*deep breath* Okay, here we go. This is a big chapter (and not just in length, though it is the longest so far). Thank you to everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed! c:

Chapter 10 - Treasure

Up, down, scrape…up, down, scrape…Luffy felt as if his entire world had been reduced to the patch of earth in front of him. He had stopped a few times to rest in the beginning, but his strength was so far gone now that if he relaxed, if he lost his focus for even an instant, he knew he wouldn't be able to continue. His hands were rubbed raw and bleeding, his entire body trembling with fatigue, but his fiery determination wouldn't let him quit.

Up, down, scrape…up, down, scrape…up, down…thunk. The branch abruptly made contact with something solid, and the impact sent his makeshift shovel tumbling from his hands. Luffy thrust his numb, aching fingers into the hole and scraped at the dirt around the object. A few minutes later, he had it out.

It was a small square box. The design was plain but elegant, and it looked old. It was firmly shut, but there was no lock, and Luffy pried it open with shaking hands. Inside were two items – a folded note, and an object wrapped in soft cloth. Luffy's eyes fixed on the note. There was a name written on it. His name. Slowly, he reached out and took it. Even preserved in the box as it had been, the paper was nearly falling to pieces, and Luffy tried to control the trembling in his limbs as he gently unfolded it. The bright moonlight was just sufficient to see the faded writing, and Luffy began to read.

Luffy,

If you're reading this I guess you finally came back. Took you long enough, idiot. Thought I'd leave this in case you have trouble finding me. Things are going to be changing for me soon, I think. But I gave you my word, Luffy, and I won't let you down. Whatever happens, however long it takes, I'll be here.

The things in this box are a treasure of mine. I know you understand the importance of that word. They're small, but they've seen a lot. Holding them now, I can feel the memories. Will you, I wonder? You left one of your treasures with me, and now I'm returning the favor. Take care of them for me. Maybe you'll give them back someday.

Tears splashed onto the page as Luffy came to the end of the message. There was no signature. What was all this? He couldn't be the same Luffy this had been addressed to; it was impossible! And yet he knew it was meant for him. Why didn't he remember any of this? How could something this big be forgotten? His eyes moved to the bundle of cloth. Memories. Setting the note carefully aside, he reached out and picked up the small package. The tinkle of metal came from inside as he held it in front of him. Slowly, he began to unwind the wrapping.

The last fold of cloth fell away, and the moonlight reflected off the surface of three small metallic objects. Earrings, Luffy decided after a moment's examination. He thought they were gold, though in the silvery light it was hard to be certain. He said these had memories in them. He slowly tipped the cloth, and the earrings fell into his hand with a soft clinking sound.

As the last one touched his skin, a sudden shudder ran through him. One fist clenched tightly around the gold as his hands flew to his head. His eyes were stretched wide, gaze darting around the clearing but taking in none of it. He felt more than saw a great wall in his mind, one he hadn't even known was there, and sensed the cracks forming in it, spreading swiftly along its length. A hoarse scream tore from his throat as he doubled over. And then the wall crumbled to dust. As his body went limp, Luffy felt his mind pulled away, dragged back to another time, another place…

"Another world?" Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy leaned forward excitedly. "There's really a whole other world separate from this one? And we can get there?"

"That's what we heard," Nami said. "It's supposed to be pretty different from ours."

"All right, let's go!"

"Hold on, Luffy," Usopp said. "I know how you are about adventures, but maybe we should think this one through a little more. It might be dangerous! We don't even know what we'd have to do to get there."

Luffy pouted. "But I wanna see it!"

"We made it all the way through the Grand Line," Zoro spoke up from the corner of the room. "You could say that a new world would be the logical next step."

"If the captain wants to go, we've got no choice," Sanji said. "Who knows how much trouble this idiot would get into without us."

"It would certainly be interesting," Robin said. "An entire world of unknown history, waiting to be discovered..."

In the end, any objections were overruled, and they set off to meet the man who claimed he could open a portal that would lead them out of the world they knew and into a new one.

"You should be careful," he said. "This world doesn't have the sort of things you're used to. Magic and the supernatural exist only in a few scattered places. The people there haven't seen strange powers like the devil fruit, and they might not be so accepting. It would be best not to stand out too much."

"You don't know Luffy," Nami said with a fond sigh of exasperation. "He draws attention wherever he goes, even if he's trying to be quiet."

"Especially if he's trying to be quiet," Sanji muttered.

The man shrugged. "It was simply a suggestion. Whether or not you listen is up to you." His face grew more serious. "This, however, is not. The passage between worlds requires life energy to maintain it. Once you pass through, one of your crew will need to remain within ten kilometers of the portal, or it will close permanently and you will be unable to return."

"We…we have to leave someone behind?" Chopper looked on the edge of tears already.

"Hey," said Franky. "When you say it requires life…what's this going to do to whoever stays? They gonna be okay?"

"Oh yes," the man assured them. "They will simply function as a link between our world and the new one, along with the ship."

"Wait, we have to leave the ship, too?" Nami was startled.

"Your ship will carry the activation sequence for the portal. While you could take it with you, I suppose, it would be most unwise. If the mechanism were to be damaged in your travels, you would have no way back."

"I understand." Luffy's face was unusually solemn. Leaving the Sunny behind, as well as a member of the crew, was not an easy sacrifice. But he'd made up his mind to see this other world, and he wouldn't just quit now that they'd come this far. "Old man, we gotta talk about this. We'll be back."

The discussion had been brief.

"Let's just forget this, Luffy!" Usopp's voice was pleading. "This other world doesn't sound like fun to me. Is this really such a big deal that you'd leave one of us behind? And Sunny, too?"

Luffy frowned. "I don't want to leave anybody," he said. "But…I've decided to see this place. So we're going. And then we'll come back, all of us."

Usopp's shoulders slumped in defeat. He'd known Luffy wouldn't give up on the trip just like that, once the scientist had assured them that the one holding the link wouldn't be hurt by it. "Then…then I'll stay with Sunny!" he said loudly. "I, the Great Captain Usopp, will bravely protect our way home."

"Not happening," Nami told him. "We don't know what the land where we come out will be like. There might be trouble. Whoever stays will have to keep the ship safe as well, and we don't need you running at the first sign of trouble and breaking the link!"

"I wouldn't do that!" Usopp said, offended. "I'm a brave warrior of the sea, remember? Warriors don't run from danger!"

"No offense, Usopp, but I don't feel like betting all our lives on your newly-acquired sense of courage," came Nami's flat reply.

"Yohohoho! Perhaps I should perform this task," Brook offered. "I am experienced in guarding lonely ships, after all." There was a faint hint of sadness in the skeleton's voice, though he hid it well.

"No way we'd ask you to go through something like that again, bro," Franky told him, and the rest of the crew added their agreement. Brook backed down without further protest, and everyone could see the relief written on his face, even without the facial expressions to show it.

With a sigh, Zoro spoke up. "I'll do it. It's got to be someone strong, right? A break from all the craziness Luffy gets up to might not be so bad. I can keep the ship safe, no problem."

"Zoro…" Luffy could hardly imagine going on such a big adventure without the swordsman; he'd been with him from the beginning, stuck with him through everything they'd faced as a crew.

"You want to go, right, Luffy?" Zoro looked at his captain. "I'll make sure Sunny and the way home are waiting when you come back. I can join you on the next adventure."

There wasn't much more to say after that. Sanji half-heartedly attempted to take his place – no doubt hoping that Nami and Robin would be impressed by his selflessness – but Zoro roughly pointed out that the crew would need a cook – however crappy – and that staying could possibly mean years with little or no company – including the female kind. Sanji quickly backed down, and no one else tried to argue.

It took a week for the Thousand Sunny to be prepared to make the trip. They were all secretly glad for the extra time together. Even Luffy, as much as he wanted to explore the other world, was in no hurry to say goodbye to Zoro. The scientist had kicked them off the ship for the week, saying that he couldn't complete the preparations with them traipsing around the deck all day. So they treated the time as a mini-vacation, exploring forests, beaches, and the island's small city, sticking together as much as possible. Zoro and Sanji fought more than usual, which Nami said was their way of saying goodbye.

Finally the day of departure arrived, and the scientist led them to their ship. They all stared at the strange black markings and delicate-looking crystals and instruments that covered a large portion of the deck. Franky seemed to be twitching slightly, and the others could tell the cyborg would like nothing more than to remove the clutter and return his precious creation to normal.

The scientist took them through a brief explanation of how the array worked and what they could expect during the trip through the portal. Nami and Robin listened carefully. The others tried, but it didn't take long before Luffy became bored and went to examine the array, and they were soon occupied with ensuring their captain didn't break anything.

The ship was moved to a set of coordinates just off the island, the scientist following them in his large boat that contained the main equipment for opening the portal. Zoro had been directed to stand at a certain spot inside the array, with instructions not to step away until they passed through the other side of the portal. As the scientist began activating the machinery, he called out to the Straw Hats.

"Last chance to change your mind!"

"Just hurry up and zap us or whatever, old man!" Luffy shouted back. "I want to go already!"

"You heard the captain," Sanji said. "Let's get this over with."

The man chuckled. "Good luck then, Straw Hat Luffy." And with a grin, he fired. The beam hit the array on Sunny's deck, which sprang to life, the markings and crystals lighting up the ship. The light grew brighter and brighter, and just when the crew thought they would no longer be able to look, it coalesced into a beam of its own, shooting forward to a spot a short distance in front of the ship. At first, it seemed the beam was simply disappearing into nothing, but slowly, a dark patch became visible. The spot grew until it was almost twice the size of the Sunny. The crew couldn't see anything on the other side, just darkness and swirling mist.

The beam abruptly cut off. "Get going, then!" the scientist shouted. "It'll start to close now, you don't have much time!"

The crew sprang into action, guiding the ship forward towards the portal. "Thanks, old man!" Luffy called out, just before they entered the swirling darkness. "We'll tell you all about it when we get back!"

Afterwards, no one could have said how long they were inside the portal. Silvery mist was all around them, hiding the deeper darkness beyond. Occasionally there were strange flashes of color, gone before they could get a real look at them. The air was cold, yet their bodies tingled with an almost electric excitement.

It felt like they'd always been here, in this strange in-between place; yet when a glimmer of light appeared in front of them, their first thought was surprise that they'd come to the exit so soon. The light quickly grew larger, resolving into a shimmering door of space, and the Sunny burst through. While there had been barely a whisper from the portal as they left their world, this side let them out with a massive shockwave that knocked most of the crew off their feet. Slowly they righted themselves and looked around, getting their first view of another world.

At first glance it seemed little different from their own. The Sunny had arrived in a small bay, and past the sandy shore they could see soft green fields and lush forests. In the distance, there were several tall hills that looked as if they would quite like to be mountains when they grew up. The weather was warm and pleasant, a soft breeze keeping the air just cool enough to be comfortable.

Luffy ran for the side of the ship. "Wow, so cool! Nami, get us closer!"

"Yes, yes, I know," she said, already directing the others to assist with bringing the ship closer to the shore. Zoro grumpily asked if he was allowed to move yet. "It should be fine," Nami told him. "We've made it through now, right? Make yourself useful and lower the anchor."

After the Sunny was secured, the crew headed to shore to join Luffy – who had rocketed to land the moment they were within range – and set off to explore the island. They kept a close eye on Zoro. They couldn't afford for him to get lost and wander outside the ten kilometer safe zone. Surprisingly, their concern was unnecessary – Zoro seemed to sense when he was approaching the limit, and they concluded that it was a result of the process that had connected him to the portal. This still gave him access to a fair bit of the island. They explored as much of it as they could with his company, and told him all about the parts of it he was unable to join them for.

The trees were strong and plentiful, if not quite up to the standards of the Sunny's Adam Wood, and soon Franky was hard at work on the ship that would carry them through this new world. He had had to be less ambitious with this one. Upon visiting the island's small village, they had learned that cola was unheard of in this world – or at least on this island. Until the cyborg found another substance to use for power, they would have to conserve their remaining supplies of the stuff – and that meant no elaborate cannons or other machinery. Still, it was Franky, and the new ship would no doubt have a few surprises in store for them regardless.

They delayed their departure as long as possible, exploring every last inch of the island and taking longer than was strictly necessary to restock supplies and make sure the new ship was as ready as she could be, until one day Zoro finally lost his patience.

"Would you idiots get going?" he growled at them. "I'm already getting tired of this place and you've only explored one island! Hurry up and leave so I can have some peace and quiet and we can go home sooner."

And so the Straw Hats set off the next day. Chopper and Franky were in tears, and even Luffy's eyes were a bit wet, though the rising excitement mounting inside him had a broad grin popping onto his face as well. He managed, with difficulty, to adopt a reasonably solemn expression as he pulled Zoro aside, just before they left.

"Here," the captain said, and deposited his precious straw hat into Zoro's confused hands.

"Luffy…what are you doing?" Zoro asked.

"I want you to look after my treasure for me," Luffy said. "It…needs to stay here." He wasn't entirely sure himself why this was so, but something told him not to take it with him, and Luffy had long ago learned to listen to his instincts. "You know I'll come back for it, so keep it safe till then, 'kay?"

A somewhat puzzled Zoro had nevertheless accepted the charge, assuring Luffy that it would be waiting upon his return, and the rest of the crew boarded the new ship and prepared to sail.

"SEE YOU, ZORO!" luffy called as they moved off across the water, a grin once again stretching his face. "Take care of the ship! We'll come back soon, I promise!"

We couldn't keep that promise, Luffy thought miserably, his body still shuddering with the shock of remembering. The old man was right. Things like devil fruit or Haki…they're not meant to be in this world. This world doesn't like stuff that doesn't fit its view of 'normal'. They had learned that the hard way, and paid the ultimate price for it.

At first things seemed to be going well – the scenery was beautiful, the sailing smooth, and the people friendly enough. Until they had caught sight of the more unusual-looking Straw Hats. They were nervous around Chopper, his cute and harmless appearance warring with their fear of the unnatural. Franky simply terrified them – the technology level of this world was several centuries behind the one the crew had left, and the cyborg's metal parts were something they could not understand. Brook, perhaps, had it worst. He was viewed instantly as a demon, and in the process of defending him, the crew's devil fruit powers had been revealed. They had had little choice but to leave after that, hoping to find a friendlier port at their next stop.

But things were the same almost everywhere they went, and as time went on, they discovered the problem was worse than they'd thought. Not just the people, but the land itself seemed to be turning against their unnaturalness. Four months into their journey, Luffy noticed that his arms were a little harder to stretch than usual, his stomach slightly more reluctant to expand to accommodate his large meals. And he wasn't the only one. Within a few weeks, Robin could barely bloom more than a few arms, Chopper was unable to assume more than his three usual forms – and those only with great difficulty – and Brook seemed listless, as if all his energy was being sapped. The members of the crew who could use Haki found their control slipping, their range and power greatly diminished. It was obvious to everyone – their powers were dying.

They determined that the only thing which might reverse the process was to return to their own world. Luffy was reluctant to abandon the journey when there was so much more world out there to explore, but the safety of his friends came first, always. He gave the order to turn back.

Even with the most direct route possible, the crew was worried they would not make it to the island in time. Their strength was failing fast now, and rumors had started to circulate of a ship carrying a crew of monsters. Anyone who suspected who they were attacked, and it became harder and harder to resupply.

One day they stopped at a small island that was uninhabited save for a tiny village on the east shore. Within a few hours of landing, the crew began to feel a little better, especially those with devil fruit powers. There was a sense of magic in the air, and it felt more like home than any place they'd been since coming here, besides the island where Zoro and Sunny waited. Robin remembered what the scientist had said about the supernatural only existing in a few places in this world, and concluded that this must be one of them. The locals were wary, but did not possess the same fear and hatred they had encountered in others.

They could not remain for long, however. The island's food sources were limited, and even Luffy's reduced appetite would do serious damage to the village's supply. And the longer they stayed in one place, the more likely they would be found by one of the many ships now actively trying to hunt them down. So after only three days, they set sail, hoping they would make it in time, hoping they would find another place with magic along the way to gain a little more strength.

But we didn't. We got weaker and weaker…and then they found us. There were so many ships, and we tried, we fought as hard as we could, but we were so weak! They were everywhere…there was so much blood…I couldn't stop them!

We...died. Luffy shivered and bit back a scream as the last minutes of his crew, of himself, replayed in his mind. All of us. We were coming back, we were so close! But we died. Everyone…I'm so sorry. If I hadn't… He dragged himself to a kneeling position, his breathing harsh with misery and choked sobs. His hands twitched, and he looked down. Dazedly, he opened his fist and stared at the three golden earrings; Zoro's earrings. …Zoro! His eyes flew wide as his mind at last began to put the pieces together. The ghost ship is Sunny! He thought. It's still there. And Zoro is too, somehow. How many years has it been? How many centuries?

Luffy lurched to his feet, swaying and shaking but with a desperate fire in his eyes. I have to find him, he thought as he tried to orient himself towards the bay. Now. I'm coming, Zoro. At last, I'm coming.

Luffy ran, shoving his way through trees and bushes and paying little attention to his exhausted body and gasping breaths. Please, let the mist still be there! He begged silently. It has to be there, I have to make it in time…hurry up, legs!

At last he broke through the edge of the vegetation, throwing himself towards the shore as his eyes frantically scanned the water. The mist was thin, very thin, but it would be enough – it had to be enough! His feet hit sand, then water as Luffy waded in, drawing as much breath as he was able.

"ZORO!" he called, voice echoing across the water. "Zoro! Where are you? Answer me!" Only waves and the echoes of his own cry met his ears. Moonlight glittered from the patches of water visible through the mist. The bay water was cold against his legs, and he shivered.

"ZORO!" The end of Luffy's scream was punctuated by a cough, but he plowed on. "Answer me! I know you're there!" He coughed again, staggering in the water. "I know you now, Zoro. I remember you! I remember everything!" Tears fell freely from his face as he wheezed in another breath. "I'm sorry, Zoro. We promised to come back, and we didn't, and I'm so sorry—" Another fit of coughing forced him to break off, and he struggled to draw breath to continue.

"I never wanted you to be alone for so long! I'm sorry for forgetting, for not coming back! For not remembering you before…I'm sorry, Zoro!" Luffy dropped to his knees with a splash as his legs finally gave out. "Please…please answer me. I need to see you, I have to talk to you! I have so much to say to you, so please, please, just answer me, you bastard! Zoro!" The coughs were near constant now, his breaths coming in frantic gasps around his chattering teeth, but he continued calling to Zoro as loudly as his weakening body would let him. He felt dizzy, his vision growing black at the edges. No! he thought desperately. I can't pass out, not now! Not before… But it was no use. A final call of Zoro's name, more a soft gasp than anything approaching a shout, and he was slumping, heading face-first into the water.

And then hands caught him, strong arms pulling him back and lifting him into the air. Luffy couldn't move, and his eyes refused to open no matter how much he pleaded with them, but even so, he knew those arms. Just before he succumbed to the darkness, he heard a deep grumble in his ear.

"You never change, do you?" Zoro's voice was full of fond exasperation. "Even without the damn fruit, I still end up fishing you out of the drink."

So! *claps hands* That's a good bit of the mystery revealed. c: This chapter was so tricky, haha. It was difficult to think up an explanation that was even halfway plausible for why people as strong as Luffy and co. would die in this world, keeping in mind that: 1.) There are no devil fruit or other abilities, therefore no super-powered enemies that could realistically take them all down; 2.) The technology, in most respects, was far below the world of One Piece – think 1600-1700s, approximately – so I couldn't have them defeated by superior weapons; 3.) This is supposed to be set after the Straw Hats have all achieved their dreams – therefore, I couldn't have them get some strange disease, because Chopper = doctor that can cure any disease (I suppose I could have cheated a bit, using the excuse that this was an entirely different world and the diseases would be different from anything he knew, but I didn't want to do that to him). Anyway, this was what I came up with in the end. Hopefully it works well enough?

The last scene (and the last line, in particular) was something I had in my head almost from the time I came up with this story, and I was really excited to finally write it.

I know some of you were expecting the straw hat to be buried in the clearing. I agree that would have made sense, and to be honest I did have it written that way for a while, but I ended up changing it for a few reasons.

Firstly, preservation. Straw generally isn't something that lasts for hundreds of years. No matter how secure the box was, there's no guarantee it would stay safe. The seal could be defective, the box could be damaged in an earthquake or other event, and so on. If anything happened to make the box no longer airtight (assuming it was to begin with), I'm betting the hat would fall to pieces fairly quickly. At the very least, it'd probably be a bit moldy and/or worm/insect-damaged. And in spite of Luffy's thoughts last chapter about not finding the clearing again, it does have a physical location in the forest, so it's not impossible that someone could have found the box before him. I just can't picture Zoro taking those kinds of risks with the treasure his captain asked him to keep safe.

Secondly, a lot of people believe jewelry (all kinds of items, actually, but I've seen metal and jewelry in particular) can hold emotions, energy, even memories from the previous wearer. So it made sense to me to have Zoro's earrings be a sort of psychic trigger to help Luffy remember. If Luffy had a piece of jewelry of his own, I'd probably have used that. As far as I know, he doesn't, so Zoro's was the next best thing. Also, the earrings would kind of serve as a link back to Zoro, if Luffy couldn't find him.

Finally, having a smaller item worked better for me, story-wise. And poor Luffy had a hard enough time digging up a small box – he didn't need to kill himself trying to unearth one big enough to hold a hat!

The hat will be making an appearance soon, however, don't worry!

Thanks for reading! Chapter 11 will be up on the 31st (and yes, I timed it that way on purpose, hehe).