Chapter Text
“Wow, she's so sexy.” Someone said, close enough that his stale breath hit her face. He touched her cheek, hand trailing down her throat to her chest; the touch too intimate and greedy.
The lingering fog of sleep, or perhaps unconsciousness, muddled her head and made it impossible for her to open her eyes—her eyelids so heavy that they felt glued shut—but she groaned and grimaced at the unwanted touch. Slowly more impressions started tickling in. There was a stone floor underneath her, gritty against the skin of her arms. It felt like lying on a slab of ice; leeching warmth from her already chilled flesh. She tried to move but couldn't. Her body didn't respond; sleep paralysis, or perhaps just laying still in a cold place for too long. The air smelled sour and dusty, with undernotes of sand and mildew; like a cleaning supply closet where a wet floor swabber had been left to ferment in a bucket for too long. Where was she? What was going on?
Another voice, slightly further away, whisper-hissed, “Hurry the fuck up if you're gonna do it, the other's won't be busy with the new prey for long.” There was a creak of rusty hinges, like someone was cracking a door open just a sliver to peek outside.
From the far distance came shouts and gunfire. The sounds of an ongoing battle.
“I can't believe that just one guy is giving them this much trouble…” Another creak of rusty hinges, and the heavy clunk of a key turning in an old lock; the sound chilling and final.
“That's good for us, gives us more time to have fun here." The hand fondling her pulled back and there was the sound of a belt unbuckling, followed by a zipper getting pulled down. The touch returned, this time going directly for one of her breasts and squeezing hard. “Seems almost a shame to hand her over to the Navy. Her rack is fucking amazing.” More hard squeezing, which made her groan in pain and try to shift away, only to find that she could still barely move, her limbs numb and unresponsive, but now prickling with a thousand needles, like when blood-flow has been cut off for too long and starts coming back.
“She's so soft everywhere.” The man groping her said with wonder. “So cute.”
The guy bt the door snorted, “She's called The Surgeon of Death. If she was awake there'd be nothing cute about her.”
“Well it's not like she'll remember that, as long as the magic water works as usual.” He let go of her breast, but only to grab her shirt and rip it apart. There was the sound of cloth tearing and buttons flying off and plinking against the floor and walls.
Finally she managed to squint her eyes open, but most of her blurry view was blocked by the ugly face of the bearded guy groping her. They made eye contact and his face lit up in excitement.
“Ooh! She's waking up! Nice, I love it when they're responsive.”
“What…?” She managed to groan, struggling to get the word past her half-numb libs.
“Hey there, Law-chan,” The man grinned at her, “Don't worry baby, you and me are just gonna have some fun together.” She followed the motion of his hand as he reached down and grabbed his erect cock, which was already weeping in excitement.
Her eyes widened, and her stomach knotted tight with dread. Instantly she became aware of what was happening. She was in a small, dark and cramped room with two men; one was about to rape her, and one was waiting by the locked door; the lookout. Her hands were shackled behind her back; she could feel freezing metal digging into her wrists. She had been drugged, or something like it, because her body felt unnaturally cold and weak, and until a moment ago she hadn't even been able to remember her own name.
The leering man let go of his cock to pull out a knife, and with a practiced motion hooked it under the middle of her bra and sliced straight though it, making her breasts bounce free. Law snarled at him and tried to pull back, but though she was starting to regain control of her prickling limbs, it was still not enough to move herself to any effective degree.
“Ooh, you're a feisty kitty.” The man chuckled as he sheeted his knife and reached for her pants, popping the button. “You're gonna feel fantastic clenching on my cock.”
“Hurry the fuck up.” The man by the door snapped.
Her assailant turned around to snap back, “Stop rushing me, wait your fucking turn! Ya lost the coin toss so live with it.” He turned back to Law, smiling faux apologetically. “Sorry ‘bout him, Kitten. He's got no patience, but I promise I'm gonna make ya feel real good and loosen ya up nicely before you're forced to deal with him.”
“I'll kill you!” She snarled back.
“Aww Babe, that's what they all say.”
Some may have frozen in horror. Not Law though. Instead she felt a headrush of blinding fury; her heart galloping with adrenaline. Just as fast, it cooled into crystal clear and ice cold murderous rage. One benefit was that she started gaining faster control of her body. As he began trying to pull off her skin tight jeans, Law squirmed and kicked back, not at all resigned to her fate.
“Fucking—stop kicking, Bitch!” The last part was spat as he barely avoided taking Law's knee to the nose.
Her still rather feeble kicking wouldn't hold him off forever, but it did distract him, which was Law's true aim. As he grabbed her one ankle with a triumphant shout, Law managed to hit her true aim—the knife, which he had carelessly discarded next to where he was kneeling, rather than putting it back on his belt. Unnoticed it skittered across the floor and disappeared under a pair of dusty shelves, where it wouldn't easily be found. Perfect. Law, despite not remembering anything about herself aside from her name, felt sure that she could hit and kick with the best of them, but with her hands tied behind her back there was no way to defend herself against taking a blade to the chest. Unfortunately the rush of victory distracted Law for a second, which was enough for the man to get a proper hold on her and wrestle her underneath his grunting sweaty body.
Teeth clenched tight around foul curses, and with the next step of her plan in mind, Law stopped fighting back and went limp instead.
“Ya finally done!?” He snapped, sounding winded.
Law pushed out a weak whimper and tried to curl in on herself, like she was scared. This seemed to please him, his voice slowly becoming more jovial again as he spoke, even though the hard grip he had on her limbs didn't ease up at all. “There ya go, got it all out of your system, didn't ya? Don't worry sweetheart, I won't hurt ya, just gonna make ya feel good, so you be good for me too, yeah?”
Trembling, Law slowly nodded, keeping her eyes lowered and shadowed by her bangs, her entire demeanor screaming that she had given up.
Grunting in satisfaction, he started fondling her again, rough hands first grabbing and squeezing, then pinching and rolling her nipple between thick, callused fingers. Law grit her teeth and bore it. The longer she bore it, the more time she bought for her strength to return. Her blood was flowing fast, heart pumping with a mix of fury and fear, warming her limbs and giving her back control.
“Ya even smell sweet,” He moaned as he licked a fat, wet tongue up the side of her neck. Law smothered a curse behind clenched teeth.
After a few minutes, the man finally seemed satisfied with the petting, and went to pull back, ready to get her pants all the way off—he'd not managed to even pull them past her hips before—which was when Law struck.
One well-aimed kick, much more targeted and efficient than her prior flailing, and she nailed him right in his dick. The man threw his head back and howled.
Law wasn't done. Like a leaping tiger she lurched forwards, teeth bared, and clamped down on his throat. A human's bite force ranged around 120-160 psi; a bit over half of that of a pitbull. Adrenaline was one hell of a drug though, and mixed with fury and desperation, it was more than enough to tear a hole through a human's carotid sheet, and into the carotid artery and jugular vein—if you knew where to aim your bite at least, which, surprisingly, Law found that she did.
The man's howling was exchanged for wet, pained gurgling, and his panicked flailing turned into survival driven hard hits against every part of her that he could reach. Law squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, body rocking with each hit, but didn't let up the force of her jaws.
The man by the door had briefly frozen in shock, but now lurged into action, falling upon her with more hits and kicks, and when that didn't work, grabbing a fist of her hair and pulling hard to make her let go of his buddy's throat.
The sharp pain in her scalp was not enough to make Law let go. Like a fighting dog trained to kill, she clamped harder onto the man's throat, even when her mouth filled with blood, which ran past her teeth and down her neck. Soon her vision turned red too, from her own wounds, a gash on her forehead dripping past her eyebrow and into her eyes.
Her ears were ringing from the hits on her head, and their yelling, dark spots dancing in front of her eyes—and still Law refused to let go.
It's difficult to say who would have given in first, but in the end it didn't matter:
Suddenly, the back wall of the room exploded in a cloud of broken concrete and cracked stones.
The lookout guy took a flying rock to the temple and toppled over. Several (luckily smaller) rocks hit Law's back, but it was the noise and shock from the explosion itself that made her finally let go. The man groaned and slumped back, weakly clasping onto his bloodied throat, trying to stem the pulsing spurts of blood.
Coughing at the dust invading her lungs, and spitting out blood, Law squinted through the din. It only took a second to spot the source of the destruction; two human figures, both men, and it looked like they were fighting. In the moonlight coming in through the sudden new opening, Law caught the pale glint of a sword swinging down. It didn't meet its target—he dodged almost too fast for her eyes to track, then launched a counter attack that forced the swordsman to take a staggering step backwards.
“Luffy! Stop it already!” The guy with the swords yelled.
The only reply from “Luffy” was a furious roar.
Coughing some more, Law tried to shuffle away from the fighting men—not eager to get more caught up in the clash than she already had been—and inched her way towards the shelves that she'd kicked the knife under. Yeah her arms were still tied behind her back, but she might be bendy enough to bring them past her ass and legs, so they could at least be tied in the front instead, which would let her wield the knife. Unfortunately it had slid in too far; she couldn't reach it.
Even more unfortunately, her coughing seemed to draw the fighting duo's attention, and as the final dust settled, allowing the moon to illuminate the room, their eyes widened in horror at the sight of her.
“Damnit Zoro! She's covered in blood!”
“You're blaming this on me!? You're the one who broke the wall!”
“You're the one who attacked the people who fed us!”
“I told you already! They're bounty hunters!”
“So were you!”
“They were gonna capture us!”
“That makes no sense! They fed us!”
“Hey,” Law said, voice raspy as she glared at them, refusing to show weakness. “Can you two clowns shut the fuck up and help me out here?”
The one named Luffy, a young looking guy with dark hair and a straw hat, snapped to attention and protested, “Hey! We're not clowns!”
“You just dropped a fucking wall on me! I could've died!”
“...It was Zoro's fault.” Luffy insisted, lips pursed and eyes darting to the side.
“Haah!?” Zoro exclaimed, “You're the one who broke it!”
“Whatever,” Law snapped, “Can you help me out already?” She swallowed her pride and added a bitter, “Please.”
“Oh, sure, if you'll stop being mad about the wall.” Luffy said.
When she agreed with a nod, he moved in the blink of an eye, rocking towards her like a rubberband. Law flinched back in surprise and bumped into the shelves behind her. She scrambled for the knife again, but her fingers still only brushed the hilt. Luffy didn't touch her though, he just landed nimbly right in front of her and peered at her, his already large eyes widening further as he got a better look at her.
It didn't take a genius to tell that her torn open shirt and bra, and half pulled down pants, didn't stem from an exploding wall. Coupled with the cuts and bruises she was covered in, not to mention all the blood, Law was sure she made for quite a sight.
“...What happened?” Luffy asked, a new and much more serious quality to his lowered voice.
Law discovered a new thing about herself, which was that she wasn't one to mince words. “The bastards over there tried to rape me, so I ripped out his throat, with my teeth.” She bared said fangs at Luffy, as a warning that she wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing again if he tried anything.
Luffy glanced at her bloody teeth, then turned to look at the collapsed men. They lay sprawled between the broken bricks. One was knocked out and bleeding from a head wound, and the one with a torn open throat… Well, he might still have a pulse, but soon he'd run out of blood in his body, since most of it already covered the floor in a large sticky pool. The liquid looked almost black in the moonlight. His limp dick, which still hung out of his opened pants, painted a clear picture of what he'd been up to.
Expression blank, Luffy turned back to her and finally seemed to clock that her arms were tied behind her back. His expression darkened, and he quietly said, “Zoro… what was it you were trying to tell me about these guys?”
Zoro let out a sigh, sheathed his swords, and walked closer. “The whole island's full of bounty hunters.” He said as he came to a stop next to them, though he only took a quick glance at Law's bloody and exposed chest before quickly looking away, jaw clenching as he gazed out into the moonlit night. “They tried to drug us, and were gonna rob us and then hand us over to the navy.”
“I see.” Luffy said quietly. Then, after a beat, he added, “Sorry.”
Zoro ground his knuckles into the top of Luffy's dark hair and gritted out, “Just listen next time, before you decide to start a fight.”
“I promise.” Luffy said solemnly.
Law's eyes flickered between them, realizing that despite the misunderstanding that had led to them fighting, these two must normally be quite close companions. Also, they were the target of bounty hunters, so they were criminals.
Not that Law had much of a leg to stand on there. With a nickname like ‘Surgeon Of Death’ she seemed unlikely to be anything but a crook herself—not that she could remember though.
Luffy, done with his apologies, reached for her, saying, “Here, bend over, I'll untie you.”
“Wait, Luffy, maybe we shouldn't—” Zoro started, warning going ignored, while at the same time Law said;
“You can't, it's metal—?!!” Law didn't get a chance to finish her sentence either before Luffy suddenly groaned and slumped into her like all strength had left his body. “What the hell!” She hissed, tensing up in preparation to tear out a second throat if needed.
But Luffy didn't try to do anything else, just groaned weakly into her shoulder. “Zooroo, heeelp. The metal's all weird. It's zapping my streeeength.”
Frowning, Zoro grabbed Luffy by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back. The effect was immediate. Within moments Luffy straightened up again, color returning to his cheeks while he shook his head and shuddered like a dog that had just escaped a cold bath. “Yuck! I hated that! It felt like the weird weapon Smokey used.”
“Smokey?” Zoro asked, looking lost for a moment, before snapping his fingers, “Ah, the Marine guy in Loguetown.”
“It made me all cold and drained!” Luffy whined.
“Hmm.” Zoro bent forward to examine the shackles too, touching his fingers to them.
Law hissed a sharp, “Oi!” at him, because her breasts were still hanging free, and even if these two clowns didn't seem like they had any intentions towards her, she didn't appreciate the un-asked-for proximity.
“Doesn't feel weird to me.” Zoro declared as he pulled back, ignoring both Law's bare chest and her bared teeth.
“Do you think it's ‘cause I'm a devil fruit user?” Luffy asked, tilting his head up towards him. He was still sitting on the floor, legs crossed and holding his own ankles as he rocked slightly back and forth, like he didn't have a real care in the world.
“I can't see what else it would be.” Zoro said with a shrug.
Metal that weakened devil fruit users. The terms scratched something in the back of Law's brain. She realized that she knew what devil fruits were, and the metal… urgh, it was on the tip on her tongue!
Frustrated and impatient, Law reminded them of her presence, and her problem. “It's making me feel all cold and drained too, and I'd like to get free, so how about looking for the keys?” She nodded her aching head towards the two fallen bounty hunters.
“Yeah, good idea,” Luffy started unfolding his legs to go find them, but Zoro caught him by the shoulder and held him back.
“Wait,” He said, eying Law, still with not even a sliver of desire but with quite a lot of suspicion. “If she was caught by these guys, she probably has a bounty.”
“So?”
“So, she's probably a pirate, and a devil fruit user, if our theory about the metal is correct.”
“Really?” Luffy sounded excited. “Then let's hurry up and free her so we can see what it is!”
“Idiot! She could be dangerous!"
Feeling her chance of freedom start to slip away, Law summoned up a mocking smirk and asked the swordsman, “What, are you scared?” Because he seemed exactly the type not to take that sort of thing lying down.
As expected he did flush up, tanned cheeks turning a blotchy red, but unfortunately he didn't take the bait. Instead his eyes narrowed. “Nice try, but you're not getting out of those before we know what you can do. I'm not scared of a fight, but devil fruit abilities can be pure bullshit.”
Yeah, that was smart. Law would definitely have done the same if she were in his shoes, but since she was the presumed devil fruit user in shackles instead, she couldn't really appreciate the caution.
There was a moment of silence as they reached a stalemate, and seeing no other way out, Law let out an annoyed sigh and said, “Alright, I know how this is gonna sound, but I don't actually know.”
“What do you mean?” Luffy asked, tilting his head, “Did you just eat your fruit? Didn't you get a feeling of what it can do right away?”
“That's not…” Law sighed again, and pulled up her legs to hide her chest, because not only was it still bare, it was also covered in blood, which was rapidly cooling in the night air and making her nipples pebble. Being half naked was bad enough, the last thing she needed was having to negotiate for her freedom with erect nipples on display. “I mean that I don't know if I'm a devil fruit user. The bastards fed me some kind of drug or something. I can't remember anything.”
“What!?” Luffy rocked backwards in surprise, “Not even who you are? Don't you know your own name?”
Law pursed her lips, “One of them called me Law. That feels correct, so I'm pretty sure that's my name. But otherwise, yeah, I don't remember anything.”
Zoro raised an eyebrow. “You're right, that does sound like a load of bullshit.”
Law glowered up at him—as well as she could past her quickly swelling eyes. “I'm aware, but it's the truth.”
Her bruised up and bloody face did not seem to inspire pity. Zoro just scoffed and crossed his arms, looking unconvinced.
However Luffy crouched down in front of her and peered closely at her, his black eyes locked with her own. For a long moment Law felt like she was falling into the dark void of them—it was the same gut-sucking feeling as standing in a high place and looking down; the siren song of gravity and rushing air. Then Luffy blinked, which broke the spell. Grinning, he jumped back up and put his hands on his hips as he declared, “Zoro! Let her go!”
“Seriously?” Zoro groaned, looking long suffering but curiously not refusing.
“Yeah! I think she's telling the truth, and even if she isn't, we can just beat her up!” Luffy finished with a weird cheerful giggle, the sound odd and hissing, “Shishishi.”
“Aye aye, Captain,” Rolling his eyes, Zoro went over to the bodies to search them.
‘So he's a captain… and a pirate, I bet.’ Law thought, her gaze lingering on the dark haired man, who looked far too young and easy-going to be a pirate captain. If she hadn't just seen him break a wall like it was a fragile vase, fight a swordsman to a standstill unarmed, and have zero reaction to seeing an exsanguinating body in a pool of blood, she probably wouldn't have believed it. However, since she had just witnessed all of that, Law was very aware that this guy hid plenty of danger behind his sunny grin.
Luckily her makeshift saviors seemed to have no more problems with setting her free, though she had no idea what had made Luffy decide that she could be trusted—or perhaps it was just more proof that he was dangerous, if he felt certain that they would be able to beat her regardless of whatever her potential devil fruit power might be.
A quick search of the bodies had Zoro produce a set of keys. The one for Law's shackles was luckily amongst them.
Law sat stiffly as she endured more proximity, though to his credit, Zoro worked as fast as he could, his touch clinical. As soon as the shackles fell to the ground, she felt a rush of energy, her body warming up like she had submerged herself in an invigorating hot spring. There was an odd sensation under her skin, tingling and moving, almost like an electric current. Law looked down at herself with a puzzled frown, but saw no obvious difference; she was as bloodied and bruised as before, only her skin color seemed healthier.
Looking closely at her suddenly much brighter complexion, Zoro stepped back as he declared, “As I thought, you're a devil fruit user.”
“Probably,” Law agreed, because that did seem like the most likely explanation. She pulled her freed wrists to the front and rubbed warmth and blood flow back into them. “Could you two…” She made a motion with her finger for them to turn around.
Luffy titled his head, “Why? We've already seen everythi—OUCH! What the hell, Zoro!? What was that for!?”
“Idiot.” Zoro hissed as he once again grabbed his supposed captain by the scruff of his neck and dragged him outside.
Law mentally bid them good riddance and farewell, and then focused on pulling up her pants and making herself as presentable as possible. Her once yellow shirt was dyed mostly red, and was missing every button except from the top three, which probably hadn't been buttoned up when it got ripped open. Left with no other way to close it, she popped her breasts back into the cups of the sliced bra, then pulled the shirt tight and tied it with a bow in the front, turning it into a midriff-bearing top. As long as she didn't move too much, it would probably stay in place. Being as close to decent as she was likely to get, she started walking towards the gaping hole in the wall, only to feel a sudden sense of having forgotten something important. Stopping halfway through the room, she looked around, and found her eyes lingering on a desk next to the door, where a fluffy white fur hat with dark spots was placed. As she walked over to it, she also noticed a long sword lying on the floor. It had probably been propped up against the table at some point, before falling over when Luffy and Zoro broke through the opposite wall. The scabbard felt familiar to her hand as she picked it up. Unsheathing a few inches of the blade, she read the name engraved there. “Kikoku…” She said softly, and the sword seemed to vibrate, as if it was humming in agreement and greeting.
Well, either this was her sword, or it belonged to one of the bastards who had assaulted her, and in either case she felt no scruples taking it. Same with the hat.
Hat in place and sword leaned over her shoulder, she walked outside just in time to witness two people get sent flying by the captain and swordsman duo. Law blinked in surprise as the bodies flew past her, and looked back at the culprits with raised eyebrows. She was about to ask what they were doing, but Luffy spoke first, stealing, if not the words, then the sentiment, right out of her mouth.
“Who are these annoying bastards anyway?” He huffed, rotating his arm and clenching his fist, clearly still ready to go if needed.
“Part of Baroque Works.” Zoro said, sheathing his sword again. “They're a criminal organization that uses code-names and shit. Real hush-hush.”
“I thought they were bounty hunters?”
Zoro shrugged. “Probably how they bring in cash.”
“Hmm.”
Before more could be said, there was a loud feminine shout of “Hey!” as an orange haired girl hurried down the street towards them. “There you are Zoro, I thought you'd gotten lost again.”
“Nami! You're alright!” Luffy said, sounding relieved. His gaze quickly flickered towards Law, before he went back to beaming at Nami. Law could guess what he'd been worried about, considering the condition he'd just found Law in. This girl had to be his crewmate.
“Obviously I'm alright,” Nami flicked her hair, “Unlike some people, I didn't let my guard down.” Without waiting for a response, she asked Zoro, “Did you save the Princess?”
Rolling his eyes, Zoro simply motioned with his thumb over his shoulder, and they all turned to look at a blue-haired girl who was sitting atop a big, horse-sized, duck. The girl was staring at them, her expression a mixture of surprise and apprehension.
“A princess?” Luffy said, sounding blank.
Nami suddenly noticed Law's presence and asked, “Who's she? Another bounty hunter?”
“Nah, she's a bounty.” Zoro said flatly. “We set her loose.”
“Yeah, as a ‘sorry’ for dropping a wall on her.” Luffy added.
Nami didn't even blink at his addition, which provided a concerning clue that this type of shit might be common behavior for him. Instead her expression suddenly turned calculating. “How much is she worth?”
“Drop it, Witch.” Zoro warned, and something about his serious tone seemed to make Nami decide to listen. Or perhaps it was getting a better look at Law, and her rather sorry condition, because after taking a second glance at her, Nami clearly suppressed a wince before shifting her attention back to the princess.
“Hey you,” She called out, “How about forming a contract with me?”
“A contract…?” The blue haired, duck-riding girl looked apprehensive. Law sympathized. None of these people seemed normal or sane, and frankly she was unsure why she was even still standing around here.
Deciding that she'd leave the pirates alone to scam the princess, she started walking down the street, looking around as she did. None of them tried to stop her.
It was night, but it was easy enough to see. A waning gibbous moon hung in the clear star-speckled sky, shining down on a landscape of mountain-sized cacti, sandstone buildings with flat roofs, and a sea of bodies scattered on the pale sandy ground.
The last part brought her some pause. After a second of staring at the blood bath in the town square, Law walked up to one of the bodies and kicked it in the ribs. It groaned. So. Injured and unconscious, not dead. Or at least this guy wasn't. Looking around, she estimated there were upwards of a 100 people here. Was Zoro the one who had done all this? “Damn, and he isn't even the captain?” Law mumbled to herself.
Aside from a few groans rising from the fallen people in the plaza, the town was dark and silent. Not even a dog stirred in the barren desert landscape. It must be scalding hot during the day, but during nighttime the temperatures in the desert dropped sharply. Rubbing her goose-bumped arms and shivering a little, Law looked around, wondering what she should do. Peering down the long dark street, she thought that she spotted white sails in the distance: A harbor, which meant ships. She could steal a boat and get the hell out of here. Except… All she currently had to her name were the ruined clothes on her body, a hat, and a sword. Her hand tightened around the scabbard. Even if she left, she wouldn't know where to go.
Sighing and rubbing her bruised eyes in frustration, Law picked her way through the bodies and stole a few coins. Not only had these people gotten beaten, but they were poor as fuck. How unfortunate, both for them and for her.
The carnage probably also meant that the pirates who had inadvertently saved her were the only conscious people in town who could tell her where she was. Reluctantly, Law turned around and walked back to the group of weirdos.
She'd only been gone for five minutes, if that, so Nami was still talking to the princess.
No one paid any mind to Law as she silently returned and leaned her back against a house wall to listen. Zoro glanced at her, seemed to notice her sword and looked briefly interested, but that was all.
The princess didn't seem to be buying what Nami was selling, which sounded like a really, REALLY, overpriced transportation deal. Apparently the blue-haired girl, whose name Law still hadn't caught, was the princess of somewhere called Alabasta. Didn't ring any bell to Law, but then, not much currently did. According to the Princess, there was a civil war going on, and Baroque Works was the criminal organization secretly fanning the flames.
For some reason the Princess herself had decided to infiltrate the organization. Law thought that was an odd choice, didn't royals usually employ people for that? Servants? Guards? The only cohort the Princess had was some guy called Igaram.
“The guy with chikuwa hair?” Luffy asked, making some odd motions near his face; probably meant to represent hair.
Not understanding what he was trying to convey, Law asked, “What's chikuwa?”
Luffy's attention snapped around to her, “What!? You've never had chikuwa!?”
“Not that I can recall.” Said Law crisply. “What is it?”
“A kind of fish cake on a stick.” Zoro explained, looking annoyed by the interruption, since he and Nami actually seemed interested in listening to the Princess’ woes.
Luffy smiled at her, “We'll ask Sanji to make you some. He's our cook!”
“Sure.” Law said dryly, though she was already mentally plotting what her next step should be, and it didn't necessarily involve sticking with this group for longer than it took them to answer her questions. Then again, even if she found out where she was, it wasn't like she had any idea about what she'd been doing before waking up here, or where she'd been planning to go. Perhaps sticking with a group of seemingly not hostile people would be the smartest choice, at least until she regained her bearings, and hopefully her memories.
As Law considered her options, the conversation moved on, and the Princess was now reiterating the importance of her getting home so she could warn her people against the leader of Baroque Works and his machinations.
“Who is this leader guy anyway?” Luffy asked.
The Princess stiffened up and then wildly shook her hands and head, “You mean his true identity? Don't ask! I couldn't possibly tell you! You're much safer off not knowing! If you knew, Baroque Works would hunt you down and wouldn't stop until they killed you!”
Nami laughed nervously, “Haha, yeah! Just leave us out of it. I mean, a guy who's planning to take over an entire country? He must be really dangerous!”
“Yes, indeed.” The Princess said grimly, “No matter how strong your crew is, you're no match for Crocodile, who's one of the Seven Royal Warlords.”
There was a beat of silence as they all stared at her, and the Princess’ eyes slowly widened as she realized what she'd just revealed.
“Yooouuu!!!” Nami shrieked, while Zoro just flatly stated, “Well, she just said it.”
Law was surprised to find that she knew what the seven warlords were, also known as the Ouka Shichibukai. The term sent a shiver of dread down her spine, and made her empty stomach clench painfully. A bunch of privateers, allowed to loot and pillage as long as they also acted as the Navy's dogs. Of course none of them were truly loyal, but they were strong, and as long as they didn't break the rules and act out too blatantly, the Navy and World Government turned a blind eye to their atrocities. No matter how hard she tried, Law couldn't remember the individuals who made up the group, but the concept was clear to her, and she did not like it.
Before she had time to dwell on the sinking pit of fear in her guts, and other underlying muddled emotions, a strange caw sounded. It drew everyone's attention to the top of a flat roof, where a vulture and an otter were sitting and staring at them with malicious intent.
Law stared back, and asked no one in particular, “...Are those animals wearing clothes? And sunglasses? At night?”
Zoro gave her a weird look. “That's the part that brothers you?”
The Princess had been on her knees, busy apologizing while Nami shook her, but now she gasped and jumped up, her face turning pale from fear. “It's the Unluckies! They overheard us!”
“You mean they work for Crocodile!?” Nami shrieked as she let go of the Princess, then pointed sharply at the animals while looking at Zoro and ordering him like one would a dog. “We can't let them report back to him! Zoro, get them!”
“Me!?” Zoro boggled at her, “I'm a swordsman, not a sniper!”
Luffy just tilted his head and smiled, looking unconcerned, “Wow, so this Crocodile guy has animal henchmen? That's funny. Do you think he also has crocodile henchmen?” Not waiting for an answer, he then looked at Zoro, his expression clearly excited, “She said he was a Shichibukai.”
“Heh, sounds interesting.” Zoro smirked back.
“No it's not!” Nami yelled, close to tears. “I don't wanna fight a Shichibukai!” Then just as quick as she'd been to despair, her temper shifted to steel. Straightening up, chin lifted like a martyr queen, she spoke in a serious voice, “That's it. Unlike you two, no one knows my identity yet, so I'm leaving. It was nice knowing you, but now, goodbye!”
Before Nami could take more than a few steps down the road, the Otter took out a sketchbook, and with just a few quick strokes it finished the final portrait to add to its collection, which it then held out. They all looked at the art works. Law recognized Zoro, Nami, Luffy, and a pretty dark haired woman with a fluffy hat… wait.
“Hey!” Law yelled at the animals, “I'm not with these guys! Don't drag me into it!”
“Yeah!” Nami cried, her hands raised in a begging motion as she lied unrepentantly, “Me neither! I'm innocent!”
The animals didn't listen. The Otter jumped up onto the Vulture's back and they took to the sky, disappearing within the blink of an eye. Law cursed explosively and stomped on the ground.
“I guess you're stuck with us for now,” Zoro said as he smirked at her, “Unless you wanna face off against the agents of Baroque Works alone?”
“Maybe I will!” Law snapped, eyes blazing, “They might bring me less trouble than you lot seem to do!”
“Waaah! We're gonna get targeted by a Shichibukai!” Nami cried, collapsing onto her knees. “We're doomed!”
The Princess was also crying and chanting, “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm—”
“I wonder how strong he is?” Luffy said, sounding unconcerned.
Law sent him a venomous glare. “Stronger than you, that's for sure.”
“How do you know? Have you met him?” Luffy asked, big round eyes wide and guileless.
“He's a Shichibukai,” Law stressed, “and you're, what—” She gestured at him, and his overall unthreatening appearance, “—some rookie pirate, I bet.”
Zoro frowned at her, crossing his arms, “He's got a thirty million bounty.”
Law snorted and said dryly, “I'm shaking in my boots.”
“Oh, and what are you worth?” He asked sharply, eyes glinting. Then, as he kept looking at her, his expression turned into a frown. “Actually, you do look kinda familiar…”
“I bet I'm worth more.” Law said as she lifted her chin. The claim was not born out of any real surety, but because she refused to admit defeat.
“Who cares what she's worth!” Nami cried, “We're all gonna die!”
“Worry not!” A new voice suddenly interjected, as an older middle-aged man appeared. He was covered in wounds and had his face caked in badly applied make-up, but his hair and clothes… upon closer inspection they seemed to be trying to mimic what the Princess was wearing.
“Igaram!” The Princess called out, looking relieved. “You're saf—what are you wearing!?” Her face froze as she noticed his get-up.
“Whoa,” Luffy said, giving Igaram a glance up and down and then a thumbs up, “You can definitely pull off that look.”
“Princess Vivi,” Igaram said, ignoring the compliment, and unwittingly solving the mystery of the Princess’ name. “Now that we have been discovered, it will be safer for you to sail to Alabasta with these pirates along the traditional route, rather than using the Eternal Log Pose. In the meantime, I will be the decoy.”
“Eternal Log Pose?” Nami parroted, snapping out of her depression to instead look at Igaram with interest.
Before Law could think about it, she found herself explaining. “It's similar to a regular Log Pose, but instead of locking on to the next island's magnetic field, it's stuck on one and won't change. With an Eternal Pose you can always find your way to the island it's calibrated to.”
Zoro gave her a narrow-eyed look and said suspiciously, “Weren't you supposed to have amnesia?”
“Amnesia?” Nami asked, looking between Law and Zoro, “Wait, so what she just said is wrong?”
“No, it's correct.” Vivi said, looking at Law with a light frown. “Why did he claim you have amnesia?”
“Because I do.” Law said rather short-temperedly, crossing her arms as best she could for her sword and scowling. “I can't remember anything about myself, where I am, or how I got here, but I guess I still know general things about the world.” A stroke of luck, really. She could have become a drooling idiot unable to even walk or talk. As helpless as a baby.
“Maa-maa…” Igaram cleared his throat, looking a little shamefaced, “If it's about how you ended up here, I believe that I can answer that, Miss.”
Law turned to him like a starving shark scenting fresh blood. Her cold, predatory look made Igaram take a step back as he quickly explained, “Yesterday, a few of our agents found you floating in the sea on a piece of driftwood. You were clinging to your sword, but unconscious.”
“So they picked me up and put me in chains?” Law said darkly, “That doesn't explain why I can't remember anything.”
“I'm not sure…” Igaram mumbled, but his eyes looked shifty.
“One of the bastards in there,” Law pointed a thumb towards the hole in the broken wall, “Said something about ‘magic water’ when he tried to assault me. Do you know anything about that?”
Igaram jolted at the word ‘assault.’ A word that could mean several things, but judging by his reaction, Igaram definitely knew what Law had meant. He didn't immediately reply, and as the silence dragged on, Princess Vivi's expression grew increasingly disturbed and she asked in a small voice, “Igaram?”
The man suddenly fell to his knees and bowed. “I'm sorry, Princess! The truth is, I didn't want you to learn about such an unpleasant thing!”
“What thing?” Vivi asked, baffled.
Law snorted and said darkly, “He means the men drugging and raping your female prisoners, isn't that right?”
“What!?” Vivi exclaimed, paling as she turned to Law and looked at her with fresh horror. “So to you—they—”
“They tried.” Law said, cutting off the Princess’ stuttering.
Igaram lifted his head to call out desperately, “Princess! Please don't think I would simply stand by while such atrocities took place! But we had no proof! The suspected victims—they didn't remember anything! Me and some others, who also disdain such immoral actions, have tried to prevent the suspected perpetrators from ever being alone with the prisoners, but tonight they must have taken their chance while everyone was distracted fighting the pirates.”
Law re-crossed her arms and frowned, but she had to admit that it tracked with what she'd overheard as she came to. “One thing doesn't make sense though. Why would they give me whatever memory wiping mystery drug they'd gotten their hands on before successfully assaulting me?”
Igaram lifted his head to carefully peak at her, “Miss, if your memories are truly all gone, then you of course wouldn't be aware, but according to some of the veterans here, you have a very high bounty.”
Zoro snorted, but his eyes were hard. “Right, so in short they were piss-scared of her and drugged her up right away, hoping it would make her less dangerous.”
“That is probably what happened, yes…” Igaram said, still shame-faced.
Luffy looked at Law, eyes unreadable, “Well, that didn't work out for them.”
Law just frowned back at him, unnerved by Luffy's unreadable look. Soon she lowered her gaze to the ground instead, staring at it in silence. While part of the mystery of how she got here and lost her memory had been solved, it was nothing that helped her figure out how to better her situation. She had gone from amnesiac waking up in a room, to amnesiac found floating unconscious in the sea. Had she been in a shipwreck?
Her frown deepened. There was no way to tell what had happened to her. For now, she had to look for more clues.
Luffy suddenly spoke again, looking at Igaram as he asked, “By the way, what did you mean about the Princess sailing with us?”
Zoro replied, “Didn't you listen to Nami before? He wants us to give her a lift home.”
“Ooh, alright. Sure.”
“Don't just agree!” Nami screeched, “I offered that deal before I knew that we were dealing with a Shichibukai!”
“That's right,” Igaram said grimly as he got back on his feet and dusted off his knees, “As you pirates are now also being targeted by him and his organization, I feel that you should all know: Crocodile used to have a bounty of eighty million, before it got frozen when he became a Shichibukai. He has undoubtedly grown stronger since, so if it were to be reinstated, I'm sure it would be higher.”
“Eighty million!?” Nami cried, “That's already four times that of Arlong!” She collapsed dramatically to her knees and hung her head. “And he's probably even stronger than that…?” She covered her mouth to smother a sob. “Just kill me now.”
“Eigthy million, huh?” Luffy said, raising his hand and clenching it into a fist, an excited smile stretching across his face as he watched his own flexing knuckles.
‘What a lunatic.’ Law thought as she looked at him. Then, deciding to focus on her own problems, she turned on her heel, stalked in through the gaping hole in the wall, and crouched next to the fallen men. One was dead— he'd bled out from the wound she'd torn in his throat. She searched his pockets but found nothing of value or interest. The next guy was still breathing, but he had a nasty head wound, and when she peeled back his eyelids he had mis-matched pupils, one completely blown out while the other was just a pinprick. No surprise there, since he was also twitching with weakening seizure spasms. Law diagnosed that if he didn't get extremely competent and extensive medical care soon, he'd die without ever waking again.
The thought brought Law pause. Just like when she heard the words ‘7 warlords’ and ‘Eternal Log Pose’ and had immediately known what both meant, the evaluation of the man's condition also seemed clear as day to her. What's more, Law had a strong feeling that she should be able to fix him. If she could only remember how. It was like the knowledge was there, but obscured to her. Like when you have a word on the tip of your tongue but you just can't recall it, no matter how hard you struggle. This situation was the same. Trying her best to remember, to snatch the edges of that fleeting knowledge fluttering in the wind right at the tip of her fingers, only gave her a headache.
Clicking her tongue in a sharp, “Tsk,” both at her own impotence and at having no one to interrogate, she went through his pockets too and this time had more luck. She found a small vial which seemed to have once contained a clear, odorless liquid. Only a few drops still clung to the bottom of the glass. Law felt certain that this had to be the mystery drug she'd been fed. The so-called ‘magic water.’ There was a faded label on the bottle, a single word written on it, the looping handwritten letters hard to make out in the moonlight. Squinting and holding it closer, Law mouthed the word, “Lethe…”
Lethe? What was that supposed to mean? It almost sounded like a name.
Once again, there was no way to tell right now.
Looking around at the bricks, broken mortar, cleaning supplies and a few other miscellaneous items scattered over the floor of the otherwise empty room, Law admitted to herself that there was probably not more to gain here.
The men who'd assaulted her could be hiding more of the drug somewhere, but Law had no way to find out. Even if Igaram knew where they slept and stored their stuff, Law doubted they'd have kept their contraband there. With a Shichibukai gunning for their asses, neither she nor the people outside could afford to linger on this island, so she didn't have time to search.
Of course she would bring the vial, but she hesitated for a moment about what to do with it. Her jeans were so tight they may as well be painted on, and her shirt had no pockets. In the end she stuffed it into her cleavage and buttoned up a couple of the surviving buttons. That would have to do.
Back outside, the others seemed ready to walk to the shore, where Igaram had a ship waiting.
As they walked, Igaram and Vivi both kept giving her a strange mix of cautious and guilty looks. Law did her best to ignore them.
Unfortunately the Princess either couldn't understand her ‘fuck off and leave me alone’ vibes, or she chose to ignore them, because after walking for a while she siddled up to Law and softly but seriously said, “Miss Law, I am so sorry to hear what you've been through, I can't even imagine—”
“No, you can't.” Law said shortly, “And it has nothing to do with you, so—”
"She's right, Princess!” Igaram felt the need to throw himself into the conversation. “I'm the one who must apologize! If not for my lapse of attention as we fought these pirates—”
“But Igaram,” Vivi said, “We were both fighting off Miss Valentine and Mr. 5! How could you have known—”
“Still! It is a responsibilityI must bear—!”
“Oh shut the fuck up!” Law snapped as she sped up to walk past them. “You both seem more concerned about easing your own guilt than whatever I think, so figure it out amongst yourself and leave me the hell alone!”
Law's words made them both fall silent, and they didn't try to speak to her again as they finished their walk to the shore.
-
-
The air was heavy and awkward as Igaram placed the decoy dummies on the ship.
Looking at the simple dummies and Igaram's shoddy disguise, Law wondered if they'd seriously fool anyone, but she kept quiet, because it wasn't like she had any better ideas. In fact, she still only grasped the bare bones of what was going on, and all she hoped for was that it would soon cease to be her problem.
Vivi kept shifting between looking guiltily at Law, nervously at the pirates she was meant to sail with, and worriedly at Igaram.
Zoro and Luffy looked unbothered, and Nami too was blank-faced, though in her case it was clearly a mask to hide whatever she was really feeling. Law could relate, only her mask consisted of looking murderously pissed off, which currently wasn't far from her true mood anyway.
“Hey,” Luffy suddenly said, turning his head towards her, “Do you wanna come with us too?”
Law had already been working under that assumption, but technically she hadn't gotten the captain's permission yet, so she nodded and tried to look earnest as she said, “Since I'm apparently about to be hunted down by an organization I know nothing about, I'd appreciate a lift to the next inhabited island.” Hopefully, once there, she could disappear amongst the crowd and get a chance to gather her bearings and figure out what her next step should be. If she had a bounty, that meant her identity was well known, so Law should be able to find out at least superficial things about herself, like what her full name was and where she was from. Maybe she could find a library that kept a backlog of old newspapers. Then she might even learn what she'd been up to before being found drifting unconscious in the ocean, because if she was notorious enough to have a high bounty, there had to have been articles written about her exploits, right?
“Alright,” Luffy said, “We'll give you a lift.”
“Thanks.”
-
-
Igaram finished his preparations and started saying his farewells. “Now then Princess, I shall follow the eternal log pose towards Alabasta, and while the agents of Baroque Works chase after me, you will sail with these pirates along the normal route.” He stepped closer to the railing and looked seriously down at them. “I have never sailed that route myself, but there should be two or three islands to log before you reach our Kingdom.”
“Be safe, Igaram.” Vivi told him as goodbye.
“You too, Princess.” His eyes were soft as he looked at her, and something about his caring, almost paternal expression, made Law's heart clench. She wondered if anyone had ever looked at her like that; and if so, if they were still alive and missing her… The way her heart dropped at the thought made her think it was unlikely.
Igaram then looked at the others and announced, “I will now leave the Princess in your care. The journey ahead will be dangerous, but may we all meet safely in our homeland!”
As he sailed away, they stood on the shore, watching the ship grow smaller.
“Too bad that he had to leave,” Luffy said, “He was a funny guy.”
Vivi smiled softly, eyes still on the leaving ship, “Yes, he's always been a dependable—”
A sudden explosion engulfed the horizon in flames.
Moments after the boom hit them, they were rocked by the scalding blast of air and the overpowering smell of burning wet wood and gunpowder.
Law's breath hitched, her heart lodging itself in her throat as she stared at the fire, her eyes wide and blank. Sizzling energy suddenly bubbled under her skin, begging to be released—to do her bidding. But Law was frozen, unable to act. As the flames roared towards the sky, she thought she saw a large burning building amongst them, and she was seized by a desperate impulse to run into the inferno to save—to save who?
It didn't matter. The impulse was enough of a trigger. The bubbling energy blasted out of her, tinting everything blue. Law wanted to be closer to the fire, and with a dizzying yoink, suddenly she was. Too close. Far too close, and with no ground underneath her, only air, and then water, as between one breath and the next, she tumbled straight into the sea.
Law sank like a rock. There was not even a hint of natural buoyancy in her body. The ice cold water hit her like an electric shock, painful and just as numbing. As the water closed over her head she thought she heard panicked shouting from the people on the quay, but it soon grew muffled. The sea pulled her down unnaturally fast, her ears popping at the change in pressure. The icy water felt like an iron corset tightening around her ribcage, as if the sea hated her so much that it wanted to squeeze out what little air remained in her lungs so she would drown faster.
Quickly Law lost track of all other senses, only able to focus on her battle to keep her mouth shut—to keep the sea from rushing into her lungs—despite all her muscles feeling numb and weak to the point that she couldn't even thrash or struggle as she sank.
Her lungs screamed for air, bubbles slipped past her lips, and she was moments away from taking an involuntary breath of seawater, when a strong hand clamped down on her arm and pulled her upwards.
Law broke through to the surface gasping for air, followed by coughing and spluttering, feeling like she'd nearly swallowed half the sea. She clung to the person who had dived in to save her, not caring who it was. It took a few moments for her ears to pop so she could once again hear, and she recognized Zoro's cursing as he swam them towards the shore.
“What happened!?” Luffy yelled as he leaned out over the harbor edge to receive Law's limp body. He grabbed her and pulled her the rest of the way out of the water, so Zoro could grab the edge and pull himself up.
“Oi, Lady, hey,” There was a repeated wet smacking sound as Luffy tapped her pale cheek. Law would have batted him away, but all she could do was groan and weakly turn her head, her muscles once again feeling cold and unresponsive like when she had been wrapped up in those horrible shackles. Despite her floppy condition, Luffy kept talking. “Just now, everything went blue for a second and then you went ‘poof’ and was gone! And then we heard a splash much further out as you fell in!” He leaned closer, “Was that your devil fruit power? Why'd you use it to do that?”
“Didn't… mean to…” Law ground out through pale lips as she shivered. The sea had been freezing, and the night air of the desert was no joke; she felt chilled to the bone.
“Did the explosion shock you that much?” Luffy asked, but he didn't seem to expect an answer, instead he looked out at the burning horizon, his frown lit up by the orange glow of the flames.
Weakly, Law shook her head, and the effort was enough to make her slump tiredly against Luffy, her forehead resting on his chest. Explaining what she'd briefly thought she saw amidst the fire, and how her powers had responded to her unvoiced desire, seemed too complicated, so as soon as her numb tongue felt up to it, she mumbled a half-lie, “I tripped, and then… poof.”
“Really? Shishishi, you're kinda clumsy,” Luffy chuckled, looking back down at her, eyes briefly lighting up with mirth.
“She's a pain in the ass, is what she is.” Zoro grouched from beside them as he wrung water out of his shirt. “Now we've got two anchors to deal with.”
“This is no time to laugh!” Nami yelled as she ran past them, dragging the Princess along. Vivi was silent and pale, but not with fear; her expression was hard and focused. Somehow Law had expected her to be crying, but instead she felt a pang of kinship at the sight of her grim determination.
“You're right,” Luffy's face quickly folded back into a serious mien, “They've already discovered us, so we gotta haul ass. Zoro, get her sword.”
“Haah!?” Zoro complained, looking around wildly only to curse when he saw that there was indeed no sword on the ground. Law had fallen in with it and then lost her grip on it. “Couldn't you have told me before I wrung my shirt out!?” He snapped, but the sharp edge was blunted by the fact that he did so while diving back into the water.
Though tension lingered around his eyes, Luffy smiled reassuringly down at her, “Chikuwa hair guy said they'd found you clinging to your sword, despite being unconscious, so it's gotta be important to you, right?”
Law nodded again, lost for what else to say.
“Here,” Luffy said, raising his hand and placing something on her head. “I grabbed your hat. Luckily it floated.”
Law lifted a shaky hand to touch the brim, and found it barely wet. The fur it was made of seemed water repellant. Some kind of sealskin, maybe?
“We gotta go. Can you walk?”
Law tested her leg strength, pushing them against the ground without trying to get up, and was forced to admit, “No.” Unlike when she'd been freed from the shackles, her muscles still trembled with weakness. Perhaps it was because her seawater drenched clothes clung to her body.
“Alright, I'll carry you then.” Luffy said, starting to put his arm below her knees, before pausing as he seemed to have another idea. “Hey, do you think you've got the strength to hang onto my shoulders?” Luffy asked her, “I'd rather carry you on my back, so I have my hands free to punch someone if I need to.”
Given the explosion they'd just been surprised with, that seemed like due caution, and Law agreed, rasping out a “Yeah” in a hoarse voice.
Soon she found herself leaning against his back, arms wrapped around his shoulder, and knees around his waist. Tiredly she rested her forehead against his one shoulder and closed her eyes. She was exhausted. Did seawater really do this to all devil fruit users? Luffy didn't seem faced by her wet clothes soaking in through his own, so perhaps Law was just extra susceptible, or particularly unlucky.
As Law got settled, Zoro emerged from the water with her sword, which he held out to her. Law awkwardly stuffed it between her body and Luffy's back so it wouldn't slip out of her still numb hands.
Then they ran for the ship.
“Wait, what about Usopp and Sanji?” Luffy suddenly said.
“Those idiots,” Zoro groaned, “They must still be sleeping. I'll go grab them.”
“Alright, hurry back to the ship!”
They split up, Zoro running back towards the town, and Luffy, along with Law, continuing towards the cheerful little caravel bopping on the water in the canal.
The second Luffy's feet touched the deck he slid her off his back, telling her nothing but a short, brusk, “Wait here,” as he ran around the ship to get it sea ready.
The sails were readied to be unfurled, and he was hauling up the anchor, when Law decided this was her best chance to ask something that bothered her.
“Why are you helping me?”
Luffy didn't even pause or look away from his work as he asked, “What do you mean?”
Law voice grew increasingly tense as she spoke, “You don't know me, I've got nothing to do with you, so why go out of your way to—”
“I just feel like it.” Luffy cut her off, and finished hauling up the anchor in almost the same breath. Standing back, he brushed off his hands and then spared her a glance, “Besides, I wanna see what your devil fruit can really do when you use it on purpose.”
Law boggled at him, “That's your reason for helping me?”
“Nah, I already told you; I just feel like it.”
There was no more time to question him before shouting from the shore pulled his attention. The others had made their way back. Apparently Nami and Vivi had also run through town to get Vivi's things, and Zoro was pulling along two other guys, while bickering fiercely with one of them.
As soon as the blond newcomer got within shouting distance to the ship, he pulled his attention off of Zoro and called out, “Oi! Luffy! What the hell is going on? Mosshead says we're under attack!?”
“Yeah!” Luffy leaned out over the railing as he shouted back, “We've got assassins after us so we gotta go!”
The blond and Zoro both leapt up onto the deck with impressive speed, but the second unknown man used the rope ladder and practically fell onto the deck as soon as he reached the railing. Law could smell the alcohol on him even from where she was sitting, several meters away, so his ragdoll-like behavior was no surprise.
Groaning, the rather long-nosed man just remained where he'd landed as he questioned, “How the hell did we go from having a wonderful party to being chased by trained killers? Luffy, what did you do!?”
“More importantly,” The blond man said, voice and demeanor doing a sudden 180 as he spotted Law, hearts springing to his eyes, “Who is our beautiful guest?”
Zoro whacked him over the back of the head, “Stop oogling her and help get the ship sailing!”
“Oi! Mosshead! You—!”
As the two men went back to bickering, Nami and Vivi climbed aboard, the Princess crying out in relief when she discovered that her giant duck had already hidden itself on the ship, in between the grove of tangerine bushes that for some reason grew on the deck.
Cold, wet, and slightly miserable, Law just stayed by the railing where Luffy had put her down, knowing that she'd currently be more hindrance than help. At least her strength seemed to be slowly returning as she dried, though her energy levels stayed abysmal. As she leaned back and rested her eyes, Law wondered when she'd last had anything to eat or drink. All she'd gotten in recent memory was drugs and seawater. She checked on the vial, and found it still safely snuggled in her cleavage. Luckily it hadn't fallen out during her involuntary dip in the sea. Right now, it was her only lead to recover her missing memories.