Disclaimer: still don't own OnePiece
This chapter starts from Zoro's pov
Once upon a wonderland there was hope. In hope they flourished and grew, getting stronger day by day, but in life there is always the chance that they will fall broken and bleeding into an abyss so dark that they will never see light again. And in the dark there is always the chance to grow in the darkness and change, until what is left is not quite human.
~Wonderland~
Pain. Sand. Water. Light, light cracking through my salt crusted lashes. Gulls, gulls flying, gulls...wait, are they trying to eat me!?
I tried to move, knock them off me...and immediately felt nauseous, I turned on my side and vomited, violent gasps racked my aching head and blurred my vision, spots danced across my eyes.
Fuck...concussion... My thoughts trailed off as I abruptly sat down, sending a wave of pain up my already aching back. Feel like crap...
Zoro woke up to the moon shining down on his salt crusted body, all three katana had (thankfully) remained in their sheaths on his hip, where they were supposed to be. The only thing that seemed to be missing was his black bandanna that was usually tied around his left arm wonder if the witch will...nevermind.
The swordsman pushed his aching body up, and almost fell over his own feet, shit still dizzy Zoro pushed himself up again, this time managing to make it to the edge of a lush forest, illuminated in a silvery light by the night sky.
He slumped down below the first palm tree, just barely poking out from the majority of slender trees at the forest's edge. It's rough bark scratched along his back, tearing the back of his salty green coat.
Former PirateHunter Roronoa Zoro turned slightly trying to ease the pressure in his head while, at the same time, trying not to jar his back,
have to get back to my nakama, that shit cook is probably frantic, he's such a pansy...
Zoro opened his eyes to the sunrise, it was rare for the swordsman to wake up so early but he figured it was probably due to his parched throat and cracked lips.
He put a hand on the rough bark of the palm tree to pull himself up, yawning and wondering if there were any good clearings to train in.
He put an arm across his swords and walked off at a random direction into the forest, all trace of dizziness gone, it was a good thing he was a quick healer.
Meanwhile on the ThousandSunny
The StrawHats, minus there marimo swordsman, stood around an old map spread out over the galley table, it was a diagram of the few ocean currents that existed in the GrandLine.
Nami was drawing lines and searching through old books, finding out all the information she could about the local weather patterns. She was trying to predict where their missing swordsman would end up, so that they could bring him back to his rightful place by their sides.
"It's all my fault!" Chopper whimpered "Zoro was busy after saving me and didn't see the wave coming!" Tiny streams of tears worked their way out of the young reindeer's eyes, he reached up to wipe them away but was stopped by Luffy.
"Zoro 'll be alright." The young pirate captain said as he softly patted his doctor's hat, utter confidence in his voice,
"b-but Luffy."
"Don't worry." A large grin broke out underneath brown eyes and a straw-hat, "He'll be fine!" Chopper nodded slightly, a tiny smile appearing on his face.
"I wish I could share your confidence," Nami's gaze drifted over her charts and notes, as if to make sure she hadn't made some small mistake in her calculations,
"That idiot would have to have quite a lot of luck to wash up on an island, there isn't one for miles." Nami's voice sounded rather annoyed, but those who knew her best would be able to hear the slight shake of her usually steady breath and see the unnaturally clenched hands pressed against her maps, years of thievery had given her good practice in hiding her emotions.
"Swordsman-San seems to have quite a large amount of luck." Said Robin leaning to look at Nami's notes, one hand tucking her long black hair behind her ear, so that she could better read her friend's neat writing.
"Zoro-San...is so brave! Yohohohohoho!" Tears streamed down Brook's face as he clasped his hands together and looked at Chopper, "Swordsman-bro risked his life for his nakama!" Franky joined in with Brook, "Dammit! I'm not crying!" His blue hair bounced at the sudden movement, tears streamed down his face in rivers.
"SHITHEADS!" a boot was brought down on the skeleton and cyborg's heads, causing large red tinged bumps to rise where the kicks had landed. "FOCUS!"
Only someone who new the three men well would be able to tell that they were straining for normalcy, that mixed in with the comical tears over Zoro's bravery in protecting Chopper, there were real tears, tears that were afraid that they would never see their idiot swordsman again, and that deep down inside the cook he might be just the slightest bit afraid.
Their long-nosed sniper stared at the galley table, dark brown eyes tracing the intricate patterns on the map sitting there.
Overhead the light flickered, shadows danced across the walls projected by the flashing bolts of lightning, accompanied by the occasional boom of thunder now far in the distance. The ship rocked the ocean still wild beneath it, rain pattered down outside no longer the roar it had been hours ago, the storm died down more every minute, slowly the dark rain clouds started to drift away, and only someone who really knew the StrawHat pirates would be able to read the subtle signs that meant, they were worried.
Meanwhile in a galaxy far, far, away
Damn forest, damn rocks, damn island!
Zoro fell.
He didn't know what he was falling down, he only knew that he had been walking, and that now he was falling, and that now he was stuck. Half in and half out of a stone tube, a cavernous space spread out beneath him, he knew it was there, he could sense it. But not see it, because his hips were stuck, and his head was still inside the tube, opposed to outside, where he could see.
The worst part was that Zoro could feel a large menacing presence occupying the cave below him, it seemed to be wondering wether it was worth the trouble of pulling the marimo swordsman out so that it could eat him or if it should just leave him there to rot.
The creature seemed to decide it was worth it, because a couple seconds later Zoro felt something tug his boot, something slimy and tentaculy, he could feel it wrap around his ankle and work its way inside his boot, a distant splash was heard as the unfortunate footwear hit the water far below.
The thing's slimy skin rippled across his bare foot and around the scars on his leg.
Zoro felt a shiver go up his spine as it twined its way around his other leg and started to pull, he could feel the rough rock scrape along his sides as the monster or giant octopus or whatever it was started to slowly wrench him out of the stone tube.
A small spire of rock caught underneath his coat and the creature gave a brief tug as it seemed to hiss in frustration, the dark-green fabric tore, destroying Zoro's outfit. It was more like two individual strips of cloth with sleeves now, a long piece of cloth torn from the back.
Slowly Zoro started to slide out of the tube and he rested a hand on Shushui's hilt preparing to slice whatever had a hold of him into pieces as soon as he was free of the tunnel's confining space, his cursed swords rang for blood.
One finale tug and he was out, the tentacle quickly wrapped up his body pinning his arms to his sides.
The swordsman could feel the tentacle brush by his ear jingling the three golden earrings that hung there, it quickly wrapped its way over his mouth and the top of his head, so that only his nose and eyes were visible.
It smelled horrible somewhere between rotten fish and decaying flesh, Zoro wrinkled his nose trying to block out the horrid stench.
His hand had a tight grip on his swords to keep them from being dragged away and lost forever, he tried to pull away so that he could fight but he was pinned to tight to have any hope of fighting back. Zoro tried to look and see what had him but couldn't see more than a foot in front of him, what he did see of the creature was a nauseating yellow-green and covered by black welts, he heard water splashing against rock walls and decayed flesh far below the sound echoed and turned into a deep roaring boom.
His fingers worked to draw his swords but the grip of the creature was to tight, it was all he could do to breath without gagging around the stench.
Suddenly the creature whipped its tentacle around holding Zoro upside-down, he felt a dropping feeling in his stomach right before the thing let go.
The clammy air harshly beat at the swordsman's body as he fell, whistling past his ears.
As he fell Zoro became aware of two things, the loud hot breath of whatever was trying to eat him and a subtle but quickly growing light coming into the cave, accompanied by rapid footsteps and loud voices.
Zoro was close enough now to see the beasts mouth, a large blood red beak coated with a thin, spotty, green substance and lined with rows of large twisted yellow teeth, open wide to eat its midday snack.
He quickly drew a sword, or at least tried to. Whatever slime the kraken-thing that was not at all like Surume had spread all over him had hardened. It was like that damn spider's spiderweb back at Thriller Bark, unbreakable without the secret. He could barely even move his arms and legs.
What a stupid way to die, Zoro thought as he braced himself for death, a death that didn't come. The figures, creatures that might of once been human, ran into the cavern just as he fell into the creature's gaping jaws, rushed words and strange weapons caused the beast to slither, like an abandoned puppy back into the dark green water.
Sharp orders in a foreign tongue were barked and hurriedly followed.
Zoro fell with a harsh splash into the icy depths, water swirling around him. He sank like a stone, the hardened sea-monster slime weighing him down, although it felt like it was disintegrating. A soon as the slime had melted into a oily cloud around him, Zoro started kicking for the surface.
His lungs burned as he pulled armfuls of water out of the way and pushed with all his might for the flickering surface.
Finally his head broke the surface and he gasped sucking air into his lungs. Treading water he survey the situation through the thin film of greenish melted sea monster slime covering him, crap he thought, eyeing the creatures circling him.
They looked like something somewhere between a human and a fish. Dark green scales covered all but there faces and hands, which were of a light-green skin-like substance, more like what you'd see on a lizard or salamander instead of a human.
Their fingers were webbed and the majority of the teeth that Zoro saw in their mouths were sharp and looked suspiciously like fangs, he realized with a start that they were probably carnivorous.
Brightly colored fabric in greens and blues wrapped around them, the women present had large golden loops through their slightly pointed ears, and their dark black hair was worked with strings of bright stone beads.
Zoro might of gotten distracted by the appearance of the fish-people if it hadn't been for the ornately carved weapons pointed at his head. "Uhh...I come in peace?" He said raising his hands above the water.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...REVIEW! or the sith will eat you.
Ha ha!... ryme...review-you...never mind.
Monster, or giant octopus
...KRAKEN!
Fuck...concussion
I think Zoro knows what a concussion is.
As he softly patted his doctor's hat
You just gotta love Chopper nakamaship! _
Wonder if the witch will...nevermind
If you know why he dropped this train of thought you get a cookie.
"Uhh...I come in peace?"
Ya, I know Zoro would never say that, but I couldn't resist!
Review and you get a cookie
Sayichi out.