Umberto continued eating the grape the woman on his right offered him when a knock came from the door. His doorman peered through the peephole before stepping aside. Qiping glanced disdainfully around at the women dancing, making out, serving Umberto and his crew, but said nothing. How could she? He was one of the biggest customers of her human trafficking ring, especially when she had a bunch of young, hot chicks in her cells.

"I see you're making good use of my services," she said, sliding into the single seat on one side of the table instead of the couch that wrapped around the rest.

He squeezed the woman on his left's tit while the one on his right tipped a glass in front of his lips. "Nobody gets bitches like you."

"Then what are we going to do about Mircalla? She's been poaching potential wares and sometimes outright steals them!"

As much as he wanted to enjoy himself, the two of them had agreed to a meeting for a reason. The woman on his left giggled as he slipped his hand into her dress and circled her nipple with his finger. "I can't give you any men; they'd just get killed."

"I'm not asking for men," she snapped, "but you're not the only one who won't be happy if my F5A and F6A stocks run out, and I'm going to mince up anybody who complains if that happens and feed them to my dogs."

"What about the old end of F4A?"

"Late teens aren't safe from her either. No age range is. Do you know how many people want women 30 or older based solely on attractiveness to the degree she does? Not many."

The average age of the chicks he allowed in his office more than proved her statement. "So you want my help in snatching them?"

She crossed her arms and leaned back. "That would be a good start, but my categories are very specific and I don't trust you or anyone to consistently get me proper F5As."

"Well, what the fuck do you expect me to do?" he exclaimed, taking his arm off of the woman on his right. "I can't go against a goddamned Empress. Mircalla would rip me to shreds if I got in her way, especially since I'm not really her type and can't seduce my way out."

"That is not an advantage I wish to use," she said acidly. "Have you heard the rumors?"

Umberto froze. He had heard rumors, dangerous rumors, but investigating said rumors was beyond his capability. "All of you, get out." Everybody looked at him unsurely, then jumped when he stood up and shouted, "Now! Every single one of you. No, I don't need protection; Qiping isn't stupid enough to kill me in here. I need complete privacy."

The women were the first out of the room, and his security team reluctantly filed out behind them. One pair of women, however, continued to make out in the corner, oblivious to all else. "You two, get the fuck out of here. If you're not out of here by the time I finish this sentence, I'm gonna-"

He reeled on his feet, struggling to stay upright. His lungs felt like they were caught in a vice, and his head felt packed full of steel wool. Qiping was similarly affected, one hand digging into the arm of her chair. The pale woman in front pulled away as the blue-haired woman stepped forward, her intense gaze fixed on him. She motioned Umberto away from his seat with a few flicks of her hand, and he could barely move when the pressure increased tenfold. Only when she sat down did her oppressive aura cease. The pale woman sat on her lap, embracing her loosely and nuzzling the side of her head.

"I am Captain Cassandra Libera," stated the blue-haired woman. "You're welcome for me arranging this meeting between the three of us plus Lyn. You won't have to worry about Mircalla ripping you apart if you want to fight me; I'll be more than happy to take that onus upon myself."

Umberto and Qiping exchanged glances. "Who are you?" Qiping ventured.

"Someone interested in making Mircalla's life a bit more difficult. The rumors are true. I'm seeing who's interested in stirring things up." She held Lyn's head against hers when Lyn fell limp. "Honestly, I don't have to operate in secrecy. Mircalla could get a full transcript of every meeting I've had and she'd still only be thinking about her next orgy."

"The orgy wasn't as much fun as the one-on-one." Umberto and Qiping started at the clear disembodied voice as a pair of glasses floated past them. Libera took one of them, and Lyn caught the other as she woke up. "She's experienced."

"Decades of practice will do that to a person," Libera said, sipping her drink. "Back to the point, I'm offering you a chance to rebel against her. I have nearly a billion beli on my head and a bone to pick with Shar, and by extension Mircalla. If you don't want to cooperate, fair's fair. If you go tell Mircalla about this, I'll bring your respective organizations down around your ears."

"I thought you didn't care whether she found out or not," Umberto said.

"I don't. What I care about are people who spill secrets to anyone other than me. Nobody in Castle Karnstein thinks about anything but self-indulgence, but Shar has at least some supporters on this island. They won't take kindly to what I'm planning and may try to interfere. I am not someone who likes people interfering with my plans."

"Even her own crew," Lyn commented.

Libera smirked. "How much you support me will dictate the rewards you'll get in the end. It's perfectly natural to dismiss me as a crazy bitch swinging twigs at battleships, but as I've previously demonstrated"-her suffocating aura briefly returned-"I don't just talk the talk."

Qiping took a deep breath. "So what do you want from us?"

"Let's pretend bounties directly correlate to power for a moment. My crew and I are worth almost 2.5 billion. Mircalla and her gang are worth over 10 billion. I want to gather enough people to not only match that number, but exceed it so badly that Mircalla will be crushed. Every million counts."

"Are you planning a full-scale assault on Castle Karnstein?" Umberto asked.

"Yes. That attack force will consist of my navigator and anybody interested in getting themselves killed. The rest of us are going to peel her apart, little by little. We will draw them out individually, whether by cutting off the supply of something they value or spreading a rumor they can't possibly resist. When her gang finally notices they're missing several key people, they will either leave the fortress together or lock themselves in and starve. I have a pretty good idea which of those options they'll choose."

"That still involves directly fighting Mircalla," Qiping said.

Lyn giggled as Libera stared flatly at her. "Mircalla is not going to cede control of Fizzlenaw without a fight. Anybody who thinks otherwise is delusional. I am trying to make that fight as one-sided as possible in our favor. I can't do that alone. I will personally fight Mircalla myself when it comes to it."

"Unless Damien gets to her first," Lyn piped up.

"Unless my meathead navigator gets to her first and wins, yes," Libera sighed. "Now, I'm not asking you to physically fight if you don't want to. You are always welcome to participate in the final clash, but there are plenty of ways before then you can do to help out. Knowledge is power, and I intend to be more powerful than Mircalla could ever be. Or if you want to help peel her apart, underground crime bosses can't be successful if they aren't discreet. You know how to make people vanish in a way that disrupts the system way down the line without being caught."

"Let's say we're in," Qiping said to Umberto's surprise. "What's in it for us?"

"For starters, your F5A stock goes back to normal and your organization doesn't lose one of its key supports. That alone should incentivize you to help me. It's true you'll benefit whether you help me or not, but helping me would also motivate me to help you. As you can see, I'm quite good at knowing what people don't want me to know and being where people don't want me to be.

"I also might consider getting Damien not to destroy everything you stand for because he, unlike certain other people, has this odd idea that people shouldn't be treated as things." She slid over a pamphlet titled 'Damien's FAQ'. "If you have any further questions about him, feel free to stop by my ship Fully Pardoned over in Ganelo and ask someone with more time on their hands than me. If that's too far a trip, I recommend finding any way possible not to be near him."

"Okay, if you actually do get rid of Mircalla, what happens next?" Umberto asked. "Are you going to declare Fizzlenaw's under your protection?"

"That is between me and Shar. We have some unfinished business. Booting Mircalla out is one of the many ways I intend to finish that business."

Qiping shifted in her seat. "And what business is that?"

"If I had wanted you to know, I wouldn't have left it at 'unfinished business'. Read a newspaper once in a while."

"Cee," Lyn said warningly.

Libera stroked Lyn's thigh. "You have three days to give me your answer. If I don't hear from you by then, my assistance in your matters will be minimal at most. If I find out you've told anyone connected to Mircalla, you and everything you care about will no longer exist in the state it's currently in."

"And she means in a bad way," Lyn added.

Chuckling, Libera gave Lyn a passionate kiss that dragged on for an uncomfortable amount of time. It was the first time Umberto remembered being the one forced to wait until the other party was done interacting with the girl on their arm, and he had never thought watching two women make out would fill his stomach with anxiety instead of lust. Lyn continued to sprinkle light kisses on the side of Libera's face once they pulled apart. "Three days should give you enough time to contact anybody you need and find out what you want to know about me. I hope you make the right decision."

Lifting Lyn in her arms, Libera strode out of the office. Umberto briefly saw his security sink to the ground as her intense aura returned before the door closed behind her. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and heard Qiping do the same. "All of you, stay out! We're not finished yet! Have you heard of her before?"

"Only a little," Qiping responded. "I can tell you she isn't lying about her bounty."

"Do you know what you're going to do?"

"Take advantage of the next three days."

Umberto frowned as an unusual envelope came to mind. He vaulted up to his desk and rummaged through the piles of paper before finding the card he had anonymously received a couple days prior but dismissed completely. "Does this look familiar to you?" he asked, holding a black business card up with its blank side facing Qiping.

"I believe so. What does yours say?"

He schooled his expression as he put the card back down. "I think it's her Jolly Roger. I need to make some calls."

Qiping rose to her feet. "As do I. Shall we reconvene with some of the others in two days to discuss our decisions?"

"Sounds good to me." He waited until she had left his office before rereading the message. 'Cassandra Libera is not to be trusted. She extends a hand of peace while holding a knife behind her back. Assisting in her downfall will be safer than any deal she supposedly offers. A decision will be made in five days. Choose wisely.'

"Everything good, boss?" his right-hand man asked.

Umberto's gaze lingered on the image at the bottom. "Find out everything you can about Cassandra Libera. Something's gonna go down soon, and we need to make sure we aren't going down with it."

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

"I'm telling you, it's true!" Abagail shouted. "Two 20-foot tall hands came out of the ground and crushed my caravan! I barely made it out with my life!"

Meera tapped her cigarette over the harbor waters. "You're telling me a giant was just lying under the road waiting to ambush you?"

"No, it was like the hands were made of earth! When we cut a finger off, it just grew back!"

"I see." Meera took a deep drag as she thought. As badly as she wanted to grind her cigarette into Abagail's eye, a lot fewer of her gang members had made attempts on her life once she had stopped horrifically punishing them for their failures. "Where did this take place?"

"About six miles past Paper Scissors Rock. The hands left huge pits behind."

"I'm inclined to believe you since that is one of the most far-fetched excuses I have ever heard. Nobody would come up with such an absurd lie without evidence. You're dismissed. Stay in the city until I find out what really happened."

Abagail nodded furiously and sped away. Meera stared out over the black ocean, ruminating on the ramifications of such an absurd tale. She frowned as a tiny boat emerged from the darkness, speeding rapidly towards her. The air filled with the sounds of guns being cocked, but she raised her hand in the air. While she would not put it past her enemies to send a suicide bomber disguised as a wheelchair user, she didn't remember doing anything recently that would have pissed someone off to that extent.

The boat somehow rose out of the water so the fat man could wheel onto the docks a woman so ancient it looked like she would fall apart in a stiff breeze. "I am second mate of the Black Glove Pirates, Alexander-"

"Stopgap dams sometimes please populaces that can't satisfactorily solve stubborn setbacks."

"Pay her no mind," Alexander said as Meera stared at the old hag nonplussed. "I drew the short straw and had to take care of her for the night regardless of my duties. Am I correct in assuming I'm addressing Cottonball Meera?"

"No. Ms. Meera never comes to the docks herself. I'm Abagail."

"White T-shirt contests provide much entertainment when in proximity to water." The hag seemed pleased by the confusion her words were causing.

"May I assume anything I tell you will be communicated to Ms. Meera?" Alexander asked.

Meera crossed her arms. "Depends how important the message is."

"Tell her we'll conditionally reimburse her for any goods she has lost under mysterious circumstances."

"I'm not sure I understand."

He shrugged. "If nothing happened, then there's no problem. My captain will contact you herself at a later time."

"Let's say such an event occurs," Meera said quickly as he turned away. "What kind of conditions are we talking about?"

"Cash equivalent to the goods' worth in exchange for not delivering to Mircalla anymore. Bonuses if Ms. Meera decides to aid us in overthrowing her."

"Are you saying you're causing said mysterious circumstances?"

"No, they are merely a byproduct of the upcoming battle. Lines are being drawn, and some seek to collect the bonuses Captain offers."

Meera scoffed. "So you want us to go against an Empress along with a no-name crew?"

"We're not exactly unknown, but that is one way of summarizing it."

She shook her head. "Kill him. Take this bitch hostage. Keep an eye on her in case she tries something."

Alexander convulsed as gunshots rang out and crumpled onto the dock, blood pooling around his body. Meera paused as the old woman let out an eerie cackle. "Eh eh eh eh. Biting the feeding hand only works if the teeth can puncture the skin."

"PELON KAHLEET." The words seemed to come from all around them. A scream pierced the air, and Meera whirled around to find one of her bodyguards gone. Another disappeared in a flash of red and silver, then another and another. Dreadful singing filled her surroundings, and panic gripped her as her bodyguards started shooting wildly in all directions.

"Get them no matter what!" she shouted as she fled along the pier, only for something to smash the side of her head and send her tumbling into the water. Her swimming form was anything but graceful as she fought her way to the surface, and her hyperventilating upon breaching caused her to swallow more than the occasional mouthful of grimy dock water.

It seemed like forever before she was seized by the back of her coat and dumped back onto the pier. Bile splattered across the wooden boards as she tried to push herself up. She froze solid as she raised her head and found herself staring directly into pink cataract-ridden eyes. "Those who build houses of cards without a solid foundation inevitably hear the sounds of unordered numbers."

Meera scrambled backwards as the hag raised her head back above her shoulders, and she choked when Alexander's corpse started moving. Propping himself up on his elbows, he winced as one of his glasses lenses fell out and gingerly touched the frame. "How- what-" she stuttered.

"My relationship with death is rather unusual," he groaned, stretching his neck. "It's a door for me, not an impenetrable barrier, so it's easy for me to walk back through. You couldn't have warned me earlier?"

"Extrasensory perception perceives nothing if a confident hand prevents light from reaching fortified retinas. Eh eh eh."

He pulled at his bullet-riddled jacket. "Good thing I wore an old one. Let's try this again. I'm Alexander and this is Oya, immature adult." The hag ignored him, humming along to the horrible singing. "I don't much like being shot at, but since I'm immortal, I'll let bygones be bygones and offer you a deal. 23% and you continue your business undisturbed so long as you don't help or supply Mircalla in any way."

Indignation cut through her fear. "You want nearly a quarter of my profits? That's absurd!"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Us getting 23% of your profits for attempting to kill me is absurd, correct. My offer is you keep 23% of everything you have, and we'll leave you alone if you stay away from Mircalla."

Meera's eyes bugged out. "You're dreaming."

"The alternative is we take 100% of your life and everything you have, which will happen if you talk about any of our discussion with Mircalla. The rewards for helping Captain are good, and the cost of going against her is steep. If you had done as Oya said, we'd be having a very different conversation right now."

"Wait, she's not speaking gibberish?"

"The cracks of twigs and crunch of leaves weave stories hunters could enjoy until the end of time, yet the ears of a conductor hear naught but raindrops in a storm."

Alexander smiled kindly. "As I said, pay her no mind. Her moments of lucidity are fleeting at best."

"The world a newborn baby perceives is a blanket and an areola."

"I'm not an unreasonable man." Meera coughed madly at such a blatant lie. "You have until sundown tomorrow to contact us. You had best hope Mircalla has you deep within her castle if we don't hear from you by then. 'Everything you have' doesn't just include money and possessions. Remember that."

The roaring in Meera's ears blocked out whatever nonsense Oya said as Alexander wheeled her away. She didn't deserve this. She had turned a new leaf. She had promised to become a better boss, one that looked out for her gang instead of controlling it with fear. Nothing even remained of her security detail now, and she had just started to get to know them. Splinters dug into her fingers as she clenched her hand into a fist and slammed it down in frustration. They thought they were all that? They had no idea who they were messing with.

Just as she took her HT snail from her pocket, it was knocked from her hand as she was slammed face-first into the dock. "Miserie is not as nice as Alexander and doesn't think Meera understood his message," a melodic voice murmured into her ear. "100% of Meera's life does not mean killing her. Captain doesn't like it when her nakama are hurt. If she learns of what Meera did to Alexander, Meera would be lucky if she was not tortured."

Trying to wrest free felt more useless than hauling an entire caravan by herself. "O… kay. I get i-"

"She can tell Meera does not."

Before Meera could make a sound, she was dragged off the pier. Her arm was almost yanked out of its socket as she was pulled through the water, her other hand clamped over her mouth and nose. When she was finally released, she panicked only briefly before she realized she was just below the surface. She gasped for air as she righted herself, wiping her face as she treaded water. Pitch blackness surrounded her until she spun around and saw the city lights far in the distance.

"Miserie does not know what drowning feels like because she is a mermaid, but she has heard it is really scary. If Meera is persistent enough, she can make it back to the docks. Miserie won't interfere."

Now was no time for questions or doubts. A drawn-out fight with a pirate mermaid in the ocean, especially at night, was tantamount to suicide. Meera forced herself not to swim as fast as she could, knowing the fickle waters could pull her back when she thought she was close enough for a final push. She didn't have to look to know that Miserie was swimming alongside her and could easily drown her at any time.

Her chest heaved when she finally wrapped her arms around the pylon. She rested her head against the wood, profusely thanking her parents for forcing her to do all those laps in the pool. "Does Meera think she understands?"

"I got it," she gasped. "I'll do as you say."

"She is wrong. She doesn't understand yet." Without warning, she was seized by the foot and dragged under. She held her head as she was spun this way and that, losing all sense of direction. She gagged and spat when she was pulled back up, and her heart plummeted when she blinked water from her eyes.

The city lights were even farther away than before.

"Meera did a good job the first time. Miserie is sure she can do it again."

She knew what would happen if she somehow made it back. "I surrender. You win. I'll keep 23%."

"Now Meera understands." She was hauled over to the docks and dumped unceremoniously on the wooden boards. "Miserie does not care if Meera follows through or not. That is for Meera to decide. Miserie just wanted Meera to know that Captain can make people wish they had been drowned."

"Fine, I get the-"

She screamed as her head was shoved through the boards, splinters fragmenting into her face. "Miserie doesn't like it when her nakama are hurt either."

Meera waited until she was sure Miserie had left before pulling herself out. Wincing as she picked at everything embedded in her skin, she pulled out her phone snail and shook it a few times. She rifled through her pockets, pulled out a soggy business card, and dialed the number inscribed below the message. She had dumped the seawater out of her shoes and reluctantly pulled them back on by the time the ringing stopped. "To whom am I speaking?" said the deep voice on the other end of the line.

Her hatred of her given name, known far and wide, made it easy for those she communicated with in secret to know if she was an impostor or not. "It's Cotty. You were talking about the Black Glove Pirates, right?"

"Correct."

Her gaze lingered on the image on the bottom: two keys crossed over a spiderweb. There was no way she was going to let herself be pushed around. "I want in."