"Pirates of Kid and Heart! By the lawful authority that is the World Government, I hereby place you under arrest for counts of piracy, manslaughter, and murder!" One of the Marines shouted through a megaphone. "You are outmanned! Lay down your weapons or-"
"Do you think that they think they sound intimidating?" Liam asked Blake, completely ignoring the words still being shouted by the Marines. Blake inspected his sword critically, frowning when he found a small nick in the blade.
"I thought I polished this yesterday…" He muttered. Nearby, Parker was having a hard time not to fall asleep.
"Hey, you alright?" Penguin asked, concerned for his friend. Parker jerked his head up at the sound.
"Oh...oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." His head began to droop once more and Penguin crossed his arms. The sound of the droning Marine was still heard in the background.
"You stayed up all night reading those magazines of yours, huh?" Parker's face grew red.
"N-no! I would never!"
"Baka! You're a horrible liar!" Penguin laughed, punching him in the arm softly.
"Hey guys! I think he's almost done talking." Liam said, turning everyone's attention back to the Marine who was still shouting through the megaphone.
"-in a court of law! Now, lay down your weapons!"
Law, meanwhile, stood on the deck of Kid's ship with Bepo. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he watched his crew fool around while the man continued to shout at them. He smirked.
'Just like them...' He thought. 'Never paying attention.'
Deciding that the Marine had rambled long enough, Law rolled his eyes and unsheathed his sword. Raising his other hand, he muttered 'Room' and a blue sphere enveloped the three vessels.
"Attack!" His crew yelled, and Law switched his men with cannonballs onboard the Marine deck. Instantly, the sound of swords clashing and men screaming filled the air. With a single swing of his sword, Law cut the mast and sails in half. They floated in the air, scaring some of the men onboard. Most of them ignored Law's ability, though, leading him to believe that this must be an elite crew.
"Where are you?" He muttered, scanning the people onboard in search of the captain. There, fighting with a few of his men, a woman wearing a Marine coat on her shoulders. Her flaming red hair made her easy to spot.
In one easy movement, he transported himself and Bepo over to the ship. The bear instantly went into kung fu mode and karate kicked the nearest Marine off the ship, sending him screaming down into the ocean below. Law set out to duel with the woman.
His two engineers were locked in combat with the woman, struggling to defend from her powerful blows and sideswipes. The next second, she had managed to flick Penguin's sword away from him and onto the deck a few feet away. Raising the blade above her head for the finishing blow, Law made it there just in time.
"I believe you are my opponent." Law blocked her blade from striking Penguin and Shachi, the deadly metal ringing with force. They breathed a sigh of relief and scrambled away to fight someone else, Penguin retrieving his weapon in the process. She narrowed her eyes and retracted her blade from his.
"Trafalgar Law. You are one of the most despicable men I've ever had the privilege of arresting."
"I'm flattered." He smirked sarcastically. "Please, refrain from requesting my autograph."
"Your crew was placed as top priority on the bounty list, and it's a small wonder why. You're absolutely annoying." In an instant, she banked left and swung upwards towards his chest. With a deft flick of his wrist, his sword deflected hers and he angled it to stab her in between the ribs.
Realizing this, she pushed away and rolled backwards back up to her feet. Behind her, several men were cut in half since his 'room' was still in effect. "Why can't pirates just fight honorably?" She complained, huffing a little from his impromptu style. He grinned in return.
"Then we couldn't be considered pirates." He replied, blocking her thrust towards his heart. "Haven't you Marines realized that we don't like to play by the rules?"
"Enough with your cocky words." She spat, taking another swipe. He jumped backwards, but she continued to swing away at him. Spotting a stray cannon ball rolling behind her, he muttered 'Shambles' and switched places with it. He could hear her small gasp of surprise, and he brought the sword down on her.
'Her reflexes are quick.' He thought as she spun around and raised her blade just in time to stop his attack. Her breathing was beginning to get a little labored, but Law was just getting started.
'There's got to be a weak point.' Taking great care to observe her fighting style carefully, he swung towards her once again. She was ready and blocked it easily, thrusting towards him in turn. He jumped backwards, still watching her movements. She brought her sword up in the ready position once again, waiting for him to make a move. But her stance looked a little odd.
'Interesting.' He thought, smirking with pleasure. She had moved her hands a little higher than what would be considered normal to protect her chest. Up to this point, he had noticed her elbows were pulled in closer than they needed to be and now he realized why.
With the screams of the Marine's dying men around them, Law took to the offensive once more. His room was still in effect and he raised his hand. She visibly tensed at the movement, causing him to smirk again.
"Shambles." He muttered, switching places with a Marine standing somewhere behind her. He landed lightly on his feet and turned away from a surprised Parker who the Marine had been fighting.
The Commander was looking this way and that, searching for the missing pirate captain who now stood behind her. Her entire back was exposed, for she didn't think to look behind her for some reason.
'It's only a concept at this point but...let's see it put to practice now...' He thought, and he brought his hand back in preparation. Thankfully, the Commander still seemed to be oblivious to his presence behind her.
"Mes!" He yelled, pushing his hand through the back of her chest. Immediately, the resistance that was there was pushed out of her chest. Something very warm and box-like was nestled in his hand, and he grinned wolfishly.
Her body went slack, the sword dropping onto the deck beside her. She dropped to her knees, staring with open mouth at the hand that protruded from her chest holding her beating heart. It looked so small, easily fitting into the large hand that now gave it a small squeeze.
"Ah-!" She croaked, feeling the worst pain she'd ever felt jolt through her. It was like a thousand dull knives were sawing at her chest, leaving her out of breath and unable to speak.
With a small gasp of air, her vision went black and her body fell onto the wooden deck.
Law still stood there, gripping the woman's heart and inspecting it with interest. The noise around them had died down significantly, probably due to the fact that the Marines were beginning to realize their leader had been defeated. Law's own crew gawked at the pulsing heart he held.
"Captain, that was awesome!" Shachi yelled, fist-pumping the air. A few cheers went up for their Captain's sake. At the same time, the Marines seemed to then snap out of their daze.
"He killed the Commander! Get him!"
Deftly lifting his sword, Law held it horizontally. Seeing this as the men began heading towards their Captain, the Heart Pirates quickly dropped to the ground as low as possible.
"Die!" The Marines shouted, raising their weapons. In a single move, Law swept his large sword in a single circle at waist level. The men stopped, seeing that they were too far away to be hit by his attack.
"Ha! What a waste of-" A Marine began to say, right before he felt a weird feeling in his torso. Looking down, he realized his legs were no longer attached to the rest of him. Dropping his sword, his hands felt his chest in a panic. Whimpering softly, his arms began to shake.
"MY LEGS!" He cried, and the rest of the screaming began as others realized their same situation.
Law canceled his room and watched as the torsos and legs that had been floating above him dropped to the deck with meaty thuds. Still staring at the heart in his hand and ignoring the sobs and cries behind him, he walked over to the rest of his awaiting crew.
"Are there any wounded?" The captain asked, his eyes scanning over his men. Grinning faces looked back.
"Just a few small cuts and bruises, but nothing serious." Blake responded. With a nod, Law muttered 'Room' once more and transported everyone back onto the submarine, including the Commander.
Law went up to Liam. "Check to make sure none of the cuts are infected. And take the woman captive. Tie her in the interrogation room with minimal food and water. I want to try something..." He ordered. Liam nodded and watched as his Captain and the first mate switched places with a barrel on the deck of the Marine ship again.
"Alright! All wounded to the infirmary and those fit to work, back to your stations! Shachi and Penguin, help me get her on board."
"Are you looking for information on Summer?" Bepo asked, looking around the Marines' navigation room. Law rummaged through drawers in the desks and the cupboards that lined the walls. Turning to the main navigation panel, he rifled through the loose papers.
"Yes. The Commander had mentioned that our crew had been placed as top priority. I have no reason to believe that it wasn't because of our affiliation with Summer-ya." Finding nothing in the geographical papers, he tossed them onto the floor and glanced around.
"They would need to have a stockpile of information somewhere…" The Captain muttered, scanning the room one more time. On the wall opposite from him, there was a slight irregularity with the grain of the wood. On one side, a tiny sliver of the wood paneling was gone, making a black hole behind it. Standing, Law went up to it.
Working the wood out of the slot, behind it was a large, hidden chest. Grinning, Law saw it was unlocked and opened it. Inside were several folders and papers. Deciding that they didn't have time to look through it all at the moment, he closed the lid and took the whole thing with him.
"I think we just found our next break." Stepping out onto the deck, Bepo followed his Captain happily.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
