Trigger Warnings: Please check my 'End of Chapter Notes' before beginning this chapter if you use trigger warnings for your readings.
The House on the Hill
The Study Under the Stairs
Click! The safe's door popped open revealing another key. Robin delicately took the key from the safe and looked it over. "It's for a study on the ground floor," she announced before handing it to Sanji to keep with the others.
"There are only two doors left to open down here," Law said from his spot by the door to the kitchen.
"We can all go together," Chopper suggested.
"What if the monster's waiting for us?" Usopp whimpered, his hands squeezing Law's arm.
The surgeon rolled his eyes and peeled Usopp's thin long fingers, one at a time, from him. He patted the sniper's hand softly before dropping it and crossing his arms over his chest, giving a puff of annoyance. "It's not a good idea for all of us to go."
"Split up then?" Sanji suggested. "Usopp, Law, and I are most familiar with the house. The rest of you can stay in a secure location while we scout the room. Once we know which door it is and whether we can all fight in the room, we will come back for you."
"We will wait here," Franky said definitively. "There's more than enough room and it will be easy for you guys to get back to if you need to in a hurry."
"And this will give me time to check out Zoro a bit more," Chopper said, jumping onto Zoro's shoulder.
Zoro scoffed but otherwise didn't object. He wouldn't be as much use with his eyesight the way it was. Not with them merely scouting out the correct door. Robin readily agreed with the arrangement and moved to sit at the kitchen table, pulling out a spell book she took from the Library and a notebook.
Chopper was already leading Zoro to sit at the kitchen table beside her so he could run tests on the swordsman's eyesight. "What can you see when I do this?"
"Light," Zoro grunted.
"And if I do…"
Usopp followed Sanji and Law out the kitchen door, making sure he firmly closed it behind himself before slipping into the dark shadows of the mansion's ground floor.
The first locked door they tried was in the front corridor. It took the key, but wouldn't unlock it. After jiggling it for a moment, Sanji pulled the key from the lock and shook his head. "It must belong to the other room."
They walked through the corridor by the stairs and into the back corridor. Sanji took the lead with Usopp in the middle and Law taking up the back. It was quiet, almost too quiet in the darkness.
They stopped at the locked door hidden behind the stairs. Sanji pushed the key in and turned, the lock opening with a telltale click! before the door popped open to reveal another study.
The study held several mahogany bookcases that lined the walls. A large, cluttered table marred with burns and ink stains stood in the middle with several mismatched chairs around it. One lay on its side, and there was a handprint on the seat, made in what looked like dried blood.
The room itself was large and airy, the only other thing in it being a large plush black rug in the center of the room under the desk.
Law went to the table, while Usopp took the bookcases. Sanji took a careful look around the room, wondering what, exactly, the room was for. "It's bigger than a normal study," he commented.
"Hm," Law agreed while he sat down at the table. Gently, he ran his fingers over the top of the table and underneath, pausing when his fingers met with a switch. He flipped it, shrugging when nothing happened.
"There's another watch on the bookcase. What do you want me to do with it?" Usopp asked, picking up the pocket watch by the chain and allowing it to hang from his long fingers.
"Leave it be," Law said, standing from the table and pushing his chair in. "We have no idea what it might do if we take it out of the room. We can break it when the others are in here."
Usopp nodded and placed the watch back on the bookcase. A moment after he placed it on the shelf where he found it, the sound of a switch being activated resonated through the room. He jumped back in alarm as the bookcase he was examining swung out several inches.
"It's another door!" He pulled it open the rest of the way and motioned for the others to follow him inside. "I don't think we should shut this behind us. What if it gets stuck?"
Law nodded in agreement and walked into the room. Usopp stood by the door while Sanji was still looking through the other room. "There's a cell in here."
"A cell?" Sanji called, confused.
"Like what you might find in a dungeon?" Usopp asked, meeting Sanji's confused gaze and shrugging. He couldn't see much from his position, it was much too dark in the room due to the lack of windows.
"Hn, there's a box in here too." Law called, "come in here."
Usopp followed his instructions but worriedly looked behind himself at Sanji, who was taking his time. Sanji only stepped into the room when his skin goose-pebbled from a sudden chill in the air. He gracefully slipped into the cell behind Usopp as the sniper leaned down to open the box. Inside was another key. He pulled it out and looked over at Sanji, his eyes widening in shock.
Law glanced at Usopp's face, "God-ya, you look ill. What's wrong?" His eyes appraised the sniper's expression, his lips turning down into a frown.
"I… I made a mistake again…" he whispered, almost too softly for the other two men in the room to hear him.
"Usopp, what's wrong?" Sanji asked urgently, kneeling to his friend's level and placing a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
"I made another mistake!" his voice filled with agony as he pulled roughly at his hair.
The cell door slammed against the bars with the force of the monster's entry, shaking the very floor where they stood.
"How the hell did the shit-monster find us so quickly?" Sanji hissed, turning to keep Usopp behind his body, away from the monster's range.
"I was sure I didn't make any mistakes this time!" Usopp growled, hands curling into fists. "I was positive!"
"Usopp, what the fuck are you talking about?" The cook growled, his eyes not leaving the Monster in front of them.
Law pulled Sanji and Usopp behind him, "Stand behind me!"
Law was cut down before their eyes, his head rolling past their feet where they stood.
"Usopp, run!" Sanji commanded, throwing a kick at the monster. But it had been too late.
The sounds of fighting and bloodshed faded around Sanji. The last thing he heard was Usopp's fading voice from somewhere above his head. The sniper's blood coated his body, mixing with his own.
"Fuck… I had been so close… I was positive I had done everything right this time… that I hadn't made any… mis...takes…"
Trigger Warnings: Major Character Death(s) and Bloodshed
AN: Happy New Year! I struggled with this chapter, and I realized it was because I was trying to make it longer than it needed to be. Once I separated them, the next chapter wrote itself with no issues. That is why you have such a mini, heart-wrenching chapter.
I really hope you guys enjoyed it!
Be classy, make good choices, and I hope to hear from you soon!
All my love,
Chandlure