"Hey, what's that?" Shachi points up at a silhouette sinking to the bottom of the sea. Hakugan steers the Polar Tang to a halt before they collide with the mysterious object. As the entity grows closer to the headlights, the body of a fish-man becomes visible. His blood trails off his wounds as his body sinks closer to the ocean floor.
"Get him on the deck, quickly." Law demands. The masked crewmate lowers the submarine without hesitation as the body slowly descends onto the wooden deck above them. After they hear a quiet thump, they knew he was on the deck.
"Rapid ascension! There may be time to save him," the Captain orders as he hastily stomps toward the exit. As they ascend toward the surface, the light of the submarine turns off once the sun's rays grow brighter. Within seconds, the Polar Tang breaks the soft waves above. Law whips the large door open and rushes to the fish-man. Uni and Clione follow him to help assess the injuries the stranger may have.
They are met with a limp body facing downward on the deck as his blood soaks into the wood. Next to him is a big yellow newsboy hat with blue spots and a blue brim. His skin is a muted red with big brown splotches all over his torso, and there are multiple rings on his fingers on both hands. He has torn shorts with peacock feathers on the pockets, and his shirt seems to hide the blood, as it is nearly the same color.
They carefully flip him over, and Law leans his ear to his mouth. The wounds drip heavily with blood, and his open shirt reveals three bloody holes; one on his shoulder, one on his collarbone, and one in his stomach. It's faint, but a soft breath tickles Law's ear.
"Looks like bullet wounds," Clione states as he prepares the first aid kit he brought.
"And one stab wound. We'll have to act fast. His killer could still be around. Room," Law slightly unsheathes his sword. "Scan."
As he moves the sword from one side to the other, he watches intently as the aura of the sword reveals the fish-man's insides. The collarbone wound glows, indicating something is lodged in there. He gestures for Clione to bring the disinfectant and plug the holes in with a spongy material. As he pours the liquid into a cloth, he dabs the area of the wound, then puts the sponge into the holes to soak the blood.
"This guy is lucky he didn't get hit anywhere vital," Law says as he heads to the entrance of the submarine. "Once you stop the bleeding, send him to medbay so we can leave."
"D... el... Where..." the fish-man coughs out. He winces at the pain as Clione and Uni try to hold him down.
"Relax, save your questions after you've rested. We'll drop you off at a nearby island, and we can go our separate ways," Law says, but he doesn't listen.
"No... I must.. find Del."
Law walks back and kneels by the fish-man. "Look, whoever attacked you probably killed your friend. We can't stay here unless you want your killer to finish the job."
"Captain!" Penguin yells from the stairs of the door. "Radar picked up two ships. One of them is a Marine ship. Both appear to be in bad shape."
"Any survivors?" Law asks.
"I'm not sure. The other ship is docked on a nearby island." He points west toward the smoke. On the other side was the Marine ship, halfway submerged in water. It doesn't appear to be a lot of smoke, meaning the boat is small. Law closes his eyes to think; he didn't want to be involved in someone else's quarrel, especially with Marines involved, but what kind of doctor would he be if he ignored those needing help? A pull on his jacket breaks him of his thoughts as the large fish-man pulls him closer. His bulging eyes stare into Law's, and he grits his sharp teeth.
"You... Search that island..." he wheezes. "Find Del... Do it before..."
"Hold on a sec. I'm already using up supplies on you, stranger. Do you have anything in return for a favor?" Law grips the blotchy red hand, attempting to pull it off, but the fish-man's inhuman grip keeps ahold of his jacket. He looks away hesitantly, and he shakes his head softly.
"The book... it's got secrets..." he says in desperation. His breathing becomes unstable as his vision of the Captain blurs through his tears. "Find Del, and you'll find the book."
After the fish-man informs Law, he finally collapses and passes out from the pain.
"Captain, a fleet of Marines are heading this way." Penguin chimes in while looking through his binoculars.
"How far away?" he sighs.
"About half an hour, maybe less if the wind picks up."
Law stands up and rushes into the submarine as Kaiba zooms by with a mop and scrubs to clean the blood.
"Ikkaku, Bepo!"
"Aye, Captain!" the two yell in unison.
"Prepare a search and rescue on the nearby island. Look for any books that may stand out to you too." He orders. "I'll have Hakugan search around the island underwater. We'll rendezvous on the beach we drop you off at."
"Yes sir!" They salute as Law orders his crew to the medbay to prepare for more patients.
The docked ship is small compared to any other pirate ship, it was hardly the size of the Polar Tang itself, but the heat and the ash proved to be a nuisance for the two crew members. Ikkaku and Bepo search around the area of the wreck. The polar bear sniffs the air, but his nose fills with hot ash. They search close by the boat and along the rocks, but there's not a person in sight.
"I'm sorry, I can't smell anything with the fire nearby." He whines.
"Then let's move on. Captain should be here soon," Ikkaku runs along where the sea touches the sand. "Look around the forest edge, and I'll stay on the beach."
Bepo nods while beelining to the trees.
'We have 15 minutes left. Even just a book will do if there are no survivors.' She thinks to herself. In the distance, she sees a few barrels and broken wood. She uses a crowbar to open the barrel, revealing nothing but a few fish bones inside. She follows the broken pieces of wood and finds a journal. It doesn't look like anything special. It's leather with a gold lining, and an octopus took up the middle of the cover. Ikakku shook the seawater off in an attempt to dry it off. She opens it to read the contents but only finds a standard captain's log. She flips through the wet pages, careful not to tear the water-damaged paper.
"Not sure if this is the book, but I'll keep it just in case." She wraps it up and places it in a satchel she brought. She scans the beach once more, and something catches her eye this time. Ikkaku sprints toward a small lifeboat. Inside is a person, unconscious, huddling in a fetal position.
"Bepo, I found someone!" She shouts into the tree line. The white bear sticks out his head and rushes over to his crewmate. The waves splash at their feet as the two pull the person out and lay them on the sand. The stranger's clothes are baggy, as if they are multiple sizes too big. Ikakku kneels down and notices them clutching onto something. A worn-out bandana covers most of their features, but upon closer inspection, they notice the person is female.
"She don't look as bad as the other guy," Ikkaku notes. Bepo put his head on her chest, and gave a little nod, indicating she is alive. In her hands is a book. It has a small illustration of a man on a small boat out at sea on the cover.
"You think this is who the fish guy was talking about?" Bepo asks.
"Maybe. Captain said she might have something important." Ikkaku analyzes the object and tilts her head. She moves the unconscious girl's arm for a closer look. "Is that... a storybook?"
"Hold it right there," a voice calls out, and four marines emerge from the forest. They look exhausted, their clothes dripping with seawater, and they point their musket guns toward the two pirates, who raise their hands to prevent them from shooting.
"Step away from the girl."
"Why should we?" The female pirate laughs. "You like spending all of your ammunition on harmless pirates now?" They begin to walk closer, the end of the barrel staring down into the two pirates' eyes.
"You're members of the Heart Pirates, yeah? Wouldn't call you harmless, and neither was she." One of them aimed his gun at the stranger on the sand.
"Look, we don't want any trouble with your Captain, so just leave the girl with us, and we won't bother you." Another tries to keep the peace.
"Yeah, right, like we would trust a marine's promise." Ikakku hisses and stands up to attack. Bepo did the same, doing a crane pose to intimidate the troops.
"So be it. A new fleet is coming to pick us up anyways. It'll be two less pirates to deal with." The marine in front places his finger on the trigger.
Just as they were about to attack, the large yellow submarine emerges from the shore. The marines on land tremble at the sheer size of it, allowing Bepo to swoop up the unconscious girl while they are distracted. As the Polar Tang grows closer, the Marines bring their weapons up quickly and aim their guns at the pirates.
"Listen, if you take that girl, we have no choice but to label you enemies of the World Government." The marine shouts as a final warning.
Law steps out onto the deck. Gazing down at the marines, he lifts his hand.
"Room," the blue aura stretches out to where Ikkaku and Bepo stood. He pulled out three metal balls from his pocket. "Shambles."
The marines' hostages vanish before their eyes. In their place are the three metal balls resting in the sand.
"Don't worry, I'm just doing my job as a doctor," he smirks while tipping his fluffy hat.
Ikkaku and Bepo rush into the submarine, their captain tailing behind as he ignores the marines' shouts and threats.
Just as the fleet of marine ships approaches, Law speaks into the baby intercom snail by the door, ordering the masked crewmate to submerge underwater again. As they sink lower into the ocean waves, the marine ships shoot their canons blindly into the sea, nearly missing the Polar Tang as it goes deeper into the water.
"Sir, you're just gonna let them chase us?" Shachi asks. He flinches as the canons and bullets rip past the submarine. As he follows his captain into the medbay, the sound of chaos begins to dwindle.
"I have patients to care for and not enough supplies if we stay and fight." Law turns on the faucet in the medbay and quickly washes his hands. He grabs a pair of gloves and stretches them over his tattoos.
"Kurage, take the book and put it in my office. Clione, what's the status of the fish-man?"
"The bullet and stab wounds are cleaned and ready for stitching. His breathing is stable, but his skin is beginning to dry out." The hooded man wipes his brow.
"Attach an IV to him. That should help keep him from drying out completely", Law says as he grabs his stitching kit. He begins to disinfect the needle but notices his crewmate struggle with acquiring the book.
"Damn, kid won't let go," The man with the twin braids starts to peel each finger off, then flinches when a hand grips his wrist.
The girl's brows twitched and furrowed. She remains on her back, and her eyes open slightly, squinting intensely at Kurage. She doesn't make a sound other than a quiet grunt as she shifts her arm to cover the book. Her breath becomes uneven as she tightens her grip around the man's wrist, and her eyes dart back and forth around the room.
"Oi, stranger." Law calls out in a calm but stern tone. He lowers himself at eye level as she side-eyes him. "I take it you're Del, the one with the book? I'm trying to help you and your friend, but I can't if you don't let us. Give him the book, and everything will be okay."
He keeps eye contact long enough until the girl's breathing slows down and her brows soften. She looks around again, noticing the doctor's equipment beside her. She sees the fish-man in his bed, the monitor beside him steadily beeping. Tears begin to fall from her cheeks, and with one heavy breath, she closes her eyes, and her grip eases off the book. Kurage quickly took it and ran to the captain's quarters.
"I need everyone to leave the medbay, Ikkaku, you be my nurse for today." Law walks over to the cabinet and grabs swabs and disinfectant. He places it on a tray, along with a pair of scissors, and motions for the female to stand beside him.
"While I patch up the fish-man, I need you to check for any fatal wounds." he hands her the scissor. "She has a lot of layers on. You may need to cut her pants and shirt for access. You think you can handle it?"
"You can count on me, captain," she gives him a reassuring grin as he closes the bed curtain for privacy. He grabs the roll of stitching and unravels it. There was only so much left, but Law knew it would be enough.
"This book better be worth the trouble." he sighs and threads the needle.
To be continued...