This story is related to my multi-chapter fanfic The Skies Will Clear, and concludes what happened to Nautilus and Nami after the Black Mist. Enjoy.

Sinking

He held onto his dredge chain, hundreds of cannonballs and gunfire raining upon him. His grip never loosened, until one particular blast somehow snapped his chain, separating him from his anchor, and before he knew it, he was sinking.

Another two blast struck his metal helm, but it hardly hurt. The titan simply grunted, barely acknowledging the blast as he gestured his arm in wide strokes, struggling to stay afloat. Something buzzed in his ear, and it was annoyingly loud. But there was nothing he could do about it.

He tried to reach the shore, and to no avail, his weight was bearing him down. It wasn't long before he realized that whatever that was buzzing around his head was eating its way through his rusty helmet. The titan gave an irritated grunt, and slammed his helmet with his palm as hard as he could, hoping to get rid of the disturbance.

Tiny black creatures got stuck to his metal gauntlet instead, and was quickly drilling holes through his armour.

The titan grunted again. There was nothing he could do about it. His glowing red eyes stayed upon the holes on his gauntlet, a few other forming near his elbow. He did not doubt the magnitude of the damage dealt to his helm, and he knew some of that creature must have reached his rotten and blackened flesh underneath his diving suit

He knew he should feel afraid, or at least anger. But all he felt now was remorse, helplessness and weakness. Remorse for not at least bidding her farewell, helplessness for failing to save one of her sisters who were on the brink of extinction, weakness for not even able to help himself, simply watching himself wasting away in the middle of nowhere.

It would be a fitting death. He could not remember who he used to be. He did not know what he was now. So he would die as no one and in the middle of the vast sea, where no one would find him besides fish and squids.

The titan did nothing. He sank. She wouldn't even know he was gone.

He closed his eyes.

Nami and her sisters swam away from the kind man and his friends who saved her captured sister. They dove deep into the sea, away from light, away from the surface and wherever Gangplank may find them.

Some Marai lagged behind to help their wounded sister, immediately casting magic spells to seal the gaping hole in her tail. Together they returned to their lair, where the moonstone's light was slowly fading.

Already there were dark sea creatures from the deepest trenches reaching out to hunt them down, taking advantage of the dying light. They had moved several times, yet they were lost without the moonstone's brilliance. Nami felt the weight of her title, the Tidecaller, bearing down on her. Now there were less than hundred of them, and if she failed to find the moonstone, the Marai were as good as dead.

Once returned to their home, Nami swam a few fathoms away, following the trail of shells she had left for herself, towards a cavern which she had purposely founded for him.

For him, the one who had no name.

The first time she met him, she was very afraid. He had been sitting against a large boulder upon the seabed, staring at her. She knew he was human, or used to be, but she also knew that that man had no pulse, or breathing, that whoever that was under that shell must be dead.

Until his red eyes glared at her. She flinched.

It didn't take her long to realize that this man in a giant suit of armour was actually wounded, his remnants of life wasting away in the depths. He did not even bother to swat her way, only grunting and groaning as he moved further from her. Go away, his antics had said. Her sisters had prompted her to put an end to this creature, that this was merely an evil bring who refused to stay dead. Even though this man had done nothing against the Marai, her sisters' hatred towards their predators were palpable, one that she could understand but could not comply.

Nami believed otherwise. She believed that everyone deserved a second chance.

And so she gave him another chance, casting her healing spells at the titan so that he could stand again. Her sisters said nothing. They could not hate her, she was meant to be their saviour after all.

She stayed until the titan was restored back to health. She was trembling the whole time, and she knew he noticed it. But he said nothing, did nothing about it.

Since then she realized that he was more than what he seemed.

Swimming into the cavern, she twirled her staff a little. Her staff illuminated the cavern briefly, revealing its dark yet small interior. It was empty.

She called out. The only voice that answered her was her own echo. She swam towards the spot where he usually sat. The dirt on the seabed had covered his tracks. He had been gone for days.

Gone, for days.

Nami stared at the spot, her eyes narrowing as she tried to understand. He did not say anything to her, and simply left.

She felt hurt, and betrayed.

She floated there, staring at the spot for several minutes, before she looked up and felt determination surging through her chest. She swam out of the cavern and departed at once.

She would try and find him, then confront him to know why he left without a word.

The titan laid on the seabed for days. Whatever the black dusts were, they ate away his limbs, leaving him immobilized and unable to move. He felt heavy and useless.

He was not even allowed to die, and he wondered what had he done in his previous life to deserve a punishment like this. The titan lamented for a second, would he stare at the small pinprick of light from the depths for eternity?

Oddly, the titan felt exhaustion seeping through his mind. He had not slept ever since he woke in this accursed form, and he thought he did not need it. But now, there was nothing much he could do besides ponder, and suddenly sleeping did not seem like a bad thing.

And so he closed his eyes.

And he dreamt of his haunted past.

Nami found him after half a day's search. The giant was on his back, unmoving. His visor was dark and dim, and she searched for his terrifying gaze, but could find none staring back at her. Upon closer inspection, there were multiple holes on his helm, gauntlets and greaves.

She called out to him, her voice becoming frantic. She swam towards him and was about to touch him, when his eyes suddenly opened, and like the boom of the thunder, his voice sounded.

"Don't touch me," he warned dangerously. He was afraid that somehow the little creatures that ate their way through his armour was still alive, and if she touched him, he might infect her. And he shuddered to see the outcome if that happened.

Nami, however, was startled at his hostile presence, and she backed away reluctantly, staring at the titan as he remained still, unable to move.

"You're hurt," his words hurt her, and with the discovery of his disappearance, her mind wandered to hurtful thoughts. She could not feign a look of indifference, but she could not help but make assumptions on why he left, and the more she thought about that, the more intense the painful feeling grew inside her.

The titan looked away. She only swam closer, but not daring enough to touch him. He could feel her presence, her radiance. He knew he was just imagining it, but somehow he could feel her radiating warmth, which was impossible considering she was cold-blooded.

"Can you stand?" she asked again. "What happened?"

The titan was quiet. His helmet made an odd creaking noise, before he turned to look at her again. Those red eyes, to others they seemed terrifying and malicious, but she could see the compassion within them.

"Went after him," he spoke, in that gruff voice of his. Every time he spoke, Nami swore she could feel the earth beneath the sea rumble with his voice. "To find her. Failed. Forgive me," he actually sounded sad and disappointed, as though he was upset with his own failure.

Nami had always joked about how he could never have more than five words in one sentence. Of course, he only grunted. He never understood humour like she and her kind did, and so there was once where she tried to teach him. He tried laughing, oh, he did. But what came out scared all the other fishes and prawns into hiding, which ended with Nami in another uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Now she felt his remorse, and it wasn't long before she understood what he was trying to say.

"You didn't fail," she smiled. "She is safe now, a kind man and his friends helped us. Apparently someone ambushed the ship, that's what my sisters said. Was that you?"

The titan looked down sheepishly.

"Lost my anchor," he grunted. "Lost my limbs. Can't feel. Can't move. Too heavy,"

Her face fell. Ignoring his warning, she swam closer to his legs, concealed by his rusty steel boots. There were holes drilled into them, but she could not tell how much damage was done to him. She never asked him if he still had any flesh left. That question was far too personal.

She reached out a hand, wanting to touch him.

"Don't," he warned again, trying his hardest to move away. His legs did not budge.

Light shimmered around her hand, bubbles of air swirling to and fro. Her other hand held the staff, the source of her magical healing powers. She placed her palm onto his damaged leg, feeling him tense underneath.

The titan feared the worst.

But nothing happened.

He watched as her powers worked. He was always amazed by the magic used by her kind, it was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Even so, he doubted it would work. There was nothing left of him.

As though proving him wrong, a warm sensation surfaced in his legs. He gasped, overwhelmed by its warmth. He had never felt anything more intense, all he had ever felt before this was cold.

Knowing that it worked, Nami twirled her staff and summoned all her energy into her healing. The titan watched, seeing how her eyes strained with focus, how her arms were trembling with raw energy, and he saw how she was giving her hardest into her healing. He could tell when exhaustion began creeping on her, and despite wanting her to stop, he knew she would never listen to him.

She can, after all, be quite stubborn sometimes.

Soon he could feel his legs, and with a sense of wonder he began moving them. They responded nonetheless, and the warmth soon spread to his arms, to his torso.

For the first time for so long, he could feel.

Once his arms were fully functional again, he clenched his hands into a fist, that loosened his grip. Slowly, he sat up.

"I'm sorry," he said again, not wanting to meet her gaze. Nami only chuckled, hiding her tired expression behind a mask of joy. She rushed towards him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into an embrace. Of course, her arms could not reach around him, but he was shocked nonetheless.

No one had ever shown him affection like this before. He was stunned for a moment. Nami only pressed her cheek onto his torso, his rusted armour. Awkwardly, he lifted his arms, returning her embrace, his large metal hands only resting lightly on her small, fragile form, fearing that he might accidentally crush her.

He could not feel the embrace through his metal diving suit. His eyes dimmed slightly at that realization.

"I feared the worst when I know you had left for days," she said, her voice muffled and cracked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"She was hurt," he simply said, referring to her injured sister. "You were hurt,"

"Still, you could have told me," Nami chided. "What if I did not find you?"

The titan was quiet, not knowing what to say. He was prepared to receive his punishment anyway, to lay alone in the middle of the seabed, being alive yet dead for eternity. But here she was again, saving him.

"You shouldn't punish yourself like this," she said, as though reading his thoughts. The titan noticed how her words were becoming a slur, and when he exchanged glances with her, he noticed how her eyes were drooping. He wondered if she had got any sleep, and it must have required a huge amount of energy to bring him back to his feet.

"Are you well?" he asked, voice still guttural. But Nami could tell his tone was laced with worry, and to that she smiled.

"I am," she whispered, leaning towards him. "Just... tired. It doesn't matter, I'm here with you. I know I'll be safe,"

If the titan still had any morsels of flesh left to his face, he would be blushing.

Noticing how the Tidecaller was slumping slightly in her stance, her staff almost slipping from her fingers, the titan took the initiative to slip his giant metal arms around her body, his fingers lightly wrapped around her, his hold loose enough so he wouldn't bruise her tender flesh. She did not say anything, resting her head against his iron chest and retreating into his embrace.

He began his journey back to her lair with the Marai in his arms, his steps heavy and slow. The dirt beneath them rumbled to his footfalls, but Nami found that rather comforting and was slowly being lulled to sleep, his rhythmic footsteps coaxing her to close her eyes.

"I had an odd dream," he said, his chest vibrating to his baritone voice. Nami chuckled.

"You just spoke five words in a sentence," she joked, rubbing his rusty helmet lightly.

"I dreamt. About my past,"

Nami remained quiet. She knew this was important to him, that he knew little to nothing about himself, and she waited for him to continue. But the spells she used earlier was taking a toll on her, and her eyes closed slightly, wanting to slip into a deep slumber. Nonetheless, she tried her best to keep herself awake, wanting to hear what he had to say.

But it was difficult, and soon she gave in to exhaustion, before the titan managed to say.

"My name is Nautilus,"