Is that a new chapter? Why yes it is!

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"How's Kara's mom?"

The cook's voice sounded unusually quiet as he poured the last drops of green tea into his glass. They were sitting around a small wooden table that had miraculously survived the fight with only one missing leg and a slightly cracked surface. Next to him, Zoro was beginning to regret his words or at least their timing. A sulking Sanji was much less efficient and right now they needed all the help they could get.

Solomon paused for a second as his eyes glanced around the wrecked living room. In the dim light of a dozen candles, his face bore a calm, sad expression almost as he had been anticipating the defeat and was now silently accepting it.

"As well as you may expect her to be. She's mourning her daughter."

Zoro felt a shiver go down his spine as his own gaze drifted towards the black statues of his companions standing in the hall. Sanji and he had gathered them there to keep them safe from the elements and the few remaining servants who had bothered to come back covered them with long white cloth. The sight looked way too much like a funeral for his liking.

"They are not technically dead, are they?" He hated the doubt in his own voice. "It's just a curse, that means it can be lifted, can't it?"

At the corner of his eye, Zoro saw Sanji raise his head as if waking up from a dream and stare at him in silent puzzlement.

"I thought you were convinced they were dead."

Zoro fumed and sloshed the green tea in his chipped mug so violently it nearly spilled over. The unspeakable rage that came over him after seeing Luffy, Chopper and Robin turned to statues had long ago left him and what came to replace it was embarrassment and shame for allowing his grief to blind him. He was the only one left who could set things straight and he had spent half of the night chasing the cook around and fighting with him. Luffy deserved a first mate that wouldn't surrender to doom and gloom so easily. He just hoped he could still make up for lost time.

He took a sip from the mug allowing his clenched jaw to relax a little.

"I changed my mind, okay? No point in being negative!" He turned to Solomon. "This Fellman, guy, did he have any weaknesses in life?

The mayor of Stillwater shook his head. A heavy frown descended upon his face. .

"None that I can remember. Besides, we're dealing with his ghost now. It hardly matters anymore."

Zoro put his mug down and stared at the ripples in the green concoction deep in thought.

"It matters if we're trying to find him. We can't wait around for a year until he decides to show his face again. Have you ever tried summoning him?"

"Some of the braver priests have tried. Nothing ever came out of it."

Sanji drummed his fingers on the table. Zoro could see a brief ray of hope piercing the mask of grief on his face as he looked at Solomon again.

"What about the island he died on?"

"Same there, I'm afraid. One year after the attacks started, some villagers went there by day and performed an exorcism. They even ground his bones into powder and spread them in the open sea so his spirit could never find Stillwater again. He came back despite that."

"Shit..." Zoro muttered under his breath throwing some bread crumbs in the general direction of a couple of fat pigeons wandering around the place. "So it's bound to the island itself."

"Which technically means there should be a place he feels most closely attached to." Sanji spoke softly almost as if he was talking to himself but his eyes settled upon Zoro. "The orphanage sounds like a good place to start, doesn't it?"

Solomon shrugged.

"I don't know about that, that's where he worked when they found him out. Won't bring many good memories, I imagine."

"It's not about the memories, it's about the emotional connection." Sanji interjected.

"The place hasn't even been closed down." Solomon turned away from the cook to focus on a dark corner of the destroyed living room. "We would know if anything strange was going on there. And you, little Jacob, can come out now."

"What?"

Zoro looked at him perplexed only to finally notice a small child-shaped form lurking near the entrance to the room doing everything it could not to attract attention. At the sound of Solomon´s voice, it shuffled its feet and stepped hesitantly away from the shadows. Moonlight fell over a little boy tugging nervously at a patched coat covered in sawdust that rained from the broken beams at irregular intervals.

"He won't be there, you know." The kid's voice quivered a bit as he found himself staring into Solomon's eyes.

"I thought I told all of you to go home." Their host now sounded exasperated. "Where's your mother? She's bound to be looking everywhere for you. After what happened to Kara..."

"Wait, wait, wait!." Zoro stood up very nearly flipping the table as he stepped over to the boy and crouched in front of him. "Who won't be there? Did you hear what we were talking about?"

The boy nodded, his dark eyes suddenly very interested in every crack and crevice on the dirty floor.

"My friends at the school tell me there's a cave near the Old Man's cliff. They say the monster that turns people into rocks lives there. Sometimes they see his shadow at the entrance. They dared me to go there and bring back a pebble."

"Did you ever do that?"

The boy shook his head from side to side so fast his black curls flew into a tangled mess in the air.

"Never. It's always cold around there. Even in summer."

Sanji shot a questioning look at Solomon. The mayor's eyes widened in shock as he scrutinized the boy's face.

"He used to play near that cliff all the time when he was a kid. I guess it's possible that... We just always assumed that the islet was where he..." He allowed his words to trail off one more time before he snapped out of his stupor, got up and kneeled next to Zoro with a stern expression. "How long has this been going on? Why didn´t you tell anybody?"

The little boy quivered even more as he backed away into a wall under the stare of the mayor. His tiny hands were digging into his coat so hard Zoro was sure he would eventually rip his sleeves off if they kept this up.

Solomon probably noticed that himself as his voice softened.

"You're not in trouble here, Jacob. We just need to know the truth. Many lives may depend on it."

Jacob raised his gaze at them, blushed furiously and looked away. Zoro felt a tug of sympathy for the kid as he saw him desperately scan the room as if trying to escape from the two pairs of eyes boring holes in his skull. Eventually they came to rest upon the cook still sitting behind the broken table. Sanji´s lips curved into a slight smile.

"Stop crowding him. Can´t you see he's already scared to death?"

The crimson blush around the kid´s cheeks spread even further. He took a sudden step forward and clenched his fists as the guilt fled from his face and anger replaced it.

"Shut up, I´m not scared!"

Sanji gave him a tiny nod. Behind him, Zoro could see him crossing his fingers under the table

"I know you´re not scared. You haven´t done anything wrong, right?"

Jacob shook his head again in a tiny blur of crimson red and black.

"No, I swear. We just… we just watched him stand there from time to time. He never leaves the entrance, just stands there like he's waiting for something. It was our secret." He turned around to face Solomon and Zoro with a pleading expression on his face. "You won´t tell anyone, right? They'll think it was all our fault for not telling. And then…"

But the cook wasn't listening to him anymore. His blue eyes were fixed on Zoro and the mayor.

"What do you think?"

Zoro shrugged and scanned the marble statues of the crew again.

"Do you have a better plan?"

"I'm coming with you."

In the velvety darkness that enveloped them Zoro could not see the cook's face but the steely determination in his voice made it clear he did not intent to discuss the matter any further. He propped himself up on the thin mattress stuffed with dry grass and tried to locate Sanji's form lying on the other side of the room.

"What's the point, dartbrow, to get yourself all marbled-up too? You can't do shit against him, remember?"

He could hear Sanji pause and shift his weight on the mattress. A weak beam of moonlight found its way through the cracked wall of the room and illuminated his prone silhouette.

"I don't care, I can't just stay behind twiddling my thumbs while you're fighting that thing alone. And 'marbled-up' isn't even a word."

Zoro sighed. As much as he understood where the cook was coming from, the idea of them both marching to face an unknown enemy leaving the rest of the crew unprotected seemed wrong and irresponsible. Somebody had to keep an eye on Luffy and the others in case neither of them came back. As he entertained that possibility, his stomach twisted painfully. Ending up as statues on some godforsaken island while all of their dreams gathered dust was not how he expected this journey to end.

"You're really going to discuss semantics now?" He could feel his eyebrows twitching as a feeling of animosity rose in his chest again. Arguing with Sanji lightened his mood slightly. In an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar faces and with most of his friends gone, it was the only things that remained unchanged and it felt strangely refreshing.

"Not semantics, no. Just common sense." The mattress on the other side of the room rustled as Sanji sat up and drew his knees to his chest. "We need a plan, we can't just go in there and whack at it until it drops dead. It's already way ahead of us in that regard."

Zoro frowned. His mind was working against the clock, trying to remember what their archaeologist had said about the creature as they planned their attack but most of her exposition had gone directly over his head. All he could remember were fragments and snippets about evil curses, mystical energy currents and something about salt and gunpowder. Somehow, all of that seemed useless right now.

"We fought it at night both times. Robin said that´s when spirits are most powerful. Maybe he won´t be that strong during the day."

"Maybe isn't good enough. Last time we had the whole crew and it mopped the floor with us."

Zoro felt his stomach sinking. As much as he disliked admitting it, the cook was right. Fighting the spirit had been like slashing away at a freezing, impassive mountain that took his hits in stride and never seemed to be too bothered by them. He had managed to make it retreat a couple of times but each attack seemed to sap more strength than it took to keep fighting. He closed his eyes trying to fight off the memories of the dark fog consuming Robin, Chopper and Luffy.

"Didn't you hear Robin? Feelings and thoughts, that´s what drives him, right? This whole damn village has been feeding it with their fear. In a cave he'll be cut off from all of that. And maybe that thing wouldn't have broken through the front gate if we had the whole crew."

The last two words came out more bitter than he had expected but it was too late to take anything back. To his surprise, Sanji didn't even respond. He remained perfectly still against the wall blowing out a cloud of cigarette smoke almost as if he was testing how far was Zoro willing to go with this. In the resulting silence, he heard him let out a long, aggressive sigh.

"You can blame me all you want once we get Luffy and the others back to normal but for now, do me a favor and concentrate on what's in front of us. Even if all of that is true, we still need a strategy."

Zoro looked and the side of his bed where his three swords were resting within hand´s reach next to some long paper rectangles scattered all over the floor.

"Solomon had the local priests bless my katana. He even gave us holy seals to wear on our clothes."

A slight chuckle floated from the other side of the room.

"I thought they already tried exorcisms. Besides, you don´t even believe in God."

Zoro shrugged.

"They do. Aron Fellman does or did anyway. I'm outnumbered here. Maybe the effect will be different if someone who´s not from this island wears them in their name." He fell silent for a while as his eyes settled on the cook's unmoving form. "Do you?"

Sanji raised his head.

"Do I what?"

"Do you believe in God?"

There was a long pause and the sound of restless fingers drumming on the floor. Finally, it stopped as his companion weaved his fingers under his chin and stared at him through the darkness.

"You mean like an actual, all-knowing, all-powerful God that is aware of prayers and has a plan for everyone?"

Zoro nodded.

"More or less, yeah. Do you believe he exists?"

Sanji didn't reply right away. In the faint moonlight, Zoro could see him crumple his cigarette pack between his fingers as he slipped the last cigarette between his lips. A brief flame from his lighter flashed across his face illuminating an almost melancholic smile.

"I hope he does. If not, that means we`re heading into a battle with impossible odds and nobody is watching over us. That's a really scary thought, huh?

Zoro rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Damn it, cook! What do you have against a simple yes or no?

"Hard questions rarely get simple answers." Sanji tilted his head backwards and blew a long streak of smoke towards the ceiling. "Anyway, holy seals are all nice and good but we need something else. Something that will break him from the inside."

Zoro could not help but let out a sarcastic laugh.

"What, you're going to try talking to it again? Didn't seem to work too well last time."

He could hear the cook stopping mid-sentence. When he spoke again, he sounded slightly embarrassed.

"You heard me?"

Zoro nodded again.

"Heard you screaming a bunch of nonsense on the square while I was chasing after that thing when it suddenly took off. I would have never found it any other way, the village was darker than a coffin."

He could almost swear the cook had smiled. Zoro slid a hand over his face to hide his annoyed expression even though the chances of Sanji seeing it in the dark were more than limited.

He let out a dismissive grunt.

"Forget it, curly-brow! That thing isn't going to listen to us or anyone here. You heard Usopp, it wants revenge and it won't stop until it turns the whole island into some fucked-up art show." He peered at the silhouette in front of him trying to get a glimpse of its face. "You still feel sorry for him?"

The cook shifted and uncurled from his position, lying prone on the mattress again.

"He took my friends, he turned an innocent child into stone. He sent many more to a horrible death."

Silence hung in the air as thick as the darkness in the room. After a while Zoro got tired of waiting.

"So?" He snapped. "What's your point?"

Sanji lay still for a while, tapping his fingers gently on the mattress. When he replied, his voice sounded quiet but steady and unrepentant.

"My point is, I wish he had been dragged to the deepest, darkest cell with only rats for company. I wish he had been isolated from everyone and everything until the memories of his crimes drove him insane. I wish he had lived long enough to forget what the sun looked like. I wish he had died of old age, alone and forgotten by his people and his friends. That would have been a worthy punishment." He paused, as if expecting Zoro to shoot a sarcastic remark at him but it never came. "Instead, he died in a long, brutal agony that only sparked a desire for revenge and Stillwater still trembles in fear every year instead of moving on. Tell me, what has starving him to death solved?"

"Answer my question, love cook."

Sanji fell silent again. Finally, he turned his head in Zoro's direction and uttered a single word.

"Yes."

Zoro´s heart sank. He had been expecting that answer but couldn't help but hope for a different one. Frustration laced his every word as he spoke again, his mind already running possible combat scenarios.

"So your attacks won't work against him?"

"Probably not."

"And you still want to face him?"

"Yes."

Sanji's laconic replies were beginning to get on his nerves. He slammed his fist into the bedroom wall sending small critters scurrying away.

"Goddamnit, dartbrow! Can't you see this is useless?! I'm trying to be logical here!"

He almost expected Sanji to blow up at him and start a fight but the silhouette in front of him remained impassive.

"I'm not asking you to understand it, just to accept the facts. I'm coming with you. The crew will be safe here. You, in turn, will need all the help you can get."

Zoro shot up from the mattress, glaring furiously at the cook.

"Just what the hell are you implying, huh?!"

Sanji rose from his spot and took a step towards him. The moonbeam peeping from behind the cracked wall did not reach him so Zoro could not see his expression. He stepped into a fighting stance out of pure habit. The cook, however, just stood there for a while until his right hand closed over his left arm and pulled the sleeve up to his elbow. He took another step towards Zoro and stretched his arm in front of him letting the faint moonlight fall on a large tattoo in the form of the letter X. His blue eyes met his for a split second before he stepped back into the shadows and readjusted his sleeve again.

"I'm implying Luffy wouldn't stay behind if it were us who needed rescuing."

Zoro felt a sigh of quiet resignation escape his lips. He could spot a losing battle when he saw one and there was clearly no point in arguing with the blond cook any further. The thousand scenarios running in his head spun in a closed cycle for a while before colliding into only one. They had both made up their minds. Whatever happened next was up to fate.

He settled over the mattress again, turned his back to Sanji and pulled a thick grey blanket over his shoulders.

"Go to sleep then. Long day tomorrow."

The cook seemed to hesitate, as if he hadn't been expecting him to give up so easily.

"What about the plan? We can't just..."

"We'll figure it out in the morning. Go to sleep, love cook. We're not any use to anybody dead on our feet."

He closed his eyes and let his mind drift off, ignoring the protests behind him.

New chapter next week, I promise. Meanwhile, don't forget to feed my inbox with reviews. It gets lonely. :)

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