The waves violently tossed them about as if they were its mere play things, having no regard or mercy for them. Its terrifying strength smothered their own, insignificant power into nothing, and Roronoa Zoro began to feel his energy flicker like the small flame of a dying candle. He held onto his friend tightly, straw hat clenched between his own teeth, as he tried to keep both of their heads above the raging torrent. Rain beat down about his face, making it that much harder to stay afloat. But he knew that regardless of what happened to him, he would let absolutely no harm could come upon Luffy or his hat. Even if it killed him.

As he struggled violently through the raging water, he called above the deafening roar of the waves and the rain. "Luffy -- do you see the ship?!" He received no answer; his captain was too weak from the sea to even speak.

The strong currents had swept them both far beneath the ocean surface, and farther away from the ship. Heavy sheets of rain prevented either of them from seeing anything within a certain distance.

It was plain and simple -- they were surely going to drown. As if to make this point clear, a heavy wave suddenly crashed into the green haired man, and he felt both their bodies spiral through the unforgiving ocean. Still, his teeth clenched tighter around the hat, and his arms remained firmly around his captain. He would not give up.

I won't lose, he told himself fervently. I won't lose. Neither of us will lose!

With all of his frantically beating heart, he repeated this to himself countless times. Even as the long hours drifted by, accompanied with nonstop abuse, his determination never wavered. Even when he began to feel his flame die, that firmness still remained as his vision began to leave him.

Even when an unseen pair of sharp claws latched onto his form and cruelly snatched him from the water, all he could do was stubbornly hold onto his captain, losing himself into the foggy darkness and the overwhelming exhaustion that now plagued his body and mind.

…and then the chilly wind of the empty shore swept him into wakefulness, and it wasn't long until he was reacquainted with the soft, gentle roar of the calm sea. His eyes cracked open, and he absently ran a hand through his hair. Dawn's early light had just peeked over the horizon, and he could see where the tide was beginning to go out.

"A dream," he mumbled to himself. Slowly, Roronoa Zoro sat up and stretched pleasantly, a sleepy yawn escaping him. He gave a sudden blink, however, when he realized that Luffy was missing.

Probably after that monster, he thought to himself. After standing up, his eyes scanned the shore for anything unusual, but, after a few moments, he found nothing. Upon looking over the peaceful ocean, he vaguely wondered when the Going Merry would show up in the distant horizon. Giving an irritated sigh, he folded his arms over his chest. "They're so slow," he said aloud.

Deciding that he was thirsty, however, he made his way into the forest to drink from the cool spring they had found the other day. As he walked, however, he realized that he had no idea where the water was, and it was only a matter of time before he found himself lost.

***

While a well rested Monkey D. Luffy had begun his climb up the mountain in pursuit of his meal, he soon found himself distracted by something a bit more amusing. He had made a discovery, which he cheerfully dubbed "chalk rock", and it wasn't long until he began to put it to productive use. Scrawled out, lopsided faces now stared up at him from a particularly odd shaped boulder. He grinned, admiring his own handiwork for a moment, before depositing the chalk into his pocket. The deformed faces of his crew grinned back from the smooth stone.

"They look just like them," he commented aloud, although Sanji probably would have killed something after seeing his captain's portrayal of Nami.

Satisfied with looking at his "art", Luffy's tummy rumbled with want of food, and he knew that he would have twice as much fun drawing on a full stomach. Dark eyes looked heavenward, towards the summit. Staring right back from the mountain's peak, however, was the dark figure of something large and looming.

Luffy grinned. "I found you, Mister Monster!"

He wasted no time in throwing his rubber-like arm forward, flinging it up towards where the creature was. Grabbing a hold onto a jagged boulder, he shot upward at an amazing speed. Failing to calculate where he would land, however, he succeeded in slamming into the blue monster's neck and it wasn't long before he slid down onto the gravelly earth.

Once again casting his eyes upward, his gaze was met by the same football sized eyes he had seen the other day. This time, however, the pair of eyes loomed from a head that was held high upon a long, stretching, blue neck that was connected to a gracefully muscular body. Arching from its speckled back were a pair of folded, scaly wings. The monster's long, winding tail, on the other hand, seemed a bit restless at the pirate's unexpected visit. Even so, Luffy was not discouraged by the large, dark shadow that hung over him.

"I'm gonna eat you," he bluntly said, grinning. "Better get ready!" The puzzled creature merely blinked at him, and there was a brief pause. Luffy's grin never wavered and he said, " I guess you're stupid, aren't you?" The pirate abruptly stood up, stretching somewhat in the process. "Oh, well! It'll make catching you easier." He gave a simple laugh and balled his hand into a fist. "Gomu gomu no…" The blue, towering monster merely yawned. Upon shouting, "Pistol!" Luffy's fist flew towards the long neck in an attempt to snap it.

The winged beast easily averted his head and neck off to the side, allowing Luffy's stretching arm to fly past him and into the air. Somewhat surprised, Luffy gave a massive grin. "Wanna play, huh?" The rubber pirate abruptly threw his weight into one side, and his arm was sent curling around the monster's neck by the force. Once, twice, three times it wrapped around it and squeezed it tight. Giving a startled, choked cry, the speckled monster reared its dragon-like head to the side with incredible strength.

Luffy was forcefully lifted up from where he stood and was thrown up into the air, letting out a sudden cry of his own. Not forgetting his other arm, however, he sent it hurling at his foe while keeping his firm grip on its neck. A long, slender tail abruptly lashed forward and blocked his advance by wrapping itself effectively around his arm.

Caught by both arms, it wasn't long until Luffy reached his stretching capacity and speedily bounced back into the monster's chest and onto the ground. Cracking an eye open to gaze at his captor, he stuck his tongue out. "I've still got my feet to use!" Giving another amused blink, the creature raised its small but muscular arms as if to say: I've got these, too.

Upon seeing this, Luffy gave a hearty laugh. "Let's see who wins, then!" Pulling back both legs, he sent them hurling at the monster's chest once more. In a single, anti-climatic moment, the large, clawed hands caught both feet.

There was a long moment of silence that clearly spelled a tie.

"I like you, Mister Monster!" Luffy finally declared, giving another laugh. "Looks like neither of us win this round! Wanna have another go?" His feet were pulled upon by the creature, as if to readily accept the challenge, and he let go of him. After his legs snapped into place, Luffy released his hold upon the slender neck and his other arm was immediately released by the tail.

But it was when Luffy ran a relaxed hand through his own dark hair that a horrible realization sunk in.

"Wait!" he cried out, his eyes widening. "My hat! Where did it go?!" Indeed, it was no where to be found on his head!

The monster cast its large eyes about the area, as if scanning for it. After a few, brief moments they located the straw hat, which had fallen onto a scraggly bush some 20 meters below where they stood upon the mountain. Alerted by the sound of a strong tail thumping against the ground, it wasn't too long before Luffy's own eyes spotted his beloved treasure.

"Ah! My hat!" Having no regard for his own safety, he made the jump down to the level his hat rested upon. He quickly snatched it from the small bush, grateful to have it back in his possession. After giving a light sigh of relief, he placed the hat back onto his head and grinned. It was then that he leaned forward to have a closer look at his hat's former resting place. His eyes suddenly lit up, however, when he realized what the bush actually contained.

"Berries!"

***

It was quiet -- too quiet -- upon the Going Merry. The night had passed unusually slow, crawling by at the pace of a snail. With it, it carried the curt scent of strong coffee and no sign of Luffy, Zoro or any sort of island. Sanji, who had been unable to stand the thought of dear Nami-san being in the crow's nest all night, had finally convinced the navigator to let him have a turn keeping a look out. Tired and drained, it wasn't long until she conceded and left the crow's nest. But after several fruitless attempts of claiming any sort of sleep, she had wandered into the kitchen to keep Usopp and Chopper company and make sure they "didn't screw anything up."

And thus, that was the way the night went on. But it was dawn now, which called attention for at least a little bit of cranky chatter, and a groan pierced the boring silence that reigned the kitchen.

"Are we there yet?"

Nami sighed irritably, her eyes glazed and tired, whilst sipping on some freshly brewed coffee. "Usopp, that's the fifth time you've asked that this morning." Barely suppressing a yawn, she managed to add, "You just keep steering, and Sanji-kun will let us know when he sees something."

"But, Nami!"

"Stop complaining!" snapped the navigator, and, after giving a yelp, Usopp hurriedly turned back to the helm.

Shifting lightly in his seat beside Nami, Chopper suddenly yawned as he rubbed his own eyes. "You should all go to bed," he lightly admonished. He was quiet a moment before nervously adding, "What if something happens and no one is rested enough to deal with it?"

Nami smiled lightly at the reindeer. "Then we'll deal with it anyway." There was a brief pause, in which her grin widened a bit. "Besides, I haven't seen you getting much rest."

"W-well," sputtered Chopper, somewhat taken aback, "I felt bad leaving you all working like that!"

Usopp laughed, but Nami's glare sent him recoiling into silence. Turning to Chopper, however, the orange haired girl sweetly said, "Thank you for helping, Tony-kun." Their doctor uncomfortably squirmed in his seat.

"You're, um, welcome," he managed after a moment. She regarded the youngest member of the crew with a fond smile before her eyes drifted idly to the wall, staring off into space with fatigue.

"If Sanji-kun doesn't see anything soon, I don't know what I'm going to do," she wearily sighed before her eyebrows abruptly furrowed and a light scowl graced her features. "Leave it to Luffy and Zoro to cause so much trouble!" Folding her arms indignantly, she suddenly looked over to Usopp. "When they get back, remind me to make them pull double shifts!"

"Right, right," mumbled Usopp tiredly, adjusting the helm for what he felt like was the millionth time. "And you remind me to take a look at this helm again. If it'd stay put like it did before Luffy broke it, Chopper and I'd still be sleeping."

"Don't even talk to me about sleep," growled Nami irritably, rubbing her eyes. "I don't want to hear it."

Suddenly, however, Sanji's voice seemed to ring from afar. But the sound was so new compared to the heavy, boring quiet that had prevailed most of the night, that everyone's heads suddenly jerked towards the kitchen door.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Chopper anxiously. "Why is he yelling?"

"Actually, it sounds almost like he's happy," replied Usopp blearily. "At least someone's cheery…"

Nami's hands suddenly slammed onto the table, causing both doctor and handyman to jump. "I'll bet you that--!" She could barely contain her new found glee as she shot up from the table and across the kitchen, suddenly throwing open the doors. Even amidst the blowing wind and the roar of the ocean waves, Sanji's voice could now be clearly heard.

"Land ho!"

Upon hearing this, Usopp and Chopper soon joined Nami to gaze outside into the baby blue horizon, a newfound hope in their faces.

"Land!" exclaimed the reindeer happily.

"And not a moment too soon!" laughed Usopp.

"Look, I think I see it!" said Nami as she pointed forward. "Maybe Luffy and Zoro are there!" As she said this, Chopper and Usopp took to merrily dancing in circles. Even so, however, a light feeling of unease rested in the pit of Nami's stomach.

***

Zoro cursed under his breath as his eyes continued to scan around himself, hoping to find any sign of familiarity. But the further he continued into the forest, each tree and shrub looked more foreign than before. "Stupid spring," he growled, his skin moist from the dense, humid air. "It's almost not even worth it." But whether the trip was worth it or not, it no longer mattered. He was hopelessly lost and he needed to find his way again.

Just as he was about to make a random turn to the left, as he was beginning to decided that left sounded a lot better than going forward, something immensely large and shadowy in the sky caught his attention. "What the--?" Its long, slender neck was hovering along with the rest of its blue, speckled body, and its powerful wings beat against the air to sustain the wait of itself. The wind from the force angrily rustled the trees, and the swordsman's eyes narrowed when he saw something limp and still hanging from its claws like a dead mouse in an owl's cruel grip.

His eyes suddenly widened. No--!

Legs carrying him as fast as they could go, he dashed through the trees and into the distance, to where the massive creature was beginning to land. As soon as he arrived into the large clearing, the monster was just beginning to depart into the sky once more. Zoro came to a halt and withdrew his swords, his eyes taking a brief moment to scan the area before him.

And it was then that he saw Monkey D. Luffy, where he had been deposited onto the earth, motionless and quiet, his arms and legs sprawled about like that of a broken toy.

Growling, he looked up and shouted out at the descending monster, his voice tearing out of his throat--"Wait! I'll kill you!" But the flying creature paid him no heed and propelled himself with a purpose, becoming too far out of reach. Even so, the first mate's rage was not dissuaded, and he grinded his teeth with burning eyes.

But there was nothing to be done, and, grudgingly, Zoro put away his gleaming swords before suddenly turning to his captain. "Luffy--" The green haired man was kneeling by his side within an instant, shaking his still body and slapping him on his clammy face. "Wake up." But he did not revive, his face disturbingly peaceful. After a few moments of this, he suddenly passed a hand over the rubber man's nose and mouth.

There was breath.

Sighing with relief, he quickly checked Luffy for any injuries. There were none, except upon his hands and mouth there was--

"Blood?" said Zoro softly, his thumb wiping some of the crimson liquid from Luffy's face. "No." He knew the sight, smell and feel of blood all too well. This had an almost pulpy texture, and it smelled more bitter than it did metallic. "Berries," he finally deduced.

Frowning somewhat uneasily, he gently lifted the thinner fellow into his arms and silently stood up. If he continued in the opposite direction from the mountain, he was almost positive he would eventually reach their camp upon the shore. Surely Luffy would wake up before he got there. And then they would laugh together about how stupid the pirate captain was for eating something that he knew nothing about. For that, of course, was a good way to get poisoned.

Swiftly making his way into the forest, with Luffy's unconscious form in his grasp, Zoro continued forward and never deviated from his straight path. He would devise a way to kill that monster later -- what needed to be done now was to make sure his captain was well.

He was so single-mindedly determined to fulfill his task that he did not give any thought to the sudden array of dark storm clouds that were forming overhead. Nor did he notice the scattered, unfamiliar human footprints that lay just several meters away from him.

-end chapter 6-