Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Luffy had a dream.

He blearily opened his eyes. He was in a void, endless and pitch-black.

He turned in all directions but saw nothing. He was simply standing on an invisible barrier, nothing in sight.

“Hello?” Luffy called with cupped hands and found that his voice echoed. That was a good sign; this place wasn’t infinite.

He decided to walk around a little, explore and find some kind of life in this vacant realm. With each step on the invisible ground came an echoey sound that sounded like glass.

After a few minutes, a replica of himself floated into his field of vision.

Wait—what?

The being looked the exact same as Luffy, save for the white-looking getup. His hair was floating over his head like fire, but white. His outfit was mostly white as well. He shared his scars and wore same outfit, but his eyes were a pinkish-red.

To say the least, peering into his eyes was a bit…intimidating. He saw his reflection when staring into his soul.

“Why hello there,” His doppelgänger spoke in an even more echoey tone. Luffy realized he had his voice.

Wait. Was this…his gear 5 form?

“You’re…me,” Luffy said unsurely. His eyes widened at the sight of the figure’s sandals not quite reaching the ground.

He laughed. “That’s right. And I’ve been meaning to talk to you since you first discovered me…”

Luffy raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t worry. It’s a simple discussion, although crucial. You know, important enough for this to work.” He pointed between himself and Luffy.

“Uh…our relationship?”

“Yeah, kind of. I mean, we have to understand each other if we are living in the same body.”

Luffy nodded. “True.”

“So…we share a body. Got that down?” His replica asked with a tilt of his head.

“Yeah.”

The sun god leaned back, still floating, and put his hands behind his head. He appeared quite relaxed.

“Ever since you…unlocked me,” He decided to say, “I’ve been itching to come out again. It’s like I’m trapped in a prison, but inside your body. I’m looking through your eyes. Make sense?”

Luffy blanched. “So…you share my body and want to come out again?”

The sun god snapped his fingers and made a wide grin. “Exactly! Being locked inside of a body doesn’t sound particularly fun , does it?”

“…I guess not.”

“Great! So the next time you fight a battle, let me out. It was fun battling with Kaido. I like action! And I’m powerful, so you’ll win. Okay?”

The captain was a bit taken back by his eagerness, and this was a load of information, but he understood where he was coming from. He didn’t realize this being was trapped inside of him.

I guess I never thought about the specifics, like where he came from and who he is, Luffy thought.

He knew he had to let this being out. It was unfair not to; he was a part of him. The free, nonchalant side of him. Besides, Luffy would win the battle and the sun god would get to have fun. It was hitting two birds with one stone.

So he agreed.

“Okay. But after I let you out, you have to switch back. Got it?” Luffy questioned.

The nika nodded his head rapidly. “Oh yes, of course. It’s only fair, am I right?”

Luffy didn’t chuckle along with him, but instead reluctantly nodded.

“So I have to…you know.” The word die went unsaid.

“Yes. But if we keep alternating, then we can just do it on our free will.”

Luffy cringed. He would have to kill himself or let himself be murdered.

“Alright Nika, just…please don’t let the future battle go wrong,” He pleaded and fidgeted with his waistband.

The god smiled reassuringly. “Of course! There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.”

As the world faded away, a dark feeling twisted in his gut. Luffy recognized it was dread.

Did I just make a deal with the devil? He thought before being sucked into a dreamless world.

-

“LUFFY!”

“Captain, get your ass up here!”

Everyone knew Luffy was a heavy sleeper. It was just his nature. So when they were in the face of a horde of marines, it wasn’t exactly ideal.

“Fuck!” Sanji seethed. He was on the main deck, holding back the troops of soldiers. They may have been weaklings, but there were enough that they needed all hands on deck.

“Someone needs to wake up Luffy!” Nami ordered over the roar of battle. She sent a swift kick in the gut to a poor marine. Then she raised her staff in the air, summoning a thunder cloud.

Robin came running out of the study, joining the action.

“What’s going on?” She asked and hurried over to the closest crewmate, Chopper.

“The marines found us again!” The reindeer yelled and chomped down on a rumbleball. “I heard them calling for backup—we need to defeat them before more come!”

“Where’s Luffy?” She asked.

“He’s sleeping!” Nami shouted, exasperated at her captain’s antics.

“At a time like this?!” Usopp yelled and fired an explosion from his slingshot. “He slept plenty after Wano! Why now ?!”

Franky overheard their conversation. He found an opening after a right hook and ran away from the battle up to the helm, where Luffy was lying on the Sunny’s head. Sure enough, he was snoring. The robot kneeled next to him and shook his shoulders.

“Captain!” Franky yelled.

Luffy startled out of his dream and frantically looked around, bolting up. The reminder of his gear 5 form lingered in his mind. The worry in his gut was fresh.

“Huh? Are we under attack?” He questioned.

“Yes!” Franky sighed. “Get to the main deck! A bunch of marines found us, and it isn’t looking very super!”

“Ah! On it!” He said and scrambled off the helm. “Gomu Gomu no rocket!”

Luffy launched himself right in the center of the big battle. Zoro was clashing with the general, Sanji was kicking a small horde of soldiers, Nami was taking out large numbers with her thunder tempo, and Chopper was plowing through rows upon rows with his rumble ball. Robin was taking out a few in the corner as well as supporting the crew from a distance. Franky was using this fight as an opportunity to test out his newest upgrades, Brook was putting the extra marines to sleep, and Usopp was close to Robin, using long-ranged attacks.

Luffy whistled. The marines were fighting a losing battle. His friends were strong.

He was just about to join Zoro and Sanji, who had jumped on the marines’ ship to defeat them for good, until a thought struck him.

Nika will come out, He remembered. Right. His gear 5 form will destroy these weaklings.

Luffy shot himself onto the large boat with his two crewmates. They didn’t need to glance at him to know he was there.

“Captain!” Zoro shouted as he did the finishing blow on their general. “I’ve defeated their leader, so I’ll leave the rest of these small fries to you.”

Sanji nodded. “I agree with Moss Head. You can have those backup guys over there.”

He pointed to the rest of the marines, thundering up the stairs from a lower level. They were spouting orders to each other. Without their general, they had to improvise.

Luffy smirked. They would be a mess without their captain.

He decided to stand still and let them advance on him so Nika could come out. The soldiers ran towards him and started hammering him with weak attacks, but all together they were semi-strong.

Sanji and Zoro were, of course, confused.

“Captain?!” Sanji yelled from where he and Zoro were standing on the sidelines. “Why are you just standing there?!”

Luffy didn’t respond, although he couldn’t speak if he wanted to. One enemy had sliced his throat. It wasn’t deep enough for death, but would certainly hurt if he used his vocal cords.

The captain simply stood and let their assaults hammer him.

Letting myself die will bring gear 5 out, Luffy thought. Please tell me I’m not making the wrong decision.

A small voice in the back of his head answered him. You’re not.

Luffy knew that was Nika.

He stayed still even when his body screamed in agony, pain firing all over his rubber body. Who knew cadets could be this damaging if they just had time? Luffy sure didn’t expect it, and was surprised when they beat him to the ground.

As he grew closer to death, he heard Sanji and Zoro barge into their crowd of attacks. But it was too late.

He could barely hear and his heartbeat sounded thundering in his eardrums.

Ba-dum

Ba-dum

Do-ba-dum

Do-do-ba-dum

Do-do-dat-ba-dum

Do-do-dat-ba-dum

It sounded like a beat. And…drums?

I hope letting an entity take over my body was a good idea, Was Luffy’s last thought before everything went black.

-

Sanji and Zoro watched in fear at their captain losing to a bunch of rookies.

This man had just beaten Kaido a week ago—the strongest beast in the world—and was losing to a group of basic marines?!

The two knew something was up. There was no way that this was on purpose. Luffy just stood there and accepted death.

“Captain!” Zoro shouted when Luffy fell to the ground. Sanji could see, through the circle of marines and relentless attacks, that there was a pool of blood forming around him. Zoro charged into the crowd and with one slash of his sword, managed to defeat half of them.

“Hey! Wait for me, idiot swordsman!” Sanji yelled and followed suit. Just as Luffy’s eyes slipped shut, he kicked away the rest of the soldiers.

They were now defeated, once and for all.

But at what cost?

“Luffy!” Zoro yelled. He was the first to notice his bloodied state. A red pool was spreading from his neck and some trickling down his head. Sword slashes were littered all over his body. An extra horrible one was stretched along his chest scar.

The two leaned next to their captain. He was unmoving and looked too pale than what was normal.

“Shit—he’s losing too much blood!” Sanji said and immediately threw off his black jacket. It revealed a suit underneath. He wrapped it tightly around Luffy’s neck and applied pressure to his neck with two fingers. It managed to stop some of the blood flow.

Zoro felt for a pulse. He dragged his palm along his wrist and waited a few seconds. Sanji could see the desperation brewing in his eyes despite trying to mask it. Zoro moved his fingers up and down his arm, starting to panic and apparently not finding one.

“He-He doesn’t have a pulse,” He breathed.

Sanji blanched. “E-Excuse me?”

Zoro didn’t repeat it. Sanji couldn’t believe this—he was alarmed at the thought of his captain dying from a few stupid soldiers, although his sadness was quick to morph into anger.

He stood up and grabbed the swordsman by his collar. He slowly lifted him off the ground.

“What do you mean he doesn’t have a pulse?!” He practically screamed.

Zoro glared at him and swatted the cook’s hand away. He was lowered, and immediately crouched next to Luffy.

“Listen, swirly eyebrows. I hate to say it, but  Luffy is d-“

Before Zoro could finish his sentence, a beat broke through the still air.

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

Do-ba-dum.

Do-do-ba-dum.

Dat-do-ba-dum.

“What is that?” Sanji asked, turning his head to pinpoint its source. “Is that…a drum?”

Zoro opened his mouth to respond, but his words died in his throat as he caught movement in his peripherals.

He whipped his head to Luffy. A shit-eating grin slowly formed over his face, along with his appearance changing. His clothes and hair turned white. A wave of relief crashed over the two.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.

But they weren’t exactly Luffy’s eyes.

Blood-red ones peered into their souls.

Chapter Text

The beat intensified as Sanji and Zoro sat stunned. They watched in complete shock as their newly-transformed captain rose off the ground, a large grin plastered over his face. Smoke gathered around his form, filtering around his arms and head like a ring.

“Oi, Sanji! What’s happening?!” Nami yelled from the Sunny. Sanji turned his head briefly to see she was leaning over the railing, not yet noticing Luffy’s state.

“It’s Luffy!” He shouted and pointed.

The captain was a good ten feet in the air now, arms behind head and lying in midair, seemingly relaxed. His expression spelled this is normal. Not to mention he was laughing his head off.

“Luffy? What the hell happened to you?” Zoro said when he stopped rising.

Luffy The white figure opened his eyes and looked down at his crewmates. A flash of recognition went across his face.

“Ohhhh! You guys must be his friends!” He exclaimed and waved. “Hiii!”

The two shared a look of complete bewilderment. Wasn’t this guy dead a few seconds ago?

Despite their shock, they waved back, not knowing what else to do. Luffy giggled wildly in response.

The rest of the crew made their way over to the deck, still transformed in their strongest forms or in a fighting stance. Brook was the first to reach them because running on water was very efficient.

“Yohoho! Those looks on your faces are quite humorous, I must say-“ His words stopped and his face morphed in confusion. “Um…forgive me for intruding, but is Luffy okay?”

Sanji threw his hands in the air, facing the floating white entity. “Does this look okay to you?!”

“We don’t know what happened,” Zoro explained much more calmly. “He let himself get beaten by shitty marines, died, and came back to life as that.”

The rest of the crew arrived and jumped on the deck alongside Brook. Their expressions were equally surprised as Zoro and Sanji. The two reexplained the situation.

After the explanation, Nami cleared her throat and spoke up. “So…that thing looks like Luffy, but is it really him?”

The white figure glared at her. “Don’t call me a thing!”

Everyone’s eyes widened. They all took a step back out of fear, even in the face of their captain. But the figure chose to ignore their reactions, instead choosing to lapse into a fit of laughter. He kicked his legs and pumped his chest up and down. The being apparently found this very amusing.

“Who are you?” Chopper asked, the most scared of them all.

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? I’m the Sun God Nika. You know, what Luffy calls gear 5 for some reason?”

Nami, Chopper, and Usopp’s faces twisted into recognition. They recalled seeing this entity at the battle of Wano, fighting Kaido.

“Ohhhh! I remember you now!” Usopp said. “You are Luffy!”

He giggled and moved back into his relaxed position, still floating. “Not exactly. I share a body with him. I’m a being of my own! You can call me Nika.”

Robin instantly knew what he was talking about. She had researched many books on this sun god, desperately trying to find information on its whereabouts, and he happened to be right there.

Before she could say anything, Franky spoke.

“So where’s Luffy?” He asked.

Nika frowned deeply, which was not a good look for Luffy’s face. It didn’t fit his usual happy attire at all.

“He’s not here right now.”

The crew’s eyes narrowed, on guard. They sensed a looming threat.

“Can he come back? I would like to check him for injuries,” Chopper said cautiously.

The entity put a finger to his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. “Hmm. Let me think about that…”

Everyone waited in hopeful anticipation. They didn’t want to fight to get their captain back.

“…No.”

Nika erupted into another chain of laughter, apparently finding something so goshdarn funny that no one else understood. He banged his fists against his chest in the way of a gorilla and fell to the ground.

Everyone certainly didn’t expect the ground to bounce like a trampoline when he landed, flinging Nika up and down.

“WHAAAAAAT?!” They screamed in unison, eyes following his form up and down, up and down. Nika giggled in response.

“I can do anything, not just that!” He exclaimed. “Watch this!”

Nika moved so fast Usopp didn’t see it coming. He blinked and the being was right in front of him, reaching out a finger to touch his nose.

“Boop!”

The sniper felt a feeling like never before. His body felt like it was melting . When he raised a sluggish arm, it drooped and expanded down to the ground.

It was like he was made of rubber.

“AHHHH!” Usopp screamed. “What did you do to me?!”

Nika grabbed Usopp’s cheek and stretched, and sure enough, it was just like Luffy’s when he tugged on his own dimples. It expanded a good few feet before snapping back onto his skin.

“Turn me back! Turn me back!” He shrieked, flapping his hands.

“Okie Dokie!” Nika responded with a chuckle. He snapped his fingers and the sniper’s skin returned to normal.

“Thank goodness…” Usopp sighed and put his hands on his cheeks.

“Who’s next?” He asked giddily.

The crew yelled with shouts of fear, immediately taking a fighting stance and getting ready to defend themselves.

“Leave us alone! We want our captain back!” Zoro yelled and drew his swords.

“Awww, you guys are no fun…” He murmured and floated higher in the air. “But I was promised a battle. I wanna fight, where’s the action?”

Robin lowered her hands slightly. “The battle is over. We were victorious.”

Nika stopped his erratic movements. He slowly turned his head to Robin. It was quite creepy, even for the calmest member of the Straw Hats.

“Me and Luffy made a deal…” He whispered slowly. Everyone tensed.

“…But that deal is off. I don’t get to fight, so I’m staying until I get one.”

Chapter Text

Over the next few days, the Strawhats dealt with Nika’s attitude.

At times, he was playful and turned everything into rubber, and others he was easily pissed off at the fact that they kept bugging him about Luffy.

He regularly interrupted their chores and work. More often than not, he was laughing about some thing that was apparently very funny. He laughed the most when pulling a prank. His playful attitude was a handful.

The worst was when he was imitating. Once he even turned into a giant. That was by far the most terrifying thing they’d ever seen, despite having ran into a wide variety of surprises. He even grabbed lightning.

But despite a few bumps in the road, he was overall annoying. He even mooched off of them, stealing breakfast and not to mention, their meat.

They hadn’t been able to eat meat for much longer than usual.

Each one of them tried in their own ways to get rid of the god, but he was stubborn. It was as if he was only there for a good time, leeching off their supply and sanity until a battle came.

Then one day it did.

“It’s the Foxy Pirates!” Zoro yelled from the crow’s nest on the fourth day Nika was there. “At 9 o’clock, coming in hot!”

Everyone snapped to attention from the deck. They had been doing their own daily activities and chores, but they quickly got ready to fight. Being pirates, they had to be able to adapt to hidden enemies left and right.

“Oooo!” Nika grinned, adjusting his position on Sunny’s head. The others had been angry when he first sat there because it was Luffy’s spot. “A bunch of weaklings…but a fight, nonetheless!”

The Strawhats jumped to the helm and ignored his maniacal laughing. In front of them was the Foxy crew, with Foxy’s 500 men and commanders. His ship was a bit bigger than theirs so they managed to be intimidating, despite running into him many times before.

“Foxy!” Nami yelled angrily. Flashbacks of her captain nearly dying by his hands ran through her head. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

The captain yelled back once their ship was close enough. He anchored to the left of the Sunny, close enough to let down the bridge between the two. “Heya Strawhats!” He yelled with his usual shit-eating grin. “I saw y’all from the distance and decided to come say hi!”

Robin tensed. “That’s not why you’re really here.”

Foxy’s eyes gazed into her own, suddenly cold. The Strawhats fought the urge to take a step back.

“Of course that’s not why I’m here,” He said as if he were speaking to a toddler. “I’m here to steal your loot. We need more funds for our Davy Back fights.”

Franky took a thundering step forward, making sure to sound strong. He cracked his knuckles and glared at the pirate. “Not happening. Go rob some other hopeless fool,” He growled.

Foxy opened his mouth to yell ‘Attack’, but before he could, his jaw dropped open at the sigh of Nika. The god was currently floating slowly toward Foxy’s ship.

“Ya know, this has been really fun and all, but I want to fight now,” Nika said with a kind smile. 

“Y-You’re…no, it can’t be!” Foxy stammered. He immediately recoiled.

Nika pulled out his wanted poster from behind his back, appearing out of thin air. It had the same goofy grin as the one he had on now.

“But it can be!” He giggled.

Foxy panicked. His breathing visibly picked up and his eyes darted around. His mouth opened and closed, but he soon gained the courage to speak.

“R-Retreat!” He shrieked.

His crew was confused, but carried out the order anyway. A few took the helm and most ran around, tugging ropes and manning stations.

“Oh no you don’t!” Nika laughed and shot forward. Like a sonic bolt, he wiped out half the crew with just his charge. They fell into the cold depths below, screaming for help.

A split second of silence stretched before everyone descended into chaos.

Foxy’s crew ran around like headless chickens. They may have won countless Davy Back rounds, but they weren’t suited to fight a literal god. Only the most level-headed crewmates took care of the ship’s functions. The boat slowly began to sail away.

“Wanna see something cool?” Nika asked slyly and kicked his legs in humor. His grin expanded—actually, scratch that, his entire body expanded. Foxy watched in terror, unable to move, while the Strawhats stared in astonishment. They had seen Nika do this before so they weren’t exactly scared. He bit his thumb and inflated himself.

The god grew into a giant, still flying and nearly reaching the Heavens. He put his hand back and summoned lightning out of thin air. Whether it was rubber or a solid, no one could tell, but it was quite the sight to see.

“Gomu Gomu no Kaminari!” His voice boomed over the sea. Shockwaves rippled through the water for miles and the ships rocked as Nika let loose the attack. The lightning hurled forward, a sonic boom manifesting around it.

Foxy’s crew barely had time to scream before they were hit with it, full-force. They couldn’t dodge from the sheer size and speed.

Their boat was carried far away, tremors and large waves bringing it into the distance. Even if you squinted the ship could not be seen.

Nika laughed hard at the damage. One look at the Strawhats caused his body to wrack with giggles, chest bouncing from the force. The Sunny rocked with each laugh.

“N-Nika!” Nami gasped and held onto the railing. “Get down here!”

“Okie dokie!” He grinned. His body shrunk back to its original size in mere seconds. Everyone’s expressions didn’t falter; they were still in shock.

“That was…quite a performance,” Brook admitted.

“You’re suuuuper strong!” Franky said with a  strike of his pose.

Sanji rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah thanks for taking them out now can you PLEASE give us our captain back?”

Nika deflated, literally. He slouched to the ground in disappointment. “Aw, really? Can’t I stick around for a little longer?”

The crew glanced at each other, offering unsure looks. This guy had saved them from a reoccurring threat, surely scaring them off from returning, but they missed Luffy. It was concerning he was being held hostage inside his body by one of his gears. It didn’t even make sense, really.

Zoro was the first to speak up, being loyal to his captain. “We want Luffy back.”

Everyone else decided that was best. Having this powerful being around was handy for fights, but they wanted to see their captain. They almost kicked themselves for hesitating. Maybe it was because they got used to the god’s presence?

Nika glared for a moment, but then his face fell. He sighed.

“Alrighty then,” He said sadly. “I got my battle, and I understand you want your dear Luffy back.”

The crew let out a breath of relief. They were glad he gave in.

Everyone stayed silent, waiting for him to transform the same way as last time, to fall backward, to morph into Luffy’s appearance, anything really.

To their surprise, his hair simply fell to his shoulders and turned black. His shirt faded into red and when he blinked, his eyes were black again. He appeared very tired and even had wrinkles on his face.

The Strawhats gasped. Chopper, being the doctor and the closest to him, put a hand over his back before he could fall from exhaustion.

Luffy released a hollow sigh. His eyelids drooped, but he managed to speak.

“Hey guys…” He muttered and managed a small smile. Not the huge, giddy beam like Nika’s, but rather a peaceful grin.

“Luffy!” They said in unison. They gathered around him in a circle.

“You alright there Captain?” Zoro asked and knelt beside him.

“Yup, just tired,” He replied with a weak chuckle. Zoro put a hand on his shoulder to indicate he understood.

“You can sleep now. We’ll bring you to the sleeping quarters to get some rest, then we can discuss this in the morning,” Chopper said.

Luffy didn’t respond, but closed his eyes and almost instantly dozed off. Eyebags became visible beneath his lashes.

The group stared at him lovingly for a few moments, replaying the thought over and over that they had their captain back. It had been a stressful few days.

-

When Luffy fell asleep, Nika knew because he was seeing out of his eyes.

He chuckled from inside the captain. He was going to brew trouble soon enough, they just had to wait.

He loved the feeling of having a body, but next time he didn’t want it to be temporary…

Chapter Text

“Order up!”

Sanji’s voice carried throughout the wet air, smelling of salt water and fish. He held the seafood platters in his hands like a professional waiter and carefully set them down.

As expected, right before the trays hit the counter, Luffy practically teleported into his seat at the head of the table.

“MEAT!!” He screamed and began digging in, entering a frenzy. He stretched his arms to his advantage and stole nearly all of the supply.

Following close behind was Usopp and Chopper, who ran in as well, but weren’t nearly as fast. Franky jogged in after them, and the rest of the crew walked leisurely, much more composed.

Nami was chatting with Robin when she entered the dining room. “I know, right? That purse was the ugliest bitch-ass thing I’ve ever seen- LUFFY!”

The captain didn’t even look up due to being used to her scolding. He continued stuffing his mouth with loads and loads of meat, mixed with a few pieces of fish occasionally.

“What did I tell you about pacing?!” Nami yelled and pulled his ear. It stretched three feet like usual. “You’re going to get a stomachache! Jeez, you never listen.”

Robin sat down beside Nami and giggled. Nami was always the babysitter of their captain…

“Oi, Luffy! Save some of that for me!” Jimbei shouted and reached for the meat.

“NEVER!!” He shrieked and shoved ten pieces into his mouth.

“LUFFY!!” Nami screamed.

Everyone else let out a hearty laugh. They couldn’t hold it in, even though this was typical and happened every day. They all found their seats and sat down.

“Hey, Shitty cook,” Zoro said coolly. “Got any booze?”

“For your information, yes, I do,” He replied with a huff.

“Hand it over.”

“Hell no! The last time I did so you got so drunk I had to lug your ass out of here!”

“Maybe it was because your eyebrows were so damn curly!”

“You should stop sneezing and wiping it on your hair!”

“That half-assed haircut is as stupid as my ninety-year-old grandma!”

The breakfast went on as such, with the constant arguing and occasional chuckling. It was amusing, and didn’t get old even after the others watched the same thing every day. To top it off, after finishing his food, Brook jumped on the tabletop and started playing the violin. It was chaotic, really.

After their usual hectic morning everyone left. They went their separate ways: Chopper, Franky and Usopp checked out Usopp’s new weapon. Robin and Zoro hung out at the deck to read and sleep. Jimbei went back to steering and Nami adjusted the course. Sanji cleaned up the kitchen. Brook practiced one of his old songs, and Luffy rested against the railing to get some thinking done.

The captain rested his hands behind his head and leaned back. He had no idea what happened with Nika, and he had to figure it out.

Okay, so he understood the part where his gear 5 was alive. It had a mind of his own, and loved fighting and pranks. Got it. Secondly, he didn’t let him have his body for days and controlled him like a puppet.

So maybe he doesn’t understand that part.

Luffy hates to admit it, but he’s scared. Terrified, even. He hates the feeling of being controlled and having no power to stop it.

His mind is reeling, knowing at any moment the god could take the reins once again.

“Why are you so afraid?” Nika’s voice rang inside his head.

Luffy’s back arched and he sucked in a sharp breath. He willed his heart to stop pounding he could hear the da-dum and tried to respond.

“I’m not,” He said simply, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Nika chuckled. “Oh yeah? I’m you. I can literally hear your thoughts, feel your emotions, and take over you. That’s what sharing a body is like!”

“Just leave me alone,” He muttered and gripped his hair.

He heard Nika hesitate, then sigh, as if he decided to not say what he was going to say.

“Listen buddy,” He said gleefully. Luffy could hear the smile in his voice. “You don’t have a voice in the matter. My body, my rules.”

“We share a body! You just said so!” Luffy retorted.

“…Exactly,” Nika replied. “Which is why I want equal time out.”

Before Luffy could reply, he felt a jolt of pain course through his veins and trail to his heart. It thumped painfully, gathering in speed from anxiety and pain. He held his breath when he heard the familiar beat.

Da-Dum

Da-Dum

Da-Da-Dum

Dat-Da-Dum

Dat-Dat-Da-Dum

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Luffy shrieked, hands flying up to grip his head. The pounding of his heart and beat was so loud in his mind. When he touched his hair, he met floating, transforming locks that rose into the air.

Steam flowed from his body, generated from sweat, and circled around his arms in an endless halo. His eyeballs darted around in panic but he felt them tingle in a way, changing to red. He looked down and saw his clothes were white.

“S-Stay away,” Luffy muttered weakly, feeling his consciousness fade and replace by his.

He lost control of his hands and they moved on their own, by Nika. He stood and walked off the deck.

“Mmm. Say goodbye to your control, because I’m going to be using your body for a long time.”

The last thing Luffy heard were his evil, taunting giggles, before he succumbed to the darkness.

-

“Wow, Usopp! That’s really cool!” Chopper exclaimed with awe in his eyes.

“Suuuupper!” Franky yelled and struck his pose.

Usopp adjusted his grip on his latest invention, a power-absorbing dial. It was good for stealing superpowers, but he wasn’t sure how well it functioned.

“Ha! Thanks, guys! But, uh…the problem is, I don’t know if it works.”

“You can test it on me,” Franky offered with no hesitation.

“Really? I know you’re a robot, but won’t it still hurt?” Chopper asked.

“Nope! I can take Usopp’s dials. One time he accidentally used one on me, but with my super-strength I wrestled out of it! To this day I still hate the plant ones, but at least I can take them.”

“Alright Franky, if you’re sure,” Usopp said and clicked the shell. It made an odd, loud noise and suddenly shot out a gust of wind—before Franky started spasming in place.

“Ah! Are you alright?!” Chopper yelped, always the doctor.

“Y-Yep! Just super!” He replied, but it was clear he was in pain. An almost transparent mist wafted from his body to the dial. It seemed to be Franky’s power transferring to it.

The extraction stopped after a few moments when Usopp clicked it. Franky stopped twitching and started panting, out of breath.

“I stopped it because it read 20%, which means it took that much of your strength!” He exclaimed, pointing at a small screen that read the power percentage.

“That’s radical!” Franky praised and Chopper offered a thumbs-up.

“Thanks guys. I think it works perfectly! I just…shouldn’t use it at one-hundred percent, this thing could suck the life out of someone,” Usopp said with a shiver. The thought scared him.

“Yikes. That’s bad. But hey, why don’t we show it to everyone else?” Franky suggested.

“Good idea!”

The trio made their way to the main area of the Sunny where most of the crew usually hung out. Sure enough, they were there. Robin and Nami were sunbathing on white chairs while being served. Sanji was offering them cocktails every two minutes, going in and out of the kitchen. Zoro was sleeping against the railing. Brook was singing some high pitches. Jimbei was steering as always, but occasionally laughing at Sanji’s lovestruck antics. It seemed like a pretty relaxed atmosphere.

“Guys! Look at this!” Usopp shouted, grabbing their attention from the upper deck. Everyone stared as he slowly raised the dial.

Brook sang a little ‘dun-dun-dun!’ sound effect, but the rest of the crew looked uninterested.

“Is that a shell?” Zoro asked, completely uninterested as always.

“It’s my latest dial!” Usopp shouted in annoyance. “See, it’s yellow, unlike my other ones?”

“Uh…cool,” Nami said and went back to her book. Robin also picked hers back up.

He sighed. This weapon was really powerful, why didn’t they understand?

A creepy giggle caught their attention. Everyone’s head snapped up immediately, on high alert. Each one of them recognized that creepy laugh…

“Wait a second, where’s Luffy?” Chopper asked worriedly.

“Fuck,” Sanji seethed. “He wasn’t here with us, so I assumed he was with you three.”

Franky shook his head. “Nope. Any idea where he is?”

“That giggle…it wasn’t Luffy’s normal laugh, was it? It almost sounded like…” Nami trailed off, but everyone understood what she meant.

Jimbei, who overheard their conversation, jumped down the stairs to their level. “Everyone. Spread out, we need to find him to make sure that thing didn’t appear again.”

The crew nodded and stood to split up, but before they could a familiar white figure floated down to the middle of the ship, right in the center of everyone. They all gasped and took a shocked step back.

“Hiiii guys! Miss me?” Nika asked with his huge grin, albeit this time it looked more…crazed. He was floating in a relaxed position with his hands behind his head, almost as if he were lying down midair.

“Why are you back?!” Sanji yelled accusingly.

Nika frowned. “Now that wasn’t so nice, was it?”

“Answer his question,” Robin demanded. She ignored Sanji’s heart eyes.

“Hmph. Me and your captain share a body, so I figured we should get equal time to take control of it! Duh,” He rolled his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Zoro unsheathed his swords. The rest of the crew followed suit with their weapons or fighting stance, taking this as a chance to grow defensive.

“Now now, don’t get mean!” Nika pouted. “I’m just here for a little while! Actually, that’s not true, I take that back, I’m staying for good-“

“This is getting tiring!” Brook shouted. “Give us our captain back!”

“NO!” Nika screamed.

This took the Strawhats aback and they flinched. They weren’t used to violent tendencies from the usually carefree Joyboy.

“It’s not fair! I deserve a chance to be loved too, but you all you ever say is ‘Luffy!’ ‘Oh Luffy, when will you ever come back?’” He paused to gather his words while everyone else was stunned into silence. “I want a turn now! All it’s ever been is Luffy, not Nika! I want a chance to fight! I’ve seen how fun it is—oh, and all these adventures you guys go on!”

Nika continued to ramble while the crew shared unsure looks. They felt bad, but at the same time, he was a villain. The god took over Luffy multiple times, played constant pranks, hurt him and his crew, and refused to go away.

“What you’re doing is wrong,” Zoro said darkly. “We’re tired of your shenanigans! Give us Luffy back!”

Nika stopped. For a moment, his expression was blank, but then his mouth formed into a twisted smile.

The crew shifted in their fighting stances, preparing for battle. They stared into those red, devilish eyes that bore not happiness, but a sinister hue.

“You want him?” Nika yelled. “Then come and get him!”

Chapter Text

Luffy was cold. Everything around him felt freezing to the point of intense shivers and teeth chattering, but his teeth felt nonexistent. He couldn’t even feel his mouth, let alone his body.

Where was he? Last he remembered, he was talking to Nika and he controlled him…was Luffy taken somewhere?

His eyes fluttered open, but he couldn’t feel his eyelids, nor catch a glimpse of his hair. He always saw his black bangs in his peripheral vision. Something was off…

The scene before Luffy was quite alarming. Through eyes blinking on their own, he could see his friends looking fearful. They were gazing up at him, and Luffy saw he was not on the ground. He was…floating?

Nika!

That’s right! His gear fifth controlled his body, and he couldn’t stop it!

Anger rapidly boiled to the surface. Oh, how Luffy felt such remorse. He could have acted sooner, he knew Nika would strike again, and now his nakama were in danger…

He worried for his friends. Gear five was the form that defeated Kaido, the most powerful creature in the world. How was his crew expected to stop him?

They looked so scared, so…small. It angered Luffy to no end. He despised seeing his crew look so hopeless, and seeing them look at him that way? He couldn’t help but feel like some kind of monster. He felt responsible for Nika’s actions.

Luffy tried his hardest to concentrate. He tried everything that seemed to bring his consciousness to the surface, but to no avail. He couldn’t take back his body. Nika was keeping him down like the Sunny in a storm, and there was no way up. He only caught glimpses of light around his small field of vision.

And in the center of it all was his dear friends.

Luffy could only watch in despair as Zoro launched at him, attempting to strike Nika in hopes of getting his captain back.

-

“Shit,” Sanji muttered when mosshead aimed an attack right at Luffy’s chest, his weak spot. It was meant to land directly on his X-scar. Instead, Nika simply laughed harder and sent a Gum-Gum bazooka, nailing him in the chest.

“Zoro!” Chopper cried. In a flash, he leapt forward and caught the swordsman before he hit the ground. He groaned, but stood up once again, albeit slouched and thoroughly weaker.

The crew faltered. Nika was extremely strong. Without captain’s orders, lack of morale, the will to not hurt their captain, and a high difference in strength, they were outmatched.

“Everyone! Focus!” Nami shouted, snapping them out of their worries. She glanced around the circle of crewmates. “In order to get Luffy back, we need to try our best! I know hope is dwindling, but just hang in there! We have to try! For Luffy!”

With wary expressions, they mustered the courage to harden their stances, and that was enough. Nika stopped his chuckles rather abruptly, and it was satisfying to say the least. A god faltering in the presence of ten pirates? Shocking.

“Cien Fleur!” Robin yelled. She wrapped her arms around each other, standing in her attacking stance, and sprouted multiple hands around Nika’s torso. One was on his head and pulled back, making his back and neck bend backward in an odd angle.

It was quite an alarming sight. The god’s spine was apparently nonexistent or turned into rubber, because his body was bending all the way around in a circle.

Jimbei took the opportunity to strike while he was distracted. “Mizugokoro!”

A large wave of water swept through the air, narrowly missing the crew. It slammed into Nika. He yelped in surprise, not expecting the attack from behind. Apparently gear five didn’t have observation haki activated.

“Ha! Yes!” Usopp cried, and he high-fived Jimbei.

“Thunder Tempo!” Nami yelled, and summoned a thunder cloud. She realized her mistake a bit too late though. When she thrust her staff the lightning merely bounced off his body. It shot back into the sky as a rubber object.

The crew watched in awe. They were too stunned to notice the impending doom headed their way, floating casually as if this were a silly little game.

“This isn’t a very fun battle now, is it?” A sinister voice whispered. The tone held barely contained laughter. When the Strawhats whipped around, he burst out with fits of giggles. Nika kicked his legs and did flips midair, now only a few feet away.

“Diable Jinbei!”

Sanji’s kick was aimed with upmost precision, but only the flames licked Nika. It barely scathed him and he casually dodged the attack.

“Pfft, that was nothing!” He exclaimed. “I gave you a few freebies, but I say it’s my turn now!”

Oh no. Everyone shot terrified looks between each other, petrified in fear. They’ve seen what the god was capable of.

The crew’s worst fears came to life. Nika’s muscles bulged and expanded, extracting in size until they reached the size of a giant. The rest of his body caught up with the form and in mere seconds he was as big as the Sunny. His huge, beady red eyes pierced daggers into their gazes. Everyone took a reluctant step back, nearly paralyzed in fear.

“That was a nice power show,” His voice boomed over the ocean, forming ripples in the water. “But now it’s my turn!”

His singsong tone didn’t improve their terror. It was obviously false and meant to be taunting. This time, the crew could only watch in helplessness as the god summoned lightning from the clouds. A storm began to roll in at alarming speeds caused by his power, and when the bolt struck he lashed out a hand and grabbed it. It fizzed and instantly turned solid.

The panic was finally setting in. The Strawhats couldn’t survive such a compelling attack, and even the calmest of the crew knew that. Zoro and Robin were sweating bullets along with the rest of them.

“Say bye-bye!” Nika laughed gleefully, and unleashed the impact. Due to his size his hand moved in slower, making the wait for their unavoidable doom more dreadful.

“W-What do we do?!” Nami cried and clung to Robin.

“Shit! Mosshead, do something!” Sanji yelled. His cigarette dropped to the ground in his fear.

“What the hell am I supposed to do?!” Zoro fired back.

“We’re all going to die a terrible death, sent flying into the sea!” Brook shrieked. “Although, I may not die, because I am already dead! YOHOHOHOHO-“

“GUYS!” Usopp suddenly screamed.

Everyone stopped to stare at the sniper. His outburst was quite loud, and he seemed to have an idea. At this point, the crew would accept anything that could help, because Nika’s hand was getting awfully close. 

“I just remembered something! What if I use my absorption dial?”

“Ohh!” Chopper said. “That’s a great idea, Usopp! But…will it work?”

“It’s all we have,” Robin piped up, speaking the unfortunate truth.

“Alright then. Here goes nothing…”

Usopp stepped to the front of the circle and retrieved the shell from his pocket. The yellow object glistened in the light, making it appear as some sort of sacred weapon, which it kind of was in the moment. He held it up in front of Nika’s fist, mere yards away now.

“Give us back our captain!” He shrieked and activated the dial.

With a deafening pitch and a huge gust of wind, it began sucking all of Nika’s powers. White and red were flowing from his body in a colorful aura. It was misty and see-through, almost pretty in the right circumstances. The flow was massive, way larger than Franky’s, which proved the dial was working how it was supposed to. It was absorbing all of the god’s strength!

“H-Help me hold this!” Usopp cried when the shell began to tremor from the huge intake. It was not built to hold such power.

First Zoro and Sanji filtered behind him, holding his back steady, then the rest of the crew gathered around the shell to hold it.

It seemed to work, as soon enough, the dial was steadier. Usopp quickly adjusted the power intake to one-hundred percent.

“Oi, are you sure that’s a good idea?!” Zoro yelled over the deafening wind.

Jimbei answered for him. “Yes! Nika is a separate part of Luffy, an entirely different entity! It should not hinder any of Luffy’s abilities!”

Zoro nodded in understanding. It made sense. He was just worried his captain would be weakened, but with that logic, he would most likely not be.

Nika’s smile slowly drooped, then he gasped, and his expression morphed into horror. The god seemed to realize he was being defeated.

“NO! S-Stop, I promise to be good!” He pleaded. It was strange seeing all his happiness gone.

“This is what you get for taking our captain away!” Usopp screamed, and with a final burst of air, the dial completely stopped.

No sound emitted from the device, and the screen read ‘absorption success.’ A loud thud was heard a few meters away.

The Strawhats stumbled back, Chopper even falling due to his small complexion. He quickly stood up though, once he saw Luffy. Everyone else recovered as well and ran to check on him.

He had landed hard. When the dial stopped, Nika disappeared and instantly transformed back into Luffy. The boy’s eyes were sunken in and he appeared dreadfully tired. His body was limp and hair damp from sweat, but now returned to its normal raven hue. His outfit was red once again. He was left panting from fighting the inner battle.

Luffy’s friends kneeled around him in a circle, Chopper getting the closest as the doctor. The reindeer waved a hoof in front of his face to check if he reacted.

“Hey! Luffy!” Chopper called. He received no reaction from his hand motion.

The boy’s eyes were glazed over and lidded, hazy as if he was staring miles away. When the crew started anxiously whispering, his face finally morphed into recognition and eyes widened, now focusing on Chopper.

“Guys…?” He asked with a hoarse voice.

“Luffy!” They cried in unison. The crew threw themselves forward and embraced their captain, relieved he was okay, and started sobbing.

“I’m so glad you’re alright!” Usopp said.

“That was suuuupper scary!” Franky cried.

“Good to have you back, captain,” Robin smiled.

“Don’t worry, he’s gone for good this time!” Nami assured confidently.

Luffy leaned his head back and grinned. He stared at the sky whistfully, apparently in thought. “I knew you all could do it.”

“Of course we did! That guy seemed okay at first, but then he took his antics too far. So we kicked his butt!” Chopper exclaimed and punched the air, mimicking a finishing blow.

“Actually, we…kind of took the power of your gear five,” Usopp admitted hesitantly and handed Luffy the dial. “We sucked it up in that.”

The boy received it and turned it over in his hands. He seemed curious, fingers brushing over every crevice of the shell as if he was trying to get familiar with it.

“You really put all that in here?” He asked.

“Yes. We absorbed one-hundred percent of your gear five’s power because we weren’t sure if taking less would be enough to stop Nika…” Brook explained.

Luffy stayed silent for a moment, contemplating the information. The crew gave each other nervous glances, as they weren’t sure how he was going to react to having one of his gears damaged.

“That’s fine, that wasn’t my favorite gear anyway!” He said.

“Well that was easy,” Nami snorted.

“You may not be able to summon that form anymore,” Robin pointed out.

“Yeah, probably not, but I don’t want to try anyway. I’ve had enough of fighting my counterpart for a long time!” He laughed.

Everyone let out a chuckle along with Luffy. They were glad he was gaining his sense of humor back after that ordeal.

“Let’s get you some meat, buddy. Lots and lots of meat,” Sanji said with a smile and helped him to his feet. He deserved to have all the food in the world at this moment.

“MEAT?!” Luffy shrieked. He didn’t even need Sanji’s help to get up, as he was already launching to the kitchen with a Gomu-Gomu no Rocket.

The crew laughed and followed behind much more calmly. Looks like their captain was already back to his old tendencies!

-

Over the course of the next few days, Luffy didn’t face any problems with his gear five doppelgänger. He played with his usual joyfulness during the day rested peacefully at night. Everything was going smoothly, thanks to the dial.

Speaking of Usopp’s invention, it was hidden in a safe, locked away in the treasure room of the ship. The Strawhats vowed to never touch the saf e, under any circumstances. They were afraid if they accidentally touched a certain part of the dial it would release the stored-up power. They knew it probably wouldn’t, but their worries overtook them.

Luffy recovered from his injuries fairly quickly. It turned out he was mostly tired and just experienced a lot of stress. The first night after the battle he slept for eighteen hours! Fighting an inner demon was exhausting.

Despite the toll it took on the captain’s body, the crew was doing quite well themselves. Surprisingly no injures were sustained on anyone.

They never found out what happened to Nika, but at nights some lay awake thinking about it. Especially Luffy, who experienced nightmares almost every time he slept, continuing to ponder over Nika. He mostly felt bad, even though he was aware he shouldn’t. Was the god trapped inside the shell like a genie in a bottle? Was he cursing Luffy every second of his existence, begging for a chance to get revenge for locking him away? Was he even alive?

None of that matters in the end though, because Nika wasn’t coming back anytime soon, and hopefully ever. Usopp’s shell was very powerful and bound to hold the power in.

They arrived on Egghead island four days after the incident with Nika, prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead. Gear five was a mighty powerful obstacle, but the Strawhats could always overcome any challenges headed their way.