Willoffire123: Sigh, I wish Zoro would come back…life is no fun without him.
Usopp: But you're the one who made him sick.
Willoffire123: I did?
Usopp: Yes.
Willoffire123: Whatever. He'll be fine in no time. Where's Luffy?
Usopp: In bed. You made him sick too remember?
Willoffire123: WAAHH I'M SUCH AN IDIOT! USOPP DO THE DISCLAIMER!
Usopp: Oh great. Well, Willoffire123 doesn't own One Piece.
Willoffire123: I feel better now. You guys better save Luffy and Zoro soon. I really don't think that I can handle being stuck with Sanji for the rest of my life.
Usopp: You really are the one women he's impervious too.
Willoffire123: That's cuz I would drop him through my portable black hole every time he started acting like a lovesick idiot. He got the message quickly enough. Just when he was at the breaking point, I pointed out that I was a minor, so I was untouchable. That pretty much did it.
Usopp: You need to have a heart-to-heart discussion with Nami and Robin. It might just save us from having to put up with his perverseness for the rest of our lives.
Willoffire123: Will do. On with the chapter!
Zoro's POV
I woke up, barely able to breathe. Or maybe, I was still asleep. I couldn't tell the difference anymore. These days, all of my moments, waking and sleeping, were clouded by burning nightmares. I jolted upright in my, what was this thing I was lying on called again? My mind struggled to find an answer. I couldn't find one. It was so hot…
A smear of brown swam in and out of focus on the other side of the room. That must be Chopper.
"Ch-Chopper," I choked.
The smear of brown got closer. Now I could definitely make him out, but only because he was mere inches away from me.
"Zoro, what's wrong?" his voice echoed around somewhere in the back of my head, but it was getting so distant, my vision was clouding.
"C-can't b-breathe," I panted.
"I'm going to attach this to your face now, Zoro," came Chopper's voice, getting farther and farther away. "It's going to be alright."
A cool, blissfully soothing wave of artificial oxygen swirled through my dry, empty lungs. Somewhere off in the distance, I heard a loud, retching noise. That must be Luffy.
"L-Luffy…"I said, choking on the new, artificial oxygen now making it's way through me. This was wrong. Luffy wasn't supposed to be in this much pain; I knew that much. Luffy was supposed to be energetic, our pillar of strength that we looked up to and protected. Aided by my new-found ability to breathe again, I pushed myself up. This is very wrong. Luffy's in pain. I tried to stand up, but found that my legs wouldn't make the move. My head felt so heavy, and it was so cold outside the warmth of my blankets. This simple excursion outside the protection of the blankets left me completely exhausted. I wanted to lie back down again, but intense pain twisted around my insides. I felt something creeping up my throat, so I ripped off the one thing that was providing me with that much-needed oxygen, and vomited the meager contents of my stomach onto the floor next to me. I got really dizzy again. The image of Chopper feeding something to Luffy blurred.
"Chopper," I slurred, the world around me fading to black. "Please, save him…"
Chopper's POV
Just as I finished hooking Zoro up to an oxygen tank, and let myself relax for one second, Luffy started vomiting the contents of what little food he's actually eaten in the past day, which included today's dose of medicine, and his blood all over the bed spread, completely jump-starting my anxiety again.
"Easy Luffy," I said as soothingly as possible, while wiping his face, and his upper-chest clean with a cool cloth. "You need to calm down so that you don't throw up anything else."
"A-A-Ace," he murmured feverishly. "When did you get so tiny?"
"Maybe I shrank," I joked. If he was seeing Ace right now instead of me, than the hallucinations had already started. At least the Morphine seems to be working it's magic.
"Luffy, do you think you could drink this for me?" I asked, holding up a cup of lukewarm water.
Luffy opened his mouth obediently, and I slowly tipped the contents of the cup into his mouth.
"Good job. I need you to drink this too, then you can go back to sleep. Okay?" I asked, holding up another cup.
Luffy still had his mouth open, so I tipped the medicine into his open mouth. He took it without complaint.
"Th-thanks, Chopper," he slurred. "Wh-where did Ace go?"
"He went out exploring," I said. "He'll probably be back later."
"Oh…" he said. He started to shiver.
"Here you go Luffy," I said, tucking the blankets up to his chin.
"Thanks Ch-Chopper," he slurred again. "I-I'll be fine. Go help Zoro."
I turned, and let out a gasp of horror. Zoro lay passed out, upside down on the floor, in a pool of vomit and blood.
"Zoro!" I exclaimed. I switched to heavy point so as to pick up Zoro without any problems, and put my ear to his chest.
"He's still not breathing on his own," I said. "This is bad. I don't know how long he's had the oxygen mask off his face."
Acting as quickly as possible, I ditched the oxygen mask that I had been using before, and stuck two small, thin tubes up Zoro's nose, and turned on the flow of oxygen.
"There. That form will make sure that Zoro's still breathing, while I can wash the oxygen mask out, clean the floor, and give Zoro a bath. Or at least a wet washcloth," I said, eyeing the yellow and red pool of vomit.
"Hang in there you guys," I said aloud. "The others will be back soon with the information we need to make you healthy again."
"Nami, Sanji, everyone, these two need me right now. I'm coming to the Moon Queen's temple of course. But for now, I leave the rest to you."
MEANWHILE, WITH GROUP 1
Usopp's POV
"Slow down Sanji! I can't climb that fast!" I puffed.
Sanji jumped, and landed on a ledge 50 meters away from me. "Figure out how to climb faster," he snapped. "You're slowing me down."
"Hey, mountain climbing at top speeds is for the Monster Trio. I can't climb as fast as you guys; I'm only human." I complained, having heaved myself onto the ledge that Sanji was standing on.
"If we don't get to that village soon, the Monster Trio won't be around to beat you at mountain climbing," he said impatiently. "The Demon Twins don't have much time left."
I sighed. "You're right. Sorry about that."
Sanji's glare softened. "No, it's my fault for shouting. I know what it's like to watch somebody dying right in front of you. I nearly lost Old Man Zeff when I was little. We both survived because of a stroke of sheer luck. Considering the Star Girl's curse, I don't think luck's going to hit us this time. That's why we need to save Luffy and Zoro ourselves."
"I know," I said. "We will save them. Don't worry," I added with a grin. I pointed at a solid wall of iron, stretching above the trees. "I think we've found our village."
Sanji reached the Village Gate first, and knocked on the wall.
"Hello!" I called, vaguely hoping that someone would answer.
"Who's there?" A voice called down from the top of the wall.
"Tourists. Can we come in?" Sanji called up the wall.
"You have to answer this riddle first," said the voice. "It's compulsory for all foreigners to prove that they have the brains necessary to visit Astral City."
"Fine," I said before Sanji had a chance to protest. "Give us the riddle."
"What is something that belongs to you, but others use it more than you do?" asked the voice.
"The fridge," Sanji said immediately. I slapped a hand over his mouth.
"That wasn't his answer!" I said hastily.
"Listen Sanji, the fridge is something that only applies to you. Riddles generally apply to mankind in general," I hissed.
"Your name," he said.
"Come on Sanji, think for real. There's no way…" I trailed off. Sanji gazed at me blankly.
"SANJI YOU'RE A GENIUS!" I shouted. The answer was your name. It made perfect sense. What didn't make sense was that it came from a partial idiot.
"The answer is your name!" I shouted up to the guard on top of the wall.
"Well done. You may pass," said the guard. There came the loud sound of grinding metal, the gate shuddered, and opened onto a brightly colored street.
"Thanks!" I called back to the guard as we entered the northern side of Astral City.
"What now?" I asked, staring in amazement at the street in front of me. It was as if we had stepped into the Renaissance Era. All of the villagers were dressed in different colored robes. The buildings, as opposed to those of Paradise Island, were all the same, wooden color. It was the merchandise displayed in the windowsills that added color to the little shops.
"Isn't it obvious," said Sanji. He darted in the opposite direction. "We go look for a bar!"
"Right, but we should stick together…HEY!" I shouted, running after him. He wasn't looking for information. He was chasing a girl in hot pink robes.
"Sanji! If you don't follow the plan, Nami's going to be disappointed!" I shouted after him. He froze in mid-jog.
"A noble sacrifice," he said dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. "But for my Nami, I would obey her commands till the end of the earth!"
"What happened to not wanting to see Luffy and Zoro die?" I asked exasperatedly.
"Lookout!" shouted a voice from behind us. I turned just in time to see a wagon mere inches away from crashing into us. I felt a hand grab the collar of my shirt, then the ground disappeared from underneath me, only to be replaced by the roof of the nearest house. Moments later, Sanji appeared next to me.
"Geez, I can't leave you guys alone for a second. I leave Paradise Island and two weeks later, you're already getting into trouble again," said the guy leaning against the ledge of the roof.
"Ace!" said Sanji.
Portgaz D. Ace pushed up the brim of his hat with a finger, making his eyes visible, and grinned. "I'm back."
MEANWHILE, WITH GROUP 2
Nami's POV
"You call that a deal?" I asked exasperatedly. "Take 50% off."
The stall owner threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine! Take your food and get out of here!"
I tossed the money on the counter. "Will do! But first, can you tell me anything about the Temple of the Queen of the Moon?"
"Well sure," he said, his angry face melting. "This village was built because of the legend. Tourists ask about the temple all the time. It's a great place to go sight-seeing."
I put an elbow on the counter. "Here's the thing. My friends and I aren't tourists. We're pirates. Care to help us out?"
The shop keeper's face showed a glimpse of sympathy. He handed me a folded, yellowing piece of paper. "Here, you'll need this. It's a detailed map of the inside of the temple. Go to the statue at the eastern outskirts of town at 8 PM. I'll send a friend out there to give you directions to the temple. How many of you have been affected?"
"Two," I said, surprised that he knew so much.
"Then it hasn't spread through your whole crew yet," he said, nodding. "I can tell that you and your friends are strong. You wouldn't be risking your lives to save your captain and his first mate if you weren't. Good luck."
I gathered up the bags of fresh produce, and tucked the map into my jean jacket's pocket, next to the bag of darkness powder. "Thanks old man!"
I turned, and headed up the street to find Robin, who was immersed in deep conversation with a shriveled old lady, and Franky, who was examining some scraps of metal in the shop behind her.
"We'll need it."
Willoffire123: I only have one thing to say before I leave. The third book in the newest Percy Jackson series 'The Mark of Athena' comes out tomorrow. Go buy it. That is all.
Percy Jackson: Until next time!