FicWad

"Hold 'em back!" Someone cried out, followed by the loud clang of swords clashing. Cannon fire and screams of agony echoed over the bloody scene. Men had fallen all over the wooden deck of the pirate ship in varied states of mutilation. Somewhere, the ship had been set on fire and smoke billowed out from below deck. Gunshots rang through the awful noise, making it difficult to hear anything at all.

Slowly, the sounds began to die away until only the harsh ring of one pair of swords pierced the air. The sound of bodies hitting the wooden planks began to increase.

One of the shipwrights took in the fallen state of his crewmates with a frenzied, wild look. His breathing was ragged and inconsistent, his chest rising and falling dramatically as the offending pirates slowly closed in on where he stood. The one he had been locked in battle with flicked some blood-his nakama's blood-from his sword onto the ground without a second glance. The man found he couldn't tear his gaze from the drop now resting on the ground by his feet.

"Oy, have you changed your mind?" The opposing pirate captain asked as he stepped forward confidently. The shipwright found it difficult to focus. The building rage at the man before him blinded all reason and before he could really think about what he was doing, he spat at him in disgust.

The captain was too far away to be bothered to dodge the weak protest, but the meaning behind it made his wild grin fall.

"Where is she?" He asked without emotion. The shipwright glared back with as much venom as he could muster.

"I'll never tell you anything." The captain was silent a moment as the two men were locked in each other's murderous gazes. It was the shipwright who broke, the pain in his chest causing him to wince.

The captain's footsteps slowly faded as he walked back towards his own ship. He gestured to one of his crewmates, his back still turned to him.

"We'll see about that. Killer, take him." Was all the redheaded man said. The man with the mask stepped forward, his strange spinning weapons glinting red from the fire behind them. The rest of the men began to fall back as well, leaving the masked man and the shipwright to duke it out.

The shipwright prided himself in being a man that wouldn't give up in any situation. He had faced numerous enemies before the one now approaching him and never had he shown any hesitation to battle those opponents. As a man of the sea, it was common knowledge that being a pirate was dangerous and often times deadly, but he knew the risks. He wasn't afraid of the possibility of death.

What made these pirates different from the rest was their blatant indifference to death, the clouded look their eyes would take when they stabbed an enemy, and their seemingly bored expressions as they quickly dispatched his crewmates. They were soulless bastards, and that made them very dangerous.

As much as he told himself that he had encountered this sort of situation before, he couldn't stop the fear that forced him to take a step back when the masked man advanced. He only gave a small chuckle in response before leaping at the man.

A sharp stab of pain erupted on the back of his head, and then nothing.

"Liam, your left!" Summer shouted over the shouting men and metal clanging with metal. He glanced left and nimbly dodged the sword aimed at his heart with a light flick of his wrist. The man fell forward from lack of momentum and Liam used the opportunity to strike the hilt of his short sword down on the man's head, instantly knocking him unconscious. He nodded at her before crossing blades with another man in front of him.

Summer crouched low and flitted through the men around her, slicing an arm or a torso as she went. Following a pattern all her own, she covered the extent of the enemy's deck in a matter of seconds. A path of injured men lay in her wake.

"Room!" Summer looked up at the railing and saw her captain create his blue sphere around the entirety of the pirate ship, causing quite a number of confused and horrified looks from the losing crewmen. He sliced the air with his sword, a strange satisfaction in his eyes as men screamed when their bodies were cut into small cubes. Raising his hand in the air, he turned his fingers in a small circle. "Shambles!"

The sky was clouded with bits of men's bodies flying around the blue space, finally coming to rest in disturbing pieces of human. Some figures had too many legs or eyes. One man was made up entirely of torsos. Summer grinned at the sight, fascinated that Law could perform such strange things with his devil fruit.

"Die, you bitch!" Bringing her daggers above her head, she swung around and faced the brute that now stood locked in her blades' grip. The large axe he held above his head, a strange weapon for a pirate, was stuck between the thin daggers in her hand. He snarled as he failed to yank the axe free and he threw his weight behind him as he took a step forward.

"Get off me." Summer gritted her teeth and focused on redirecting his force to the side. A look of surprise overcame the man's face as he started tumbling forward towards the ground. Unfortunately, the whole attack wasn't redirected and he managed a glancing blow onto her side.

"Shit…" She muttered, clutching her ribs tightly. Gently removing her hand, she took in the blood covering her fingers and shirt, a long jagged cut running straight down one of her ribs. It was tender, meaning she would probably have a bruised rib when all this was over.

"Enough games." She spit, turning back to the brute who was struggling to get back up from his fall. Planting a foot on his back, she put all of her weight down onto him and watched with satisfaction as he crumpled back to the ground with a string of curses.

"Go to hell!" He managed with his face being smashed into the wood. Summer leaned over him and grinned wildly, making sure that he could see her. She slowly brought down the dagger closer to his neck.

"Oh, I will. Just not today. And not because of you." Slowly, she began to saw the blade back and forth across the skin, maintaining eye contact with the man as he watched in disturbed horror as she slowly decapitated him, forcing him to watch his own death. The blood that drenched her face and clothing didn't bother her in the least. It could be said that it only fueled her resolve to continue. Once she broke his windpipe, he was already dead. But she kept going until her dagger ripped all the way through the man's neck and she victoriously held the head aloft for all to see.

Looking around, she noticed that only a few individual fights remained. Glancing up, she caught Law watching her with a sadistic smirk on his face and for once she thoroughly enjoyed seeing it. It matched her own dark, twisted grin.

"Get the injured to the infirmary, those with the worst injuries first with superficial wounds afterwards. Those who are fit will loot anything of value on the ship." Law's orders cut through the initial celebration of victory, reminding everyone to get back on task. The crew did as they were told and Law noticed Summer holding her side tightly as she walked back into the submarine. The adrenaline and fire in her eyes were replaced with a weariness that only came after a long, challenging battle. She passed by Kat with a strange expression, the closest Law could describe it as was suspicion and anger. Though, he knew she didn't like her to begin with so it really didn't surprise him. Still, he moved away from Kat so she wouldn't see him. He had other things to focus on.

Everyone went to do their jobs with a sort of exhausted happiness. The attacking pirates hadn't been easy, that was for sure. But they weren't big names either. He only vaguely remembered the name the captain had shouted before Reid's bullet had sent him crashing onto the deck. Tortoise Pirates is what they said. Not exactly a name that instilled fear into those they encountered. He himself hadn't ever heard of them before.

Even so, there were several casualties to his crew and Law didn't want to waste any time. He was about to head below, but a sound stopped him.

"Law, are you alright?" An annoying female voice cut through his thoughts and he turned to Kat with a small glare. Talking to her was the last thing he wanted to do. Unfortunately, his plan still required that she keep her trust in him, therefore he didn't strangle her liked he so desperately longed to.

'Just a little bit longer. Then she'll be gone.'

"I'm fine." He noticed that she hadn't been harmed in the assault. In fact, there wasn't a scratch on her, despite her being on the deck when the ambush had happened. No blood marked her white jumpsuit. Not so much as a hair was out of place.

'/Perhaps she fled back below deck?' /Law frowned.

'Something doesn't seem right...' He wasn't sure what it was. It was just out of reach. Not knowing something that probably should have been fairly obvious killed him. It was nothing more than a small feeling in the back of his mind but he knew it was there and he knew to listen to what his instincts told him. But he couldn't really-

"I've gotta go help get the treasure, so I'll see you later!" She cried as she hurried towards the other ship, the oversized jumpsuit she wore flapping awkwardly in the wind. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he quickly set off towards the infirmary.

The shipwright awoke in a coughing fit and he found himself unable to move. His entire body was drenched in a cold liquid, but he couldn't remember how he had gotten that way. Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself deep in the belly of a ship strapped to a wooden chair by his wrists and ankles. The room was lit by a single light, dangling from the ceiling above him on a thin string. It swayed with the movement of the ship and flickered every few seconds.

Out of the darkness, he made out a silhouette just outside his vision. The figure took a few steps forward and the shipwright grimaced in recognition.

"If I'd have known that concussion would have knocked him out for so long, I would've had you take him conscious." The redhead started, walking forward with a bucket in hand. A few drops of what he assumed was water dropped onto the floor. He quickly made the connection, realizing that they had doused him in the liquid to get him awake instead of waiting for it to happen naturally. He could see a frown of disapproval on the man's face. "Next time, kill him or hit softer so they wake up faster."

A second figure made themselves known in the sparse amount of light. It was the masked man who he had last fought. His weapons were at his belt, the blades catching the one light in the room. Instead of answering, he simply shrugged at his captain's angry tone.

"So, shall we start with your name?" The captain crouched down to be on his level.

"I ain't telling you nothing, rookie." A grin appeared on the redhead's face and he deftly backhanded him across the face. A loud smack echoed and the man's head was whipped to the side. The blow stung and he was dazed for a few moments. "When I ask you a question, you will answer."

"Sal." The man whispered, deciding that something as simple as a name wasn't worth being killed over. Kidd grinned wider and spread his arms wide.

"Well, Sal it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Placing his hands in his pants pockets, he stood up and meandered around the room. The grin never left his face. His crewmate didn't move or speak, but the false kindness from the redhaired captain was more unnerving.

"You must be tired from such an eventful day. Can I get you anything?" He didn't try to hide the mocking nature of his tone. Sal gave him a glare.

"Get to the point." His voice was raspy, from what he didn't know. Dropping the act, the captain took hold of his arms and shook. The cold and deadly gaze he gave was enough to make him gulp in fear.

"Where is she?" His question came as no more than a whisper, but Sal heard it loud and clear. He set his mouth in a firm line and inclined his head in defiance. A snarl appeared on the pirate's face and a firm hand tightened around Sal's jaw.

"Answer me!" Somehow, the shipwright found it in him to smirk back at the dangerous captain.

"What makes you think I know anything anyway?" Suddenly, Kidd produced a jagged knife from his belt and grasped Sal's arm that was strapped to the chair. Ignoring his sounds of protest, he gripped the shirt sleeve and sliced away the fabric before throwing it somewhere behind him. There, a black tattoo of a coiled snake stood out against his pale skin.

"See this?" The captain said, tapping the mark with the knife. "I know exactly what this means." Sal's eyes didn't move from the knife gently pressed against his skin, wary as to what he would say next.

"I know that she was part of this crew years ago. I know that Viper is hunting her now that she's back in the world. And I know that you were sent to find her." The captain brought his faces closer to Sal's until only inches separated the two.

"It's common knowledge that Viper has scores of ships under his command, so finding other people to question won't be difficult. You aren't the only one with the information that I need, and that makes you dispensable.

"Defiance will only bring you pain and the possible loss of limbs. Don't think for one second I would hesitate to kill you, so let me ask for the last time. /Where is she?/"

The only sound in the room was the breathing of the men who occupied it. Tense seconds became a minute but the silence continued. The ship gave a loud creak when a larger than average wave tilted the vessel to the right. The light in the room swayed with the same movement, casting shadows around the room.

Internally, the shipwright was at war with himself. Protect his crew or save his own skin? He certainly wasn't one to sell out his shipmates, but even the most feared pirates were scared of death. He wasn't ready to make such a decision but there was no other option. The ship continued to rock around them. It wasn't until the room began to settle that Sal spoke.

"I don't know where she is." He said, the redhead's brows furrowed in disapproval and the grip around the dagger tightened enough for him to notice. He quickly explained. "I know where she's heading, but her current location is unknown. Not even the Marines know."

Kidd stood back and crossed his arms, gesturing for him to continue.

"Last we heard, she was heading towards one of two islands: Elysium or Argyre. They're in the-"

"I know where they are." The captain interrupted. Cutting the redhead a glare, Sal continued.

"Anyways, she's heading to one of them. Which one she ends up on all depends on where that other rookie decides to go."

"Other rookie?" Kidd approached the shipwright again, clearly agitated that one of his own generation had her in their grasp. "Which one?" The last part came out sharper than first and Sal had to resist the temptation to flinch.

"Uh, I think it was that...surgeon dude. Yeah, Trafalgar Law. He's the guy." He nodded, confirming his own words.

"Dammit!" Kidd yelled, throwing the dagger into the wall beside him where it struck with a loud thud and wobbled back and forth from the force of the throw. Sal wasn't expecting this sort of reaction, but he wasn't sure what exactly it was that had made the pirate captain upset.

"That creep bastard! How the hell did he find her?" He swung his gaze back to his prisoner, silently demanding an answer. Momentarily forgetting that his wrists were bound, Sal tried to bring them up in his defense.

"I don't know! Honest! We got our information from Viper himself so whatever he didn't tell us, we didn't know. Maybe he-AH!" His sentence was cut off by his choked groan. His eyes flicked down to his chest, where Kidd's knife penetrated deep into his flesh. The captain twisted the knife violently, not hesitating even as the blood soaked his hand and arm, and Sal writhed in pain, screaming for him to stop.

"I told…you what you...wanted...now let me...live!" He struggled to speak through the searing pain wracking his body. He became acutely aware that the rookie was once again right in front of his face.

"I never promised you your life." Came his low, cold voice. He stabbed him again, this time in the heart and the shipwright's body slumped over in the wooden chair.

After his anger subsided, Kidd pulled the blade from the body and wiped it onto his pants before sheathing it on his belt. Killer came up next to him and observed the damage.

"He could've given us more information, you know." His captain glared at him.

"I don't care what the hell he had to say, find that Surgeon bastard and the girl!" He shouted behind him as he quickly took his leave.