Chapter 38
Law
The smell of fresh coffee woke Law the next morning. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly sat up from the couch he'd been sleeping on and glanced around the Thousand Sunny's galley. Sunlight streamed in through the portholes above him. East. We're going east, he thought vaguely, though one could never be sure when traveling through the Grand Line, especially in the New World half. To Law's surprise, the only Straw Hat pirate in the room was Nico Robin, pouring herself a cup of coffee. At the sound of his rustling blankets, she peered over her shoulder at him and smiled.
"Ah, good morning, Tra-guy," the archeologist said cheerfully. Law felt his eye twitch. The damn nickname had even caught on with Nico-ya! If she felt his annoyance, Robin ignored it and asked, "Coffee?"
Law nearly refused, but after his evening stuck with Straw Hat Luffy and his antics, the doctor decided he could well use the stimulant. "Yes, please."
Still smiling, Robin turned back around and poured a second cup before walking over and passing the Heart Pirate captain one of the two mugs. He took it gratefully and took a cautious sip of the hot liquid. Dark and strong, as he preferred it.
"I'm surprised Black-Leg-ya's not awake yet."
"All of them appear to be sleeping in rather late this morning," Robin commented, taking a sip from her own mug as she took a seat at the dining room table. "In particular the three who went into the simulation."
She didn't say anything, but the steady way she stared at Law from over her mug, he could tell she was waiting for a response from him. It took him a moment to realize she was asking his opinion as a doctor.
"Most likely, it's a result of the over-stimulation of their brains, combined with fatigue from destroying the lab afterwards. With some rest, they should all be fine. Physically, anyway."
"I see," the archeologist replied. Her expression didn't change much, but Law thought he could see relief in her eyes.
"Nico-ya," Law began, "I wouldn't rest easy yet. Based on what Straw Hat-ya was telling me last night, those three perceived they were in there for quite some time. And losing someone close to you the first time around is difficult enough. I can't imagine the second time around will be any easier."
"Yes, I suppose so." Robin took a thoughtful sip. "Yet, I don't think they were quite…cognizant of most of it."
"What do you mean?"
"Some of the notes Franky and I read about the project. That machine was basically projecting a dream into their minds, but their brains perceived it much like how they normally would for a dream. Time likely seemed much longer than it actually was, for one."
Law nodded. "Makes sense. Even the longest dreams really only last a few minutes."
"Indeed. And for another, and I'd have to confirm this with one of the three, mind…" Robin paused, as though thinking something through. "How do I explain this? Tra-guy, do you have a routine you go through every morning on your ship?"
Law was so puzzled by the unexpected question that he missed the annoying nickname. "Of course. Everyone does."
"Are you always completely aware of what you're doing during that routine? Like could you tell me specifics about your walk from your cabin to the galley? Like if you passed any of your crew, say two days ago, for example?"
"Ah, I see what you're getting at. If the three of them travelled a great distance, their minds would simply tell them that they did and they wouldn't notice or care that they couldn't remember any details about the trip. They'd only remember highlights like actually arriving."
"Precisely. Or it could even be similar to how you think of a place in a dream and suddenly you're just there. Either way, the mind tends to just accept things and not question the how or why."
"The question remains, how long were they in there then? To their perception at least?" Law asked. He could see the archeologist's face tense slightly with worry.
Just then, one of the three in question burst through the galley door.
"Saaaaaaannnnnjjjjiiiiiiiii! What's for-?" At the sight of Robin and Law, but no cook, the Straw Hat captain paused. "Where's Sanji?" he whined.
"I assume he's still sleeping, Captain," Robin stated, getting up from her chair. "But I can make some eggs to tide you over if you like."
"Yay! You're the best, Robin!"
Law groaned into his mug as the primary source of his stress sat down at the table, picking the chair closest to Law on the couch. When the Heart Captain had regained consciousness late yesterday afternoon, he'd wandered into the galley, hoping to be able to return to his ship and crew that evening. To his frustration, Luffy had insisted Law stick around for dinner, followed by a party afterwards. When Law had protested, saying his crew was likely expecting him, the rubber man just laughed.
"Nami told them to meet up with us tomorrow afternoon! So you can hang out with us, Tra-guy!" Straw Hat-ya had insisted. Just like he insisted Law have dinner. And drinks afterwards. Oh, and then listen to the skeleton play his violin by the helm. Had Law not slept in the galley and been woken by Robin brewing coffee, he likely would have slept in late as well.
Still, Law couldn't help worrying about what had happened to his fellow captain. Strictly as a doctor, of course.
"Straw Hat-ya," Law said, catching Luffy's attention. "That dream world. How long were you, Black-Leg-Ya, and Roronoa-ya in there?"
The Straw Hat captain put a finger to his chin and looked upward, thinking hard. Law, from prior experience, waited patiently. Finally Luffy shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm not sure. A couple of weeks, at least, I think. Sanji would probably know better. Maybe Zoro."
Law sighed in exasperation. He really shouldn't have expected a precise answer from Straw Hat. Over in the kitchen, he could see Robin watching them, a relieved smile on the archeologist's face. No doubt she'd been worried that the three had perceived themselves as in there for years rather than weeks. Which…would have been understandably jarring, to say the least.
"How are you holding up, Straw Hat-ya?" Law asked. Firmly as a medical professional, of course. In the back of his mind, he could hear the sniper's voice Just accept. The Friendship. He firmly told it to go shut the hell up.
"What do you mean?" Luffy asked, fixing Law with a blank stare.
"Luffy," Robin called from the kitchen. The rubber man's head whipped around, eagerly awaiting food. His expression fell when he realized the eggs weren't done yet. "Who did you see in that world?"
The rubber man grinned. "Oh yeah! I saw Ace! And Sabo! That was great!" Then he got a comical disgusted frown, "But we were Marines so that sucked…"
"You saw Fire Fist-ya?" Law asked, quietly. Now he was worried. Flashes of Straw Hat's breakdown after Marineford passed through the doctor's mind.
"Yeah, I did." Luffy's expression turned a bit more serious, but the smile remained. "But it's okay. I got to say goodbye to Ace this time. Got to say goodbye to both of them together. So I'm okay." Then the million-watt smile returned to his face. "Thanks for worrying about me, Tra-guy!"
Law was so flabbergasted that he couldn't speak for a few moments. "Th-that's not—of all the preposterous-!"
The Surgeon of Death was interrupted by the sound of the galley door banging open and loud boisterous violin music suddenly playing throughout the galley. (Who the hell managed to make a violin sound boisterous?!)
"Good morning~, everyone~!" Brook declared in a sing-song voice, continuing his obnoxiously loud violin playing. "I came to play everyone awake, seeing as how everyone seemed to be sleeping quite late, but it appears you are all already awake!"
Luffy laughed, Robin grinned, and Law pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Why did he have this alliance again?
One by one they all came in. The cook came in next, immediately apologizing to Nico Robin for not having her breakfast already prepared ("And some for you assholes next, I suppose!"). Then came Chopper, who immediately began fussing over everyone ("How are you feeling, Luffy? How's your headache, Robin? Sanji, are feeling okay? Law, do you need to rest some more?"). Next came in the sniper, already telling tales about his derring-do on the island (which the rubber man and reindeer just ate up because of course they did!). The red-headed navigator came in next and was of course immediately served tea and toast with mikan jam. Jinbei arrived with a yawn and a smile, quickly grabbed some tea and breakfast, and then headed back out to the helm. Franky was the next one in, still making some adjustments to his face where the Pacifista had blown part of it off.
And then they were up to their usual shenanigans. The galley was full of the sounds of the Straw Hats' rough-housing, arguments, and laughter, much to Law's annoyance and chagrin. On the other hand, it was good to see that Black Leg and Straw Hat weren't too out of sorts from their time trapped in the simulation. Law smiled slightly to himself as he began to relax despite the overbearing atmosphere.
Then the galley door slammed open one more time and Roronoa Zoro walked in. And all the laughter and joking stopped.
"Zoro! Zoro! Are you okay! Did you get enough sleep?" Chopper came bustling over, immediately fussing over another one of his patients. He stopped at the angry grimace on the swordsman's face, pausing just next to him. "Zoro?"
Without a word, the swordsman gave Chopper a pat on the head and then walked over to the pantry to grab a bottle of sake. Surprisingly, the cook didn't stop him, merely put Zoro's breakfast on the table without a word.
Law noticed the slight frown on Nico Robin's face and he was sure there was one on his own. Surprisingly it would appear that the swordsman didn't escape from Ambience quite as unscathed as the other two. Law was unsure what happened to the man in there (even Luffy was silent about it when Law had asked him pointedly last night) but if Zoro remained affected like this, there was no doubt that it would put a serious damper on the crew's dynamic, something they could hardly afford this late into their journey. He was already coming up with ideas to discuss with Nico-ya and Tony-ya, in fact when the Straw Hat captain spoke.
"Shishishi! Zoro's still mad that he wasn't able to catch that old man!" Luffy laughed.
"Don't say it like that!" Zoro snapped at his captain. "The damn lab collapsed before I could get him! If I'd kept going, you and the cook would've gone down with the island."
"Whatever you say, Zoro!" With that, Luffy stretched out a hand to Zoro's unprotected plate.
"Why, you-!" The swordsman jumped on his captain, already trying to retrieve his meal. Law could hear the cook murmur, "As if you wouldn't have gone down with us, Shitty Swordsman." The others began to laugh as captain and swordsman got into one of their typical brawls. On the other side of the galley, Law saw Robin's face relax into a smile. It would take some time, but Zoro was going to be just fine.
"So that old man went down with the island, huh?" Nami commented, sipping at her drink.
"Sounds like it," Franky agreed, sipping some cola.
"All I know is I could sense that old man one minute and couldn't the next. Hopefully, that means the Marines did us a favor for once and took that guy out with the island." The cook commented. He blew out some smoke. "Didn't even learn that old bastard's name."
"What about Vegapunk?" Usopp asked.
"Never sensed him. Hopefully, he went down, too." Sanji answered.
Law looked over at Straw Hat, who was leaning back in his chair now that Zoro had finally gotten his food back, and noticed the other captain smile as he looked out over his crew. Seeing the rubber man's sunny grin, Law fondly reminded himself this was why he had an alliance with Straw Hat Luffy.
Author's Notes: I never did come up with a name for Vegapunk's assistant. Since he was originally supposed to be Vegapunk himself (until I decided to keep Vegapunk mysterious) and then eventually got downgraded to "the assistant" or "the old man," I decided to just leave his name and identity a mystery as well. So he could technically exist in the series, I guess? Maybe he's related to that carpenter from Wano.
-Since Law was the one who more or less served as the opening exposition chapter POV character, I decided to leave him as a close-out POV character as well.
-This does beg the question, where does Law sleep on the Sunny while he's with the Straw Hats? Does he sleep with the boys? Does he sleep on a couch in the aquarium bar or in the dining room? The infirmary? Why do I focus on these details? Anyway, for the purposes of this story, he slept on the dining room couch.
-Now the real question: where the heck do Franky, Brook, and Jinbei sleep?