"Another quest?" Maya asked as she stretched her arms behind her head. She looked up to the sky and saw it was foggy.
"We've been getting a lot recently," Mikita said. "Not that I'm complaining, they've come with good rewards," she added.
Marianne giggled, hugging herself. "I still can't believe we earned the Super Tortoise Mark II. That thing's adorable," she remarked.
"You are also adorable," Ben said. Marianne smiled.
Ashivra tilted her head. "Quest?" she echoed. The word felt unfamiliar.
Alvida folded her arms with a playful smirk. "We haven't had our official Girls' Talk yet," she responded.
"Should we do it now?" Honey asked.
Alvida shook her head. "Not yet. We're still in the Florian Triangle. Let's wait until tonight," Alvida responded. She thought this could be a long day.
Kalifa adjusted her glasses. "Agreed. With Gecko Moria possibly lurking in the fog, distractions are unwise," she said.
Ben looked at her clothes. He saw her ample breasts. He thought those were two big distractions. He shook his head.
Vivi stepped forward, gentle and composed. "Ashivra, to catch you up, Ben has a special devil fruit. It allows him to receive quests… along with rewards," she explained.
Ashivra frowned slightly, her flame pulsing behind her. "Devil fruits?" she asked. She'd heard of them—once, somewhere—but the memory was fogged.
Nojiko held up her hand, which curled into a soft tuft of cloud. "They're fruits. If you eat one, it gives you powers. I have the Kumo Kumo no Mi—the Cloud-Cloud Fruit," she added.
Ashivra's eyes widened. "That's incredible," she responded.
"Ben," Raki cut in, "what's the quest this time?" she asked.
"Probably the usual monster fight," Kaya said.
"And the nighttime activities," Robin added.
Ben sighed. They both were right. "You're not wrong… but this one has one other thing we need to take care off," he replied,
The crew leaned in.
"What's the twist?" Zala asked.
Ben looked at them. "Gecko Moria. He's been stealing people's shadows using the Kage Kage no Mi. We need to stop him to return the shadows back," he responded.
"Classic us," Nojiko said with a grin. "We always take down the creeps," he added.
"As usual," Honey added.
Ben hesitated. "There's another complication… Moria could steal Luffy's shadow and use it to animate an ancient giant," he responded.
A ripple of shock rolled through the group.
"Nami's here?" Nojiko blurted. She thought she had not spoken to Nami for a few days.
"Ancient giant?" Robin echoed. Her eyes glinted with intrigue.
"What is that?" Conis asked.
"It's like a regular giant," Ben explained, "but older… massive and stronger," Ben added. "We'll need our full firepower," Ben added. "Lexie. Howitzer," Ben said.
"What about Mech?" Marianne asked.
"He might have trouble moving around Thriller Bark," Ben admitted. "We'll keep him on standby," he added.
The group nodded.
"An ancient giant…" Robin murmured. "Exciting," she added.
"We always handle excitement," Saphir said.
"Will salt even work on something that big?" Zala asked as her arms were crossed.
Ben nodded grimly. "It does, but we'll need to weaken him first. Then cleanse him of the shadow," he responded.
Ashivra chuckled. "I don't even know half the things you're talking about… but I like the sound of adventure," he said.
"Someone's in a good mood," Mikita remarked.
Ashivra's gaze softened as she looked toward Ben. "I want to see everything I've missed. My past is a fog… the only clear image was Ben. Visiting me in dreams," she responded. She winked at him, her flame pulsing.
Ben blinked, caught off guard. That smile… those eyes… She felt dangerous like Robin, Raki and Zala. She was good dangerous he thought. He thought dreams. He wondered if those dreams had a connection to reality.
"Ben, there is another ship there," Vivi called out. She pointed behind him.
They all looked around and saw a large ship. Its hull was a fractured blend of aged iron and weather-beaten wood. Tattered black sails hang like torn shrouds from crooked masts, swaying gently. The sail has a jolly roger. At the prow, jagged beams form a spiderweb-like lattice. Rusted chains dangled from the rigging. The entire vessel was cloaked in a chilling fog There were sickly green lanterns flickering behind cracked glass.
The fog was thick. "Another ghost ship," Kaya murmured as the crooked silhouette of a vessel drifted past in the distance.
"Should we board this one too?" Nojiko teased, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips as she looked at Kaya.
"You were brave to do it last time," Vivi added. She was proud of her friend.
Conis glanced around nervously. "This place is crawling with haunted ships," she commented.
Robin smirked. "Perhaps this one has a girl-eating ghost," she teased.
Marianne gasped. "Girl-eating ghost!" she exclaimed.
"She's joking," Ben said. He looked at Robin and thought she was dangerous as well. He looked at the ship. "That looks like the Rumbar Pirates' ship," he added. He remembered the ship from reading about it.
"Rumbar?" Maya asked as she stepped closer.
"Do you know them, my love?" Alvida asked as she looked at the ship.
Ben shook his head. "Not personally. But I've heard stories. They were joyful pirates who died here years ago… possibly when their ship was damaged in the Triangle," he responded.
Vivi placed a hand on her heart. "Sad… but there's a strange happiness in the air too. Like they left laughter behind," she said.
Saphir stepped forward. "Are we going in, then?" she asked.
Ben looked ahead. "There is no need," Ben responded. He thought the one person who could be there was the next straw hat recruit Brook. Ben thought he had no intentions of interfering with that. "We have bigger business. That," he pointed through the fog, "is what we're after," he said.
"Thriller Bark," Vivi whispered. She could barely see it from the smoke. She then spotted something else. "I see another ship there," she added. She looked closely at the Jolly Roger. "Wait—is that...?" she said.
"The Straw Hat ship," Kaya gasped. She thought Usopp might be there. They promised each others to tell stories. She thought the ship was different. It was not the Going Merry. She thought she had done her job.
Nojiko nodded, impressed. "You two should have some good eyesight," she remarked. She could see just fog.
"Is Luffy and the others here?" Marianne asked. .
"They helped us during Enies Lobby," Vivi said.
"They are here and probably getting into trouble," Ben said.
"As usual," Honey said.
"We should go and help them out," Zala said.
At that moment, Dorothy trotted up the stairs. "Salt pouches are here," she said.
"Oh thanks Dorothy," Ben said. "You are one step ahead," he added.
"HQ said to prepare this Captain," Dorothy responded.
Ben thought HQ was always looking out for them. "Where is HQ?" Ben asked.
"She was on the Bridge last time I saw her," Nojiko responded.
"I guess she is manning the ship," Mikita commented.
"She did work hard getting all those golden shells aboard," Maya said. They all nodded.
Dorothy handed the pouches one by one. Each crewmate strapped the satchels around their waists or clipped them to belts.
"Thank you," Vivi responded.
"We are all now ready," Mikita commented.
"The zombies will not know what is going to hit them," Zala said.
"You both are fired up," Honey said.
"We always are," Alvida said.
"Thriller Bark is over there, let's use our vehicles to get closer," Ben said.
They all nodded and moved toward the lower deck. They saw Lexie, Pau Ra Pa, Rose General, Howitzer, Dixie, Super Tortoise Mark II, Glimstorm, and Desire.
"Should we board?" Conis asked.
"Yeah, Super Tortoise should have space above so we can stand up there," Ben responded.
"She is awesome," Marianne said.
"She sure is," Honey agreed.
"We should hurry and help Luffy and the others," Vivi said.
"Yes and there is one person who I personally want to punch really hard," Ben said.
"Who is that my love?" Alvida asked.
"There is someone there who thinks they can marry Nami against her will," Ben responded.
"They will not touch my sister," Nojiko stated.
"Or my daughter," BM said as she came down the stairs. They both nodded.
"Then let's do it," Ben stated as he transformed into his hybrid form.