One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.

-Chapter One Hundred and Chapter Thirty-One-

"Oh..." Luffy quietly responded. "Run for it! It's a giant snake!" he screamed, his calm appearance now giving way to panic as we quickly scattered away from the gigantic blue reptile.

"It's enormous, I wonder if it's another result of the environment here" Robin curiously pondered as Chopper began to fearfully scream at the top of his lungs. Zoro was the first to skid to a stop, drawing his swords as he got into a fighting stance as if he really planned on facing this giant reptile head-on.

"He can't be serious..." I groaned, coming to a halt at a nearby tree and grabbing my swords as I now kept a watchful eye on both him and the snake—carefully watching their every move just in case things happened to go south.

"Okay, catfish face, it's time for you to get diced!" Zoro proclaimed but was quick to dive out of the way when the snake suddenly shot itself toward him. Once it had realized it had missed its prey, it soon changed its direction as it now quickly moved toward Luffy and Chopper who were quick to dodge it as well. "How in the hell can something so big move so freaking fast?!" the swordsman panted, climbing atop one of the trees as if believing that moving to higher ground would be a lot safer despite the reptile's massive size. Robin was quick to do the same as she used her Devil Fruit powers to climb up one of the trees closest to her.

"Oh boy..." I sighed as I hesitantly followed their lead and started to climb—I've climbed trees before but usually ones whose branches were still relatively low to the ground and safe to jump or climb off of without issue...the trees on this island though were nothing like the ones back home. "Seems like it might be poisonous" I remarked as I warily peered down at the snake that was now lashing out at everything it could see, my fingers clutching the trunk of the tree as I silently assured myself that due to the thickness of the branches, there was no way I'd slip off.

"You think so?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, pretty sure" I nodded, watching as the trunk of a nearby tree started to dissolve after being bitten by the snake.

"Ah! Acid!" Chopper cried out.

"Uh...change of plans, we're running away" Zoro said, deciding now that it was better to retreat than to even bother attempting to fight the snake.

"Sounds good" Robin nodded.

"I have no objections to that plan—better than being eaten alive" I agreed, preferring that we ran away instead of trying to go up against something so big and deadly.

"Yeah!" Luffy laughed as he too saw no problem in us booking it instead of continuing to stay here.

"Don't let the venom touch you—it's death!" Zoro shouted just as the tree that had been bitten finally fell over, its base—which had been eaten away by the acid—no longer strong enough to support the whole thing.

"Hey, mister snake—over here! Follow me! Better hurry up!" Luffy mockingly teased as he dangled from one of the trees to catch the snake's attention as if trying to use himself as a distraction so the rest of us could safely try and get away. "Your dinner's getting away!" he laughed before the snake's attention was suddenly drawn to Robin the minute it saw her moving from its peripheral vision.

"Robin, look out!" Chopper cried out.

"Be careful, it's heading your way!" I called over to her as the snake shot upwards...only to miss the minute the woman used her Devil Fruit powers to help her in moving to another tree that was a good distance away from where the snake was.

"Nice try" she grinned as she looked back at the overgrown reptile that seemed momentarily confused when it realized that it had somehow missed.

"That was awesome, Robin!" Chopper praised before squealing in fright when the snake suddenly noticed him. Quickly hiding, he ducked behind a tree as the overgrown reptile now let its gaze wander before eventually landing its sights on me.

"Oh...uh..." I froze, now standing perfectly still as a nervous sweat built itself upon my brow upon realizing I had been seen. Without a second thought, I jumped off of the branch I had been standing on and grabbed hold of another nearby the minute the reptile lunged forward before it quickly changed direction the second it spotted Zoro rushing by. Shakily did I pull myself up onto the new branch I was dangling from, heavily panting as I watched how the snake now gave chase to its new prey—it felt like the thing couldn't really decide who it wanted to eat, constantly jumping from person to person every time it caught sight of one of us moving too quickly in its peripheral vision.

"This way, whiskers! Over here!" Luffy continued to mock the overgrown reptile while the rest of us could only scream as we rushed through the forest in our attempts to get as far away from the snake as we could...

When things did eventually calm down and all was quiet, I slowed to a stop in my running and finally took a moment to look around as I tried to regain my breath. There was no one in sight. No giant snake, no Luffy loudly mocking said giant snake or even a screaming Chopper freaking out because of said giant snake—I was genuinely alone with nothing or no one to accompany me save for the sounds of the nearby wildlife.

"Guess we're got separated.." I panted, thickly swallowing as I ran my fingers through my frazzled hair and looked around in an attempt to gather my bearings. I felt like I was all turned around thanks to that snake chasing us off course before finally, I decided to just pick a random direction and head in it. "Hope this is the right way..." I grumbled.

-Later-

"I wonder if this is how Zoro feels?" I muttered, heart now wildly pounding away in my chest as panic slowly started to set in the minute I realized that I might have been lost. Rubbing at my arm, I mindlessly began to scratch off the dried blood from the cut that I had recently received from a fight with one of the Guerrillas that were still running around the forest. They were everywhere it seemed, none of them in the mood to really talk and not caring whether their target was one of Eneru's Priests or not. Each of them had been quite aggressive and stubborn, relentless and refusing to give up as I found myself occasionally having to just turn tail and run away so as not to spend up all my energy in fighting them.

"But the Priests and those Guerrillas all have powers I can't hold up to" I perked up at the sound of a familiar voice from somewhere nearby. Following the sound of said voice, I soon spotted Zoro whose back was turned to me. "So a close-quarters fight doesn't mean much..." I didn't really care all that much about what he was mumbling to himself as I quietly made my way toward him. Gaze mischievously locked on his back as I practically tip-toed behind him before finally, I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Gotcha—whoa!" my laughter was short-lived as I was thrown off, his body tensing underneath my touch as he harshly grabbed one of my arms and flipped me right over his head like I weighed nothing...which I probably didn't compare to him. Harshly did he stare down at me with a glare that was soon replaced with a look of shock and then guilt the minute he realized that it was just me and not an enemy.

"Shit! Sorry about that—but you shouldn't have snuck up on me like that, especially when we're in enemy territory!" he scolded, offering me a hand that I simply waved off as I sat myself up.

"But it wouldn't have been nearly as fun if I had just walked up and talked to you like a normal person would" I defended, widely smiling as I watched how he rolled his eyes in response before huffing a laugh.

"Come on, let's go—it isn't wised to just stand around in the middle of a war" he motioned for me to follow. It fell silent after that as he stared straight ahead, now looking to be lost deep in thought once more as he loudly began talking to himself like before. "Guess I'll have to back up, and if I have to take him down at a distance, I think I'll have a move that'll work" he concluded to himself after finally going over a plan for himself that he hadn't really bothered to share aloud with me and that I didn't really care all that much to ask about. How he planned on handling his fights was his business, just like it was my business on how to handle my own fights—we were not the same, that much was obvious when you realize how much he craved and planned for a fight while the only thing I now wanted was just to get this day over with.

"Huh?" my ears perked up at the sudden sound of a bird call—one that was loud and familiar as a large shadow suddenly engulfed the both of us. "A bird..." I muttered, looking up at the giant avian just as it dove down toward us, its beak wide open as if ready to swipe and swallow us whole. But in the end, instead of getting a free meal like it thought it would, it was cruelly slashed down by Zoro without a second thought.

"Needs some work, but after a few tests, I think it'll be ready..." he muttered to himself after looking over the results of his attack. "Come on, Skylar" he motioned for me to continue following while grabbing my hand in the process as we both started to walk once more. I only nodded, silently eyeing the feathers that rained down in pity as I knew the avian was only just trying to feed itself and nothing more. "The Flying Blade Attack..." I barely heard him softly mutter to himself as he continued to lead the way.

"There sure are a lot of explosions going on today, things must really be ramping up" I hummed the further we walked, silently listening as the once peaceful atmosphere of the forest was harshly disturbed by all the unseen fighting that was currently going on around us. Zoro only grunted in response, not really caring about what was happening around us as he seemed deadset on moving us along, his face scrunched up into a concentrated look as he walked. "Do you even know where we're going?" I finally asked after more mindless walking.

"Of course! South should be to the right of us, so if we just go to the right we should find it!" Zoro nodded, sounding quite certain of his logic.

"I'm not sure that's how it works" I sweat dropped, watching as dismissively waved me off before he continued to drag me along behind him. "Zoro, I really think you should let me lead the way" I suggested after finally getting fed up with the feeling of not knowing where exactly we were going. I may have gotten myself lost earlier, but I know for damn sure my sense of direction was still better than his.

"I know where we're going—there's no need to worry!" Zoro huffed, refusing to let me take the lead as if he wanted to prove to both me and himself that his sense of direction wasn't that bad and that he could do something as simple as get us to our destination. "A Guerrilla? And he looks pissed" he suddenly remarked as he came to a sudden halt the minute he spotted one of those Guerrillas up ahead of us.

"Another one?" I groaned, not really in the mood to deal with another one after the many I had run into earlier before finally finding the swordsman.

"Die!" the man angrily hissed the minute he spotted us—violently thrusting his sword, only to miss when we jumped to the side and out of the way of his attack.

"What's your problem?" Zoro frowned, already getting into an offensive stance. I was about to do the same if it wasn't for the fact that the fight had been short and quick seeing how all it took was a single punch to send the man flying. "You fellows have some serious anger issues" the swordsman huffed as he rubbed at his knuckles and glared down at the knocked-out Guerrilla.

"Please no! I surround—I give up! You win, just please don't kill me!" the desperate pleas of a strange-looking man soon reached our ears as he came stumbling through the foliage and into our view. He appeared to be fleeing from someone—pleading with them to spare his life...he didn't make it far nor did his words reach the person's ears as a bullet was quick to bury itself inside his skull. I jolted at the sight as my nose scrunched up and I cringed away, quick to avert my gaze elsewhere so as not to really look at the damage that had been dealt to the man's skull all while hastily shoving back whispers and images that made my stomach churn and heartbeat quicken...

The last thing I needed right now was a panic attack.

"Not again—Skylar, stay back!" Zoro huffed as another Guerrilla popped into sight, already looking ready for a fight the second he spotted the swordsman and me.

"Wha...why should I?" I frowned, already opening my mouth to argue...only to instead close it the minute he gave me that look. It was a look that clearly said that this was his fight, not mine nor anyone else's—a look that made it clear that he wasn't going to give this fight up. A look that said that he wanted this fight and that he wanted to deal with it on his own without any help. He was the one that was going to handle it whether I liked it or not because he was more than ready for some action compared to me or anyone else in this forest. Looking from him to the Guerrilla that now blocked our path, I quickly took note of the guns the man held in either hand which sent a shiver down my spine and caused me to take a few steps back as I grabbed for my swords.

"We're in a hurry" Zoro huffed, dodging the bullets that were now being shot at him as he quickly rushed the man—making it clear to the Guerrilla that he was his opponent and the one he'd be fighting. Silently watching, I found myself subconsciously taking steps closer toward the fight, worriedly chewing the inside of my cheek anytime there were signs that the swordsman was struggling and looking like he couldn't handle himself.

"Zoro—"

"I said stay back! This here is my fight—not yours!" he snapped, causing me to jolt and zip my lips shut as I took a few steps back without a second thought. With a nod, he soon turned his attention back towards the Guerrilla he was fighting, pleased that I wasn't going to argue with him...

Why should I?

I was well aware that he was nothing short of a stubborn man—he was a man that liked fighting and doing things his own way. A man that didn't like help when he didn't need it and clearly, at this moment, he felt like he didn't need any help from me. Even if he did, I doubt that he'd appreciate me butting in where he felt I didn't belong. It was only natural for someone so strong and filled with so much pride to be reluctant on letting others help and potentially take away what he perceived as his prey. I don't even think his refusal to let me help was due to worry for my potential safety as it was to just have a chance to finally cure himself of his earlier boredom and have a challenging fight.

I don't even know if I had it in me to complain or be too torn up at the thought of missing out on such a fight, I've never liked fighting and never have. I know I wasn't the only one considering that a good chunk of the crew was no different from me...though I wonder how many of them could say their dislike for fighting was because it's all they ever had to do growing up to survive. I didn't fight because I wanted to, but because I had to and when it's all you've ever been forced to do, you can't help but grow a certain type of disdain for it.

"Alright, what's the deal with the glowing pistols?" Zoro frowned, remarking on the odd way the Guerrilla's pistols would weirdly glow when firing them. "Where did he go? Couldn't have gone far..." he grumbled to himself when he found that he could no longer see the man.

"Ah! Behind you!" I shouted, painfully hissing at the sight of the swordsman being harshly kicked in the back by the Guerrilla who had landed a surprise attack from behind. "Zoro!" I could already feel my feet start to carry me before coming to a sudden halt as I quickly leaned back as far as I could the minute I heard that oh-so-familiar sound of a gun firing. My eyes shakily saw just how close the bullet was to hitting me the minute it whizzed past, just barely grazing the tip of my nose as if to warn me that if I had been a second too late in my movements I would have been shot right through the head. I found myself almost lost in a daze after that, all sounds around me now muffled and sounding so far away as a sense of panic instantly took hold of me.

Awful memories were trigged from just that simple act, I barely even noticed when Zoro had stood back up and got straight back into the fight as I now found myself nearly on the verge of a breakdown. The fight continued on while I became lost in my own head—mindlessly following after the two the minute they started to move further into the forest until we all found ourselves in a field of tall grass that towered over us all like we were nothing more than ants.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." I quietly muttered to myself, legs wobbling and practically stumbling as I grabbed my head and painfully tugged at my hair in some pitiful attempt to make the memories that now plagued me leave. All I could see through my vision was a sea of red mixed with a field of green as the past and present seemed to almost intermingle the longer my panic grew until I nearly couldn't tell where I was or what was happening...

I hated it.

I hated it so much as the whispers in my head slowly started to grow into a roaring shout of vicious yet painfully familiar words that filled my stomach with nothing more than dread and guilt.

"You put up a good fight, I'm almost sorry I underestimated you" the Guerrilla praised with a grin, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts and forcefully dragging me back to reality with a harsh gasp. All at once did all the sounds come back at full force as my vision refocused, showcasing to me a towering field of green grass and nothing more.

"Skylar!" flickering my gaze, I flinched when Zoro suddenly tossed me his bag without any real warning.

"Yeah, thanks for the warning..." I grumbled, fumbling for a second before tightly clutching the bag to my chest as to avoid accidentally dropping it. Holding it close, I watched as he drew two of his swords.

"Thanks, pal, but I should apologize to you—I took you for a loser" Zoro grinned as I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his lame response...yet I couldn't stop the way my lips twitched upwards as I turned my head in an attempt to hide the fact that his response had actually gotten a smile out of me. If I'm being honest, the fight between the two quickly became nothing short of a bore after that as it was soon drowned out by the surrounding explosions. Occasionally, I would find my gaze wandering back over to the two and I'd watch as they'd jump around—constantly attacking and dodging one another until finally, the Guerrilla disappeared from sight once more. "Where is he now?" the swordsman frowned. It was clear he was already starting to grow annoyed with this fight, now feeling that it's been going on for way too long.

When the Guerrilla did finally appear back in sight, he looked quite baffled as he watched how Zoro finally drew his final sword and placed it in his mouth.

"He's using all three?" he asked, dumbfound before flinching as he quickly dodged the swordsman's attack.

"Aren't you a hotshot" Zoro's eye twitched as he watched how the man started to twirl his guns around in a flashy manner. Once again did bullets begin to fly as the two of them went back to their game of offense and defense. It looked as if they both were desperately looking for any openings that they could use to their advantage, but it almost seemed like such an effort was pointless. At one point, the two of them eventually made their way up into the treetops—moving the fight up onto high ground as if that'd give either one of them an advantage.

"This Blue Sea idiot has no clue about using dials!" the Guerrilla mockingly laughed, tossing a dial into the air before catching it once again as he watched how Zoro fell from one of the trees in his attempt to get away. "He doesn't even stand a chance—hey, guess what this is?" he called out just as he pressed down on the apex of the shell and tossed it.

"Oh!" I blinked as from the shell came a trail of clouds that the man now used to help him in heading straight toward the falling swordsman.

"Oh no" Zoro grunted as he realized that he wasn't in the best position to attack or defend at the moment.

"It's called a Milky Dial" the Guerrilla grinned, now placing the barrel of his gun right up against Zoro's face. Quick to react, the swordsman leaned back the minute the trigger was pulled, the bullet just barely scraping against the tip of his nose as it whizzed by. "You know, aerial combat is just leaping around out of desperation" the man seemed to just mock.

"You're one to talk..." I grumbled, taking note of how the man had just been leaping around constantly this entire time—acting no different than Zoro in his methods of fighting and dodging. Outside of their weapons of choice, there wasn't much difference between the two as they fought.

"That looks big..." Zoro muttered the moment he spotted the Sky Fish that suddenly surfaced up from the water underneath him, its jaw unhinging as it awaited for its new meal to come right to it. Instead of being granted a meal, it was sliced in half by the swordsman. I winced as I watched how its mutilated body fell back into the water before the separate halves eventually floated back to the top and now started to stain the clouds red. "A ton of wood and one of these things would make a killer barbecue" the swordsman whistled once he landed on the Sky Fish's carcass and had a better look at it.

"You sound just like Luffy!" I called out to him.

"What? It's true!" he argued before blocking the bullets that were shot at him. Without wasting another minute, he made his way across the dead Sky Fish and back up into one of the treetops. That was when my interest was once again lost, my mind wandering off in a different direction as I stared after the two, not really caring all that much for what either had to say to the other.

I wanted this fight to end.

It was dragging on for far too long and not much was being done to bring it to an end. Despite this thought, I knew that if I attempted to join in and help speed things along, Zoro would only get pissy with me once again. Not only that, but I have an inkling that the Guerrilla would as well as it seems he was having just as much fun as the swordsman with this one-on-one fight they were having. It was clear he had already forgotten about my mere presence, all of his attention solely focused on the swordsman who was able to keep up with him and give him a challenging fight...

"Those guns are nice accessories, but too bad for you, I've found my lucky goggles" Zoro grinned, his voice jolting me back into reality as my gaze flickered up and instantly focused on the goggles he was now wearing.

"Found?" I sweat dropped when I realized that the goggles he was wearing were the same ones he'd had resting on top of his head this entire time. "What's he talking about? They've been on his person this whole time..." I muttered.

"Which means your little blinding trick won't work on me anymore" Zoro pointed out, mentioning how the Guerrilla enjoyed cheaply blinding the swordsman first with a flash of light before he would attack

"That's a smart idea, I'll give him that" I nodded in approval, impressed by his clever way of thinking.

A/N: Enjoy

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