Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What a beautiful place the world is. It’s something that I have always admired, the beauty of the world. The way it spins continuously no matter how wild the events on its surface become, no matter how happy and brilliant the people living there are, no matter how dour and sad they are, the world keeps going. A constant in a place of wild occurrences.

A place where wonders and terrors of all kinds can occur all at the same time in different places, or right next to one another. Or even in the same moment. What a curious thing the world is.

The world had become so dark to me when my crew died all those years ago, unable to follow through on the promise we swore to protect and keep. We died doing what we loved, what we found solace in during such a dark time that we knew was going to be our end. The music carried my soul for so many years it felt like I was reliving those last minutes with them every time I heard it.

But that was the funny thing about that, I never felt sad about it being over. Or maybe I did, and my memory is slipping away from me again. How could I know? I don’t even have a brain to remember things with! YOHOHOHOho…hoho.

Humor is my safety, seeing anyone crack a smile at my horrible horrible jokes or puns is something that would warm my heart if I still had one in my chest. Everyone has a safety mechanism, whether it be a healthy one or not. That’s something I learned during my time with the Straw Hats. My second and last crew that I will have been on. I don’t have the guts to join another crew, literally! YOHOHOHo

But if someone more charming than my captain Luffy comes along, then who would I be to tell that person no?

Afterall, I never thought the world could be darker when my daring captain became lost to this world. I knew his soul, his bright, bright soul. But I watched as it was snuffed out, like a candle beneath a cup. Like a cigarette being put out…

I sit at the edge of a cliff that overlooks the vastness of the seas before me, a part of the redline that I found to be abandoned. How long ago, I am not sure. I cannot fully recall how I even climbed atop this massive mountain myself, but what else is there for me to do when I have watched my whole world collapse around me twice with no way of stopping it.

A cup of tea that I discarded is behind me, sitting daintily on its platter next to my cane. It makes me recall all those times Sanji delivered tea to the ladies of the ship…it was an honor to be included in the delivery when he had his good days. Even more so when he got his hands on my favorite brews, it was a miracle how he remembered the tastes of every crew member.

I admire him for that. How he put aside his own personal strife with each member, particularly the swordsman- their rivalry was quite the sight I must say! But they were such close friends despite that. I enjoyed watching them spar every day or two, it seemed odd at first but after seeing them fight side by side in battle, it was clear they did it to get a knack for one another’s style in order to compliment it. And my, oh my. They complimented each other so nicely every time.

It was an honor to fight beside them as often as I did. Exchanging sword fighting and wielding tips with Zoro was very thrilling and informational. Since the two of us fought so differently, with such different blades- including the number of blades we used- it was rather neat to exchange notes with one another.

Though he was quiet, he became quite the conversationalist when I asked him the right questions. He was such a passionate soul…it only makes me recall seeing the passion in his eyes die out along with his fiery soul. Right alongside Sanji’s, they never could best one another, even in death. How dare one of them outlive the other, anyway.

They were the best of friends, brothers maybe, or perhaps a couple! No matter what their relationship to one another was, it was hard for anyone to ignore the deep bond of companionship they shared.

I can’t bear to imagine a world where one is left without the other.

Thankfully, I don’t have to. As the both of them are buried in the sea along with the rest of the crew. I should know, I sent them all off myself.

Not saying I killed them! I would never. I simply wished them off on a farewell, burning a dinghy as they lay lifeless in it. Watching from the shore as they sank beneath the sea.

One, by one.

I wished them off with a lullaby, playing my violin with all the power my soul could muster.

I stayed strong through it all, until I lost Sunny.

That, I think, was when it all hit me that everyone was gone.
I don’t know how I cried, how tears stained these dry old bones of mine. But it happened, and they wouldn’t stop for days and days. I cried, and cried. For what else was I alive for?

All of their dreams had come true.

Nami charted a map of the whole world, we traveled across the seas time and time again to make sure she had every island in its place. She even published her map at a price to some bidders, scamming them of their money as she did. Her treasure stash was monstrous.

In turn, Franky got to see his pride and joy the Thousand Sunny travel across the world, sailing end to end without fail. The improvements that he made to her constantly were astounding, making her a power house even on her own.

Jinbe got to watch as the fishmen were accepted widely across the seas, his people finally seen as people too and welcomed island to island. Attaining positions of power and healing his wounded spirit.

Usopp became a brave warrior of the sea. The bravest, even. He never lost his fearful nature, but he learned to keep pushing through it every time it raged inside him. He was given honor from the island of Elbaf, going on to best even his father at sniping skills.

Chopper found and documented ways to cure every disease known to the world, he had even successfully made a cure-all medicine somehow. An accomplishment that will be spoken of for centuries to come.

Sanji found the All Blue! The land of myths and legends was real indeed, he cried so many tears of joy when he saw all the different fish from different seas swimming together beneath the waves. But he said not to tell a word of that to anyone…I’m sure he won’t mind

Zoro bested Mihawk in a duel, taking his title as the greatest swordsman in the world. He too, cried tears of joy, but he also said not to tell anyone or he’d cut me to bits…He’ll mind less, but it will be okay I’m sure.

Robin reunited with the giant who had saved her when she was a little girl, introducing him to our whole crew with the brightest smile I had ever seen on her. She translated all of the poneglyphs and uncovered the history of the void century. Sadly, she never got around to telling me that story, I would have liked to hear it. I just know it was truly tragic.

I was reunited with Laboon! I couldn’t believe my eyes that he was still alive and waiting for me and my old crew all those years, luckily I didn’t have to since I don’t have any eyes! YOHOHOHO! Yoho…ho…

Last of all, and certainly not the least of us. Our beloved captain Monkey D. Luffy became the pirate king!! It was a journey to accomplish, but nobody but him could have pulled it off. After all, he shines brighter than the sun even on a bad day, nobody can overshadow a King like that. He even accomplished his dream. As absurd as it had been, I wasn’t even sure he could pull it off. But that youngster did it, in all his magnificent and childlike glory.

He even returned his Straw Hat to Red-Haired Shanks, his first mentor and idol back when he was but a young child. Much to the sadness of the great pirate, the Red-Haired man looked both at ease and saddened by the return of his hat.

I told myself to visit him one day, and ask him about his story.

Our adventures never ceased even after accomplishing our dreams and goals. When the crewmembers from the East Blue made their dreams reality, we all made a group trip to return to their home sea to give hellos to their families and towns.

We made a decision to visit all of the places that they had been before, to be sure every member of our crew got to see the islands of the stories.

It was a pleasure to meet the people on Dawn, a rather surprising experience to see the people who raised Luffy are simultaneously as crazy as him but also much, much calmer.

Makino for instance, was an absolute sweetheart. All of us decided that we should never get on her bad side, simply out of fear of seeing the dear woman frown our way.

Dadan and the bandits were a whole different experience. The orange haired riot herself easily reminded me of Nami and her attitude, but more subdued and aged. Her words didn’t match up with her expressions, as she invited us all inside to have a feast.

We got stories of all kinds about Luffy’s childhood, mainly from the bandits that spoke of the ball of horror that our captain had been, and us remarking how he still most definitely was that ball of horror and impulsiveness.

I remember Dadan pulling Luffy aside midway through the feast and embracing him, speaking words I couldn’t hear from this distance. Robin had placed a hand on my shoulder and given me a smile, and I knew from that alone that it would be fine. Not that I doubted my captain, but hearing the stoic woman sob uncontrollably into his shoulder, I was worried she wouldn’t be.

I don’t recall the rest of the night, nor the morning after. But we did visit Syrup village next, and we all got to meet Usopp’s beloved Kaya. She was such a lovely lass, Kaya. She and Chopper exchanged medicinal notes and other doctor things, and we all got to meet the three kids that were under Captain Usopp’s wings all those years ago.

It was a beautiful meeting, the kids had grown so much and said they wanted to set sail just like Usopp had, and the proud face he made was something truly awe inspiring. Franky cried so many tears at these reunions, and who was I not to join him?

We had another grand meal with Kaya and the kids there, a party to celebrate the crew’s accomplishments.

It was the leaving that had us all in utter pieces. Usopp said he wanted to remain on Syrup with Kaya, live the rest of his life beside her and take a break from the sea.

That goodbye was difficult, to say the least.

Next on our tour we went to Cocoyashi village to visit Nami’s family and people. They were ecstatic to see her back in one piece. The mayor treated us to yet another feast and party, much to Luffy’s delight.

It was yet another honor to meet Nojiko, the one who dealt with Nami’s thieving shenanigans ever since the beginning.

I could see the decision in Nami’s eyes before she even voiced it. She wanted to stay there too. But she also wanted to stay with Luffy to see everyone else off and visit the rest of their people. After a long conversation and yelling from her, she returned to the Sunny to continue the rest of our journey.

I got to meet Red-Leg Zeff, Sanji’s mentor and father figure. The meal at the Baratie was one of the best I’ve had, despite having no taste buds anymore. The love that was put into that meal was palpable. I could easily tell that Sanji had gained his knowledge from this place. A beautiful thing to see the beginning of the crew’s great chef.

Patty and Carne were wonderful people too, they were very fond of how far Sanji had come in life. You could tell by the way they insulted him strangely enough. I’ll never understand the ways of the chef.

Sanji continued with us after that, and the hole that Usopp left felt even more unbearable than before. Knowing he was just a day away by boat. But I knew he was happy there. He had his adventure, it just hurt to know the chapter with us had ended for him.

One day I’ll come back, we’ll come back, to check on him. I told myself.

I know he stayed back to make sure the East blue was protected without us all there, I’m sure he did. As much as all of them wanted to say that there wouldn’t be anyone coming in our wake to attack their home islands, they knew it was true. Usopp just realized that and acted upon it. Afterall, it’s what a brave warrior would do, protect his homeland with all he has.

Let his friends leave him behind again, as I heard happened back in the grandline before my arrival.

It still caused an aching in my bony heart.

So with that we crossed back into the grandline, over reverse mountain courtesy of Luffy’s insistence. It was truly something, and made me remember my very first time crossing over it. With the Rumbar Pirates. Oh how times change, yet it still gave me chills. Or it would have, if I had any skin!

We met with Laboon once again, I don’t know why he stuck around the red line like he did. Maybe he was waiting for our return again, because he continued following us as we went to Drum Island to see Dr. Kureha.

A lovely lady indeed. Rather intimidating, but she was a kind soul. She was even older than me! Which was quite a startle, considering I am all bones and she still has all of her flesh! It tugged at my heartstrings that she had what I didn’t. Despite our similar age. It brought a horrible feeling shivering through me, horrible thoughts that I have had before but now meeting someone that was what I wished I could be deep down have emerged more fully.

I just want to feel the cold bite at my skin again, I just want to feel the frosty air brush over my face or creep at my fingertips. The pain lets you know that you still live, as the cold slowly freezes your own body heat.

I wish that the stagnant feeling in my bones would let out a breath, that I could breathe in through my lungs one more time, feel the goosebumps on my skin at the cold or a beautiful melody, the taste of the saltwater on my tongue and the smell in my nose. The feeling of being alive, all of its pain and beauty, I wish I could experience it all again. The feeling of closing my eyes to rest after a long and tiring day of working at sea, letting my vision fade out as I fall into slumber…the feeling of a smile on my face when I’m happy, the pain after smiling for too long or straining my brows as I concentrate over something. The sting on my fingers and arms after playing the violin for long periods or immediately after a fight. The sensation of rain on my skin. Even the sting of a splinter as it sticks into my hand on a bad part of the deck.

What an awful downside of being dead, you lose all the experiences in life that you take for granted. The experiences that make you truly feel.

I didn’t want to ruin the mood of the party that the townspeople threw for us all, but she approached me during the party and broached the conversation without me having to say much.

I told her my grievances, and she explained to me that I wasn’t feeling any of that due to my loss of nerves across my body- err, my bones.

Then…I believe we somehow got to the topic of adventuring and the state of the world. I couldn’t help but notice she spoke as if she knew her end was coming, or that something was going to happen. I asked her this; “What will you do now, that Chopper has become so great and you have nothing to search for or cure?”

She told me that no matter the cure he found, people would still find a way to need her. But that someone would step into her position so she could get a break. She said it much snarkier, but her wording got away from me.

We sat on a snow capped rock as we watched the party from afar, Jinbei came over to join us for a little bit, and laughed when I was summoned to rejoin the fray to play some music by our captain’s request.

She lingered on that rock for a while, speaking with Jinbei, before vanishing. I think she retreated back to her castle. Jinbei simply gave me a somber look when I asked, and I pressed no further.

When we woke the next day she was nowhere to be found, Chopper was in great distress trying to find her. I had a gut feeling what had happened, or what she was doing, before we went looking. So did my captain, we shared a look of understanding, but he still followed beside Chopper for a while to ensure he wasn’t alone through this.

I will always look up to the man my captain was and became.

He sent everyone back to the Sunny, and we all held a small memorial for the Doctor. I played a farewell song, and watched as the subtle pink hue of the Doctor’s soul coat the island in a soothing blanket.

She may have been a cranky old woman, but her heart was true. That part of her was clear to me.

With heavy hearts we continued forth towards Alabasta, and the mood lifted exponentially. I could tell they truly loved the princess, though they had seen her at a distance a few months before when Luffy achieved his title.

I had not fully met the princess of Alabasta, but from the good words that Sanji, Nami and Luffy were talking very loudly about, I couldn’t wait to meet her. Luffy also talked about some strange animals he had taken under his wing, and he made them sound so exciting that I too, was ecstatic to meet those little guys!

When we arrived on the shores of the sandy country, we met the little Kung-Fu Dugongs that Luffy adored, and he happily spent a good while interacting and playing with them. Chopper followed suit soon after, and the rest of us stood back and laughed as they played together.

A heartwarming scene, if I had ever seen one.

It wasn’t even an hour after we arrived and set anchor that people of Alabasta came over to greet us. The Princess leading the charge, alongside her father and some of the other members of the royal household if I had to guess.

The princess was even more lovely than described! She was a pleasure to speak with, truly. Her and Robin seemed to have a bit of scary tension between them, but with one very large tackle from our captain they both seemed to loosen up. I believe, at the feast, our archaeologist went to speak with the princess aside. Likely to resolve whatever had gone on between the two, I am not fully aware of what went on before my presence here.

I made a note to ask her later about it. I always loved hearing Robin’s stories, she was an excellent storyteller when she wanted to be.

Then, thinking about that made me wish Usopp didn’t stay behind. It was odd how quickly a hole could be filled then reopened in grief. I didn’t know at the time, but it was only going to get worse as time went forth. The hole getting wider and the grief growing brighter, heavier.

But I digress, this is no time for that. I was just talking about the feast that was thrown for us! It was lucky that we had to travel days to get to each island, coup-de-burst or not. I’m not sure any of us could survive so much food consumption in such short amounts of time! Aside from the Captain, of course. He’s always the exception when it comes to food! What a guy Luffy was.

The party went on for days, there was so much happening. I’m almost certain there was even a festival that was thrown further into the town. Honestly, if I had memory loss anywhere it would be this party. It feels like a blur in my memory.

I remember having to go find Zoro in the middle of the night before we left port, for some reason Luffy wanted to leave before everyone woke up. I wasn’t going to question it, but it was very odd.

I found him on a roof that had no roof access stairs or ways to get up to it…needless to say I was yet again impressed by our swordsman’s skills at finding himself in peculiar situations. How he gets lost so easily.

If I didn’t know better I would say that he just shut his mind off when he had to walk just about anywhere. But since I know him, he simply wanders when he thinks too hard. It kicks in too during high stress situations! And when in cities…he also just has a direction problem. I swear, that swordsman could not walk south if it looked him right in the face!

Ah, I’ve gotten away from myself. We continued off on the journey through the night, much to the Princess’ dismay I’m sure…well, I thought she was going to be distraught, until I noticed she had joined us onboard the Sunny.

She had joined us for a little adventure, under the minor inconvenient title of being captured by our crew. Even then, she had chosen an alias to go by while she traveled with us through a bit of the grandline…Ms. Wednesday. Now, I’m not judging by any means, but that was quite a name to choose.

I received context from Robin about some former organization- Baroque Works- that had been trying to take over Alabasta kingdom under aliases similar to days of the week or holidays.

Apparently Robin had also been a part of this organization under the alias Ms. All-Sunday, which was…also a choice. But who was I to judge, I’m just some bag of bones!

Anyway, we made our way out to an island called Jaya, where Luffy and Chopper very excitedly showed us around as they told us all of these wild stories. Many of them were retellings of events Usopp had told me, Franky, and Jinbei around the dining table or before he went to sleep, but I did not stop them from retelling them. It was a very clearly exciting event they had experienced there, Nami and Sanji jumped in excitedly too every so often. Throughout the hyper active attitude, Robin and Zoro made spare comments to the four of us who hadn’t been through the sky island adventure.

They all clearly had a lifetime of adventures before they had even met me. It was awe-inspiring to hear truly, but even now, part of me feels as if I missed it.

Of course I know how pirate crews work, these old bones aren’t that dense, one crew member can never be on every adventure that the crew goes on. It simply doesn’t happen- everyone tends to be independent in their own way, often that way being they stay on the ship for some treks or they take leave for others. Instances like mine, I don’t join the story until the next page.

After Luffy and Nami tried to brainstorm a way to get back up to the sky island without the knock up stream, and Sanji and Franky gathered supplies in the village, we headed forth once more.

Our next destination was to be Water 7, but we ran into a marine vessel on our way there. I was prepared to attack, don't get me wrong, but I was also very curious what, or rather who, would approach us so casually without warning.

Unsurprisingly, Luffy knew immediately upon seeing a Marine with pink hair, and flung himself onto their vessel in the middle of a greeting that consisted of him shouting out the man’s name.

The rest of us watched with amusement, our captain never failed to be as eccentric as he was. I learned that this kid was the first that Luffy met on his adventures out at sea, and they both helped one another on the first push towards their dreams. Well, the pink haired gentleman, Koby, got more of a push than Luffy himself. Which was to be expected, my captain was never one to hesitate with his dreams.

They talked for a long while- Vivi joining in too, having known Koby as well- with the marines under Koby’s command lingering back on their ship with weapons on guard. Amusing, truly. But I could respect it at the very least.

They were all quite fascinated when Laboon made his presence known to everyone- well, fascinated is a strong word, I suppose shocked and astonished are better descriptors as all of the marines either ran like headless chickens before the massive whale, or froze like a stone statue sweating like they had just jumped from the sea.

That made me laugh so loudly, they were all quite a funny sight!

We set off once more, continuing to Water 7. Luffy reluctantly left Koby behind, with a promise to see one another again someday soon.

At Water 7, I was amazed by the beautiful architecture. The city itself was stunning in it’s own right, and even more so when Franky gave us a tour of the whole place.

He was antsy all throughout it, and I could easily see why when he reunited with his “Franky Family”

It filled me with a sort of pride watching him show off all of his new cool gadgets he implemented into his cyborg design on himself, and seeing that enthusiasm get matched by the members of his family made me know that he had a good life for him here.

The mayor came down from his roost to say hello to us all, along with a scruffy blonde man (I never did find out his name…) that was very offended by Nami’s attire- which I have to say I was very offended by myself, who was he to speak that way to her?

Sanji felt the same, he would have jumped at him if Nami hadn’t whacked the blonde man on the head first.

Safe to say, I very much enjoyed my time at Water 7. Jinbei had a lovely talk with Mayor Iceberg, so did Vivi if I remember correctly. Luffy even introduced me to a very lovely mermaid and a frog, and the mermaid’s…child? It was not clear what their relationship was. But they were all three very eccentric people as Luffy attracts to his company.

I found the city life at night to be truly fascinating to wander about.

We spent several days there, getting to know all sorts of people and exploring the city’s nooks and crannies, before we set sail once more.

The next destination was decided by me, and I did not want to revisit Thriller Bark. Much to Luffy’s dismay, but Sanji and Zoro understood my sentiment for whatever reason. Probably to do after our first visit, when Zoro came out of it barely alive.

I’m still curious as to what happened, but I will never know now. I was never meant to know.

So instead, we went to Sabaody to visit Rayleigh and Shakky.

It was lovely to see them again, a reunion I was never really sure was going to happen or not. A strange appearance we didn’t quite expect to see at the bar, was a fellow named…Bunny the Jester? Or perhaps it was Buster the Clown? Something exotic like that. He had a very red nose, and the rest of his got just as red when someone mentioned it.

I quite liked him, whoever he was- I think I recognized him as a former Emperor of the seas- he had been very fun to speak with.

Once our stay in Sabaody expired and the coating on our ship was finished, we set sail once more. Well, we began our descent. It felt too soon, as they all had. But thus was the way of the pirate.

We ventured down to fishman island, reuniting with the people of the kingdom there and of the royal family. Another feast commenced, it felt bigger than the last (without the following festival of course).

I serenaded my heart out at the party, putting all of the strife I had collected into the music so it didn’t weigh on my shoulders any further. The crowd loved it, it felt almost like I was on tour all over again…but more personal. With my crew by my side.

We left Fishman Island a few days after the party, giving our farewells and leaving when the coating was finished on the Sunny once more.

Our path took us past Punk Hazard, where we explained our adventures there to Jinbei and Vivi, who were both intrigued to hear the details and looked utterly confused at the happenings we described.

Of course none of us were as grand of a storyteller as our Usopp, but we had to make do.

After that, we sailed to Dressrosa. I got to meet Princess Rebecca! What a lovely girl she was. Her and Viola, I believe her name was. It was fun to get our own retelling of the Dressrosa fight from the perspective of the princess, who couldn’t stop calling our captain “Lucy”, but nicknames were no problem anymore. I could not judge anyone for nicknames anymore, not with our captain being who he was.

Dressrosa was a beautiful country, the flowers and architecture were very different from Water 7 and other cities and islands we had visited, but it was incredibly eye-catching in its own stunning right. I made a note to return there again one day.

They threw us a feast, and we stayed for several days. Ultimately, just as with the other islands, we left.

We sailed past Big Mom’s old territory, not needing to stop and Luffy wanted to keep going to find where Zou had ended up in recent times. Sanji didn’t want to bring up the memories or events of that place, so nobody ended up discussing the stories involved. But Luffy did grumble about some giant bread man that was difficult for him to hit.

We sailed around for a while to try and locate the giant elephant, but to no avail. Pity, Jinbei and Vivi would have loved to visit that place. Chopper wanted to visit again as well, likely to visit Carrot and the others again. It would have been nice to see them all once more, but we promised ourselves to see them all again one day soon.

Alas, we never did accomplish that.

Our next destination was Wano, where we reunited with Momonosuke and the others. Another heartfelt reunion to add to the books.

The feast there was again, bigger than the last. We stayed there a bit longer than other places, getting our bearings together once more before we traveled to Elbaf.

But something happened before we left that I never had expected to;

Zoro asked Luffy to leave the crew to stay in Wano.

This left myself, and the rest of the crew in utter shambles. Our swordsman, Luffy’s right hand man, leaving to…teach?? He wanted to help the next generation of swordsmen gain their ground and footing, likely even traveling from place to place to instruct others along the way.

Even more to my surprise, but also completely to my expectations; Luffy accepted, he agreed.

After some confirmation, of course. But he did accept that he wanted to leave, and he took it in strides.

Even when Jinbei proposed to go alongside him to make sure he didn’t lose his way as he always did. Luffy took it in stride.

As a former captain myself, I can picture the state of mind that he was going through even then. It was painful when a crewmate took their leave. But he said they were always welcome to rejoin them, despite their journey coming to a close and being at its end.

I was going to miss them. But I swore to myself, I will find them and travel with them on their little adventure one day. I must.

After Wano we went to Elbaf. Broggy and Dorry were excellent people to meet once more, and I couldn’t help but grieve the fact that three of our crew couldn’t meet them again. Usopp especially. I know how much he loved those giants.

After Elbaf…Luffy took us to Laugh Tale

Had us all stand out on the deck

Smiled,

And said; “This is where our journey ends!”

.
.
.

In lieu of a very reasonable panic from us all present, our captain laughed his loud laugh, and told us that it wasn’t the end of the crew, but rather our journey together as one whole.

He was sending us off to whatever corner of the world we wished to go to, giving us freedom to choose our new future.

It was the most Luffy result I could imagine happening after such a grand trip we pulled.

So with that, the Straw Hats medley went off on our own. Nami took Vivi back to Alabasta, Chopper decided to go on a hospital tour to check that they all had the right medicines and resources across the seas, Sanji went off to begin his own restaurant, Franky and Robin went off together to visit the revolutionaries with the Sunny, me and Laboon went off for a little musical tour on the seas,

And Luffy went off on his own.

He didn’t say where he was going, but that did not worry me. He knew what he was doing, or what he was getting into. My captain could handle anything the world threw at him now.

…except, he couldn't, he didn’t.

Chapter Text

I still remember the moments when I got news of each of my crew’s deaths. Starting with my captain Monkey D. Luffy, ending with my ship the Thousand Sunny..

It felt different, now than it did before when my old crew died one by one of sickness. I couldn’t be there for them now. We were all in different parts of the blues and the seas, there was no way to get to any of them in time.

I often feel that I failed them. Even though I know none of them blame me for what happened to them. The feeling simply doesn’t go away.

With the Rumbar Pirates, it was the aftermath of a horrific battle and sickness that killed us all. But for the Strawhat Pirates…It was simultaneously more hard-hitting and difficult to comprehend. I thought I would die right beside my crew with the Rumbar Pirates, but with the Strawhats…there was no such assurance for me.

For how can a soul die after it’s been brought back once already?

It feels like it was merely yesterday that news of our captain went public for the world to see. Me and Laboon were on a lovely tropical island in the Grand Line about two years after the crew separated. I was browsing the stores in the port village for any fun trinkets that caught my eye- well, if I had any eyes that is!

I had come to town just in time for the Newscoo to drop in the daily newspapers for the townsfolk. I did not think too much of it at first, but the shock on the villager’s faces certainly threw me for a loop that was for sure. I politely asked to take a look, and if I still had blood it would have frozen cold as I stared at the front page.

History Repeats Itself? Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy Surrenders to the Marines!

Below, a picture of my captain standing atop a Marine vessel, destruction surrounding him. His signature smile that crinkled his eyes shut was the center of the picture, and he held his arms high in surrender.

From that alone I knew that this was his plan…but to know what comes next truly rattles my bones. I know that I should not attend it, either.

He would be executed for all of his beautiful adventures he has traveled. All because the world continues to see him as a threat no matter how many high ranked individuals he has defeated. No matter how many times he proves himself to be a good person, they were going to kill him for it.

My beautiful, beloved, charming, amazing captain was walking right to his death with the brightest smile imaginable to man. He wouldn’t have it any other way, after all.

I recall the townspeople around me looked at me with both hope and fear in their eyes, thinking I would do something brash because my captain was throwing his life away before their very eyes.

But they didn’t know me, and they didn’t know my captain.

One: I would NEVER go wild in a poor unsuspecting village that had done nothing but provide me with the greatest hospitality. Two: Luffy knew what he was doing. No matter how much I wanted to leap across the waves and save him from the fate he’d walked right into, no matter how awful it was going to feel when I saw him die upon that scaffold.

Because no matter how much I knew that it was a horrible idea to go watch the execution, I just had to. I had to see him off one final time.

So, me and Laboon set off for the execution site. For whatever reason, it was on an island in the East Blue. Not Dawn, the one I came to know as Luffy’s home island, but it was one nearby that he had us stop at during our venture that way. Loguetown, I believe it was.

Something about another great pirate dying in that very place, but the only one I cared enough to note was my captain.

Me and Laboon traveled through the calm belt to the East Blue, running into Nami who looked fully distraught over the news. She continued with us to the island, where we kept our distance due to the sheer number of marine and other vessels surrounding it.

I am simply glad that we had a transponder snail on hand- thanks to Nami- to listen in to what was happening.

When it happened, hearing our Captain’s final words to the world, the Fleet Admiral spoke the dreaded words, and hearing the crowd from all the distance away that we had been, Nami broke down in a mess of screaming emotion. I had to hold her back from trying to go towards the island in any way. I told Laboon to move on, as the vessels at port began to move out and the people dispersed.

As we were moving I felt the sudden memory of when I lost my former captain Yorki. The distress that was boiling in my bones became all too familiar to me and I couldn’t help but turn my head to the island.

When I looked back I saw the brightest, most hopeful sight flicker into the sky. Just witnessing it made me know that everything would be alright someday, that everything was happening just as it should. I knew that was my captain’s soul saying farewell to us. I swear it had his signature grin, but it was much too far away to say for certain.

In the slim chance it wasn’t, I’d like to believe that it was. It was different from the fireworks being shot off anyhow, so it was not one of those.

That sight was something that kept me going for a while longer after that.

Me and Nami traveled with Laboon back into the Grand Line through the Calm Belt, being able to sit inside a giant whale while going through such dangerous waters was a definite plus compared to crossing over the Red Line once more.

Before we had made it through, she had mentioned paying Usopp a visit. Despite the fact we could most certainly take on the Marine vessels that were flooding the East Blue Sea, I had a feeling that it was wiser to stay as thin as possible. Since our captain had fallen, the new government that replaced the one he destroyed those years ago would be after all of our heads.

During those travels, the three of us soaked in the peacefulness that was the calm belt and the two years we spent traveling separately, and grieved the inevitable and endless tomorrows to come where everything would tip onto its head.

We went to Alabasta. I couldn’t convince Nami that it was wise to stay away from our dear friends. Additionally, she knew Vivi had returned there, unlike the whereabouts of the rest of our crewmates aside from our Usopp. But he had his own vow to protect the East, we couldn’t distract him from that. Vivi had her kingdom to run, but she had assistance from her family and associates so it felt more okay to bother her…those were Nami’s words.

When we arrived on the sandy plains, and began our trek to the main city, a– dare I say beautiful– explosion formed in the distance. The gray and orange plumes stretched horrifyingly into the blue sky above the desert country.

We stopped in our tracks, and I knew that the gut feeling (if you could even call it a gut feeling, if I have no gut!) was too correct in its standing. I didn’t want it to be right. But it seemed it was.

The new government that had been formed was eradicating anyone even remotely associated with the Strawhat pirates…

And they were starting with the kingdom of Alabasta.

I hadn’t even needed to look at Nami to know what she was thinking, or how she was reacting. She had lived through a buster call herself from what I had heard, when the crew was at Enies Lobby to rescue our dear Robin. I never thought I would witness one in my years, but there I was.

The sound of the explosion resounded in our ears after what felt like ages. Just as that happened, I noticed swirls of color dancing in the smoke of the blast…souls of the citizens.

If I still had one in my chest, I know my heart would have dropped to the ground right then and there. They had done nothing to deserve death in this way, I didn’t understand why the government was doing such brash things.

Yes, my crew destroyed the former leaders and saved the world from their oppression for a little while, but that was nothing to kill innocent civilians over. I hated that they were dragged into the mess behind us.

Without a word to Nami, the two of us took off running towards the kingdom. The closer we got, the more cannonfire and commands being shouted between commanders and soldiers rang out. But I could not hear them. If I could, I do not recall a word they said. The only thing on my mind was Vivi and her family.

We were stopped by some soldiers, and I held them off for Nami to find our princess in the wreckage. Yes, the cannons had continued their onslaught, but when did danger ever stop us before? It had never done so. Our captain would have done just as we did at that moment.

I hate to say that it was painfully easy to hold off the soldiers that were destroying the kingdom, but it was way too simple for me to do. It almost worried me.

Suddenly I became punctured in the ribs– well, it went right through but it was the thought that counts truly– and a whole new wave of soldiers barreled through. I dealt witht hem as quickly as I coud, because I knew Nami would want my help as soon as possible in locating Vivi.

But I remember the high pitched yell of anguish that I heard, unmistakably Nami as I had heard that same cry just a week ago when our Captain was executed. The same cry that happened everytime something absolutely unforgivable occurred to one of our crew mates.

I remember the flashes and booms of lightning and thunder that I know she wielded against her opponents. I fought even harder against mine in order to go to her aid as I noticed the strikes getting more frenzied and uncalculated.

As soon as I cut down one of my final foes, the flashes stopped. The cannonfire continued. The thunder stopped. The screams of the citizens continued. An orange glow rose to the sky with a fiery tenacity that I knew was Nami. The cannonfire continued.

Then I was hit with one.

.
.
.

I don’t remember much after that, I never understood how I was able to get knocked out when I had no brain to malfunction. Chopper didn’t either. We had always equated it to weird devil fruit nonsense. Which had always been fine with me, it never really mattered in those days.

We believed it had something to do with seastone in the contents of whatever hit me, causing my devil fruit to act up in nonsensical ways.

One was me losing consciousness for however long my bones are in contact with the seastone, or whenever my soul is the most concentrated at that moment.

Think of it as a long, very long, blink.

Though I suppose that I cannot blink anymore, not after my revival. That is certainly a weird feeling, not blinking or moving your eyes around to view different things. I shouldn’t even be able to see. How come I have the ability to see but I cannot feel the cold nip at my fingers? Or the sun burn my bones? It…it just doesn’t make sense at all…

Waking up to smoke in the dry air, scorched bodies of civilians and soldiers littering the ground around me, the reminder that I had just witnessed the death of two of my most precious people.

That was imagery that I doubt I will ever forget. I wrote a little melody about it, once. Though I only ever played it a few times sparingly. It was a special melody for my dearest companions that I lost.

I crossed every finger necessary and available to me that what I had seen was wrong. That my vision was wrong and I didn’t see my Navigator’s soul rise to the heavens with the fanfare of a Bustercall that she’d lived through on more than one occasion.

She couldn’t have fallen in such a place. I refused to believe my own eyes. Which was easy, considering I had no eyes to blame what I saw on. It couldn’t have been a trick of the light as my vision doesn’t accept light. I see what I see and what I saw was not pleasurable in the slightest.

How my captain would be ashamed of me if I were right in my sight.

I recall sitting up and assessing the damage, collecting the bones that had gone askew when I was hit with at least one cannon ball. I dont know if I ws hit with any more after the first.

The whole kingdom was leveled to the ground. I hadn’t ever imagined such a thing to be possible, but there I was standing in history of a land that would be forgotten in time.

So that was a buster call. I didn’t like that at all.

Looking around the debris, I took note that the only bodies around were charred remnants of corpses or skeletal figures of unidentifiable people.

There were two people I couldn’t find in the rubble; my dear navigator and the Queen of Alabasta. I chose to be grateful for that.

I don’t know what came over me during that time of the aftermath, but I began to hum a tune and begin gathering the bones and pieces of the fallen on the shore that was quite a walk away.

If I was going to lay them to rest for a final time, I know these people would want to see the view of the sea from their glorious kingdom that no longer stood, rather than the horrifying wreckage that had laid out around them.

I fancied myself doing them a mercy, but perhaps I had just been taking care of myself. Nonetheless, I knew they would have appreciated the peaceful send off rather than the violent end they all suffered.

I know that I would much prefer to see the lovely ocean waves rolling when I travel to the afterlife over the rubble of my beloved home.

It took me days, but I eventually gathered everyone on the shore with one or two salvaged boats that were fit enough to carry them out away to sink into the depths.

I remembered a longtime tradition for fallen crewmembers or beloved family members from a storybook I read, speaking of how the people of old would set the fallen in a boat or raft and send them off with a burning arrow or simply setting the wood on fire. Leaving them to burn to ash and sink into the sea water.

I was never truly able to do this with the Rumbar pirates, though we buried them on Thriller Bark before I set sail with the Strawhats. They had still sailed for fifty years after all of our deaths, so I suppose that it was fine they did not get that grand send off. I know they are happy where they ended up in death, after all I died the same as them that day. Singing our song, recording it for our beloved friend Laboon.

My dear whale friend hadn’t shown his face in my time awake, even after spending so long by the shore preparing the very delayed send off. I simply put it to Nami and Vivi for using him to escape whilst thinking I would be fine where I am, or that I had some other way of escaping.

I first laid the citizens of the Kingdom in the boats and rafts, then remembered I had to start a fire to use as a lighter for their ceremonies.

Speaking with the corpses was very…melancholic. I told them tales of old and new, sang them songs and acted as if they could come alive just as I did so long ago myself.

As I sat watching the bonfire I was creating grow, I thought over everything. I contemplated everything out loud as I spoke with the skeletons around me. I knew they were all dead, but it was easy to pretend they were only sleeping.

It didn’t take much convincing from the skeleton to my left to only create a memorial on the shore and send the bones of the fallen on the boat I had prepared, so that is what I did.

Then I watched it all burn from the shore. I gave them a brief speech and farewell, then sang them a lullaby to send them to their eternal rest beneath the waves.

I really hoped to everyone above and the seas below that Nami and Vivi escaped alive with Laboon. Yet there was that bright fire I saw that night, the crackling of a fierce soul ascending, that made me doubt my very being.

So I stood on the shore and waited for days. Days to see if any ship would pass by the destroyed island kingdom. It was a horribly long wait.

But the wait came to an end, and I saw a rather familiar ship approaching from the distance.

Now, since the Heart Pirates’ ship and crew became destroyed in their fight with Blackbeard, they had gained a new vessel. Though it was similar to their last, this one was orange instead of yellow. It was quite cute if you asked me.

Me and the rest of the Straw Hat crew came across it many times during our travels even after fulfilling our dreams. I suppose Law never did stop loving the sea, and Bepo never stopped following him.

The orange crest of the all too familiar submarine rose a good distance from the shore, and since I had not seen a living human— or mink— for days, or even weeks at that point, I jumped for joy and began running to them across the waves.

Since, well, I could do that across short distances. Being a skeleton as light-boned as me, the water can do nothing against my expert running skills!

Additionally, it had been too long since I had seen them! Or anyone for that matter! So how could I be blamed for being happy? I couldn't, it was totally justified.

Of course the captain of the ship was never too fond of anyone’s eccentricities aside from his crew, especially my captains’. So he did not really tolerate mine either, no matter how crazy the world was in the newspapers that he was bringing today.

He was on the deck when I approached, allowing me onto it after I had asked for permission. You can’t board a pirate’s ship without captain’s permission after all, rule of the sea that is!

The expression he wore on his face when I stepped foot on the deck was…not a pleasant one. Now, Trafalgar Law has always been a stickler for any smile or pleasing emotion so it was not exactly a surprise to see him with such a frown. But the look in his eyes made me feel very, very wrong. I had only hoped that the expression was in lieu of Luffy’s execution, and that was why he had such a downed look.

He nicely asked me inside for tea which I gratefully accepted, where we came across some newer members of his crew and Bepo himself. Law called everyone to the kitchen/dining room.

The atmosphere was…gloomy. Which is not something people would use to describe the Heart Pirates.

It was a quiet moment as we drank some tea and other food, which felt amazing on my bones as I hadn’t had anything of sustenance in weeks I would say.

Bepo slid me a newspaper after I questioned what they were doing here, and if I still had a heart in this rib cage of mine it would stop dead in its tracks. Then a great sorrow filled my bones as I continued scanning the words typed onto the pages.

The horrible feeling only grew as I realized just how long I had been out for. Months had passed since the attack on Alabasta Kingdom. My crew was left to fare without me- if they even knew that I was still alive- er…roaming the seas.

Nami was dead. Gruesomely set on display at a marine base with pictures published to the papers. Her body was left to rot on stakes for all to see as they passed by.

It was awful. I kept reading the paper, I don’t remember being interrupted but I’m sure they tried to snap me out of whatever trance I had fallen into.

Vivi had suffered a similar fate. Having betrayed her kingdom and the new government by being associated with us pirates, she was executed atop a scaffold not unlike our dear captain.

The world had fallen into chaos since the pair’s deaths. Riots taking the streets of towns and people flooding the sea with anger. But that new wave of marines had been too powerful to take out without the proper support. The fires of hope were dying.

Nami was dead. Her fire was gone.

That fiery soul I watched rise above the ashes– above the smoke of the battle– was her entire being. I couldn’t protect her like I told her I would.

I would never be able to play her songs while she charted her maps or while she lounged on the deck of the Sunny again. Never get scolded for stupid behavior again.

That only caused me to remember the wonderful moments we had shared during our time together. I noticed a drip from my empty eye socket, and I started to tell stories of the shenanigans my crew always got into on the Sunny.

I am proud to say that I got the mood to lighten a bit, even if it was only the slightest bit as I began to sob through my words.

I spoke of the time that Nami stuffed Luffy in a cage because he pulled a dangerous stunt that almost got everyone killed.

Of the way Nami somehow coerced everyone she came across to become indebted to her and owe her ridiculous amounts of money.

How Zoro ended up with the highest sum of debt by a landslide, and how she always kept track of it all despite his best efforts to clear his name.

The way her and Usopp would always gravitate towards one another and stick close together like magnets on most islands. Not to mention how they would constantly disappear beneath the deck to gossip to one another (I only know because they invited me once, it was a very unique experience, I will never forget it).

I even managed to get Law to join in on a story or two about Luffy, and the two of us laughed at every stunned reaction from the newer members of his crew to the wild adventures and hijinks my captain would go on.

It became a world of nostalgia for me. Recalling the amazing memories of my crew and all of our wacky and amazing adventures.

Until I found it difficult to speak any further. If I still had a throat it would have made sense, as it would have gotten closed up because of the tears. But I didn’t have one of those, so I just stopped talking and stared holes into the table in front of me, my grip on the teacup I was holding deathly.

The moments after that were very much a blur for me, even then I didn’t know what had occurred. But I remember being on an island, Bepo and another crewmate of his were leading me along on either side. Nobody spoke during our walk to wherever we were walking, and it was so very peaceful.

I nearly forgot the horror I had read about in the papers some unknown time prior.

We eventually had made it to a marine base, and I could tell it must have been the one that was in the papers with Nami due to the surrounding area. But the rest was completely unrecognizable and totaled to the ground. Someone had been there, not recently, but they had been there and wiped the base of any capability of sustaining life.

I recall the deep, clean slices in the walls of the rubble. It was most certainly Zoro. He was supposed to be in Wano, but I suppose he must have taken some time away to take care of this. The marines had killed someone he considered his sister afterall, it was unacceptable.

Then we came across Law, and he handed me a whole stack of newspapers with a soft look on his face. I knew that he was familiar with loss and marine folly, but one can never be too afraid of what could be contained in those pages.

Don’t ask me why he hadn’t handed those newspapers to me with the ones about Nami. He probably did for all I know, but the shock of one crewmate dying when she was just within my reach was a little too much for me to bear with reading anything further.

The ones he handed over were more recent papers. The oldest had gone back only about a week and the newest was from the day prior.

All three had things to do with my crew, which was wonderful to see them doing well. The oldest paper showed the rubble we were standing in with a flaming green swordsman standing in the center, a blonde man standing back to back with him and a fishman close by as well. It was nice to see Zoro, Sanji, and Jinbe all together there still working side by side.

Not that I expected anything less from them of course, it was just nice to see again after so long away!

The next paper was about Robin and Franky traveling together. The two had wrecked several marine bases and fleets on their own, putting their anger about our fallen crewmate on display for the whole world to see what would happen when they took away our family.

The last time they had been spotted at the time of printing that paper they were sailing through the grandline. Neither had been spotted since.

That last bit I remember getting worried about for a second, but that feeling was gone as soon as it came when I turned to the final and latest paper that Law had given me. Dated just yesterday it appeared.

Chopper. His clinics all over were going viral across the seas. It was the best news I had ever read! He had grown so much in such a short time. It felt like yesterday when he was just 15 and I had just joined the crew. Now he’s 20, making a whole life for himself on his own.

At the bottom of the page however, it stated “Thanks to the World Government, medicine provided by Miracle Healer Chopper will be properly stored and handled.” Which certainly twisted a knot in my stomach. Whatever that meant, it didn’t sound good.

Law then agreed to allow me to stay on his submarine for a little longer until we crossed paths with another Strawhat. It took a little bit of convincing, but his crew definitely helped win him over for the cause. They informed me that they hadn’t seen my beloved whale between their trip to Alabasta’s remains and the island we had arrived at, which was concerning at the very least. But I knew that Laboon would swim to safer waters if the need arose.

The days with the Heart Crew were quite relaxing compared to the constant thrill and adventure that Luffy always tugged us along towards. It certainly was not something I wanted to keep up with for too long, it would dull my senses more than they already were.

Law managed to convince me to let him look at my biological makeup, he was intrigued as to how my bones moved without any nervous system and muscle mass. To be honest, I was too for a little while as he rambled. But nothing came from his studies, all tiled right back into devil fruit magic.

It took several weeks aboard the submarine, but eventually we came across Robin and Franky on the Sunny near the Sabaody Archipelago, with a few of what I soon learned was the Franky Family that followed Franky when he lived on Water 7.

We bade the Hearts goodbye, and we began our journey to bring comfort to the remainder of our crew and find solace within them as well.

The three of us were a solemn grouping, not to mention the whole crew aboard the Sunny was in a horrible mood the following days after I returned to the ship. It was a sad sight to see such a happy vessel become home to this awful atmosphere.

So, what else would there be for a musician like me to do than play a chipper tune to get moods back up and swinging? Nothing, there was nothing stopping me.

I found my untouched violin in the men’s quarters, and began playing by the main mast on the deck. I played of a gaggle of dreams that have been dreamt and reached. I played of the seas that moved us to places unseen and unforetold. I played of those we still had, and those we had lost along our journey.

A melody just for us.

Franky and Robin asked to speak with me after the song and after the misfit crew went off to their duties around the ship, and we shared a heartwarming moment together. Franky shed many tears, what a manly man! But he wasn’t the only one to do so.

The three of us spent the night in the aquarium room unintentionally, a “cuddle-puddle” as Franky referred to it in the morning.

Our journey through paradise was quite the perilous one, but it was not unlike our first trip through the “pirate graveyard” sea.

We traveled to the South Blue, having heard rumors that Chopper was lingering around that sea to help with a mysterious disease that had emerged out of nowhere. Something that made people’s blood boil in their bodies, a horrible thing to suffer from.

Island to island we went, trying to find our dear doctor. We came across this city that was in shambles. I saw colored wisps of what I could now identify as souls flying towards the sky, but some were also lingering in the streets. Like ghosts. It was very odd to see from an outsider's perspective I must say.

Robin was intrigued by my new development with my devil fruit, but when we came across bodies littering the streets further inland those thoughts were dismissed to settle the problem at hand; the whole city was dead from the disease Chopper was trying so hard to find a cure for. The red bubbling blood around the victim’s mouths and ears was enough to make even the most seasoned pirate squeamish.

I know I had to take a step away for a minute or two, just to gather my bearings again.

We came up with the theory of it being highly contagious seeing the sheer amount of people being affected by it, and promptly left the city.

We didn’t want to worry Chopper, after all. Though I fear it was for naught as Franky and Robin somehow acquired symptoms of this mysterious disease.

I couldn’t do anything to help them with my own skills, and since I had no blood of my own I couldn’t acquire the disease itself. So I sought after our doctor all across the island. Because surely he would be on the island we were, being affected by the blood-boiling disease.

There was no sure way to know that several other islands were being affected by the same thing, no sure way to know that I was running across the island in a panic looking for someone who I had no idea was miles upon miles away from me.

There had been no point besides false hope.

Two days was all it took for the disease to fully come into effect. Franky after Robin due to the amount of Cola that was in his blood. That scene was absolutely horrific.

When I returned to them, I was not ready to get a flashback to how my former crew had appeared so many years ago. Helpless and in terrible pain.

Robin lay with red bubbles and expanded, gurgling flesh. Her eyes followed my movement when I approached, but I remember watching the pink glimmer of her soul slowly begin to detach itself from her horrendously squirming body, trying to free itself from mortality. It was like looking at a living creature trying to burrow out from beneath her skin around all of her major arteries. A slimy, wriggling creature trying to escape in a red ooze.

Franky was hardly any better, but he was still sitting upright. His nose and ears were dripping a darker liquid that was bubbling much differently than Robin’s. It almost looked slimy, and it melted the skin that it touched on his face in a gruesome display.

Neither of them spoke to me, I don't think they were capable of doing so. Their eyes looked pained and bloodshot, the whites so pink they were bordering red. I do not think I could have borne the thought of what they could be thinking. It must have been agonizing for them to go through what they went through.

I did my very best to wrap their wounds with scraps of clothing and bandages I found around us, but it was to no avail.

It took another half day of nothing but suffering for them while I tended to them the best I could. I tried to use ice to cool them off, tried to give them water to drink or something to slow down whatever fatal disease had them in their clutches.

But it was all for naught. They ended up passing on shortly after one another. A velvety pink hue and a vibrant blue drifted to the sky in elegant and energetic swirls and arches just as their personalities would depict.

I sat there in utter despair by their sides for some time after that. It felt too much like it had fifty-some years ago. It was almost too much for my poor soul.

Their mangled bodies had to be carried back to the boat, and that only made me break down even further. The Sunny was without her creator now, it hurt to know that she outlived him. But it was what he would have wanted I know for certain. So his dream and life can still live on in the Sunny.

To be the bearer of bad news to a ship that cannot express her own concerns and sorrow was something I never thought I would be, but I never thought I would become a walking skeleton fifty years after I died yet here I am!

I did not want to use the mini Merry to send them off, so I set sail a ways away from the island to let them both fall beneath the waves. As much as I figured Chopper would want a sample of their blood as research, I did not want to risk passing the fatality onto my dearest doctor.

So I tossed them overboard once we were a good ways out to sea, watching them sink beneath the tossing waves in blurs of reds and browns.

Immediately after, I began to sing of our journey together. I sang of the times we laughed, the times we cried, the times we fought, the times we celebrated.

I sang of the times me and Robin stared into the night sky and counted stars and constellations, and how she could continue to do that even still, and how I would do the same every time I look to the sky. How she would give me book recommendations to look into and I would stay up nights and days reading them to have more to talk with her about during meals. How I will always think of her when I see a book of anything that would interest her.

I sang of the times me and Franky would talk about all of his new inventions and how he could improve them more, how he could upgrade my instruments and build weapons into them, and how we would share the complications and similarities between my instruments and his tools and inventions. How he will always be in my heart whenever I so much as glance at any of my instruments that he repaired and modified.

I sang of the days we met on Thriller Bark, the days on Sabaody, the reunion and all of our journey through the New World.

Of late night talks and early morning coffee chats, of slumber parties and strolls through town.

I always thought of myself closer to my older crewmates, but hearing it reveal itself in song was something that caught me a bit off guard. I will always hold all of them close to my heart, but being closer in age felt very…homey. Even though I was the eldest on the ship by far.

I took the helm and sailed for who knows where, I ran on some kind of auto-pilot for the next week or two after witnessing their deaths.

After all, being on a ship alone for any amount of time is enough to bring back memories I never wanted to relive. I allowed myself to simmer in my grief just a little while until I could reach one of my other cremates once more.