My Darkness To Bear...

Chapter 28 - My Darkness To Bear...

"I'm glad that it all ended well," Brook informed them as they found themselves near a small creek that cut through the forest, and they were glad for the quick drink of cold water. "You all got your memories back."

"Losing your memories sure causes a lot of problems," Usopp nodded as Chopper stuck his head into the water and took several deep gulps.

"Yeah," Sanji said, spitting out the blade of grass, "Like someone here I could mention who tried to get us to thinking that we were his crew?"

"Hey now," Usopp said laughing a little at that, "It all worked out right?"

"You did that?" Franky asked before he burst out laughing. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Usopp turned red before he added, "You can still join if you want?"

"No thanks," they all chorused as Brook laughed happily.

"You really know how to hurt a guy," Usopp said in a wounded voice.

"Oh, big baby," Zoro poked fun, an amused smirk on his face.

"So does this mean that we'll be heading to Water 7 soon?" Franky asked hopefully. Though he wasn't looking forward to seeing his own introduction and how they started off, he was dying to see his home and the Franky Family again. He hoped that they were doing alright wherever they were right now and hadn't fallen apart without him there.

"We should," Nami confessed, splashing some water on her face. "Not much else had happened between that and Water 7."

"Won't that be fun to see?" Zoro said tiredly, wishing that he could just head back to the ship so that he could take a nap. It was late and he knew they were all exhausted. He sat down on the grass and looked up the sky, wondering just how much longer this was gonna take. But as he looked at the moon, it changed so suddenly that he was startled.

It was suddenly a full moon and had turned to such a dark red color that it looked like blood. He got up and looked around to see that they weren't in the forest anymore. They were all standing on the top of some old ruins… like an old temple. They were all getting up and staring around, the moon now looking like you'd expect it to start dripping with blood any moment.

"Ok, this is creepy," Franky muttered, trying to make sense of what memory they were in this time.

"Up there!" Chopper pointed a hoof up above them. Standing next to some crumbling stairs, Luffy was there with two women. The one standing next to him was an elderly woman with pink hair tied in side-locks and had a large hunchback. She leaned heavily on a crooked walking stick as she and Luffy stared up at a beautiful, young woman dressed in stunning robes. She had long blue hair similar to Vivi's, only hers was a much darker shade and she wore it with side-locks and large pink beads. She was kneeling on the highest point of the temple, her hands stretched to the sky as if in prayer.

"It's Maya-san!" Sanji gasped out happily, wanting to run up and hug her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered.

"She's gorgeous!" Brook cried out, "I really want to see her panties!"

Nami hit him as Robin's eyes widen. "So this must be when we were on Asuka Island!" she said.

Zoro's one eye widen, understanding why he recognized this place. "Which means that this is the night that Saga…?" he trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Saga?" Franky asked in confusion. "Who is he?"

"He's the one who was possessed by a cursed sword," Usopp gulped, remembering seeing that blade himself. That thing scared him to the core… it wasn't natural.

"What cursed sword?" Brook asked in surprise.

Robin stepped forward as they continued to watch Maya. "This island held a legendary cursed sword," she explained. "According to the legend, this blade created from the bloodshed of three warring princes who tried to win the heart of a maiden."

"She must've been one beautiful lady," Franky muttered, thinking that over.

"Anyway," Robin went on, "The battle spread throughout the entire kingdom, and the blood of the victims soon covered the land and sea. The sword, absorbing the blood and hatred of so many, became cursed, causing massacre and destruction, destroying the Kingdom of Asuka."

"That's terrible!" Brook gasped out, all that death and suffering…? That sent horrible chills of cold down his spine. "But the war stopped didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did," Nami said sadly, trying to remember the rest of the story, but Robin remembered perfectly.

"In the end," she muttered, "The maiden, a priestess, sacrificed her life to stop the warring kingdom and, in their sorrow, the three princes vowed to atone for their sins and sealed the sword away. According to the rest of the story, three jeweled orbs were given to them by the Gods's of Asuka's Seven Stars."

She glanced up to the sky and pointed up for them all to see the form of seven sparkling stars in the night sky. Three cluttered together in a triangle shape, but there were four others outside it that looked like a diamond. "Those are the stars," she pointed them out, "And apparently, the legend said that the Gods of Asuka's Seven Stars were the ones that gave them the jewels to seal the sword's powers."

"Gods…" Zoro muttered skeptically.

"While I can't say for sure if that part of the story is true," Robin confessed, "But I do know that all legends have some truth. In either case, the jewels had sealed the cursed Seven-Star Sword away and peace was restored to the world again."

"Sounds like it ended well," Usopp muttered as Franky and Brook cried together at the thought of the priestess giving her life to end a war.

"What a brave woman!" Brook sobbed out, arm-in-arm with Franky. "It breaks my heart to think about what a hard choice it must've been for her! Not that I have a heart, but it still makes me feel so sad!"

"I'm sure that it did have a happy ending, at least until an old friend of Moss-Head here woke it up," Sanji added, jerking a thumb at Zoro. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Shut up!" Zoro snarled, "Saga had a good reason!"

"True," Sanji sighed tragically, "He did it for Maya-chan and I can't say that I blame him."

"Wait what?" Franky started as Zoro glanced back up at the moon.

"Saga was brainwashed by the sword," he confessed softly. It was true, for it was never really Saga that he was fighting… it was the sword. He knew better than anyone that swords were in alive through their steel… he supposed that all the blood and negativity that the sword absorbed during the war that it was seething with hatred and somehow gained a life of its own. He sighed, unable to fully blame Saga for what happened. He glanced around for his old friend, and wondered when he was going to appear for the fight.

"Ok, I know that I've said this more times in this one night than I have in my whole life," Franky said, "But what the hell are you talking about?"

Robin decided to spare Zoro the chance to answer and explained, "Once every hundred years, the sword tries to break free during the red moon. Maya was a priestess in this village and she also happened to be Saga's fiancé."

"Fiancé?" Brook repeated with disappointment as Sanji sighed miserably.

"Yes," Robin smiled, "She came here to try and create a barrier around the island to seal the red moon's power away from the sword."

"Which means that Saga's gonna be here soon," Zoro muttered, realizing that he's past self must be fighting with him right now.

"But who is this guy?" Brook asked in confusion.

"An old… friend," Zoro confessed awkwardly. "We studied together for a while at the same dojo when we were kids. I thought that he… I thought that he died when we got caught on a ship that was attacked by pirates one night."

"Zoro-san?" Brook said in surprise but Zoro just shook his head. He walked forward so that they couldn't see his face as he pretended to stare up at the moon. But the whole time, he gritted his teeth. He knew that it was his fault. After all, he had been the one who attacked the mast so that it fell on the passenger ship and launched the anchor right on Saga; and it was because of that his arm had been trapped when the gunpowder below deck ignited. His hand went to his swords at his side and gripped them tightly. It was because he was too weak to cut through steel in those days that he couldn't help him. Why couldn't he have thought of anything to get them both out of there?

"But he survived?" Franky asked softly.

"Barely," Zoro answered grimly, "And Saga lost the use of his right arm after that…"

Brook stared at the back of Zoro's head. He knew that was a huge blow to any swordsman… to lose the use of his dominate hand?

Zoro sighed as he turned to look at Luffy, who was watching Maya continuing to pray and he wondered if Luffy felt the same way he did when he lost Sabo…? Now that he thought about it, Luffy probably would understand how he felt about that better than anyone. After all, both Saga and Shanks lost an arm trying to save a friend at sea… though Sago was technically disabled, it was as good as dismemberment. "Saga told me after he became disabled, he somehow wandered to the Grand Line and met with Maya," he told them all.

"And they fell in love," Robin reminded him and he smiled a little.

"Good for them," Brook said firmly as Sanji sighed a little.

"It was good… at least until he ended up becoming possessed by the sword a year before we came to this stupid island," Zoro said bitterly. "He took the sword because he was trying to save Maya from pirates… and ever since then, he was under the sword's control."

"How could a sword control him?" Franky asked, but at that moment, bright lights appeared. They all turned to see that there three pillars of a bright, pinkish light shining from different corners of the island. They soared up into the air and became three orbs of light, sparkling like stars before they flew over until they were right above Maya.

"Now what?!" Franky yelled in shock.

"There's some lights flying our way!" Luffy cried out in surprise as the old woman quickly told Maya to erect the barrier to seal the sword. Maya slowly stood up as the lights merged together above her and a great wind swept across them as the lights exploded out, a pink coating washing over the island like water over a bowl.

"Huh?" Luffy asked in amazement, staring up at the sky, "The moon…?"

They all looked up at once to see that the sky was now cloudy, as if they were trying to see through a fogged up window. The old woman cried out wonder and joy, as Luffy looked down at her and proclaimed that the others must've come through for them and she nodded, telling him that as the moon passes its zenith, the strength of the red moon will dwindle. They could only hope that Maya could continue to pray until then.

"So what do you have to do now?" Brook asked quickly.

"We were able to put the orbs into three towers across the island," Nami answered quickly, "And that's where those lights came from. Now that the barrier is up, Luffy could fight Saga with the sword's power sealed off."

Zoro didn't say anything as he kept his eye on his surroundings, trying to find him…

Nothing else happened for a few more minutes but then a ball of blue-green energy, sparkling with electricity, came flying out of nowhere and crashed into the side of the building that Maya was standing on.

"Where'd that come from?!" Chopper screamed in terror. Luffy was able to help the old woman out of harm's way, but the blast destroyed part of the building and Maya was almost flung off. She cried out in shock, but continued to stand tall as she prayed.

"NO!" Sanji screamed in horror. "MAYA-CHAN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

"Maya!" Luffy called in worry.

"Concentrate!" the old woman, who Nami reminded them was Maya's grandmother Izaya, encouraged. "Don't let yourself become distracted!"

"Kinda hard to do that old lady when you're being attacked," Usopp yelled, still staring around, wondering what caused such an attack like that. Following Luffy's cold gaze, he spotted him. At the foot of the stairs below them was a tall man with tanned skin, long white hair and was dressed in a red robe… he seemed to be a normal man… but his eyes… they weren't right at all. They were void of all feeling… like looking at the button eyes of a child's doll.

Zoro turned to stand in front of them all once again as he stared down at him. "Saga…" he whispered.

"That's your friend, Zoro?" Franky asked quietly.

"He looks terribly strong!" Brook whispered with a gulp. But everyone's eyes was turned to the sword that was in Saga's hands. A long, double edged sword with an eight-petal design guard and elaborate hilt with a red tassel at the end. The blade itself was emerald green, and had an intricate wavy design on it like curling vines… it emanated a green, unnatural light that seemed to be pulsing like a heartbeat.

"I'm guessing that's the cursed sword?" Franky asked quietly.

"That's it," Zoro said softly.

"The first time I've seen it," Robin said, looking at it with great fascination.

"I don't like it," Chopper swallowed the yell of fear that threatened to escape from him, "It's scaring me."

"I'm with you there, Chopper," Nami shivered, hugging him like how a little would do to a teddy bear. "That thing is… wrong."

"Evil more like it," Zoro answered as he rubbed his hand. He had held the blade for only a brief moment. It was pain unlike any he could remember feeling before. As soon as he touched it, he couldn't get rid of it soon enough. Just one touch was as if something evil was trying to crawl its way up into his head.

He felt his hand go to Kitetsu at his side. Now he knew what it was like to wield a cursed blade. This sword seemed to have a mind of its own sometimes and he liked to think of it as a 'problem child' much like himself… Kitetsu was bloodthirsty and deadly. He could feel it was cursed from the moment that he touched it.

But the Seven-Star Sword… that one was in a class of its own.

Holding the blade up, Saga sent another ball of energy at Maya. Nami let out a cry of warning, but then Luffy jumped in and managed to deflect the blast and sent it straight up. However, the impact was still strong enough to send him crashing into the rubble. Maya called out in worry to him, but Saga yelled, "Don't try to stop me, Maya!"

"Maya! Move!" Chopper screamed from Nami's arms, but he might've not said anything at all for all the good it did. Saga thrust the blade forward so that another surge of energy erupted from the tip of the blade and this time it managed to knock her off the platform.

"NO!" Sanji screamed, dashing forward, ready to catch her, however she just ended up going right through her and he cursed loudly, wishing that he could touch just once…

"Maya-san!" Brook called anxiously as she lay there on the stone. Though dazed, she didn't seem to be injured.

"Luffy! Hurry up and beat the crap out of this guy!" Sanji yelled. As Izaya called in worry to her granddaughter and climbed up the crumbling stairs to her—Luffy had just pulled himself free from the rubble and was blowing hard into his burnt hands.

"I wouldn't want to touch that thing," Usopp winced as Luffy called to Maya, asking if she was alright. But she didn't answer her… and it was at that moment that the barrier above them began to fade so that they could clearly see the night sky and the moon once again.

"I'm guessing that's not a good thing?" Franky called, already knowing the answer. No one bothered to answer him this time for the sword began to glow once again with its unearthly light and the emptiness in Saga's face was replaced with madness. "Soon…" he whispered to himself as the wavy patterns appeared more clearly on the blade. "Soon I'll be…"

"Be what?" Usopp cringed fearfully. Now, he had seen a lot of scary things since coming to the Grand Line, but this guy was freaking him out… it was like he wasn't human or something.

But Luffy had enough. He turned and jumped down to face Saga.

"Ha!" Saga laughed, "Straw Hat… I thought you were long dead."

"What does he mean dead?" Brook cried in shock.

"Saga tried to kill him with that sword before," Usopp said hurriedly, "It's a long story, but it's not important right now!"

"I won't lose to someone like you!" Luffy proclaimed as he charged ahead.

"Will he be alright?" Chopper cried out at once, "I mean… it's not like he's fighting bullets or clubs!"

"He'll be fine," Zoro said firmly.

"Stubborn fool!" Saga yelled as he jumped up and began to swing the sword around, and with every slash, more balls of energy were shot from the blade. Luffy dodged them and threw several punches that Saga was able to block with the sword. It reminded them all greatly of the two times that Luffy and Zoro were fighting for neither one was able to land a solid blow… they just kept dodging each other's moves. Luffy jumped up into the air and sent a Gum Gum Bazooka at him, which Saga countered with another energy blast; forcing Luffy to grab hold of it with his hands. The attack sent him flying up even farther above them, but after several tense seconds, he was able to send it back down towards him. Saga dodged, but Luffy was steadily gaining the upper hand and Saga was barely able to keep up the unrelenting attack.

"Yeah!" Franky applauded. "Come on bro! You can take him!"

"Not half bad," Robin agreed, "But it's gonna take a lot more than that."

"Would it kill you to think positive once in a while?!" Usopp demanded loudly. Saga was now slashing out several more attacks at once, but Luffy was able to use his pinwheel technique to create a vortex for the energy so that it resembled a twister when it went back towards him.

Chopper was cheering loudly as Saga tried to fight back, but the blast was too much and he ended up getting slammed up against a boulder. Now growing angry Saga proclaimed, "You'll become a sacrifice for the Seven-Star Sword!" the whole time they were continuing to throw punches and slashes at the other. "After Zoro, you're next, Straw Hat!"

"You mean he was after you, Zoro?" Usopp asked quickly.

"The sword needed a sacrifice to fully awaken," Zoro answered darkly. "He was trying to kill me before the barrier came up. I guess Luffy had just made things personal here."

"A sacrifice?" Luffy repeated as he was forced to duck and take several steps back from Saga's merciless attacks. "He won't die like that! Zoro is the man who'll become the world's greatest swordsman!"

Zoro smirked. "Damn straight! I wouldn't have much of a future if I had died here now would I?"

Robin smiled at that. Once again a little jealous of the bond between boys—but out of all of them, Luffy did seem to be the one who had the highest expectations of Zoro becoming the best. And likewise, Zoro seemed expect nothing but the best out of Luffy.

Finally losing his temper, Luffy kicked out and sent Saga flying back and knocked his head through a wall. "Got him!" Luffy cheered, creating a large dust cloud.

"You go Luffy!" Usopp yelled out beaming. But through the dust, Saga knelt there… and then he slowly began to chuckle to himself. He slowly looked up at Luffy, that same creepy smile on his face that none of them liked. "It seems I've underestimated you," he confessed. "But…"

"But what?" Nami asked slowly. Luffy got ready as he got up, the sword continuing to glow eerily.

"The time…" he said, as he turned and looked up to the blood-red moon and held the sword up, the blade silhouetted against the moon, and suddenly they could see the seven glowing points spread evenly across it. "The time has finally come!"

"The Seven-Star Sword…" Izaya whispered in fear, however Maya wasn't paying attention to her, just screaming at Saga, pleading with him not to do it. But Saga was no longer listening as he stared lovingly at the sword, the blade glowing more brightly and his eyes turning as red as the moon. He laughed, "My power is increasing! No one can stop me now!"

"Don't just stand there, Luffy!" Sanji yelled at Luffy, "Get your ass over there and kick his!"

But then something else happened… the green aura from the blade began to leave the sword and like a fume it began to be breathed in by Saga. His eyes widen and he was struggling for breath… where he stood there was a slight dust storm was picked up. They watched in horror as Saga's face was filled with pain and fear, his eyes rolling into the back of his head before the red eyes glowed even brighter.

"What's happening to him?!" Robin called as the wind grew stronger and stronger.

"The blade was changing his form," Zoro muttered knowingly, and unable to look at this part, he shut his eye and waited. But he could still hear everything that was going on.

"My… my right arm!" he heard Saga's voice scream out. The others could see that his arm, that had been laying immobilized at his side up till that point, now began to have its veins stick out through the skin as if the blood was pumping into overdrive. And slowly the limb began to move up to grab hold of the blade itself. The wind picked up and Saga was yelling in agony as the wind almost blocked him from their view.

The Straw Hats were all deeply disturbed but all this as they heard Maya screaming out Saga's name, but through the dust, they could all see that Saga's clothes began to tear as his hair grew out and the markings from the blade covered his arm. Suddenly, the light inside the cocoon of wind grew so strong that they couldn't see him anymore; there was then a great burst of red light from within and the wind blew apart, knocking Luffy to the ground.

Through the dust they could see it…

A monster… his hair long and wild, his arm covered with the same vine-like markings like a tattoo, his eyes glowing red, and a wild laugh coming from him as he stood up. No one spoke, just staring at him.

"That sword… it truly is evil," Brook whispered, horrified that there was such a weapon that could poison someone to such a point that it could turn them into a monster like this.

"No freaking way?" Nami whispered softly as she ended up dropping Chopper, but he was staring at Saga with the same horror on his face that he hardly noticed. He remembered the times that he had taken three Rumble Balls and went into his Monster Point. Did he become something like this? He didn't want to know… he didn't like this memory, not at all.

But the worst part was the voice. When Saga spoke, it no longer sounded human. They could pick up traces of his voice through it, but another more metallic voice also spoke with him together. "When the red moon shines, the sword will be imbued with a great power."

"He was reciting the prophecy…" Robin said, recognizing the words. "That was part of the legend of the sword as well… what would happen if it ever fully awoken."

"We're too late," they heard Maya whispered in despair, "The Seven-Star Sword used Saga to break the seal."

"You mean, they can't seal it up again?" Brook asked, trying hard to remember that this already happened. But no one could answer him…

"If the Seven Stars should fall to it," the creature using Saga's body went on, holding the blade high, "the world will forever be ruled by darkness." He smirked as he stared up at the sky to the seven stars once again, who's light seemed to have faded. "The Seven Stars have been defeated."

"Oi!" Luffy yelled, back on his feet. Saga looked back to him with that same wild grin. "What kind of shit are you blabbing about?" Luffy demanded.

"He just has no sense of self-preservation does he?" Nami hissed through gritted teeth.

The creature, who they decided to continue calling Saga, though it felt wrong, just laughed. "Straw Hat," he said in that same voice, "Let me show you the truth strength of the Seven-Star Sword!"

And he indeed began to show off how strong his blade had become. Using flying blade attacks, he made deep gouges in the stone and went to try and hit Maya and Izaya… Maya was pleading with Saga to open his eyes as she and her grandma hung on desperately as he tried to destroy the entire building they were on. Still, he just laughed at them, claiming that it was his power, looking back at Luffy, ready to brag again until he saw that Luffy was merely stretching out as if going for a long jog.

At that, some of the Straw Hats let out cries of laughter, unsure of what to feel to that.

"He's honestly not afraid is he?" Brook said in admiration.

"Like a crazy old man once said," Sanji smirked, "When he's fighting, he's not afraid of anything."

"Pretentious bastard…" Saga hissed.

"Yeah!" Franky yelled, now that the shock had worn off, "And one could say the same thing about you, pal!"

Predictably, Luffy charged again. Saga tried to hit him, which Luffy dodged and rolled out of the way. It was once again a fight going back and forth, neither one gaining or losing ground. Maya called out worriedly, but when they glanced up at her, she was on her feet and her hands up to stars in the night sky, praying once again. Through the stone wreckage, Luffy was pulling himself back out, however they could tell that he was starting to get tired. For when Saga attacked and Luffy tried to dodge, Saga grabbed Luffy's foot and not only crashed him down into the wall again, but he sent another Flying Slash after for good measure.

"Come on Luffy!" Usopp yelled, "I know you can do better that this! Fight back!"

"I'm sure he's trying," Chopper cried out.

"But you're forgetting the power of the moon and how it's making the curse even stronger," Zoro reminded them.

"Now do you understand?" Saga demanded, Luffy now laying buried under giant slabs of stone, "Even with the Devil Fruit, you can't even scratch me!"

"Why do you guys keep coming across people who think they're invincible?" Franky demanded.

"Just our luck?" Usopp offered.

"Though it's funny now that you mention it… how many power-hungry, egotistical, morons there are in the world," Nami nodded. "Unfortunately, the problem is that most of them are able to back up their threats."

Then, a large chunk of the rock started moving and even Saga looked taken aback as it rose up and they spotted Luffy struggling underneath it. "I'm not trying to scratch you!" he snarled, "If I don't beat you, everything that Maya and the others are doing… will be for nothing!"

"Go for it Luffy!" Usopp cheered as Chopper's eyes lit up. Luffy was so awesome!

"Such strength takes my breath away!" Brook whispered in awe as Luffy stood up, panting hard with the effort. "Not that I have breath in my body anymore, Yohohoho!"

"You intend to use that against the world's strongest sword?" Saga asked him skeptically.

But Luffy surprised them all by asking a different question. "Are you really Zoro's friend?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Nami asked hurriedly.

Saga was looking taken aback by the question, when Luffy spotted the expression, he went on, "If you are, then you should be strong without that weird katana!"

"He really thinks highly of you doesn't he, Zoro?" Robin asked the swordsman quietly, who just smiled. Though he was truly touched by Luffy's confidence in him… it just gave him another reason not to ever lose again.

"His expectations of swordsmen are all messed up because of you Moss Head," Sanji said and Zoro glared at him.

"One of these days, crap cook," he snarled, "One of these days… I'm going to make you eat those words."

"The day you do that, is the day you'll actually be able to beat me," Sanji smirked and Zoro was fighting his self-control not to kill him. He wanted to watch the rest of this memory… he'd kill Sanji after it was over.

Saga looked furious as Luffy declared, now struggling to hold up the weight, "If that katana's the strongest, then I must be… the very, very, very, very, very, very, very…" he threw the rock and though Saga was easily able to cut through it, Luffy used this to get right up close and personal with him, "strongest of all!" he finished as he kicked him, "The King of the Pirates!"

"YOU TELL HIM!" Chopper screamed out joyfully. "COME ON LUFFY!"

And that was when Luffy went to town on him. He used his Gatling gun to attack with rapid-fire punches, hitting his face each and every time. As he fought, the light above them returned. Maya had been able to create a barrier to block the power of the moon once more. Most of the Straw Hats were encouraging them on. It was just one attack after another until, finally, the marks on Saga's arm disappeared and the sword fell next to him… looking dead as it rusted… and shattering into dust.

"He did it!" Nami and Chopper cheered.

"I knew he could!" Usopp yelled.

"Sure ya did!" Sanji smirked sarcastically.

"So much for the world's strongest sword!" Franky nodded, but then he noticed the tense expression on Zoro's face.

"Don't get too cocky," Zoro whispered and their celebrating stopped almost at once. "Just when you think you've won, the enemy has a bad habit of coming back to make you regret it."

Izaya was gapping in shock at seeing the sword destroyed, and Maya was crying out for Saga again. Luffy had stopped celebrating himself and they could all feel the sudden drop in temperature… that freaky evil vibe in the air… something was wrong. But it wasn't until Saga slowly began to move again did they find out what it was. As if his body was suddenly boneless, he slowly got up and there was an eerie glow on Saga's chest that began to glow… the image of a green sword.

"What's happening?!" Maya gasped.

"That's what I wanna know sister!" Franky yelled in shock, but Izaya figured it out.

"All the power that was residing in the Seven-Star Sword…" she gasped, "Was transferred to Saga's body!"

"You mean… what's that mean?" Usopp gasped, though he had a bad feeling that he knew.

"Saga could wield the cursed sword," Zoro said, folding his arms and shutting his eye once again. "Because now he has become the sword."

"How can you become a sword?!" Chopper yelled in shock.

"I think it's more like the powers of the sword," Robin answered. "Though the sword was destroyed, the powers had to go somewhere."

Luffy was looking baffled at what was going on, but then Saga raised his hand and made a slashing motion in the air. Another flying blade attack came right at him, but this time the slash was more powerful than it had been before. As Saga walked forward, he held up his hand and the barrier dissolved once again.

"What now?!" Chopper cried out.

"Yeah, how'd he do that?!" Brook shrieked fearfully. He had thought that the barrier was able to put a stop to him. Izaya gasped out that this was its true form all along as the glow of the sword-mark on Saga's chest became even stronger in the blood-red moon's light. Saga became one with the sword and because of that, the barrier wouldn't work on him anymore.

"Oh, this is just great!" Usopp yelled sarcastically. "Why does this always happen to us?!"

"Again," Sanji hissed, "We just got the worst luck in the world!"

Despite her words, Maya ignored her grandmother as she jumped from the platform to get closer to Saga. Sanji was biting his lip anxiously, hoping that Maya stayed back—even if Saga did love her, he wasn't the one in control at the moment. She could get hurt…

The ground was starting to shake, and as if someone had switched off gravity, both earth and tree were being torn from the ground and rose up into the air, heading the moon. Those who had been here on this island were all silently glad that they had the easy job of delivering the jewels to the temples.

"This is nuts!" Franky yelled, freaking out, "How is he doing it?"

"Because the sword has become a part of the Red Moon," Zoro said softly and they all looked at him in bewilderment.

"Part of the moon?!" Brook cried out, not understanding anything here. But they didn't have time to think about it.

"Saga?" said Maya's voice and they jerked back in time to see Saga looking directly to her. She stood on the upper step and was looking at him with a great sadness in her eyes. "I will believe in you," she went on, "No matter what happens… I will continue to pray… until you have returned to your old self." Sanji sighed enviously, wishing that he could have someone who loved him as much as Maya loved Saga. Damn, even though he was being controlled by a shitty sword, he was so damn lucky…

Saga, on the other hand, didn't react at all as he held up his hand, and they all knew what was coming. But thankfully, Luffy jumped up and dove right in front of Maya, taking the hit and getting slammed once again. Maya cried out his name anxiously, but he was already on his feet again, ready to go for another round.

Grinning from ear to ear he said, "It's time for the real fight to start! Here I come!"

"How can he be enjoying this?" Chopper yelled at him angrily.

"Just the thrill of fighting I suppose," Brook said softly. Luffy looked ready to jump down and pick up the fight where it ended, but before he could, a familiar voice echoed, "Wait, Luffy!"

"Is that you, Zoro?" Chopper cried out in surprise, staring around. He wasn't the only one, Luffy looked up and spotted a figure limping his way towards him.

"Where have you been, Zoro?!" Luffy yelled. Past Zoro was a real mess… he was dirty and covered in deep slashes across his body, blood was seeping from a particular nasty-looking stab wound from his hand, it looked as if he was barely able to stand up.

"What happened to you?!" Brook cried in shock, "You look like you were chewed up and spit out!"

"You can thank that stupid sword for that," Zoro muttered darkly. "It wanted to kill me and drink my blood. But once it saw the barrier going up, it went to put a stop towards it."

"Drink your blood?!" Nami yelled, "How could a sword drink blood?!"

"Don't ask," he muttered. "It's not important. It only got a taste of it."

His past self limped closer, blood dripping down his face from under his bandana. "That man, Saga… I will deal with him!" he gasped out, struggling for breath before he added, "Don't interfere."

"Are you nuts?! There's no way you could fight in your condition?!" Usopp yelled, pointing a finger at him.

"Let it go, Usopp," Sanji muttered as he sighed. He knew better than to try and stop these two morons. Their captain and swordsmen… they really did have the same mentality… stubborn and stupid. But this was something that Moss Head needed to deal with. This was his friend, and he was the only who had a real chance to finish him.

Luffy just looked long and hard at him. And suddenly, this reminded them all when these two first fought together against Morgan… they took him out as a team there and here Luffy was trusting Zoro to finish him off like he did back thing. After a brief moment, he seemed to respect Zoro's choice and gave a jerk of the head. "I'm your captain!" he called, "I'll make sure you finish this!"

"I see," Brook said in understanding. The current Zoro smirked at that. That was Luffy for you… if you start a fight, then you better finish it. But that was how he wanted it. He watched as his past self stumbled forward, grabbing hold of another blade that lay in the rubble and holding it as Saga held up his hand once again—no doubt ready to strike another attack.

"Saga," he said and Saga's hand lowered slightly. "You're a swordsman… you fight with a katana!" And he tossed the blade over to him, which Saga caught.

"Are you crazy?" Nami demanded, "Why give him a weapon? What, did you just want to make it harder on yourself?"

"Actually, with that blade, he won't have to resort to using the powers of the cursed sword," Robin reminded and Nami blinked in surprise.

"I knew that he was in there somewhere," Zoro said softly. His past self was forcing his wounded body to stand straight, and he declared, "I made you a promise… that I would come back to save you!"

None of the Straw Hats spoke at those words. They looked to their Zoro, who didn't look to any of them.

But it was the truth… it may have been too late to save Saga's arm, but it wasn't too late for him to save his friend's life. He knew that Saga was in there somewhere and he was going to get him back no matter what it took. He watched as both swordsmen held up their blades. Luffy watched with his arms folded, and they knew that he was going to make sure that nothing interrupted this fight, as Maya held her arms high again, praying to the Seven Stars for a miracle—the three stones she wore on her chest began to glow brightly. Under the blood moon, the two swordsman stood there, waiting to see who would make the first move. Saga's eyes were empty… just solid white… and past Zoro seemed to be bracing himself for what he had to do.

Present-day Zoro could remember that moment just as clearly as watching it here… after an agonizing long wait he could almost hear Saga from inside that body calling for help. Was that why he asked him to come here in the first place? To defeat him? He didn't know anymore, but…

Just then, the Seven Stars in the sky began to blow brightly, releasing a pure aura.

"Now what?" Franky cried, for just at that Saga staggered a little, the creepy vine mark on his chest faded, but the image of the sword still shone as brightly as ever. Memory Zoro didn't back down as he glared at Saga raising the sword above his head. His eyes narrowed as Saga let out a cry of pain and slammed the sword into the ground to attack.

"Zoro!" Luffy's voice cried out after that last attack hit, "You are the man who'll become the world's strongest swordsman! There's nothing you can't cut!"

Through the smoke, memory Zoro appeared, being flung upwards by the attack.

"You can even cut the moon!" Luffy yelled up at him. Zoro's face held no emotion, but he felt a surge of pride go through him at those words. His past self seemed to use them as some kind of challenge as he spun around in midair and was silhouetted against the red moon, his sword held high over his head. Saga jumped, and like a rocket, he flew up towards him.

'I could cut even a friend…' Zoro thought to himself as he watched, as if slowed down by Foxy's Slow Slow Beam, the two flying towards the other, and their blades clashed… but the battle was over. Memory Zoro ended up slashing right through Saga's sword and struck his body…

The broken sword fell and stuck into the ground just before Zoro landed. Saga seemed to just hang there in the air as a green smog-like substance left his body… and then he fell, crashing into the ground, flat on his back. They ran over to see him and they saw a deep scar, much like the scar that Mihawk had given Zoro before, on Saga's chest. The form of the green sword remained there for only a few more seconds, when the light from the Seven Stars above them slowly faded and appeared on Saga's chest as well… in the form of seven points of light. As if lifting a curse, the green form of the sword merged with the wound before it was released like green haze leaving only the seven star points…

But those seeds of light soon faded after that.

Silence came as memory Zoro looked down at his friend. The empty eyes were calm and had shifted to a kinder, gentler look. He managed to focus his eyes on Zoro and his lips curled into a grateful smile before they closed. Past Zoro stood there for only a moment longer before he fell backwards and fell with a clatter to the ground.

"Zoro?!" Chopper cried anxiously, but he needn't worry. Luffy had also jumped down and ran over to him in concern before he noticed that he was just sleeping.

"That's it? You finished it just like that and you went to sleep?!" Usopp yelled at him.

Zoro shrugged. "I was tired," he confessed. Just then, Luffy's stomach let out a loud grumble of hunger and he fell to his knees, muttering about how hungry he was before he soon blacked out as well and the memory faded.

"He passes out from hunger?!" Franky yelled.

"Well, I think he did go almost two days without food," Usopp pointed out.

"Oh, that makes sense," Sanji nodded. "When he's hungry he never wants to do anything but lay around."

"But what about your friend? Did you kill him, Zoro-san?" Brook asked Zoro at once.

"Don't worry," Zoro said, a faint smile on his face, "He survived. And he told me that as soon as he fully recovered he was going to marry Maya."

Brook sighed in relief. "That is good…"

"While I can't say that I'm happy about how the fight ended, it was for the best," Zoro confessed. "I hope that he's doing alright."

"With Maya-chan by his side? Why wouldn't he?" Sanji sighed in longing.

"Still," Robin said softly, gazing up at the calm moon above them from the treetops. "It was hard to believe that it had been humans who created such a thing."

"Shows you how strong hatred can be," Brook answered calmly. "But… it was humans who had been able to destroy it after all."

Zoro smiled in a satisfied way. Before they ended up leaving that island, Saga told him that he planned to one day master the real sword of justice… as atonement for what he had done. And when that time came, he wanted to fight him… that was a fight that he looked forward to.

"It must've been hard for you though, Zoro-san?" Brook stated suddenly, "To have to fight your friend in such a way?"

The smile faded a little. He didn't answer, but he did a lot of thinking about it. He'd be lying if he said that he was fine… but it was the only way to save Saga… if it had been him, he'd want Saga to finish him off instead of being controlled by some stupid sword. He wished that they didn't see this memory though… as far as he was concerned, this was his darkness to bear… and his alone.

The next memory popped up and they were back on the Merry. At first glance, it seemed to be any normal day… the waves were calm and the sun was bright without a cloud in the sky. They could hear Sanji cooking inside the cabin, while the others were doing their usual tasks on deck and enjoying the day.

"Now what?" Chopper asked interestedly.

Memory Zoro was lifting weights as he watched memory Robin looking at an old map set up on a crate with an Eternal Pose. She was holding up a message and was reading out: "Are you pirates of pirates of pirates of pirates? If so, bring your crewmates to this island. The name of this island is… Omatsuri Island."

"Omatsuri?" Usopp whispered, not sure he understood.

"Oh, yeah… that place," Sanji muttered, frowning slightly, "I remember that… I think…?"

"It was here!" Chopper yelled, his eyes bright, "That was it! That was where I met Daisy!"

"The friend born being able to use Haki you mentioned?" Brook asked in surprise as memory Usopp came over to Robin.

"Omatsuri Island?" he repeated, sounding like his current self did, as Robin picked up the Eternal Pose and looked at it in surprise.

"Yes, Omatsuri Island," she answered with a small nod, but there was a puzzled frown on her face as she looked back down at the map in front of her. "I have never heard of this island before."

"You've never heard of it?" Franky asked in surprise. "And you usually have a heads-up of an island before we get there.

"No, I never heard of it," she answered, biting her lower lip as she struggled to remember this place. She could clearly remember deciding to go to the island and landing… but the further along she tried to remember, the hazier it seemed to become until it was blank.

"It's a trap," memory Usopp stated firmly.

"You really think so, Usopp?" Chopper asked their Usopp.

"Well…" he said to himself, "Something bad had to happen on that island right? I mean… remember when we found Luffy?"

"How could I forget that?" Chopper asked miserably. Luffy used up practically his entire medical kit after that.

"What are you talking about?" Franky asked, but memory Zoro had just asked, "Why do they call it Omatsuri Island? Do they hold festivals there or something?"

Memory Robin just began to read the rest of the message, it turned out that it was an advertisement as Omatsuri Island as a resort, promising spas and salons, good food, and many beautiful women. The Grand Line Pirates were especially welcomed, the stronger the better… the crew was obviously delighted at their luck, and Luffy decided that this is an opportunity they could not ignore. They set a course for the island, despite memory Usopp saying it was too good to be true.

The memory faded as Luffy declared his decision and jumped down from the Merry's bow, cheering that they should get going right away.

"Some resort," Sanji hissed, remembering that the beautiful women were all men in drag.

"What happened here?" Franky couldn't help but ask.

Sanji looked to him and confessed, "That's the strange part. I don't remember."

"Wait, you've been here but you don't know anything about it?" Brook asked in surprise.

"I remember finding the message and going to the island," Nami muttered, her hand to her head, as if she suddenly had a headache. But then her eyes widen as she remembered, "The Baron!"

"Baron?" Franky and Brook repeated, sounding lost.

"The Baron Omatsuri," Robin repeated softly, "He was the one in charge of this island."

"Yeah, and I remember that he challenged us to some stupid game with a giant goldfish and we were almost eaten because of that!" Usopp added bitterly. "And after that…? After that…?" he trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

"I remember that!" Chopper yelled out loudly, "I remember now! It was after that I went around the island and I ran into Daisy and her family!"

"I don't remember anything after that either," Robin muttered to herself. She could vaguely recall leaving the hotel they were in to look for some flowers but everything after that was a haze.

"Yeah, after the goldfish thing, my memories are pretty much gone for me," Usopp nodded dully and the others slowly began to nod as well, not knowing anything after that.

"So… none of you remember anything after that?" Brook asked, as if just making sure he understood. "But… how…?"

"I don't know. All I can remember after that is waking up in the middle of nowhere after that," Nami said, her brain feeling foggy at that point. "I don't have the slightest clue to what happened."

"All we clearly remember is waking up and we found Luffy badly hurt," Zoro confessed.

"What?" Brook asked and the others all looked at each other.

"He's right," Chopper said softly, sitting back down sadly as he remembered the horrible shape Luffy was in. "When we woke up, almost everyone on the island vanished and Luffy… he… he was…?"

*Flashback*

It was as if they had a bad dream that none of them could remember were all suddenly waking up on some hard stone and staring around as a brilliant sunrise came up and covered the land in shades of gold and orange.

They were all slowly getting to their feet, a group of kids came running over to Chopper and the reindeer smiled when he saw them—everyone was feeling light and carefree this morning. They then spotted Luffy lying on the ground with several other people bending over him. They had gone over, trying to poke him awake but he just smiled and laughed a little at the sight of them… and that was when they finally noticed the bloodstained shirt he was in and Chopper gasped as he ran to his side to examine him. The other Straw Hats turned to Brief and Daisy and her family, asking what happened.

"You mean you don't remember?" the boy named Rick asked in surprise.

"Lucky you," the eldest daughter, Rosa said and Sanji's eyes turned to hearts at the sight of her.

Chopper didn't pay them any attention as he went looking through his bag for bandages and Zoro was helping Luffy to sit up, but as soon as he lifted him, his hands were already coated in blood and he could feel the ruby liquid drenching his clothes. Luffy let out a cry of pain, and through exhaustion and his own injuries, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he was out cold. Zoro was about to carry him back to the Merry until Chopper screamed at him not to move him anymore than he had until he gave him some emergency first-aid.

He had pulled out a thick roll of bandages and told them that if they tried to move him without treating his wounds, they would only get worse and he'd probably bleed to death before they could get him back to the ship. He told Zoro and Sanji to gently turn him over so that he could see the full damage. As they did what they were told, Chopper pulled back his shirt and they all were horrified to see the holes in his arms and legs, but the worse was his back… which was full of bleeding wounds like bullet holes.

"What… what did this?" Usopp gasped horrified.

Chopper snapped out of his stunned state as he had Daisy and Rosa pass him any medical supplies that he needed as he began to treat and clean each wound. There wasn't much he could do here, but he could at least stabilize him until they got him back to the Merry for some proper care.

As he tended to their captain, the others were all turning to the others, demanding to know what had happened here. However they weren't able to give them a real satisfactory answer. But thankfully, Luffy started to come too once Chopper finished.

"He's still in bad shape!" he told them all, "Let's them him back to the ship! We need to get him back! I need help carrying him back, he can't walk like this."

Luffy groaned and his eyes were starting to flicker open as Sanji helped him into a sitting position and Zoro crouched down in front of them so that they could just drape Luffy's limp body over his shoulders. By the time that Zoro stood back up and began to carry him piggy-back, Luffy had come too. He blinked several times in confusion at his surroundings.

"Luffy," Usopp exclaimed nervously as he circled around so that he could see Luffy's face, one of the only parts of Luffy's body that wasn't covered with a thick layer of bindings. "What happened?! You've got more holes in you than Swiss cheese!"

"Really?" he asked as he lay limply on Zoro's back and they began to head down the hill, towards the shore. Strangely, it was Brief who offered to lead them to their ship, telling them that he saw where they left it the day before. Some of the crew, such as Zoro and Robin, felt a sense of distrust and suspicion, but they took him up on his offer and they slowly followed after him.

"Yeah, Luffy!" Nami asked fearfully, staring at how much blood his shirt was dripping, leaving a tiny trail of blood every few feet, "Who did this to you?!"

"You really don't remember?" Luffy asked, his eyes a little glazed over from exhaustion.

"If we remembered would we be asking you what happened?" Zoro demanded ill-temperedly.

Luffy just smiled back at them. "If you don't remember, then that's fine."

"The hell it is!" Sanji yelled angrily, "What happened here?"

Luffy just smiled at them, not bothering to answer as he started to doze off.

"Don't go to sleep!" Sanji yelled angrily.

"You're right," Luffy said, and called to Brief and the other, "Hey! Do you guys need a ride outta here?!"

"That's not what I meant you moron!" Sanji shouted.

"Sanji, please," Nami told him softly and he frowned heavily, though he did what she wanted. Brief and the 'Tearoom Pirates' all shook their heads, telling them that there were some smaller ships here that they would use and Brief had managed to collect several Eternal Poses from pirates who had come here over the years. They promised them that they would be just fine… and papa had even offered Brief to come with them and join their little crew, which he accepted happily—having taken a shine to the kids.

As they headed down to the resort, they were all astonished to see that it was completely empty. The buildings stood there, but there was no longer anyone around. They found hundreds of stalks of plants scattered throughout the island, but it truly looked like they were the only ones here.

They stared around the entrance hall of the hotel and Usopp gasped out, "Where is everyone…?"

"They're gone…" Luffy muttered sleepily.

"Gone?" Zoro repeated, twisting his head around to look at him, "What do you mean by gone?"

But Luffy just shrugged sleepily, shutting his eyes as Brief continued to lead them through the now deserted island. Other than worrying over Luffy's current state, no one said anything else until they spotted the welcoming site of the Merry where they left her. Though there was plenty of room back at the resort, no one wanted to stay there for longer than they had to. The place was now like a ghost town, and the sooner they said goodbye to this creepy place, the happier they would be.

Luffy stayed awake just long enough for them to carry him downstairs to the men's quarters and lay him on a spare mattress on the floor to make it more comfortable. Luffy wanted to say goodbye to Brief and the others and so the other Straw Hats went up top and patiently waited for them to finish their farewells.

Ten minutes later, they all came up and Daisy went running over to hug Chopper goodbye as well.

But the Straw Hats were still asking questions, and wanted them to please tell them exactly what happened and where was the Baron and everyone else… an island full of people couldn't just disappear. Surprisingly, it was Sanji who was the one demanding to know what happened more than anyone else, but he couldn't seem to understand why he felt so anxious.

Brief and the Tearoom Pirates all looked at each other nervously, as if wondering what they could, or should, tell them. But it was Daisy who answered, "He saved you… with papa's help he was able to make sure that the Baron wouldn't hurt you!"

She then beamed with pride at her papa, who blushed and laughed awkwardly.

"Saved us?" Zoro repeated, an eyebrow raised. "You mean that Baron guy was the one who did this to Luffy?"

"You-you need to understand," Brief answered nervously, "The Baron was a very dangerous man. Controlling what people think was something that he had always been good at. But to explain it simply, the Baron was the former captain of a crew of pirates but he hates other pirate crews."

"Hates crews?" Robin repeated in confusion.

"It's true, we heard him say that!" Rick added, raising his hand high in the air.

"He was nothing but a low-life murderer," Rosa said darkly.

"Do I really wanna know?" Usopp gulped as Brief added, "This Island was nothing more than a trap. He lured pirates in by making them think it was some kind of resort before he kills them. My… my own crew fell victim to the Baron." His tone was sad and miserable before he bravely went on, "And he had his eyes set on all of you. But your captain was able to put a stop to it."

"With papa's help of course!" Daisy added proudly, taking her father's hand, "I knew you were strong, Papa."

"Not bad old man," Rosa added and Rick beamed at his old man in pride. Papa laughed a little more. "Come on guys," he said, "You're killing me here. I didn't do much…"

Nami stepped forward, "But what did the Baron do?"

They all stopped laughing at her words and looked grimly down. "The Baron was a cruel man," Brief answered, "But… yes, he was the one who hurt Straw Hat. Though, know that you shouldn't have to worry about him anymore. The Baron won't be able to hurt you all again."

"But…?" Usopp began before Zoro asked, "But exactly what happened? You're hiding something from us, what happened on that island that was so bad?"

Brief looked uncomfortable, as if trying to figure out what to say.

This time it was Daisy who answered him. "Luffy said it didn't matter anymore," she said with a smile. "You're all safe… that's all that matters to him, right?"

"You're really lucky," Brief added, "I wish I was as strong a captain as he was to have gone so far for my crew as he did for all of you."

*End of Flashback*

"And they didn't say anything else?" Brook asked as they finished talking about what happened. "But… that doesn't explain Luffy-san's injuries."

"I know," Chopper whispered sadly, "But no matter how much I asked him, he just said that it didn't matter anymore. That we shouldn't have to worry. What I can't figure out though is how his body was filled with all those holes… I mean, they couldn't be bullets unless they were all really sharp…?"

"So this Baron guy tried to kill you and Luffy saved you, getting hurt in the process, and none of you remember anything about that?" Franky summed up, "That's pretty messed up."

"You're telling me," Sanji agreed grimly, not liking this at all—and was even more frustrated with the fact that Luffy didn't want to tell them what happened. What was it that he didn't want them to know?

"It was bad," Nami nodded, "But… Luffy healed from that in less than three or four days and he was back to his cheerful self in no time. But at the same time he never wanted to talk about what happened."

If anyone else noticed how energetic Luffy had been during those days, they didn't mention it. Luffy's happy mood was as contagious as it had always been, but at the same time it was different. It was as if he fully started to appreciate every little thing they did. Not that he didn't before, and though he never said it outloud, but he always seemed to take a little extra time to think about things that they all did and he never held back in letting them know how much he loved having them all there. It was kinda annoying at first, but they if it made him so happy, they couldn't think of any good reason to tell him to stop.

"I see," Brook whispered, "So Luffy-san never wanted to tell you what happened?"

"We asked a few times, but he just laughed," Usopp said softly, "I've tried to remember everything, but it's mostly a black hole. The last thing I remember is Nami leading us through the jungle, saying that we were leaving the island before anything else happened."

"Same here," Sanji said, raising his hand up, "I can remember everything before that clearly… and I remember everything happening after we woke up and found Luffy. But everything else between all that… it's just gone."

"Blank," Robin nodded, "Like empty pages." She looked up at the sky. It must be past midnight by now… "Even after all this time, I try to remember… but there's honestly nothing there."

"Maybe you were all knocked out or something and that's why you don't know?" Brook suggested.

"Possibly," Robin said as she shut her eyes. On the very edge of her memory however she could just make out two words… Carnation… Lily…? But the words were no sooner on the tip of her tongue did it fade from her mind until she was half sure that she just imagined it.

"After a while we just forgot about it," Zoro finished up, "Since Luffy was happy and we were alright, we didn't think that it was anything to worry about anymore. And it wasn't long after this did we reach Water 7."

But still… he couldn't shake the feeling that something… bad happened on that island. Someone had to hurt Luffy the way that he was in after all… who or what could've caused such injuries?

"So does this mean we're finally gonna find out about what happened?" Chopper asked and they all shrugged, unsure to what to say, but they all felt the same way… most likely. No sooner than Chopper sighed in defeat, the memories popped back up and they were all standing on the beach and they could see the worn-out Merry drifting innocently in the distance behind them.

Luffy was already running around happily in the surf, scaring a flock of black crows into the sky. But memory Usopp was just asking if the festival was already over or something.

"Yes, I remember this place," current Robin informed as she looked around.

"So, we'll finally find out what happened here," Nami muttered. For some reason, a sense of dread pulsed in her chest.

"Not what I expected from a place called Osmatsuri Island," Franky muttered. "I was expecting, you know… confetti and fireworks! That kind of stuff!"

"Wait for it," Usopp sighed.

Memory Nami was walking around the beach with the map in her hands. She looked down at it in frustration, as if to blame it for not finding the paradise that they had been hoping for. "Has there ever been a time when I navigated to the wrong island?" she asked them all suddenly, as if just making sure her perfect record hadn't been smashed before now.

"Not that I can remember," Chopper said.

"Yeah, we've got the best navigator in the world on our crew! I don't see how it was possible we thought we could've ended up at the wrong place!" Sanji said firmly, "As well as the most beautiful…"

She smiled at him as memory Zoro glanced at the trees. "Who the hell would want to vacation on a deserted island?" he asked as past Sanji lit up another cigarette. "I guess it would be ideal for a hermit or something."

Memory Sanji just sighed, muttering, "Jeez, you're such a loudmouth."

"I knew I heard you say that," Zoro growled as his memory self glared at Sanji, asking if he said something—though he seemed to have heard what he said before. "Jackass," he added as Sanji rolled his eyes at him.

"That is odd," memory Robin said, already putting a large sunhat on her head and looking around at the empty beach. When Chopper asked what the problem was, she told them that she didn't see any flowers at all… only dense jungles even though there were clearly flowers drawn on the map. Memory Zoro then offered the answer to their problem, that they were duped and they should just leave. Everyone looked disappointed, but they all silently agreed—if there was honestly nothing on the island there wasn't much point in sticking around. As they started to head back to the ship, Chopper stopped, his ears perking up and asking the others if they could hear something. Luffy, who was still laughing and enjoying himself, stopped as well to listen.

Now that the noise that Luffy had been making had quieted down, Brook listened carefully, and in the distance he could make out the slight pounding of what sounded like drums somewhere further inland. "Oh!" Brook called happily, "So there are people here!"

Luffy obviously must've heard it too and he pointed eagerly towards the jungle before he and Chopper went running off.

"Hey!" memory Nami yelled after them, "Where do you think you two are going?!"

"Yeah! We're leaving!" the past Usopp added.

"But there're people here! I can hear them!" Luffy whined, "C'mon! Let's go!"

They all glanced at each other in annoyance, but they picked up their bags and followed after the two in front into the jungle. It was a long walk, and through the deep jungles they could hear the birds chirping and ducked under the thick trees; but as they continued on their way, it wasn't long before no one could deny hearing the sounds of drums beating. At that, they all picked up the pace and hurried along, all of them looking excited for what was about to come.

However, the wiser, older versions of the Straw Hats who followed behind them didn't feel like it was such a good idea anymore. Walking through this jungle had a sense of familiarity… even though they all had that sense of déjà vu from the moment they started watching Luffy's memories, this time it was different. They all felt a strong sense of foreboding… and with every step they took, that horrible ominous feeling just seemed to weigh ever heavier on their hearts.

Nonetheless they just kept on walking and after several more minutes of fighting through the wilds they came out right in front of a largest amusement part they had ever seen. Sabaody Park had nothing on this place… behind the beautiful, elaborate gate there was a hotel that was as large as any palace. There were thousands of games and rides, all lit up with bright lights and moved smoothly along. There were statues and plants on either side of the road, there were large buildings that led to spas and salons, large lights that led to night clubs, Ferris wheels and balloons covered the sky…

"It's marvelous!" Brook gasped out in wonder.

"This is one SUUU~~PER resort!" Franky cried out in wonder, if he didn't know that this place was a trap, he'd have wanted to come here. This looked like one hell of a vacation—even pirates need a time to relax and not have to worry about Marines or Bounty Hunters.

The memory versions of Nami, Chopper, and Sanji were all left in awe. Each of them muttered parts of the letter they read about this place and they were sure this was everything they hoped for. They heard a soft clatter of what sounded like high heels on the cobblestone streets. They all turned and there were two long rows of women dressed like ballet dancers or showgirls, each with a large feathered fan up to hide their faces.

Brook was practically out of his mind with joy as memory Sanji was now looking ready to kiss each one of them. Current Sanji however remembered this and shut his eyes, remembering the awful realization to what those… things… were. Though he may not have been able to see them with his eyes shut, but everyone else did when they saw their faces…

Brook screamed out in horror and memory Sanji was fighting back the awful memories of his two years' worth of hell—if there really was a real hell… that would be it. He could almost feel it when his memory self jumped back in revulsion and screamed out, "Oi! What gives?!"

"Hey! Look! They've all leaves growing out of their heads!" Luffy yelled, his hands on Sanji's shoulders, and was pointing in amazement at them all. He was right, each one of them had a large, green sprout growing right out of their heads, as if they were growing out of a flowerpot.

Suddenly more people seemed to appear out of nowhere, dozens of them on both sides of the gate. "Yeah, them too!" memory Usopp yelled, pointing a nervous hand at them all. "And them!" he pointed to several more rows of men who were waving and seemed to be dancing around them, "What are these guys!?"

"Ok, we barely spent more than a few minutes here and I'm already suggesting that we leave," Franky muttered, not liking the cheesy grins on their faces and the awkward dancing. "These guys are giving me the creeps."

"I forgot how weird this place was," Usopp muttered as they looked around. Just then, the boys/girls were all standing in front of the entrance and all had their fans out in front of them. As they observed them, they all lifted them up one at a time like a wave so that they could see the entrance again and hear the sounds of elephants trumpeting. So by the time the last fan was lifted up, they spotted several large elephants coming outside the gates as if they were expecting them. There were three elephants, and on the one in front was a tall, lean man with broad shoulders, a triangle shaped head, a pointy black goatee and a mustache that curved up. His hair somewhat resembled a palm tree and a pair of pink goggles on his head that reflected in the light.

And on his left shoulder was the cutest, tiny flower that they had ever seen. It had five yellow petals with red at the tips and two red dots on each petal. It also had an innocently looking smiling face, a green stem that was mostly covered by a white neckerchief and beady black eyes that looked at them all happily.

"That's him! That's the Baron…" Nami said softly, remembering meeting him. "I wonder whatever happened to him."

"So that's the Baron guy who tried to kill you all?" Franky asked in surprise. "I expected him to look a lot tougher than that. I mean, who wears flowers when they're about to kill someone?"

"Maybe it was there to add to the disguise or something?" Nami offered, "To lure people into a false sense of security?"

"Such a cute flower," Brook said happily, who sees one with a smile like that? He wished that he could find one and wear it to.

Robin, however, was frowning when she saw it. That flower… there was something… not right about it. There was something… in the back of her mind that was giving her an uneasy feeling. That wasn't something she could say often… it usually took a lot to scare her.

"Look," Luffy called happily, pointing to the flower as well, "First leaves and now a flower!"

"The first one I've seen since coming here," the current Robin added as both the elephants and the music stopped. The Baron looked over them all before he stretched his arms out in welcome, and the man looked over all the Straw Hats. "Pirates!" the Baron yelled, "Courageous pirates who traverse the Grand Line!"

Luffy was now jumping up and down in excitement and raised his arm as if afraid the Baron would miss him—even with Usopp yelling at him to stop it. The Baron went on to congratulate them for reaching the island and introduced himself as Baron Omatsuri.

The past Straw Hats all stared at him as they repeated, "Baron Omatsuri?"

"It really is a lame name," Franky muttered as they all felt the familiar sweatdrop on their heads. "If he wants to be such a bad guy, I would've just stopped at 'The Baron'. You know?"

"Yes, but that only adds to the illusion if you ask me," Robin reminded him.

The Baron smiled as he proclaimed happily, "Yes! I am your host, the master of this island!"

Memory Sanji, Nami, and Chopper looked like they couldn't care less about what their host's name was so long as they got what they came here for. They all has sparkling eyes as the Baron laughed a little more and told them that they should all just rest and enjoy their vacation. As the memory Straw Hats began to look excited at such an idea, the Baron's smile turned darker as he folded his arms and added, "You may enjoy yourselves to your heart's content! But before you do, you must undertake… the Ordeal of Hell!"

"I guess we really should've seen it coming," Usopp muttered as the memory Straw Hats stopped in the middle of their jubilation to stare at him. "I mean… since when do things ever turn out to be easy for us?"

"Never," Zoro nodded before he added, "Though… I like it better that way."

"You may," Nami muttered angrily, "But I would like it if things went right for us. To just have a vacation for once…"

"Well sis, in case you forgot, we're in the New World," Franky laughed, "I don't think that we'll be relaxing anytime soon."

She rolled her eyes, and said darkly, "Thanks for reminding me."

Memory Robin tilted her sunhat up a little to get a better look at the Baron and repeated, "Ordeal…?"

"Of Hell?" memory Zoro spoke up, and his eyes were shining with great interest. The Baron clearly got his attention.

"How can you possibly be interested in something that's called the Ordeal of Hell?" current Usopp demanded angrily.

"Yeah, Zoro," Chopper gulped. "Just the name sounds bad!"

"What are you crying about?" Zoro demanded, "I would hardly call that ordeal an actual ordeal… it wasn't that tough."

"Considering the kind of hell we go through on a daily basis, I have to agree," Sanji nodded.

Memory Nami stared in horror, her eye twitching a little as she repeated with a jerking sound, "O-Ordeal…?"

"Of…" memory Chopper added, now shaking at the idea.

"Hell?" Sanji finished for them all, sounding like he couldn't make heads or tails to this whole thing before he rolled his eye.

Memory Usopp looked ready to run as he cried out that he knew it all along, that this was all just a trap. Refusing to let go of the fact that their relaxing time was now pretty much gone by this point, memory Nami raised her hand as if in class and asked about the spas and salons. The Baron looked confused and only continued to do so when Chopper and Sanji both asked about the beauties from around the world and the beverages and exquisite cuisines.

"I think there's a little bit of false advertisement there," Franky pointed out.

"Maybe just a little?" Robin offered in amusement as the three of them turned around and said that they were leaving.

"I think that you should've done so right away," Brook whispered, still not looking forward to seeing how his captain was soon to gain such terrible injuries. But Zoro wasn't the only one who was interested in the idea of this hellish ordeal; and Luffy was now holding the three of them back as he asked the Baron what the Ordeal was about.

"Don't ask…" current Nami moaned.

"Don't see why you're so surprised," Robin laughed a little, "I think that we should've guessed from the start that Luffy would want to do this."

"I think that maybe we should have him start wearing ear plugs or something when we meet strange characters like this," Usopp whispered softly, glaring up at the Baron, knowing that he wasn't going to like seeing anything that was about to happen.

"The Ordeal of Hell is a test of strength!" the Baron explained, "Countless many have failed to endure the task and fled barefoot from the island."

"Do I want to know what he means by that?" Franky asked, raising his eyebrows.

"What are you complaining about?" Sanji demanded, "You never wear shoes anyway."

Luffy laughed. "That sounds great!" he cried happily.

"If you do not absolutely trust in your friends," the Baron added, a little smug look in his eyes, "You would be well advised to leave while you have the chance!"

"Oh no…" most of them groaned out.

"He just had to make it a challenge didn't he?" Usopp groaned out as he fell to his knees.

"And to insult his friends at the same time," Zoro added, "Luffy's not going to let this go."

"Maybe I could get him to start doing chores around the Sunny," Nami whispered, "Make it sound like a contest or a dare and see if that gets him to work any better."

"Don't be stupid!" Luffy yelled at once, "We'll accept your challenge!"

The reaction from most of the crew was predictable and expected. "Luffy!" memory Nami yelled out in dismay. She grabbed him by the face and pulled him to the ground as she began to demand to know what on earth he thought he could gain by accepting this stupid challenge. Memory Sanji agreed with her as he crouched down with them, adding that even if there was something to gain from accepting, there was no obligation for them to do so. Even Chopper added out that it was sure to be dangerous, they should just go.

But Luffy just grinned happily. "I know that we don't have to," he answered them happily, like a puppy told that he was going to the park, "but I want to try it."

"How'd he talk you into doing this then?" Franky asked them.

"The same way he talks us into doing pretty much anything," Sanji sighed as memory Usopp was joining them on the ground as well, reminding them for the hundredth time that it had to be a trap.

"It's the Ordeal of Hell!" Chopper yelled at him, saying the last three words a little extra slow so that he couldn't hope to miss out on them.

"Yeah, that's right," Luffy said brightly, clearly wondering what the problem was.

"Well, it's not like it's called the Ordeal of Cuddles or anything like that," Franky pointed out. Back and forth it the arguing went for a while until they all seemed to sigh in defeat, knowing that there was nothing that they could do to change his mind.

"It doesn't matter if it's a trap or not…" Luffy told them all with that same bright, trusting smile, "You guys can handle it." Every member of the crew, in and out of the memory, looked at him as he finished up by saying, "Besides, I trust you all!"

"I hate it when he does that," Usopp whispered through gritted teeth, "Just a few words from him and I just want to do anything he says."

"You think that we'd have caught on by now," Nami nodded grimly. "But no… we never learn our lesson do we? We just keep letting ourselves be talked into some stupid, dangerous stunts."

Memory Sanji sighed, but he had a smile on his face as he confessed, "Oh, you're such a sweet talker, captain."

"I wonder if he realizes that he has the kind of power over us?" Robin asked in great amusement.

"I doubt it," Sanji shrugged, "But what I want to know is why he just has to accept stuff like this by anyone who asks him."

"No offense Sanji," Nami sighed, "But are you really trying to understand what goes on in Luffy's head? I doubt that he needs a reason to do stuff like this."

"Luffy-san has many interesting flukes, Yohohoho," Brook said cheerfully.

"Are you actually complimenting him for that?" Nami asked him incredulously.

"Yeah, but if he's not more careful, it's going to get him into some serious trouble that he won't be able to get himself out of," Usopp muttered darkly. He couldn't help but silently hope that he didn't just jinx them here…

Memory Zoro seemed to be the only one who was behind Luffy one hundred percent. "Hell… hell, huh?" he asked as an eager grin was unfurling on his face. "I would like to see what this is all about," he added, and they all had a sneaking suspicion that he hadn't really wanted to take a vacation in the first place.

In the background, one by one, Robin, Sanji, Nami, Chopper and finally Usopp all agreed to it as well. Though the final three did it with some reluctance.

The Baron overlooked them all before a rather wicked grin appeared on his face and he said in a strangely lenient voice, "So, all of you are participating? Very well, prepare for the Ordeal of Hell!"

But as he laughed out that last part, everyone couldn't help but feel as though the challenge they were about to watch… wasn't the actual ordeal? Still, they all watched and to some of their amazement, through the sounds of heavy gears turning and clanking. The resort and trees around them were being moved as if they were on platforms, everything opening up and changing. Suddenly they were all standing on a collection of large stone bricks spinning wildly around until they formed a round platform surrounded on all sides by the sea, with only a thin walkway that connected to the land. "What kind of trick is this?" Franky yelled out in surprise, staring at the stones that seemed to have a life of their own, "I don't understand how that works…"

"Almost by magic…" Brook added in shock as several stands appeared and there were more people standing up there cheering their hearts out.

"I will now reveal the Ordeal of Hell that you will undertake!" the Baron yelled dramatically as a large elaborate sign of a goldfish came up. "It is… Goldfish Catching!" And then a row of fireworks was set off.

They all stared at him—no one was quite able to figure out what to say to that.

"I gotta say… out of everything I was expecting an Ordeal of Hell to be…" current Zoro muttered, "Goldfish… wasn't one of them."

"He's joking right…?" Franky muttered quietly.

"Don't be so cocky," Robin pointed out, "Let us not forget out dangerous that Foxy and his crew was able to make perfectly harmless games into a fight for your life. I suppose if you twist the rules around enough, you can turn anything deadly."

"You're scaring me, Robin," Chopper gulped as the audience cheered on, and a large tank suddenly rose up in the very middle of the platform they were standing on, and when they all looked in, they saw that it was filled with hundreds of goldfish of different sizes all swam around peacefully.

"That's the ordeal?" Brook asked. He just couldn't see what was so dangerous about it? Unless those goldfish were man eaters or something? Still on the elephant, the Baron was yelling at them through a megaphone that the rules were simple.

"And just as bogus as Foxy's rules," present-day Sanji added in an undertone. The Baron called that the only way to win was to capture the larger goldfish in three minutes. He then held up a little paper fishnet and added that the paper dissolved easily in water so they should take care. He laughed for a moment longer as though he was holding back on a secret that only he knew.

"And now," he finished up, turning to look behind him, and they spotted that there was a man crouched down by the Baron's side, "Allow me to introduce my valued confidant who shall be your opponent! Go forth, Muchigoro...!"