For reference, 6 inches is equivalent to about 15 cm :)
Ace watched apprehensively from his coral chair as the nobles swam into the throne room and took their designated seats. As he was full-grown and crown prince, Ace had the right to sit next to the King and to speak up if he wished, though he hoped he wouldn't have to.
Suddenly, a shadow came over the palace's open entrance and the room went silent. Ace couldn't help but gaze upon the King of the Scavengers in awe as the massive Mer swam into the room. As no seat was large enough for him, the shark-Mer settled himself and his entourage against the wall farthest from the throne.
The first prince glanced over at Dragon who hadn't stopped scowling at the scavenger since he'd swam in.
'…will he be able to hold himself together?' Ace thought, a bit concerned, 'This is a diplomatic meeting, so we can't afford to be too antagonistic.' A few minutes later, once everyone was accounted for, Dragon slammed his trident against the stone floor, silencing the whispers completely.
"Thank you all for coming," The King exclaimed through his scowl, "As I'm sure you've noticed, we have a… guest… with us today. Charlotte Katakuri, son of the notorious Charlotte Linlin, more commonly known as 'Big Mom'." The nobles all then spun around to either glare at or cower from the shark-Mer who simply returned the gazes with his own calm one.
"I am honored to have been given the opportunity to attend, Your Majesty." The Scavenger King replied, his deep voice reverberating through the water.
"Indeed…" Dragon growled, tightening his grip on his trident.
"If it pleases you, may I come forward and allow the court to hear my petition?" The Scavenger King, Katakuri, asked with a bow. Dragon frowned, but nodded, motioning for the guards to clear some room for the large Mer.
As the Charlotte swam up to the throne, Mer nobles on either side of him moved away, fear and disgust clear on their faces.
'Shark-Mer really aren't popular…' Ace thought as he watched the scene unfold. 'Or maybe it has more to do with his sire?'
"I'll get straight to the point," Katakuri projected, "My people are dying. Pollution is closing in from the sea-floor and from the surface." The Mer bowed low again before continuing, "I request that our Kingdom be officially recognized so that we may have access to the medicine and resources available to Raftel's neighbors."
At that, the throne room erupted into protest, nobles swimming up out of their seats.
"Preposterous!"
"Why would we give away our resources to a-a savage!"
Ace scowled at the nobles as they surrounded the Scavenger King, who took the insults without wavering. Seeing that Dragon wasn't making a move to stop it, Ace called on his ability and heated the room with his anger.
"ENOUGH!" He yelled, making everyone flinch and yelp as the water became almost scalding, "Sit down and let him speak, you are disgracing yourselves!" The nobles slowly retreated to their seats and Katakuri gave him a grateful look.
"Tell me, Charlotte, what exactly would you do with our resources?" A particularly bold noble asked snidely, "For all we know, this is all a clever ruse to garner strength for yourself and wage war!"
"I would use them to save the lives of my people." Katakuri responded, before turning back to Dragon, "Please, Your Majesty, consider my request."
The King gripped his chin in thought, looking over the shark-Mer with skeptical eyes.
"What resources do you wish for, specifically?" Dragon asked through gritted teeth.
"Food, preferably any type of meat, access to the North-Eastern scrap yards that are part of your territory, so we may rebuild dwellings once the pollution has been cleared away, and…"
The Scavenger King trailed off, taking a deep breath before fixing Dragon with a determined gaze.
"I humbly request the aid of your son in cleansing the pollution… your youngest, the Silver-Scale."
Ace's mouth dropped open at the request and whispers started spreading throughout the room. Beside him, Dragon's eyes were blown wide with anger and the water around him started to swirl as his face tattoo began to glow an ominous blue.
"You DARE ask me to give you my youngest son!" He bellowed, swimming up a bit closer to the Charlotte, "Luffy is not a resource that is up for grabs, he is my child!"
"I'm aware," Katakuri replied calmly, not moving amongst the swirling water, "However, there is no other sure way of removing the pollution that is coming up from the depths, especially if it's being caused by dark magic as I fear."
Ace grabbed Dragon's arm and hauled him back into his throne, trying to calm him down.
"I'll kill him!" The King growled low in his throat as he pulled against Ace's arms. He grunted as the larger Mer strained and snapped. By this point, Katakuri's subordinates had swiftly gathered in front of their leader, ready to defend him.
'Well, this is going great…'
Katakuri was getting frustrated.
He was aware of Dragon and the small Merfolk's issues with his kind, but it was far worse than he had anticipated. It was taking all the self-control he had not to make a noble into a snack for every insult against his family.
That being said, Katakuri found himself impressed with the crown prince. It seems he hadn't inherited the King's prejudice, though it may be that Dragon never told him what occurred with Mama all those years ago.
Cracker looked at him, obviously wanting permission to fight, but Katakuri shook his head and waved them back to the wall. The negotiation wasn't over yet.
After a few minutes of wrestling, the prince succeeded in calming the King, though he was still very tense. Calling together the ministers of the smaller kingdoms, Dragon convened with them in whispers. Eventually, they separated and stood before Katakuri, looking somewhat smug.
Not a good sign.
"We will give you a few boxes of medicine and some food, but that's all." Dragon declared, "Should you prove yourself a trustworthy ally of Raftel and its Kingdoms, we shall re-consider recognizing… what was it called?"
"Totto Ravine." Katakuri put in, somewhat offended Dragon hadn't bothered to remember the name of his Kingdom, "When would this 're-consideration' occur?"
"When we feel you've proven yourself." A minister replied with a smirk as he stroked his ridiculous facial hair.
Which meant never.
"A few boxes of medicine will merely delay the inevitable!" Katakuri protested, "My people need a permanent solution, one that involves clearing the pollution-"
"Look…" A somewhat chunky Mer noble interrupted, rolling his eyes, "What happens in your 'kingdom' is no concern of ours. You need to understand that we simply cannot waste precious resources on something so… unimportant."
At that, Katakuri barred his teeth and clenched his fists. These pompous Mer considered the death of an entire kingdom unimportant!? The death of his family, trivial!? He flipped his massive tail angrily, causing a rush of water to knock over many of the chuckling nobles.
"I have abided by your laws, Dragon, and groveled in your court, but I will not allow such insults against my family!" Katakuri growled, "Tread carefully, for I am not against using other means to achieve my goals, consequences be damned!"
Once he finished speaking, Royal guards surrounded him with spears held menacingly.
"Take what we are generously giving you," Dragon declared in a stern voice, "and get out."
Snarling at the King, Katakuri spun around and swam out of the throne room, Cracker and the rest right behind him. Escorted out of the city, they came to a halt just outside of Raftel's wall, with two boxes of medicine and a small net of fish as their only bounty.
"Well, that sucked." Cracker grumbled, glaring at the palace in the distance, "What are we going to do now, Brother?"
"What we must." Katakuri replied, "When night falls, take Cadenza and Cabaletta into the city, find the Silver-Scale, and bring him to me."
Cracker nodded stoically.
"In the meantime, the rest of us will return to the mouth of the Riptide Current where we will await your return. Swim carefully, Dragon may be on his guard." Cracker bowed respectfully before taking his two companions and swimming to a nearby kelp forest to lay in wait.
While this was not how he'd hoped the summit would go, Katakuri was not so gracious as to let the nobles swim all over him and his family. No, he would take the little prince and watch Dragon squirm.
Then, once the Silver-Scale completed his work, Katakuri would… consider… returning him.
Once the summit ended and his guards let him out, Luffy swam straight to his father's chambers where he hoped Ace would be too. He wanted to know how everything turned out! What did the Scavenger King have to say?
Pushing the door open, Luffy recoiled at the hot water temperature, indicating Ace was angry.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" His big-brother growled, pointing accusingly at an exhausted looking Dragon, "It was obvious he only wanted help, and we practically spit in his face!"
Luffy bit his lip and considered leaving but decided against it and closed the door quietly behind him. The sound of the latch closing drew the attention of the room's other occupants.
"Hey, Lu…" Ace greeted quietly, opening his arms in an invitation for a hug. Luffy immediately dove into his brother's arms, thrumming deep in his chest to try and calm the larger Mer.
"What happened? Is everything okay?"
"Well…" Ace started, pulling away to hold Luffy gently by the shoulders, "Your genius of a father almost started a war with the scavengers. In fact, they may try and retaliate."
Dragon sighed and motioned for the two of them to sit next to him on the shell bench. Luffy glided over to the Mer's left while Ace settled stiffly on his right.
"I am sorry but dealing with Katakuri… brings back old memories." Dragon informed them, "We fought years ago and Big Mom, well, I won't get into it now, but it was bad. It is in the best interest of the Kingdom to keep the scavengers away and unconnected to us."
Ace went to protest but was stopped by a flick of Dragon's tail.
"You were impressive today, Ace, and I couldn't be prouder. Someday, you will make a great and respected King, one that can keep the nobility in check. Roger would be proud of how you've matured." He said while ruffling the freckled Mer's hair, "And Luffy, my son…"
Luffy smiled and hugged his father close, curling his tail around the larger Mer's tail as a sign of affection.
"I hope you understand that all I do is to protect you," Dragon whispered into Luffy's hair, "You're something special, and will do great things someday."
Dragon then pulled Ace into the hug and squeezed them tightly in his arms.
"My boys…"
After a few seconds, Ace squirmed out of the embrace and gave the King a strange look.
"Well, that wasn't weird at all… I mean… thanks…but," He said somewhat flustered, "What are we going to do about the threat to Lu? What if he comes for him?"
Luffy removed himself from his father's warmth to look between the two older Mer, confused.
"What threat?"
"The Scavenger King requested your aid in cleansing pollution in and around his Kingdom." Dragon answered, "Naturally, I refused, and he… alluded, that he would take you by force if need be."
The prince's eyes widened at that and his tail flicked nervously. He could protect himself just fine, but tiger sharks (or their Mer counterparts) made him… uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, Lu, I won't let him anywhere near you!" Ace reassured, catching Luffy in a head lock. The second-prince laughed and batted at his brother's orange tail with his own.
"Who says I need your help? I can take him!" Luffy insisted, still trying to get out of Ace's iron grip. Their scuffle was interrupted by Dragon clearing his throat.
"Regardless of what Katakuri does, I don't want either of you anywhere near him. He's extraordinarily powerful and is not to be underestimated." The King warned, "Especially you, Luffy. You're young and can't control your powers very well. Be on your guard."
Luffy nodded, and before he could respond, there was a knock on the door.
"I asked to not be disturbed…" Dragon called, irritated, "Whoever's there, leave us!"
"Forgive me, Your Majesty!" A strange voice responded, "But it's an emergency, please let me in!" Sighing, the King swam to the door and opened it.
The second it was open, a wave a darkness flooded the room, sending Luffy flying backwards and into the stone wall. Groaning in pain, he saw that Ace and his father had also been flung into the wall.
Before he could fully reorient himself, tentacles slithered into the room and wrapped around him, successfully trapping Luffy in place. Squirming and trying to refocus his blurry vision, the prince saw that Ace's head was bleeding and he lay limp in the creature's grasp while Dragon was shouting something to him and brandishing his trident.
The creature's main body entered the room, looking disgusting and excreting filth into the surrounding water. Suddenly, Luffy's body seized up as he realized he couldn't breathe. Not needing to look down, he could feel a hefty tentacle wrapped tightly around his neck, obscuring his gills.
It didn't take long for him to completely lose consciousness.
When Luffy awoke, he was out of the water and laying on something hard. Blinking, the prince attempted to sit up, only to collapse when his vision started to spin.
"Ah, the last one finally wakes up." A voice sneered, "About time."
Groaning, Luffy forced himself up into a sitting position, and growled at the Mer surrounding him. They were in a cave of some sort with a large pool in the center which obviously led to the ocean. Flexing his arms, the second prince tried to get blood flow back to his restrained limbs.
"Lu!" Ace called from across the pool, arms chained behind his back in a similar manner. Out of the water as they were, it was all they could do to stay upright. Their captives floated on bubbles and definitely had the advantage, not to mention their swords and spears.
"Ace!" Luffy called as he tried to scoot closer to the pool, only to be stopped when one of his captors grabbed him by the hair and held a sword to his throat.
"Easy now, little prince," the Mer chuckled darkly, "Wouldn't want my hand to slip." Luffy swallowed and gritted his teeth as the sword nicked the sensitive skin around his throat.
"Zehahaha, isn't this something!" A voice laughed, echoing throughout the cave. Luffy was forced back to the ground as the weird servant floated in, dragging the King by his hair.
"DAD!" He screamed, horrified at the sight of his father's bloodied body. The servant, Teach, smirked and threw Dragon onto the cave floor causing him to spit up blood.
"How the mighty fall…" Teach snickered, spitting on the prone Mer, "I've been waiting for this day for so long!"
"Teach, you bastard!" Ace growled loudly, pulling at his chains, "Do you know what you've done!?" The instigator turned towards the freckled Mer and swiftly floated over to him before grabbing Ace's face roughly.
"I know exactly what I've done, and soon you will learn to appreciate my power." Ace snarled and snapped at Teach's chubby fingers, prompting the fat Mer to laugh loudly.
"Such a spitfire! Don't you worry, Dragon's not dead yet, I still need him. And as for you…" He trailed off and pulled out a pure black trident brimming with dark magic. Luffy immediately threw himself forward, trying desperately to break free from his captors.
'He's going to do something to Ace! I-I have to-'
A stream of darkness shot out of the trident and hit Ace square in the chest, making him scream and writhe on the cold stone. Teach reclined on his bubble, cackling as his victim collapsed with a quiet whine.
"Sleep for now, and when you awaken, become mine." The fat Mer crooned, "You will rule by my side for all eternity…" When he floated down and drew a chubby hand through Ace's hair, Luffy snarled and yelled,
"Don't you dare touch him!"
His outburst earned him a harsh hit to the head with the end of a spear and multiple hits to the gut, making him fall to the ground and moan in pain.
"Ah, and we finally come to the little prince." Teach said with a chuckle as he floated across the pool and settled in front of Luffy. "Get him up!" The Mer's subordinates grabbed Luffy by the arms and hauled him back into a seated position, his tail flapping uselessly.
"Why are you… doing this?" He managed to choke out before coughing harshly. Though he'd never particularly liked Teach, Luffy knew he was a respected servant who'd served the Royal family for years. Why betray them after so long!?
"Why? This has always been the plan." Teach sneered, "It's simply taken many years of planning and pretending to finally achieve my goal. And now, Raftel is mine!"
Luffy growled at the Mer and struggled once again to break free, but to no avail.
"If only you'd been born a few years earlier…" Teach pondered, looking him over with a sigh, "Oh well. Fortunately for you, little prince, I need you alive to keep Ace in line." At that, Luffy was dropped roughly onto the cave floor. He looked around with wide eyes as his captors stepped back and Teach leveled the evil trident.
Unable to do anything to stop it, Luffy took the beam of dark magic head-on. The pain was excruciating, and his body contorted painfully. He passed out shortly after.
Waking up the second time, Luffy could tell something was seriously wrong. While his arms were free of their restraints, everything seemed louder and… bigger.
'W-What…'
Using his shaky arms to push himself up, the prince found himself surrounded by what appeared to be chains, trapping him.
"Zehahaha."
The instant he heard the laugh, Luffy yelped and covered his ears, trying to muffle the noise. Something rough grabbed him and pulled him off the ground with no effort at all. He gasped as he continued to go higher, holding on for dear life.
When he came face to face with Teach, Luffy started to understand what had happened. Pushing against the evil Mer's hand that held him tightly, the prince glared into the man's now much larger face.
"Aw… look at you, so tiny." Teach cooed, using one finger to lift Luffy's chin. "Like this, you're no threat. Oi, throw him a cage or something and continue the invasion of the city! By tomorrow morning, Raftel will be ours!"
He was passed off to another putrid smelling Mer who held him even tighter than Teach had, pinning his tiny arms down. As the group yelled in response to their leader's speech, Luffy couldn't help but sob as he couldn't do anything about the noise and its reverberation in the cave.
His new captor leapt into the pool, startling Luffy as his newly shrunk lungs protested briefly to the water. When his gills finally kicked in, he curled into the hand holding him tightly in an attempt to reduce the strain of the water pushing against him.
The Mer holding him broke off from the group and started to swim towards the outskirts of the palace. This gave Luffy a view of what was happening in the city, and it made him gasp in horror. Raftel, his home, was being destroyed. Outsiders swam threw the causeways and destroyed buildings as they went all the while tormenting the people.
Some common Mer had already fallen, their bodies floating amongst the debris.
Struggling against the webbed hand holding him captive, Luffy cried. How could they do something like this!? Those were his people, and many were his friends!
"Oi! Quit squirming!" The Mer minion demanded before shaking him up and down vigorously.
Now extremely dizzy, Luffy drooped over his captor's hand, feeling sick. His head pounded, and he could hear his pulse in his ears.
When something slammed into the Mer carrying him, knocking his tiny body into the water, Luffy couldn't hold it anymore and spewed the contents of his stomach. Gasping, he barely reacted when large hands gathered him up, closing him in between two palms.
To say the coup surprised Cracker was a severe understatement. No matter how awful they were, he'd never expected someone to actually rise up and try to take power for themselves, not in a culture where ideals were set in stone.
Right now though, it was of no consequence. In fact, the chaos was actually a good thing as it allowed him and his two brothers to sneak back into the palace with no issues. The hard part was locating the second prince.
They checked as many rooms as they could, but most of them were already swarming with rebellious Mer and other unsavory creatures. As the battle, or massacre, continued, Cracker swam out into the sea around the back of the palace, ignoring the enticing scent of blood coming from the town.
"Where is he?" He muttered to himself, Cadenza and Cabaletta swimming up to join him. They'd checked everywhere!
"Brother, look there!" Cadenza called, pointing up to where a group of Mer were swimming out of a cave. That had to be it!
They watched the group approach and swim to join the combat, somewhat frustrated that there was no sign of the prince. That is, until a small glint of light in the hand of a stray caught his attention. Swimming a bit closer, Cracker's eyes widened at the sight of a tiny Mer, only about six inches tall, squirming against he grip of the larger, his albino tail catching moonlight. Knowing there was no known race of Merfolk that small, Cracker assumed it had to be magic.
Quietly signaling for his brothers to surround the Mer, Cracker slowed his pace and stalked behind his target, eyes on his tiny prize. He saw his chance to strike when the little one was shaken and sped forward.
Cadenza and Cabaletta slammed into the target first, holding him in place, while Cracker went in for the kill and snapped his neck with a firm jerk of his teeth. Leaving his brothers to deal with the body, the shark-Mer turned to secure the prince only to find him throwing his guts up and coughing raggedly, possibly as a repercussion of being shaken so roughly.
Curling his lip in disgust, despite all of it being so small, Cracker flicked his large tail up to get it away from him before cupping his hands around the tiny prince, capturing him.
"Let's go!" He called to his brothers, "Katakuri's waiting for us!"
The Scavenger King flipped his tail back and forth lazily to keep himself upright as he waited for Cracker to return. He was interested to hear what happened considering the obvious damage and battle going on in the heart of the city. Cracker had been gone for quite a while, but Katakuri had high hopes he would succeed in his mission.
"My Lord, look!" One of his subordinates called, pointing towards Raftel. Katakuri sighed in relief as Cracker, Cadenza, and Cabaletta swam into view, rushing towards them. Of course, what did concern him was the definitive lack of a Silver-Scale.
"We made it…" Cracker panted, swimming to a stop in front of Katakuri, "Raftel's a mess so it was hard to make it back through without running into somebody!"
"What happened?"
"Looks like a coup… honestly not too sure on the details." Cracker replied, catching his breath.
"What about the prince?" Katakuri asked with crossed arms, "I see you don't have him."
"Actually…" Cracker said with a smirk, "We do."
The smaller shark-Mer then held up his cupped hands for everyone to see and opened them, revealing the tiny albino Mer who was curled up there. The little thing blinked as his eyes adjusted and gazed up at them with a somewhat vacant gaze. He coughed violently before collapsing back into Cracker's palm, blood trickling from a wound under his raven hair and bruises covering his small chest.
"Not sure why he's like this, but I assumed it was magic." Cracker informed him while transferring the tiny prince to one hand and poking him with the other.
Katakuri examined the Silver-Scale, noting how he shivered and clutched at his stomach.
"He needs treatment." The Scavenger King ascertained, "Let's get him back to Brulee and see what she can do about his injuries and his current size. Will you be able to hold onto him in the current?"
"Not a problem!" Cracker reassured him while closing the Silver-Scale in again. Deciding to trust his little brother, Katakuri led the group away from Raftel and towards the Riptide Current that would take them home.
Looking back at the crumbling city, he felt conflicted. One side of him rejoiced that the pompous nobles were finally getting what they deserved while another part urged him to aid them. He decided that, considering the safety of his family, it would be better to leave and see how the internal conflict panned out.
Noting his fellow sharks were ready, Katakuri leapt into the Riptide Current. It was always exhilarating to ride it as it sent you flying through the ocean faster than any Mer could ever swim.
Just as he was starting to relax and enjoy the ride, Cracker yelped from behind him. Slightly turning his head, as that was all he could manage in the powerful current, he saw that Cracker's hands were open and the Silver-Scale was nowhere to be seen.
Unbelievable…
Though Luffy was currently tiny and injured, he was not going to just sit around and allow the scavengers to take him. It took more effort than he'd expected, but he managed to tap into the water around him to make a small current.
Just before he unleashed it, the shark-Mer entered the Riptide Current. It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. The pressure was crushing, and he knew that there was no going against it. Still, he had to try.
Managing to hold onto his feeble connection to the water, he flung it at the hands keeping him contained until the large Mer released him with a yelp. Now free, Luffy flung himself into he current and was thrown around, the mere swiftness of the water making it difficult to breathe.
Somehow, just before the current came to an end, the little prince was able to make it out of the current. Spinning in the water, Luffy held his head with a groan as his vision stabilized. Hearing shouts from behind him, the young Mer sped off, in the only safe direction currently, up and away from his pursuers.
Knowing he couldn't outrun them, Luffy swiftly ascended, desperate to get away.
Having only surfaced in the reef, the prince felt nervous but determined. Feeling the scavengers gaining on him, Luffy called on the ocean to give him speed, which it did.
A little too much speed.
Now flying through the water, Luffy closed his eyes simply wanting the experience to end. He gasped when his tiny body flew out of the water and into the air. Unable to control his landing, he was thrown onto the shore, barely missing some jagged rocks. Rolling from the momentum, Luffy fell into a small pool of shallow water, where he floated for a moment, trying to catch his breath.
When he moved, Luffy yelped in pain and held his arm tightly. Examining it in the moonlight, he could see it had been broken on impact. Swimming slowly around the pool, he discovered there was no way out and no way back to the ocean.
While this was a good thing in a sense as it could provide protection from his pursuers, what was he going to do? He was in human territory now and there's no telling what they'd do if they discovered him (not that he'd ever met one before)!
Deciding there was nothing he could do but wait, Luffy bit his quivering lip and curled up next to a kind sea cucumber named Fred, who offered him some comfort.
Law enjoyed the ocean, quite a lot actually. He supposed it was Cora's fault for instilling the interest in him, but he wasn't complaining. Early morning walks along the rocky shore were calming and helped take him away from his chaotic life.
He used to be a surgeon, one of the best. People would come from all over to consult him, the youngest cardiothoracic surgeon on this side of the Red Line. Of course, that all changed when his uncle came back into his life.
Doflamingo tracked him and Cora down after they'd fled to another city for a better life. His adoptive father recognized that the gang life really wasn't good for a child and tried to give him a better future, much to Doflamingo's chagrin.
Despite all their efforts, the head of the Donquixote Family found them, tracking them all the way from Dressrosa to Water 7, where they'd lived at the time.
Coercing teenage Law into some… very illegal activities, he was taken back into the gang. At the time, Law was something of a rebel and didn't appreciate everything Cora had done for him, so it really wasn't hard to re-initiate him into the gang scene.
He didn't feel the repercussions of his actions for some time, until he was finally caught, tried, and put in jail for three years. After being released on parole, he cut all ties with his uncle and moved with Cora to Goa, a relatively small city right on the ocean. As a convict, it was difficult to get a job, especially as a doctor. Even with all his expertise and experience, no one would hire him.
So, now twenty-four, he currently worked as a barista at a local café called the Tangerine that was run by Cora's girlfriend, Bellemere and her family. He'd managed to get himself a small apartment and made sure not to miss any meetings with his parole officer, Smoker.
Law was determined to turn his life around, but some habits were hard to kick.
Eustass Kidd, a fellow inmate and gangster, ran things in a town not far from Goa and tended to stop by every once and a while to try and pull him back into that life. Apparently, Law had impressed him during their stay in prison and was determined to recruit him.
Just goes to show that good friends are hard to come by.
Cora constantly encouraged him to go out and meet people, but Law found socializing to be difficult. After being put in prison, most of his "friends" at the hospital either abandoned him or spent their days sullying his name.
So, Law found himself to be quite picky with his friends. He didn't even particularly like his co-workers at the Tangerine.
He was drawn out of his thoughts when he stubbed a toe on a jagged rock, eliciting a curse. So much for a calm walk down by the beach. Sighing, Law continued his trek until he came to his favorite spot, a large boulder that looked over the ocean. Once seated, he hummed contently, soaking in the early morning sunlight.
That is, until a soft squeak caught his attention. Raising an eyebrow, Law looked around for anyone or anything around, only to find nothing.
What was that?
When he heard it again, Law nimbly climbed off his perch and set about searching for the source of the noise.
'I swear if it's some brat I'll-'
He heard it a third time, right by his feet. Kneeling down, Law watched something thrash around in a tide pool. It looked like some sort of fish and it had a crab attached to its tail.
'Since when do fish squeak?' He thought as he watched the strange thing try and get the crab's pincer out of its tail. With a particularly hard flip of its tail, the crab was dislodged and actually thrown out of the tide pool, nearly connecting with Law's face.
Scowling, he got down on his knees for a closer look, only to freeze because that… was not a fish. Its bottom half was a beautiful white tail, but its top half was that of a tiny human teenager… thing.
'A mermaid… er… merman?'
The merman looked up at him with wide eyes before swimming into a corner and curling up into a little ball, fear clear on its face.
Law honestly found himself a bit… underwhelmed. Cora, being the mythical creature fanatic that he was, had filled his head with stories of the Merfolk, and he'd been expecting something… bigger. Still, the fact that he'd just stumbled upon a creature of myth was pretty cool.
Taking out his phone, Law tried to snap a few pictures of the thing, only to scare it even more when the flash went off.
"Sorry! Sorry…" He soothed, putting his phone away, "I didn't mean to scare you, little Mer-ya." The tiny merman uncurled slightly but didn't move from his spot in the corner. Fishing a hand into his pocket, Law brought out a granola bar he'd been saving for breakfast and tore off some small pieces to give the merman.
It took a few seconds after tossing the crumbs in, but the white-tailed creature slowly swam out to grab the pieces in his tiny hands. Now that the light was better, Law could see the thing was far from okay.
He had bruises across his chest, wounds on his head and tail, what appeared to be a broken arm, and it looked extremely pale. Not that he knew much about mermaid anatomy.
Still, he couldn't just leave the thing in a tide pool to garner infection and die.
Throwing a bunch of crumbs into the pool, Law rushed back to his car and grabbed a pair of work gloves and a small cooler he'd stocked with some emergency water bottles. Emptying it, the man carried it to the ocean where he dipped it in and filled it up about half-way.
Arriving back at the pool with his package, Law could see the little merman was getting nervous as it grabbed what crumbs it could hold and swam back into its corner. Placing the cooler right next to the tide pool and putting his gloves on, Law prepared to catch the merman.
It turned out to be quite a challenge.
The tiny thing was quick and always managed to slip out of his grasp. But, eventually, he succeeded in grabbing it around the waist and tail. As gently as he could, Law pulled it out of the water. The poor creature was terrified and thrashed around, desperate for freedom.
"Shhh… it's okay, let me help you." Law whispered as he put the merman into the cooler and closed the top over it. Taking his things back to the car, he secured the cooler in the front seat next to him, so it wouldn't move around too much.
Throughout the drive home, he kept glancing over at the cooler, thinking what Cora would say.
