Just a warning for anyone sensitive to gore and the like, you may want to proceed with caution.
They returned at sunset with a new plan. Whether or not it would work had yet to be seen, but it was all they had. Waiting any longer wouldn't do, not with an innocent woman being held hostage. Sanji was ready. He would be going inside with Nami and Law to retrieve the treasure. If anything went wrong, Law would get Nami out of there and as far away as his powers would allow. Then it would be up to both of them to fight whoever happened to cross their path.
Luffy would still be in charge of rescuing the woman and fighting whoever tried to stop them, which someone undoubtedly would. That was part of the plan, after all. Once the distraction was created, the inhabitants of the house would be drawn towards the barn. Nami would have limited time to find the treasure before someone figured out what they were up to.
Sanji just hoped they could get this done fast. He wanted that woman returned to where she belonged and away from these sick bastards, who they would beat senseless immediately. Plus, despite the severity of the situation, he still couldn't shake his ominous feeling about the basement. He would have to face it soon, and while he was ready, he still felt like something was wrong. It was stupid, and he was tired of it.
But whatever was down there...well, he couldn't think about that now.
"Alright Usopp, remember the plan. Once you get to the barn with Luffy and the others, it's your job to create a big enough distraction to get them away from the house. You said you could do it, remember?" Nami asked the shaking Usopp, who had indeed promised he could make an adequate distraction with his sniper skills. Now, though, he was reverting back to his cowardly tendencies.
"Y-Yeah, right, I can do it. As long as Luffy fights them." he replied, looking to Luffy for confirmation. Their captain nodded, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.
"I'll fight all of them. They'll regret everything they've done by the time I'm finished." he declared, a rare, serious expression on his face.
"Good. Robin and Brook, you two are in charge of guarding the perimeter. If anyone realizes that we're going for the treasure and comes back, you have to let me know and try to fight them off. If I need backup inside, I'll let you know somehow. Everyone else, just try to keep them busy when they get to the barn. I'll need all the time I can get." Nami was focused, as per usual when it came to treasure. Everyone seemed to understand the plan well enough, it was rather simple, although some of them (Usopp and Chopper) looked ready to bolt.
"B-But why am I going to the barn? It sounds so scary..." the doctor asked, Usopp nodding in agreement despite his bravado hours earlier.
"Chopper, you're a doctor. You'll need to help the woman. We don't know what kind of condition she's in, and since Law's coming with me, you'll have to help her." Nami reminded him, clearing away some of his fear with that fact. With someone's life at stake, he couldn't back down.
"If everyone's ready, it's time to split up. Just stick to the plan and everything should run smoothly."
But of course, 'sticking to the plan' never really worked out for them. Usopp had used as many of his flashy techniques as possible, from flash bombs to fiery rockets, and what seemed to be fire works although it was still a little too bright out for them to be completely visible.
The flash bombs had probably been enough. As soon as bright lights began going off in the distance, all seven men came running from inside of the house. But then Usopp just had to fire off a rocket, and soon large smoke clouds started billowing up towards the sky. A fire wasn't part of the plan. Still, Nami hoped it would create an extra distraction and quickly entered the house.
Returning during daylight should have made Sanji feel a little more assured since it wasn't nearly as creepy, but he couldn't relax no matter how hard he tried. Something about the place just didn't sit right with him.
Nami went straight for the basement, much to Sanji's dismay. Despite the amount of sunlight permeating into the house, the stairway that led to the basement remained pitch black. He could see a little ways down, but that only served to make him feel even more jittery. Why the hell did it have to be so dark down there?
Thankfully Law went down first. If Nami would have rushed down there without one of them protecting her, Sanji would have lost it. But she followed closely behind him, looking past his tall frame in an attempt to see what was down there. It was too dark to see anything, of course, and it raised an important question. How were they going to find anything in the dark? Surely there was a light switch somewhere, but they didn't have time to blindly grope the walls.
The darkness was just the beginning of their problems. The smell was the next thing that set Sanji off, because something that putrid could only mean one thing. Blood and decay was definitely not welcoming, and Sanji had to gather all of his will-power to keep from dragging Nami out of there. This wasn't somewhere they needed to be. These people were sick, more so than anyone they've ever dealt with.
And why would treasure be somewhere like this, anyways? Something wasn't adding up, the ominous feeling so intense Sanji could swear his skin was crawling. Whatever went on in the basement wasn't something they needed to know about.
And yet he could hear Nami searching for the light switch, her determination astounding. She was gagging, wondering what the hell she kept touching because it was slimy and cold, but all Sanji could focus on at that point was the suffocating darkness. He couldn't see a thing. It felt like he was being swallowed up, nerves so frayed he couldn't bring himself to move. He was jumpy, every little sound ringing through his ears and making his heart pound.
"Wait, maybe this can create some light..." Nami muttered, voice muffled behind her hand that was feebly trying to block the smell from reaching her nose. Sanji heard the metal of her Clima-tact, and then suddenly there was thunder and sparks of lightning that illuminated the room for the briefest of seconds.
It was the most horrifying thing Sanji had ever seen.
With every flash of lightning his eyes witnessed pieces of the room, and he would have ran if his legs worked. Nami's scream registered somewhere in his brain, somewhere that hadn't shut down yet, his instincts screaming at him to run, get the fuck out of there and get Nami away. But he was pretty sure his heart had stopped working. He couldn't feel it anymore, or hear it. All he could focus on was the sudden bursts of light that revealed the hideousness he so desperately wanted to stay away from.
Human remains strung up on the walls and ceiling, jars of various organs sitting on blood stained counters, blood everywhere. The room may have been used for butchering farm animals once, when someone sane lived there, but these people had clearly been using it for humans as well. The boar from last night lay on a large metal table in the center of the room, a butchering knife next to it.
Yet no treasure.
They had come down here for nothing.
Law was the first one to react after several minutes of agony, grabbing both Nami and Sanji by the arm and yanking them back towards the stairs. The action was enough to jerk Sanji out of his state of shock, his legs carrying him up the stairs so fast he wondered if he'd used sky walk. His mind was screaming at him to get as far away from the house as possible, to get back on the ship and leave the island behind. But even then, he could never un-see what was down there.
But Law kept a firm grip on him, standing in the middle of the living room and looking far too calm for Sanji's liking. He looked shocked, sure, and definitely disgusted. But of the three of them, he was the most calm, and seemed ready to stay inside the house longer. Even Nami wanted to leave, pulling back and trying to escape from his grip.
"We've gotten this far," Law suddenly said, voice barely above a whisper. Both Sanji and Nami stilled, though they still wanted to leave. "If we leave now all of that...will have been for nothing. We've gotten this far. There's still plenty of other places to check, and we don't have time."
"I can't...not after that...it's not worth it anymore!" Nami whispered in a broken voice, face pale as she struggled to get air into her lungs. "We have to find Luffy...he's fighting these people!"
"Have faith in your captain. You trust him, don't you?" Law asked her, gripping her arm tighter when she hesitated. Sanji nearly kicked him across the room for handling her so roughly when she was obviously terrified, but surprisingly, it seemed to be calming her down.
"I do...but I was sure the treasure would be down there. What if...what if they don't even have treasure?" she asked, looking up at Law with wide eyes. Sanji had the same question.
"We won't know that until we check the entire house. But they could come back any second. Do you really want to waste your last chance?" Law asked her, although Sanji knew he was asking more than that. They wouldn't have just wasted their last chance, they would have wasted time, time that could have been spent sailing to Dressrosa. Plus, everything they had just seen would be for nothing if they didn't walk away with treasure.
Nami knew all of that, too, because she suddenly looked more determined. "No, you're right. We need to check upstairs now. We need to hurry...we've wasted enough time."
"Let's go then. Mr. Blackleg, it would be best if you searched the remaining rooms on this floor. I must remain with your navigator in case her safety becomes compromised," Law looked over to him then, and Sanji finally felt his mouth begin to create proper syllables after some of the shock wore off.
"Just fucking hurry, and keep her safe. I'll do what I can down here," he managed to say, although the idea of being alone after seeing all of that made him feel worse. Still, they had a job to do. He needed to hold it together for a little while longer.
Law nodded at him, leading the way upstairs and leaving Sanji by himself. He gulped nervously, wondering where he should even start, and quickly began searching the nearest room he could find. He just hoped they found the treasure soon, because something told him they were running out of time.
"You started a fire?!" Luffy screeched, eyes bugging as he watched the trees burst into flames. Usopp was busy panicking, trying to put out the fire in vain.
"That's one way to create a super distraction!" Franky remarked, not seeming to care that they could potentially burn the entire island down.
"Just keep it away from the barn! I'm trying not to scare her and you're ruining it!" Chopper yelled. He had already gone inside of the barn to save the woman, his small and cute form being less terrifying than his crew mates. She was too weak to walk, however. He hadn't been in there long when the forest caught on fire, but the woman seemed to trust him.
He returned to the woman's side, sighing as he looked at the shackles keeping her trapped. "I'm going to do something, but try not to be alarmed okay? I'm going to look different in a few seconds."
"D-Different how? What are you going to do to me?" she asked hesitantly, eyes widening as Chopper suddenly transformed, using his heavy point to break the shackles. "What are you?!"
"I'm going to take you back to the village, I promise. We're here to save you," he told her, amazed that she was able to stay conscious. After giving her a quick exam, he realized just how malnourished she really was. With everything she had been through, Chopper was sure a giant human-reindeer hybrid would scare her enough to make her faint. But she was resilient, and the idea of going with him seemed to cheer her up.
"Tell me this isn't another one of his illusions...tell me it's real this time!" she said, eyes staring off somewhere Chopper couldn't see. He didn't know what she meant by that, but he needed to get her away from the barn before anyone showed up. He scooped her up into his arms, careful not to jostle her too much as he ran back outside where the others were still freaking out about the fire.
"I'm going back to the village to treat her. You guys handle this and come find me as soon as possible!" Chopper told them, running into the forest away from the house. He would have to find a different path that led to town. Going towards the house would get both of them caught.
"They should be here by now, shouldn't they? You'd think they would see the smoke." Zoro asked, perking up as he heard several footsteps rushing towards them. His hand gripped his swords, ready for anything that might happen. However, he wasn't expecting seven people. There were only four of them now, and they still had no idea how strong these people were.
Not that it really mattered, because he could take on anything.
"What the hell...boss, the barn!" One of them said, a lanky man with most of his hair covering his face. How he could see anything was a mystery, but by the looks of it, all seven of them looked a bit...odd.
Luffy's eyes were fixed on the man from last night, already running towards them with his fist inflated. "Get out of my way!" he yelled, punching the man with shaggy hair straight in the face. The force sent him flying into a tree, and he wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon.
"Hmph, that was fast. Maybe these guys aren't so tough after all," Zoro smirked, drawing Wado and approaching another man, this one chunkier than the rest. He was pale, abnormally so, with hair that nearly matched his skin color. The only reason Zoro chose him to fight was that he carried a large, peculiar sized cleaver with him. "Although it would be funner if they were a challenge."
"She's gone, boss. What should we do to them?" the pale man asked, pointing his cleaver at Zoro with a deranged look in his eyes.
"Whatever you please. We can retrieved the woman again, and perhaps some new test subjects later. For now I must check on it. There are likely more of them, and by now they have stumbled across our special room," the man in the suit said, regarding Luffy with one last look before turning to leave. Luffy however wasn't about to let him walk away, not with Nami still inside the house. Whoever this guy was, he gave Luffy a bad feeling.
"You're not going anywhere!" he yelled, running after the man with clenched fists.
It was then that something unusual happened. The man turned slowly, one hand reaching out towards Luffy who stopped in confusion. The others watched as the man seemed to vanish, reappearing mere inches from Luffy with one finger touching his forehead.
"He's fast!" Usopp cried, wondering what the hell was going on.
Luffy lurched back, hands covering the spot the man had touched. Their captain seemed frozen in place, staring at the man in confusion and mild shock until suddenly his body jolted, a gasp escaping him. At this, the man grinned maliciously, turning and walking away yet again. Only this time Luffy didn't stop him.
"Luffy, what the hell are you doing?! Don't let him get away!" Zoro yelled, attempting to chase the man only to be blocked by his lackeys. Franky and Usopp were in similar states. Zoro used his three swords style, but these men seemed more capable than the one Luffy knocked out. They wouldn't be going down so easily.
Zoro growled in frustration, watching the man retreat until he disappeared into the shadows. Sanji was there, hopefully he could handle it, but whatever that man's power was...it was enough to stop Luffy, and that was concerning. Speaking of Luffy…
"Oi, Luffy, say something! Snap out of it already and help us!" Usopp yelled, firing at his opponents and waiting for Luffy to respond. Their captain slowly got to his feet and turned to face them, but the look on his face was one Zoro couldn't recall ever seeing on him. He looked terrified, staring at them with mute shock.
Until finally he opened his mouth to speak.
"...A-Ace…?
Minutes had passed, but to Sanji it felt like hours. His heart had yet to return to its normal rhythm. He'd searched every room and found nothing, and was currently looking in the kitchen. He doubted they would hide treasure in the kitchen, but he had to check. He opened the fridge, a last ditch attempt to find something before going upstairs to find Nami, but quickly slammed it back shut when he saw what was inside. Severed heads was the last straw. They needed to leave now, treasure be damned.
Just as he turned to go upstairs, one of Robin's hands sprouted on his shoulder, nearly scaring him out of his skin. He cursed, someone was coming. He heard rushed footsteps from upstairs and quickly ran towards them, knowing they needed to get Nami out of there. He ran into Law, carrying something that almost made Sanji feel relieved. A golden chest.
"It's more than she can carry. You'll need to help her, I'll stay here." Sanji frowned, because leaving Law behind didn't seem right. They didn't know who was coming, or how many of them.
"No way. Give her your coat, she can use it to carry everything. We need to go outside and help Robin and Brook," Sanji said, knowing Nami could fit everything in Law's long coat. The damn thing was huge.
Law nodded, and Sanji followed him to the room where Nami was. She watched the Warlord pile everything into his coat and bunch it up, making a makeshift sack. Nami hefted it over her back with a grin.
"Alright Law, do your thing. Get me as far as possible so I can leave this with Chopper ad come back to help," she said, Law once again nodding although he looked a little irritated at being told what to do. Still, he created a room so big Sanji couldn't tell where it ended, and with a twist of his wrist Nami was gone, a rock sitting where she had stood.
"I sent her as close to town as I could, she should be on the path there," he told Sanji, gripping his sword until his knuckles turned white. Sanji belatedly noticed how pale he looked, the bags under his eyes more prominent from the lack of color. Sanji supposed he wasn't as calm about everything as he tried to appear.
"We need to finish this," Sanji said, both of them running downstairs to go help fight. They didn't get far. Standing in the doorway was the man in the suit, an unpleasant grin on his face. Sanji felt a chill go down his spine. The man had gotten past Robin and Brook so fast, and it gave Sanji a bad feeling.
"Your crew has proved to be worthy test subjects. I can tell you two will as well," he said, grin widening as he took slow steps towards them. Sanji felt his heart drop into his stomach, what had he done to the others?
And what was he going to do to them?
So things are finally getting interesting, although there's plenty more to come. I got this done surprisingly fast, thankfully, and I've already got the next chapter pretty much planned out. I'm so bad at writing suspense and gore and whatnot, so hopefully this wasn't awful haha. I'm going to say it right now, I got the idea for this after watching the texas chainsaw massacre movies, so some of the 'gorey' parts are coming directly from that. Anyways, I'll try to have the next chapter up soon.