LW: Well, now Foxy is out of the way, how about we meet a real heavy hitter.
Rubber King and Mirror Master – The Ice-Man Cometh
"You seem relaxed there" Robin muses, swaggering over to Kaos, his eyes closed and Artemis practically curled up in his lap. The purplette smiles but doesn't move
"My latest acquisition, means these eyes are no longer… necessary" he purrs, his right eye opens lazily, its silver X locking onto Robin "But they are more convenient, se se se"
"Well, as long as I can help, you learn anything from Foxy's fruit?"
"No, just that it feels like split head, so I moved it to a separate box so I can keep interactions to a minimum. Also I need to wait until we get some more grapefruit before I can do anything major with it" the researcher admits with a sigh, running his bony fingers through his kid's hair, like stroking a cat as it was clear she liked it that way.
"Guys, I see an island!" Usopp calls from the crow's nest, prompting Nami to move to the front of the Merry
"Hm, looks pretty uninhabited" she thinks aloud, not that it deterred Luffy
"Sounds like fun, everyone we're checking out the new island in about 20 minutes, so get ready" he shouts, getting the attention of the others.
"Hopefully there's some food on this island. Find some and I can make us all lunch" Sanji says as the Merry weighs anchor and everyone disembarks
"Nothing slimy or gross ok?" Nami whines, accompanied by a full body shiver
"I don't think you'd notice by the time Sanji was done with it" Vivi argues
"Not that it matters, once it gets to your stomach it's all the same" Zoro grouses, getting a thump to the head for his troubles
As luck was good today the ones who went scavenging brought back a good haul, enabling Sanji and Valentina to cook up a veritable feast, not that it was going to last much longer than a normal meal with Luffy scarfing it all down.
"We're going to need more if we expect to survive with Luffy eating everything until we get to the next island" Nami says as a starting point to get everyone moving again, this time the whole crew taking a trip through the forest
A little later
"Find any good herbs guys?" Usopp asks, having noticed their 2 medics picking non-food items up while they were trekking
"Yes, some of these are very handy to have on the ship given the fights we seem to get into so often" Kaya answers, chuckling as some of the others roll their eyes
"Plus some of the plants on this island can substitute harder to make and obtain medicinal plants and concoctions" Chopper adds happily "This island has so many amazing things, though I've noticed something odd while we've been walking."
"Really, what?" Valentina asks
"A weird groove in the dirt, it's been going down the middle of this path for while now" the doctor answers
"So it is, kind of looks the right size to be a bike trail" Victor notes
Sanji scoffs "That's stupid, why would someone use a bike all the way out here?"
Robin tenses, though given she was near the back nobody really noticed, though when she calmed herself she heard something strange
Click click click click
Looking down she noticed small blades exiting the bottom of Kaos' shoes, in fact on a 2nd look they seemed to resemble… ice skates? There were also the clenched fists, the 1st phalange of each digit a shining silver
"We're walking into danger aren't we?" she asks quietly, the purplette looks down with a blank expression
"Define danger" he replies
"Devil fruit, something strong"
"Then yes, we're walking towards danger" he answers with a deep sigh, just as the group reach a clearing
"Well, this is boring" Luffy complains "There's nothing here" then Chopper rushes past him "What… hey Chopper you need to learn to share a little guy like you shouldn't hog giant mushrooms" he shouts, running after the reindeer, though stops when Chopper rushes around the rock and it thrown back
"Clearly there's something bad behind that rock" Zoro guesses, hands on his sword hilts
"Then let's check it out"
"Ow, my butt" Chopper mutters to himself as he stands up "Wait a minute you're not a mushroom, you're a person, a really big person, bigger than Kaos"
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
'And you're asleep' the doctor thinks, then with a loud snort and a grunt the man reaches for his face and pushes his sleep mask off his eyes
"Hm, a tanooki, didn't think you were real" the man thinks aloud
"I'm a reindeer, can't you stupid humans see the antlers!" Chopper shouts in a rare moment of anger
"Chopper I saw you fall, and bounce, are you ok?" Luffy asks as he makes his way around the rock, then pauses when he sees the man "Who're you?"
"Guess the island isn't so uninhabited as we thought" Alvida notes
"Do you mind, I was sleeping" the man grumbles (Extreme sleeping, standing completely vertical for hours at a time)
"Holy crap that guy's huge" Usopp gasp, while Robin seizes up when she sees him
"Mama?" Artemis calls, the 1st to notice the reaction, Kaos noticing when she falls onto her ass in terror, shortly followed by the others
"Robin's freaking out, that means run right?" Vivi asks, having never seem the older woman loose her chill before, even back in Baroque Works
"You know this guy, who is he?" Luffy asks, as tensions rise
"Hey, hey, hey, everyone calm down. I see you're afraid but there's no need for that. It's not like I'm here on official orders or anything, I'm just here to get some uninterrupted sleeping" the tall man says, trying to calm the Straw Hats, especially the hyperventilating Robin down.
"Orders? From who?" Zoro asks, Wado already drawn
"Navy Headquarters, He's a marine, Admiral Aokiji to be precise" Robin answers, her eyes not leaving the marine's face "One of the 3 powerhouses, alongside Akanu, and Kizaru, the Red Dog, Yellow Monkey and Blue Pheasant. Out ranked only by Fleet Admiral Sengoku (Hi Seagull hat... again)"
Aokiji chuckles, the turns to Nami, worrying her immensely "Yes?" she squeaks
"Damn, another hottie with massive tatas, you free tonight?" Aokiji asks, clearing the tension, with annoyance
"Hands off her you crazy pervert!" Sanji yells, any other time there would have been amusement at the irony
"Geez, did none of you kids listen to what I said, I'm here for a little stroll, then decided to take a nap, that's all. Don't get yourselves in such a spin, you guys are just… what cha ma call its"
"Huh? What?" Luffy asks, now just confused
"Eh I've forgotten, probably wasn't that important" the marine rubs his head and shrugs
"Try make sense ya weirdo!" Valentina and Alvida yell
"Robin, you can't be serious, this guy can't be some big shot marine, he's almost dumber than Luffy" Usopp argues
"Hey, don't go around judging people by their appearance it's rude and makes you look like a dick. Anyway, my motto as a marine, is complete Slovenly Justice" Aokiji says with a relaxed shrug (For some reason that sounds better than Lazy Justice, not sure why)
"Then we were right!"
"Anyway as I was saying… wait a minute" he kneels and then lies on his side, using his coat as a pillow "Sorry, standing for too long makes me sleepy"
"Then maybe don't sleep standing up" Nami suggests irritably
"Any who, back to the topic at hand, I have no intention of trying to arrest or capture any of you, so relax, take a chill pill, you'll live longer. I'm only here to confirm the whereabouts of Nico Robin, who was rumoured to have been travelling with some Supernova rookies as we didn't have any confirmed sightings of her since Alabasta. Clearly she's been with you guys this entire time. I'll make a report on that some time later, now you have another crew member with an existing bounty, your crew's overall bounty has gone up. 110, 60, 50, 12, 10, 18, 7 and finally 79 added together is… some huge ass number"
"Just try do the damn math" Zoro grumbles
"I call bullshit for 346 million" Kaos whispers as he helps Robin stand, then groans when Luffy tries pick a fight "Luffy, ice beats rubber"
From the ground, Aokiji smiles "My, my, a sensor from the East Blue, colour me surprised. But it doesn't matter; I already said I wasn't going to do anything" then raises an eyebrow as a commosion occurs behind the crew from out of a bush
"You're really a marine? I wish we'd known that sooner" one of the men says weakly
"Really not so uninhabited" Valentina comments
"Who are these people?" Nami asks
"Castaways most likely. There was a passenger liner who disappeared about a month ago" Aokiji says with his default apathy. (How are there passenger liners on the Grand Line?)
"I can see the marines were trying real hard to find these people" Valentina says sarcastically, to which the admiral just shrugs
Chopper and Kaya immediately get to work checking over the survivors, happy to see they were doing pretty well for their circumstances, none were too badly injured and Sanji didn't even need convincing to cook up something to feed these poor souls, he actually seemed happy to. Though how they ended up in this position was… odd to say the least
"Your ship was destroyed, by a giant frog doing the front crawl?" Alvida repeats 'Fuck the Grand Line is weird'
"That doesn't even make sense, Usopp could lie better than that" Zoro grunts
"We're telling you the truth!" one of the castaways shouts
"No he's serious, that's Yuko Zuna" Aokiji says blandly, going quiet once more until the next strange statement
"A man riding a bicycle on the water. Are you guys sure you weren't hallucinating due to starvation?" Usopp asks, holding in a laugh or snort at the stupidity of the statement
"Actually, that was me" the marine interrupts, causing several facepalms
"And the only other ship we've seen since arriving here looked like a pirate ship"
"Yeah, that was most likely us" Vivi answers, happy something made sense for the moment
"Well, you should probably get moving along, I can give you a little assist in pointing you in the direction of an inhabited island not too far from here, you should be able to make it home yourselves from there" Aokiji says as he stands up
"How? You admitted to only having a bike with you not a ship, and nobody has a log pose that could lead them to the next island so they're stuck" Nami complains, but Robin shakes her head
"He can help them, it just won't be how you expect it to"
A little later
"Alright, that's everything you guys had, plus some food and water for the journey" Sanji smiles as he finishes helping the survivors pack up, along with the other straw hats and Aokiji, Luffy actually getting along rather well with the lazy marine, and Robin looked to be much calmer again
"So, how are you going to help these guys, haul them to the next island with your bike?" Luffy asks, getting a chuckle from the admiral
"Not exactly" he hums, crouching at the waters edge and dipping his hands in the water. There was a couple minutes of silence, where people wondered what he was doing, then a sea king rose from the depths, causing focus to shift to 'Get away, save yourself you lazy fucker!'
Ice Age
Turns out they didn't need to worry, as the sea and the beast were froxen solid in seconds by Aokiji's Devil Fruit ability
"Wow"
"Holy freaking shit!"
Robin sighs "Now you understand, the power of an admiral"
"Especially one with a Logia" Kaos adds, mostly to her.
Aokiji slowly stands and turns to walk back up to the group "It should stay like that for about a week. Gives you plenty of time to make land. Head straight that way and you'll reach the island I mentioned in about 4 days" he says as he walks through/past the dumfounded crowd.
With the admiral gone, once everyone's brain kicked back into gear the straw hats helped the castaways move their supplies onto the ice and waved them off, the problem solved and now they just had to leave themselves. Happily trekking off the ice they were surprised to see Aokiji was still there, staring at Luffy
"What? Is there something on my face?" the rubber boy asks confused
"No, you're just the spitting image of your grandfather Monkey D. Luffy" he says, causing Luffy and Kaos to tense "That, and you're just as reckless and hard to figure out"
"You knew Gramps?" Luffy squeaks, confusing the others as this was the meekest they'd seen their captain
"Your Grandfather helped me out once, which is why I'm here. I wanted to see you and Nico Robin together, see what happens. But on 2nd thought, maybe I should just kill you" Everyone began to worry at that statement "Right now you're pretty much unknowns, small fry on a world scale, but if you're anything like your father and grandfather, this crew will be something formidable. You may be smaller than most pirate crews, but with the rogues gathered before me, you WILL be a problem in the future. Taking everything into account, I've spent most of my life hunting and taking down outlaws, and you my boy, and your crew, scare me just thinking of what you could become"
"Hey, you said you were just here to check things out" Usopp shouts in a panic
"One of you I consider most dangerous, Nico Robin" the marine continues, blooms catching her legs beign the only think stopping Artemis from moving defensively in front of Robin.
"So you lied, you are here for Robin" Luffy growls "You can't have her, she's one of us!"
"There's a part of me that's impressed by what you've accomplished since getting a 79 million beri bounty on your head at age 8. Surviving in the underworld by being a skilled opportunist, quick to switch sides and find an new mark to latch onto. And now you have these fools" Robin's eyes widen and she pales while some of the others just get angry
"Don't talk about Mama like that, she's part of the crew, it's a family, a nakama" Artemis shouts, managing to get Aokiji to express and emotion, that of surprise, though when she reaches for her paint 2 blooms throw them away "Mama"
"No Artemis, this isn't a fight you can win" she says calmly, hoping this would be over quickly
"What have you got against Robin you frigid bastard?" Alvida asks, hefting her mace onto her shoulder
"I have nothing against the girl, nor any connection, besides letting her go once before. But I'll leave you with this, every organisation she's a part of is annihilated, with only her as the survivor" Aokiji says as he stands, the former Baroque Works thought about arguing, except they had technically already quit before reaching Alabasta, and so probably didn't count as part of the organisation for the time frame he was referring to.
"Shut up, the past doesn't matter!"
"Most of the people on this crew have done bad things, or at least tried kill the people already on it before them"
"Who you are is always more important that who you were, people change"
"Robin's our friend, you can't try turn us against her"
Aokiji chuckles, locking eyes with the Last Oharan "Well, it seems you're in the perfect spot to slide in the knife" he says, Robin's teeth and fists clench as she crosses her arms, blooms locking the man in place
"SHUT UP! DON'T YOU SAY ANOTHER WORD!"
"Did I stike a nerve, or just underestimate your patience?" Aokiji asks, still with his flat tone, which just annoyed Robin more
Clutch
Chopper jumps, huddling behind Carue "Ah, he shattered into a million pieces"
"Fucking logias man" Kaos hisses, unclipping Hebi and letting it curl around his arm as Aokiji reforms like some kind of demonic snowman
"That was cold Nico Robin. I didn't want to kill you, but it seems you're not giving me any other choice"
Ice Saber
Robin closes her eyes, hoping it would be quick until she heard a clang like metal on metal, opening them she saw Zoro holding back the swing with Wado, determination clear on his face. Sanji then took the moment of surprise for Aokiji due to people actually defending the Devil's Child to kick the ice blade away, giving them a moment at least.
Gum Gum Pistol
Aokiji didn't react visually to Luffy's direct hit to the gut, though due to his pre-emptive grab of Zoro and Sanji, he was able to flash freeze all 3 of the Straw Hat's heavy hitters without moving a muscle
"He's cold" Luffy mutters, before pain, shoots through his arm as it's encased in ice
"Hei Hei no mi, Freeze man" Kaos sighs, Hebi expanding and contorting without a command
"You have some very loyal friends, but you'll never change Nico Robin, you'll do anything to survive, no line you won't cross"
"I won't, I'm not that person any more" Robin responds, a waver in her voice, fear, and guilt, seeing them writhing in pain. His arm was around her before she could do anything, not that she would have been able to, her entire body now frozen solid
"So you finally gave up, after all this running" the ice man says, with a barely detectable hint of… was that amusement "Well, since you were good enough to surrender, I'll end this quickly
Shimmer
Serpentello
Aokiji winces at the cut across his chest, even if the blood froze over seconds later, turning his attention back to the pirates he saw Robin held between Artemis and Kaos, a large, jet black fan like weapon hanging from his left arm, while the right, looped around her waist was completely covering in his reflect armour.
"Please somebody tell me we're not playing keep away with an admiral" Kaya chews her lip, though still goes for her guns
"We're not playing keep away with an admiral, we're playing it with Robin, as in keeping her away from the walking ice cube trying to smash her" Victor corrects, sending a couple of nose fancy cannon's but Aokiji just shifts into his frozen state and tanks then regenerates the damage
"Listen here, you're not getting Robin. Kaos keep her safe!" Luffy orders, the older brother nods with gritted teeth
"Of course" he hums, frowning sadly at the look of pain and fear in Robin's icy visage "He's going through both of us to get to Robin" then turns when Chopper starts tugging on his coat
"We need to get Robin to the ship and thaw her out, she's a liability out here as she is" Usopp explains
"I don't know why you idiots are resisting, the world would be a better place without the woman in it" Aokiji mostly thinks aloud, dodging ami bullets and catching Nami's climatact with little effort
"I may not be as smart as Robin, but isn't that true for all pirates?" Alvida asks, then metaphorically freezes when Aokiji stops her mace swing dead
The admiral chuckles "I suppose, now get out of my way!" he says slightly louder before using his grip on both weapons to slam the women's heads together
"Nami!"
"Alvida!"
"Stop!" Luffy shouts, before the others could try retaliate "Nobody interfere, I'm going to fight him one on one" he orders, the rest of the crew visibly conflicted
"Luffy, don't be an idiot, we're not exactly even tiring him out together, what can you do alone?" Valentina asks, having not exactly been able to do much in this fight herself anyway
"Yeah. So what do you say, think you can beat me in a straight fight?"
"Boy, you really are as crazy as Garp, but without a Sengoku to balance him. Word of warning though, I don't have a ship, so I'll just have to kill you
On the Going Merry
"Papa? Chopper? Is this going to work, will Robin be ok?" Artemis asks as she keeps splashing water on the frozen woman.
Seeing the reindeer's distress Kaos answers "We don't know kiddo, we're doing the best we can, so we just have to hope"
"That's why your hand is white then, because we're throwing everything at her?"
The purplette suppresses a smile, Robin's kid indeed "Yes Artemis, I'm pulling out all the stops, because Robin will be fine, and we'll all make it through"
Hearing a commotion Chopper ran outside, leaving the 3 to continue working on Robin, until Nami joined them
"What are you doing here?" Usopp asks
"Chopper sent me in, so he and Kaya can check on Sanji and Zoro's injuries" she explains "Any changes?"
"Well, her body is still intact, so we're kind of assuming that means she's still alive. But other than that, no" Kaos answers disappointedly
"And the others? Why are we still here if you're all back?" Usopp questions fearfully
"Because we're not all back" Vivi answers from the door "Luffy, he's still out there, duelling Aokiji"
"WHAT?" Sniper and Artist shout
"Luffy's an idiot, but clearly he wants to keep the rest of his crew from ending up like Robin" Kaos guesses, getting a nod from Nami and Vivi
"Wait, you're ok with this, he's fighting a freaking Admiral, you can see what he can do to some"
"OF COURSE IM NOT OK WITH THIS!" Kaos shouts, grabbing Usopp by his nose, pupils contracting into slits "But there's nothing I can do about it, not just because Luffy is stubborn or the captain, but because we'd get in the way if we all tried to mob someone like Aokiji. All we can do, is look at Luffy's track record, having beaten 3 logias before now, and hope" he sighs and releases their sniper, who after checking his nose wasn't crushed leaves in a hurry
Back with Luffy
Running towards Aokiji Luffy feins a punch before kicking the man into the air. While in freefall, Luffy fills himself up with air, releasing it to propel himself upwards on a collision course, after all it's practically impossible for someone to dodge in mid air
Gum Gum Storm
Aokiji shattered into ice crystals, Luffy thinking for a moment that he won, until he reformed holding onto the rubber boy "I think it's time for the ice age"
'Shit, this is going to hurt' Luffy thinks as just like Robin he's frozen solid
As he sits across from the Luffy ice sculpture Aokiji sighs and chuckles "Well played Luffy. When I agreed to your terms, fighting you, and only you, that left your crew in the clear, as I can't even go after them without being the bad guy in this situation. Smart… or I suppose there's a chance you actually thought you could beat me, making you stupid but really ballsy". Some of the straw hats would be here soon, he could tell, either to retrieve what was left of their captain, or carry him to receive well needed medical attention, either way they wouldn't be long now "I know you can hear me Luffy so I'll give you some free advice, keep an eye on Nico Robin, because no matter what you think of her, the burden she was born into, will be too much for you to handle one day, and when it does, don't say I didn't warn you" after that he stands up, dusts himself off "I could kill you in seconds, but I do owe you a debt. Consider us even for Crocodile, and good luck I guess" he shrugs as he walks away, draping his coat over his shoulders
A couple hours later
"Everyone. Luffy and Robin… are going to make it" Chopper announces, getting cheers from the straw hats not currently in the infirmary.
"So what should we do now?" Victor asks, turning to Valentina and Nami
"it's probably best if we stick around for a few days, give those 2 time to recover, then we can set sail for the next island. The Log Pose is set we just need to wait for the captain's go ahead" Nami answers, the blond agreeing with their navigator
"With Freezerburn gone I think we should be fine for another few days, as the danger is gone, in all sense of the word" she adds, a few of the others sigh in relief at the accuracy of that statement. Plus a few days to calm down sounds nice.
About a week later
"Hey guys, look at this" Luffy cheers, before dousing himself in flour and posing "Tata, ice Luffy" he garbles, getting laughs from Chopper, Usopp, Artemis and Valentina, while Nami sighs from above the deck
"You'd never guess he nearly froze to death a few days ago the way he's acting" she grumbles, munching her way through Sanji potatoe piea.
"Would you prefer crippling depression, or doubting his every move?" the red head turns, seeing Kaos watching them with his hat and coat nowhere to be seen "The fact Luffy could literally bounce back after all this, is amazing, especially given how one sided that fight must have been, someone like Aokiji kicked his ass without any real effort"
Nami sighs but nods "You're right, but it doesn't stop him being a pain in the ass"
Kaos laughs "Oh don't I know it. But Luffy has always been a hyperactive knucklehead, you just kind of get used to it over time" he then smiles as the main door opens, a calm though still peaky robin stands in the doorway "Nice to see you're up and moving around Robin" he calls, getting a smile and nod
"Robin, you're up!" cheered some of the others, Sanji rushing off to make her something.
"Yes, thanks to our doctors I'm fine" she replies, liking the pale yellow blush of Kaya and almost break dancing level of spasms Chopper was doing in response to her compliment "Thank you Sanji" she gives a half smile as she accepts his offered mug of coffee, and takes in the sight of her crewmates, everything was calm, how she wished it could stay that way.
TBC
LW: I know I skipped a couple filler arcs, in my defence after killing Foxy last chapter 1 of them was compulsory.
Any who, that's the end of 2019's Rubber King and Mirror Master, We'll start 2020 with the Water 7 Arc. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers, goodnight!