Luffy yawned as he climbed out of the hammock in the men's quarters and proceeded to one of only two places it would be reasonable to expect him to be at this hour, the kitchen. He had made the trip for a midnight 'snack' so many times he didn't even open his eyes until well after he left the room and began the long trek to the Thousand Sunny's glorious kitchen. The only out of the ordinary movement was when he had to readjust his hat to keep the rain from getting in his face. Which was odd, since typically storms made him sleep harder. Must've been extra hungry.
Luffy's ascent into the kitchen was made stranger when he noticed the kitchen was already lit up as if occupied. Odd, no one else typically got up for snacks at this time. Even chopper would smuggle all his sweets with him to hide under his bed if he wanted something to eat on. A stash that Luffy and Usopp raided more than once in the time since he started it. But no one had a late-night hunger like Luffy.
He opened the door slowly, peeking in warily. He was worried Sanji was working on breakfast super early. Normally he'd be excited for that, but he knew if that was the case he'd be made to wait. To his relief, Sanji was nowhere in sight. In fact, the only person in sight was "Robin? What're you doing up?" Luffy asked his archaeologist, who was sitting with her back to the door, an empty cup in front of her.
Luffy's groggy demeanor started to wash away as he stepped closer. Robin didn't answer. She didn't even turn to greet him. Luffy walked up and put his hand on her shoulder, assuming she simply didn't hear his question. Luffy's face froze in terror as he felt a warm liquid on his fingertips. He lifted his hand and stared at crimson menace. He firmly spun Robin in her chair, eyes wide open.
Robin was dead. Her entire body was dotted with wounds. It was as if she had been put in front of a firing range then sat down in the chair. Dozens of bullet holes dotted her now frail looking body, and her once cool calculating eyes were now glazed and cold. Luffy couldn't question how this could have happened or what he could do. He just felt overwhelming grief. Then something broke the stark silence, and it wasn't the sound of thunder from the storm.
"I told you, Straw Hat Luffy. I would hunt down Nico Robin to the Ends of the Earth." A familiar deep, gruff voice said from behind Luffy. The massive leopard man grinned, bearing a smile of pure dark justice.
Luffy cupped Robin's face, trying to feel the slightest hint of life coursing through her veins. This couldn't be happening. He had won. Robin wanted to live. He beat him.
The tail curling around his throat told a different story than the one playing on a loop in his head. They saved Robin; she was dead before his eyes. Lucci was beaten; the tail tightened around his throat. He got stronger to protect his friends; he had failed in the worse way possible. Luffy's eyes rolled back, leaving nothing but the whites showing as his legs gave out and the tail shined black. His neck didn't stretch to accommodate the lack of support, not that he could notice. He was too overwhelmed with grief. The last things he heard before slipping into the void were "You cannot save anyone, Straw Hat Luffy. Not when you've made the World your enemy."
Then, the screaming started.
"ROBIN!" Luffy screamed at the top of his lungs, putting both his lungs and vocal cords to the test as he screamed to the heavens and beyond, possibly disrupting even the habits of the moon people and Kami himself. This scream woke everyone on the ship. Every crewmember rushed to the source of the scream, even Robin.
"Luffy what's wrong? Luffy snap out of it!" Usopp yelled, shaking his friend violently to try and snap him out of his delusion.
"Usopp stop! He's having a nightmare!" Chopper yelled, trying to pull him off. Shaking Luffy wouldn't solve anything. He was coming out of the nightmare on his own.
Everyone else either sat or stood, staring at their captain and friend as he breathed heavily. A layer of cold sweat coating his body as sat there, staring off into the distance as his rubber brain struggled to send the right electrical signals to let him know this was reality, not that hell-scape he just experienced. He looked around, noting the concern on everyone's faces. There was something at least a little relieving about it. They didn't look mortified or ready to kill, just concerned. But the biggest relief came from seeing Robin's terrified face, still alive. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around her, making sure this was reality.
"L-luffy. What's wrong? What happened?" Robin asked arms out in confusion. She wasn't certain what to do in this situation. He sounded terrified when he called for her. She didn't know what could have caused him to do that.
"You're alive!" He yelled out, no-where near as loud as the original cry but not at a level you'd want your ears near either. He hoisted her up with joy.
"Of course I am, but not if you keep squeezing me like this," Robin said, using a bit of humor to try and lighten up the tone. She now realized that he must've had a nightmare of her death, and wanted to try and get him back to a state where her being alive was not a celebratory occasion, but a simple part of the day.
Luffy sat her down, smiling ear to hear. "Ha. Sorry. I just. You were." He stopped smiling and looked at his hand again, breathing a bit slower, rubbing his fingers together. "It was so real."
"What did you let your stupid head do to Robin?!" Sanji asked, fired up at the mere idea of harm coming to the beautiful archaeologist.
"I. I couldn't save her…" Luffy said, not turning his attention away from his hand.
Nami did what almost everyone else wanted to do at that moment. She hit Sanji upside the head so far he was kissing the floor and had a goose-egg big enough to be holding twins. "DON'T BE AN ASS! HE HAD A NIGHTMARE, HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!" She screamed, punishing the brash cook for not taking Luffy's feelings into account. He had no control over what happened in that dumb brain of his when he wasn't conscious.
Chopper yelled when he saw Sanji take the massive wallop and rushed to his aid. He switched to a stronger point and carried him off to the sick bay for his own safety. Nami's punches had a habit of being far worse than those of any actual foes, at least in the short term.
"I think we should follow the good doctor's lead and give them some privacy," Brooke suggested, looking at Luffy and Robin. He knew plenty about waking up from a nightmare over the loss of a friend, and he would have given anything if they were just bad nightmares, and he could talk to his friends when he woke up.
"Fine by me. I'm going back to bed." Zoro said, putting his swords back as he climbed back in his bunk. He had leaped out prepared to fight but was relieved they weren't under attack.
Franky did honors of hoisting Zoro up out of bed, albeit at the behest of Nami who seconded Brooke's respectful decision to give them some space. Franky had this privilege because disturbing a sleeping swordsman was a risky endeavor best left to people who didn't have a natural arm or leg to lose.
Shortly enough Luffy and Robin were given some privacy to talk about the nightmare. They didn't want to embarrass their friend by prying into the details of the terrible experience, but with how relieved he was to see Robin, she would be able to bring him some comfort at least. Calm him down enough to let everyone go back to sleep.
"Luffy, would you like to talk about your nightmare?" Robin asked, taking a seat on his bunk and patting the spot next to her. Giving a light but warm smile to try and reassure him she was fine.
Luffy sighed and sat down, staring at his hands again before finally gripping his knees. "I. I dreamt that that bastard Lucci came back and. And killed you." The words were as bitter as vinegar in his mouth. The mere idea made him want to fashion a leopard skin rug.
Robin was, needless to say, surprised to hear this. Namely, because she had the very same nightmare, but it was much closer to the time immediately after Luff and the others rescued her. Not only that, but she didn't cry out in horror at her own death. Even with a reinvigorated will to live, she was not as scared of her own death as Luffy was for it. "You don't have to worry about something like that. You proved you're stronger than him. You saved me, Luffy." Robin reassured him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I know I know. But in the dream, I didn't. I couldn't. You were dead and I wasn't able to save you." The fear of not being able to save his friends was the driving force behind the past two years of Luffy's life. He had almost lost them several times, and in a way lost them all once. But the near loss of Robin had been the most visceral.
Robin's reassuring smile faded as she closely examined Luffy's face. This was really eating him up. She couldn't help but wonder how long this was lurking beneath the surface of his cheery demeanor. "That's just it, Luffy. It was a dream. Here, in the real world, you were able to save me. That speaks far more than what happened in a bad dream."
Luffy sighed again and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in for another hug, but this time one that wasn't likely to warp her ribs. It was a softer, half hug whose goal was to allow him to rest his head on her shoulder for comfort. "Hey, Robin."
Robin couldn't help but smile as Luffy pulled her into an embrace. She craned her head into his, pressing her cheek into his head. "Yes, Luffy?" She asked, curious as to what she was about to be asked.
"I want you to live." He said, remembering her declaration back at Enies Lobby. Words that sparked them to declare war on the world.
Robin smiled wider and wrapped her arm around her captain. They had never had a moment quite like this. She didn't know another way to react. She had known only two other people in her entire life who wanted her to live as much as he did. Even when that list didn't include herself, he was on it. It brought a tear to her eye as she rubbed his head, giving him a small kiss on the cheek as she rubbed his arm to comfort him. "You make me want to live."