Chapter 3: Monkey D. Luffy

We'd stopped to rest for a while after running for a few hours. I offered Florina my water canister and she gladly accepted it, gulping down three mouthfuls before breathing. I looked back at the defeated animals behind us, either bruised from a Tekkai enforced fist or cut from a Rankakyu technique.

Florina handed me back my water can. "Mr Ellix! You're really really strong!" she said beaming at me with her bright smile. I smiled back "If you think I'm strong you should see my captain!" I replied.

"Oh! Oh! That's Mr...ummm...Luffy! Right?" She asked waving her good arm in the air.

"Right! My nakama are really amazing!" I said. I crossed my arms and started thinking about them. "They're all so strong and funny and serious and stupid and technical and smart and weird and upbeat and..." I sighed "...Beautiful" I finished, thinking about my girlfriend.

I frowned almost instantly as I remembered us getting separated by that wheel-head. 'Stop it!' I thought mentally punching myself 'She's strong, she can take care of herself', but the frown remained.

"Mr Ellix?" I turned to the owner of the little voice beside me. "Are you ok?" I gave her a reassuring smile "Yeah, don't worry, I'm just thinking."

Then suddenly my face lit up as an idea began to formulate. "Hey." I whispered to her "Wanna see something amazing?" she immediately started bouncing up and down. "Really!?" she almost screamed giddily "Ok! Show me please Mr Ellix!"

I gently rested my hand on her shoulder "Sleep Touch." I murmured. A familiar rainbow veil covered her and faded just as quickly. She slumped over with a small smile on her face, fast asleep. I smiled to myself and also fell asleep.

And suddenly we woke up, except the entire area was covered in the same multi-coloured veil. Florina looked around "This is really pretty Mr Ellix." I looked at her. "Hold on, there's one more thing." I smirked. I held out both my hands and focused on the image in my head."

"Dream Dream Mirage!"

And suddenly they were there in front of us. All of my nakama. Each with their own smile and attitude. But they were still just like frozen pictures, not moving.

Florina got up and walked over to them, looking at each one in turn with a childish interest and fascination. But when she reached out to touch them, her hand simply passed through them. She looked at the images with a pout on her face.

Then we woke up, and everything was normal again.

"Um...Mr Ellix? How did you do that?" she asked quietly.

I smiled at her "Florina. I ate a Devil Fruit." she looked at me with saucepan eyes. "The Dream-Dream Fruit; I'm a dream man!"

Flashback

I was laying on the floor, surrounded by my own blood, darkness dancing on the edge of my vision forcing me to use all my willpower to stay conscious.

I remember at the time I was wearing a shirt I had made myself in Water 7, a dark blue short sleeve with the Straw hat Pirates jolly roger imprinted on the front and the words 'Dead or Alive' printed in red on the back. A stupid thing to remember i know.

I was on the top floor of Enies Lobby, with him standing in front of me.

Hanta.

Funny how his name was Japanese for 'hunter'. His doriki was 3600, while mine was only 2800, even after Skypeia. Plus, he had the power of the Cat-Cat Fruit Model:Tiger. He wore a black suit with gold buttons and matching trousers, and previously wore a black bowler hat with a blue ribbon before I knocked it off his stupid head. Currently he was in hybrid form, covered in cuts and bruises like me. Thanks to his damn Devil Fruit his torso and arm muscles had TRIPLED, making him tower above me. He had dark brown hair that was slightly fizzy and reached down to his back, little facial hair, and two red deadly eyes.

"Have you finally used up the last of your strength?" he spat at me. "I knew it, CP9 could never be defeated by a bunch of foolish pirates way in over their heads." I gritted my teeth and tried to get up, only to cough up more blood and slump down again. "Pathetic, you are out-classed and close to death, dark justice is an unstoppable force that would take an army to defeat." He turned away from me "Nico Robin will not escape this place alive." he hissed darkly.

I grinded my teeth and forced my burning muscles to push myself up into a sitting position. gasping for air and spitting blood.

"ELLIX!"

I blinked for a second, wincing at the slight movement.

"Luffy...?"

"We all have to go back! I know you can do it! Kick his ass!"

Hanta raised an eyebrow "You're captain is still alive even after fighting Lucci? How...annoying." I yelled at him with a blood filled throat "Shut up! You're-" I spat out more blood "-fighting me! Luffy's gonna beat the hell outta Lucci!"

He turned to me, evidently annoyed. "You have lost, and your captain has managed to stay alive for so long by pure luck. And so have you."

I grinned at him, tasting blood on my lips. "I get it, your doriki is higher then mine, and you have a carnivorous Zoan type Devil fruit. There's no way i can win." He glared at me. "So you are giving up? I'm disappointed." I looked up while grinning.

"Who said I was giving up? I can't let my captain down." I chuckled. I glanced through the massive hole in the wall at the rest of my nakama fighting on the bridge "Or the rest of them either..."

I pulled out a small box from my belt. It was a simple wooden one that could fit in your hand, covered in bandages after getting damaged so many times. But then again, I'd been carrying it around since Orange Town.

I pulled a small silver key from around my neck, put it in the keyhole in the tiny chest and flicked my wrist, making it pop open.

I reached in and took out the precious content. An apple shaped aquamarine fruit with a dark violet curly stem, with unmistakeable swirl patterns on it. Completely oblivious to the damage dealt to it's home since my journey began.

"A Devil Fruit? Are you so desperate you think a quick bite will save you? What a joke!" Hanta sneered. I saw the light speed motion and quickly bent over, crying out in pain as I felt a bullet wound drill into my back, clutching the precious fruit close to my chest.

He stepped away with a disgusted look. "You took an attack to protect it? You really are just like every other weak pirate. Thinking that something like a Devil Fruit can spare you from death."

"I KNOW I CAN'T BEAT YOU!" I spewed more blood and almost collapsed, my whole body burning and bleeding. "I accept that! But I can't die here! Everyone has fought and won! How would I feel if I let you walk away!?" I roared holding the fruit like it was the world itself "I WON'T GIVE UP! THIS IS MY LAST CHANCE!"

I was kneed in the stomach at the speed of Soru, knocking me back into the wall and collapsing to the ground, still clutching the fruit. "You have lost to CP9...and now you want to place all your hopes on a cursed fruit. That, pirate, is relying on luck to save you. A cowards move." I stood up, my knees wobbling under me and my body shuddering with each breath.

I raised the fruit to my jaw "It's not if it works..." and slowly...

...bit down onto it.

I almost gagged at the disgusting taste and wanted to spit it out! It was like eating garbage and dung with a slice of 100 year old cheese! I swallowed the awful mouthful and gasped for air.

It was then that my eyes grew wide as saucepans, I clutched my head and started sweating uncontrollably. Everything seemed to slow down for hours in the space of a single second.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhh!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs and began bashing my head against the ground."What are you doing pirate?" I heard Hanta say. There was a searing pain inside my head, almost like my mind was being jabbed with a red hot poker. And I could feel them, all my thoughts and feelings and dreams swelling up inside my head like a mind balloon, bashing against the sides of my skull trying to get out from their confinement.

I slammed my head against the ground again and again in a futile attempt to make the pain go away. "Ellix!" I heard a voice call, but it was distant and echoing. "Ellix! What's wrong!?" I heard another with the same echo and distant properties.

The pain just kept getting worse though and my mind balloon was pushing at the walls of my head. I could feel tears mixed with blood run down my face "Make it stop..." I whimpered. "It hurts so much...make it stop, make it stop, make it stop..."

And then my mind balloon popped.

The pain vanished instantly. I opened my eyes, wiping away the tears and got up. A dark veil began encircling me, it was a dark purple and black, wrapping itself around me, protecting me, "What are you doing now?" I finally realized that Hanta was still in the demolished room "What Devil Fruit did you eat?"

The next words that came out of my mouth hadn't even been sent by my brain, they just appeared, telling me the right thing to say.

"Daydream: Nightmare."

The veil finally collapsed in on itself and evaporated, leaving me to deal with this fight. For a moment nothing happened.

Then my arms suddenly shot out of their sockets, stretching until they were double their original length. My legs began twisting together until they evaporated into a single ghostly wisp pinned to the ground. My teeth grew longer and longer until they were sharp points perfectly fitting in my mouth. My hair shot up into jagged spikes and took on a purple tint, and finally my eyes grew into a fierce expression until they diluted themselves into a deep red, no pupils, just red.

I reached my lengthened arms around so I could see them, both were a deep black with dark purple hands, my fingers were no longer fingers, but sharp points. I smirked, a crazed smirk, one that a madman has on his face before delivering the killer blow. My mouth had now set into that wicked smile.

"E-E-Ellix!?" I heard a voice say. "Yaaaahhh! What the hell happened to him!?" another shrieked.

I just stared at Hanta with my evil smile. "What? Are you trying to intimidate me pirate? It's not working." he snarled.

"Oh really?" my voice sounded different too, deeper and darker. "You should be...Hanta of CP9." my grin widened "I have just eaten the Dream-Dream Fruit. Do you know what dreams are? They are hopes and thoughts and feelings and wishes, they are one of the most powerful things all living beings possess. Mine have become so powerful they have burst out of my head to assist me in the real world."

I looked at him with determination, still smiling. "Be afraid Hanta, be very afraid, for you are now in the presence..." I spread my long arms open for emphasis. "Of a living breathing NIGHTMARE! Akumumumumumu!

Flashback End

I shuddered, maybe that wasn't the best memory to refer back to.

"Mr Ellix? Are you okay?" Florina asked, there was obvious worry in her voice. "Yeah." I sighed, "Sorry Florina, we should be moving again." I bent down and picked her up piggyback style. "Ok lets-"

I stopped, there was a creature dangling in front of us.

It was a spider.

Not an evil super powerful spider.

Just a spider.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I yelled before turning around and dashing off as fast as my feet would carry me. "Mr Ellix! What's wrong!?" "SPIDER!" I screamed. Well that set her off. "SPIDER!? Aiiieeeeee!" and so we ran for the next minute screaming as loud as we could until I tripped and landed face first in the dirt.

I hate my arachnophobia.

But those evil demons, with their hairy legs, and their eight eyes are just downright CREEPY! I was scared to death of that marine back at Enies Lobby.

"Florina...you okay?" I asked weakly. "Yes Mr Ellix..." she replied weakly. "I'm so hungry..." I said into the dirt "Me too..." she said into my back.

Suddenly I smelt something. I raised my head and looked around, wondering if i had imagined it, but there it was again.

MEAT.

My strength was instantly renewed. "Florina! I smell food!" Her eyes grew wide and began sparkling "Really? Food?" I stood up. "Yeah! Come on!" I carried her in the direction of the lovely smell until we came to a clearing. I instantly noticed a giant land squid with several tentacles missing.

And there he was. Sitting by a campfire, cooking squid tentacles and devouring them one after another, wearing a very dark blue shirt, red shorts...and a straw hat.

My captain, Monkey D. Luffy.

Flashback

At the base of the mountain, I clutched the sick Nami close to my chest, the wind and snow whipping around us. Luffy slung an unconscious Sanji over his back.

"Hey Ellix!" he said with his trademark grin. "Use your mystery walking thing to get to the top!" I looked up at the towering mountain, then back at him. "What about you?" "I'll climb up!" "Are you insane!?" I yelled "There's no way you can climb that thing! I'll get to the top, find the doctor and come back for you!"

"Ellix!" he yelled back. "We gotta get Nami up there! I can do this myself!" I cringed at the idea. To be honest, I believed he could do it, but he'd still badly hurt his body.

"No! I'm coming back for you you baka!" I shouted through the snow. "Ellix, Nami's more important! Don't leave her on her own! Captain's orders!". I gasped, he was using THAT of all times!? He couldn't just expect me to leave him! But then I looked down at Nami, she looked so peaceful and so sick at the same time. He was trusting me with one of our nakama, not just to help her to the top but to be beside her when she woke up.

"Ok...be careful!" He grinned again "Shishishi! Sure!" and as he began climbing I dashed past with Geppo.

On the sea train to Enies Lobby, Zoro and Sanji were questioning me about how I could use Rokushiki, the same skills as CP9

"Why the hell didn't you tell us earlier!?" Zoro roared. "How was I suppose to tell you that Rokushiki was a World Government fighting style!?" I roared back. I felt a shoe press my face into the wall "Baka! How about before Robin-chwan was taken!?" "I didn't know those assassins used Rokushiki!" I yelled pushing the boot back "Plus they had variations of their own! Almost every master has their own unique style to it!".

"So why did you clam up about it!?" "What would you think of me!?" "Nothing would have changed! We're nakama! We tell each other everything!" This heated discussion between me and Zoro lasted for about a minute until...

"Oi!" I turned to see my captain run up to us. "Who cares if Ellix knows the same mystery moves as those bastards? He's our nakama!" he smiled, that same reassuring smile. "And he's gonna help us get Robin out. So that's the difference between him and them."

He poked me. "And Ellix is skinny too." I almost laughed at his statement. I nodded "Don't worry Luffy. We're gonna get Robin back no matter what!" Luffy laughed "Shishishi! Of course we are!" He and Chopper then pointed at Usopp with sparkles in their eyes "'Cause we have Sogeking too!" they chanted together.

I could only sweat-drop at the statement.

Flashback End

"Heeeeyyyy! Luffy!" I called through cupped hands.

He turned around to reveal he was slightly bloated from eating, with a roasted tentacle sticking out of his mouth. "Ephix!" he called with a full mouth as he rushed over to us. I then watched in dread as he tackled me with his round stomach, nearly crushing me.

He stood up and began clapping his hands together. "I found you Ellix! Your the first of my nakama I've found, now we just need everyone else!" he said happily. I dusted myself off after Luffy's attack and turned to him "Good to see you too Luffy!" I smiled.

"Um...you're Mr Luffy right?" it was then that Luffy noticed Florina and immediately his eyes started sparkling. "Sugoi! A Skypiean!" I sweat-dropped. "No Luffy, Florina's not a Skypiean." "Naniiii!?" he yelled mouth stretched low. He then sat down cross-legged and tilted his head, trying to think of anyone else he met that had wings. But he soon scrunched his face up in frustration and gave up.

He then turned to Florina and asked a typical Luffy question. "So your a mystery person? Hey! Can you poop?" "Wha-" Florina began to ask.

"Luffy! Of course she can! Don't ask such disgusting questions!"

Ignoring his puppy eyes I looked over to the fire he had started. 'Wait. Luffy started a fire? By himself?'. Instead of pondering on the question I looked over at the roasting tentacles, mouth watering.

"So...uh...you've got food I see." Luffy smiled proudly "Yep! I beat up that squid thing! It's really nice! You should try some!" I stared in shock at my captain 'LUFFY IS OFFERING FOOD!?'.

A few minutes later we were stuffed on food, thank god for my metabolism. "Ahhh!" Luffy sighed. "That was a good meal.". "You're not wrong there." I said. "You and Mr Luffy are back together Mr Ellix! That's great!" Florina piped up. "Yeah." I answered "Now we just need to get you back home!" "Hey Flori! Where is you're village?" Luffy asked. I turned to him "Luffy it's 'Florina' not 'Flori'" he just cocked his head at me.

"Well it's...um..." she began looking at each island in turn, then eventually turned to us. "I can't tell." she said with a nervous smile on her face, twiddling her thumbs "They all look very similar." I stood up "It doesn't matter, we'll find it if we keep moving.".

Bending down she once more climbed onto my back and we set off with Luffy. However there was a feeling in my gut that needed me to talk about something with him.

"Hey Luffy? Remember how we got separated?" I asked. He frowned at the mention of it. "Yeah..." he said. I began thinking back to the event that made us lose each other...

Akumu: Nightmare

Hello there! I hope you all had a good New Years day! Here's to a happy 2014!

To TheRealEvanSG you are correct, he joined in the Orange Town Arc. I wanna say that i love OP Full Blast AND Mario! So keep up the good work!

And to Crazyman90 that will actually be revealed in the next chapter, so please be patient.

Lastly, One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda, Ellix, Florina and her family and other characters yet to come are property of me.

Happy New Year!