"I certainly am glad to have heard that you would like to form a partnership with me" the blonde man began, a smirk gracing his face as he stared down the pirate sitting across from him.

"Normally I wouldn't dare to associate myself with vermin such as yourself. But I want payback" the fishman growled. Doflamingo hid his frown, he knew if he wanted revenge he would have to accept the help of the powerful ally that had just landed in his lap.

"So its a deal then. The marines will be on our tail soon enough, no doubt your escape is of utmost importance to them" he said instead

"It doesn't matter to me. The only thing I care about is getting my hands on that little bitch again. And I know just how to do it"

The Thousand Sunny was bustling as usual. The faint sounds of an arguing Sanji and Zoro could be heard from the kitchen, Chopper was playing some sort of game with Franky and Usopp that they had invented, Brook was playing a tune as Robin and Nami sat at the table on deck and read quietly. Nami was reading one of her navigation books as usual and Robin had just sat down to read the most recent paper from the last island that they had visited. The only difference was the presence of a tall pirate Captain who was currently arguing with Luffy.

"We need to set the course of action immediately" Trafalgar Law argued with the rubber man. Luffy only chuckled and gleefully slapped him on the back

"That takes all the fun out of it!" The younger Captain exclaims, ignoring the strained look on the face of his ally. Before either man had the chance to speak further, the footsteps of the Straw Hat's resident archaeologist approached them from behind.

"I think you both need to see this" the woman said solemnly, holding out the newspaper in front of them. On the front page in large bold text read "PIRATE CAPTAIN ARLONG ESCAPES FROM PRISON, ALLIES WITH DOFLAMINGO"

Law felt the tension in the air raise exponentially as the Straw Hat Captain's face darkened. Law had heard of the infamous pirate by the name of Arlong, he had made quite a name for himself before his downfall. He knew from the world news that Luffy had been the one to bring him down, but he didn't know why both pirates kept glancing at the orange haired navigator with troubled looks in their eyes.

"Should I tell her?" Robin asked Luffy, an unspoken conversation seeming to go between them. Luffy nodded slowly and the woman made her way over to Nami, who was still immersed in her book. Law looked at Luffy for an answer to their peculiar behavior, however the younger man never took his eyes off of his navigator as he spoke.

"Nami used to be in Arlong's crew. This is bad." Luffy explained lowly, a million questions ran through Law's head as he watched the scene in front of him play out.

Robin had sat down next to the fiery woman and slowly slid the newspaper into her view, Nami picked it up with a smile that quickly faded as she turned so pale he thought she might pass out. Her hand went to her mouth and she stood up quickly, pushing her chair back from the table as she said something to Robin and disappeared into the ship. Law still wasn't sure what Arlong meant to Nami, but he knew by the cat burglar's reaction that it wasn't anything good.

"You should let your crew know whats going on" Luffy said with a seriousness that would have been humorous to the doctor had the situation not been so dire. Law gave a firm nod as he created his room to teleport to his submarine, which kept pace right next to the Thousand Sunny.

Doflamingo and Arlong were working together, and he had a feeling things were going to get rather messy.

"Please don't argue! You aren't safe, you have to leave!" Nami argued into the transponder. The voice of her sister relayed back to her in no time flat,

"Nami, you know I can't leave. Aren't you tired of letting him control you?" Nojiko asked with pity in her voice

"I- I just know he is going to use you against me and-" the redhead began to stutter, she was cut off almost as soon as she had started though

"Then let him. I'm not going to run anymore. If he wanted to find me to use me against you, he will no matter what. You've served your time Nami, you have to promise me if that happens that you won't give in to him" her older sister warned through the transponder. Nami had never wanted to hug her as much as she did right then, tears sprung to her eyes as she frantically tried to think of something to say to Nojiko to make her leave the island.

"I can't lose you!" She blurted out, desperation clinging to her voice as she pleaded with her big sister to take refuge.

"Nami, I love you. No matter what. Things will turn out fine, I promise" the cheerful but somewhat resigned voice of the person who meant the very most to Nami rang out.

As the transponder went quiet, Nami fought tears with every fiber of her being. She felt as though a whirlpool had engulfed her and she couldn't get out. She couldn't get the face of the fishman that held her captive for most of her life out of her head. She buried her hands in her long orange hair and pulled in frustration as she heard the door creak open and footsteps approach.

"Go away Luffy" she said as she felt a hand on her shoulder

"It's not Luffy" a gruff voice sounded, as she turned around she was surprised to see the green haired swordsman standing behind her with a calloused hand on her shoulder.

"You aren't alone. Remember that. We took Arlong down once, and we sure as hell can do it again" Zoro said as softly as he could muster.

"Why are you here?" Nami said tiredly, Zoro took a look at her and let out a gruff chuckle

"Robin told us what was going on. I just figured you'd need something to stop you from freaking" he scoffed as he handed her a round object and retreated back on deck.

In her hand was a single mikan. Ordinarily she would have kicked Zoro's butt for picking a fruit from her precious trees, but for once the moss head was actually right on point about something. She held it to her face and inhaled the faint scent of the fruit, reminding her of her mother. She wouldn't let that happen again.

She couldn't help Bellmere as a child, but she was a big girl now and she was going to make sure her family was safe.