Thank you to everybody who commented and encouraged me last chapter. I hope this one has come quickly enough for you. It's not a very long chapter but there's a lot to take in here, so please read slowly! Next chapter we will have an in depth look into what really happened that night!

Big thanks to my beta: Deathgod777


Dark Truth

Chapter 10: The Dark Truth


"Ghosts." Nami said, sceptically as she eyed Ace for any sign of jest. It wasn't so much a question as a reiterate to make sure she'd heard correctly. Of all the things she had expected, ghosts was not one of them

"Ghosts." Ace answered with a serious nod.

"T-This is a joke, right?" Usopp questioned meekly. "Right?"

Ace shook his head and Usopp blanched. Chopper grabbed a hold of Robin's arm anxiously and she smiled down at him reassuringly. Luffy glanced around at his crews faces apprehensively. It didn't go unmissed by Zoro's keen eyes.

"S-So real, live ghosts?" Usopp pressed, shakily, "Like the kind that go 'oooooo!'" he added as he lifted his arms and wiggled his fingers.

"Well I wouldn't exactly call them 'live' but, yeah." Ace answered with a weak smile at Usopp's actions. "It's weird you find it so hard to believe considering your musician is technically a dead man walking."

All eyes wandered to Brook as the skeleton sipped his tea daintily, followed by a loud fart. "Ah, excuse me." He said.

"DON'T BE SO RUDE!" Nami shrieked and crushed her fist into his skull. Brook went down, for lack of a better term, like a sack of bones.

"How can he even do that?" Ace questioned incredulously as he watched Franky and Usopp desperately try to revive their comrade through the aid of calcium. "Does he even poop?"

"Brook is different." Nami replied, both answering Ace's question and challenging his comparison. "He was revived by the power of a devil fruit. You're saying that we were attacked by ghosts!"

"Because you were." Ace retorted solidly before he turned towards Luffy. "Right, Luffy?"

Luffy's brow furrowed and his lips tugged downward. He almost looked annoyed before he turned his face away from Ace dismissively.

"Oi, Luffy..." Sanji muttered in gentle reprimand, surprised by Luffy's actions. At last they had a lead on finding out how and why all of this had happened and though he couldn't (or wouldn't) speak to them, a simple nod could give them the answers they desired. Luffy stared hard at the far wall over Zoro's shoulder and ignored Sanji's weak scolding.

"It's okay." Ace said as he held out a hand to halt any further protest. "He's been through more than we can imagine." Ace's eyes drifted back to Luffy, shining sadly. "Ne, little brother?"

Once again Luffy offered no response and ignored his brother, though Ace smiled fondly, a look that said he knew more than he was willing to admit.

"Ghosts, eh?" Zoro asked, his tone gruff, obviously eager to learn more about the enemy.

"Yeah," Ace answered, "Well, kind of."

"What do you mean 'kind of'?" Nami questioned, her tone clipped. "It either is or it isn't."

"It's hard to explain." Ace answered apologetically as he raised his hands defensively.

"Alright," Nami said, calmer this time. "How do you know it's ghosts then?"

"Ace and I were up through the night in communication with various members of the Whitebeard crew." Robin answered on Ace's behalf as she joined the conversation. "From the information gathered we have reason to believe that what's happened here to us also occurred in the past with Ace's crew."

All eyes widened at this new information.

"You mean it happened to you?" Chopper asked Ace.

"Yeah..." Ace replied, solemnly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sanji asked.

"Because I didn't remember."

"Pretty damn important thing to forget." Zoro snapped as he folded his arms across his chest, obviously irritated with Ace's evasiveness. Ace didn't react though and a thoughtful silence settled as the crew slowly absorbed everything they had been told.

"How do you know it's the same thing if you don't remember?" asked Nami, "I mean there's no guarantee that it's the same, right?"

"I don't have any proof if that's what you want." Ace stated, "But Robin is a skilled woman. With the combination of information gathered by her from the island and what I heard from my crew I've little doubt."

"You found out something last night, Robin?" Nami asked, surprised.

"I joined both you and Franky-san on your interrogations last night." Robin admitted. "Though I doubt you noticed my eyes and ears. I heard a number of things," she continued. "But until I heard from Ace's crew I'd considered them of little value."

"Well what is it then?" Zoro asked, irritated that they had kept something from them, no matter how small.

"When you questioned the locals I heard a number of rumours and legends that tell of attacks in the waters around this island. Entire crews torn apart, but more importantly, the main victim of such attacks was always the captain. I thought it was a promising lead." Robin explained.

"But they're just tall tales – myths!" Nami replied, still reeling from Robin's previous admission.

"And you decided not to tell us about that?" Zoro ground out.

"Oi," Sanji interjected, his tone laced with warning at Zoro's aggression.

"I didn't even consider it to be anything substantial. We weren't looking for ghosts, after all." Robin replied, unfazed by her crewmates anger. "And then we came across Ace."

"Word of mouth can be unreliable, sis." Franky stated as he sat back down and left Usopp to tend to Brook. "Especially with the likes of the people on this island."

"Which is why until now I'd given the rumours little value." Robin explained.

"So what's different now?" Nami asked.

"A more reliable source." Robin answered with a smile.

"I trust my crew." Ace added.

"I don't care if it's ghosts or fucking rabid seaweed." Zoro said, tone sharp as his hand unconsciously wandering to his katana. "All I want to know is how I can find them so I can return the damage they've done."

"That I can't help you with." Ace admitted and didn't miss Zoro's growl in response.

"Then why the hell are you telling us any of this? Did you even find out anything worthwhile?"

"I can understand you're frustrated, but I'm not about to send you off on a wild goose chase without knowing what you're up against." Ace explained, his patience beginning to wane. "I'm only relaying the information I could get from my crew. I've never seen or faced this enemy before either, and I'm just as pissed as you at what's been done to my kid brother!"

"Is there any way we can just get away from here...?" Usopp asked miserably. "I-I mean... the log pose has set and we just need to get to the next island, right? Then things can start getting back to normal... right?"

"I don't know what will happen if you try to sail those waters again." Ace said with a frustrated sigh.

"Is there anything you do know?" Zoro snapped.

"The circumstances were different with my crew!" Ace barked back.

"How so?" Sanji asked, curiously.

"My crew made it through those waters the first time through!" said Ace, his eyes narrowed. "The ones who came out beaten to a pulp at the other end were the crew, not the Captain!"

A thick, heavy silence fell over the crew once again. Without warning Luffy suddenly stood and walked away from the crew. He settled against the railing of the Thousand Sunny, separating himself from the conversation.

"Were you... badly hurt?" Chopper asked timidly, as he resisted to urge to follow after Luffy to see if he was alright.

"I remember waking up and hurting." Ace replied as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "We'd all been drinking the night before and I couldn't remember nothing, so I just figured I got drunk. Maybe got in a fight."

"But weren't the rest of the crew hurt as well?" Nami asked.

"A lot of us were, some of us weren't. Pops seemed real tense so I didn't ask too many questions." Ace explained and his lips twisted thoughtfully. "I didn't even know I'd been a part of something like that until last night. They just said we got rowdy and started brawling – I mean, it's not the first time something like that's happened."

"But, why?" Chopper asked, pitifully. "What's making the ghosts act out and hurt people?"

"Maybe I can answer that." Robin offered as she presented a thick, dusty old book she'd been holding on her lap. "One of the locals mentioned this title last night." She explained with a small smile as her fingers brushed over the worn leather covering delicately. "Ace was good enough to travel inland to find it for me."

"What is it?" Usopp asked apprehensively, as though too much curiosity might provoke the ghosts from the weathered pages of the book.

"A history of tragedy; a legend." Robin explained cryptically as she finally parted the heavy book and fingered through its crinkled pages until she reached the desired page.

"The Fallen." Usopp read aloud before he realised he was leaning forward and quickly sat back.

"This book details the countless tragedies that have become rumour in these parts – the legend of these ghosts that have disbanded and destroyed hundreds, perhaps thousands of travellers, pirates and adventurers alike."

"But why?" Chopper pressed. "What did any of those people do to deserve it?"

"What did we do to deserve it?" Sanji muttered bitterly as he looked across at Luffy's back, the bandages peeking from within his vest. "What did he do...?"

"We've done nothing more than exist together as a crew, but according to legend these apparitions hold a heavy grudge against sailors of any kind. It doesn't matter who they are, if they form a crew they will be targeted."

"But with our crew Luffy was attacked, and in Ace's everybody but the captain was attacked..." Franky muttered thoughtfully. "Why the difference?"

"I haven't been able to read every entry in here, but from what I can tell everybody attacked happened in one of three ways." Robin replied as she idly turned a couple of pages, eyes diligently scanning the contents. "Either the captain was found mutilated," she explained as her gaze wandering to Luffy, "The crew was found beaten or killed," her eyes drifted to Ace, "Or, the entire crew, including the captain were discovered dead."

Usopp shivered as she said this, thoughts of what could have happened to them flitting through his mind. As awful as it seemed, things could have been much worse than they already were.

"In each case where the captain was the sole recipient of the attack, most were discovered by their crew in the morning with no trace of any attacker on the ship and no disturbance in the night despite the obvious violence and struggle aboard the ship."

"Just like..." Nami whispered, though she trailed off, skin paling at the memory of her dying captain struggling for breath on the galley floor. Tears welled in her eyes though she quickly swept them away and swallowed back the lump in her throat. For once Luffy needed them to be strong for him and she wasn't about to play the part of the weak link.

"Just like with Luffy." Robin finished for Nami with a solemn nod. "No clues or sign that anybody had even boarded the Sunny. None of our sleeps had been disturbed."

"But what do we have to do with some shitty ghost's grudge?" Sanji said as his fingers drummed against his knee, itching for a smoke.

"The actual story of how the ghosts came to be is considered a myth." Robin stated.

"We've heard lots of myths that turned out to be true, Robin-chan." Said Sanji.

"It's rumoured that in their lives of flesh and bone the ghosts had been part of a pirate crew themselves under the rule of an infamous pirate – Captain Bronzey."

"Bronzey?" Franky repeated as he raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of him."

"I doubt you would have." Robin replied as she turned another page. "He's been dead for over two centuries."

"So what does he have to do with this?" Zoro asked, "Is he their leader?"

"He was their captain," Robin said with a nod, "Though he was a vicious man. We're no stranger to his kind – driven by greed and lust and the want of power. Hundreds died by his hand and by the hands of his crew under his orders."

"So because of what they did, they now can't rest in peace?" Franky ventured, curiously.

"On the contrary, it's because of what he did to them." Robin replied, her eyes darkening with anger as she skimmed over the writing on the page she's read the night before. "These ghosts are the spirits of Bronzey's crew, so it says, killed in a cruel massacre after he'd grown older and no longer desired the life of a pirate."

"That's terrible!" Nami whispered angrily, her tears spilling over in both anger and grief for her own crew and Bronzey's. She was reminded of Captain Kuro and even her own imprisonment under pirates; in a twisted way she almost knew how the vengeful spirits felt. It was pirates like Bronzey and Arlong and Kuro that ruined lives, but not the likes of Luffy!

"If they want revenge on bad captains then why did they attack Luffy?" Nami choked out bitterly. "All he's ever done is help people!"

"Luffy isn't evil or cruel or any of those things!" Usopp agreed.

"It doesn't work that way." Ace said with a heavy sigh. "I've seen things in this world... I've seen bad things, alright? When men are broken down, their souls shattered and their spirit blackened with hate – men like that don't see reason any more. It's black or white and I expect it's rarely white for these things, ghosts – whatever they are."

"So Luffy was targeted for being a captain? Being our captain?" Zoro asked, his eyes narrowed furiously.

"They lie in wait in watery graves to drag passing ships asunder," Robin read aloud from the book. "For men of men who choose to lead, who'll join them in their slumber,"

"Over my dead body." Zoro snapped. No man, alive or dead would take Luffy's life under his watch.

"Or in their place safe passage given upon payment of a toll," Robin continued, her voice softer now. "The life of every man aboard, for their captain's sorry soul."

"So these sick bastards think this is how they can 'free' us from our captain?" Sanji growled out, fists clenched against his knees. Just because their captain was a sick asshole they think all captains will be that way?"

"I expect so," Robin answered, though Sanji hadn't really expected one.

"Though they were ruled through fear of their captain power, they all most likely led a life of contentment, enjoying the spoils of their lives until Bronzey decided he didn't want that life anymore." Ace agreed, "Why would any other captain be different than their own? That's probably how their think... if they think at all."

"But that's not fair! Luffy doesn't hurt us or hold us prisoner!" Chopper protested suddenly. "We all joined him of our own free will! We're all happy, right? Luffy would never, never do that sort of thing to us!"

"So why didn't they target Whitebeard?" Usopp asked suddenly, "I-I mean I know the old guy's strong... really strong! But... but Luffy is too, so..."

"They did." Ace muttered bitterly as he glared a hole through the deck.

"If night should fall on a ship sailing over those waters," Robin explained as she closed the old book with a heavy thump. "The spirits re-enact their revenge through the crew of the ship – they let the captain taste their own betrayal that they suffered."

Robin's words fell heavy on the crew as they slowly processed everything they'd learnt. Sanji surveyed the crews' troubles expressions but blinked as his eyes settled on Zoro. The tanned swordsman looked white as a sheet, his eyes shadowed as he visibly trembled, hand clenched tightly around Wadou.

"Oi, shitty swordsman," Sanji called, "What's your problem?"

"You fucking idiot!" Zoro hissed out in barely contained fury. "We're you listening!?"

"Of course I was!" Sanji spat back, his own temper flared at Zoro's tone, though a small voice in the back of his mind cautioned him to hold back, a quiet anxiety quickly firing to life at the mixture of pain and rage in Zoro's expression.

"They fucking re-enact their revenge through the crew!" Zoro roared, "Ace can't remember being attacked because he wasn't attacked! He was fucking possessed and too busy attacking his Captain!"

Sanji's stomach filled with lead at Zoro's words, his neck twisting to look at Luffy with his back to them. Sanji's breath caught in his throat as he saw Luffy's hands, clenched tightly around the railing, trembling. Zoro couldn't be right... he couldn't! But then, if he wasn't, why was Luffy so...? And ace wasn't denying it either!

"They possessed us, you fucking idiot!" Zoro choked out. "We did this to Luffy!"

The crunching snap of Luffy's hand crushing the railing echoed too loudly across the silent deck, though he swore he could hear each and every one of his crew's hearts breaking.