Beyond the Shadow

Brook oberved with wonder through his tired eyes, althoug he hadn't had eyes in a long time, as the Straw Hat Pirates tore through their opponents. With or without the skeleton's warnings, the musician felt as if they'd have accomplished the same nonetheless. Against the gloom and doom environment of Thriller Bark, their presence resonated like the rumble of a golden drum, almost as if they were bringing the dawn of fierce, indomitable joy into a landscape that had known only despair and sorrow.

Accompanying the pirates for the time being, there was a couple of giants looking for a way back to the beginning of the Grand Line, apparently in order to seek out and witness an honor duel that was enough to move any man to tears. Oimo and Kashi had come sitting on a marine warship as if it was a canoe, and while they laughed merrily along with the others, their souls seemed far away, seeking their captains on the far away winds.

Their captain shone like a beacon: impulsive, easy to laugh... strong. So disbelievingly strong, that when he got going, Brook could scarcely hear him move, although he no longer had ears to hear with, in the first place. And his gaze could become heavy in a split second, as if he was unused to having to seriously consider what was going on around him before deciding to act.

Their First Mate looked like he shouldn't be around unsupervised, but not for his youthful face, or the face that he apparently disliked using corrective glasses that allowed him to actually see what was going on. No, he needed someone to keep an eye on him because he attacked everything that he perceived as 'not crew' with some sort of exhilarated fury. Clearly inexperienced with it, but not less dangerous for it, he was trying to wield two animal-sabers at the same time: one elephant-based, the other giraffe-like. Truly, the world had changed while Brook was a prisoner on Thriller Bark.

What to say about the decidedly odd, green-haired man who wielded three swords at the same time, beyond the fact that he had defeated Ryuma in the best duel Brook had ever seen, freeing the Humming Skeleton's shadow when the time came?

There was a cook who eagerly kicked Brook's skull when he, as was his cutsom, asked for the ladies' panties. The humming skeleton had been kicked hard enough to make his brain rattle in his head, although he no longer had a brain. The dark-haired beauty didn't harm the musician for his request, but he had the feeling that she could, and easily at that. The orange-haired one had somehow delivered a blow with a staff that Brook hadn't seen her carry, while the blonde demonstratively crushed a cannonball between her bare hands, smiling sadistically while her blue orbs shone with mirth.

There was a strange, steel-jawed, long-nosed man who seemed to break down in uncontrollable shivers from time to time, as he didn't have any tricks capable of banishing the 'demons' that infested the island. Usopp, which covered the role of a sniper, had changed his personality almost completely when it was revealed that mere salt could break the connection between the shadow doing the possession and the body or object it inhabited: in a matter of seconds, he had geared himself for a war that he couldn't help but win.

The blue-haired cyborg, while clearly a pervert, hadn't joined Brook in his asking around for women' panties, but in time, he would come to join the bone-deep understanding of the ways into a woman's heart.

There was some dog-raccoon who was revealed to be a shapeshifting human-reindeer, who was the doctor of the crew. Disbelievingly smart and casually brutal when it came to protecting his own, he seemed to enjoy the term 'monster' when it was used to refer to him, although he broke out in happy dances every time he was complimented for some of his other skills.

Answering to the name of the Going Merry, there was a person whose existence dwarfed in oddness everything that Brook's tired eyes had ever seen, even if he no longer had them. She too was a shapeshifter, enjoying the multiple talents of a Zoan Fruit user: when she wasn't listening to Chopper, slowly unveiling more and more applications for her power, she acted almost like a ship meant for dry land: her horned head grew into some hybrid between a goat and a ceetah, while the rest of her grew to a caravel's size, sporting port holes in her sides and a deck capable of hosting every member of the crew, and then some. Ultimately, she was a scarred little thing capable of using all the strength granted her by her other, unholy size, with a heart that well reflected both the joyful nature of the captain in the goat-like harmlessness, and the vicious violence of the First Mate in her sharp fangs and unstoppable movements.

With Oimo and Kashi running by her side and the whole crew on her back, the Straw Hat pirates had crossed Thriller Bark in a matter of minutes, tearing through all their opponents like they didn't matter at all: and even the feared Shichibukai Moria, the bane of all those trapped on that accursed island, was swiftly defeated, killed by a sudden guillotine motion created with the giraffe and elephant zoan swords held by the pink-haired first mate.

When the Going Merry's heartbreaking story was revealed in the aftermath of the battle, Brook couldn't help but reveal his own sorrowful past... and then they told him of how they met Laboon, and how captain Luffy had saved him from his grief.

Yes, captain Luffy, because how else could you call the man who saved you, saved your only remaining friend, and offered you a place on their adventures? After what felt like an age of loneliness and despair, Brook once more felt music in his bones, and he sang.


The King Sunny truly lived up to his recently christened name: more frigate than a galleon, it was a much sleekier, bigger version of the Thousand Sunny, with hidden, dial-based engines to propel him when there was no wind, Gaon Cannon and Coup the Burst both cleverly hidden respectively in the realistic lion-like figurehead, and in the back of the ship. With three towering masts, it was thought for speed and maneuverability, while the Adam Wood would take care of the resilience needed to best any sea.

There was a single line of twelve cannons, courtesy of Usopp, placed on both sides of the ship: each capable of firing a wide variety of projectiles. The bulwark developed sinuously in wood that was painted white, as a nod to the Going Merry, across the separate decks of the ship. On the back was placed the helm, where a simple but sturdy cover could be deployed if needed to sail through the worse storms that the world could provide, while the front deck was upraised so that the crew could deliver attacks of their own while aiming at another vessel. Twin anchors shaped like lion-paws were nestled just next to a couple of harpoon launchers, giving the impression that the lion that was the figurehead was ready to jump forward and maul those that dared defy him. He was indeed a fit companion for the future King of Pirates.

But of course, it was the middle deck that caught the eye most: between the middle, tallest mast, and the forward one which was exactly where the stairs leading to the forefront of the ship were placed, there was a garden. And not any garden: while there were two tangerine trees that had proved themselves resilient beyond compare as the Going Merry brought them from Cocoyashi to Water 7, there was also a third, unique form of vegetable life.

The third tree which had once been as ordinary as the others nominally belonged to Coby instead of Nami, and Usopp had managed to complete an ongoing project that the two had developed with Chopper and Sanji's head since Drum: with his devil fruit power, the sniper had swallowed whole the entire tree along with one example of every plant and fruit available, added some Adam Wood, and spit out a tree that looked more like a small oak than anything else, each branch carrying a multitude of different fruits and vegetables, while off the trunk grew freely herbs that were both useful to create healing salves and whatnot, or that worked wonderfully in the kitchen.

And the party that took place after the Shichibukai's death was of course developing from the middle deck, which hosted an entrance to Sanji's kitchen wide enough for the endless stream of food to be shared with those who had been saved from Moria. With my back against Usopp's Wonder Tree, I was alternating deep thinking moments with deep gulps from my tankard.

Cross-legged, I had Spandam's Devil Fruit encyclopedia open on one knee, and a certain Devil Fruit on the other. I had almost hoped that it wouldn't manifest.

The Shadow-Shadow Devil Fruit was coconut-like in size and appearance, even if it had a curly, purplish stem with two odd-shaped leaves. The swirly curls that marked the Devil Fruit seemed to etch lines so black they almost looked blue over an otherwise gleaming blue skin. My eyes shifted between the known uses of that power listed by Spandam's handwriting and the fruit itself, while my mind worked furiously on what I should do next. To justify my absence for the raging party that involved a merry pair of giants, and a giant Merry stumbling about as she drunk enough ale to drown a small country, I was also holding my 'crystal' ball, while the two zoan sabers that I decided to use to murder Moria rested quietly in their scabbards.

The first reason to kill Moria was mostly to save Oars Jr. at Marineford: I had no real emotive attachment to him, but Ace did, and I'd what I could to grant his survival, despite my lackluster attempt when we met in Alabasta. Ultimately however, I didn't know if I'd be able to survive Marineford itself, and making it so that I'd be there would carry it's own set of difficulties.

I had done what I could to help Luffy figure out more of his powers, stress testing some minor variations that he still had to deploy in an actual fight, while I did the same with all the other members of the crew. I had managed to change canon: Merry's existence was proof of that, but even my plan, which involved her becoming a cross with a giraffe hadn't developed as I had first envisioned it. Luffy had killed Lucci, and his fruit had turned our first vessel into what she was now: I had hoped that the possibility of having Jabra's fruit could do the same, as being part predator would serve the child-goat cross of our ship's fairy better than adding another prey, no matter how useful Kaku had shown it could be.

Oimo and Kashi had sailed away following us from Eines Lobby, and their help had been fundamental to quickly dispose of Moria. That too showed that I could change the history I had witnessed, and more importantly, it confirmed that the changes I engineered kept rippling beyond my control. Removing Moria from the game saved Oars Jr. from being immediately incapacitated, did that mean that Doflamingo would kill him immediately? Without the Shadow-Shichibukai, Jinbe would not have an opponent keeping him busy.

What would happen? I truly couldn't be sure anymore. Was what I did enough to save Ace? A man that truly didn't deserve to be killed only for his parentage, but who, more to the point, was my captain's brother. I don't know what to do. Between my interference both on Skypeia and Water 7, not to speak of the last fight, we're clearly ahead of Kuma's warning to Moria, or he'd have jumped in to save that fucker's life. It means that he'll be here to fuck us up before our log-pose stabilizes towards Sabaondi.

The light buzz of the alcohol likely didn't help me focus, but my time for choosing was quickly running out: besides the hot mess that was the looming war at Marineford, there was the unavoidable crash with Kuma. One of the Seven that truly lived up to the hype, and that I didn't doubt could steamroll us all in the time it took me to blink.

Without us receiving grievous injuries against Moria, there wasn't room for Zoro's moment of self-sacrifice... When one door closes, a window opens?

I gulped down the rest of my beverage and set down the tankard, both my hands now rolling my crystal sphere in my hands as I thought about the possibilities that the plan I was developing offered... those truly were long reaching, and if I managed it, I could also stop Teach from stealing Whitebeard's power, cutting off the legs of one of the most dangerous pirates that soared over the seas.

A set of footsteps reached my ears, and with a sigh, I tasted once more my indecision: if I did it, there was no coming back. I wasn't sure if Luffy's plot armor couldn't protect me from something on this scale, it had barely been enough to let him live in canon, and it hadn't been enough to save Ace. If I did it, I'd be alone, on a tight timeline, instead of eventually enjoying two years of training where Kuma deemed my abilities would best grow.

A grimace appeared on my face while I closed Spandam's encyclopedia and removed my glasses, my left tightening on my crystal ball to the point it cracked, while my right closed over Moria's fruit. I've never been any good at not meddling.

"This is where the handsome man who killed Moria was then!" a female's voice made me tilt my head towards the pink and red blur that was Lola, who got down on one knee and spoke: "Will you marry me?"

I gave out a startled laugh, as I had completely forgotten about her. One of the ugliest characters that Oda ever drew, with the explicit purpose of introducing a tie to Big Mom herself later on. How a daughter of a Yonko raised in the New World could ever manage to let herself be defeated by that pushover of Moria it was anyone's guess, but on the other hand... I was in the body of a sixteen years old male, without glasses I couldn't really see her, and I had just decided to seriously endanger my life. Also, the drunk buzz in my veins suggested that this was going to be hilarious on a scale never seen before: it would play right into some sort of cosmic irony, wouldn't it? You have to live to regret you actions, or some such tripe.

"Why would you ask me?"

My question, more than my laughter, was what made her shoulders slump: "I've been seeking out true love since..."

"I don't mean that." I shook my head, placing the crystal ball down next to me and holding Moria's devil fruit with both hands, the enormity of what I was planning washing over me with a vengeance. In any case, it won't matter. "On these seas, the most attractive trait in a woman is her personal power: her ability to not be a liability... you were kept prisoner, and were just rescued by us. You know that my loyalty will always be to my captain first, why would you ask to marry me, only to go on separate ways? Or did you think that a man of honor would abandon his captain, even for love? That truly would demean me in an intolerable way. And what about your crew? What will they do once you achieve your dream of getting wed?"

"I'll join your crew!" Lola, for the first time in her life spotting an opening, jumped on it: "And your long-nosed companion and the blue-haired pervert already fixed both the humming skeleton's ship and maintained Thriller Bark's steering and sails. The two giants are planning on using Thriller Bark as a ship to reach their capitains, while my crew will be free to pursue their own dreams!"

"You'd abandon them so easily?" a note of censure entered my tone as I regarded the pink and red blur of Lola, "After all, you went through together?"

Even with my lacking eyesight, I could see that she was shaking her head: "I had begged them to stay back home when I ran away, and they were willing to swear their lives to me, we compromised, agreeing that they'd follow me until I found a husband: some will look for a peaceful life, some will go on as free pirates in the Blues... but they'd have the freedom they did put on hold for my sake."

I considered what she told, not that I had any interest in the fate of her people, but the kind of person that dropped all of her friends for the selfish achievement of a dream wasn't one that could truly be trusted. She was a daughter of Big Mom, wasn't she? It meant that there was some unholy untapped potential somewhere in her, something that hopefully could pop out during the timeskip after Marineford, and if nothing else, it'd be interesting to see. So I answered, my head swaying minutely as I took an impulsive decision: "Sure, I'll marry you, but only if your crew is fine with you leaving with us, and if Luffy accepts you on board."

She vanished from my deficient sight before I could reply, but my ears were peeled enough for me to listen to the shouts that went over the white noise of the ongoing party: "Captain Luffy!" her voice rang with a clarity that her lungs shouldn't be able to provide, and I began to laugh once more, "May I join your crew?"

"Wha...?" the startled reply of the Straw Hat Pirates' captain had me uncertainly raise to my feet, "What can you do?"

Lola's answer was drowned out by all the wrong feelings that assaulted me when I brought to my mouth the first step of a convoluted plan that would truly put my life on the line. I took a bite, and I tasted the bottom of an ashtray, undiluted regret, and rotting corpses.

"Another cook!" my hearing returned after I swallowed Moria's power, and I immediately cast aside my thoughts in favor of letting out a full-bellied peal of laughter, "Another cook means more food!" Luffy's voice rang with enthusiasm: "Join my crew and give me food!"

I wheezed as I bent over the nearest bulwark, and laughed, seeing the pieces fall together before they truly did: "Sanji is the boss-cook, Mikita is the chocolate cook, and you are the other-sweets cook with swords!" my captain could be dangerously predicatble to those that truly knew him eagerly, "This means that we'll have much more food to eat!"

Lola climbed back on the King Sunny faster than I thought she could move, and even without my glasses there was no mistaking the trepidation she wore on her face: "I'm part of the Straw Hat pirates now, will you marry me?"

From down in the crowd, silence rang for a moment, only to be followed up by contrasting suggestions, both from those that were already laughing, finding the whole thing as hilarious as I thought it'd be, and those few loyal to the bro-code that screamed at me to not accept.

I turned fully towards Lola, thankful like never before for my poor eyesight, and I shrugged: "Eh, why not? I'll marry you."

The ceremony was organized in a flurry of laughter under the dictator-like behavior of Lola, who wasn't going to let me go now that she had succeeded, and, if one didn't take into consideration her appearance, she was kind of a cool girl. Daughter of a despot of unimaginable power, she said no to a loveless marriage and escaped successfully, deciding to spend her life in search of what she truly wished. I remotely felt guilty about accepting to marry her only to have sex before my life's possible end, but being drunk truly helped.

But after a few days, I'd likely have two whole years to build up my alcohol resistance without my 'wife' around: it would work out, and if cosmic irony was enough to twist fate into letting me survive, I'd take it as added insurance against my mad, mad plan.

When Kuma arrived, two days later, I was ready for his beatdown. As I knew it would happen, for him we weren't even a challenge, and Oimo and Kashi disappeared just as easily as I suspected they would, while the rest of the crew and of Thriller Bark inhabitants were tossed about like children in face of a hurricane.

And when the moment came, I easily stepped beyond an unconscious Luffy, opening my arms invitingly: "I'm the First Mate of the Straw Hat Pirates!"

"I've been on the seas for less than a year, and without a devil fruit, I learned four of the Six Powers after seeing them only once!" I laughed challengingly at the unmoving, unexpressive form of the 'Mad Tyrant' Kuma: "Without Devil Fruit powers, I led the raid on Eines Lobby, and I pissed on the flag of the World Government! Without mercy, I crippled Crocodile and killed Moria! If you don't capture me now, I'll tear down the sky itself over Marejoys!"

"Coby..." Zoro's voice came in a wheezing breath from a pile of rubble nearby, "What are you..?"

I dropped my cracked crystal ball from one large pocket of my jacket into the ground, knowing that the swordsman was clever enough to catch my hint: "Do you trust me?"

"It's not about trust." he grumbled with his hands tightening around the hilts of his weapons, both of us knowing that his answer was a resounding 'Yes'.

Then I smiled as disarmingly as I could, my heart hammering in my chest as I walked up to Kuma, only to chuckle over my shoulder: "Then trust me."

"Estranged Menace, 'Charlotte' Coby." I blinked in surprise as Kuma's hand closed over my chest, only for everything to go instantly black. How did he know my new name?

Even as I went unconscious and the world faded from my senses, I could already feel the excitement surge through me: Impel Down, the most terrible prison the genocidal fuckers ruling this world could come up with: six levels of hell, the worst of the worst, in the most guarded underwater prison to ever exist.

For a man who ate the Shadow Shadow Devil Fruit, which was me, it sounded like an All-you-can-eat Buffet.


AN

Some saw Moria's fruit coming since when I gave the enormous hint with the changed title, some didn't, but I expect nobody saw coming to Coby actually legitimizing the Charlotte surname by marrying Lola. It was just too hilarious an opportunity to not take, and given what the MC was planning, going all out before the unavoidable interference of Kuma was unavoidable.

I hope everyone agrees with yet another use of Usopp's power: I mean, given Coby's insight, not having a tree ready to catch any Devil Fruit trying to be reborn was kind of stupid.