Disclaimer: I don't own any of the source material seen in Nexus.

Nexus HWR 22.9 Nico Robin:

The Inner Sanctum

"Your friends have all gone, yet you stay."

Nico Robin looked up from the scroll she was reading. She turned her head, then lifted it to look at the face of the twelve foot tall barn owl standing behind her. Its entire body was pitch black except for its white face. When it spoke, the beak on its face stayed still and did not open to show that it did not need to use its mouth to communicate. "That is correct," Robin replied to the tall figure. "Mr…" She waited for a response while the owl examined her closely with its narrowed triangular eyes.

"I am Wan Shi Tong. An ancient spirit with infinite knowledge, I guard this library from those who wish to defile it. Nico Robin, I do hope you are not planning on taking those scrolls with you." Robin glanced back in front of her to the stack of thin, old, and worn-out books, topped with a small pile of scrolls Robin had yet to read. The owl behind her rose up higher. Its body extended so that it looked like it had a much longer neck that curved up and over Robin's head. His shadow fell over her, and he spoke darkly, "Pirates take what they please, but they must also be ready to face the consequences of their actions."

"I am simply browsing," Robin said. She did not look up at the large white face looking down on her. She did not even break a sweat as she went back to reading her scroll. Robin had a genuine smile on her face, and Wan Shi Tong bent his head around her side to cast a gaze upon it. He examined her expression, and she turned to him to do the same. "Did you know, oh wise spirit-san, that I am also a scholar?" She wondered to the librarian who had finally approached her after all the time she spent in here. The spirit did not respond, though he straightened back up and slid closer to stand right next to her seat, still a towering presence even if he was back to twelve feet tall.

"I did not," Wan replied. "Tell me more," he added, and Robin looked his way quizzically. He explained as he understood her look, "I am constantly in the pursuit of knowledge. On my own world I spent an eternity learning everything there was to know about the world. On Nexus however, I have barely begun to scratch the surface of all the knowledge I can attain."

"Hmm," Robin hummed in response. "I am sure you are very knowledgable on the history of this world then?" Robin said it as a statement but the intonation she put at the end of her sentence showed she was curious if she was correct. Wan Shi Tong nodded his head. Robin turned in her seat, giving the owl spirit her full attention. "Do you know, how this world came to be?"

The spirit did not say anything for a few seconds. Then, in a boastful voice Wan started, "I know what created the Cataclysm, the source of the Gohma, the depth of Hell…"

Robin smiled coyly as he continued on. So that would be a no, she thought while trying to hide a smirk. I expected as much, but those other things. Robin lifted her eyebrows at the last thing the spirit mentioned, and she asked in an interested tone, "That phrase, 'War of the Gods,' is one I have heard often. What is it that makes a war considered one 'of the Gods?'"

Wan Shi Tong paused and looked around the library. There were no others around them in the Inner Sanctum close to the Library's entrance. There was no one in the nearby vicinity at all this late at night. At first Robin thought the spirit may be planning to tell her a secret, but she quickly erased that thought from mind as the spirit had already shown it did not trust pirates. She came up with a different reason that made her smile again, because she wondered if the owl was concerned that others would see it spending its valuable time talking with someone like her. Robin could tell the owl spirit thought highly of itself, so to make it easier for him, she continued, "If you don't know, that's perfectly fine. I can continue searching the scrolls for this information-"

"A War of the Gods," the wise, prideful spirit began. "Is only considered as such because of its magnitude. In the history of this world there are only three wars that have reached the point of deserving the designation as such." Robin nodded along as she had heard mention of each of the three since her arrival on Aebrith. Wan Shi Tong was not finished speaking though. Wan had much more information that he was more than willing to boast on to prove his vast knowledge. "In both the First and the Third War of the Gods, there were two simultaneous battles that decided history. Have you heard of these battles that ended two of the worst wars in history?"

Robin shook her head to show she did not. Wan elaborated, "Of course you have not. There are few who know such information. Feel honored that I am willing to pass this information to you."

"I do feel honored, spirit-san," Robin said. She had an intrigued look on her face and leaned forward to show the spirit that she was listening closely.

"Then I shall tell you," Wan said, satisfied with her response. "In the First War of the Gods that was fought between the Saiyans and Kryptonians, the first of the two battles was the Battle of Past and Future Kings." Robin smiled and thought to herself, If not many people know of this, did you name the battle yourself, spirit-san? You are cuter than you can hide with your attempt to make your appearance intimidating. Robin nodded so that the pausing spirit would continue, though Wan wondered why she had smiled like that for a second there. The ancient spirit continued after a moment, "This battle occurred in two different places, yet because of the conditions and results of the battle, I have considered it as only one since its occurrence."

Robin gained a semi-confused look on her face, as this did not sound very much like a battle to her at all. Wan explained, "In this battle, a lone Saiyan who had not partaken in the First War of the Gods flew to the former Kryptonian capital. There, he defeated every Kryptonian who dared attack him until Seyg-El, the Kryptonian King at the time, accepted his challenge. Bardock swiftly executed the Kryptonian King and showed his people that he was stronger, that a Saiyan was strongest." Robin nodded along, very interested in the history being bestowed on her. Wan Shi Tong continued, "This same battle occurred at the former Saiyan capital, where a lone Kryptonian who had not partaken in the First War of the Gods challenged King Vegeta. Zod killed King Vegeta with little effort on his part, and the Saiyans knew that of them all, a Kryptonian was the strongest."

King Vegeta must have been Vegeta's father. He does call himself the Saiyan Prince. I wonder if he knows his father was killed, Robin pondered.

Wan hummed and continued while looking up, "This is where I wish I had more information however." Robin looked at him in confusion, and Wan continued, "For after subjugating the Kryptonians and Saiyans, neither Zod nor Bardock conquered the races whose Kings they had killed. The coincidence of their actions occurring simultaneously seems unlikely, especially considering each of them only killed one man, the King of their enemy. They only injured the others who faced them. After defeating the former Kings, Bardock and Zod flew to their own people, and the two took power among their races in order to become the new Kings. They moved their capitals. They isolated themselves. Most importantly, they ended the feud between the Saiyans and Kryptonians that had caused endless chaos over Aebrith."

Robin scratched her chin interestedly. "To me," she began. "It seems like this event which you consider as one battle is surely the most important in deciding the end to the First War of the Gods. What about the other battle you mentioned?"

"Perhaps it was," Wan admitted to the young woman. "Without Bardock and Zod's upheaval of power, the Kryptonians and Saiyans would have continued to fight despite the other battle that went on that day. However, the second battle was important for many reasons. The first, is that it showed the Kryptonians and Saiyans that the rest of the world would no longer stand back and watch as they destroyed it. Battles between the two races had caused so much collateral damage, so much needless loss of life, that a group of powerful beings came together to fight. They attacked a battlefield of Kryptonians and Saiyans, interrupting a battle with attacks like none the powerful races had seen before." Wan paused, then the spirit continued, "When the battle was over, and the surviving Kryptonians and Saiyans had fled, the allied group had proven that those two powerful races were not the only ones with strength on this world. Although Bardock and Zod ended the war with each other's race, they would have faced more internal opposition if the other beings of this world had not shown their races that their fight to see who was strongest was meaningless. Even if a victor could be found, the world of Nexus was too vast for them to declare strongest solely through conquest over one race."

Robin nodded her head in agreement. The two races must have learned an invaluable lesson through their defeat from that mystery force. "And who were those powerful beings who saved the world from the battles of the Kryptonians and Saiyans?" Robin questioned, wondering if the spirit knew and just had not told her yet.

The wise ancient spirit nodded its head, but it looked down into Robin's eyes and she could see its expression had changed. The owl's face did not shift at all, but something in its eyes made a lump form in Robin's throat, and she dreaded the answer she would hear. "The second reason this battle was so important, is because it spawned the creation of the Cooperative." Robin's eyes grew wider, and Wan continued, "As the alliance that stopped the battle was made up of the Ant King Meruem, High Lord Spriggan, and High Lord Aizen. The three of them and their strongest subordinates faced the Saiyans and Kryptonians in battle. Meruem proved his strength and ingenuity against the strongest Saiyans in the army. Spriggan- going by the name Zeref at the time, used magic against the Kryptonians who were weak against it. Aizen's illusions proved too strong for any to stand against. Their powers pooled together appeared to be an unstoppable force, and after the battle they must have seen that as well. The three of them, allied in their purpose to stop the First War of the Gods, have remained allied since that day. They created the Cooperative and since then have never lost a war that all three were involved in."

What was their purpose? Why did those three stop that war? Was it truly to end the pointless destruction the war was causing? If so, then those three are not "evil" like many I have met have claimed. Their government allows for slavery, but on my own world the government was lenient towards it anyway. The World Government was not completely evil, despite its many, many flaws. It protected the world from terrible pirates, though also killing anyone who got in their way. The Resistance may be morally pure, but the Cooperative could possibly be only morally gray. Robin scratched her chin some more, and her thoughts shifted from morality to something else. Spirit-san is correct that Zod and Bardock killing the other's King at the same time is an unlikely coincidence. He likely suspects as I am beginning to that the two of them had some sort of agreement beforehand. However, that is not the only strange coincidence. Though more unlikely, what if Zod and Bardock knew of the Ant King's plans? Spirit-san did not mention that those three spared the Saiyans and Kryptonians they fought as he did for the Battle of Past and Future Kings. I can assume this means they killed many of those races. The fact that Bardock and Zod did not kill any others besides their enemy's Kings is a testament to the conspiracy that they were in league with each other, which makes their alliance with Meruem sound even more unlikely.

"What is on your mind, Nico Robin?" Wan Shi Tong questioned, as it looked like the gears in her head were spinning fast.

Robin smiled and shook her head. "It is nothing but an unproven hypothesis. I will not trouble you with conjecture."

"Good, I have no need for it," Wan Shi Tong responded. "I have already tried to find evidence of a conspiracy myself, but only those involved would be able to say whether there truly was one or not." Robin hummed in agreement, though she thought afterwards, Perhaps Goku's father told him something before his demise. I must ask him when we next meet.

"In that case," Robin started. "What about the Third War of the Gods? You said that there were another two battles…"

She smiled at the spirit who she could see enjoyed retelling the information he had gathered. Wan stood up straight and regaled in an intellectual, all-knowing voice, "The Third War of the Gods was a war between the Resistance and the Cooperative. The Resistance showed that it still had millions of fighters who were willing to stand for the Resistance's values. They marched north, but their plan to move city by city to retake the lands conquered from them in smaller wars over the past year was thwarted by the King's devastating strategy. This war began and came to an end just under eight months ago." Robin's eyebrows lifted as Wan started speaking in a darker voice, and he continued, "The Resistance lost on every battlefield. Their armies that had pushed north were annihilated by High Lords who appeared one by one on every battlefield. Instead of sending ground troops to face armies, the leaders themselves or their top generals arrived and destroyed entire armies single-handedly. Proving that the strongest of the Resistance who had fallen in the Second War of the Gods were not replaced so easily. Meruem flew from battlefield to battlefield, killing almost everyone, leaving only a few alive to tell the tale of what they had seen. Ra's al Ghul, Zeref atop his dragon, Kouen Ren, Byakuran, Sozin, the Black Witch and her Kishin, and Aizen among others. Aizen had entire armies start killing each other with his illusions. Only after those initial attacks, did they bring in their armies to push back farther south."

Robin had a bead of sweat on the side of her face that all this occurred only eight months ago. Yet the Resistance still holds so much power. "It sounds like the Cooperative should have taken over all of Aebrith," Robin said in some confusion. Wan nodded in agreement, and though Robin had many questions, she realized that one would probably explain it the best. "What were, the two battles that changed the path of this war then?"

Even though Wan had a beak, Robin thought she saw the spirit smile as she was able to piece that together. "The first," Wan began, while also admitting without saying that Robin was correct in her assumption that something drastic had to have occurred in the Resistance's favor. "Was the fight between Meruem and the Saiyan King Bardock. Bardock defeated Meruem, but he showed the Ant King mercy. Many who witnessed this battle- or were in the vicinity when the battle too fast for most to see went on around them, claimed to know Bardock's reason for interfering. Those reasons vary, but there was only one reason that he gave Meruem mercy in the end which everyone agreed on. As he floated above the Ant King's crippled body, his three closest allies holding back the Ant King's Royal Guards, Bardock declared that he was showing Meruem mercy because without him, the Cooperative would fall into a civil war even more devastating than the Third War of the Gods already had been. Bardock ordered Meruem to end the war, and said that if they met again, he would not show the Ant King mercy a second time."

Goku's father was quite an impressive man, Robin thought. His actions may have saved this entire world.

"The second battle," Wan continued while Robin thought about Goku's father. "Was a battle that traversed every battleground of the Third War of the Gods. It was less a single battle and more a series of fights that one man took part in to save the Resistance." Robin looked at Wan in surprise, and then her eyes grew huge in amazement as he continued, "Son Goku appeared on Aebrith once again. Some already knew his name, but those who did not would forever remember the man who saved the Resistance. He first appeared on a battlefield where a General for High Lord Lucifer named Raizen was mercilessly slaughtering every human he saw. Son Goku appeared and introduced himself to his enemy, then he defeated and destroyed Raizen in a matter of minutes. Raizen who had killed a Resistance Commander and thousands of his soldiers, defeated by the Super Saiyan."

"Goku-san," Robin whispered, shaking her head in even more awe at the man.

The spirit was not finished though, and he continued on, "At the time, many of the Cooperative leaders did not feel the need to wear Power Blockers. They believed themselves stronger than anything the Resistance could throw their way. Then Son Goku appeared before them. He withstood the Kishin's madness and defeated Arachne. The moment he approached the battlefield Aizen was attacking, the High Lord fled without attempting to fight. He defeated Kouen Ren and his entire family fighting together. Easily smashed the forces of Sozin and Byakuran, and defeated each of them with ease. It's said that High Lord Spriggan had his forces stand down and pull back upon receiving word of Son Goku's reappearance. Not from fear of the Super Saiyan, mind you. The way Son Goku fought, how he flew in front of attacks heading towards the Resistance armies, how he redirected any blasts that were flying towards populated areas, it was said to impress High Lord Spriggan so much that he chose to pull back to his own country rather than fight him. Son Goku fought these men and women with a smile on his face. He was a Saiyan unlike any the Resistance knew, a man like no other. He had no ulterior motives for fighting. No desire to take power in a world that followed. He just wanted to save people, and to enjoy the fight. He rarely killed. He gave mercy to his enemies. He stood up to forces that he reportedly sometimes admitted aloud were stronger than he was. He epitomized everything the Resistance stood for. Strength, kindness, honor, mercy, courage."

Robin's eyes had closed and she thought of the face of a man she considered a friend. Robin stood from her seat and Wan stopped talking. She turned to the spirit in the shape of an owl next to her, and she bowed her head to him, "Thank you for the lesson, spirit-san."

Wan Shi Tong watched as the woman turned and started walking away. "You are acquainted with Son Goku, no?" Robin smiled as she continued walking, then the knowledgable spirit added, "To befriend such a man. I do hope you are not abusing that friendship, pirate woman."

Robin froze where she was for a second, then she kept walking away only with a frown on her face now. What am I leaving for? She thought, as she turned a corner to get out of Wan's sight. She stepped behind a bookshelf and stopped, and her frown grew even more pronounced. She rubbed her forehead and stared straight ahead with a troubled expression. Goku-san. I have never met such a man before. Luffy is so very much like him, I noticed that from the first time we met. However, Son Goku has no problem being called a hero. Does that make a difference? Robin shook her head and tried to smile, but her mind was clouded with doubt. This world is so full of darkness. Those in control of most of Aebrith are villains who Son Goku stands against. Our mission here is not an altruistic one. We came to find Zoro. We came for selfish reasons. We came, as pirates.

I'm fine with that though. I ran my entire life, and then I found nakama who would not abandon me. Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Chopper, Usopp, Sanji, and Franky. Brook was too. We're nakama. We're a family. In Robin's head appeared another face, Juvia as well, she thought happily, remembering her reason for being in this magical place after all. A small boy's face appeared in her mind, the boy who accompanied them here and had been with them since before the War against the Underworld. Timmy too, her smile started to dip down a little, because other faces were appearing in her head. We've become such a large group. And we're not just pirates anymore. Not after, I voted for Sora to lead us. Robin thought about that moment, I said that I would vote with my Captain, and I did, but I still voted for Sora to lead us. I was fine with someone else leading as long as I was still with Luffy. Why did I do that? Sanji, Franky, and Usopp were quick to pick Luffy as our leader. Is it because, I am no longer okay with only being a pirate? Hearing about how Son Goku saved the world, I can only think of how I am now a member of the same team he is on. I happily accepted Sora as our new leader, because Sora is a hero like Goku-san. I know that Sora will now have us doing heroic things.

Robin shut her eyes tightly, but her mouth curled up despite her internal confusion. I only wanted to learn the lost history. It was my goal for my entire life. And then, in an instant, it no longer mattered to me at all. The World Government is gone. I have seen no sign that the Poneglyphs came to Nexus with us. Even if they have, what is the point of learning the truth about one world now that I know there are infinite universes in the multiverse? I have never thought about this at length, because I did not want to admit my life's journey was for naught. I focused on what I still had: my nakama, our adventures, my Captain's dream that did not die with our arrival to Nexus like my own did.

I have been living solely for my comrades, and for my comrades' dreams. But I am my own person. Robin's eyes snapped open. On my world, I joined the Revolutionary Army for those two years we were apart. I came back to Luffy, because he is my Captain, and he always will be, but I knew even back then that there were other important things I needed to do. Dragon faced the World Government and taught me many terrible things about them. If not for my nakama, I would have stayed and fought with the Revolutionary Army. But why? Why did their mission interest me so? During those two years, I wonder if any of my nakama found other goals, or if they were just getting stronger for when we met up with Luffy again.

Why am I thinking about all of this now? Another face of her nakama showed up fresh in her mind. Son Goku. He, inspires me. As simple a man as he is, he is the greatest hero of this world. I held my hand out to him in Metropolis. I gave him my energy to face Luthor, because like everyone else, I put my faith in him. On Awul, on Aebrith, on every corner of this world, I am sure the name "Son Goku" inspires those who fight for good. Simultaneously, his name surely sends chills down the spines of those who dare to plot evil on a world that Son Goku lives in.

Now that I am on his team. Now that I fight with him. Do I feel I must live up to the expectations that people have for him? Why does that excite me?! Robin's mouth had curled up even more before her last thought, but she could not stop it. Is this, a new goal? Is this something new that I can focus on? But what is it I'm focusing on? Finding the Rio Poneglyph was a clear goal. An attainable goal. What I'm suggesting now, is it even possible? Robin shook her head, I'm a pirate. I'm the archaeologist in the crew of Straw Hat Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King! But, but I, I also want to become…

Robin's eyes grew wide. Her fists clenched at her sides, and she smiled softly but confidently. In a moment a hundred images appeared before her. In her head appeared Jaguar D. Saul, saving her from her burning island, sacrificing himself so she could run. She saw her mother's face as Nico Olvia told Saul to take her daughter and escape. She saw Luffy throwing his hands up in the air and shouting for her to live. She watched as Usopp dressed as Sogeking fired a shot at the World Government's flag and burnt it for her. She thought about Ben, Sora, Timmy, and Gohan who defeated Ansem together and freed her from the depths of darkness the Heartless had trapped her in. And she thought about Son Goku, who she had seen save the day so many times. In Underworld bases where the enemies were too strong, he would appear to save them. In Metropolis, he was the only one who could stand against Luthor when all seemed lost. In Atlantis, he stopped the Sea Clan King who looked to be on track to take control of both the oceans and the world. In Dressrosa, Doflamingo's strings had wrapped around her neck, she was strangling, and Goku defeated the man terrorizing his entire city. All these images showed up in her mind while she had a single resounding thought, I also want to become…

A hero.

A/N Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! This chapter we finally see just why everyone on Aebrith seems to know who Goku is. He really is a legend, and he's hinted before much earlier on how it had been a few "months" since he had last been to Aebrith. Not long before the start of Nexus which was 2 years after the world began, Goku apparently flew over to Aebrith and got in a lot of fights. Those fights have become part of Aebrith's history, even if to Goku it was just Thursday. XD We meet the librarian at Hogwarts, and I wonder if anyone recognized the owl spirit from Avatar the Last Airbender. That episode in the desert with the library... Great episode. Hope you liked his appearance and Robin's interaction with him, as well as Robin's decision and realization at the end. Robin has always seemed like this kind of character to me, especially with her time with the Revolutionary Army, and she fought against the NEG and Underworld too, and now against the Cooperative. Seems like a logical and fun progression for her character to me, and I hope no one finds it too OOC, but let me know what you thought about her internal dialogue there at the end. Anyway! I'll add review responses for the past two chapters this time since I didn't put any last time:

Limit-Breaking chapter 148 . Feb 2

Well... That was shocking lol, my mind was so focused on the depressing aspects of the chapter I had to blink and re-read that sentence again where they started making out lmao.
Yoooo I was not expecting that at all, you really through me for a loop their. It's kinda hard to get my bearings to be honest, Glynda and dogtooth in a relationship was something I did not expect lol.

I'm going to cut most of your reviews just because they'd probably double the length of this short chapter if I pasted them all. XD Thank you for the reviews though. I'll try to respond to them here. Lol and I'm glad I made you do a double-take with that ending scene. Soul and Maka have been trying to get back. They need to get Liz to Death and Patty for one, but also they're determined to keep the fight going. As we already saw this chapter though when they saw Zarbon, it's not going to be easy for them to get over that trauma. You're right and the characters definitely need a lot of training this month, and that's seen most obviously when you go back and read that chapter with Nox again as you did. Robin's sticking around in the Library though and was looking into magic last chapter... we'll see if she gets anywhere with that! Juvia losing her ability to have kids is sad ;(, especially since she admitted to her friends that she was pregnant before Ra's killed her. Gray still doesn't even know about that, so it's a lot of news she'll have to give him when she finally comes clean about all of this... if she ever manages to. No spoilers! Glad you're looking forward to Dash and Kirito in virtual reality, though remember that Ben is also going to be there since he showed up when Kirito was learning about the VR world, returning from Zodd just in time to head out again! Gray, Lily, Mine, so many story threads to pull on and follow. We'll see more about them all moving forward! Thanks again for reviewing, and hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

Smlluffy67 chapter 149 . 5h ago

WONG IS ALIVE LETS GOOOOO

Yes! Wong! XD

Espada-001 chapter 148 . Feb 2

Hi thanks for more great chapters! I meant to comment on the last one as well but I forgot.
Anyway regarding the last chapter I feel like the wizards probably would have been a little less weary of Zarbon. There's no doubt that the number of magic based characters that can fight him head on is pretty low but a lot of magic based characters have a number of hax based spells that will absolutely mess someone up. Especially if that don't have magic protection. A couple hundred wizards decide to launch a mental based spell at you and your pretty screwed.

Going to shorten your review too. Thanks for the long one though! Love that y'all are writing so much. I'll respond to it all: There are definitely magical characters who can take him on, no doubt about that. Hax spells are great. But as we know Android 17 managed to beat the Magic King and Tobirama, and from what Glynda told her class when she talked about it, it was just that he was so powerful that he overpowered their magic. Even if Zarbon wasn't powerful enough to straight up tank through OP magic spells though, just being a Capital 50 gives him that kind of immunity in knowledge that the Ant King would probably show up to avenge him. Touma's hand did not just cure Juvia and there's some explanation about why last chapter as Aladdin asks about it. It has been a while since Ozpin has passed too, so yeah maybe he is reincarnating as he is oft to do. Glynda brings up Salem for the first time, so we know for sure that Salem is still around on Nexus. Won't say how strong she's gotten... and glad I caught you off guard with that pairing too! Haha, how did they wind up together? I don't know if I'll ever include a flashback to explain it, but maybe if I get enough demands for it I'll write them out a chain of flashbacks explaining how they got together on this world... we'll see. ;) Thanks you for reviewing as always, and hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

kamerongulley1 chapter 148 . Feb 3

Oh no welp I guess that confirms that both ozpin cough oscar cough is dead as well as death and spirit and also I did not expect glynda and mochi manI am not spelling his name) to be in a relationship I wonder if big mom approves if she's even alive but great chaper as always

Glynda does suggest that Ozpun died. Death and Spirit too. A whole lot of characters. Too many wars on this world since the start for all those kind of characters to have survived for all this time. I don't remember mentioning Oscar so don't know why you think they're both dead... not that I'm saying Oscar will pop up, but I'm wondering where it looked like I wrote that. Love that everyone was surprised by the pairing, and we'll see if Big Mom approves or if she's even alive... sometime in the future! XD Thanks for the review! And thanks everyone for reviewing, following, faving, or just reading. 'Til next time!