A/N: And...uploading this early simply because I was too excited with this instalment! Arigato to Eilethiya-ya, Raden863, sarge1130, Mrs. ToraLaw, xFallenDemonx, PrincessHaleyEve, Death-By-Sanity and Kagehime3 for the lovely reviews and helping me to avoid the dreaded 'Second Chapter Syndrome'! Shout outs as well to those who favourited and alerted, you know who you are :) I loved Law in this chapter simply because I thought his scenes in the anime were brilliant, so I hope you enjoy this chapter too! (And yes, THAT LawNa moment!) As always, reviews and constructive criticism or any type of feedback is much much appreciated.
Hostility Wars
Chapter 3
Adrenaline coursed through her veins, fuelling her legs with a desperate energy as she raced for the exit, the angry shouts of their pursuers echoing louder and louder behind them. Her hunch had been right; the mysterious fire-ice island was guarding some sinister secret and it was not going to give it up without a fight. Everything about Punk Hazard – from the severed samurai head they had picked up, their sleeping gas kidnapping to the strange giant kids they had just encountered reeked of something far more ominous at hand than a mere abandoned facility. As far as she was concerned, they had no business on this island and it was probably in their best interests to get off as soon as possible. "We need to get out of here, and find Luffy and the others immediately!"
The footfalls behind them ceased, and Nami sensed that the children had stopped following them. Turning back, Chopper wailed tearfully on top of Franky's head, "Hey! Why can't we take them with us?"
The blue-haired Cyborg shook his head, uncharacteristically rational. "That's crazy – we don't even know how to save ourselves! There's no way we can take that many kids." Seconds later, he burst into a flood of tearful bawling. "But I have a feeling something tragic is going to happen!"
Nami caught the sound of some soft sniffling in the background, but she resolutely pushed it to the back of her mind. Their pursuers had said that these children were sick and had been taken to this facility for treatment - who were they to interfere with what may be best for them? As the exit loomed ahead, she urged Sanji and Franky forward. "Almost the…"
"Please come back later and save us!"
The sudden cry broke into her thoughts like a lightning bolt, stopping her dead in her tracks.
"I want to see my father and mother again!" She recognised the voice as belonging to one of the dark-haired giant girls who started to sob hysterically, before the rest of the children soon followed suit. "So onee-san, please help us!" The baby soon began wailing, adding to the chorus of heart-rending sobs behind her.
"Nami-san?! Come on!" Vaguely, she heard Sanji's frantic voice call out to her in the background.
Nami clenched her fist. "No. Let's help these children."
Sanji gasped. "We can't do that – we just met them and we don't know what's going on here! It's not our job to help every single person!"
Nami slowly turned around, as images of the childrens' happy faces as they cuddled Chopper, gushed over Franky and messed with Sanji's tie rushed through her mind, fading away to the present sounds of their pitiful crying and the obvious fear in their voices. She didn't know why, but something about these children tugged deep at her heartstrings and she knew that she could never forgive herself if she just ran away and turned her back on them.
"I understand what you're saying…but," the orange-haired Navigator swallowed hard. "…you can't turn your back on a child crying for help!"
At that instant, one of the yellow-masked attackers aimed their guns at one of the children. "No!" Nami darted forward instinctively, her eyes wide with fear as she belatedly realised that she was facing a barrage of gas guns head on without having time to whip out her Clima Tact.
"Diable Jambe: Collier Strike!"
"Sanji-kun!" Relief washed over her as she watched her blonde crewmate unleash a series of fiery strikes on their opponents, knocking them out instantly in a matter of seconds. Landing neatly on his feet, Sanji languidly lit another cigarette and let out a long, slow drag. "Chopper – you go ahead with Nami-san." Turning to the kids, he snorted loudly. "Don't get me wrong; I'm only doing this to answer Nami-san's beautiful wish to help you brats."
It was times like this that Nami remembered how much she appreciated Sanji's compassionate side; out of all the male Straw Hats, he was the one who she knew hid the softest spot for the weak and the needy. Flashing him a grateful smile, she called out authoritatively, "Everyone, follow us!"
The sounds of their babbling were so loud, he could probably still have heard them even if he was on the other side of the island. He had always thought that the majority of the lower-level Marines were a bunch of doddering fools, no more than cannon fodder but the recalcitrants from the G-5 were considered to be the black sheep of the family, even amongst the Marines themselves.
Law felt a slight pang of irritation as the Marines pressed the buzzer repeatedly before kicking futilely at the door, the annoying zzzzz sound echoing around him making him quicken his pace. The sooner he dealt with the trash, the better - he had more important things to do than play around with a bunch of idiots.
Pushing open the twenty-foot concrete entrance, he leaned casually against the doorframe; allowing a cocky smirk to grace his lips at the loud gasps and squeals of terror emitting from the group of Marines before him as realisation dawned on them. The instant intimidation and fear factor his new position instilled in both pirates and Marines was just one of the many benefits from being a Shichibukai - besides the obvious leeway granted by the World Government to pursue his own interests in return for lending his name and services to them.
Giving them a sweeping once over, he quickly noted that Vice-Admiral Smoker was among the rabble, along with that female Captain lackey he usually had following him around. That might prove slightly troublesome; Smoker had built up quite a reputation for himself over the past two years, being promoted to Commodore then Vice-Admiral and leader of one of the G-5 units in the New World, as well as hailed as a Marine hero for his part in "defeating" Crocodile in Alabasta. One could almost compare his rapid ascension to Law's own meteoric rise – although Law was no fool; he knew that Mugiwara-ya and his crew had been responsible for the Crocodile incident. Nonetheless, there was a risk that he might end up wasting more time than he initially thought would be necessary. "So," his smirk grew wider, "…what brings you here to my vacation home, Hakuryo-ya?"
Predictably, he saw Smoker swell at his obviously indolent manner. "Trafalgar Law," the Marine growled, narrowing his eyes at the Shichibukai. "What are you doing here? No one, not even pirates or Government allies is allowed to be here on this island, Law!"
Law grinned back. "That means you people aren't allowed here, either!" he replied smartly.
Strangely, Smoker didn't reply; instead he reached into his vast pockets and drew out a black baby Den Den Mushi.
"My colleagues are getting cut one after another! The samurai are going to kill us!"
His eyes shot open.
"Somebody please help me…I'm on…PUNK HAZARD!"
Anger and confusion swept through him, but he masked it smoothly. "What do you want? I know you Marines are good at forging those emergency signals."
The Vice-Admiral folded his arms and fixed Law with a heated glare. "I'm afraid it wasn't a trap that we set this time."
Law shrugged. "Oh yeah? Well I don't know anything so there's nothing more to talk about." He returned Smoker's glare and similarly crossed his arms. His heart was hammering furiously against his chest as his mind was bombarded with questions. Who had sent that mysterious SOS from the island? Where were the Straw Hat Pirates and what had they discovered, if at all? And where was that bastard Caesar? It was no surprise that the distress call had been intercepted by the Marines but it was purely bad luck that it had been the Straw Hat Pirates that answered it.
"Cut the crap and let us inside the laboratory!" Smoker growled furiously, interrupting Law's own chaotic thoughts.
He balled his fists inside his jacket. "It's my vacation home now. I refuse!" Realising somewhat that his excuse sounded lame, he quickly added, "What's wrong with me – a pirate staying on an island that you people abandoned? I'm the only one here!" He thanked his lucky stars that he had told Monet to stay out of sight and Caesar was surely in his laboratory deep within the facility. With luck, he might be able to talk his way out of this. "If Mugiwara-ya comes, I'll chop his head off for you," he shrugged flippantly. It was partly true; if the Straw Hats had discovered enough incriminating evidence about Caesar and Law's movements on Punk Hazard, he would be forced to silence them eventhough he doubted they would go blabbing to the Marines or the World Government. But it was too risky – he could afford to take no chances when it came to his master plan for finally taking him down.
"If that's all you have to say, then go home!" His voice rose higher than he intended it to in his ire, and for a split-second it seemed that Smoker and his team were going to take his word for it and leave.
Then he heard it.
The unmistakeable sound of voices, children's voices and running. Thundering towards the front door.
He cursed.
"There is somebody else in there!" One of the Marines cried out, jabbing his finger furiously in the direction of the building. Smoker remained quiet, calmly smoking his cigar as he waited patiently for the intruders.
Something big and furry swept past him, bursting out of the slightly ajar door with an almighty bang. "I made it out!"
"It's freezing!"
The sound of the female's voice froze every nerve in his body.
Droplets of sweat trickled down his temple as he gripped his knuckles in silent frustration. There was no doubt about it – it was her.
And if she was here, that meant that the Strawhat Pirates were definitely here and from the sounds of it, they were bringing the entire island with them as well.
"NAMI-SWAAAAN!"
The Shichibukai resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the love-struck blonde fawning over her, his eyes transformed to hearts as he openly drooled over the young woman's skimpy, bikini-clad form. "I like the way you shiver in the cold but I don't want you to get sick, so please take my jacket!"
"Ah, arigato Sanji-kun," she nodded, turning around to pull the long sleeves of the blazer around her shivering body before her eyes met suddenly met his. A flash of recognition sparked within her and the flame-haired pirate did a comical double-take. "You look familiar!" she yelped.
The furry monster of theirs turned around and let out a similar squeak of surprise. "Yeah, he was there at Sabaody!"
Nami turned to glare at him, her big hazel eyes flashing fire as she pointed an accusing finger in his direction. "Are you the one who locked up these children?! You brute! You can't take them back!"
Law sighed internally. This was certainly not how he had envisioned his next run-in with the beautiful Straw Hat Navigator to be like.
It was only then that her blonde companion finally realised that they weren't alone. "Since the Marines are here, we can't escape from here! Let's look for another exit, get inside!" he yelled, directing the horde of screaming children and the rest of the Straw Hats back inside the building.
"You lied, you said you were the only one here!"
Law switched his attention back to the obviously irate Marine Vice-Admiral. "Seems like I wasn't; I'm also surprised." He fought to control the surge of annoyance he felt towards Mugiwara-ya and his crew – of all the islands they could have barged their way into, they had to stick their noses into the one most crucial to his plans!
"Everyone, after the Strawhat Pirates!" Smoker's brunette subordinate suddenly drew her sword and beckoned to the rest of the platoon.
Law tch-ed. If she really thought he was just going to let them interfere any further in this whole Punk Hazard business, she was severely deluded. He raised his arm at the same time that Smoker shouted, "Wait!"
"Room."
A familiar pale blue sphere engulfed the surrounding area, and Law felt a somewhat sadistic pleasure at turning the Marines' guns upon themselves. Shouts of shock and surprise sounded as several explosions went off, choking the air with a thick cloud of grey smoke.
"Those fools brought trouble with them," he said in a low voice as the smoke slowly cleared, before flicking his index finger upwards. "Tact!" He was pissed off now, and he would be damned if anything else were to go wrong with his meticulously well-laid plans.
The Marine soldiers let out frightened gasps and whimpers as he skilfully manipulated the giant warship floating through the air, along with half of the frozen river it had been moored in. "I can't let you leave now," he murmured, a dangerous glint entering his eyes. "I'm sorry that I said no one else was here."
"Step back!" Smoker drew his jitte, before taking a step towards Law. "You guys are no match for him – he'll chop off your hands and feet!"
Too right I will – along with their eyeballs, fingers and toes he thought smugly as he unsheathed his own sword. He felt Kikoku hum in approval, the cursed blade's bloodlust instantly awakened as it sensed Law's menacing intent.
The Surgeon of Death raised his sword in a semi-circle above his head, a small grin tugging his lips as he brought it crashing down on Smoker's jitte in a flurry of sparks.
It had been rather boring on this island lately anyway….so he might as well get a good workout while Smoker was here.
Hakuryo - White Hunter
Mugiwara - Straw Hat
Onee-san - Big sister