Legal stuff: All original plot, characters, and settings belong to Eiichiro Oda. I did not receive any revenue for writing this story. Enough legal stuff. Enjoy chapter 51!

Magina struggled to sit up. The Domo penguin man's loud laughter mocked them all. Robin panted nearby. Zoro's zombie emotionlessly held katanas at the ready. Ready for an order. These zombies…these shadow puppets wouldn't kill them without a direct order. Once she realized that, Magina settled her breathing and calmed her thoughts.

She closed her eyes and blocked as many of the distractions as she could. Her nakamas' emotions, the damn Domo penguin; none of that was important at that moment. Right then, she needed to listen. Magina sharpened her focus. The zombies, their shadows, and the very faint songs underneath; there had to be a weakness that she wasn't hearing.

The zombies of her nakama sounded resolute, intractable. No wonder she hadn't been able to influence them with her singing. However, the third zombie… Magina didn't understand it, but there was a flutter of emotion, a stifled beat, chained to despair and longing.

The penguin man squawked in the background, but Magina was concentrating on devising a third song attempt. She didn't have enough information when she sang her first two songs. The melody also needed to be changed. The tone of her other songs was a pleading demand, almost antagonistic and distant.

No, that approach would never work. This next song had to be slow, mournful. The shadows were forcibly removed from their true places, enslaved and made to follow orders against their will. Was there anything more tragic?

Hogback laughed again. "I'm afraid that these shadows no longer have any memories left of being your comrades anymore. They are fully integrated with the mario bodies and will only follow our orders from now on!"

Magina took a cleansing breath and let her resentment for this man slide away while she prepared herself.

"Your ties shorn in two

And cut like a thread

Forced to stay dead

When life's waiting for you…"

She almost smiled when the Domo penguin panicked.

"C-Cindy-chan?! Oi! Jigoro! Stop her!"

The last conscious thought that she had before a sword pommel connected with her skull was that she hadn't really thought that attack all the way through…

...

"Magina!" Robin called out.

Chopper fought to keep still and not to sprint to Magina's side. He tried to stifle his growl of frustration at her reckless attempt. This was not the time to fight. They needed to be patient and wait for their opportunity. They'd get the upper hand eventually. He frowned unhappily. Head wounds could be very dangerous if not treated right away. Though, Hogback panicked for a second. Maybe Magina found the zombies' weakness just by listening. She was amazing. Hogback's laughter was nervous and he almost panted.

"Th-That woman had it coming! How dare she try to mess with our plans? Serves her right!"

Hogback swung back his way. "Let this be a lesson to you, Dr. Chopper. Interferences will just be crushed now that I have zombies that will obey my every command. You should give up already."

Chopper gritted his teeth. "I'm glad that I've seen your true self, Hogback. You really are rotten to the core. You've saved countless lives, and I used to really admire you. Your zombie research could have been used to help grieving families get closure. The doctor community might have condemned you for your research, and called it 'evil medicine', but think of how many you might have helped if they had just a few more minutes with the ones they loved! I was truly excited when you said that you were researching how to resurrect the dead," he transformed.

"'What an amazing doctor!' I thought, to help all these people…"

Hogback laughed, "I never thought that you would be such a naïve fool, Dr. Chopper. There was never a reason for me to go that far to help the masses. You respected how I saved others? Eventually, every patient and every case just became the same routine."

Hogback tapped his chest proudly.

"I was a genius! Impossible surgeries, improbable cures… I did everything for the money! But there was no end in sight. I always had a flood of patients that came to me for treatment."

His tone became mocking and derisive.

"'Save the love of my life!' 'Save my child!' Save my father!' It got boring! It was a hassle! The other hacks in the medical community couldn't save them, only I could! You could never understand my hardships as a true genius!"

Chopper held himself so rigidly that he began shaking. This… this was the person that he had held in esteem for so long? He was nothing like a true doctor! Hogback's tone deepened as he continued.

"Seeing as I am a genius, you're free to respect me as much as you like, but your disappointment is uncalled for. Obviously, if you can't forgive me as a doctor, then you never understood me in the first place, you stupid reindeer! Is your next speech going to be a lecture on medical ethics? As a doctor, I've already…"

He couldn't take it anymore! His anger and frustration exploded out of him. He understood that not all doctors treated others for the sole purpose of charity work, but this was becoming ridiculous!

"I'd never dream of it!" he snapped furiously. "I don't consider you a doctor!"

"What?" Hogback shrieked in shock.

"The same goes to these so-called zombies! You just reanimated these corpses; you didn't bring anyone back from the dead! They aren't even really alive. You're taking the living too lightly! What you're doing is cruel!"

Hogback's laugh was somewhat ironic. "I'm not the brutal one here, Dr. Chopper. Aren't you the one who is being harsh? You're denying the existence of these zombies. They're moving because of my research. How can you say that they're not alive?"

Chopper held back the growl of frustration. This man was so blinded by his own 'genius' that he couldn't see the truth! He was going to break through Hogback's shroud; the man was going to hear what he had to say!

"You heard me correctly! They're not alive!"

The man shook his head. His condescending tone didn't improve Chopper's mood any.

"Dr. Chopper, why don't you understand? The 'dead' are being given a second chance, a new life. This is nothing short of a miracle! Why would you want to deny them this existence? Behold!"

Hogback strolled over to the female zombie. He stood still for a moment before he aggressively kicked her in the face. She fell, sprawled on the ground. Chopper gasped in shock and started to reach out to help. Robin moved at the same time. Zoro's zombie threatened them with a blade.

"Hey. Don't move."

As inconceivable as Hogback's motivations were, he wasn't done shocking Chopper.

"Now, Cindry-chan, start licking the floor!"

The zombie ponderously kneeled before answering, "Yes, Hogback-sama," and slowly licked the ballroom floor.

Chopper couldn't believe it. Every muscle shook in silent rage. Why did he ever look up to this man, admired him? Chopper couldn't even see clearly. He glared in fury.

"Didn't you see that room, Dr. Chopper? That wasn't Cindry-chan's room. That room was mine. All those pictures were of the beloved actress Victoria Cindry before she died. I was in love with her for a very long time, and I wasn't the only one…"

Because the zombie was threatening them, Chopper couldn't interrupt Hogback as he explained his obsession. He seethed as the man droned on. All the while, the only sound he could focus on was Cindry licking the floor.

...

A shuddering hiss split the air. She gaped; her trembling fingers went numb. The snake towered above the ship; its scales shimmered dully. What a monster! She forced air into her lungs and started to move. Whatever this snake's purpose, it wasn't going to stay still for long! Magina grabbed a spear in one hand and a harpoon in another, barely beating another fisherman to the weapon.

"Hey, Magina! Leave some weapons for the rest of us!"

"Sorry, Tadashi, but you know I'm the better throw!"

Tadashi grunted in frustration. "Okay, just because you beat me that one time… Be careful or your old man is going to fillet me like a fish!"

She saluted grimly and started climbing the ladder on the mast.

"Ryuu! It's no use! The net has been torn to shreds!" a man screamed.

"Spears and harpoons just bounce off! The scales are too hard! What do we do now?"

"Aim for the head and the eyes!" Ryuu shouted hoarsely, hefting a spear and hurtling it toward the snake's head.

Magina threw her harpoon at the gigantic serpent. It was one cast in a million. The harpoon lodged in the snake's mouth, in between many of its teeth. The hiss that followed was loud enough to deafen the entire crew. Some of the fishermen started cheering until a flailing tail lashed at the boat. In one swipe, the stern was in shambles. She grabbed a rope from the mast and quickly rappelled down to the deck. It wasn't safe now that the snake started thrashing around.

There was a group of fishermen trying to put out a small fire that started. Some of the sailors had swords and were attempting to pierce the steel-like scales. Every blow glanced off, sparks igniting and dying immediately. She was in the middle of them, looking at her spear quizzically. She broke it in half and stuck one end in the flames.

"What in the ocean depths are you trying to do, you crazy girl?" one fisherman gaped.

"If we can't hit it through the scales, what if we tried getting in between? We're running out of options!"

"Look up there! Ryuu, what are you doing?"

Through the chaos, she heard the shout. Magina spun around and gasped in horror. Papa was… climbing the snake using harpoons. The viper began thrashing wildly. The mast snapped in half and hurtled towards her. She dragged her eyes away from the speck, clinging tenaciously to the serpent and rolled out of the way. The mast missed her by centimeters.

"No…Papa! Come back!" Magina shouted after scrambling up to her feet. "It's too dangerous!"

Papa was near her harpoon now. She could barely see, the smokey overcast skies making it difficult. But she could still make out what happened. Papa stuck his one harpoon around the tooth that hers was wedged between. He gave one mighty heave, and the tooth flew through the air. It landed nearby. Magina grabbed it quickly before turning a tear-stained face upward. The monster's forked tongue flicked around the missing tooth and discovered Papa instead. Before anyone could shout out a warning, the snake wrapped its tongue around her father and swallowed him whole. A shocked silence descended on the battlefield.

"Papa…" Magina whispered. Then, she screamed, "PAPA!"

Her voice prodded the others into action.

"That monster!" "It ate Ryuu!"

The snake wasn't done attacking the ship. Complete sections were washed away along with crew members, who never resurfaced. As each section of the ship was obliterated with surgical accuracy, more men became victims to the great serpent's devastation. Magina was in utter shock. When the snake finished, she clung to a raft-sized piece of the deck. Splintered wood roughly scraped her hands as she carefully stood up. The snake turned its fierce gaze on her. Magina bowed her head and clenched her hands to her side as rage swamped over her.

"You…you killed everyone. Why did you leave me alive? You should kill me too, if you know what's best for you. I will find you. I will hunt you down and destroy you. I will survive and destroy you as completely as you decimated this ship! I swear it," Magina cried.

The snake hissed and turned away but not before turning its tail towards her one more time and smashing her last bit of shelter. The briny sea swept over her in the wake of the great serpent's departure. The pain in her heart was as heavy as an anchor. She slowly rose to the surface. The ocean's black depths were slowly replaced by overcast skies.

There was a crash nearby. Was she still in the storm? Rumblings tumbled together until finally words started to make sense to her jumbled brain.

"The pests should be taken outside!"

"That's exactly what I'm doing! Besides, that order was for me!"

"No, it wasn't. He meant that order for me!"

Magina bit back her groan. Those two idiots were arguing again. They should shut up; her head ached for some reason. An upset squawk made the pain spike. She winced. Chopper's voice joined the fray and Robin quickly replied. The nasal voice was blessedly silent. She pried her eyes open. This wasn't the ship. She slowly sat up. Her nakama might need help. A gentle hoof stroked her back.

"Don't get up yet, Magina. Are you feeling dizzy at all? Do you feel sick? You might have a concussion."

She swallowed. "I think besides my head aching that I'm as fine as fins."

Chopper frowned in confusion. "Fine as fins? No, never mind. Take it slowly and sip some water. Try not to fight and rest while you can. Hey, I think that the third song worked. Cindry-chan looked affected. She might have started crying if Hogback hadn't ordered the other two to stop you."

Magina held back her first response. Luffy told her to help them with defeating the Domo penguin. Then, the meaning of his words sunk in. Her third song worked? She blinked, trying to recall what she sang. She changed the song: not just the words but the melody and phrasing. She didn't usually forget a song so maybe she was a little more rattled than she thought. She breathed in slowly.

"If it worked, then I have to finish it. Would you and Robin be able to handle the Domo penguin?"

"What do you think, Robin?" Chopper asked.

"Hmm, possibly. This tower is high up, wouldn't you say so, Doctor?"

Robin released him, and he sputtered angrily for a moment. "What are you saying?"

Robin smiled serenely. "I know that you're frustrated. You should just order us to jump off this tall tower. I think that would solve all your problems as far as we're concerned."

"Of course! Do it! Do it! Jump off this tower, right out of the window! Don't hesitate another second, jump out of the window together now!"

Magina smothered her giggle when the two zombies who were clashing with each other stopped immediately, and said, "Sure," in deadpan voices.

The Domo penguin man was left shouting after the zombies to come back, and that the orders weren't for them. However loud he shouted; the zombies were already using all their energy to leap out of the window as fast as they could.

Robin turned to him once the zombies exited, her smile unwavering. "We don't want to jump right now."

Hogback turned a mottled purple and sputtered. A satisfied smirk lit Magina's face. She was glad that someone managed to knock the annoying man down a peg or two.

I hope you enjoyed Chapter 51! I had to look up the origin for knock down a peg and discovered that it actually has some origins from the old-time mariners which means that I could use it without giving it a 'sea idiom spin'. I'll admit that it felt a little weird though! See you in two months!