"Looks like the princess got away."
Still in Crocodile's hook, Kia was tossed over to Ms. All Sunday, who was still giggling. Kia glanced up at her, as hands bloomed cuffing her arms behind her, but the older woman didn't spare her a glance. She was so intrigued with Luffy, which was understandable, since Luffy didn't act like what most considered a normal pirate.
Luffy stood up, brushing the sand from his clothes. He glanced over at Kia, and she smiled, letting him know she was fine.
"It seems so," Crocodile grumbled, answering Ms. All Sunday's comment. "But we have one of her friends, and knowing the princess' weakness, she'll come to save her."
"That's not her weakness," Luffy said, still looking down and brushing sand away from his clothes. "it's her strength. She will always help others, and she'll never stop fighting. But, as long as you stay here, she'll kill herself trying to stop you from harming anyone."
Luffy looked straight at Crocodile and cracked his knuckles. "So I'm gonna finish you here."
"Ha ha ha!" Crocodile's scorning laugh boomed out around them. "How very noble of you to give your life for some stranger you befriended. I'll desert you like the dozens of other fools before you!"
"That makes you the fool!" Luffy shouted back with a smirk.
Ms. All Sunday broke out in a laugh, but tried to keep it quiet. Crocodile heard however, and turned his angry face towards the woman.
"And what are you laughing at?! Are you wanting to die too, Nico Robin?!"
Robin's smile faded, but she merely eyed Crocodile, calling his bluff. "If you'd like. However, you promised not to call me by that name." Robin grabbed Kia's arm, and turning her, started shepherding her back towards Rainbase.
"Where are you going?" Crocodile demanded.
"On to Alubarna," she replied without looking back. Kia could hear Crocodile grumbling, though she couldn't make out the words.
"Uh," she started, then coughed to clear her throat, "Ms. All Sunday?"
"Yes?" she answered, from behind her.
"I'd like to go to Alubarna as well, to meet up with my friends. So, if you'd prefer, you don't need to prod me along. I'll go willingly."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"To be honest? I don't know how to get there, and I want to help stop the war. It's so pointless."
"Ha ha," she chuckled. "Maybe from your point of view, but it will serve its purpose."
Kia hesitated, unsure of how much to push. "Can I ask you something?"
"Certainly, though that doesn't guarantee an answer."
Kia stopped, as she was going to ask why Robin didn't want to use her name, but after she thought it, she realized it was a dumb question. So instead she blurted out, "My name's Kiana. What's yours? I mean, what should I call you?"
There was only silence, and Kia shrugged, and the pair walked on for some time. As they came back to Rainbase, they went around to the side of a building. Kia's arms were suddenly freed, and she turned as she stretched them out, looking at Robin in question, but she was looking at the sky, where they had come from.
"It seems your captain has a knack for frustrating Crocodile."
Kia chuckled, "That's putting it mildly, and he's not the only one."
Robin smiled, and started walking again. "It will be faster with an Accelegator," she said. Kia followed, and rounded the building to find a large gator, only slightly smaller than the others she had seen, but much leaner. His snout was longer, and the banana was atop the end of his snout, instead on top of his head. There was some type of saddle, with lush seats, and a covering over the top.
"Wow," Kia said quietly. The gator was eyeballing her as they walked forward. "He's impressive," she added. The gator continued to growl, but appeared to puff up some, as if he understood her, and was proud of it.
"The accelegator is the second fastest animal in Alabasta," Robin told Kia as she climbed into the front seat, and gestured beside her for Kia to climb in. "It will give us time to see the outcome of our captains' duel."
"Okay," Kia answered, and as soon as she had sat, the gator took off. In less than a quarter of the time it had taken them to walk, they were back at the spot where they had left Luffy and Crocodile. Kia couldn't see much, but she noticed Luffy's head above the sand, down in a large crater left by Crocodile's sink hole.
"It seems Crocodile won," Kia stated with a frown.
"And yet," Robin answered, as she climbed out of the seat. "He is still fighting… why?" She walked forward, probably to ask that question to Luffy. Kia stayed where she was, watching.
Robin strode forward, and using her powers, pulled Luffy out of the sand. They spoke quietly to each other, and Kia could hear Luffy panting and coughing every so often. One of Robin's hands popped up from the sand next to Luffy's hat, and threw it to her. She caught it, and tossed it down on top of Luffy's stomach.
"Finally, I found you!"
Behind Robin, Pell the falcon- warrior of Alabasta, dropped down and changed back to his human form, but then fell to his knee. Kia could see Robin smirk, as she suggested that he help Luffy, since he was the one who had been protecting his princess, it was the least he could do. She came back to Kia then, and hopped back onto her seat.
"Did you want to stay with your captain?" she asked.
"I'll go on with you, if that's all right," Kia replied. If Robin was surprised, she didn't show it, merely set the gator back in motion, and they raced off to Alubarna.
"Thank you, for helping him," Kia said finally.
"I was merely sating my curiosity," she responded.
"True, but it was still a help to me, and I appreciate it."
"I must admit, I find your captain… and his crew… as something of a puzzle," she said.
"Well, I am the newest member, but if I can help, I'll be glad to answer any questions. Well," she clarified, "almost any. We are on opposing sides at the moment, are we not?"
"That is true," Robin answered with a smirk. "However I find it more rewarding to discover the answer to a puzzle on my own, but… thank you."
The ride had taken quite a while, and Kia used the quiet to go through what she could remember about what her friends were doing. If all went according to what she knew, they had their own difficulties in traveling to Alubarna, and then used a decoy plan to give Vivi a chance to stop the rebel army. That would be thwarted by a Baroque Works agent blasting a cannonball into the oncoming rebel army, obscuring their vision, and keeping Vivi from being seen.
Then everyone else would be fighting the number agents, and their female partners. They would win, but get pretty banged up in the process, and eventually gather in the square outside the palace, where Vivi would join them.
Going with Robin to the palace sounded like a good idea at the time, but since Vivi would be thrown off the building by Crocodile, and pretty much everyone else up there died… perhaps it wasn't such a good idea after all.
That's when a crazy idea struck her, and she wondered if she would be able to pull it off.
Kia kept going over her memories, trying to piece together some sort of time line, trying to guess at what would happen if she used her knowledge to make a difference. Would it really change things that much if she told Robin about the poneglyph? Or Pell where the cannon is hidden? Or even something as small as warning Luffy about Crocodile's poisoned hook?
That's when Robin's words from earlier came back to her.
"Ms. All Sunday? Earlier, you said that you liked to figure out puzzles for yourself."
"Hmm? Yes, I do."
"Would there be harm in telling someone something? In not letting them find out for themselves?"
"I take it you don't mean my questions about your captain," she replied. "And I admit, I am curious about what knowledge you may be wanting to share that has you asking this," she mused before answering Kia.
"However there is no one answer to your question, as there are many factors that would weigh in. But in a general sense, no, not harm per se, but by giving the answer, you are taking away the opportunity for the other person to gain the knowledge for themselves- which won't mean as much, won't stretch the person's mind. There would be no growth, and instead of relying on themselves in the future, you've made the person reliant on you for answers. Or the person could simply not believe what you are telling them, needing to find it out for themselves. Again, this is just a general answer. In my own case, I enjoy the pursuit of knowledge, and hate to have the answers given to me."
"Thank you, that helps."
"My pleasure." She was quiet for several moments. "Were you to give me more specifics, I would try to assist you further?" she ventured.
Kia gave a small smile, though Robin couldn't see it. "Were we on the same side of this conflict, I would probably take you up on that," Kia answered.
"I see," Robin replied, and they went back to silence.
Shortly thereafter, they arrived at a cave just outside the city, and picked up another passenger, and Kia was shocked to see it was the king. She had assumed the other agents would bring him to the palace. He didn't say anything, but looked to be in pretty bad shape. Robin said nothing as she practically hauled him onto the gator, and they started making their way towards the north end of the city, away from the fighting.
It was faint, but they could hear the roars of the people, and the weapons as the armies clashed, the battle just beginning. They came to a stop outside the North city gates, and Kia exited the gator after Robin, helping her to get the king out, without aggravating his wounds.
"Let's go," Robin said, and headed off towards the palace, pushing the king ahead of her, and Kia followed, keeping pace.
"Do I need to be restrained?" Kia asked hesitantly.
"Ah, that's true, I suppose I forgot."
Kia folded her arms behind her back again, and felt hands joining together across her arms, keeping them in place. It was a very strange feeling, knowing there were hands coming out of her back, and she couldn't help but giggle.
Robin glanced at her in question, and she shrugged. "I've wondered sometimes what it would be like to have an extra hand, but this wasn't what I was picturing."
Robin smiled slightly, and then tugged Kia over so that she was next to the king, and continued to shepherd them to the palace.
They climbed a bunch of stairs, so many that Kia was completely out of breath, and grumbled to herself about working out more. The king kept giving her furtive glances, and she realized he must be wondering who she was, and why she was there, but she didn't say anything to him.
The large doors to the palace courtyard were opened by what looked like palace guards, but Kia looked for the tattoos, and found them on their arms. Baroque Works insignia, plain as day. It made her wonder what the other guards thought the tattoos were when they saw them, or if these agents had kept them covered until now.
It was quite noisy now, as they walked past a huge, open door. Kia looked down, seeing the backs of the royal army, stationed to be the last line of defense for the palace.
"Shut these doors," Robin ordered, and the fake guards were quick to obey. They waited there, in silence, listening for… something. Robin must have known what it was, because after a time, she brought her hands up, crossed in front of her chest and smirked. "Dieciseis fleurs" she said, closing her eyes, and smiling. The king and Kia watched her, but didn't see anything besides her. However, they could hear shouting from the other side of the door.
"What are you doing to them?!" the King demanded, the first time he spoke.
"Ensuring our privacy," Robin responded. "Let's go."
They walked towards the courtyard, hearing the screaming all around them, though it was faint from how high up they were. Ahead of them, Kia could see Vivi and Chaka looking up, and above, she could hear Crocodile gloating about his new palace.
Robin pushed the king up against the wall, just as a cloud of sand descended upon them. Kia closed her eyes, and heard a groan of pain. Feeling the sand leave, she opened her eyes again, to see the king impaled with large spikes through his arms holding him to the wall. Robin stood next to Kia, and Crocodile was on the other side of the king. Kia could see his grin as he took in the state of the king.
"There seems to be quite a commotion going on outside the gate," Robin said loudly, gaining Vivi and Chaka's attention, which then fell on the king.
"Father!"
"Your Majesty!"
The king looked up, blood dried and caked to his face. "Vivi… I'm sorry. You've risked your life to save this kingdom, and I have ruined it!"
"Father…" Vivi panted, her face twisting in anger as she glared at Crocodile. "How did he get here? Where are Luffy and Kia?" she demanded.
"Straw Hat? He's dead," Crocodile stated, as he blew out smoke from his cigar. "As for your other friend…" he gestured over to Kia with a look.
"Kia!" Vivi started forward, only to be stopped by Chaka. "Are you okay? Where's Luffy?"
"I'm okay!" Kia answered. "Luffy and I got separated, but I'm sure he's on his way here!"
Crocodile scoffed at her. "What is it about your crew that gives you such optimism? I told you, he's dead, and soon princess, you and the king will join him. When a kingdom dies, the royal family dies with it." He glanced back at the king, walking over to stand in front of him. "However Cobra, before you die, I need to know. Where is the Pluton?"
The king gasped, but Vivi and Chaka only looked confused.
"How… ?" King Cobra asked, but steeled himself and demanded, "Where did you hear of such a thing?"
"It has been my goal from the very beginning!"
Kia tuned out Crocodile's monologue, focusing instead on trying to get Vivi's attention, mouthing her name over and over, and shaking her head. She even bounced up and down a couple of times, until Robin glanced over at her with a frown, so she stopped.
"HOW COULD YOU?! WHAT HAVE THEY EVER DONE TO YOU?" Vivi shouted, startling Kia.
"They are nothing to me," Crocodile answered, turning back to the king. "So King Cobra, where then is the Poneglyph?"
"The ponegylph?" Vivi asked. "Why would you need that record?"
"If I … tell you… no. I'll show you… where it is," Cobra answered. He looked much weaker than he had moments before. He had probably lost a lot of blood by now.
"Ha ha! The mighty king! That's a wise decision, your majesty," Crocodile mocked him, causing Chaka to finally have had enough.
Kia noticed Robin wince beside her, drawing Kia's attention to Robin's hand, as she looked at it. There was a small cut, with blood dripping down. It seemed peculiar, until Kia remembered the hands she had placed on the door to the courtyard, keeping the royal army away.
"Do not touch him!" A shout rang out, as four large men came walking up the stairs. "We are charged with protecting the king, and if you go to harm him, you will deal with us."
"I'm not in the mood, so I'll be merciful this once. Go home, and live." Crocodile said in a bored tone.
"That is not possible, now."
"No! Those marks!" Chaka exclaimed, and Vivi looked at him.
"Chaka? What is it?" she asked.
"In order to gain strength beyond their own, they drank a lethal elixir… they cannot be saved!" Chaka exclaimed, "you fools!" he muttered to himself as he hung his head in his hands.
"Please forgive us, Lord Chaka, but this man…. this man must feel Alabasta's wrath!"
They all watched on, as the four dying men did their best against Crocodile. He simply took their blows, dissipating into sand and reforming each time. He didn't fight back, he just watched in amusement, as they fought on, until they each dropped, the elixir claiming them.
"No respect for life," Crocodile said sarcastically, which had Chaka in a fury. He threw aside his cape, transforming into his devil fruit form, and running straight for Crocodile. "This is the height of stupidity!" Crocodile yelled, then turned to notice Chaka coming for him. "Ah! Will you die for your king as well?"
The fight was mercifully short, and thankfully Crocodile didn't kill Chaka. Vivi looked on the verge of tears, and Kia started inching away from Robin. Soon… she would be needing to make her escape soon.
"Vivi!"
Everyone turned, to find the leader of the rebel army in the courtyard.
"Koza!" Vivi yelled back, seeming happy to see him.
"... the secret passage…" Kia could make out from the king.
"I don't understand…" Koza said. "I came to plead with the royal army, to stop this war. And instead I find the king being killed by our nations' hero… What am I seeing?"
"Confused?" Robin asked cheerfully. "It's quite simple. Just imagine the worst possible scenario."
"Who stole the rain from this kingdom?" Koza demanded.
Up until this point, Kia had been trying to avoid attention, but she needed to get to the stairs behind Chaka, which meant being in sight of all the players in this strange play. She no longer paid any attention to what was being said, knowing that it's wasn't essential to hear.
She stuck close to the wall, and moved slowly, stopping and pausing when it looked like someone may look her way. Everyone was so involved with each other, that Kia was going unnoticed. Until, she saw Robin glance back at her. Their eyes met, and after a moment, Kia raised a brow in question. If Robin was going to do something, Kia would prefer she do it sooner than later.
She gave Kia a smirk, and pointedly turned her back. Kia gave a smirk of her own, and continued to the top of the stairs. She crept down a few, and crouched, knowing that Vivi and Koza would make their way there, going down to the rebel army to raise the white flags.
Within moments, Koza was running to the stairs, and Vivi tackled him, explaining her plan to stop the war. Crocodile went to stop them, and Chaka stood to block his attack.
"Vivi!" Kia said as she stood, so Kia could see her. "I'll help him!" Vivi looked surprised, but relieved.
"Thank you Kia!" she called, and turning to Koza, said, "Kia's my friend, she can help!" Koza nodded, and grabbing Kia's arm, went running down the stairs, and Kia hustled to keep up.
Kia could hear Vivi yelling from above them, "Royal Army! Raise the white flag! I beg you!"
The soldiers all looked up at the pair, as they came running down the stairs above them, murmuring about Koza being there.
"Yes!" Koza shouted. "I'm going to stop the rebel army, and tell them this war was wrong!"
Kia followed him down the rest of the staircase, as the royal army captain decided to listen to the princess' words. They seemed relieved that the fighting would end. As she came up to the man in charge, and he and Koza discussed the location best suited for Koza to be, Kia interrupted.
"We must be cautious."
They both stopped to look at her, and she hurried to continue. "Crocodile said something earlier about having men stationed in both armies to incite the war. If that is true, they will not hesitate to destroy this chance we have to stop the fighting."
"With the white flags out, everyone will stop," Koza said. "We will be able to speak to them."
"True enough, but if I were one of Crocodile's men, here in the royal army, and the rebels were all stopped listening to their leader speak of ending the fighting…"
"You could be in grave danger," the captain said to Koza, understanding where Kia was saying.
"We don't have the time to root out Crocodile's men," Koza said angrily. "We have to take this chance."
The captain and Kia looked at each other. "Very well, but we will be standing there with you," the man replied.
The captain found a small sword and a pistol, so now Kia was armed with weapons she had no idea how to use. There was a large piece of rubble, it looked almost like a bell, and Koza stood atop it, holding out his white flag. All around them, soldiers waved their flags as well, as the rebel army came stampeding in the square.
The army didn't stop immediately, but as they came closer, they recognized Koza. They pushed closer and closer, wanting to make sure they were not being deceived, wanting to believe it was their leader.
"Koza?!" Kia could hear several of them shout.
"Yes!" Koza exclaimed. "The battle is over! Rebel army, throw down your weapons!"