IIRoxaII: lol yup, he's here guys!

Wishfull-star: Yeah, you can't get over something such deep seated pain and anger by just one apology.

sulongmirko: Brook has arrived.

Big developments in this chapter! But maybe not what you'd think... Enjoy~

Everyone froze, but Luffy couldn't lie, so he was telling the truth. "Neh, what if it's a ghost?! It's creepy singing." They all waited in silence and heard the singing as well. Luffy had been telling the truth for sure.

Usopp and Chopper hid behind him. "Yohohoho~" the eerie voice sang. It echoed through the empty waters and space. Then the source of both the singing and the wood came into view. The fog was so thick it was hard to see until it was right there, but a huge ship came into view. It really was massive. "Ghost ship!" everyone screamed, some in terror, others in surprise or awe. Only two were in awe, Luffy the only happy one.

And it was clear the source of the singing was from it. "AHH! IT CAME OUT!" the three weakest members shrieked, hugging one another. Chopper ordered Luffy to come near them.

Zoro pointed out that people weren't afraid of Luffy unless he scared them away. If it was a ghost, why would it care about Luffy being scary? "B-B-But… no! Luffy, scare it off!" Luffy refused, wanting to see what it was. What if it was a talking skeleton? "That's not it, it has to be some sort of demon! Don't listen to its song, it'll curse you!"

Sanji said perhaps Luffy could befriend it then. Once Luffy stopped considering himself a demon when they discovered the red stone after the whale, it became fine to joke about. Luffy ran to the railing, wanting to see what was making the noise. A ghost ship with creepy singing… it definitely wasn't a human! Or at least, a regular one.

"On this ship… is there someone sailing on it?" Robin asked darkly.

"Hmph, if it's an enemy, I'll just cut it down." Luffy told him he had to wear his bandana with it. Nami demanded to know why he was so calm. "Because it's cool! I wanna go on it!"

"There's definitely something on it," Sanji said in a low voice. Then they saw the source of the singing. It really was a talking skeleton! He sang a song Luffy recognized from Shanks' crew. Bink's Sake. He was sipping tea. They were in shock and horror. Besides Luffy. When he started to rocket himself over, Franky grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Are you crazy?!"

"But! It's a talking! Skeleton! I'm definitely gonna go see it!" Luffy said predictably. Zoro said he couldn't go on his own. They should draw straws. See who was going to go with him. "I can go by myself." Everyone disagreed, so they drew straws, and Sanji and Nami were the ones to accompany him, much to Nami's horror.

She cried as they climbed the rope net hanging over the side of the severely damaged ship housing the skeleton. It was the only one he could hear on the ship. And did he mention the thing had an afro?! Amazing! How could a skeleton have hair? Sanji swore to protect Nami as they climbed over the side of the ship.

"This could be a treasure ship, and the skeleton is guarding it, Nami!" Luffy said brightly, grinning as they climbed. She didn't agree with this.

"Can you smell it?"

"Smells like mold!"

"Ah, it's moldy?! No!" Nami shouted, tears down his cheeks. Maybe it was the whole ship that smelled like mold, though. It was old and damaged badly, after all. They didn't make it to the deck before the skeleton looked over the side. Nami shrieked and Luffy grinned. They were sure now, it was the source of the singing and could actually move. But how?! Amazing!

Luffy thought it would be awesome to have a skeleton on his crew. Then they'd have a mystery creature, a talking reindeer, a cyborg and a walking, talking skeleton. That would be amazing, his crew would be so unique and diverse. Who would the final tenth member be? What kind of thing, what kind of person? What if they got a pet? Then they could have more. And Chopper could talk to it, too.

His mind was buzzing with fun possibilities in the future. He couldn't wait for their time in the New World. Uncovering more mysteries. He was brought back to the present when they climbed over the side and he spoke to them!

"How do you do?! Yohoho~! Pardon my early behavior, I met eyes with you before, yet could give no greeting!" He was wearing a fancy outfit with a cane and a top hat on his afro. He was so cool, already, and so weirdly proper for a living skeleton. Maybe he was possessed or something. "What a surprise, it's been decades, perhaps, since I met a living person! All you see is ghost ship after ghost ships in these parts. So scary!"

Luffy pointed at him with an amazed smile and wide eyes. "Look, he's talking. A skeleton with an afro is talking!" He invited them into the creepy ship, where Luffy could smell tons of mold and dust. He knew he'd have a sneezing fit if he went inside. He didn't smell much treasure or paper money, though.

Then the tall skeleton turned to Nami, and said she was pretty, which made the orange haired very uncomfortable, and she denied it for the first time ever. Nami got her angry personality back when he asked to see her panties politely, earning him a kick to the head. But the bone didn't break. He was really durable, it seemed.

"Yohohoho, my my so severe!" he said cheerily. "I felt that down to my bones, down to my skeleton."

"Shut up!" Nami said, no longer afraid, just thoroughly annoyed. Luffy laughed during the whole thing. This guy was entertaining. Luffy asked him if he pooped.

"There are a ton more questions you should ask first!" The skeleton replied that he could. Luffy wondered how, but Sanji was just mad he answered. Why were they so angry? This guy was so cool! "First! You're nothing but bones, so how can you walk and talk? What the heck are you, why are you here? What happened on this ship? Tell us everything that's going on in these waters!" Sanji demanded.

Luffy had the same questions, but knowing if he pooped was the most important. "Hey, before that, join my crew!"

"Yes, very well then," the guy said. Luffy jumped, pumping his fist in the air. They had another weirdo. Nami and Sanji lamented about not stopping him before. They said he was a scary skeleton, they couldn't have him on.

"Well, you only care cause he looks scary, right? You're not scared of me," Luffy pointed out cheerfully. Nami and Sanji had no good argument, knowing Luffy's point was true. "I got a good feeling about him, don't worry so much!" Luffy said, patting Nami on the shoulder too hard. She kicked him.

"Yohoho, what a scary, beautiful woman!"

"You shut up!" both Nami and Sanji said. Luffy just laughed, and had him come onto the Sunny to meet everybody. He looked around at the others, but it was hard to tell his expression. He had no face after all. So cool. "Yohoho, what a cheerful greeting. Hello, everyone. It seems myself and my ship have caused some problems," he said, taking his hat off again. How did it stay on his afro like that? "I'm dead bones Brook, nice to meet you."

Nami and Sanji were dejected for not being able to stop Luffy from offering him to join. The others scolded them for that, and they didn't argue back, knowing they messed up. They didn't like Brook so far, though. "C'mon, look how cool he is! I'm sure he'll fit in!"

Chopper was holding a cross at him while Usopp had decked out in "anti-spirit" clothes. Luffy wondered where he got the awesome outfit. Brook went to Robin and asked to see her panties. Robin just stayed quiet calmly. Clearly a no. Zoro demanded Luffy why he was there. "I made him our nakama!" he said simply. "Shishishi!"

"I won't accept that!" He turned to Sanji and Nami and yelled at them more about the fact they went with them to stop anything like this! Anything reckless or stupid. And this was reckless and stupid. They were ashamed. Luffy said they should get past his appearance! "He's a skeleton! You're different!"

"How harsh!" Brook added, getting Franky and Zoro to tell him to shut it. Then the skeleton said they should go inside for dinner.

"It's not up for you to decide!" Luffy thought this was all hilarious. But they went inside to eat regardless. Franky turned his opinion right around when Brook complimented the ship. It really was amazing. "That's super right! You got good eyes!" he said happily. Anyone cheering on Franky's work was a friend in his eyes. Sanji told him to not be so friendly with him.

Brook said he looked forward to food. He hadn't had food in decades. "Does that mean you haven't pooped in decades?" Zoro smacked Luffy's head, and Brook didn't reply when he got a terrifying glare from Nami. The skeleton said he had not eaten in so long the skin on his belly and his back were stuck together. "But I have no skin! Skull joke!"

"Hahahaha!" Luffy was the only one laughing. But the room had calmed down compared to what happened outside only a few minutes ago.

"Since I'm a gentleman, I'll say 'I wait for the food happily'. Ah, it sounds so unconcerned," he said. He sounded so relieved and happy. But then he and Luffy started banging their forks and spoons on the table, demanding food. Sanij told them both to be quiet and wait. Being annoying would not make the food go any faster!

"By the way, magical-ghost-centaur-"

"Do you know what a centaur is?" Usopp asked in exasperation.

"-what on earth are you?" Luffy asked. Brook didn't really know what to reply to that other than to say his name and ask Luffy's. "I'm Luffy." Zoro smacked his face. They didn't even know each other's names and Luffy invited him. Only because he was a walking, talking skeleton. Luffy proudly agreed with that. It was definitely why.

"What does he actually smell like?" Robin asked.

"Mold and dust."

"How harsh!"

"Neehee!"

"You sure do have good senses, right? How can you smell me like that? Do I stink that badly?" he asked. "If I do, I apologize." Then he farted. Luffy laughed and everyone else sighed or groaned.

Zoro told him not to say the whole thing. They didn't know him well enough. So, Luffy just said he had really good senses. "You did mention that Nami-san and Sanji-san weren't afraid of you. Though I don't mean to press, yohohoho!" he said cheerily. Luffy said he'd talk about it later, but repeated his question of what he was.

But before he could answer, dinner was served. Sanji would not kick the skeleton out when he was so hungry. Never would he do that, which Luffy knew everyone respected. Even Zoro… probably. "Neh, Brook, Sanji's food is the best! You'll love it!"

"What should I do! Instead of my stomach, my heart feels full." Luffy looked, and was sure he had no organs. Maybe he really was magical. They ate with Brook annoying many but Luffy and Robin, who seemed kind of interested but detached. She was the only one who hadn't bitten his head off yet.

After dinner and some fruit parfait dessert, Brook finally answered their question: how he was like this. It wasn't as exciting as Luffy had hoped. It was due to a devil fruit that brought the user back to life. "Heh, that's boring-" Zoro told him not to be rude. Luffy smiled at him, and he blushed, not angry anymore. Robin smiled behind her hand at this.

"The truth is I died decades ago! In short, the revive revive fruit revived me once I died. Being able to come back after death sounded like a wonderful devil fruit! But all it did was take away my ability to swim. I was a pirate on that ship all those years ago. Unluckily, we stumbled across some very strong and frightening fellas. My entire crew was annihilated. I died at that time as well, of course."

The mood of the room changed immediately at hearing this upsetting news. They all felt so sorry for him. He continued like he hadn't said such a depressing thing. The day he died, his soul returned from the afterlife. "If I had found my body immediately, I would have woken up just fine, but my soul got lost in this dark mist! My soul wandered for a full year! When I found my body, it was already as a skeleton. I was utterly surprised. I didn't even have eyes anymore."

"Ah, you get lost like Zoro! Shishishi, at least he doesn't die!"

"Luffy, don't be rude," Nami said. Luffy giggled again.

"So, that's how you became a skeleton. You got lost. That sucks. Being resurrected even as a skeleton… I can see that being a terrible devil fruit." Sanji asked if he was still cursed, and the dead man nodded, though all he could do was not swim now. Luffy thought it was a crappy devil fruit.

"Though I'm happy to be alive, even if it's so lonesome being on that ship," Brook said, his voice quiet and for the first time sounding genuinely sad. Some of the more annoyed crew members had their faces soften in pity and sympathy. But Brook kept on living. Though could he die again and still live?

Zoro asked why he had hair. Usually it fell out early. "My roots are strong!" Wow, very strong! Usopp put his metal cross back up, and Luffy once again wondered where he had gotten it. He demanded to know if Brook was actually a ghost. He didn't look like a human at all anymore! "But I strongly dislike ghosts! If I see one I'll surely scream."

Nami held up a mirror. But there was no reflection of Brook. Robin lightly said vampires didn't show up in reflections. She seemed entertained when Usopp and Chopper shrieked. Nami told them he was obviously not a vampire. "Certainly not! That would terrify me," Brook said.

"Then where's your reflection?" Zoro asked. Luffy moved to sit in his lap, Zoro not seeming phased by it, just resting his hands around Luffy's waist. But then they all noticed he had no shadow. What was he?! But Brook was unbothered. Luffy leaned back against Zoro's chest, fascinated and confused as well.

Brook was completely calm, obviously knowing that was true. He knew he had no shadow, and was unconcerned even as everyone freaked out. Zoro just looked at him with a serious expression. The skeleton then explained everything. It had nothing to do with being a skeleton. His shadow was stolen from him. He could never go out in the sunlight without burning away into ash. Any sunlight would kill him quickly, and he wouldn't come back again.

"I also can't be seen in a mirror or photograph. In short, all light rejects me. But even then, I'm alive! Yohohoho!" He was so cheerful despite the dark subject. Sanji wondered that as well. "I'm so happy because I got to meet other people. I couldn't tell the difference between today and tomorrow in this dark fog. All alone on a ship that won't obey its rudder. How many years I've been wandering! I've been reeaaaly lonely! Lonely and afraid, so much that I wished I would die."

Everyone's faces fell in true pity and sadness for his terrible experience, for decades. How lonely indeed. Luffy felt so sorry for him, and wanted him on his crew even more now.

"I've lived a long time, and being with people is a delight! For me, you're my delight!" he said with wide open arms. "If I had eyes, I would surely cry of happiness. You invited me to be your nakama. I'm very glad you did. But the truth is, I should decline."

"What?! Why?!" Luffy raged. Brook explained he could never leave the fog without his shadow. He wouldn't keep them trapped there any longer than necessary. "Leaving this sea would kill me quickly. I need to get my shadow back here before ever leaving the fog! I have to wait for a miracle day."

Luffy immediately said they were friends now, and they would help him get his shadow back. Who was it?! Luffy would beat them up and get his shadow back no matter what. Brook declined. He was thankful for Luffy's kindness. He wouldn't tell them. He would fight his own battle for his shadow. Luffy was about to ask why he didn't want any help, angrily, when he heard a bunch of sounds. He told them, and they got up to see.

When they got out, they saw a ghost there. They screamed at the sight of it, flying in front of them. It seemed the flare had taken them here. They were in some sort of bay, with the gates behind closed. Brook seemed to know this place. He didn't seem happy about it, and Luffy got tons of bad smells. He should have heard this first. There were the smells of rotting bodies, dirt, crap, trash. "This place smells terrible!" Luffy said in disgust. Usopp asked what. "Every bad smell. Plus rotting bodies, I think. I've only smelled it once, but it smells like that."

Sanji asked when he saw a rotting body. "I was nine. Someone was buried under trash in Gray Terminal. It wasn't the first dead guy I've seen, though," Luffy said simply. They all looked kind of pale at that. Luffy didn't say he'd been with Ace when he bashed somebody's head in. He didn't want to paint Ace like a monster.

Besides, Luffy was a murderer, too. He killed Lucci in cold blood. He didn't really have control then, but it was still him who'd killed him. It bothered him at first. But… now it didn't really. He didn't feel any different afterwards. At least, not in the long run.

When they were shocked at the sudden island, Brook told them it wasn't a floating island that roamed the mist, it was a massive ghost ship. And it was where he lost his shadow! "Hey, then we can get it back for you, huh?" Luffy said happily. "Though this place seems creepy." Usopp and Chopper agreed. They didn't want to go on. "It's another adventure!"

"No! Let's leave!" Franky pointed out that the gates behind them had closed them in. Besides, it seemed like an interesting place.

"I think Robin would like it," Zoro said. "Always saying dark shit."

"It does indeed look interesting," Robin said casually.

"What is wrong with you all?!" the three weakest asked. Luffy giggled, saying they were always scared at first. "But this place is wrong! It took away Brook's shadow, what if it happens to us, too?" Brook spoke up, saying that was the reason he hadn't wanted to tell them about this place. But it was too late now. They were stuck there, at least for the time being.

"This place is called 'Thriller Bark'," he said darkly. "But today is a lucky day for me! I can get my shadow back! It truly has been a delight to be with people, and thank you for the delicious meal. My heart's wish was fulfilled!" He jumped to the Sunny's head, body light since he was only bones. He told them to try to escape out the gate, and to not lower the anchor there.

Well, Luffy was planning on going on the floating island regardless of what Brook wanted. But then the devil fruit user jumped into the water, alarming everyone until he started running on the surface like crazy. "Wow!" Chopper exclaimed.

"Anyways, let's do what he said, Luffy! This place is dangerous, we shouldn't go on it!" Nami said desperately. Luffy beamed and turned around, asking if she said something. Clearly he wanted to go on the island for the next adventure. "You want to go?!"

There was a chilling sound from the island that they could all hear like a ghost and monster. Luffy wanted to see what it was. Usopp asked where the ghost had gone. It had been there only for a few seconds before it left. It headed back to the island. Robin said, "I think that loud vibration was from that mouth closing. It has large gears. I can't be sure, but we must have been eaten by that mouth," she said. "Though we can't know with the fog."

Luffy took a deep whiff. "Smells like rust. This place is really old, isn't it?" he wondered. "I feel bad I didn't notice in time," he said, though his voice was bright and happy.

"No, you're not," Nami snapped.

"Well, we're locked in here for now, it seems," Robin said lightly. "We can try to break out, but the gate looks very thick and heavy. It pulled us in. Luffy are a lot of people here? Not just bodies?"

"I hear a lot of people, but they're all trying to be really quiet." Luffy closed his eyes, looking for Brook's voice, as he was already on the island. His brows furrowed. He could hear Brook's voice, but there were two versions. "Brook has a twin!"

"Huh?" Franky asked. "That's not possible, he has the only revive revive fruit, right?"

"But I hear two versions of his voice," he said, slightly defensively. Zoro said he trusted Luffy's ears, but there must be something more going on there. Well, they had to dock if they couldn't get out of the gate, anyways.

"Wait, do you think all the people you hear were lost at sea? The ships that go missing every year?! Could their crews be here?" Nami asked, shaking. Franky said they couldn't weigh anchor there if the place was floating around the sea. They had to leave the ship still. "Stop talking like we're going on! We're escaping!"

Luffy replied, "But I want Brook to be our nakama. So we can't leave without him." Zoro crossed his arms, and said that couldn't be helped. "Plus, I wanna help him get his shadow back. And don't you all feel bad for his story?"

Nobody could argue that part. His life for the last few decades had been terrible. But the three weakest still didn't want to step foot on the floating island. Luffy hurried inside and got his bug catching kit, only it was for ghost catching this time. He heard the whole conversation. Usopp developed his disease where he couldn't go somewhere scary. Looked like it was contagious and transferred to Chopper.

"Then you guys can stay on the ship!" Luffy offered.

"You're already ready for an adventure," Usopp accused. "Please, don't make us go!"

"He said you can stay on the ship, didn't he?" Zoro asked with a yawn.

"Don't you see this place is haunted?! You're underestimating ghosts and evil spirits! Those dead bodies, all those voices, what if there are zombies?!" Franky called him a bit ridiculous now. Luffy held up his net, and assured Usopp he'd catch all the ghosts. "That ghost went through the wall. How can you catch it in a net!?"

Luffy shrugged and said, "I won't know till I try, shishishi!" Zoro smiled at him fondly. "Zoro will help me, too, right?" Luffy asked, directing his grin to him. The swordsman said he would. "See!"

"Well, no matter what, Brook will be our nakama. Sanji, lunch box! An explorer lunch box!" Sanji took a drag of his cigarette and went inside, coming out with the lunch box with two bags of blood in it underneath the food. "Yay! Thank you!" Luffy cheered, puting the lunch box in the large bug catching box that he'd definitely trap the ghosts in.

Usopp complained more about keeping Brook. He was annoying and creepy! "I drink blood from Zoro," Luffy said, pointing to himself.

"But you're- you're Luffy!" Usopp protested. Robin said he had a good point. They accepted him even when he had to live off blood. "Still, Luffy doesn't look scary, so I forget about it all the time. I don't wanna be afraid of one of our nakama."

Franky waved a large hand, saying they could get used to him eventually. Luffy nodded in agreement. "Besides, do you think he's gonna give up because you guys disagree?" the cyborg asked. Luffy nodded firmly with that.

"Luffy, Franky, you better protect Robin-chan!"

"Ooh, Franky and Robin are coming, too?!" Robin smiled. She liked the thrills. She wouldn't pass up this opportunity. Luffy beamed, and Franky struck a pose. He wanted to help Brook, too. Nami accused him of only liking him because he complimented the ship.

"Yow! Not true! He's a man among men, dealing with his loneliness yet still having a bubbly personality and view of things! Not many can claim to be that way," he replied. "He's loud and obnoxious, but so is Luffy."

"Shishishi! Yup!" Luffy laughed. Luffy took Zoro's hand. Franky said they should use a smaller ship to get to the land. He grinned and introduced more of the soldier dock systems he'd hidden. They'd used the shark submerge, the battle boats, and he let out the mini-Merry! It was a small boat with Merry's figurehead. It would be perfect for landing parties and Sanji bringing food back to the Sunny.

There was another one they hadn't seen yet, though, and he was keeping it hidden for now. Nami, Usopp and Chopper took out the mini-Merry for a test drive first, Luffy taking the next turn. It was wonderful, and making it look like Merry was very thoughtful. "I love the way you think, Franky!"

"Yow! I'm the best man of this week!" Luffy laughed.

"Hurry up, I want a turn!" Luffy called. Franky told them to have a longer turn. "But I wanna ride it now."

"What are you, a toddler?" Sanji asked in annoyance. Luffy pouted. While they were waiting, Luffy got a blood bag and drank it. In case they came across monsters there. Sanji noticed they were gone too long, and Luffy said they were making worried sounds. "What's happening to them?!" Then they heard screams from them all. But they could no longer see them.

Zoro said they couldn't see them from there with the thick fog. "But the sound came from the island," Robin said. Luffy smelled something and grabbed what looked like the air.

"Neh, here's an invisible thing here!" Luffy said, shaking when he felt. It writhed around, and Luffy could tell it was a person. They were momentarily distracted from the three people on the mini Merry. "Show yourself!" Luffy was kicked in the cheek, but his grip just tightened. Luffy sniffed and said it was a person.

Sanji said whatever was happening, he wanted to get to Nami-san now. "What about Usopp and Chopper?" Luffy asked. Sanji didn't respond. But the waves around them started to crash around, and Luffy lost balance letting go of whoever had been there. He was invisible, but Luffy could tell where he was. He was a noisy breather. But he lost track when Franky was concerned the ship would crash into one of the bay's walls.

"We can't leave them behind!" Sanji shouted.

"Chopper, Usopp, say something!" Luffy shouted. "Franky, use some cool weapon to do something!" Luffy listened, and barely heard their voices. "They're okay! I can hear them, but not what they're saying!" Luffy said over the crashing waves.

The others looked relieved, but they still had to deal with the ship, but it finally got caught in something. A huge web, along with Brook's ghost ship. The mini-Merry was caught in the web as well. Luffy said it smelled like piss. "Well, we're on the island now! Let's go! Adventure! And to find Nami and Chopper and Usopp!" he added.

They left the ship as a group, finding a staircase where Luffy smelled their friends had been. They all calmly walked down the stairs, Luffy excited while the others looked mildly interested. Even Robin only looked a little interested, though she said otherwise. It didn't take long to hear growling, and then see a three headed dog of some sort standing in front of them until they got too close and sensed Luffy.

They backed away and fled. "Wait! Come back!" the dog stopped, tail tucked between its legs. Robin said he was cruel, it was terrified. Luffy pouted, but said it could go, and it fled the passage with loud whines and whimpers in fear. "I hope everything isn't scared!"

"Well, the ghost hadn't been," Zoro said lightly, walking with his arms crossed. "I'm sure we'll find things that aren't scared of you. Hey, what's with your arm?" he asked, voice a little more insistent. Luffy looked down to see his arm's tattoos from the Sky Island blood stone was sort of blinking a red.

Blinking? That was really weird. "Does it hurt?" Luffy shook his head. It didn't feel any different. They were all a bit bothered by this, but it didn't hurt at all. All it did was glow a bright red. It was so bright it illuminated both sides of the stone passage.

"Well, that's hard to hide," Franky commented, lifting his sunglasses.

Luffy gasped. "It's like a robot!"

"I'm like a robot, you're like… don't some bugs glow when they are being defensive?" Luffy said he wasn't a bug. "Can you get it to stop?" Luffy frowned, and tried to shut it down, wanting the lights to stop, but it only got faster. His hands started to ache and shake.

"Now it hurts," Luffy said casually. "Well, we should find Nami and them and not worry about it." Zoro said he thought they should worry about it, sounding very concerned. "My hands feel really tight. Like really stiff," he said. They started to twitch a lot, and Luffy fisted them, trying to punch. He slammed a hand into the left wall, and it blew apart like an explosion. He hadn't even touched it hard.

"Idiot!" Sanji shouted as the water started to flood in. Luffy shouted it was an accident as they all fled the water flowing in from the huge hole in the wall. "Make a hole in the other side!" Luffy did that, and it blew apart as well. The ground was higher there, and Luffy let them climb up his arms after jumping up. The water rushed through the passage. Well, now they couldn't get out that way.

Robin asked how he felt. The blinking had stopped. "My hands feel better. I feel back to normal," he replied. She said it might be some kind of pent up energy of a sorts.

"What, so he can emit shock waves now or something?" Franky asked. But Luffy realized he'd lost the scent trail when the water flooded in. Oops. Robin shrugged, but said it started from the mark from the blood stone. It could be related to that. After all, he'd never actually done anything having to do with the stone.

Franky said, "I wish I coulda' gone to Sky Island, too." Sanji asked if they would just talk all day or try to find Nami.

Luffy had lost the scent in the passage way. They'd have to go look for it manually. As in not follow it directly, but try to catch the scent from a distance. Sanji was angry that he lost the scent by flooding the passage. "It's not like he meant to do that," Zoro snapped defensively. Luffy was fine, and they walked along the wall, coming across a huge wall. They couldn't get past it. Luffy stretched up and looked over it, sniffing.

"The scent got picked back up over the wall."

"You should try blowing the wall apart," Robin suggested. Luffy tried, but nothing happened. "Hmm… it could really be pent up energy or strength. I wish we had some information about the stone or what it does." She sounded frustrated.

"Well, I guess it's a mystery, then." Zoro chopped a doorway into the wall, and they walked through it easily, coming to a sudden stop at a tree and unicorn having tea together. They froze, and Luffy's jaw dropped in shock.

He said, "That geezer-tree and a unicorn are having a drink!" He then shot forward and grabbed the tree. "I caught it!" The tree spoke, asking to be left alone. "Hey, join my c-"

"STOP FUCKING AROUND!" his fellow strong teens said angrily. Luffy laughed, and the tree and unicorn fled.

"Hey, that unicorn smells like a bunch of different things mashed together!" Luffy explained, trotting back to the group. "This island is crazy!"

"I'm worried about Nami-san," Sanji said. Franky sourly told him he should worry about Chopper and Usopp, too. "When I say Nami-san, I mean all of them."

"Liar," Zoro muttered. "Luffy, don't go around asking every weird thing to be on our crew! We already have you, a robot and talking reindeer," his boyfriend said sternly. Luffy walked over and held his hand. He replied that random stuff was fun! "Not when you only choose them when they're random. Besides those things were much creepier than Brook."

Luffy pouted, calling him a meanie. "I'm not a meanie," Zoro sighed.

"Well, even if Zoro's a meanie, I still love him," the youngest of the group said casually. Zoro flushed but smiled lightly and quietly said he loved Luffy, too. Sanji made a disgusted noise, and Robin giggled. Franky asked if it was the time for that. "It's always time to love Zoro!"

By now Zoro was uncomfortable, but couldn't bring himself to tell Luffy to stop. He was being so cute, maybe that was why. Or Zoro just secretly liked what he was hearing, regardless of the time and place.

Then Franky suddenly shouted, "Hey, you called me a robot! I'm a cyborg!"

"Robots are cool, too!"

"But I'm not a robot!"

Sanji said, "You run on cola in a metal compartment in your stomach. You're a robot whether you like it or not." Franky threatened him with a weapon's left. "Grow up."

"Fine, how about I call you an amateur chef. Food isn't that good, anyways."

"WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU!?"

Robin said they were going to call attention to all of the weird creatures of the island. Luffy had said there were a lot of voices, and they already saw three strange creatures. Zoro was just looking at Sanji in an unimpressed look, which the blonde saw and scowled at, demanding to know his problem. "You're obnoxious."

Sanji's eyes twitched and he took a very deep breath.

"You know what everything so far has had in common? Stitches and wounds. I also saw numbers engraved on their bodies," Robin said, thankfully changing the subject and diffusing what was going to be a loud and annoying argument turned battle. "Luffy, you said the two smelled like different things?"

He nodded. Franky wondered if they were experiments of some sort. Luffy turned and heard something coming their way. It took a good minute for it to be heard by the others, so it was going very slowly. "Hey! A ghost! I'm gonna catch you!" he shouted, and jumped after it, trying to catch it in his net. It went right through it, and now there were three. "He dances, he clones himself! Wow!"

"Negative! Negative! Negative!" the three chanted. They looked silly, and identical to the one that appeared at the ship. They smelled like cotton candy for some reason. Maybe they were edible! But he couldn't catch it to see. The net didn't work at all, so Franky tried to burn it with his fresh fire.

Nothing happened to them. Then one of them went through Franky, and he lost all confidence in himself, falling to his hands and knees. But one went into Luffy, and they expected him to be negative as well, but he only looked dopey and started chanting "negative!" too, until the ghost left and he fell down.

But when one went through Zoro, he reacted much like Franky. "It looks like the ghosts interacted with Luffy differently. It seemed he was possessed," Robin mused.

"Ahhh! Possessed?!" Luffy freaked. Then the ghost fell down, as if it wasn't weightless anymore, and started to chant "Meat! Meat! Meat!" "Ahahaha! It got possessed by me, too!" Sanji hit his head. He should take this more seriously! "Well, it only lasted for a little bit. And it didn't do anything. Oi, Zoro, stop being mopey!"

"B-But, I shouldn't be alive anymore," he lamented. Franky was crying by now. Robin said it looked like the "negative" ghosts would lower anyone's spirit. Besides Luffy, it seemed. But after a few annoying moments, both men came to, but humiliated.

"Why didn't it work on you?!" Franky asked, his face an angry or embarrassed red. Luffy said he got possessed for a minute. "Possessed? Jeez, that's creepy." The three nodded, and Zoro was scowling furiously, very embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Zoro should be born-"

"Don't say another word about it," Zoro said sternly. Luffy giggled and nodded.

The exploding arm on Luffy will be important for the remainder of the story. Just a warning! I don't know where I came up with the idea, I can't even remember. Anyways, see you next week! (Go see Spiderman: No Way Home. I command you.)