Chapter 10: Tough Love and Dream Searching

Down… down… down… they all fell. The darkness pressing in on all sides as they almost drifted, the wind causally slowing as each one of them dropped. But there wasn't anything that could be seen… nothing but darkness everywhere…

Just as Zoro was starting to get bored, he felt his feet suddenly touchdown—almost gently. He cautiously stepped around to see that he was standing on some sort of floor, though he couldn't tell what it was.

"What is it?" called a voice above him and he glanced up in time to see Robin there, falling like a leave as she landed lightly on her feet as he had. "Now this is interesting," she smiled, looking around curiously.

"I sorta expected hell to be a little hotter than this," Zoro said as Sanji came falling next a few feet away.

Franky and Brook soon dropped in… followed by a screaming Usopp, Chopper, and Nami as well. Zoro ignored them all as he kept his hand on his swords, ready to draw at a moment's notice, keeping a firm look around, trying to sense something. But there didn't seem to be anything as he stepped cautiously away from the crew.

"Yohohoho, so you all decided to come with us after all!" Brook called happily to the other three, who were sticking close to them all.

"Not by choice!" Usopp snapped back, his slingshot in hand as he looked around. "Where are we? Why's it so dark?"

"There doesn't seem to be anything else down here," Sanji said, reaching out with Haki to feel anyone else, only to come up empty. "No, I don't sense anything but the eight of us…"

"Can't find Luffy at all," Zoro added as he came back to the group. "But there's something else down here… I can't explain it, but it's not normal."

"I agree," Sanji said, an odd shiver going up his spine. "It's like this darkness is alive or something and it's watching us…"

"A-Alive?" Chopper croaked out, sticking close to Robin as he looked around fearfully.

Nami reached out to look at her hands. "Why is it that we can see ourselves and each other, but can't see anything else?"

"No clue," Robin answered, looking at her hands as well. "But it's like we're glowing enough that we can see ourselves. If only we had more light…"

"Did you forget about me?" Franky asked, stepping forward confidently. "Luckily, I have something just in case of emergencies like this!" he proclaimed proudly before pulling his shirt back and crying out, "FRANKY NIBBLE LIGHTS!"

"That is still too weird," Usopp said with a sweatdrop. But as Franky shined the light, it was as if it was swallowed up as well… it stretched on in the distance, but there honestly wasn't anything there.

"I don't like this place," Chopper said fearfully. "I wanna just find Luffy and leave!"

"We all do," Nami said nervously as she looked back up to see if she could see the hole that they came down from. But to her horror, there wasn't any light above them.

"We must be pretty deep if we can't even see the hole," Robin answered calmly.

"Yeah, how are we supposed to get back out?" Usopp asked almost squeakily, as he looked up too. "I don't see where we came out of…"

No one answered him as they continued to try to find something in this void. It was disturbing to say the least… because in the suffocating, squeezing darkness, there is nothing… no warmth, no air… just emptiness.

Brook shivered a little, "This place makes me feel goosebumps on my skin… ah! Not that I have skin!" But he didn't laugh as much as he would normally—he didn't like this place. It reminded him painfully of those lonely years he spent trapped in that dark fog.

"Where are we?" Nami asked, sticking close to Sanji, whose eyes were in the shape of hearts again at having Nami so close.

"You don't think we're all dead do you?!" Usopp cried out dramatically.

"BUT I DON'T WANNA BE DEAD!" Chopper screamed out.

"NEITHER DO I!" Brook called fearfully. "AH! Though I am technically dea…"

"Don't worry," Robin said calmly again. "I'm pretty sure that we haven't died… but where we are now, I can't say."

"Where's this gate thing you were talking about?" Franky asked, still trying to shine his nipple lights as far out as he could, desperate to see something.

"I don't know any more than you do about this," Robin answered him simply.

"So what now? We just sit here in the dark?" Zoro demanded. But almost as soon as he opened his mouth to say the words, the darkness faded and suddenly they were standing in what appeared to be a thick jungle. Trees appeared out of nowhere and sounds of birds began to cry from above as a bright sun shone down on all of them.

"Wow!" Chopper shouted in astonishment, stars in his eyes. "That's incredible!"

"Amazing!" Brook yelled he stared around in wonder.

"It's SUUUUUPER cool effect!" Franky called, striking his pose.

"I've never seen anything like this," Nami whispered, gapping at the sudden bright sunlight, forced to shield her eyes again.

"Ok, while I'm glad to get out of that shithole we were just in," Sanji said at once, "But would someone mind telling me where we are?"

"Please don't tell me we've passed onto heaven," Usopp whispered, the shock of suddenly being back in the light wearing off.

"If we did, that sure was quick," Zoro said so that Chopper and Usopp cried. "But I doubt that we died that easily."

"We can't be in heaven," Sanji said darkly. "Moss Head's still with us."

"What was that you crap cook?" Zoro growled at him threateningly.

"Would you both please stop fighting for once?!" Usopp begged. "Let's get out of this freaky place!"

"Alright, then tell us how you suggest we do that?" Zoro snapped at him.

"I don't know!" Usopp yelled back. "That's why I'm asking you all!"

"At least it's nice and quiet," Chopper spoke up.

"Yohoho, it's wonderful here," Brook agreed. "Such a nice place! What do you think, Nami-san?"

He looked back in time to see that she had wandered a few feet away and was now kneeling down in front of some large wildflowers. "I've never seen flowers like this," Nami whispered, holding out her hand and attempted to pick one… only to have her fingers go right through them as if she was made of nothing but air…

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