Thanks you as always to my betas: Deathgod777 & Kenau

Dark Truth
Chapter 11: Endurance

The silence on deck was suffocating. It was as though the revelation of the truth had made such an impact, caused such damage, that time itself had stopped. Nobody moved or said a word. Nobody dared utter a whisper lest it make this horrible moment reality. Sunny's boards creaked softly as the ship rocked gently with the rolling waves, though it all sounded deafening in the oppressive silence. It almost sounded as though the ship itself were crying for its crew.

"Shit!" Zoro cursed as he dropped his head into his own waiting hands, frustrated fingers clawing at his cropped green hair. His whole body trembled with a dangerous, bottled rage directed at the ghost, himself – at the damn universe! – for letting this happen. How could he have been so weak as to allow someone to control him!? To use him to hurt Luffy.

Sanji snatched a cigarette from his shirt pocket and stood on shaky legs. Without a word he departed from the group, long legs making quick strides to the other end of the ship. There he lit the cigarette and pressed it to his pale lips, trying not to think about all the marks he'd seen on Luffy's body. He'd sported similar bruises himself as a child on the receiving end of Zeff's kicks. He should have known! He'd seen that kind of injury on his own body countless times! Why hadn't he recognised it on Luffy!?

Nami sobbed as tears flooded through her fingers that covered her face. She shook her head in denial, refusing to believe what she'd heard. There was no way! None of them would ever do anything like that to Luffy! Chopper seemed too stricken by the revelation to comprehend the implication at all. His brow furrowed, jaw slack as he gazed across at Luffy. He was a doctor... a healer! How could he accept responsibility for the gross state of Luffy's battered body?

"How the hell could we let this happen?" Usopp whispered tremulously, head bowed. "He's my best friend...! H-How...?"

"It wasn't your fault." Ace replied, though he doubted Usopp expected an answer.

"I won't accept that, damn it!" Zoro roared as he slammed his fist against the deck, splintering the wood. Franky's eyes wandered to the damage, though he didn't utter a complaint at the abuse to his precious creation. Zoro pulled his fist from the snapped wood with a curse and glared back at the cyborg, daring him to say something. Franky didn't take the bait. Robin silently applauded him and watched her crewmates with a calm detachment. She had had all day to accept this information; though she could understand how they felt, each person dealt with bad news in their own way and right now Zoro was as volatile as a bomb.

The swordsman turned his attention back to Ace only to find the freckled man watching him cautiously. Zoro turned his head away angrily. Ace's dark eyes pissed him off! The confidence shining in them mirrored Luffy's, a confident and mischievous sparkle he hadn't seen in too long.

"That's no fucking excuse!" Zoro shouted at Ace, teeth bared in a snarl. "How could this have happened!?"

Nobody answered him as the truth seeped into their bodies bone deep. They had hurt Luffy; they had tortured their captain. They were the ones who made him like this.

Luffy stayed still, the rise and fall of his chest the only movement from his body. His eyes bore unwavering into those of his captor as he raised his chin ever so slightly, defiantly. The blade against his throat shifted against his tanned skin in response until a thin line of blood dribbled from the light wound it made. His captor's lips lifted in amusement at the ease of which Luffy's skin split under the sharpened blade and the hand across his mouth was removed as more shadows entered the room. Luffy looked from one to the next, his expression still calm, though his eyes shone with a quiet confusion and anger.

"What have you done to my nakama?" he asked suddenly, no longer gagged by the rough hand over his mouth. His voice was low, laced with anger and warning.

"What are you talking about, Captain?" one of the new shadows spoke, voice low and menacing. "We are your nakama."

The rough scratch of a scraping match sounded before it ignited and illuminated the galley. The small, flickering flame cast an eerie glow over the figures in the room. The match was lifted to an unlit cigarette held loosely in its captor's lips; the flame danced in front of the speakers face, revealing blonde locks and a wicked smirk.

"You're not my nakama." Luffy replied solidly, confidently. "My nakama are sleeping."

The group chuckled darkly, as they advanced on the young captain. The weight on his chest lifted as his captor, Zoro, stepped back to join the group as they gathered in a semicircle around the Luffy from one wall to another. They had him effectively cornered, offering no opportunity of escape.

"So now I guess we find out who's really the strongest of us all, eh, Captain?" Zoro growled out, his grip on his katana tightening in anticipation.

Again, the word 'captain' was spat out as though it were something vile and disgusting that lingered on the tongue like a bad taste. Luffy didn't offer a response as his eyes darted from one person to the next thoughtfully.

"Nothing to say, Captain?" Nami hissed out, glaring heatedly at him.

Luffy's eyes narrowed, as he opened his mouth to reply. "You're making Nami look ugly." he replied, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "And say ugly things."

Nami's face twisted in fury at the answer and her body shifted subtly, her hand reaching for her Clima-tact. Before she had a chance to make a move however, Zoro lunged forward in attack. He unsheathed his swords and thrust the blades towards Luffy's unguarded stomach. Luffy barely had time to react; he lurched backwards, his back bent at an inhuman angle as the attack sliced harmlessly above. Had that made contact, Luffy had no doubt it would have gutted him and left half his insides strewn across the floor. The rubber man didn't resist the return momentum of his body and allowed it to spring back up, clashing his forehead into Zoro's with a crack. Zoro staggered back at the attack, though more from shock than pain as the 'attack' had done little to no damage. Luffy didn't miss the opening his retaliation created and tried to slip through the gap. He didn't get far as Sanji and Chopper quickly closed the gap with a scissor attack from either side. Luffy managed to dodge the first attack from Chopper but found himself slammed back into the wall, held firmly in place with a heavy black shoe.

"You never know when to give up, do you, Captain? You'll keep on dragging us on and on, pushing us to our limits until we're all dead."

Luffy grunted under the force with which they held him against the wall and subtly flexed his chest muscles to gauge a feeling of just how much strength he'd need to exert to get them off. He had to find a way to get away from his nakama until they came to their senses. Sanji felt the subtle movement, however, and applied more pressure to his captive.

"Uncomfortable?" the chef questioned sarcastically, a wicked smirk stretching across his face.

"You're not Sanji," Luffy replied as he lifted his hands to Sanji's leg and wrapped his fingers around the chef's ankle. His own lips lifted in a cheeky smile as he continued matter-of-factly. "Sanji wouldn't call me 'captain' after I raided the kitchen."

The smirk fell from the blonde's face as he moved to pull his leg back to kick out at Luffy again. The young captain held the leg firmly though, calm eyes locked with Sanji's in challenge. The chef sneered back at the cocky boy and in a fluid motion only Sanji's body would permit he kicked up with his other leg, thrusting it towards Luffy's head. The attack barely missed as Luffy craned his neck to the side in a motion that would have broken a normal man's neck. The heel of Sanji's shoe brushed by Luffy's ear so fast it left it ringing.

Luffy took another chance at freedom as he pushed Sanji back, still holding onto his leg which caused the surprised chef to hop backwards to stay upright and successfully cleared a path in the human wall that was his nakama. For the briefest moment Luffy felt a swelling of hope in his chest. He wouldn't have to harm his crew if he could outrun them. His hopes were quickly dashed however as collection of disembodied arms sprouted from his own body and swiftly immobilised him. Luffy stumbled to the ground with a grunt and pouted up at Robin.

"Not fair..." he muttered.

"Fairness has no meaning among pirates, Captain." Robin spat back.

Luffy frowned at the hatred that twisted Robin's features. It was a rare occasion to see Robin show anything other than slight annoyance or mild amusement. The look and emotion were out of place and made him feel uneasy. He squirmed against the hold she had on him but she only tightened her grip and bent his limbs in ways that would have been impossible had he not been rubber.

Usopp stepped forward then and pulled a rope from his bag. He dangled it in front of his captain with a wicked grin that held none of his usual jovial playfulness. The marksman forced it over his Luffy's head. Luffy simply stared back at his Usopp as the rope was looped around his neck in a noose. He knew he could easily stretch to stop his air supply from being cut off, but then he had a feeling they weren't going to make it as easy as that.

Zoro, Sanji and Nami stood off to the side as Chopper stepped forward with a needle in hand. A cloudy liquid sloshed thickly inside the glass as he approached. He roughly stabbed it into Luffy's neck.

"This should make things more interesting," the little reindeer chuckled darkly as he left the needle jutting from the rubber boy's neck. "A drug to heighten your senses, Captain."

Again the title was hissed out, and Luffy looked defiantly back at the people before him. Zoro approached next with a snort at Luffy's glare. He grabbed a fistful of Luffy's hair and roughly dragged him out onto the deck. The rest of the crew followed casually behind and watched with amusement as Zoro stepped over to the side of the ship and hauled Luffy's upper body over the railing, forcing him to stare down at the dark and murky waters sloshing below.

"Now, Captain," he chided, in a mock lecture. "Don't stretch, or you might end up in the water."

That was all the warning Luffy got before he was shoved over the edge. The rope quickly tightened around his neck and Luffy didn't have a chance to try and resist the motion as he neck stretched under the pressure and his body plunged into the frigid water. The arms that restrained him dissolved, powerless in the salty water but he could do nothing except hang there as his neck stretched further from the deadweight of his drained body. To his horror, the hold on the rope was suddenly released completely submerging him in the water. He sank steadily as his heart hammered in his chest and his eyes wandered around the inky blackness of the sea.

For agonising minutes he continued to sink before finally he felt tension on the rope around his neck once more and he was hauled steadily upwards. Inches from the surface he could hold his breath no longer and choked out the stale air in his lungs. His head was pulled from the waves seconds later, though once again the heavy weight of his cursed body in the water caused his neck to stretch as the cycle began again. To Luffy's horror he found he could barely suck in a breath out of the water either as his chest heaved desperately through the restrictions of the noose around his neck that cut off his air supply.

Luffy could hear the amused laughter of his crew above though his hearing dulled along with his vision as he choked for air. Finally strong fingers fisted in his hair once more and hauled him back over the railing, hoisting up his drenched body from the water as it returned to its normal position once more. Luffy gulped in the oxygen greedily.

"We don't want to kill you just yet,

Captain." Zoro stated dully.

Luffy slowly caught his breath and coughed out some sea water onto the deck. Strength slowly returned to his body though his sopping clothes didn't help in that endeavour as he shook his head defiantly and ground his teeth together.

"You are not my Nakama."

"Oh my God," Nami whispered as she shook her head in denial and hid her face behind trembling fingers that were wet with tears. "Oh God... oh God!" she wept as her stomach lurched and she dry heaved at the thought of what she'd done. "Luffy..."

Luffy's entire body trembled, though he kept his back to the crew and his brother. He clenched the splintered remains of Sunny's rail in his fisted hand as blood dribbled down his fingers from where the jagged pieces had cut his skin. He hadn't wanted this. It wasn't supposed to happen like this!

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sanji choked out, his own voice shaking with emotion. He dropped suddenly into a crouch, head bowed to his chest as though to protect himself from the unbearable truth that assaulted him. "Why didn't you fight us!?" he asked, voice rising. "You're strong enough! Damn it, Luffy, I know you're strong enough!"

Luffy didn't answer him, he couldn't even look at him. They weren't supposed to find out like this! They weren't supposed to find out at all!

"Luffy..." Chopper called, as his tears finally spilled from his eyes to soak his fur. He didn't bother to wipe them away as he hiccuped out heartbroken sobs, each of Luffy's injuries replaying in his mind. "Why?"

It was a question they all wanted answered.

Luffy gasped weakly as the rope that suspended him in the air fell slack once again. He barely had enough time to gulp in a mouthful of air before his body hit the frigid waters. His body, once again sapped of all its strength, sank like lead into the murky depths before the rope around his neck ran out of length. He struggled not to choke out the breath he was holding as his hammer-like body weighed him down and only served to tighten the bite of the rope around his neck. Finally he felt the tug of resistance as he was yanked upwards though the jolt caused Luffy to lose the breath he was holding. He knew soon he would be back on deck.

Luffy gurgled as he was pulled from the water and his body burned with the sting of shallow cuts that marred his skin from Zoro's blades. He winced half-heartedly as one particularly deep laceration throbbed along the side of his neck where the thick rope rubbed against it. That one was from Sanji. The chef had found new uses for his kitchen knives, but that only strengthened Luffy's resolve. His cook, his Sanji wouldn't do something like that. Not with his tools. Only shitty cooks did stuff like that, and even though Zoro said Sanji was a shitty cook, everybody knew he was the best. Sanji and Zoro had seemingly become best friends overnight, too. These were not his nakama.

Finally, the rope was pulled level with the railings of the ship, and Luffy weakly raised his hands, gripping at the sturdy line looped around his throat, pulling himself up to relieve the pressure on his windpipe so that he could breathe again. The crew watched, bored as the boy struggled. After a couple of seconds, Sanji leapt onto the railing and kicked out against the rope. The vibration caused Luffy to lose his weak hold on the rope as he once again fell with a yelp as his body crashed against the side of the ship. Zoro quickly set to work on hauling him up and over the railings and watched blankly as the boy slumped to the deck with a wet slop.

Luffy panted softly, eyes clenched closed as he laid on his front. He didn't want them to know how worn out his body felt and didn't want to show any signs of weakness, but his body wasn't listening. Luffy had no chance to recover as bony fingers curled around his dark hair and tightened painfully. Luffy was lifted to his feet and held aloft until his bare toes no longer touched the deck. The dark haired boy squinted an eye open only to be met with the empty gaze of his musician.

"Zoro-san, your artwork is so crude..." Brook stated blandly as his free hand traced over the numerous laceration that littered Luffy's body. Without warning he shoved Luffy back against the mast. "Perhaps I should show you how it's done? If you would, young lady..."

Robin stepped forward, arms folded across her chest as she once again activated her powers, securing Luffy to the mast. Brook unsheathed his sword and pointed it at his new captain menacingly.

"I have to say

Captain, you're not quite living up to my expectations."

Luffy clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists. This was not Brook!

Brook sat solemnly amongst the group. He was the newest nakama to join this rag-tag group and yet he already felt a fierce loyalty to the boy that led them. He looked across at Luffy silently, all humour vacant from his soul as a sense of profound failure gripped like a vice around his heart. He had already failed one crew and here he was with a second chance, letting it slip through his fleshless fingers. He didn't shed tears or display a burst of emotion like his other crewmates, but he felt it deep inside – bone deep! Ah, no, now was not a good time for a skull joke...

Franky, usually quick to blubber sat as solemn as Brook beside him. He had grown fond of his crew as they'd journeyed together and the prospect of them disbanding so soon after he'd joined them had been daunting. The mystery of just what could bring Luffy down this was had been frustrating, yet now that he knew he wished he could go back to the frustration. He wanted to apologise, to ask forgiveness of his captain. He wanted to promise Luffy that this sort of thing would never happen again. He found he didn't have the courage to do it as his numb legs refused to make the short journey to Luffy's side and he waited for another to make a move. He didn't know he could be such a coward.

Franky's head slammed into Luffy's and the rubber boy's skull bounced off the deck like a ball. He cried out in a mixture of pain and surprise as his head throbbed from the attack. His hands clutched at his throbbing cranium as Robin released him and he rolled onto his side, hissing as his sliced skin stung at the contact. He just didn't understand it! He was a rubber man! Attacks like this shouldn't hurt like this! He'd endured attacks from his crew before and it had been nothing like this! Something had to be boosting their power, and it was probably the thing that was making them do this. When they struck him, it felt almost as though he was being attacked by a physical form of the ocean itself as his body weakened on contact and his rubber body reacted like regular flesh and bone. Surely if it hurt him this much, it had to have hurt Franky too, but there he was, smirking cockily without so much as a scratch! It didn't make any sense, but then not much was making sense anymore as his head swam.

"Why won't you talk to us, Luffy?" Usopp whispered, desperately. "What did we do to you? What... what did I do to you?"

"Why won't you talk to us, Luffy?" Robin asked quietly, sadly. "We know you can, yet..." she trailed off, pain shining in her eyes. They all wanted so desperately to hear his voice again. That one utterance of pain nights before had proven to them he still had a voice. "What are you hiding, Luffy?"

Luffy didn't offer any response as he dropped the remains of the railing to the deck. He bit down hard on his tongue to resist any temptation to reply. They'd already learned too much. He couldn't hurt them anymore...

You don't want to know…

Luffy shook off the dizziness that made his vision swim and looked up just in time to see a sharp hoof inches from his face. The attack made contact and with a cry of shock and pain, he stumbled back and fell, thumping to the deck with one hand clutching his face. The boy quickly shook his head again and attempted to sit back up, but blinked in surprise as a pressure on his arm stopped him. Luffy turned his head to see what his rubber limb was trapped by just in time to see Sanji's foot connected with his face. The force sent him hurtling back until he crashed into the wall beside the galley entrance. Sanji trod his foot down harder on the rubber limb still trapped under his shoe, as he applied more pressure against the smooth rubbery skin of his captain's arm. He smirked as within a matter of seconds the rubber retraction of Luffy's body sent the young captain hurtling back towards his attacker only to receive another kick, followed by another. Time and time again, using Luffy like a ball on a spring, the cook thrust his foot against Luffy's battered body and sent him crashing into the 'Thousand Sunny', splintering her wooden walls and railings. At one point it even turned it into a game as the other crew members gave Sanji targets to see if he could make Luffy hit the mast, or the stairs, or to see how far one of the chef's kicks could make the rubber boy stretch.

Luffy endured each strike as his body screamed with the foreign pain of blunt trauma. Oddly there was no real pain as he crashed into the ship, only Sanji's actual attacks hurt. As Sanji booted him across the deck once more, Luffy tried to resist as he twisted himself upright in the air and grabbed his elbow. He shook the limb like an oversized noodle which caused it to quiver and wobble and effectively made Sanji lose his footing as he stumbled off of Luffy's arm. The rubber appendage snapped back into place and Luffy landed squarely on the deck, stumbling only slightly before he regained his balance. The boy panted warily as he watched his advancing crew. Though he'd managed a quick escape, he'd taken substantial damage and doubted he could outrun all of them, especially with Robin's devil fruit ability. In the middle of the ocean, anchored and unmoving, there was only so long he could run.

"You know you're stronger than us," Nami smirked as she strutted confidently around the younger boy. "So why don't you fight back? Be a good captain and fight us off – or are you too weak?"

"I'm not weak," Luffy replied, simply. "But I won't hurt my Nakama."

"I thought you said we weren't your Nakama?" Nami asked, mockingly.

"You're not," Luffy replied, an angry undertone lacing his voice. "But you're in their bodies."

"Stop being so heroic, Captain." Franky spat out. "You can end the pain by just defeating us."

"It would be so easy," Zoro drawled, as a smirk crossed his face. "Just finish us off and get a new crew."

Luffy's eyes darkened, as his first mate uttered those words.

"Nobody could ever replace my Nakama!" he muttered dangerously. "Ever."

"That's what they all say, but in the end all captains are the same," Chopper hissed. "All they ever care about is themselves!"

"So stop with the noble act," Sanji smirked as he knelt in front of Luffy and left himself wide open for attack. "And just get it over with."

"I'll NEVER hurt my nakama."

The sheer force in the quiet statement seemed to stun the crew for a few moments, as they stared, wide-eyed at the glaring young captain. Soon the shock wore off though, and their expressions darkened. It seemed they weren't happy at all with that response.

"Have it your way then, Captain." the blonde hissed as he stood once again. The rest of the crew closed in around them and Luffy squared his jaw, staring straight ahead blankly. He would take whatever they threw at him. He'd show them what kind of captain he was. It would be so easy just to try and fight them off, and if he really tried, he might just beat them all. Luffy had no doubts, though, that to attack his crew that way would leave them seriously damaged. He'd seen all they could endure and he knew he'd have to damn near kill them to keep them down. That was what these people wanted though. He didn't know why they wanted it, but he didn't want to give it to them, whoever they were. No, he would endure this punishment and show them what a real captain was.