Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter. I'm glad the majority are now embracing the changes and enjoying the revamped story for what it is rather than complaining about the differences to the old one.

Thank you to my beta Deathgod777!


Dark Truth

Chapter 8: The Fog Begins To Clear


The back alley the Strawhats found themselves in wasn't the ideal place to let their captain rest, but they'd chosen it wisely. The entrance into town from the alley was blocked off with a couple of waste bins that mostly blocked them from view. What wasn't blocked by the bins was shrouded in shadow. At the other end of the alley was an open exit away from the town that brought them back to the mountain path that would lead them back to the beach where they'd docked.

Sanji sighed for the umpteenth time since they'd settled there; he was restless. Nami and Franky had been gone over two hours and the night was well in swing. Shouts, songs and brawls could be heard in every direction from the plentiful taverns that littered the streets of the island. He'd taken the chance of rest to grab a smoke and strayed a little ways from the group (more importantly Luffy) to enjoy the rare relief the nicotine brought.

Zoro stood like a sentry in the middle of the alley. He'd yet to release his gentle, but firm hold of his captain. He didn't want to risk jostling or waking Luffy until he had to. The kid needed as much sleep as he could get in his opinion. He didn't deny that the even breath against his clothed shoulder and the steady thump of Luffy's heart against his back was a comfort. They'd come within a hairs breadth of losing their captain so many times, yet this time was so much more frightening. He'd made a silent vow to never let Luffy down like this again and so he stood like a statue acting as his captain's makeshift bed. Luffy's arm draped loosely about his shoulders, one arm curled around his neck whilst the other hung limp in the crook of his elbow where he had Luffy's leg hooked.

"Oi, Marimo," Sanji called softly. "What if she's in trouble?"

"You don't have faith in her?" Zoro quipped back. He knew Sanji was itching to seek out their navigator but Nami was in fighting form. Luffy wasn't; he needed their protection more.

"They should've been back by now." Sanji pressed, louder this time.

"Not if they've found a lead." Robin interjected and smiled sweetly. "Please try to keep your voice down, Sanji-kun."

Sanji deflated, defeated, and slumped down the wall to sit on the floor.

"Would you like me to take him for a while, Zoro-san?" Brook asked after a moment of silence. "Your arms must be-"

"My arms are fine." Zoro interrupted, stoically. "I've got him for now, thanks."

Brook nodded in acceptance. Zoro was probably right. Transferring Luffy from one person to another would probably hurt him and could wake him. He doubted Luffy would be comfortable held in the embrace of a bony skeleton either, but he still felt obligated to ask, to make a contribution somehow to his new crew.

"He looks a little better." Chopper stated with a smile.

"Sleep is a good healer." Robin added as she too gazed fondly at their slumbering captain.

"I'm just glad to see him getting some rest at last." Sanji admitted. "At one point I was scared the lack of sleep would send him over the edge."

"Luffy's stronger than that." Usopp stated firmly. "He can come back from this, I know he can."

"Maybe..." Sanji relented. He hoped so too, but he wasn't about to let his hopes fly like Usopp was. He couldn't forget the past weeks so easily.

They solemn conversation was interrupted as the bins were suddenly jostled. Zoro backed up towards the other end of the alley, well aware he couldn't defend Luffy as he was and Chopper, Brook and Sanji moved in front of him whilst Robin and Usopp stayed behind. To their relief it was Nami that entered the alley once the bins were moved, followed briefly by Franky.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji cried, delighted at her return.

"Welcome back," Robin greeted as she stepped forward. "Did you gather any information?"

"Mm, some." Nami replied, "But I found something much better!" she added enthusiastically. To emphasise her point she stepped aside so that the rest of the crew could see the mouth of the alley where stood before them was Luffy's brother, Portgas D. Ace.

"Yo." He greeted with the easy smile most of them remembered. His smile quickly fell though as he spied his brother's unconscious form draped across Zoro's back. He approached slowly; though eager to check Luffy out for himself he'd been warned by Nami of the state he was in.

"Ace!" Usopp and Chopper chimed in unison, both delighted to see the man. If anybody could give Luffy the strength he'd need to get through this it would be Ace. Both Usopp and Chopper launched at Ace, capturing him in a hug.

"Ah! Thank goodness!" Usopp breathed as he clutched Ace's arm. "Someone we can really rely on! Someone that can protect us!"

"Eh?" Ace noised as he looked down at Usopp.

"Accce!" Chopper cried as he latched onto Ace's other side, firmly glued to the freckled man's head. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"Ah... thank you?" Ace replied hesitantly as he smiled sheepishly. Nami had been sparing on the details with just what had happened to his little brother, but she had warned him it was bad. Bad where Luffy was concerned could mean a lot of things though, so he'd refrained from letting that knot of worry climb its way from his stomach to his throat. Now he wondered if maybe he should be more concerned.

"What are you doing here?" Zoro asked, curiously. Ace was the last person he'd expected to run into.

"Passing through." Ace replied easily. "Still on the trail of Teach. Anybody want to explain to me why my little brother can't greet me himself?" A dangerous undertone laced Ace's voice, an undercurrent of anger, not necessarily directed at the people around him but there all the same. Something was definitely wrong with Luffy and Ace wasn't happy about it.

"We can explain when we're back at the ship." Nami answered. "The less attention we gather the better it'll be for all of us."

Ace didn't like being kept in the dark but he could see sense in Nami's explanation. With Luffy's recent bounty increase he was an easy trade in for a lot of money.

"Alright, let's go then." Ace pressed as his eyes settled on Luffy again, that knot in his stomach growing heavier by the second.

"He's just sleeping." Chopper spoke up, sat on Ace's shoulders much like he would on Zoro's. "He hasn't been sleeping well and he's exhausted, so we didn't want to wake him."

Ace accepted the explanation with a nod and followed the crew as they set out once more for their ship.

Ace couldn't help but take note of the new faces in the crew that hadn't been there last time they'd met. He couldn't help but let his gaze linger on brook who walked beside him. Really, only Luffy could find a random walking skeleton and recruit it.

"Ah, you must be Ace." Brook mentioned in greeting.

"Uh, yeah..." Ace answered, his usually impeccable manners foregone in his surprise. In all honestly he hadn't expected the skeleton to speak. "And you are?"

"Brook. Luffy's musician." Brook replied. "And swordsman."

Brook felt oddly nervous about making a good first impression on his captain's older brother, so much so he couldn't help the small 'frrrp' that escaped his backside.

"Ah, excuse me." he stated, bluntly. "I farted."

Ace blinked back at brook comically, the corners of his lips twitching upward, though he smothered the bubbling laughter with a stern cough and instead grasped brook's hand in a handshake as it was offered.

"A pleasure." he finally answered, bemused by the ragtag group his brother has wrangled for his crew.

The walk back to the ship went much faster than their journey inland. With Luffy carried by Zoro they could move much faster and take the steeper, speedier route back. At the steepest point of the route the crew came upon a drunken duo chatting and laughing loudly amongst a scattering of rum bottles. Though they outnumbered the men (and more than likely outclassed them) their movements were still wary as they approached. None of the Strawhats offered a glance to the strangers as the duo fell quiet and watched them travel by.

It was Ace who noticed one of the men's eyes linger too long for his liking on the prone form of his little brother. He made sure to catch the man's eyes as he passed, his own glare offering the warning of a painful death. Ace was satisfied as the stranger flailed back, falling from the boulder he'd been sat on. The other thug swallowed nervously and only dared to move to help his friend when Ace and the Strawhats began their descent down the mountain that led to the beach. Ace snorted at their cowardice and turned his attention back to Luffy as he huffed out a soft sigh through his nose. He couldn't help but wonder just what the hell Luffy had gotten himself into to warrant such a cautious reaction from his crew.

It wasn't until they were approaching the beach where the Mini Merry was hidden that Luffy stirred slightly against Zoro's back. His whole body felt heavy and detached, almost as if it wasn't his own. Consciousness was elusive, yet something in him compelled him to fight for it. Something important had happened he was sure, yet as his eyes dragged open for half a second the effort seemed too much and they slipped closed again. Nobody seemed to notice. His second attempt was more successful and his eyebrows furrowed gently in confusion as he tried to register where he was and what was going on. He was warm and comfortable, despite the throbbing in his chest. That was when the penny dropped.

Luffy jerked backwards, eyes wide with a strangled yelp and almost fell from Zoro's grip entirely in his panic. His arm's pushed out and pressed his palms back forcefully against the back of Zoro's shoulders as if trying to push the two of them apart, though with his legs still in his swordsman's grip it only resulted in him overbalancing as he began to fall backwards.

"At-at-at-at!" Zoro noised senselessly in panic as he desperately leaned forwards to compensate for Luffy's sudden movement to stop his captain from toppling to the ground. Having dealt with Luffy's panic and fear for the past weeks, Zoro's movement was fluid and swift as continued his descent, knees bending until he'd crouched low enough for Luffy's feet to touch the ground. He released his hold on the boy's legs and Luffy stumbled backwards on wobbly legs away from him. Zoro stood silently, undeterred by his captain's sudden aversion to being close to him once again. It was plain as day that his earlier consent had been heavily influenced by his exhaustion. Their top priority now was to keep Luffy calm until they could get back to the safety of their ship.

"You alright there, bro?" Franky asked, his voice unusually gentle as he asked the question everybody wanted to.

Luffy panted, obviously unsteady on his feet as he struggled to wake his exhausted body up. Tension escalated as Luffy looked wildly from one crew member for another, fear and uncertainty lingering in his eyes.

"Give him some space." Sanji suggested, sure to keep his voice soft as he backed up a little so as not to startle Luffy any further. "Give him a chance to get his head straight."

The crew backed away obediently, eager to try anything that might calm Luffy down. Ace watched, perplexed from his position at the back of the group. As of yet he was out of Luffy's line of sight, stood behind him. His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Luffy's body closely. The tension and stiffness in his movements gave away the obvious pain he felt but the hunched, almost submissive curve in Luffy's spine as he backed away from his crew made Ace's breath catch in his throat. Luffy was afraid; Luffy was very afraid right now – of his own crew! Just what the hell had happened!?

"Luffy..." Ace called softly, desperately. The name had rolled from his tongue and escaped his lips before he'd had a chance to stop it.

Luffy flinched visibly; his head turned slowly, shadowed eyes peeking out from under the heavy robes. He blinked once, clenching his eyes shut tightly before opening them. Did he think he was seeing things, Ace wondered? Luffy turned fully them, the fear dulled by shock as he reached out uncertainly as if to check Ace truly were there. Thin, rubbery fingers had barely brushed his wrist before Ace grunted as he was nearly tackled at the force of Luffy's hug. Luffy held onto Ace tightly, fingers digging into his brother's skin desperately, entirely content with his brother's touch. His entire body seemed to relax as Ace lifted a hand to smooth down his sleep mussed hair and give his head a pat.

The Strawhats looked on in silent confusion. They had expected Ace to be a source of strength for Luffy, but the sheer lack of negative reaction on Luffy's part had them all stunned.

"Silly little brother," Ace chided softly as he curled an arm around Luffy in a half hug. The ferocity of Luffy's emotion churned that concrete wad of worry settled in his stomach. Ace tried to make light of Luffy's actions as he caught sight of the stunned Strawhats. "Making us all worry again?"

Luffy didn't say anything in reply, though kept his face buried in Ace's chest.

"He... hasn't said anything." Zoro said, carefully. Something in the bottom of his heart clenched at what had just happened. It wasn't jealousy, no... more of an instinct. Something wasn't right about this whole situation.

"What?" Ace asked. He had yet to be filled in on any details from Nami and his sleepy eyes widened at Zoro's words. "In how long?"

"Ah, shit... how long now?" Sanji mumbled. The days seemed to melt together as they'd cared for Luffy on the ship. "Two weeks? More?"

"Seventeen days." Nami offered, though it felt like a lifetime in reality.

Ace's head snapped back to Luffy with a concerned frown. Before he had a chance to question his brother, a voice interrupted.

"We can continue this on the ship." Zoro stated, his face stony leaving no room for argument. "Chopper needs to sort out some pain relief for Luffy soon anyhow."

Ace nodded and watched as the crew exhumed the small boat from its hiding place. Carefully he untangled himself from Luffy's hold, surprised at Luffy's lack of resistance. Ace canted his head softly in confusion which only deepened when Luffy's eyes met his, filled with guilt. Luffy wasn't the type of man to dwell on things such as guilt. He took action against such feelings so Ace wondered for the hundredth time since he'd met Nami just what the hell happened to his baby brother.

It took a few trips on the Mini merry to return the crew to their ship. Luffy was accompanied by Ace, Zoro and Sanji in the first trip. Luffy sat close to Ace, his body feeding off of the unnatural warmth Ace's body offered due to his devil fruit ability. Zoro glanced back at Luffy in masked concern. His young captain still seemed disoriented from his earlier panic though he was grateful it hadn't deteriorated into Luffy's recent episodes of delirium. Ace seemed to be having a hard enough time taking in the change in his little brother at it was.

Chopper arrived in the second trip and promptly ushered Luffy and Ace away to the infirmary to change his bandages and better tend the wound from earlier. Sanji made his way to the galley to prepare the nights meal and as the remainder of the crew. As the rest of the crew arrived they joined their nakama in the galley. Brook and Usopp helped with setting the table and prepping the food as they fell into a quiet chatter. A gentle air of excitement buzzed around them as they regaled with tales from Alabasta where they had first met Ace for their newer crewmates benefit.

Zoro sat away from the group, shoulders hunched forward as his arms crossed atop the table and face set in a stony frown. Robin was the first to notice Zoro's self-seclusion and moved to sit opposite him, curious as to what was bothering the swordsman. He glanced up briefly as she took her seat and she returned his sour look with a disarming smile. The effect was lost on Zoro as his frown deepened and he returned to staring at the table top.

"Is something wrong, Zoro?" Robin ventured.

"It's nothing." Zoro snapped back.

"Don't talk to Robin-chan that way, idiot." Sanji chastised automatically, though his tone was distracted and lacking its usual bite as he lost himself in the creation of his next delicacy. He nodded in approval as he tested a sample and then seemed to realise what he'd just said and glanced back at the pair when Zoro didn't offer up any retaliation.

"What's bothering you?" Robin pressed, not willing to let it go. It was rare for anything to get under Zoro's skin so whatever it was had to be serious.

Zoro heaved a sigh through his nose and twisted his lips in annoyance at Robin's persistence. By now the rest of the crew in the galley had also noticed the tense interaction and the conversation had stilled.

"Don't you think it's strange?" Zoro asked as he sat back and folded his arms across his chest. "How Luffy acted."

"How Luffy acted when?" Robin asked, careful to keep her tone neutral. She too had noticed a couple of curious things in Luffy's behaviour, but the last thing their crew needed now was more concern and so she had kept her suspicions to herself. If Zoro wanted to confront the issue though, she was more than willing.

"You know when." Zoro replied as irritation crept into his voice. Robin was the smartest in their crew and he had no doubt if he'd seen it, she had too. "With the bandits and... Ace."

"Right!" Usopp jumped in, grinning from ear to ear. "He was amazing! I mean, I didn't think he could still do that with how he's been and it must've been hard with his body like it is!"

"I'm not talking about that." Zoro said gruffly and Usopp fell silent, his enthusiasm squashed. "I'm talking about the fear."

"Or lack thereof." Robin offered and nodded slowly. It seemed Zoro had noticed.

"Sure he was afraid..." Usopp reasoned, "I mean when those bandits came out-"

"He watched..." Sanji muttered as it dawned on him what his crewmates were suggesting. Mutely he moved to sit beside Robin, sliding the coffee he'd prepared her way. "He didn't have a panic attack or run... he didn't even seem bothered."

"He's exhausted!" Usopp defended. "We probably just couldn't tell because he was so tired!"

"No... we've seen the fear in him enough times in the last weeks to know what it looks like." Zoro said as he tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. "And then later when he woke up he was afraid."

"Until he saw Ace." Nami spoke up. "But what's the problem? You saw how he reacted to Ace! He didn't even flinch and actually initiated contact with him – he even looked comfortable with it!"

"Exactly!" Zoro snapped, eyes narrowing. "He wasn't afraid of the bandits and he wasn't afraid of Ace. He was just fine with friend and foe alike."

"Your point?" Nami asked, annoyed at Zoro's ramblings.

"He was afraid of us." Sanji said quietly, the meal forgotten. "Shit..."

The information washed over the crew with a silent violence. Nami was the first to recover as she spluttered out excuses for the revelation that had just been uncovered.

"Well that's normal, right?" she asked no one in particular. "Luffy's been through so much and we were the first ones there when he woke up and we've been around him this whole time while he recovered with all those bad memories. It's like we're all stained with the bad emotions..."

"I suppose that could be true..." Robin mused as she drummed her fingers against her coffee cup. "The trip inland did seem to do him good."

"Maybe Luffy-san's trust is still too frail with us." Brook suggested quietly. "He sees it as his role to protect us, his nakama, yet we allowed him to be harmed so violently and we've yet to discover who did it."

"Or how." Franky added. "With Nico Robin on watch nothing should have been able to get near the ship."

Robin gave a slight nod. She too had been troubled by that fact. That night it had been her responsibility to protect the crew and keep watch and though she knew she hadn't slept or moved from her vigilant watch, she couldn't help but feel responsible for what had happened. Nothing made sense. From the severity of Luffy's wounds Chopper had explained that they would have had to have heard him screaming and yet she had heard no such thing and the crew had slept on peacefully.

"We're no closer to fixing this." Nami admitted, frustration painting her voice.

"Maybe we should just leave..." Usopp suggested quietly, timidly. "I-I mean if we used the paddling wheels and a cola burst we could fly right by those waters, right? Whatever is there wouldn't have a chance of catching us again!"

Usopp looked around hopefully. Truthfully he was terrified of whatever horrors had inflicted such damage on his captain. Luffy was his best friend and idol in so many ways and to see him stripped bare of his confidence and power in one night without explanation or reason had stunned his heart.

"It's an option," Franky finally answered, "But we'd need to see what Luffy thinks."

"The next island is 4 days travel with good winds." Nami stated quietly. "Even using all our cola supplies it would still be a day's journey over those waters. We don't even know if whatever did this is still there."

"We still don't know anything." Zoro muttered gruffly and the galley fell into a solemn, thoughtful silence. Even if Luffy did choose to go on, just what was their next move?


Ace sucked in a breath at the sight of his brother's body as Chopper removed the heavy robe carefully from his shoulders. The fading burns and cuts that littered the flesh he could see made his blood boil for revenge, but his sleepy expression gave away none of his darker thoughts. Ace listened silently as Chopper listed off the numerous injuries Luffy had sustained in the attack and swallowed back the bile that rose in his throat as Luffy eased out of his shirt to reveal the large scar that peeked from behind the bandages wrapped around his chest. Nami had told him it was bad but he hadn't expected this bad.

"When was the last time he ate?" Ace asked as his dark eyes drifted over Luffy's sunken abdomen. "Are you hungry, Luffy?"

Luffy eased his body onto the cot and shook his head wearily. He wasn't hungry. He felt sick.

"He's eaten a little better the last couple days." Chopper explained as he set to work on cleaning Luffy's wounds. In his healing frame of mind he ignored Luffy's slight flinches and the way he recoiled from probing touches. "Before that he couldn't keep anything down and for a while he was catatonic."

Ace looked to Luffy in shock. He couldn't imagine his happy, optimistic, energetic Luffy in such a state. As he looked at him now though it seemed all too real. Luffy's eyes stayed glued to the floor and Ace couldn't help but feel he looked ashamed of all things. Ace reached out, unable to hold back any longer and rested his hand on Luffy's head. He had planned to offer his brother words of reassurance, maybe words of comfort, but as he felt Luffy's hair under his fingers another thought occurred to him.

"Where's your hat?" he asked, bewildered. He'd seldom seen Luffy without his trademark headwear. It was then he spotted the string around Luffy's neck and glanced around to his back where his hat rested against his shoulder blades.

"We thought it would attract too much attention." Chopper explained. "But he didn't want to leave it behind."

"Of course you didn't." Ace said, a soft grin touching his lips. It was good to hear something normal about Luffy's behaviour.

Chopper worked diligently on rewrapping Luffy's torso in bandages as he finished cleaning the large wound there. He felt eyes on him and looked up to see Luffy staring straight at him.

"I-Is something wrong, Luffy?" he asked timidly.

Luffy's eyes seemed fixed on something above Chopper's head. The small reindeer looked back but saw nothing and turned back to Luffy, confused. Wordlessly Luffy reached up, fingers gently brushing one of Choppers antlers before he withdrew again. Chopper noticed the flaky crimson that had dusted on Luffy's fingers and his eyes widened.

"Got a little blood on you there." Ace said as he watched the interaction curiously.

"It... was from a bandit." Chopper replied, blushing under his fur as he recalled his wild retaliation against the man that had attacked Luffy. "He attacked Luffy."

"Blood is at home on a doctors hands, but I don't think my brother likes the look of it there." Ace said.

"R-Right..." Chopper mumbled, but before he had a chance to escape to wash the offending crimson away, Luffy had grabbed the wet flannel Chopper had used on his wound and reached out, cleaning it off himself. Chopper didn't dare move, a confliction of shame and pride warring in his heart at his actions earlier. He knew he had lost control for a moment but it had been to protect his captain and he didn't regret it. Luffy's hand withdrew again, the cloth stained with old blood.

"I think maybe this is the only way he can tell you he's proud of you." Ace explained as he looked from Chopper to Luffy and back again. "Right?"

Luffy nodded mutely, a serious look on his face. Chopper swallowed thickly as tears spilled from his eyes and he too nodded his understanding. He could see the guilt and regret shining in Luffy's shadowed eyes. Luffy was telling him he was proud of what he had done, but Chopper knew Luffy was also feeling that the reindeer shouldn't have been placed in that position in the first place. Much like Ace had done to him moments before, Luffy rested his hand atop Chopper's hat.

"How about we go join the others?" Ace asked, reluctant to break up the moment between the two but eager to get some answers.

Chopper nodded and Luffy moved to comply silently. The small doctor helped him to redress in a clean, loose vest before they headed out of the infirmary and towards the galley.


Thank you for reading.