Chapter 10: Madness
"These corridors are never-ending," Nami muttered to Luffy, the navigator inside of her bothered by the numbers of twists and turns they had made in the past minute alone. Her mind was working quickly to plot a simple diagram of the layout of this seemingly abandoned building, trying to determine where they were going to end up. Curiously enough, they hadn't bumped into a dead-end so far. It meant two things - either they've been blessed by Lady Luck, or all the passageways were somehow interconnected and will eventually bring them to their destination.
Nami hoped for the sake of her sanity that it was the latter.
Luffy hadn't been responding much to her sour comments as was the case since a few minutes ago save for clipped replies or grunts of acknowledgement, which was irritating her somewhat. She understood that he was wholly concentrated on the task at hand, but it was getting ridiculous. It felt like she was talking to a wall. In fact, a solid slab of cement might have been better company – if she shouted loud enough, she could at least hear her own echo. Admittedly, she might be a little put off by the entire suffocating darkness thing going on and was feeling the need for some mindless chatter to stave off some of her more distasteful thoughts.
"Have your vocabulary suddenly shrunk so that it only contains mhm and eh?" The redhead grumbled, poking the back of her captain with a finger. "I mean, it wasn't too expansive to begin with, but this is really worrying. My initial assessment was that you have an IQ rivalling that of a typical household mouse, but now it might actually have sunk to an all-time low."
The reply came immediately, and whaddya know? He definitely didn't disappoint. "Huh."
"Wow. You just used a new word. That means you've expanded your range of words you could use by a whopping 50 percent. Congratulations. You have now ascended up the ladder of intelligence and currently rank above that wooden chair we ran into just now."
Luffy mumbled something intelligible and disappeared round another corner, the light vanishing as it was blocked by the wall and Nami yelped, speeding up to catch up with him and the sole source of illumination. As she hurried along to catch up with the raven-haired teenager's longer strides, she wondered which side of Luffy she preferred. The serious, no-messing-around Luffy like right now, or the happy-go-lucky, take-it-as-it-comes Luffy that she was more familiar with? Both carried its own appeal, she guessed, and it depended heavily on the situation. But she would definitely prefer a slightly more blithe and casual captain at this point, rather than the stone-faced boy beside her. "Hey, slow down, will you? In case you haven't noticed, you're the one holding that ball of light in your hand. Be more considerate – "
"We're close."
Nami frowned at being cut off. "Close?"
"The person we're looking for is nearby. I can feel his presence." Her captain pulled up as the corridor they were in opened up into what Nami presumed was a room as the walls were no longer closing in on her. The light in his palm growing bigger and gaining elevation until rays of light revealed every dusty corner of the room they were in, Luffy forayed forward guardedly. For the first time since they've entered the factory, Nami got her first good look at their surroundings. The windows were all sealed and covered with a thick layer of dust, effectively blocking all light from filtering through it. The walls were a pale plaster white with splashes of green from clumps of moss-like plants growing across it. There were a few holes along the side of the wall where some vegetation had seemingly punched through from the interior to the outside in the pursuit of more sunlight. The air was heavy with moisture, and something else that she couldn't really place.
And all of a sudden, the glowing orb flickered out like an extinguished flame, throwing the duo once again into utter darkness. But this time, it felt different. The darkness was so complete and all-enveloping Nami was instantly left light-headed by all her senses shutting down momentarily. Her stomach lurched, the contents threatening to spill out in an act of revolt. Lack of sight aside, the other senses desperately working was little help in the heavy oppression meant to deprive her of any comfort she could find in orientating herself. Her head spun; her legs felt leaden and it was like she could literally feel fear creeping up her body, holding her prisoner as numbness set in with frightening speed. She closed her eyes in a vain attempt to stop her head from spinning.
It was like she was free-falling into a never-ending pit of oblivion, slowly eating away at her soul, draining her of energy and sucking –
Someone was roughly shaking her shoulders, and then cupping her cheeks. She heard her name being repeated over and over, first with uncertainty then with a growing sense of urgency. It slowly pulled her away from that world where panic and chaos ruled supreme, the point of contact giving Nami something to focus on so that she didn't lose herself.
"Nami. Are you alright? Why are you looking at me so blankly? Nami?"
The voice of her captain was getting clearer and louder, but the force that beckoned her towards the swirling shadows never relented for a second. It got stronger, roping her in once again, and with her swiftly diminishing strength, she found that putting up a fight was getting harder and more and more useless.
Yes, that's it. Stop struggling. Just give in…
But why was she fighting against it in the first place? She liked this feeling of weightlessness. It was liberating. Her thoughts were hazy and all over the place, similar to that one time when she had tried some of that Devil Fruit appraisal's secret stash of "herbs". It made her woozy and uncoordinated, but the exhilaration she had gotten from it?
Totally worth it.
"What's going on?! NAMI! Why are you turning cold?! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?"
Luffy. Was he the person shaking her body like a ragdoll? Why did he sound so agitated? Was it because of her? She found that she didn't like the edge in his voice, that lining of desperation, but the lance of euphoria that passed through her prevented her from following that line of thought. It suddenly didn't matter anymore; everything was fading to black as she floated away pleasantly to the promise land. Her limbs felt heavy and unresponsive, usurped of whatever strength left in them, and it was a relief to be rid of her material form.
"NAAAAMIIII!"
A part of her was still screaming at her to not succumb to the pull, to continue resisting, but she paid no heed to any of it. How could she? It was too relaxing, too serene… She felt like she was on literal cloud nine. Something so good couldn't possibly be bad, could it? And with that rationalization, she let go of all her inhibitions, those last few taut strands holding her spirit to her body snapping and going slack.
She knew no more after that.
Nami was gone.
Luffy stared down at her motionless body lying prone on the ground where he had laid her down after she sagged into his arms. He was on his knees at her side, his vision blurry from the unshed tears threatening to spill over. His heart felt like there was something snaking around and squeezing it like a vise so fucking hard his breaths came choppy. Nami's cheeks, once peachy with vitality, was now a dull grey. Unable to bear looking at her unseeing eyes, the straw-hat captain had smoothened her eyelids shut with utmost care, as if she was a porcelain doll and a rough touch would cause her to break. It was the most painful experience ever in his life; to witness someone dying right in front of him, with him helpless to do anything about it.
And dear Sea Devil, how helpless had he felt. He had no idea what was happening – all he knew was that Nami was having some sort of internal battle from the way her expressive eyes kept darting back and forth and her mouth open and close like a goldfish gasping for air. Sure, he was aware of the eddying shadows, the assault by the darkness that lapped at him but did little other than wound his ego at the lack of firepower behind it. Clearly, he had been too confident that it wouldn't affect Nami that much either, and he paid the price.
The ordeal had lasted for close to a minute and to his growing trepidation, Luffy could feel Nami's body – starting from her shoulders to her arms in a downwards manner – turning cold to his touch. Finally, her head had lolled back and she would have collapsed in a lifeless heap onto the ground if he hadn't been there to scoop her up.
"I'm so sorry, Nami. I – I should have been more alert and this wouldn't have happened… It's all my fault!" Luffy raised both his fists up to the sky and slammed it down to the ground, nearly fracturing his wrists in the process, but the pain barely registered amidst his inner torment. Guilt and grief warred together to produce a virulent concoction that burnt at his insides like molten lava. Was she dead? He still couldn't quite believe it. Just moments ago, she had been perfectly fine and poking fun at him…
No, he refused to believe that she's gone for good. It must be a trick, a joke of some sort. If he could just find the person responsible, he might be able to revive her. He will be able to revive her, because he simply couldn't accept the alternative.
Clenching his fists, he gave Nami one last glance before getting to his feet. He didn't want to leave her all alone, even If she wasn't physically presentanymore, but it couldn't be helped. Already, the person responsible for this entire fucking shitfest was approaching. "I'll save you, Nami," he promised through gritted teeth, his eyes closing momentarily as frozen frames of his vivaciously ardent crewmate flashed before him. "You have my word. Hang in there, wherever you are."
When he opened his eyes, there was no mistaking the steely look, the murderous intent. Energy gathered round him in a bubble, causing the air around him to cackle with unbridled power. He strode forward, tiny sparks leaping from his body. The darkness ahead of him split as he stepped forward, making a path for him as if afraid of even touching him in his current state.
A maddeningly gleeful laughter resounded within his head, driving him to the brink of insanity. Yes, yes, the strangely familiar voice howled, kill. Kill. Kill.
If Luffy had been more astute, more coherent, he would have understood and refrained from following the orders of that little being within him, knowing very well the repercussions of such a slip-up through first-hand experience during his younger days.
But he wasn't.
And for the second time in seven years since coming into possession of the Energy Energy Fruit, he once again relinquished control to that deranged whispering that promised bitter sweet revenge.
And for the second time in seven years, he'll realize just what a big mistake that is.
A/N: Hello guys. A relatively short chapter, but I felt that I need to push this out first to... well, get you guys crazy for the next chapter. Don't we all hate cliffhangers? I know I do. So... here you go. MUAHAHAHAHAHA
Anywho, hope you guys have a good weekend!
REVIEWS!
Oghren&Corinthians: I'm surprised you actually still remember about that bag of gold. Damn, I thought I could sneak it up on all of y'all, but you really do have an eye for detail. Kudos to you! Let me assure you that I didn't forget, but Coby definitely did... uh oh.
Darth Prime: Glad to hear that you thought the fight was good! Really struggled there trying to strike a balance between Coby and Zoro since I didn't want there to be too big a gap between the two of them. Hmm, I honestly love to write conversations between Luffy and Nami because they're so comical and just adorable sometimes. But what happened in this chapter might put a bit of a hitch in their plans, don't you think? :P Regarding Sanji, i have every intention to make him go crazy because of exactly that. imagine if the self-proclaimed woman-killer is the only guy on board who's not getting any! heh. he'll try to commit suicide at every turn, and zoro and coby will save him every single time with exasperated expressions. i can't wait! :D
Devlin Dracul: Not that far off with that guess! But what those Devil Fruit hunters have in mind is a little bit more despicable than Caesar Clown. just a tad bit, because CC is pretty fucked up in his own right ;)
iitrnr: thanks for taking the time to give me a review! appreciate it :)
demonslayer4: thanks for the compliment. cheers!
xXcoopyXx: i've never taken more than 2 weeks to upload save for that time i was down with fever, so... but i understand the issue of urgency, i just have lots on my plate currently and it's hard for me to find time to really sit down and churn words out. i'm typing on my phone already to be more productive, so i don't think i can speed up my uploads anymore.. i'll try though. thanks for the feedback!
SareneMun: heheh. sorry, one cliffhanger to another. :P well, soon you'll find out who that guy is!
XerzoLotCN: hello! hmm, okay one step at a time. the harem will consist of 5 girls in total, or at least that's how far i've got it planned. and for luffy, you'll see a lot more of his repressed side as well as a darker side (like in this chapter) which is brought on by the Devil Fruit's conscience. the real extent of it will only be unleashed in the next chapter though, so stay tuned! currently, he's only capable of using his Devil Fruit abilities as he hasn't been exposed to Haki as of yet. Perhaps Coby will reveal it to him? Or he'll stumble upon Coby and Zoro's training. Hmmmm... Thanks for the review! Glad to know that you're enjoying the story so far. :)
Mistletainn: I've always found Zoro's total lack of directional sense hilarious and thought I should just slot it in right there to make it funny. Not like Luffy's gonna need any back-up. Or will he? :P Thanks for the review!
Shikaku Zetsumei: Hello new reader! Thanks for all the compliments and for your support by reviewing. Yep, my story will be a bit more on the slow-paced side because I feel the need to explore the back story as well as develop my characters before moving on, especially if I'm going to touch on romance. Won't want Luffy and Nami to fall in love instantly because this ain't some typical contemporary romance where the main leads jump each others' bones the moment they meet. Heh. Berudians! Okay, I've mentioned them in a long-ass paragraph in one of the chapters which I've subsequently removed because it had no relevance to the current story. I've replaced it with a brief mention in that chapter now, and their history and how they came to be will be explained in future arcs. They're the Devil Fruit appraisals in this story, by the way!
So that's it. Thanks for all the support guys, and I'll work hard to continue pushing out chapters as fast as I can. Till next time, y'all. Ciao!