Law held the vivre card he had found between forefinger and thumb as he contemplated the scrap of paper silently. He had been pondering about where he may have come across such a thing, and he couldn't recall it. That was odd, because something as important as vivre card shouldn't be dismissed in such a way. It was certainly irritating to not have at least an inkling as to where it had come from. And Law found that the way that it was trying to go down and to the right interesting.
Was the person it was tied to travelling underwater? It was a possibility, since a coated ship wasn't completely out of the question.
The dark haired man frowned as he set the vivre card onto the palm of his other hand and watched it start to slowly flutter in the direction that it wanted to go. It was still pointed down a little, which meant that the person was still beneath the waves of the sea. Which Law had noticed had become a bit rougher as the weather began to turn over into something unpleasant.
The way that the ship had begun to sway more violently was another clue, as were the curses of the marines outside the cabin he was in. It all led Law to believe that they had run into a storm of sorts. Unsurprising, really, since this was the New World. Freak storms were to be expected.
Law's gaze went back to the vivre card as he tired to find an explanation for why he had it. It wasn't connected to any marines, unless one had taken an unexpected dip into the sea, which was unlikely. That left Law to inspect the piece of paper more closely, and the dark haired man found miniscule writing on one corner of the card that he hadn't noticed before.
'H.P. -S'
Law realized that a message had been scrawled as well directly beneath those letters.
'please don't be too reckless, captain.'
While Law may not have had a clue who the vivre card belonged to, he figured that it likely belonged to a pirate. Why else would Law have it? He very much doubted that any marine had given it to him. He didn't know of any captains on the ship he was currently on, as Fall was a vice admiral. That left law coming across the vivre card while he'd been on Straw Hat's ship and had attacked Straw Hat Luffy himself. Though Law did not recall ever picking up or otherwise acquiring the vivre card. But he didn't have any other explanation of its appearance in one of his pockets.
Law thought a moment longer before he rose from the bed, shouldered his nodachi, and exited the cabin. Whatever the origin of the vivre card, Law would at least be able to point the marines in the right direction. Perhaps it would get them to their destination sooner so that he did not have to put up with all the complaints that had been voiced outside his cabin by passing marines. The dark haired man made his way down the narrow hall of the ship and narrowly avoided being knocked over by some of the marines who weren't quite used to the rough waves that battered the ship.
"I thought you said you were going to get some rest." A marine said as he used the nearest door to him to help steady him.
"Where is the navigator of the ship?" Law gave the marine that had spoken an unimpressed look, and held up the vivre card. "I think they will find this useful."
The marine gawked at what Law held, before he appeared to recover himself and pointed to a cabin a few doors down. "They're in there with the vice admiral."
Law went past the marine silently as he went to the indicated cabin. He didn't even look back at the sound of the marine losing his footing as he entered the cabin without bothering to knock. He was going to hand the vivre card over so that he wouldn't have to ponder its origins anymore. Law wanted to be able to take a rest unburdened by such things, especially if he was expected to help assist with the capture of the pirates they were currently in pursuit of.
Fall had apparently been discussing something with the other man in the room. Both of them looked up when Law entered unannounced, but neither said anything of the intrusion, so the dark haired man beat them to it.
"Are you having trouble locating those pirates?" Law questioned, a hint of a smile across his features.
"Perhaps. Why?" Fall said after a moment.
Law merely held up the vivre card, though he felt a moment of doubt and disquiet in his decision when the sight of the fluttering paper made Fall smile. It struck Law as odd that the other man had smiled, when he normally didn't. It led Law to wonder why he thought he had seen the vice admiral smile before. He hadn't, had he? Law wasn't quite sure, but he handed the vivre card to Fall's waiting hand.
"I was just telling our navigator that we seem to have gone off track." Fall said as he handed the vivre card to the other man. "This should get us back on course in no time." The vice admiral nodded. "Have you had enough rest, or do you need more?"
"I need some more if you expect me to use my Devil Fruit powers for a prolonged period of time." Law said in return.
Fall waved him off. "Then go do so."
As Law left the room, he heard the new bearings being made based on the vivre card. The dark haired man even heard as he closed the door that the time to reach the pirates was cut from days to mere hours. And that was even factoring in the storm that they were currently headed through.
Law felt that he should have been pleased, but there was a growing sense of unease in that place in his mind where all the doubt began to linger, and grow with every passing moment. By the time Law was back in the cabin and resting on the bed, he had no idea that there were more people trying to locate him, and the reveal of the vivre card in his possession really had done nothing but usher the inevitable in sooner.
Had Law been in his right mind, he would have been horrified at the proceedings that had just taken place on the navy ship. But since he wasn't, Law merely had a good rest, although that rest was occasionally interrupted by nightmares, though the dark haired man couldn't grasp what they were about. Only that it was something he should have remembered.
Only...he seemed to have forgotten it.
And Law felt that it was something important.
-x
Having dinner with the Straw Hat crew was a noisy affair, and Shachi was honestly surprised that he and Penguin were getting any answers out of the other pirates for that. Shachi wasn't sure what to make of the whole situation, but he wasn't much surprised at the fact that Law had decided to make a detour to go after something on a marine base. But that led to other questions that didn't really have any answers either.
"But why would Law need whatever it was he was after before meeting up with us?" Penguin asked after a moment of digesting the information they'd just been given.
Shachi felt that his fellow crewmate had a fair question, even if no one had a real good answer to it. The red haired Heart Pirate ate some of the food that was on a plate before him, even if he wasn't really hungry. He was more concerned about the fact that Law was potentially in danger, in addition to having his memories wiped from his mind. "Why wouldn't he let any of you know what it was?" Shachi asked as he looked across the table at whom he believed was one of the saner members of Straw Hat's crew.
Robin.
At least, that was what Shahi felt, based on what he knew of Nico Robin from rumors, and just from how the conversation all of them were currently engaged in. Well, most of them, anyway. The swordsman, Zoro, was busily drinking whatever alcoholic drink was at hand while Brook was fiddling with an instrument. Shachi turned his attention to Robin when the long haired woman spoke up after a moment's thought.
"He insisted that it was something important but wouldn't say anything more until we retrieved it. He didn't seem to believe that that information was necessary, if on the off chance we were unable to acquire it." Robin commented, looking thoughtful. "Perhaps it was a new weapon of some kind that the navy developed." A pause. "Hopefully no one had been injured by it if that was the case."
"Don't say stuff like that!" Usopp said from where he was seated. "I already have my leg to worry about. I don't want to worry about the navy having a new weapon!"
Sanji passed by with some empty plates and slapped the sniper's leg above the bandages. "You're fine. It wasn't that big of a wound. You'll be fine in no time at all."
"Says the person who can kick through solid objects."
Penguin had watched the exchange, before he gave a minute shake of his head and turned to Robin. "If it was a weapon, the navy wouldn't have been careless enough to disclose the information until they were ready."
"We won't know until we can ask Law ourselves." Nami said, before Robin could reply. "And we'll see if he thinks that it was worth what has happened so far, especially to himself."
"Do you think he would have been fine if he ate some meat?" Luffy asked from where he was steadily devouring any food within reach even from his crew's plates. Especially if they didn't defend it carefully enough.
Usopp had, in fact, booby trapped some of the food with hot pepper should Luffy try and take it.
Shachi felt that the conversation had come to a dead end, because they were still uncertain as to what Law had had in mind, and that his captain had kept quiet about it for whatever reason. Shachi still couldn't believe Luffy's insistence that that Law couldn't remember any of them when they'd first entered the galley. Not even when the rest of Luffy's crew had backed him up and said that it was a marine's Devil Fruit that was responsible for Law's condition. It was hard to fathom that Law would have allowed himself to be attacked by a marine in the first place. And then actually let them to get close enough to use Devil Fruit powers on him. It seemed too careless for Law to have actually done, even if it was true.
They all might have continued to talk awhile longer, though whether it would have been informative or not was interrupted by Franky calling out from outside the cabin. The shipwright had been keeping watch while everyone else discussed things together.
"Marines are headed our way! There are two more ships his time around!"
-x
Law had his orders and he knew exactly what he had to do. It would be a simple thing for him to utilize his powers in order to cripple the pirate ships that they were zeroing in on. What might become a problem would be the retaliation from the pirates that might distract him from his tasks.
"You know what you are to do?"
The dark haired man shouldered his nodachi and cast a glance over his shoulder to the marine that had spoken, before he nodded. Law didn't feel the need to say anything because for some reason, he found the other man...disquieting, for whatever reason. But Law couldn't place why Fall made him uneasy. He just did. Therefore, Law would not think about it because it was not something that was important right now. Finding a way to incapacitate the pirates was. He could think about the uneasy feeling he got around the vice admiral another time.
Fall appeared to be appeased despite the lack of response as he moved away. It was likely because Law had provided the vivre card to one of the pirate ships that he didn't know how he'd come across it. But why else would the dark haired man have had it if not by obtaining it from a pirate in a previous fight?
Law turned his eyes to the two pirate ships in the distance as the vice admiral behind him began to shout orders to the other marines milling about on deck. Law wondered why there was so much fuss over these pirates. It wasn't like there were a lot more of them that needed to be dealt with at some point or another. What made these pirates so special that they needed to be taken care of sooner rather than later? The dark haired man tapped his fingers impatiently against the sheathe of his blade as the navy ships drew closer and closer until they were strategically positioned. Law moved into action as soon as he gaged that he was close enough to use his Devil Fruit powers effectively.
"Room."
As the marines began to open fire on the two pirate ships, Law began to warp himself closer and closer to his chosen target. Law appeared in place of a barrel on the navy ship nearest to the larger of the two pirate ships. The dark haired man drew his blade, and, maintaining his room, swung the blade through the air as if to cut the mast of the ship. That would certainly stop the pirates from fleeing this time.
The slash, however, was halted by a green haired swordsman on the deck.
Law wasn't surprised that the first attack he had launched had little effect. It wouldn't be any fun if this was over too fast. Law was about to swing his nodachi again when he heard shouting and glanced to the left of the swordsman. There were two people on the deck that were the source of the sound, but Law was so focused on what he was doing that he initially dismissed them as he raised his nodachi again and launched an attack. This time, it hit, as the swordsman wasn't able to get there in time to stop it. Law managed to break up the deck a bit with the attack. Pleased that he had made a hit, Law was about to do so again, when he paused briefly mid attack as the same two people shouted at him again.
"Captain!"
"Law! Stop it! What are you doing?"
"Those are marines!"
Law hesitated swinging his blade as he looked at the people shouting at him more closely. They had said his name, and the two men on the deck of Straw Hat Luffy's ship appeared to have insignias on their outfits that looked exactly like his.
Exactly...like his.
Wait.
Law stayed in place as he stared at the other people and wondered if he should not attack them if they were on his side. It just didn't seem right to attack them. Why would he hurt them? Weren't they...didn't they mean something to him? The dark haired man just couldn't recall how.
Why couldn't he remember?
Law faltered on the deck as canon fire hit the marine ship he was on, and automatically raised his blade to slice through an incoming canon. The thought that Law had had before was now gone, and all the pirates were targets. All of them. Why did he even think that he could treat any of them differently? It was obviously a ploy to dress with similar marks as he himself wore. To distract him. To get him to lower his guard.
That was all. There was no need to worry any further. Law had things under control again.
The dark haired man used the next several minutes to break up the crew from one another on the deck of the closest pirate ship, injuring some of them in the process. Though it was mainly due to the shrapnel of the ship than his blade that had caused the wounds. And the pirates had been outside of his room. The next several moments were a confused mess, as suddenly Law had to focus on the green haired swordsman. The pirate was suddenly before him and had wasted no time in locking blades with his nodachi. Law merely warped elsewhere out of the way and saw that the two pirate ships were suddenly just gone.
How had that happened?
How had they managed to escape?
Hadn't he caused enough damage to cripple the ships?
Law turned and saw that while the pirates had escaped with their ships, the attack hadn't been for nothing. There had been six pirates that had been captured, the green haired swordsman among them, and...
Law stumbled again, though this time it was because Straw Hat Luffy had sideswiped the vice admiral on another ship. Law raised his hand and twisted it.
"Shambles."
Fall and Luffy were suddenly on the same deck as Law, and surrounded by a whole lot more marines. There was going to be no escape for Straw Hat unless he took all of them out. Much to Law's surprise, Luffy didn't even seem to care that he was surrounded as he shouted at him instead.
"Law!"
The dark haired man didn't automatically react to Luffy's call, or the fact that being called his name by the pirate seemed...wrong. As if he was used to being called something else by Straw Hat. But even as the dark haired man pondered things in his confusion, Straw Hat was distracted by Law for some reason or another, and it gave the marines time to shoot him with sea stone and miraculously the shot shackles connected and wrapped around Luffy, limiting his movements as well as his use of his Devil Fruit power.
"Law!"
The dark haired man sucked in a sharp breath as Luffy threw himself at Fall, and briefly touched the vice admiral with the shackles.
It was enough to break the control Fall had over Law's memories.
Horror spread through Law as he realized with a jolt what he had been doing. Shachi...Penguin...were they all right? Had they been hurt? He'd seen one of them on this ship along with Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji. What was going to happen to them? Among that horror was a bit of annoyance. If Luffy knew his name why didn't he just call him that instead of the garbled version of 'Trafalgar?'
That hesitation was all that was needed for Fall to get close to the Surgeon of Death to hit him with his Devil Fruit powers again.
Law desperately attempted to fight back against the powers but he was unsuccessful as he was beaten down into submission. Suddenly, the dark haired man felt that he had to wait to be told what to do. That he wasn't to do anything until he was told to do so. And he wasn't to take anything the pirates said to him seriously.
"Hey! What are you doing? Snap out of it!"
Law stared blankly at Straw Hat Luffy, wondering what the pirate was talking about. There was nothing for him to snap out of, yet there was a lingering speck of doubt that remained as Straw Hat was forcefully dragged off to be taken to the lower deck with the other pirates who had been captured. But Law couldn't place the source of that doubt, and wasn't given time to.
"Trafalgar Law, come with me."
The dark haired man followed along after Fall as they returned to the other man's ship, making use of Law's Devil Fruit powers. Law made no comment of why Fall had him go into a cell like a criminal as soon as they were in the lower level of the ship. At least until Law was locked in. There was definitely something fishy about all of this...but what?
"Thank you for your help. It has been most useful." Fall's voice was snide as he walked away. "Depending on how everything turns out, perhaps you'll assist us again. It would be very convenient to capture those pirates that have managed to escape."
Law heard the door to the upper deck close, before all of his memories rushed back to him as Fall released him from his powers. The weight of everything that had happened, and what might happen, crashed down over Law. The dark haired Heart Pirate clutched his nodachi close, his mind swirling between horror and fury.
What had he done?
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A/N: Shorter chapters around this length or less will make it easier for me to try to update on a more frequent basis. And this is a kind of weird segwey chapter, if it seems a bit abrupt in places.