DATE: JULY 3rd, 2019 (3/7/19)

(Guest) [CHP6, JUN 29]

All Gucci.

What even was the point anymore?

Even before all of this, she'd been the island's outcast for god knows how long. Names, insults, enough rocks to build a dam, punches to the back of the head, enough blood lost to clone herself, freak. That's all they saw her as; a freak. Even before she ate that weird fruit, she'd been excluded and exiled from just about everything. Even from her own foster home with that bitch of an aunt-in-law.

And then came the government. When she finally had a group of people to call friends, home, family,god forbid, even a friendly giant who had seen powers like hers before. Hell, he even taught her how to laugh! All of this shut down because the archaeologists wanted to know what happened. Not even to use as blackmail, but to simply find out what had happened in history. All of them, gone, because of that damn...Spandine, was it…?...yeah, that's what one of his men called him. That damn Spandine pressed that button on that stupid gold snail and destroyed not only her life, but flat out everything of her home.

Ohara was but tongue and cheek of the past now, burned to the ocean below. She heard when running that they were trying to throw the books into the lake, but she didn't know if that worked out or not. You couldn't find out, either. The whole island was a massive fireball, a mushroom poking out that was the giant tree that surrounded a majority of the island.

Even when Saul tried to help her, he got killed by that stupid ice guy, who said they were old friends. Who freezes their own friend alive?! Who could do something so cruel?! And for what?! And then the same guy makes a line of ice to help her escape. As if he wasn't the reason she needed to escape in the first place!

And here she lie now, twilight closing its curtains as the night came to be. Sailing in a tiny rowboat in the middle of nowhere to nowhere, nothing with her but said boat, the clothes on her back, and PTSD that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

So what even was the point? Whatever it was, she couldn't be brought to care less anymore. She had lost everything, even things she didn't own or people she never knew; innocents who didn't deserve to die over something so petty.

All she could do was laugh. That's what Saul said, right? "Dereshishishishish-shi...shi...sh…" she couldn't even do that. As such, the laughing transformed into crying, tears scarring her dry face as she fell asleep shaking. Was it from the cold night air, or was it from losing all hope that, honestly, was never there to begin with?

It had been two years since Tom's trial for the creation of the Pirate King's vessel, the Oro Jackson. More specifically, since the trial had gone on hiatus. Tom had bargained that he could save Water 7, which was honestly dying at the time, by creating a special vessel to transport goods, people, supplies and the like. However, rather than a ship, Tom proposed the Sea Train, a special train that would run on buoyant tracks through the toughest waters to deliver whatever it may carry.

When the judge and jury agreed to delay the trial until the sea train's completion; a projected ten years from the initial trial, Franky was ecstatic that Tom had a good chance of living, holding it in with Iceburg until after everything was finished. After that point, he was cheering like crazy with Iceburg crying next to him.

When he entered the Dream Realm, he immediately ran to the front of the deck and cheered a loud "YES!", which caused Brook and Jinbe to assume that something must have happened within Tom's favour. After explaining everything to them, Franky kept crying, his seniors glad that his boss/father figure had a chance to live again. Besides, trial and shitty government aside, the sea train could be massive in economics and general movement, so there was a bonus in the pot.

Now, two years later, the process of building the sea train had gone incredibly well. It looked to be in good shape, it was managing to stay within the 10 year time frame, and Tom still managed to life a life as both the boss and adoptive parent for both Franky and Iceburg. All in all, it was looking pretty snazzy right about now.

On the contrary, although Franky's shipwright skills had massively improved, most of his creations were still Battle Frankys. He was up to about fifteen now. He helped out Tom and Iceburg, naturally, but dammit he wanted to build a ship that could kill a Sea King!

The Thousand Sunny hadn't changed too much during that time, nor had its inhabitants. Franky himself had started taking up using the workshop downstairs for personal projects when he wasn't upstairs with the others, Jinbe continued to train in Fish-Man Karate when he got the chance, now starting to use the invisible ocean around the Sunny (which, it turns out, is just stupidly clear), and Brook was mixing between his training for two twenty minute cycles a day, and doing crosswords. He found a few old ones from a couple years before he died, as well as some new ones that they found that Franky had said we're from Water 7. He had also been interested in Sudoku, but no cigar as of now.

For now, however, it was a day of relaxing. Every second Friday a fortnight, it was nothing but relaxation, be it generally sitting around doing nothing, reading a book, board or card games, or talking with someone else. Sunday was relaxing too, but there was work still often done then as well, even in the minimum.

Right now, the group was talking about how Jinbe now regularly went to Fish-Man Island's inner city, especially the markets and plaza. Turns out quite a few different Fish-Men did this from the District, though for better or worse.

"But why would someone do that?" Brook asked, confused.

Jinbe sighed in response. "I'm not too sure myself. All I do know is he seemed desperate."

Franky raised an eyebrow from his seat on the grass, sitting up. "I still don't know why you'd steal something from such a super open place, let alone a pen. If anything, Fish-Man Island's plaza just sounds like a fancy bazaar."

Jinbe nodded. "Honestly, you're not that far off," He confirmed. "When there aren't festivities nor formalities, there are often markets as far as the eye can see. Considering the items sold are mostly from Fish-Man Island, though, you're unlikely to find anything all too interesting."

Brook sat up from his lawn chair. "What about when the items are from outside Fish-Man Island?"

"HA!" A short burst of a howl came from Jinbe. "It's a fucking frenzy, let me tell you. When a foreign object comes through the market, everyone goes batshit crazy." He chuckled to himself. "No matter what the item is, no matter its origins, no matter its value and/or use, each brawl is for the history books, and the item is sold at a ridiculous price from voluntary bets alone. Every. Single. Time."

Franky laid back down on the lawn. "I mean, can you blame 'em?" He questioned, missing the 'yes' that Jinbe very obviously muttered before continuing. "You'd think they're super curious about the outside world, despite the only difference being wildlife and species and shit like that."

Jinbe chuckled again. "You have no idea how many times I've been called fickle over that."

"Yohohohoho." Brook laughed. "I take it you don't participate in betting for them much?"

A shrug was his answer. "Not really," Jinbe replied. "I just watch them."

Franky laughed. "What I wouldn't give to see the most super obvious goose chase ever. Must be crazy!"

"Indeed it is, Franky," Jinbe sagely nodded, smiling. "Indeed it is."

Franky stood up, stretching. He'd been laying and sitting for an hour now. "Alright, anything else?"

Jinbe looked disappointed. "Well, Arlong's still spouting anti-human propaganda to his 'underlings',for one," When Jinbe used air quotes, that's when you knew they weren't sarcastic. Until he was, of course. "I wish Hody Jones wasn't so invested in Arlong's ideals of superiority. The kid could do so much better for himself."

Franky tried to remember Arlong from conversations he had with Jinbe in the past. "I just remembered; aren't the 'Arlong Pirates' just a bunch of punks who harass people for no reason?"

Jinbe nodded. "Yeah. Bullies is actually the most accurate description I can think of."

Franky sat back down, having straightened and loosened his muscles again. "Well that fucking sucks." He moped. "And people say that we're super different."

"Indeed." Brook nodded. "Why, the only difference I see is our personal attributes. As people, we're still the same."

Jinbe was so thankful he was one of the people brought to the Dream Realm. "I have you two to thank for proving that." He spoke with sincerity.

Franky performed his pose with his arms and waist, sitting down. "Don't sweat it, bro!" He replied.

Brook now stood up from his spot. "On a similar note, Jinbe, I apologise in advance if this is a bad time, but what of Tiger?"

Jinbe's face returned to neutral before shaking his head. "No, I'm afraid not." He answered solemnly.

Franky looked shocked. "Wait, really?" He asked, in which he received a nod from Jinbe. "Huh. Didn't Ti say he'd only be a couple weeks?"

"Yes," Was the reply. "And I took that response as 'a couple weeks', not 'a couple months.'"

Franky's turn to sigh now. "Damn, has it really been that long?"

Brook nodded, just as saddened. "Aye. Time flies, yes?"

Jinbe and Franky agreed. "Amen." They replied simultaneously.

Jinbe's face lowered. "I do have one theory, and from what I've heard from Otohime from when she visits, I don't like it at all."

Brook caught Jinbe's drop in temperature. Clearly it wasn't a good thing. "And what might that be, Jinbe?" He asked the Fish-Man.

Jinbe seemed to dread what he was about to say. "You see, I fear-"

SPLASH!

That cut him off instantly, as well as the train of thought as his companions. Whatever Jinbe was going to say would have to wait, as they needed to prepare for another body on board.

Jinbe stood up as soon as the three had snapped out of their shock of new blood aboard the Sunny. "Alright, that came from out front." His voice was damn commanding these days. Probably from the training with Tiger and here, as well as the leadership he was beginning to build up from within Fish-Man island. "Everyone to the bow;" He smiled. "Let's see who it is this time."

Franky was grinning ear to ear like a madman. This was his first time seeing a new member from the other side. "I'm so excited!" He cheered.

Brook laughed, pulling out his handheld telescope. "Then let's see who has arrived." He proclaimed as they each ran to Sunny's prowl to inspect what the void dragged in.

It took only ten seconds of looking, but Brook spotted something a little to the right. "Over there!" He exclaimed, pointing in said direction.

What they saw, though, was a body (naturally). The problem was that it was facing down. In the water. And the person looked human.

They all immediately paled. "Oh no." was the chorus that broke the silence.

Instantly, Brook went to grab the first-aid kit, Franky ran to grab the ladder, and Jinbe dove straight into the water, swimming over to the newcomer as quickly as possible; there was still a good chance they were still alive.

When Jinbe reached the person, who had started to sink into the water below, he grabbed them before they could fall into the abyss. From what he could tell, it was a little girl, no older than eight, with short black hair reaching her shoulders. It wasn't the tarnished maroon/violet dress that caused him to gasp, but the injuries she had sustained. She had scratches, bruises, even places where blood must have seeped from how the holes and cuts on her looked.

This kid had been through some shit.

He immediately shot up, as even though he could last underwater, the girl seemed human, so she couldn't. "BROOK! FRANKY!" He called out, where the former had already gotten the kit and was waiting on deck, and the latter was still a the prowl to check what was going on. "IT'S A LITTLE GIRL, HUMAN I ASSUME! SHE'S SUSTAINED COUNTLESS INJURIES EVERYWHERE!"

From on deck, Brook's head lowered. "That's no good," He muttered to himself. "Franky, please collect some fruits. She may be hungry when she comes to."

Franky nodded. "You got it." Rarely was Franky fully serious, but lo and behold.

As Franky went to collect some tangerines, apples, and a couple bananas, Jinbe was climbing the ladder, young girl wrapped in his left arm as he climbed. He looked down to her. "Don't worry, you'll be alright soon enough." He whispered to her, though she didn't respond, being unconscious.

Franky rushed back down, fruit in a small wooden bowl. "Fruit at the ready!" He called out.

Jinbe the finished climbing, hauling himself and the young girl over the railing and onto the deck.

As Jinbe carefully set the girl onto the grassy deck, he stepped back, Brook and Franky waiting for something to happen. Jinbe saw this and deadpanned. "She's not going to magically awaken just because you want her to, you know." When they shrugged in response, he simply sighed and took a seat himself. Bloody comfortable as it was, now wasn't the time to spasm about it. That can come later.

After around seven minutes of nothing, Brook reached for an apple from the bowl. Can skeletons even eat apples?

Franky slapped his boney hand away. "Weren't you the one who said she may need these?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Brook turned back to the girl, who was still unmoving. "Fair point. I apologise." He responded.

Come a few more seconds, they heard some groaning coming from the girl, as well as a bit of straining, probably resetting her muscles. The three immediately focused on what would happen next.

The girl stretched her arms for a moment before rubbing her eyes. "Luopio Island already?" She groaned, slightly pained. When she opened her eyes, she saw she was on a ship with lots of colours and a deck with...grass? Why did it have grass? She also saw the sky was black. Frankly, aside from the ship, everything was black as far as the horizon could see. And then there was a very tall skeleton, a bipedal whale shark, and a teenager with hairy legs wearing speedos.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naturally, as any single-digit genocide advocate would do in such a situation presented, she screamed in sheer terror for her very life.

When she backed up into the opposite railing, which was like, ten metres away, the three of them just...stared.

Franky turned to the others. "Should we have seen this coming?"

"We should have seen this coming." Was the unanimous response.

Franky got up onto his feet and started walking towards the terrified little girl. "Alright then." He groaned.

The girl backed up further into the railing, as much as she could've gone, whimpering to herself.

When Franky reached her, he lowered down to her height on his left knee. "Alright sis, I'll be super blunt; who are you and who hurt ya?" He asked, looking her in the eye. And for around ten seconds, that's all they did; stare each other down.

Until she proceeded to punch him in the face and make a break for the veranda.

Franky, having reeled back from the pain, brought himself up, holding his left cheek. "The fuck was that?!" He yelled at her, confused as she entered through the door.

When Franky broke into a run after her, Brook and Jinbe looked at each other in confusion. Maybe they should let Franky handle this.

Franky looked all across the ship; the kitchen, the Soldier Dock System, the bathroom, even the crow's nest in case she ran back out.

By the time he reached one particular room, he could firmly say she was in here; the door was always open, and here it was closed, possibly locked. Wait, did it have a lock? He never checked.

"Oi, sis," Franky called out from outside. "I know you're in here, so come out and explain what the hell happened to ya, kay?" When there was no response, possibly to mask up her presence, Franky continued. "Kid, this room's always open. Always. So tell me how it's suddenly closed now of all times." Franky could be wise and configurative when he needed to be.

"Just go away!" Finally, she spoke up. "You're not going to hurt me!" She accused.

Franky just deadpanned at the door before him. "Yeah, like I'm just going to walk away when you need help, sis. Go crack a new nut."

"LEAVE. ME. ALONE!" She screamed from inside. She wasn't having it.

Unfortunately for her, neither was Franky. Fortunately, he remembered the only locks here were the fridge, the bathroom, and the safes. "Kid, there's three things wrong with this situation right about now."

"Like what?!" The screams were getting quieter now, but were still fierce and filled to the brim with fear.

"One, I'm trying to be a decent person here and help you out. Honestly, you look like someone tried to kill you before you escaped and then somebody else tried to kill you. Besides, Jinbe and Brook would've done the same as me now. Probably better, too; I'm awful at this comfort shit."

With no response, Franky pressed on. "Two, we'll brief you later on how exactly, but this place is an endless void. The only things here are this ship, the people on board, and a literally endless ocean in a void. So you'll have to talk with us sometime sooner or later." This was met with a bit of grumbling. The girl probably never assumed the place would be limitless, but hey, it just be like that.

"And three," He opened the door, causing the girl to flinch back behind the small table with a gasp. "This is the Men's Quarters. Like, where the three of us sleep and stuff. Filled with testosterone, I think Brook called it." He lowered back down to her level again, still holding his cheek in case she decided to hit and run again. "There's literally a Women's Quarters a few rooms down, obviously nobody using it. If you were going to hide somewhere, go hide somewhere that either you can use, or doesn't end up with the rest of us; it's a terrible choice of a hiding spot. Believe me, I've played way too many games of Hide & Seek here."

With that, he got up, the girl still seeming afraid. "Come on, I'll take you to the Women's Quarters now. Might even be able to get you some new clothes!" He then walked off. The girl just stood there in place. Did she go with him? It does suck that this is literally their sort of headquarters, let alone where they sleep. But what if he was leading her into a trap? What if he was lowering the drawbridge only to slaughter her where she stood? Buttering someone up was a thing, you know.

Franky came back, peering back into his sleeping room. "Well, are you coming or not?" He asked, before heading back over. Shaking out of her stupor, she started walking behind Franky to wherever he was leading her. They probably didn't even have a Women's Quarters here at all. All of them were guys!

"So tell me girlie," Franky tried. "What the hell happened to you? You look like you visited hell and came back alive."

The girl didn't answer, just continuing to walk behind him.

Franky pouted. "Fine. Keep your injuries then." He then looked back forward and sighed. "Look, even I can see you don't want to talk with anybody right about now, so I'm just gonna take you to the Women's Quarters, drop you off there, and let you sleep it off. We'll explain what's going on another day."

"Just shut up already!" Franky turned to the girl in surprise. He did not expect to hear that. "Just stop lying to me already! There is no Women's Quarters on a ship filled with guys! There is no 'are you alright?' because you're just going to kill me anyway! Stop trying to lie to me just to make me feel better! JUST STOP IT!"

Franky just pointed to the wooden door with a face straight enough to carry a house. "Then what's that?" He asked before opening the door. While the Men's Quarters had a small table and cushions, a few cots and lockers, and some training gear/weapons, the Women's Quarters looked terrifyingly good. It had two nicely made and dressed beds, a small makeup table, a little light above the room, a side table between the two beds, and a bookshelf near the bed directly across from the door. There was also a couple chairs in the corner of the room with a small table in between, similar to the previous room but like it was actually in a house. "Does this look like a torture chamber to you? Or some kind of butcher shop?"

The girl's eyes were widened. It was real. And why did it look so good? It was just a room on a ship! "I-I…"

"Yeah, save it. I need to help get lunch set up." Franky replied. He then pulled the bowl of fruit from before from absolutely nowhere. "Oh yeah, here's the fruit we wanted to offer earlier." He then walked into the room to put the fruit onto the small coffee table. She followed in after him. He raised his hands up only to bring them back down. "So...yeah, that's that. You just rest up, you'll wake up, we'll talk another day."

...what? Wake up?

Before she could ask, Franky, walked out of the room. "Get some sleep, girlie," Franky told her before heading off. "We got a massive briefing with you on what this place is." He then started to walk off to help Brook make a pulled pork pie. He'd been curious on how it'd turn out.

"W-wait!" He paused, turning back around to the girl standing in the middle of the room.

"Whatcha want?" Franky asked. Now the kid speaks up.

She then proceeded to take a small bow. "T-Thank you." She replied. Even if this was a hoax, she still tried to be grateful.

Franky smiled, giving a thumbs up. "All good, girlie!"

"R-Robin."

"...come again?"

"Nico Robin. My name." She answered, an unreadable expression.

Franky smiled. "Neat," He responded. "I'm still probably just going to call you 'sis. Name's Franky, by the way." And with a shrug, he was off. What did pulled pork even taste like? Stretched bacon? God, he hoped it did.

After he left, Robin shook herself out of her shock that Franky was as casual as he was. It was...honestly disarming.

Regardless, she ignored the fruit on the table for now, opting to jump into the bed. She wasn't tired, but felt that she needed rest. She then thought back to what Franky said.

"So...yeah, that's that. You just rest up, you'll wake up, we'll talk another day."

Wake up?

Was this a dream or something? Then did that mean she had nothing to worry about? And if she was about to sleep, did that mean she was sleeping in her sleep? Holy hell, that sounds lazy.

Whatever. Think later, z's now.