SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 113 out, this is Chapter 114 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.

Pairings: Ace/Sasha, sibling Luffy/Sasha and Sabo/Sasha, patriotic-retainer Law/Sasha

Disclaimers: One Piece belongs to Oda Eiichirō-sensei. Me, on the other hand, own absolutely nothing, except my OC, the pairing and the fic idea.

Chapter 114: Arc 9: A Man's Promise Never Dies! To the Friend Waiting Under the Distant Sky

"There's someone there!" one of the zombies Absalom sent after Usopp and Chopper, noted after seeing one of the zombies being purified. "Who are they? They purified them!" he exclaimed, as one by one a lump of salt was dropped into the zombies' mouths.

"Let go off my little bros." Franky declared.

"Tidal Wave!" Sasha's seawater wave washed the mountain of zombies on top of Usopp and Chopper off, purifying them as well.

"Aniki!" Chopper wailed as he and Usopp crawled over to the trio.

"Now that we get a look, we're one short." Franky mused.

"Usopp, Chopper, are you hurt?" Robin asked.

With the two crew-mates now freed, the group made their way back to the Sunny Go.

"A monster that could tower over giants?" Franky echoed after Usopp informed them that Luffy's shadow had been attached to Oars.

"Yeah, he's the one who made all that noise and screamed." Usopp confirmed. "I bet Luffy's zombie is hooting and hollering as he runs rampant. Look, it's the Sunny Go." he spotted the ship up ahead.

"Yeah, that skeleton knew what he was talking about." Franky agreed. "I get it." he looked down at the entrance. "Those stairs led to the entrance. I couldn't tell through all that fog when we barged in, but the stairway up is a shortcut to the final boss' room."

"Man, we've been wiped clean!" Usopp called out, once he surveyed the ship.

"The zombies must have done it." Robin reasoned. "There are muddy footprints everywhere.

"What a mess." Usopp winced, seeing the scattered food on the deck.

"Yeah, they looted us alright." Franky confirmed. "Not that we have anything worth taking."

"How about the guys in question?" Usopp asked.

"I don't see them." Franky noted.

"They should be inside." Sasha voiced.

"What makes you so sure?" Chopper asked.

"We heard that their zombies will also die if Luffy and the guys are exposed to sunlight." Robin replied.

"Chopper, Franky, you two search the first floor." Usopp instructed. "The three of us will search the second floor. Found them!" he shouted, exiting the kitchen. "I found them. They're in the dining room. All three of them are up here."

"How could they do such a thing?" Franky gaped in shock.

"The zombies had a blast 'decorating' them." Usopp gawked.

"They are merciless." Robin noted.

"Robin!" Sasha chided, scandalized.

"Wake up, Luffy!" Usopp tried to shake Luffy awake.

"Leave this to me." Franky grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Wake up! This isn't the time to catch some Zs! We've got a serious problem here!" he tried pummeling the trio awake.

"They're still asleep." Usopp pointed out.

"Do they even have a nervous system?" Franky wondered. "They're asking for it. Guys, outta the way. I'm using my bazooka."

"Nah, it's cool." Usopp assured. "At times like this... there's a hot master swordswoman with meat!" he shouted.

"Hot?" Sanji muttered.

"Meat?" Luffy drooled.

"Master swordswoman?" Zoro echoed.

"Well, that's one way to wake them up." Sasha noted amusedly.

"These guys are hopeless!" Chopper exclaimed.

"You jerk!" Luffy fumed, ready to punch out Moria. "Give me my shadow..."

"Calm down." Franky stopped him. "Moria isn't here."

"Where am I?" Luffy looked around.

"On the Sunny." Franky replied.

"Sunny?" Zoro echoed. "What are we doing back here? Wait... none of that was a dream. My shadow is missing." he looked down. "This feels so weird. But... this is really humiliating. I wasn't taking things seriously enough."

"By the way, I don't see Nami-san." Sanji pointed out.

"About that..." Usopp started.

"You let her get abducted?" Sanji glared. "Why didn't you follow her to the ends of the earth?"

"Sorry!" Usopp stammered. "It isn't like I could just run after them."

"Who the heck is that jerk?" Sanji demanded. "I'll get her back before you could bat an eye!"

"Wait!" Usopp tried to pacify the enraged cook. "Please hear me out first! I'll make this quick. Generally speaking, there are two things we need to get back."

"Our food, Nami and our shadows, right?" Luffy decided. "That's three things!"

"I guess I should've expected you to rank them like this." Sasha sighed

"First off, let me fill you in on Nami and your shadows." Usopp started.

"Marriage?" Sanji's 'berserk button' was pressed after Usopp informed him of Absalom's intention to marry Nami. "Don't be stupid! I won't let that happen!"

"He's got guts to marry Nami." Luffy remarked. "And there is a giant version of me? That's how you make a zombie?"

"So, you've already found Luffy's and the cook's zombies, Usopp?" Zoro asked, the reunited crew were now on the deck.

"That's right." Luffy blinked. "If the zombies act just like us, then I saw your zombie, Zoro."

"What was he like?" Zoro inquired.

"No different from you." Luffy mused. "I knew he wasn't you because he was wearing sandals.

"Whatever." Zoro shrugged. "So, we need to find a zombie in sandals, Luffy's giant and the cook's dogguin. Our shadows will come back to us if we throw salt in their mouths, right?"

"Yeah, that's how it works." Franky nodded.

"But I'm amazed you discovered that weakness." Zoro noted. "No wonder Sasha's seawater were so effective."

"All our info from from that bag of bones, from how to defeat the zombies to how to rescue you guys." Franky explained. "And I asked him a stupid question when I saw him. See, I totally rejected his very existence when you first brought him aboard our ship to join the crew. He might be a flimsy skeleton, but when I talked to him, he had an iron backbone. He's... a real man!"

"You guys, remember Laboon back at Twin Cape, right?" Sasha reminded. "Brook... he's one of the pirates Laboon's been waiting for."

"Seriously?" Usopp gasped.

"It's him..." Sanji realized.

"Oh yeah, that's before Chopper came on board." Sasha blinked and recounted on the meeting of the whale back at Twin Cape. "And because of aniki being his usual idiotic self, we ended up getting eaten."

"And that's Laboon, yes?" Robin inquired.

"Yup, and inside his stomach lived the light-house keeper geezer." Sanji confirmed. "He lived inside Laboon and treated him."

"He said he'd once been a pirate crew's doctor." Usopp added as he ground up his powders.

"But why was he being treated?" Chopper asked. "Was he ill?"

"At the wall that separates the world, he was bashing his head against the Red Line." Sanji explained. "Waiting 50 years for the crew, believing they would meet again when they finished sailing the world. Somehow, Luffy managed to convince it to stop acting suicidal and trying to break through the wall. He's still alive; at that cape, waiting for for his nakama."

"It's an unbelievable story." Usopp added. "They kept their promise for more than 50 years."

"To think that the nakama Laboon was waiting for was that skeleton..." Zoro mused.

"If we've gotten Crocus-oji-san's number back then..." Sasha sighed. "We've given Crocus-oji-san a call over the Den Den Mushi to tell Laboon we've found one of the nakama he's looking for."

"I'm all pumped up!" Luffy grinned. "He's a musician; a talking skeleton, has an afro and he was Laboon's nakama. Even if I'll end up dragging him, he'll join us on the ship and become our nakama. Any complaints, you guys?"

"If we did, would you change your mind?" Robin giggled.

"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy shouted, the swordsman having left the ship. "Where ya going?"

"I'm landing already." Zoro replied. "The number of shadows we have to get back just went up by one, right?"

"Alright, men!" Luffy declared. "Prepare for the counterattack! We're going to blow down Thriller Bark!"

SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.