Karmen hears Mozu and Kiwi burst into the room saying the new ship is finished. Groggy from last night's medication, she takes a few minutes extra to get dressed and follows them out front. She's still rubbing sleep from her eyes as she steps outside and has a paper shoved into her face. Zoro grins as he waves it around. "Everyone knows you now, secretary."
She takes the paper from him and stares back at herself, dual wielding and fully dressed in her red outfit. "Wanted Alive." So Corgi had gone to the Navy with his information. Smart man. "Venomous Shadow: The Scarlet Secretary. Real name unknown. 15 million berry bounty."
"What?" Nami yells. "How is your bounty that close to than mine?"
"I took out a lot of guys on the warships while you were fighting on the bridge," Karmen explains. "The Scarlet Secretary." A sense of pride wells up inside her. "I love it!"
"But I took out a CP9." Nami sighs.
"Only fifty," the reindeer groans, holding his poster.
"Don't worry, Chopper. It's only because you were incapacitated when the warships showed up," she explained. "If they had seen you fight you'd have a 30 million bounty for sure."
Karmen insists on carrying her own bag and notes that a lot of their equipment is missing. "Big bro already put most of your stuff on the new ship," Kiwi explains.
"Even my apple trees?"
"Those too," Mozu says happily. Karmen tucks her new quills into her belt.
They pass through the shopping district on their way to Scrap Heap Island. Karmen slaps her wanted poster to the ceramics shop window and sticks her tongue out at the clerk. Zoro pulls her along.
Valentine's Personal Log 22: New Journeys
I couldn't bring myself to write in Merry's log again. I closed it and put it on the shelf. Franky built us a wonderful ship named the Thousand Sunny. His family and the crew forced him to join us by stealing his speedo and threatening his family jewels. I was sitting on the swing he put on one of my apple trees, but I still saw enough male anatomy to last me a good long while. He finally gave in after Iceberg gave a heartfelt speech about forgiving one's self for being unable to save someone in the past. I had to turn away to keep myself from crying. Then Mozu and Kiwi had to mention grapes and apples and I lost it. I put on my hood and veil to hide my tears and named my apple trees to distract myself. In the end, we gained a shipwright and left Water 7 like true pirates: Being chased by the Navy.
Usopp came running up trying to have the crew invite him on board. As we discussed the other night, no one made a move until he apologized. By the time he did I had crumpled in the swing. After we got away from the Navy, Franky punched him over the head and told him not to worry his "big sister" like that. I didn't like the guy at first, but I think Franky and I are going to get along just fine.
I had to join Sanji and Chopper in their depression over their wanted posters. The paper says I am wanted for my knowledge of rare toxins that could become useful to government scientists, and you can't question a dead person. Even if there is one of those guys out there who believes this research aid crap, I'd gas grenade a whole lab before ever helping one of their scientists. Though the Navy admits to my presence at Enies Lobby, they could not find any connection that I had with the crew. Since I escaped with them on Merry and was gloating at the marines we passed on the way, something tells me a few strings were pulled somewhere to keep my connection quiet. At least I have a decent picture and bounty.
Zoro caught me whispering to the mast. I told him that if we loved Merry enough for her to become sentient, then Sunny was sure to get there eventually. If and when Sunny speaks, I want us to be friends.
Soon we were drinking to our recent adventures, our new crewmember, and our new ship. Chopper let me join in this time, saying my miraculous recovery means I can lay off the heavy medicines for a while. Thank goodness. Medicine gives me awful nightmares. I really am surprised I didn't try to stab somebody, even in the hold of my poison withdrawals. On the first few nights Nami did report that I would whimper in my medicine induced sleep and Chopper had to change the type he was using. The new one didn't have such a bad effect, but it didn't do much for my sleep either. As we drained mugs, I realized I had left all the blank logs on Merry. They're nothing but ashes on the ocean currents now. I'll have to go shopping again soon. They say the next island is Fishman Island, but there's that little clump of mangrove trees. I'm not sure about how I feel about having to go back there, because surely we'll need to coat the ship and travel underwater. Yikes. I have a lot of fond memories in that place and have had experiences with a lot of people I should now consider enemies. Then again, I never did consider those people my friends. Looking back, I barely considered them human. I wonder if there was a time before that tiny island that I could fully relax. The only memories that come to mind are fish riding or when the warlord would visit and we would have tea in the vineyard. I miss listening to his stories.
Luffy put a shark in the aquarium below deck. The horns on it remind me of the fighting fish of Dressrosa and are perfect for a few days of challenging fish riding. Chopper had to keep me from jumping in there with it. I love shark riding. They're almost as much of a challenge as the fighting fish and just a hint safer. Franky promised me I could have the first go at taking the shark sub out, since sitting in the cockpit won't aggravate my injuries. I kept trying to get Sanji to carry me into the new covered crow's nest, but Nami won't let him. It looks so nice and cozy up there. With the New World fast approaching, I need a quiet spot more than ever. Zoro's totally misusing it as his personal workout room, even if that's what Franky designed it for. Heck. There's a plush couch up there. I saw it. What's more restful than lounging on a couch all day? Maybe I'm just jealous that he can climb up there and I can't. At least I have my own workstation behind Sunny's head. I have to work around the cannon that's there, but it has a lockable door. Franky was careful to shelve my poisons nicely and give me plenty of space for open flames and chemistry sets. He made sure to have a fume vent that leads to the back of the ship, so I don't have to worry about toxic vapors rising to the deck. I even have my own section in the library. He threw in some extra toxicology books that they found in local book stores. With as much sitting around doing nothing that they have me doing I've already read half of them. In two days, I'll be raiding Robin's and Nami's collections again.
Instead of climbing the ratlines, I started poisoning the apples on one of my trees. The apples are almost ripe and I can weaponize them in a week or two. Cruella will have poisoned apples, and Beatrice will have clean ones. I injected them with poison from the bottom, so the needle marks don't show from the outside, not that I think many people would notice. I dipped the needles in lemon juice so there won't be obvious track marks on the inside either. I had to scrap the Plucharon use in this project due to the fact that it shriveled the apple completely. I used flower extract instead. When these babies are ripe they'll make beautiful additions to my arsenal. That is, if I can keep Luffy from eating them. I've made careful notes of what apple was dosed with which poison. I'll know if any are missing and which antidote to use on our Captain. I warned the entire crew again, just to be sure no one got any bright ideas. I made sure to give Chopper a duplicate of my notes, just in case. He also has a key to my workroom for easy access to the antidotes. With my luck the captain will be wandering around the ship half asleep like he does and will snatch one. I may have insomnia, but I don't want to have to spend my nights wondering if I'll have to come to his rescue.
I asked Franky about what hair products he uses, for lack of a better time killer. They're cola-based, of course. He took me into the bathhouse and styled my hair. I chased him out throwing feather darts at him. I asked for hair product, not a fauxhawk. The crew got a good laugh out of the whole thing. Franky made it up to me by making me some hand cranked, heat generating styling tools. This is what I get for asking a freaky straight man to help me with styling.
I've been doing nothing but sit around this ship that I can't even explore properly and I feel like I'm going stir crazy, trapped in my own wounded skin. The more I sit the more I remember the nightmares I had this week and the memories they're rooted in. The more I think of what that government agent Corgi could be spreading and to whom makes my flight instinct kick in. It would be better if I could climb something and be somewhere that I can observe the ocean horizon from. Now more than ever, with the second Red Line approaching, I feel like I can't trust any approaching ship. I keep looking out to sea, expecting to see sails depicting a Neptunian eel crushing a cargo ship inside a "G". I feel a need to clean and write and find somewhere quiet to practice my Haki but there are people everywhere on this ship and nothing's quiet with Luffy around. I love his energy and optimism, but it can be a little claustrophobic at times. If only they'd let me climb something. I tried in secret earlier and I nearly tore out my stitches. The ship is much larger now, but the crew is twice as big as it was on Merry who was half this size, especially with me stuck to stair accessible places. In a way, I feel like even though everything is changing for us, the only thing that's different is me. It's been two long years and I finally feel like someone who can face my fears and try to fix what I left behind. When I've calmed down, I'll tell the crew everything.