SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 81 out, this is Chapter 82 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.
Pairings: Ace/Sasha, sibling Luffy/Sasha and Sabo/Sasha, patriotic-retainer Law/Sasha
Disclaimers: One Piece belongs to Oda EiichirÅ-sensei. Me, on the other hand, own absolutely nothing, except my OC.
Chapter 82: Arc 7: Cannon Fire Is the Signal! CP-9 Goes Into Action!
"Excuse me," Iceburg looked at his three protectors. "Please send Paulie in here."
"Oi, Paulie." Zoro gestured to the door once he exited. "Iceburg says he has something important to discuss with you."
"With me?" Paulie echoed.
"Taking the trouble to have a talk alone at the time like this..." Nami frowned. "What could it be about?"
"Beats me." Paulie shrugged.
"He said it was something important." Lulu stated. "Get in there and talk to him already. Shall we stay a little away from the door?"
"Yeah." Usopp nodded and the rest shifted.
"Listen, Paulie," Iceburg voiced after Luffy and Zoro cleared the room. "Right underneath the desk of the president's office, if you lift up the carpet, you'll find a safe buried there. I'll give you the combination, so listen carefully."
"Okay..." Paulie nodded after Iceburg related to him the safe's combination number. "Understood."
"This could be very risky." Iceburg reminded. "I thought about it hard, but you're the only one I can ask this. Will you do it for me?"
"You're acting like I'm a stranger." Paulie chided. "Please leave it to me."
"Something came up." Paulie informed the group after he exited. "Sorry, but I have to leave for a bit. Is it okay?"
"That's fine." Lulu assured. "The six of us will be more than enough."
"Watch over Iceburg-san." Paulie cautioned and left for the president's office.
Right at 9.45pm, the front gate was rocked by a large explosion, sending the gathered workers into a frenzy as they tried to extinguish the fire.
"Are you okay, Iceburg-san?" Tilestone burst into the room.
"Yeah, I was surprised." Iceburg admitted.
"I saw someone!" one of the workers shouted. "He's wearing a costume! Catch him!"
"Leave them to me!" Tilestone declared.
"Geez..." Usopp sighed as Tilestone and Lulu took off.
"This must be it..." Paulie gripped the rolled up blueprints.
"I see." the masked Kaku mused, appearing at the open door with the similarly masked Kalifa. "So that's the thing Iceburg-san's been hiding, huh? Give it to us. You can't appreciate its value."
"Who the hell are you bastards?" Paulie demanded. "CP-9, huh? Where'd you come from?"
"The darkness." Kaku replied. "However, we're a group that carries out justice."
"No matter where you slipped from, you must've encountered our craftsmen without fail." Paulie tightened his hold on the parchment.
"Did we?" Kaku shrugged, the light from the corridor reveal his hand was dripping with blood. "We might have... or we might have not... I don't really remember the details."
"This is no longer something as simple as an assassination, is it?" Paulie questioned.
"I don't recall us calling it that." Kaku noted. "In any case, please give us that valuable item of Iceburg-san's, and since you've learnt something about it, we'd like you to die. In the name of justice... right here, right now..."
"I knew you'll come sooner or later." Iceburg admitted after the masked Lucci and Robin entered his room via a kick-in wall.
"What are you doing?" Robin asked, Lucci pointing a handgun at Sasha. "We haven't got the signal yet."
"Just like a good chef wouldn't neglect to prepare the ingredients beforehand, pros would be careful to restrain their victims." Lucci explained. "Especially when dealing with one as important as her."
"So that's CP-9's way of doing things, huh?" Iceburg glared.
"You're exactly right." Lucci confirmed. "We kept you alive so that the crime would be pinned on the pirates. Besides, if we killed you suddenly, we wouldn't know the whereabouts of what we're after; the blueprints of a certain ship. It's something that has been secretly passed down from shipwright to disciple for generations. If you left your life was in danger, you'd try to entrust it with someone for sure. And the one you chose was Pauline, one of the foremen at Dock #1. our fellow members are with him right now. Make sure things are carried out flawlessly." he told Robin. "I'll go deal with the others outside the door. Once those two get the blueprints from Pauline, they'll contact you. Kill Iceburg at that time. Our mission is accomplished once we kill Pauline who's come to know the truth."
Outside, with Tilestone utterly defeated, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Chopper faced off against Lucci.
"Shigan" Lucci made the first assault, Zoro merely blocked off the finger thrusts with his Armament Haki-imbued swords.
"Well, I'm shocked." Iceburg noted. "To be honest, I never thought I'll see you here, Nico Robin. We met for the first time last night. But I've wanted to see you all this time. Why do you go searching for the Poneglyphs? Since ancient times, the Government has declared globally that it's a serious crime to seek and decipher the Poneglyphs. I'm sure you know that much."
"You, too, know the existence of the Poneglyphs." Robin stated.
"Just knowing about it won't be a crime." Iceburg defended. "But the only one in the whole world who can decipher those texts is you. That's why the Government put a bounty on your head, even though you were only eight years old. It's because you're the only one in the world who can restore the ancient weapon."
"I see." Robin mused. "So you even know about the weapon."
"All things considered," Iceburg sighed. "I never thought CP-9 was an organization that really existed. If it does, that means you've already left the Straw Hats and have been helping the Government. It's bizarre for a woman who's been pursued for 20 years to act like that, but if the threat of a 'Buster Call' is correct, then it'll explain why. If the weapon gets restored through deciphering the Poneglyphs, whether its owner is righteous or evil, the result will be the same. The weapon can never bring forth 'peace' to this world. The world will go under for sure. We mustn't call forth a relic of the past."
"You are right." Robin concurred. "I do agree with you. But it's none of your business. Whatever I do for research history, you have no right to say anything to me."
"Not quite." Iceburg corrected. "Since you and I are in the same boat in a sense. I have the blueprints of the ancient weapon, Pluton. Pluton is the name of a battleship built on this island a long time ago in case war came knocking on the Ocean Dragon's door. The shipbuilding engineer who was entrusted to build this overwhelming powerful weapon to defend the Ocean Dragon had the blueprints passed down for generations. He felt that if by some chance, Pluton fell into the hands of the Ocean Dragon's enemies, there would need to be a force to counter it. In order to get them, the Government has finally resorted to using force. To think that you're helping them without knowing, I'm too shocked to speak. The man named Tom, who entrusted the blueprints with me had been concerned about a girl who alone was able to escape from the Ohara incident 20 years ago. He said that though she was small, she was a threat to the government since she had the ability to reveal the truth about the Void Century. Now that the Government has come to know of the existence of the blueprints, it's be better if I burned them."
"Seriously," Sasha took this time to interject. "It's the CP-9 who's taken in by the plan this time round. "Don't be surprised, Iceburg-san." she chided. "I already know the blueprints aren't with you."
"You are no match for our martial arts skill." Kaku chided, downing Paulie with his 'Shigan'. "Now, hand it over already or else it will get dirty with your blood."
"To tell you the truth," Paulie fell over from the blood loss as Kalifa reached down to unfurl the parchment. "Iceburg-san told me to run right away. He told me to drop it quickly and run, since..." he smirked. "It's a complete fake. I don't know which two you are, but this means your plan failed, doesn't it? I don't even know what you're looking for."
"How cocky." Kaku scoffed. "You think you outwitted CP-9? In any case, even though you're only a decoy, we can't keep you alive now that you've become involved."
"Gomu Gomu no Gatling!" Luffy's sudden attack forced Kalifa and Kaku to dodge the rain of punches.
"Straw Hat Luffy." Kaku glanced at the interloper.
"So, you took the trouble to come to take the crime upon yourself?" Kalifa asked.
"Tempest Kick." Kaku let loose his attack.
"Armament Hardening." Luffy used Armament Haki on his arms to deflect the attack. "His kicks cut the wall." he gaped when the strike sliced through the stone wall. "What the hell are these?" he winced, Kalifa pinning him to the ground with metal hooks.
"We've got an emergency situation." Kalifa informed. "We don't have time for you. Restrain that guy too." she told Kaku. "This is no time to be fighting."
"It's me." Kaku informed the rest of CP-9 via Den Den Mushi. "A problem occurred in our plan. Everyone, come to the bedroom right away. Don't shoot Iceburg just yet."
"Can the three of you please unmask yourselves?" Sasha asked, Zoro was still at the door, brandishing his swords to fend off any possible attacks as Usopp, Nami and Chopper hid behind him in fear. "Iceburg-san and myself already know your faces."
"That's quite true." Lucci admitted as Hattori landed on his shoulder. "What should I tell you first?" he removed his mask. "When you are about to die? You disappointed me. It's your own fault."
"You should've given it to the Government when they asked nicely." Kaku removed his mask.
"If possible, I want to make this town part of my memory without hurting you." Kalifa sighed, taking off her mask. "So you also inherited your master's obstinacy."
"Going undercover is a pretty easy mission for all of us." Lucci shrugged. "In any case, your prudence leaves me at a loss of words. Now Iceburg-san, where are the blueprints of the ancient weapon, Pluton? Please tell us before many people get hurt."
SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. If you guys are wondering where Blueno is during the siege, Sasha sort of put him out of commission when she 'persuaded' him: (read: blasted him with a super-powered 'Legilimens Curse' and mind-raped him until he's a drooling idiot) *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.