Law followed his crew through the Pluton's winding corridors, listening as they updated him on the repairs.
Penguin told him, "We finally fixed the water heater, so we have hot showers again."
Ikkaku added, "Yeah, and the galley stove is working now too. All the burners run hot."
Uni joined the group, falling into step beside them. "And the freezer seal is working like it's supposed to now, too."
They rounded a corner into the engine room.
The space was enormous, a cathedral of dark metal and pulsing conduits. The Mother Flame reactor dominated the center, a towering vertical shaft enclosed by reinforced energy shields. At its heart floated a blazing, contained stellar singularity that burned without consuming oxygen, casting everything in its warm amber glow.
But Law's attention was drawn elsewhere.
Clione was chasing down an automaton.
The mechanical creature scurried across the deck plates, its legs clicking erratically. Clione leaped into the air, his arms outstretched.
"Got you!"
He tackled the automaton, wrestling it to the ground. The machine's legs kicked out wildly, sparks flying from its joints.
Clione looked up when he heard footsteps. "Oh, hey Captain!"
Law nodded, his expression carefully neutral. "Hey. What is…"
Clione stood, holding the automaton as its legs continued to kick. "Oh, this? It's supposed to help us, but sometimes they just glitch and go crazy."
Law nodded slowly, looking around the engine room. "This looks different."
Ikkaku nodded, walking over to a massive cylinder-shaped metal container on the floor. She smacked it with her hand, the sound echoing through the chamber.
"We didn't even know this was here."
Law asked, stepping closer. "What is it?"
Ikkaku smirked. "The Void-Shift Teleportation Drive."
Law's eyes widened slightly. "And what does it do?"
Hakugan interjected, his voice carrying a note of excitement. "We can instantly travel anywhere on the planet."
Law blinked in disbelief. "How does that…"
Zola pointed a finger in the air. "If I may?" She stepped forward, her violet eyes gleaming. "This vessel has a unique feature compared to the other. It operates on a power source called the Mother Flame. When appropriately channeled, this allows the vessel to shift to a new location, folding the ocean and tectonic plates around the hull to bypass physical distance entirely."
Law stroked his chin, his expression shifting from skepticism to interest. "Interesting."
Zola continued, her voice taking on the cadence of a lecturer. "However, there is a caveat. The system draws so much thermal energy from the Mother Flame singularity that it severely overheats the engine chambers. This vessel can jump anywhere instantly, but doing so forces a mandatory twelve-hour cool-down period." She paused, adjusting her glasses. "It is the same with Marya's vessel as well. Her vessel also uses an advanced power source, though it is not the Mother Flame. But it, too, requires a shut-down period."
Law's lips curved into a grin. "Very interesting."
Ikkaku cleared her throat. "There's something else, too."
Law raised a brow.
Ikkaku called out, "Zagreus."
The air in the engine room shimmered.
Zagreus materialized.
The air in the engine room shimmered.
Zagreus materialized in a cascade of golden sparks that dissolved into a shimmering outline before solidifying into flesh—or rather, into the holographic idea of flesh, taken to an absurd extreme. He stood nearly seven feet tall, a walking monument to vanity and protein. His shoulders were so wide they blotted out the console behind him, and his chest was a slab of sculpted muscle that strained against a pair of denim overalls clearly not designed for anyone with a torso circumference exceeding that of a small boulder.
The overalls themselves were a tragedy in progress. The fabric across his chest pulled so taut that the seams had given up and surrendered, revealing a stretch of bronzed, holographic skin beneath. The buttons—those poor, doomed buttons—were engaged in a losing battle against the sheer mass of his pectorals. One near his collar pinged off and ricocheted across the engine room, striking a pipe with a sharp clang. Another followed a moment later, bouncing off Clione's forehead. A third popped with such force it embedded itself in the far wall.
Zagreus didn't notice. Or didn't care.
His waist tapered down to a point that defied both biology and good sense, cinched by a heavy-duty tool belt slung so low on his hips it served no functional purpose whatsoever. It was purely decorative. A fashion statement. The kind of accessory worn by someone who had never actually used a tool in his life but wanted everyone to think he might.
His jaw was a geometric impossibility—so square it looked like it had been carved with a ruler and sanded to a mirror shine. His hair was a golden pompadour that rose from his forehead like a cresting wave, defying gravity with the same casual disregard he showed for the laws of physics. His grin was so wide and so white it could have guided ships through fog.
He struck a pose. His overalls creaked ominously.
"Hey there, Captain~" Zagreus winked, his voice dripping with flamboyant charm. "Careful where you step. You wouldn't want to scuff my pristine plating, now would you?" He leaned forward, his grin somehow widening. Another button popped off and bounced across the floor. "Though I must say, you look devastatingly handsome standing against the glow of a localized nuclear singularity~"
Law's eye twitched. A low growl escaped his throat. "What…"
Bepo jolted, his ears flattening. "What is it, Captain? Zagreus is really helpful when it comes to engine stuff!"
Zagreus, using finger pistols, pointed and shot with another wink. "That's right, you adorable fluffy guy! Anything you need to know about how to keep this baby humming, you can just ask me, Zagreus." He pointed a thumb at his chest while flexing a bicep. Another button popped off and ricocheted off a console. "I know every inch of this engine room. Every. Inch."
Law grumbled, "Whatever."
He turned and walked out, Bepo rushing after him.
Zagreus cocked a hip, watching them go. "You come back now, any time!"
He looked at Ikkaku, his grin never fading. "I think he likes me."
Ikkaku stared at him. "He threatened to dissect you with his bare hands with his death glare."
"That's how he shows affection," Zagreus said confidently. Another button popped off and hit Clione in the back of the head.
---
Law, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi walked through another corridor, their footsteps echoing against the deck plates.
Penguin asked, his voice carrying a note of longing, "I wonder what Eliane is barbecuing?"
Shachi rubbed his stomach. "I don't know, but I'm not going to wait to find out. Right after this, I'm going to the beach."
Bepo replied, his ears perking up. "Aw, that sounds so fun."
Penguin asked, "You coming?"
Bepo nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'm so hungry."
They rounded the last corner to the medical bay.
Law paused.
The Bio-Resonance Surgical Theater was a stark contrast to the rest of the warship. The walls were lined with seamless, anti-bacterial matte white ceramic-alloy panels embedded directly into the black framing. The space was pristine, well-lit, and smelled faintly of antiseptic and something else—something briny.
Penguin nodded. "Yeah, and it comes with an assistant."
Law raised a brow. "An assistant?"
Bepo nodded. "Yeah, see?" He called out, "Dr. Pincher!"
A human-sized floating crab appeared.
Dr. Pincher was projected as a gleaming, cobalt-blue cybernetic crab, his shell polished to a mirror shine. He scuttled through the air on invisible currents, his small pincers waving with frantic energy.
"Hello!" he announced, his voice bright and chipper. "I am Dr. Pincher!"
He floated toward them, knocking over a medical tray with a loud clatter. Instruments scattered across the floor.
Dr. Pincher paused. He looked down at the mess, then covered what should have been his mouth with his pincher claws.
"Oops," he said, his voice carrying a note of theatrical embarrassment. "Was that me?"
Law groaned. Then he snapped, "What is that supposed to be?"
Bepo jolted, his ears going flat. "I'm sorry!"
Penguin and Shachi both chuckled.
Shachi told him, grinning, "Look, Captain. Now you have an actual medical assistant."
Law snapped again, "That is not a medical assistant."
Dr. Pincher floated over, his pincers clicking together. "Hello there! I am a fully automated medical assistant."
Penguin chuckled. "See? Like we said!"
Law groaned, his hand rising to rub his temples.
Dr. Pincher scuttled closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "What's a surgeon's favorite kind of shellfish, Law-kun? A clam-ity! Ahahaha—" He paused, looking down at the scattered instruments. "Whoops. Did I just hand you a crescent wrench instead of a micro-scalpel? My claws slip when I'm feeling crabby!"
Law stared at him.
Dr. Pincher stared back, his pincers clicking cheerfully.
Bepo's ears slowly rose. "He's really good when he works alone, Captain. I promise."
Law closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.
"Fine," he said, his voice flat. "Fine. Whatever. I'm going to the beach."
He turned and walked out.
Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi exchanged a look.
"Did that go well?" Bepo asked.
Penguin shrugged. "For the Captain? That went great."
Shachi nodded. "Yeah. He only threatened to kill someone once."
They followed Law out, leaving Dr. Pincher alone in the medical bay.
The holographic crab looked around the empty room. His pincers clicked together.
"More patients for me, then," he said cheerfully. "I'll just… tidy up."
He knocked over another tray.