Chapter Two:
The force of the wind blasted involuntary tears from the trio's eyes as Luffy, Zoro and Robin hurtled through the sky with haphazard accuracy. Luffy had catapulted them from the Going Merry with little warning, not that that was unusual. Land and sky melded together with ocean as they spun in a tight vortex shooting in a level arch towards the island…
…hopefully.
Ear pressed against a brightly colored vest, Zoro could hear Luffy's gleeful laughter reverberate through his chest. Closing his eyes and muttering, the swordsman promised sweet revenge for the slow shaving away at his life that these kind of antics caused. Zoro's hair was going to turn prematurely gray if things continued at this rate.
Still, Zoro smiled. He couldn't help the small thrill in his stomach every time his captain did this. It really was almost like flying.
Almost doesn't count, however, and Zoro stiffened, belatedly preparing himself for the inevitable impact with what he hoped would be land. The thought of dragging two hammers out of the water… that might be more then even his stamina could handle. Clutching his swords in a fierce grip, Zoro's other arm quickly wrapped around his captain's narrow waist…
…just in case their landing was a watery one, he told himself.
It was to the swordsman's surprise that their controlled crash struck neither land nor sea, but a thick net that bent with the force of their impact. Rather than rebounding or even falling to the ground, dozens of somethings reached out and held them up in a tight grip. Zoro's eyes met Luffy's wide ones as realization slowly sunk in.
"Heehee…thanks Robin!" Luffy exclaimed and, as if by magic, their safety net slowly dissolved into a rain of vanishing petals.
A creepy feeling crawled up Zoro's spine and his eye twitched as his feet hit the ground. "I told you hands off, woman!" Zoro scowled, feeling a hand still grabbing his waist.
Robin just gave him an unreadable smile. "I'm afraid that one doesn't belong to me, Mr. Swordsman."
"Ah, sorry." Luffy blushed and, giving the swordsman a tiny smile, he quickly retracted his arm. Zoro's eyebrow rose slightly but he refrained from commenting as Luffy's attention had already switched to something else.
"Wow, there sure are a lot of rocks!" The rubber-boy exclaimed. "Hey, what's this black stuff? Eww, It's slimy." Luffy shook his hand in disgust but the substance wouldn't come off.
Frowning, Zoro crouched low and scraped a finger across the nearest rock, revealing dark gray stone beneath. Rubbing the greasy substance between his fingers, the swordsman cautiously darted his tongue out to taste it. Grimacing, Zoro hastily spit the awful taste from his mouth.
"Some sort of oil, I believe." Robin observed idly. "I would try not to get it on you, as I don't think we'd have the opportunity to wash it off." She gestured to the thick coating floating atop the ocean's surface.
"Washing up is the least of my worries." Zoro muttered as he stood and cast a watchful eye across the craggy coastline. The island appeared just as lifeless as it seemed from the deck of the Going Merry. But, up close, it was impossible to deny the certain sinister air that weighted heavily around them, almost suffocating. Unwillingly, Zoro found his eyes drawn to the towering object in the distance.
"Mr. Cook was correct then," Zoro felt the dark-haired woman step up beside him. "That is definitely not a mountain."
Staring at the looming tower made Zoro uncomfortable but rather than admit it, the swordsman chose instead to focus his attention on his captain, who had been abnormally silent.
Zoro found the dark-haired boy standing a couple of meters away, his back towards his companions and his head bowed. Curious and just a tad bit concerned; Zoro slowly approached. Luffy's head popped up as he felt his friend's presence. The rubber boy craned his head around; his face screwed up in an expression of confusion.
"Zoro? Do mosquitoes normally explode?"
"Explode?" Zoro's eyebrows arched upwards incredulously.
"Yeah, see?" Luffy promptly help aloft his hands, displaying a small scorch mark scarring each palm. The dark-haired boy quickly abandoned his display however, in favor of rubbing at his neck where two little bumps were beginning to redden. "It bit me." Luffy stated peevishly.
"Well, I'm sure it learned its lesson." Zoro muttered distractedly, his narrow eyes searching out the faint noise buzzing around his head.
Luffy looked up suddenly, seeing that one of Zoro's swords appeared to materialize into the swordsman's hands. The shining blade sliced down sharply, cleaving the air with a short whistle. A small pop sounded in its wake, followed by a puff of smoke that rose gently into the air.
"There is definitely something unusual about this island." Robin stated casually as she summoned up an extra arm from the swordsman's shoulder. The foreign appendage shot out precisely as the hand closed swiftly around something that had been hovering in the air.
Drawing closer, the archeologist attempted to examine her quarry, but a stinging pain in her hand caused Robin to open her palm prematurely. The rogue insect flew high into the air before escaping inward towards the center of the island. Robin made a vague disappointed noise as she rubbed her right hand reflexively.
"Well, we're not going to find anything out by just standing here." Zoro stated with a frown, refusing to be baited into the 'hands off' argument once again. The green haired man looked upward into the darkening sky.
"Shall we head for the tower then?" Robin asked as she tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. "It could be dangerous." She teased. The wind was gradually picking up speed, making it harder to hear the swordsman's reply. Judging by the movement of his lips, Robin guessed the word wasn't a polite one.
Sheathing his katana, Zoro gazed warily across the desert of oil-coated rocks, to the distant shadow of the mysterious tower. Even as he watched, a bolt of lightning struck down upon the tallest spire, causing a crackling wave of electricity to course down the structure. For a moment the tower glowed eerily, as if possessed by the legendary fire of St. Elmo.
Sailors used to call that fire a bad omen. At this point Zoro was inclined to agree. But, regardless, the swordsman squared his shoulders and started forward, stubbornly ignoring the voice in his head that was screaming that something wasn't right.
"Come on," Zoro ordered crossly over his shoulder. "Before the rain breaks."
Robin didn't budge.
"Perhaps we should find our what has become of our captain first." She offered calmly.
Zoro's head whipped around so fast that an audible crack could be heard. "What?"
Robin shrugged her thin shoulders helplessly.
Looking frantically about, Zoro quickly discovered that their captain was indeed nowhere to be found. Zoro stared intently into the oil-covered waves cresting a few meters behind Robin, hoping that his dark-haired friend wasn't in there. In the ocean's clutches he would be vulnerable…helpless….maybe even afraid….
Giving himself a mental shake, Zoro dropped quickly back into his tough guy routine. His current audience was just a little too perceptive for his liking.
"Why that little pain in the ass…" Zoro growled. "I take my eyes off him for one second and—"
"He may not have left of his own violation." Robin chided. "We know nothing about this island, after all, and who may reside on it."
"Shit." Zoro felt the tide of worry and frustration suddenly wash over him, making him break character and lower his walls around a woman he still didn't completely trust. "Luffy!" he called out, brushing past Robin to once again scour the rocks, hoping to catch sight of a telltale red shirt amongst the field of black and gray.
'The stupid idiot, he could have slipped and hit his head or even…'"Luffy!" Zoro called out again.
"Help!"Zoro's heart skipped nearly three beats as he heard the faint cry. The voice was Luffy's; no doubt, but it was near unheard of for his captain to be so vocal in his need for assistance.Zoro's misgivings increased twofold.
"Where are you?" Zoro's voice echoed across the barren land as he began shoving boulders aside, on the off chance that Luffy had somehow gotten himself pinned beneath one.
"His voice came from that direction, I believe." Robin tentatively pointed towards the east. "It didn't sound like he was too far away, but his voice seemed muffled for some reason."
Zoro stumbled over rocks and slipped on oil-slicked gravel as he fought his way over to where Robin had indicated. The gruff swordsman told himself that he was a fool to get so worked up over a comrade as strong as Luffy, who could easily take care of himself in a fight. But that soft spot in his heart that had allowed the wide-eyed, happy-go-lucky boy to worm himself inside—that part practically demanded that Zoro find his captain and make sure he was all right.
He had to be all right…
So rushed was he with his own urgency-fed adrenaline, Zoro had almost run straight off the edge of a small ravine. The treacherous slit in the ground had been partially concealed by the rocked and Zoro had to scrabble backwards to prevent himself from falling in by sheer momentum alone. Skidding to a stop at the very brink of the rift, Zoro watched breathlessly as a handful of pebbles fell away into the darkness.
Seconds later, Zoro heard a small splash, indicating that the crevice was not as deep as his first impression had led him to believe. It seemed a small stream of oil had helped facilitate the illusion, flowing silently at the bottom of the ravine. The deep chasm he almost fell into was no more than a ditch that was only about half a dozen meters deep. Zoro gave a boneless sigh of relief.
"Hello?"
In a flash, Zoro had dropped to his knees, peering over the edge as his eyes tried to pierce the blasted darkness. "Luffy?"
"Zoro!" Luffy cried out, his voice laced with panic.
"I'll be right down!"
Without another thought, Zoro threw himself over the edge, Robin's half-hearted protests following him down.
Skidding down the rocky walls, the green-haired man did his best to control his fall, hoping that he wouldn't inadvertently land on Luffy and exacerbate whatever situation the rubber-boy had gotten himself into. Once too many times, a sharp rock would jut out and scrape painfully across his back or leg, causing the swordsman to bite back a curse. A particularly violent swear did erupt, however, when an especially savage rock caught him in the rear.
Zoro finally landed at the bottom with a jarring splash that soaked the better half of his pants in dark, greasy scum. To Zoro that meant little; his pants were black anyway. He had more important matters to see to than his damaged couture.
"Luffy?" he called out hesitantly, his eyes having yet to adjust to deep-set shadows around him.
"Zoro?" A lump in the darkness replied. "Is that you?"
"Who else do I sound like, bonehead?" Zoro grumbled as he sloshed his way forward. Luffy, squatting in the black slime; hadn't moved. "Are you all right?" Zoro asked suddenly in a softer tone.
"I think I'm blind!" Luffy whimpered suddenly as he rubbed fitfully at his eyes.
"What?" the swordsman quickly reached out. "Here, let me see. Ugh, you're covered in oil. What did you do, fall in head first?"
"It stings…" Luffy whined pitifully as he frantically scrubbed his face.
Zoro sighed.
"Hold on. Don't rub it, you'll only make it worse."
Reaching across to his other arm, Zoro tugged off the black cloth wrapped around it. Using his headband as a rag made the green-haired man give a little mental wince, but it was all that was handy at the moment, unless he wanted to use his own shirt. Pinching a fold between thumb and forefinger, Zoro set about carefully running the cloth across the encrusted line of Luffy's eyelashes.
The work was slow going; the oil was sticky and left a dark residue in its wake. But, before long, two luminescent eyes blinked up at him in wonder. Zoro patiently uncovered the rest of the heart-shaped face, but avoided the boy's mouth. That area seemed too personal for even the captain's first mate to intrude. Luffy's eyes shined with gratitude and Zoro smiled before suddenly realizing what he was doing. Zoro snorted and stood, flinging the grease-covered rag over Luffy's head.
"You still look like shit, but I managed to get most of the stuff off." The swordsman stepped back, putting a bit of space between them. "You had better scrub your hands though before—ungh!"
Zoro stared down at the slimy black thing that was now leached onto him. Luffy's arms had wrapped tightly around his waist, coincidentally transferring a lot of the oil onto his captive. Zoro grabbed at the boy's slick shoulders and tried to push him away but with little success.
The swordsman growled warningly and found himself subconsciously waiting for his captain's lilting laugh in answer. But Luffy just stared up at him with big, serious eyes. Zoro stared silently back, his hands still resting on Luffy's shoulders. It was if the entire world had stopped around them. Zoro swallowed thickly, as he scrabbled for some sort of excuse for why he hadn't broken the boy's embrace.
Well…If Luffy appeared to be in deep thought, who was Zoro to interrupt?
Right?
"Zoro," Luffy finally broke the silence. "You're going to be the World's Greatest Swordsman, right?"
"You know it." Zoro replied automatically.
"And I'm going to be the Pirate King?"
"Yeah…" the swordsman replied slowly. Zoro cocked an eyebrow, wondering where this conversation was leading.
"Then…" The word trailed off into a hum.
"Then?" Zoro encouraged.
"Then who's gonna be the Pirate King's Wife?" Luffy asked in a rush.
Zoro's brain squealed to a stop. "Huh?"
"You know, the wife of the Pirate King." Luffy explained hurriedly. "The person that always stands by him and cares for him while he's hurt and has his babies. Who will that person be?"
Zoro closed his eyes tiredly, feeling a sudden headache coming on. Perhaps his captain had hit his head when he had fallen. "You want me to find you a wife?" Zoro translated in a deadpan voice, refusing to open his eyes and make this insane conversation a reality. And if that helped the small squash of disappointment, all the better.
For the briefest of moments, Zoro felt a sudden pressure against his lips. The unexpected touch was both soft and firm all at once. A warm puff of air crossed his face before the contact disappeared. Opening his eyes, Zoro looked wonderingly down at other boy; his mind unable to exactly process what had just occurred. He felt Luffy's arms tighten around him ever so slightly.
"Naah." The rubber- boy finally replied. "I don't think the Pirate King really needs a wife…"
Luffy's mouth arched up in an amused grin.
"I think a Greatest Swordsman is enough."
Zoro's throat tightened. "Lu—"
"Hey, a tunnel!"
Whatever Zoro was going to say was bit off along with what seemed like part of his tongue as Luffy suddenly pushed him aside to bounce excitedly towards a dark hole set into the crevice's furthest wall. Zoro stared after the rubber-boy, a vein twitching on his forehead. Of all the inconsiderate, idiotic—
"Can we see where it leads, Zoro?" Luffy begged as he practically vibrated from excitement.
Zoro sighed wearily, fondly directing a few mental curses at his companion. In the end, Luffy was Luffy. That fact would never change.
Still, sludging through foul smelling holes was not Zoro's idea of a good time. "I thought you wanted to go see the tower?" he reasoned.
"I do!" Luffy replied. "But…" the dark-haired boy looked back at the tunnel; torn.
"It would seem like this tunnel leads towards the center of the island." Robin stated, who had seemingly appeared out of the blue. One glance behind her showed a vanishing chain of arms that had created a particularly creepy sort of flesh and bone ladder. In her hand was a familiar straw object that had miraculously escaped Luffy's own oily fate.
"Hat!" Luffy cried, happily snatching up the prized possession.
"Perhaps," Robin continued encouragingly. "This is our good fortune to have a way to approach the tower with less visibility."
"Great." Zoro muttered, casting the woman a sideways glare.
"Haha!" Luffy whooped. "Mystery Tunnel it is! Come on, guys!" Without waiting up, their wayward captain quickly disappeared into the darkness.
"Well, well…" Robin smiled lightly at her remaining companion. "What an interesting discovery you two have made." The woman's eyes flashed knowingly.
Zoro felt his face reddening and turned angrily away. "What? It's just a stupid tunnel." The swordsman vainly tried to erase the Luffy-shaped imprint on his clothes.
"I see…" Robin slowly circled around him. Pausing before the green-haired man's face, a ghostly smirk crossed her exotic features.
"You seem to have a bit of oil… right here." She pointed to his lips triumphantly.
Zoro quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his face by now positively flaming. "Not a word of this to the others!" he warned.
"Perish the thought!" Robin laughed lightly as she passed him by.
"I mean it!" Zoro growled as he stalked after her.
"Zoro! Robin!" Luffy's voice floated out of the tunnel impatiently. "Come on!"
"We had better hurry," Robin's voice rolled out teasingly. "Your husband is calling us."
"Why you…" Zoro's hands twitched with the effort it took not to wring that slender little neck. The bitch must have been listening in the entire time! Zoro was going to—
Wait.
"Hey!" Zoro halted in his tracks. "I'm not havin' no babies!" he called out in an offended protest that caused Robin to burst out into an all out laugh.
LZNUSCR
"Usopp!" Nami called out impatiently. "Hurry up and get in the rowboat!"
"Ummm…" the sharpshooter hedged. "I really don't think this is such a good idea." Sweating, the dark-haired boy slowly tried to inch away.
"Get your ass in the boat, long-nose!" Sanji growled, fighting to keep a hold of his end of the rope as the pulley above him squeaked in protest.
The rowboat was ready to be lowered into the water at anytime…as soon as their resident coward got his arse in gear. Sanji's arms ached with the strain of holding the small vessel aloft but the blonde forced himself to ignore it. Miss Nami would definitely not be happy with a splash landing into the water. On the dinghy's other side, Chopper –in human form-- seemed to be suffering from no such struggles. Sanji growled and tightened his grip.
"Seriously guys," Usopp protested. "My leg, it's uhh…giving me trouble again. Old battle scar and all. And it seems like wherever you're headed will take a lot of walking. And over rough terrain at that. I honestly don't think I'd make the trip." The sharpshooter hobbled about on one leg and did his best to look pathetic.
"I'm sure Chopper would be happy to carry you." Sanji gritted out, refusing to admit that he didn't have the arm strength for this kind of work and wanting to move things along before he embarrassed himself. At least that Vegetable Head wasn't around to see him sweat.
"Yeah, Usopp!" Chopper's high voice squeaked out unnaturally from his larger form. "I wouldn't mind, really. I—"
If it were possible, the reindeer would have paled under the dirty look the dark-skinned boy shot at him. Gulping audibly, the doctor took the hint with unusual perceptiveness and swiftly changed gears.
"Iiy-ii--I don't think so!" Chopper shouted out with over-exaggerated pronunciation. "Like hell I'd carry that long-nosed freak around! Screw you, shitty cook!" Chopper smiled to himself. He had gotten that last bit from Zoro.
Identical drops of sweat appeared on his companions' brows in reaction to the furry behemoth's sudden turn-around. Twitching only slightly --thanks to the freak comment-- Usopp was the first to recover his wits.
"See?" He gestured wildly. "I think it would be better for all if I just sat this one out. I'd only be holding you back, after all." Noticing the others hardly looked convinced, the sharpshooter switched tactics with the speed of a flying pachinko ball. "B-besides! Someone needs to look after the ship! That's right! Who knows what horrific monster may be lurking in wait to strike the Merry if we just abandoned it."
Usopp watched triumphantly as Nami's resolve cracked just slightly. The dark-haired boy quickly moved in for the kill.
"Come on, can you honestly imagine being stranded on an island like this?"
Like magic, Nami's face crumbled into resigned defeat.
"Fine." The redhead grumbled reluctantly. "But keep a light burning outside. Just in case we need to find the ship after dark.
"Of course." Usopp saluted grandly. "You can count on me! I, Usopp the Great, will defend this ship with my life and heroically await for the lost sheep to return home!"
"Wow!" Chopper gasped. "Usopp is so brave to be willing to fight horrible monsters all by his self!"
"Horrific monsters." Usopp corrected.
"So brave of you, Great Usopp…" Sanji sung out sarcastically, a sneer marring his typical smooth expression.
"Yeah, well." Usopp chuckled weakly. "We all have to do our part…."
"You've got that right." Nami muttered as she shot the sharpshooter a sideways glare. "Let's go, guys." She motioned with her hand and the small rowboat was lowered towards the water with a series of short, irregular jerks.
Usopp watched as the group vanished over the side, all the while silently cursing the rush of relief that spread through him. Any island with the word death involved was to him a Bad Idea. Let Luffy and Zoro go exploring if they wanted to, those two possessed such inhuman strength that Usopp actually felt bad for whatever being decided to cross paths with them.
But that didn't make the disappointment in Nami's eyes sting any less. The two had come to a new understanding in Alabasta. Even being the weakest of the group, they would find a way to fight alongside everyone. There had been an unspoken agreement to support each other when faced with odds that didn't look to be in their favor.
Yeah, Usopp snorted mockingly. Nami came out of Alabasta with an injured foot. Usopp had been carted around in a full body cast.
But still…
"Damn it Usopp," The dark-haired boy cursed. "Why do you have to be such a damn coward?" he asked himself as he stared out at the forbidding island and shivered.
LZNUSCR