"What am I supposed to tell him?" Albert clawed at his hair, pacing back and forth on the grass in front of the submarine. The Captain, as well as some of the crew, were lounging around and watching the con's strange behavior. He didn't seem to realize how maniacal and inane he appeared.
"Trust me when I say I wish we could help you." Penguin reasoned, shrugging his shoulders feebly. This only set the 'Seer' through another bout of frustration. Coming up on Penguin, his face was a mere few inches away.
"The King expects me to solve a ghost problem! Freakin' ghosts!" He retreated back into the circular pattern his nervous steps wore into the grass. The ring of stomped grass, now being partially torn up by the man's shoes, was a testament to his internal state.
"Well, you pretty much brought that on yourself." Blake muttered, looking idly at his fingernails. He didn't much care about the con anyway. The man in question spun in place.
"That's not the point now! The point is," He moved his hands to emphasize his words, "you have to help me think of a solution!"
The crew hummed, pondering their responses. They had orders to discontinue helping the con, but here he was anyway, forcing their cooperation. A few glanced quizzically at the Captain, leaning on the hull of the sub a few feet away, trying to discern his thoughts on the matter. Unfortunately, his hat, the new one from the chests, was conveniently covering his eyes. The casual smirk was set in place, leaving the men to question his intentions.
"You could tell the truth." Bepo spoke up. The con pointed a finger towards the castle, rolling his eyes.
"Do you really think that they wouldn't kill me after I admitted that? You think I could just go up there and be all 'oh, I'm sorry I've been lying to you all this time but I just did it to make some money,'" He said in a slightly higher tone to his normal voice. "and then they'd be all 'oh, it's quite alright sir. Let me just forgive you of stealing my money and let you go on your merry freakin' day?'" He emulated the King's lower tones, before shaking his head emphatically. "I don't think so!"
There was silence around the circle at the frantic display, seeing just how scared and unhinged Albert could get. He was breathing heavily, staring a still-silent Bepo straight in the eyes. A moment later, the bear lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
'So easily defeated!' Penguin and Shachi thought.
"One of you has to have some good idea...right?" He looked around at the men, seeing their doubtful expressions. Suddenly, Parker spoke up.
"Just ditch the island. Steal some boat and take whatever money you've already made with you."
Albert gave a dramatic sigh, shaking his head in disappointment. "You just don't understand." Parker cocked his head to the side, not sure what the man was trying to say. Seeing the confusion, he went on. "I can't just leave money behind! I mean, there was still money left to take in the treasury! The villagers still have their own private fortunes!"
This started an argument between several men, whether stealing the innocent citizens' money was a good idea. Law's men were against it.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Law was peering stealthily under the brim of his hat, taking in the scene with disinterest and patience. Several times, his eyes flicked over to the log pose strapped to Bepo's wrist. The needles hadn't shifted from their positions yet, so they couldn't leave quite yet, much to his disappointment.
There was nothing else for them to do, nothing left to accomplish on this island. There hadn't been anything holding them there anyway, not even the con Law had promised to 'help out.' In all honesty, the supernova didn't care either way what happened to the man, whether he was hanged for his crimes or got away quite a few coins richer. What happened to him didn't affect Law in the slightest.
In fact, as he watched the con bicker childishly with his men, who were just as childish but at least had some common sense, he began to realize how irritated he was that they were still docked on the island. Every fiber of his body wanted to leave and continue finding his missing crew member, but the infernal log pose had yet to set, and he seethed inwardly.
Watching the con with disgust, both at the man in general and the idea that he was holding him back, he decided he was done listening to his pointless quarreling.
"I propose," Law interrupted, stopping whatever refutes Albert had planned on making, "that you try to fabricate the whereabouts of their coffers."
"Huh?" Albert scratched his head, and Law sighed.
"Try finding the treasure with your powers." Albert's eyes widened. Law was really getting tired of the man's flair for the dramatics.
"B-but," He stuttered helplessly, "I don't know where it is!"
"You could just place the blame on someone else." Liam said, his monotone blatantly displaying his enthusiasm on the subject. Law saw the annoyed twitch of his eye, amusement increasing with every suggestion.
He wondered briefly what Summer would have thought about the situation.
"Well, who would I say did it?"
Liam shrugged, obviously not concerned with the finer details. "Figure that out yourself. This is your problem." With a shake of his head, Liam departed the group outside and entered the submarine.
Law's eyes followed his medic, wondering what the man was so upset about. In doing so, his gaze drifted to the log pose. His eyes narrowed, a small smirk forming on his face.
'Finally.'952Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYy1chzv3gA
Casper glanced at the sky, seeing it was almost directly above them, and slowly rose to his feet, brushing off the imaginary dirt from his knees. "Well, I'll start makin' lunch now. It should be ready in a half hour."
"Do you want some help?" Blake asked, rising halfway from his seat. The old cook pondered a moment before nodding in agreement. Following the cook, Blake gave Albert one more half-sympathetic look.
Law pushed off from the hull, stretching his tense limbs and joints until they popped. "It would be best if we checked to make sure all the parts of the submarine are functional for when we do depart. All of you, to your stations."
With relieved sighs, the men rose and slowly wandered into the sub. Albert only watched as the only help he'd be able to get gradually disappeared. Only the Captain remained.
"I suggest you think up your solution quickly, Al-ya," He crossed his arms over his chest with a mocking smirk. "your time is running out." Following his crew, the Captain eventually disappeared.
Albert kicked at the grass for a few minutes, wondering what he was supposed to do now. Deciding that he should take a nap or something, he meandered away to find something to do.
"Bepo, take us under." The bear nodded, concentrating on the navigational dashboard with the controls of the sub. Taking the intercom in his hands, he held down the button that projected his voice everywhere within.
"Be prepared to submerge." Putting the device down, he focused on Bepo's actions.
Within minutes, the island had disappeared and only the blue of the water surrounded them. Fish swam away in fright, and Law straightened up once more.
"Let me see the log pose." Slipping off the bracelet, after checking to make sure all the valves and guages were normal, the bear gave it to his friend and joined him in front of the map of the Grand Line.
Law leaned over the large piece of paper, eyes set on Ortygia. There were no other islands close to them, no other places to go.
"Where are we going next, Captain?" Bepo asked, watching him contemplate the log pose seriously.
They were getting nowhere, both regarding their clues to finding Summer and advancing towards One Piece.
'And that man.' Law thought, his brows furrowing.
He assumed everything having to do with Summer and her past was in the next part of the dangerous path to One Piece. Was his crew ready? Well, they certainly had to be. They'd trained, worked their hardest all for the fate of one of their own. Law knew he had to improve his own skill, and he promised himself he would get stronger.
'For you.' He thought, having two faces prominent in his mind. 'I will get stronger for both of you.'
"Captain?" Bepo asked, pulling him from his thoughts. He glanced up at the bear. "Where are we going next?"
Law looked over the map once more, finalizing his decision.
"The New World."
She'd had enough.
This endless depression was useless, pointless, a waste of her tears and breath. She was done with the endless nights of crying herself into a fitful sleep, only to see faded visions of her nakama leaving her forever. The nightmares were twice as bad as they'd ever been; in a fit of clarity, she analyzed this and realized it was because she had twice as much to lose. Even though she'd already lost it. But, if she succumbed to her grief, Viper would win. She would lose.
Summer did not like to lose. Ever. For any reason. Especially to that bastard of a pirate.
'The time to fight back has come.' Her mind said and, for once in her life, she agreed with it.
Hours later, the door to her cage room opened, but Summer had heard the footsteps approaching before they had entered. She was getting skilled at identifying the person from their footsteps alone, so it was no surprise to her when Viper showed his ugly head in the doorway.
"Knock, knock!" He closed the door behind him, probably meant to make her feel like there was no escape anywhere.
'Right, because the metal cage doesn't quite drive that point home.' She hadn't realized until than that her sarcastic nature began to rear it's head once more. For once, she was glad it did.
He was met with her stony silence, waiting for him to make the first move.
"I thought you'd like to know," He smiled with yellowed, rancid teeth, "we'll be arriving in three weeks."
Summer only glared, somehow hoping that her deadly gaze alone could kill. Unfortunately for her, it couldn't.
'Wow. I just can't wait.' She said nothing.
Viper seemed to pick up on the newly found resolve in the young woman. His eyes narrowed minutely, but she caught the action. Picking up the chair left outside of her cell, he placed it in front of her and took a seat. If he was trying to intimidate her, he would be sorely disappointed.
"Much as I hate to do this," He sighed and shook his head, "but my employer demands that I have you in good shape when you arrive. Unfortunately, if that's to happen, we have to feed you and give you more water now."
Her eyes widened slightly, but not for the reason he gave. No, it was just a confirmation of her theory of where they were taking her. It was something she feared most, even more than being back in the hands of Viper.
"So, I've decided that you'll be properly fed and watered. And, we'll even let you take a bath every once in awhile. How's that sound, love?"
She didn't answer, only reeled in the discovery of their destination. She hadn't been positive of where they were going, and she'd even had the thought that they would take her somewhere new, but obviously that'd been wishful thinking. In that instant, she thought of something she'd told Law, long ago after he'd asked how she lived through the War of The Best.
"I wouldn't call it luck. More like happenstance." Law had raised an eyebrow.
"Happenstance?" She remembered shrugging, not too concerned about her logic.
"Well, luck's never payed me any heed."
How true that turned out to be.
"My personal chef, you remember Takeshi, I assume, will be bringing you regular meals from now on. You'll also get one hour a day outside. I'm sure you'd like that, love."
'I'm not your love...'
"Perhaps you should get some rest, you're looking a little pale." Viper jabbed, the disgusting smile returning to his face. He must have thought he won, as he flaunted back up to the door and glanced back maliciously, just because he could, before closing the door.
Much as he thought he'd won, Summer was far from down and out. The only thing that caught off her balance was his words from before.
'...my employer demands that I have you in good shape when you arrive.'
His employer.
The Doctor.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
