A/N- Hey! So I may or may have not procrastinated on this chapter hahaha, it's because at first I really didn't know how to start the chapter. You can notice that this time, it isn't in Brielle's perspective (well it is in third person, but you get what I mean) I never expected to write such a long chapter too, I just sat and wrote, and yeah I won't keep you guys for long, thank you for the reviews, it really helps me to keep this going, and without further ado- Happy reading! – Diwata
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"Speaking"
"Thoughts"
Songs
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece nor its characters, Eichiro Oda does.
Another disclaimer: I do not own the song written later in the chapter, it is 'Lvr Boy', by awfultune
(Go check it out if you like, it's really good one of my favs it's a pretty chill song)
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Marineford has never been this hectic.
The reason for the dauntingly sudden change in pace was because of the silver den-den mushi.
It sounded its hauntingly loud alarm that rang and echoed in the marine headquarters and out into the hallways for everyone to hear.
It signified an undeniable need to unleash and evoke the most powerful military action to ever exist in the navy.
That of which was a very rare occurrence, and performed under special circumstances only.
It called for the destruction of anything, to a criminal of some sort, or even to a scale of an entire island that has proven itself as a threat to the world government.
Such power could only be called upon by one of the four highest ranking officials in the navy, either one of the three admirals, or the fleet admiral.
In this case however, it was requested by a man named Spandine, the chief of an elite marine unit called Cipher Pol 9 or most commonly known as CP9.
It was an exclusive group that acted as the World Government's secret assassins under the nose of common civilians.
How the man gained the power to elicit the marine force was because of Admiral Sengoku, who had the authority to give the man permission to invoke a buster call.
The mission they were dispatched with, was to arrest, and if necessary, eliminate the enigmatic fugitive, Nico Olvia who had the ability to read the ancient poneglyphs, along with the other archeologists allegedly working on the illegal study of the void century.
Marines ran left, right, and center to alert others to prepare the needed ten navy battleships as soon as they received the coordinates.
Many known figures of the marine infantry force emerged and assembled, ready to take on the task entrusted unto them.
Quickly, they grabbed their weapons, ammunitions, rations, and responded to every demand of their superiors.
"Hurry up men!"
Soldiers of different ranks and positions scrambled on their feet and went directly to where they needed to be at the time like this.
"Raise the anchor!"
The cold metal anchors of the battleships were raised above the sea and secured at the sides of the marine vessels.
"Lower the sails!"
With one quick whish of the soldiers, the ropes that twined the folded sails were let loose and was freed from the mast.
"Load the cannons!"
Heavy boxes were loaded continuously inside the ships present, filled with a number of cannonballs to use in the destruction of the unsuspecting island of Ohara.
"Prepare for battle!"
A low yet loud voice rumbled through the transponder snails scattered all around the various corners of the ships.
"SIR YES SIR!"
The thumps of heavy footsteps reverberated in the marine headquarters.
Their naval warfare preparations never ceased to slow down by the second, ten enormously large marine battleships the size of a giant were now visible for the world to see.
It was truly a sight to see that showed the power the marines possessed under their sleeves.
Marines fled and hurriedly entered their respective ships and set their course towards the soon to be annihilated island.
The atmosphere inside the marine battleships were heavy. The brooding feeling of what was about to come was ever so present in the army's morale.
The air inside the navy ships were unsettling, the soldiers inside sat patiently in their seats, readying themselves once they reached their destination.
"Hey, do you know where we're going? With all the commotion and protocols, I didn't manage to catch exactly where we're headed."
A marine soldier scratched his head shyly, and asked the person next to him seemingly lost in thought.
"Hey you! That's Captain Alexander! Don't address him so casually, and what kind of marine doesn't know where they're going? The navy doesn't need such incompetent soldiers."
A man with shoulder length hair with a short goatee reprimanded the lost man. He replied in the dark with a scowl, pointing an accusatory finger at the 'incompetent' soldier.
"Calm down Lieutenant Judas, it's alright, the buster call happened so fast that even I couldn't properly comprehend the situation that for a second back there."
"Do not degrade yourself for sparring this man's embarrassment, Captain."
"Don't be so uptight, Lieutenant. Anyways, we are headed to Ohara, officer-?"
The marine captain stepped in, and put his hand down gently on the agitated lieutenant.
Lieutenant Judas gave a sideways glare at the officer before backing down behind his captain.
"Petty Officer Nathan sir! Sorry for not recognizing you earlier Captain! I am from a different unit, I'm sorry for my incompetence!"
Nathan bowed swiftly, before giving a sturdy salute to the clear superiors before him.
"It's quite alright, Petty Officer Nathan. In a few more minutes, we should be arriving soon, I believe. Are our troops armed and ready, Judas?"
Alexander turned to look at his subordinate, and inquired of their unit's condition.
"Rightfully so, Captain. All of our soldiers are equipped with enough firearms, ammunition, and extra necessities. We are more than ready, Captain!"
The man, Judas, replied with a steady salute, after flipping the pages in his clipboard, checking each and every status of their unit, before going back to whatever he was doing before he overheard the Petty Officer lucky enough to be on the receiving end of his spiky personality.
"I'm sorry about that, Petty Officer, he's a bit rough on the edges, but he's a good guy, I promise."
"Ahh, don't worry, Captain, it was my fault after all, I wasn't paying much attention, it was a mistake on my part."
"Excuse me, Is Petty Officer Nathan here?"
Another marine entered the vicinity and looked around the waiting soldiers.
"I'm right here, what is it?"
"Captain Timothy requested your presence, to help with the management of the other officers in the lower deck, apparently there was a mishap regarding unit five's weaponry."
"Alright, I'll be heading there, thank you again Captain Alexander, for the help."
"Don't mention it, kid."
Alexander once again sat down in his seat, contemplating on something very hard the last couple of days.
Over the course of the month, he had failed to call what his wife and his only daughter. Ever since he was enlisted as a branch to help with the search of the 'devil's' last bloodline, he had been unable to properly check on his family except during his semi-annual vacation.
He had been so busy, and so tired from his marine duties that by the time he finished work, he blacked out into sleep immediately.
"But that's not a valid excuse Alex! You know very well how Mel worries! Arghhhhhh"
Alex shook his head and massaged his temples. He was feeling very stressed and work has demanded so much time from him that he had not been able to even reach out to his wife and daughter for weeks. Not even once.
He wasn't in a great shape either, with many sleepless nights, his body wanted nothing else but to rest and get a full eight hours of sleep.
But that wasn't possible, he couldn't afford that luxury, he was expected to perform in the best of his abilities, sleep deprived or not.
"With everything that was happening, it was all so fast, that I wasn't able to answer her letter"
His guilt was steadily rising within him, as he unfolded a piece of paper he securely put in his breast pocket just as he did every single day.
It was a picture of him, Melody and Brielle, smiling happily at the camera. The picture made him smile, and bring out the motivation he needed to execute his tasks at hand.
Knowing that there is a family waiting for him back in West Blue gave him the strength and inspiration to only give his best at work and nothing else. The marines deserved only his best after all.
"Ahhhhhh I wonder how they're doing? Melody must have been lonely, I'll send my letter as soon as I finish with today. Brielle's also growing up too fast and I'm not there to see it! Hmph! I just hope Mel isn't too training happy though, she scares me too much sometimes."
The image of his training happy wife all riled up and ready for battle made him chuckle inadvertently. He had such a catch for a wife.
"Just one more week, and I'll be able to go back and visit them again, it's not even that long! Soon, I'll be home, with my family-"
*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING* *RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING* *RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*
The man's thoughts were cut short when a familiar ring caught his attention.
They were nearing the shore, it was time.
Lieutenant Judas approached him with a serious expression, he gave him his coat, and saluted.
"Captain, we're here, shall we head over to our men at the upper deck?" Judas asked.
"Of course, let's go."
The two men went to their respective stations, and waited eagerly for their orders to fire.
His men were busy lining up cannonball after cannonball, the others were aiming the cannons, and the some stood close by, with their weapons at hand, and a determined look on their faces.
Whatever was going to happen at today, it would only be of success, and no room for failure.
"Puru puru puru…puru puru puru…Kacha!"
His baby den-den mushi rang, and with a quick gesture, held it up and answered,
"Captain Alexander speaking, what are the orders Vice Admiral?"
The man on the other line replied in a firm and strict tone.
"Get ready to aim and fire the cannons for the opening salvo on my command. After that, regroup with the others and prepare to eliminate everything on that island, Captain Alexander."
"Affirmative, Vice Admiral Akainu!"
The captain gave a salute, even though the other man won't be able to see it.
Alexander waited patiently for his orders, and after a minute of silent and steady prowess of the navy's powers at a standstill, he received his orders.
"Fire!" The man's raging voice protruded from the den-den mushi in his hand.
"You heard the Vice Admiral, men! FIRE!" Alexander voiced out his command with authority.
His unit, along with the other men in their battleships, fired a round of cannonballs in sync, aimed directly at the island of Ohara.
The deafening noise and the loud crashes of the aftermath of the attacks pierced through the ears of every living creature present on both the massive battleships and on the targeted land mass.
After giving his order, Captain Alexander did what Vice Admiral Akainu had told him. He, along with his other fellow captains regrouped with their troops, ready to destroy everything on the island.
Vice Admiral Akainu stood high and tall amongst the marines, hot and fuming magma ran down the side of his face and on his forearms stretching onto the tip of his fingers, emitting dark smoke in the vicinity.
"Men! Lay waste on this island! Do not leave anything unscathed! Bring the complete and utter destruction of this accursed land!" The Vice Admiral shouted, as he pointed at the land before them.
"SIR YES SIR! VICE ADMIRAL AKAINU!" The marines, shouted in unison, together with the entire fleet, they landed on Ohara.
Their battle cries loud and clear as they approached further inland. Waves upon waves of marines flooded the area, causing nothing but destruction in their path.
What happened next, was absolute chaos.
On the deeper part on the island, Nico Olvia who had just recently escaped the clutches of the marines, went to the tree of knowledge to warn her fellow researchers, Professor Clover and the others to leave and flee for their lives, but they had refused to do so, as they wished to protect the tree and the knowledge they worked so hard to research.
Word got around that the CP9 had arrived on Ohara, Olvia took the situation into her own hands, and running past her daughter unknowingly.
When Robin confronted Professor Clover about the whereabouts of her mother, the man denied her of her claims, knowing well what Olvia wanted.
She wanted to cut all ties and every connection that roped her to her daughter, as a wanted criminal, she couldn't afford to have her daughter branded as a criminal as well because of her.
Robin had her doubts, and was extremely skeptical, but Professor Clover could only change the topic and warned her to never claim herself to be a scholar, nor an archeologist of Ohara, fearing that they might arrest her too.
A unit of marines bust inside the tree of knowledge, and began roughly inspecting and searching for the poneglyph that the archeologists were hiding.
The other marines who were outside ordered the residents of Ohara to move and board onto the evacuation ship, lest they be destroyed along with the island.
Captain Alexander, who was given the task of guiding the frightened townspeople to the evacuation area, commanded in a voice that screamed and demanded authority,
"Do not panic, just follow my lead and I will escort you all towards the evacuation boat. Do not push and cause unnecessary violence to board the boat, all of you are going to board safely and without problems."
The man instructed and quickly gained the eyes and ears of the rattled civilians, they formed a manageable line, and without trouble, all of the residents boarded under his guidance.
Alexander looked at his surroundings, eyes scanning for any possible drawback or problem that might occur and potentially harm the innocents under his care.
Meanwhile, Olvia confronted Spandine, and tried to stand her ground against her pursuers and shift the blame of the archeologists of Ohara illegally researching the void century, but of course the Cipher Pol would never succumb to the blabber and wishes of a fugitive, and a notorious one at that.
She even shot the man with her rifle, but was quickly outmatched and subdued under the brute force of his agents.
She fought an obviously losing battle, but for those she wanted to protect, even if it was helpless, that wouldn't stop her from trying.
At the same time, back at the tree of knowledge, Olvia's fellow researchers had been arrested and taken outside of the tree.
As the man with hair and beard that heavily resembled a clover tried so desperately to urge the Robin to escape, but stubbornly, she had refused yet again.
The rest of the Cipher Pol 9 agents arrived, with a gravely wounded Olvia in their custody, who recognized her daughter immediately as she spoke her name.
The poneglyph they hid was found out and retrieved from the basement of the tree of knowledge.
Spandine sentenced the archeologists to death by the buster call he had summoned.
Professor Clover frowned and decided upon himself to state his theory on why the world government wanted to keep the void century a secret so badly to the five elders listening via Spandine's den-den mushi.
But before he could reveal the civilization he spoke of, has was shot brutally and left for dead.
As the CP9 saw the arrival of the marine battleships, they had made their exit, and Robin and Olvia reunited.
Years of longing and sadness that once enveloped the young child instantly dissipated at that moment.
This is what she had longed for, to be with her mother, but it was short-lived.
Saul, whom Robin had befriended four days earlier, arrived and helped Robin escape from the inevitable tragedy of Ohara, begging and crying not to be separated from her mother, knowing deep within her heart that she might never see her again.
Olvia could only shake her head and leave her daughter in the hands of the ex-Vice Admiral, Jaguar D. Saul.
With her final wishes, that she would continue on and live rang in her ears, as sobs and uncontrollable flow of tears poured from her entire being.
Sprinting towards the evacuation boat, Saul was spotted by the marines, who in turn open fired and attacked the giant.
"Isn't that…Vice Admiral Saul?"
Alexander had asked himself as he saw the man he had come to respect over the years of service running full speed towards the evacuation boat he was currently watching over.
"Negative, Captain. He is no longer a part of the navy, he had betrayed us by aiding the escape of Nico Olvia, currently, he is…..a wanted criminal."
Learning the news from his subordinate, Alexander shook his head in disbelief, he wasn't the type of man to do something like that….could he?
"But he was a righteous man! He was truthful, honest, kind, and carried the image of what a marine should be! He couldn't have…..why? Why did he do it? Why? Why? Why?"
The marine captain stood in his place, unable to process the news he had heard, he simply couldn't believe he could betray the marines for freeing and aiding a wanted woman.
His thoughts raced over his mind, before stopping abruptly by an order to fire the ex-Vice Admiral as well.
He clenched his teeth, and pinched the bridge of his nose. Squeezing his eyes closed, and breathed his order.
"Men, Fire at ex-Vice Admiral Saul, NOW!"
Alexander exclaimed, shouting a command against the betterment of his judgment as he cannot refuse the orders of his superiors.
He turned his head, away from the carnage he had ordered his men to do. He didn't have the courage to witness what he had indirectly caused.
His guilt was crawling from his insides, leaving a bitter taste at the back of his throat.
He didn't know the reason for his betrayal, but he knew that the man had a good reason, after all, he had his own sense of justice that he admired in him so much.
It was hard for him to utter the commands that would sooner or later claim his life.
Saul took the blows, retaliated in a fit of rage, for almost hurting Robin, destroying a number of battleships in the process.
As Robin tried to board the evacuation ship using her devil fruit abilities, it frightened the people on board greatly, refusing to let her in, because of Spandine's warning that she was an archaeologist just like those that were arrested and was left to die on the other side of the island.
Saul, noticing Spandine made a mad dash towards his ship, his rage never dissipating because of the man's foolishness, however, an icy man stopped and prevented him in his tracks, the man, Vice Admiral Aokiji challenged his former colleague into a duel.
"Vice Admiral Akainu, there seems to be some sort of turmoil between the evacuates. Has Captain Alexander said anything?"
A marine soldier inquired the man sitting squarely on his chair, his hat covering his eyes that glared menacingly at the commotion.
"No, he hasn't."
The Vice Admiral lifted his baby den-den mushi and contacted the said marine captain, it wasn't long before the man had received his call and was present at the other side of the line.
"Puru puru puru…..kacha!"
"Vice Admiral Akainu! What are your orders? Is there a problem I need to take care of?"
Alexander replied formally, barely recovering from the trauma of hurting the man he had respected, thankfully he had successfully repressed the shaking of his voice.
"Why does the people on the evacuation boat look troubled, Captain?"
The Vice Admiral asked slowly and deliberately, stressing each word with underlying detest in his tone.
"There seems to be a little commotion, some were saying that a child had snuck inside the boat, but so far, my men and I did not detect any intruders nor any suspicious person coming near or approaching the evacuation ahip. The people here are safe and ready to be evacuated at your command, Vice Admiral."
The captain replied immediately, shifting his thoughts on safely escorting the people somewhere else, away from every potential danger that may harm them, like flying debris from the all the explosions.
"Is that so, Captain?"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Akainu."
"Then eliminate that evacuation ship at once, Captain."
"Wha-What?"
Alexander's eyes widened at what he had heard, not expecting such a command from his superior, had he not ordered him and his men to protect and safely evacuate the people of Ohara?
"Fire at the evacuation ship, Captain. We cannot have a stray archeologist board that boat and escape out in the open. We cannot make such a grave mistake. It is better to remove the risk of that failure right here and now."
Vice Admiral Akainu's words struck the captain like a knife stabbing his chest.
"WHAT?!"
Alexander could not register the Vice Admiral's command. Didn't they do their job successfully? He was a hundred percent sure that there was no one aboard the boat that had not been their prior to their evacuation.
"I heard that the CP9 had already dealt with the archeologists of Ohara, they even recovered their hidden poneglyph! So why was he ordering to open fire at a group of innocent people?!"
His body froze, his eyes widened and his pupils dilated.
"These people are innocent! I can swear upon my life that the people here are NOT archeologists! He had already background-checked each and every one of the passengers."
"B-But Vice Admiral! We had checked everyone! I am certain that not a single person aboard is an archeologist!"
Alexander stuttered as he pleadingly tried to reason with the man, and had unknowingly raised his voice at the marine higher-up. Sweat formed and rolled down his forehead and back, he did not know what to do in his predicament.
Even if he was at a higher position than him, he couldn't kill all of those innocent people! He can't and he won't! It wasn't right, and he knows it too!
The magma man was not pleased with how the marine captain was acting and insinuating. His magma had soon enveloped the half of his face, the molten rock continues to cascade down his sides as he was slowly becoming impatient and irritated by each passing second.
"Are you defying my orders, Captain?"
The man's voice was laced with lethal poison, each word he spat out with immense disdain.
Alexander felt a chill ran down his spine, he knew very well he was defying his orders, but he just couldn't stand being the instrument of mass genocide.
His whole frame shook uncontrollably, feeling nauseous. His bile backing up from his liver into his stomach.
He felt disgusted.
Absolutely DISGUSTED.
He felt like throwing up at his words, how could a man so easily disregard the lives of an entire island's population? And for what, a single inexistent archeologist under his nose?
His morality just couldn't accept what this monster wanted. He was aware of the consequences, but it didn't matter, what was more important were the lives of the people he tried so hard to protect.
"No, Vice Admiral. I am not going to fire. There are no archeologists present on board."
Alexander replied sternly, his eyes fierce in raw determination to stand up to a man who could easily dispose and rid of his position in the navy.
Lieutenant Judas was looking at him with widened eyes, mouth agape as he witnessed his audacious defiance against a marine Vice Admiral.
He cautiously walked backwards, towards the inner corner of the room.
What was his captain thinking? He knows what would he happen if he disobeyed the Vice Admiral!
"What should I do?"
"Puru puru puru….kacha!"
His own den-den mushi rang and heard a familiar voice.
"Do not hang up, Lieutenant."
"O-Of course, Vice Admiral."
Slowly, Vice Admiral Akainu's face contorted in a horrifying expression, scrunched up in anger. Did that lowly marine captain openly disobey his orders?
He was not in any position to order him around. He knew better not to get cocky, to go all high and mighty.
He knew nothing.
His commands are absolute.
If they needed to sacrifice an entire island and its people for absolute justice, then so be it.
For the betterment of all, he will get his way.
"That insolent BRAT"
His patience wearing thin, he grit his teeth and gave one last warning.
"Captain Alexander, I advise you to step down and command at once, to your men, to fire at that ship NOW!"
"I'm afraid I cannot do that. Vice Admiral."
"THAT'S ENOUGH! WHOEVER IS IN UNIT SIX, RESTRAIN THAT FERAL MARINE CAPTAIN ALEXANDER IMMEDIATELY!"
"What?!"
All of a sudden a hoard of marines confronted the marine captain, weapons drawn, and aimed at him, ready to fire.
Another marine came up to him and aggressively put him into cuffs, with both his hands put behind his back, he was restrained forcibly.
Just as the marine Vice Admiral had commanded.
He could only stare in horror as his own men, whom he had come to serve and guide all those years turn his back against him and point their guns.
Even though they all knew collectively that what the Vice Admiral requested was wrong.
Utterly and despicably WRONG.
It wasn't just him.
"Let go! You all know there was no one sneaking on the boat! There was no one that was unidentified on our list! LET GO!"
No one listened to his cries, instead gripping harder at his restrained arms and held their firearms tighter, all had moved their heads away and turned a blind eye at such a hypocrisy of marine values.
"I can't believe this."
He struggled against his restrainers, careful not to hurt them accidentally, he understood that they were obligated to comply and obey without question, but it still hurt to see those that you trust without question stab him in the back.
"And one more thing, destroy the evacuation boat. Open fire and sink it to the bottom of the sea. Any potential archeologists could be hiding amongst the civilians. It is better to be safe than sorry."
"NO!"
His voice cracked and his shackles jingled in his protest. Struggling to prevent a bloody massacre from happening right in front of his eyes.
"Nononononononono!"
"Roger that, Vice Admiral"
A familiar voice replied inside the room.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
*BOOM!*
A large explosion was heard, so much so that it would reach for miles on end, however it did not drown out the screams of agony of the people aboard the supposed evacuation boat.
The smell of burning flesh lingered in the smoky and chokingly hazardous air.
Blood had splattered everywhere, debris was flying in various directions. Scraps of wood and metal began raining in little specks.
The bombardment of the cannons continued in an onslaught of marine forces, until slowly but surely, the shrieks died down, along with their owners.
There was nothing left, whatever remained was blown up into smithereens and everything was reduced into ash.
The haunts of their screams were no longer heard, and the licking of the flames atop the deck of was extinguished as the burning boat slowly sunk to the bottom of the sea, not leaving a trace of arson behind.
Alexander watched as the people he had come to protect earlier was, gone.
Dead.
Because of him.
Engulfed by the flames that was fired onto them unknowingly, against their will, and helplessly attacked, never standing a chance against the marine's forces.
He chocked a sob, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
"Is this what you wanted?"
He asked to whoever had the guts to listen to his words. His voice quivered as his rage was seeping out of himself, unbounded, and wanted to be let out.
"I said, IS THIS WHAT ALL OF YOU WANTED? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? KNOWING YOU KILLED HUNDEREDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE?!"
No one inside the room replied, the temperature decreased rapidly.
"ANSWER ME!"
Huffing, voice hoarse from his screaming, the disheveled marine captain eyed every marine he could see.
"That is quite enough, Alexander, I am severely disappointed by your actions. Questioning your superior's decisions, disrespecting me and my precautions, and disobeying my commands. By my authority, you are suspended from duty. Lieutenant Judas?"
"Y-Yes, Vice Admiral?"
The shaken voice of Lieutenant was made audible as he walked from the back of the room previously unseen by the now suspended marine captain.
"Akainu! You bastard! I swear you'll pay for this! How could you?! Life is not something you can just crumple and throw away like garbage! I am not suspended, Vice Admiral, I quit."
Alexander's voice spat out in a menacing tone, which earned a few gasps from the others in the room.
"Oh? Are you threatening me now? That's it. Lieutenant Judas, put this disgrace of a marine inside the jail cell in the lower deck, he has been nothing but disrespectful, hostile and violent, to the point that he may injure the other soldiers."
"I-Is there anything else, Vice Admiral?"
"That is all, Lieutenant."
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Saul had done his best to fight and flee with Robin, to escape Vice Admiral Aokiji, but he was clearly outmatched because of his devil fruit abilities.
The duel had ended by Saul freezing to death curtsey of the ice-man. His final words were to ensure Robin that there were friends that were waiting for her out there in the vast ocean, and that she should continue to live, just like her mother's wishes.
"Dere-shishishishishishishi…!"
Laughing his last laugh, his voice was heard, proving his philosophy to laugh even in desperate times. His body had been incased in a blanket of ice that took his life. A permanent smile plastered on his frozen corpse.
Robin fled, trying to be strong despite the face to face death of her friend.
Running towards the deceased giant's makeshift raft to escape, only to be met by the same man that killed Saul.
He had witnessed the bombing of an evacuation ship, under Vice Admiral Akainu's orders. He despised the man who had no qualms in taking the lives of many.
He decided to spare the child that Saul sacrificed his position, and eventually his life for.
The fire that roared in the background consuming everything that once represented Ohara added to the sheer terror she felt facing the Vice Admiral.
"Why? Why did he risk his life for you?"
"…"
The girl was unable to reply, sniffing and wiping her tears with the back of her hand, she faced the man before her.
"There's nothing left…Mom, Professor Clover and the others, the tree of knowledge, Saul…..and even the other villagers…They're all gone…..!"
Vice Admiral Aokiji approached the girl, who visibly flinched at his every move.
"Take the boat and leave. I am not your friend. If you ever do something you might regret, I would personally find you, and I will kill you."
The man motioned Robin to a boat, placed in between an ice path.
"Follow that path and it will lead you to the other island. Now go."
Robin could only follow the man's orders, and got on the boat, crying as a world of fire raged behind her, following the path that the Vice Admiral gave her, she rowed and rowed and rowed.
"Dere-shishishishishi!...hic…dere-shishishishishi!...hic…...uwaaaaah!"
The girl cried as she laughed just like what Saul has taught her, drifting to wherever the ice path led her.
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.
"Brielle? How about you go and play outside for once? I know yesterday had been, awful, so I think we should cancel your training for today."
Melody told her daughter as she lifted her face from the book she was currently reading.
Yesterday had been nothing short of traumatic.
The destruction caused by a buster call was no joke, and the aftermath was horrid.
Ohara was destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth. It had been disintegrated into nothing.
She could feel her daughter's gloomy expression and disinterest to move from her spot where she was currently laying down and brooding.
She thought that maybe a little time to play by herself would do her good, they have been relentlessly training after all.
Her daughter could use some playtime.
Melody's suggestion spiked Brielle's ears, and looked up from her spot so fast that it almost broke her neck.
"Really Mommy? Yaaaaaay! Thank youuu! I'll be on the training grounds Mommy! Can I pack some snacks before I go?" Brielle asked.
"Of course Brie, what do you want to eat later?"
"Uhmmmm Cheese sandwiches please"
"Alright Brie, I'll go make you some right now, but do clean up first before you go"
"Okay"
Brielle busied herself in putting on her comfortable dress and slipped on her usual sandals. She looked at the contents of her room, wondering which item she would bring along her journey.
Her ukulele had been untouched for about two weeks now, and she had been itching to play a tune or two, and so, she decided to go and play her ukulele in their training ground for peace of mind.
She was still shaken up by yesterday's events and she had not forgiven herself for allowing such a horrible thing to happen when she could have done something about it.
She walked towards her closet and reached for two bags, one sling bag for her personal necessities, and the other, was her ukulele case.
"Oh, don't wanna forget about these either."
She grabbed her capo inside her drawer, as well as her journal, paper, and a pen.
Because of training she had been eager to write and revisit her notes once again, for all she know, she could forget about something important again.
The only good thing that came out of yesterday was that she was able to establish the timeline, now she knows exactly what to expect now.
She was lost for some time as she didn't know what year it was, or when the original timeline would occur.
So in a way, it was at least beneficial.
Once she was done packing her stuff, she headed downstairs to find her mother waiting for her.
"Here it is Brie, two cheese sandwiches, and apple juice, to wash it all down."
"Thank you!"
"Now off you go, be careful, Brie, and be home by six, alright?"
"Okay Mommy, bye bye."
She gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek and she was on her way.
What she didn't notice was a man donned in a cloak approaching their house, just barely walking past her.
She was too distracted however, of having a chance to have time for herself to self-reflect, so she didn't pay much attention.
Her once twenty minute walk to her training grounds became half the time needed to get there.
Training has made her speed significantly faster, and walking in the same path for almost every day made the short journey a bit quicker than it originally was.
When she arrived, she set down her things, and sat down on a make-shift chair and table her mother had made to use as their little dining area during lunch.
She pulled her ukulele out from its protective prison.
"Wahhhhh its been too long my friend!"
The little girl sighed whilst talking to herself, as she held her musical instrument in a hug to indicate how she had been ukulele-derived these past weeks.
Plucking the strings, she let out a sweet little melody.
C-Am-F-Fm
Those simple four chords that she soon strummed gave a feeling of nostalgia, it was her first song on the ukulele, which gave its sentiments.
.
.
.
I used to get on my knees
And I'd pray
The girl strummed slowly, in an upward and downward motion.
For love to come find me some day
For love to come meet me my way
Her voice as soft as a feather, carrying itself along the cool breeze of the sea.
Your love hit like a brick to the face
And when I put up a fight you put me back in my place
It had been a while, the sweet sound of the strings she had been craving was now echoing in the clearing.
I thought I wasn't cut out for this race
You know how I feel
You don't need a song but just in case
There was a brief halt, before she took a deep breath and sang the chorus like she had done before.
.
.
You're my lover boy
My stay in bed under the cover boy
My only you and no other boy
My face is red come smother me boy
Cause you're my lover boy
As an unknown language in this world escaped her lips, it never felt so natural despite speaking in a completely different language.
Come on and meet my mother boy
You made me a little tougher boy
My life was black and white but now I see color boy
You're my lover boy
It was a song, along with many other that she couldn't sing, because it would cause unnecessary suspicion.
.
.
I used to find things about me
That were wrong to me
Sometimes she sang the tune, and sometimes she sang the song.
But then you came along and showed me
Showed me where I was wrong
Feeling every lyric and relating to the message it carried itself.
So thank you, 'cause now I'm where I belong
In a world where I finally feel strong
I got my boy and he can tag along
You know how I feel
You don't need a song but just in case
Thinking back on her past life, which was not erased like what she had expected, and she thought of everything she has been through up until now.
.
.
You're my lover boy
My stay in bed under the cover boy
My only you and no other boy
My face is red come smother me boy
Cause you're my lover boy
It was a crazy new world that was the polar opposite of her reality.
Come on and meet my mother boy
You made me a little tougher boy
My life was black and white but now I see color boy
You're my lover boy
The romance of adventure was serenading her, to cross its vast seas. So many things to discover, that she has never seen before.
.
.
You own my heart
You own my heart and it's no one else's
You own my heart
You own my heart and it's no one else's
I fall apart
And when I fall apart I'm no one else's
You own my heart
You own my heart like no one else has
.
.
I could be your baby
I could be your baby
Always your baby
I'm always yours
.
.
As the song comes to an end, the girl looks longingly at the ocean.
When will she be able to cross the seas and explore what this world has to offer?
She couldn't barely wait anymore.
Brielle walked closer towards the edge of the clearing, she saw something rather strange.
"Is that…..ice? over there?"
The girl squinted her eyes to get a better view, she couldn't tell from where she was, so she walked down to the shore to see for herself.
What she saw shocked her. It definitely was ice, formed into a path, atop the calm ocean. There was also an unoccupied boat docked a little over to her left, but the biggest surprise was the body unmoving, laying on the sand.
A girl, probably a little older, judging from her bigger frame and medium length black hair.
It took her a moment before rushing over to the figure, face down in the sand. She could see bruises scattered on her legs, and tatters on her clothes.
"H-Hey! Are you alright?"
Brielle asked with worry and concern. She did not know how to handle things like these before. Her heartbeat quickened.
"I-Is she dead?"
The girl approached the unknown person carefully. Turning her face upright, with her bangs covering her eyes, she pushed them out of the way to get a better look.
"Excuse me, are you okay? Please wake up!"
Brielle cried out, shaking the girl's body gently, hoping the action would stir her up.
"She's still pretty warm, so I'm sure she's not a corpse, that's for sure."
"Urg…."
Slowly, the girl's eyes opened, hazy from sleep, movements groggy, she sat up.
"Um hi, I'm Brielle, are….are you okay?"
Brielle was relieved that she woke up, smiling gently, and asked if she was okay in a soft spoken voice, as to not scare the stranger away.
"Huh? Where am I? Mom? Professor Clover? Saul!"
The stranger began franticly looking left and right in search of the people she had mentioned. Before reality kicked in, and the events of yesterday flooded her memories that brought tears in her eyes once again.
"Hey, hey, it's alright, I'm here, don't cry…."
Unsure of what to do, Brielle comforted the stranger in a hug, she didn't emit a dangerous aura, and she was crying, so she could only do what she knows would help in a situation like this.
To calm the person down first, and comfort them.
The stranger, looked somewhat familiar, but Brielle just couldn't place her finger on who she was.
After a minute or so, the stranger stopped crying and realized she was enveloped in a hug.
She quickly escaped the hug and fell on her behind, just a few inches away from Brielle.
The sudden gesture surprised Brielle and thought, maybe that wasn't the right thing to do.
"Sorry….Uhm…..W-Who are you?"
The stranger finally asked in a timid voice, seeming to shy away, wary from the child that hugged her.
"Oh, I'm Brielle! Nice to meet you! But uhmmm are you okay? You look pretty hurt."
Brielle asked the stranger once again, but this time, with a distance.
"I-I'm, I'm okay…thank you, for asking…"
"No biggie! You looked like you needed help, you were sleeping on the sand! That's not good for you! Hey, where are you from? Did you come here by boat? Is that boat yours?"
Brielle asked while pointing on the boat a few meters away from them.
"…yeah….I-"
The looked down in discomfort, not wanting to talk about what was being asked of her.
"Hey, it's okay you don't need to answer if you don't want to. Let me treat your wounds first, if you don't, they'll get infected!"
"No I-"
"I insist! Please let me help you…."
"Okay"
The little girl insisted in helping the stranger, even though her father would've screamed 'stranger danger' by now.
"She looks badly hurt, I can see the bluish bruises, and even burns! Just where did she come from?"
"Can you stand up? I need to patch you up first…."
"I think I can, thank you…..but do you know how to? You look younger than I am."
"Uh-huh! My Mommy taught me how to! Oh, and I'm five years old by the way!"
Brielle knew fairly well that she had been slipping too much information, but she was too excited to make a new friend besides Byron.
"Oh…." The stranger muttered under her breath
"Mom…"
That made her heart ache, but she pushed the thoughts away for now, she needed to continue on living.
"Wait, you're only five?"
"Yup!"
"Dere-shishishishi you're pretty smart looking for a kid your age."
"Wait a minute…that's a pretty unique laugh right there…and in One Piece, people with strange laughs are usually important….hmmmmmm…..meh probably just me."
"Thank you! Now um…"
"Can I- uhmm…no- wait-"
Brielle struggled with her words as she was contemplating on whether or not she would use her voice to heal her wounds.
"It might scare her off though, I don't want that! Arghhhhh who cares, I'm gonna do it…I just hope I don't regret it….."
"Ummm, I- "
"Yes?"
"I know this would seem weird but let me sing for you first.., promise me you won't freak out okay?"
"Huh? Sing?...Its okay I guess, but why?"
"N-no reason, no reason at all"
"Dere-shishishi you're funny, it's alright, if that's what you want."
"Promise me you won't freak out!"
"I won't"
Knowing how she felt when the other kids her age bullied her because of her powers, she promised herself not to judge someone immediately.
"If you say so"
Then carefully, she let the other girl sit on her chair near her training ground. Clearing her throat, she began to sing a tune, very softly, just barely above a whisper.
A song that she first mastered, a simple song of healing.
The stranger was surprised to hear such a beautiful voice come out of the child's lips, it was calming, soothing, and strangely, she could feel herself feeling better.
She observed the other girl with her eyes closed, delivering the soft melody ever so pleasantly.
She's never felt such comfort in a song before, it reminded her of her happiest days in her earlier years.
Her bruises began to fade, and the burn marks were nowhere to be seen, just what did this little girl do?
"There, all better."
Brielle declared, happy to see the black and blues out of her body. She did a pretty good job, if she could say so herself.
"You have, such a beautiful voice, Brielle."
The stranger had finally acknowledged her, calling her by name.
"Ahh…it was nothing!" Brielle replied, cheeks tinted red by the compliment, rubbing the back of her head in a coy manner.
"Thank you for, treating my wounds, but, may I ask how you did it?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't….."
"It's alright, still, thank you, for helping me."
"You're welcome! It's only the right thing to do. Ah! I still didn't catch your name though."
"Fufufu, My name, is Robin, nice to meet you, Brielle."
"Eh?"
"Robin, my name is Nico Robin"
"EEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"
.
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Word Count: 7,652
Date of Publication: March 30, 2020
A/N- Aaaaaand cut! Whew that's a lot! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm quite satisfied with how this tuned out! Alright, I'll see you guys in the next one.