Archive of Our Own

Koby knew there was something locked in the hull that no one wanted to acknowledge. 

He had only been on the Boneguard for a month, and was considered as green as they come to the other sailors, but Koby wasn’t stupid. 

He saw the wary glances shot towards the unlabeled and heavily bolted door when they were sent below to grab supplies. 

He noticed how every time the first mate went below deck, alone, his return would signal a sudden and dramatic uptick in speed. 

He understood that despite there being some truly awful chore duties, no one ever tried to barter or exchange with the Marine who went down there three times a day after their mealtimes, holding a covered tray.

Raco, was the Marine’s name, and Koby didn’t know much more than that. The Marine kept to himself, a scowl permanently on his face, and was as lazy as a Marine could be; undoubtedly the reason why he was nearly permanently assigned to the hull job.

Except now it was Koby’s job. 

No one liked that the newbie who was rumoured to have once worked for pirates was the Vice Admiral's new favorite. No one liked how Koby was a little too nosy, or too much of a know it all, or too much of a stickler for protocol. And any pride that came from receiving the Vice Admiral's attention was quickly dimmed by the sneers of his fellow Marines.

So here he was, Raco stomping his way down the stairs as Koby quietly trailed after him, holding a covered tray of raw, less than fresh, fish. And for the first time since he joined the Vice Admiral Garp’s crew, he watched someone stop in front of the door deep in the hull, and pull out a key that hung around their neck. 

“This is one of only three keys that unlocks this door,” said Raco, his voice nasally and laced with annoyance. “If you lose it, you might as well jump ship.”

Koby shifted the tray to one hand to take the leather cord and key as it was handed to him. “What’s in there?” he asked nervously, glancing at the door.

Raco smiled for the first time Koby had ever seen; a sharp toothed grin that held nothing good behind it. “A monster,” he said, stepping back and pushing Koby towards the door.

Stumbling forward, Koby righted himself, anxiously going to unlock the door; its creaking mechanisms showing how old and rusted the metal had gotten, fighting against the very idea of being unlocked.

Opening the door, darkness welcomed him, along with a sudden rise in humidity, the smell of seawater somehow growing stronger than he thought possible indoors. Raco shouldered past him, and turned on the lamp that hung near the door, which he had closed as soon as the both of them entered. The dim pale light barely pushed the darkness back more than a few feet, though estimating from the size of the ship, minus the storage hull, Kolby doubted the entire room was more than ten or fifteen feet deep all together. 

But what he could see, approximately five feet from the door, were iron bars running floor to ceiling. 

A jail cell.

Raco took out his Marine issued baton and ran it across the bars, the sound of metal on metal filling the small room so loud that Koby couldn’t help but wince. Squinting his eyes in the low light, he could vaguely see movement in the back, a mound of cloth and body shifting.

“Breakfast, beastie,” the Marine sneered. “Drop the tray and slide it,” he ordered, quickly snatching the tray cover away as Koby went to set it down. “Give it the food and tray, only.”

Koby looked down at the plate, where three raw fish sat on it. “No silverware or anything?”

“Anything else and it’ll just be used as a weapon.”

In response, the shape sent a scattering of small fish bones towards the bars, few making it far enough to actually hit the boy, who brushed them off in disgust. “See.” He kicked the tray that laid on the ground through the gap of bars. “You gotta bring it food three times a day, then wait till it eats. Usually it’ll slide it back, watch your feet though, it will try and hit you with it. If it doesn’t return the tray then just bang on the bars for a while. It hates the noise,” he chucked at the thought, hitting the bar in demonstration and causing the shape to shrink back.

Leaving behind the tray just barely visible in the cell, Raco sat on the bench by the door, scooting an overturned bucket over and kicking his feet up. 

“That’s it?” Koby finally said. “With how everyone acted when I got assigned, I thought it would be a lot worse.”

Raco scoffed, “Yeah, and we’re gonna keep that belief going. This is the best job on the ship. I get to come down here and hide out for an hour or two after my meals. Take a nap if I feel like it. All I…” he grabbed and pulled Koby in close, “All we gotta do is whisper some horror stories every now and then, and when you walk out, look a little traumatized, eh?”

Koby gave an awkward laugh, “Right.”

“See I knew you could keep a secret. Oi! Beast!” he called out at the sight of more movement. “This is… what was your name again?”

“Koby,” he answered weakly.

“Cadet Koby! He’s gonna be in charge for the next month. Better be on your best behavior, I hear he’s a real no nonsense kinda guy,” Raco said, sneaking a wink his way. 

“Anyways, there’s a couple ground rules to make sure you don’t fuck this up. Obviously, never let it out, don’t give it anything, it’ll make it into a weapon, and don’t listen to it. It’ll try and charm you sometimes, but give it loud clang and it’ll snap both of you out of it. Don’t get close, it has nails, and especially don’t stick your hand in there. That’s how the last guy lost a hand.”

Koby’s eyes widened, “Someone lost a hand!”

Raco shrugged, “Yeah that’s how I got assigned, he’s not the only one too. Plenty of those assigned here over the years have gotten messed up; scratches, broken bones, a few close calls with death from what I heard too. Not all the tales I tell are lies.”

Koby watched in horror, as a gray hand reached from the shadows, dragging the plate into it, grown out, dark claws on the end of each finger, the sounds of the plastic tray dragging on the wood floor. “What is it?” he whispered. 

The Marine leaned in close, lowering his voice. “You can’t tell anyone, but it’s a selkie.”

“I thought those went extinct,” Koby whispered back.

“I can hear you!” snarled a female voice from the shadows, both boys leaping backwards as it threw itself against the bars in a blink of an eye, clawed hands curling around the metal as it creaked in response.

Finally in the light, Koby could make out what it- what she looked like beyond a shadowy figure. It was undeniably a female, probably quite a bit taller than him if she wasn’t hunched over, with pale grayish skin and a spread of darker gray spots covering the exposed parts. She wore a Marine’s outfit, but one clearly worn and tattered by time, so very different from their pristine white uniforms. 

Her long hair might have matched their white if freshly washed, but it hung around her face in a greasy and tangled mess. Blowing a strand away from her face, Coby’s eyes were drawn to her mouth, as she bared sharp teeth at them, dark snout-like-nose wrinkling up.

“Not extinct,” she snarled, “not yet at least. Just imprisoned by pirates and Marines who steal our coats and chain us down.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Raco said, rolling his eyes.

“Why exactly do we have a selkie?” Koby asked, not taking his eyes off the girl, who was glowering at him in return. “Is this even legal?”

“We’re Marines,” Raco said as if that explained everything. “It was gifted to the admiral two or three years back, I heard. After he turned down a promotion or something. Makes this hunk of wood and metal go hell of a lot faster,” he said, banging a fist on the walls around them. “As annoying as the beast is, they’re the biggest reason we are able to get this warship fast enough to keep up with the pirates we hunt.”

Koby returned the next morning, this time alone. He followed Raco’s instructions to the letter, and did not speak to the selkie, despite its attempts to get a rise out of him. 

And that behavior persisted for nearly a week. 

Like the good Marine he was, he did not speak to the selkie, and he did not speak about the selkie, not even during his brief meetings with Garp. 

Not even when the questions of who she was, or how did she get there, or if it was even legal to keep her danced at the forefront of his mind. 

Koby was a good Marine, and he kept his silence. and his curiosity to himself.

Until he couldn’t.

It took just a minor skirmish against a trio of fishmen raiders. Nothing difficult for the mighty Marines, who bested and arrested them without a sweat, tossing them into the brig till they reached the next port. But Koby still heard the insults spat, comments on the prejudice and horrors the fishmen were subjected to at the hands of the world government, and the Marines. 

And Koby was always too curious for his own good; and every meal time, he would slip a question; and despite the selkie’s attitude, the desire for some sort of enrichment always left the selkie answering. 

It had been on the ship for approximately three years, like Raco had said, and when he turned up the lighting, he could see the scratched tally marks that covered the back wall.

The selkie was around nineteen, and had been in Marine custody since she was eight.

She had been passed around to six different ships over the years, some she spoke of wistfully, others she spat, and it was clear to Koby why.

She refused to speak of anything to do with her family, or any other knowledge about selkies, clearly not trusting Koby’s word that he was just curious, the Marine still partially in disbelief that the stories of their existence were even real. 

He could hear the jealousy in her voice when she asked about his meetings with Garp, and eventually she admitted that he was nice to her when she first came on. That she had an actual room, that he would give her books and manuals to read, pieces of rope to practice tying knots, and occasionally even take meals with her. 

‘The he lost interest’ she had spat, pacing across her cage like an animal. She had gripped the bars and stared Koby down, warning him that Garp would do the same. How the man was well versed at making you feel important and talented, but once you stepped away from his pre-determined path, then you were useless to him.

In response, Koby slipped her his pocket manual, and anything else discreet that he could leave behind between meals. The guilt he felt having to take it away in order to not be caught just made him search for more things no one would notice missing, all so he could see her smile.

And with every rumor of bitten off fingers he heard above deck, Koby heard the other side of the story. Stories of hands reaching into a cage in order to harm, and being surprised when the animal inside bit back. 

Ironically, she had plenty of fun helping him come up with more rumors about her evilness for him to spread. 

As their time together lengthened, Koby found himself seeking the selkie out like he would a sister, probably, not that he ever had one to compare her to; paying rapt attention to all the advice she gave him, and confiding in her more than he ever should. Despite the deceptively human ears, the girl could hear everything going on within the ship if she tried. Her knowledge on ships and seamanship in general quickly had him rising in the unofficial ranks, matching the older and more experienced sailors. 

She began to give him warnings on what officer was in a particularly bad mood, or if there was a surprise drill planned. She would even hint at the various rumors circling around the ship, including the surprising amount of relationship drama that occurred between comrades at sea, though she thankfully spared most of the raunchy details when she saw his face flush bright red, cutting herself off with a chirpy laugh.

But nothing beat her approval when he told her about his role in defeating the Black Cat pirates. 

Even as he deflected most of the success to the Straw Hats, she refused to hear it, only praising what he did and the choices he made; the shame and guilt Koby felt falling away as she praised his morality.

With all of her help, Koby could have easily shed his ‘punishment’, and gone back up top for his duties, but as he watched the girl grow solemn as their time neared its end, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. So when Koby’s month of duties neared its end, he would never admit that he may have purposely messed up a few too many things, and thoroughly annoyed a few too many people, all so it would be extended another month, Raco’s eyes narrowing when their supervisor read off the assignments.

Despite the whispers above deck and Helmeppo’s outright insults, no one else's opinion mattered when he returned back to the selkie and saw the joy on her face at not being abandoned. Between her and Garp’s still present attention, Koby cared less and less about what the others thought of him. 

He was a good Marine.

As a gift for coming back, Koby finally learned the selkie’s real name.

Mare.

That night he dreamed of his time on Captain Alvida’s ship, as he so often did. A nightmare of fear and paranoia that tainted every inch of his life for so long. Except this time, when he looked down at his hands, it was tough grey skin, and when he looked in a mirror, it was not him staring back, but the face of another captive slave. 

The days of the Boneguard chasing after Luffy turned to weeks, and Koby found himself spending more and more time downstairs, lying about how difficult the selkie was being when he was asked. For all of their many, many faults, the Marines aware of Mare knew just how valuable she was, and after she let it slip about her previous habit of hunger strikes, he knew that they would excuse anything if it meant she was eating.

Koby bit his tongue when the higher ups ordered him, to order her, to speed up the currents around them, and started to slip her pieces of his meals as an apology to his demands, feeling guilty as he watched her press her hands to the deck and close her eyes, perspiration streaking across her skin and labored pants singing in tandem to the lurch of the boat around them. Koby tried to murmur soothing stories to distract her during the times, or lure her to sleep as she curled up afterwards. 

He tried to recall any of the funnier or lighthearted stories from his time with the pirates, or the faded memories of before them. He told her about the adventures they went off on when docked, about how Helmeppo was unfortunately growing on him, how they were able to stop a robbery, and walk a woman home, and all the other little things that actually made him feel like he was not just a good Marine, but a good person. 

The one story he could never bring himself to tell her was his escape from Captain Alvida, about the freedom Luffy gave him; not when she was still stuck in a cage.

But things were not always perfect between them. 

There were days where Mare would wake up on the wrong side of the floor, and snarl and snap at the most minute slight. There would be days where Koby was too exhausted or annoyed to put up with her, or others where he would push too hard on something and unintentionally set her off. 

One day, after Raco had said something in passing, Koby had asked Mare about the voice, about how according to the other caretakers she could manipulate others with just her words, turning them against the Marines. He couldn’t help but think about the treacherous thoughts leaking into his mind late at night, and as stupid as it was, he feared maybe they weren’t entirely his own. 

But when Koby saw her shrink away like a kicked dog at the unspoken accusation, he only felt regret as the space between the two that had been growing ever smaller, suddenly widened as she moved back to the shadows. 

It took a week of talking and avoiding the subject, slowly coaxing her back out with his whispered stories of his time on Alvida’s ship until she finally sat in front of him, for once fully visible in the lanterns light. 

In the weeks they had opened up to each other, Koby felt like she was looking less and less feral. She was still undeniably seal-like, but Koby thought she was looking more human by the day.

Perhaps it was her mirroring his own humanity, perhaps it was him moving past his original perceptions. 

Nevertheless, as the two sat in front of each other, it began to feel less and less like a prisoner and their keeper, and instead just two friends, each carefully opening up more and more. 

Eventually she finally answered his long past questions, admitting that the rumors were at least partially true. That some selkies had an innate ability to impose their will on others, something she likened to Haki, though Koby wasn’t entirely sure what that was either. But she had quickly reassured him that she would never use it on him, and never had. 

She admitted that it was far too difficult to do most of the time, especially in her current state, and it worked best on those attracted to her. That comment left Koby blushing slightly, the following comment about that not being on the cards for him, said with a sly wink of course, causing his entire face to turn beet red. 

So their bad blood never lasted too long, even if apologies were rarely properly vocalized. 

Instead Koby brought treats and gifts, and Mare would do things like making sure the nights were clear for his watches, and pouring rain for those that messed with the boy. And though she claimed her powers did not get that specific, Koby thought she was a little too smug to have not had a hand in the lightning storm that left one of his tormentors a bit singed. 

As that second month grew near its end, guilt wracked Koby’s body. How could he stand there as a person he considered a friend was locked away, chains and cuffs around her ankles and wrists, and a piece of her soul locked away in the Vice Admiral’s office. It didn’t matter how much better she looked than when they first met, not when she was wasting away in the long term. Not when the hope of escape, of freedom, was so stamped out of her that she had yet to even hint for Koby to help her. 

Then one night, the ringing of warning bells interrupted the peace of dinner. Koby leapt up as Mare quickly slid him his wildlife identification guide, which he tucked away just in time as the door slammed open, the first mate storming in and ignoring Koby as he passed. 

They had caught up on the Strawhats once again, and it didn’t seem like the Marines were gonna let them slip their grasp this time. They were to drive Luffy and his friends into a fast approaching storm, and corner them on the nearest island.

As orders were demanded of a barely reactive Mare, Koby made a decision.

Nami jerked the ship’s wheel, the Going Merry struggling against the waves crashing against her hull. Below her on the deck, Zoro and Luffy were using buckets to scoop out what sea water they could, with Ussop high in the crow’s nest screaming down warnings. 

The navigator was no slouch when it came to helmsmanship, but amongst the towering waves and graveyard of rocks that littered the island's coast, the Going Merry was taking a beating. Nothing disastrous yet, but just more proof that they needed to end this quickly and dock somewhere safe. 

The last two days had been exhausting, the Marines somehow constantly on their tail, a fact that made no logical sense.

Who would win in combat was a no-brainer, but the Going Merry was built for speed, one thing she knew Usopp hadn’t been lying about. And yet they hadn’t been able to shake the Boneguard, not in the open ocean at least.

Which was why they were here, fighting their way towards the cave lined mountain of Staffa Island; the only sign of hope her maps showed. Here they should be able to hide out, for long enough to at least sleep and come up with a plan. Maybe if they were lucky, the Marines would continue on, thinking they had already left.

Who was she kidding, they were never lucky.

Over the painfully loud whistle of wind, Nami could barely hear Ussop calling out directions to her, and even when she could make them out, she struggled to follow through. Between his height and eyes, Usopp was being useful for once, acting as her eyes as he guided her through the shattered coastline, until she could finally make out land by herself. 

Skimming along the shallow bay, Nami forced them into a river current, the Going Merry scraping against the bank and rocks as she pushed them into a cavern, the wind finally slowing as they entered coverage. Finally stopping to breathe, she pressed her head against the ship wheel in exhaustion, feeling the ship bump against the sandy bank of the cave. 

“You okay Nami?” called Luffy from below, not showing an inch of exhaustion like the insane menace he was. 

“I’ll live,” she grunted back, leaving the helm to join the pair below, Usopp quickly sliding down to join them as well. 

“So what’s the plan here, Captain,” Zoro said, dry sarcasm tinging his voice. 

Luffy kicked at the water pooling on the deck. “We gotta fix things up first I guess. Usopp you can do that right? While we wait out the storm?”

The boy blanched, “Uhh, yeah totally! That’s something I can absolutely do, I've done it a thousand times.”

Zoro leveled him a look. “Can you?”

Usopp shrank into himself, “Maybe? I don’t think we took too much damage.”

“It’ll have to do,” Nami interrupted. “Do we still have enough repair supplies from Syrup Village?” she asked, looking at Zoro.

He blinked at her, “Why would I know that?”

Nami let out a long defeated sigh, “Because you’re Luffy’s first mate or whatever right? I can’t do everything on this ship.”

Zoro just shrugged in response.

“Useless!” she growled.

“I think we’ll be fine,” interrupted Usopp weakly. “Though maybe you guys could go bring in some wood from the forest for us to prep and use later? While I work and stuff.”

Luffy perked up at that, “Absolutely we can do that! While we’re out, maybe we can hunt for some food too, we are running low in that department too.”

“Cause you eat enough for a dozen people,” grumbled Zoro.

“As fun as that sounds,” Nami interrupted with a roll of her eyes, “The Marines will be out there, hunting for us as well.”

“Even better,” said Luffy with a grin. “That means their attention will be on us, and not on Usopp and the ship, if we spot them, we can lead them away from here!”

Nami stared at the two boys, deadpan. “Sure. Why not? What could possibly go wrong with that plan?”

An hour later, Nami was unsurprised as everything went to shit. 

In fact she was so unsurprised as the three of them ran from a platoon, that she made a solemn vow that the next shoes she would buy would be ones she could run in. Ones that she wouldn’t have to worry about losing as the thick mud beneath their feat clung and sunk her into the earth.

The fifteen, maybe twenty rain-and-mud soaked Marines behind them were suffering just as badly, and thankfully lacked Zoro’s strength or Luffy’s grabby hands to un-stick them.

So perhaps she could excuse Luffy and Zoro’s terrible stealthing skills a little, since apparently they never needed them like she did. 

In fact, Nami was almost jealous of the fact that they could just outrun anything that tried to catch them, a thought that quickly disappeared as she watched Luffy trip and go flying as most of his body stretched and tried to continue with one foot still stuck.

As another wave of mud splashed against Nami, she also swore vengeance on the weather itself. 

In the brief moment where Nami had grabbed Luffy’s arm to help him get unstuck, Nami had just enough time to curse Luffy’s clumsiness before something else yanked him sideways and out of her grip.

One second he was flailing in the mud, the next his entire body snapped like a rubber band and vanished behind a thick outcropping of stone and twisted roots. Zoro reacted instantly, grabbing Nami by the back of her shirt and dragging her along with him as he dove after.

Nami barely managed to stifle a yelp as she landed in a pile of limbs, the smell of wet moss and earth filling her nose.

“Hey—!” shouted Luffy from below her, before a hand emerged from the shadows and clamped over Luffy’s mouth.

“Shhh!” the fourth person hissed.

Nami heard boots thundering past them seconds later. The platoon of Marines splashed through the mud not ten feet away, cursing about slippery footing and yelling at each other to keep up. Nami pressed herself against the rocky hole, holding her breath as the sound of clanking weapons and sloshing footsteps slowly faded into the distance.

Only once the last voice disappeared did the hand release Luffy.

“Woah! That was close!” Luffy said cheerfully, peeking out through the tree branch cover.

Nami whipped around, ready to chew out Usopp for following-

-and froze.

A familiar pink haired boy knelt in the mud beside them, breathing hard, his round glasses spotted with rain and his usually pristine uniform slathered in mud.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me,” Nami said with a roll of her eyes, jerking Luffy back into the alcove. 

“Oh hey Koby! When did you get here” Luffy said cheerfully, before launching forward and wrapping the boy in a crushing hug.

Koby squeaked in alarm as Luffy tackled him to the wet ground, more mud slathering the four of them.

“L-Luffy! Hush! You’re going to get us caught!” the Marine hissed.

Zoro stared at the pair with mild confusion. “Isn’t that the Marine you punched? The one that followed us to Kaya’s place?”

“Yup! He’s my friend!” Luffy said, climbing off of Koby with a grin.

Nami crossed her arms slowly, eyeing Koby suspiciously.

“…Luffy,” she said flatly. “Why is a Marine helping us escape other Marines?”

Koby straightened nervously, pushing his glasses up. “I can explain!” he said quickly.

“You’d better,” Nami snapped.

Zoro shifted and leaned against the rock, arms folded, and watching the exchange with quiet interest.

“I helped you guys out, cause I need your help!” he said, glancing between the three pirates.

Nami’s eyebrow arched so high it nearly disappeared under her bangs. “Oh really? You need the help of pirates,” she drawled out in a judgmental tone.

“…Yes?”

“What exactly do you expect to get out of this?” Nami demanded. “Because from where I’m standing, this sounds like a trap.”

“It’s not!” Koby blurted.

Luffy tilted his head with a grin. “Relax, Nami. Koby would never do something like that!”

She shot him an incredulous look.

Koby raised both hands quickly as Nami’s glare swiveled back to him. “I swear it’s not a trap! I just- I need help freeing someone.”

Nami blinked. “…Freeing someone.”

“Yes. She’s locked up on our ship and I need you guys help in getting her out of her cell.”

Nami pinched the bridge of her nose. “And what exactly,” she said slowly, “do we get out of risking our lives for your secret rescue mission?”

Koby faltered. “Well… um…”

The three of them, well two of them, Luffy was barely paying attention, glared suspiciously as Koby scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I… could lead the Marines away from your ship?”

Nami stared at him. “That’s it?”

“Well… yes.”

“That’s your offer.”

“…Yes.”

“You want us to infiltrate a Marine warship… during a storm… while the entire crew is actively hunting us… so we can rescue someone… and in return…”

Koby shrank slightly.

“I lead them away?”

Nami inhaled slowly.

Luffy grinned as he snapped back to attention.“Sounds good!”

Nami whirled on him. “IT DOES NOT.”

“But Koby asked nicely!”

“That’s not how negotiation works!”

Koby looked mortified. “I’m sorry! I know it’s not much but I didn’t know what else to offer!”

Nami turned back to him, expression still razor sharp. “Who exactly would we even be risking our necks for?”

Koby hesitated again, then he said quietly, “Her name is Mare.”

Nami crossed her arms tighter. “And?”

“She’s been imprisoned in the hull of the Boneguard for the past three years.”

Luffy tilted his head. “Why?”

Koby looked down briefly, then back up at them, hesitantly. “Because she can influence the ocean to do stuff like make the ship faster,” he rambled quickly.

That caught Zoro’s attention. “What.”

“She’s the reason the Marines have been able to keep up with you.”

All three of them leaned forward.

“She manipulates ocean currents,” Koby elaborated. “That’s why you haven’t been able to escape us.”

“That explains a lot.” Nami said as she considered it. “There’s no way a battleship of that size and weight should be able to keep up with the Going Merry without some sort of boon… Taking that away from the Marines would certainly be a good thing for us,” she thought out loud. “Alright,” she said slowly. “Start explaining.”

Koby nodded. “So in the back of the hull, past the storage space, there's a locked room. It's a cell for their… prisoner, for her.”

“What kind of prisoner? She some devil fruit user or something?” Zoro interrupted.

Koby hesitated again. “…She’s a selkie,” he replied reluctantly.

Zoro blinked. “…A what?”

Luffy leaned forward curiously. “Is that a kind of fish?”

Nami paused, narrowing her eyes at Koby. “…A selkie.” she repeated.

Koby nodded. “Yes.”

Nami stared at him. Then she laughed. “Oh that’s rich.” she said with a roll of her eyes.

Koby blinked. “What?”

“Selkies are myths,” Nami said flatly. “Stories sailors tell after too much rum.”

Koby shook his head immediately. “They’re real!”

“At most they’re extinct.”

“They’re nearly extinct,” Koby corrected with a huff. “But Mare is alive and real,” he glanced towards Luffy with begging eyes, “and no one else but you can free her.”

Nami studied his face carefully. “…You’re serious,” she said slowly.

“Yes.”

Zoro cracked his neck. “So if we free her, the Marines lose their speed advantage? Sounds like a good enough reason to me.” 

Koby nodded quickly. “And almost the entire crew has been deployed out on the island to search for you. There are only a few guards left aboard.”

Nami’s brain shifted gears. An empty Marine warship meant Marine supplies, Marine charts, and most importantly, Marine treasure. A very dangerous smile crept onto her face. “…Interesting.”

Luffy clapped his hands and began to squeeze out of their hiding place. “Great! Then we’re doing it!”

Zoro snorted. “You were going to do it anyway.”

“Yep!” Luffy grinned wider. “But I’m glad you guys are helping!”

Nami sighed heavily. “Alright, Marine?”

Koby straightened nervously. “Yes?”

“You better not be lying.”

“I’m not!”

“Because if this turns out to be a trap…”

Koby nodded rapidly. “It’s not!”

Nami held his gaze another moment. Then finally exhaled. “…Fine.”

Luffy pumped his fist. “Alright! Rescue mission!”

“Alright,” Koby said as he looked like he might collapse from relief. “Here’s what you’ll need to do.”

Nami crouched low in the wet sand, rain dripping from the ends of her hair as she studied the silhouette of the Boneguard through the storm.

Even in the dim light and whipping wind, the Marine warship looked enormous. Its dark hull rose like a wall against the wooded cove, lanterns swinging along the deck as the ship strained against its anchor line. Waves slapped the sides in dull, hollow thuds, the sound barely audible beneath the constant roar of the storm.

Beside her, Luffy leaned forward eagerly, his straw hat keeping his face dry and eyes shining with anticipation.

Behind them, Zoro simply stood with his arms crossed, standing guard.

Nami’s gaze flicked briefly toward the gangplank, where two bored-looking guards half-heartedly paced, heads bent low against the wind and rain. Two vaguely human figures could be made out on the deck, obscured by the rain.

Zoro glanced in the same direction. “This will be easy.”

Luffy grinned. “Looks fun!” he said, far too loudly.

Nami smacked the back of his head without looking at him. “Quiet.”

Nami waited another moment, watching the rhythm of the guards’ movements. Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the empty stretch of beach behind them. Koby hadn’t been lying- most of the Marines had clearly gone inland searching for them.

“Alright,” Nami whispered. “When the lightning flashes again-”

But before she could finish, Luffy had already darted forward.

“Luffy!”

Thunder echoed across the sky, and any plan to be stealthy went out the window as Luffy let out a battle cry, racing out of cover and onto the gangplank, tackling one of the guards.

Next to her, Zoro sighed. “Well,” he said, drawing one of his swords. “Guess we got caught!”

“YOU THINK?!” Nami snapped, but the two still bolted after Luffy and onto the walkway.

In front of her, steel rang as Zoro moved first, slicing the guard’s weapon clean in half before the man even truly realized what had happened. From the corner of her eye, Luffy’s arm stretched like a whip, grabbing and sending the other guard flying onto the deck and into a stack of crates with a startled shout.

Voices immediately erupted from deeper in the ship as the scattered remaining crew ran onto the deck at the sound of fighting, meeting the trio in the middle.

Luffy glanced over his shoulder as he punched a Marine across the face. “Nami!”

“What?!” she shouted back, ducking around one that tried to grab her.

“Go get the girl!” he said, already bouncing toward another incoming Marine with a wide grin. “Me and Zoro got this!”

Zoro kicked another Marine square in the chest, planting himself in between Nami and the Marines.

“Go,” he barked.

Not needing any more motivation to ditch the fight, she spun on her heel and ran, slipping down the hatch and into the ship.

The interior of the ship was darker than she expected, the air thick with the smell of wet wood and saltwater, the half-lit lanterns along the corridor swaying with every crash of the waves outside.

Above her, the sound of fighting rang clear across the deck; shouts, crashing wood, and Luffy’s unmistakably enthusiastic laughter.

Nami shook herself and forced herself to focus.

Down the stairs. Past the storage rooms. Back of the hull.

Her boots thudded against the wooden steps as she descended deeper into the ship. The air grew colder, damp enough that the walls themselves seemed to sweat.

She pushed through the first storage room before her feet briefly stuttered.

Crates. Dozens of them. Supply barrels, sealed chests, stacks of rope and equipment- all of it untouched. Her gaze locked onto a particularly promising-looking chest and she took one step toward it.

Then groaned and dragged both hands down her face.

“Later,” she muttered fiercely to herself, convincing herself that surely the Marines wouldn’t keep anything of worth down here. Rescue first. Loot later.

Probably.

Nami forced herself to move on.

At the far end of the corridor, another staircase descended into the deepest part of the hull. The sound of the storm faded slightly as she went down, replaced by the low groan of the ship’s timbers and the distant rush of water outside.

A thick iron door set into the wall greeted her as she came to a stop.

Nami pulled the key Koby had given them from her pocket and slid it into the lock. The mechanism resisted at first, rust grinding inside the metal, before finally turning with a heavy click. The door creaked open and thick humidity rolled out of the room in a wave, like opening a door to a steam room.

Nami stepped inside cautiously, reaching for the lantern light that just barely pushed back the darkness.

“Who’s there?” growled a voice from deeper within, past the jail cell bars Nami stood in front of. 

“I'm a friend of Koby’s, he sent us here to get you out,” she said, kneeling down to focus on the lock on the bars.

There was a long pause.

“You smell like pirate,” the voice said, the sound of chains clinking as it moved in the shadows.

Nami frowned, sliding a pick into the lock. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“How do I know you aren’t lying about Koby? Where is he?” she said instead.

Nami glanced up through the bars in time to see the figure finally step into the light. She looked… strange. Her skin was pale, sparsely scattered with darker speckles. Long white hair hung around her face in tangled strands, and the faint shape of a seal-like nose wrinkled as she watched Nami carefully.

“Koby’s leading the other Marines on a goose chase,” Nami said, yanking the doors back, forcing the rusty hinges to open. As she stepped into the cell, the woman, the selkie, Mare, hesitantly stepped forward to meet her, eyeing her with wariness.

“Hands?” Nami said holding her own out until Mare placed the manacles across her palms to let Nami get to work.

“And you’re freeing me, why?”

The first chain around her wrist loosened with a metallic clink.

“If it’ll stop the Marines from hanging on our tail, this is more than worth it.”

Nami heard a low grumble, or growl, perhaps, come from the girl, only stopping as Nami unlocked the manacles completely, tossing them to the ground and kneeling to the chains locked around bare ankles.

“You think we want to own you,” Nami said quietly, already knowing the answer.

“Yes.”

The absolute certainty in her voice made Nami pause. For a brief moment, a memory flickered through her mind, of another island, another prison. Her hands tightened slightly around the lockpick. “Luffy wouldn’t do that,” she said after a moment.

The selkie scoffed softly. “Koby thinks that highly of him too, but while I have no love for Marines, pirates will always be worse.”

“Not him,” Nami said as the final cuff snapped open, her eyes roaming over the scars where the metal had rubbed her skin raw over and over again.

Mare pulled away from Nami, trying to circle around her towards the exit. Nami acquiesced, moving out of her way, though she was forced to intervene when the woman’s legs bucked after more than a few steps, nearly sending her crashing to the ground.

“…Damn it,” Mare muttered.

Heavy but familiar footsteps suddenly thundered down the stairs and hallway, Mare tensing up at the sound. Luffy burst into the room seconds later, dripping wet and grinning like the madman he was.

“Whoa!” He stared at the girl.

She stared back.

“Hi Koby’s friend!” Luffy said cheerfully, waving. 

“Carry her,” Nami interrupted, pushing the limp woman towards Luffy.

“Got it!” he said, scooping her up like she weighed nothing at all, though the thinness of her frame suggested she might weigh just that.

“Come on,” she ordered. “We're not done just yet.”

“What are you doin-!” 

Mare was cut off as Nami and Luffy bolted back through the corridors, racing past the sounds of clashing steel and shouting Marines as Nami led them around and across the deck towards where Koby had said Garp’s office was. Zoro was still in the middle of the fight when she passed, laughing as he knocked another Marine flat. Back inside the warship, this time at the top floor, it took her only a moment to find Garp’s office, Nami dropping to her knees and beginning to work the door’s lock.

“This better be worth it,” she muttered, ignoring the sound of Luffy jabbering behind her to a silent Mare.

The mechanism was far more complex than the cell had been, fighting her every step of the way. But Nami knew she was the best for a reason, as finally the door clicked open, easily being pushed inwards.

“Whoa!” Luffy’s voice sounded behind her as he too stepped in, setting Mare down. “Grandpa’s office!”

The selkie leaned weakly against the doorway, her breathing quick and shallow. “My coat is in the closet,” she said urgently, pointing as she limped forward. “It's hidden beneath the floorboards.”

Nami found it quickly, and groaned as she pried up the panel to see another locked chest. She pulled it out and set to work once again, but no matter how many times she tried, the lock refused to budge.

The girl’s breathing grew more frantic beside her. “Please…”

Nami exhaled harshly. “Is the coat fragile?”

The selkie straightened slightly. “No,” she said with a tinge of pride in her voice. “It’s nearly indestructible.”

Nami nodded once, then she turned. “LUFFY!” she yelled, pulling the boy's attention away from where he seemed to be graffitting the Vice Admiral’s desk.

“Yeah?”

“Break it.”

“Okay!” His fist came down like a cannonball, the top of the wooden chest punctured by a sizable hole in the wood, Luffy immediately sticking his hand inside and pulling out a coat made from spotted grey seal skin.

“Here you go!” he said, handing it directly to Mare, who looked like she was about to pounce on him.

“You’re… just giving it to me?”

“Yeah,” Luffy said casually, already wandering back over to Garp’s desk and grabbing the pen, focusing intently on covering probably important paperwork in nonsense scribbles and doodles. 

“…Unbelievable,” Nami said, though perhaps she wasn’t as surprised as she should be, before turning back to the girl beside her who had already begun stripping off the ruined Marine uniform.

Nami turned bright red instantly. “HEY-!” She tried to interrupt, but the coat had already wrapped around Mare before Nami could even attempt to cover the naked girl.

The seal skin seemed to melt into her body, flowing across her shoulders and down her arms like water. The shape shifted and settled, transforming into something closer to an actual fur coat, similar to what rich ladies would wear, still patterned with the distinctive speckled grey of seal skin.

Mare seemed to give a full body shiver, before color began rushing back into her skin. Her dull hair, light grey in the light of the office, seemed to brighten into still dirty, but clearly white locks, and her eyes sharpened with sudden life as she stood up to her full height, filled with a strength and steadiness she had lacked before.

Then a cannon boomed outside and the ship rocked violently.

“That’s our cue,” Nami said, pouting as she looked around the office she didn’t have time to loot, before taking off, the other two hot on her heels.

Back on the deck, Zoro kicked the Marine he was playing with over the railing and joined them as they sprinted down the gangplank and into the forest.

Nami glanced back once as they ran, just in time to see the selkie stop, and look between them and the ocean.

For a moment their eyes met, then Mare dove over the side of the walkway; her body changing as she fell, less human and something more wild and ancient, before she vanished beneath the waves.

Nami hesitated for just a step, before she too turned and ran after the others and back into the storm.

Usopp decided, with great humility and absolutely no exaggeration whatsoever, that he had saved the Going Merry.

It had not been easy. In fact, the repairs had required the kind of advanced shipwright knowledge that only a Warrior of the Sea like Captain Usopp possessed. Anyone else might have panicked when faced with cracked planks, strained rigging, and storm damage.

But not him.

No, he had calmly assessed the situation, bravely battled the elements, and personally reinforced several key structural points of the ship; and if someone asked him later, he would probably describe it as a desperate struggle against the wrath of nature itself.

In reality, he had scooped out a bunch of water, hammered three boards into place, tied a passable knot around the railing, and spent a worrying amount of time staring at the mast hoping it wouldn’t fall over.

Still.

The ship was floating.

That counted.

“And that,” Usopp announced dramatically, wiping nonexistent sweat from his brow as he stepped back from the railing, “is how a master craftsman saves a vessel from certain doom.”

The smile on his face drooped as no one responded.

Across the deck, Nami sat cross legged with a map spread over a crate, a compass in one hand and her chin resting in the other. The storm clouds were beginning to thin, leaving a bruised gray sky over the bay. Every now and then she glanced toward the mouth of the cove where the ocean stretched out beyond the rocky coastline.

Usopp coughed. “As I was saying,” he continued loudly, “if I hadn’t been here to reinforce the starboard structure, the entire hull would have collapsed.”

Still nothing. He frowned. “Did you hear me? I said the hull could have collapsed.”

“Uh-huh,” Nami muttered absently, scribbling something beside a line of islands.

Usopp deflated slightly.

On the opposite side of the deck, Luffy lay face down across the planks like a discarded rag doll, where had been sulking since returning to the ship and seeing Koby off once more. “I can’t believe she ditched us,” he mumbled into the wood.

“What did you think was going to happen?” Nami said flatly, not bothering to look up. “She’s been imprisoned for years.”

Luffy rolled over dramatically and stared up at the rocky cavern ceiling above them. “Yeah, but by Marines,” he argued. “Why would she run away from us?”

Usopp shrugged. “I mean… she is a selkie,” he offered.

Luffy blinked. “What’s a selkie?”

Nami’s head rose slowly. “…You weren’t kidding? We went through all that,” she said carefully, “and you didn’t even know what a selkie is?”

Luffy shrugged lazily. “I figured it would be explained to me when she joined us.”

Nami stared at him like she was reconsidering every life choice that had led her here, an expression Usopp was very familiar with. “Of course you did.” She shook her head and turned back to the ocean. “So you didn’t care if she was a selkie at all?”

“Still don’t know what that is.”

Usopp scratched the back of his head. “Well… they’re kind of like seal women,” he explained. “Sort of like fishmen and mermaids, but way rarer. Mostly myths compared to them.”

Luffy sat up slightly, always willing to pay attention to Usopp’s fantastic storytelling skills. “Oh?”

“Really powerful though,” Usopp continued. “The only one I’ve ever heard about that wasn’t just a tall tale was the one rumored to be on the Pirate King’s ship.”

Luffy’s eyes widened instantly. “Gold Roger had one on his crew?!” Then he frowned. “…But what does that have to do with her clothes?”

Usopp leaned casually on the railing, slipping further into storytelling mode.

“A selkie’s coat isn’t just clothes,” he said, dramatically. “It’s what gives them their power. They’re shapeshifters. If someone steals the coat, the selkie loses a lot of their power and can’t change form; stories say they are bound to the thief’s will too.”

Luffy tilted his head. “Huh?”

“So whoever has the coat can control them.”

Luffy paused. “Oh.” He thought about that for exactly two seconds. “Well that sucks,” he said simply. “Why would you want someone on your crew who isn’t at full strength?”

Nami let out an exasperated huff. “You’re missing the part where they’re not part of a crew,” she snapped. “They’re treated like pets on chains.”

Luffy blinked again. “Why would you chain a pet down?”

Usopp watched Nami as she let out a frustrated grunt. She was staring out over the water again.

Her voice came out quieter this time. “Most captains aren’t like you, Luffy.”

Luffy grinned immediately. “Yeah! That’s why I’m gonna be King of the Pirates!”

Nami turned and looked directly at him, giving him a very pointed look. “So if she did join our crew,” she said slowly, projecting her voice in a way that had Usopp narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously, “you swear you wouldn’t take her coat or treat her like property?”

Luffy shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Sure. Why not?”

Usopp leaned against the railing and looked out over the bay.

For a moment there was only the sound of waves lapping against the hull, maybe a splash or two louder than normal as he focused entirely on the water below him.

“…So what’s a Pirate King?” said a voice from directly behind him.

Usopp yelped, spinning around so fast he nearly tripped over himself. Standing near the bow was a tall, thin woman with pale skin and long white hair that she was braiding with nimble fingers.

Her clothes were strange, something between a dress and a coat, layered in shades of white, gray, and black. The pattern reminded Usopp instantly of the illustrations he had seen in books about leopard seals in the North Blue.

Luffy exploded to his feet. “YOU CAME BACK!” he shouted, before launching himself across the deck like a cannonball.

Mare didn’t even flinch, simply sidestepping at the last second, but still grabbing the back of Luffy’s shirt as he flew past, holding him suspended like a scruffed kitten before setting him back on the deck.

“Careful,” she said mildly. “You nearly fell overboard.”

Luffy beamed at her, dancing around her across the deck, before freezing and whipping towards Nami. “Since we have a new crew member we should have a feast!”

“No!” Nami snapped instantly.

“Mmn,” Mare added with a wince, “Not a crew member.”

Luffy whipped around, looking betrayed. “But—”

“If you’re heading to the Grand Line,” Mare continued firmly, “I can get you as far as Loguetown.”

Luffy blinked.

“…After that I’m leaving.”

His face fell dramatically. “But you just joined! You can’t leave already!”

“I’m not joining anything,” she said, voice defensive. “I’m repaying a debt.”

Luffy deflated. “…Oh.”

Mare looked down at him, then around the Going Merry. “But I won’t say no to food before I take us out of here.”

Luffy’s mood flipped instantly. “FOOD!” he shouted, before he sprinted for the galley.

“Don’t eat everything!” Nami shouted, scrambling up and racing after him. “LUFFY I SWEAR-!”

Their voices disappeared as Zoro trailed after them inside, only giving the woman a cursory nod, leaving Usopp and Mare alone on the bow.

Usopp glanced toward the stairs, then back at her. “…Well,” he said.

She raised an eyebrow.

Usopp smiled crookedly. “I wish you the best of luck when you decide to leave,” he said. “The three of us tried denying it for a while too.”

Mare looked at him curiously.

Usopp jerked a thumb toward the galley where Luffy and Nami were already arguing loudly. “But somehow,” he continued, “we keep ending up following that idiot.” He turned and started walking backward toward the stairs. “Probably to the ends of the earth.”

Mare glanced toward the interior of the ship where the voices echoed. Then she followed.

Usopp grinned at her, “Come on,” he said. “First rule of the Going Merry,” he said dramatically, “If you don’t eat fast,” His tone dropped as if discussing something gravely important, “Luffy eats everything.”