Hiding the Truth (One Piece)

Chapter 26 - The Nightmare on Thriller Bark

3rd Person's POV

The four Straw Hat pirates continued walking through the medieval mansion, hoping to meet up with their fellow nakama. Lana had eventually put Chopper down, who had insisted on walking for the remainder of the trip. It might have had to do with the fact the Usopp would constantly tease him over being carried around.  Whilst Chopper had argued with Usopp, proclaiming that he was a grownup who didn't need to be carried, he still held onto Lana's pinkie, too anxious to completely let go of the comforting brunette. 

Just as they had thought they'd finally found the exit, they instead stumbled upon a room that began to unravel the horrifying story that hide within the deep shadows of this monstrous place... Thriller Bark.

"I can't believe it" Lana was the first to speak after discovering the story behind the plate-chucking women, one of the residents of the manor they had encountered.

"At first I disliked her, but now I kind of feel sorry for her" Nami admitted looking down at the floor, her sympathy ringing clear in her words. Lana glared ahead as she and the others kept moving forward, trying to understand what really was going on in this place. Despite their first impressions of the haunted island, it seemed the story ran deeper than anything they expected. 

"Nothing here makes any sense. I want to find out what's really going on here" Lana spat out as the three trailed behind her, agreeing wholeheartedly with the brunette's sentiment.

"You have to admit that jack-in-the-box did scare us a bit. Did you see Usopp's face? That was priceless my friend" Lana joked, patting said person on the back, trying to lighten the mood from the sad story they'd just heard. Chopper and Nami smiled at her attempt, nodding their heads in agreement with light-hearted chuckles, which threw Usopp into a tizzy at their amusement  with him.

"It wasn't funny! That thing was creepy. I still don't understand how you weren't scared" Usopp grumpily stated with a crestfallen expression. Lana smiled at his pouting, throwing her arm around his shoulders.

"Well, you know what they say. Monsters don't know fear" Lana spoke with a carefree expression, causing her company to laugh. However, deep down, she loathed herself for what she believed she was. She turned to the others in hopes of forgetting the memories that began to resurface, her words fuelling her self-hatred for what she had convince herself to be. 

"Let's try and find a way out of this blasted place, hmm?" The others turned to her, glad that they had such a reliable crewmate and friend whom they could lean on to protect them.

~Time Lapse~

Nami's POV

I couldn't believe we were being chased by the freaky-looking zombies again. At least this time we had Lana to defend us, who stood strong as she battered the undead beings away when they got too close. I internally sighed at seeing how weak I was, wishing I didn't have to keep relying on the others to protect me. We all usually had to rely on Lana and the monster trio, consisting of Zoro, Sanji and Luffy. Ridding myself of those self-deprecating thoughts, I focused back to the task at hand: Finding a way of escaping the moronic simpletons that wanted to eat our brains.

We 'd managed to trap ourselves at the base of the fireplace, scared out of our minds and screaming our eardrums off as the zombies approached. Lana was crouching next to me with her back turned to the zombies, shielding us from the incoming crowd. She gripped Chopper close, to the point where only his antlers stuck out as she leaned over to conceal him. We'd resolved ourselves to dying in that moment, each holding the other as we wished death would arrive swiftly. We were suddenly thrown out of thoughts at the sound of a click and the fireplace tilting. The next thing we know were stranded in a barren corridor, covered in dust and cobwebs.