Hello Friends! Not me actually updating this story! I told y'all I wasn't going to abandon her, but life is kind a bitch so here we are. not quite 2 years later but close enough. Here's hoping someone is still interested in this fic :) I have also been playing with the idea of writing a more condensed version of Addie's story in a seperate fic but I can put more details in the end note!

Also the chapter title comes from Sabrina Carpenter's song Skinny Dipping which is very fitting for one section of this chapter.

(Also Treasure Planet was my FAVORITE movie growing up and the start of my pirate obsession so YES I will be including the RLS Legacy in the form of the Red Force. FIGHT ME. If the Strawhats can have a ship with a lazer beam then RED HAIRED SHANKS can have a flying ship! F.I.G.H.T. M.E.)

Warnings at end of chapter

Water 7

The deafening roar of water drowns out any sound that the bustling city far below me could be making. All I could hear was the water as I sat with my eyes peacefully closed on the edge of the highest tier of Water 7's iconic fountain. Taking a deep breath and smelling nothing but the sweet scent of the salty water that surrounded me, I raised my arms and let myself fall backwards into the fountain. Feeling my body completely melt into water I let the currents carry me where they may.

That truly was the wonder of Water 7. The constant currents flowing through the city ensured that the canals never became trash filled or polluted like one may think. So through eternally crystal clear water I watched the city flow past, sinking down into the ancient foundations beneath. Due to the age of Water 7 and the fact that the island itself had been long since reclaimed, the city stood on an ever more perilous mountain of other cities growing ever smaller as they fought the ocean. This constant battle between human will and the demands of the ocean herself left behind a world only accessible to Yagaras, and myself. So it was basically my heaven.

I watched as the Yagaras playfully swam around one another and flipped around in the water as they pleases, free from burdens. I smiled as I felt my body start to shift back into a semi-solid form, and "sat" on what was once the railing of a building's roof. As I watched a lovely little yellow Yagara swam up to me and smiled it's dopey little Yaraga grin. She neighed at me and tried to give me a headbutt only to swim right through my still liquid form. I quickly whipped around to give her a playful tap before darting off as I heard her neigh in outrage.

The sweet little bull and I quickly swam around one another, darting through buildings, and around other bulls as we played tag. But eventually it was time for me to once again return to the dreaded surface world and so with a kiss to her fishy cheek I started to make my way towards land. Only for her to dart in front of me once again. So with an affectionate eye roll I settled myself on her back and let her "help" me back to the surface.

We popped back into the air in the middle of the back street market and seeing no reason not to, I simply steered my new best friend over towards a water water meat stand. A few people did side eye me in confusion, probably due to the whole lack of a boat/saddle contraption. But why would I want to be separated from the water while riding a darling little Yagara? Honestly how anyone ever thought that a horse could compare to these glorious creatures was beyond me.

"Well it's nice to see some things never change." I heard a voice call out to me.

I looked over and took in a quick breath-

"Hey Ace."

"Hey Air."

"Been a while." I said, still staring wide eyed at him.

"Yeah… Yeah it has… You look good."

I nodded slowly and hopped up onto the sidewalk to stand awkwardly in front of him. "I feel good. You do too- I mean, you look good. Not that you can't feel good too I guess?"

He chuckled and grabbed the back of his neck. "Thanks. Well, turns out you were right."

"About?"

"How great it is to have good people at your back… and to get your head on straight."

"A fresh perspective can certainly help things…"

"Yeah…" He trailed off and looked down at his feet with his hands deep in his pockets.

I fidgeted with my shirt sleeves. I looked up and we both said, "Do you want to-"

We pause and both said, "No you fir-"

We laughed. Then I said, "You first."

"I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out for a little bit? I'm here with a few people from my division but they all went to San Faldo for the day. I wouldn't mind the company? Just too talk of course not to… You know."

"I know." I smiled. "And… sure I'm meeting my crew here, but they haven't arrived yet."

"You weren't with them?"

"No, I needed to go see someone and figured it would be easiest to just meet them here." I said with a shrug.

"Who did you need to see?"

"That's not really your concern anymore." I said gently.

He paused, nodded and said, "Right, no yeah of course. Uh, lunch?"

"Lunch."

"Ok so we're hanging out around a bonfire right? Just drinking and screwing around, sitting on a bunch of crates and what not. Well Boss is sitting on this weird plank between boxes, as if that was ever a good idea. And this man starts laughing, I mean, he is howling with laughter. And he falls flat on his ass. But his pants get caught on the stupid plank and I don't even know what he did but he manages to split his pants! Waistband. To waistband. So he is just laying there, legs spread in the air, everything exposed, and the dumbass just- Keeps! Laughing!"

"You didn't help him?"

"No-no-no! It gets better! Because we all start laughing at him, of course."

"Of course."

"And I say something like 'You need better pants Boss! One you can do this in!' and I drop into a deep squat. But it wasn't until my cheeks kissed the ground that I remembered that I was wearing a pair of his pants. So mine rip too! Waistband. To waistband."

"Oh my god. Oh-"

"Yeah! So I'm now standing there feeling a draft on a part of my body which should not be drafty outside of a dress and the entire peanut gallery is just dying with laughter! Yasopp pissed himself, Lucky nearly made himself puke, and it was just so awful!" I finish with a shout as I slap the tops of my thighs for dramatic effect.

Next to me Ace is struggling to breath through his laughter and only pauses to wipe the tears from his eyes. Which of course makes me chuckle as well. Then after a minute he takes a deep breath.

"Oh god. I knew you guys were weird but that's a little much! How did you even get back to the ship?"

"I tied my shirt around my waist. I figured it was better to be walking around in a bra than to be crotchless, you know?"

"I mean I guess, but damn! You are never going to live that down."

"Never. But you know that's the fun part about being on a small crew. Everyone knows everything."

"So you've got your fair share of black mail as well."

"Oh please, was that ever in question?"

"No, it wasn't."

I paused, turned to look at him, and found him watching me as well. We sat in the quiet for a few minutes, simply watching one another. It was with a sad look in his eye that Ace finally broke the silence.

"You ever think about what our lives could've been like if we..." He trailed off.

"If we weren't so fucked up?"

"Yeah... that."

I thought for a moment before saying, "I think we could have been good for each other. Once upon a time."

He huffed and hunched forward on his knees. "Maybe."

"What happened to us Ace? How did we get here? I thought we were... not good maybe but alright at least."

"I don't know Air. But I am sorry for how things ended. I really am."

"Me too. But I don't blame you. I did for a long time but I know you were hurting, we both were. I just wish things could have been different."

"Yeah, well, maybe in another life or something. That's what all those poets say right? I'll love you in another life?"

I felt tears well up in my eyes and my throat grow tight as I said, "I love you now."

"I love you too Ariadne."

He leaned in towards me and I closed my eyes as his lips brushed mine. My cheeks grew wet but I couldn't tell if it was from my tears or his.

"I'm sorry."

"But we can't" I said as I put a hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"We can't go down that path again. It-it only leads to pain."

He sighed and nodded. "I know. But we could all use another friend right?"

I smiled weakly as I said, "Yeah, I think we could."

"Great well I should- uh, go." He said with a tight smile before standing up and turning to walk away.

"Bye." I said with tears still clinging to my eyelashes.

Once the sun had set I found myself in an overly hot and cramped bar surrounded by my crew. They had made landfall only a few hours earlier and had evidently already met with Iceberg regarding our new ship. Which led us to the sweltering and dimly lit bar. Something about discussing a new ship seemed inappropriate to do on the Brat, it was like talking about your new girlfriend in front of your dying wife. So, bar.

"Alright so first off, I'm not drunk-" Shanks started to say.

"That really isn't a good way to start a meeting Boss!" Yasopp shouted.

Shanks threw a spoon at him without looking and continued on, "Alright so I'm not drunk. Just remember that. Anyways, I talked to Iceburg and he has an idea for a new ship, one that's never been built before."

"Why would you need to stress your sobriety to tell us about the new ship?"

"Because he's going to build us a ship that flies."

"Excuse me?" Max chimed in.

"You heard me. Iceburg has an idea for a ship that is frankly more complicated that I care to think about, but! If it works then we would be able to sail right on up to the white sea whenever we want. Hell, it wouldn't even be a stretch to fly over the red line."

"But how would that even work?" Max interrupted again.

"I mean the amount of speed needed to lift an entire ship out of the water would be impossible with just sails. So what is this man trying to do?" Andre said.

"Exactly! The speed would flatten the sail and just slow us down."

Shanks rolled his eyes and said, "Do you want me to explain or not?"

They both nodded.

"Alright then, so he said that the key to making it work, apparently, are the materials, which we need to go get. We need banyan wood from Fishman Island, resin from Sabaody, and some adam wood from… somewhere."

Yasopp decided to jump back into the conversation then as he said, "And the combination of those three things will make a flying ship? You sure?"

"Nope. But Iceburg thinks it'll work. Besides, do you really want to pass up the chance for a flying ship? Really?"

"I didn't say anything about passing it up, I just don't know how practical that is."

"It's the Grand Line, impractical is our specialty."

"That's fair." Max said as he and Andre nodded to one another.

Beckman finally lifted his head from his hands and said, "Ok so who all is in favor of trying out Shanks' flying ship idea?"

The crew gave a resounding cheer.

Beckman just sighed and took out a pen and paper. "Well we were planning on making the new ship bigger than the Brat so everyone can get their own room unless they want to share. I don't expect the crew to get drastically bigger than it is now. We don't need specifics yet but start thinking about who you might want to room with and how you want it laid out. Beyond that does anyone have any request?"

The crew quieted down at that and turned to listen in interest.

"We need something intimidating." Shanks said, suddenly staring off into space.

"It's a flying ship with a massive dragon figurehead Boss. How much more intimidating do you want it to be?"

"I don't know. But I'd like- OH! We need a pipe organ! Addie, can you play a pipe organ?"

"I can play anything, Boss."

Alden turned to me. "Is that right? Is it all that more complicated than a piano? They always looked rather confusing."

I shrugged. "Sure at first they are, but with a little effort they aren't that hard to master. Besides, pipe organs are the pinnacle of all musical potential. There is no instrument that is superior to an organ, so they're worth the trouble. Well, I mean, besides the violin, obviously."

"Right. As fascinating as that is, why do we need one?" Beckman asked, sounding very much like an overworked school teacher.

"Come on Beckman, don't you remember those rookies that had one all those years back? Remember how freaky that thing was when they played it in a fog?"

"Alright, fine. We'll put in a pipe organ but that's the end of your requests. We need this ship to be functional for more than just to pad your ego."

"I don't see why it can't do both."

Lucky picked that moment to speak up. "We should try and find a way to have some greenery on deck. If it could produce something that would be best."

"That's actually a good idea." Doc said from his place in the corner. "What about coconuts? Could we find a way to have some of those onboard?"

"You want coconut trees on the ship?"

"It's a flying ship with a dragon figurehead and a pipe organ Beckman. But a few trees are out of the question?" Doc said.

"Alright, fair enough. I'll put it on the list." He said writing it down. "Anything else?"

I raised my hand and said, "Could we find a way to include some more storage for instruments? I don't need much space but if we could have a room that doesn't flood all the time, that would be nice. I'm getting real tired of dealing with mildew and warped wood."

"Finally, something reasonable. Sure Ads no problem."

"Well if she gets more space for her stuff I need a room dedicated to developing bullets and explosives!" Yasopp said.

"Which needs to be kept FAR away from my stuff! I swear to god Yasopp if you blow up my stuff again I am going to kill you."

"Well maybe if you-"

"None of us are drunk enough to listen to you two getting into it! Put a lid on it!" Beckman interrupted.

"Alright, alright, no need to get testy. He just needs to be more responsible with his gunpowder."

"You need to-"

"Alright so is that everything? Anyone else got anything else to say?"

Guy leaned forward from his spot at the end of the table and said, "Yeah, so we have to go galavanting across the whole damn world just to come back here? Seems like a huge waste of time."

Shanks narrowed his eyes and said, "Well if we want a ship that can survive the New World it only makes sense that the materials used to make it come from there."

"That's fine but do you even know where we're getting this shit? Or are we just supposed to sail around aimlessly until we 'happen' to find this magical tree?"

"If you must know, I know exactly where to find the Banyan wood as well as the resin. The Adam wood is the only tricky part." Andre said.

"I have an idea about that one." Beckman said.

The rest of us waited for him to finish his thought when I finally said, "Are you planning on sharing with the class or do you just mean to leave us here waiting in dramatic suspense?"

He smirked and said, "I said I might know. Not that I knew exactly. But I know of a small island in the New World that is in the late stages of a civil war, apparently it's the third this decade. Sounds like it fits the old legend about the treasure tree to me."

Andre shrugged and said, "Sounds like a good enough place to start as any. I'll get to work plotting our course."

"Hold up there. Did you forget that we're in Paradise?" Shanks asked.

"No?"

"Then why are you so eager to get us back to the New World when we haven't even paid a visit to our dear missing crew mate?"

The crew cheers.

"To Gloom island!"

I took a deep breath of the crisp night air as I stood at the bow of the ship next to the figure head. Rather than huddling in the crows nest for my nightly lookout duty I preferred to stay on the deck and therefore closer to the sea.

I looked up at the looking figurehead and smiled sadly. I patted the side of it and said, "You really are getting tired aren't you old girl?"

The deck was silent for a moment before the ship creaked softly. "But thank you. For giving me a home, for keeping me safe."

"Don't be sad." A childish voice said from behind me. I turned quickly to see a small figure dressed in a raincoat standing a few feet behind me. "I'll do my best to sail with all of you for a little while longer."

"Y-you're the klabautermann of the Brat you- no, you are the Brat aren't you?"

The spirit nodded and said, "Only for a little while longer then I'll have to move on. But don't be sad! I had fun and I'm glad for the time we had together."

I nodded back and smiled. "Me too. I will always be grateful to have known you."

The spirit smiled as wide as possible before fading away with the sea breeze.

I stood there listening to the gentle creaking of the ship for a minute to process what I had just seen, I'd never met a klabautermann before. But my gentle, spiritual moment was broken when I heard a voice bellow from below deck.

"ARIADNE WHY THE FUCK IS THERE A FISH IN THE BATHTUB?"

"She needs me, Captain!"

"It's a fuckin fish!"

"She's a fish that needs me!"

"Go put it back where you found it!"

I hurried to run down the stairs and rescue my sweet baby yagara, leaving behind the mysticism still clinging to the night air.

Mist covered the sea as well as the dark island looming in the distance. Only the barest hints of jagged mountains and trees could be seen through the fog.

"So does he actually want visitors? Because I've been to several islands and I gotta say, not the most welcoming."

"Eh, It's Mihawk you know how he is." Yasopp said with a shrug.

"No, I don't."

"Right. Well, he's a cat. He'll never admit that he likes you, in fact he'll go to his grave screaming about how indifferent he is. But then he'll never make an effort to leave or make you leave either. He's just a fickle bastard."

"Sure. And is he or isn't he a member of the crew? Cause I was pretty sure Beckman has been the first mate for a while now."

"Eh, again, he's fickle. He says no, Boss says yes. So we all say yes. And he doesn't argue. He just wanted the freedom and peace to work on his swordsmanship."

"Right, right, I see. You do realize that you haven't answered a single question right?"

He just smiled and shrugged before saying, "Welcome to the crew!"

"Alright, lets go guys!" Shanks called out as he jumped down onto the beach.

But just as I put my hands on the railing to follow him the sound of several pairs of footsteps started pounding through the mist towards us. I squinted my eyes and then blinked several times as monkeys with swords(?) charged down the beach towards my captain.

"Well alright then." I said with a shrugged and jumped down to join my boys.

No chapter warnings apply

Alright so not my strongest but hey it's a start right? I desperately want to get back into writing as it has been a very difficult few years offline for me and unfortunately my writing tanked in all ways possible :( So here's hoping that this little jumpstart will be enough to keep me going :)

So condensed fic idea. It's no secret that music is deeply tied to Addie's story and so in an attempt to get back into writing this story I curated a playlist that strongly paralels all the men in Addie's life (both good and bad). I'm considering writing out a chapter per song to have a faster paced but more complete look at Addie's life. There are 24 songs on the playlist and so it would probably end up being 24 chapters, but a comprehensive look at her life with all the good and bad mixed in. Anyways let me know if that sounds interesting.

Thank you for reading and for sticking with me! If you made it this far you mean a great deal to me and I appreciate each and everyone of you 💜