It's been a year since that day. So much has changed. All of us were affected by that battle a year ago. However, none of us were affected more than Luffy. He had already gone through so much pain two years prior to that day, when his brother Ace died. At that time, we weren't there to help him, to give him the comfort he needed. We never realized that another opportunity would present itself so soon.

Ever since the Battle of Mariejois, the world has fallen into chaos. Even though we have put in an effort to bring order to the world, many people and islands are still suffering because of a broken world. After all, who would've thought that the World Government, which stood at the top of the world for over 800 years, would be taken down in a day by one pirate crew? The entire world heard Blackbeard's declaration of war on the World Government, and many of us thought it was suicide. Even us Straw Hat Pirates felt that way. That is, all of us except Luffy. We were all surprised when he stated that we would be heading to Mariejois. We didn't understand his reasoning then. Even now, I don't know why he gave that order, but it's too late to regret the past.

Nowadays, the Blackbeard Pirates rule the seas. That is, most of it. There's only one pirate crew that stands in their way. That's us, the Straw Hat Pirates. For the past year, we have been fighting back against the Blackbeard Pirates by taking back islands they have control over, one at a time, and taking them under our custody. We are the only force that even has a chance of winning against the Blackbeard Pirates, even if that chance is depressingly small. Even with our luck, this War of Dreams we are fighting in against the Blackbeard Pirates is our biggest fight yet, and I fear that we won't be able to pull out of this one all in one piece.

The atmosphere on the Thousand Sunny has changed during the past year. While the cheerfulness and fun is still present on board, it is completely smothered by a feeling of anxiousness and anticipation. We cannot afford to lose this War of Dreams, not after we have come so far. We all see it. Even Luffy sees it. The world has changed for the worse, and we must be the light in this broken world.

I don't think I can ever erase the horrors I saw at Mariejois out of my mind. None of us will be able to, I'm sure of it. Many of us have come closer than ever before to dying, but we also became stronger because of it. I'm scared of what's to come, but I have faith in Luffy and the rest of the crew that we can make it through.

-Nami

Nami yawned, throwing her pen on the table and stretching her arms up towards the sky. It really has been a year already, huh... she thought to herself. She stood up, and walked out of her study, out into the open air. It was a beautiful afternoon, with no sign of any storms in sight, though it was the Grand Line, meaning they must always be prepared. Their invincible ship, The Thousand Sunny, was still sailing strong across the sea, despite the time and battles it has gone through. It was nice to know, even after a year of hell on earth, that some things didn't change, and the near invincible ship Franky built was one of those things. Speaking of him, Nami was able to see the cyborg out on the lawn, papers spread out in front of him as he tinkered with his right arm, no doubt making new adjustments to prepare for the inevitable fight with Blackbeard. Leaning over his shoulder was Usopp, making comments on how to improve the weapon design, no doubt. The two inventor's friendship was still just as strong, if not even stronger, because of the constant need to be ready for Blackbeard.

"No, no, you should make the ammo clip bigger instead of increasing the bullet speed!" Usopp said to Franky, clearly frustrated at the cyborg. "If you increase the bullet speed, you'll just run out of ammo faster! You need more ammo, Franky, ammo!"

"Ow!" Franky replied. "But you see, brother, if I fire bullets even faster, I can beat those Blackbeard's in a suuuuper flash!"

"W-Well, yes, but-"

"Usopp!" Nami yelled, climbing down from her study. "Do you have a minute?"

"Oh, Nami!" Usopp replied. "Sure! Hang on, Franky." Usopp jogged over to Nami, leaving the cyborg by himself. "What do you need?"

"Not much, just two things." Nami said, and reached behind her, pulling her Climate Baton out from where she tucked it into her skirt. "First the Climate Baton isn't working that well, again."

"What?!" Usopp exclaimed. "I could've sworn I fixed it last time!"

"Oh, really?" Nami said, a sinister smile crawling onto her face. "Don't I recall you pride yourself on your lying skills? Next time it doesn't work, I'm gonna have to charge you a hefty fee for not getting it fixed, so make sure you get it right this time, okay?"

"Oi, Nami." Usopp said, clearly looking unamused. "Your old habit's kicking up again."

"Is it?" Nami said, her face still unchanging.

Usopp shivered a little. That face...it still gets me, even after all the years we've spent with each other! He shook his head, bringing himself back into reality. He grabbed the climate baton out of Nami's hand, and put it in his back pocket. He'd touch it later once he was done helping Franky. "Anyway, what's the other thing you wanted of me?"

Finally, Nami's face returned to her normal cute girl face that really didn't suit her personality. "Oh, right. Have you seen Luffy?"

"Luffy?" Usopp asked. "Last I checked, he was at the headpiece, like normal. He's sat there a lot lately, it seems."

"Can't say I blame him!" Franky said, closing the lid on his synthetic arm, and standing up to walk over and talk with the two. His voice lowered, showing to the sniper and navigator that Franky was serious about what he was about to say. "Our captain's had so much on his plate lately, maybe even more than he can handle. I want to help him, but...he won't let any of us help. He's a man I suuuper respect, but even he has a limit on what he can take."

Nami and Usopp nodded. "I still feel for him..." Usopop said. "I can't imagine ever being in his position, even after Mariejois." He sighed. "Well, there's no point in thinking about the past. Anyway, Franky, you added the ammo clip, did you not?"

"Eh?" Franky said, cocking his eyebrow. "What are you talking about, brother? I increased the bullet speed, like I wanted to!"

"Wh-What?!" Usopp explained. He grabbed Franky's shirt, showing a rare display of rage, even if it was a small amount that wouldn't hurt the cyborg. "What the hell are you thinking?!"

"O-Oi, brother!" Franky said. "I don't see what the suuuper deal is!"

Nami giggled as she watched the two argue. We still have each other, and that's all I can ask for right now.

"Gyahh!"A shout of pain sounded from the crow's nest, startling the three straw hats below. "What was that?" Usopp asked, momentarily forgetting about teaching Franky a lesson.

"Ga-hah!" Zoro yelled, tensing and shuddering as pain shot up and down his body.

"Zoro, I can't relax your muscles unless you sit still." Robin said calmly, reading a book as her artificial hands rubbed muscle relaxant on his body, as well as massaging Zoro's joints. "Honestly, if I wasn't here, you would kill yourself training."

Zoro scoffed in annoyance at the Devil Child. "I wouldn't kill myself. I know when to stop."

"Really?" Robin asked, giving the swordsman a cocky smile. "You do recall that I just found you on the ground, your muscles shot from overexertion?"

Zoro tensed even more, and Robin chuckled, knowing she won against the Pirate Hunter.

Zoro grunted. "Still, I don't need your help, Robin. I can take care of myself."

"Yes, of course." Robin said sarcastically. "Now sit still, this one will hurt."

"What do you me-" Zoro was cut off as one of Robin's hands pushed onto his back, on one of his muscles that had tightened more than the others.

"Gyahh!" Zoro yelled, biting down on his lip to help alleviate the pain.

Robin chuckled a little bit. "Sorry, Zoro."

Yeah right. Zoro thought to himself, currently hating the raven haired woman sitting on the bench behind him. I'm pretty sure she's enjoying this, the little devil.

After a while, the hands disappeared from Zoro's back. "You should be able to move now." Robin said, standing up and offering him a hand, giving him her signature smile. Reluctantly, Zoro grabbed her hand, and she pulled him up, Zoro slightly shaking a little bit. She guided him over to a seat, and he sat down, with her sitting down to his right.

They sat in silence for a bit, until Zoro grumbled, "Thanks."

Robin gave a small grin to the swordsman. "You are welcome, 'Pirate Hunter.'"

There was yet another period of silence, until Robin spoke up. "You can't handle much more, Zoro."

"Huh?" Zoro asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Your body. You aren't fully healed since that battle a year ago. We all see it. Even Luffy does, to an extent. Chopper asked me to watch over you, to make sure you aren't hurting yourself training. He's just as worried, perhaps more, than the rest of us."

Zoro tensed slightly. Robin was right. A year ago, he suffered damage far greater than even what he received from Kuma on Thriller Bark. It took him two years to fully recover from that. Now, he bears the scars of that battle a year ago, and that's only the surface, both literally and figuratively. The internal damage was severe, and even with an amazing doctor like Chopper on his crew, he hasn't been able to heal completely yet. He curled his hand into a fist, shaking in frustration. I promised myself. He yelled in his mind. I promised myself I would never be weak again! He wanted to cry. His frustration was too great to be kept in. However, he'd be damned if anyone saw his weakness, especially the crew. He was the first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates. He was meant to be the protector of the entire crew, even the captain. So why must he be so weak?

"You can't hide your emotions, Zoro." Robin said. She stood up, walking to the door. "We all feel weak, after that battle. Before you go back to training, let yourself heal first. Both physically and mentally." She opened the door, but just as she was about to walk out, Zoro stopped her. She looked back curiously towards Zoro. "Yes?"

It looked like Zoro was about to say something, but then he shook his head, chuckling slightly. "I never do get you, woman." Robin smiled in response, and walked outside without saying another word.

Robin sighed as she stood outside the crow's nest, leaning against the wall. He's always so tiring, that Zoro. She thought to herself. If only he'd open up every once in a while... Who was she to talk, though?

"Oi, Robin!" Robin looked down, to see Franky yelling up to her. "We heard a scream, everything suuuper?"

Robin smiled to the cyborg. "Yes, Franky, just Zoro being himself!"

"OK!" Franky said, giving her a wink and a thumbs up.

"Franky!" Usopp yelled, walking over to the cyborg, "I still have things to say to you, you jerk!"

Robin giggled. I've sure made some wonderful friends, Saul.

"Oi, Chopper!" Sanji yelled in the kitchen. He walked out to the dining room, carrying two plastic bags in his hands. "These were the ingredients you wanted, right?"

"Oh, thank you, Sanji!" Chopper said, grabbing the bags from Sanji's hands. "I needed this badly!"

"Sure, no problem." Sanji said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Oh, Sanji!" Chopper said, bringing the cook's attention back to the reindeer. "Could you help me for a bit?"

Sanji cocked his eyebrow in surprise. "Sure." He knelt down next to the reindeer, waiting for instructions.

"Thank you." Chopper said. He handed Sanji a bowl of mixed herbs that Sanji couldn't recognize. "This is medicine for Luffy, but he doesn't want to take it. He says it tastes bad, so he won't eat it."

Sanji chuckled. "Sounds like our captain, all right. So you want me to make this into a meal for him, right?"

Chopper smiled. "That's right! You can do it, right?"

Sanji eyed the herbs, before smiling at the reindeer. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to? Of course I can do it!"

"Great!" Chopper said. "Thank you!"

"No problem." Sanji said, smiling as he stood up. As he stood up, however, an immense pain completely engulfed his legs, and he winced at it. "Damn it!" He cursed, before falling to the ground, dropping the herbs.

"Sanji!" Chopper yelled, running over to the cook's side. Sanji was sprawled on the ground, his arms and legs twitching uncontrollably, and Sanji grimacing in the pain of it all.

"Sorry, Chopper." Sanji said, trying to smile through his pain. "I dropped the herbs."

"That doesn't matter right now, idiot!" Chopper scolded, tears slightly building in his eyes. "You're experiencing multiple muscle spasms." Chopper said as calm as he could. "It's really bad. If I don't do anything now, it could cause permanent damage. I should have some extra muscle relaxant around here." Chopper said, momentarily taking his attention off of Sanji.

Sanji snarled as Chopper turned away. I thought I was doing well hiding this! Just like that Moss Head, Sanji experienced an indescribable amount of pain during the Battle of Mariejois, something that would probably never fully heal. He was lucky that the rest of the Straw Hats never noticed the slight shaking in his hands and legs as he did his daily routine, but the shaking wasn't temporary, much to Sanji's dismay. The nerves in his body hadn't healed all the way, and he probably won't ever to be able to move the same way he did years before without suffering incredible amounts of pain. This has been the first time he experienced a complete body shutdown in a year, though.

"Hello, Chopper-san?" Sanji tensed up as he heard their musician's voice from outside.

"Brook!" Chopper replied, pulling out some muscle relaxant and turning back to Sanji. "Get in here!"

Brook walked in, his usual bony grin splattered on his face. "Ah, Chopper-san! You see, my joints aren't moving so well..." His eye slots widened as he saw Sanji on the ground. "Oh my goodness, Sanji-san!" Brook instantly came and knelt on the other side of Sanji. "What happened?"

"Brook, I need you to take off his clothes!" Chopper said. "I need to apply this ointment to his skin right now!"

"All right. Understood, Chopper-san." Brook replied, a rare air of seriousness around him.

"H-Hey, wait!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Chopper yelled with such ferocity, it instantly shut Sanji up. "Just let me help you, please!"

Sanji stayed quiet in frustration as he felt Brook take off his shirt, and Chopper started applying ointment to his back. Damn it, damn it, damn it! He yelled in his mind. Every single damn time, I'm protected by someone else. Every damn time!

Eventually, Chopper stopped, and Brook put Sanji's shirt back on. "There we go, that should do it." Chopper said. "Brook, can you help Sanji up to his feet?"

"But of course. Here we go, Sanji-san." Sanji felt Brook's arm loop underneath his arm, and slowly and shakily, Sanji pushed himself up on his feet, having to rely on Brook for support.

"Sorry, Brook." Sanji said, lowering his head in shame. "You have to carry me, even without muscles."

"Yohohoho!" Brook laughed, trying to cheer up the mood. "No need to apologize, Sanji-san!"

Chopper was rummaging through his bag, before smiling and pulling out a bag of pills. "This is the same pain medication I have Zoro on. I didn't think I needed to give it to you as well, but after today..."

"Right, right, I understand." Sanji said, reluctantly taking the bag with trembling hands from the small reindeer. "More importantly, I should take those herbs and cook them for Luffy."

"No, you can't!" Chopper yelled. "You'll just hurt yourself even more. I'll just take this medicine to Luffy and make him eat it. You just sit down and rest."

"But-"

"Sanji-kun?" Nami's voice sounded from outside, instantly taking Sanji from his argument with Chopper to the owner of that beautiful voice.

"Yes, Nami-swaan?" Sanji said, trying to walk over to the door as it opened up. However, he realized a bit too late that his body still wasn't working quite right, so he ended up falling over, right underneath a surprised Nami. "You look just as beautiful today as always!"

"Sanji-kun..." Nami said, her almost sinister smile crawled on her face yet again. "Might I ask, why are you on the ground? You aren't trying to get a peek, are you?"

"Eh?" Sanji said, a bit confused, until he realized his position. "Oh, Nami-san, you look beautiful no matter how I look at you!"

"You idiot!" Nami yelled, kicking Sanji in the head with force to even rival some of Sanji's best. Chopper screamed as Sanji went flying over his head, into one of the chairs behind.

"Nami!" Chopper cried. "He's injured!"

"O-Oh, really?" Nami said, smiling nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, Sanji-kun! I didn't know!"

"Hah..." Sanji replied, to stunned and happy to mutter anything more.

"Yohohoho!" Brook replied. "Sanji-san! You should have told me about your plan! I would've gladly joined in on it!"

"This one, however..." Nami said, her anger rising towards the skeleton.

"Nami!" Chopper said, stopping her before she was able to take out her anger on Brook. "What did you need from Sanji?"

"Oh?" Nami said, turning her attention over to the reindeer, momentarily forgetting about her anger towards the musician. "Luffy just wanted to know when lunch was, but now I think it might be delayed..."

"Oh, Sanji finished it just a little bit ago, so I believe it's ready! Right, Sanji?"

"Hah..." Was Sanji's only response.

Sighing, Nami walked into the kitchen to find a platter of sandwiches on the counter. "It seems to be ready!"

"OK!" Chopper replied. "I'll get Sanji back on his feet, so tell Luffy and the others that lunch will be soon!"

"Got it!" Nami said, smiling at the reindeer as she walked outside.

"Oh, and Nami?"

"Yes?"

"Can you take this medicine to Luffy? He really needs it right now."

"Sure thing!"

Luffy sat in silence on the headpiece of The Thousand Sunny, staring into the peaceful sky. Slowly, he grabbed his hat from his head and examined it. The tear from a year ago on the rim was still clearly visible, but he didn't want to fix it. It served as a reminder to him of what happened during that horrible battle.

No...stop thinking about it... The more reasonable part of his mind tried to speak to him, but that part of him was, unsurprisingly, small compared to the rest of his thoughts. Still, the memories of the battle came back full force to him, and he started shaking slightly, remembering all the blood and bodies he saw that day. Especially the bodies of-

"Ah, go away!" He yelled aloud, standing up and hitting himself repeatedly in the head, trying to get the memories, quite literally, out of his head. He put his signature straw hat on his head, and looked out to the sea. "Blackbeard, I won't ever forgive you!" He said, pointing out to the ocean. "I will beat you!"

"Luffy!" He heard Nami calling, so he turned around, giving her his wide grin.

"Nami! What time is lunch?" He said, growing excited, the memories of the Battle of Mariejois going to the back of his head.

"It's coming soon, don't worry." Nami said. "More importantly..." She held out her hand, revealing a bowl of herbs that served as medicine for the Straw Hat captain. "Eat this."

"Wha?" Luffy said in disappointment, sitting down on the railing. "But it's so gross!"

"I don't care!" Nami said. "Chopper says you need to eat it, so eat it!"

"No!" Luffy said, pouting at his navigator. "I don't want to!"

"Why must you be so stubborn?!" Nami yelled, hitting him on the top of his head.

"Oww!" Luffy yelled, wincing at the pain. Nami can be extremely terrifying when she wants to... He thought. Before he could react, however, Nami had grabbed his jaw and pulled it open, pouring the mixture into his mouth. Luffy was forced to swallow the medicine, sending it down to his stomach.

"Bleaugh!" Luffy said, coughing as the medicine made its descent. "Disgusting!"

Nami sighed as Luffy continued to cough. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" She said to her captain.

"Why do I even need to take the medicine?" Luffy complained.

"Because Chopper says so, that's why!" Nami said, handing Luffy a cup of water in annoyance. If I told you why you need to take it, it would go right over your head, anyway. While Zoro and Sanji need medicine for their physical well being, Luffy needs medicine that will heal him mentally. If he doesn't take the medicine, his mind would be filled with memories and emotions from a year ago, and because of that, he wouldn't be able to function as the leader they need in this War of Dreams. Nobody could blame him for being so susceptible to the pain his memories bring. What he saw that day may have been even worse than watching his brother die in his arms two years prior to the Battle of Mariejois. We can't lose you, Luffy. Not now.

Luffy sighed as he finished drinking the water Nami gave him. "Thanks, Nami! Now then, let's have lunch, shall we?"

"Well, it's not quite-" Nami wasn't able to finish as Luffy slung himself into the air to land on the lawn of the Thousand Sunny, eagerly awaiting lunch.

Nami smiled at her captains quirkiness. At least his energy is still present, even during this war. She headed down the stairs ready to join her crew for lunch. Despite the trying times, the Straw Hat Pirates are still as close as family, if not even more. This would be something that would prove invaluable in the times to come.

A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you liked this first chapter! I came up with this idea when thinking of ways that One Piece could potentially end. If you can't tell already, this story takes place toward the end of the journey, in the inevitable final battle between the Straw Hats and the Blackbeard Pirates. I thought it would be interesting for it to be set in a world where the World Government was destroyed, and Blackbeard ruled the seas. I'm planning on adding a lot of content to the story. This is just the beginning, after all. Anyway, hope you'll all enjoy this story! Until next time!