fake it till you make it

Chapter 9 "Somebody To You"

“Captain!” Collin sprang to his feet when she entered the room. “Where have you been?” She smiled at her first mate “I just had the best sleep of my life”, she laughed a little. “I really needed that. Anyway, did you eat already?” Collin nodded. “We’ve had some breakfast the zombies brought us.” Maya raised her brows and lowered her voice. “Did everyone eat, or did Egami make a fuss again and prepared something himself.” “Egami was awfully quiet today, so everyone took some of the food we got offered”, Collin whispered back. She looked over to her three problematic members, still sitting away from the others. “Follow me, please. I want you with me when we have that discussion.” Her first mate nodded.

They went over to Abe, Yachi and Egami sitting in their corner. “I wanted to talk to you, may I?” she gestured towards a box right next to them. “Sure, captain” Yachi mumbled.  She took a seat and offered Collin to sit right next to her. “How are your wounds doing, Abe?”, she asked to relieve the tension first. “I’m doing alright. It’s just a scratch.” - “Good, but if you need any painkillers or want fresh bandages you can just send for Dr. Hogback.” - “Sure”, he grumbled. 

“Okay, now the difficult part. I know that you’re unhappy with the overall situation. It sucks that we’ve lost our ship and our supplies and it sucks that we are stuck here on this vessel, but please do me a favor.” She took a deep breath. “Please, keep quiet about your disdain for this situation. I was notified that there were some remarks or statements, or rather… insults that should have never been said out loud within these walls. The master of this house is not pleased with how you handle this situation. I managed to talk him down from throwing you into the dungeons or worse. I wasn’t told what exactly was said, but I’m sure you know what you said. I just wanted to give you a heads up. I can’t protect you, at all, if you don’t work with me here, at least a little bit.” Maya saw their eyes widen and them stealing guilty glances at each other. “I know how you think about me. I’m not stupid, nor am I blind. I can accept that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but please don’t ever openly disrespect me, again. Especially regarding my judgment of the situation here on the Thriller Bark. I have to report back to Fleet Admiral Sengoku at the end of our little trip here and I would like for you all to get a fair chance. It’s your choice how that report will look like.” The three men stayed silent for a moment, then Yachi whispered “So the wall really had eyes!” Maya looked at him “Yes.” Then she got up “I’m going to get me some food. I’ll be seeing you later. Oh, before I leave. You do realize that there are more than enough rooms upstairs? You don’t have to sleep on the cold, hard floor. If you’re still not comfortable staying in a room by yourself you could even share.” 

When Maya left the room she met Himera in the hallway. “Captain! Do you want to hear about my nightly adventures and if IT worked?”, the woman wiggled her eyebrows at her captain. “NOPE!” Maya speed walked past her sniper specialist. 

It didn’t take Maya long to find a zombie to request some food. She smiled at him sweetly and he was instantly smitten and swore he’d bring her the best he could find. In the meantime she looked around and found a balcony. It was raining outside, but she didn’t mind getting a little wet. The green haired woman stepped out into the open and looked down at the island. She wondered how the warlord had pulled that off. She could see the forest, the graveyard and some type of garden from up here. Maybe she would get to explore the area in the three weeks she was here. “See anything you like?” Moria’s voice from behind her pulled her out of her thoughts. When she turned around to face him the smile was already present on her face. “Yes, I like the view. We’re so high off the ground, imagine if there was no fog. We could see so far into the distance!” A childlike joy was swinging in her voice. “How did you pull that off? Turning a whole island into a ship?” - “Like I’d tell you” the tall man replied. “Yea, fair enough”, she sighed. “You think this view is good? You could also climb up the stairs to the tower and have an even better view. “ - “Oh really? I should do that some time. I figure I’ll have enough time on hand, considering we’ll be staying here for three weeks. Have you eaten yet?” Moria shook his head “Great! Then we can eat together.” Maya came back inside, her neon green hair was now sticking to her forehead and face from the rain. 

It was almost the exact same set-up the zombies brought in. The same table and chair for her to sit in, the same barrel with beer and food carts. Only the contents were different and this time they brought less, which was perfectly fine since Maya still couldn’t nearly eat everything that was offered to her. “Beer again?” she giggled “I can’t start drinking at noon!” The zombies gladly brought out some water for her. “May I ask where you get your food from? Do you buy it or do you have some livestock on the island?” - “I get my supplies from you guys. But I like that idea. I could have my zombies raise livestock behind the mansion.” Maya couldn’t tell what it was, but somehow she enjoyed their little talks. “Do you happen to have any books on your ship? - “Sure” Moria shrugged “a whole library.” Maya’s eyes went big “May I see?” 

After they’ve both finished eating Moria took her to the library although he would have rather gone back to his bedroom to rest some more. “Wow!” The library had a ceiling even higher than Moria was tall and every shelf was stuffed with countless books. Some of them were too big for her to pick up, those were clearly for the warlord himself, but most of them were standard size. “May I?” “Sure, go wild, I don’t care.” He shrugged and sat down leaning at the wall next to the door with his arms behind his head. Maya could probably spend the rest of her life in this room and would not have enough time to read every book. She walked around amazed by all the antiquarian books she spotted. When she looked back at the tall warlord she noticed that his eyes were closed. A purple book with golden borders spiked her interest. At closer inspection she noticed it was an older book that talked about the various devil fruit types. She took it out of the shelf and sat down on the floor with crossed legs and started reading.

She was so drawn into her book that she initially didn’t notice the small figure sneaking past Gecko Moria into the room. “What cha readin?” Maya jumped when suddenly her sniper expert stood next to her. “My goodness, Himera, don’t scare me like that. What are you doing here?” - “I was just adventuring through the castle and then I saw you in here. I thought I’d say Hi real quick. You think there are some smutty books in here as well?” Himera wondered curiously. “I doubt it” Maya stated dryly. She then got up and noticed that the warlord’s eyes had opened again and were watching them. Himera followed her gaze and suddenly a smirk spread across her face.

“Warlord Gecko Moria! I almost didn’t see you over there!” The woman made her way up to him. Then she looked him up and down and Moria raised a brow at her. Maya had seen that look on Himera’s face before and she knew it would be bad. “You look like you’re sporting a fat cock.” - “HIMERA! NO!” Maya ran over. “What? I always wanted to try out a warlord. Although I have to admit that the height difference could be difficult to overcome… but I’m willing to try anything”, she wiggled her eyebrows at the tall warlord, who only stared at her disconcerted. “NO! Stop it!” Maya stood between Himera and Moria now. “Himera, no. This is grounds for a formal, written warning and disciplinary actions against you! You don’t really want that!” - “Depends on how good he is”, the sniper smirked, “Tell me, warlord, are you worth it?” Maya threw her hands up in the air with a frantic look on her face. Suddenly Moria erupted into high pitched laughter. Maya just hoped the ground would swallow her whole because this was more than just embarrassing, this was getting dangerous. “Please. It’s serious, I will write you up for this if you don’t back down now” Maya said quietly to her sniper specialist. Himera looked at her, then back to the tall warlord and back to her captain. “Ohhh! Captain! You should have told me!” - “Should have told you what?” The moment those words left Maya’s lips she knew she shouldn’t have asked. “That you have already laid your eyes on the warlord. I’m a girls girl, I won’t touch another woman's man. Too bad for me, guess I’ll have to find someone else. Our little meet-up was nice, nevertheless. See you around!” Himera left the room quickly, leaving behind her captain, who was speechless and could only stare after her with wide eyes and a scream-laughing warlord who had tears already forming at the corners of his eyes. Maya felt her face getting hotter and hotter by the second, Moria behind her still almost choking from laughter wasn’t making it any better. “I’m so sorry” she breathed out weakly. At least one of them was having fun, she thought. “You got really red all of a sudden, are you embarrassed?” he mocked her, still giggling like an idiot. “Wha-well of course I am! Who-who wouldn’t feel second hand embarrassment from this?!”, she stammered outraged. “I… I need to go. I feel the sudden urge to throw myself off the nice balcony” she stated, resulting in Moria laughing harder again. “At least you’re getting some entertainment out of this”, the green haired woman sighed. His laugh followed her out of the room and into the hallway and it took an embarrassing long walk for her to not be able to hear it anymore. Only as she reached the storage room where her crew was hunkered down she noticed the weight in her hand. She had accidentally kidnapped the book from the library. Oh well, she wasn’t going to get back there to put it back now. 

“C-captain? Whhhatss ha-happened? You-u d-don’t look ssssoo good” a drunk Wynn slurred at her, resulting in her whole crew looking at her. Maya’s face got redder again “Nothing, I’m just feeling very hot right now. I’ll need some of this.” She went over to Wynn and took the mug full of beer out of his hand and downed it in one go, earning her an approving look from her musician. “I l-l-like m-me ssssome girl who c-can d-dri…” he didn’t get to finish that sentence since he suddenly keeled over and stayed down. 

Maya decided she would try to read more of the book, even though she didn’t know if she could concentrate at all, anymore. 

Over the next few hours she read a few pages and then Norris awoke and she sat with him until he drifted back to sleep. She talked with Adrian and Nogi and at some point Takafuyu made an appearance and she remembered she hadn’t seen him for quite a while. Apparently he liked his new room and the bed so much that he didn’t want to spend any time sitting around the cold storage room anymore. Maya couldn’t blame him. Then a small zombie came by and asked if anyone wanted dinner. When the zombies came back with the food, one of them tapped Maya on the shoulder. “Miss Marine Captain? Master Moria would like to see you.” 

Maya was torn between being happy to have a reason to leave the storage unit and seeing him again and dreading the latter since she didn’t know how she would be able to look him in the face ever again. Obviously she followed his request.

The hall was already set for her, including the food, but the first words out of his mouth were mocking her again “Did you get enough time to recover?” - “Has anyone ever told you that you're having way too much fun mocking me?” He grinned at her. “Seriously, she was out of line and her words were highly inappropriate!” Maya started getting agitated again. “There was no harm done, you should let her have fun”, the tall warlord countered. “Don’t tell me you would have-, NO wait! I don’t want to know. So you’re telling me you would let Absalom… do the deed with whomever he wanted?” - “Sure, I see no reason why he shouldn’t”, Moria shrugged. “I admire your indifference,” Maya replied blankly. Once again the warlord didn’t hold back on the food that was served to her. The woman felt like a royal but she would have refused the food if she didn’t know her crew was getting the same treatment. 

“How are you keeping yourself entertained on the ship?” Maya blew on her hot soup to make it cool down faster. “Sleeping.” - “That’s it?” Maya looked a bit disappointed. “What else would I do?” - I don’t know? Maybe read a book? You’re having a whole-ass library and I doubt you’ve read everything. Or play zombie chess with Absalom? I don’t know, get creative.” - “Zombie chess?” Moria looked at her quizzically. “I just imagined that as an example. I don’t think there’s an official zombie chess, you get the gist.” Maya deflected.

Moria grinned at her “That doesn’t sound too bad, I’ll let my minions arrange something.” The Marine instantly felt bad for the poor zombies she had just doomed to be chess pieces.

Why was it that every time she ate something here, she couldn’t really stop herself? Maya felt completely stuffed again. “Want to go for a walk?”, she asked the warlord. “Do I look like I’d like to go for a walk right now?” he spat back. “Yes, yes you do”, she countered and hopped to her feet, beaming at him. For a short moment Moria wondered when she had gotten so comfortable with him. With an exasperated sigh he got up and followed her out of the room. Their quick stroll through the mansion was very short, though. They hadn’t even gotten near the exit when they heard some groaning coming from a hallway adjacent to the one they were currently in. Maya looked up at the warlord with a concerned look on her face. 

They rounded the corner and when Maya saw where the sounds were coming from she almost screamed. “Captain! Surprised to see you here!”, her half naked, sweaty sniper greeted her. Himera was currently riding a flustered Absalom who tried his hardest to cover them up somehow, completely forgetting his very own devil fruit powers, but Himera had no shame. “And the big guy’s with you, wanna watch the show?”, she winked at Moria. Maya put her hand up to her mouth, suddenly feeling nauseous. Moria started to laugh. “Could you at least stop moving?” Maya yelled. “Don’t be such a killjoy”, Himera purred. Maya turned around and left the way they came, mumbling. “I don’t know her. Who is that even? No one I know for sure. I’m not going to put myself through the hassle of filling out paperwork for this, nu-uh!” Moria roared with laughter, but followed shortly behind her. “Look at me, I’m a changed person. I let her be.” Maya said a little louder, without looking back. “Yes, very proud of you” Moria sneered, his words dripping with sarcasm. “I’ve had enough for today. I’m going to rinse my eyes out with vinegar and then I’ll try to sleep. Goodnight!... Goodness, I hope I don’t get nightmares from this…” She waved at him and then went down the hallway towards the storage units, where she would roll up on a crate and spend the night with her crew.

Chapter 8 "Carry You" Something was not quite right. Something was missing. His hand was touching around, searching for the thing that was not where it should be. A small groan of frustration escaped his lips. Where is it? He couldn’t find it. Reluctantly he opened his eyes to look for his favorite pillow. Groggily Gecko Moria looked around until he finally spotted his favorite pillow, the little orange square. Why was it so far- The moment he laid his eyes upon the sleeping figure on top of it the memories came back like a lightning strike. He had given it to the Marine… cursing himself internally he stared up at the ceiling. His heart was beating faster and he could only assume it was because of his anger. The room was still pretty dark, although it was morning by now, and a little more light came through the curtains. Usually he’d sleep longer, but the shock he got by seeing her there went to his core. He couldn’t fall asleep again right now, even if he wanted to. A small groan made his head snap around to face her again. Maya furrowed her brows and then slowly opened her eyes. She looked at him confused for a moment, then a small “Good morning” slipped out. But with heavy eyelids her eyes threatened to close again. “Did you sleep well, princess?”, he asked her mockingly, pronouncing the last word excessively. A tired smile formed on her lips. “I did. This was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. I wish I could stay and sleep for a little longer”, her voice was slowly fading out again. “Nothing forces you to get up…” Moria mumbled quietly. The Marine was asleep again. Why. Why did he say that? The warlord was seriously getting frustrated with himself. A little voice he had buried deep within himself started to whisper. Her smiles were genuine. She didn’t smile at him, because it was required. She did it because that’s what she felt at the moment. The woman seemed to enjoy his company so much that she would actively seek him out. Moria remembered back when she intercepted him the first night they met, just to ask him how he liked her performance. Maybe it was a ploy, maybe the World Government or Sengoku wanted something from him and wanted to get to him through her. He didn’t know what to make of it, he didn’t want to believe it was all a show, but he had to stay alert. And if everything went south, he could still kill her, right?

Moria didn’t fall asleep again. Completely lost in his thoughts he didn’t notice the hours go by until Maya stirred again. “Good morning”, she greeted him. “It’s not morning anymore”, he replied lazily. “Really? How long have I been asleep?” Moria shrugged. “I need to get back to my crew!”, she sat up. “It’s not like they care about you, don’t they?” The words cut through her like a knife and made her pause. “You realise that some of them should better keep their mouths shut if they want to see another day?” The statement was an unmistakable threat, which made Maya look up at Moria’s face. “What did they do?” - “Throwing insults in directions they better shouldn’t.” Maya was appalled “I’m terribly sorry. Please forgive my crew! I’ll go make them apologize.” - “You think an apology would change anything? It’s not like it would be genuine, they hardly even respect you.” Another dagger to her chest. “Do you know that a few of them are planning to riot against you?” To his surprise a pained expression crossed her face and made her avert her gaze “Yes”, she whispered. “I shouldn’t talk to you about this, but you’re not blind and you have been a captain for far longer than I am and you have more experience with leading a crew.” Maya paused again, mustering up all her strength. This wasn’t an easy topic for her. “My crewmates are… a bunch of misfits. The original plan was for them to get thrown out of the Marines entirely. I’m… I’m new to the game and got promoted way too fast, so Fleet Admiral Sengoku prepared some tasks for me to complete until I can fulfil the role they had me promoted to. Like for example keeping records at the warlord meetings.” Moria noticed her strained expression only getting worse. “The Fleet Admiral thought it would be a great showcase of my skills if I were to manage to band this crew together. Which meant they got to have their absolute last chance at being Marines and I would get to show off. Except that I’m… not… good enough”, she swallowed hard when the words left her lips. Tears were welling up in her eyes. “I’m way over my head with this task. I don’t want to become one of those authoritarian leaders. I hate that I have to threaten punishment. I want my crew to stick together because they’re friends and they want what’s best for the others. Sengoku thinks I can do this, because I can manage to make some drunk people yell the lyrics to some songs at festivals”, a few stray tears fell down.

She never stopped looking down at the bright orange of the pillow she was still sitting on. Maya knew that if she dared to look up at the tall warlord’s face right now she would bawl, no matter his reaction. “So, yes, I know that they are unhappy with me as their captain. I feel like I’m failing them, since this is their last chance. If I could just do more or try harder, maybe they would get their wishes and stay within the system. I know your words are true and hearing them shouldn’t hurt me as much as it does, but I can’t help it.” Gecko Moria struggled with himself, on one hand he wanted to keep his distance from the Marine, but on the other side he had the strange desire to comfort her. “Tsk, you Marines and your systems and protocols and codex’. No wonder you guys have problems with your crews. People are not always ‘made for the system’. I’m glad that I didn’t have to deal with this crap. If you’d just let people be, then there would be less problems.” - “You say that, as if they wouldn’t work against me if I’d just ignored them, and ‘let them be’.” A few more tears ran down her face. “You’ll always encounter good and bad ones. You’ll just have to figure out who’s worth keeping. Half of your crew doesn’t even deserve you as their captain. I assure you, some of them would already be dead if it weren’t for you.” The implications made Maya steal a glance up at his face and the angry glint in his eyes told her enough. “Please don’t hurt them. I’m sure their insults were baseless and only thrown around due to their frustration about having lost the fight and subsequently our own ship”, she pleaded quietly. “Even now you try to defend them. Why?” Moria demanded to know. “Because I’m their captain. I’m responsible for their well-being. Them not respecting me doesn’t change that fact.” Maya still looked down at the pillow and her hands, so she didn’t see the smile that crossed Moria’s face. “Spoken like a true captain”, the tall warlord thought. “Albeit a very naive one.” “You would do the same for your crew, wouldn’t you?” Her words made him flinch. “Of course!”, he spat back agitated. “See?” she finally looked up at him again, tears still welling in her eyes but with the smallest smile on her lips.

Maya noticed his gloved hands balling into tight fists and what came next she could have never predicted but it shocked her to her core. “Sengoku is an old bastard, but he isn’t stupid. If the old geezer thinks you can do it, why not trust his judgement?” Moria wasn’t looking at her, he just stared up at the ceiling, avoiding her eyes. This time she couldn’t hold it in. Tears were streaming down her face with no restraint. “You’re right. I will. Thank you.”, she sobbed. “My goodness, woman, why are you crying!? You should better save those tears for another occasion!” Moria yelled out, taken aback by her sudden burst of emotion. Maya shook her head and started laughing while simultaneously still crying.

It took her a few minutes to gain her composure again and stop the stream of tears. She slid from the pillow and plucked down at her dress which had ridden up her thighs. Then she addressed Moria: “Warlord Moria, I want to thank you for your hospitality and your advice. It was very nice talking to you and you’ve helped me quite a bit. If there’s ever any favor I could do for you in return to show my gratitude, just let me know.” Her words made his cheeks turn darker, oh how he hated this overly polite speech pattern of those damned Marines. His mind went blank when he felt something on his hand. Moria looked down and saw the green haired woman had put her tiny hand on his. Her eyes were searching for his, and as their eyes met she spoke softly; “I mean it”, and smiled at him warmly. Moria’s heart was racing so fast it was threatening to jump out of his chest. The tall warlord was at a loss for words and just stared at her blankly and wide eyed. Without taking her hand away she looked at the door and then back to him. “Could you open the door for me, please?” It was his shadow who moved for him. Doppelman shot out from under his master and pushed at the door, making Maya jump and digging her fingers into Moria’s hand. “What’s that?”, she whispered. “My shadow. I thought you knew I’m in possession of the Kage Kage no Mi”, Moria raised a brow at her, still painfully aware of her tiny hand resting on his massive hand. “I know, but I didn’t know you could do that”, she replied, still in awe at the dark figure standing in front of them at the door. Suddenly her face lit up and her head snapped back to face Moria. “So THAT’S how you knew?” A sly grin spread across Moria’s face. “I see how it is”, Maya said with a tiny smirk. “Does your shadow have a name?” What a weird question. The tiny voice deep from within Moria appeared again. That’s what made her different. Others would never ask such a question. “Doppelman.” - “Thank you for opening the door then, Warlord Moria and Doppelman. I’ll be going now, will you join me for breakf- I mean… lunch?”, she looked at him sheepishly. Her words echoed through his head. ‘Join me’. ‘Join ME.’

Chapter 7 "Lonely Together"

“Oh come on, captain. It’s not a big deal! We’re both women!” Himera purred at her. “Fine, but nothing inappropriate will be happening between us!” “As you wish.”

The shower was big enough for both of them, which meant there was plenty of room to avoid unwanted physical contact. Maya tried her best to ignore the winks and suggestive looks her sniper specialist was giving her. “You’re no fun, captain.”, Himera sighed. “Do I want to know what you really did when you went missing?” The greenhaired woman scrubbed her legs. “No.” Himera stated dryly. “May I ask, captain, you do realise that the boys are walking all over you?” “Yes.” Maya answered similarly short. Awkward silence filled the room until Maya took in a sharp pained breath. The wound on her left side was burning, but she had to wash the old blood away. “Let me help you, captain.” This time Himera didn’t sound flirty but warm and concerned. 

Maya allowed her sniper to help her get clean. After the shower Himera carefully helped Maya bandaging the wound again. When they both got dressed Maya looked at herself in the mirror critically. “How do I look?” she asked jokingly. Himera laughed, “You look like the master of this castle.” Maya’s face fell. She was right: bright orange leggings and a black dress on top, the same colour combination Gecko Moria was wearing. “I have to go find something else to change into.” She eyed Himera’s perfectly fine, albeit a little sweaty, Marine uniform. “Don’t you dare touch my uniform, captain. I’m sure he will like your outfit” - “Why would I care if the Warlord likes my look?” - “I don’t know…” Himera grinned at her. 

“I told you she wouldn’t punish us”, Abe shrugged at Yachi and Egami. “But she isn’t clueless, maybe we should hold back a little. I’m not too keen on getting my second written warning and getting kicked out of the Marines,” Yachi voiced his concerns. “When we’re back home and each of us files a complaint they will see their error and demote her. Then there will be no second written warning,” Egami threw back. Yachi suddenly went as stiff as a statue, “Guys… the walls have eyes.” Abe and Egami looked at him like he was crazy, but Yachi just stared ahead. When they followed his gaze there was nothing there. “You should really get some shuteye, dude. You’re starting to hallucinate.” - “I swear…” - “Yea, yea whatever. Let’s all rest a bit.” They settled onto the cold stone floor, still too stubborn to accept rooms with actual beds. Yachi followed their example and laid down, yet he couldn’t sleep.

When Himera and Maya returned half of their crewmates were asleep on the hard floor. “I will never understand why they wouldn’t just take the offer to get their own bedroom” Maya shook her head. “Yes, I’ll gladly take the offer though. It looks like the floor hasn’t been swept in ages.” The disdain in Himera’s voice was audible. “I’ll go find a zombie to show us the rooms.” With those words Himera turned on her heels and speed walked out. Collin was rolled up on a big box, sleeping soundly. Wynn was lying over a cask snoring loudly, clearly drunk out of his mind. Nogi and Adrian were still up, Takafuyu was still sitting on the ground with his arms hugging his legs, his head resting on his knees. Maya silently went over to them: “You know you can also get your own rooms?” - “Yes, captain. For now I’d like to stay here, would that be okay?” - “Sure, Adrian. No worries.”

Himera came back with a zombie and waved Maya over “Come on, captain!”

The zombie led them to a hallway with countless doors left and right. “Just pick one, they’re all unoccupied.” “Good night” Maya just opened the next door and slipped into the room. It was a big room with a high ceiling. A big bed out of black wood with purple sheets was standing on the far-left wall. A dresser with a mirror was right next to the door and a table and two chairs were on her right. The furniture didn’t really spike her interest, but she was intrigued - why was it set up like a hotel? Was the warlord regularly expecting visitors? Why was there a need for this many furnished rooms? Maya couldn’t wait to get some hard-earned sleep. Just when she sat down on the bed furious knocking came from the door. Annoyed, she got up and answered it. In front of her room she found Takafuyu. “Why are you not back down with the crew?! Captain! What are you doing here? You can’t just vanish like this”, his eyes looked past her “Is that a bed?” The man pushed past her into the room. “What exactly do you think you’re doing here?” Maya looked at him angrily. “They have beds here? Why didn’t you say anything? Keeping the good stuff for yourself?” It took everything in her not to slap him right then and there. “OUT! NOW! You were asleep when I left and I was told that Absalom already made the offer for each of you to get their own room. If you want to sleep in a bed, go out into the hallway, pick a door and leave me alone!” Maya pushed her navigator out of her room and shut the door in his face. 

Hopefully she could finally rest now. She laid down on the bed and a deep sigh escaped her. A soft knock on her door made her groan. This couldn’t be happening.

Slowly she got up again and shuffled to the door. Adrian and Nogi were standing in the hallway. “Is everything alright?” Maya asked, concerned. “Don’t worry, captain”, Nogi said. “I just wanted to talk to you about something.” She opened her door wide to let them in. After they settled, Nogi spoke again: “Abe, Yachi and Egami are quite unhappy. They think we wouldn’t notice, but they isolated themselves pretty obviously today. I just want to tell you, that whatever these three throw at you, don’t falter. You’re doing a good job. I know it’s not easy with us as your crew, but most of us can see that you’re doing the best you can. So far you have managed to keep us all alive, which is quite the feat.” The old man laughed. “Don’t let them bother you.” He looked at Adrian who was looking at the ground “I think I speak for the both of us, when I say that we’re really thankful for everything you’ve done for us so far. Without you we wouldn’t even have gotten another chance.” Adrian looked up and nodded quickly “Yes! I’m very grateful I can be a part of your crew!” Maya should feel good upon hearing their words, but she didn’t. She didn’t have the heart to tell them that sailing with them and giving them this last chance had not been her choice but Fleet Admiral Sengokus. “Thank you, both of you. Your words mean a lot to me. You should get some rest, too. If you have changed your mind, you can still pick one of the rooms in this hallway.” Even after they’ve left Maya couldn’t shake the guilt. She shuffled over to the bed once more and jumped in. She closed her eyes, but for the third time a knock on her door made her sit upright again. “WHAT?!” She yelled out, her patience gone. The door opened and Himera stuck her head in the room. “Captain, I have a very urgent and important question. If, in theory, I were to have sexual relations with a zombie would you start disciplinary actions against me? I ask just in case, we haven’t gotten around to try it yet.” - “If I..? I- What? WE!?” A zombie stuck his head in and waved at her with a slimy grin plastered on his face. “That’s it! I’m out!” Maya yelled out, got up and stomped out of the room and past Himera and the zombie. “Don’t look for me! I didn’t hear what you just asked, I don’t want to know any details, leave me alone! I’ll go find some quiet place where I can sleep without anyone interrupting me! See you tomorrow!”

Maya was almost crying by this point. While she had gotten some delicious food and had finally been able to take a shower, she was still completely overwhelmed and exhausted. After a short while she noticed that she was lost again. She had left the hallway with the rooms behind and was now in an even darker hallway with knight armors standing on the walls left and right. The Marine ventured further until she found a stone spiral staircase leading up on the next floor. She climbed up and finally she knew where she was again. Light coming from the hallway to the left made her sure she was near the big hall where she had dined with the warlord. The green haired woman followed the light and to her satisfaction she was exactly where she thought she’d be. The warlord sat in his chair and was talking to Absalom, Dr. Hogback and Perona. Maya couldn’t hear what was said, and she kept her distance. Moria’s eyes wandered around the room. When he noticed her standing on the other end of the hall a big grin lit up his features. The others noticed her almost immediately and within seconds they dispersed. Perona floated upwards through the ceiling again, Absalom just vanished and Dr. Hogback came towards her. “Did I interrupt something?” Maya whispered when the tall doctor was almost next to her. “No, no. We were done anyway” and he stepped past her, going down the spiral staircase. Slowly she walked towards Moria. “Still up at this hour? I thought you were exhausted? Can’t sleep?” Moria teased her with a snicker. Somehow that triggered something in her and the expression on her face went dark. “Ohhhh, I’m sure I would be able to sleep, if I’d get the chance! Trust me, I have tried! But there’s always something oh so important or someone who apparently can’t get enough of me during the day so that they interrupt my night! You have really nice rooms here, but you know what would be even BETTER?! Being able to place a lock on them! Or a place for me to sleep, where no one will bother me! Where no one will even think to look for me!” There it was again. Moria laughed at her, she was almost adorable when she flipped out like that. “You’re looking for a place where no one will bother you?” he asked with a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Yes! That’s what I said!” - “A place where no one would even think about looking for you?” he clarified with the biggest grin. “Exactly! Do you have something like this on your ship? And don’t suggest the dungeons! I would very much prefer something cosy!” 

Maya couldn’t see the internal fight she had sparked in the tall warlord. His face didn’t reveal anything. Of course he had instantly thought of a place that was just as she described, but he didn’t know if he really should cross into that territory. After a few tense moments he decided he would try it, just to see her reaction. “There is one place on this ship that fits the description. Follow me” A sly grin was plastered on his face. The walk to this ominous place of sleep was short. Moria yelled at some zombies in the hallway that he didn’t want anyone to interrupt him and they scampered away. “I see you have gotten yourself a new outfit” Moria said, trying to sound as nonchalantly as he could. Maya’s feet grew heavier with every step. Maybe it was the drowsiness but she got a little bold with her answer this time. “Since my uniform has reached the end of its lifespan I had to. How do you like it?”, she teased. “I was told you and I have matching outfits now.” The only answer she got was a grunt, making her giggle. The warlord DID like the outfit, but especially after her little stunt here he would never let her know.

When Gecko Moria pushed open the doors to the promised place, Maya couldn’t believe her eyes. It was his own bedroom, it had to be. The pillows in there were bigger than Maya herself. This had to be a joke. She looked up at him confused, only to be met by his high-pitched laugh. He gestured for her to enter the room and it slowly dawned on her that this was, in fact, not a joke. The woman didn’t know what else to do, so she followed his invitation and stepped into the room, which was only dimly lit. Right below her feet was a red rug with pink decorative stripes and yellow flowers. The back half of the room was almost fully covered with some white fur that looked like a cloud. A purple cushion with gold borders was propped up at the far wall, functioning as a headrest. There were many enormous pillows of various colours and shapes. Actually Moria was right, this room fit her description to a tee. Nevertheless she felt her heart beating fast and heavy in her chest. “What do you say? Still want to spend the night here?” The tone of his voice was almost mocking, like he expected her to chicken out. Oh if he wanted to play that game, she would play along. “Sure! This is perfect. That’s why you brought me here, didn't you? And you’re right, no one will come and look for me in here.” Maya smiled her sweetest and most innocent smile up at the warlord, watching the grin fall off his face in real time. 

Seeing the initial shock on her face had been quite entertaining, but he didn’t like where this was going. Moria felt like she was playing him, but it should be him who was toying with her! Fine! If she thought he’d back down now, she was dead wrong! He took a big step into the room and closed the doors behind them with a little more force than necessary, finding joy in seeing her flinch from the sound. 

Moria took one pillow out of his pile and shoved it quite the bit away from the others. “That poor pillow, what has it done to deserve such harsh treatment?” Maya was having a bit too much fun. “I can pull it back closer again if you wish to be squished by my arm tonight”, his grin held a challenge. “Nah, I’m good”, she backpedalled. She slowly walked over to the square bright orange pillow he had laid out for her. The green haired woman climbed up and noticed right away that the pillow was softer than it had looked. Her hands and feet were already sinking deeply into the fabric. Carefully she laid down and settled in. With a very unhappy expression on his face Moria laid down on his back. Suddenly it was like a shadow darkening the room and all the lights went out. It wasn’t completely dark, though. It took Maya’s eyes a few moments getting used to the sudden darkness. The pillow had a distinct smell to it, not like a cologne or perfume. The smell itself was strangely not unpleasant to her nose. Maya remembered a newspaper article she had read a few months ago, which talked about different body scents and how some people really couldn’t stand others because of their smell. A smell that was controlled by hormones or food habits, not just hygiene. Somehow she wondered what that said about her or the tall warlord, that she didn’t mind his scent as much as she expected. Maya turned around to lay on her side so she could face the warlord.

Chapter 6 "Lose Control"

The way back to her crew felt endless. When she finally reached the hallway and could already hear their voices, she paused. Something was floating right in front of the open door. Slowly she inched closer, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. It almost seemed like a transparent little ghost. The floating creature turned around to look at her. It had such a cute face, but Maya knew something was off. “Negative?” the ghost looked at her, before it floated away into the room. “You’re not cute!” Maya heard an unfamiliar voice say. When she turned the corner she saw a young woman with pink pigtails wearing a crown floating in the middle of the room. She was surrounded by more of the floating ghosts. “Captain!” Adrian yelled for her. Her crew was huddled in the far corner of the room. “What’s going on here?” Maya asked. “I was just here looking at the newcomers, but none of them are cute! And who are you!?” the young woman demanded to know. “I’m their captain, Maya. These little ghosts belong to you? They look quite adorable.” - “Yes,” the young woman nodded eagerly, “just don’t touch them, except if you want to find yourself down on the floor.” Maya ignored the implication. “Are you part of Warlord Moria’s crew?” - “Of course I am! I’m Perona the ghost princess! Anyway, you are boring and not cute! I’m leaving.” With those words she floated upwards through the ceiling taking her ghosts with her.

Her crew slowly relaxed again and came out of their corner. “Captain, you were gone for quite a long time” Egami looked at her critically. The woman didn’t have the nerve to engage that comment, so she chose to have the even more difficult discussion first. “I bring bad news.” She looked at her crew with a stern look. “I have talked to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.” Maya could see hope and confusion in their faces, but something was off. Maya couldn’t pinpoint what it was, so she just continued. “He has informed me that he can’t send someone out here to collect us. We’re stuck here for the time being. To be more direct we will be stuck here for three weeks until Gecko Moria is attending the next warlord meeting.” Yachi threw his fist against a wooden box nearby, creating a loud noise. “You’re kidding?!” - “That’s what I asked Sengoku myself. Sadly I’m not, no.” Takafuyu sank to the ground “This can’t be happening. We’re stuck in this shithole for THREE WEEKS?! I can’t stay here for three weeks. I need my beauty sleep and here I can hardly rest!” Egami looked at her angrily “I say Warlord Gecko Moria has a forest outside this castle and we can build our own ship!” The way he mockingly pronounced the word ‘Warlord’ got Maya enraged. “Seriously, are you even listening to what you are suggesting!? We can’t build a ship sturdy enough that would take us from here to the Headquarter in three weeks. Especially not since our shipwright is currently not able to walk on his own! And this only assumes that Warlord Gecko Moria would be fine with us taking from HIS forest! We also don’t even know what wood those trees are made of and what condition they are in! This is just not something we can do in such a short amount of time!”, she snapped at him. “The zombies could help us,” Yachi countered. “Ah, yes. The zombies that y’all are SO afraid of, that you feel the need to stand guard at night. You’d rather trust THOSE zombies with a new ship?! I don’t get this logic, explain it to me, please. How does that make sense?” Maya was nearing the end of her patience. Her crew stayed silent this time. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. “I hereby prohibit you from trying to build a ship by yourselves! If I see even one of you chopping down a tree, we will have a very bad time around here. I’ll personally make sure you will get punished when we get back to base.”

Maya took a deep breath “In case of the pirates catching up I want everyone who can still stand and hold a sword be ready to fight! They have to be knocked out, not killed, and will be brought to Gecko Moria himself. He can do with them what he deems fit.” Then the realisation hit her “Wait, where’s Himera?” Everyone stayed quiet until Adrian spoke up “She went out to look for a place to shower, an hour ago.” Maya sighed “I’ll go look for her.” 

She wandered around the premises, but didn’t find her missing sniper. Suddenly two smaller zombies sprinted past her, screaming that two pirate ships were docking in the bay of the Thriller Bark. On the next corner she almost clashed with Absalom. “Are you on the way down to the bay?” he asked her. “I was going to, but I have to get my crew first.” - “Don’t worry, I’ll go get them. I’ll catch up to you later. The uh- pretty lady is still with them, right?” Maya didn’t have the heart to tell him that she was currently searching for Himera. “I guess,” she shrugged. A grin spread on the lion-man’s face and he sprinted away.

The green haired woman was relieved when she found the exit on first try. Her gaze fell on the ships down in the bay, there was no doubt that it was them. 

Absalom entered the room looking around for something, or rather someone. When he didn’t see Himera his face fell. Then he looked at the remaining Marines “The pirates have caught up to you. They’re probably on their way up here already. You coming?” Egami, Yachi, Abe and Takafuyu were sitting a bit away from the others. “Nah, we good”, Egami yelled back. 

Collin and Wynn wordlessly took their swords and got up, shooting the other four angry glazes. “Adrian, stay here and take care of Norris and Nogi, please.”, Collin said. Then the two men followed Absalom out. “You think she’ll reprimand us for not coming?” Takafuyu whispered. “No, she won’t. She’s too soft and weak minded.”, Abe cut in. Yachi and Egami laughed. “I don’t know who made her Rear Admiral, but they were pretty damn stupid.” - “I guess it has something to do with her being good with Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp.”, Egami whispered. “When we get back I’ll file a formal complaint about her. People like her shouldn’t be part of the Marines, especially not in a higher rank. She endangers our lives with her questionable decisions. Now she’s probably playing buddy with this creep of a warlord. That overweight loser should be glad that I’m not in charge here," Abe said. From the corner of his eyes he noticed the shadows flicker, but when he turned his head nothing was there. “In my opinion the warlord system shouldn’t ever exist. They’re criminals and should rot in Impel Down for all I care and I loathe that we have to act as if their crimes don’t matter just because some higher-ups had a drunken idea to make them part of the system.”, Abe kept talking. “Maybe you should keep it down”, Takafuyu whispered, clearly getting nervous “You never know if someone’s listening in.” - “Chill. There’s no one here with us and it’s not like we talk that loud”, Yachi tried to calm him. The navigator stayed quiet, he could have sworn the shadows around them moved, but he was too scared to say it out loud. “If you’re going to complain about her, I’ll do it as well” Egami exclaimed “The more the better. If we can get everyone on board for this, it would mean the end of her career.” Yachi snorted “You won’t get the others to complain about her. Look at them. They’re pathetic and weak, someone like that boy Adrian shouldn’t be a part of the Marines. The only thing he’d be good for is cleaning the latrine.” The three men laughed but Takafuyu stayed silent, he genuinely thought he was going mad, the shadow flickered again. “Excuse me, I have to take a leak.” The man got up quickly, taking his rapier with him and left the room at a brisk pace. 

Moria was very close to just killing the men with the big mouths. How dare they insult him like that! Their only saving grace was that he found their captain, who they were very vocal about disliking, somewhat entertaining and that he had some new shadows coming in. There was no time to kill them, yet. The tall warlord was too lazy to get up to catch the pirates himself, but he was sure his minions would do the deed just fine. Then he remembered that Rear Admiral Maya would also be on the hunt this time. This could prove more entertaining than watching her crew talk themselves into a corner they didn’t even know about. His shadow Doppelman was already on its way to the bay. 

Maya didn’t even have to walk all the way down to the bay since the pirates had already  started to make their way up to the mansion. When the green haired woman arrived there were already a bunch of zombies gnawing at some of the unfortunate pirates. She didn’t hesitate and jumped right into action, drawing her daggers. Knocking out pirates left and right with the hilt of her daggers proved to be quite easy with the zombies as a distraction. Vaguely she registered three of her men wearing white joining the fight. Only three? She looked around and recognized them as Wynn, Collin and Takafuyu. Takafuyu was the last one she had expected to join the fight. Usually he was too scared of getting dirt on his coat. Maya looked around, searching for more members of her crew but it was in vain. She felt disappointed, but she had no time for this now. Resuming the fight, she moved through the bodies elegantly and smoothly like a skilled dancer. Dodging and dishing out attacks at the same time. Until a shadow landing over her made her pause and look up right in time to dodge a big sword attack aimed downwards at her. She jumped out of the way and looked at the tall figure who had just swung at her. This had to be their captain. He was sporting a long braided beard and he had multiple gold chains around his neck. He was more than double her height, but not quite as tall as the warlord residing on this ship and when he grinned at her he bared a mouth full of golden teeth at her. “You’re the one who sank my ship” he snarled. “And you’re the one who sank mine” she stated and slid the daggers back into their sheaths. Her blades wouldn’t be of much help against a sword as long as she was tall. The burly pirate didn’t wait for an invitation, he swung his sword wildly at her, making her move backwards. “Need any help?” It was Absalom. “No, I’m good.”, she yelled back with a small smirk on her face, which made the man in front of her furious, and sloppy. The green haired woman didn’t want this to go on too long, she turned around and sprinted towards the treeline. There she jumped up on a tree to get some height. “Haha, look at you running” the pirate captain bellowed. Usually she’d have shut his antics down the second they began, but this time she saw red, and she wanted this pirate to be her personal punching bag. Finally the pirate came close enough, still swinging his blade. When his sword cut through the trunk of the tree she was standing on she sprang up in the air. She channeled all her pent up disappointment, anger and frustration in one devastating punch, nailing the pirate to the earth below. The ground cracked open from the impact and gave way, pushing his body even further into the dirt. 

When the dust settled the extent of the damage she had done was visible. The cracks in the ground were scattered along a bigger area than expected. Some were even going down right to the bay area. Her face went as pale as a sheet of paper. She had basically damaged the warlord’s ship, and she didn’t even know how to fix this, since his ship was a whole island. She had no experience with “island reconstruction” if there even was such a thing. 

From the shadows Gecko Moria had watched the fight with great interest. He saw the change in the Marine captain's face when she punched the pirate into the ground. So she had a darker side to herself. Her strength took him by surprise. Though he couldn’t really be mad at her damaging the Thriller Bark. At least now he knew why she had the title of Rear Admiral. Maybe her crewmember was not wrong, a little determination and a little less ‘seeing the good in anyone’ would make her into an absolute menace, he was sure. On the other hand maybe it was better for him as it was. At least like this she wouldn’t ever become a threat to him.

“How am I supposed to explain that to Warlord Gecko Moria?” Maya asked out loud, pointing at the cracks in the ground. Absalom looked at it “I’m sure he won’t mind.” His nervous grin outed the lie. - “How sure?” - “Yeeeaa,.. he’s gonna explode. You’re screwed.” - “Thank you for your reassurance.”

“Captain, don’t worry. I’m sure if you’ll explain-” - “Explain what? That I got carried away and weakened the integrity of a part of his ship?” Maya interrupted Collin. “I’m sorry. I’m just very tired and my patience is nearly gone. I really need to take a shower, but I’ll talk to the Warlord first.” 

She followed the zombies carrying the incapacitated pirates back to the mansion. While the zombies took the bodies into another room filled with coffins, Maya took another turn to meet the Warlord. 

A soft vibration of the ground below ever so often told her that he had to be nearby. It didn’t take her long to find him. Absalom was with him, how could he be so fast, that he was already here? “Warlord Gecko Moria”, she called out. The two men turned towards her. Absalom and her exchanged quick glances, but she couldn’t tell if they were meant to be some kind of warning or positive reassurance, then he left in the other direction. She lowered her head. “Warlord, I’m regretfully admitting that I have apparently damaged your ship while fighting the invading pirates. I’m terribly sorry and I will compensate you when we get back to base. I don’t know what it takes to repair the damages but rest assured that I will cover the cost.” “You think I don’t already know?”, he laughed at her. Maya shot a quick glance down the hallway where Absalom had just left. “I don’t need Absalom to tell me! I know everything that happens on my ship!” Moria sounded insulted. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” - “I’m busy! You’ll find your way back, yes!?” The warlord stomped past her, leaving her behind in the dark hallway.

Maya had never felt filthier in her life before. She hadn’t showered in god knows how long and the blood on her shirt had gotten crusty. An idea formed in her head and made her take the steps down to Hogback's room. It took her some time to find the right room again since this tower was a maze, but she was relieved when she did.

“Yes?”, his voice from the other side of the door sounded. She carefully opened the door, the doctor had his back turned to her “What is it?! I thought I had made myself clear that I didn’t want to be interrupted.” - “I’m sorry, doctor. I’ll come back later then.” Maya said and was already closing the door again. “Wha- oh! No, no, wait. The Marine captain! I didn’t expect it to be you, what can I do for you?” “You don’t happen to know where I can get some fresh clothes for me and my crew?” The woman pointed at her bloodied and crusty shirt. Dr. Hogback wrinkled his nose “Don’t worry, I’ll arrange something for you.” - “Thank you” she smiled at him. “Can I get some fresh bandages as well? I’d like to take a shower.” - “You shouldn’t shower right now, the wound is not properly healed-” the pleading look on her face made him scoff and shuffle over to his shelf. He wordlessly handed her some with a disapproving look on his face.

Maya went back to her crew first. To her relief she saw Himera amongst them. “Where have you been? I was worried.” - “Relax, captain. I was just taking a stroll”, the woman winked at Maya. Somehow she knew that wasn’t true, but she knew better than to keep asking questions. “Captain! How did the Warlord take the information?” Collin came over to her. “Surprisingly well. He already knew… How is everyone doing? Any news? I noticed there were only three of you out there helping to capture the pirates.” She looked at the group of men sitting far from the others questioningly. “Abe wasn’t feeling too good, we didn’t want to leave him alone”, Egami replied with a humble expression on his face. As an actor he was completely talentless and Maya saw right through his lie. “Yea… right.” Her gaze fell on Takafuyu who sat by himself, hunkered down with his arms hugging his knees. Odd, usually he was very vocal about the injustice of having to sail with this crew of “morons” and he wouldn’t let an opportunity to openly complain slide like this. “Norris was awake for a few minutes half an hour ago”, Nogi informed her. “We gave him some water and another round of painkillers, just like Doctor Hogback advised us.” “That’s good to hear.” Maya looked back at her problematic crewmates. She knew that it was a bad move to ignore getting disrespected so openly, but she felt like her hands were tied. Her crew was not a unit, half of them weren’t even teamplayers to begin with. Maya never wanted to become one of those stubborn authoritarian leaders, who wouldn’t take No for an answer and who’d just shout and punish everyone who dared to use his brain for anything else than following commands. The picture of a certain strict admiral flashed before her inner eye, making her wrinkle her nose. 

Chapter 5 "Never Going Home"

Maya was so stuffed that she felt like she had to roll out of her chair. She had managed to try almost every food that was offered to her. The woman also got over her initial aversion to Moria’s favorite beer and powered through and drank the whole mug. “Thank you for the meal! It was much needed and greatly appreciated.”, she smiled at him warmly. “Why did you want to see me? The food wasn’t the whole reason you sent a zombie for me, am I right?” “I thought you might appreciate me letting you use my transponder snail, since yours is currently lying on the ocean floor.” His words cut through her like lightning and made her jump from her chair. She knew instantly what he was implying and he was right! She had to contact Fleet Admiral Sengoku! A laugh escaped his mouth “I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?” “You’re right, I would greatly appreciate that as well. In all of that chaos I totally forgot to call the Fleet Admiral” she confessed. She flinched when without a warning Gecko Moria barked for a zombie to get him his transponder snail. The snail was set down on the table in front of Maya while the dirty dishes and uneaten food were quickly taken away. Only the mug and the beer barrel remained. “Thank you.”, she said to the warlord once more. She couldn’t be too sure what would send him off, so she made sure to always address him with his title and be extra polite. 

Moria nodded in the direction of the snail which gave Maya the permission to call the Headquarter. “Marine Headquarter, what can I do for you, Warlord Gecko Moria?”, the voice of a man sounded from the transponder snail. “Actually this is not the Warlord himself speaking right now. I’m Rear Admiral Maya and I need Fleet Admiral Sengoku on the phone right away. It’s urgent. Our ship with the number 31 was sunk by pirates in the Florian triangle.” - “Fleet Admiral Sengoku is not available right now. Maybe I can help you?” the voice sounded slightly annoyed. “I doubt that, when will he be available again?” Maya asked. “Just tell me your request and I’ll send him a message, maybe he’ll get to it tomorrow afternoon.” Maybe it was the beer or the exhaustion but her nerves were wearing thin. “Are you kidding me?! Tomorrow afternoon?! No! I need him on the phone NOW! And if you’re not in charge to decide what I’m allowed to do with the pirates who are probably still looking for us, when they arrive at Thriller Bark, if I’m allowed to let Warlord Gecko Moria have their shadows of if I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO take them back to throw them into Impel Down, then you should make my call with Sengoku happen!” - “I’m not qualified to give out any orders or decide this.” the man said coldly. “NO KIDDING?! Then get me Sengoku on the line! I’m awaiting his call and if I don’t get called back within the next 20 minutes I’ll call again and I swear when I get back to base I’ll make your life hell!” she basically screamed at the snail. Gecko Moria looked at her utterly shocked from her outburst. Maya cut the connection. She balled her hands into tight fists. “Why do I have to be so unlucky to get an incompetent prick on the line! I’m a Rear Admiral dammit! If I want to talk to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, then LET ME TALK TO SENGOKU!”, she yelled out. Something about seeing the small and usually so calm and well-mannered woman getting enraged by a simple call was just too funny for Moria. The grin on his face went bigger and bigger until he couldn’t hold the laughter in anymore when she kicked at the leg of the chair in anger. She spun around “What are you laughing about!?”, she spat at him. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scream. It’s just… a lot right now.” 

It took a few minutes for her to calm down, then the transponder snail rang again. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Sengoku’s voice on the other side of the snail. “Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this is Rear Admiral Maya and I have urgent news. My ship with the number 31 was sunk by pirates near the Florian Triangle.” - “I have heard already. How are you and your crew doing? Any casualties?” Maya could have sworn there was actual concern in his voice. “No, no casualties. Norris had it the worst, he’s only alive because Warlord Gecko Moria has a very skilled doctor on board, who performed lifesaving surgery. Abe was also hit pretty badly, other than that we’ve had a broken bone, some stab wounds and lots of superficial slash wounds. Nothing too serious, though.” Maya informed the Fleet Admiral. “That’s good to hear. The ship itself is not that bad of a loss, we can build another, at least the crew is safe. I heard that you had another important question?” he asked slowly. “Yes, sir. Last thing I know is that the pirates were still following us. I’m just asking in case they get here. What do we do with them?” - “The protocol is very clear in that case, it says you have to hold them down and then they will be sent to Impel Down.” Confusion was audible in the older man’s voice. “Yes, but you do know where I’m at right now, right?” No answer from the other side of the snail. “I mean… the Warlords are tasked to keep the seas free of pirates, that’s what they were hired to do. I’m currently on Warlord Gecko Moria’s ship, so why not let him have the pirates for his… cause. It’s highly impractical to apprehend them here and since I have no ship anymore, I don’t know for how long we’d have to apprehend them. And since the Warlord has done us a huge favor by housing us for now and getting us the medical attention we needed, I think it would be more than fair to let him keep them here.” A sigh came from the snail “Does it matter what I’ll tell you right now? You’ll do what you want anyway.” Sengoku sounded exhausted. “If you tell me that you’ll throw me into Impel Down for that, then I’ll gladly follow protocol, but if you think we can let that slide, then: Yes, I’ll do it how I deem fit.” - “Have it your way then.” Sengoku surrendered. “Fleet Admiral? When will we get a ride home to the Headquarter?” Maya asked curiously, since the Fleet Admiral himself hadn’t said anything about that. Another sigh. “I’m sorry, Maya. Currently we simply have no capacity to send a ship to the Florian triangle to get you back to base. There are… multiple missions and some other classified things going on that need our full man power including ships. Since your crew is basically incapacitated getting you back right now is sadly not a priority. It can’t be. I’m sorry, I will tell you the reason when we meet again in person.” Sengoku’s words hit her like a brick to her face. Moria’s face contorted into a grimace. “Then what would you suggest we do now?!” Her voice got quieter and the shock was written on her face. “In three weeks the next Warlord Meeting is set to occur. If Warlord Gecko Moria would be willing to house your unit until then, he could bring you with him. Of course he will be compensated accordingly.” Maya just stared at the snail. She was not able to formulate a coherent sentence. Sengoku followed: “I know it’s not ideal. I wish I could bring you back immediately, believe me.” - “I… I’ll have… I … ask…”, Maya whispered breathlessly and looked at the tall Warlord for help. “Tsk, Sengoku, that will cost you extra!” Moria yelled at the snail. “Of course. Thank you. Stay safe Maya, if anything else comes up just call. Don’t expect me to call right back, though. As I said, there are a myriad of things I have to take care of. Goodbye.”, the Fleet Admiral sounded genuinely sad. With a quiet click the transponder snail grew silent.

Chapter 4 "Out Of The Dark"

A heavy storm was rolling in. Not that it made Gecko Moria worry, his ship was sturdy and it was almost normal to have bad weather here in the Florian triangle. One thing made this storm different from others though, it was the ringing of his transponder snail. He let it ring for a minute until the sound annoyed him, then he got up to take the call. 

“R–r A–i–al -aya, -’m reques—g suppo–” the connection was bad and most of what he could hear was hard to understand from the howling of the wind. “Huh?” 

The person on the other side of the line basically screamed into the phone and now he could understand “Rear Admiral Maya, I’m requesting support! May Day! We’re hit and our ship is sinking! We’re being followed by two pirate ships! The Thriller Bark is closest to our location, we’ll try to reach you!” - “Sure, whatever” he mumbled into the transponder snail and the call disconnected with a click. Housing Marine scum on his ship was not something he was comfortable with, but he knew he couldn’t really say No and kick them out. His status as a Warlord would be in jeopardy if he tried as much and it came out to the public. The tall warlord thought for a moment, Rear Admiral Maya, that name sounded very familiar. Maybe someone from the warlord meetings? The picture of a woman with short pink hair flashed in his mind. His eyes widened a little when the realisation hit him that it was the Marine woman who he looked forward to seeing every warlord meeting. 

Things couldn't have gotten worse, or so Maya had thought. At first it had been a simple storm that made the Marine crew scatter around the deck trying to tie down everything that hadn't been already. While everyone was busy securing the storage and themselves they failed to notice three pirate ships that came towards them on the rough sea. The moment someone screamed, they didn’t have enough time to prepare themselves. Cannonballs were already flying in their direction and one of the ships came so close that the pirates could jump over to the Marine ship. It was a complete and utter disaster. Wood splinters were flying everywhere and the cold rain and spray from the sea threatened to blind them. From the sound of cracking wood she knew that her ship had been hit. Adrian, the youngest, was not a good fighter. She ordered him to go under deck and and man the bilge pump to get out as much water as he could, so he was off deck and away from the most intense fight. One of the pirate ships crashed into their side, the impact sweeping the Marines clean off their feet. Screams and laughter of the pirates erupted when they sprang on board. Swords and guns were hastily drawn and then it was just chaos. Maya drew her daggers and throwing knives, but with the wind so strong she couldn’t accurately throw them. She had to rely on hand to hand combat. Takafuyu was standing next to the steering wheel holding his own against two pirates at once with his rapier. Abe ran past her and for a split second she could have sworn she saw a broad smile plastered on his face. Like a whirlwind of fury he jumped between the pirates slicing at them with two swords. Himera climbed up to the crow’s nest to get the advantage and shoot at the invading force. A burly pirate took a swipe at Maya, and she had to deflect his blade with her dagger. With her other dagger she sliced open his arm, making him yowl in pain. Her foot connected with his knee making him fall down on all fours, where she knocked him out with the hilt of her dagger. A yell made Maya turn around. Old man Nogi had broken his leg when a rope had wrapped around it and his opponent had used that opportunity to kick him down. Maya had to step in with a calculated punch and send the pirate flying towards the dark waves below the ship. She called for Wynn to take Nogi under deck. The wind carried her voice away and she had to yell a few times for him to hear. Maya felt like a mother trying to save her children from a predator, because she had to keep track of each crewmember and be ready to help and step in if needed, while still fighting for her own life. 

In the corner of her eyes she could see Collin getting pummeled by two pirates, before she could do anything Norris was already stepping in, pushing them back and giving Collin the time to get on his feet again. Maya saw the other two ships getting dangerously close, and she knew once they were in reach there was no coming back from that. They needed to leave, NOW. She looked at the ship that had crashed into hers and she tried to think about a plan to get away from it. It was more reflex than anything that made her step aside. The blade that was meant for her heart ended up only slicing up her side. Searing pain erupted from the wound. Maya angrily kicked at the man who had snuck up on her and sent him flying. She had no time, that’s what she trained for. She ran across deck, avoiding pirates left and right, channeling all her anger into one devastating punch aimed at the pirate ship. Maya jumped up and aimed for the middle of the deck. When she came down and her fist connected with the wood a shock wave went through it and blew an enormous hole into the ship's hull. Instantly the ship started to fill up with water and the mast leaned over. Some debris hit her in the head, making her dizzy for a moment. When her vision cleared up again, she stumbled back to her ship. Internally she was disappointed. She wasn’t proficient enough to hold up with the strength of her mentor, so it only resulted in the ship getting a massive hole in its body. Maya wished she had gotten the possibility of training more with Garp. Garp would have obliterated the damn ship, she was sure. 

She yelled out for Yachi and Takafuyu to help get the ship away from the closest pirate ship which had almost reached them. Himera was giving them cover from up the crow’s nest. Turning the ship for a dead run, it started to gain momentum as the wind caught in the sails, driving it away from the pursuing pirates and the storm. Only then Maja allowed herself to look around for the damage. Abe was bleeding from multiple wounds and the Egami was kneeling with him, keeping him upright. Then she saw something that made her blood run cold. The ship’s doctor, Norris, was lying on deck, motionless. Collin was by his side, pressing the jacket of his uniform on his chest. Maya ran over to him and saw the doctor slowly bleeding out from two big stab wounds on his torso. Himera came down from the crow’s nest. Maya got rid of her own jacket and pressed it on the second wound. “Himera, can you take Abe down under deck for me? I want to take a look at Norris!” Egami yelled against the storm. “Captain, it’s too cold out here for him, we have to get Norris down as well!”, Collin screamed. “No, we can’t move him as long as he’s still bleeding. It’s crucial that we don’t stop applying pressure to his wounds!” Maya yelled back. They were right across from each other but over the howling of the wind it was still hard to hear anything else. Egami came over “Captain, we need support, or otherwise he won’t make it. Go on, make something happen, I’ll take over for you.” he applied pressure to the second stab wound, allowing Maya to get up. She jumped up to the steering wheel to meet her navigator and helmsman. “Takafuyu, where are we right now?” “Judgeing from the dense wall of fog right in front of us we should be near the Florian triangle!” he replied. The woman looked at Takafuyu and Yachi “Can you steer us right into that fog? It will give us cover, I’ll go downstairs and look at the damage, and maybe I can get us some help.” The two men only nodded at her.

Maya ran down as quickly as she could. The damage was bad, really bad. The part of her crew who could still stand was scooping water out of the ship's body. It was evident that this would not be enough. Nogi was trying to instruct Adrian how to seal some of the smaller holes. Abe was leaning against a barrel barely keeping himself upright. Even Wynn had some gashes across his face and was limping. She had to act fast. The Florian triangle, that meant there was only one option out here who could help them. The woman scrambled up to her half destroyed office. While the transponder snail was knocked down from her table and rolled around the room quite a bit, it was still intact. Through the broken windows the fog rolled into her room and she knew they would at least be somewhat hidden from the two pirate ships who were still following. She just hoped the storm would not catch up and blow away their cover.  

Then she called the Warlord. 

Maya didn’t have a clue how they would be able to find the Thriller Bark in that dense fog. Norris' wounds had luckily stopped bleeding. But that still didn’t put her mind to rest. Their ship got slower and slower, the water in the hull weighing them down as more and more of it streamed inside. Maya herself was down with her crew scooping out water in buckets and small barrels, hoping that it would buy them enough time to reach a safe space. Abe and Norris were laying on some loose wooden boards by now, since it would be the best way to transport them.

When she heard Takafuyu yell “Captain! I think we’re there!” she threw the bucket down and sprinted up the stairs. Her navigator was right. Towering above them was the looming shadow of the Thriller Bark hidden in the fog. They were almost there.

After a tense few minutes they managed to steer into the Thriller Barks bay. The moment the Marine ship made contact with the dock Maya ushered her crew to get the wounded off. Then she went down into the ship’s storage and found a few unscathed barrels and boxes which she carried up and out. Yachi, Egami and Himera followed her example. Even though most of their supplies had been destroyed or had gotten soaked, they still managed to get some out. Her ship sank right there in the bay of Gecko Moria’s Thriller Bark with a loud bubbling sound. While they were carrying boxes and barrels a man who from the looks of it was half human and half lion had arrived with a group of zombies right behind him. 

Maya turned to face him. “Hello, I’m Rear Admiral Maya and I have sent out a distress call to Warlord Gecko Moria. We’re in dire need of assistance. With whom do I have the pleasure?” she looked at the man expectantly. “I’m Absalom of the Graveyard and I’m Master Moria’s right hand.” he introduced himself, smirking at her. “Do you have a doctor on this ship? A few of my crewmates are badly wounded and need immediate medical attention.” His face fell a bit “Sure, we have one. Follow me.” Then he faced the zombies “Help them carry their stuff back to the mansion.” Maya helped Collin carry Norris and Yachi and Egami carried Abe up the path. It took them a little while to reach the “mansion”, it was basically a tall tower that functioned as the ship’s mast. They had to cross a dead forest and a graveyard first. A tall man with a long nose and black glasses and a smaller blonde woman wearing a black dress and a red fur boa were standing in the doorway. “Oy, Hogback. There’s some work for you”, Absalom yelled at him. Maya noticed the looks that her crewmates gave each other. She didn’t like the place either, but they needed help. 

When they reached the door the man called Hogback answered “It’s called DOCTOR Hogback, you idiot. I didn’t spend my whole life studying human anatomy to be called anything less from you!” “Yea, yea, whatever. Anyway they’re badly roughed up. Think you can patch them back together?” Absalom said with a smirk. Maya didn’t like where this conversation was going. She also noticed that the blonde woman had stitches all over her face and her pale blue skin tone and dead eyes pointed to her being a zombie as well, which creeped Maya out. Suddenly it felt like she was being watched, it was like a small touch of something she couldn’t pinpoint. She looked back into the black hallway leading into the building. “The audacity!” Dr. Hogback spat back. “Silence you two! Stop the bickering!” a high pitched voice interrupted them. Slowly the even taller figure of Gecko Moria slipped out of the shadows, making Maya breathe a sigh of relief. “Warlord Gecko Moria! It’s good to see you again!” Maya nodded at him in acknowledgement. Absalom shot Dr. Hogback a confused look. 

“Let’s take a look at you” Dr. Hogback sat while walking over to Norris. “He’s lost a lot of blood.” he stated. “Can you help him?” Maya asked. “Of course I can!! Right this way!” he grumbled. The blonde woman just followed him silently. 

She looked pathetic. Her hair was neon green this time, but the right side of her hair and face were stained red from a wound on her head. The young woman’s left side was obviously cut up and her white clothes were completely red. She also had various smaller injuries on her hands and arms. Even though everything about her screamed weak and pathetic, something deep within him felt the smallest spark of empathy for her. Her crew looked like a bunch of losers. Before Maya walked past him, still carrying the wooden board with her crewmate on it, she looked at him “Warlord? I have to tend to my crew first, but I’d like to talk to you later, if you can spare the time.” “Sure, whatever.” Moria shrugged at her. 

Her whole crew followed Dr. Hogback through the dark hallways until they reached his laboratory. They all tried to cram into the room, but Hogback shooed them back out. Absalom had been following them as well, communicating with Himera only in suggestive gestures and looks. “He needs surgery”, Hogback stated blankly. “No!” Egami yelled out. Maya’s head snapped around to her cook. “You’re the crazy one who has been patching up all those zombies we saw! You’re not touching him!” “Egami! You’re not in charge here!” Maya reprimanded him “You see his wounds. YOU can’t help him, I can’t help him, but he needs help. I won’t let him die!” “But what if he turns Norris into a zombie?” Yachi spoke up. “He won’t! Let me make this very clear. I’m your captain, I’m in charge here and Warlord Gecko Moria is an ally to the World Government and the Marines. You will have to trust my judgment.” Maya spat back angrily. “If it calms you down, I’m going to stay here during the whole procedure and make sure he doesn’t do anything shady.”, she gave Dr. Hogback a warning look. “I’m sure Absalom will be so kind to show you a place where y’all can rest. Abe will stay here as well, because he’s next in line for the treatment. And I’ll stay here the whole time, so everyone of you will get a chance to have their wounds looked at.” she stated harshly. Egami and Yachi shot her angry glares, Adrian averted his eyes and the rest just looked at her uncomfortably. Thankfully they followed Absalom without another word of protest, but Maya knew this wouldn’t be the last time she’d hear of this.

True to her word she stayed the whole time. It took almost two hours but after Norris’ surgery was over and Hogback gave a positive prognosis for his recovery she felt a little better. Abe was next. Luckily his wounds were only shallow, but there were many. He needed quite the amount of stitches for some of them. After both were accounted for Hogback turned towards her “Shall we take a look at you now, my dear?” “No! I want my crew to get checked first!”, she shook her head. 

The man then addressed the blonde woman “Cindry my dear, would you go fetch the next patients and someone to get the recovering patients out, please?” She looked up at him “I hate plates!” “Yes, yes, I know, now go and get someone!”, he ordered. Dr. Hogback put away some used tissues and wiped his table while Maya just watched him in silence. A few minutes later the door finally opened and revealed Cindry, in tow a few zombies and Yachi, Egami and Collin holding Nogi up. Out of her crew only Himera came out of the fight unscathed. Yachi and Egami took Abe out of the room and the zombies hoisted the wooden board with Norris on it on their shoulders and left with them. Nogi sat down on a chair and Collin stayed as well, sitting down on the floor next to him. The young Marine had some shallow cuts on his arms and a small stab wound on his shoulder. Before any of them could say anything the door was flung open again and Takafuyu stormed in with an angry expression on his face. “I deserve treatment too!” He yelled. “I’m bleeding and I need immediate medical attention. I got some blood on my very expensive tailored jacket! I want this to stop!” He stomped in, and showed his left arm, where a small gash was still oozing blood. “You do realise we had to treat Abe and Norris first, because they were on the brink of death!?” Maya said with anger slowly building up inside of her. “Yes, that’s why I waited! But now it’s my turn! The old geezer just has a broken leg and the youngling is barely injured!” “I will send someone for you, when it’s your turn.” Maya tried her best to stay calm, but to her his outburst was just childish and highly inappropriate. “What? No! I demand treatment! Now!” Takafuyu insisted. Rear Admiral Maya sprang to her feet and with a few big steps she cleared the room, standing right in front of her navigator “You will go back to the others and sit there and wait for my order! I will not tolerate this type of bullshit right now! Any further discussion about this will get you a disciplinary warning letter. You can count this as your first verbal warning! Know your place, Petty Officer!”, she growled at him using his rank to remind him of his status. Takafuyu wrinkled his nose, but didn’t say anything else, then he left, leaving the door wide open on purpose. Maya had to go close it herself. 

It took some time to treat Nogi’s leg, since Dr. Hogback had to feel how the bone was broken first. Nogi got a little bit of painkiller before they started, but even with them he was groaning in pain when Hogback started to press around the injured leg. “We could do this the old fashioned way or the faster way” Hogback proposed. “What does that mean?” Nogi asked. “You have the option between me stabilizing the leg and wrapping an old fashioned cast around it or me going in surgically and fixing the bones together. Option one takes weeks if not months to heal at your age, option two will cut the time needed for a full recovery down drastically.” Nogi looked at his captain for help, but she couldn’t offer any. “Fine, think about it, while I look at your mate” Hogback waved Collin over. While Hogback was cleaning and stitching Collin’s shoulder wound a knock sounded on the door. “Do you mind if I open the door, Collin?” Maya asked. “No, it’s fine captain, really.” She went to get the door, in front of it she found a very shaky Adrian and a zombie. “I-I didn’t find the way back here my-myself”, he stammered. “What is it, Adrian?” “Egami and Yachi are getting hungry, but they don’t want to eat the food Absalom offered them” he whispered. “If I’m honest some of it did look weird, but most of it looked like the stuff we would eat back at base.” Maya sighed heavily “Okay, and why are you here now?” “I’m s-sorry Captain, I-I didn’t want to b-bother you, but Egami asked me to come here to ask you i-if you’d be fine with us preparing our own food now. W-we still have some supplies in the crates we saved off the ship.” “You don’t need my permission to fix yourself some food. Of course I’d prefer you eat some of the food that Warlord Moria has offered so graciously, but I don’t want to have that discussion right now.”

Adrian nodded quickly “I’ll go tell them.” “Adrian, before you leave…” she looked down at his open and blistered hands “... come back here later and get your hands checked out, okay?” “Yes, captain.”

When she closed the door again she found that Hogback was done with Collin and Nogi was still thinking about his options. Finally the old man spoke up “I’m usually a fan of the old fashioned way, but my recovery will be faster you say. You managed to get these people up and moving around as zombies again. I don’t like your morality, but I can respect your talent. If you say the surgery goes without risk, I will let you perform it.” “Tsk, of course there are risks to every surgery, but you will find no one better than me. This is easy.” Hogback was the type of man who would pat himself on the shoulder if he could. Collin left and Hogback prepared for another surgery. Maya was slowly getting tired and grumpy. 

It took way too long for everyone to get checked by Dr. Hogback. Himera wasn’t injured, Egami and Yachi were too stubborn to let Hogback have a look at them, Adrian just needed some painnumbing balm for his hands, Wynn needed some stitches for a deep gash on his thigh. Maya made it a point to call for Takafuyu last. He had to learn that being an entitled asshole didn’t make things go his way faster. The man insisted on stitches, even though a few bandages would have sufficed. After everyone was done it was Maya’s turn. 

She had to get the slash on her left side stitched, Hogback bandaged the open wounds on her arms and she got a huge bandaid for the injury on her head. She thanked the doctor profusely, then a zombie brought her to the room her crew was currently housed in. It looked like an old storage room. “Your crew insisted on a room where they could all stay together. We offered them separate rooms.” A voice directly next to her ear said and made Maya jump. Absalom stood right beside her, yet she hadn’t even noticed him walking towards her or being anywhere near her. “Did I startle you?”, he smirked. “I see. Thank you for the accommodation” the green haired woman said slowly without answering his question and still looking at him bewildered. Absalom liked getting people startled like that. While he found her hot he had a feeling that he should better leave her alone. It was never good to mingle with the higher-ups of the Marines, but his captain didn’t seem to follow that rule. Absalom had seen first hand how his master's disdain for the warlord meetings slowly went away over the last few times and he didn’t complain anymore when he had to attend. On the contrary, it almost seemed like he was looking forward to it. Absalom hadn’t really known why, because his master didn’t really talk about the meetings, until this woman just ushered those words “It’s good to see you again”. Now it all made sense. Which sadly also meant for Absalom to stay clear of her. When she entered the room, she got told that the prepared food was already eaten, and that there was nothing left for her. Maya could see the evil glint in Egami’s eyes as he told her and she knew it had been on purpose. Yachi looked at her “Captain, we need a rotation for guard duty.” “Fine, then arrange yourselves. I won’t do it. I assure you, we will be fine here. There’s nothing we have to fear, as I said, Warlord Moria is an ally to the World Government and the Marines and I will stand by my statement from before that I don’t condone hostility towards him or his crew. If you feel the need to stand guard I will not prohibit you from doing so, but I won’t give you an order in that regard.” Maya was slowly getting fed up with her crew. Maybe they were right and their implication that she was naive was correct. She had only met the Warlord a few times, but every single time he hadn’t shown anything that gave her a reason to be suspicious of him. Even though he was four times her size, she hadn’t felt that cold fear wash over her that she had felt when she saw Sir Crocodile for the first time, or the underlying strain and tension whenever Doflamingo addressed her. Maybe she was being stupid, but something told her that she was right in trusting the warlord. Maya knew that her openly being hostile and suspicious towards him could also turn into something bad. She remembered how mad he had been, when barkeeper Harv had accidentally called him “her companion” not acknowledging his status as a Warlord. She saw the hatred in Yachi and Egami’s eyes, but she was too exhausted to deal with it. Exhausted, cold, thirsty, hungry, tired, filthy and in pain. 

A zombie tottered into the room “Excuse me, miss?” “Hm?” Maya looked at him blankly. “Master Moria has requested your presence.” She looked down at her attire. She was still covered in blood, sweat and dirt and her shirt was still ripped from the slash at her side. Maya didn’t have the means to change anyway, so she shrugged her concerns away. “Of course. Lead the way.” Maya followed the zombie through the seemingly endless hallways, up some very big steps until they finally reached a big hall where the tall warlord had already taken a seat. When he saw her a wide grin spread across his face. “Warlord Gecko Moria.” “Rear Admiral Maya.”, the way he said her title and name made her shiver. “Are you hungry?” he asked with a tone that implied he knew the answer already. A pack of zombies came in carrying a table and chair appropriate for her size. With them they also brought multiple food carts with various dishes. Like a gentleman, a zombie offered her the chair and she smiled at him and sat down. She looked up at Moria, who was still grinning widely at her. The zombies brought out giant plates full of food for Moria as well, so she didn’t have to eat alone. 

Maya was still creeped out by the moving corpses, but she tried to hide her discomfort. Looking at the multiple food options made it a little easier for her to ignore the unusual situation she found herself in: dining with Warlord Gecko Moria and being served by living corpses. Adrian was right, some of the food here looked outright toxic, but most of it seemed like normal food. There were sweet and hearty options. She saw vanilla pudding with a red sauce topped with strawberries, a boiled bird, probably a chicken, with gravy and some sort of dumplings. She also found some delicious looking steamed vegetables. A fancy ornate glass was filled with some sort of mousse au chocolat with cream. Maya’s eyes rested on the grilled salmon with asparagus and some sort of white gravy for a little while. The steak with butter also looked very appetizing. The blue mystery stew was something she’d never touch, though. The bright green jelly was also something that she was a bit wary of. One last food cart was rolled in for her, containing a type of rice curry judging from the smell, but it was bright purple, also a plate with some bread and something that looked to be goat cheese and another small bowl filled with mochi and a sweet porridge made out of… sweet beans, she supposed. 

At last a zombie carried a barrel over to her. “What’s that?” she asked. “The beer you wanted to try” Moria said, baring his teeth in an even wider grin. “This is all for me?” Maya gestured towards the food carts and the barrel. Moria only shrugged. “No strings attached?” she asked, one brow raised but a small smile on her face. “Who do you-” Moria interrupted himself when Maya started to giggle. He looked down at the zombies still lingering around his seat “Leave us alone!” he barked at them.

Maya was starving but she waited until the tall warlord bit into his piece of roasted meat first. Then she happily dug in, wanting to try most of the dishes in front of her. She avoided the blue stew, the green jelly and the purple rice, though. Moria suddenly laughed “You should really try the rice curry”, he said with a daring grin. Maya hesitated, “To be honest, it doesn’t even look… edible. Purple is such an unnatural colour for rice curry.” “Tsk, it’s perfectly fine to eat. It contains beet root, don’t be such a scaredy-cat. Do you really think I’d poison you?!”, he sounded insulted. “I’m sorry, of course I don’t think you’re trying to poison me, it’s just…” Maya looked at the curry with an unhappy expression on her face. “Fine, I’ll try it.” 

The green haired woman hesitated for a moment, then she stuck her fork into the curry and took a careful bite. To her surprise it was absolutely delicious! It tasted like beet root, like Moria said, but there was also something sweet to it, like… coconut! “You were right! This is delicious!” Moria looked at her with an extremely smug grin. “You haven’t touched the beer” he stated. “Oh, true! Let’s change that. I’m actually curious about this.” She used the spigot to pour herself some of the dark liquid into a mug, which had also been brought by a zombie. When the smell hit her she knew that this was something else entirely from the beer she was expecting. It smelled like smoke and it had a very intense barley and spice smell to it as well. Maya took a careful sip but even though it had only been a sip the taste was so overwhelming, that it took her by surprise and she choked on it. Coughing she sat the mug back down at the table, Moria erupted into shrieking laughter. When she regained her composure, she looked up at Moria “Wow, that was intense.” The warlord was still laughing, tears of laughter forming in the corners of his eyes. Somehow she wasn’t even mad at him laughing at her expense, instead it somehow tickled her funny bone as well and she started to giggle along. 

Chapter 3 "Sooner Or Later"

The next Warlord meeting was approaching fast. Sengoku had decided that they had to be held every 3 months. Even though he knew that by far not everyone would join he hoped that it would create some sort of habit for the pirates. 

Rear Admiral Maya still had to learn a lot. Sometimes Sengoku was worried about the woman. She had been part of a crew for almost a decade, not standing out, always flying under the radar until her captain finally put in a recommendation for a promotion for her. She had to have been evaluated by someone higher up the chain and Maya had been very hardworking and charming. Her promotion got greenlit and from there on she was on a steep incline towards the top. The man knew she wouldn’t dare to say it out loud but she was clearly overwhelmed. Usually, in her function as Rear Admiral, she would have to lead a full fleet, but Sengoku hesitated to actually give her as much responsibility. She had to learn the ropes first. He didn’t really know what had gotten into him that day when it was decided that she would rank up, maybe it was Garps and Kuzans enthusiasm, maybe he had just lost connection to his brain, he didn’t remember and it didn’t matter now. All that mattered now, was to get her fit for her role. Sakazuki was already breathing down his neck, since he wanted the Rear Admiral to fulfill her role and not be a burden.

Sengoku had given Maya a few tasks first. He threw together some crews that she had to sail with and coordinate, which she mastered. His next task was the hardest so far. 

Sengoku had a short list of misfits. Hardworking Marines who, despite their best efforts, weren’t fitting into their respective crews. After reading their reports he didn’t even think some of them should be a part of the Marines anymore. The worst cases were those who were reprimanded because of insubordination. Yet those were perfect for his task. If Maya was as good as she appeared, she would manage to make them fall in line. After that he would give her command over a small fleet of only a few ships, but with way more people to command on them, to get her accustomed to her actual responsibility. Sengoku was confident that she would pull through. 

He took one last look at the list.

Norris, the ship’s doctor, was the only battlehardened one. Sengoku wouldn’t take any risks with a role like a doctor. He gave Maya the best he could find. Norris had a unique way of staying calm in the most intense situations and calming the people around him. He had a broad knowledge of medicine and herbs and he was very skilled in the treatment of his patients.

Collin was next on the list and would be appointed her first mate. The younger man was fresh out of training and needed some practice out in the open but if he could keep it up his career would look very promising.

Wynn was a musician with an alcohol problem. He was thrown out of his last crew, because at one point he was too drunk to pull his weight in a fight and he had a record of being a burden for his captains.

Next on the paper was Himera. She was the only other woman he would appoint to Maya’s crew. Himera was… difficult. She was very popular with the men, since she was a confirmed sex addict. With a rifle or sniper this woman could wreak havoc, but most times she didn’t feel the need to fulfil her role and instead flirted with everything around her. Men, women, Marines, pirates, it didn’t matter to her.

Nogi was an old former shipwright and boatswain. He didn’t want to retire and when his former captain suggested retirement, he punched him square in the face. Nogi had been with the Marines for decades without a single misconduct, so they decided to let it slide and give him one last chance.

Sengoku had to flip the paper for the next candidate. Abe was a middle-aged man with a broad knowledge of every melee weapon there was. He was very skilled with the sword and mace, but he could make everything into a weapon if he wanted to. Yet he had a problem with respecting authority. He was one of the worst in the crew in that regard.

But Abe was not the only one who had been reprimanded for insubordination before.

Egami had been thrown out of his crew for a similar reason before. No details were known, only that he refused his captain's orders. Neither Egami nor his captain had clarified the matter when asked by higher-ups, so Egami was pulled out of the crew. He was said to be a very resourceful and talented cook if he wanted to. Sengoku had heard that Egami had a habit of being quite the lazy cook, though. 

Takafuyu was the navigator. Even Sengoku couldn’t stand the guy, he was the definition of a snob. He was alright in his role, not very exceptional but also not the worst, but his attitude made him completely unlikeable. 

Yachi would take the role as a helmsman. He was tall and burly and usually nothing could faze him. The man also had a broad knowledge about ships and ocean currents and their dangers, which he had proven multiple times already. Sadly he also had a record of challenging his captain and not listening to commands. 

The last one for her crew would be Adrian. A boy fresh out of training, just like Collin, but those two couldn’t be any different. The boy was so shy that he couldn’t even look at Sengoku when they met the first time. His voice was quiet and he was overall just meek.  Adrian was the look-out, since he wanted to be a part of the Marines so badly and Sengoku felt bad not giving a willing young man his chance. 

Sengoku sighed. 

Gecko Moria sat down at the table. His mood was bad, since he loathed being here in the Marines headquarters for meetings that were a complete waste of time. Yet he was apparently one of the more responsible warlords since he noticed some of them, like Boa Hancock, were never showing up. The tall man swore himself that next time there was a stupid meeting he would also miraculously fail to get the message and simply not attend. 

That thought went right out the window, when the door opened and a woman with bright pink, short hair walked in. A woman he still remembered from the last time he was here, Rear Admiral Maya. Last time they met her hair had a different colour though. When she noticed Moria looking at her she gave him a little smile. 

Doflamingo next to him grumbled something and shot her an angry look, which made Moria remember the last time the three had met. A grin spread across his face. 

This time Maya actually sat down on the chair directly across from Moria. She had a little clipboard with paper and a pen with her. During this meeting she took some notes, she had to, it was one of Sengoku's little tasks for her. She noticed that this time there was another Warlord present. Sir Crocodile sat between Bartholomew Kuma and Dracule Mihawk.

The woman tried her best to stay focused on all the technicalities that were talked about, but as it was last time, the Marines present had the bigger share of the conversation. After half an hour even Maya was bored out of her mind. Only when Sengoku asked each of the Warlords about any status updates they could give and any information that might have reached them in their part of the world it got a little more interesting. Sir Crocodile piqued her interest the most. Maya had never met him and he seemed extremely calculating and dangerous. 

Gecko Moria noticed Rear Admiral Maya stealing glances at Crocodile and when the man talked her eyes were basically glued to him. He couldn’t read her expression though. She was diligently scribbling away on her little clipboard. Oh how he wanted to see what she had written down. When it was his turn to report she showered him with the same attention, which somehow pleased him, even though he didn’t really know why. 

After the meeting Rear Admiral Maya and Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood in the hallway in front of the meeting room. The other Marines and Mihawk had already left, but most of the warlords took their sweet time getting up and out. Sir Crocodile moved past her and their eyes met. Every hair on the back of her neck stood up, something about him told her to run. As if he knew he smirked at her and then he finally passed her and she could only stare at his back.

“You look like a bubble gum” Doflamingo’s voice snapped her out of her terror. “Right back at ya” she replied without even looking at him. “Doflamingo!”, Sengoku warned him. “Yes, yes.” Doflamingo went past them “Oy, Crocodile!” he yelled out and walked a little faster to catch up with the other warlord. 

The ground vibrating a little ever so often announced that Warlord Gecko Moria would be the next coming out of the door. Maya couldn’t hide the small smile from that realization while she handed Sengoku her notes. Sengoku looked at her questioningly but she just shook her head. The warlord made his way out into the hallway, their eyes met and Maya’s smile grew a little wider. She quickly looked away. Sengoku just pretended he didn’t see her weird behaviour, this was another headache he was not willing to get right now. Moria passed them without a word. “That would be all for now Rear Admiral Maya. I’ll have another task ready for you by tomorrow morning. Be ready to get dispatched out with a new crew.” “Yes, I’ll be ready. Thank you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Have a nice day.” she took one last look towards the meeting room and saw Bartholomew Kuma still sitting there on his chair. Weird. Something about him was not right, but she couldn’t really articulate what it was. 

Maya then walked out through the hallway, walking a little faster than usual since something deep in her wanted to see Warlord Moria again. This time hopefully without a superior Marine nearby. Why’d he have to be so tall, only a few of his big steps meant a loot of her smaller steps. 

She caught up with him near the exit. Before she could even say anything he spoke without even looking at her “You had to be Sengoku’s secretary today?” “Seemed like it, huh? At first it didn’t feel like it, but now that you mentioned it, I basically was, wasn’t I?”  The sun was still up, when they got out into the open. “Are you heading back to your ship right away?”, she asked him. “Of course, I don’t know what else I should do here. This place reeks of Marines.” “Oh wow, it’s not like pirates smell like flowers and rainbows, but I see how it is”, the pink haired woman replied and shrugged. They were both walking down the road towards the harbor in silence for a moment, then Moria broke the silence again “What would YOU propose I do, then?” A cocky smirk appeared on her face, surprising him “I’d suggest you go for a drink at the Giant’s Inn. It’s close to the harbor, so no long walk back to the ship if you don’t like it.” Gecko Moria took a deep breath “What do I get if I accept?” his grin was devious. “Uhh…” Maya struggled for a moment with her answer “I could buy you a drink if that’s what you want, no problem. Other than that you’ll get good beer, not just ‘water mixed with spices’ and maybe you’ll find entertainment?” Moria thought he had misheard. He just wanted to rile her up a bit and now she was offering him a drink, something about this situation was very wrong. “Tsk, I’ll see how that ‘beer’ will hold up. I don’t know what you Marines count as a beer nowadays.” he scoffed and Maya grinned the rest of the way down to the harbor.

As Maya had said, the “Giant’s Inn” was really close to the harbor. The name was also not by accident, it was apparently very carefully chosen. Moria could walk into the building without having to bend down, since it was located in a giant old shipyard. When he entered the building all eyes were suddenly glued to him, something he was very much expecting and yet still somewhat uncomfortable with. The whispers followed them to the bar, but Maya didn’t seem to mind. “Rear Admiral Maya, what can I get you and your companion?” the barkeeper was also a younger and taller guy, not as tall as Moria, but still more than double Maya’s height. Companion? Anger was building up in Gecko Moria’s chest. Now he was being reduced to a “companion”? Maya saw the look on his face change and reacted instantly. “My ‘companion’? Harv, you can’t be serious! He’s not just my companion! This is Warlord Gecko Moria himself! I’d like to get some spiced rum and… what do you like?” she addressed the warlord himself. Moria’s hand was balled into a tight fist. “Of course, I’m very sorry, Warlord Gecko Moria. I didn’t mean to insult you. What can I get you?” Harv said apologetically. It took Moria everything in him not to explode right then and there “Beer” was the only word he pressed out. The barkeeper looked towards Maya with a plea for help. The woman thought for a moment “Take the beer from the black barrel in the back. You know which one. I think he’ll like that one.” Harv nodded, the relief plastered across his face. “About payment..?” “Be so nice and put it all on my tab”, Maya smiled. Then she coaxed Moria towards a table at the far side of the inn, while he still tried to kill the poor barkeeper with his look. 

“You’ll have to excuse him. He’s new here in the Headquarter. He has lived most of his life isolated on a small island with an even smaller Marine base. But he’s a nice guy.” Maya tried to appease the tall and still very angry warlord. Moria didn’t react. 

It only took two minutes until Harv came to their table with a decently sized mug of beer and a way smaller glass of spiced rum. Decently sized at least for Moria’s height, Maya was sure she could take a bath in that thing. “Thank you, Harv.” Maya smiled fondly at him. The younger man just nodded and then ducked away as quickly as possible. 

“Come on, let it go, try your beer. I’m curious if you like my choice.” The warlord took a look at the almost black liquid in his mug before raising it to his mouth and taking a sip. He sat the mug back down on the table “aaaand?” Maya looked at him expectantly. “That’s certainly better than whatever they served at that joke of a festival” Moria answered. “But?” Maya followed. “But I’ve had better.” - “Of course…” she said with a deadpan. 

After a few minutes of both silently sipping on their drinks Moria broke the silence “How would I find entertainment here?” Maya looked up at him “I’m not so sure anymore that you will like anything that will happen in here.” she turned around “Hey Harv, when will Cole and his crew turn up here?” The barkeeper replied “Uhh, they should already be here by now, I don’t know what held them up.” The woman asked herself if it had been a mistake taking the warlord here. The door swung open with such force that the hinges squeaked in agony, making everyone’s head snap towards it. A man almost as tall as Moria entered the room, he had long black and silver hair and a long luscious beard, behind him were people of various sizes carrying musical instruments. “Cole! We’ve already wondered where you are! Good to see you!” Harv yelled from the bar. 

It was like an invisible force suddenly made the Marines move. Tables and chairs were moved from the middle of the room to the walls without anyone ushering a single word. He and his crew set up their instruments near the entrance, leaving the middle of the room as a sort of dance floor. Drinks were hastily brought to them. Moria just watched the spectacle utterly bewildered. 

Without any warning they started. The music was very different to what Gecko Moria had seen Maya herself perform at the festival three months ago, but that was not a bad thing. To his surprise they also sang a few of the old sea shanties he cherished so much. He was even more surprised to see that Maya knew the words to every song they played and she didn’t hesitate to sing along. Some of the bystanders got up and out on the “dance floor” to let loose. It didn’t take him long to be so drawn into the whole spectacle that he didn’t even notice Harv refilling his mug a few times. Then Cole asked the crowd “Are y’all ready for the story?” and the room cheered. Maya leaned over to Moria “He always writes a song about his latest adventure out on sea. Sometimes those adventures seem too good to be true or exceptionally crazy, but they’re interesting and something new, so everyone’s happy.” 

Cole sang about the sea kings in the Calm Belt and monsters with red glowing eyes as tall as the sky that could only be seen in foggy nights. Judging from the reactions of some of the Marines present they didn’t believe him, but Moria knew better. 

After the song was done they earned themselves thunderous applause from the crowd. The tables and chairs were placed back and everything went calmer again. Cole’s crew mingled with the crowd while Cole went up to Maya and Moria. 

“Rear Admiral Maya and is that the Warlord Gecko Moria himself?”, he asked surprised. “Good evening, Cole. Your performance today was even better than usual!” Maya praised him “And to answer your question: Yes, this is Warlord Gecko Moria.” “It’s my pleasure, Warlord. Hope we didn’t bore you” Cola laughed, but Moria didn’t really feel like answering. Cole didn’t seem to mind “I’m pleasantly surprised to see you here tonight, Maya. Since you’ve been promoted you haven’t been here a lot.” “Yea, actually I got quite busy. Sorry.” she apologized. “I see you still colour your hair wild colours. I really thought the admirals would prohibit you from dyeing your hair at all.” “They haven’t said anything about it so far, but I’m sure Sakazuki is secretly boiling inside because of it.”, Maya replied. “Oh, that he is, but that’s because of his devil fruit and not your hair.” Cole’s joke was so bad, that Maya just looked at him with a playfully disappointed look on her face. “Really? That’s the best you could come up with? You should be ashamed of yourself.” Cole laughed. “Anyway, it was good seeing you again, maybe you’ll find some more time in the future for your friends.” Maya’s face fell, that sentence had felt like a stab. Cole was already on his way back to the bar. 

Gecko Moria watched the smile disappear from her face. “What an idiot.”, he muttered quietly. Maya shook her head lightly and then slowly turned towards him “Hm? Did you say something?” “You dye your hair, that’s why you had a different colour last time.” Moria diverted the topic. “Oh, yeah. I normally have blonde hair, like that prick Doflamingo.” She pulled her hair back a little revealing her blonde hairline. “But I like it colourful, and since I keep my hair short I can try out many colours over a shorter span of time. I don’t know why, but I feel more comfortable with coloured hair.” she shrugged. 

“I can feel the rum get to me. We should leave, I don’t feel comfortable here anymore.” Somehow Moria had a feeling that it had nothing to do with the alcohol and more with the statement of a certain someone that made her want to leave. The woman got up from her seat and headed for the door. “I’ll come by tomorrow and pay, Harv.” she yelled towards the bar, but didn’t stop her stride. 

Gecko Moria followed her out into the cool night. They walked back to the harbor together and Maya even walked him back to his ship. “Thank you for the evening, Warlord Gecko Moria. I enjoyed your company. I wish you a good night and safe travels back home to the Thriller Bark. I guess we’ll see each other again in around three months.” she smiled warmly at him. Moria nodded at her “I guess.” Maya was about to leave, but she turned around one last time. “Perhaps next time you could bring some of the liquid you deem worthy of the title ‘beer’ so I can understand what you’re talking about.” The only answer she got was a grin that spread across his whole face, but nothing else was needed, she understood. 

Chapter 2 "Good Life" Maya slipped into her outfit for the night: black skin tight leggings with bright white stripes along the outer line of her legs and on top of it she wore a small black skirt made out of shiny black sequins. Additionally she fought herself into a tight red and black shirt with long sleeves and white glittery highlights and black shoes also with bright white stripes. A woman hurried towards her to get her make-up done in time for her performance. There wasn’t much time left, in only a few minutes she had to be up on stage.

Gecko Moria had taken his seat, but so far nothing had impressed him or made him want to stay any longer. The band on stage was lame, the beer tasted watery and there was just so much noise. Everything was so chaotic. He was still wondering what she meant by “seeing him later”. He decided to give it a few more minutes, but then he was going to leave. It was as she had predicted, there was nothing to do except eating, drinking and being bored.

Suddenly the band grew quiet and the host of the show appeared on stage, announcing the next big performance. “Some of you have already awaited this moment! Welcome with me, our dear Rear Admiral Maya!” he yelled into his microphone. The crowd went wild with applauding and cheering, much to Moria’s surprise. The old band left the stage and Maya stepped out onto the stage, smiling and waving at the crowd. Moria almost didn’t recognize her. She didn’t wear the Marine uniform, but a rather extravagant outfit that hugged her toned figure. Additionally she wore some very striking red and white make-up around her eyes, matching her outfit. Overall she had a very sparkling appearance. What he also noticed was her smile. It was a bright and honest smile. The host thrusted the microphone into her hands “Thank you for having me here today! I’d say without further ado let’s get this started!” Maya laughed and gave the microphone back, since she had her own, fixed to her shirt around the collar. Another band, the one that she had practised with, came up on stage and while they set up their equipment, Maya had a brief moment to take in the atmosphere. Her eyes darted to one specific spot on the market place, fully expecting to be disappointed, but to her relief and surprise the seat was not empty. Moria’s and her eyes met for a short moment and her smile widened into an even bigger grin and eventually a small giggle escaped her mouth. “While my friends here are setting up I want to thank you all for coming here. I’m happy that so many of you have found time to attend!” The tall warlord instantly knew that the words were mainly targeted at him, even though he didn’t fully understand why the woman had felt the need to address him. When the guitarist gave her a thumbs up she knew this was going to be the start of a wild night. This time she was more excited than ever. Which might, or might not have something to do with the simple fact, that she had invited a warlord to this occasion and, much to her surprise, he followed through.

It started slow with a song that she only rocked her body to while she sang. Then it was like they accelerated, fast. The next song had her full on dancing and really performing. The crowd was getting riled up. Then one song came up that fully showed her talent. “Can you hear the people singing? Can you feel the love out here tonight?” she gestured towards the Marines who pooled around the stage. “This is what we’ve all been waiting for, good life! Even if the times are changing, remember that it’s gonna be alright! This is what we’ve all been waiting for. Good life!” Maya made another gesture with her hands to signal the crowd a repeat of the lyrics. And suddenly the hundreds of Marines in front of the stage sang in unison, which made the hairs on Moria’s neck stand up. Maya enjoyed every moment of it. She always loved when the people understood and sang together as a unit. One song after another she sang and gave it all and at various points the crowd supported her and sang with her. The powerful sound of the Marines singing together made Moria feel small for the first time in ages. Even though most of them were never going to be a match for him, they had numbers and right at that moment he realised that with a truly good and skilled leader even those pesky Marine soldiers without special abilities could become a threat. At some point another woman in an equally fancy outfit joined Maya on stage. Maya only knew Helene from practice. They had trained together for a choreography that looked like a playful fight. Helene was a very skilled acrobat at a stationary circus in town and she had to teach Maya quite a bit before they had been able to pull that off. Their “fight” was accompanied by drums and a flute. The crowd “Ohh”d and “Ahh”d with every move of theirs and cheered them on. The more time went by the drunker the crowd got and the sloppier the singing was, if you could even call it that anymore. Moria had to admit that her performance was at least somewhat entertaining, even though he didn’t really get the need to sing about love and peace and the likes. He very much preferred the old sea shanties that he grew up with, but of course the Marines wouldn’t entertain them, since they were mostly centered around piracy.

After almost two hours it was time to wrap up. Maya performed her last song and thanked the crowd. Before she left the stage she shot Gecko Moria a final look with a small smile. Rear Admiral Maya couldn’t wait to get home to take a shower and rest. The clothes she wore for the performance didn’t belong to her, so she quickly stripped down and threw herself into her own clothes as fast as she could. She wondered if the tall warlord was still present. When she got out of the backstage area she immediately looked towards his seat, but this time it was empty. Maya spotted him rather quickly though, the warlord was apparently making his way back to his ship, since she saw his silhouette enter a street leading to the harbor. She had to ask him, it was embarrassing, but she had to, which meant she had to go after him.

Currently I'm motivated to write again. I hope this time I can finish one of my stories. I have wrote a few chapters of this story already. I'm going to be honest with y'all I'm quite nervous about posting these, but I'll do it anyway. Small information: I know that the warlord meetings are usually held in Marie Geoise, but for convenience I chose to ignore that in my story and they're held in the Marine Headquarter. Enjoy.

Chapter 1 "A Chance Meeting"

“Rear Admiral Maya is going to join us today”, Sengoku explained to the uninterested warlords. He might as well had talked to a wall. Only when said woman entered the room did they seem to come back to life, at least some of them. Dracule Mihawk sat with his legs on the table and barely even looked up, Gecko Moria just took a look at her briefly and Bartholomew Kuma didn’t react at all. Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo was eyeing her like a piece of meat. Sengoku just hoped he would behave. Maya was a skilled fighter who got trained by Marine legend Garp and to an extent Kuzan, she would know how to stand her ground but he didn’t want nor need a fight breaking out right now. Maya had short, spikey, blonde hair, which she dyed ever so often. Today her hair was dark blue, like the sky after sunset, but before complete darkness. She was around 1,70m tall and wore the standard Marine outfit. Maya nodded at the seated Warlords and went up to her seat, yet she didn’t sit down but instead opted to stand next to her chair. 

The door to the room opened again and a very nervous looking messenger scrambled in. The man speedwalked up to Sengoku “Sengoku, Sir, there is some sort of situation you’ll have to look at, real quick. It’s very urgent!” The young man nervously side eyed the unimpressed warlords. Sengoku sighed, “Fine.” Then he addressed the warlords “It appears there is an urgent matter I have to tend to first. It shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back in a minute.” The older man got up and left the room. 

The moment the door closed behind Sengoku, Doflamingo appeared squatting on the table in front of Rear Admiral Maya, staring at her “Well, look what we have here. You free tonight?” he said with a wide grin. Seemingly unbothered she looked up at him “I’ve already got plans.” The tall man didn’t seem to get the reaction he wanted, so he tried to provoke her “You’re the new blood here, eh? Bet I can take you.” - “If I were you I’d be careful” she replied coldly. “Oh?” a devious grin spread across his face “Why is that? You think you’re stronger than me?” - “You’re in a highly secured room inside the Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Sengoku will come back anytime, I can handle myself and I’m sure there are some people on “your” side of the table who would love to get a reason to punch you in the face.” Maya lectured him. Doflamingo’s face contorted into an angry grimace, and suddenly Gecko Moria’s high pitched laugh echoed through the room. Doflamingo’s head snapped around to glare at the taller warlord “You…” he couldn’t finish the sentence because just at that moment Sengoku returned, accompanied by Vice Admiral Tsuru. 

The meeting itself was very stale and uneventful. The moment it started the warlords were as uninterested as before and didn’t really engage. Maya just stood and watched. She knew that Sengoku was preparing her for a higher role. A promotion for Vice Admiral was briefly talked about, but when he asked her to join the meeting she knew something else was up. 

After the meeting the warlords quickly dispersed. Maya had a brief talk with Sengoku about the meeting. He mostly wanted to know what kind of impressions she got from the warlords. In the end he didn’t really tell her why she had to join the meeting in the first place, which left her as clueless and puzzled as before. When she exited the building the wind carried a faint smell of cotton candy and smoke. Maya hurried down the road, she still had to get dressed for her performance at the festival. Some higher-ups that didn’t want to be named had the great idea to organize a big party “for” the warlords and the common Marine soldiers. 

The Rear Admiral didn’t know what to think of it, but she was known for her great voice and ability to animate the crowds. It was one of the reasons why she shot up the political ladder so fast. For years she had been a common Marine soldier, nothing special. Just one little recommendation from her former captain later and now she was Rear Admiral with technically many more responsibilities, but realistically she was still feeling like a rookie. 

When she made her way through the streets towards the market place, where the main attractions of the festival stood, she noticed the tall figure of Gecko Moria looming behind some houses in a parallel alley. Maya approached him and as she came closer she heard the voice of Doflamingo “You thought that was funny, yea?!” Warlord Gecko Moria scoffed “Get off my back, Doflamingo.”, he replied annoyed. “I’m going to wipe that grin off your face forever!”, the blonde Warlord spat. Maya replied in Moria’s stead “That would not be very wise!” Donquixote Doflamingo slowly turned to look at her with an angry expression on his face, but Maya didn’t back down “I’m going to repeat myself. You’re in a military base of the Marines. Not everyone here is well-disposed towards you as Warlords. They’re basically only waiting for the smallest misstep to throw you all out of this program and into Impel Down. We’re generally not very fond of fighting within our city walls, even if you weren’t pirates, by the way. If I were you, I wouldn’t risk it. Especially not over something so small and insignificant.” If looks could kill she would have dropped dead from the look Doflamingo shot her. “Why don’t you put your energy into something else?” she suggested. “The two of you could join the festivities!” she added with a joyful smile, ignoring the hostility thrown at her. Doflamingo snorted with disgust and then slowly walked off into the next alley. Maya then turned around and looked up to address Moria “They have commissioned a seat individually made for you, to match your height. If you have nothing else to do tonight you should really check it out.” Moria was still looking after the fuming Doflamingo and a small laugh escaped him. Then he looked down at the woman at his feet. She had guts, he liked that. While he wasn’t exactly thrilled to attend some stupid Marine festival he was a little interested in her. The tall man decided to give it a shot, fully expecting to be back at his ship in half an hour's time. “Fine”, he replied courtly. “Great! If you don’t mind, I’ll accompany you. I have to get there as well. This way.” 

Moria didn’t need her to show him the way, since he was tall enough to look over most buildings and he could not only see, but also hear and smell the thing, but he didn’t say anything. Maya looked back up at him to search for any indication of what he might have been thinking about or feeling, but there was none. She knew that it was highly unusual that the Warlord would follow her invitation and attend the festival, especially without an explicit order of Sengoku or some verbal dispute. “Might if I come up there, so I can talk to you without breaking my neck?”, she didn't wait for an answer. Skillfully she jumped on top of a small wall and onto the next lightpost, from where she hopped up on the roof of the building next to it. Now she was almost eyelevel with Gecko Moria. “There, that’s much better.”, she smiled at him and kept walking along the roof as if everything was normal. “About the festival, we got every mead, ale and beer that you can imagine and even more. We also serve non alcoholic drinks of course, if you’re not in the mood for it. There will be staff who are instructed to specifically serve you and tend to your needs only. If you need something just tell ‘em.” Maya hopped across a small gap onto the next roof. Luckily here in the center of the city the houses were built very close together. “We also have snacks which were prepared by our best chefs. Mostly sweets, but I’m sure there will also be at least one hearty option if you don’t like it sweet.” For the whole time Gecko Moria had remained silent, but judging from the expression on his face he was clearly bored. Maya couldn’t even tell if he was listening to her at all. “There’s going to be music, we have set up a stage for various performances, but I’m pretty sure a former pirate like you won’t like the music we are performing here in the Headquarter. You know what? I’m going to be honest with you here. Basically there’s not much for you to do here except drinking, eating snacks and making an appearance. I’m not sure why the higher-ups thought organizing this… thing… was going to be something amazing and mind blowing.”, she shrugged. Hearing Moria laugh startled her, since it was the first thing she heard from him since they parted ways with Warlord Doflamingo. Somehow Gecko Moria found her honest confession quite amusing. “Tell me, why should I attend then?” he asked her. They were almost there. Maya took a moment to answer “I don’t know much about you. Maybe there is something here that would entertain you at least a little bit? And the drinks are free, I mean, why not exploit that?” She reached the end of the roof. “There we are already! Now that you’re here, why walk the whole way back without at least taking a look around?” Maya exclaimed. “Look, your seat’s up there on the left, right across the stage, you’ll have the best view! I have something else I have to do now, but maybe you could find it in you to listen to a few songs. And maybe, we’ll see each other later again?”, she winked at him. Then she looked around the roof for a way to get down somewhat gracefully without having to perform a dramatic exit jump. It took Moria a split second to get over the initial shock that the woman had just winked at him, but then his grin returned. When he had gathered his composure again he just held out his hand for her. 

yesterday I stumbled upon their official ages. NEVER would I have guessed that Mohji war 27 at the beginning of the story, and therefore being 11 years younger than Buggy... with Cabaji also "only" at 32 years in the beginning there is no way that my fic will make any sense.