A/N: I updated:D Wa-hoo! Anyways, thanks goes out to all the nice people who review:3 you all get cake!

Chapter 14

"It's worth money, right?" Nami snickered evilly.

"Nami! You can't sell my gift!" Luffy pouted.

"Nobody would buy that orb from you." The old man sighed as he read the description of the orb in the book.

"And why not?" Nami questioned as Luffy continued to sulk.

"It's cursed." The old man admitted, "The affects are deadly."

"What?!" Nami and Luffy both said in unison, exchanging looks.

"You heard me, it's cursed." The old man repeated.

"For the third time," Luffy started, "YOU'RE INSANE!"

(A/N: Bold and Underlined! XD)

The old man scowled at him, "I'm tellen' youz the truth!"

"I doubt it!" Luffy huffed and crossed his arms.

Nami stared blankly down at the orb around her neck, "Cursed, huh?"

"Huh?" Luffy turned to her and made a face, "You're kidding me, right? You believe him?"

"What's there not to believe?" Nami started, "You forget where we are."

Luffy slapped his forehead, "Right, right. Sorry."

It was actually possible! After all, this Island did a lot of weird things.

"So what did it do to us?" Nami questioned as and the old man began reading the description.

"Oh dear…" The old man mumbled.

"Hm?" Luffy leaned in.

"Yes?" Nami questioned again.

"That orb around ya neck," The old man started, "It's called the orb of time."

"Orb of time?" Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds gay." Luffy yawned.

"This is serious!" The old man huffed and stomped his foot, "Youz kids have really done et' now!"

Luffy flinched.

"Just tell us what it did!" Nami crossed her arms, made a frustrated face, and tapped her foot.

"You really wanna hear et'?" The old man asked nervously, "I'm not sure youz would like et'"

"It's okay," Nami sighed deeply, "You can just tell us."

"Well, alright…" The old man faced away before he told her. He sounded really nervous and scared, nothing had ever fazed him before but now…This was bad. Luffy still seemed care free, leaning back against the wall and yawning, as if he weren't interested. He had no idea of the danger they were in. Not. A. Clue. Nami seemed very shaken though, the look of worry in her eyes was enough to stop anyone's heart. And it was that very look in her eye that made Luffy pay attention.

"Well?" Nami asked quietly. She was almost to scared to know what was coming her way.

"That orb of yours, the orb of time," The man 100 year old man cleared his thought and coughed, "It's called the orb of time because it anyone even dares to touch it, they're sent back in time, only when the orb repeats time…. Time is repeated differently. Like, here's a terrible example; you now aren't supposed to exist. Your friends don't exist, or anyone you've ever known. And that's not even the worst part. If you don't get that orb to bring time back to the way it was before, you die. And painfully at that."

The look on Nami's face was a look of terror and confusion. Now it really sounded like the man was insane. She quickly took the large book from him and read the description under the picture over and over again, in between rubbing her eyes. Maybe they were tricking her. But it was the cold truth, and she had to face it.

Tears were now streaming down her face as her grip on the book began to weaken and Luffy and the old man could only stare as she broke to bits and pieces right in front of them.

"It's…It's not true." She cried aloud, "It can't be true…"

It all seemed so impossible. Was any of this even real? Was it just a horrible dream going through her mind as she slept? She wouldn't believe it, she wouldn't believe any of it! The thought of her step sister and her friends never being there again was just too much. It wasn't real, it couldn't be, and it wouldn't be! God wouldn't do this to her.

"Nami…" Luffy placed his hand on her shoulder softly as tears continued to stream down her face. He didn't want to believe it ether. His pain was just as great as hers, but he was too stubborn to show it. He didn't want to cry in front of her. But although he used all his inner strength to keep him from showing he was sad and confused and a thousand other mixed emotions, it just wasn't enough… Not nearly enough to keep him from showing he was in unbearable pain too.

He wanted so much to prove that the old man was lying but something strong inside him told him it was fact. It told him he wasn't being fooled, and it told him all of this was yet again his fault. And it was, because if he hadn't of found that orb, if he hadn't of picked it up, if he hadn't of strung it around Namis neck none of this would be happening to them.

He collapsed onto the ground next to her. Damn it! This was just too much. Why was it so hard to keep one simple promise to protect and care for the one person he loved more than life? And now, he found himself shedding tears too. His heart ached, his head ached, and his whole body ached for some light in the darkness and out of this mess. But none was to be found. Were all of his efforts to keep her in good care just senseless? Meaningless? With out a reason? He thought so, and the sting of his guilt was enough to drive a person mad.

"N-Nami…" He whimpered, "It'll be… It'll be just fine."

He patted her back and listened to her faint words, "I'm going to die." She whispered, only making Luffy weep more. This really was too much. Luffy wasn't afraid to die; his real dream was to just be happy out in the open seas. But Nami had a dream she wanted to make reality all her life. For herself, and for her dead mother. And now, if he couldn't fix what he screwed up, she'd never be able to live to see any of it happen.

"…." Luffy opened his mouth to say something, but only a grunt came out. How desperately he wanted to tell her how much he loved her again and that he wouldn't let her die ever, not ever.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Nami repeated, trembling and shacking as she really took it all in. All of it. It was unbearable to think about all the things she'd never get to do or see. It was unbearable to think about never feeling the joy of accomplishing her life goals. And it was even more unbearable to know that unless they did something and quick, it'd be the end of absolutely everything, including her relationship with Luffy. The relationship she'd cherished since day one, and that no one could ever pull apart.

But death was just about to, and there was hardly a thing she could do about it. Even if they were to try and save themselves, they wouldn't even know where to start, none the less what to do. It was hopeless, utterly and incredibly hopeless.

"I…" Luffy started and tried his hardest to finish without stuttering or giving up, "I'll never let you die." He said, than took a deep breath and cleared his thought, "I'll try my very hardest and I will save us both. I swear it."

The next thing he knew Nami had lunged herself at him and into his arms as tears fell continuously. There was so much force in it he nearly fell over completely. He was a little stunned at first, but then returned the embrace by wrapping his arm tightly and oh so tenderly around her. He loved the way she fit perfectly in his arms, and he never wanted to let go.

But the whole thing was cut short by the old man, who had suddenly continued with the information.

"The orb changes colors," He started, catching the attention of the sobbing couple, "One for every day you have left. There are 7 colors total. If you don't find a way to bring time back to its normal state by the end of the last day on the last color, then you die. The orb starts on a moonlit purple, then goes to a disgusting shade of green, followed by a bright pink, then a hazy blue, then a gruesome shade of red, and then pail grey, and ends with a freighting pitch black."

Both Nami and Luffy looked at the orb Nami had left sitting on the table.

Bright pink.

Nami trembled; 4 days left to figure this all out and save their sorry buts. Ether that or, 4 days left to live.

They had a choice to make; ether spend the next four precious days together giving life all they had left, or trying to fix this thing and possibly wasting all the time they had left in an attempt to free themselves.

TO BE CONTINUED!

A/N: Eh, not as long as I thought it would be, sorry about that. But I updated quicker than normal! That's a definite plus! I hope you enjoyed it, and review if you have the time please! Thanks:D