Chapter Five: Nightmare Returned
Robin had figured Governor Itzal to be a bounty hunter as quickly as Franky had figured him to be a cyborg.
So it had come as no surprise whatsoever when the man they had only just met had so hospitably accommodated them into his lavish manor without expecting anything in return. Robin had long-since learned to be sceptical of the kindness of strangers, and Itzal's actions had certainly triggered all her inner alarm bells.
She reached her quarters at the end of the hallway and stepped inside, closing the door behind her as she did. Ernest had been right when he'd said that they were playing a dangerous game by being here. It was a game that Robin needed to play carefully and on her own, and if that involved keeping this knowledge from Franky if only for his safety, she was willing to go through with it. As such, she had to distance herself somewhat, and keep him at arm's length. Likewise, she needed to be convincing around Itzal. She knew he was playing her, but she was playing him in return. She needed to have him believe he was the one in control. Any suspicion on his part would make their current situation all the more delicate, and Robin felt as though she was straining it as it was. In short, she needed to play along with Itzal's charming antics. She needed to smile and laugh. Somehow, thinking of Franky made it easier.
She leant her back against the door and slowly exhaled, closing her eyes. Of course she knew of Franky's feelings. She'd been aware of them for a long time now, longer than she'd been aware of how she herself may have felt. But, as her hand rose to her chest, where she felt her heart still thumping relentlessly from her recent encounter and she opened her eyes to catch herself smiling in a mirror from across the room, it was pretty obvious how she felt. She just had to hide it for now. She'd been careless a moment ago, and she couldn't let that happen again. Not while in the near vicinity of the bounty hunter.
Extracting herself from against the door, Robin crossed the room, picking a towel up off the back of a chair as she did, and entered a connecting bathroom. She undressed and stepped into the shower, twisting the water on. The hot water stung for a moment against her skin, before it eased. Showers weren't bad. No different from being out in the rain, only warm.
Soon the bathroom was enveloped by a misty vapour. Robin inhaled sharply and involuntarily as the water trailed down her bare back and along the old scar beneath her left shoulder blade. It was still bothering her, just as it had shortly before they'd arrived here. Perhaps she'd get Chopper to take a look once they were back with the others.
On that subject, she wondered how the crew were doing. The message she'd sent had been highly cryptic and misleading. She didn't want the others to be pulled into this mess as well, and wasn't even sure if it had even been sent. Nonetheless, she would get herself and Franky off the island and back to their Nakama, and as quickly as possible without making Itzal or any of his subjects suspicious. It was a tricky matter, though she'd played by ear in the past, and it had never gone horribly wrong. Not when she was on guard like this. There was no room for slipping up on her feelings, like she nearly had done with Franky just out in the common room a moment ago. Not any further when in such a delicate situation. She would explain everything to him later, he'd surely understand. She'd apologise as well. Her current behaviour had left him confused, and it wasn't fair that he had to go through this.
Shutting off the water, she stepped out of the shower and dried off, redressing and settling the dressing gown over her shoulders as she stepped back into the bedroom. She disregarded the bed in the corner and favoured the wall, sliding down against it and shutting her eyes briefly. Light sleep was the best she'd gotten upon arriving here, although the ability to function properly under very little rest was a skill Robin had perfected over the years. With her eyes closed, she could channel her focus to other things.
From what she'd seen, there was no sign of Itzal's contact with marines. Robin frowned slightly. Just what was this man's game? The most likely scenario was that he was toying with them for the time being, intending to turn them in later. That would be his fatal flaw; if all went smoothly, Robin would have herself and Franky away from Oculto Island within the next forty-eight hours. That was where the need for a plan would come in, however.
Robin decided she'd investigate it herself. In her time here thus far, she'd wandered and bloomed enough hidden eyes that she knew the basic structure of the manor's interior, including Itzal's quarters and the rooms he frequented the most. If she could just enter his workshop without him knowing, she could find a possible way off the island and back to Tanium, or better yet a way to keep Itzal restrained while she and Franky went about their escape. While there were no ferries, Robin was sure she'd seen a few small boats down at the harbor that, with Franky's help, would make suitable escape vessels. But in that scenario, she could not tell Franky about their situation until later. Not now, when she was near certain the two of them were being watched more often than not; it was too much of a risk, and she needed to act oblivious to the danger herself as it was. Should Itzal become aware of the knowledge she held, whatever he had install for her and Franky would be instantaneous, and any hope of escape would be nullified. It was by no mistake all the accommodation in town had been booked out. Itzal took extra measures when it came to his business.
A few hours passed before she stepped out of her quarters. The sun had yet to rise and the common room was empty. Franky had probably retired to bed some time ago. She settled down on the sofa and gazed out the window, a light rain softly drizzling from the dark sky. She would need to wait until later in the day to undergo her investigation; sneaking around before breakfast would raise unwanted suspicion.
Robin was tired of acting intrigued by Itzal's apparent pursuits, not that she'd enjoyed them to begin with. And she wanted to be entirely honest with Franky again. Robin smiled fondly at the memory of his fireworks a few nights earlier. Unconventional and unsubtle, maybe, but that's why she loved them. In that sense, they were just like Franky. It had been very sweet of him to try and impress her in such a way, although she had withheld many of her feelings at the time.
She sighed. Her choice to withhold them back there had been nothing compared to how much she'd had to hold them back presently. But there was no time to think of Franky now. Not when they were practically in the clutches of a cunning bounty hunter.
After some time of shoving her feelings aside in favour of thinking over a valid escape plan, a dull orange hue slowly infiltrated the common room, indicating that above the dark clouds, the sun was rising. A small vacant hole in the water-filled vapour was enough for the warm light to filter through the window of the common room, penetrating the raindrops and momentarily bouncing off any shiny surface, lighting the room up like a thousand tiny stars before darkening once again as the sun moved higher above the small opening in the clouds.
A little while later, footsteps in the opposite hallway indicated Franky was up.
"Good morning," she greeted him when he entered the common room, just as she had done the previous few mornings.
He was still vaguely groggy, and Robin had to hide her smile as he yawned, still partially asleep, his messy bed hair obscuring his eyes slightly. "Super morning, Robin!" he responded suddenly and vibrantly, pressing down on his nose to shoot his hair upright and suddenly becoming far more lively—
—Or super, Robin mused in her head.
The pair exchanged the usual small talk for a few moments ("Yes, I slept fine!" Robin lied), before heading down to breakfast together just as they had done in the mornings prior. Robin was especially wary on the journey down. She knew they were being watched.
Beside her, Franky chattered away about how he'd seen something cool in town the day before, and that it had inspired a new invention he was planning to make once they returned to the Sunny. "The little bros will love it!" he said as they reached the bottom of a staircase, "They can even help make it if they like. Usopp's looking for some more experience anyway."
"They'll have fun, I'm sure," Robin said in response, fondly thinking of the way the younger crew members' eyes would light up upon seeing any invention of Franky's. They were so cute.
A moment later they arrived in the mess hall and took two adjacent seats at the table. Breakfast had already been on for about an hour, so they helped themselves to whatever they liked. Itzal arrived shortly afterwards. As he sat, they made eye contact, and Robin made sure to smile. To her inner distaste, he smiled back. The smile of a man who thought he was getting the best of her. Robin inwardly grimaced. The sooner they were out, the better.
Breakfast went by uneventfully. At some point, Itzal inquired about what they'd be up to today, to which Robin responded with intentions to just have a quiet day at the manor. Itzal seemed satisfied and backed off, and Robin continued her breakfast, barely exchanging anything other than subtle glances with him for the rest of the meal.
Afterwards, she and Franky returned to the common room. Outside was still overcast and rainy, the small patch of sky from earlier now covered by layers of dark cloud. Robin settled in the sofa, The Red Thread in her hands as she flicked through the pages. Her eyes skimmed over to Franky, who was disappearing up the hallway to his quarters to get more cola. What did he make of last night's exchange anyway? They'd come very close to intimacy. He hadn't said anything about it, but perhaps, given the current situation, that was for the best.
Franky returned, looking even more rejuvenated and grinning. "I'm gonna go visit town," he announced. "Do you want to come, Robin?"
Yes, Robin thought, but shook her head. "There are some other things I need to do here today," she explained, "Alone," she added, in case he were to offer his help.
Franky seemed confused for a moment, "You don't need any company?"
"No. I'll talk to you later," she quickly shook him off.
Franky shrugged. "Alright, do what you need to do, I'll see you later. Stay super!" he said whilst making his way to the door.
"You too, Franky," she bade.
"I'm always super," his voice gently chastised as he exited the room.
Robin smiled a smile he would not see. "Yes, you are," she muttered, though knew that by now he was too far off to hear.
Once she was sure Franky was gone, Robin stood. A clock on the wall indicated it was just after ten o'clock, far enough into the day that any wandering around the manor she partook in would be far less suspicious. She set her book on the coffee table and turned, leaving the common room and entering the hallway outside. Walking in the opposite direction of what she and Franky would go for meals or to exit the manor, she quickened her pace and rounded a sharp corner, before climbing another staircase. The manor was large on the outside, but more massive again on the inside, so it seemed.
Robin bloomed small sets of eyes on the walls ahead as she went, but they detected nothing in the way of extra company. It was all well and good to know Itzal was a bounty hunter who thought he was having her on, but what difference would it make if she did nothing? The moment was now and she had to seize it.
Eventually, she arrived at a large double-door, laid out flat on the wall before her. This was it, Itzal's lab, workshop, study, or whatever it was one would call such a room. Robin quickly glanced back up and down the hallway and listened quietly. There was nothing. There was no sign of den-den mushi cameras and as far as she knew, Itzal was out with one of his clients. This was her opportunity, perhaps her only one before Itzal was to act any further. Caution was to be exercised nonetheless.
Slowly and carefully, Robin pushed open one of the doors and slid inside.
Upon first glance, it wasn't much. Vastly underwhelming, in fact; a bit of a letdown, not that Robin had known what to expect. Deep green carpet covered most of the floor, including a short, wide staircase midway through the room, leading down into the floor. Robin took a few steps inside. There didn't seem to be much on this upper level, aside for a few filing cabinets in the corner. She approached them, opening the middle draw of one. Inside, she found files of information on the island, concerning climates and incubators and buildings… the type of thing Franky had been speaking about the other day… As she searched further back through the draw however, she began to find numerous files containing information on once-wanted individuals, most of which were struck through with a red marker. A bounty hunter had to keep track of this sort of thing, Robin figured.
She pushed the cabinet draw shut again and descended the dozen steps into the lower level. Although the ceiling was lower, this level was far busier. About ten more cabinets lined the walls, and in the corner were a collection of contraptions for which Robin had no idea of the purpose. But what she found most disturbing was the wall above Itzal's large work desk.
News clippings of her (and not just recent ones) plastered the wall's surface. What must have been close to every mention of her in any newspaper was right here splayed across Itzal's work corner. They went back years, from the first mentions of her as the eight-year-old demon of Ohara, to far more recent recordings of her actions in Dressrosa, and everything in between.
She stepped back just as her eyes caught sight of the array of screens in the corner, each displaying a different scene, and switching on regular interval. One screen featured the common room, confirming her suspicions of being watched. Another showcased the hallway outside their room, others in the mess hall, and at various places in town. But it appeared this spy wear wasn't limited to Oculto Island alone. To Robin's shock, one of the screens featured a live scene from Tanium Island, with a clear view of the docked Thousand Sunny. The ship bobbed innocently on the surface of the water, unaware it was being watched. As Robin looked closer, she could vaguely sight what could only have been the form of Zoro pacing across the deck, apparently on day watch. Robin's eyes narrowed. It wasn't like him to be moving about like that whilst on watch. If ever moving, it would be while going about his strenuous exercises up in the crow's nest, not prowling the deck like this. What was going on?
Her ears rung with the sudden creaking and clicking of the door up the stairs behind her. In the surrounding silence, it seemed loud as a thunderclap. She wasn't alone. Someone had managed to slip by her defences. She'd been found out.
"I thought I might find you here at some point," a crisp voice announced the additional presence.
Robin felt her heart catch in her chest and her stomach turn. She cursed herself, so careless. She'd been found out by none other than the bounty hunter himself.
Relaxing her face into an expertly calm expression, she turned and came face to face with Governor Itzal. "You certainly take your profession seriously," she noted, her eyes not leaving his as he stepped down the staircase to the lower level.
"Perceptive as always, Nico Robin," he commended her, "A valuable trait for one of your calibre, I suppose it was only a matter of time before I found you here. Trying to find a means of escape, are you? Good luck with that."
Robin tried to think of a witty response, but found none. This was all her fault. She'd been an idiot, she should have acted sooner. She would need more than just good luck to escape Oculto now.
"It was the moment you heard my voice at the inn the other day, wasn't it?," Itzal questioned, "That you'd deduced you were in trouble."
Robin swallowed. "That's correct," she replied.
"I would expect no less."
So while she'd known Itzal was a bounty hunter, he'd known of her knowledge. She'd let her guard down too far, he'd been ahead of her all this time. Her eyes quickly flicked to the closed door, but what could she do now?
"But even with your level of observation, I doubt you could have guessed what would be in stall for you upon arriving at Oculto's shores," Itzal said, before glancing up to the screen that featured the Sunny. "The Straw Hat pirates, am I right? They're docked in at Tanium Island right now, as you can see."
Robin's eyes flicked back to the screen to see that the unmistakable form of Brook had joined Zoro on deck, and the two appeared to be locked in conversation.
"I won't let you get anywhere near them," she said coldly, though knew she was in no position to form such a threat.
Itzal laughed. "You think I'm interested in their bounties? No. I'm not interested in your crew at all."
Robin frowned. This, while seemingly unproblematic, was not what she'd been expecting. "But you're—"
"—a bounty hunter, yes. Or rather was. Had this been a number of years ago, I would have targeted your entire crew, but now…" he switched the Straw Hat monitor off, "Whatever misfortune or troubles have or haven't currently befallen them are their own, and are no longer of any concern to you."
Robin's eyes narrowed in confusion.
Itzal continued. "Aside from their missing archaeologist and shipwright, of course. If I'd wanted all of you, that would have only been too easy. I was able to get you over here to me, after all. You're aware by now of this island's nature, thanks to that cyborg. Do you really think that storm that swept you here was an accident?"
"What do you mean by that?" Robin asked.
"Among many other things, some of this island's incubators' abilities involve manufacturing unnatural storms and sending them out to sea. Any goods retrieved by the storm will wash up onshore within only a few hours," Itzal's face twisted into a grin, "And now you know the truth behind how you arrived here in the first place."
"You… you planned this all?" Robin questioned. She was in far deeper than she'd thought.
Itzal inclined his head and continued. "Why am I interested in you Nico Robin, you might be wondering? Well that's really quite simple…"
"Why?" Robin fired the question.
Itzal grinned, bending and leaning in closer. "Why, indeed," he whispered in her ear before stepping back and pacing. "Because I'm not interested in bounties anymore," he spoke, his voice full of mirth as though he were a child who'd finally saved enough pocket-money to buy the toy he wanted, "I'll collect the occasional few when I need the extra funding, but since a certain incident eleven years ago, my vision has changed to something much more valuable, something I can only obtain with you, Nico Robin. Of course, my plan has not gone perfectly thus far; you were never meant to have company when I manufactured that storm to wash you to my shores in the first place. That other cyborg is completely unnecessary, though it won't be hard to get rid of him. I might even cash in his bounty while I'm at it, for old times' sake."
At once, Robin's defensive reflexes came into play, and before she knew it, she had Itzal locked in the furious grip of six arms, threatening to snap his spine with the slightest movement. "If you dare hurt him," she spoke, each word uttered with all the venom she could muster, "I'll make sure you lose any ability to function, even with the riches of every bounty in the world."
"Oh?" Itzal chuckled, completely unfazed, "Do you love him, Nico Robin? The way you loved me?"
Robin's frown deepened, though she didn't withdraw her grip in the slightest. "I've never loved you."
"Are you absolutely certain?"
"Yes and you know it," she replied, "You've known from the start that I knew you were a bounty hunter. Why would I have feelings for you with that in mind?"
He smirked. "Look at you, acting as though you have the upper hand… Who said I was talking about recent times?"
A sudden and unexpected fatigue hit Robin like a brick wall, slamming into her core from somewhere along her left arm. She dropped to her knees, her hold on Itzal diminishing entirely.
"S-sea stone?" she shivered as he waved an ungloved hand at her. Although completely flesh-covered, underneath must have been infused with the substance, and all he'd needed to do was touch one of the arms that had restrained him.
"Why you, Nico Robin?" Itzal pondered, circling her like some sort of bird of prey. He seemed to almost be gloating. "It's about time I truly answered that question…"
Robin shifted uncomfortably as he squatted down opposite her, where he looked her evenly in the eye.
"Well I've always been the one who's pulled the strings you know," he said quietly, before he reached around her and dragged his long fingers down below her left shoulder blade, along the old, bothersome scar.
Even with the fabric of her shirt protecting her from direct contact, Robin's breath hitched as she felt the chill of the dormant injury spread throughout her entire body. All at once the scattered shards of confusion came together clearly to decipher one name.
"Still hurts?" Itzal whispered in a tone she'd only heard in some of the darkest nightmares about her old reality that left her bathed in a chilling sweat and trying to convince herself that it couldn't happen, even if it already had. "Yes, I remember where I cut you. That scar will last forever."
That tone had come from elsewhere before the nightmares.
"Victorigen," Robin spoke, the name like a poison dart. It was the first time she'd spoken it aloud in years. She hadn't even given a name the other day while on the bridge with Franky when she'd reflected on the 'long gone' bounty hunter who'd scarred her. But here he was, not nearly as long gone as she'd thought all these years.
"That's right," he said, "You left the job unfinished. As you can see, I am still very alive."
Now that she listened closely, while different, his voice still had that clear crispiness. Robin's heart pounded almost audibly in her chest, and she fought to keep her breath even. Itzal, Victorigen… they were one in the same. He was one step ahead of her, just like all those years ago. Robin clenched her fists in frustration. How could she have been careless enough not to see into this?
"However," Itzal, or rather Victorigen, continued, "While you didn't kill me, I didn't come out unscratched. I look and sound different, don't I? After our incident, it's only natural you presumed me dead. After all, most humans would have perished back there, all the others did. That was the day I turned from bounty hunting, save for dabbling from time to time when I needed the cash. I'm not after your bounty Nico Robin, nor that cyborg's. I am after something much more valuable. Revenge."
"You've got nothing to seek vengeance for," Robin said, her voice masterfully smooth over the storm of anxiety raging on the inside, "What happened to you back there was coming for you all along. All I did was remain alive."
"Alive, huh?" Victorigen spat, "Isn't being alive your crime in the first place, Nico Robin?"
"No," Robin replied strongly, standing to her feet, "Simply living is no one's crime. Not even yours."
The former bounty hunter's demeanour changed suddenly. The mirth in his eyes was replaced by cool malice and his smug grin vanished. "I'm not sure exactly what's gone on in the recent years of your life, Robin," he said, referring to only her given name for once, "But doubtlessly, living with the Straw Hat crew has changed you. It's blinded you from the reality you've run from all your life. I thought it was quite clear after our last encounter that someone like you is never meant to have Nakama."
"And you were wrong."
Victorigen chuckled once again, his contempt returning. "My body was rendered entirely useless after that incident, you know. Initially I modified this new body of mine simply to survive afterwards. Much like that cyborg friend of yours, I suppose. But as time went by I chose to adopt it more to suit my needs. As you can see…" without warning he grabbed her wrists with a single hand in a crushing force that would defiantly bruise. Robin hissed in pain, her knees buckling again as she struggled to remain upright. "Seastone, a primary weakness of fruit users, second only to the sea itself… Now that I've finally managed to track you down, I can bring all those years of torment to justice. Oh and by the way, you haven't answered my question. Do you love the cyborg the way you loved me?"
Still struggling against her weakening confines, Robin gathered the strength to look her captor in the eye with the iciest glare she could muster. "Franky is nothing like you."
"Oh, so you do love him?" Victorigen laughed heartily, "In that case, I'm glad he came along with you. This will make things interesting…"
"I won't let you lay a hand on him."
"I won't even need to. You know, it's pathetic," he spat, "That someone like you could even dream of being loved. What were you thinking? That you could have a happy ending? I don't care if you have Nakama or are in love with that cyborg. I'll see to it myself that your ending is not a happy one."
As Victorigen released his grip, Robin fell to the floor. Exhausting chills ran up and down from every nerve in her body, and her wrists rung with a dull ache. She gasped to keep her breath.
"Don't you get it, Nico Robin?" Victorigen questioned from above her, "I may have given up on bounty hunting long ago, but with you it's personal. Ever since that day eleven years ago my soul purpose has been to track you down and extract my revenge. You thought you were one step ahead of me, Nico Robin. Just like last time I've got you figured out, but this time I will not fail."
Robin couldn't close her eyes and try to convince herself it was all a dream, because if she did, she knew she'd be greeted by the familiar nightmares of a seemingly distant past, and an inescapable realisation that that nightmare had returned.
"Don't you remember?" a haunting whisper graced her ears, though whether it was from memory or current reality, she couldn't tell, "Once you open yourself up to someone, you can't hide from them."
I'm not sure if that was a predictable twist or not, but regardless it's made the story more interesting, and we're getting a move on through the plot. The next chapter will be entirely a flashback btw, concerning Robin's past with Itzal/Victorigen. Any and all feedback would be very much appreciated!