Updated: 10/31/16

Chapter 20: Explain

Usopp choked on his drink.

Chopper's hair stood up as a shiver ran down his furry body.

Liara's breath caught in her throat as her heart lurched and goosebumps crawled up her skin. She was shocked, and suddenly very frightened.

999 souls were trapped..on Fantasia Island? How could something so frightening exist on an island that was supposed to be the most beautiful place in the world? She didn't recall reading anything about souls, nor had she even comprehended such a terrifying concept to be possible.

Robin was the first to speak. "What do you mean? How can there be so many?" Her fingers curled up on her lap. She had been to an abundance of islands and countries her life, and encountered unbelievable scenarios. The closest they'd been to such a ghastly case was Thriller Bark, where they'd met Brook. However, even then there had mostly only been zombies, not nearly 1000 spirits.

The only one who didn't seem remotely disturbed was Luffy. If anything, the whole thought only thrilled him. He sat with his legs open and knees extended outward. His hands gripped his ankles as his feet slapped together, causing his sandals to emit a clapping sound. "That's great! Hey, you think any of them would be willing to join our crew?"

"Luffy, shut up. We already have one dead person in our crew; we don't need another," Zoro flatly stated. He knew by now that regardless of how insane Luffy's ideas were, the rubber idiot tended to take his ideas very seriously.

They sure as Hell didn't need a ghost with them.

"That's right! Besides, I'm not completely dead; if I was then I wouldn't have a heart!" Brook opened the front of his suit to reveal a large but empty rib cage. His eye sockets widened in horror. "Oh no! Where's my heart?! I really am dead!" He eyed Liara pleadingly. "Look Miss Liara! I'm hollow! You can even stick your fingers between my ribs!"

Sanji, who was sitting next to Brook, quickly did a handstand and kicked the skeleton right in his skull. Brook flew backwards at the impact, his spine smacking into a nearby tree. He landed on his head, with his knees for far bent that they touched the ground. "Yohohohohohohohoho!" His jaw widened as he burst out laughing, clearly amused by his behavior. Sanji took Brook's seat.

"Liara dear, I punished that shitty skeleton for asking you to do something so revolting!" He adoringly gazed at her.

Liara waved her hands around nervously. "Oh no no! I appreciate it, but it's okay. I know he didn't mean any harm! Thank you though!"

Sanji swooned. "Ah, truly the thanks of an angel."

Nami sighed and gave Merida an apologetic look. "Just ignore them; they're idiots."

The old woman chuckled. "Oh, I don't mind. They are humoring me, and that's something I haven't had for a long time."

Brook's laughter died down as a pair of hands sprouted from the top of his forehead and clamped his jaw shut. He flashed his sockets at Robin, who had crossed her arms and shook her head with a polite smile. She seemed to be saying "Now's not the time. Pay attention."

"Please, tell us what happened." Liara ask as she intertwined her fingers and placed them over the middle of her chest. She really wanted to understand the island as much as she could. There was so much she didn't know about it, and yet she had read countless books about the subject. How could the souls have not been mentioned in any of the books or stories she read? It just didn't seem right.

Brook erected into an upright position and dusted himself off before taking the vacant seat between Franky and Zoro. The group grew hushed and prompted Merida to continue her tale.

Flames cast shadows over the elderly woman's aged face, and gave light to her grey eyes as she seemed to be contemplating what to say. "This island is centuries old. The fish and other animals you see now were originally here, but the first ones to truly discover it were the faeries. You see, they were on the brink of extinction. Everywhere they went they were killed. Faeries are automatically born with fairy dust, and that fairy dust gives off powerful magic. So powerful, in fact, that it is due to their magic that a protective ward exists around the island. Ever wonder why only the pure hearts can enter? Their magic makes it so." She paused. "However, even faeries have a limited supply of magic, and they do in fact age. I, myself, am an example of this."

"You-you mean you're a fairy?" Liara asked in disbelief.

Merida laughed. "Of course I am! Faeries were originally the size of humans, I'll have you know!"

"Then why are all the others small, and not you?" Robin inquired.

"Because the faeries sacrificed their magic to keep young in order to continue protecting this place. If a faerie dies, then the magic surrounding the island becomes weaker, and eventually this place will be discovered and destroyed by somebody evil and full of greed. However, it was suggested that one fairy continue to live and save up magic in case an emergency were to ever happen and extra magic was needed. I have enough magic to equal that of 100 smaller faeries, but I have yet to use it. The reason why I'm not dead yet is because some of the other faeries have given me their magic to keep me youthful. As you can see though, I have the appearance of an elderly woman." She flourished her hand. "We have the magic wishing waters because when somebody of a pure heart makes a wish, and only one wish, I might add, then we gain power from it. A pure heart has the strongest magic of all, and while it remains useless to a human, it is in fact a surge of power for us. Unfortunately, nobody has wished in the the waters for a long time, so magic is limited." She sighed and shook her head. "The lake no longer grants magic because it has been sealed. We know who is responsible for it, but we have no idea how to remove the seal. It's too powerful for us."

Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke. "So where are all the people, and what about the souls?"

Merida's eyes saddened. "Those souls all belonged to the people who lived here at one point. Those roads and the village near here were made by selfless, strong people who wanted to appreciate the island. Unfortunately, one of them became power-hungry and used dark magic to absorb the souls of all the humans. It was he who trapped them, and he who sealed the wishing lake." She dropped her head and placed her hands on her knees. "Because those souls were forcibly taken, they are trapped and doomed to wander this island until the seal is removed."

"An-And can you see them?" Chopper squeaked out as he hid behind Usopp's sitting figure.

"Sometimes, but not usually. There is a realm separate from our own where the souls exist and live their lives, but it's all merely an illusion. They're dead, and nothing can bring them back. Only when the seal is broken can they truly move on. Until then, they're all trapped."

Liara's heart thudded against her chest. The story was tragic, and she could tell by the sympathetic glances the group displayed that they felt the same. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked. She wanted more than ever to help save the island and its inhabitants. For so long, the aged fairy in front of her had given up almost everything in order to protect the magnificent paradise, as had the other faeries. There just had to be something her and the Straw Hats could do.

Merida opened her mouth to speak before hesitating, leaving her mouth halfway open. Her eyebrows lowered, pressing against her upper eyelid as she seemed to be drawn into thought. She blinked a few times, and suddenly her face lit up. "I think I might have an idea, but I will need some time to figure it out. " She stood up, and a smile returned to her face. "I'm a bit tired, so I'll turn in for the night. Meanwhile, you are welcome to stay out here as long as you want. My home is especially protected, so you'll be safe. Follow the lit path back to the guest house." She gestured towards a path made of small stones that suddenly lit up a golden color "I'll see you tomorrow." She began turning away before pausing and facing the group again. "I think you should explore this place and learn more about it. There are many sights and creatures here that cannot be seen anywhere else. Have fun, especially you, Liara." The Artist perked her head up at the mention of her name. "You wanted to come here more than anybody else, so you should explore to your heart's content." Liara smiled and thanked her, as did everybody else in the group. They watched as Merida walked into her house and shut the door firmly behind her.

One-by-one the Straw Hats stood up and headed back to their temporary home. Robin prepared to leave and join the others. Usually she was the last one to fall asleep, but their earlier adventure had really tired her out.

"You two have a good night," Robin declared with a smile before departing. She knew Brook and Liara hadn't really been able to have a chance to talk since landing on the island, and understood that if Liara was going to share her honest thoughts with anyone, it would be Brook. So she vanished into the darkness, too tired to even leave an extra ear or eye around to spy.

Once the Archaeologist had withdrawn from the premise, the two remaining pirates sat in silence. Liara focused solely on the dying embers, allowing the small flame to breathe warmth onto her hands and legs. She sat hunched over with her hands wrapped around her knees and her curls hanging down the left side of her face. She was honestly as exhausted as she'd been the night she was rescued from the Black Dragon pirates.

Regardless of how drained she felt, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with the new information she'd learned. Everything Merida had informed her of added up into one mind-numbing thought. Human-sized faeries, a curse, sealed waters, magic, 999 souls-she thought she had known almost everything about Fantasia Island, but obviously she didn't.

Brook allowed Liara her moment of silence, knowing that she probably had a lot on her mind. Out of everybody in the group, he knew that she was the one most affected by what they'd heard. He hunched over. tilted his skull towards her, and propped his elbows up on his knees as he spread his legs to accustom to the extensive length of his arms.

"What are you thinking about?"

Liara's eyes narrowed in thought. "How such a beautiful place like this can have so many unknown secrets, secrets that are dark and morbid. It's upsetting how nobody has even written about the faeries giving up so much just to protect this place," She gestured her hands toward their surroundings. ",their home." She crossed her arms over her chest and rested her chin on her forearms. "It's always been my dream to come here and now..." she paused and hid her face beneath her arms," ...I just want to be able to do something to help."

The skeleton paused, contemplating what he could say to encourage her. He lifted his hand up and placed it on her shoulder. He gave it a squeeze to let her know she wasn't alone, that he and the others would be there with her. "We will help. I may not have been with Luffy as long as the others, but from what I know they've done miraculous things. " He chuckled. "Why, they even gave me back my shadow, if you can believe such a thing!"

Liara lifted her head up and ogled at Brook in astonishment. "You lost your shadow? I didn't know something like that could happen." She faced forward and smiled. "Then again, if a place like this can exist, then I suppose anything is possible. " She looked back up at him. "I don't doubt your abilities at all. Even though I haven't been part of this crew too long, I still trust you all with my lives. You're all so incredible, and I hope I can be as strong as you one day."

Brook gave an affirmative nod. "And you will be. You're already advancing rather quickly with your sword. In fact, why don't you give it a name? Most swords have names, you know."

"Okay, just let me think about it." On that note, she stretched her arms up and yawned before she proceeded to stand up and rub her eyes.

Brook mimicked her movement, yawning in reaction to hers. "Well Miss Liara, we shall have quite an adventure exploring tomorrow, won't we?" She nodded happily and followed along, walking next to him down the glowing path.

When they reached the house it was silent. It seemed that everybody had just gone straight to bed. Luckily a few little lights along on the stair case and living room wall had been left lit, so there was no worrying about tumbling around in the darkness.

Liara stood at the bottom of the stairs with her hand on the railing. As she was saying goodnight to Brook, a sudden thought entered her mind. "Brook! I think I have a name for my sword!" she whispered excitedly.

"Oh, and what might that be?"

"Enchantress."