Chapter Text
“Well…shit,” Ace hissed as he struggled against the Seastone chains forcing him to be tangible. With an angered huff he sat back, deciding to preserve what little energy the Seastone didn’t sap from him. “This is what I get for being an ass.”
In his ‘consideration’ of the Strawhats, he’d become overly cautious and in the process subconsciously underestimated their capabilities. Truly it was an insult, considering the hell they most likely had to go through to regain Nico Robin from the World Government’s clutches. Now look at him: chained up in a wooden box being towed to who knows where.
“When I get out of here, I’m going all out. I should trust Luffy put together a strong crew that wouldn’t get in my way,”
When Ace met the Strawhats at Alabasta, he didn’t get to see them fight before he blasted off after Blackbeard. Without a gauge of their strength, Ace never formed definitive opinions about their battle capabilities and in the end, that affected how he treated them even though he trusted them to take care of his bungling little brother. Ace admitted Luffy’s character judgment was stronger than his. Luffy would never choose weak people to be on his crew. But for Ace, a person whose belief in other people was shattered from a young age, seeing was believing. It seemed that after all this time, Ace still needed to learn how to be a better brother towards Luffy. Sabo would never make this kind of mistake. At the thought of the long gone blonde brother, Ace’s heart panged. Although Ace never forgot about him, he no longer thought about Sabo as often as he used to when he first went out to sea.
At first, Ace felt like a terrible brother once he realized he was thinking about Sabo less and less. He called Makino in the middle of the night once, too disturbed (and filled with self loathing) to let himself rest. Makino assured him he wasn’t being a bad brother, but Sabo was now an unforgettable part of him and no longer a foreign concept needed to be refreshed by his memories. He was relieved to hear that and no longer had any problems falling asleep that night. As the low, muffled clunks of the chain filtered into his ears, Ace was filled with determination.
“If we can’t rescue him, then we should at least know where he’s going,” Franky said as he and Robin, who nodded in agreement, swiftly crossed the bridge in a chase after Ace.
“Hehehehe, I won’t let you go,” A shadowed creature croaked in laughter.
Blood dripped from the wounds they received from the General Zombies, creating a tiny trail for enemies to follow but the two paid it no mind. They’d received worse injuries in the past, and whoever decided to follow them would only be rushing into their defeat.
“Hey! Stop running, don’t ignore me!”
A gigantic palm smacked itself in the middle of the bridge and blocked the path. Franky and Robin skidded to a stop. Attached to the hand was a long, purple and yellow striped arm that disappeared over the edge of the bridge.
“Get out of our way!” Franky shouted. “Or show yourself, and prepare for a SUPER ass kicking!”
“With pleasure!” The owner of the arm cackled with glee and revealed itself to be an unholy cross between a spider and a monkey. Franky’s jaw dropped in shock at the size of the beast in front of them. It was the biggest zombie Franky had ever seen!
“Oh, another? Ah, it seems we really have it going on tonight. How marvelous! I’m sure the master is pleased!” Ace’s shouts had drawn the attention of the zombie and he tilted his large head towards the source of the noise and watched it disappear into the hole. Damn it! How were they supposed to track Ace now, or know where any of the others went!
“What are you talking about, where’s that coffin going?” Franky demanded, pointing a large finger at the spider monkey.
“No need to worry your spikey cerulean head over it,” The spider monkey gave a non answer. “You’ll be joining them soon enough and it’ll be by my hands and the encroaching armored warriors that your journey as a crew will come to an end!”
Franky growled, baring teeth.
“Oi, oi! Are you trying to piss me off by showing those pearls of yours?! Don’t make me laugh! Some blondie, mosshead and strawhat idiot were already captured. They were the first to be in the clutches of Moria-sama so our track record is nice and solid!”
Damn, so that just left him and Robin and Nami, Usopp and Chopper wherever they were. Franky sized up the spider monkey, they desperately needed to get this zombie out of the way. Already it appeared to have an arrogant personality and Franky would use that to his advantage.
Franky huffed. “Don’t know if you’re stupider as a spider or a monkey, but I’m guessing you’re the one who tied down Sunny with those SUPER DISGUSTING webs of yours. Don’t you know the Thousand Sunny is the ship of dreams that’s carrying the future Pirate King! But of course, a stupid big eared bastard like you wouldn’t know that! Stupid!”
“...HAH?” The stupid monkey put two hands to his ears and squinted his eyes. “Are you fearful of the wonderful and terrifying abilities of the Mysterious Four? Perona’s ability is particularly devious. To lower the self worth of another…” He shivered.
Robin, ever perceptive, said “Those big ears of yours look to be quite powerful. Do they aid in your information gathering…or are they really just for show?”
The idiot monkey blinked at them stupidly. “HAH?!?!?!”
“THOSE STUPID THINGS REALLY ARE JUST FOR SHOW!” With an opponent who can’t hear their taunts, it would be difficult to exploit the faults in his personality. Franky looked behind him, his robotic ears catching the sounds of the stampeding General Zombies. He needed another distraction and fast.
“This isn’t good,” He muttered. “We’re blocked from all sides. We need an urgent counter plan, so do you mind leaving it to me?”
Robin smiled gently at him. “Do whatever you wish. I’ll find a way to compensate.”
Franky grinned, his face heating up. Wow, it felt good to be seen as a reliable person. “Hahahaha! Words that tickle the ears! I won’t disappoint you, Nico Robin. Coup De…Vent!”
KRA! KRA! KRAK! BOOM!
In a mighty explosion of rock and dust the bridge split apart beneath them, piece by piece succumbing to the iron grip of gravity. It took a moment for the idiot monkey to realize what happened, declaring the obvious before beginning to fall. Behind the two Strawhats, the armored zombies arrived just in time to meet their downfall. Literally. They poured off the edge of the crumbling platform like a waterfall. Franky and Robin would only be suspended in the air for so long before they too fell.
“I’m uh, still working on it,” Franky chuckled as they began to sink. “I guess you can call this a task failed successfully.”
“How violent,” Robin crossed her arms under her chin. “Allow me to compensate. Cien Fleur! Wing!”
Two large wings made from Robin's soft, delicate hands bloomed from her back and helped whisked the two into the air just as their section of the bridge completely collapsed. She looked like an angel.
“Woah! You can fly?! That’s totally SUPER!”
“Only for about 5 seconds,” Robin grunted as the outer ‘feathers’ of the wing began disappearing into pink petals.
“Don’t worry, Robin, that’s good time! Strong Right!” Franky shot out his arm and latched onto the small piece of the bridge that was left behind. He drew the chain to pull them forward. “If we can get to the entrance, we can go after Fire-bro!”
At that moment, Robin’s wings gave out completely. “Sorry, I am unable to go further.”
Gravity immediately took hold and Franky swung downward with increasing momentum. “Yow!” Franky hollered, urging his hand to reel him in faster. Robin deftly leapt from Franky’s shoulders and landed safely on the broken platform, though in the process slammed Franky face first into the wall.
“It’s not over yet, but it will take some time for them to regroup and find us again,” Robin observed. She peered over the edge, finding a Franky who hauled himself upward. She brushed the pebbles from his shirt and picked them out his fake skin once he made it to the top. “You did well.”
Franky’s face heated up. “Awww shucks, well—hey! You used me like a footstool!”
“You were a very excellent footstool. The best footstool I’ve ever used,”
“Hey! You bastards!” The spider monkey shouted from below. His screechy voice echoed throughout the chasm, indignant at being ignored. “I’m a spider on top of being a monkey so—”
“Don’t care!” Franky bellowed.
“—I’ll be over there soon enough!”
“Okay!”
“Grrrr! Take me seriously!”
“Nah!”
“How dare—huh?” The idiot monkey lifted his head and attention to the violent violet sky.
Something, no, someone was falling! The person, shrouded in smoke and mystery, garnered for themself a wholly captivated audience. All eyes were pinned watching their descent and mighty crash in the center of the courtyard.
“DON’T MIND ME! I’M ALL OLD BONES!”
“What the hell…” Nami’s breath shook as her legs trembled. “Just what the hell is going on!”
All around Nami were the unconscious bodies of those freakish abominations lying on the ground, thoroughly defeated by another freakish abomination that acted suspiciously like Sanji. Even the remaining zombies were in shock, but for a completely different reason.
“Why can he defy them…he’s even as strong as a general!”
Dog Pen folded his arms, stance strong and sure and made a bold declaration. “My power is one that can’t be judged by ordinary means. It’s the power to make the impossible possible. Like a hurricane, it’ll blow everything away. Its name…is Love!”
A speech that would once make Nami cringe in embarrassment only terrified her. It was the exact sort of stupid shit Sanji would say while lighting a cigarette. Either this Dog Penguin zombie imprinted onto Sanji or the worse, that this WAS Sanji. Her mind flashed back to Ryuma: he laughed like Brook and shared perverse mannerisms unbefitting of a samurai. Could…could what have happened to Brook also happened to Sanji? Usopp’s next works revealed he was sharing the same train of thought.
“Hey Dog Pen, you’re an awful lot like Sanji. Do you know anything about him?”
Encouraged by the lack of instant, vicious attack, Chopper piped up. “Yeah! We’re his friends, so could you—!”
“DON’T YOU DARE TALK TO ME! I DIDN’T ASK YOU DAMN MONGRELS A SINGLE THING!”
Usopp and Chopper screamed, dodging the furious kicks of the Sanji-esque zombie. “Nevermind! He really is our enemy!” Chopper wailed, tears streaming from his face.
Clouds of dust caught the trio’s attention and as the two humanoid globs grew bigger, so did the rumbling of the earth. “Great!” Nami clasped her hands together, rapidly reaching her breaking point. “More freaks to make things difficult!”
“IIIIIIIII found youuuuuu! Youuuuu thieving caaaaat!” A giant. Pink. Boar in a wedding dress. Screeched loudly and angrily at her. Smoke bellowed from her nostrils and her eyes were red with anger.
“What?! But I haven’t even stolen anything yet!” She didn’t even do anything?! Why was she being targeted? Usopp and Chopper were right there! The smarter part of Nami didn’t get a chance to remind her to run away from the raging animal before she descended upon her, swinging a giant axe.
“I won’t give Ab-sama to you!” The zombie screeched.
“Wait!” Nami uselessly held her hands up, too slow to escape.
CRACK!
Spinning wildly, the head of the axe flew away, catapulted by the intervention of Dog Pen. The zombie boar was shocked, but nowhere near as shocked as Dog Pen who just seemed to realize the weight of his actions. He backed away, sweat pouring down his face.
“F-forgive me, my lady!” Dog Pen stammered, planting his face in the ground. “I can’t permit any lady to be harmed while in my sight!”
The zombie rolled her eyes and huffed in that order. Steam blew from her snout. “Whatever! Don’t interrupt any longer!” Her demand was punctuated with a slap that sent Dog Pen crashing into a nearby wall. Blood dripped from his head.
Nami looked at him in horror, but the horror was soon directed toward herself when the zombie once again honed on her. “Listen!” She pleaded. “I have no idea who this ‘Ab’ person is and I promise you, you can have him all to yourself. I won’t steal him j-justpleasedon’tkillme! Ahhh!”
Grabbed and swept off her feet, Nami was whisked away much to the increasing ire of the pink zombie. “I’m being kidnapped! Usopp, Chopper, help!”
Nami grunted and shrieked, pounding her fists against the invisible force binding her waist to it. She felt an arm and a shoulder and then finally a terrifying animal face. The invisible being–a man–laughed. “I see you’re already getting handsy! Don’t worry my new bride, we’ll hold the ceremony right now! I’ve already finished the preparations!”
Revealing himself, the invisible man proved himself to be some half human, half lion hybrid. He was no less ugly than the zombies that roamed this place. The only difference was that he didn’t smell like rotten flesh and wasn’t covered in random flesh patches. “My name is Absalom, your husband to be. I went through immense psychological torture to get to you, so remember it well.”
Cold air radiated from Nami’s being and her face darkened. “I have no idea who you are, but if you think I’ll let my body shine for an arrogant, hideous beast that kidnaps women, you need to think again! THUNDER CHARGE!”
A tortured scream ripped through Absalom’s throat as volts of lightning wracked his very being. He convulsed, dropping Nami in the process. She rolled away from him, sprung up and dashed off. “Go! Go! Go!” She yelled at Usopp and Chopper. “That’s not a normal person!”
The two didn’t need to be told twice and Usopp gave his own agreeing comment. “Just look at him, he’s a freak! And so is that boar!”
Said boar roared. “Come back here! I won’t let you run away you husband-attacking thieving cat!”
“See!”
“Go away! Go away! I already told you I don’t want him! Leave me alone!” Nami’s shrieks and the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears blocked the sounds of the commotion behind her. All she could make out was a large crash and that was enough additional zombie drama for her. Behind her, the rumble of the earthquake stomps of the zombie boar grew closer and closer. Tears began streaming from Nami’s face. Being this drop dead gorgeous truly was a pain at times.
“It’s a pain in the ass how you’re the one they’re targeting. Let’s split into groups to make things easier!”
“Easier for who, Usopp, you cold hearted bastard!” She said with no heat in her voice, for she knew if the positions were reversed, she’d suggest the same thing. The image of a manic blue boar bull rushing Usopp under the pretense the sniper wanted to steal his bride would be far more amusing if she weren’t facing that exact scenario.
Time began to blur as exhaustion nestled itself in Nami’s bones. She didn’t know how long she’d been running, or where she was running to. The zombie was extremely persistent, matching her speed, turning neatly on sharp corners and jumping overhead when Nami had squeezed herself between narrow spaces. Usopp and Chopper had taken to jumping on her, holding onto her tusks in an attempt to halt her, but the effort had long proven itself to be futile. Their fists bounced uselessly off the reinforced hide, turning redder and redder with each attempt. Now, they were just screaming in terror, holding on for dear life as she barreled after Nami. They were now just screaming in terror, holding on for dear life. Nami’s lungs started to hurt and her throat was drying up. Even after all that she endured, she still wasn’t built for long, intense endurance running. With a cough, Nami tripped over a stone, planting face first into the ground and sliding with the remaining momentum.
Spitting out dirt, she flipped on her back just in time to see the zombie flick Usopp and Chopper off her tusks like flies. “I’m gonna take Absalom as my husband! You’ll have to accept it!” She raised her axe high again.
“I already accept it! In fact, I wholly endorse it! You can have him all to yourself I only wanted to congratulate him on howcutethetwoofyoulookedtogether! ” Nami was breathing heavily and her eyes were squeezed tight enough to see white. When the pain of being chopped to bits didn’t come, she hesitantly opened her eyes. The axe was less than an inch from her face.
The zombie squinted her eyes at Nami in suspicion. “I don’t believe you. Any half decent woman would want Absalom as her groom. How do I know you’re not trying to lead me into a false sense of security then him for yourself?!”
“Th-th-th-that’s because…” Nami’s eyes glanced around, then landed on Usopp. “I’m not a woman! I’m really a man, an okama! Honest! I just wanted to give my support for you and Absalom’s relationship.”
With a heartstopping thunk, the axe landed right next to Nami’s head. The zombie fell to her knees, kicking up a thin mist of dust. Tears began to fall from her face as she sniffled. “...really?” Her voice was small now, a total 180 from the rage it carried seconds prior. “No one has ever supported my feelings before.”
There was probably a reason for that, Nami thought but instead put a smile on her face. She shuffled to her knees and held the zombie’s hooves in her hands. “Raise your head, my friend. That’s what friendship is about: supporting each other! Let’s introduce ourselves as new friends now. I’m Namizou, so I’m called Nami!”
“F-friendship? Right, well then, I’m Lola!”
As it turned out, Lola was quite pleasant to have a conversation with. Despite being bound to loyalty, she didn’t care all that much about Gecko Moria, the other zombies or people trapped on Thriller Bark—which, as it turned out, wasn’t an island but a huge ship? News to her! All Lola wanted was to marry Absalom. Using that piece of information, Nami led the conversation, slowly gaining Lola’s trust by suggesting ways she could trick Absalom into a marriage. Usopp and Chopper began questioning the morality of it all, but they had no room to talk since they weren’t the ones in danger of wanting to be wed by a freakazoid. When Nami’s life was on the line, anything went!
“By the way, Lola,” Nami said, testing the threads of trust. This was the moment of truth. Her end goal. “I lost something in the treasure room and I need to get it back. But with everyone around her being so hostile, I had to keep running for my life and now I’m lost. Can you point me to the way to get there?”
Lola sighed with fond exasperation. Perfect. “You shouldn’t be so forgetful, Nami. Luckily you were very close. It’s right by Perona-sama’s room.”
As Nami received the specifics, Usopp announced that Absalom returned. Renewed, Lola quickly jumped up. “Great!” Nami said, reinforcing all the work she put in. “Now really is your chance, Lola. I’ll never see him again after this, so do your best to be the best couple!”
Lola grinned. It was still terrifying, even though she wasn’t out for Nami’s blood anymore. “Thank you! I owe this encouragement to you! ....ABSALOOOOM!” She yelled out, bursting towards her freaky groom.
While Lola kept Absalom occupied, Nami, Chopper and Usopp made a run for it. It was a little weird to no longer feel anger radiating from behind her as she ran but this was the far better alternative. She thought about all the money that must be stored up after years of robbing poor fools also trapped in the Florian Triangle. Usopp said she was acting weird but that wasn’t important. What was really important was that they finally found a safe place to hide!
She should’ve known she wasn’t that lucky.
Perona’s happiness at seeing Absalom inadvertently punish himself for being a nasty pervert blended into the happiness at being assigned to loot the two ships caught in Tallaran’s spider webs. That was about an hour ago. Now the only thing that remained was extreme disappointment.
“There’s not a single treasure chest on this old, decrepit ship! And all the chests are empty on the other one. What kind of pirates are they?!”
Combined, the loot on the two ships were worth a grand spanking total of 1000 Beli. Pocket change. Even the few pieces of jewelry owned by the women weren’t worth taking. It’d be like taking the money from a pauper’s collection can. None of their ugly clothes or equipment or tools had any sort of monetary value worth keeping or leaving the Florian Triangle to sell. It was almost astonishing how poor the Strawhats were. Was this really the ship of a man who defeated Crocodile and replaced him? Perona had only met the sandy Warlord a few times. Her opinion of him could be summed up in a few words: uncute from style to mannerisms but devastatingly rich. Perona was sure any Marines who were paid off of Crocodile’s 20% would be weeping, crying and pleading to be put on another payroll once they realized the Strawhats had nothing to offer. She could remember from her youth the times Crocodile threw Shut Up money at her face whenever a meeting Moria dragged her to had gotten particularly dull and she started to complain. Crocodile was the furthest thing from a cheerful giver; he simply had that much to feel comfortable giving away. She cried deliberately once and was promptly barred from attending meetings. Perona theorized Crocodile saw she was right on the cusp of fully awakening the fascinating ability to exploit other people and decided to nip it in the bud. How rude and inconsiderate.
“Since we’re already here, let’s just take all the food supplies. The Strawhats won’t survive the night, so it's best not to let it go to waste,” She sighed and the zombies dutifully followed.
“Perona-sama!”
“Hildon,” She greeted.
“Perona-sama, Moria-sama is calling for all members of the Mysterious Four!”
“Eh? What does the Master want?” Perona raised her brows in slight surprise. It was rare that he all called them together for a meeting. Either Moria-sama spoke with them individually, sent messengers or they had discussions amongst themselves that they summarized for him.
“Strawhat Luffy has been captured, and Moria-sama has decided to use him for Number 900!”
Perona’s eyes widened. “Number 900, seriously? Just how strong is this Strawhat? Anything else?”
Hildon nodded enthusiastically. “A man referred to as ‘Fire Fist Ace’ by the Strawhats has been reported captured as well!”
Perona’s eyes nearly bugged out of its sockets. “What. Is he doing here?! And what do you mean, captured? Do you idiots not know who Fire Fist is? He’s the Second Division Commander of Whitebeard. Whitebeard! If Fire Fist puts in a bad word, we’ll have a target on our backs, and if Whitebeard decides to retaliate we’ll be ruined! Ruined! Moria-sama’s Warlord status be damned!”
The ghost princess clutched at her twin tails and began to pace. Her mind ran through various possible scenarios before she stood still. “Oh! I bet Moria-sama needs me for my charm and negotiation skills to apologize for your horrendous blunder.”
“...Negotiation skills?”
“Shut up! Cutting a deal with a Whitebeard representative, ohhhhh I’m not yet ready for this kind of pressure! Tell Moria-sama I’m coming. I just need to find an even cuter outfit!”
What awaited her was a sight even more disappointing than the empty ships. In fact, it was even angering. “Absalom, you pervert! What are you doing in my room? Get out!” Even worse was that Kumashi attempted to speak to her. How many times did she have to tell him his voice was horrible and it was preferable if he never spoke at all.
“You’re as mean as ever to Kumashi,”
“Shut up! He’s my underling, so I can treat him however I please! More importantly…did you hear the news? Moria-sama called us all together for Number 900’s debut and the capture of Fire Fist Ace.”
Absalom didn’t seem that shocked. Instead, he had an expression of someone who just had their beliefs confirmed. “Hildon said something along those lines, but I was too busy running from Lola to digest it.” He put his hands together, breathed in and breathed out. “Are those two events related? Is Moria-sama trying to use him for 900? No offense to the Master, but that’s insane!”
“–Absalom-sama–” Hildon tried.
“ Is he trying to get us flattened by Whitebeard?!”
“—Absalom-sama—”
“Number 900 may be the zombie to make the master the Pirate King, but Whitebeard won’t tolerate it for a single second!”
“Absalom-sama!”
“WHAT!” He screeched at the bat zombie.
Hildon, nonplussed, said “Along with the pirates there’s another intruder, that Chivalrous Swordsman, Humming.”
Perona didn’t know who that was, but from the look on Absalom’s face, it seemed to be even more disappointing news.
“Someone just fell from the sky!” A zombie exclaimed.
Franky and Robin looked over the edge and down at the smoking crater. Its shape was familiar. While Franky was deliberating on who exactly formed such a unique shape, Robin tapped his shoulder, suggesting they should flee while everyone else was distracted. However, the monkey broke his stupor too quickly for the Strawhats to put that plan in motion.
“Hey! Just because some stranger is here doesn’t mean you can run away from me!” Thick ropes of webbing weaved together to form a new bridge. “You won’t escape no matter how much you try!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Franky said, looking around for anything that could help them escape. His cybernetic eyes glanced upon two pieces of collapsed pillar that were mostly intact. “Buy me some time, I’m gonna make a weapon.” Robin nodded.
Irritated that he was being ignored, the spider monkey launched his sticky webs from his hands towards Robin, inadvertently giving her an idea. Six arms bloomed around the monkey’s eyeballs, pulling his eyelids wide open. A seventh and eighth arm appeared, reared back and punched him square in the eyeball.
“RAAAAAHHH!” He screeched, slapping his web filled hand into his eyeball and becoming entangled in his own webs as he writhed in pain. This single act gave Franky just enough to complete his weapon: giant nunchucks made by attaching regular nunchucks to stone pillars.
“Now I have a weapon large enough to defeat that ugly beast,” Franky ran forward, building momentum. “Heavy…Nunchuck!” Franky spun on his heel, and the loose end smacked the monkey directly in his jaw. There was an audible crack. The spectating zombies winced in sympathy as the monkey was flung backwards into a spin.
Franky swung again and again and again. Blood sprayed with each hit, painting the courtyard a bright red. Shards of broken teeth whizzed into the necks of zombies who were too close. Multiple monkey hands flailed around in attempts to grab Franky and stop the pillar but were halted by the simple fact he couldn’t see through the blood and cement chunks lodged in his eye.
“St-stop! Stop! I said STOP YOU BASTARD!” The monkey finally spit out through multiple blows. By luck, a random shot hit Franky’s nunchucks and pinned it to the far wall. He grinned, flashing a shattered smile, but Franky did not share the amusement.
“WEAPONS LEFT!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Heavy breathing quieted down to shallow wheezing as Franky’s rockets rendered the beast unconscious. Hearing a grunt behind him, Franky whizzed around to find Robin ensnared by webs and surrounded by what looked to be literal spider mice.
“I apologize. I let my guard down and didn’t hear them coming!”
Webs—cold, wet and sticky, hit Franky from behind as went to free Robin. He fell flat on the ground, unable to move. Much to Franky’s disbelief, the spider monkey rose from the ground again. He could see the cheeky grin through the torn flesh. “It’s gonna take a lot more than that to get me down!” He boasted, rejuvenated now that Franky and Robin were at his mercy.
He introduced his underlings: the Spider Mice. 500 of the little pests were scuttling around Thriller Bark, having never lost its prey and capturing them in complete silence. Strings engineered by the ingenious Dr. Hogback ensured that their webs were uncuttable. When all seemed hopeless, when it seemed that Franky and Robin would be shipped into Moria’s hands just like their nakama, a song rose out.
Gather up all of the crew! It’s time to ship out Bink’s brew!
Sea wind blows, To where? Who knows?
The waves will be our guide!
O’er across the ocean’s tide
Rays of sunshine far and wide
Birds they sing of cheerful things, in circles passing by!
The monkey stilled, his eye widening in fear. “This song...the one who sings it, its—”
“Yohohoho! Hello everyone, so it seems you too have arrived on this island,” Brook interrupted. He seemed to have a cheerful expression on his face, though Franky couldn’t really tell due to the lack of an actual face.
“How were you able to come from below?” Robin asked.
“I’m light; I just jumped,” Brook responded. “But if you’re still here, I guess such a thing can’t be helped. Let’s talk about this island once the performance is over.”
“Hey you, Bastard, who are you? You look the part, but you’re clearly not a zombie! Hey, hey! Don’t ignore me!”
“The end is close by. Keep quiet until the performers have finished. Humming Three Blocks...Arrow Notch Cut”
After Brook took three steps, a single line of blood spurted from his face to his back. The spider monkey collapsed, but given his previous experience, Franky wasn’t convinced that it was over. “They’re zombies, they’ll just get right back up! See!”
Pushing himself on all eight of his elbows, the spider monkey’s body trembled with rage and pain. “You…” He choked on blood. “I’ve seen you…s-somewhere before…”
Brook responded to Franky. “I understand your concern, but I have already dealt with that. All things have a weak point, zombies too. You can see it coming out, the soul of the zombie!”
Franky looked to where Brook was pointing and was shocked by a black, goopy mass rising from the zombie. It wrenched itself from his mouth, taking on a vague human shape before flying away. With that, the spider monkey collapsed once more, but did not get back up. He was completely still. Shrill sounds of fear emanated from the spider mice.
“The commander is dead!”
“That Humming is back!”
“The one who wreaked havoc on Thriller Bark five years ago!”
In a frenzy, they scurried away, presumably to inform Gecko Moria. In the meantime, per Brook’s instructions, Franky used a gentle dose of Fresh Fire to free himself and Robin from the webs. Now that their lives were no longer at immediate risk, the two Strawhats felt relaxed enough to ask Brook some very important questions: how did he know so much about the island and what would happen to their captured nakama?
“Yes, I do know a lot but…where should I even start?” Brook sighed. “If your friends haven’t returned after this long, then there is a chance we’re already too late.”
“Too late?!” Franky squawked.
“Please don’t shout too much, my ears will start to ring…even though I don’t have ears. Yohohoho! Skull joke!”
“Argh! Stop joking around!” Franky aimed Weapons Left at him.
Robin put a calming hand on his forearm. “Stop it, he’s already dead.”
“Thank you for that. You know, you should really listen without fooling around.” Franky growled. “Stop it, he’s dead.” She calmed him again.
“You remember when we first met I said there was a time when my ship's rudder didn’t work and I drifted alone on the sea for dozens of years. As much as I wanted to escape, I couldn’t. By chance I arrived here 5 years ago. Just like you ladies and gentlemen, I was lured here to Thriller Bark. I wanted to get out of the Florian Triangle, so I wandered around hoping they had the parts to fix my rudder. All I found were monsters and zombies. In the end, I was caught and brought to that building.” Brook pointed at the building where Ace had been sent through.
“What I saw inside was a struggling dancer and a patched up corpse they called ‘Mario’. When I looked closer, a big scary man came, and he pulled the man’s shadow from off the floor and cut it!”
“Gecko Moria cut off his shadow ?!”
“It seems all the pieces of the puzzle have come together,” Robin said. Franky and Brook turned to her for elaboration. “Remember, the injured old man stated that Gecko Moria had stolen his and many others' shadows. Brook just corroborated this. Given how Brook was also lured here, it's safe to conclude that Gecko Moria lures his victims to Thriller Bark, captures them and steals their shadows. Now, would it be so far-fetched for me to say Gecko Moria takes these shadows with the intent to reanimate these corpses?” Her eyes flickered to the twice deceased spider monkey, most likely remembering the black form that left it.
“Oh no! Not at all! In fact, you’re absolutely correct! I would doubt such a thing myself but I saw it with my own eyes but…I don’t have any!”
“That’s sickening…” Franky’s face turned green. Then the terrible joke registered. “Stop it you bastard, I’ll hit you!”
“You can hit him now,”
Despite lying flat on the floor, Brook was as piper as ever. “You are quite an intelligent young lady. To have pieced that together before I even finished my tale! But yes, your deduction is correct. The dancer’s shadow was put into this ‘Mario’ and the corpse awoke and began to dance just as the dancer did.” He picked himself from the floor and dusted himself off.
“The reason for this is so: a shadow is another soul that naturally follows you from the moment you’re born until the moment you die. It’s never supposed to detach from you, but the only one who can defy this natural order is Gecko Moria with his devil fruit: the Shadow Shadow Fruit. When he puts the shadows in corpses, he creates loyal zombies and Dr. Hogback strengthens the zombies physically to create loyal soldiers. Using the doctor’s abilities to restore a corpse to a perfectly good condition, Moria revives warriors from all over the world. Several are always kept in the research lab’s freezer.”
“Dr. Hogback…” Robin recognized the name. “Who would believe such a famous doctor would help a pirate in this manner after his disappearance?”
“So he uses the shadows to make them move, but he isn’t exactly bringing them back to life, is he?” Franky said. Brook nodded in confirmation.
“It’s more akin to a perverse puppeteering than raising the dead. The personalities and fighting capabilities belong to the owner of the shadow, and the power of the body depends on the physical strength of the corpse. Combining a strong body and a strong shadow creates an even stronger zombie. While Moria takes any shadows he can get, he only uses the shadows of those with bounties for his soldiers, anyone else gets put into any random corpse.”
“I see, so this is a targeted attack,”
“Most likely. For Moria, the most important thing about zombies is that they’re obedient to him and him alone.”
“It’s only natural,” Robin agreed. “A strong willed warrior would be far more difficult to control.”
“Yes, if you only take the shadow that has the same capabilities as the fighting person, you have no need for the actual person, who especially won’t listen to you once you’ve taken their shadow. The ones who faint are immediately sent out to sea. "
Franky was alarmed. “If those guys fainted then…!”
“It’s fine, we still have time!” Brook said, raising his hands. “So please believe me and act as I say.”
Franky donned a deadpan expression. “Believe you? ”
Brook got excited. “Skull shock! I can negotiate with someone for the first time in dozens of years! How amazing!”
“We’re listening, so please speak,” Robin urged.
Moria accepted the report with a large grin on his face. Another strong pirate had been captured and he hadn’t even put Strawhat in Number 900 yet! The lanky shadow was still clutched in his claws, pounding his fists uselessly against Moria’s mightier hand. It was foolish of Strawhat to accept that bet; he was losing at a record breaking pace. Truly tonight was special and had done an effortless job in making up for that disaster of a Warlord meeting earlier. Usually, the Warlord wasn’t so keen on having to work so hard in one day, but with his mood high in the sky, he didn’t mind. He took a large swig of wine from his celebratory goblet, savoring its taste. Victory was so, so sweet.
As a servant refilled his goblet “To the rim, I tell you!”, Moria mused on who would be brought to him next. He hoped it was Nico Robin. Having the Devil Child who was wanted by the World Government and manipulated the idiot Strawhats into declaring war against them for her would be a marvelous asset. If not for strength or even knowledge, but for the massive satisfaction of having power over her in a way the World Government never could.
“I don’t catch devil fruit users that often,” The Warlord said to the still struggling shadow. “Their powers do not transfer to the zombies, and more often than not they neglect their physical strength in lieu of strengthening their devil fruit thus making their bodies totally useless.”
“The remainder of the Mysterious Four have arrived, Moria-sama!” Hildon announced, perched atop a cage covered in a purple sheet hauled in by Dr. Hogback. Perona and Absalom followed suit, though they were both donning uncharacteristically nervous expressions. Moria raised a brow, but his excitement prevented him from commenting.
“Quickly! Show me the next one who will help me become the Pirate King!” Clutching the sheet with his talons, Hildon flew off, dragging the covering with him.
Moria’s smile dropped along with the goblet in his hand.
Rouge ran across the floor, slipping through the cracks where the rim of the goblet hit the tile. There was a loud crash, but it was not nearly as loud as Gecko Moria’s silence. The fiery glare of Fire Fist Ace, the Second Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, made his blood run cold.
Moria’s gut instinct was to scream ‘What the hell were you morons thinking?! Are you asking to start a fight with a bloody Emperor?! ’. Then he remembered that in his hand was the shadow that would fuel the zombie to make him the Pirate King. The Warlord molded his lips into a pleasant and relaxed expression.
“Kishishishishi! What an unexpected development! To what do I owe the pleasure of Whitebeard’s Second at my humble abode?”
As soon as the webbing covering Fire Fists mouth was burned away, his words came in hot like his flames. “Humble my ass,” Fire Fist spat. “You’re running a wicked operation here, Moria. First Crocodile takes over an entire country and now this. It’s astonishing what the World Government allows you dogs to get away with as long as you lick their boots hard enough.”
It wasn’t the response Moria expected but it was far more relieving to hear than the alternative: threats to bring Whitebeard down on his head.
“I take it you know the secrets behind Thriller Bark ? It’s fascinating, isn’t it?” With his free hand, he took a few bounty posters from his pockets. “With the power of all these bounties behind me, I’ll become the Pirate King!”
“The only one who is becoming the Pirate King is Whitebeard!” Fire Fist countered. “A fatass leek like you that amasses power by stealing the freedom of others and disturbing the rest of the deceased has none of what it takes to become the Pirate King!”
Fire Fist began to struggle against his bonds, but since they were sSastone, he was unable to break free. “Release me and the Strawhats, return the shadows and I’ll consider this little incident water under the bridge. Well…after I beat your ass, of course.”
Gecko Moria couldn’t help but throw his head back in laughter. He used Strawhat’s shadow to wipe the tears from his eyes, gaining an affronted expression from Fire Fist. “I’ll release you since I prefer to continue having no qualms with Whitebeard, but as far as I’m aware, there is no formal alliance between the Whitebeards and the Strawhats. You have no jurisdiction over what I decide to do with them. If anything, you have even less jurisdiction than you normally would considering that Strawhat is as of a few days ago official government property. Forming an alliance with your captain would mean Strawhat gets his position stripped immediately. Your attempts to protect him from me would only place him in even more danger.”
“I’m sure there’s a loophole,”
“Oh, there is. The Warlord would have to prove that their allied captain is nothing more than a subordinate, but who would ever believe Whitebeard would submit himself to the whims of a rookie?”
Moria had no idea why Fire Fist of all people was so invested in Strawhat’s wellbeing, but it was delightful to see him internally battle against the truth of his words. “Tell you what,” He said. “I just so happen to be in a pretty good mood. Since you’ve clearly set your mind on rescuing Strawhat, why don’t I let you in on the bet he and I have running at the moment. It’ll be fun.”
“What kind of bet?”
Moria grinned. “If he wins, he and all who are his can leave this island without any interference from me, but if he loses well…” He flipped Strawhat’s shadow between his fingers like a coin, agitating it and prompting it to try attacking his hand again. “...I’m sure you’ll have no problem imagining the consequences considering you know the truth of this place.”
“Luffy’s gonna win,” Fire Fist said decidedly.
“You have so much belief in a man you hardly know,” Moria pointed out. “Are you hoping to absorb the Strawhats into the Whitebeard fleet? Did the old man send you on some sort of recruitment mission? It’s futile, you know.”
“I have my reasons for defending him,” Fire Fist neither confirmed nor denied his question. “Besides, if Whitebeard doesn’t become the Pirate King then Straw Hat Luffy is most definitely the man who will become King of the Pirates!”
The declaration reverberated throughout Moria’s throne room. Very well, if Fire Fist insisted on putting Moria in a difficult position by refusing to leave, then he may as well make things entertaining. “Are you joining the bet or not?” He said. “You still have the opportunity to get out of here without any of my subordinates being ordered to stop you.”
“Leaving is something I planned on doing anyway, so it’s not much of a bet at all.”
“There is an additional condition, but you’re not privy to that information just so you know,”
“If that’s with Luffy, then what’s in it for me personally? Like I said, it’s not much of a bet if I’m just going to do what I plan to,”
Moria rolled his eyes. Fire Fist wasn’t in any kind of position to make demands of him. Honestly, these new generation pirates were so rude and entitled. In the age he was from, if he was ever this lippy with captors more powerful than himself, his entire jaw would’ve been torn right off! Fire Fist was lucky that Moria became more lax over the years, otherwise the freckled nuisance might’ve found himself permanently on a liquid diet! Taking a mental breath, Moria had to force himself to remember that Fire Fist wasn’t an ordinary upstart, and his behavior was simply the result of being spoiled by Whitebeard. Speaking of the old man…
“Say, isn’t Whitebeard doing poorly lately? Dr. Hogback here used to be a famous, world renowned surgeon whose operations had a 98% recovery rate. If you win, I will task him with treating Whitebeard and should there be any signs that Hogback deliberately maltreats him, barring death, I’ll allow you to punish him any way that you see fit.”
“Why are you dragging me into this, Moria-sama!”
“What makes you think I want that hack going anywhere near Whitebeard?!”
“Take it or leave it, kid, I haven’t got all night. You can either leave by yourself scot free or stay behind and play my game for the chance of escaping with the lives of you and the Strawhats!”
“...Fine, I’m in.” Fire Fist relented.
“Excellent,” Moria grinned, watching Fire Fist Ace’s eyes follow him switch Strawhat’s shadow from his left hand to the right. “Since you are my esteemed guest, I’ll treat you to a run down of the situation. You all pay attention as well, for this is what I summoned you here for.”
Moria cleared his throat. “Roronoa Zoro, Black Leg Sanji and Strawhat here,” He waved the shadow. “Have all been captured. An orange haired girl, a long nosed freak and a raccoon dog have been reported contained and are headed this way. With you in this cage, that’s seven pirates in my grasp and the night isn’t halfway over yet. Do you still think you can win?”
“Yes,”
“Eh, those three you mentioned,” Hogback said. “Shouldn’t they have gotten here by now? The Risky Brothers aren’t normally so slow. They should’ve arrived with Kumashi, but didn’t.”
At that moment Kumashi attempted to speak, but was silenced so harshly by Perona that even Fire Fist winced. “Kishishi, you’re always so cruel to Kumashi, Perona.”
Perona simply lolled her tongue at him. “I’m bored of waiting, when are you gonna activate Number 900? I wanna see these peasants get squished!”
“Number 900?” Ace questioned.
Moria put on a wicked grin. He never passed up a chance to boast. “When I saw his body in this particularly icy county, I couldn’t stop shivering despite being bundled up. My breath caught in my throat when I heard about this dreadful beast that roamed the ocean 500 years ago!” Moria grabbed his scissors, a silent gesture to turn the floodlights on and release Fire Fist from his cage. Immediately, the pirate began to squirm and kick at the zombie servants handling him. He even bit off Nin’s hand.
“He was so ferocious that he turned the county that arrested him into his own territory and built a country entirely of villains. Left behind by the ringleader was the legend of a man that influenced an entire country!” Nestling Strawhat’s shadow under his arm, Moria bent down and peeled Fire Fists shadow from the floor, suspending him in the air.
“What the–!” The commander exclaimed, his eyes wide.
“That warrior, the one who is called the devil himself, his name is Oars!”
SNIP! “Kishishishishishi!”
Fire Fist Ace fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.
Holding each shadow in his hands, Moria looked at his prizes. Both shadows struggled within Moria’s grasp, attempting to escape but having no physicality to do so. Fire Fist and Strawhat’s shadows even engaged in a rudimentary form of communication using hand signals to launch a combined attack against Moria. It was honestly quite amusing to watch.
“Now, what should I do? My heart is set on putting Strawhat in Oars, but Fire Fist absolutely must go in a powerful body, otherwise it would be a waste,” He thought about his options for a moment. “Should we put him in that body?”
While Perona and Absalom were confused, Dr. Hogback grew still. “You don’t mean the Forbidden Zombie, do you?”
Moria’s grin grew wide. “I avoided using that particular body since I wasn’t sure there was anyone powerful enough to make the reveal worth it. All I really need is Oars, but this one would certainly turn the world upside down! It was a miracle I was even able to find it let alone have it restored to working condition! ”
Perona looked between Moria and Hogback. “Care to explain who exactly is this ‘Forbidden Zombie’?”
“Fosfosfosfosfos! With all of these occurrences, it makes sense that today would be the day for you to set out to become Pirate King,” Perona’s question went ignored. “On this day, exactly 10 years ago is when I started working on Number 900. No matter which of the two we put in Oars, he’ll become the strongest zombie in history and a great power for us to use!”
“The day I’ll become the Graveyard King is drawing near!”
“And I’ll make all the cute things in the world my loyal zombie subordinates!”
Gecko Moria laughed, holding up the two shadows that were now bickering with each other. “No matter how cocky a bastard is, once they’re turned into a shadow, they’ll become obedient to me. If I had such underlings before, I would’ve never been beaten by that drunkard Kaido in the New World!” The Warlord grit his teeth. “Indestructible obedient soldiers…that’s all I need to be successful.”
“So which idiot are you going to put in Number 900 and which in this so-called Forbidden Zombie?” Perona asked.
“Strawhat in 900,” Moria answered with finality. “Although Fire Fist has a higher bounty, Strawhat’s devil fruit techniques would be easier to emulate using Shadow Revolution. There’s no point in using Fire Fist for the strongest zombie in the world if I’m unable to completely utilize his shadow. This is why I rarely target fruit users.”
“Brilliant thinking, Moria-sama!” Nin, Bao and Gyoro exclaimed.
“Ah, Spider Mice, you’ve arrived just in time! Toss Strawhat and Fire Fist onto their hideous yellow ship. You three, with me to the Special Freezer,” An excited chill ran down Moria’s spine.
“Master, Master! Captain “Spider Monkey” Tallaran is dead!”
“What?!” Absalom responded first. “That’s impossible!”
“It’s true, we saw it with our own eyes!”
“There’s only one logical conclusion,” Hogback said with a frown. “Since no other zombie had their shadows extracted before this, it means the Strawhats do not know how to do it. The only other active opponent in the Florian Triangle, the only one who knows how to purify them is that Chivalrous Swordsman, Humming.”
“If we don’t act fast, the number of sacrifices to the army will increase and it will dissolve into that disaster 5 years ago!” The mice said, panicked.
“How was it exposed? How did he return here again?” Absalom questioned Hogback.
Perona stamped her foot on the ground. “This is the second thing you guys know that I don’t! Who is this Humming Swordsman!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Moria said. “I don’t care that that idiot is roaming about and you shouldn’t either. We’ve got what we need.”
“But–but–!” Absalom stammered.
“If you care that much, you go do something about it then. I’m not getting involved with that silly, weak little toothpick who couldn’t take his shadow back after 5 years. Now to the freezer, I have warriors to resurrect.”
“Get back to the Sunny ? Why? Shouldn’t we go looking for our nakama?” Franky folded his arms and shifted his weight from his right leg to the left. The request Brook had made of them was odd.
“I understand why you think that, but there’s an important reason why you shouldn’t,” Brook said. “If they’ve been gone this long, then the worst thing that could’ve happened to have happened: their shadows got taken. Usually, persons who had their shadows stolen fall unconscious for about two days. During that time, the strong ones are taken to their ship and driven out of Thriller Bark while the weak ones are left to their own devices.”
“Is it so the victims won’t come back to take their shadows?” Brook nodded in confirmation “Why not kill them, then?”
That question got a loud reaction from Brook. “No! No! No!” He shook his head and waved his arms in an ‘X’ motion. “They can’t do that! This is important, so listen carefully. The shadow and body might be separate but they still form one being. If the body dies, so does the shadow which means the zombie dies at the same time. To prevent this, they keep the body alive by sending them away or leaving them alone. Because of that reason, your nakama is guaranteed to be alive and taken back to the ship. It’s important for you not to get caught either as the ship will only be dislodged and sent away once everyone has had their shadows taken. Right now, your best chance at retrieving your nakama’s shadows is to stay out of their grasp.”
Brook slid a hand into his ribcage and pulled out a small pouch. “Here!” He tossed it to Franky. It sounded and shifted like it was filled with a grainy substance.
“What is this?” Franky asked.
“It’s salt, the zombies’ weak point. The proof is with the spider monkey.”
Franky raised a brow. “If we’re dealing with zombies shouldn’t the weak point be a charm to ward off evil spirits or something?”
“Well in a way, you’re not wrong. Since the zombies are powered by a devil fruit and salt has the concentrated power of the sea, it will neutralize the shadow fruit and thus tear apart the binding the flesh has with the fake soul.”
“In conclusion, weaken the enemy then stuff the salt in their mouth when their guard is down!” Franky said.
“How did you become so knowledgeable about the zombies and their weaknesses?” Robin asked.
“My shadow was taken from me 5 years ago,” Brook answered solemnly. “My ship was set adrift but I was lucky enough to wake up as I was being sent back. I quickly returned to the island to fight but it was a terrible loss for me. I…I treasured my life, so I ran away. I didn’t want to die no matter what so I stayed alive on the ship, alone once more. There’s a promise I made with a nakama of mine, so I need to get out of this devil’s sea. Just surviving won’t solve this problem. I’m not going to run away anymore. This time, I will most certainly get my shadow back!”
Brook seemed to be lost in thought, so Robin gently tapped him on the shoulders. “Oh, sorry. I got carried away there…I…I’m honestly surprised that you haven’t called me a coward for shirking away all these years.”
Franky shared a knowing glance with Robin. “The two of us have recently learned how to value our own lives. It would be SUPER hypocritical of us to shame you for valuing yours, but since we’re on a time crunch here, I only have one important question left to ask you.”
Reinvigorated, Brook returned to Hogback’s lab where he knew the one who had his shadow was lounging about. He lost to him before, but this time, he wouldn’t. He would most certainly win. Ryuma hardly reacted to the determined stamp of his foot. Instead, he just chuckled, sipping his favorite tea, which was also Brook’s favorite tea.
“Yohohoho!” Ryuma laughed with his laugh. Stolen. It was the laugh that his nakama would never hear again. “You don’t give up even after being pushed down!”
“You should know that since you are my shadow!”
“No, our bodies are too different. It’s clear you simply don’t know who I am. When people hear my name, everyone draws back. You foolishly come forward,”
“Respectfully, shut up and please come back beneath my feet,”
“I’d rather commit seppuku, even though I am already dead! Yohohohoho!”
Gah! It was devastating how good that joke was. Brook should’ve been a swordsman so he could make it himself. He cleared his non-existent throat. The skeleton had decided early on that even though he was completely terrified and that all the zombies needed to be purged, they were as much a victim of Moria’s depravity as the persons who had their shadows stolen. They didn’t choose to be dug up, stitched together and possessed. This is why Brook didn’t hate Ryuma. Instead, he felt pity. The dead deserved as much respect as the living.
“Don’t worry Ryuma,” Brook said. “I don’t know much about samurai, but I know that this must be highly dishonorable to you. I’ll release you from it right now!”