Silence.
The ship had long grown quiet, though this was nothing new for Robin. The sun setting brought with it the change of jovial laughter and banter from her crew mates now replaced with loud snoring. It was a cycle she had grown accustomed to after becoming a Straw Hat Pirate, and normally she enjoyed watching the activities from the sidelines, smiling along when her Captain caught a large fish, or Usopp managed to trick Chopper into believing another one of his crazy stories.
The last few days, however, marked a change in her habits, and she hoped the results would be worth the self imposed isolation.
"I've done it…" Robin murmured, looking down at her notes one last time. This was a first for her. Hours and hours spent researching and comparing linguistics had resulted in her uncovering something extraordinary. And now it was time to put this new knowledge to use.
"Robin? Are you still awake?" Nami's voice came through the other side of the doorway after a few silent hours of reading. Robin turned around to face the door, watching the navigator nudge the thing open with her foot and step inside.
"Yes Nami, did you need something?" She asked.
"I'm just checking in on you. It's been a while since I've seen you sleep. It's very unlike you."
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to get a proper nights rest soon." Robin stretched trying to wake herself up a bit more. She hadn't realised how sore her neck had become.
"And how soon does 'soon' mean?" The redhead asked skeptically. Robin just hummed deciding not to give a proper answer. "Just as I thought. You're planning to stay up all night again."
"I have no idea what you mean." Robin said in her calm, teasing way. Nami didn't seem upset though, instead smirking like she just stole something very pricey.
"If you're going to stay up anyway, we might as well liven the evening." Nami pulled out two large bottles of wine from behind her back. One of them was almost empty, the redhead having already drank most of it herself.
"Nami, isn't that the very expensive wine Sanji purchased from the last island?" Robin asked. She already knew the answer of course, but she wasn't against playing along for now. Nami just scowled.
"That idiot owes me for that stunt of his in the town square!" Robin couldn't help but laugh at her ire. Sanji had been flirting with the ladies as he usually does during their supply runs. Only this time a very irritated man threatened him for his flattery towards the female fruit stall owner. It didn't take long for Sanji to kick him through a building, only to find out seconds later that it was the young lady's father he just decimated. This led to an avalanche of authorities, Marines, and the townsfolk chasing them back to the ship. Needless to say they only retrieved half of the supplies they needed, and everyone was put in a foul mood over it.
Well, it wasn't a total disaster, if Robin's new book purchase meant anything. She had discovered it at the local bookseller, and it stood out to her like no other book had before it. A dusty leather bound hardcover with intricate brass inlay, on top of seven small crystals embedded into the spine and cover. The inside was just as perplexing, filled with a script she had never seen before. It was different from poneglyphs, and if she had to compare it to anything she'd say Latin was the next closest language in visual appearance.
Even the shopkeeper had no clue what to make of the book. He had claimed it just appeared on his shelf one day, as if it just popped into existence. Robin wasn't sure about that. She had the feeling that was a lie to give it more intrigue, given how happy he seemed to be rid of the thing. Regardless it was now her pet project, which she quickly grew an unhealthy obsession over.
"Aren't you tired yet? You've been studying that thing for five days straight." Nami frowned. It was true, Robin knew she looked awful. She had been so focused on deciphering the odd language that she nearly forgot to sleep. If it weren't for Sanji's regular visits to literally watch her eat, she's sure she would have forgotten that too. But it was so odd to find a language she didn't know yet, and the thrill of figuring out the mysteries this book held was too much fun for her to ignore.
"I actually finished deciphering the alphabet earlier this evening." Robin rubbed her eyes trying to stifle a yawn. "I was reading through the text when you entered."
"That's great!" Nami grinned. "I think this calls for a celebration then." She put a glass on the desk for Robin and began to pour. Soon the cup was close to overflowing with a sweet maroon colored alcohol.
"Are you sure about this Nami? I can't handle my alcohol as well as you can." Robin couldn't stop a grin from crossing her features at seeing the slight tilt when Nami took a seat on the recliner closest to her. The younger woman had been drinking far more than she first anticipated. Nami's alcohol tolerance was on par with Zoro's, so knowing she'd drunk enough to be this buzzed could only mean Sanji would be on the warpath when he found the drained supply in the morning.
"Please Robin? Usopp is too much of a lightweight to drink with, and Zoro's on watch tonight." And seeing as it was already midnight, the rest of the crew was likely asleep. She did a quick check of the ship with her devil fruit powers just to be sure. As Nami said, Zoro was watching the sea and lifting weights in the crows nest while Usopp was tinkering with an odd looking invention in his workshop. The rest of the boys were sleeping soundly, meaning no one else would be interrupting anytime soon.
"I suppose I can join for a glass or two." Robin smiled lightly and took a sip. It was very sweet with a lovely berry flavour, one that was entirely unique to the last island. The taste was simply divine.
"That's the spirit!" Nami giggled and took a swig straight from the new bottle. "You can tell me what the book says too. Maybe it will reveal the secret to a massive treasure or something."
"You may be onto something actually." Robin commented referring back to the first few pages. She had nearly finished her first speed read through the text, and the whole thing was a vault of odd information. "From what I've read through so far, it speaks of a very powerful object called the Holy Grail."
"That sounds expensive." Nami mused now leaning over to try and see the words better. After remembering she couldn't understand any of it she sat back down. Robin took another sip of wine and returned to the aged pages, starting back at the spot where she left off.
"Fascinating." She breathed leaning in closer. "This says the Holy Grail is an object capable of granting any wish."
"So we could wish to be the richest pirates in the world?" She seemed very excited by that prospect.
"Bigger than that. Apparently it's directly connected with something known as "The Root'' which holds all knowledge of the universe."
"I don't really care for cosmic knowledge, but I'll bite if it can make me rich." Nami's shoulders soon fell in realization. "So what horrible, deadly place is this thing located?"
"It is not so much a place." She tried to explain, rereading through chapter six to make sure she understood everything. "It can only be reached by establishing a direct connection to it, and we can do that by summoning a Holy Spirit."
"So like devil summoning? And what's a "Holy Spirit"? This sounds like a load of bull to me." Nami huffed. "How would you summon someone anyway? It has to be referring to a devil fruit or a particular user."
"The book does have instructions on how to do it, and it doesn't seem too complex." Robin mused. She was surprised by the overall simplicity. Duplicate the summoning circle shown on the page and read the words written aloud? That seemed far too simple, especially without devil fruits of any sort involved. Unless it required a devil fruit user to perform the ceremony? In which case she could perform it. The question is, if it did work, what exactly that would mean?
"It's supposed to summon a hero, and we will get this wish making grail? Not some evil demonic beast that will devour the ship whole?"
"No, the book doesn't mention anything like that."
"Then let's do it!" Nami jumped up eagerly, nearly tripping from her tipsy-ness but quickly fighting herself. "I'm ready to get all the gold this grail can offer! If nothing else we can sell it."
"And if nothing happens?" Robin smirked a bit in amusement.
"Then… I'd say we had a fun girls night." Nami decided after pondering for a moment. Robin paused. So Nami saw this as a bonding experience? She had to say, just discussing the book with her had been fun so far. And if nothing happened they could both sleep in and have a laugh about everything tomorrow.
"Alright, first we need to replicate this circle, at a four foot diameter. Do you think you can handle that step?" She passed the book to Nami, the redhead looking over it carefully, quikly nodding and rushing to grab her charting supplies.
"Just give me an hour and I'll have the greatest replica you've ever seen."
"Very good." Robin chuckled. "I'll start preparing the next step in the meantime." Robin started carefully transcribing the selected words while Nami got to work.
The girl had spread out several sheets of her calligraphy paper on the central table and used a compass and ruler to remake the circle in the book at the specified scale. Within an hour she managed to create an exact copy of the circle and all of its details. A perfectly proportioned Star of David sat in the center holding several circles and symbols in the middle of it. Surrounding its points were more spheres of equal size, along with a wider loop containing words from the unknown language.
The navigator sat back looking quite pleased with herself.
"Usopp isn't the only artist on board. I bet he couldn't even make a perfect circle." She laughed at her own statement, Robin chuckling along too. "So what's next?"
"It says… to place an object linked to the hero you wish to summon in the center."
"... I think we'll have to skip that step. I'm not sure what we could use for that." She thought it over a minute more before shrugging. "And the step after that?"
"I will need to read the incantation, and supposedly a hero will appear that will bring with them the wish granting grail."
"Alright! I'll leave that step to you then, but just to be safe…" she pulled out her Climatac and snapped the rods together, taking a few steps behind Robin and waiting.
The older woman took a strong stance and exhaled. She already knew nothing would happen. Summoning circles and heroic spirits returning from the dead? Not even any of the Poniglyph's mentioned anything close to such a concept. Perhaps if she wasn't borderline drunk she would have thought this over more before attempting it, but honestly she was having a lot of fun with Nami. The two of them rarely bonded in such a way, where there wasn't some life threatening adventure or people constantly trying to kill them. This was an innocent kind of fun that she imagined children would feel when stealing cookies from the jar without their parents noticing. She wasn't going to stop until they completed the whole process.
Inhaling deeply she extended her right hand and held the book in her left, going over the chant one last time before speaking it loud and clearly. Sadly she didn't know how to speak the original language even if she could decode it, but she could read it aloud in her own tongue.
"Heed my words, My will creates your body,
And your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call,
And obey my will and reason, Then answer my summoning.
I hereby swear, That I shall be all the good in the world,
That I shall defeat . . . all evil in the world.
Seventh heaven clad, And the great words of power,
Come forth from the circle of bindings, Guardian of Scales."
Suddenly the room was glowing in a soft blue light, wind picking up rustling their hair and electrifying everything.
"R-Robin?! What's happening?!" Nami screeched when the elder's hand began glowing. Sparks of electricity radiated out from the circle without harming them, a strong gust of wind bursting out causing any loose papers in the room to fly.
A loud boom echoed through the library, one blinding flash of lightning reached through the floor and nearly knocked both of them off their feet.
Nami screamed, and another voice from below deck matched her fright with a synchronized cry that was nearly drowned out by the thunderous clap.
Then it was silent.
Slowly Robin opened one eye, then the other, seeing the room filled with a soft blue glow and particles of golden colored dust floating through the library. She blinked, finally noticing a third presence in the room.
He stood on the table with his back facing them, an olive green, military style coat ending midway to his knees fluttered lightly in the magical breeze. A hood hid his hair and head, gold accenting along the seamwork, epaulettes and pockets complementing the baggy pants and dark heavy boots he wore. Across his chest was a bullet belt, with two pistols and a rifle strapped to his back. A dark brown bag hung on one shoulder, and an eerily familiar object was held firmly in his grasp.
"Are you the one that summoned me?" An all too familiar voice questioned. Nami stepped forward unable to hide her confusion.
"Wait… what the hell?"
"I asked you a question." The man turned around, revealing a cascade of black curls gathered around his shoulders and a pair of golden goggles over his eyes. All coming together with a distinctive round tipped nose that any of the crew would recognize at a glance. "I will ask again. Are you the one who summoned-" His words died as soon as he saw their faces. Breath hitched, hands clenching, he nearly took a step back in surprise. The only thing he managed after was a faint whisper.
"Nami… Robin-"
Nami was the next to speak again, the only one truly able to express the sheer confusion the two of them felt.
"Usopp???"
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An idea I've had floating in my head for over a month. No idea if I'll continue it, especially with the number of other stories I have in the works. I was just imagining, since One Piece fights are already ridiculous, imagine them enhanced with the magic of the Holy Grail and the insane rules it has in place. Plus it pulls out both currently dead and still alive characters From the series as servants with extra powers depending on their class. I think that could be a lot of fun.
Choice in servant was decided by two things. 1) Usopp is now a god and is considered a hero in multiple kingdoms. 2) a picture created by zzyzzyy title "OP_Bullets" if this website wasn't horrible about links I'd give a proper one.
Also titles are horrible. Couldn't really think of a good one lol.
Anyway if you got suggestions on who the other servants/masters would be, or have any judgment on this thing please leave a comment! They always make my day.