Ch 20 - Ready to Fight
"He's so pathetic…" Franky muttered and aimed his arm cannon at the elephant's face, "Oy, put your nose back to normal, elephant, or else I'll shoot you between the eyes."
The elephant whimpered and reformed his trunk. Nana got up to her feet, calmly dusted off her pants, and then studied the animal in Franky's grip. "Smart elephant," she commented, "Did he eat the Sword Sword Fruit?"
"Ha," Spandom scoffed, "Shows how much you know. He's a sword that ate a Zoan fruit."
"WHAT?! How?!" Nana demanded.
"Ow, Nana-brat, now is not the time!" Franky scolded and then he dropped his hold on the elephant trunk. He glared at the leather masked man. "And as for you, Spanda, if I had had power that day...I would've gotten Tom-san back. I wanted to get him back at any cost. The Straw Hats...and even the stubborn Nana-brat-"
"Hey!" Nana muttered indignantly.
"...They have ignored common sense and have advanced despite knowing the wrath of the World Government," Franky continued, "In order to rescue a friend...they make the world their enemy without a second thought."
Franky grinned, "It's exhilarating."
He stepped up in front of the elephant and put his strong hands against the side of the elephant's face. "Up to this day, I've never once forgotten about Tom-san's death. The stupid face of that official…" He started to drag the elephant behind him as he ran full speed towards Spandam. "Every time it went through my mind...I hoped that one day..I'd be able to crush him!"
He flung the elephant over his shoulder by the trunk and it landed heavily on top of Spandam. It created a huge dent on the floor. "Thanks to them…" Franky finished, "I'm able to fulfill my wish."
"Weapons Left!" He opened his left arm and fired up his mechanical gun at the remaining marines, "I'm someone who died once. If it enables the Straw Hats and Nana-brat to leave this place alive, I don't mind sacrificing my life!"
"Idiot, I already said I wasn't leaving without you," Nana shouted as she ran forward with her hammer, "NANA SPECIAL!"
"Nana!" Franky gasped, immediately moving his arm away from her so that she wouldn't get shot by a stray bullet.
"Kinetic Cannon!' Nana swung her hammer hard and the force shot out into a highly pressured ball. It flew forward and exploded as it came into contact with a marine. The blast knocked over the group and sent them flying in all directions. The strength of the blast was even able to send the elephant, with Spandam under him, skidding forward, lengthening the dent on the bridge.
Robin watched the cyborg and the hammer wielding girl go all out for her and the Straw Hats. She took a deep breath and she got back on her feet. Her body had stopped trembling and her mind was calm. "I'm ready to fight!" she announced.
"Robin!" Nana shouted happily and looked back at the black haired beauty, "Are you sure?"
Robin nodded and smiled softly at Nana. "Thank you for reminding me that...I'm not alone anymore."
Nana grinned and smashed her hammer in the face of an incoming marine, without even looking at him. "Just passing down what someone super once told me."
"Owww! Nana-brat!" Franky sobbed as he wiped the tears falling from behind his sunglasses, "I'm not crying. Stop saying I am!"
"C'mon! Let's head for the ship!" Nana yelled as she raced forward. They finished crossing the bridge and down the steps towards a dock where a large marine battleship was anchored. "There's the escort ship!"
"Now it's our escape ship!" Franky yelled as he fired his weapons at the marines still on board.
Franky, Robin, and Nana stormed the ship and threw everyone overboard. With the combined power of Franky's personal arsenal, Robin's limbs, and Nana's hammer, they made short work of the marines and even managed to leave the ship practically unscathed.
Nana put her hammer on her back and then placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed the deck. "Now that that's done…" she said.
"All that's left is to wait for the Straw Hats," Franky finished and then he scooped her up from behind in his big burly mechanical arms. "Ow! Nana-brat! I still can't believe you came to save me! You love me, you really love me!"
"GET OFF OF ME, YOU WEIRD ROBOT!" Nana roared as she tried desperately to get out of his clutches.
"Ow! You super think of me as your Bro!" Franky cried victoriously, "Come on. Say it again! Call me your Bro!"
"That was a once in a lifetime thing!" Nana shouted and she shoved a hand into Franky's cheek to try to push him away, "I'm never doing it again! Now let go, you moronbot!"
Robin crossed her arms and chuckled at the pair. Then she heard a faint gurgling sound over the side of the ship. She peered over the railings. Franky and Nana both froze as they noticed the sound too and immediately came to Robin's side.
Something was bubbling up on the side of the ship. "What's that?" Franky gasped.
"DON'T…" Granny Kokoro shouted as she burst through the sea's surface, "DIE!"
"AHHHHHHHH!" Franky and Nana cried in horror as Granny Kokoro flew over the tops of their heads, revealing clamshell pasties on her breasts and a pink tailfin, "YOU'RE REVEALING TOO MUCH, GRANNY!"
"My eyes...My eyes…" Nana exclaimed as she covered her face with her hands, "I can't unsee that. I'M NEVER GOING TO UNSEE THAT!"
Robin gasped at something and Nana peaked over her hand to see what it was. Then her eyes widened. Granny Kokoro had landed on the deck with Zoro, Chopper, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Chimney, Gonbe, and Pygmy spilling out of the coat Granny Kokoro was using to pull them behind her.
"Hey! Guys! Wake up!" Franky shouted to the group.
Fountains of waters blasted from their mouths and they coughed and gasped for breath.
"This can only be described as a miracle," Franky said solemnly, "They..they must've received such a tremendous shock. They all stopped breathing so they didn't swallow much water."
Granny Kokoro laughed. "Good thing they're all okay...but...what on earth could've shocked them enough to make them stop breathing?"
"It was you!" Both Franky and Nana exclaimed and pointed an accusing finger at Granny Kokoro.
"Huh?" Granny Kokoro asked and then her eyes fell on Robin, "You must be the friend that the pirate king kid came to rescue. I saw you at the shift station, remember?" Robin smiled as Granny Kokoro laughed again. "Back then, I didn't think you guys could pull something like this on."
Nana couldn't help but be impressed by Robin's composure. No matter how many times she's seen Granny Kokoro as a mermaid, it still very much shocked her to the core.
"Put some clothes on you, you damn old hag," Franky lectured.
"I laughed when I heard him say he was going to be King of the Pirates…" Granny Kokoro said as she casually pulled up her pants, "...but who knows? It might actually happen."
"That's not the part you should be covering first!" Nana snapped.
Suddenly, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji both sat up and coughed violently. "Is...Is Nami-san okay?" Sanji gasped as he clutched his throat.
He wakes up and his first thought is Nami...He really is all about the ladies, Nana thought with a scoff. Then she shook her head and rolled her eyes at herself. Get a grip, Nana. What's it to you?
"You guys are as tough as ever," Franky commented.
"I'm glad you guys survived!" Granny Kokoro chimed in.
Usopp's head lifted and he screamed at the sight of Granny Kokoro in her clamshell pasties. "AHHHH! So it was real! Mermaids really don't exist!"
"So the myths are true," Zoro sputtered, "When sailors say they thought they spotted a mermaid but then it turned out to be a dugong!"
Nana snorted and then covered her mouth with her hands to block her laugh. Granny Kokoro does look like a dugong...
"You morons! She still hasn't said she was a mermaid yet!" Sanji exclaimed as he turned his back on Granny Kokoro, avoiding eye contact, "Don't give up on the dream just yet!"
"I'm an icefish mermaid," Granny Kokoro announced happily.
"STOP IT!" Sanji cried and covered his ears with his head. He started to pound the deck with his fists, with his head still low. "I have an objection! I have so many objections to this! Mermaids should be...mermaids should be...a well-proportioned sexy body...smooth white skin...flowing hair that's beaming and beautiful."
"But I've never heard of a mermaid with legs," Usopp protested.
Nana laughed along with Granny Kokoro. "Apparently," Nana said, "When mermaids turn thirty, their tails fork into two and they become able to live on land. They're a mysterious species, Sogeking-sama."
"Sama?!" Sanji gasped incredulously as his head popped up to look at the mechanic, then his eyes widened when he saw their archeologist next to the angel.
"Ah...they say cats when they turn 100 their tails split into two," Robin commented with her usual smile.
"Like monsters!" Usopp agreed and then his eyes widened as he realized who had just spoken.
"Don't compare me to monsters!" Granny Kokoro huffed but the group was no longer listening to her.
"ROBIN-CHWANNNNN!" Sanji shouted. He sprung to his feet and flew towards Robin with his arms opened and his eyes filled with passion.
"ROBIN!" Nami and Chopper screamed as they hugged Robin and pulled her out of the way of Sanji. He lodged torso first into the middle of one of the ship's beams. Nana laughed at all the commotion.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Nami cried, "Thank god we made it in time!"
"Ah," Robin replied, "Yes, thanks to all of you guys. Thank you!"
"WOOF WOOF!"
Nana turned just in time to have a soaking wet Pygmy crash into her arms and they both fell backwards onto the deck. Nana had the wind knocked out of her as her dog both licked her face and dripped sea water over her at the same time. She chuckled through her pain and petted Pygmy, "Good boy...Really good boy."
"AH!" Chopper gasped as he fell off of Nami's back and onto the floor, "I can't move..."
"We'll explain why later," Zoro grunted as he jumped off the ship and made his way up the stairs back to the bridge.
Pygmy went over and sniffed the reindeer. He whimpered and then licked Chopper's face. Nana got up to her feet and placed Chopper on Pygmy's back. "Just stay on Pyg...he'll take care of you," Nana said and then she followed behind Zoro.
She could hear the cannons continue to ring out from the island and they only got louder with each step she took. When she reached the top, she drew in a sharp breath. The island was covered in flames and most of the buildings were already destroyed. The layer of smoke and smog that came off of the island was so thick that Nana could smell the traces of ash from where she stood.
"It's hard to believe that's the island we were up against until a few minutes ago," Zoro said.
"What's with these attacks?" Usopp asked as he ran up from behind Nana, "It's like a sea of flames."
"10 marine battleships…," Nana stated with furrowed eyebrows, "With thirty 18-pounders, about a dozen 24-pounders, five 32-pounders...and at least three 42-pounders…"
"Eep! How do you know that?!" Usopp screeched.
"You just have to always keep an ear open," Nana said softly and tapped her ear but she didn't take her eyes off of the island. Paulie...Lulu...Tilestone...
Nana felt Franky's hand on her shoulder and he gave her a squeeze. She knew he was worried as well about his underlings. Franky took a deep breath and turned to Zoro. "It seems they were ordered to attack but to also keep Nico Robin remained alive. They haven't been firing at this bridge."
"If they were trying to keep her alive that means they'll come back for her," Zoro grunted.
"After Enies Lobby's completely destroyed, they'll probably come fight to get Nico Robin back," Franky replied.
"That's bad! We're already all beaten up and those ships are bound to have all sorts of strong guys on board!" Usopp screeched, "Where's Luffy?!"
Nana pointed at a smoking tower near the front of the bridge. "That dust over there...that's not from cannons."
"His opponent is that kid named Rob Lucci so their fight isn't over yet," Franky surmised.
"That's not too far we should go help," Usopp started to say and Nana took a step forward too.
"Don't," Zoro said. Usopp and Nana froze in their tracks, "The pigeon guy's not normal. If you get caught up in that, who knows what'll happen. We don't know when that fleet of battleships will come this way and we don't wanna lose our way out of here."
Nana gulped and looked at Zoro. "So we'll wait for Luffy here," he growled and nodded firmly, "That's all we need to do."
They stood and stared at the flames silently. Nana clenched her fists tightly to her side. She forced herself to picture the moments when Paulie, Tilestone, and Lulu kicked ass on the docks to remind her of their strength and resilience. They'll survive this. They must survive this.
"Franky...Nana-chan...Your nakamas...?" Sanji's voice appeared from behind them and Nana stiffened. Instantly, Franky squeezed her shoulder again and he grinned down at her before turning to Sanji.
"You damn idiot," he laughed a little too forcefully, "They've got the luck of the devil. They're fine. I'm sure they've escaped okay! And don't underestimate the shipwrights of Galley-La, right Nana-chan?!"
Nana put her hand over Franky's and gave it a squeeze back. "Yes," she said with as much confidence as she could muster, "They'll be fine."
Sanji smoked his cigarette and looked at how tightly the angel was holding onto the cyborg's hand. Her knuckles were white and her fingers dug into his skin. Sanji couldn't help but think about the fact that even if Luffy came back, each of them would have to take down a ship in order to escape. He knew it would only be hurting the angel and cause her to worry more if he voiced this thought so he remained silent.
"Guys! The ship is ready. We can leave anytime! As soon as Luffy comes out we'll go!" Nami called from behind.
"Thank you, Nami-san!" Sanji called back solemnly, not taking his eyes off of the back of Nana-chan's head. He took a step towards and reached a hand out to comfort her.
"Report from the main north-western gate!" someone shouted from the island's speaker system. Sanji froze with his hand in mid-air.
"All Enies Lobby marines and agents have been collected. We have also located the pirates around 50 total in the middle of escaping at the main gate!"
"That's Zambai and the others! See didn't I tell you? They're going to get out of this island safely!" Franky forcefully laughed, "No need to worry 'bout them! Even if you kill 'em those bastards won't die! Right, Nana-brat?"
"After our attack nothing remains," the marine reported, "The pirates at the main gate have all died. In the island's current state survival, is impossible. Amount of survivors in Enies Lobby...Zero."
Nana's legs gave out and Sanji caught her by the arms at the last second. Her face was as white as a sheet and her whole body was limp. She didn't move, speak, or even blink. "Nana-chan!" Sanji yelled but she was unresponsive and stared right through him.
"Paulie…" she said faintly, "Lulu...Tilestone…?"
"This is a report from ship two," the speaker continued, "From the south-eastern courthouse and Tower of Justice As well as the underground tunnel connecting to the bridge Everything is destroyed. The only target remaining is the Bridge of Hesitation."
Nana stared catatonically at the island. Her mind had completely shut down.
"HURRY UP! STRAW HAT!" Franky screamed violently towards the smoke. He stamped further into the bridge and he clenched his fists, "YOUR NAKAMA IS WAITING FOR YOU HERE! Don't you dare die on us!"
"Franky," Nana managed to breathe out. She finally blinked and tears fell down her eyes. She got up to her feet and started to walk towards the cyborg.
"Nana-chan!" Sanji called after, unsure of what she wanted to do.
Nana's whole body tensed up and she took a fearful step towards the bridge. "Oh shit," she whispered.
Boom!
A cannonball hit the first part of the bridge right above the column where Luffy was. It collapsed into the sea below, cutting off the path for the Straw Hat to get to them.
"They destroyed half the bridge?!" Sanji asked incredulously.
"Why would they do that?!" Usopp gasped.
"Ow! They've cut us off from the Straw Hat!"
A dark shadow fell over the group as battleships started to sail past them, flanking the sides of the bridge and blocking off the dock.
"All ships take battle formation around the Bridge of Hesitation. On the bridge and the escort ship, we've identified ten pirates including 'Pirate hunter Zoro' and Nico Robin! It appears they are the main force that defeated CP9 in the Tower of Law."
"They're coming to take Robin away," Zoro muttered as the ships anchored just a few feet away from them.
Anger, frustration, anxiety, grief...Waves of emotions crashed over Nana to the point that she heard and felt nothing except the overwhelming sense that her back was against the wall.
"Oy...Franky," Nana growled lowly.
"Yah?"
"When you built yourself back," Nana said, "You probably researched the human body, right?"
"Why are you asking this now?!" Franky asked and he looked down in time to see Nana turn a dial at the base of her glove, at the wrist. He lifted his sunglasses to get a better look.
"Just wanted to see how much you knew about the human heart..." Nana replied.
His eyes widened as he realized what she was saying. "Don't tell me…"
"Nana-chan, what are you about to do?" Sanji asked.
Nana grabbed her hammer and held it firmly in her hands. Her hammer started to shake violently. "Fight."
"Hey! Look over there!" Usopp shouted, interrupting Sanji and Franky from asking any more questions. Usopp pointed at the first column. The cannonball that broke the bridge also created a huge hole in the side of the tower, "It's Luffy-kun with the pigeon guy!"
Nana's eyes widened when she spotted Luffy and a huge leopard man in front of him. Is that really Lucci?!
"Luffy-kun! We're here!" Usopp screamed.
"Everyone got to the bridge safely! We're all fine!" Franky reported.
"There's no need to worry about us, Luffy-kun!" Usopp called.
"We saved Robin-chan too!" Sanji added.
"All that's left is to defeat him," Franky shouted.
"Defeat him Luffy!" Zoro yelled.
"We'll all make it out together..." Usopp shouted.
"And leave this place!" Sanji finished.
There was a moment of silence and then Nana walked to the front of the group. She sucked in a breath and then pulled out her megaphone from her bag. "LUCCI!"
She waited for the leopard man to look over at her before puffing up her chest again. "FUCKKKKKKKKKK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
She grabbed Kabuto out of Usopp's hands and fitted a large brass cog into it. She pulled it back and it shot high above Lucci's head. He sneered at her lousy shot. Suddenly, Hattori plummeted down on the ground by his feet.
Nana quietly handed Kabuto back to a stunned Usopp and picked up her megaphone again. "...AND YOUR STUPID BIRD TOO!"
"I thought...you said you weren't good at a slingshot…" Usopp said.
Nana kept her glare locked on to Lucci. "I wasn't as good as you, Sogeking-sama."