Chapter 1 : An Escape From Insanity.

Disclaimer : I don't own One Piece, I'm not Oda in disguise.

A/N : Enjoy this chapter!

Narrator's Pov

"S-Stop... stop... g-go a-away... I-I won't d-do it... please... l-leave m-me alone..." muttered Zabby, laying on her bed in the fetal position, covering her ears.

"You don't deserve to live..." A voice whispered.

"This is not you... you... ARE EVIL." another voice thundered.

"N-NO!" screamed Zabby, covering her ears once more, tears streaming down her cheeks. "ZABBY!" yelled her big brother, knocking down the locked door to her bedroom."Zabby..." her brother whispered, rushing to her side. "What's wrong...?" he quivered.

"Zabby..." the voice hissed, "You can't trust him... you can't trust anyone... trust... no... one..."

"Zabby... you used to be so cheerful and happy... now look at you!" Her brother worried. "N-No... s-stay a-away..." she snapped, smacking her brother's hands' away from her. She curled into a ball, and covered her ears once again, but of course, it didn't help. Zabby was struck with fear. She kept hearing voices, when others' could not. Suddenly, Zabby's feet moved on it's own will, and walked over to the balcony of their house.

"Zabby... you are a nuisance... I... I could have been one... if only it weren't for you!" the voice thundered.

Zabby, realizing that the voice was dragging her feet to the balcony, clung onto the door, as her feet struggled to throw her over the balcony.

"ZABBY!" her father yelled.

He rushed over to her side, and held her from throwing herself over the balcony. "What's happening?! what are you doing?!" he questioned. Zabby just shook her head violently, as she screamed out inaudible words. Then, she had a random outburst of anger, and lunged herself towards the balcony. "ZABBY!" her father yelled, and grabbed her, just before she fell off.

"Damn it..." the voice hissed.

Her father took her to the living room, as she struggled to get free. She violently shook her head, and her arms squirmed as she struggled to get to the balcony to kill herself. Her big brother ran into the living room, and helped her father. She was still screaming inaudible words, before her brother sedated her. Her arms fell, and she hung limp in her father's arms. They laid her on the couch, and watched her sleep peacefully. It had been a long time since she had a peaceful sleep. Her brother was a college student, training to be a doctor, and happened to have a sedative with him. He had decided to become a doctor ever since their mother died of an unknown illness.

Zabby, his little sister, was only twelve when her mother died. And he, was seventeen. It had been four years ever since their mother died. But two years after she died, his little sister, Zabby, had been acting strange. She kept saying that she "heard voices" "I... I don't know what's wrong with her, Tyler!" their father suddenly blurted out, crying. Tyler Nightingale knew something was wrong with Zabby, his little sister. "Maybe... maybe... it's because... she misses... mom." Tyler murmured. Steve Nightingale, Zabby's father, put his hand to his face, to hide the tears away from his son. "It can't be Tyler! She's been dead for four years! You can't just use her as an excuse for this!" Steve cried out. Tyler looked down at the ground, not sure what to say.

"Tyler..." Steve murmured, "Let's take her to the hospital tomorrow... and find out... what's wrong." Tyler looked up to his father. His dark brown hair covered his eyes, as he softly cried. Steve Nightingale was a successful businessman. He had dark brown hair, and green emerald eyes. As for Zabby's older brother, his name was Tyler Nightingale, and was currently a college student. Unlike his father, he had black hair as dark as coal, and blue green eyes, and was studying to become a surgical doctor.

Zabby Nightingale, was sixteen, and attended high school. She had dark brown hair that reached her mid back and her eyes were an emerald green. She was like any other normal teenager, until she suddenly broke down like a failed machine.

After a while, Steve Nightingale laid a blanket on Zabby, and insisted that he would stay in the living room and watch over her, just in case she would lung herself over the balcony. Tyler nodded to his father, and walked to his room and plopped on the bed. But he couldn't sleep. There was just one thought lingering in his head. "What happened to you, Zabby?"

~ The Next Day ~

It was early in the morning, and they had brought Zabby to the hospital when she was still sleeping. Steve and Tyler didn't want her to have a sudden burst of anger while in the hospital. They had admitted Zabby to the hospital at seven a.m., and now it was nine a.m. Tyler was in the cafeteria, getting something to eat, while his father, Steve, was waiting in the Zabby's hospital room.

While waiting in the room, a blonde woman in a white nurse's uniform walked in. Judging from Steve Nightingale's perspective, she seemed to be in her late twenties. Steve immediately got up from his chair, and rushed over to the nurse. "Miss, so, what are the results?! it's nothing dire, is it?! is my daughter fine?! will she live?! is she mentally damaged by her mothers death?! is it all my fault?!" panicked Steve. The nurse backed away a few inches from Steve, and finally interrupted his questions. "Calm down! your daughter is not mentally damaged! and yes, she will live! now stop with all the questions, and let me explain her situation, Mr. Nightingale!"

At this, Steve was able to quiet down, and let the blonde nurse speak. The nurse looked grimly at Zabby, and heaved out a heavy sigh. "Mr. Nightingale, my name is Nurse Emma, and I will be helping Zabby with her condition. I am not quite sure how you will handle this, but you need to be supportive of Zabby. Zabby's situation is very dire. Especially since she is in her teenage years. Your daughter Zabby has Schizophrenia."

( A/N : This is how you pronounce it : skitz-zo-fren-ni-a )

"Wha- what's that?" asked Steve. "Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that can withdraw the sufferer from society and reality. It can cause hallucinations, delusions, abnormal thinking and behavior, and, it can lead to insanity." responded Nurse Emma. Steve was utterly shocked. His mouth hung wide open, as he stood there, as if frozen.

"Mr. Nightingale? Mr. Nightingale, are you all right?" asked Nurse Emma, her blue eyes staring into his. "Mr. Nightingale?" Steve then shook his head in frustration, and looked at Nurse Emma. "Will my daughter... be alright?" he slowly asked. Nurse Emma sighed again, and asked "This hospital... your wife, Eleanor, died here, correct?"

Steve slowly nodded in response. "There is a chance..." continued Nurse Emma, "that she may commit suicide." By now, Steve's body was shaking madly. "W-W-What?! i-is that p-p-possible?!" stuttered Steve. Nurse Emma nodded grimly. "When Eleanor was admitted here, I was in charge of giving her her medications. Eleanor was a great woman. We instantly became good friends. She always talked about her family, your kids must miss her a lot. Your daughter may think of suicidal thoughts, and when she does, those thoughts might linger to her mother, and she'd try to kill herself in this hospital if she does have suicidal thoughts. Zabby seems to be very stressed out from her hallucinations. We can hire a guard for you, in case she does commit suicidal acts, but it will cost a lot of money."

"Please, hire a guard. I can afford it. Please, help her." Steve pleaded. Nurse Emma smiled, a smile that was half mischievous, and half helpful. "Of course I will. The guard shall be here by next week, and so, as a favor, I can watch over Zabby, if you'd like." she responded. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much." replied Steve. "But... Mr. Nightingale, there is... no cure for schizophrenia. Only medications that she can take. Will that be alright?" Nurse Emma asked. Steve nodded, "of course it will." "Very well then." she responded.

Zabby's Pov

"Hee hee hee..."

"W-Who is that?!" I screamed, quickly turning around. "It's us... Zabby..." the voices said. What's happening? where am I? I remembered getting sedated by Tyler, and nothing else. All around me, I was surrounded by gray walls, with streaks of black all over. I'm tied up to a chair. And these shadows drifted here and there, watching my every move. Where am I?! what are those voices going to do to me?!

"Hee hee... we won't hurt you Zabby... we won't... yet." a voice said. I shook in terror. For two years, I was living in fear, I would see things others could not see, and heard voices in my head almost all the time. People had thought I was crazy, and avoided me. Even my friends. I don't know what they want from me. It's like... they were punishing me for living.

The shadows came closer, and closer, and I struggled to move the chair back. But it didn't work. "P-Please... don't... p-please... d-d-don't kill me... please..." I begged. The shadows snickered in response, and I could see the outline of their eyes and lips. "You... are unforgiven... you are trash... a nuisance to us all... you... DO NOT DESERVE TO LIVE!" and suddenly, the ground around me cracked, revealing red vibrant lights. I sat in my chair in confusion, until it cracked more, and black chains flew straight up from the cracks, and gripped at my limbs, and they pulled me towards the shadows. Closer and closer. The crimson red lights surrounded the black chains, black as coal. They gripped at my arms and legs very hard, and blood began to trickle down my legs and arms.

I screamed, struggling to stay away from the shadows. They surrounded me, and they wanted me dead. I haven't lived long enough. I've never experienced the joy of life in a long time. I need to go... to go find... to go find myself. I know it's stupid, but for a long time, these voices clouded my thoughts. I wasn't able to think right. I wasn't able to be me. There were times I'd look in the mirror and ask myself the same question, over and over again, thousands and thousands of times. I've forgotten who I was ever since those voices came. And I need to find myself, to find the real me. Not the weird girl they called me, not evil, not creepy, nor the emo. But me, Zabby Nightingale. I screamed at the voices, that I wanted to live, but the more I screamed, the more the black chains gripped onto my flesh, another fresh trickle of blood flowing down, and I screamed more and more, trying to ignore the pain.

The shadows rejoiced. They had imprisoned me. The black chains dragged me towards the shadows, and I tried to flee. It was useless. A rush of adrenaline went through me. "Die... die... die... DIE!" they chanted. They wanted me dead. I don't know why. "Someone..." I murmered, "Please... someone... anyone... SAVE ME!" I screamed, the shadows laughed more at my futile attempt, but then, they stopped. The grey walls began to crack. A bright pure light escaped from the cracks, and they reached out to me. The shadows disintegrated, and the black chains loosened, and sank back into the cracks in the ground. The lights turned the shadows into ashes, and the cracks in the ground disappeared. The grey walls turned into a beautiful white and gold.

"Wake up..." a voice said.

"Huh?" I said in confusion, looking around me.

the voice wasn't a horrifying one. It wasn't cold. It wasn't harsh.

But it was kind. And friendly. And warm.

The chair I had been sitting on, and the ropes I was tied to it, mysteriously vanished out of thin air. The ground I was on turned into green. No, it wasn't green, but I was standing on grass. I looked down at the grass that had suddenly appeared. What the...? what's going on? and then, I looked all around me, and the white and golden walls disappeared, and was replaced with a beautiful sky. Fluffy clouds drifted throughout the blue sky, and a light breeze swept through my dark brown hair.

Where am I? what exactly... happened...? I turned around, and around, watching my surroundings. Before, I was about to die, but now, it's like... what happened before never happened. Not knowing what to do next, I kneeled to the ground, and touched the grass. It was smooth. And very soft, and was the color of a beautiful green. Is this... heaven? Oh my God, did I die?!

"Wake up... wake up Zabby... wake up"

Immediately, I stood up, and sure enough, I was sure that voice was here. And, as I spun around, there was only a slight breeze. What the...? am I really in heaven? did I just die?! and then, the voice giggled.

"Zabby... wake up... this isn't heaven... this is... the abyss of your mind..." it said.

the voice sounded kind and friendly, it seemed to be the voice of a woman, a young woman. And why is she telling me to wake up? is this a dream? wait, it can't be, she said this was the abyss of my mind. Wait, what does that even mean?

"We're in your mind..." the voice said, "Zabby... wake up... wake up..." the voice echoed.

Suddenly, the scenery of the sky and grass disappeared, and I was surrounded by lights. It seemed like I was being engulfed in the lights. It was calm. And peaceful. And I let myself slowly get engulfed by the beautiful lights.

"Wake up..."

Slowly, my eyes started to open, and in front of my face, very close, was a blonde nurse. "GAHHHH!" I yelled in shock. The blonde nurse looked startled, and backed away a few inches. "I see you've woken up, Miss Nightingale. Your father and brother have been very worried about you." the blonde nurse said. Strange... her voice sounds a lot like that voice. An awful lot. "Mr. Nightingale! your daughter's awake!" the blonde nurse yelled to the door.

And zoom! dad ran through the door, and ran to my side, almost causing the blonde nurse to trip and fall. "ZABBY! DAD'S HERE! Are you okay?! are you hurt?! are you scared?! do you need anything?! water?! food?! don't worry, dad will always protect y-"

BANG!

Tyler had shown up, and hit dad on the head with his fist. Dad sank to the floor, a large bump appearing on his hand. Tyler sighed, and apologized to the blonde nurse, who's name, which I found out, was Emma, but everybody at the hospital called her Nurse Emma. Nurse Emma only giggled at Tyler's apology, and said it was alright.

"Hey, Zabby, are you awake now? you ok? any "voices" ?" Tyler asked.

"No..." I said, shaking my head.

"Well, that's because I gave you your medication pill. You'll be alright." Nurse Emma said. I nodded slowly. "Oh my! how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself! my name is Emma! but call me Nurse Emma! and, I'll be taking care of you for the next six months. " O-Oh... u-um... ok..." I stuttered. Yeah, I have to say, I'm a bit shy around new people... wait, did she say... SIX MONTHS?!

"WHA- WHA- WHAT?! SIX MONTHS?!" I yelled, flailing my arms around.

Tyler smirked. "Well, looks like the medication's working." he said. Just what did he mean by that? but, there is NO WAY I'm staying in a hospital, a hospital where my... mom died, for six months. No way.

I don't know what to think anymore. That nurse... sounded like that voice. It was such a kind voice. Not a cruel voice nor an evil one, but a pure-hearted and kind one. Was that a dream? the sky, the shadows, and the chains? was it all just... me? or, did it mean something? where are the evil voices that haunted me day and night? why is so... peaceful?

I must have been staring at the nurse for a while, and she kept repeating "Hello...? hello...?" I snapped back to reality, and watched her. She smiled back at me. I just kept staring at her in confusion, just nodding my head. "Excuse me, Nurse Emma, but, what exactly were the medication pills? is there something wrong with me?" I asked.

Then, dad turned into a sobbing mess. "IT'S OK, DARLING! EVEN IF YOU'RE MENTAL, AND HAD GONE COMPLETELY INSANE, DAD STILL LOVES YOU! D-D-DON'T CRY! DAD AND TYLER WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU! NO MATTER WHAT! I- I- I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T BRING YOU TO THE HOSPITAL A LONG TIME AGO! And now... and now... MY DARLING DAUGHTER WILL BE LIVING WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA! WHY MUST YOU TORMENT ME?!" Yelled dad, looking up at the ceiling, "WHY MUST YOU TORTURE MY DAUGHTER?! WHY CAN'T YOU TORTURE ME?!"

Tyler sweat dropped again. Nurse Emma was becoming afraid. And so were the people on the hospital floor, and possibly, the higher floors up, too. Well, dad was always like this... strange... I must have forgotten that dad was over protective, and... embarrassing. It's been a long time since I was embarrassed. But, who wouldn't be, when your dad, a grown man, is crying at the top of his lungs?

"Alright, alright, Mr. Nightingale, will you please excuse yourself, while I talk to Zabby?" Nurse Emma asked. "NO! NEVER! I WILL STAY BY MY DAUGHTER'S SIDE UNTIL THE END! NEVER!" Dad yelled. Tyler was getting more and more frustrated. Nurse Emma sighed, and took out a walkie-talkie. Wait, a walkie-talkie? what for? she muffled something into it, and dad's outburst of tears were getting louder.

"NEVER! I PROMISE, DAD WILL NEVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE! I'LLL ALWAYS PROTECT YOU! DAD WILL ALWAYS BE HERE, DAMN IT, I'LL BEAT EVERYONE WHO HURTS YOU! I'LL ALWAYS PROTECT YOU!"

A-A-Always...? why... just when I thought I'd be at peace for once...

"DAD WILL ALWAYS PROTECT YOU! I'LL NEVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE! I'LL ALWAYS BE HE-" and then, a police officer walked in, and put his hand over dad's mouth, and dragged him out. Dad tried to escape the police officer, but he was strong, and only sighed out and said "Yeah, we know son, now stop disturbing the hospital." Dad kept screaming through the police officer's hand, but they were muffled, and the police officer and dad were gone.

Thank God.

Nurse Emma giggled sheepishly. "Well, you've got yourself a protective father, huh?" She asked. I nodded slowly. Maybe it's just me, but her voice sounds awfully familiar. Tyler gave a sigh of relief. "Well, at least you're not trying to kill yourself now." he said. "Y-Yeah..." I murmured. This hospital feels strange the last time I was here. Tyler was asking the nurse about the antipsychotics. I looked at the both of them in confusion, until they both turned to me. "Oh... Zabby..." said Tyler. I cocked my head to the side. "What are antipsychotics?" I asked. Tyler rubbed the back of his head. "Well... uh... Zabby..." he mumbled. I think I remember dad saying something about schizophrenia? what's that? Tyler mumbled on, searching for an answer to my question. How hard is it to say what antipsychotics are? Nurse Emma sighed, and walked over to the left of my hospital bed. She put her hand on my shoulder and said, "sweetie... you have schizophrenia."

Schizophrenia? "It's a mental disorder that can withdraw you from reality and society, cause hallucinations, delusions, and abnormal thinking and behavior." Nurse Emma said. I stared at her for a while. And then, laughed. "Haha! there's no way I'm crazy! I'm not crazy, there's just no way." I said between laughs. Tyler and Nurse Emma just stared at me, wearing serious expressions. I am... crazy...?

Immediately I stopped laughing. "You're... you're joking, right?! I can't be crazy, there's just... there's just... no way." I mumbled. "Zabbs, you're not crazy, you're just... mentally ill." Tyler said. That's the same thing as saying I am crazy. And that didn't really make me feel better. I took in a couple breaths. In, out, in, out, in, out. "So... what are antipsychotics?" I asked, in my calmest voice. "They're treatments for Schizophrenia. You won't be having hallucinations or delusions at all. You'll feel completely normal! although, you have to take them once a day. It's a good thing you're born in this generation, where the antipsychotics didn't have side-affects. The older antipsychotics had side-affects, while the modern ones, didn't." Nurse Emma explained.

Then, it was quiet for a while, until Nurse Emma chimed, "Well, visiting hours are over, now get to class, young man!" she said, kicking Tyler out the door. I could hear him say "Hey!" before Nurse Emma closed the door. "Well then..." said Nurse Emma, sashaying towards me. She came over me, and a small smile curved on her lips. "It's time to see you off... although I really shouldn't, but... it's for Eleanor." suddenly, she easily picked me up, and snapped her fingers.

"H-H-Hey! w-what are you doing? what do you mean see me off? and what about Eleanor?!" I frantically asked her. When she snapped her fingers, a deep, purple swirl formed in the middle of the room. It grew bigger and bigger, and was almost near my hospital bed. There were streaks of lightning in the purple swirl, mixed with eerie grey colors.

"Monde d'un autre monde, voyager, et rencontrer votre destin!" she chanted. She came closer and closer, to the swirling purple and grey colors, and positioned me over her shoulder. The purple and gray spiral was deep in the middle, and a strong wind blew in the room. "See ya, Zabby." she whispered, and tossed me into the swirling spiral of purple and grey. I screamed, struggling to get back up, reaching my hand forward, but all I could see was Nurse Emma's warm smile, and she waved me goodbye. I sank deeper, and deeper into the swirling spiral, I spun around and around, and became very dizzy. I couldn't get back to my senses at all, I was just whirling around in a spiral, or maybe... a vortex! I was tossed into a vortex. But... can this be a hallucination? I struggled to get my hand to touch the purple and grey colors in the spiraling vortex, and it was just a strong wind. This isn't a hallucination. I... I can feel it. This... this isn't a hallucination. I must have spun around the vortex for who knows long, and I was getting dizzier and dizzier, and soon passed out.

"Oi... is she awake?"

"Looks like she's about to..."

"Eh?! the sleeping beauty is awake?! First, let me awaken her with true love's first ki-"

"SHUT UP! You are NOT going to sexually harass a random girl we found! YOU IDIOT!"

* PUNCH *

"H-Hai..."

What the heck...? I slowly opened my eyes, and saw nine figures standing in front of me. I sat up, and groaned. My back hurts. The nine people standing in front of me were the strangest people ever. One, had green hair, and carried three swords. Another had blonde hair, and wore a suit. A woman had long orange hair flowing down her back, and another woman, with long raven hair. There was also a man with a very long nose. Wait, is that even possible? is he Pinocchio or something? or am I having one of those... hallucinations? please tell me I'm not actually crazy, am I? I mean, I just got pushed into a vortex by a nurse. Oh God, I am crazy.

"Oi! you awake?!" yelled a straw hat wearing boy. I nodded. Who... are these people? "Yohohohoho! So you're awake, stranger-san! My name is Brooke!" yelled the talking skeleton. Wait... skeletion...? talking...? with an afro...? "Yohohohoho! Stranger-san, may I see your pa-"

* BANG! *

The orange haired woman punched the talking skeleton's head. She was clearly angry. "BROOKE! YOU DON'T ASK STRANGERS TO LOOK AT THEIR PANTIES!" She yelled. Wait... he was about to ask to see my panties?! the nerve of that man! er- skeleton. "Sorry Nami-san..." he said.

* Boom! *

The door flung open, and there was a giant man with blue hair, wearing nothing but a speedo and a shirt, unbuttoned. He should seriously put on some pants. "Ow! she's awake?! well, nice to meet you, I'm Franky!" he said. I just blinked. Am I dreaming, or is this a hallucination? The orange haired woman yelled at the blue haired man, saying that he would scare me. Please. I've seen more frightful things. All of them were bickering with one another. The straw hat wearing boy, complaining that he was hungry to the blonde man, and that I should eat too. The man with three swords was already asleep. The talking skeleton trying to tell the orange haired woman that there was nothing to be afraid of, and that stranger-san, me, was fine.

The only one not making a commotion was the long black haired woman. She lightly chuckled at the scene, and gave me a warm smile. I just stared back at her, and didn't say anything. For all I know, peace was flowing in my mind, and the only voice in it, was mine.

Narrator's Pov

"Master... she's here. She's... here." said a woman with navy blue hair, wearing black sun glasses and a black mini dress. "WHAT?!" thundered a giant man, sitting on a giant arm chair engraved with jewels. His face was shadowed, but the ring on his finger, a golden ring with a black hourglass glinted in the light. "Yes master, she is here." the woman murmured. The man grunted. "Why... WHY IS SHE HERE?! that woman Eleanor... and that Ila, they made sure she would live. Mercy!" he yelled.

"Hai!"

"Kill her... at all cost."

"As you wish, master."