【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

"Okay, then what?" Luffy said with his eyes wide open. "I hope there are robots in the castle!"

"I think maybe it is. There are robots on it." Lucci looked into Luffy's eyes and couldn't bear to refuse. He was forced to temporarily adapt the story of Jack fighting the giant with robots. Finally, he concluded, "In the end, Jack cut the vines and defeated the terrible giant, and returned to his home with treasures and golden chickens."

"So he got all the treasure?" Luffy yawned and said with tired eyes.

"Yes, they got all the treasures, saved the princess, and in the end they became partners." Lucci said with a smile.

Luffy grinned and decided "It's a good story!"

"That's right, can we go to bed now, Luffy?" Lucci said with a smile. He could feel that Luffy was exhausted.

Luffy nodded, sitting up from his comfortable tiredness and lying back down on his blanket "As long as you promise not to take my blanket."

Lucci looked at Luffy in surprise and retorted, "We each have a blanket, why should I take your blanket?"

"You just like to occupy the quilt!" Luffy muttered.

"I didn't." Lucci said a little annoyed. Although he often wrapped himself in a quilt when he woke up, it didn't mean that he liked to steal other people's quilts. And Ace didn't tell him this when they slept in the same room.

Hearing soft snoring, Lucci looked at Luffy in surprise, he was asleep and he thought he would need a little more time.

Lucci sighed and silently covered him with the blanket again, then he lay down next to Luffy again and closed his eyes. He felt tired, but also relaxed, and he could finally sleep.

……

It was late at night and everyone except Usopp was asleep.

Usopp looked around and quietly walked towards Zoro who was sitting under a tree. He gently pushed him a few times and carefully called out, "Zoro, come with me."

"What do you mean by going together... How old are you? If you want to go, go by yourself!" Zoro said speechlessly with his eyes half closed.

"Zoro... that dark forest is too scary..." Usopp looked around in horror, trying to find someone who was willing to go with him. After all, it was too scary to go to that dark and weird forest alone. Nami and the others would definitely refuse, and so would Sanji. Chopper himself would be afraid, and Luffy would ask him to go alone like Zoro did... What to do... Usopp's body was trembling, and he kept biting his four fingers.

"Oh, yes, there's one more person, maybe Lucci will agree..." Usopp carefully stepped over the sleeping Luffy, and then gently pushed Lucci's arm. Usopp didn't expect Lucci to open his eyes immediately, and was startled. "Lucci, are you awake?"

"Let's go, aren't we going out of the forest?" Lucci sighed and said helplessly. He woke up twice in one night. He gently took away Luffy's arm that was on him.

……

Lucci and Usopp soon arrived at the coast around the altar. Lucci frowned and looked at the small figure above the altar. The small figure who was repairing the boat with a hammer seemed to notice his gaze, turned around and smiled at him like an innocent child.

"What is that?" Usopp, who had already solved his needs, happened to see the figure smiling at him, and immediately took a breath of cold air. Usopp grabbed Lucci's clothes with trembling hands and whispered, "Ghost... Lucci... Let's... Let's go, let's get out of here."

"Probably not. This is more like the ship elf that dad once told them? If the crew cares about a ship enough, the ship elf will appear when the ship is in the most difficult time and repair it in some way, but this means that there is irreparable damage to the ship." Lucci said in confusion. This was a story that his father once told them. He didn't expect it to be true. There really is a ship elf.

"What does this mean?" Usopp asked in shock. Did Lucci mean that the white ghost was Merry?

"Uh, that should be the ship spirit of your ship." Lucci looked at the white shadow that kept knocking on the hull, and there was some uncertainty in his voice. "Maybe we can talk to it?"

"What? It's a ghost, and how can you be sure it's really Merry!" Usopp whispered in panic.

"I don't know, but if it is really the Ship Spirit, then Merry may not be able to sail for long. The Ship Spirit will only appear and repair the ship when it is in the most difficult time." Lucci said calmly, "This is a miracle. Few people can encounter the Ship Spirit. If you miss it, you may regret it. After all, it is the Ship Spirit of your team."

"Okay, then let's go talk. You must protect me, Lucci!" Usopp said in a tangled manner. Just like Lucci said, if this was really Merry's ship spirit, he would definitely regret leaving like this, and he wanted to know what went wrong with Merry so that he could help it.

"Hey...Merry...are you okay?" Usopp stammered.

"Hehe!" The ship spirit giggled at Usopp, just like a little kid. "Glad you asked, Usopp. I'm fine."

"Really...it's really Merry!" Usopp was startled when he first heard the ship elf's laughter, and then he started crying again after hearing Merry's next words.

Lucci looked at Usopp who started to cry while pulling at his clothes. His forehead twitched with pain and he felt helpless. Well, he understood Lucci's feelings. Then he looked at the ship spirit and asked directly, "Where are you seriously injured? We can help you!"

The ship spirit continued to smile after hearing what Lucci said, but still answered his question. It knew that he was an important person to the captain. "It's okay. No one can help me at this point!"

"What can we do for you?" Lucci looked a little solemn. The ship might not be saved.

"Nothing, really." Merry said a little sadly, and then he said firmly, "It's okay, I don't have much time, I just want to give you a ride until the end."

"Merry!!" Usopp cried out with tears streaming down his face, suddenly realizing something, Merry, who had been carrying them, was dying, and there was nothing he could do to save his friend.

"Usopp, I'm glad you talked to me. Please tell the captain that I hope you can always be happy. Seeing you happy is really the happiest thing for me!" Merry said with a smile.

"Yeah!" Usopp nodded continuously with tears in his eyes.

The fog dissipated, and Merry, who was standing on the boat, disappeared. Lucci sighed and looked at Usopp who was crying, "Let's go!"

Usopp lowered his head, sobbing, and followed Lucci in frustration. He didn't calm down until they returned to the camp. He didn't wake anyone up and lay back in the position he was in before he got up. However, Zoro, who was sleeping, opened his eyes and looked at them.

Lucci shook his head at Zoro, then lay back down next to Luffy. What happened today was really strange. Lucci looked at the dark sky in confusion.