I

"Fine, cow man."

"It's hooooooot." Bepo was sprawled out on the front deck of the sub, pulling at the collar of his jumpsuit as the Heart Pirates docked on a small island. Law was ignoring him, frowning heavily at the fact that the piece of machinery was already falling apart. They hadn't even been in the Grand Line for four months and yet everything was not going as he had planned. "Meh, Bepo stop messing around. We've got work to be doing." Shachi grumbled, nudging the bear slightly with the toe of his boot. "I-I'm sorry." The poor bear couldn't even talk without his tongue falling out.

"We don't need him for now; all we're looking for is a mechanic who can help repair the ship." Law informed the red haired man. He leapt off the side of the sub, landing gracefully on his feet with his nodachi in hand. "Grab Jun, and we'll go have a look around. We shouldn't stay too long." He had an uneasy feeling about this place, but held his thoughts to himself. "Aye."

The three mutt men wandered into the town; Jun hanging awkwardly in the back. He didn't like standing next to his captain and other crewmates because they made him "feel small and stocky.", even though he was. His long, scraggly black hair covered his eyes and the baggy jumpsuit didn't make him look any better. Law had rather liked the uniforms ("It makes everyone look orderly.") despite the protests from his crew.

"How are we supposed to find a mechanic here?" Shachi muttered, keeping his head low from all the looks they were getting. "We ask." Law said simply, stopping an older gentleman in front of them. "Excuse me, sir, my crew and I are looking for a mechanic, does there happen to be any around here?" The look on the man's face made the doctor's normally stoic one turn impatient. "Boys, if you need a mechanic badly, there is one here. But, if you can make it, I suggest you sail on to the next island. You really don't want to mess with-"

"If you could point us in the direction of where he works, that would be helpful." Law was frowning now, and the look in his eye must have given the poor man a small heart attack. "S-She's down that way. Small shop by the water, y-you can't miss it." He pointed a shaky hand to his left before scurrying away in fright. "Mah, mah. We don't have to make every single person we meet tremble in fear, Cap'n." Shachi chuckled to himself, only to be kicked in the leg by Jun. "You're retarded. Why are you even here?" The short man grumbled, rubbing his temples. "He's just a liability." Law answered before heading off in the direction the old man pointed to, leaving a laughing Jun and fuming Shachi in his path.

There was only one building by the water, and it wasn't much of a building. The place looked like a rundown shack that had been caught in hurricane or cyclone of some sorts; nothing worth living in. It was about the size of his submarine, two windows were placed on either side of the red wooden door of the one floored hut. On the opposite side of where he was standing was a large opening that looked like a garage of some sorts. Banging and the sound of electrical tools could be heard from inside of it, and he figured that must be her.

"Pardon me?"

She didn't turn around as he walked in; her attention was focused on the massive engine in front of her. Her mouse brown hair was thrown into a messy bun, a black bandana tied around her head to catch the strays. Her top was merely a purple strapless bra, exposing most of the beautifully crafted portrait of a butterfly on her back; it was a mix of black, orange and pink, and covered most of her back. The tips of its wings stopped just above the top of her black baggy pants that met up with large purple combat boots. He couldn't see her face, but he figured the smoke was coming from a cigarette hanging in her mouth.

Sighing bitterly, he knocked loudly on the side of the wall, making her jump. "What the hell is it now…." She grumbled, not even bothering to turn around. "I paid my taxes. I'm not bothering anyone. If the noise is too loud, tell the neighbors to leave. It's a mechanic shop, not a library." She dropped the hammer next to her feet, placing her hands on her hips as she stared at the piece of machinery in front of her. Her right hand was cloaked in a black glove, while her left was simply covered in grease. "I'm not here for any of that, Miss." His voice caught her interest; she turned around to face him, showing off the cancer stick that she held between her red lips. "Oh. Wasn't expecting a new visitor…." She looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow. "Too raggedy to be a Marine. Let me guess, pirate that wasn't ready for the Grand Line experience, huh?"

"I just need help fixing my ship." He frowned, annoyed, and hid his eyes below his hat. "Well, I'm not a shipwright. But I guess I could take a look." She sighed, putting out her cigarette and grabbing a box of tools from a table. "How bad is it?" She began to walk forward, indicating for him to lead her onwards. "Leaking throughout." He answered simply, resting his nodachi on his shoulder. "That's it? And no one in your crew is able to fix something that simple?" She scoffed, placing another cigarette in her mouth. "You'll understand once you see it. And besides, my crew is incapable of following any sort of given directions." She snorted at that, tossing her lighter back into the box. "Sounds interesting."

"Cap'n!"

The ginger man ran up to him, holding his hat in place, while Jun attempted to catch up behind him. "We've been looking for you everywhere!" The short man panted out, holding his chest. "I did what we came here to do." Law informed them impatiently, gesturing at the woman beside him. Shachi suddenly stood up straight, smiling brightly at her. "I apologize for the ungraceful entrance! My name is Shachi, and this fat lard behind me is Jun, but you don't have to worry about him. I do say, you have the-" Suddenly, the woman stabbed him between the eyes with her burning cigarette (though she wasn't quite threatening on her tippy toes) making him howl with pain. "Save it." She said bluntly, throwing the useless item to the ground now. "Can we just get to your ship?" Her chocolate eyes fixed onto the doctor, who held back his smile. "Of course."

As the group approached the docks, she immediately stopped upon seeing the sub floating their idly. "Please tell me that's your ship." Her eyes widened a bit, not leaving the yellow machine once. "Of course. I don't see any other form of transportation here, miss." Law said, walking forward with his two crewmates. "Well….in that case I'll need to run back and get a few things. I wasn't expecting this. Not at all." She shoved the tool box into Jun's hands. "Hold this please! I'll be back in a second!" She shouted, quickly taking off back in the direction of her shop. "What a weird girl." Shachi muttered, rubbing the sore spot on his forehead. "You're just mad she blew you off." Jun snickered as they climbed aboard.

"Oh, Cap'n, you're back." Bepo was still in the same spot they had left him in; his eyes were now half lidded and glazed and his body was glistening in sweat. "You know, instead of lying out in the sun, you would find it much cooler inside." Law closed his eyes as he leaned back against the railing. "Can't…air conditioners broken now." The white bear informed him, attempting to roll over on his stomach. "Ah. Just more for her to fix, which means we have to pay her with more money we don't have." The captain rubbed his temple lightly. "Her? So you did find a mechanic! Where is she?!" Bepo asked quickly, cramming his words together. "She had to run back to get some things. She'll be here shortly."

"I'm right here."

Her demeanor had changed greatly upon seeing the sub; a smile was now beaming on her childish face, aside from the fact she was smoking again. "Fix the air first!" Bepo demanded, pounding his fist on the deck. She cocked her head to the side, staring at him for a moment. Law silently prayed that she did not say what everyone else does; he definitely was not in the mood for calming his first mate down, again. But, to his surprise, she let out a small laugh, hoisting the new tools she had up. "You're crew is so fucked up." She looked at him. "Now, show me where I need to be."

Bepo looked up suddenly, staring blankly at his captain. He had no idea whether or not he should apologize for her comment, or ignore it. Judging by the look on Law's face, he figured it was better to let the girl's words slip by. Letting out a sigh of relief, he curled his arms back up under his head and drifted off into a (uncomfortably hot) sleep once again.

"Follow me if you would, Miss-?" Law held the door open for her, realizing he had not even bothered to learn her name. "Allison. And you?" He followed her into the kitchen, where her tool box had been placed on the table. "Trafalgar Law." He set his nodachi down against the counter, stretching out his slender fingers with a pop. "Hm. I believe I've read your name a few times in the paper." She muttered to herself, checking out all of her tools. "The boiler room and air are on the lower level. Jun should be in there; just ask him if you need anything. The leaks are on the level below that, but come find me before you go in there." He instructed her, pointing to the door that led to the stairs. "Will do." She bounced out of the room, carrying around the heavy set of tools like it was nothing. "Interesting." He said out loud before heading back out onto the deck.

"You realize that we need a mechanic right?" Shachi was sitting against the railing farthest away from the door; his arms behind his head as the waves began to rock him to sleep. "I refuse to let a woman join my crew." Law said simply, regretting his choice of words a few seconds after they had slipped from his mouth. "Are women not equal to us? Are they too weak for you?" The red head was starting to get flustered as the anger swelled inside of him. "That's not what I meant. I don't mind women; it's the rest of you. All you will do is stare and become infatuated with her. I don't allow distractions on my crew."

"But Cap'n, this could be the only mechanic we find for the next few months! Plus, we don't have the money to pay her." Bepo chimed in, forcing himself to sit up under the hot sun. "Just take her. After she fixes everything, tell her something else is broken and we'll go under." Shachi smirked at the idea. "I'm not going to kidnap her." Law crossed his arms over his chest as he sat on the railing. "I'm not going to ask her either. She's probably telling Jun how to fix everything; he'll know what to do."

"You're stubborn." Bepo grunted, frowning at his captain. "But I'm not a kidnapper." The sound of footsteps quieted the three; Allison soon came barging out. "Fixed. Some of the cables just became disconnected. I taught the fat guy how to fix it, so if it ever happens again, he knows what to do." She informed them. Bepo jumped to his feet in a sudden burst of energy. "I'm saved!" He cried joyfully, rushing into kitchen. She raised an eyebrow as he collapsed to the floor under the air duct, fast asleep and snoring loudly. "Well, anyways. You told me to get you so I could fix the leaks." Law stood to his feet, shoving his tattooed hands into his pockets. "I'm surprised you listened." He said, walking past her inside. "How very polite of you." She muttered behind him, carefully stepping over the sleeping bear.

"I'm only doing this for your safety, Miss Allison." He said boredly, heading down the stairs. "What? I can do perfectly fine on my own thank you very much. Unless if you have some sort of weird creation that you don't want me to see. And if I do you'll kill me. If that's the case, I'd rather not fix your sub." He stopped as they reached the second level, and she nearly ran into his back. He peered at her from his peripheral; she didn't even reach his shoulders, even in her thick heeled boots. "Grab your tools, you'll need to hurry." She frowned deeply at his reply, but grabbed her tool box that was sitting outside the boiler room. "Fine, but if I die today, I'm coming back to haunt your ass." She grumbled loudly. "Ghosts don't exist, Miss Allison." He said as he led her down the next flight of stairs. "It's possible. You can find anything on the Grand Line." She retorted hastily. He ignored her comments as they came to the lonely, pale hallway at the bottom of the sub. "Most of the surrounding walls are above water, so there's no need to worry about more flooding." They reached the only door across from the steps; his fingers lightly brushed the door knob. "I must ask you not to touch anything in this room. Do you understand?" He met her anticipating eyes with bored ones. She nodded quickly. "Of course!" He could practically hear her heart thump in excitement as he swung the cold door open. His boots made light tapping sounds as he walked into the room, flipping the light switch on. The strobe lights flickered, revealing a line of medical equipment and slabs. There were still bloody gloves lining the sink on the far right as well as the lingering stench of death. She hesitantly walked in behind him, taking in the interesting sight. He somewhat expected her to run, but he truly doubted that idea.

"Creepy."

He wanted to laugh at her easily expected comment. "The leaking is over on the left side. Jun tried to patch it up as best he could." He held the door open for her. "Seems like he's the only one who ever does anything around here." She snorted, lugging her tools to the broken wall. "Is that all or do you need to watch me do my work?" He frowned deeply at her. "I just need to make sure you don't touch anything." She laughed lightly at his face. "I promise not take any of your toys." She sung, turning to evaluate the damage. His hand clutched the door knob tightly, his forehead twitching in annoyance. "Damn, woman. I could rip her heart out from her chest." He gritted his teeth as he, unwillingly, left the operating room.

As he ascended the stair case, the sub began to rock more violently than earlier. Steadying himself on the wall, he frowned. "If there were indications of a storm, Penguin would have said something." He said, tapping the wall with his fingers. Looking back at the door, he gave one last sigh. Hopefully she didn't end up killing herself.

"What is going on?!" Law slammed the door open, walking out onto the deck. Penguin, Shachi, Bepo and Jun were standing there, glaring angrily off into the distance. "Marines. They've spotted us, we need to leave, and fast." Penguin informed him, his hands shoved deeply in his pockets. "The sub isn't fixed yet. We'll sink if we go down."

Allison wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead. "One more to do." She smiled at her work. It had been a long time since she worked on a sub, and was she ever grateful for this chance meeting with the pirates. Grabbing the last piece of steel, she placed it firmly in its spot. The sub began to rock back and forth, and she braced herself against the wall. "What the hell are they doing up there?" Spurts of water began to spray from the unfinished wall. "Oh fuck!" She pressed against the steel plate with her whole body. "Someone help me! Please!" She screamed as the pressure increased against her. 'Why are we submerging at a time like this?!' She grimaced as her feet began sliding backwards. "Help!"

"What-oh shit!" Standing in the door way was a tall, slender man wearing the same outfit as the other men, but a hat on his head that read 'Penguin' (and also resembled one) covered most of his face. He ran over to help her, pressing against the wall with his body. "You must be the mechanic." He grimaced and she nodded. "Hold that for a few minutes." She instructed, grabbing her hammer off the ground. "Is the water level rising?" She asked, slamming the head of the nail into the steel. "Nah, we're submerging." He answered calming, making her entire body freeze. "Wh-Why?"

"Marines. We're tryin to leave the island fast as we can."

Staring at the wall blankly, the nails fell from her mouth. Leaving? Without telling her? Slowly she stood to her feet and began to head for the door. "What are you doing!? The sub will sink if you don't finish!" The man shouted as she opened the heavy metal door. "You can drown for all I care. I'm going back home." She answered emotionlessly.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't threaten my crew."

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't kidnap me." She mocked, looking up at the skinny man on the stairs. His grey eyes seemed like they were staring into her soul as she backed up into the medical room. "Cap'n! I need help in here! No one's manning the ship!" The man in the penguin hat cried out in a gruff voice. "I don't want to hurt you. Please go help my subordinate." She cringed at the strange grin he flashed, his eyes shadowed by his furry hat. "Fine, cow man."

The poor penguin man was drenched in sea water and shaking from lack of strength. Allison moped her way over, grabbing the hammer and, with as much strength as she could muster, hammered the rest of the nails into the steel wall. "I thought I was going to die." He fell to the floor, his eyes nearly rolling to the back of his head. "Look, I fixed your ship. Take me back home." She glared at Law, who was leaning against the door frame casually. "Ah, Penguin we're having a meeting in the galley. Jun has the ship under control." The man on the floor, Penguin, pulled himself to his feet. "Aye, aye Cap'n." He muttered, his head drooping low as he disappeared down the hallway. "Miss Allison, if you would follow me please."

"Why? Are you going to dissect me while I'm alive or something?" She protested, crossing her arms over her chest. His eyes gleamed questionably as he gave her a smile. "The term is vivisection, Miss Allison. But no, not today at least. It's just a small meeting." He answered, leaving her in the room alone. "Hey! Wait a second, stop fucking with me!" She cried, running after him. "What are you talking about?" His calm voice echoed around the eerie hallway. "Are you really kidnapping me? And if you are, at least don't sect me-" "Vivisect." "-or whatever it was you called it. I'll try not to destroy your sub." He didn't even bother looking at her as they reached the second level. "At least kill me before you vivisect me."

"That's called dissection."

After grunting in defeat, she kept quiet. She had no idea what was going to happen, or what they were going to do to her, all she knew was she had to get out of here. It was a four day journey to the next island, so she had enough time to prepare. Slowly, the pair meandered their way back up to the kitchen. As he held the door open for her, she came into the view of twenty-something pirates. All wearing hats. All in the same, stupid jumpsuit, with the same, stupid Jolly Roger. And of course, they were all men.

"Who's this Cap'n?"

"Is she going to be part of our crew?!"

"She's hot!"

"I call dibs!"

"That's enough!" Law's voice shook the walls, forcing the men to settle down. Allison looked around; they all sat down, patiently awaiting their captain's speech. 'Are they really this excited over a woman?' She frowned deeply as the tall man leaned back against the counter, a smile tugging the corner of his thin lips. "This is Allison. Although, this isn't the most formal way to do so, she has joined our crew as a mechanic." Cheers exploded from the crowd and they even began to hug each other.

Her heart was beating a mile a minute. A pirate? There was no way she could do that. Especially with one that has been popping up in the news, and not in a good way. Her boots clapped against the ground as she angrily marched towards Law. "What the hell are you doing?!" She cried, grabbing him by his shirt. "I've invited you into my crew." He said with that damning smirk. She closed her eyes, her body shaking with anger. "You've kidnapped me from my home. You've forced me to work on this ship, without pay. And now suddenly, I've become a part of your god damn crew? No. I don't think so. After the next island, I'm leaving. With triple of what you owe me."

"Do you really want to leave that bad?" The large bear was standing next to her now, a sad look plastered on his white face. She, begrudgingly, released her hold on the captain. "How would you like it if you were taken from your home by a group of pirates you only met a few hours ago?" The room had become deadly quiet as everyone had become interested in her voice. "Did you have a lot of family and friends there?" The bear asked quietly. "I didn't have either of those." She looked down at her boots. "But that doesn't matter! It was still my home!"

"Even if we take you back, the Marines will realize that you an ally with a notorious band of pirates. You'll most likely be arrested." The red haired man from before, Shachi, informed her. He moved to her other side, although a few feet away from her. If it wasn't such a serious atmosphere at the moment, she would have snickered at the glowing red mark on his forehead. "He's right. You'd be safer with us." The bear was smiling down at her, and, with just the gesture, she felt a little relieved. "You're pirates. You're going to get attacked and I'll be killed or taken, again." She pressed harder. "Well, do you know how to fight?"

"Not really. I just have a Devil Fruit power….." She murmured, hanging her head. "Really? What is it?" Law suddenly became interested and pushed himself to a standing position. "I'm not exactly sure what it's called, I stole it from some thugs when I was a kid. I can show you though. Do have an apple or something?" Just as she spoke the last words, Penguin held one out to her. "Oh, thank you."

Law watched carefully as she removed the black glove from her right hand. He half-expected her hand to have some sort of deformity, but it was perfectly normal. She carefully grabbed the apple from Penguin's hand, holding it delicately in hers. "Catch." She instructed, tossing the apple to him. He caught it easily with his tattooed fingers. "Nothing's happened yet." Shachi mumbled as his captain held the fruit in the palm of his hand. "Patience." She whispered, a devious smile spreading on her red lips.

Within the next few seconds, the red apple exploded all over the Heart Pirates' captain. Allison busted out in laughter, along with the others, as Law slowly wiped the apple mush over his face. "Interesting." He said to himself, his voice a deadly tone. "I've never heard of such a power." He grabbed the towel from the sink and wiped the rest of the debris off. "I like her Cap'n! Can we keep her?!" She raised an eyebrow at the bear. "I'm sorry!" His head fell in defeat, and she placed a hand on his arm. "You can call me Ally." She held her hand out, and he gladly placed his palm in it. "Bepo!"

"Meh, meh Bepo! Stop trying to take the girl first!"

"I'm sorry!"

"She's not even a bear!"

"I'm sorry!"

She laughed as the crew surrounded Bepo and began to scold him for stealing 'their woman'. The uneasy feeling in her stomach began to fade away, but not completely. Although they seemed to be a group of idiots, they were still blood thirsty pirates, and she could not forget that. "I should have expected worse." Law said, walking up beside her. "I'm not sure I could kill a human; I've never actually tried." She slid the glove back on her hand. "Of course, I can kill animals. That's how I found out about the powers. Mrs. Feiry's cat never stood a chance…." She trailed off, laughing lightly to herself. "We could drop you off at the next island, but like Shachi said, you would be considered our ally." He shoved his hands into his pockets as he casually spoke.

"I don't see the harm in joining for now." She said honestly, watching as the atmosphere suddenly changed. The men gathered mugs and barrels of grog and a few started cooking big meals. It was a sea of beige (with one spot of orange) that covered nearly the entire kitchen. "Are you sure? Once you join, there's no leaving." He frowned as Shachi and Penguin spilled their beverages all over each other. "I'll join, on one condition though."

"And what is that condition?"

"I don't have to wear those ugly ass jumpsuits."

I should probably be working on Stay Awhile, but I needed something to break writer's block and this happened. My third attempt at a Law story, who knows how long it will last this time around.