*suddenly appears from nowhere*

hey guys! *nervous looks* Didannl here, I'm back again! Its been... months... since March...I apologize. Well I won't keep you waiting any longer here goes:

CHAPTER 8

As the scene slowly faded back into color the crew knew where they were instantly, the auction house on Sabaody Archipelago. Except something was different this time. They were standing right next to Luffy on the steps looking up to Saint Charloss. They could see clearly in Luffy's eyes the fury that they could not see before. The rage that burned not only at the celestial Dragon, but also at himself, at his failure to protect his friend. Luffy turned at glared at the Saint, it was a glare the crew had seen before yet it still sent shivers down their spines, even Zoro's. As Luffy started walking the crew could hear Hacchi's pleads and Charloss' ranting get drowned out, the seats full of pirates and bidders alike became blurry and distant. The only visible thing was saint Charloss and Luffy.

"Luffy seems to be so focused on the Celestial dragon that he has blocked everything else out." Robin noticed

"Also, Luffy seems really scary right now..." Usopp commented looking into Luffy's eyes.

"That's a glare that could kill. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end! But wait... I'm already dead!" Brook added

"Go Luffy! give that jerk whats coming to him!" Copper exclaimed

Finally Luffy's fist reached the Dragons face and knocked him out. The crew saw the satisfaction and relief in his eyes, yet they noticed how his eyes continued to burn with rage. The already blurry scene became blurrier and the white slowly set in again. When all the noise and color from the previous moment completely disappeared, the crew stood in silence and then: they burst out laughing.

"That's our Luffy, doing the unthinkable." Sanji said, holding his stomach and bending over.

"He does have his priorities straight, though sometimes I wish he would think more about his actions. BUT DID YOU SEE THE LOOK ON THAT GUYS FACE?!" Nami said, holding to to Robin for support. Usopp and Chopper were rolling together on the ground.

"He didn't know what hit 'em! Literally!" Franky added

"The jerk had never been threatened, let alone punched in his life! of course he didn't!" Zoro said, noting the seriousness of the situation, yet still finding it as laughable as everyone else. As everyone began to calm down, the swirls of color began to fade back into view. The only sound the crew could hear was the sound of Luffy's screaming:

Run. Just run away, everyone. WE'LL THINK THINGS OVER ONCE WE'RE SAFE! GO!

The once joyous laughter was immediately replaced with dead silence. It was so quiet among the 8 of them that, besides the noise from Luffy's memory, they couldn't even hear themselves think.

Chopper couldn't remember any of this because he was in Monster Point the whole time. He didn't remember his nakama's sorrowful screams, nor his own futile attempts at attacking Kuma. If only he had learned to control his power earlier. Even if he can control it now, he wasn't able to then. He used to be a useless monster.

Zoro felt an upsetting feeling enter his chest, like a reopened wound. He had promised Luffy that he wouldn't lose to anyone ever again after Hawk-eyes, yet there he was- (technically) losing for the second time to the paw-paw man. Zoro had no idea what happened after he had been blown away, and this new insight enraged him- he felt as if he had it easy. Being the first to vanish he didn't have to watch every one of his nakama disappear before him like Luffy had to.

Sanji was angry as well, not at his helplessness, but at his own foolishness. Why hadn't he just listened to Luffy and ran? If Luffy felt there was a need to retreat, this was defiantly an enemy they couldn't beat, let alone defeat alone. Not once, but twice he launched useless attacks at Kuma after letting his rage cloud his judgement. Would something different had happened if he had focused on getting himself and his nakama to safety?

Nami was upset with herself as well. She couldn't believe what her last words were to Luffy. Luffy! Help! At the time, she hadn't thought of the pain that these words could cause him. A nakama crying for help yet not being able to was an awful thing, especially for Luffy. Nami knew Luffy would do anything to help others yet she still asked for his when she knew he couldn't do anything to. She regretted those words.

Robin was the only one who knew Luffy was the last to vanish. Her own memories from that day were clouded and foggy. She didn't want to believe the nakama she had finally found after so long were vanishing before her eyes. She remembered sitting helpless next to Luffy, who's screams and pleads of anguish mirrored her own internal ones that fear kept from being spoken. Yet here was the same memory clear as day. She wanted to run over to Luffy and tell him it would be alright, that this wasn't the end.

Everyone in the crew saw the scene in a whole new light by watching it from Luffy's perspective. They didn't realize how far away they seemed from Luffy. How every time Luffy reached out his hand for them he grasped nothing but thin air. Every time one of them vanished, the crew felt a sharp pain in their chests. They knew this pain was nothing compared to the pain Luffy felt that day because they knew everything would turn out alright in the future, but Luffy didn't. He watched his nakama disappear one by one, thinking they were gone forever. Dead. They heard Luffy cry out their names as they saw themselves vanish, watched the tears stream down his face when Robin was finally blown away.

I couldn't even... save a single one of my nakama!

You will never see them again. Farewell.

The large paw-hand approached Luffy. The crew watched as he didn't even try to avoid it. Then he was gone. The scene swirled back to white, but the eerie silence followed.

"'You will never see them again.' Wasn't that a bit harsh of Kuma?" Nami said, trying to break the silence.

"Yeah, yeah... didn't he end up being our ally?" Chopper tried to add

"He was probably staying in character." Robin responded

"We need to make sure this never happens again." Zoro bluntly stated, shutting down the small talk.

"We can't let that idiot suffer like that ever again." Sanji added

"Yeah, he always tried his hardest to protect us. Now it's our turn to protect him!" Usopp announced. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. The crews pact to protect Luffy resonated in their hearts.

So there ya go! This chapter was a bit shorter then the rest because it was really heavy. As you can tell from the fact that there's more paragraph then dialogue, this chapter was supposed to be about the crews internal thoughts, not witty (am i witty?) cannon- like dialogue. Deciding to listen to some of your suggestions I put my own ideas into this chapter, not staying %100 cannon like I usually do. I am also doing better in English class so I decided to be more elegant with my writing and try to use better grammar. I figured this would be a good idea especially for this chapter because it was so... how you say... GODDAMN FULL OF FEELS. I HAD TO REWATCH THAT SCENE LIKE 10 TIMES AND I FELT MY HEART GETTING RIPPED OUT OF CHEST EVERY TIME! GODDAMNIT ODA, WHYYYYYYY

Please review! I love hearing from you guys!

Also- HollyS, the ship is called Merry (nickname), Merry Go (Viz dub), Going Merry (4-kids dub), or Gōingu Merī-gō (Japenese). I chose Merry Go because that's what I call it.