Chapter 12: Facing dark memories in the Spooky Zone!
It was practically night time now, but all I could think about was my dream...that could have been the only chance I had. And Tempo was picking up on it, looking at me sadly, he was actually a pretty good comforter.
"Sugoiii! Guystakealookatthis!" Roy yelled as Kalamar blooped, them having ran on ahead again.
So we caught up to him and...man, this place was making my jaw drop a lot.
Everything...and I mean everything was glowing in different colours so, so brightly, but I couldn't explain how. "Wh...What is it?"
"Dimo calls it neon." Tack said.
"Neon?" I repeated.
"Apparently it's a special form of colourful light source." He elaborated.
Wow, neon...I hope that I could get something neon before I left. So we had to keep walking on...until the zone was in sight.
It was a reminiscent of Thriller Bark. A giant, dark and gloomy manor, with gravestones and dead trees lining the path to the front doors.
"I don't like this place..." Sarah whispered in fear.
Tack walked over to a nearby gravestone, and wiped the dust off to reveal a short message. "The Spooky Zone, where the spirit is scared. This place is not scary, it's just designed to make you think it's scary."
There was a bang and we all jumped as we saw the two double doors flew open. A young man walked out, he was clothed completely in black with black hair and a red highlight. "...So...your finally here..." He said dully.
"Let me guess, your the guy in charge?" I asked as I got into a battle stance.
"...Correct, Ellix-sama..." He confirmed. "My name...is Dusk...I operate this zone..." He raised a finger at us. "This zone is simple...make it through to the end...alive...nothing more."
"Perhaps you left out the number of traps!?" Tack asked angrily.
"...You should know by now...all the zones have traps..." He replied in his bored tone. "So you should also know...I await you...at the end..." He then turned on his heel and walked back into the darkness, the doors slowly closing behind him.
"That guy was creepy." Roy shuddered alongside Kalamar.
"I don't like this, Tack..." Sarah whispered, looking on the verge of tears.
"Don't worry, I promise I will protect you." Tack reassured her.
Tempo flapped over to the doirs as I walked up to them and gulped. I wasn't a fan of being scared, Thriller Bark was NOT fun for me. But, nonetheless, I grabbed the handles and swung open the doors.
The foyer had red carpets and black walls, with a golden chandelier hanging over head, pictures and doors lined the walls of the first and second floors.
Tempo perched on my shoulder as I tried to open a door. Locked, damn it! "Hey guys! Help me check all rhe doors!"
The three walked in as Sarah stayed as close to Tack as possible, clutching handles and shaking locks, but it was no use.
"None of the doors on the first floor open." Roy sighed.
"Then let's try the second floor." I pointed up the stairs as we began walking up them.
Then all the portraits on the walls started shaking. "Wh-What's going on!?" Sarah shouted in a panic.
"Whooooo are yoooou!?" A weird voice suddenly shouted out.
"Who's there!?" Tack demanded.
"Hooooow daaaaare you come into ooooour aboooooode!?" Another voice shouted.
"Yoooooou will neveeeeer leave noooooow!" A third wailed.
"We're coooooming for yooooou!" There goes another one.
"Are yooooou scared of the daaaaaark?" The first voice spoke up again. "Yooooou shooooould be...because we'rrrrre in it!"
Then all of the people in the portraits suddenly started coming out of their frames! I was FREAKING OUT HERE! I hate creepy pictures! I hate Thriller Bark and I hate things that scare me in general!"
"EEEEEEEK! NOOOOO! GO AWAY!" Sarah yelled in despair as she started growing.
"Sarah! You have to calm down!" Tack tried to reason with her.
"BUT THESE THINGS ARE SO SCARY AND I...I..." She began sobbing as her head hit the ceiling.
Tack cut his palm and threw blood droplets into the air. "Blood Rain!" He cried as spikes shot down from the blood droplets, skewering the portrait people and making them disappear in a puff of smoke, classifying them as one of Dimo's 'creations'.
Tack ran over and rubbed Sarah's giant leg. "Look, I got rid of them all! Everything's okay now..."
Sarah sniffled as she slowly began shrinking until she was her normal size again, she then buried her face in Tacks chest. "I'm sorry Tack...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." She weeped.
Tack embraced her softly. "It's okay, it's not you fault."
I turned away from the scene. Yes, I found it moving, but it just reminded me of Nami...I did everything I could to hold back the tears.
Sarah wiped her own as her face flushed red. "I really am sorry...I'll be brave from now on."
"I know you will." Tack smiled as he turned to us. "Let's keep looking."
And so our door search began again on the second floor, and came up with the same results. Until I tried on door knob and it obediently turned. "This ones open!" I called to everyone else, making them crowd around me.
I pushed open the door to reveal a long, grim hallway, lit by blue-flamed candles...but even with their light I couldn't see the end.
"Screepth." Tempo said as he flew on ahead into the dark.
"Ishegonnabeokay?" Roy asked on behalf of Kalamar.
"Tempo will be okay." I nodded. And sure enough, the music bat returned to me a minute later. "Did you find the end?" He nodded. "Great, thanks Tempo." I praised him as we started walking.
We walked and we walked and we walked...but we still couldn't get to the end! "This is the longest corridor EVER!" Roy complained.
I looked at Tempo. "Did you really travel this distance in such a short space of time?" For some reason the bat shook his head (Er...I guess that means whole body) at me. "Hmmm..." I stopped for a moment to think, and then, for some reason, I felt myself moving backwards until everyone else stopped.
"What's up?" Tack asked.
I thought for a second. "Can I try something?" I asked him.
"Sure."
And so, I jumped and used Geppo to move on, and I reached the door easily! I then turned around. "Okay! You guys start moving!"
I heard their footsteps, so I bent down to the carpet...and I facepalmed.
We'd been fooled by the old treadmill carpet trick.
I groaned as I called to them. "Your not moving anywhere! The carpet keeps moving backwards!"
So the trio plus squid hopped their way over. "Stupid cheap tricks..." Roy muttered.
"At least we can now understand that they are just that: cheap tricks." Tack nodded.
We opened the new door to find a large flight of stairs going a long way up, and the area around it was...well, I couldn't see anything, just darkness.
"Just a staircase, right?" I told myself, but to which the others nodded.
Every step we took up those stairs made them creak and groan, the supporting was very unstable. "Weshouldmakearunforit!" Roy suggested.
"No, these stairs are too frail, any one of them could break." Tack dismissed.
No sooner had he said that then when a lot of creaking and groaning and wood splintering was going on, we all froze.
"Nobody...move...an inch..." Tack whispered, and so we all remained still...except for Roy who was picking his nose.
"Stop being disgusting!" I yelled at him. The staircase suddenly started shuddering violently as everyone looked at me. "It's his fault." I stated, pointing at Roy and Kalamar.
The staircase suddenly started ripping itself apart! "I wanna go with Roy's idea!" Sarah shouted in fright.
"Let's ALL do that idea!" Tack agreed as we ran up the collapsing staircase.
"Rankakyu!" I yelled as the air wave I created destroyed more falling debris.
Suddenly the part of the staircase we were on ripped itself in two! I jumped over with Geppo whilst Tempo carried everyone else. I was starting to doubt if we'd reach the top in time!
"Ahhh!" Sarah yelled as her part of the stairway fell away underneath her.
"SARAH!" Tack cried in horror.
Kalamar stretched out its tentacles and grabbed the girl before she could fall any further. "Thank you Kalamar..." The squid blubbed a 'no problem'.
We could finally see the door in sight at the end of the last flight of stairs! "Okay, Sarah, Roy, you go first." Tack told them. The two hesitated a bit before nodding and running to the end, narrowly avoiding some falling nails.
"Comeonyouguys!" Roy yelled at us, as Tempo flew to them me and Tack ran up the dangerous steps.
Suddenly I heard what sounded like a big piece of debris hit the stairs behind me. "GAAAAHHH!" I heard Tack scream as I turned to find him pinned down by loads of wood and metal!
"TACK!" All of us yelled, as Kalamar and Tempo blooped and screeched in shock respectively.
I ran over to him and tried to lift the debris, but it wouldn't budge! Damn my weak physical strength! "Ellix..." Tack coughed as I knelt down to him. "You've gotta get the hell out of here, just leave me."
"No Tack!" Sarah sobbed as she tried to run forward.
"Stay there! Both of you please stay there!" Tack yelled sternly at them, causing them to freeze. "You have to get back to your nakama...go..."
I just stared at him for a minute, before I started to walk away.
"Ellix! What the hell are you doing!?" Roy yelled at me. "Don't leave Tack there!"
I stopped as I turned around. "Soru Tekkai!" I dashed forward and rugby tackled the debris with an iron body.
"What are you doing!? I told you to go!" Tack yelled angrily.
"Stop being so selfish!" I yelled at him. "Roy, Kalamar and Sarah...they NEED you! Don't go saying that my life is more important then yours! We're all equal dammit! Soru Tekkai!" I rammed it again as I felt it budge.
"Ellix..." Tack said in disbelief
"SORU TEKKAI!" I screamed as I smashed into the debris and finally threw it off of him. I threw him over my shoulder. "Now come on!" As I took a step suddenly the floor cracked and my foot went straight through! "Ack!" I cried as I tried to pull my foot out, but it was stuck tight! NO!
I looked back up at the four waiting at the top as the final supports where starting to fail, I realized I had no choice. "Soru!" I cried as I threw Tack over to the top where Sarah caught him.
They all turned back and looked at me with wide eyes as the hinges started breaking. I rubbed the back of my head with a nervous smile.
"Sorry..." I said before I fell with the staircase.
"ELLIX!" I heard them all yell as I fell into the darkness...
It felt like the staircase was disappearing into the darkness whilst I just kept falling. "Tekkai." I braced myself for the inevitable impact, which came as soon as I used it. "Ahhhh..." I groaned as I sat up. Black. That was all I could see, not even my hand in front of my face. "...Where am I?"
"Hello, Ellix-sama..." A familiar voice rang out, which made me jump.
"...Dusk?"
"Correct...how are you enjoying this zone?"
"Not my thing really."
"I apologize...but you should feel honoured..."
I raised an eyebrow at this. "Honoured? What are you talking about?"
I thought I could hear a snort. "The room you are currently standing in...it was closed off...for being too scary for the public..."
Suddenly, candles flickered on to reveal the room I was in.
Mirrors.
That was all I could see in this room, mirrors to the left of me, to the right of me and even above me. "Mirrors? What's so scary about mirrors?" I had to ask.
"You shall see...farewell Ellix-sama...good luck." I felt his voice fade away and leave me alone.
I looked around at the mirrors, whatever they did, I wasn't sticking around to find out. I stretched my legs, preparing to use Geppo to climb my way out of here.
"Your all alone."
I froze.
That voice...
I whipped my head around, but no-one was there...
"Your crew are gone."
My eyes darted around for that voce...that horrible, horrible voice...as my eyes widened and my breath quickened.
"...Omatsuri?" Was all I could say.
Suddenl I felt something, I turned to one of the mirrors and stared at it in horror. Showing in it was when our nakama was fused with the Lily...in that terrifying grotesque image on Omatsuri's shoulder. "Right here..." The Omatsuri in the mirror said, as if he was talking to me...mocking me...
On Omatsuri Island...I had known something wasn't right...I stayed with Luffy the whole time...I had seen all this...passing out when the arrows rained down on us. And seeing it again...I'm very weak emotionally, the very sight of this made me want to throw up and cry.
"No..." I said with growing panic.
I heard another noise. I turned to another mirror to see Luffy getting pierced by the raining arrows again...and again...and again... "Luffy!" I shouted in horror.
Another mirror showed my nakama all being slowly absorbed by the fake Lily...whilst I was powerless to stop it.
"Stop it! STOP IT!" I yelled in horror as I clutched my head.
I saw them...Omatsuri's revived crew...wilting...their facial features shrivelling and collapsing as they all had the same question in their eyes: Why?
"Please stop it! PLEASE!" I begged as tears streamed down my face.
"I lost my crew." Omatsuri's voice echoed around me. "Where are you Strawhat!?" "Die alone." "Another of your nakama is gone."
I curled up into a ball to try and protect myself. "No more! NO MORE PLEASE!" My pleas fell on deaf ears as the emotional onslaught continued. The screams...so much screaming! Why couldn't it stop!?
At this rate I was going to pass out purely from emotional turmoil. I had to escape, but I couldn't move an inch, I could only hear Omatsuri and the screams.
And then it appeared.
That dark little flicker inside my soul.
I hated to admit it, but I needed it right now, if I didn't use it, I'd most likely cry myself to death. So, I called in just a little of that flicker to help me, as I felt it enter my soul.
Almost immediately, the sorrow and desperation inside of me was gone. And was replaced by anger.
I slowly stood up and ignored the noise, glaring at the horrible mirrors around me. "...Shut...UP!" I roared as I shot a Shigan Dangan at one mirror, shattering it. "SHUT UP!" I destroyed another one. "ALL OF YOU! SHUT THE HELL UP!" I shot at all the mirrors in uncontrollable rage, the sounds of glass shattering quickly overpowering Omatsuri and the screams.
Soon shattered glass rained down over me and the room, now the noise had stopped. I directed my glare towards a door and walked over to it, punching it down and stomping into the darkness.
I didn't have any idea where I was going, but I knew what I was going to do.
Kill Dusk.
And it's another chapter! Woooo! 1,000 views! Told you I was re-energized! And now it looks like things are gonna get dark, because next time you'll see Nightmare Ellix in action! Now onto reviews!
To ThiefofStealth: Yeah! I really like it! Thanks for reviewing!
Ellix: ThiefofStealth-chan is so niiiice!
By the way, I think Eri-chan is looking for you.
Ellix: Wh-What!? Where!? Ahhhhh! *Runs away*.
To TheRealEvanSG: I'm glad you liked it! I actually DO have Beta, I just forget to use it...
Well, I think thats everything, as you probably can tell by now, reviews DO help and are much appreciated. Thank you for reading!
Ellix: OPFan37 doesn't own One Piece! Only me and this Arc! Now run away!