Shaska and Ren fell from the sky face first. In the distance was a huge complex of ships all joined together, at least a hundred in total. It was the size of a small city, and surrounded by countless tiny lights, which made it pop out against the night. There were lights coming from inside some of the ships as well, indicating some form of settlement.

The ocean drew closer and closer. Ren held on to Shaska for dear life, knowing there was little else she could do in this situation.

"Hold on, kid, this is gonna be a rough landing!"

"At rate we are falling, we will break all our bones on water's surface!" Ren thought.

Shaska flipped upside down and turned her legs back to tentacles, then threw her free hand out. Using her mermaid powers, she managed to get a grip on the water vapor, which slowed their descent a tiny bit. Then, she blasted ink as hard as she could, which also slowed their descent a bit further. Eventually, they slowed to a crawl and safely landed in the water (and ink) about a mile out from the complex of ships.

Shaska surfaced, and pulled Ren up with her. Shaska huffed and puffed, while Ren coughed up some water.

"You… you okay… kid…?" Shaska asked, out of breath.

"Ah'm fine, thanks t'you. Thanks, boss," Ren replied. "Wah're ya so outta breath?"

"I… shot… so much… ink… just now…" Shaska said. "It… takes… a lot… out of me…"

"Ya… ya think you'll be able t'swim us over to them ships there? Ah reckon they could help us."

"Just… gimme… a minute…"

"Hey, where's th'Robinson, anyway?" Ren asked.

It was then that the Robinson came crashing down near the fleet of interconnected ships, making a large splash. The Robinson landed on the other side of the fleet though, far away from Shaska and Ren.

"That… answer… your question…?"

—-

Schwarz and Zinnia went to the navigation room. The needle in the eternal pose for Fishman Island had moved significantly from its original position.

"What should we do, Mr. Schwarz?" Zinnia asked. "We have no idea where Miss Shaska and Miss Ren are."

"I… I don't know. I'm not exactly used to this whole 'captaining' thing," Schwarz replied. "But, I say we check out that conglomeration of ships over there. Before we head for Sabaody and Fishman Island at least, my gut's telling me to see what that's about."

Zinnia took the wheel and began to steer the ship toward the mass of ships.

"It looks like they are all anchored together and connected," she said. "Why do you think that is, Mr. Schwarz?"

"Only one way to find out," he replied. "Maybe Shaska and Ren landed somewhere nearby."

As the ship's motors revved, Schwarz turned to Zinnia.

"Question: you're from an island that's entirely women, right?" Schwarz asked

"Yes?"

"How come you're so relaxed around me, a man?"

"It is not like I have not been around men before. Saint Legree had male and female slaves alike," Zinnia responded. "I have a question for you, too."

"Shoot."

"I do not have a gun, Mr. Schwarz," Zinnia said.

"No, I meant what's your question?"

"You are from a noble family, are you not?" she asked.

"I am. I come from the noble Johann family of the Sou-"

"Did you have slaves?" Zinnia interrupted.

"Slaves?" Schwarz asked. "No, we were just local nobles, not Celestial Dragons. We had no access to slaves… and I certainly don't think my father would have tolerated that."

"Well, that is a reli-"

"Although, we had plenty of servants."

"I… see…" Zinnia replied, wincing.

—

After she caught her breath, Shaska held Ren close and began to swim toward the mass of ships and numerous flashing lights.

"Hey, Shaska? Wah aren't we goin' to the Robinson?"

"Part of being an adventure capitalist is exploring new places! There might be a valuable treasure here! A real one. Not like the so-called 'One Piece.' And there's not many places I haven't been in this half of the Grand Line," Shaska replied.

"Ah mean, ah guess that makes sense. Let's go, then," said Ren.

Meanwhile, Zinnia docked the ship next to the closest ship she could find, a merchant ship. This mass of ships had ships of all shapes and sizes, for all ranges of purposes. There were tiny yachts and large cruises, Marine battleships and pirate ships, all bound together for some reason by dropping anchor in the same area with planks between each ship to serve as bridges.

As Zinnia dropped anchor, the rest of the crew (Roxanne, Schwarz, Lulupo, and Puerco) gathered on the deck.

"Schwarz, darling, what's the plan?" Lulupo asked.

"As acting captain, I say we explore these ships here. Shaska and Ren probably landed somewhere nearby. Zinnia will stay and guard the ship while the rest of us check why these ships are all bound together, and what the deal with these lights is."

"I volunteer to stay behind and train with Lulupo," Roxanne said, lighting up a cigarette. "We never know when we will run into the Balthasars again."

"Oh, I think that's an excellent idea, darling," Lulupo replied. "We can practice dancing while Miss Zinnia helps you and Puerco find Miss Shaska and Miss Ren."

"What, I'm not Mister Puerco?" asked a slightly incensed Puerco.

Lulupo thought back to when Puerco tried to look up Shaska's skirt. "You're lucky you get a 'darling', darling," he said through gritted teeth.

Puerco glared at Lulupo. "Besides, as ship doctor, I don't think it's good for her to be exercising. She's still recovering from getting stabbed in the gut."

"Alright, guys, let's not get ugly here," Schwarz said, raising his hands to defuse the tension. "Zinnia! C'mon! You, me, and Puerc here are gonna go exploring!"

"So I'm just 'Puerc' now?" Puerco asked, slumping over.

Zinnia left the navigation room and made haste down towards the rest of the crew.

"Let us be on our way," she said with a bow. Ruth bowed her head, too.

—

Shaska climbed up the side of an old Marine battleship with the suction cups of her tentacles, holding onto Ren. As they reached the deck, they found themselves surrounded by countless fireflies lighting up the night. Shaska was brought back to the day she and Korla looked at the lights of the Sabaody Archipelago together as children.

Ren was spellbound by the dancing fireflies. "Ah've never nothin' lahk it, never in mah lahf."

"Like going up to Heaven and then coming back alive?" Shaska added.

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it," Shaska responded, blowing smoke.

Shaska flicked ash off the end of her cigar and put Ren down, then turned her tentacles back into long, muscular legs with tentacle-y feet.

"Alright, kid, we don't know what we're walking into here, so be prepared for anything," Shaska said as she observed the lights of the fireflies and what looked like a settlement on the ships in the distance.

"Ah… actually lost m'guns in th'storm…" Ren said, dejectedly.

She reached into the pouches hanging off her tool belt.

"Ah still got some grenades, though!" Ren exclaimed, pulling some out.

"Great, kid, don't go flashing those until you need to use them," Shaska responded.

Ren considered saying something snarky, but she thought better of it, as Shaska had just saved her life.

—

Schwarz, Zinnia (and Ruth), and Puerco disembarked from the Robinson, while Roxanne and Lulupo stayed behind. They hopped over the edge of the Robinson onto the deck of the next ship, using Ruth as a bridge. Schwarz led the way, carrying a lantern.

Among the dancing fireflies was what looked to be an opulent cruise liner in desperate need of repairs and maintenance. It was as if the ship hadn't seen any maintenance in at least a decade. There was what looked like the remains of a pool in the distance, complete with a decaying water slide. The deck chairs were all knocked over, and there was the occasional corpse lying in one.

"This is spooky…" Puerco mumbled.

"This must be a ghost ship," said Zinnia.

"A whole bunch of ghost ships," Schwarz added. "Can't see much through the night and the fog, but there has to be at least fifty of them out here."

It was then that a hand reached out and grabbed Puerco's ankle, causing him to jump and land in Zinnia's arms.

After a second to process what had just happened, Puerco said "pufufu… I've always had a thing for strong women…" with a sly smile.

Zinnia responded by dropping him.

"Food… water…" the emaciated man on the deck choked out.

"Eugh, a peasant…" Schwarz replied.

"Mister Schwarz, we should help this man!" Zinnia said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Please… sirs… ma'am…"

"Oh, fine," Schwarz conceded.

Schwarz created a portal to the Humo Robinson's kitchen with his Hole Hole powers and pulled out some fruit and a bottle of Panda Cola, which the dying man greedily snatched and scarfed down.

"Thank you… so much…" said the emaciated man.

"You wanna tell us what's going on here and why there's a bunch of ships stuck together? What's with all the dead bodies and the fireflies?" Schwarz asked.

The man finished his cola and stood up. He was basically nothing but skin and bones, dressed in very plain clothes. His hair was long and scraggly, with numerous missing patches, as was his mustache.

"My name is Bulsara… You folks must be from the new ship that landed nearby."

He coughed a bit, then continued.

"Welcome to the Mercury Collective."

—

Lulupo and Roxanne stood together in the gym on the Robinson, each wearing workout clothes. Lulupo produced a wooden board and held it out.

"Alright, darling, let's gauge your strength as a baseline. Try breaking this board in half without using your powers."

Roxanne brought down her right hand with all her might… and wound up hurting herself; her hand swelled up and started pulsing comically.

As she pulled her hand back and started blowing on it to maybe alleviate some of the swelling, Lulupo put the board down and sighed. "Looks like we've got a long way to go, darling," he said.

He eyed the weights, which ranged from as little as five pound dumbbells to as much as five ton barbells.

"How about this, let's get you building up some muscle tone!"

Lulupo walked over to the five ton barbell and effortlessly lifted it with one hand.

"I'll have you strong enough to lift this in no time, darling!"

"Right! And then I'll show that creepy princess girl what for!" Roxanne replied, driving her fist into her palm.

"Speaking of… I apologize if this brings down the mood, but have you decided what you want to do with Mister Andy's body, darling?"

Roxanne lowered her head. A few tears fell, but she collected herself by slapping her cheeks.

"I considered setting him on one of the lifeboats and burning it… but instead I'll wait until we get back to Blue Turtle Island and bury him behind our old house."

She smiled a bit. "I'm sure he would have found the pyre really cool, though."

"Indeed, darling."

Lulupo set down the weight he was holding and thought for a moment.

"Ah! I have an idea!"

Lulupo looked around the gym. "Hm… if these people were bounty hunters, surely they should have…"

He opened a closet and found what he was looking for. "Here we are! Weighted clothing!"

"Weighted clothing?" Roxanne asked.

"This should help you build up muscle even faster," he replied with a wink.

He grabbed the first vest he saw, and placed it on Roxanne… who promptly fell over due to the weight.

"Hm… yes, we really do have a long way to go…" Lulupo muttered.

"Help…" Roxanne choked out.

—

"The Mercury Collective?" Schwarz, Zinnia, and Puerco asked, tilting their heads and crossing their arms. Ruth inquisitively hissed and tilted her head too.

"Yes… we used to be a peaceful collection of ships moored together in the Grand Line. In the lap of the gods, really. But one day, a group clad in red and gold bearing gear insignias showed up. They convinced us that our president was exploitative and was stealing our wealth for himself. We rose up… and killed President Farrokh."

"Were they led by a big guy spouting off about how he was 'chosen by God'?" Puerco asked.

"No… Dear Leader is a large red woman with horns," Bulsara replied.

"Hm… so it is not von Ese-Dear Leader?" Zinnia asked.

"Yes, Dear Leader. We must always address her as such, even when she's not nearby. You never know who might be listening…"

"What… what's that supposed to mean?" Schwarz asked.

Bulsara leaned in close and whispered "if you speak out against Dear Leader or the Collective, you will be 'disappeared'."

"Disappeared how?" Puerco asked.

"If I told you… I'd be disappeared too."

"Wait, then how are you still here?" Zinnia asked. "Did you not just speak out against the Collective by telling us this?"

Bulsara's eyes widened in terror, and from the darkness in the center of the Mercury Collective came flying a long chain that wrapped itself around his neck. He tried to scream, but the chain restricted his breathing. He was dragged into the darkness by his neck, much to the shock and horror of the members of Worldwide Smoke.

"What… what just happened?" Puerco asked, hand over his mouth.

Three more chains flew out of the darkness toward Schwarz, Zinnia, and Puerco, but Schwarz managed to draw his sword and cut through them.

The chains dropped to the deck of the ship, to which Schwarz said "if I had to guess, we're dealing with an enemy Devil Fruit user."

The chains came back to life and tried to go for the crew's necks again, but once again, Schwarz cut through them.

More and more chains came shooting out of the darkness, and Schwarz responded in kind by cutting through them.

"A little help would be nice, Zinnia!"

Zinnia stood there with a blank stare on her face. As a chain flew at her, she grabbed it and began to pull.

"I do not know what you expect me to do, Mister Schwarz. Ruth's jaws are not strong enough to bite through these chains. But I can try to pull on them to see if we can draw the Fruit user out of the darkness."

Zinnia tried pulling on the chain with all her might, but to no avail. Instead, a chain shot out and wrapped around both of her wrists, then began to drag her back. However, this didn't work due to her monstrous strength, enabling her to simply break the chains that were binding her.

Chains kept flying, and Schwarz kept cutting. Soon enough, there was a massive pile of chains around the crew's feet.

Puerco, showing his gratitude, did a cheerleading routine, complete with pom poms. "Let's go, Schwa-arz! Let's go, Zinnia! Let's-!"

It was then that a chain managed to slip by Schwarz and wrap itself around Puerco's neck, cutting off his cheerleading. As Puerco started to be dragged forward, Schwarz started to slash at the chain, but another one wrapped itself around the hilt of his sword and ripped it from his hands.

"Puerc! Tizona!" Schwarz called.

He and Zinnia tried grabbing onto Puerco's ankles, but despite their combined strength they were only able to briefly stall the inevitable before all three were pulled into the darkness, leaving only their lantern tipped over, along with the dancing fireflies.

TO BE CONTINUED