Unfamiliar || One Piece x Reader

6.2

QOTD: What's your favourite island from the Grand Line?

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It feels like your body is being morphed, thick clay-like clouds pushing you in. You feel like you're suffocating, but as soon as you feel like you've run out of air, you can feel space on the other side, your fingertips reaching open air first. Your hands and arms soon after, you're able to squeeze the rest of your body out.

You shudder, the odd awkward pressing against your body lasting. You sigh before looking around. You're still in some kind of alleyway, but the scene of a normal town is vastly changed to one of an overpopulated city. Buildings stacking up what must be hundreds of floors high, close together with thin gaps between them, if any at all. The windows offer bright glows of oversaturated light through them, the only light other than the moon that dims in comparison.

You take a few more steps out, letting the glow encapsulate your body. You swallow, deciding to turn back, finding only a narrow gap between buildings, just like the others, rather than the large alleyway you were previously in. You furrow your eyebrows and peek through the space, finding no signs of some blue and black swirling mess of clouds.

You huff, reaching for your phone. You turn it on and go to call someone immediately. You debate as you look through your contacts before settling on Law.

It rings a few times before some voice message comes through.

'The person you are trying to reach is either off service or their device has been shut off. Please try aga---' You shut the thing off and opt for messaging, in hopes of at least something more than that.

You: Hello?

You: If you get this, message me back as soon as you can.

You slide your phone back in your pocket and bite your lip, heading further into the city after confirming again that the odd portal you came through was definitely gone.

Much fewer people were on the thin roads than above you, travelling through windows to get from place to place or along the roofs. As you continued through the city, the road winded around until it reached an open, circular space after at least an hour of walking, maybe more. It was large enough that a thick fog that accumulated more and more as you went further into the city. Well, 'into', but you have no clue where you are.

But the circular space was large enough that the fog made it so you couldn't see the other side of what you presumed was a large circle.

The ground, unlike the rest of the area, is made up of patterned, even bricks rather than the uneven stone. Unease filling you, you turn to go back, finding only buildings where you came from.

You take a deep breath, but it feels empty as the air around you seems like it lacks oxygen. You circle around, keeping next to the buildings. Eventually, you do find a pathway you can walk through, and you turn into it. Expecting the fog to lighten, you only worry as it thickens, almost palpable.

You come to a deadend with nothing but a large wall. It's not smooth, but has little ridges and dents in it. You bring your fingertips to it, running them along the wall, hooking them around some of the deeper dents.

You glance back, the pathway gone, and you pull yourself up enough to get a grip with your shoes. Scaling the thing, you wish you'd have tried a tiny bit harder in Mr. Tiger's class.

After nearly falling from an unstable grip, you try to call out Amyr. He doesn't appear, and you feel uncannily... lonely. Like he's not there to call out to. You let a small, throaty grunt as you continue.

Your muscles strained and tired by the time you reach the top, you take a moment to lie down. You hear hundreds of pairs of footsteps scuttering around you, and you're vaguely aware of the people rushing around. Finding the air somehow clearer, despite the seemingly impossible height, you catch your breath quickly and refuse your muscles too much rest, else they grow too relaxed.

You stand and look around, able to see a little better. You glance over the edge of where you climbed up from, finding it filled and gone. Letting a sigh of frustration pass you lips, you turn in a small circle, trying to figure out where to go next. You check your phone first, to see if you got any messages back.

1 message from Law

Law: Text me back if you get this.

You: Yeah I got it

You: What's up?

Law: Where are you?

You: I don't know

Law: You should've been back an hour ago, what happened?

You: An hour..?

You: It's definitely been longer than just an hour.

You glance to the top of your screen, where the time is typically situated, but it just shows four Xs.

Law: ...

Law: Where did you go

You: I was just in the city, and there was this

You: Blue and black glowing thing?

Law: And you went through it.

You: ...Well... yea...

Law: What are you, a bug attracted to lights?

Law: Alright, what does it look like around you?

Law: You should be in a huge, moving city

Law: I presume you're in a high floor or on a roof

Law: Stay there

Law: It's not safe below

Law: If you see a large, open space in a circle

Law: Turn back immediately

You: Why?

You: You know what's happening, right?

You: Where am I?

Law: If you're not near that space, stay put. If they move you towards it,

Law: Then turn around and try to get away from there.

Law: I

Law: Everything will be explained later

Law: Don't do anything stupid

You: Law

You: explain something at least

You: Where am I

He doesn't respond after, and you slide your phone in your pocket. You swallow and look around for the open space, turning to the direction you were going anyway, which was away from the circle. You squint, finding the open space just a few tens of metres away from you.

You turn and awkwardly head in the other direction, speeding up your pace as the quick footsteps only grow louder, like taps echoing within your head.

You glance behind you for a split moment, your attention shifted for just long enough to let you trip, sending you into a flailing free fall off the building.