The Ship's Spirit Speaks

"Is everyone alright?" Coby asked as he and his master stepped out from below deck. Everyone, save for Gin, called an affirmative to show that they were all more-or-less unharmed.

That was before the spotlights began to center on the Merry.

"We have you surrounded," a marine called through the base's loudspeaker. "Surrender, Straw Hat Pirates!"

"Scatter!" Luffy ordered, every member of the crew running to jump overboard and hide in the cover of night. "We'll meet back up later!" Luffy stayed to be the last one aboard before saying, "Merry, watch after Gin." Stretching his arms for a Gum-Gum Rocket, Luffy, too, abandoned ship. He didn't know why, but he just knew that the injured man would be fine.

He never heard the quiet, "yes, Captain," that followed his order. Each of the Straw Hats unable to swim teamed up with someone who could, Amy and Luffy being the exceptions as she could float and he was the last to leave. Grace and Chopper teamed up, as did Robin and Usopp, and Coby and Zoro. Nami escaped on her waver.

With everyone gone, Merry allowed herself to take shape, becoming something like a ghost. She had no color, appearing as a wisp of almost fog-like construction so that only her outline could be made out. Bustling about to prepare before the marines arrived, she locked the doors and moved Gin and the Rumble-Rumble Devil Fruit into a closet. With the man in a deep sleep, he never noticed. Merry then covered the closet in rope and extra boards to give it the appearance of being unused. Hopefully, that would hide him well-enough. With a giggle, Merry dispersed herself as the first marines began boarding. They just got a glimpse of her as they came over the railing.

"Keep going," a man ordered from farther down a latter.

"Oh, sorry," the man above him apologized. "I thought I saw something." With lackadaisical efficiency, the marines of G-8 covered the ship in caution tape and began taking pictures of everything as if it were a crime scene. The kitchen with a hole in the floor and Luffy's, Zoro's, Gin's, and Coby's wanted posters on the wall, the training room with its weights scattered by the fall, even the books that had fallen off Robin's bookshelf, yet they didn't notice Gin's hiding spot.

"There's no one here," a marine muttered, whether he was disappointed or relieved was unknown.

"Don't let your guard down!" A man with large, brown sideburns climbed up next. He was tall, well-defined, and held himself with an air of authority.

"Yes, Commander Drake!"

"Oh, calm down," a new, quieter voice chuckled. The next man had ginger hair on top of his head and down his sideburns, but his large mustache and eyebrows were more of a dark brown. The men identified him as Vice-Admiral Jonathan, saluting him as he stepped on deck. He smiled, inspecting the ship. "This kitchen is well-maintained," he noted, lifting one of Sanji's knifes.

"We have found medical texts and history books!" a marine reported, another dropping said books on the table. "Several of them are in other languages, however."

"Is that blood?" The terrified marine was pointing to Grace's fallen picture of the ruins, the spilled, red paint from the fall coloring the ruins a frightening blood red.

"Gold, sir!" another called, showing the man a handful of the ancient relics from Shandora.

"Interesting," Jonathan nodded, "but you have found no crewmembers?"

"None, sir."

"Then this appears to be a ghost ship."

GYOOO~

"Ahhh!" several men screamed. It took Merry all her power not to laugh.

"Calm down," Jonathan waved off, spotting the bird on the mast's crossbeam as he stepped onto the deck proper. "It's a Southbird, an avian native to the island of Jaya. These beans," he indicated a package of coffee beans he had swiped from the kitchen, "are from there as well."

Glancing away from the higher-ranked marines, Merry was quick enough to see that one had taken note of the closet where she had hidden the sleeping Gin. She acted.

"Baahahaha!" she laughed, loud enough that the men heard her while making sure it echoed from within the ship.

"Who's there?!" Commander Drake demanded, unsheathing his sword.

"Who dares wake the undead crew of the evil Captain Luffy?" Merry called, trying to copy the voice used by Rapanui within the Rainbow Mist. "Be gone! Lest the very ship you stand upon attack you! For to become part of the crew is to become part of the ship! If you stay, you'll stay in the Locker!"

"Ahhh!" Several of the newer marines jumped overboard.

"Who are you?!" Drake demanded again. "Show yourself!"

"Something touched me!" Merry darted away before she could be seen, fading into the woodwork as the men scrambled about to catch something that wasn't there anymore. Lines of rope from the rigging swung down from the sails, half a dozen lines grabbing a marine grunt and hurling him over the side and into the ocean below.

"That gold must have been cursed!" a particularly superstitious marine cried. He dove off the ship as well when Merry took her chance and reached out toward him with her ghostly hands, only her arms appearing from the wall in a way that no others saw.

"Men, go back to the base," Jonathan ordered. The marines didn't waste any time as they disembarked hastily.

"Commander?" Drake questioned when he and the vice-admiral were the last ones on the ship.

"Go on. I'm going to stay here for a little bit. I haven't been able to fish from a caravel since I signed up for the Marines."

"Be careful, sir," Drake told him. "This thing gives me the creeps." With that last statement and a wary glance at the ship, the lieutenant commander disembarked as well. Pulling out a fishing rod, Jonathan cast it out and leaned against the railing.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked, certain that someone or something could hear him. There was silence for a minute, broken only by the haunting groaning of the ship as Merry tried to scare him off. The man decided to try a different approach. "I've never met a Wood Fairy before."

"...So you know what I am," Merry sighed, her outline stepping out from behind the mast as the creepy groaning stopped. "That takes the fun out of it."

"So I was right," Jonathan didn't turn around, his eyes still set on the bobber in the water. "I've heard the rumors. They say that Wood Fairies only appear on well-loved ships. What is your name?"

"I'm the Going Merry," the Wood Fairy answered with a smile, "but you can call me Merry."

"Well, Merry, what do you think of the Straw Hat Pirates?"

"The Straw Hats are a wonderful family and we've have so many adventures. Did you know we saved a good kingdom right after toppling a bad one before? It was awesome! ...Unfortunately, I feel like my journey with them is coming to an end."

"You are pretty beaten up, aren't you."

"I'm just a caravel from the East Blue," the ship spirit sighed sadly. "I wasn't meant for the Grand Line. I've done my best for my family and we've seen so many amazing things."

"Then why would they abandon you?"

"They'll be back," Merry stated defensively. "The captain trusts me to be safe."

"So Straw Hat Luffy knows about you?"

"Well, no," the fairy answered awkwardly. "You're actually the first person I've even had a real conversation with. Uncle Usopp fainted."

Raising an eyebrow at the use of the term "uncle", Jonathan chose to ask a different question. "You say they trust you, yet they don't know about you?"

"Uncle Usopp and the others talk to me sometimes when no one else is around. I've never responded for fear of their reaction."

"And you don't wish to reveal yourself?"

"My life is almost over." Merry's voice cracked, a single tear sliding down her face. "If I show myself, I'm afraid the others won't be able to let me go to continue their adventure. They're that kind of people."

"Tell me, have you ever encountered a Marine ship with a Wood Fairy?"

"I'm afraid not." Merry shook her head, even if the marine couldn't see. "In fact, I don't think I've ever sensed another complete Wood Fairy. There were a couple partial ones in Jaya, but they couldn't even speak yet."

"I wonder, why is it that Wood Fairies seem to only appear on pirate vessels? Is it because they are used more? Or is it because it becomes their home?"

"What point are you trying to make? Because if you threaten my family, I will attack you right here."

"Calm yourself," Jonathan placated. "G-8 hasn't seen any action in the past three months. I'm hoping this lasts for a while. Besides, now that I know this ship is alive, I can't very well burn it in good conscious."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"This is a game," he responded. "Good versus bad, Marines versus pirates. If the pirates escape, they win. If they don't, the Marines win. With a known collective bounty of 200 million, G-8's image won't be harmed if you all get away." The man felt a tug on his rod.

"So you're giving us a chance to escape?" Merry asked.

"That makes it more fun, doesn't it?" Finally pulling in his line, Jonathan was disappointed to find it empty.

"Then, on behalf of my crew, I accept your challenge. I have faith that we will win this game of yours."

"Good. I'll have to warn you, though. I'll have my men tow you to dock 88. Standard procedure and all that."

"Of course. Just don't expect me to not help my family when I can."

"It's not like I can chain you up," Jonathan laughed, packing away his rod and finally turning to see the spirit. "One more question. Why did you all invade Navarone?"

Merry smiled, no teeth showing on her ghostly appearance. "We didn't."

Chopper, with Grace on his back, ran through the forest in his Walk Point, avoiding the spotlights. The girl was inspecting her paints, being sure that her waterproof caps had not come loose while she had drug the reindeer through the water. Scowling, she threw away her red paint, muttering about a waste of good crimson.

"Why did we end up here?!" the doctor cried hysterically.

"Come on, Shrimp," Zoro muttered, keeping his voice down as he slapped the younger man's back. With a cough, the Zoan type returned to consciousness, rolling over to spit out the last of the water from his lungs.

"Thanks, Zoro-sensei."

"No time for that now," the green-haired man told his student, slinging him over his shoulder in a fireman carry. "We're heading to the woods."

"Uh, Zoro-sensei? You're headed toward the Marine base."

"Dammit. They must have rotated everything."

Slinking through the tall grass, Nami eyed Navarone. Her waver was well hidden, but a rocky outcropping revealed where she had stashed it.

"Damn it," she cursed. "Those bastards better not touch any of my money or I swear to Goda..." Leaving the threat to hang, Nami headed toward the base.

"This is one big base," Amy said to herself, floating above the relatively-small island. Even from that height, the blonde could make out some of her crewmates as they hid throughout the area. Continent with where she was, the teen relaxed to watch everything play out. She didn't have a bounty and she wasn't going to go out of her way to get one. Nodding, Amy decided to only step in if she thought someone needed her help.

"It's just one thing after another with this crew. Kyahahaha!"

Crew Confusion:

Jobs

(Set after Alabasta)

It was an average day aboard the Going Merry, or at least, as average as a band of pirates like the Straw Hats, who were sailing through some of the strangest waters in the world, could get. For once, the sea was calm if a little shaded from the cloud cover, but Nami had assured the crew that there was nothing dangerous about the fluffy, white clouds hanging in the sky. The wind blew softly, doing nothing but sending a shiver down the backs of the members who wore less clothing every now and then. The ship itself rocked gently, almost as if it were sailing itself through the calm weather. Every few minutes, a Sea King would breach, but those giants stayed clear of the pirate ship; it was too small to even be a snack for them.

"Hey, Captain Luffy?" Coby yawned, the sweaty boy leaning against the mast after another grueling training session with his sadistic teacher. They had only gotten worst for the pink-haired boy after he ate his Zoan Devil Fruit since Zoans were notorious for having amazing composition and durability, something that Zoro took full advantage of when playing wi- I mean, training his young punching ba- I mean, student. "Captain Luffy?"

"What?" the captain blinked, having not heard Coby the first time from where he was seated on his self-declared "captain's seat".

"I have a question."

"Ok."

"What's my position?" Luffy opened his mouth immediately- "And don't just say I'm Nakama." -and closed it, a confused look on his face.

"...What position do you want?" the raven-haired teen finally asked.

"That's not for me to decide." Coby shook his head. If he had glanced around, he would have noticed that Gin, Amy, and Grace were now eavesdropping on the conversation. "You're the captain. I mean, we know that Zoro-sensei is the first mate, Nami is the navigator, Usopp is the sniper, Sanji is the cook, and that Chopper is the doctor, but what role do I have besides being a fighter? And what about the others?"

"Hmmm," Luffy hummed. "Well, obviously Grace is our artist," he began, "and Amy helps Sanji in the kitchen, so she's our assistant cook. And Robin is an arco-whatsit, so that's what she does. Uhh..." He trailed off. "Hey, Gin!"

"Yes, Don?"

"What position did you have on your last crew?" Luffy asked.

Gin blinked. "I was the second mate and the chief-of-staff," the Man-Demon answered. "I guess I was also the treasurer since I paid all of the deckhands that I hired, being the chief-of-staff and all."

"Then you're the official Straw Hat chief-of-staff from now on!" Luffy declared. "You don't have to hire anyone, though. And Nami's already the treasurer."

"Good enough for me," the man shrugged, flinching as the yelling voices of Zoro and Sanji carried over from the other side of the ship. "You know what?" he sighed. "I guess it's now my job to break up fights. I'll go deal with those two." He wandered off.

"Captain," Coby all but whined. "You still haven't answered my question."

"And what was it again?" Luffy asked with a sheepish grin. "I forgot."

"What position do I hold on this crew?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Luffy laughed. "Shishishi! You're the cabin boy!"

...

...

...

"GODA DAMMIT!"