Heyo everyone! So I finally got off my ass and decided to write a new chapter. This one is probably going to be another messy edition, but I've starting writing drafts so at least I can hope to find less grammar mess-ups than usual. This time it's nightmares, ie, traumatic experiences for the strawhats. Kudos, comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated, and keep me going!

N is for Nightmares…

It burnt.

Like nothing ever before.

How many times has he seen this exact same imagery? Probably every night, but it still hurt as much as the first time. The vivre card fizzling away, just like Ace, the hole in his chest sizzling, the smell of burnt flesh permeating the air. Just like that day. And then the hurt, the pain, the despair. The day Ace died, a small piece of him died as well.

It's a dream. Luffy knows that it's a dream, but the pain and regret don't go away, no matter how many times he tells himself that. The magma charred wound, the smell of blood and the final words he ever heard from his brother continue to replay in his mind. Luffy hates it, hates the same feeling of powerlessness take over, the same desperation during marineford seep through. He had grown stronger, so why did it still haunt him?

Every night, the story is the same. A horrible nightmare, followed by a vicious jolt that shakes him awake. No one holds it against him. So he grabs a blanket and pillow and trudges out, hoping that the cold sea air stops the sizzling, burning feeling.

A promise.

A promise that he continues to fight to fulfill.

Who knew that something could end so soon? Nightmares as a concept are entirely alien to zoro. He didn't have much that he regrets. But despite that she always appears, exactly the way she was, smiling with that cheeky, confident grin and still mocking him in a voice that held no spite, someone that may have will been his sister.

She could have, no, should have become an amazing swordsman, someone whose name reaches the heavens! But alas, the world is hardly fair. Something so trivial as a stumble down the stairs took her away in the blink of an eye, breaking the promise that Zoro expected to never be broken. He never understood why they treated her as if she were a delicate flower, when in reality she was as strong as an oak.

He still despises the stairs, still hates the painful twinge in his heart, hates the way his eyes open to a reality without her. The cold night air helps a bit, helps soothe the anger and betrayal.

And it isn't long before he sees Luffy trudge out with a pillow towards the deck.

The smell of ripe oranges. Followed by gunshots.

Then screams.

Even in her dreams, long after she became free, Nami can still feel the fear, the hatred, the grief that Arlong brought, the blood curdling laugh of the man that brought hell upon their heads. The screams and cries of both her and Nojiko, drowned out by the cackling of the monster that killed Bellmere.

She knows, knows very well that she is free, free as the wind, the sky, the weather, but despite that the regret still threads it's way into her dreams, reminding her of her weakness. But she's strong now, she has friends that will help her on every step, she isn't alone anymore. But regret doesn't go away, neither does hatred.

The cold air feels welcoming, guiding her outside, as if the sea is attempting to console them. She sees the captain and first mate, already outside, and joins. Such nights are regular after all.

He's a pretender.

A simple liar, a coward, a wimp.

Usopp knows that he isn't brave, knows that he's a coward, a normal human among literal monsters. Hell, everything this crew does is a nightmare for him! But sometimes the nightmares delve deeper, hurt him a bit more than surface level. Dreams about things that he's very convinced might as well happen.

Whispers of his insecurity, the way he left the crew, disrespected luffy and ran away. He knows that it shouldn't eat him up inside like this, shouldn't make him so pissed off at himself, but it isn't like that. The way his cowardice makes him want to go back in time and reprimand himself, makes his chest heavy with guilt, everything makes him feel miserable, despondent. But he's stronger now. He is braver, he is the great captain usopp who will fight tooth and nail for his crew! But the dreams haunt him, thickly, heavily, as is the case with such nights.

And the cold sea is just a backdrop for the way the others on the deck huddle together, gesturing him to join, for such nights are commonplace.

It hurts like hell.

It always did, but he never tried to show it.

Sanji knew he wasn't like his siblings, clearly. His "father" and "siblings" made it pretty obvious the entire time. But he tried to not hold it against them. After his mother died, his sister was pretty much the only thing he had close to a family. But Zeff on the other hand, he was the only father that sanji will consider his own. But of course, the nightmares don't give a shit about that, they somehow always manage to conjure up the same image and feeling of the sandy, barren island, with no food, or water, just waiting for death to take him.

The empty, grueling feeling of starvation, the only way to get out was just like the last. Eating the remaining supplies Zeff had left while Zeff ate his own leg. There was no playing around, no simplification or sugar coating of the reality. The moment that modeled his entire lifetime worth of ideals was filled with the regret of seeing the only man he considered a father losing his main source of fighting. The guilt, the hollowness of the starvation linger around.

But the cold night provides a slight bit of relief, along with the others huddled up on the deck, welcoming him. It was just part of a routine after all.

Lonely.

That's all there was to it. It was simply lonely.

The smell of gunpowder wafting in the air, the loud explosion, and the disgusting laughter echoing in the air, in his dreams. All followed by what felt like the weight of the world falling down on his heart like a heavy anvil. For some reason, all the pain and suffering comes back up in his dreams, not letting go of his past mistakes. Because that's what Chopper felt it was. A mistake, one that cost his father figure his life.

It doesn't go away, no matter how happy he is with his crew, no matter how much he loves them, his past haunts him closely, coming up in his dreams, the explosion ringing continuously over and over again. Apparently, the entire crew have such dreams too, so Chopper knows that it isn't just him, it isn't just him who was too powerless, who regretted his past.

The crew are out on the deck, quiet and peaceful, and Chopper runs over to join them, snuggling up in Zoro's haramaki. The cold sea reminding him of Drum island somehow.

Destruction.

The only thing visible being the angry flames lapping up the island, swallowing it whole in a sea of fire as far as the eye could see.

Robin has seen everything. She has seen destruction of life, bodies of children littering the land, she had seen meaningless massacres and annihilation, the ruins of battle. Every time, she convinces herself that she has grown stronger, that the images of war won't inch their way back, won't bother her anymore, won't remind her of the burning city of O'hara. And every time she is proven wrong.

Flames and ice. The crashes and booms of hundreds of cannonballs erasing the only home she ever had. The agonised screams of the people echoing in the distance. Only this time, there was no path of ice that led her to choose a new life, just fire. The memory of the buster call still remains fresh in her memory, the fiery destruction that will never truly go away. Even after her crew picked a fight against the world government, she feels like she truly doesn't belong, like she's too much of a broken person for this crew.

But her crewmates have nights like this too, and they invite her to join them, the cold night removing traces of the fateful day from her subconscious. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

It just hurt.

Really, truly hurt.

Even the feeling of half his bones and organs crushing under the weight of the sea train couldn't compare. After all, physical injuries can be fixed by whacking a mechanical part here or there, but there was no amount of cola that could fix an injury of the heart.

The World Government, Tom-san, Pluton, everything was just a gigantic shitshow fueled by the greed of the lazy, power hungry nobles. Franky learnt soon enough that the world is messed up, and that the true filth is sitting at the top, controlling them. Gunshots ringing, bodies thudding to the ground, the agonized screams of both him and Iceburg, all just a part of a usual bad night. He has gotten more or less used to it, after all he has had a lot of time to mope over the injustices of the world, and whining about them isn't very super in his opinion.

But even if he has come to terms with his past, it still stings. And judging by the way the others come out on nights like this, they all have their own shares of burdens that don't leave them. But somehow, maybe being together out on the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny in the salty sea air bundled together is a justifiable reliever.

The tone was somber.

With heavy notes played over a melancholic atmosphere.

Along with the troubled tempo of the crew's usual nightmares rising up suddenly, and then rapidly descending, as if the nightmares never occurred, as if the pain never existed, as if nothing ever happened. Brook doesn't have much need for sleep, since he's already dead [Yohohoho!, and he doesn't like to sleep very much, for the regrets and guilt always wash over him, like the waves rocking against the side of the ship. But he has lived a grueling, lonely fifty years. He has already had more than enough time to ponder over, chew up and regurgitate his past regrets, and accept them for what they are.

But the crew is young, and it takes time to heal old wounds, time that they simply didn't get. Old wounds heal with time, and you eventually learn forgive, but never forget. And young people need time, especially with the the depth of the burdens they carry.

So he will sit alongside them, guide them along, to help them heal. All of them, huddled up together, learning and healing together, while he strums up a calming tune.

For the cold nights on the sea bring with them nightmares, and it takes time to heal.

Uwahhh! I finally finished the next chapter. And oh god, please forgive me for the miserable pacing, my hand decided to fail on me, and I don't review my drafts. Please, leave a kudos and comment, for I need validation.