To start off, I'd like to thank anybody still reading for their patience.

It's been a hectic few months with lots going on. Thank you as always for your support and reviews.

A huge thank you as always to my betas.


Dark Truth

Chapter 14: Silence Broken


"The hell?!"

Luffy jolted awake with a gasp and flailed uselessly from his teetering position on the side of his bed. He crashed down onto the hard wooden floor with a grunt and a heavy thud. He could hear the shocked voices of the crew as they joined Sanji's. Exclamations of shock sounded from all over the ship and his half lidded eyes slipped closed as he sighed with relief. It was finally over; the spell had broken.

A sudden obnoxious snore alerted Luffy to the fact he wasn't alone and sleepy eyes dragged back open. Curiosity won over fatigue as he pushed himself up on trembling arms. His whole body ached from his unplanned participation in the battle with the bandits. He hadn't noticed before, with everything that happened yesterday. It was as if his mind had been absent from his body.

As Luffy pushed himself upright he peeked over the side of the bunk next to his own and the corners of his mouth lifted at the sight of Zoro, sprawled in his own bed. He had a lot to thank him for; a good night's sleep had worked wonders on his exhausted mind. The generous helping of sake had done better for the fractured trust between them. He had been drunk last night but it wasn't the usual buzzy feeling he got. Luffy vaguely recalled Sanji mention something about mixing alcohol with medicine. Was that bad? Well, his head did hurt but it wasn't much compared to his aching body. He was fine now, though his memory was a little fuzzy from the moment Sanji arrived. He remembered most of the time he'd spent with Zoro and how his crewmates had argued. It had been… nice. Almost normal. Luffy felt like the invisible wall that had separated them for the past few weeks was beginning to crumble.

For a few moments he closed his eyes and quietly enjoyed the small feeling of normalcy. If he tried, he could pretend all the fuss upstairs had nothing to do with the horrors of the past week. He could imagine the raised voices could instead be the familiar playful bickering his crew always engaged in.

Zoro snored on, oblivious to the turmoil on deck and Luffy opened his eyes and looked at him once again. His battered old straw hat lay tilted clumsily over the top half of Zoro's face which left only his gaping mouth visible. Luffy's smile widened; he'd let Zoro keep the hat for a little longer to say thank you.

"Oh, Luffy, you're awake!" Ace's voice rang out smoothly from the doorway, an easy smile on his face. "Did you sleep well?"

Ace walked over to his brother and crouched in front of him. It pleased him to see no sign of the shadows haunting Luffy's usually bright eyes.

"Mm," Luffy replied and nodded.

"Good." Ace said as he reached over and ruffled Luffy's hair.

"Luffy, you're awake!" came another cry from the doorway, Chopper this time. He scrambled in, frantic as he searched for anything out of place in the cabin. "Luffy! It's terrible! All over the ship!"

Luffy watched sedately as Chopper flitted back and forth in his explanation. It was nothing new to Luffy after all. He'd been looking at it since it happened, but he waited patiently for the little reindeer to exhaust himself. When it looked as though the tearful tirade was over, Luffy gripped the side of the wooden hammock and accepted his brother's hand to get to his feet. His limbs felt heavier now that he was standing, but he'd felt worse. Hi lifted his right arm and flexed the muscle to test its strength. He hadn't stretched much since this had all started. Doing so would have agitated the burns and lacerations that littered his body. Now his arms were almost completely free of bandages, the wounds healing. His body was on its way back to normalcy and so was his life; it was time to make things right again.

Ace moved aside and fell into step beside his brother as he headed towards the door. Luffy paused as he reached Chopper, to once again rest a comforting hand atop the reindeer's hat. He offered his friend a small smile of understanding. Chopper sniffled and uttered Luffy's name in a desperate way that told him without words his crew needed his guidance now. They needed their captain.

"Oi, Zoro…" Luffy called without turning back.

His voice was soft but it was enough to rouse his first mate. Zoro paused mid snore and reached up to lift the hat from his face, a sleepy, grumpy expression greeted Luffy from beneath. "Ahh?" he noised.

"It's time to eat." Luffy said, his voice louder now, more confident. He needed Zoro there if he were to sort this out; he didn't want to have to go through it twice.

Zoro contemplated the statement for a second or two before he yawned noisily and pushed himself up from the bunk. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming."

Luffy nodded his acknowledgement and made his way out of the cabin. He squinted in the sunlight. The heavy cloud cover of the last couple of days had cleared to reveal bright blue skies. Even the daylight seemed happy to see him clawing his way back from the hell he'd slipped into. The feeling wasn't mutual, though, as the bright sunlight caused his headache to flare to life.

Usopp and Franky were on the lower-deck, each ranting about the damage they could see. Luffy could hear Nami and Sanji in the galley and instead decided to head that way. No doubt the others would follow in search of answer once they realised he was there.

As he reached the galley, Luffy heard the hushed, urgent voices from within and paused. A flutter of anxiety blossomed in his stomach and he tried to swallow it back. His breath hitched as his hand hovered over the door handle, apprehensive, as though it might bite him. He lingered only a moment longer before he released the breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He drew strength from the presence of the people waiting patiently behind him and entered.

He walked into the galley and the panicked voices from within hushed. The occupants of the room (all accounted for save for Usopp and Franky) watched apprehensively as Luffy entered. Zoro and Ace followed behind him and Robin took it upon herself to alert the missing two about impromptu meeting. A polite, if somewhat urgent pat on the back and gesture towards the galley from a disembodied arm brought them in soon enough.

The Strawhats watched their captain with uncertainty. Luffy felt a shiver creep down his spine at the lack of normalcy that had grown so familiar and had him on edge for so long. It was ironic. He shook the feeling off with a soft huff, ignoring the fact that even Zoro had stilled with shock behind him at the sight of the demolished galley. Ace remained silent. As soon as he'd confirmed what had taken place between Luffy and his crew that night things had started to fall into place. Luffy's tension and nerves made sense considering the obliviousness amongst his shipmates. It wasn't normal to sit and eat around a broken table, after all. He had been tempted to speak up time and again, but one look at Luffy and he understood without words that he had to keep his silence. It wasn't his place and he trusted Luffy to make the right decision. Watching the Strawhats now he didn't doubt his little brother had done just that. The kid wouldn't have been ready to handle this the way he was even a couple of days ago, let alone when this had all started. There was no way he'd have been able to explain to his crew what had happened – he hadn't even known himself.

Luffy's eyes flitted from one crewmate to the next. He could see their confusion and maybe even a little fear. To them it must have looked as though another attack had occurred overnight. He wondered if their apprehension stemmed from that. Were they worried about his reaction to the destruction around the ship? How were they to know he'd been looking at it for weeks now? Normalcy, Luffy decided, was the way forward. He needed his crew to be his crew again. They had worked hard to rekindle the trust between captain and crew as they'd watched him fall apart in front of their eyes. Now it was his turn to be strong for them. He strode to one of the seats situated around the broken table and plonked himself down, ignoring his aching body.

"Hahhh, I'm hungry." He sighed.

For a moment Luffy wondered if his action might have knocked a screw loose in the minds of his crew as they gaped at him like dead fish. A second later the room was abuzz with life again as a shock of excitement fizzled through the crew. Something as simple as hearing Luffy's voice again perished the thoughts of immediate peril brought on by the damages around them, even if only for a moment. The reaction satisfying. Nami gasped; Franky, Usopp and Chopper burst into tears as Franky hollered, "I'm not crying, damn it! I've got something in my eye! It's terrible!"

Sanji's eyes gleamed with excitement as a wide smile stretched across his face. It had been so long since he'd heard that from Luffy he hadn't even realised how much he'd missed it. Robin smiled as that mischievous glint sparkled to life in her eyes. The tension in her shoulders relaxed as she too took a seat. Brook watched passively from his roost behind Robin. He gazed at Luffy with the vacant hollows where his eyes should be and felt a gentle pride blossom in his chest that sent his heart aflutter – well, it would if he had one that is! Luffy appeared to resurrect himself before his very eyes. He would know about these things having been through the process once himself, you know! For the moment Luffy's panic subsided and he smiled to himself as he watched varying reactions from his crew.

"What'll it be then, Captain?" Sanji asked as he strolled towards Luffy in a confident stride Luffy hadn't realised he'd missed.

"Mm," Luffy noised thoughtfully before he offered Sanji a blank stare. "Meat."

Zoro couldn't help the snort that escaped him and Sanji chuckled and shook his head. Still grinning, the cook muttered, "I guess I should have known the answer to that one."

"Mm!" Luffy agreed with a nod and a smile, a slow confidence flooding through his body at his crew's behaviour. It made him feel strong again.

"Who am I to deny the request of my captain?" Sanji replied as he turned towards the stove. If Luffy had asked him to leap into the sea and fetch him a fresh sea king to spit roast he probably would have in that moment. As it was he glanced back at the remaining crew and barked: "Oi, sit your asses down and stop crying, you idiots!" then added, tone slathered with honey, "Robin-chwan, Nami-swan, breakfast will be ready soon!"

Zoro huffed but took the seat beside Luffy all the same. Usopp scrambled to plunder the empty seat on Luffy's other side, much to Chopper's dismay. Franky dropped into the seat beside Robin as he accepted an offered tissue from the dark haired woman and blew his nose.

"I'm not crying, bastard!" he protested as he dabbed at his wet eyes. "I got a nail in my eye!"

Chopper blanched, his lost seat forgotten as he fussed around the blubbering cyborg.

"Oi, oi!" Franky protested as he tried in vain to calm the flustered reindeer. "It's gone now, see?" he assured as he batted his eyelids for emphasis.

"Are you sure?" Chopper asked, "What about infection?"

"No infection can get past my… superrr internal eye lasers!" Franky boasted as he stood and struck a pose.

"Really?!" Chopper squealed.

"Really?!" Usopp gasped.

"…really?!" Luffy finally conceded, his eyes starry with awe as the sheer awesomeness of that statement was too much to contain. He had no idea Franky had internal lasers!

Franky seemed shocked to hear his captain's voice, despite his words just moments before. He felt a rush of pride that had him in a blubber of tears again. "Uwaahhh!" he cried, and dabbed at his eyes again.

"Ohhh!" Chopper roared, horrified. "Is it malfunctioning, Franky?!"

"It must be malfunctioning…!" Usopp concurred with a knowing nod as he folded his arms over his chest. "It must be firing in his brain and cooking it!"

Luffy looked from Franky to Usopp and Chopper then back again, his own eyes wide.

"Don't die, Franky!" Chopper cried as he hopped from hoof to hoof in a frenzy. "Do you need a doctor? Do you need a mechanic? Uwah! I'm not a mechanic!"

"But I am!" Usopp proclaimed triumphantly.

"I believe," Robin stated, as she passed Franky another tissue and brushed his stray tears from her shoulder with a mild look of annoyance. "All he needs is a tissue since he is crying, ne Franky?"

"I'm not crying!" Franky wailed as he accepted the tissue.

"If you're not perhaps I should give you a reason to then." Robin warned with a cold smile.

Franky immediately clammed up and sniffed the snot dribbling from his nose cautiously. "…I lied." He admitted. He wasn't about to tango with Nico Robin. He was more than aware of what that woman was capable of.

"You lied?!" Chopper squawked.

"He lied?!" Luffy joined, disbelief evident.

"I taught him how!" Usopp boasted with a triumphant laugh.

"But… what about the lasers?" Luffy asked softly, disappointment plastered all over his face.

The room was silent for a heartbeat until a loud 'frrrpt' sounded from behind Robin and Brook said, "Ah, excuse me. I farted."

The sudden laughter came fast and loud as the entire crew finally released all the tension that had built around them for weeks. Luffy, surprised at first, looked around bewildered at his crew before a gentle smile worked its way onto his face. He was glad to see the people around him let go and just be. That is, all but one.

Nami watched the crew, her brow furrowed and eyes troubled. As the laughter died away she finally spoke up.

"How can you all sit here and laugh?!" she exclaimed, voice thick with emotion. "Look around you! Have you forgotten about this?" she asked as she jabbed her finger towards the broken table. "Or… or the dried blood on half the clothes in my wardrobe?! What's wrong with you all?!"

Luffy's mirth faded as he regarded Nami in silence. She saw his scrutiny and returned it, tears in her eyes as she waited for his response.

"It's been like that for a while." He finally admitted.

"What?" Nami asked, breathless. "That's impossible! Just last night, at this table, we-"

"Ate dinner from our laps." Ace finished from his seat on the other side of Nico Robin. Nami looked at him as though he were crazy.

"We didn't!" she protested. "Sanji, Usopp! Zoro! You all…. You remember it right? The table was right here!"

"I thought… I was crazy for a while." Luffy admitted, his gaze downcast as he finally opened his heart to his nakama once more. "I didn't know…" he sighed, "I didn't know why I was the only one who could see."

"Luffy…" Usopp breathed the name out, but didn't know what he could say. All this time they'd had no idea. A thought suddenly struck him. "That tart!" he exclaimed.

Brook straightened, "Yes," he agreed. "You acted so strange that day."

Luffy nodded. "There was blood." He admitted as he glanced at the refrigerator. "There still is, when… When Sanji touched the plate after he—they – did this."

Sanji, who had paused in his preparation looked horrified at Luffy's words. He would never, never allow something as unsanitary as—and yet as he yanked open the fridge door, there it was plain as day. Just a smudge, a dried smear but plainly visible on the plate.

"Why didn't you…" Sanji trailed off. He understood now that Luffy's silence had been to protect them. "There must have been some way you could have shown us something was wrong?"

Luffy shook his head, his eyes brimming with unspoken apology. He gnawed on his bottom lip, eyes flitting between his hands in his lap and Sanji. His anxiety was obvious, but he finally admitted, "I didn't know if you were… you again. I didn't know if I could trust you. I was scared to trust you."

Luffy's quiet explanation hit the crew hard as the room fell into a heavy, uncomfortable silence. Luffy fidgeted and tried to avoid the piercing, shocked looks plastered across his crew's faces. His feelings over the past weeks filled him with shame and guilt. These people were his treasure, and yet he'd allowed himself to lose faith in them. He didn't want to admit how he'd felt, but at the same time they needed to understand he couldn't just bounce back from this.

"Unforgiveable." Zoro said. His voice was quiet and the statement sudden.

All heads turned to face the swordsman and Luffy fought back the flurry of spiders scuttling about in his stomach. It wasn't the same fluttery butterfly explosion brought on by excitement. This feeling was dread and his stomach clenched at Zoro's single utterance.

"Unforgiveable weakness." Zoro finally elaborated as his hand moved in an unconscious motion towards his swords. Though he understood in his heart that the trust between them had been compromised by what had happened, it was still a shock to hear it from Luffy's own lips. "It will not happen again. I give you my word I won't let it happen again, you hear me, Luffy?"

Luffy released a shaky breath. For a moment there he'd thought... They might have been back… but, no. It was just Zoro and he was a little surprised at how easy a smile slipped onto his face as relief washed through him. "Mm." he confirmed. It pleased him to realise it wasn't a lie. Zoro had never broken a promise to him yet.

"Good." Zoro said as he folded his arms across his chest with a scowl. Luffy watched him with that same easy smile. This was his Zoro and knowing that made him feel safer, like he could finally begin to trust again.

"It must have been… hard." Usopp muttered. "I-I mean… to see all this," he gestured to the broken table with an exaggerated wave of his arms. "And then watch us."

"Sometimes I thought I was imagining it." Luffy uttered back. He didn't like to admit how close he'd come to losing it; losing everything.

"But it's okay now, right?" Usopp asked, his eyes shiny with tears as he scrubbed them away and sniffed. He forced a smile onto his face. "You can relax now, right? You know it's us…"

Luffy didn't offer Usopp an answer and his silence spoke louder than any words could have. Usopp understood, tentative at firt, but then more confident as his captain and best friend didn't shy from him. He held him in a fierce hug. Luffy couldn't help as his body tensed and his breath caught in his throat. His hands trembled but he didn't pull away. Instead he offered the only platitude he could.

"I'm gonna be okay, Usopp." He said.

"Unless you starve to death before the shitty cook fixes you something to eat." Zoro snapped.

"Ehh? The hell did you say?!" Sanji growled back, bristling with the offensive tart still clutched in one hand. "You wanna say that again, Marimo?!"

"You heard me." Zoro egged.

The two broke into another usual verbal spar and Luffy felt himself relax once again. He patted Usopp on the back twice as his friend pulled away and watched with a keen interest as Nami approached the two arguing men. Nami took it all very hard and had been quiet and withdrawn since this started. Nothing would make him happier (and he never thought he'd say this) than to see her lose her temper.

"Oi, oi, you two." Nami said as she approached the arguing pair. "Is this really the time for this? We have more-"

"Dartbrow!"

"-important things to worry-"

"Marimo bastard!"

"-about than this. We need-"

"Pervy cook!"

"-to work together to-"

"Shitty swordsman!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, I'LL CRUSH YOU!"

Luffy winced as Nami crashed the two men's heads together. She then proceeded to beat them with fists of fury as her temper finally unravelled. He sank back against Usopp, wide eyes as the carnage laid out before him. When it was finally all over the galley was quiet save for Nami's panting.

"She's supposed to say or…!" Usopp whispered urgently, terrified as he was reminded of Nami's wrath.

"Hah?" Luffy noised.

"Mm!" Chopper nodded as he clung to Franky in horror. "She's supposed to say 'shut the hell up or I'll crush you'!" he whimpered.

Luffy chuckled to himself and smiled despite the situation. "Nami feels better now, ne?" he asked, softly.

Nami turned towards him, fist still raised and steaming. Sanji squirmed in delight at her feet and Zoro sulked beside him with a pout, resisting the urge to nurse the many lumps on his head. For a moment her anger fizzled and Luffy saw her eyes dart briefly over his battered body. He saw her guilt as plain as she saw the marks littered across his skin. It was just as painful for him to see her emotional turmoil as it was for her to see the remnants of the damage his crew had dealt him. He expected she would draw away from him as she had done since this happened. She surprised him.

"You're just as bad." She sulked and averted her eyes with a pout.

She didn't see the brilliant smile that stretched across her captain's lips at even such a small act of normalcy from her. It was a peaceful moment, shared by the entire crew in which they felt maybe, just maybe they really were going to be alright.

"Oi, nose." Sanji called as he climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. He sauntered towards the stove to fix up their breakfast as though Nami hadn't just pummelled him. He gestured towards the broken table. "Fix this mess."

"W-What?!" Usopp yelled, indignantly. "By myself?!"

"Pants-Pervert over there can help you." Sanji replied as he jerked his thumb at Franky.

Usopp pouted but reluctantly agreed as Franky thanked Sanji for the compliment with a blush. The three headed out together (Chopper still attached to Franky's head) to collect the tools they needed to make repairs.

"Idiots." Zoro muttered, though the smirk on his face gave way to his true emotions.

The Strawhats set about making themselves busy, from fixing coffee to discussing repairs and planning on their next move. Luffy, though he didn't actively participate, was content to sit amongst them and make his presence known. He could help but notice once again Nami appeared apprehensive. She stood, lost in thought with her arms wrapped around her body in mock comfort. Finally she sighed softly and moved as though to leave the galley. As she passed by Luffy, her eyes widened as his fingers closed around her wrist. Her eyes drifted from his hands to his face, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Luffy?"

"We need to talk, ne?" he asked. It wasn't something he wanted to do. The thought of talking about that night with his crew sickened him, but neither was it something he could avoid.

Nami regarded him thoughtfully. Her jaw set and she nodded slowly. "Mm." she agreed. She wasn't sure what Luffy would say, but she still felt she needed to know whatever he was willing to tell her.

"Don't worry," Luffy reassured and he gave her wrist a firm squeeze. "I'll kick their asses. Nobody makes Nami cry. I promised old man windmill."

Nami blinked and realised for the first time that tears had once again spilled from her eyes. She swiped them away with her free hand and choked out a mix between a sob and a laugh.

"Idiot." She replied with a smile. "You better."

Luffy nodded and released his hold on Nami's wrist. As she walked from the room and he was once again left to his thoughts his smile fell and he contemplated the decision he'd made. Soon they would be back over those waters and would have to face the nightmare all over again. Little by little his body recovered and as he clenched his fist he felt the familiar strength there. It was comforting, but was it enough? Luffy didn't know… but he kept that little thought to himself.