After the Straw Hats escaped on the ship that they had left all the way back to Water 7, everyone was over the moon including Franky and his gang that managed to escape but no one was happier than Morgan was at the fact that Merry was still in one piece. "Man, I don't know whether it's fate or not but I'm so glad you're back Merry…I couldn't accept any other ship even if I wanted to." Morgan said with a grin as he sat on his favourite spot at the figurehead while everyone got off to regroup, though the Straw Hats were all still on board since they considered Merry one of their own and more than just a ship.
K-Crack!
There was no warning when the entire front of Merry had broken off from the keel and opened up like a clam. Though for people who had worked as shipwrights, builders and demolitionists for decades could see that there was no delaying what was about to happen next. "Straw Hat…" Iceberg stepped forward while he was still recovering to meet with the others. "I know it's not something you wish to hear but…There truly isn't any time left…."
Morgan's face was one of melancholy and regret but he understood that Iceberg was right on this matter. "Yeah…If it's alright, can we…see her off? We took this trip all the way with her so it's only fair that we be the ones to say goodbye…" He asked Iceberg who nodded solemnly.
"I saw this ship myself and it was barely hanging by a thread…The fact that I could see this beloved ship sail all the way out to Enies Lobby and back just to help rescue the crew that cared for her…It's nothing short of a miracle…" Iceberg and Franky both thought since they saw her conditions under different circumstances but they both knew that the stories of Klaubaterman existed and it's work was in action.
It took a smaller rowboat to ferry the Straw Hats out to see and a larger ship to tow Merry out enough to sea, Morgan was stood on a raft with a torch in hand and watching with a sense of mourning. "Merry…There's no words that I can express that'll say how much we all appreciate you…We know it's dark down there at the bottom of the seas, so let's give you a little light and something warm to help ease you on." Morgan whispered as he set the torch down and let the Going Merry ignite into flames. "I know I shouldn't think it…But it's probably for the best that Usopp can't see this…"
On the rowboat, everyone was in a state similar to Morgan but so far Chopper was the only one that was visibly trying to hold it together but Sanji morosely lit up his cigarette and leaned over to Sogeking. "Are you sure you're okay with all of this?"
"Yeah…Everything has it's time…It's only fair that we give a proper farewell instead of pushing it." Sogeking explained with the closest thing that they could manage to an even tone but even the hardest of iron hearts could not hold out when saying a final goodbye to a friend.
As the ship became covered in flames, the smoke rose higher until it began to let loose what looked like snow as everyone recalled their fond memories of being on the ship; From Kaya's giving of the ship to them, their sworn vow to uphold their dreams on entering the Grand Line and even their ascent into Skypeia.
Nami was one of the few in the crew who saw all the events unfold alongside Zoro, Morgan and Usopp from the very beginning and she couldn't help but tear up at the feelings that bubbled up inside her.
Sogeking was recalling their fight before they parted ways, how he lashed out at Morgan for being callous about throwing Merry away but on seeing the Straw Hat Captain's body shaking as he watched Merry burn showed him that he did indeed care and that only served to make his own sadness come harder.
"Thank you…For travelling with us for so long, Merry…I only wish that-" Morgan's throat as well as his fists clenched tightly with his words; He wanted to remain strong and give Merry the dignity that she deserved but a voice rang in his head that quickly tore down those walls.
"I'm sorry…I wanted to take you farther…To where you wanted to go…To join you on this adventure and see what you see…"
Morgan froze as he felt his chest ache at hearing what he thought was Merry's voice. "Merry?"
"I was too weak…I couldn't keep up with you all and for that I can only b-"
"WE SHOULD BE THE ONES APOLOGISING TO YOU!" Morgan yelled as he let the dam burst and he finally started to sob. "I was a lousy hand with the steering and I crashed you into icebergs more times than I can count!" He said in between heavy jerks of breath and a new wave of tears flooded his cheeks.
Nami was the next to go along with Chopper as they both started to cry too. "Morgan…" She whimpered to herself but felt a slight modicum of comfort at Chopper hugging to her in between their own sobbing and Robin resting her hand on the collapsed Navigator's shoulder.
"Zoro and Sanji act like idiots with their fights and broke things!" Morgan continued as he gripped onto his arms and ended up dropping the torch into the water. "Usopp tried to fix you up even though his repairs stink but we still tried! Because we wanted you on this journey with us!" He continued to bawl as he punched the floor of the raft he was on. "I only wish….I only wish that we took care of you…In a better way that you deserved!"
"But I was happy…To have all of you with me and to care so much…I was happy because you were happy…Thank you…For being my friends."
Nearly everyone who was watching the whole thing could hear Merry's voice and that was enough to make not just the Straw Hats feel the grief but the entire boat that carried Merry plus Franky who had started bawling like a baby.
During that time when everyone landed back in Water 7 was when the adrenaline hit wore off and everyone collapsed into deep sleep. They had been on Enies Lobby which being a perpetual day island messed with their sense of time and even Morgan who had pushed himself consistently had gotten conked out.
By the time that Morgan woke up after a day or two of rest and stretched out but oddly found himself unable to move, it took a conscious stimulating blink or two for him to realise why as Nami was currently clinging around his neck in a soft yet equally stubborn embrace that ensure that no food or amount of money would make her grip loosen. "Heh, guess I should have expected her to get in here…huh?"
Robin was sat by Morgan's bed which surprised him, she was fully dressed but she looked a lot more…content than her usual demeanour suggested. "It's good to see you've woken up…Even for a little." Robin said quietly as she'd prefer not to wake up Nami. "Do you remember much over the last day or so?" She asked him curiously as she rested her hand on her chin with an amused smile.
"We went to take care of Merry and when we came back to the shipyard…I don't really remember much of anything else, to be honest…" Morgan admitted honestly; "I just felt the energy sink and I kinda blacked out."
"Well, I suppose that is to be expected…Though I have to say I was surprised that you were able to function like you did." Robin added with a slightly cryptic phrasing. "I should let Sanji and the others know you're awake, I think that they'll be happy that you are okay." She mentioned got up to leave before shutting the door; Though as she left, she had a bit more of an appreciative look towards him since he woke up. "I know that look when he saw the outside during the Buster Call…But I'd rather not ruin the moment to question…I know that I'm not exactly the only one with more than one experience with a Buster Call…"
"You've certainly come into your own, Nico Robin…" Aokiji's voice chilled her very body down to the core as they were a wall away from each other but neither moved. "So…You've decided to stick around, why the sudden change? You feel guilty for dragging them in? Benefits?"
Robin thought on it for a moment, remembering how Morgan changed from being a man who had powers forced on him into someone who was willing to jump into the dark of the World Government's wrath alongside her and realised that this was it. "No…I found something better than anything like that." She said as she watched the others outside.
"I've spent all this time watching over you since Ohara…I guess now I no longer have to." Aokiji explained as he got up to get his bike. "But just so you know…What happened at Enies Lobby has changed things…The Marines and the World Government can't dismiss him or his crew as mere pirates anymore…Remember that."
—Later, at the temporary hideout for the Straw Hats—
"It's…Amazing…"
"How does he do it?"
"It's monstrous but like looking at a modern art masterpiece…."
Plenty of those thoughts circled the minds of the Franky Family, Water 7 civilians and even Iceberg had to marvel at the rare art of Morgan's sleep eating.
"Back on topic…You say that Franky wants to help us?" Nami asked as she handled the logistics on the matter while the others hung around.
"Yes, He said that you guys seem like good people and the fact that you helped him out of Enies Lobby makes him indebted to you, he's currently working on a ship for you and he's been calling it the ship of dreams." Iceberg explained as both Mozu and Kiwi were curiously eyeing Morgan sleep eating.
The two sisters were testing his reflexes by reaching for the plates and as it turned out; He was equally as good at blocking for food as he was at blocking himself even while sleeping, his hands quickly and reflexively moving in front of where the food was before either girl could grab them. "Amazing…No wonder he was able to kick the boys' asses earlier…" Mozu thought to herself as she started to playfully tease him by seeing just how much and how quickly he could block.
"You may wanna be careful, Miss Mozu." Chopper warned her from their seat. "Morgan has this thing about eating and he has accidentally bitten Zoro and Sanji when they tried to take food or his plate while he was eating."
"Well, what if we don't mind that~?" Kiwi asked with a coy smirk as there was the telltale signs of her contemplating stuff.
"Or if we had done~?" Mozu joined in with a rather cryptic followup as they were both looking a little more…playful than usual while they were sat by Morgan's table.
Even though Chopper was a doctor, they still were…Naive in the more grown up things. "Huh?"
"Every time…Every DAMN time…Am I just cursed or something?!" Sanji mentally fumed as he saw yet another set of women looking Morgan's way and not to him. Though his exasperation was cut short as the wall of the house they were in exploded and Marines stood outside with a towering man wearing a white suit and a dog hat. "Marines?!" He then stood up to get ready for a fight but before he could even lower his hand from the cigarette dangling in his mouth, the taller man had already vanished past him, Mozu, Kiwi and Chopper and was already on top of Morgan.
"DAMN IT, WAKE UP BRAT!" The man yelled as he swung a large fist down on Morgan, knocking him out of his chair and out of his sleep.
"OOOOOOOW! DAMN IT, THAT ONE HURT!" Morgan yelled as he nursed a large bruise on his head and immediately recognised the large man as he pulled his hat off to show an older looking man with a curved scar on his face. "Why've you gotta hit me like that, I'm not a monster like you, you old fart!"
"Cannons, swords and superhuman assassins but THAT hurts him?" Nami asked to herself as was caught by surprise at the sound of Morgan's outburst.
The Old Man growled as he then pulled Morgan up by the collar and bopped him hard on the head again to make a lump form. "You insolent little brat! How dare you talk back to your grandpa like that! If I had gotten you into the Marines, I'd have been able to knock some discipline into you!"
This new tidbit nearly floored everyone including the Marines. "GRANDPA?!"
"Because you're Luffy's Grandpa!" Morgan yelled back at him as he tried to pull free, "And I already told you before, I'm not joining the Marines!"
"Then why did I put you through all that training?! The midnight survival training in the woods full of wild animals, the weighted cliff climbing AND the Haki training!" The Old Man barked at him and earned everyone a look of shock but for two Marines in particular, it was a look of recollection.
"Suddenly, his stubbornness makes sense…" The Straw Hats all thought as they looked at the two who had now fallen asleep mid fight.
"Yeah, those two are definitely related…" The Marines thought as they saw their Vice-Admiral's almost trademark narcolepsy and stood down. "Uh…Vice-Admiral Garp…Sir?!"
That snapped Garp out of it and saw Morgan snoring in his grip, incensing him further. "Damn it boy! WAKE UP!" Garp then slugged him again and knocked him down. "You men back there…Fix up the wall...Oh wait…I broke it too, I'll help."
After their scuffle, the Marines were now currently fixing the wall too as Chopper helped to fix up Morgan's head. "So, Morgan…You finally decided to make a name for yourself, I have to admit that you certainly know how to make your point."
"Okay, can we go back to the part where Garp The Fist…Hero of the Marines and the Man who caught Gold Roger is Morgan's Grandpa?" Zoro asked as he was still unnerved by this particular revelation.
"ADOPTED…And no, he just grabbed me and my brothers to go train up to join "The Beacons of Justice and the Paragons of Virtue in the Seas." known as the Marines." Morgan stated with Garp joining in to parrot the moniker that Morgan gave. "I kept saying no and he kept training me harder every time I refused."
"Luffy joined the Marines because he saw sense about the Marines, why can't you…Honestly, between Ace and that no good Shanks, you've picked the wrong role models…." Garp mentioned and shook his head. "Plus, I heard you and your brother had a run-in with each other recently…And met a dangerous face too on your trips."
"Luffy's not dangerous, the only reason he found me was because he tried to eat my food." Morgan stated bluntly, "I thought that being in the Marines meant that you'd show him not to do that anymore…"
Garp would belly laugh as he hammered in a nail. "Well, you can't exactly break old habits…Even Smoker can't seem to get it." He remarked as he then turned back to look at Morgan; "But that other face? That happens to be Luffy's father…"
"Wait, I thought Luffy was like me…I didn't know he had parents…" Morgan mentioned with a confused look. "And what do you mean, I met him?"
"In Loguetown…Smoker told me that someone intervened in your fight, someone who took an interest in your movements to the Grand Line." Garp explained as he picked up another plank. "I should warn you that he is someone you should absolutely be careful around….The Leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon…He is a name I told Luffy to look out for and now I'm warning you."
Morgan was shocked though not as much as the others were, "A Marine's dad and a Vice Admiral's son is a...Revolutionary? I guess that explains why you're trying to get all of us as Marines…"
"Hold on, Morgan…Don't you know about Dragon?" Nami asked as she looked at him in surprise that he hadn't noticed or recognised either name.
"Nami, I don't even know MY parents….What makes you think I d know about Luffy's…." Morgan pointed out as he listened to Nami and Sanji explaining about Dragon and the Revolutionary Army as a whole. "So…What do you plan on doing? You've got us here so are you going to arrest us?" Morgan asked Garp the last question.
"No…I've been given a choice on apprehending you but since you're my Grandson-"
"Adopted…." Morgan interrupted him
"Grandson nonetheless!" Garp reiterated, "I figured that I would let you go for now…Because I'm that kind of cool guy…." Garp explained as he rounded up the Marines and marched them out; "You've grown up a lot…But if you plan on making it into the New World…You've got a way to go." Was the last thing that Garp said before he ventured out and left the group to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
"So…Morgan's grandpa is a Vice-Admiral and his uncle is a Revolutionary that threatens to bring down the World Government." Sanji mentioned as he dragged his cigarette. "And the whole "Adopted" Thing…You wanna talk about it?"
"What's there to talk about…I got dropped at the doorstep of a Bandit's den and the leader took care of me from the moment I could walk…As far as that cantankerous old coot is concerned; Curly Dadan is my mom." Morgan stated with a rather final tone.
"But…Don't you wanna know about your…actual parents?" Nami asked with curiosity and some concern as she rested her hand on his back but he pulled away with an uncharacteristically terse jerk of his body.
"Storytime's over, The. End!" Morgan put that line of questioning down a lot harder than the others had expected him to, though they understood if he had his reasons; Considering that Nami's own adoptive mother suffered at the hands of Arlong, Zoro was equally unsure of his own parents, Chopper's family disowned him as an outcast and Sanji…Well, Sanji was as willing to talk about it as Morgan was in that regard.
"So…You guys are planning for the New World…That's where everything all falls in place for the fabled One Piece…But your Log Pose should point you in the next direction by now." Kokoro explained as she showed up when Garp left.
"It's…pointing down?" Nami remarked as she watched the needle pointing to the floor; "Is it underground?"
"Close…The next stop into the New World is Fishman Island…A place where Mermaids and Fishmen call home." Kokoro explained, though the others neglected to tell Morgan that Enies Lobby was the first time any of them saw a Mermaid but it was a sight plenty of them were traumatised at the sight of a Mermaid Kokoro.
"But how do we get there…We still don't have a ship to work with and we're still waiting for….Well, we don't even have a ship at all." Morgan asked her as he sat up.
"You're in luck because that's one of the two reasons that I came here; The first was to say that Franky's finished his building and now he wants to show you what he came up with." Kokoro mentioned with a wide grin and swigged her bottle. "The other was to warn you about these." She added and then pulled out a full stack of paper and threw them on the table.
MORGAN D. FORD
EPITHET: STRAW HAT MORGAN
PREVIOUS BOUNTY: 120 MILLION
NEW BOUNTY: 450 MILLION
WANTED: REQUESTED ALIVE OVER DEAD
RORONOA ZORO
EPITHET: PIRATE HUNTER
PREVIOUS BOUNTY: 75 MILLION
NEW BOUNTY: 225 MILLION
WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
NAMI
EPITHET: CAT BURGLAR
NEW BOUNTY: 150 MILLION
WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
SANJI
EPITHET: BLACK LEG
NEW BOUNTY: 180 MILLION
WANTED: REQUESTED ALIVE OVER DEAD
SOGEKING
EPITHET: SNIPER KING
NEW BOUNTY: 155 MILLION
WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
TONY TONY CHOPPER
EPITHET: COTTON CANDY LOVER
NEW BOUNTY: 50,000
WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
NICO ROBIN
EPITHET: DEVIL CHILD
PREVIOUS BOUNTY: 80 MILLION
NEW BOUNTY: 180 MILLION
WANTED: REQUESTED ALIVE OVER DEAD
FRANKY
EPITHET: CYBORG
NEW BOUNTY: 175 MILLION
WANTED: REQUESTED DEAD OR ALIVE
"Looks like you've all got some new Bounties to your name~" Kokoro laughed as she watched each of them grow shocked at the number of zeros on their Wanted Poster.