"We all saw it, then?" Luffy said, leaning forward as Sanji dished out bean soup. "That cat . . ."

"Just to be sure . . ." Robin reached behind her, took the notepad and pen from the counter, and bent over it. She held up the now-finished product. "It looked like this?"

She had managed to produce a rough sketch of something strange. Although it stood on two legs, its face was shadowed by a ragged cloak, and its hands resembled cat paws. It had pointy ears, a toothy grin, and a single visible eye, all feline in appearance.

"That's it, alright," Zoro said. Chopper, Usopp, Brook, and Nami shivered.

"So, if all of us saw that cat in . . ." Luffy frowned at his soup after trying a bite. "In our dreams . . . no, not dreams . . . what's the word?"

"Nightmare?" Brook supplied.

"Yeah, that's it. If we all had a nightmare with that exact cat-thing . . ."

He hesitated, frowning.

"It could have something to do with . . . our memories?" Usopp said.

Luffy nodded.

"How could this sort of thing even happen, though?" Nami murmured. "It sounds so ridiculous . . ."

"There has to be some explanation for all of us losing ourselves at the same time," Sanji pointed out. "If you think of something better to go off of, let us know."

"Right," she said.

"Soup's no good, huh?" Sanji added, noticing that it was barely touched.

"Nope," Zoro said, stirring his portion. "No better than breakfast."

"If I was the cook, or am . . . shouldn't I be better at this?" Sanji said, almost to himself. "Or could it be because I've forgotten how to cook?"

"It is a bit weird," Usopp agreed. "We met you at that restaurant, so you must've known how to cook . . . right?" He shook his head. "I dunno, it's all so fuzzy, but . . . even if you somehow aren't as good as you used to be, this shouldn't taste this bad if you followed the directions, right?"

"That's a fair point," Franky said, reluctantly taking another bite.

"I'm sure I followed the recipe correctly," Sanji said. "And, come to think of it . . . that recipe had some scribbles on it. Robin, right? May I see that?"

Robin passed him the paper and pen, and he tore off the drawing, writing his name on the next sheet. His brow creased.

"I must've been the cook, after all," he announced. "My handwriting's the same as the recipe's notes."

"It's okay if you've forgotten how to cook, though," Chopper said bravely. "This i-isn't . . . inedible, and if we can . . . sort out this memory mystery . . . maybe you'll remember how to cook again?"

Sanji grunted in reply, pushing the paper aside.

"Would you mind passing me that?" Robin said, gesturing to the recipe book.

Sanji shrugged and handed it off to her. She opened it and flicked through it, skimming the neat scrawl that was Sanji's handwriting.

"Are you looking for something?" Brook asked, picking at his food.

"'A little less sugar for the moss-head—A little more sugar for Chopper,'" Robin read aloud.

"Who's moss-head?" Zoro said. "I thought no one here was called that."

"You're . . . the only one with green hair, aren't you?" Nami said hesitantly.

Zoro paused. "Oh," he said, remembering. "It is green."

"Are we calling you moss-head now?" Luffy said, looking up.

"No."

"Did I write this?" Sanji said, going around to look over Robin's shoulder. "Huh . . ."

"Guess I don't like sugar . . . and you do," Zoro remarked, glancing at Chopper.

"I . . . guess," Chopper said slowly. "Is there anything else there . . . ?"

Robin turned the page. "'Add more meat for Luffy,'" she read aloud. "'Get rid of mushrooms for Usopp unless he's being a little shit.'"

"I feel like we're learning more about ourselves from those notes than we did all morning just by talking," Franky said.

"Oh, I don't like mushrooms!" Usopp exclaimed. "I . . . I ate a bad one when I was little!" He frowned at Sanji. "What do you mean, 'unless he's being a little shit?'"

Sanji shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"'Add cola, Franky likes it in this (for some reason),'" Robin continued as she turned pages. "'Brook hates lemons.' 'Don't fuck up this recipe, it's Nami-san's favorite.' And . . ." She turned the page. "'Don't fuck up this recipe, it's Robin-chan's favorite (and don't make it too sweet).'"

"Which was my favorite?" Nami demanded, leaning forward.

"Duck with orange sauce, apparently," Robin said, showing her. Nami sagged back into her chair, her memories of this still a blur.

"There's something in the back," Robin added, flipping to a page covered in scrawls. "'Nami-san and Robin-chan: Orange smoothie (Nami-san's favorite), Lightly-roasted coffee (Robin-chan's favorite).'"

A pause.

"These ones are surrounded by little hearts."

Sanji took the book from her and studied the scrawlings, his brow creasing.

"You two and I weren't in a relationship, were we?" he muttered.

"How should we know?" Nami pointed out.

"He's probably just a creep," Zoro remarked. "In any case . . . we know for sure he's the cook, or was."

"Yeah," Sanji muttered, putting down the book. "Still don't remember, though . . ."

"We got off-topic," Usopp exclaimed. "We were gonna talk about that cat-thing . . ."

"Right," Sanji said, relieved to abandon his struggle to recall. "Going off of that, it . . ."

He trailed off.

"Perhaps this cat showed us each something so traumatizing, our memories were shattered?" Brook suggested.

"That doesn't explain why some of us remember a few things better than others," Franky pointed out. Brook was silent.

"My head hurts," Luffy muttered. He had only just managed to finish his soup and now pushed away the empty bowl. "I dunno if this is the fault of that dumb cat, but . . . I also dunno how it could be, or what we're gonna do about it if it is."

Zoro folded his arms. "Should we . . . mull this over for a bit, see if we can't come up with anything else?"

"Y—Yeah," Nami agreed. "We can reconvene at . . . at dinner."

"I'll skim the recipe book, see if I can't find anything important," Sanji said, straightening up.

Through the rest of the afternoon, the Strawhats managed to gather a few more details about themselves. They found their wanted posters in the sleeping quarters for most of the crew. Sanji figured out who liked and disliked what in terms of food, though oddly enough he didn't think it was important enough to apply to dinner. Nami discovered the ship's log in the women's quarters, but trying to read it only brought about a headache, and so she shoved it aside, deciding to take a nap instead.

The others didn't have much luck. Luffy stared out to sea as if searching for answers, but soon gave up and turned away; Franky explored the ship more, vaguely noticing the excellent woodwork and wondering who had built it; Chopper and Usopp lay in their beds, not speaking to each other; Zoro hid himself in the observatory and napped against a bench; Brook discovered his guitar and old violin, but put them away after a moment of examination; and Robin retreated to the library, studying an old volume.

At some point—they weren't sure when—they found a mirror, in the bathroom, or in the bedrooms, and examined themselves. Their reflections gazed at them, expressionless, and each one had to catch themselves before they could ask, "Who are you?"

When they reconvened for dinner (which was as sad as breakfast and lunch had been), each bleakly announced lack of progress in regaining memories or finding important clues. They had grown more despondent throughout the day, and their voices were devoid of hope.

And so it was with clouded minds everyone went to bed, promising to talk more in the morning. No one thought to keep watch, and they all soon fell into the dark clutches of sleep.

"Oh . . ."

The crew found themselves standing on the main deck in the dark of night. They looked around, confused.

"When did we all get up?" Luffy murmured. "Did we all sleepwalk?"

Robin looked around, gazing at the sea and sky. "I think . . . we're dreaming." She went to the railing and pointed. "The ocean isn't moving . . ." She now gestured upwards. "And the stars aren't twinkling."

"How are we all dreaming the same thing?" Chopper squeaked, leaning over to peer at the water.

"It's not too much of a stretch, is it?" Usopp said. "If we all saw that cat thing, then this is . . ."

"If we're dreaming, we should be able to wake up," Nami said. She pinched her cheek and winced, but nothing happened.

"Maybe . . ." Sanji strode to the door of the men's quarters and tried the handle, but was unable to open it.

"That room . . . doesn't have a lock," Zoro muttered. "Is the handle stuck?"

"Come over here and try it yourself if you like," Sanji said, stepping back. Zoro did just that to the same result.

Trying the other doors around the ship led to frustrated handle-jiggling and even thumps as some kicked the wood. But when they finally tried the last door—the entrance to the aquarium room—it opened easily.

With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, the Strawhats entered the room one-by-one, shutting the door behind them. The inside was eerily silent, and the glass tank, normally so bright and full of fish, was stained smoky black. Trying the door they had just come through showed them it, too, was now shut tight.

"If this is a dream . . ." Franky said at last, "I'd call it a nightmare now."

A scratching sound, like an animal trying to get in, made everyone jump and look around.

"Who did that?" Usopp whispered.

The sound came again, louder this time. Robin narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze to the pillar in the center of the room.

"From . . . the dumbwaiter?" she murmured.

Luffy, never one to waste time when it came to things like that, strode forward and pulled open the door. To everyone's surprise, a faint light emitted from it, and when Luffy curiously tugged on the sides, it expanded into a door big enough for each person to enter.

A hesitant moment passed. Then—

"Nowhere else to go," Zoro said with a careless shrug.

"I suppose so," Brook murmured.

Luffy nodded and climbed into the doorway. The others followed one-by-one, and the moment the last of them was through, the doorway closed up, swallowed by a solid wall.

The Strawhats found themselves in a large circular room. The floor was tiled stone, and many pieces were broken or cracked. The ceiling was endlessly high, and all around the walls dyed beige and lavender were nine doors, each its own solid color.

"What is this place?" Nami whispered, holding herself as she stared around, craning her neck up, trying to find the ceiling.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Alice!"

Usopp, Chopper, and Brook screamed, and everyone whipped their heads up or their bodies around to see a familiar figure standing in front of the wall which had once held the door they'd used to enter. This figure was mostly covered by a violet and black cloak, ragged and torn and held together with big safety pins and staples and rough stitches, and its ears and shadowy legs looked to belong to a cat. Most of its face was thrown into shadow by the cloak, but what they could see—a glowing yellow eye with a slit pupil and a toothy smile—sent shivers down their spines.

"It's you," Luffy said.

"Yes, it is me, I'm me, and no one else is," the catlike figure declared, holding up its paws. "Well done, Alice!"

"No one here is named Alice," Nami said shakily.

"Is that so? Everyone here looks like an Alice to me," the catlike figure said, "but that's neither here nor there. Besides, how would you know? Haven't you all . . . lost something?"

"Our memories," Usopp whispered.

"What do you know about it?" Brook asked. "And on that note, who are you?"

"Someone once called me 'Cheshire Cat' . . . I rather liked it, so you may call me that," Cheshire Cat said. It began to pace in a slow circle around the group, its grin never fading. "As for your memories . . . I can't say I'm at fault for that, oh no, that's not what I took from you!"

"So it was you, after all?" Sanji said, keeping an eye on it.

"If not our memories . . . what did you take?" Robin asked.

"Listen close and I'll tell you," Cheshire Cat said. "The thing I took from you was . . ."

What it said next brought narrowed eyes and brows furrowed in faint confusion.

"Why would you take that?" Chopper whispered.

"None of your business, is it?" Cheshire Cat exclaimed, waving a large paw shaped like a club as it continued its movements around the group. "I took that because there was no other way to keep everyone in this dream! Or nightmare, as it were . . ."

"You're contradicting yourself now," Franky muttered.

"Am I? Perhaps you're right," Cheshire Cat said. "But let me tell you something . . . when I came to each of you last night to take that away . . . you all refused!"

Silence.

"Yes, you didn't want to lose that," it continued. "You all fought so hard! You held on for so long! They were such valiant battles, I was nearly moved to tears by the time I managed to take it away! Not that I can cry . . ."

"Get to the point," Luffy said impatiently.

Cheshire Cat stopped in front of that wall, spreading its paws. "I was so moved by your struggles . . . I thought it was only fair I give you a chance to retrieve what I took. Do that . . . and you just might be able to escape from the dream."

"And there's no other way to get out?" Nami said.

Cheshire Cat only grinned. "You were all trapped here because I took that away," it said slyly. "It stands to reason getting it back will help you all awake, does it not?"

"Who's to say we can trust you?" Robin asked.

"Many things I am, Alice, but a liar is not one of them, I promise you," Cheshire Cat declared, wagging a paw teasingly. "I swear to gouge out my eye and carve off my ears should I be proven otherwise!"

"So if you took that away, how are we meant to retrieve it?" Zoro asked.

"I'll give you a start," it said, and something hit Luffy's head. He looked down and picked up the thing, fallen from nowhere.

It was a green key.

"Ta-ta," Cheshire Cat said, "and best of luck to you, Alice!"

With a twirl where it stood, it was gone, leaving the Strawhats by themselves in the room once more.

"That must go to . . . that green door, huh?" Usopp whispered, peering at the key resting in Luffy's palm.

"Is it . . . worth it, to do this?" Zoro said, shifting his weight. "We don't even know what that is like."

"I think it is," Luffy said slowly. "If that thing was telling the truth, and we all fought our hardest to hold onto it . . . then it must be really important, right? I feel like we owe it to whoever we were before this happened to at least try to get that back. And besides . . . I don't think being trapped in a nightmare forever is the best use of time."

Tentative glances turned into tentative nods.

"I suppose so," Sanji said.

"A nightmare . . ." Robin murmured. "Trapped forever . . . ?"

"Something up?" Luffy said, glancing at her.

She shrugged. "Let's see what that green door has to offer first."

Luffy nodded and turned to the green door.

"Let's see what this is all about," he said, and stuck the key in the lock, turning it and pushing the door open.

I want to finish the rest of this story before posting - this is more or less a watching memories kind of fic, and it's going to take some time to get every crewmate done. Once the chapters are done, I can start posting them weekly if that sounds good, but until then this story will be on hiatus.