Law examined the still-beating heart in his hand as he walked closer and closer to the interrogation room. The organ was still warm, despite being absent from the body.
'Incredible.' Law thought. 'So many things are made possible by this.'
Liam walked behind him, watching as his captain rotated the organ this way and that. His feelings at that moment were strange: part of him was disgusted by the impossible notion of someone's heart being ripped from their body and them remaining alive, while the other was grotesquely intrigued with the possibilities. He wasn't sure which one he wanted to win out.
Taking a turn down the hall, they approached the interrogation room door, hearing the soft breathing of their captive inside. Law turned to the medic.
"I want you to observe and write down your findings." Nodding, he took out a small notepad and a pen. With one more glance, Law reached for the knob and walked inside.
"I demand-"
"If you know what's good for you, you'll keep quiet and cooperate." The captain interrupted, taking a seat in the empty chair facing her. She huffed loudly, most likely frustrated by his haughty attitude and the fact that she was still strapped to the chair. Her eyes narrowed when he grinned. "Or, if you don't, I can always accommodate my hospitality to match your respect towards me. Either way, it won't matter to me in the least."
The underlying warning was blatant to Mona, and she kept quiet from then on. Instead, her eyes studied both men as they faced her, one holding a pen and paper, the other holding some sort of cube…
Her heart sank in her chest...well, actually it didn't, because her heart was in the hands of one of the worst of the cruel pirates known as the Worst Generation. The red cube pulsed in between his long, tattooed fingers and he seemed to relish the terror her eyes beheld. Her first inclination was to scream, to cry, to beg for the release of her organ, but any of those actions would have been fruitless. The Surgeon of Death surely wouldn't listen to her pleas.
"I've never had the chance to practice my ability in this way and I must say, the results are really very fascinating." He held up her heart a little, as if examining it more closely in the light, though she suspected his motives were more sinister than that. She knew of the concept of psychological torture and that is what she believed was happening right at that moment.
"As such," He continued. "I have yet to learn to what extent this ability can be used. That is why you are going to help me." He practically purred, excited by something Mona couldn't guess. "Tell me, does this hurt?"
He squeezed her heart a tiny amount, but the resulting pain that shot through her body was intense. Her muscles seized up, effectively preventing her movement. Something squeezed her organs together, or at least that's what it felt like, and she couldn't stop the following scream from exploding out of her mouth.
"AH...Ah…" She choked out, trying to catch her breath. With swimming vision she spat on the ground to try to clear her throat, do something to get air to her lungs but she felt like the oxygen was being sucked away from her.
And then finally the pain subsided, her breathing once again restored and the spots in her eyes slowly fading. Breathing heavily, she glanced up at the sadistic pirate captain with malice. He only grinned in return. The one standing behind him was writing something down.
"On a scale of one to ten, how awful was the pain?" The pirate asked in mock concern. Mona wanted to retort but her throat was still on fire from the pain. Law's only answer was a shake of her head.
"Well, I'm going to assume it was a one seeing as you're still relatively unscathed. So, let's go through each level just to be sure." He then squeezed the cube once more and Mona's screams filled the room.
Much later, Law turned to Liam. "What have you found so far?" Liam looked down at his notes.
"Well, it appears that leaving the heart does nothing to the integrity of the heart. It's still beating regularly and looks just as fresh as it would inside of her." A low moan broke through his explanation. He ignored the noise. "It also seems that whatever is done to the organ will subsequently affect the body as if it was still inside the body."
"Good. Anything else?"
Liam scratched his head in confusion. "I still don't understand how the body is still getting its blood supply without the organ but I'm sure further examination will clear that up." At his conclusion, a small whimper came from the woman who was half unconscious from the severe pain she'd received. Blood stained her Marine uniform, dripping from her open mouth. Her ragged breathing sent sharp pains through her chest.
"Hmm…" Law pondered Liam's findings. "So, following the same principle, if I was to stab her heart she would die?"
"Theoretically. We have no way of knowing without putting it into practice." Law turned back towards the woman, grinning when he saw the fear in her eyes.
"Let's find out, shall we?" He whispered, taking Summer's dagger, which he had developed a habit of carrying around with him, from his belt. In one swift movement, he brought the blade through her heart and watched the result.
"AH-" She choked out a gurgled groan, her body lurching forward against the restraints. A gush of blood shot from her mouth, hitting Law's hoodie and Liam's shoes. A spasm shot through her shoulder before she slumped backwards on the chair, a small stream of blood leaking from between her lips.
Rising from his chair, Law reached over and put two fingers on her neck. With a nod, he looked to Liam.
"It seems your theory was correct." Liam nodded and wrote a few more things down on the notepad.
"How are we on supplies?" Law asked Casper, nursing a mug of coffee as he lounged in the mess deck. The older cook's exhausted face tipped towards the ceiling as he closed his eyes and sighed. It was deep into the night, both men unable to find sleep. Casper, Law suspected, couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was missing in his kitchen. On more than one occasion, Law noticed him glancing over his shoulder, as if sensing a presence that wasn't there. Or feeling the lack of presence that was supposed to be. Even so, after such an occurrence, the cook would always shake his head and throw himself more deeply into his work.
Casper, in turn, was firm in the belief that the sadistic Captain missed their absent nakama. Knowing Law to be a stubborn and reserved man, he would never admit such a feeling to himself but those traits were quite obvious when one looked hard enough. Quite frequently, the young rookie would stare blankly into space or out the porthole, thinking over whatever was preoccupying his mind. Casper guessed it had something to do with a young blond woman.
"As far as food goes, we're running low on necessities; flour, milk, eggs, sugar, and bread are below our normal range." Nodding, Law took out a piece of paper from his pocket. Handing it to the older man, he leaned back.
"The infirmary could use more bandages and antiseptic. I don't want to get caught up in a fight without any medical supplies to back us up." He stretched his arms above his head and winced when the joints there popped. "Much as I don't want to stop at an island, we can't just keep sailing. We'll run out of supplies sooner or later."
"Are there any islands around with short log pose times?" The captain shook his head.
"No, Bepo examined the map. The shortest time out of the next three islands is four days." Law glanced down at his now empty mug of coffee. Casper saw his eyes unconsciously flick over to the kitchen where the coffee machine was. Casper chuckled with a small grin.
"I think we'd best be heading to sleep now. If we want to stay our best we both need our rest. Even you." He emphasized, rising from the table and heading off to his own quarters. Law stared at his back, slightly disappointed that he couldn't get more coffee but knowing full well the cook was right. He really did need to get more sleep.
'How am I supposed to sleep when she won't let me?' He thought, recalling the numerous nightmares and strange dreams he'd been having. They were always the same thing. That violet-haired woman staring deep into his soul. She would always speak to him, mouthing words without Law being able to hear them. It was confusing.
'Who exactly are you?' He wondered to himself, not surprised when he wasn't given an answer.
*The Next Day*
"Bepo, take us to Ortygia." Law directed, examining the map once more just to be sure. "It has the shortest log pose time and we can't afford to waste any."
"Yes, Captain." The bear pushed a few buttons into the dashboard and turned some wheels. With that done, Law walked back out of the room and towards his quarters. It was still early that morning and most of the crew were eating in the kitchen. The hallways were relatively empty with only one or two men passing him by. They exchanged quiet greetings.
Over the past weeks, the general morale of the crew had fluctuated. On good days, the determination to find their missing nakama won out against the growing worry and doubt. On the less desirable days the men were altogether silent, barely making small talk or going about their duties without exerting their best efforts.
Law himself had felt the shifting attitudes and inwardly felt the same. There were days when he almost thought about giving up, and it was usually Bepo's confident remarks about how they would find her that pulled him out of his depression.
His wandering thoughts left his mind on autopilot and when he realized his distracted state, he looked up to find himself standing in front of Summer's door. His first thought was to turn back, to leave her personal possessions alone, but his curiosity and sorrow got the better of him. Turning the knob, he found it unlocked and entered.
Flicking the light on, he gazed at the sparse furnishings that occupied all of the crew's quarters. A bed, a desk and chair, shelves, a dresser, and a small closet set on the opposite side. The same as all of the rooms on board.
But this was different. While the men's rooms may have dirty laundry scattered about the floor, magazines with less-than-appropriate images hidden in drawers and tucked under sheets, and smelled much like a locker room, this room was entirely feminine. It wasn't in the sense that there were flowers decorating the walls and fluffy decorations everywhere-there weren't-it was more the fact that it was clean and well-kept, treasured beyond what could be considered normal.
Walking inside, he closed the door behind him and eyed the belongings set about her room. On the shelves were a multitude of different objects. In the middle on a stand sat an adorned dagger, one of the ones the Kuja women had given her when she'd first joined the crew. He grinned as those memories came back to him.
Next to the dagger was a camera and, beside that, several pictures of herself and the crew. There were dozens of photos, probably one with each of the men. Each one had writing underneath it, a small description of whatever had been taking place.
PIcking one up, he saw Summer, Reid and Liam with faces close together in the frame. They sported the goofiest expressions Law had ever seen. Underneath the picture were the words 'The 3 Amigos!' Putting it to the side, he picked up one with Penguin and Shachi in it.
They were sporting different hats than the usual headwear, with Shachi wearing Penguin's and vice versa. Summer...wore his? Where had she gotten it? His spotted hat was a little big on her head but she didn't seem to mind as she playfully stuck out her tongue to the camera. The caption read 'The OTHER 3 Amigos!' Shaking his head, he set it back on the shelf.
There was one in the middle of the many photos that caught his eye. It was the only one that didn't have Summer in it. Picking it up, he examined it.
It was a picture of him, sitting at one of the mess deck tables, his hat lowered over his eyes. A mug of coffee sat in front of him but there was no indication of when the picture was taken. He raised an eyebrow at what she had written underneath.
'The Surgeon of Sleep. The Dark Dreamer. Trafalgar Law, one of the infamous 'Super-nappers! XD'
The word play with his given epithets was ridiculous, but nonetheless it still brought a small grin to his face. Only Summer would be strange enough to write such things with his picture. Hell, she'd be the only one brave enough. Placing the picture back where it was, he turned to the rest of the room.
It felt...empty. For the five weeks it hadn't been used, the personality had disappeared. The thing that had given it life had gone and now it was an empty shell of something great. All Law saw now was the past, and one he had hoped would remain.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, he placed his head in his hands. Soon, they balled up into fists.
'Viper will pay for what's he's done. I'll make sure of it.'
Arriving in: 26 Days
ns 15.158.61.8da2
