Keep to the Code

When they reached the Interceptor, Nami climbed over the side and plopped onto the deck to see her friends and the Sakura Pirates. “Not more pirates.” she sighed.

“Welcome aboard, Miss Nami.” Justin stepped forward, smiling.

“Justin?” Nami asked, recognizing the winged man standing before her.

As Luffy came aboard and tossed the rest of the Cursed Pirates’ oars over the side, Justin noticed that it was only him. “Hey, boy, where be Perseus?”

Nami looked at Luffy. “Perseus? Sakura D. Perseus?”

Luffy led Nami away and said “He fell behind.”

“Keep to the Code.” Justin said.

“Weigh anchor!” Chokotto said. “Hoist the sails! Make quickly, divvies!”

Back in the cave, Captain Serene walked over to Perseus in both surprise and disappointment. “How the blazes did you get off that island?” she said, wondering how Perseus did get off the island.

Perseus smiled. “When you marooned me on that Godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate. I’m Captain Sakura Perseus.”

“Ah, well I won’t be making that mistake again.” Serene smiled. “Gents, you all remember Captain Sakura Perseus? Kill him.”

All the pirates took aim at Perseus. He didn’t worry, but just stared at Captain Serene as she walked away. “The girl’s blood didn’t work, did it?”

Serene stopped dead in her tracks. “Hold your fire!” she ordered. The crew lowered their weapons in disappointment. She turned around and walked straight up to Perseus. “You know whose blood we need?” she asked.

Perseus smiled. “I know whose blood you need.”

As the Interceptor was sailing miles away from Isla de Muerta and Perseus, Nami and Luffy were sitting in the cabin. Nami was trying to bandage her hand. “What sort of a man trades a man’s life for a ship?” Nami said.

“Pirate.” Luffy said. “Here. Let me.” He then began to wrap the bandages for Nami.

“Thank you.”

“You said you gave Serene my name as yours. Why?”

“I don’t know.” Nami then winced and pulled away.

“I’m sorry. Blacksmith’s hands I know they’re rough.”

“No… I mean yes, they are but… but don’t stop.”

“Nami.”

Nami reached in between her breasts and pulled out the medallion. “It’s yours.” she said.

Luffy took the medallion and examined it and remembered. “I thought I’d lost it the day they rescued me. It was a gift from my mom. She sent it to me.” He looked at Nami. “Why did you take it?”

Tears ran from Nami’s eyes. “Because then I was afraid that you were a pirate. That would have been awful.”

“It wasn’t your blood they needed.” Luffy realized. “It was my father’s blood… my blood… the blood of a pirate.”

“Luffy, I’m sorry, please forgive me.” Nami said, but Luffy just slammed the medallion into the table and left.

On board the Dark Luna, Perseus was in the Captain’s cabin with Captain Serene, who glowered at the man she so hated. “So you expect to leave me standing on some beach with nothing but a name and your word it’s the one I need and watch you sail away on my ship?” Serene asked Perseus, who was studying an old lantern.

“No.” Perseus said. “I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on my ship, and I’ll shout the name back to you. Savvy?”

“But that still leaves us with the problem of me standing on some beach with naught but a name and your word it’s the one I need.”

“Of the two of us, I am the only one who hasn’t committed mutiny, therefore… my word is the one we’ll be trusting.” Perseus said.

“Although… I suppose I should be thanking you because, if you hadn’t betrayed me and left me to die, I would have an equal share in that curse, same as you.” Perseus took an apple and bit into it. “Funny ol’ world, innit?” mused Perseus, enjoying his apple, but then Mattie walked into the room.

“Captain, we’re coming up on the Interceptor.” she said. Captain Serene left the captain’s cabin and went up to the quarterdeck.

Perseus quickly followed Serene to the deck. He worried things wouldn’t go well for the Interceptor if it had to come up against the Dark Luna. “I’m having a thought here, Serene.” Perseus said, standing in front of Captain Serene as she surveyed the Interceptor with her spyglass.

“What say we run up a flag of truce? I scurry over to the Interceptor, and I negotiate the return of your medallion, eh? What say you to that?”

Serene shook her head and smiled. “Now you see, Percy, that’s exactly the attitude that lost you the Luna. People are easy to search when they’re dead.”

“Lock him in the brig.” she said flatly. Mattie grabbed Perseus and dragged him to the brig. Perseus handed Captain Serene his apple, but she only stared at it in hunger for a second before she threw it out into the sea.