OP Fic: Nightmare

[moe81]

Title: Nightmare

Rating: M for graphic violence

Pairing: Pretty gen, with hints to pairings

A/N: I should not have written this. Forgive me.  Japanese translation: Akumu = nightmare

Warnings: Death-fic

Summary: Don’t play the “what if” game. You may get more than you bargained for.

It had been no ones fault, so blame couldn’t be placed but he would never do that anyway. If he had to blame someone, it would have been himself for not being able to protect his crew better.

 

The man holding them prisoner was a Devil Fruit user but what kind, remained unknown. It still would have been easy to escape, except for the fact that they had all been bound with Seastone. Unbreakable and immovable.

 

All the followers of this idiot had dispersed once the small crew had been tied up, leaving them alone in a dark, very dank hole in the bottom of who knew where.

 

A chuckle brought Luffy’s attention to the doorway of their cell. Yep. Their cell. The condescending bastard had them all locked up together, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to free themselves without outside help. Luffy knew that the moment anyone had a free hand, they would put him through a wall. The thought comforted him slightly.

 

A hand reaching for his head had him trying to duck out of the way but it was a futile gesture. Grubby fingers plucked his beloved strawhat from its perch and waved it in front of his face.

 

“This means so much to you, doesn’t it? Causing problems for the real pirates wherever you go. How do you think red-hair will feel when he finds you’ve managed to lose it?” Those fingers proceeded to pull at the red band and being in no way delicate, caused a tear in the fragile straw. They then ripped at the brim and crown, easily stretching and breaking the weave, sending minute bits of straw falling to rest at Luffy’s feet.

 

Luffy opened his mouth to yell but all that came out was an angry growl. He heard all of his nakama shifting, straining against their bonds and vying for the blood of a now condemned man for touching their symbol of hope and dreams.

 

“They really are a restless bunch aren’t they, Mugiwara? Honestly, how do you keep them in check?” That voice was pulling tighter and tighter at Luffy’s senses, forcing him to breathe deep before he lost it and that would just not do.

 

His voice was laced with hatred for a man that believed force used by the captain, was what kept them together. “They’re my nakama. I don’t rule them and I don’t order them about. They do as they please.”

 

Foul breath, most noticeably with the stink of old meat, washed over his face causing Luffy to turn his head or throw up on his captor. Although at the moment that particular notion was in question. “And that will be your downfall. And theirs.” He turned his back on the entire crew, searching for something in his pockets.

 

Luffy could feel every pair of eyes on him, asking what they were going to do about this particular predicament. Luffy shook his head just enough to get the message across, Just wait and see what he does. They accepted his decision and settled back, aiming for a calmness that none of them really felt.

 

When the man turned back, he had an object in his hand and as much as Luffy focused he couldn’t see what it was. The grating voice spoke up again, scratching at Luffy’s mind. “Before I give you a demonstration of my abilities, at least allow me to tell about the devil fruit that I have eaten. I know you’re curious and I am most interested in all your reactions. But most especially yours, Captain.”

 

Luffy did not like the sound of that and apparently neither did any of his nakama. “I’m not interested. The moment you free any of us for whatever you have planned, you will be taken down.”

 

A sardonic grin cracked the man’s face, making him seem even more grotesque than he was. “But that’s the beauty of my gift. I don’t need to release any of you to make you feel it.”

 

Something about the tone of his voice had a chill running up Luffy’s spine, worry beginning to set in. If he hurt his nakama in any way, there was no way that he would leave this hole alive.

 

“Maybe a demonstration then? Or perhaps we should just move on to the main show?” He made a move to stand before Brook, who even though he didn’t have any eyes, seemed to glare at him. “Just so you know, Mugiwara, the fruit I consumed was the Akumu Akumu no mi. So the question I put to you is, what is YOUR greatest nightmare?”

 

With another grin, laced with evil intention, leveled at Luffy he turned the object to face Brook. From the light and shadow play, it was easy to determine that what he held was a small mirror, no bigger than the palm of his hand. He leaned close to Brook’s shoulder and looked into it himself, glee at what he saw rolling off him in waves.

 

This was not good. Luffy began struggling anew, trying to find any evidence that he could get free but the voice stopped him before he could really try anything. “You care way too much about your little crew, Monkey. Let’s see how you react when they disappear from your life.”

 

Horror settled into Luffy’s mind and an icy chill stopped his blood. No. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Please, no!

 

The next thing to come from the creature – for he was no man – was the thing that Luffy had never, EVER wanted put into words.

 

“What if you hadn’t opened that barrel, leaving Thriller Bark untouched and Brook still wandering the desolate seas?”

 

Brook threw his head high and with a YOHOHOHO, vanished from their sight. Luffy screamed loud enough to drown out the others, disbelief and pain evident in his voice.

 

He moved to the next in line and Luffy knew what was going to happen and there was no way stop it. Every bad dream, every nightmare he had ever had about losing his nakama, was going to come true and he couldn’t stop it.

 

“What if your shipwright had accepted the fate of his bounty and still refused to go with you?”

 

Franky looked to Robin and with a wink and a hearty SUPER, disappeared amongst the anguished cries from his captain and crew.

 

Luffy watched with dawning horror that this would be the end of his dream, all their dreams. His friends. His family. His nakama. All his.

 

“What if the roof falling in from your fight, had crushed Robin where she sat, giving you no chance to save her?”

 

Robin, the nakama they went to hell and back and declared war on the World Government for, accepted her fate with a whispered “Senchou-san”.

 

“What if you hadn’t been able to convince Chopper to go out to sea with you?”

 

His doctor looked at him with tears in his eyes but stayed quiet as he too, left Luffy’s sight.

 

“What if you hadn’t talked your cook out of dying for his debt, having Gin fight him without hesitation?”

 

Luffy shook his head as Sanji grinned at him, then at Zoro saying they’d meet again wherever they ended up.

 

“What if you hadn’t made it to Usopp in time, giving Kuro leave to do as he wanted?”

 

Usopp lifted his chin high, trying for a valiant departure and still, somehow, managing to smile for his best friend and captain.

 

“What if you hadn’t been able to defeat Arlong, leaving your precious navigator to be used as he saw fit?”

 

Luffy cried out as Nami – his Nami – disappeared, her terrified expression giving way to empty space.

 

“What if you had been too late to the island where your swordsman was begin held?”

 

Zoro, the first real friend he had made, faded with a small nod and “My Captain” falling from his lips.

 

Luffy felt like he was being torn apart, a small piece of him being destroyed with the loss of each nakama.

 

“And finally, my little mugiwara,” the mocking voice grated on what was left of his nerves. “What if Shanks had been just that little too slow getting to you?”

 

Luffy’s eyes widened as images of a one-armed, laughing Shanks was replaced with a now whole but dejected and empty shell.

 

A choking sob caught in his throat and came out as a ragged gasp. The fact that he hadn’t disappeared into nothing, didn’t register.

 

His nakama, his dreams, his life – all gone.

 

The cracking laugh and grating voice pulled his mind back. One person had taken everything from him, in nothing more than an instant, and they were standing almost within reach.

 

“I know what you’re thinking little rubberman and it won’t work. Seastone is a bitch to devil fruit users.”

 

Luffy struggled as much as he could but his strength had waned so much, it was more like twitching. The akumu akumu user was shaking a finger in his face, taunting him, mocking him.

 

Instinct was one of Luffy’s greatest weapons. He fought the strongest enemies and chose his nakama from a crowd of thousands. Instinct called out and he obeyed.

 

His bared teeth clamped down on the irritating digit. The yelling and screaming of the man before him did nothing to stop his movements. He bore down harder and the guy stumbled back.

 

Luffy spat off to the side, finger disappearing into the shadows. Cursing and screaming filled the dank room, punctuated by the drip drip of blood. Luffy glared hard at the man before him, blood surrounding his mouth and manic grin present.

 

The devil fruit user rushed him intending to do, what appeared to be, more yelling. Time seemed to slow and Luffy’s eyes unfocused. Something popped in his brain – possibly his subconscious – and spoke to him. He calmly drew his eyes to the space in front of him and saw an erratically bobbing Adams apple.

 

Jugular. Instinct. Luffy lunged for the man’s throat and latched on. No thought, just action. There was a miniscule moment of no movement and then the body began thrashing and twisting, trying to pull away. Luffy just held on with no thought of letting go. The metallic taste of blood hit his tongue, causing him to gag and reflexively swallow what was in his mouth.

 

Blows were raining down on him – head, shoulders, chest. Not the face though – couldn’t risk that. Legs flailed out and caught him in the shins, the knees, even the groin. Luffy gave no inch, no chance of escape.

 

Amongst the blood in his mouth, he could taste skin. It tasted like death. So many lives, past and future and Luffy knew what had to happen. There was no steeling of his nerves; no consideration that this was wrong. There was just him, in this room, with a killer.

 

Luffy clenched his jaw, bringing his teeth just that much closer and the thought of making this quick, didn’t even prick at his mind. He could feel skin start to give and his mouth filled completely with the taste of decay.

 

There as an odd gurgling and the body stopped moving. One more clench and something gave, the man falling to the floor with a dull thump. Luffy spat out the bits in his mouth and proceeded to vomit copious amounts of blood – none of it his.

 

The body at his feet twitched once and fell still, the final heartbeats pumping life-blood from the gaping hole in his throat. Wide, shocked eyes stared at him, incredulous comprehension leaving a final imprint.

 

Luffy let the numbness take hold as a fist of sorrow gripped his heart. All of his chosen family – his NAKAMA – were gone. There was nothing left. Not even an impression on the dirty ground. He wondered, fleetingly, why he wasn’t dead and realized that he didn’t need to be. He had already died inside.