Disclaimer: you know the drill! Me no own One Piece, savvy?

Chapter 25: Yume Kado

"I see." Robin said, reading the symbols etched into the arch's sides. It was already dark when they arrived to the arch.

"Those who venture past the sun,
It's too soon to greet the moon.
Four legged beasts guide through,
flee in fear for when they're here.

Those left with the moon,
are those with no return."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Chopper asked.

"It means that we're NOT supposed to go through the arch!" Usopp said.

"Perhaps time?" Robin said.

"No." Brooke said. "I've been through something like this. It's an even that happens when you're dead, the Nai Sori or Dead Arch, is the last "door" you go through before you pass away. Thankfuly, I was able to pass it twice." Sanji grabbed the skeleton by the neck and yelled,"YOU MEAN TO SAY LUNA-CHAN'S DEAD?!"

"Hai! But I don't think this gate leads to heaven, it looks more like a portal or so!"

"Matt, I think." Luffy saked. "Why?"

"Then the two are still alive." Tsuki said, he flew through the arch and never came back.

"Get on." Sanji said, he was at the reins in the wagon. Everyone else stared at him while Chehero and Reese got on. "What are you waiting for?"

"You're going to risk your head for one girl?" Zoro snorted. "Pathetic. Like I'll help."

"I'm going." Luffy said, getting on. "If our musician is there, I'm going after them. They're nakama, incluing the shinigami. I's hoping for some action"

"I can't leave Luna there." Brooke said. "She's always a good fidler."

"Fine, count me in." Nami said. "If there's treasure, it's mine to take."

"Guess I'll have to come." Franky said.

"I can't beat them, might as well join them." Usopp sighed, he, Chopper, and Robin got on. "Oi, Zoro."

"Where's the options?" Zoro said, shrugging. "You-Know-Who's already excited."

"Thanks for all coming." Sanji said, he snapped the reins and the horses broke into a gallop.

"Now to save Luna!" Chehero yelled.

"No regrets! No regrets!" Usopp said as the wagon went faster. Chopper was clinging to Zoro's face.

"MEH MOFF MEH MOFFER!" ("Get off me Chopper!") Zoro muffled as he tried to remove the reideer from his face. The wagon went faster and faster as it went closer to the arch.

"LUNA...CHWAN!" Sanji yelled, the wagon finally went through the barrier. The horses came to a stop as they found themselves in a dark forest, it was bright, how odd. "Wasn't the otherside a bit darker?"

"Now i understand." Robin said. "Time is opposite in this place, it's day time, here." She and the rest of the crew got off the wagon. The wagon turned and the horses sped off back through the arch, never to return. They found Tsuki standing under a tree.

"Welcome, to the Yume Kado Forest!" Tsuki said.

"It looks pretty alive to be a dead forest." Nami said.

"It's looks are decieving to the still living." Tsuki smiled, he had his sythe out.Chehero was still holding Matt's hat. "I'll guide you through the forest, just becareful."

"This seems pretty." Chopper said, the forest was WAY to good to be true. "Everything's normal."

Suddenly, they came to the edge of town, there were gates and a large sign that said,"Yume Kado City." A large oak tree stood there, Luffy stared at it, realizing something was wrong as the went closer. Nami gave a wide eyed look, along with Robin and Chehero, then screamed.

"N-nami-san." Sanji said, he grabbed her and tried to calm her in a hug. "Shhhhh, it's okey."

"N-no, it's not. T-there's d-d-dead p-p-people in that t-tree, they h-hung themselves." Nami sobbed.

"I've got a math question for you." Sanji said, there were more trees with more dead people hanging in them. They made their way towards town. "I gave you 1 beli on one day, 2 on the second, and 4 on the third. If I keep doubling the money, how much would you have in a month? Stay with me, keep your eyes on me, we don't want you to run off."

"40 beli?"

"Higher."

"70 beli?"

"Nope."

"I don't know."

"You wanna know? 10,000,000 beli." Sanji smiled. (i was using American curency for that problem, yes, it's true)

They managed to make it to the town square with the still tramatized Nami, who eventually got over her shock. "That was pretty disturbing." Robin said.

"Yo hohohoho! I thought i was gonna die." Brooke panted. "Never saw them in heaven."

"So, why are we being stared at?" Zoro asked. "It doesn't feal right."

"Gomu Gomu no Fuusen!" Luffy yelled, several cannon balls and bullets were deflected from him before they can hit the crew. A cloaked kid jumped in front of them, he pattted all of them and they all turned invisible. "Cool I'm an invisible man!"

The kid slapped his hand over Luffy's mouth as they fallowed him away from the town square. They went under to the sewers, ew, and the kid removed his hood. Sanji stared at him, then said,"MATT?!"

"Now, before you kick my brains out, I'll have to shoot YOURbrains out." Matt said, holding out his gun to Sanji's head. "Gimmie my hat." Chehero handed him his hat. "Anywho, Luna's been kiddnaped."

"Um, isn't it the reason why we're all here?" everyone asked.

"Listen I've been here for a week-"

"It's been two hours." Nami said.

"No, time is faster here. Everyone, get some rest, I sleep in the day and go around at night, it's more safer that way." Matt said, he led them to an underground cave that was connected to the sewers. The cave led to a clearing in the forest. "It doesn't smell bad here, so we can all be fine."

"Who wants to go on guard duty?" Nami asked, Luffy was already sleeping next to Chehero.

"Me." Sanji said, he went out for a smoke while everyone else tried to find a comfortable place to sleep. Zoro sat against the wall, Usopp used Chopper as a pillow, Nami and Robin slept back to back, Brooke sat on a large rock, Franky, well, I have no idea how he sleeps, Reese was the only one who was still awake. Sanji stared at the sky...WTF?! Why is the moon out and not a sun?! He heard a distant wolf's howl, he was sure it was Luna's, so Sanji abandoned his guard duty to fallow the sorce. Reese turned to watch Sanji's form disappear in the light.

"...?..." Reese fell asleep.

(Eventually)

"Sanji! MEAT!" Luffy exclimed when he woke up, he glanced out of the cave to see it was night time, but the sun was out. "Sanji?!"

Matt jumped him and covered his mouth. "Quiet, we can't bring anymore attention to ourselves this way. Where's the cook?"

"That's what I was asking." Luffy murmured. Everyone else eventually woke up

"Anyone know where the ero-cook went?" Zoro said, standing up. "It's pretty obvious that we'll loose him more easily than Luffy."

"Guys, wear these." Matt said, handing them cloaks. "Keep the hoods on."

"Why, we wanna look like thieves?"Franky said, he placed his on.

"No, if we go out in the open without them, we'll be attacked by the Yume Kado Bushido, swordsmen who attack you. If you ever took note, this place is the island's...real, bad side. The bright pretty port we all know is totally different here."

"So this is the real island and the other is a fake?" Nami said. "Why would this place be hidden behind a gate?"

"That's the mystery-"

"Then this is a mystery land." Luffy said, they started to walk out of the cave. They saw the forest,Chopper's nose was twitching.

"I smell him, his scent is still fresh." Choppe said, they started to fallow him through the forest.

(Anywhere)

Sanji started to run through the forest, he came along a large field of...roses! and other pwetty flowers. "Maybe Luna would want one." He picked a red rose and placed it in his coat poket, then went off. He was suddenly fired at by connon balls and bullets. He whipped around, looking for the shooters, he saw nothing. "WHO THE HELL IS SHOOTING AT ME?!" Sanji roared, another wolf howl rang through the forest, the shooting stopped. Sanji started to run in the direction of the wolf. "Luna-chan...I can hear your cries."

(Somewhere, over the rainbow)

"This way!" Chopper said, they fallowed him as he sprinted away. "I heard gun shots and Sanji!"

Eventually, they came into a town. It was the place where they started. Zoro said,"Way to go, Chopper, you made us go in circles."

"I swear! I heard him." Chopper said.

"The forest make you go in circles if you don't know its tricks." Tsuki said. "We need a guide to go through, or at least a wolf's howl."

"And how would sound help you through a forest?" Reese asked.

"No idea, but I'll tell you this, something lead Sanji into the forest last night, day, whatever you say. And now, he's not lost, something's attracting him somewhere."

"Then if he's being helped, why can't we hear a howl?" Nami said.

"The Ancient Lullaby can be heard by people who really need to find the person they hold dear that's been taken into this world." Tsuki said. "Kind of like the story of Izanami and Izanagi."

"Never heard of them." Chehero said.

"WHAT?! You people of the the human world are strange, I thought the story made it here." Tsuki said, shocked.

"Might as well rest here." Zoro said, he nd Luffy fell asleep out of pure boredom. Everyone else stood.

"Matt-kun." Usopp said.

"Yep?"

"Why do we have to go around at night?"

"It's safer, you're less likely to be spotted and killed."

(Anywho)

"Luna-chan, where the hell were you taken too?" Sanji asked, running in the direction of where he heard the howl. A silver glint caught his eye. He picked it up to see it was Luna's necklace, then smiled. "Smart wolf, she knows I'm here."

(Anyway)

"Let me go, you jerks!" Luna said.

"Then stop howling like a wolf!." the men carried her to a large castle at the side of a cliff (similar to Camelot) "Pretty castle."

"Welcome, to Kagami Shiro." the man, who was leading them. "That is where you'll be living with the prince."

"Prince?!" Luna asked.

"Yes, Prince Yume."

"Prince, royal blood, all that other crap?"

"Yes."

"Take me to him!" Luna commanded.

"As you wish, your highness."

"Sweet."

Yume means "Deam"
Kado means "Gate"
Shiro means "Castle"
Kagami means "Mirror"