Hey guys! Yup, it's a Law x OC fanfic - you'll get to know Rose soon enough! But to summarise, I find the idea of Law interacting with an more naive/non-pirate persona a really interesting dynamic. I also wanted to explore this alongside trauma recovery, for both Law and the OC.
Whilst there is going to be some fighting and adventure, this fanfiction is mainly ROMANCE based, so a lot of the drama/angst will be centered around the inter-personal relationships of the crew, as well as the personal struggles and trauma of Law and OC.
Let me know what you think - please leave a review!
TW: Rape, rape recovery.
~ x ~
Law POV
"Captain! There's been a breach to the ship!" Yelled Penguin, skidding to a halt in front of his captain's quarters and shoving the door open in panic. Normally he wouldn't have dared to so much as speak through the door when it was clear that the surgeon was not keen on being disturbed. However, there was an emergency.
Trafalgar Law looked up at his crew mate from the book on his desk, a startled look on his face. "What!? Where is the breach?"
"The hull, Captain! We activated the emergency door, but the water has already started to break through to the kitchen." Penguin grabbed at his hat in panic. "If we don't do something now, we risk sinking the ship completely!"
Law frowned at Penguin, standing up quickly. "How did this happen?" He said, getting up from his seat. "And how much time do we-"
Just then, an alarm went off in the cabin, accompanied by a flashing red. The sound was piercing. Penguin jumped at the noise, then ran out of the cabin and made for the control room.
"Shit." Law cursed before following him at a brisk stride - that alarm meant the breach was serious. When he reached the control room, it was in chaos. Bepo was freaking out at the wheel with Hakugan, Penguin and Ikkaku were arguing, frantically trying to make the other listen. Shachi was running from one end of the room to the other, blabbering nonsense. Uni and Clione's eyes were fixed on the monitor, trying to assess the extent of the damage to the sub. Jean Bart was observing the situation with a practiced calm demeanour, which wasn't surprising given he was a former pirate captain.
"Bepo! What happened!?" Penguin screeched at the bear. "How is there a breach to the ship?" Bepo shook his head in panic.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He wailed. "It came out of nowhere, I didn't see-"
"What d'you mean, you didn't see!?" Shachi shouted, still pacing frantically. "Both you and Hakugan have eyes, don't you?"
"Oi!" Law bellowed angrily. "Shut up, will you!" The room fell silent, sheepish heads turning towards their captain. He strode towards Bepo who was clutching the wheel tightly. "Bepo-ya, what happened?" The bear shook his head.
"I'm sorry Captain! It was the currents, we got caught in one and pulled towards a massive rock pillar! I didn't expect the currents to be so strong towards the surface, so as we rose in altitude we got sucked into one!" He said, ears pinned back in distress.
"It just came out of nowhere Captain!" Hakugan piped up, white mask pulled into a grimace. Law huffed in frustration before turning to his engineers, Clione and Uni.
"What's the extent of the damage so far?"
"There is a whole in the hull, Captain. Water has already flooded half of it, and is starting to leak through the door." Clione said in a gruff voice. "If I have calculated correctly, we have about 20 minutes before the ship goes under completely!" Law clicked his tongue, thinking hard. Then he turned around.
"Shachi!" Shachi jumped at his name being called. "Go below deck to the storage room. Get anything important up here, now." Shachi scrambled to the door, pulling Ikkaku along with him. Law turned to back to the rest of his crew. "Jean Bart, go and close all the emergency doors below deck. Don't lock the others out." Jean Bart nodded and moved towards the door. Law looked at Bepo. "Bepo, where are we?"
"I'm not sure, the radar's quite messed up from the impact but we're not close to our destination at all. We'll never make it!"
"Is there any island nearby? Or any land at all?"
The bear squinted closely at the radar screen, where a faint pinging could be heard. "Looks like its picked up a small land mass just under 1 mile to the east."
"What's our depth?"
"150 meters, Captain." Law nodded.
"Surface immediately and head towards it." Hakugan looked confused.
"But Captain, we don't know if it's populated or dangerous-"
"It's better than drowning at sea, isn't it?" Law interrupted impatiently. Bepo nodded anxiously then, and then pulled a lever next to the wheel. The ship shuddered violently, before it started to rise to the surface. Hakugan, ever the skilled helmsman, quickly turned the wheel to the right, facing the ship eastwards.
Law looked around the rest of the crew who were all watching him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Prepare for a rough docking." The crew immediately started running around the ship, making the necessary preparations. Law reached out and grabbed Penguin's shoulder before he could leave. "Go to the theatre and grab my medical kit." Penguin nodded.
"Yes, Captain." He ran off. Bepo nervously turned towards Law.
"Captain, what are we going to do if the ship sinks before we reach the island?" Law looked at his navigator.
"We'd better not let that happen," he replied. "Or we're dead, judging by these currents."
Just then, the ship gave a sudden jolt. Hakugan gripped the steering wheel tightly, keeping the submarine on course. Law had grabbed a nearby table to steady himself, but the vessel continued to shudder dangerously.
"Full speed, Hakugan-ya! We haven't got much time."
The next few minutes were filled with anxious waiting, frantic preparations and panicked shouting. Penguin returned to the control room carrying Law's medical kit, then rushed back out to help Shachi and Ikkaku with bringing the important possessions - such as weapons, maps - up to their captain. Jean Bart came back unharmed, having been successful with closing the emergency doors.
CRASH
The ship shuddered again, then gave an almighty groan.
"Oh, crap!" Uni yelled, grabbing the monitor. "That's the hull emergency doors giving in!"
"Bepo-ya, how far!?"
"Half a mile, Captain!"
"Half a mile!?" Ikkaku hissed, running a hand through her voluminous frizzy hair. "You can't be serious. We'll never make it!"
"Quiet!" Law yelled. "Keep the ship going! How far are we from the surface?"
"100 metres!"
"Faster!" Law urged, gripping his nodachi Kikoku. "We need to make it to the surface at least."
"90 metres...80...70..." Bepo was counting down, watching the monitor closely. The ship gave another almighty rumble, and the lights flickered off. The entire crew shouted out in shock.
"Damn it!" Shachi yelled somewhere to Law's right. A clunk sounded, and the emergency lights flickered on, bright and yellow. Law looked around, quickly checking his crew.
"Depth, Bepo!?" He yelled.
"40 metres!"
Clione let out a shaky breath. "The Tang will hold, but not for long." He looked around to Uni, who nodded, eyes uncharacteristically wide.
"30 metres!"
"We'll never make it!" Penguin wailed.
"Penguin-ya, calm down!" Law yelled, the man's panic getting to him. In truth, he didn't believe it was likely they were going to make it to the tiny piece of rock they were headed towards. But he had to stay focussed for the crew. They turned to him for orders, for advice. Law looked back at them, and he steeled himself.
"When this submarine surfaces, we'll go onto the deck. It won't be long until it begins to sink. Then, our main priority is getting to the island."
"20 metres!"
"We may have to swim. Jean Bart, I'll need your assistance as I can't do so in the sea water."
"Of course, Captain."
"Penguin, you take one bag of supplies, Shachi, the other. Bepo, make sure the ship is as close as possible-" He was interrupted by a deafening rumble.
"We've surfaced, Captain! We're 200 metres away from the destination, and we have approximately 3 minutes before the ship sinks!" Law nodded.
"Go full-speed – we need all the time available! Open the deck doors, now!" Uni pulled a lever, and a loud beep sounded in the control room. Instantly, the crew moved out. "Bepo, at the first sign of sinking, come out straight away."
And with that, Law ran with the others to the deck. As soon as they turned the corner, the wild wind stabbed at their skin. He pulled his cap further down over his eyes in an attempt to limit the dagger-like rain from hitting his face. It was dark, the sun being blocked by the angry clouds. The sea was angrily tossing and turning, spray flying everywhere – the deck was slippery, water dripping from the railings. The crew gathered on the deck, the roaring wind whipping their clothes.
"There, Cap!" Ikkaku yelled to make herself heard over the wind. She grabbed Law's shoulder and swivelled him to the right. "There it is!" She pointed to a mass that was looming out of the dark sky. Law nodded, although the sea water that kept spraying up from the waves was starting to drain him of energy. Then, suddenly, the ship groaned and creaked, rumbling under their feet. It slowed down, and Law noticed the horizon was getting higher.
"Bepo-ya, get out!" He shouted down the hallway, banging his fist on the metal. Then he turned to his crew, gripping his sword tightly. "Brace yourselves!"
The water crept over the edge of the ship, seeping through the railings. Bepo came running out, panting.
"Just over 100 metres, Captain!" He reached and pulled a lever on the inside of the hallway, causing the deck doors to close slowly. "Our speed is half what it was!" Law rubbed his face, thinking hard.
"Everyone, on top of the sub!" They moved swiftly, jumping and clambering their way onto the highest point of the metal ship. The wind was even fiercer at the top, and the swaying of the sea was much rougher; they had trouble keeping their balance. They shuffled close, making a tight circle.
The land mass was closer, but still too far to risk swimming. Law looked around, thinking through the options. Either they waited until the ship was under completely, then swam. But that would leave them without a ship and with no way of escape. He would rather not choose that option if it came to it. Another choice was that he could try and teleport the ship onto the island once they were close enough –if they got close enough. Just then, Bepo turned to his captain.
"What are we going to do!?" He cried desperately. Law steadied himself as the ship lurched. He'd made his decision.
"I'm going to save us and the submarine." Bepo shook his head frantically.
"We're nearly 100 metres away from the island, Captain! Can your Room reach that far?" Law gave him a piercing look that shut him up. Then he smirked.
"You doubt me, Bepo-ya?" Bepo looked shocked, then opened his mouth to respond, but Law cut him off. "I won't let the Heart Pirates end like this." And with that, he turned towards the island. Breathing in deeply, sharpening his mind in concentration, he stretched out his hand.
"Room!" The blue sphere flickered to life under his palm. And he smiled at the electrifying feeling that shot through his veins. Then it expanded rapidly. Law pushed it, forced it, willed it to stretch as far as possible. But he had to be quick – the sea was getting higher, and his energy was slipping from him as the sea spray started soaking through his clothes. His knees felt unstable, and his breath began to get laboured. Gritting his teeth, he forced all his power into the blue sphere.
"You've reached it!" Jean Bart called to him.
And Law closed his eyes, searching for an object to swap, feeling with his mind until he found some rocks.Bingo. Law then forced his energy. There was a flash. For a second, it was like he was floating. A weightless sensation spread though his limbs.
Then reality came crashing down.
With an enormous smash, the submarine dropped into the rocky ground of the land mass. The crew was thrown violently from the roof on impact. Law felt himself tumbling, yelling as the ground approached him fast. He landed heavily on his side, feeling the air escape his lugs with a whoosh. Rolling, he felt his bones jolt, and he choked out a strained groan when he finally came to a stop. He tried to draw breath, but his lungs felt shocked.
He lay there for a second, his muscles trembling from his exertion. A Room that large took a lot of energy out of him. Groaning, he blinked away the blackness that was creeping into his vision. Then finally – finally – his body allowed him to breathe. He sucked in air desperately, feeling it almost burn his throat. Coughing violently, he rolled onto his front, shaking his head groggily. Lifting his eyes upwards, he saw something that made his heart quicken.
The submarine had been ploughed into the rocky ground, some of the metal crumpled under its weight. Sea water was seeping from a large hole in the side. Yellow paint had been scraped off as well as one of its wings completely torn off. The damage was very extensive, and Law didn't know if it would be possible to fix. Tearing his eyes away from his beloved ship, he looked around panting. The most important thing now was to find everyone and regroup. This island was unregistered – who knows what could be on it.
"Bepo-ya?" He called hoarsely as he shifted, gingerly turning his head to look around. "Shachi? Penguin?" A hiss of pain came from behind him.
"Law," he heard Penguin wheeze. Law turned, looking behind him, still panting heavily. His crew mate looked back, his hat askew. He gave Law a pained grimace, then shifted slowly onto his knees. Law turned away, looking around for Kikoku – that damned sword would be anxious by now. His hat was missing too – but it hardly mattered at this moment. Crawling to his feet, Law stood up. God, he ached. He turned to Penguin, who was stumbling to his feet, clutching his stomach.
"You okay?" Law asked, concerned at the pained expression on his crew mate. Nothing major seemed to have happened, but it was important that his crew was fit enough to deal with any potential threats. Penguin nodded, rubbing his side.
"Yeah," he coughed. "It's just a bruised rib, I think." Law nodded in relief, then turned to look around. Then he froze, his heart skipping a beat with dread.
A dome-shaped building loomed out of the darkness. It wasn't tall, but the grey colour as well as the sign on the long doors were unmistakeable – it was a navy base, home of the Marines. This is exactly what they had been hoping to avoid.
"Fuck," Law spat, eyes darting around immediately for any potential threats. There was no way that the crash of the submarine had gone unnoticed. Scanning, Law realised how small the island actually was – he could see the ocean to his left and to his right. The crew needed to regroup, now. "Guys! Where are you!?" He called for his crew, drawing his sword. Penguin exclaimed to his right.
"There they are!" Law turned to see more of his crew, dishevelled and banged up, hurrying towards them. Law saw with relief that Shachi had Kikoku.
"Captain!" Bepo said, breathing a little hard. "What's wrong!?" Law nodded to the looming building. Shachi's mouth parted with a sound of despair.
"Law!" Law heard his latest crew member call him, and he turned to see Jean Bart emerge from behind the submarine, a hand covering a bleeding wound on his side. "The ship! It's..."
"I know." Law said seriously, eyeing his beloved ship once more. "But right now, we have a Marine base to worry about." His crew gathered close, and Law rubbed his eyes before making a decision. "Right. By the looks of it, the base is not big, therefore the number of Marines is hopefully going to be small, but that doesn't mean that there isn't an Admiral here. There's no doubt we've been detected, so they'll come out any minute now." Law paused then, looking at each of his crew members as he spoke. "They shouldn't attack as I'm a Shichibukai, but we can't let our guard down."
The shouts of men echoed from the distance. The crew swivelled towards the sound, preparing for a potential flight. The wind whipped at their clothes, and the freezing temperature bit at their skin. But they were ready to fight.
Law turned to face the crowd of men running towards them, taking Kikoku from Shachi. Hopefully he wouldn't have to draw the sword - his priority was protecting him and his crew, repairing his ship and leaving as soon as possible.
"Freeze! Hands up!" Someone called aggressively as the men surrounded the Heart Pirates.
"We mean no harm!" Law called, raising a hand out in a halting motion. This didn't seem to dissuade the crowd of Marines who were all pointing guns at them.
"I said, hands up, pirate! Drop your weapons!"
Law tried again. "I'm Trafalgar Law, Shichibukai!" He again made a reassuring gesture with his outstretched hand, attempting to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible. "I repeat, we don't want any trouble."
He was met with silence from the Marines. Law eyed them, tense but still remaining still. He heard his crew behind him, anxious breaths mingling with the shuffling of their feet.
After a few tense moments, the leader of the Marine squad piped up. He was eyeing them with suspicion. "You're a Shichibukai?"
Law nodded. "Yes, recently appointed."
A scoff from the Marine. "Never heard of you." He drawled. Law's eyes narrowed at that. Smug motherfucker.
None of them moved still. Law was watching each of the Marines carefully for signs that they'd fire their guns. "You sure? Trafalgar Law. You might know me as the 'Surgeon of Death'."
Then, one of the other Marines spoke. "Wait, Sir. I recognise that name. He's telling the truth."
Law watched the interaction carefully. The leader Marine turned his head to the other who had spoke.
"You're certain?"
"Yes, sir. Seen his posters. Used to have a bounty of 440 million beli."
"Hm." The leader huffed, turning back to stare down Law and his crew. "Even so, what's your business here? You're not authorised to be here. Strict orders from HQ."
"Our ship was caught in the currents." Law jerked his head over his shoulder in the general direction of the crumpled ship, refusing to turn his back towards the Marines. "We just need to repair it and we'll be on our way."
A muttering broke out amongst the Marines, and Law tensed as a den den mushi was drawn out of the pocket of the leader.
"You need to leave. As I said, even Shichibukai aren't authorised to be here."
Law's jaw clenched. "And how are we supposed to do that without a ship?" He said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. The other man shrugged, looking at Law with something akin to disgust.
"Not my problem, pirate. If you don't leave, I'm going to have to alert HQ."
Law's eyes shot towards the den den mushi in the man's hand, feeling his pulse quicken. That's the last thing they needed - if he'd stumbled across an operation he wasn't supposed to know about, even as a Shichibukai, that could be a big problem.
"There's no need for that." Law said quickly, stepping forward. "Whatever is happening here, we're not interested. As I said, we just need to repair our ship, then we're gone."
The Marines jerked as he stepped forward, raising their guns higher. Law heard his crew stiffen behind him.
After another few tense moments, the leader of the Marine rose the den den mushi to his lips.
"Hawkeye to HQ. I repeat, Hawkeye to-"
Law shot out his hand, a blue sphere expanding from his palm in an instant to engulf the crowd.
"Room," he called, extending Kikoku. Then with deadly precision, he swung his sword. The arms of the marines fell to the ground, the den den mushi clattering away before the leader could get another word out to alert HQ. "Go!" he yelled at his crew amid the cries of horror from the Marines. "Bepo-ya, with me!"
They leapt into action, dashing forward towards the chaos of Marine limbs. Jean Bart drew his sword, yelling a battle cry. Law and Bepo followed at a slower pace. More men poured through the gates of the base, and Law swung his sword again, decapitating the majority of them.
"Tact!" With a swipe of his fist, Law sent the detached bodies and heads flying as far as he could to the side, some flying into the ocean. Jean Bart followed the bodies, swinging and kicking them towards the edge of the rocky strip of land. Shachi and Penguin had already fought their way to the gates, downing the Marines that came flying at them, but then they disappeared. It wasn't long before Law and Bepo reached the gate, panting slightly, still fighting off the occasional headless body.
"Where are Ikkaku and the others!?" Law called over the wind to Bepo.
"They've gone inside the base!" Law turned behind him to see Jean Bart finishing off the remaining headless Marines outside.
"Bart-ya! We're storming the base!" He shouted, then turned and nodded to his navigator. They ran towards the tunnel entrance of the base from which they could hear fighting echoing. Law ran forward, ducking under a Marine's sword and bring his own across the enemies stomach. Bepo dashed forward, stunning two marines with a spinning kick which Law finished off with clinical precision. The doctor scanned his surroundings – bodies lay on the ground. They were making quick word of the Marines. Calling out to Bepo to follow, he ran down the entrance and came into a large white dome-shaped room where Shachi and Penguin were fighting furiously. Marine heads turned towards him. One man pointed his gun at Law, surprise evident on his face.
"Hey!" He yelled. "It's him! Traf-" He didn't even have time to finish his sentence as Law cut through him, blood spraying his face. Law wiped at his cheek in disgust where some of the red liquid had landed.
"Yeah, it's me," he spat, stepping over the body. Penguin beat down the last Marine remaining in the room, kneeing him in the side of the head. Panting, Shachi turned to Law, wiping a bloody nose. "Is that it?"
"I think that's all of them, Captain." Law nodded, quickly scanning the room. Just then, Jean Bart entered behind him, straightening up from the tunnel entrance. Ikkaku was close on his heels.
"All clear outside Captain."
"Good." Law sheathed his sword, letting out a deep breath. The numbers hadn't been as big as he had been expecting, and it hadn't taken them long to storm the base. No alarms were going off, so he'd hoped that meant they'd managed to get away with this without any alerts being sent to the Marine HQ.
Looking around, Law saw a dark stairwell with the number one painted red to the left of the doorway. He nodded towards it. "Jean Bart, Penguin, Shachi, check the remaining floors." His crew members nodded, dusting themselves off before approaching the stairway.
"Come on, Bepo-ya," he said, turning to the bear, who seemed unaffected by the cold. "We've got to get the supplies we brought up to the deck. They'll be outside near the sub. Who knows how long we'll be here."
The two made their way into the rainy wind, squinting through the dark to locate the hunk of metal and their supplies. After spotting the damaged ship, they hunted around to retrieve the important items, including a box of maps and papers needed for navigating, Law's medical kit and a bag of food and blankets that Shachi had grabbed, just in case. After they were sure they had found everything, they hurried back to the base, dumping the supplies on the floor. The other crew members returned to the top floor, then.
"All clear, Captain." Hakugan said, wiping at his brow. "We found nobody. It's just us, and the few Marines who may not be dead."
"That's good news, means that the Marine Headquarters probably wasn't notified." Law allowed himself a moment of relief, before thinking about what to do next. It was too dark outside to examine the extent of the damage done to the submarine. They needed to dispose of the dead bodies, and round up any Marines that might be alive for questioning. Law was certain he hadn't been recognised, and if someone had realised his identity, he was sure he had killed the person.
"Okay, describe the layout of the base."
"Three floors, Captain. The control room is there," Clione nodded to a large pair of doors to the right of the stairwell, "and there is a prison cell on the third floor. That's also the floor where the supplies are kept. The second floor has a medical room, a lounge and kitchen and a dormitory. We checked the water supply, and its working."
"Alright. Round up any surviving Marines and throw them in the cell - we'll deal with them later. Check them for den den mushi though so they can't alert anyone of our presence. Get rid of the rest of the bodies."
"Yes Captain!"
The crew set about moving the bodies. It wasn't pleasant work – blood pooled on the floor. Law scanned the bodies and removed anything of importance he could find, making sure to get any communication equipment before they were reported. They needed all the time they could get to fix the submarine. It took them a while, and it was laborious work, but eventually they managed to clear the base of the bodies, and the crew regrouped inside, panting.
"Cap," Ikakku began briefing Law on the situation. "We found five men who were unconscious, and they've been locked in the cells." With that, she held out a bundle of keys to Law. He nodded, pocketing the keys, then turning to the control room.
"Alright, it seems we're secure enough." He pushed through the doors to find a large white, brightly lit room – a few desks lay spread out around the room, electrical equipment stacked on their surfaces. Various screens were attached to the right-hand side of the room, displaying information on the status of the building. Law walked around, examining the papers scattered on some of the desks and glancing at the screens. After a quick investigation, it seemed that no alarms or warnings had been set off which was a big relief.
His crew gathered with him in the control room. Apart from a few injuries and exhausted demeanour, they seemed in a stable condition.
"Right," he addressed them wearily, habitually reaching to adjust his hat, before remembering it was missing. The others were tired too, Law noticed. "For now, it seems like the base is secure. No alarms or messages seem to have been sent to the Headquarters. We can't do anything for the submarine right now as it's nearly nightfall - we'll examine the damage in the morning, but from what I could see, it will take more than a few days to fix. That will be our main focus, to fix the ship. But while that happens, we'll stay in the base. It has plenty of supplies for us to survive."
The crew remained silent, watching Law with hopeless expressions.
"What if the ship can't be fixed?" Jean Bart said, somewhat quietly. "What would we do then?"
"It will," Law said simply. "We've always managed to fix it before. We can do it again." Nobody replied. After a heavy silence, Law sighed. "I'm going to have a look at some of the documents in here, and figure out where we are. Penguin, take my medical kit. Jean Bart and Shachi look like they need some medical attention, but it doesn't look serious so I'm sure you can patch them up."
"I'll go find some food," Bepo murmured, turning to retrieve the bag from the other room. Law rubbed his eyes, trying to ignore the oncoming headache. The situation was certainly stressful. But he needed to concentrate, and sift through the papers in here. With a sigh, he turned to the desk closest to him, sat down in the chair and grabbed the pile of papers that were stacked neatly on the shiny surface.
Penguin entered with the medical kit, and the two injured men crowded around him as he pulled out bandages and disinfectant. Bepo followed shortly after with some bread and water he found in the kitchen, handing them out to everyone. Law refused with a disdainful look at the bread.
"How's it going, Captain? Have you found anything?"
"Nothing," Law sighed in frustration, shoving the papers he had skim-read away from him. "There has to be something useful here. A map, secret Marine operations, anything!"
"I'll help you look!" Bepo chirruped. Law nodded, opening the desk drawers and pulling out papers to hand to Bepo.
"That would be helpful, start on that." His navigator took a seat on the ground and started sifting through the papers. Law started on the other draw, eyes running quickly over the text.
At first, nothing came to his attention. Just as he was beginning to get frustrated again, a wad of paper caught his eye. Along the top of the page, the words OPERATION HALKEYE was written.
"I found something." Bepo looked up from his sheets quickly.
"What is it?" Law scanned the first few pages, frowning.
"Oh, interesting..." he mused, a slightly sardonic smile creeping onto his face. "It appears our friends here have been spying on nearby islands." Flipping through a few more pages, it suddenly became clear to Law. "This island, apparently called 'Arashi', is surrounded by extremely strong currents that force ships away from the island, or sink them." He looked at Bepo and Hakugan then, a little shocked. "That must have been what happened to us."
Hakugan nodded from the corner of the room. "It felt like a very strong current, especially nearer the surface."
Law continued reading. "It's not clear here why they've got some islands under observation, but it's clearly a very classified operation."
"Shit, really!?" Piped up Penguin from the other side of the room. Law turned to see the rest of the crew were listening intently. "Must be why the Marines were so hostile."
"Mm." Law grunted in agreement. After flipping a couple of pages, he saw something that made his stomach lurch. ADMIRAL VISITS. Law intently read the passage of text underneath the heading, then swore.
"Fuck," he hissed, turning to the rest of his crew. "We can't stay here long - three weeks at most." Bepo jumped up then, staring at Law in urgency.
"What, why!?"
"Because there are Admiral visits every month, and the last one, it says here, was approximately a week ago." Jean Bart cursed under his breath.
"It might be possible to fix the Polar Tang in that time, Captain." Uni said anxiously. "But it will be close - we'll have to work all through the day, so as soon as the sun rises until it sets in the evening."
"Alright…" Law rubbed his face, exhaustion setting in. The situation was worse than he had expected. "We don't really have another choice. If an Admiral finds us here, best-case scenario is I lose my Shichibukai status. Worst case, we're dead."
A stony silence settled on the crew. Penguin had finished patching up Shachi and Uni, and the rest were munching quietly on the bread.
Law sighed. "Let's just get some rest for now. Tomorrow, we'll make a start on the submarine." The crew nodded mutely.
"I don't think I can sleep tonight," Hakugan grumbled. "Too much is happening." Law grunted in agreement. He slept like shit even when things were peaceful - there's no way he was getting much rest tonight. He felt dirty, and wanted to wash some of the blood from his skin before he even tried to sleep.
"Who knows," Bepo said quietly. "Maybe the submarine isn't as badly damaged as we think." Law didn't say anything, not wanting to depress his crew even further, but in his mind, he said: Bepo, it's going to take everything we have, and more, to get out of here in time.
~ x ~ x ~ x ~
Thanks for reading guys. Please let me know what you think - keen to hear how I can improve. :)
Fun fact - this is actually a rewrite of a fic I originally posted on MANY years ago under the same name. If you're interested, feel free to check it out but please know, that is an old version that I never finished.