Chapter 7
...And Into the Fire
"Okay. We're here."
Tonjit had then led them to where the crossing was. On the edge of the island, two stone monoliths stood on either side of the path. Flags flew above, indicating the spot where it had been used for hundreds of years. The path was a stone ramp leading into the ocean. Though he had no idea how, Tonjit would be pulling the wagon instead of Shelly. The mare was still recovering from her injury, even with the magical powers of the Straw-Hats' mage. Pulling the wagon would have only aggravated it, so she laid in the cart.
The whole house had actually be converted into the wagon. Sanji and Chopper made sure everything was secure. While Maxwell in no way trusted Aokiji, who was walking with them, they were at least being civil for the time being. The crew was at least allowed to help Tonjit get this far.
"The tide will subside once a year, and a road will appear when it does, yes?" The admiral looked out at the ocean, "It sure feels good to work out once in a while."
"It sure is!" Luffy had jumped up on top of the wagon to get at eye level with Aokiji, "So you're a nice person after al!"
"Luffy...!" Maxwell was struggling not to strangle his captain at the moment. Now was not the time to get cozy with this guy!
"Thank you all for helping me. Here..." Tonjit pulled out a lump of something out of his robes, "Have some cheese."
"Are you trying to poison us!?" Usopp still remembered Tonjit getting food poison from that "cheese" when he first met him.
"Now they're acting like friends..." Nami sweat-dropped looking at Luffy and the others. Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp seemed to have returned to normal. Only Nami, Zoro, Robin and Maxwell hadn't dropped their guard around Aokiji. Luffy was just to carefree to count.
"So..." Luffy looked between Aokiji and the ocean, "What now? Are you going to pull everything along while you swim across?"
Aokiji lightly chuckled, "Now that is impossible..." The admiral then walked up to the shore and crouched down at the water line, "Move away... For a little bit please..." He placed his hand in the water.
*Splash! ZAAAAWWWWW!* Then a giant seaking rose out of the ocean.
Tonjit stepped back in fright, "AH! IT'S THE MASTER OF THE WATERS THAT LURKS AROUND HERE!" And it was roaring at Aokiji.
"GET AWAY FROM IT!" "WATCH OUT!"
Aokiji hadn't even looked up, "Ice Age."
There, everything went white.
Maxwell covered his face as he felt a rush of cold wind. Then he had to gawk at what he was seeing. The entire ocean had frozen over. It was like the entire scenery had taken a snap shot time and wanted to stay in it. The seaking in front of them had been flash frozen. It looked more like a ice sculpture than the slobbering monster it had been a moments ago. Maxwell could still hear the cracks and chimes of conjured ice. He was familiar enough with it using his Winter spells.
Tonjit now had his road...
And Aokiji was more powerful than they imagined.
"Devil Fruit!" "The sea... froze over...!"
"Logia..." Maxwell froze in place as Robin said those words, "The freezing power of the Ice-Ice Fruit. This is the extent of the power of an admiral of the Navy...!"
Aokiji slowly stood up. He was covered in ice from head to toe. His breath was fog as it collided with the cool air. The permafrost cracked and buckled as he moved, That should hold for about a week... You can take your time."
"Good luck locating your village. It's a little cold by the way..." Aokiji and Maxwell eyed each other as he walked past them, back onto the island, "You should wear some warm clothing..." This was Aokiji's warning.
"Is this a dream...?" Tonjit could only look at the horizon in awe, "The sea became a land of ice..." He then turned to his companion, "Shelly... We can cross now! After 10 long years, we can finally reunite with our friends!" The hooorse whinnied in agreement.
"THANK YOU!" Tonjit ran back to look at Aokiji, "THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THIS MIRACLE! THANK YOU!"
Aokiji didn't turn around, but he did wave his hand. He was going to let them have their goodbyes. The admiral was so nonchalant about it too. He was scratching his head.
Maxwell stared as Aokiji laid down in the grass to take another nap. He wasn't even sure the admiral was even going to sleep. For now though, he'll help Tonjit get the wagon onto the ice.
O O O
"Alright... We'll be going now." Tonjit had changed into a fur coat, suitable for the cold aura emanating from the ice field. Everyone had carefully driven the cart down the ramp, and onto the ice. They even converted the wagon into a sleigh.
Luffy nodded to Tonjit. He was standing with Usopp and Chopper, "Okay. Good luck, old guy and horse." The others stood back as Tonjit knew those three better.
"Don't forget t keep warm," said Chopper. They had made sure to cover Shelly in a blanket. Doubly so, since she didn't have her winter coat.
"I really can't thank you enough... If it wasn't for you, I would still be up there." Tonjit grabbed the rope handle, then turned around and waved, "Thanks again! I won't forget you guys!"
"Be careful!" "Take care!" "Don't play with stilts again!"
They all watched as Tonjit walked off into the distance. The ice was thick and seemed to go on forever. He'll be fine.
Luffy sighed as Tonjit disappeared over the horizon, "Ha... This is great." Then he started to shiver, "Ah~! It became winter all of a sudden."
"You just realized it was cold, now?" Maxwell teased his captain as they walked back up the ramp. He had done something similar like this on their way to Drum Island.
"Wah! So cold~! HAACHUUU!" Usopp also shivered as he jogged back onto the island. Chopper was just enjoying himself, having no problem with the temperature.
However... The crew then realized Aokiji was still here.
Aokiji was sitting up now, and he looked like he was having a dilemma. So Luffy asked, "...What?"
"How should I say this..." He scratched his head, eyes still closed, "You and your grandfather really are alike, Monkey D. Luffy... Is it open-minded...? Or absentminded...!?"
Luffy seemed to panic, "G... Grandpa...!?"
"Luffy's Grandpa!?" said Usopp. He then noticed Luffy's alarmed expression, "Eh? What's wrong Luffy? Why are you sweating so much?"
"...N-N-Nothing! It's just... Uh..."
"Your gramps really helped me out a while back. Even though I only came to see Nico Robin..." Aokiji opened his eyes to look at them all, "Maybe all of you... should just die now."
The crew all grimaced and took a step back at those words. "The government isn't taking you seriously, but... After carefully analyzing the situation, it has become obvious that you are a very determined group of individuals... Your group currently consists merely of a handful of rogues, yet... Judging from the degree of trouble you've been causing... There is little doubt that as time passes, you will become an acute threat."
Maxwell slowly reached for Mineive's hilt as Aokiji kept talking, "In the time between the issuing of the first bounties on your party, to the present time... Your growth, so to say, has been... quite extraordinary... And though you have so far limited yourself to fighting other pirates... I am concerned with what the future holds once you grow tired of your prey and search for new game..." Aokiji nodded to himself, like he acknowledged the threat. He still remembered Maxwell's little warning earlier.
Usopp became increasingly alarmed, "W-Why are you saying all this...!? Aren't you only here for a walk...?"
"Your crew is now especially dangerous, because of you... Nico Robin."
Maxwell blinked. Why was he bringing up Robin again?
"SO YOU CAME TO TAKE ROBIN AFTER ALL! I'M GOING TO SEND YOU FLYING!" Luffy was always fully prepared to kick Aokiji's ass. Maxwell just confronted him before he could.
Aokiji ignored him, "The size of your bounty does not only reflect the threat your combat prowess. It also goes to show how dangerous you are to the World Government. And even though you were only 8 years old, they placed such a high bounty on your head."
"79 million..." Maxwell whispered. The mage eyed their archeologist, incredulously. What was so important for the World Government put a 79 million beri bounty on a little girl's head?
"As a child, you were a true survivor. Betraying your partners... Using them as tools... After the recent feat of survival you had undertaken, are these the new tools that you have chosen to manipulate to achieve your goals?"
Sanji took offence to that, "You freaking asshat! Don't you dare say things like that! WHAT DID ROBIN EVER DO TO YOU!?"
Usopp immediately went to their cook's side and grabbed his shoulder, "Calm down, Sanji!" He was scared of what Aokiji was going to do.
"She didn't do anything to me... She escaped after I arrested her. But that's a long story... One that you'll eventually learn... That woman's curse will bring that day to pass soon enough."
"...Though maybe you don't believe in curses?" Aokiji eyed Maxwell as he had his blade-less sword out, "Here's the proof: Every group that Nico Robin has ever associated with has ended up completely annihilated. Always leaving her as the sole survivor... Why is that so, Nico Robin?"
The three adults eyed each other. Aokiji was calm, Robin looked pained, and Maxwell was alert. Did Robin really have a curse? Was Robin really some secret organization-crusher? Or was Aokiji making all this up?
"SHUT UP, YOU!" Luffy was having none of it, and yelled at Aokiji, "What happened in the past doesn't matter!"
"I see... You already earned the trust of these people..."
"JUST WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO!?" Robin suddenly yelled at the admiral. "YOU WANT TO ARREST ME? GO AHEAD AND TRY IT! TREINTA FLEURS!" Robin did her signature V-pose and multiple arms sprouted out and around Aokiji's body.
"ROBIN! DON'T DO IT!" Usopp screamed in terror.
"My, my... It seems I may have said too much." Aokiji had his body in a body lock, yet he didn't seem to concerned, "How disappointing... I thought you would be smarter than this—"
"CLUTCH!" The arms around Aokiji yanked his head, neck, and spine backwards, breaking him into chunks of ice as he seemingly collapsed.
"AH! HE DIED!" Chopper went bug-eyed seeing the pile of ice that was the admiral.
"He's not dead...!" Maxwell whipped his focus at the frost pile, "LASTING FLAMES!" Fire burst into existence over the pulverized admiral. But the ice seemed to move out of the way before it could be melted by the flames.
The crew then watched in abstract horror as the man began to grow out of the ice.
"Hm..." He was almost whole again, "That was harsh..." Aokiji then stomped on the ground, snuffing out the flames with a wave of ice, "But not unexpected..."
He grabbed some grass from the ground, threw it in the air, and then froze it with a breath, "Ice Saber." He grabbed the elemental weapon out of the air, "I wasn't planning on killing you but..." He swung the blade.
Only to be intercepted by Zoro. The two locked blades and Aokiji feigned curiosity.
"SLICE SHOOT!" Sanji then jumped past Robin, into the air, and kicked the blade out of Aokiji's hands.
"GOMU-GOMU NO...!" Aokiji quickly grabbed Zoro's arm and Sanji's leg, "BURETTE!" and took Luffy's punch to the stomach.
It did nothing. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji began to freeze on points of contact. Ice crept over Luffy's fist, Sanji's thigh, and Zoro's bicep. All three of them screamed in pain as the ice coated their limbs, making them roll away from the admiral.
"GYAAAH! HE FROSE THEM!" "He took down all three of them with one strike...!"
"BLISTERING PAIN!" Maxwell lined up a fireball to hit the admiral. But Aokiji shapeshifter his body for the spell to go right through him.
"This... This is bad!" Chopper looked at his three ice coated friends on the ground, "We have to treat them immediately or their hands and legs will never heal!"
Aokiji looked at Robin, "...You got some good friends this time... But... You're still yourself, Nico Robin."
"You're wrong... I have—"
Aokiji then hugged her. And elemental Aokiji hugged her! "ROBIN! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Ice consumed her, "I am...!"
"ROBIN!" Until she was just like the seaking. An ice sculpture, frozen in time.
"YOU BASTARD!" Luffy got up screaming at the admiral.
"Chill, kid... If you thaw her properly, she'll live. However, her body is very brittle right now. If she breaks apart, she'll die."
"Like if I were to, oh let's just say, smash her like this..." Aokiji brought up his arm to punch Robin.
"YOU!" Luffy immediately rushed forwards. "STOP!"
"ROBIN!" The crew yelled in terror.
Aokiji threw his punch.
...He missed.
Luffy had grabbed her in time. He was panting, on his knees, back backwards, holding Robin to his chest, "...That was close."
Aokiji looked down, then raised a foot to stomp Robin's head off.
"GYAAA! GYAAA!" Usopp rushed in like a football player and grabbed the frozen Robin out of Luffy's hands. Aokiji had missed again, and his foot was only on Luffy's chest.
"BOOYA!" "Way to go Usopp!"
Usopp, Chopper, and Nami had made some distance away from Aokiji.
Luffy then rolled out from beneath Aokiji's heel, "USOPP! CHOPPER! GET BACK TO THE SHIP! SYART THAWING ROBIN!"
"R-ROGER!" The two yelled back to their captain.
"For God's sake, don't save a woman like—"
"I'M STILL HERE ASSHOLE!" Maxwell open fired on Aokiji. Salem, Mordred, and Mineive were all floating around Maxwell, firing salvos of arcane missiles at the admiral. Maxwell was blasting more magical blasts right along side them, conducting the energy like some mystical combative symphony.
Aokiji walked towards the mage. It was menacing, how he barely even defended against this assault. Aokiji deflected the bolts with his arms, taking others that wouldn't actually hurt him. The bluish bolts barely tickled, the green lightning stung, the purple flames were easy enough to deflect, but the shiny crystalline ones actually hurt. When Maxwell stopped the assault, Aokiji looked like the walking icicle rendition of swiss cheese.
The admiral then grabbed a sudden staff being swung at him. Only it wasn't Maxwell, it was Nami, "'Don't save her?' Thanks but no thanks. The pirate world is supposed to be filled with women like her." She thought hitting him like this would be the best time to strike.
"And how would you know that?" Aokiji had fully reformed, "Stand aside, little missy," and swung her staff away with Nami along with it.
"NAMI!" Both Sanji and Zoro had gotten up.
Maxwell, Zoro, and Sanji all moved to attack but, "WAIT, YOU THREE!" They froze when Luffy called out to them. He was standing too.
"Luffy!" Maxwell still had his foci poised to fire.
"Don't fight him," Luffy commanded, "I want to fight him alone! Let's settle this..." Luffy raised his fists in a boxer's stance, "You and me, Mano-a-Mano!"
Aokiji tilted his head looking at him, "Cool with me, but be warned..." Ice crept along Aokiji's form, "This will be a fight to the death."
"LUFFY! WHAT ARE YOU—!?"
"THAT'S AN ORDER!" Maxwell jerked back as his captain yelled at him, "MAX! YOU, MORE THAN ANYONE NEEDS TO GO HELP ROBIN! I GOT THIS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?"
Maxwell stared between Luffy and Aokiji. His body was shaking in exertion. He wanted to fight. Luffy wouldn't survive on his own. Yet, Luffy was giving him a direct order. He was the captain, yet he was going to die. Robin's chances of survival were higher with him there. But that meant leaving Luffy.
...
...
...
"...Damn it, Luffy...! You better f #$&*' survive this...!" Maxwell slammed all three foci into the ground and Winter glyphs around him and near Zoro, Nami, and Sanji. "RUN!"
The three crewmates jumped into the circles, and then Maxwell disappeared right alongside them. Aokiji raised and eyebrow watching as four barreling comets of blue smoke ran away from him.
Only for Luffy to look ready to pound him into the ground.
O O O
"She...She's not breathing!" "I think she is is stasis." "Can't we speed this up!? She will die!" "No! If we add heat, her body will crack! We have to let her body generate heat internally."
"Is this really enough...?" Usopp and Chopper where in the bathroom of the Going Merry. They had the shower going with Robin inside the small tub.
"I don't know. But... I can't think of any other way...!" Both boys held bucks, scooping up the excess water and splashing it on Robin.
"YOU CAN'T JUST SAY YOU DON'T KNOW! ROBIN'S LIFE IS ON THE LINE HERE!"
"I NEVER SEEN ANYONE FROZEN COMPLETELY LIKE THIS BEFORE! THAT BLUE PHEASANT SAID SHE IS STILL ALIVE... Though I find that hard to believe—"
"DON'T SAY THAT! IF YOU CAN'T DO IT, THEN NO ONE CAN SAVE ROBIN! MAX CAN'T CONJURE MIRACLES AT THE MOMENT AND YOU'RE THE SHIP'S DOCTOR!"
"I KNOW!" Chopper screamed back, "JUST QUIET DOWN AND KEEP SPLASHING!"
The kept splashing water on the frozen archeologist. All they could hear was the whoosh of their buckets and running water of their shower head. Both of them were focused on saving her. Even when they saw some colour return to he hair, they didn't stop.
Then they heard Maxwell's voice, "CHOPPER!"
The doctor and the sniper shared a look and Chopper went outside. Usopp kept splashing.
Chopper rushed outside to see the crew return. Then he realized there were only four of them, "HOW COME THERE ARE ONLY FOUR OF YOU!?"
"I'LL TELL YOU LATER!" Zoro yelled at the doctor, "WE'RE GOING BACK, SO HURRY UP AND THAW US!"
"Ah... Okay—! Um...!" Chopper looked around the ship. Maxwell was already boarding, "We have to put water over the frozen area... But Robin is in the bathroom already..."
"Is Robin okay!?" Nami yelled at the doctor.
"Ah! I'm not sure yet!"
*KIR—SPLASH!*
Chopper and Nami rushed to where the splash had come from. They looked down from the stern and shore to see Sanji and Zoro had jumped into the ocean.
"PHUHA...! WILL THIS WORK!?"
Chopper didn't expect that, but he nodded, "Just defrost at low temperature. Then come up and massage the area that was frozen!" He then saw Maxwell standing behind him, "Max! Come with me!"
Max just nods, with a face stuck in a permanent frown. He just wanted to do his job, the get back as quick as possible to Luffy. It still upset him, leaving him there...
Chopper and Maxwell quickly enter the bathroom, "Max! Thank God you're here!" Usopp hadn't stopped splashing Robin since Chopper left, "Is there anything you can do!?"
Maxwell stared at Robin. She was still frozen. The archeologist had only gained a little bit of colour. But what would help...? "Max! Is there anything—"
"Shut up! I'm tying to think..." What could he do? What would help Robin? He couldn't... "F #$...! Salem! I'm going to need an impromptu Spirit lesson!"
"What?" Salem's book cover eye opened, "With the way she is now? You do realize that by rushing the progression of your mastery—"
Maxwell punched the wall and yelled at the book, "I KNOW THE RISKS DAMN IT! JUST HELP ME!"
"...Alright. Prop me up." Maxwell put the grimoire on the sink, and angles the book so it can get a clear view. The mage then moves to Robin and Usopp side, "Alright, you're obviously going to need to use Dispel on her. Revival is to volatile at your level of control, and we're still not sure how—"
"SALEM!"
"Right. Right. Anyways, try the spell. You've had practice working on the other schools. Pull on the direct essence of the Fade to..." Maxwell followed the spirits advice to try and keep the spell stable.
This was going to take awhile...