Bellemere knew what the Holy Land looked like on the inside. She was glad that she wasn't born there. She was glad to be a commoner. She couldn't possibly imagine herself to own a slave and do such a cruel thing to another living being. That place was nothing but hell's paradise.

She was in Cocoyashi village, helping an old woman with her heavy grocery. She was also running in the Holy Land, embracing a pretty woman with a kind smile.

Bellemere could be a commoner girl living in Cocoyashi village in one second and she could be a Celestial Dragon living in Holy Land in the next one.

She finally learned of his name. Donquixote Rosinante. He got an older brother. He was the youngest child.

She tried to show him her world. He was shy at first but he did come around in the end.

Donquixote Rosinante was excited when his father told him that they were going to move out from Holy Land. He told Bellemere about this. She looked really worried about it. He wondered why. What could possibly make her look like that?

People didn't accept them. He didn't understand the reason. He cried because he was scared. He cried because she also suffered what he felt.

Mother died. Brother killed father. He wasn't alone. She was there for him, comforting him.

He met Sengoku. He became a Marine. She also became a Marine.

They met once to make sure that the other really existed. It was all real, not just some kind of a weird imagination.

They went on their own separated way. He became a spy. She returned to Cocoyashi village.

"You are doing the right thing. Don't be scared." Rosinante said to her when she decided to adopt Nojiko and Nami.

She returned those exact words to him when he made the decision to help a child called Trafalgar Law.

Donquixote Rosinante died from bullet wounds. Bellemere was right by his side until the very end.

It was only fitting that she also died from a gunshot.

-Connection-

Red Flag

"No one decides where they were born. Our birthplace was decided by fate. You were born here, I was born there. What divides us? A border is nothing but an idea decided by the lucky."

Bellemere to Donquixote Rosinante, years ago.

It happened for the first time when he was on his own ship, surrounded by his crewmates.

X Drake was watching the execution of Portgas D. Ace calmly in one moment and there were tears falling from his eyes in the next.

"Captain Bonney…" Someone called out in worry.

… Hah?

He turned his eyes to see a man with freckles and beard, wearing an undersized clothes. There was a worried expression directed to him from the man's face. He wasn't a crewmate. He didn't even know the man. Who was this stranger? How did he get in his ship? What's the meaning of that worried expression? Why called him with another name?

He blinked slowly.

"-AKE! CAPTAIN DRAKE!" A crewmate called out to him.

The stranger was gone in his next blink, replaced by the familiar faces of his crewmates.

Someone touched his shoulder hesitantly. "Are you okay, captain? He was calling your name for a minute straight and you didn't even respond once. We are feeling a bit worried here."

What?

"I am fine. What is it?" He blurted out, feeling a little odd from the strange occurrence that he was pretty sure just happened to him but there was no explanation for it and nobody seemed to be aware of it so he kept it to himself.

That was his first mistake.

The Marineford war was a total chaos. The Marines failed to execute Portgas D. Ace and the Whitebeard Pirates successfully made a complete retreat. There were too many unexpected things and revelations that happened there. For an example, Monkey D. Luffy suddenly fell from the sky along with hundreds of released prisoners accompanying him, he was also the son of that Dragon and he could apparently use an ability that belonged to someone else. For another example, the Marines didn't expect two Supernova captains to aid the Whitebeard Pirates' escape. Not to mention, the thing with Blackbeard and the appearance of Red-Haired Shanks.

It was a massive headache to just think about it. He did rather go to sleep, thank you very much.

X Drake was lying on his bed, hands crossed behind his head. He was about to go to sleep when it happened for the second time. He was just about to close his eyes when someone suddenly loomed over him.

He already locked his door. Who could it possibly be?

X Drake turned his head to a side and he jerked in surprise when Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress herself, the captain of the Kuja Pirates, one of the Seven Warlords of the sea, the most beautiful woman in the world according to the paper that he once read, was standing there inside his room, looming over him with a worried expression.

People sure liked to throw that expression to him lately.

He turned red when she leaned closer and whispered near his ears, his legs felt like a jelly.

No. Wait. Boa Hancock's ability allowed her to turn men into stone, not jelly. He was definitely not weak against woman, damn it!

"Get better soon, Luffy."

Luffy? Monkey D. Luffy? Straw Hat? What?

Then, in the next blink, the Pirate Empress disappeared from his sight. He was inside his room, lying in his bed, alone once again.

… What the hell was that?

He started to feel a bit miffed from the bizarreness of it all. He was probably too tired and hallucinated the entire thing. He closed his eyes and decided to sleep it off.

That was his second mistake.

When he stood in a land covered by snow, X Drake knew that he was in a dream. He was dreaming of that place. He was dreaming of that day.

Minion Island. The Marines rescued him from his father's cruel tyranny in that place on that day.

It was probably the scariest day of his life. It was also probably the happiest day of his life.

His father was an evil man. That's why he didn't hate Doflamingo for killing his father. That's why he was grateful to the Marines who took him in.

The dream was different this time. It was a bit confusing even.

A tall man with blonde hair and ridiculous make-up was giving him a comforting smile, like he was trying to tell him that everything was going to be okay. The man put him inside a treasure chest before closing it. He tried to speak but no sound came out.

In the darkness of that small space, he couldn't make a sound but he could hear everything.

There was a shooting sound and he tried to open the top of the treasure chest but it just won't open, like there was something heavy on it, preventing it to be opened from the inside.

Corazon. He couldn't recall anyone that he knew who went by that name. He stored that name inside his memory. He would try to find out later.

Marine code 01746. Marine base commander Rosinante. Corazon was a marine. A marine that was about to be killed by Donquixote Doflamingo.

It felt weird. He felt like he already knew all along that Corazon was a marine but he couldn't recall ever meeting someone called Corazon in his entire life.

Ope Ope no Mi. Trafalgar Law. He heard Donquixote Doflamingo's plan for Trafalgar Law in silence.

Two final shots. There was a deep feeling of anguish and fear for someone's life. Then, he woke up on his bed, covered in sweat from head to toe, feeling more tired than before he went to sleep. The dream felt so real, like it was a memory instead of a dream. He shook his head lightly.

"What's wrong with me? Why is this thing keep happening to me? Am I finally losing it?" He groaned to himself, throwing an arm over his eyes.

It finally happened again in the middle of his call with Coby. He was just about to ask for a favor to Coby concerning an information about someone with Marine code 01746 when he blinked for a second and Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King himself, someone who once sailed with the Pirate King, appeared before him.

"Are you still listening to me, Law?" The Dark King asked him with a raised eyebrow.

He stood there frozen, like he just received a hit from admiral Aokiji's ability, not knowing what to say and completely lost for words. His mouth completely failed him, rendering him speechless.

"Oh, wait. It seems like I am not talking with Law anymore. Are you Eustass Kid by any chance?" The legendary man said in realization, a friendly smile on his face.

"I am not Eustass Kid." Drake blurted out, not knowing what else to say.

"I see. Am I talking to a completely new person? Hello, there. Can you tell me your name? You are probably feeling confused right now, huh?" Silvers Rayleigh said with a laugh.

Confusion couldn't even begin to describe his feeling right now. He opened his mouth to say something when Coby's voice suddenly entered his hearing again.

"Captain Drake, are you still there? You have suddenly gone really quiet." Coby said in a concerned tone via his snail phone.

"Yeah. Sorry. I'll talk to you later, Coby." He said quietly before he ended the call. The snail phone immediately went to sleep once he ended the call. He sat down on his bed, crossing his arms, silently mulling over all the bizarreness that recently happened to him.

Not even a minute later, his snail phone suddenly woke up and rang loudly. He contemplated for a moment before he picked it up. Trafalgar Law's amused voice immediately filled the room.

"A Marine pretending to be a pirate, huh?" That was the Surgeon of Death's opening gambit.

There was a pause for a moment.

"Doflamingo is an asshole." X Drake returned gruffly in a kind.

There was another pause from both of them.

"Yeah, agree with that. Let's meet up for a discussion, Drake-ya." The captain of the Heart Pirates said in a serious tone that left no room for an argument or a refusal.

They agreed on a time and place.

He was on his way to meet with Trafalgar when it happened again. He was starting to get tired of it to be honest but he couldn't control it. He barely even understood it.

He was training alone with his sword in his own room in one moment and he was in a completely different place in the next. He was also no longer alone.

Dracule Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world, one of the Seven Warlords of the sea, stood in front of him, both of his arms were crossed over his chest and his sword was strapped on his back. The man frowned at him.

"Who are you?" The man asked him sharply.

"… Trafalgar Law." Drake answered with a lie, mentally apologizing to the man. It wasn't safe to tell his name to a guy who could cut a ship in half with ease.

Mihawk scoffed. "You are lying. Trafalgar Law doesn't hold his sword like that."

Well, shit. They already met apparently and Dracule Mihawk knew the way Trafalgar held his sword.

A flying girl was suddenly an inch away from his face. He scrambled back immediately, heart beating fast. No. Wait. Shit. He wasn't weak against a woman, damn it!

"A completely different reaction. He is new." Mihawk observed with an air of amusement.

Drake gave up trying to understand the bizarre situation. He decided that he really needed to meet with Trafalgar as soon as possible.