Chapter 9- A Puppet Captain

One Piece © Eiichiro Oda

William Henley, Cobalt, and Ashley © HatOnFire/Me

AUTHOR'S NOTE: (Alright. Are there any excuses as to why this hasn't been uploaded for a month. There are, but none that explains why it should've taken this long. But, I apologize for the delay, and hope your beginning of Summer was a rewarding as mine, Anyway, I refuse to leave something like this unfinished. So, here's a new chapter! Enjoy and stay tuned for more!)

(WARNING: MORE DISTURBING THEMES WILL BE APPROACHING, ALONG WITH ANOTHER DISTURBING NIGHTMARE. TURN AWAY IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THIS. THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY WARNING.)

Hours went by, and day became night in but an instant. The island was once again under the night sky, and the animals of the jungle slept peacefully. However, there was one inhabitant that didn't sleep.

At this moment, Henley is at the cliffside on the edge of the island, and the giant sea snake, dubbed 'Cobalt' by the redhead half-breed, was raising his head up to the cliff.

"Okay," Henley said, putting a piece of paper inside an extremely small box. The box itself was made from pieces of melted down metals, heated and then meshed together to create this cubed container. Next, he placed it inside a small barrel with a long, black strap. "Just in case I can't save Captain Monkey, I want you to find someone who can reach out to him. Can you do it?"

*HISS-Sss-Sss!* The giant sea snake answered with a nod and his trademark call.

"Okay, the person that I want you to find is... Portgas D. Ace."

*HISS-SSS?!* Cobalt hissed in shock. He had to find one of the most dangerous pirates in the Grand Line?! He asked why, knowing that there's a chance Fire Fist freaking Ace will roast him just for appearing in front of him.

"Don't worry, big guy!" Henley calmed the sea serpent, raising both his hands and gesturing him to relax. "He won't hurt you if you give this to him. I'll jump down and attach it to your neck."

True to his word, the redhead leaped off of the edge and went to Cobalt's level. Before he could descend further to the ocean again...

"Moonwalk!" Henley hopped on the invisible air and kept himself at a specific point so he could attach the barrel to Cobalt's neck. It only took a few seconds for him to attach the strap together around the neck.

"There!" He shouted with success in his voice. "You should be ready to go, now!"

*HISS-Sss-Sss-Sss?* Cobalt then hissed with a tone of question that only one who understands animals could discern. He wanted to know why he was going to find Ace.

"Well, he's the captain's older brother, and I want you to find him."

It made sense to the reptile's mind. Find a family member that can help when all else fails. So, he has to find Portgas D. Ace, the brother of this Monkey D. Luffy, and... Wait, what?

*HISS-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!* For a minute, Cobalt's red eyes jumped out of its sockets. Luffy's brother is Ace?! This was too much for him to take, he almost fainted.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Henley yelled, grabbing Cobalt's tongue on reflex and pulling him up with it. "Don't conk out on me! I need you, dangit!"

*HISS-SSS-SSS-SAA!* The huge snake hissed venomously (pun not intended), saying to never, ever pull on his tongue. He then rose upward and slammed his head into Henley, sending him back up to the cliff.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" Henley replied, rubbing the top of his head. "You'll still deliver that message, won't you?"

*HISS-Sss-Sss!* Cobalt answered back that he will, since the half-breed fed him well. He also made an inquiry, wondering what Henley will do now, if he's going to stay behind.

"Me?" Henley pointed to himself with a questioning look on his face. "Oh, right. I have to stay here, and see how things develop with Straw Hat. It won't be pretty, though."

The thought made Cobalt quiver. He thought to himself, 'I'm sure glad that I'm just going to find Ace, then. Seeing someone break down because of what you've done, that's too much...'

Subsequently, the sea snake had another thought, and he decided to share it with Henley. He hissed, asking if Ace can even arrive in time to help out.

"Well, I don't know if he can come quickly in time, though. But still, it helps to have a loved one pick you up when you're feeling down."

Henley made a small smile over that remark he made. But then, he frowned, thinking to himself...

'If he saw what I did... If he knew... No, he probably knows, now. I bet he'd be disappointed in me.'

*HISS!* Cobalt hissed, bringing the redhead back to reality. He asked if he should leave now.

"What? Oh! Sure, but make sure you rest, too!"

*HISS-Sss-Sss!* Cobalt made a slight remark, telling his mother not to worry. He also added that he wants to see him again soon.

"We will, buddy!" Henley replied, waving his hand. "See you later!"

*HISS-Sss-Sss!* With a last goodbye for now, Cobalt sinks into the sea, slithering through the current to search for Ace. When he left, Henley thought back to his encounter with Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates.

"I overreacted when we met," He rhetorically spoke, "And now, I screwed him up. I hope I can fix this, somehow. 'Cause if he dies..." He paused before finishing his thought. "If he dies, it's all my fault..."

The redhead looked up at the moon, and glumly went to his knees as he looked down to the ocean to see his reflection.

"Gibbs... What I've done can't be taken back. That's why I'll die for the sins I made, for the pain I caused to those I knew and those I don't. I'll die once I've fulfilled my goals. This, I swear..."

XXX

Dinner was done, but not everyone was in the best of moods. Especially not Luffy. Right now, he was still sitting on the ship's figurehead, not even moving an inch. He was starving from hunger, having skipped out on dinner. He couldn't eat, let alone face his crew or Nami, without anyone being reminded of the incident earlier.

Not too long ago, the crew witnessed an unsightly shouting match between Luffy and Nami, which almost ended with the captain doing something he would regret. The idea of hurting a friend was something the captain did not want to go through again, not after what happened with Usopp back at Water 7.

Some of the Straw Hats offered to talk to Luffy, with the exception of Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper, but he brushed them off. He didn't want to be disturbed for the rest of the night, and it was an order. That forced them to give up, and hope Luffy would be more cooperative for tomorrow.

"I can't believe I did that..." He said, bringing his hands up to his face in horror, recalling his grasp on Nami's shoulders. He actually thought of shutting her up when she said those words yesterday. The part that alarmed him, however, was that he didn't even care how or what. He just wanted her to stop talking.

"I almost... hurt her...! I... I could've killed her!"

Luffy started to slam his right hand on the figurehead, only making his hand swell, barely even leaving a mark on it. He rose his hand up again, and repeated the action multiple times, the difference being he was screaming out profanities and insults directed towards himself.

"YOU MISERABLE, PIG-HEADED IDIOT! GODDAMMIT ALL!" Luffy shouted, though he wailed out much worse words following it. Only moments after it, came silent tears from the lad.

Luffy wiped the tears off his face and stood up from his spot. He proceeded to move from the figurehead and on to the helm deck. There, he rose a question to himself.

"Can I... trust them?" He contemplated, biting his lip as the wind started to pick up in behind of him. The cold breeze blew, making Luffy's hair flap as his eyes sunk into the shadows of his hair. "Do they even trust me? I'm just an idiotic, gluttonous waste of space to them. Who could ever love someone like that?"

He brought his arms close together, trying to keep himself warm from the sudden change in temperature. It was time to get inside. He went off of the figurehead and went down to the men's dorms. The captain went to open the door, then got inside, closing it.

Careful not to disturb the other guys sleeping in their bunks, Luffy crept up to his bunk, and thought about getting in it. But, some inkling feeling kept him from doing so.

'I can't,' Luffy thought, 'I just can't be with anyone right now. I should just go sleep in the nest again.'

The captain grabbed his blanket and pillow, then quietly tiptoed to the door. He opened it, and left the dorms and his friends.

Closing the doors behind him, Luffy then strolled to the grassy deck and went to the ropes on the railing. He wrapped the blanket around the pillow and his body, and began his ascent to the crow's nest. It was quick and easy, and he got inside without trouble.

Upon arriving, he placed the pillow on the floor and wrapped himself up with the blanket and lied down on it.

"First that guy tells me I'll die," Luffy muttered to himself, "Then Sanji insults me behind my back, and now Nami hates me for existing and ruining her stuff. I bet it's also 'cause I'm the son of that deadbeat."

Luffy closed his eyes, trying to sleep. As he did, he said one final thing...

"No one loves me after all, huh? I guess I should've known..."

XXX

The sun was bright, shining down on a relaxing soul. That soul was wearing his straw hat over his eyes as his exposed body felt the warmth of the sun's rays. He could also feel the wind blowing against him and the trees behind him. The sounds made his mind calm. Relaxed. At peace. It was such a long time since he felt so eased.

"It feels so good here," Luffy said aloud, "If I didn't wanna be the Pirate King, I'd stay here forever. But, I have to continue."

He motioned to stand up, and the wind instantly picked up. It was almost like a hurricane was rushing through here, though it wasn't exactly the case. He looked around for his crew, concerned that they also might've been caught up in it.

"Guys?!" He called out, trying to hold onto his hat. "Are you here?!"

He couldn't see anyone around, but he could see a cyclone from the side of the island he was on. He was prepared to run, but in rapid succession, a gust of wind blew him into the air!

"WHOA!" Luffy shouted, stretching his arms for the trees. "Where did that come from?!" He was able to grab a tree, but the tree was then uprooted by a greater blast of gale. "CRAP!"

The captain continued to flow with the wind current and was carried around the funnel. He went around it a few times until the wind lifted him up and took him to the eye of the storm. He then went down inside the cyclone screaming.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It looked like he going to keep falling forever. While it appeared that way, is was that moment when he felt a force hit his back, like a floor, despite no such thing being visible.

"OOF!" Luffy grunted from the impact, and groaned from the pain thereafter. Even though he was a rubber man, he certainly felt that blow. "Ugh, I felt like I landed on some kind of stone chasm. Like the one Gramps threw me in a when I was nine."

Luffy did a double take over what he just said and made a frown.

"I probably shouldn't have remembered that..."

He sat up and saw the wind blowing around him in the funnel, and looked all over the place. What caught his eye was that he was sitting on thin air and not falling. He may not be smart, but he knows enough that he shouldn't be stationary right now. This wasn't making any sense.

"I don't get it," He pondered, "How come I'm not falling anymore?"

"Because we brought you here," A voice, or rather, several voices said in unison.

Luffy was startled by the mysterious sounds he heard. Surprise turned into confusion as that new expression overtook his face. He got up and took a fighting stance, looking around to see if anyone was there.

"Who's there?!" He yelled, wishing for an answer. "Show yourself!"

"All you had to do was ask, Straw Hat," The overlapping voices stated, "But first, a change in scenery."

Luffy continued to view his surroundings, and finally saw something. His own shadow. However, it wasn't a mere patch of darkness. The grounded silhouette started to shoot out waves of shadows, making up the ground Luffy stood on. They went and swallowed up the entire windy pillar, except for the open gap above them, which showed the sun departing as the moon arrived. Now, the captain was in the spotlight of the moon, while everything around him was just gloom.

"What is this?" Luffy questioned, "What did you do?"

"We changed the scenery," The voices replied, "It should suit how you feel, Luffy."

"How do you know my name?" Luffy inquired, thinking about the legion of voices. They were starting to sound familiar, though good or bad, he hasn't determined.

"We know all about you, you sniveling rat," One particular voice said, as his body rose from the murky liquid behind Luffy. "An inferior human like you is so easy to read."

The boy gasped, instantly recognizing that voice. That condescending tone in his voice. That overwhelming haughty disdain whenever a human is around him. Luffy spun around to see that sawshark, just standing there with that sickening look of cruelty.

"Arlong...!" Luffy hissed, looking ready to charge at him. "So, you're back for more, huh?!"

"Yes, I'm back," Arlong sneered, "But not for you. I already got what I came for."

"What does that mean?"

Arlong, still grinning, pulled something out of the liquid he came from, and lifted with minimum effort. The shape was human, but it looked like a life-sized puppet. The puppet itself was completely black with the ooze it spawned from. Even still, Luffy recognized what it was easily.

"A puppet?" Luffy questioned, "You came all the way back here for a puppet?"

"It's the person who is the puppet that I want, human. And I always get what I want!"

As if on command, the odd substance on the puppet dripped down into the puddle, revealing the colors of the puppet. Luffy looked at the object and gasped. The puppet looked exactly like Nami!

"That..." The captain struggled to catch his breath, but continued. "That looks like Nami!" He scowled at the tormentor he defeated. "What did you do to her?!"

"What does it matter to you?" Arlong questioned, "As far as she's concerned, you don't matter to her anymore. Someone who's as weak-willed as you would never make a difference to her! You know why? Because... she's my crewmate!"

Luffy growled at Arlong's reasoning, and charged at him like a shot.

"What the hell would you know about her?!" He shouted as he ran and punched him in the stomach. "You used her! You're a monster!"

"AGH!" Arlong grunted, and was sent flying from the impact, making him drop the Nami puppet. Luffy ran to grab the puppet, but was lifted by its strings because of someone.

Luffy looked up to see who was pulling it up, and was shocked. It was someone giant! But He knew who it was, but never expected them to be a hundred or so feet tall.

This person used swords for prosthetic legs ever since he severed them back in the past. He was always dressed in oriental clothes, had a piece of a steering wheel lodged in the back of his head, and yellow hair on his sides, covering everywhere but the top of his head. There was only one person this could be...

"SHIKI!" Luffy intensely roared, heating up with hate and disgust in his eyes. "Why are you here, too?!"

"It's simple, boy," Shiki explained, though he had such a patronizing look that made Luffy revolt on the inside. "I came here for revenge. I'm quite cross about losing to you, and with how this poor baby doll turned on me in the end. So, I'm getting in some good old-fashioned payback."

"If you want to fight someone, then fight me! Just let Nami go!"

"No, no, no," Shiki shook his head, slightly chuckling. "You're missing the point. I intend to get revenge on both of you. She ruined my plans, and you damaged my pride. If I hope to become whole again, then both of you must perish."

The Golden Lion let out a sigh, placing his free hand on his forehead. Afterwards, still keeping the hand there, he dramatically lifted his head up. "It's a shame, too. I actually thought she would make the perfect addition to the crew. A good-looking baby doll like her is such a rare catch. Maybe I could've showed her a real man."

When he said that, his frown turned to an offensive, perverted grin. Luffy felt his stomach quease, and his blood was even at the boiling point.

"You son of a bitch...!" The captain snarled, gritting his teeth, getting ready to pounce on the strangely giant pirate.

"Alas, I must let her go... AND DIE!" Shiki severed the Nami puppet's strings and let it drop from his grasp.

"NAMI!" Luffy wailed and ran to catch it. But then, he abruptly fell over, having been tripped. Some dark claw had come from the floor and grabbed his foot. "Hey, let me go!" He kicked at the claw, and it vanished in a puff of smoke. He got up, and continued to run. "Hang on, Nami! I'm coming!"

"Sorry, but that won't happen!" Another familiar voice proclaimed behind Luffy. Following that, a swarm of dark bats came at him, and greatly pestered him.

"What the-?!" Luffy questioned, smacking one of them away. "Oh, God! Not these little freaks again!" He kept running, despite a few of those bats biting his shoulder, elbow, leg, even the back of his head. "OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW! Okay, I know you're doing this, Moria! Quit it, already!"

"Ki-Shi-Shi-Shi-Shi!" Gecko Moria laughed, appearing a good distance in front of Luffy. "Thinking about saving your navigator, Straw Hat?"

"Get out of my way!" Luffy then elongated his arms to grab Moria, and he propelled himself towards the warlord. "Gum-Gum Rocket!" He landed square in the fat man's gut, making Moria almost regurgitate as he stumbled.

The captain grabbed Moria's head, specifically his horns, and stretched his arms as he climbed down on his back. That's when the poor fool realized what Luffy was trying to do.

"No! You won't do it! Get off my back!" Moria tried to shake Luffy off his back, even reach for him with his arms. After getting tugged by his small adversary, Moria jerked his head up and forward. In an instant, Luffy slightly hopped and let the momentum take him above the floor.

"Gum-Gum Balloon!" Luffy inhaled as much air as he possibly could, bloating himself up, and started to blow it all out. His body deflated as he traveled high, reaching a few feet below the Nami puppet. It easily fell into his arms when he opened them up for it.

He took notice of the gravity pulling him down, and inflated again to keep the puppet safe from damage. The two plopped on the ground safely, and Luffy let out his air.

"Nami?" Luffy asked, "Are you alright?" He looked at the wooden puppet, but the puppet's face started to crack! Luffy became panicked. "NAMI?! Oh no! No!"

"Yaaaa-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!" A familiar, pompous laugh filled the dark void. Subsequently, one blast of lightning came down behind the captain, making him look to see another foe... Eneru.

"I don't have time for this!" Luffy tried to stand up when he looked back at the puppet's crumbling face. It was when he realized that there was a person underneath the puppet's wooden shell! Curious, the rubber man peeled through the face's layers piece by piece, revealing Nami underneath!

"Nami!" He exclaimed joyously, before continuing to remove the wood all over Nami's body. He was caught up in the act, but failed to notice a golden hook came up behind him, and snatched him up by his torso. "Hey!"

The hook pulled Luffy away from Nami, and towards a rising pillar of sand. As the hook connected with the wall of sand, it began to take the form of a human. In fact, the sand was human. And only one person could have the ability to do that... Crocodile.

"Miss me, Straw Hat?" Crocodile questioned, condescendingly smirking as usual.

"Crocodile?! What do you want, you bastard?!"

"Just wondering something. If you have harbored resentment towards your navigator, then why are you even attempting to save her?"

"Because she's my crewmate! She means a lot to me!"

"Oh, please. You know she can't be trusted, and your friends can't be either. I thought you've understood what I meant by now."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Luffy asked, struggling to get out of the sandman's grip.

"Shut up!" Luffy angrily shouted, "What do you know about trust?! Nothing!"

"Trust is the most worthless thing in the world," Crocodile sneered, "That's what I mean."

"Shut up! You don't know a thing about trust!"

"I know enough to not use that pathetic philosophy, now. And you should do the same!"

Crocodile then used his right arm to throw Luffy away from him, making the shorter boy land on the ground. Then, Crocodile's creepy grin went into a monstrous scowl.

"Your so-called friends are nothing more than cheats! Liars!"

"No, they're not!"

The scarred man then sighed, and walked to where Eneru stood.

"Have you ever wondered why you friends refer to you as an idiot?" Eneru questioned, pointing his finger at Luffy. "It's all on you, insect! Because you simply are one!

"You shut up, earlobe jackass!" Luffy yelled, taking a fighting stance. "Just because I'm stupid, that doesn't mean they would ever lie to me!"

"But they would," A calm voice said, "I know because of how simple manipulation is."

"As do I," Another voice agreed, "And the two of us have spent our time making gaining the trust of others, only to throw it out when the time is right."

Luffy carefully looked around and saw two figures, one taller than the other, standing next to each other. The tall one revealed himself to be Rob Lucci, as the other was shown as Kuro.

"Pigeon Guy and Kuro! You sons of-!"

"Quiet down, Straw Hat," Lucci softly spoke, "You may be a leader who thinks of others, but your crew doesn't seem to express their respect for you."

"W-Well," Luffy stuttered, trying to deny Lucci's logic. "T-That's be-because, I... I don't need any of it! Yeah! I don't need any thanks! I'm just being a friend to them!"

Kuro chuckled, pushing his glasses up with his palm. "You can't make friends with your crew," He argued, "They're your tools to use, and to discard when they're no longer useful. You're a fool for keeping them around after you dueled with Shiki."

"They are NOT my tools!" The captain fumed, rushing at the two in front of him. In spite of his attempts, they were thwarted when Arlong tackled him to the ground.

"You think that your crew is just gonna be nice to you just because they're your friends?" He asked, relishing Luffy's attempts to get loose. "Sha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha! That's a laugh! Even to your own species, you're an embarrassment! Nami really does hate you, and you still think she's yours! SHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP!" Luffy roared, stretching his legs up from under Arlong and sending him flying. "Gum-Gum Volcano!" Luffy jumped up on his feet, dodging Kuro's Cat Claws and Lucci's finger and leg attacks. Lucci stared at the captain, almost peering into his soul.

"You aren't showing confidence in your crew anymore," He stated, having observed the rubber boy. He continued as he took on his leopard hybrid form. "You're starting to lose faith in them."

"I don't need to hear this from you! I do trust them!"

"Hollow words, boy," Kuro chimed in, "A pirate crew exists as your puppets, but you aren't out to use them. Your pathetic, childish mentality is what made them believe you're beneath them."

"Yaaaa-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!" Eneru laughed, getting on Luffy's nerves easily. "A puppet captain! That's what they see you as! It's all they've ever thought of you! You're a joke!"

"Cut the crap!" Luffy swung his arm in denial, growing more unnerved. "I'm not a puppet! They... They... They're NOT using me!"

"Is that so?" Crocodile questioned while Moria and Shiki came behind him. Do you really believe that?"

"With my life!"

"In that case," Moria began suggesting, pointing behind Luffy. "Why don't you ask them yourself?!

"You'll see, boy," Shiki added, "That baby doll was just using you as a pawn, just like your crew."

Luffy ignored the words of Roger's rival as he looked at the seven silhouettes in the fog. They looked familiar to him, but noticed Nami was slowly standing up.

"Nami!" Luffy began running towards her to see if she was alright. By the time he got to her, he saw her eyes were shadowed. Her expression looked to be blank. Not a good sign. "Nami? All you alright?"

That's when it happened.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME, YOU USELESS PIECE OF CRAP!" Nami shouted as she smacked Luffy across the jaw, forcing him to fall on his knees and catch himself.

Luffy winced from the pain he felt. It was intensely agonizing, and that blow could've broken his entire jaw, were he not made of rubber. He picked himself up off the ground, rubbing the area where he was punched, and looked at Nami, alarmed by her actions.

"Nami?" He queried, petrified. "What...?"

"I don't want you anywhere near me!" Nami yelled, her eyes just filled with hate. Luffy never saw her with that much vitriol, or purged any thoughts of her in that mood. "You're nothing but a stain on my life! I should've left your godforsaken soul when I had the chance!"

"W-What are you... saying?" Once more, he asked, even with his aching heart growing with grief. "You... don't actually mean that! You don't!"

"Wrong, dumbass captain," A deep voice retorted in the fog. That particular voice belonged to Zoro, who was clearly visible now that the fog was dissipating. Yet, it wasn't just him who was where the grey wall of mist was. The rest of the Straw Hats were there as well!

"Zoro?! Everyone?!" Luffy exclaimed, "What's going on?!"

"You don't believe she's the only one who means that, do you?" Robin asked, remorselessly. "We all found it difficult to waste our precious time with someone who possesses a brain the size of an insect."

"I... I don't understand!"

"Understand this, assuming a devil's son could even do that," Chopper blankly spoke. His expression never looked more lifeless, though the entire crew had that same look of disdain imprinted on their faces.

"We're all sick of you, Luffy," Usopp explained with a twinge of venom in his words. "Of you, and your talk."

"No one asked you to interfere with our lives," Sanji added, "We never needed you to begin with."

"You thought that by being honest and whatnot," Brook speculated, "Then we can all just get along and be some kind of fellowship, despite being pirates. But that... was such a childish thought."

"I'd ask how stupid you are," Franky started to insulted, "But you manage to answer that question with every breath you take."

"What are you guys saying?!" Luffy questioned, his torment slowly rising each second.

"You never understood a single word we've said, have you?" Usopp responded, slightly letting out a chuckle. "You make being a moron look so easy!"

"We'll all say it as many times as we like," Nami answered back to her captain's question, "We don't NEED you anymore. You were just a pitiful waste of space that we used."

"We even went behind your back on something," Zoro continued, "And like the idiot you are, you fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker."

"You don't deserve to be the captain," Sanji took a drag of his cigarette upon saying that, and even grinned. "You don't even deserve to live!"

"Nami... Zoro... Sanji... Usopp... Everyone..." Luffy stood there in shock, taking it all in. He couldn't believe all the things they said. "How could you..." He was on the verge of tears, but felt a rush of anger swell up when he heard Crocodile casually laugh as if it was the funniest thing he's ever heard.

"Now you see, boy," Crocodile coldly said, "This is where your trust in your friends gets you. It was then I realized one simple fact: The world's a cold place, and to survive, you have to be cold."

"You're wrong! This is all just a dream! My friends would never say those things to me! If they... lied to me, then they... would've... told me."

"But they didn't, or aren't planning to anytime soon. And here they are, insulting you. You must've chosen the wrong friends."

"WHAT?!" Luffy screamed, "NO!"

"Are you really sure, kid? You did chose the wrong friends, all because you are nothing but a desperate child who wanted love. The kind of love your father never bothered to give you."

"And you're extremely selfish," Kuro pointed out, adjusting his glasses, but careful not to cut himself with his katana-tipped gloves.

"And you aren't?" Luffy scoffed, "You wanted to kill Usopp's friend for some kind of fortune! And you even killed some of your men!"

"To keep my identity a secret. While we're talking secrets, don't you think there's one that's worth looking into?"

"What?" Luffy questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't know what they lied to you about," Moria asserted, "Come now, Straw Hat. They evaded you that one time for a reason."

"But then," Crocodile interjected, "They suddenly stopped, having bought enough time for a specific object to be returned."

"Something was stolen," Arlong divulged, "But your crew made sure not to tell you. As long as it's back where it belongs, you wouldn't have known it was gone."

"But someone said they took it," Eneru added, "Naturally, you didn't believe them. It's a typical process."

"An enemy tells you something," Lucci reasoned, "And you don't believe it. That's the way you work. You believe your friends are being truthful, but your foes are the fibbers."

"But what if it were the other way around?" Kuro questioned, smirking like he knew the answer already.

"The... other way around?" Luffy repeated to himself, placing a hand beneath his chin.

"That's all the hints you're going to get, boy," Shiki interrupted Luffy's thoughts, and levitated slightly above him. "But I suppose you've learned a lot of things here?"

"You guys don't make a lot at all," The captain bluntly said, throwing daggers at his enemies. "Besides, they wouldn't lie to me. They-"

"Your idiocy frustrates me to no end, rookie!" Crocodile angrily scowled at the captain, "You continue to deny the truth when it's right there in front of you!"

"If you still naively believe that your crew is honest," Arlong began to mock, "Then it makes sense why they thought they could pull one over you. You're stupid, even by human standards! Sha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!"

"A miserable child who wants to fit in with others," Moria insulted, "That's all you were! Even though you have a crew, you're just their toy! A puppet! Ki-Shi-Shi-Shi-Shi-Shi-Shi-Shi!"

"Yaaaa-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!" Eneru kept laughing, "It's as I've said before! You're a puppet captain! And the greatest clincher? NO ONE LOVES YOU! YAAAA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

The entire void quickly fell into an uproarious laugh. Luffy blankly stared, seeing all of his enemies laugh in his face. They all just kept on laughing at him, and he couldn't fight them all. It's almost like his will to fight was robbed from him. His ears picked up something else.

"They..." Luffy spoke for a second, but paused in the moment. "They aren't... laughing alone?"

He heard more laughs behind him, and his heart hit the floor. He knew who was laughing behind him. When he turned around, he saw his crew laughing wickedly.

"Look at him!" Usopp laughed and pointed, "He's so clueless! He doesn't know what's going on!"

"He's so pathetic-looking!" Sanji derided, barley breathing from his crude chortling. "He never was cut out to be a captain, just another moron that can't do a thing right!"

"Here's something funny!" Zoro began, "If we tell this dumbass to kill himself, he'd just screw it up, like everything else!"

That was nothing more than a contemptuous comment directed at a person who was their friend, but all the crew did was laugh. They laughed at the troubles their captain suffered from, at what he perceived to be his weakness.

Luffy collapsed to the ground on his knees, sobbing. That just made their laughter more raucous than it originally did.

"It's not true, is it?" Luffy questioned with tears leaving his eyes. "You guys... hate me? All of you?"

The wild cackling continued to go on, but the sounds slowly ceased as Nami walked towards him, intentionally swaying her hips in a superior manner.

"Oh, poor Luffy," Nami said softly with a pretty face, up until her face darkened. Some form of black liquid leaked from her mouth as her pupils faded into white. Her smile became a creepy cheshire cat grin as she answered with a question. "WHAT MADE YOU THINK WE CARED ABOUT YOU AT ALL?"

"AHHHHHHH!" Luffy shrieked, landing on his bottom and moving backwards with his hands and legs. He couldn't fight back, even if he found the will to. He had to run.

He tried to get up, but for some reason, he couldn't! He couldn't move his legs, or his arms. Just his head. He looked at his wrists, and gasped. There were strings attached to him. And things only got weirder from there.

Luffy saw his hands look more wooden, along with the rest of his body! That's when he realized...

"I'm a puppet...?!" Luffy's expression may be wooden now, but it was clear what he was feeling. Horror.

"That's right, captain," Robin answered, holding out her right hand out with some strings attached to her fingers. "But you're more than a puppet. You're the puppet. And it's time to play some more." She smirked like a devil, and threw her hand up.

"WHOA~!" Luffy exclaimed. In rapid succession, he got hoisted up by the strings embedded into his hands and was swung around. "This isn't funny! Let me down!"

"You don't get a say anymore!" Franky shouted, smiling demonically. "You never held any power over us! Now you'll never use us!"

"I never wanted to use you guys!" Luffy responded, continuing to get flung sideways. "You're my friends! My family!"

"And, let me guess," Brook surmised, his voice adding a layer of chill that settled throughout the dark. "You just happened to develop a sense of love for a young woman."

"You were talking about me, weren't you?" Nami queried as the whites of her eyes turned black and her pupils turned bloody red. "You had feelings for me, didn't you?"

Robin used her hand to make Luffy hang above the gallery of friends and enemies present, just so he can have a chance to speak. The captain looked at Nami when he answered.

"I... did..." He confessed, dropping his head down. "I don't know how, and I can't remember when, honestly. At first, I thought it was nothing. But then, I knew what I was feeling. It... was something I never felt in a long time. But I decided that you wouldn't like me if I told you."

"Well, you thought right," The navigator replied, "Aside from being as bright a sack of rocks, you're guilty of letting some people die. Like, for instance, Sabo and Ashley."

"What...? How do you...?"

"Ashley was right about one thing, Luffy. NO WOMAN ALIVE WILL EVER LOVE YOU."

Robin untied a sting from one of her fingers, and passed it to Franky, who pulled at it without any hesitation.

"AAAGGGHHH!" Luffy cried out in pain, feeling his left arm getting pulled out of its socket. It took only one more tug, and then...

*CRACK!* A repulsive sound was heard throughout the void, and a wooden limb dropped to the ground.

"EYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Luffy wailed, pointlessly attempting to thrash about in the air. He couldn't cry, he couldn't move, he couldn't do anything. He could only try to keep himself from looking at his disembodied limb, and the gaping wound where the blood was pouring out of. It was a nauseating sight, but just like the sadist he was, Lucci smirked.

"Excellent, both of you," He complimented, sniffing the smell of blood in his leopard hybrid form. "The sight of a person losing a piece of their body was invigorating."

"It was, wasn't it?" Crocodile pondered, "Well, we have tortured Straw Hat enough. It's time for us to depart."

Zoro nodded to the former Mr. 0, and a simple slice with Shusui was enough to cut Luffy's strings, making him drop to the ground.

"GUH!" Luffy grunted from the collision to the floor. He was still seething from the pain his missing arm left him.

"We leave you to question your meaningless existence, boy," Shiki said, and immediately blew up in a red puff of smoke. He wasn't the only one, though.

One by one, each of Luffy's foes disappeared in the same fashion as Shiki, along with the other Straw Hats, minus Nami. The crimson smog began to rise and swirl above them, almost mimicking a sandstorm.

"Well, your time is coming to an end, captain," Nami stated, pulling out a dagger as she straddled her captain's puppet chest.

"Wait!" Luffy shouted, desperately trying to reason with her. "Nami, don't do this!"

"I would say it was nice to know you, but it really wasn't."

"PLEASE!" Luffy screamed, trying to move his only remaining arm to do something. "NAMI! EVERYONE! PLEASE!"

"Scream all you want. No one will come. No one cares."

"NAMI! STOP!"

"Good bye, idiot captain," Nami said, raising her weapon for the killing blow. "Enjoy Hell."

"NAAAAAAAAAMIIIIIIIIIIII~!"

*FWOOSH!*

*CRACK!*

*FWOOSH!*

*CRACK!*

*FWOOSH!*

*CRACK!*

*FWOOSH!*

*CRACK!*

The dagger went straight though Luffy's wooden head, not once or twice, but several times, breaking apart with every sharp jab. The last thing Luffy saw was darkness closing around him, seeing only Nami's monstrous red eyes and mouth, akin to a demon. They instantly flickered, as her apathetic, cruel laughter, filled the dying captain's ears.

XXX

*GASP!* Luffy woke up, and rose from the floor with a shock. He started breathing heavily as he felt the sweat on his face and chest. The cold air couldn't cool him off. He removed the blanket and stood up, looking out the window of the Sunny. It was still in the moonlight.

"Another nightmare, huh?" Luffy whispered, rubbing his eyes. "I just can't sleep anymore."

He moved outside via the trapdoor, and walked on the branch of the mast until sitting on a part of it. Luffy began to contemplate his thoughts, looking at the ocean.

"Would they even notice me if I'm gone? Would they care if I died? Would... she?"

He had one more thought on his mind.

"Did they... lie to me somewhere down the line?"

The poor captain hoped he was wrong when he asked that question aloud, but never knew how right he was. Under the mast's branch, flower petals fell down underneath...

In another part of the Sunny, specifically the kitchen, a book fell and a coffee cup almost fell on the floor. They were caught by arms that sprouted along the table in time. Robin grabbed both of her possessions and put them back on the table. She looked solemn, having heard Luffy's questions from monitoring him.

"Luffy..." She whispered, grabbing her coffee cup and sipping it. Enough was enough. She decided it was best for him to talk. She walked outside to see Luffy trying to get back inside the crow's nest.

Robin crossed her arms, and had one of them sprout on Luffy's arm. The arm simply touched Luffy to make him look. He saw the disembodied limb, which motioned him to look below him. He did, and spotted Robin down on the deck.

Robin also took the liberty of sprouting an ear on Luffy so she could hear him.

"Robin," Luffy began, "I know you're listening. And for the last time, I don't want to SEE anyone. But you can't accept that, can you?"

Robin just stood there, staring at her captain. She wanted to help him out, in whatever way she could. Luffy sighed, seeing that she won't give up.

"Fine," He stated, "I don't think you can help me, but you can try. Tomorrow. You can find me at the usual spot. "

Robin softly smiled, having finally gotten a chance. Luffy couldn't exactly see, but he knew she was smiling. It made him smile back.

He moved to get back inside the crow's nest to try and sleep. Robin also decided to call it a night, heading inside the kitchen to fetch her book.

But it won't matter what she does to help, for on that day, Luffy will no longer consider his crew his friends. The worst part? He will give up on his dreams, and everything he loves.

That fateful day... has begun as of the passing of midnight.

TO BE CONTINUED...