"Oi luffy," Nami reached out to him but he didn't stop walking. There was something bothering him, pushing him forward. Robin and Chopper were following close behind. They were all acting so awkwardly...
"Guys... what's going on?" there was concern in Nami's voice. They weren't acting as usual. Luffy wasn't acting normal at all.
"There's something..." Robin began, her eyes losing their light "...I want it..." followed up the line Chopper. He was looking serious too, what was going on?
"Something you want?" Nami was feeling confused. She felt uneasy, she needed some comfort. "Luffy?" Nami tried again, this time worry dripped all over her voice. "Please, what's happening?" His body froze completely for a moment. His hat covering his eyes. Nami was going to reach for him but Zoro was faster.
"Oi" Zoro clutched him by the arm as he noticed something was wrong and within a second he felt Robin's hands all over his body and Chopper very close to using one of his deadliest techniques. He jumped aside, releasing Luffy's arm just as Chopper was about to use his skill. He stared at them. There was no light in their eyes. Puppets. The hands on his body disappeared. He gasped. Luffy's haki too? He sensed the pressure he felt in his body disappear.
"Nami-san!" Sanji shouted and caught Nami who suddenly fainted. Yes, it wasn't an illusion, Luffy just used haki on them. He frowned deeply. " Are you alright? Nami-san?" Sanji repeated and Nami nodded feeling weak.
What the... -" Franky began and Usopp pointed to some breath dials that they couldn't notice before because they were hidden. "I'm sure it has to be with those... and the devil fruit users... since the the rest of us seem to be feeling fine, right?" he said as the others nodded and looked at the trio of devil-fruits users.
Sanji lit a cigarette, troubled. Nami was now leaning on Zoro's shoulder, though she was feeling better. "Damn, what should we do now?" Sanji said looking at Luffy's back and how Robin and Chopper were following behind him. Zoro kept his gaze on his three nakama with his eyebrows deeply furrowed.
"Isn't it obvious?" Nami said after a moment and a sigh with knotted eyebrows. "We stop them" Determination in her words and in her gaze. She started running after them. After him.
"Stop them?!" Usopp said in a strangled voice. "Stop Luffy?!"
Sighing deeply and closing his eyes, Zoro grabbed his beloved katana and opened his eyes with a resolute look, he thought the same thing and followed Nami. Sanji put a hand on Usopp's shoulder. "We can't let them hurt themselves, can we?" he puffed and followed Zoro. Usopp looked at Franky, hoping he would be a little less reckless, still Franky just smiled and lowered his sunglasses ready for whatever was coming with a huge grin. "The fight is on" He loaded one of his weapons and Usopp gulped.
Robin shook her head, what had just happened?, she couldn't remember, she wrapped her arms around herself feeling uneasy and looked back, none of her other friends were behind except Chopper and Luffy. She felt alarmed.
"Luffy!" she called out and became aware of her surroundings. They were in a rather special room in the lab, all signs indicated that it was an experimental facility. She didn't like it at all. Chopper was looking at her with the same confused eyes, surely he was going through the same trouble she was. She glanced nervously at all the papers on the walls and started reading everything she could find "The orb chooses the strongest... separates the power from the owner... leaves him without strength... consumes his vital energy... the ultimate Marine weapon..."
She looked towards Luffy who had stopped in front of a crystal chamber where a glowing orb hold something that attracted her. Her eyes widened. Chopper was watching the experiments and was taken aback by the discovery. This was not good. They both looked back to Luffy, who subtly broke the crystal to grab said orb. "Luffy no!" they both yelled.
Luffy felt as if he was fighting with himself but his body was not responding to him anymore.
"LUFFY!" A loud scream and the sound of distinctly recognizable heels could be heard not too far away. Luffy's hand was covered in blood but he didn't seem to care. "Luffy stop!" Nami shouted again. Robin and Chopper grabbed Luffy in concern knowing the likely consequences. If he grabbed that orb and anything that Robin had read was true it was going to be bad.
As soon as they reached Luffy, they fainted because of his conqueror haki. Nami ran towards Luffy, she had a seriously bad feeling. He was almost grabbing the orb when Nami was going to hug him from behind to stop him. Right at that moment Zoro sensed something bad was going to happen and quickly pulled Nami away.
As she cried out in pain as she was thrown hard against the ground, Luffy at last grabbed the orb and a white, blinding bolt of lightning flashed across his entire body. Nami screamed out at the top of her lungs and everyone tried to take cover from the small but strong storm that was raging through Luffy's body.
After a minute everything came to a standstill with Luffy's body falling to the ground like a lifeless puppet making a crashing noise still holding the crystal orb, which was now shimmering a purple light on the inside. Chopper and Robin snapped out of their trance as they all started to stand up from their covers, worried about their captain but not too much, knowing that he had rubber properties.
"Luffy?" Usopp started "Hey, what was all that about guys?, that wasn't fun at all..." Robin glances behind Usopp and then an uncharacteristically terrified look appears on her face "No..." She mutters and the others feel the disturbance of her words. Usopp and Franky look up at the papers on the wall Robin was looking at and Nami, terrified at Robin's expression runs to Luffy.
"Luffy?" He looks pale, still clutching in his bloody hand the crystal orb. Tears begin to form in her eyes "Luffy!" She repeats louder drawing the attention of the others and blinks once, twice, three times... not believing how Luffy can have any lightning bolt burn marks on his skin of all people. She starts to tremble. He''s not asleep. She knows. "She checks her heart" bump...bump...bump "Her eyes snap wide in horror and she calls out "CHOPPER!" The reindeer, in shock, runs to Nami and checks Luffy's pulse. He looks at everyone "Minna! Luffy is- Luffy is-" Tears begin to fall from his eyes. Nami's hand holds Luffy's free against her chest.
"He's dying" mutters a paralyzed Nico Robin still laying on the ground.
"Chopper do something!" Nami is shaking and looks at everyone. Nobody knows how to act. She looks at the orb in his hand with fury in her eyes.
Knowing her intentions the archaeologist starts talking again "Nami, wait, we don't know anything about any of this yet, we don't know what would happen if..."
"HE IS DYING AND I'M SURE IT IS BECAUSE OF THIS FUCKING THING!" Nami yells as she takes the bloodied orb in her hand.
Luffy gets his eyes wide open and starts panting like a fish out the water. He looks terrified and all the old wounds from the last battles or the ones he was able to stop with his power start to open up on his body turning everything into a bloody mess. Chopper looks at him and starts treating him at once "Guys, help me!". They all move to where Chopper is and help him bandage Luffy's entire body. Luffy's eyes focus on Nami's, who is crying. "Don't worry," she tells him gently, though it horrifies her to see him like this. "You're going to be okay, you're going to survive," she tries to smile at him and takes his hand, kisses it with trembling lips. He moves the other unable to breathe or speak, but looking into her eyes with his wide opened eyes, blurred vision. He strokes her face staining her cheek in blood. She bites her lower lip trying not to cry anymore and his thumb brushes it looking at her lips. She gasps.
Everything outside their bubble is chaos. Chopper talks about losing blood and needing more equipment, Usoop and Franky run off into the Sunny on a run while Sanji, Zoro and Chopper try to stop the bleeding disaster.
Robin peered curiously at the orb, a sandy liquid danced inside but she was not going to touch it. She started looking for more information about the orb to help Luffy. An antidote. Something to save him.
Nami slowly bent down, feeling the need to kiss him on the lips. He closed his eyes with the contact as the other three couldn't believe what was happening in front of them. Nami slowly kissed Luffy and then giggles started to be heard from the orb. Luffy's laughter. She pulled back looking at a passed out Luffy and took the orb. Within it, another Luffy with white hair and floating around inside, laughing all the same. "What are you?" Nami asked in disbelief of what she was seeing but as Chopper was finally able to stabilize Luffy out of harm's way the orb began to take the shape of Luffy's devil fruit in Nami's hands.
Nami glanced at Chopper and he nodded and sighed "Don't worry, he's stable now."
"We should camp near here and investigate more about this" Robin said with a straight face and everyone agreed.
When they already got the campsite made and zoro was about to take Luffy to the infirmary, he noticed something strange, Luffy was feeling heavier than usual and when he tried to stretch him...
"Guys..." They all paid attention to him as the pitch of voice he used was one he didn't usually use "I think you should know... Robin and Chopper were right... our captain... he's not made of rubber anymore. He's like a normal human being now."
Everyone was in shock, Nami was still holding Luffy's devil fruit and thinking about the kiss. "What on earth was that?" She was lost in her thoughts looking at an unconscious Luffy with whom she would stay by his side until he woke up.