Chapter 76: The Dog and the Sheep

Chapter 82:

The Dog and the Sheep

A/N I don't usually respond to reviews, but there was one this time that I think would catch many of your interests. Anthony00 asked if I was ever going to give Coby a power boost like a new transformation. The answer to that is yes. Eventually, but before the time skip, Coby will unlock more forms for his Hybrid Mode (outside from that one Omake). Bonus points to anyone who can guess correctly how that will happen.

Please note: I had this written before reading This Bites, so any similarities, no matter how large or small, are purely coincidental.

A bonfire roared in the middle of Scrap Heap Island where the the best shipwrights of Galley-La had cleared a space for just such an occasion. Iceberg watched his men from atop one of the larger piles of scrap as Paulie and Tilestone carried several long boards from their work area by the ocean to the burning inferno, the two heaving the wood in. Kaku followed them, putting both to shame by carrying over twice as much by himself.

"Jeepers, y'all," the Zoan chuckled. "This isn't that heavy."

"Shut up," Paulie growled. "Iceberg might have accepted you back, but I still don't trust you. You'll have to earn my trust again, Long-Nose."

Kaku's smile vanished. "Listen, Paulie. I know what I did was bad, but please believe me when I say that I was literally raised to be an assassin. I'm sticking my neck out to be back here, hiding from the World Government itself."

"Still," Paulie huffed, pulling out a cigar and lighting it with the bonfire before them. "Do you think this plan'll work? It seems really risky."

"RAGH!" Tilestone yelled. "ICEBERG CAME UP WITH THIS PLAN! IT'S GOTTA WORK! RAAGH!"

"This can't be easy for the old girl," Kaku offered with a wince. "I can't imagine going through something like this."

"This is the last of the paneling," Lulu announced, dropping another load of wooden boards into the fire. "The keel's all that's left."

"In that case, our work here is done," the smoking shipwright responded.

"ICEBERG WANTED TO DO THE LAST PART ALONE!"

"We know that, Tilestone," Kaku groaned, stuffing a pinky into one of his ears. "Do you have to be louder than a million junebugs at midnight?"

"Either way, this is it," Lulu cut in. "Either Iceberg gets this to work or the Going Merry dies."

(Later)

The Straw Hat Pirates were sheltered in a side house owned by Galley-La placed within Dock 1, still recovering from their recent stunt to save one of their own. Luffy was seated at the building's lone dining table, eating despite not being awake by using a technique he had developed after missing so many meals in Alabasta. Three days had passed since the pirates had escaped from the judicial island of Enies Lobby and the Buster Call that Spandam had called down on it, but it was what had happened since they'd returned that Luffy dreamt about.

Galley-La welcomed the pirates back, their galleon towing the Straw Hats' failing ship to Scrap Heap Island. Quickly, Iceberg ordered the outlaws to grab anything they wanted to keep from the ship before shooing away anyone who wasn't a top-tier shipwright. Kaku fell to his knees at that moment, begging for Iceberg's forgiveness with the story about how he had betrayed the World Government just for the chance to return to Galley-La. Against the suggestions of the three other foremen, Iceberg accepted. While he no longer held the same status in the company that he once did, he was Kaku of the Spring Wind once more.

About 36 hours afterward, almost midnight at that point, the pirates were lounging in the living area of their temporary home when there was a knock at the door. Without waiting for someone to let him in, Iceberg opened the door and entered, a small form hidden behind him.

"Did it work?" Luffy asked instantly, suddenly serious. Iceberg smiled.

"Well, let me introduce you to Merry, the first-ever recorded Wood Fairy without a full ship." He stepped to the side to show the one that had been behind him. It was a little girl who stood just over four feet tall with wavy, white hair that fell to her neck. She had two big, round, black eyes and a button nose that seemed to connect with an upward curve in the center of her mouth, giving her a shy smile reminiscent of her old figurehead. She still wore a white raincoat that covered most of her form and matching rain boots sat on her feet. A wooden hammer was secured in a loop on her coat and she held a folded black flag in her hands. Finally, two sheep horns like those of her old figurehead curled out from over the girl's ears and a silver choker rested on her neck.

The pirates stared at the girl, somewhat dumbfounded. Merry got continuously more fidgety at the lack of response she was getting.

"Merry!" Usopp cried, launching forward to wrap the little girl in a hug. Surprised, Merry dropped the flag in her hands and wrapped her arms around the sniper before realizing who was holding her.

"Uncle Usopp!" Tears fell on the white raincoat from Usopp's eyes. His wish had come true in the best way possible; they weren't getting rid of the Merry. She was joining them as another member.

"She's so cute!" Nami shouted, rushing forward to steal the little girl from Usopp. The klabautermann laughed as the navigator swung her around.

"Baahahaha! Mrs. Nami!" One-by-one, the pirates eagerly greeted their newest member, but only Usopp, Nami, and Luffy got special names, those being Uncle, Mrs. Nami, and Captain, respectively. Luffy called for a party officially welcoming the fairy onto their crew, forcing Sanji to go out and spend several thousand Beris on food. He had to grab extra as well since they didn't know what Merry could and could not eat after all. On the bright side, with Luffy there, there was no panic about food going to waste.

It was eventually determined that Merry, being partially wood and sheep-themed, was a vegetarian. This put her in several groups with Chopper; both were vegetarians, both were supposed to have fur (Merry looking like a sheep and whatnot), and both had horns. No one had questioned it as they watched the Wood Fairy talk with the doctor from her perch on Usopp's lap. (The sniper hadn't let her out of his sight since she'd been introduced.)

Upon being asked, the klabautermann explained that she saw Usopp as an uncle because she saw Kaya's butler, Merry, as her father since she was built by him about four years before the Straw Hats claimed her as their own. Because he worked closely with and for Kaya, then Kaya was her aunt. And, since Usopp was dating her, he became her uncle. Upon that revelation, the long-nosed teen had all but dragged the girl away to talk to her "Aunt Kaya".

The crew also learned that her raincoat had been hiding scars. The little girl said that she had a scar from every injury she'd received as a ship, which explained that the choker she wore, not unlike the metal plate that had held her figurehead on after crashing into Laboon the island whale, hid a scar from that same incident. She also had a prominent scar on her left forearm from when Wapol the Tyrant had eaten part of her railing. She asked Gin to cover that with her Straw Hat tattoo: a skull with ram horns and crossbones on a sail.

"Well, there's one more thing you all should know," Iceberg announced after dinner had been finished, pulling something out of his pocket. It was a wooden heart about the size of Luffy's fist. "This is Merry's Heart, literally. I carved this out of the old keel and had the other shipwrights burn the rest of the ship piece by piece. This is the only remaining piece of the Going Merry and the only thing grounding her soul to this earth. If this gets destroyed, she will die."

"What?" Usopp questioned. "Is there any way we could just hide it in a safe place?"

"Well, I'm afraid not," Iceberg answered with a shake of his head. "Merry has to be within a certain distance of her Heart to maintain a physical form. And her Heart will rot if not given proper care. Even so, it will still age. I'd say that, should Merry die of old age, she has about 80 years."

The pirates took the news in stride, Merry taking her Heart carefully. She would carry it with her for the rest of her life.

That had been almost a day ago, yet the pirates were still fauning over the little Wood Fairy. She had changed clothes into a red-and-white striped shirt that reminded them of the Going Merry's cross sail and a pair of cargo shorts so she could carry her Heart in the lower pocket on her right side and her hammer in one of her belt loops. She had on a red one-piece bathing suit underneath and her feet were bare. Small scars and burn marks littered her arms and legs, but she proudly showed off her new tattoo on her left forearm and the baby den-den on her left wrist, #12.

The sleeping bubble popped as Luffy woke up, falling back in his chair to crash onto the floor. From the living room, Coby, Usopp, Nami, and Merry laughed at him while Sanji took the empty plates from the table with a smirk. Chopper and Robin returned through the door, the doctor commenting that he had treated all of the Franky Family without letting Robin out of his sight.

"Chopper!" Merry waved. "Robin! Welcome back!"

"Hello to you too, Ms. Ship," robin chuckled, Sanji taking a shopping bag from her with hearts in his eyes before returning to the kitchen to make the women of the crew a snack. The others slowly wandered back until the whole crew was doating on their youngest and newest member. Technically, she was four and a half. Biologically, she was about ten. And mentally... well, she was a mix of all the Straw Hats, so wherever that number falls.

"Ow!" The door flew open, revealing Franky, Kiwi, and Mozu. Usopp slapped his hand over Merry's eyes, yelling at the cyborg to put some pants on. Franky ignored him, dropping himself to sit on the ground. "Listen, Straw Hats. I know you guys need another ship to sail on since Merry really isn't a ship anymore. That's why I'm going to offer you one."

"You are?" Coby asked.

"No matter what I tried, I still ended up following in the footsteps of my old master Tom. He was the man that built the Oro Jackson, the ship of Gold Roger. That ship was made of wood from a Jewel Tree known as Adam. Using that money we took from you guys, I was able to buy some Adam wood on the black market through a contact of mine. It would be an honor if you would take the ship I build and sail it to the end of the Grand Line, future King of the Pirates."

"Of course," Luffy answered, his crew breaking out in celebration. The celebration didn't last long, however, as one wall of the building burst inward, leaving a gaping hole surrounded by dust hanging in the air.

"What the Hell?!" Franky yelled.

"Language!" Usopp chastised, his body shielding Merry from debris; he'd taken to treating her more like his daughter than an honorary niece. The dust from the destruction started to settle, a lone figure walking through. The crew readied their weapons in case a fight broke out. Finally, the man was revealed.

"G-G-G-Grandpa?!" Luffy panicked, falling back. The man, dressed in Marine garb, was wearing a dog-shaped mask with his face showing in the dog's mouth, the grey of an old beard poking out near the dog's jaw. "W-W-What are you doing here?!"

"That's Vice-Admiral Garp?" Coby gasped in reverence, the tips of his swords hitting the ground as the marine took off the mask. He'd looked up to Garp as his role model while trapped on Alvida's ship. "I always wanted to meet him!"

"You haven't seen me in years and that's how you greet me, brat?!" Garp yelled at Luffy. "Even your cabin boy welcomed me better! I'll have to beat some manners into you!" He Shaved forward, moving too fast for the other pirates to react before his fist came down on Luffy's head.

"Ow!" Luffy complained, staggering away while holding a lump on his head. "That hurt, old man!"

"How could a punch hurt the Don?" Gin gasped in shock. "I've only ever seen the Donna hurt Don Luffy like that!"

"There's no defence against the Fist of Love!" Garp declared, lifting Luffy up by the front of his shirt. "So this is your little band of friends? I bit raggedy, but I'll make marines out of all of you!"

"No way!" Luffy denied, struggling in the man's grip. "I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"

"You brat!" Garp raised his fist to hit the teen over the head again.

"Rope Bind!" A piece of rope shot into the building from the work zone outside, wrapping itself around Garp's raised fist and pulling back.

"Huh?" Confused by the happening, the marine scanned the assembled pirates, his eyes coming to rest one the only one who wasn't at Enies Lobby. Merry had her arms out, fists clinched as she concentrated on holding the Vice-Admiral's fist back. "Who're you?"

"I'm Merry!" the little girl declared. "I won't let you hurt my captain!"

"Ahahahaha!" Garp laughed, throwing his head back. "Ahahaha-zzzzzzz."

"He's asleep?!" the pirates gaped, Luffy managing to shed his vest and escape his grandfather's clutches. He stumbled over to Nami and ducked behind her. In all honesty, he wasn't sure who was scarier; an angry Nami or his grandfather in general.

"Gah!" Garp gasped, waking up from his mini-nap. "Oh. I fell asleep, didn't I? Ahahaha!"

"Luffy," Nami whispered. "Your grandfather is crazy."

"I heard that!" Garp said, his eyes coming to rest on the woman his grandson was cowering behind. "So you're the little lady that my idiot grandson's fallen for, eh? Not bad."

"Wait a second," Gin muttered. "You're the one that started a betting pool on the Don's love life!"

"Sure did!" Garp laughed without a hint of shame. "Won half a million Beris for it! Got another bet going, too! Hey, brat! You and her done it yet?"

Neither Luffy or Nami answered, but their red faces were all the answer Garp needed.

"Hah! I was right! Pay up, maggots!" Grumbling profanities, several lower marines outside each passed Garp a handful of money.

"You two what?!" Sanji demanded, Gin and Zoro holding him back from mangling their captain. That didn't stop the cook from trying, though, his legs flailing while he impossibly balanced a tray of food. "When did this happen?! How long do I have to beat your ass?!" Luckily, Sanji never got the chance to beat on the captain as Amy's parasol came down to wack him on the head. The hit gave the chef a minor concussion. He wouldn't remember that part of Garp's visit.

"You've got a lively crew and a beautiful woman," Garp laughed as Zoro and Gin unceremoniously dropped the chef after the lightning-man took the tray. "Just like all Monkey D. men, I bet you fell for her in the span of a week if not a day! Your old man would be proud of you."

"Aren't you my old man?" Luffy questioned.

"No," Garp shook his head. "I'm your grandpa. I meant your dad would be proud of you."

"I have a dad?"

"Of course you have a dad," Nami scolded, punching the Devil Fruit user over the head, much to Garp's silent approval. "Where else would you come from? People don't just appear out of thin air!"

"But I never knew my dad," Luffy argued, less hurt than from his grandfather's fists. "I just assumed that he was dead or I didn't have one."

"My son ain't dead," Garp waved off. "I heard he was there to see you off at Louge Town."

"He was? What's he like? What's his name? Are we alike?"

"You don't even know your dad's name?" Usopp questioned.

"That's not his fault," Nami defended, rounding on the sniper. "Most of us on the crew are orphans. Neither Zoro or I knew our parents and Sanji was raised by Zeff."

"I'm an orphan," Coby announced.

"Never really knew my mom," Gin offered.

"I don't have a mom!" Merry chirped.

"I was kicked out of my pack," Chopper supplied sadly.

"You know our story," Amy and Grace shrugged.

"So, Grandpa," Luffy tried, slowly coming out from behind his lover. Garp threw him his vest. "What's my dad's name? What's he like? Is he strong?"

"I guess it is partially my fault for not telling you," Garp conceded. "And yeah, your dad's strong. One of the strongest and most feared men in the world, actually. His name is Dragon the Revolutionary. Monkey D. Dragon."

"What?!" Everyone fell backwards in shock, only Luffy and Merry not understanding what the big deal was.

"Your dad is Dragon the Revolutionary?!" Nami screamed.

"I didn't even know Vice-Admiral Garp had a son!" the marines cried.

"The son of one of the Marines' top men is the leader of the Revolutionaries?" Coby gasped.

"What kind of messed-up family do you have?" Amy demanded.

"I don't get it," Luffy stated. "Why's his job so important?"

"It's..." Robin tried. "The World Government tries to keep the peace throughout the world. Pirates like us, we don't usually go picking fights with them on a large scale. Most of us are smaller, kind of like scary bugs. The Revolutionaries, on the other hand, are the only organization in the world that actively fights the World Government. Many countries have adopted their way of thinking and have rebelled against the government as well."

"So Luffy wasn't the first one in his family to declare war on the World Government," Grace thought aloud, "even though one of them works there."

"What a weird family," Usopp muttered.

"Oh," Garp blinked. "I probably shouldn't've said all that. Just forget it."

"Are you nuts?!"

"Anyway," Garp brushed off. "Men, fix this wall for me. We'll be leaving when it's repaired."

"If you were going to have us fix it, then why did you break it in the first place?!" a marine demanded.

"Because," Garp smiled, "just walking through the front door doesn't make an impression."

"Ah, M-Mr. Garp," Coby stuttered, slowly raising a shaking hand, a pen and paper in his other. "Before you go, c-could I have your autograph?"

Garp blinked. "...Ahahahaha!" he roared, throwing his head back. "A pirate's asking for a marine's autograph! Now I've seen everything!" The old man snatched the paper and pen, scribbling down his name in barely-legible scrawl. "If I might ask," the marine began, glancing at the boy, "why would Tri-Horn Coby want the autograph of the Hero of the Marines?"

"W-Well, sir," Coby shifted, well aware of the eyes of everyone else. "W-When I was younger, before I met Captain Luffy, I always looked up to the Marines. M-My parents had died when I was young in a pirate raid on our town, but I was old enough to fend for myself, so no one took me in. Then, almost three years ago, I boarded a pirate ship I had mistaken for a fishing vessel. For two years, I dreamed of becoming a marine to catch people like Alvida, the pirate who was holding me captive. You were like a hero to me, so strong and brave. Little, weak me wanted to be like that." He paused, a single tear sliding down his face.

"And then I met Captain Luffy. He saved me from the Hell Alvida had put me through, and I thought that I had a chance to fulfill my dream. I wanted to be a marine! But... The marine I met wasn't a man like you. He was power hungry and didn't care about justice. He killed his own men or ordered them to kill themselves. I could feel my dream falling apart.

"And so," Coby continued, his voice becoming more hopeful and nostalgic, "I chose a new dream. If I couldn't bring justice to the world through the Marines, then I'd do it my own way! Pirates aren't bound by the rules of the world. We don't need to care about governmental politics." Coby smiled a soft smile. "The Marines couldn't touch Crocodile in Alabasta. And they wouldn't have done anything about Wapol, the corrupt king of Drum. But we could. And we did."

"Ahahahaha!" Garp laughed, making Coby almost jump back, his hands on the handles of his swords. "Ahahaha! You would have made a fine marine, kid, but I don't think you've missed your chance. I could wipe your slate clean for you. Whatdya say? Wanna still join the Marines?"

"V-Vice-Admiral Garp!" Coby gaped, his eyes locked on the man's outstretched hand. The rosette's hand twitched as if wanting to accept and came up to hover by Garp's palm. He glanced back, staring into the faces of his crewmates, taking in each of their expressions. Most of them were hard as steel, leaving the choice up to him, but Chopper seemed about ready to break into tears like Franky had, and Grace had gone so far as to paint her Calming Green on her arm. They weren't his crewmates.

No. They were his family.

"Sorry, Vice-Admiral," Coby apologized, batting the hand away gently and stepping back into the fold of pirates. "I can't leave my Nakama."

"I see," Garp sighed, adding something at the bottom of the page with his autograph. "That's a real shame. We could use more kids like you in the Marines. As long as you don't pull anymore reckless stunts like your group did at Enies Lobby, I should be able to get you enlisted, so give me a call if you change your mind."

"Thank you," Coby acknowledged, taking the page and ripping the bottom half away, "but that won't be necessary."

Garp sighed again. "Damn us Monkey D.s. We have this stupid ability to inspire absolute loyalty. My father had it. I have it. My son has it. And now my grandson, too." He turned and started toward the hole in the wall. "I know a lost cause when I see one. Good bye, Tri-Horn Coby, and good luck. And Luffy..." He paused. "Learn some damn manners, you brat!"

Garp left as soon as his men forced him to repair the wall, saying that he wasn't going to arrest Luffy or the Straw Hats because Luffy was his grandson and that the other officials would understand.

That night, the Straw Hats partied around Galley-La's private pool. The others who had been part of the rescue operation joined them, the party going on till the next morning. Sanji enjoyed seeing many of the women in their swimsuits, though he and Luffy got into several fights over him ogling Nami. That was, until the captain and navigator disappeared mysteriously around midnight. No one really noticed, they were all either wasted, distracted, or out cold by that point.

Zoro ended up getting his student and Grace blackout drunk while Amy was distracted. Coby and Grace would never know how it was that they ended up cuddling with each other on a raft in the middle of the pool, a pineapple clutched between them.

Amy formed a fast bond with Kiwi and Mozu, the three using their time to mess with Paulie, pointing out all the "indecent" women around and watching his reactions. They ended up having to stop when the man passed out from blood loss around 11 pm and a photographer asked Amy for an interview.

Merry spent every moment she could in the pool, Usopp right beside her. Being the spirit of a ship, Merry was a natural swimmer and she absolutely loved the water. She made sure that her Heart was with Robin at all times since she didn't exactly trust any of the guys with it; they were too busy dancing with chopsticks too close to the grill for her tastes. Grill equals fire, fire burns wood. Simple logic, really.

The next morning, she woke to find herself wrapped in a fluffy towel while snuggling with Usopp on a lawn chair. The rest of the crew, minus Nami and Luffy, were strewn about the pool area. The horned klabautermann spotted Coby and Grace dozing on the raft and chuckled about how that was her idea. She didn't know where the pineapple had come from, though. Were they even native to Water 7? She also spotted Gin hanging from his shoelaces tied around Amy's umbrella mounted on a flagpole. How he got there or why he was only in his boxers and headband, she hadn't a clue. Amy, for her part, had one arm dangling over the side of the roof and was missing her hat and one shoe. She had a bundle of lemons and limes strewn around her and a half-drunk six-pack of hard lemonade in her hand.

Zoro was slumped over the bar counter, clutching Wado Ichimonji and Kitetsu III in his sleep like a child holds a teddy bear, dressed in all pink and with a cowboy hat on. Sanji was resting against the side of the building under a window in his swimwear, though passed out may have been more accurate if the blood on his front and steadily dripping from his nose was of any indication. He was muttering about beautiful women, shitty monkeys, and swans. Finally, Robin was sleeping peacefully in one of the lawn chairs, a book in some other language resting in her lap and Chopper in her arms.

Off to the side, Tilestone and Kaku were still locked in the middle of an arm-wrestling contest despite the fact that the latter was asleep and the former still fully awake. It was amazing that the large man's growling aggravation hadn't woken anyone yet. The rest of the foremen were nowhere to be found, probably having gone home to sleep.

Merry gave a content sigh with a dismissive shake of her head and burrowed herself deeper into her Uncle's side, thinking that she could get used to this.

She'd liked being their ship, but she loved being a crewmember so much more.

End of Chapter 82

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-SwordOfTheGods