Chapter 3

The Catacombs

The Straw Hat Pirates followed Chopper down the forest. Usopp yelped when he hit a spider web, and he squirmed to get the stuff off. He managed to catch up after wiping the web off, but the pirates gasped to see the catacombs.

"Whoa, look at that!" Luffy exclaimed.

"The sight of this place makes my eyes sore, not that I have any," said Brook.

"That must be the catacombs," Robin said.

"The catacombs?!" Usopp cried. "That's gotta be creepy!"

"Let's go have a look anyway. Franky Nipple Lights!" The lights lit up on Franky's nipples, much to Usopp's annoyance.

"That's gross, Franky!" Usopp yelled.

The Straw Hat Pirates travel into the tunnels of the catacombs, and Chopper looked scared from seeing skeletons of dragons. Robin opened the book and checked the alphabet of the heiroglyphics based on the ones she read earlier. They walked down the stairs and entered a room where they saw fire in a giant bowl, one that illuminates the chamber.

"Holy crap, look at this!" Usopp said.

"Wow! So many skeletons!" Brook exclaimed. "But they're all dragons. Seems like I'm all eyes for these bones this one time, or it would be if skeletons have any eyes! Yohohohoho!"

"I see it, but I don't believe it," Zoro said. "How did you know this is the catacombs, Robin?"

"I didn't," Robin explained. "I felt like I knew without noticing."

"But I thought you knew," Usopp said. "Damn, it's like a surprise that an archaeologist knows a place but then mentions that they didn't know about the place, and..." He suddenly shrieked when he saw a skeleton and crashed into a pile of skeletons after scurrying backwards, causing the bones to fell in pieces and land on him.

"Usopp!" Chopper cried. He ran to Usopp and used Heavy Point to pick Usopp out of the pile.

Robin saw a skeleton dragon in a room and entered it. Finding a lit torch on the wall, she grabbed it and lit it on the skeleton. On the ground she saw the heiroglyphics and wiped the dust away with her hand. "The heiroglyphics. 'Ignitus, Guardian Dragon of the Dragon Realms.' Dragon Realms. So that's it."

"Dragon Realms?" Nami asked.

"If this is the world of dragons, then it's the Dragon Realms."

Chopper heard a noise. "What's that? Did you hear something?"

"What's this Guardian Dragon you have read?" Zoro asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think there may be history someplace else," Robin said.

The Straw Hat Pirates started hearing noises getting louder.

"That better not be you, Usopp," said Sanji.

"Don't look at me, I'm not doing this," Usopp said.

Chopper saw a shadow appearing, and he turned to see...a skeletal dragon coming to life! "Skeleton!" he screamed as he ran from the skeletal dragon attacking. "Dragon skeleton! We're gonna die!"

Chopper's scream had alerted the Straw Hats, and they screamed to see the dragon skeleton attacking them before running away.

"Why didn't someone tell me skeletons come to life?!" Nami cried.

"I highly doubt that skeleton has powers like my Revive-Revive Devil Fruit!" Brook said.

The Straw Hat Pirates ran, but some screamed when the skeletal dragon appeared from underground, and they ran as it started snapping its jaws at them. Luffy's hat fell on the ground, and he stopped to turn around and get the hat, but he jumped away before the skeletal dragon can bite him.

"Oh, man, that was close!" Luffy said as he ran.

"You idiot, you almost got eaten!" Zoro yelled.

The skeletal dragon chased the Straw Hats around the hallways of the catacombs while snapping its bony jaws at them. And when they manage to escape the catacombs, the skeletal dragon still followed them.

Luffy stopped running. "Alright, enough is enough! I'm gonna kick this skeleton's ass! Second Gear!" He pumped his blood, and his skin turned pink while steaming. "Why the hell are we even afraid of this skeleton anyhow?!" He zipped toward the skeletal dragon. "Gum-Gum Jet Pistol!" He threw a punch at the skull.

The Straw Hats stopped running.

"He's right," Zoro said. "What a bunch of idiots we are." He drew his sword and put the third one in his mouth.

"I'll beat this bastard!" Sanji yelled, using Sky Walk to jump higher. "Collier Shoot!" He kicked the skeletal dragon's neck.

"Three Sword Style! Tatsu Maki!" Zoro swung his swords, and a twister hit the skeletal dragon.

But despite the attacks, whenever it breaks apart, the skeletal dragon reattached itself together.

"Damn it, what's with this thing?!" Luffy shouted. "Jet Bazooka!" He hit the skeletal dragon with his hands.

"That skeleton won't let up!" Franky shouted. He inhaled and breathed fire. "Fresh Fire!"

Brook walked by the skeletal dragon while holding his sword. He then started sheathing it. "Three-Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash!" He sheathed his sword, and the skeletal dragon broke apart in pieces, no longer moving. "I always wonder if my powers can work, me being the undead pirate and all."

"I guess it'll take an undead pirate to defeat the undead dragon," said Robin.

"Why didn't you use your powers?" Nami asked.

"Because that skeletal dragon was the undead. No matter how much effort we use with our attacks, that skeleton would put itself back together. It would take undead powers to defeat that skeleton."

Nami gasped. "Of course! Brook's Revive-Revive Devil Fruit powers are the undead kind!"

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Usopp said. "Can we go back to the campsite now?"

"I thought it's at the beach," said Luffy.

"No, you got knocked out from taking your hunger on Chopper," said Sanji. "We had to make arrangements for moving the campsite after Robin found it."

The Straw Hat Pirates headed back to the campsite, after a scary trip they had in the catacombs. It was quite a night they ever have.