Okay. This was ridiculous.
"Oi! Chore Boy!"
Strauss ducked her head into the shadow of her cap. "Yessir?"
"There's been a slight altercation on corridor 8B." A hearty hand slapped her on the back so hard she almost doubled over. "Go sort that shit out."
Her hand shot next to her forehead. "Sir yessir!"
She had to give it to Law, he really could be unpredictable when he wanted to be. Hardly anyone would expect someone to sneak into Marineford as a damn cleaner of all people. But it still sucked to have to be out in enemy territory alone like this.
Since she was used to disguising herself, as a boy ironically enough, the others had decided that it'd be safer for her to scope things out by herself while they waited far below the surface in the safety of the Polar Tang. Which made sense… while it still annoyed her.
Perhaps it was because she wasn't just skin and bones anymore, but hiding her figure was proving to be far more difficult than it'd used to be. She wasn't curvy (no sir!), but even she could notice that she was receiving far more raised eyebrows than she was used to getting. But no one had called her out on it so far. So that was something. Maybe they thought she was trying to emasculate herself by putting herself through military training?
She snorted. Whatever worked. As long as they didn't realise that she'd only been working here for a grand total of 2 days she would accept whatever delusion they were concocting for her.
But she couldn't be a cleaner forever. Strauss slunk back against the wall as a crowd of officers marched past in the opposite direction. Sure she could go pretty much everywhere like this, cleaners were seriously underrated, but she wouldn't be able to find anything out about Ace or the execution in this getup. She would have to keep her eyes open for any additional opportunities.
Speaking of keeping her eyes open…
Collecting the cleaning supplies back into her cart, Strauss began pushing it back towards corridor 8B. Wherever the hell that was. And sure enough, there it was. That strange shadow hovering just a few paces behind her.
Wasn't that just lovely. But she wouldn't go down that easy.
She rounded the corner, as nonchalant as she could manage, and instantly slunk back against the wall with her weight low and her poise alert and her hands ready to grab onto the assailant and wring answers out of-
"Seems like you're really on edge huh?"
W-WHAT?!
Words could not describe how startling that sudden voice in her ear was. Damn near caused her a heart attack.
The older man however seemed completely unaware of her predicament, and instead continued to munch through his rice crackers, "I mean you noticed I was following ya. Which isn't exactly normal for a chore boy."
Oh. Her heart plummeted to her boots. No, not just to her boots… it shot down into the greatest depths of the oceans. Since she… How the hell could she have been so damn stupid. Running into a damn Vice Admiral of all people. And not just any Vice Admiral. She'd come face to face with THE Garp the Fist… Mad dog of the Marines.
She was screwed. Completely and utterly screwed. There'd be no way out of this one…
With all the willpower in the world, Strauss twisted her scowl into a more innocent looking frown.
Not that she wouldn't try!
"I'm so sorry Mr Vice Admiral sir!" Her back flattened into the 90 degree bow that she'd perfected at the Baratie. "I was just thinking it was an intruder so I wanted to try and deal with it myself to get noticed sir!"
"Get noticed?" Garp cocked his head thoughtfully.
She had to push further. "Well-" With a deep breath Strauss removed her cap from her head, letting her tucked up ponytail tumble around her neck- "it's so hard for female officers to get recognised in the Marines, Mr Vice Admiral sir. I applied and only ended up cleaning corridors. It may have been foolish of me… but I really wanted to make an impact." She dipped her head. "I'm sorry sir."
"WHA-" Why did that gobsmacked expression seem familiar? "YOU'RE A GIRL?!"
He really hadn't… Ah nevermind it wasn't worth the brain cells. "I thought hiding my gender would help me through the ranks. But…" An overly dramatic sigh. "As you can see, that turned out to not be the case."
"Hmmm…" A large thumb drummed at the side of his face. "This really is complicated..."
Please leave her alone and don't check the records please leave her alone and don't check the records please leave her alone and don't check the-
"Aha I've got it!" Garp's hand clamped onto her shoulder stronger than a vice. "You're gonna come with me!"
Ohhh fuck. Strauss forced a smile onto her face. "A-And why is that sir?"
Garp the Fist grinned, and once again she found herself struck by a strange recollection of seeing that large toothy smile somewhere before. "Cos I like your nerve!"
…
Huh?
.
This was… both amusing and painful to watch. Law's eyes tracked Strauss's movement across the room. One blink and she was over by the door checking there were no breaks in the seal, the next she was gathering extra materials that no one really needed, the next she was back by the door…
She was flustered. Very flustered. He knew her well enough to know that much. She always busied herself in work if her emotions were heightened.
And it wasn't hard to see why. Not when a certain someone's head was whipping around at every last place Strauss was.
Law groaned, head in his hand. He really should talk to her about maintaining a professional attitude. Especially when they were in an alliance with the Straw Hats for god knows how long. It would waste so much energy.
"Oh, TRA-GUY! HEEEEY YOU! OVER HERE!"
Speak of the devil. Law let out another long sigh as he looked down at the two figures below.
"You can do it now!" The woman in Black Leg's body (was it Cat Burglar? He couldn't remember) screeched, keeping a deathly grip on the figure next to her. "Hurry up and switch us back!"
Ah great. Another massive waste of energy towards something uneventful and draining. How perfect. Although… Law's eyes narrowed.
From the little he'd seen of Black Leg, and from what Strauss had told him, he was very fond of the female form. And if that was the case…
Why the hell wasn't he protesting?
The person inside Cat Burglar's body just seemed… blank. As if he was so deeply buried in within himself that any external stimuli just weren't registering. Even despite having his ear screamed off by Cat Burglar herself.
Whatever. Law shrugged. None of this was really his problem, nor did he want it to be. Besides, he flicked his fingers to summon a Room, the noise was getting annoying.
"Shambles."
"I'M BAAAAACK!" The newly restored woman beamed, fingers delightedly prodding at her face. "Oooooh this feels so good! I don't have to be a guy anymore!"
Black Leg merely stared down at his hand. And clenched his fists tightly.
"Hey." All of a sudden Cat Burglar's voice turned murderous. "Sanji. Why am I wearing a different coat?!"
WHAM!
Nope. Law turned away from the chaos. That was none of his problem, "Strauss-ya."
She appeared by his side in an instant, "Yes?"
"Stay focused." His eyes narrowed and slid indicatively towards the squabble on the lower floor. "For this to work I'll need you at your strongest. The two of you can hash out whatever you want if or when we survive. Not before."
At least she had the grace to look ashamed at herself, before squaring up her shoulders once more. "I understand. Thanks for the wakeup call."
"Don't mention it." Seriously, don't. He had enough bullshit to deal with as it was. Anyhow… he stalked forwards towards the large precipice that hung over the floor below, steeling himself for whatever chaos was about to be thrown his way, and cleared his throat.
"Everybody here, listen up!"
Two hours. That was how long Law had given the Marines to escape through R-66 before he would wreak havoc on the laboratory. At that point it was inevitable for at least some gas to seep in… if it hadn't already.
Strauss paused to avoid sprinting straight into a group of patrol men. Right now it was near suicide to be by herself like this, and she was feeling more than a little bit nervous with that new 'Vergo' guy showing up out of nowhere, but Law had given her a mission. A very important one.
Pick up Tony Tony Chopper and make sure he was reunited with his crew. Which only she could really do, considering she was just about fast enough to dart around the guards without them (mostly) noticing. It was tiring, but she had the best shot of finding the little guy before Caesar's forces found him first.
It was a solid plan, and all sounded simple on paper but… She zipped down one corridor and reappeared down the next.
This place was a maze. And a confusing one at that. If you didn't know where to go, it would take literal HOURS to find yourself in the place you wanted to be. Apparently the design had something to do with isolating specific areas in case of a gas leak, but at this point Strauss was near convinced Vegapunk was a psychopath who enjoyed making things far too complicated for their own good. Poor Chopper had no chance.
She sped off once again, trying her hardest to avoid the watchful eyes of the security cameras as she went. Thankfully there weren't many of them; this was a top secret facility after all. It'd be bad if that stuff was leaked to the authorities. Strauss just prayed Chopper hadn't inadvertently got caught on any of them.
Hah! She choked out a laugh. How the hell had she gotten attached to the little guy so fast? He was cute, sure, but that wasn't it. She'd never liked judging by appearances after all.
Another turn, another dead end, turn around, run back.
And now her mind was drifting back to Sanji. Again. Which sucked, especially after Law had gone out of his way to give her that kick up the ass she sorely needed. But staying focused was easier said than done… the mind was a strange and wonderful thing, and sometimes Strauss wondered at the strange connections her own head made between seemingly unrelated topics.
Nope not there. Or there. Or even there. Maybe Chopper was closer to Caesar's Office? Worth a shot.
Had he noticed she was avoiding him? Probably. Or maybe he was just upset about switching out of Nami's body. Even Strauss could see that she was an attractive woman, especially by conventional standards. For someone who worshipped women as much as Sanji… being in a body like that must be a dream come true.
Enough was enough. She should stop those thoughts right there. Before she actually began believing something she'd hate herself for.
The corridors were beginning to blur together. Speeding around the facility this fast made it hard to localise one location within the whole, even though she could still picture the map in her head.
Time to recentre. Strauss skidded to a halt standing in the middle of yet another crossroads. By her estimation she was about 500 metres from Caesar's office, which would only be a short jog's worth of distance… if Chopper hadn't gotten lost beforehand. So this would be a good judge of where he was.
The tapping of her foot echoed along the empty corridors… A metronome to set her head straight.
Where could he be… where could he be… She thought she'd been pretty thorough combing through the corridors, but had they passed each other somewhere? That'd be the worst case scenario. No, the worst case would be if he'd gotten caught. What happened then? Would she have to rescue him, or was it better for her to go back to La-
Her foot paused mid air.
She was being watched.
It had to be someone nearby. There were no cameras in this area, she knew that. And there wasn't anyone directly visible down the corridors around her. Perhaps they hadn't even seen her yet, considering that she hadn't heard any screams or yells. So either her mind was playing tricks on her…
Her knuckles cracked in anticipation.
Or she had to take this guy out before he reported her to the higher up-
"Wait, is that you Miss Strauss?"
Hm? She blinked as a familiar brown figure peaked out from behind a pipe. "Chopper? Why didn't you say anything sooner?"
"Ahaha…" The reindeer scampered forwards, barely able to stay upright due to the pink backpack that was almost twice the size he was. "I heard footsteps and thought I should… That I should… uh… And after what you'd told me last time…" His head slouched forwards. "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to apologise for." Strauss closed the distance between them and scooped him up into her arms. "I was looking for you anyways. You got what you needed?"
"Mhm! Everything I need!" Chopper patted the bulging backpack. "So… can you take me to where the kids are? I really want to treat them as soon as possible. Oh!" His eyes widened. "Last I saw them they were outside! Do… Do you think they're…"
She'd already began shaking her head before he'd even finished. "Not likely. Caesar wouldn't waste experiments like that. Chances are he bought them in before the gas was released, so they're probably safe."
Probably.
"I see." A large sigh of relief and the reindeer sagged over in her arms. "That's good at least. Do you know where they could be?"
"The Biscuits Room would be my best bet…"
Which wasn't all that far come to think of it… They were currently somewhere on the third floor of Building C, and had to get to the Biscuits Room on floor 3 of Building B… She just hoped that the majority of the guards were going towards whatever chaos Straw Hat and the others were causing. Otherwise she wasn't sure she could deal with the usual amount of guards stationed around the kids…
But nevermind. She could get to that if and when she needed to. Strauss glanced down at Chopper in her arms. "I'll take you straight there."
He nodded, "Please hurry, I'm not sure how long they can hold out for!"
"Agreed, Flurry Step!" And she vanished back down the way she came.
"Where did you learn how to do this by the way?" Chopper asked as she skidded down a flight of stairs. "It doesn't seem easy… Think I've only ever seen CP9 do things like that."
CP9? She could vaguely remember an article about how the Straw Hats had taken down Enies Lobby. So CP9 actually existed. That's fun.
"I'm not a member of Cypher Pol if that's what you're asking." Strauss sped through the corridor connecting Buildings C and B, vaguely aware of a siren going off in the distance. Seemed like Caesar was trying to trap everyone by closing the B-A corridor. Hopefully they were alright. "This is something I taught myself. Wasted a lot of time getting my feet stuck in the snow during patrol checks, and that's what I came up with. The speed was a nice side effect."
"Huh. That's… less cool than I thought-"
"Help!"
Strauss froze in her tracks and clapped a hand over Chopper's mouth. He squirmed a little, but managed to settle down once he heard the banging.
It was a heavy sound. So heavy that they could feel the tremors through the wire mesh stairway they were standing on. Almost as if a monster was demanding to be let in.
"I'm scaaaaaaaaaaaared! Let… hrk… Let me outta heeeere!"
Or begging to escape.
Chopper dropped to the ground as they gradually crept closer, "What's a child doing here? Why isn't she with the others?"
"Big brotheeeers! Big sisteeeeers! H-Help! I… I'm so scaaaared!"
"Not sure. But…" Strauss's eyes flitted over the three men in hazmat suits standing before the ginormous girl, then back to the surface she was banging on. "We'd better stop her fast. That door leads straight to the outside. If that breaks, the gas is gonna end us fast."
Chopper's face froze, before twisting back into a determined grimace. "But we'll do it safely!"
"...I'm just going to leave her to you."
"Be quiet!" Caesar's men suddenly cocked their guns "If you don't stop, I'll shoot!"
WHAM!
The three men went flying before they even knew what hit them, soaring far over the railing and down the many stories below. Strauss hummed, letting her haki dissipate from her fingers. Hopefully the fall killed them. Or at least knocked them out. Having three less fighters on the enemy team could help in the long run.
"Hey!" Chopper sprinted forwards in a strange muscular body she'd never seen before, and paused before the child. "Are you alright! You're safe now!"
The girl's large and fuzzy eyes grew even wider, her pupils rapidly dilating and shrinking at such a rapid pace it was almost painful to watch. "M-monster! It's a monsteeeeeeeeeeer!" Her fists began beating against the door. "Lemme oooooooooout!"
"It's the withdrawal symptoms… Miss Strauss! Distract her for a second! Make sure she doesn't hurt herself!"
"Sure." She stepped forwards between the girl and the door, making sure to stare up into those hazy drug filled eyes.
The reaction was instantaneous.
"EEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The giant girl took one step away from the door, then another. "G-Get away! GET AWAY FROM MEEE!"
"Don't worry!" A large fuzzy creature leapt onto her back. "We're gonna help you now! You're doing great!"
Strauss watched as any remaining light in the child's eyes faded, and her heavy eyelids drooped until they were fully closed. She leant around to see Chopper clutching onto her large head of hair. "So… is she cured?"
"No." He removed the syringe with precision. "Just a sedative. It should stave off the withdrawal symptoms for a little bit and buy us some time. Should work any minute now."
"H… Huh…" Two large bright eyes blinked open once again. "What was… What was I doing?"
Chopper shifted position until he balanced on her shoulder, "You were pounding on the door."
"Oh yeah… I was trying to get out of here. Hm?" The large girl finally noticed Strauss standing before her, "Who're you, lady?"
Right. None of the kids had ever seen her before; Caesar had never allowed her to get close. Neither had Law for that matter, but for different reasons entirely. "I'm… a friend. Call me Strauss, pleasure to meet you."
"My name's Mocha… nice to meet you too."
"Mhm, she's here to help. Now then-" Chopper thudded down onto the ground next to her- "We need to go find the other children. Do you know where they are."
"Nuh uh." Mocha shook her head. "I escaped from the others when they were moving us from some place. I think right now everybody's going to the Biscuits Room because they have the candies there."
Oh fu-
"What?! NO!" Chopper bellowed. "You shouldn't eat the candy!"
"Wh…what?"
"There's not enough time to explain fully now. Strauss!"
"Mm?" Her head swivelled to attention.
"You go on up ahead." Chopper's eyes narrowed. "You're way faster than us anyways. Try and throw out all the candy in the Biscuits Room before the other kids get there!"
"Roger!"
Chopper watched as she flurry stepped away into the winding path of corridors and scaffolding, barely even a blur before his eyes. Shrugging on his backpack once again he couldn't help but shake the overwhelming feeling of dread that was pitted in his stomach.
I'm counting on you.
"Mocha!"
She blinked, "Y-yeah!"
"Take me to where the Biscuits Room is now!"
"Hu… Okay!" Mocha squared her shoulders. "I know a shortcut, so leave it to me!"
"Good." Still in Heavy Point, he stormed forwards hot on the giant girl's heels. "Then let's go!"
"Uhuh!"
The SAD manufacturing room was just as vile as he'd expected it to be. Dingy and gaseous and… massive. So large that Law couldn't help but wonder at how the hell he'd never gone to this building before.
Enough of that. He shrugged Kikoku off his shoulder and span it in front of his chest. He wasn't here to enjoy the view. He'd heard the alarms go off when he opened the door, so guards would be sure to be hot on his tail.
Or his crew mate, he sniggered. She'd probably kick his ass for keeping something as big as this a secret from her for so long.
But it had to be done.
Kikoku slid cleanly out of its scabbard, perfectly horizontal to the various flasks and vials before him.
For his revenge… and because he felt like it.
"I feel like my hand has been bitten by my own dog."
Vergo. Law had been wondering if he'd show up. He cocked his head around towards the silhouette standing before the gigantic door. "Ironic for you to call me a dog when you're the one wagging your tail for your precious owner."
"This is too much, Law." Vergo started moving forwards, each step somehow managing to shake tremors through the building. "Even for a child as mischievous as yourself. You and that subordinate of yours were too smart for your own good. People like you…"
He paused, light finally falling onto his face.
"... tend to die young."
Kikoku slid back into her sheath. Probably not a wise move, but fighting against Vergo never was. Squaring his shoulders, Law turned away from the SAD compilers. They would have to wait.
"It'd be easiest for me to kill you by crushing your heart-"
Ha.
"-But I am not going to do that. I will torment you slowly and excruciatingly as I please, and warp that smart ass face into one of terror."
A bamboo cane shot out of Vergo's sleeve in a matter of seconds and turned black with Haki and Law knew it was too late but for some reason his reactions were failing him and what could he do against an opponent he barely remembered and-
"Just like before."
It was useless. He flung up his hand to cast a Room, only for a Haki coated bamboo cane to slam his chin up and off the ground. Another few moments. Another hit whacking him into the ground. He tasted blood.
"Stand up Law."
So fast… So fast it made his head reel. Strauss had always been light on her feet, but this was a whole other level. This was speed and power combined, something she didn't have…
"It's too soon for you to die."
Damn right it was. Shakily, drowsily, Law pulled… himself… to his… feet… He was alright. For now at least. But… Two tired eyes observed the opponent before him.
He wasn't going to get anywhere like this. There was only one way he could ever beat Vergo… and even though he was gonna get beaten up in the meantime, it'd all be worth it in the end.
"Are you guys frustrated because your scheme is coming crashing down?" So he put on his best smirk, and tried his hardest to keep his voice level. "It really is that important to you guys… isn't it?"
Vergo was stalking towards him. One foot… then another… He'd get close enough to hit him soon. Just a little more…
"This thing?! Even when you could… NGH!"
Fuck! Law's hand clawed up towards his chest as fiery hot needles nearly divided him in two. Pain. The pain was… urgh! He raised his head… staring towards…
"Watch your mouth, brat." The heart in Vergo's hand thumped rapidly, thumping and thumping and thumping and thumping as it got compressed tighter and tighter.
He had to get it back. Otherwise… "ROOM!" The blue dome shot out around the platform. "Come back to me, he-"
Just as Law felt the warmth of the organ appear in his hand, a swift jab to his lower abdomen sent him sprawling back against the railing. The heart fell unceremoniously into Vergo's outstretched hand without so much as a fuss.
"Hah… hah… hah…" Panting heavily, Law managed to hoist himself to his feet once again. "I was pretty sure that I could take my heart back from Caesar… But I have to say, I didn't expect you here, Vergo."
"Tch!" His face grew thunderous. "It's Commander Vergo to you, brat!" The heart wriggled and squirmed in his grasp, only to be condensed further… and further… and further… until…
Law didn't go down. He didn't even look pained.
In another building, through several walls of concrete and metal and gas, Valentino Strauss was on her last legs. Doubled over on all fours in the Biscuits Room she was barely even able to scream through the sheer agony rippling through her body. Agony. She gasped for air, sweat dripping out of every pore of her body as one hand slowly… tortuously…reached up towards the centre of her jacket…
Where a heart that wasn't hers was beating the same as it always had been.
A shit eating grin, one of the widest he'd ever pulled as all his years of plans and work finally began to pay off, spread all over Law's face.
"Just as well that you haven't got my heart, isn't it."
A/N
Okay, who was right about the hearts? Well some of you were, I know that much! Well done! Give yourself a theoretical pat on the back and a cookie (since I can't do it for you). Honestly I'm really proud of that twist, as well as the way I revealed it in writing. There were hints along the way, very subtle ones! If you want you can go back and see if you spot them all! But it's no fun if you guys keep guessing what's coming next hm?
I'm going to try and keep this as light hearted as I can, mostly because of everything going on in the world (my heart goes out to you!). I used to do really in depth messages for these sorts of things, but recently I realised that they were a little pointless. Not because the issues aren't worth it; they are! Really! But I just realised that we need to keep on going. There will always be issues, be it wars or natural disasters or something manmade, that will be on the news or be left in the shadows... but we continue. Through it all, we can persevere. And this might just be me being from a privileged family in a (relatively) comfortable country that doesn't have to deal with these problems, but at the end of the day I'm just a girl writing fanfic on the internet. You don't know me. I don't know you. We have to support each other every single way we know how. It could be donating money to charity. It could be taking refugees into your home. It could be using your flimsy platform on the internet to speak out about issues that matter to you, and bring joy to people who want and need it. Every little helps. And I want to try my hardest to give you, the person who's actually taking the time to read this massive A/N, something that you enjoy and feel is worth reading. You deserve it. Even if you think you don't.
So much for keeping it light hearted... but I guess that's par for the course for me! Gotta love my strange warped brain! Hah... Like seriously. I hope people enjoyed the chapter, I had an absolute blast writing it. Especially the last section, whooo boi I wrote that way faster than I really should have. That or the time just leapt past me. Eh. Who needs sleep anyways! Not me... Especially me... I need to go to bed...
Love you all so damn much! Please stay safe out there, wherever you are! I hope you enjoy the future updates and have a lovely week.