Okay, after what happened in the previous chapter, I took it upon myself to go ahead and add in another chapter for this story. I might make another update right after that- okay, I will do another update after that- and I can tell from one review how much you people hate me for what happened last chapter. Or some of you at least. But! It was necessary for what comes next here! And next chapter, you will love me again! I assure you all of that! So that being said...
*camera zooms back and reveals author tied to a chair with a Keyblade pointed to her head, an enraged and furious Xion standing beside her and holding the weapon*
Coral: *sweating profusely* Is there any way you can spare me...?
Xion: After you lied about putting that scene in? I think not.
Coral: I'm telling you, it's not what you think! I swear! I may be wicked at times, but all authors are like that! At times!
Xion: If you are delaying the inevitable...
Coral: I'm not! I swear! I will prove it to you next chapter! Honest!
Xion: *getting closer to her face* I find out you are lying... You will be wishing for death to come.
Coral: *crying anime tears* SOMEONE HELP ME!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Kingdom Hearts. I do not own Guthrie and I kind of own Allen.
*OPENING*
(Lala intro)
(Xion Guthrie come down sliding panels one at a time, followed by Nami next to Xion Ussop next to Guthrie. Nami shows the Log Pose to Xion, telling her where to go, while Ussop looks pompous while Guthrie shrugs his demeanor. Nami Ussop are replaced by Zoro Sanji respectively, and glare daggers at one another as Xion Guthrie push them away from another. The two are replaced by Chopper and Robin respectively. Chopper dives into Xion's arms as she does a spin hug with him, while Guthrie observes the book Robin is reading with interest. The two are replaced by Allen Chirithy, with Allen patting Xion's back, grinning at her as she blushes a bit, while Chirithy stands on a barrel, both he and Guthrie causing sparks to shoot at each other from their eyes. The two disappear, and Luffy appears between Xion and Guthrie, grabbing their shoulders and pulling them in as he grins. The two look at one another, and grin, as the background scene shifts to them being on the Going Merry, with the rest of the crew behind them.)
Hello, goodbye to repetition
We cannot be stop
Time to go around to our
Happy days, happy days
(The scene shifts to the sky, with the title of the story appearing)
Hello, goodbye, it cannot be stopped
Because there is desire
(Scene shifts to the Straw Hats on the ship, with Luffy Ussop fishing, Nami looking at the Log Pose, Zoro sleeping on the crow's nest, Xion helping Chopper with medicine while Chirithy watched, Robin reading her book, Allen practicing his dancing, and Sanji cooking with help from Guthrie.)
It's a journey that does not endKeeps going, going!
(Xion steps back, wiping her forehead, then looking ahead to the endless sea beyond, wondering what lies ahead.)
You, are
Being shaken by your ragged feet
(Panning through a screenshot of Kokoro, Chimney and Gonbe and Yokozuna, to the Galley-La crew, to the members of the Franky Family, with Franky in front of them, to the masked members of CP9.)
Still, still
No one has much of anything!
(Nico Robin turns and walks away to the tower in Eniss Lobby, with Jabra, Kumadori and Fukuro silhouetted above, followed by Spandam, then Xaldin and Saïx. This shifts to the angered faces of Guthrie, Luffy and Xion.)
I feel like I can fly
I can fly anywhere
Whenever I'm with you
(The trio run through the town of Eniss Lobby, striking numerous marines in their way, while the screen circles around the trio, ending with them standing in the middle of their Straw Hat crew (and Sniper King) on top of the building, facing Robin, Franky and CP9.)
No matter where we are
I feel like I am
Shivering everywhere
(The two Keyblade wielders thrust their Keyblades up at the villains, only to be interfered by the two Organization XIII members. They leap towards them, with Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats following in pursuit. CP9, led by Saïx, Xaldin Leopard Lucci, leap at them, ready to clash.)
Together when I am with you
If you clench strongly
(Through all the battles of the Straw Hats, Second Gear Luffy starts fighting Leopard Lucci, with Xion fighting Saïx as hard as she could.)
No matter what happens
I'm moving forward
(Guthrie fights and parries off Xaldin, calling out to Robin with a free hand raised to her, as she stands there in the pitch black darkness.)
Together when I am with you
If you clench strongly
(Robin looks back at him, then closes her eyes as she recalls the memories of Ohara. A tear falls from her eyes, hitting a ground, which turns the darkness into the open sea and sky. More teardrops fall, forming white birds that represent each Straw Hat as they soar in the sky together.)
No, no
No matter where we are
I feel like I can fly
(The birds fly over the Going Merry, as it sails into the sun, with silhouettes of the Straw Hats smiling and grouped together as they prepared for their adventure.)
Last time:
What Xion saw when she found Allen left her horrified and speechless. There he lied on some destroyed crate, in a puddle of blood, a hole in his chest. Xion shakily walked to his fallen body and fell to her knees, unable to make any sort of noise. She felt tears forming in her eyes, and began to cry.
'Are you feeling okay?' she heard. 'You know whose fault this is, don't you? Those guys Robin is with? There's no doubt this is their doing. Why are you wasting your time here, crying?' Xion ceased her sobbing at those words. 'You don't have time to waste of tears. What you should be doing... is going in there, find those fools who did the job... and kill them. Kill those monsters who took the life of the one person you hold dear. Show them the lack of mercy they clearly did not show him. Do to them what you failed to do last time when Aokiji was close to killing off the two. Unleash the power hidden inside you and do what is right!'
As he spoke, dark wisps appeared around Xion. The girl was seriously and clearly, really considering actually doing that deed, and her eyes started to change color.
"Hey, Zoro! Chopper said this way!" Guthrie said, shocked that Zoro went to a whole other direction.
"How could you go the wrong direction with us leading you?! A miracle?!" Nami questioned in shock.
"That is nowhere near a miracle!" Chirithy exclaimed, just as shocked.
"Oh. That way," Zoro said... before going off to a completely direction again.
"What the-?! Zoro, get back here!" Guthrie called.
"Nami! Zoro's disappeared!" Chopper informed.
"Miracle!" Nami shouted in disbelief.
"How in the world can he ever get lost?!" Chirithy questioned once more. Just then, he, Chopper and Guthrie sensed something nearby. To their surprise, Heartless appeared around them, consisting of Neo Shadows, Sergeants, Barrel Spiders and Armored Archer.
"Heartless?! Here?!" Guthrie gasped.
"From the shipwrights?! But that can't be!" Chirithy exclaimed.
"It seems everyone is present," came a voice, as the two figures walked into the room. As soon as they both exited the portal, it closed and disappeared.
"You took your time," Kaku said to the newcomers.
"We found some adversaries that needed to be distracted for you to finish your work here," one of them said. "You seem to have underestimated those pirates. They made quick work of those shipwrights. Not enough to kill them, however."
"That doesn't matter," Kalifa said. "We will get what we came for soon enough. And what of the two of you?"
"I must say, I underestimate her work," the other figure said, looking to Robin. "That plan of yours did wonders to that puppet. Now is only a matter of time until she submits, and will be brought back to our leader. But still... To think you went as far as to kill one of your own. I see that title does you wonders."
Robin can only stay silent at his words, as she thought back to what happened earlier.
*FLASHBACK*
"Robin! What are you doing?!" Allen asked, looking back at the woman.
Robin did not answer his question. She simply approached him and used her powers to quickly sprout a chain of arms that landed a punch to his face. The force behind the hit was enough to force him back a few feet, right by the edge of the rooftop.
Allen looked back up, and saw Robin standing over him. She used her Devil Fruit powers to force him back up and held him up, choking the guy. "Robin... What are you...?" he breathed out.
"I'm sorry. But I cannot allow you to follow us any further," she said, pulling her arm back. "This is farewell..."
*END OF FLASHBACK*
"It's only a matter of time now, until she submits to the darkness, as we have, and comes back to us. Our leader will be pleased when she makes her return," one of the figures said.
"Kaku, check his pulse," Lucci ordered.
The long-nose member of their team obliged and grabbed Iceberg's wrist. "Pardon me for this," he said to Iceberg, placing two fingers on a pulse, and they began their interrogation.
"Hurry up!" Nami said to the boys, as they, after somehow managing to defeat the horde of Heartless and getting Zoro to properly follow them, rush to their destination.
"Hey! Are you sure it's this way?" Zoro asked.
"You're one to talk!" Chirithy shouted.
"Don't you ever say that!" Nami followed.
As they ran up the stairs, they couldn't help but notice how badly injured the unconscious shipwrights they passed were. And these were the guys that Zoro and Guthrie didn't face.
"They've been hurt quite badly," Chopper stated.
Just as they reached the next floor, Nami pointed at a pair of doors before them. "Over there! That door is the one! No mistake of it!" she said.
"Many people are down over there too!" Chopper noticed.
"Aren't those guys up ahead the foremen you were talking about, Nami?!" Chirithy also noticed, pointing at a trio of guys closest to the doors.
Just then, the three slowed down slightly, causing Zoro and Guthrie to run past them, to the pair's confusion.
"What are you two...?" the latter slowly questioned.
"Now, you go ahead! Ahead of us! Cut down the door and make a dash!" Nami told them, as she, Chopper and Chirithy pointed them towards the doors.
"What the hell?!"
"Don't order us around!" Zoro shouted after Guthrie.
Nearby, Luffy, who managed to get out of the pair of buildings he was stuck between, enter the Galley-La Company, meet up with Paulie and making amends with the guy after he realized the Straw Hat Pirates truly had nothing to do with Iceberg's attempt assassination, broke into a room right next to the one Iceberg was resting in.
"Hey, Straw Hat! That's not the right room; it's right next door to this one!" Paulie informed the rubberman, as the pirate captain broke into the room with a battlecry.
"Oh, the next room?" he asked, looking towards a wall separating the room he was in to the right one.
In the specified area, CP9 got all the information they needed right out of Iceberg. Specifically when they brought up the facts that led to their assumption and suspicions as to where the blueprints to the weapon they were tasked to obtain would be; Franky of the Franky Family, otherwise previously known as Cutty Flam.
"Well, it's not your fault. So many things are happening tonight," Lucci calmly told him. "You're only human. It's just natural that you couldn't hide your consternation."
"I appreciate what you've done for us. We're done with you," Kaku said as a farewell.
"Let's hurry and find Franky," Kalifa said..
"You bastards...!" Iceberg growled, glaring at his former friends.
Just then, a crack appeared on a wall, catching Robin's attention, as she turned to it. At the same time, Kaku and Blueno sensed something cutting cut and turned to the doors. Next they knew, Luffy, Zoro and Guthrie barged right into the room, destroying their entryway while they were at it.
"Where's Robin?!" the captain demanded.
"Luffy!" Robin, Zoro and Guthrie gasped in shock, surprised to see him here for different reasons.
"How bothersome..." Lucci sighed.
It was silent, as the pirates and Paulie panted, catching their breath from running to get to the room.
"Robin! I finally found you!" Luffy shouted.
"Hey, Luffy! Where the hell have you been?!" Zoro demanded.
"Do you have any idea the sort of trouble you got us into when you just disappeared like you did?!" Guthrie questioned the guy.
"Robin! I'm glad I could see you again!" Chopper said to the archeologist.
"You better be grateful for this, woman!" Chirithy followed.
"Hold on a second... What's going on here?" Nami questioned in shock, recognizing the many faces in the room.
She wasn't the only one shocked at this development. As he panted, Paulie looked at the faces of the real culprits, not at all believing what he was seeing before him.
"Well, well, well..." Lucci sighed.
"Straw Hat... Paulie..." Iceberg breathed out.
"Iceberg-san... What the hell... is going on?!" Paulie questioned.
Iceberg lied there, gasping in pain. "Paulie... Why... didn't you run?" he asked the good shipwright.
"What's going on?" he asked again. "This looks... as if... they're the culprits who tried to kill you!" Paulie tried not to consider the possibility, but what he was seeing was too much proof of what he was assuming, as he let out a frustrated roar. "Why are you guys dressed like that?! Hey! Kalifa! Blueno! Kaku! Lucci! Stop joking here, bastards!"
It was then Luffy also recognized who the unmasked individuals were. "Oh yeah! They're some of the shipwrights who were with you! Right?" he asked Paulie.
"Come to think of it, I know that square long-nose guy," Zoro said, recalling when he met one of the individuals.
"But if that's true then..." Chirithy began.
"Could that mean... the assassination was an inside job?!" Nami finished.
"What? What do you mean?" Chopper asked.
While they were focused on the faces of former shipwrights in the room, Guthrie noticed a certain pair of figures in the room. "Those coats... The Organization is here too?!"
His words caught the other Straw Hats' attention, as they finally took notice of the two members.
"Huh?! What's the Organization doing here?!" Chirithy gasped.
Rather than answering the question, Lucci said to Paulie, "Paulie, to tell you the truth, we're Government intelligence agencies. Well, you'd forgive us if we apologized, right? We were fellow shipwrights who worked together building ships every day. If you can't believe me because this is too sudden, shall I step on Iceberg's face or something?"
Each words coming out of his mouth was slowly angering Paulie enough, but when Lucci made that suggestion, that just enraged him, while Luffy, who knew and thought these guys were friends, was just speechless at the sight before him.
"Stop messing around! That's enough... After all, the bull-masked man's voice I heard earlier is the same as yours! Dammit, you bastard! You can talk just fine! How dare you mock us?!" He charged in at Lucci.
Iceberg, who knows well of the gap between their strengths, shouted out, "Don't, Paulie!"
He didn't stop, as Paulie engaged his attack. "Pipe Hitch Knives!" He tossed a rope with a spiraling row of knives at Lucci. Before they struck him, he disappeared. No... it wasn't that he disappeared; it was more that he swiftly dodged the attack and made his way towards his former employee.
"Shigan." With that one word, Lucci poked his pointer finger at Paulie's chest, and plunged right into it. "You still haven't learned your lesson yet, Paulie?"
Paulie didn't say anything, rather he couldn't for he was already so injured to begin with, and dropped his rope. Once he felt lack of movement, Lucci removed his finger from his chest, causing Paulie's body to tumble, but not enough to fall down.
"Hey! Rope guy!" Luffy called in worry.
"Why...? You guys..." Paulie spoke, kneeling on one knee.
"Stop this pointless resistance," Lucci advised. "We've mastered the techniques beyond the limits of human abilities. After years of training, these techniques, called the 'Rokushiki', allow human bodies to be a match for weapons. Once one masters them, he alone is as strong as 100 people together."
As he knelt down, Paulie thought back to the good memories he had with the people who were once his friends. Thinking back, he still couldn't believe what was happening now was happening.
"Why are you guys...?" he tried to ask again.
Lucci grabbed him by the shoulder. "Well, never mind. Either way, you're gonna be killed," he said, raising a hand. "This is sad, but my friend..."
"Stop it! You jerk!" Luffy shouted, as he stretched his leg out for a rubbery kick at Paulie's would-be murderer.
Lucci wasn't fazed, as he easily caught the kick one-handedly, while Hattori, who was on Lucci's shoulder the whole time, flew off in surprise.
Though Luffy was shocked that his kick was easily caught, he made use of his body to jump towards them. "Gomu-Gomu no..."
Lucci released his foot. "Tekkai."
"Gatling!" Luffy unleashed his swift and fast punches at Lucci. However, to his crew's shock, his punches weren't doing a thing to him. The Devil-Fruit user ceased his attack and landed, just as puzzled as them. "What? It didn't work at all!"
"Annoying... Soru." Lucci disappeared once more. Next thing Luffy knew, he reappeared and plunged a finger in his neck. "Shigan."
If it was for a normal human, they would've died right on the spot. Luffy, being a man made of rubber, was instead sent flying near the doors where his shocked crew was.
"Luffy!" Zoro gasped.
"You okay?!" Guthrie asked.
All he got as a response to his question was Luffy coughing, but otherwise alive.
"If your body was normal, you would've gotten a hole in your neck and died instantly, rubberman," Lucci pointed out, as Hattori landed back on his shoulder.
Luffy stretched his arm out again, not to attack Lucci this time, but to grab Paulie and pull him to where he and the others were, where it was safe.
Lucci couldn't comprehend with the meaning of such action and asked, "What are you doing, Straw Hat?"
"You were planning to kill him, weren't you?!" Luffy said. "I thought you were all shipwright friends who worked together!"
"Up until earlier, yes. But that's no longer the case."
Luffy became more irritated with the response. "Then you guys really are traitors?! Fine, then! At any rate, I promise him that we'd beat the crap out of those who're trying to kill Ice pops together!"
Iceberg stared at him in shock. It wasn't because he made a promise with Paulie, but that he was definitely going to see it through.
"Why are you siding with Paulie?" Kaku asked.
"Because I have some business with you people, too!" Luffy answered. To one certain person amongst their group, he then demanded, "Hey, Robin! Why are you with jerks like them?! If you want to leave, tell us the reason!"
"He's right! They said they work for the Government, so why?!" Nami asked.
"Not just that, but the Organization is with them too! What are you thinking?!" Guthrie followed.
It was silent at those questions. They hoped she had a good reason for betraying them and going with their one pair of enemies, but instead, Robin said, "You're not listening, are you? I did say goodbye to Cook and Doctor. You didn't tell them?"
"I did! But I can't accept it, either! Why, Robin?!" Chopper demanded.
"To make my wish come true. A wish that can never come true if I'm with you!" Everyone was speechless at her reason. That was why she decided to leave? "In order to make it happen, I don't care what sacrifices need to be made!"
Despite what she said, Guthrie could see it in her eyes. They were wavering. If she meant it, her gaze would've been strong and solid. But they were wavering? 'Is she speaking the truth?' Guthrie wondered.
"That's why... you set your friends up as assassinations without hesitation?" Zoro questioned.
"Don't say such things. Be glad you have it easy, compared to one missing member of your crew already," one of the hooded figures said.
"What are you talking about?" Guthrie demanded.
"Oh... That's right. You have three missing members, don't you? One who went off on his own, one who was doing recon, and one who checked on the recon. Though I must say, it really is a shame... You haven't even had a chance to properly say your farewells, not like you are with Robin at the very least. And here I thought I was a sadist, but seeing what she did to one of your own? Classic."
"What are you saying?" Chirithy asked.
"He means Robin had killed off one of your missing members... in cold blood," the other figure answered.
This revelation left the crew speechless. Robin had done what?! She did what?!
"You're lying! Robin would never do that!" shouted Guthrie, who was in the most disbelief than any of them.
"He's right! Robin is not that kind of person!" Nami agreed.
"It's not a lie," Blueno spoke. "I saw what she did with my own eyes. And all so our partners, the Organization, can finally get their missing tool."
Knowing well of their goal and target, Luffy shouted, "Hey! Xion is not a tool; she's a person like the rest of us!"
One of the hooded figures placed a hand on his head and shook his head. "It's one thing for that puppet to think she's ever a least bit a someone, but she even fooled others into thinking that as well? I truly do question how much it wishes to be anything like even us."
Guthrie snapped out of his shock, as he retorted, "Xion is not an 'it' or a puppet! She's 100% human like any of us are! Speaking of, she was one of you, wasn't she?! How can you be so cruel to her?!"
"Because it is the truth. It was not born like any of you were nor us. It is no more than a mere puppet, used for our master's plan. And given the time spent, it should be ready for its destiny."
Guthrie couldn't believe any of what was being said and shouted, "Shut up! Robin, this is the group you want to go with?! Why?! And tell me what they said is not true at all! Tell me you didn't kill Allen!"
"This is insane!" Iceberg shouted, bringing attention to him. "That woman is... Do you realize what you're about to do, Robin?!"
"You no longer have the right to say anything!" Robin told him. "Keep your mouth shut!" She then used her Devil Fruit powers to restrain him, injuring him in the process.
"Iceberg-san!" Paulie called in worry.
"I won't let anybody get in my way!" Robin exclaimed.
"Hey Robin! What are you doing?! Do you really mean it?!" Luffy demanded.
"Robin, what happened to you?!" Chopper asked. "Are you really our enemy now? Robin!"
"Robin..." came a voice behind them.
Everyone turned to the halls outside the room and saw Xion there, Fire of Shandora in her hand, and eyes shadowed.
"Xion! You're here!" Chirithy exclaimed.
"You're slow. What took you so long?!" Zoro asked.
"So the puppet has arrived at last," one of the figures said.
Nami noticed that she was the only one who was there. "Xion, where's Allen? I thought you went to get him," she asked.
Xion went unusually silent at the question. Though the silent was for one reason, they assumed the silent was for another reason.
"Xion-nee... Where's Allen...?" Chopper asked once more.
Xion simply tightened her grip around her Keyblade. That one act of silence was enough for the Straw Hats to look back at Robin in shock.
"Robin... Tell me it's a misunderstanding," Guthrie pleaded. "What about your dream? I thought you want to find the Rio Poneglyph! We made a promise!"
Robin was silent for a few seconds, until she answered, "All you misunderstand is my intention. And besides, 'we' never made a promise. You did to me."
The male Keyblade wielder couldn't believe what he was hearing at all. Robin really thought so little of them?
Lucci stood between the two. "Sorry, I need you guys to stop now," he said. "We have to find an important person now, so we're in a hurry."
"As are we," one of the Organization members stated. "Come, puppet. Surely now you wish to return to us."
"Give us one good reason why she would ever go with you!" Luffy demanded.
"Is it not obvious?" the other member asked. "Why do you think Robin killed off one of your friends? It was to get Xion to finally submit to the darkness that she's had for so long, for him to take control of at last."
"'Him'? You mean your leader?" Chirithy asked.
The member calling Xion a puppet tilted his head. "Why would you think that? Surely you guys know, don't you? Of the other soul in that puppet. We are not waiting for our leader's darkness to complete its hold on her, when she doesn't have any of it; we are waiting for her own darkness to grow enough for the other soul to take control. And I believe-"
Before he could finish that sentence, a large and dark fireball was shot towards him, one that exploded upon impact. Everyone was shocked at the development, as they turned to the source, where Xion stood with her free arm up. Her body was coated in the dark wisps, with the wisps on her left hand forming claws.
"It was you..." she spoke. "You killed him... Kill... Kill...! Kill!" She lifted her head, revealing her yellow eyes, so much like a Heartless.
Xion then rushed and disappeared in shadows, causing everyone to look around in search for her. Next they knew, she reappeared right above Robin and struck her down with her Keyblade, hard.
"You're the killer! I will have your head!" she shouted. As she went for another hit, one of the hooded figures got in her way and quickly disarmed her. Before she could recover her, he grabbed and restrained her.
"Well, this has become quite a surprise..." he said, as she struggled in his arms. "It seems her darkness is stronger than anticipated. Even the other soul within her is having trouble controlling it."
"You must be daft; that is not its darkness. Do not forget who that other soul is. It is more that the body has yet to cope with it. Adding to its deepest denial of what it is, I've a feeling he has yet to gain complete control over the body. Rather, it is more that the darkness in it has yet to submit to him," the other figure assumed.
"Hey! Stop talking about Xion like she's not a person!" Luffy shouted.
"Luffy's right! Even though she's not acting like it now, Xion's clearly a person just like any of us!" Nami agreed.
"Yeah! Xion's just as human as we are! She can express emotions like any human can! She has a heart like any of us!" Guthrie exclaimed.
"A heart?" the figure not restraining Xion repeated. He then let out a small chuckle at the word, rather the thought. "You really think a puppet, a fake like it, has a heart? Did she never tell you anything about itself? Then again, there were reports that it apparently does not remember much."
"What are you talking about?" Zoro asked.
"Something that does not matter to any of us here," Lucci interrupted. "Kalifa. How much time is left?"
"Five minutes," she answered, to their confusion.
"I know this is sudden, but this building is to be set aflame in five minutes," he said, changing their confusion to shock.
"What did you say?!" Luffy asked.
"Fire is an effective tool for destroying various types of evidence. If you don't want to burn to death, you should leave the building immediately. Well of course, that is if your could."
Knowing a dare and a challenge when they hear one, everyone prepared themselves for combat.
"Well, you pirates and Government agencies can have your fun. We, on the other hand, have a mission of our own to carry out, and a boss to return to," one of the figures said. He turned to his accomplice who was still holding the struggling Xion. "I assume you can resume your hold on her long enough for our return?"
"She has gotten stronger since the darkness took over, but she's not going anywhere," he assured.
"Screw it! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Xion shouted. "I'll kill you all before you even take me there!"
"Be silent, puppet. It is time for us to return home." The figure called upon his portal once more.
The second it appeared, Luffy and the others panicked, knowing what it meant.
"Hey! Stop right there!" the pirate captain shouted, charging at him.
"Soru." Lucci, unfortunately, got in his way and kicked him back to the door.
"Luffy!" Guthrie cried out. He then tried his luck as he charged at the pair of Organization members.
"Rankyaku." Kaku intercepted by sending some kind of air blades from his legs, causing Guthrie to block them all with his Keyblade.
"Sonic Blade!" He then dashed past the other CP9 members and made his way to the hooded figure holding the still-struggling Xion.
The other hooded figure saw the boy approaching and quickly got in the way, calling upon a massive blade, a claymore to be exact, and easily blocked the attack. Once he locked eyes on Guthrie's Follow the Wind, he seemed intrigued. "A Keyblade from a boy I don't know of. You must be the puppet's guardian. And a failed one at that," he said.
Guthrie glared at him for his words. "What was that?!"
"From this strike alone, I can tell. You're even weaker than Roxas and his Somebody. Much weaker, in fact." He then knocked Guthrie back and, without giving him much time to recover, swung his large weapon at him, sending him flying even further. "This... is the supposed guardian? How insulting." He glanced to his comrade and ordered, "Go on ahead. This won't take long."
"Understood," he nodded, dragging Xion towards the portal.
"No! Xion!" Nami shouted.
"Xion-nee!" Chopper cried out.
"Bastard...! I said... LET ME GO!" As Xion shouted those three words, the dark wisps around her suddenly bursted out, forcing her captor to release her and be sent flying. Not only that, the wisps started to cover her body and clothes, dying them all black, with her arms growing claws. Adding her glowing yellow eyes, Xion seemed a lot like...
"A Heartless?!" Guthrie gasped in shock, as were the rest of the crew, as Xion let out a ferocious roar. CP9 looked at her with wide eyes, while the Organization members seemed to remain indifferent.
"So its darkness, its 'feelings' for that dead pirate, are so strong even it cannot control it while it's at its peak. I think I understand a little of what our leader see in that puppet now," the member with the claymore simply stated.
"She's not an 'it'! What the hell did you do to her?!" Guthrie demanded.
"I did nothing. That darkness is all that puppet's. It just cannot control its own power, so much so that it became a Heartless itself."
"Liar! There's no way that's Xion!" Nami exclaimed.
"Yeah! Xion-nee is not a Heartless!" Chopper agreed.
"You say that, and yet..." Xion went to get a jump at the hooded figure, swiping her claws at him. The hooded figure ducked under her swipe and did a front flip, planting his feet in Xion's front and tossing her back to the others. "See for yourself!"
Once Xion landed on her hands and feet, she glared back at the enemy.
"Hey Xion! Are you okay?!" Luffy asked, rushing to her side.
Chirithy, recalling the previous times Xion was like this as did Guthrie, quickly warned, "No stop! Don't go any closer!"
Luffy didn't heed the warning, for once he was within arm's distance, Xion slammed his head down to the floor. This action caught her friends off guard.
"Hey, Xion! What are you doing?!" Zoro questioned.
"No don't!" Guthrie shouted. "This happened the previous times too! She doesn't know who is friend or foe here!"
"Then what do we do?!" Nami asked.
"For now, just don't get in her way. I know you want to help, but as she is now, it's dangerous to do just that."
As much as they don't like the idea, they knew it was the best one so far, especially when they don't know much of Xion's new situation as her fellow Keyblade wielder and his Dream Eater does at the moment.
"In any case, they really intend on eliminating us. It also seems that Nico Robin wants to be on their side," Zoro said, looking back to their real opponents. "Luffy, were you able to accept Robin's leaving the ship?"
It took Luffy a while, but he finally managed to get his head out of the floor. "Of course not!" he answered at last.
"Well, you don't have to shout like that," Lucci calmly said. "Soon several rooms in the first floor will burst into flames. Well, the culprits are pirates. Things like this can happen."
"You bastards...!" Paulie growled, not believing the guy was shrugging off the idea like it was nothing.
"To think that you'd do as you please while pretending someone else did it..." Nami said. "You sure have bad tastes!"
"And you're suppose to be on the side of justice!" Chirithy added in.
"You guys are already criminals. No harm done," Blueno pointed out.
Robin, who had recovered from Xion's attack, turned to the windows and lifted her hood. "Well then, I'll be leaving first now."
"Yeah, you've completed your job. Thanks," Lucci permitted.
"Wait, Robin! I won't allow it!" Luffy shouted.
Robin didn't care what he said, as she simply said, "Goodbye."
"Robin wait!" Guthrie called.
"Don't... let Nico Robin go..." Iceberg weakly told them.
Luffy charged in at the archeologist with Guthrie and Xion following. "Where are you going this time when we finally found you?!" the captain demanded.
"Robin! Don't go!" the counselor shouted.
Blueno and the pair of hooded figures got in their way.
"Out of the way!" Luffy shouted.
"Tekkai," Blueno muttered, taking the full force of his kick.
Guthrie swung his Keyblade at the figure with the claymore, while Xion swiped her claws at the other figure. Both easily blocked the strikes, with the unarmed figure summoning a pair of lances as his weapons.
Luffy, shocked that his kick did nothing to Blueno, landed back on his feet. "Why are their bodies so hard?!"
"Our bodies are well trained. We can raise our bodies' solidity to be as hard as iron crust," Blueno explained.
"Just from training? What sort of hellish training did you guys go through to do that?" Guthrie questioned.
Since his eyes were on his opponent as he asked that, the claymore-user answered, "Flattering as it is that you think we of the Organization can also do what they of CP9 can, we don't need such tricks." He then forced Guthrie away and charged in with his claymore once more. He swung his claymore down at him, knocking Guthrie down to the floor and created a shockwave, dealing extra damage to him, as he let out a scream in pain.
"Guthrie!" Chirithy cried out in worry.
Xion continuously tried to land at least a scratch on the lance-user, as she swiftly and ferociously clawed the defending member. "Gotta say, you were kind of weak before," he spoke. "And though you've gotten stronger, what is strength if you can't control it?" He then used a wind magic similar to and stronger than Aero and blasted Xion away from him.
"Xion-nee!" Chopper gasped.
"Out of our way!" Luffy shouted, using his Gatling attack at Blueno.
"Kami-e." Rather than taking the hit, this time Blueno was avoiding each and every punch with ease.
"He's dodging all those punches so easily for someone big!" Chirithy exclaimed in shock.
"He's fluttering like paper!" Nami noticed.
As the trio were fighting, Robin was taking her leisure leave, in which Guthrie noticed. "Robin... wait!" he wheezed. His opponent raised his claymore off him, only to whack the boy back to the doors, away from the archeologist.
Luffy also noticed the woman getting away and glared at his blocker, wanting to end the fight quickly. "Why you! Gomu Gomu no..."
"Soru."
"Pistol!" Using his signature move, Luffy struck with his stretched out fist. However, before his attack hit, Blueno disappeared. "He disappeared again?!"
"If your legs are so tremendously strong that it appears as if you disappeared..." Luffy glanced and saw Blueno behind him and quickly went for another punch. "Geppo." However, before his punch landed again, the CP9 member suddenly moved and jumped high into the air. "You can even kick the air and float," he finished his statement.
All the pirates were shocked at what was being seen before them. "He's flying! What the...?" Chopper gasped.
It was then Kalifa and Kaku joined in on the action, as they both charged towards Luffy.
"Rankyaku," the two spoke, as they kicked another air blade at the distracted rubberman, striking him and forcing him back.
Of the four who has yet to joined in, Zoro sensed something else about the attack. "You guys! Duck!" he warned.
Though confused, Nami, Chopper, and Chirithy did as told. "Why?" the navigator asked.
Next they knew, as Luffy was sent flying out of the room, the walls by the door suddenly got a large crack on them, as if something cut those walls.
"A slash attack... from just a kick?!" Guthrie grunted, as he healed himself with Cura.
Nami looked at the cut in shock. "You mean this cut on the walls is really from their kick?!" she questioned.
"That's possible if you can kick fast enough to cause a gust of sharp wind," Kalifa explained. "We call it Rankyaku."
Zoro and the recovered Xion rushed into the fray, facing off against Kaku and the Organization member's lance-user respectively. Once the green-head swordsman crossed blades with the long-nose CP9 member, the latter spoke, "We met on your ship, didn't we, Roronoa?"
Zoro pulled out a sword, in which he also did, and locked blades with each other again. "You aren't a shipwright, then?" the pirate asked. "Then, could that assessment of our ship you made be..."
Kaku knew where he was going with that and said, "Unfortunately, I made the assessment of the ship seriously."
Zoro eventually finally pushed him back. "That's indeed unfortunate." The pair then crossed blades with each other.
Xion, on the other hand, was now not only dealing with the lance-user, but also the claymore-user of the Organization. Her swift, strong, fierce, and wild attacks were giving the pair quite some trouble as they stayed on the defensive, even with the lance-user conjuring a barrier made of Aero magic.
"It seems her power is stronger than anticipated," the lance-user said. "Truly, it makes me wonder if she had been holding back this whole time."
"Don't be a fool. Don't forget where its strength at the time really comes from. And that strength now is not its own," his companion said.
As much as Guthrie wanted to join in and help Xion, he looked past them and saw Robin opening the windows, making her escape. "Robin wait!" he called, causing her to pause. "We're not done talking yet!"
"Yes we are," she retorted. Turning back with a cold gaze, she then said, "I'm never seeing you guys again."
Breaking Kaku's blades, Zoro yelled, "Luffy! Guthrie! Hurry up and catch Robin!" The two nodded and charged as fast as they could towards the woman.
"Roronoa! You're quite confident, aren't you? Taking your eyes off me!" Kaku stated. Next thing the Pirate Hunter knew, Kaku plunged his pointer finger into his chest, thrice, causing him to cough out some blood and kneel down in pain.
"Ah! Zoro!" Chopper cried out.
"We don't need bullets to shoot through human bodies," Kaku said.
Back to Luffy and Guthrie, Lucci easily caught the rubberman by the head, while the lancer Organization member got in his way.
"You... bastard...! Let me go!" Luffy demanded, as he struck Lucci in the face, the latter who is unfazed by the hits while his bird was shocked that the pirate had the guts to dare do such a thing.
"Luffy got caught easily!" Nami spoke in shock.
"Out of my way!" Guthrie shouted, throwing his Keyblade in a Strike Raid.
Unfortunately, due to the Aero Shield, his Keyblade was redirected away from his foe, to his shock. "You have to do better than that, boy," the Organization member said.
As for Xion vs her opponent, the Organization member knocked the girl back by slamming his claymore down, calling upon some shockwaves that knocked her back. Before she could get back up, he quickly slammed her head down and pinned her to the floor.
"You have become a lot more trouble than you are worth, puppet," he said, keeping the struggling Heartless girl down.
"Go, Nico Robin," Lucci told the former Straw Hat pirate.
Robin took that as her cue and her chance, as she walked to the edge of the window.
"I won't let that happen." She stopped, her foot positioned on the windowsill. Guthrie was able to see her from his position. "I refuse this to be the end!" he stated determinately. "I know I have been making a lot of mistakes recently, but not stopping you from making a stupid move like this is one mistake I won't let happen!"
Guthrie tried to rush to Robin, but his hooded opponent got in the way once more. Both of them clashed their weapons upon one another, the Organization member not giving Guthrie an inch. Through his struggle, he peered around him to see Robin look back at him for a moment, then as she turned away, she said something that was quiet, but to the Keyblade wielder, it was clear.
"I'm sorry... Guthrie." And with that, she leapt out of the window, vanishing from sight.
"Robin!" Nami and Chopper called out.
Everyone went silent after that, as half the people in the room couldn't believe their former crew member really left them like she did.
"Robin! No!" Guthrie shouted, as he tried slip past his enemy after the archeologist. However, the lance-user was blocking his every attempt to head to the window. Enraged that the guy before him was stopping him from getting to the person he cares about, Guthrie called his Keyblade back and clashed with the lance-user. "Stop getting in my way! Aeroga!" He unleashed his strong Aero magic at the guy. It may be because of his barrier or it may be because he was a master of such magic, but the spell was redirected away, puzzling Guthrie once more.
"Did you truly think such magic will harm me?" he questioned. "I feel insulted."
As he said that, Lucci tossed Luffy to one side of the room.
"Luffy/Zoro!" Nami and Chopper called in worry.
"How in the world are they so strong...?" Chirithy questioned. "The Organization out of the way, no matter what world, humans should not be this strong!"
"What are you people?" Paulie asked.
"We've lived in a different environment," Lucci simply answered. "Ever since we, CP9 members, can remember, we've been prepared to risk our lives for the Government and trained to surpass the limits of human abilities. As a result, we've mastered the superhuman techniques called the Rokushiki. I'm sure you've fully learned by now that the four of us, who have been entrusted with the World Government's vital tasks, are in a whole different league from you guys, a mere pirate group." At this, both Luffy and Zoro found the strength in them to get back up. "This is a world-class top secret. It's not a matter that people like you can get involved in."
"Lucci. It's about time for the igniters to go off. We have to hurry, too," Kalifa warned.
"Yeah. But this is a rare occasion. Let me show you something interesting before we go." As soon as Lucci said that, his body suddenly started to transform, to their shock.
"Is that... what I think it is...?" Guthrie asked.
"Lucci... What the hell are you...?" Paulie questioned.
"He's huge!" Luffy gasped.
Soon enough, Lucci stood tall, about two or three times his normal size, with fur all over his body and claws, looking a lot like a humanoid leopard. "Cat-Cat Fruit: Model Leopard," he told them.
"A leopard human..." Zoro breathed out.
"What's with that appearance...? What the hell are you?!" Paulie asked again.
Rather than answering, Lucci looked and noticed smoke coming from the halls. "Looks like the fire has started to spread," he simply said.
Paulie slowly and painfully got up to his feet. "I don't care if you're a leopard human or what, but I won't let you lay a finger on Iceberg-san!" he vowed.
It was then, however, Chopper realized something. "Oh no! Carnivorous Zoan types are more brutal!" he informed.
"That's right. Logia types, Zoan types, Paramecia types... Many unique powers exist. Genuine physical augmentation is the trait of Zoan types. The more we train, the stronger we get," Lucci added on to the info. "The Zoan type is the strongest species when it comes to close attacks."
"Shut up! I don't want to hear stuff about monsters like that!" Paulie shouted.
"You're not the only one who does not wish to waste time here," the Organization member pinning Xion down said.
"Indeed. We especially have to take care of your guys before we get wrapped up in flames," Lucci agreed.
Voices were heard from down below. "Lucci. The craftsmen are coming upstairs," Kalifa told him.
"Don't worry. They can't make it this far. Rankyaku!" Lucci unleashed a powerful kick, one that left a clean cut on the wall just above the doorway. It did not stop there, as the slash attack continued on to out the building, causing the place to collapse.
Once it started to fall, Chirithy, out of fear of getting crushed, poofed himself away. Nami, on the other hand, tried running in the room to avoid getting crushed by the debris, but couldn't move fast enough.
"Nami!" Chopper helped her out by tackling her out of the way.
The navigator fell and hit the floor. Once she heard the falling of the debris coming to a stop, she opened her eyes and saw, to her horror, the debris fell on top of Chopper, with the man reindeer nowhere to be seen. "Chopper!" she cried out.
The sound of her voice calling the name of their doctor caused Xion to cease her struggle, as she looked over to where the debris were. The Organization member holding her down raised a brow under his hood in confusion at the sudden change in action.
"Chopper! Hey, can you hear me?! Chopper!" Nami called.
As Xion looked at the scene, whatever human part that was left of her widened her eyes in shock, taking in what had occurred. She had just and already lost Allen, but now... she lost Chopper too...? She lost the two people important to her... in one night...?!
'Why are you still just lying there?' she heard. 'You lost another person close to you, and you're just going to lie there? Are you really just going to let them continue to do what they want? Do you really care about the two who died at all? Now is the time to fight back. Stop holding back your darkness already! Accept its power... Submit to it! Inflict pain to them the way they had to you!'
Like a flick of a switch, the darkness that covered Xion darkened and seemed to thickened, much to her captor's confusion.
Meanwhile, with the CP9, they stared down at Paulie and Iceberg. The former was helping the latter to his feet to help him escape from the place. The sight of his former friends standing before him, with the clean intention to kill, teared the rope-user up inside.
"I... At least... I've always thought of you guys as my friends!" he told them, shedding tears at how things came to be like this.
"... It was just you," Lucci cruelly said, as he stepped closer to the pair of injures.
However, before he could go for the kill, he was suddenly punched by a rubbery fist. "Pigeon jerk!" Luffy roared out.
"Straw Hat!" Paulie gasped.
As Luffy came closer to beat Lucci up, especially for trying to kill someone who was once even his comrade, the next thing that happened was horrifying to everyone. Lucci plunged a clawed pointer finger into his chest. "Shigan."
"Luffy!" Zoro shouted.
While the Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user held his bleeding chest, heaving for good air, Lucci grabbed him by the head and lifted him up. "Have a nice flight off the island!" The Zoan user then proceeded to toss Luffy right at a wall. Not only did he break through it, he was sent flying away from the building.
"Luffy!" Nami cried out.
"You bastard!" Zoro cursed, as he charged at Lucci.
"How dare you do that to Luffy!" Guthrie shouted, also charging in at the guy.
"Tekkai." Lucci hardened his raised left arm and used it to block both their strikes, as the pair did what they could to at least try to chip the beastly arm. Unfortunately, Lucci proved to be much stronger, as he pushed the pair away and landed a powerful kick on Zoro, sending him flying away from the building as well.
"Zoro!" Nami gasped.
Guthrie just stared at the pair of holes the leopard man made when he sent the two strongest of the crew flying away, shocked that there was someone this strong in any worlds.
"You two are left," Lucci spoke, breaking him out of his thoughts, as he looked up and saw the guy approaching him.
Before he could even raise an arm to grab the boy, the dark shadows around Xion suddenly bursted once more. Like before, it forced her captor off her. Unlike before, however, this time everyone felt something from this burst of dark aura. This feeling was dark, with a strong sense of dread, to the point where Hattori flew off Lucci's shoulder and flew around the room, coo-cooing.
Everyone turned to the source and was shocked with the sight. Standing to her feet was Xion, or what should be her at least. Her skin and clothes still bathed in darkness, there were many changes to her appearance. For one thing, she had a horn growing out from the left side of her head, her left arm was monstrous bulky, and she had what seemed like a bat wing on the right side of her back. Her lips were also dyed red with red sharp teeth showing.
"Is that... you, Xion...?" Nami asked.