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The Polar Tang sailed through the water quickly. Her crew pushing hard to go faster and get there sooner. Its been an hour since Luffy called for help and Law can't push his crew any harder than they already are. He feels every minute that slips by though as they get closer and hear nothing else from the other pirate crew.
"Captain, were here!" Bepo calls out an eternity later and Law wastes no more time ordering them to surface the submarine.
What they come up to is a disaster. Broken ships, scorched wood, and bodies float all along the surface. Signs of a fierce battle with no sign of any winner anywhere to be seen.
"Look!" Penguin called out and most of the pirates on board look to where he's pointing to. A singular ship on the horizon, its torn sails billowing with a strong wind. Its not moving though as it stays directly in the same spot.
"Thats the Thousand Sunny?" Law asked pausing to look over the sub at the distant ship.
"Yeah, it is." Penguin sounds surprised.
"I can't believe there still afloat," Bepo adds and his face gets even more serious.
"We need to hurry," Law calls out as he takes the wheel of his sub, his crew already moving to get back to work. "We need to make sure they haven't been boarded."
The Thousand Sunny doesn't even notice the Polar Tang's presence as the submersible moves closer to the other ship. Law had been worried that the crew of whoever attacked them would still be there, but when they pull up to the larger ship its empty. Signs of battle litter the deck with broken wood, smashed glass, and too much blood.
But there's no sign of Luffy or his crew anywhere to be found.
"Where could they have gone?" Shachi asks puzzled and confused after they search the boat from top to bottom.
The truth is they can be anywhere and Law bites back a growl as his eyes go to the sea. Before he can order another search though Bepo comes up from below deck of the submarine.
"Captain, I'm picking up something strange here!" The bear mink reports a moment later, "Its the under water currents. There strong but there going down."
Law grinds his teeth, "What are they going down too?"
"I don't know some kind of trench, Captain."
In the middle of the ocean... There was no way that was a good thing, and Law jumps back onto the sub. The rest of his crew following as he orders, "Take us there. Now."
The Polar Tang moves as fast as it can to get deep under the water, Law on the bridge and everyone else taking to there stations. Hes not going to risk being attacked by any hidden enemy so he has his crew armed tough, and hes ready to fire at a moment's notice.
The crew go as fast as they can. Its only a few minutes later when they come to an area of the ocean thats much different. Nothing but blackness, with no more currents or even animals to be seen just one lone light at the bottom of what looks like a tunnel.
"Were here." Law says grimly and turns to his crew. "You all stay on board," He orders. "I only want to go down there with one person with me. Bepo, your coming with me. The rest of you, stay with the ship, we'll call if we need you."
"Aye, Captain." Bepo says and moves away from where he was standing as they move to one of the minisubs.
Law takes the wheel of the sub and slowly goes toward the light. He and Bepo don't say another word as the water thickens around them. The only sounds either of them make is when Law starts breathing heavier as the tunnel comes around them, and Bepo nervously taps at the console.
The sub is small but its a tight fit and Law listens to Bepo tell him where to go as the tunnel starts to curve. The light growing brighter but not enough for him to see anything by it. Slowly they pull up until the sub is going straight and the light grows big enough that he can see where the tunnel widens.
Its only a few more moments of driving before Bepo calls out, "Theres something coming up ahead. If we keep going well hit it, Captain. We need to go up a ways."
"Alright, Bepo." Law responds to the mink and angles the sub up where the bear is pointing. The black outline of something coming into view almost too late for him to avoid it as he jerks the submersible up as hard as he can before they smash into something. There's the scrape of the sub grinding against rock as he stops them just before a hole.
Water sloshes against the window and Law can now see the ceiling is a lot higher than he thought, and its filled with air.
"Captain?" Bepo asks with alarm.
"Your lucky that wasn't the ship, Bepo." Law says sharply before grunting as the submersible moved upwards again to bob on the surface. He slows them completely down before he orders, "That opening is too small for us to get out of. I'm going to open the hatch and were going on foot."
"Roger." Bepo says and waits for Law to open the hatch.
The air is cold and smells awful as Law looks around. Surprised to find theres a ledge nearby that's big enough to hold them both, and he can see now that the bigger cavern is as much land as air.
"Lets go Bepo."
Its only when they start to walk out of the tunnel that Law can see anything. His breath catches though when he sees what the path has led them to.
Half the ground is covered in water, with only the tallest things sticking up through it. Crashed ships, their masts sticking up to the surface, and piles of rocks. But that's not what he is looking at because the cavern is much wider than he thought. What he's seeing on the dry ground is spiraling buildings and more. A whole city is under water and it's beautiful.
Law can see the texture of the water beside him, the dim light smoothing the edges of the world. He can see the new plants growing on the rocks. He can see the stalagmites and stalactites, the rocks and dirt on the ground. But its the broken buildings, there old wood covered in green that draws him into the cavern.
With each step in he can see the city more clearly. Theres one street winding through it plastered with seaweed, the plants growing on the walls and into the windows up to the roofs. The buildings tips reach up into the pitch black of the ceiling and are lost to sight, like the tops of palm trees. The city has a hollow smell of wet rock and old earth. A musty smell of decay that surrounds him. The sound of a strange wind as it whistles through the city is nearly drowned out by the squish of his feet as he walks over slippery seaweed. Drawn to it by some strange compulsion that he can't ignore.
The city is complex and cluttered; his eyes can't take in more than a few bare bits of it before it becomes too much. Buildings blend together, with ornate flourishes and scrolls, like strange fishhooks. The buildings were made of glass and rock. Plants and fish to; some living, some dead, and they spiral led and twisted upwards like a slow black tornado with bits of coral broke through the seaweed. Int-erupted by a flash of color here and there of the colorful fish that lived shallower waters flopping about from where they lay entangled in the green stuff. Light spills out of each building blooming out of their windows like crystal buds and the doorways stand open to the dark unknown.
Law can't even process that though before he looks around and his eyes find the most amazing thing there.
A mermaid.
She's standing on the surface of the water, her blonde hair looking like it was made out of silk as it curls down her back. Her eyes seem to glow like the city and for a moment Law thinks shes an illusion. Its only when she smiles at him and waves does he realize shes real.
A mermaid...
She was real.
A mermaid was real.
Hypnotized Law steps forward. One step and then two as Bepo shouts something he can't hear and then he falls into the water. Its dark and cold as it paralyzes him. Drawing him down to where more mermaids swim in a circle. Their blonde hair green with seaweed and smiles filled with sharp fanged teeth as they reach for him with clawed hands.
..................................
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
..................................
Luffy is fighting for his life.
The sea monsters around him seemed endless and every attempt to fight back only brings more of them. Hes already been pushed back into a corner as the sea monsters just keep coming, but hes still trying to fight back. Hes already lost track of where the others are, or if there even still alive. He knows that he can't get to Law or any of the others with how the monsters are currently fighting.
'Wait...' Luffy begins to struggle against the monsters again, 'Luffy can't get to Law...?'
As the sea ripples to let more monsters up he wonders why he was thinking of Law at all. The other captain was nowhere near them. They only people here are him and his crew. And Bepo.
"Who is Bepo?" Luffy asks to the monsters with glowing eyes that reach out for him with t heir clawed hands and tooth filled mouths.
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What the hell am I doin' here?
I don't belong here
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Law isn't sure how much time passes, maybe seconds, maybe hours. He only knows that he wakes up gasping for air and nearly falling out of the bed he was in. Theres a dull ache in his heart and he still feels like hes drowning as he takes in a long breath. The air tasted like dirt and there was a noise coming from somewhere.
Heart pounding with panic, Law tries to say something to try and call for help, or to see if someone was there with him. But the moment his lips parted they snapped closed as he realized there was something covering them. The rough fabric of a sheet tangles around him as he claws at it.
"Captain!" Bepo exclaims a moment later, his voice sounding weak but not worried. He'd know that voice anywhere, "Your finally awake! We've been so worried!"
Slowly Laws arms move up to pull the covers down and his eyes go to the bear mink. He looks tired but hes smiling as he stands at the edge of the bed.
The sheet still tangles around Law and if feels like the dream he just woke from. It slips his mind as he tries to grab it but it's just fighting and Luffy for some strange reason.
"Where are we, Bepo?" Law asks when he looks around. Its not the ship because everything is wood and much dirtier than he lets things get.
"The city!" The bear mink declares and points at the door. "Luffy's crew are here and they helped me get you dry and safe."
"Luffy's crew?" Law asks, his voice rough but not as rough as it could have been as he gains his strength back. That's the thing about being a devil fruit user, your strength comes back fast, "What are they doing down here?"
"Because Luffy's crew are the Straw Hat Pirates." Bepo says to explain and it really does explain a lot.
Law looks away then. The dream coming back to him. He had fallen. Woken in a new place as someone else. The mermaids had tried to drag him down but he was saved by his crew. He was safe.
"The mermaids..." Law murmurs, trying to find something he could grasp as he looked around.
"What about them, Captain?"
"They're real."
"They're real." Bepo agrees and nods, "They're beautiful." He adds with a wistful tone that :aw doesn't like one bit even though he agrees. The remembered sight of clawed hands and teeth fight back against that though.
"What about Luffy's crew?" Law asks confused as he looks for his clothes. His boxers are still on but everything else has been removed and he can't find any of his clothes especially his jacket. "How'd they do against them?"
"Luffy's fine, Captain. We're all fine. Don't worry about us." Bepo says as he steps out of the way as Law starts to get up. He points at the door again. "You can thank them yourself."
Law looks to the door and then around for his clothes again. Its too cold to go without them, "Bepo, I need..."
"They sent me to check on you, Captain." Bepo says happily. "Everything else, they're taking care of it."
Law doesn't know what everything else might be, but it doesn't really matter. It's then Law realizes the room is small and there's only one bed. Yet Bepo was sitting on the floor.
"You could've shared the bed, Bepo." Law tells the bear.
"I'm fine Captain." Bepo responds, "Besides, I don't think Luffy would have liked that much."
"Why does that matter?" Law asks feeling confused. Laws eyes go up and he realizes Bepo is still smiling at him. Wide and not at all nervous about being in some weird city below the sea. Hes not sure what to think of that. "Bepo are you alright?"
"I'm fine captain!" Bepo says in a weird sing song voice and Law watches as the bear shivers. He puts a hand out and feels that Bepo is soaked to the core in freezing water. So filled with water that if kind of feels like the fur is still floating. Alarmed Law throws the blanket over him and does his best to wrap Bepo up tight. The water soaks through it almost instantly and he can feel that his own clothes are still wet too in the air now. He casts his powers out to check on Bepo and growls.
"Idiot! You have a concussion!" Which is worrying, but not as much as what else he discovered. He'd also pushed it out further than the small room they're in and is alarmed to not feel anyone else at all around them. The building is entirely empty. "Where's the others at?"
There isn't much he can do for a concussion but he can help somewhat with his powers. Bepo sways and makes a confused noise as Law puts his hand over the bear's head. The smile fades and when Bepo looks up there's confusion all over his face.
"What happened... Captain?" Bepo asks softly, his tone still happy but different as he seems like he's waking up from something.
And that's the question, isn't it? It's still not making any sense to him and Law has to start over to try and figure out what happened.
"The sub. The tunnel. The city... We went to the city. We made it." Law struggles to think. It's harder than it should be. "After I fell into the water you brought me here."
"The city?" Bepo asks again, this time his voice is full of panic and he's looking at Law with worry in his eyes, "Yes, the city! You did it! You brought us to the city!"
But Law didn't, and it's starting to look like Bepo didn't either despite what he said before. "No, you just said Luffy's crew came and helped you get us here. Don't you remember that?"
"No, I don't!" Bepo says quickly and then goes silent. "Maybe? I think? I feel like I had a dream but I can't remember it now, Captain."
Law's dream of fighting monsters comes back but he ignores it to get rid of the water on himself. Using his power to make them both dry.
"We are in the city... How did we get out of the water?" Law asks, even more confused than before.
"We just-" Footsteps in the hallway are easily heard through the wall and Bepo's head jerks up. He moves away from Law toward the door.
"Wait, I need to ask--" What Law wanted to know gets cut off by the door opening and a man with green hair steps through the door.
"You need to run," the man says as he pulls out three swords and turns around to face the hallway again. There's something outside behind him. Something big that glows and makes a sound as it drags itself forward with slow dragging sound. It pulls at Law's eyes and his mind.
Sucking him in and down just like the sea.
.............................
When you were here before
Couldn't look you in the eye
..............................
"Zoro!" Law shouts with a gasp as he's tossed up onto hard rock.
There's a surge of ice cold water that stabs at his skin, but it's the cold fear inside him that makes him push back away from the water coughing and gasping for air.
It's a second before he can stop coughing and get his bearings. Then he looks around and finds he's on the ledge from earlier, but it's a bit warmer and he feels warmer than before. He looks up and sees the entry they came in through and the spiraling spires of the city push at the corner of his eyes.
"Bepo?" Law asks, but then remembers the mink is in the city.
Who is Bepo...?! Law shakes his head hard at the stupid thought. He knows who Bepo is! And he's not in the city.
"Bepo!" Law shouts and furrows his eyebrows as he looks all around him. He can't see the submersible or bear anywhere and he panics for a moment before he hears something.
"Bepo, are you there?" He calls out.
There's a shiver of movement and Law turns to the water again. Something slides on the surface of the water. Growing like a slick of oil but it's yellow tinged with green and Law remembers the mermaid. Except what he remembers isn't as beautiful as he had believed it to be when he first saw it and fear runs through him as he remembers what he was just told.
Run.
A bump pushes the hair up in the middle and Law's vision goes black as he forgets to breathe.
......................................
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
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Nami is growing more and more terrified by the second.
"Oh, no!" Nami cries out when she feels the warm tears leaving her eyes. She tries to rub them away, but it only makes things worse. "Not another way down!"
She's been in more than a few weird places since she started sailing the seas and each time it's something really freaky. This is the worst yet though. The tunnel is a maze with only one way forward. It's dark, wet, and it's squeezing her tight.
"Where does this one go?" Nami demands to know, "You're making me really mad now! Where does it go?"
There's no answer even though it feels like there's eyes watching her. Something invisible that she can't understand demanding she continue. Whatever it is, it wants her to go down and no matter how often she turns to go back there's only ever the way forward for her.
She has to go down. She has no choice.
.......................................
I don't care if it hurts
I wanna have control
.......................................
"Captain, run!" Wet, furry hands shake Law and he blinks as Bepo blocks his view of the water. Snatches of a dream try to grab him as Bepo looks at him with utter fear. "Captain!"
"Go!" Law orders pushing the mink toward the sub. He shoves himself to his feet and yanks Bepo away from the water that's roiling down with movement. Law doesn't look at it or the figures he knows are there. "Get to the sub!"
It's a fight not to look behind him as he pushes Bepo forward. Forcefully not allowing him to look back as they both stumble toward the sub. Boots slipping in the puddles of water they create as strange clicks and whistles fill the air. There's a sound like nails scratching on stone that's too close and makes Law want to scream, but he doesn't.
It takes too long to reach the entry. Law doesn't think he'd walked in so far. He doesn't look back as the noises rise to something kind of like a cackle. Pushing forward until they both fall down into the hatch of the sub. Sealing it tight behind him as Bepo fights with the controls to turn them around and head back to the surface as fast as possible.
.....................................
She's running out the door (run)
She's running out
She run, run, run, run
...................................
"Captain!" Both Shachi and Penguin fall over themselves to reach them when the minsub is pulled back in.
Bepo sits at the controls still, paws tight around the steering wheel as Law watches the two pirates try to fit in the small space.
"We got a call from the Sunny just after you left," Penguin says in a rush. "They're two islands away from here and say they're fine. They never got into any kind of fight!"
There's relief at the news. Relief and confusion because the Thousand Sunny is not an easily mistaken ship. He had been on it, had seen the damage, but the memory tugs at his brain now. Like a dream of things he knows did not happen below the water.
"And the ship is gone, Captain!" Shachi hurries to say. "We've looked and looked but we can't see anything at all up above anymore. It's all just....gone."
"Get us away from here," Law orders through the confusion that continues to follow him. He doesn't get up from the seat, not sure if his legs will hold him. "Put everything we have into making us fast. I don't care what you have to do. Just get the ship away from here."
His crew jump to follow orders and Law sits there with Bepo for a bit as they both sit still and silent until they can feel the ship shudder and pick up speed. The fear that holds them both leaves slowly with each mile that passes.
It takes several for Law to feel able to pull Bepo out of the small vehicle and into the infirmary for proper care. By the time they're both dry, the memory of the city feels distant, but Law doesn't feel like ever going close to where it is ever again.
.....................
I don't belong here
I don't belong here