Sorry for taking a while to get this chapter out. I've actually managed to get a job since the last chapter. At a Sushi and Japanese bar. Which will mean that the next chapter may take more than a while to get out. Sorry in advance.

Also, I've slipped a Harry Potter reference into this chapter. I wonder how many of you will get it.

"You have the power to turn her from a dog to a human?" Robin asked.

"Darling, for you, I could do anything," he chirped, winking in Robin and Nami's direction.

'Back the fuck off,' I snarled, flashing my teeth at him. 'But… Could you really turn me back to human? I'm not even sure I want to be human anymore…'

"Ehhh! Why?" Chopper gaped at me.

"What did she say?" Nami questioned.

"She… She said–" Chopper started to reply.

"She said that she's not even sure she wants to be human anymore," Ikol laughed. "Ah, this is too funny. Why's that, pup?"

'I just… I don't know. I don't actually have that much of a problem being a dog. I'm so used to it now. I'm not sure how I'd go being a human again.' I shrugged my shoulders. It was true. After coming to this world as a dog, and learning to fight in this body, I'd probably stand no chance as a human. I'd have to learn to fight all over again… And I'd have to learn how to interact with the crew all over again. 'And plus, I don't trust you enough to let you do anything else to me.'

"You don't trust me?" he gasped, clutching his hand to his chest. "I'm heartbroken, pup. Truly, I am."

"You understand what she's saying," Robin pointed out all of a sudden, and everyone looked at her. She had a serious look in her eyes. "Just who are you?"

"I'm anyone you want me to be, darling," he laughed. "If you mean my name though, I'm just Ikol."

"…Am I the only one who is really confused here?" Franky asked. "You're telling me that the dog is really human, and that this guy, who has tried to kill her before, can turn her back into a human?"

"Couldn't have summed it up better myself," Ikol said as he turned his eyes to me and took a step forward.

"Don't move," Zoro warned, drawing two of his swords.

"You don't w-want to m-mess with us," Usopp stuttered, pulling out his Ginga Pachinko and loading it with a bullet of some sort.

"I don't care what you say, or what you're claiming, I won't let you touch my princess. If she wants the curse broken, I'll do it myself. There's no need for you," Sanji declared.

"If I wanted your permission, I would have asked for it," Ikol snorted, walking straight towards them and myself. A dangerous and challenging look overcame his eyes as he said that. "You couldn't stop me if you tried."

"I won't let you touch Mamori!" Luffy snapped, pulling back his fist. "Gum Gum…"

"Freeze," Ikol ordered and the wind seemed to pick up for a slight second. Then everything went still. It was as if my consciousness had been disconnect from my body, even though I could still see through my eyes. I couldn't feel anything. I was numb.

"Wha-What the hell!" Luffy yelled, angry. "I can't move my body!"

"Me either," Sanji hissed.

"What did you do?" Zoro demanded of Ikol. Several complaints and curses rose up from the other members of the crew, everyone finding themselves frozen in place.

"I would try explaining to you, but that'd take too long."

"Is this a devil fruit power?" Robin asked calmly as Ikol walked across the deck towards me.

"Maybe, maybe not," he replied. Simple and short. "Now, Mamori…"

"Stay away from her!" Luffy ordered.

"Mamori, can you move?" Nami called.

'Sorry. I'm as stuck as the rest of you,' I snarled under my breath, staring Ikol dead in the eyes as he approached me.

"She said 'Sorry. I'm as stuck as the rest of you'," Chopper translated.

"You all need to relax for a second," Ikol smirked as he stood before me. "I've already told you that I won't hurt her."

"I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!" Luffy raged.

"Yeah, yeah, so you keep saying," he snorted in reply, reaching his hand down towards my head.

'I hate you,' I snarled. And I meant it. Where I went, he followed, causing trouble for myself and my crew mates. I hated it. I didn't want to cause them trouble. I didn't want to put them in dangerous situations like this. Why couldn't he just leave me alone?

"This may feel weird," he said, as his hand made contact with the top of my head, pressing down the fur there.

'Go fuck yourself.' I glared at him.

"Leave her alone!"

"What are you doing!"

"Mamori!"

POP

One second I was glaring up at him, and then next thing I knew my vision went black for a split second. When it came back, I was staring at Ikol's chest. Everything felt weird all of a sudden. I felt like I was slammed back into another body. A weird body. One that felt heavy and lanky. Awkward. Cold. I didn't like it.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Ikol laughed, taking a step back. His hands fell back into his pockets and he rocked back on his heels, grinning like a madman.

Awkward and drawn-out silence echoed over the deck. I saw looks of shocks on my crew mates' faces. I blinked awkwardly, feeling like I'd just had a bucket of cold water dumped over my head. The shock took a few seconds to start clearing.

A soft wind brushed past me, causing my whole body to shiver. It was cold. So cold. I looked down at myself and saw skin. Skin, skin and nothing but skin. Oh. That was why it was so cold.

…

Wait.

The first sound that left my mouth as a human was a scream. A loud scream. A scream of bloody murder as I threw my arms around my naked body, crouching down to cover as much of myself as I could. My arms wrapped around my chest and I tucked my head down, yelling, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, IKOL, YOU UTTER BASTARD! I'M GOING FLAY YOU ALIVE AND TURN YOUR SKIN INTO A RUG."

A loud bang echoed as Sanji hit the deck, a fountain of blood spurting from both of his nostrils. "P-p-princess!" he muttered in his state of shock.

Usopp was on his hands and knees, trying to stop the flow of his nose as well.

"Nice!" Franky complimented, causing me look up, my face on fire. He had blood running down his face while giving me the thumbs-up sign.

Bless Nami, whose foot connected with the back of Franky's head. "IDIOT!"

"PISTOL!" Luffy yelled, and his fist went flying through the air where Ikol was. Of course Ikol disappeared, causing Luffy's fist to miss and snap back into his shoulder.

"H-Here!" Zoro snapped, throwing his shirt on top of my head. I stared at him dumbly for a second, noticing that he refused to look in my direction, his own face as red as mine. "Just put it on!"

Ikol's laughter echoed over the boat as I jolted into action, quickly slipping the top over the top my head and trying to stand back up so I could pull it all the way down. I pushed up, and my whole body swayed, not being used to being back on two legs. Going from two legs to four was easier than going from four to two.

Zoro caught me by the elbow, holding me up as I regained my balance, refusing to meet my eyes. I wanted to die. Never had I been so embarrassed in my whole life. Everyone just saw me naked. As if being a dog wasn't bad enough.

"Mamori, is that… you?" Chopper asked cautiously as Zoro let go of my arm.

"I… I…." I had no idea what to say or do in this situation.

"Are you okay?" Luffy asked, still glaring down Ikol.

"Oh, Odin help me, this is way too funny!" Ikol continued to laughed, and everyone looked up to the front deck of the boat where Ikol was standing on the railing. "Sorry kid, I couldn't resist. Haha. Next time I can make it so that you show up with clothes, haha."

"Next time?" Robin asked.

"I've just done a minor tweak. She will transform every time she sneezes. It's more fun that way," Ikol replied.

"YOU…! YOU!" I raged, taking a step towards him, anger flooding my systems. I didn't get time before the world seemed to shift beneath my feet, black clawing its way into the side of my vision.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, seeing as it's been such a long time since you've transformed, it'll take a lot of your energy. You'll probably pass out right about…" Ikol dawdled. Was that the deck flying towards my face? Odd. "Now."

I didn't feel myself hitting the grass. I was already dead to the world.

I came back to my senses slowly, everything in my mind seeming murky. I was aware that I was awake, but it took me a few minutes to get my mind up and running again. And when it did, I wished I had stayed asleep.

'Did I really show up naked?' I groaned to myself, wriggling my fingers to make sure that they hadn't turned back into paws. Nope, still there.

I cracked open my eyes, blinking a few times to clear my vision before turning my head to the side. There was Chopper, slumped over asleep in his doctor's chair. What a cutie.

Pushing the blankets off myself, I heaved my body up into a sitting position, my movements lanky and awkward. My old body felt weird… I liked it better as a dog, as weird as it sounded.

Using my hands, I felt all over my body, making sure that I was all still in one piece. I gave my breasts a squeeze, frowning as I did so. I sure as hell didn't miss these. I forgot how heavy and annoying they were. The weight on my chest was making it hard for me to breathe. Oh well, at least everything felt the same as it used to… Well, other than the fact I was still wearing Zoro's top. How awkward. I didn't even have clothes to change into.

I swung my feet over the side of the bed, carefully pushing myself up. I swayed for a second, trying to get my balance back. Somehow the front of my body leant forward, like so I was so used to it doing, and my feet slipped out from under me, causing me to go head first into the floor. With a bang, my forehead connected with the wooden surface.

"Fuck!" I swore, and Chopper jolted awake in a panic.

"Ah!" he yelled, trying to jump up on his chair. The wheels slipped under him, throwing him the ground just like me with a bang, leaving us both lying on the floor. Silence echoed.

"Fancy seeing you here, Chopper," I giggled, not being able to help myself.

"Mamori!" he jumped back up to his feet in a rush, hurrying over to me. "Are you okay? You shouldn't be out of bed yet!"

"I'm fine," I reassured him, pushing myself up into a sitting position. "I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry."

"Y-You didn't scare me, i-idiot!" he stuttered. "You've been asleep for two days though, we were starting to get worried!"

"Two days?" I gaped. "What happened when I passed out? What did Ikol do? Is everyone okay?"

"He disappeared after you fainted. We couldn't find him anywhere…" Chopper replied. "You should really rest some more–"

"From the sounds of it, I've done enough resting, Chopper." I pushed myself back to my feet, ignoring Chopper's sound of protest. "I'm sorry for worrying you and the others. And I'm really sorry for causing so much trouble…"

"You didn't… That's–"

"It's okay," I cut him off before he could say anything else. "Are we still sailing?"

"Y-Yes!" he replied, running over to his bench and grabbing a pile of clothing. "Nami brought these over for you for when you woke up."

I gently took them, thanking him. I placed them on the bed, unfolding them cautiously to see what Nami had given me. I knew about her love of shopping. It scared me to think of what she'd picked out.

There was a pair of panties that were white and covered in paw prints, but no bra. Probably because I didn't have the same cup size as Nami or Robin. There was also a white pair of shorts and a grey t-shirt with a dog paw-print on it. I twitched. Funny. Real funny.

I guess I should just be thankful that I had other clothes to put on. I quickly slipped into them, while Chopper fiddled with something over at his desk. I folded up Zoro's shirt as Chopper came over to me with a glass full of liquid.

"Drink this," he said, handing me the cup.

"Cheers," I said and downed it in one quick go, trying to not pay any attention to the taste. I coughed and tried not to gag as I handed the cup back to Chopper. "The hell was that?"

"It was to help you get your energy levels back. You've been sleeping for a while. You should probably have something eat. I'll go and ask Sanji fo–" Chopper started to ramble.

"Can I go to the kitchen? It's easier." I begged him.

"But–"

"Please." I tried using my puppy eyes. Not that they worked that well in my human form. "I'm fine, I promise you. I've been asleep for two days. I really need to stretch and get moving again. Please, Doctor Chopper. It's only next door. Pretty please!"

"O-Okay! But I'm coming with you!" he said.

"Awesome, let's go!" I chirped, and padded over to the door that led directly to the kitchen. The air around me seemed cold against my skin. My sight, smell and hearing were dull and subdued without my doggy sense. I slipped in quietly into the kitchen, Chopper following close at my heels.

Sanji was standing at the stove, cooking something, and didn't notice us walking in.

"Sanji, can you cook something for Mamori? She's finally awake–" Chopper started to say.

"She's awake!" Sanji spun around excitedly, only to freeze when his eyes landed on me. Remembering what had happened last time he'd seen me, my face went bright red and I fidgeted nervously with the edge of my shirt. "Mamori! My princess!" He spun across the room, hearts in his eyes. "I'm so glad to see that you are okay! I was so worried! I'll cook anything you like! I'll cook it with all my love!"

Sanji lunged towards me, arms open to give me a hug. A pathetic squeak left my mouth, stepping to the side as Sanji slammed face first into the wall instead. "Hands off!"

"Can you make her something to help restore her energy?" Chopper asked, ignoring Sanji's attempt to hug me.

"Of course!" He jumped back up and brushed it off like nothing had happened. "This way, Mamori!"

Before I could even get another word in, I found myself whisked off and seated at the table. I blinked owlishly as Sanji zipped back into the kitchen, diving into his cooking with a new fervor, hearts swirling around him.

"I'm going to go tell the others that she's awake. Can you look after Mamori for me?" Chopper requested.

"I don't need to be babysat," I protested, placing my elbow on the table and dropping my chin into my palm.

"I'll protect her with my life!" Sanji declared as Chopper trotted out.

"Hmph."

"Are you feeling okay?" Sanji cooed, dancing around the kitchen. "You slept for a while. We were all worried about you."

"I am feeling great, thank you for asking," I replied politely and awkwardly. How was I meant to act in this situation? "Chopper said that Ikol disappeared after I passed out…"

"He did," Sanji frowned. "But you don't need to worry about him! I'll protect you!"

"I'm just glad he didn't manage to hurt any of you guys. He's very unpredictable most of the time…" I sighed. "I'm so, so sorry for causing so much trouble. No matter what I do, Ikol always seems to show up and put you guys in danger as well. I don't want that. I just to help and protect you guys. I don't want to make more work for you."

Sanji paused his dancing around and leant against the bench, staring at me. "Mamori, don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sure we all agree. I don't know the full story, but I know you well enough to know it's not your fault. No one here blames you for anything. We want to protect you as well. That's all we're worried about. If there is anything we can do to help you, you just have to let us know and we will."

"I…I…" I stuttered, feeling wetness at the corner of my eyes. Was I crying? I forgot that human bodies cried so easily. I was so used to letting my emotions run all over the place when I was dog, not having to worry about the way my body reacted. I rubbed my eyes, brushing the tears away. "Thank you, Sanji."

He smiled at me as he turned back around, flicking a few things neatly onto a plate before spinning over to me, back to his old self. The plate was placed on the table before. "For my princess," he said, before spinning back into the kitchen to do the dishes.

I stared at the large amount of food on my plate. There was no way I could eat all of this. "Thanks," I said. "It looks great."

I started to nibble on the food as the door to the kitchen opened, and Robin strolled in, a book under her arm. "Chopper said you were awake. I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Miss Dog."

"Thank you, Robin," I replied, making sure to swallow first.

"Robin~" Sanji cooed. "Would you like something to eat as well?"

"No thank you," she replied as she took a seat across from me. "But a cup of tea would be lovely."

"Coming right up!" Sanji chirped, swinging into action.

"Miss Dog, what do you know about Ikol?" Robin asked me bluntly, a serious look on her face.

"Not a whole lot," I frowned. "I just know he's to blame for everything. And that he is insanely powerful."

"Do you know something about him, Robin?" Sanji questioned her, putting some water on to boil.

"I think I know who he is. Although it doesn't make much sense…" she muttered.

"You do?" I asked, surprised. Robin just pushed a book across the table to me, and I read the cover. "Encyclopedia of Gods and Mythology," I read out loud. I could feel the blood draining from my face.

"Turn to page 394," Robin requested, and I did as she said.

"The Trickster, L…" I swallowed dryly, everything seeming to hit me at once. "Loki. Ikol. Ikol is just Loki backwards. No…"

"A god? Surely he's not really a god," Sanji protested. "Gods don't exist. Just like Enel."

"Maybe he's only pretending to be the god Loki. Maybe he's just a strong person with a Devil fruit. I don't know. But it all leads back to the fact he is claiming to be a trickster god," she explained as Sanji placed the pot of tea down for her.

"Loki… I know of Loki," I laughed bitterly. "A malicious god who liked playing tricks on the gods and on people. Wherever he went, trouble followed. He was renowned for his skills of being able to change shape and gender. And getting knocked up by a stallion just so he didn't lose a bet, and then giving birth to an 8 legged horse that he gave to Odin. But… Gods aren't real."

"So most people believe. But there have been lots of mentions of gods in the past," Robin explained. "It's probably nothing though."

"No… I just… Thank you, Robin," I mumbled. "But the others…? I don't think they need to worry about that. It's probably just coincidence, no need to worry or stress them. Right…?"

"You're probably right," Robin agreed as I closed the book at pushed it back towards her.

"MAMORI!" I jumped as the door banged open, and Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper all tumbled in, sprawling on the floor.

"Hey," I smiled softly at them, taking my mind off the whole Loki issue. There was no way he was a real god.

"Are you feeling better now?" Nami asked, stepping over them so she could walk in the room.

"I feel fine, thank you," I replied. "And thank you for the clothes as well. Much appreciated."

Luffy jumped up and scrambled over to me, sparkles in his eyes. "You really are human too! And a dog! Without a devil fruit! That is so cool!"

"Can you transform into anything else?" Usopp joined in the questioning, excited.

"This is what I really look like I guess. As a human anyway. I was born this way. Ikol said I'd transform back if I sneezed… I guess we'll see. And no, as far as I know, I cannot transform into anything else," I laughed. "Although, it would be awesome to be able to transform into a dinosaur or something else kickass like that."

"Or a robot," Usopp chipped in.

"With lasers," Luffy added.

"Isn't that what Franky is for?" I smirked.

Usopp and Luffy both squatted down, poking my sides.

"Hmm, this body feels real," Usopp declared. "You never know if you don't try. Sneeze!"

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY PRINCESS!" Sanji yelled, kicking them both.

I opened my mouth to start laughing, but as Luffy crashed to the ground, his hand shot out and slapped my plate, sending it flying into my face. I got face full of hot food as I tumbled out of my chair, landing in a pile on the ground with Usopp and Luffy.

"Ah…Ah…CHO." I sneezed, and there I was a dog again.

"Oops."

"Oh, no lasers…"

"Ha, what a nice bath!" Nami sighed happily, using a towel to dry off my fur. I grumbled my agreement. Things seemed even more normal between myself, Nami and Robin now that they'd seen me transform into a human at least once. "A huge bath tub rocked by waves is the best!"

"Hey! Something is floating the water!" Zoro's loud voice called, drawing Nami and my attention.

"I wonder what's going on. We should probably go see," she said, and I nodded my head.

By the time we made it down onto the main deck, the barrel had already been pulled up and everyone was standing around, trying to figure out what it was.

"Could it be something dropped by a treasure ship?" Luffy asked.

"Treasure!" Usopp and Chopper called out.

"Doesn't look like it. Probably alcohol or reserves," Nami argued.

'Or body parts,' I commented casually, remember one of the biggest serial murder cases in Australia. The Snow Town murders, where lots of people were dismembered and stored in barrels.

"EH!?" Chopper gaped at me.

'I'm kidding, I'm kidding,' I soothed him.

"How can we tell without looking!" Luffy objected.

"It says "Seas God Hozen" on it, right?" Nami asked. "That is a floating barrel for someone who was praying for safe passage. So they made an offering to the guardian deities of the sea. "Hozen" mean "to the gods"."

"What the… Then picking it up was useless."

"Hey, it's probably alcohol. Let's drink it," Zoro said.

"Idiot! You'll be cursed!" Usopp snapped at him, getting in Zoro's face.

"It's all right is we pray before we drink it, right?" Nami said.

"I don't pray to gods," Zoro replied.

'I'm sick of gods,' I snorted.

"But alcohol massaged by waves is especially delicious," Nami said.

"We should taste it!" Franky declared. "Alright everyone, a toast!"

"We'll still have an empty barrel once we've drunk it," Robin pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest. "Putting in a new offering and send it off is also a customary thing to do."

"Open it up already!" Franky ordered.

"Hey god, gimme some snacks!" Luffy prayed.

'Hey Gods, kindly fuck off,' I joined in the praying, perching on my hinds and holding my paws in a praying position.

"A certain someone sent "God" flying off back in Skypeia," Zoro pointed out.

"Great, it opened!" Luffy said, popping the lid off of the barrel. And as soon as it came loose, something went flying out and up into the air, throwing Luffy back on his arse.

"Something went flying!" Usopp yelled.

A bright red light exploded up over our heads, filling the sky with an unbearable brightness. I use my paw to shield my eye until it cleared.

"What's that?" Luffy gasped.

"What's going on?" Nami yelled.

"A flare," Robin answered, not bothered in the slightest.

"Hahaha, a curse of the sea Gods?" Zoro asked, laughing.

"No problem if it's just a prank, but perhaps… Someone may now be targeting the ship," Robin theorized.

"Could it be… Is it some kind of trap? Triggered by opening the barrel!" Nami gasped.

'Fantastic,' I sighed.

"We just alerted someone to our presence here?" Usopp panicked.

"Can you see anyone anywhere?" Chopper called, jumping on the rails with a pair of binoculars.

"I can't see anyone… but…" Nami paused for a second bolted up to the back deck, yelling, "Everyone to your posts! We're fleeing South-South-East! A raging storm is on its way! In five minutes!"

My nose twitched as I lifted it up to the air. She was right. I could smell it. The wind was picking up too.

"I can't see it, but if she say it's coming, it's coming fast!" Everyone jumped into action.

"The course, Nami?" Luffy called.

"Bear to two o'clock!" she ordered.

Everyone quickly got to their jobs as a dark shading of clouds drift over the sky, casting a dark light onto the ship. I ran up to the front of the ship, jumping on the figurehead to watch what was going on, and to make sure nothing snuck up on us. At the same time the wind started blowing a gale, the rain came pouring down, soaking everyone that was on the deck within seconds. I squinted, trying to keep my vision through the darkness. The ship rocked the side as a large wave washed over the railing, and I heard Luffy and Chopper tumbling across the deck. They'd better be careful, because I was in no mood to go fetch them from the water in this weather.

"No good! It's a head wind!" Nami called over the sound of the wind.

"You think that's all this ship can do?" Franky challenged.

"That's right! Everyone, take up the sails! The paddles are coming out!" Nami ordered.

"That!" Usopp called out, clinging to a railing to stop himself from being blow away.

"I like the paddles! They're so cool! Do it!" Luffy cheered.

'Just hurry up with it so that we don't get blown away before then!' I called, digging my claws into the wood.

The sails were quickly raised and tied them down as Franky ran up the top deck with me, taking the wheel.

"Is everything ready?" Nami asked.

"The main is okay, Nami!" Sanji replied.

"The sails have been raised to the mast," Zoro joined in.

"Franky, go ahead!" our navigator then yelled across the deck.

"Okay!" he yelled back. "Solider dock System! Channel Zero!"

I glanced back as the sides of the ship opened, bringing out a round paddle on either side of the ship.

"Coal Engine! Paddle Ship!" Nami called. "Sunny!"

"CHARGE!" Luffy yelled as the ship jolted forward and started to speed through the waves.

"Ha… We made it…" Nami panted as we gathered on the lower deck, the storm finally calmer now.

"That's good, but what's with this sea?" Zoro asked, drawing attention to the dark, foggy and dreary sea that we were now in. "It shouldn't be night yet. The fog is so thick, it's eerily dark."

"Could it be… We've entered that part of the ocean already? My heart's not ready yet!" Nami whispered dramatically.

"Oh, we've already arrived at Fishman Island?" Usopp laughed.

"No, before that is the ocean where the monsters appear," Luffy murmured in a creepy manner, his eyes shaded.

"That's right," Franky agreed, his voice also dramatic. "Don't let your guard down. This is definitely the famous ocean, the Florian Triangle! The strange sea where everything mysteriously disappears!"

"E-e-e-ehhh! Ghost!?" Usopp stuttered, a panicked look flashing across his face.

I snickered under my breath. 'Oh here we go.'

"Shishishi, yeah, ghosts show up in this ocean," Luffy confirmed.

"You're lying!" Usopp snapped, point an accusing finger at us all. "If everyone else knows what this is, why don't I?"

I blinked and looked to the side as Chopper wedged himself between Zoro and myself, clinging to Zoro's leg as he shook. 'Chopper, there's no such thing as ghosts.'

"Granny Kokoro told us," Luffy explained. "There's even living skeletons."

"L-Living skeletons!?"

Sanji stuck a match on a box, lighting it. "That's just your imagination. Stop scaring him with it. Okay, Usopp. Every year in this ocean, many ship disappear without a trace." Sanji held the match under his face, using the shadows it cast to make everything scarier. "… They say there's ghost ships filled with dead that wander…"

"NO WAY!" Usopp screamed, clutching his head. "Tell me that kind of thing ahead of time!"

"What would that help?" asked Sanji.

"I-I-I COULD HAVE PREPARED SOME MORE! I NEED SOME EXORCISM THINGS!"

"Usopp, I need some too!" Chopper panicked, running over and attaching himself to Usopp's leg.

'Ghosts aren't real, we're fine, Chopper,' I giggled, shaking my head.

"Yo ho ho ho~" a singing voice drifted across the wind, causing everyone to stare around, dumbstruck.

'…Or make me a liar. That works too…'

"What's this voice?" Usopp asked.

"Yo ho ho ho~"

My ears twitched as the sound hit them. There was something with the tune that made me want sing along. My dog ears picked up the tone, and made me wanted to repeat it. My senses bypassed fear and went straight to curiosity as I jumped up onto the railings, staring around.

"Yo ho ho ho~"

I couldn't help but tilt back my head and join in with the tune, howling softly along.

"THERE IT IS!" Usopp screamed as a half destroyed ship came out of the mist, sailing towards us.

"Yo ho ho ho~ Yo ho ho ho~" I continued to howl along, picking up the sound.

"GHOST SHIP!" The rest of the crew, other than Robin, screamed in panic.

"Yo ho ho ho~ Yo ho ho ho~"

The music was relaxing. I didn't feel any of the fear that the crew did as the ship sailed next to us.

"Yo ho ho ho~ Yo ho ho ho~"

"WHAT IS THIS SONG?" Nami sobbed.

"IT'S THE EVIL SPIRIT'S SONG!" Usopp cried, covering his ears. "DON'T LISTEN TO IT. IT'S ALREADY GOT MAMORI!" Chopper screamed and covered his ears too. "IF THE GHOSTS TRIES TO TALK TO YOU, DON'T LET HIM. IF YOU DO, HE'LL DRAG YOU OUT TO SEA. EVIL SPIRITS ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO MAKE PEOPLE COME TO THEM."

"Yo ho ho ho~" How could those guys be so scared with such a calming song. It was probably just some human on a run-down ship. There was nothing to be scared of. Ghosts weren't real.

"Is there someone on this ship?" Robin asked.

"Ha, if it's an enemy, I'll cut them down," Zoro said, flicking one of swords part way open.

"There's something there," Sanji pointed out.

Slowly a figure came into view as the fog cleared around them; that figure being a skeleton with a cup of tea and an afro.

"Going to bring Bink's sake~" The skeleton casually took a sip of his tea as the ship sailed right past. "Yo ho ho ho~"

'Ghosts are real. Oh.' I blinked, not sure how to react.

"Did you see that just now?" Luffy gaped as the ship sailed on. "That skeleton was singing!"

"I-Idiot! Skeletons don't sing!" Usopp snapped. "It was a spirit! A spirit!"

"But you heard it right?" Luffy demanded, walking straight up to Sanji. He then spun around to Zoro. "Hey! Let's go! Let's go right now!" His eyes started to sparkle, and it was at that point that I knew we'd lost him. "There was a living skeleton after all! Right!"

"Wait! Wait!" Sanji yelled, grabbing the back of Luffy's shirt as he tried to charge off. "Don't rush, Luffy. A small group us will go."

"Who?"

Zoro held out a handful of stick in his hand. "Well, we'll decided who is going with Luffy to that ship by drawing sticks."

"EHH! Why!" Usopp sobbed. "He's fine with the guys who want to go!"

"That's right! Let them do it!" Nami agreed.

"Let them do it!" Chopper mimicked.

'I… I actually wouldn't mind going,' I mumbled, blinking. There was something about that song… I wasn't scared.

"Is that really okay?" Zoro asked and they looked over the railing were Sanji, Franky, Robin, Luffy and myself were standing, ready to go board the ship.

"Right! Let's go!" Luffy ordered, stretching.

Chopper, Usopp and Nami all sunk to their knees. "Not at all…"

They all clung onto Zoro's swords and got dragged along as he walked over to us with the sticks.

"Please exclude me from this!" Chopper begged.

"Zoro, I beg you!" Usopp cried. "Let's go inside Sunny until the come back!"

"Let's go! Let's go!" Nami agreed.

"You don't have to go, I'll be fine by myself," Luffy frowned at their reaction. If we don't hurry up the ship will leave."

"That's right. Then you won't be able to go," Sanji agreed.

"Anyway, pick one," Zoro said, holding out the sticks. "Two will go with him. To prevent Luffy from acting stupidly."

The rest of us stood around the railing, watching as Sanji, Luffy and Nami climbed up the rope on the other ship. Nami was wailing and complaining the whole way, and I stared, blinking.

When the skeleton looked down at them, Nami screamed loudly and Usopp slapped his hands together in prayer. "Evil spirits stay away! Evil spirits stay away! Luffy, rest in peace!"

'THE SKELETON WON'T KILL HIM!' I snapped.

Once they climbed over the railing of the ship, the rest of us were left to stare and wait for them to come back.

"Yo ho ho ho!" the Skeleton laughed as he lifted his top hat off in greeting. "How do you do? I'm afraid that while traveling my ship ran into quite a bit of trouble! I am Just Dead Bones Brook! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"WHAT THE HELL! WHAT IS THIS GUY!" Chopper, Usopp, Franky, and Zoro all yelled as we stared down the skeleton that the others had brought back with them. Robin was the only one who didn't seem very troubled.

"Yo ho ho ho!" Brook laughed. "Oh my, oh my! How harsh!"

"Shihihi!" Luffy laughed. Nami and Sanji just sighed.

"It's a skeleton!" Chopper stuttered, holding up a cross in front of himself.

'Chopper, I don't think he'll hurt you,' I sweatdropped.

"Oh, what a beautiful woman," Brook said, stepping over to Robin.

'Oi,' I grunted, narrowing my eyes.

"Would you allow me to see your panties?"

"STOP IT YOU PERVERTED SKELETON," Nami snapped, launching her shoe at his head.

Chopper gasped and I look back to see Usopp was decked out in exorcism gear; garlic, crosses, signs and more. "You've got all your exorcism stuff!"

"S-skeleton, y-you hurry up and g-get out of here!" Usopp stammered, slowly stepping towards Brook. "Evil spirits be gone!"

Brook took a few steps backwards.

"It's working!" Chopper gasped. "Usopp, you're so cool!"

"Of course it's working!" he laughed, showing off his gear to Chopper. "That's because I'm a fully equipped exorcist!"

"Evil spirit?" Brook questioned, glancing around everywhere. "Where? Where is it?"

"IT'S YOU!" Usopp and Chopper yelled, pointing at the skeleton.

"EHHH?" Brook cried.

"Skeletons can't talk, or walk, or have afros!" Usopp said. "This is a dream! It's got to be a dream!"

"Really?" Chopper gaped in relief before sighing. "Good… A dream…" He flopped back over onto the deck, closing his eyes.

"Hello?" Brook called, leaning over Chopper.

'Hey,' I warned, narrowing my eyes.

"Please wake up," Brook continued. "Good morning!"

"Hmm?" Chopper opening his eyes, staring up at Brook. He screamed.

"STOP THAT!" Zoro yelled.

'Well, if that's how you wanna play it… You're a walking meal for me,' I snorted, trotting over to Brook with my head held high.

"Oi! Luffy! What's with this guy!" Zoro demanded.

I snapped my jaws over Brook's leg, gnawing on the bones. Brook let out a loud shriek and tried to shake me off. "AHH! This dog just bit right down to my bones! Even though I'm only bones. Skull joke! Yohoho."

"Shihihihi!" Luffy continued laughing at everyone's antics. "Isn't he funny? He's part of our crew now!"

'EH?' I dropped Brook's leg, staring at Luffy.

"I DON'T CARE. I WON'T LET HIM BE!" Zoro snapped, turning to Nami and Sanji. "Why the hell did you guys go with him? Wasn't it to stop him from doing something like this?"

"Sorry…" they both muttered, clutching their heads.

"Yo ho ho ho!" Brook laughed. "It's nothing to get so worked up about. Let's go inside now! We can have dinner!"

"YOU CAN'T DECIDE THAT!" Sanji, Nami and Zoro all snapped.

"He's so funny!" Luffy continued to laugh.

I just shook my head.

So, a lot of you guys have wanted to see Mamori as a human since the start of the story. And others of you have been against it. In the end, I've decided to take the story this way. Uncontrollable transformations. So she'll be human sometimes, and a dog others. I hope this is okay with most of you guys. :) Let me know if you have any concerns/questions.

I would also like to make it clear that I am NOT basing Ikol/Loki off of the Marvel portrayal of him. Just so none of you get confused.

Beta read by praeses