#fully human

“Try this one,” Thatch urged you, as the yellow juice slid down your hand.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” you said after eating the fruit and licking the juice off your fingers. He had given you something called a mayngo, an Eurt fruit you’d never had before. Well, you technically hadn’t had any fruit from Eurt before now, but you didn’t think that was an important distinction to make. 

“Can I have some more?” you asked, eyeing the rest of the yellowish orange fruit. As you had long imagined, Eurt had delightful fruits and vegetables. Lafftale only had a select few varieties of Eurt plants that were constantly being regrown, so there wasn’t any variety to your diet there. And Marco was right, Thatch had a whole supply of Eurt foods, and you were all too happy to try every single one of them.

“You said that about everything I’ve given you!” Thatch exclaimed with a smile. He clearly wasn’t upset by your assessment, his chest puffed up with pride. He’d given you Eurt fruits like mango, apples, and papaya, and vegetables as well. He also had prepared foods like bread, cheese, and cookies. You thought you were going to pop, but you couldn’t stop yourself from eating everything he offered you.

“Yeah, but it’s true. Everything you’ve made has been incredible,” you said happily, your hand on your stomach. You weren’t even lying to satisfy him – you really hadn’t ever had such tasty food in your life. If you could eat warm bread forever, you would.

“What were you eating before? Dust? You said you didn’t have any meat on Lafftale,” Thatch said with a laugh, though his eyes were sharp. His tongue flicked out over his mouth as he waited for you to answer. Oh, he thought he’d glean information from you just like that?

“You’re right, only dust,” you agreed, giving away nothing. A small sound had Thatch glancing at his controller.

“Bah. Marco says it’s time for you to come back to him in his lab. He says he has something for you to do,” Thatch said, flicking away an incoming message. You frowned – what could Marco want you to do? You’d already orgasmed once that day, you didn’t need any more vaccines, you weren’t tired…you supposed you would find out. 

“I don’t wanna do anything else, I wanna stay here and eat more,” you complained. Maybe Thatch would intercede for you, though you doubted it. And actually, your stomach was pretty full from all the samples he’d given you. Maybe it was time to head back before you gave yourself a stomachache. 

“I bet he doesn’t even have anything for you to do, he’s probably just jealous,” Thatch scoffed. “He can’t stand that you love me more than him,” he said with a wide, teasing grin, his tail flicking once behind him.

“Yeah right. I love the food you give me for sure, but I’m not settled on you yet,” you tossed back, aiming for a joke. You were tense until Thatch laughed, placating your nerves. 

“We have plenty of time to get to know one another. I’m sure you’ll come around to me sooner or later, everyone does. I’m the only one with mangoes, and the cacao is almost ready to harvest. I’m sure you’re gonna want to try that when it’s ready. There’s a reason the crew like me more than Marco, everyone likes the chef more than the doctor,” Thatch said as he lifted you off the counter and set you back on the floor. 

When you first arrived at the kitchen, you had worried that Thatch would try touching you or initiating too much contact with you. But beyond helping you on and off the counter, he hadn’t really touched you at all, beyond a few finger grazes when offering you food.

“What’s cacao?” you asked, squinting your eyes.

“It’s what chocolate is made from,” Thatch clarified. Your eyes went wide and your mouth dropped open.

“I always wanted to try it! It’s been my dream!” you squealed, gripping his chef’s coat. Thatch nearly wrapped his fingers around your hand, stopping at the last moment with a small frown.

“Yes, but I don’t think I was supposed to tell you,” Thatch said with a grimace, scratching the back of his neck. “Vista wanted to be the one to let you know but I couldn’t help myself. Not when you look like that at me,” he explained, pinching your cheek. You thought for a moment – you hadn’t given him puppy eyes or anything. Thatch was definitely weak to the charms of humans, you thought. A ping on your controller told you that you had an incoming message and you didn’t have to be a real Three Eyes to know who was sending it.

“Alright, I think it’s time I go. Marco’s getting annoyed,” you said, not really reading the message as you flicked it away. Thatch also got a message, which he scanned quickly.

“Oh, uh, right. Luna, before you go, I have something I need to show you,” Thatch said, suddenly standing up straight. Whereas before he had been relaxed and cheerful, he now seemed rigid and wooden. Your senses were on high alert – change wasn’t always good. 

“What’s up?” you asked, suspicious of his sudden change in demeanor.

“Follow me,” he said, beckoning you with a wave of his hand. You crossed the kitchen floor with him as he led you to a cupboard that was roughly your height.

“If, for whatever reason, you ever need to get food and there is no one to help you, it is located here,” Thatch said, opening the cupboard. “Normally, Marco or I will bring you food, but in the event that we are not here, everything in this cupboard is safe for you to consume. If you open any of the containers, the food will be fresh. There are also meal bars that are suitable for you,” Thatch said, gesturing to the trays and bars. 

“Alright,” you agreed, giving him a slow nod. You could use these foods for when you made your escape. 

“So if you need to take food, take it only from here,” he reiterated, looking you right in the eyes.

“I got it. Only take food from here if I ever need it,” you repeated back to him, letting him know you understood. Thatch nodded at you solemnly, before forcing a smile over his mouth seconds later.

“But you probably won’t need to do anything like that, so I can stop worrying,” he said with an uneasy grin.

“Sure. Ok, well, um, I’m gonna go,” you said, pointing towards the door. That whole interaction had been so weird and stiff. What the hell was Thatch’s problem? It was good information but why had it made him so nervous to say it? You also didn’t want to die from poisonous ingredients and you hadn’t tried to eat anything that wasn’t served to you. 

“Aw, well, make sure to take time to see me again!” Thatch said, breaking into a true smile. “And let me know if you get lost on your way back to the lab. Wait, do you need directions?! You can ask me for them! Or Marco! Or Izou! Or –”

“No, I’m good. I have a map. OK bye,” you said quickly with a final wave before turning to leave out the main door of the kitchen. Any being in your way suddenly moved to the side like you were repulsing them, like they’d been told to get out of your way. You narrowed your eyes – something was definitely going on. 

You’d keep everything in mind but right now you wanted to walk around the ship by yourself. Pulling up your map once the door to the kitchen closed again, a blinking dot indicated where you were in the ship. The Moby was well structured, with its spoke and wheel design easy to navigate. You would have been able to find Marco’s lab and room even without the small picture of himself smiling that hovered above it on your map. You scowled, did Marco not remember you had navigated space by yourself? 

Setting out, you walked along the mostly empty hallways along the path to Marco’s lab. Your eyes flicked between your map and the hallways as you walked, making sure you were going in the correct direction. It was easy going and you really could have taken a direct route back to the lab. But instead you decided to take a longer route, a path that would allow you to explore more of the ship. After all, you could blame taking longer on being unfamiliar with the ship or taking a wrong turn. There was no way Marco would be able to fault you for your path as long as you eventually made it back, right? 

But as you passed the entrance to another wing, you noticed a discrepancy. You stood back against the wall, your eyes flicking rapidly between the map on your controller and what you were seeing with your eyes. Thankfully, the hallway was deserted and you could think to yourself without having to worry about anyone else watching you. You were in the general area of the Second Division, but you weren’t quite sure where this new area would lead since it wasn’t delineated on your map.

There was no doubt about it, some sections of the ship had been redacted from your map. Now what could be behind the doors that Marco didn’t want you to see? You chewed your lip as you considered your options. Maybe it contained something that was dangerous for you, something that you shouldn’t be near. You rubbed your forehead in thought. No, that wasn’t likely. If there was something on the ship you couldn’t be near Marco probably would have told you or highlighted the area bright red with a skull on it or something. 

Which meant that there was maybe something interesting or important behind that door, something Marco didn’t want you looking at. You licked your lips, thinking about what to do. You could always feign ignorance and tell him that you’d taken a wrong turn? Marco might fall for that, but probably not. You sighed and cracked your knuckles – hopefully whatever was behind that door was worth a spanking if Marco caught you.

You held up your controller to the panel, testing to see if it would work to open the door. Marco had told you that your controller now worked as a kind of key and that you could use it to open most doors on the ship like his did. Maybe he hadn’t thought to restrict your access to this one since it wasn’t on your map. Hopefully it didn’t send him an alarm or anything and you could plausibly deny doing anything wrong. You held your breath as the light on the control pad blinked for a moment, the door sliding open seconds later. Exhaling your breath, you stole into the area before the door could close. 

Inside was quite dark, you couldn’t really make out much. The lights probably hadn’t been adjusted for you since you clearly weren’t supposed to be in here. You walked along the wall, using your hand for guidance as you strained to make out anything in the murky blackness. Maybe you could convince Marco to put a light on your controller, you thought.

“Oi! What’s a little human doing in the old escape pod hangar? Lemme get a good look at’cha,” a voice boomed out from the inky darkness. Your head whipped around, trying to find the source of the sound. Before you could blink, your wrists were each captured above your head, a black tentacle pulling them higher and pinning them to the wall behind you. You grunted as you stretched up onto your toes – whoever this was, they hadn’t gotten the message that everyone else seemed to. Was this being another Cnidarian? 

“Marco’s been keeping you under lock and key all to himself. Never planned on sharing you with the rest of us, eh? ZEHAHAHAHAHAHA,” the being laughed, despite nothing being funny. You grimaced as a being finally came into view. This being was tall, easily twice Ace’s height, with a long beard, missing teeth, gold earrings, and crazed eyes. He looked almost exactly like a Cnidarian, but slightly darker. There was something different about him though, like he was wearing a costume over another form.

You had long learned to follow your gut instincts and right now they were screaming at you that this guy was dangerous. You swallowed thickly, trying to think of the best way to get away from him without alerting Marco. Luckily, the being didn’t seem to want or need interaction from you to keep going.

“Tch, such an ugly thing. Breakable, too. I heard what happened with Ace,” he continued, a sick smile coming onto his face as the grip on your wrists tightened. You wanted to scoff that it was rich hearing you were ugly coming from him but you didn’t think that was the best idea at the moment. The idea to call for Marco flitted through your mind, but you quickly dismissed it. If you cried for Marco, he’d never let you go anywhere on the ship alone ever again. Hopefully this being would tire of tormenting you soon and you could get away.

“Well, not really heard. Smelled. That meat of yours was absolutely mouthwatering when he seared it. And your blood? Oh, I can’t wait to get a sip. Don’t get me wrong, I can smell that sweet cunt from across the hangar, but that’s the thing about humans,” he said, a humanoid hand coming up to squish your cheeks together. Marco had done similar gestures before but it hadn’t made your skin crawl the same way this being was now. 

Holy fuck this being wanted to eat you, you thought as your breath came in short pants. With another tentacle he hoisted you higher by your arms until your feet were no longer touching the ground. A dark tentacle ran along the inside of your thighs as you dangled, making you squirm. It felt similar to Izou’s, but less solid, almost like it was made of sooty darkness. You cringed backwards, internally apologizing to Marco for disobeying his rules. Maybe they had been in place for a reason, you thought, screwing your eyes shut. Because this being was going to grill and eat you alive, leaving nothing but the suit you were wearing.

“You’re tasty any way you come. At first I thought I should sell ya, make tons of money and be done with you. But now, now, I really wanna eat cha. Meal fit for an Emperor,” he said, bringing his face close enough to yours that you could feel his breath on your face. He smelled rancid, even to your dull senses, like carrion and sewage. You tried breathing through your mouth to avoid the rank smell. His small, beady eyes were glued to you, watching every movement you made. 

“Nothin’ to say, girlie? That’s fine, that’s not what yer useful for,” he said, his long, thin tongue licking up your cheek. You shuddered, wondering if this was how you would meet your ignoble end. Hopefully Marco torched this guy after he ate you, you thought, preparing to kick at him. If you were going to be killed, you wanted to at least try fighting. It would probably be useless based on his size, but you wanted to try. Your controller pinged above your head, likely from your rapidly increasing heart rate. The being’s eyes flicked to your controller, a cold, cruel smile breaking out over his face once again.

“ZEHAHAHAHA looks like someone is missing you already. Well I won’t keep your current owner waiting. We’ll meet again, I’m sure,” he said, releasing you suddenly. You dropped to the floor, falling in a pile. You didn’t wait to hear this being’s next thoughts about humans. You scrambled to your feet and opened the door, running as fast as you could away from the darkened hallway. Your lungs and legs were burning but you weren’t going to find out if he wanted to fuck you before or after he killed you. The only sound you heard above your thumping heart was his booming laugh as you ran down the hallway.

Marco POV

Marco watched your little dot draw rapidly closer to the lab on his controller. He had been watching your progress the entire time after you’d left the kitchens, monitoring exactly where you were going and at what speed. Just like he had guessed, at first you had been taking your time and meandering through the ship. You were generally headed in the right direction, but taking every hallway and turn that would make the journey take longer. 

You had even detected an area that wasn’t on your map and had hesitantly entered it for a few moments. It was the deck where old escape pods were stored in case of emergency, some hangar in the back of the Second Division wing. He and Izou had redacted that location from your map because they were guiding you to “steal” one of the newer escape pods. The older escape pods, much like the one that you had navigated before, were harder to pilot and more finicky. It would be safer for you to use the newer ones, and they had been preparing a perfect pod for you to take. The crew was warned not to use pod 10-5 – it was able to be tracked and remotely controlled by the main ship, unlike all the other escape pods.

Marco watched your dot enter the hangar and stay still, not moving forward into the area. It was probably dark for you, you likely wouldn’t be able to see what was there. Marco didn’t blame you for going inside – he knew humans were curious by nature – but every second that you weren’t with a Commander was nerve wracking for him. Normally Marco would soothe himself by setting you on his lap and petting you, but that outlet wasn’t available to him either. Marco understood the importance of the plan he and Izou had put into effect, but that didn’t mean that he liked it. 

Within a few minutes of you being in the hangar, your dot had left suddenly and made a beeline back to his lab. Marco trilled at your wonderful behavior. Clearly, you had thought about the implications of disobeying him and had decided to leave the hangar of your own volition. Marco remembered you were afraid of the dark, so perhaps that was what was propelling your rapid motion. Either way, Marco was proud you hadn’t gone deeper into the area.

Marco turned off his holomap as you approached the lab, your dot finally slowing down. Your heart rate and blood pressure were elevated, probably because you finally ran for a brief moment. Marco tutted – thankfully he’d already made plans to start helping your poor cardiovascular system. Wherever Lafftale was, there clearly wasn’t sufficient space for you to exercise. 

The door to Marco’s lab slid open and you barreled straight into the room. Marco was slightly surprised, normally you were on edge when you were in the lab. You stopped right in front of him, placing your hands on your thighs and breathing heavily. 

“Mar – Marco,” you huffed, still out of breath from your run. Marco slid off his chair and went to the cupboard to grab your glass. He filled it with water before handing it to you, your face still hot from your brief sprint. You grabbed the glass and chugged the water, some of it spilling down the sides of your mouth. Marco took the glass back and set it on the table, watching your heart rate slowly lower on his controller.

“HAH th-thanks HAH,” you panted, finally standing back upright. It had taken you about seven minutes to completely recover from a 3 minute run. Not a great sign, Marco thought as he gave you a brief visual inspection.

“Are you alright yoi?” Marco asked mildly, standing in front of you. He really wanted to scoop you up and sit you in his lap but he was bound by the stupid rules. You looked up at him, your guilty expression quickly covered by an unconvincing smile.

“Yea-yeah! I’m great. Thank you for letting me walk back by myself,” you said, taking deep breaths. As soon as you stopped breathing heavily, you looked up at him, your human eyes opened wider than usual. You took a small step and flung your arms around his waist, rubbing your cheek against his middle for a moment. Marco blinked rapidly before tentatively winding his arms around you as well. Finally having you back in his arms felt so right, so perfect. And you had initiated the contact after all, so he couldn’t get in trouble.

You squeezed him briefly before letting go and standing up straight once again. Marco quickly let go of you in return, giving you full freedom of movement. 

“What was that about?” Marco asked as you leaned against his desk. You shrugged your shoulders and looked away, not answering his question. Marco didn’t want to prod you too much in case you became embarrassed and didn’t repeat the movement. 

“Alright, keep your secrets yoi,” Marco said with an indulgent smile. Maybe Izou was right – having you initiate the contact felt much more rewarding than when he commanded your presence. It was the difference between something taken and something given, he mused as you looked around the lab, your eyes darting among all his equipment.

“What are you working on?” you asked, standing up to walk over to a few samples on a far work bench. 

“I am synthesizing more vaccines and cures for Oro’s virus,” Marco said, trying to lay the bait for you without making it too obvious. Your nose scrunched as you touched the outside of your thigh where he had injected you all those times.

“Why? I thought you said I don’t need it,” you replied, drumming your fingers on the bench. Marco chirped in laughter, you were such a funny little thing.

“You don’t. But the Whitebeard Pirates may be recruiting soon and others might, Luna. You are not the only being who I concern myself with yoi,” Marco answered. You tilted your head in consideration, and Marco could almost hear the thoughts forming in your mind. 

The vials didn’t actually contain any live ingredients, they were filled with plain injection fluid. Administering any of those “cures” wouldn’t do anything to any being. There also wasn’t any recruiting event, and no one would have Oro’s virus even if there was. The virus wasn’t an issue any longer since Oro’s had been eradicated throughout the universe. The whole setup was so  you would think you were getting what you needed. It ultimately wouldn’t matter since they’d be following you to Lafftale and he could aid any ill humans, but Marco knew you wouldn’t leave without getting a “cure.” 

Marco had done a lot of thinking about your meager comments around Oro’s virus. Based on your surprise that there was a vaccine and a cure, he was guessing Lafftale hadn’t heard the news yet. He had long realized that the remote location that you had been living had at some point had been exposed to Oro’s virus, but that wasn’t unique to Lafftale. Nearly every corner of the universe had been exposed at one point or another. You had mentioned that you had gone to space for supplies, so Marco assumed that you were looking for more vaccines or cures for  the virus. He was going to find out if his hypothesis was correct when you made your escape.

“I keep many vaccines and medications on hand in case of need. The health of the crew is my highest priority,” Marco said, trying not to lay on the information too thickly. “These are done, actually. I’ll put them away and then we have to go,” Marco informed you as he began placing the vaccines in injectors. Marco could practically feel your eyes on him as he placed the injectors in an unlocked cabinet. Shutting the door easily, Marco turned around and clapped his hands together.

“Off we go to the gymnasium yoi,” Marco said in a chipper tone. Now your face really did fall as you gave him a nasty look.

“No. I don’t want to,” you said, your arms akimbo. You were cute when you were defiant but Marco wasn’t going to budge.

“I didn’t ask. It is time to begin working on your cardiovascular health. You are not in good physical condition yoi,” Marco explained instead of throwing you over his shoulder and simply carrying you as he wanted to. Really, he should be given a reward for how patient he was being.

“But…but you said I can make choices now,” you said with a pout. Oh, so defiance hadn’t worked so you were trying to work on him from a different angle. Without being able to touch you, it was easier to see how you were operating. Frankly, Marco wouldn’t have given in no matter what you did, but it was adorable to see you pout. 

“Yes, you are able to make some choices now. However, I told you that I would foster your independence as long as it didn’t interfere with your health. You must increase your stamina yoi,” Marco said with a frown. You looked at him for a moment before sighing, likely weighing your options. Marco wore a stern expression, and folded his arms across his chest.

“Fiiiiine. Lead the way,” you said dejectedly. You began moving slowly, with your limbs loose, like Marco was taking you to a torture chamber. Based on your reaction, it may have felt the same to you.

A short while later, Marco pushed open the door to the gymnasium for you.  Only Commanders were allowed to use the exercise room at this time, which was why Marco had reserved the loop for you now. You were hesitant to walk in, your eyes flicking around the various crew exercising. You were sticking closely to Marco’s side, your little fingers winding around his forearm. It was getting increasingly difficult to not touch you but Marco would have to persevere. Once the humans had been captured, he would again be able to touch you as much as he pleased.

Marco was a little surprised at your reluctance to enter the gymnasium given how much more comfortable you seemed on the ship. But then he remembered the first time he’d walked with you through the hallways – perhaps your trepidation remained when there were many crew members about. You were still frail and vulnerable, perhaps that was on the top of your mind given how large most of the equipment was.

“Who’s here right now?” you asked, trying to get a look at everyone in the exercise room.

“You know everyone here. Actually, Ace is on the piece of equipment that you need right now yoi,” Marco said, putting his hand behind your back to gently push you forward in a rare moment of weakness. He walked you towards a recessed area in the wall of the ship. It looked almost like an empty circular space, though there was a track that ran around the loop. Ace was running at his top speed, nearly able to climb the walls of the track with his speed and claws. He was running on all fours, the way he did when he was pushing himself to the maximum. Even Marco could see the beauty of Ace’s fluid elegance. Despite his young age, Ace was incredibly strong, and it was evident when he ran.

“Oi, Ace. It’s Luna’s turn. She needs to walk so get off the machine,” Marco said, waving his hand to signal Ace's attention. Ace grinned and ran with a burst of increased speed for a moment before jumping off. As always he landed gracefully on his feet, a feat which you admired with a sharp inhale of breath. Though after a second you looked between the still spinning track and Marco.

“I can’t go that fast, Marco! You’re gonna kill me,” you whined, clutching on Marco’s arm. Ace laughed as he drank some water, his tail flicking in interest.

“It only goes as fast as you go. It’s self propelling. You’ll do great! I’ll even walk next to you. It can be like we’re strolling together,” Ace offered, extending his hand. No way on Eurt, Marco thought with a scowl on his face.

“No, Ace. Luna needs to walk on her own yoi,” Marco said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Marco, this sucks. I don’t want to walk in there,” you complained, looking up at him.

“I know. But you have to walk. Each time you do it, it will help you get a little stronger. Eventually you will thank me. Who knows? Maybe you’ll run into my arms one day,” he said with a smile. You scowled at him. Marco’s smile brightened.

“I’ll help you get into the wheel.”

Your POV

This was it. 

This was what was going to spur you to kill Marco and everyone else who had gathered to watch you walk on the stupid wheel. It didn’t matter how, you were going to find a way to do it. They were all going to die and it wasn’t because they were jeering or leering at you. 

No, it was worse.

They were encouraging you. 

“THIS FUCKING SUCKS!” you yelled at the small crowd of Commanders, your face already hot. You were both embarrassed and already tired so your face had no chance of getting any less red. You’d only been walking for ten minutes but it felt like an hour.

“Luna, calm down. Save your breath for walking yoi,” Marco said, leaning against the wall near the wheel. He’d taken up his position to discourage anyone else from getting on with you, though you didn’t think he’d admit it. 

“You’re doing great, girlie!” Vista said, extending a scythe in an approximation of a thumbs up.

“GO AWAY!” you yelled back, running out of breath as you walked. OK, so maybe Marco had a point about your health. It wasn’t like there was tremendous space for walking or running on Lafftale. Besides, it was boring to walk in circles endlessly there. So, yeah, you couldn’t walk for a long time. But no one had cared until now. 

“Only a bit longer! You got this!” encouraged Blenheim from behind Marco.

“THERE’S NOTHING INTERESTING HAPPENING! YOU’VE ALL SEEN ME WALK BEFORE!” you objected again. You wished you could turn to face the wall so you didn’t see them but there was no way to walk other than forward. Like Ace had said, the wheel only went as fast as you walked. But as you continued to walk, the wheel continued to turn, making it so you had to keep walking. It sucked so hard and you hated it so much. 

“Five more minutes, Luna. You can have a treat after for a job well done yoi,” Marco said placidly, sharpening his talons. It was easy for him to say – he wasn’t the one on the fucking wheel. Though, based on what you’d seen of Marco, he didn’t need it like you did. If you had the power to vaporize him with your mind he’d be dust in an instant. 

“Five more minutes, Luna,” you mocked in a high, quiet voice to yourself. Marco hid his smile behind his mouth for a moment before frowning, which only made you angrier.

“Don’t mistake my recent leniency for a tolerance of disrespect. You wouldn’t want me to punish you here, would you?” Marco threatened.

“I’M SORRY AND I’M ALREADY BEING PUNISHED!” 

End Notes:

Luna is figuring it out, give her time. It’s not been long for her, only a couple hours since Marco changed his habits. I took some liberties with Teech. He’s disguised (kinda) as a Cnidarian rn but he’s not actually one what a stinker. And also she has to go in the hamster wheel bc i think it's funny. Does anyone else hate when people are giving encouragement at times like that or it's just me and Luna?