While Vegapunk ran a bunch of tests on his sword, Marcus spent over an hour talking to people and catching up on what he missed. Garp was the second person he called and found out that since Doflamingo didn't kill him, Garp left him alone. Sure he was disappointed in Marcus for losing the fight, but that was just Garp's way of saying he was worried about Marcus. He also told Marcus he didn't touch Doflamingo because Marcus was still alive and could get his own revenge.
After Garp he called Nicholas to check in with him. Nicholas was apparently in a critical state after that fight himself, but timely intervention by Kuzan and his commander is what saved Marcus and himself from death. He also learned that Doflamingo might have won but he was in extremely bad shape after the fight and didn't show his face to the public for over six months.
Nicholas also wanted to meet up, but he was still in the Grandline training at Marineford with his father. After his defeat Nicholas was transferred to Marineford for treatment and recovery and hadn't left since. He said his dad had been training him almost nonstop and that he was a lot stronger now and wanted to spar. Marcus agreed but also added it would have to wait a bit, since he was still recovering.
Once finished with Nicholas, Marcus called Kuma and asked if he could go find the Mera Mera no Mi for him and bring it to him. Even though Marcus was on Punk Hazard and it was technically off limits. Kuma knew of the island and with his ability it wouldn't be hard to reach it. As for him getting into trouble by showing up, he was a former slave and member of the Revolutionary Army, he didn't care. Plus Marcus was sure Vegapunk wouldn't say anything about it.
Through Kuma, Marcus found out that he, Bonney and Ginny had settled down on Dawn Island near Foosha Village. He still traveled around and didn't stuff for the Revolutionary Army. But he spent as much time with Ginny and Bonney as he could, and would spend even more time with them when Ginny had their second kid. Apparently she was pregnant and they were expecting it in a few months.
After talking with Kuma, Marcus finally called his brothers since he knew that one would be the hardest. Well, it was mostly because he knew Garp told them he almost died and Luffy broke down over it. The conversation with his brothers was pretty rough, all of them were concerned about him and Luffy wouldn't stop crying. But after a while and Marcus promising to come back and visit, did they settle down.
From his brother's he found out that everyone recently split up and headed to their home islands for now. Their goals were to train hard for the next year or so before they met back up to see how everyone improved. He also found out that Zeff and Zoe got married and adopted Sanji. As for the other women they rescued, Holly, Elise, Lila, Sophie and Fumi, they turned into full time bounty hunters with their home base being Baratie.
Vegapunk called out to Marcus once he hung up the call with his brothers and said, "Marcus, come over here and look at what I found."
Marcus followed Vegapunk's voice and found him in a different area of the laboratory with his sword in some kinda machine with wires attached to it. Vegapunk was completely focused on the screen in front of him that had tons of data on it that Marcus couldn't understand. Marcus glanced at it for a moment before he asked, "Eh, what's up, doc?"
Vegapunk excitedly pointed at the screen as he said, "This data is impressive, it's almost reading like your sword is alive."
Marcus frowned at Vegapunk's comment as he thought back on what happened before he blacked out. He thought about the ghostly woman he saw back then… Was his mother's spirit somehow locked in the sword or was it something else? Marcus shook his head to himself before he asked, "So does that mean my idea will work?"
"It should, but the real issue is whether it will harm you once it absorbs the fruit's power."
Marcus studied his sword as he asked, "Devil fruit users should be able to control who their powers affect, right?"
"That is possible, but you would be putting your trust in something you can't properly communicate with…"
"We might not be able to talk with each other, but me and my sword both understand each other quite well." Marcus said as he thought back to how his sword helped him train when he was younger.
Vegapunk rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments before he added, "There is one more issue you haven't considered. Most devil fruit powers consume the user's stamina when activated. For the weapons I've imbued with zoan fruits it's not really an issue, their main power is to transform into their animal form. But a logia is different, it might not be able to actually use the powers of the Mera Mera no Mi to the fullest extent."
Marcus thought back to just before he blacked out in his fight against Doflamingo. He felt it back then, as his sword greedily pulled on his haki, it also pulled on his remaining stamina. He stared at his sword, his partner that saved him before he said in a confident tone, "I'm sure that whatever happens, everything will work out for the best."
Vegapunk glanced at Marcus for a few seconds before he chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll help you try it out. But I'll want to study you and your sword if it works and it doesn't harm or reject you."
"That sounds good to me… But will the world government know about it?" Marcus asked in a lower tone of voice.
"They only bother me when I have major breakthroughs and even then they don't worry about how I did it. They only care about the results."
Marcus nodded slowly before he asked, "You mentioned a ship's klabautermann before… Would it be possible to feed one a devil fruit?"
Vegapunk shook his head as he said, "I don't see why not, but klabautermann are tied directly to the ships themselves and are in constant contact with seawater… It wouldn't be able to use the fruit and might even weaken it."
"Let's go with a hypothetical then. What if a ship that has a klabautermann is breaking down and can no longer be fixed or sail anymore. That would basically mean the ship and by extension the klabautermann were dying, right?" Marcus asked with a frown before he added, "Would it be possible to cut off part of that ship and have the klabautermann eat the devil fruit while only connected to that part?"
Vegapunk frowned as he thought over the situation for at least a minute before he said, "It's hypothetically possible… You would need a fruit that could give the klabautermann the ability to form a body, so a zoan type would be best. But it would also depend on the klabautermann itself and if they would agree to part with the rest of the ship… Or if they even could for that matter."
Vegapunk rubbed his chin in deep thought as he added, "I honestly don't know enough about klabautermenn to give you a proper answer. But maybe after I collect data from you and your sword I might be able to give you some more information. Honestly it's an interesting subject and I wouldn't mind exploring it more if you know a ship with a klabautermann that I could study…"
Marcus shrugged as he said, "Unfortunately I don't…"
'At least not yet anyways.' Marcus thought to himself.
Marcus talked with Vegapunk for another hour while he ran more tests on the sword. Afterwards Vegapunk showed him to a room he could stay in while he was on the island which was close to his laboratory. Marcus wanted to go train, but he found himself actually drained of energy once shown the room, so he fell asleep instead. Over the next couple days, Marcus mostly ate and slept as he used life return to help repair his body to peak condition.
The amount of food he ate was staggering, but by the fourth day Marcus asked for a place where he could train and was shown a weird, but high tech looking gym. It was apparently made for Vegapunk's body guard Sentomaru to use. But the man was currently off running an errand for Vegapunk and wasn't on the island.
Over the next few days, Marcus pushed himself in the gym and tested his limits. It definitely felt like he was stronger, but without a proper fight against someone, Marcus wouldn't know for sure. During the week he was recovering, Marcus ended up talking with his brothers and friends a few times. He also talked with Uta, Baby 5 and surprisingly enough J, who was with them on his boat. J was actually the one who answered the snail the first time he called, he just didn't recognize their voice.
Apparently J stayed on his boat after everything happened and met Uta, Baby 5, Rayleigh and Shakky the next day. After meeting them and explaining what happened, J ended up sticking around and training with Uta and Baby 5 while they waited for Marcus to return. Marcus was slightly surprised J got along with the two girls, but Nicholas and himself got along with J pretty easily too.
As for how they found out about Marcus, Uta apparently called Garp once Marcus didn't show up after a month. Since then, the three of them have lived on his boat and waited for him to come back. The other reason J never left was because Uta talked them into playing in her band. J didn't know how to play any instruments at first, but was apparently learning to play bass guitar now and was a quick learner.
On the seventh day after waking up from his coma, Marcus met Kuma who came to deliver the Mera Mera no Mi. Marcus ended up traveling to the far side of the island where no one was around to meet Kuma. It was a quick meeting since Kuma had other responsibilities and he wanted to get back to Ginny and Bonney as soon as possible. But they did talk for a few minutes before Kuma left and Marcus carried a small chest back to the laboratory.
Once back inside he went to meet Vegapunk before he handed him the chest and said, "Here's the fruit."
Vegapunk's eyes widened slightly as he opened the chest to see the very distinctive shaped fruit with its orange, flame like pattern. As he studied the fruit he asked, "How did you get this? I expected your grandfather to bring it for you, but no ship has arrived."
Marcus shrugged as he said, "A friend of mine who doesn't need a ship to travel the seas. They brought it an hour ago."
"Oh, an devil fruit ability that allows you to fly… I wouldn't mind studying that." Vegapunk said in an interested tone.
"They probably wouldn't agree…"
Vegapunk shook his head slightly before he smiled and said, "Well no matter, I have more interesting things to study now. Give me a bit of time and then I can attempt to clone the fruit."
"I'm in no rush, take your time. If you need me for something, I'll most likely be in the gym."