Chapter 31

Luffy

The search for Tra-guy was not an easy one, but Luffy really hadn't expected it to be. He knew Law had been a Warlord of the Sea before the two captains had formed their alliance to take down Doflamingo and Kaido, but what he might be in this world, Luffy wasn't sure. Law was in many ways a mystery to Luffy. The man was harsh and cold and kept his feelings to himself. But there were a few things Luffy could tell: Law carried a lot of pain and despite his rough exterior, Luffy knew the other captain had a good heart. Luffy considered him a friend.

"Captain!" Loudspeaker stood in front of where Luffy sat in the mess hall and saluted. "There are currently no records of Trafalgar Law being a member of the Seven Warlords. Until Jinbei quit and you defeated Crocodile, Captain, the Warlords have mostly remained constant the past few years. There are currently several candidates vying for the positions, however. It's possible the captain of the Heart Pirates is one of them."

"Okay. Do you mind checking?"

"Captain…do you intend to capture this pirate? Or perhaps recommend him for the position?" Loudspeaker asked, finally lowering his salute. Luffy grinned.

"We'll see when I meet him," Luffy explained.

"I see," Loudspeaker replied, though it was obvious even to Luffy that he really didn't. That was fine. "Well, then Captain, I'll leave you to your…" Loudspeaker looked at the pile of food surrounding Luffy, "…snack." With a final salute, the Marine Lieutenant Commander left. Luffy grinned happily. He had the entire mess hall to himself! The crew wouldn't be coming in for another couple of hours for lunch. The perfect time to have a snack and no one to stop him from going to the kitchen to get more!

Picking up his cutlery, the rubber captain began to dig in.

Brook

This was going to be perhaps the strangest use of his powers Brook had ever attempted. He had never really tried spiritual possession before, but Brook imagined it would be a lot like this. Simply slip his spirit into another body, just like he did with his own skeletal remains. Simple.

Another explosion rocked the facility, the second one in as many minutes. The Navy must have had a sharpshooter as skilled as Usopp to be this accurate from so far away. While the philosophical implications of what he was about to attempt plagued Brook's thoughts (what was it like to enter and experience another person's mind, memories, and consciousness?) he just didn't have the time to overthink them.

And so the musician's spiritual body floated towards Luffy's unconscious form, still lying strapped to the table. The young captain's breathing was slow and relaxed, just like he was sleeping.

"Here goes nothing! Yohohohoho!" Brook called out, slipping his soul into Luffy's body. For a long moment there was just darkness, an emptiness that Brook simply floated in. It took all the skeleton's nerve to keep from falling into complete panic and terror at all the black surrounding him. It reminded him of fog, of loneliness, of death…

NO! Brook forced the terrifying thoughts from his mind. This was not the Florian Triangle! He was not alone! His crewmates were here with him! They needed him to do this! Luffy needed him to do this! He was with Luffy now. His sunny, light-hearted captain was there, ready to dispel the darkness, Brook knew it. He just needed to find him…

And then, with a rushy sort of hiss, Brook was out of the emptiness, his surroundings changing to a large and bright room. While the place wasn't familiar to the musician, he recognized immediately from the tables that it was some sort of mess hall. And there, sitting right in front of him, surrounded by piles of food, was Brook's familiar rubber captain, chowing down. The sight of Luffy in a Marine uniform was disconcerting to say the least, but Brook was so happy to see the man, he didn't care.

"Luffy-san!" Brook cried joyously.

"Oh! Hi, Brook!" Luffy replied happily, taking another bite. Suddenly, the captain's eyes widened and practically bulged out of his face as he nearly choked on his food. "BROOK?!"

"Yes, Luffy-san! I'm using my spirit form to slip into your mind," Brook explained.

"Whoa! That's so cool!" Luffy declared, stars in his eyes. "Wait. My mind?"

"Yes. I'm afraid this is going to take a bit of explaining. More than we really have time for," Brook continued. "The shortest answer is that Dr. Vegapunk is using a machine to trap you, Zoro-san, and Sanji-san in a dream world."

"Whoa!" Luffy stated, impressed.

"You must find Zoro-san and Sanji-san and all three of you must try to escape, Luffy-san," Brook warned. "You must use Observation…"

"Observation Haki to escape," Luffy finished. "I think Sanji already kind of figured it out."

"Oh? Then you've already found Sanji-san?"

"And Zoro, too. I take it Tra-guy's not here then?"

"No, Luffy-san. Only the three of you were captured," Brook confirmed.

"Okay, then," Luffy said, closing his eyes. It took Brook a moment to realize that his captain was concentrating.

"Wait, Luffy-san!" the skeleton screamed in panic. Luffy opened one eye.

"What gives, Brook? You just said…"

"Luffy-san, the three of you must escape at the same time!" Brook hastily amended. Luffy gave him a blank stare. "As soon as any of you leave, this dream world will be destroyed. Along with anyone else still in it."

"Wait? Anyone?"

"Yes, Luffy-san. If you or Zoro-san or Sanji-san…if any of the three of you gets left behind it will destroy your minds. Perhaps even kill you." Brook explained. He didn't miss the shocked look on Luffy's face.

"What will happen to everyone else?" Luffy asked sadly.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Luffy-san."

"Ace. Sabo. What will happen to them?" Luffy clarified. The melancholy in his voice nearly broke Brook's heart as he realized what Vegapunk and his assistant must have used to keep Luffy lured into the dream world. The musician still remembered the newspaper images of Marineford.

"I do not know," Brook answered quietly. "Most likely, they will be destroyed when the world ends."

"Zoro, he…" Luffy began, and then paused, remaining silent for a long moment. Brook sensed a rumble off in the distance. He wondered for a moment how there could be thunder when he could clearly see bright blue clear skies from the porthole. Then he realized he was sensing the explosions of the cannonballs in the real world.

"Luffy-san, I apologize, but there isn't a lot of time. The Navy is sending a force to the island. They'll be here soon and they're already attacking. I think Jinbei-san is going to try to hold them off, but we've got to get you and the others out of here." Brook explained, a quiet plea to his voice.

"I see," Luffy said, sliding his straw hat lower, so it covered his face. Brook had rarely seen his captain act so serious. "I understand."

"Luffy-san…"

"Brook," Luffy stated suddenly, pulling his hat back into its normal position. "How long have we been in here?"

The question was so unexpected that it took Brook a moment to answer. "Um…I think it has been at least a couple of hours, but I'm not entirely sure."

Luffy nodded and Brook wasn't sure how, but he knew he had somehow answered some deeper question for his captain. He wondered if he would ever find out what.

"Did you guys destroy the plans?"

Once again, Brook was so taken aback by the unexpected question that it took him another moment to realize that Luffy was asking about the reason they had come to the island in the first place. "Um, yes. Robin found them and destroyed them."

"Good." Luffy said with a nod. "How long until the Navy gets here?"

"Less than thirty minutes, according to Jinbei."

"Hmm, we have a little time then," Luffy said, mostly to himself. Then he looked straight at the musician. "Brook, I'll get Zoro and Sanji and we'll get out of here. Keep Zoro's swords away from him until he wakes up, okay?"

"What? Keep them-?"

"Keep Zoro's swords away from him until he wakes up. I need to talk to him first," Luffy repeated, as though his words explained anything. "Once we wake up, get that stuff off us and untie us from those tables. Then give Zoro his swords and we're gonna destroy this place."

"Understood, Luffy-san!"

"You guys will have to guard the room and take care of that old guy and his weird lights in the meantime," Luffy continued. Then he smiled that big sunny smile of his. "But I know you guys can do it!"

"Got it. I'll tell the others." Brook confirmed.

"Shishishi! It's good to see you, Brook. I missed you!" Luffy said as Brook began to depart. The skeleton wasn't quite sure what to make of that, seeing as how he had only seen Luffy a few hours before. He decided the simplest reply was best.

"You, too, Luffy-san," the musician replied. Then suddenly, he cried out, a feeling of weakness overwhelming the skeleton. With the same rushy hiss, Brook watched the room with Luffy shrink to a tiny dot before disappearing altogether. It was similar to going through a tunnel backwards and watching the light at the far end retreat away, Brook thought distantly. The darkness didn't last nearly as long this time it seemed before Brook was floating up and up until he was back in the lab, floating above Luffy's prone form. As he suspected, a light blue light was shining over him, forcing his spirit form to quickly retreat back towards his body. Even if the light wasn't shining over his physical body, Brook knew this attack had just severely weakened him. It didn't matter. He just needed to be able to tell the others Luffy's orders.

Luffy

Luffy stood and his hand shot up as he watched Brook's spiritual form grimace, then cry out as though in pain.

"Brook!" he shouted, but if the musician heard him, he gave no sign, simply fading away from Luffy's sight. Whatever had happened to the skeleton, there was nothing Luffy could do for him now. The rubber man slowly lowered himself back to the bench, his food for once forgotten as he chewed over Brook's words. A wave of exhaustion passed over him, but he didn't have time for that.

Law wasn't here. Even if Luffy found him, it would only be this world's version. The bigger problem of course, was Zoro. There wouldn't be a lot of time, but the way time had worked so far in this world, there should be enough. Yes, there should be enough.

Rushing to his feet, Luffy hurried to the door, pausing only a moment before he stretched an arm back to the pile of food and grabbed a large piece of meat, eating it as he walked. There was always time for a snack.

It didn't take long for Luffy to get to the bridge, Loudspeaker's favorite place to work, he had found. The man was flipping through some files when Luffy stepped onto the bridge.

"Loudspeaker, we're heading back to Shy- mutt-sue-kay Village!" Luffy declared. The Lieutenant Commander didn't bother to correct his captain, already knowing they were heading back to that small village in the East Blue.

"Very well, Captain. Do you believe Trafalgar Law is there?"

"Nope. We're not looking for him anymore," Luffy replied. Loudspeaker's eyes looked like they were going to fall out of his head.

"We're not?!"

"Nope. We don't need to find him anymore," Luffy answered. Then he perked up, as though a thought had just hit him. "Oh, and call Ace and Sabo. Ask them to meet us along the way!"

Ace and Sabo were waiting on the deck of Ace's ship, located in the East Blue a few nautical miles north of the Calm Belt, when Luffy's ship approached. In his excitement, Luffy couldn't even wait for the ships to pull alongside each other. The rubber man stretched his arm, grabbed ahold of the mast from Ace's ship and flung himself over. He could clearly see Ace and Sabo's shocked expressions as he launched over.

"Ace! Sabo!" Luffy called excitedly as he swung around the mast in a wide arch and landed before them. Ace gave his younger brother his usual smirk, while Sabo simply shook his head, a bemused expression on his face.

"Alright, Luffy. You got us both here. What's this all about?" Sabo asked, getting right to the point.

Luffy grinned at them both, grinned until, for the first time in the rubber man's life, it made his face hurt. Tears began to well in his eyes and fell down his cheeks before he could stop them. This would be the last time…the last time he'd see them both together, the last time he'd see Ace alive…the last time he'd get to hug him…

"Luffy? Hey, I thought you had everything figured out? What's so wrong…?" Ace started to ask until Luffy burst forward and wrapped him in a hug. Sabo looked quizzically on, until Luffy stretched an arm and pulled him into the hug, too.

"Uh, good to see you, too, Luffy," Sabo stated, obviously once again confused by his younger brother's emotional outburst.

As he held them in the embrace, his older brothers began to protest, but Luffy couldn't let them go. Not yet. There was so much he wanted to tell them. About his adventures so far, his awesome ship, his amazing crew. He wanted to tell them how much he missed them, how he never wanted to let them go.

But time was short.

"Ace. Sabo." He said instead, his voice serious, even as it broke with emotion, "I love you. I love you both so much."

Both his brothers stopped their protests. Luffy felt Sabo's hand on his back and Ace's arm wrapping around his shoulder.

"What's all this, Luffy?" Sabo asked.

"Yeah, sounds like you're saying goodbye for the last time," Ace observed. Luffy looked up into his freckled older brother's dark eyes. The eyes he grew up with. The ones he would never see again. Fresh tears fell down Luffy's cheeks as he buried his face in Ace's chest.

"I miss you so much, Ace," he said, his voice muffled in his older brother's shirt.

"Luffy, are—are you okay?" Sabo asked, tentatively patting Luffy's back. Luffy sniffled back his tears.

"I know this isn't going to make any sense, but this is going to be goodbye for a while," Luffy said, looking up into both of his brothers' faces. The expressions they had were worried, confused. Luffy grinned at them. "But I promise, everything's going to be alright, okay?"

Snorting, Ace was the first to return Luffy's grin as he ruffled his younger brother's hair. "Always the troublesome younger brother."

"But you don't need us to always take care of you anymore, do you, Luffy?" Sabo said with a small smile.

Luffy grinned and pulled them into another tight hug.

Author's Note: I can't imagine why in the world it would happen, but now I want an adventure where Brook has to possess one of the other Straw Hat's body for some reason. Hijinks ensue.

-Because of his bright and cheerful personality, I think sometimes folks forget that Brook has one of the most depressing backstories amongst the Straw Hats, if not in the whole series. I don't know if Brook actually needs to sleep, but I feel like he would simply because he doesn't like to be alone in dark places.

-The Navy ended up serving as my version of Oda's famous Time-Crunch-Plot-Device: the Straw Hats must defeat someone or accomplish something before a time limit is reached. Examples include the bomb in Alabasta, getting the shadows back before the sun rises in Thriller Bark, getting away from the poison gas in Punk Hazard, and most infamously, the Bird Cage in Dressrosa.

-Well, at least Luffy got to hug Ace one more time.