AN: Don't leave yet, the italics in the beginning is a flashback. It's not the normal font I use.
DISCLAIMER: ONE PIECE BELONGS TO EIICHIRO ODA, I OWN NONE BUT MY OC's
Luffy buried his head into his knees. It was over. It was all over. This life was not worth living. Blackbeard was killed at God's Valley, Akainu was destroyed, but who… who would've thought? Akainu had been searching for an Ancient Weapon, that utter fool… He wished to destroy the Great Pirate Era.
Is he happy now? He finally got what he wanted.
2 weeks after Akainu died, Gaia was reshaped. Seas converged in on themselves and islands sank. It was something, not even Whitebeard's Devil Fruit could recreate. The best word to describe it…
Corruption.
Nothing… Nothing could compare to the utter destruction that was Corruption. Fathers slaughtered their sons, daughters smothered their mothers, sisters cried while their brothers committed suicide to protect them.
Pirate had it the worst of all, though. Unbroken faith was what pirates needed in their crews. Faith and Trust in their friends and family.
That just made it all the more painful, Luffy thought bitterly.
The only island left untouched— Laugh Tale, was where Luffy was now. The last. The very last living organism to walk Gaia. Corruption couldn't reach Laugh Tale, the protection of the former goddess Umi, the former god Cain, and the former god Sora protected it with an unbroken seal.
They couldn't help though, they died. They died because of Corruption. God's Valley and Laugh Tale was their last act of defiance and their last stand.
Luffy got up and staggered over to the mouth of a cave. It had started raining, and he didn't want his crewmates' belongings to get wet. They were victims to Corruption. Corruption made them attack each other, an elaborate betrayal that was eerily similar to Blackbeard's plot.
Usopp had found a crystal, and had spouted off about planning to use it in his inventions and gimmicks. That was just the beginning—3 days later, Nami slit Usopp's throat, stole the crystal and left. Sanji was torn between his chivalry towards Nami, and his unending loyalty towards Luffy. Corruption took root in him, and he chose Nami. Zoro went blind with rage and swore to kill the traitors.
They didn't know it at the time, but because of their actions, Corruption was just getting stronger. Corruption was getting stronger and the Straw-Hats were utterly blind to that.
Brook fell into depression, memories of half a century in solitude affecting him. He never once thought why they were affecting him to begin with. The last straw was when Laboon died. Luffy never figured out how, but one day they got a call from Crocus, and…
"Laboon is dead, I killed him,".
Luffy never actually believed that Crocus killed Laboon, and so began the suspicions. Jimbei got a call from his former crew begging him for help because the marines had suddenly started attacking Fishman Island for no reason, so with Luffy's permission, he left for his home.
He never returned.
The next day, they found a newspaper with the headline as:
'FEARED JIMBEI, SON OF THE SEA, IS DEAD!'
Luffy had refused to believe it, but when he never came back, he found himself actually believing that Jimbei died.
Robin was extremely close to Jimbei, and she became hysterical once finding out about his death. She refused to believe that the person she considered a brother in all but blood was dead. Franky tried to calm her down, but Corruption had taken root, and she ended up snapping his spine with strength she should not have had.
Robin was horrified, and begged Luffy to kill her, she couldn't take it. Luffy vehemently refused, of course, but he had no choice, especially when Robin became completely possessed and tried to stab him in the eye.
Zoro was with him at the time, and he tried holding Robin back, and succeeded, for a bit. But then, Robin turned into something humanoid, because whatever she turned into was not human…!
Zoro was thrown back, and he hit the mast of the ship, knocking himself out from the impact.
Luffy looked at Robin and saw in her eyes, she was begging him to kill her. He ended up doing so, and Robin died with a smile, and Corruption purged. Now, Luffy could see what was causing so much pain.
Before he could attack it, though, it disappeared.
Luffy didn't dwell on it and instead ran over to Zoro.
Things went well for a time, but then, all of Gaia collapsed in on itself. The only ones that actually managed to retain their sense of self without Corruption plaguing everything, were Boa Hancock, Eustass Kidd, Trafalgar Law, Roronoa Zoro, and Monkey D Luffy himself.
Sanji ended up dying, because he followed Nami, and Nami ended up becoming a vessel for Corruption. It broke Luffy's heart seeing her fight with all her might to stop killing people she cares about with those two hands of hers. At one point, she just couldn't take it anymore, and her mind broke.
She gave up.
Corruption finally found a new vessel, and they were heading to where the last survivors were.
Boa Hancock and Eustass Kidd had conqueror's spirit, so they were soundly unaffected by Corruption, Trafalgar Law and Luffy were both D's, and for some reason, Corruption didn't affect them, and had a grudge against them, and Zoro had the blood of an Asura, a demon created by Corruption, therefore completely immune to the effects of Corruption.
Hancock was the first to go, being killed by Corruption via drowning. Kidd died a glorified death in battle, trying to protect Law. Law awakened his Devil Fruit under all the pain and stress and tried to avenge Kidd. Unfortunately, Corruption created Devil Fruits. Who would've thought?
Law died because he couldn't turn off his Devil Fruit and all he was doing was making Corruption stronger the longer he went on, so he committed suicide to buy time.
Luffy and Zoro were the last ones left. Zoro tried his best to take care of his captain, and more or less succeeded.
They were on course for Laugh Tale, to try and find something on the lost island to see if it could help. The whispered words of a dead woman told them. Robin had told them.
Corruption managed to track them down. Zoro went to go hold her off, and he evolved into Asura form. That's when Luffy found out why Zoro had that form to begin with. Corruption spoke to the Asura inside of him, and Zoro turned into a demon.
He ended up making landfall on Laugh Tale just that moment, and Zoro was stopped by an invisible barrier in his way. He never saw his first mate after that.
Luffy let out a sob and huddled closer to himself inside the darkness of the cave. He reveled in the silence until—
"Who's there?" a feminine voice called out. It was anything but smooth, it was dry, deprived, and scratchy. Kind of how like Smokey sounded when we had to rescue him from Corruption, Luffy morbidly thought.
Spoiler, Smoker died anyways.
"I asked, 'who's there?'" the voice said again, this time a little clearer and commanding.
Luffy cleared his throat and replied, "Monkey D. Luffy,"
"A D…?" the voice said in wonderment before asking, "Can you come over here, I want to see you a little clearer,".
Luffy hesitantly complied. His sandal-less feet made no sound against the dense stone of the cave.
"I'm here," he said quietly.
The voice made a small noise of astonishment before the cave lit up in an array of beautiful lights.
"Ah, it must be daytime, then," the voice, which now Luffy realized belonged to a woman, said. When Zoro had been taken by Corruption, it was only for a split second, but he could see Corruption's true form. This woman… looked an awful lot like her. And Luffy, who was but 21 years old, and formerly a Powerhouse, jumped to conclusions.
"Who are you?!"
"Me?"
"Are you related to Corruption?"
The woman's face abruptly soured, "Corruption locked me away here because she wanted me to be 'SaFe', and she killed the rest of our family, because they opposed her, and the worst part is—she was never originally bad,"
"What?", Oh, this is new.
"Corruption was originally Faith and Order, the symbolism of Harmony and Happiness, or Peace, if you could say that. I had a twin brother; he was the original Corruption. He died though, and without knowing, my older sister took up his mantle. I looked so much like him, that she wanted to protect me the same way she did him. It started out small; she was just watching me, and making sure I didn't get hurt, but then she thought it would be easier to watch over me if I was on an island, so she locked me away on an island. My other siblings didn't like it, and they went to war with her over that, and then they ended up dying, because Corruption in Peace and Harmony got too strong, and they created Laugh Tale and God's Valley as a last act of defiance and locked me up in Laugh Tale. So, in the end, I'm still locked up," she finished petulantly,
"Although…" she added thoughtfully, "It isn't so bad, I mean like, this one guy, Gol D Roger came along, and guess what! He named this island Laugh Tale! It's nice to have a name I can call my prison! But it's been so long since I've seen a D… they were Umi's children, you know?" she said forlornly.
"What?" Luffy asked, "Wait, I didn't ask for your life history, I asked for your name!" he shouted.
The woman glared at him, "Fine then," she sniffed, "I'm Norzira, the Watcher of Worlds,".
"Watcher of… Worlds?" Luffy asked in amazement.
"Yes, what? Are you deaf?" the now named Norzira quipped, and then sighed, "I didn't think that Umi's children would be this dumb…"
"HEY!"
"But I guess it's to be expected…" she snickered.
Luffy crossed his arms and glared petulantly at the Watcher of Worlds before him.
"What did you mean by… Watcher of Worlds?" he asked after a moment's silence.
"What did you mean when you asked me if I was related to Corruption?" she shot back, "Wait, how did you even know about Corruption? We locked her away!" her eyes widened and she gasped, "No… don't tell me…"
Luffy gave a solemn nod.
Norzira made a strangled noise with her throat, "Then…"
"Everything's gone," the mood became significantly darker, "Everything's either dead, reshaped, or Corrupted, I'm all that's left," a few tears streaked down Luffy's cheek as he let out a choked sob.
"There there…" Norzira soothed while comforting Luffy in her embrace, "You're Umi's child, aren't you? You're a D… You're strong, don't worry," she was getting a little choked up herself, "You're going to… You're going to live, right? You know, I can help you!" she tried lightening the mood.
Luffy wiped his eye, "How can you help me?"
Norzira hesitated, "When Umi, Cain, and Sora died, they gave a bit of their power to me. Couple that with my power to watch worlds, and I can… time travel?" she added that last part a bit hesitantly.
I mean, she thought, I don't know if I can, but I'm pretty sure that I can help him.
Luffy looked at her in amazement, and she felt a little bit of her heart melt.
"You can really help me?" he questioned.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Norzira nodded, "Yeah,".
"YESSSSSS!" Luffy cheered, but his spirits were quickly dashed by the next words Norzira said.
"However, I can only turn back the clock for Alternate Universes. Each one will be different, and while you live in those worlds, I will fix the others, and when the time comes, I'll send you to the beginning of your first adventure," she closed her eyes.
"Why?" Luffy asked.
"You need to carry me to the sea around Laugh Tale, when the sky is dark, and with the power of Cain's land, Umi's sea, and Sora's sky, I will make a necklace for you,"
Luffy scrunched his face up, "Why would I need a necklace?"
Norzira opened her eyes and looked at him, "Because that necklace will help you regress," she stated seriously.
She sighed at the clueless gaze she got in response, "I mean, that I will create a necklace for you, at the end of that necklace will be a bead. Every time you wish to start over again, to save those you care about, break the bead, and you'll regress right back to the beginning, also, if you die and still want to live, you'll regress to the beginning as well," she clarified.
"So basically," Luffy squinted, "I'm stuck in an eternal loop?"
Norzira blinked, "That's one way to put it," she admitted.
"Isn't that worse than what's happening now?" he questioned.
Norzira frowned, "Probably, but it's your best bet, isn't it? Besides, you have the chance to save everyone again,"
Luffy's eyes lit up, "Then, let's do this, already!"
Norzira wagged her finger in front of his face, "Nah ah, ah~! First, you have to carry me to Umi's sea in the dead of night, so I may make the bead," she stated pompously.
"Then let's go right now, and when we get there, we can wait for the night!" Luffy stated impatiently.
Norzira blinked and then laughed, "Ha! I didn't think of that," she wiped a tear from her eye, "Okay, let's go,".
Laugh Tale was a big island. That much should be known. So, making it to the coast of the island cut deep into the day, so it was already nearing dusk.
"Can we do it now?"
"Wait,"
"How about now?"
"Wait,"
"How about now?"
"Sure,"
"How about—huh?"
"Nope,"
"Wait, wait, wait, what?"
"Mayhap,"
Norzira took great pleasure in confusing the one called Monkey D Luffy, and by the time the sun completely submerged under the horizon, she said,
"We can do it now, making the bead, I mean,"
"Great!" all confusion was forgotten.
Norzira looked up at the sky, then at the land her bare feet walked on, and then the waters her sister used to guide and protect, before channeling all three powers at once into her hand.
She took essence of land and plants, and wove it into a line, she took the essence of star and cloud and turned it into a bead about a quarter the size of her fist, and she took the essence of the sea and filled the bead up with power. The end result?
A pendant.
A necklace with a single bead, shimmering like the stars, feeling like nature, and smelling of the sea. It was beautiful.
"Whoa…" Luffy stared in wonderment.
Norzira stumbled a little from fatigue, but quickly righted herself and held the pendant in front of Luffy.
"This relic is now yours to name, yours to command, and yours to control, Monkey D Luffy," she breathed, "If you wish, whenever you wish, I will speak to you through your dreams. My friend, find yourself, and live,".
Luffy gave a grim nod and accepted the pendant. Staring at it for a moment, he slipped it around his neck, and blacked out.
…
…
…
Luffy woke up in a sweat, What? He thought dazed, That dream…?
He must've regressed again, then. He gets the dream of the first run every time he breaks the pendant. He looked around. He was in the bandits' hut. He sort-of remembered this place, more or less.
What changed this time? He wondered, and looked around.
He winced from an unexpected pain in his ribcage and immediately got flashbacks of a lifetime that he seriously wanted to forget.
…
By the time Shanks came to save Luffy from Higuma, it was too late. He had already been sold off, and to the worst person possible—
"Get up, brat!" Doflamingo called out with that thrice-damned smile on his face, "We're still in training!"
…
Luffy shuddered and snapped back to reality. He knew that every time he regressed, he was always sent to the time where things changed and diverted from the 'Original World' as he took to calling the first time he lived.
He got up, and walked down the rickety stairs of the bandit hut. They were all in… suspiciously good moods today. One was even whistling! Whistling! The last time they were this happy was when they decided to ship Luffy and Ace off to Marineford.
It was not fun seeing the same place his brother died in all its pristine glory once more. He was more than happy to mess it up. He simultaneously hated and loved that World.
"What are you waiting for, Luffy? Get ready! You're going to be the Pirate King, aren't you?" One particularly cheerful bandit told him, while carrying a box full of food.
Luffy's mind blanked out, Pirate… King…? It's been so long since he's heard that phrase. All the recent Worlds either had him as a Revolutionary, a Marine, a World Noble (Norzi, he hated that one, a Fishman, a Merman, Big Mom's kid, and, yeah. You get the idea.
He knew that anything could change in a New Regression. Sometimes it could be small, like Coby having blue hair, or it could be big, like… Doflamingo.
He snapped back to reality and let a smile spread across his face, "Yosh! I'm gonna be the PIRATE KING!" he cheered.
The bandit chuckled and gave him a slap on the back before walking up the steps.
Luffy smiled and ran out of the bandits' hut but not before yelling out, "I'll be at Foosha Village if you need me!" he spun on his heel and ran down the mountain. He sped past the bushes, ignored the bright plants that were secretly carnivorous, and jumped over stray logs and branches.
He's been on this path so many times, that at this point, he knows it by heart. Luffy pushed aside a leaf from his line of sight and saw the village he grew up in during the Original World.
He was half worried that when he removed the leaf from his line of sight, all he'd see were the corpses of Makino, Woopslap, the nice fisherman, and everyone at Foosha. It had happened before, he'd seen it happen, so what's to say it'd happen again? He's had Worlds destroy themselves repeatedly in the same ways because of his mistakes. He never wanted that to happen again.
When he saw Makino's very much alive body, he let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding, and ran over to her.
"MAAAAAAAAKINO!"
He launched himself into his sister figure and shamelessly sobbed into her dress. He was sure that the entire village now had eyes on them, but he didn't care. In a bunch of the Worlds, he's regressed into, Makino either dies, or he's taken away from her. In the Worlds that he's allowed to be with Makino, she was the only constant.
In simpler terms, she was the only one who would believe him when he said he was over 1,000 years old. She was the only one who would believe him when he said that he's seen things that no kid should ever see in their lifetime. She was the only person who treated Luffy like Luffy and not like a piece of glass or a bomb ready to blow, because as wonderful as Ace and Sabo are, in the timelines that he told them, they were either too protective, or too tense in his presence, and he didn't like that.
"There, there, Luffy," she patted his back awkwardly, "Now, do you mind telling Makino what's wrong?"
Oh, I didn't think she would notice this fast, Luffy nodded mutely before wiping the tears off his face. They walked into Party's Bar, and while Makino cleaned out a wooden mug, she asked, "Mind spilling why you're so…" she hesitated, "Different? And don't say you're fine, young man, because I can see that you're not!" she said heatedly.
Luffy couldn't help but let out a light chuckle before smiling somberly, "I… died, Makino. I died more than I could count, and I lived even more. I've seen things no one should see, and been through fates that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy," he paused for a moment, flashes of Akainu and Blackbeard running through his mind, "Actually, maybe I would wish those fates on them. At this point, I want to see them beaten and broken for what they did to those I care about." He growled.
Makino blinked and asked, "What did they do?"
Luffy scowled, "They killed Ace, killed Sabo, and initiated the end of the world more times than I can count. 3 times they decided to be 'special' and awaken the Apocalypse," he rolled his eyes, "Those lifetimes were especially painful,".
Makino frowned, "I see, are you still going to go off and become the Pirate King with this knowledge under your belt?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course, I am," he said while picking his nose.
Makino laughed, "Of course you are, now, do you want me to fill you in on your childhood?" she offered. Luffy nodded furiously and sat down.
"Okay, so you are brought to Foosha… and then Shanks comes along… Devil Fruit… Straw Hat… Ace and Sabo… The Burning of Gray Terminal…Sabo died… Ace learned manners… Ace left at 17, about 3 years ago… Now part of Whitebeard Pirates… And that's about it!" she finished cheerfully.
Luffy was silent throughout the entire story, and Makino found herself worrying if he fell asleep halfway through. Those concerns were for nothing, though, when she heard Luffy speak again in a surprisingly thoughtful tone.
"I see," he interlocked his fingers and rested his elbows on the bar table. He looked like a mafia boss. It was something he learned from Crocodile in one of his past lifetimes. How to look aloof and commanding, yet eccentric. Croc pulled off that look like a champ.
"What's wrong?" Makino asked nervously, Did something vital change?
"It's just that…" Luffy paused for extra effect, "Nothing changed,"
"Huh?"
"Nothing changed from the Original World, everything's the same…" Maybe Norzi finished? He frowned, she would've told me, though… I'll wait until she uses her mystery-power and tells me everything when I sleep.
"Is there anything wrong with that?" Makino asked nervously.
"Well," Luffy hesitated, "Do you want to know?"
Makino nodded.
"The possible fate of this world is at the hands of a crazy goddess whose name is…" Luffy looked around before leaning in close to whisper into Makino's ear, "Corrupt—ion,"
A confused look etched itself onto Makino's features, "Corrupt—"
"SHHHHHHHHH!" Luffy slapped his hand onto Makino's mouth to stop her from talking, before leaning in closer and looking as serious as he possibly could.
"Don't say her name," he said, "She'll kill you,".
Makino paled and nodded.
He pulled his hand off her mouth and sat cross-legged on the barstool, patiently waiting for Makino to gain her bearings.
"So…" she hesitated, "Are you going to go now?" At Luffy's blank look, she clarified, "I mean, to become the Pirate King, it's already 2 hours passed, you're set to leave in 5 minutes," she finished after checking the time.
Luffy blinked and then promptly got up and grinned, "Well, it wouldn't do to keep my future crewmates waiting, huh?".
Makino returned the smile, "Nope! Hey, here's my Den-Den Number, call me if you need any consolation, or if you need anything, I promise I will help you the best I can, now go! Shoo!" she shoved a paper into Luffy's hands and then pushed him out the bar door,
"Have fun on your adventures! Luffy!" she called out, while waving.
Luffy was already in his little dinghy and waving to all of Foosha, "I will!" he confirmed, "And I will make sure that it stays that way," he murmured under his breath, leaving those that heard him in an ominous state of mind and wondering if the teen that always had a sunshine smile to give them actually said that.
"Ah! Such a wonderful day!" Luffy looked up at the sky and laughed, something's going to ruin today, I just feel it, a more negative part of his mind groused.
Luffy looked to the sea in front of him and grimaced. He was never that good with navigation, even with his… more than questionable experiences. That was a job solely reserved for Nami, and Nami alone.
Although, he wondered if anything in the timeline would change unexpectedly. Changes could be small, such as Coby dying his hair blue, but changes could also be big, like Chopper and Kaido, in a sense.
In that World, everything had been going suspiciously normal. It was one of the earlier Worlds he'd regressed into, so he never could even think about Kaido somehow gaining an interest in Chopper, after he heard about an animal with a human Zoan shapeshifting and helping a pirate crew wreak havoc across Paradise.
Kaido had personally left Wano and tracked the Straw Hats down, kidnapped them, and turned Chopper into his own, personal, superweapon. Oh yeah, and he brainwashed him too. Luffy was understandably pissed.
Almost as if Fate laughed at his whims, a whirlpool appeared out of nowhere and sunk the little dinghy he was in. Hastily, Luffy crammed himself into a barrel, "huh, how convenient," and shut the lid tight, while drifting off at sea.
"Ahh…" he closed his eyes and thought, maybe one nap won't hurt… It's just one nap…
…
0-o-0
"Huh? Where am I?" Luffy looked around the black dreamscape, before his eyes landed on the fatigued form of his friend, Norzira.
"Hey! Norzi! Are you okay?" he ran over to her and helped her up the best he could.
"Thank…you," she wheezed.
He gave his friend a once-over and saw that her formerly peach skin, bright blue-green eyes, and hombre colored hair between a dark brown to blonde, was now changing drastically.
"What's going on with you?" he asked bluntly.
She laughed, "You are so blunt, Luffy, anyways, I'm turning into my goddess form, as I am now gaining my strength back,"
"What?" Luffy asked obliviously.
Norzira glared and huffed, "Well, basically I'm going to look a lot more like Corrupt—ion after this, but better,"
"What do you mean you'll look like Corruption?" he questioned.
"Basically, I'll be her equivalent, just a whole lot younger, with pastel colors for hair, hombre into light green, heterochromatic eyes, blue skin, and 3 awesome dots under my eyes which will have black sclera," she nodded sagely, "I will look so much better than Corrupt—ion,"
The dreamscape was silent for a while, before Luffy burst into raucous laughter.
"Ha… I can totally see that," he snorted.
Norzira scowled—scowled, not pouted! Scowled; she should be feared—before lighting up and saying, "Well, good news, you now get to start over in this timeline, congratulations?" she said before awkwardly putting her arms up, "I managed to fix your original world, and now, thanks to the destruction you spread everywhere, I have to fix the others too," she huffed, "But… this was the hardest to fix, what with all the time Corrupt—ion was given to prepare, and the fact that there's Blackbeard and Akainu as bad guys, and Sengoku goes through some serious character development and—I'm boring you, aren't I?" she deadpanned, after she saw Luffy change the black dreamscape into Fishman Island.
"Wait, so basically I'm back at Stage One?" he asked hopefully.
Norzira suppressed a wince and nodded, "Yes, you are, now listen, please, PLEASE, do not spread that much carnage on your path to Pirate King, and by extension, me. I'll be waiting for you at Laugh Tale, give me an adventure to watch, Luffy,".
The referenced Luffy nodded, "I promise you, I will,"
"Good,"
0-o-0
Luffy woke up cramped in a barrel, completely satisfied with the events that just unfolded within his mind. He was also quite happy for his friend, Norzi, considering that she finally is ascending back to her original status.
Time to stretch then, he gave a smirk, and tensed his muscles.
…
"AAH! SUCH A NICE NAP!" a teen in a vest said joyously, after breaking out of a barrel, and simultaneously knocking one pirate out cold.
He climbed out of the barrel and looked at the pirates behind him, "Who the hell are you guys?"
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
"Me? I'm Richard," the kid lied. It was so painfully obvious that he lied, too. Coby weighed his options, as to whether to be the nice guy and help him lie around the pirates, or let him die at their hands, after all, that one time he knocked out the pirate was just luck, right?
Right?
Damn, me and my bleeding heart, Coby cursed, before throwing himself into the fray.
…
Luffy winced, still haven't gotten better at lying, have I?
"Yes! His name is Richard!" a small, slightly timid voice popped up. Even though it was still the beginning of this world, Luffy could not help but let a wide D-centric grin spread across his face.
It's so nice to see you…Coby!
