Chapter 6

Operation: Rescue Robin

AN: I had one hell of a time getting is chapter written for some reason.

I actually slept that night, too many things were swirling in my head for me to think about. Curled up by Merry's figurehead I sorted through my thoughts of the day. Even as I sorted them however I kept on finding more and more bits of my past that had been buried.

Some were memories of my time with Robin in the past, some of drifting in the currents of the Grand Line. Each one was examined before being carefully put away. Other thoughts and memories intruded as I continued, the more tired I was the more they did so. At some point I fell asleep and ended up dreaming.

I dreamed of Merry, her raincoat flapping in the wind as she stared out over storm tossed waves. We were both standing on the deck of a ship but the details were impossible to make out. When Merry spoke I could hear her even over the sound of the rain and wind.

"It will work out, trust in the path you have chosen. Sometimes deep at night Robin would speak about you, of what you had given her and how she missed you. She said that even if you were only a construct that you always seemed to be able to empathize with those around you. I can feel that empathy within you, the urge to protect those that you have grown close to. That desire extends even to me, someone that you haven't even really met. I can't wait till we actually meet face to face"

I woke with a start to find a news coo pecking away at my teeth. I shooed it away with a scowl but not before paying for the newspaper. Had I really talked to Merry in my dream or was that just wishful thinking from me. It probably didn't matter, I had set myself on the path that I was going to follow no matter how hard it got.

Opening the newspaper I wasn't surprised to see that the attack on Iceberg had occurred last night, nor that the Straw Hats were being blamed for it all. Everything seemed to be proceeding as planed on that front even with the hiccup of Robin knowing me.

Looking around I realized that I was the only one awake as of yet. Well maybe not judging by the noise from the kitchen, the anime had never really given me a good idea of how early he woke up. Franky I saw was passed out on the table that the crew had been using for dinner last night. He must have arrived after I had fallen asleep. As I stood up I could feel the Merry swaying slightly beneath me and hear the faint groan of her timbers. Maybe I was imagining it but they sounded almost like humming.

A hop and a skip was all it took to get me to the table that Franky was using as a pillow. I reached out and shook his shoulder gently. The metal of his shoulder felt cool underneath my touch.

"Oi Franky! Did you get the Adam Wood?"

Franky snorted as my shake pulled him out of whatever dreams he had been having. He stared at me with uncomprehending and slightly unfocused eyes. After a moment recognition passed through them.

"Huh? Oh! Oh! I did, I even got a Super deal on it as well!" He shouted once his eyes had cleared, he had even jumped up while speaking to pose.

"What kind of deal"

I asked, fighting back the urge to facepalm. I swear if my very presence had screwed things up somehow I would scream. I don't know how it would have done so already but still I was worried.

"The black market guy I knew said that one of his old friends had sent him a letter about cashing in an old favor. So he cut 20 million berries off the price. He said that anyone that was a friend of Hank's was a friend of his. Also that you should thank Hank the next time you see him."

My jaw dropped and I couldn't help but stare at Franky. How the hell had Hank know that I was going to get involved with Adam Wood. Wait a better question was how many people owed Hank favors?! First Smoker and now this black market contact, next I'd probably find out that he had actually sailed with Roger of all things.

Probably best to not continue that line of thinking as my head was already starting to hurt. It was easier to just blame it on the fact that all old people in anime knew each other somehow and not think about this any longer.

"That's great Franky, I'm sure that Nami will be happy you saved money for her. But we have bigger problems then money right now. Problems of the CP9 trying to kill Iceberg variety."

I shoved the paper into Franky's hands the front page visible. As Franky read I heard a sound from behind me. I turned just in time to see Luffy flying out from the galley propelled by the force of Sanji's kick.

"Stop trying to steal food! Breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes."

As Luffy bounced off of the wall and then crashed into the ground near the table I could hear the rest of the crew stirring from inside Merry. I reached out and pulled Luffy out of the floor where his head had ended up buried.

"Morning captain, I gotta say you know how to make an entrance. It looks like CP9 struck at Iceberg last night and the blame is being placed squarely on the crew."

Luffy as he hung in my grip half spun towards me. Flashing me a wide grin that made his entire face light up. If he was concerned in anyway he wasn't showing it.

"So we just need to prove our innocence. Uh how do we do that?" He asked scratching the back of his head as he chuckled wryly.

"It's easy we just wait for CP9 to show up at the Galley-La headquarters tonight and confront them there. Then we get Robin back."

While saying it out loud made it sound easy I doubted that things would be so simple. I wasn't sure if Robin's fear of the Buster Call would make it so she was still trying to sacrifice herself what with me being alive. It was more than likely we would end up chasing the assassins back to Enies Lobby. Still I wanted to try and prevent that from happening. But before anyone could get around to that there was an important thing to do first, breakfast.

Breakfast with the Straw Hats was a wild, and boisterous affair, full of the crew eating as fast as they could while fending off Luffy's attempts to steal from them. When offered food I politely declined not looking forward to a repeat of my first attempt at eating. Luffy snatched the plate out of Sanji's hands seconds after I had turned down the food, earning himself a boot to the head courtesy of Sanji.

Once everyone had eaten their fill and gotten over their shock upon seeing the newspaper, which really shouldn't have been that surprising since I had mentioned part of what was going to happen. The paper had been making its way around the table while everyone ate.

"Tii'chia are you sure Robin isn't doing this of her own will?" Nami asked as she slapped the paper down onto the table.

"Completely sure, she's doing this to allow you all to continue your journey by sacrificing her life."

"We won't give up on Robin, we'll get her back no matter who we have to fight!" Luffy roared out as he shot to his feet, nearly knocking the table over in the process.

Things calmed down a bit after that and lacking any way to prove their innocence the Straw Hats agreed with the plan of laying low for the day. There wasn't a good reason to get everyone stirred up before we could get anything done.

We left the safe house a bit later to make our way back to the Franky House for more training. On the way there were a few close calls with some of the citizens of water 7 almost recognizing the crew. I was exceedingly grateful that only a few of the crew actually had bounty posters at this point. The lack of pictures meant that only really Zoro and Luffy would be the ones getting noticed. Once we arrived at the house everyone split up to practice, I was just about to sit down to watch when Zoro grabbed my attention with his words.

"Tii'chia, spar with me. I think I'm just about to perfect a new move."

"Sure Zoro, it will be good practice for me as well."

While that's what I said out loud inwardly I was groaning. There was really only one move that Zoro could be working on at this point. I really wasn't looking forward to getting hit by Ashura for the next however long. Sure it would be good training for me and I was confident that I could take the blows but it would still hurt.

Practice by unspoken agreement lasted until noon and I think we started sometime about 8. Four hours that I had ended up sparring nonstop against Zoro. He had Ashura mastered after the first 2 hours, I think the rest was just to see how long I could last.

I did end up improving during the spar. My moves becoming more confident and fluid. Instead of holding back on my strength I also worked to find out the limits of the force I could put into a blow. I had been worried at the start that the memories I had gained from yesterday would end up setting my training back but that didn't seem to be the case. Most of the learning though came from the school of hard knocks, getting smacked by the same move over and over until I could both block and counter it.

When the spar finally ended I had a couple of ideas for new moves to try. While me and Zoro were cooling down from the spar and catching our breathes I explained the ideas behind them to him. Zoro gave me a few pointers on ways I could improve them or why something wasn't going to work the way that I thought it would.

An extended lunch was had with the rest of the Franky Family that had come to watch everyone practice. It was even louder and noisier then breakfast had been with the addition of more people. I spent most of lunch in a daze with my head resting on a table, half watching the antics and the other half basically asleep. It seemed that even with the ioun stone that removed my need to actually sleep that doing to much all at once could still force me to nod off. At some point I think Luffy bounded over and asked me some questions but for the life of me I couldn't recall what I had said to him.

After lunch everyone split up to do things except for me and Zoro who had slumped against the wall to sleep. Before I knew it the sun had begun to set and I realized I had spent hours staring off into space just woolgathering. That was probably something that I should try to do less of in the future. My back popped as I straightened up and swept my gaze around the room.

Most people seemed to have left though Zoro was still slumped against the wall, a large bubble swelling and shrinking as he snored. Chopper, Nami, and Luffy were sitting around a table not far away from where I was. They didn't seem to be up to anything but trying to relax.

"Where's Usopp, Franky, and Sanji?" I asked as I walked over to them. I had seen the three of them earlier but they appeared to have gone somewhere in the meantime. Nami was the one that ended up answering me, looking up from a map she had been working on as she did so.

"Usopp and Franky got some kind of crazy idea and went back to Merry for tools. Sanji said that he wanted to check on our food supply and figure out what more he needed to purchase."

I wondered what Usopp and Franky of them were up to and if I should be worried. It was probably safe right? That mental justification in mind I turned to Luffy who had his finger up his nose.

"Luffy what did you ask me earlier when I was slumped out on the table?"

"Huh? I didn't ask you anything."

He glanced over at Nami.

"I haven't seen anyone trying to talk to you when you were at the table." She responded not even bothering to look up from her map this time. A glance at Chopper was met by a shake of the head. He hadn't seen anything either.

Okay... now I was really confused. Who had been talking to me? Maybe I'd imagine the whole thing but it didn't seem likely. This thought occupied my mind as me, Luffy, Nami, Zoro, and Chopper all headed up towards the Galley-La company headquarters a couple of minutes later. The few people that we did see either hurried away to avoid us or gave only a curious glance as they prepared for the coming Aqua Laguna. I couldn't shake the feeling that was starting to develop that someone was watching us.

Maybe it was the way the shadows moved at the corners of my vision or maybe it was just the tension of the coming conflict that had me on edge. Someways away from the Galley-La Headquarters I split from the rest of the Straw Hats. I hoped that I could offer my services in defending Iceberg in order to get inside without having to sneak or fight my way through.

"Hey you, halt! Galley-La headquarters are closed, strangers like you aren't welcome here at the moment. Back away slowly or we will resort to force."

This was of course assuming that the people guarding it weren't on edge already. Judging by the 15 or so people armed keeping an eye on me I felt it best to start backing away slowly. I had only taken a couple of steps back when two things happened almost at once. The first was an explosion and a fireball expanding into the air from the other side of the headquarters. The second was the clatter of something behind me. I had already started to turn when whoever it was behind me shouted.

"Rock Spine Impact!"

As I completed the turn my arms shot out and grabbed the arms of Gargoyle just before he would have stabbed me with the spines on his arms. Instead I had halted their movement just before they would have pierced me. How in the hell he had tracked me here didn't matter as I doubted that Jack and Prima were far behind. Digging my claws into his arms I leaned backwards and twisted his arms out to the sides.

Resting much of my weight on my tail and right leg for support, I snapped my left up to kick him in the chest. My grip on his arms going slack just before the impact of my foot launched him several feet into the air and away from me. I kept one eye on his flight as I pulled my shield up and readied it. At the same time I drew Kintsugi from its sheathe.

Gargoyle flipped over in the air and landed on his feet with the crack of breaking stone beneath him. He started to charge back towards me but was blocked from my vision as Jack appeared into right in front of me, his cleaver swinging towards my head.

"Stored Impact Cleaver!"

There was a thunderous bang and the tinkle of metal shards hitting the ground as I thrust my shield forward, blocking the blow at the last moment. The blade of Jack's cleaver had partially shattered upon impact with my shield but Jack didn't seem the least bit upset. In fact he was smirking of all things. It was at that moment that I saw Gargoyle leap up over Jack's back, right arm poised with spikes extended to punch me in the face.

I jerked my head to the side just in time, the spines scratching along my cheek instead of impaling me between the eyes. Before Gargoyle was able to pull away or deliver another blow I slashed upwards with Kintsugi, golden blade biting deep Gargoyle's leg as he leapt back.

"Stored Strength Punch!"

Jack shouted, dropping his cleaver and delivering an uppercut straight to my jaw. Teeth clacked together and the coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. I had bitten part of my tongue.

"Critical Waltz: Exhausting!"

Spinning Kintsugi around I brought it in a downward stab at Jack forcing him to dodge away as the glowing black blade passed through where he had just stood. Straightening up I spat out a mouthful of blood as I stared at the pair.

Gargoyle was favoring his non-injured leg and Jack had retreated over to his side. I hadn't seen any sign of Prima yet but she was likely somewhere nearby. The workmen from Galley-La where keeping well clear of the fight. At least the ones still watching and not having gone to see what the explosion had been about.

Spotting movement at the corner of my vision I stomped down onto the abandoned cleaver seconds before a doll dressed in a red vest and yellow hat flew by to try and grab it. The sudden addition of weight on what was left of the blade preventing the doll from dragging it away. In response the doll flew up, kicked me in the shin, before finally sticking it's tongue out at me.

"Meanie!" It shouted as I slapped it away with my shield. The doll spinning end over end as it was knocked away.

Well the question of who had been talking to me had been answered. Along with why I had felt like someone was watching me. Clearly I needed to be careful of Prima and her ability to gather information from now on. Right now though I needed to get them off my back so I could regroup with the crew. The second attack on Iceberg had already started and here I was getting delayed by old enemies.

"Look you tried your sneak attack and it failed. I've got better things to do then deal with you right now. So why don't you just shove off!"

Delivering my best scowl and glare I could only hope that the pair of them would take the hint. Luck was not on my side at the moment though as while they both hesitated they rallied right after. Jack dashed forward, arm pulled back to deliver a punch which I caught on my shield. The second blow, coming from the other side ended up getting slapped aside with the flat of Kintsugi's blade.

I twisted so that my tail could snap out across Jack's chest before he could pull away. He stumbled back right into the path of Gargoyle as he attempted another charge. Gargoyle had to instead grab his captain so that he neither of them was knocked over. In one smooth movement I stepped forward, right arm pulled back, and rammed the tip of Kintsugi completely through Jack's shoulder and partially into Gargoyle's chest as well. I half heard, half felt something in Jack's shoulder break.

As I was pulling my blade there was a powerful explosion from behind me. The force of the explosion nearly pitching me forward before I could catch myself. I twisted around to look over my shoulder to find the Galley-La Headquarters collapsed and engulfed in flames.

Abandoning the fight against the two pirates I ran past the stunned workers and dived headfirst through the ruin of the doors and into the flames. The air was already hot, and thick with smoke forcing me to squint in order to see anything. Oh how glad I suddenly was that I didn't need to breath. A chunk of burning timber fell from the floor above to block my way forward. Growling I shoved it out of the way, ignoring the pain that it caused.

Whenever I came across someone trapped by debris or buried underneath rumble I freed them as quickly as I could. I can't imagine what the people that saw me were thinking whenever I became visible, forcing my way through fire and wood in the process before freeing them.

I forced my way in and out of the building three times while workers formed a bucket line to douse the flames or attended to those that were injured. Upon exiting the building for the third time, carrying a total of four people, two under each arm that someones shout caught my attention.

"Tii'chia, over here!"

Looking over in the direction that the voice was coming from I saw Nami, and Chopper running towards me. Neither of them looked seriously injured and I had time to place the people that I was carrying down before they reached me.

"You were right about everything, once they realized that Iceberg didn't have the plans they attacked. Luffy and Zoro got sent flying while trying to stop them. I need you and Chopper to try and find them while I try and stop the sea train from departing."

Nami had already ran off, followed by Paulie and several of the Galley-La workers before I could even suggest another plan of action or even make an objection. Looking down at Chopper I found him already shifted into his running form with a grim expression on his face.

"Chopper I'll take to the air to see if I can find them. You and the rest of the workers take the streets. The pair of them should be close to each other and stuck between some buildings."

"Right."

Chopper took off trailed by more workers as I leapt into the air. The area where I had fought Jack and Gargoyle was now empty, the two of them having wisely vanished while I was distracted. Instantly on rising higher then the tops of the nearby buildings I was buffeted by fierce winds that tried to force me from the sky and slam me down against rooftops.

Each beat of my wings took twice the effort it normally would and as I was flying directly into the wind flew it was only growing harder. Movement from one of the alleys drew my attention and I banked my wings as I flew in for a closer look. Upon doing so I could see that it was a member of the Franky Family waving at me from the shelter provided by the alley from the wind.

As I continued to bank a powerful stray gust caught me at the last moment and turned what would have been a decent landing into an almost fatal impact with the ground and nearby edge of the building. Who would have ever though that flying around during a storm wasn't a good idea.

"Big Bro Tii'chia, the guys that were left at the sea train just saw those assassin guys boarding the train and they had Big Bro Franky and Usopp with them. Sanji snuck onto the train just before it departed."

The member said, needing to shout to be heard above the steadily louder wind. I blinked stupidly in response as my brain worked it's way through that statement. How the hell had they found the pair in the first place? In canon it was because they spotted Franky Family members shouting about grabbing Usopp and the Going Merry but that couldn't be the case this time. Well it wasn't like anything else was going according to plan tonight, this was just the icing on the cake.

I leaned down so that hopefully I wouldn't need to yell as loud to be understood.

"Get everyone of the Family that you can to head to the train station. Tell them to bring Sodom and Gomorrah with them. Once I catch up with the Straw Hats we'll meet you there!"

He seemed to get the message as he flashed me a thumbs up and a nod before darting back up the street. I leapt into the air once more, struggling against the increasingly bad weather. As I cleared the buildings once more I found myself facing a massive wall of water that stretched all the way across the horizon. It also appeared to be rapidly approaching where my friends were struggling to get to higher ground.

Flapping my wings as hard as I could, I slowly began to make headway against the wind. The group leapt to higher ground just as the first wave of Aqua Laguna crashed into the building that they had just vacated. I swooped down to grab the four of them seconds before the wave swept over the spot that they currently occupied.

I could feel the angry fingers of the ocean trying to drag me down into it's dark embrace. Each beat of my wings a struggle as I fought to gain the altitude I needed to avoid the water. Finally with one last surge of strength I pull above the waves, cold rain pouring down to soak me to my bones as I turned in the direction of the train station.

"Shihihihihi! Higher Tii'chia, higher!"

"Not the time!" The other three of the crew roared, followed by the sound of Nami punching Luffy in the head. I dropped the group gently the last couple of feet onto the stones of the train station before finding a place to land that wouldn't get people clipped by my wings.

A quick glance around showed that the station was bustling with members of the Franky Family. Mixed in amongst those members I could see confused workers from Galley-La that had been swept up in the rush to prepare. I spotted Paulie arriving just as Luffy shouted from behind me.

"We'll take a ship to save Robin then!"

I turned to look over my shoulder at Luffy and the rest of the crew and was about to point out why that wouldn't work when Paulie interrupted.

"Won't work Straw Hat, no ship could get past an average Aqua Laguna let alone one of this power."

"There's only one thing that could get past this Aqua Laguna and that's a sea train. Lucky for you Straw Hat's I know of a solution. Follow me."

A horse feminine voice shouted above the tumult of everyone that was moving about. All of our heads turned towards the voice to find Kokoro and Chimney walking into the train station. They didn't remain there for long but instead turned and headed right back out of the station. Kokoro waving the hand that wasn't clutching a bottle for us to follow her.

Like a pack of ducklings following their mother we followed along. She led us down a series of twists and turns and eventually into an old cellar. Resting in its berth was the prototype sea train, Rocketman. It was a sight to behold, like a metal beast that was rising from its slumber.

The whole train shuddered before a blast of smoke began to pour steadily from the smokestack. Iceberg stepped out of the trains front cabin. He didn't seem to be at all surprised at seeing us there, he was still bandaged up from the earlier assault on his life but it didn't look like he that bothered by it.

"It seems we had similar ideas Old Lady, the only way your catching up with Robin at this point is with Rocketman. I'm just performing the finishing steps to get her ready for you."

"Luffy, Zoro, I've got food and sake for you." Nami shouted as she came in behind me, dragging a bag of food along with the help of several Galley-La workers. I scooted out of the way as Luffy rocketed past me to latch onto the bag. I was just starting to wonder what I should do when I noticed that Chopper was approaching me.

"Tii'chia sit down, you're injured and I went to get those wounds treated."

I had been so caught up with everything else that I'd forgotten about the burns, or well my injuries in general. Rather than complain about it I followed his instructions and sat down. As Luffy and Zoro ate and drank to recover, Chopper was flexing his chops as a doctor and covering my wounds.

He started by applying some kind of cool gel across the length of my back, working it down beneath my scales. Once that was accomplished he wrapped white sterile bandages over them. Chopper treated the slice across my cheek, muttering about poisons as he did so. Bandages were also applied to that wound as well.

"There you go. I'm surprised that you actually sat through all of that, usually the crew has to be at death's door to allow me to treat them."

"Thank you Chopper. I'm sure that soon enough I'll be just as bad as the rest of the crew."

I responded right as Rocketman let out another blast of smoke and steam. The sound of Chopper facepalming almost drowned out. Rocketman pulled out of its berth slowly as Iceberg and Kokoro continued to work the controls. It was finally time to depart and save Robin, Franky, and Usopp.

Returning to the train station found everyone was in a scramble to finish up last minute preparations. I was pulled aside by several members of the Franky Family in order to help attach the cart to the train though before I could get a better look around. The cart was heavy but with all the help it didn't take long to get it attached, Sodom and Gomorrah leaning down to sniff experimentally at me as we finished up.

When they growled I quickly stepped away from them. Guess I didn't smell right to them or something. Deciding that I didn't want to become a quick snack for the pair I hurried off to where the rest of the crew where gathering in the train. Luffy bouncing up and down in excitement and the only reason he wasn't already on the train was because Nami had a firm grip on the back of his shirt.

We all had just stepped inside when the Rocketman jerked and let out a whistle of steam. The whole room shook and then began to sway slightly as true to its namesake the train rocketed off down the tracks. Sitting down I looked out the window as storm tossed waves and sprays of sea foam whipped by the train in a blur.

The sheer speed was exhilarating, and a small primitive part of my brain wanted to stick my head out the window with my tongue hanging out. It was a silly idea but I couldn't shake the thought of it until I dragged myself away from the window. Nami and Chopper were engaged in their own conversations with members of the Franky family. Luffy had vanished but from the shouts was probably sitting on the front of the train, and since I didn't see Zoro either probably under his watchful eye.

Since nothing that required my help was happening I took the opportunity to write. Back in Water 7 after I had met with Franky I'd gone out to get a journal to write down what I knew. This way I had the info in a convenient place to refer to if I started to forget things. I'd never be able to remember everything but writing things down was helping on recalling things.

On a whim I had tried to see if I could actually write in one of the languages that Tii'chia as a character had known. It had worked and I ended up writing down my notes in the flowing script of dragonic. It was surprisingly trippy to do so as when I had been in my own body I'd never learned a second language so just having the knowledge there felt weird. Writing with it doubly so.

I had added only a few lines before remembering something important and pushed myself to my feet. Looking around I still didn't see Zoro so I started off towards the front of the train. Pushing open the door wind whipped at my face as I stepped out from the comfort of the carriage and I was forced to squint in order to see anything.

I was just in time to see Zoro and Luffy blasting a tunnel through the gigantic wave of Aqua Laguna that was looming in front of us. It really was an impressive feat of power and the crew was only going to be getting stronger from this point. If this had happened after the time-skip they probably could have torn the entire wave apart. I was pulled from my musings when both of them dropped back down near me and I remembered what I came outside for in the first place.

"Zoro if everything ends up going as it would have normally done then we'll end up fighting several Marines of at least captain level. One of them has eaten the Rust-Rust fruit, he typically wears a bandanna across the lower half of his face and is known as Shu. He's sneaky as well and takes a disturbing amount of pleasure in destroying swords."

Zoro's face darkened and his hands tightened around the hilts of his katanas. It took a bit before he responded and when he did his voice was cold.

"Thanks for the warning, I'll keep an eye out for him."

Shivering I quickly headed back into the cabin with everyone else and went back to my journal. Sometime later there was a shout from the front of the train that sounded like Lady Kokoro. Heading back out into the storm I was just in time to see Luffy rocketing off the top of the train to a pair of train cars that we were rapidly approaching. Luffy had spent much of the trip so far perched on the front of the train.

While I waited for him to return Zoro came out of the carriage to wait besides me. Eyes narrowed against the weather in order to see. We didn't have to wait very long until Luffy rocketed back onto the front of Rocketman. As we looked up at him he shook his head before speaking.

"Just Marines on the cars, sounded like Sanji detached them in order to avoid fighting them."

"Tii'chia let's see how well you do at getting those carts off the track. It'll be a good test of your new move."

The fact that the grin that he was giving me was almost demonic didn't help. But I answered it with one of my own. Sure I didn't know that I could do it but if I didn't try I'd never find out. So I pulled myself up on top of the train and drew Kintsugi.

The carts were rapidly approaching and the wind whipped at my face. I shifted my position, right leg in front, right arm holding Kintsugi parallel along my left side. I took a deep breath and focused, listening to the faint hum as the wind played across the blade.

"One sword style: Dragon's Breath!"

I snapped my eyes open as I swept the blade from left to right, wind howling in protest. A crescent of white air flashed out across the distance between us the the carts. It barreled into them cutting through metal and wood before the shock wave hit. The carts lifted off the tracks, separating into two pieces as they flew and landed with a splash into the water. Shocked and bulging eyed agents zoomed past in the blink of an eye.

"Not bad, next time try to do it faster. The cut should be smoother that way" Zoro said from behind me as the pieces of the cart vanished out of sight behind us.

"Yes sensei."

I could feel Zoro smirking behind me and rather then turn to face him I continued to peer out along the tracks. T-bone should be coming into sight soon so I didn't see a reason to move just yet. I heard Zoro shift behind me and drop down followed by the sound of Luffy jumping up.

A glance back over my shoulder showed that Luffy was grinning at me widely, even as the wind tugged at his jacket, eyes glittering with excitement.

"Shihihihi, this trains speed is amazing. Hey, hey Tii'chia do you think our new ship can be this fast?"

I mmm'd thoughtfully for a moment before responding.

"Maybe in short bursts."

Luffy seemed to be satisfied with answer and was nodding along before his eyes sprang open and he pointed.

"Sashimi!" He shouted, mouth open and a waterfall of drool leaking from his mouth he also had pulled a bottle of teriyaki sauce and a fork from somewhere. On either side of us rose the massive carcass of a sea king, split perfectly down the middle.

I peered out into the storm watching for the Marine, senses straining to their limit. He spotted me standing on top of the Rocketman at the same time as I spotted him. Almost skull like face and dressed in old fashioned armor with a captains jacket pulled over it. Massive two-handed sword hanging across his back.

Slowly I shifted my stance so that my shield was positioned out in front of me. T-bone reached back and drew his sword. The intent was clear that he would stop us even if he had to cut through the train in order to do so. While I couldn't hear what he was saying over the howling wind it was obvious by the way his mouth moved that he was speaking.

T-bone shifted his grip upon his sword so that both hands were clasping the hilt before he ran forward. Sword held up over his left shoulder and slightly behind his head.

"Right-Angle Flying Bird..."

This time I could hear his words as I leapt from the front of Rocketman. Thrusting my shield out in front of me like a ram, I drew back the arm clutching the hilt of Kintsugi. An aura of black and green energy flickering to life around it.

"Danse Macabre..."

T-bone continued to run forward at the train, heedless of his own safety.

"Bone Phoenix!"

He stopped and with a mighty sweep of his sword launched blue white bird of energy directly towards me and the train. It slammed into the shield with the sound of a crashing gong before the energy broke apart. It wasn't enough to stop my momentum forward however.

"Reaper Rhapsody!"

Kintsugi thrust forward, the blade glowing with a swirling mass of black and green energy that trailed back up along my arm and shoulder. I blasted past T-bone, shattered blade dropping from his nerveless fingers, an eerie strain of music echoing in our ears.

I thought I saw bits of ice clinging to the disturbed waves but with a blink they were gone leaving me wondering if I had even seen them in the first place. Two jumps carried me back onto the top of Rocketman, T-bone already lost out of sight.

I head back to the cabin to the surprised looks of the Franky Family and the shipwrights inside. Luffy was laughing and chewing on a piece of meat he had pulled from somewhere. Zoro meanwhile just nodded at me.

I settled down by Zoro without a word as Luffy having finished his meat went running back to the front of the ship. I turned so that I was looking out the window and watched the rain fall.

I looked away from the window when the sound of snoring echoed from my side. A glance over showed that Zoro had his arms behind his head and was fast asleep. Shifting positions I leaned back to rest my own arms behind my head and closed my eyes.

Something slammed into the train and it began to rock wildly for several moments before settling back down. I had just pushed myself to my feet and was heading towards the door leading to the front of the train as it was thrown open by Luffy. Who held a bleeding Usopp and a similarly injured Sanji under his arms.

"Everyone, Sanji says they almost got Robin back but these weird dolls attacked and grabbed her at the last minute."

As Chopper and the rest of the crew rushed over to Luffy I cursed inwardly. Dammit I had wondered where Prima had been earlier and now I found out that she was working with CP9. I couldn't figure out the why of it but I had a good idea of the how.

After she had her doll question me she must have had other ones following the crew then given that information to Lucci somehow. That explained the weird feeling of being watched from earlier at least. I really really needed to keep an eye out for dolls spying on us in the future.

Chopper had Usopp, and Sanji laying on the floor as he worked to quickly bandage the pair of them up. There wasn't much I could do to help and a glance out the window showed that rays of sunlight were starting to break through the clouds. Soon we would arrive at Enies Lobby and the battle to save Robin would draw to a close one way or another. I just hoped I was ready.