Remnants of the White City

by Watermelon24

When gloomy baby doctor meets spoiled merchant's daughter it's not exactly love at first sight. But Law is going to find out that taking care of his first patient is harder than expected... What if Law isn't the only one to survive the Flevance tragedy? And what if one day they run into each other again? A Law x OC story.

17. Of Kidneys and Bounty Hunters

Long time no see (the understatement of the year, oh my god I feel so bad...) - I can't believe it took me so long to get this done again!
Thank you so so soo much for all the awesome, heartwarming reviews and for caring so much about this story and for bearing with me all these months. Your comments and favs kept me going! I know it's been ages but I hope that some of you amazing, super-humanly patient readers are still out there somewhere... Against all hopes and resolutions, me and outlining are still not as friendly as we should be, so what started out as one chapter somehow became two again...

I hope you enjoy chapter 17 and 18 :-)

---

"Where are we at?" With a sigh of a teacher explaining the same lesson for the third time, Ikkaku reached for a piece of chalk and dragged herself to the blackboard. Three pairs of eyebrows arched at the number. "Fifty-three?"

"No way… Do we even have that many body parts?"

"An all-time record," muttered Bepo, wolfing down his salmon sandwich in reverence. Shachi shot a doubtful glance at Penguin. "This can't be right. I'm the master of detachable joints."

"Well, not anymore." Basking in his new-found glory, Penguin ignored the suspicious noise his arm produced after being reattached to his shoulder.

"Seriously?" Ikkaku flared. "Captain chops you into pieces and the only thing you care about is how many cut-outs he can make? This isn't a woodcarving competition."

"You're just jealous you only made it to twenty-one."

Ikkaku opened her mouth and snapped it shut again. There was no use explaining to them that not everyone enjoyed the sight of their own intestines. But most importantly, how could they remain so calm?

The captain of the Heart Pirates hadn't been himself since the day she had handed him that document found in Savenna's possession. Law had never been a chatty person, but now his orders were reduced to gritted teeth and occasional grunts.

No status reports had been requested in two days and for the first time in ages, Ikkaku had no daily schedule to prepare. But that wasn't all. Law neglected the dead bodies that kept piling up in the morgue, and as he walked in on Shachi stuffing himself with junk food he didn't even bother hooking him onto an IV. Instead of burying his head in books and enforcing discipline on whoever crossed his path, their captain was now training from morning till nightfall.

What had looked like healthy ambition at first had quickly gone south. Blades and gunpower were flying about their ears twenty-four seven. Every morning Bepo rose to patch up fist-shaped holes in the upper deck. On day two Ikkaku had accidentally stepped into a Room sphere, which resulted in her spending hours looking for her right foot. That's why, although the alarming side of their captain's behavior was lost on the rest of the crew, rogue body parts was where she drew the line.

"I get that he wants to become stronger but he's overdoing it," she argued. "And Roger forbid we get another situation like yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" Penguin asked.

Ikkaku squinted in Shachi's direction. Her crew mate shrugged. "I went to check on the controls and when I came back, Captain ordered a passing merchant to attack him."

"And?"

"And nothing. The guy was selling vegetables. He got scared, threw a cabbage at him and took off. No biggie."

"No biggie?" Ikkaku pressed through an approaching migraine. "What makes you so sure next time Captain won't forget to screw your head back on, Mr. Detachable-Joints? We have to do something." Penguin gave a non-committal shrug he instantly regretted when the other mechanic landed a hit on his sore shoulder.

Bepo had remained silent during the conversation. He didn't dare contradict Ikkaku. After all, the First Mate was the only one who knew how screwed up things really were. He tried to concentrate on his sandwich when suddenly Shachi pointed at the kitchen counter. "Who opened the flour bag?"

Jokes froze in mid-air.

Nobody had done much cleaning since things on the sub had gone bonkers but the evidence was unmistakable - someone had gone through the disrepute baking cupboard.

"Law tried making bread this morning." Nell's anxious voice came from the doorway. With that, instant dread invaded the room. "He did what?"

The girl shifted awkwardly. Feeling slightly responsible for the chaos reigning on the ship, she had done her best to avoid the crew for the last forty-eight hours. She was usually good at keeping things under control but this was beyond her.

"He followed one of the baking recipes in the newspaper to prove he was strong enough to face any enemy," she explained delicately. "When the bread came out half-burned, he tried to take revenge on the oven. Luckily, it didn't fit through the porthole."

"I told you that sandwich smelled funny!" Penguin called in Bepo's direction. While everyone's eyes darted in confusion between the infamous kitchen equipment and the undisputable rules plastered around the room, Nell and the First Mate exchanged a troubled glance.

"Alright, this is bad…" Shachi admitted.

"He's officially out of control." Penguin's beaming face was gradually losing color. "This is worse than when Bepo started shedding."

"Finally!" Ikkaku groaned. "Any ideas on how we stop this?"

"Unless you find a way for Captain Silvers to un-dump him, we're screwed," Penguin concluded. "I knew this would happen – I wish he had listened me when I told him to work on his people skills."

"Yeah, accusing your lover of treachery tends to take a toll your relationship," Shachi agreed.

"Taking her on a date to the morgue sure didn't help."

"And when he went to examine her he actually switched on the x-ray machine. For someone so smart, he sure isn't always the sharpest scalpel in the surgery. I get why she hasn't left her cabin for days."

On cue, Bepo and Nell lowered their eyes.

It was the best explanation they could come up with. Amidst all the commotion, they had needed a good reason to prevent the Heart Pirates from looking for Savenna. If Law's behavior started to worry them, Nell didn't want to know what they'd say about hers.

So, they'd spun a story of how Savenna and Law gotten into a fight. Which wasn't exactly a lie, until Penguin embellished it into a breakup scenario that for unclear reasons made it into the final version.

But at this point Nell didn't care. There had been questions about the mysterious piece of paper Law had waved in front of Savenna's face, but Penguin had insisted that a woman like her would never betray her one true love. And if there was any doubt about their integrity, Law would have turned the ship around a long time ago. Nell doubted even Savenna could have come up with a better lie to avoid the plank. So from then on, breakup it was.

Only neither one of them had foreseen Law going into full dissection mode. Whether Nell liked it or not, she agreed with Ikkaku. Something needed to be done about the missing flour and random amputations. Under current circumstances it was only a matter of time until some crew members' head floated into their cabin and exposed them all.

Ikkaku looked exhausted as she glanced up at the other woman. "The children need to kiss and make up before angry vegetable merchants start chasing us down Grand Line," she pleaded. "We can try talking to Law, but we won't be able to handle both of them without your help."

Nell swallowed hard. A week ago, she would have laughed at their speculations. Now she actually wished Savenna's and Law's relationship were as simple as that. Not knowing what else to do, she forced a nod. "I'll see what I can do…"

---

"Did you mean it? Can we tell him now?" Bepo whispered impatiently as they walked through the dim corridors of the lower deck. He almost jumped on Nell as soon as they had left the kitchen.

"Not yet..."

"But what when Captain finds out we staged his breakup?"

"That was Penguin. And we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

After storming into their cabin in the dead of night, Bepo insisted on informing Law. And had it not been for Nell, he would have done exactly that. Like a stone wall, she had moved between bear and the cabin door. "You can't say anything."

"You cannot expect me to keep this from Captain!" Bepo had protested, bristling.

Nothing had changed. Savenna needed a cure more than ever. But the way things had unfolded altered their plans considerably.

The captain of the Heart Pirates was less trusting in the present and more caught up in the past than they had taken into account. How would he take another lie from his oldest friend? It was too risky. Savenna was drifting in and out of consciousness, and was defenseless without her Haki. There was no way she could protect herself if things got ugly. They had to wait.

However, talking sense into the bear had been useless. He loved his captain too much to understand. Nell knew what her friend would have done, and even though her entire being bridled at it, there was no other way.

"You still want her to forgive you, right?" she asked quietly. Bepo's ears spiked up, his fur electrified. "I don't know what happens when she wakes up, but I promise that she will never forgive you if you talk."

The blackmail hit the target head-on. Nell hated the way the bear's face twisted with indecision before settling into resignation. Savenna was right; if wielded correctly, guilt was more powerful than any Devil Fruit.

The First Mate hadn't brought it up again. Instead, without his captain's watchful eye, Bepo managed to steal enough equipment from the infirmary to keep Savenna stable. Now tubes and wires spread like humming spiderwebs throughout their cabin.

Yet Savenna was drifing on. Sallow limbs twisting in unnatural angles, she writhed on her futon like a creature from the ocean bed. No one could tell which dreamworld her eyes were locked on. Once Bepo said she had been calling for someone named Magda. And in the late hours of the night, Nell could hear her whisper Law's name. It was a child's voice - lonely and muffled by darkness.

"Are you sure the Haki will come back?" Bepo asked. They had finally reached their cabin door.

Nell hesitated. It wasn't like Savenna to give up. There was always something she longed for or someone she wanted dead. But as their charade was getting harder to keep up, her condition hadn't improved. For the first time since a ghost-skinned stranger had dragged her onto a random ship, Nell truly wondered how much of destiny Savenna could defy.

Suddenly an earthquake-like tremor rippled through the submarine, making them reach for the walls for support. Ikkaku wasn't exaggerating. Law was getting out of control. Back on her feet, Nell cast Bepo a stubborn look. She started to have enough of other people's antics.

"She'd better find a way to get it black," Nell growled. "Ikkaku is right – this is their mess and they need to clean it up."

---

"Too mad to see me?" Trafalgar Law hissed to himself. "Who does she think she is? Boa Hancock?"

Two days had felt like two mortifyingly long weeks since Savenna had left him standing. He'd imagined her coming back in tears, asking for forgiveness. Then, even yelling at him would have been fine...Where were her dramatic entrances when he needed them? For once Law couldn't stand the silence.

Kikoku's blade slashed fiercely through the morning air dicing another ammunition box into pieces. Unable to stand still, Law had tried severing blood vessels, broken his own body Shamble record, and sparred with every person and inanimate object on board. And yet, his stomach was still tied into a twisted knot.

He could feel her hands on his shoulders. Her anxious touch when her fingers brushed over his forehead. They're alive… It was all arranged. But it wasn't the words that left him sleepless. Savenna, of all people should have never seen him like this.

The drop of sweat running down his temples helped him gather his wits. Law raised his sword at five water barrels hovering over deck. Each splintered into furious little pieces sailing down the stairs, where they thundered past a deckchair. What was that thing doing here? Right…

Law's face darkened into a scowl when Corazon's blond head peaked over the backrest.

"Did you expect me to catch that? I'm afraid I have my hands full," the ghost said with an apologetic shrug, before lifting an umbrella cocktail to his lips. Spectacularly unaware of his bad timing, Rosinante lowered a pair of flashy sunglasses and gave Law a concerned look. "First time I'm seeing you outside at this hour," he remarked. "Are we sinking?"

Law's face remained blank. "I'm training. So, if you'll excuse me."

Corazon arched an eyebrow in feigned surprise.

Exhausting his last reserves of composure, the doctor tried to ignore him. Corazon was the last person he wanted to see and maybe if he didn't get all the attention he desired, the ghost would eventually leave him alone. But Law was mistaken.

For two people who had never met, Donquixote Rosinante and Savenna Silvers were ridiculously alike. Not only did they share a profound distaste for children, but they both grew insufferable when not finding themselves the center of the universe.

A few moments after Law had extended another Room, his training was interrupted by a loud slurping sound. Stone-faced, the doctor looked back just to see the ghost finishing his drink and chewing ostentatiously on a rainbow straw. Law made another attempt of exercising his Devil Fruit, only to have Corazon complain about spinning cannon balls blocking the sun. "My aura just gets so bleak from all the indoor haunting."

This was enough. "What in Roger's name do you want?"

"Nothing. Just wondering who you were fighting so dramatically. It doesn't look like the cargo is going to fight back anytime soon."

"Point your ghost radar somewhere else," Law hissed under his breath, tired of him rummaging through his head. "I'm not doing this now."

"Aren't you then?" Rosinante said, playing with a piece of cracked wood. "But hardly anyone else is intense enough to sulk for two days straight."

"Tell that to Savenna! She must have dogeared half of my textbooks by now."

"Here we go. The fearsome enemy," Corazon chuckled to himself. "I would advise you to tell her yourself, but it seems you're still not over the fact that she discovered your morbid little souvenirs."

Instant heat spilling over his cheeks, Law reached for his shirt and wondered how that man had managed to stay silent for so long. Now of all times, he could have used some of that soundproof Nagi Nagi no Mi.

"Ouch, that hurt! Not only am I not cute enough to get my own relics, now you don't even want to hear the wisdom I have to offer? How cruel."

Law considered teleporting him overboard. "I named my crew after you!"

Unable to deny that, Corazon let it go and followed him as he marched across deck. "Or is it because you don't want to be reminded that your walls aren't as high as you remember building them?" His hands tightened around his sword before Law realized it. Satisfied his provocation was working, the ghost prodded on. "Why did you tell Savenna you didn't believe her?"

"Because I don't."

"Then there must be another reason why your ship is headed for a marine stronghold. Not even you would do that for fun."

Law gave a dry laugh. "No one in that country could have survived. Please quit bugging me about it."

Rosinante cocked his head. "Are you sure that's what this is about?"

Law walked away before realizing the ghost didn't need legs to follow him. Next to his ear, Corazon's voice took a deep, hollow tone. "Savenna might not be the most truthful person out there, but you know she wouldn't lie about this. And that's why you haven't turned around. You want to know what really happened. And we both know that you can't break another promise…"

Law's jaw tightened. "Promises to traitors are worth nothing."

Exasperated, Corazon hid his head in a cloud of black feathers. "How can you be so dense…!" he whined before standing up tall. "You are not fighting any traitors out here. You are just angry with yourself for hurting the only person brave enough to pull you out of that cage you put yourself into."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please, I was born into the Donquixote family. I know denial when I see it," Corazon observed. "Not only are you afraid of what will happen next time you black out – you are terrified that now that she knows, Savenna will never look at you the way you look at her. You don't push her away because the past is painful. You keep hiding because she offered you an opportunity to deal with it and you don't know if you can."

Law froze. Again, there she was, her sad smile spilling into the corners of his mind. The way she held that box, handing it back to him as if she couldn't stand the look of it … He didn't know where the anger came from, but when the air around them started circling he knew it wasn't because of Corazon.

"I just want to help you," the ghost said when the chair was lifted into the air and torn to pieces. "You need to let other people in."

"Help me?" Law barked. This was enough. "Then where the hell were you two nights ago?" Instead of taking offense, Rosinante sighed hollowly. "I'm dead, Law. I know you rely on me but my powers grow weaker as you grow older. That's what happens with time. I can't kick down your doors anymore."

"So you let her do it." Law's voice was laced with bitterness.

"Do you remember why you kept her things in the first place? They kept you sane - reminded you that doing bad things didn't make you a bad person." He sighed when Law remained silent. "Blades and muscles are useless in this fight. What you need is back-up. If you can't let your real crew in, start with the person you played pirates with. She met your ghosts when they were still just people. Maybe she can chase them for good, who knows?"

Memories started blooming in front of his eyes, but Law shut them out. "This isn't North Blue and I'm not a child."

Corazon took a thoughtful look around. "And yet here you are, training to kill as many people as you can. Sound familiar?"

Law cringed.

"I'm sorry I can't devil-fruit you out this, kid," the ghost said, downcast. "You'll need a different kind of magic this time." When Law looked up, Corazon was gone.

He didn't know how long he stood there, sword clutched in his hand, until he felt a chill creeping in. Slowly, Law lifted his eyes to the sky where the sun had disappeared behind a wandering cloud. Suddenly he smelled it in the air.

Snow.

Distant and nauseating. The wind had changed and blew in straight from the north. They must have entered the winter island belt. No matter how much time passed, that weather still did something to him. The razor-sharp, otherworldly cold that stirred the dead in their graves. His breath misting, Law regained his ability to think. Corazon was right – he needed to deal with his past. But he would do it as he saw fit.

Of course, he couldn't believe Savena's story but he wanted to, more than he was able to admit. If that royal family was still drawing breath, everything would be so simple. He would make them watch the live dissection of their relatives. He'd drain their blood from their bodies and with it the old voices in his head. Good old vengeance would put an end to those nights and Savenna would finally see what he was capable of.

Maybe that's why he hadn't turned around… Hoping it would make fairy tales come true.

Then Law remembered Savenna's glassy eyes and shaky knees as she left him. He'd walked up to her cabin at least five times when the ship was asleep, wanting to apologize and ready the kick the door down whenever he heard a cough. But every time he'd been too afraid to knock. When a new wave of anger caught him, there was no furniture left to break.

---

There was the sound of doors opening. Of glasses clinking and music playing. Snow had fallen. It was hard to tell how far away she was but Savenna would have recognized it everywhere; the lazy, dazzling magic of home.

Snow preserved things and she was so tired of change. If she made it home fast enough, she'd catch Law and his parents. That nerd family was always early. Magda would be feeling better and her mother would have gotten out of bed. Her father might even bring her another gift.

Since her Haki had left, Savenna had walked through numerous versions of the same dream. Only this time the way into the past was shut. She knew it when the music stopped. Just as she was about to reach the front door of her Flevance home, the dreamworld collapsed. Snow crept into her mouth and under her skin. Air turned into a bath in ice water, tearing at her limbs like fireworks stripped to her body. And with the next gust of north wind, her eyes flew wide open.

A howl left Savenna's throat, followed by a line of obscenities.

The sensation of being peeled alive left her no choice but to grope to her nightstand and inject herself with the first thing she got her hands on. She counted to ten before her jaw finally released the cloth she'd buried her teeth in.

Weak and angry, she looked around.

The room was blurry with shapes. The blinding light had been reduced to a porthole and the clinking was watered down to the regular beeps of a monitor.

She was back.

But as she took in her surroundings, the relief in Savenna's chest congested into panic. She stared at the IV hanging from her arm and the full medical chart on the nightstand. The more she came to her senses, the more she wished she had administered a higher dose.

Turning around, she recognized an ongoing blood transfusion and the medication she had, by accident, scattered over the floor. She was being treated for Amber Lead poisoning. And not by herself. Shit… What had happened while she was out? Her mind circled back to the last thing she remembered:

Law.

The disbelief and resentment in his voice. She had been warned and yet, she had leaned too far over the edge. He knew. It was over and she would have to assist the grand finale of her ruined plan. What would he do with a traitor and a liar? Deliver her to the marines? Dump her overboard? Ready to sink into a miasma of despair, Savenna considered inducing her own coma to spare herself the humiliation.

Suddenly, a sound made her jump. Someone was at the door.

Immediately, she ripped the tubes out of her arm. Whatever Law had planned, she wouldn't make it easy for him. And if someone had dared to hurt Nell, she would steer this ship to the bottom of the ocean with everyone on board. Fingers shaking, she armed herself with an empty syringe and threw herself behind the pile of suitcases.

Sounds revealed to be steps and steps became voices. "What about jewelry?"

An amused laugh. "Believe me, you would have to sell the Tang to get your hands on that kind of stones."

Savenna's heart skipped a beat at Nell's unmistakable voice. Thank Roger, she was alright! But Savenna frowned when she also identified Ikkaku on the other side of the door.

"How about flowers?"

"Best something with thorns…"

Groggy on opioids, Savenna wondered why on earth Nell and Ikkaku were discussing someone's Valentine's Day presents when the two of them were about to be thrown off the ship. As a third pair of footsteps joined, the second receded and the door was pushed open. Savenna flattened herself against the wall.

"Could you scheme a little quicker next time? Blood transfusion doesn't perform itself," Bepo complained, squeezing himself into the cabin, where Nell bumped into his fluffy back. "Oh no!"

"What?"

"She's gone!"

Bepo's eyes went round with shock. "What have I done?" he wailed. "I knew something bad would happen if I disobeyed Captain… I went against his orders and now look at this. The patient has disintegrated! I should have never touched medicine this advanced…"

Having her own suspicions, Nell stole a look into the empty room. "I'm not sure that's what happened."

"I'm not even a real doctor yet, so how on earth am I supposed to cure this?" he went on regardless, wiggling his paw in the direction of the abandoned bed sheets.

While Nell tried to get a rational word in, a desperate Bepo started overturning the futon as if he was going to find Savenna somewhere under it. It was too late for explanations, when the three-hundred-pound bear stumbled and fell upon a confused and medically armed Savenna. They screamed like a drunk wedding party, when the bags came crushing down.

"I should have turned you into a pair of boots!" Savenna croaked viciously. The bear was big, but as long as he was scared she might be able to take him… Her hands were eagerly reaching for the needle, when human arms flung themselves around her neck instead.

Nell's grip was so hard Savenna thought her spine would snap. Then a quick but determined hand slapped her across the face. Bewildered, Savenna rubbed her cheek. "What was that for?"

Anger and relief were fighting a battle on Nell's face. "For leaving me alone, you idiot! If I ever let my defenses down because some guy was being stupid, you'd make me a whole head shorter. So what the hell were you thinking?"

"I…"

"If you ever do this again, the plan is off the table. I'll drag you back to the old man and let him smack some sense into you!"

Savenna remained silent while the other girl's scowl settled into a tired smile. She looked as though she had aged a year in two days. Savenna regretted she hadn't hit her harder. Getting them safely to Blizzard Rock had been her plan, her responsibility and she had failed. With her instincts still alert, she turned toward the bear who was desperately trying to hide inside a piece of luggage. "You just built your own trap – how convenient."

"He's been the one helping you, so stop bullying him," Nell ordered. "We're not rude to all doctors around here."

"What?" Before Savenna understood what was going on, embarrassment had already reddened Bepo's cheeks. "She… she told me everything. I'm sorry I couldn't heal you!" he spluttered until Nell silenced him with a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He saved your life after you passed out and he has been treating you for Amber Lead since."

Savenna remembered Pullmon trying transfusions years ago. It hadn't worked of course, but that didn't matter. Bepo had tried to help her, even after what had happened with Law. "Wait, if you treated me then that means Law doesn't know?"

Both shook their heads.

Just in time, Savenna managed to stifle a deranged burst of laughter. She had gotten away by so little it was absurd. Instinctively she considered different ways to end the bears life, but shamefully banished the thought. "Bepo, I don't know how to repay you…", she said as she composed herself. "You risked so much by helping me." But then she remembered the bear's unquestionable loyalty to his captain and knew something was up. "Why did you keep it from him?"

The bear balled his hands into fists like a bubble about to burst, and pointed at Nell, "She blackmailed me!"

"I'm proud of you."

"Don't get used to it." Bepo eyed the two of them before shaking his head with disapproval. "We need to make sure you are back to normal."

"I'm fine," Savenna assured them when the bear started examining her. She didn't need any tests to know. The hot, electrifying force of Haki had returned, shooting plain, reviving energy through her body. As expected, Bepo's eyes lit up as he placed the cold end of the stethoscope on her chest. "It's like you grew a second heart. I've never seen anything like it."

Savenna smiled a weak smile, hearing Pullmon's exact words. But how come her power had returned? Haki never just come and left as it pleased.

"How is Law?" she asked casually.

"Well, how should I put it…" Nell started out before another tremor rippled through the hull of the ship, and suddenly two halves of a burnt oven appeared by the door. "It looks like he's taken his training inside," she concluded. "Make sure you watch all protruding body parts. Otherwise you'll have to do without."

"What…?"

Nell sighed. "After you left, Law reconnected with his nickname and started dissecting everything in his path. I don't know what you did, but it seems like it left an impression."

Something flickered in Savenna's eyes. She knew she had to be shocked and concerned for the crew's safety, but her heart hammered with malicious joy. At least he still cared enough to randomly cut things open…

"Can we please tell him already?" the bear pleaded and Savenna snapped back to attention. "No! Coming clean with another lie would be suicide. He'd never trust us after that. The only way to get this done is to stick with the story we have." She cast a look at the Log Pose on the nightstand. For some obscure reason Law hadn't changed the heading, so they still had a chance.

Savenna's heart sunk at the thought of that metal box that had captured a part of her old self. He really must have cared about her at some point… Just when she was about to imagine what it would have been like to have met him then, she stopped herself.

Too much time had passed. Maybe years ago Law might have forgiven her, but not anymore. He had said it loud and clear. She was the problem. She poisoned everything she touched. No. Honesty was definitely not their way out.

All she could hope for now was a pirate who kept up his end of a bargain.

Nobody had time to object, when a knock came from the door. "Nell, are you in there?" Ikkaku's called from the other side. "What does that woman want from you?" Savenna hissed with suspicion. "And what on earth have you been talking about earlier?"

Nell ruefully scratched her head. "Well…We had to cover up your condition, and now everyone thinks you and Law broke up. Ikkaku is set out to rekindle the romance to keep the ship afloat."

"What?" Savenna felt like burying her head into her pillow. How could this day just keep getting worse? "We need to keep a low profile and this is what you come up with?" she winced.

"Technically, it was Penguin."

"How exactly is that better?!"

Nell shrugged apologetically. "At least you fake-dumped him. That's something, right?"

---

Me and Law? How ridiculous… Savenna thought, staring at the ceiling. Later that evening, Bepo navigated her back under the covers for a last batch of tests but she was too distracted to follow the procedure.

They would have been the worst couple ever. They couldn't even do the dishes together without one of them having to be sent to the hospital. But what would Law think when he heard about their fake romance? Automatically, Savenna pulled the covers higher. Would he be mad? Annoyed or disgusted even? He probably would never think of her that way…

Also, a part from picking at Nell's story, Savenna kept playing the events of that night back and forth. His words had hurt but not as much as seeing Law defeated, fighting a fight nobody could help him with. Where had he been when she found him? What was it that kept haunting him? And how much did the crew know?

Ignoring the fact that only a few hours ago she had wondered about the best way of stabbing him, Savenna decided to break the silence between her and the navigator. "Bepo, did Nell tell you how I found your captain?" she asked, her voice not as steady as she had hoped.

The bear froze and nodded.

"Did he…Has this happened before?"

"He never talks about it." Bepo paused and shifted uncomfortably. "It started a few years ago. He would drag us out of bed in the middle of the night and examine everybody for gunshots, even though no one had gotten into a fight. Sometimes he would turn the whole sub around, drive a dozen miles north before passing out. The crew started asking questions, so he kept to himself whenever it happened. He tells everyone he's alright…"

"But he isn't."

Bepo shook his head. "When it gets really bad, I can smell it on him. The episodes are rare but somehow they always come back worse." The bear stared blankly at her medical chart. "That's one of the reasons I wanted to become a doctor. So that I could help him. I know he tries but no medicine around here seems to work..."

Savenna's mouth ran dry. So the hallucinations hadn't been a one-time thing.

"Please don't give up on him."

"What?"

The bear's voice was too thin for an animal his size. "I know he said bad things but he's wrong. He's usually out for days. You were the only one who managed to make it stop. So please, don't leave him. Unless it's him who made your Haki go away. I don't want anyone to get hurt again..."

She pressed her head into the mattress as it started spinning. Had her Haki really something to do with Law? Ashamed, Savenna realized it was much simpler than that. For the second time in her life, she hated herself. That was enough to revoke all will power, if not grind it to a pulp.

She hadn't even noticed he was sick. She should have seen it – done something. The whole time Law had been concerned about her, she had just worried about herself. Bepo was wrong. Savenna had failed as a friend. Not a chance Law wouldn't let her help him now. She tried to shut out the First Mate's pleading gaze, when she looked outside.

Chill clung to the other side of the window.

The sky was graying and waves rose with the wind. Instantly Savenna knew what had brought her back. It hit her like a slap in the face. The weather was changing; redrawing maps and turning back clocks. The ground had been frozen solid, when Haki had given her enough strength to reach for a graverobber's leg eight years ago. And her body remembered.

Please don't give up on him.

Savenna swallowed hard.

Maybe that's what it was. Haki lending her just enough power to keep going and make things right. Was there still a way for her to help? Her fingers tightened around her blanket, as she stared at the snowflakes swirling from the sky.

---

"This is so anticlimactic!" Ikkaku snapped. She was walking up and down in the control room. "Aren't they supposed to be yelling at each other? Like normal people?"

Forgetting to eat or drink during the day, Law still preferred an overnight IV drip over joining everyone for breakfast. Meanwhile Savenna kept begging Bepo to run further tests, as if she enjoyed being sick so she didn't have to leave her room.

"At least no one is missing a spleen?" Nell said, feigning optimism.

The other woman cast her an aggravated look and unfolded a piece of paper. "Tell your captain to stop dumping body parts overboard. Blood's leaking in through the porthole. Disgusting." Her face crumpled into an exaggerated frown, as she rolled out the answer. "Sub rule number twelve: no open windows on floor two. If Savenna can read to Bepo the whole night, she can as well take the time to consult the house rules. By the way, bad action scenes. Choose a different book."

"Okay, maybe you have a point…"

"This is ridiculous!" Ikkaku insisted. "They are adults and Penguin is not a sea gull. Although he is definitely enjoying this too much…" The mechanic got busted every time he'd tried to sneak a piece offering in between the messages. Both of them knew that Savenna would never spray anything with cheap perfume and nothing scribbled in Law's handwriting could ever be deciphered in less than three attempts.

Ikkaku sat down with a disheartened look on her face. "They can't go on avoiding each other forever. Someday they'll need to talk."

Nell glanced through the dark front window of the sub. This was beyond strange. Being the cause of it most of the time, Savenna wasn't one to avoid conflict. It felt like she and Law were tiptoeing around each other like some deranged nocturnal animals. Suddenly Nell frowned at the note in Ikakku's hand. Could those tough pirates actually be scared to talk to each other?

Wonders truly never ceased.

Nell wanted Savenna's plan to succeed. But the longer she played this game with Ikkaku, the more she wondered if it wasn't time she made her own plans. She had hoped that after her last attack Savenna would finally consider trusting a person who could actually help her. But turns out, deep down she wasn't half a tough as she pretended to be. Nell had to do something. Savenna needed Law to get her vengeance and if she believed Bepo, he needed her just as much. So why not give them an actual push?

And it so happened that Nell knew just the thing. Remembering their petty rivalries, the solution was obvious. She grinned to herself before sharing her devious plan.

"We just tell them the other one is the better pirate. That will get the show back on the road."

---

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" Bepo asked anxiously, as he watched Savenna prowl around their cabin with a restless grimace on her face. For someone who loved manipulating people, she fell astonishing well into her own trap. "If this wasn't offensive to me, I would say you just poked a sleeping bear..."

"This is going to be good for their relationship," Nell argued from the doorway, cocking her head to the side as a book smashed against the wall.

Alright, maybe it would take a while.

As expected, Savenna didn't respond very well. When Nell announced that she had overheard Law say she didn't have the stuff to be a pirate, Savenna assumed Amber Lead started to take a toll on her hearing. But when Bepo didn't deny it, fun was over.

Who did Law think he was? Their fight had been one thing, but this? Savenna could understand that he was angry about Bilzzard Rock. But none of that gave him the right to attack her dreams and what she stood for. But deep down, she knew what this meant. He still didn't trust her to fight on the right side. To do the right thing.

She was still the mean and selfish girl he just loved to hate.

Savenna spent two hours plotting, fingers clutched into fists. Accustomed to the architecture of a hospital bed, she plugged and unplugged wires while hopping over tubes attached to her chest. Her milky skin beaming under a lonely light bulb, as she skillfully juggled books, pen, cloth and a pair of scissors, while chewing herself through a new load of painkillers. Am I not pirate enough for your precious crew, Mushroom Head, ha? Well, guess what…

---

"Excuse me?" Law couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Had Ikkaku really just come on deck to insult him? He had just finished his ninth laps around the sub hoping to smother all unwelcome thoughts, but the endeavor had just lost all its purpose.

Had it not been for Nell's reckless idea of pitting the captains against each other, Ikkaku would have never dreamed of uttering these words on board the submarine. She struggled not to flinch, when Law's watchful eyes shot silent daggers in her direction. Savenna could have been the one undermining his authority, but delivering the message was just as bad. "Well, that's just what she said," Ikakku repeated, regretting it instantly. "I'm sure she didn't mean it…"

Oh, she meant it alright… With all the crazy things that Savenna could come up with, provoking a captain on his own ship was probably the most outrageous. Even for her that crossed a line.

At least now Law knew he was right. She thought he was weak and unfit to be a pirate captain.

Secretly glad the ceasefire had come to an end, he clenched his jaw. There was more to him than fear and bad memories. He wasn't a little boy anymore and he would show Savenna exactly how much he had grown.

---

Law had little experience with dramatic entrances.

After a half hour of rummaging through his closet, he still couldn't find anything that screamed Terrifying Pirate Captain of the Worst Generation – or at least didn't look like Bepo had bought it on a North Blue fish market. And above everything else, all his shirts were stained with a mix of blood and coffee. How could Shachi engineer a submarine without being able to use a washing machine?

On any other day none of that would have mattered, but that morning his performance had to be flawless. He wouldn't get very far with waging war on Savenna, if he didn't assert dominance though a ferocious appearance. Despondently, Law decided to throw on a black fur coat that Corazon had forced him to buy. It was about as threatening as a dressing gown, but the only thing abundant enough to cover the tragic state of his wardrobe.

Then the next challenge: walking up on deck like one owned the place. The fact that Law actually did own the Polar Tang didn't help. He had to squeeze in another hour of research, desperately trying to understand how Sora's dazzling confidence brought tears to people's eyes. But after walking up and down in his cabin like an idiot, Law tossed the comic book into a corner and he decided to go with the only demonstration of authority he understood: dissecting three fresh corpses and spilling blood over the last of his good clothes and one half of his face. After a satisfied look into the mirror, he finally put down the scalpel. That should make the Surgeon of Death stand out alright.

First thing when Law stepped out of the airlock that morning, he bumped into the Heart Pirates pressing their faces against the door.

"Captain!" Star-eyed Bepo made a jump for his shoulders. Surprised, the doctor almost toppled over. "So good to have you back!"

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't let it get you down. We are here for you!" Penguin called out. Pulled into a group hug against his will, Law couldn't even get one word out of the thundering speech he had prepared. Instead, Bepo had started rubbing his cheek against his coat, smiling dreamily. "I didn't know you had such fluffy clothes, Captain. So soft!" Oh no, Law gritted his teeth. Once the mink had found something to cuddle, nothing could stop him.

"Yeah, the cutest captain on Grand Line!" Shachi chimed in with a comradely clap on the shoulder. Law wasn't sure there was an appropriate response to that. Bewildered, he looked around, waiting for fear and the usual reverence to appear on his crew faces, but confusingly heartfelt smiles were all he got. What the hell was wrong with them? Why were they trying to console him and why did no one care about the blood?

Once Law had managed to untangle himself, Penguin gave an impressed nod at his new attire. "That's one serious coat. The marines will increase your bounty only by looking at it. And look at those muscles! You have been working out. I'm sure Silvers will appreciate it."

Immediately Shachi smacked him on the back of the head. "Shh! Don't mention her name...!"

"What? That was a compliment!"

"It's insensitive. Think of Captain's feelings."

Now Law was officially lost. "What are you talking about?" The two mechanics exchanged a meaningful glance, before directing their eyes at the floorboards. "Nothing."

Unable to get any sense from his crew, Law ended up leaning over the railing massaging his temples. His headache was back and it wasn't even noon. How, after all these efforts, he had ended up with cute was beyond him. Either they had been going through his drug cabinet again, or everybody on this ship had finally lost their minds.

"Sometimes I feel like Captain isn't really in touch with his emotional side," Shachi remarked, on his way to the engine room carrying a pile of emergency reports. Law's face had taken on the color of Admiral Aikanu's suit when he examined the state of the ship, before wordlessly teleporting them below deck. "He shouldn't send his friends away in a time of need."

"Well, he might have a point," Penguin suggested. "We may be leaking fuel."

"Or maybe that's just what he wants us to believe."

"Mhmm."

---

The moment he couldn't walk past a porthole without someone pointing out how many fish there were in the sea, Law decided to reinstall discipline. He enjoyed observing clinical insanity just as much as anybody else, but as soon as he realized that no status reports had been filed, smoke was coming out of both motors and that no one had bothered to watch the course in two days, he officially lost his patience.

The mechanics were confined to the engine room until further notice, Ikkaku was reassigned all the paper work she had neglected and whenever Bepo wasn't disappearing Roger knows where, he was supposed to get to find out where the hell there were going.

Before heading downstairs to prepare the lab for his overdue medical training, Law scanned the upper deck of the sub. Nell had assured them that Savenna would finally grace them with her presence that day, but there was still no sign of her. She was probably just shamelessly late again. At this point, Law wanted nothing more than to show her what happened when she defied the Surgeon of Death.

Secretly though, he did wonder if she would say something about how they left things. What should he do then? Change the subject? Run and hope Bepo caught him if we went overboard?

In the next half-hour, instead of tending to a long line of corpses, Law went form spinning especially sharp swords on the prow, to flipping fishing crates in the air and leaning casually against four different walls. Where the hell was she?

"Are you alright, Captain? You look a little nervous…" Bepo commented while observing him from the far end of the ship.

"I'm not nervous!" Law blurted out. "This is my ship! Why should I have to be nervous?"

"No reason…" Then encouragingly the bear pointed at salmon hanging from his fishing rod. "Maybe eating something solid for a change would help?"

"Thanks, I'm not hungry."

"Really? Not even for one of these?"

This time the voice came from behind. When Law turned around, he couldn't help but being hit by passing paralysis. Savenna stood in the airlock door, cheerfully chewing on a rice ball. Instinctively, he wanted to point out that his name was written on that onigiri just like on all the others, but his throat was tied shut.

After a moment of silence, Savenna cocked her head to the side. "Are you alright, Mushroom Head?" she said before pointing at the dried blood. "Did you lose an organ or something?"

Law didn't move.

Savenna had always had a particular weakness for putting clothes on, but he hadn't been aware of her fondness for taking them off. The wide pant legs of her uniform had been cut off at the knees and were now fiercely clinging to her thighs. The top had undergone an even more ruthless transformation.

Held together by two feeble threads, the shirt had been reduced to a gray swimsuit, exposing her stomach and bare shoulders. She obviously didn't care much about the weather forecast. The only things reminiscent of the original piece were the Jolly Rogers now cupping two generous breasts.

Despite the cool winter air, Law couldn't help the ripples of heat rushing through his body. Only when he noticed her eyes flickering tauntingly back at him, he became master of himself again. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What? You don't like it?" she asked. "Since we're among real pirates here, I thought I should dress accordingly. You certainly did."

She contemplated his new look with a curious smile. Law dressing up could only mean one thing – the game was official on and he was prepared. Also, she had to admit seeing him in something different than a worn-out lab coat was quite intriguing.

Sternly, Law pointed at what was left of the overall. "That's an official Heart Pirate uniform, not a Halloween costume. You can't just wear half of it and pretend it makes no difference."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want me to take it off?"

"That's not what I meant!" Terrific. When Savenna was mad, she wouldn't stop until the world descended into chaos along with her.

"How about when you said I didn't have it in me to be a pirate? Did you mean that?" she asked sharply. Perplexed, Law stared back at her. "I didn't say anything like that! You told everyone I was a bad pirate!"

"What? That's ridiculous!" The mockery slipped out of Savenna's voice. "My sources are waterproof and I have never said anything about you!"

Law wanted to believe her, but the grudge in the back of his mind didn't let him. "It's not the first time you would be lying."

"It's not the first time you wouldn't be listening," she retorted.

Annoyed, Law forced himself to take a deep breath. They were adults. Why were they wasting their time with this? Maybe it wasn't too late to reason it out. "This is stupid. We're not twelve anymore. Let's just calm down..."

"Right, at twelve you would have known better than to mess with me."

Alright, this was enough. Suddenly it didn't matter who said what. Law was too angry to retreat. The sheer arrogance of her challenging him was impossible to ignore. "I'm no match for you," he growled. "Step back while you still can.

"Really?" Unimpressed, she took a demonstrative bite out of the rice ball. "As long as Roger's ghost doesn't declare you Pirate King, I'm not taking any orders from you."

"You're going to regret this."

"Make me."

---

"Alright, I might have gone a little too far…" Nell admitted, as she and Bepo watched the two stomp away into different directions.

"Are you realizing this now?" the bear winced.

"They are talking," Ikkaku chimed in, before throwing Nell a puzzled look. Instantly the other girl turned away with a flush. Even the half-dark of the corridor couldn't conceal the monstrosity Savenna had designed for her. Eyes shadowed by a pirate hat the size of a cartwheel, she blew a load of colorful feathers out of her face. The scissors might have been more merciful to her uniform, but Nell didn't recall the last time she had worn something tight enough to rip when she bent the wrong way.

"What are we going to do?" Bepo asked, slowly growing desperate.

"We'll just keep them away from all passing ships and hide everything fragile. It can't get too bad…"

---

Popping painkillers into her mouth and washing them down with sake, Savenna wondered how far she would have to shove a stick up Law's ass so his Devil Fruit couldn't get it out. However, despite their spitting matching rising to the next level, something good had come out of the situation. Savenna had just lived through a dramatic breakup and thus was entitled to everything she wanted. Under other circumstances she would have spared the crew her seasoned tricks, but since this charade was a hundred percent their fault she had no shame in using their own drama against them.

Not only had her tears given her access to more of Shachi's precious sake, but she also had the perfect excuse to get out of her chores. "I'm too heartbroken, you know…" she sighed in the kitchen next morning.

"To do the dishes?" Ikkaku was kneading the towel with suspicion. Secretly Savenna rolled her eyes. That woman always needed an extra treatment. On command, she filled her eyes with round, heavy tears. "It's just that the… the sponge keeps reminding me of him. It's the color of his eyes," she sobbed.

"Alright, fine. I'll do it – gosh!" Ikkaku conceded. "I'll never get that relationship…"

"There, there…Everything is going to be okay," Shachi said, handing over half of his breakfast before mouthing to Penguin See, tears! That is normal! Their captain could really learn something from her. The crew was engrossed into a lively discussion about their tragic love story, when Law walked in.

Savenna almost coughed her pills back out. Not in the least disturbed by cries coming out of the corridor, he was twisting five beating hearts above his head. So, this is what the famous Ope Ope no Mi could do to human bodies, Savenna figured and shuddered despite herself.

"I told you to keep him away from the merchants!" Nell hissed under her breath, but given the circumstances not even Bepo could stare at his feet. However, it took more than a threatening glance to compromise Savenna's pride, so she welcomed him tall with her head held high.

"Going around breaking hearts again, are we?" she asked dismissively. Both mechanics flinched.

Holding her gaze and deciding to ignore her comment, Law snapped his fingers and two men with cubicle holes in their torsos dragged two treasure chests into the room. "We are reaching our Log Pose stop in less than 36 hours and we'll have some serious trading to do. So, until then all this gold needs to be counted, polished and carried back to the treasury."

"What...?" Everyone except Ikkaku stared from the heartless merchants to Law with genuine confusion, while Savenna observed the scene with an incredulous frown. "You must have inhaled too much of those lab fumes, Mushroom Head," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Nobody actually stores their gold in treasure chests."

"That is Captain Trafalgar to you from now on," he replied coldly. "And you are a guest on this ship, so you better start behaving that way and get to work." Then he turned around and left with his coat billowing dramatically behind his back.

Cheeks glowing red with indignation, Savenna gritted her teeth. Over my dead body am I calling him that! I'll show him a real pirate!

---

Retaliation came for lunch. After silently brooding over two dozen polished gold coins, Savenna sat at the table with a particularly smug air about herself. Law didn't attend the meals so the playground was all hers. Between two bites Penguin pointed at the untouched rice cake on her plate. "Are you going to eat that?" As if only waiting for the food to attract the mechanic's attention, a malicious smile creased her lips. "You can't just ask me like that."

"Why not?"

"Well," she leaned back, picking her teeth with her pocket dagger. "Didn't your captain teach you how to get things from a pirate?"

Penguin thought hard. "Not really…"

Savenna's eyes lit up with a mischievous glare. "You have to prepare an elaborate scheme, of course."

"And how do I do that?"

With one of the more legitimate pirate novels lying open on her knees, Savenna explained how Penguin should invent a system of hand signs to tell Shachi to trick Ikkaku into going to the control room to scare Bepo, who would drop a heavy box of maps on his foot and draw Savenna's attention to the intercom, so that Penguin would have exactly five seconds to snatch the rice cake from her plate. "See," she concluded triumphantly. "A real pirate always has a plan."

"Amazing!" Penguin beamed and started making up his first signs. Like predicted, the mechanics became convinced defenders of Savenna's intricately pointless schemes and their so-called plans ended up shutting down all direct communication on the Tang. Every message had to go through three hands, a Morse code and two mail gulls to be delivered, and when Law received a bag of potatoes instead of the surgery gloves he'd ordered, the doctor finally lost his patience.

Knowing exactly whose doing this was, he teleported all miscellaneous files from his office into Savenna's cabin, so that countless heaps of paper were blocking the door. As revenge for two hours of her life lost to organizing reports, Savenna waited for Law's lab hours to begin just to teach the crew Rayleigh's favorite drinking song. They got a Room rain of intestines in return, and when Law finally decided he was going to build that prison on the sub, Savenna had already jammed his door with rotting arm from the morgue.

By dinner time, Law had fabricated a pirate hat out of a shroud, Savenna had tattooed herself with a ball pen and Penguin was trying to train a sea gull to sit on his shoulder and repeat insults after him. Exhausted, Law bent his head over the latest status report lying on the kitchen table. Of course, he was the only one working. Absentmindedly, he spotted a mistake in the calculations. "Shachi, would you lend me your pen, please?"

The mechanic shot him a skeptic look. "Shouldn't you be preparing an elaborate scheme for that, Captain?"

"That's enough!" Law practically jumped out of his chair. "Where is she?"

---

Savenna had been working her way through the Tang's armory to find out which weapon looked best while smashing Law's beloved organ jars. A lazy smile crept on her lips when she saw him approach.

"This stupid game has to stop." Law's voice indicated he was done joking. "I can't have it impact my crew."

She couldn't care less. "Really? Then what are you going to do about it, Captain?"

Despite her best efforts, Law remained calm. "Settle this like civilized criminals," he suggested flatly. "A fair fight – whoever wins is the better pirate."

Although Savenna had imagined many times how she'd wipe that new smugness off his face, she wondered if a spar was a good idea. The only way to win would be to use Haki, which would consume a considerable amount of her strength. Rayleigh had always told her to avoid physical combat when there was another way to win a fight, but if the opponent was Trafalgar Law the options were limited. And she couldn't show weakness – not in front of him. Brushing a wayward strand of blond hair behind her ear, she smiled back at him. "Always pleasure to be swiping the floor with you, Mushroom Head."

Law didn't need another invitation. It was the Trafalgar kitchen all over again.

In one leap he was out of the armory. He smirked at the sphere already forming in his hand, watching hungrily as it engulfed half of the ship. But Savenna had already bolted. As if she had another pair of eyes on her back, she had effortlessly evaded his reach. "Nice try, but I like my head where it is."

Law darted to the right. She followed, light-footed copying his movements. "So you are planning to dance around me until I get dizzy," he chuckled. "Let's see then – SHAMBLES!" The last surviving crates slowly rose in the air.

Standing on the fin of the sub, Savenna cursed. She didn't want to be there when all that came crashing down. Firing up her observation Haki, she dashed toward the upper deck.

Neither of them had noticed the Heart Pirates streaming outside. Finally, they got the fight they had bargained for. Penguin had already started a bet, but Ikkaku was too busy praying for the ship to survive the next half hour. Maybe their own scheme had gone slightly overboard.

As always, for Law it was enough to move a finger and whatever was inside that damned sphere was subject to his will. Outrunning him was the only option. And Savenna was right. Soon Law didn't look as steady as before. The hand holding the sphere was starting to tremble. He was almost out of juice. Counting the seconds, she watched him lurch closer and the moment the blue color collapsed in the sky, a kick in the chest flung Law against the wall.

She had only a few moments left at close range, until the Devil Fruit came back on.

The instant Law reached for Kikoku, she picked two swords off the ground. The blades locked with a clash. His eyes were on her, fierce and calculating, as she felt his strength push back. Before Law could use his physical force to his advantage, Savenna kicked the legs away from under him and pinned the loose sleeve of his coat to the floor. They crash-landed on deck.

There wasn't a moment to waste. Blocking his arms, Savenna rolled over and swung herself on top of him, thighs cutting into his middle, holding a blade to his throat. "Not so smart now, are you, Mushroom Head?"

His dark hair was disheveled, the pale skin hot to the touch. Suddenly a vibrant laugh rippled through his chest. "Aren't you the one missing something?"

Hesitantly, Savenna looked down at herself and froze. A small sphere, just large enough to cover them both, had circled out of his palm. And in it was something she had never hoped to see. "My kidney…?" she yelped. "Seriously?"

The oval shaped organ was trapped between his fingers, caged within a blue little cubical. Savenna swallowed hard. Having one's hands around somebody else's vital organs redefined the meaning of close combat. But luckily anger burned brighter than nausea.

"What about no surgeries outside the operating theater?" she squirmed.

"If you can break my rules, so can I."

"Then you should have at least aimed for the heart, idiot!"

"Wouldn't that be too dramatic for your taste? I know how much you'd appreciate your death to be a low-key event," he scoffed.

"Hand over the kidney, creep!"

"Give that blade another inch and you'll have to put it back in yourself!" Their eyes locked into a scowl before the mechanics finally pulled them apart.

---

Bepo attempted to check Savenna's vitals after she collapsed behind the cabin door, but Nell assured him he would only hurt himself trying. Savenna was done playing. Her boots stumped on the floor as she marched toward the bathroom on the third floor. Without warning, she punched through the lock and barged inside. Law had forfeited the right to privacy when he decided to fiddle with her inner organs.

"What's your goddamn problem?" she barked, ready to finish what they had started.

Instinctively, Law froze under the shower. He could have sworn the water had grown colder the moment she entered. How the hell did she keep finding him?

"For the last time, this isn't a public bathhouse and I'm not having this conversation naked. If you want to talk, make an appointment with the doctor like everybody else!"

"Really? And what is the doctor going to do about this?"

Annoyed, Law pulled his head out from behind the shower curtain just in time to see his clothes fly out of the porthole. "Looks like you don't have a choice," Savenna announced.

His face paled as he explored a new degree of devastation. "That was my last clean shirt!" he cried. "When will you finally grow up?"

"I have to grow up?" she hissed dismissively. "I am not the one carrying a box of someone else's old junk around with me!"

The words had slipped out of her mouth before she knew it. Immediately, she wanted to jump out of the window herself. Why had she said that? She didn't mean it. It wasn't even true… But Law didn't follow that train of thought. The curtain was ripped aside and he emerged from a cloud of steam, a towel wrapped around the hips. Water was dripping from his hair, right onto his angry, aggravated face.

Struck speechless by her own cruelty, Savenna stared at him. The tattoos she had pestered him about covered in fact much more skin than she'd suspected. Twining like snakes across his chest, they formed several ink hearts, as if to replace the one that he was so reluctant to admit he had and that she had just deliberately driven a dagger into.

Only when she looked closer, she saw that the ink hadn't been applied randomly. The skin underneath was rough and uneven. Whoever had drawn Law's hearts had knowingly tattooed over old scars, some of which she remembered treating. The tense muscles underneath finally forced her eyes to meet his.

"I'm sorry, my bad," he breathed under his naturally threatening glare. "Considering the person it belongs to, it seems indeed like a waste of perfectly good storage space."

It hurt and Savenna knew she deserved it. She should have taken the hit and apologized, but the sharp feeling suddenly worming itself through her chest didn't allow it. "Just because it's daylight we're keeping scores now? Don't pretend for a second that you are a better person than I am, Trafalgar Law!" she snarled. "What about the things you said? Don't you think any of that was hurtful too?"

"At least I try to avoid people when I feel the need to chop their heads off," he informed her snappishly.

"Oh I bet you'd still be avoiding me if I hadn't tried chopping your head off instead!"

As Law let out a painful sigh. "I tried respecting your boundaries… I thought my rules weren't worth much if I couldn't follow them myself."

Savenna frowned. "Boundaries? What are you talking about…?" But he didn't need to answer. It was written in the painful expression on his face. As her anger subsided, it fell like scales from her eyes.

The locked cabin, the box and all of that anger – it wasn't about her. Bepo had been right all along. Suddenly, beyond the fancy ship, the pirate crew, and the new muscles and tattoos, Savenna realized she was looking at the same lonely boy she had tried to bully out of her parents' party. Expecting people to run away, when he opened a closet and showed them the skeletons inside. "You aren't mad about the marines," she figured. "You are mad because I saw you."

Silence deepened between them like a gorge cracking open. There was something disarming in the way Law caught her eye. Then, jaw set, he looked away. "There is a reason why that door remains locked. To everybody, including you."

"Why?"

His eyes hardened. "Because no crew would follow a captain who is losing his mind. You've been out there long enough to know. Weakness is not an option for us. We're worth only as much as the enemies we defeat. Everything else is a liability."

His words sounded familiar. After Flevance and the attack on Port Esperance, strength and survival had been the only things that mattered to her. It had taken Rayleigh months to get it out of her head. Patience not being her biggest virtue, Savenna fought the urge to bind Law to an operating table and cut it out of him, but she forced herself to stay civilized. "Your crew worships you, can't you see that?" she said. "They will follow you every step of the way, no matter what!"

Law snorted dismissively. "You don't know that. Besides, I'm their captain, the only thing that matters is how strong I am."

Savenna groaned with irritation. "You crew is more than strong enough on their own. What they need is for you to trust them with your life as much as they trust you with theirs. That's the real pirate code. You need to tell them."

Law chuckled darkly. "Are we really going to talk about trust?"

When Savenna held her ground, he shook his head with disbelief. "You once made me believe you were contagious because you didn't think I could help you. And you haven't trusted me for a second since you've got on my ship."

Savenna couldn't believe he was trying to turn this argument against her. "You gave me enough reason not to!"

"Maybe but that doesn't change the fact that you are terrified of relying on somebody else," he countered. "You're just as bad off as I am, so don't lecture me on trust."

"That's ridiculous," she snorted. "I'm getting help all the time!"

"Really? Then why didn't you let me do that check-up?" Savenna wanted to protest but he didn't let her. "You said that no one will think less of me if they knew, but that doesn't apply to you, does it?"

"Don't be stupid! Of course it does!"

There was a sadness about him when he smiled. "If all you said is true, then why didn't you ask me to help you with your revenge? It is our enemy you're chasing, and yet you wouldn't even consider fighting side by side with me."

"I would have if…"

"If you thought I could handle it?" he said. "Don't bother. I know that I will never be good enough for you, whether I heal people or slit them open."

When he wanted to pass Savenna blocked his way, venom glistening in her eyes. "I would have if you believed me!" she spat. "If you actually still cared for the person whose bloody dress you kept for eight fucking years, and didn't make an enemy out of me every chance you get!"

Law looked like someone had punched him in the face. "Please get out of the way..."

Savenna shot him a daring glance. "Or what? Are you going to shamble me out of the way like another one of your problems?"

A blue sphere spun out of his palm, and in the matter of a second, Savenna found herself standing on the other side of the shower curtain. "Seriously? Did someone ever tell you how predictable you are?" she called after him. Infuriated she punched at wall, triggering a stream of ice-cold water to burst out of the pipe. "Shit!" Of course, there was no hot water left… Savenna cursed again before leaning against the tiled shower wall.

Left alone, she allowed herself to think.

Neither of them had been mad about being the lesser pirate. They couldn't care less about that. Being vulnerable was the real problem. How come they couldn't trust each other like they had before?

Savenna slid down to the bottom of the shower.

And why had she never counted on his help to get their revenge? She knew it had nothing to do with him being strong or not. It was her own strength she didn't trust. Had she asked him and he'd said no, it would have hurt too much. She couldn't have dealt with the rejection. She would have given up and fallen so hard not even Haki would have been able to catch her. But how could she possibly tell him that?

Savenna sighed and stiffened when something moved in the back of her mind. Probably just someone walking down the hall, she thought. Observation Haki caught signals all the time, even when she wasn't concentrating. Only when the feeling persisted, Savenna scrambled to her feet. The feeling grew into a form, and slowly shaped itself into an approaching shadow.

Something was coming.

---

Law tried keeping his eyes peeled on maps of Blizzard Rock but couldn't focus. The control room was buzzing with casual Heart Pirate chatter, but somehow Savenna's voice kept drowning them out. If you actually still cared for the person whose bloody dress you kept for eight fucking years and didn't make an enemy out of me every chance you got! It sounded like something Corazon would say. Could they be right? Was he really trying to convince himself she was the enemy because he couldn't handle what it meant if she wasn't? Frustrated, Law was about to drain his second cup of coffee when a drenched Savenna burst into the control room.

"Descend five hundred feet, hard starboard!" she ordered.

The hat almost fell off Penguin's head. "Are we under attack?"

"We're going to be."

Instantly everyone else rushed to the windows while Law stared at her with suspicion. Was this another prank? But Savenna's face remained cold sober.

"I can't see anything. It's too misty," Penguin complained from the porthole. Meanwhile Shachi's suspicious glance wandered from Savenna's dripping clothes to his captain's wet hair. "Oh, but I do! Is it just me or did you two shower together…?"

"What…? No…!" Law and Savenna just had enough time to exchange a hot, petrified glance, before a cannon ball sent them reeling.

Recalling their last adventure, Bepo clutched his paws around the steering wheel in advance. Ikkaku initiated a scan to assess the damage and Law rushed to the control panel. "Where did that come from?" The second radar started humming but Savenna's Haki was quicker. "Behind us."

Law stepped to the periscope and observed the mist slowly creeping over the surface. There was something unnatural about it. He couldn't tell what it was until he realized it was moving in the opposite direction of the wind. Expecting to see sails, Law frowned when three gray chimneys entered his vision, puffing clouds into the sky. It wasn't mist spreading around them, it was steam. Then he saw the flag. "Bounty hunters."

"Captain, outside temperature is rising," Bepo reported, before another cannon ball hit the surface. As Shachi and Ikkaku rushed out to man their own cannons, Savenna remained rigid in the middle of the room. Something was wrong. Whoever was on that ship – she had felt their auras before. Only where?

Then she remembered.

"We need to leave," she called out. "Right now." Law held her gaze soberly before shaking his head. "It's too late – we're hit. Our motors won't be fast enough. We'll have to engage."

Was he insane? Savenna was one brain cell short of grabbing an oar and paddling them out of there. "This isn't the time for competition! You can teach me a lesson later, but this is too dangerous!"

Law's eyes were set on the steam slowly encompassing the ship. "I'm afraid we don't have a choice." When the order came to prepare for combat, the crew responded with more enthusiasm that was good for them.

The captain's confidence crumbled the moment Savenna stormed out of the room. His skull felt ready to explode. He couldn't care less about their competition. Savenna's Haki might have given them a little time but it wouldn't be enough. The moment he'd laid eyes on that ship, he knew the battered Tang couldn't run.

The markings on the steamer's hull were introduction enough. They would have looked like ordinary mooring scratches to everybody else, but Law remembered that same ship entering port on Minion Island every two weeks. They were Doflamingo's men. If Law didn't get rid of them, the Heart Pirates would have them on their tail until the Joker's reinforcements arrived.

It was sink or be sunk.

---

Dashing down to the infirmary, Savenna couldn't help but wonder why bad things had the habit of happening at the same time. According to tradition, Doflamingo's squads showed up when she was already fighting battles on two fronts. Cursing, she crossed Law's lab and headed for the medicine cabinet.

If she was going to face an actual opponent, she needed more than just a few pills to secure her cover. Armament Haki didn't come cheap these days and if she didn't want to repeat what happened the last time, she needed to be prepared.

After locating the Tang's morphine stash, she injected herself with the triple of Bepo's prescribed dose. She'd have to fight high but at least crunching headaches and joint pain wouldn't be chaining her to the bed. Next she threw off the leather coat she had saved for fighting and started strapping bandages across her upper body, in case some of the old wounds popped open. Then, with two epinephrine pens to jump-start her heart if necessary, she rush back upstairs.

Outside, the cannon fire between the two ships had intensified, rocking the sub like a bottle on the waves. Savenna rushed through the airlock and fell into a violent cough. The air was sweltering with steam. After choking down the heat burning through her lungs, she looked up and caught a sight of the enemy.

The ship was a floating fortress.

Even from afar she recognized rows of cannons and trebuchets lining the outer decks. The defense lines, fortified with barbed wire, climbed over three decks, while the small portholes hid behind metal bars. Not unlike the Polar Tang, the steamer was built out of heavy iron, but they would need loads of fire power to punch a hole into their side big enough to make a difference.

The Heart Pirates were already in battle stance; Bepo guarding the prow, Penguin raiding the armory while cannons fired in short sequences across the waterway.

Bracing for a counter attack, Savenna sensed a crunch in the air before a blue dome circled out from the center of the sub. Law had climbed onto the roof, Devil Fruit in full swing. It was larger than any maneuver he'd performed before. Not flinching at the sound of fire flying their way, he raised his hand and three cannon balls staggered to a halt in midair. It seemed like his training was paying off. As if operating invisible machinery, with one twist of his hand he sent them whizzing back in the direction of the enemy ship.

The impact was massive.

The second chimney went up in a blaze of white fire and two rows of cannons tumbled into the waves. Shielding her eyes from the smoke, Savenna searched for signs of fatigue in the captain's face stance, but Law remained unwavering. "Prepare the planks. We're going in!" he ordered in a cold, unforgiving tone, that even during their fights she had never heard before.

Law was going offensive. He was right. Anything else would only make them wait like sitting ducks. But Savenna had a bad feeling about this. "Use your ability when you can and watch your back," Savenna called as she finally spotted Nell on board.

But just when organized commotion spread over the Tang, their luck turned.

Savenna felt the steam wave hit before she could see it. It wasn't pouring out of the chimneys anymore, but descending from the sky and rising from the ocean. Seconds later, visibility was reduced to zero.

The naked sound of metal against metal announced they were being boarded. Choking screams followed the chaotic clanking of blades. As she kept staring at the figures emerging and disappearing back into the steam, something about their shabby uniforms caught her eye: the outline of a diamond stitched across their breast pockets.

Savenna's blood went cold.

Her senses hadn't tricked her. Diamante. They were part of his fleet. She couldn't tell if it was the morphine entering her system, but she felt like her knees were about to give in. Fear and anger had her paralyzed. She understood it now – the emotion seething in Law's voice. Whatever had sent him after Doflamingo's crew, must have left scars just as deep as hers. A sinister growl left her throat. The prospect of losing someone else to Doflamingo made her want to slaughter everyone on board.

But before Savenna could sharpen her Observation Haki, something clutched around her wrists. Stabbing pain shot all the way to her shoulder and immobilized her hands before she could grab the dagger sitting in her boot. She gasped violently as she recognized what had caught her. Instead of fingers, something oozy and green dug itself into her skin.

"I'd relax if I were you. The slings grow faster the harder you fight," a munching, high-pitched voice chuckled behind her.

Then another branch lashed across her chest. The foul, sulfurous smell of Algae made her retch as it contaminated every cavity of her nose. So this was an Algae human, she concluded with disgust. Another revolting piece in Doflamingo's collection.

Savenna had enough of this. With a cry she yanked her head backwards. At the satisfying sound of bones cracking, she wriggled herself free and twisted around.

The face of her attacker had long ceased to be human: green pulp with a gaping hole for a mouth and two piercing yellow eyes. She had never seen the creature before, but the man behind the Devil Fruit sent a shiver down her spine. It was him the Haki had detected. There was no doubt now. He'd been part of Doflamingo's squad in Port Esperance.

The green mask cracked into a laugh. A twine crept over his face, repairing the broken nose. "Pity they don't send us after the real pirates. All we get to hunt these days are rookies and pickpockets, and I don't even get to bash their heads in anymore. What a disgrace."

Savenna's vision turned opioid red. Fetch's blood spilling on the ground flashed before her eyes and launched at him.

She wasn't quick enough. A branch coiled around her ankle send her flying to the ground. Immediately she pumped Armament Haki pumped into her fists, but it was no use. When trying to summon physical force, her body slammed against an invisible wall. The morphine didn't only loosen her mind but also her muscles.

Dots started dancing in front of her eyes, when a familiar humming reached her ears. In a flash, her green shackles were slashed. Before she could slump to the floor, her body was hauled through puffs of steam where it crashed into Law's. Soft landings sure weren't the Ope Ope's specialty.

"Are you alright?" Half of the captain's face was covered in blood. Judging from how quickly he pulled her up, it wasn't his own. Savenna fought the sudden urge to burying her hands in that ridiculous yellow shirt. For a moment, she thought it would be Port Esperance all over again. She beaten and immobilized, watching the world burn time and again. But that Law didn't need to know. "I'm fine," she pressed through the shock. "Did you get him?"

"I don't think so… He regenerates fast." Law didn't bother lowering his blade. "Bepo caught three downstairs, but there are still too many left."

Dizzy, Savenna lifted her palm to her forehead. Following a conversation was a lot more difficult than it had been ten minutes ago. Suddenly the whole situation seemed ridiculous. Normal terminally ill people spent their days surrounded by loved ones doing things they enjoy. How come she always ended up cutting someone else's guts open instead?

"What's so funny?" Law asked when she let out a giggle.

She was about to explain it to him, but then remembered that she couldn't and said the first thing that came to mind. "Do you think there's a Devil Fruit that could turn you into a Mushroom human?"

"What…?"

Savenna's timing had never been spot on but this was absurd even for her standards. A quick look at her dilated pupils was all it took for Law's frown to turn into an irritated scowl. "Seriously? Couldn't you find a better time to get high?"

"It's… not what it looks like."

But Law wouldn't let her off with an excuse. Their rivalry was one thing, but this was bigger than them. "If you want to get yourself killed - fine!" he called. "But I won't let you put the crew in danger!" Savenna recoiled, confused. What was he saying? That she wanted this? That she wanted for them to get hurt? "I need the drugs to fight!" she yelled back just as fiercely.

"Really? Your reflexes don't look like much to me."

"Yes, I'm slow and my punches are weak, but it's the only way I can use my Haki. I can help you defeat them but you need to trust me!" When Law shook his head with disappointment, she gritted her teeth. "Always the enemy, am I?" she hissed. "You wouldn't even trust me if your life depended on it."

"No, that's not…" Suddenly Law didn't know what to say. Savenna was definitely overly medicated and hot-headed, but when it came to saving their skin, her judgement had never been wrong. So why couldn't he rely on her? Hadn't he just moments ago accused her of not trusting him? Why was this so hard?

Then Law understood. He hadn't wanted her help, because he was supposed to be helping her. He was the doctor and she was the patient. It wasn't distrust but guilt that made him keep Savenna at a constant arm's length. But Law didn't get the chance to explain. Savenna grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him out of the way. A second later, a bounty hunter jumped out of the steam and right onto the point of his sword. Mystified, Law's gaze wandered from the blood on the blade to her pleading expression. "Will you fight with me, Mushroom Head? Please?"

Law froze.

It was reckless. If anything went wrong, they'd be shooting blindly into the crowd but with them having as good as no visibility anyway, he didn't have another choice. It was only with Savenna's Haki that they could win. Her face lit up as the blue sphere circled out of Law's palm. "We have to take out as many as we can and we have to do it fast."

Their backs pressed against each other, Law and Savenna carefully advanced into the cloud of steam.

"Eleven o'clock!" she called. They ducked when a bounty hunter sent a dagger flying their way. Now that the attacker had made the mistake of entering their field of vision, Law didn't hesitate. He swung Kikoku in a full circle, delivering four clean slashes. One scream and a couple of gurgling sounds later, a severed head rolled to Savenna's feet.

For a split second she stared at it with childish curiosity.

It had been a long time since she'd watched Law kill up close. In the later days of the Amber Lead epidemic, she used to help him put patients out of their misery. Mostly children and old people whose screams used to keep the whole hospital awake at night. He wanted to end their suffering; she wanted an extra hour of sleep. They overdosed them when the good meds were still available, and switched to a concoction of laudanum and arsenic toward the end. Law had assured her they didn't feel a thing, and she never had the courage to tell him that she didn't care.

Cautiously she nudged the head with her foot. Law worked with the same quick precision as he always did. In complete control of his instruments. Watching him kill filled her with the strangest feeling of nostalgia. Not for one moment would you consider fighting by my side… Savenna squeezed her eyes shut. He was so wrong. He was the first one to watch her take somebody's life, and she had missed him in those moments ever since.

Meanwhile Law didn't slow down.

Boxes of ammunition were emptied in midair and bullets circled around their heads like an iron cloud. Freshly teleported out of the armory, round bombs were added to their floating arsenal, and Savenna insisted to use the rows of icicles hanging from the fins of the Tang for extra edge.

Side by side, they moved and fired at her command. "Five o'clock, upper deck!" she yelled. Law gave the assigned bullets a good spin before sending them whizzing through the steam. Three dry screams followed. The dying voices of strangers began to sound like music in their ears.

Law grinned to himself. He hated to admit it, but they made quite a decent team. When their grenades hit, the sub groaned under their feet and suddenly the steam lifted.

They could see Shachi writhing on the floor, holding a bleeding arm and Bepo kicking another opponent to the other side of the deck. His martial arts ability was no joke. Nell shot them a thumbs-up, her ghastly hat discarded, when she finally got the chance to use her powers. Immediately, the railing and the floor planks started expanding.

"What is she doing?" Law asked. "Is she a user too?"

Savenna nodded with a speck of guilt. He witnessed her abilities every day without knowing it. "She's eaten the Forge-Forge fruit. Illusions are her specialty."

They didn't have to wait for proof. Four opponents following Nell stumbled overboard, as the floor underneath their feet revealed itself to be nothing more than thin air.

If Law was impressed, he had no time to show it. The steam returned out of nowhere, thicker than before. They just had enough time to regroup before it closed in around them. "We have to get rid of this cloud," Savenna coughed, resting her hands on her knees. "Where the hell is it coming from?"

"It's not an it. It's a who," Law said grimly. Savenna stiffened before putting two and two together. "Loggia?"

He nodded. "Luckily, not a very strong one. Otherwise we'd be dead already. I believe the other Devil Fruit user's their main offensive. But still, I don't know how …" He didn't get to finish sentence, when his feet were pulled away from under him by a green branch of algae.

Savenna cursed.

No matter how much she wanted Diamante's man dead, she needed Law to take care of him. As a Haki user, Loggia was her domain.

Frantically, she tried to remember her training with the only user she knew. Despite everything that Rayleigh had taught her, it had taken her weeks in marine camp figure out how to finally land a punch in Smoker's face. Neither of them had appreciated the moment. He'd lost a few teeth in the process and she'd found out how much Haki it actually took to perform the attack Rayleigh had always only lectured her on. Both Observation and Armament Haki needed to be employed at once to track and catch the bastard. What if she couldn't do it anymore?

She didn't have a choice. It was their only way out of this. Savenna steadied herself. Her body was at the verge of exhaustion. She could feel the bandages slowly soaking with blood. Her field of vision was shaky. She winced as she tried to concentrate. Just as she thought she couldn't go on, the morphine ushered a whisper in the back of her head.

They betrayed you. They killed Fetch and left you for dead. They hurt Law…

A long-overdue rage ignited in her chest.

Surprised at how quickly her arms coated with Armament Haki, Savenna lunged forward, aiming at the first steam puff in her path. It demanded double of her concentration. She felt her lungs burn. She coughed, tasting blood. Standing straight felt like a balancing act on the edge of a cliff. Sensation slowly slipped out of her limbs, but it didn't matter. Her will was stronger than her body.

Savenna took deep, painful breaths, and refocused. There he was. Shifting, changing, disintegrating and reforming. He was fast. But he wasn't untouchable.

With boiling blood, she aimed and punched.

It felt like hitting a rubber wall at first – the shape was trying to escape. But then it solidified into flesh letting out a scream. Dizzy, she realized she'd caught his face. It was an exceptionally ugly face. Gray, crunched up and ageless. Unlike the last time, she didn't let it speak. She kicked at every inch of steam that dared to meet her vision. Her body slacked, but naked anger prevailed.

She didn't even notice when Law's blade ceased slicing no two meters behind her. Only when the steam cleared and a heaving, convulsing body fell to her feet, did she allow herself to breathe.

"You did it…" Law's voice sounded as if coming from a wide, shaky distance. He was staring at her, awestruck, like on the night of the festival. For a moment she felt like a child again. She wanted to show him so much more but she knew she couldn't. "Did you get the other one?"

Law nodded absentmindedly. "Over there. Breathing is last." Then he noticed the shadow settling on her face. "Where are you going?"

Savenna didn't answer. The drugs had numbed her senses. Her thoughts drifted away, one by one, letting rage take over. She didn't need Haki for this part.

The algae man was lying on the lower deck. He was heavily injured, pools of dark blood forming around him. He had regained his human form and tilted his heady slightly when Savenna walked into the light. Blood gurgled in his throat when he tried to speak. She met his pleading gaze and froze in her tracks.

Rage collided with a wave of disappointment.

Who was this man? Why couldn't she recognize him? He had been there when Doflamingo's people had slaughtered their compound. She'd always thought she'd remember all of their faces, so why couldn't she?

Savenna drove her foot into his jaw. "Who are you? What's your name?" He didn't react so she climbed on top of him, clutching her fingers around his throat. "Do you remember Port Esperance?" she hissed, tightening her grip. No answer. With a howl, she grabbed his head and smashed it against the floor. "Do you remember me?"

He didn't.

So she did it again, and again. She couldn't tell which of her blows killed him. She didn't care. She thought of Rayleigh. Dead set to prove him wrong, she kept hitting. Make me feel better!

Two steps away and for the second time that day, Law was at a loss. His eyes set on the massacre in front of him, he realized he'd forgotten who he was dealing with. Savenna was a Haki user for a reason. She was a natural disaster - powerful and on the constant brink of madness.

He'd just about identified the man as the captain of Diamante's division but was unable to find out more. There wasn't much left of their opponent's face. Savenna's knuckles had made sure of that. His skull was bashed in on two sides, his nasal bone cracked, and eyes squeezed out of their sockets. Law was currently observing parts of his brain oozing out of his skull and still Savenna kept slamming it against the floorboards with a wet, angry sound.

When nobody else dared to intervene, Law gathered the courage to approach her. "He's dead…"

She didn't react.

"Savenna, are you listening?" She wasn't or she chose not to. Expecting her to lash out, he tried to keep his distance when he cowered next to her. When catching a glimpse at her face, he stiffened. Bits of frontal cortex were sticking to her cheek. Eyes bloodshot, delirious. Her jaw locked tight, choking down dry sobs. She was crying.

That's exactly why morphine was a false friend. For once, however, Law didn't listen to the doctor's voice in the back of his head. He didn't know why she'd wanted that man to suffer, but knew the feeling all too well. It wouldn't get better. Not like this.

"You need to stop," he ordered softly. She tried to push him away, but he caught her by the wrists and pulled her close. Unable to look at him, she pressed her head into his shoulder. There was too much blood to tell if she was injured. Savenna shivered desperately when his arms locked around her. "I trusted them. And then they…" she whimpered.

"I know," he sighed breathlessly. That's what they did. But when he felt her grab a fistful of his shirt as if to stop him from going away, the question hit him. What had Doflamingo done to her?

Suddenly Law felt like ripping the limbs off of every corpse on deck and sending them as a special delivery to the Joker, but this wasn't the time. He fought with himself as he cleared his throat. "If this helps, I opened him up in the worst way possible. No suffering wasted."

Like a sulking child, she pressed her head harder against him. "How...?"

His voice sounded surprisingly soft muffled by her hair. "Let's see…First, I cut through his spine and stomach, and smashed his kneecaps to slow him down. Then I rearranged the blood vessels around his lungs so he'd suffocate slowly and sliced through the coronary in the end. Does that sound okay?"

Savenna remained silent.

Law gave it another try. "How about killing the prisoners then? Don't tell Bepo, but the torture equipment on board is quite decent. Would that make you feel better? We could do it together if you want…"

The sound of her relaxed breath shot right through his heart. "Thank you, Mushroom Head…" she muttered, dazed and disoriented. "You always get those needles out for me. I missed that…"

It took him a while to understand what she was talking about, but when he did, he felt like throwing himself in to that prison cell along with Doflamingo's men.

He had been such an idiot. The things he'd said… Blaming her for his loss of control wasn't just unfair, it had been childish and cruel. Savenna might be vindictive and bad-tempered, but she always had his back and even though she would never say it, there were times when she still needed him to have hers.

"I'm sorry…" Savenna whispered shakily.

"For what?"

He found out fast enough as she heaved and threw up all over him. Turns out morphine hadn't been kind to her. Law sighed, gently patting her on the back. Him and his clothes had seen worse. "I guess now we're officially even," she croaked, head hanging low. "Scary blackout versus disgusting yesterday's breakfast. Together we might scare Doflamgino's bastards away for good…"

Law stared blankly down at her. They shared so much more than he'd realized. How could he ever let her think he didn't care?

"It's me who's sorry… It's my fault," he breathed anxiously. "I should never have said what I did. None of this is on you…I've been a jerk and a terrible friend and you can destroy as many of my clothes as you like." He paused, biting his lip. "I never wanted you to be the enemy. I know you're not. I was just scared of…" Of what? Facing his own guilt? How was he ever supposed to tell anyone, or worse, explain any of it to her? But just as he was desperately searching for a way to finish his sentence, he realized Savenna had already dozed off, forehead propped against his chest.

Law smiled weakly. Despite three fractures ribs and two open wounds, for the first time in days he felt calm. Holding her when she puked her guts out was just about as strong as he ever needed to be.

---

To Law's great displeasure, Steam Fruit user was still alive. Bepo and Nell had ushered both Savenna and Shachi below deck and Law was looking forward to calling it a day. Exhausted, he lifted Kikoku over the man's head when a chuckling voice interrupted him. "Well, well you put up quite a show, kid. Didn't know you had a Haki girl on board. Bold move."

Law ignored him. Whoever this man was, he wasn't worth it. He had never met him and there was no reason to delay his imminent death.

"You know the Joker is still looking for you?"

The blade froze in midair.

"That's right," the bounty hunter coughed. "I heard about you, Trafalgar Law, and that ugly business with Rosinante. The Joker wants to us tell you that he hasn't forgotten. And when you meet again, Corazon won't be there to protect you."

Law's expression remained blank. Even though those were probably desperate, idle threats, suddenly Savenna's casual bloodbath didn't seem so uncivilized. With the old anger pumping through his veins, Law took a deep breath and knocked him out cold.