p class="MsoNormal"Astrid and Kaku had arrived back at their base of operations from Alabasta. With the confirmation of Nico Robin's location, the World Government will then be able to come up with a plan of action for whatever secrets they were hiding. Once back into their comfortable rooms, Kaku and Astrid were able to relax and be themselves. They felt back at home within their own space however, there mission was not over just yet. It wasn't long after their arrival until they were summoned to speak with Spandam. Once in his room, they were seated on the couch waiting for his return./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I would've assumed that he would have been here already," Kaku stated./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSpandam burst into the room slamming the door against the wall. He walked in with a cup of hot tea and sat down in his chair. The moment he sat down, the chair moved causing him to spill the piping hot tea all over his lap. His scream was loud and high pitched for a full grown man. Kaku and Astrid sat their quietly watching their buffoon of a leader screaming and waving around frantically trying to cool his lap off with a few scraps of paper. Once he was able to settle down, he placed the tea cup to the side and starred straight into their eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Congratulations you two. You are the first two to complete your mission, and only in the matter of a few days, impressive. But the fun isn't over yet, there is still plenty of work to do. Tell me about Nico Robin," he said with a menacing smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She was a firecracker. Quick on her feet and very conniving. She was also confident." Kaku stated./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She was strong as well. Her devil fruit powers allowed her to take down a man with a twist of her arm, or arms I should say. I was lucky to be able to experience that power myself," said Astrid./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What the hell kind of assassin are you then?!" Spandam cried./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I did what I needed to do, I just happened to get caught."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, don't you remember the last time that happened five years ago?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, sir."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You stupid girl, I should have never let you go. You could have screwed up the entire mission!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If it wasn't for her actions, we wouldn't be sitting her before you now, Spandam," Kaku said standing up for her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSpandam sat there in silence as Kaku sat down. They continued the rest of the report and left his office. That evening Astrid was alone in the kitchen. She sat on a bar stool stirring a cup of tea. Thoughts were running through her head. She was still unsure of the plans the World Government had, and not knowing was what made her uncomfortable./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA few days had gone by and slowly everyone had returned and collaborated with Spandam. Kalifa and Astrid were in the main room discussing what a possible next level would be. Spandam had informed everyone that their mission wasn't fully completed just yet. There was a second part for most to follow./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Doesn't something seem fishy to you at all. I'm not sure what it is but something doesn't feel right," said Astrid adjusting herself in the chair./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Everything will be fine," Kalifa responded. "I'm curious, have you came across Baroque Works before?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, I've never heard of them, why?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We ran into a couple of imbeciles while working."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLucci came into the room and sat in the chair next to Astrid. Hatori flew in not far behind and perched himself on Lucci's shoulder./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ya know, you may want to reconsider what you say sometimes," Lucci said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you mean?" Astrid responded/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I mean saying something like that could result in becoming the weaker link of the group. Spandam wouldn't like that."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAstrid left the room not wanting to deal with Lucci any longer. Ever since her incident when she was fourteen, Lucci had never truly respected her. He never saw her as a powerful assassin and had deemed her useless to CP9. However, due to persuasive arguments from others, Spandam had let her stay against Lucci's wishes./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Astrid was back in her room sketching out her latest dream of the fire and the phoenix. A quiet knock was at the door. Kalifa came in and sat down on the bed./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are you ok?" she asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll be fine, it's nothing new between he and I." she responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Alright. Just don't let him get to you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKalifa left the room closing the door behind her. Astrid stared out the window looking at the sunny summer sky. Although the weather wasn't as warm as it was on Alabasta, it was still warm to her. She decided to head down to the beach for a refreshing swim. She gathered her things and changed into a swimsuit. Once down at the water, she had made sure that there was nobody around. After several years, she was still ashamed of how she looked with the long scar running down from the tip of her left shoulder to her right hip. She often wondered what she would be like if she had never received the scar in the first place. She laid out a towel and headed right to the water. Once she was far enough out, she dived down into the water, enjoying every moment of being in its cool grasp. She could remember the times when she was a kid swimming with the entire CP9 group. The laughs that they would share filled her heart with joy, but times had changed. It was harder and harder for them to all have a good laugh anymore. What they have all seen and have done have created a different exterior. The only person who seemed unaffected the least was Kaku. He still managed to walk around with a smile on his face. How he can manage that was unknown to Astrid, but no matter the circumstance she glad that he is around. She continued to swim around until she could hear a voice. It wasn't very far but she couldn't tell who it was. Once they had gotten close enough she could see that it was Kaku. She swam up to the shore and immediately grabbed a towel./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What are you doing out here by yourself?" He asked taking his shirt off./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I was just swimming,"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll join, it's hot out," he replied proceeding to take his shoes off./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No its ok I was just about to head in anyways."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nonsense," he said removing his belt./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOnce he was undressed and ready for the water he ran right in. He continued to call for Astrid as she was starting to pack her things up. He quickly got out of the water and picked her up. She began screaming, kicking and trying to push him away. Her yells brought the attention of the other CP9 members as they all came out of the building. She was able to get him to let go as she fell to the ground. Her towel fell once she stood back up with her back facing the others revealing her scar./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So that's why she doesn't go in the waters with him," Lucci said as he approached them./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe others weren't very far behind as they all stood by them./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Come on, let the man have a little fun," Jabra said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm going inside now," Astrid responded as she bent down to pick her towel up./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No you're not," Kaku replied picking her up once again./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"YOYO! In the summer wind, you must enjoy the warm sea, to become happy!" Kumadori shouted./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOnce again, Astrid was able to get out of Kaku's arms. She stood there in the sand prepared for the next attempt./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Care to make a wager?" He asked. "I win, you get in the water. You win and you get to go back," he said getting ready in a fighting stance./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You and your wagers," she responded returning the stance throwing the towel aside without thinking too much of it./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe ran full force with her fist in the air in front of her. He had grabbed her arm moving his leg behind her legs giving them a quick kick. She landed on the ground and moved just before he was able to pin her down. Once she was standing she charged at his side knocking them both down to the ground. Lucci had picked Astrid up from Kaku and Blueno had picked Kaku up from the sand. The two waltzed in to the water and threw both of them in./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey!" yelled Astrid./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you two would just quick you squawking and just get in already it wouldn't' have happened," replied Lucci with a smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA few minutes later everyone was in the water enjoying the day. That evening Astrid was in her room. She was sitting in silence as she sketched out some new designs of ships. Eventually she was able to overhear voices that were nearby. She could make out Kaku and Kalifa talking in the hallway./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't believe you never figured out what happened," Kalifa./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I never knew she got that on a mission. How did it happen I mean she's trained just like the rest of us?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nobody actually knows, she's kept it hidden from all of us. It's a real shame though, I thought that she would be comfortable enough to tell us."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So you're saying that nobody actually knows except for her and Spandam?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe could hear them walk away. She assumed that they were talking about her scar. They were right, she had not told a single person what exactly happened on the mission when she received it. But it was a troublesome event. She sat her desk for what seemed like a few hours until in thought she caved in. Kalifa was right, at this point she was comfortable to share it with at least one person she had grown the closest to over the years. It just wasn't fair to herself to keep it locked up and be ashamed of who she was because of this feature./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"She got up from her desk and walked out of her room. At this time everyone was in bed and sound asleep. She quietly tapped on Kaku's door down the hallway. There was no answer prompting her to quietly open the door just enough to peer into the room. He was reading a book that Spandam had recently given him. She quietly walked in without him noticing and stood there for a minute or two waiting for him to say something. She gave up quickly and sat down on his bed./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Astrid, what are you…"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I need to talk to you, about something very personal," she began pulling the book away from him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ok, I'm listening," he replied, his eyes filled with concern as they were locked onto her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I overheard you talking to Kalifa…it was about my scar wasn't it?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You heard it all huh?" he replied putting the book aside./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I think you should know," she said looking into his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen Astrid was fourteen, Spandam had approached her with a very unusual mission. The World Government wanted to retrieve any information that they could get their hands on, on the Revolutionaries that had begun to pop up more and more often. She was sent to a small island to be disguised as a fugitive on the run from Marine's. Marines had dropped her off on one side of the island and sailed to the opposite side. She made her way into the town keeping an eye out for any suspicious people. The theory was that if Revolutionaries were able to catch Astrid taking down Marine's that it would earn their trust. The plan worked. In the center of town Marine's came charging after her after she had punched one of them. She needed to defend herself and make it look convincing, not letting the Marine's know that she would actually take them down. Little did she know, two Revolutionaries were watching./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLater that evening, Astrid had made her way into a back alleyway. She made herself a small bed to sleep for the night. As she was getting ready a small dog approached. Not thinking much of it, she gave the small dog a pat on the head. The dog started barking which had alerted three men. In a split second the three men had her shackled. She was unable to defend herself in time. As she tried to fight back with her shackled legs and hands. One of them had put a sack over her head. She couldn't see anything at all. While trying to do something about the three strange men, she felt something hit her hard in the head. The blow to the head was enough to make her off balance, slamming her head into the cement wall. That final strike to the head was strong enough to knock her out./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe woke up with the bag removed from her head. She looked around to see men and women in robes with hoods covering their faces. She was unsure of where she was or why she was there to begin with./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Who are you," a man with a deep voice asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What's going on, where am I?" she asked in reply./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll ask again, who are you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"First tell me who you are," she responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe man grabbed a small knife and cut across her face, "WHO ARE YOU!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My name is Ash," she lied./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What is your purpose here?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I…"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe slashed her shoulder with the knife./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm just traveling," she said crying out in pain./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why are you traveling alone? You're only a little girl."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If a little girl is all you see then why are you doing this to me?" she questioned. The man stood there in silence as she continued, "I have words for your leader,"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She's lying! She's only saying that to get out of here. Why would there be Marine's after her, she is just bad news," a women yelled./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What is your purpose here?" the man asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"To speak with your leader," Astrid responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Bring me the whip."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA small boy came from the corner with a whip. The whip had metal teeth resembling thorns. A whip that struck fear in her eyes at the pain it will cause if she doesn't get out of there soon./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why are Marine's following you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't know,"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You have one more chance, now tell me why there are Marine's following you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Because I'm wanted for killing a whole pirate crew, I don't know."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Not a good enough reason," he said walking behind her. He ripped off the back of her shirt. A woman tied a cloth into her mouth and around her head. She began tearing up, fearing the pain. The man wound up and slashed her back deep into the skin creating a large wound across her back. She screamed in pain and started crying. The door slammed open as a hooded man walked on./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What is the meaning of this," he yelled grabbing the other man's arm. "This is not who we are, this is not what we represent." He untied the cloth from her mouth, "You should be ashamed of yourselves. She is only a little girl."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Sir, she says she has information for you," a woman said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Speak with what strength you have," he knelt down./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"They're after you, they're after all of you." Astrid responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Who is?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"The World Government knows too much. Get out while you still can," she said with as much strength as she could muster up./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I need you to get me bowl of water. You tend to her wounds, grab the doctor in town if you have to. We need to come up with something. If she is right, we need to move faster," the man said unshackling her as people surrounded them. "As for you, I will deal with you later," he gestured to the man who had tortured her out of fear./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe was beginning to loose blood at an alarming rate. She could hear people talking as they were grabbing her. She couldn't make out what was going on and eventually collapsed from the lack of blood and strength./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"When she woke up, she was in a bed in a doctor's room. She could hear the waves of the ocean. Slowly she sat up, wincing in pain from her back injury. Her body was wrapped with bandages to accommodate the injury./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA Marine walked in, "Take it easy, we found you in the doctor's house in the town. We weren't sure what had happened but he explained that hooded people had left you in his hands. When we hadn't heard from you we came in."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I failed," she replied./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I failed my mission, do you not realize what that means?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't follow,"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I was better off dead because they are going to kill me anyways when I return. I know too much and I failed a mission. That means that they can't just terminate me from the group. They're going to terminate me completely."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe began crying holding her head in her knees. The Marine stood there not knowing what to do and left the room./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen they had docked at their hometown where their base was, Spandam was waiting for them. She was escorted off of the ship with Marines helping her walk. She looked over to the fenced offed area and saw Lucci leaning on it with Kalifa peeking through the gate. Jabra was staring out of his bedroom window with Blueno sitting next to him. She began to tear up slightly as she was escorted directly into Spandam's office./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" he yelled./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes sir," she said quietly./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"YOU ICOMPETANT CHILD! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOUR PARENTS! UNBELIEVABLE!" span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry sir"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"SORRY WON'T CUT IT!" he yelled right into her face./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKaku walked into the room unannounced./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And what do you want! This is not a good time," Spandam continued to shout./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"With all due respect sir, Astrid is an assent to the team," he responded putting his hand on her shoulder./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And what exactly makes her an asset when she is the only one to fail the mission."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She is not incompetent like you say. Whatever she did, she returned and came back with a report."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS!?" Spandam yelled./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You should really think about closing your door the next time you talk about mission's sir," he responded giving him a glare. "Either she stays, or we both go."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You CHILDREN! UNBELIEVABLE! HOW COULD YOU EVEN…"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKaku stood next to Astrid with a very stern look on his face. He was serious about what he had said. Spandam caved in and let Astrid stay in CP9. Both of them were outside by the gate./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Thank you Kaku, that…"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe, next time you should have done your job right and maybe we wouldn't be in this position. You're lucky enough I even showed up, otherwise you wouldn't even be on this island," he said walking away./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAstrid looked up at Kaku. The disbelief on his face said it all. After realizing that she still remembered the entire conversation she had, had with Spandam, she began to feel very emotional. Tears swelled up in her eyes as she began to cry. Kaku, with a saddened look on his face, put his arm around her and brought her in closer to his chest. She wept on his shoulder for a good ten minutes before feeling exhausted./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't believe it. I can't believe that you were just sent to retrieve clues, and this happens. I can't believe this whole time," he said looking down into his lap./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I let my guard down," she responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, but how could you have known right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe looked up at him as he shared a small smile. She felt a little better after sharing what had happened to her all those years ago. Lessons were learned that night and Astrid had owed Kaku a favor in return after what he had done. She could never thank him enough for what he had done and wanted to find a way to make it up to him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Although the relationship between her and Kaku had grown, it didn't speak for the relationship that she had with Lucci. Her failure to complete a mission forever burned within her as he regretted allowing her to continue her work alongside them. Lucci resented the fact that she was able to stay and often threatened to have her removed from the group through undesirable methods. Even though she had grown considerable and had proven to be the great asset that Kaku claimed that she was nothing had seemed to change his thoughts about her. Things didn't help when Fukuro collected their strength testing. She was always deemed as the weakest of the group. He never forgave her for her failure and neither had Spandam. She continued to try her hardest. Her latest mission with Kaku had impressed Spandam which gave her more confidence to be able to do anything once again./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I would've assumed that he would have been here already," Kaku stated./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSpandam burst into the room slamming the door against the wall. He walked in with a cup of hot tea and sat down in his chair. The moment he sat down, the chair moved causing him to spill the piping hot tea all over his lap. His scream was loud and high pitched for a full grown man. Kaku and Astrid sat their quietly watching their buffoon of a leader screaming and waving around frantically trying to cool his lap off with a few scraps of paper. Once he was able to settle down, he placed the tea cup to the side and starred straight into their eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Congratulations you two. You are the first two to complete your mission, and only in the matter of a few days, impressive. But the fun isn't over yet, there is still plenty of work to do. Tell me about Nico Robin," he said with a menacing smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She was a firecracker. Quick on her feet and very conniving. She was also confident." Kaku stated./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She was strong as well. Her devil fruit powers allowed her to take down a man with a twist of her arm, or arms I should say. I was lucky to be able to experience that power myself," said Astrid./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What the hell kind of assassin are you then?!" Spandam cried./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I did what I needed to do, I just happened to get caught."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, don't you remember the last time that happened five years ago?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, sir."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You stupid girl, I should have never let you go. You could have screwed up the entire mission!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If it wasn't for her actions, we wouldn't be sitting her before you now, Spandam," Kaku said standing up for her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSpandam sat there in silence as Kaku sat down. They continued the rest of the report and left his office. That evening Astrid was alone in the kitchen. She sat on a bar stool stirring a cup of tea. Thoughts were running through her head. She was still unsure of the plans the World Government had, and not knowing was what made her uncomfortable./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA few days had gone by and slowly everyone had returned and collaborated with Spandam. Kalifa and Astrid were in the main room discussing what a possible next level would be. Spandam had informed everyone that their mission wasn't fully completed just yet. There was a second part for most to follow./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Doesn't something seem fishy to you at all. I'm not sure what it is but something doesn't feel right," said Astrid adjusting herself in the chair./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Everything will be fine," Kalifa responded. "I'm curious, have you came across Baroque Works before?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, I've never heard of them, why?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We ran into a couple of imbeciles while working."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLucci came into the room and sat in the chair next to Astrid. Hatori flew in not far behind and perched himself on Lucci's shoulder./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ya know, you may want to reconsider what you say sometimes," Lucci said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you mean?" Astrid responded/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I mean saying something like that could result in becoming the weaker link of the group. Spandam wouldn't like that."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAstrid left the room not wanting to deal with Lucci any longer. Ever since her incident when she was fourteen, Lucci had never truly respected her. He never saw her as a powerful assassin and had deemed her useless to CP9. However, due to persuasive arguments from others, Spandam had let her stay against Lucci's wishes./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Astrid was back in her room sketching out her latest dream of the fire and the phoenix. A quiet knock was at the door. Kalifa came in and sat down on the bed./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are you ok?" she asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll be fine, it's nothing new between he and I." she responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Alright. Just don't let him get to you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKalifa left the room closing the door behind her. Astrid stared out the window looking at the sunny summer sky. Although the weather wasn't as warm as it was on Alabasta, it was still warm to her. She decided to head down to the beach for a refreshing swim. She gathered her things and changed into a swimsuit. Once down at the water, she had made sure that there was nobody around. After several years, she was still ashamed of how she looked with the long scar running down from the tip of her left shoulder to her right hip. She often wondered what she would be like if she had never received the scar in the first place. She laid out a towel and headed right to the water. Once she was far enough out, she dived down into the water, enjoying every moment of being in its cool grasp. She could remember the times when she was a kid swimming with the entire CP9 group. The laughs that they would share filled her heart with joy, but times had changed. It was harder and harder for them to all have a good laugh anymore. What they have all seen and have done have created a different exterior. The only person who seemed unaffected the least was Kaku. He still managed to walk around with a smile on his face. How he can manage that was unknown to Astrid, but no matter the circumstance she glad that he is around. She continued to swim around until she could hear a voice. It wasn't very far but she couldn't tell who it was. Once they had gotten close enough she could see that it was Kaku. She swam up to the shore and immediately grabbed a towel./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What are you doing out here by yourself?" He asked taking his shirt off./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I was just swimming,"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll join, it's hot out," he replied proceeding to take his shoes off./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No its ok I was just about to head in anyways."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nonsense," he said removing his belt./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOnce he was undressed and ready for the water he ran right in. He continued to call for Astrid as she was starting to pack her things up. He quickly got out of the water and picked her up. She began screaming, kicking and trying to push him away. Her yells brought the attention of the other CP9 members as they all came out of the building. She was able to get him to let go as she fell to the ground. Her towel fell once she stood back up with her back facing the others revealing her scar./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So that's why she doesn't go in the waters with him," Lucci said as he approached them./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe others weren't very far behind as they all stood by them./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Come on, let the man have a little fun," Jabra said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm going inside now," Astrid responded as she bent down to pick her towel up./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No you're not," Kaku replied picking her up once again./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"YOYO! In the summer wind, you must enjoy the warm sea, to become happy!" Kumadori shouted./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOnce again, Astrid was able to get out of Kaku's arms. She stood there in the sand prepared for the next attempt./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Care to make a wager?" He asked. "I win, you get in the water. You win and you get to go back," he said getting ready in a fighting stance./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You and your wagers," she responded returning the stance throwing the towel aside without thinking too much of it./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe ran full force with her fist in the air in front of her. He had grabbed her arm moving his leg behind her legs giving them a quick kick. She landed on the ground and moved just before he was able to pin her down. Once she was standing she charged at his side knocking them both down to the ground. Lucci had picked Astrid up from Kaku and Blueno had picked Kaku up from the sand. The two waltzed in to the water and threw both of them in./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey!" yelled Astrid./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you two would just quick you squawking and just get in already it wouldn't' have happened," replied Lucci with a smile./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA few minutes later everyone was in the water enjoying the day. That evening Astrid was in her room. She was sitting in silence as she sketched out some new designs of ships. Eventually she was able to overhear voices that were nearby. She could make out Kaku and Kalifa talking in the hallway./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't believe you never figured out what happened," Kalifa./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I never knew she got that on a mission. How did it happen I mean she's trained just like the rest of us?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nobody actually knows, she's kept it hidden from all of us. It's a real shame though, I thought that she would be comfortable enough to tell us."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So you're saying that nobody actually knows except for her and Spandam?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe could hear them walk away. She assumed that they were talking about her scar. They were right, she had not told a single person what exactly happened on the mission when she received it. But it was a troublesome event. She sat her desk for what seemed like a few hours until in thought she caved in. Kalifa was right, at this point she was comfortable to share it with at least one person she had grown the closest to over the years. It just wasn't fair to herself to keep it locked up and be ashamed of who she was because of this feature./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"She got up from her desk and walked out of her room. At this time everyone was in bed and sound asleep. She quietly tapped on Kaku's door down the hallway. There was no answer prompting her to quietly open the door just enough to peer into the room. He was reading a book that Spandam had recently given him. She quietly walked in without him noticing and stood there for a minute or two waiting for him to say something. She gave up quickly and sat down on his bed./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Astrid, what are you…"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I need to talk to you, about something very personal," she began pulling the book away from him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ok, I'm listening," he replied, his eyes filled with concern as they were locked onto her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I overheard you talking to Kalifa…it was about my scar wasn't it?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You heard it all huh?" he replied putting the book aside./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I think you should know," she said looking into his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen Astrid was fourteen, Spandam had approached her with a very unusual mission. The World Government wanted to retrieve any information that they could get their hands on, on the Revolutionaries that had begun to pop up more and more often. She was sent to a small island to be disguised as a fugitive on the run from Marine's. Marines had dropped her off on one side of the island and sailed to the opposite side. She made her way into the town keeping an eye out for any suspicious people. The theory was that if Revolutionaries were able to catch Astrid taking down Marine's that it would earn their trust. The plan worked. In the center of town Marine's came charging after her after she had punched one of them. She needed to defend herself and make it look convincing, not letting the Marine's know that she would actually take them down. Little did she know, two Revolutionaries were watching./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLater that evening, Astrid had made her way into a back alleyway. She made herself a small bed to sleep for the night. As she was getting ready a small dog approached. Not thinking much of it, she gave the small dog a pat on the head. The dog started barking which had alerted three men. In a split second the three men had her shackled. She was unable to defend herself in time. As she tried to fight back with her shackled legs and hands. One of them had put a sack over her head. She couldn't see anything at all. While trying to do something about the three strange men, she felt something hit her hard in the head. The blow to the head was enough to make her off balance, slamming her head into the cement wall. That final strike to the head was strong enough to knock her out./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe woke up with the bag removed from her head. She looked around to see men and women in robes with hoods covering their faces. She was unsure of where she was or why she was there to begin with./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Who are you," a man with a deep voice asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What's going on, where am I?" she asked in reply./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll ask again, who are you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"First tell me who you are," she responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe man grabbed a small knife and cut across her face, "WHO ARE YOU!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My name is Ash," she lied./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What is your purpose here?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I…"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe slashed her shoulder with the knife./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm just traveling," she said crying out in pain./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why are you traveling alone? You're only a little girl."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If a little girl is all you see then why are you doing this to me?" she questioned. The man stood there in silence as she continued, "I have words for your leader,"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She's lying! She's only saying that to get out of here. Why would there be Marine's after her, she is just bad news," a women yelled./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What is your purpose here?" the man asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"To speak with your leader," Astrid responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Bring me the whip."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA small boy came from the corner with a whip. The whip had metal teeth resembling thorns. A whip that struck fear in her eyes at the pain it will cause if she doesn't get out of there soon./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why are Marine's following you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't know,"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You have one more chance, now tell me why there are Marine's following you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Because I'm wanted for killing a whole pirate crew, I don't know."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Not a good enough reason," he said walking behind her. He ripped off the back of her shirt. A woman tied a cloth into her mouth and around her head. She began tearing up, fearing the pain. The man wound up and slashed her back deep into the skin creating a large wound across her back. She screamed in pain and started crying. The door slammed open as a hooded man walked on./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What is the meaning of this," he yelled grabbing the other man's arm. "This is not who we are, this is not what we represent." He untied the cloth from her mouth, "You should be ashamed of yourselves. She is only a little girl."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Sir, she says she has information for you," a woman said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Speak with what strength you have," he knelt down./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"They're after you, they're after all of you." Astrid responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Who is?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"The World Government knows too much. Get out while you still can," she said with as much strength as she could muster up./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I need you to get me bowl of water. You tend to her wounds, grab the doctor in town if you have to. We need to come up with something. If she is right, we need to move faster," the man said unshackling her as people surrounded them. "As for you, I will deal with you later," he gestured to the man who had tortured her out of fear./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe was beginning to loose blood at an alarming rate. She could hear people talking as they were grabbing her. She couldn't make out what was going on and eventually collapsed from the lack of blood and strength./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"When she woke up, she was in a bed in a doctor's room. She could hear the waves of the ocean. Slowly she sat up, wincing in pain from her back injury. Her body was wrapped with bandages to accommodate the injury./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA Marine walked in, "Take it easy, we found you in the doctor's house in the town. We weren't sure what had happened but he explained that hooded people had left you in his hands. When we hadn't heard from you we came in."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I failed," she replied./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I failed my mission, do you not realize what that means?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't follow,"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I was better off dead because they are going to kill me anyways when I return. I know too much and I failed a mission. That means that they can't just terminate me from the group. They're going to terminate me completely."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe began crying holding her head in her knees. The Marine stood there not knowing what to do and left the room./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen they had docked at their hometown where their base was, Spandam was waiting for them. She was escorted off of the ship with Marines helping her walk. She looked over to the fenced offed area and saw Lucci leaning on it with Kalifa peeking through the gate. Jabra was staring out of his bedroom window with Blueno sitting next to him. She began to tear up slightly as she was escorted directly into Spandam's office./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" he yelled./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes sir," she said quietly./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"YOU ICOMPETANT CHILD! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOUR PARENTS! UNBELIEVABLE!" span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry sir"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"SORRY WON'T CUT IT!" he yelled right into her face./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKaku walked into the room unannounced./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And what do you want! This is not a good time," Spandam continued to shout./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"With all due respect sir, Astrid is an assent to the team," he responded putting his hand on her shoulder./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And what exactly makes her an asset when she is the only one to fail the mission."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She is not incompetent like you say. Whatever she did, she returned and came back with a report."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS!?" Spandam yelled./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You should really think about closing your door the next time you talk about mission's sir," he responded giving him a glare. "Either she stays, or we both go."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You CHILDREN! UNBELIEVABLE! HOW COULD YOU EVEN…"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKaku stood next to Astrid with a very stern look on his face. He was serious about what he had said. Spandam caved in and let Astrid stay in CP9. Both of them were outside by the gate./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Thank you Kaku, that…"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe, next time you should have done your job right and maybe we wouldn't be in this position. You're lucky enough I even showed up, otherwise you wouldn't even be on this island," he said walking away./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAstrid looked up at Kaku. The disbelief on his face said it all. After realizing that she still remembered the entire conversation she had, had with Spandam, she began to feel very emotional. Tears swelled up in her eyes as she began to cry. Kaku, with a saddened look on his face, put his arm around her and brought her in closer to his chest. She wept on his shoulder for a good ten minutes before feeling exhausted./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't believe it. I can't believe that you were just sent to retrieve clues, and this happens. I can't believe this whole time," he said looking down into his lap./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I let my guard down," she responded./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, but how could you have known right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe looked up at him as he shared a small smile. She felt a little better after sharing what had happened to her all those years ago. Lessons were learned that night and Astrid had owed Kaku a favor in return after what he had done. She could never thank him enough for what he had done and wanted to find a way to make it up to him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Although the relationship between her and Kaku had grown, it didn't speak for the relationship that she had with Lucci. Her failure to complete a mission forever burned within her as he regretted allowing her to continue her work alongside them. Lucci resented the fact that she was able to stay and often threatened to have her removed from the group through undesirable methods. Even though she had grown considerable and had proven to be the great asset that Kaku claimed that she was nothing had seemed to change his thoughts about her. Things didn't help when Fukuro collected their strength testing. She was always deemed as the weakest of the group. He never forgave her for her failure and neither had Spandam. She continued to try her hardest. Her latest mission with Kaku had impressed Spandam which gave her more confidence to be able to do anything once again./p