Anni's POV
The morning of the escape promised to be a beautiful day... for those of us who liked mornings. While I can admire the beauty of a sunrise, I don't want get up or open my eyes to do so. So when Nami woke me up at some unearthly hour, I committed a terrible mistake: ignoring her.
"Anni. Anni, wake up!" Nami called, shaking my shoulder.
I groaned and rolled over, burying my face in my soft, squishy pillow. I was warm and sleepy, and the room was dark, just inviting me to drift back down into my twisted world of dreams. I had been having a wonderful dream of an adventure through a glowing cave. It was one of those mornings where the more I tried to remember my dream, the more it slipped through my fingers and into the realm of swirling nothingness comprised of forgotten dreams and single socks.
"Anni!"
The sharp voice broke through my dreamy thoughts and wrenched me back into the reality of the cold morning. I muttered a pathetic muffled, "Nooo... Go away..."
Nami sighed in exasperation, and I could tell her patience was wearing thin. Before she could snap, I pushed myself up and flopped limply to the side, resembling an L on the blanket. The soft, puffy blanket...
"Alright. You're awake. Now get dressed. We're leaving in five minutes," she said brusquely. Turning on her heel, she marched out of the door, no doubt on her way to wake up the male members of the crew.
Sighing, I grabbed the clothes she had tossed at me and began to put them on at the speed of a snail. My mind drifted off to the plan we had, and soon I had zoned out altogether. So far, my part of the plan was just to follow Nami's lead. She was in charge of getting all of the crew to escape the palace unseen. I would be the last resort if we got stuck, because I could burn down a door or part of a wall. In a controlled way, mind you.
A small part of my mind, probably my conscience, gave me a little jolt, making me focus back on getting dressed. I shook my head a bit, and turned my attention back to the clothes.
Once I was dressed, I walked into the small bathroom to the side of my room to take a quick shower. I brushed my hair, and then I looked in the mirror in surprise at what I was wearing.
Nami had picked out an outfit for me that I actually didn't want to burn! I guess that her reasoning must be that if we are leaving the palace (and country) today, it wouldn't matter too much what I wore. It was just a pair of black shorts and a red tee-shirt, but it was the epitome of comfort compared to the dancer outfit I had worn as a disguise for the past few days.
Or maybe my pyjamas were more comfortable...
I stepped out of the bathroom just in time to see Nami storm back into the room. Her hair was frizzled, and I could only guess at what had happened.
"We're leaving now," she ordered with a tone that said not to argue.
Snapping my mouth shut, I gathered my things without complaint. In thirty seconds I was ready and following Nami's quick pace down the hall.
The door to the boy's room looked fine at first glance, but then I noticed the shallow finger sized dents in the door handle. Looks like the boys were being lazy. I opened the door to find a perfectly neat and tidy room. Although...
"Hello?" I called hesitantly entering the room. Nami waited out in the hall, tapping her foot impatiently.
A short groan answered my call. I peered past the door to be met with a painful, albeit expected, scene. All of the male members of the crew lay on the floor with huge lumps on their heads and the occasional black eye.
The scene was so pathetic that I burst out laughing.
"Let's go guys," I managed to choke out between laughs.
The boys struggled to their feet and trudged out the door, dragging their bags behind them.
Nami looked up from examining her fingernails as we exited the room. She marched briskly down the hall, motioning for us to stay quiet and follow her.
We did so, maybe not as quietly as one would have hoped, but we did it nonetheless. Fortunately, there were no servants in the hallways that we took. Nami had planned this out ahead, so I put my faith in her that we wouldn't be spotted.
As we slunk down the halls, the boys recovered quickly, but didn't say a word. It was almost eerie compared to the usual boisterousness of the crew.
Of course, we ran into a problem. It was inevitable, and I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before. It affected most of us. It was a terrible problem that hypnotized us into completely forgetting about the plan. What is it, you may ask?
The kitchen.
Or, more specifically, the delicious smell wafting out of the door as the cooks prepared breakfast. Mmm, bacon, eggs, pancakes, and other smells that possessed us with the urge to follow them through the kitchen door.
As we passed the door that led to the origin of those delicious smells, a rumble shook the corridor. Usopp and Chopper looked around frantically until Luffy and I giggled sheepishly. Stomachs can be loud things, you know.
Plan momentarily abandoned, Luffy and I strolled casually towards the door. A hand, probably Zoro's, grabbed the back of my collar, and I stopped dead in my tracks. Sanji grabbed Luffy's head, but his legs kept walking towards the door while his neck stretched at the same pace. It was really quite unnerving.
He managed to get the door open before Nami noticed. To my great surprise, all she did was order us to stay where we were as she ducked in, staff at the ready. A minute later, she snuck out of the kitchen with arms full of breakfast related items.
When she was done handing out the food, I asked her why she had such a sudden change in plans. She shrugged, saying if it kept Luffy and I full for another five minutes it would make the escape much easier to orchestrate.
The rest of the escape did, in fact, go smoothly. A few close calls, but nothing particularly of note.
We got out through the back door of the palace, and as soon as we did so, we all broke into a dead sprint. We tore through the back alleys of Alubarna (causing minimal damage) and out through the wall. We stayed to the edge of the jungle due to Zoro's recommendation. We all knew what happened there.
At the end, we stopped for a moment to catch our breath.
As I looked out at the desert, a question popped into my mind.
"Nami? How are we going to get through the desert?"
She grinned knowingly. "Alubarna is actually really close to the river. So, we're going with them."
She pointed a finger into the jungle, where a group of birds were running towards us. At the head of them, riding a familiar yellow bird, was...
"Vivi!" I exclaimed happily. "I thought you decided to stay!"
She jumped down and came to give me a hug. "I did. I'm just coming to the river with you. I didn't want the marines to catch you in the desert. Plus, it would take a long time to get through the desert."
"Alright everyone, choose a bird." Nami directed. We all jumped on the closest bird.
Unfortunately, the bird that I chose decided that it hated me the moment I touched it. I had just grabbed the saddle, when it sidestepped and sent me falling headfirst into the sand. Needless to say, there were quite a few laughs from various crew members.
Eventually, I clambered on and we were off towards the ship. The birds nearly flew across the sand as they ran. They fell into a formation that was constantly shifting to accommodate the birds energy levels.
We reached the ship in less than half an hour with no other problems, aside from the idiotic bird that tried to kill me every other minute. We loaded our things onto the Going Merry slowly, dragging it out.
I finally turned to Vivi with teary eyes. We embraced, hugging each other for what seemed to be ages. Suddenly, Nami joined in, then Chopper, and soon we were just one big group hug with a few tears here and there.
Eventually we broke away and boarded the ship. I waved over the edge as the sun rose behind Vivi and the distant silhouette of Alubarna.
The Going Merry slowly drifted down the river as we sat, not saying anything. As the ship entered the open ocean, a loud, familiar voice spoke. Vivi's voice weaved a beautiful speech through the Den Den Mushi speakers. Only when the voice began to talk about us was when Nami noticed the blue-haired figure standing on land.
We all rushed to the side of the ship and watched and listened in wonder as Vivi spoke about us. The speech came to a close, and the last words we heard were, "THANK YOU!"
I began to wave, but Zoro pulled my arm down, indicating to the marine ships that were heading for us. I began to panic that Vivi would think that we hadn't heard her, but Luffy solved the problem.
Silently, he raised his left arm; the one with the cross on it. We quickly copied the motion, backs to the land. Luffy later mentioned that he had seen Vivi also raise her arm when he glanced back. I can't pretend that we all had dry eyes.
...
BOOM!
A sudden explosion rocked the Going Merry. The marines had fired a cannon at us, and were preparing for more. I ran to the side that faced the danger and prepared to obliterate any and all projectiles fired at us.
The ships drew closer, firing all the while. We had quite a job keeping up with it, but we stayed on top of the constant onslaught of cannonballs. The battle seemed to rush past my eyes and time zoomed past.
Just as our energy seemed to be exhausted, the two ships sunk and a very familiar ship appeared. One that was distinctly feminine, with similar occupants.
A shout from Bon Kurei on the approaching boat drew our attention.
"What are you still doing here?" he called as his men gathered around.
I ran to the side of the Merry and braced for a battle. However, Luffy replied, "We were waiting for a friend, so we could say goodbye."
Evidently, that struck a chord with our acquaintance-turned-enemy-turned-... what exactly now? Ally? as he burst into noisy tears, spouting mush about friendship.
"Waaah! It is so beautiful to hear tales of brokenhearted friends who leave each other to have grand adventures on the sea! The stories where one stays on land, and the other is thrown into a vicious pelagic storm of a journey!" he wailed, then collected himself, "I have come to warn you. The captain of the marine headquarters in this area is searching for you. Her name is Black Cage Hina."
This got our attention. We paid close attention as he described the lady that was coming for us. Then he said something surprising.
"I will pose as you to distract her! You must escape before she comes!"
"What?" Luffy asked. I echoed him. This was all so confusing.
Bon Kurei repeated his offer once more. It actually seemed quite serious, until Luffy and Bon Kurei both burst into 'tears of friendship'.
As they quieted down, Hina's ship appeared over the horizon. Bon Kurei and his men said their goodbyes as they sailed towards the marine captain.
Leaning over the side, Luffy yelled, "We will never forget you!"
The brave Okama's face turned into that of Luffy's as he sailed away towards the approaching silhouette.
Huh, I guess that guy was actually a good guy. By pirate standards, anyway.
XxX
A little while later (after I was done crying my eyes out over Vivi), we stumbled across a problem. A problem that came in the shape of the black-haired lady that Luffy had rescued from Crocodile. She was sitting in my chair (that she had moved!) and looked extremely smug. I didn't like her at all.
"What are you doing here?" I asked incredulously, "Shouldn't you go back to Arabasta or something?"
Luffy, drawn by the sound of my shout, also joined, though a lot calmer. I was firing off questions, and he added a few here and there. Soon the rest of the crew had gathered, and the racket increased quite a bit.
The lady stood up, and we quieted, listening for what she was going to say. However, it was not at all what I expected.
"My name is Nico Robin, and I am here to join your crew."
"What?!" I exclaimed angrily, "No! You can't just jump on our ship and expect us to like you! Much less want you around all the time!"
"Luffy saved me from Crocodile, even though I wanted to die. I have no one to live for, and nowhere to go, so at least grant me this." she said sincerely, though her black eyes sparkled.
Luffy stepped up, though I didn't know what he would say.
"Fine. You can join us. But," he started fiercely, "If you hurt any one of my nakama, I will kill you on the spot."
Unsettled grumbling rose up, but each person's problems were addressed in some way by Robin. Nami was happy to have another girl (was I not good enough? *sniff*), Sanji immediately fell for her, and the rest of the crew felt indifferent, albeit wary. Save for Zoro and I.
Zoro just seemed to not like her, as did I. However, I had another reason. She had moved and then sat down in my chair. This was unacceptable! I would hate this person for the rest of my days and then some. No one was allowed on my chair! Except, well, people like Luffy... and Chopper... and maybe Usopp... and Nami if her chair was taken... and Zoro kind of just lay everywhere... and Sanji sat there sometimes... and Vivi sat in it occasionally... and Ace... But NOT Robin! That was just mean!
I stomped off, sulking, to the crows nest, where I sat down so nobody could see me, took off my shoes, and tossed them in Zoro's general direction. By the sounds of resentment, I didn't miss.
I sat in the crow's nest for quite a while. Although it was small, there was room enough for one, maybe two people. The sun began to set, and Nami called me down. I replied no, I didn't want to come down, I'd do the entire night shift.
XxX
Night fell, and I was almost asleep, when a soft tap and a dim light woke me.
"Yo," a familiar voice said quietly.
I looked up and smiled when I saw Ace's face. He crouched on the side of the crow's nest. Tiny flames licked his feet as he had likely leaped up to the top of the mast from his little flame-propelled speedboat.
He stepped down and sat next to me. I scooted over a bit to make room in the small area.
"What are you doing here?" I asked quietly, "I didn't see you in the morning."
He smirked. "I have something to talk to my little brother about, but I figured I'd say hi to you first. Besides," he poked my cheek, " I didn't get to say goodbye, did I?"
"Actually, I'm pretty sure you left on your own time," I muttered to myself.
He chuckled, poking me again. We lapsed into a comfortable silence as the waves gently rocked the boat. He stood up after a while and swung over the edge down onto the deck. I heard him duck into the boys' bunk and the faint murmur of quiet conversation.
Just to reassure my conscience that, yes, in fact I was doing my job, I scanned the horizon for land or other ships. Seeing none, gazed out on the calm sea. For the first time since leaving the bar, I felt at peace with what was happening. My life was changing. I was going to become a pirate. No, I was a pirate. And I could be myself with my crew.
Except for Robin, who forced her way into the crew because Luffy saved her life! I mean geez, shouldn't she just be grateful that she's alive? Yeah, okay, I was feeling a little bitter about her joining, but mostly about the fact that she took my chair! I wouldn't trust her with my life, or that of my nakama, but at least I got the feeling that she wasn't going to try and murder us in our sleep.
Two warm arms wrapping around me brought me out of my thoughts.
"Scowling isn't a pretty look," Ace whispered in my ear.
I sighed, turning my head to meet his eyes.
"I was thinking about the lady who wants to join our crew. I don't really like her."
"You don't like her, or you don't trust her?" he asked.
"A bit of both, I think," I stated after thinking for a moment.
He paused for a moment. "Luffy told me about her. He seems to think that she needs a place and people to trust. He said that he is going to trust her until she proves untrustworthy."
"That sounds like Luffy," I laughed.
Ace's hands came down to rest on opposite sides of my waist. He sat down on the floor of the crow's nest, pulling me with him so I was sitting on his lap.
"Where are you going now?" I asked quietly.
He paused, and for a moment I thought he wouldn't answer.
"I'm still going to go after Blackbeard. It is my responsibility to do that." He said, but his voice had a resigned undertone.
"Once you catch him, where will you go?"
There was another short pause.
"I will rejoin my crew, the Whitebeard Pirates. I don't know when that will be. I've heard rumors that he ate the Devil Fruit he stole, and now has incredible powers," he said, hugging me closer, "But that's not a problem. I'm definitely going to beat him."
I laughed. "You sound like Luffy when you say that. No wonder you two are related."
"Actually..."
I thought I hadn't heard it at first, the soft whisper. Now, looking back on the moment, I definitely had. I thought I had imagined it, or that it was just a breeze.
I paused, waiting for Ace to repeat himself. When he didn't, I figured that he hadn't said anything.
"I... should go..." Ace said, but he sounded unsure.
I swiveled ninety degrees to one side and put my arms around him.
"No," I whispered, "I think you can stay a few more minutes."
Those few minutes passed quickly with pointless conversations, insults, and tickling. Then they transformed into another hour or so, until the moon lay low on the horizon.
Finally, Ace stood up. As he did, my mind suddenly asked, what if this Blackbeard person is too strong? Ace hasn't seen him after he ate the Devil Fruit. I tried to reassure myself that Ace would be fine, but my mind kept coming up with horrible scenarios.
My worry must have shown on my face, because as I was lost in my world of dark things, I felt a pair of lips press to my forehead and two hands rest on my shoulders.
"I'll see you again. Trust me."
Those words echoed in my mind, clearing all doubt. Still...
"If you die, I will track you down and kill you."
My childish words must have sounded amusing, but I could tell that the older boy in front of me knew what I was trying to convey.
"Alright. I'll remember that," he smiled.
He turned away and jumped off the edge onto his tiny boat. I heard him speed away as I turned my face towards the dim purple light on the horizon that indicated the rising of the sun.
I would see him again, I was sure of that.
XxX
"I don't want to sit next to her! Sanji! Can I sit beside you instead? Nami can take my spot!"
I grumbled as my plea for help was refused. I wanted to eat as much breakfast as I could and then go to sleep in my chair to save its poor fabric from the clutches of Robin. But I couldn't! Why? Because she was there sitting beside me! Some sadistic streak of coincidence caused Sanji to put my plate in between Nami's and Robin's.
The lady in question smiled knowingly sideways as she daintily ate. I scowled and stabbed at my food in response. To make it worse, Zoro, sitting at the other end of the table, snickered silently at my misfortune.
I ate the rest of my breakfast in silence as the conversation resumed at a normal pace. Normal being subjective, of course.
Finished, I walked out of the kitchen to the sounds of shouting and cutlery being embedded in the floor, walls, and table. I sat down in my chair and almost immediately fell asleep and started dreaming.
I was following Nami, who was skipping down the aisle of the nail polish shop, when I spotted Luffy and Chopper sitting on the floor. There were open bottles of nail polish around them, and they seemed to be painting small, rectangular tins. Chopper opened a new tin and filled it with three tiny sticks of dynamite. He then painted the inside and outside of the tin before closing it. I sat down next to them and followed their lead. Soon, we had a pile of the tiny bombs. The ceiling of the shop opened dramatically, and a hot air balloon commanded by Robin let down a ladder. Luffy, Chopper, and I climbed up the ladder while Nami followed with two tiny bags, one nail polish bottle in each. Once we were all in, the hot air balloon began to fly away. Chopper and I spontaneously sprouted wings, so we each took an armful of tiny bombs and jumped out of the balloon. We started chucking them every which way, until a swarm of ladybugs flew at us, screaming loud enough to propel us back to the balloon. Thankfully, the smoke from the explosions covered our escape, and Robin was able to fly us away. Then, a Harpy with the face of Crocodile appeared battling a dragon. The fight was intense, so we didn't notice that they were getting too close until they ripped the balloon's fabric. We went plummeting to the ground, but just before we hit-
I woke up, but kept my eyes closed. That had to be one of the stranger dreams. Although, now that I thought about it, Robin didn't seem so bad. At least not when flying a hot air balloon.
I opened my eyes and was about to march into the cabin, when I noticed that she was reading in the chair next to me. I jumped in surprise and frowned at her, but then grudgingly said, "Fine! I guess I won't be mad at you for joining the crew. As long as you stay out of my chair!"
She smiled and put down her book.
"Thank you, I appreciate it. But, if I may ask, where did this sudden change come from?"
I scowled at her before grumbling, "You made a good hot air balloon pilot. At least when we were bombing a mall." I added under my breath, "Until that Harpy and dragon ripped the damn thing."
Lost in thought as to why Chopper and I didn't grow wings again when we were falling, I missed the small amused chuckle Robin gave. As she went back to her book, I flopped back down in my chair and promptly fell back asleep.
A/N
I can't believe my lack of inspiration lately. I don't know what's up! Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for waiting, and I really hope that my inspiration will come back. Let me make this clear also, I love all the members of the crew! I was thinking back to when I first saw Robin, and I thought: No! She was evil! I don't trust her! Only for a few episodes though. Anni's dream was partially based on my dream last night and one I had a week ago.
I will try and do a Christmas chapter, so if you have suggestions I would love to hear them!
Feedback is always appreciated!
See ya!