He isn't sure what had woken him up in the end.

Possibly the sun shining brightly in his face. Possibly the salty water splashing against his feet. Possibly the ground shaking lightly, following a certain rhythm. Possibly the seagulls screeching above him. Possibly the pain throbbing throughout his entire body and eventually becoming manifest in his left shinbone.

He blinks once, then slowly opens his eyes to the bright light. He feels warm. Considering the sun already high above him, it must be around noon already. He quietly wonders for how long he's been asleep like this. His fingers run over hot, dark metal. The black surface has captured the heat and nearly burns his skin. His right hand clutches his katana and he's surprised that he didn't let go of it.

Memories come back to mind. The pictures are vague, but the explosions and screams still resound in his head. He remembers the call for a gathering. He remembers seeing a massive black ship made of steel and iron, decorated in skulls and pins. He had never seen such an evil looking ship in his life before. He faintly remembers the weird jolly roger as both the black ship and his own surfaced submarine entered into the bay.

Then the black ship exploded, the bow flying towards the submarine, demolishing the long glass and ripping part of the deck down into the sea with it. He remembers the marine flags appear behind and the canons firing from the shore. He remembers that he's been lured into a trap. His ship and someone else's.

He props up to his elbows. His clothes are soaked and cling to his body like a second skin. One shoe has gone missing and the trouser on the leg is rippled and torn. The pain rushes sharply through his body and he hisses as he casts a look down at the wound. Blood everywhere. Both his leg and his head are throbbing and a faint memory of a blow right to where he was standing comes back to his mind. Multiple splinters had shot through his leg. The bone might be damaged as well, the tissue certainly is. He clutches his teeth and curses under his breath.

Only then does he notice that he is floating on a massive piece of metal somewhere near the shore of some island. Floating on the water. Unable to swim since he's a devil fruit user.

"Jeez… lucky me. Could've easily drowned."

He looks around but cannot find any other person. Some pieces of wreckage float on the waves around him, crashing softly on shore every now and then. They don't belong to his submarine however. The black metal below him does not either. It must be a part of the other ship that apparently has been blown to pieces.

Since he can't swim and feels no need to paddle in the water with his leg bleeding like this, he decides to wait until the waves eventually wash him ashore.

It's not until late afternoon that he finally feels sandy ground below the metal and the rocking movement ceases. He had fallen asleep again and now wakes up, due to the sudden lack of movement. A soft breeze blows through the palm trees behind him, he takes a deep breath and feels relieved. Anxious somehow, but then again relieved that he is still alive. Drowning would be such a pitiful death for a pirate.

He gets up, heavily leaning on his katana. He's sure that he's not doing any good to the blade by abusing it as a walking frame but he has no other choice. He shields his eyes from the sun with one hand, noticing that his hat has gone missing as well. His lips form a slight pout. It had taken years for him to find the perfect hat and now it was gone. Just like that. He'd have to start looking for one all over again.

His eyes roam the shore. Metal, boxes and drained sacks everywhere… and a dead animal. He squints his eyes and furrows his forehead.

The first steps are rather wobbly and pain shoots all the way up to his chest but he walks nonetheless. He has to get away from here eventually, find a village and medical treatment. It's mere curiosity that leads him to the blurry shape a few meters away. From afar it certainly looks like a dead animal. Wet fur, a dirty mixture of different shades of brown and dark reds. Only as he comes closer does he spot the black boots peeking from under the thick fur. A coat?

He stops dead on his track, staring at the allegedly dead animal.

Yellow pants, dotted in red and black, obviously blood stained. Crimson hair, soaked but unmistakably spiked up. He doesn't even need to see the face to recognize the person lying at his feet. He crouches down next to the unmoving body and reluctantly puts a hand on the furry shoulder, carefully avoiding the golden spikes that glisten in the bright sunlight.

Turning him on his back proves to be difficult. He doubts that it's only because of the drenched coat. The man before him still is a fucking beast and he weights a hell of a lot. It takes him four or five tries until he finally pulls him back and nearly drops on his own bottom in the progress.

The brow less face winces due to the sudden movement and he slowly opens his eyes, returning from a state of sacred unconsciousness. So he's still alive then. Quite remarkable.

"Mr Eustass."

His gaze shifts to his right and he recognizes a certain raven-haired imp cowering at his side. He knows that smirk and those dark circles underneath the other mans' eyes.

"Your make-up is smudgy, Trafalgar."

His voice sounds horribly raspy and he violently coughs up a lung full of saltwater. As he tries to sit up, a sharp flash of pain rushes through his head and he feels as if his eyes were gonna pop out of his face any minute. Initially he raises one of his claw-like hands up and wipes away the trail of blood that is running down his temple.

"Pretty laceration you got there. Right above your left eyebrow. Seems like your goggles have shattered."

"And why would that be so amusing to you?"

"Probably because I can't stand you."

Trafalgar Law smiles innocently.

It's a scary sight but fortunately Eustass Kid isn't one to be scared easily. Instead he scolds at the smaller man and deliberately turns to look into a different direction. Kids blood red eyes wander over the shore and widen as he notices the many pieces of black metal. Obviously former parts of his ship.

"What the hell happened?"

"We got ambushed it seems."

The ease in those words confuses Kid for a split second before he reminds himself that he's talking to an obvious lunatic here. Nothing to wonder about.

"We should try to find a spot in the shades. Spend the night here on the beach and search for a village by daybreak."

"Why the fuck would I stay with you?"

"I'm a doctor."

Law states the obvious and Kid curls his lips, evidently displeased.

"I'll treat your wounds, you support me while walking. Sounds fair to me. As soon as we've reached a village we can go separate ways."

Kid huffs. He glares at the still smiling doctor for a few seconds before he rises to his feet, nearly losing his balance on the way. His head is throbbing badly and he feels the warm blood flowing down his cheek again. Fucking… fuck!

Law reaches a hand up to him as he starts dusting his coat, ignoring that the fur is still soaking wet. As he looks down he first notices the amount of tiny scratches and wounds covering his neck and bare chest. He also notices his revolver missing, while the dagger is still plugged away. He then looks down to the outstretched hand and examines Law with a questioning look.

"What?", he snarles.

"You might care to help me up, Captain."

"Or I might not care at all."

"Not very polite."

Kid smiles, looking like a wolf baring his teeth. Law shivers imperceptibly. The massive redhead reaches out and digs his black painted claws in Laws wrist, violently pulling the slender man up to his feet. A bolt of pain shoots through the doctors' leg again and he suppresses any noise. Showing any sign of weakness before Eustass Kid sure is like a death sentence.

"Will the palm trees over there do?"

Law glances into the direction that Kid points out and notices a circle of palm trees, shady and sheltered from wind.

"Nicely."

He's well aware that pairing up with Eustass Kid might be the worst idea of his life. After all the Kids Pirates Captain is a well-known psychopath with a very, very short temper. But then again he might be the most interesting person Law has ever encountered.