Shadow

Fox did not join in with the rest of the crew in 'stealing' gold from Nola's stomach or go with Robin to see the golden bell dragged out of the bay. Instead she had the children help her move all the various gifts she had been unable to avoid being given to her cabin on board the Going Merry and stow them properly so they wouldn't get broken. Some of these gifts were tokens, like clothing, others were useful, like the numerous Dials, while others were incredibly valuable, like the snake egg Nola had entrusted to her. Apparently Nola's species could reproduce through parthenogenesis and the beautiful serpent wanted Fox to raise her daughter. Of course it would be well over a century before the still unborn snake would ever be able to rival Nola's size, but that wasn't really a problem. The children were all awed by the egg in its little incubator and promised to keep its presence a secret until after the ship had left.

Equally special were the two dozen feather charms Laki had presented her with; among the Shandians it was traditional to give a feather ornament made from one of your own wing feathers as a token of thanks and in recognition of great service; they also symbolised debts that one family owed another. Every single one of the warriors who had entered the Upper Yard with Wiper and survived had made one for her in recognition of her aid. Each one was finely dyed and decorated with the individual warrior's colours and symbols; Fox intended to keep them very safe indeed. As these tokens were only exchanged between Shandian warriors it was a kind of adoption and recognition of her battle prowess; Fox was sure that if any Shandians ever ventured down to the Grand Line they would come looking for her.

Fox had given gifts as well; other than Wiper now having one of her Kairoseki knives Laki had an Eternal Pose for Mystoria in case anybody ever wanted to visit, alongside a chart, detailed written instructions on how to get there and a list of safe people to ask assistance from. Fox was certain that any meeting between Shandians and Mystorians would be interesting and potentially very embarrassing for her. The things she did for people…

The hardest part of leaving however had been not bursting into tears the moment she set foot on the Going Merry: the ship was dying. She was holding out as best she could but now it was simply a matter of delaying the inevitable. Fox didn't think she'd make it much further than the beginning of the sea train zone before falling apart.

Not being able to face looking her crew in the eye right now, Fox let her eager helpers each kiss her goodbye, gave each one a shell out of her trinket box in exchange for an equivalent childish treasure, waved them off and fell into bed, weeping bitterly into her pillow. The Merry tried to soothe her, whispering with acceptance and love, but it didn't help much; she was mourning. Soon the sweet, willing little vessel would be dead and Fox' soul would have another tear in it that would take time to heal.

Zoro was a little worried by the vague sense of misery that he was getting from Fox as they sailed across the White Sea towards Cloud's End. She had been in her cabin when they dashed on board and set sail as fast as they could and while the others thought she was asleep, the swordsman could tell otherwise. However he decided it was best not to mention it; he would check up on her once they were sailing on actual seawater again. The sudden arrival of the irritated South Bird which had guided them to the knock-up stream however prompted him to visit her sooner; the bird was insistent on entering Fox' cabin and nobody else was willing to risk it outside of a definite emergency.

Opening the door so the bird could perch on the capstan, Zoro took a moment to check everything was firmly tied down –it was– then closed the cabin door behind him, knelt by her futon and placed his hand on her tear-stained cheek.

"What's wrong?"

Fox sobbed, her whole body shuddering. "Merry is dying," she choked out. "I'm doing what I can but she just isn't going to make it much further."

The swordsman's eyes widened and he bowed his head, unable to think of anything he could say that would improve the situation. The ship had seen them through many difficult situations and been damaged numerous times, but he'd never actually thought it might not be able to cope.

"She wasn't built for the Grand Line," Fox whispered, leaning into his hand as he ran his fingers soothingly through her hair, "and she doesn't have the strength to go much further." She sniffed. "Don't tell; she doesn't want them to know yet. Just make sure we find a shipwright sooner rather than later."

Zoro nodded, leant down to kiss her cheek but lost his balance as the whole ship lurched and dropped straight down. He was suspended in midair for a moment then dumped on top of her as the fall slowed abruptly. Fox grabbed his shirt as he tried to get up again.

"Don't go?"

The swordsman huffed, but kicked off his boots and sprawled across the bed beside her while on deck Usopp and Luffy shouted about the Octopus-balloon that was giving them a ride downwards. Fox snuggled into him, leaning her back against his chest while keeping her face buried in the pillow. Zoro rested his face against the curve of her neck and closed his eyes, arms wrapped tightly around Fox' middle. Sleep came instantly, but the golden bell of Shandora rang in his dreams.

Zoro was rudely awoken by the sudden impact of hitting the sea. Fox had actually fallen asleep, but her face was pale and tearstained and her pillow slightly soggy so the swordsman gently extricated himself, pulled on his boots, kissed her and went out to see if his help was needed on deck.

A good thing he had too, as they had fallen in the path of a group of Sea Monkeys driving a wave and had to do some very quick sailing.

When they'd shaken the wave-making creatures off their tail Luffy tried to use the Waver, but failed as miserably as he had on the White-White Sea. Nami was again successful, and was coasting around the Merry when she shrieked in terror, bringing everyone to the edge of the deck.

Nami and the Waver were now stranded on the nose of a very familiar Sea King, which seemed to be trying to tip its head to look at her properly without spilling her off its nose. Zoro muffled a chuckle behind his hand; Nami hadn't recognised Swift Hunter and was panicking.

"Zoro! Sanji! Luffy! Help!" she squeaked.

The swordsman grabbed the chef before he could leap to her rescue. "Don't; Fox will be cross with you," he advised flatly.

"Why would- oh." Sanji relaxed. "It's Swift Hunter."

The Sea King swam over to the ship, tipped Nami and the Waver on board then twisted its head on one side to get a better look at both. Luffy patted the massive muzzle fearlessly. "Hi again!" he said brightly. "I think Fox is asleep, but I know she missed you!"

Swift Hunter made a deep, melodic sound that was vaguely reminiscent of Laboon and vanished beneath the surface.

"What?" Nami looked utterly bewildered.

"It's Fox's magic ship!" Luffy replied with a grin. Nami looked caught between anger and embarrassment, but soon recovered and decided it was time to divide the loot. Zoro took the opportunity to suggest they spend some of the gold getting the Merry to a shipwright, though he phrased it as 'repairing the ship'.

"Repair the ship?" Luffy repeated. "Going Merry?"

"Yes, the ship is barely holding together right now," Nami agreed with a frown.

"That's true," Usopp conceded. In the following flurry of chatter Sanji suggested they visit a professional shipwright and Zoro considered his duty done. Luffy then declared that they would have to pick up someone to help them repair the ship properly as soon as possible.

"We can't rely on Usopp all the time and Fox says healing ships gets risky after a while," he went on, "as they can't get more energy from eating like people do and fall apart!"

"Is that why her ship can turn into a Sea King?" Chopper wondered.

"I think so!" Luffy agreed. So did Zoro, but he also thought it was the sheer speed, manoeuvrability and ability to escape the random surface weather on the Grand Line that had prompted her to make a ship that could turn into a sea monster, not to mention the camouflage it offered.