Karmen sits on the back of the Franky Family's yellow king bull on the way to Enies Lobby. "Hey! Quill sister! It's dangerous there! Come on board, will you?"

"No way!" she calls back. "I've wanted to ride one of these all my life!"

Zoro steps out onto Rocket-Man's caboose deck. "What are you doing there? I thought you wanted to kill these guys."

"We've come to an understanding," she says. "Besides, it's Franky I'm after. The guy went and got Usopp taken by government agents. If he's got even one extra scratch on him I'll turn that tinman into a tea set."

"Quill sis is scary, isn't she?" one of the guys behind her mutters.

"Zoro, is there a transponder snail on the train other than what Nami has?" she asks.

"Kokoro might have one, why?"

"There's someone I want to contact." She climbs the bull's neck and he lowers his head so she can climb aboard the train. She makes her way past everyone else and closes the engine door behind her. With a brief discussion, Kokoro gives her a transponder snail.

She puts a number into the rotary dial and waits for the connection to be made. A man's voice comes across the line. "Department code, please?"

"Apple. Tango. Religion. Doctor. Vineyard."

The man makes a sound that makes her think he's saluting the snail. "Right away, ma'am." The connection shifts and another man picks up.

"I'm afraid he's out on business, ma'am. Is there a message I can leave for you?"

She lets out the breath she'd been holding. "No. Just tell him I called."

"Yes ma'am."

Karmen hangs up the receiver. "What was that about, I wonder," Kokoro says around her bottle of alcohol.

"I thought I could get some intel that might help us. I don't trust anyone but him to give it to me."

"Who's he?"

"An old friend."


Ship… Train Log 1: Recap.

I've got nothing else to do until we reach Enies Lobby but to make sure we've got a decent record of what's happened today. Robin traded her life to prevent Aokiji's Buster Call being called down on the crew, the jerk. A covert unit of government assassins called CP9 attempted to kill Mayor Iceberg and have taken her to be killed. Merry is lost to us and we're riding a prototype sea train to go rescue her.

Sanji is on the sea train ahead of us with Franky and Usopp, trying to rescue Robin while we catch up. That tinman owes me for that one. I was willing to put everything aside and find a peaceful solution to our differences, but if anything happens to Usopp… there won't be any amount of metal that will save him. Luffy and Zoro made a way for us through the big wave for us to follow and have been slashing up everything that's blocked the tracks. That is, until the warrior frog Yokozuna knocked us off the tracks. The separated Franky family collected Sanji and Usopp, wearing a San Faldo festival mask, from a broken train car. Apparently Robin doesn't want to be rescued. Too bad for her. If I have to pull a Robin to save Robin I will.

It's going to be a huge battle once we arrive. I may not be able to write for a while.

Paulie leans against the wall, looking back and forth between the two people who are hiding their faces. "The Sniper, er… Sogeking and The Secretary. Those two are quite the pair."

"They're refusing to call themselves or each other by anything else," Kiwi sighs.

"She say they're family, but he left the crew," Mozu says. "It must be hard for him to admit he wants to help."

"Wouldn't it be harder for them to act like they don't know each other?"

"Hey Kokoro, how long until we reach Enies Lobby?" Karmen asks.

"Less than ten minutes."

Karmen fills a syringe with deadbolt. "What are you doing?" Chopper asks.

"I can't fight if my ankle is giving me trouble. The cell-locking properties of the deadbolt will keep it from swelling and numb the nerves. It could stop bleeding too, in a pinch. Medicinal properties, remember? I'm more resistant to the paralysis aspect of it, so I'll still be able to move for the most part. Don't try to talk me out of it. This time I'm fighting."

Nami grins as Karmen injects her ankle. "This will be a nice change of pace. You're always training yourself but we've never gotten to see your skills put to use in battle."

"Watch carefully then," Karmen grins. "I can slip through a crowd like a ghost." Several members of the Franky family nod in agreement.

Rocket-man crashes down beyond the second gate and Karmen fades against a nearby wall to catch her breath while Zoro, Sanji, and Nami take out the main crowd. A marine points a rifle at her. "Are you a pirate too?" he asks.

"Me?" she asks innocently. "I'm just a secretary that happened to be on the train."

"Huh? A veiled secretary?" He lowers his rifle about a foot.

"How dangerous do I look?" She pokes him with a quill. "I'll be sure to leave some antidote behind." The marine falls stiffly to the ground. She tucks a small pouch into his pocket. "They should give that to you within twelve hours, okay?" She starts writing out a note.

"Secretary!" Sogeking calls. "Don't start that again, Usopp would say."

"Don't worry, I'm just giving the clean-up crew instructions on the antidote I'm leaving."

"Quill sis!" Kiwi calls. "Ride Gomorrah with us and our bro's!"

"Your quickstep technique works better in a crowd, right?" says Mozu.

Karmen smiles at them while she pins up the note, even though they can't see it. "I'll let you guys give me my opening, then. Though, I don't think I can do it with these hounds around."

"Leave it to us!"

When Gomorrah lands on the steps of the courthouse Karmen slides off and melds with the dust clouds that he kicked up. She senses several people hiding along the perimeter and slips into a nearby building. She found one of the Guilty Jury aiming a ball and chain at her friends in the square and slashes some deadbolt into his shoulder. She tucks antidote away for him and listens to a panicking guard give a report over a transponder snail that's been left open. She hears it hit the floor and footsteps retreating from it and decides to take a chance. She picks up the receiver as marines pour into the square and everyone makes their way into the courthouse.

"Hey, Robin. You can hear this, right? I noticed how you told them there were only seven members of the crew, including you. You said that so I could slip away if I needed to, right?"

"Secretary?" her voice returns distantly over the line. "Even you?"

"What are you surprised about? We had a deal. And I told you when we met that I'd poison your tea if you ever hurt the crew. If you keep this up, I'll have to follow you to Impel Down Prison to keep my word. As much as I would like to meet Warden Magellan and swap toxins, I'd prefer to leave with you here."

"Hey, hey. Hurry up. That jerk's going to come back any second now," comes a male voice.

"Is that you, tinman? I don't want you dead anymore, but I get one good shot when this is over. Though, it may be a few minutes before I get there. I got separated from the crew and they're all going to the roof of the courthouse. I paralyzed my own leg so I could fight, so stairs aren't really my friends today. Aokiji's behind all this, right? He thinks he's got the upper hand, but we're pirates with cards up our sleeves. Let's stop playing his game and get out of here together. There are marines coming, so listen. I don't care who you used to be either. All that matters are the choices you make here and now. Luffy and the crew are more powerful than any Buster Call I've ever seen. Believe in us." She hangs up the receiver and fades into the shadows as marines pour into the room. She slips out the door behind them and locks them in.

She stays faded until she's standing behind the crowd of marines in the square. "Synchronize: Blind Spot." She slips through the marines, slashing them with deadbolt as she goes. Figuring it would be difficult to slip each one an antidote packet, she dips a second quill in delayed antidote and slashes each soldier twice, letting her hands dance like little birds. Overhearing a transponder snail transaction, she finds the warrior frog at the courthouse gates. "Yokozuna, I know you've been fighting hard, but can you give me a hand getting on that train?"

As Rocket-man barrels into the courtroom, Yokozuna picks her up and throws her into the passenger car. She slams through the back door and waves a weak thanks. She feels the impacts of the rest of the crew landing on the train, the drop in her stomach as the ground falls out beneath them, and the slam of metal against her head as the train breaks through the Tower of Law.

A foul smell wakes Karmen. She jumps up and spills Kokoro's wine all down the front of her dress. Her head aches and the room is quiet. "I hate grapes," she mutters. "Thanks for that, sorry I spilled it. How long was I out?"

"Long enough for them to all run ahead." Kokoro gives her a brief summary of everything that happened.

"They probably thought I was back with the Franky Family."

"How's the leg?"

"Stiff." They both look up as the tower shakes and explosions sound far above them. "I guess it's already started. I don't think I can do anything against the CP9, but I'll do what I can. Thanks again, Kokoro."

"Happy to help," she says, drinking more.

Karmen runs off, unable to bend her knee very well now, she takes to traveling down and finds herself in an armory. Her eyes stop on a wall of blue. "This is…" She swipes a small bag and drops it into her satchel. Unable to find anything else useful to her, she continues running through the building. It isn't until four turns later that she realizes she has a destination in mind. "That's right. He told me about this place when I was a kid. Wasn't there a secret entrance to the tunnel that leads to the Bridge of Hesitation? It was below sea level, right? Oh! The boiler room! Everyone hides things in the boiler room. Why does the government always do secret things in such obvious ways? Maybe it's just obvious to me because he told me about this stuff." She makes a left turn and ends up in a courtyard. She can see the stairs leading down on the other side and runs towards them.

A government agent with a scar on the right side of his face steps in her path. "I thought I smelled you on that sniper. Pirates and a little perfume don't cover that scent."

Karmen stops running and observes the man carefully. "You're name's Cordage, right?"

"That's Corgi!" he screams.

"What an irritable man. My mistake."

"I thought the daughter of the Gallowcomb's would at least know the names of government agents."

"Don't know her. I'm just the Straw Hat's secretary," she says. "I don't suppose she could put a wax seal on a form and get Robin out of here, could she?"

"That's above my pay grade."

"Thought so."

"Intelligence passed down from Aokiji states that there may have been a high priority passenger traveling with the Straw Hats." He grins cruelly at her. He pulls out a small camera and flashes a photo. "For proof that I've located you," he explains.

"Aw. If I had known that picture was for Aokiji I would have shown some leg. Tell me, does his frozen blood ever boil?" She laughs as his cheeks turn red. "It would be a small compensation for the misinformation you're planning on giving him."

"Cut the crap, kid. I've smelled traces of your scent on that warlord for years."

"If you did possess knowledge of such a person, wouldn't it be prudent to keep it to yourself? It might just save your life."

His eyes narrow. "Are you threatening me?"

"On the contrary," Karmen says, refreshing her quills. "I'm trying to keep you alive. If the daughter of a noble was traveling with pirates, her parents may eliminate everyone who knows to keep it quiet. However, if the warlords that are fond of her, oh two or three of them at least, caught wind of her being captured… well, it wouldn't go well for the person responsible, especially if that person was a lowly dog like you."

"I'll be protected, so long as I turn you in." He pulls out a pistol and aims it at her.

"So you plan on bringing me in alive by shooting me?" She raises an eyebrow at him.

"Tranquilizer bullets, standard issue. They come in handy in my line of work." He motions with the pistol barrel. "You did something to those quills, right? Be a good girl and drop them."

She sighs and does as she's told. As they fall, she feels a tug against her left wrist and laughs softly. She had modified a gift. "If you could smell me on Sogeking, then it means you should be able to smell him on me as well." She pulls the rubber band over her hand and gives it a few test tugs. She had soaked it in a blinding poison the night before. "If you're not going to use real projectiles on me then I won't either."

"I know you're out of options, but a rubber band? What kind of weapon is that supposed to be?"

She grins while aiming carefully, thankful for all the target practice she had done with the boys in Syrup Village. "One of my little brother's favorite weapons. Usopp's Poisoned Rubber Band of Doom!" She releases and it flies straight into Corgi's right eye. Blinded, he squeezes the trigger as he lifts both hands to cover his eye. The bullet barely misses her shoulder. Karmen takes up her quills and runs towards him. "Synchronize."

Resolving himself, Corgi levels the gun at her again. His aim is off due to his dominant eye being incapacitated. She senses the angle of his arm muscles and foxtrots to the side of the bullet's path. Alternating between lunges with her good leg, quicksteps, and lock-steps, she is able to use this technique to dodge the next four bullets. There's only one bullet left in his revolver and she's not close enough to get a good shot in. If she can get him to fire off the next round she can rush in and take him out. All her assets are in position and his hand is tensing to pull the trigger once more. If she could only bend her knee a little more… Think. Think.

She cockily places her hands on her hips and picks a canister off her belt. "Have you ever been covered in ants before? It sucks." He shoots the last bullet as she leaps into a horizontal flip over it. "Aerial spiral!" She thumbs the release on the grenade and throws it at his feet. He sputters and coughs as the gas envelopes him and steps backwards to escape the white cloud. She lands stiffly and watches his pupils constrict as it begins to take effect. Corgi empties the shell from the pistol chamber. His hand keeps twitching as if he's trying to fling something off. He itches his ear against his shoulder and scratches his side. Soon he'd be writhing on the ground trying to stop the sensation of thousands of insects crawling over his flesh.

"So I'm a little itchy," he says, though she can see sweat forming on his forehead as he wills himself not to give into the nail clawing madness. "You get your wish. I'm out of special bullets." He fits another bullet into his gun. Karmen is only feet away from him now. His hands twitch spastically as he tries to control his impulse to claw off his own skin. Karmen picks a moment when he's distracted by an itch on his left shoulder blade. Had her leg been mobile, she would have darted in low and fast to pull a rising slash up his chest, but she does not have that kind of luxury and compromises. She gives one final push with her right leg and leaps at him with her arms crossed for a slash. He pulls the trigger as she cuts poison into both his hands.

Karmen coughs up blood as pain tears through her side. She crumples to the ground where she lands and watches Corgi hit the dirt beside her, arms still extended in front of him and mouth gaping open in surprise. His finger is locked on the trigger of his gun. Karmen puts a hand to her abdomen. It pulls away bloody. "Uncle Drac was right. I need more training. They'll definitely retaliate if they find out about this. I really do suck at frontal attacks. They never work out well for me." She sighs and checks her stomach again. "I guess I should at least stop the bleeding." She pulls a syringe from her bag and injects the wound with a large dose of deadbolt. "I can't stay here with you, Corgi. There are people waiting on me up ahead. You guys won't even be able to keep a lowly criminal in your custody. What ever made you think you could capture a noble? You barely slowed down a deadbolted secretary. I may not make it much further myself, though. It seems I'm reaching the limit of my tolerance." She sets a small bottle of antidote in his curved palm and walks forward as she starts to lose mobility in her waist. She hopes the sensation of ants that he can't scratch away will drive him mad before anyone finds him.

Her chest is starting to feel tight as Franky runs by her at the stairs leading to the boiler room with two keys in his hand. He stops and runs back. "Yow! Little sis, you hurt?"

Karmen presses her hand over the hole in her dress before she looks down at herself and shakes her head. "Kokoro spilled wine on me earlier. I'm just winded from running. If those are the keys to Robin's cuffs, don't stand around here talking to me."

"Don't let yourself get too bogged down." He looks at her for a second more before continuing on his way. She watches him go.

"Where does that jerk get off calling me little sis'? Maybe I should give myself the antidote soon. It's getting hard to breathe." Despite the deadbolt it still hurts to move and she can't seem to take a full breath. She thinks about her situation as she makes slow progress down the stairs. The only problem with that plan is that she has to time the antidote against her wound. If she reverses the effects too soon, she'll bleed out. If she reverses the effects too late, she'll become too paralyzed or weak to give herself the antidote. But eventually she has to get above sea level, meaning there are ascending stairs at the end of the passage. She hears the cannons start above her head as she reaches the flat tunnel. She'll risk it. Calculating the time it will take to kick in, she injects her thigh.

When she can run again, she hears footsteps behind her. "Dress lady!"

Karmen looks over her shoulder. "Chimney? Kokoro? Gonbe?" She sees horns tied to Kokoro's hat. "Chopper?" She's momentarily glad she stopped the bleeding on her own. "Is he ok?" She keeps her pace a ways in front of them, not wanting them to catch sight of the blood.

"He'll be fine," Kokoro reassures her. "The others won't be too far behind. I ran into an old friend of yours outside. He said he owed you for a challenging day."

"Who are you talking about?"

"A big fish that you hit with a hammer."

"The thrasher tuna? He followed me all the way here? I only rode him for a day. How irked is he?"

"He's not. He actually enjoyed himself the other day, but with his species if he loses a challenge, then they're hell-bent to make it up."

"So he wants to eat me."

"He considered it, but he finds those warships an even bigger challenge and thought you'd know the best way to fight them."

"This fish isn't making any sense."

"He said he'd give you a lift if you'd like. He's waiting just above this tunnel."

Karmen takes stock of her wounds again and considers the risk. The layout of the building is fresh in her mind and she knows she can be outside and in the water in a matter of minutes. "Thanks." Sliding into a reverse step, she turns around and starts running in the opposite direction. She passes Nami and tells her to keep going. It doesn't register until now that Kokoro said she was able to speak to a fish. She sees Zoro, Sanji, and Sogeking as she's exiting the boiler room. "Keep going. I've got a plan. I want reports later, ok?"

"Right."

Outside, she sees a dark form in the water. "You need my help challenging the warships, right?" The dark form circles. "Well I need your help with mobility. If you can't smell it, I'm not doing too hot right now." The form circles again. "You'll have to listen to me without a harness and refrain from eating me for a few hours. I'm sorry I'm not in a position to be more of a challenge." The tuna's dorsal fin breaches impatiently. "Right. I'll leave it to you then." She walks to the end of the dock and steps off into the water.

In her pain and paralysis, Karmen can't find the right muscles to swim in order to even keep her head above water. She sees red billowing around her. She can't tell if it's her skirt or her blood. She extends her hands in an attempt to push through it and feels a fin press itself into her palms. Karmen grips it and finds herself standing on the tuna's back being pushed above water. She taps her foot in appreciation. "Let's start with a few rudders."

They cripple the first one and then watch as Luffy and the other warships demolish it. "But we worked so hard on that," she whines. She senses the fish tense in excitement and stomps her foot. "You can't challenge the captain. He'd have Sanji grill you up for dinner in a heartbeat." The fish flips his tail indignantly, but circles around to find another ship. They dive to avoid cannon fire.

That's when Karmen sees the gash inside the wall of the bridge tower's base. Leaning more than angling, she steers the fish closer to the wall. She has to keep herself from gulping in water as she remembers that the crewmembers which had been in the tunnel could mostly swim. Feeling the stiffness in her abdomen, she knows she would have drowned had she tried to swim free of the flood on her own. The tuna bucks slightly to get her attention, flipping his nose towards Kokoro dragging the crew to the end of the bridge. Karmen pats the fish's spine in silent thanks.

He breaches so she can breathe and heads for the closest ship. "They've done what they needed to, let's help them out in our own way, right Fin?" She sees his eye roll back, questioning the name. "Well I have to call you something. Anyways, I've got a few tricks on my belt if you can get me deck level with some of those ships." She dons her gas mask. As Fin leaps from the water, Karmen throws two canisters onto each ship: one poison, and one delayed antidote. She saves the more potent canisters for the ships with larger opponents to keep the same effects without them becoming lethal. They made sure to make a big enough splash upon reentry to douse any power holders. Fin takes a bite out of each rudder they pass. "Fin, we're barely making a dent in these things."

As the battle rages around them, Karmen hears a voice clearer and clearer. She wonders if she's lost too much blood and she's hallucinating now that her wound has started to seep again, but something about it seems familiar. She takes her gas mask off to get a better view. "Let's have an adventure, one more time. Come into the sea."

"Oh that beautiful ship," she exclaims breathlessly. "Fin. Take me there. Take me to Merry." The fish leaps over the caravel and she lets go of his fin. She feels a rib or two dislocate as she hits the sides of the crow's nest. "Hello, dear. Your timing is impeccable. Thank you." She watches everyone board, including Robin, and waves happily. Holding onto the flagpole for support, she salutes warships with a quill as they pass.

When no navy ship can be spotted, the tension leaves her body and Karmen falls over the side of the crow's nest. She slides down the sail and lands on top of Usopp. "Karmen!" He cradles her head in his lap and holds her hand.

Chopper runs over and inspects her wound. "You've lost a lot of blood. I'll start treating you right away!"

"Sorry for not saying anything. I got injured after being cornered by a government agent in the tower. I think I finished him with a sort of Onigiri." She coughs blood into her veil and pulls it away from her face, showing her friend the band on her wrist. "Usopp, I'll have you know that your rubber band saved my life. If it's all the same with you, I think I'll hang onto it for a little while longer."

Usopp gives her hand a squeeze. "I'll give you as many rubber bands as you want, so don't die on me."

She smiles weakly at him. "This is nothing. Let Chopper work. Don't put me out, please, doctor. After today, I'm sure I'd have terrible nightmares." Karmen stays awake throughout the procedure and listens from her cot in the kitchen as the crew discusses Merry's mysterious arrival.

"They'll understand eventually," she says, patting the wall. "I'm sorry for all the times I missed the boxes in the store room during target practice, and all the poison I spilled in my workroom. I wish I could have shown you the dances of the North Blue. You are, have been, and always will be, the perfect ship." It may be the blood loss, but Karmen swears the wall becomes warm beneath her hand.

The Galley-La ship comes and they say their farewell to their broken ship. Karmen watches the ashes from the burning hull mix with the falling snow from her propped up position in the corner of the small boat they'd been given. Though she had put her hood and veil back on to leave Merry, she pulls them off and has Usopp help her to her feet. "Don't push yourself," he says softly.

"I don't want the last Merry sees of me to be me hidden and beat. I'm not going to say goodbye while hiding my face. I'm our pirate secretary, after all." She looks back to the ship as Merry says her farewells, recounting all the nights she sat in the crow's nest due to nightmares, talking to herself in the workroom, all the hours spent cleaning to keep her nerves at bay, and slicing up the sandbag's course only to make a new mess to clean up. "Thank you for bringing us this far."

When Merry is no more than smoldering rubble in the water, Karmen lets herself sink back down. Paulie and the others tie ropes to the ends of the boats and haul them aboard the larger ship. Karmen allows herself to sleep as she's carried to a bed below deck.

When she wakes, she is in a Galley-La building in Water 7. Robin is sitting in a chair next to the bed, holding the logbook. "Good afternoon, Karmen. We decided to let you rest and filled in everything that happened at Enies Lobby for you," she hands the book to the secretary. "Those last lines you wrote surprised me a little bit: If I have to pull a Robin to save Robin I will. I didn't know you were so fond of me. Don't worry, my entry is first, so I'm the only one who saw it." She flicks her hand and produces an ace of spades from her sleeve, laying it on the book. Karmen gives her a knowing smile.

"You used my name."

Robin stands and opens the door. "Everyone, she's awake."

The crew pours in, noisy and boisterous as ever. She welcomes the activity and opens the log to Robin's handwriting. Usopp sits on the stool next to the bed while Chopper checks her vitals and gives her a dose of pain medicine. "Your body may have trouble adjusting, but I'm not letting you take any poison for a week so you'll heal," the reindeer says.

"Can't we do half a week?"

"Listen to him, Karmen," Usopp says, holding her hand. "Maybe you're ankle will finally heal too."

"You do have a point, little bro." Karmen read's Chopper's entry. "You fought hard for us. The least I can do is lay off the physical trainings for as long as you recommend, brave Dr. Chopper."

"Idiot! You think it'll make me happy to have you praise me?" He dances gleefully.

She turns the page. "Sanji, why does yours have so many partial sentences?"

"He kept trying to write love poems," Robin explains.

"She kept taking the pen while I was attempting to profess my affection for you," Sanji says as she reads through his section and moves on to Nami's. "I remember every line I was going to write, so I'll proclaim them over tea later. Do you love me now?"

Her eyes widen as she reads a certain line. She holds Usopp's hand tighter. "Sanji, you… saved Usopp and said all this?"

He drags coolly on his cigarette. "I couldn't let a pretty woman mourn, could I?"

"For this, I will gladly listen to hours of your poetry later."

He grins. "It's a date."

"I can't wait to read about… Zoro, your battle took out half the tower and all you have written is 'I beat the giraffe man on the path of Asura.'" She observes his wounds. "There are a few details missing."

He shrugs. "Curly brow took up most of my space with poetry and I was ready for a nap."

"Please give me a detailed report later. This stuff is important, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. You just get better first."

"Nami, you'll have to show me that mirage technique later. It sounds amazing. Thank you for including so many details." She turns the next page and her jaw goes slack. "Luffy, why did you draw your fight?"

"Writing it would take too long. Besides, pictures are more interesting."

She flips through the bad illustrations, unable to say anything that would reduce his proud grin. "Thank you for your contribution, Captain."

"You always work so hard while we recover that we thought we'd return the favor." Nami and Robin pull something long and red out of a box.

"You were able to save my dress?"

"Not all of it," Usopp admits.

"We had to replace the torso and veil. It turns out the Galley-La guys are pretty good at sewing," Robin says.

"I provided your measurements," Sanji beams.

"Don't worry," Nami says. "We wouldn't let him make any modifications."

Karmen cuddles the fabric as they fill her in on what's happened while she's been asleep. As the pain medicine kicks in, she starts to get tired and the crew slowly makes their way out. Karmen holds Usopp back a little longer. "What are you going to do now that Merry's gone?"

"I'll figure something out," he says softly.

"I hate to say it, but part of me is relieved she went the way she did. If you had tried to take her out…"

"I know."

She sees something sticking out of his bag. "Is that your Sogeking mask? Can I see it?" He hands it to her and she rubs her fingers across the missing sunbeam on the side. She picks up her veil and compares the two objects. "Why is it that you and I become brave when we hide ourselves from the world? When I'm the Secretary, I feel I can be who I really am." She sees the face he's making and pushes the mask back towards him. "If it's of any consequence, Sogeking has always been a part of you. Even if it was for a short time, I'm glad I was able to see the man I know you are."

"Karmen, you said before that there was a lot that I don't know. Is there something you need to tell me?"

She smiles softly as her eyelids droop. "You have a nice singing voice. You should sing more often."