Hi, guys! FourthWallBreaker here!
It's been a couple weeks, but I'm back in school and I've got stuff to do besides writing and relaxing again. So, I'm only going to be posting on Saturdays during the school year - there's just too much going on to let me post three times a week like I did on my last story arc. Not to worry, though - this arc's completely written already, so it's just a matter of getting it online for you guys! :)
And to celebrate being the first chapter posted this school year (for me), this one's gonna be pretty long! I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 59 (or, Chapter 1 in this New Arc) - Flare Barrels, Ghost Ships, and the Singing Skeleton!
In a world where water takes up more space than the land, pirates roam freely, pillaging villages and finding treasure in the most unlikely of places. Each crew, when it gains enough infamy, has at least one bounty put on the head of a crewmember - normally, the captain. However, there is one crew that has, incredibly, a bounty on every crew member.
The Straw Hats, with a total of 635,000,050 Beri: Straw Hat Luffy, Pirate Hunter Zoro, Cat Burglar Nami, "Sogeking," Black Leg Sanji, Cotton Candy-loving Chopper, Demon of Ohara Nico Robin, Cyborg Franky, and Fire Staff Maria.
After declaring war on the World Government, the crew left Water 7 with two added crew members and a new ship, aiming for the New World...
It was a few days after the events in the Frozen Highway that Maria's wish for a peaceful voyage to the New World was hopelessly shattered.
The day had started out calmly enough; the crew had gotten up at pretty much the same time and had eaten breakfast in the galley - Maria was definitely getting used to the fact that Luffy would trying to take everything in reach for the sake of his stomach - and then everyone would split to do whatever it was that they wanted.
In Maria's case, after checking on her Berry trees and harvesting what she could, the amnesiac took her reading and writing materials and she moved under one of the trees planted on the main deck before opening The Lord of the Rings.
"I really need to finish this off," Maria muttered under her breath, "or else I'm going to never be able to get to read it, considering how much time I'm running around whacking people." She quickly found the place where she had left off last and started reading, picking up on Frodo's journey from where she had left him last.
Maria thought that she was going to be left alone, but unfortunately, she wasn't that lucky. Within an hour, Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy had run over to the tree she was sitting under and instantly taken over the swing that was hanging there.
"All right, let's see how far it is that I can go!" Usopp jumped into the swing and started to go back and forth, grinning widely as Chopper and Luffy cheered him on.
Maria looked up from her books and frowned slightly at the trio. However, she soon rolled her eyes and went back to reading, watching out of the corner of her eye as Usopp, then Chopper went flying off the swing with yells of delight.
Maria flinched as Chopper landed on his head. "Are you sure jumping like that is wise?"
"It's fun!" Usopp corrected, laughing. He grinned. "Maybe you should try it."
"Yeah!" Luffy agreed, nodding vigorously.
Maria frowned for a moment, considering the offer. "Well, I kinda came out here because I wanted to get a little reading done..."
Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper all gained disappointed expressions.
"...but I guess there's nothing really wrong with me giving it a try." Maria put The Lord of the Rings aside and got up to her feet, which caused the trio to cheer excitedly as she sat down on the swing.
"All right. Here goes." Maria backed up as much as she could before starting to swing, using her legs and upper body to gain as much momentum as she dared. It didn't take her too long to get to the height she wanted, and the teenager was soon jumping into the air to the cheers of Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp. She landed a short distance away, bending her legs to keep herself from falling over.
"How was that?" Maria asked, looking over at the boys.
"Great!" Usopp replied, grinning widely.
"You didn't go as far as I did, though!" Chopper pointed out proudly.
"Well, I didn't want to land on my head like you did." Maria smirked as she walked back over to where her books were lying in the grass, and she sat down and picked up The Lord of the Rings.
At the same time, a certain rubbery captain had scrambled onto the swing himself, planting his feet squarely on the seat as he started getting the swing to move back and forth a little bit.
Maria eyed Luffy, wondering why it was that he had decided to pick an orange vest and red shorts for today...and wondered if he was planning on copying the colors she normally wore on purpose.
"The next one is Luffy!" Usopp cried out. "Go!"
As soon as Usopp gave that signal, Luffy leapt off the barely-swinging swing with enough force to send him flying into a wall below the front upper deck. While Usopp and Chopper cheered at how far their captain had flown, Maria let out a bout of laughter at the sight of Luffy slamming into the wall and collapsing.
"Awesome landing!" Usopp and Chopper exclaimed together.
Maria snorted. "If that's you guys' definition of a landing, I'd hate to see what a crash looks like!"
Luffy suddenly leapt up from where he had fallen dazed onto the deck, and he ran over to Usopp and Chopper. "Hey, let's all get on the swing and jump off it at once!"
"Yeah!"
Maria shook her head at the trio's antics and turned her attention back to her book as the door to the galley opened.
"Hey, you three!" Sanji called from the back upper deck. "Instead of playing around, how about you go and get some of the octopi from yesterday's big catch?"
"Octopi?" the three repeated, looking up at Sanji. Luffy slowed down in his swinging as Usopp and Chopper exchanged wide-eyed glances before they started to drool.
"Yeah. I'm thinking of making some takomeshini, maybe some takoshabu..."
Maria licked her lips, catching some of the drool that was attempting to slip out of her mouth at the thought of Sanji's cooking. She had been getting the feeling over the last few days that she hadn't eaten very much in the way of seafood before, and she was enjoying everything that Sanji had put in front of her so far. She wondered if Sanji was going somewhere with listing off meal ideas involving octopi.
"I was thinking of preparing octopus for today," Sanji concluded.
Luffy let out an excited yell; Maria could see the drool coming out of his mouth. "Sounds great! Oh, Sanji - make some Takoyaki, too!"
"Many takoyakis!" Usopp and Chopper exclaimed together.
"I got it, I got it. I'll be counting on you to get the octopi, then."
"You got it!" the trio exclaimed in reply. They scrambled away from the swing and towards the only accessible hatch that led down to the aquarium, leaving Maria sitting alone under the swing tree.
"Maybe now I can get some reading done," Maria commented, moving back to where she had last been in her book. "Now, let's see..."
Maria had managed to get Frodo and the his other traveling companions out of the hotel they had been staying at when Nami started yelling.
"Usopp's in trouble! He got caught by the octopi!" Nami called out from the aquarium room.
"Usopp! Grab on!" Luffy yelled.
Maria turned and glanced back at the upper deck, then got to her feet and scrambled up to the aquarium's hatch. The amnesiac had to stop short a few feet because of the little red octopi that were scattered all over the deck.
"Usopp!" Chopper was looking down into the black, churning water anxiously. "Are you all right?!"
"It's no use." Luffy continued fishing around with his left hand in the black water. "I can't tell where he is because of all of the ink!"
"What caused the octopi to attack him in the first place?" Maria asked, getting down on her knees next to Chopper.
"He jumped in with these two huge spatulas so that he could throw the octopi up here," Chopper explained without looking up. "He must've upset them somehow, and made one of them spit out ink. I hope that he isn't in too much trouble."
Luffy let out a yelp as he was suddenly pulled forward; Maria and Chopper both leapt to his aid and pulled back so that Luffy wouldn't end up getting pulled into the aquarium.
Their captain shook his head, causing droplets of water and ink to scatter. A grin appeared on his face. "If I know where they're hiding..." He started to wind up his arms. "Gum Gum..."
"Uh oh." Maria quickly scrambled back from the hatch a short distance.
"Gatling!"
Black water sprayed up in all directions as Luffy's fists slammed into the water. Moments later, a certain sharpshooter was suddenly thrown out of the water and collapsed onto the deck among the octopi that had been tossed out moments before.
"He's alive!" Luffy exclaimed in relief.
"I'm glad." Chopper sighed out of relief.
"As if you regret it!" Usopp leapt to his feet and turned sharply to glare at Luffy, revealing the fact that he had large bumps all over his face - probably from where Luffy managed to hit him.
Maria winced from where she was sitting on the deck. "Um, ouch? That looks like it hurts."
Usopp muttered something that sounded like a mix between a confirmation and a curse before he stomped away, gathering the octopi that were lying out on the deck.
"They're so noisy about catching some stupid octopi," Maria heard Sanji mutter.
"You were the one who told us to get them!" Usopp roared at the cook in response.
Just the way Usopp said it caused Luffy and Chopper to collapse into bouts of laughter while Maria sighed and shook her head. "Boys..."
"Oi! There's something floating out there!"
Maria looked up at the crow's nest when she heard Zoro's voice come over the loudspeaker attached below the lookout point. "Something out there? What does he mean by that?" She got up to her feet and moved down to the main deck to gather her books back together.
"What is it?" Luffy dashed to the left side of the ship.
"Where is it?" Usopp asked, all previous antagonistic feelings forgotten.
"Are you sure?" Sanji moved after them as Maria got up from under the tree and moved over to the left side of the ship, as well, mainly out of curiosity for what it was that Zoro had spotted.
Maria reached the deck railing and frowned at the water before she put a hand above her eyes to block out the sun when she caught sight of something floating in the distance. "Is that some kind of flag or something...?"'
"A barrel?" Chopper asked from the upper deck.
"Is that what it is?" Maria blinked a couple times before narrowing her eyes. Sure enough, the red and black flag she had spotted a minute ago was attached to what appeared to be a barrel.
"Look! It says 'treasure' right on it!" Usopp moved a hand above his eyes so that he could get a better look at what was floating out at sea.
"You're right!" Luffy proclaimed. "Maybe it's treasure that fell off a treasure ship?"
"Treasure?" came the resounding response from the others.
"Hey, Luffy, hurry up and pull it up here!" Usopp quickly directed.
"Right!" Luffy gave a nod, then dashed down onto the main deck before moving over to the railing that Maria happened to be standing in front of. She stepped aside so that Luffy had enough room to do his thing.
The captain started swinging his arms. "Okay! Gum Gum...grab!" He launched his arms out towards the barrel and easily grabbed hold before he started dragging it back towards the Sunny, grinning widely.
Maria couldn't help but wonder what sort of barrel needed a flag like that stuck to the top of it.
Luffy was able to get the barrel onto the grassy deck without damaging it, and soon, he, Usopp, and Chopper were dancing around it, singing, "Treasure, treasure, we've discovered a treasure!"
Maria flinched as Robin and Nami came out of the aquarium room, Franky came up from belowdecks, and Zoro climbed down from the crows' nest; Maria wondered if Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy - or, at least, Luffy - were tone deaf.
"Sorry," Nami stated, getting the three boys to stop singing. "But it's just alcohol and some food."
"How do you know that if you don't look?" Luffy demanded, frowning at the navigator.
"See how the flag says 'gift to the sea god' on it?" Nami motioned to the red and black, tattered flag that was tied to the top of the barrel. "People send those barrels out to sea when they leave on a voyage as a prayer to the gods for a safe journey."
Maria frowned when she heard that. The way that Nami said "gods"...it didn't sound right to her for some reason.
"The 'treasure' part means 'for the gods'," Nami added.
"What, so it's pointless to have picked it up?" Usopp let out an irritated sigh.
"It's got alcohol in it," Zoro pointed out with a smirk. "Let's have some."
"Idiot!" Usopp glared at the swordsman. "Do you want to get smitten or something?"
"Smitten?" Maria repeated, looking at the sniper.
"Yeah, because he angered the gods." Usopp motioned to the barrel for emphasis. "It's supposed to be for the gods! If we take it, then they'll get mad with us and make us pay for it!"
"If we pray before drinking it, we should be fine," Nami pointed out.
Maria frowned again. She didn't necessarily like how that was sounding for some reason...
"I'm not praying to some god," Zoro commented, coming over to stand near the others.
"Alcohol that's been tossed around by the waves is supposed to be especially delicious." Nami grinned knowingly.
"Then we've gotta try it!" Franky licked his lips before he started towards the barrel.
"Let's have a toast!" Usopp exclaimed, thrusting a fist into an air. Maria was startled by the sudden change in attitude that the sharpshooter was showing; wasn't he against opening the barrel a second ago?
"After we've finished it, we're supposed to refill the barrel and release it again," Robin stated.
"Oi, let's open it!" Franky went over to the barrel and grabbed the top before he started to shake it back and forth - probably looking for a way to crack the lid open without breaking it.
"Oi, God, we're gonna have some of this!" Luffy yelled up at the sky. He clasped his hands together above his head and grinned widely.
Zoro let out a short laugh. "What 'God'? Aren't you the guy who beat the shit out of 'God' on the Sky Island?"
"That guy only claimed to be called god," Maria spoke up shortly. "Besides, if you don't believe in God, where is it that we came from, moss-head?"
Zoro shot Maria a glare while Sanji gained a wide grin when he heard Maria use Zoro's nickname.
"Well, sorry for taking it without permission," Luffy continued, moving over to the barrel and grabbing the rope that was tied over the barrel. He managed to get the knot undone, causing the rope to fall away from the top. "All right! It's open!"
Luffy lifted off the top of the barrel...and it suddenly exploded in a flash of blue light.
Maria reflexively moved a hand over her face. "What in the name of Chaos?!"
"Something flew out!" Usopp yelped over what sounded like a loud whistle.
A loud explosion came from above, and Maria looked up when she heard the noise. Her eyes widened when she saw the large, red orb that was above the ship.
"What the..." Luffy was shading his eyes with one arm, frowning at the sight above them.
"A red light?" Usopp asked, slipping his goggles over his eyes.
"What happened?" Nami asked, voice sounding cautious.
As the light faded, Chopper finally managed to find his voice.
"The drink flew out, lit up, and disappeared!" the reindeer exclaimed.
"It was a flare," Robin commented grimly.
"A flare?" Maria and Nami repeated at once.
Zoro laughed, then said sarcastically, "Maybe it was a curse from that sea god!"
"Don't be ridiculous; sea gods, if they do exist, wouldn't want anything to do with fire-based signals." Maria glared at the swordsman. "If anything, it would have caused a sudden storm over us rather than an explosion like that." She motioned to the clear sky above them.
"If it's simply a prank, then there's no issue," Robin continued. "However..."
"However?!" Usopp and Chopper repeated.
"It's possible that this ship is now being targeted by someone."
Maria stiffened when she heard this. "So, that means it could have been a signal flare?" She looked up at the sky again, nervous.
"You mean that it's some kind of trap?!" Usopp gulped. "By opening that barrel, we told someone where we are?!" He quickly turned to the reindeer. "Chopper, take a look around!"
"Got it!" Chopper scrambled towards the front of the ship, Usopp still yelling after him.
"The bounty hunters might still be after us!" Usopp ran to the back of the ship.
"That, I doubt," Nami muttered. Maria nodded in agreement.
"I don't see anybody!" Chopper reported from the front.
"I don't see anyone, either!" Usopp reappeared from the back of the ship.
"We really can't see anyone, but..." Nami trailed off, her eyes moving about the water around them. A moment later, her eyes widened, and she dashed up to the rear upper deck. "Everyone, to your positions! We're heading south-southeast! A huge storm's approaching - we've got five minutes!"
Luffy slammed his straw hat onto his head and started running across the deck. "I can't see anything, but if she says so, it must be true!"
"I'd better get my books back inside, then." Maria dashed under the swing tree and grabbed her books before running up into the girl's quarters.
"Nami, which way?" Luffy called out.
"Two o'clock!"
Maria disappeared into the girl's quarters and dropped her things on her bed, then dashed outside...and was met with dark skies and rain.
"Wow, the weather changed fast," Maria commented.
"Maria, I could use your help over here tying this down!" Usopp called out from the swing tree.
"Coming!" Maria dashed down the stairs and ran over to the tree. "What do you need me to do?"
"Just help me tighten this so that the swing doesn't go crazy and lop somebody's head off or something."
"Okay; got it." Maria grabbed the rope that Usopp held out to her, and she yanked as hard as she could while Usopp pulled on the other end. Then the two worked together to tie it down.
"Damn this rain will be really troublesome," Usopp muttered, glaring up at the sky.
"I hope not," Maria countered, sparing a glance herself. "This'll be my first time out in a storm on a boat without any Pokemon help, and that in and of itself is nerve-racking."
"Well, with Nami giving directions, it shouldn't be-" Usopp let out a yelp of surprise when the sky suddenly flashed bright yellow for a moment, followed closely by low rumbles of thunder that Maria felt down to her bones.
"Well, there goes any chance of this being an easy ride," Maria commented uneasily.
The ship started creaking as Maria and Usopp finished tying down the swing; Maria heard a wave crash into one of the sides, causing the Sunny to rock to one side sharply.
Maria yelped and grabbed hold of the tree. "I hope that not all storms are like this!"
"The weather's supposed to be really unpredictable in the Grand Line!" Usopp responded from where he had been pushed into a corner. "I just hope that this isn't as bad as some of the other storms we've had run-ins with! Entering the Grand Line was a nightmare!"
A wave suddenly sloshed up onto the deck, soaking Maria's shoes and jeans up to her knees before receding. Instinctively, she tried to bring out her fire to dry herself off, but she only managed to produce a cloud of smoke for a moment.
"Looks like I'll have to hold off drying off until later," Maria muttered, frowning.
"Hey, you guys don't really think that this is all the ship can do, do you?" Franky suddenly called out.
"Everyone, raise the sails!" Nami called out. "We'll use the paddles!"
"That?!" Usopp called out from where he had been backed into a corner.
Luffy let out a laugh. "I like that thing! It's so cool! Do it!"
Maria decided that she wasn't going to just stay gripping the swing tree forever; she ran over to one of the ropes that was connected to the sails and, grabbing hold of it, started to pull as best she could. However, considering the fact that there was a strong wind, it was a bit difficult for her to get very far.
"Hang on, lil sis. I gotcha." Franky's arms appeared out of nowhere on either side of Maria, and the two started to pull at once on the sail.
"Thanks, Franky!" Maria grinned up at the cyborg.
"No problem. I'll take care of tying this down, kay?"
"Sure." Maria slipped out from under Franky's arms and ran back to where the swing tree was, if only to make sure that she actually had something to hold onto.
"Is everything ready?" Nami called from the upper deck.
"The main is okay, Nami-san!" Sanji called back as he finished tying down the section of the sail he had been pulling on.
"The sails have been raised to the mast!" Zoro added, coming down from the top of the mast.
"Franky, go ahead!"
"Got it, Nami!" Franky had somehow managed to make it to the helm. "Soldier Dock System Channel Zero!"
"Cola Engine Sunny!" Nami called out as the aforementioned paddles came out either side of the ship.
"Go!" Usopp added.
The ship suddenly rocketed forward, despite the wind that everyone was getting in their faces.
"Go!" Luffy declared, laughing in delight.
Maria grinned as the Sunny made it through the waves and the wind with minimal resistance, and they soon reached a portion of the sea that was a lot more calm than where they had been a moment ago. The crew quickly took the sails down and retracted the paddles before pausing to have a look around.
"Well, we made it out of there," Nami commented, glancing back at the rough sea that they had just escaped from a moment ago.
Maria nodded in agreement, flames and smoke flickering in and out of existence on her arms and legs. It would be slow going, drying herself off, but at least she had a start at it now that she wasn't about to get any more wet.
"That's good, but..." Zoro looked around at the new stretch of sea. "What's with this place? It's not even night, and yet..." He looked away from the darkness ahead of them. "It's not night, but the fog's making it look like it is."
Maria frowned. "Maybe it's another one of those freaky Grand Line weather patterns?"
"Maybe," Usopp offered somewhat nervously.
"Or maybe we're in that part of the ocean?" Nami suggested, coming over to the trio. She gained a nervous expression. "We're not ready for this!"
Usopp brightened instantly. "Oh! We're at Fishman Island already?"
Luffy leaned over the railing and grinned sinisterly at Usopp. "Nope! Before that, it's the ghost sea!"
"Right," Franky agreed. "Don't let your guard down. This part of the ocean is most definitely the infamous...Florian Triangle! The outrageous sea where everything mysteriously disappears!"
Maria blinked a couple of times, then remembered what the crew had been told before they had left Water 7. "Oh, yeah, that's right...I nearly forgot about that!"
Usopp started shivering uncontrollably, and he turned and looked at Luffy. "G-g-g-ghosts?"
Luffy gave a sinister sounding laugh that actually managed to send chills down Maria's spine. "Yeah, there's ghosts in this ocean!"
"You're lying!" Usopp pointed at the others accusingly. "If everyone else on this ship knows what it is, why don't I?!"
"Monster Granny told us," Luffy responded, laughing at Usopp's reaction. "There's even living skeletons!"
"L-living skeletons?!" Usopp turned slowly to look at Luffy in alarm.
"I wouldn't know about that part of the tale," Maria commented, looking over at her captain. "I'd think that it'd be more likely that we'll find the rotting remains of people, but I doubt they'll still be able to move around."
"It's just your imagination," Sanji agreed, lighting a match so that he could light his cigarette. "Stop scaring him with it. Here's the truth, Usopp. Every year in this ocean, many ships disappear without a trace. They say there's ghost ships filled with the dead that wander-"
Usopp let out a yell of terror and covered his ears. "No way! You guys need to tell me this ahead of time!"
"How would that have helped?" Sanji countered, looking over at Usopp. Maria couldn't help but shudder a little; with a flickering flame underneath his face like that, the cook looked scary.
"Besides, we kinda got caught up in that bounty hunter business with the icebergs," Maria pointed out as best she could, holding down the trembling in her voice. She had faced Ghost-Types before; there's no reason for her to be scared of the cook or a short stretch of sea.
"I could have prepared!" Usopp countered, looking frantically around the deck. "I could have packed some things that drive away ghosts! L-l-like what exorcists have!"
"Usopp, I need some, too!" Chopper yelped suddenly, sounding panicked.
Maria blinked for a moment, considering that. A frown came over her face. "From what I can remember, I ended up picking up a lot of items from back when I was a Pokemon Trainer. Maybe, like with the Berries, I can pull a few out of thin air and give them to you guys."
"Could you do that?" Usopp looked at Maria hopefully.
"I'll have to see what I can do. I mean, I haven't pulled out anything since before we ran into those bounty hunters. Maybe if I concentrate on them, they'll-"
Yohohoho...
Everyone on the deck froze as a strange, almost haunting voice was suddenly carried on the winds into everyone's ears.
Chopper instantly latched onto Usopp's leg as the sniper started to look around frantically. "What the...wh-what's that voice?"
Yohohoho...
Maria shifted her stance a little bit into something a bit more defensive; she brought out her phoenix-topped staff - an act she hadn't actually done for a while - and she started to look around the dark, foggy area. "Sounds kinda like a tuneless song or something."
Yohohoho...
"But...who's singing it?"
Usopp suddenly let out a scream. "THERE IT IS!"
Everyone turned their heads to follow Usopp's pointing finger at the whatever-it-was that happened to be behind them. Maria pulled her head back as she looked up at what appeared to be tattered, old sails...
The reality of the situation hit Maria the same time that it hit everyone else.
"A GHOST SHIP!" everyone exclaimed at once. Although, Maria more said it out of awe than yelled it...and Robin actually said nothing at all.
Yohohoho...
Maria's mind instantly went to the many times that she had entered into graveyards during the time that she had wandered around with the monsters that could control elements without the need of Devil Fruits. She clearly remembered people handing her small tags that could keep Ghost-Types away, but what were they-
Oh, yeah! The Cleanse Tag!
Yohohoho...
The problem was, though, that she didn't know how exactly to bring it out...and Maria was kind of preoccupied with the fact that the ghost ship was coming up right alongside them. It certainly looked like a ghost ship - the wood looked like it had seen better days; the sails were all in tatters...and there wasn't anyone on the main deck, either.
Yohohoho...
"What's with this song?!" Nami choked out.
"It's the evil spirit's song!" Usopp wailed. "Don't listen to it! If you do, you'll be cursed!"
"I doubt it," Maria stated, frowning. "From what I'm familiar with, songs that are meant to curse usually sound really off-key - enough to make your teeth grind from just the noise of it."
Yohohoho...
"If anything, this could be more along the lines of a hypnosis type of thing, but I haven't heard of it being activated by a song before..."
"If a ghost tries to talk to you, don't let him!" Usopp added, obviously not having heard what it was that Maria had just said. "If you do, he'll drag you out to sea! Evil spirits are always trying to make you come to them!"
"And that's a bunch of mumbo-jumbo," Maria muttered, shaking her head at the sniper. "Ghost-Types are pranksters, sure, but they're not inherently evil."
"You seem unnaturally calm," Robin commented, looking over at Maria critically.
"I've run into Pokemon that are Ghosts, and I've been in their territory as a result." Maria gave a slight shrug as she looked at the archeologist. "If anything, I'm curious right now for some reason more than anything else."
Yohohoho...
"Is there someone on this ship?" Robin asked, frowning.
Yohohoho...
Zoro gripped one of his swords and smirked. "If it's an enemy, I'll take him down."
"If it actually is a ghost, your swords are gonna do zilch," Maria pointed out. "It'll be like cutting through this fog; it's just gonna reform."
"And you know this how?" Zoro sent Maria a dark look.
"Long story short, never try to throw a spike made of iron at a being made of gas; it's just gonna go right through." The teenager shrugged.
"There's something there," Sanji muttered.
Maria looked up at the ship again, frowning. It took her a moment to find the figure in the darkness.
"Is that...a skeleton with a teacup gripped in one hand?" Maria asked quietly, frowning.
And then the unthinkable happened.
"Gather up a rowdy crew...It's time to ship out Binks' brew..." The skeleton lifted up the chipped cup it was holding and actually sipped out of it before lowering the cup. Maria's jaw dropped at the sight.
"Yohohoho..."
The ghost ship moved in front of the Sunny and started to move out of sight, leaving the entirety of the Straw Hat crew gobsmacked.
Luffy was the first to recover. "D-did you guys see that just now?" He looked at the others, an excited expression crossing his face. "The skeleton was singing!"
Usopp and Chopper instantly looked panicked.
"Idiot!" Usopp yelped. "Skeletons don't sing! It was a spirit! A spirit!"
"Unless it was an illusion of some kind," Maria commented, frowning. "That kind of thing does happen occasionally." She felt something tickle her right wrist, and she looked over at her phoenix staff...only to see it completely covered in strange tags covered in symbols. "Well, whaddaya know? There are all my Cleanse Tags. Chopper, Usopp - you guys can have some of these, but don't take them all - I happen to like having one or two on hand."
The sniper and the reindeer instantly pounced on their new distraction and each grabbed three Cleanse Tags, leaving behind two. Chopper was quick to hang all three on his antlers while Usopp tied two around his wrists, putting the third one on his nose as an extra precaution.
Maria sighed and shook her head at the two of them before moving closer to the railing. Maybe she could get a second look at that skeleton...
"But you heard it, right?" Luffy looked over at Sanji, then turned to look at Zoro. "Hey, let's go over there right now! There was a living skeleton on that ship!" He started running, but Sanji grabbed him by the back of his vest.
"Hang on a second." Sanji pulled the cigarette out of his mouth with a free hand. "Don't rush, Luffy."
Zoro pulled out a fistful of what looked like popsicle sticks, and he held them out at arm's length. "Well, we'll decide who is going over with Luffy onto the ship by who gets the short end of the stick."
Usopp, Chopper, and Nami instantly protested.
"Why?!" Usopp jammed his nose up against Zoro's face. "He's fine with the guys who want to go!"
"That's right! Let them do it!" Nami declared.
"Let them do it!" Chopper parroted, climbing onto Zoro's shoulders.
Zoro let out a sigh of annoyance. "Is that really okay with you three?"
Maria moved her gaze from the four of them to the crew members who had gotten up on the railing in the meantime: Robin, Luffy, Sanji, and Franky.
"Maria, you coming, too?" Luffy asked, getting down in a crouch.
"Yeah, but I'm not too sure as how I might be able to get over there." Maria shrugged. "I don't think that my legs are strong enough to let me jump the gap between our ships."
"I could get you over no problem." Luffy gave a wide grin.
"Thanks, I'd appreciate it." Maria grinned back.
The interaction got panicked screams from Usopp, Nami, and Chopper. Even more so, even, when Zoro started moving towards the others. All three of them grabbed him around his waist in an attempt to slow him down, but that didn't seem to do anything.
"You know, I would be fine going all by myself," Luffy commented as Zoro came over. "If we don't hurry with this thing, then the ship will leave!"
"That's right, and then you won't be able to go," Sanji responded, arms crossed over his chest.
"All of you, pick one," Zoro stated, looking impatient. "Three of us will go with Luffy to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid."
Nami, Usopp, and Chopper gulped while the others exchanged disappointed glances.
"All right, Zoro," Franky grumbled. "If you say so." He jumped off the railing and grabbed one of the sticks, yanking it out of Zoro's grip. The others on the railing soon followed suit.
"Looks like I'm going," Sanji commented, holding up his stick. There was a bit of red paint on the end of it.
Maria frowned slightly. "Let's see if I'll be going...I'm kind of wondering if there are any Ghost-Type Pokemon on the ship..." She reached out and grabbed hold of one of the sticks in Zoro's fist and yanked it out before Zoro turned his attention to the three sniffling crew members sitting dejectedly around his feet, who each took one.
Maria watched for a moment as the three pulled out their own sticks, then looked down at the one that she had managed to get her hands on. A smirk followed a moment later when she saw that she had managed to grab a stick that did indeed have a splotch of red at the bottom of it. "Looks like I'm going, too."
Nami let out a whimper.
"And that's three," Zoro stated calmly. He collected the sticks from everyone and hid them again on his person; Maria hoped that he actually had a pocket for the sticks. "All right, Luffy. Take 'em and go have a look on the ghost ship."
"All right!" Luffy gave a large grin.
"I'll go get the rowboat I've got stored belowdecks." Franky gave a smirk. "Just give me a minute, and you guys can head over and check it out, kay?"
Maria gave a nod. "Sure, no problem."
Time Break
"Why are we going?" Nami whimpered, kneeling in the rowboat that Franky had pulled out of practically nowhere. "I'm going back!"
"Come on, Nami, you can't be that scared," Maria commented, looking over at the navigator. She pulled herself up and completely left the rowboat. "You've faced worse things, and if push comes to shove, I can probably burn it to bits if this skeleton - or whatever it is - tries anything."
"Come on!" Luffy cried from further up. "Hurry and climb up!"
"I told you I'm all right down here!" Nami barked back up at their captain, angered.
"No!" Sanji looked down from his position above Maria. "If we let you do that, you'd probably do something stupid and get us all cursed!"
"If there really is a ghost and not a Ghost Pokemon," Maria pointed out. She started climbing up again, eyeing the edge of the ghost ship's deck further up. She had let her staff dissipate so that she could have both hands free, and had decided to tie the Cleanse Tags around her right arm in case Nami wanted one. The navigator hadn't asked yet, but Maria got the feeling that she might if they ran into something on the deck that spooked her.
Maria felt the rope ladder rung below her feet shift as Nami muttered, "I have terrible luck."
"Nami-swan, Maria-san! Don't worry, I'll protect you!"
Maria rolled her eyes as Sanji's comment, pausing for a moment to adjust her grip on the ropes before continuing on.
"Even if you say so..." Nami sniffled from below Maria.
"Nami, didn't you say that you wanted a treasure ship?" Luffy called down.
"This isn't a treasure ship! You saw it, didn't you? That moving skeleton?"
"Well, what did you expect a treasure ship to look like?" Maria asked off-handedly.
"He's the guard," Luffy stated, smirking. "If we find him, then we can get to the treasure!"
Maria frowned at this, wondering what exactly it was that Luffy was getting at. She started climbing the rope ladder again, and when she heard Nami grunting behind her, Maria realized that Luffy was trying to trick his scared navigator into coming up.
A pretty good trick, considering that Nami was now climbing without a noise of complaint. So Maria turned her attention to Sanji and Luffy instead, so that she wouldn't end up bumping into them by accident.
And it was because she was watching where she was going that she managed to catch sight of a certain skeleton standing near the deck railing, looking down at them with its empty eye sockets.
"That wasn't there a minute ago..." Maria frowned.
Nami let out a scream of terror, getting Maria to stiffen up in surprise.
"Nami, don't do that!" Maria yelped, looking down at the navigator. "You almost made me fall off!" When she looked back at the top of the ladder, however, she blinked a couple times when she saw that the skeleton was gone. "Well, that's weird."
Luffy scrambled up onto the deck with the ease of an agile monkey - Maria smirked at the mental picture - and the others followed suit. When they got up onto the deck of the ghost ship, however (and Nami was cowering behind Maria and Sanji), they were met with a bit of an unusual sight.
"How do you do? Yohohoho!" The moving, talking skeleton lifted the top hat off the top of his afro in greeting. "I'm so sorry about earlier, I was unable to greet you properly! I was surprised - it's been so many years since I've seen actual people!"
Maria felt gobsmacked. The skeleton was talking, and there was no sign whatsoever of anything that might hint at the presence of a gas-like creature.
"All I ever see is ghost ship after ghost ship... It's terrifying!" The skeleton shuddered, making a rattling noise from all of its bones.
Well, all of his bones, considering the tone of voice that the skeleton had.
"Well, make yourselves at home and come inside. We'll be able to talk while we're relaxing."
"He's talking!" Luffy exclaimed, grinning. "He's got an afro and he's talking!"
"Unbelievable," Sanji commented.
"You can say that again," Maria remarked. "I thought for sure there were going to be some Pokemon around here, but I guess there aren't any." She sighed and shook her head.
"Oh! Young ladies, you two are certainly a sight to behold! Beautiful!"
Maria looked over at the skeleton again as it - er, he - started to move towards them, stopping after taking a few steps.
Nami made a panicked noise at the sight of the skeleton moving. "Oh n-no, I'm not-"
"I only have eyes for beautiful ladies," the skeleton continued.
Maria stiffened a little when she heard that, and she looked over at Sanji, who looked like he was about to blow a gasket at what the skeleton was saying. Sounds like we've got another guy crazy for ladies. Great.
"Although as a skeleton, I have no eyes! Yohohohoho!"
The skeleton started moving, putting aside the shipped teacup and the purple cane that had been hanging from one of his arms. He pulled a handkerchief seemingly out of nowhere before he reached down and polished his shoes for a moment.
Maria raised an eyebrow at the action. Did he really think that was going to make him look his best? Considering the fact that he was a skeleton?
The skeleton moved a little closer to the two girls; Nami moved to hide behind Maria. "Could you two please show me your panties?"
The question left Maria speechless in shock and surprise. Nami, on the other hand...
"Why would I?!" Nami kicked out with a foot and whacked the skeleton in the head.
"Yohohoho! How harsh!" The skeleton fell to the deck, a large bump seeming to have formed on one side of his head.
Maria quickly recovered from the sight, shaking her head to clear out the cobwebs. "What kind of person would ask to see my underwear? Um, eww."
"I'm afraid you caused my skin to fall right off!" the skeleton exclaimed from where it lay. "Although, I was already a skeleton."
"Shut up!" Nami barked.
It was at this point that Luffy decided to burst out laughing.
"How come this skeleton is a simpleton?" Sanji asked, looking somewhat lost for words.
Maria sighed and shook her head.
"Hey, can you poop?"
Maria shot Luffy a look. "Luffy! That's kinda private!"
"And there are a lot more important questions than that!" Sanji barked at his captain.
The skeleton suddenly rose to his feet and walked over to the barrel that he had placed his cup and purple cane on. When he had picked them up, he returned to where he had been standing a moment ago and stated, "Yes, I can."
"Don't answer him!" Sanji roared.
Maria committed a facepalm and shook her head. "You guys are giving me a headache..."
"I've got some questions, too," Sanji continued, pointing at the skeleton. "First, if you're just a skeleton, how can you be alive and talking?! Who are you? Why are you here? What happened to this ship? What kinds of things happen in this sea? I want those questions answered now!"
"Hang on a sec." Luffy moved past Nami, Maria, and Sanji, then stood in front of the trio. "I've got a question, too."'
"It had better not be one that leads to what exactly he can do even without his internal organs," Maria muttered, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to dispel the headache that was coming on.
"Join our crew!"
That was the last thing that Maria was expecting to come out of her captain's mouth. She shot him a look of shock while Sanji and Nami jumped in front of him, looks of disbelief on their faces.
"Oh? All right."
Maria looked at the skeleton in surprise as Sanji and Nami gained looks of shock and fear. Then she looked over at Luffy. "You can't be serious."
Luffy laughed. "Course I'm serious. Come on - let's get back to the Sunny and introduce him to everyone!"
And so it begins...
See you next week with the next chapter! :)