FicWad

Law, Bepo, and Summer met up with most of the crew at the sub after 'buying' the medical book from the bookstore. Most of the men spent their time lounging around near the shore, reading magazines or dealing out cards. Summer had jokingly offered a game of strip poker, to which all the engineers hastily declined.

The log pose didn't set for another few hours, leaving the blonde girl struggling to find something to do. Law had retreated into the sub to look over his 'purchase' while Bepo went off to sit beside the sub's hull as it offered some protection from the sun. Summer sat next to him in her boredom.

"Well, now what?" She asked the polar bear, who was sniffing the air experimentally. His ears perked every which way, most likely hearing things that she as a human couldn't. He tilted his head towards the town.

"We still have to wait for everyone to get back, and the log pose hasn't set yet. We should just wait here for awhile." She crossed her legs and rested her elbow on top of her knee. Propping her chin in her hand, she sighed deeply.

"But that's so booorring." The bear lowered his head in depression.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. She patted his furry arm in comfort.

"Don't apologize. You're probably right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." She grumbled. The two sat in silence for awhile; Bepo still gazing towards the town and Summer quietly enjoying the gentle spring breeze. After a prolonged pause, Summer glanced curiously at the bear.

"Are we still being watched?" He shook his head.

"No, not since we left the bookstore. But something still doesn't feel right. I just don't know what." She didn't say anything after that, leaving Bepo to his own thoughts as she fought with her own.

Summer lazily glanced around at the crew, remembering her conversation with the captain earlier that day.

"What if it's Viper?" She half-whispered.

"Do you have reason to believe he knows we are here?"

"No, but-"

"Do you doubt my crew's ability to fight that much?" Her eyes widened.

"No! That's not what I meant!"

"Then quit worrying."

She hoped what Law had said was true, that she wouldn't have to worry about their safety if things went to hell. No, not if, when. She was now sure that her dark past would catch up with her eventually, it was just a matter of time. She just hoped that she would be strong enough when that time came.

As she looked around at the carefree little crew around her, she smiled.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked, and was greeted by the two engineers' cocky grins.

"Oh yeah, we're fine! It'll take more than a little roughing up to take us down."

Her grin widened when she spotted the two friends arguing over which of their hats were better suited to pick up girls. A wrestling match began right before her very eyes.

'They're so happy...' She thought.

Her gaze swung left where Casper stood leaning on the sub, slightly away from the rest of the crew. Despite his cold attitude and rough exterior, he really was a caring person. Even from this distance, she could pick up the traces of a smile on his face as he seemingly supervised the relaxing men.

She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them to her. Spreading her hands out in front of her, she found herself unable to look away from them. She studied her hands, partially calloused and dry from her years of rough living and imprisonment. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, fighting back the tears that began to build.

'I wonder...'

Opening her eyes, she looked to see Penguin and Shachi calling to her, gesturing her to go to them. They were both smiling.

"Summer-chan! We need your opinion!"

"I need you to tell Penguin that my hat is so much cooler than his!" Shachi shouted to which his friend pushed his face in the sand.

"Baka! Summer-chan knows that my hat is way more appealing than yours." They began to argue again.

Summer smiled a small smile, getting up from her position slowly and making her way over.

'Is it really possible…'

A few men called out a greeting to her and offered friendly smiles as she passed. Her heart soared at each one, sadly wondering how many of those she had ever received in her life. Too few to remember.

She approached the two troublemaking engineers, who smiled broadly up at her. She smiled genuinely for the first time all day.

'...That I can be as happy as them?'

Bepo's gaze wouldn't leave the town. There was something in the air, a foul stench, that he couldn't put a name to. It continued to spread over the area towards the north, and gradually wafted closer. By now, all of the crew had returned and joined the relaxing men on the shore. Supplies had been brought onboard and secured, now all they waited for was the log pose. Personally, Bepo thought it couldn't set soon enough.

The bear thought back to when Summer had been seated next to him. He could smell her ever-present fear, most likely from the unknown stalker from earlier. But there had also been sorrow, and longing. When Shachi and Penguin had called her over, she seemed to cheer up a bit more, as a wave of happiness had joined the other emotions, eventually overwhelming them and becoming most prominent.

He was happy that she was happy, she deserved a little bit of it.

There is was again, that stench. It was stronger, and closer. Bepo started to get a little nervous, not sure whether the strange smell brought with it a danger to his crewmates. Not wanting to raise a false alarm, he calmly stood up and walked aboard the submarine.

The inside was stiflingly hot and he wondered briefly how the captain could stand the temperatures inside for so long, but concluded that he could tolerate it to a larger degree because of his lack of fur.

Walking to the door to his quarters, he gently rapped on the metal and waited for Law's low 'Come in.' Upon entering, he found his hat-less captain comfortably situated in his chair with a mug of coffee in his hand and his new medical book propped up on his knee. Not wanting to beat around the bush, he spoke before Law could question why he was here.

"Something's coming closer to us from the town's direction. It doesn't smell friendly and it covers a large area."

Law didn't answer immediately. "When does the log pose set?"

"We still have twenty minutes, Captain." At the news, Law gently set down his mug and stood, picking up his sword and placing his hat on his head.

"It covers a large area?" He questioned. Bepo frowned slightly.

"There are many people associated with it. They all smell the same, and they don't smell good." The captain nodded and led Bepo back outside where the crew was.

Law stood behind the sub's railing and spoke down to his crew. "Men, there is a large number of people coming towards us so get ready for a possible fight." At the sound of his words, men scrambled to attention and grabbed for their weapons. Bepo watched as Summer's eyes widened and she bolted into the submarine, probably in search of her daggers. Law only spared her a small glance, instead focusing his attention towards the north of the island. From his high position, he could see dust being kicked up from something, and it was quickly getting closer.

His eyes narrowed as he judged the distance and the speed at which they were moving. Recalling Bepo's answer before, he scowled. "They'll reach us before the log pose sets. We'll have to fight." At this, he unsheathed his nodachi and held it easily in his grasp.

A shout of surprise from the crew below caused Law to look up. A few figures came bursting through the tall grass, carrying long swords and a few were equipped with chains. The men on the shore already armed met the enemy's weapons with their own. Swords clashed together and more men came through the tall grass.

"Room." Law muttered, raising his hand and extending his blue sphere around them, careful not to hit his own men, he swung his sword and cut several pirates in half leaving them floating around the air as they cried out in pain.

The enemy outnumbered his crew from what he saw three to one, but they were obviously poorly-skilled fighters. His men easily held them at bay and one by one sliced them down. The air was filled with cries of pain, mostly on the opposing side. Beside him, he felt a rush of air pass by and watched as Summer joined the fighting men equipped with her two daggers in hand.

He retracted his room, seeing that his crew was more than enough to handle these thugs. Instead, he watched with great interest as his female cook almost gleefully struck down the men around her.

Her movements were quick; she ducked and shied away from attack after attack, always shifting her body on the balls of her feet. The daggers slashed many torsos and necks in rapid succession. Law was actually surprised by the amount of cruelty she exhibited while she fought, choosing exposed and vulnerable parts of the body as her targets. Her grin would widen fractionally when her daggers embedded themselves in a man's exposed neck. She would give a short laugh when she lunged forward to finish a man off, ending his life by driving her weapon deep into his heart.

The dark doctor felt a smirk appear on his face as he saw the cold enjoyment in her eyes. She stabbed and cut men down one after another, all the while smiling unnervingly as her victims fell before her. She was graceful, her long blonde hair swaying with every movement and step she took. Her body was now thoroughly coated in blood, but she didn't seem to notice.

She was beautiful.

As suddenly as they appeared, the enemy retreated on some silent signal, dashing hastily back into the tall grass. Many of Law's men went to chase after them but he stopped them with an order.

"Leave them! Get any injured into the sick bay and prepare to submerge!" Several men growled their disapproval but followed his orders anyway. No one disobeyed the captain. Not even Summer, who was now panting heavily but helping Liam lift one man with a large cut down his thigh.

Bepo made to head back into the sub but the captain stopped him with a raised hand. "Bring one of the corpses into the operation room. I want to examine him." Bepo nodded and moved back towards the shore, picked up one of the bodies, and brought him inside with him.

Law was the last one inside, taking one more glance at the tall grass concealing their enemy before closing the hatch door behind him.

Summer helped Liam bring Nate, one of the engine room technicians, into the infirmary. He grimaced and grunted in pain with every step they took, the rapidly diving submarine not helping in the slightest, but he made it to the examination table without too much effort. There were several other men in better or worse condition. The less serious wounds were located farther into the room, with the high priority injuries closer to the door.

Minutes later, Law pushed through the double doors and quickly got to work tending to his crew. Liam was quick to assist and Summer was left to step back and watch. Her non-existent medical knowledge would do more harm than good in this situation and she was smart enough to know when to let the experts do their job.

"Miss Summer, I believe Casper-ya will be preparing a meal for the crew. Please wash up and go assist him." She nodded and hurried off to the showers to clean the blood off of her body.

Thankfully, most of the men had either gone to the engine rooms to run the sub or were in the infirmary taking care of wounds, so the showers were left all to Summer. She showered quickly, covering herself with the towel and rushed off to her room to change clothes. Throwing on a uniform that she had been given, she hurried off to the kitchen in search of the old cook. He was chopping up vegetables and beef in preparation of a stew and he glanced up when she walked in.

"Ah, you're here. Set to skinning those carrots, now. And be quick about it."

"Right." She pulled up her hair, washed her hands, and threw on an apron, reaching for the drawer with the peeling knives. The two worked in comfortable silence, both hoping that none of their crew mates were seriously harmed.

Several hours later, Law finished stitching up the last of the major injuries. There were more injured than he had expected, but nothing was life-threatening. Some were serious enough to constitute staying in the infirmary for further treatment the next day, but most were released shortly after being attended to by Law.

"That's the last injury, Captain." Liam said, taking the medical equipment and bringing them over to the sink to clean. Taking off his gloves, Law rubbed his eyes in exhaustion.

"Liam-ya, check the bandages to make sure they are still secure in the morning. You are relieved of duty for the time being."

"Aye, Captain." Liam said, now finished with cleaning the tools and heading out the infirmary doors.

Law felt very much in need of a shower and some sleep, but there was one more matter he wished to attend to before doing so. Washing his hands in the sink, he moved off to the very end examination table.

There lay the recovered corpse of one of the fighters. From the fatal injury to the right side of his neck, he could tell that he was one of Summer's kills. Her brutality was easily distinguishable, and he couldn't help but smirk.

Upon further inspection, he appeared to be a pirate. His dirty clothing and foul stench indicated he hadn't bathed within a reasonable amount of time prior to his death. His teeth were yellowed and rotted away, and his face bore signs of previous combat; a long scar down his jawline and through his lip.

He had no valuables on his person, no identification or otherwise distinguishable features. Until Law checked his feet.

On his ankle, he had a tattoo of a coiled snake. The image wasn't familiar to Law and he frowned in concentration. No one came to mind.

"Hmm…" He hummed, perplexed but not entirely surprised. He had a suspicion this was the work of VIper, as Summer called him. He decided it was better to be sure and he walked into the hallway to find Bepo.

After the dinner rush, Summer slumped against the counter tiredly. She wasn't looking forward to doing the dishes after all the events of the day. She still felt gross, but was too tired to take another shower. Casper came up next to her and began washing the dishes.

"I can take care of those, don't worry about it." He shook his head.

"You look worse for wear, if I do say so myself." She furrowed her eyebrows but didn't say anything. He was right after all. But that didn't mean he had to point it out. "I'll take care of the washing tonight, just go get yourself some rest."

"It's not any trouble, you've been working in here all day." She countered, but he refused to budge from the sink.

"Nonsense. Now head on off to bed. Hurry now before I change my mind." She sighed but gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you." She said quietly, turning towards the door to head to her room. She failed to see the small smile on the old cooks face as he watched her go.

She stumbled down the hall, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. Her mind was fuzzy, so she failed to notice Bepo standing right in front of her. Bumping into his belly, she jumped back in surprise, but gave a tired smile when she realized it was him.

"Sorry, Bepo. I didn't see you there." He smiled as well, but it quickly faded from his face.

"Captain needs to see you. He's in the infirmary." Seeing the sadistic bastard that was her captain was the last thing that she wanted to do, but knowing how persistent and moody he could be, it would save her trouble if she just went to see him now. Sighing in defeat, she nodded and trudged towards the white double doors.

Upon entering she noticed Law was at the back of the room with a body on the examination table. Panic swelled up in her when she thought it was one of the crew, but it quickly dissipated when she saw the state of the clothing and the horrible stench that permeated the air, realizing it to be the body of one of the enemies.

He looked up at her entrance and beckoned her over. She debated whether this visit was even worth her time, the image of her inviting bed flashing across her mind. Curiosity won out, though and she silently approached the table.

"This is one of the attackers?" She asked, to which he nodded. He was writing something down on a clipboard and she studied his thin, tattooed fingers. The words D-E-A-T-H were inked across them, and she wondered curiously what had caused him to get them. Turning her attention back to the body, she examined him for herself.

"So, why did you want to see me?" He walked over by the man's feet and pulled up the fabric covering the ankles.

"I wanted you to see this." On the ankle, the image of a coiled snake was tattooed in black ink. The heaviness in her eyes quickly disappeared as she recognized the image. Her breathing seemed to stop, and she stared hard at the snake.

The room grew cold, and images from past tragedies threatened to flash through her mind. She closed her eyes tightly to stop them, focusing instead on breathing deeply through her nose and slow her rapid heartbeat. Once she had calmed down, she reopened her eyes and nodded.

"It's Viper's mark. I've seen it before." Law, who had been watching the girl's reaction with great interest, turned his eyes back to the body and rubbed at his chin in thought.

"If these are Viper's men, then he knows you are with us. Today's attack was most likely a way to gauge our strength. I have no doubt there will be more of these attacks." Summer nodded agreement.

"They were weak and uncoordinated. This was only a recon party. The survivors are probably reporting everything to Viper right now." She glared at the man's face, half wanting him to rise from the dead just so she would have the privilege of killing him all over again. Her hands itched to hold her weapons, and she clenched them to stop the urge.

"In that case, it seems you will have to become stronger sooner than you expected, Miss Summer." Law moved away to put the clipboard back on his desk, leaning against it with his legs crossed at the ankles. "That is, if you still wish to kill him." Her glare switched to the dark doctor.

"Of course I want him dead. He's the reason my life was so shitty in the first place." Law smirked at her angry face. She never ceased to entertain him, it seemed.

"Then, your training begins tomorrow."