The Strawhats established a base camp not far from the lab where the latest bizarre events took place to keep on investigating everything they could in order to find a cure for their badly injured captain.
Nami couldn't help but stand by Luffy's side in genuine concern, taking care of him from the beginning, helping Chopper with anything he needed; even though there seemed to be little they could do.
'His skin feels so different now,' she thought as she grasped and stroked his hand with her thumb, lost in thought. No more rubbery feeling, just flesh and bones.
Chopper startled her as he entered the tent and she quickly pulled her hand away from Luffy's, feeling the loss of his warmth in the process. Chopper blinked as he noticed the strange movement he caught her making.
"Nami, you should get some rest" The redhead glanced over at him with large dark bags under her troubled, tired eyes and a faint smile.
"Don't worry Chopper, you know I wanna just stay here" her voice a mere hushed murmur as she looked back at the still unconscious man "I really do wanna be by his side when he wakes up" She caressed his hair, parting some of his fringe.
"You keep saying that but it's been-" Concern drooled from the little doctor's voice. Since the incident, she hadn't left the tent. The last time Chopper had seriously tried to get Nami to leave and try to rest, she'd gotten a panic attack and had to be sedated.
"I know... but he'll wake up..." Her head hung low. It had been obvious from her last emotional outburst, even if no one in the crew said anything, the way they were all looking at her now. After all, she had given herself away starting with the kiss, of course, she knew that. But she'd almost lost him, she was hopeless.
"We'll find a cure..and everything will go back to the way it was" She tried to convince herself more than anyone else and Chopper just sighed sorrowfully and nodded. He began to check Luffy's health to see if anything changed like every morning after the incident.
"Well, at least he's still stable. That's a good sign", she nodded lost in Luffy's aspect while mumbling something.
"...Change" Chopper looked at her knitting his brow. She cleared her throat and repeated "His bandages...need a change" The little doctor hummed as she helped him remove Luffy's dark red stained bandages. She gazed at his body with a very gloomy expression and knotted eyebrows. After cleaning his torso completely, they both heaved a sigh of relief. At least he was no longer bleeding, but the lightning marks that soaked into his skin brought their worried faces back.
"I think these marks", Chopper said, also curious and disturbed by the marks "were made when he made contact with the orb" his face scrunched up, only if they had been able to stop it in time.
Nami put a hand on his shoulder with a calm and reassuring smile knowing what the little boy might be thinking "Don't worry Chopper, no one blames you or Robin for this" He nodded still a little sad but began to apply some healing herbal cream and some clean bandages around Luffy's body.
Nami stood up, "I'm going to check to see if Robin found anything" Chopper gave a little nod as Nami searched the tent where Robin was trying to get some information from the orb, or Luffy's devil fruit now. Nami entered the tent finding her partner reading some papers.
"Were you able to find anything else?" She asked as the mentioned looked towards her with the same tired and concerned face she wore. No one could sleep under these circumstances. Three days had passed and Luffy was still unconscious. The crew did not know what to do. They were lost without their captain.
Robin shook her head, "It looks like the orb has taken Luffy's powers. I can't help but think it must be one of Vegapunk's inventions, something the navy was surely very interested in... and very dangerous to all devil fruit users..." She looked thoughtful " Moreover, it sometimes glows as if it was reacting to something. Regarding the figure you said you saw, I didn't see anything like what you described..." she said pointing towards the fruit "...yet it laughs like Luffy" added Usopp, who had just entered the tent with two cups of coffee in his hands. Robin looked at him with narrowed eyes and a sigh "I've never seen that" interjected Robin "-But I have!" Usopp quickly responded by setting the coffee cups down on the table and looked at Nami "I swear" Nami smiled a little "Maybe you're a little tired Usopp... why don't you try to get some deserved re..."
"Why don't you?!" He interrupted her with a cold voice and a stern face "And what's wrong with you all of a sudden? You kissed him!" He raised his hands dramatically "And then you wouldn't leave his side and when we tried to persuade you to leave to rest, you..." He was picking up his pace and voice "Usopp" interjected the archaeologist putting one of her fleur hands over his mouth to stop and calm him down as she looked at him with a disapproving look. Usopp relaxed his raised shoulders as he let out a deep sigh as the hand disappeared. "I'm sorry," he said honestly to Nami. She shook her head with a somber look on her face and sat down next to Robin and looked at Luffy's fruit.
"You're right Usopp... We're all a bit on edge" It was the only answer she gave him as he deflated.
"You can take it", Robin said changing the subject knowing how the navigator could feel and seeing how Nami's eyes couldn't stop looking at Luffy's devil fruit for some reason "It won't hurt you" She put special emphasis on the last word.
As soon as Nami touched and held the fruit, it glowed and something inside it let out a laugh just like Luffy's. A shocked Nami dropped it to the ground causing it to crack like an open egg; a glowing steam began to rise from it as the laughter didn't cease.
"I TOLD YOU!" Usopp shouted to Robin and Nami as the three onlookers witnessed in amazement as from the steam of the fruit something began to rise into the shape of a white-haired, red-eyed figure that looked exactly like their captain. He floated in the air, just laughing and stretching himself out proving that he was made of rubber.
Nami and Usopp couldn't hold back a yell as Robin stared at him stupefied. At the same time, they could hear Chopper's shriek from Luffy's tent.
The strange creature grinned widely looking at the three of them and wrapping his arms around them all, he headed for Luffy's tent.
The sudden screams caused the rest of the crew to make their way to Luffy's tent, where everyone could see how there was a pair of Luffys: one white-haired, wearing the same outfit their captain wore but in white while clouds hovered around him and his eyes were red as he was floating and giggling while the other looked just like their usual captain and had just woken up, gasping for breath.
"Luffy!" Chopper was the first one to come out of his bubble and all of them approached their badly injured captain. He glanced around at everyone feeling sick and very heavy, his stare out of focus. All the battles and scars he had fought were taking their toll on his body. He tried to sit up with some effort and help from Chopper and Robin's fleur arms. "How are you feeling?" Asked the anxious doctor.
"Like shit", Luffy said in a deeper and more serious voice than they were used to.
"Well, I feel great!", replied the white-haired Luffy with a huge grin and hugged his twin from behind laughing.
The crew could only look at the situation with incredulous faces. Not only were there two versions of their captain now, but they had different temperaments.
"Hey!" shouted Zoro "who the hell are you?" he aimed one of his swords at the cheerful red-eyed captain.
"Me?!" Said the man pointing at himself and then towards his injured twin "Don't be stupid Zoro, it's me!" The green-haired man scowled his eyebrows even more.
"Swordman-san" Interjected the archaeologist "He" She motioned to the gleeful Luffy who now had a little pout "was born from the orb that took the form of our captain's devil fruit" The aforementioned was still hugging his other self giggling as his captain looked annoyed.
"Hey! You! Stop hugging me! It's weird!" His other self just kept laughing.
"Luffy" Nami called out in a concerned voice but feeling awkward with the display. Both Luffy's turned their gazes towards her. She suddenly felt intimidated. They could all hear the excited sound of the red-eyed Luffy's heartbeat as it began to drum louder.
"Yeah?" They both replied at the same time. One furrowing his eyebrows, the other with his trademark grin. She felt a shiver run down her spine as the white-haired Luffy approached her with a huge grin, his face so close to her she could feel his breath.
"Oi!" The other called out and tried to reach for the other by stretching out his arm, but suddenly found he couldn't "Wha-?!" The other Luffy flashed a crooked grin glaring at the other man now but not leaving Nami's space.
"You can't", he said simply and then stretched his arm out to meet Luffy's "But I can." Luffy could only look at his other self with a puzzled expression.
"So that's how it works" Robin muttered with a thoughtful expression, one hand on her chin "A weapon that can absorb the user's devil fruit... but why did you take that form?" she pointed at the white-haired Luffy.
"This is my true form", he simply stated. Robin narrowed her eyes, unconvinced. He just stretched " His? Ours?" He seemed confused too "Even though we are separated I am used to his body form" He touched his own body and paused where his scar was.
"So, can you take the form of all your previous users?" He turned to look at Nami, who asked the question "Yes" His eyes kept looking at her intently. She looked in another direction, unable to look at such a powerful gaze "Then, why Luffy?" pushed the navigator.
"Why not?" He simply replied.
"How should we call you? We can't keep calling the two of you Luffy" Robin interjected. His gaze was still fixed on Nami "I've been called too many names over time" Nami looked at him again, curious "Joyboy was one of them" He gave a huge grin and Nami couldn't stop the one that formed on her own lips "Nika, the warrior of liberation, was another one" He looked towards Robin as she opened her mouth, but said nothing.
"We'll call you that then" He paused, "Nika," Sanji stepped in, not liking what he was seeing. Nika was too close to his red-haired beauty.
"Do you like it?" He asked Nami and she felt surprised but warm inside "I think it suits you" she replied. Luffy felt disgusted by how affectionate the Joyboy-Nika was being with his navigator; also by the look of happiness on Nami's face... He felt his stomach turn. His eyes pierced Nika with a jealous look.
"Don't be like that... I can feel it, y'know?" Nika looked at Luffy with a smile and the other just snorted "After all, we're still connected. I'm still a part of you"
Luffy touched his bandaged torso "So you could merge back inside Luffy again?" Franky was the one who spoke this time. A huge but somewhat unpleasant grin graced Nika's face "That's correct."
Chopper sighed and smiled feeling relieved "So Luffy can go back to normal."
"I didn't say I want to disappear and go back inside again though", Nika said, Luffy looked at him sternly "I like being free...but I can't let you die, because I'll die with you so...stop looking at me like that. You won't be able to live long if I disappear either" Luffy heaved a sigh
"Good" He looked at his crew "Then I won't take my eyes away from you" His voice serious. He tried to get himself to up with Zoro's aid.
"Luffy!" Called the troubled doctor "You still need to rest!"
"I'm fine", he said plainly and walked towards Nami but in the middle of his walk, he collapsed to the ground coughing up blood. Zoro was able to catch him in time. Gasps were coming out of his captain. He looked at him sternly "Leave him to us" Luffy nodded but continued to stand with the help of his best friend.
Nami looked at the twins with mixed up feelings. They looked at each other as if they were going to start fighting at any moment. Nika smiled confidently, Luffy looked like a dead man risen from the dead.
Then a look that couldn't go unnoticed by her, a look from both of them at the same time from the corner of their eyes towards her; so powerful. What was that about?