Hello again, everyone! Here's a new chapter!

Okay, school just utterly killed me. That, and now I'm re-readdicted to Medabots for the 4th or 5th time. Oh well, I'll just write that story whenever I have time.

Amazon Lily is just boring to me. No major action scenes or anything. It's just the introduction to Haki, which was introduced in this story in chapter 1 or 2. Meh.

A note about Hancock and Robin. Hancock will feel jealous, but she's not going to outright murder the historian because of it. Luffy wouldn't like that...or something.

Hope you all enjoy the chapter! I know I wanted to say more, but I'm too lazy and tired at the moment.

I do not own One Piece as that belongs to Toei and Eiichiro Oda.

The sound of cheering could be heard as the two women descended down the stairs, approaching the two Straw Hats. The crowd raved about some sort of Gorgon curse as they transformed into giant snake-like beings. The one known as Sandersonia turned into a giant green anaconda/human hybrid while the one known as Marigold transformed into a giant king cobra/human hybrid.

They circled the other two ability users while the crowd went wild.

"Curse? No matter how you look at it, they just ate some Devil Fruits." Luffy commented as he cracked his knuckles loudly. Robin glanced at the two and decided to have a little fun.

"May I take the marigold, Luffy?."

"Sure, I'll let you have her. Just let me take care of something first!"

The rubberman ran over to the petrified women and lifted them all up, stunning the crowd and the women Robin now knew as the Gorgon sisters. She recognized the woman that still sat on her snake throne.

The woman was Boa Hancock, or Hebihime. She was a Shichibukai that was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

She had to admit, the woman was very beautiful, but she didn't care. Hancock was dangerous and wanted them dead, which Robin would not allow.

"Rather than worrying about otherss, shouldn't you think about yoursself?" Sandersonia drawled out as she watched the man move the helpless statues out of harm's way.

"Shut up! That's for me to decide!" Luffy yelled out as he jumped towards the elongated woman.

A halberd attempted to cut Robin in two, but she surprised the Zoan user by blocking with a black arm.

"Haki?! So...you have that ability..." Robin had to give Marigold some credit. The snake woman actually got a little distance between them after that.

Marigold had put some Busoshoku in her weapon, which the historian found interesting as she healed the small cut on her forearm.

"Snake Stick!"

The tip of her tail came towards Robin, intending to stab the Straw Hat, but she stopped it with one hand.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't going to be as easy as you believed it was."

Robin was about to begin her own attack until she had to dodge a jet of purple liquid that was ejected from the snake woman's mouth. It burned the ground that it landed against.

Trying to sense anymore attacks such as that one, Robin found herself struck in the arm with the purple liquid as she tried to dodge it once more.

Ignoring the deep burning on her body, Robin assumed that one could use Kenbunshoku to predict the movements of another Kenbunshoku.

Luffy heard a gasp of pain and turned to see something like acid on Robin. Steam rose from her body and he swore he could see her body sinking under the poison.

"ROBIN!"

Rocketing towards her, his flight was cut short by the snake tail that wrapped around his body.

"Sso ssorry about that, but I think that woman ssaid ssomething about taking Marigold on? A foolissh move."

The tail squeezed him tighter and he felt like he was being crushed, despite being made out of rubber.

"Let go!" Luffy's skin was beginning to turn white as he bit down into the tail.

A scream of pain erupted from the anaconda woman and Luffy rushed over to where Robin was standing.

"Don't worry, Luffy. I'm alright." A small smile was pointed in his direction as Robin showed Luffy her arm.

Luckily, none of the poison hit the small strap that connected the Kujan top that she had stolen, but a flurry of violet petals flew off of Robin's arm and showed that her arm was fine. Luffy briefly wondered how she didn't heal the scars that were still on her arm.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Luffy was prepared to berate Robin for getting hit until he sensed something coming at him at high speed.

Grabbing Robin, Luffy jumped away from where Marigold had slammed the blade of the halberd into the ground.

The rubberman then rushed the anaconda woman, trying to hit her with his "Gattling Gun", but his fists just seemed to miss the woman as she swayed from side to side.

"Gr! You're really beginning to piss me off!"

An epiphany struck Luffy. He stopped trying to hit her and instead, closed his eyes and began to focus.

He needed to use instinct if he wanted to fight her. If only he could use that haki/mantra to know where she was going to be after she mo-

The side of his face was struck by Sandersonia's tail tip.

Roaring, Luffy's fist shot out and impacted with the woman's stomach, causing some spittle to fly from her mouth and her body sliding across the ground.

"What a brutal beast!" "How dare he do that to Lady Sandersonia!"

"Shut up!" Luffy growled out at the crowd, causing most of them to cease their noises.

Robin continued to dodge the blade of Marigold by less than an inch, infuriating the snake woman.

Even her venom was useless against the woman! Marigold didn't worry too much, as the female intruder had not even attacked yet.

Suddenly, Robin took up an aggressive looking stance, which caused Marigold to put one hand over the other in preparation to block the attack with Busoshoku.

The intruder's arms turned black and she rushed toward the snake woman, arm cocked back to hit her.

Marigold let a little snicker slide past her lips as she saw Robin about to punch the air. She missed the smirk that adorned Robin's face.

An enormous black arm sprouted from the stadium floor in a flurry of rose petals! The surprised Marigold almost crumpled under the force of the gigantic fist that even towered over her!

"You! You're a Devil Fruit user! That's how you recovered from my venom!"

"Fufufufufu...it seems that my secret is now known."

Robin's face looked malicious to Marigold as she showed off a vicious, but small smile.

"But I wonder? Will knowing that I'm a Devil Fruit user help you?" Robin glared a little at the snake woman.

Marigold was about to lunge forward and impale this impudent little...

"Shut up, you moron!" Luffy yelled out in the background and the two turned to see what it was about.

The crowd started to cry as they saw Hancock slump in her chair.

Robin let loose a small giggle, knowing that Luffy calling anyone a moron was hilarious.

"How dare your man insult my sister like that!" Marigold hissed and slithered over to the black haired lady.

The historian payed no mind, and didn't correct the woman on her mistake as she kept giggling. Luffy was currently giving a beat down to Sandersonia.

Robin raised her hand and caught the halberd in between her thumb and hand. The blade shattered in her grasp.

"I'm sorry. You were saying?"

The two were interrupted from their fight as they heard Luffy begin to roar.

"Stop it! What are you doing?!" Luffy's eyes widened as he saw Sandersonia pick up the petrified Margaret. She held the woman loosely as if she was going to let go any second.

"What will happen if she breaks?! I owe my life to her!"

"If sshe breakss? Well...I'll feel ssorry for her, but that iss her punisshment."

Sandersonia let Marigold drop closer to the ground, making Luffy flinch in surprise. He grit his teeth and started growling.

"Don't screw around! This is a fight between you and me!"

"Fight?" Sandersonia looking genuinely surprised, "You're the only one that thinkss thiss iss a fight! Thiss iss your execution!"

"Be quiet and watch!" Marigold said from afar, "That is nothing compared to the wounds on my sister's heart!"

Luffy thought of how Hancock looked when he had insulted her.

Wounds?! What wounds?! They're playing with Margaret's life!

"She looked up to you!"

"So does everyone else on this island!" Sandersonia said slowly to the now panicking Luffy.

Her tail suddenly dropped and Margaret dived towards the ground.

"I told you...!" Luffy shouted out as his devil fully manifested.

"...TO STOP!"

A pressure weighed heavily down on everyone present. The only one unaffected was Robin, and to a degree, Hancock.

Foam came from some of the audience's mouths, but most of them stayed awake.

Everyone affected was frozen in fear and Luffy became the most frightening thing in their lives! This was Haoshoku, but it was different than Hebihime's!

Sandersonia was the one affected the most. She shook violently and slowly lowered Margaret to the ground, making sure she wasn't damaged in the slightest.

"Oh?! You finally listened to me?! Thank you!" The pressure disappeared and Luffy walked towards the the woman.

He returned to normal.

It still didn't stop Sandersonia from bowing her head completely and cowering away from the rubberman as he inspected Margaret for any damage.

Robin noticed that the snake woman had obeyed Luffy. Was this an effect of Haoshoku?

"T-The only..one..I know with...that ability is...Sister!" Robin glanced over at Marigold who was shivering almost as violently as Sandersonia.

"You guys are strong!" Luffy whispered as steam burst from his skin.

"So I'll go full out now!" His whisper turned into a shout and he rocketed towards Sandersonia, who flinch heavily and cried out for her sister's help.

Robin wondered if she should stop Luffy from annihilating the two snakes, but decided against it.

She felt that they deserved whatever he would dish out upon them.

Robin was now sitting as comfortably as she could next to the stone statues that Luffy had put in the middle of the arena. The rest of the arena was demolished.

Luffy...had been true to his word. He had not gone easy on the women, but when the snake ladies tried to fight back, something had gone wrong for them.

Sandersonia's clothes had been burnt away by an attack that Marigold had tried to use. Marigold tried to stop her attack, but Luffy had tied their tails together.

She smiled a little at the rubberman as he dusted the one known as Margaret off a bit.

He had covered the "Gorgon's Eye" on Sandersonia's back, saying that their secret had nothing to do with their fight. Luffy had remembered Hancock saying that they would rather die than reveal what was on their backs.

"I can certainly undo the petrification...but you mentioned something about wanting a boat, correct?"

Luffy had asked Hancock to undo Margaret's and her friend's situation. It seemed that she had something planned.

"I will only take one of your requests!" Hancock smirked from her throne at the two, "Either change them back, or leave the island! Choose one and abandon the other!"

Robin frowned. How cruel of the woman to do this to them.

Her smile returned. Boa Hancock clearly did not know Luffy.

"Really?! You'll change them back?!" Luffy dropped to his knees and bowed with a smile on his face, not even getting angry that his hat got a little dirty from hitting the ground.

"Thank you!"

The historian took a little delight at seeing the shocked faces of the three Boa sisters.

Robin now found herself back in the Kuja Castle. She and Luffy sat with Sandersonia and Marigold outside a curtained area.

Sandersonia and Marigold were actually good people, although they were a little harsh in their punishments. Robin couldn't understand why someone would go so far as to kill their family, but she wouldn't judge their ways. It was how they did things for so long, and Margaret had said that she wouldn't have minded dying due to her mistake. She just didn't want her friends to suffer as well.

"...We really need to thank you."

"What? Nah, it's fine." Luffy waved the anaconda woman off.

"It's not like I can eat your gratitude."

He took on a thoughtful expression. With a little effort, Robin was sure he could find a way.

"You may enter, man!"

Luffy looked a little off guard, but jumped up and entered the curtained area. He shouted about having a great feast if they were so thankful.

"Yay! Foo- hey! There's no food!" Luffy paused and Robin shifted a little on the floor as she moved to get up.

"Why are you naked?"

Sandersonia and Marigold glanced at Robin to see if it would affect her in any way that her man was looking at the proclaimed, "Most Beautiful Woman in the World", as she lay bare before him.

Robin wasn't worried about Luffy doing anything to the Empress. Knowing that he was mostly asexual helped her a little.

"You said you know what this symbol meant...where have you seen it?!"

Hancock's voice was a little shaky and Robin noticed that the other two Boa sisters were shaking in what she thought was fear.

Robin already knew what the symbol on Hancock's back was. She surmised it was also on the backs of the two other Boa sisters.

It was the "Hoof of the Dragon". A mark put on Tenryuubito slaves that they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. Truly, a cruel practice that the World allowed its "precious" royalty.

A practice that the historian wouldn't mind being eradicated.

"Hm...actually, I was wrong! I thought it looked like something my friend Hatchan had! His is a little different."

Robin remembered the mark that looked like a sun on Hatchan's back. The slave mark was a circly with three triangles above it, following the circumference of the top half and one reversed triangle at the bottom.

How he had mistaken the two marks is a mystery, but Robin didn't care too much about it. Luffy's mind worked in a mysterious way.

Robin tried to get some sleep, but she was unable to. Today had been...eventful.

After the meeting with Hancock, they had partied with the Kujas. Luffy was able to dance around and joke a bit before eating, but he was unable to eat peacefully as everyone wanted to pull at his face. After watching Luffy yell at the women, Robin tried to help him out, but the Kujas were relentless.

Margaret had helped them escape the Kujas to see an Elder Nyon, an old hermit that lived outside the village. There, Luffy had learned that his brother, Portugas D. Ace, was to be executed. Whitebeard was already sailing towards Marejois, where the execution was to take place.

Elder Nyon told Luffy that he would have to convince Hancock to take him to Impel Down, the prison known as "Hell" to most.

Hancock...

Robin flinched as she recalled the woman now. Earlier, she had been cruel and heartless, appearing more as a tyrant than what she had displayed after Luffy had met with her a second time.

The historian never expected the Empress to fall in love with the rubberman. If she didn't know any better, Robin would have thought that "Hebihime" was wrapped around his finger.

Not to mention the daggers that Hancock had glared her way. Robin had noticed that many people had mentioned that Hancock possessed Haoshoku haki as well, but it was odd that she was unaffected by the ability. It was clear Hancock was attempting to crush her will with it, but the Straw Hat was not only able to negate it, she had never felt Hancock's Haoshoku.

Robin got up from the bed she was provided and went outside for some fresh air. She sensed a familiar presence and thought it would be good to see Luffy before sleeping.

Hopefully, the Empress wouldn't still be trying to get his attention. Robin had giggled when she was able to steal Luffy's attention away from the lovestruck Shichibukai.

Luffy was doing what he always did at this time of night. He was staring at the moon while time flew by. He was sitting down on the roof of the castle, right next to the patched up hole the two had made earlier.

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?"

Luffy didn't move his head as he spoke. His voice was lacking the exuberant quality it usually held.

"I should be telling you that. Now would be the best time to get the most rest."

Taking a seat next to him, Robin noticed the frown he wore.

The rubberman looked anxious. She could tell his skin was white and some sweat fell from his forehead.

"I...I just can't get any sleep, Robin. Knowing where Ace is...it just doesn't seem right."

"That's not good, Luffy. You know Ace wouldn't like that. Besides, shouldn't you get as much rest as you could so you can be at your strongest?"

"Maybe. But I know that if I sleep now, I'll just see nightmares."

"Hm...would it help if I slept with you?"

"No. I think I might hurt you in my sleep."

"Then that just means I'll stay up here with you."

Luffy looked over to see Robin with her ever present smile on her face. The moonlight reflected off her skin and hair as she stared at him.

"Robin..."

The historian perked up when he began.

"Is...is this alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"To go to save Ace...do you think that's the right choice?"

Robin didn't answer him right away as she evaluated the situation.

Fire Fist Ace is Whitebeard's 2nd Division Commander. His strength is on par with an Admiral and the two Straw Hats are attempting to break into the World's most secure prison with many, if not, all of the most dangerous criminals the World Government has captured. Their only help is one of the Shichibukai who is not going to be able to help them that much and could possibly be an enemy later on.

Not to mention that this is going to be all-out war between Whitebeard, the strongest pirate alive, and the World Government, which is going to have all of its strongest assets available to fight back.

Luffy already knew what the answer was, but he was asking her what she thought was right.

"...I think you're making the best decision you can, Luffy."

"Do you really think that?"

"Have I ever lied to you before?"

Luffy had a deadpan expression as he stared blankly at Robin's coy smile.

"Hey, don't be stupid, Robin."

"Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say..."

"I just..." Luffy looked away and buried his head into his arms. He brought his knees up to support his other limbs.

"I just don't know what to do, Robin. My brother is going to get killed, and the guys there...I don't know if I'm strong enough to even fight back..."

He didn't respond to the light touch he felt on his shoulder.

"...And everyone else...how can I just go off and do this? I'm leaving them behind..."

"You're not leaving them behind, Luffy. I'm sure they will understand why you would do this."

Her captain stayed silent for a bit. She scooted towards him until their sides were touching.

"Robin...I think you should stay here."

"That's not going to happen."

"No, just hear me out. Guys like Aokoji and that Smokey guy are going to be there. Maybe...even people like that Pigeon Guy will be there too."

Luffy felt Robin head lean on his shoulder, but he wouldn't surrender now.

"They'll try to capture you...and they might make you do that thing again."

"Don't worry about me, Luffy."

"I can't let you come along if it's going to be that dangerous."

"And you expect me to sit idly by and watch you descend into hell all alone?" Her voice was calm and almost quiet as she stared drifting into unconsciousness.

An arm formed on her back and pressed Luffy's head against hers.

"No...I just want to protect you..."

"I want to protect you too, Luffy..."

The two were silent for a while. They listened to the other's breathing as the wind blew through the moonlit night.

"...So you're staying behind, right?"

Robin shushed him.

"Go to sleep, Luffy. We'll need the rest for tomorrow."

"But..."

Luffy felt weird when she shushed him some more and started playing with his hair. Her fingers moved through his hair along with the wind.

"Rest, Luffy."

Robin listened as Luffy's breathing became slower and more relaxed. Eventually, he started to snore lightly.

She hoped the Empress wouldn't find them like this tomorrow and change her mind about helping them.

Hope you enjoyed!

God. I am so glad I'm done with that. Drew blanks and this took me hours to write up. Gah, creativity was never my strong point. As always, let me know what you think!