Chapter 6- Cause and Effect


One Piece © Eiichiro Oda

William Henley, Flora, and Gibbs © HatOnFire/Me


The sun came out, warm rays of light hitting sand and sea alike, letting the world know a new day has arrived. The Sunny, still anchored in the position, had the planks down yet again.

Zoro climbed into the Crow's Nest, no doubt for some morning training, and sees a drooling Luffy curled up on the round bench. Zoro wouldn't admit it, but he was smiling in the inside at the sight of his captain. However, he wasn't prepared for what would happen next.

"Nghhh...!" Luffy grumbled, slightly tossing around in his sleep. "Ace...! Don't...!"

Zoro started looking concerned. He went up to the captain, trying to wake him up by lightly tapping his shoulder.

"Luffy?" He asked, only for Luffy to roll off the bench, squirming with closed eyes.

"Please...! Nami...!" Luffy mumbled louder, "Don't leave me...! Don't say that you...!"

"Luffy? Luffy!" Zoro raised his voice, grabbing Luffy by the vest underneath his blanket. "Luffy, wake up!"

"Ngh! I'm sorry! Please don't keep saying that...! Raise my debt if you...! Just put that gun down...!"

"Luffy!" Zoro decided that desperate times call for desperate measures. He started to smack Luffy awake. The only problem was...

"Aw, damn! He's made of rubber!" He then saw Luffy's hat tossed around the room, and his weight lifting equipment with some cast irons he had taken out yesterday. It was when Zoro had an idea, though it wasn't a good one, and it involves some level of pain.

"Sorry, captain," He said, walking to a cast iron that weighed about 50 pounds, with Luffy in his hand. "But if this wakes you up..." He grabbed the iron and held it like a frisbee, and brought the flat surface on top of Luffy's head.

*CLANG!*

"OWWWWWWW~!" Luffy woke up, and had a large bump swelling on top of his head. He started leaking out comedic tears as he clutched his head. "GRANDPA, WHY?!"

"Wrong, Luffy," Zoro simply answered, making Luffy look at him.

"Zoro?" He questioned, "That was you?

"Sorry, captain, but it was all I could think of. You were tossing and turning, and I couldn't wake you up."

"You could have just tapped me a bunch of times, you know."

"I didn't think you would wake if I tried that. If I couldn't do it once, what good would it do a second time?"

"Well, it still hurt..." Luffy said with pursed lips, eyeing Zoro in an angry fashion.

"I said I was sorry, didn't I?!" Zoro shouted with an obvious tick mark on the back of his head. Luffy yawned, being let down by Zoro.

"Hey, Zoro?" The captain then asked, "Did you bring me up here?"

"Yeah," Zoro responded, "I figured that you wanted to be left alone when you slept, so I brought you up here, so you wouldn't get cold or get disturbed."

"You could've brought me in the kitchen instead," Luffy pointed out.

"After what that damn cook did? No way. He'd probably beat you up first chance he got."

"Not that I wouldn't have deserved it..." He muttered under his breath, before asking again. "Hey, is it breakfast yet?" Despite thinking about breakfast, he realized that he wasn't hungry.

"Sorry, Luffy," Zoro replied, though mentally kicking himself for not thinking to save some for Luffy. "But you just missed it three hours ago."

"Damn!" He cursed, then sank to the floor, sighing. He had just realized why he wasn't hungry. "It's fine, Zoro. I didn't want anything anyway."

"Huh?" Zoro then questioned, taken aback. 'Luffy wasn't hungry?' He thought to himself, 'Could he still be thinking about yesterday? Or is it about that dream he woke up from a few minutes ago?'

"Besides," Luffy said, grabbing his straw hat, pillow and blanket, and going to the trap door. "Sanji wouldn't give me anything to eat, even if I did show up." He opened the hatch up, and climbed down, leaving Zoro's sight.

"Luffy..." Zoro softly spoke, then walked to his equipment, ready to lift again.

XXX

After returning the blanket and pillow to the bunk, Luffy walked out of the dorms, but with a glum face on him. He was still thinking about that disturbing nightmare from last night.

"Nami," He said to himself, "If I'm doing bad at protecting you, then say so. I can't figure it out myself..." He then sat on the grass against the wall, frowning.

Franky climbed out of the Soldier Dock System door from under the deck, carrying about two barrels in his hand. He then placed them in front of him, and opened up his stomach and pulled out a bottle of cola.

"Man," Franky spoke as he drank and swallowed his drink, "I thought we had enough of this stuff to travel for a few weeks. Guess not."

He looked to the side and saw Luffy sitting there, shrouding himself in moody thoughts.

'Sheesh,' he thought, 'Luffy sure looks bummed.'

The cyborg decided to try and talk to him. He may have voted against telling him that their flag did get stolen, but he didn't want Luffy to feel like this for the entire week. He's already acted different since Shiki, and he knows how rattled you can get him enough to resent you, and he doesn't want to let that happen again.

"Hey, Straw Hat!" Franky called out the captain by his nickname, walking towards him. He bent his knees to look over him. "You alright?"

"Leave me alone, Franky," Luffy said, trying to push him away. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now."

"I just wanna know how you're feeling, that's all," Franky responded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Luffy mumbled, "I just have a lot of things to think about, so I don't want to be disturbed." He got up and walked to the helm deck, heading to the figurehead of the ship.

"Well," Franky began, "If you need anybody, some of us will be going to town for a while!"

Luffy stopped halfway up the steps to hear Franky, talking about the other Straw Hats and what they'll be doing.

"I'll get some more Cola for the Sunny and me, Sanji'll get more food, Robin and Nami are gonna get some clothes that fit us, Brook will... actually, I don't know what he'll be doing, and Usopp's gonna get some stuff for himself, and some medical supplies for Chopper."

"Wait, doesn't Chopper get those things himself?"

"Yeah, but there's some moss that'll keep him from going anywhere near the town. It has a bad smell, at least, to animals."

"Oh."

"So, Chopper and Zoro are gonna stay here if you need anything, okay?"

"Whatever," Luffy replied, raising his hand up in annoyed manner. "It's not like they have to help me or anything." He resumed walking to the figurehead and escaped Franky's sight.

The cyborg frowned at what Luffy did. 'Man,' He thought, 'He just offhandedly threw away what I just said. I only wanted to help.' He went to pick up the barrels, and walked down the gangplank, just as some of the other Straw Hats were coming down to leave too.

"So, are you gonna get everything on that list?" Chopper asked Usopp.

"Yep!" The liar responded, "I get everything you need!"

"And I'll move my bones to help in any way!" Brook exclaimed, playing his violin with enthusiasm.

"Are you sure that I don't have to accompany you, my angels~?" Sanji swooned, a heart on his visible eye.

"I'm sure, Sanji," Nami answered, rolling her eyes as Robin chuckled. Sanji quit his swooning attempt to address Chopper.

"Hey, can you make sure that Luffy doesn't do anything stupid while we're gone?"

"I don't think he's gonna try anything for a while," The doctor replied, "Besides, you and Zoro sort of hurt his feelings."

"It wasn't my fault!" Sanji defended himself, "If that idiot did a better job protecting Nami from the slander that little stain who came here yesterday, this never would have happened!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Chopper coldly said, his hat hiding his expression. "It might give you some comfort to replace your shame. You could've killed Luffy yesterday, you know."

"Yeah, man," Usopp chimed in. "You almost killed him when you kicked him into the water."

"Did you forget that you're the one who set him on fire, jackass?!"

"At least I wasn't trying to harm him!"

*BONK!* Before the two could start brawling, they were lying on the deck with swelling bumps, and Nami was standing over them.

"Alright, knock it off!" She yelled to the two, before walking down the plank. The two got up, and followed suit, not wanting to feel even more pain.

Chopper then went back to the sick bay, to document some more medicine, no doubt. However, he had no idea that the ship would meet the same intruder again, though with a different purpose.

XXX

Henley stalked the jungle, making sure the predators weren't after him. He took great precautions, stopping every fifty paces to drop a small cluster of moss to ward away the animals.

It only took a while, until he found the ship belonging to the straw hat boy.

'I'm in luck,' He thought to himself, 'It looks like most of the crew are leaving for town. Good. I wanted this meeting with the captain to be purely confidential.'

Henley climbed the tree, making sure that no one was on deck, or looking through the windows of the crow's nest. He then jumped on air, and rushed himself to the arm of the foremast.

"Hey, Straw Hat!" He called out to the captain.

When Luffy looked up, he felt like he heard that voice before. He got up from his seat, and ran to the deck. When he saw who called him, his blood started to boil over. He saw Henley up there, wearing his brown cloak, and with some bandages on his face, showing beneath his hood.

"YOU!" Luffy shouted, stretching his arm to grab the cylinder-shaped branch, launching himself upward. He stood up and got into a fighting stance. "Why are you still here?! You want another fight?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Henley exclaimed, raising his hands and shaking them to avoid another beatdown. "I don't want to fight, please!"

"Oh, so now you don't want to fight?! What about yesterday?!"

"Okay, okay! I screwed up big time, alright?! I'm sorry!"

"NO!" Luffy shouted, angrier with each passing second. "NO, YOU'RE NOT! You already turned one of my crewmates against me! What more do you want from me?!"

"NOTHING!" Henley raised his voice. "I just want to tell you something important! That's all!"

Luffy huffed in annoyance. 'He stepped all over me and my crew, made them hate me, and now he wants to talk?!' He thought to himself. He then yelled to the shorter man. "This had better be good, or else you'll be wearing more black and blue all over your bitch ass!"

Now Henley started sweating when he heard the Straw Hat's harsh language choices. "Let me give it to you straight," He said, breaking the short and uncomfortable silence. "Something about you... is changing. But it's a bad change."

"You're talking to me like I'm some kind of idiot," Luffy said, growing impatient. "I'm starting to consider throwing you into the water."

"Wait, please!" Henley pleaded. "I don't know exactly the kind of person you are, but I realized something important! You're not like the other pirates that tried to kill me and the people of my island!"

"Of course not," The captain revealed. "Why would we kill you? You haven't done anything to hurt us. At least, until now, you didn't."

"I'm really sorry, sir," Henley apologized, looking solemn as he removed his hood. "I should've given you the chance to speak, rather than attack you. I just... Pirates I've met just shoot first, and ask questions never. That's been my experience from them, though some marines, and even civilians aren't any better. I was always paranoid around them. At least, I thought so at first." He bowed his head to the glaring captain, "Again, I'm really sorry."

"At first?" Luffy asked. 'Sir? He looks like he's around my age.'

"Yes, sir," The redhead replied, "I met a pirate who saved my life. A lot of lives, in fact. His name... was Portgas D. Ace."

"ACE?!" Luffy exclaimed. "YOU KNEW ACE?!"

"I just remembered at that moment, when you sent me flying. I remembered that Ace was there. He helped me, back then."

"Wait," Luffy said, "If you knew Ace..."

"Yes?" Henley questioned, until a fist came down on his head.

"THEN WHAT WAS THAT CRAP ABOUT EVIL PIRATES?!"

"OW!" Henley cried out in pain. "I said, I didn't remember him until now! I didn't even remember him because I forgot about my past when I drank some kind of chemical that made me lose my memory! I'm sorry!" He had to take a breath after shooting his mouth off with that long sentence.

Luffy stared at him for a while, thinking, and trying to comprehend what the hell he just said. 'If he's honest, then what was all that about...?' He took a pause until asking, "Arlong."

"Huh?" The redhead lifted his head up, if only slightly, asking what Luffy just said.

"You said Arlong," He clarified. "You compared Nami to Arlong, when we fought."

Henley sank his head in shame. "That was crossing a line, I know," He said. "I was just angry with how greedy she was, I snapped. I've always hated people who put prices on other people's lives."

"But she did that to a fruit."

"Yeah, I overreacted. And the worst part is, I know exactly why I said those things. It's a toxic side effect from my memory serum."

"That stuff you drink that helps you remember?" Luffy pondered aloud, expecting an answer.

"That's right." Henley replied, "When you drink it, the memories that are forgotten suddenly come back to you. However, whatever you were feeling will carry over, and that feeling will get unstable. I thought it was just a small price to pay, but now..." He trailed off, stopping short of his response. He turned to Luffy and bowed his head.

"I'm so sorry, sir. I jump to conclusions, I attack you, I hurt your friends, and I hurt your crush's feelings, all just because I don't want to lose someone I love. And on top of that, I've made things worse for you just by doing everything I could. Now, I want to make it up to you, by helping with your problems."

The captain slightly blushed from the word 'crush' being used to describe Nami. He shook his head to get the idea out of his mind and asked Henley. "Why did you give me that yucky drink?"

Henley looked down in shame. "Well... You see... Erm..." He had trouble getting his words out, until finally...

"I decided in the heat of the moment, since you were persistent and chasing me, I would give you something. I would discourage you from going after me and killing me, and other people." He raised his hand up before Luffy could speak, "At the time, that's what I thought! I didn't know you were Ace's brother, know about Ace, or know that you were a good guy!"

"Okay," Luffy said, "But why would I kill? I just want to be free! Only bad pirates want to do that!"

"Well, from my point of view, some pirates do want to rule the world. They just have some delusions of grandeur."

Luffy didn't get the 'grandeur' part of the sentence, but he did understand the delusion part, and nodded. He fought against people like that before, after all. People that believed they could take the world for themselves, even if it means using people like toys to do it. He hated people who acted like that.

"Anyway," Henley continued on, "I understand how bad this is and I'm not proud of it either. What you're feeling right now, I mean. That's the bad thing. But here's something you might not like, so please don't beat me up, okay?"

"No promises," Luffy flatly said, causing Henley to gulp, which in turn, made Luffy sweat-drop. 'Where was that confidence from a few minutes ago?!' He thought. 'Better than that, yesterday?!'

"Well, about that yucky drink," Henley said with emphasis, "I meant to give you a different one."

Luffy blinked a few times, until he put his hand up to his chin, thinking. Henley broke into a sweat, awaiting his response.

XXX

A few minutes later...

"Wait, what do you mean, a different one?" Luffy questioned, making Henley groan loudly and sink to the mast's arm in exasperation.

"You're so slow!" Henley whispered to himself, shaking all over. "Ace never said anything about that!" He perked up in realization, "Unless..."

"Uhh, dude, you didn't answer the question."

"Oh, sorry about that," Henley apologized. "You just took a while to respond, I couldn't take it."

"Well, cut me some slack!" Luffy shouted. "I haven't thunk in a long time!"

Henley sweat-dropped yet again. 'Thunk isn't even related to the word think,' he thought, 'But that's not important now!'

"When I said, a different one," Henley returned to the topic, "I meant a different test tube, er, drink. I thought I gave you the one I meant to give. However, it wasn't the right one."

"The right one?" Luffy questioned. "What's it supposed to do again?"

"Well, as I said when I gave it to you, it would help you think clearly, and increase how you were feeling when you were taking it."

"Oh yeah! I remember that part."

"Yes, but since you took a while to respond a few seconds, it's further proof that I gave you the wrong one. You would've thought quicker than that if it was the right one."

"But I still feel crummy," Luffy pointed out.

"True," Henley said, then asked, "Hey, did someone make you laugh?"

"Yeah, yesterday. Brook did a thing and I laughed, but I still felt depressed."

"Did you think that deeply about what I said?"

Luffy went silent. That was the only answer Henley needed.

"Oh, God. I'm sorry about saying that and shoving those awful thoughts into your head. But did someone tell you that they respect you?"

"Yeah," Luffy said, his expression still unchanging. "Brook. He said that he's glad that I'm the captain, because of how I am."

"He's a good man, like that Roronoa guy, though he looks more dead than alive."

"Heh. Skeleton joke."

"Right. And did you feel better about that?"

"For a while, then I felt bad again."

Henley listened well, taking a deep breath and exhaling. He did not want to tell Luffy about the other test tube, but he must. He was raised to be honest, after all. He was even told that not all pirates were bad, though the reverse was also true. But what happened two days ago, was really deplorable. He really let his father down. He let Ace down, too.

"Well, captain," He finally spoke to the Straw Hat boy, "What you're feeling now, is an extreme level of negativity. It comes from a green colored liquid in a test tube. One of the things it's supposed to do is slow the part of your brain that helps you remember things."

"Oh," Luffy said, "Like earlier."

"Yes," Henley confirmed, with guilt in his eyes, "Mostly for things that you consider are important, and also for bad memories. Speaking of bad, it only gets worse."

"How worse?"

"Look at this test tube right here." He pulled a test tube from his bag, and revealed a tag in the middle, with a skull and crossbones and wording. It read, "DANGEROUS TO USE."

"A skull and crossbones?" Luffy asked.

"That skull here, it's different from the Jolly Roger in the sky," Henley spoke, also pointing to the flag fluttering on its post above the crow's nest. "This drink I gave you was not meant for you. Now, about the other effect I mentioned. It's supposed to make the subject feel negative, though only when said subject is at that point."

"And then what?"

Henley paused, then continued. "Then, the subject becomes a different person, in an emotional context. They start seeing every person who's wronged them, friend and foe, in a different light. Next, they start pushing others away, refusing any attempts of apology. If rattled enough, they lose any sight of their values and what they hold as truths. It's only a matter of time until they lose..."

"Lose what?"

Henley made another pause, this one longer than the last, until...

"They lose the will to live."

Luffy looked at Henley in disbelief, combined with dread. But with the redhead being silent, it must be the truth.

"You mean... soon... I'll want to... die?!" Luffy was so shocked, he turned pale.

"I remembered that I meant to give this to a person I hate, when I see them again. But now that I've realized what I've done, I went to get rid of it. But then I found out that I gave it to you! I'm sorry!"

"I'll... want to die?! Luffy repeated again, making Henley bury himself in his cloak.

"I NEVER SHOULD HAVE MADE THIS EVIL FORMULA EVER!" He shouted, "I BECAME EXACTLY WHAT I DESPISED! WHAT I FOUGHT AGAINST!"

What filled his mind next were multiple images. One of a silhouette of a person with men armed with rifles, along with a blue skinned person on the ground, shot by the person in the center. The hand that held a pistol, resembled a woman's hand. Henley purged those thoughts, not wanting to remember any further, lest he go insane again and hurt Luffy, who had nothing to do with his agenda.

'I'll avenge you Gibbs!' He thought, 'But I'll never stoop to the level of those godless savages! Not again! Never again! First, I'll help this good man, then Flora, and then...'

"You made me drink this... and I'll ask to DIE SOON?!" Luffy grew more venomous, bringing Henley back to reality. He knocked the tube out of the redhead's hands, and grabbed him by the chest.

"Please, understand!" Henley spoke, attempting to reason with the angry captain. "I wasn't out to hurt you! It was a mistake!"

"Was attacking Nami like that also a mistake?!" He raised his voice, scaring Henley into shutting up. "Was insulting her also a mistake?! WAS MAKING EVERYONE HATE ME ONE OF YOUR MISTAKES TOO?!"

Zoro, who was still in the crow's nest weightlifting, stopped when he heard Luffy's loud voice. He threw down the weights to see what was happening outside.

"Please, Captain Monkey!" Henley pleaded. "I didn't mean for it to go down like this! I thought it was temporary!"

"Our lives are temporary!" Luffy snapped back. "All my life, I went around my village, hearing people call me a freak because I can do things normal people can't! I felt alone because no one wanted me! I heard one of the people saying he was glad I would be leaving soon because he would make sure I was killed if he had to deal with me running through town!"

"Please, captain! Wait! WAIT!"

Zoro climbed down the ladder and saw Luffy, with red and green eyes mixing together in rage, carrying Henley to the other side of the mast's arm.

"NO! I'M TIRED OF PEOPLE TELLING ME OFF LIKE THIS! I'M SICK OF HOW THEY TREATED ME WHEN THEY DIED! WHEN SHE DIED!"

"Wait! What are you doing?!"

"Some of the people of my village acted like they liked me, but they were all just trying to humor me! I could tell! You think I couldn't?!" Straw Hat stopped at the end of the mast, refusing to let Henley go. His grip was so tight on Henley's skin, it could turn blue from the hold. All Henley could do was squirm and panic, seeing the ocean water below.

"PLEASE!" Henley still implored. "YOU KNOW I CAN'T SWIM!"

"LUFFY!" Zoro called out, making Straw Hat jerk his head around. "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

"This little shit's part fish-man," Straw Hat stated, still refusing to let go of his prey. "He'll be fine, regrettably."

"Why? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Henley yelled.

"To get you off my ship. I don't ever, ever, want to see your face again!"

"Wait, I SAID WAIT!"

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" Zoro went to grab Luffy, but stretched his foot out and hit Zoro in the face, making him stumble. He fell, but quickly caught the folded sail before he hit the deck.

"WAIT!" He pleaded for the last time, "I DIDN'T TELL YOU YET, BUT...!" The captain threw him overboard, but this wasn't the end yet.

"THIRD GEAR!" He jumped into the air, blew into his thumb, and then inflated his leg. He raised his supersized foot to strike down Henley.

"THERE'S STILL A WAY...!"

"GUM-GUM...!"

"TO STOP THIS!"

"GIANT!"

"LET ME HELP YOU!"

"AXE!"

"THERE'S STILL A WAY...!"

"GUM-GUM...!"

"TO STOP THIS!"

"GIANT!"

"LET ME HELP YOU!"

"AXE!"

Straw Hat brought his foot down upon the redhead, intent on forcing him to sink.

"STTTTOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPP!"

It was too late for him. Too late for apologies. He was done, as far as Straw Hat was concerned. He may have known Ace, he may have had some memory loss, but that would never excuse him for what he did. Even if he truly did want to help, it didn't matter anymore.

He sent his foot down on Henley, making hard contact. The redhead felt the harsh impact of the foot slam him into the ocean below. If he could describe it, it was like a ship falling from the sky, headfirst.

Straw Hat's shoved his foot until it hit the ocean, and he didn't have to shove it anymore. He landed on the deck as he deflated, as Zoro climbed down and Chopper came running.

"Luffy!" The doctor called out in confusion, "What was that?!"

"Nothing," Luffy said in his small form, "It doesn't matter."

"WHAT THE HELL'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!" Zoro shouted, grabbing Luffy by the neck. "You could've gotten me killed!"

"But you're still alive," The captain mused, "I would've caught you if you didn't catch the sail in time."

"But you hit me! I told you to stop!"

"Would it kill you to give me some respect, Zoro? I did you a favor. He won't be back again."

"Yeah, because you killed him!"

"I didn't kill him! He's part fish-man! He'll live!"

"Even so...!"

"There's no 'what if', he's still alive!"

"You know, something's wrong with you, Luffy!"

"I'M FINE! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Luffy immediately ran to the railing and jumped before Zoro and Chopper could do stop him. The moment the captain felt his feet hit the sand, he darted into the jungle, uncaring of where he would end up, or who he would meet, for that matter.

"Aw, crap!" Zoro cursed, running to the gangplank after Luffy. "Chopper, stay here! I'll get Luffy!"

"Wait, Zoro!" Chopper cried out forcing the swordsman to stop. The doctor then pointed his hoof to his diagonal right. "Luffy ran that way!"

"I'm going in that direction!"

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

"Look, you'll need me to help get you back to the ship!" Chopper argued.

"But someone has to stay and guard it!"

"No one's gonna be back until lunchtime! We'll get Luffy back by then!" The doctor changed into his animal form and galloped down to Zoro.

Zoro sighed, feeling some doubt over the reindeer's suggestion.

"I hope you're right," He mumbled, motioning Chopper to lead the way.

"I've got his scent! Let's get to him!"

The two took off, abandoning the ship to wait for them.

XXX

The half-breed had sunk into the ocean, stopping when he made contact with the island's wet sand. He tried to get up, but he felt extremely weak from the sea water. The water pressure was strong, weighing his sins and keeping him down. However, he still struggled, intent on making land.

"Ngh!" He grunted, slowly crawling along the floor. He grabbed the rocks to support him and his ascent back to the land. It was going to be a while before he could make it back up.

'It's all my fault,' he thought solemnly, trying in vain to move faster. 'I was an idiot. But I'll be damned if it ends like this!'

Henley pushed on, seeing the weighed anchor. He thought he could try to climb up the chains with it. He was caught up with crawling uselessly that he didn't notice some monstrous sea serpents slithering behind him with red eyes...

TO BE CONTINUED...