Shortly after the meal, Law declared his intention to leave straight away. Bepo tried to discourage him, but it had been a half-hearted effort from the beginning. There was no arguing with the Captain, he was just too stubborn to reason with. His First Mate was the only one capable of countering such, but she wasn't here now. His heart ached at not just her loss, but that of the rest of their crew as well. Law was restless to start the search for them, and he could hardly blame them. In the end he readily agreed, eager to be reunited as well.
Saying goodbye to Sachie was the most difficult, and Law saw no reason to rush that. It was a compromise he was willing to give. He stepped off to the side to give them some privacy. Bepo knelt down to give her a hug big enough to nearly bury her and whispered something with a smile. Law's gaze shifted a bit awkwardly at the tender scene as he felt a bit envious. He was really out of his element with such displays of affection, really of any sort. It…just wasn't his style. He heard boots scrape against the threshold.
"Leaving already huh?" The old man grumbled softly. "Some gratitude."
Law looked up, but he wasn't looking at him. He was watching Bepo and his niece with a sad wistful smile. Law's keen eye took in detail he hadn't noticed in their first encounter. This man wasn't a regular civilian, there was strength in his broad figure with some faded scars that he doubted came from regular labor. He seemed to be the solid, old solider type; the battle-hardened sort who was quick to criticize. If he had wanted to force them out, he could have easily done so long before now. Maybe he really wasn't that bad after all.
"Thank you," Law murmured sincerely.
"Now don't you start," he scowled at that, the moment now passed. "Come along Sachie," he called over his shoulder as he turned to enter the house. "Keep it short and sweet, they're in a hurry to freeload elsewhere," he said dryly.
Bepo kissed her forehead before rising up. "Goodbye Sachie and thank you."
Her smile was a sad one, but she tried to rally it into a genuine one. "Goodbye Mr. Bear. And you too Mr. Trshsflgr Law."
He grimaced a bit at the attempt but did manage a thin smile and nod. He turned on his heel and started off down the dirt path. There wasn't any more time to waste on sentiment. Bepo hurried to catch up with his long stride. "What do you know about this island?" Law asked as his mind raced ahead with calculations. "What resources do you know of?"
Bepo's face reddened a bit. "It was storming when we arrived. I was in such a hurry to find shelter that I hardly noticed anything."
His expression hardened but he could well imagine the distress and panic Bepo must have experienced in their hasty retreat. He wasn't one to keep a cool head, so he likely was oblivious to his surroundings in such a situation. They were going to have to start from scratch on this one. He pointed straight ahead. "Let's see what's available along the coastline. With any luck we can find a transponder snail to communicate with whoever's carrying one. Unless you already-" he trailed off meaningfully.
Bepo shook his head dismally. Why hadn't he thought of that?
Law sighed but kept his thoughts to himself. Bepo truly meant well, but he wasn't one for strategy short of navigation. He continued to press on, trying his best to ignore his lingering aches. It remained silent as they entered the shipyard of the shoreline. It was a very small operation, run by a handful of individuals. They looked up curiously at their arrival, so it was clear that visitors were a novelty on this island.
Law turned towards the closest person. "Where's your communications center?" He launched right into it without any greeting.
The man shrugged and responded in a language he didn't recognize. Well, that wasn't going to be of much help. He tried another dockworker with the same result. Before he could try a third time, he was approached by a large, giant of a man. He frowned suspiciously at the pair of them, asking them in the same foreign tongue but it was clear that he wondered what they were up to.
Law frowned in turn. "Where is your communications center?"
He blinked in surprise before chuckling. "Ah, I see," he shifted to this one. "So, you're not the new hires then."
Law shook his head. "We're ship-wrecked sailors looking to contact our crew. Do you have a transponder snail we can use?"
The Foreman jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards a small building behind them. "Sure, but be sure to feed it a snack first and massage its eye stalks during use. It's not as young as it used to be."
Law looked a bit bewildered by the direction, but it was short-lived. Once inside they found the ancient creature snoozing on the table. There was a small container beside it and he lifted the lid to peer inside. The snail stirred awake at the scent so this must be the desired treat. He stuck his fingertips in to pick a few. "You'll have to make the call, Bepo. Leave the finessing to me."
Bepo chuckled with obvious relief. He didn't trust his thick fingers to massage without breaking it. Law fed the greedy snail and did his best to massage the slender eyestalks while Bepo began to dial. The first few attempts were met with static and he began to wonder if it was a genuine communication issue or that the snail was inept at its duty.
Finally its eyes lit up with contact and Shachi's voice rang clear through its mouth. "Is that you Captain? Bepo?"
"Both," Law said with a pleased smile "We're here." He wasn't alone. A small cheer went up on the line, there were others! "Who all is with you?"
"Everyone's accounted for, Captain," Penguin chimed in. "More or less in one piece, and we managed to find Kikoku too."
Law blinked in surprise at the name of his katana. He hadn't even noticed its absence, but he was relieved to hear that it hadn't been lost forever. "Where's your location?"
Bepo grabbed a nearby pad of paper and pencil, quickly scribbling down the direction.
"We've had a devil of a time getting organized without Ritsuko running things so the sooner you three get back here, the better!" Shachi laughed.
There was a horrible moment of silence as his meaning dawned on the pair. "She…she's not…with you?" Law's voice cracked as he spoke.
Silence followed by furious whispers that crackled along the line. "No Captain," Penguin replied. "We…thought that she was with you."
Bepo watched worriedly as color drained from Law's face. In his horror, he forgot to keep massaging and the call clicked its end. Bepo set the receiver in place and rose to his feet. "I'm sure she's alright, Captain. She can handle herself; you know that."
Law knew that well enough, but he slowly shook his head in disbelief. "Blackbeard knew about her bounty…a-and joked about collecting it."
Bepo hesitated at that. Her bounty was a peculiar one, only redeemable if she was alive. Being the sole survivor of a World Government experiment in Soul Fusion made her a tempting target. Though with so very few people knowing the details, she was able to hide with a good measure of success. But if Blackbeard knew, then, there was every chance he meant to profit from it.