One Step Behind

Freeze-thaw

"Urgh..." Law tried to sit upright, something quite difficult given the ringing through his skull. There was a slight pang in his left temple... which probably meant that he'd knocked it against something at the sharp deceleration. But he was alive, which was all that mattered. Even if he felt like shit.

"Captain!" Bepo's fuzzy paws reached to tentatively help him to his feet. "A-Are you alright?! You're b-b-bleeding!"

"I'm fine." Nothing a bit of gause wouldn't help patch up. This wasn't a concussion he didn't think, and even if it was... no one but him would be able to tell. "Everyone else," Law raised his voice, "Sound off. Is anyone dead?"

A flittering of murmurs echoed around the room as everyone checked and double checked that no, none of them were in fact dead. Or even majorly injured. Law had gotten the brunt of it by being in the front it seemed.

With trembling fingers, Law reached forwards and snapped the emergency Room shut. He'd never opened one of these underwater before, let alone one as big as this. But he hadn't thought of any other choice. It was either send the Polar Tang somewhere else with Shambles or let them be smashed against the thin rocky outcrops that Marineford was built upon. A big shift, especially considering he'd had to consider the mass of the people inside the Tang as well, but a necessary one.

May that fish he'd exchanged their place with rest in peace. Better it than them.

"Are you sure you're alright, Captain?" Bepo asked as he deposited Law into the (now re-righted) desk chair. "That looked like it took a lot out of you. How far away did you even take us?"

"A few hundred metres? Maybe more?" Law's arm dropped slack as he shifted his weight into something that could actually keep him upright. "I wasn't exactly paying attention." His eyes flicked to the empty space on the desk. "Where the hell's the transponder snail?"

The small scrimmage that caused amongst his crew to find the damn thing was enough to give him some space to properly breathe. Since fuck. That had... haaaaah... Leaning his elbow on the desk, he ran a supporting hand up his face until it almost dislodged his cap.

That single Room had practically drained him. He'd grown so complacent with small, house sized domes for interpersonal combat that he'd thought... he'd assumed... FUCK!

Slowly he bent forwards to rest his entire forehead against the desk. Making doubly sure that no one could see his face as it grimaced in utter disgust for himself.

He had to get stronger. To make changes like this effortless. Improve his stamina. So that whenever he was in a literal warzone he wouldn't leave one of his crewmembers stranded on the surface like this! What would happen if Eustace-ya had learnt of this? Or worse, Straw Hat. They'd think he was pathetic! A weakling!

The disgust turned to rage.

He was better than this. Way better.

Strauss-ya was good at developing stamina right? He'd have to ask her for... ugh, he couldn't believe he was doing this... advice when she got back. And yes, that was 'when', not 'if'.

A hand with a very shaken up transponder snail emerged from the body pile behind him. "FOUND IT CAPTAIN!"

Since mark his words- Law steepled his fingers with a murderous expression- they would all make it out of this war alive. Mark his words.

~0O0~0O0~0O0~

Purupurupurupuru... Purupurupurupuru... Purupurupurupuru... Purupurupurupuru...

The ringing seemed to go on and on and on. Although that could partially be due to the way minutes were ticking like hours right then. Every single dial tone stretched longer than Strauss would have ever thought possible. With nothing to interrupt it. Not one person, despite the sheer number of people crowded around one tiny snail.