to why this man was currently strangling him anyway. It wasn't like he had done anything wrong. At least, he didn't think that he had. All he knew was that the man seemed to have ill will toward him. It was reason enough to resume thrashing to get away, no matter what that insidious voice inside his head was whispering to him otherwise. He wasn't about to listen to it. It all seemed so wrong somehow, now that he thought about it.

The dark haired man clutched desperately to the wrongness of the situation, not wanting that willingness to drift back into his mind. He was concerned that he would not be able to fight back against it a second time.

"Vice admiral!"

He didn't know why the other man let him go, but figured the person shouting frantically was the reason. It didn't matter, as it allowed him to get free of that hand. The men, the marines, the dark haired man's mind reminded him, were bad news, and he knew he shouldn't be near them. Or allow them to catch him. There was a reason for that, but it eluded him for the moment. Funny that something like that had popped into his mind. At the very least that voice in his head had stopped. He heard the man that had been crushing his windpipe say something, but didn't bother to look back, as he felt that any slip up from then on would be dangerous.

"Trafalgar Law! You won't be able to get far as you are now."

The dark haired man kept running. He wanted to put as much distance between himself and the marines as he could, even as the reason why continued to evade him.

-x

"Vice admiral Fall! Trafalgar Law is getting away!"

The vice admiral's expression was back to his usual one. Distain, as if he had seen something unpleasant that wouldn't leave his sight. Fall gave a dismissive flick of his eyes the way Law had run, before he shook his head, disgruntled as he addressed his men. "You lot interrupted me before I could finish temporarily modifying his memory."

There was an uneasy murmur through the ranks that were gathered, before one of them ventured to speak.

"Sorry, sir. Should we give chase, sir?"

Fall glanced at the marine that had spoken, before he gave one firm nod. "Of course. Is the rest of the unit out to stop the other pirates?"

THe marine saluted. "Yes sir, but there's a problem." The man qualiled under the higher ranking officer's gaze, but managed to stutter the rest of his report. "Th...The pirate ship made a getaway, but not before all the pirates were on board. Some are still on the island. Sir."

"Have the men outside detain them then. Do not even let them make an attempt to steal a ship from our fleet."

The man that had been addressed watched the vice admiral walk away. "Sir? What of Trafalgar Law?"

"I will deal with him. He shouldn't be much of a problem when I am done with him. Send out a few men after him. I'll be right behind them."

"And if he gets away?" The marine dared to ask again.

Fall glanced over his shoulder briefly. "He won't. And even if he does, I have ways to get him to come back with my Devil Fruit already active." The vice admiral waved a hand. "Dismissed."

"Sir!"

-x

He didn't know how long he ran through the dense undergrowth of the forest surrounding the naval base. He didn't even care that the marines were doggedly pursing him, as he was better able to remain upright as he made a mad dash through and around vegetation of all kinds. But he couldn't run forever, and he felt so exhausted for some reason. The thin blue film of some bizarre looking room followed him wherever he went, and the dark haired man wondered what it was. It was as if it were draining him somehow. Had the man in the base done it to him?

The dark haired man stumbled to a halt, and that gave the more fleet of foot marines time to catch up and attack. He avoided them, wary, as he wasn't sure if he remembered that he knew how to fight or not. Luckily his body seemed to remember that self preservation was a must, and he found himself reacting instinctively. He drew the nodachi and without hesitation, sliced through the three marines charging toward him with a few deft swings.

It didn't seem to bother him when pieces of bodies hit the ground, accompanied by yelps of surprise. He glanced down at the blade in his hand. It looked sharp, so why hadn't it cut them and killed them? He lingered for a moment, intrigued by the sight, before he heard the rest of his pursuers gain ground. Sheathing the nodachi, he automatically rested it over one shoulder and kept in motion. He gripped the sheathe tightly. That answered one question. It was obvious that he knew how to handle himself in a fight, even if he couldn't remember it. The motion of swinging the blade was almost reassuring in a way. He had sensed some kind of confusion, as if from the blade itself, but he put that from his mind. He was just imagining things, because of that marine that had attacked him earlier.

Panting heavily, the dark haired man knew he was at his limit. Why he knew it, he caulked to it being like his instinctive knowledge of how to fight. With a quick glance, he hid himself in a densely clustered group of trees to his left. He slumped exhaustedly to the ground, and was relieved that the leaves kept him out of sight of his determined pursuers the marines.

"Damn that Trafalgar Law."

"Which way did he go?"

"All of you, fan out. He has to be within this room. Work from the outside in."

"Damn pirate."

The dark haired man let out an aggravated sigh as he heard footsteps recede. He was safe, for now, but he wasn't sure for how long. Pirate...that seemed to resonate with him. Pirates were the enemies of the marines, so that must make him one, since they were after him as well. That was one less mystery he had to deal with.

The pirate frowned at the other, more immediate problem. The damn thin room around him was going to give his position away if it didn't go out of sight. Now that he was out of danger, he focused on something that had been nagging him at the back of his mind. And had been since he had gotten out of the building.

Trafalgar Law.

That was what those marines had been calling out as he led them around on a merry chase through the faintly drizzle filled island's forest.

He clutched the nodachi that he hadn't once let go of as a sense of unease passed over him again. Something was very wrong. There were names in his head that seemed vaguely familiar, in addition to the information about the men chasing him, and the knowledge that he could fight. But he couldn't put faces to the names. He was only able to associate them with emotions. The name Doflamingo made him feel on edge, while the name Luffy caused him to become exasperated. As if the person in question annoyed him on a daily base. Maybe they did, but he couldn't remember.

Couldn't remember...

He gripped the sheathed blade so tightly it almost hurt. The realization of being unable to remember made something immediately become more concerning than the marines. It was a point that he was trying to deny, but it was driven home as an overly cheerful and grinning young man wearing a straw hat invaded his personal space.

The automatic response that had allowed him to fight made him react defensively this time around, and the nodachi was at the other's throat in an instant. That it didn't faze the straw hat wearing fool irked the dark haired pirate for some unknown reason. But he didn't move from his defensive posture, nor did he remove the tip of the blade from where it was rested against the throat of the one who had disturbed him.

"Where were you? Everyone else thought you got captured!" The straw hat bearer all but ignored the blade to his throat as he called over his shoulder and waved to someone unseen. "See Nami? I told you he'd get away just fine!"

The pirate tensed as a few other people came into the small clearing, and brought his blade tip away from the straw hat's throat and across and in front of his own body. He didn't know what these people's intentions were but he wasn't going to let his guard down lest they be connected the marines somehow. He immediately dismissed the idea as soon as it had come. Something told him they weren't allies to the marines, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. His gaze swept over them. An orange haired woman, a bizarre animal that resembled a raccoon or deer, a long haired woman who appeared to be amused with him, and a green haired swordsman that had one of his blades drawn. He would keep an eye on that one. He seemed to be more dangerous than the others. That was the idea, anyway, until the straw hat wearing one decided to get close to him again. The dark haired pirate quickly raised his blade to keep the other away. He wasn't sure what to make of the confused frown he received for the action.

"What's wrong, Law?" The orange haired woman ventured. She seemed taken aback at something.

He blinked as he realized what she'd just called him. Law. Was that his name? Was that why the marines had been yelling it? They had only been after him, not someone else as he had initially thought. A name was a good start. His name.

Law looked at each person that was in the clearing with him, but apart from them seeming vaguely familiar, he couldn't put the names to them with the ones that were floating around in his head. After he'd given himself time to study the others, he finally spoke. "Do I...know you people?"

The complete look of astonishment was answer enough, but Law hadn't been expecting it. Nor had he been fully prepared to have the younger man in the straw hat seize him by the front of his shirt, clearly upset.

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course you do! Don't joke around like that! It's not funny!"

Law took the manhandling better than he had anticipated, mainly because he hadn't sensed any ill will from the younger man. Annoyance, yes, but nothing like the anger and resentment that Law had gotten from that marine that had been choking him not so long ago.

The other people around the Straw Hat were all speaking at once, their concerns and expressions ranging from bemused to exasperated to concerned.

"Maybe one of the marines hit his head." This from the long haired woman.

"If he's hurt he shouldn't be running around." The higher voice of the smaller animal with antlers piped up.

Law stared at the creature. Odd. He hadn't expected an animal to be able to talk. That it wasn't surprising must have meant that somewhere in the back of his mind, he'd come across something like it before. Though where, he couldn't begin to guess.

"Are you mad because I ate the food Sanji was going to give you?"

Law didn't see why he would get mad over that, and felt some sense of satisfaction at the sight of the orange haired woman slapping the young man wearing the straw hat upside the head.

"Idiot! Since when would he make up something like that? He seems to like to tease people, but not like this."

Tease? Did he?

The green haired swordsman had since sheathed his blade and crossed his arms as he looked around. "Aren't the marines going to find us like this?" He indicated the thin blue room around them, then turned his head toward Law. "Shouldn't you get rid of it?"

"You shouldn't waste your energy, in case the marines spot us." Added the black haired woman.

Law looked up warily at the blue encasing. "I did that?"

The straw hat wearing individual had started to laugh. "What a weirdo. That's you devil fruit power, isn't it?" He grinned, as if he'd just thought of something. "Hey, can you swap Nami and Zoro? That'd be funny."

Devil Fruit power? Swap? Law didn't know what the other was talking about, even if it did seem somehow familiar.

"Luffy! Do you really want him to do something like that when he clearly isn't in a right state of mind? What if he couldn't switch us back?"

The straw hat wearing young man, Luffy, grinned. "It'd be fine."

"No, it wouldn't." The orange haired woman snapped, before she swung around to Law. "Anyway, make it go away, before the marines find us!" She indicated the blue film all around them.

"How?" Because Law sure as hell couldn't figure it out right now. He was more concerned that his memory was jumbled, and using some mysterious power wasn't what concerned him right now.

"Try!"

Law frowned, an underlying sense of irritation at being ordered around. He didn't like it, but again, he couldn't explain why. It just was. Law reached for something that seemed to be linked to what was being indicated in the sky. The Devil Fruit. But it was like there was a void and the power was just out of reach. Law shook his head, feeling further exhausted. "I can't."

"The marines are headed this way." The green haired swordsman announced quietly.

The small animal sniffed the air. "There are a lot more of them than before."

"If he can't get that room to go away, you're going to have to do it for him." The orange haired woman, Nami, said sternly. "I'm not getting caught by those marines because he can't remember how to do something that seems to be automatic for Devil Fruit users."

"The powers only disengage when the user is unconscious. Or dead. Are you suggesting we do that to him?" The other woman asked in a serious tone.

Luffy let go of Law, clearly appalled by the suggestion. "He's our friend! Don't say stuff like that."

Friend? Law was dubious about the declaration, and the pieces of memory floating just out of reach seemed to agree with that sentiment. He then realized what had been said, and it set him on edge.

"We don't want to give the marines that easy of a time finding us." Nami shot back. "You'll be doing him a favor!"

Law kept his nodachi drawn as he narrowed his eyes, suspicious now. He didn't like the way this conversation was headed. Like hell he was going to let them knock him out. He didn't even see how they could if he didn't let them get within range.

Luffy seemed to be giving Nami's words some thought, because he eventually brightened again. "Oh, so it would be helping him? All right! I'll do it then."

Just like that? Who the hell agreed to something like that so quickly? Law tensed defensively. There was clearly something wrong with these people with how causally some of them were talking about knocking him out. Like it wasn't that big of an issue. Or the fact that he wasn't going to allow it.

"Luffy, don't hit him too hard." The antlered animal said worriedly. "We don't know if he already has a concussion or not."

"You can check on him when we're out of danger, Chopper." Nami reassured the small animal.

The black haired woman crossed her arms. "Dos fleurs."

Law let out a gasp when two arms sprouted from his sides to grab his arms, and that alone was distraction enough from lashing out. Because holy shit there were disembodied arms coming out of his body. Where the hell did those come from? Law didn't see Luffy's fist aimed right for him, but he certainly felt it when it connected. At least those creepy extra arms vanished by the time he hit the ground from the force of the strike, the nodachi slipping from his limp grasp.

"We need to get out of here." Nami's voice was clear, even if she didn't sound happy about something.

"Yeah, maybe he'll not lie about not knowing us." Luffy seemed adamant that a punch induced sleep was a cure all.

As he drifted toward an unconscious state, Law felt that he hadn't lied in the least bit. He'd spoken truthfully, at least as far as his memory was concerned at this point in time. He didn't know who any of them were. Nor did he really know himself, for that matter, apart from the basic instincts and knowledge, and the fact that his name was apparently Law.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: I've noticed that this fic is going to be kind of a culmination of different things that I've read/watched (I guess that could be said for all stories in general). This particular fic is basically practicing with plot structure more than anything. I also wanted to try something different (?). This is going to lean toward AU with the plot, and the IC/OOC will be mixed up depending on the situations that the characters come across.

I also figured that if there was a Devil Fruit that could make people forget about others by turning them into something (Sugar's Hobby Hobby fruit) or Jango's hypnosis (being able to make people do things or believe they're someone else) why not someone with a Devil Fruit power who can interfere directly with one individual's memories (I don't think there's one like that?). Needed some way to do memory loss/amnesia/confusion without it being an injury, so I think it works out? Even if it's a totally cheating power. I was using the dictionary and basically decided that Nix memoria would literally mean 'no memory', based on some of the definitions I found, as that would fit with the overall plot. Though whether that's what it means as it looks, I'm not sure. Not that it matters since the OC won't show up that often. Not until he needs to later on.

Explanation aside, I really just wanted to set the story up, so I posted a longer first chapter because it's anyone's guess as to when I'll post the next one. Updates for all fics will be more erratic anyway due to real life. As a side note, I think I caught all the grammar mistakes/potentially misspelled words.

Edit: Apparently the chapter length for this fic will be anywhere from 1500-6000 words. Really depends on the mood I'm in when writing a new chapter.