The life-Changing Serum of fate
There was a time in Robin's life when nothing made sense except her doubt to trust or love anybody. It became an intricate part of who she was, almost to the point of losing her humanity. Just when she gave up on ever connecting with people she met Luffy and his crew. It was rocky at first, but she gave in to his persistent ways and joined him on his quest to be "King of the Pirates"
Trust did not come easy to Robin, oh no, she held her inner doubts about them deep inside, always waiting for that ax to fall, for them to change their minds and toss her away like everyone else in her life did, but it never came to pass and she thanked God for of all the crew members she found it easier to talk to Franky. The words that he said to her on the Sea-Train arriving to Enies Lobby that day always rung in her head. "You're not the one that's hurting the Straw Hats. Those government bastards may tell you that your existence is a crime, but no matter how dangerous you may be, just being alive, just being who you are, it's never wrong, you got that? What you do is your choice, but there's no right or wrong in who you are." Those words gave her the first inkling of hope to survive before Luffy and the rest came for her answer.
He seemed too flashy for her taste from time to time, but still she felt like she could communicate with him about anything. It was strange to her, almost insane to think that this big man/Cyborg would have such an impact on her. But like everything else in Robin's life, she fought the inner peace she felt while in Franky's presence, only allowing him to see her blank expression, void of emotion. This is what she needed him to believe about her, it was safe… but for traveling to some unknown location called, "Pandora Island" Luffy and the crew decided to explore it for supplies and maybe find some inhabitants that might be ship-wrecked and need assistance. Robin decided to stay on deck and keep watch, telling everyone that she could handle things and hope the best for their safety. She watched as each one left the ship leaving Franky to be the last to embark. Robin watched intently with mixed emotions. Part of her wanted him to stay, maybe talk and share a cup of hot tea, while on the other hand she thought it best that he leave so she could have time to herself, to think about the turbulent feelings cascading throughout her body whenever she was in his presence.
Franky looked back at Robin, his foot on the rim of the ship, his huge Red shoulders shining in the mid-day sun giving him an aura that made him seem almost regal. He waited for a moment then said, "Robin I know you are capable of defending yourself, but would you like me to stay and keep you company?" She just stared at him, not saying a word. As each moment passed it froze in time like someone pushed the pause button. Robin couldn't speak at first, but without her knowledge three words slipped out from her lips, "If you want". Franky turned completely around, his arm stretched up towards the right, his right leg extended forward and let out his famous, "SUUUPERRR" then began to walk towards her with the biggest smile on his face.
"What have I done?" Robin whispered to herself as Franky approached her, his body oozed with power and the promise of protection. Luckily Robin already had everything set up, the tea was piping hot with some of the sweet cakes that they happen to acquire during their trip to Athens, it's a little village on the outskirts of Willow Grove, Robin would never forget this place because it was predominately inhabited by men. The few women lived high up on the hillside far away from danger. The men of Athens knew if the women lived below the hillside there's a chance that outside villagers might try to capture them to turn them into slaves. Before leaving, Luffy gave them a few pointers on how to keep them safe, and in exchange the Athens women gave the crew cakes and salt meat. Everyone thanked them except Franky, who was missing from the moment they reached the shore line, Robin will make sure to question him about his whereabouts in Athens.
Franky was seated and sipping tea while Robin was lost in thought, she didn't notice that Franky was talking to her until he raised his voice, "Robin…are you ok?" she looked at him and seen such genuine concern in his eyes, she gave a slight smile to let him know she was ok, Franky let out a sigh of relief, "for a moment there you seemed like you were a thousand miles away" he sipped his tea and bit into the cake. "I was just remembering when we were at Athens, their customs seem a little extreme, keeping the women so far away… even if it is much safer, it's still lonely I'm sure" she sat with her legs crossed and began to also sip her sun began to set casting a reddish hue across the sky that was spectacular. After three cakes and two cups of hot tea Robin decided to speak to Franky about his disappearance during their trip to Athens. "Franky, I have a question to ask if you don't mind, where were you after we docked?" Robin waited patiently intent on hearing his answer. Franky took the bite of his cake and sat his cup down lightly onto the small wooden table, "I recognized someone from my youth when I was running with my old gang. His name is Oscar beekeeper, I knew his family well." Franky began to lean back in his chair trying to get as comfortable as possible. He took a deep breath and began to explain to Robin, who listened intently as he went into detail about his own adventure at Athens.
Oscar's father was a pirate hunter, his mission in life was to create a serum that will change devil fruit users back to their original state and anyone who altered their bodies would become normal. His idea was to eradicate the fear that regular citizens had to endure. He worked on this serum for two decades without progress. Oscar watched his father become depressed, he began to neglect his wife and barely spent any time with Oscar, during this time Oscar spent a lot of time away from home and that's how we met. She listened with great interest, at the same time she was apprehensive. A guy that could possibly strip all devil-fruit users was a little terrifying to her, even though this guy was far away still there's a chance he might finally create something to cause massive chaos across the pirate world. She kept this thought to herself, it's best to just listen and question later.
Franky never noticed Robin lost in thought, he just continued on... Oscar told me in confidence that his father was crazy to think the government would allow this to take place, most government officials are devil-fruit users! He told his father on many occasions, but he was dismissed, told to keep his mouth shut and stay in a child's place. One day Oscar woke to the sound of voices coming from the basement, he opened the door quietly and tipped down the stairs, his slippers barely heard on the wooden steps. A dim light was on and he couldn't see very well. After his eyes began to adjust he notice his father standing over a table, there was a large man in pirate clothing laying there, sea stone chains across his chest and legs rendering him powerless.
Oscar's father was giving him an injection of some type of fluid. The man screamed out in pain and within minutes he was unconscious. Oscar let out a small sigh, causing his father to turn around, "Oscar get out of here…NOW!" His father yelled out causing him to almost fall. Oscar ran up the steps, he heard the chains hit the floor as he slammed the door shut. A week later Oscar told me his father's serum worked for a short period only. For nine days the pirate his father was experimenting on was stripped of his power and during this time he was tortured by those he harassed in the past, by the time his power returned he was a different man, so in a way his father did get what he wanted just not totally. Now the reason I split from the group was to ask Oscar does his father have any serum left. "Why would you, of all people want something like that Robin asked, "What could you possibly do with it? You're not a devil-fruit user, so tell me…why?" Robin watched him closely, "It's simple… do you remember me telling you his serum also changes those who altered their bodies?" she nodded her head, "well, I wanted to see how it felt to be the old Franky, before I tried to stop the train" Robin thought long and hard then realized if Franky had his original body, that meant him and her could maybe… "Don't be stupid!" Robin scolded herself, but deep down she wished for this one dream of hers to come true.
It was now dark and stars were shining brightly in the night sky. Robin was so enveloped in Franky's story that she didn't realize that the crew was gone over seven hours, "have you noticed the crew hasn't returned yet?" she stood up for the first time, her legs were stiff and she noticed a chill in the air. "I know… I wonder what hair-brain ideas Luffy has gotten everyone into" Franky also stood up, his large body looming over Robin casting her under his shadow. Robin asked, "Are you really going to go through with your experiment?" she now stood at the ship's edge looking into the dark water. Franky walked over to her and stood next to her, "Do you want me to?" he avoided her gaze and also stared into the water, "I think it would be interesting to see you before you became larger than life" she turned her head towards him and smiled. Franky smiled back, "then let us both experience this together" he turned away and walked towards his cabin, but before going in he yelled out, "Robin you are SUUUPERR!" his pose was exceptionally sexy, almost inviting, this made Robin excited. If Franky wasn't heading towards his cabin he would've noticed her admiration.
Once in the cabin Franky sat on his bed and began to think, "There's no way someone like her could like someone like me… I just don't believe it!" he tried to dismiss the idea, yet in the back of his mind he played with the idea of flaunting his found affections for Robin in Sanji's face, " stop with the dreaming already you fool" he scolded himself, then opened his chest. The colas were ice cold like always and ready for anything, but what he needed was hidden behind them in a secret compartment that he created himself after his ordeal with the Blueprints for the Ancient Weapon Iceberg gave him to protect. He wanted to assure that in the future if he is entrusted with anything of that magnitude he would be prepared. He removed the cola and put in a secret code which swung a small steel door deep inside of him. On the tiny shelf was the vial, untouched since that day he placed it there. He pulled it out carefully and examined it in detail, "should he just take it now and surprise her or should he transform in front of her and experience it together" he sat there conflicted, "I was never really good at matters of the heart, but when it comes to battle I'm your man!" he smiled to himself and in that split second he decided to call Robin into his cabin to explore this transformation together. "Robin! Come here, If you are still interested in seeing me change… it's going to be Super-fantasic" Franky stood at the door of his cabin and watch Robin turn away from watching the tiny waves and headed towards him with a smile on her face, "Sure I'm still interested… I would love to see the old Franky" she walked in the room and closed the door softly behind her.
He sat on the bed and patted the space beside him, "sit here… I want to explain something to you before we begin" she looked at him with a curious expression, "what is it?" she sat down and looked into his eyes, "if you're worried about what I might think of you, or that I might treat you differently, I won't" she reassured him. Franky looked away and said, "the thing I need to tell you is there might be a slight side-effect, during the moment of my transformation there's a chance I might act stranger than usual, will you be able to handle that?" he turned back to look at Robin, who stared right back at him, " don't worry…I'm stronger than I look" her eyes said it all, Franky let out a loud, "SUUUPERRR" because he now felt confident enough to take the chance. He took the vial in his right hand and held Robin's hand with his left, " here we go!" he placed it to his lips and swallowed the bright green liquid, it felt warm and familiar as it slid down his throat. He began to squeeze Robin's hand tightly, which startled her, "what's happening? Are you Ok? Franky speak to me!" he let go of her hand and fell to the floor into a fetal position, swaying back and forth holding his stomach and groaning, "ROBIN… GET OUT OF MY ROOM NOW!" he screamed at her as his body began to slowly change right before her eyes, "NO, I'm not going anywhere! We are in this together, remember?" She reached down to help him, but before she could react Franky pulled her down on the floor with him, his face was directly in hers, their lips only an inch away from kissing her, "This…serum…is…bringing…out…a…side…in…me…that…I…can't…control…" he pulled Robin to him, his lips met hers and for that moment he didn't care if the crew walked in, or if she slapped him afterward, he just knew it was well overdue. Robin yelped, and tried to push slightly away from him, but his embrace was too strong, his arms were no longer machine-like, they were soft to the touch, his square shoulders were now rounder and muscular, she also felt his heart beating in his chest, all of this she noticed while still locked onto Franky's lips. "Mmmmm….you taste soooo good Robin" Franky murmured just as he moved his lips away from hers, "I told you to leave…but you decided to stay, so I hope you're not disappointed or angry with me?" He held her close, his body on the floor and she was now lying across him, his arms wrapped around her with no signs of letting go. Robin was in a daze, she never felt this way before and didn't know how to respond, she just knew it was best to just go with the moment, even though she knew that the crew could come in at any moment, It didn't matter…not now. An hour passed still Franky and Robin continued to enjoy their rapture, they both decided without saying a word not talk, but just relish in the moment. Without warning Franky began to feel a strange sensation through his entire body, "Robin I think…I think I'm…" he gently nudged Robin away and curled up into a ball, his body racked with pain as his muscle and chest constricted and began to transform back to its original form. Robin watched him, never leaving his side, wondering what's going to happen once Franky is back to his old self. Will they acknowledge what transpired in his room, or just pretend it never happened, these questions raced through her mind while transformation took place.
The ordeal took fifteen minutes total, he laid there on his back looking up at the ceiling, afraid to look Robin in the eyes, not knowing what to expect, disappointment or maybe even contempt. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, her face showed no signs of contempt or disappointment, actually she was smiling, genuinely glad to finally let go of the hidden passion she held so long, to finally feel something other the hatred that others bestowed upon her so long ago. Robin was the first to break the silence, " I know you might think I'm upset with you, but I'm not…don't worry Franky what happened in this room shall stay between you and I" she reached out her hand to him. Franky felt it was safe to look at her now, "thank you Robin…I want to say I'm sorry, but that's not how I truly feel…so I won't" he grabbed her hand gently and sat beside her, "that was the last of the formula, you will be the only one to ever see this passionate side of me, and I wouldn't have it any other way" he smiled at her and then let out a soft, "suuuperrr." Just as he said that Luffy's voice was heard in the distance, "Hey guy's…where are you? Robin, Franky!" He believed this moment will never present itself again so Franky stole one more kiss from Robin before standing up, his hand was outstretched to her, "I will never forget this moment with you…my Robin" he smiled brightly at her, who grabbed his hand and returned a smile back at him. The confident way Robin spoke these next words caused Franky to tremble with a new found hope, "who knows… we might have this moment again in the near future" she walked out the door leaving Franky wondering, "What if she's right…"