Ah, I finished this Sunday, but FF was having problems and I couldn't upload it. Gomen. But YAY! ISH GOT THE SECOND CHAPPY OUT!!! I have decided to contine this as I originally planned it, therefore, it will probably be less than 10 chapters. I thank all of my reviewers, I appreciate them greatly!! ^_^ The next chapter I upload will be for my One Piece: Adventures of Kyra Warai story. Enjoy, and critisism is allowed! By the way, I do my best to catch mistakes, but I always miss some, so forgive me for my grammar and spelling errors!


--2--


Zoro dodged through the think foliage as best he could. Still, he managed to keep sight of his oh so impulsive captain while being smacked in the face by stubborn branches that wouldn't bend to his manly power very well.

"Luffy!" He called, and silently hoped that with as much ruckus they were making they wouldn't attract something's attention.

Luffy was set on catching the elusive butterfly. It would not escape him again! Faintly, he heard Zoro's voice calling to him, but didn't pay any attention because nothing would stop him from claiming his prize! Nothing dammit! Not even his first mate calling to him.

His tongue stuck out slightly as he tried to grab Mr. Butterfly with his finger tips. Closer…. Closer…. So close….. Almost there…..

The butterfly suddenly vanished in a flash of white light.

Wha-?He stopped, feet churning up dust as they slid across the ground at the sudden loss of momentum. Luffy twisted his head, desperately searching for the butterfly that had so enticed him.

"Luf-!"

"WAH!!" The rubber man cried as Zoro plowed head first in to him. They fell forward, Luffy landing on the dirt ground as the swordsman landed on his back.

He groaned, "Zoro, why'd you do that?"

His first mat grunted, before getting up, "Well if you hadn't chased after a friggen' bug we wouldn't be here…."

The captain pouted, "But it was a big bug! A really pretty, really big bug!"

"Whatever." Zoro rubbed his head, which ached from the fall. He paused at the brief moment of silence that suddenly engulfed the two. Stealing a glance at the rubber boy, he noticed the slightly awed look in his eyes.

"Zoro, look." Came Luffy's excited whisper. The swordsman turned to look at what had so obviously humbled his captain. The sight took his breath away.

The forest gave away to a large clearing. Lush green foliage meeting swamp-like earth. Scores of stone walls dotted the area. Most crumbling into a fine dust that seemed to coat the air, thickening it and at the same time, making the air shimmer and glitter with fine particles. But the most magnificent and utterly terrifying scene stood grandly before them.

Two wide and tall walls rose up from the soft mud-incrusted ground, towering above the tallest pine trees that surrounded the clearing. The blueish gray stones that made up the walls were noticeably bigger than those of the rest of the degenerating ruins around them. Thin dark green vines that were born at the bottom slowly weaved their way through the stones creating a winding pattern that had to cover both sides of the walls. Upon these vines sat sharp, vicious looking thorns that seemed eager to penetrate skin and wound anything that would dare come in contact with it. Like a barrier almost.

But the most unnerving feature of the walls were the large, single stained glass windows that took up a good portion of the walls' mammoth size. Beautiful reds, blues, yellows, greens, and violets shone bright with the fading light. The glass sparkled and gleamed creating a nice shine that drew attention to the terrifying story that unfolded on the innocent angles and curves. A dark figure depicted in a dark brown stood tall over a village. The blue villagers ran with faces painted in never ending horror. Crimson red dripped from the monsters' mouth as a bloody leg protruded from sharp, pointy teeth, formed in a great happy smile. The black eyes sparkled with malice.

The other window in the right wall portrayed the monster screaming, mouth opened in a howl that definitely contained pain and sorrow. But it didn't deter the figures in black cloaks that surrounded the creature, their fingers pointing towards the monster acting as a conductor. Electric blue light sprouted from the finger tips, wrapping around the monster in a cage like manner. The light was dragging the villagers' tyrant toward a large doubled door gate. IT was decorated with two skeletons propped up by flying creatures with ugly faces scrunched up in glee at the prospect of getting a new victim. Behind the gate a fire burned eternal, licking at the fur of the monster, caressing in such a way that when in reach, the flames would grip the creature with the intent of never ever letting go. Letting the monster be burned for all eternity.

The wonderful colors shone down on the two teenagers with the fading light, casting an orangish radiance over everything. Shadows elongated and Zoro gazed at the portraits in a daze that bordered on obsession. The light made the windows glow like two eyes in a dark void. They pierced his very soul, reaching to the deepest corners of his mind. Searching. Searching for anything, anything at all that would give it reason to attack and repel the man back to where he came from. Searching for that one little whisper of doubt saying that it was all just a bad dream, nothing this nightmarish was real. Searching to see if he was a believer.

Zoro stared at them, and a warning echoed within his mind that wasn't apart of his own psyche. It warned of something horrid that resided deep inside that clearing. Something so powerful and evil, no human imagination could ever comprehend the destruction the being was capable of. Something that scared the human race enough to seal it away for ever, hoping to get rid of the everlasting imprint the thing left burned in to their minds. Hoping to forget all about it, hoping to never see it again, and hoping against hope that it would never break free and terrorize them again. Hoping that time would eventually kill it, like it was doing to the ruins, but knowing deep in their hearts that someday, somehow, it would be freed.

Zoro shivered. His instincts were screaming at him to run as fast as he can away from the clearing, back to the ship and leave the island behind. His flight or fight reflexes seriously wanting to fly right out of the cursed forest and get his captain away from the dark aurora emitting from the walls.

And yet, at the same time, he felt compelled to walk through the broken and shattered debris, to run his fingers of the hundreds of year old walls and figure out why it seemed that something so very tragic happened there. He wanted to see the monster that the stories warned of, to see if it really was as terrible as the said. And with some kind of gross fascination, he wanted to see if the creature had died, leaving it's innards behind to be picked at by all the wild animals.

All in all, it was just the type of thing that Luffy would want to explore.

And sure enough, his captain broke the silence that had dominated over the two with a much too happy exclamation for the sober atmosphere the ruins implied.

"Zoro, let's go!" With that, the young rubber man started in to the clearing.

Zoro followed him. No matter how much his instincts screamed at him to run, he couldn't leave Luffy to face something potentially deadly. And he doubted that his captain would listen to him anyway, Luffy was too blinded by the prospect of a new adventure to care about his safety. Deciding that he would be on high alert, the swordsman warily gazed around the clearing at the forest. Something was amiss, he couldn't quite figure it out, but the place gave him a bad feeling. Shrugging off the concern for the moment-as nothing seemed to jump out at him soon-he let his urge from earlier take over, and swept a hand along one of the stones nearest him.

It actually started to crumble from the force of the light graze of his hand, proving that the ruins were indeed, ancient. Bending down, he stuck his pointer finger in the ground, noting how much softer the soil was in the clearing then the forest. It had to have been soaked many times in order for it to become so supple, and he lifted his finger out, examining the dirt that had stuck to his skin. It looked like regular dirt, granted slightly wetter then normal. Black eyes picked up on little details, such as how many small fragments of pebble were in it, and the way it seemed to disintegrate, much like the stones. Nothing out of the ordinary, expect a darker tint in the soil.

He hadn't needed to be concerned; after all, the only thing that would stain soil is blood….. Blood?!Could this be some sort of ancient burial ground? Were ghosts of those sacrificed going to float up and attack him and Luffy at any moment, now that they were separated? Shit, Luffy! Where was Luffy?! The place screamed of danger, they really should just hurry up and leave then come back with the rest of the crew tomorrow morning.

Zoro took a deep breath, berating himself in his mind. He was being paranoid. There was no way that it was blood that stained the ground. And if it was, more likely then not, it probably belonged to an animal. He needed to stay calm and keep his wits about him. Other wise he wouldn't be able to sense any incoming danger, and that could prove rather fatal.

"Zoro, come look at this!" The voice easily carried to the swordsman, and he turned to hurry to his captain. Following the sound, Zoro noticed his surroundings change into what might have once been a courtyard.

"What is it Luffy?" He asked.

The rubber boy didn't answer, there was no need to. Zoro found out why his captain sounded so excited as soon as he glanced in front of him. Cement stones littered the ground, ranging from ground height, to above Zoro's head. They were worn and withered, like the rest of the ruins. A sense of foreboding came over the swordsman. There, right in front of them, was a graveyard.

Luffy took a step in and Zoro reluctantly followed, seeing that no matter how old the gravestones were, they stood strong and proud, as though they felt accomplished at marking where a corpse lay. Most of them were quite plain in design, simply saying the person's name, date of birth, and the day he/she died. Eyes roaming around the necropolis, a certain headstone caught his attention.

Moving closer, Zoro inspected the tall structure. The statue of what appeared to be a samurai holding his sword high in victory was a marvelous creation. The details were simply astounding. The chest plate had individual bolts and chain mail. It was decorated with a javelin running through a ying-yang symbol. The nails that connected the chest plate to the metal shoulder pads were plain as day and small intricate weaves of some cloth like material pronounced the broad shoulders and lean body structure. But the most fascinating aspect was the samurai's face. Wrinkles along the forehead and eyes gave the impression of the warrior being a pleasant man-while not in battle of course-and the small hairs of the eyebrows stood out above the indented eyelids. The expression had a sort of triumphant gleam, and the eyes shone with the fire of fighting, excitement, and the achievement of victory.

Evidently, the samurai the statue was made after was in his prime when he died, a strong and noble flame of youth that was snuffed out much too early.

Zoro turned to tell his captain about the great find-when suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and tingled with unseen electricity. He was struck with the notion that somebody was watching them. A somebody that had a not-so-innocent aura.

Setting a hand on Wado, he quickly went to stand besides Luffy-who seemed oblivious to the tension radiating off his first mate in waves. The need to escape from the clearing rose dramatically.

Zoro grabbed his captain by the arm, "Luffy, we need to-" a cold, detached laugh reverberated through air, sending small fissures of pressure through everything and anything.

The laugh brought with it realization-Zoro finally figuring out what had seemed so off about the clearing. No sound. No animals moving through dense undergrowth, not even the whisper of the wind. Why the hell wasn't there any sign of life here?

Because of the laugh, Zoro concluded, the someone that created the chilling noise must have scared off all living things inside the clearing. The swordsman tried to find the source of the sound, but it seemed to come from all directions, slowly edging its way in to his mind, bouncing off his skull and ringing with malicious intent.

It overpowered all thought process, becoming the only thing that seemed real. Visions flashed in random sequence past his mind's eye. Memories full of anger, pain, regret, and most of all: fear.

Then Zoro was at his old dojo, standing at the bottom of a staircase. A figure appeared at the very top, and a scream ripped through the silent air. Kuina's body fell backwards down the stairs, her arms flailing frantically trying to grab onto something, anything, for a desperate last ditch effort to live. He watched as her body crumpled and folded in ways that were sure to break every bone in a person's body. Watched as his rival become much like a rag doll tossed in the air. Watched as she finally reached the bottom and registered a loud snapping sound. She landed on the floor in front of him with her soulless eyes staring blankly at him, head bent at an angle that seemed physically impossible. As Zoro stared he felt bile boiling up his throat, but before he could release it, Kuina's eyes locked with his own.

They pulled him in to a void of swirling darkness. He could see nothing. The blackness was all around him, circling him, devouring him. Tendrils of the churning mass grasped at his limbs, slowly trying to pull him apart. Zoro yanked at his arms, trying to free himself, but the grip was much too strong-just like a small toddler trying to move a concrete block. The cloud curled up toward his mouth, drifting at a leisurely pace, seemingly at ease with the prospect of suffocating the young man. Just as the first wisps of darkness touched his lips, a bright light flared up in the distance. It became larger and brighter as it got closer, soon taking the form of a human. Smog poured into his lungs, and his chest convulsed violently. His vision started to blur. When he tried to breath in air, to relieve the burning in his chest cavity, more of the deadly darkness flowed in and he chocked. His throat tightened and he tried to cough, but nothing happened.

Zoro was dying, and he couldn't do anything to help himself. His movements became sluggish, his spirit weakening as his life was slowly snuffed out. Dead eyes locked onto the glowing figure. It was his beacon of light, the only hope he had left of staying alive. He felt the welcoming sleepiness of unconsciousness tugging at the back of his mind. The figures featured became more apparent. But the temptation of getting rid of the burning sensation, the pain of being helpless, was overriding his stubbornness to live. His eyes started to slide closed as the figure came in to view. Blearily, he glanced up at his beacon of hope. The only reason that he might survive.

A straw hat and black eyes with a small scar underneath the left eye registered in his head. That insane grin that made everyone he came in contact with trust immediately shone on his face. Luffy…. The name echoed in his mind as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Luffy….. Luffy….. LUFFY!!! Black eyes snapped open. What was happening to Luffy? Was he okay? Was his captain going through the same torture as he was? Zoro needed to get to Luffy. He would never let the rubber boy die. Not if he could do something to help. His resolution to save Luffy from the same fate that he had resigned himself to a moment ago let power flow in to his limbs. And the spark of life that had dwindled down to almost nothing flared up again. The smog that had been suffocating him flowed out at the surge of Zoro's will to live-transforming him into a hulking figure who could easily lift ten tons. And with a ferocious cry, he wrenched his limbs away from the whirling mass of darkness.

He wasn't going to leave Luffy alone.

The shining figure of hope stepped in front of him, banishing the darkness that twisted at his feet. A glowing hand reached out, and Zoro grasped it. As soon as the two touched, a blinding light burst outward, eliminating the darkness.

With a gasp, Zoro opened his eyes.

Twilight had fallen, and some stars were already out, eager to show off their light.

His heart pounded against his rib cage, and sweat rolled off his forehead. He realized that he was lying down on the ground, facing towards the sky. He could feel the sogginess of the soil soaking into his shirt. The statue of the samurai stood to his left, and Zoro grabbed at it, pulling himself into a sitting position. Taking calming breaths, he gazed about, trying to find his captain. And saw him standing rigid, his eyes shadowed by his famous hat.

Those deep breaths caught in his throat as he realized Luffy wasn't moving. Adrenalin kicked in, and he quickly stood up. Zoro clutched at the stone sword of the samurai as a wave of dizziness assaulted him. As soon as the ground stopped tilting abnormally, he made his way over to Luffy. He grabbed the teen's shoulder. "Luffy." No response. "Luffy!" He started to shake his captain frantically. Still no reaction. "LUFFY!" Fearing that he may have been too late, Zoro made a impulsive decision. The sound of the slap rang out through the air, breaking the heavy silence.

"Zoro?" Came the quiet gasp. The swordsman's heart started pumping once more, and his shoulders sagged with the relief of knowing that he hadn't been too late. "Zoro…"

Zoro looked down in shock as the small body fell against him in exhaustion. And the desire to get away from the clearing flowed back into his system. Picking Luffy up bridal style, he ran through the headstones, past the old ruins and finally through the two stone walls that they had entered at.

He ran as fast as he could, branches tearing at his skin as he whipped past and leaves falling to the ground. Long vines entangled themselves in Zoro's legs, almost tripping him. It was like they were trying to drag the two back to the ruins. Back to the nightmare that would surely await them. Ripping his legs free, he continued to run in a random direction. Making enough noise to let any predator know where they were. Over time his feet started to slow, weariness becoming overpowering, until he stopped completely. He set Luffy down, who had been clinging to him the whole distance. Zoro watched as his captain sat down on a nearby stump. It was almost certain something had happened to him as well, but the traumatized look on Luffy's face was enough to make Zoro believe that whatever the rubber boy had experienced, it was worse then his own.

Leg muscles burning with the action, the swordsman walked over to Luffy, kneeling down in front of the teen. "Luffy?"

Those black eyes didn't look up, just stared unblinkingly at the ground. Zoro waited, hoping that Luffy would say something, anything in the silence that followed the unspoken question: Are you alright?

Just as Zoro was breaking from the tension of waiting for a response, Luffy spoke to him. "I-I'm fine…." And he looked up at Zoro with a heart-wrenchingly fake smile.

Zoro's eyes softened, "You're not fine Luffy. You and I both know something happened back there."

"I'll get over it."

The swordsman's lips formed into a frown. He wanted to say something, but he didn't want Luffy to close up either. So he waited in silence once more. And slowly, Luffy's smile dropped resembling more and more of what he actaully felt then the facade he had initiated ealier. He sighed quietly before turning his eyes to the ground, not able to face his first mate's knowing gaze.

The hush between the two stretched on, Zoro content to let Luffy deal with his conflicting emotions until he felt ready to say what happened. It was almost as though the whole forest was sitting with baited breath to see what would occur.

Finally, Luffy broke the calm, "I saw it…"

The swordsman blinked, did Luffy mean the darkness? He waited patiently for the other to speak again.

"It was horrible." He shivered, but continued, hugging his arms around himself. "I was looking at this really cool gravestone with a ship on it when that laugh came. I thought that I could just beat up whoever was, but then…." Luffy's voice quivered slightly, and he took a deep breath to steady himself, "Then it was like I was stuck in my head and… It came to me."

It? Zoro's brow wrinkled. It seemed like Luffy had a whole different experience then he had. He shifted closer, feeling that whatever Luffy was going to say next would be utterly important.

"It was a… A thing. Like half human and half some sort of creature. It had big, gleaming, solid red eyes. Its face was sort of, pointy, like a triangle. The teeth looked sharper than Arlong's, and were probably just as strong. Then it laughed, the same laugh from before, and licked its' lips. The tongue was long and thin almost like a snake's, except not forked. And it spoke to me in a voice that was so gravelly and cold it was like it didn't care about anything. It told me that-" He stopped, voice cracking. Worried, Zoro shifted closer still. Luffy resumed talking again, voice an octave quieter than before, "It told me…

"You're just a kid. Too naïve and foolish to even know what your friends truly think of you."

"What do you mean? My friends like me. Though I can't say the same for you; you're too ugly." He said, taking a fighting stance, intending to kick its' ass.

"Oh? Is that what you think?" It laughed again, "You amuse me human. Let me fill you in on a little secret. You're friends think you're an idiot. They don't want you to be their captain, you'd be better off as a cabin boy. They're just waiting for the slightest slip up to toss you aside and take over the ship."

"What? You're wrong ugly-butt! My friends would never do that!"

"Wouldn't they?" It grinned, "Don't they all call you an idiot? Don't they all find something wrong and hit you for it? And if they don't, they're certainty thinking about it."

"SHUT UP! They're my nakama! They wouldn't betray me!" Yet there was a hint of doubt in the voice.

"But they will!" It cried joyously, "And do you know which one will lead the revolt? Which one despises you the most?"

"None of them!"

"Still in denial eh? But you know. You know that there is one person who wants you gone the most." It cackled with such coldness that the snowy mountains of Drum were dwarfed in comparison.

"No I don't…" But it felt like he did know. He knew who the person was, and it was ripping his heart out.

It was suddenly standing right beside him, whispering the name in his ear, mocking him "Zoro…"

"No…" He chocked out. Pain obvious in his voice. "No…"

It laughed again.

"NO!!!" He cried desperately, vainly hoping that It was wrong. Zoro wouldn't betray him.

And It grinned once more, showing sharp, pointed canine teeth. It bit down into the soft flesh at the base of his neck, easily puncturing the skin. He could feel every tear of muscle, every strand of skin breaking as the sharp teeth pierced his jugular vein. Blood flowed from the wound easily, dripping from Its mouth as it sucked up the red nectar. It released his neck, stepping back, "Hmm, delicious." And It smiled. A deadly smile.

Far away, through the haze that clouded his mind, he wondered why it was so easy to kill someone. Simply stick something sharp into someones' neck and watched as the crimsion liquid poured out, slowly diminishing the life force of the wounded person. Is this what death feels like? This emotional detachment as you observe your own soul dying. He couldn't feel anything. Surely someone would come to save him? It wasn't right was it?

Meanwhile, It was busy contemplating how to eat its new meal. "Maybe roasted? I know I can get some glaze from some of the flowers.... Or perhaps a nice barbecue?" Then It raised a clawed hand, ready to slice his head clean off….

"…. And then Zoro woke me up and took me away." Luffy finished.

Zoro couldn't believe it. How could he have let that stupid hallucination or whatever it was make him forget about Luffy?! Betrayal was the worst thing someone could do to his captain. He was so caught up in his fear, that he left the rubber boy to face such an evil alone, with no one to reassure him, to rescue him.

"Luffy…." Zoro whispered, voice full of hidden emotion. His captain was sitting there, shoulders slouched, arms around his waist, and looking, so… So broken that it practically broke Zoro's heart. Luffy was supposed to be unbreakable, always strong and a source of comfort for everyone. But right now, he was letting his vulnerability show, and Zoro just wanted to hold him in his arms and protect him. Protect the strong captain with all that he had to make sure that nothing hurt him like this again. He wanted to make all of those feelings of anguish and pain went away, to see that smiling face once more. To see Luffy's black eyes shine with happiness as he looks at his nakama. He wanted…. He wanted to just hug him. Hug him and never let go.

And Zoro did.

Luffy let out a small gasp as he felt strong arms encircle him, gently holding him against a warm, muscled chest. "Zoro?...."

The swordsman didn't say anything. There was no need to. The two had never really needed words to express their thoughts to each other, and now was no different. Luffy could feel himself relaxing in his first mate's grip, and let the warmth soak into his skin, bringing a sense of comfort that only Zoro was capable of.

He wrapped his arms around his first mate and buried his head in the chest even more, snuggling to the swordsman. The same warmth that let him relax was easing the tormoil of emotions inside him. Luffy let out an involuntary sigh of content, feeling safe inside those strong arms.

The message was loud and clear. Zoro would protect him for as long as he could. And more importantly: Zoro would never leave him.

And he knew in his heart it was true.