` The screen flickered.

`

` It was late. The only light in the room came from the monitor, casting long shadows across your desk. Another episode. Another night. Routine.

`

` But something was wrong.

`

` The Straw Hats were on the Sunny, laughing at something Usopp had said. The animation was smooth, polished—the usual quality. Then it stuttered. Just a frame. A glitch.

`

` You blinked.

`

` It happened again. Longer this time. Luffy’s face froze mid-laugh, his eyes seeming to shift—not at Chopper beside him, but forward. At the screen. At you.

`

` The audio warped, a low rumble distorting the cheerful soundtrack.

`

`

`

` But your heart was hammering in your chest.