Desires of Men ~SEQUEL TO THE LIFE I LIVE~

Slowly Spiraling

The moon was high in the sky, casting a pale, white light over the ships docked at the port. A few seagulls flew overhead, barely visible in the darkness. The smell of salt never ceased, as the waves brushed gently against the shores of rock. It was strange; no animals were about, no chirping crickets or night owls called. It was eerily silent, as if the island itself knew what treachery was about to take place.

Rocky Port was asleep, its few citizens and numerous pirates gone to bed as the sun disappeared past the horizon. The night air was cool, but not overly chilly. Law's crew were all equipped with their uniforms, so the temperature didn't bother them much. Besides, most of them were from North Blue and were used to much, much colder temperatures.

They were all staring at their captain who, very silently, was walking calmly to the center of the port to make sure no one was around. He could feel the eyes of his nakama at his back as he stepped carefully on the worn boards of the dock. Every other step or so would creak softly, and Law would glance around carefully to spot any waking men.

Once he'd gotten to a point where he was near the center of all the docked ships, and satisfied that no one was around or awake to hear them, he turned and gestured for his crew to follow. The men in front whispered the order to those who couldn't see behind them and slowly began to meet their captain.

The crew was decidedly noisier than their careful captain, but even with the intensified creaks of the dock and the fevered whispers following, no one stirred in the sleepy town. Law waited patiently for his crew to catch up, knowing that they were trying their best and weren't intentionally jeopardizing their mission.

"Sorry." Parker whispered once most of the men had met up with Law. He nodded, accepting the small apology. He turned and pointed down the row of ships, focusing on one at the very end.

"We go in teams of two. Parker-ya and Blake-ya, start with the one on the end." He directed men in pairs to each ship down the line-there were at least 30 ships-and instructed them once more of their mission.

"Be quick. Make minimal noise. Kill only when absolutely necessary." The men nodded as Law scanned his eyes over them. They all looked determined and serious. With a nod, "Now, go."

The men scurried away as quickly as they could while still being quiet. In no time at all, his men had silently boarded the other pirate ships without much difficulty. Law allowed himself a small smirk. Unsheathing his nodachi, he paced quietly to the nearest ship to him.

He was called the Surgeon of Death for a reason. Idly, he thought that maybe it was time to start reinforcing that fact.

~~~

Shachi and Penguin sat crouched behind the door to a pirate captain's quarters. They could hear loud snoring inside and, with a nod, they turned the knob as carefully as they could. Inside was dark, and the snoring became louder the closer they came to the source.

A fat, greasy man, holding a sake bottle in one of his hands, lay sprawled out on his bed. His shirt was missing and drool cascaded down his face onto his pillow. Shachi and Penguin wrinkled their noses in disgust; his odor was as awful as his appearance, they quickly found out.

Giving quiet sighs, they resigned themselves to get closer to him. Getting a good look at his face, they pulled out the wanted posters for all the pirates known to be on the island. Rifling through them, they spotted one that matched.

"Captain John 'Slinger' Prince.

Bounty: 132,000,000 beli."

Penguin took a stray pillow case from beside his bed, rolling it up and wrapping it around his hand. Cautiously creeping forwards, he placed it around his neck and yanked back suddenly. The man instantly woke up.

"Wha-Urg! Argh!" He gurgled, trying in vain to see his attacker. With flailing arms and twisting limbs, he put up a hell of a fight. Penguin, however, had trained a lot in the time Summer had been taken, and he found he had a little anger to take out. He grit his teeth and kept at it.

The man's movements began to get slower and slower until his arms fell limp at his sides. Penguin immediately let go, checking his pulse. A few moments later, he nodded and helped Shachi pin the poster to his chest.

With a nod, they left the man lying on his bed so their captain could do his part, heading out to the next ship.

~~~

'Is she telling the truth? Should I believe her? What if she's just using me?'

Thoughts swirled through Summer's mind, filling her head and confusing her fully. Her conversation with the entity in her head had seemed fine at the time, but now that she had time to think everything through, what the hell had she been thinking? A freakin' entity in her head? This was all crazy.

'I can't get her out. She's stuck there. So, what am I supposed to do?'

If she tried to kill her, which Summer wouldn't even know where to begin to attempt it, it would end up killing Summer as well, at least by the way Nemesis made it sound. So, was she just supposed to hang tight and sit pretty until she get her revenge on her cheating boyfriend?

'What would Law do? What could he do? Is there any kind of medicine to help me? Maybe I am sick...'

She doubted Law's medical ability, as diverse and extensive as it was, covered anything in the realm of ancient spirits in people brains. Sure, he'd probably dabbled in mental disorders. But, was that really something even close to this?

Summer lay curled up on her makeshift bed, for once welcoming the darkness that surrounded her because any light would have made the whole situation seem more real. In the dark, she could at least pretend it was all a nightmare, some hellish dream.

'Why do these things happen to me? Why is it always me? What is wrong with me!?'

'Be still.' Her liquid voice flowed through her system, and a cooling sensation followed it. Her joints untensed and her mind slowly went blank. Whatever it was Nemesis was doing, Summer was half thankful for it. She hated when her own thoughts confused and scared her.

'I don't understand any of this!' She thought, tears rolling gently down her cheeks. She hugged herself a little tighter.

'I know. You are only a child, but a great responsibility has been thrust upon you.'

'Why can't I just be normal?' Summer thought that maybe the woman sighed internally, like she wasn't sure what she wanted to hear.

'I cannot change what has already been done. You must find it within yourself to accept this reality as it is. But please, refrain from thinking too much at once. I am very exhausted and must rest to recover my strength.'

The woman seemed to recede from prominence in Summer's mind, fading to the background. She was getting used to the feeling of her moving around or how she would input her opinion. As odd as it sounded, it felt like being pulled back and forth in the tide.

"Calm down." She told herself, breathing evenly, in and out.

This would all be over soon. Law would rescue her, Summer would rescue herself, she would kill Viper...

...Right?