History Repeats Itself

Toxic Phase: Day 11

"Yellow fever!" Chopper exclaimed, running into the kitchen just before dinner with a worn heavy book in his hooves.

The talking ceased as the crew focused their attention on him, their expressions confused. Sanji, who had been lining the island with food for dinner, put down the plates in his hand and shut off the stove before joining the others at the table. "What is yellow fever?" He asked, drawing a cigarette from his pocket. He didn't light it, merely held it in his fingers.

Chopper plopped the book onto the table beside Luffy's elbow, causing the teen to scrunch his nose as a plume of dust flew up from the impact.

"Hm?" Luffy picked up the book and looked over the page Chopper had opened. "Yellow fever is a mosquito-borne viral illness found in tropical and subtropical areas— what‽" He snapped, noticing the wide-eyed stares of his crew.

"We're just impressed you can read more than a menu, go on," Nami said with a grin and a delicate wave of her hand.

Luffy rolled his eyes. "Of course, I can read. I just don't like to unless it's important or interesting." He looked back down at the book. "And it never is," he muttered to himself. "It is a hem..or..rhag…ic, a haemorrhagic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. A small portion of those that contract the virus develop severe symptoms, and approximately half of those die in 7-10 days—"

The group broke out, speaking all at once.

Luffy dropped the book to the table and tightened his fists, shouting at the top of his lungs that Usopp would not die because of some stupid illness, that none of his crew were that weak. Sanji and Zoro cursed under their breaths. Nami had covered her mouth with her hand and hid her face in Robin's shoulder as the older woman rubbed her back in comfort. Robin used her powers to bring the book over so she could read Chopper's notes. Franky had burst into manly tears, and Brooke was sipping on his tea, but there was a tell in the quiver of his teacup that showed that he was just as shaken as the rest.

"It's only fatal if he enters the toxic phase, correct, Chopper?" Robin asked loudly over the commotion, catching the notice of the rest of the crew. She handed the book to Luffy as he reached out to retake it.

Sitting back in his seat, he scanned over the page, his face dark as he took in the information in front of him.

Chopper nodded and moved to sit beside her. "Yes, unfortunately—"

"He already has signs of entering the toxic stage," Luffy supplied for him, turning the book around and squinting down at the notes written in the book's margins. He placed the book down in front of himself on the table and sighed heavily. "How much longer do you think we have?"

"Given Usopp's prior health, the numbers are in his favour. He will likely get through it without permanent organ damage, and the fatality rate is only around 3-7.5%. However, while he will likely get better, it can take a couple of weeks to several months for him to heal and return to his duties."

"We'll have to consider that if we are to leave the island before then," Nami said thoughtfully.

"We have Shanks' crew here," Luffy added as he leaned his chair back on two legs and crossed his arms over his chest. "I doubt Yasopp will let him leave our side while Usopp is like this."

"I am not going to start worrying too much about Usopp unless his eyes start to turn yellow because that's a sign of liver or kidney failure," Chopper admitted with a frown. "But, Law is the only one I know equipped to handle that. On top of that, if that happens, Usopp's chances of survival drop by 50%."

Zoro scoffed. "He's beaten worse odds before."

"Almost exclusively," Robin added.

"We don't have the equipment if Usopp does get worse. And that is what worries me." Chopper admitted. "While the island seems friendly enough, we don't know how the hospital will react if we need them to help Usopp. It would be great to have another pirate doctor with the equipment we can trust."

"We'll call Traffy after this," Luffy said. "He'll come." There was no room for argument in his voice. If Luffy said Law would come, he'd be there even if Luffy had to drag him there.

"How bad could Usopp get?"

Chopper hummed, "It depends. Usopp already has high fevers, vomiting, and exhaustion, which we can deal with. However, there is the possibility of blood loss— Robin, we'll need to work something out in case Usopp needs transfusions. It might be best to have his father tested in case we need another donor. The possible delirium we can deal with—"

"I will go around and gather his weapons, experiments and other equipment and lock everything up in his factory for the time being." Nami volunteered, raising her hand.

"I'll look under the floorboards and behind wall panels. Usopp has a lot of dangerous things hidden around the ship," Franky said wearily, rubbing his cheek. "I don't know if I'll be able to get everything because the kid is disturbingly good at hiding things, but I'll do my best."

"I'll make sure anything sharp in the kitchen is out of reach," Sanji added. "And I will try to locate his lock picking kit, but if we can't, we will have to have someone stationed by the factory."

"I'll make sure the weights and everything are put away in the Crow's Nest. My and Brook's swords shouldn't be an issue as they are always on us."

"Mm," Brook agreed, taking a sip from his tea.

Chopper nodded, "That will help a lot. Just remember, for someone like Usopp, anything could be made into a weapon, so even if it looks innocent, I would put it away." He scrunched up his nose as he looked down at his notes,

"Luffy said something about mosquitos being the thing to transmit Yellow Fever?" Nami asked, pushing her bangs away from her face.

Chopper nodded, "Yes, specifically mosquitos that have been infected with it. This is not an airborne virus. We will all be safe if we take necessary precautions."

"What precautions is that?"

"We can put a mosquito net around Usopp's bed to avoid any from biting him. Bug spray can help, too. I will see if we have the ingredients to make it. If not, I'll send someone to get them and make more.

"I'll need to do some more research, but there might be a vaccine we can give everyone to help with it."

The clock above the sink chimed, indicating that it was six in the evening. "Luffy, you should try and call Law now before it gets too late."

"I will go do that," Brook volunteered.

He unfolded his long legs and swiftly drained the rest of his tea before leaving the Galley for the Library where they kept their Den Den Mushi.

"If he gives you a hard time, come get me," Luffy called to the skeleton's retreating figure. Luffy leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest as he rested his head on the chair, hat falling to hang from his neck as he stared up at the ceiling. "Okay, ship watch will be 4 hours rather than our usual 2 hours, and we need to make sure someone is available to look over Usopp at all times."

"That means, make sure you plan accordingly," Nami interjected. "We will have to change when we sleep and for how long."

"Hmm," Luffy closed his eyes and rocked his seat as he thought. "Me, Brooke, Nami, Robin, Franky, and Zoro have a ship watch today. We will only use one person rather than two since we are docked. This will free up Chopper for whatever he needs to do for Usopp."

"Can we have Robin go to the Medical Library? I have a list of things I need to look up, but I'd prefer to stay close by." Chopper asked as he flipped to the back of the book and pulled out a piece of paper. "I've got a list of symptoms here. Any information on a vaccine, either how to make it or where to get it, would be helpful, and anything to help Usopp be more comfortable."

"I can also stop by the local doctor and see if he has vaccines made," Robin offered. "This is a big enough place where they might have them readily available."

"Robin, stop by the Red Force before you go and see if Shanks will lend you his doctor, Hongo," Luffy said. He sighed heavily at Robin's raised eyebrow. "I'll go with you and apologise to him."

Robin smiled and nodded her head, "Of course, Luffy."

o0o

The bar door opened, allowing the sound of the village people to filter through the opening before the quiet hum of the bar returned once again. Yasopp sat on the edge of the stool, his elbows leaning heavily against the mahogany wood bar as he stared down pensively into the pint of grog in his hand. He absentmindedly swirled his hand, the amber liquid circling in his glass.

He sighed and threw his head back, gulping down the golden liquid. He raised his hand, ordering another and smiled gratefully when the bartender filled up his pint again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of bright red as Shanks sat down heavily on the stool beside him. Shanks eyed him while ordering himself a pint. "Hongo went with Luffy's archaeologist to see if they could find anything to help Usopp."

"Mm, I'll make sure to get Hongo something as a thank you."

"You know he wouldn't expect anything from you. He wants to help because he's your friend, and Usopp's your son."

Yasopp breathed heavily through his nose but refused to look up from the bartop.

"Are we talking about this, or are we just drinking our problems away?" Shanks asked cheerfully after a few minutes of silence before taking a sip from his drink. "Personally, I am all for drinking out problems away."

"Aye," Yasopp nodded, "As is evidenced by your reference to any alcoholic drink as healing water," Yasopp hummed and took a sip from his drink. "Not very healing at the moment," he muttered, leaning his head forward so that his hair covered his face.

Shanks chuckled darkly, "I should not hope. Not with something as serious as this, it is not a situation one shouldn't be trying to run away from."

"We're pirates; running away is what we do," Yasopp murmured. He kept his head bent, eyes trained on his glass so that he did not have to make eye contact with Shanks.

"Is that what you believe? I've never known you to be such a pessimist, Yasopp."

Yasopp grunted and lifted his head to look Shanks in the eye, "I love our crew, and you know that I do."

Shanks smiled softly, "Yes." He took a sip from his pint while waiting for Yasopp to continue.

There was a long stretch of silence between them. Yasopp's usually steady hands were shaking slightly from where he had them, clenching the glass between them. "It's this thing with Usopp. It has me thinking some. It has me rethinking things, things that before now I never took a second to rethink. Never, not once have I ever doubted my choice to come out to sea. Not once, but now?"

He fell silent again, and Shanks made no move to speak, giving his friend a chance to collect his thoughts. "Shanks, I could lose him. My only son, my only child. That scares me— it scares me to death. More than all the battles we have ever fought in, all those times, I almost died. Seeing him so helpless in my arms made me realise just how much of his life I have missed."

Yasopp threw his head back to chug back his beer, "For fucks sake, I should have contacted him. I should have tried once Banchina and Usopp stopped contacting me, but…."

He shook his head. "I know… I have never claimed to be a good father." Yasopp chuckled darkly and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "I have always said I was a horrid one; I never hid that fact, but to not even recognise my son until he was all of two inches away from me? I cannot even begin to think of what that could be. For fuck's sake, I know Luffy better than my own kid!"

Yasopp stopped mid-rant, panting as he took another sip from his drink. If a tear ran down his cheek, Shanks made no move to show that he had noticed, merely keeping his eyes forward and his lips on his glass. "I don't regret joining the crew," Yasopp continued in a much softer voice. "I don't, but I should have at least visited all those times we were near the village. Maybe have sent him a letter from time to time, maybe some gifts, or anything. I should have attempted contact with him after they stopped calling and writing. I shouldn't have allowed the radio silence for twelve years." Yasopp choked back a sob, "I—"

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," said a feminine voice softly from behind him. Yasopp and Shanks looked up to see Nami standing several feet behind him. "He looks up to you, you know."

"He does?"

"Yeah." Nami smiled softly and sighed. "He asked Garp about you, trying to get some information. He's been trying to locate you for a couple of years now."

Yasopp's eyebrows knitted together, "He's been able to contact me all along. We were in contact until about twelve years ago. Then suddenly, all contact fell off." He took a huffing breath, "I thought neither of them wanted anything to do with me."

Nami smiled sadly and shrugged. "I don't know too much, I'm afraid. He tends to keep things to himself a lot. But, I do know that if he could have contacted you, that he would have."

Yasopp took a shaky breath, leaning back into Shanks' hand when he placed it on his shoulder. "Can you… can you tell me what he's like?"

"Usopp?"

"Mm."

"Hm," Nami sat down at the bar beside him, one leg crossed over the other. She bit her lip as she thought of where to begin. Then, thinking it best to start lightheartedly, she did.

"He's such a dork. Everyone loves him so much. He can catch anyone's attention, no matter where he is, with no trouble. He tells these amazing stories. They're completely enamouring and pull you in. He's raised entire groups of people to fight for his cause—"

Shanks cocked his head to the side thoughtfully, "Conqueror's Haki?"

Nami shrugged, "Not that we know of. He has a pretty developed Observation Haki though." She breathed heavily through her nose as she leaned back in her chair. "He's sweet and encouraging. He cares a lot about other people and does what he can to try and help them feel better." She hesitated momentarily, weighing the pros and cons of telling Yasopp the more negative aspects of Usopp's personality.

"He has a real fear of abandonment, and it affects him. It might have something to do with him being left alone from a very young age and made to fend for himself, but he struggles to leave people, or… ships, behind. He took it very hard when we had to burn down our first ship, The Going Merry— he left the crew for a while because of it."

"What do you mean 'being alone from a young age?' I hadn't heard from them, but I thought that was because they no longer wanted to remain in contact."

Nami's eyebrows knitted together. "You mean you don't know what happened to Usopp's mother?"

Yasopp shook his head, "Did she leave to go back to work for Dragon? She did talk about that being a possibility." Yasopp growled, "But how could she leave a child to fend for himself!?" His hand shook where it held his drink. "If she no longer wanted him, she should have contacted me. I would have taken him."

"She died when Usopp was seven." Nami bit her lip, "I… I don't really know why. I'm not sure Usopp knows either, but he said that she started to get very sick, and even though his friend's father tried to save her, he couldn't."

Yasopp looked stricken, "And… no one ever told me?"

"I'm really sorry."

Yasopp shook his head and took a shaky breath, "No, just… tell me more about Usopp. Please."

"He shies away from conflict but will act when someone is in danger or being mocked. I think his unwillingness to go headfirst into battle has to do with fear of the unknown— he craves routine, to the point where it aggravates him if his routine is interrupted unknowingly.

"He gets very anxious thinking about the future and has a hard time believing that things will eventually work out, so he tends to second guess himself and ponders his use, but he comes back around eventually. He's gotten a lot better because he's able to predict how events may unfold, which helps prepare him a bit. He often points out patterns in our behaviours that we wouldn't have ever noticed. It's weird, but I suspect that he might be a seer. A lot of the outlandish things he says have been coming true."

Yasopp chuckled darkly under his breath, "That is highly possible. His mother's side has seers. She was one but never really bothered to foster it. She is more science-minded and didn't like not understanding why she could see things happen in the future or why she couldn't alter them."

"Hm," Nami bit her lip. "We might have to find someone to work with him on that. I think he'd be very interested in learning to control it." She crossed her arms and frowned as she thought. "Let me see. He is insanely creative, an inventor of sorts. He helped create my weapon and does upgrades on it. He created his slingshot, too and makes all of his ammo from scratch. A lot of it is plant-based, and he mixes plants to make different combinations. He became quite the botanist while we were apart training.

"Oh! He loves finding new things and tinkering with them. We got so much new technology from Skypiea that it kept him occupied for almost a month. He even found a way to use a good portion of what we found in battle." Nami laughed, "Although, much to his annoyance, Luffy uses them as toys."

Shanks rolled his eyes, "Of course he does."

The bell to the door rang, and they turned to see Robin enter. Nami stood, "Is everything okay?"

"We were able to procure vials of the vaccine from the doctor on the island. Chopper wants us back on the ship to administer them."

Nami turned to Shanks and Yasopp, smiling. "I need to go, but please feel free to stop by. Our ship is open to you."

Yasopp and Shanks nodded, "We'll take you up on that offer." Shanks said. "The same goes for your crew. If you need anything, you know where to find us."

"Thank you!" Nami turned and walked towards Robin, frowning as the older woman leaned down to whisper something in her ear before they vanished from the front of the bar.

o0o

Luffy leaned back in his seat, smiling as he chatted with Shanks, Benn and Lucky. Yasopp was sitting on the other end of the table talking about Usopp with Hongo, Robin and Chopper.

"There's really nothing that can be done?" Yasopp asked with a frown. He had a pencil in his hand, which he was twirling between his nimble fingers.

"Law is coming to help, but he's just here if Usopp's condition worsens. So there's nothing we can do but let him fight it." Chopper said, his eyes not leaving the book in front of him.

"He's a strong boy. He'll pull through," Robin added, looking up from the book in her lap to smile at him.

Yasopp looked over helplessly at Hongo, who breathed heavily through his nose before pulling the sniper to him. "It'll be okay, Yasopp." The man whispered in his ear.

The door to the Galley opened, and Law appeared with an agitated look on his face.

"Traffy!" Luffy stood and grinned widely. He stretched out his arms and legs to wrap around Law like a cobra.

"You got here quickly, Traffy?" Robin smiled sweetly at him. "We appreciate it."

Law put out his hand to keep Luffy from hugging him, "Get off me, Idiot." When Luffy refused, Law held out his hand. "Room!" He was quickly out of Luffy's arms, having replaced himself with a chair. "I want permission to move God-ya to the submarine."

Luffy stood, brushing himself off. "Eh, why would I give you permission to do that?"

"Usopp's not in the best mental state. It might not be a good idea to move him," Robin added. "We haven't been able to locate all of the weapons and things he hides around the ship. If he somehow gets away from you, it might cause some trouble."

Law waved a hand dismissively, "I think I can handle, God-ya. We have the equipment on the submarine to help him, and the use of extension cords will weaken the machines. To best care for him, he should be on the submarine. We can make accommodations if we really have to, but we should try it."

Robin and Luffy looked at each other in amusement before Luffy shrugged. "You can try, but if he says 'no', then we leave him on the Sunny and figure something else out."

"Come on, Traffy, I'll take you to Usopp!" Chopper said brightly as he got up from the table and jumped onto Law's shoulder. "It's time for me to check on him." Law nodded his head in acknowledgement before leaving the Galley and heading to the sickbay, a grimace on his face as Chopper spoke a mile a minute.

"Traffy is grumpy today," Luffy said as he watched them leave.

"He's just like that," Robin said with a wave of her hand. "I did find something interesting, Luffy. If you have the time to hear me out."

Yasopp looked up from Hongo's shoulder, eyes widening. "Is it something to help Usopp?!"

Luffy sat back beside Shanks, Lucky and Benn before giving her his full attention.

"Maybe," Robin frowned a bit as she looked down at the book in her hand. "I was about to show Chopper and Hongo before Law came in." She stood and placed the text in the middle of the table so everyone could see the page.

On the page was the drawing of a flower, average looking by Grand Line standards. It looked similar to a cross between the camomile and daffodil flowers in many forests. White on the tips and yellow for the rest of the petal with an odd blue middle and stem.

"The Omnia Remedia flower is said to cure all ailments. But, unfortunately, it is difficult to get to and even harder to find on the remote Grand Line island of Hidden Mist, as it can camouflage into its surroundings unless touched."

Yasopp looked over at Hongo, "Have you heard of this flower?"

Hongo frowned, "Yes, but I always thought it was a myth. I don't even think there is a Hidden Mist Island on the Grand Line."

"Hidden Mist exists. Roger took the crew there, but I don't remember there being such a plant." Shanks said, humming as he thought back. "It's uninhabited. There is nothing remarkable about the island unless you count the ridiculous amount of fog making it difficult to find."

"Nami would be able to find it, no problem."

"Hold on, Luffy, there's more to this."

"Sorry, Robin."

"Hidden Mist island is notoriously hard to get to. It has many tropical storms and hurricanes that pass through the area and the Grand Stream Current, which causes sudden and extreme changes to the weather. Much research into the area also suggests an anomaly where Log Poses, and Eternal Poses change positions, pointing towards True North rather than Magnetic North, making it easy for ships to be lost if their navigators don't know what they're doing. Many think the island has a huge reserve of methane gas under the sea, but studies have shown that there hasn't been a large methane eruption in the last 20,000 years."

Luffy snorted, "So, it's just the Grand Line. Nami can handle that."

"That is true, but it says that even if you find the flower, it will curse the one that picks it."

Luffy blew a raspberry, "That's just a stupid tale. There's no way that's true, and even if it were, we would kick its ass. But, if the flower exists, we'll get it for Usopp."

"Of course, but we should go in with a plan. Who will pick the flower, for instance."

"I'll do it," Yasopp said, eyes burning determinedly.

Shanks nodded, "You'll go whether you have my permission or not, but you won't go alone."

"I'll go with him," Robin volunteered. "Between his sharp eyes and my knowledge, we should be able to find it quickly enough." She looked down at the book and pursed her lips. "We should talk to Nami and your navigator as well, Mr. Red-hair, if you wouldn't mind."

"I'll have Snake come by after dinner."

"Nami should be off shift by then, so that—."

The group turned towards the door as Usopp's angry voice filtered in through the door. "Let me walk! Just because you are a captain doesn't mean you can just fucking boss me around. You aren't my captain."

Luffy scrambled from his seat to check on what was happening. "Usopp, what—"

"God-ya, if you would just listen for a second. You aren't well. You can barely hold yourself up. If you just let me carry you…."

"Absolutely not! I am not some swooning damsel in distress that needs to be carried."

"Usopp, be careful! You're going to get hurt!" Chopper fretted, his eyes widening as he ran around Law and Usopp's legs.

Law pulled Usopp against him as the boy almost toppled over and picked him up into his arms. "You like telling stories. So pretend that you are and just let it happen."

"Law, be careful! He's not a doll," Sanji scolded.

"I fucking hate you," Usopp growled, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring down. "I am not broken. I can walk a hundred feet!"

"No, you don't. I never said you were, and no, you can't, as is evidenced by you almost falling on your face a second ago." Law said patiently.

"All of my experiments are here. My friends are here. I don't want to go on the Polar Tang. It'll be cold and lonely there." Tears started welling up in Usopp's eyes and he began to hyperventilate. Law kneeled to place him on the floor just as Usopp burst into tears. Usopp huddled in on himself, pulling his knees to his chest and hiding his face in them, hands twisting into his hair, pulling at the strands.

Law looked helplessly at him before turning to Luffy and Chopper, "It's not going to work. Him being this upset will do nothing but aggravate his condition."

"You'll have to bring your equipment on the Sunny?"

"Yes, but you won't have the electricity to run it all."

"Extension cords?" Sanji suggested, from where he knelt beside Usopp. "We have a lot of those because of Usopp's experiments. I'm sure we have one long enough to reach, especially if we keep the two ships close together." He lightly rubbed Usopp's back as he leaned down to whisper into the sniper's ear.

Slowly, Usopp relaxed into Sanji's side, allowing the cook to hold him. "'M tir'd," Usopp said, closing his eyes, breathing shallow.

"Let's get him back to bed, then we will figure out how to best set up everything," Chopper said.

The group watched while Sanji carried Usopp back into the Sick Bay. "He's getting worse. I thought he was going to attack you for a minute there." Chopper said after a moment.

"I could have handled him."

"Usopp doesn't look it, but he's dangerous. He could do some serious damage if he catches you off guard." Chopper warned. "Especially since we still haven't found all his weapons and things, and those are just the ones we know about."

"That reminds me, Law, I would make sure you look around your ship. Usopp might have hidden things on there as well," Robin said thoughtfully.

"When was God-ya on my ship?"

"He wouldn't have to be. All he would have to do was talk to Penguin or Shachi and get them to do it for him."

Law cursed under his breath, "Those idiots. They would do him that favour, especially if he said they could use the things they hid." Law turned to walk over to his ship, "Tony-ya, come by, and we will talk about what we need to bring onto the Sunny."

"If it's okay with you, Law, please bring Hongo with you. He's my ship's doctor."

Law eyed Shanks before grunting his allowance. "Room," in his place was a soft blanket.

Robin smiled and picked it up, "He's sweet when he wants to be."

"Because Traffy switched himself with a blanket?" Luffy asked with a cock of his head.

"It's his way of apologising to Usopp." Robin looked around at the men on deck. "Why don't we meet up later today after our respective meetings and come up with a plan before Yasopp and I leave in the morning?"

The group murmured their agreement before dispersing. Only Yasopp remained on deck with her. He was standing outside the Sick Bay, his head leaning against the window as he looked inside to where Usopp was lying in bed, Sanji beside him petting his head while Usopp rambled on about something that caused the cook to smile.

"I've wasted so much time," Yasopp muttered to himself.

"Then let's make sure you don't waste any more," Robin said before leaving the man to watch his son through the window.

"Aye."

I DID it! It took literal years, it isn't the most polished thing in the world because it was a struggle of epic proportions, but I finally published the next chapter.

Please let me know what you think (or any issues you see). I've the final chapters planned now, so I hope it will move more quickly, but we shall see.

All my love,
Chandlure