Changing up the pattern for the next couple of chapters for you guys, so enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.
Chapter 11
Hope Leads the Way
"Robin, what are we going to do!? We can't just sail around in circles looking for the others!" Usopp yelled out frantically from where he sat on the lawn deck, Chopper next to him trying to treat a few more lingering cuts he had gained from their fight against the Marines.
Robin sat on the bench, sipping her tea as she silently thought to herself, not showing even the slightest panic. She was worried, though; deeply concerned with the safety of her captain and the other three crew members they lost days before. They were at a heavy disadvantage without those four; it was only by sheer luck that Franky had managed to shoot them out of the fight with a Coup du Burst, without that they all would have eventually fallen to the Marines' surprise attack. Even ignoring the disadvantage, those four were their friends, their family, and they couldn't abandon them.
The problem they faced was where to start. They had no direction to go in, only a set of mystery coordinates that Robin hadn't the faintest idea what they meant. Her eyes blinked as an idea struck her, widening minutely, in a way that none would notice, while setting down her tea cup on its saucer. Silently she stood up, the remaining crew watching her with mixed expressions of curiosity and confusion before they all moved to follow her upstairs and into the library.
"While I was with the Revolutionaries, I had learned of a series of Marine bases that were critical in the World Government's tactical research area." Robin explained, her finger running along the spines of the books on a shelf until coming to rest on one and pulling it out. "We have coordinates, and I would suspect that the bases related to the tactics behind the Kuma weapon we saw will have knowledge of what those coordinates mean. There is even a possibility that those coordinates lead directly to those bases, if we assume that they also have strengthened prisons to hold whoever they capture." As she went on, she skimmed through the book's pages, flipping the pages until she stopped and tapped a finger on an entry. She set the book down on a table to show the others the entry on Marine base locations, hovering over one in particular. "This one here I remember was especially relevant to much of Vegapunk's research. I believe if we go there, we might be able to find some answers and a direction to go."
Robin let a small smile drift onto her face as the crew cheered in unison, Usopp and Chopper dancing together while Brook played his violin, and Franky did his trademark poses. It was good to see their hope returning.
"Hopefully they didn't send them straight to their executions."
"Robin! Don't be so bleak!"
Nami was startled awake when she felt cool fingers running over her chest and collar bone. She didn't think, just reacted, her hand lashing out to smack whoever dared wake her up. Sitting up and fuming, her hand stinging from the force, she was about to scream at whoever had touched her so freely.
She froze, her eyes widening as they landed on Law's scowling face. It was still turned to the side, away from her, as a bright red hand print began to bloom on his cheek. That was the moment she saw the bowl of salve held by a gloved hand, along with fresh bandages lying on the bed next to her. Realization dawned on her as she slowly withdrew her hand and snapped her mouth shut before she went on her tirade.
"You scared me," she grumbled, looking down as his intense stare slid toward her before his entire head turned forward once more. "You could have woken me up before you started."
"You've been sleeping like the dead for the last sixteen hours," he responded lowly, glaring at her again as he shifted slightly where he sat next to her on the bed. "This is the third time I've come in here to check your bandages and treat your other wounds; you never stirred."
Nami frowned at him before taking a moment to inspect her body; the lash marks she had exposed by the tank top and shorts she wore to bed were covered with the salve that Law was still holding, the redness and swelling fading quickly, along with the tenderness. Her wrist still ached, but it was freshly wrapped and the inflammation had gone down, as well. The cut in her shoulder was exposed, the stitches still in place while the cut appeared to be healing as well as the rest of her injuries. The entire time she was sleeping, he had seen to her care; she knew she owed him for that along with everything else.
"Now that you're awake, though, Nami-ya; how are you feeling?" Law asked, breaking her out of her inspection while he went back to re-bandaging her cut, his eyes briefly glancing up to hers before casting back down to his work.
She let out a small sigh, relaxing under his care and steady touch. "Better than I was last night."
Law nodded in answer as he tied off the last strip of gauze before pulling away to clean up. "Good, then get dressed," he commanded as he pulled his gloves off and tossed them in the bowl of salve along with the dressings he'd taken off of her. "Meet me in the kitchen when you're done, we have a few things to go over."
With that he walked out, leaving Nami alone to slowly pull herself from bed. She hoped he had some good news for her with this meeting.
Robin stood next to Franky as he took the helm of the ship, steering it at her command toward the Marine base she suggested. Adjusting her glasses, she continued to study the journal she had kept from her time with Dragon's Revolutionaries, filled with any information she thought they might need in the New World. It had been over a week since they lost their crew and began their search, much of that time spent searching for the Marine base while avoiding any unnecessary conflict. Navigating the oceans without Nami's guidance, and without a log pose to even point in a direction they needed to go was making their search difficult, but Robin had a fair amount of intelligence from the Revolutionaries, along with Nami's own detailed climatology and navigational journals, that Robin was confident they would find the base they were looking for soon enough.
As she read, she could hear the steady hammering of Usopp on the deck as he made some adjustments to his weapon, intent on preparing for what was guaranteed to be a difficult battle for them once they found the base. Chopper sat across from him, grinding a few herbs on his stone to make sure his medicine was well stocked, knowing that their crew mates were bound to be injured whenever they found them. All the while, Brook's violin carried through the air, soothing them as best he could under the stressful conditions.
"Robin," Franky's tone was soft, more subdued and serious which immediately caught her attention. Glancing up at him, she caught his gaze at it flickered to her and gave him a nod to go on. "This Marine base, you said it was involved in Vegapunk's research at one point." He paused, looking at her as she nodded again. "What kind of research? What should we be prepared to see when we get there?"
"Weapons, mostly," she began, her eyes going back to her book as she flipped through a few pages again. "From what Dragon's people learned, it was mostly chemical based weapons. Some of it was quite similar to the research he was doing on Punk Hazard with Caeser years ago."
"So gas, then?" He clarified, her eyes glancing to him as an answer. "And you're sure we'll find some information there on where that weapon sent everyone?"
Robin smiled lightly at him before the sight of an island on the horizon caught her attention, and everyone jumped into action. As Franky steered the ship in closer, Usopp climbed up the mast to the crow's nest to get a closer look with the binoculars.
"It's the base, Robin!" He called out over the loudspeaker, the woman nodding in satisfaction as she moved to lean over the railing, a hand held up to shield her eyes from the glare of the early morning sun as she looked at the rocky cliffs the base was perched on. "But…" Usopp continued; his tone shaky and unsure. Robin's eyes widened even before he said anything. "It looks like they were attacked last night!"
She could see it; parts of the building were cut away, stones and debris littering the rocky beach at the base of the cliff. Whoever had been there before had practically leveled part of the complex. As they got closer, she could see only a few guards at the watch towers, far fewer than there should have been. Their numbers had been thinned heavily by the attack.
She only hoped that whatever information they needed was still there, but at least now it looked like their raid would be far easier than she anticipated.
"Franky, drop anchor here, we'll take the mini-Merry the rest of the way."
Nami entered the galley to find Law sitting at the table eating a plate of grilled fish and onigiri, a book lying open in front of him that he appeared to be reading as he ate. The majority of the crew was with him, taking up the table with only one seat left open for her right next to the captain. As she took the single seat, he glanced up at her, giving her a small nod in greeting while his cook slid a plate in front of her. She smiled graciously at the man before letting her eyes stray down to the pages Law had seemed so intent on, curiosity getting the best of her.
She didn't notice that his gaze had never left her from the moment she sat down.
Nami was surprised when Law suddenly pushed the book closer to her, snapping her head up to look at him as if she'd just been caught trying to steal his wallet. "I had Penguin search for this, as well as the research on that gas, which is why we needed the distraction; he needed extra time to find this." He explained, nudging his head down to signal she take the book and look through it closer. "That base held information on a lot of Vegapunk's research, though I suspect any number of Marine bases have their own copy of this particular information." As he spoke, Nami's eyes were widening with every entry she read, flipping through the pages as her finger skimmed down an endless list of codes and the corresponding locations each one signified until they landed on three that she recognized in an instant. "Now we know exactly where to find Mugiwara-ya and the others."
Nami's hand was covering her mouth as a smile began to break out over her face, even as she felt tears of relief sting at her eyes. She laughed, the sound mixing with a small sob as she looked up to see every single one of Law's crew smiling happily at her, grinning with pride as they knew they had just given her the first bit of good news she'd had since joining them. Even as she looked to the side at the captain, she caught him smirking at her, an amused glint in his eyes at her overwhelmed reaction before he leaned in closer and pointed down at her plate.
"Now eat and get back to bed," he ordered, though his tone was light, filled with good-natured teasing as he spoke. "The last thing I need is Mugiwara-ya yelling at me because his navigator got hurt while under my care."
She didn't even care that he was giving her an order, she was too excited now that she had the navigational charts to go with the coordinates she knew lead to her lost friends. She beamed at him as she pushed aside the book and focused on her meal, not taking notice of his dumbfounded surprise at her easy obedience.
She knew that she had been right to go to him for help. Even if she had her doubts back in her prison cell, deep down she knew that Law was more than just a typical ally to her crew, knew that as much as he would deny it, he had become a friend.
Albeit a friend who had no qualms with using her as bait.
"Just so you know; if you let me get captured again, Luffy will be the least of your worries."
They had gotten into the Marine base with surprising ease, the few able-bodied guards no match for them. Robin couldn't help but wonder what had happened there, just who had attacked what should have been a far stronger military hold than it appeared to be.
Standing in the infirmary for only a minute gave her all the answers she needed.
"These burn marks!" Usopp cried out as he stood over two unconscious Marines, excitement and happiness lacing his tone. "I recognize them! They were struck by lightning! Nami must have been here!"
"Indeed," Robin said, a hand covering her face to restrain her laugh as she stared at the best sight of all. "And from what I can see she had plenty of help. Isn't that right, Vice Admiral-san?"
The man in front of her was fuming, snarling at her taunting tone as he sat there helplessly. His head was solidly attached to a large stone, while to the side lay an arm connected to a severed leg, on the other side lay yet another arm, this time attached to the back of an unconscious guard, and another leg with the foot severed and reattached at the top of his thigh. His torso was cut in three; each piece wedged between yet more stones, while the very top portion, the one that contained his heart, was missing that one vital piece.
"I swear if I ever find that bitch again, I will tear her apart limb from limb." He growled; the severed arm attached to the guard clenching its fist and waving it in his anger. Robin couldn't restrain her amused chuckles at his rather ironic wording, the oddity not dawning on the enraged man as he went on. "And the rest of you Straw Hats will join her in that fate! Along with Law and his men!"
Robin wasn't worried in the least about the Vice Admiral's vendetta against them, not while he was so thoroughly defeated by their once more ally, who even held onto the man's heart. She knew that he did it just in case he came after them again, Law the type to be as prepared as possible.
Her amusement washed away as her eyes caught sight of something strange on the Vice Admiral's waving arm, frowning as she stepped closer to get a better look. She used her devil fruit abilities to let a few extra arms bloom around his, holding it in place while pushing away the sleeve of his shirt to see where a sword had punctured straight through his arm. "Vice Admiral-san," she began, her now dark eyes shifting to him knowingly, "what did you do that warranted this wound?"
He only glared at her, snarling again without giving her an answer; that is until he heard a loud click next to his face, drawing his gaze to Franky and the weapon in his cyborg hand that was ready to fire in an instant. "Answer the lady."
He laughed lowly then, glancing back at Robin with a sickening smile on his face. "I just made sure my men took good care of your navigator…"
A loud crack echoed around the room, Robin refusing to hear any more about what they might have done to the younger girl, particularly if it was enough to push Law to cut into him like that, without using his powers as he normally would. The Vice Admiral's head hung from its perch on the rock, his jaw now completely broken while two of Robin's hands vanished in a small flurry from where they had sprung up on either side of him. Her back was turned to him as she took a deep breath, the eyes of her crew members on her as she walked over to a Marine Brook had been holding hostage, the man cowering under her gaze.
"I'm looking for a book with coordinates in it." She said quietly, staring at him intensely as he began to sweat nervously.
"They took it," he blurted out, "when they attacked the first time and left your navigator here, Law and his men left with that book along with another one of Vegapunk's research journals."
Robin frowned, glancing back at the Vice Admiral for a moment before leaning in closer to the terrified hostage. The fact Law had taken the very book they needed meant he was in fact helping Nami find the others, which was good news for them, but they still needed that information if they wanted to catch up with them. "Surely your superior kept an extra copy."
She watched him closely as he leaned to the side to catch sight of his boss' unconscious head before turning back to Robin and giving her a small nod.
Standing up straight, she smiled at him and gestured for Brook to keep hold of him while the Marine lead the way. Despite hearing that their friend had been imprisoned there, having just missed her by mere hours, the remaining Straw Hats were already celebrating the little victory they could see.
They had an ally out there.
They had hope that everyone would once more be reunited.
They were all one step closer to finding their family once again.
Shorter chapter than I've been giving you, but the plot is just moving right along. More action next chapter, and soon you all might even get a little of that romantic hint you've been looking for. ;3
Also I'm posting this at 3 am my time, and I'm hoping I caught all the errors, but let me know if there are any that I missed.