Karmen plots the slow torture of Trafalgar D. Water Law as she floats in the mouth of whatever sea king had eaten her. There are three ways she can get out of here without anyone's help. One is more favorable than the others and has a higher probability of survival. With her haki, she can sense Bepo yelling at Law along with a few other members of the crew. Pierce, surprisingly, is languidly slumped against the wall. He isn't unconscious, but he seems listless. Perhaps his heart being underwater, or, in Parvati's stomach, is having the same effect as his whole body being submerged. The captain rubs his chin and peers out the porthole window. "Hold on," the shape of his lips say. "I won't let her die. I'm just seeing what she does."
Yep. She's definitely going to stab him.
The rays are diving in formation for an attack. Even Kudra has come forward, tail raised to stab the beast that seems determined to swim off with her. While Karmen doesn't want to be eaten, she doesn't exactly have a desire for the creature to be skewered simply for trying to survive. She decides to go with her plan and try to save several beings from being torn apart in the next few minutes.
Her lungs are already burning, ribs aching from the pressure of the water around her, but she turns and swims deeper into the fish's mouth and down into the throat. There is a narrow margin for error. One slip or kick in the wrong direction could send her straight into the stomach. She closes her eyes and uses her haki to aim for the gills. Feet connecting with the flesh in the side of its throat, she twists and she slips into the layers of compressing flesh. The gills fold around her body and threaten to crush her with each breath the fish takes, but she manages to push her way through into the dark void of the ocean. Not knowing it has lost its prey, the sea king continues to dive.
The stingrays see her emerge and call off their attack as she orients herself. The fish had carried her well away from the submarine and outside Law's operation circle. Logic tells her that her bones should be compounding into powder, that her organs and soft tissues should be crushed and damaged beyond repair, but she feels... fine. Yes, the pressure from being this deep makes it a little harder to move, but she can swim fine.
While she's contemplating this, Parvati swims beneath her, allowing Karmen to grasp the spines on her back and be ferried back towards the sub. Once they're back in Law's circle, Par coughs up Pierce's heart and nudges it towards her. It looks undamaged, still fluttering away, if slower than normal- as if he's in a near-hibernation state. Karmen tucks it under her arm and gives Parvati an appreciative pat before turning a glare on the submarine. Her hair floats in an angry halo around her, looking like tongues of black fire around her face. If looks could kill, Law would be on the ground seizing.
She crosses her arm, carefully moving Pierce's heart into her palm, and makes a switching motion with her free hand. There's a pop and Karmen is suddenly standing- very dry- inside the torpedo room on the submarine. Her bodyguard seems to regain his vitality with the sudden reappearance of his heart and his hands shift quickly and there is a microscopic change in Law's demeanor. She doesn't move, but remains stock still for a moment longer before taking a slow, unlabored breath.
Karmen steps past Law and his crew and shoves the heart in her hands into Pierce's chest. Her bodyguard had gone very still, muscles tense. She notices that he'd pressed the sea prism quill she'd slipped him earlier against Law's heart. He couldn't use his operation powers until it was taken away. While she's thankful it doesn't kill him outright, seeing as his heart is currently outside his body, she wonders how much effort it's taking the man to stand upright without sweating. She bites back a smirk. Pierce had put them on equal terms. Maybe it's the strain on his body. Maybe it's the fact that Karmen had yet to look at him- a bad sign as Pierce can attest. But when Law speaks, his voice isn't as confident as it had been before his game. "What happened out there?"
What indeed. Karmen turns slowly and levels her hooded gaze on Law, who bravely stands there, waiting to see what she plans to do.
"This was never about testing my observation haki, was it?" she asks, giving her voice that viperous calmness that makes her sound deceptively dangerous. "I have no armament haki." She points to Pierce. "That's why I have him."
"And yet you survived crushing depth," he responds, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
"From inside a sea king, or did you miss that part?" she asks.
"What?" Pierce's sharp voice echoes around the room and silences murmurs from the crew. He looks like he'd like to stab Law's heart with the dart, but he loyally waits for a sign from Karmen. She'd wondered if he'd be conflicted between loyalty to her and the man who had saved his life, but one glance is all it takes to confirm his convictions. "What do you have in this one, Mistress?" he asks, preparing to wield the sea stone dart while carefully keeping her veil wrapped around it.
She rubs her chin and looks at the gap in her quill as if trying to remember. She knows exactly which one it is, of course, but she's enjoying stretching out the silence and making Law more uncomfortable. "That one's a lizard venom from Little Garden that I'm still experimenting with, mixed with one of your favorites. It causes an autoimmune reaction and the body eats itself alive. After six hours, the victim starts bleeding from the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth, and after twelve the irreversible organ damage begins. The brain and nervous system are the last to go, meaning the subject would feel every minute of it."
She pauses a moment to let the information sink in before continuing. "I'm the only person in the world who has access to the antidote. I made it, after all. Should anything happen to either of us after anyone is injected with it- especially somewhere as critical as the heart- he would die a slow and painful death, spending the last day before he died in pure agony. I'm still trying to get it down into the non-lethal range, but I thought I would bring it along just in case we were attacked by something big and hungry. Tell me, Law, how confident are you about performing open-heart surgery on yourself? That dart would be rather hard to remove, with your body slowly dying."
The crew is silent as the grave, cold sweat dripping down their skin, barely daring to move more than their eyes as they glance between her and their Captain.
"Are you threatening me?" Law asks.
Her eyebrow twitches. "You tossed me into open water for an experiment. You put my mission and my training at risk for it. I think it would only be fair for me to experiment on you in return. I was raised by Dragons, dearest. Forgive me if I show my claws."
His eyes narrow and the faintest traces of perspiration begin to show on his skin. "I think you're bluffing."
"I have information on Doflamingo, Warlords, Celestial Dragons, and the government. Information that you need and the antidote to that poison. Even if I am bluffing, it's not a risk you can take." Her face is expressionless, but the edge to her voice doesn't leave room for bargaining.
Law's grin returns slowly and he lifts his hat to scratch his temple. Instead of settling it back over his hair, he flips it onto her head and it slips down over her eyes- a sign of consent, if not defeat. Karmen gives a smirk of her own to match his. "I think I owe you a dinner," he says as she pushes the brim up to her forehead. He extends his hand good-naturedly. "I believe I made the right choice in partner."
She grasps his arm. "I like your games. We should play again sometime." Half of Law's crew collapses as the tension disappears. Karmen releases him and extends her hand to Pierce. "Heart, please."
He hesitates as if to say, "You almost died and you want me to hand over our best bargaining chip?" though he doesn't actually open his mouth.
"It was not his intent to kill me, despite what happened," she explains. "I'm not opposed to a single-blind experiment so long as he follows the cardinal rules of being a doctor. Besides, I need him to be able to use his powers for the next few minutes- His little stunt gave me the bends."
She'd felt the onset of the symptoms as soon as she was back onboard and had covered them quickly, knowing that if she showed any sign of weakness he'd have the advantage. Now that she'd been standing in the lower pressure for a while, every joint in her body aches and her head pounds. It's all she can do not to lean on anything for support, much less stay aware of her situation with her expressions masked.
Law scrutinizes her. "You don't look like you're in pain."
"Is it that surprising that you don't know everything, Dr. Spots?" she asks, adjusting his hat so that it tilts to the side a little. Strangely she gets the feeling that if she expresses how much discomfort she's in, he'd actually feel sorry. She doesn't want his pity, so she shows a bit of the irritability caused by her pain instead. She wants a partner, not a friend. "I could fill a library with things you don't know. That's why you're going to work your magic, impress me with your skill, and fix the side effects of your stupid experiment as soon as my bodyguard hands over your heart." Her outstretched fingers twitch beckoningly.
Pierce doesn't look happy about it, but he tosses Law's heart over without further complaint or comment, unspoken or otherwise. Karmen catches it and pushes it back inside its owner's chest with two fingers. "You have a venomous tongue. Do you poison those claws of yours too?" he asks teasingly.
She doesn't bother to answer. Her jaw is really starting to throb. She can't keep this up much longer.
He creates another operating room and extracts the nitrogen bubbles that had been building up inside her body. She feels the relief immediately and her emotionless mask breaks with relief and her knees buckle. Pierce rushes forward to support her and levels his eyeless glare at Law. He doesn't say anything, but the message is clear: Don't do it again.
"Are you alright?" he asks her softly.
She pats his cheek as she puts her feet back beneath her. "You worry too much. It makes you a great bodyguard."
"It sounds like you're feeling better," Law states softly as Pierce steps away. Despite her best efforts, it seems the doctor was feeling sorry after all.
"I'm fine." Karmen steps past him. "I'm going to take a bath while you fix us a really nice dinner," she announces, fingers tracing the spots on the hat. "Oh, and Law?" She looks back at him and smiles. "See if you can scrounge up some bread."
Law is gracious enough of a host to provide them a room for the night- having them share with the larger members of the crew. Pierce had refused to leave Karmen's side and Karmen didn't want to inconvenience Ikkaku by putting a man in her room. For them, the bear and the giant are the obvious rooming partners. It gives them a sense of home. Neither of them mentions it, but they both know the other felt it.
Karmen and Pierce lay their sleeping pallets side by side near where Bepo and Jean Bart are already snoring loudly. She cuddles Law's hat like a teddy bear, stroking the fur gently.
"Were you really swallowed by a sea king out there?" he asks.
"Briefly," she admits.
"And you enjoyed it?"
"I'm always open to new experiences. It was a unique perspective and I survived, so in retrospect, yes. At the time, it wasn't entirely pleasant. Now I know how Keimi feels."
He sighs. "I swear. When we get home I'm going to lock you in the Whist room and drop food and water down the ventilation crack. It'll be the only way I can do my job properly."
She chuckles. "You did a pretty good job with that dart this afternoon. I was impressed."
He tries to act like he's not pleased with the compliment, reminding her briefly of Chopper, without the dancing. "Was it really the lizard venom in that dart?"
"Along with a hint of viper venom. You would have been pleased with the results. I know how much you like those."
He grins. "Woe to whoever threatens a venom expert." His ear turns her way as his voice lowers. "Where did you stash the antidote?"
"On one of the rays. If you had actually stabbed him he would have had the day to reconsider. Without me giving the rays my signal every few hours, the ray in question would have swum far away and he'd never have a chance to recover."
Pierce rolls towards her and props himself up on an elbow. "Isn't that a little harsh for the guy you're partnered with?" he asks. "Considering you never actually thought he'd let you die and all?"
She shrugs. "I can't afford to take chances. Not while we have such an important job to do. Besides, Luffy is counting on me to return in two years. I won't allow myself the possibility of dying twice."
"So if Bepo's going to draw up those maps for us, do we really need to storm the naval base like you were planning?"
"We do. I wasn't going to grab just maps."
"What else are we getting?"
"I'm not going to discuss it now. Jean Bart is only pretending to sleep."
The large man flinches and his snores abruptly stop. "I-I was-"
"Following your captain's orders," she finishes for him. "I understand. In the morning you can tell him that if he wants to know something, he can ask me himself."
"Y-yes." The giant ducks deeper under his blanket and closes his eyes. The room is silent for a while.
Pierce breaks the silence.
"Karmen?"
"Yes?"
"Why do you think you were able to survive being outside the submarine?" he asks.
She doesn't answer for a few seconds. "I wasn't exposed for very long," she says finally. "And I've trained in deep water conditions all my life. My body is used to it."
"And he got all the nitrogen bubbles out of your system? You aren't in pain at all?"
She gives a soft smile at his concern. "While it was a jerk move, he isn't a cruel man. He did an excellent job of fixing his mistake."
"Good," he says, settling back down onto his bedroll. "Because if he hadn't, I'd make sure he got a dose of lizard venom before we left."
"I'm sure he'd be expecting that exact thing after today," she says. "What's done is done and everything's resolved for now. Let's get some sleep. We have a long way to go tomorrow."
Karmen wakes to find Bepo kneeling next to her. He gives a small gasp when he sees her looking at him and bows his head, heavy breath fogging up her cheek. "You aren't mad at the Captain about what happened yesterday, are you?" he asks. "It didn't go the way he meant it to and he was actually really relieved that you weren't seriously injured." He bows deeper and his nose brushes her shoulder. "And even if you're mad, please let me make it up to you by drawing the charts!"
Karmen smiles and rubs her hand through the thick fur between his ears. "I know he didn't mean most of that to happen. With his dream, he has to take risks and have faith that the people he trusts to help him can handle themselves in a bad situation. He made a mistake, and that meal you all made last night was more than enough to make up for it," she says. Law had even had one of his crew members make some pita bread. "I plan on having us move forward as planned, but Law should be proud of how loyal you are. You are an invaluable crewmember to him."
The bear chuckles and closes his eyes. "You're not as scary as everyone says."
She grins. "They haven't seen me truly angry yet. Yesterday was me being civil."
They share a laugh and Karmen moves off to the bathroom to wash up. Pierce isn't far behind her and they trade places at the door. "Will you be safe if I close the door for ten seconds?" he asks.
She shakes her head. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
He frowns. "I'll sleep when we leave."
"Law isn't going to go trading our hearts. You heard him, it was all a bluff."
His frown deepens.
"I know you don't want to see the man who saved your life as a conniving pirate," she says gently. "I truly believe he's a good man underneath all that ego. He's just… dealing with something similar to what we are. He has to be careful and that often means pushing people away and keeping your distance. I paid him good money to fix you up. He wouldn't risk your health just because it would save some time." This last part was meant as a joke and it's rewarded with a smile.
"Well, I'm glad my ability to produce scar tissue helps keep us off the black market and out of government hands."
Pierce closes the door and Karmen gives her attention to the man standing just around the corner. "Did you want your hat back or can I keep it until next time?" she asks.
The hat on her head is suddenly gone, replaced by a warm cup of tea. "A peace offering, Secretary-ya," Law says. There's a hint of a smile in his voice and Karmen can't help but smile as she takes her first sip. The taste is surprising.
"Did you poison this for me?"
There's a soft chuckle and then his footsteps retreat down the hall.
They eat breakfast and enjoy their last few minutes with the crew. Afterward, Karmen and Pierce put on their diving equipment. Law stops Karmen before she can step into the torpedo room. "About that list of names-"
"You aren't about to tell me you just made them up, are you?" she asks.
He smiles. "No, just that you should go through them from top to bottom. The man at the end is reliable, but he's not the type you'd get along with."
"If he plays nice, so will I," she says, flashing him one of her sweetest smiles.
"That's what I'm afraid of," he mutters. "Just try your best not to go stabbing the guy if you do have to do business with him. He was hard to find."
"Deal with the first two, try not to bother with the third. Got it," she says, leaning against the wall. She adds softly, "Apology accepted."
He looks momentarily abashed that she'd seen through his helpful information, but he hides it quickly. "I don't know what you're talking about." But his slight smirk says that he's pleased.
Karmen moves into the room and quickly ties Pierce to her back in their practiced motions. She gives Bepo an awkward hug around her backward diving equipment and the rest a warm smile. Law uses his powers to pop them out into open water. He'd pulled much closer to the surface overnight, so Pierce isn't affected by the sudden change of pressure. The cool water feels good against her skin and Pierce almost immediately begins nodding off from the temperature. She gives one final wave to the crew as Parvati raises up to meet them. They turn away from the sub and go their separate way.