This is a little story I wrote mostly on the last day of spring break, in lament of its end. I didn't get to finish Sanji's dream or the last bit until tonight (I'm actually supposed to be in bed). It's just some random nakama fluff. Hope you enjoy!

Also, I meant to mention this before the first chapter of "A Chef's Hands," but thanks to all you lovelies who read (and reviewed XD) "Chalk." Each of you get a key lime pie. A special thanks to RusalkaHime for being my first ever reviewer on fanfiction! She whipped cream on her pie.

A Little Midnight Snack

By Dandy Wonderous

CRACK!!!

'Damn, not another one…' Zoro stared on in dismay as the broken katana blade clattered to the ground. The big, black… thing made an odd gurgling noise, that sounded suspiciously like…

"Bastard! Stop laughing at me!" Zoro growled around Wado Ichimonji. He raised his other katana in rage and launched himself at the monster again.

CRACK!!!

'Damn it!' Zoro clenched his teeth around Wado's hilt as he watched the other sword shatter into pieces against the beast's rock hard skin.

'Why is this happening? This shouldn't be happening!'

The monster swung a gnarled, clawed paw at him and Zoro had to backpedal to dodge it. He felt slow, sluggish, like he was moving through mud.

Pulling Wado out of his mouth, he announced, "Ittoryu!" He ran back at the monster again, but was easily swatted away by the massive paw. The monster laughed again.

"World's best swordsman? You can't even win when your nakama's lives are on the line!" it grated, gesturing toward a mass of blood-covered shapes on the ground. Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, even the ero-cook… the entire crew lay still, no sign of breath or life to be seen.

"Bastard!" Zoro repeated angrily, running at the beast one last time. But it was growing smaller, changing into something…

CHING!!!

A second, identical Wado Ichimonji blocked Zoro's attack, but all the swordsman could do was gape at his opponent, jaw slack.

"You lose again, Zoro," Kuina taunted, but her voice wasn't her own; it was the monster's. Still, Zoro couldn't raise so much as a finger to stop her as she plunged her blade through his heart.

Zoro jolted awake, sweat beading on his forehead. He looked back and forth, realizing he was alone on the Going Merry's deck. Night had long since fallen over the ship, and the moon had risen high. He looked up at it, then let his gaze travel to the mast overhead, where he could see a long nose peeking over the edge of the crow's nest.

Idiots. They could've at least woken me up. He stood up and stretched his stiff muscles, eyes still searching his surroundings for danger despite himself. At least it's a warm night… What am I looking for? It was just a stupid nightmare!

Annoyed with himself, he started for the men's quarters, rubbing his eyes to remove the crust of sleep. He was so occupied with this (and the memories of Kuina that tauntingly danced in front of his eyelids) that he didn't notice Nami until he ran into her.

"Oi! Watch where you're going, idiot!" the navigator griped. She had had her back turned to him, and when he bumped into her she had jumped a foot in the air.

"Huh? Oh, sorry."

She blinked. "Did you just… apologize to ME?"

He stared back at her blankly, his mind elsewhere. "Uh, yeah, I guess so."

A fish jumped in the water below, and Nami gasped at the splash. Zoro flinched, then chastised himself silently for the slip. What's with my nerves tonight?

"You okay?" he asked, eying Nami wearily, hoping she hadn't noticed. "You seem jumpy tonight."

"I'm not jumpy," she snapped, though her voice was slightly shaky.

"So what are you doing, exactly?"

She almost blushed. Almost. "I… couldn't sleep, so I came up here to… I don't know, get some warm milk, or something!" She folded her arms, daring him to push her further. "And why are you still up?"

"I just woke up. I've been on the deck all night."

"You shouldn't sleep out here."

"No one woke me up at nightfall!"

Nami shrugged. "Whatever. Good-night, Zoro."

She walked to the galley door and realized with irritation that he was following her. She sighed, stopping with her hand on the handle. "What are you doing?"

"I just… thought I'd join you," he said, almost sheepishly.

She studied him carefully. "Why?"

"Because I… I can't sleep, either."

She snorted. "That's a new one; Roronoa Zoro, the narcoleptic, can't sleep." She shrugged. "Well, come on if you want; not like I can stop you, really." Then she opened the door.

"Naaamiii! Where are you?"

Nami turned away from the nikan she had been about to pick. "Coming, Bellemere-san!" She was still her eighteen-year-old self, but she didn't wonder why her "mother" was still alive.

She ran back to the little house as fast as her legs could take her. But when she got there, all the windows were dark, and there was a dead silence.

"Nojiko?" she called tentatively. "Bellemere-san?"

The door opened with a slow and ominous creak, and Nojiko appeared in the opening. "Nami?"

"Oh, Nojiko!" Nami said in relief. "What's going on? Why is it so… NOJIKO!!!"

Nami finally noticed the red stain that slowly grew on the front of Nojiko's shirt, stemming from her breast. Her sister swayed, then fell backward.

"Nojiko!" Nami cried, running to her sister's side. She bent down next to her, but the girl was already dead. Nami felt hot tears run down her face.

"Nami!" called Bellemere again. "Come inside."

Nami looked inside the house, and suddenly she was standing inside, staring at Bellemere's inert form on the floor. "Bellemere-san?" she cried weakly.

"What's wrong, Nami?" Bellemere's voice called, though the body remained still. "Why couldn't you protect your family?" it taunted. "Why couldn't you protect your nakama?"

"My nakama?" Nami repeated, dread growing in her heart. She turned slowly, and she was outside again in the mikan grove, and there lay all her nakama, Luffy, Zoro, Robin… All of them as still and lifeless as Bellemere.

Nami shrieked and jerked awake in tears.

"Oi, Chopper. Looks like we weren't the only ones who couldn't sleep."

Zoro and Nami both stared into the galley in surprise. Sanji was there, wearing his slacks and blue shirt, jacket and tie forgotten. Chopper was sitting at the table with a glass of milk, staring back at them, slightly embarrassed. They could smell something baking.

"What are you doing up, ero-cook?" Zoro demanded, flopping down in a chair.

"I could ask you the same thing, marimo!" Sanji snapped back, before turning to Nami. "Nami-swan! How lovely it is of you to grace me with your beautiful presence! This lout wasn't bothering you, was he?"

"No, Sanji-kun. I'm fine." The navigator sat down on Chopper's other side. "Why are you still up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Sanji answered with a shrug. "Care for a drink? I'll make anything you desire!"

"Sake, cook."

"Get it yourself, shitty swordsman!"

"Ugh," Nami moaned, resting her head in her hands. "Stop fighting! It's too late to listen to you."

"Aye, Nami-san!"

"Tch."

"Chopper," Nami continued, looking at the doctor. "Could you not sleep, either?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "N-not because I was scared, or anything!"

"Did you have a bad dream?"

"Sh-shut up!"

"Aw, it's okay, Chopper! We all have nightmares every now and then." Nami shuddered slightly, remembering the one she had just had.

"Shut up, asshole! Your caring about me doesn't make me happy, idiot!"

"You're welcome."

"Oi, dartboard! What are you making?"

"Nothing for you if you keep that up, marimo."

"What is it, Sanji-kun?"

"Chocolate chip cookies, Nami-swan! I'll save the chocolatey-ist for you!"

"Thank you, Sanji-kun! Can you get me some milk?"

"Aye!"

Zoro watched Chopper finish up his milk out of the corner of his eye. So the little reindeer had had a bad dream, too, eh?

"Wow!"

Chopper looked around the island in wonder. It was hard not to, actually, as the entire island was made of candy. A fine rain of sakura blossoms floated down continuously.

Chopper wandered around, the literal kid in a candy store, eating anything that looked particularly delicious, meaning everything. Peppermint sticks, gumdrops, gingerbread, chocolate chips, and cotton candy.

Finally having eaten his fill, Chopper laid back on his back and watched the sakura blossoms. "Paradise…" he moaned happily.

POP!

Chopper sat up, holding his slightly bulging tummy. In front of him a small mushroom had popped up from the ground.

"A mushroom?" Chopper wondered aloud, leaning forward to poke it with a hoof. Then he abruptly froze, his eyes widening in horror.

"An amiudake!"

POP POP POP!!!

The poisonous mushrooms were popping up in rapid succession, stemming in a ring around the first. Chopper jumped away from the original, then watched in stunned silence as the mushrooms covered every bit of the candy island. With even louder, more ominous pops, gigantic amiudake mushrooms appeared around the edges of the island. Chopper watched them grow, then screamed as he saw an all too familiar figure standing in front of one of the massive fungi.

"Doctor Hiruluk!"

Chopper started running through the mushrooms as fast as his short legs could carry him. He tried transforming once, twice, three times into Walk Point but for some reason it failed. He reached out with one hoof for his "father."

"Doctor Hiruluk!!!"

The amiudake's stem opened like a mouth and swallowed Hiruluk down with a loud slurp. Chopper slowly stopped his futile run, tears streaming down his cheeks, hoof still reaching.

"Doctor!" he cried.

"Too bad," said the mushroom tauntingly. "You were completely useless, eh? Hmm… Your friends sure are tasty. I think I'll eat some more."

Chopper watched in despair as, one after another, his nakama were eaten by the giant talking fungi. Usopp, Zoro, Luffy… all gone…

Chopper woke up in a cold sweat and did the first thing he always did when he was scared; run for Zoro.

Except… Zoro wasn't in his bunk.

So Chopper did the next thing that came to mind; ran out on deck to find the swordsman.

His frenzied brain wasn't operating correctly, and he ran along without really seeing where he was going until he slammed into a strong, black clad leg.

"Oi, Chopper. Are you okay?"

Chopper looked up in fright to see Sanji towering over him. The lanky chef was smoking a cigarette and, Chopper noticed, seemed slightly paler than usual.

"I…" Chopper wasn't sure how to answer that. Something on the ship creaked, and Chopper jumped with a small yelp behind Sanji's leg.

Sanji looked down at the cowering reindeer, then knelt down next to him. "What's wrong, Chopper?"

"I… had a bad dream," he admitted quietly.

Sanji's eye widened, then he smiled. "I thought that might be it." He turned so that he was sitting next to the doctor. "You wanna know a secret?" he whispered conspiratorially.

Chopper looked up at him with wide eyes and nodded.

Sanji looked back and forth, then leaned in and whispered, "I had a bad dream, too."

"Really?"

"Yep!" He sat back and took a long drag on his cigarette.

"But… but strong guys like you don't have bad dreams!" Chopper protested.

"Hmm? And why's that?"

"Because you're not afraid of anything!"

Sanji laughed. "Is that what you think?" Chopper nodded. "How about another secret? I'm afraid of spiders."

"Really!?!" Sanji nodded. "Wow. That's lame."

"Oi! I didn't say you could make fun of it!"

"Oh! Sorry." Chopper sat down next to him and looked up at the stars. "Does Zoro have bad dreams?"

"Probably. Everyone has nightmares." Sanji put out his cigarette and stood up. "Hey, Chopper, how do cookies sound to you?"

"Huh?"

"Cookies," the chef repeated, turning for the galley. "Nothing like chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk to make you feel better after a bad dream!"

Chopper smiled. "Idiot! You saying kind things and making me cookies doesn't make me happy at all!"

It was a place he had never wanted to see again.

The mushroom shaped rock, devoid of trees or plants or life of any kind, hundreds of feet above the water with no way down to fish or try to escape.

The middle of the island rose ominously in front of him, obscuring the view of the opposite side. Sanji eyed it with apprehension, not wanting to crest the small hill. He didn't want to confront the horror on the other side. Not again.

But his feet didn't seem interested in what he wanted. With long, deliberate strides, he crossed the island.

"Oi, shitty geezer!" he called, trying to calm the shiver in his voice. Please, don't let Zeff be on the other side. Starving wasn't fun, but he would far rather do it alone then watch someone else starve.

But Zeff wasn't on the other side; Luffy was, staring at the ocean, his back turned to the cook. Sanji was surprised; what was his captain doing on this godforsaken rock?

"Luffy," he began, turning the boy around by his shoulder. Then he gasped aloud.

It was Luffy, but his cheeks were gaunt, the pale skin clinging to his bones. His body was frail, all of the customary exuberant light absent from his eyes. "Sanji… meat…" he moaned without energy.

"Luffy!" Sanji cried in distress, but his captain didn't hear him; he fell back and hit the rock with a slight bounce. "LUFFY!" The cook dropped to his knees next to him, but the boy was gone.

The island spun around Sanji. He realized slowly that his other nakama were there, each of them simply gaunt figures on the ground. Robin, Nami, even Vivi… They were all there, and yet all gone…

"It's your fault," taunted the wind. "You're the cook; it's your job to keep them fed. And you failed them."

DING!

Sanji slid over to the oven and opened it. He poked one of the cookies experimentally with a toothpick then, with a satisfied nod, pulled them out and laid them on the counter to cool.

"They smell wonderful, Sanji-kun!" Nami exclaimed, already eyeing the biggest for herself.

Sanji beamed at the praise. "Thank you, Nami-san."

"Yum," said Chopper excitedly.

Zoro rolled his eyes and tried not to look interested… or hungry.

The cook pulled out a small serving platter and gently moved the cookies onto it. With a flourish he placed them on the table in front of his three fellow night owls. "Careful, they're still-"

"OW! HOT!" yelled Chopper, who had overeagerly snatched up a cookie. He quickly put it down and sucked up some milk in an effort to sooth his burning tongue.

"Oi! Didn't I just tell you to be careful!" Sanji admonished.

"Sowwy," said Chopper, his still-stinging tongue lolling out of his mouth. Nami lost it, giggling into her hand, and after a beat Sanji had joined in, laughing heartily. Even Zoro couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"It's not funny!" yelled Chopper indignantly, albeit around his own giggles. Soon, he too was laughing aloud.

"It reminds me of Johnny," said Zoro unexpectedly, and everyone stopped laughing to look at him curiously. Zoro rarely talked about his life before meeting Luffy. "He had this huge pepper, and he ate it all in one bite. Spiciest pepper he'd ever had; I've never seen anyone chug a barrel of sake that fast. And then he was drunker than I've ever seen him." And then, to the others shock, he did an impressive reenactment of Johnny stumbling around before passing out on the floor. Nami, in unladylike fashion, sprayed cookie crumbs from her mouth.

And then they were all launching into funny stories from their past. Nami told about some pirates that she tricked into locking themselves in their own brig. Sanji told about some rowdy Baratie customers who hit Zeff in the face with a pie ("Funniest thing I've ever seen. Of course, I still had to help beat the shit out of them."). Chopper told about spilling a chemical that turned his fur fluorescent pink.

Finally the four Straw Hats calmed, the cookie dish empty save for some crumbs and the glasses of milk set aside. Sanji gathered the dishes to wash, and Chopper offered to help. The two washed in silence while Nami and Zoro leaned back and relaxed. Once the last glass was put away, Sanji addressed the impromptu party. "Well, I don't know about you three, but I'm going to bed before I'm assaulted by our meat-loving shit of a captain."

Nami stretched and yawned. "Yeah, I better go to bed, too. Night!"

Sanji held the door for her, then she disappeared down to the girls' room. The three boys made their way for the men's quarters, and minutes later they had all passed out in their various places. Chopper had managed to curl up near Zoro, just in case.

Yes, everyone has nightmares. But good friends can make any remnants of fear fade away.

Up in the crow's nest, Usopp had been smelling the baking treats. Now, as he watched his nakama return to bed, he sniffed and said, "I bet those jerks didn't save me one cookie."

The End

A/N: I feel like a hack because I had to look up Wado's name and the correct spelling for Hiruluk. Sigh. Anyway…

Zoro's dream: It's very vague, but I had a hard time thinking of something Zoro would be afraid of. He's also the only one who dies in his own dream. It's because he gets hurt the worst (actually, an oversight on the part of the author…)

Zoro goes a little OOC at the end, but it's not TOO awful… right?

Nami's dream: Arlong was supposed to be in it, but I decided he wouldn't torture her further.

I love Bellemere's name, and her hair, no matter what anyone else says!

Chopper's dream: Since Chopper is still a child in so many ways, I wanted his dream to seem childlike. I still think it's the creepiest, though…

For those of you for whom Drum Island is too long in the past, the amiudake is the poisonous mushroom Chopper gave Dr. Hiruluk (I had to look it up; I'm not just amazing like that, sadly).

Sanji's dream: A reasonable nightmare for him to have, right? Unlike the others, his mentor/father-figure does not make an actual appearance. This is because, unlike the others, Zeff is still alive.

I had originally had this Sanji nightmare idea for a longer fanfic, but "A Chef's Hands" was a much more stable idea, so I went with it instead.

Usopp gets the last word. Yay Usopp!

I hope you all enjoyed.

This is Breaking Curfew Dandy Wonderous, signing off.