[h2]You Bastard- Great Alluvial Sand Wastes, Athas[/h2]

The great Mekillot howled in pain as a ballistic George Melons slammed into its face; a barrel of corrosive acid followed soon after. As a blast of acid further dissolved its faceplate, George Melons managed to land right in the pit of its eye socket.

You Bastard stamped madly and thrashed its head in vain, desperately attempting to dislodge George Melons. It feverishly scraped its ragged face against the ground, further damaging itself. It seems that You Bastard, the mighty Mekillot, was at the end of its rope.

"C'mon, grandpa!", screamed Shazay, "Either get busy shootin' or get busy dyin'!"

[h2]Shocker+ Commandos- Above Unknown Archipelago, Antagarich[/h2]

The Combine Hunter-Chopper's rotors thudded mercilessly as the landscape below sped by. The Chopper's unusual glass-bottom canopy design allowed Sindibad to observe the ground even as he flew, searching for... he honestly didn't know what to search for. Any landmark would do.

Far below the Chopper, an abandoned ship lie still, its main deck split in two by a massive rock. Whatever had happened to it, it must have been quite a while ago, as there were no signs of life on it whatsoever.

Jack Morgan, ever a man of the sea, was enthralled by this abandoned ship. On the Grand Line, abandoned ships were a dime a dozen... and they [i]always[/i] held either treasure or adventure. Grinning from ear to ear, he tapped Sindibad on the shoulder.
"Hoi, Sandstorm! Look down there!", he said.

Sindibad pulled the throttle back, bringing the Chopper into a hovering position. With no particular ceremony, he looked through the canopy's glass bottom, and scanned the land below for whatever it was that Jack had been looking at. His eyes fell upon the unassuming shipwreck.
"It's a ship, Cap'n."Sindibad said, "You showed me the [i]last[/i] five ships too!"

Jack grinned eagerly, and said, "Yeah, but [i]this[/i] one is abandoned!"

Sindibad gave Jack a very demonstrative look, and pushed air out his lips in exaggerated frustration. "And?"

"[i]And[/i] I need you to bring us down over it. [i]Dead ships means treasure[/i]!"

---


The Chopper hung low, flying just above the ship's ruined deck. A rope ladder hung just over the side of the Chopper, extending down to the ship's deck. On either side of the deck was Julius Aldo and Jack Morgan. Julius, with no appreciation for the wonderful feeling of rotten wood and salt underfoot, grumbled irritably.

"The treasure's gotta be either in the foc'sle or belowdecks," said Jack, with a strange sense of authority. "I'll check the former, and you'll check the latter."

[sub]"The forecastle, the forecastle!"[/sub]

"Okay, [i]fine[/i]. If [i]you[/i] don't want to check the belowdecks, [i]I'll[/i] do it. You're being [i]really[/i] difficult right now, Julius!"

"I didn't say anything, Jack."

"Don't try to pull that 'ghost ship' bullshit on me, Julius! I [i]know[/i] when there's ghosts around!"

"Oh? What's the first step, then?"

"Well, first things get cold..." A line of goosebumps spread along Jack's left arm, and a deathly chill spread across his shoulder.

"Then, you start hearing voices. Ghosts are [i]really[/i] talkative when you get them going."
[sub]"The forecastle! The forecastle!"[/sub]

"Would you [i]shut up[/i], Julius!? [i]Thank you[/i]! Finally, they form an apparition."

There was an uncomfortable pause, as Julius nervously looked around. Thankfully, no ghosts appeared.

Julius furrowed his brow, and scratched the back of his head. "Uh, any other steps?"

Jack nervously scratched at his goosebumps. "Well, not that I know of. I mean, ghost behavior isn't uniform, you know? For all we know, there aren't any ghosts here."

"Yeah, probably. You had me going for a moment, there." Chuckling mirthfully, he turned to open the door to the belowdecks. As the door opened, Julius peered into the darkness below. No ghosts here, either. He supposed that, even if there were ghosts here, they weren't nearly powerful enough to do much more than make Jack a little bit chilly. He turned to face Jack once more, and immediately noticed the [i]other[/i] ghosts.

For some reason, there were three of them in each corner of the ship's main deck. Clad in dark-grey rags and chains, they were the very model of a spooky ghost. With a terrifying howl, they charged.