"Hey Chopper, where do you want these?" Usopp asked as he poked his long nose into the room. He nudged the door open as his arms were full, carrying two large containers of water. The tiny medic was scurrying around the room making swift preparations for the sudden arrival. Nami had messaged ahead about the severity of Ash's condition.

He paused to look over his shoulder with a mild frown. "Is that all you could find?" He asked worriedly.

"Uh, yeah, but I could keep looking," he offered as he set them down on the floor.

"Yes please, at least one more." The reindeer turned back to his task of stripping down a bed. "I'm not sure just how much I'll need."

The door clicked behind him, and he continued with his arrangements. His brow knit together at the brief but bizarre explanation Nami had given. It didn't sound like any burn he'd encountered before. Was it one, or could it be a poison that produced a similar effect? That didn't seem very likely, Ash was quite experienced. She wasn't careless enough to be tricked by a poisoned glass, let alone get caught.

Once everything was in place, he went on deck to await their arrival. Luffy seemed a bit subdued as he waited beside him. "Something wrong?" He asked curiously.

"I'm worried about Ash," his Captain said flatly as he stared out at the horizon.

He panicked for a moment. "Why? What else is wrong? Was there an update I missed?"

He shook his head. "No. She's my friend so I don't like to hear that something bad has happened to her."

Chopper scowled at him bitterly. "You jerk, you really had me worried there!"

Luffy seemed amused by his temper and patted his hat with a side smile. "I'm not worried about you though 'cuz you've got this Chopper, you're the best!"

He blushed a bit modestly as he pushed his hand off, still feeling a bit frazzled by the near scare. Just then, the lookout called out visual on the trio. They were in a small boat with Zoro paddling hard against the waves. Nami held Ash in her arms, dabbing at her face with a cloth. The girl was unresponsive and lay still. Usopp threw a rope latter down over the side as they pulled the small craft alongside. Zoro carefully slung Ash across his broad shoulders and climbed up while Nami secured the boat. She felt uncomfortably hot against his neck, the fever came on quite fast. That seemed really unusual. She trembled slightly, like a chill you just can't shake. He hunched over, worried that she might slip off. Her faint wheezing breath in his ear had all the horror of the haunted. Luffy and Chopper rushed to help, carefully lowering her onto the deck.

There was a hushed silence as Chopper made his initial inspection. Her lips were blue and swollen. The skin of her throat, down to her collar bone, was blistered with terrible sores. It was a gruesome sight that made the others look away uncomfortably. "Carry her to the medical cabin," Chopper instructed to no one in particular. Luffy rallied himself for the task and carefully gathered her in his arms before hurrying after the medic. Chopper determined that the swelling was interfering with her ability to breathe so quickly administered a shot of adrenaline and placed an oxygen mask on her face. Nami joined them by this time and offered to help. Following his careful directions, she meticulously washed the skin, careful not to burst the blisters. Chopper took a few blood samples and set them aside to be tested later. He wasn't sure what he was looking for yet, it was just standard medical procedure. After a pain-staking hour, he reluctantly concluded that this was more than just a burn. Ash still hadn't regained consciousness yet and she trembled under a fierce fever. Given Nami's description, there was a very good chance that the arson attack on The Estate had a chemical element to it. But he still couldn't rule out poison either. He sighed as he wiped sweat from his brow. This was beyond his current skill level, there was no sense in denying that. He looked up to see Luffy watching from the doorway. "I think you should contact Law." He said solemnly.

He nodded. "On it." He turned to hurry down the wooden corridor towards their navigation room. There was a snail stationed on a table, with a list of numbers next to it. He skimmed through it and quickly dialed the direct line to the Polar Tang. Shirazuki answered it quickly. "Captain! Hey, have you-?"

"It's Luffy," he quickly interrupted. "I need to talk to your Captain."

"He's away at the moment so I can take a message."

Luffy groaned impatiently. "No, it can't wait that long. Is there another number I can reach him? It's an emergency."

Shirazuki looked up to see the others shaking their heads in immediate refusal.

"He doesn't want Straw Hat to have his personal number, under any circumstances," Shachi whispered close so he wouldn't be overheard.

"Can you just imagine what a pain in the ass that would be?" Oki agreed just as silently. "He'd be calling at all hours of the night!"

"Hey! I said it was an emergency!" Luffy huffed. "Ash is in real trouble here!"

All three stared down in horror at the receiver. "Ash? Wha-she's with you?" Shirazuki squeaked in surprise.

"Yeah, we found her and she's been hurt really bad so give me his number right now!" Luffy demanded as he reached out for a nearby pencil. He quickly wrote it down and hung up without remembering to thank them. He was completely focused on the immediate task at hand.

He dialed the new number and this time he heard Law's gruff voice on the other end. "What is it?" He asked curtly.

"It's Luffy," he began but that's as far as he got.

"How the hell did you get this number!?" He hissed irritably in his interruption. "Never mind, I don't have time for your nonsense right now."

The snail's eyes drooped as it clicked to signal its end. The nerve of that jerk! Luffy glared down at it as he furiously redialed the number, even the snail flinched at the unnecessary pressure. "How dare you hang up on the Future King of the Pirates!" He shouted in turn when the call connected.

"I told you not to bother me, Straw Hat," he warned, undeterred by his temper.

"But it's an emergency!" He insisted.

Law scoffed at that. "Oh really, what happened? Ran out of meat?" He taunted. He wasn't usually this cruel but Luffy's natural tendency to exaggerate made a convenient excuse to vent his current frustration.

"It's Ash! She's been hurt real bad! She's got a shaky fever and won't wake up. She's been wheezing like some creepy zombie because her neck is burned and covered in shiny blister bumps." It went terribly still on the other end, so he continued on. "Chopper's done his best because he is the best, but he still thinks you should take a look at her so can you stop whatever you're doing and come?"

Silence.

"Traffy? Hey, you heard me right?"

Silence.

Luffy jiggled the connection port on the snail's neck, which inadvertently caused the call to disconnect. He frowned down at it. "Man, he can be such a pain sometimes!" He hung up and folded his arms across his chest with a terrible scowl.

He looked up to see Nami peeking her head into the room. "Did you manage to get a hold of Law?" She asked.

He opened his mouth, but the snail started to ring. He seemed surprised at that and picked it up. "Hello?" He asked curiously. "Who's th-?"

"You dumbass!" Law snarled through the phone. "How dare you hang up on me!"

"But you've hung up on me twice already!" Luffy protested.

Nami shook her head in exasperation. "Forget him and talk to me," she said as she took the receiver from the idiot.

"Is it true that you have Ash?" Law pressed.

"Yeah, she's here. Zoro said that she was thrown out a third story window."

"How badly injured is she?" There was a crack in the tone, but she wasn't sure if it came from him or a brief hiccup with the signal.

"It's really bad," she confessed, unsure of how best to describe it exactly. "We're on the Thousand Sunny but not too far from The Estate, we haven't set out just yet. Are you still close by?"

Luffy perked up at that. Why should Law be nearby?

"I have her vivre card," he explained in a steadier tone of voice. "As long as you stay put, I should be able to locate you on my own. Call me again if her condition worsens from its present state."

"Will do," she reassured him before hanging up. She frowned down at her Captain. "Honestly, what's wrong with you?"

Luffy pouted as he sulked in his chair. "Hey, that wasn't my fault!" He scowled.

Law had commandeered a small vessel off the coast, attached to the side of some yacht. It was quite a challenge trying to navigate through the choppy coastal waves and focus on the shifting card in his hand. Maybe it would have been wise to keep Shirazuki behind to assist. But at the time he didn't want to risk the safety of anyone else on his team. His arms ached something awful as he manhandled the crude steering and rudder controls. He had long since thrown his useless shoes overboard. The tread was more ridiculous than functional. But bare feet against a slick deck wasn't any less challenging. The craft shuddered against the relentlessly pounding surf. All that money and they still can't afford something decent! He cursed under his breath as he kicked a piece back into position.

He forced his way through and eventually caught sight of the Thousand Sunny. Just the sight of it sent renewed strength to his aching limbs. He mercifully caught a favorable wind which pushed him the last bit of the way. He threw out his arms in a wide arch and hailed them. Zoro peered from over the railing, and he turned his attention to him. "Zoro! Throw me a rope!"

The Swordsmen casually rested his arms along the rail. "Sorry friend but your name presently escapes me." He drawled down at him.

"It's me! Trafalgar Law!"

He tilted his head skeptically to the side. "Really? You expect me to believe that? You look nothing like the man."

It was then that Law realized just how successful his waiter disguise truly was. He didn't have time for this! He tore off the vest and ripped open the dress shirt to reveal his elaborate Heart tattoo. "There! Satisfied?" He demanded as he puffed out his chest. "Now let me up already!"

Zoro did a double-take with his lower jaw dropping in shock. He looked frantically about for the rope ladder and tossed it over. Law caught hold and pushed off against the small craft to set it adrift, he wasn't going to need it anymore. He pulled himself up, hand over hand, as he climbed the ladder which swayed slightly. He hauled himself over the railing and landed hard on the deck. He lay on his back, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. He closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself. He just needed a minute.

"Hey who's this?" Usopp asked as he bent over to peer at the stranger. "Some kind of Law cosplayer?" He poked at his bare chest. Law seized hold of his wrist to stop him and glared fiercely at him. The sniper yelped in fright. "Nope! It's the real deal alright!"

Nami hurried over and shooed him away. She dropped down to one knee, Zoro fell in suit and each grabbed hold of each arm to pull him back up to his feet. He leaned heavily against them for a moment before pulling back slightly. "A-Ash…" he groaned softly. Not wanting to backtrack through the forest to the harbor, he had scaled down the treacherously steep cliffs to the rocky shoreline. His sleeves had long since been torn by the numerous cuts and scrapes he'd collected along the way. And then to force that sorry excuse for a ship against the current had taken its toll as well. He was beyond exhausted and barely standing on his feet by this point. "Where is-"

"She's this way," she said sympathetically as she offered him her arm to lean on. Normally he wouldn't have accepted, but he threw his natural pride overboard and linked arms. "You should probably be seen to as well," she added.

He shook his head. "No, my injuries can wait. I'm j-just fine," he grunted as they took the corner a bit more sharply than he'd meant to.

She gently pulled him back towards her as she led the way. "Honestly, you men are all the same," she grumbled under her breath.

He ignored it as he was too exhausted to even argue, besides what did it matter anyway? Ash was the top priority. His jaw clenched as his teeth set stubbornly. He was responsible for her safety and well-being; he couldn't fail her again. He braced himself for the worst as Nami reached for the doorknob, but the sight of Ash lying there made his knees nearly give out. She was terribly pale, shivering as sweat dripped off her face. This exacerbated the color of those terrible blisters. Her chest heaved with some effort to breathe but she wasn't wheezing anymore, that was one positive note.

Chopper turned towards him with a relieved smile, that seemed to slip right off. His eyes widened with worry as he hurried over towards the pair. "Law! What happened to you?!"

He waved his protest aside as he gently pulled himself free from Nami's supporting arm. He straightened up as he rolled up what was left of his sleeves. "That can wait. Tell me what you've done so far."

As he approached her side, he noticed that she wasn't wearing that ridiculous dress anymore. But he wasn't sure if that was because the Straw Hats intentionally dressed her down. No, that didn't seem right, this outfit didn't look similar to anything Nami or Robin wore. Maybe one of the male crewmembers had a maid fetish…he wouldn't rule out the likelihood of that. He shook his head to clear it from that bizarre train of thought. He took a seat and summoned a small room bubble the size of a beach ball to his hand. He gently rested his fingertips on her mouth and chin.

"She was having difficulty breathing so I gave her a shot of adrenaline," Chopper explained as he pulled up a nearby stool to sit beside him. "Because of the arson attack, I assumed that it was just a burn, possibly a chemical one. But after basic first aid and cleaning, it seems to have worsened."

His gaze narrowed as he frowned severely. "No, this isn't a burn at all. Its poison." His fingers gently moved to travel down her throat. "Not one that I'm familiar with, but it's obvious that she was force-fed it." He gestured with his other hand; some faint bruising was barely visible under the blisters that went around the back of her neck. "See there? Clear signs of strangulation as well."

Nami whistled through her teeth as she was shocked. "Seriously?" She asked incredulously.

His fingers flexed, widening the initial room. "The poison is spreading too; it'll induce cardiac arrest if I don't contain it soon. Prepare for the worst should I fail," he firmly instructed the Reindeer.

"Can't you just remove it?" She asked with slight exasperation.

"Of course I can," he grumbled slightly. "But unless I know its exact ingredients and their individual effect on the body, removal could be just as lethal. But I can isolate it within her body to keep it from spreading in the meantime." He leaned in closer to Ash, shoulders hunched over as his brow knit in intense concentration.

"Nami, he needs to focus, and I could use your help," Chopper gently redirected her.

She reluctantly did so, and Law remained silent about his task. His fingers spread wide, but his hand trembled as his fatigue was really getting to him. The next half hour was filled with intense silence. Then at last he sat back, wiping sweat from his brow. "She's no longer in immediate danger." He leaned back and stretched his back a bit stiffly. Then he cracked his knuckles to relieve the tension in his aching hands. "Now there's only the matter of creating a barrier to ensure the isolation."

He leaned in once again, this time using both hands to concentrate his devil fruit ability. This poison was most sinister indeed, and he wasn't one to label potions in that way. Poison can be a necessary evil to efficiently eliminate an enemy without engaging in direct combat. But this one was certainly one of the most destructive he'd encountered so far. Just from this preliminary assessment, he did recognize a few of the ingredients and they didn't work well together. It was a cruel cocktail hellbent on pure destruction. He could well imagine the struggle Ash must have put up to resist as well. But even with so very little having been ingested, its vicious fury was truly a force to be reckoned with. But then again, so was Ash's indominable spirit, he thought with a gentle smirk. Her will was strong, and he was confident that she would pull through this.

He flinched as he felt some warm pressure on his upper arm. He turned his head to see Chopper gently cleaning his cuts with a warm washcloth. He had a supply of medicinal cream and bandages at the ready. "I'll take care of you while you take care of her. Its more efficient that way," he smiled slightly at the slight dig at the doctor.

He reddened at what he felt was unnecessary attention and opened his mouth to protest. He gagged slightly as plastic was pushed into his mouth. He turned on his other side to see Nami grin at him. "Now drink this up, Sanji made this Miracle Brew just for you."

He scowled at that, but she just giggled at his temper. His shoulders sagged in defeat; the Straw Hats were a relentless bunch. But there was no sense in resisting, especially when he was indebted to them. He closed his mouth to drink, surprised by the pleasantly smooth taste with an energizing fizz to it. Similar to an energy drink in composition but not as bitter. He took a longer sip before turning aside. She remained seated beside him with it at the ready. Chopper worked silently at his own task, applying the soothing cream before securing bandages along the entire length of his arm. Whenever Law opened his mouth, she took it as a hint that he wanted more to drink. Once completed, Chopper switched seats with her to work on his other side.

Zoro knocked on the door and poked his head in. "Hey, we've made contact with the Polar Tang and we're on our way to meet them. Any message you need us to pass on?"

"Have them prepare a bed for her in the medic bay with standard supplies." He said as his hands moved up along her neck, intent on breaking down those horrible blisters. "She doesn't presently require intensive care."

The work went much faster as he felt his strength begin to return to him. "Thank you," he murmured with a measure of gratitude.

"Hey, what are allies for?" She teased him with a wink and a nudge with her elbow.