Author's Note: Usually, I remember to post new music which inspires me with my writing, and I kind of forgot this time. Anyway, another song that's inspiring me right now is a song from Blackmill ft. Veela called Let It Be. :) The lyrics totally remind me of Luffy and Nami in this fic! :D Give it a listen if you're a music enthusiast like I am! :D Anyways, enjoy this chapter! :D

Possession

Chapter 21

She felt the hands on her, the pain in her shoulder from being moved jarring her awake and she began to cry out weakly in protest against her gag. The tears of terror and pain wanted to come forth, but she was so tired, drained, dehydrated, hungry and drugged out of her mind. This was it… This was really it… She had avoided this fate her whole life, but it seemed it was inevitable… She was pulled up and forced to walk. Where were they even going? Wherever it was, it seemed as if it were an eternity away. She was too exhausted to walk any further, and her legs collapsed, but she was hauled right back up forcefully.

She could hear them speaking to her, cursing her and yelling angrily at her, but she could not make out their words through the haze. She was not sure she cared to hear their words anyway… It was nothing good, of course…

She did not want to die… Why was she born the way she was if it only meant she was going to die because of it? It would not have mattered had she not done anything wrong. They would have killed her anyway… just as they had tried to do when she was just an innocent child…

She sucked in her breath weakly when her back was slammed into a post, and her blindfold was harshly pulled from her face as well as her gag. "You're going to watch as the flames claim you, and you're going to scream… We'd hate to miss that part, you witch," a voice of a man echoed within her mind, and she turned and watched as he stepped off the platform as others tied her in place.

She tried bringing some moisture into her mouth, but there was none to be had. She just closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the post. It would all be over soon. She was not ready to go… Very few tears managed to find their way out as she mourned the life she was denied. None of these people understood what she was feeling. None of them understood what she had gone through. All they saw was a monster for them to destroy, and she could hear how much they enjoyed it. They were the monsters!

Sobs raked through her body as she went limp against the post and her ties. She did not want to die this way… "Luffy…" she whispered, the image of his face once again drifting within her mind, only this time, it was the smiling face. She would give anything to see that smile one more time…

"Look at her cryin'! Pathetic! I bet she's sorry now!"

"Let the witch burn already!"

"Burn her! Set her on fire!"

Zoro's eyes narrowed as they shifted from side to side, listening to these people curse and berate her, and he shifted about on his feet anxiously. It was disgusting… His shoulders began to heave as his breathing kicked up in speed, and the more anxious he became. His eyes then once again landed on the orange haired witch. Luffy's words kept playing over and over within his mind, and damn it, he just could not sit there and let her die in this way.

"You alright, mate? You seem on edge," Law asked, just his eyes shifting over towards him.

"Just listen to them… Ignorant fools… They don't know shit… Maybe I don't either…" Zoro muttered as he looked about at everyone again.

"What?" Law asked, looking genuinely confused as he finally turned his head to him fully.

"He'd be angry… He wouldn't allow this… He didn't allow it… It's not right," Zoro muttered more, becoming more and more edgy. Even his body tensed as if it was getting ready to spring.

"Hey, listen, mate… I'm not sure at all what you're saying, but just relax. It'll all be over soon," Law said and shrugged at him, unsure of what was going on with him. Perhaps his head injury was still causing trouble for him.

Zoro watched as a man walked up to the platform with a torch, his body as tense as it could get, and then he said, calmly, "Sorry, mate… but I can't let this happen." He then suddenly sprang forward, shoving people out of his way and causing uproar.

"What the hell are you doing, mate!?" Law cried and shot forward after him, along with his men.

Nami's eyes had been staring in terror at the torch coming her way, but she instantly gasped and turned to the uproar, expecting it to be Luffy. However, she was not expecting it to be Zoro. "Zoro…" she whispered through dry, cracked lips, looking extremely confused. What was he doing?

Zoro ran headlong into the man, carrying the torch, who had halted from the disturbance. The man cried out when he hit the ground, and the torch skidded across the cobbled road into a puddle. The fire instantly sizzled out, and Zoro released a breath in relief, but he knew it was short lived. He was back on his feet; ready for the fight he knew was coming. He did his best to keep Law and his men off from him, fighting his hardest and hoping to buy them some time. He hoped with all his might that Luffy was somehow on his way there… because if he was not, they were both in serious trouble, especially the witch.

"Zoro…" Nami cried weakly as she closed her eyes in relief and gratitude, but she knew it was not enough. He was one man against an entire city. She would have never expected the man to try and help her, especially against the odds. She was very grateful to him…

Zoro fought as hard as he could, but he was greatly outnumbered, and soon he was pinned to the ground. "Wait, wait! Don't hurt him! He's just confused! He hit his head pretty hard!" Law called to the mob as he pushed his way through to get to him.

"It's not right, damn it! He wouldn't want this! You can't do this! Don't do it!" Zoro yelled over the crowd as he was hauled to his feet.

"You don't know what you're talking about, mate! Just relax!" Law said as he finally managed to reach him.

"You don't understand! If he finds out what happened here…" Zoro started, but then clamped his jaw shut, and there seemed to be actual fear within his eyes.

"If he finds out?" Law asked, beginning to frown. "Are you talking about Luffy?"

"Luffy…" Nami whispered and groaned. She did not know Zoro believed so much in Luffy. Was he going this far for Luffy then?

"What about him?" Law asked, beginning to frown, but Zoro kept his mouth shut.

"Who cares!? Let's just get on with it!"

"Yeah, let's burn the witch already! Someone light another torch!"

"You can't do this…" Zoro growled out to Law, his eyes boring into him. "Don't burn her…"

Law was unsure what this man was talking about, but from the reports he had received, this Luffy person had been described as very strong and incredibly skilled in combat. There were a lot of stories about him, almost as much as the orange haired witch. Just who was this Luffy? "I'm sorry, mate," Law said and shook his head. "I can't stop it now. It's too late… They want blood…"

"Forget about their damn want for blood!? If they want blood so damn bad," Zoro started and managed to shove the men away, who were holding him. He again reached for Law's dagger before Law could stop him, and then Zoro cut into his own hand, "then they can have mine!" He then turned and wiped his bloody hand over the closest people to him, causing several women to scream in horror.

"Whoa, what the hell, mate!?" Law exclaimed, completely startled by how agitated the man appeared.

"He's just as crazy as the witch!"

"Burn him too!"

"Yeah, burn him too! He's on the witch's side!"

"No!" Nami screamed out with what little strength she had, which shocked Zoro immensely. He quickly turned to look at her with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"Now hold on a damn minute!" Law shouted over the crowd. "We are not burning anyone else! You wanted your damn witch burning, so a damn witch is who we're gonna burn!" He then looked back to Zoro, his expression clearly showing his confusion as well as shock over this man's behavior, and the witch's for that matter, but it also held warning. He would not be able to keep the crowd off from him for much longer if he kept it up. "Listen, mate… I suggest you relax, or things are gonna get ugly," he whispered to him before clutching his shoulder and pulling him away from the crowd. "I'm sorry about the witch, I am… but there's nothing I can do about that now…"

"Luffy will," Zoro muttered, making Law frown at him more deeply.

Author's Note: Aww, Zoro! Do you believe in Luffy that much!? ;_; Or… is it something else…? Stay tuned for the next chapter, haha!