Ch. 8- Struggles

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard and Malcolm © Me

Zoro and Sanji hissed viciously as they made their way inside the room.

"How did this happen?" Robin questioned.

"Well, first, we ran into Blizzard, and he bit Zoro," Usopp answered as he started backing away. "Then, Sanji tried to buy us some time to escape, but Blizzard bit him, too!"

"Now we're down to six of us!" Brook declared. "That is if Mister Luffy hasn't gotten to Miss Nami and Mister Chopper, next!"

"How the hell do we get outta here?" questioned Usopp.

"We don't have a choice, I guess," said Franky. "We gotta fight 'em!"

KA-CHAK! Franky opened up his shoulders, revealing his cannons.

"Franky Cannons! FIRE!" he shouted.

KABANG-BANG-BANG-BANG! Franky opened fire on the two vampires, who recoiled as the shots hit them each, but then, they continued to advance.

"W-what's going on?" Franky asked.

"Let me try," Robin said before she crossed her arms. "Cuerpo Fleur…"

SHEEN! Two Robin clones sprouted from Zoro and Sanji, each.

"DOBLE CLUTCH!"

CRRRACK! The four Robins snapped the vampires' spines, not enough to sever them in half, just to knock them out. However, the two still continued forward, much to Robin's disbelief.

"What are you two, stupid?" Usopp exclaimed. "How could you forget that vampires are UNDEAD? You can't really KILL them!"

"Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!" Brook laughed/screamed. "How frightening!"

Just then, Zoro, who had his swords drawn, and Sanji lunged at the four, fangs exposed.

"WATCH IT!" Franky shouted.

The quartet quickly moved out of the way, resulting in the two vampires colliding with the wall behind them.

"NOW RUN!" Usopp yelled.

Not needing to be told twice, the Straw Hats ran out of the room as fast as they could. However, Zoro managed to stand back up, and before the four could get away…

"AAAHH!"

Usopp, Franky, and Brook turned back to see Robin, trapped in Zoro's clutches.

"No!" Usopp cried.

"Miss Robin!" yelled Brook.

"Robin!" Franky exclaimed.

"It's all right, boys…!" Robin choked out as Zoro prepared to sink his fangs into her neck. "Go find Nami and Chopper! Go on without me!"

CHOMP! Zoro bit into Robin's jugular vein, making her cry out in pain.

"NO~!"

XXX

Moments later, in a different part of the house, Nami and Chopper were still exploring the mansion, keeping an eye peeled for Luffy, in case he decided to jump out from somewhere again. He hadn't shown up, yet, but that didn't mean that he had given up.

If there was one thing that hadn't changed about Luffy, it was his will to never give up.

Suddenly, Chopper's ears twitched, and he looked back behind himself, causing Nami to look back, as well.

"What's wrong?" Nami asked.

"I hear something," Chopper answered. "Something like footsteps. Running footsteps. They may be light, but I can hear them."

Nami looked back at the darkness behind them, feeling a sense of uneasiness.

"L…Luffy?" she muttered.

WHOOSH! Something blurred passed the navigator and doctor at an incredible speed.

It was Brook, screaming his skull off.

"Brook?" Chopper questioned.

"Brook, where are you going?" Nami called after the skeleton.

"RUUUUUUUUN!"

Nami and Chopper stared in confusion, but then, they heard footsteps coming from behind them. Slower ones.

Turning around, they saw that it was…Robin, walking out from the shadows, eyes closed.

"Oh," Chopper sighed. "It's just Robin."

"Wait," Nami said. "There's something…off about her."

Nami didn't realize how right she was.

Robin stood before the two, eyes still closed, but as she opened them, they were revealed to be glowing blood red, and then she opened her mouth, revealing a pair of sharp fangs and letting out a vicious hiss.

Nami gasped in horror.

"GAAAAAAHH!" Chopper screamed. "ROBIN'S A VAMPIRE, TOO!"

"LET'S RUN!" Nami cried as she grabbed Chopper and carried him off.

Robin chased after them.

By this time, Nami and Chopper managed to catch up with Brook.

"Brook, what happened?" Nami asked.

"Well, first," Brook started, "Mister Zoro and Mister Sanji had been bitten by Mister Blizzard, so they both had been turned into vampires! Then, Mister Zoro bit Miss Robin, and now she is a vampiress!"

Nami looked back at Robin, who was still chasing behind them, hissing.

"Give me your BLOOD~!" she roared.

"We have to find a way to get away from her!" said Chopper.

"But how?" Brook asked.

"There's a door, up ahead!" Nami replied. "We can use that to get away!"

With that in mind, Nami, Chopper, and Brook ran inside the door and slammed it behind them, leaving Robin on the other side.

Once inside, the three Straw Hats panted, trying to catch their breath. At that moment, they noticed that they were in very large room. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and though it was torn, the wallpaper was given a heavenly design. There were mahogany chairs set about the room, most of which were broken and dusty.

"This must be the ballroom," said Nami. "It must've been a lot prettier back in the day."

"I'll say," Chopper added.

"Very scary," Brook chimed in.

Nami walked further into the room, taking a look around. She then spotted an open window, nearby. Looking outside, she saw that the sky had gone from black to indigo. Plus, some of the stars were gone.

Dawn was approaching.

"Wow," Nami said. "Come look at this, you two."

Chopper and Brook soon joined Nami's side.

"It's getting close to morning, already?" Chopper questioned.

"Why not?" Brook asked. "We've spent almost the entire night running away from vampires and a ghost!"

"Guys, I just thought of something," Nami said. "If we don't hurry up and get Luffy and the others back to normal…the sun could destroy them."

"Then we gotta work fast," Chopper said.

WOOSH! Something big and brown flew over the trio's heads, forcing them to duck.

It was revealed to be a huge, brown bat, flying up to the chandelier and hanging itself there by its feet.

"Phew…!" Chopper sighed. "It's only a bat."

"Nothing to fear," said Brook.

Nami, however, got a closer look at the creature. It was brown like a regular bat, sure…but since when did bats have long snouts…and red eyes?

"Uh, guys?" Nami muttered. "I don't think that's an ordinary bat."

THUD! Something dropped from the chandelier and onto the floor.

It was Usopp…now with the same features as Robin: two glowing red eyes and a pair of elongated canines.

"AAAAAAAAHH! IT'S USOPP~!" Chopper screamed.

"He's been turned into a vampire, too!" Nami exclaimed.

"He isn't the only one!" Brook remarked. "Look!"

Behind Usopp, another pair of glowing red eyes had appeared, and a vicious hiss followed. Out of the shadows came Franky, who had also fallen victim to the fangs of a vampire.

"Franky, too!" cried Chopper.

KRASH! The rotted ceiling suddenly came crumbling down before the trio.

It was revealed to be Zoro, Sanji, and Blizzard, all hissing viciously.

SMASH! Robin's hand smashed through the door, also hissing.

Nami gasped in horror. Most of her beloved crew had been turned into a pack of bloodthirsty vampires, and it was likely that either she, Chopper, or Brook would be next!

"Rumble!"

Nami looked over and saw Chopper chomping on a Rumble Ball.

"Horn POINT!" the reindeer exclaimed as he transformed into his Horn Point form and charged forward, enlarged antlers pointed at his foes.

BASH! He bashed his skull against Blizzard's, who withstood the attack and was soon locked in a stalemate with him.

"Rrgh…!" Chopper growled as he found himself getting pushed back by Blizzard. "Damn! It's no good, but I gotta protect Nami!"

Suddenly, BAM! Chopper was met with a snapping kick to his side by Sanji, which caused him to be sent flying into a giant Venus Flytrap plant, which trapped him in its jaws.

"AAAAH!" Chopper screamed as he struggled to get free. "Get me outta here!"

Usopp let out a malevolent laugh as he started to climb up the plant, fangs exposed.

"Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho~!" Brook cackled as he jumped into battle with Zoro, who had his swords drawn.

KLANG! The blades clashed, creating a flashing effect.

"I see you have gotten stronger, Mister Zoro!" Brook remarked. "Vampire or not!"

SLI-SLI-SLASH! Zoro swung and his slashed his swords at Brook who tried to parry his blows, but as he did, he found himself getting pushed back, each and every time.

Just then, Brook felt himself getting grabbed from behind. It was Franky, who threw him up against a wall where several arms sprouted and pinned the skeleton.

"You may not have blood, bony one," said Robin, "but you will still become one of us!"

"Same goes for the little reindeer!" Usopp hissed, smirking.

"Not to mention the orange-haired feline-girl," Zoro added.

Nami gasped as she started to back herself up against the wall. How was she going to stop her now demonic crewmates from attacking the only two friends she had left, as well as herself? What could she do? She couldn't possibly bring herself to fight them, could she?

She couldn't bring herself to run away and desert them. The last thing she wanted to be was a coward. Those days of her being a scared-y cat from two years had been put behind her.

At that moment, Nami remembered something. Reaching into her bra, she found the vial of holy water that Usopp had given her.

It's a bit risky, she thought, but it's a chance I'll have to take!

With that, Nami put the pieces of her Sorcery Clima-Tact together, and placed the vial of holy water into the end.

BLOOP! A chain of Weather Balls appeared from the other end.

"I hope this works!" Nami said to herself. "Dark Ball…RAIN ROD!"

WOOSH! SPLASH! Nami threw the Rain Rod at the group of vampires, causing them to get splashed in holy water. The result gave them an agonizing burn and they all dropped to the floor, one-by-one, all curled up in a fetal position.

Brook found himself being released from Robin's hold.

PLOP! The plant that came out of one Usopp's Pop Greens released Chopper, causing him to drop to the wet floor.

"You did it, Nami!" Chopper cheered. "You beat them all!"

"Well done, Miss Nami!" Brook added.

Nami made a small, rather nervous smile.

"Well, it wasn't easy as it looked, you know," Nami said. "Anyway, this won't hold them off for long. We gotta go!"

"Leaving so soon?" a voice hissed.

Nami let out a gasp, as did Brook and Chopper. The trio started looking around, but could not find where the voice had come.

Suddenly, Nami felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She whipped around, and then let out a shriek.

There was Luffy, an angry snarl on his face.

"Luffy…!" the navigator gasped.

"I grow tired of your tomfoolery!" Luffy barked as he began to advance.

KLANK! He threw Nami's Clima-Tact out her hands and sent it flying across the room.

"Dawn is approaching," Luffy said, "and this is the only chance I'll get! I want your blood…and I want it NOW!"

With that, Nami started to back away from Luffy, who began to advance, hissing and growling.

"Luffy, no!" Nami shouted. "Please, you can't do this! I know you don't want to! Don't listen to Malcolm! Fight it!"

Luffy practically roared at Nami as he continued to advance.

"You leave her alone!"

Luffy looked back and saw Chopper, in Heavy Point, and Brook charging at him, letting out their own battle cries, but they were about to learn that they were being a bit too hasty. Luffy grabbed Chopper by his hands the moment he got close, and then, with incredible strength, he hurled the human-reindeer at Brook, causing them both to collide with the wall behind them, losing consciousness as they did.

"Chopper! Brook!" cried Nami.

Luffy snickered as he soon had Nami, backed up against a wall. He then roughly put his hands on her arms, making her grunt in slight pain, before he let out a hiss and exposed his fangs.

At this point, Nami was fighting back tears. The crew was one thing, but Luffy was another. How was she going to get her beloved captain to snap out of his monstrous demeanor?

Just when it seemed that Luffy was sink his fangs into Nami's neck, Nami put her hands to his cheeks, which confused him.

"C'mon, Luffy," Nami said. "If this doesn't help you remember…I don't know what else will!"

Before Luffy could react…Nami captured his lips with her own, her eyes shut, clearly taking him by surprise.

By this time, Chopper and Brook starting to come around. At first, they thought that Luffy was trying to take Nami's soul, but then, a closer look revealed that Nami was kissing him.

"Miss Nami…" Brook muttered.

"Oh, boy…!" Chopper (who had gone back into Brain Point form) squeaked as his face turned bright red.

Luffy, please, Nami thought as a single tear fell from her eye. You wanna stay with me, don't you?

Just then, Luffy's eyes stopped glowing red, his real fangs became fake, and he no longer felt the need to suck blood. At first, he didn't know what was going on, but as he began to remember, he slowly closed his eyes and deepened the kiss.

Nami had done it! The love she bore for her captain had changed him back to normal!

As the two pulled away, Nami looked up into Luffy's eyes, a soft smile upon her face. Luffy returned the smile and gently pressed his forehead against hers.

"Thank you, Nami," Luffy said.

Nami nodded. She then took off Luffy's hat and put it back on its rightful place: upon his hair.

"Ugh…what the hell just happened?" asked a gruff, disgruntled voice.

Luffy, Nami, Chopper, and Brook looked up to see the rest of the Straw Hats, standing up and holding their heads.

"Where are we?" Robin asked.

"My jaw hurts," Usopp said.

"I feel SUPER weird," commented Franky.

"My head feels like a cannonball," Sanji.

Blizzard stood up and shook his head to relieve himself of the headache he was suddenly experiencing.

"BLIZZARD~!" Chopper wailed as he threw himself at the wolf-dog. "YOU'RE BACK~!"

Did I go somewhere? Blizzard questioned in thought.

"Hey, guys!" Luffy said. "Glad you're back!"

"Luffy!" Zoro exclaimed. "You're not a vampire, anymore!"

"Nope!" Luffy said. "Thanks to Nami! Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!"

"Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho!" Brook laughed as he approached Nami. "Well done, Miss Nami! You've lifted the curse! Now then…may I have a look at your panties?"

THWACK! Nami kicked Brook in the face.

"LIKE HELL!" she yelled.

Everyone laughed. Even Nami had to laugh at this. Thanks to her, everyone was back to normal!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" roared a voice that practically shook the house.

All of a sudden, Malcolm appeared, a flaming black aura emanating from him and a very vicious look upon his face.

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO TURN BACK TO NORMAL!" the ghost-child yelled. "YOU WERE ALL SUPPOSED TO BE VAMPIRES AND STAY HERE, FOREVER! YOU CAN'T LEAVE! YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE! NEVEEEEEEEERR~!"

At that proclamation, the house started to shake again, as if to emphasize Malcolm's fury.

Everyone stared at Malcolm, some in anger, others in fright. However, the one who was the most angered was Luffy.

Ghost or not, no one puts his friends through such a nightmare like that, especially his navigator.

Luffy clenched a fist at his side, the skin of his left arm turning a shiny black, and steaming as well.

POW! BOOM! A fist connected with Malcolm, creating an explosion as it made contact.

Everyone gasped as Malcolm fell to the floor, shaking. He then sat up, rubbing his side.

"Hey, no fair!" he exclaimed. "You're not supposed to hit m-"

Malcolm soon fell dead silent (no pun intended) when he saw Luffy, towering over him, eyes narrowed in a menacing glare and his teeth gritted.

It struck Malcolm with fear.

CLUTCH! Luffy grabbed Malcolm by his throat and lifted him up to his eye level, and then prepared to reel a fist back.

"You little snot…!" Luffy growled. "I ought to pound your face in!"

"Luffy, no!"

Luffy looked back at Nami.

"Put him down," she said.

Luffy stared at his navigator in disbelief, but then he heaved a sigh and reluctantly set Malcolm back down. Nami then came over and knelt down to the ghost boy's height level.

Malcolm shivered and held his hands up in defense. He no longer seemed like the very angry spirit, now that Luffy had given him a look at his power.

"P-please," he said. "D-d-don't hurt me…you win. I don't wanna play anymore!"

"Malcolm," Nami said. "Listen…we were sent here by your twin brother, Mordecai."

Malcolm looked up at Nami.

"Mordecai?" he repeated, receiving a nod from the 20-year-old woman. "But…but why?"

"He wants you to pass on and stop tormenting people," Nami said. "He just wants you to rest in peace."

Malcolm then put on a look of anger.

"Why should he care about me?" he questioned. "When I died, he never cared at all. Mom and Dad didn't care either." Small tears started to form. "They…they abandoned me! They left me to die at the hands of those pirates! That's why I can't leave! I have to know why! Why didn't they help me? WHY~?"

Everyone felt their hearts go out to Malcolm. Even though he forced their captain and his to go after them, in the end, he was just a young spirit, struggling to pass on to the other world, all because he believed that his family had purposely left him to be killed.

That explained the writing in Malcolm's bedroom wall.

"Is that what you think?" Nami asked, earning a nod from Malcolm. "Malcolm, they didn't abandon you."

"How do you know?" Malcolm asked, sniffling.

There was a pause…but then Luffy approached him and knelt down in front of the boy.

"Maybe I can help you see," Luffy said. "My teacher, Rayleigh, he taught me this thing called 'Haki'. There are three different types. This one he taught me is called 'Observation' Haki. He said in some ways, I can reach into the minds of spirits."

"Good idea, Luffy," Nami said. "That just might be crazy enough to work!"

With that, Luffy set the palm of his hand on Malcolm and closed his eyes. He knitted his brow, trying to concentrate and focus his energy, like Rayleigh had taught him.

All of a sudden, Malcolm's eyes started to glow a bright yellow, as did Luffy's.

A scene began to play before their eyes.

XXX

They heard panicked screams and wicked laughter.

There was carnage, chaos, and bloodshed.

Many people were running for their lives….from the crew of vicious pirates that invaded the island.

The pirates approached a familiar looking house. It was painted white, and the beautiful flower garden around it flourished.

The perfect place to find some riches.

A panicked woman ran through the house whilst her husband held off the vicious brutes.

"Mordecai! Malcolm!" she called. "Boys! Where are you?"

Inside a familiar room, filled with various toys, a young boy hid himself inside the wardrobe, hoping the pirates wouldn't find him and that they'd just go away after they had what they came for.

"Malcolm!" a voice called.

Another boy, who looked identical to Malcolm, came rushing in.

"Malcolm! We gotta get outta here!"

"Mordecai!"

The mother soon entered.

"Mordecai, where's your brother?"

"I don't know! I can't find him!"

"Well, where is he?"

"I don't know!"

"Josephine! Mordecai! Malcolm! It's time to leave! These pirates are too much!"

"But we can't find Malcolm!"

"Then the pirates probably won't find him, either! Now let's go!"

However reluctantly, Josephine and Mordecai were forced to escape…leaving Malcolm to his death.

XXX

Malcolm gasped as his and Luffy's eyes stopped glowing.

Now it all became clear to Malcolm. In the last second, his mother and brother came looking for him…and because he had hid himself like he did, then they'd find him…and he wouldn't have died the way he did.

"They were really looking for me," Malcolm murmured. "All this time…I thought they left me for dead. Boy, was I stupid."

"You were only scared, Malcolm," Nami said. "Anyone could've done what you did."

At that moment, Robin approached the boy and held out the withered old rose.

"Mordecai left this for you," he said. "He hoped that it would help you pass on to the other world."

Malcolm reached up and took the dead flower. Even in its withered state…he thought it was beautiful…just like the love his brother had for him.

Suddenly, an aura appeared around Malcolm. This one was different from his normal aura. It was bright yellow and heavenly, and it gave off a peaceful energy.

"What's happening to him?" asked Chopper.

"It looks like…he's passing on," Brook answered.

Malcolm looked up at the Straw Hats, and then gave them a smile as he began to vanish before their eyes, giving a happy giggle as he did.

The darkness began to flee the room as the sun began to rise, its light shining through the window.

"Finally," said Sanji. "Daybreak, at last."

"SUPER beautiful sunrise!" Franky declared.

"It's just like back at Thriller Bark," Chopper commented.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed. "The nightmare's over."

"Thank god," Usopp said.

"Yo-ho-ho-ho!" Brook chortled.

Blizzard and Robin only smiled.

Luffy turned to Nami and took her hand in his.

"Let's get outta here," Luffy said.

The crew didn't have any arguments.

I decided to make this a bit longer. I feel like it's a bit rushed, though.

Tell me what you think, anyway!