Cassandra leaned her head over the back of the chair as she idly flipped a knife. While Nancy hadn't returned, Raven had provided the bare minimum of the information she wanted. Having aided Cain for the past several days, Alexander had spent many of his daylight hours today making inquiries of his own. Lyn hadn't been happy when Cassandra declined spending time together, but had left without protest. The rest of her crew subsequently knew better than to interrupt her and dissuaded Min from doing the same.

She stared resignedly through the ceiling as a hundred tiny heartbeats arrived and coalesced into one. Retrieving her tricorne and most impressive coat, she exited the rear cabin and ascended the rigging. "Nice to see you, Mircalla."

"My, have you been busy!" the short girl exclaimed, dropping from the flagpole to the rim of the crow's nest. "I thought you'd be more surprised to see me."

"When Shar took over Fizzlenaw, I didn't expect her to leave you in charge."

Mircalla's lips drew back to show her needle-like teeth. "Then who were you expecting?"

"Has Sue gotten any more eloquent?"

"Not very!" Mircalla laughed. "I was hoping I'd see you again. We never got to chat on Sabaody."

Cassandra pushed the finger running along her jaw away. "You weren't very interested in me before the battle."

"Well, I didn't know you were crazy enough to go toe-to-toe with an admiral, just that you got on Shar's nerves."

An old flicker of pride warmed her heart. "Is Longjohns doing okay?"

Mircalla peered at her for a moment before snapping her fingers. "'Doctor' is his sister, right? It's pretty funny watching him do things he has absolutely no idea about. Most of the crew still doesn't know he really exists, like Doctor."

"Good to hear. What did you want to chat about?"

Mircalla paced horizontally on the outside of the crow's nest. "I've been dying to taste Miserie, but I can't get to her since she's always underwater. Could you arrange that for me? Pretty please?"

"To quote your captain: learn to live with disappointment. She spends most of her time in the sea. I'm less in command of my crew than sailing with them, as is best exemplified by Damien."

"Whom we've seen suspiciously little of," Mircalla noted.

"He's taking a breather. You'll soon miss not having seen him."

Mircalla shrugged. "Then what's this I hear about you having a delectable-looking girlfriend? Have you been hiding her too?"

"She wouldn't have agreed to be my girlfriend if I hid her all the time," Cassandra said. "The World Government evidently thinks I've brainwashed her like I have Theo, except she can't build weapons of mass destruction."

"So you wouldn't mind if I had a bit of a taste of her?"

"Knock yourself out." She suppressed her amusement as Mircalla's face fell slightly. "Though we're going to have a bit of an issue if you did more to her."

"You never know~," Mircalla said in a sing-song voice. "She might be too tasty for me to hold back."

"Then we'll have a bit of an issue."

"The Fittest?"

"That might be harder than you think, but sure."

"All Smiles?"

"You have more than my approval."

"Respec, whatever that means?"

"Depends on how you feel about gender fluidity."

Mircalla tapped her lips with her long fingernails. "Curses abound. I don't suppose you've found a way to get rid of your Devil Fruit without dying?"

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"I guess your girlfriend will suffice." Cassandra's lack of reaction was definitely getting on her nerves. "We might do more than tasting."

"Luckily for you, I know just the libidinous pan woman in an open relationship who would enjoy that."

"I didn't know you were dating a slut."

"I, on the other hand, did." Cassandra couldn't quite stifle her small smile at Mircalla's surprise. "While she's not exactly a fan of being called a slut, she had sex with a lot of people before we started dating and continues to have sex with even more people since we started dating, myself included. Don't let that stop you from reaching out to her, but please cut your fingernails if you want to do more than taste."

Mircalla scowled and burst into a flurry of bats. Cassandra held onto her tricorne as she was buffeted about, her smile only widening as she wondered how amicable their next meeting would be. Only when she stepped off the rigging and landed on the deck did she let go of her hat. If Bol wanted to establish her authority as one of the Five Emperors by taking over islands, Cassandra couldn't just sit by and do nothing.

She caught an arrow just as it was about to strike her ear, and she was almost too shocked to keep her face straight when she recognized it. A large shape briefly obscured the waning crescent moon before landing directly beside her. Its pointed ears and bushy tail drew back into its cloak as it stood up straight. "And just what the world-spanning fuck are you doing here?" she managed.

Hode's grin looked vulpine even when she was fully human. "Long time no see, Mara. I was so worried when you disappeared."

"I'm sure you were. How about you tell me why you're here before I tell Damien and he kills you?"

"Oh, like you'd really do that," Hode simpered as she slowly circled Cassandra.

"It would save me a lot of time, since he'll find out eventually and track you down when I want him to do something else."

Hode's pout lingered for a moment before she grinned again. "So what if I'm a Warlord?"

"I was offered the position first for taking Theo," Cassandra stated, "but I turned it down because I prefer it when Alexander and Damien aren't seriously trying to kill me."

"And who was the one who freely roamed the seas all these years?"

"Yeah, how long did it take for you to find the top-secret facility with rumballs?"

Hode's grin slowly dwindled. "How do you know about that?"

"I'm very good at finding out what I want to know." Cassandra sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Unfortunately, I'm not perfect, and I couldn't find out what rumballs actually are."

They stared at each other, then broke out into wide smiles again. "I really did miss you, Mara."

"I missed you too," Cassandra replied, surprised to find she actually meant it. "I won't tell Damien now, but I wasn't kidding when I said he'll track you down."

"Do you really think he can kill me?"

"No, I know he can kill you. What I don't know is if he'll be alive afterwards."

Hode threw an arm over her shoulders. "Between you and me," she murmured out of the side of her mouth, "I'm not sure how much longer I'll be a Warlord now that I've gotten the rumballs and their recipe. I got here today to 'deal with the island situation' or whatever, but I'm pretty sure they're onto me not being so keen on staying under their thumb and hope that I get killed by whomever Empy left in charge."

"I see you waited until after Mircalla left to shoot me. 'Almost' not a Warlord is still a Warlord. Alexander won't be happy, but he'll understand the difference. Damien won't."

"Then say I quit," Hode said simply. "That's about to be true, so it's not really a lie since I know how much he hates those too."

Cassandra put her hand on the one Hode draped over her shoulder. "I honestly don't know how he'd react to that since I don't think he's met a Warlord who returned to being an active pirate, but that's better than nothing. What's a rumball?"

"I don't want to ruin the surprise," Hode teased.

Cassandra dug her fingers into Hode's hand. "I don't like surprises, and you've surprised me enough just by being here."

"Okay! Okay! Damn! When did you get so strong?" Hode glanced around as she flexed her fingers. "Do you have room in your ship to play a little?"

"Now that all the blood's gone, yes."

The two of them dropped into the main hall, where Damien was resting against the mast and ignoring Perang. Theo, who was trying surreptitiously to work on TITANIDE, fell off its leg when the main hatch opened up. "Isn't quite the same up close," Hode commented as Theo scrambled to her feet.

"You, out," Cassandra ordered Perang. "I'll deal with you later, Theo. Go to bed."

Perang glared daggers at her, but bit his tongue and left the ship. The room's temperature rose as Damien recognized Hode, who didn't help by smirking at him. "This cuntfuckin' trollop-"

"-is no longer a Warlord," Cassandra cut in. "Remember how I couldn't find Heavens Above without going through very specific hoops? She needed to be a Warlord to find and access a similar facility. Since she did, she no longer needs information held exclusively by the World Government and is consequently on nobody's leash."

Damien rose to his feet with painstaking slowness, then headbutted Hode before she could react and went to the galley. "I'll take it," Hode said as she picked herself up. "I'm sure not knowing's been eating you alive, so here it is! Tada!"

Cassandra took the small golden orb and rolled it between her fingers. "Is this a weapon?"

Hode threw her head back and laughed. "You could say that! It sure can be dangerous." She shifted into her hybrid form. "Not everyone can use it." She tossed it into the air and caught it in her mouth as a fox. "Took me a while to get the hang of it. Nearly died a lot. TNR was not happy with me." Cassandra blinked when Hode cracked it in her teeth. "But boy has it been worth it."

She morphed into a hybrid form unlike anything Cassandra had ever seen. The fur on the top half of her face had turned black, and her snout was less pronounced. The hood of her cloak fell back to reveal a wide-brimmed hat, but most shocking of all were the four additional tails that unfurled from behind her. "Now I can be a bit more…"-she paused for dramatic effect-"mysterious."

She jumped as the door to the galley slammed open and Damien strode out. "Tricky fuckin' thing, arentcha? Le's try it!"

Instead of reaching for her bow, Hode drew a long dagger from her left boot and parried his weakened attacks, constantly shouting things like 'hah!' or 'take that!' every time her dagger connected with him in some way. Cassandra was no sword expert, but she knew enough from watching Lyn, Jen, and Shinobu that Hode's skills were far from amateurish.

"I can be sneaky!" Hode shouted as he blew a fireball at her. It splashed against the side of the hall, but Hode was nowhere to be seen. The two pirates searched for her, and Cassandra swore she had already checked the corner that Hode was found hiding in. Hode was somehow less than half a meter tall, but the suddenly missing hat showed that her ears remained the same size, giving her a comical appearance. She dove through Damien's second fireball and kicked off his head.

He easily caught her leg and smashed her into the ground, but her form had changed again, her fur white and extremely thick. "Or hard to kill! I've got another form that doesn't really work in here. That's all I've mastered so far."

"So it's a drug of some sort," Cassandra said, darting in front of Damien and focusing Haki on her arm as she grabbed his face. "Is that good enough for you?"

"Then time's wastin'!"

She was slightly mollified when her reinforced punch staggered him back a step. "EVERYONE UP! WE'VE GOT A FIGHT ON OUR HANDS!"

As stern as she wanted to appear, she couldn't deny how much fun she had as they exchanged blows. Hode helped immensely by changing into yet another form with stronger legs and large hooked claws and leaping away. Damien was hot on her heels, with Cassandra, Cain, Morgan, and KYKLOPS emerging immediately afterwards. Raven's presence was unnecessary until Damien wreathed himself in flames.

Before they could make it to a better space to fight, a flurry of bats swirled overhead, and Mircalla dropped onto the street in front of them. "And here's the one who saved you from Wed-" She spun quickly around as Hode raced past her, taking potshots at Damien whenever she had the chance. "Did he just-"

"I told you you'd miss not having seen him," Cassandra commented, holding up her hand to bring her other crew members to a halt. "He and Hode have a few problems to work out, but he seems conscious enough to keep collateral damage to a minimum. Speaking of which, have you heard any news from Slagiane City? I've heard they produce the most amazing kitchen knives around, and Morgan could really use an updated set."

Mircalla looked between her and the direction Hode and Damien had gone. "She's a Zoan, right? Blast. Why are all the cuties around here Users?"

"You would actually be doing me a favor by finding Lyn. Once she finds out you stopped by, she'll never stop pestering me." The street cracked slightly under her feet as nearby streetlights burst into pieces. "Just so we're clear, if you bathe with any of my pirates - Lyn, Miserie, doesn't matter - I will show you the true meaning of eternal suffering."

After overpowering Cassandra with a forceful kiss, Mircalla beamed happily. "See you around!"

Morgan watched the cloud of bats fly back towards the ocean. "Bathe?"

"Women who really catch her attention tend to get literally fucked to pieces, especially if she finds their blood tasty."

Dumbfounded astonishment radiated off of her crew members. "I… see…" Morgan managed. "What's going on in Slagiane City?"

"There's a massive crater where it used to be, courtesy of a certain Empress."

"Ah. Are we going to deal with…"

Cassandra glanced towards Damien and Hode. "I was worried Mircalla might intervene since I knew she was still nearby, but if she doesn't care, neither do I. Damien doesn't really want to kill Hode, who I'm sure is enjoying herself immensely."

"Really?" Theo asked.

"I hope not. I want him to let off as much steam as possible."

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

"So you don't think I'm pretty?" Gwyn asked.

The man shoved her away. "Get the fuck away from me, you bitch!"

"That's not an answer!" she sang, grabbing the front of his shirt. "Yes or no?"

"Obviously no-"

"Wrong!" He choked and stared at the scissors buried in his stomach. "Everyone said I look prettier when I smile, so I made it so I'm always smiling! How can I not be pretty?"

"Have you looked in a mirror recently?" Gwyn whirled around to cut off the speaker's head, only for Perang to block her blades with shiny knuckledusters. "I'm not as easy to hurt as these pricks."

Gwyn swept her scissors back, splattering blood across the street. "Don't you want to look better? There's always room for improvement."

"Go be a model if you're so pretty. Just don't cut up everyone better looking than you. Which is everyone."

Minnow ran up while the first two clashed violently. "What's going on?" he asked, tapping the air a few times.

"What do you think?" Perang snarled, extracting himself from the pavement. "This crazy bitch is running her freaky mouth like always. Stitch your cheeks back up before I puke."

Gwyn perched on her scissors embedded deep in the street. "Beauty isn't a crime, darling."

Minnow glanced uncomfortably at the corpse beside her. "What about him?"

"Excellent." Minnow jumped when Nancy landed on the pavement. "I see you're all here."

"You need your eyes checked?" Perang spat. "Where's Mitsu?"

Nancy clasped his hands on his cane. "She has proven somewhat resistant to all efforts at cooperation and as such won't be participating in this particular discussion. I had planned for us to have a rendez-vous at someplace with a menu, but your entanglement seems to have shut down all nearby establishments."

Perang folded his arms. "Cut the shit and tell us why we're here."

"While we inarguably owe Cassandra for our return to society, I would like to discuss our continued involvement considering her rather strict conditions."

"Aaaand I'm out," Minnow said, turning away. "Do what you want, but I've got-"

"Consider that she is not the only one who knows of your family's location."

Minnow stopped in his tracks. "Are you threatening me?"

"I am merely stating a fact," Nancy said, his toothy smile providing its own answer, "along with a few more. Cassandra's locating and assault on Lustrate demonstrates her access to deep information networks and vast resources. More specifically, her previous access. Unless she's sending me on wild goose chases, her demands of me indicate she no longer has that access. We have seen her forces, and they are limited in number. At most, we have to consider her, Damien, and Theodora."

"And that doctor," Perang interrupted.

He nodded. "I am getting to that. Information on her doctor is severely limited. Aside from her crew, it is entirely possible that Mitsu and I are the only ones to have seen even a glimpse of her. The question is, how big a deterrent is that unknown factor? Ignore her bounty. Are we to forget any chance of going against Cassandra's orders because of her?"

They fell into a brief silence, broken by Perang snapping his fingers. "Hey, pay attention."

"I am," Gwyn said, her eyes fixed on a pair of children staring at them from an apartment window. "I want to see her with seastone cuffs and a real smile."

"Are you really sure you don't just want to fuck her?" Perang said.

"Why would I do that when I could-"

"Gwyneth?"

She grinned at Nancy. "You're asking us because we can't take anything she said at face value."

"Correct. Not only is she a liar, but she is deeply paranoid. This was the first opportunity to find when the five of us could gather without suspicion, and although Mitsu is absent, her distaste for being under Cassandra's thumb is unquestionable."

"Something's not right between that bitch and Chew Toy," Perang huffed.

Everyone looked at him. "Damien?" Nancy asked.

"Exactly! When did he ever say his name was Damien? Everyone's just been calling him that."

"You've just been calling him Chew Toy," he pointed out.

"But at least I know that's not his name! She even said she only knew him for eight months or whatever, and she thinks that compares to three years?"

Gwyn's grin split her face. "Are you really sure you don't just want to fuck him?"

"We've fucked more times than I can count, you dumb-"

Two loud clicks froze her and Perang's bodies just before they moved. "Enough," Nancy said sharply, twisting his hands to undo his locks. "We don't have the luxury of time during which we can all meet without attracting Cassandra's suspicion. I know for a fact she keeps better tabs on us than is immediately obvious. Alexander moves in the shadows as well as I do, and there is surely more to Aisha hidden beneath her kindly demeanor."

"Yeah, the whale she swallowed and never shat out," Perang scoffed.

"Do you have any thoughts you'd like to share?" Nancy asked Minnow.

He received a glare in return. "Don't loop me in with you three."

"Four," Gwyn reminded him. "You've seen how thrilled Mitsu's been with her."

"I'm not from behind the wall. Cassandra hasn't asked anything of my family, just me, so I have no problem busting my ass to pay her back. Plus, Cain has been teaching me how to fight."

Perang threw an arm around Minnow's shoulders, only for Minnow to tap the air and knock it away. "You actually believe she'll keep to her word? That's so cute. Boost your intelligence and use your fucking head instead of swallowing everything she spoonfeeds you. Why do you think she took Oya, sympathy for the elderly? No, she's gotta have something on Chew Toy that Oya confirmed for her."

"Disturbing fixation on Damien aside, I hate to say Perang's not completely wrong," Gywn said, resting her wrists on her scissors. "A thousand foot leash is still a leash, and there's no telling when she'll yank on it."

"Stay where you are!" They all turned to the police squad running down the street. "Everybody raise your hands!"

"Good evening, officers," Nancy greeted, his voice as smooth and calm as ever. "It's such a comfort to see the Ganelo Police Department out and about."

"I repeat, raise your hands!" the lead woman shouted. "Gwyneth Plaine, you are under arrest for multiple counts of murder!"

The police jerked back when her smile literally reached her ears. "My, don't you look serious. Won't you turn those frowns upside down?"

Nancy turned away. "Let us wait for her-"

"I said everybody!" the policewoman yelled.

"If you want to arrest Ms. Plaine, we are more than content not to interfere." Nancy tapped his cane on the ground while Perang cracked his knuckles. "If, on the other hand, you wish to detain us as well, I would strongly advise choosing a different course of action."

"This is your last warning!"

His chuckle carried far more malice than civility. "Remain nearby, Min. Our conversation is not over."

The three of them had not been locked in Heaven's Above for no reason. Gwyn cackled as she spun her scissors and threw small devices that bit deeply into whatever they touched. While she had not refilled her inventory to her satisfaction, she had more than enough toys to liven up proceedings. Perang's spiked knuckledusters left deep imprints in whatever they struck. Nancy focused more on pinpoint strikes with his cane and immobilizing people with the keys he had instead of fingers.

Gwyn was humming to herself as she cut smiles into peoples' cheeks when Nancy's cane landed on her shoulder. "You may return to satisfy your desires once our business is finished. Moving to another location would expedite the process. Afterwards, bring smiles to the people of Ganelo as much as you want."

After checking for blood on her purple suit, she joined the others on the roof of a nearby building. "You're sick," Perang casually informed her.

"You all are," Minnow mumbled, wiping vomit from his mouth.

Nancy tapped his cane on the ground. "The Black Glove Pirates are not to be taken lightly. We must make a decision. Who thinks we should fully cooperate with Cassandra?"

Minnow raised his hand, but faltered and lowered it when nobody else followed suit.

"Who thinks we should oppose her?"

This time, Perang's hand was the only one up.

"Mitsu would agree with you were she here," Nancy said. "Gwyn?"

"I'll do whatever's most entertaining."

Nancy sighed. "I am of the opinion that engaging her in direct combat on our own is unnecessarily risky. The five of us may have no love for each other, but we are all in the same boat. I assume it hasn't escaped your notice that she enjoys riling people up. There should be no shortage of other parties interested in decreasing her quality of life."

"Oh, I see," Perang smirked. "You want us to find as many people who want to hurt her as we can."

"The common and crude term 'meat shield' comes to mind," Nancy said, a similar expression on his face. "An overabundance of assistance is unnecessary; we simply need enough to prevent her crew members from aiding her. I contend that a direct assault is unwise, but if her forces were spread too thin…"

"Those chumps split up during the day," Perang said. "You want to hit all of them and her at the same time."

Nancy nodded. "Precisely. As previously stated, it is imperative that Damien and Theodora in particular are not with her."

Perang snapped his fingers. "That's why you were asking how we felt about Doctor."

"There is no telling whether she will be present or not."

Gwyn leaned in. "And if we're too scared of her, we'll never act."

"Fuck that," Perang snorted. "That invisible bitch can't be too much for all of us."

"This is still stupid," Minnow cut in. "I want no part in this."

"We will always accept your help if you change your mind," Nancy said, "but before you think about telling her about this meeting-"

Minnow gritted his teeth. "I got it, I got it. My family will suffer."

"That's why love's for pussies," Perang sneered. "It only slows you down."

"I'm glad we're all on the same page," Nancy said. "Mitsu will be brought up to speed when I see her next. Are we clear on our objectives moving forward?"

Perang lightly hit Nancy's chest with the back of his hand. "You don't need to tell me twice. I'll let you know what I come up with."

Minnow continued to glare at them, then roughly prodded the air and sped away as Perang jumped to a nearby roof. Gwyn sauntered off, whistling merrily, then abruptly spun around. Nancy seemed to have been expecting it and raised his cane in time to wedge it between her scissor blades, preventing them from closing around his neck. "What could not be brought up while the others were present, my dear?"

Gwyn howled with laughter. "I don't want you having all the fun!"

"I assure you, I am addressing the situation with the utmost seriousness."

His cane gave slightly when she squeezed harder. "So when's the last time you saw Mitsu?"

"We talk everyday whether she wants to or not," he said, his rich voice strained. "She does not."

"And what did she really say?"

Nancy pulled his cane back and locked her scissors as they snapped shut. "'The sooner I'm rid of all of you, the better.'"

He ducked when she drew a pistol from inside her jacket, only to pause when she pulled the trigger and a flag with the word 'BANG' on it popped out of the barrel. "She said the same thing to me! I thought I'd be better friends with her, but apparently not!"

"I'm sure." He stood up straight, adjusting his top hat and suit. "And how many times did you offer to make her prettier?"

"I can't without seastone." She bent over slightly. "You've never said whether you think I'm pretty, though."

He flicked something at her as he walked away. "Until we meet again."

Gwyn grinned as she turned the tortoiseshell candy over in her fingers. Unwrapping it and popping it in her mouth, she noticed that one of the police officers had managed to drag himself away from the bloodbath. She took careful aim and pulled the trigger again. The man convulsed as the stick bearing the BANG flag pierced his neck, and she cheerfully blew on the smoking gun. Now that the meeting was over, how did she want to spend the rest of her night?