Disclaimer: I will only say this once (because I'm lazy :P) so remember it well: I do not own One Piece or its characters, but I do own the plot of this story and any minor OC's you may or may not meet.
Chapter 1 – Back to the Beginning?
Uncanny silences were rare aboard the Thousand Sunny. The Straw Hats have already encountered so much in their adventures that most unusual sights just didn't come as a surprise anymore. But, now, no one could utter a sound, shocked as heck as they all stared upwards. It was nothing like anything they've ever seen before. There, distorting the crispy blue skies was a huge gaping hole filled with swirling, dark colours. The whole crew, excluding the snoozing swordsman, gawked at this amazing, yet terrifying phenomenon. Their jaws all dropped open. Even Zoro's… but he was just yawning.
"What is that?" shrieked Nami, first to break the silence. "Franky, quick! Use your coup de burst and get us out of here!"
"On it," the cyborg shouted back, but he hadn't a chance to move before a rumbling filled the air. The skies darkened even more and the back hole seemed to expand. Slowly, everyone began to feel their feet lifting off the ground, bodies being pulled upwards by an invisible force.
"I'm too young to die!" wept Usopp as he thrashed around.
"Wheee!" laughed Luffy, somersaulting through the air.
"As a final request before I die, may I see your panties?" Brook said calmly to Nami.
"You're already dead!" Nami retorted, bitch-slapping him.
"Yohohoho! You're right!"
The crew rose higher and higher, then in one swift movement, they were all sucked into the Black Hole… Then everything slowed to a halt.
"Are we… dead?" asked Usopp shakily, eyes closed tight since he was too scared to open them.
"No," replied Nami softly. "I don't think so…"
Usopp slowly opened his eyes but all he saw was darkness. "Oh my God, I'm blind!" he screamed.
Nami stuck out a hand and pulled Usopp's bandana away from his face, rolling her eyes.
"Um, thanks…" muttered Usopp, embarrassed that he had freaked out over nothing. He now looked around properly. He was in a wide tunnel… thing. There were only dark swirling lights replacing where the sides of the tunnel should be, and those were the only thing that lit up the otherwise dark surrounding space. But, at least he could see everything around him. All the crew was there, safe and well. Usopp let out a sigh of relief, but he also noticed that they weren't the only ones around. Many others floated around, too, but none of them in his sight range he recognised. His body felt weightless and he floated around aimlessly. It was… weird.
"I think… I might know what this place is," said Robin, looking around. "I read about this in a book once. A rip in space that occurs very rarely. If I recall properly, the last time this supposedly happened was over five thousand years ago."
"Hmmm…" said Luffy thoughtfully. "So it's a mystery hole in the sky…"
"A… r-rip in space?" Nami turned pale. "What's going to happen to us?"
"That," said Robin with a shrug, "I'm not quite sure, but it can't be good."
Nami gawked in horror.
"Don't worry!" beamed Sanji, doing the breaststroke through the air over to the girls. "I'll keep you safe!" But, he didn't quite make his way over. There was a force that was slowly pulling everyone apart - the crew was drifting in separate directions. If that wasn't bad enough, they also noticed that others all around were starting to disappear, being pulled away at a high speed down the dark tunnel.
"We should all keep together!" shouted Nami in panic. "I don't want to be pulled away!"
"Right!" Luffy shouted back, and stretched out his arms, wrapping them around the backs of all his crewmates then pulling them into a big huddle. It wasn't the brightest of ideas. He meant well, but by pulling his crew in, their weights clashed in the middle and sent them all tumbling through the air against the side of the tunnel. The side of the tunnel wasn't quite solid, but they could feel when they hit against it, for a sharp electric shock shot through all their bodies and it passed from one person onto the next. The shock didn't exactly hurt, but it certainly came unexpectedly. Flashing images of each other's pasts and shared adventures sped through their minds for a second. Then, everyone (excluding Zoro who, being the idiot he is, was still asleep for some strange, strange reason) cried out in shock as a burst of energy erupted from the centre of the crew's huddle and sent them flying off in different directions.
And, thus, a new adventure for the Straw Hats now began.
A small boat drifted on the ocean, somewhere in the East Blue. A figure lay in that small boat, straw hat covering his eyes. It was Luffy. Slowly, he began to stir, either from sleep or unconsciousness. His eyes fluttered opened and he frowned as he looked at the skies above him. Where was he? What…?
"The mystery hole in the sky!" he cried, leaping up suddenly and panicking. "Where is it? Guys? Guys! Where are you? Zoro! Nami! Usopp! Sanji! Cho-"
A huge ripple in the waves cut short his shouts and made him stumble. Turning, he saw a huge monstrous figure rise from the water. His eyes widened; not because he was scared, but because he was surprised. He recognised that sea monster.
"Hey, you're our local sea monster back at the village!" he cried. "What are you doing here?"
The sea monster didn't answer (surprise, surprise) and instead lunged forwards to gobble Luffy and his boat. So, in response, Luffy pulled back his arm and punched the monster hard in the jaw, shouting, "Gomu gomu no pistol!"
"That was for old time's sake," he said as the monster fell back into the water with a splash. He then plopped onto his boat again and sat in deep thought for a moment. All this seemed familiar. Strangely familiar. As if this had all happened in the past before…
Wait, this HAD happened in the past before! Leaving his village, running into the local sea monster, Luffy still remembered it all. 'Hmm… what happened after that, then?' he wondered, frowning. His boat continued to drift onwards as he pondered for a while, trying to recall.
"The whirlpool!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed, leaping up and looking around. Sure enough, a distance ahead was a huge whirlpool; it all looked exactly the same as when it had happened at the start of his adventure. "I get it now!" Luffy said, thumping his palm with his fist. "The mystery hole in the sky must have sent me back in time to where my adventure started!"
(A shocked crowd of readers now gasped, astounded by Luffy's sensible deduction.)
"Which means now I'm back to being a name-less newbie pirate without a crew or ship."
(The crowd of readers began to clap in amazement.)
"Stupid mystery hole!" shouted Luffy up to the sky. "Why did you send me back? Come out here so I can kick your ass!"
(The crowd of readers now all fall over in sync.)
"This is a bother," grumbled Luffy to himself, slumping to the ground. "I'm farther from Raftel than ever now, and I'm going to have to gather my crew over again, aren't I? I wonder if everyone else was sent back, too. Maybe it'll be easier getting them to join this time."
There was no more time to wonder about all this recruiting business any further since Luffy was now approaching the unavoidable whirlpool. Like last time, having no other choice, really, he hid himself in the barrel at the back of his little boat. If everything went smoothly, he should find himself aboard Alvida's ship again, asleep. Nothing should come as an unexpected surprise. With that thought in mind, Luffy closed his eyes and rested.
But, things didn't quite go as planned...
A ship sailed through the waters, flag waving in the wind - a skull and crossbones flag decorated with a single heart shape in the middle of the skull.
"Coby!" boomed the fat captain on board, Lady Alvida of the Alvida Pirates. She leaned her huge figure over her cabin boy who slouched against the ship railings, eyes closed in a slumber. "COBY! What do you think you're doing, slacking off?"
Coby's eyes snapped open, startled by Alvida's voice. "Garp-san!" he shouted sharply. "It's Alvida! Quick-" he paused when he saw Alvida's figure and his jaw dropped. She was… fat. FAT! Didn't she eat the Smooth-Smooth Fruit?
"Coby!" Alvida boomed again, resting her iron mace upon her shoulder. "Who is the fairest in all the seas?"
Coby didn't answer. He was too shocked. Closing his eyes for a second he tried to remember what had happened before he fell asleep. He was master chief petty officer. Coby… together with Helmeppo… The two of them were traveling with Vice Admiral Garp aboard their Marine ship. Then they all headed outside for some fresh air and…
"Black Hole!" Coby yelled abruptly, remembering, and looked up, but all he saw was the crispy blue sky; the black hole that had sucked the three of them away was nowhere in sight.
"COBY!" Alvida's big-ass iron mace smashed the wall beside Coby's head without a warning and made him jump in shock. "Who is fairest?" she repeated threateningly.
"Um, you Lady Alvida!" said Coby quickly, playing along with her for the time being. He didn't want to get in a fight or anything; he just wanted to figure out what was going on first.
"That's right," smirked Alvida, pleased with his answer. "I am the fairest! Now get to work scrubbing this deck clean!"
Coby nodded and stood up. That was when he noticed he was wearing glasses over his eyes. Thinking he didn't need them, he pushed his glasses up and rested them on his forehead. Then he turned, walked forwards and crashed into a wall because he couldn't see properly. 'Okay, maybe I do need them,' thought Coby as he pulled his spectacles down again. He then headed below deck, claiming he was going to get some cloth to help with the cleaning job. As he walked, he frowned, deep in thought.
Strange. It would seem this Black Hole had taken him back in time to when he was still aboard Alvida's ship as a cabin boy. The familiar surroundings, events, and the way he currently physically looked all proved his theory right.
Suddenly, Coby noticed something out of the corner of his eye that made him stop on his tracks. It was… a barrel. Coby's eyes widened as he remembered the day he first met Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy was hidden in a barrel that was in that exact same location. Could it possibly be that today happened to the day he and Luffy first met?
Without hesitation, Coby began to move the barrel towards the storage room, both because he wanted to avoid the three Alvida Pirates that were bound to come along, and because he figured Luffy would be hungry when he woke up. Setting the barrel on the ground in front of the crates of apples, Coby went and found some tools then began working to remove the lid.
"Luffy-san, are you in there?" Coby asked the barrel as the lid loosened.
No answer, just peeps of soft snoring. Coby's face lit up and he quickly removed the lid the rest of the way. Light now flooded into the barrel and made the figure lying inside wake up and squint their eyes uncomfortably.
"Luffy-san!"
"Huh? Morning already?" mumbled Luffy, stretching his arms. He blinked when his hands touched the sides of the barrel. "Eh? What…?"
"I'm so glad to see you!" beamed Coby, leaning over the top and looking down at him.
"…Coby?" Luffy got up and stepped out of the barrel keeping a curious eye on Coby.
"You remember me?" Coby was surprised. So if Luffy remembers him, then does that mean that he was sucked into the Black Hole and sent back, too?
"Yeah, I remember you." He examined Coby for a second and frowned. "But, why do you look like a little twerp again?"
"I don't understand, either," said Coby. "I got sucked into this huge Black Hole and then I was back aboard Alvida's ship!"
"Black Hole? What Black Hole?"
Coby blinked. "But… if you remember me, then doesn't that mean you were sucked in, too?"
"You don't make any sense, kid." Luffy rolled his eyes lazily.
Coby stared at Luffy in confusion. Something… wasn't quite right. "Luffy-san, are you quite alright?"
"Luffy-san?" Luffy looked around and then pointed to himself with a raised eyebrow. "Me?"
Coby blinked. "Um, yes, you're Luffy-san, right?"
"Eh? Are you retarded or something? What are you talking about?"
Coby just stared.
And stared some more.
"Stop staring at me." Luffy rolled his eyes, lifting his right hand to his hip, positioning them there as if he expected some sort of support to be hanging around his waist. When his hand came straight back down, he blinked and looked down. "Huh?"
"What?" asked Coby.
"Where are my katana?" Luffy demanded, turning side to side, searching, and when he noticed, added, "And, why the heck am I wearing these clothes?"
Coby's jaw dropped. No way. No… way…
Luffy reached up and on feeling a straw hat on his head, removed it and stared at it, bewildered. "Why am I wearing Luffy's hat?" Freaking out a bit, he then dashed across the room and grabbed a random sword off the ground. Unsheathing it, he stared at his own reflection and his eyes nearly popped out. "WHY THE HELL DO I LOOK LIKE LUFFY?"
Coby forced his jaw closed and gulped. "You're not Luffy-san, are you?"
"Hell no!" 'Luffy' screamed. "I'm Zoro, damn it, Zoro!"
"…Zoro-san?"
"What the hell is going on?"
"I-I don't… know…"
"Coby!" Luffy (Zoro) grabbed Coby's shoulders and looked into his eyes desperately. "Tell me what this black hole thing you're talking about is! That has to have something to do with this!"
"Okay, then…"
"How could I have slept through something like that?" exclaimed Luffy (Zoro), sitting on the ground beside Coby after hearing about the being-sucked-into-the-black-hole-and-sent-back-in-time incident.
"What confuses me is why you're in Luffy-san's body," said Coby. "Garp-san, Helmeppo-san, and I were sucked in, too; why hasn't something like that happened to us?"
"How would I know?" grumbled Luffy (Zoro). "I was asleep through the whole thing."
Coby frowned thoughtfully. "But, if you're here, then… who's in your body right now?"
Luffy (Zoro)'s eyes widened as he realised what Coby meant. If the black hole had really taken back to the start, then at this moment, he should be tied up and kept prisoner by the marines. If he was here, then who's being tied up? Luffy? Or another Zoro? Or…
"We should go," said Luffy (Zoro) standing up. "I should find the rest of the crew."
Coby nodded in agreement. "But, don't you think we should capture Alvida first? It won't take long, don't worry."
CRASH!
The ceiling caved in without warning and down fell a colossal figure carrying a bulky iron mace.
"COBY!" the figure boomed. "Who are you saying you're going to capture?"
"Alvida!" gasped Coby. 'I remember this,' he thought to himself. 'I remember all this. First Alvida comes and threatens me, and I'm terrified, then Luffy-san steps in and… But, Luffy-san isn't here this time, is he?"
"Alvida?" exclaimed Luffy (Zoro) in disbelief. "That fat old hag is Alvida?"
Alvida's jaw dropped open, as did the jaws of all her crew. The scene was exactly the same as when Luffy had been here.
'I guess some events don't really change depending on the person present…' thought Coby, sweatdropping. He had forgotten that Zoro had never seen fat Alvida before.
Alvida, furious, lifted her iron mace high to slam it and attack the straw hat kid that had insulted her. Luffy (Zoro) tried to duck out of the way, but Zoro was unused to Luffy's slim build and light weight, so ended up tripping over his own feet. Alvida's iron mace went crashing into his skull mercilessly.
Luffy (Zoro)'s eyes widened in alarm for a second, but then he blinked. He didn't feel any pain where he had been attacked. 'Oh, that's right,' Zoro realised. 'Right now, technically I'm Luffy. So...'
"Physical blows can't hurt him," declared Coby with a grin, "because he's made of rubber!"
Luffy (Zoro) smirked at the gasps of surprise that went around and leapt up, knocking Alvida's mace away. He flexed his fingers and rolled his shoulders. Man, being made of rubber felt weird!
"Why you…!" Alvida took aim again with her big-ass iron club.
"Soru," said Coby sharply, disappearing and suddenly reappearing beside Alvida in an instant, but then throwing a somewhat weak punch that only sent the pirate captain flying halfway across the room. And, instead of landing swiftly, Coby went crashing to the ground, panting heavily.
"What's up with you?" asked Luffy (Zoro) with a raised eyebrow. The Coby he had encountered at Water 7 was much more powerful than this. "That was kind of pathetic."
"I don't think my current body can withstand my fighting skills very well," Coby grimaced. "I guess I'll have to go through all my training with Vice Admiral Garp again."
"He punched Alvida!" cried the Alvida Pirates, panicking. "The cabin boy punched the captain! How is that possible?"
"Coby!" Alvida growled furiously, straightening up. "How dare you!"
"Um, Zoro-san?" Coby said, still gasping for breath. "A little help please?"
Mutterings began to arouse as the Alvida Pirates heard what Coby was saying.
"Zoro? The Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro?"
"That must be him!"
Luffy (Zoro) ignored the mutterings and frightened looks he received and quickly snatched three swords from nearby the surrounding pirates and took his stance. Luffy's body was harder to control for him but beating Alvida should be pretty easy, especially since she hadn't yet eaten her Devil's Fruit.
"Three swords! That's Roronoa Zoro for sure!"
"And, he's a Devil Fruit user! He's made of rubber!"
"That's ridiculous! How can we possibly beat him?"
"Santoryu…" Luffy (Zoro) gripped his swords tightly. "Oni Giri!" Lunging forwards, it took just one attack for Alvida's defeat. The fat pirate captain collapsed to the ground, eyes rolling back into her head as cross shaped wounds appeared across her front.
"Lady Alvida!" yelled Alvida's crew in complete panic. Their captain was so easily taken down; this pirate hunter was indeed nothing to laugh at!
Luffy (Zoro) threw his three swords onto the ground and walked over to Coby who still lay exhausted on the floor. "Oi, are you okay now?"
"Yeah," said Coby shakily. "I'm alright, but I don't think I should try using any more of my attacks."
Luffy (Zoro) laughed and pulled Coby up.
"But, Zoro-san!" said Coby anxiously. "If you killed Alvida, then won't you be changing history? That would be a serious matter!"
"I didn't kill her. She's unconscious, that's all," he replied.
Coby nodded, relaxing slightly.
"Hey, you," Luffy (Zoro) called over his shoulder to one of the Alvida Pirates, who stood to attention at the sound of his voice. "Get us a dinghy. We're getting out of here."
"This seems all too familiar…" muttered Coby for the hundredth time as he glanced over at 'Luffy' who lay asleep on the other side of their small boat. Joining the Marines, training with Garp, becoming powerful, meeting Luffy again at Water 7; it all seemed like some kind of distant dream.
Wait… Maybe it was…
Coby pinched his own arm and then grimaced in pain. Okay, so it wasn't a dream. He had really gone back in time, and so had Luffy-san, Zoro-san, and the rest of their crew. Only they had another problem, being that their souls were in the wrong bodies. Well, as far as he knew, that was the case.
But, is everything really that simple?
I think not…
AN:
And last but not least, a big shout out to Rexan, who seems to have become my permanent beta reader or something. She betas all my current ongoing stories and helps me out loads, so I'd like to give her a well deserved round of applause. Cheers! ^^