One Piece: Ulquiorra Template

Chapter 14: Meeting Brook!

"Ah, another visitor, lost in this forsaken place? If you have no business here, I suggest you leave quickly!" A voice called out. Brook, his skeletal face stretched in a wide grin, had spotted Ian.

His macabre appearance would have sent shivers down the spine of any ordinary person. A living skeleton was a sight that defied all reason.

"My, my, another fellow with a rather... intimidating visage!" Brook's grin widened as he took in Ian's pale skin, the horned skull helmet, the distinct tear marks, and those eerie pale green eyes. He wasn't exactly a vision of beauty himself.

"Yohohoho! A kindred spirit, it seems!" He chuckled, relieved. The two of them, a demon and a skeleton, stood facing each other, their green and empty sockets locked in a silent exchange.

"..." Ian remained silent. He knew Brook's condition was the result of a Devil Fruit, while Brook assumed Ian was simply terrified by his skeletal form.

"No, I'm here to help you," Ian declared, stepping onto Brook's ship.

"I know you want to retrieve your shadow, and I know you want to return to Twin Capes and reunite with your only companion, the whale named Laboon," Ian said, taking a seat across from Brook.

The first statement didn't faze Brook. Everyone trapped in the Florian Triangle longed to retrieve their stolen shadows.

Without a shadow, they couldn't venture into the sunlight, a fate they desperately wished to escape.

However, the second statement left him stunned. Twin Capes and Laboon? That was over fifty years ago. It wasn't uncommon for pirates and adventurers passing through Twin Capes to have heard tales of their encounter, but those were mere legends. No one dared venture into the Florian Triangle to confirm their veracity.

"How astonishing! You know about those things? I'm so surprised, my jaw has dropped, and my eyes are about to pop out! Oh, wait... I have neither a jaw nor eyes!"

"..." Ian couldn't help but admire Brook's unwavering ability to maintain his eccentric humor, even in such dire circumstances.

"Laboon... is he alright?" Brook inquired, his concern for his long-lost companion outweighing his own predicament. Ian was the first person who had not only dared enter the Florian Triangle but also possessed knowledge of Laboon.

"He's doing... alright. He's grown as large as a mountain, and his belly could probably hold an entire ocean." Ian's voice, however, lacked any hint of joy.

"Really? But I can't see him! I long to see him again!" Brook's voice was filled with a mixture of hope and despair. However, Ian's next words extinguished any flicker of optimism that had ignited within him.

"But he still spends every day ramming his head against the Red Line, desperately trying to reunite with his friends. If Doctor Crocus hadn't been sedating him daily, he would have likely perished by now. I doubt he'll outlive you."

"He still believes you're alive..." Ian recounted the events he had witnessed through the anime, memories from his past life. While he hadn't passed through Twin Capes during his journey with the Marines, that didn't prevent him from sharing this information.

Before entering the Grand Line, the Rumbar Pirates, realizing the dangers that lay ahead, had left the young Laboon at Reverse Mountain, promising to return.

"When we've sailed around the world, we'll come back for you!" Those were their parting words. And so, Laboon, with tears in his eyes, stayed behind, waiting faithfully at the base of the Red Line. However... that wait had stretched on for over fifty years.