Chapter Text
It had been nearly 1000 years since that day. The Church of Serenity had lived nearly a 1000 years in peace and carefreeness, but now… the members of the church were starting to panic. The days, hours and minutes were ticking down towards the “1000” mark. No one knew exactly what would happen when it hit. No one knew what to expect so they did not know how to prepare. 1000 years was so many lifetimes and so many church officials have lived and passed during that time. No one was alive who remembered how to stop it. No one had found the writings. It had not been written on Poneglyphs or carved into tablets. The information had been passed from one generation to the next by stories and legends… but somewhere along the way the most important knowledge was lost.
The Warrior Priest had died before passing on the information and he was the only one that knew it. The only one who knew how to stop the Demon that would awaken when the clock struck noon on the 1000th year. The Demon would awake, there was no doubt about it… the questions were just how, where and what would come next? Would the creature appear before them to seek revenge? Would the creature destroy the world? No one knew and no one dared leave the cathedral to try and find a solution. Not when time was closing in rapidly.
The Pope of the Church sat in his office and watched the sunset. Seven days left… that was all they had. Seven days left before the Demon was set free. Would it come after them to take revenge? Would it destroy the world in its rage? What would it do? Would anyone be able to stop it? He looked at the only writing available. The Warrior Priest was not allowed to write anything down about the Demon, lest their enemies find a way to use it against them. However, the description of the Demon was still available. It was not much but it was something to go on. Dark clothing, dark mind, dark eyes, darker skin than the pale people of its country, dark soul, tall, strong, fierce and with… He sighed. It was impossible to figure out the description of the hair because the document had been ruined years ago.
The Pope sighed. Why did this have to happen during his time? He sighed. What should they do? They needed to find this Demon and destroy it once and for all. Locking it away again would not work, they needed to kill it. But how? The Five Elders ignored his pleas for help. The Navy and various kingdoms asked laughed in their faces. So what could he do? He could not send out his own people. What if they died fighting this monster? Who could he send to fight that no one would miss or care about if they died? He looked at the newspaper and smirked. Of course! Pirates! He could send out pirates after the creature! If they failed no one would miss them! If they succeeded, they could be redeemed as heroes and stop their villainous ways!
The pope got up and walked over to the window. Yes, pirates. They would help him destroy this demon or die trying… if the price was right. But what could the Church of Serenity offer that would draw pirates to them? They did not have enough funds to pay a big amount. They did not have treasure they could part with… wait… he walked over to his bookcase. Had not the Pirate King been here years ago and if he remembered correctly… the Pirate King left one of his coats and a dagger. What if he made up a claim that the dagger had inherited its master’s will and would help whoever owned it guide them right? He himself could put an enchantment on the blade, making anyone holding it hear faint whispers! Maybe that would be enough! It was an ugly thing to do, but it had to be done! The fate of the World was on the line! He could not let this monster live! He could not allow this demon to roam free! He had to stop it with any means necessary! God would forgive him! He was sure he would! He would want the demon dead as well! With a determent nod the pope walked to his office door and flung it open, calling for the cardinals. Their time to strike was now! They needed to destroy this threat and now… now they had a plan to do it and they would succeed!
Part 1
In a town deep in the New World the Sunny was anchored in the harbor. The occupants had split into three groups. One to guard the ship, one to go into town for supplies and one to make sure Luffy did not cause any problems when he went out exploring. The group that had gone for supplies consisted of Nami, Chopper and Sanji. The group guarding the ship was Usopp, Franky and Brook. The last group consisted of Robin, Luffy and Zoro. During their time exploring the group had come across a group of crying and screaming children. Apparently bandits had kidnapped their older brother and sister and were going to sacrifice them during a cult festival for the God of Serenity. Robin had read about the cult a long time ago and remembered that it been around for about a thousand years. According to legends the cult had been born from the Church of Serentiy, a church that worshipped the god of Serenity. A god said to symbolize peace and harmony as well as tranquility and kindness. According to the cult he wanted blood sacrifices, young children, to gain powers to fight the demons of the world. When Luffy heard they were going to sacrifice these children he swore to help them. He was going to rescue them. Zoro and Robin agreed to help and sent the children to the Sunny to inform the rest of their crew. As they ran though the town they met up with Sanji’s group and the cook agreed to help in the battle while Nami and Chopper hurried back to the Sunny to help protect the rest of the children in the town. Some of the adults thanked them for trying to help but did not try and help the pirates. Zoro understood why, they thought they were too weak to fight this cult. His grip on his swords hardened and he closed his eyes as he ran, trying to listen. His feet started moving in the direction he felt was right.
“Marimo you are going the wrong way!” Sanji suddenly shouted and grabbed his arm.
“I am not!” Zoro objected.
“Yes you are idiot!” Sanji shouted. “The villagers told us to take the path through the jungle! It would lead us to the altar!”
“That road will take too long!” Zoro growled. “The kids will be bead by then!”
“Oh like you know the correct path! Come now shitty swordsman!” Sanji dragged him after the others and Zoro growled angrily, but complied. Something told him it was the wrong way, well wrong and right. It would take him longer to get there, but he would get there. He had no choice to ignore his instincts, because Sanji was not letting him go.
Sure enough, just as they broke through the trees Luffy used his powers to attack the Head Priest. The Head Priest held a knife in his hands, with blood on it and on a stone altar in front of him lay two children. One had a stab wound in the stomach. Zoro saw red and pulled his swords out, growling darkly. He saw Sanji tense up in hatred as well. Luffy charged and knocked the Head Priest aside, but doing so the cult members pulled out their own knives and charged Zoro and Sanji. Zoro smirked. It was around fifty of them, that was not too bad. Robin hurried towards the children, to free them and help the injured boy. Sanji watched her back while Zoro fought against some of the warriors in the cult. Luffy was fighting the Head Priest and by the looks of it the bastard seemed to have some kind of Devil Fruit powers! The Head Priest’s fingers kept turning into darts that he sent flying all over the place. Zoro felt one of them graze his cheek and hissed as it burned.
“Shit cook!” he called as he sliced one of the warriors. “Watch out for the darts, the tips are covered in some sort of acid!”
“Got it!” Sanji called back as he fought to keep the guards around the altar off. They were not many, but they were all skilled warriors it seemed. Zoro growled and decided to use all three of his swords to fight the group advancing on him. Luffy also seemed to have a tough time with the Head Priest. Not because the man was very skilled or powerful… but he got his cronies to join the fight and hid behind them.
“Kill the brats!” someone shouted. “We must strengthen our god before the demon is awoken!”
“What demon?” Zoro asked and then ducked when an axe swung towards his face. He rolled across the ground and got up behind the man and cut him across the chest as the man turned around. When Zoro then turned and looked towards the altar he saw something that made his blood freeze. Two guys with long spears were approaching Sanji from behind. If they reached him they would pierce him and the kid he was standing in front of now.
“Cook!” Zoro shouted in warning and launched for the men, but they flung the spears. Zoro’s eyes widened in fear.
“Room!” a voice shouted. “Shambles!” Zoro relaxed as Sanji, Robin and the children disappeared right in front of his eyes. Someone landed behind him, and he felt this person lean back against him so that they were back-to-back. Zoro knew who that was.
“Torao”, he said and smirked around his katana.
“Zoro-ya”, the captain of the Heart Pirates greeted.
“What are you doing here?”
“We were on the other side of the island getting provisions when we ran into Tony-ya and Nami-ya. They told us of this sacrifice.”
“And you didn’t trust us to handle it?”
“I did… but I heard something troubling in town. The children are in on this. They are going to sacrifice all of us to their deity. They planned on drugging your food during the ‘thank you dinner’ they planned. They stabbed that boy in a non-fatal way to spare him.”
“Bastards”, Zoro growled.
“And four Marine ships are closing in.”
“For fuck’s sake”, Zoro growled and stabbed a warrior approaching him. Law did the same on his end.
“I was also going to approach Mugiwara-ya with a request”, Law continued. “Room.” A blue dome appeared around them, and Law smirked.
“Freaky powers”, Zoro grumbled. Law just smirked and cut up the group advancing on them… before piecing them back together in very… interesting ways.
“It is effective Zoro-ya”, Law replied as some of the fighters fled.
“So, what’s your request”, Zoro asked and cut down two more goons.
“I want you to join my crew for a while.”
“Why?”
“There’s an island I wish to visit… but they only allow swordsmen to enter… swordsmen of great renown. My plan is to have us two infiltrate it.”
“Why?” Zoro asked again and looked around as the last cultists fled into the jungle.
“They’ve taken some of my crew prisoners”, Law growled.
“Luffy will help.”
“He can’t… he is not a swordsman.”
“He’ll find a way to enter.”
“I don’t doubt it, but I need…” Law growled. “He’s too rash. You are as well, but if we work together, I am sure things will turn out well. They’d never let him anywhere near the prison where my crewmembers are. But with you and I they will… I was thinking of taking Bone-ya with us as well, but I don’t think Mugiwara-ya would let me borrow both of y-”
“Watch out!” Zoro shouted and jumped over Law to slash a cannon ball in half.
“Damn it!” Law cursed as the four Marine ships appeared out at sea.
“Luffy!” Zoro shouted to his captain and pointed at the ships. “Marines!”
“Ooooooh how exciting!” Luffy cheered and started spinning his arm then he noticed Law. “Oh, Torao? What are you doing here?”
“I came to borrow Zoro-ya for a while”, Law replied as Zoro cut another cannon ball.
“No”, Luffy said. “Get your own swordsman!”
“It will only be for a few weeks!” Law objected.
“I said no. Get your own Zoro! Mine is staying here!”
“Luffy!” a voice shouted and the three of them noticed Sunny in the sea below them. Luffy’s eyes widened when he saw a bleeding Sanji on the deck, along with a hurt Robin. Zoro growled, he remembered what Law had said. The people of this island had probably tried to sacrifice the pair.
“SANJI!” Luffy screamed angrily. “Robin!”
“Watch out!” Usopp shouted just as the ground exploded underneath their feet. The Marines had fired their cannon balls at the cliff underneath them and now it was all coming down. Zoro cursed and heard his friends call his and Luffy’s names. Zoro used his swords to cut up most of the rocks before he hit the water. As soon as he did, he opened his eyes despite the sting of the salt. He looked around and saw both Luffy and Law sink towards the bottom. He swam down and grabbed the two of them. It was heavier than he expected since both Devil Fruit users were practically useless at the moment. He had to use all his strength to fight the currents pulling him down, dodge the sinking rocks and dirt and not letting the other two’s weights push him down. He broke the surface with a gasp, his muscles felt as if they were on fire. He heard explosions as more cannonballs rained down around him like big black hails. This was making him quite mad.
“Zoro-bro!” he heard Franky shout and the cyborg’s arm appeared next to him. Zoro put Luffy in the palm and Franky pulled him back towards the ship. Then Zoro had to dive down again as a cannonball came sailing towards his head. He kept a tight grip around Law as he did.
“ZORO!” he heard Nami scream when he broke the surface again.
“Get out of here!” Zoro shouted back.
“Baka not without you!”
“Watch out!” Chopper called as more cannonballs came flying.
“Get going!” Zoro shouted. “Torao’s crew is around here somewhere! I’ll get him back to them and then we can catch up with you!” He got one of his swords and managed to cut a cannonball in half.
“But Zoro!” Usopp shouted.
“Just go already!” Zoro shouted. “Franky activate the Coup de Burst!”
“But-”
“NOW!” Zoro ordered and dove again to avoid the cannonballs. He heard the sea rumble and when he broke the surface again, he saw his crew vanish in the distance and smiled in relief. Then he turned his head and groaned as the Marines kept closing in. He looked around for a solution, but then felt something underneath his feet and smirked. It had to be the Polar Tang and sure enough the submarine surfaced. The door behind him slammed open and he recognized the giant, Jean Bart in the doorway.
“This way Roronoa!” he called and Zoro used all his strength to sling Law over his shoulder and run across the deck and in through the door. Jean Bart slammed it close behind him.
“Rapid descent!” someone shouted and Zoro felt the ship starting to sink under the waves. He collapsed against the wall and slid down. He heard Law groan.
“Captain!” a few worried voices called.
“Get us away from here”, Law groaned. “Set course…” he coughed up some sea water. Zoro saw how much it hurt him to speak at the moment.
“You heard the man”, Zoro called. “Get us out of here!”
“Right”, Jean Bart called. “Shiroi!” a short man with a white mask looked at him. “Full speed ahead!”
“Roger”, was the soft reply he got. Zoro felt the submarine starting to move.
“Captain”, a man with a hat that reminded Zoro of the tail of a stingray called. “Are we not gonna head after the Sunny and the Straw Hats?”
“No”, Law groaned and coughed up some water. “Zoro-ya…”
“Fine by me”, Zoro growled. “As long as you get me back to them after this shit is done.” He had noticed that four members of the Heart Pirates were missing. The polar bear was one of them as was Shachi and Penguin and a guy Zoro thought was called Clione.
“You have my word…” Law groaned. “Unagi! Get the Den Den Mushi for me.”
“Yes Captain!” called a man whose fringe was long, dark and wavy. Zoro looked up at Law as the captain got up. Two members hurried up to steady him and he smiled gently at them. Zoro was a bit surprised because he had never seen Law smile like that before. Then again this was his crew, his nakama. A hand appeared in front of Zoro and he looked up at Jean Bart. The giant grinned at him. Zoro smirked and took the offered hand. He got pulled to his feet.
“Thank you for keeping the captain safe in the waves”, the giant muttered.
“No worries we are allies after all”, Zoro replied. “And he saved my nakama first so we are even now.”
“TORAO!” echoed through the submarine as Law got his Den Den Mushi to connect to Luffy’s. “GIVE ZORO BACK!”
“Mugiwara-ya I need his help with something”, Law drawled sounding annoyed.
“I don’t care give me back my swordsman!” Zoro made his way over.
“Luffy”, he called. “It’s okay. I will be back before you know it.”
“I can’t protect Zoro if Zoro isn’t here!” Luffy whined.
“I’ll be fine, Tarao will make sure I don’t get injured.”
“He better!” Luffy shouted.
“What do you need Zoro for anyway”, Nami’s voice came over the Den Den Mushi. “Maybe we can all help?”
“No I need a swordsman of great renown”, Law replied. “Zoro-ya is the only one I know who fits those criteria.”
“For what”, Sanji asked.
“Some of my naka… crew got captured by another pirate who has his base on an island not far from here. I need Zoro-ya’s help in rescuing them.”
“We can help”, Nami said. “Just guide us there and-”
“I’d rather not risk all of you or the rest of my crew.”
“But you’re fine with risking Zoro!?”
“No… but I have no other choice.”
“You’re a swordsman yourself! Can’t you do it alone!”
“I need another swordsman.”
“What for!?”
“It’s a challenge… I will get my crew back if my partner and I can defeat our opponents. My men are skilled fighters… but not with the sword. Mugiwara-ya, imagine that you were in my shoes and your nakama got kidnapped. You get issued a challenge that you could only win if you asked someone else for help… would you do it?”
“Of course!” Luffy yelled.
“So?” It was quiet on the other side. “Mugiwara-ya I promise to return your swordsman in one piece.”
“You better Torao!” Luffy yelled. “Zoro!”
“Yes sencho?” Zoro asked.
“Captain’s orders! Zoro is not allowed to die!”
Zoro smirked. “Understood.”
“Zoro is to help Torao and then come back home! Zoro is not to die or get captured!”
“If you die Zoro I will kill you myself!” Nami called.
“Oi Marimo if you get lost at sea I will fucking murder you!” Sanji shouted.
“Zoro will come back… right?” Luffy asked.
“I promise Luffy”, Zoro said soothingly. “See you soon.”
Law hung up and then collapsed in a chair. His crew panicked a little, but Zoro just sat down in a corner and rolled his shoulders. What a fucking day. Something felt wrong… it felt as if he was going the wrong way.
“I know”, Zoro whispered. “But right now I need to go along with the Hearts…. We need to save their friends.”
“Who are you talking to?” Law asked. Zoro looked at him and chuckled as he noticed the three… no five blankets Law’s crew had just wrapped around their captain. A man with hair that stood straight up, looking somewhat like a chef’s hat except for the black color, was walking towards Law with a cup of something hot it seemed. One of the Heart Pirates hurried over to Zoro with a blanket as well. Zoro took it with a nod in thanks, then he turned to Law who was still looking at him questioningly.
“No one”, Zoro yawned. “See ya in the morning Torao.”
“Fuck off Straw Hatter”, Law drawled and then coughed, causing some of his crew to run around to find more blankets. Zoro smirked, looks like all crews are the same.
TBC