Sorry for the long wait everyone, I've been preoccupied with Stuff of Legends and honestly I forgot about this XD So here I am again. To make up for it, it's a long one.

Complete be the fourteenth chapter of Believe in Me. Yeah, I rhymed. Awesome.

Anyway, forever lasting thanks for all the fantabulous reviews!

Chapter 12 – The Miracle Worker

Kaku and Luffy stopped walking, the swordsman putting out a hand to halt his giant companion. "Luffy, Luffy listen."

It was difficult to discern among the chattering of the heavy crowd shoving their way back in the opposite direction of where the two men were heading. But if one listened carefully, you could just hear a strange sound, a cry of sadness, a wail of sorrow, and a scream of pain. All rolled into one horrible sound that crashed onto Luffy's eardrums and made him instantly angry. No one deserved to make such a sound.

"That is the sound of ultimate suffering," Kaku whispered. "My heart made that sound when Jabra slaughtered my father. The Man in Black makes it now."

"The man in black, huh?" Luffy growled.

"His true love marries another tonight, so who else has the cause of ultimate suffering?"

Luffy didn't need any telling otherwise. He wrapped his chubby fingers around Kaku's wrist and began dragging him along behind, yelling loudly, "Everybody, move!" The crowd parted like the Red Sea, and the two journeymen raced forward, following the sound of ultimate suffering.

The cry ceased after a minute, and Luffy and Kaku found themselves running for the Thieves' Forest once again. Angry that he had been so close even before they had begun their search, Luffy plunged ahead without any second thoughts, Kaku huffing behind him.

"Please, stop," Kaku gasped, stopping to bend over to his knees and catch his breath. "I can run no further."

Luffy did as his companion suggested, slowing to a walk as his perceptive eyes flicked from tree to tree as if anticipating an ambush at any second. "What do you suppose we do now?" he asked. "The sound is gone."

"We wait for someone to appear," Kaku said, his breath regained. "And then we capture and interrogate them."

Luffy cocked his head, looking at something over the swordsman's shoulder. "Anyone?"

"Of course."

"Then how about Octopus-guy behind you?"

Kaku turned, and he spotted a pale white-skinned man pushing a wheelbarrow over a root. A strange smile curled his lips, and he started walking for the figure. "Perfect."

The albino man being pursued finally pulled up on his cart, setting it down to the ground quietly. He had no time to do anything else before Kaku and Luffy leapt from behind a tree and surrounded him, sword drawn and fists raised.

"Where is the Man in Black?" Kaku demanded. "You get there from this grove, yes?"

The Albino man said nothing, his eyes squinted in maybe fear or anger.

"Luffy, jog his memory."

Luffy raised his fist and brought it down hard on the Albino's head. The man wavered on his feet for a moment before falling forward, his eyes rolled up into his head as he was knocked unconscious. "I'm sorry, Kaku," the giant man apologized. "I didn't mean to jog him so hard."

Kaku had vanished from Luffy's side, and was currently bent to one knee, his sword raised high as the sunlight filtering through the canopy glanced off the blade and shone like a second sun. "Father," the swordsman murmured. "I have failed you for twenty years. Now our misery can end. Somewhere, somewhere close by, is a man who can help us." Kaku closed his eyes to delve deeper into the moment. "I cannot find him alone. I need you. I need you to guide my sword. Please."

As if in a trance, Kaku rose to his feet, stumbling around with his sword still raised high. "Guide my sword."

After about a minute of stumbling like a drunkard, his sword guiding him like an angel, the sword finally connected with something hard and texturized. Kaku opened his eyes hopefully, but was disappointed to see only the trunk of a black walnut tree. He heaved a disgruntled sigh and leaned his forehead against a particularly hard knot.

He had been so close! The Man in Black was nearby, and now he had no way of finding his only hope of storming the castle and avenging his father's death. That cry of pure anguish, no matter how heart-wrenching, had been a like a flare up in the sky: Here I am! Come find me!

"Oi, Kaku," Luffy's voice jarred the swordsman back to reality, and looked up to see a hatch had swung open on the trunk of the tree, revealing a set of stairs leading down into darkness. The two men exchanged excited looks and plunged into the swirling tunnel leading down.

They soon emerged into a wide underground cavern dimly lit by ten large candelabras on pedestals positioned around the room. A tall cabinet contained various bottles of glowing, sparking, and bubbling liquids. A writing desk overlooked a set of stairs leading down to a lower level where a large water wheel was built into the wall. Two tables, one with a black cloth laid over whatever lay on it, were pushed up against the wall. The second table contained a man, strapped down by thick leather belts.

Luffy rushed to him as Kaku poked around the other table. The blonde man was pale, his face twisted in a permanent grimace. His bare torso was tinted red as though all the blood in his body had risen to the surface. His fists were clenched as his chest rose and fell with a ragged breath.

"Oi," Luffy said, poking the man's cheek. "Are you dead?"

The man didn't respond for a moment, but his eyes eventually flickered open, staring at the giant with hazy eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound escaped his throat. Luffy located a small pool of water near the wheel and filled an empty bowl with the clear liquid. Raising it to the sick man's lips, he poured the water down his throat, drops sliding down either side of his face.

He coughed again, and finally managed to form words. "Who… are you?"

"I'm Luffy!" said Luffy with a grin. "Who are you?"

"S-Sanji. I used to work in the kitchens at the palace."

"What are you doing here?"

"Same reason as that fellow over there."

Luffy looked to where Sanji had flicked his eyes, and beheld Kaku, his hand gripping the corner of the black cloth that lay over the other table, pulling it back to reveal a body, the face expressionless, and the shock of green hair stark against the dark boards.

"His name is Zoro," said Sanji. "He had fifty years sucked from his lifetime by that machine over there."

Luffy leaned over, pressing his ear against Zoro's chest. No sound met his ears, and no pulse beat just under the skin. "He's dead," Luffy confirmed, straightening slowly.

Kaku shook his head sadly. "It's just not fair."

"Grandpa, Grandpa wait."

~X~X~X~

"Wait, what did Luffy mean, 'He's dead'?" Ace interrupted again, and Garp sighed loudly, lowering the book again. "I mean, he didn't mean dead. Zoro's only faking, right?"

"You want me to read this or not?"

"Who gets Humperdink!?"

"I don't understand…"

"Who kills Prince Humperdink? At the end. Somebody's got to do it. Is it Kaku, who!?"

"Nobody," Garp spoiled. "Nobody kills him, he lives."

"You mean he wins!" Ace cried angrily. "Geez, old man, what did you read me this thing for!?"

"Pipe down and let me finish the book!" Garp connected his fist roughly with his grandson's skull, and Ace fell back into the pillows with a pout, his arms crossed to relieve the tension. "Okay. Now let's see, where were we? Oh, yeah, in the Pit of Despair."

~X~X~X~

"Well, the Fujakus' have never taken defeat easily," Kaku said, his face lighting bright enough to illuminate the entire room. Luffy knew that look, and immediately knew his friend had an idea. "Come along, Luffy. Bring the body."

"What about Sanji?"

The cook met the swordsman's eyes, the blond man's pained and determined to help at the same time. Kaku didn't have time to deal with one dead body and another half-dead one, but he couldn't just leave the guy. "Bring him, too, I guess."

Luffy grinned and easily pulled apart Sanji's bonds. The blonde sat up with difficulty, twisting around to crack his back, rolling his shoulders to release the tension. He winced as his tortured skin screamed in protest, but he forced through it.

"How does the machine work?" Luffy asked curiously as Sanji remembered how to stand and walk.

"I don't know, I was only on it to level two," said the cook, his voice strained. "But I don't recommend it." He walked over to the writing table, shifting through the drawers as if looking for something. Finding nothing, he continued searching the pit until he located a loose-fitting white shirt, stained a bit brown with dried blood. Despite this, he slipped it over his head and over his bare torso.

"Great, you can walk, now hurry up!" Kaku said, gesturing impatiently. "Do either of you have any money?"

Sanji shook his head, but Luffy piped up. "I have a little. I was saving it to buy a bronze statue, but I guess you can have it."

"What do you need it for?" Sanji asked as he and Luffy pulled Zoro's body from the planks, dangling it between them. Luffy took most of the weight, for the man seemed to be made of pure muscle, plus Sanji couldn't hold much, but the giant was grateful for the help all the same.

"I hope it's enough to buy a miracle," Kaku said, and lead the way from the Pit of Despair.

"Does he mean…?" Sanji said, surprise evident in his voice.

"Who?" Luffy queried.

The other shook his head. "You'll see. Just a woman who had been taken from my village a long time ago; no one knew where she had gone, but I know." Luffy didn't question the cook any longer.

At that moment, Kaku pushed open the door that led back out into the forest, and Sanji was momentarily blinded as he emerged into the sunlight. He hissed as the brightness penetrated his lids, squinting to decrease the damage to his accustomed eyes. As his eyes adjusted, he blinked several times and couldn't help but smile as he felt the sun on his face for the first time in what felt like years. It was impossible to tell time in the Pit of Despair, so Sanji suspected at least a week had passed.

"It is this way," Kaku said, gesturing toward the east. The trio set off, towing Zoro's body in the wagon of the Albino. As they walked, Sanji only hoped that the doctor was in.

~X~X~X~

"There it is."

Sanji looked up and followed Kaku's finger to where he was pointing, inhaling with the simplicity of what was there. He had been expecting a huge hospitable house with twenty rooms, enough for all the patients. A gleaming stable equipped with a hundred horses, and a garden overflowing with medicinal herbs and spices. The tiny shack that sat nestled between a tall pile of boulders and a thick tree was not what he had in mind. The outside was simple enough, with a thatch room and mud packed in to hold the logs together. Outside, a boiling pot sat suspended over an open fire, and a well sat off to the side with a pail of water resting on the rim.

The dehydrated man immediately went to it and scooped the precious liquid into his mouth as Kaku went to knock at the door.

"Hello?" called the swordsman.

"No one's here," called a voice, a ragged one with the air of old age.

"Oh well," Luffy sighed, turning away to look forlornly at Zoro. "I guess we'll have to try again later."

Kaku glared at his companion before knocking again, louder this time. When he received no answer, he balled his fist and rammed it repeatedly against the wood. A minute, and a small hatch opened in the door to reveal an older woman, her graying hair lying stringy around her face. Her wrinkly face and hooked nose added to the impression that she was a witch, concocting potions and the like. But that was exactly what the group was here for.

"What?" she snapped in the same crinkly voice as before.

"Are you the Miracle Worker who worked for the King all those years?" Kaku questioned as Sanji and Luffy leaned in to listen.

"The King's stinking son fired me. And thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject. While you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it. We're closed." Wit that, the hag slammed shut the small hatch.

Kaku, Luffy, and Sanji exchanged confused glances before knocking again.

"Beat it or I'll call the Brute Squad!" the hag threatened after opening the hatch again, her beady eyes blazing with frustration.

"I'm on the Brute Squad," Luffy volunteered, raising his hand.

She eyed him critically. "You are the Brute Squad."

"We need a miracle," Sanji put in, stepping forward. "It's very important."

The hag sighed and leaned against her side of the door. "Look, I'm retired. Besides, why would you want someone the King's stinking son fired? I might kill whoever you wanted me to miracle."

"He's already dead," Kaku explained, gesturing behind him.

The woman peered through the hatch, spotting Zoro through the gap between Sanji and Luffy. "He is, huh? I'll take a look. Bring him in."

She closed the hatch, and the sounds of clinking metal and jingling keys and turning locks could be heard through the door. "Doctor Kureha sure takes precautions, doesn't she?" Sanji muttered as the door fully opened to reveal the Miracle Worker completely, dressed in a simple woolen dress and shawl, a tankard of ale in her hand.

"What are you standing there for?" she glared.

Sanji and Kaku knelt and carefully retrieved Zoro's body from the cart, lugging the heavy man inside and laying him on a table in the center of what appeared to be the kitchen. Shelves stacked with various household items lined the walls, drying herbs hanging from the ceiling and making the room smell like minty garlic. Kureha cleared different equipment from the table and throwing them in a corner without any regard for where it ended up, turning her full attention to her newest patient.

Sanji, Kaku, and Luffy stood to the side, watching as Kureha lifted Zoro's hand into the air and letting it fall limply back to the table with a small bang. She glanced at her clients. "I've seen worse," she said, and began pressing her gnarly fingers on different sections of Zoro's chest, poking and prodding while every now and then taking a swing from her bottle of alcohol.

"Excuse me?" Kaku said, and Kureha raised her eyebrows to show she was listening. "We're in a terrible rush."

She glared from the corner of her eye. "Don't rush me, sonny. You rush a miracle worker, you get rotten miracles. You got money?"

That was a quick change of subject, Sanji thought shrewdly.

"Sixty-five."

The woman cackled out a laugh. "I never work for so little. Except once, and that was a very noble cause."

"This is noble, miss," Sanji said, leaning forward and bravely staring the woman in the eye. "His wife is… crippled. And the children are on the brink of starvation, and…"

"Well, aren't you a rotten liar."

Kaku shoved Sanji aside and took his place, speaking fervently. "I need him to help avenge my father, murdered twenty years ago."

Kureha raised a skeptical eyebrow. "The first story was better." She turned away from the men and began muttering to herself. "Where's that bellows cram?" Finally locating the strange device, what looked to be a giant air pump, she gave Kaku a sly grin. "Probably owes you money, huh? We'll, I'll ask him."

"But he's dead," said Luffy, obviously confused. "He can't talk."

Kureha cackled again. "Hehehe. Look who knows so much, heh? Well, it just so happens that your friend here isn't only mostly dead. There's big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Please, open his mouth."

Sanji parted Zoro's jaw wide enough for the hag to place the mouth of the bellows between his lips. She began shoving the two handles of the machine together, pumping air into Zoro's lungs. "Now, mostly dead is slightly alive. Now, all dead… well, with all dead, there's usually only one thing you can do."

"What's that?"

"Go through his clothes and look for loose change." Kureha completed her air pumping and placed the bellows below the table. She leaned across the table until her mouth was right up against Zoro's ear. "Hey!" she yelled. "Hello in there! What's so important? What do you have here that's worth living for?"

She straightened and placed her hands lightly on his abdomen, pressing lightly so that air escaped his lips in the form of words. It was barely discernable as even words, but to anyone listening, especially to the three who had brought him there, the words were easily recognizable. From the expression on Kureha's face, she had heard it to, but obviously didn't wish to hear it.

"Truuuuuuuuuuuuuue loooooooooooove."

"True love," Sanji whispered, a lump rising in the back of his throat.

"You heard him," Kaku planted his hands on the table. "You could not ask for a more noble cause than that."

Kureha's expression was wary. "Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world, except for a nice MLT… mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, when the mutton is nice and lean, and the tomato is ripe…" she made puckering noises that sounded more like chickens clucking. "They're so perky, I love that. But that's not what he said! He distinctly said 'to blave' and as we all know, to blave means 'to bluff' so you were probably playing cards and he cheated –"

"AIIIEEEEEEEEK!"

All attention to the fifteen-year old boy who had suddenly tumbled into the room from the back, pots and pans crashing all around him with enough racket to wake the dead (unfortunately, it didn't wake the "mostly dead"). The child's skin was the color of milk chocolate, a skin tone rare in Ohara. He wore a simple brown shirt and leggings, his tiny feet bare. On his head was a pink hat with a tiny white X mark on it, with tiny locks of dark brown hair peeking under the brim. The boy crashed to the ground at Luffy's feet, staring up at the huge man with huge, curious eyes.

"Oh, hi…" he said in a strange high-pitched voice. "I was just... um…"

Kureha sighed. "And this is Tony, my protégée."

Tony scrambled to collect the fallen pans, laughing hurriedly to himself to ease the tension. Scowling, Kureha returned her attention to her clients and patient. "As I was saying, he obviously said 'to blave' and not 'true love'. So I'm sorry, I can't help you; come back with maybe a hundred belis and then we'll talk."

Tony had stopped stacking the pans, his eyes huge. "Doctorine," he said, his voice hinting betrayal. "You can't deny the man said 'true love.' I heard it myself, and…"

"Don't say another word, Tony," Kureha snapped.

Tony sucked his bottom lip, deeply considering what to say next; it was in his eyes. His fists clenched, and he whirled on Sanji and Kaku. "She's afraid!" he said quickly. "Ever since Prince Lucci fired 'er, her confidence is shattered."

At the name Lucci, Kureha flinched, her hands flying up to her ears. "Why'd you say that name?" she screeched. "That name is forbidden in this house!"

Tony and his mentor bickered back and forth, but it appeared the boy's own will to win this argument was fading; he was shrinking backward toward the door as if he wanted to leave, his words were loosing force and volume.

Kaku had to think fast. Kureha had been fired by Lucci, the very man they were trying to topple. So it was very likely she would like revenge for her dismissal. If he could convince the hag to heal Zoro by explaining that he had that power to overthrow the prince, would she take it? It was worth a shot, wasn't it? Worth the risk? With every passing second, Zoro grew closer and closer to "all dead" and that was not what they needed.

Going for it, the swordsman spoke above the quarreling doctors. "This is Robin's true love," he yelled. "If you heal him, he will stop Lucci's wedding!"

"SHA!" Kureha cut off the argument with a wave of her hand, and Tony was silenced, watching the other goings on in the room with curious and cautious eyes. "Wait, wait! I make him better, Lucci suffers!?"

"Humiliations galore," Sanji said slyly, catching on.

Kureha cackled loudly, a smile splitting her wrinkled cheeks. She finished her alcohol and threw the empty bottle at the wall, where it shattered and clicked to the floor. "Now that is a noble cause! Gimme the sixty five. I'm on the job!"

Fifteen minutes saw Tony and Kureha at work, boiling various herbs and mashing other different objects Sanji didn't want to know what they were. The room stank like decaying flesh with a touch of garlic, an unsatisfying scent. The two miracle workers muttered to each other, ignoring their clients. When Sanji leaned over to watch their progress, he caught snippets of the hag quizzing her student on the different herbs and ingredients they were using, how long to stir, et cetera. Despite her seemingly repulsive manner, she was very intelligent and knew what she was doing.

As they waited, the three men moved the body back into the cart and made themselves comfortable outside. Kaku and Luffy munched on whatever had been in the pot while Sanji leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, imagining Robin's face when she would realize Zoro was alive and coming for her. Probably an expression she would never give him. He had confessed countless times over the years, and yet she never looked at him like she did to Zoro five years ago before he was supposedly killed by Mihawk.

"We're done," came Tony's call from inside the house, and the three men leapt to their feet, barging into the room. The stink had been replaced by a nice overlay of cocoa, of chocolate. Indeed, Kureha was holding a large brown stone-looking thing as Tony coated it in the brown substance.

"That's the miracle pill?" asked Kaku.

"The chocolate makes it go down easier," said Kureha. "But you have to wait fifteen minutes for full potency, and he shouldn't go swimming for at least …?" she looked at Tony.

"An hour."

"Yeah, a good hour."

Kureha dropped the pill in a small drawstring bag, proffering it to the swordsman. "Here."

Kaku took the bag gingerly as if it held a beating heart inside it. "Thank you."

Luffy pat Tony on the shoulder, smiling down at him. "You're totally awesome, Tony," he said with a laugh.

Tony squeaked, pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes and swinging his hips back and forth. "Telling me that won't make me happy, you jerk!" he giggled.

"Thank you so much for everything," said Sanji.

"Get going and tell Lucci hello for me!" Kureha cackled, putting her foot against Sanji's back and kicking him out the door. As Kaku, Luffy and Sanji pushed the cart away, Tony and Kureha waved goodbye from the doorway. "Have fun storming the castle!" she laughed. "He he he!"

"Think it'll work?" Tony asked as the customers vanished from sight.

"It would take a miracle." Kureha turned and reentered her hut, Tony following.

Sanji took his shift pushing the cart, most of his muscle mass returned. But he didn't feel the resistance of his luggage; the only thing crossing his mind is that now, even if it wasn't him, Robin now had someone coming for her, and she would at least be happy. He looked down at Zoro's lolling head as it swayed with the rocking of the cart. True Love must be worth it. What would you think?

My favorite lines in the entire movie: Paper cut and lemon juice, and storming the castle. Had to leave them in. And yes, Tony is Chopper. I just thought it might be a bit strange to have a boy named Chopper, right? But it's 'Tony Tony Chopper' so ta-dah!

So again, sorry for the slow update. I hope you guys haven't lost interest in this… so please review and I promise to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Thanks, and I hope you have a great new year!

Next Time:

With the Miracle Pill in hand, Sanji, Luffy, and Kaku head to the capital city and prepare to invade, their goal to kill Count Jabra and rescue Princess Robin. Unknowing if the Miracle will work, the trio try their luck and slip the pill inside their only hope. Will Zoro awake to save his love? Or will Lucci claim victory? Chapter 15 – The Castle