Once the four fishermen, now future fishmen, were bound to the Dutchman, they went ashore to bury all of their dead. I sent Crash and Palifico to go and assist them. Even with their help, it would take the rest of the day and night. I spent my time in my room, staring at the ceiling. The pain in my right arm had subsided for now, the mutation had started on my shoulder and part of my face. I still haven't seen my reflection, so I didn't know what type of fish or animal's features I was taking on, if it was even one of those two.

My left hand was slowly turning an ugly green. If this was the price of being able to walk on land, I didn't want it, but a deal was a deal. Ekon, Ade and their two fellow fishermen made me such a deal. They would serve on the Dutchman for a hundred years, I had to convince them to go down from eternity, and in return, I would help them get revenge on Adroa. A fool's errand at the moment despite the power of the Dutchman. I needed a crew big enough to man all of my cannons. It would take a few days for me to gather that many dying men, but if I rushed it I could make that time shorter.

I sat up in my bed and stared at the organ sitting in the middle of the room. It looked like it was dumped into the sea for decades, which it probably was. I took the coral flute and placed it on a flat spot on the organ. Taking the seat in front of it, I stared at my hands. Did I make the right decision? Maybe I should have passed on and reunited with Mom.

...but that would have left Dad all alone even though I can't see him. I didn't want him to see me like this once my transformation was complete. This world was filled with so much death, natural and unnatural. The Dutchman must always have a captain. How many souls were stuck here because Davy Jones refused his duty to spite Calypso, and Great-Grandpa who grew tired of his duty? My job would be an unthankful one. People would dread the sight of the Dutchman, but it was a job that needed to be done.

I slammed my hands on the organ, causing an inharmonious sound. I slammed my fingers onto different keys, an ugly loud sound resonating from the pipes. I poured out my anger, and my frustration into these keys.

I had a crew to build. There shall only be two choices now, serve or die. The Dutchman groaned in approval, and I smirked.

-*-

We spent the next three days gathering dying souls. Some of them were fishermen who's motor died, others whose ship capsized, even a few smugglers trying to sell weapons to Moord Nag's Militia. I gave them all two choices, serve the Dutchman, or pass on to the next life. I could count with one hand how many people took that option. In the end, almost two dozen were press ganged into joining the crew. It was just enough to form a skeleton crew. Ogilvey was happy to see the weapons that we confiscated, and immediately claimed a rifle. My officers were given first pick of the weapons, with the leftovers spread out among the crew.

When I wasn't busy bounding people to the Dutchman, Norrington would beat my ass as he made me practice swordplay. This led to my current situation.

I groaned with pain as I leaned against the railing. While James was a really nice guy, he was absolutely brutal when it came to teaching. We were near the stern of the ship, and my left hand was now covered in several cuts. I healed faster than normal people, but that shit hurts a lot.

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Norrington would easily block all of my strikes, and then disarmed me.

"You're getting better." He said after each of my losses. That was when I knew he was a liar. I shook my head, gave my bloodied hand a look, and picked my sword back up with my left hand. Normally, I was right handed, but with the mutation starting in my right I didn't want to take a chance. After that initial mutation, it started slowing down slightly. I managed to steal a mirror to look at my face. It seemed like a piece of shiny red coral was forming in a line along my face, looking like a scar. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

A few of my conscripts who were supposed to be cleaning had paused to look at my training.

"What are you looking at?" I glared at them and they immediately went back to work. Maccus was busy with getting the new recruits up to speed. Crash was...counting guns? He couldn't seem to be able to count past ten. Being the ferryman to the dead was hard. We also guided a few souls onto the other side. The good thing about having a smaller crew was having more space to fit those souls.

I would need to start practicing on them soon. Maybe when we went to Kyushu or Newfoundland. It would be interesting to see a cape bound to the Dutchman. Wasn't Newfoundland known for tinkers or something? Still, it would be a lot of work guiding all those souls.

"I believe that shall be all for today." Norrington sheathed his sword. His once pristine uniform was now starting to be covered in barnacles and other sea creatures. We would be submerged beneath the waters once we were done binnding my new crew members.

"Finally-"

"Now we shall start your training on how to run an efficient ship."

Now I'm starting to wish I was dead.

-*-

After a few hours of mental torture, I managed to get some of it down with help from the Dutchman. Once I managed to get some alone time, I sat near the bow of the ship with the coral flute in hand. I haven't played since Emma broke Mom's flute. It was still worth a try despite being out of practice.

I softly blew into the flute, and music came out. It was soft, and peaceful like a calm wind. It reminded me of a leaf being thrown about, flying and twirling in the air. It made me feel relaxed and calm. A tear formed in one of my eyes. Mom taught me how to play this song…

Sensing quite a few people staring at me, I turned my head. Maccus and a few others had gathered around to stare at me. I stopped blowing and the music stopped.

"You're quite good with that Captin." Maccus said with a grin in his eyes. I scratched the back of my head.

"Not really." A few more crew members gathered around.

"Mind if we add some voices to ya flute there?" Maccus could sing? Well, he was a sharkman so I guess anything could happen. I nodded my head with a small smile.

"Sure." I placed the flute near my mouth and started to blow again. Maccus told the others something about following along, and after a few seconds, he started to sing.

"I thought I heard the Old man say…"

The others started to sing along. How did they even know the lyrics? The answer, Dutchman bullshit.

"Leave her Johnny, Leave her. Tomorrow you'll get your pay…"

Adroa...I'm coming for you.