After seeing that KH3 DLC trailer, I told myself to drop my 3DS, go to my account, and type another chapter of SCP right this second. If the chapter feels short to you still, I apologize, it was the best I could do for this chapter. But! There is good news in this chapter. Good news that will leave you all wondering until next chapter, where everything will be explained. So! That being said, I hope you all will enjoy this new chappy~!
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:
"Xion-nee... Where's Allen...?" Chopper asked.
"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."
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. As she went for a 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."
"I know this is sudden, but this building is to be set aflame in five minutes," Lucci said, to the pirates' shock.
"What did you say?!" Luffy asked.
"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 hooded figures said. The figure called upon his portal once more.
"Sonic Blade!" Guthrie dashed past the 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.
"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.
"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?"
"Of course not!" he answered at last.
Robin, who had recovered from Xion's attack, turned to the windows and lifted her hood. "Well then, I'll be leaving first now."
"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! 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.
"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. "Cat-Cat Fruit: Model Leopard."
"What's with that appearance...? What the hell are you?!" Paulie asked again.
It was then, however, Chopper realized something. "Oh no! Carnivorous Zoan types are more brutal!" he informed.
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.
As Xion looked at the scene, whatever human part that was left of her widened her eyes in shock, taking in what had occurred. Like a flick of a switch, the darkness that covered Xion darkened and seemed to thickened, much to her captor's confusion.
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. 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.
It was quiet in the city of Water 7, save for the wind blowing from the coming Aqua Laguna. Many civilians had long evacuated from the area to higher ground to save themselves from the deadly storm. It was a good thing they did, for it was not the storm they should be afraid of that would kill them.
Prowling into the night, rampaging wherever she went, tearing up parts of the city, was none other than Xion. Well, to say it was her wouldn't be wrong, but she was still in her Heartless form, with little to no sign of humanity left in her.
What happened after Xion turned? Well...
*FLASHBACK*
After Xion turned into a monstrous form of a Heartless, everyone just stood speechless, unable to comprehend what had occurred. All the CP9 members knew she was not a Devil Fruit user, and even if she was, this aura she was emitting out from her mere presence was sending them on edge. From her, they felt something they never thought they'd ever feel from anyone, not even from the higher-ups in the World Government; they felt fear.
"Is that... you, Xion...?" Nami asked.
Rather than answering with a 'yes' or a 'no', Xion let out a loud screech and charged at the CP9 and Organization members. The pair of enemy groups prepared themselves for an attack, when the girl suddenly disappeared. They looked around, but saw no sign of the Heartless-turned girl. Having a horrible feeling of what will come next, the CP9 members quickly hardened their bodies with Tekkai. Next they knew, they saw a shadowy blurred figure striking each and every one of them, not stopping or slowing down one bit. Though Tekkai protected their bodies from any fatal and permanent damages, they still felt the full force of each hit, to their own shock.
Of course, they were not the only ones getting attacked; the pair of Organization members were not spared of the damage being caused. Unlike CP9, however, they were able to see when and where Xion would attack, especially since they had dealt with fast Heartless before, and thus were able to either block or avoid her strikes in time.
While this was going on, both Nami and Guthrie were in shock with what was happening.
"That's... Xion, right?" the navigator asked. "What happened to her?!"
"How should I know?!" the male Keyblade wielder answered. "That's definitely Xion, but she's acting more like a Heartless now! Where the hell is Chirithy?! Chirithy!"
Sadly, the Dream Eater did not appear at his call. It was almost as though whatever was happening to Xion was scaring him to the point that it prevented him from coming back at the moment.
It wasn't long until one of the Organization members saw through Xion's next strike, that he swung his claymore at her, sending her flying to the rubbles, past Nami and Guthrie.
"Xion!" Nami called in worry, as the pair rushed to the downed pirate.
"Hey! Are you o-?!" Before Guthrie could finish his question, Xion grabbed him by the throat with her less monstrous arm and slammed him down on the floor, growling and snarling like a monster. "What are-?!" Next he knew, the girl changed her grip to his head, lifted him up, and slammed him back down on the floor, head-first. Like a monster she practically was now, she continued to do just that a few more times, until Nami latched onto her free arm.
"Xion, stop!" she shouted. "Snap out of it!"
Xion pushed her off, grabbed her by the neck and tossed her out a closed window. Guthrie, barely conscious, widened his eyes in shock with what he was seeing. Before the girl could continue the head-slamming, he quickly pushed her off him with a good Aeroga magic and healed himself back up with Cura.
"Xion! Open your eyes! It's me!" he shouted.
Rather than coming to her senses, Xion charged at him again with a snarl. She swiped her claws at him again, in which Guthrie blocked as best as he could. If they were fighting with just Keyblade or sword skills, he could have the advantage. Sadly, this was not a battle between blades; this was a battle between a Keyblade wielding swordsman and a beastly Heartless, and this beastly Heartless was relentless in her attacks. Not only were they swift, but they were also so strong, it was hard for Guthrie to keep standing his ground or find an opening on her. Eventually, however, Xion's next swipe was so strong, she knocked Follow the Wind out of Guthrie's hand. Next thing the male Keyblade wielder knew, she bit down on his left shoulder, really hard.
"Gaaaahhhhhhh!" Guthrie let out a terrifying scream, as he felt her teeth sinking into his flesh and possibly touching his bones, threatening to crush through them.
He suddenly felt an air of relief hit his injured shoulder, somewhat free of the pain, as he gripped onto it hard. As he slowly registered the lack of biting pain, Guthrie looked up and saw one of the hooded figures holding Xion up by the back of the head. By the looks of it, the guy was putting a lot of pressure in his grip, for the girl seemed to be painfully struggling.
"What... are you doing...?!" he asked. "Stop it! Let her go!"
"You should be thanking me, weakling," he said. "But, if you truly so wish to be eaten by a puppet, then by all means." He carelessly tossed Xion back to Guthrie. Once she was free from the pain, Xion continued to try to kill her fellow Keyblade wielder and guardian.
Though unprepared, the ex-pirate reacted fast enough to recall his Keyblade, holding it up to block her bite, as the girl pushed and pinned him back down to the floor. His injured shoulder practically cried in pain as he had to use every ounce of strength he had left to keep the girl from overpowering him somehow.
"Xion! Snap out of it! Get a hold of yourself!" he shouted. "I know how you feel! I know Allen is dead, and Chopper may be too! But Luffy and Zoro are still alive! They're stronger than that to die from a throw! Revenge is not the answer here! Don't give in to that darkness; fight it! Think about what you're doing! Allen and Chopper would never want this at all!" He hoped that at least the last part would get the girl to come to her senses somewhat, but unfortunately, no change was occurring at all. That wasn't going to stop him from trying to talk her out of it.
"You're angry, I know! I know you want avenge their deaths, to kill these guys for causing you this pain, but that's not the answer here at all! You can't give in to temptation like this! I walked down this very same path as you, Xion. Maybe it wasn't bad enough to change me into a Heartless like you did, but I never felt good about myself after learning I killed my uncle! You heard this story before, didn't you?! Even though killing him saved me and my aunt from having to deal with more of his shit, even though my aunt was kind enough to save me from being sent to life in prison or worse, even though I tried to redeem myself after learning this truth, I never felt good about myself afterwards! I'm not telling you to keep this grief in or to live with it as I had for my uncle when he was alive, but I am telling you to be a better person than this! Don't be the person the Organization want you to be; be the person you can be proud of!"
For a moment, Xion did the one thing Guthrie didn't think would actually happen here; she ceased all actions. The male Keyblade wielder would get up and pry the girl off him, but Xion's grip was still too strong, and so he lied there with his Keyblade still up to protect himself. As if that wasn't surprising enough, he could've sworn he saw her eyes waver a bit, changing slightly to make the iris and pupil somewhat visible. He was getting to her.
"Xion?" he asked.
"Useless puppet," said one of the hooded individuals, as he swung his claymore at Heartless Xion and sent her flying out the building through a wall like Luffy and Zoro had.
"Xion!" Guthrie cried out. He turned back to his enemy and demanded, "Why the hell did you do that?!"
"The answer should be obvious," he answered. "We need that darkness in her to continue to grow. Though I admit, the fact she actually stopped trying to kill you did surprise me for a bit, you seem to be unaware. Once the darkness grows, especially to that point, it can never go away, unless in death."
Guthrie shook his head in denial. "I refuse to believe that! I was getting somewhere with her!"
"Only because you are not the one responsible for that growing darkness in her now," said the lance-wielding individual. "The fact of you being her guardian out of the way, the only reason why she did not kill you is because you were not the one who caused that darkness to grow as it had. And now that she is sent away, she can be done with what she wanted to do. Soon after that, it won't be long until we get what we want out of her."
Hearing that peeked the CP9's 'interest', as they narrowed their eyes at his direction.
"Hang on a second. I hope you realize we have plans for Robin here. And besides, Heartless or not, should you really be okay with letting your target to as she please?" Kalifa asked.
"And if I recall, Nico Robin's bounty is 'Dead or Alive'. Besides, I'm sure your boss can come up with a coverup, should she be killed before she gets arrives," the claymore-wielding Organization member said.
"He's not wrong. Our orders were to retrieve her and the blueprints we seek," Kaku pointed out. "He said nothing about bringing her to him alive."
"Besides, this woman has been on the run from us for twenty years now. Taking her in dead or alive wouldn't matter, for all that does matter is that the Devil Child has finally been captured," Lucci added.
Kalifa saw truth in her comrades' words and pushed up her glasses. "I suppose that is true. Thinking about it now, it doesn't seem that Starlight Blade is even in the right state of mind. Should she succeed in killing Robin, and several others along the way, not only will her bounty increase, but she will also follow the same, if not worse fate, than her. After all, her kind is far too dangerous, even for our world, especially since she chose the life of being a pirate."
"And thus the reason why you all should be grateful that we of the Organization have allied ourselves with you," the claymore-wielding member said. "Have our alliance not have come to be, your world would never survive from a monster like that puppet. Once her life in this world is over, we can bring her back to our headquarters and be sure that she never sees the world outside again."
Guthrie widened his eyes in shock at what these people were saying. Not only does the World Government know about the secret of there being other worlds out there, they they're also going to have Xion unknowingly do the unthinkable and kill Robin! With the vice-captain being an enraged Heartless, there's no telling what she will do, except for one thing... get revenge for Allen's death. And with how she attacked him and Nami, the possibility that she would kill anyone who gets in her way, accidental or not, is quite high as well. He cannot let that happen!
"I won't let you!" he shouted, getting up on his feet. Sadly, he forgot about his wounded shoulder and knelt down in pain, clutching his injury.
His action caught everyone's attention as they glanced his way, with the lance-wielder of the Organization member walking over to him. "You seem to want to want to die, if you planned on stopping us with that shoulder," he said. "If death is what you so wish for... Then go ahead. Die." He grabbed Guthrie by the head and faced the open windows Robin used to escape. He jabbed a lance in the male Keyblade wielder's stomach and unleashed a powerful Aero magic that launched him far away from the area.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
After that, instead of being knocked out from the harsh landing like any normal person would, Xion emerged back from her landing site and began to rampage around town. She wasn't making her way to the station as the Organization had expected, but the fact that she was still in her Heartless form, destroying everything everywhere she went, it may be a matter of time until she arrives at her destination and kill her target.
It was when she destroyed an accessory store, though, that Xion came to a stop. Rather, it was something within the store that made her stop.
Lying on the floor was a hair clip with an angel wing on it. Heartless Xion knelt down to the accessory, reminded of one person very close to her. Tears formed in her eyes as she reached out to it. She froze before making contact, eyes focused on her monstrous hand. She slowly turned her hand, palm facing her, as she brought it closer to her face. Eyes dry of tears, they now widened as she took a good look at herself. Turning to a nearby mirror, Xion, or at least the human part of her, was in shock at what she had become. Iris and pupils now appearing in her Heartless eyes, she held her head and let out a loud screech in pain.
She was starting to recall what she had done in her subconscious. Rather, it was more that her memories as a Heartless started to collide with her memories as a human. It wasn't the collision that was causing her head pain; it was what she had done even moments before she turned into a Heartless that was giving her heart pain. She remembered it all; how she tried to kill Robin, how she attacked her friends, how she... how she tossed Nami out the window and almost killed Guthrie. She didn't just attacked her friends; she attacked them... with the intention to kill them. It was not like her!
'Why are you hesitating?' came a voice in her head. A familiar one at that. 'They're still out there. You have no time to be here in some mental conflict with yourself. No... You need to find and kill them.'
It was here Xion realized what this voice was doing to her. In fact, this was the one thing Guthrie was afraid of. This voice was hypnotizing her somehow, making her submit to the darkness when she shouldn't have. Making her do things she would regret for the rest of her life.
"Geh... Ge..." she tried to speak. Unfortunately, the pain she was suffering from, both from her horrid memories and this voice, was too much for her to get a word out. And it didn't help that, as a Heartless that she was now, she was not capable of making human speech.
'Don't tell me you're giving up. Who's going to avenge him if you won't? Who is going to fight if you're just going to wallow in despair? Give everything to the darkness. Let it be your power. Let me help you finish the job,' the voice said once more.
Xion knew better than to trust him this time, especially as she recalled on what Guthrie said to her Heartless self. "Allen and Chopper would never want this!" He was right; they wouldn't want her to be like this. She had to fight off this darkness and regain control.
Almost as though sensing that she would not fall for the hypnosis, the voice in her head sighed. 'Hard way it is, then. For good measure.' Next she knew, she felt a great headache coming along, one threatening to split her head in two, as she let out a terrifying, screechy, roar.
Meanwhile, back at Galley-La Company, the fire was getting worse there. Many of the shipwrights did everything they could to put the fire out, but because of the strong wind, it was impossible to even weaken the flames. But it wasn't just the fire they were worried about.
Lying on the grass nearby in separate places were Nami, Chopper, Paulie, and Iceberg. Nami was found earlier than the guys, completely knocked unconscious. Knowing that she was a Straw Hat, some of the shipwrights decided to keep an eye on her, should she wake, so they could question her on the whereabouts of everyone else. As for Chopper, Paulie, and Iceberg, as well as Iceberg's pet mouse, the man-reindeer managed to survive from the rubbles and got the bound and unconscious shipwrights out of the building to safety, even bringing along one of Zoro's swords, in which the three-sword-style user had dropped when he was sent flying out of the place. When Chopper then spotted Nami unconscious and bleeding on the grass, he was going to try to help her. However, due to his already weakened state, he fell unconscious as well.
It wasn't long until one of the four unconscious people started to wake. That person... was none other than...
"Iceberg-san has recovered consciousness!" a relieved shipwright announced.
Those words got the others' attention, as they turned to their wounded mayor.
"Really?! That's great!" another shipwright exclaimed.
"What a relief! He's okay!" exclaimed another.
Soon enough, all the shipwrights began cheering for their mayor's recovery.
"It's all thanks to that reindeer!"
"But I heard that he's a pet of the Straw Hats."
Iceberg slowly tilted his head to the side, where Chopper lied on one spot, and Paulie on another spot.
"Hey! This one, too! The woman woke up!" called another shipwright.
Everyone turned and, true to that man's words, Nami regained conscious as well. Injured, but undoubtedly alive. It was here, though, everyone was conflicted as to what they should do.
"W-What are we gonna do?" one shipwright asked. "Should we make her tell us the Straw Hats' whereabouts now?"
"But she's severely injured. And she's a woman, too," another shipwright said.
"But that's..." The man trailed off there, as all the workers were shocked with what they were seeing.
"Iceberg-san! You shouldn't move around yet!" one of them said to him.
Iceberg got up and approached Nami. Though he was in pain, he had something really important to tell her, something she and many of her friends must know.
"Guys... Give us some space," he told them all. "I want to talk to her alone."
Though hesitant and confused, the shipwrights all complied to his request and gave the pair the space they needed, as Iceberg and Nami both sat by the wall of the front entrance, both with a coat draped over their shoulders.
While the guys were resuming trying to put the fire out, Iceberg began to speak. "First... I'm sorry. We falsely accused you of a crime. I'll clear the misunderstanding later." Nami remained silent, for she knew that was not all he wanted to talk to her about. "I want to talk about Nico Robin."
That got her absolute attention. "Do you know something?!" she asked.
Rather than answer, Iceberg asked, "Did that woman change after you guys came to this town?"
"Yes, suddenly. After she went to town, she just disappeared. By this morning, she was the suspect of your attempted assassination. When my friends finally found her, she said she would no longer come back to us. We didn't know what was going on. So we came here tonight, in order to directly ask her again why she's leaving the ship." Nami thought back to what happened in the building, when they last saw Robin and asked her that question that was on their minds. "What is this wish that can never come true if she's with us...? What wish is worth killing off one of your friends...?"
While Iceberg didn't have the answer to one of those questions, he told her what he knew about Robin's actions and her reasons. He suspected that the change began when CP9 first came in contact with Robin when they first lost sight of her, but that wasn't what was important. "There is, of course, a reason for that woman's actions. But before I tell you that, I want you to know that Nico Robin and I both have a means to bring back the ancient weapon that could destroy the world."
Hearing that shocked Nami. "Destroy the world...?"
"That's right."
Iceberg then told Nami what occurred while he and Robin had a moment alone in his room, mainly how he berated Robin for reading the Poneglyph to find out the true history when she could potentially help the Government bring back a dangerous weapon, and how he had reminded her of the fate of her home island. Or at least, what he thought was the reason for such a fate to occur. He told her about how the Government apparently caused Robin pain, from what he was told, and the conditions that were placed on her the moment CP9 found her, both that benefited the Government more than Robin and the Straw Hats... and for a good reason. He told Nami what Robin told him about Buster Call, a dangerous emergency order normally belonging to the three admirals and fleet admiral to summon five vice admirals from Navy Headquarters and ten battleships to one place... all to completely obliterate it and the people living there. Had Robin refused, CP9, who were given authority by Aokiji, would have triggered Buster Call. Just knowing that Aokiji gave them permission was enough for Robin to submit to them. While she could've just ignored it and continued on surviving the way she had for the past twenty years, for this case, she couldn't any longer. Why? Because the people of the Straw Hats helped her retrieve the many things she had lost long ago; her life, her heart, and her dream, especially one person in particular. These past twenty years, she had found people who believed in her and just saw her as herself, not as some big-time criminal who managed to be on the run for so long. She found people worth sacrificing her own life for.
As such, in exchange for the two conditions to be met, Robin was promised by the Government that the rest of the Straw Hats will safely leave the island. She didn't care what happens to the rest of the world, so long as her friends are okay. Iceberg attempted to shoot her, but couldn't find it in him to do so.
"Of all people, over the lives of everyone in the world, she chose your lives," Iceberg ended.
Nami was in shock with what she heard. "It was for us...?"
"Now that I might have the weapon's blueprints taken away by them, I don't have the right to criticize her, though," Iceberg said.
"Wait a second... You said she did it for our sake. But what about Allen?" Nami asked. "Did Robin say anything about that? Xion saw his body..."
Iceberg was silent there. In his head, he was counting off the number of people remaining in the Straw Hat crew. Robin said she wished for the remaining ten to be spared. Excluding her, there was Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Chopper, Xion, Guthrie, and Chirithy. There was also that long-nose boy with them, and the dancer they spoke of. That makes a total of nine people, so there must be one other. Regardless, Robin must have wanted Allen to also leave safely with the others. So why...?
As they pondered on Robin's true intentions, a commotion was heard nearby. The pair turned and saw a small group of shipwrights gathered there.
"What the hell are those guys doing now...?" Iceberg wondered. He stood back up and went to resolve whatever situation was over there.
Nami followed suit, wanting to take her mind off of this complicated situation, as well as one other situation that was stuck in her mind since she regained consciousness. She still couldn't believe Allen was dead, but she also couldn't believe what became of Xion. She turned into a monster and she almost killed her. And the fact that Guthrie is not around, would that mean that...? She didn't want to complete that thought.
Once they arrived at the group, the pair were shocked with the sight before them.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Iceberg shouted in disappointment, for his men were ganging up on and beating up a lone male.
"But Iceberg-san! This guy here is one of the Straw Hats! He said so himself!" one of the shipwrights said.
"Even so, they are not the ones responsible for what happened here!" Hearing the truth from their trusted and well-respected mayor and boss shocked them.
"Wait, they aren't? Then who...?"
"I'll explain it all later. Just put out that fire now! And release him!"
At his order, the shipwrights hesitantly released the boy they ganged up on and went back to helping the others with the fire.
"Man... And I thought my treatment back home was harsh..." the boy muttered.
Nami's eyes widened at the sight of the injured person before them, shocked that he was even here. After all... didn't he die?
"Hm? What's wrong, Nami?" he asked. "No, what I should be asking is what happened to you?! What happened while I was out?!"
The navigator couldn't find the words to answer his question. All she could mutter out was... "Allen...?"