Well, this is my first writing with character deaths in it. I got the idea for this after I had a bad day. So, tell me what you think. Oh, and I don not own One Piece or any of the characters in this story!
Gone
Luffy was asleep in his hammock. He tossed and turned in a fitfull sleep while he dreamed.
Luffy's Dream
"Luffy! Save us!!! Save us Luffy!!!!!" they called.
"Guys!!! I won't let you go!!!" he cried. He stretched his hand and grabbed onto Sanji, who grabbed Robin who grabbed the rest of the crew.
"I won't let go." Luffy said through gritted teeth. He was having trouble holding onto them but he would never let go. The waves crashed around them but he wouldn't fail. They were depending on him and he couldn't fail.
Suddenly, clouds appeared out of know where. There were claps of thunder, lighting bolts, and a strong wind. The waves grew larger and they crashed against the side of the ship, soaking the crew and Luffy. Robin was weakening. She couldn't hold on any longer. She let go and Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Franky, and Chopper dropped toward the dark and stormy sea.
"NO!!!!!!!!" Luffy screamed as they dropped into the sea one by one. He was still holding Sanji who still held Robin. As the waves crashed, they drained more and more of Luffy's strength. I can't let go! They can't fall! Luffy told himself. But the sea was his enemy and it wouldn't alow him to succeed. The waves washed over him, willing him to let go. His grip loosened just slightly and he felt Sanji start to slip.
Just before the next wave came in, Luffy looked down into Sanji's face. Sanji had a pleading look in his eye but it was also so trusting, like he knew Luffy wouldn't drop him. Luffy began crying. He couldn't hang on and when the next wave came crashing into the boat, it took Sanji and Robin with it. Luffy's arm snapped back into place and he was sent tumbling onto the deck where he layed without stiring, sobbing the whole time. His crew...they were gone. And it was his fault. He had let them down. He had done it. He had let them die.
Luffy woke with a start. A cold sweat covered his body as he gasped for breath and his body shook uncontrolably.
"That dream...it's been so long. A month actually. Does pain take that long to heal?" Luffy thought.
He picked up his hat and set it on his head. His stomach suddenly growled.
"Hey Sanji!!! Make me some-" Luffy said as he opened the door and began to step out in the hallway. He stopped, realizing his mistake. "Oh yeah." he said quietly. He made his way to the kitchen to find something to eat and to get his mind off his current life.
Luffy walked into the kitchen and opened the large fridge. He had broken the lock some time ago since he figured Sanji still had the key. He looked around for something to eat but found nothing. Stocking the fridge had always been Sanji's responsibility.
With a sigh, he shut the fridge and walked out of the kitchen, his stomach growling in protest. He made his way up onto the deck and to the front of the ship. It seemed to be the middle of the afternoon, not like he knew. Not like he even cared.He needed to find someplace to get some food but he had no idea how. That had always been Nami's job.
Luffy turned around and looked at the lawn behind him. He half expected to see Zoro napping and Usopp experimenting, but of course, they weren't.
With a heavy heart, Luffy made his way to the sick bay. He didn't know why he was going there. He really didn't care. He opened the door and was once again greeted by silence. He walked over and sat on the small cot in the corner and then put his head in his hands and let out a long, shaky sigh.
"One month. Has it really been that long?" he thought. "Time is supposed to heal all things but it will take a life time to heal this wound." he thought bitterly. It seemed that he had grown up ten years since that fateful day.
Suddenly he burst out yelling at no one in particular. "Why did you do it?!!!" he damanded to no one in particular. "Why did you have to go?!!! Why couldn't it have been me?!!!!!!"
"Save us Luffy!"
"W-w-what...who's there?!!" Luffy asked nervously.
"We need your help!"
The voices sounded strangely familiar, like that of a long lost friend. Or friends. "Guys?!! Guys I'm here! I'll help!" Luffy cried out.
"Save us!"
"I tried! I really did! But I wasn't strong enough!!!" Luffy called out. He had begun crying now.
"Luffy!"
"I tried! I...I...I tried." Luffy said as he cried. He suddenly felt very tired and he had soon cried himself to sleep.
Luffy's Dream
"Hey Luffy! Get out here!" Nami called.
"What is it?" Luffy asked as he walked up next to her.
"Look at that cloud. I think we need to raise the sails so we don't drift off course." Nami explained.
"Hey Zoro! Sanji! Help me lower this thing!" Luffy called to the sleeping swordsman and Sanji, who had been in the kitchen.
"Allow me captain." Robin said from her chair on the lawn. She used her devil fruit powers to grow more hands and raise the sail. "Anything else?" she asked calmly.
"Nope. Not now. Thanks Robin." Nami said.
"Did somebody yell for us?" Zoro and Sanji asked as they walked up to where Luffy and Nami were standing.
"Robin took care of it." Nami replied.
"Hey guys! Guess what me and Franky invented?!!" Usopp cried as he and Franky burst out onto the deck.
"What now Usopp?" Nami asked with a sigh.
"The Mini Merry version 2.0!" Usopp said proudly.
"It's SUUPER!!!" Franky yelled as he posed.
"Uh huh." the rest of the crew said and turned their attention back to the clouds, or in Robin's case, her book.
"What's all the comotion?" Chopper asked as he appeared from below deck.
"There's a storm coming in." Nami explained.
"Oh." Chopper said as he joined the rest of them at the front of the boat.
There was suddenly a burst of wind that blew a loose page of Robin's book across the deck.
"I'll get it my sweet!" Sanji called and chased after it.
"Sanji! Wait! The storm!" Nami cried as she ran after him. She suddenly tripped and sprawled out on the deck. Sanji ran back to assist her. Meanwhile, the page blew away over the ocean, never to return.
"I'm sorry Robin-chan." Sanji said appologetically. "I didn't catch it my sweet. Forgive me."
"It's okay I remember what it said." Robin replied.
"This is no time to be worrying about things like a missing page we have to get-" but Nami was cut short by a great burst of wind.
Whoa!" Chopper cried as the wind blew him partway across the deck.
"Somebody grab him!" Zoo yelled. When no one made a move, Zoro decided to do it himself. He grabbed Chopper's hand, er hoof, and held him tightly. They were dangerously close to the edge.
"Guys! Get away from there! It's dangerous!" Nami yelled over the wind.
"What?! I can't hear you!" Zoro called as the wind picked up.
"I said, get away from there!" Nami yelled back.
"Wha-" Zoro began to shout back but was interupted when an even stronger wind blew him off his feet. He was sent flying backwards along with Chopper.
"Catch them before they fall off!!!" Nami screamed in panic.
"I got em!" Franky yelled. He dashed over and grabbed Zoro's hand but he was to late. The three of them were picked up by another gust of wind and thrown over the side.
"NOOO!!!!" Usopp yelled. Without thinking, he barely managed to grab onto Franky's outstretched hand. He managed to hold them for a minute but then his strength gave out and he went with them.
"Ugh. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself." Nami thought bitterly. She ran over and caught Usopp's hand. Now, Chopper, Zoro, and Usopp were dangling off the side of the ship with Nami holding them up.
Robin saw that Nami couldn't hold them much longer and hurried over to help. Sanji also went to help out his beautiful Nami-san and Robin-chan. That left Luffy who was trying to steer the ship alone and avoid the clouds. He had run in a minute ago and had missed the whole scene on the deck. When he heard Nami's peircing scream over the strong wind, he immediately ran out on deck. What he saw was his crew hanging over the side of the ship being held up by Sanji, who was losing ground fast.
Luffy ran over to them as fast as he could. Just before he could reach them, another strong gust of wind blew Sanji off the side too. "Sanji! Grab my hand!!!" Luffy called out as he stretched his arm down to the chef.
Sanji held on to Robin who grabbed the rest of the crew using her hana hana fruit powers.
"Luffy!" they all cried out, seeing there captain. "Save us Luffy!"
"I will guys! I won't let go! Don't worry. I'm here now. You'll be fine!!!!" Luffy called down to them.
Suddenly, the dark storm cloud appeared over there heads. Without Luffy steering the ship, it had drifted smack into the middle of the storm. The dark clouds now hung over Sunny's head. Now there was wind and rain which made visibility hard. The strong wind created huge waves that dashed against the ships side. Chopper, who was closest to the ocean, was getting hit by every one of them. Due to his devil's fruit, he was pretty much a lifeless form that was being held by Zoro.
"Luffy!" they cried as the waves increased in size. "Let us go! We'll be okay!"
"What?! Never! I'll never let go!" he cried.
"You can't save us Luffy. Let go!" they cried.
"NO!!!!!! I can save you!!!!" Luffy cried with tears in his eyes.
"It's okay Luffy. We want you to save yourself." Sanji said calmly. "Make our dreams come true for us."
"Sanji..." Luffy said quietly.
Just then, a huge wave hit the side of the ship. It was tall enough to hit Robin which caused her to let go of the crew and become lifeless, just like Chopper. Zoro, Chopper, Nami, Franky, and Usopp went tumbling into the ocean.
"Luffy, let us go. Let me join my Nami-san." Sanji said.
Luffy bit his lip in order to not let Sanji see him cry. "No. No! I won't!" he said softly with a shake of his head.
Another, even larger wave, hit the boat at that time. It hit Luffy and imediately made him grow weak. He was washed back onto the deck, letting go of Sanji in the process. He soon lost consciousness, as the heavy rain continued to pour down.
Luffy woke with a start. He had fallen onto the floor of the sick bay. He pulled himself into a sitting position on the floor and grabbed his hat, which had fallen off to the side. Then he let the tears roll down his cheeks that he had been holding in since that fateful day one month ago. He finally accepted that they were gone but he also knew that it wasn't his fault. It was the ocean's. Ever since he had eaten that devil fruit, there had always been one enemy that he coldn't beat. And now, that enemy had taken everything he held dear and there was nothing he could do about it. His cried for what he had lost and the dreams that his nakama would never fulfill.
"Snap out of it Luffy!"
"Wh-what? Who said that?" Luffy asked with a small sniffle.
"This isn't like you captain."
"Captain? Who are you?!"
"Don't you remeber us? It hasn't been that long has it?"
"I-I-I don't understand." Luffy stuttered. He wondered if this was a dream.
"We came to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"Finish our dreams for us. We are nakama, aren't we? That's what you always said."
"N-N-Nami? Is that you?" Luffy asked, finally realizing who the voice reminded him of.
"It's about time. Now, you have to promise me that you will finish our dreams for us."
"Us?"
"Yes Luffy. All of us."
"Sanji?"
"Listen to Nami-san Luffy. Finish our dreams. Find the All Blue for me."
"And draw a map for me."
"But I can't draw maps or navigate. I can't cook either." Luffy replied.
"You can't swordfight either."
"Zoro?!!!"
"While we are on the subject of dreams, I want you to tell Mihawk that one day, I'll challenge him again. And then, give him Wado as a present and tell him to guard it with his life. Got that Luffy?"
"Got it!"
"Good. I'll tell Kuina that I'll keep her promise for her one day."
"Who's that?" Luffy asked.
"Zoro's girlfriend. He-he."
"Hey! Usopp!"
"Luffy, I want you to go to Elbaph and then one day, I want you to tell me what it's like. I also want you to become a great warrior of the sea, just like me!"
"Okay. I'll do it!"
"Okay, now, back to me and Sanji. It's okay that you can't draw maps. I just want you to get a bunch of information and the give it to Nojiko. She knows a little bit about maps. And about navigating, don't worry. I'll still help steer you in the right direction."
All of a sudden, Luffy could here a large gust of wind and he could feel the boat turn slightly.
"Happy? Well anyway, we all have something we want you to do for us. Sanji wants you to find the All Blue. Zoro wants you to find Mihawk. Usopp wants you to go to Elbaph and then become a great warrior. Chopper wants you to find a great doctor and learn a little about medicine of the Grand Line and then give it to Dr.K. Robin wants you to atleast find the Rio poneglyph for her and I want you to get information for Nojiko. So, do you promise us Luffy?"
"Of course! I won't stop until all your dreams are fulfilled!" Luffy cried.
"Oh, and one last thing Luffy."
"What?"
"Don't forget your dream. Go and be the Pirate King!!!"
"Right! I promise!"
"Good. Now it's time for us to go."
"Go? What do you mean?!!! Nami? Nami? Zoro?! Sanji?!!! Anybody!!!!" Luffy cried with no results. He sat numbly on the floor, wondering if he had just been imagining things.
He stood up. No matter if he had imagined it or not, he still had some dreams to fulfill. He walked out of the sick bay and was about to go to his cabin but was distracted by the noise of meat frying in the kitchen. Curious, Luffy walked toward the kitchen instead.
He slowly pushed open the door and found the kitchen empty. But, there was one difference from earlier. On the stove, there was a pan that held in it a piece of frying meat.
"I don't remember any food being in here." Luffy thought as he walked toward the pan. Next to the pan, he found a note in scratchy handwriting. It read:
Dear Luffy,
This is the last meal I will cook for you. From now on, you will have to learn yourself. But for now, here you go.
-Sanji
Luffy smiled. It was the first time in a month and it felt great. He grabbed the meat and took off running toward the deck.
"The stove you idiot!!!!"
"Oh sorry." Luffy said outloud and dashed back inside the kitchen. He turned off the stove and then made his way to the deck. He faced the horizon and thought about the job ahead of him. Then he gulped down the meat in one bite. After all, with his crew gone, he would need the extra strength in order to carry out his promise.
So, for my first serious type piece, how was it? Please review!!! Thanks. Until next time, -MonkeyStrawhatLuffy