NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Looks like Tuesdays are my new update days now. It's nice having a lot of buffer to work with again.

Please let me know if you notice anything too wonky with the writing - this was written during NaNoWriMo, and though I've tried to proofread, I've been staring at this story for too many hours during the day so I'm sure to miss things.

On the upside, I've written 29000+ words so far, and at the point I'm at writing-wise we're starting to crescendo into the climax. Ch. 26 and 27 are kind of a fun side adventure, but after that it's onward and upward. Squee! I'm so excited to see what you all think. Feel free to comment with your theories about what will happen. They won't change anything, but it's nice to see if I've led you on the right track/led you astray as intended.

Ch. 25 – Nemo's Tomb

Robin watched with mild amusement as her crewmates tried to convince Taxy that they did not want to compete in the second round of Funeral Games. Well, the Captain was up for it, but Cook-San and Long-Nose went out of their way to convince him otherwise. Doctor Chopper was engrossed in the leather bound, handwritten medical journal he'd gotten from Helena, and so didn't contribute much to the conversation except to say he would volunteer as medical staff off the books to prevent being put into another event by accident again.

Robin happened to glance at the leather-bound journal over Chopper's shoulder and felt as though her heart stopped dead in her chest. Right there, filling an entire page was a crude drawing of a cube shaped monument, covered in writing.

"Excuse me, Doctor-San," she managed to say politely, despite her building excitement. "May I see that?"

Chopper obligingly handed her the book, and she stared at the drawing in shock. It was undoubtedly a poneglyph. The script hadn't been copied down carefully though. The words weren't even gibberish; they were merely scribbles. Whoever had drawn the picture clearly didn't realize the value of the information written on that monument.

She scanned a few more pages in the journal, then placed a hand on Chopper's shoulder. "Would you like to take an excursion with me today, doctor?" she asked.

He looked up her. "Can we?" he asked, glancing at Taxy, who was becoming increasingly difficult to understand in his frustration.

"We're pirates. We don't have to play by the rules," Robin reminded him with a smile.

Chopper liked that Robin singled him out for the adventure; he didn't have the faintest desire to be hunted again. What's more, he was starting to trust her. Maybe that was why she picked him. Should he be nervous? She was a trained assassin after all.

Dr. Faustus' journal contained detailed instructions about how to get into the cave where he had performed his research. They obtained a single-paddle tub boat, followed the river, and soon entered the cave after a good deal of walking. Perhaps Robin had brought him along to be her muscle – in his larger form, he paddled the boat while she scoured the journal for something by the light of an electric lantern they'd brought along with them.

"Now this is interesting," Robin said aloud. "Her highness must have been distracted when she read this."

"She was looking for a way to cure Zoro," Chopper pointed out. "What is it? What did you find?"

"It's the last sentence in the journal. It says 'Should this diary fall into the hands of one loyal to the crown, tell his majesty that Nemo is long dead.'"

"Nemo was that darkness demon thing Troy killed wasn't it?" Chopper replied. "I guess Dr. Faustus was wrong. The demon was alive when Faustus died of the Nemomorean poisoning."

"I don't think that's what it means," Robin pondered aloud, flipping to the next page. "I said it was the last sentence, but it's not the last thing here. Look." She turned the journal around to show Chopper a hand drawn map. "This map leads us through a labyrinth, to a place called, 'Nemo's Tomb.'"

"So what does it mean?" Chopper asked, a cold, creepy sort of feeling crawling up his spine.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps it means that this Nemo is a shade of sorts," Robin mused, apparently oblivious to the sudden look of terror on Chopper's face.

"A shade? Isn't that like a…like a ghost?!" Chopper stammered.

"Indeed. A soul cursed to wander eternally and find no rest," Robin answered stoically. "If it is indeed the soul of Nemo, than I'd imagine he has much against the royal family. They were the ones who initially destroyed him."

A thought struck Chopper, quickly calming his nerves. "But it doesn't matter if it's a ghost or whatever, Troy still defeated him."

"So it would appear," Robin replied. "Unless this 'demon' is more, or less, than it seems."

Chopper got the feeling Robin was withholding a part of her theory. Hopefully whatever she wasn't telling him wasn't more frightening than the ghost idea.

"Is that why we're down here?" Chopper asked as their little washtub boat came in sight of what appeared to be an old dock and an equally rickety cabin. "To find out what Nemo is?"

"That would be an added bonus," Robin said. "I'm here because there is a poneglyph within Nemo's Tomb."

"Ah…" Chopper replied. That didn't explain why she wanted him to join her. He wasn't sure what her obsession was with those strange stones; he had heard she had found one in Alabasta.

"I hope you will find our excursion useful, Doctor-San," Robin went on. "Didn't you want to study Zoro's illness?"

"Oh, y-yes! Yes I did!" Chopper stuttered in sudden pleasure at this explanation. So she wanted him there to help him too! He really wanted to like Robin. Fortunately she made it easy.

"Well, this must be Dr. Faustus' cabin," Robin said, stepping out of the washtub boat and onto the dock as they drew near. "Would you care to look inside?"

"It couldn't hurt," Chopper said. He tied the boat to the dock and followed her.

Robin had spoken to Princess Helena briefly before setting out, and so was aware that Dr. Faustus had passed away within that cabin. She also knew that the corpse of the doctor had been removed and given proper cremation prior to the funeral games. It was actually a shame. It would have been a prime opportunity for Dr. Chopper to study the disease up close.

Their brief detour at the cabin proved interesting all the same.

"He was working on an injection," Chopper said after a few minutes of going through Faustus' things. "A nemomora injection to make the glow spread faster through the blood stream, and a bugsbane injection to slow the mushroom's growth upon reaching optimal luminosity. Unfortunately it looks like the glow-injection worked too fast for the bugsbane injection to slow it.

"Zoro would have suffered less if she had injected the remedy straight into his bloodstream," Chopper concluded after more searching. He too had spoken to the Princess, trying to learn specifics about Zoro's condition. "Not that it would have mattered if she'd known that. There are syringes here, but they're all contaminated by the spores."

"Doctor, shouldn't we be wearing masks?" Robin asked, realizing the danger at the mention of spores.

"Nah, the airborne spores aren't dangerous unless they enter directly into your bloodstream. Or if you, say, eat one of those mushrooms," Chopper told her.

He gathered a few things and put them in his pack. "I think I've found everything I need," he said. "Shall we continue?"

"Onward to Nemo's Tomb?" Robin asked.

"Onward to Nemo's Tomb," Chopper replied bravely.

They followed Dr. Faustus' directions until they found themselves in a breathtaking, luminous mushroom forest. Unlike Zoro and Helena, they had the advantage of Dr. Faustus' guidance, and so knew to take one of his giant purple mushrooms with them to ward off the giant bugs.

With Robin holding the luminous fungal umbrella above them, Chopper found time to admire the beauty of the cavern and its insectoid residents. Robin was more observant than he, and noticed something along the path:

"Faustus-San never said he'd cut arrows into the mushroom trees to mark the way," she said.

"They point back toward the way we came," Chopper observed. He had taken on his reindeer form to make the long walk easier. "Do you think…?"

"Yes, I think two swordsman trying to navigate this giant cavern might have done this," Robin said.

"You mean, you think Princess Helena would have done this," Chopper pointed out, looking up at her with a grin. "Zoro doesn't think about those kind of things. That's why he's always lost."

"Too true," Robin chuckled. "It's strange. There are many pathways through this forest, but it seems like they came from the one leading to Nemo's tomb."

"Oh no, does that mean we're going to end up walking on a carpet of bugs too?" Chopper asked with a grimace.

Sure enough they came to a place where the mushrooms and bugs got smaller and smaller until they were underfoot. Well, they might have been underfoot, but Robin thought to hold the giant purple mushroom out in front of them as they walked, driving the cave crickets away in sparkling waves before them.

"There are still arrows on the walls," Chopper said, pointing with his snout to where the arrows had been carved higher than either Helena or Zoro were tall. "This must have been where she was riding his shoulders." Chopper grinned up at her again. "It's kind of fun retracing their steps and trying to guess what happened…"

Soon he and Robin exited the area with the bug carpet and come out into a dark, narrow corridor. They had put away their lantern, so it was by the light of the giant purple mushroom they first saw slash marks that weren't arrows.

"What do you suppose this means?" Chopper asked. The slashes covered the surrounding rocks at random; bits of severed stalactites and stalagmites littered the ground. "Do you think they got into another fight?"

"It would appear so," Robin said, placing a hand on the rock wall and inspecting the area carefully. "I was starting to wonder how they missed the entrance to the tomb; their arrows lead right from it. It looks like they walked right by without noticing it. Perhaps their fight distracted them."

"It's here?" Chopper asked, looking around for some indication of a door.

Robin turned from the slash marks she'd been examining, and pointed the mushroom to a large hole in the ground. "Actually, I'm amazed that they didn't just stumble into it."

"If Helena was helping them navigate, I'm sure they were paying attention to potential pot holes," Chopper pointed out.

"But not potential archeological finds," Robin added with a grin, rummaging in her backpack for a rope. She tied it to a sturdy stalagmite – one that hadn't been severed by swordplay. "Coming, doctor?"

Chopper shrank into his semi-human form and followed Robin down into the hole. It went down farther than he thought; it was definitely a good thing Helena and Zoro hadn't fallen into it. Ahead he saw Robin, inspecting an enormous pair of stone doors by the light of her purple mushroom.

"This has to be the entrance to the labyrinth," Robin said at last. Taking a ball of twine from her pack, she tied it around another stalagmite.

"What's that for?" Chopper asked.

"To ensure we don't get lost."

Doctor Chopper seemed a bit alarmed at the prospect of being lost underground in the dark. He didn't say anything, however. –brave little reindeer. Robin was satisfied with her choice of traveling companion. Besides; he was so cute!

He grew to his larger size and helped her push open the heavy stone doors, which screeched loudly in protest. The sound was a bit unnerving, almost human, in a tortured sort of way. It probably hurt Chopper's sensitive ears more than hers, but though it brought tears to his eyes he didn't complain.

"Doctor Faustus drew a map," Robin reassured him as they stared into the blackness gaping before them. It seemed, if possible, even darker than the cave they had thus far traversed. "The string is just an extra precaution."

Chopper nodded. Shrinking down to his part human size, he retrieved their lantern to add more light and held it up. It didn't seem to do much to dispel the gloom.

Their first step revealed a wide stone staircase leading even further downward. Down, down they went as the world grew colder and colder around them.

"How big is this labyrinth?" Chopper asked as they descended.

"I'm not sure," Robin told him. "We've only got directions to Nemo's Tomb, but the labyrinth houses any number of legends and wonders. It's said that they continue all the way under the capitol itself."

"What kind of legends and wonders?" Chopper asked.

"The stuff of storybooks more than history books," Robin expounded, carefully unwinding her ball of string as she walked. "As such, Historians doubt their existence. But then, I suppose they doubted the existence of Nemo's Tomb. – Have you heard of the Hero Altars?"

Chopper shook his head. They still hadn't reached the bottom of the staircase.

"It is said that somewhere within the labyrinth are various temples dedicated to the gods of Helena's people. Within each temple is an Altar that can grant a specific boon, though anyone who is wise would never do it."

"Why not?" Chopper asked.

"The Hero Altars are cursed," Robin explained. "For example, if one sharpens his weapon in the Temple of Ares at the Altar of Hercules, that person gains incredible strength and prowess in battle, invincibility even. But it is rumored those who use it always end up killing someone they love. All of the altars work like that."

"That's awful. Why would anyone…?"

Chopper swallowed the question when they heard an unearthly groan in the distance.

"What was that?" he squeaked instead.

"I wonder if it's the minotaur," Robin mused, not slowing her pace down the seemingly endless staircase.

"M-m-minotaur?"

"Yes, a vicious half man half bull. It is rumored one was trapped down here, along with quite a few other dangerous beasts."

"And you didn't think to mention that BEFORE we waltzed in here?" Chopper shrieked.

"Do you think I should have? It is likely that any one of them could dismember us."

Chopper spluttered incoherently in response.

The groan came again, louder than before, just as they finally finished their descent. They had the option to go through three different enormous archways leading three different directions.

"Fortunately for us, the Doctor's map leads us this way," Robin said, trying to comfort the little reindeer as she indicated the archway lying straight ahead. This was reassuring, as the sound emanated from the arch on the right.

"Y-yeah," Chopper said.

"Of course, just because we can't hear any monsters coming from this direction doesn't mean they aren't there," Robin mused aloud as they entered the archway directly across from the staircase. "There may be a gorgon or two around. Perhaps a Cerberus, or a naga. And let's not forget shades."

"R-Robin, why did you take me to such a scary place?" Chopper asked.

"Hmm. Well, perhaps it was to help me be brave," Robin told him truthfully. "It's nice not to go into the unknown alone."

Robin's flattery did not reassure Chopper in the least. He started to wonder if he should get a rumble ball out just to be safe. The passage remained reassuringly quiet but for the echo of their footfalls.

They dutifully followed Faustus' written directions, taking so many turns that Chopper soon lost count. Though they had the map, he was grateful for Robin's little ball of string. It would be all too easy to get lost in here.

After a while they came to another large set of doors. Empty sconces flanked each side of the arched doorframe. Robin held up her purple mushroom, and discovered writing along the top of the arch.

"Beware, all who would enter Nemo's Tomb," she read aloud. It was an ancient dialect, but Chopper wasn't surprised that the archeologist could understand it. "Here lies a man whose fruit was darkness."

"Body of a man?" Chopper asked. "I thought Nemo was a demon."

Robin didn't answer him. She had a feeling her long forming theory about the mysterious Nemo had just been confirmed, but she was close to the poneglyph. She didn't have time to worry about a man long dead. – instead she pushed open the stone doors, grateful again for Chopper's help.

Holding her mushroom aloft, she quickly spotted the poneglyph settled into the opposite wall of Nemo's Tomb. She passed the raised sarcophagus in the center of the room without a second glance, but Chopper trotted up to it.

"Robin?" Chopper asked. She only half listened to him as she excitedly copied down the information on the poneglyph. "Robin, there's a corpse in here. A mummy. Don't they cremate remains to keep the soul from wandering?"

"Not necessarily," Robin replied calmly. "They provide Charon's Obol for that. See if there is a coin in its mouth."

"There is," Chopper replied.

"I thought so," Robin told him slowly, still half distracted. "Nemo is no wandering shade."

"He wasn't a demon either," Chopper said. "'Nemo is long dead' the doctor said. What was he trying to tell the king?"

"That the person attacking the kingdom isn't Nemo," Robin answered. "It's an imposter."

"'Here lies a man whose fruit is darkness,'" Chopper recited quietly. "The first Nemo had a devil fruit? Does that mean the imposter does to?"

"It would appear so." Robin finished copying her information, and turned back to Chopper with a grim expression on her face. "I have thought so since I heard of Robertus and Gloriadne's Alpha and Omega fruits."

"Robertus and Gloriadne?" Chopper asked. "What do they have to do with it?"

"They are practically human devil fruit detectors," Robin expounded. Nothing more of interest remained in tomb. Well, there were plenty of things of an historical interest, but at this point Robin knew it was more important to get back to Helena. "It would make sense that they were hidden in a collapsed wall rather than hit with a direct attack by the power holder. If 'Nemo' had attacked them with his power, they would have immediately known he wasn't a demon. It would have destroyed our Nemo's whole façade."

"Façade?" Chopper asked, trotting after her.

"Indeed. He's trying to pass himself off as a legend," Robin told him as they retraced their steps. "The Nemo myth has strayed far from its true roots, as we have just discovered. Nemo wasn't a nameless demon that sucked the life out of people. He was a man who did so using a devil fruit."

"Sucked the life out of people? But that's not what the devil fruit was like. It…what was it doing exactly? What fruit is it? It said his fruit was 'darkness,' so does he have the Dark Dark fruit or something?"

"It is unlikely that the Dark Dark Fruit is what our new Nemo is using, though it's entirely possible that that is what the old Nemo had," Robin said. "I'm not sure what fruit we're dealing with here, but it has something to do with darkness or blackness as well, that much is clear."

"If Nemo isn't dead, then what did Troy kill?" Chopper prodded.

Suddenly they heard the same loud groan from before. Chopper seemed to get an idea, because rather than quail in fear, he took off running in full reindeer form. It was all Robin could do to keep up. Fortunately he still had the lantern, which hung from his antlers and allowed her to see his light as he continued to round corners ahead of her.

"Wait, Doctor-San! You'll get lost if you don't follow the string!"

She needn't have concerned herself; the reindeer seemed to be following the string already. Soon they were back at the foot of the never-ending staircase, and Chopper dashed into what had initially been the right-side door. Robin made sure to unravel the string again as she followed him down the uncharted path.

They didn't have to go far before they found the source of the groaning. Lying in a fairly open passageway, moaning in pain, was an enormous creature with a bull's head, the chest of a man, and a horse's hooves. He still sported the head wound Troy had given him. By the time Robin caught up, Chopper was talking to him as he provided medical aid.

"You're lucky to be alive," Chopper was saying. The minotaur creature formerly known as Nemo snorted, and Chopper laughed. "Yes, I suppose you do have a hard head, but your scalp was split open and your skull cracked. And how long have you been down here? Two days was it? Hold still."

Robin seated herself in silence while Chopper administered treatment. Some medicine, stitches and bandages later, the creature mooed his thanks, then fell asleep.

"He has confirmed our suspicions. He isn't Nemo," Chopper told her quietly as he stepped away. "His name is Chiron. He doesn't know how he got above ground, but apparently he was transported there, and the next thing he knew he had the Princess in one hand, and had to fight with Lieutenant General Troy to survive."

"It would appear our Nemo imposter needed someone to take the hit," Robin said. "He knew the ambiguity of the Nemo Legend with regard to the real Nemo's actual appearance, and chose a monster that might fit the bill from down here in the labyrinth."

"But why would the imitation Nemo want us to think he was dead?"

Robin smiled. It was nice having such an intelligent traveling companion.

"That is the question, isn't it?" she said. "It would appear that whoever it is is trying to put on a show. – a violent, gritty show. A show that can be turned off at the flip of a switch. It's the only explanation I have for the state of the breaker room. Back up, or automatic power was shut down, but the actual power itself could be turned off and on at the flip of a switch. – like the curtain opening and shutting on a play. Or more like a spotlight – the attacker wanted to illuminate what they wanted seen."

"To what end?" Chopper asked. "Why put on a show? And for whom exactly?"

"I'm not sure," Robin admitted.

"This all means that Helena and her people are still in danger, doesn't it?" Chopper looked miserable at this revelation. "Whoever did it could try to make a comeback."

"I'm afraid so," Robin told him. "Which could mean that our crewmates are also in trouble."

Chopper glanced over at Chiron. "I've left him some medicine. He should be fine for the moment," he said. "We need to get back to Helena now. Come on."