Looking up it wasn't hard to spot the source of the noise, a massive bat-like creature seemingly woven from the shadows itself. Leaping from the creatures back was a handful of very distinct zombies. The first to land was the samurai Ryuma, the black blade Shusui already drawn. The second to land was Tararan a literal spider crossed with a monkey, its predominant colors being black and yellow.
The next zombie nearly slammed into the ground face first, catching itself at the last moment before straightening up. Even then he swayed drunkenly in place, at his hips he wore a pair of cutlass, a brace of pistols was slung across his chest though only two actually contained pistols the others holding bottles of beer. Taking a swig from the bottle in his hand John seemed to peer around as if he wasn't quite sure where he was.
Joining the three of them was a zombie with four-arms, a large centaur zombie with elephant feet, a viking zombie wielding a pair of axes, and finally a zombie wearing a full suit of armor wielding less a sword and more a giant chunk of slightly sharpened steel. There was something about that last zombie that tugged at the back of my mind but I set it aside to deal with more immediate threats.
"Tii'chia is that what I think it is?" Merry asked, reversing her grip on Yubarashi as she dug in her raincoat for something. Eyes fixed on the creature above as it began to circle the ship. Outside of the beating of it's wings the creature was completely silent.
"Well if your thinking that it's a Nightwing then yes it's exactly what you think it is." As I answered I went over what I remembered that Nightwings were capable of. A bite of searing cold that could drain magic from spells cast on the victim of the bite, ability to cast spells of it's own, and a resistance to spells cast on it.
"I was afraid you'd say that." Merry muttered even as she pulled out the scroll of Ice Storm that she had pocketed earlier. "Group them all up for me?"
Even as I nodded my tail cracked out through the air behind me, slamming into a startled Absolm's chest with the force of a wrecking ball. It felt like I may have broken a couple of his ribs, though I knew that such an injury would barely slow him down. Completing my spin, I dug my claws into Absolm's arms as I grabbed hold of him. Then with a mighty heave I lifted him up off the ground and threw him bodily through the air to where the general zombies were still clustered. As Absolm was starting to get back to his feet, he faded back into visibility. I could only guess as to his reasoning to behind the maneuver. Either way it gave Merry enough time to finish the spell.
Flashing a dark blue the runes on the scroll vanished as large magical hailstones pounded the clustered together zombies. The hail was followed by heavy snow and sleeting rain that produced such a racket that I doubted they could hear anything. As a bonus the snow and rain left that section slippery which the centaur zombie soon discovered as it took a step forward only to nearly lose its footing.
"Sanji! That cat headed guy ate the Clear Clear fruit and was planning on doing perverted things to Robin and Nami!" The words had barely left my mouth before Sanji seemed to teleport across the length of the ship. Sanji's leg a blur only visible due to the small bursts of fire as he landed a flurry of kicks on Absolm. Each kick lifting Absolm several inches off the ground until Sanji was forced to Moon walk after him to continue the attack. Merry and I watching in wide-eyed bewilderment.
"97, 98, 99, M-M-Monster combo!" I jerked my head to the side to see Merry holding up a white sign with monster combo written on it in orange letters just as Sanji landed the last kick. One that spiked Absolm down so hard that he bounced off the surface of the water before landing in a heap upon the nearby shore. Apparently Merry hadn't been watching in quite as much surprise as I had been. Leaping down after him Sanji punted Absolm into the woods before both of them became lost to sight.
Even if I had wanted to watch further I was forced turn my attention to Ryuma just in time to interpose Kintsugi between Ryuma's blade as the zombie charged me. Seeming to be unhindered by the icy ground. Sparks from where our swords clashed briefly lighting up his sunken eye sockets.
"Yohoho, I'm impressed you managed to block my attack lizard. You'll be a good challenge to test my mettle against.
"Sorry but I'll have to decline. Your dance cards all full of the evening." Pulling my elbow in towards my body I adjusted the angle of our blades before shoving forwards and up. Breaking the clash with a heave that sent Ryuma stumbling. Flaring my wings I buffeted him with a powerful gust of wind before leaping over his head and gliding several feet away.
It seemed to be just in time as well, Zoro charging into the spot I had just vacated. He got in two quick slashes before Ryuma recovered, countering with a blow that knocked both of Zoro's blades wide and would have cut him open if he hadn't twisted away at the last second. Weaving through a storm of follow up blows Zoro struck out with a horizontal slice that sent Ryuma skipping backwards before they both vanished over the side of the ship.
Turning my attention finally to the wider battlefield I noticed that for the moment Merry and Franky had the remaining zombies in hand. Franky keeping Tararan, and the centaur zombie pinned down in the Ice Storm with alternating blasts from his Weapons Left and fire from his mouth. The four-armed zombie laying defeated on the deck, likely taken out by a lucky shot early on. Merry meanwhile was skirmishing with John, the viking, and the armored zombie. Darting between the three with rapid movements that were hard to track.
Clutching the Burning Glaive in one hand Robin was launching fireballs up into the air to discourage the Nightwing from swooping down to attack. It didn't seem to be doing much else though as the few fireballs that did connect with the beast most seemed to be only lightly burning the skin. Occasionally a limb would bloom that would trip up one of the zombies or knock one of their attacks off target. While much of her focus was on the Nightwing it wasn't preventing her from keeping an eye on the battle.
A quick leap and a couple flaps of my wings was enough to reach her side. Robin shooting me a quick glance as I landed, tucking my wings back behind me but not reverting them just yet. "Need a hand?"
"I already seem to have plenty, but one or two more for flying pest control would be useful." Nodding I was just about to take flight to engage the Nightwing when Robin casually asked a question that made the nonexistent hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"Tii'chia, what kind of perverted stuff was that invisible zombie going to do to us?"
"Uuuuhhh, if I remember right it was groping and licking your face." Robin didn't look at me as she very slowly nodded.
"I see." Was all she said as in the distance there was a very loud sharp crack followed by a scream. "That's not supposed to bend that way!"
Concealing a wince I leaped into the air wanting to put as much distance between myself and a pissed off Robin as possible. Several powerful beats of my wings brought me level with the Nightwing as it continued to circle. Upon spotting me the Nightwing let out an excited screech before it began to ascend. It was certainly faster then I was in the air but its maneuverability left something to be desired. Thankfully unlike it I could hover in place rather then needing to be constantly moving in order to remain airborne. So rather then chasing after it I waited for it to loop around and come after me.
The Nightwing heralded its attack with a screech as it dived at me from out of the fog, white exposed fangs glimmering in the dark. Kintsugi cracked through the air as I launched a blade of air at the oncoming creature before dipping one wing to twist out of the way. The attack cut deep into the Nightwing, drops of blood either black or so close to black that it didn't matter spraying from the wound before gravity took hold and dragged them down to the water below. I misjudged how tenacious the Nightwing would be however and barely got my shield up in time as it twisted its neck to try and bite me.
All it got was a mouthful of shield for its trouble and another wound near the joint where it's wing joined the main body. It pulled back, buffeting me with its wings as it moved away from me.
In the time it took for me to regain my equilibrium I had dropped several feet and lost sight of the Nightwing. Scanning the skies I spotted it above me preparing for another pass. It was moving noticeably faster as it wheeled about so much so that it likely had taken my distraction to cast Haste on itself.
As it dove towards me once more I tucked my wings in and swooped to its left far enough away this time that it couldn't try for a bite. As it rocketed past me I lashed out with a Red Dragon's Breath, the arc of flame scorching across the Nightwing's left side and wing. Shrieking in pain the Nightwing pulled sharply out of its dive seeming to seek to put as much distance as possible between me and it. If it did escape as was seeming to be likely with it's increased speed, it could lick it's wounds only to attack again when we weren't ready. I had one move that I knew could catch it, even if it was so far untested while in the air.
Energy swirled around Kintsugi as I started to beat my wings as hard as I could. The muscles in my wings straining as I forced them to rise and fall faster and faster. My wings were a barely visible blur of motion when I finally struck the magic number, 10 beats of my wings in a single second. The wind whipped at my face as I gained on the Nightwing.
"Danse Macabre! Reaper's Rhapsody!" Thrusting Kintsugi forward just before impact I transferred all of my momentum down the length of the blade and into the Nightwing's body. The fog parted as the concentrated tunnel of wind tore through it for nearly 100 feet before finally expending all of its energy. The Nightwing didn't even have a chance to cry out before it was transformed into what appeared to be ruby but was actually just red colored glass.
As it plummeted out of the sky I looked down at Kintsugi with a fair amount of surprise. "I forgot that was a power of the Sword of Greed." I muttered as I glided back down towards Sunny's deck, wings hurting far too much for me to remain flying.
While I had been engaged with the Nightwing the battle had shifted in our favor. Both Zoro and Sanji were nowhere to be seen in the immediate area but from the crashing and explosions coming from among the trees they were still handling their opponents. Franky with Robin's assistance had dealt with the centaur leaving him to deal with Tararan while Robin got the attention of the armored zombie.
Landing near to where everyone was still fighting I caught sight of Merry knocking aside the Viking's axes before snapping a kick up between them. It caught the viking square in the jaw, sending him tumbling over backwards. Robin was keeping the armored zombie busy but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how. Only that it involved the glaive flying around darting in occasionally to stab at the zombie while multiple arms did something. It kind of looked like they were tickling the poor thing but really they could have been doing just about anything. Much easier to figure out was how she was keeping John from interfering.
She had stolen his bottle of beer and even now the hands were playing an intricate game of keep away that was forcing him to stumble after it. Whenever his drunken stumbling got close to catching up to the bottle a hand would end up tripping him up while more hands would pass the bottle further along.
Everything seemed to be going well so of course that's when the top of Moria's mansion, barely even visible through the fog, disintegrated in a massive paw shaped explosion. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look towards the sudden scene of devastation. Even the ever present fog had been parted for hundreds of feet in every direction. Not only revealing a beautiful night sky and the moon which had begun its ascent across it but that the top 2/3rds of the mansion was just gone.
There was a perfect moment of stillness as we all just continued to stare. But eventually it was broken by the sound of something massive taking a step. Then everything went to hell as in perfect coordination the zombies threw their heads back and howled.
Something dark almost misty brushed by me and I struck out with Kintsugi on instinct, the blade cutting through the air moments after the shadow had shot past. Countless shadows seemed to shot in from every direction each one sinking into the body of a still standing general zombie.
As the seconds passed more and more shadows flowed by to sink into the zombies. It seemed that in Moria's battle with Kuma, and it could only have been Kuma judging by the shape of the explosion, he had decided to concentrate the power of his shadows into the ones that would be doing most of the work, the remaining general zombies. What I couldn't figure out was why Kuma and Moria were fighting, not that I had the chance to figure it our right now.
As suddenly as it had started the rush of shadows stopped revealing that not only had each of the zombies grown larger they had changed in other ways. Each of Tararan's legs had grown a spiked chitinous shell that curved back over its limbs to protect them. Gooey black threads dripped from his mouth which had taken on a much more spider like appearance. Finally his tail curled up over his body, ending in a stinger that dripped poison. It didn't fit either a monkey or a spider, more resembling something a scorpion would have, but it sure fit into the theme of being creepy.
John appeared to have been physically changed the least, noticeably taller, standing straighter, having replaced the cutlasses and beer bottle with pistols from the brace he wore. Also gone was the lazy drunken attitude he had previously had. Now he had one that would be right at home on Blackbeard's ship, one of barely contained bloodlust and violence.
Bristly dark brown fur had sprouted all over the Viking zombies body, even as his face transformed into a bears, complete with a maw of teeth. The shadows having turned him from a viking zombie into a viking zombie werebear! Massive bear paws curled around the hafts of his axes, each blade dripping a suspiciously red substance that smelled strongly of blood. It was a mystery as to where the blood was coming from, one that I wasn't particularity interested in discovering the source of. He also seemed to have shot up the most in height now having a good two feet over me.
Wait hadn't there been four zombie generals a moment ago. I quickly did a head count, Tararan, John, Viking. One, two, three. Now where had the armored zombie with...the chunk of steel pretending it was a sword had gone. A growl from above pulled my eyes upwards, up and up until finally they landed on exactly what I was afraid I was going to see.
Crouching atop Sunny's main mast was the armored zombie. The clawed gauntlet of his left hand holding him steady with the massive sword slung over his right shoulder. The metal of his armor had darkened until it was hard to distinguish it from the darkness of the night sky, black cape snapping and writhing as if it was alive. What truly captured my attention however was the helm, feral with the likeness of the head of a wolf. Eyes burning red as they gazed down upon his prey.
Of all the possible things that could have happened tonight a zombie version of Gut's in full berserker armor was not one that I could have remotely prepared for. "I think that after tonight I'm going to need a drink." I muttered to myself, the thought becoming increasingly more appealing.
As if the universe was out to get me, Brook carrying an unconscious Luffy, ran up the side of the ship and landed on the deck. "I'm sorry everyone I tried to get away from him but we ran into Moria and now your captain's shadow as been stolen as well!"
"Great, just great, does anyone else arriving have any news they would like to announce?" I shouted, half expecting a response, and half hoping one wouldn't come. This was clearly not a day I should decide to take up gambling as I did get a response.
"Well I made it back to the ship to warn you all about the zombies, which I can see is a moot point now. On the way however I did run into Ghost Princess Perona and take her down." This response came from Lil as a bridge of plant matter and vines deposited her gently onto the deck of the ship. She didn't look very injured though her hair was a mess with some small twigs sticking out of it.
"In doing so I learned that I'm probably suffering from emotional exhaustion and should probably speak to a therapist. Is that enough of an announcement?"
"Yeah that's perfect Lil. Welcome back by the way." I sighed not taking my attention away from the Guts zombie still perched above me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lil nod before she crossed the deck, sitting down besides Brook and Luffy. I was happy that she had gotten back safely even while I hoped Usopp, Chopper, and Nami were alright. I didn't get a chance to think about it any longer as if by some unspoken signal the zombies attacked. "Brook protect Lil and Luffy!" I shouted before my attention was fully fixed on my foe.
Leaping down from the mast Gutz's swung his massive sword down at me, that wonderful force gravity adding to the power of the swing. I was caught with only two options, neither of which I liked. Dodge and let the sword hit Sunny's deck, which would likely cause a fair bit of damage, or I could block the blow and pray that the transferred force didn't break my arms and still cause damage to the ship.
There was really only one option as I wasn't about to let the Sunny get damaged if I could help it. Lifting my shield above my head I braced for the blow. We really needed to move this battle off of Sunny's deck and into a place that we could go wild in. Not that it really seemed likely that any of us was going to get the chance.
My shield rang like a gong as Gutz's sword slammed into it. Dear god did it hurt, it felt like the vibrations were going to tear my arm apart and maybe the rest of me with it. I couldn't let an attack like that go unanswered so I swung Kintsugi upward, aiming at Gutz's exposed side. The attack forced the zombie to raise his left arm up to block the blow, seeming surprised when the golden blade cut deeply into the metal. It did serve to force him backwards, lifting the massive sword with one hand.
I slipped backwards as Gutz readied himself for another swing but I interrupted his wind up by charging forward, shield held out before me. My shield slammed into him sending him stumbling backwards. A strike from my blade cutting a large gash into the wolf-like helm to expose his snarling face.
Whirling the blade over his head Gutz struck out with several lightning fast sweeps that really shouldn't have been possible with a blade of that size. Ducking, dodging, and in one case deflecting a blow with Kintsugi that looked like it might split me open, I was forced to fall back before I could get another good strike in.
Needing to get back on the offensive I leaped forward, ducking beneath a swing that likely would have taken my head off, before ramming my shield hard into Gutz. Struggling against each other I forced him back first one step then another until his back hit the railing. Pulling back just a little bit I stabbed forward with Kintsugi. Gutz just barely getting his blade up to block, our swords clashing in a brief shower of sparks. Snapping my shield up I slammed its edge into Gutz's lower jaw, nearly causing him to pitch over the railing.
I was just about to try something else when there was an odd clanging noise followed by Gutz pitching over the railing with surprising ease. I looked up just in time to see Sanji using Gutz head as a springboard to launch himself across the battlefield, before he slammed a kick into the Viking zombies midsection that caused it to double over. There was a massive sploosh from behind me and when I glanced back I could see Gutz sinking into the water, shadows streaming out of him. Well it was one way to solve the problem.
"Y'know I thought you looked ugly before but now you don't even look anything like a spider monkey." Franky twisted to the side as Tararan replied to his comment by spitting a sticking mass of black threads towards him. "Alright you asked for it! Weapons Left!" Snapping his left arm up Franky unloaded upon Tararan, the spider monkey curling up into a spiky ball that deflected the shots as they impacted with the tough plating.
He continued to fire at the curled up spider monkey until his arm gave the click click of being empty. "Okay bra if you're just gonna stay curled up like an egg then I'm gonna cook you like one! Franky- Yow!" Before he could finished calling out the name of his attack Franky had to duck to the side as a single strand of black webbing shot through the space his head had just occupied only stopping when it stuck to the main mast. "Missed me!" He shouted just as he turned back to Tararan. "I wasn't aiming at you moron."
"Oh shit!" Franky shouted his eyes popping and knocking his sunglasses away. Even as Tararan barreled towards him having used the attached thread as an anchor point to yank itself towards him. It slammed into him hard but Franky refused to budge. Sharp spines failing to pierced through the literal skin of iron even as the momentum was transferred and absorbed. "Okay you creepy looking freak if that's how you want to play it then let's play."
Reaching out Franky grabbed onto the sticky thread and with a powerful jerk snapped it. A couple of quick twists had the thread wrapped firmly around his right arm. Hefting Tararan up he proceeded to spin around, once, twice, three times before letting go. Tararan soaring out across the water, starting to uncurl just as Franky yanked back on the attached thread.
Tararan's forward momentum was halted with a screech from the creature just before it started to soar back towards Franky. "Let's see how you like this, Reject!" Just before Tararan would have collided with Franky, the cyborg punched forward with his right arm. There was the hiss of escaping steam and a metallic clunk as the piston in Franky's arm shot backward, reducing the recoil damage cause by the Reject dial.
Tararan's momentum was suddenly reversed once again as with the sickening crunch its exoskeleton exploded. Seconds later the sticky thread wrapped around Franky's arm went taut, and for a brief moment magically enhanced spider thread struggled against Franky's hand rebuilt cyborg body, neither refusing to give. Ultimately it was no contest as with the sound of a wire snapping the thread broke and Tararan continued his flight out across the water. Impacting with a splash that sent the water shooting high into the air.
"And stay off!" Franky shouted as he slammed his forearms together and posed.
"One sword style: Fiend's Anthem!" Shooting across the battlefield Merry drew, swung, and resheathed Yubarashi so fast that the strike was little more then a silvery blur. One that the Viking blocked with a shower of sparks as the heads of both axes collided with the blade. The Viking following its block with a wild double chop of his own but Merry had already zipped by him with her sword draw maneuver. Leaving the Viking's axes catching only the air of her passage.
Two fingers traced an arcane rune in front of Merry, the rune flaring briefly with light as Merry ran the fingers along Yubarashi's sheath. A brief scent of ozone lingering in the air as the spell was completed. Just in time as the Viking roared and charged her, axes swinging down from overhead towards her.
Eyeing the oncoming axes Merry dodged back out of their way at the last second and with a muttered, "Spell Combat: Shocking Grasp!" She struck.
Crackling arcs of electricity trailed behind Yubarashi as it cut through the air. Electricity pouring from the sheath before being drawn to the blade like a lightning rod. The attack sliced a long gash across the Viking's ribs, muscles twitching and parts of its body smoking as the voltage surged through its body.
Howling ferociously the Viking still had enough control to backhanded Merry with the flat of its axe. Briefly it sent her stumbling backwards before catching herself. Huffing in annoyance she tucked a strand of hair that had come loose behind her horns. Narrowing her eyes at the Viking she took a moment to stretch, letting the motion travel from her head down to the tips of her toes and finally the length of her tail. "Okay no more little miss nice Merry, time to break out the big guns."
Drawing in a deep breath she opened her mind up to everything around her, shifting her grip on Yubarashi so that is was clasped in both hands. Calmly noting as Sanji came rocketing out of nowhere, burning foot slamming into the Viking's solar plexus so hard that the zombie practically folded in half. Air starting to burn in her lungs she released the breath and moved.
"One sword style: Dance of the Twilight!"
Merry's body seemed to flicker as if it was a movie that was skipping frames. In one place one moment and then in the next another. It was impossible to track the speed of her strikes, Sanji only realizing that it was over when from behind him came to snick of Yubarashi sliding into its sheath. The Viking swaying in place before it collapsed.
"Thanks for the help Sanji that timing was just perfect for what I needed to do." Turning around Sanji saw that Merry was grinning at him, hands tucked behind her head as she rocked back and forth on her heels. It was like looking at a mirror of Luffy even down to the way the grin stretched her face "Help me dump him over the side will you?"
"It's been years since I was somber even as a zombie, its strangely refreshing even if I don't care for it." While John spoke casually his actions were anything but as he spun towards Robin and let loose with both pistols. The first shot went wide as a slender arm bloomed and knocked the hand holding the pistol to the side. Second shot impacting with the haft of the Buring Glaive as Robin twirled it through the air.
"I'm sorry to hear that Captain John, would it help if I gave you your bottle back?" The pistol in John's left hand roared as it fired the bullet shattering the bottle before Robin had a chance to throw it. Dropping the shattered remains of bottle Robin stabbed with the glaive forcing John to dodge even as the flames from it singed his coat.
Not all together bothered by the burns, John smacked the glaive aside as he stepped forward, Robin's eyes growing wide, and pulled the trigger of the pistol aimed at her sternum. There was the expected bang but instead of gasping in pain Robin just smirked. Looking down John felt a thrill of surprise as he saw the bullet hole right where his heart should be. A pair of slender arms having twisted his own arm so that it had been facing his own chest when he fired.
"Clever, unfortunately for you I no longer need my heart to Ack!" As John had started talking Robin had taken the opportunity to toss a handful of salt into his mouth.
"You clever b.." John started to say before all of the shadows inside of him started to pour out of his mouth. "Pirate!" Robin partially sang out before she stopped, covering her mouth with one hand. "Oh, excuse me I seemed to have been channeling someone else there for a moment. Sanji could you please clear this filth off of our deck?"
Sanji who had just assisted Merry in tossing the Viking overboard nodded dumbly before starting as an arm bloomed that pushed the cigarette back into place between his loose lips. That same arm pushing his jaw closed and patting him condescendingly on the cheek as Robin sashayed on by.
Tossing the last zombie overboard me and Sanji were about to rejoin the rest of the group when a cry out on the water caught our attention. "Hey, everyone!" There was Nami piloting the Mini Merry out of the fog. The little craft carrying not only her but a much bandaged up Usopp, Chopper who was still in the process of bandaging Usopp, and a figure that I recognized as Lola. Being dragged behind the Mini Merry was a very rickety looking rowboat with 4 others that I could only assume were members of Lola's crew and the Thriller Bark Victims Association.
"Nami-swan!" Sanji shouted as hearts shot out of his eyes and his feet spun around so fast that he was briefly lifted off the ground. While Sanji was doing his hurricane of love I went the more practical route and pulled the lever to open the Soldier Docking System for the group. Pushing it forward once they were safely inside of Sunny.
Nami was the first one to rejoin the rest of us on deck. The door still flying open as the words came rushing our of her mouth. "We have to get off this island there are zombies all over the place and we sent Lil ahead to warn you before we got attacked and now she's likely lost in the woods and it's all my fault."
Nami was pulled from her ranting by Lil coming up besides her and tugging on the bottom of Nami's shirt. "Breathe Big sis, I got here safely and before you did. I got briefly held up by Perona so that when I got here they were already dealing with zombies of their own."
"You guys got attacked by zombies as well!?"
"Everyone that's injured needs to see the doctor! Wheres the doctor?!"
"Chopper your the doctor!"
"Oh right."
The first exclamation was from Nami followed by Chopper joining in on the chaos as he arrived and took in everyone's injuries. Which were actually fairly minor all things considered. It was Usopp's shout that broke Chopper out of his panic. Lola bringing up the rear silent but with a very bemused expression on her face.
Several minutes of frantic explanations followed as the crew swapped stories of our various fights. Ending with my engagement against the Nightwing in the sky. "Then I struck it and the entire thing turned to crystal before plummeting into the water over there."
I gestured with one hand towards where most of the Nightwing's wing and part of its side was visible above the water. In what looked like a single move Nami bounded across the deck and was hanging over the railing Berri symbols in her eyes as she studied it. "If we can cut it gems of this size, of this quality, and this color would by worth.."
"The things worthless Nami, it's just sculpted glass that looks valuable." Visibly deflating at my words Nami draped herself over the ship's railing. Lola moving over for a closer look at the statue patting Nami on the back. "Even if it is supposed to be worthless a good jeweler could take it and make a decent profit off of cheap jewelry made from it." Perking up at Lola's words Nami's expression shifted from one of despair to a thoughtful one.
"Say Tii'chia what was that explosion earlier? It nearly knocked me off my feet while I was dealing with that Fruit stealing bastard." I blinked at Sanji for a moment before he gestured in the direction that Moria's mansion used to have been in. The fog had returned while we had been fighting making it somewhat difficult to make out what had happened.
"Oh that, I think it's from Moria fighting Bartholomew Kuma. He's supposed to be here for Luffy if Moria failed to defeat us. Actually I'm at a loss as to why their fighting right now anyways."
Bonk! "If you guessed that was going on why didn't you tell us sooner?!" Nami shouted as I nursed the goose egg ontop of my head.
"Because I was dealing with zombies earlier! Plus the lack of fighting sounds made me put it lower down on the list. Actually hold that thought, does anyone else no longer hear the sounds of Zoro fighting?"
We strained our ears but the forest for the moment was eerily quiet. Lola was the first to break the silence. "I'm not hearing anything so whoever your talking about must have finished his fight, either winning or losing."
"It's Zoro fighting the only way that the fight would be over is if he had won. He made a promise to our captain to never lose against another swordsman." I replied to her even as I peered into the fog to try and spot Zoro. " Hey Franky do you think you could whip up a spotlight for Zoro to follow back to the ship?"
"Way ahead of you Tii'chia, I installed lamp dials in Sunny's eyes to pierce through bad weather, heavy fog, and for just such occasions." Pulling a lever by the wheel Franky engaged the beams of light that tore through the fog. Then I saw my own bright lights as Nami punched me in the back if the head followed by Franky.
"And neither of you two knuckleheads thought of this before we split up and got scattered all across the island!"
"Sorry Nami." We mumbled in apology even as I tenderly touched the my second goose egg, wincing at how tender it was. That snafu aside Franky began to ply the beams of light across the forest until finally we spotted Zoro standing in a clearing, bloodied but victorious, Ryuma's corpse over one arm and a shining new sword in the other. I sent out a silent cheer that somehow this time Zoro hadn't let the body burn to ash, we could get Ryuma buried back where he belonged
Snatching up the megaphone that Franky handed her, and I wondered where he had pulled it from, Nami shouted at Zoro. "Zoro over here, just follow the light back to the Sunny!" Thus started the next 10 minutes of exasperated amusement as the crew watched Zoro fail to follow the light.
He'd start walking towards the ship for a few steps before veering off and vanishing into the trees. Eventually reappearing either closer to the ship or farther away then he started, sometimes he'd walk across the beam of light going one way only to come out going the other way. Which was like something out of a Scooby Doo sketch since the beam of light perfectly divided the forest in half and there wasn't any logical way he could have managed to get to the other side without us seeing him.
"It would seem that Zoro's sense of direction is so bad that it warps reality around him." I nodded distractedly at Robin's statement more consumed with the thought that Zoro probably could get lost on the way to the afterlife by trying to follow the light. " Zoro-san's sense of direction is amazing." Brook muttered from where he was sitting, the statement actually causing the still unconscious Luffy to laugh.
Eventually he made it to the ship, pulling himself up onto the deck by way of rope provided by Merry. He had hardly made it onto the deck when the ship rocked suddenly in the water, nearly sending Chopper who had been rushing forward with bandages tumbling. Looking around frantically we soon spotted the silhouette of a the biggest giant any of us had ever seen looming out of the fog, swinging its arms and the club in one hand at something none of us could make out.
"Ah nuts, Moria's used Luffy's shadow to animate Oars. Which is probably his strongest zombie." As most of the crew turned to berate me for not mentioning this sooner or turned to each other nervously Brook spoke up. "That's not quite true. While Moria did steal Luffy's shadow he also said that he'd discovered a better option." All eyes flicked towards me as I frowned, well except for Zoro's who had seemed to fall asleep already. "I'm just guessing here but Moria likely got whatever he needed from the same place as the Nightwing."
"Yohoho the lizard's right, Moria made a break through yesterday that he claimed could power an unstoppable army of zombies." Usopp let out a shriek and jumped 10 feet into the air as Ryuma's body, which until that point we had all assumed was actually dead, turned his head and started to talk.
"Zoro warn us next time you bring back a living zombie!" Usopp shouted from behind Franky while pointing a trembling finger at Zoro. Who snorted in his sleep but otherwise didn't stir.
"Yohoho you don't need to worry about me. The fight with swordsman took a lot out of me. The struggle to resist Moria trying to empower me with more shadows has taken the rest." Shifting once more Ryuma turned his head so that he was looking at Brook.
"I guess it won't be so bad to be your shadow again, especially if I get...to...hang...out...with...you...all." As he spoke each word came out of his mouth slower and softer then the last until one had to strain to hear the final words. As Ryuma fell silent for the last time the shadow that had infused him crept across the deck before pooling around Brook's feet.
We all stood in silence around the body for a minute before I reached down and lifted the body up heading to one of the doors that would lead me below deck. "Hey, hey, wait! Tii'chia what are you doing with that body?" A combination of Nami, Usopp, and Chopper shouted as they blocked my path.
"This body is that of a famous samurai from Wano, he deserves to be buried in his homeland not tossed into the sea. You don't need to worry about it decaying either I've already got a solution for that."
Before further conversation could occur there was a thunderous boom in the distance that sounded faintly familiar. It took me several seconds to place where I had heard it before. It was the sound of an object accelerating so that it broke though the sound barrier. In the distance Oars turned towards us and took a step forward. "G...g...guys, I think that Moria's fight with Kuma just ended. Now he's coming to deal with us."
"Everyone below decks! Franky! I can't actually believe I'm going to say this but, Franky activate the Thousand Sunny Transformation!" At Nami's shouting the discussion of the body was set aside in the name of survival as pretty much everyone on deck rushed down into the lounge. Zoro getting dragged along by Merry and Lola. Franky being the exception as he rushed over to the ships wheel, yanked down on the red lever before slamming his hand down on the red button that was revealed.
"Thousand Sunny Transform!"