1 : The Stowaway

The job was simple enough – the rugged dealer who smelled like sewage and sweated like a faucet paid them their credits up front. All he did was touch his wrist comm-screen to Nami's outstretched palm.

"I don't know what it is, and I don't care," the dealer said, their translator picking up his fuzzy words. His snout dripped with fluid, which made Trafalgar Water D. Law cringe, ears twitching slightly, seeing it catch on his upper lip and then snorted in so hard that the man's eyes watered with the force of it.

"It's all here!" she announced, snapping her blue, shimmery fingers. She emerged from the wristlet Law wore on one wrist, a dull gold device that carried her whenever they left the ship. He was on Nami Duty, after Zoro ended up tucking the device into their cargo bay toolbox the last time, tired of hearing her. "Load it up, boys!"

"It's not that heavy, actually," Zoro Roronoa said, heaving the seven by seven box up on his back, and then making his way up the ship's ramp.

"If his back goes out again, I'm not paying for a chiropractor," Nami told Law sternly, reaching over and flicking one black ear, the shimmer of the action occurring only as a flicker of light, not as a physical action. His ear twitched anyway.

"Make sure it doesn't come back here," the dealer said, using his suit sleeve to wipe his nose. "Something fishy about it. Had some Imperials sniffing around here the other day."

"Did you at least open it and see what was inside?" Law asked, feeling uneasy about the mention of anything royal.

"No. That's not my job. It says it needs to remain 'unopen', so I left it be. You may as well as pay heed to it, too. Don't want to be caught up in some trouble you ain't even asked for," the dealer said, waving him off as he made his way back to the crowded warehouse, where alien workers of all shapes and sizes worked to sort out the mail for this galaxy's territories.

Law looked at Nami, the holographic woman with large breasts, tiny waist and pixels in the form of stars covering up her womanly parts. Her seemingly solid form had human men nearly snapping their necks to catch a glance at her. Her long orange hair was pulled up in a careless bun atop of her head, and her bare feet shuffled over the grimy tile of the warehouse floor. She was frowning with concentration as she looked the packaging slip over.

The three of them were mostly ignored, being that they were transporters with an ugly ship. He and Zoro were catmen from a distant planet within the North Blue sector of the universe, from the Windmill galaxy. His ears were visible from the wild tuft of his dark blue hair, black and pointed, with two earrings each, above the Henry's flap. His claws were slightly curved from long, spindly fingers, and he had a tail that was currently twitching against the calves of his legs. His canines were visible when he spoke – his vertical pupils widened slightly to allow him to see better in the dingy light.

Zoro had the same features, only his ears were rounded, and he had furry black stripes down the sides of his neck that spread to his shoulders. His hair and fur were a dark green, and he had bright green eyes that always looked sleepy. His nails were constantly being chewed on so they were raggedy, allowing him to handle his swords more comfortably.

Sometimes, when the pair grew excited, they most often yowled like cats, hissed and snarled when words failed them. Which only happened when dog-like Luffy was around to cause trouble. Nami had started calling them The Mangy Cat and Dumb Ass Tiger, not bothering to use their real names. Neither of them felt any way about it, considering she called her own husband That Fucking Dog.

"Says it came in from Watershed, which is a Fishman territory, over there on the south end of this galaxy. Its end destination is unclaimed territory over in the East Blue galaxy of the Grandline. Huh. Nothing fishy about it if it's coming from Fishman territory."

"Har, har."

"Let me look further from it's origin point, but in the meantime, you two don't mess it up. It's an easy job. All you have to do is take it from point A to point B," she said, looking up at him, gesturing grandly with her arms so that her breasts swung heavily with the action. "There is nothing hard about it, unless you two get a case of the munchies and try looking for fish. In that case, there is no fish to found here, so don't bother looking!"

"I can't believe you allowed us this small of a job to take on ourselves," Zoro said, returning from the ship's bay, tail flicking before he curled it around his waist, like a belt. "What'd we do to piss you off?"

"Just get it over with, I don't want to hear anymore complaints! Look, I'm sorry if you both feel that this sort of thing is beneath you, but after what That Fucking Dog did to the Sunny, it's all we have right now," Nami said, face darkening at the mention of her husband. "Franky and Bepo are doing everything they can to fix it."

"Oh yeah," both catmen muttered, looking cross as the memory revisited them.

"Take advantage of this moment, you shitty animals," she said, making her way back to the Merry Go, her hips moving fluidly, causing human men to stumble over each other to look at the hologram walking up the ramp of the ship.

"So embarrassing," Zoro muttered, arms crossed over his chest, looking in the other direction with his ears flattening.

"You'll know that it's impossible for human women to move in that fashion, unless they were double jointed. It's statistically impossible to – "

"Shaddup, nerd."

The Merry Go was a small cargo ship that required only two pilots. It was space junk, put together with minimal parts. It was triangular in form, the wings curved slightly, the underbelly a stark white, and while it handled well in jumpspeed, it tended to wobble upon atmospheric re-entry and caused its pilots anxiety when alarms went off randomly without explanation.

But it was Luffy's first ship, and he refused to give it up.

Space made Law sick. It made his gut churn with anxiety because there was absolutely nothing above and below him, and the lack of gravity sometimes made him feel as if he were continuously falling, with nothing to hold onto. Stars were scattered all around them, in brilliant burning balls of gas that changed color, and the universe was endless. As they passed by slow spinning planets, sometimes the sound changed in the ship's chambers. Sometimes it was just a continuous vibration of air, and sometimes it was a high pitched whistle. Shifting radio frequencies that the ship's intercom picked up, that almost sounded like some ghostly orchestra.

When they passed by planets, the light reflected made it seem like there were headlights being shone right at them. He could look out the windows and stare at them as they passed, but he'd immediately feel sick, feeling they could fall into its orbit and crash onto some distant surface. He was terrified of falling, of crashing. Of being ripped apart in space, killed by barotrauma.

He wanted to enjoy the sight – space was beautiful. With all of its oily colors in the distance, with the swirl of gases in a huge orb of mass – the shifting galaxies with their ever spinning magnificence; it was all beautiful on picture. But in the midst of it, Law hated it. It made him regret taking the job offer Luffy had extended to him on a whim. But the money had been worth it, and he was able to send most of it back home.

After Zoro set their destination, Law adjusted the headset around his skull so that the headphones were near his ears, and monotonously asked for clearance from the gates that controlled all space traffic in and out from the planet's dingy atmosphere. Once they received it, the codes returned to the gatekeeper without fanfare, Zoro pushed the Merry Go into a smooth cruise away from the bright blue gates. Then he turned on the music player, and Johnny Cash began singing about how fickle a woman was, loving him only to turn to another.

'You're gonna break another heart, tell another lie…'

"This is the slowest it's ever been," Zoro complained, yawning. "Nothing exciting ever happens."

"Don't jinx yourselves," Nami warned, her form being cast from Merry's own system. She looked up from a clipboard, where she'd just performed a diagnostic of the ship. "How heavy was that box, Dumb Ass?"

"I don't know. 72 kilograms, give or take."

"I didn't think it'd be that heavy. I'm concerned about the fuel reserves Merry needs in order to get to the East Blue."

"I know of some weight we can dump," Zoro muttered, propping his boots up on the dash, arms folded behind his head as his ears flicked. Around his neck was a pair of goggles, bandanna wrapped around one arm. He was wearing a black vest over a white shirt with long, billowy sleeves. He wore a dingy piece of armor over his left shoulder, his hips holding aloft three swords and a single gunbelt with a blaster hanging from it. His black pants were slightly fitted, tucked into brown boots with multiple straps that clinked with each step.

"I am part of the ship, you can't dump me!" she said impatiently. "No matter how hard you try, if either of you try and disable me, you can't run the ship. Is this clear?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"You, Mangy Cat, did you pick up the supplies I'd asked of you?"

"It's in the kitchen."

"Did you look through it?"

"I wasn't asked to."

She stared at him with irritation. He was well over six feet, wearing a black short sleeve hoodie shirt and a corset-style vest. His retractable sword with purple grip, red rope and white animal fur trim on the hilt would flare blue when pulled, and the holster clung to the left side of his back, drawn quickly when needed. His black pants had gold pinstripes on them, and was rolled over a pair of black boots with gold wraps over the laces. His tattoos were dark against his white splotched skin, where an old disease had left its mark so violently that his people had ran him out of his city, convinced he was still infected. He'd yet to give much detail about his life, only giving away bare basics when it became fitting to a conversation. She suspected that this was his first time venturing out into space - he was rattled easy, and although he talked tough, there were moments where he was absolutely clueless with dangerous situations, or even normal situations on the ship.

"I swear, both of you are useless," Nami grumbled, tossing the clipboard aside, the image disappearing. She then changed the song, and the sound of the Bee Gee's singing to 'Stay Alive'. "Ugh, I hate your music. Listen up, it's your meals. You were supposed to go through them, look to make sure it was all there, then put them away."

"I'm sure they're all in there."

"All seven bags? You guys realize if you're missing one, you'll starve for two days."

"We'll just drink some water! Shit," Zoro grumbled. "All you do is complain!"

"Look, I realize neither of you care about…" Nami then paused, looking away from them. "Hold on. I'm registering movement from the cargo bay. I'm going to go look. One of you come with me."

"Are you scared, Nami? Because nothing can happen to you, considering you're a goddamn hologram," Zoro said impatiently.

"It's more for you two! What if it's an assassin?"

Both of them laughed.

"FINE! I'll be right back!" she snapped, disappearing from view.

" 'Assassin'," Zoro snorted. "Who'd want to kill us?"

"Old girlfriend, perhaps? Family?"

"None of that, my friend. I'm a clean slate. You?"

"Maybe I angered a few colleagues when I left, but I doubt they'd put effort in locating me just to kill me."

"Can you drop that proper speak? We're transporters, not scholars, here."

"I'm not apologizing for my speech." Law then thought about what the dealer had said, giving a frown. "He mentioned Imperials were in the area."

"I don't care about those guys. They've got bigger things to worry about." Zoro then opened an eye, looking at him. "Is it anything to you? We know nothing about you."

"Not really."

Zoro waited for him to elaborate, but when Law didn't offer anymore, frowning stubbornly out the window, he shrugged. They had plenty of time to get to know one another – this journey was set for a week.

Nami reappeared, frowning. "I haven't seen anything. I'm scanning all security feeds throughout the ship. I register at least one other person on this ship."

"Really? A stowaway?" Zoro asked with curiosity, Law turning in his seat to look up with vague interest. "Is it dangerous?"

"That's the thing, I can't seem to pin it down. All I'm registering is an unusual amount of water moving through the pipes, so we've might've picked up a Water Mite."

"Boring!" Zoro muttered, sitting back in his seat while Law looked confused.

Nami brought up the image of an indecipherable form, which shimmered blue next to her. "They eat up moisture in a ship. It needs to be exterminated before it hits your fresh water supply."

"How do you do that?"

"Dumb Ass. Go show him how to exterminate those things," Nami commanded. She then frowned at her wrist. "Damn. The Dog's calling me. Call me if you need me."

Zoro gave her a thumbs up, and she was gone. Merry announced she was running on autopilot, and the ship gave a small shudder that made Law sick.

"Go check out the pipes by the kitchen. That's where they usually go," he said, yawning noisily. "I'm going to take a nap."

"Are they dangerous?" Law asked.

"No. Don't let them touch you, though. They'll suck the moisture all out of you."

"…That's not dangerous?"

"You got this. I believe in you."

Tail flicking nervously, Law left the jumpseat.

"Oh, don't bother trying to slice it up, either," Zoro added. "You have to use a phaser gun to kill it. Aim for the nucleus in the center, that's its heart compartment."

"'Phaser', right," Law muttered, reaching for the cabinet at the back of the cockpit, and looking at the selection. There was only one left, with an extra charge pack thrown in. "There is only one."

"You only need one shot."

With a shrug, Law took the gun, then walked out of the cockpit, heading for the cargo bay at the back of the ship.

"Scaredy cat," Zoro muttered.

"I heard that!"

: :

Law didn't find anything, so he returned to the cockpit, tossing the gun on the dash. Zoro was asleep, and they had a week's worth of travel. Seeing that the man wasn't afraid of anything else, he intended on catching up with a nap as well. He took his seat and leaned back in it, settling his tail over his lap. In just moments, he was snoring slightly, listening to the ghostly whistle of changing frequencies that came in from the outside.

Unbeknownst to both of them, a quiet, cautious figure approached the cockpit. Dressed in dingy brown robes that had been sewn together from scraps of material that came from the trash, he resembled a trash heap figure. He had a thick beard, long, matted hair that was knotted at the ends, and smelled like he had just taken a roll through compost. Unable to speak any universal language, he'd long ago stopped trying for any sort of conversation with anyone, using gestures and action to get what he wanted.

Around his waist, he carried a small dagger, an oxygen mask and a single picture of an elderly man.

He peered in to examine to two sleeping men in the seats, then looked out the window beyond them. He felt his eyes widen with fascination at the sight of drifting stars, sucking in a small breath. This caused the man with green hair to shift and sit up, ears flicking, so he retreated from the doorway, hiding against the corridor wall with a frightened expression. Quickly, he made his way back to the cargo bay, hearing heavy footsteps tromping after him, grumbling noises edged with some sort of animal characteristic echoing off the narrow, metal walls.

He quickly climbed into the box and pulled the lid, hearing it latch quietly. Then breathed very shallowly and slow, crouching low in the box. He heard the man walking about, flicking on lights, and then visually examine the bay. He went from one end to the other, grumbling.

He didn't understand a single word the man said, the language barrier too great. But he could feel the other man's reluctance, his irritation, and it was because he'd been startled out of his nap. He heard the other man call out to him, the reply given lazily, and he sensed the first man's disregard to the second.

Their spill of words told him that there was no need for any distress or further investigation, as their footfalls led away from the cargo bay. He stayed in the box for a little while longer, sinking to his ass to the bottom, and examined his fingernails. Picking at them until he heard nothing more from them, he then curled up against the wall of the box and prepared to go to sleep. The two men were on alert, and he needed a little more time to figure out their schedule so he could continue to investigate what sort of ship he was on. All he knew was that he was being sent to the East Blue – far away from the Germa Empire.

: :

"Did you fart?" Law complained, covering his mouth and nose with the collar of his hoodie as Zoro looked at him with a scowl.

"If I did, you'd know, you bastard."

"It's very foul. Wretched. Like there are literally several bodies lying in your colon, breathing out."

"I smell it, too, and it's not me."

"Is the sewer system backing up again?"

"No, Franky said he'd fixed it. Brand new pipes."

"I can't eat like this," Law then said, looking down at the silver platter with reheated rations that didn't resemble what they were supposed to be. Sweet potato, roast beef and string beans looked nothing like the discolored lumps on his tray. Zoro's didn't look any different.

"Can't waste food."

"I know that. But that smell is…"

"I'm telling you, it's not me."

"Something died in here, then."

"You complain like a little bitch so much - !"

"Look, it's fine if you're fine with it, but I do not want to get used to this stench and have it be a part of me by the time we get there."

"I'll look for the smell, shit," Zoro grumbled, using his fingers to dig up the rest of his meal and stuff it into his mouth. He tossed the tray aside. "You get to do dishes."

"All it is is sticking it in a cubicle in the wall, it's not that hard of a task," Law muttered, ears flattening briefly as Zoro passed him, looking up at the vents high up on the narrow walls of their living space.

"It's worse over here," he heard Zoro comment, near the kitchen space. "We might have rodents on board. It left some of our food packages out on the counterspace."

"Like it was digging in the box?" Law questioning, furrowing his brow as he wondered how big of a creature it could be to pull the food box from the counterspace and upset it.

"Some of these things are huge, but…I don't know. Nami was asking about the weight of the thing, right?"

"Right. She mentioned it could be a Water Mite."

"Water Mites stay in pipes. They don't bother with food."

"Then we have a stowaway."

"Where could they hide? There is no where to hide, this shit ship is too small for hiding space," Zoro grumbled, the sound of a cat-like growl underneath his words.

" 'Shit ship'," Law repeated to himself, to use for another day.

"We probably picked it up from the warehouse. There were a lot of workers, there. We either kill it, or drop it off at the next station we come to."

"72 kilograms is a full grown man," Law said, examining the ceiling with interest. "So where could a man hide in this space?"

"Unless they're a Water Mite."

"Are they human?"

"No. They're bugs."

"Are they dangerous?"

"No."

"But they suck the moisture out of a human body, so how is this not dangerous?" Law insisted.

"They're just not! Okay? Calm down. You're yowling."

"I'm not 'yowling', I'm just curious!"

"Have you been to space before this?" Zoro asked curiously, returning to the small table that was pulled from the wall. The living space was located just behind the cockpit, and allowed only the furniture that could be pulled from the wall. There were beds tucked in there, as well as basic living room furniture. A television set. Battle-grams that they could spar when they had the time. Just beyond that was a very small bathroom that allowed only the basic essentials.

"Only twice for university tours. Otherwise, I had Nami assign me jobs on ground or sea only. She was cool with it until the Sunny was grounded."

Zoro frowned thoughtfully. This was his first mission with Law – they had plenty of interaction before, but not partnered for anything like this. Zoro was usually paired with Luffy, and Law traveled around with Bepo, but Luffy was 'grounded' and Bepo had to help Franky repair the Sunny. "I thought so. You're very jumpy."

"I'm not used to it, no. I'd rather work on firm surface ground, or even on the sea, but space is different."

"On hostile territory?"

"No."

"You're not giving me anything to form a picture, here," Zoro said, ears flicking as he took his seat back at the table. "Where are you from?"

With a reluctant sigh, Law picked at his sweet potatoes. "Look, you know our home was ravaged by an incurable disease. I managed to survive, but it left these scars on my skin. I learned how to hide them by using makeup. In my hometown, if anyone were seen with these marks, they were taken and burned to prevent the spread of infection. The only reason why I survived was because my guardian at the time found me a cure."

"The devil fruit."

"Yes. It cured the disease, but left its mark. I made it through life until one day, during a surgery, the air conditioner died. And I started sweating like a pig. The makeup came off."

"That's when they ran you out?"

"Yes. Caused a mass panic. Every patient I'd ever worked on was certain they were given the disease, and because of it, my head was called for. I wasn't about to roll over and let them have it. I was given fare out of the planet under a stolen ID and found Nami's workshop not long after I'd landed on Earth. I thought, at the time, how hard could this job, be? All you do is drive things here and there, and you get paid for it."

He'd thought the man looked a little soft. It made sense that Law wasn't like the rest of them, considering how self-conscious he seemed holding his sword, how he knew nothing about 'being on alert'. But his short answers only raised more questions, because Zoro noticed how nervous he grew at the mention of anything 'Imperial'.

"It's not that hard," Zoro assured him. "Unfortunately."

"Fortunate for me. I have a sword, but I rarely use it. I'm not much of a fighter, like all of you seem to be. Most of my life, I'd worked and toiled at a university to get by."

"Well, you should train a little harder. You never know. One of these days, adventure will come and hit hard."

"I'm aware of that."

"You done eating?"

"I'm going to leave it here for a bit. I'll finish it throughout the next few hours."

"Look, let's go check in with Nami. It's been forty eight hours."

"Hopefully that smell goes away."

"Don't be such a wimp."

Half an hour later, Law returned to the table to eat a little more, but he was surprised to find his tray was emptied. He looked at Zoro suspiciously, but the man had been with him the entire time, griping about Nami's orders. He walked out from the cockpit to catch his look, then frowned down at the empty tray.

He looked around with determined expression, ears standing straight up as his tail straightened with alertness. "Let's go find this stowaway. That'll give us something to do."

"Hopefully it's not dangerous," Law muttered, tail flicking.