Hi, guys! I know this is a little early, but I've got some free time today, so I figured I'd post a chapter. I'll be posting another one tomorrow - since I promised two chapters from this story as a Halloween treat - but I thought it would be better if I didn't post them both at once.

Thanks to SaChan22, Maistyria and Monkey D. Lyna for the Favs and Follows!

Here's the chapter!

Chapter 68 (or 10) - Spiders, Skeletons, and BOOM

Maria's POV

I glared at the zombies that were coming up behind us. I was still exhausted from that..."White Flare" attack that I had shot off earlier. It kinda felt familiar for some reason, but why that was specifically, I had no idea yet.

Anyway, I was willing to keep on fighting at this point, considering that we were kinda being trapped by the Spider Monkey-monster and the menagerie of suits of armor.

"...I see," Franky stated shortly, glaring at the large monster that had suddenly blocked our path. I turned a bit so that I could see the spider monkey, but I didn't turn around all the way - no way was I going to let the zombies behind us slip out of my sight just yet. "So that's what happened to him. You captured our other crewmates and took them behind that wall, didn't you?"

"Monkey Monkey!" The arachnid-thing laughed. "That's right. And just wait! Any second now, you'll be suffering the same fate! A Zombie General before you, and Zombie Generals behind." The grin on the thing's face really became wicked then. "I'd give up, if I were you!"

I bristled a bit, gritting my teeth at the comment.

"Whether you're a big dumbass monkey or a big dumbass spider, I'm going to guess that the web that caught the Sunny when we came here was your work," Franky continued.

I looked at the cyborg in surprise, then back up at the spider as it started laughing again. It kinda made sense, though...I mean, spiders, no matter what their Type, could spin webs. It would make sense that something of that size would be capable of doing the same thing.

"Sounds about right, now that you mention it," I spoke up, my eyebrows knotting together. I really didn't want to be on the receiving end of any attack it gave us now. It might involve getting wrapped up like mummies and given the same fate as Luffy and the others.

That thought got me a headache and a quick flash of a nasty-looking spider hissing and spitting at what looked like a miniature human with hairy feet and a frying pan in his hands. I couldn't identify where it had come from, though, as it slipped out of my mind as quickly as it had come.

"You've been after us from the beginning," Franky continued. "That must mean that you had us under watch, huh?"

The monster laughed again. "Yup! Once on Thriller Bark, there's no hiding! Mistress Perona's ghost network sees all, knows all, and tells all! Frankly, you were doomed from the start."

Ghost network? I shuddered a bit. Sounded like someone did control the ghosts after all. But what sort of power does this Perona have that allowed her to do that?

"Those big ears of yours...they must be good for gathering information. And you certainly like to run your mouth." Robin kept up a neutral expression.

The monkey blinked a couple times, then put a large monkey paw behind one of his almost human ears. "Um, sorry? What was that?"

"You mean they're just for show?!" Franky roared.

"Something tells me he's playing us with that comment," I stated, starting to feel a little annoyed at being boxed in.

"Franky..." Robin spoke up with a tone of warning.

"Yeah, I got it. We're completely surrounded - worst case scenario, I guess." Franky turned and glanced back at the armored zombies that were coming up on us.

"If this wasn't the worst case scenario, I'd hate to see what was," I commented.

"What we need is a last-second miracle plan." Franky smirked. "You think I can handle it?"

"I'd love to see you try," Robin replied. "Put on a good show."

I looked back and forth between them, feeling a little confused. "What are you talking about?"

Franky shot me a grin. "You'll see." He put his arms above his head, then brought them down again...aiming them at the stone floor. "Check this one out!"

"Wha-hey! Don't do that!" the spider monkey monster yelped.

"Franky?" Was he going to do what I thought he was going to do...?

"Here we go!" Franky's arms suddenly looked like they had increased to twice their size. "Coup de VENT!"

A blast of air suddenly came from Franky's hands and slammed through the stonework, creating a neat hole straight through...right before the bridge started to break and collapse, that is.

"You can't break the friggin' bridge, man!" the spider monkey yelped. "That's cheating!"

I didn't think that it was...more like it was going to end up killing us.

"So, is my plan super enough for ya?" Franky asked, grinning like a hyena.

"It certainly is violent," Robin responded calmly.

"And could end up getting us killed," I pointed out, looking down through the cracks. I hadn't realized that we were up in the middle of the air like this until Franky had gone and done his thing. "If we don't do something, we could end up getting squashed against the ground!"

"I believe that I can handle that." Robin crossed her arms as our rocky footing was quickly lost. As the rocks fell out from underneath me, I started flailing about a bit, hoping to find something solid to grab onto. "Now, Cien Fleur!"

Since Robin was above both Franky and me, I was able to see what exactly it was that she was starting to do: hands and arms sprouted from her shoulder blades and grabbed onto each other, creating something that I hadn't expected.

"Wing!" Robin swooped down and grabbed the both of us, the arms she had conjured working together to keep us from falling any further.

"Y-you," Franky stuttered.

"You can fly?!" I yelped in surprise.

"Yes, but for only five seconds." Already, it looked like Robin was starting to be having some trouble keeping us in the air.

"That's not very long!"

"But that's all we're going to need!" Franky grinned a bit, then aimed with his right hand. "Strong Right!"

His hand shot off and slammed into the edge of one of the broken ends of the bridge.

"Sweet - I got the ledge!" Franky's grin faded. "That's the building where they took Straw Hat. If we can make it up there, we can save him!"

Robin was gritting her teeth and letting out a noise that sounded like she was starting to have a hard time. "I-I'm sorry - I can't hold it!"

And we started to drop; Robin and I quickly grabbed hold of Franky as I clenched my eyes tightly; no way did I want to see the ground coming up on us, thank you very much!

"Arm return!" Franky called out. "Come on - just a little more! Ow, hey!"

I felt something grab the back of my shirt and pull me up off Franky before tossing me into the air again. I had to open my eyes this time to see where exactly I was going.

"Ow!" My face rammed into a wooden door, and I slid down to a stone floor right as I heard an explosion of noise underneath me. I felt a headache from the collision coming on, and I shook my head as I started to get to my feet unsteadily, summoning my staff for some extra support.

"A fall like that isn't going to stop a zombie," Robin commented.

I looked over at the archeologist, rubbing my stinging nose for a moment before I moved a little closer to the edge and looked down. Seeing the distance that we could have fallen - and all the little broken bodies of the zombies (the spider monkey now actually looked like its average size) - made me scramble back a bit.

"It would have stopped us, though," I commented, shuddering.

"At least they're trapped in the courtyard." Robin let out a sigh of relief. "That should buy us some time." She looked over at the ledge. "Thanks for the help, Franky."

The teal-haired head of the shipwright came up over the edge, his hands gripping the broken stone. He looked mad. "Yeah, thanks a lot! How generous of you to pay a compliment to your stepping stone! How about an apology?"

The comment was ignored; Robin returned her attention to the zombies far below us. "We should hurry while they're still down."

"Hey! Don't pretend like you didn't hear me! You could try helping me up, at least!"

When Robin didn't move, I knelt down a bit and held out my hand, ready to brace for the oncoming weight that was our cyborg shipwright. "Let me give you a hand, Franky."

Franky blinked a couple times before he accepted the gesture. Man, that guy is really heavy! I ended up falling on my rear getting him up on the ledge!

I let out a gasp of air as I finally managed to get Franky up with Robin and me. Franky gave me an expression of what looked like surprise.

"Man, when I thought that you were pretty heavy for a kid your size, I didn't think that you'd have that kind of muscle in those skinny arms of yours."

I gave Franky an expression of confusion, and would have asked what it was that he meant were it not for Robin letting out a gasp of shock. Franky and I scrambled to our feet at the noise and looked over the ledge.

"Uh oh." I swallowed a bit when I saw the ant-sized forms of the zombies beginning to move.

"Damn," Franky cursed. "I guess that's the undead for ya."

The spider monkey-monster started moving around, then turned and seemed to glare up at us. I heard what sounded like muttering...was it trying to say something?

Its voice became a little more clear a moment later.

"You do realize that I'm a spider, right?" the zombie called up. "Give me two seconds, and I'll be right up there! I'd start running if I were you!"

I gripped my staff. "Spiders are bugs, so this one should be more affected by fire than anything else." I fingered the red wood, ready to move when the other two were.

But neither Franky nor Robin started moving.

I looked back and forth between the two of them out of confusion, frowning at the fact that the two of them were looking up at the purplish, foggy sky above us. "What is it?"

"It looks like something's falling," Franky commented, frowning.

"Falling?" I frowned, then looked up myself. My frown deepened when I saw what looked like a black dot in the sky...and it was slowly getting bigger. And yelling.

Wait - yelling?

That's not something," I corrected. "That's someone!"

The yell was starting to sound eerily familiar, too...

"What do you call a flying skeleton?!"

"Skeleton?!" My eyes widened as the form wearing black rocketed past us and slammed into the ground, bringing up a large cloud of dust.

"BOOM!" a voice called up as the collision occurred.

I couldn't help it. I started laughing as the dust started to clear, bending over double. "Boom! Oh, man..." My laughter faded into giggles, and I felt a little lighter. "I...I think I needed that."

I got a minor tickling at the back of my head, and a picture of a fellow who had a mustache and a mess of black hair that was only growing out of the top of his head, as well as a match stuck in his mouth.

The statement that came with it made me laugh even harder.

"Anyway, I guess there was this leak next door to the gas or what - BOOM! - no more Chinese laundry."

A-and that accent - Italian, I think - was what really drove me to fall on my back, still laughing.

Franky shook me as my laughter faded. "You feeling okay, kid? Because I didn't find that very funny." He had a weird look on his face that clearly aid he was wondering if I had lost my mind or something.

The last remnants of a giggle escaped me, and I took in a breath in order to calm myself down. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that - I got a pretty funny memory back because of that guy yelling 'BOOM!'." I snorted and started to get to my feet, feeling like I could move a little more easily. "I'm fine now, though."

"Uh huh." Franky eyed me for a moment longer before returning his attention to what was over the ledge. "Is that who I think it is down there?"

Robin shook her head. "It can't be."

"Can't be who?" I moved a little closer to the edge so that I could see who it was that the two of them were talking about.

"Actually, looking at the shape of that crater, I don't think it can be anyone else," Franky argued as I looked over the edge. I could see some kind of ant-sized crater that was shaped pretty weirdly. Almost like...it was human in shape...

It took me a moment to put two and two together when I saw the big round shape where the head should have been.

"Is that the skeleton that was on our ship earlier?" I asked, blinking a couple times.

"I don't get it." Franky frowned. "He had to have fallen down from somewhere..." He glanced up. "But where?"

"It kinda looked like he'd fallen down from out of the middle of the sky," I commented, scratching my head. "Do you think he was trying to jump from one of the mansion's towers or something?"

"Maybe..." Franky sighed irritably. "Well, now we have to go down there and save him. What a pain in the ass."

"But how are we-"

I was cut off short when some white, stringy thing suddenly shot up and stuck to the wall. Robin, who had nearly been hit by it, took a step back and glanced back at the wall. Seconds later, even more strings started shooting out all over the place.

It took me a moment to realize what was going on, and by the time that I had, the monstrous spider had managed to get up to our level.

"Hey, hey!" The Spider Monkey monster laughed from its perch in the center of the gigantic spider web that it had managed to make. "You think that I'm going to let you get away just because you broke some measly bridge? I'm a spider! I can climb wherever the hell I want! Monkey! Monkey!"

Franky grabbed the black cylinder that he had slung over his shoulder back when we had been leaving the Sunny. He popped the top off. "Looks like we're going to have to beat the crap out of this guy first." He glanced back at the two of us while he pulled out two rods that were connected together by a chain. "Think you can keep the spider busy for a sec?"

"Maybe?" I eyed the spider web, thinking about how quickly it had formed. I might be able to burn some of the strands...would definitely be a good test for when we could get Sunny away from the web at the dock.

"What for?" Robin eyed Franky curiously.

Franky ignored us. "Perfect, there's an open section right over there." He started walking past us. "Anyway, I'm gonna build a spider smasher."

"A Spider Smasher?" I repeated as Franky disappeared.

"Hey, I'm right here!" the spider-monster barked. "Don't ignore me! I'll show you what's what, you bastards!"

I let a growl escape my throat as I started to summon my fire. "I may not have as much energy as I did before we got here, but I could still do something, at least."

The monster raised a hand. "Sticky...Spider Net!"

A mass of white started coming at Robin and me, and I instantly raised my staff to intercept it, fire blasting out in the five-star form that I had only used once before on Enies Lobby. "Fire Blast!"

"Seis Fleur," Robin declared. "Slap!"

As the sticky stuff was burned by my fire attack, I heard a slapping noise and a screech from the monkey.

"You slapped my eye, you awful woman!" the spider screeched, his hands on his eyes. He removed his hands...only to reveal that there was more of that spider string stuff between his hands and his eyes. "No, no! Damnit, you're playing dirty! This isn't fair!"

"Eeugh." I stuck my tongue out at the sight. "That's gross."

"Good work, you two! Now it's my turn!"

I turned and looked back as Franky emerged from the doorway, and my eyes widened a bit.

"Hi," Robin greeted, sounding amused. "What's that?"

Franky gave the both of us a knowing smirk that clearly said he was going to enjoy what he was about to do. "This here? I just stuck my steel nunchucks into some stone columns, that's all."

Oh, so that's what Franky was planning when he mentioned a Spider Smasher.

Franky dropped one end on the stone walkway. "Cause when a monster is this big, you've gotta smash 'em extra hard!" The cyborg pulled back and threw one end of the nunchuck towards the spider, who had nearly managed to get the white string off his eyes. "Heavy Nunchuck!"

I gave a wide grin when the attack hit the spider right in the face, creating what looked like a nosebleed. "Nice shot! That should jar what remains of his brains!"

Franky let out a laugh, then jumped into the air, swinging his reinforced nunchucks around before slamming one end down into the spider's head. He then proceeded to whack the spider repeatedly, back and forth with such speed and power that I couldn't help but wonder how well he'd fare against some of the Fighting-Type Pokemon that I had befriended.

And just when the show was getting good, the spider let out a shriek.

"I said stop it already! Sticky Spider Net!"

"Hey! No fair!" I called out in annoyance as the nunchuck was forced out of Franky's hands and dropped onto the spider net. If it was the sticky stuff, then there was no way that Franky was going to be able to get it out without getting stuck to it himself.

The monster let out a laugh as it pointed one of its hands at Franky. "No more smashing me in the face! Too bad for you! Looks like it's time for my revenge!"

Franky didn't move; I couldn't see the expression on his face from where I was standing. But when he lifted up his left arm, I couldn't help but grin a bit and remember the zombie knight from the room we had just left.

"Weapons Left!"

BOOM.

I let out a whoop of laughter at the look on the spider monster's face as the smoke started to clear. "Bet he wasn't expecting that! Nice one, Franky!"

Then I felt something grab me from behind and pull me back into something springy. "What the - hey! What gives?" I tried to pull myself forward, but then something very small and very fast zipped past my legs and tied my arms against what it was that was behind me. I started to look around in order to see what was going on.

"Where in the name of the Chaos Emeralds did you little dumnkopfs come from?!" I demanded, glaring at the little giggling, mouse-headed spiders that were sitting on the spider's web that I was now tied against. And it wasn't just me who was tied to it, either - Robin was too.

I paused for a moment. "Dumnkopf?" Where had that word come from? I shook my head; I'd probably figure it out later.

"What the hell are those things?!" Franky had turned around and seen our predicament, and it looked like he didn't exactly know what they were, either.

"Mousey-mousey mouse mouse! Mousey-mousey mouse mouse!" the spider-mice laughed, and I cringed at their chant.

"I-I'm sorry," Robin said, pulling at the webbing. "I was careless. I didn't think there's be other spiders here."

"You're not the only one," I groused, scowling. One of the little creeps started to move closer to the two of us, and I took in a breath before spitting out a small fireball - a miniature flamethrower - at the zombie. I managed to hit the bandages on its back, sending it retreating with a screech.

Franky stared running towards us, and I caught sight of the large spider monster raising a hand.

"Franky! Look-"

My warning didn't get to him in time; Franky was slammed into the spider net by the sticky stuff that the monster had shot at the cyborg.

The monkey laughed weakly as it started to move forward. "Serves you right! Monkey! Monkey! That's what happens when you let your guard down."

I gritted my teeth. Something about the situation felt familiar, but the fact that I was tied down like this wasn't what was setting off the alarm bells in my head. I felt like I had accidentally ended up in traps similar to this before.

"These little guys are my minions, called Spider-Mice," the monster continued. Of course they were. "There's more than five hundred of them here on Thriller Bark. Once we set our eyes on you, there's no escape - we have never once failed to capture our prey! From the shadows - from your blind spot - from where you least expect it, we attack! And, thanks to Doctor Hogback's modifications, our silk webs our unbreakable!"

Hogback? Was he some warthog zombie quack? And what was all this nonsense about something being unbreakable?

"We've picked off your friends one by one, silently carrying them along the mansion's ceiling without ever being noticed!" spoke up one of the Spider-Mice. "It doesn't matter how strong you are - once you're wrapped in our webs, there's no escape! One little mistake, and they become an offering to our master."

Picked them off one by - "Sanji and Zoro! So that's what happened to them! They were taken by you morons!" My voice turned into a snarl at the end, and fire started to gather on the staff that was still in my grip. The spiders that were near it skittered away with squeaks of surprise.

"Don't worry about your friends!" another Spider-Mouse added. "You will all be reunited soon when we gather you up and take you to them! I hope you enjoy the ride!"

Now didn't that sound ominous.

"Yohohoho, yohohoho... Yohohoho, yohohoho..."

I stiffened up a bit, and the fire on my staff died. That sounded really familiar...

"Yohohoho, yohohoho... Yohohoho, yohohoho..."

"What's that?" The Spider Monkey monster looked around with a clear expression of confusion.

"Gather up all of the crew; it's time to ship out Binks' brew. Sea wind blows - to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide..."

The Spider-Mice started to fidget a bit. I didn't know exactly why; the song actually felt a bit soothing, and the tone was catchy. I kinda wanted to know what the rest of the song was.

"All across the ocean's tide, Rays of sunshine far and wide - Birds they sing of cheerful things in circles passing by. Yohohoho, yohohoho..."

"Stop it!" screeched out the Spider Monkey. "Who the hell is singing that?!"

"I think I know," I murmured. Robin glanced over at me with a knowing expression, as well.

"Yohohoho, yohohoho... Yohohoho, yohohoho... Yohohoho, yohohoho..."

I suddenly heard footsteps, and I turned my head sharply in order to see who was coming. My eyes widened in surprise a moment later.

"Yohohohoho!" Brook laughed delightedly, grinning his ever-present grin. "My goodness, it seems that you came to this island after all!"

"Kind of hard not to," I responded.

"How did you get all the way up here?" Robin asked, sounding surprised.

Brook lifted his top hat off the top of his afro. "I jumped, of course. I'm quite light." He started to turn, his cane over one shoulder - no, he had a blade with a cane handle instead of his normal cane. "Well, since you're already here, I suppose there's no turning back. I'll tell you everything that I know about this island."

"Who are you?!" the spider monster demanded. "You're not a zombie! Does that mean you're with these pirates?!"

Brook turned away from the zombie and started walking towards us. I saw a moment later that he was holding onto what looked like a purple, circular sheath of some kind - a part of the cane? Does that mean that the sword was supposed to be in the cane?

"H-hey!" Franky called out. "What are you-"

"Not to worry, my friend," Brook responded coolly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll put an end to this promptly."

"Put an end to this?" I blinked in confusion as the skeleton started to sheathe his sword in his cane.

"Three Verse Humming...Arrow Notch Slash!"

Brook finished sliding his sword into his cane sheath...and a line of blood suddenly sprouted from the Spider Monster while the thing let out a loud shriek.

I couldn't help but stare in shock. When did Brook cut that thing? I didn't even notice him go after it!

Just how strong of a swordsman is Brook?

And I'm going to leave it off there. You're going to get another chapter tomorrow, so don't worry, okay? :) See you tomorrow!