One after another, pulsing red cubes were dropped into the large wooden crate that sat in front of where the sub was waiting, each one with the attached wanted poster indicating to whom it originally belonged. The pile of posters indicating captured heart grew larger and larger.
It was just before the sun would rise above the mountains that the last poster was placed upon the completed pile, the corresponding heart tossed into the crate. The tired crew captain, who was leaning on his sword from trouble keeping on his feet, gathered around the crate. Bepo grabbed the wooden lid, placing it on top and securing it so it didn't move.
With a nod, Law instructed the men to grab hold of the heavy cargo and bring it to the sub. With their combined efforts, the task wasn't very difficult, but because of the awkwardly large crate, the men struggled to get good grips on the wood.
Finally, just before the residents began to stir from their sleep, the pirates were back onboard their vessel and sliding away from the island, leaving behind the victims of their nightly invasion...
Law was exhausted.
Currently, he was lying face-up in his own bed, still panting slightly from the long night he'd had to endure. Sweat still marked his forehead and body, beginning to cool from the air-conditioned room. Every once in a while his vision swam, black dots crossing his eyes, and he'd blink rapidly in an attempt to dismiss them.
Nausea rose and fell, growing steadily worse with each wave. His heart rate was higher than comfortable and he resisted the urge gag on his own breath.
Outside the door, a certain polar bear was hesitant to knock, for fear of waking up the captain if he happened to be sleeping. The bear carried a tray of food, made by the old cook with a stern order to 'make him eat it no matter what' on the account that he 'needed to recover his strength.' Bepo agreed with the cook, but he knew how stubborn the captain could be.
Deciding that standing in the hallway would get him nowhere, he rapped a paw gently on the wood door. He could hear a few coughs, followed by a muffled 'come in.' He entered the dark room.
Law sat up slowly and turned on the lamp standing on his nightstand. Bepo watched as he promptly closed his eyes and placed his head between his legs, groaning out loud. His skin looked a little pale.
"Captain, are you alright?" There was a hesitation before he answered, as if he had difficulty speaking.
"I'm fine." The spinning in his head wouldn't go away. It felt like his head moved with the waves of the ocean itself.
"Um...Casper made you this." He placed the tray on the bed carefully, and Law cracked open an eye, taking a cautionary glance at the food before him. "He said to make sure you eat since you used so much energy last night." The bear rung his paws, eyes on the floor.
"I'll eat it later. Put it to the side."
His first mate didn't move, and Law saw then how much he was upset over his captain's words. The paw-wringing didn't stop, but seemed to intensify.
"W-well...I think Casper's right. You always look so tired and you never eat much...are you sure you're ok? You look a little thin, especially since...you know...Summer…" Law was slightly surprised that his firstmate wasn't thrown in another fit of depression at Law's obvious dismissal of the offer of food, but he was glad the bear was beginning to stand up for his own opinions.
Law inwardly groaned, frustrated that he couldn't just be left in peace, knowing at the same time that his crew was only trying to help him. He couldn't put them at fault for wanting him to recover, regardless of how much it may irritate him at the time. He took another look at the offending tray of food, resigning himself to doing what he really didn't want to do: eat.
"Fine." He grumbled, sitting up slightly and reaching over to pull the tray closer to him by one finger. He didn't miss the relieved look on Bepo's face as he surveyed the food. The meal was simple: a beef and vegetable soup with a small roll and a glass of milk. He looked despisingly at the roll but decided for the sake of his friend that he would tolerate the disgusting bread.
He ate slowly, taking time between bites to fight the growing waves of dizziness. Bepo sat next to him on the bed, watching to make sure he ate everything placed before him. For being a sensitive bear, he was surprisingly stern when it came to his captain's health. The thought was strangely comforting. At least he knew someone cared about his wellbeing.
The bread was the worst, but somehow he managed not to vomit as he ate it as quickly as he could. It was best to get it over with as fast as possible so he wouldn't taste it as long. Bepo stared him down, making sure he swallowed.
Once the tray was cleared of food, Law none too gently pushed it away from him, placing his head between his knees once his stomach no longer growled from hunger, his head pounded mercilessly against itself in a raging headache.
"Do you want me to tell the crew not to disturb you?" Bepo asked, retrieving the tray and standing up. Law silently nodded vigorously, which he promptly regretted as his headache continued to grow worse.
"Alright. Get some rest, Captain." The firstmate padded quietly to the door, leaving the Captain to his sleep.
It was the same nightmare, only it seemed even more real.
He was standing in the middle of the chaotic ruins of Flevance, surrounded by the dead children from the school. He could feel the fire from the distant houses, the scent of metallic blood heavy in the air as he kneeled in a pool of blood. Blood that wasn't his own.
The Sister who took care of all of them, the source of the blood that surrounded him and stained his spotted jeans, a bullet wound in the center of her head…
His own sister, dying of white skin and pains throughout her body…
His parents, both shot down before his eyes…
Summer, lying beaten and broken in the dirt, with a laughing black silhouette of a man above her body…
He could only vaguely hear his own shouts of rage and could barely feel the stream of tears down his cheeks. No, he didn't want to see these things. He couldn't face the scenes of death and destruction that haunted him for the rest of his life. But, there was just one of those he'd loved that he had a chance, as small as it was, to save, to heal, to bring back...
"NO!" He tried running towards Summer, but his running, no matter how fast he went, seemed only to take him farther and farther away from her lifeless body…
Suddenly, the violet-haired woman appeared, standing before him, imposing several feet above him. She stared down, studying his face, before leaning down and whispering something to him. He could barely hear it, it echoed at the edge of his hearing.
'Save her...'
He jerked awake with a sense of panic, suddenly aware of the cold sweat that covered his body. The sheets barely covered his clothed body, strewn this way and that. Obviously he'd been tossing and turning in his fitful sleep. He glanced at the clock and saw it was 11:34 in the morning. A handful of hours of sleep and all he'd managed to get was another nightmare…
He rubbed his forehead, trying to rid it of the sweat but only making him realize how hot it was in his room. He could have sworn he'd put the air-conditioning on before he'd gone to sleep, but he couldn't quite remember.
His dreams were all mixed up, retaining the ever-present trauma from his past as well as harboring things from the present. The purple-haired woman was a new addition. She'd began popping up in his mind much more in the recent days, and he wasn't sure exactly what it meant. Nonetheless, it unnerved him.
He sighed, allowing himself to lay back down on the sheets.
He needed to find his missing nakama. And soon.
Arriving In: 6 Days
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