"This is it, right? Caelum?" Blake asked, peering at the approaching island on the horizon.
"That's what Captain says." Shashi scratched his head, leaning against the railing. The few men on the top deck had to squint to see the small black mass, as the sunset cast a deep orange light across the ocean. A gentle wind blew from behind the yellow sub, guiding them towards their destination.
The waves lapped against the metal hull, sending the vessel rocking back and forth with each push. Shachi, Penguin, Blake, and Parker all stood watching the slow approach to Caelum. Not a word passed between them, only the shared relief that they were making visible progress in the search for Summer.
The door behind them opened, and they turned to see their captain push through the metal door. He gave a curt nod in greeting before walking up to the railing and leaning against it as well. As they watched him, he gave a loud sigh.
"We should arrive in the next half hour." He stated, gazing out at the water below. Penguin and Shachi nodded, but Parker sighed in return.
"I just hope we find what we're looking for. I'm tired of running around in circles."
Law directed his soft gaze towards his nakama, remaining silent. Parker's expression was set in frustration, not looking at anything in particular, probably lost in his own thoughts. Hunched shoulders, fingers tangled in themselves in a tight grip, he certainly wasn't optimistic about anything. Coincidentally, the Supernova's thoughts mirrored that of his companions.
"We will." Law said softly in an effort to remain the voice of unwavering confidence, causing his crew to look up in surprise. With a slight grin, he shook his head. "I haven't continued looking for her for nothing, you know. I swear, we'll find her."
"Damn right we will." Blake replied, a grin of his own growing across his face. The others seemed just as enthusiastic.
"Whoever took her is gonna feel hell when we find them." Penguin assured, fist bumping Shachi who agreed with him.
Law looked over the few men, marveling at how close the crew of pirates had become in the few years they'd been sailing together. They'd come from all around North Blue and across the Grand Line, from poverty and wealth, the strong and the brave. No one except Bepo even knew the real reason behind their creation in the first place, yet here they were sticking it out through the worst for the life of one of their own.
He shifted his gaze back to the ocean, remembering what it had looked like so many years ago with Corazon: it looked the same as it always had. He hadn't really thought of it as beautiful, but seeing it now made him realize that, truly, it was. His anger and rage in his youth had clouded his way of looking at the world, not that it had changed much. Though he could see now that a few things had.
On the brink of death and sailing with a man he thought he hated, only to discover that he was the only one he could really put his faith in…never knowing where his true home lay. Hell, he'd never thought back then that he'd ever make it to this point, but that clumsy fool who's death he mourned was the only thing even close to such a concept of home. Or love.
Now though, watching his nakama pick each other up from the dirt and stand even stronger than before, laughing in the face of death, defying minimal odds, putting their absolute trust into their Captain and friend all for the sake of living out their dreams, putting their lives on the line for the sake of one…
He realized he'd found his home a long time ago, he had just failed to notice until then.
"…Law?" Summer mused, frozen in place with shock.
It was the same face. Same tattooed fingers and arms. Even his smell was the same: disinfectant and that male scent that was uniquely him. He was wearing that all-too-familiar smirk of his, staring her down in amusement. Those messy locks of black hair still had yet to be tamed, and he was still…damn her to hell for even thinking it, as handsome as ever.
She thought about reaching out, to confirm that it was indeed him, but she was too afraid it wouldn't be true. That this was all some sort of dream. Or…had the kidnappings and torture and the lab all been the actual dream? Had she just been imagining all the awful things? Was she really home?
"Summer-ya, you know you have a job to do. Quit lying around on the beach, we don't have time." He crossed his arms, looking rather annoyed, though when wasn't he irritated at her? It all seemed so real, so…normal. She looked around, noting the submarine looked the same as it always had. Turning back to him, she smirked, mimicking his posture.
"So all the bad stuff I thought happened, that was just all a dream?" She asked, and he furrowed his brow.
"What are you talking about?" With a shake of her head, she laughed.
"Nothing, just thinking out loud."
"Hmm." Was all he said. Shrugging, he turned and walked into the forest, not even glancing back to see if she were following. Which she was.
She pushed the branches of trees and bushes aside, trying to keep up with Law's fast pace. Summer had a view of only his back. He didn't turn around or anything of the sort to check to make sure she was there.
"Umm…Law?" She called, and he turned his head slightly to glance at her. "Could we slow down a little? My limbs are all sore for some reason. Probably from laying on that beach too long." She added sheepishly. She was supposed to be strong, not all achy from sleeping for long periods of time.
"We have things to do, Summer-ya. We can't take all day." He scolded, and she frowned.
"What exactly do we have to do?" She ducked out of the way of a low-hanging branch, stepping over a large rock in the process. "You seem in a hurry."
"The inhabitants of this island are very superstitious and hostile, they've captured Liam-ya and Penguin-ya and are holding them in the center of the town. It's some kind of sacrificial ritual."
Summer was shocked, and she found new determination in her step. Her stride lengthened, double-time, at the thought of her friends in danger. "W-what? Why didn't you say that before? We have to meet up with the rest of the crew and rescue them!" She passed in front of Law, but he stopped her with a tight grip on her forearm.
She jerked to a halt and swung her angry gaze towards him. "What the hell are you doing? We don't have time for this!"
"I have a plan for how to rescue them, and you're the key." He smirked, with that familiar expression that said I-have-a-plan-and-you-probably-won't-like-it. She hesitated, always wary of what the Surgeon of Death had up his sleeve.
"What is it?" Law glanced around as if they were being watched, and Summer thought that was strange. A thought struck her then, and she copied his movements. "Where is the rest of the crew?" He shook his head to wave her question aside.
"These people are extremely superstitious, they fear the demons revolving predominantly in their culture." He glanced around again, and Summer's frown deepened. Her Captain was acting very weird. "We can use that spirit inside you to our advantage. She can intimidate the people into handing over my subordinates without incident."
"H-how…how do you know about that?" She backed away, eyes widening, fearful that he would think of her in a whole new light. As far as she knew, no one knew about the thing inside her except her and the Doctor. And probably Viper too, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to hard to find her for all those years.
The last thing she wanted to happen was the crew to turn on her for something she couldn't exactly control. To her relief, he gave a confused look.
"I've known the whole time, Summer-ya. You behaved quite strangely right from the start. You can't really think you could keep something like that a secret?"
"I guess…you're right." She winced at the ground, somehow feeling betrayed that he knew this…thing was inside her the whole time but didn't mention it in the entire time she'd sailed with them. "Does the crew know?"
"No."
'Maybe he thought it was for my protection?' She wondered, feeling a little guilty, but immediately turning it around. 'I told him I didn't need any protection.'
"Isn't there any other way?" She questioned, distancing herself a few steps further, not noticeable but still keeping him at a reasonable distance. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but things weren't adding up. "The crew is doing their best to help I'm sure. We can regroup and come up with a plan together."
Law gave an exasperated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Obviously she wasn't making things easy, but he wasn't making much sense at the moment. "Summer-ya, I've gone over the scenario a dozen times and this is the only logical solution. Do you want my subordinates to die? Their deaths would be over your head."
Summer was speechless. Law had never talked to her like this before. Yes, he'd been a jerk and an ass and a multitude of other choice words she would use to describe him, but this was so much more sadistic and cruel than she was used to. His words hurt her deeply. He acted as if he really thought she didn't care about the lives of her nakama, and that was beyond unacceptable. He reached forward, gripping both of her arms. She felt a twinge of fear when he started shaking her.
"You have to unleash that spirit in you. It's the only way."
She narrowed her eyes, staring at Law, who stared back at her. Deftly, she shrugged out of his grip and turned away.
It all began to make sense: he called them his subordinates instead of nakama, disregarded her advice without a thought, guilted her into cooperation, questioned her loyalty…Her face darkened as the realization came to her. He couldn't see her face, which was intentional, and she spoke lowly.
"You're not Law."
She could hear him stepping towards her. Instincts began to kick in. Her body tensed, but there was no visible sign of that. She kept it hidden. "What are you talking about, Summer-ya?" Angry, she gritted her teeth.
"Don't call me that. Only he can call me that."
"We're wasting time! We have to-" He was within a foot behind her, and she suddenly sent her elbow deep into his ribs. She heard a satisfying crunch followed by his gurgled groan. Glancing back, she watched as "Law" dropped to the ground and writhed in pain. He held his chest tightly, eyes squeezed shut. Reflex tears fell slowly from his eyes.
"Law would never be surprised by a move like that. He's much too skilled." Summer's hatred began to clear her head, and a very faint voice called her. It was too quiet to understand, but unconsciously she knew it was Nemesis. That was a comforting thought. She looked up at the canopy of trees, or at least what appeared to be trees. She bared her teeth.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" She yelled, spreading her hands out in a challenging gesture. "You think I wouldn't know what my own Captain was like? What, did you just look up his personality from what the newspapers say? Well, you and the rest of those damn scientists can go fuck yourselves!" There was no response from above, but it felt oddly satisfying to yell and scream. "I thought science didn't make mistakes, Doctor! Or are your perfect hypotheses just slipping?"
She grinned as she finished her taunt. Her head felt funny, like something was hammering away at the walls of her skull, but she didn't care. She would celebrate her victory for as long as she could.
The scientists who watched from the observation room above saw the subject turn away from the nurse who accompanied her, who then approached the subject, and instantly had his ribs broken by her attack. A few of the staff winced, one female doctor placed a hand on her chest from the brutality of it all, however Doctor Mundy did not flinch in the slightest.
Subject 711-A549's violence no longer surprised him, nor did her threats and slanders against him and his colleagues. He'd always known her to be quite volatile and dangerous when at her full wits, and even when completely drugged. However, he did not expect for her to see through the illusionary simulation program. It was completely life-like and realistic, but she saw through it in-he checked his watch-less than 15 minutes. All that funding seemingly wasted for a failed experiment. The thought was decidedly sobering.
"Doctor, we should get him out of there." The female nurse said, indicating the still-crying nurse below. "She could do more damage to his body, ones that could prove fatal." She supplied, fingers twitching in nervousness. Doctor Mundy regarded her with an even gaze.
Looking back down below, he saw that she had finished her little rant and was now pacing the room, probably still under the effects of the drug and the illusion, in an attempt to find a way out. The team behind him muttered between themselves but Koda, the ever-faithful employee, stood beside him silently.
"There's still more to be learned." He dictated, and that decided the matter. The test would continue.
A few minutes passed, and the male nurse inside the room with her began to talk. He pleaded that she did as he said, to release the spirit, and even from the considerable distance the Doctor believed he saw something go through her eyes. Just then, she punched him in the face, sending him back onto the floor.
She wasn't done. The subject kneeled down over the nurse's chest, he screamed in pain as his already broken ribs were pushed into his organs. The Doctor's extensive knowledge of the human anatomy led him to conclude that at the very least his lungs and stomach were being punctured based on the angle of the breaks.
She hailed on him, sending punch after punch. The medical staff began to cause an uproar, shouting that he needed to do something to save their colleague. He only remained silent and observed the interaction.
Within minutes, the nurse was dead. A great deal of blood pooled around his body, with her still kneeling over it. She was breathing heavily, but didn't seem affected by the gore she had caused. Most plausible, she as simple tired from all the effort expelled. Standing, she walked a few feet away and sat down cross-legged facing her victim. And then she waited.
Deciding that was the extent of information he would receive he turned to Koda beside him. "Terminate the experiment." He ordered, and the nurse obeyed with a dutiful nod.
"I'll record the results immediately."
Her head continued to pound, but slowly the scenery around her shifted, and piercing white walls replaced the lush forest. On the ground, the man who had been the fake Law when she'd killed him, was now evident to be a nurse. His face was bloodied as well as his chest where the broken bones punctured the skin. For once, she surveyed her handiwork with great pride.
A few minutes later, the doors were unlocked and the Doctor himself strode through, accompanied by several other nurses and medical staff. There were two guards on either side of him as well, and she smirked. So, he required protection against her. How quaint.
"Subject 711-A549, I think it goes without saying that you have failed this test." The Doctor's face was stormy, though he didn't give much indication of it. The only difference was the furrowed brow. "You shall be returned to your quarters with disciplinary actions assigned to you. Minimal rations for one week, as well as your privacy rights revoked."
She pursed her lips. Great, now she couldn't even pee without needing an escort and someone standing there making sure she didn't do something unlawful. Just great.
"You know what, Doc? I've never been happier to fail at something in my life. At least I still have my pride." She smiled cheekily, and several nurses muttered in disgust behind him. He glanced at the guards and gave a nod. Immediately, they moved towards her. One pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket.
"Oh, I was just wondering when these would be brought out again. You know, I'm pretty sure the metal rings match my eye color. What do you think?" She asked sarcastically as her wrists were restrained behind her. The guard didn't answer, unsurprisingly.
She was led out of the room by the two burly guards. Summer wouldn't be surprised if from now on that was how it was going to be. She outright killed a nurse in front of the whole staff. They had to be a little scared of her now.
Which worked to her advantage.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
