Chapter Twenty Four

Subconscious

"Run!" Was the only word that kept on ringing in Robin's head as she dashed through the woods, trying to find a safer place to hide. It was dark, foggy, and damp. She was alone, with only the moonlight guiding her way. She didn't know where she was and why she was there. All she could remember was that she was running away from someone. She didn't even know if she was still being pursued. She was already getting tired; she needed to rest. Along the way, she found a tree big enough to hide her as she caught her breath and think of everything that was happening. What was going on? Why was someone chasing her? Who was her pursuer? Why was she running away from him? She didn't know. There were so many questions running through her head and none of them she knew the answer to.

Suddenly, the man chasing her appeared from nowhere and almost caught her, but she quickly dodge and ran to escape. It was odd - he was familiar, but Robin couldn't recall just who he was. She couldn't tell whether he was a friend or a foe. It was hard for her to remember because her mind was somewhat clouded for an unknown reason. Everything was getting strange. But she had no time to think about it, she needed to escape. The female archaeologist closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she concentrated on her target. If she couldn't get away from him through running, maybe she could just restrain him with her ability like what she always do.

"Dos Fleur." Robin commanded confidently, expecting two appendages to sprout on her target's shoulders, but nothing happened.

"What?!" Her eyes grew with horror as her ability won't work, it was as if she was only deluding herself that she had Devil Fruit powers.

"Tres Fleur." She uttered firmly, but not a single arm appeared.

"This can't be happening… Seis Fleur. No… Treinta Fleur! Cien Fleur! Mil Fleur! Cuerpo Fleur!" She commanded all at once with frustration, and still, nothing happened.

"What's going on?!" She gazed at her hands as they would not duplicate at her will. How was this even possible? She wasn't wearing anything that could have neutralized her powers. Did she eat something before that might have caused the nullification of her ability? No, she couldn't remember at all. The frustration was overwhelming her. On top of that, her pace was becoming slower. Her pursuer was almost in a dangerous length of her. But she was running as fast as she could. How long will she have to run and hide in order to lose him? She was used of running away but for some reason, she couldn't shake him off.

Without a warning, the man caught her from behind and tackled her down the ground. Her fall caused a huge impact on her back and immobilized her. It was painful. The female archaeologist mustered up all her strength to fight back and escape from him but no matter what movement she tried to pull, her body refused to move. It was like her body decided to sleep while her mind was still awake. She tried screaming on top of her lungs but not a single sound made it out of her throat. She was getting anxious and terrified. It was as if she was drugged. She could not believe that her body would not respond with what she wanted it to do. On top of that, he was placing her hands and feet against the ground effortlessly, like a puppet he could manipulate in any way he wanted to. It was absurd. Why was her body refusing to move?

Robin cringed as soon as the man touched her face and cracked a creepy grin at her. His smile was so disturbing, it could make your hands want to fork your eyeballs out of their eye sockets after seeing it. She was afraid of what might happen next if her body still won't cooperate so she tried her best to move but it still won't budge. Her worries were slowly becoming true as the man lowered his head and dabbed his lips against her cheek as he started to unbutton her blouse. Robin didn't know what to do. She wanted to scream. She wanted him off of her. But she was helpless.

Tears were forming in her eyes as she felt his lips staining her neck down to her collarbone. His hands were effortlessly pulling her shorts down. He was enjoying every bit of disgust that was coursing through her veins and at the same time, he was trying to make everything sensual for pleasure but all she could feel was the opposite. But that was only the beginning. The female archaeologist's eyes widened as she saw him unsheathing a dagger that he just pulled out earlier from his pocket. What was the small knife for? She didn't know. All she knew was that it would contribute in her agony. And it did. His gaze shifted from the blade down to her body and with swift moves, her undergarments were sliced into shreds.

The man cracked another smile with the sight of Robin's naked body in front of him. Slowly, his hand traveled south and gave one of her breasts a squeeze, causing tears to overflow from her eyes. She wanted to vomit. Not a word could express how horrible she was feeling at that moment. "No… Stop… Please…" She was able to speak as the man pleasured himself with her body. It was terrible. His touch was painful and revolting. She didn't know how long will she be able stand such torture.

But he wasn't satisfied. Her pleading only fueled up his lust. The man moved his hand downward as he feasted on her neck and gave her womanhood a touch that will forever haunt her. A touch that no one has ever done, not even the man she truly loves. It felt like her whole being was getting soiled. She could feel his fingers tainting every bit of respect she still had for herself. It was horrifyingly disgusting. She wanted to peel every bit of skin he touched off of her body. But he still wasn't done. Her eyes grew with fear as she saw him unzipping his pants while his other hand continued to violate her core. At that moment, she wanted time to stop. She wanted to disappear. She wanted to cease to exist. But no, she was still there, not being able to do anything. He pulled out his cock and gave it a little stroke before pressing it against her folds. He was teasing her and it sickened her a lot. She could feel the tip of his shaft pushing against her entrance. It was painful, filthy, and stomach-turning. She wanted him to stop. But he didn't. And slowly, with a grin… he penetrated her.

"Stop… Stop… STOP!" Robin screamed, causing her eyes to shoot open as she gasped for air, snapping herself out of her trance. She quickly sat up and looked around, only to find herself in a room where she and Zoro stayed while they were in the resort with the others. Her heart was pounding so fast, she could feel it pulsing throughout her body. She was covered with cold sweat and was shaking tremendously as remnants of her dream were still fresh in her mind. She gazed at her hand and sprouted another hand on it as she recalled how it felt like not being able to use her ability before letting out a sigh of relief. It was only a dream. No, it was a nightmare. She could still feel the familiar man's touch on her body and it was making nauseous. She was glad it was only a dream and hoped it would stay as one. She didn't know how she would take it if it were to happen to her.

Robin lay back against the bed with her rear facing Zoro's side and stared at naught as she contemplated on her dream. She was intrigued on how she knew the man who assaulted her, but she couldn't point out whom he was. She didn't even expect that a typical chase dream could turn into a rape dream. Moreover, she could not use her Devil Fruit powers and she became immobilized in the end. How was that even possible? It was really strange. The more she tried to think about it, the more she became confused. But contrary to that, she was amused on how the unconscious mind of a person works and was curious what her subconscious could have been portraying in her dream. She realized that anything odd could have happened, even the weirdest things her consciousness could think of may happen and she knew that there was a psychological explanation for it. Due to that, she noted herself to buy a book about dreams once she stumbled upon a bookstore when she's outside. She wanted to know what her dream meant.

The raven-haired beauty's train of thought was interrupted as she sensed Zoro moving closer behind her. His fingertips glided across her back until they reached her waist and gently pulled her into his warm embrace before pressing his lips against her shoulder. She could not help not to sto the smile that was blooming on her lips as she felt the intimacy Zoro was giving to her. It seemed as if he already knew that she wasn't feeling good and so he tried to comfort her in his own way without noticing he was being sweet. His kiss turned into short but tender kisses that trailed against her neck up to her cheek, causing her to giggle softly. She was getting tickled, not physically, but emotionally. She felt the sleeping butterflies inside her stomach waking up again along with the green-headed man's light strokes against her stomach. It made her feel better and slightly forget about her nightmare. Robin turned her face towards him and gave him a soft smile before brushing the tip of her nose against his.

"You alright?" He asked as he used his arm to support his head and lay on his side.

"Mhm. I'm fine." She replied as she lay on her back while staring into his able eye.

"You were up earlier, what's wrong?"

"I just had a bad dream. There's nothing to worry about." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her tight embrace.

"A bad dream? Hm… What should I say at this kind of situation? Should I ask her what was it all about? Or should I just change the topic?" The green-headed swordsman asked himself as he squeezed her gently, trying his best to think of what to say to show that he cared. Even though Robin didn't say anything about her wanting him to show his feelings for her and he wasn't used of it, he wanted to do it. He wanted to make her feel special and cared for. That was also the reason why he went to hug and kiss her earlier. He thought that maybe, it would make her feel better since he sensed that something was off, and he was right. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked as he lifted his head up to look at her.

"I was raped." She said bluntly.

"W-What?! When?! Why didn't you tell me about this before?!" Zoro sat up as he overreacted a little.

"I mean in my dream, Zoro." The female archaeologist giggled and pulled his shirt so he would lie back on the bed.

"Ohh… Do you need some space?" He asked as he scratched the back of his head and lay next to her.

"No, it's fi—

"Robiiiiin! Where are you?!" A familiar voice echoed outside the room, causing both of them to gaze at the locked door.

"It seems Nami is already looking for me." Robin giggled and looked back to Zoro.

"Tch! What time is it? She's too early." He scowled and covered both of them with the thick comforter before hugging her tightly.

"I think it's almost five in the morning. We need to leave before six. I told her last night I'd help her packing up." She explained with a smiled as she patted his head while hugging him as well.

"She can do it by herself. Let the Ero-Cook help her." He stubbornly buried his face against the crook of her neck and pretended to sleep.

Robin smiled as she crossed her arms on his back and sprouted a clone in one of the restrooms near the pool, solving their problem of being caught together and her leaving him in the room.

"Oh! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Nami's voice continued to echo outside.

"Zoro?" The female archaeologist rubbed her fingertips against the back of his head and noticed he was pretending to be asleep.

"Zzz…" He fake-snored and enjoyed her presence.

"Silly." She smiled.


Yo! Sorry for the very late update! This chapter is one of the hardest chapters I had made so far! Took me more than two months to finish! Basically because of how hard it was for me to decide on how will the dream go and writing the dream itself. Then having to decide how will she wake up.

By the way I have an ANNOUNCEMENT to make, so you better read this. Hahaha. The next chapter will be very late again. Maybe a month or so, but I won't abandon it! I just can't seem to continue it. I know what I'm going to write already but I couldn't think of the contents in the succeeding chapters. The whole plot is already in my head until the end so you don't have to worry. I just need to prove something. Anyways, how was this chapter? Review what you feel about it! ^_^