Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Coby's Choice! I want to give you all a head's up before getting into this chapter, this is the biggest single divergence from Canon in this Arc, and probably the darkest chapter in this story. I hope that the ending balances that out a little, but...
Chapter 91:
Damn the Consequences
"Wooooo!" Luffy cheered, Merry right behind him as they ran through the hallways of Thriller Bark, punching zombies as they passed. Nami, Usopp, and Chopper followed at a slower pace, having given up on trying to slow them down long ago. Luffy skidded to a halt at the next intersection, Merry's momentum shoving her into his back. The captain ignored the little fairy as his head turned to the left and right, scanning the two paths available to them. Nodding, her turned toward the rightmost path.
"There are people that way," he said, pointing. "I can feel it."
"Not that I'm questioning you, Luffy," Usopp began, "but you aren't even a little bit sceptical about this new sixth sense of yours? And shouldn't we be trying to, I don't know, avoid people!"
"Of course not!" Merry laughed, answering for the otherwise-preoccupied captain. "Don't be stupid, Uncle Usopp! Baahahaha!"
"Come on!" Luffy urged, starting down the path he had chosen, but at a considerably slower pace than before. "We'll listen in, and then attack."
Sighing, the Trio Coward had no choice but to comply. Usopp and Chopper grabbed each other while Nami latched onto Luffy's back. They approached a turn and settled against the wall.
"N-N-Now h-hold on a moment," Hogback's voice stuttered. "C-Can't we j-just talk about this?"
"No," a familiar, even voice replied. "Your master took my shadow. I want it back."
"B-But killing me w-won't help you!" Hogback cried. Peaking around the corner, Luffy, Nami, and Merry saw the good doctor being held at sword point by a skeleton. Hogback had pressed himself against the wall as far as his girth would allow while Brook stood almost nonchalantly in the middle of the hallway, his sword-cane resting on the doctor's jugular. Two bodies lay unmoving on the floor on either side of the living skeleton. The first was shrouded in the shadows of the hallway, but the glow of a nearby lantern casted its light over the face of the second, showing her dead, blank eyes. It appeared that Cindrey would never throw another plate.
"No, it would not," Brook admitted. "But it would stop the creation of anymore zombies. At least for a year or two until Moria finds some new quack as crazy as you are."
"Why is Brook threatening Dr. Hogback?" Chopper asked, hiding backwards. Luckily, the two men down the corridor were too focused on each other to notice.
"From what it sounds like," Nami answered, "Hogback is the one that's been making the zombies on the island. And he's working for the guy that stole Brook's shadow."
"Listen, Hogback," Brook growled, stopping the Straw Hats' conversation. "I'm not a fan of killing, but that doesn't mean I won't. I'm a pirate, after all. But I'm also a reasonable man. Give me one good reason why I should let you live."
"B-B-Because I'm a doctor!" Hogback cried. "I've saved countless lives! I've conquered death like the disease it is!"
"At the expense of dooming your victims to lives of misery," Brook responded. At that moment, he looked and sounded nothing like the fun-loving skeleton that the Straw Hats had had dinner with just a couple hours before. "No one can truly conquer death, Hogback. We all die eventually." Light flashed off of Brook's sword and crimson liquid hung in the air for a single moment. Hogback's hands flew to his throat, clawing at the flesh in a vain attempt to stem the flow of red. The good doctor fell to his knees before slumping over and gurgling once more. Within seconds, he was as still as Cindrey beside him.
The Straw Hats' eyes widened, Usopp's hand over Chopper's mouth and Merry's around his waist being the only things keeping the reindeer from running out to confront the skeleton. Around the corner, Brook sighed heavily and wiped his blade clean on the late doctor's clothing. Luffy almost winced; he'd felt Hogback's death. No, more than that. He'd heard it.
"It must be done," Brook intoned, sheathing his sword. "If I am to travel with those wonderful people I met, then I must get my shadow back. Even if I defeat my zombie, I cannot leave until Moria is stopped. I will not allow anyone else to fall to the same curse as I. I only pray the souls of the dead may rest in peace by the time I'm done." Bells chimed from somewhere above, signaling the coming of midnight. Brook looked up.
"The Night Hunt is beginning," he muttered. "I hope those pirates heeded my words and fled." He turned and started down the hallway, humming what sounded like a slow funeral dirge. So focused on his goal was the skeleton that he did not notice as a black blob slithered along the floor before coming to rest under his feet.
His shadow had returned.
Brook's form faded into the darkness at the end of the hallway, his sad singing dying away a minute later. The pirates remained as motionless as the bodies on the floor until all traces of the skeleton had gone.
It was Usopp that broke the silence.
"Luffy," he hissed. "You can't still want that thing on the crew, do you?"
"I do," the captain nodded, deadly serious. Now was not a time for his usual, boisterous attitude.
"Why?!" Chopper wailed. "He just killed Dr. Hogback in cold blood! He's a monster!"
"I killed a man named Don Krieg before recruiting Sanji and Gin," Luffy responded as he turned his eyes on the other Devil Fruit user, his gaze hardening at the thought of that man. He hadn't thought about Krieg in months. "I probably killed dozens during our rampage through Enies Lobby to save Robin. Am I a monster?"
"No."
"Gin killed Eneru back on Skypia. And he killed countless people before I recruited him. Is he a monster?"
"No!"
"Zoro used to be a bounty hunter and he wasn't known for leaving his enemies alive. And he and Robin worked together to kill that priest and his bird. Are they monsters?"
"NO!"
"Coby killed the Afro Guy back in Drum Kingdom. And he probably killed that Bull Guy at Enies Lobby. Is he-?"
"I get it!" Chopper yelled, tears leaking from his eyes. "I get it, ok! We're pirates, but..." Chopper slumped. "I don't know. I looked up to Dr. Hogback."
"The world isn't black and white," Luffy said gently, bending down to rest a hand on the reindeer's shoulder. "I've seen people burn others alive because they thought they were eyesores or where paid to do so. I saw a man shoot my brother because he could and knew he wouldn't be punished. I've seen someone, a villain who had done many horrible things, begin questioning his life do to the actions of his enemy. We've heard the story of the law, the Absolute Justice that some marines believe in, sacrifice innocents without question for no real gain... Tell me, Chopper, what are we?"
"What?"
"What are we? The crew, what are we?"
"We're friends," Chopper answered. "We're family. We're Nakama."
"We're outlaws," Luffy corrected. "We're villains. We're wanted by the world because of our actions or our knowledge. To the world, we're evil."
"But we aren't evil!" Chopper cried.
"So?" Chopper was silent. He had no answer. Nami, Usopp, and Merry stared at their captain in shock. "We do what we want because we don't care about the consequences, but sometimes, those consequences come for us. We wanted Robin, so we went and took her back. Now, every one of us is wanted by the world. We went against their justice, so we're evil to them." Luffy sighed. "Sometimes, we have to kill. To protect our friends, or our beliefs, or our dreams. Maybe we could do it without killing, but is that morality worth the chance that our old enemies will come back stronger? To me, it's not. That is the life we have chosen and those are the consequences."
Something palpable seemed to hang in the air, weighing down on the pirates. They'd always looked up to Luffy as their captain and leader, but that feeling made him seem like a true king. Like The King.
"I will be the King of the Pirates," Luffy continued, as if the declaration were already a true fact, "but I'm not the only one with that dream. We'll meet others that want the title too, and we might have to kill them so they don't kill us or those who we care about. So, Chopper, do you stand with us? Are you willing to kill for the sake of your friends?"
Chopper swallowed and nodded hesitantly; the heavy presence would allow him to move no faster. As suddenly as it had appeared, the feeling vanished. The three who had watched gasped, releasing breaths they hadn't realized they were holding.
"Come on, guys," Luffy ordered. "We're going to go kick Moria's ass. Damn the consequences."
Turning his gaze upward, Luffy and co. took off, looking for a staircase. Out of the shadows behind them came Hildon, still as pale as a sheet. He stared at the body of Hogback before sighing heavily.
"Master Moria isn't going to like this."
"Master Moria!" Hildon cried, flying into his master's chambers. "Master Moria!" Landing on a spire above, Hildon waited impatiently for the shadow-man to acknowledge him. Coffins lined the walls, each containing a zombie body just waiting for a shadow.
I'm not exactly sure what race Moria was. He stood, or really, sat, at almost fifteen feet with a neck that filled almost six feet of that that and seemed to be stitched like a shoelace in the front. His skin was as pale as a vampire and purple hair grew out from his ovalar head along with two devil horns. Pointed ears poked out from the sides of his head and his pupils were black as night. He was dressed in yellow-and-orange pants and a belt as well as a dark dress shirt. A dark coat hung to his legs and large shoes covered his feet.
"This better be good, Hildon," Moria yawned in a higher-pitched voice. "I was napping."
"Master Moria! Terrible news!"
"Well spit it out!"
"Hogback is dead!"
Moria paused. "What?" the Warlord hissed. "Was it the Straw Hats?"
"No, Master," Hildon answered. "The Humming Swordsman has returned, and he is not showing mercy like he did last time. It sounds like he intends to join the Straw Hats if he gets his shadow back."
"This will set back my plans. Unless... Yes, that could work. Hildon, Hogback told me that the Straw Hats have a doctor with them, an animal with a Human-Human Devil Fruit. I want you to contact the spider-mice and put out a priority on his capture along with Straw Hat Luffy and Pirate Hunter Zoro. Then, bring me Hogback's body. Also, go tell Absalom to raise the rest of the Zombie Generals. Understood?"
"Yes, Master!" Hildon bowed quickly before taking wing, departing and setting course for Tararan the Spider-Monkey.
"Kiiishishishi!" Moria laughed. "Now things are getting interesting! If the Straw Hats can do this much damage against me, imagine how much they can do for me! Kiiishishishi!"
"Master Moria!" a trio of small zombies called, running into the room. Two large zombies followed them, each carrying a coffin sealed shut with webbing. Shouts of dismay and anger could be heard coming from the coffins.
"We've come with two of the Straw Hats!" the zombie trio continued. "We couldn't identify one of them, but the other is the Electric Devil worth 100 million!" The contents of one of the coffins grumbled something about "stupid lightning powers", "wolf men", and "bad sketch artists."
"It seems the Electric Devil can't use his powers right now!" the trio finished.
"Very good!" Moria exclaimed. "Fire up the spotlight! Kiiishishishi! Kiiishishishi!"
"Now tell me what I want to know," Perona demanded. "Who were those two cute pirates on your crew? The ones with the horns?"
"You won't get anything about us!" Coby stated for what felt like the fifth time.
"Negative Hollow!"
"Gah!" Coby gasped, his self-esteem at an all-time low. "I don't even deserve to be a cabin boy on Alvida's ship. I should just die."
"Don't talk like that, Coby!" Grace yelled beside him. "You're better than that!"
"Negative Hollow!"
"Who am I kidding?" Grace whined. "My artwork is shit. It'll never be famous."
"Don't say that, Grace! Your artwork is amazing!"
"Tch," Perona scoffed, dropping her arms. "What a pain. I knew these two would need some breaking, but I didn't know they would reinforce each other." She smirked, two ghosts budding from the palms of her hands. "But they can't do that if they're both depressed. Negative Hollow!"
"I want to die and become a coral," Grace moaned. "Then I'd at least be colorful."
"I want to be a clam," Coby sobbed, losing sight of the surroundings as a combination of exhaustion, Sea Prism Stone, and the effects of the mental torture built. "I'm not worthy of the Straw Hats. I'm too weak to uphold justice. I'll never get her to like me."
"What?" Perona questioned. She'd never heard that one before.
"What?" Grace asked, her head snapping toward the pink-haired male.
Coby, still depressed, continued. "I'm a freak of nature. Who could ever love a Zoan like me?"
"You moron!" Grace snapped, slapping the rosette as hard as she could with the restraints on, the sudden pain enough to snap him out of his funk.
"Ow!" Coby cried. "What was that for?"
"Don't talk about yourself like that! You're a great guy, Coby! You're nice and sweet and... and..." She trailed off, her cheeks taking on a rosy hue as she turned away from the boy. "...and I like you," she muttered.
"Kumashi," she hissed. "What are they doing?" Kumashi said nothing, gesturing vaguely. "What?" More vague gestures. "Just spit it out, Kumashi!"
"Gah, ah," the bear zombie stuttered. "I'm not fully certain, but I think this is what Master Absalom would call flirting. It's that thing Lola is always trying to do to Master Absalom, but he doesn't like it."
"Ugh," Perona moaned. "Gross. That's not cute at all. Kumashi, call the Risky Brothers. I don't want these two anymore; the answers I want aren't worth listening to that. They can go to Master Moria." The zombie nodded and waddled out of the room. Perona turned back to the young pirates.
"I...Uh," Coby muttered, his own cheeks aflame at what he thought he'd heard her say. "W-What did you..."
"Nothing," Grace denied quickly. "I said that th-the whole crew likes you." Coby and Grace, both their faces a deeper shade of pink than Coby's hair, slowly made eye contact. Without any verbal queue, the two began leaning in...
"Special Hollow: Ghost Rap!"
SNAP
BOOM
End of Chapter 91
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-SwordOfTheGods