"You never explained how you knew Fire Fist-ya."

"Hm?" Strauss glanced up from where she had been organizing files. "Does that really matter?"

Law reclined back on a chair flipping through a ring binder. "Considering we are about to sail into what can only be described as the most dangerous location on this side of the Red Line, I would say yes. It does matter."

"True. But it isn't as if my connection with him would change anything." Taking a step back, she took a moment to admire her handiwork. "I owed him a favour so here I am repaying it. That's all there is to it really."

Law's… unique filing system took some getting used to. Especially since he seemed to consider the floor as an appropriate storage device. The small perfectionist inside of her really wanted to properly stack them on shelves with some hierarchy or order to them, but that wasn't her call. This was Law's space, so she would respect his habits. If he was used to this, then he was used to it. No two ways about it.

Otherwise she may find her head detached from her body and sent to play with the fishes.

"You don't take me as the kind of fool who would sacrifice their life for someone they barely knew, even for a so called favour. There must be something more behind your actions. Oh." A tattooed hand gestured in the air. "Can you get me the info on-"

Without even blinking she slid the Tarai Current folder into his grip.

"Perfect."

"Then I guess I'm a fool." Strauss leant back against the wall, close enough to the door to give Law some space and far enough away that she could still keep an eye on him. "Look, I'm not entirely sure what you're expecting to hear from me, but it's honestly not that big a deal. Ace did me a massive solid getting from Alabasta to Water 7… with a few fun hijinks along the way." She winced. "But we still ended up getting pretty close. You can't spend so much time in a small space with someone without feeling attached to them."

"I see." Law's finger froze over a line of text, tapping idly on the offending word. "So there really is no other connection between you and Fire Fist-ya?"

"No. Why?"

"Oh I was considering other possibilities." Reaching for a small pad of paper he began to make a few notes. "For such a large world, it can seem incredibly small sometimes. Perhaps you were long lost siblings… lovers… childhood friends… etcetera."

"You have a very wild imagination."

"I prefer to think of it as preparing for every eventuality. Hmm… Now I need the-"

'Gates of Justice' were removed from the shelves and placed in the outstretched hand.

"Thank you. But please stop doing that."

"Did I get the wrong file."

"No." He begrudgingly admitted. "However I feel slightly unnerved that you seem to know precisely what file I need before I do myself."

"Point taken." Strauss picked her own folder off the floor and began thumbing through the pages. "I wasn't trying to be creepy. But I figured that from there were only so many logical topics you could go to from researching the Tarai Current. And since the Marineford and Impel Down files are on your desk I went for the next likely logic jump."

"Impressive…" Flicking to the page he wanted, Law quickly read the first few words and let out a loud hiss. "This, on the other hand, is problematic."

She arched a brow. "How so?"

"Simply speaking, it is unlikely we can rescue Fire Fist-ya from Impel Down itself. There is so much that is unknown about the prison, and very little chance that we can sneak in. Which means we have to hope for that war at Marineford. Bepo-ya was hoping to use the Tarai Current to get us there as fast as possible, however it seems as if the Gates of Justice stretch all the way to the sea floor." He groaned, leaning back in his chair and pinching the brow of his nose. "Which means that it is impossible to use the Polar Tang to go under the Gates themselves."

"So we would have to wait for another ship to open the gates in order to pass through?"

"Exactly. It's completely up to chance." He scowled. "And I don't like chance."

"But it wouldn't be up to chance though."

"Hm?" Law cocked his head curiously. "Do you know something I don't."

"Well isn't there going to be at least one Marine ship that will pass through the Gates of Justice by Impel Down in the near distant future?"

Realisation shot through him faster than a bullet. "The ship that will be escorting Fire Fist-ya…"

"Do you think that will be enough?" She raised her head from the file. "It won't give us much time, and the currents below will make it harder for us to pinpoint their location. There are also the Sea Kings to worry about."

"You can leave the Sea Kings to me." A glimmer of a smirk flickered over his face. "I made a deal to help you rescue Fire Fist-ya, so I will do everything in my power to fulfill that."

Strauss snorted, a brief smile pulling at her lips. "I appreciate it Law. You have my thanks."

"If that's the case, why don't you get me another coffee?"

"No chance. It's 4 in the morning and you have had enough caffeine to kill a horse. You're going to bed, and I'm making sure of it."

"I think better when it's late at night."

"I don't care. You need to sleep, otherwise I'll bring out the Sea Prism."

"How the hell did you get Sea Prism?"

"Oh you have no idea what Shachi gets up to in his free time, do you?"

"DO I WHAT?!"

.

"Stra… rau…. Stra….ss…"

Urgh. She winced, the obnoxiously bright light boring holes right through her eyes. What the hell had… happened? What was going on?

"Strauss?" A fuzzy blob leaned over her face. "Strauss! You're finally up! Thank goodness, I was worried for a moment there."

"Cho-pper?"

"E-easy now!" She felt the ground spin beneath her as she sat upright, registering the horrible green glow of the lobby research room. "You've lost some blood… so take things slow for now."

"I can't." Her eyes narrowed, hand reaching to her chest. "Law's in trouble."

Chopper's nose twitched. "I know, you were saying that when you were undergoing muscle spasms. But what even was that?! You were flailing around so much and seemed like you were in so much pain… do you have some sort of disease or something? I'm pretty sure I can cure it-"

"No." With a grunt, Strauss forced herself to her feet. "That won't be necessary. Curing this thing is… pretty difficult."

If she had felt something like that, there was nothing else it could be. Deep down she sighed an immense sigh of gratitude that he'd had the foresight to think of contingencies like this one. It may have just saved both their lives.

"We need to go."

"Huh?" Chopper stopped rummaging through his bag. "But you may relapse, and I haven't got the antidote yet-"

"Then we'll research the antidote and leave." Strauss tested her balance carefully, relief rushing through when it became clear she could still fight at over half strength. "But we need to get out of here as soon as we can. We've been compromised."

"Compro…" He shot to his very tiny feet. "So they know we're here?! That you guys smuggled me in?!"

"Not sure if they know that much…" Whipping her head around, Strauss began trying to remember those plans Law had smuggled her. Where the cameras were. Where security doors and airlocks were placed. "But they've figured out that Law and I have betrayed them. So if people see me they'll attack."

"And you know this because?"

"Long story. Not enough time to tell it." Strauss just inched closer to the door, forcibly ajar because of the number of times Caesar went in and out of it, and peered out over the rest of the room. "Just get researching already!"

"O-Okay!"

Across the room the steel prisoner cage was being reeled into view, normally only appearing as part of the floor. She grimaced. That couldn't be good. Her fears were realised mere moments later when several suited henchmen entered the room with four bodies slung over their shoulders, and a fifth so large and heavy that it had to be carried by six people by themselves.

Luffy, Robin, Tashigi, Smoker, and (the largest) Franky. All bound up in coils and coils of chain and Sea Prism handcuffs behind their backs. And all utterly unconscious.

God dammit!

Instinctively she crouched as low as she could to the ground, letting the natural shadow of the door attempt to cover her as she peered around. Not for the first time, she cursed herself for having such pale hair. It made hiding that much more difficult.

Thankfully, the visors on those gas-suits were narrow enough that she didn't need to have bothered. After depositing their captives in the cage and locking the door (an external command. She wouldn't be able to open that thing), they marched straight out of the room again without a second glance.

Not good. Not good at all.

At least they didn't look that bad? Luffy didn't seem to have any obvious injuries on him, nor did the rest of his crew for that matter. Tashigi and Smoker seemed… different. It was hard to tell without talking to them and seeing their eyes, but the way they dressed had changed. Smoker's jacket was buckled a little tighter and his goggles removed… while Tashigi had suddenly opted for the 'no buttons' approach… which, although they might have changed in the years she'd met them, didn't exactly seem like them.

Law. It had to be. So that's what he meant when he said he dealt with them… she should have known.

"Progress?"

"I'm almost done." Chopper pushed the wooden stool to the side to reach a taller than average filing cabinet. "I've found something that can help me find a cure, but I need some sedatives before I can continue any further." A sheepish smile flickered over his face. "You wouldn't happen to know where they are do you?"

"Unfortunately, no." She grimaced. "No one's ever allowed in here apart from Caesar, so I never got a chance to snoop around."

"Ah… I thought that might be the case. Oh well then, I'll keep searching."

Strauss nodded briefly, "Keep things as quiet as possible. There's movement outside."

"Got it!"

Barely a few seconds later, the door opened once again to let three figures move into the light… one slumped over another's shoulder. Strauss stifled a hiss.

So he'd been right. As always.

Monet was grinning like never before, a slight spring in her step as she moved to bind Law in chains and deposit him alongside the others in the chain. The other man, however, Strauss didn't recognise. He was tall, not as tall as others she'd met but tall for a regular man, and sported a tight buzz cut with artistic beard lines. Most strangely of all though… was the piece of burger slapped on the side of his face. It was impressive how a piece of steak could stick so well…

Despite that though, she had a strange feeling that she shouldn't cross that man. There was something about him… in the way he stood and held himself… that just made her feel as if it would be a losing battle from the very beginning.

Hopefully he couldn't sense her here.

"Hey. Strauss."

The hushed whisper still sent shivers down her spine. Whipping her head around, she held a single finger to her lips. Chopper's face paled (or at least tried to under all that fur) and he nodded in understanding. Tiptoeing forwards he shoved his blue satchel into her face, revealing the numerous vials that clinked within.

Her eyes widened, then steeled themselves back with focus. Thumb and forefinger touching, she arched a brow. You good to go?

One sharp nod. Yeah.

Perfect.

"You said there was at least one more we need to capture, correct?"

"Indeed," Monet crooned. "Miss Valentino Strauss, Law's right hand girl."

Strauss felt her entire body freeze.

"You said she was in here before, and now there's no one here. Do you think she's onto us?"

"I don't see why she would. If her captain had no idea you were coming, then she probably didn't either. Ah-" Monet caught herself, giggling under her breath- "That was before now though. Because I believe she's listening in on this very conversation."

Fuck.

She… how did she… Strauss glanced down, only to see few tiny snowflakes drifting through the air that for some reason… didn't seem to melt. She hissed. That sneaky little harpy…

"Chopper?"

He raised his head. "Mhm?"

"Keep quiet. Keep your head down. Keep hidden. And most importantly… don't help anyone."

"Uh huh okay…" trailing off, his nose furrowed. "Wait. No! What do you mean not help anyone?! I'm a doctor it's my job to help people?!"

"Just do as I said." Cautiously Strauss rose to her feet, back still pressed against the wall. "We can take care of ourselves, so don't worry about us."

"Wait, Strauss, what are you-"

"Apologies for the late introduction." Strauss stalked out of the darkened room and properly moved herself into the harsh artificial light. "I heard a stranger coming and decided to hide. Many thanks for the present by the way, Monet." She deliberately flicked the snowflake off her shoulder.

"Oh you're quite welcome." The delicate piece of snow spiralled through the air, whooshing back to reconnect with Monet's eye. "You forgive me, don't you? I just couldn't trust whether you and your captain were with us or not."

"No, no." Strauss's brow furrowed. "It's my fault for not thinking of it sooner."

"I don't believe you've met Vergo have you?" She gestured with a wing to the tall man next to her. "He's one of Joker's subordinates."

Vergo himself didn't so much as flinch. "I was sent here to monitor Caesar and now have to clean up this mess. "

"I take it that mess includes me?"

The silence was suffocating. Every inch of air in the room was pressing down on her, squeezing and compressing her in ways that genuinely made her want to vomit.

"It depends," Vergo eventually droned. "Do you wish to see Law dead or not."

"I'm indifferent. He can die or not, nothing to do with me." Moving herself between the crack of the door, Strauss leant herself back against the wall. "I don't really care one way or the other."

"Is that so?" Monet cocked her head, tapping a finger mockingly against her chin. "But I thought the two of you had something truly special going on."

Strauss shrugged, hopefully looking as indifferent as possible. "I'm the only one on his crew who he can have an intelligent conversation with. Of course he appreciates my company. I owed him a favour so I stuck around, that's the extent of our relationship."

Silence once again. Just as bad as the last.

"I see. If that's the case-" Sliding a hand into his pocket, Vergo produced a fleshy, throbbing cube and raised it up to eye level- "Then you wouldn't mind if we kill him, right?"

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god… could they hear how fast her heart was beating? Since she could. She could actively feel it beat faster and faster with every passing second.

There it was. The heart. The one that had caused all this mess. Thumping away in the little flesh cube Law had cut around it. Her own chest pounded away, all the more present thanks to the very visible prompt right before her.

Vergo's fingers squeezed.

Strauss schooled her expression as her chest instinctively convulsed. It wasn't anything to menacing, just as if her entire insides were getting twisted into metaphorical knots. She tasted bile at the back of the throat, and hastily swallowed it back.

The constant beating in her chest thudded. And thudded. And thudded. But still she never let the panic show on her face.

All because of what might happen if that heart was squeezed too far.

"Vergo."

Even through the effort of keeping her face steady, Strauss still noticed the slight glimpse of alarm in Monet's eyes. Alarm that was very, very, reassuring to see.

If she was panicked, then either there was somewhere they needed to be or she didn't want Law dead. Monet was a very punctual and organized person, so it couldn't be the former. Which meant that she didn't want Law dead. If she didn't want Law dead, there was still a reason for him to be alive. If there was a reason for him to be alive, then all their threats concerning his safety were null and void.

A small bloom of hope opened up inside of her.

Although she had no chance of physically beating them, she had the upper hand in this situation.

"You must be a heartless person-" Vergo stopped squeezing, and Strauss felt the tension in her chest begin to dissipate- "to not even be bothered by the potential death of your captain."

"As I said…" She hated that her voice wavered a little at the end. "I don't care one way or the other."

He snorted, the sound harsh and blunt. "Pity. Joker would have appreciated a subordinate like you."

Strauss recalled all she could about what Law had told her about the man. The scrutiny. The sadistic behaviour. The lack of any form of empathy, no matter how small. She sucked in a breath, considering her options. Then met his gaze head on.

"No I don't believe he would. Flurry Step."

And then she was gone. Leaving only a swathe of curses and muffled giggles in her wake.

"RUUUUUUN!"

Sanji grimaced, arms and legs pumping as hard as physically possible to get away from that terrifying pink… axolotl… slime… blob… thing…? Whatever the hell it was. He was running away from that. And if he was being honest, it just felt weird.

As much as he loved being in his wonderful Nami-san's body, it wasn't as defined or toned as the one he was used to. Her leg muscles weren't so built, and her arms weren't as strong. Though he had always been amazed by the way the gorgeous Nami-san fought, he couldn't help but have a newfound appreciation for her craft.

Even through all this chaos, a memory came unbidden to the forefront of his mind. That day when he had fought Mr 2 head to head, and found out for the first time that Strauss had come to the Grand Line. Now he actually felt some sympathy for the guy… it wasn't easy to fight in a body that wasn't your own.

And that thought just led to…

God fucking dammit.

He still didn't know why she'd punched him. Not like that.

Had he done something wrong? Yeah, he may have overreacted a little bit seeing her next to that bastard… but could she blame him? He had always thought that the two of them had some sort of special connection with each other, so to find out that she was on someone else's crew? It stung. It really stung.

Sanji ground his teeth down onto his unlit cigarette.

Gah he was being so… selfish. How the hell could he even think like that?! This was the first time he'd seen her in what? Two years? More like three at this point? And he'd just… lost it. That punch had been well deserved. Even if it felt more like a blow to his pride than anything else.

"Oi curly brow!" The annoying buffoon gasped next to him. "Quit daydreaming or we'll leave you behind."

"Zoro!" Brook shrieked. "How could you say such a thing?! Nami-san's panties would be lost forever!"

"I'd be more worried about our lives than her panties right now you idiot!"

"I have to agree with Mr Swordsman." The newly reformed Samurai, 'Foxfire' Kin'emon (or so he called himself) grunted with the strain of running. "We have no knowledge of what will occur if we get consumed by that great gel monster, which such implies that we each require to move with as much speed as our limbs will grant us!"

"Yeah…" Sanji grimaced, biting back the insults on the tip of his tongue. They were right. He knew that. Running really should be the main priority right now. But at the same time… his head couldn't help but wander. And wonder.

He'd missed her… so much. And hadn't realised how much until she was right there. Standing before him with that familiar collected expression on her face. So different and yet…

Exactly the same.

The pace of his footsteps in the snow increased. And increased again. Until he wasn't even sure Nami's body could keep up with the speed.

He was going to get back there and talk to her. Apologise to her. Even if it was the last thing he did!

Strauss ran and ran and ran as fast as her feet could take her, weaving through the various corridors and testing rooms faster than the eye could see. She could remember Vergo's voice yelling out behind her, mentioning something about 'shave', but she paid it no mind. Even when she had heard footsteps behind her right on her tail, she paid it no mind. She was faster. She had to be.

She had to be.

Or she was dead. Plain and simple.

She could have stayed behind and pretended to play along, but it wouldn't have worked forever. The moment Vergo had mentioned Joker (or as she knew him, Doflamingo), she knew the jig was up. There was no way he would have mentioned something as definitive as that otherwise.

Finally taking a moment to glance behind, she could tell that no one was following her. It seemed as if Vergo had given up on following her, possibly by choice or possibly because he had better things to do than tie up loose ends. But that didn't mean she was out of the woods yet. If Law was captured, then the entire base would consider her their enemy. Which meant she couldn't trust anyone.

Strauss ducked into a nearby room to catch her breath. There was no use wasting her energy if people weren't actively chasing her. She didn't have any tracking device they shouldn't have any idea where she was. And she would probably be able to weave around the guards if she timed her Flurry Step correctly.

This was a matter of patience. Patience for figuring out whatever the hell Law had up his sleeve. So what she should do was take a moment and think. Work through his logic.

There was a 2 in 5 chance he was in regular handcuffs. Strauss remembered swapping them out over a month ago. Smoker had a devil fruit, as did Luffy and Robin, who could easily use their abilities to escape if they were able to… She wasn't great at maths, but even she could tell that there was greater than 50% chance that at least one of them didn't have Sea Prism handcuffs. So they'd probably be fine. Probably…

So what would he want her to do-

Urkk!

All of a sudden the pain resurfaced in her chest, roiling away like a steaming pit of fleshy acid. Not again… Her hand clawed up, gouging out the exact spot the torture stemmed from. Dig it out… dig it out… But it never worked.

Lay low. Yeah. That was probably her best bet right now. She didn't want this to flare up while she was in combat or the middle of a Flurry Step. It wouldn't end well.

Another bout, this one far more more visceral and violent than anything she'd ever felt before in her entire life. Strauss doubled over, screams choking up in her throat. She couldn't make a sound she would be caught otherwise but it hurt so damn much and her mouth was open but there was no noise or was there she couldn't hear because her ears were ringing over and over again and she couldn't breath and couldn't think and it just hurt so damn much it hurt it hurt it…

It was gone. Without a single trace. Leaving her to sit there, panting. Buckets of previously stifled sweat dripping down her brow.

Just her. In the dark. Alone.

A shaky hand wiped across her glistening forehead. This… this was pathetic. Outright pathetic. She couldn't be like this. Not here. Not now. There were too many things she still needed to do. Too many words that needed to be said.

She had to apologise to… to…

Grunting, Strauss heaved herself back to her feet. The artificial air tasted terrible now. So musty and fake. What she wouldn't give for that warm sea air… drifting in off the East Blue. That smell always had a way of making her feel calm. But she wasn't in the East Blue. She was somewhere far, far more dangerous.

Her eyes narrowed.

And she would do what it took to make sure she'd come out on top.

"Flurry… Step…"

The room was empty. Just as it had always been.

A/N

Hey everyone! Another chapter and another step towards the big reunion :) Not completely happy with this one but I felt it's a necessary one. Otherwise there would be a massive jump and no context for what's happened. Thank you all so much for your love and support, you all are amazing amazing people and I really hope you stay safe in the present times.

Hope you all stay safe and happy :)