Karmen and Robin sit on their beds, looking at each other quietly. "I couldn't help but notice that you didn't tell the crew about your warlord," Robin says.

"Having a noble on board is hard enough for some of them to swallow." Sanji had been running around trying to treat her like a princess which has made her want to avoid him even more and Usopp had found it hard to pick a conversation topic without asking awkward questions about her parents. Luffy even asked if nobles poop. "If they knew I was fawned over by warlords throughout my childhood I think their heads would explode. Besides, there are other people I have to protect. There are still things that I need to stay quiet about." Robin smiles warmly as Karmen decides what to say next. Several times Karmen has started to speak, then closes her mouth and lets her mind reform whatever thoughts are taking place. Robin waits patiently. "In a way," Karmen finally says. "Despite everything that happened, with Iceberg and Enies Lobby and getting shot, I'm actually relieved that you tried to pull that stunt first."

"Turning myself in to save the crew?"

Karmen nods. "The more I think about it, the more I realize my life has no value to my father. Had I tried to turn myself over in an attempt to secure the crew's safety he would not honor any agreement we came to. I would be a captive, and everyone else, including Pierce, would be killed. That's just the kind of man he is. It would be even worse if the Dragons got involved. How did you bear it when you were a child? Having everything you cared about ripped from you and continuing to live afterwards?"

"I promised my mother that I would live and I was told that I would find friends someday. If you lose everything, run until you find something else to fight for." Giving her usual smile, Robin slides off her bed and leaves.

Nami passes Robin in the doorway, looking for Karmen who hasn't been on deck for the past two hours. She sees her sitting on her bed with her knees pulled to her chest and her arms around them. She tries to show a cheery smile. "That was some shopping trip you took us on. My closet's going to be stuffed for a year! Maybe we could get Luffy to tear some stuff up so we can make him pay us back and buy more." Her smile falters as her conversation starter is received with a slight nod.

Karmen catches her worried gaze and attempts a poor excuse for a smile but gives up only part of the way through it. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be gloomy. I've just held all this in for two years and if I don't process it all now that it's out in the open I might just go mad."

Nami moves over to a window and looks out. Her face is serious now. "If you want to talk about it, I'll listen."

Karmen hugs her knees tighter, but eventually speaks. "Do you remember what it was like to be in Arlong's presence?" Nami stiffens but lets her continue. "You used to get this look on your face, that first week we knew each other. You'd stare out at the ocean and have that look. I knew after it was all over that it was because you could feel his hold on you even leagues away. There was always that constant threat that he could take everything dear to you on a whim. It's the same for me. It was like that for eighteen years of my life." Karmen buried her face in her knees. "You were lucky, though," she continues. "You knew what you cared for was still there and you worked hard to call it yours again. You could return to it consistently and verify that fact with your own eyes. All I have now is the hope that I can do the same. You could fall back on money, but the only thing that I could offer my father is my last shred of freedom. Robin and I were just talking about it. If I go back against my will, Pierce and I are both dead for sure." Karmen grabs fistfuls of her bangs in frustration.

"You're pretty stupid, huh?" Nami says softly. Karmen lets go of her hair and looks up, confused. Nami turns towards her and kneels on the bed. "You're one of us now. Have faith in your captain and crew. Believe in us, Karmen. You've gotten a lot stronger. We all have. You can even join in the fights now. When you go home to face your family, you can count on us standing right there with you." Nami extends her hand and Karmen grasps it tightly.

"Thank you, Nami."

Up on the deck, Zoro humbles himself with a deep breath. "Hey, cook." Sanji inhales on a cigarette and glances his way. "How much do you know about dancing?"

The Promise

Karmen brews enough tea for one cup and carries it out on deck. Sunny bobs peacefully in the current. Zoro is keeping watch, resting his back against the main mast. She gives him the cup and sits next to him. "Thanks. Where's yours?"

Karmen smiles at the ocean. "I think that after two years, I can finally start resting peacefully at night."

Zoro smiles at his cup. "I see. How are your injuries?"

"It's nothing I can't handle."

"So pretty bad still, huh?"

"You could say that."

He sips, then looks in her direction. "I've been meaning to ask you something." Karmen meets his eye and waits. "Why Valentine?"

She grins. "In my favorite book, there's a character who says that names should be romantic, magical, and slightly dangerous, like Valentine. Come to find out that's his name: Valentine." She pulls her shawl tighter around her shoulders. "I think I'll keep it. I've come to hate the name Gallowcomb."

"And the red outfit? I never really believed the ex-boyfriend story."

She nods. "I wear it so that Navy officers and nobles don't recognize me. I think I'll keep that too. After all, it gave me my pirate name." She expertly flips out one of her metal quill pen. "I'm not going to lose one piece of my life here on this crew."

Zoro smiles with her. "How far away is home, anyway?"

"It's still leagues from where we're at now, Northwest from here. That's not where he'd be keeping Pierce though. His main base of operations is across the Red Line in the East Blue on Galaval Island. I'm a little unsettled at the thought of going back to that place. There are so many people who don't like my family between here and there."

He watches her face grow serious as she speaks. "We don't always do things cleanly, you know. What happens if we get delayed and you end up in a white dress?"

Karmen grips her pen and grits her teeth. "Then I poison the punch bowl. I'll bite my tongue and drown on my own blood before Baldwin can touch me. I decided that a long time ago." She takes a deep breath and her shoulders relax. When she speaks again, her voice is small. "Can you be a dear and promise me something?"

"I can try."

Karmen stands and turns towards the cabin. "If it does happen, try not to stay delayed for too long?"

Zoro smiles and takes a long drink as he considers it. "I think I can manage that."

Karmen smiles and goes down to bed.

Ship's Log 2: Florian Triangle

A storm drove us into the Florian Triangle today. I remember father forcing his business rival's ships through these waters so they would disappear without a trace. I wonder if they're still drifting in this fog somewhere. Nami would get a kick out of all the merchandise on them.

We came upon a ghost ship that had a talking skeleton musician named Brook on it. He died 50 years ago, but had eaten the Revive-Revive devil fruit and found his way back to his bones. Luffy wants him as part of our crew. Other than the fact that he keeps asking to see my underwear he's a pretty nice guy, and he likes my tea. Usopp kept trying to ward him off with a cross. It reminded me that I should write a certain Uncle soon.

Brook says his shadow was stolen some time ago. I was so surprised when I realized what he was saying that I added extra fade to my reverse observation Haki. (It's so weird not hiding these things in my personal log). There's only one person I've heard of who can do that. None of the warlords I know particularly like that man and I have no interest in meeting him myself . Judging from this skeleton and the captain's reaction to his story, however, something tells me we'll be coming in close proximity soon. It's strange, but part of me is hoping for it (maybe I should leave those comments in my P.L.? Not that anyone reads these… I think). I feel sorry for poor, lonely Brook and want him to come with us so he won't have to be alone anymore.

Just as I feared, our ship was swallowed by Thriller Bark and a ghost appeared. The timing totally sucks. Brook was just about to play something for us on his violin. I agree with Luffy when he says our crew has been lacking music. I didn't realize how starved I was for a proper instrument until I saw his bow drop. We haven't seen a real band since Skypia. Franky pulls out his guitar every once in a while, but impromptu songs aren't the same.

I peeked out the window while everyone went up on deck to take a better look. As soon as I saw where we were I went into full fade. I'd never been to this place before, but I'd heard plenty about it. Franky sent Usopp, Nami, and Chopper out in Mini-Merry. The ram's head on the little boat looks just like Merry. He's such a thoughtful dear. He mentioned the shark-sub in the other channel and despite my fears for this place, I decided to make full use of my fade. I switched the channels and am going to take the sub out.

Karmen pins a note to the outside door to Channel 3 and climbs giddily into the shark-sub. As quietly as possible, she slips it into the surrounding waters and puts up the periscope. Re-reversing her Haki, she goes into sensory mode before making a move to travel. Increasing her range, she senses a strange presence on deck. Realizing she's left her weapons in her workroom, she beats her forehead against the controls, causing the sub to sink suddenly.

Heavy waves rock the shark and it takes a moment to regain control and make her way upwards again. When the periscope breaks the surface, the ship is gone. "Did Zoro find the note and get angry?" she wonders, then reconsiders. "No. Sanji would never let him leave me behind. Something else must have happened. Maybe I should have told them about this place. Not that Luffy would care. He'd go charging in looking for those spooky people. He'd be like Chopper in a candy store." Karmen mumbles a little longer about having a meat head for a captain and starts to explore the perimeter of the enclosure. After circling the entire fence she dives and follows the curve underneath the island.

"No openings anywhere. He did say it was a ship. Maybe I can go open those gates and wait for the crew to get back." Karmen taps her fingers against the console. "Am I just talking to myself because I'm scared of Gekko Moria?" Karmen has only sensed regular fish in the waters, but she's felt several unnatural presences on the island itself. There had been a spike in activity a few hours into her search, but it had died down recently. "Would one warlord spare me because I have connections with other warlords, or would he steal my shadow and throw my dissolving corpse at their feet?" She groans and gently lays her head on the steering wheel. "Cousin Doffy, you enjoy killing people. Avenge me if I die here."

The cabin had gotten stuffy recently. She checks the clock in the console and finds it's past midnight. She decides to loop around the island on the surface to find the ship. Once above sea level, she opens the hatch to let in fresh air. As she rounds the next curve of the island, she sees Sunny stuck in a large web. Sensing no one, she docks and climbs up to her workstation. Arming herself, she puts on her battle gear, including her restocked belt of gas grenades. She slips her new metal quills into the leather holsters she'd sewn onto the outside of her boots. She'd learned from Enel to keep metal away from her skin. She liked the design. It makes her look like she had wings on her boots and could take off flying at any moment. She senses a large group of unnatural presences coming from the island and fades into the shadows of the gate.

As she makes steady progress into the island, she sees zombies carrying things from the ship to the castle. Among them is the cup she worked so hard to buy. Knowing she'd be unable to stop the procession, she decides to follow it. In her attempts to stay hidden, she loses sight of the group carrying things from the ship but is able to follow the excess stragglers. Even with getting bored during her days of recovery and working her blind spot technique up to twenty seconds, she soon finds herself unable to continue tree hopping due to being surrounded by zombies. She wonders if she's healed enough to run long distances, but decides she has too many idle toxins for that.

"I was hoping to test out my new weapons," she tells them. "Tell me, do pain inducers and paralytics work on zombies? Eh. I'll find out on my own. Sync." She dances around the zombies as they swipe at her, ducking under arms and jumping over diving corpses. She levers a feather on a pen until liquid drips from the bit and slashes deadbolt into one and sunblade into another. She also tries various plant extracts that cause everything from indigestion to comas. "Seriously? None of that stuff works on you guys?" She pants heavily, leaning over her knees. The coma extract victim drops. "Ok, well that makes me feel a little better. Thank you."

"Actually, I just tripped," the zombie says.

"Can't you just give me a boon? I guess it makes sense. Your bodies aren't exactly circulating blood." She sighs, levering the last cartridges into the chambers. "Time for the ace in the hole. Blind Spot: Necrosis." Karmen darts around all the zombies, stabbing them with Plucharon. The effects are slow, but she sees black tendrils leading up their skin around the cuts. "Finally," she says happily, holding her aching stomach with a groan. "I'm not healed enough for this much dodging. Chopper's going to yell at me."

She smiles, trying not to laugh at the thought of being scolded by the little raccoon-dog doctor. She's brought back to the present by shuffling zombies. They chase her towards the interior of the island through the trees, but slowly the necrosis decays their bodies enough that they stop giving chase. She feels sorry for just a moment before remembering that Moria's powers reanimated the already dead using stolen shadows. Perhaps in a few hours the corpses will be dissolved enough that the shadows will return to their rightful owners and the dead can rest in peace. Dr. Hogback certainly won't be able to reuse the bodies. She says a little prayer for the previous owners of the corpses and continues. She can hear explosions coming from the direction of the mansion and determines she should hide before Dr. Hogback decides she'd make a good replacement zombie.

Nami comes running through the forest. Karmen is about to call out when she sees the flowing silk wedding gown she's dressed in and her throat goes dry. By the time she can move her face again her crewmate is gone and another strong presence is fast approaching. She fades and waits for them to pass. Shock runs through her as a 22' 6" man in a black coat with a crosshairs decal that's lined with paw prints runs by. His hat and pants have brown spots on them and he holds a large purple bible. He moves so quickly she can barely register his unique presence as he bounds towards the interior of the island. The tyrant Bartholomew Kuma: Warlord of the Sea.

Thinking of everything she's been taught and noting his direction, she lets her Haki fade and waits to be spirited away by spider silk. Sure enough, she finds herself in a dark coffin being ferried to the mansion. She uses the concentrated sunblade to melt the web that binds her and waits.

A chill runs through Karmen as his presence stirs vivid memories of the night she left home: She can still feel the cold rain on her skin, hear the thunder crashing around her, or was it the crack of the gun in her father's hand? She sees the smoke from its barrel and the blood pouring from Pierce's shoulder. He yells for her to run.

He had help waiting just outside the gate, he had said. She runs to find them so they can save Pierce. Relieved, she finds the gentle giant. Instead of returning to face her father as she begs, she remembers Kuma's warm hand wrapping around her as she tries to run back to her friend. Pain cuts through the side of her head. Then they're flying. They break through the turbulent clouds and the moonlight glistens off the tears streaming in a trail behind her. She screams things that she doesn't remember and hits him until her hands bleed. At some point she passes out.

When she wakes he is still holding her. Her hands and head are bandaged. It is day and they are still flying. His face remains expressionless as he reaches into his coat and holds out an apple. She has no appetite and lies quietly in his grasp. He keeps the apple out until around midnight when her growling stomach forces her to accept it. She throws it up and Kuma uses his coat to wipe her face. She sleeps. Wakes. Flies. Traces the blood stains left on his jacket.

She is able to keep down an apple the next day. In the afternoon land approaches quickly and Kuma cushions their fall as a paw print embeds itself in the ground beneath them. They land in a small clearing near a rocky shore. A man in a green cloak stands in a small boat docked nearby. There are three portions of food in front of him. The men eat and discuss the events of three days ago and what was to happen now. She heard little and ate even less.

Karmen is passed between groups of people every few days for a month. Her dreams are punctuated with flashbacks of blood and bullets and leering men. Every day she is grilled on a cover story and a new identity. When she is brought to Syrup Village she is Valentine W. Karmen, sole survivor of a storm-wrecked merchant ship in the East Blue. The gash on her head heals until it is barely noticeable and she can hide it under her hair. She has learned the names of various islands and general details that anyone in the area would know. Her coaching cannot quiet her nightmares and her guilt, but they provide a foundation to begin from. She builds her strength by scrubbing houses and began planning. The fastest way back home is to cross the North Blue. She would take the first ship that she felt she could trust. Unfortunately they are few and far in between.