LW: Hey everyone, hope you had a good Christmas, this is the last chapter of the year so I guess this is also the right time to wish you all a happy new year too. Enjoy
Rubber King and Mirror Master - It all goes downhill from here
Thriller Bark
While they were unable to get an answer from their doctor Nami agreed for the 3 of them and they were allowed join Hildon in his carriage as it was driven to Dr. Hogback's mansion
"Hey it might have been the dark, but those horses seemed a little strange" Nami notes, understatement of the century given one of the horses… would more accurately be considered a centaur.
"It's just the dark, don't worry about it child" Hildon assures her then offers refreshments "It's dangerous to be on foot in the forest at night all sorts of things roam in the shadows"
"I always thought Cerberus was just a legend, but there it was, about to eat us and everything" Chopper says with a shiver
"Yeah, something about that beast was just wrong like it wasn't meant to exist, know what I mean?" Usopp asks
"Not really, but I can tell you the safest place from that and other creatures while you wait for your friends to arrive would be the mansion, we've never had one of the spooks break in so far" Hildon assures them, smiling widely
"Plus we get to meet Dr. Hogback, right?" Chopper asks, bouncing in his seat
"So Chopper, what makes this Hogback so special?" Nami asks
"He's the greatest surgeon in the world, every doctor in the world knows his name, he's up there with Dr. Kurotsuchi, and both the Madaraki's. They say he's saved more people than there are stars in the sky" Chopper gushes "He has fame, fortune, everything a man could want, the entire medical community looks up to him as a true hero" the reindeer then frowns "But then, he disappeared. Some people thought he died, others that he'd been kidnapped, but eventually people just stopped looking for him and he faded away and became essentially a legend. We are talking about the same Dr. Hogback, right?" Chopper asks
"Yes indeed, that is an accurate summary of the good Doctor young one. He came to this island to do research beyond the scope of mankind" Hildon explains
"Do you think he'll be willing to give me an autograph?" Chopper squeaks
"I'm sure he'd love to, especially for such a big fan, it has probably been rather lonely being out here with so few others around to converse with, only Master Moria, Miss Perona, and Sir Absolom."
Everything was peaceful until Nami screamed, yelling that she saw a lion with a man's face
"So manticores are real too?" Usopp asks fearfully
"I think those are tigers not lions, but yeah" Chopper nods then panics
"Ah, so it seems you've experienced the effects of the mist this island is enveloped by, terrible hallucinations" Hildon purrs
"Hallucinations my ass, you're turning this carriage around and dropping us off by the shore, we'll wait for our friends there" Nami declares, then stops when she hears crying
"But I wanted to meet Dr. Hogback, he was an idol to mine growing up" Chopper whimpers, tears streaming down his face
"Listen Chopper, sometimes we do things we don't want to because it's the right option, do you want to be safe, or dead?"
Chopper yelps "I don't wanna die" the pouts "Fine, I'll go back to the shore"
Hildon sighs, then bangs the side of the carriage to tell the drivers to stop "If you're so insistent on going I'll tell the driver to turn around, won't be a moment" he the slips out and moves to the front of the carriage
10 minutes later
"My danger senses are tingling" Usopp says ominously
"You mean they haven't been since we landed on this island?" Nami snarks but sighs deeply "How long does this asshole expect us to wait for anyway?" she grumbles
"I don't know, but clearly it's scary out there, I'm not going to look" Chopper squeaks
Usopp groans "Fine" then sticks his head out "G-g-g-g-guys, he's gone, and so are the horses! Even worse, they abandoned us in the middle of a creepy graveyard!"
"WHAT!" Nami and Chopper shout "Please tell me you're joking"
"Would I joke about something like this?" Usopp retorts, sounding a little offended
"What do we do?" Chopper asks in a whimper
"I don't know, give me a minute to think" Nami groans, rubbing her temples, then see's Usopp shiver "What now?"
"It can't be" the sniper whispers as he sees the earth shift a little, then a bandaged hand shoots out of the dirt "Please tell me I'm dreaming!" he screams, getting the attention of the others
"ZZZZZZZZOMBIES!" the trio scream as more of the undead rise from the earth
"All in favour of running for our lives, probably in the direction of the mansion, raise your hands" Nami shouts, raising both as Chopper and Usopp mirror her "Great, then let's go!"
"I'll give us some cover, my exploding star should work, everyone knows zombie's hate fire" Usopp declares
Exploding Star: Fireball special
"Holy shit man get back"
"Fire burns"
"Didn't your mother teach you not to play around with fire"
"Were those zombies talking?" Chopper asks
"I'm chalking it up to an illusion, everyone run!" Nami screams, the other 2 hot on her heels, with the zombie hoard not far behind.
"I don't think they're following us anymore" Usopp pants a few minutes later "Hey, do you think that Dr. guy is beyond that gate?" he asks, pointing to the one just a head
"Can't hurt to try" Nami agrees as Chopper pushes it open, eager to meet such an esteemed surgeon "just don't get your hopes up on his bedside manner or sanity, given he lives here" she says partly to herself
"Hello, anyone home? Is this the residence of Dr, Hogback? I'm a huge fan!" Chopper calls out "It seems like it's abandoned" he frowns
"Better here than the cemetery," Usopp argues, just as a light clicks on and the well it illuminates begins to draw up whatever was on the other end of it's rope. In this case it was a much more intact, female zombie with an irritated expression and purple eyes, she was also holding a large stack of plates
"Welcome" she purrs, then starts flinging plates at the straw hats, more specifically Usopp while ignoring Chopper and Nami
"Hey, why are you only attacking me?" the sniper whimpers
"Those 2 are allowed into the mansion, you are not. Simple as" the zombie explains bluntly
"I'm confused" Nami and Chopper state together, meanwhile Usopp just moans in pain
"Stop it, that's enough" came a slightly muffled voice from behind the solid door just behind her, which swings open with a loud creek "We can make an exception just this once Shindrey. Apologies my dears, she's a bit off. She was once engaged to a wealthy man and shattered 10 plates to test his love, sadly for her he called the whole thing off not long after"
"If she shattered them by throwing them at his head I'd understand" Usopp groans
"Shunned from her home she's come to this island and remained as my personal assistant, with a grudge for most men, and plates"
"I really didn't care, so long as you made her stop" the sniper admits, standing up once more
"I suppose you have a point. Anyway as you've probably guessed, I'm Dr. Hogback…"
"10" Shindrey drones, firing the last plate at Usoop's nose
"We've been over this, he's allowed in. When you don't listen to me it makes ME look like a fool in front of our guests" Hogback scolds, then shivers when pinned under her cold, dead stare
"I wish all plates would be eradicated from this plane of existence"
"I know, I already told them about that" the Dr. says with a deep sigh
"This is the guy you were gushing over?" Usopp asks
"Yep, I can't believe I get to meet THE Dr. Hogback" Chopper swoons
"Doesn't look like a genius to me, Psycho and Robin seem smarter, more mentally stable too, which is saying something" Nami mutters
"Nobody asked you" Chopper shouts, just before the Zombie with the boob job lets them enter the mansion proper.
A little later
"Fosfosfosfosfos, I don't get many guests but you're definitely the messiest I've seen in years, was the trip to Thriller Bark stressful?" Hogback asks, the 4 now seated in the dining room
"Actually yes, we…" Nami stops unsure
"Keep going Nami he asked how the trip was, I can talk about Doctor stuff later" Chopper assures her, still chipper
Nami sighs "We were attacked by zombies and chased here" she finishes
"Zombies huh?" Hogback almost coos
"We also saw creatures straight out of a horror movie, like a cerberus and a manticore" Usopp adds "What's up with this messed up island? You live here you have to know something"
"So these creatures, they chased you here did they? Quite impressive, and to answer your question I know very little about them, which is why I'm here in the first place" he explains
"Wow, you're here studying Zombies!" Chopper cheers
"Exactly my boy. Most people see zombies are fearful, essentially braindead beasts, but what if you look at things another way, as someone come back from the dead, a great miracle, something sought after by Doctors everywhere! Everyone in this world has a loved one they wish would come back, that they hold in their arms once more, it's human nature. And if the medical community condemn it as madness or lunacy, then fuck them. That's why I squirreled myself away here away from society, so I could continue my research without interruption or an ethics community breathing down my neck"
"That's amazing, just think if your research is proven true you could bring so much joy to the people of the world. As a doctor myself you have my approval" Chopper grins widely
"How open minded, so rare these days, you humble me so much Doctor Chopper" Hogback replies, making Chopper squee in happiness
"Can I have your autograph?" Chopper asks, arms shaking
"But of course my dear lad" Hogback grins, signing the page given to him just before Shindrey arrived with the food… by dropping the flan on the table in front of each of them "God damn it Shindrey, can't you put the flan on a plate first?"
"I wish all plates would suffer spontaneous decay"
The Dr sighs "Well, this is a more common occurrence than I care to admit, so I have the tablecloth kept extra clean"
"Good enough for me" Usopp says, as he and Chopper dig in, basically shoving their faces into the food, despite nami annoyed yelling
"By the way I prepared you a bath, as you're all filthy" Shindrey states with what they assume to be her usual tone of disinterest
"Oh, it nearly slipped my mind in the chaos, but there was someone else we saw coming towards the island earlier. Did you happen to see a walking skeleton today Dr. Hogback?"
The man pauses "A skeleton?"
"Yeah, huge afro and surprisingly chipper given the whole… being dead thing"
"Never seen him" Hogback states, even as shivers run up and down his spine, memories flash of those eyeless sockets glaring down at him.
Later
"You're a big girl Nami, you don't need 2 escorts for something this mundane" Ussop grumbles as they follow her to where the zombie woman had prepared her bath
"Yeah, I could be picking Dr. Hogback's brain right now, instead of following you around" Chopper hums, clearly not interesting in Nami's usual antics today
"Yeah, yeah just shut up and do as I ask, I'll stand guard for your baths" Nami lies, hoping they'll stop complaining
'For a spooky mansion this place has rather good plumbing, and a very fancy bathroom' Nami thinks as she strips off and begins to clean herself of all the dirt and sweat from her trek across the island
"I know I shouldn't, but I want to have a peek" Chopper says, seemingly out of nowhere
"What! Chopper how dare you, I thought Robin and Kaos were your role model's not Sanji" Usopp gasps before wagging his finger at the little reindeer
"I'm not talking about Nami's hairless butt you stupid human" Chopper says with an eyeroll "I'm talking about Dr. Hogback's Lab, what wonders are hidden inside" he swoons, or would have if he wasn't already sitting down
"If you say so, though at least that sounds more like something you and the Demon Twins would do rather than perving on our easily angered and prone to violence navigator" Usopp says with a sigh of relief "Hey Nami if you were so afraid to take a shower without guards… maybe you should have just skipped it" he suggests, shouting through the door
"Please, like I want to smell like a zombie more than absolutely necessary. Feel free to stink up the place as long as you like though"
"That's rude, I smell just fine!" Usopp argues, getting a bucket to the face for his troubles
"Besides, once nightfalls we're leaving" Nami says as she slips into the bath
"You can't be serious Nami, this is the only safe place we've seen on the island, and you want to leave!"
"Ussop's right, the moment we leave the hoard will be upon us" Chopper squeaks "This is our only safe haven"
"You idiots didn't notice anything about the mansion did you?" Nami sighs in annoyance
"No?"
"This place is an 11.9 on the creepometer, and if my hunch is right we're smack bang in the middle of all the weird and messed up shit on this island. Meaning getting out of here and meeting up with the others is our number 1 priority" Nami explains "This place probably has more zombies crawling around it than outside" [Good point, except none of them noticed… THE MAID IS A FUCKING ZOMBIE!] she pauses while the other 2 panic and rolls her eyes "The biggest problem is Dr. Hogback and what he's hiding from us. He's clearly lying about not knowing anything because why else would those zombies outside leave him alone?" she asks "And that's why the minute I'm done in here we're leaving and making a break for the coast" she says just as she hears low growling coming from somewhere in the room 'Oh crap, where are the Monster Trio or Demon Twins when you need them?'
"You, are a very observant woman" came a voice from… well nowhere
"Chopper, Usopp, did you just say something?" Nami calls, getting denials from the 2 and then something grabbing her arm. The redhead struggles with the unseen force, which catches her other arm when she tries to take a swing at it. She's then dragged from the bath and thrown up against the wall "The hell is going on with this place?" she thinks aloud "There's nobody here but me, right?" the growl was a pretty strong denial of that statement 'Shit'
"You're even cuter than the girl from the ship, less curvy though but I bet you'll scream real good unlike that dead eyed bitch" the voice purrs, making Nami whimper and try to scream only to get her mouth covered and muffled enough the others didn't notice
"Hush, my bride, we're going to have a little fun together" the hot breath on her neck sent a shiver down her spine.
Luckily the moment was interrupted by the guys checking on her "Did you just call for us?" Usopp asks, him and Chopper averting their gaze from where they presumed she would be… and in turn getting a shot of Nami's full frontal 'Thank you GOda' Usopp thinks, bowing lowly
"Damn, cockblocked by brats" the voice growled, a human form flickered like the predator in the steam
"Don't just stand there help me you idiots!" Nami screamed now her assailant was distracted, as well as using the one move she knew would do something to a man like this creep: One swift kick to the balls later the grip on her arms was gone, causing her to slip and fall from the change "Do something, there's someone else in here!"
Chopper shifts into his full animal form and sniffs after seeing one of the puddles ripple "She's right, there's someone here I can smell it" he says, just as the window opens
"There, he's trying to escape!"
"Great, how do you expect me to hit something invisible" usopp sighs but still fires
Special Attack: Gunpowder Star
BOOM
The explosion shook the mansion, enough that even in the dining room Dr. Hogback knew the pirates had encountered his 'associate' and former patient 'That fool, is he doing it again?' the man wonders, before sighing in annoyance
"Should I keep shooting?" Usopp asks, literally firing blind right now
"No we're good I can't smell him anymore" Chopper replies, then turns to check on Nami
"Whoever they were, they heard it all. They were here the entire time, listening in unnoticed. I took a bath with the invisible man" she mutters, her brain still processing everything now the adrenaline was leaving her
"You also hit him right in the balls if I'm right about where your kick was aimed" Ussop mutters
Meanwhile on the Sunny
"Soooo, anyone want to explain the giant spider web?" Alvida asks
"Spider fruit" Luffy suggests, getting a shake of the head from Kaos "It's a Trap!" he then yells
"Close enough as that is technically true, the web did trap the ship after all" Robin agrees "Though on the subject of Devil fruits, our intruder, Mini or Suke?"
"Probably the latter, the prescience wasn't smaller, it was practically non existent" Kaos argues then smirks "Add it to the list though, if at all possible we're getting it"
"Good luck with that then, pervert" Alvida chuckles, Kaos not seeing the point in reminding her he already has a fruit, nor the need to reveal he could simply see through the mirror in the bathroom using his own fruit.
"Back to the more relevant topics, thanks to this massive spider web the Sunny is dead in the water, she's not going anywhere" Franky grouses
"Kinda suspicious though, especially given the Mini Merry is also here" Valentina states, pointing over the side to where the smaller vessel was also trapped
"Yeah, if the spider web wasn't a big enough clue we're walking into a trap, we're clearly being funneled into this place through the front door" Zoro agrees
"Eh no big, we were going to crash the party anyway, might as well use the front door as any other route" Luffy argues, then chuckles when he sees Vivi and Alvida riding Carue, the duck deciding it was safer with her friends, than alone on the ship.
"He's unfortunately right, so quit your bitching and come down here Zoro" Kaos groans, then goes back to helping Artemis attach Funkfreed to her person, going to the 'over the shoulder' rather than 'left hip' arrangement
Zoro sighs again "Yeah sure whatever, saves me the trouble of finding you all later when you need rescuing I guess" he says before jumping down, noting Vivi was already wearing her wire gloves, Valentina was wearing her flame dial gloves and an assortment of small blades and Victor had his bow in his coat with a quiver over his shoulder "So we're really doing this shit?"
"Yep, now let's go rescue Nami!" Sanji shouts
"And the others" Robin adds, knowing the cook wasn't going to
"Add the random staircase leading downward for no reason to the list of suspicious actions within this island" Kaya says, happy to be more of less in the middle of the group, especially when they meet the first abomination
Woof
Woof
Aroo
"Yum" Luffy cheers
"Huh Cerberus is real, this idiot has literally brought us to the gates of hell" Sanji grumbles
"It's kind of cute actually" Robin chuckles
"Maybe at one point, poor thing has clearly seen better days" Kaos argues, referring to the wounds, stitching and scent of decay coming off the animal
"Is it a threat or not, because I have a policy of not attacking animals unprovoked?" Alvida asks, gripping the handle of her mace as a precaution
"I wonder what it tastes like" Luffy thinks aloud "Sanji, you know what goes well with Cellebrimbore?" he asks, scaring the animal for a moment before it gets back in character
"Hm, that almost worked, also how did you screw up Cerberus so badly you said a name twice as complicated?" Zoro asks in confusion
"Maybe one of the heads remembered they're supposed to be this scary guard dog type animal, not a scared little chicken?" Victor suggests half jokingly
"Can we just kill it and get it over with?" Sanji asks
"No, I wanna tame it!" Luffy declares
Kaos facepalms "Get the flame dials ready, just in case" he stage whispers to Valentina who nods
"Now, shake" Luffy orders, cerberus instead clamping down on his head, left arm and right leg.
"Whoever saw this coming say I" Vivi says while pinching the bridge of her nose, as expected everyone I'd as that was almost painfully obvious.
Luffy rubs the muzzle of the main head and continue speaking as if it wasn't about to rip him apart "Bad dog, let go of uncle Luffy" surprisingly it did "Good, now SIT!" he shouts, kicking it into the wall "Good boy, play dead"
"So much power in a child, it's disheartening if nothing else" Franky groans
"It's also amusing to see how someone like Luffy deals with strange problems such as a literal beast of legend" Robin replies with a grin.
After that the crew continued onward, Luffy riding the cerberus like a prized steed, even inviting Artemis to ride up top with him as his girls already had their own transport animal. Besides making no progress on locating their crewmates, everything was quiet until
"A tree with some geezer's face on it is getting drunk with a beat up unicorn" Luffy gasped, the others in similar states of shock
"Kill it with fire?"
"I like this plan"
Katon: Endan
Mirāburēdo: Wyvern Blade "Empyrean"
Back in the mansion
"Usoop I say this a lot but today I really mean this… you're a fucking idiot" Nami says in responce to the sniper deciding everything that has happened on the island was a hallucination or them going insane "I was nearly sexually assaulted by an invisible man you dolt how is that imaginary?"
"You clearly imagined it all because this place is fucking creepy, the window was a draft not a person, the ghosts were weird birds and the zombies… I'm working on that one"
"You're serious?"
"Sure there was the fiddle playing skeleton with an afro but that wa Devil Fruit shenanigans and everyone knows that no 2 devils fruits have the same effect, if his brought him back to life then no other fruit can do that" Usopp declares, not understanding the tier system of Devil fruits "Back me up Chopper" he says, the reindeer looked conflicted
"On the one hand, medically and scientifically speaking those things shouldn't exist, however the entire point of Dr. Hogback being on this island was to study the zombies, so if they're real then who's to say other unnatural phenomenon aren't also real"
"I wouldn't exactly put Hogback up on a pedestal there Chopper, the guy is clearly in the thick of this crazy mess" Nami says, getting angry yelling from the doctor demanding proof "I don't need proof when it's as clear as the nose on Usopp's face your idol is in cahoots with the damn zombies!" she argues [And given he has a zombie maid she has a good point]
"Ugh guys, maybe we can calm down, agree to disagree and all that?" Usopp suggests, looking worried at the 2.
"Fine, let's ask Dr. Hogback, he'll straighten you out" Chopper says before walking ahead in a huff, the other 2 sigh before following
"I hope the others hurry up and save us already" Usopp whimpers
A few minutes later
"Hey guys, unless we got turned around somewhere upstairs, doesn't this staircase take us back to the dining area we just ate in?" Nami asks
"It should, but why is it pitch black then?" Usopp hums, equally confused
"Dr. Hogback!" Chopper calls
"Shindrey, you hear? Please show yourself in any way besides hitting me with another plate" Usopp calls
"We're done with the bath, where are you guys?" nami adds, the darkness unnerving her
Whoosh
Suddenly the chandelier relights startling the 3
"I'm afraid the Dr. and Miss Shindrey have already called it a day and retreated to their quarters" a familiar voice informs them
"Hildon! You have some nerve showing your face again after abandoning us in a graveyard" Usopp shouts angrily
"I'm sorry, I had planned to turn the carriage around, but then a I suddenly had to go to the bathroom"
"You're full of it batboy, especially as that doesn't even begin to explain where the horse and driver went. Just admit it, you're in cahoots with the zombies"
"How dare you, accusing dear sweet Holdon of such things" the bat thing gasps, then flutters over to the top of the stairs "But enough of this unpleasantness, if you'll kindly follow me to the guest rooms…"
"Like we'd trust you as far as I can throw your fat carcass" Nami scoffs
"Yeah, this zombie chow: Take 2?" Usopp asks
"Looks like you're really fucked this one up Hildon" a new voice says with, amusement while the bat thing begins to panic
"Please, just let me bring them to their rooms, everything will be…"
"No, these 3 know far too much" the straw hats freeze when they see it's ONE OF THE PAINTINGS TALKING "They can't be allowed to share our secrets" the woman then turns and leans out of her painting to grab Chopper
"Chopper!" Nami screams, reaching for her clima tact.
Meanwhile Usopp is attacked by a mounted pig head, the sword it threw barely missed him but hit the bear skin rug on the floor, waking it up "Nami, we have a problem, this whole place is made of zombies!" he screams
"I can see that you idiot" Nami yells, before smacking the zombie woman with a Thunder Charge: Swing arm, freeing Chopper while Usopp was busy lighting the other zombies in the room on fire.
With the zombies now occupied the three make a break for the door only to find it was locked.
"You're kidding right?"
"DOES THIS SEEM LIKE THE KIND OF THING I'D JOKE ABOUT?" Nami screams in response
"How dare you set me on fire you little punk, I'll kill you for that" the bear rug bellows, swiping with its arms and just barely missing, starting a moment of the trio being chased around the room, kept away from any potential exits until they were cornered in the fireplace.
"This is the end, we're going to die!" Usopp shrieks, then yelps as their backward scuttling leads to discovering a secret passageway in/behind the fireplace, spitting them out somewhere else within the mansion. This new corridor was no less filled with surprise painting zombies, but their frantic screaming and running from them did lead to one zombie free room, that of Hogback's shrine room.
"Hey isn't that Shindrey, the girl who hates plates?" Nami asks curiously
"Yeah, Dr. Hogback sure has a lot of photos of her" Chopper hums
"She also looks happy… wasn't actually sure her face could do that" Usopp admits with a chuckle "She actually looks kind of pretty when she's not giving dead eyed glares"
"True but she also doesn't look like what you'd expect from a servant in any of these photos" Nami muses
"Think this is her room?"
"No, nobody is this narcissistic, and if they were there's no way they would lower themselves to that of a servant for anyone even someone as apparently famous as Dr. Hogback" Nami responds
"Plus none of these photos have the scars on her face or chest, so they're either recent, or the photos are old" Chopper notes and on 2nd glance the 2 agree none of the Shindrey they'd mets scars/stitches and tattoos were in any of the photos even ones where they should have been.
"My money's on these being older photos and she had an accident since, because besides the stitches she's practically the same person, physically at least" Usopp agrees, meanwhile Nami checks the desk in front of one of the larger photo
"Victoria Shindrey" she reads "Looks like she used to be a pretty big name actress back in the day, all the articles in this book are about her" she says, waving it in the guys direction
"She was, but what about the story about the plates, or her being a servant?" Usopp asks in confusion "Other than sounding like she's dead inside why is she here, she still looks pretty nice so she should still be out there being a successful actress" he wonders aloud then turns when Nami squeaks and whimpers
"These articles, are old, the most recent one being 10 years ago, when she fell from the stage and died in an accident" Nami manages to squeak out, before panic set in
"But we saw her a couple hours ago, sure she's kind of creepy but she's definitely…"
"A Zombie" Nami finishes/interrupts "You were going to say alive, but if the things outside and the paintings in the halls are anything to go on, dead doesn't mean much around here"
"Fuck it, I've had it with this crazy island, can we just run for our lives and forget this even happened, please" Usopp snaps, then trips over something in his retreat
"What now?" Nami asks, then her eyes widen "Oh my god is that a treasure chest?" she squeals in joy
"Of course that would snap you out of this Gold-On" Chopper mutters with a deep sigh as their navigator leaps towards the chest, only to get mimicked when it pops open to reveal a Jack-In-the-box zombie, prompting them to leave the room in under 10 seconds.
A little after their departure the sound of geta sandals on stone echoed through the corridor
"It's the bodyguard" One of the painting mutter
"Who woke him up?" another asks
"It seems some lost lambs have wandered into the mansion" 'the bodyguard' says with a hint of amusement "But never fear, I shall herd them up. Yhohho, Yohohohoho!" the samurai zombie laughs
Back outside
"Kaos, Valentina that was mean I wanted them to join my crew" Luffy whines as the 2 zombies turned to ash under the fireball and flaming sword combo attack
"No Luffy, the skeleton was bad enough we didn't need a tree and a half dead unicorn thing" Sanji grumbles then hears a low growl from the still blue flame blade wielding Kaos "What?"
"Not you, but the shadows, they looked like people for a moment" he says with a frown "Only good news is it narrows the problem down to 1 possible, 1 unknown, and the Kage Kage no mi"
"Think the shadow fruit or one of the other 2 would explain the frankly horrid condition of the creatures we've seen, as well as the numbers on their body's?" Vivi asks
"Numbers, like an experiment or project?" Artemis asks, a flash of anger flicking in Robin's eyes
"Potentially. Is there a number on the cerberus Luffy?" Robin asks
"I don't see any"
"There's an 82 on the right flank" Zoro answers, confirming the theory and letting things sink into silence for a few minutes, until the ghosts start showing up… fuck!
"Negative" they chant in a seemingly endless loop
"Wow, those ghosts are singing and dancing, I must have one!" Luffy declares
"Kind of annoying if that's all they can say though" Sanji grunts
Luffy then proves brain power isn't his strong suit as he tries to catch the ghosts with a butterfly net, and fails miserably
"Why do you even want to have a pet that just says negative all the time?" Victor asks
"Luffy stop this right now, we're not keeping one of those creepy things as a pet" Vivi argues, leading to Luffy pouting before sitting back on Cerberus' back
"Fine" he grumbles
Fresh Fire
"Hm, probably should have seen that coming, but still, I kind of hoped that would have worked" Franky sighs as the ghosts pop out of the flames completely undamaged, even deciding to phase through the cyborg "I suck, everything i've done all week has sucked like never before" he mopes "I just want to die, I don't think I'm worth being made into anything better than a ceiling fan" he blubbers, falling to his hands and knees
"Big baby" Sanji scoff
Luffy taking one last shot at catching a ghost, also drops to the ground in the legally required 'I just lost a children's card game' position "I want to die, maybe get reincarnated as a clam, I'm not fit to be a human" he whimpers
"Well, that's concerning" Alvida says grimacing before moving to comfort Luffy "These things can affect us but we can't hurt them"
Kaos groans before coating his hand in his reflect armour "I think I have an idea, but be prepared for it to backfire horribly" he states then backhands the nearest ghost with a rather tired 'Not today bitch!'
"Ow my face, my actual face Horororororo. How did you do that, horohoro?" the 'ghost' screams
"To be honest… I didn't actually think that would work" he admits, then frowns, sticking his fingers in his mouth "Not me, so the taste is something else" he mutters
"On the bright side, I think that proves these ghosts are Devil Fruit related bullshit, which we probably should have guessed given that's becoming standard procedure since joining Luffy's crew" Valentina notes
"Before actually, Alabasta's issues would also fall under as you called it 'Devil fruit related bullshit' as Crocodile's fruit is the reason we were in such a severe drought" Vivi adds, trying to coax Luffy to at least stand up again, even Carue was nudging him with her beak
"I think you scared them off" Robin notes with a slight chuckle "Maybe we should have you pimp slap things more often if it solved our problems this easily" she teases
"True, but the main point is they're gone" Kaos nods with a half smile
"Screw you ghosts next time I see you I'm gonna kick all your asses!" Luffy shouts at full volume
"I think the ghosts wore off Uncle Luffy" Artemis calls from Cerberus' back
"Count me in too, that was so UN-Super of those ghost things to turn my insides to ice like that" Franky shouts, looking ready to kill
"Well, those 2 are sufficiently motivated, shame we don't have anything besides throwing Shimmer at them as a counter to those depressive little shits" Zoro says as the group enter the graveyard portion of the island
"Hey cool a graveyard, perfect place to eat" Luffy declares, snapping out of his rage due to hunger
"No you idiot the atmosphere will ruin the taste!" Sanji angrily bellows
"Food is food, yours never tastes bad" Luffy argues, and before the cook could go off on explaining how wrong he was, the ground in front of one of the many grave shifted, and something began to crawl out
"Is that…" Kaya begins but stops when Luffy casually walks over and pushes the 'most likely a zombie' back in his hole. It worked for a few seconds before it jumps out and starts scolding Luffy for doing so
"Oh my god, it's an old man with serious injuries"
"It's a zombie you braindead idiot… which means you're probably the only person who's safe in this scenario" Valentina grumbles
"I was thinking the same, but more that zombies might not have sharp enough jaws to pierce Luffy's rubber skin" Robin nods in partial agreement, just as the other zombies make their appearance
"Zombies aren't usually this energetic in media" Franky notes, given the undead were literally in some cases leaping from their graves
'So zombies are real, but their not Edo Tensei given their patchwork and decrepit as fuck, so Devil fruit shenaigans once again is the best guess'
"Now to show you how scary zombies really can be" the old man zombie yells as the hoard charge them
Luffy smirks "And in return, we'll show you how scary pirates can be!"
Gum Gum Gatling
Fancy Cannon
Syrup bullet barrage
Strong Right
Wire Cage Hell
Frictionless takedown
Katon: Gōka Senpū
Clutch
Traptrix:Game Over
Meanwhile, back in the mansion
Finally away from the zombies the trio continued searching for a way out until they heard a familiar 'Fosfosfosfosfos'
"That's Dr. Hogback's laugh I know it" Chopper says with a wide grin, the other 2 not so blinded by hero worship knew the Doc was bad news and clearly in the middle of all this zombie BS. Still, it couldn't hurt to see just what the mad scientist was doing, so they pulled open the door just enough for them to see.
"So, is this his top secret lab he was talking about?" Nami asks quietly
"I sure hope so" Chopper squees
"Fosfosfosfosfos finally, my sweet marionette is almost complete fosfosfosfosfos" Hogback laughs, putting the finishing touches to his creation "Behold Shindry, a true work of art, the work of a genius"
"I hope the stupid thing blows up and either takes us with it, or burns your face off" Shindry says bluntly
"Damn it woman, this work is hard enough without you're comments"
"I prepared supper, would you like it now?" she asks
"Yes please what is it?"
"Spaghetti soup" she states flatly, before emptying a sack on the table
"What the fuck! Seriously woman if plates are that big a deal try using a bowl, or better yet, come up with a menu that doesn't require plates, roast beef, baked potato, hell even a sandwich will do" he scolds
"Shindry's there too" Nami mumbles "She really is a zombie, isn't she?"
Usopp on the other hand was focused on Hogback's 'Project' "What is that thing?" he wonders quietly
"It looks human, but given the injuries he's most likely already dead" Chopper answers/analises "He's numbered, just like the zombies from the graveyard, and the paintings"
"And Hogback says he was almost finished, meaning we're about to see the, for lack of a better word, birth of a new zombie, Zombie 741 to be precise" Nami adds "Your friend in there has been busy"
"But, even if he's a genius there's no way Dr. Hogback could have done all this by himself" Chopper squeaks
"Well, so long as he doesn't catch us, we're about to find out. It can't really be as easy to bring the dead back to life as they make it look in stories"
"Remember what Valentina said, even the ones in the stories don't just come back to life, you pay a heavy price for new life" Nami whispers
Clip clop, clip clop
"Yohohohoho, good evening" a voice calls behind them, turning around they nearly jump as they see a samurai zombie "What's the matter, if you're going to stand in the doorway like that, you might as well go inside" he says smoothly
"That's not Brook" Chopper squeaks
"No, but I think I know where his shadow went" Nami whimpers
"Yohohohoho!" the zombie laughs, as he slowly approaches the trio.
TBC
LW: Damn, ending 2020 on a cliffhanger, I'm kind of an asshole aren't I? Ah well at least you have something to look forward to in 2021, like chapter 1000 of the manga :D, or 89 of this story :) :P
Anyway, this is Lonly Wanderer wishing you all a pleasant 2021, thanking you for coming to read my stories in 2020, and hoping to see you all again in a fortnight, stay safe and don't do anything crazy!
