"Alright, let's not get separated this time, okay?" The orange haired navigator of the Straw Hats placed two firm hands on her hips, standing in front of the entrance to a large amusement park. Luffy was bouncing up and down with excitement while Robin held him back using her devil fruit powers. Luffy and Zoro got the brunt of the glares, the two men most likely to wander.
"I don't want a repeat of last time, I'm ready to spend a day having fun, not being chased by angry Marines. Don't make me raise your debts," Nami warned, her words meant more towards Luffy, who didn't even seem to be listening. The Straw Hat was desperately trying to run towards the entrance, ready to ride the roller coasters.
"Maybe we could split up into smaller groups. It would be easier to keep track of," Robin suggested, her calm eyes flickering around the crew. Another arm sprouted from the ground and grabbed Luffy's ankle.
"Great idea, Robin!" Nami scanned the group, trying to choose carefully who should go with who.
"Luffy, Chopper, Brook and Robin will come with me. Zoro, Franky and Usopp will go with Sanji," Nami finally decided, looking rather pleased with her choices. Sanji groaned, clearly annoyed with the lack of woman- and the presence of stray moss- in his group.
"Everyone should meet back at the Sunny in 5 hours. That should give us plenty of time to enjoy ourselves. And please, try not to get in trouble," With those last words, Nami whipped around and strutted through the entrance, her group of choice following closely behind.
The whole crew seriously needed some time to relax, and as soon as they learned that the island they docked at had an amusement park, it was instant mutual agreement that they head there.
"SUPER!" Franky shouted, heading towards the entrance with a large grin on his face. Usopp was chattering away about what rides he wanted to go on, all of which seemed to be tamer ones. The only people who appeared unhappy with the arrangements were Zoro and Sanji. For obvious reasons.
"Marimo! The entrance is over here!" The blonde cook exclaimed in exhaustion, stopping the swordsman from heading off in the opposite direction. Grumbling loudly, Zoro turned and begrudgingly trudged through the entrance, followed by a more than annoyed curly brow. The two, already raring to argue, caught up with Franky and Usopp, both of whom had already taken off without bothering to wait.
The amusement park was huge, with rollercoasters rising high into the sky and rides that made Usopp panic both internally and externally. Franky was suddenly the only one enthusiastic to go on rides, and thus the other three stood by and watched as Franky went on several rides by himself, not willing to ruin his fun.
"This place is SUPER!" Yelled the cyborg as he shoved a large piece of cotton candy into his mouth. Eventually the four found a carousel, and both Franky and Usopp opted to ride it, leaving the two rivals to themselves. Sanji found himself expecting a snarky comment from Zoro, but upon turning to get ready to shoot back a response, he noticed the mosshead was not standing next to him like he had thought. He turned in several circles, frown creasing his brow before he managed to spot him. It wasn't too hard, considering the stray moss stuck out like a sore thumb.
Zoro had his arms crossed with an almost amused look on his face as he listened to a young woman talk to him. She had long, curly blonde hair, and wore a white dress that went all the way down to her ankles. Instantly Sanji was walking over, already assuming that Zoro was being rude to such a beautiful flower. He picked up bits of what they were talking about, though only hushed whispers came from the young woman, who looked frantic.
"Yea, sorry lady, I'm not interested," Zoro growled just as Sanji reached the two. The girl looked downcast, as if Zoro had just kicked her puppy or something. Sanji gave Zoro the all too familiar look of 'how dare you upset such a beautiful flower' before turning to the girl, apologetic.
"I'm sorry for anything he may have said, my dear, he doesn't have many brain cells," Sanji lifted her hand up to kiss it, leaving the girl a blushing mess. He pulled back to glare at Zoro, who looked rather annoyed by the cook's bothersome show of affection to a stranger. He'd never understand Sanji's infatuation with women.
"Oi, cook, why don't you fuck off?" Zoro had his hand on the hilt of one of his swords, raring for a fight right then and there. Sanji, however, ignored him, turning back to the girl who looked rather confused by the two.
"Now then, my dear, what is your name? And what did the horrible marimo say to you?" The blonde inquired, a comforting smile on his face. Zoro scowled, his frustration with the other man clear as day.
"I'm Alice. I just wanted him to come play a game with me, but he doesn't want to," Alice pouted, looking very childlike. Sanji wondered hold old she was, but that was improper to ask a lady unless the situation called for it. She did look rather young though, he noted. She definitely couldn't be older than 16 or 17.
"That's cruel, marimo! How could you refuse such a sweet girl!" Sanji fixed his blue eye on Zoro's steely gray one, tension cracking through the space between them. But Nami's warning about not causing trouble rang through his mind and Sanji stepped back a bit, lighting a cigarette and settling for his usual glare. Zoro looked a little surprised at first, but the only reason he could find that Sanji wouldn't agree to the fight was Nami, and quickly remembered the warning about debts, himself.
"I'll play you with, flower!" Sanji's eyes lit up and he spun around the girl with what Zoro liked to describe as his disgusting love tornado. Did he only care about women?
Of course, Zoro knew the answer to that, and that was yes, yes he did. Women and cooking; they were his only passions in life, though sometimes the green haired man wondered if pissing him off was another one of them. Probably. Zoro turned to walk off, figuring he was done. Whatever it was the girl wanted to play, Sanji would gladly do that. No need to get himself involved.
"No, it has to be him!" Alice stated, desperation laying in thick undertones in her otherwise childish comment. Zoro raised a brow at that, turning to face her once more, confused. Alice had a pout on her face that, to any person not paying much attention, would just look like a simple pout. But there was distress in her eyes, and neither Zoro nor Sanji could figure out why. What was so important about this game, and why couldn't Sanji do it?
"Why? Love cook can do it, leave me alone," Zoro then replied, watching carefully as the look of despair grew in her eyes. Something wasn't right.
"Stop being a jerk, marimo, just go play the game with her!" Oh good, now Sanji was trying to push him into this.
"What? No! You do it, I don't see why I-" He paused halfway through his sentence when he noticed the girl tearing up. Shit, no, that's definitely not what he wanted. He quickly began to feel uncomfortable when she started crying, drawing some unwanted attention from the other carnival-goers, all of whom were staring, concerned, at the crying girl and the two shady men in front of her. Well, shit.
"Okay, okay, fine! I'll play!" Zoro cursed himself mentally as he gave in, annoyed at how quickly he'd been disconcerted. Something definitely wasn't right, and he knew Sanji was beginning to sense that, but neither of them said a word as they followed the girl, who had stopped crying and immediately began hopping away. They only assumed to follow her, and that in fact seemed to be the right thing to do, they soon realized as they stopped outside of a tent.
The area they had been led to was a little darker than the rest of the carnival, and not very many people were milling around. It was unsettling how quiet it was here, almost as if this was a secluded part of the island and not still part of the carnival. Zoro and Sanji could hardly hear the sounds of the carnival rides anymore.
Alice giggled, spinning to look at them. "If you lose, you'll die!"
Zoro scoffed, not even bothering to respond to that. Her dark sense of humor really didn't compare to Robin's. That woman set the entire crew on edge when she was like that, and she damn well knew it, too. Sanji looked a little put off when she said that, his brow creasing in obvious confusion and slight suspicion as she slipped into the tent, instructing them to stay there until she called them in.
"I don't like this," Sanji muttered once he figured she was out of earshot. Zoro rolled his eye, rather annoyed that Sanji had tagged along.
"Nobody asked you to come, shit cook," The swordsman replied curtly, now determined to play the game just to prove Sanji was too easily worried. Before Sanji could reply, Alice stuck her head out of the tent, blue eyes sparkling with excitement.
"You can come in now!" She squeaked, stepping back and drawing the tent flaps away from the entrance to allow them inside, Zoro strolled in, ready to get this over with, and Sanji followed tentatively. This whole situation felt off, and he couldn't understand why Zoro didn't feel that. They were usually on the same page about this kind of thing, as much as he hated to admit it. It was probably the only thing they ever agreed on, mostly because agreeing with each other is just plain weird.
"Welcome," A man wearing a Victorian style suit and a top hat sat at the end of a table in the middle of the tent. He had long brown hair in a ponytail and red eyes, which seemed to be calculating their every move. A small smile made its way onto the man's lips. A deck of cards was laid out on the table in front of him.
"I thought I was playing something with Alice," Zoro mumbled, prominent glare fixating on the man. Sanji lit a cigarette, crossing his arms. The bad feeling was worsening; everything about this screamed 'shady.'
"Yes, well, you were misinformed. I'm Alec," replied he, standing to extend a hand for Zoro to shake. Zoro glared at it until it was retracted, annoyingly enough setting the mood for the game they were about to play.
"Alright, let's just get this over with," the green haired man sighed, sitting at the table and waiting to be told what game they'd be playing. He was decent at card games, even Sanji could acknowledge that bit of information, so it was safe to say he felt fairly confident.
"We'll just play a quick game of Gin Rummy, and if you win you can go on your way," Alice set out cards as Alec spoke, eyes glimmering with something Zoro couldn't quite understand. He cast a glance at Sanji, who he knew had noticed the same thing when he found him staring back. They both kept quiet about it, but by now they were both on edge, this whole situation getting shadier by the second. Zoro really didn't even understand why he was so put off by this situation. It was just a game of Gin Rummy, what was there to lose? But Alice's words were swirling through his mind like a chantry, and he was beginning to wonder if he had made the best choice.
"Alice, dear, I'm sorry, but I think Zoro and I should be leaving. Our crewmates would be worried-"
"No! Zoro can't leave yet!" Alice was standing at the entrance before either could blink, unsettling the two even more. A split second before, she had been dealing out cards, moving that fast shouldn't have even been possible.
Alice bound her eyes to Zoro, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout. With an exhale of resigned breath, Zoro turned back to face Alec from across the table, who had not spoken throughout the little outburst. Alec smirked at Zoro, and his mood crumbled back to annoyed.
"Can we just play the game so I can leave?" Zoro growled, his eye twitching in the way it does when he gets overtly bothered by something.
"Sure we can."
*****
The game was intense the moment it started. Zoro had expected a swift game, but it went on far longer than he had expected. Alec was impressive, his skills rivaling even Nami's, which is saying something. Zoro was at a loss for words when he realized that he had actually lost. Being one of the better players on the crew, he was only used to losing to Nami, Robin or Franky; he wasn't often beaten and so he was fairly shocked when he was completely flattened. Even Sanji couldn't hide his surprise, his blue eye widening considerably.
"Well well, looks like I've won. You proved quite a challenge, it's almost unfortunate," Alec chuckled, standing and sweeping his arm across the table, sending all the cards scattering. Alice took it upon herself to begin picking them up. Sanji almost offered to help, but he found himself too entranced in the events unfolding.
"What's almost unfortunate?" Zoro huffed, grinding his teeth together. Alec was getting on her nerves almost as bad as Sanji usually does for reasons he couldn't fathom. Something about this guy really set him on edge and he hated it.
Alec's response never came. He closed his eyes, seemingly focusing on something. Zoro gripped the hilt of Shusui, ready to attack at a second's notice, but he didn't get that chance. Without warning a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him at once, strong enough to bring him to his knee with a sudden gasp. He covered his mouth as he attempted to keep the contents of his lunch in his stomach. He could hardly bring himself to look up without seeing the room spinning wildly out of control. Almost like it was from a distance away instead of right next to him, Zoro heard Sanji asking him what the hell was wrong. Loud ringing and shouts began entering his ears, followed by hallucinations of horrors that latched onto his only weakness. His nakama.
There they all were, getting murdered in the most brutal of ways while he was useless, unable to do a damn thing. His nakama's cries reached his ears, and it was all so realistic he almost started shouting for them, but upon opening his mouth the nausea hit harder and he forced his jaw shut again, groaning.
Sanji was shouting at Alec, demanding to know what the fuck he was doing. He'd never seen Zoro in such a weakened state and it pissed him off. Alec opened his eyes and they bore into Sanji, making him feel like he could see right through him. He felt exposed, like all his secrets were being laid out in front of him, and he snarled like a caged animal.
"Stop that. Stop whatever the fuck you're doing."
"Ah, but your friend there agreed to play the game. He walked in when he was told that the price of losing was death. These were his choices, dear sir," Alec's red eyes had darkened, so dark they could easily be mistaken for black. Sanji recalled what Alice had said, paling significantly. Zoro was... dying?
"It was a fucking card game, why would you kill him over that?!" Sanji took a step forward, looking absolutely pissed. He was beyond ready to attack this bastard, but with Zoro in the state he's in, he wasn't sure if it would end up making things worse. Gritting his teeth, he dropped his cigarette and stomped it out, evaluating the situation. Alice was still blocking the entrance, so grabbing Zoro and getting out wasn't an option. He had a feeling it wouldn't work anyway. Attacking Alec could very well worsen the situation, so all in all he was stuck. Negotiation was the only logical way to go about it.
"You know, there is a way to help him," Alec sneered, a low chuckle rising from his chest as he stared at Sanji, knowing the blonde was cornered. Sanji sighed. If this was the only way to help Zoro, it looks like he'd have to take it. As much as he hated the asshole, Luffy would be distraught if Zoro died here, and a distraught Luffy = a ravenously hungry Luffy, and a ravenously hungry Luffy = a seriously irritated Sanji. Nobody really wanted that.
"I'm listening. Out with it," Sanji let his eye travel over Zoro's trembling form. This weakened state made him look small and useless, nothing like the rival he was so used to seeing. Sanji felt dismayed just looking at him, but he couldn't tear himself away. This dumbass had gotten himself into the situation, and hell if he wouldn't get him back out.
"If you can steal the Red Queen's golden scepter and return it to me, he can live. Doubt you'll have much luck with it, but he either dies here or you prolong his death, so guess it's your choice," Alec shrugged, amusement as clear as the grin on Alice's face. She hadn't said a word this entire time, but she seemed more than excited to hear Alec talk.
"Who is the Red Queen?" Inquired Sanji. The thought of stealing from a woman was downright revolting to him, and he strongly considered saying no and finding a different solution, but he had a feeling this was the only shot they'd get. Alec didn't look ready to negotiate any further than this.
"The Red Queen is the woman who took over Wonderland. Alice here has faced her wrath; everyone has. She's a horrible woman, and she'd be distressed if anything were to happen to her precious scepter. That's why you're going to steal it if you want the swordsman to live," The brunette explained. As Sanji observed him, he noticed that there was something laying behind Alec's overconfidence, and that was doubt. His exterior almost completely shadowed it, and, had he not been trying to kill his rival he'd give the man kudos for it, but the fact remained that he was. The doubt appeared to be over whether or not Sanji would really be willing to do that, to help Zoro. He must've sensed the overall hatred between the two.
"Where is this Wonderland place? The island we're on is called Mytropia, isn't it?"
"Wonderland, my good sir, is down the rabbit hole. Now, will you do it? Will you steal the Red Queen's scepter and return it to me?" Alec prodded, his eyes glinting with hope. Sanji held in a loud groan of frustration and nodded slowly.
"Yeah, guess so. Not like I have any other choice. My captain would be pissed if the dumbass died here," Sanji grumbled, glowering distastefully at Alec. What a bastard. Suddenly, Zoro's trembling and slight grunts of pain stopped. He was left panting and sweating, his eye revealing a wild kind of panic Sanji had never seen him show. Zoro was hasty with getting himself back together. The blonde gave him a swift kick in the side.
"C'mon, you patch of moss. You aren't wilting anymore so get your sorry ass up. We have a scepter to steal if we're gonna keep you alive. Fucking idiot, this is what happens when you wander off," Sanji scolded him, trying to get a rise out of him, just so that Zoro could pull himself together faster. Panic didn't suit the marimo.
"What the fuck was that?" Zoro was on his feet in an instant, all traces of the panic he had been feeling before vanished as he switched his focus to kicking the cook's pathetic ass. He was reaching for Shusui, but he paused when he saw Alec was standing upright.
"Didn't you kick his ass?" The green haired man asked, confusion spreading across his features.
"Were you that out of it that you didn't even hear what was going on? Geez, marimo," Sanji lit another cigarette, stepping back. "We have to go to this place called Wonderland and steal some scepter from the Red Queen there or whatever."
"What the fuck? Wonderland?" Zoro looked pretty damn skeptical, and for once Sanji couldn't blame him. He was fairly skeptical himself, not that he'd say that out loud. That'd mean they're on the same page, and ignoring that was far easier than acknowledging it.
"What he told you is true. And you'd better get going now if you'd like to live. I'm feeling generous, so tell you what. I'll give you two weeks to get this done, that's it. If you can return the scepter to me by then, I'll let you live. If you're too late, however, I'll just kill you from here. Oh, right, and you can't bring your other crew mates. You're fortunate enough that I'm letting blondie go with you," Alec stretched his arms, looking content with his words. He gave Alice a pointed look, one neither of the two could decipher, but she seemed to get it. In an instant she was pulling a carpet away from a spot on the floor to reveal a large hole. There was no way to see the bottom, a nerve-wracking thing to have in mind. Zoro and Sanji walked over to it, peering down. Still nothing.
"That's the rabbit hole, the entrance to Wonderland. Mind the drop, it's a bit of a shocker," Alec came forward to stand next to them, a wide grin on his smug face. Sanji wanted to kick it.
This seemed like a horrible idea. What the hell would they tell their crew when they got back? 'Yeah, sorry for disappearing for two weeks, we jumped down a rabbit hole to steal something from a queen. Whoops!'? Sanji was sure they'd listen, but then again he was also sure Luffy would beg to see Wonderland, and, depending on how it turns out to be, that would probably be bad. Zoro and Sanji shared looks of 'Being stuck with you is going to suck ass,' and Sanji fought the urge to sending him flying right through the top of the tent. The walking patch of moss would surely attack anything that moves in the foreign place they were about to venture into, because that's how neanderthals are and Sanji was sure that's how to classify the brute. There weren't possibly enough brain cells to classify him as anything more than caveman.
It looks like they'd have to get used to two weeks of each other. What a shitty way to spend time. Zoro knew he could barely stand being around the cook in the first place, but this was a whole new level. One thing was certain: If they weren't killed by something else in Wonderland, they'd kill each other.
"Ready?" Alec didn't actually wait for their responses. He gave both men a push, enough for them both to be caught off guard. Both went stumbling, and both lost their footing and fell right in. The rabbit hole was far larger than any regular rabbit hole, but it was still a wink less than a miracle that they had fit in, much less together. Alec laughed heartily when he heard their shouts of 'what the fuck.' Perhaps they had potential, but he didn't put too much faith in them. He'd been doing this for many years now, and each time his new hopes had failed miserably. He had reached the point where he was sure nobody could truly steal the scepter. It had become more for entertainment purposes. Alec went back to his chair and sighed pensively. This was bound to be interesting.