I don't like you!

by BloodyMarryMe

By pure chance and unluckiness Miyako finds herself at the Sabaody auction house as a slave. And of all the people, the one interested just had to be the most smug, egoistical and sadistic pirate she has ever met. So at least she can give him as much trouble as possible, right? LawXOC

45. Chapter 45

'I don't like you!' by BloodyMarryMe

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of its character but I do own the OC Suzune Miyako. This story is rather T for violence and language.

Hey guys, how's it going?! The end of semester is coming so we're all pretty busy, no? Sorry for taking so long; my Beta reader is really busy so proofreading takes some time. And my chapters are pretty long so I bet it's not easy for her. ^^' As always though, I give you another pretty long chapter to compensate for the long wait, so enjoy!

---

CHAPTER 45

A young girl of about 17 years of age sat in a seiza, completely calm and motionless. She had her hair tightly bound with a red ribbon and wore a snow-white kimono that seemed much more elegant than her usual attire. The tatami room was completely empty and quiet; the only thing besides the girl in the room was a futon with a person lying on it. Their face was covered with a white cloth as the older man laid there motionless and without a sound. The only noise in the room was the girl's breathing since she was the only one of the two who was breathing at all. Beside the girl was her katana and beside the futon was the man's katana. The two swords might look alike to an untrained eye but there was a world of experience and skill that distinguished the two weapons along with their wielders. But one of them will never wield their sword again.

The girl kept her almost empty gaze on the unmoving body in front of her. She seemed to be in her own world as she kept staring at the spot in front of her. She was so compelled by her own thoughts that she didn't even notice the shadows behind her; silhouettes of people in the room next door, behind the thin paper wall dividing them. It was the people who had come for the funeral and stayed after the ceremony, talking among themselves. Noblemen, samurai, daimyo and other titles Miyako didn't care about; all who wanted to give their respects to one of the four powerful Samurai who led this country through both war and peace, who died for this country. The girl didn't even notice their whispers as they discussed the future among themselves. Talk of political plots and future steps as to who will replace the man now. Her Master wasn't even in his grave yet and there was already talk about who will replace him in his seat as one of the Wano rulers.

"It is clear, the Council must decide. It has to be done tonight. We can't let anyone think we our weakened because of this loss. The World Government is always waiting for a moment to put a pressure on us," a man said in a stern voice and the other men agreed with decisive tones.

"But I feel sorry for the girl…" One of the women mentioned.

"Yes. She has no family. He was her only caretaker," another added.

"I wonder what will they do with her now," a third questioned. Somehow all of them used concerned tones, yet still sounded as they were amused by it, as if it was an interesting hot topic and the women found something new to gossip about.

"She can't take care of the household and lead the dojo alone…That would be outrageous for a woman to do."

"I suppose she will have to marry...she is at that age isn't she?"

"Hoho. Yes, but I hear Lord Kuroda was keeping her away from such things. Supposedly, she didn't wish to get married and he respected her wishes. She must be way too picky for her standings," the woman grinned as she continued.

"Hihi. Perhaps he wanted her all to himself…" The other giggled at the thought.

In the other room, the young girl gripped the kimono with her hands as they clenched the fabric in her lap.

"I suppose she will have no choice but to marry someone who will then take over the estate and the dojo. If she's lucky, she will be given to the next Samurai who will help rule Wanokuni. It's an honor."

"Hmpf, one she won't even know to appreciate, I'm sure. My Tamao-chan would be much better, if only she was taken under his wing like Suzune," the woman noted rather bitterly, not even trying to put on a polite mask anymore. After all there was no reason to, now that Suzune Miyako wasn't even in the room. "That orphan girl was lucky…just because her dead parents were on good terms with Lord Kuroda." Then the woman leaned closer to the other gossipers and whispered. "I heard she even trained swordsmanship under him. Can you believe it? For a woman to hold a katana… unthinkable."

"What outrage," the other older women agreed.

The young girl closed her eyes as she breathed deep breaths in and out, still squeezing her kimono tightly. She let her mind be pulled away from all of this; from this room, this house, this people… She blocked out all her senses, all the whispers and shadows. Everything.

Miyako opened her eyes and found herself staring at the familiar metal ceiling of the pirate submarine. She closed her eyes again and rubbed them with her hands before stretching like a cat that just woke up. With a final yawn, she sat up on her narrow bed and looked around the simple room of metal she was in. At first she hated this room as it reminded her of being trapped in a small metal box but she has gotten used to it over the months and even enjoyed spending her time here, often meditating in solitude. Her trusty katana was leaned on the wall right beside her bed, with the red ribbon tied around the scabbard like a sash. She turned to put her feet on the floor and hissed at the uncomfortable feeling of her skin touching the cold floor. There was nothing better to wake you up than some cold metal on your still warm feet. She waited for a while to get used to it before standing up and picking out an outfit to use.

Soon after they dived from Sabaody and headed for Fishmen island, Miyako decided to take a short nap and rest for a while seeing as she hadn't had a wink of sleep all night. She wanted to stay in the control room longer and stare at all the wonders the sea depths had to offer but after everything that happened on Sabaody, Miyako wanted nothing more than to take a shower and a nap. She wondered if Law also used this time to take a break since he didn't sleep last night either, but the girl doubted it. Knowing her captain, he won't rest until they are safe and sound on Fishmen Island. He always looked so laid-back but those dark circles underneath his eyes were the perfect indicator of how much the man actually worked and how rarely he relaxed.

Still in thought, the samurai girl picked her new outfit for the rest of the day, finally feeling clean and rested after a long time. She rummaged through her small closet finding a simple black turtleneck shirt and her usual check skirt. The girl added final touches to her attire as she pulled her long dark blue hair in a ponytail with her ribbon and took her katana before going out the door. There was only one thought in her mind now; something she still hadn't resolved. In the Tenryuubito palace Law said they would continue their conversation when they got back but they didn't have much time for it since everyone was on high alert as they traveled down below on various currents. By now, however, they should've already reached the main current to ride on that pulled them down, as Jean Bart explained it before she went to take a nap. They should soon reach the great Downward plume and after that was hopefully smooth sailing on the Deep Currents all the way to Fishmen island. But somehow with their luck, Miyako had a feeling it won't be that easy. There were always some complications ahead.

Before that, Miyako wanted to use this chance to talk openly with Law about everything. She didn't want to run away or turn her head from facts anymore. She wanted to discuss this head-on and face Law openly. They owed each other at least that; especially after everything that happened in the Tenryuubito palace. Miyako remembered her display of emotions that she still felt uncomfortable about. However, she showed her weakness to Law, her innermost feelings and thoughts, and Law accepted them. He didn't ignore it, try to push it away, or turn away from her. He saw her weak side and accepted it. Miyako's gaze became a little softer as those memories swirled through her mind while she walked the dark corridors of the submarine.

The first place she visited was the control room, thinking that Law was surely there in his captain's chair, staring at the black abyss of the sea. She peaked into the room, showing her head, but to her surprise she only found the two navigators there.

"Oh, hello Miyako," Sai nodded, regarding the girl's presence before his gaze returned back to the control panel with numerous little screens and pointers that Miyako will probably never know how to read correctly. Hell, she never even saw a submarine in her life before she met the Heart Pirates.

Jean Bart just nodded in her direction without a word and then his head also turned back to his business, which was steering the helm of the submarine.

"Where's Law?" She didn't really bother coming into the room and still stood at the doorway, peaking inside.

Sai and Jean Bart looked at each other in thought, before the larger navigator shrugged. Sai turned back to Miyako "Sorry, can't help you."

With a slightly troubled hum Miyako pushed away from the doorframe, continuing her search for the pirate captain. Her next target was his quarters though Miyako felt a bit uncomfortable entering there. Mostly because she remembered the embarrassing time she fell asleep there and their awful argument, both happening in that room. The girl rushed her step a little, a part of her impatient to confront Law while the other part hesitant to do so. Yet she was standing in front of his quarters in no time. With a deep breath and a lot of mental preparation, Miyako finally knocked on the door three times before waiting for a response. It never came. The girl tilted her head questioningly and furrowed her thin eyebrows, before trying again. This time she decided to open the doors before even hearing the reply. As expected, only an empty room awaited her inside. The desk was filled with books and papers as usual, but there was no one behind it. With an impatient sigh Miyako closed the doors and walked down the hallways once more. There was one more place she knew Law often resided in but Miyako wondered why he would be there at a time like this. Still, the samurai headed for the infirmary none the less.

The first thing Miyako noticed when she entered a slightly chilly, well-lit room was the nodachi securely placed against a chair. That was enough indication to know Law was in here and it didn't take long for Miyako to find him as she scanned the room until her gaze fell on one of the operating tables. There, Law was towering over something on the table, wearing his rubber doctor gloves. He was working in complete silence and precision, so focused he didn't even notice when Miyako quietly closed the doors behind her and stepped into the room.

The doctor adjusted the bright light as he needed to illuminate a certain part of something that Miyako couldn't see from his lean built. Without even looking up, he took another surgical tool and made one clean cut, before replacing the tool with another in his hand.

Miyako quietly sneaked across the room, careful not to alarm the captain and whatever he was working on. She already reached half of the path towards him before his voice finally stopped her in her tracks. "Do you need something, Miss Miyako?"

The girl let out a breath with a slight disappointed expression. Her lip moved into a small pout as she finally relaxed, abandoning her careful demeanor. "And here I thought I could sneak up on you."

She thought she heard a quiet muffled chuckle but it was hard to tell with the surgical mask over Law's mouth. "Not likely," he didn't even spare a look behind or stop what he was working on, as he continued operating on whatever poor creature he caught this time. Miyako knew they had a special little room with cages where Law kept certain animals and creatures he stumbled upon on their journeys. The less fortunate ones that would interest him would be caught and brought back on the sub so he could analyze them…and analyzing meant; cut them open and take a look inside. He didn't even bother to use his devil fruit powers to put them back together later unless he was strictly using them for practicing his ope ope abilities on the creatures.

The girl walked passed Law and sat on the opposite operating table. "So what are you working on this time? Or should I say; what poor thing are you butchering now?" She looked at the creature on the operating table. At first Miyako thought it was long dead but then noticed it was plugged into machines that measured its pulse and other signs of life like blood pressure. The samurai hoped the creature was under some powerful anesthesia since its chest was completely open, showing all the organs inside along with a still beating heart. An uncomfortable shiver went through Miyako at the sight.

"Practicing," Law simply answered as he made another incision before putting the scalpel down. He moved away the surgical item that looked like some kind of grapple that kept the body securely open and took some surgical thread and needle from the tray with all the equipment. Just then the machine started beeping and Law scowled but kept completely calm and on top of the situation as he reached inside the animal's body and massaged its stopped heart. He looked completely confident in himself as he worked, not alarmed by the warning machines around him. Miyako didn't even notice that she held her breath in suspense as she watched Law work his surgeon magic. She leaned forward from her seat a bit closer to have a better view, her disgust completely forgotten as she watched the operation almost mesmerized. After a while, Law murmured something and right from his hand an electric shock came out and passed through the animal's body. The electricity made the body twitch and rise up before it fell on the metal table, limp and unmoving. The beeping sound of the machine was still loud and clear as they indicating the pressure of the creature dropping rapidly. Law waited a few seconds, then tried again, using his countershock in place of the defibrillator. This time, as the body violently spasmed from the electrical shock again, the ECG machines stopped their alarming beeping and slowly returned to normal along with the animal's life signs.

The surgeon finished his work, closing up the animal's body before moving the creature on a specially made bed for it. He took of his bloodied rubber gloves and the surgical mask, washing his hands thoroughly like any doctor would after an operation. Expect that Law wasn't any ordinary doctor. He was a doctor who probably kills more people than he saves. A pirate. Yet strangely enough that fact stopped bothering Miyako a long time ago. Law was able to save a life just as well as he knew how to take it; somehow Miyako found that fact quite interesting.

She realized she forgot how to breathe through this whole ordeal while watching Law operate, so she quickly let out her held breath. "Wow…That was quite impressive. So that's the skill that saved Strawhat Luffy and Jinbe-san from certain death," she remembered the impressive operation Law carried out at that time and felt a bit sorry that she wasn't able to see Law work first hand at that time.

Trafalgar looked at her with a mixture of surprise and confusion as she mentioned something unexpected from such a long time ago, however he quickly recovered. "No…" He started, cleaning his surgical instruments now. "…that one was harder…and much more fun." With the last statement, Law looked up at Miyako with a grin as if remembering something delightfully amusing. Seeing as the girl didn't answer, the Dark Doctor continued. "So why have you come here? I believe you don't get cuts from working in the kitchen anymore," he smirked as he remembered the beginnings of her work in the kitchen. She would visit the infirmary almost on a daily basis, making the medics here busy with healing her burnt or cut hands.

Strangely, the girl didn't retort in her own sarcastic remark to his comment but stayed uncharacteristically serious. She looked straight at Law while speaking. "I think you know why I'm here."

Now it was Law's turn to stare at her seriously, his expression a usual mask of emotionless as he put down the surgical items. Still, his lips formed a thin line; Miyako soon learned it was something he often did when dissatisfied. He stepped closer to the girl. "Alright. No more games." Whether that was a promise or a suggestion Miyako didn't know but she nodded in agreement all the same. With a sigh, the doctor stalked to one of the beds and sat down, resting the elbows of his entwined hands on his thighs and hunching forward. The girl hesitated a little, unsure whether to follow him or stay still but in the end she stood up from the operating table and went to sit next to Law. She stayed silent, however, not pressuring him into talking. She knew he will explain in due time, she just had to wait patiently. The room was silent for what seemed like a long time to the girl, but finally Law broke that silence. "I can't tell you everything…not yet. But as a part of my crew, you have a right to know. I'll explain what I can for now," He turned to look at her, sitting there beside him, with a questioning look as if asking if she was willing to accept this condition.

Miyako looked at Law silently, mulling over his words. He won't tell her everything, but somehow she already knew that. She was prepared for that. Finally she decided to be satisfied with what he was willing to offer…at least for now. "Alright," she nodded. "If you at least explain why we had to go to Abney Cove, I won't ask for more. At least not yet. But someday I would like you to explain to me the whole truth about what you're hiding. And I know you are hiding something." Her last sentence was accompanied by a knowing look, piercing him with her golden orbs, but not out of anger.

Trafalgar nodded, content with her answer. "And someday I will. But it's too early for you to know right now."

Miyako didn't ask what he meant by that; was it because he didn't trust her fully yet and couldn't reveal certain things or was it for some other reason? She wanted to ask but a part of her was hesitant to hear the answer. So instead she just kept silent, waiting for Law to begin.

~….~

Miyako stared ahead silently as Law finished his story. Her mind was hazy and muddled with millions of questions, but she was unable to voice any of them at the moment. Her mouth opened and her brows furrowed as she started to say something, but before any sound was heard she closed her lips again.

Law was watching her reactions all the while, from the time he started to explain until he finally ended. Even now, his sharp eye was closely observing Miyako, interested how she will react to all of this. Was she angry? Upset? Relieved at the truth? He couldn't tell as she just silently kept her gaze forward. She seemed nervous more than anything else, as if she was unsure what to say. Or perhaps there were so many questions in her mind, she simply couldn't decide which one to voice out first. Law tried telling himself that it didn't really matter how she reacted or how she felt about this. In the end, it was his choice and his life; he didn't care if someone judged him for his actions. He didn't care what other people thought about him and what he did in general, as long as he was content. That's how he lived life so far. Yet for the first time, deep in the pit of his stomach, away from his usually logical mind and calm emotions, Law was feeling nervous about what Miyako thought of it all. He didn't want to admit it, he didn't want to even think it, yet the fact still remained like a tense feeling in his chest. When the girl didn't speak after a few more minutes, he had to overcome the urge to ask her directly what she thought about it. Just to get a clear resolve and for that tension in his body to disappear one way or the other.

Miyako was still staring ahead at some unimportant spot on the metal infirmary wall. She knew Law was watching her, probably expecting her to say something but before that she wanted to be certain of everything she just heard. "So…You actually work and sail under the Joker…or Doflamingo, whatever his name is…" She started, feeling strange and unnatural while even saying it. Trafalgar Law? The Surgeon of Death who hates to be ordered around and made that fact clear more than once; he is working for someone. A Shichibukai who is secretly an underworld broker no less. Law is following someone else's orders. It sounded like a lie, indeed. Miyako couldn't even imagine it; not with the Trafalgar Law she knew.

"Well…yes and no, in a way," Law answered, feeling it was quite hard to precisely answer that. His eyebrows furrowed as a mixture of troubled and irritated expression appeared on his handsome features. "Doflamingo has more than one pirate crew under his command but he lets them sail freely throughout the seas. I haven't seen him in about 13 years. Still, now and then he contacts us when he…needs something done," he explained.

"And Abney Cove was one of these times." Miyako finished. "Because he wanted to steal the data of one of Vegapunk's new experiments; the creation of Zoan Devil Fruits," she added. She had trouble processing everything she heard from Law but slowly the pieces came together into one unbelievable story.

He nodded. "Doflamingo made a deal with one of the Pirate Emperors; Kaido. He will provide Kaido with Zoan devil fruits, which will allow Kaido to create an army of Devil Fruit users. I don't know what the Emperor is giving Doflamingo in return." The captain scowled darkly, not liking when he didn't have all the information about a subject he was interested in. "I also found out about this deal only after we got the vials and the data from Vegapunk's laboratory. Afterwards, I tried to get some information at Sabaody through my underworld connections but it wasn't much."

Miyako, who listened to Law, silently watching the pirate captain till now, bowed her head down and stared at her lap while fidgeting with the fabric of her skirt. "So we risked our lives for Doflamingo's deal…" Her hands clenched the cloth as she spat out bitterly.

Law's body stiffened at the change in her tone, thinking she was about to stand up and direct all her resentment towards him. He couldn't really blame her. Indeed, he used his crew and his authority over them as their captain to do Doflamingo's dirty work. There was no way to justify that. No way to make it sound anything other than what it was; a betrayal. So Law didn't even want to try telling excuses. He didn't have much choice; going against Doflamingo right now was still impossible since it was too early for that. But that still didn't excuse the fact he put his whole crew in danger. They were always loyal, prepared to even die for him and their cause for finding One Piece, and he used that fact. He wondered how the rest of his crew would react if they knew they were actually risking their lives for Doflamingo while fighting at Abney Cove. That made Law remember Miyako's injuries that day and the captain wondered what she thought about that fact. Surly, he will find out soon.

On Law's surprise Miyako didn't stand up and blow a fuse as he expected the prideful and often captious girl to do. Instead she turned towards him again, this time with an almost pleading perplexed expression as if she was desperately trying to understand. "But why? Why would you follow that man when you obviously don't want to?"

Law sighed. "That's….a long story," his expression darkened but then became cold and deadly, as if he was glaring at an enemy in front of him. His voice was sharp as steel while he spoke, a tone filled with bitterness and hate. However, the look wasn't directed at her but at an enemy far away. "But I assure you, not for long. I don't intend to work for Doflamingo for much longer. I just need to wait for the right time."

Miyako couldn't help but be taken aback by Law's dark demeanor. She never saw him like that; with such hate-filled eyes as determination radiated from every cell in his body. That usual collected and rational mask was gone, leaving only a clear emotion of venom behind. She gulped seeing what it looked like to really get on Trafalgar Law's bad side. Silently she hoped he never shows such spiteful expression while thinking of her. She wanted to ask what exactly was the connection between Law and the Shichibukai but she had a feeling Law wouldn't tell her. He didn't seem to be prepared to share that much information just yet, so she didn't push it either. Still, there were more things she needed to know. "You intend to go against Doflamingo." It was more of a statement than a question.

The man nodded. "Yes, but Joker is powerful. He won't go down that easy…not without preparation on my part. I need to find a weakness…something that I can use. Luckily, I think I finally did."

Miyako could tell from Law's expression what he was thinking even before he explained. "Doflamingo's relationship with Kaido."

"Once he reaches this agreement with Kaido, Joker will be dependent on this devil fruit production. I hear Kaido is quite a brutal man, they call him a beast. If the Joker fails, the Pirate Emperor will crush him. I saw the data for this Devil Fruit production; I know what they will need. If I can use this information to my benefit…" Law clenched his hand into a fist, the glare replaced by an excited gleam in his eyes, as if he could already taste Doflamingo's fall.

Miyako, on the other hand, had her own doubts. "I heard the Shichibukai are all very powerful. To go against them-" She didn't have time to finish as Law cut her off.

"I will need to get much stronger, I know," he looked up at her, straight in the eyes, determination still seeping out of him. "And I intend to do just that." But there was also something else in his eyes that made Miyako uncomfortable and filled with anxiety. A look of a man who will do anything to reach his goal…who had nothing left to lose. Law was prepared to die for this; it was clear in his eyes. Miyako unconsciously clenched her hands around the fabric of her skirt again.

"Does the crew know?" She suddenly asked, surprising even Law with that question.

A pang of guilt pierced through the captain's chest though he made sure it wasn't visible on his expression. Once again he put on his usual mask of emotionless calm, but his lips once again formed a thin line. "No," he looked ahead, somewhere to the other side of the infirmary. "Only Bepo." Then he looked back at Miyako, piercing her with those grey eyes as if warning her. "And I want it to stay that way. I don't want anyone else to know."

The subtle warning in his voice and expression was clear to Miyako. She understood what he was asking of her. She nodded. "I understand. I won't tell but I think they deserve to know," she looked at him knowingly. She won't be the one to tell them, she had no such right, but she wanted to clearly state her own opinion on the matter.

Law didn't answer anything and Miyako already knew he won't listen to her on that matter. Perhaps one day he'll tell them. One day he'll have to since he won't be able to hide all this from the crew forever. But she was afraid it would be too late by then and Law would already be far gone in his own darkness and thoughts of revenge. She wasn't really sure if it was vengeance that Law sought from Doflamingo or was it perhaps something else, but whatever it was, it was pulling the captain down with it.

"To be honest, you handled all this much better than I thought you would," Law admitted, changing the subject. He didn't want to talk about his crew since he would only remember how they believe in him, yet he continuously lies to them, hiding the truth. He didn't want to struggle with his own guilt at the moment, as he did enough of that on lonely dark nights when he finally has some time for himself to think about everything.

"You're wrong," her answer came simple but stern as she stared down at her lap with quite a harsh gaze. Law couldn't help but be surprised by the sudden change in her demeanor. She was still sitting there almost stoically, but her expression looked troubled. Without looking at him, she continued. "It's not like I'm happy about any of this and I can't say I approve of what you've done. You used us for Doflamingo's schemes and I feel like my pride has been tainted." She looked sternly at Law, right in the face, giving him a slight glare. The man only returned her stare with his usual silent emotionless one. Finally she sighed. "Still…I can't say I understand the situation completely so I don't want to judge you. You said that one day you will tell me everything…" Her frown turned into a slight smirk, barely visible, as she continued. "…so I will wait until then and form my own opinion once I have the whole truth."

A chip on Law's flawlessly emotionless mask appeared as his grey eyes widened just a little. She could be so childish one moment, yet so mature and understanding the next. Somehow he wasn't expecting those words to come out of her mouth; but just like always Miyako was able to surprise him when he least expected it. She often has such an effect on him. Just as he would think he figured her out, gotten to know all sides of her, she turns around and shows him something completely new and unexpected. Indeed, a woman as fascinating as she could be infuriating sometimes. That thought made him remember her breakdown at the Tenryuubito palace and Law's gaze softened a little. He didn't even realize how hurt she had been until that night. Her pride didn't let her show it to anybody, especially him, but even she had a breaking point. He was a fool to forget such a simple thing. She wasn't always as tough as she pretended to be, she was only human after all. Both of them were, which meant both of them made mistakes

"However, that doesn't mean I forgive you….yet." She warned with a frown but her expression soon lightened and she continued in a more lighthearted tone. "So? What is it you exactly intend to do Mister Trafalgar Law." She gave him a teasing expression between a smile and a smirk with a certain glint in her eye. A one only she could make fit her features so perfectly.

Law stood up and turned around to give her quite an evil wide smirk in return. The look in his eye promised nothing good as he answered. "Isn't that obvious? I still hate being ordered around and I intend to make anyone who forgets this pay. Anyone." He emphasized the last word with a knowing expression, the look in his eyes becoming even more dangerous. He was Doflamingo's peon for long enough, but that will soon change. It was time to start preparing for a counterattack. The Shichibukai and his men won't even realize what is happening around them before it's too late. Trafalgar knew how self-confident Doflamingo was; he was too sure of himself to believe that someone could betray him without his knowledge and take him down…and that will be Joker's downfall.

"D. will create chaos in this world…We just need to destroy the right wheel." The captain muttered to himself, to silent for Miyako to even hear. In his mind he could already see the whole contraption fall down and set off an unstoppable surge of change.

Miyako was still quite worried for Law; she couldn't stop thinking about that determined look he gave her, the one that said he was ready to die for his goal. Anxiety gripped her heart once more as she remembered. She realized already that she didn't want to let her friends die and that included Law. She knew there was no point in trying to change his mind or talk him out of his plan. There was nothing she could do on that note. Still, she didn't feel helpless. *If I can't stop you, then I'll just have to go along with you.* Miyako promised then and there that she would not let her captain die. She will stay by his side and protect him as a fellow nakama. Her eyes burned with determination now as she looked up at her captain. *I will not let you die Trafalgar Law…not if I can help it.* She already realized her feelings when she was trapped in that Tenryuubito palace, when she saw her crewmates accept her even after what she did, when she heard Law say she was one of them; she decided to protect them all.

Miyako remembered the War of the Best and Monkey D. Luffy who almost died there. At that time she remembered telling Law how fascinated she was by Luffy's determination to save Ace and protect his friends. It seemed the pirate captain often went to extremes just for his nakama. At that time she was both confused and impressed how Luffy had someone to fight for while she had no one but herself. At that time she only wielded her sword for herself and for her own protection. She felt a bit envious of Straw Hat, who seemed to have a certain kind of determination and strength that she didn't have. But that was a different time. Now, she could finally understand how Luffy felt, the power he gained from wanting to protect his brother. Finally, she knew exactly what that want was like; because that's how she felt when fighting side by side with the Heart Pirates. She wasn't alone anymore and she wasn't fighting only for herself. She was fighting to protect her nakama. Miyako couldn't even imagine how Luffy had felt when Ace died in his arms, even after everything everyone went through to save him, and she didn't want to imagine it. She never wanted to find out that feeling on her own skin. That's why she decided; she will protect Law and her friends no matter what.

"One day you will swing your sword for the sake of someone else. Then you will find what you are lacking…the purpose for using this sword. The true strength you can achieve only by having someone to protect." The words of her late master echoed through her mind and for the first time she felt like she honestly understood what he meant that day. She finally understood what she was lacking until now. She understood what strength really is and how to obtain it. It wasn't the numerous hours of trains or constant honing of her skills like she thought when she was younger. No, it was having a clear goal, a sense of determination that drives you. And Miyako finally found hers.

The thoughtful gaze in the girl's expression didn't go unnoticed as the pirate captain looked down at her. "Is there still something troubling you?" He tilted his head as he stood in front of her, looking down at the wondering girl.

"No, it's nothing." Miyako looked up at him but then gazed to the side a bit guiltily. She couldn't really tell him what she was thinking right now. She couldn't tell him about the silent promise she made to both him and herself.

"Hmm…" The doctor didn't really look persuaded by her answer and still felt quite dissatisfied by it. It seemed she was trying to keep something from him and they couldn't have that, now could they? The man tilted his head on the other side as if an idea occurred to him, before lightly touching her chin and lifting up her head so she had no choice but to look at him. Her questioning gaze instantly turned to the captain's face as their eyes locked for a moment; gold meeting grey. He was observing her with interest but there was no way to tell what was lurking inside that often sadistic mind of his. He looked at her the way he often looked those specimens he sometimes had on his operating table, when he was in front of a mystery he was about to uncover. His nonchalant gaze didn't even waver as he spoke up. "Now that I think about it, there was one more thing we needed to discuss…from that time."

At first Miyako didn't know what he was talking about as her mind raced to connect his words into a sensible idea. Her body stiffened as realization hit her. He wasn't talking about that, was he? Miyako swallowed hard as she remembered back to the night in Mariejois and the conversation, or rather her yelling at Law, they had there. She remembered how she spilled all her emotions right in front of him, towards him. She even cried in front of him, for goodness sake! The only person Miyako cried in front of before was her Master Kuroda and that was when she was still a child. She could barely hide the shame forming inside of her as she remembered that outburst in front of Law. At that time he kissed her and said it was just the way it is but now that she thought back on it; what the hell did that even mean!? Miyako realized she was totally pulled into his own pace that night, even if he did manage to calm her down by it. The girl swallowed hard as she looked up at Law who now had a smug smirking face with amusement-filled eyes. He was enjoying the sight of her slowly cooking in her anticipation of the unknown. She felt slight irritation seeing that smug look on his face as he literally looked down on her from his position.

"What do you mean?" She tried her best to keep a collected and nonchalant expression as if she wasn't bothered by any of it. She kept a steady voice as she stared up at him almost defiantly, determined not to look away. However her perfect mask shattered instantly when Miyako felt Law push her down on the bed. She hit the soft mattress behind her with a gasp and looked up at the captain above her with wide eyes.

Law was still holding her chin in one hand, while he used the other for support to lean over her. He still had that smug expression on his face as he came closer down and spoke in a husky, seductive voice. "I'm talking about your punishment for what you did on Sabaody of course." His smirk appeared even wider now.

Miyako's jaw dropped in surprise as she kept staring up with a rather shocked expression. *Is that what he meant by that!?* After all the anticipation and fear that Law will mention something about her unusual, emotion-filled behavior from that night, that's what he decided to focus on instead?! Somehow that was actually very much like him but Miyako still felt like she just got hit over the head. "That's what you wanted to talk about?!" She couldn't help but yelp, still in surprise and disbelief, with a rather high-pitched voice.

Law blinked a few times as if puzzled by her sudden reaction. "What did you think I wanted to talk about?"

That question made Miyako stiffen a little as a bead of sweat appeared on her forehead. She shut her mouth up instantly as if in fear her own lips would betray her and say something she would later regret. "N-Nothing in particular..." She mumbled out, looking at the side nervously, sweat still forming on her brow. She was a terrible liar when under stress, that much was obvious.

The man kept looking at her questioningly for a while, mulling over her suspicious expression and thinking of all kinds of possibilities for it, before a thought occurred to him. He grinned devilishly as he looked down at the girl knowingly again. "Oh…Could it be you wanted to talk about your little outburst at the Mariejois' palace?" The girl didn't really have to answer since her expression was more than enough of an indicator.

Still, she denied it all the same. "No way! It would be better if we never mention that again…ever! Actually, it would be best if you just forget about it all together!" She knew there was a one in a million chance for that to actually happen; Law wouldn't let go that easily after all.

On her surprise, Law reacted differently than she would expect. He didn't give her a smug smirk or a teasing comment, but instead looked down at her, right in the eyes, with a serious expression. "No. I won't forget." His deep voice held no mocking tone and his eyes showed none of his usual amused glint in them. As he said that, Miyako didn't feel any taunting from him but instead something else. She couldn't put a finger on it exactly, but it wasn't a bad feeling. It made her go serious as well and she stared back into Law's stormy eyes in silence and wonder, examining this more unusual side of her captain. Before she could ask what he meant by it, Law kissed her slowly. It wasn't the usual rushed kiss or a teasing one that he would often do just to make her completely embarrassed and out of it. This time it was gentler and slow as he propped himself on one elbow and cupped her cheek with the other hand, using his thumb to caress her cheekbone. He licked her lower lip, asking for entrance and hummed pleased when she gave it to him, parting her soft lips. He didn't hesitate for even a second as he used the chance to sneak his tongue inside. This time he decided to do it painfully slow. He continued to slowly explore her mouth, moving over her teeth and gums, before finding her tongue to entangle with. The unusually slow and different than normal pace made Miyako feel it all the more as the sensations of warmth came over her. She felt a feeling of impatience coming over her when Law simply continued his slow pace, exploring every inch of her mouth. The girl unconsciously made an impatient whine still muffled by Law's mouth and stiffened in shock when she realized what kind of sound escaped her. The captain just smirked pleased with the sounds he was wringing out of the girl. He disconnected from her mouth and moved away a little, to look at the woman underneath him. The girl's eyes were hazy and glazed over as she looked up at him. Her usually pale face had a tint of pink on the cheeks now and her parted lips were wet and swollen from the kiss as the girl panted for breath. The captain smirked, pleased with his work. "I feel like I haven't done that in ages."

The girl was still trying to catch her breath, obviously embarrassed but calmer than normally in these kinds of situations. She looked away with a slight frown at his comment. "What do you mean; you did that yesterday didn't you?" She was referring to the kiss Law gave her to calm her down at the Tenryuubito palace but she had to admit it felt quite differently than this one. They were both intense but for completely different reasons.

"Hn…" Law looked at Miyako as if thinking over what she just said, as if considering her words, but he never voiced out what he concluded. Instead he dipped his head down again, not even slightly hindered by the fact that Miyako was still looking way. That only gave him more access to her soft neck. He pulled down the obstructing high collar of her turtleneck and heard the girl gasp at the sudden contact of his lips on her neck as he nipped and sucked, searching for that sensitive spot. He knew he had found it when a slight moan escaped Miyako's lips and the girl quickly put a hand over her mouth to silence herself, stunned by the embarrassing noises she was making. Law didn't seem to like that fact as he took that hand by the wrist and pinned it to a bed, biting the girl's sensitive spot almost as a punishment for trying to deny him the pleasure of hearing the delicious sounds he was drawing out of her.

"Nnn….Law…wait…" Miyako breathed out, trying to push at the man weakly with her one hand. He was lying on top of her now, blocking any attempt to escape from him.

The captain sighed, knowing where this was going. She would try and escape, weasel herself out of it and away from his grasp, but he didn't feel like stopping…not this time. "I'm not stopping this time." He murmured against her neck.

"I-I'm not telling you to stop…just…somebody could come in…." The girl had trouble expressing her voice as Law kept kissing and biting her skin, moving onto her jaw now.

On her surprise he actually did stop this time, rather abruptly. The pirate captain looked up to meet her eyes with his slightly widened ones. "You're not telling me to stop?" Law looked at Miyako with a rather suspicious expression, uncertain of how to proceed. He was sure it must be a trap somehow. This must be some kind of new game the girl was playing to mess with him, no? Either that or she was sick and delirious. There was no other explanation for her unusual behavior.

Now it was Miyako's turn to blink in puzzlement. Did she say something wrong? She really couldn't understand this man anymore; when she complains and tells him to stop he refuses to, yet when she tells him it's ok, he stops. She felt even more embarrassed as Law continued to watch her closely with a strange expression. She looked away, completely red in the face now. "W-well…it's…ok if…it's you. I mean, if it's someone you're...in a relationship with…then it's ok I guess…Right?" She barely turned her head towards him again, looking at him with an uncertain expression. *I can't believe he made me say it! Law, you jerk!* She gulped and bit her lip, not wanting to look the captain in the face. She just felt too vulnerable right now; laying there underneath him, being pinned to the bed and at his mercy. She wasn't used to being in such compromising positions that made her weak but she told herself it was ok if it was Law…at least once in a while and as long as he didn't cross the line! If it was any other man she would have already sliced them up in seconds but Law wasn't any other man, was he? Besides, her katana was well out of reach, still on that operating table from before…

On her utter surprise she heard Law huff as if he was trying not to laugh. Her eyes widened as she looked back at him, anger rising. "You jerk, you're laughing?! I actually yielded to you and you mock me!" She glared at him with shocked anger written across her face. "I am never-"

She was cut off and taken off guard as Law plunged down and kissed her again, this time with more force and speed. She wasn't sure if it was to shut her up or calm her down, or simply because he felt like it, but she felt her anger slowly diminishing as the kiss got deeper. She didn't struggle or try to break free, instead gripping the front of his hoodie with her free hand. Law still kept her other hand pinned down but he used his other to start wandering and exploring her body. His hand traveled down her sides, from her ribs down to her hip and even lower to her thigh. He heard the girl's muffled mewl as he sucked on her tongue, biting lightly and teasingly. He felt her squirm underneath him but knew it wasn't from being uncomfortable. Little muffled sounds escaped her as his hand moved across her body with more pressure now.

Miyako felt heat raising more and more in the pit of her stomach. Law focused on her neck now, growling in slight annoyance and frustration with her turtleneck that hid away most of her skin. Still, even with minimum skin accessible the doctor was able to make her feel like never before. Her face was heated with embarrassment but her body felt heat for a different reason. The girl was panting hard now, unable to think and too weak to protest anyway. She was completely out of it. His quick hand moved to her hip again, moving the hem of her shirt upwards and gripping her hip, caressing the hip bone with his thumb teasingly. He pinned her down even more with his body, putting pressure on her lower body as he moved his own hips. Miyako gasped at the contact, which only made Law growl and trust again with more force. "Law…" The girl made a sound somewhere between a surprising yelp and a moan, as she pleaded. But for what? She didn't even know herself; was it for him to stop or continue?

The captain moved to her ear now, licking her earlobe before nibbling at it. "Yes?" He whispered teasingly with a deep husky voice full of lust. He was amused by the sight of the girl underneath him; she was a mess. Panting, squirming, moaning and whimpering at his each touch. Her eyes were hazy and glazed with pleasure as she lost herself in it forgetting even her sanity. He moved the hem of her shirt even higher as he touched her sides teasingly. He brushed her ribs lightly with the tips of his fingers, only a feathery touch, bringing out a shiver from her body.

When Miyako felt Law's tattooed hand move upwards on her bare skin, a part of her brain sent off an alarm bringing the girl back to reality. Realization hit her as she finally noticed what was going on and how far she let this take her. Her golden eyes became focused again as she was able to pull herself together a little. Law wasn't really helping her in that as he moved his skillful hands and mouth across her body. But she couldn't let this go on; if they continue down this road…"Law.." She tried to push him away lightly but the man didn't even budge as if he didn't even hear her. "Law!" She tried a bit more sternly and louder now, using more force to push him away.

Finally the captain seemed to hear her as he moved a bit backwards to look at her. His grey eyes were gleaming, almost as if they were alive with an emotion Miyako couldn't accurately decipher. He had his usual expressionless look on his face, but the questioning gaze filled with lust and his quickly rising and falling chest as he breathed, gave him away.

"U-um…I think we should stop…" Miyako felt a bit awkward as she fidgeted under Law, unable to look her captain in the eyes.

Law furrowed his eyebrows but he didn't move an inch. "Why?"

"Because we went too far...I can't do this." The girl felt a bit annoyed by his question, especially since he looked like he had no intention of moving what-so-ever. But she couldn't let this continue. Maybe she didn't agree with all the norms in Wanokuni, but she was still born and raised there, and she respected some traditional aspects of it. Giving herself to a man she wasn't even married to was out of the question, she couldn't dishonor herself in such a way. Besides, she was still a bit mad with Law for lying and using her and the crew at Abney Cove, not to mention this whole ordeal with Doflamingo. What happened between them at the Tenryuubito palace wasn't helping either. Miyako decided to finally accept Law and the Heart Pirates, even accept the relationship she had with the captain but this was still going a bit too fast for her. She was still confused and had a lot to sort out in her mind after everything that happened.

Law narrowed his eyes, observing Miyako with full attention as if he was trying to see inside her mind and decipher what she was thinking. "Weren't you the one who said that it's ok to do these things with the one you are in a relationship with?" He raised one eyebrow not understanding the girl's sudden change of mind.

"Yes, but it's just too fast!" Miyako was still looking away from him as she spoke. "Besides, it would be dishonorable to do such a thing before you are properly married. That is how we are taught in Wano." The girl spoke with more confidence now, using a tone as if she was proclaiming an important fact.

The man's eyes only narrowed at that, the rest of his face without any changes, still showing that plain expression of his as he stared down at Miyako. He almost seemed bored by this conversation. At least his body calmed down by this, which only disappointed him more, making him a bit more bitter than usual. "Isn't that a bit hypocritical of you?" He couldn't help but poke at the girl with his words so he continued when she blinked quizzically at him. "You always say how you don't agree with how Wano people treat women and that you refuse to live under those norms. Yet now you're using those customs as an excuse."

"Of course." The girl answered bluntly, staring him right in the face as if her answer was the most normal thing in the world. Law had to bite back on his surprise at how simply Miyako admitted such a thing. Was this girl messing with him again?! Before he could ask what the hell did she mean by that, Miyako continued. "It's my own choice which ideas I will agree with and which I don't want to follow. It's a freedom of choice. I don't have much of that in Wano, but at least here I do…besides I'm a pirate remember." She smirked at the last statement; turning Law's frequently used words against him. "Pirates are free to choose for themselves, aren't they?"

Law was silent for a while before finally sighing and shaking his head as he sat up, giving Miyako more space. He had to admit; this time he was truly beaten in his own game. He didn't know what he wanted more; to strangle the girl or be amused by her attitude.

"Besides, it's not an excuse. I feel strongly about it." Miyako finished, giving Law a disfavored frown in response to his earlier statement while sitting up on the infirmary bed.

Law looked away a bit annoyed. He felt like someone had poured cold water onto him but at least that made his body cool down. Though, perhaps a cold shower right now wasn't such a bad idea anyway. He wasn't in the mood for any of this anymore. The captain stood up with a sigh, opening his mouth to say more but the doors of the infirmary quickly opened, startling Miyako and making Law whip his head in the direction of the doorway. There stood a polar bear out of breath. "Captain, come quick! We've reached the Downward plume!" Bepo was, as always, alarmed as he stared at the captain. That's when he noticed Miyako and blinked with his black beady eyes. "Oh, Miyako, what are you doing here? Are you hurt?"

The girl felt the heat instantly rose to her cheeks. *That's why I said it wasn't a good idea to do that here. If Bepo had entered a little earlier…* She gave Law an 'I told you so' look but the captain just brushed it aside and looked away. Instead, he walked towards his nodachi, picking the heavy sword up and resting it on his shoulder as usual. That only made Miyako frown deeper as he looked like he didn't care one bit whether someone saw them or not. She really didn't understand that laid-back side of her captain; didn't he ever feel embarrassed? Miyako huffed at the thought, looking sideways. *No…probably not.*

"Miss Miyako was just having…a checkup." Law said and looked at Miyako with the corner of his eye, giving her a smug smirk as if he was purposely teasing her. Wait, that's Law we're talking about; of course he was purposely teasing her!

The girl felt her face heat up even more as she heard Law's explanation. She kept her head down staring at the ground, not wanting any eye contact with the two pirates, as she suddenly stood up. If she looked at them now, she would just feel even more embarrassed and awkward. "Don't worry Bepo, we just finished." She muttered, quickly passing Law by and trying to escape the infirmary, taking her katana in the process.

Law still wore an amused smirk as he watched her fidget with the sash of her katana, feeling slightly victorious that he at least got her back for before. His thoughts were interrupted by Bepo's panicky voice. "Captain, we gotta hurry! We're almost there!" Before getting a response, the bear turned around and headed back to the control room.

Law didn't seem in a hurry or alarmed at all as he strolled towards the exit. His free hand was now safely in the pocket of his trousers and he leaned on the doorframe to watch the still fidgeting girl. She seemed to have a problem with tying the sash as she fumbled with it while her fingers shook barely visible. Still, Law's trained eye caught on that fact instantly and he wondered was she distressed by her embarrassment just now or was it from the aftermath of what they were doing before? His smirk widened into a devilish grin as he watched her with both glee and enjoyment. He couldn't help but feel a bit proud of himself for what he had done to her. "Do you need some help with that?" He couldn't help but prolong the teasing and her jumpy reaction rather pleased him.

"I'm quite fine." Miyako spat back with annoyance. She was finally able to tie her katana properly and walked hastily passed Law not even bothering to look at him. She didn't want to give him the gratification of seeing her displeased and still slightly embarrassed look. However she was soon taken by surprise as she felt a hand on her wrist pulling her backwards and spinning her around until she bumped into something hard. She soon realized that 'something hard' was Trafalgar Law's chest and he looked down at her with a smirk. His free hand let go of her hand just to capture her chin instead, pulling her head up to face him. He looked deep in her golden orbs, entertained how she barely remembered to breathe as she stared right back at him. However, she held her ground not wanting to look away and seem weak. Law actually liked that prideful stubbornness even though it could get on his nerves sometimes. Still, he was in a pretty good mood today.

The captain moved his head lower, brushing his lips against her but never taking his grey eyes off of her. They still pierced each other with open eyes, standing there silently for a while. The captain kept that mischievous smile as he narrowed his eyes a little, looking at Miyako with a rather seductive yet teasing expression. He held his lips on hers but only as a feather's touch, not giving her the pleasure of a full kiss. He could see she felt both confused and impatient by it, making him even more pleased. "You might have escaped me today Suzune Miyako…but don't think you'll have that chance again." He warned in his husky, low voice, still wearing that dangerous smirk on his expression. He saw the girl gulp, staring at him seemingly enchanted and unmoving. "I've already decided to take all your firsts whether you like it or not." That seductive deep tone he used went perfectly with the self-confident expression he gave her and he enjoyed the shocked wide-eyed look he got in return. He stepped away from her, releasing her chin, never giving her that last kiss. "Don't forget you still belong to me." His devilish smirk changed into a full grin, his eyes piercing her with a dangerous glint of excitement as if he was looking forward to playing this new game with her. He finally turned around and walked away towards the control room, putting his free hand back to his pocket.

It took some time for Miyako to return back from her daze and process everything she was just told. She looked at her captain's back and felt her shock was now being replaced by anger and annoyance. She glared at Law's back and yelled out, just before he disappeared up the stairs. "I only belong to myself!" On her further irritation, the man didn't even turn around or react to her outburst as his form disappeared from Miyako's sight.

~…~

The Downward plume was a massive down current that was better described as a powerful underwater waterfall. At least that's how it looked to the group as they stared at the heavy falling water with expressions mixed with surprise and amazement.

"It's huge!" Penguin finally exclaimed not being able to take his eyes off the sight.

"So that's the great Downward Plume…" Sai mumbled, amazed himself but keeping it under control much better than the two mechanics.

"Bart-san, are we really going to ride that?" Miyako couldn't help but feel anxiety at the massive waterfall. It looked like the water flung everything downwards and crushed it under its heavy weight. How will they ever sail on something like this and not get pulled down by the crushing gallons of water?

Jean Bart was currently inspecting the log pose lodged into the control panel that the two navigators used to get around. The other log pose was always with Law as the captain liked knowing their pathway at all times even as he trusted his excellent navigators. Safe is safe. The large navigator nodded in response to Miyako's question. "Indeed. This will take us down to the Deep currents that will lead us to Fishmen Island eventually."

"Oh right, Jean Bart explained it already before. It was selincity levels or something." Josh repeated, remembering hazily some of Jean Bart's boring lecture on surface and deep sea currents. He was too engrossed into watching the sea and the creatures in it at that time and didn't really pay attention.

"It's called the saline density and yes, we will use the cold currents of the Red Line's winter island to take us to Fishmen island." Cody explained, correcting the other medic.

The redhead only rolled his eyes with a 'whatever' look at Cody's attitude of knowing everything. "Know-it-all…" Josh muttered.

The taller medic's face stayed calm but he hit Josh over the head with a karate-chop none the less.

"Ouch! Don't just go hitting people all of a sudden!" the redhead yelled. Josh rubbed his hurt head, momentarily taking of his hat. He kept a glaring stare on the other medic, but Cody just ignored him and looked away with an innocent expression.

The others just sweat-dropped, already used to such scenes. Josh would run his big mouth, Cody would whack him on the head making the redhead rage even louder, but the taller medic wouldn't seem to care or even listen as he would just ignore the redhead and kept on with his own work. They wondered if Cody actually had some switch to mute Josh in his head seeing as the blue haired medic could perfectly ignore the other no matter what threats and complains Josh would spout.

"A-anyway…Is our sub really going to hold out and survive this waterfall, captain?" Shachi turned away from the medics to look questioningly at his captain who was silently sitting in his chair. Unlike all of them, Law didn't look worried at all.

The captain turned his head to Shachi and grinned. "You tell me Shachi-ya. You worked on it on Sabaody, didn't you?"

Shachi looked at his captain in wonder but then grinned. "That's right! There's no way our submarine would lose to some waterfall!"

"10 meters and closing in on it captain. We're right in front of it." Sai announced looking at the stats on his control panel.

Law looked ahead through the main window and grinned at the sight. This is it; after this they will be one step closer to the New World! An excited gleam shone in his eyes as he looked just like at the beginning of some almost-impossible-to-do operation in the operating room. "Get ready men!" He warned before adding in a low but eager voice. "And I suggest you hold on tight."

Everyone held onto the railing or anything else they could find, while Bepo still ran around screaming that they'll all going to die before a warning call from Law reminded him to calm down and take precaution. The polar bear gulped and grabbed onto a chair that was screwed into the metal floor, just as the submarine started falling, or rather sailing, vertically.

Everyone yelped or screamed in surprise as the submarine tipped more and more before it was fully upright and the great current pulled it down to the sea depth with it. The great force was truly as if they were falling from the sky, the gravity pulling them further down. The vessel trashed and turned, but then slowly started to level back into a horizontal form again. It seems the Downward Plume's path was slowly turning from a waterfall into an underwater river as it aligned its flow horizontally. The yellow submarine slowly came back to its normal position and lazily started sailing with the new down current.

Sai sighed in relief when the hectic ride was finally over, slumping in his chair. "We made it…"

"Wha! We're still alive!" Bepo exclaimed happily but his joy didn't last long. He noticed movement in the shadows all around the submarine as it sailed through the dark sea. Every now and then, the submarine's headlights would catch a glimpse of something big quickly swimming from one dark corner to the other.

The group all stood up and went towards the main window in the control room, looking at the scene ahead illuminated by the lights. There were creatures of all sorts in front of them, swimming slowly and avoiding each other even though some didn't even appear to have any eyes. Some of them were quite large with hideous sharp teeth, while others were much smaller but still deadly with their poisons skin and blood.

"Haha look at this one, it has a face!" Josh laughed and pointed at one of the larger fish that looked like it had a face of a sad old man.

"Whoa, this one looks dangerous!" Penguin pointed to another one that was a hefty snake-looking fish with dark gleaming skin and a mouthful of large, sharp teeth.

"This one is beautiful." Miyako commented on a giant fish with bright golden, orange and red scales while it swam next to the submarine before diving deeper down into the murky sea depths.

"And probably poisons." Shachi gulped.

But soon the gigantic fish around them started noticing the submarine as it shone light upon them, making its presence known. The animals slowly swam around it, coming closer and getting interested in the vessel. "Uh…Captain…" Jean Bart started to say, noticing this change in the fish reaction, taking it as a bad sign.

Law didn't have to be warned as he noticed it himself. He nodded, still keeping a wary eye on the animals surrounding them. "Mister Sai, turn off the headlights, they're too strong and attracting attention to us. Turn on the side light instead. It will give us some light but it won't be too bright. Still, from now on we'll have to rely on our radars mostly." He then turned to look at his large helmsman. "Mister Bart, proceed ahead with caution." A warning look from Law was enough to indicate they weren't safe here, even without a sensitive bubble coating to worry about. The captain sat back in his chair, a serious look still on his face.

"Aye aye captain!" Both Sai and Jean Bart exclaimed sternly, doing what they were told. The control room also went dark just like the rest of the sub, to conserve energy, as the numerous radars and screens now provided the only light in the room.

They continued sailing through the water slowly, trying to avoid any dangers on their way and for some time they were actually able to relax a bit. Even though they seemed safe now, Law warned the navigators to keep a close eye on the waters around them since everything was in their hands now. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for a while, until they heard a blunt noise coming from below. The radar started beeping as it indicating something huge coming their way from down below. The sand rose upwards in the water, engulfing the submarine in a cloud of sand and dust as a dark shape started appearing right beneath the ground. It went up, opening its orifice and showing them razor sharp teeth inside.

"Whaaa! A monster! It's going to eat us!" Penguin screamed in panic as he looked at the incoming large animal.

"It must've been hiding in the sand when it heard us!" Sai exclaimed, surprised at how large it was and how quickly it moved, staring at the numbers on the beeping radar.

"Nooo! I don't want to be eaten by a fish!" Bepo yelled out in a panicky voice.

"Haha. That would be quite ironic. Maybe Bepo will become a vegetarian after this." Cody laughed, amused by the bear's statement.

"And why the hell are you so calm!?" Josh yelled, slapping the medic on the back with an angry face.

*Dammit! I feel so useless in here; I can't do anything!* Miyako bit her lip in frustration as she stared out the window, watching as the large menace kept closing in on them. She felt unproductive here, unable to use her sword or skills, only able to wait to see what happens next. She felt completely useless while they were underwater.

"Hard to port!" Their captain yelled, ignoring the hysterical crew around him, rising up from his chair from the adrenalin coursing through his veins. He had to steady himself and grip the railing as the submarine made a hard turn to the left, barely avoiding the closing jaws of the fish.

Still, the animal had no intention of giving up as it continued to rise higher in the water, showing its full large body, before making a quick turn to come at them from the side and swallow the submarine in one gulp. It opened its mouth once more but before being able to sink its teeth into the vessel, another, even larger monster came from the nearby underwater reefs and grabbed the fish with its jaws. Its teeth sunk into the other's body and tackled it to the side with its force and huge frame. The two monsters crashed into the stone reefs, making sand and rocks burst everywhere. The submarine started to shake and the navigators had to use special maneuvers to avoid the flying rocks from hitting the vessel.

"There's always a bigger fish." Trafalgar muttered as he watched the giant animal sink the sharp teeth deeper into its struggling prey.

The bear sighed in relief from the avoided disaster that could've occurred. "We're saved…"

"Not yet, I'm afraid." Sai retorted while looking at the still beeping radar. "Something is coming our way and it's fast." The navigator looked up at the captain with a knowing look as both men knew what it was; another certain death threat.

Jean Bart tried to see what the incoming object was as he peered through the submarine's periscope, turning it towards the tail of the sub, but he could hardly make out anything from the darkness beyond their faint submarine light.

The captain wasted no time, still not panicking like the rest of the group did and instead looked around the area to see what could be done. He noticed a cave in one of the underwater reefs. "Quick, shut down all the lights and take us down below and inside that cave."

Jean Bart quickly dived deeper into the waters, going for the small cavern and hoping it was safe to land inside without any further surprises. The worst case scenario he could think of was for them to get stuck in these rocks while there were large, hungry creatures all around them. Meanwhile, Sai switched off the lights of the submarine by his control panel. Luckily for everyone the cavern was large enough for the whole vessel to fit in and they momentarily turned off all engines as complete silence and darkness enveloped them.

"Shit shit shit…" Josh gritted his teeth in anxiety as he had no idea what was out there. If it notices them they were trapped in here, unable to escape. The darkness before them seemed endless and he couldn't even tell if there was a wall of the cave in front of them or if the cavern reached ahead for miles more.

"We are going to die in here." Bepo exclaimed bluntly with a completely serious expression, surprising everyone around.

"What's with that depressing statement!? Just shut up!" Penguin yelled back, feeling shivers run down his spine.

"Quiet." Law ordered and instantly everyone shut their mouths. He had a hand in the air as if warning everyone to wait and be still.

The crew didn't even dare to breathe as they heard an incoming sound coming towards their cave through the water. The sound grew louder as the creature swam closer, the water shifting around as it moved. The sound of its body swimming by lasted a few minutes, indicating that whatever it was, it was absolutely huge or at least hundreds of meters long. At one point the animal seemed to stop and the Heart Pirates held their breath, not daring to make a sound or even move an inch that could echo through the submarine and towards the monster's ears. Luckily, it continued on and after a while, everyone let out their held breaths in relief. They were finally safe.

Miyako felt her body weaken as all that tension and anticipation left her suddenly and the girl fell down to her knees. Her head was bowed down and she supported herself with both hands. "I hate this sea." There was a dark and somber atmosphere around her as she felt like she had enough of all this sea and the monsters in it, but still knowing this was only the beginning of their underwater adventure. That fact only depressed her more.

Next to her, Bepo was kneeling in the same position as the samurai, having his own gloomy atmosphere around him while he mumbled "The sea is scary." repeatedly.

The rest of the Heart Pirates only watched the scene with a sweat-drop thinking when did Miyako become as gloomy as Bepo.

"Alright, fire up the engines, mister Sai. I think it's safe to move now." Trafalgar ordered, completely ignoring Bepo's and Miyako's performance of the most forlorn pirate pair.

The submarine came back to life, lighting up its side light that gave a dim illumination of their surroundings. However, as it did it also gave them a better view of the cavern around them and the pirates found themselves eye to eye with a creature in front of them. The light from the submarine flashed into its eyes that were completely white as blank canvas, which must've awoken the animal from its slumber. The creature opened its teeth-filled jaw and the whole cavern shook, probably from the fish trying to move its large body and attack them.

"Hyaaa!" Miyako and Bepo screamed with tearful eyes, holding onto each other for dear life.

"Go back! Go back!" Shachi yelled as he and Penguin held each other as well.

Even without anyone telling him to, Sai had already pushed a lever down, and the engine of the submarine roared as it switched to reverse. Jean Bart carefully but with haste navigated the submarine backwards and out of the cavern, just as the creature headed towards them. The submarine successfully got out of the cave but the monster's head soon followed as it came after them. The vessel continued to sail backwards at full speed and then stopped and turned a sharp right, just as the creature tried to bite down on them. Luckily, the submarine was faster and the monster only managed to swallow air and water as the pirates sailed on ahead at full speed, escaping from the monstrous fish.

Once again the whole group relaxed, hopefully for a longer while this time. "How much more of this will we need to go through?" Cody looked wearily at his captain as if Law would be able to provide the answer.

The said captain stood up from his chair once again. "According to the maps, it shouldn't be far now. It should be here somewhere." He pulled out his log pose, check to see if they were still on the right path.

Everyone looked around but saw nothing but darkness and monsters around them. "Where? It's only pitch black around, I don't see anything worth mentioning. Isn't Fishmen island supposed to be big…I mean, it's an island!" Josh commented with a suspicious scoff as he looked back at the group.

Beside him, Miyako paled as she stared through the submarine's window. "I see something worth mentioning…" The group looked at her with puzzlement but the girl only pointed at something outside the submarine. The pirates followed her pointing finger with their gaze only to let their eyes widen at the sight. Outside, the water was shifting and swirling, right before them, as currents circled around each other like snakes. In an instant, a giant underwater twister formed, sucking everything up.

Unlike before, even Law's eyes widened in surprise as he realized the gravity of the situation. "A water twister." He turned back to Sai in a hurry. "Quick, full power to the engine. Get us out of here!" He shouted, pulling the navigator from his shocked daze.

Sai did as he was told and Jean Bart tried turning the submarine, but it was futile, it was too late. "It's no use, the current is too strong! It's sucking us right in!" The navigator shouted for the first time feeling helpless at his post.

"Everyone, hold on!" was the only warning Jean Bart could give before the submarine was sharply tossed and swirled within the water twister. Everyone fell to the ground with a yelp, while the vessel spun around quickly.

Miyako tried to hold on tightly to the railing but her grip soon abandoned her as it gave away. Her fingers slipped from the metal she was holding and with a gasp, the samurai found herself flying through the air with the force from the moving vessel. She finally stopped by hitting the metal wall hard enough to force air out of her lungs as she hit the back of her head in the process. Everything went blurry and hazy, before it turned into darkness.

~….~

Miyako groaned as she lazily opened her eyes. As soon as she did, a throbbing pain in the back of her head hit her, immobilizing her for a moment. With a grunt she put a hand to her forehead before rubbing her eyes. Blinking a few times, the girl looked around and noticed she was inside a dark room, lying in bed. Through further inspection, Miyako noticed it was the submarine's infirmary but everything was in the dark. The samurai sat up in bed and looked around quite confused. *Why am I here?*

The last events came back to her mind and she remembered getting a hit in the head as she lost her grip on the railing. A sudden gasp escaped her mouth when Miyako remembered they were caught in an underwater twister, completely at the current's mercy. However, the vessel seemed stabile now as it didn't shake or turn like before. Everything was eerily quiet.

Miyako stood up from the bed, still feeling a bit woozy from her head injury. She touched the sore part of her head and felt a bump in the back. The girl winced from the pain before sighing annoyed. *Great…With my luck, I have a concussioun.* She found her katana next to the bad and tied it to her waist, ready to head out of the room. She was still quite puzzled as to what was going on. Somebody must've put her in the infirmary after she passed out but why wasn't anyone here now? Usually there was always someone working in the infirmary but there was no sign of anyone here at the moment. The girl opened the doors and stepped into the dark hallway. It was quiet and without any light, just like the previous room. *What's going on? Where is everybody?* Miyako started having a suspicious feeling about it as she could almost smell trouble ahead. She didn't like this one bit.

Still, she proceeded walking down the dark corridors, heading towards the control room, and still didn't meet anyone on her way. "Hello? Is anybody here?!" The girl called out a couple of times while walking down the corridors but there was no response. She felt an uncomfortable chill overtake her body as she walked down the empty, dark and quiet corridors. It was a creepy feeling to say the least. It was never this silent in the submarine, even at night. There were always pirates working shifts, or the silent roar of the working engine as they sailed, or at least pale flickering lights in the narrow hallways.

She didn't meet anyone all the way to the control room where she now stood, looking around with interest. Just like before, there was complete dark and silence. Not even the screens at Sai's control panel were giving their usual light to the room. Everything was turned off.

"Miya-chan?!" A voice behind her startled her a little as the girl jumped and swiftly spun around. There was no mistaking it after hearing that familiar voice.

"Bepo?! What's going on here?" Miyako looked at the bear standing at the entrance of the control room. He looked a bit surprised to see her here but other than that he seemed perfectly fine. "Where is everybody?" She couldn't help the flow of questions spilling from her mouth in a rush. There was just too much she didn't understand.

The bear shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he looked at the girl, mulling over where to start. "A lot has happened after you passed out. I better explain." He saw the girl nod and that was enough indication for him to continue. "After we were caught by the water twister, we were tossed into a field of 10 meter tall seaweed. But that seaweed seemed almost alive as it tangled around our submarine and tried to pull us down. There was also something else hiding inside…we couldn't really see what it was because it was so fast, but there were many of them and they stated attacking the sub. After a while of trying to escape, captain finally noticed an underwater cave and directed us to hide inside. It was really deep and there was a current pulling us in so all we could do is follow it. It was almost like a tunnel directing us deeper down. I don't even know where we are anymore…But the strange part is that after a while there wasn't even water all round us but only a river leading us down. We weren't submerged anymore. In the end, we finally came out of the tunnel into a large cave-room where the river ended with a vast lake. That's where we are now." The bear finally finished, stopping to rest and take a deep breath.

"So…you're saying that we aren't underwater anymore? Even though we are thousands of meters under sea level?" Miyako couldn't believe it, as she stared wide-eyed at Bepo, still trying to process everything.

The bear only nodded and pointed outside the main window in the room. The girl looked outside and gasped sharply. Indeed, they weren't in the water anymore but on the big lake in a closed cave. Miyako stepped closer to the window as she stared in wonder but then another unanswered question brought her out her awe. She turned around to Bepo once more. "But what about the others?"

The bear made an uncomfortable look that immediately made Miyako stiffen in suspense. Were they alright? Before she could ask, Bepo started explaining again. "Well about that…when we came here there was something already here…I'm not sure, but we heard some kind of music, like someone was singing. Everyone went to check it out. I don't know…everyone seemed a bit…strange. I tried telling captain that it was a bad idea, but even he didn't listen to me!" The bear huffed with an irate expression, looking sideways. If the crew listened to him more, he was sure they wouldn't end up in so much trouble. But once again, he was ignored; even by the captain. "I told captain to at least order some of the crew to stay here and guard the submarine or help you, but nobody responded. So I stayed behind and carried you to the infirmary. I couldn't stop them…sorry." Bepo sighed deeply and bowed his head, gloom and depression coming over him.

Miyako knew she had to do something before Bepo completely fell under one of his gloomy moods. "That's alright Bepo, we can go look for them together now." She smiled at the bear and tried to cheer him up but honestly, she felt there was something disturbingly wrong as well. Even if the others acted rashly, she knew Law would never do such a thing. Not without a reason. There was definitively something suspicious going on.

~…~

The cave was immense, with wet glistening walls and stalactites on the cavern's ceiling. Meanwhile, tall stalagmites rose from the floor and into the air as if trying to touch the cave's top. It was quiet, apart from the constantly dripping drops of water that gave a certain rhythm of sound echoing throughout the spacious room.

However, when Miyako concentrated she thought she heard a humming sound. She furrowed her eyebrows and went closer to the wall of the cavern. The girl put her hands on the wet wall and leaned closer, trying to hear where the sound was coming from. The hum was still muffled but seemed louder now. *Is it coming from the other side of the wall?*

"Miyako!" The bear called out and pulled her out of her thoughts. The girl turned to see the bear a few meters ahead, pointing at what seemed to be an exit. "I think they went that way; their scent is still lingering."

Miyako rushed over to him to follow the first mate. "Wow, your sense of smell is that good, Bepo?"

The bear only bowed his head at the comment, a pink flush covering his furry cheeks. "Y-Yeah, but the scent is pretty weak already. There's a lot of water so their scent is being cleared out, we should hurry."

The girl nodded and followed the bear, trusting his nose and animal instincts to lead them the right way. She was glad he did because as they walked, Miyako realized this was a complete labyrinth. The further they went, the more pathways and tunnels branched out. There wasn't much light but little rivers of water traveled beside them, glistening and reflected soft blue light into the walls.

"Somebody could easily get lost here, wandering around these halls until they die." Miyako murmured still looking around.

"Don't even say that!" the bear looked around nervously. "Let's just find the others and get out of here, this place is creeping me out." A shiver ran down his spine as the fur stood up making him seem even fuzzier than usual.

The girl ignored the panicking bear, already used to his worried antics. Still, she could agree with Bepo; there was definitively something strange here and she didn't like it either. Looking around, Miyako noticed something shiny that caught her eye. She went to a corridor that was branching from their path to the left and walked up to a small golden item on the floor.

"Miya-chan, where are you going, the scent goes that way?!" Bepo called after her, creating an echo that bounced off the walls and back at them.

Miyako crouched, ignoring Bepo's shouts, and inspected the item in her hand. It was a golden coin though she didn't recognize the currency. It looked old and dirty, but there was still some shine in it. Miyako pocketed the coin, interested more in the strange currency than the gold itself, and looked around wondering where it could have come from. Not long after she noticed an opening in the wall and walked towards it.

Bepo looked around nervously and called after the girl a few more times but with no luck. So instead, he ran over to her not wanting for them to separate. "Miyako, what are you doing?" The bear asked in a slightly frustrated voice. He couldn't understand what was so important now to get them off their course. The others were still waiting, maybe even in trouble.

The girl gasped as she saw the sight of the room in front of her. Once again, it was a large cavern room but what caught Miyako's attention were the contents inside. There were loads of different kinds of items, treasures and even weapons of various kinds.

"Miya-chan, what are you-" The bear went to the girl's side, determined to hurry her but even he stopped at the sight. "What is this?" He looked from Miyako to the room and noticed she was already walking inside. "Whaaa! Wait a second, it could be dangerous!" Bepo tried to stop her as he cried out but the girl didn't seem to listen.

Miyako went inside to inspect the items. There were heaps of it; gold, jewels, necklaces…honestly a dream come true for a pirate searching for treasure. But there were also various maps, log pose, swords and pistols. Something cracked under Miyako's weight and the girl looked down, instantly stepping backwards with a gasp as she realized what it was. A skeleton; and she stepped right on its bony wrist. It was definitively a human skeleton.

"Miyako!" Bepo called out and the girl looked up to see a bear pointing at something. Another human skeleton. That's when she realized the room was full of them. There were bones on the floor and skeletons grinning at them with their everlasting smiles on their pasty skulls. "I-I think we should leave now." Bepo said looking around the eerie silent room.

This time Miyako nodded, agreeing with him completely. She remembered a thing the bartender from Sabaody Archipelago told her; numerous ships that fail to get to the Fishmen island and wash ashore, but completely void of passengers. She got a bad feeling in her gut as it twisted uncomfortably. *I don't know what happened here but by most of these people's clothing and weapons they look like pirates.* She noticed a few pirate flags though she couldn't recognize the Jolly Rogers on them. She imagined that their own grinning Jolly Roger could end up in here and a shiver went down her spine. "Let's get going Bepo." She finally muttered and the pair quickly left the room, returning back to the right trail thanks to Bepo's sharp nose.

~…..~

The two walked for a few more minutes though for Miyako the time seemed to flow exceptionally slow as they looked around the labyrinth of hallways.

"I hope your nose will work on our way back too." She mumbled looking at Bepo.

The bear nodded without answering her. He seemed even more anxious than her.

As they walked Miyako glanced at the bear again, remembering her conversation with Law not so long ago. *That's right, Bepo should know about Law's connection with Doflamingo.* If she ever wanted to find out more about Law's past, now was the perfect time as both her and Bepo walked completely alone and without anyone to interrupt them. "Bepo…" She started, but then closed her mouth, a bit uncertain.

"Hm?" The bear turned around towards her, blinking with those button black eyes.

The girl wasn't sure how to continue or what to say for that matter. Bepo was always loyal to Law so he probably wouldn't tell her anything without Law's consent. Even if he did, Miyako wasn't sure she wanted to find out that way. She made a deal with Law; to wait when the time was right and then he promised to tell her. As much as she was interested, she didn't want to break that promise and go behind Law's back to find out what's going on. With a sigh, Miyako shook her head. "No. Nevermind." Bepo didn't seem to want to let it go that easily, still interested in what she was about to say, but luckily for Miyako another noise interrupted his train of thought. Rather than just a noise, both pirates soon realized what it was.

"Singing?" Bepo looked up ahead as his ears perked and twitched a few times, catching the tune that was carried towards them on the air. It was the same one as he heard before while still in the submarine with the crew.

The melody was light and beautiful, as it soothingly flowed through the air. It seems it was sung by more than one woman and it had a velvety sound to it. It reminded them of fairies dancing around on a full moon's night.

Both pirates looked at each other in wonder before hurrying up ahead, where the song was coming from. The pathway got steep and slippery and they had to climb the last few meters, carefully gripping the rocks beneath them for support. They kept their heads low as they looked down at the sight before them; a large room that looked like a cove filled with corals and reefs. In the middle was a big lake, though most likely filled with sea water. The rocks were all glistening, almost like stars on the bright night sky. There was a small waterfall on one side, murmuring as the water fell into the large lake. Around on the reefs and boulders, Miyako and Bepo could see the Heart pirates laughing and enjoying themselves, grinning widely. But they weren't alone. There were some creatures along with them, keeping them company, almost playfully swimming around. They had fish tails but their upper torsos were odd…They reminded Miyako of mermaids but not quite. They had dark blue tails but their upper body was also blue in color. Their skin looked soft and wet, but there were small, dark fins even on their forearms and they looked dangerously sharp. The fingers on their hands sported long claw-like fingernails, sharp and deadly. Their faces looked somewhat human but they had completely black big eyes, obviously creatures that weren't used to any sunlight. What seemed like small fins were in place of their ears. Instead of hair they had long blue, black or grey spikes that went down and it could almost be interpreted as hair, but it wasn't soft at all, only sharp. On their skin, there were numerous marks, stripes and spots. Instead of seashells that the Heart pirates often described mermaids wearing as their tops in their dream-talk with Miyako, there were glistening hard scales.

Still, through all that the Heart Pirates didn't seem to mind at all that there were some kind of monsters around them. Some were even trying to catch the slippery fish-creatures while others started going for the lake, wanting to swim with them.

Bepo gasped, happy he finally found the crew and that everyone seemed alright. "Capt-" He wanted to call out and already started rising, when Miyako quickly covered his mouth with her hand and forced him back down. Both of them ducked for a while, in case someone was looking up before the girl relaxed and let go of the bear's mouth. The said bear gave her a questioning look.

"Something's wrong. Don't let them see you." She whispered warningly before she dared to take another look.

Miyako looked up and finally found Law in the crowd among the others. He didn't have that stupid blissful grin on his face as his crewmembers but he was still completely laid-back, sitting on a rock with one of those creatures sitting beside him. The creature was staring at him, resting its tail in the water where it moved left and right playfully, while the mermaid monster kept singing to him. At better inspection Miyako realized most of those creatures were singing, creating that wonderful tune that didn't go at all with their appearance.

"Tch. What is that idiot doing?" She whispered in annoyance looking at Law who didn't seem to be having a care in the world. What was wrong with him? What was wrong with everybody? She looked at Penguin, Shachi, Josh, Cody, even Munk. Everyone was partying, enjoying themselves, not caring that they were surrounded by some weird and dangerous-looking sea creatures. What about Fishmen Island? Why were they wasting their time here?

~…..~

"Hahaha! Could you believe it Shachi, our dream has finally come true!" Penguin laughed as he tried to catch one of the beautiful looking sea creatures in the water, but the quick little thing kept avoiding his hands while giggling playfully.

"This is paradise! We finally found Mermaid Cove, didn't we!? I heard stories but this is so much better!" Shachi responded as he sat on the reef, a mermaid teasingly caressing him with her tail.

They looked around at the beauties surrounding them, singing to them in that perfectly melodic voices. Red heads and blonds, ones with brown or black hair, tanned and fair skinned; there were colorful mermaids of all kinds with soft skin and alluring faces. They're whole apparitions were dazzling.

Cody chuckled looking at one of the cute mermaids who kept staring at him, smiling shyly. "We don't need anything else, right captain?"

"Ah." Law answered affirmatively while smirking at an exceptionally beautiful mermaid sitting beside him, as she sang in her arioso voice. She was smiling at him, coming closer and closer, piercing him with a seductive look of her large blue eyes.

~…..~

Miyako gripped the rock she was holding for support, a smile on her face, but it looked completely forced as her whole expression looked annoyed. "That bastard, having such a good time…even with such a monster…" She muttered through gritted teeth, not noticing Bepo's worried look aimed at her. There was a dark aura that started forming around the irritated girl.

"M-Miya-chan, you're making a scary face."

The girl snapped back to reality at his words and looked down again. *I can only think of one explanation…* "I think it's an illusion of some kind." She whispered, still looking down.

"They're under an illusion?" Bepo blinked in surprise but after he thought about it, that fact sounded quite possible.

Miyako nodded and continued her explanation, more serious now. "You said that they started acting strange after you came here. That you heard music. I think this singing is what keeps them under the spell. We need to break the illusion by stopping these creatures from singing."

"I see...But how come we weren't affected?" Bepo tilted his big head looking at Miyako with a questioning expression.

The girl thought for a while, biting the nail of her thumb in the process. She hummed while thinking. "Well the only difference I can see from the rest of the crew and us is…well, you're a bear and I'm a woman. Maybe this only affects men?" She looked down again and saw everyone else enjoying themselves, completely ignorant of the dangers in front of them. "Heh. They'll be very surprised when they realize what's been seducing them….serves them right, the idiots." Miyako looked away, annoyed again, but with a gleefully dark expression on her face.

"Miyako, you're making a scary face again…" Bepo noted, looking at the girl suspiciously, uncertain how to interpret her expressions.

But Miyako's train of thoughts together with her plans was interrupted when she noticed movement from the creatures. Still singing, they were slowly guiding and pulling the gullible enchanted pirates towards the big lake. Miyako didn't doubt in her heart that the creatures only had bad intentions and the first thought that crossed her mind was *They're trying to drown them!* She noticed one of the creatures pulling Law by the hand, towards the water, still singing to him sweetly. He didn't even resist even though he would be helpless in water as a devil fruit user. He was completely under the influence of the seductive spell. That's when an alarm went off inside Miyako's head and she realized they didn't have time for careful planning anymore. "Law!" She stood up and called to the captain loudly, hoping to get him out of his trance.

The song stopped and all creatures swiftly looked in her direction, staring at the two strange newcomers. Miyako noticed some of them took out what looked like a golden trident, readying for battle instantly. One of the creatures seemed like it was glaring at Miyako as it opened its mouth full of small sharp teeth and screamed a bloodthirsty cry completely different from the soothing melodies up until now. The spikes on its head stood up in the process, making it look like a sea urchin. The cry made the other creatures move as well. Miyako thought they couldn't come up since there wasn't enough water there but that didn't stop them as they rushed over. Some of them, however, started pulling the pirates into the watery depths.

Luckily, her cry and the cessation of the song brought the Heart Pirates back to their senses and they started resisting, pulling out their own weapons to defend themselves from the dangerous tridents in the creatures' clutches. Everyone looked surprised and confused, not even remembering how they got here and what were these awful things swimming around beside them.

Miyako and Bepo didn't even waste a moment before they jumped down and joined the chaos. Miyako unsheathed her katana in an instant and blocked a trident coming her way. With a corner of her eye she saw one of the creatures leap out of the water with amazing speed and right at her with its sharp claws. The girl jumped backwards, dodging yet another attack.

A startled yelp pierced her ears and Miyako looked at its source, seeing Sam who was dragged by one of the monsters and was now falling into the water. Luckily, he was grabbed by Cody and tossed back onto the rocks with a painful thud.

Miyako didn't have time to help her friends as she was once again attacked by the creature with the trident. It was much quicker than she expected as it slithered across the ground now like a snake that propped up its lower body. The muscles in that tail must've been amazingly strong to be able to keep the creature up like that. Suddenly the monster changed its position and it seemed like it was falling backwards, until it swung its long tail and slammed it into Miyako's side. The girl fell back and on the floor, feeling the pain in her shoulder. She noticed the golden trident coming towards her from above and the girl blocked with her katana, sliding it into the gaps between the spikes. The three spikes stopped inches from her eyes, dripping down water onto her face. With a grunt and a shove, using all her strength, Miyako managed to shove the trident back along with the fish creature that was stronger than expected. The monster only took a second to attack again, but by then, Miyako was already crouching on her knee and pierced with her katana stabbing the incoming creature in its stomach. It let out a wine as it rammed into the katana and fell in the water, staining it with a black inky substance that was its blood.

Another monster saw it and hissed at Miyako with a glare, its spikes of hair standing up in the air. It leaped out of the water and into the air, towards Miyako. Instead of avoiding, the girl ran towards the incoming fish and crouched at the last second when the creature was just about to slam in her. When the tail was above her, Miyako slashed with her katana upwards and spun around in the process standing back on her feet again. A loud shrill was heard behind her as the creature crashed into the nearby wall, its tail cut in two.

Miyako looked around and noticed that the creatures were slowly losing the battle. But then she noticed one managed to leap onto Mori and grab him as they both disappeared under the surface of the lake. Another grabbed Kai and pulled him in the water as well. She saw Penguin and Shachi quickly diving in after them before her musings were interrupted by more monsters coming her way.

~…..~

Penguin and Shachi found themselves in the dark and cold depths underneath the water, examining their surrounding the best they could. Something glistening caught their eyes and soon they realized it was scales of the monsters as they battled with the struggling Mori and Kai while trying to take them even deeper down. The mechanics exchanged only one look, understanding what they needed to do as they dove deeper to help their friends. They were completely in a disadvantage in this situation; battling sea creatures that could breathe and fight underwater and were even quicker here with their long tails and fins. Still, the mechanics couldn't just let their crewmembers drown here in this forsaken place. Shachi and Penguin wouldn't allow it.

Shachi tried to sneak up on one of them while Mori struggled, slowly losing his breath and consciousness with it. The mechanic finally swam to them and tried to rip the creature away from his friend. He gripped it by the spikes on its head, gritting his teeth as some of them pricked his hand but ignoring the pain as he pulled harshly on it. Luckily, this one didn't have the golden trident with it but that didn't stop it from turning around and slicing with its claws at Shachi, who was too slow in the water to dodge. It grabbed both of the mechanic's shoulder and dug its sharp claws into them, making Shachi cry out in surprise and pain. The remaining air left him after his cry but the mechanic still didn't give up as he used all his strength and power to try and punch the creature. Before it could connect, a surprised shriek came from the monster's mouth and a black fluid started forming around them. Shachi looked at Mori questioningly but then realization hit him as the other pirate pushed the monster to the side, pulling out his knife from its back.

Meanwhile, Penguin reached the other two and barely dodged as the monster suddenly turned around and tried piercing him with the trident. He managed to move his head to the side, the sharp spike only grazing his cheek. Still, it left him unprepared for another swift attack from the monster as it hit him with its tail, sending the mechanic deeper down into the water. The creature turned back to Kai who was barely conscious now and was about to strike him down with the trident, when a hand closed on the chef's ankle and pulled him down below, making his body dodge the attack. It was Penguin, who moved the woozy chef away from the creature, before the attack could connect. The monster pierced downwards with its trident, this time aiming at the mechanic, but once again Penguin managed to dodge. He grabbed the end of the trident and struggled with the monster, surprised at its strength. Alas holding an unconscious Kai with one hand and struggling with the trident with the other became impossible as Penguin kept losing both his strength and air underwater. *Shit, if I don't let go of Kai both of us will die but…* He looked down once more and caught something with his glance. He released the hold he had on Kai and concentrated on the monster in front of him. Now, with one hand free, Penguin concentrated his power in his one hand and used his fingers to pierce the monster's chest stabbing right through to the heart with the palm. The creature wailed and let go of the trident in surprise, which gave Penguin enough time to take the weapon for himself, turn it around and stab the creature through the stomach.

The mechanic quickly looked down but his vision was obstructed by the black fluid all around the murky water as the blood of these creatures dirtied the lake. He noticed something white coming towards him and prepared the trident still in his hand but soon he relaxed as he noticed Mori and Shachi swimming quickly towards the surface, Kai in tow. The mechanic could see Shachi and Mori coming, which was why he trusted them to catch Kai and take care of him while he took care of the monster. As always, he could count on his mechanic friend to come through for him. Penguin grinned but realized he had no time for celebration as air shortage hit his lungs that now started to burn from the pain. The Heart Pirates quickly swam upwards as fast as they could, but soon noticed shadows moving in the water depths, coming towards them. The monsters weren't done with them yet and new ones were coming, determined to pull them into the watery pit.

The group tried to swim even faster but those monsters kept getting closer and closer, the golden tridents shining ominously in their hands. The pirates could already see the water's surface, only a bit further and they would make it, but soon they realized it wouldn't be fast enough. Those creatures will gain on them and reach them sooner than they can get out of the water.

Already feeling desperate, Penguin suddenly stopped and turned around. Shachi and Mori looked at him questioningly, still holding Kai with them. The mechanic only gave them a gesture to hurry and get out before diving back down and heading for the incoming monsters. Perhaps if he gave them more time and stall the creatures the rest of them will get out safely. He could at least prevent them all from dying, even if that meant sacrificing himself. Shachi grabbed the mechanic, shocked and desperate as he realized what Penguin was intending to do. He tried to stop his friend, but Penguin only shook off his hand and went on.

Just as they thought all was lost, tremors appeared throughout the water and three bursts of energy shot out towards the creatures, slicing up the water as they went. The group looked up and even Penguin stopped and turned to see what was going on. They saw Bepo, under the water, and he dived deeper to help them. Being a polar bear, Bepo was a great swimmer but not much of a diver. Still, he could hold his breath underwater more than any of them. The bear made a few more punches consecutively, sending those bursts of energy and hitting one of the closer creatures. The fish-monsters scattered around, trying to avoid the surprising assault, which gave enough time for the Heart Pirates to swim up to the surface.

Shachi was never so glad to be able to breathe as he was at the moment he finally came out of the water, taking a deep breath of air. Beside him, Mori and Penguin did the same, gulping on air as much as they could. The only one who didn't react was Kai, still unconscious and unmoving. Mori quickly checked his pulse and sighed in relief when he could feel it, albeit weak.

"Quick, get out of the water!" Bepo warned after resurfacing not long after the others. For a moment of worrying for Kai, they almost forgot the approaching menace from below.

The pirates scrambled out of the water and onto the reefs, pulling the seemingly lifeless Kai with them. The others stayed turned to the water, watching closely and standing guard in case those monsters came out again, while Mori quickly unbuttoned Kai's white jumpsuit a little to give him more air. "He's not breathing!" He yelled out obviously panicked; he wasn't a medic in their crew, only a chef just like Kai. However, soon his brain started working as he remembered the basics of first aid captain made them all go though. At that time, Mori rolled his eyes thinking he would certainly never need it with a whole staff of medics and Law being a doctor, but now Mori couldn't be more overjoyed that he learned it. His still slightly panicky brain decided to turn on long enough for Mori to remember how to do CPR, and without any delay the chef gave Kai mouth to mouth, puffing air into the other's lungs. Fortunately, it only needed one session for Kai to take a deep and pained breath before he started coughing all of the water out of his lungs. Mori helped his confused friend as the other continued to spit the water out, taking shallow breaths.

Seeing Kai was alright, the mechanics and the rest of the group sighed in relief, exhausted and their lungs burning with everything that happened. They looked around seeing the fight was still lasting, but the Heart Pirates slowly took the lead, making their opponents pull back or jump back into the water. The fish creatures couldn't be out of the water for long it seemed, which gave the humans a significant advantage. As long as the battle was kept out of the water, that is. Thankfully nobody else got pulled inside; there were too many creatures in the water now and there would be no hope for the poor soul who fell inside.

~….~

Law made an irate expression as he cut into yet another monster. He wanted to use his room but his own men were too close and he couldn't risk striking them with one of his slashes. Finally, he saw an opening as the fish started pulling back.

"Everyone, group up and come here! We're getting out of here!" He called out to the Heart Pirates and soon enough everyone ran to him and made a protective circle, guarding each other's backs. The monsters were watching them on the other side of the room, hissing and wailing, ready to attack again. But this time it will be a bit different. Law smirked and held out his free hand.

"Room."

The creatures watched the blue sphere in confusion and wonder as it enveloped everything, not even suspecting what will happen next. They didn't know that their fate was already sealed as soon as they entered Law's sphere. The captain swung his sword two times consecutively. As soon as he did, the creatures were chopped into pieces. The monsters screamed and shrieked as they saw their own body parts flying around, before everything started spinning due to Law's movement of his hands. Their body parts flew around and attached themselves to other monsters unnaturally, preventing them from moving. A numbing pain enveloped their bodies and it grew stronger, an uncomfortable feeling soon turning into burning pain where their body parts were abnormally met.

The creatures screamed in surprise, their spikes of hair standing up around their heads. The ones who didn't get slashed by Law's nodachi gave a last warning hiss before quickly jumping back into the lake and disappearing into the murky water filled with their comrades' blood.

The Heart Pirates relaxed after seeing the last of the creatures disappeared. Law looked at the mess around them, bodies of the monsters laying everywhere, the water and rocks stained with their blood.

The captain scratched his goatee as he spoke, still in thought. "Hn...Too bad we didn't catch one alive; I would love to see their internal anatomy. Perhaps if we take a dead one and preserve its body with ice…"

His musings were interrupted by a panicked Bepo, who couldn't understand Law's laid-back manner at this moment. "We don't have time for that captain! Let's get out of here before they come back!"

The rest of the crew pitched in as well, trying to talk Law out of anything reckless. They all just wanted to rush out of here as fast as they can and finally go to Fishmen Island. "That's right captain, come on, let's get out of here." Penguin and Shachi begged. They all knew Law could have some dangerous notions and they didn't want to give him time for any ludicrous ideas like hunting down one of those creatures to obtain it alive.

Law still seemed into his own little world as he mulled over his own thoughts, not really listening to the rest of his crew's desperate complains. "Hm, but then again most fishmen seem to have different anatomy so there's a question how relevant the data of our experiment would be." The captain furrowed his eyebrows in further thought.

"That's not the problem here!" The group yelled, scared of where this was leading to.

"Nevertheless, we probably won't have another chance like this. I doubt they'd let us experiment on any species on Fishmen Island…" Law muttered, spilt between his two wants.

"That's a given!" Miyako yelled, wanting to smack Law upside the head but that would get her into a world of trouble. Still, she was able to contain herself just like every time she wanted to kick the captain's ass for his behavior.

The polar bear fell to his knees, a gloomy aura enveloping over him. "He's not listening at all…" At this rate the Heart Pirates will really be forced to go hunt down one of those things.

"Captain, leave them be, let's just go find our sub and get to Fishmen island already." Shachi almost had tears in his hidden eyes as he pleaded his captain for mercy.

The mention of the submarine seemed to get Law back to his rational senses and overpowered his urge to experiment on new things. Finally, Law sighed. "I suppose there's no choice. Let's go find the submarine; it's been completely unguarded all this time."

The pirates cheered, relieved at their captain's words and ready to hurry back before he changes his mind.

"Ah-" Josh finally exclaimed, a new kind of dread entering his mind. "Does anyone remember the way back…?" He saw everyone stiffen at the realization since nobody could even remember where they were and where was their submarine waiting for them. The redhead facepalmed and groaned as the nightmare continued.

"I know!" Bepo exclaimed all of a sudden, happy that he was the star of the event for once and that everyone was depending on him. "I can track our scent back, the way I did to find captain and the others." The bear explained after seeing everyone's surprised gazes focused on him. He was glad to be able to do something in this time of need for his captain and the crew. His pride of being the first mate depended on it.

~…..~

Soon the Heart Pirates were on their way back, walking hurriedly through the slippery halls of the cavern, the small creek whirring beside their feet as it flowed alongside them.

As they walked, Law couldn't help glancing at the samurai girl beside him, his eyes wandering off in her direction every now and then. The reason was only one; her expression. There was a constant smug smirk on her face as she walked next to him and not once did it leave her features. Trafalgar wasn't sure what to think of it but somehow he felt like he didn't want to know the answer; that it would only annoy him. That smugness clearly written on her face promised nothing good. Nevertheless, his curiosity got the best of him and he had no choice but to finally ask, narrowing his eyes in the process. "What is it, Miss Miyako?"

Miyako's self-satisfied smirk never left her face as she answered. "I saved your ass today~" The girl all but sang in response. "And I can't wait to hear your 'thank you' later." She knew Law had a hard time expressing his gratitude since it meant admitting his weakness because he needed saving. In all this time she only heard him thank her for helping him out once and he barely got it out of his mouth. Let's not even start on apologies, which she didn't hear him utter even once in all their time together. She seriously started considering he was physically incapable of apologizing. Nonetheless, all these facts only made her more eager to pick on him now that she had the chance.

Law knew it would be something like that, but he was still surprised by the crude way she put it. She was definitively spending too much time with the crew. The captain narrowed his eyes again but didn't say anything as the girl continued.

"You owe me one." Miyako smirked at him, obviously feeling pretty damned good about herself right now.

Law turned his gaze forward again, not at all fazed by her word as he spoke in his usual mellow manner. "Actually, I believe we aren't even tied yet. I'm highly in the lead of saving your ass." He purposely used her own words against her, amused by the sudden change in the girl's expression.

„You actually count!?" The girl sighed, looking at Law with a rather tired expression of disappointment. *Why am I even surprised?* She should've known that there was no way she could get any leverage on this man; as always he was still three steps ahead of her.

The girl's smug expression turned into a sulky pout and she looked like a child denied of a treat. "You're no fun. I should've let you get eaten by the fish monsters." She mumbled, displeased.

The captain raised his eyebrow at that statement but didn't seem to take offence by it; or at least didn't show it. "Oh? But then how would you sail out of here?" There was a lighthearted tone in his voice, as he wasn't even trying to mask his amusement.

The girl didn't waver at his words but instead raised her nose in the air, holding her chin up high as she answered with a smirk. Even with closed eyes, the girl continued to walk confidently "I would manage…But-" She emphasized the last word as she continued. "That would be rather bothersome so I decided to show some sympathy and save you. You still had a purpose." She finally finished, opening one eye to give Law a foxy look accompanied with a smirk. It definitively sounded like something Law would usually say and she even looked like him a bit at the moment. Law didn't doubt that it was completely on purpose.

However, Trafalgar had no intention of losing in her little game. Unfortunately for her he had a sure win move that always got to her as she always seemed unprepared for it. When it comes to Miyako, Law learned that trying with either wittiness or physical power, Miyako was always ready to counter, but there was something she was still not used to even after all these months. He got closer to her and smirked. "I'm so glad I can be of use to you." he started with sarcasm dripping from his every word. They were walking at the end of the group, so there would be no bothersome interruptions or questioning looks this time. It actually made him feel a bit disappointed since he knew how much Miyako hated doing what she called 'embarrassing things' in public and in front of the crew. It always made her even more shocked and out of it, which Law never tires of. He leaned in towards Miyako's ear, still walking beside her, and whispered subtly so only she could hear. "So if you are that eager to see my gratitude, I'll gladly show it to you later. They say actions speak louder than words, do they not?" He smirked as he saw the girl's face turn red all the way to her ears, the color obvious even in the semi-darkness of the cave.

Miyako felt his hot breath on her slightly chilled skin and it only made her remember what happened between them earlier that day in the infirmary. Her golden eyes went wide and she almost jumped away from Law who was still looking at her with that smirk on his face. Now it was his time to be smug. "N-n-no, t-that's fine!" She stuttered, barely able to utter the words as she shrunk away from the pirate captain. "I believe you so you don't have to show me!" She finally spat out in one quick rush of words before she quickened her pace, trying her best to run away from the still-amused Law and his suggestive words.

A few puzzled heads turned their way but nobody commented on it. Truth be told, the crew was already used to the occasional banter between Law and Miyako and they tried their best to ignore it or turn a blind eye. It was safer to just pretend you didn't see or hear anything when it came to certain moments since they didn't want to kindle the flame which was Miyako's rage that came after her embarrassment usually aimed towards the teasing crew, nor did they want to question Law's impatient and annoyed look when he was interrupted in one of his sessions of teasing Miyako to death. So as always, the Heart Pirates simply turned their heads forward again with a clear sweatdrop on their faces.

Miyako waked a few paces to the front of the group, well away from Law, and sighed in relief at the much needed distance. Her relief was short lasting as she heard Sai's words next to her. She didn't even realize he was there.

"Wow, Miyako-chan, you're really becoming bolder if you're willing to flirt in public." His tone stayed calm as always, only a slight hint of surprise in it.

„I am not flirting!" The girl exclaimed back, a bit too loudly, making her voice echo throughout the cavern halls. The walls bounced back her words as if mocking her. Flirting flirting flirting….that's all she could hear, as the word drilled in her mind together with a newfound sense of dread when she realized everybody heard it as well. The girl stopped walking for a while, bowing her head with a gloomy aura around her. Hearing a few chuckles from the crew behind her only made her feel worse.

Thankfully, Bepo's voice interrupted her thoughts of despair along with any planned teasing from the Heart Pirates. "We're here!" The bear rushed out of the hall and into the large room where Miyako and Bepo started their journey.

A relieved sigh came from Penguin and Shachi. "Thank god, the submarine seems ok."

„This be one hello'a adventchya! Me galley better be alstarboard!" Munk exclaimed, running his fingers through his thick beard that had a few more strands of silver than before.

"Who would want to touch your kitchen anyway?" Josh muttered but quickly shut his mouth when he saw Munk's warning look that the head chef gave him. He might not have his deadly large wooden spoon with him now, but Josh didn't doubt the chef was still too dangerous to mess with. It was one of those rules the crew all knew by heart by now; never mess with Munk or his kitchen. Another was to never complain of Munk's food. Josh did that once and regretted it dearly as he was made to eat ten more servings of it. A shiver went down the medic's spine at the memory.

The Heart Pirates rushed inside their submarine happily, glad to be in a familiar place and still slightly confused about everything that happened. Bepo and Miyako explained most of it to them already but it was hard to process everything since they couldn't recall any of it. Most of them were just completely depressed and disappointed that their wonderful dream of mermaids turned into a nightmare with some creatures from the black lagoon.

"Still, how do we get out of here? We can't use the way we got here since it's too steep and the current would work against us." Jean Bart hummed in a troubled tone as he looked around the cave for any idea that would help.

Miyako bit the nail of her thumb as she looked at the cave's walls. She remembered something that might just be their ticket out of here. "I think I know how." She turned to Sai and Jean Bart. "Start the engine."

Sai stopped and gave a questioning look to Law who was standing behind Miyako, uncertain to act before he got permission from his captain. Law stayed silent but after a while gave them a barely visible nod and both navigators went inside to the control room. Miyako stayed on the deck even after everyone was already inside. Law was the last one, holding the doors of the sub open.

"What are you planning?" He didn't like to be uninformed about his own situation and he disliked even more for someone to give orders to his crew. Miyako had better have a good explanation for her actions.

"There is water all around us and I don't think these walls are so thick. I think we can cut them and let the water in." She explained looking around the room to find the right place to make the cut.

"Thus getting a route out of here." Law finished with a mutter, figuring out her plan instantly. Well he deemed that to be a good enough idea to excuse her for her earlier insolence. He saw the girl take a battojutsu stance. In all honesty, he could've done this part but it was her idea so why not let the girl have some of the fun. Whatever Law said, she did save them earlier, so he'll cut her some slack…this time.

Miyako was silent for a while, her eyes closed, as she concentrated on the task before her. When she suddenly opened her eyes, she wore a piercing look. She unsheathed her katana and made an instant slash all in one move. 'Ittouryu; Kiritateru!' The slice went through the air and a large rig soon appeared on the wall as the slash connected. The hum of the water turned into thunder as the rocks fell down, blasted from the water pressure that started leaking into the large cavern. Miyako and Law quickly went inside, closing the metal doors tightly behind them.

The girl turned her head to her captain and grinned. "See? No sweat."

"Actually, the hard part comes now. But that will be decided by our navigators." Law explained and headed to the control room, Miyako right behind him.

The submarine shook and rose as it was engulfed in huge streams of water that filled out the room in a second. A current started forming and led the submarine towards one of those halls, rushing the vessel inside without any chance of slowing down or stopping. The two navigators did their best to avoid any walls or rocks on their way as they turned harshly left and right, riding the current. Everyone was holding tightly once more, as the submarine kept making sharp turns the whole way. Jean Bart had his hands full trying to keep the vessel even and on the right path, but every now and then they would bump into rocks or scrape at the walls. The current led them on, helping them stay on the right path but also complicated their ride as it made them go so fast it was hard to keep control of the vessel. After what could be either seconds or minutes of this rough ride, it finally seemed to come to an end as the current slowed down but only to be followed by another distressing surprise.

Everyone stared in shock at the realization but Josh was the first one to say something about it. "Wall….wall! WALL!" The redhead yelled in sheer panic now as they were about to crash. The current continued and spilled out of some small crack in the wall but it was far too small for the submarine to fit.

"Sai-ya, launch torpedo 1. Now!" The Captain yelled though still much calmer than the rest of his group that already prepared themselves for a crash and an unseemly death.

"Launching, torpedo 1." The navigator exclaimed after pushing a few more buttons before the decisive one. The submarine's weapon darted forward and right into the obstructing wall, destroying it completely. The rocks and sand blasted out along with the water and finally the yellow submarine.

The crew realized they started falling as the current kept leading them, but it finally slowed down completely and resumed its peaceful way throughout the sea depths. The submarine was once again engulfed with water all around and its sea life. Behind them was a large stone wall that looked like an enormous cliff and they just busted out of it, somewhere near the bottom. Underneath them was endless sand all around. But what made everyone there stare in completely silence was the sight in front of them. Shining brightly and illuminating the submarine with a sun that wasn't supposed to be there, Fishmen Island stood before them in all its colorful glory, enveloped in a large air bubble.

"It's here…" Cody was finally able to speak up.

The others soon got over their shock and cheered at their luck. "Fishmen island!"

"Mermaid Island!" Both Shachi and Penguin cheered in unison, hooking an arm around each other's necks before doing a strange dance full of joy, getting a few glances with sweat drops from the other pirates.

"Well that was a rather unconventional way to get to Fishmen Island." Sai murmured, still not believing that the tunnel actually lead right to their destination.

"The sea sure is a mysterious place." Jean Bart commented but decided not to 'look a gifted horse in the mouth.' If Lady Luck decided to smile upon them, who was he to go against that.

The captain of the Heart Pirates walked over to the main window of the control room, not turning his eyes from the bright sight of Fishmen Island before them. They were 10 thousand meters under the sea and the light was still shining brightly upon them; surely an amazing and interesting sight even to Trafalgar Law. There was a satisfied smirk clear on his features as he stared at the island before him.

"Sai-ya, announce to the crew that we've arrived at Fishmen Island."

---

Special thanks to MsStripey10 for beta-reading this chapter.

---

Fishmen Island, here we come! :D

Thank you for all the nice reviews! As always, constructive criticism is welcomed so don't hold back. :)

---

Izzie: lol *bows head* Sorry! Still, it was much needed for the continuation of the story so I had to make it a bit angst. Hm, I have some vague idea cause of that place in Doflamingo's family, but I don't know what it means exactly. Never mind, I'm just rambling. In the manga, chapter 735 was the last, right? I read it. :)

Animagirl: Hehe yes, but my all-time favorite by him is still; 'Weaklings can't choose their way of death.'

Florachi: Thank you! Hope you liked this one too! ^^ lol for some reason when I read 'hole' I just imagined myself digging a hole in the backyard.

Animelover0160: haha It seems I worried a lot of the readers with that. XD Thank you!

Hitoshirezu Ryu: Somehow, the Tenryuubito and crazy spoilt wishes always seem to go together so I felt it had to be something like this. I didn't want Piercy to disappoint, being a snotty World Noble that he was. :P Well after angering the Tenryuubito and the marines with their actions, saving one slave might not make much of a difference.

RinD: Thank you! :)

Zoro et Robin: Yeah, in the end it wasn't so hard to do that 'romantic' scene though I'm more afraid how to develop that kind of 'in-love' Law and Miyako in the future. ^^' (somehow it's hard to picture Law and love together.)

robotsftw232: Yep, it only took 44 chapters. XD

Mi-chan1991: Thank you, I hope you liked it!

reddevil47: Oh I have lots of ideas with the New World. :D

Wings-chan: Thanks. I'm always worried about making Law ooc. ^^' Yeah, I really think Law and Luffy are alike in some aspects too. And you can really see new (hilarious) sides of him, while he's with the Straw Hats. (Nobody can escape their crazy antics :P)

ThexWhitexPhoenix: Originally I wanted Law and Miyako to beat the crap out of the Tenryuubito in that palace but the story would head in a more chaotic direction then.

xXLovelyAnimeLoverXx: Haha Sorry to scare you. XD But it's no fun if there aren't some dramatic twists here and there. ;P

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Well that's Josh after all, his tongue is quicker than his brain. :P I'm glad I put that in; there are just some details I totally forget about since it's been a while since that chapter, so it's good when readers remind me. XD I realized my new favorite thing; flashbacks. They really help sometimes. :D lol I knooow, but that's why I gave them a nice pond to swim around freely.

Bioware: Thank you very much. ^^