Snotlout continued patching up the ship, and Eret sat there watching him. The twins, meanwhile, were pouring out some more tea.
"Hey, Mister," said Kaley. "I've made some tea. Why don't you take a little break and have some?"
"Yeah, thanks, I appreciate it," said Snotlout holding some nails in his teeth. "I'll have some as soon as I'm finished repairing this spot."
Eret sat there sipping some tea when Snotlout cried out in pain as he had just hit his finger with a hammer.
"Hey, got a question for you," said Eret, and Snotlout looked at him. "I'll just get right to the point. What are you going to do after you fix that ship?"
"Well, let's see," said Snotlout, thinking. "First will go on a few adventures together, and eventually, I'll sail her back to our home in the East Blue. I know that we did so around the world are anything, but the Tiger and I made it all the way to the Grand Line. I call that a successful voyage that will end with a triumphant return! So with our heads held high—"
"Sorry, not going to happen," Eret interrupted. "You can't go all the way back to the East Blue. It's too far away."
Everyone then looked at him as he put his cup of tea down and got to his feet.
"What do you mean?" Kalena asked.
"I took a close look at your ship while we were bringing it up here earlier," said Eret. "Got to see her from every angle."
He began thinking back to a few hours ago when they started holing the ship into the warehouse. Kalena was manning the crane, and Kaley was on the deck watching Snotlout, who was tied to the mast.
"Stop it, you bastards!" Snotlout yelled furiously. "What you plan on doing with the Tiger? Take off those ropes! Put her down! If you do anything to hurt this ship, my 8,000 men will make you regret it! You hear me; you're pissing off the wrong guy! You dismantling piece of garbage, you will rue the day you made an enemy of the great Pirate Captain Snotlout! Rue the day!"
"Oh, shut up already," said Kaley inching his cheek.
"Don't you dare pinch me!"
"I said shut up!"
Eret was ignoring him, and that's when he noticed the damage on the ship's hull.
"That ship is at the end of her life," said Eret. "Galley Law's assessment was correct. You said that your captain was the one who been doing the repairs on your ship. Well, he did a good job patching her together for an amateur, but everything has its limit. As an expert in the demolition business, I suggest that you dismantle her."
Snotlout looked at him, horrified. "What? That's ridiculous!"
"I'd even help you do the job," said Eret. "Like I said, I'm an expert."
"Are you crazy? What in the hell are you talking about, you jerk?" Eret then began taking several steps forward. "Hold on!Don't come any closer! Stop, I mean it!"
He then raised his fists, ready to fight.
"Bro!" the twins yelled.
"Take it easy and just simply offering to help to demolish this ship, that's all," said Eret.
"Stop screwing around! I'm not gonna let you anywhere near her, understand? Get lost! The Tiger is my ship!"
"You're wrong," said Eret. "Listen, that old girl is no longer a ship."
"What did you say?" Snotlout stared.
"Earlier, I asked you a question about what you planned on doing what you fix that ship," Eret reminded him. "Now, if you had said that you were going to cast away your life to the sea and go down along with and I wouldn't have said anything about it, no questions. But since you just told me that you plan on going all the way back to the East Blue with her… well, now I have to stop you."
Snotlout just glared at him, not relenting in the slightest.
"That ship is at her end," Eret continued. "She won't even make it to the next island. This ship is born with only one promise, to carry you across the sea from one shore to another. That is her sole purpose. The reason for her existence, which means when the time comes when a ship can no longer carry you across the sea…" He then jumped and grabbed hold of its side.
"Hey, stop!" Snotlout yelled. "Noooo!"
"…then that promise has been broken, and she is no longer a ship," said Eret and pulled with all his strength tearing a large chunk of the side from it.
"Bro!" the twins yelled.
"No, stop it!" Snotlout yelled with tears in his eyes.
Eret then tossed the piece he tore off onto the ground.
"You bastard!" Snotlout yelled and clenched his fist. "You keep away from the Tiger."
He then punched Eret as hard as he could, sending him flying across the room, but yelled in pain, clutching his fist, which was now badly bruised.
"Son of a bitch!" said Eret and then quickly grabbed Snotlout around the waist. "If you don't understand…" He then tossed into the air and quickly jumped as high as he could. "…take a look with your own damn eyes!"
He then punched him, sending him crashing into the dock. Snotlout reached all the way to the bottom of the dock and could see the Going Tiger from beneath. From there, he could see the patchwork of metal sheets Hiccup installed, and he could see that the keel was indeed cracked. He just floated beneath the ship for about a minute before swaying back to the surface.
Eret watched as he pulled himself out, but then he walked all the way towards the piece just torn off. Then using all his strength, he carried it back towards the Tiger and continued to fix the ship.
"Sorry, Tiger," he said, hammering away. "I'll fix you up right away. As many times as you need. No matter what, I'll always take care of you… always."
The twins were crying as they watched the scene, but Eret was looking rather annoyed.
"Hey, enough already!" Eret yelled frustratingly. "You saw the bottom of the ship, right? The keel is broken right down the middle, the outer panels are slipping off, and the frame is shot! With a hole like that, the first wave will rip her apart! And you think a complete amateur like you can grab a hammer and—"
He then stopped when Snotlout turned around, glaring at him murderously. "You shut your damn mouth! I don't want to hear another word out of you! If you so much as breathe, I will kick your teeth in, you hear me?"
Snotlout then began to cry and fell to his knees. "Besides, I already knew."
"What did you say?" Eret stared.
"To be honest, in my heart, I knew it all along," Snotlout cried. "I knew… I knew the truth! I knew the Tiger was at the end of her life! Deep down, I knew it. When I heard the assessment, I knew what I saw on that day back on Skypiea really happened. At first, I thought I was dreaming, that there was no way it could be real.
On one foggy night, with the forest lit with nothing but moonlight, I heard the hammering strikes of a wooden mallet. It sounded like it was coming from towards the direction of the ship, but at the time, there shouldn't have been anyone on board. I crept closer and confirmed that the sound indeed came from the Tiger. The fog was thick, but I'm sure that I saw someone there striking away with a wooden mallet. I-I couldn't figure out who it was.
"On the morning of the next day, we awoke to find the ship had been hazard lay repaired. Even the broken mast was back to where it always been, but there was something even more peculiar that was bugging me. Whoever fixed the Tiger knew how she used to look. Despite all the modifications we made to her, this mysterious person had brought her back to her original shape. She was still in rough condition, but she was the same old Tiger she had been before. The whole situation remained a mystery, but for some reason, these words lingered in my heart. I don't know if it's something I actually heard someone say or maybe something I just imagined."
'Don't worry, I'll carry everyone for a little while longer,' said the voice of a child.
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but I think it was… the incarnation of the Tiger, and she spoke to me," Snotlout cried. "She probably already knew that she was at her limits, and so she appeared in that form to tell us. She wanted to reassure us that it'll be all right. That's what I thought of when I heard her assessment from Galley Law."
Eret then began making his way back to the counter without saying a word.
Snotlout wiped his nose and tried to regain his composure. "You probably think I'm out of my mind, don't you? I don't care; you don't have to believe me."
Eret then sat down and looked as if he was contemplating.
"What's up, bro?" Kaley asked.
"Whether I believe it or not, you said that whoever it was you saw looked like it was someone holding a wooden mallet, right?" Eret asked.
Snotlout's lit up. "That's right. Does it mean something?"
"Yeah, it sure does," said Eret. "It means you saw a Klabautermann."
"Klaba-what?" Snotlout frowned.
"A Klabautermann, the tall legend passed down from sailor to sailor," Eret explained. "It's a very particular type of fairy; it only dwells on ships that are treated with great care. You could say that it is the ship's spirit. It is said that it carried a wooden mallet in its hand and wears a sailer's raincoat. In times when the vessel is in danger, it runs around the ship and finds some way to warn everyone. I heard that they help sailors in other ways too, but to be honest, this is the first time I've ever heard someone say outright that they've seen one."
Snotlout just sat there openmouthed, not sure whether Eret was serious or making fun of him.
"The more care that ship receives, the more they grow to appreciate the sailors," said Eret looked towards the Tiger. "This ship must have been determined to see you to the next shore no matter what. Just think about it; this ship had a caring crew that was so special to her that she even appeared in human form to reassure them that everything was going to be all right. I bet she's been very happy."
Snotlout then turned towards the Going Tiger and burst into tears. "Tiger… I see. So, it was you… you were the one that made those repairs and spoke to me back then, weren't you? Tiger…"
Eret merely smiled as the twins brush the tears out of their eyes.
"As amazing as that is, I'm still confused," said Eret frowning. "Tell me, why would you have a big fight with your crew when you knew the ship was done for."
"It's not that simple," said Snotlout cleaning his nose.
"I'll never understand why men are so stupid!" Kalena cried.
"They're such idiots!" Kaley agreed, crying as well.
They then heard the sound of a bell, and everyone stopped what they were doing.
"Sounds like someone is at the door," said Kalena.
"Someone?" Eret frowned. "Who else would it be than Teeny and the others? But why would they take the long way in and come from the seaside?"
"Yeah, that's odd," Kalena agreed. "They normally come in from the upper entrants."
"Maybe they had to because they were able to capture the Dragon?" Kaley offered.
Eret groaned when he remembered why they had kidnapped Snotlout. "That's right, I forgot! I kidnapped you to use you as bait to lure out your crew."
"They won't come," said Snotlout. "I'm no longer part of that crew, remember? That plan won't work."
Eret sighed, and the bell rang again.
"Why are they ringing the bell when they can just come in?" said Kaley.
"How annoying," said Kalena looking a little annoyed. "Okay, okay… hold on, I'm coming! Enough already, we hear you, hold on a second!"
The twins then began making their way towards the door, leaving Eret with Snotlout.
"All right, pal," said Eret as he rose to his feet. "Listen, I think what you should do is go back to your friends."
"It's impossible to do that all," said Snotlout. "I challenge the captain to a duel for starters. And then there's the matter of the ship that hasn't been settled yet."
Eret shook his head. "What you mean hasn't been settled? If your ship can't sail any more than it can't sail anymore, that's the end of it, right? Just leave her here with me, okay. I'll take care of her in a way that you'd approve of. Problem solved. I wasn't thinking about what I was doing earlier; I tried dismantling the ship without considering what would be best for you. It will be different this time."
"This is my problem! Stay out of it, okay!" Snotlout snapped.
The two of them and began arguing as the twins had reached the door.
"Is that you, Teeny?" Kalena asked.
There was no answer, and the bell just rang again; the two of them looked at one another and shrugged.
Eret was at the end of his wick and was now looking directly at Snotlout face-to-face. "Don't you understand the situation? As hard as it is for you, it's worse on the ship. She loves you guys so much that she appeared to you in human form. If she sinks to the bottom of the sea while you're still on board, then all of that would have been for nothing. Get it? If that happened, her final moments will be filled with regret; she won't be able to die in peace!"
"Is that what you would do?" Snotlout glared, grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulled him towards him. "After everything you've been through together, you wouldn't believe one of your friends behind to die on their own? Just throw them aside like trash?"
"That's not the same thing at all! This is completely different!"
"It is the same thing, and that is exactly what is going on!"
"Argh, you just don't get it!"
Probably would have argued some more, but then they saw Kaley shot right past them.
"Kaley?" Eret stared.
They then turned towards the door and saw Kalena been kicked against the head and fell to the floor.
"Kalena! Who in the hell did that?"
He then saw entering the warehouse when the members of CP9.
"I apologise for the interruption," said Kala, who had been the one that kicked Kalena. "It's just those two ladies weren't being very accommodating about letting us in."
"It's Galley Law?" Eret stared as he and Snotlout stared at them open-mouthed. He then charged at them furiously. "What are you bastards doing down here!"