Chapter Text
They weren’t kidding about the Florian triangle being foggy, creepy, and weird. Helmeppo kept spooking at the mist, whipping around and sweating. Garp was snoring loudly on deck like he didn’t have a care in the world. Luckily, Commodore Smoker and Captain Tashigi were alert.
Coby bit his lip as they passed what appeared to be a sunken wreck. They’d passed more than one, every time startling Helmeppo and making Tashigi put her hand on her sword. “Why would anyone want to live here?!” Helmeppo cursed as they passed a skeleton hanging from the wreck. Commander Bogard was keeping them on course.
To Thriller Bark, the former home of the former Shichibukai Moria. Why they were going there, Coby had no idea, but he’d been dragged along by Garp who had snagged Commodore Smoker and his partner. “So, you gonna tell us why we’re here old man?” Smoker grunted, nudging Garp with his boot. The bubble of drool on Vice Admiral Garp’s face popped and he looked around with a yawn.
“We there yet?” Garp reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of crackers.
“No Sir,” came Tashigi’s voice. She was looking over the side of the ship, down at the dark water. Some large creature with spiky fins swam past them. Helmeppo made a little noise of dismay.
“Oh.” The snap of a cracker between his teeth was loud. Smoker glared at him then whacked him on the head when he appeared to fall back to sleep, a vein pulsing in his forehead.
“Answer my damn question,” the logia growled. Vice Admiral Garp gave him a confused look, apparently not having felt the blow to his head at all. Coby thought that was pretty impressive.
“You asked something?”
Coby thought Smoker was going to blow a gasket. Tashigi stepped in before he could lose his temper however and asked sweetly “Why are we going to Thriller Bark sir?” Garp looked at her and gave her a smile, offering her a cracker. High praise. Coby was almost jealous.
“Beats me, I just thought you might like the scenery,” Vice Admiral Garp laughed. The vein in Commodore Smoker’s forehead throbbed. Yep, he was definitely gonna blow.
“The scenery?!” Helmeppo screeched. The blond and the logia both rounded on Garp, about ready to beat him to a pulp when Commander Bogard spoke up.
“There’s a lot of pirates abandoned on Thriller Bark. We’re rounding them up. That’s what you’re here for Smoker. Coby, you’re in charge of finding the classified papers Moria left behind. Likely in his office.”
“M-me sir?” Coby squeaked as Garp smacked his fist into his hand, going “Oh yeah!” as Tashigi tried to hold both Smoker and Helmeppo back.
“Yes, you.” They continued drifting through the fog and mist while Coby hoped he had the easy job.
Thriller Bark was huge! Practically an island itself. Coby wasn’t sure how something that large managed to stay afloat. Moria’s old residence was visible in the distance. And of course, it was a gothic castle. Coby hoped it was the mist that was making his palms sweaty.
“Alright, let’s get us some pir-” Bogard was interrupted as Garp launched himself off the ship with a laugh that was probably scarier than anything else.
“Good luck Coby-kun,” Tashigi smiled at him as the rest of them followed after the Vice Admiral at a far more reasonable pace.
Coby gave her a stiff nod and turned to follow the dark and muddy road to Moria’s castle.
Whoever had built this castle was either insane, or an asshole Coby decided as he opened the 19th door to yet another random dining room. The castle was deserted, the place practically untouched. It seemed that the pirates here had been too afraid to mess with it despite Moria’s long absence. Cobwebs had started forming in the corners however, and Coby couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him. He pressed his back up against a wall, trying to extend his haki. It was still hard to control, but Garp-san said it would get better with practice.
Fuzzy auras pushed at Coby’s mind. More empty rooms, a mouse chewing through a wall, a kitchen larder… nothing that looked like an office! He pushed a little harder. This time he found a bedroom, the bed unmade and rumpled like someone had left in a hurry. He sort of scanned the room when something flickered out of the corner of his “vision”. Something pale white and floating.
The shock made him lose control, his haki popping like a bubble around him. His heart pounded, what the hell was that?! He tried to calm himself and get another look, but by that time, the spectre was gone.
Nothing to do but keep aiming to finish his mission.
After searching another 20 rooms to his great frustration, Coby came to an abrupt stop in a hallway as a strange noise met his ears. It echoed down the hall, seeming to come from the room at the end. It was almost a laugh, high pitched. It sent chills up Coby’s arms.
Cautiously, he approached the rather ornate door, and pushed it open. A huge bedroom met his gaze, decorated with plush black and pink curtains. Stuffed animals with stitches and “scars” were littered everywhere. “Hmmm...this one? No! Not cute enough!” came a voice. It had the same high pitch to it as the laugh from before!
Coby pushed the door open a little more. A young woman with luridly pink pigtails was digging through a closet, a pile of clothes strewn on the floor and a suitcase practically bursting with more clothes next to her high heeled feet. He blinked. She didn’t exactly look like a pirate but… her outfit matched the decor of the room. Maybe she was one of Moria’s henchmen? That would make her an enemy!
Coby gulped. “Oh this one! Oh Moria-sama…” the girl sighed and buried her face in a blouse.
“Um, excuse me?” Coby called out. In an instant, the girl whipped around and screamed, which made Coby scream which made her scream more in a loop.
“DO NOT DO THAT!” the woman screamed at him after they both recovered from their mutual terror.
“I’m sorry!” Coby winced. They were both quiet for a moment as she looked him over, taking in the obvious marine attire.
“ What is a little Marine doing here?” she folded her hands on her hips, suddenly floating off the ground. Coby’s eyes went wide. A devil fruit? Or was she a...a ghost? He swallowed as she floated around him.
“I’m uh...I’m here w-with Vice Admiral G-Garp on official Navy business!” he said, trying to sound brave but really it was more of a squeak. The girl halted directly in midair.
“The Navy Hero?! Ughhhhhhh,” she moaned and floated back to her suitcase. “Well, I’ll be out of your hair shortly then, that stinky Mihawk said he wouldn’t wait long anyway,” she sniffed, packing up her suitcase.
“M-Mihawk? Hawk Eye Mihawk? The Shichibukai?!” Coby gaped at her. She rolled her particularly round eyes.
“Duh,” she said, grabbing another dress and tossing it in her suitcase. Oh. Then they were allies! She was struggling to close the bright pink bag when a thought struck Coby.
“Uh, do you know where Moria’s office is?” he asked.
She stopped and looked at him. “Why do you want to know?”
“Official Navy Business,” he bit his lip as she invaded his space, one pouty lip sticking out as she got way too close to his face.
“Hmmm...ohohoho I’ll make you a deal,” she grinned, circling around him again.
“Uh…” the girl swooped down and started going through the pile of clothes she’d rejected. “You help me carry all of these, and I’ll take you to his office horohorohoro!” Coby blinked.
“Um, okay. Deal.” She squealed and immediately began throwing things at him until he couldn’t see over the towering pile.
“Yay! Let’s go little Marine! She crooned in that high pitch and then proceeded to float out the door. Coby struggled after her.
Moria’s office was a bust. Everywhere Coby looked, there were no signs of anything that looked like classified papers. Lots of creepy stuff about tissue preservation and science, but nothing that should have been what Cob was looking for. The woman, Miss Perona, she’s told him, was floating around the office making little sad sighs until Coby groaned in frustration.
“Are you done yet?” she whined, doing a flip in the air.
“Ugh, it’s not here,” Coby mumbled dejectedly. “Is there any place else Moria would have put important papers?” he asked her. A sly smile crossed her face.
“Maaaaaaybe. Horohoro, would you like to make another deal?” He didn’t like the glint in her eye but nodded for her to go on.
“You put on a cute outfit of myyyy choosing and I’ll show you where he kept his super secret stuff,” she sing songed. Coby blanched. Put on an outfit?!
“What kind of outfit?”
Finally Coby found what he was looking for! A nice stack of classified Navy folders. The secret lab was freezing and smelly, but at last he’d got what he came for and could leave. A small breeze ruffled the pleats of his short pink skirt and the ruffles on the tight black and pink top he wore. His feet ached from the platform heels he was wearing.
“Got what you wanted? Now let’s go, I don’t want stinky Mihawk to leave without me!” Perona groused. With a put upon sigh, Coby followed her out, trying to juggle her clothes and the folders all without tripping as they finally left the castle.
He followed her to a much smaller and secret dock. A one seater ship with a huge cross floated in the water, an irritated looking man tapping his foot and glaring over crossed arms sitting on it. Upon spotting Perona as she called to him shrilly, the man kicked his boat off.
“Mihawk! Wait you beast! Don’t leave me behind!” she shrieked, quickly dumping her clothing on the boat.
“Hey! Give me back my clothes!” Coby called to her as she settled on the ship, his clothing mixed in with the pile she’d snatched from his arms.
“You look cuter in mine! Bye bye little Marine horohorohoro!” she cackled as an apparition appeared next to him and pressed freezing lips to his cheek. He jumped nearly a foot in the air as it disappeared along with Mihawk’s ship into the fog.
“There you are Coby!” came Helmeppo’s elated voice. He’d gotten back as the rest of the platoon was loading the ship with captured pirates. “Wha-what happened to your clothes?!” his friend asked loudly. Commodore Smoker, Tashigi carefully bandaging the side of his head from what appeared to be a nasty fight, his hand on her knee, looked over at him and let out a choked noise. Vice Admiral Garp appeared behind Coby, took one look at him and lost it. Tashigi tried hard to hide the giggle fit she was starting behind a hand.
Only Bogard appeared to have some sympathy for him. With a grumpy glare at all of them, Coby handed off the files and marched onto the ship to change.