***Amaya's POV***
We entered the dense fog that was spread throughout the woods. There were gnarly looking trees in every direction that twisted into odd shapes. The tops of the trees would suddenly stop after thinning the higher it went, leaving no leaves, only a sense of unease.
We walked a dirt path with dark green shrubs lining the sides. Luffy continued to ride his three headed mutt that he tamed with the majority of us walking on either side of it. Sanji was the odd man out, walking in front of the group and hollering for Nami.
"Between the weird layout and this fog, my sense of distance is fried!" Franky spoke.
"There is also the possibility that we're walking in circles." Robin announced.
"I would bet on it in fact. I mean look, Zoro's still with us and he's always lost, so that must be the case." I snicker.
"Oi!" He complained on the other side of the beast I was walking next to.
"Nami-san!" Sanji yelled, receiving no reply once again. "Maybe we should have left moss head behind after all..." He muttered loud enough for us to hear.
"You're blaming me?!" Zoro got up in arms again.
"Huh?" Luffy's questioning sound turned our attention to the side of the forest, showing an interesting view.
A tree with a patchwork face on the side of the trunk along with added arms and legs was pouring a glass of alcohol of a patchwork unicorn that was sitting in front of it. Both creatures gasped at us, having noticed their audience. They froze in surprise, causing the cup that was being filled with alcohol to overflow onto the forest floor.
"An elderly tree and a unicorn are sharing a drink!" Luffy barely got the words out due to his shock at the scene.
"I think it would be more accurate to say that they are wasting alcohol." I clarify.
Next thing we knew, Luffy was chasing the tree with his butterfly net down the path that we were walking.
Franky in turn was chasing the unicorn as well.
Both creatures ran for their lives, but they were too slow as they were quickly captured by the duo.
"Hey, Luffy. What are you gonna do with them?" The swordsman questioned.
"He wouldn't," Sanji speculated mentally.
Luffy's eye twinkled as he was holding onto the tree creature. "Guys, why don't you join my pirate-"
"Cut it out!!!" Both Sanji and Zoro yelled, cutting off their captain from finishing his suggestion.
We continued our journey after Luffy begrudgingly left those creatures behind. Sanji's been lecturing him this whole time, despite him ignoring him as he rode the large patchwork dog.
"In any case, stop jumping at the chance to recruit these weirdos!" The twirly brow continued. "As it is, we've already got a raccoon dog and a robot!" He finished, ticking Franky off.
"Hey, I'm not a robot! I'm a cyborg, moron!" Franky shouted at the blonde from his position on the dog next to Luffy.
"It's obvious you aren't human anymore!" Sanji snapped back.
"At the core, I'm human!" Franky pointed his thumb at himself.
"At the core, you're a pervert!"
"Well as long as you understand." Franky's mood changed for the better as he continued to talk to the blonde.
"That wasn't a compliment!" Sanji shouted in shock at the quick change of attitude.
"Kinda ironic that he called Franky a pervert." I mumble.
Zoro snorted to my left as he heard my comment while Chi squeakily sighed in agreement on my shoulder.
A sound started to echo within the forest. The laugh-like, high pitched sounds reverberated around us, coming from different angles.
Then the source of the sound appeared.
"There's a ghost!" Luffy shouted, pointing at the ghost as his eyes bulged from his sockets.
The ghost was rather small yet had long features. It continued to make those noises as it started to multiply. They each swung their little arms in a dance-like fashion, going up and down.
"That's one creepy cheer." Sanji comments.
"Really? I find it kinda cute." I mention.
"I'll catch them and keep them as pets!" Luffy declared, trying to snatch one with his net. The net went through its body, leaving Luffy with no prize. However, Luffy didn't stop as he tried over and over, hoping for a new result.
Some of the spirits stuck their tongue out at Luffy as he continued to capture thin air.
"Their spirits through and through." Franky states. "All right," he sucked in a large amount of air. "Fresh Fire!" He called, attempting to blow torch the ghosts. "Shoot! It didn't work." He lamented, seeing no result.
One of the ghosts then ghosted through Franky's body. Once it left, Franky slouched over in defeat. "That was an epic fail. I'm such a loser this week." A meeker version of his voice spoke out. "Nothing I do works out. I'm not sure I can live like this." His voice started to wobble as he went to the ground on his arms and knees. "I can hear the whole world booing me!" He finished depressingly.
"Are you really that bummed out?" Sanji yells at him with shark teeth and exasperation.
"Okay! I got the punk!" Luffy ditched the net to attempt to catch the ghost with his hands. He went right through it before landing on the ground next to Franky in a matching pose: on his hands and knees.
"If I could be reborn, I'd like to be a clam." His sadden voice spoke as a cloud of depression covered him too. "I suck! I wish there was a hole for me to crawl into."
I snapped a quick picture of the two of them in matching poses before stashing my camera back away. Gotta love blackmail material for later on.
"What the heck are you two doing?!" Sanji's veins on the side of his neck started to pulsate due to his rising anger.
I shook my head. "Sanji, chill. You're blaming the wrong people." I state, looking towards the floating ghosts.
"Do you think touching those ghosts weakened their will?" Robin questions.
"That's absurd." Sanji retorts.
"Those two are pathetic! They're at the mercy of those weird ghosts because they aren't calm and collected most of the time." Zoro declared.
A ghost floated through his chest after the end of his statement, making him too collapse in a state of depression.
"I'm sorry I was ever born."
Snap. Sorry, couldn't help it. I had to get a picture of that. He's the most prideful of the group, so of course I had to get a picture.
"That's enough!" Sanji screeched even louder than the other times. "Sheesh, looks like you two were right, ladies."
"Not only do they lack physical bodies, but they also break your will if you touch them. They would make for formidable foes." Robin analyzes.
"Defintally." Sanji agreed.
"I really want this ability. Do you think the caster is around?" I ask, hopefully, looking around as I did.
When I looked back at them, they both had sweatdrops on their faces.
"What? Tell me it wouldn't be funny to use on the others from time to time. Besides, it would be useful in a fight." I explain my case.
Robin just smiled at my antics while Sanji gripped his fist in anger.
"I'll never allow it if it's a man!" He declared to himself.
The ghosts then left our company, leaving high into the sky. After a little while the others regained their will.
"Ahh! Those ghosts are gonna pay the next time they pop up!" Luffy shouts a battle cry. "I don't want them as pets!" He decided.
Franky cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "They must have a weakness! I'll wipe them out!" He joined in on the ghost hunt.
Zoro said nothing, but the vein that covered half his face gave away his inner thoughts.
Sanji laughed heartily at them, especially Zoro from his seat on the dog next to Robin and I.
"You put on quite the show!" He continued to laugh.
"Shut up!" Zoro yelled with shark teeth and red cheeks.
"'Man, I'm sorry! Sorry I was ever born!'" Sanji mocked the man before falling on his back and kicking his feet in the air like a child who couldn't stop laughing.
We walked for some time as the others speculated about different things on the island. I kept quiet since I already knew what was going on, but I wouldn't have been able to say how I knew without being called a lunatic. I mean this world is full of many crazy things, but reincarnation is a hard pill to swallow. I mean sometimes even I still can't believe I'm here in this world.
The edge of the tree line started to thin as a large open area appeared ahead of us. It wasn't wide open since there were graves and headstones littering the barren ground. The fog still lingered, clinging to random bits of the ground, but staying low enough not to impede our vision of things up ahead.
"Wow, it's a big cemetery!" Luffy once again announced the obvious in an excited manner, causing me to chuckle.
"It's got character!" Luffy continued. "Hey, let's eat here!"
"Stupid! It'll ruin the food if we eat here!" Sanji protested, looking down to face his captain who had a large grin on his face.
"No, we're eating here!" Luffy insisted. "Nothing has ever once ruined a meal!"
I sigh before sliding down the side of the large dog I was riding on. "C'mon Sanji. He's got food on the brain, and that won't be changing anytime soon. We might as well make the best of it, right?" I grin at the man.
"Ama-chan!" He responded with heart eyes. "But aren't we in a hurry?" He stopped to bring up an important question.
Groaning could be heard from behind Luffy who was at the front of our group. We all turned to the source to see a hand pop out of the ground followed by a head and torso in front of one of the headstones.
Luffy walked over to it before placing a hand on its shoulder and shoving it back into the ground. "Here." He said as he completed the task.
The zombie popped back out. "I'm not going back down! Are you stupid?" He yelled, hovering over Luffy and holding his arms in a stereotypical zombie position.
Luffy made no reaction to the close proximity of the zombie. "A severely injured old man?" He questioned.
"He's obviously a zombie!" The rest of the guys shouted at him.
"You dare make fun of us!?" The zombie jumped completely out of the ground.
"Don't underestimate us!" A new voice added in as yet another body surged from the ground, followed by many others.
All of the new zombies added into the war cry or were striking different positions as the sprung from the earth.
Sanji sweatdropped. "Are zombies supposed to be this full of life?"
"Teach them just how dangerous zombies can be!" A zombie standing towards the front of their group spoke. Soon all of them started to walk in our direction.
"What, you wanna fight?" A grinning Luffy cracked the knuckles on one of his hands. "We can teach you a thing or two about how dangerous we are!"
Oooh, this will be fun. "Chi, although I doubt it will be necessary, hang on in case. I don't want you getting burned with the rest of them."
"Chi!" She saluted with her paw before using both of them to hang onto my shoulder tighter.
Franky uncovered his metal fist, Zoro prepared one sword, and Robin crossed her arms in preparation of using her ability. Sanji was ready. He didn't have anything to prepare, so he only forced on his cigarette.
Soon all of them launched an attack while I stayed behind. They sent the zombies all flying back as they yelled, "600 Million Berri Jackpot!"
Some of them started to return to their feet, so I took my turn. I launched a wave of fire at them, shouting, "400 Million Berri Blaze!" The zombies that were hit shrieked in fear of the flames.
The remaining remains of the zombies knelt in submission of our group, surrendering.
"So...what are you guys doing here?" Luffy questions while sitting on a headstone.
"Well...We are zombies, so we were kinda buried. And we were kinda rotting..." One of them started off saying.
"Right, right. I was rotting." Another supported.
"Yeah, so was I." A third added.
Luffy was frowning and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed at the response. He lowered his head so his hat was covering his eyes. "Are you trying to be funny?" His darker voice asked.
The three zombies who answered earlier quickly waved their hands in front of him in protest. "No, no! Not by any means! We're sorry! Honest!" They all spoke in unison.
"Is that right?" Luffy rhetorically questioned without his eyes ever becoming visible. "Then I have a question. Did a man with a long nose, a woman with orange hair, and a raccoon dog that resembles a reindeer pass through here?"
Um, Chopper is a reindeer that resembles a raccoon dog on the other way around. I chuckle inwardly without showing a physical change. Won't want to ruin the current mood of the group.
"Yeah....Yes, yes, and yes." The zombie on the far right answered. "Maybe I saw them, maybe I didn't..."
"But our lips are sealed." Another spoke.
"We aren't allowed to share information on that topic with outsiders." An elderly looking zombie added.
"It's the rule." Yet another finished.
"Yeah?" Sanji hummed in question.
"It's the rule! It's the rule!" They all started to chant together.
I created a fire ball above my hand and started to toss it up and down like a baseball.
"So you absolutely refuse to talk, huh?" Luffy said, cracking his knuckles again.
They glanced back and forth between Luffy's fist and the fireball in my hand.
"All three of them passed through!" They all quickly responded.
"They squealed like pigs!" Zoro mentions with a grimace in the zombies direction.
"That was fast." A dispirited Franky comments, not getting to pumble them again.
I smirk looking at them before tossing the fire ball up once more before letting it dissipate into the air. "Well, I think it's safe to say that fire is one of their weaknesses."
"There my crewmates." Luffy speaks to the zombies. "You didn't go after them, did you?"
"Eh?"
"They're your crewmates?"
Different zombies started to panic or have sweat drip off their face. Others tried to answer indirectly or change the focus to a different question.
"I didn't attack them, right?" One tried to plead innocent, starting a chain reaction.
They all then started to chant. "We didn't attack them!"
"You better tell the truth!" Luffy stated.
I lit the tip of my pointer finger ablaze. "And here I was going to forgive the first one to confess from hurting my friends." I nonchalantly mention as I started to create an image at the tip of my finger with the flames.
"I'm sorry!"
"He attacked them!"
"What? Hey, you don't see friends out! You nibbled on him a bit, remember?"
"We did it!" Another admits.
"You idiot! Don't mention that!" The rest shouted at the zombie.
I whistle, gaining their attention. "While I might've said I would forgive you for confessing, I said nothing about my friend's leniency. Don't worry, I'll cremate you once they're finished." I flashed them an evil smile at their now paler faces as the rest started to attack them once again for harming their crew members.
It was short work for the Strawhats, which allowed me to burn the ground they were on, causing the rest to seek shelter from the flames underground.
"Nami and the other two apparently race for that mansion." Luffy states. "I'm glad they're okay! But they didn't know anything about Brook."
"Do we really need him? Forget that weirdo!" Sanji complains.
"Yeah, really." Zoro agreed.
"Chi chI CHi cHi," she spoke on my shoulder.
"I agree. They are probably just embarrassed by how they reacted to meeting the man." I laugh. "I'm sure they'll warm up soon enough. It was their captain's decision after all."
Now that I think about it, I haven't spent time thinking about my situation in a while. I've been so focused on planning for upcoming events with Ace and Luffy, but I need to prepare for afterwards. I also need to start designing my new plane, but I shouldn't build it until after the war. I wouldn't want it to get stuck or stolen if it gets left behind with the Thousand Sunny at Sabaody.
First things first, getting through Thriller Bark. If I'm lucky, I can pick up a new power. I can save the rest for later after we leave this place.
"Man, what a bunch of spineless zombies!" Luffy comments with a smile as we leave them all behind.
"Yeah, that didn't even count as a warm up." Franky added.
"But don't let your guard down. We have no idea what could be lurking around the next corner." Zoro advised.
"What's this? Starting to chicken out, swords wuss?" Sanji asks him.
"Shut up! You stupid cook! Don't lump me together with you!" He retaliated.
"What was that, disoriented moss head?" Sanji and Zoro were in each other's faces, yelling back and forth.
"Wanna fight, curly eyebrows?"
"Please wait up!" A new voice interrupted their argument.
We turned to see a man run up to us. He was breathing heavily by the time he approached us. A floppy hat covered his head, and his open green shirt showed his ribs showing through his sunken skin and bandages.
"I saw what you just did!" He spoke again. "You're terribly strong, aren't you? Could you please hear me out?" He held up a lantern, so the others could see him clearly.
"A severely injured old man?" Luffy questions.
"We told you before, that's a zombie!" The three, Zoro, Sanji, and Franky, all yelled at Luffy again.
"No, I'm a severely injured old man." The man announced.
"That's confusing! Just pass yourself off as a zombie!" They all shouted again.
What's with all the synchronized yelling today? I question as I take a place next to Robin. At least I can count on her not to yell.
"So what did you wanna discuss?" Luffy asks.
The man got down on his knees and started to explain there was a man who stole his shadow along with countless others. He also told them the name of the man, letting them discover that it was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gecko Moria.
Luffy said that since Moria was already aiming for us that we would have to take him out either way, so he might as well help them while we were at it. It gave the man and the other victims who were listening in on our conversation hope.
We left them behind, continuing our way to the mansion. It soon started to drizzle before the rain starting to come down heavily.
"All right! Let's run for the mansion." Franky suggests.
"Just a sec!" Luffy says.
"Huh?" Zoro questioned his captain's actions.
"I can see something huge behind the mansion." Luffy announced. "It looks like some kinda massive mark."
"A mark?" Franky squinted his eyes, trying to look for what Luffy was talking about.
"The fog has cleared up a bit, hasn't it? What is that? A flag?" Zoro questions.
"No! Isn't it a sail?" Franky says.
"A sail?" The boys questioned.
"That's right!" The man from earlier spoke, holding up his lantern.
"You're still following us?!" The same trio yelled at him.
"What did you mean?" Luffy wondered.
"Just as that man said, it's a sail. But it's so large that you can't see the whole thing. Thriller Bark is carrying an entire village, making it the largest pirate ship in the world!"
"Awesome!" Luffy shouted with stars in his eyes while the others remained shocked or impressed by the information.
"You can see how the mast connects to the castle. That is where you will find Gecko Moria." The man finished before he retreated back into the woods.
"Well! Shall we go? It's a haunted mansion!" Luffy smiles as he pushes open the iron gate that led into the castle courtyard.
***Meanwhile- 3rd Person POV***
Three small zombie creatures run into the bedroom of Gecko Moria.
"Master!" They call, rousing him from his sleep.
"EH!? I was having a nightmare!" He said as he sat up.
"How dreadfully wonderful, Master!" The first of the three responded.
"It's been roughly four days since our last Night Raid. You've been asleep that entire time, Master Moria. As such, we have prepared four days' worth of food for you." The second mini zombie informed him.
"We have some impressive prey for this Night Raid! After toppling Enies Lobby, they've become a hot topic! They're Straw Hat Luffy, his gang, and Sky Goddess, Amaya! I'm sure you will find use for them, Master Moria." The third finished telling his master of the island's intruders.
Moria started to laugh as he prepared for the Night Raid: the raid that was meant to exterminate all unwelcomes from the island.
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Bonus chapter! Hope you enjoyed! Until Next Time...
World_Imaginer