Sanji didn't have time to think of much else. The large cat pounced, swinging sharp claws form the right. In a spark of instinct he thought he'd long lost, Sanji ducked and struck out his leg, landing a kick square on his chest.
The cat staggered back a few steps. For a moment, Sanji saw surprise flicker in his eyes. Sanji tried to match the creature's glare, tensing himself for another kick. The cat roared, tearing through the air. It caught Sanji off and stilled him for a split second, but that was enough for the beast to lunge forward and topple the blonde to the floor.
Sanji couldn't even make a noise, as he felt sharp claws dig into the flesh of his neck. His heart hammering at his ears drowned out everything else, as he stared up growling beast, pinning him down, raising another claw to strike the deathblow.
The hand stilled. A pink, feathered dart appeared at the side of cat's neck. His pupils dilated, drowning out the amber with black. The claws retracted from around Sanji's neck, and the cat staggered backwards, swiping at the dart. Sanji coughed as he pulled himself to sit up, watching Law's fast-acting sedatives take effect.
The creature's growling slowly faded to short rasps, as he tried, unsuccessfully, to stumble to his feet. In the end, his muscles gave up and he slumped heavily onto the floor, eyes drooping half closed.
Law straightened, lowering the gun in his hands and taking a deep breath. The room grew still and silent and it jutted out uncomfortably in comparison to the chaos that just happened.
"Bepo, please tend to the man's arm," said Law, nodding to the injured cage-bearer, before he knelt beside Sanji and placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "You okay?"
Sanji pulled his eyes away from the fallen creature. He stared for a while, unblinking, at his friend. "Y-yeah. I think so."
He jumped a little as he felt Law's cold fingertips press against his neck. "Sit still. The scratches aren't deep, but we should probably patch you up. Bepo!"
The bear ran over, passing a small green box with a white cross on the front to the doctor. His white paws stained red.
"Thank you," Law turned to the men muttering in the far corner of the room and glaring at the cat sprawled out on the tiles. "Any chance you could carry him onto the table? Don't worry, he's out cold."
As Law worked on the wounds around his neck, Sanji watched the cage-bearers hesitate before approaching the large cat. It took two of them to gingerly move him onto the table.
Law stood and dismissed them in their tongue, moving to place a thick, leather collar around the cat's neck. Sanji dusted himself off as he stood up, finding his discarded cigarette crumpled on the floor. He crushed it into his pocket before joining the doctor and the bear beside the metal table.
"What… is he?"
"He's a Companion. What else would he be?"
Sanji shook his head. "But he's a…"
"I know, right?" Law smirked, attaching a thick chain to the collar before linking it to a heavy lock on one of the legs of the table. "Are you familiar with Dr. Vegapunk?"
"The name rings a bell."
"Vegapunk thinks he's managed get one up on me and my reptilian Companions," Law explained. "We've been exchanging theories and breakthroughs lately, and he's told me of his recent project in creating a new Companion species based on animals from the Pre-Hush era."
Sanji looked back down at the tiger, watching the rise and fall of his striped chest. "How?"
Law narrowed his eyes. "Do your really want me to go into all the scientific details?"
Sanji chuckled and shook his head. He knew how much Law could get into a tangent once you get him onto the topic of genetics. He could only imagine what conversations between Law and Vegapunk must sound like.
"I'll try and put it simply for you," said Law, as he snapped on a pair of latex gloves. "Somehow, and I'm not sure how, Vegapunk has managed to get his hands on D.N.A samples of these extinct species. That's how he's been able to replicate the cells and create Companions like this guy."
Law's gloved hands moved over the unconscious tiger, doing routine checks on fur, eyes, ears, fangs.
"But it's not pure," Law spoke as he worked. "The DNA was unstable and fuck knows how many stem cells Vegapunk lost simply by replicating the cell growth process. So he started laddering, adding a strand of DNA from an already stable species, and adding and adding until the whole process is stable enough for development. I don't know how he's done it, but he's managed to find a perfect balance between the unstable, extinct DNA and the stable pre-existing DNA. And viola."
Sanji couldn't take his eyes away from the table. "Why did he send you the tiger?"
Law's smile deepened into a smirk. "Vegapunk and I have come to a neutral truce. Well, I couldn't resist, since he practically begged me for my help."
He paused and leaned over Bepo, who was quietly observing the check up beside him. "Could you go and fetch Mrs Nico for me, please?"
Bepo threw a salute and bounded out of the lab. Law turned back to the table and slid his hand along the edge until a panel popped out. He pulled out a small, opaque screen, linked to the edge of the table by a mechanical arm, and lifted it above the tiger. The screen flickered, projecting numbers, graphs and data into the air, whilst displaying an x-ray of the sleeping creature on the surface of the glass.
"Vegapunk tells me he's picked up a trend that seemed to lie in the Companion's psyche," Law continued to explain as he moved the screen across the length of the tiger. Sanji saw the creature's steady heart beating behind a criss-crossed ribcage.
"Every prototype he's created has had aggressive behaviour and violent streaks. Unpredictable ranges of temperament. As we just saw demonstrated to us a few minutes ago," Law's eyes glanced up briefly at Sanji's neck. "Obviously, that's a major fault. Vegapunk can't sell products that could very well kill the consumer. And it doesn't help that the average Companion has twice the strength of a human anyway, think of how much stronger these 'laddered' species are."
Sanji swallowed, feeling the bandage scratch at the skin of his neck as his throat bobbed. The fact that he was alive now was beginning to seem more and more like a miracle.
"It doesn't matter how much he modifies the cells, each extinct species Companion comes out the same," said Law, taping at the screen as he finished the scans and folding it back into the side of the table. He snapped off the latex gloves and stood with his hands on the table, watching the sleeping tiger just as Sanji was doing.
"Knowing the Company has the world's leading behavioural psychologists, Vegapunk asked me if these Companions can perhaps be 'tamed'. So he's sent me the worst one of the lot he has right now, and that's how ended up with Tigey here."
Sanji took a moment to process everything he was just told. In this state, the tiger looked nothing more like an over-sized housecat taking a harmless nap. He reached out and gently stroked the striped green fur that crowned the tiger's forehead. It was thick, and bristled under his hand. He laughed.
"This is amazing. It's like having a real tiger," Sanji looked up, eyes wide and face beaming. "Can you imagine what it would be like if this becomes a success? This is probably the closest we'll get to having the old world animals again!"
Law raised a brow. "Huh. Interested in Companions now?"
Sanji's hand moved back to his side. "No. I was just saying."
Law laughed. "Of course not. But don't get too exited just yet. If we can't get this kitty to sit and play fetch, Vegapunk will have to discontinue the project and put down all the prototypes he's created so far."
The tiger on the table let out a groan, his face contorting.
"Looks like he's coming to," said Law. "Let's move to the observation room. Give the cat some space."
Sanji followed Law out of the lab, after the doctor dimmed the lights. Back in the hallway, Sanji turned at the slow clack of heels on the tiles, accompanied by the soft thumps of Bepo's footsteps.
Nico Robin, tall, slender, with long raven hair, wearing a smart, violet suit and a stern expression on her face, approached the two men. Bepo had to jog to keep up with her long strides. She folded her arms and stared apathetically at Law.
"This better be good."
Sanji leapt in front of Law before the doctor could answer. "Good-morning, Robin, my sweet, delicate flower!" He greeted her with exuberant enthusiasm. "How are you today?"
Robin turned to him and smiled, tilting her head a little. "I'm furious that Doctor Law has pulled me away from my work, and for his sake, I can only hope that the reason for this is going to be worth the hell I'll put him through if, in the end, it turns out that it really wasn't worth disturbing me."
Sanji let out an uncomfortable chuckle. For a woman who exudes such grace and beauty, Robin really knew how to lay a threat in a tone rather than a mouthful of words. Law shook his head and placed a hand on both their shoulders.
"Why don't we go into the observation room? And you can see for yourself why I called you, Mrs Nico."
The three moved without a word into the room next door. This room was plainer, containing a few chairs and a desk with a glass top, lined with panels along the side.
The entire far wall was made of tinted glass, and Sanji flitted towards it immediately. Through the glass he could see the tiger twitch into slow wakefulness on the metal table. Robin gasped beside him.
"Is that a…" her voice trailed off, eyes-widening as she watched the Companion rise groggily to a sitting position. "That… Can't be…"
"Beautiful creature, right?" Sanji hummed. "But not as beautiful as you, my lovely Robin."
"How is this possible?" Robin turned to Law, ignoring the blonde. "Where did you get him? They've been extinct in the wild for more than a hundred years, and the last one they had in captivity died over twenty years ago."
"Dr. Vegapunk created this one."
Robin's expression fell to a neutral face, as though the name explained everything. "I see."
Everyone in the room grew quiet, all eyes watching the tiger in the other room. The creature growled irritably. He pulled at the chain, biting at it, and when it didn't give, he slapped it hard on the ground and paced the room.
"Vegapunk says there's a behavioural fault with his new Companions," said Law. "He's hoping we can 'tame' this one somehow."
Robin crossed her arms again. "We?"
"Behavioural reassessment. I'm a doctor, not a psychologist, Mrs Nico. I thought this project might be more of your field of interest?"
"It is, but you're talking to the woman who believes that 'reassessment' of any sort doesn't really exist."
Silence again. The tiger in the lab stopped pacing, climbing to sit cross-legged on the metal table. He rested his striped arms on his knees, closed is eyes and took a deep breath. It was almost as if he was meditating.
Sanji chuckled. It was another thing that spooked him about Companions. When they were first created decades ago, it caused uproar amongst a lot of humanitarians, socialists, scientists and religious factions alike. Mostly around the fact of 'what exactly were they?' and how should they be treated. Hundreds of court cases and debates later, Companions were proven to be useful and worth having around, treated as a utility and sold as products but protected under the same rights as animals.
To Sanji, that made them just that. Animals. Glorified pets with human-like faces. But it wasn't just appearance, they behaved human as well. Sometimes almost too much that the thought jarred with Sanji's previous opinions and left his mind a muddled up string of thoughts, bordering on a migrane.
"…It will take time," Robin was talking. Sanji snapped out of his trance and caught the last part of her sentence. "It'll be a long and difficult process, not to mention unpredictable, as all our efforts and steps will depend on how the tiger will react to our tests."
"But it's not impossible, right?" Sanji chipped in, assuming they were on the topic of the behavioural reassessment.
Robin's dull-blue orbs shot him a side-wards glance. Her face was stern. Sanji repressed a shudder, no longer sure how he felt about the attention. As pretty as she was, Robin never failed to send creepy vibes up any man's spine.
"I'm still puzzled as to why you are here, Mr. Black," She said.
"Er," Sanji faltered. Originally, he had come to Law's lab for a visit. But there really was no reason for him to stick around. Except for the tiger, of course. Who would want to leave after discovering that? But he couldn't bring his thoughts into words.
Law clasped a hand on his shoulder, startling him.
"I figured, with a new specimen, we're going to need an expert nutritionist," he answered for Sanji.
"N-nutritionist?" the blonde stuttered.
Law quirked a brow at him. His equivalent to winking. "Gotta keep the tiger in good condition."
Sanji turned back to Robin, seeing her regarding them both with those eyes that seemed to be able to read everything in one look. Will she really buy that?
Her face broke into a smile. "Is that so? Then it'll be a pleasure working with you, Mr. Black."
Sanji felt his cheeks flush at the compliment. "Uh, pleasure's all mine."
"Well then," said Law, slapping a hand to Sanji's back and leading him to the door. "We'll discuss plans for the tests, while you go up and get something for Tigey to eat."
Sanji frowned. "What, now?"
"Yes, now. Who knows when the last time he ate was? He's probably so antsy because he's just hungry."
When they neared the door, and when he saw Robin turn her attention back to the tiger, Sanji ducked his head closer to Law.
"You didn't tell me anything about being a nutritionist for this project," he hissed at Law in a low tone.
The doctor just smiled at him. "You needed an excuse to stick around, right? Now go cook something up. Oh, and get something for me and Robin too."
Sanji rolled his eyes. "I should've known. You just wanted lunch, didn't you?"
Law pushed him out of the door. "You know me well."
He turned back to the observation room, and Sanji heard him start a sentence about schedules before the door swung shut. The blonde sighed, glancing with scrunched brows at the door to the lab to his left. He shrugged, pulled out his tobacco and started to roll himself another cigarette, as he made his way to the lifts. There was nothing better to do with his time at the moment anyway. Now, what was it that tigers liked to eat?