HAWK WHIP!~ Hi everyone, a bit of a short chapter, but the one after this one will probably be around the 5,000-word mark, so don't worry too much.

So, if anyone gets confused about the 'spirit' in this chapter, if you search up what a Klaubautermann is on the One-Piece wiki, it should make sense.

With that, have a good day, and happy reading, everyone!


"You made it... Captain..." The voice trailed off as Hawkins' knees buckled.

"I made it..." Hawkins fell face-first against the sand.

"H-Hawkins?!" Trifa squeaked and scrambled to support the wounded magician. As the magician stumbled, Jaune and Emerald ate a mouthful of sand and gagged while they wiped their tongues clean.

"Whoa, everything hurts..." Jaune grumbled and stood himself up. He withdrew Funkfreed from his father's waist and allowed him to transform.

"You okay, buddy?"

"Pao." Funkfreed nodded and patted Jaune on the head with his trunk.

"Where are we?" Emerald groaned.

The night made it hard to see, but Trifa managed well enough to make out a distant figure that loomed near the ocean waves.

"Guys, I think that's a ship over there," Trifa said.

Jaune curled a brow and squinted.

"Wait, there were only piles of debris last time Minty and I were here."

True to the boy's words, the entire beach was clear of any blemish except for a high boat that stood proud along the shoreline. Though it was far from its prime, it was quite the sight for three kids and one sword elephant. Double-masted and double-decked, rusted cannons marked the ship's sides with torn flags atop the vessel along with rolled black sails.

"Did somebody build that ship out of the rubble that was here?" Jaune took a step forward, but two sets of hands grabbed him by the shoulders.

"What are you doing, Jaune? We don't know if that place is safe. We fought a pack of Beowolves here, remember?" Emerald and Trifa scolded.

"It's... safe..." Hawkins wheezed.

All attention snapped to the weakened adult. With worried expressions, Jaune and Emerald positioned themselves under Hawkins' arms as Trifa supported his waist. When Jaune looked up to glance at his father's face, a twitch of dread chipped his heart at the magician's sorrowful visage.

When they arrived at the base of the ship, the kids didn't know what to do. Luckily Trifa was there and spun a few webs to make a ladder for them to climb on. Hawkins was the most troublesome, but with a few cracking bones and silent cusses, the magician joined the others and lay flat on the planks of his former ship. Funkfreed shifted to his sword form so Jaune could carry him up, then turned back when everyone was on the main deck.

The magician's heavy lids coming to a close, the kids around him scrambled to treat his many wounds. Jaune offered his shirt and ripped it up, and the torn cloths served as a few temporary bandages though the risk of infection was a factor Jaune would have to ignore due to limited medical supplies. However, while caring for her father, Emerald found something she assumed was one of a kind, tucked in her father's sash.

She held out the fruit to her brother, and his eyes almost popped out of his skull as he clamped his hands over his mouth.

"Hm? What is that supposed to be? Some swirly onion?" Trifa eyed the black fruit, but Jaune snagged it out of his sister's grasp.

"You don't want to eat this, Trifa. It tastes like rotten manure." Jaune sighed.

"How would you know that?" The spider Faunus huffed.

"The knowledge I hold on useless subjects would amaze you," Jaune said flatly and tucked the fruit in his father's pant pocket. The atmosphere settled down, and the realization of their awkward situation slowly dawned on the group.

"I-Is dad gonna be okay?" Emerald whimpered and gripped the hem of her shirt. She sat beside her father's face, hoping for any signs that he would wake up.

"O-Of course, dad's gonna be okay! Remember Vacuo, Minty? Dad didn't bite the dust there, and he'll pull through like always!" Jaune tried to be supportive, but his trembling lips made his speech sound doubtful.

"I-I'm so tired of this Jaune." Emerald shook, and tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Why are we always in danger? We didn't come to Menagerie to hurt anybody, but here we are on the run again! I'm sick of it!" Emerald bawled her heart out and clenched her hands into fists.

"I-It's okay Emerald if we pull together-"

A harsh slap to the cheek shut Jaune right up. His eyes wide, he stepped back when faced with his sister's scowl. He never thought such a face would be directed at him, but you learned something new every day, Jaune supposed.

"Look around you, Jaune! Our grandparents, uncles, even Annabel and Fiona are nowhere to be found, and all we have is our father who's grasping at straws to stay alive!" Emerald shouted.

"I..." Jaune reached out again, but his hand pulled back.

What was he supposed to do? The last time his sibling was like this, Hawkins was there to defuse the situation. With no wisdom to offer, Jaune remained silent and plopped himself down next to Emerald with his hands tucked in his pockets. Shortly after, another presence placed itself Jaune in the form of a silent Trifa. Jaune blinked, he'd completely forgotten about her after he got slapped, but things like that were better left unsaid.

A brief pause and Jaune plucked up his courage to speak again.

"I'm sorry, Trifa."

"What?" His best friend turned to him with a muddled frown.

"You and Minty are always being dragged into things that you don't want to do because of me and my dad. I-I don't wish for things like these to happen, but they do most of the time. It's because I'm an idiot."

"Don't say that about yourself, Jaune-" Trifa rested a hand on the boy's shoulder for comfort.

"But it's true!" Jaune wailed. He jumped from his position, stomped his foot, and pulled on his hair. Tears spilled from his cerulean pupils like a waterfall as he walked over to the ship's mainmast.

Both Emerald and Trifa winced and scooted a few inches back. This side of Jaune was a revelation for them as well. Sure, they'd seen him angry or annoyed, but the level of frustration he was reaching was on a whole other level.

"I just wanted to make friends! I don't care if they're Faunus or human! Hell, they could be an animal for all I care, ain't that right Funkfreed?!" Jaune bashed his forehead against the planks of the mast to the point of drawing blood.

"J-Jaune, stop it!" Trifa and Emerald picked themselves to hold Jaune back. But he threw them off and continued his self deprecating speech.

"I don't want to hurt anyone if I can help it! I want to be a hero who can protect those he cares about like dad! But I'm not like Minty, who's clever and agile, and I'm not like Trifa, who's perceptive and smart! I'll only be a loser for the rest of my pathetic life!"

The next time Jaune hit his head, Emerald and Trifa swore, they heard a bone break.

"I'm useless and a dork! I'll never be like dad! Heck, even my devil fruit is a failure. It fits me, though, doesn't it?!"

Another harsh slap to his other cheek, this time Trifa delivered it. Emerald said nothing, but her eyes did bulge at sight.

"Shut up, Jaune!" The glare Trifa wore could freeze a lake over.

The blonde slumped his shoulders and laughed in a dejected manner. The twisted smile on his lips failed to mask his anguish, and he fell to his knees and punched the floor. His depressed rambling continued, and he furiously rubbed his head. His aura flared and sent black sputtering sparks off his body as a result.

"Jaune, stop rubbing yourself!" Emerald screamed.

Trifa didn't understand what was going on, but Emerald sure did and observed the scene with a look of horror. Swirling clouds of black smoke engulfed the poor boy. However, instead of a maniacal genie, the towering entity behind Jaune resembled a full-on Grimm!

Beady red eyes surrounded by a bone mask, the Grimm let out a cackle, as if it were incapable of common speech. Emerald took out Thief's respite and snarled when she discovered she was out of ammo and switched it to its sickle and chain form instead. Trifa, with little knowledge and experience, when it came to combat, took Hawkins' by his heels and dragged him to a corner of the ship where she hoped they'd both be a tad safer at least.

The Grimm screeched and lunged for Emerald. She sidestepped and broke into a roll and threw her chain around the mainmast. Picking up her feet, Emerald ran off the railing, much to the Grimm's confusion, but when it leaned over the ship to see where Emerald went, it was met with a sickle to the ribs.

Emerald scrambled back onto the deck, but the wailing Grimm latched a hand on her ankle and threw her across the ship. She skidded across the wooden planks and earned many splinters on her arms.

"S-Stop hurting my sister, you stupid genie!" Jaune roared.

The Grimm twirled around to meet its former master and bashed his head in with a boney fist. Jaune rolled on the floor, clutching his scalp as he yelled out in pain before he blanked out. Trifa wanted to shout to her best friend to check if he was okay, but the fear of alerting the Grimm of her presence deterred her from doing so.

Emerald wiped the blood from her nose and narrowed her sights on the bulky Grimm. While large, it had several gaps that weren't covered in white armor, which she intended to take advantage of. Spinning her chain, Emerald tossed it at the Grimm's head and smirked when she knocked out one of its beady eyes.

"Scree!" The high pitched cry of the monster made all passengers on the ship wince. Caught in a vulnerable state, Emerald was grabbed by her throat and smashed against the mainmast.

The black beast raised another arm to deliver the final blow, but the force of an elephant's tusks slammed against the Grimm's back and made it stagger. When it turned to meet the cause of the interruption, a thick trunk gave the Grimm's head a good rattle.

"Pao!" Funkfreed continued his assault until Emerald was released, and her dazed body thudded against the planks.

"Y-Yeah, keep at it, Funkfreed!" Trifa cheered.

This hope was short-lived. Taking Funkfreed by his tusks, the Grimm heaved the elephant into the air and returned him to the ship's planks with crushing force. The animal out of the equation, the Grimm turned its focus to the whimpering Faunus with blue hair. Out of all individuals present, she possessed the most fear, so the obsidian beast felt drawn to her.

All possible fighters down for the count, Trifa yelled her heart out for anyone to save her. No one came, and the poor girl was swatted aside by a boney palm. Hawkins was sent flying overboard as collateral damage, but the devil fruit in his pocket rolled out and landed beside a dazed Funkfreed. The passengers of the Grudgedorf near death's gate, a lonely trunk reached out to the odd fruit with a curious eye.

He looked to Jaune, who passed out from his wounds with his mouth wide open. Trails of black steam sputtered from his stomach and continued to feed the Grimm. His options limited, Funkfreed ruffled his brows and peered at the consumable item held in his trunk. The fruit Jaune consumed in Vacuo caused all this, but that one was yellow... maybe if he ate this black one...

"E-Emerald!" Trifa shouted as she clutched her bleeding nose.

Dangling from the Grimm's death grip once more, the poor mint-haired girl gasped for breath as boney fingers wrapped around her throat. Thief's Respite plunking against the planks, Funkfreed acted on impulse and dunked the fruit down Jaune's gullet.

A horrid taste of crap and rotten puke tingling his taste buds, Jaune's eyes shot open, and he broke into a crying mess of frantic agony.

"Gaaaaah! You killed me, Funkfreed! A person can't have more than one devil fruit!" Jaune wailed.

"P-Pao?!" The elephant screamed his small eyes bulging out of their sockets.

His tongue reaching for the sky and eyes wider than saucers. Jaune held up his hands for the inevitable death that was to come and broke into an extreme game of patty-cake with Funkfreed's ears and trunk. The elephant and blonde boy blinked after a few seconds passed, and even the Grimm seemed curious about how things would play out. Nothing happened, and everyone on the ship tilted their heads.

"Um, isn't my aura supposed to treat this new power of mine like a disease?" Jaune tried to sway his hands around and even rubbed his stomach to see if he could create anything out of thin air, but hopes were dashed, and the atmosphere remained still.

"Huh, I guess I'm okay!" The blonde boy beamed, but as usual, he spoke too soon. Jaune broke into a sweat as a wave of excruciating pain shot through the pit of his stomach up to his throat. He keeled over and rolled along the floor, his body flashing between a mix of white and black.

Surprisingly, it was the Grimm attached to Jaune who cried in pain next. Its connection cut from its former master by a sudden spike of what appeared to be a black metal that sprung from beneath it. The hulking monstrosity stumbled through the air until it latched its left hand on the mainmast as the other still held Emerald by her throat.

Gurgling out a shriek, pools of Grimm colored ooze spilled from Jaune's lips. Funkfreed wrapped his trunk around his partner's waist and hoisted him over the edge of the boat to avoid a mess, and when Jaune finished puking, the elephant gently placed him back on his feet.

"Ew... That was a whole new level of disgusting... But don't worry, Minty, I'll save you now!" A tear trickled down Jaune's cheek before he passed out and landed smack on his face.

"That's it?" Emerald said before the grip around her throat tightened. Oh right, she was being strangled by a Grimm not too long ago...

Terror refilling her person; she stared at those bright red eyes filled only with malice. Razor-sharp fangs creaking open, the hulking monster intended to swallow Emerald whole!

"L-Leave her alone!" Trifa scrambled to her feet and sprayed layers of webbing on the Grimm's arms and pulled. She didn't know what she was doing, but she couldn't just sit still while her friend was in peril!

"This... This is it! I'm going to die!" Memories of happiness and sorrow clashing in her already stressed mind. Emerald writhed and bit her lip so hard blood was drawn.

"But... But I don't want to die!" Emerald screamed.

An opaque scarlet droplet plinking against the wooden boards, Trifa turned her head to the sky when the rain began to fall. It started light but quickly turned fierce with howling winds and crackling thunder.

Aura began to seep through Emerald's veins, but this aura didn't feel quite right. Though she manipulated it, the aura itself appeared to have a mind of its own. Flashes of warm green aura erupting from her body, it circled her and reached for the darkening clouds. Her crimson eyes ablaze. They glowed with power and potential.

In fear of what was to come, Trifa scuttled behind Funkfreed, who was also trembling but was brave enough to shield both her and Jaune. White lightning amassed. It tore through the clouds and struck the Grimm in dazzling fashion.

"I'M NOT GOING TO DIE HEEEEERE!" Her determined cries mixing with the wails of the Grimm as white bolts racked its body and howling winds tore it apart. Rain-soaked her hair but did nothing to deter her fiery crimson pupils.

Trifa and Funkfreed shut their eyes, the bright display was too much for them, and when the noise died down, they refused to open them.

With nothing but a disabled and half-assembled Grimm before her, Emerald regained her senses and realized the grip around her throat was no more. Instead, she was floating in the air, with light swirls of warm green brushing her skin. This feeling, it had been a long time, but the sensation was unmistakable. It's the same feeling Emerald experienced when Amaryllis held her hand before she died.

Her aura spent and mind weary, Emerald descended back to the deck and fell back on her butt. However, the Grimm still had some fight left in it, and it wanted to take at least one life before it kicked the bucket!

Snarling, the monster lashed out at the vulnerable child as Trifa and Funkfreed screamed at Emerald to move. Too weak to do so, Emerald could only shed tears at her inevitable demise.

"Screee!" The Grimm shouted as a black figure impaled it through the chest with a sharp limb of purplish-black.

With a thick cloud of swirling smoke surging around her person, Emerald lifted her head to see who had saved her. It wasn't Hawkins, Trifa, or Funkfreed, or Jaune. But the shaded figure did resemble her brother, or at least his body shape for that matter...

It's final days numbered. The Grimm's guts oozed onto the planks of the deck and evaporated into nothingness, as did the shaded figure. Only bones remained of the former genie, and silence took hold over the ship.


"This world again? I'm getting sick of this..." Hawkins found himself out of Remnant and in the world of souls once more.

His stoic gaze darted around, waiting for a ghost or spirit to appear, but all he found was a little blue sprite that adorned a sparkling hoodie and held a small wooden hammer in its right hand. It hummed a familiar tune and skipped around the withered tree at the center of the crater.

"You're not Bastion or Malika." Hawkins approached the entity cautiously with a skeptical eye.

"C-Captain..." The being had the voice of a five-year-old girl, and it jumped for joy when its sights landed on the tall blonde man.

It ran over with its arms raised, and Hawkins lurched back when it crashed into him.

"I-I'm so happy to see you again! I'll have to thank Bastion for letting me take your time today!" The sprite's eyes grew moist and wrapped its arms around Hawkins' neck.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

A gasp escaped the 'girls' mouth but replaced itself with merry giggles of joy.

"It's me, captain, Grudgedorf!"

Hawkins' jaw slacked, and his eyes widened.

"Grudgedorf, but that's the name of my ship..."

"Yup! That's the name you and your crewmates gave me when we left the village and set sail on the blue seas!"

This wasn't making any sense. The blue entity's voice matched the one who led Hawkins to the shore, but he expected to meet a real breathing person if he was honest. The spirit tilted its head and smiled. Hawkins couldn't see its eyes, but there was a smile on its features as it hopped up and down while clicking its boots.

"So... Grudgedorf, is it only you here?"

"Nowadays, yeah, it hasn't been the same since Eve disappeared, but Bastion and the chestnut king are nice! And the old geezer Lee is too, but he talks too much." The sprite sighed and let go of Hawkins' neck to land on its feet with a thud.

The magician curled a brow. He knew Bastion and trusted him to an extent, but who were these other figures? Most importantly, however, there was one name that wasn't mentioned.

"So you haven't met Malika?"

The life in the sprite's eyes faded, and clasped its hands on the handle of its hammer.

"I-I have, but she's scary and took Eve away."

Hawkins felt a bead of sweat trickle down his chin.

"What do you mean scary? Malika helped me in Vacuo and gave my son a great power."

The sprite, on the verge of tears, frantically shook her head.

"She doesn't come around often, but when she does, it's never a good thing. Malika tricks others with a fake smile and hunts spirits like me. Only the chestnut king or the beast is strong enough to make her flee."

"Chestnut king?" Hawkins muttered.

Another revelation for the magician to make a note of, though just to make sure the sprite's claims were valid, he asked her a question only he would know.

"So, Grudgedorf, what day did I first set sail with you?"

The sprite's expression did a one-eighty and slapped on a giddy grin.

"December 13th, the birthday of Faust, your loyal vice-captain, but we only discovered the fact a week after we set sail!" She replied in a prideful tone and put her hands on her hips.

"What was the first island we ran into?"

"Come on, captain, that's an easy one! It was Swallow island, of course! But we didn't do much other than gather supplies. Oh! You didn't kill anyone on the island, though, because they were really nice to us and even gave you extra food!" The sprite laughed, but her smile slowly curled downward.

Hawkins didn't know what to say. Those were definitely memories he'd experienced, and the sprite before him described them perfectly. Could this little girl really be his ship? Peering down at the small figure, Hawkins noticed its bright light had faded a tad, and its expression grew sullen once more.

"Y-You know, I never got the chance to say how sorry I am for failing you and our crew captain..."

The sprite gazed longingly into the gray sky and trembled. Its hammer slipped from its grasp and thudded against the crumbling dirt as the spirit prostrated itself in front of the man who guided it for years. Tears pittered down its cheeks, and it spoke in hitched breaths.

"I-I'm sorry for not protecting you and the others at Sabaody Archipelago! You always took care of me and only took the routes with the highest chances of safety for my well being! And when I got hurt, your first priority when we arrived at an island was to have me repaired by shipwrights with only the highest of skills!"

Hawkins leaned down and put a gentle hand on the sprite's head.

"But I couldn't save anyone from the warlord or admiral! I failed you, and our crew died because of it, captain!" She wailed.

"Grudgedorf!"

The sprite stiffened at Hawkins' harsh tone. Lifting its head, the spirit was shocked to see its captain shedding tears of his own.

"It's not you who has to apologize. As captain, I held responsibility for my crew and my ship. It was because of my weakness that you were sunk, and our crew was slaughtered. Do not blame yourself for my shortcomings." The magician patted the sprite's head, and in return, it jumped from its prostrated position and hugged him.

"I'm s-so sorry!" Grudgedorf continued to cry, and Hawkins had no problem with it. He continued to remind his ship's spirit of their countless travels, and when the world around them began to tremble to signal it was time for Hawkins to leave, the sprite made one last demand.

"Could you turn your to the side for me, captain?" It asked kindly.

Hawkins didn't know what his ship wanted but did as he was told anyway.

"Chu~."

Hawkins was taken aback and felt an unknown sensation heat up his cheeks. The imprints of a small pair of blue lips fizzling away, when Hawkins turned back to address his former friend, he blinked when there was nobody there. The tremors beneath his soles whirring him back into action, Hawkins fled up the staircases of the crater. But he made sure to remind himself that when he did return to this 'soul world,' he'd have a chat with Bastion about this Malika trickster...

When the magician rejoined the world of the living, he was not prepared for the battle to come.