"Captain Libera! There's something coming at us on the water!"

Sighing, Cassandra grudgingly got up from where she had been sunbathing with some of her crew. Morgan was totally engrossed in his book, and Lyn had fallen asleep as nude as usual. Alexander had taken advantage of this by making a suntan tattoo on Lyn's stomach spelling 'ALEXANDER IS THE GREATEST'. Cassandra had considered saying something about it and decided not to. Although he would probably be unsuccessful since Lyn's near-white skin seemed to not change color without ink inside it, she couldn't wait to see Lyn's face if he succeeded.

She joined Cain on the side of the ship and peered at the distant shape. "It looks like wreckage," she said at last. "Maybe 3 nautical miles out. We can reach it in half an hour if the wind and weather hold, see if there's anything we can use. If not, we could still use the lumber. Damien! 58 degrees starboard!"

"Aye aye! 58 starboard!"

She brought Chief to her mouth. "Miserie, if you're nearby, we could use you back at the ship."

She kept her eyes on the wreckage for their entire approach, making sure any living beings around it didn't try anything funny. Nothing came out or off of the wreckage, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. When Miserie returned, she was directed to patrol around Dusk Pandion. Lyn woke up to see that the suntan tattoo had left very faint but visible letters on her skin and chased Alexander to the men's quarters, where he had locked himself in and was laughing uproariously. Theo emerged from her workshop to find out what was so funny and nearly choked to death laughing as well.

Amusement was the last thing on Cassandra's mind as they pulled alongside the wreckage. Damien's complete lack of interest as he lashed the helm and went belowdeck indicated he couldn't sense any threats. The other pirates all came to look down at the wreckage with interest. "Listen up!" Cassandra shouted, jumping onto the railing. "It may look like floating pieces of a ship, but that's no reason to let our guard down! Stay on Dusky until I come back. Miserie, help me search it. Don't forget to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"Anything fishy! Get it?" Theo rolled around on the deck, beside herself from her own joke.

"She gets it," was Miserie's neutral reply.

"Why do you get to have all the fun?" Lyn demanded.

"Because I can tread lightly and withstand surprise attacks."

Lyn crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks, but couldn't refute it. Smiling, Cassandra took a step onto thin air and plummeted downwards. Miserie easily caught her and put her on the nearest chunk of wreckage that could support her weight. She surveilled her surroundings before speaking. "Can you see anything, Miserie? No? Send Lyn down and talk to Morgan about getting what's salvageable aboard. Get Raven to monitor us too."

Lyn threw her arms around Cassandra's shoulders when she arrived. "So why are you here?"

"I want to know what happened to make sure it doesn't happen to us. I don't see any burn marks, so the odds are the ship didn't explode. It was crushed to bits. The most reasonable assumptions are a sea monster or a crew with the ability to completely demolish a ship hit them. I don't have to explain to you why both of those are bad for us."

"Psh, just let Damien handle it!"

"He'll be so focused on combat that he'll forget to keep it away from us."

Lyn rolled this around in her head. "Yeah, that's fair."

"My only other defense against something like that is Cain, and even he might not be able to stop it."

"Mm." They moved from piece to piece, Cassandra analyzing and Lyn fooling around. Lyn immediately became serious, however, when Cassandra froze. "What? What is it?"

Cassandra couldn't believe her ears. Almost hidden beneath the rhythm of the sea was the faintest of pulses. She motioned for Lyn to stay put and raced to its source. An emaciated woman lay on what was probably a part of the main deck. She looked like a skeleton wrapped in skin cracked and rashy from exposure. Her hair was bleached and brittle, and one of her eyes was missing, dried blood around the empty socket. If not for the weak pulse, Cassandra would have mistaken her for a corpse.

"Do you consider yourself lucky or unlucky, to be here now?" Cassandra wondered aloud as she crouched. "When I save you, am I giving you medical treatment or a bullet?"

The woman didn't respond due to her likely unconsciousness.

"I'll put you out of your misery," she decided, drawing a pistol. "A mercy kill to send you to your friends."

"Wait!" Lyn bounded over. "You can't do that!"

"Why not? It's just euthanasia. In this state, a shot would kill her before she even felt it."

"She may be in bad condition, but she's still alive! We can still save her!"

"We are doing no such thing. I'm not letting anything aboard my ship that has even the slightest chance of being a threat."

"How, exactly, can she be a threat? Look at her!"

"She could be like Damien, who will only not dangerous when he's dead. And maybe not even then."

"Really? You're comparing her to Damien?"

"He may be special, but he's not unique. Plus, she could be a Devil Fruit User. Who knows what she could do even in this state. And if she is a User, we'd probably get her Fruit. Now turn away."

"No!" Lyn moved in front of the woman and pressed her forehead to Cassandra's pistol. "I'm not letting you kill her!"

Cassandra sighed, then swiftly moved her pistol to the side. Before she could clear Lyn's head, however, Lyn grabbed the barrel and held it still. "Lyn, please don't make this more difficult."

"You have the opportunity to save someone, Cee. If you leave her to the sea, she'll die. She's helpless. Her life is wholly in your hands. Killing her would be the worst thing you've ever done since you met me."

Cassandra almost snarled. "That's not even close to true. You don't know who the fuck we're saving. What if we're saving a vicious pirate or evil Marine?"

Lyn stared flatly. "She could also be the person who knows the cure for every disease in the world. We won't know until we save her. Do not make me get the others; you know they'll agree with me."

"I am your captain," Cassandra reminded her.

"And you're also our friend. You would never use Captain's Orders for something like this." Cassandra couldn't argue with that. "If you're so concerned about her being a User, she can have your ring. You can restrain her. Raven can monitor her around the clock. We have enough supplies for her too. We can help her. We can do something good barely lifting a finger. I'm not even going to ask you to do it for me. Do it because it's right."

Cassandra held Lyn's gaze for a long time, then holstered her pistol and ran her hands through her hair. "Fine, fine. But only until the next island. After that, she's somebody else's problem."

"And we're delivering her someplace where she'll continue to be treated."

"Okay, fine. Happy?"

"Mmhmm!" Lyn pushed herself up to give a feathery kiss on her girlfriend's jaw. "You'd get a better one if you had cooperated from the start!"

Cassandra grunted and thumbed Chief. "Miserie and Cain, get over here. We have a survivor barely hanging on that needs transportation to the medical ward. Call her Seamine until we learn her real name, which I doubt we will before she leaves. She'll be with us until we reach the next island. Morgan and Alexander, take her from the second level to the med bay as gently as you can. Morgan does the heavy lifting, and Alexander does the stabilizing and spotting. After that, Morgan, start preparing some thin broth, and I mean thin. Raven, give her my ring, strap her down, and start her treatment. You're keeping an eye on her. We'll have someone else on your watch, and you can pop up as frequently as you deem necessary to assist them."

The summoned pair had arrived and were looking at the survivor. "Yes, I know she's starving, but I couldn't say that where Theo could have heard," Cassandra continued. "Amica, if she's not busy, distract her before we bring this one aboard. Tell her we have someone injured and she can't visit the infirmary."

"Why can't Theo know?" Miserie asked.

"From what she's told us," Cain said, "she's dealt with severe malnutrition, not true starvation. Even if we tell her not to give Seamine food, it's highly likely she will try to sneak food anyway. She also won't be happy when she's prevented from feeding Seamine. Unlike the rest of us, she won't believe that Raven is doing the right thing by only feeding her a little. If this woman is given any food beyond what Morgan and Raven give her, she could very likely die."

"If you want to learn why, ask Raven about refeeding syndrome where Theo can't hear you," Cassandra said. "Go, all of you. I'll finish up here."

"No mercy killing," Lyn stated. "I'll be super mad if I hear any gunshots."

Cassandra waved them away. She truly believed that killing the survivor would be better for both her crew and the woman. Grimacing, she hopped between pieces of the wreckage to see if she could find anything useful the others hadn't already salvaged and determine what had happened to obliterate a ship like this. She kept a knife in her hand on the off chance that another survivor had evaded her detection.

After finishing her sweep and alerting Miserie about the things she wanted salvaged, she stood and stared at the ocean for a while. A small part of her mind was constantly churning out scenarios where Seamine somehow killed one or more of her crew. No matter how much it disturbed her, she would never try to suppress that part of herself. It had kept her, her friends, and her family alive more times than she could count. After all, for every scenario, there were seven reactions planned out as well.

When she was satisfied with the number of plans she had, she called Miserie and was delivered to the vacant poop deck. Damien was downstairs eating, so she released the wheel and turned her ship back on course. She loved being at the wheel when the weather was mild. Her body was active keeping the wheel straight, and she could lazily focus on all of her nakama scattered about Dusk Pandion. Knowing they were safe and keeping track of what they were doing was immensely calming.

Raven arrived on the helm. "You are yielding to Lyn increasingly more often. Had it not been for her, you would have acted in the best interest of the crew."

"I know that Lyn can make it… harder for me to think clearly sometimes, but I only let her override me when the situation's not very dangerous. This is one of those situations. She even knew what my conditions would be before I said anything. Yes, for the physical safety, it would be better to kill Seamine, but emotional safety is important as well." She paused. "Okay, when most people see someone in need of help, if they are able to help, they will do so. It doesn't matter whether they know each other or not."

"Why do they do that?"

"It makes the helper feel good, but it's not just that. They help because they hope that if they were the one suffering, someone else would help them."

"The helper has no guarantee that the person who was helped will be the person they encounter when they are in need of help."

"Again, they don't need to know each other. If enough people believe this, the safety and survival of the entire group rises significantly. And believe it or not, that's the case. The vast majority of people don't really want to hurt other people and would help someone in need. This is how societies form. That being said, that sort of person tends not to rise to a leadership position. It's extremely difficult to rise to the top without hurting people and nearly impossible to stay in any leadership position without hurting people."

Raven mulled this over. "It is true that the Moon Sisters grew much closer together after aiding each other in times of need."

Cassandra laughed out loud, delighted that Raven had made the connection so easily. "Yes, exactly! That's exactly it! Nobody really trusted me at first even if I was always helping them. We really became a family when they started helping each other. And now, all of us know we can depend on the help from one or more of us. Look how much happier we are because of that. Sure, we have families and assassin families, but that's more of an implied trust or an ordered trust. The seven of us, we know we can depend on one another for help no matter what. With that in mind, spread that belief over millions of people. They may not help every person that comes to them, but if someone truly needs help, they will help even at the cost of their own safety.

"Let's bring it back to us. Everyone but us two, Damien, and Miserie have that belief to some extent or other, that belief that helping others is the correct thing to do. It would emotionally and possibly even physically hurt them to ignore someone they could help, Lyn most of all. It's not just because I'm Lyn's girlfriend that I changed my mind about killing that person. It's because she would suffer if I hadn't. That's why I let her decision override mine. Well, that and because saving someone does make me feel good, but not because it's right. I believe it balances out the wrong I do, and that makes me feel good."

Raven thought about this as well. "And the fact that it is very unlikely that Seamine poses a threat."

"Of course. If she had a higher chance of hurting us, I would have killed her without question and feel good because I protected my crew. That is more important to me than anything, and I don't care about anyone else."

"Nobody else? What about the Moon Sisters?"

"You damn well know that the Moon Sisters are in that category too. Don't even pretend like you thought you aren't."

"I was joking."

Cassandra stared for a minute, then erupted into laughter. When she finally found breath between laughs, she managed to say, "Lean… lean down for a sec." Raven complied, allowing Cassandra to grab her face and plant a long kiss on Raven's cheek. Her birthmark tingled almost to the point of involuntary hand motions. She only drew back after she had also kissed Raven's mask where her lips would be. "I love you to death, you know that? I can't even express how much I love you!"

"This seems like an overreaction."

"Believe me, I'm holding back," Cassandra said, unable to stop grinning. Raven had been trying to understand social actions, but for her to attempt to make a joke unprompted, much less a successful one, was completely outside Cassandra's expectations. She had thought years would go by before they got that far. "Don't worry; I won't make a big deal of it in front of the others. I'm just so proud of you! You have to at least acknowledge the progress you've made."

"I still do not understand why that is humorous. I was simply taking your words literally and made a comment you would immediately correct. My crewmates and Sisters do it for amusement, so I decided to do the same, but I still do not understand."

"I'll explain it in a bit. The important thing is that you are even trying to behave more similarly to us. You are fighting against everything your family did to you, and you are winning. You're not one of my Sisters and one of my crew because you're forced to. Yes, I know you could have left at any time, but you weren't here to be part of a group is the point. You were just humoring us. This shows you're trying to be one of us.

"You know we all would love you if you didn't change until your death, but you're trying to interact with us on an emotional level. That is incredible. You'll fuck up and get things wrong, but if you're making even the tiniest bit of progress to truly feeling like one of us, those errors are just part of that progress. Take risks; make mistakes. It doesn't matter if you only want to do this with me for the time being. I'll support and believe in you no matter what."

Raven watched her for a moment, then leaned down to press their foreheads together. "I do not understand why physical contact such as this or making jokes is so important to you, but I will try to learn."

"And that means the world to me. Thank you."

"You are welcome."

\\'/.\\'/.\\'/.\\'/.\\

Sparring at sea was a usual pastime. What made it special this time was that even those who normally sat out participated. Cain engaged CYCLOPS, Theo's mechanical brain analyzing every move he made. Morgan had volunteered to go against both Lyn and Alexander, since he was fighting multiple people more often than not. The most significant match was Cassandra and Miserie. The mermaid had asked to be part of the training because of what happened with the Harpy Pirates, and Cassandra could fight blindfolded. It also helped that she could heal, seeing as how Miserie had no practice regulating their strength.

Raven, knowing Seamine didn't need constant supervision because of the safeguards put in place, played cards with Damien. He was the dealer the entire time so she couldn't count the cards, which meant they had a roughly even win rate. After the first half hour or so, his competitiveness had given way to amusement as she refused to leave until she had a significant lead.

After everyone had suitably worn themselves out, they all washed up and set up dinner on the main deck. Raven had to be persuaded to leave the card game so Damien would eat. It was a suitably pleasant night, though Cassandra kept an eye on her navigator like the barometer he seemed to be. She wanted at least some advance warning if the weather turned sour. They all ate with their usual rowdiness and only a little food thrown about. When they were done, they lapsed into a content silence while Morgan cleaned up the dishes.

"Hey, have any of you played Court's in Session?" Lyn asked.

Alexander groaned. "Come on, we're all resting. Do any of you actually want-"

"How do you play?" Theo asked.

"It's easy!" Lyn exclaimed as Alexander threw up his hands. "One of us is the judge, one is the accused, and the rest are in the jury. Judge states the crime, accused pleads, and the jury deliberate! The judge decides what to do, which can be anything from something silly to drinking to explaining their sins. When they're done, we rotate!"

"That doesn't sound so bad," Morgan said. "Who goes first?"

"Cee's obviously the first accused. Cain can be the first judge."

Alexander frowned. "And why's that?"

"Because," Lyn said impatiently, "we have to start somewhere."

Cassandra worked her way into an arrogant posture in her chair and lifted her chin smugly. "So, Your Dishonor, why am I here?"

"Captain Libera, you stand accused of murder-"

"No no no!" Lyn cut in. "Don't be so serious! It's supposed to be a fun game!"

Cain scratched his head. "You are accused of conspiring with dangerous elements?" He looked to Lyn, who nodded and gestured for him to keep going. "Kidnapping a teenager, shipjacking, and disrupting a funeral?" He saw Lyn mouthing something. "How do you plead?"

"Not guilty," Cassandra declared. "I take it I'm my own defense?" Lyn nodded. "Count of conspiring with dangerous elements: I have done no conspiring, simply hanging out. Count of kidnapping: didn't nap, just closed my eyes for a moment. Shipjacking: that implies the previous owners were alive when it was taken. Disruption: the funeral was over by the time I said anything."

"Jury?" Cain asked with more prompting from Lyn.

Alexander leaned over to Morgan and muttered, "I dunno. She's technically right. Even the kidnapping one isn't true because Hothead fought to be part of the crew."

"Then why did she go first?" Morgan asked, not bothering to lower his voice. "She was undoubtedly going to come up with satisfactory arguments."

"Obviously," Lyn said, "it was to show how the game works. You gotta be creative with the defense. We have reached a verdict, Your Honor."

"And how do you find the defendant?" Cain asked on his own.

"Not guilty and incredibly sexy!"

Cassandra winked at her as Alexander rolled his eyes. "So do your glasses keep your eyeballs from rolling out of your skull?" she wondered aloud.

"I'm the next judge," he said with a smile. "And I'll hold you in contempt if you continue. Now, let me call in the accused. Cain, I see no lawyer, so are you representing yourself?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Cain said. "My defense is being hugged, uh, restrained by a member of the jury."

Alexander nodded sagely. "A common court occurrence. Mr. Alcides, you are accused of fraternizing with the enemy, being straight in every way but one, and being a fashion disaster. How do you plead?"

"Uh…" It took him a while to come up with his counterarguments. "If by fraternizing with the enemy, you mean dealing with pirates, I am a pirate so that doesn't count. I know that my suit of armor can stand up to your suit any day, Your Honor. I can't really argue with the other charge."

"Jury, you may deliberate."

Every pirate turned to Cassandra. "What? He clearly said that I was his defense. I can't offer any input."

Alexander chuckled, and Morgan seemed satisfied with that. "His second argument holds water," said the prince. "We see much more combat than citizens do, so his suit of armor is en vogue in that way. It's suboptimal to be fashionable and deceased. Plus, the asymmetry with his black glove can be a powerful fashion statement."

"What does fraternizing mean?" Miserie asked.

"Forming a friendship when you're not supposed to," Alexander answered.

Most of the pirates jumped when Raven spoke. "Cain was not a friend before he joined. We were transporting him between islands. One does not become friends with taxi drivers simply because one engages in conversation. After that, we were all mercenaries, and friendships inevitably form in such situations."

Theo stared at Raven like she had sprouted another head. "You're taking part in this game?"

"Raven is quite adept at seeing that which was not said," Morgan guessed. "That's why Captain had to be so specific when Raven wanted to kill me."

They all nodded at that. "We are ready, Your Honor," Miserie said when Cassandra whispered in her ear.

"How do you find the defendant?"

"Guilty of the straight one," she replied.

"Very well." Alexander looked over his glasses. "Mr. Alcides, I sentence you to stretch for the remaining duration of the court proceedings. You can demonstrate another way you're not straight."

The enormous pirate grinned and did as he was ordered. "Who would like to judge Alexander?"

"Miserie will!" She leapt to the front and hid behind the judge's chair. "Is everyone ready? Good. Miserie sees no lawyer for Alexander. Is that okay?"

"My lawyer is currently in the adjacent courtroom being tried for not going to court cases. I'll have to be my own lawyer."

Miserie stared at him as she processed his words. "Okay. He is accused of being a fanboy like Captain hates, picking fights with stronger people and needing other people to help him out, and being too nice to people who are not Marines or Warlords. How does he plead?"

He opened his mouth, then shut it again. He eventually said, "Well, I may be a fanboy, but I'm not a fan of Captain as a hero, and that's the kind of fanboy she hates, so I'm not that. Of course, I pick fights with people stronger than me. I'm the physically weakest adult fighter on the crew. It's a given that everyone we fight is stronger than me. You're basically charging me with being a good crewmember, which I will continue to do forever. And I don't think I'm too nice. I'm the right amount of nice."

"Jury?"

"I'm the permanent absentee lawyer," Cassandra said instantly. "Don't look at me."

"He's right about the fanboy charge," Morgan conceded. "But he openly admitted to picking fights. He's at least guilty of that one. Too nice, I think, is a bit generous. I would postulate that Lyn is too nice. Alexander acts in a civil manner, which is to say he does not provoke every person he comes across."

Lyn looked meaningfully at Cassandra, who kept her face completely blank. "I'm not on trial here."

"I think Morgan's right," Theo piped up. "Alexander is nice so long as you're nice to him. He doesn't keep being nice when you're rude to him. That would be too nice."

Miserie counted on her fingers. "So has the jury decided?"

"We have, Your Honor," Theo said before anyone else could.

"And what is their decision?"

"Guilty of picking fights with people stronger than him!"

The mermaid gave her typical tight-lipped smile. "Miserie sentences him to play music until everyone is judged."

"Now that's a horrible punishment," Alexander said. "Let me get my flute."

"Who will judge Miserie?" she asked.

"Me," Damien spoke for the first time. He lifted Miserie from behind the chair and tossed her up to the yard. "Aight, Toro, where's your slimeball?"

"Lawyer," Cassandra translated. "Not everybody likes lawyers, so they're often called bad names."

Miserie nodded. "Her slimeball is fleeing the police because she drank too much and punched an officer."

"Yahahar! Sounds right! So, your being charged with cheatin' in breath-'oldin' contests, 'avin' a piss-poor bounty, and mind controllin' people. Watcha got ta say?"

"Um… she doesn't cheat because she holds her water, not her breath. She is not in control of her bounty and thinks it should be high like Alexander's. She does not control minds; she influences."

"As a mermaid, Miserie's respiratory system is significantly more complicated than those of a non-aquatic humanoid," Raven provided. "To say she holds her breath is as inaccurate as her holding her water. There is a complex interaction where-"

"Can she cheat?" Lyn said before Raven could go any further. "Yes or no?"

"It is not a yes or no answer. It-"

"Okay! The jury unanimously agrees on that one, right guys? She does have a low bounty, whether she wants it or not. What about mind control?"

"She is unequivocally right in that respect," Raven droned.

"The jury has reached a verdict!" Lyn announced.

"Aye? What'll it be?"

Morgan chose to be the foreperson this time. "We find the defendant guilty on the bounty charge, not guilty on the mind control charge, and under the presumption of innocence, not guilty of cheating."

Damien mulled this over. "Gotcha. Well, you a pirate; you get a pirate punishment: keel'aulin'. Five times, bow to stern. I volunteer Princess as punisher t' make it quick."

"Miserie understands the seriousness of her punishment," she said so solemnly that it leaked out of her voice and affected the crew, but they could feel her amusement there as well.

"I want to judge Damien!" Lyn said quickly. "Get up!" She waited for him to cede the chair to her. "Okay, where's your lawyer?"

"Bein' catapulted by angry elephants. What's it to ya?"

"Sounds fun! Anyway, you're being charged with picking fights with people weaker than you, that's bullying, being smoking hot, and not doing your job as navigator all the time. How do you plead?"

"Ain' guilty. One, I don' fight snotpiles; they attack me an' I defend myself. Two, I don' smoke; Copycat does. Three, only times I'm not doin' my job is when y'all cumdumpsters stop me."

Lyn looked to the other pirates, who looked at Raven, who looked back at them. "It is true that the only times he is fighting groups of weaker people is when he is attacked first," Raven said in a way that, had it been coming from anyone else, Cassandra would have interpreted as reluctance. "While his claim of defending himself is a gross exaggeration due to the power he uses to retaliate, he does not initiate combat at those he perceives to be weaker than him."

"And his fire doesn't produce smoke," Theo added. "His flames have an unverifiable origin and burn cleanly. I saw through ARGOS. I don't know who Copycat is."

"Jordan, one of the Moon Sisters," Morgan clarified. "She smokes cigarettes. And while Damien doesn't always do his job, he does navigate if the seas are anything but smooth unless restrained by chains or bandages."

Lyn bounced up and down. "So what's the verdict?"

"It is with extreme unwillingness that we say he's not guilty," Morgan said.

Damien's expression couldn't be more smug. Lyn jumped from the chair onto his shoulders. "Who's doing me?"

"Me! Me!" Theo scrambled to claim the seat. "I call this court to silence!"

Cassandra glanced sharply at Morgan, daring him to correct Theo. He was silent.

"Ms. Lyn, you are standing here alone. Where is your slimeball?" Everyone's faces went wooden to keep from laughing.

"Excuse me, my defense isn't slimy!" Lyn put her finger to her lips. "Well, I guess she is. That's why she's swimming with the Sea Kings right now."

"I see. Ms. Lyn, you sit accused of public indecency, being too cheerful, and taking that sun thing you have way too far. How do you plead?"

"My defense recommended me say not guilty!"

"Why?"

"I'm not publicly indecent, just privately. My lawyer can vouch for that. Being naked isn't indecent unless you're pushing it on someone. I'm not too cheerful, I'm exactly as cheerful as the situation needs me to be, which can seem like too much. The sun thing isn't my fault. Cee and Damien got that started. I just went with the flow."

Theo swung her legs. "What's the jury think?"

"She sure pushes her nudity on me," Alexander said. "In public too. So that's out."

Cain leaned over. "The cheerfulness thing is wrong though. If anything, she should be accused of not being cheerful enough when we need her to be. Is there an expression for being so not guilty, you're actually guilty of something else?"

"That may be a new legal maneuver," Morgan said. "Damien's been calling her Sunshine since I can remember. What about with Captain?"

"There is no definitive time when Cassandra began using sun imagery for Lyn," Raven said. "If there were an absolute point of origin, it would be when Cassandra first discussed the Moon Sisters with the rest of you. Her usage certainly increased the closer she came to admitting her romantic love to Lyn. However, Lyn got her sun tattoo on our final night on Reichmann Island. This shows that she did put some stock in the imagery prior to the Grand Line. Damien may have been the initiator in regards to his nickname for her, but her latching onto that idea and repeatedly using it could be interpreted as 'taking that sun thing way too far.'"

Cassandra straightened up. "Wait, you got it on Reichmann Island? I didn't know that!"

"See? I told you you didn't look at me like you said you did."

There was a flurry of movement from Cain and a whispered conversation between him and Theo. "Order!" she shouted, banging her new gavel on the table. "Order in the court! Lawyer swimming with the Sea Kings, be silent!" She waited until everyone was quiet again. "Jury, how do you find the… uh… potential criminal person?"

There was not even the faintest trace of humor on Alexander's face. "We have reached a verdict, Your Honor. We've determined the defendant guilty of general indecency and being obsessed tattoos in general and the sun in particular."

Theo looked uncertainly to Cassandra. "You're the judge," said the captain. "It's up to you."

"Um… can the jury answer about the charges?"

Alexander grinned. "Guilty, not guilty, not guilty."

"Okay! Ms. Lyn, you are sentenced to… let me sit on your lap for the rest of the night!"

Lyn laughed and accepted the little girl into her arms. "Who's next?"

"I suppose it's my turn," Morgan said. "I hereby call this court into session. Theodora Hypatia Anousheh Fatima Alram-Mah IX, it is unusual for one to stand without a lawyer. Were you not provided one by the state?"

"I was, Your Honor. She's angry with me for stealing her girlfriend."

Morgan gave a small smile. "A poor attorney indeed. Ms. Alram-Mah, your charges are as follows: staying up past your bedtime, spending too much time by yourself working on machines, and not going to school. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty!"

"What evidence can you provide to back up your plea?"

"It's not my bedtime yet, and I only stay up past my bedtime when someone else is preventing me from sleeping. And I know I spend a lot of time in my workshop, but that's so I can be useful to the crew! Besides, I still go by the schedule you and Raven made for breaks and exercise. And it's not my fault you haven't been able to find a teacher for me!"

"Very well. Jury, you may deliberate."

"They have reached a decision, Your Honor," Miserie said immediately.

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "So soon?" The rest of the pirates nodded. "Very well. How do you find the defendant?"

"Guilty for everything!" she announced.

Theo squirmed in Lyn's lap. Morgan's eyes remained sky blue. "Very well. Seeing as how you are guilty of all charges, I am sad to say your punishment will have to be more severe than those meted to others." Theo screwed up her eye. "I sentence you to a lifetime position on this crew with only the possibility of parole. You will not be allowed to leave for any reason unless granted permission by your captain."

Theo bounced with joy and laughed, her expression one of such complete delight that it would have moved the hearts of even the most hardened criminals. Indeed, Damien was laughing along with her. "Remember, Girlie, tha's a life sentence! Yer stuck with us! Yahahahahar!"

Morgan didn't so much as twitch when Raven moved to the headrest of the judge's chair. "Vacate your seat and prepare to be tried." The prince did as he was told. "Morgan Zematsal, your defense is absent."

"Yes, she is seeing a dentist because she bit off more than she could chew."

Raven continued without preamble. "You are accused of being the most recent member of the crew, concealing your identity by not displaying your crown, and confusing money with power. How do you plead?"

Morgan glared at Cassandra, who did her best to radiate innocence. "Not guilty."

"State your defense."

"I was specifically ordered around as a condition for me joining, which I would certainly say I accomplished before Miserie joined. Thus, I was the sixth person to join the crew, not the eighth. I do not wear my crown because I do not deserve it and cannot call myself heir to the Zematsal throne. While I acknowledge that money and power are not a 1:1 ratio, it is a fact that having capital significantly bolsters one's ability to interact with and influence society."

"Jury?"

"Unfortunately, he's right," Alexander began. "We made him jump through all sorts of hoops, and as much as he complained, which was a lot, he did do everything. He might not have mentally joined us, but that wasn't stated as part of the crime. And I have to agree with him on the money part. If we didn't have Raven, Lyn, and I stealing so much, we couldn't keep doing whatever it is we want without significantly more outside opposition."

Cain leaned closer. "As the one most familiar with the rules of succession on Winter Isle, I can say that Morgan's position as prince of Mt. Zematsal is currently quite tenuous. He left Winter Isle without informing anyone of his whereabouts, he joined a pirate crew of his own volition, and he is a criminal wanted by the World Government. It is highly likely that the current heiress apparent is his aunt Yevdokiya. Morgan and I will likely return to Winter Isle as invaders."

"The jury has reached a verdict." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, Your Honor," Theo said. "We find the defendant not guilty. Even if he's acting really smug about it."

"And so it comes full circle." Cassandra sauntered to the judge's chair and draped herself across it. "Ms. Raven, I'm not surprised to see you alone. What happened to your attorney?"

"She left the field she had worked towards the entire life and sought another profession."

Cassandra smirked. "You stand accused of feeling too much emotionally, voyeurism, and being such a perfectionist that you overlook the benefits of using undeveloped techniques. How do you plead?"

"What is voyeurism?"

"Deriving pleasure from viewing something private, such as Lyn and I having sex."

Theo looked mildly grossed out while Lyn grinned lasciviously. Raven considered this. "Not guilty. According to most of our crewmembers, I do not feel enough. What little I do feel has been to my benefit so far. During one of these emotional times, I executed a technique I had not practiced to eliminate Jeppe Lauritsen with Damien's assistance. I also used the black blood of my ancestors for you despite its intended use only for saving my own life. Additionally, I derive no pleasure in watching over people doing any activity during my surveillance or lookout. I am simply doing what was asked of me."

The jury all looked at each other, then at Cassandra. Lyn shrugged. "She's right. Not guilty."

"You couldn't have tried harder?" Alexander asked Cassandra.

"This is supposed to be a fun game to unwind after a day of exercise and exertion." She looked slightly enviously at Theo. "Not everything has to be a real brain twister."

Lyn and Alexander exchanged glances. "Who are you and what have you done with Cee?"

Cassandra shook her head and stared at the cloudy sky. "Even I have to take a break sometimes."