Disclaimer- I don't own any of this 'cept for Reia, o'course.
---Chapter Five---
Chopper turned in his sleep. He had always loved sleeping;
His bed was always so…cold and stony? He sat up. Where was his bed?
More important than that; Where was his hat? He scrambled to his feet and yelled at the top of his lungs.
"WHEre is MY HAT!!!!!?" Someone nearby groaned in the darkness.
"Hey, where's the ship?" someone asked. There was a faint
shuffling and a small thump.
"Quit grabbing my ass!" someone else snarled. It sounded like Zoro.
"That was my nose. And I can't see. OH MY GOD!!! Are there monsters in HERe?!" a voice screamed hysterically.
"Where is Nami-san? I need her…" someone started to say.
"Usopp, stop screaming," a female voice muttered.
"Nami-SAN!!" someone yelled. A large "whumph" was heard.
"Stop running into walls, you lusty cook," another voice patronized. A grabbing sound was audible.
"Where the hell are my swords?!"
"Where's my hat?"
"Where's the ship?"
"Nami-San!!"
"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!!!" Nami yelled. Everyone quieted. "Okay, say something when I name you."
"Sanji."
"Here, my love!"
"Usopp."
"Here."
"Chopper."
"Where is my hat?"
"Zoro."
"Bastards took my swords…"
"Luffy." Only silence was audible in the darkness.
"Maybe he's sleeping," Usopp suggested. Chopper shook his head. Well, he knew he did, but the others didn't see him.
"I don't smell him. He's not here," he stated. Chopper scratched his head.
"Nami, what happened?" Nami sighed.
"Well, from what I remember, there was an explosion, and then we all ran out. Then there was….darkness." Usopp breathed out.
"So where are we?" he asked quietly. Nami shrugged in the darkness.
"In a cell of some sort. Luffy is still on the ship though, with R---" Suddenly, she squeaked. Everyone stiffened.
"The locator! It's gone!!" Laughter echoed through the darkness.
"Indeed," said a male voice in a light and casual tone.
"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Nami asked furiously.
"Who am I?" he continued. "I am a collector, of some sort. And I don't want anything with you…"he said in a disgusted voice. "I just want something from you."
"What do you want?"
"It's wanted and have, darling. I already have…hmm…let's see…cigarettes…" Sanji muttered under his breath.
"…swords…" Zoro swore loudly.
"…hats…bags….locators…oh, and I forgot! Devil fruit. They bring quite a lot of cash into my pockets and are so peculiar!" He chuckled.
"And that brings another thing to my mind. You have one other crew member that I haven't got a hold of yet, true?"
"What do you want to do with him?" Nami asked quickly.
"Oh, so we're intrigued, now, are we, dear? It won't harm in telling you now...I've dropped a note to the monkey…wait, what am I saying? This is a common mistake many people with the same goals as my own make. You'll just escape with the knowledge that a monkey ghost holding a warai is the key to the fruit of Chinshima's womb, which is the devil fruit. After he enters, so can I. So can anybody else." Nami gasped.
"But you don't know that." He continued.
"You'll try to stop me if I tell you. But the location of our little "meeting" is a secret." He chuckled. "No one knows that the warai orchard that grows closest to the mountain is by a square orange house," Usopp nudged Chopper and stifled laughter. He went on.
"And even if you found out by pure luck that we are going to meet when the moon is at its peak, it'll be too late! I'll have made off with the devil fruit and sold them to power-hungry rulers or low self-esteem millionaires." There was a small silence.
"Look at the time! Well, catch a few winks in my absence, won't you? I have a date to catch!" There was a sudden pause, and the Straw Hats just sat there. Then his voice cut in.
"Oh, and don't think I'm not watching you. You won't even make it to your precious objects which are coincidentally down the left side of this exit. Yes, I know how you think.Watch out forpanthers.Good day."
"Um, is it just me," Usopp began to say. "Or was the guy giving us hints or was he being extremely stupid?" Nami snorted.
"I think the latter, Usopp," she replied sardonically. She glanced around. Well, she knew she did, but no one saw her.
"Chopper, where did the guy's voice originate from?" Nami asked. He clip-clopped in the darkness. Suddenly, a small part of the wall opened and a slit of yellow light slipped inside. Then it grew as Chopper nudged the door even harder. Everyone held their arms up to block out the intrusive light. After they got used to it, they crept out into a hall Victorian red carpet, dim candelabras, and walls of dark, polished wood.
"Down the left side, eh? I need a smoke…" Sanji muttered. They started to walk cautiously down the left hall, completely unaware of a slim, dark figure emerging from the walls behind them and stepping into pace with them. The wooden door at the end of the corridor beckoned.
-----------------------------------------
Luffy and Reia jumped out of the ship. He adjusted his straw hat started to turn left and walk.
"Luffy, it's this way," Reia called out to him. He turned around in silence and followed her. She walked straight down the street and they went in silence. Her hair trailed after her like wisps of smoke.
"Luffy, what will you do if you lose them completely?" The moon soared slowly up the dark sky.
"I won't lose them. They won't let me."
After a few minutes, Reia noticed moon starting to stop. She gasped.
"Luffy, it's near the peak!" Luffy looked up, and then looked at her.
"Is there a faster way? We have to get there!!" he asked desperately. Reia seemed to ponder. Then she sighed with frustration.
"Luffy, hold my hand." He raised both his eyebrows.
"What?!" Reia blinked. Then rolled her eyes.
"Not like that, pervert, it's gonna get us there quicker." Luffy shrugged and grabbed her hand. It felt dry. She laced her fingers with his.
"Just to let you know, I never tried this before."
"Let's go!!!" he said impatiently. Reia then went "POP".
This transformation she went through was unlike any other. It took her no effort to change herself, but after changing Luffy, that was different. She felt only a little weaker, like when you hold a dictionary above your head until you feel the strain. Luffy looked around.
"What iss thiss?!" he yelped. His hand started to slip…
"Doon't leet goo!" Reia yelled, and she tightened her grip on his hand. Then they both kicked off and floated off towards the mountain.
Faster…faster….Reia thought to herself. She felt both of them speed up. She glanced at Luffy and had to stop the bubbling laughter. His mouth was dropped and he gazed around.
"Don't loook doown…" she warned him. He did anyways.
"Thisss iss COool!!!" he exclaimed. She grinned and the orchards came into view. They lowered in altitude and landed on the grass next to a warai tree. Luffy let go of her hand and he appeared more clearly. He grabbed a warai fruit and was looking at it. Then he pocketed it.
Crickets chirped pleasantly, but the smothering darkness surrounding the faint light from the moon wasn't pleasant at all. She looked up at the moon, and it still hadn't reached its peak…she was about to transform when a light voice started to speak.
"Right on the dot, as usual, my little monkey. The question is; where is your ghost?" Something whistled past Reia's ear and she ducked instinctively. When she looked at Luffy, she saw a thin dart sticking out of his arm.
"Reia….." he murmured and slumped to the ground. Reia gasped, and crouched next to him. A hooded figure emerged from the darkness. Reia was about to tell him to back off when suddenly the figure stooped down to examine Luffy, completely oblivious to Reia.
"Where is your ghost?" it repeated menacingly.
Of course! She hadn't transformed back. The figure's head turned into a swirling darkness, and then his whole body disappeared. It had the devil fruit powers too? She wasted no time and laced her fingers with Luffy's. With the other hand she pulled out the dart, and Luffy's image dimmed. She felt a little weaker, and held him in her arms like a sleeping baby.
Which he almost was, anyways. She bit her lip and hiked over to the familiar spot near the bushes. She ran through them and into the tunnel, constantly looking over her shoulder.
She proceeded through, and ended up inside the huge cavern. She paused underneath a devil fruit tree, and looked behind her. No trace of the attacker. Why didn't he follow? She readjusted her hands in Luffy's.
Suddenly, she heard something fall from above and a square fruit that felt like forty-five kilograms. She fell to her knees and moaned in agony.
Seeing stars and devil fruit, the last thought she had before she slipped into darkness was:
"What a stupid way to black out."