The members of the crew who had gone out to gather supplies returned with heavy loads. Robin, Sanji, Nami, Ussop, and Franky had all gone ashore for food, cola, and other necessary (and in Nami's case, cosmetic) supplies. Coming aboard the ship, the shore group noticed an unfamiliar face among the rest of the crew, unfamiliar to all but one.

Robin dropped her bags on the deck and rushed over to the man. All the crew could see was his imposing stature, a long black hooded cloak, a hint of a goatee, and a mark at the side of his chin. He kept his face concealed as much as he could. She rushed over, throwing her arms around his neck, and appeared to be moving in for a kiss, but she was stopped gently by his hand.

"Not yet, Robin. We need to speak in private."

"I'm sure any news you have for me is good for the crew to know."

"No, this is personal. Even if you've told all of them about your time with us, its best it be just you and I right now."

She nodded and escorted them to her and Nami's bedroom and closed the door.

"Luffy, who was that guy?" Nami asked.

"Don't know. Said he knows Sabo, Robin, and Iva-chan and needed to talk to Robin. He didn't seem like a bad guy so we waited for you with him. Anyway, Sanji! Food! Dinner?"

"We just got the food, baka! It will take a while to cook something worthwhile. Here's some mikan while you wait." He tossed a few of the little oranges in the air as his captain chased after them like a dog. Luffy either hadn't noticed this trick was Sanji's method of distracting him long enough to get food into the locked pantry and freezer, or he was aware of it and went with it for the amusement of his friends.

"YAHOO! Nami! Mikan! Come share it with me!" The rubber goofball caught the fruit in midair, jumping up to get it. He landed and bounced up to the Sunny's figurehead where he spent most of his day when he wanted to be alone or spending time with Nami.

"You had to choose mikan, you know he never eats them without me." Not quite upset, but clearly inconvenienced from what her initial plans were. But she had planned to go into her room which was currently occupied anyway.

His body went noodly as he danced with his bags up to the kitchen. "Sorry Nami-swan! Needed extra distraction for all the you know what we picked up or it would never make it to the kitchen!"

The rest of the crew went about their business for the day.

Inside the girl's dorms, Robin led them over to her bed and she sat on the edge, but the man did not follow. She gestured for him to join him, but again he abstained.

"Now isn't the time for that. I need you to brace yourself."

"This is about Blackbeard and Baltigo, isn't it?" Her face changed from affection to fear.

"Yes, though I'm afraid to let the words out. I know how you will handle it."

"What happened? If they'd managed to kill any of the officers, it would have made world headlines."

"No, most of our elite made it away safely, though we did lose many of our supporters."

"Then what is it? You're scaring me."

"Saul."

Robin gasped and tears immediately filled her eyes.

"W-what?"

"I did my best. As soon as I heard the first explosions I grabbed him and headed for a ship. I did everything I could to escape but I ran right into Blackbeard himself. He enveloped so much of the island in crushing darkness. I managed to endure the pain and escape, but Saul...he...Robin I'm so sorry!"

The man reached to hug her but she pushed him away.

"Our SON! You let them kill our only child! You promised me! You PROMISED ME that you would both be safe while I left. You said I HAD to go and rejoin Luffy, that my following the Poneglyphs was too important to the world to give up to be a mother! You promised me that he would be safer with you than out in the New World!" She began punching him with the bottoms of her fists, not wanting, nor able, to hurt him, but she was filled with such grief and anger that she had to let it out.

She allowed him to put his arms around her. "Robin, I'm so sorry. There was nothing any of us could do. It was so sudden, we had no knowledge that Blackbeard was even moving for us. We don't know how he knew where we were. Robin please understand that I did everything I could to protect our son."

Robin had no words. She believed the man she had fallen for in her first year with the revolutionaries. The man who had won her guarded and fearful heart. The man she had birthed her child with. She knew that he would have done anything he could to protect her or their child. But she had nothing she could possibly say, nothing she could do but cry, scream, and hurt.

The door burst in, and Sanji rushed in, followed by Luffy, Nami, and Zoro who had been on deck.

"You bastard! What did you do to my precious Robin-chwan!" Uncharacteristic of the kicking monster, he grabbed the cloaked man with his bare hands by the throat, luckily the hood stayed in place- now was not the time.

Robin did not cease her tears, but moved between Sanji and her lover to make him break the hold. "No, please, he didn't hurt me. He did everything he could to stop this. Everyone, you don't understand."

Zoro walked up and pulled the cook back by his collar. "Fine, start explaining. You're one man on a ship of superpowers, if you did anything to her, we'll never forgive you."

Robin tried to speak but could only gasp for air before returning to tears, burying her face in the man's chest. He put his arms around her and began explaining the necessary details. Their child, the attack, his death, and him coming here to tell the love of his life that he was unable to save the thing most precious to both.

After he finished, Robin asked her crew to give her and her partner more time alone to speak and grieve together. They left the room but stayed nearby on the deck for any change in the situation.

After an hour or so, the man emerged alone.

"Luffy." The man called for the captain, who walked over from his spot on the figurehead.

"Does she need something?" The typically happy captain had gone stone serious as he often did in these emotional times.

"Time. She knows there is nothing to be done but to keep living. She doesn't want me to stay here, she says the Revolutionary Army needs me now more than ever. But I have her Vivre Card, it's how I found your crew. I'm sure you know how it works well enough to know that if I see it fray, I'll be right here to help as soon as I can. I'll bring support with me. Her life and success are more important than you could possibly imagine. The fate of the world depends on you and her reaching the island called Raftel. Do not fail, Mugiwara."

"Never, getting there is how I become Pirate King. Nothing will stop me getting there. If it's so important for her to be there too, I'll make sure it happens."

The captain and the stranger shook hands and he left the ship. Nami went into the room to comfort Robin, Sanji went to the kitchens to prepare a special dinner for the grief stricken woman. The rest went back to what they had been doing before the commotion.

The man found his boat, a small craft to be traveling the treacherous seas of the New World, and set sail for the rendezvous point to rejoin the scattered Revolutionaries. He had not wanted to stay with the crew, only with her, but he agreed with Robin- they both had their parts to play in the world to come, and those parts did not take place on the same stage. He prayed there would come a day he could be reunited, that their struggles would end, that he could have his family again, all of it.

He removed his hood as he sailed off into the setting sun, looking back towards the Sunny. For so many years he had faced this way, intentional or absentmindedly- but only now had he ever considered leaving behind his cause for his own selfish satisfaction. He turned back away, unfurled his sail, and allowed a gust to take him away from what he now wanted most, back towards where he needed to be.