Author's Note: All right, so part III came out longer than was expected and wanted. Oh well … It also took me longer, because I had a lot of things to work out … because it was longer, and because I was busy with other things. Sorry … I also want to thanks Dart for helping me out with this fic. Thank Dart! XD Hope you enjoy, Surise! :D And I hope you guys enjoy the last part as well. :)
Mad Hatter
Part III: The Reality No Longer A Wonderland
"Sir, the readings are off the charts."
"We have no idea what he's doing in there, but whatever it is, it's big."
"Has he really exceeded this far? Has he really passed our expectations?"
"Sir! Bad news! There's been an incident; a sighting!"
"Damn it! Keep monitoring this! I want to know every little thought he makes!"
"Yes sir! We'll try our best, but we've been suffering from some data errors!"
"Get it fixed then!"
"Yes sir! Working on it, sir!"
xxxx
Her head hurt, and whatever she was lying on hurt, making her body achy and sore. With a groan, Nami slowly opened her eyes, but shut them again from the bright light, causing her head to hurt even more. It was so cold. Why was it so cold?
"Ah? Is she awake yet?"
"I think so. I thought I heard her."
"I saw her move too. Nami-san? Are you all right?"
"She doesn't look so good."
"Oi, wake up, little girl! We're waiting on you!"
"Oi, oi, you gotta be all mean about it?"
"Ah, such a lovely rose~!"
"You're a douche bag …"
"What'd you say, stick head!"
Groaning again, Nami flinched to the voices, feeling confusion wrapping around her mind. Was she in another dream? Were they all there again? She could distinguish each voice, Usopp, Sanji-kun, Zoro, Robin-sensei, Franky-sensei and even Hancock-sensei. "What … What's going on?" Nami groaned, slowly opening her eyes again, though her vision was blurry. She could vaguely make out the blotches of bodies sitting around her.
"Oi, you all right?" A deep voice asked her, one of the bodies closest to her, Zoro.
"I-I think so," she rasped as she blinked her eyes to clear her vision of the fuzzies. "Where are we?"
"Somewhere in the arctic, we think?" A much gentler voice came, Robin-sensei.
"Arctic?" Nami asked, feeling even more confusion. They were in the real world still? This wasn't a dream? With a gasp, she sat up quickly, but groaned as a hand flew up to her aching head.
"Ah, Nami, don't try to move so fast!" A nasally voice came, Usopp. She looked up, noticing another body moving closer. It must be him.
"What are we doing here? What's going on?" Nami asked, slowly starting to frown with worry.
"He brought us all here, is why," Zoro replied, folding his arms to his chest as he sat back.
"We're in some kind of cave, Nami-san. Here, have some water," Sanji said, and she watched as a blurry arm reached out towards her, and she reached out a little clumsily to take the cup to drink from it greedily.
"After she's able, we should get movin'. It's cold here!" she heard Franky-sensei say.
"Here, Nami-san, we brought a coat for you," Sanji said, wrapping something around her.
"Why are we here? Please tell me what's going on!" Nami cried, starting to lose her patience.
There was a long silence, as they all seemed to look between each other, but then finally, she saw as they turned to her, and Zoro spoke up, "He told us to be ready, and told us what we would need. He also supplied us with a map, though we had to steal it."
"He? What? Who told you this?" she asked, frowning deeper as her vision finally started to clear up.
There was another long silence, which made her anxious before someone finally spoke up, Sanji this time, "Luffy did."
Sucking in her breath, Nami stiffened, her eyes shifting between them all as their faces became clearer. "L-Luffy?" she whispered, looking shocked, but still confused. "B-But how? Why? I don't understand. Wasn't it just a dream?"
"Yup, it was a dream, but I guess it wasn't just a dream. We were all there," Zoro replied, leaning back against the cave wall as he closed his eyes.
"Y-You were all there? That was really you?" she whispered, gaping at all of them in confused amazement.
"That's right," Hancock replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she turned her nose up at her.
Usopp snickered with a grin and said, "We couldn't tell you, of course. Though, Zoro almost gave it all away!"
"Oi, I was still half asleep, okay! Doin' that makes me tired! They didn't have to try shoving my head in a tea pot!" Zoro exclaimed, scowling back at Usopp, who hid behind Franky.
"Luffy made us all promise that we would make you believe you really were in a Wonderland," Robin replied with a gentle smile.
"Luffy, Luffy, Luffy! You all speak about this Luffy as if you all know him, but how do you know him? And what do I have to do with any of this?" Nami exclaimed, losing her shock as she frowned at them again.
"Everything; don't you see?" Zoro asked, opening a single eye. "We all have everything to do with it. Don't you remember?"
"Remember? Remember what?" she asked, frowning deeper, though her features started to soften.
"It took us awhile to remember, but it all came back to us. I guess for you, it might have been a little harder," Sanji said very quietly with his head lowered.
"What are you talking about?" she whispered, feeling a shiver run down her spine. There was something, something in the back of her mind, trying to claw its way out, and it made her feel cold. However, suddenly, she gasped and cried out as her hands came up to clamp over her ears, but no matter what, the screams in her mind continued as she got flashes of a memory long forgotten.
She could see flashes of people running, children, screaming and crying as they ran. Her vision blurred slightly with tears as she tried to see what was going on. It was as if she was seeing through eyes long past. Men wearing masks and armor came into view, holding guns. They were screaming, but she couldn't hear the words very well, but soon, the memory cleared, and it was as if she was back to that day so long ago.
"Everybody down on the ground now and you won't be harmed! Get down now!"
She could see people and the children falling to the ground in fear, their arms over their heads. The children were wailing and sobbing loudly, and she could even see some having wet themselves. A museum, they were at a museum, and all the exits were being blocked. There was so much chaos.
"Nami-san!"
Someone was calling her name? It sounded like a young boy.
"Nami-san! Luffy!"
"Sanji-kun!"
It was her voice! Her voice as a small child! Her eyes were wondering around, and finally, they landed on the small blonde boy, his face looking concerned as he attempted to crawl towards her.
"Nami!"
Another voice of a small boy, once … Oh, she remembered that voice. Just then, the eyes moved to the side, and a small dark haired boy was running right for her.
"Luffy!"
She cried and screamed as the men swooped upon them, her eyes filled with tears as she sobbed.
"Nami, I'm coming!"
He was calling to her, and he was running towards her. Her small hand reached out for him, but just then, one of the men in masks scooped him right up. She screamed, a blood curdling scream, more tears falling from her eyes as she reached out to that small boy.
"Lemme go! Lemme go, damn it! Don't touch me!"
The boy struggled. He had always been so brave. He elbowed the masked man's head, which caused him to drop him.
"Luffy!"
"Luffy!"
It was two more familiar voices. The eyes quickly shifted, seeing a small, dark color hair, long nosed boy. He had a sling shot in his hands, which he fired at the man.
"Gah, what the f-!"
The man looked confused and stunned to whatever had pegged him hard, leaving room for the other, moss color haired boy to run over, and without fear, he leapt onto the masked man, punching him in the face. His mask was knocked away, and he scowled at both boys.
"You little brats, get off me!"
The man threw Zoro off from him and hit Luffy with the butt of his gun, who had also leapt onto him.
"Aah!"
Luffy hit the ground and Nami could already see a deep cut on his face, just below his left eye. Blood oozed from the injury, and the boy looked extremely dazed, but suddenly, a young woman appeared, using her body as a shield for Luffy.
"Don't hurt him! He's just a child!"
Looking at her carefully, Nami could see her vibrant blue eyes. Robin!
"Robin!"
The voice of another young woman. Looking over, Nami saw another dark haired young woman, both looking to be teenagers. Hancock!
"Get out of the way!"
The man roughly grabbed Robin, and shoved her away, causing the girl to cry out as she hit the ground.
"Robin! You barbaric monsters!"
Hancock ran over, jumping onto the man's back and wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling back.
"Gah, you little bitch! Let go of me!"
"Leave that poor boy alone! And don't hurt her!"
The man grabbed her from behind and pulled her forward to slam her down onto her back.
"Oi … don't … hurt … them!"
Luffy tried to get up onto his feet, his face a deep scowl as he lunged at the man, punching him right on his crotch.
"Oh you son of a bitch!"
The man looked to be in pain, but he grabbed Luffy anyway and lifted him up and threw him over his shoulders.
"I got him! We've already got the other one! He was just as much trouble too! Freckle faced little punk!"
"No, Ace!"
"Oi, leave the kid alone!"
There was another voice. Her eyes wondered until they saw another man. Franky-sensei! He looked young, but by the looks of it, he was still a teacher, perhaps at an elementary school, or the high school? Suddenly, he ran forward, grabbing a man's gun and managing to yank it away before hitting him across the face with it. But another gunman ran over, hitting Franky over the head with the butt of his gun, and he dropped, though he groaned, reaching up to grab his head, which was already starting to bleed.
"Where are you talking that child?"
Came another, much older voice as a tall, older man with an afro frowned deeply at the armed men, each of these people seemed to have no fear at all.
"You stay out of our way! Get down!"
"What'd you do to Ace?"
The man pointed his gun towards Franky and the afro man, shifting it between the two. Nami's eyes watched Luffy as he struggled, despite his daze, he was still worried for Ace. Ace, she remembered that name. She remembered Ace, and he had been in her dream. However, it was of the child she remembered, not the man in her dream. And now, staring at this child, she remembered him. They were all in a class together, once upon a time, first grade. Sanji and Zoro were in a class above them, but they were all still friends, seeing as they also lived in the same neighborhood. However, she and Luffy were like best friends, had been since even before school started. He always looked after her, and they always hung out and told each other secrets. However, she then shifted them back to the men.
"I said get down, old man, if you know what's good for you!"
She watched as the afro man moved forward, with surprising speed and hit the man's gun with his cane, knocking it from his hand.
"Let that boy go!"
However, she screamed and watched in horror as the older man was shot. However, still, the afro man tried to crawl towards them to get to Luffy.
"Tough old fart … Take him with us! We can't leave any evidence that we were here!"
It was a new voice, one of another man. She watched as a different man lifted up the old afro wearing man, and they began to leave, shoving Franky-sensei out of the way. Her small voice then cried out, as well as the voices of the others.
"No, Luffy!"
"Luffy!"
"Wipe their minds. I don't want them to remember a thing."
Suddenly, another, creepier man, came forth, who lifted up his hands. And she screamed out again, her eyes shifting and watching in horror as they carried her friend away, but then everything went black.
"Luffy!" Nami cried, her head shooting up, realizing that tears were running down her face as the others, much older now, came into view. Already shaking, she released a sob as her hand came up to block any more from coming forth. However, after awhile of sitting there, completely shocked, her eyes began to focus on the others, who were just watching her. Her hand slowly lowered, and she cried in a strained whisper, "They took him!"
"Yes, they did," Sanji replied quietly with a soft frown.
"And then they all chalked it up as some kind of gas leak. It was all over the news. They made us even forget anyone went missing. They made us completely forget who Luffy was," Zoro replied, and his voice was eerily quiet as he stared down at the cave floor.
"That man," she whispered, starting to frown slowly, "that creepy man-"
"Yeah, we all remember him too," Zoro replied, lifting his eyes slightly.
"He had some sort of ability to erase our memories from our minds," Robin replied softly, "just as Luffy has the ability to bring us into his."
"What have they been doing to him?" Nami whispered, looking angry and shocked and oh so confused. However, then she said, "I remember I was in a coma for awhile. My foster mother told me I was out for a few weeks. We had to move elsewhere for my medical treatments, because she couldn't afford them, and when I came to … I didn't remember any of you." She looked sad as she looked up at them and whispered, "I didn't remember anything, and maybe … I didn't really want to."
"It's understandable. I didn't remember much of anything either," Sanji muttered with a sigh, "but we remained there, and I attended the same school."
"Same here," Zoro muttered, and the others nodded in agreement.
"Another thing though, how did we all end up in the same place?" Usopp asked quietly, scratching his head. "We all happen to attend the same college, and; or teach there."
"Perhaps it was Luffy's influence that we ended up in the same place?" Robin suggested, looking to the others. "He has obviously not forgotten any of us from that day or as childhood friends. Luffy and I have only met once, after all, just that day, the same with Hancock and Franky."
"How many other times had he brought you into his dreams?" Nami asked, looking to each.
They seemed to give each other glances before finally looking back at her. "A few times," Zoro finally replied with a shrug.
"But," Nami started, looking confused now, "why didn't he come to me before? Why did he only bring me that one time?"
"We don't really know. We all pretty much remembered right away after he came to us, but you," Sanji started, looking down again, "it was as if you didn't want to remember him. He said he showed himself to you a few times, but you did not remember him. So, he decided to wait on you, waiting for you to be ready to see him again. For whatever reason, it was just harder for you to accept."
Not being able to help herself, Nami's face scrunched up as the tears worsened and fell. She released a soft sob as she lowered her head. It hurt so much, all of it. It was like she rejected him. Was he hurt by that? Did it hurt him that she hadn't remembered him? He was her closest friend, and remembering that he had gone missing all those years ago, it all hurt so much.
"Luffy," she cried softly as her hand came up to rub the tears from her eyes. She was quiet for awhile as she grieved for her lost friend, but then finally, she calmed down and looked up at them. "What do we do?"
Finally, the others smiled, and Sanji moved closer to show her the map. "This is the map of the facility. Luffy was sure that if anyone could make heads or tails of it, it was you, Nami-san," he said, smiling at her softly.
Biting her lip, Nami looked over the map before smiling and nodding. "I can," she said, pointing to a certain point, "and I think we'll be able to get into the place from here. They will most likely have cameras and a security system, but being way out here in the arctic, I doubt it's all that secure. We should be able to take it all down to sneak in. But first, we need to find this facility."
"Already done," Franky said with a smirk. "We went out scoutin' earlier, though Zoro almost got us lost …"
"I didn't get us lost!"
"Good, at least we know where it's at," Nami said, ignoring Zoro, who grumbled. "We just need to find the security box. How did Luffy get these things anyway?"
"He stole them, but he said he had help from the inside. Luffy has the ability to transfer items through his dreams," Zoro replied, looking amazed still.
Nami looked up at him, and then the others. "That's amazing," she whispered, and the others nodded in agreement. "Anyways," she started, looking down again, "I think this box here," she said, pointing to something on the map, "might be the security box. Let's get to it and bust them out of there." Looking up at the others, she smiled, and each smiled and nodded in return.
Getting their supplies together, all compliments of Luffy, they bundled up in the jackets and snow pants and headed out into the cold. "Fucking cold here," Zoro muttered in complaint as they trekked towards the facility.
"Suck it up, Marimo," Sanji retorted, and the verbal insults ensued.
Ignoring them, Nami stared at the map as she walked, looking over each room carefully, trying to figure out which room he would be kept in. "That one," she whispered to herself, staring at a particular room. It has to be that one. "It's the same as the castle in the dream."
"Did you say something, Nami-chan?"
"I just realized, Luffy was telling me where he was in the dream," she said, looking up at Robin in amazement. "This map, I remember things from the castle, certain doors and things, it was all set up exactly like the facility. The throne room, it's where Luffy and Ace are!" she said, starting to smile wider. "I think Luffy knew I would make the connection," she whispered in awe as tears came to her eyes, "or maybe he has a horrible imagination and just copied the layout," she said as she laughed softly.
Robin smiled fondly down at the girl before looking ahead. "Perhaps," she replied quietly with a soft chuckle.
"Either way, at least we know where he's at. Let's hurry up," Zoro said, and the others nodded and picked up their pace. All the while, Nami explained to them exactly where they needed to go, though most remembered the layout of the castle.
"There it is," Usopp whispered, starting to shake slightly as they neared the facility. Oh, how he wished he were in the dream.
"We're out in the open. I don't like that we're in the open," Zoro muttered, his eyes shifting from side to side.
"D-Do y-you th-think they would have guards?" Usopp stuttered, looking terrified.
"Who knows?" Sanji said, also frowning and shifting his eyes around, trying to spot any kind of movement.
"They're way out in the middle of nowhere though. Do they really need guards?" Franky asked, quirking his brow as he also looked about.
"Maybe cameras were all they needed?" Hancock said, having been silent that whole time, though she was frowning.
"Maybe," Nami replied, causing the other woman to snort, which Nami didn't fail to miss. However, she ignored it as she looked around just as carefully. "Where we need to go is this way," she said, moving off towards the side, though she was wary.
"I-I-I see a c-c-camera!" Usopp cried, pointing up towards a camera.
"Shit," Zoro growled, frowning deeply, but then suddenly, the camera just stopped and lowered, as if it was shut off, right as it spotted them. "What the-?" he exclaimed, looking confused.
"Did that camera just shut off?" Sanji asked, looking to the others, but they had no answer.
"Let's get to the entrance then!" Nami cried, breaking into a run in the opposite direction. Coming to a vent, she then pointed to it and said, "We need to get it open!"
"Move," Zoro said as he and Sanji approached it.
"Here, I got it," Sanji said, lifting up and leg kicking in the vent, and then Zoro wrenched it away, tossing it aside.
"N-N-Nice!" Usopp started, staring at them both in awe.
"Whatever, let's just go," Zoro muttered as he motioned for the others to go first. Sanji went in first, and Zoro brought up the rear.
They crawled through the air ducts before Nami finally whispered to Sanji, "There, Sanji-kun, that's where we need to go."
Nodding his understanding, Sanji sat back, and looked over the vent. If he kicked it in, it might make too much noise. "Lemme!" Usopp whispered loudly as he carefully inched passed Nami, who squeezed up against the wall, and Sanji climbed to the other side of the vent to get out of Usopp's way.
Inspecting the vent, Usopp frowned and whispered, "A screwdriver could open this."
"Here, I got one in my pack!" Franky whispered, passing it on to Hancock, who then passed it to Robin, who then passed it to Nami, who then passed it to Usopp.
"Thanks!" Usopp replied back in a whisper with a grin on his face. He then set to work on opening up the vent, which took some time. On the last screw, Sanji reached down to hold the vent, so it wouldn't fall down. "Thanks," Usopp muttered as he worked before getting the last screw off.
Sanji carefully eased the vent inside with them before setting it behind him, and then carefully, he lowered his head to assess the surroundings inside. Coming back up, he whispered, "It's clear. Usopp, you first." He held out his hand to Usopp, so that he could lower him down.
"D-D-D-Do I gotta be first?" Usopp stuttered, but Sanji gave him a look. With a sigh, Usopp took his hand and eased himself out of the vent as Sanji lowered him down. Once he was low enough, Sanji released his hand, and Usopp landed soundlessly on the floor below. Crouching down, he then moved out of the way.
Sanji helped each person down, before he and Zoro just jumped down with the others. "Looks clear," Zoro said, looking down each side of the hall.
"For now, anyway. We should get moving. It's this way," Nami whispered as she moved on, and the others followed her. However, Nami gasped and froze when she saw a camera, slowly rotating down the hall. Again, the moment the camera caught sight of them, it slowly drooped and stopped rotating.
"Did that camera just shut off again?" Usopp whispered to the others, who looked just as confused.
"Well, he did say he had help on the inside. Let's keep going," Sanji said, looking to Nami, who nodded and kept going.
They turned down hall after hall, and finally, Nami spoke up. "Just through this d-" Nami stopped her words with a soft gasp as she pulled back and pressed herself against the walls, and the others quickly scrambled to do the same. On the other side, they could hear voices, though they were speaking softly.
"How are we supposed to get passed them?" Usopp whispered to them, though no one answered as their minds raced to figure out this problem.
After awhile, Zoro said, "We're going to need a distraction."
"But what if you get caught or worse!" Usopp exclaimed in a loud whisper, but Zoro clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Let us worry about that," Zoro replied before looking up at both Sanji and Franky, who nodded back to him.
"What are you going to do?" Nami whispered, looking towards Zoro.
"Anything we can to draw them out of the room, so you all can bust Luffy and Ace out," Zoro replied, staring back at her.
She was silent for a long time as they just stared at one another, but then she bit her lip and nodded. "Okay, but please, be careful," she said, looking to the others as well, who just nodded with smiles.
"He seems to have calmed down considerably. I don't know what he was doing, but he's not doing it anymore."
Everyone froze, listening to the conversation inside.
"His brain patterns have returned to normal. He almost seems to be resting. Tony Tony, can you tell us what's going on now?"
"Luffy is currently sleeping."
They quickly looked to one another, their eyes wide, and at the same time, they all whispered, "Chopper!"
"Before, can you not still tell us what was going on?"
There was silence for awhile, but then Chopper's voice came again, though it sounded artificial, "It is still unclear what happened. Further analysis is needed."
"Right," the same man replied with an audible sigh. "I wonder what's going on. Maybe Tony Tony's got a virus. We even got a call that some of the cameras suddenly went down, but Tony Tony just said there were some errors, and that he was currently workin' on it."
"Huh, strange," came another voice from inside.
Nami's eyes widened further before looking towards the others with a questioning look. "It looks like Chopper's the inside help," Zoro replied with a smirk.
"The cameras went down exactly at the time we were caught sight of," Robin replied with a smile.
Suddenly, Chopper's voice came again, "I have located the errors. Please, will you assist in fixing them?"
"Oh? You found the errors? All right, what do you need us to do?"
There was silence for awhile, but then suddenly, Chopper replied again, "There may have been a power surge that damaged some of my data cells. Please, will you have a look?"
"Yeah, all right," the man said, "let's go."
He seemed to be talking to the other man, and then they heard movement before both stood up. They tensed up and even looked around for a place to hide, but the men never left out of the door they were standing by. After awhile, they heard Chopper's voice again, "They are gone now. You may come in."
"E-Eh?" Nami whispered, blinking back at the others in confusion, who looked just as confused.
However, Chopper spoke again, "You've come for Luffy and Ace, have you not? We have been waiting for you."
Nami's lips slowly parted, but then she slowly peered inside, seeing that the room was in fact empty. "Ch-Chopper?" she whispered, looking around.
"Yes, I am Chopper, Tony Tony Chopper, computer AI created by Doctor Vegapunk. Nami, please, you must hurry. They will be back shortly when they realize my data cells are not damaged. Take Luffy and Ace, and leave this place."
With a gasp, Nami hurried inside, and the others quickly followed her in, looking around, they just gaped at all the strange things. There were buttons, lights flashing, tubes filled with liquid and machines everywhere. There were about twenty or so men and women inside of the tubes, floating in some sort of liquid with cords attached to them all over, several in the heads. Their only attire, for the men with tight shorts, and for the women, strapless two piece swim suits, all the same color, a dark blue.
"Luffy is located in tube number zero six, and Ace is located in the tube number zero eight. Please hurry."
"R-Right," Nami said, going to the sixth tube and looking up at the person inside. With a gasp, she then pressed her palms into the glass. It was Luffy all right. "Luffy," she whispered before looking to the others. "We need to get them out of here."
"Luffy, Ace, awaken, your friends are here," Chopper suddenly said, and Luffy's eyes flew open, bubbles floating from the mask covering over his mouth and nose to the top of the tank. Blinking his eyes a few times, he then looked down, seeing Nami there. He reacted immediately upon seeing her, moving to press his palms into the other side of the glass.
"Luffy!" she called, starting to smile as tears came to her eyes.
Seeing her smile, and her mouth moving, his eyes widened as he moved a little lower to be level with her. However, his eyes were suddenly alight, and he looked to be smiling in return, though it was hidden behind his mask.
"Oi, Ace is over here!" Sanji called, standing in front of Ace's tube, who had also opened his eyes, looking to each of them.
Suddenly, there was a loud click, and the machines began to make noise, causing Nami to gasp and move away from the tubes. Luffy moved his head from side to side, looking down towards the bottom of the tube, and then the liquid began to drain from each of their tubes. Once the liquid drained passed their waists, both dropped down to their hands and knees, and weakly removed the masks from their faces. Once all the water was gone, the tubes hissed before opening slowly.
"Luffy!"
"Ace!"
Looking up at all of them, Luffy grinned widely, though weakly back at them. "Thanks guys," he said, though his voice was hoarse and almost nonexistent. Then he reached up, beginning to pull the cords off from him. "Ngh," he exclaimed with some of them as long needles were pulled from his flesh and skull.
"Oh, Luffy, let me," Nami said, stepping up to carefully remove all the needles and cords from him.
"Thanks," he husked, grinning wider.
Once all the cords were removed from both, Zoro and Sanji carefully helped them both up to support them as they walked. "They've had us in those tanks for a few months. I feel like I'll never be able to use my legs or arms properly again, "Ace husked with a grunt as he attempted to make his legs move.
"I think we have some water in the packs," Hancock muttered to herself as she dug around her pack. "Ah!" she exclaimed. "Here you are, Luffy," she said, moving to Luffy with a flush as she opened the water and helped him to drink it.
"I have some more water," Robin said, taking it to Ace.
"They are coming back. You must leave now."
"Not … going … without you, Chopper," Luffy rasped, panting lightly to how heavily he had drunk the water.
There was silence from Chopper before finally he spoke, "It's too risky, Luffy, and I'm afraid it would take too long for you to be able to take me with you. You must go."
"Not goin' without you, Chopper!" Luffy cried, looking determined.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Luffy. You either tell us how to take you with us, or we all get caught. So, you'd better hurry and tell us," Zoro said, looking about.
There was silence again, but then Chopper spoke up again, though his voice had eerily gone quiet, "All right," he replied, and his voice actually sounded soft, "leave out the way you came, and I will guide you to me. However, you will have to take the long way."
"All right, you heard him. Let's go," Zoro said with a smirk as they hurriedly left the room.
"Follow the cameras!"
"Right!" Usopp called back into the room, and then they were gone.
Not but a two minutes later, the men were back. "Tony Tony, we didn't find any corrupted data cells."
"Then perhaps the errors are deeper than I thought. Allow me a moment to analyze again."
The men glanced to each other skeptically, and then one said as he looked to Chopper, "Yeah, we're definitely thinking it's something deeper. Maybe you should let us have a look."
"Allow me to do it myself, and if the problem is not fixed, I will allow you to have a look."
"Right," the other muttered with a sigh as he sat down and turned his chair slightly, but then he froze, noticing the two empty tubes. "What tha-?" he cried, sitting straight up. "Tony, where are experiments six and eight?"
"What?" the other guy exclaimed, turning to see the empty tubes.
"Definitely deeper errors, Tony!" the first man exclaimed as he turned to frown at the computer. Then he turned to his partner and cried, "Sound the alarm! We might have intruders!"
"Right!" the second man cried as he stood and hit the button, causing the alarms to blare and red lights to flare.
"Shit, we need to hurry!" Sanji cried as they quickly made their way down the halls.
They looked about for the live cameras to follow, like Chopper had instructed before finally coming to a room. Going inside, they looked around to the large computer and just gaped. "It's huge!" Usopp exclaimed as his jaw dropped.
"How the hell're we supposed to get him out of that thing?" Zoro asked, looking over to the others.
"Perhaps his program can be stored?" Robin suggested, going over to the computer and having a look.
"Store him in what?" Zoro asked, quirking a brow to the woman.
"Perhaps this terabyte external hard drive?" she said, turning to smile at him while holding something up.
"Uh, whatever, just get it done so we can get the hell out of here," Zoro said, frowning at the woman, who just smiled knowingly.
Turning around, she started pushing buttons and looking at monitors before hooking up the hard drive to a certain place. She worked for a bit before finally unplugging the device and turning to them. "It's done," she said, holding out the device.
"Good job, Robin," Luffy said with a weak grin, but then he said, "There's one more thing we need to do before we go."
"One more thing? But Luffy, we have to go," Nami said, frowning at him softly.
"Please, Nami," Luffy pleaded, smiling at her.
"We can't leave him here," Ace added, leaning heavily on Franky.
"Leave him?" Nami asked, starting to frown, but then her eyes slowly shifted to the side in thought.
"Brook, we gotta get Brook," Zoro said, looking over to Nami.
"Oh, Brook!" she exclaimed, remembering the skeleton. "Of course!" she cried before heading out, but then she turned and asked, "Where is he?"
"He's in the medical ward, in a tube, like we were, only he's receiving special treatment," Ace explained as they walked. "It's just down here."
However, just then, a few men with guns turned the corner, and upon spotting them, they drew their guns. "Hold it right there!"
"Shit!" Ace exclaimed with a scowl.
Luffy pushed against Zoro and Sanji to step forward, though he stumbled. "Get back!" he cried before holding his arms out in front of him.
To anyone else there, his arms appeared to stretch forward, and two of the men with guns were punched in the face by his fists. Luffy brought his arms back, and they retracted to their original state. "What the hell?" Zoro exclaimed, gaping at Luffy, and the others looked no different.
"You can actually do that? I thought it was just because we were in the dream!" Usopp exclaimed, his jaw almost hitting the floor.
"No, it's an illusion," Ace said, smirking widely as he pushed off Franky and stumbled forward towards Luffy. "They only think they see him stretching, though he is using his energy to attack them … like this," he continued as he also held his arms out.
"He's attacking! Fire, but try not to kill the experiments! Kill the others!"
Nami gasped, but just as the men fired, Luffy also held out his arms, and something translucent came out from them, stopping the bullets and holding them midair. However, then Ace thrust out his other arm, and the sparks, which shot out from the firing weapons, ignited into flames, exploding near the gunmen. They cried out as they flew back, and the bullets both Ace and Luffy were holding fell when their arms did.
"Shit," Ace groaned as his knees buckled, but was caught by Zoro, and Luffy by Sanji. "Takes too much energy, energy we don't have right now," he rasped, breathing deeply as they continued on.
"It's just … this way," Luffy said, pointing ahead towards a door.
"All right, let's hurry up then and get out of here," Zoro said as they moved forward towards the door.
"What the-?" the men inside cried, seeing them there.
However, Luffy's arm shot out, and the man cried out as he grabbed at his own throat. Then Luffy swiped his arm to the side, and the man crashed up against the opposite wall. "Ngh!" Luffy exclaimed, one of his eyes closing as he looked to be in pain.
"Luffy!" Nami cried, seeing a small trickle of blood drip from out of his nose.
"I'm fine! Just get Brook!" Luffy cried as he and Ace took care of the remaining men in the room.
"Right," Sanji muttered, though he looked worried. Handing Luffy to Usopp, he then hurried forward towards Brook's tank. "Wow," Sanji whispered, gaping up at the man in the tube.
"Oh my," Nami whispered as well, slowly coming over towards Sanji.
"Just look at 'im!" Usopp exclaimed, also gaping with the others.
"Holy shit," Ace also whispered as Zoro and Usopp helped Luffy and Ace towards the tube.
They all stared up at the man, floating in the tube in awe. "He looked … so frail in my memory," Nami whispered, and Sanji finally moved to open up the tube. Robin moved over by him to lend him her assistance.
Finally, something clicked, and the liquid began to drain. Once it was all gone, the tube hissed before rising up. Franky stepped up then to help the older gentleman, though he looked so much younger and stronger. With a groan, Brook's eyes slowly opened as the mask over his face was removed.
"Wha-?" he started to ask, but then he began to cough.
"It's gonna be all right, Brook. We're getting you outta here!" Luffy cried, looking worried for the older man, who should have been into his eighties by now. However, he looked to be around in maybe his forties.
Opening his eyes more, Brook looked around for the voice, though his vision was blurry. "Luffy-san? Is that you?" he asked, blinking his eyes up towards Luffy.
"That's right, Brook! We're breaking out of here!"
"Yohohohoho," the man laughed softly, "it's about time."
"Yup, let's get the hell out of here," Ace said, turning to nod to the others, and they quickly left, carrying the three carefully.
They continued down the halls towards the way they had come in. However, as they were about to turn a corner, there were men with guns, already inspecting the open vent. "Shit, can't go that way," Zoro muttered as they all moved away from the corner.
"We'll have to fight our way to the main exit," Luffy said, looking up at them.
"B-B-But wouldn't there b-b-be more guards there?" Usopp asked, looking scared.
"Yes, but the opening is a lot bigger for us to make our escape. We're going to have to fight our way out," Ace replied, looking back down the halls. "Let's hurry," he said, looking up at Zoro, who nodded.
"Let's go," Zoro said as they headed back down the way they come to go to the main exit.
They finally saw the opening at the other end towards the lobby, and sure enough, there were guards about, waiting for them to make their escape. Nami's heart was pounding in her chest. Would they make it out of this? Would they be okay? She bit her lip and held her head high. She didn't regret a thing. She was glad that they were given this opportunity to remember and find their friends.
"There they are!"
"Make sure the experiments stay alive! Kill the other intruders! They can't leave, knowing what they saw!"
"Eee!" Usopp screeched, beginning to shake, but he held Luffy fast, with Sanji on the other side.
Luffy unwrapped his arms from around his friends and stumbled forward, Ace doing the same. "You're not touching my friends," Luffy growled, scowling back at the men with guns.
Brook also pulled away from Franky. "Yohohohoho, we're leaving this place with all of our friends here," he said, looking a little steadier than Ace and Luffy. The three were shielding the others from their sights.
"Be careful, the experiments are powerful. Bring them in at any means possible! Hold fast! They will run out of power eventually!"
"Yes sir!"
"Fire!"
Before they knew what was happening, they could hear the loud banging and clacking of gunfire. Both Ace and Luffy held up their arms to stop the bullets from hitting them and their friends, whereas Brook split off to the side.
"That one is heading around! Fire at him!"
"Yes sir!"
Soon, some of the gunmen were firing at Brook, but the other man was running so fast, they couldn't keep up, and then suddenly, he began running up the wall, to avoid gunfire from a second set of men.
"Yohohohoho!"
He ran all the way towards them, pushed off the wall and kicked one of the gunmen in the head. His movements were quick and precise as he grabbed a rifle from one of the other men, hit him with it, all with dodging bullets coming at him. One by one, within a second each, he was slowly taking out the gunmen.
While Ace held up the shield to block the bullets, Luffy also then moved off, throwing punches to men across the room and knocking some out. "Get them!"
Ace dropped the bullets and ran for the men as well. "We need to do something," Zoro said, turning his head slightly to the others.
Looking to the side, he noticed some thin pipes and smirked. Heading towards them, he began kicking them to loosen them. Noticing him, Sanji also hurried over and helped him get the pipes free. Once they were loose enough, Franky came over and helped yank them free and hand to Zoro.
"Thanks," Zoro replied with a wider smirk. Two pipes would have to do.
Turning towards the men, Zoro then made a run for them with Sanji and Franky, seeing as they gunmen were distracted with Ace, Luffy and Brook. Bringing up a pipe, he then swung, hitting one of the gunmen hard. Sanji jumped up, shoving one down into the ground with his foot, and Franky punched the nearest one to him. The other three remained at the entrance to the hall and watched.
"I wish we could help," Nami whispered, looking anxious as her eyes scanned over the men.
"Look, there they are!"
With a gasp, Nami, Robin and Usopp whirled around to see more gunmen running down the hall towards them. "Oh no! They must have called for backup!" Nami cried, but then screamed when they began to fire at them, and the three moved out of the hall and behind the wall to get away from the gunfire.
"Damn it!" Usopp exclaimed, digging around in his pack. There had to be something there to help him out.
With a grin on his face, he removed a sling shot and looking within the bag more, he noticed some smoke bombs and other things. He removed them, loaded up the slingshot, and then moved into the entrance of the hallway.
"Usopp, what are you doing!" Nami screeched, moving to move him, but then he fired into the hallway.
Once the bombs hit the men, smoke engulfed the hallways, causing the men to stop firing and cough. Then Usopp began firing small explosives into the hall, which exploded, knocking some of the men out. They weren't big enough to do any real damage.
"Very nice," Robin replied with a soft smile.
"Thanks!" Usopp exclaimed, rubbing under his nose with half a smirk.
"We need to get out of here!" Ace cried, looking very tired now. "You guys, get out of here!" he called to the three by the hall way.
"That goes for the three of you as well. Get them out of here! We'll be right behind you!" Luffy called to the three men fighting with them.
"Right," Zoro replied, motioning for the others to follow them.
Nami, Robin and Usopp ran over towards them, and they headed for the exit.
"Tony Tony, close the exit! … Tony!"
"I'm afraid he can't hear you any longer," Robin said, smiling at the man as they ran past and even chuckled.
"Shit! Don't let them get away!"
The men from the hall way, who weren't knocked out or injured ran out of the hallway, immediately aiming towards the three running towards the others. "Stop them! Fire!"
The men immediately began to fire, but Ace jumped out, holding his arms out to stop the bullets. However, one got through before he was able to put up a barrier. "Ngh!" he cried, closing an eye and gritting his teeth. However, he held up the barrier.
"Come on, let's go!" Zoro cried, running behind the three with Sanji and Franky beside him. They burst through the doors, but Zoro turned to the three remaining. "Ace, Luffy, Brook, let's go!" he cried to them, and slowly but surely, they headed for the exit and ran out with them. Nami and Robin pulled out the extra coats and covered them with, but Ace's knees buckled, and he dropped.
"Ace!" Luffy cried, moving over towards his brother.
"I'm … okay," he replied, but his voice was strained with pain.
"Shit, he's been shot!" Luffy exclaimed, looking over the wound.
"Don't worry about it! Just get out of here! I'll hold them off while you run!" Ace cried, giving Luffy a shove.
"No way! I'm not leaving you, Ace! We've come this far! There's no way I'm leaving you behind!" Luffy cried, trying to force Ace up, but Ace shoved him away again.
"Just go, damn it! They're coming!"
"Fuck that," Zoro said, moving up and lifting Ace easily over his shoulder. "Let's go, now!" he ordered to the others, who immediately ran for it as they gunmen began to exit the building and fire at them.
"Damn it! I'll just slow you down!" Ace cried, scowling up at Zoro over his shoulder.
"Shut up!" Zoro barked as they ran, hoping not to get hit by a bullet.
However, suddenly, they stopped, their eyes wide to more men standing several feet away from them. "Oh no!" Nami cried as they also looked at the men behind them. "We're trapped," she whispered, feeling tears pooling in her eyes.
"Shit, this isn't good," Zoro growled, also looking back and forth.
Upon seeing the other men, the gunmen ceased and stared. There just seemed to be a standstill, and the group in the middle looked between each group of men. "What do we do now?" Usopp whispered to the others.
"Hell if I know," Zoro muttered, frowning deeply.
"Luffy, Ace!"
"E-Eh?" Luffy whispered, stepping up weakly to stare at the men blocking their path, his eyes squinting against the snow falling.
"Get down!"
Luffy's eyes widened with a gasp, and then he cried, "Guys, get down!"
The small group dropped to the ground, just as gunfire and even missiles were launched towards the men, pooling around the entrance to the facility. Nami screamed, holding her head with her arms as she curled up. Looking over towards her, Luffy then began crawling towards her. "It's gonna be all right, Nami! It's our gramps!" he called, starting to grin as he wrapped an arm around her.
Looking up at him, he just nodded, and suddenly, those men began running past them to infiltrate the facility. Three big men stopped, their shadows looming over the group as they looked down at them. Looking up as well, Luffy gaped up at the three men, and even Ace looked up as well, but then Luffy slowly started to grin. "Gramps!" he cried, tears even coming into his eyes.
One of the men knelt down, causing his old and ashen face to become visible. "It's been a long time, Luffy," he said, his voice raspy before looking over to Ace, who had also begun to smile.
"Gramps," he called, looking happy to see him.
"You boys okay?" he asked, looking back to Luffy.
However, Luffy's face suddenly fell. "Gramps, Ace's been shot!"
"What!" another voice called, and one of the other men moved towards Ace and knelt down, revealing a mustache wearing man. "Let me see," he said, opening Ace's coat, causing the young man to stiffen, but then he slowly began to frown.
"Dad?" he called quietly, and the man looked up at him, making Ace's eyes widen.
"Let's get them the hell out of here," the final man finally said before kneeling down, revealing his tattooed face, and pulling Luffy to his feet.
"Right," Garp replied as he also helped the others to their feet.
Luffy gaped up at the tattooed man, but had no time to talk as they were ushered off, away from the facility. The mustache man helped Ace as they went while the other men continued into the facility, freeing the experiments and then destroying the place.
As they neared the top of the slight incline, there were snow vehicles waiting for them. "Come on, get in," Garp called to them, ushering them all into a larger vehicle. "We need to get Ace treated right away."
They all entered the vehicle, and then Garp drove off with them. Roger carefully laid his son down on some blankets at the back of the vehicle, already patching up his wound as best he could. "Bullet's still inside," he informed the other two men, and Dragon turned to look over to the pale young man.
"Looks like he's already lost quite a bit of blood too," he observed.
"I'll be fine," Ace replied, though he sounded very tired.
"Still an hour away from camp too," Garp grumbled, glancing back towards him.
"I've stopped most of the bleeding," Roger said, holding a hand over the wound to help stem the bleeding even more.
"Just hold on, Ace," Garp called as he picked up the pace as much as he could without being too reckless.
A little under an hour, the campsite came into view. "We're here," Garp called, pulling to a stop before rushing out. They then carried, an even paler, Ace out carefully and into one of the tents there.
"We have a gunshot wound," Roger called to the men inside, who immediately sprung into action, preparing a bed and items needed.
After Ace was inside, being treated, Dragon and Garp came out and approached them. "Ace should be fine. You all must be tired. Allow me to show you a place where you may rest," Garp said, motioning for them to follow.
Luffy's eyes lingered on the tent with Ace inside, but then he looked up at his grandfather before allowing himself to be ushered away with the others. "You may all sleep in here, and I'll bring a change of clothes for you and your friend, Luffy," Dragon said before leaving.
In the large tent, there were several cots and blankets inside, each with a pillow. "Thank you," Nami muttered, feeling extremely overwhelmed as she went inside.
"Rest up tonight, and tomorrow, we'll get you all back home, where you belong," Garp said before turning towards Luffy and nodding. Luffy nodded before moving off to head for a cot to sit down on. He looked extremely tired. Each immediately fell asleep.
xxxx
"It should work-At least, I hope it does …"
"Well, I guess we'll have to see …"
"Please, allow me."
All the men looked over to the beautiful woman, who spoke, staring for a moment, before they all just backed away. With a bright and kind smile, Robin stepped up and looked over the thing, and then over towards the hard drive. She then began to tinker and connect things, and the men lent her their assistance. After several minutes, they all finally stepped back, admiring their work.
"Now, let's turn him on, shall we?" she replied with a chuckle, making the men pull at the neckline of their shirts. She then began typing away at a laptop, connected to the little droid, and soon, the eyes slowly opened as he booted up.
Soon, the eyes began to blink and look around before they spotted Robin. "Robin?"
"Yes, hello Chopper. Does everything compute?" she asked him with a bright and kind smile.
The droid just seemed to stare at her awhile before nodding, gears whirring slightly as he did. "Yes, it seems all is in order. Thank you," he said, his lips managing to curve into a smile.
With a soft chuckle, Robin gave a nod and held her hand out to him. "Let's practice walking and go and see the others."
"All right!" he exclaimed, looking excited as his hand reached out to take hers.
xxxx
Luffy laughed with the group as they all ate, looking animated and happy. They received the news first thing in the morning that Ace would be just fine, and would recover from his injuries, so the young man was even happier. They were inside one of the larger tents, and tables were set up as sort of a mess hall for everyone to sit and eat. Nami watched them all with a smile, but then she sighed, stood up and headed towards the entrance to look out at the snow outside.
She vaguely wondered when they would be sent home. Would she ever see Luffy again? That was a silly question though, wasn't it? She hadn't even gotten to really talk to him since they got back. She would have liked to have gotten the chance to speak to him about everything before they left, and maybe she would still get her chance. The snow slowly started to cease, and she blinked before stepping all the way out fully. With the weather clearing, she was sure they would be leaving soon.
"Ah! There you are!"
Gasping in surprise, Nami jumped and quickly turned to the voice. Luffy held up his hands as his eyes widened towards her. "Ah, sorry," he said, apologizing for startling her.
"N-No, it's okay," she said, standing straighter as she faced him. "I just wasn't, um, expecting anyone to-um-So, um, you're back with your family. That's great," she said, starting to smile a little nervously.
"Ah, yeah, they've been looking for us for years. They gathered up all these men, some AWOL military men like my gramps. He wasn't too happy when he found out they took me and Ace. Our dad's aren't exactly on their good side. My gramps was just fed up with all the crap they keep pulling," Luffy said with a shrug. "I was able to tell 'em where we were."
"I guess they didn't expect all the things you could do back at the facility, huh?" she asked, starting to relax.
"Ah, nope, which is why we had to hurry, before they did figure it out. Chopper became my friend, and just started lying to them about what he saw and reported. I hope he's okay," he said, starting to frown.
"Luffy!"
"Eh?" Luffy questioned, standing straighter and looking over towards the voice. Robin was walking their way, and walking beside her with his small hand in hers, was a tiny droid, smiling back at Luffy. "Ch-Chopper?"
"Yeah, look! They got me a body from the facility!" Chopper called excitedly as he hobbled over towards Luffy with Robin's help.
"That's awesome!" Luffy cried, kneeling down in front of the little droid AI. He looked extremely excited and impressed.
"Yeah! I feel … happy!" the small reindeer looking droid cried in excitement. "I really feel happy!"
"That's great, Chopper," Luffy replied with a big grin, and his eyes were even a little teary. "I'm glad we were able to get you out of there too," he said, placing a head on the tiny droid's head.
"Me too, Luffy," Chopper replied softly. "I'm so glad you refused to leave me behind. Thanks, Luffy."
"No need to thank me. We're friends, right? And friends never leave each other behind, right?" Luffy said, grinning wider.
"Right!" Chopper cried, grinning as widely as he could. "I want to go and see the others. Are they inside?"
"Yup, they're all eating breakfast!" Luffy said, rubbing over his head, and then Chopper and Robin disappeared inside, and soon there were cheers as Chopper was greeted and welcomed.
Luffy chuckled softly, looking inside to the others before turning his smile back to Nami. She just offered her own smile before looking off, and then she said, "I guess we'll be going home today, huh? Especially since the weather has cleared up."
"Ah, yeah, I guess so," he replied, looking out as well, and a silence fell over them for awhile, but then he finally spoke up, though softly. "You remembered," he stated, not asked.
She was quiet for a long time, but then she nodded and said very softly, "Yes, just after I woke up here. I remembered everything."
"Good, I'm glad," he replied, still just as quietly as they both stared off. "Thanks for helping get us out, Nami."
"You don't need to thank me. We're friends, right? And friends never leave each other behind right?" she said, quoting him as she turned her smile to him, and he, in turn, turned to look at her.
After awhile, he started to smile, which soon turned into a grin. "Right!"
As she smiled, tears began to form again, and then before she really thought about it, she moved forward, her arms encircling around him. "I'm glad we were able to get you out, Luffy," she whispered, hugging him tight.
He was a bit surprised to say the least as he remained still and rigid, but then he started to relax, his arms slowly going around her. "Me too," he replied after awhile.
"You and Ace and Brook, you were all in there for so long, and I couldn't even remember," she said as they tears started to fall more continuously.
"It's all right, Nami. Even if you had remembered, it wouldn't have mattered. We were just barely strong enough to pull this off finally. Everything else had merely been a test of my ability," he said, sighing deeply as he rested his forehead on her shoulder.
She remained silent, taking in his words, but then after awhile, she frowned and whispered, "Luffy, why Alice in Wonderland?"
He chuckled then and said, "I thought you remembered."
"What?" she asked, pulling away to show him her confusion.
"Don't you remember? We found it in the library, but we couldn't really read it very well, only bits and pieces of words we knew, and you laughed at me and said I would be the Mad Hatter, and that you would like to be Alice, going on an adventure like that," he said, grinning down at her. "I had hoped you would remember me if I gave everything in the dream that setting. I had hoped you would like the adventure too," he said, looking sheepish as he scratched his cheek and looked down.
Nami could only stare back at him, letting all of that now sink in, but then flashes over her childhood long forgotten began to emerge. She suddenly remembered the library, the book, and their laughter as they tried to read it together. She slowly began to smile, though more tears formed and fell. "I remember," she whispered softly, her eyes lifting up to his again. "You gave me my adventure."
Grinning widely now, he snickered and nodded. "Yup!"
It was all very sweet, really. He must have gone through a lot of trouble to do what he did for her. And it was all because he had wanted her to remember him. It would have been useless simply telling her, if she still couldn't remember him. And who was to say she would have believed him? It was strange. She remembered towards the end of the dream, when they had been dancing, she had been desperate to remember, even if she didn't quite remember.
Suddenly, she gasped and cried, "Oh, the dance!" Her eyes were wide and thoughtful as she brought her fingers to her lips. He continued to grin at her, just waiting for her to work it all out. "Oh, I remember," she whispered, starting to smile wider. "It wasn't just the book. We-We asked to watch the movie too! It was easier than reading the book. There was no dancing though!" she said, starting to laugh. "Not like the other movies we always watched, and you hated them all! You liked Alice in Wonderland though, but I made a big deal about the no dancing, and you looked so disgusted, and I was so mad at you!" Despite her laughter, tears continued to fall.
"Yup," he replied, though more softly this time as he just smiled at her.
Finally, her eyes moved back towards him, blinking softly as the tears fell, and she whispered, "You were trying so hard to make me remember."
He lowered his eyes then, though he kept a small, sad smile, the same one she remembered from the dream. "You were my best friend, Nami. Of course I wanted you to remember," he replied softly.
Again, she threw her arms around him to hug him as she cried. "You were my best friend too, Luffy! I remember, I used to wake up screaming in the middle of the night when I was little, and just crying, and I was terrified, but we could never figure out why!" she cried, holding him tight. "I did remember-I did! I was so desperate to remember; only I didn't want to remember at all, because it hurt too much! And I was so scared! I had no idea-I had no idea! I remember I would get so depressed for no reason, and it was horrible!"
"It's all right, Nami," he said softly, hugging her back with a frown.
"I'm so glad-I'm so glad," she whispered, burying her face into his neck. "Thank you, Luffy; thank you for helping me remember, even though I don't need to thank you. I really missed you. I-I know I did-I did. Luffy, when we go home, I'll see you again, right? I'll see you again, please?" she asked, pulling away to look at him.
He was grinning again, and he nodded his head. "Of course we'll see each other again! I won't have gone through all that trouble, just to not see my best friend again, right! Shishishishishi!" he said as he snickered. "You are all my friends! I'll see you all again, I promise!"
She just stared at him, but then she finally nodded and tried to smile before hugging him again. "Thank you, Luffy. I've never felt this relieved and-Wow, I feel really good, like this huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It was so heavy; what I carried. It was so heavy."
"Yeah, it was heavy," he whispered in agreement.
Now that she had found her friend, she was having such a hard time letting him go now. It had always been that way. She had never really been able to let him go. Even if they had just been small children, he had been such an important friend to her. What happened at the museum that day, so long ago had been traumatizing to her and her mind, despite being forced to forget. The mind, nor the heart, ever really forgets, especially something and someone so important … so special.
Finally, after awhile, with a sniffle, she finally pulled back, taking his hands into hers and smiled. She gave them a squeeze and nodded, feeling as if everything was right in the world again. He grinned and snickered, also giving her hands a squeeze in reply.
"Mmm," a sudden growl came, "looks like the weather's finally cleared. We'd better get these kids home before it starts again."
"Ah, gramps?" Luffy questioned, turning to see his grandfather and father.
"Mm, I'll get the pilot and get everything ready," Dragon said, going back into the dining tent.
Feeling a bit of fear, Nami's hands tightened on Luffy's, making him turn towards her with his owlish and innocent eyes, but then he grinned, giving hers another squeeze. "It'll be all right, Nami," he whispered to her. Looking back at him, she just nodded, though she kept her frown.
xxxx
"All right, everyone into the plane and strap yourselves in!" Garp called to the group as he ushered them towards the plane.
Biting her lip, Nami looked over the plane as she watched her friends enter into it, find a seat and begin strapping themselves in. She stopped, however, just staring at the plane, but then she turned back towards where Luffy was standing near his father and Roger. "Come on, little girl, we gotta get goin' before the snow starts again!" Garp said, frowning down at her. However, he was ignored.
Nami started walking back over towards Luffy again, who was just smiling at her. She knew that these men, including Luffy, were most likely wanted men. They were going to have to go into hiding, and therefore, she may never see him again. Even if he did say he wouldn't have gone through that much trouble just to not see her again, was it really up to him?
Stopping in front of him, she then sighed and wrapped him up into a hug again. Then she whispered, "We'd better see each other again, Luffy. You never stopped being my best friend, even if I was forced to forget you, and you did so much to make sure I remembered." Then she pulled away to smile at him before giving his arm a soft punch.
"Ow," he said, but then he snickered.
"Besides, we have a ton of movies we need to catch up on and other things too. You just remember that," she said, giving a hearty nod.
"Shishishi, yup. Don't worry, Nami. We'll see each other again," he said, grinning at her widely. "I promise that we will," he said, holding up his hand.
With a wide smile, she released a huff, remembering that specific handshake. She clutched his hand, her fingers overlapping his thumb as his did the same to hers, and they gave it a good shake. "All right, it's a promise. I'm believing you now, Luffy. Don't you dare let me down," she replied softly.
"Nope," he said, shaking his head. He wouldn't let her down.
She kept his hand for awhile before finally releasing it, and then she turned to enter the plane with the others. Looking out of the window, she looked right at him, keeping her smile. She believed him now that she would see him again, because she knew the extents he would go to insure it. With a big grin on his face, he waved them goodbye with Chopper and Brook right beside him, waving as well.
"Boy does know there's no way he can see them again, right?" Dragon muttered between him, Roger and Garp.
"Mm, too risky. He'll figure it out," Garp muttered back in reply, while Roger merely grumbled.
"You can try and stop me."
All three men blinked, looking over towards the young man, who was too far to really hear them, and so were shocked to learn that he had. The boy was still staring at the plane and smiling, but his brows had dipped down into his nose. However, he then blinked his eyes over to them, keeping that smirk. All three men just hummed in a thoughtful growl as they frowned back at the boy.
"Anyways, I best be off," Garp muttered as he entered the plane and sat down beside the pilot. "Let's go," he said to the man, and he nodded.
As they flew over the arctic, Nami just stared out of her window, thinking about everything that had happened. She turned then, looking towards her friends and even teachers, just feeling that awe. Had all of that really happened? Of course it did. It was all so strange. She then looked back out towards her small window … and just smiled.
The End …
Author's Note: Yes, yes I did just end it that way. Wanna fight about it? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this strange part. X3 *Snicker* And, yeah, yeah, so both Ace and Roger are still alive; sue me. I was tired of all the depression, okay? ;~; I needed my own happy ending, one where ACE LIVES, DAMN IT! Lemme 'lone … ;~; And sorry, but Chopper couldn't be a reindeer and neither could Brook be a skeleton; so sue me again. If you didn't like my interpretation of them, TOO BAD! Hmm, there was something I wanted to point out, and I told myself, I better write it in my A/N now before I forget! Well I didn't, and now I forgot … Oh right! I remember now! XD The other movies are Disney movies, of course, but I just didn't want to say so during the fic. You know, like Cinderlla, Beauty and the Beast and all those movies that have dancing. Yeah, it was a last minute decision. Deal with it … Anyways, I hope it all made sense to you guys, and if it didn't, oh well … ~.~ Thanks for reading. :)