Chapter 4: Interrupted dinner
Later that night… KNOCK KNOCK! KNOCK KNOCK!
Luffy rushed downstairs; with the Doctor and Chopper following soot. There was a sudden rush of excitement in the air between the three. The captain was the fastest, beating them both the reindeer and the time-lord. Luffy leaped for the door from the main staircase, cheering and jumping with his victory, leaving the doctor and chopper panting by the staircase, as thunderstorms shouted upon them. The two doctors looked at each other, and giggled in enjoyment, realising the childish game they just played.
"Your friend is very energetic." The doctor smiled at Chopper, who gave back a signed smile, thinking 'you have no idea'. Luffy held onto the bronze door knob, with the others following behind him. He opened the door to reveal a large man with blue hair shaped into the style of Elvis Presley soaking wet. He jumped into the room, dripping with water, striking a pose and saying
"That rain is SSSSUUUPPPPPEEEEERRRR heavy!"
"…Who is that?" The doctor's jaw was left hanging, in his astonishment, as Franky and Luffy started talking to one another.
"Oh that's Franky; he's our shipwright." Chopper answered. "He offered to stay by the ship just to fix up a few things after we bumped into something on our journey."
"Big cyborg person. Sorry, what? Like a reef or something?" The doctor pressed on, knowing that any information would be useful to him.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Chopper said, pointing at the approaching cyborg. The doctor froze for a moment, as he was being started down by Franky.
"So who are you?" Franky asked the doctor.
"I'm the doctor, and I've heard you're the shipwright of the crew correct?"
"Yep. He wasn't a friend at first, but with all that we've been through, and that he also built our ship, he became a great crew member." Luffy answered while patting his shipwright on the back. Franky felt so proud when he was being complimented by his.
"Well I'm sure this is all well and good, but I think we can talk better during dinner time, so hurry up or the food will get cold." Sanji interrupted, standing by the arch, while lighting up a cigarette. The four people looked at each other, and nodded in agreement. They all moved to the dining room. Most of the crew were already there, waiting for Sanji's cooking to arrive. The room was brightly lit from the chandelier above them, revealing the dusty, decrepit room they were in. The doctor gave a sound of disgust. "Urgh, I should clean this place up more."
"No need, you done so much with fixing up the outside of the mansion." Nami said, smiling at the doctor, with Robin and Usopp joining in.
"Oh you noticed that, did you?" The doctor asked curiously, as he sat down at the far end of the table. "I just did it because I was bored, but I do appreciate that."
"And how long did that take you?" Robin asked.
"Oh I don't know, I lost track. 2 weeks maybe, or was it a month?" The doctor muttered to himself. The crew were shocked at the revelation.
"You've been stuck here for a month?!" The crew exclaimed; almost all of them frozen with a face of shock and disbelief. The doctor looked at each of them with a quick glance.
"I did mention it could've been a week? I do get side-track quite a lot." The doctor replied.
"H-how? How did you survive here for a month? Why are you even here to begin with? You don't seem to have any other reason to be here." Usopp asked. The doctor was hesitant to ask for a moment, but as he was going to tell the crew his story, Sanji walked in, interrupting the discussion, with large amounts of sea-food on each plate.
"Chow-time everybody." Sanji said with his monotone voice, leaning against a wall. Everybody in the crew grew excited as they stared into the succulent delight of the variety of fish. Luffy, Usopp, chopper and Brook were fixated on the octopus, shrimp, and clams galore. Water dripped from their mouth as they scoured for more. The rest of the crew started to grab a plate for their food, leaving only the doctor to stare at the feast, bewildered by the crew's constant sense of fun and joy in things.
"This is looks so good, that it makes my mouth water. Wait I forgot, I don't have a mouth. YOHOHOHOHO!" Brook yelled with glee. Luffy laughed and smiled at the joke, while others had more harsh opinions.
"Stop with the damn puns already!" Franky yelled aloud, with food bits being spat out of his mouth.
"YOHOHOHO! How harsh…" Brook exclaimed, while Luffy, Usopp and chopper laughed at the confrontation. The trio began to play around. Luffy began stealing from other crew members plates as they ate from their own, stretching his arm to reach the farthest plates, while Usopp was prepared to tackle his thieving captain, spicing up his meal for the captain to eat. Luffy snatched some seafood from multiple plates, including Usopp, Chopper, and the doctor, who was about to take a bite.
"Oi! I was going to eat it that." The doctor gave Luffy a stern look but Usopp patted him in the back and looked at him with reassuring eyes.
"Calm down doctor-san, I got this handled." Usopp gave him a wink, then they both at Luffy, about to eat Usopp spiced-up seafood. He took it in, and swallowed it whole. His cheerful smile and joyful face quickly turned into a shocked face, with red skin and fire coming out of his mouth like a volcano. He stretched his arm in search of water, grabbing the jug that was next to Robin and Nami, and poured it into his mouth, calming himself down. Most of the crew laughed at Luffy's misfortune, while the doctor was a bit worried.
"Uh, is he going to be alright?" The doctor asked, pointed at his resting captain.
"Ah, he's fine. I think that heat flushed him out for a moment, but he's been through worse." Usopp said. "Like the time he tried to demolish the ship 'Noah' at fish-man island."
"Or when he turned into a hulking warrior by taking in multiple people's shadows." Brook said, picking up some shrimp to eat. The crew started to talk amongst themselves discussing and developing more into journeys they went through, including Alabasta, Skypiea and so on, while the doctor looked at the resting Luffy with a small smirk, thinking about how great a man he is under his childish demeanour.
It was all nice and dandy until it all went quiet. It was deafening silence. The doctor looked around, seeing all of the cheerful faces of the crew disappears. There was a complete change in tone that it was almost scary. The doctor darted his eyes to each one of the crew's faces, which showed only one thing in common. Regret. He knew that look all too well; the look of a person that couldn't do anything.
"Something happened, am I correct? Something that happened to your friend." The doctor spoke softly, trying not to tread hard in uncomfortable territory. The crew nodded in response. "I see. Would you care to tell me what happened?"
The crew was silent at first; hesitant to speak any of it, but Nami broke the silence. "How do you not know about what happened?" She asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth." The doctor answered. "So, would you kindly tell me what happened to him?"
Nami, slowly opening her mouth, as if she were compelled not to talk about the incident, began to speak. "There was a war, which involved Luffy's brother. H-he was about to be executed until his captain, Whitebeard, tried to save him."
"It was a war between the world government and the whitebeard pirates." Zoro interrupted. "It was the biggest battle in the longest time. They seemed to be in a gridlock until somehow, Luffy came falling from the sky with a large horde of criminals from Impel down. He came to rescue him."
"Then what happened?" The doctor pressed on.
"Luffy freed his brother, but he didn't escape." Sanji continued. "Ace was killed by the admiral Akainu."
Silence fell in the room once more as those words seeped into everyone's minds. The doctor wasn't there, but even he could tell how heart-shattering that was for him.
"Apparently it was in his hands." Zoro said. "Luffy was also hit by Akainu, but managed to escape thanks to one of his friends that he broke out from impel down. That's how Luffy got that scar on his chest."
"You don't seem to mention yourselves in the story. Why is that? Did you not have any involvement or did he go off on his own to leave you?" The doctor asked.
"We were split apart at the time." Robin began to answer. " At first, we were just trying to get past the red line, but then came Borsalino and Kuma. They fought us until we were sent away by Kuma; sent to the far corners of the sea."
"A ship, a crew, fighting admirals and breaking free criminals." The Doctor mumbled to himself in thought. "Pirates. You lot are pirates?"
"Is that a problem?" Zoro sternly retorted. The rest of the crew looked back to the young man in the bow tie.
"I've met pirates, some good, some bad. Thing I learned from pirates is that there is good and bad in every aspect of morality." The doctor turned his head to Luffy's large scar on his chest. He could clearly see the pain kept within that mark. The doctor admired his strength in will; able to be happy and giddy to everything that he sees. "Just not a fan of the killing."
"Then we don't have a problem." The swordsman ended off. The dining room was holding an awkward silence. The Doctor felt obligated to relieve the tension.
"You know, it says a lot however that you're still here." The Doctor began. "I mean, I've had plenty of terrible losses, and like I said there are many things I've learnt; another thing is how to spot another person that had loss something. Some would drive people mad, isolate themselves in a box, but you lot. You stuck together. Yes you may be pirates, but you are so much more than that. And frankly, it's simply incredib-"
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
A loud banging on the door interrupted the doctor's speech, even waking up Luffy from his nap. Startled, they all sat up up from their seats, staring at the front door. "I suppose you don't have another member from your crew?"
The straw-hats, shook their heads in unison, leaving the doctor worried and Luffy confused.
"Because of course not." The Doctor kept to himself. He began making his way away from his dinner plate and out towards the room and into the foyer. The crew stared heavily at the mansion doors, preparing for whatever was calling for them, all except Luffy, who showed little to no sense of what's happening.
"Hey! What's going on here?" Luffy asked.
"Well for starters, from what I have heard from your friends, can I just say that you are an amazing person." The doctor quickly said, followed by loud bangs on the door. "And we seem to have an unexpected guest."
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Whatever you guys do, just stay there." The time-lord ordered them, holding his hands out. The doctor slouched a bit, with his hands close to his chest as he approached the worn door. Each step he took got slower and slower, worried that his new friends might get mixed up in his mess.
He reached his hand out for the bronze door-knob, turning it sluggishly until he wasn't able to no-more. He poked his head out the door to see the creature that invaded his TARDIS, towering over him, standing in front of him like a rock. It has been a long while since he's seen one, but there it is. His eyes widened at the sight of his Pustules and grotesque features, and calmly and slowly shut the door, locking it as if there was nothing there at all.
"Who was it?" Robin asked. The doctor quickly held the door back as the banging quickly turned into became breaking. The doctor stared at the crew as they all came into the foyer.
"Well, I would love to explain that right now however, your help is appreciated much more with this door." The Doctor pushed himself up against the door as the being behind banged on the door more and more. Zoro and Sanji offered to help the Time-Lord, holding the door close to not let the creature in.
For a moment, it seemed the beast stopped forcing its way through the mansion doors, giving the three gentlemen a little time to relax. Zoro and Sanji stepped away for a moment, but the Doctor rested his head on the wooden door, heavily breathing after the rush of adrenaline the being gave him.
"Is it gone?" Zoro asked aloud. The Doctor pressed his ear against the door, wondering if he could hear even the slightest of hints as to what it's doing.
"No, no, I don't think so." The Doctor raised his head a little more, fixing his posture. "Creatures of dedication don't give up so easily. If you hit a roadblock when using force, you would lure it into a false sense of security and then strike. Oh"
Upon realisation, the arm of the creature broke through the mansion doors, grabbing hold of the Doctor by the throat. He tried to run, but the beast kept pushing him back up the door. His feet ran nowhere, his hands were grabbing hold onto the arm choking him and his face fixed on panic, turning purple as each second he loses air in his lungs.
"DO SOMETHING!" Nami yelled, and in an instant, Sanji swooped in to kick the arms away from the doctor's neck. As Sanji leapt, he yelled:
Épaule….. Shoot!
His single kick caused the monster to submit, releasing the doctor from its clutches. The doctor fell to the ground on all fours, coughing and taking deep breaths. The time-lord looked up to the chef.
"Where, did you learn, to kick like that?" The doctor asked the chef, trying to regain his breath after the choking.
"From a good man." Sanji replied plainly.
"And don't worry, even if you are a stranger, you seem like a nice guy, but the main reason I did it was…" Sanij leapt to the side of Nami, kneeling down and holding on to her hand, turning from a suave man to a complete love-crazed one. "…that I could impress Nami-swan. As she pleaded for help, I had to act."
"Right, noted. Bit weird but hey, met weirder. Nami if I'm ever in trouble, tell him to save me." The Doctor jokingly replied, his hands waving and pointing about as his gaze was fixated on the door.
"Love-crazed moron…" Zoro muttered under his breath, yet Sanji still heard his comment.
"WHAT WAS THAT STUPID MARIMO!?" The chef yelled; jumping in front of the swordsman, with the faced shoved angrily in each other's presence.
Their fight might've continued but was interrupted by the smashing of both doors, showing the lone figure that held the doctor's neck. The crew froze as they stared him down, preparing to react to any move the monster would make. It took one step, and the crew made one small move, unsheathing swords, preparing tances and preparing weapons. The doctor took a quick glance to the right of him, seeing Zoro's sword in its presence, the Sandai Kitetsu.
"Oh that won't work; it'll only melt the sword." The doctor said, staring down the monster. Zoro grew a smug smirked when he learnt that knowledge.
"I guess it'll make this challenge a bit more interesting."
"A challenge a bit more interesting? Are you insane?" The doctor retorted. " This is a completely intelligent creature. You can't just see everything as some sort of fight. Let me talk to it first."
"And what exactly is it?" Nami asked, tightly holding on to her clima-tact.
"It's a Haemovore." The doctor answered. The creature showed no response to his knowledge. "Isn't that right? You're a Haemovore. And guessing by your lack of response, you know me. But I don't get it, why are you on this island? Why aren't you on the TARDIS?"
"TARDIS?" Robin interjected.
"It's the name of my ship, you kicked me off my ship, so again I asked, why are you on this island?"
"Why indeed…" A sophisticated and muffled voice came from behind them. Everybody turned around to see a masked man with a double edged hook on his right arm standing on the top of the staircase. "Why is it that a creature from a parallel earth has come to wreak havoc on this poor spit of land?"
"Great, who's this guy now?" Usopp whined, aiming his Kuro Kabuto at the masked man. The crew prepared to fight while their captain on the other hand had another thought in his mind.
"THIS GUY LOOKS SO COOL!" Luffy exclaimed, with his hands clutched in happiness. His giddiness was trying to be under control by Chopper and Zoro, knocking him on the head. The doctor walked slowly, passing in the middle, and through the entire crew to get in front of the staircase.
"No… I can't be…" The doctor face was troubled as he looked upon the man on top of the staircase.
"Oh what? You seemed surprised, after all…" The man began to walk down the staircase. "Oh right, that's why, I forgot: You left me to die."
"Doctor, what does he mean by that?" Chopper asked walking towards the doctor. The crew didn't speak, but the time-lord could feel their growing distrust of him. The doctor took a deep breath, and began.
"This person right here is named Baltazar, also known as the scourge of the galaxy, and he's a space pirate." The rest were baffled by what he meant, but all Luffy could think about was how cool he looks. "Last time we met, I left him imprisoned for the rest of his life. Bit overly dramatic, don't you?"
"A 'space pirate?' You mean from…" Usopp pointed upward in confusion, and the doctor nodded. The straw-hats were in a state of amazement. They couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"THAT'S SO COOL!" The captain lit up, exclaiming in glee, but he was shot down by Nami banging him on the head repeatedly.
"Please, no more flattery. I'm just here to do my job." Baltazar shrugged Luffy's comment off.
"What do you mean here to do your job? It can't just be taking a cash register job, could it? Have you gotten so low that you have to resort to a mercenary job on this planet?" The doctor questioned. "Or is there something else that I'm missing?"
"I would go with the latter if I were you; however I will give you this bit of information." Baltazar began walking upstairs, carrying something that he had in his pocket. "You and you friends will not make it out here alive."
The crew glared at him with disgust. "What the hell did you say?!" Luffy began walking up the same old staircase.
"Oh did you not hear me? I said you and you friends will not survive what this island has in store for you." Luffy quickly gained speed, preparing a fist for Baltazar, but the space pirate began to shimmer and glisten; a circular light surrounded him. As Baltazar began to disappear, Luffy grabbed him by the neck, and disappeared along with him.
"Luffy!" The crew looked distraught. They all ran up, the doctor included. They could not believe what happened to their captain.
"Doctor-san, what the hell happened to Luffy!?" Zoro yelled at the time-lord. The doctor grabbed his sonic screwdriver, and scanned the area were Luffy and Baltazar stood. He opened it up, and looked in the middle of his probe.
"Low-level teleportation field." The doctor shut his screwdriver at either ends, walking around the crew with a pondering look on his face. "Stupid old tech. Baltazar used to teleport that decayed the residual energy left here, so we can't track him."
The doctor rubbed his face with his right hand, with the crew behind him left in sadness. The time-lord didn't know what to say. Only two words came to mind. "I'm… I'm sorry."
"What the hell does that mean now?" Zoro exclaimed. "Our captain is gone away, and we have no means of finding him. You better find a way of as fast as you can."
"And I will. You have my word." The Doctor replied with the most sincere tone of voice.
"Well, right now I don't think I can do that." Zoro retorted. "You seem to be hiding more than you let on, and from what I've learnt from life; those aren't people you want to be with."
The room fell flat. With these strings of accusations running around, there was only the silence that comforted them. The straw-hat pirates wanted to trust him; they felt like it was right, but with Zoro
"You're right." The Doctor couldn't deny Zoro's accusation, with his head lowered in shame. "I'm not to be trusted. I don't tell people everything. And do you know why? Because when that happens, people around me die. Not always; not every time, but then and then, people die. You can blame me all you want, and I won't deny it, but when I say that I will do everything in my power to help you, and then I can assure you that there is no power in any planet that can stop me from doing so."
The crew were left stunned. No person they've met in their journey had such power to be talk down to him. Zoro's cross face slowly turned into a neutral smirk. "Heh, you certainly have a way with words. Alright then, I'll trust you for now."
The Doctor raised his head ever so slightly, seeing all the worn faces of the crew. It was a mutual feeling across all of them. Nothing hateful, but nothing that's too trusting of the time-lord.
"Thank you; thank you all." The Doctor pleaded thanks to the crew, with hands joined in prayer position, but the moss-haired swordsman interrupted him; unsheathing his katana and closing it to the time-lords neck. The crew almost tried to react, but forced themselves to not be involved with this. The Doctor couldn't move at all; only staring at the slick sword of the vice-captain.
"However, if I see you do something that I don't like, I will not hesitate to end you. Got that?" Zoro threatened. The Doctor nervously nodded, allowing the Zoro to sheath his sword without worries. The Doctor took a deep breath from his threat, rubbing his head with both hands. He moved his hand away from his eyes to notice that the Haemovore was still standing by the front door. He swiftly moved downstairs, the crew taking notice of this, and stopped in front of it.
"You're still here. You should've gone by now, but yet here you are. Why are you still here?" The doctor asked.
"I bring a warning. There will be more…" The creature spoke in its croaky, grotesque way. "…Soon to this mansion, will end you and your friends."
The doctor's eyes widened in shock and fear, hitting his forehead with his palm repeatedly; realising his foolish mistake. "Oh doctor, Stupid, stupid doctor. Why do you have to get distracted all the time?" The crew were confused.
"What, what is it doctor?" Chopper asked.
"There's more coming." The doctor said with worry. "An army of Haemovores is coming…"