Hey guys! Thanks again to everyone who reviewed that last chapter, and anyone who read it at all! It was the long ass flashback chapter. There are no more flashbacks now, we're back to the present (:
Chapter Seven: The Double-Edged Blade
The carpeted floor was cold and hard.
Robin pushed herself upright, the weakness brought upon by Victorigen's sea-stone touch having worn off. Still, her body felt heavy. Once again her past had caught up with her, and in a most unsavoury manner.
Victorigen stood observing from nearby, a quiet smile on his face as he watched her. "Fond memories?" he asked, "Or not so? I must say that final encounter of ours is not remembered as such a happy incident on my part. But today I'll be setting the score even. You won't be escaping this time, Robin."
Robin shifted herself into a sitting position, her icy gaze regarding him with equal despise to that which she felt.
"I have waited eleven years for this," he lamented, "Eleven years of dissatisfaction. Having failed my previously unsoiled name, I chose a new one. 'Itzal' is quite fitting, don't you think?"
Robin chose not to answer his question, and instead pointed out the fallacies she'd seen in his claim. "Everything that happened back there was your doing," she said, "Even the malfunctions in whatever that invention was below deck, which allowed me to escape and caused you to have to modify your body to survive. If you're looking for revenge, the one you should be after is yourself. You're just hiding from your own mistakes."
Victorigen frowned at her statement. In a swift movement, he crossed the floor and landed a solid kick to her midsection.
Robin recoiled in pain, the force sending her skidding across the ground momentarily.
"And yet if you didn't exist, this wouldn't have happened in the first place," Victorigen said as he approached again, this time placing his floor against her, as though threatening her to make any sudden move or snide comment. "Having said all that, it's funny you should mention that little malfunction," he said with a twisted grin. He glanced over to his workstation and to the monitors that showcased a number of different locations on the island. "This island's area is roughly ten by ten kilometres. That's one hundred square kilometres, you know." The seemingly random fact must have served greater purpose to what he was eluding to. "Within each of those square kilometres, there is an incubator positioned beneath the soil every ten meters. There are ten thousand of them though out this island, and each is under my direct control. According to what many of my subordinates believe, these help to control and maintain the island's climate. And while that is true, there is also so much more…"
Robin straightened up again as Victorigen removed his foot from her side.
He proceeded to wander over to his desk and the monitors. "I learned from that error. While the initial design itself failed, I've learned to weaponize the event that killed my subordinates eleven years ago. In whatever location, to whatever magnitude I see fit. To an extent of course. Come, watch closely…"
Begrudgingly, Robin rose to her feet and stood beside him. It would do no good to make a run for it right now, and she refused to show weakness. She stood tall and strong despite the protesting ache in her gut, though made sure to keep a healthy space between herself and the former bounty hunter.
"This screen here," Victorigen said, indicating to a monitor towards the top right of the wall which depicted a quiet forest scene, "Is live feed from the opposite side of this island. And this here," he said, rolling up his left sleeve and displaying some sort of dial within his left forearm, "Is a part of my body. Now keep your eye on that tree in the centre of the screen."
Robin watched said tree as Victorigen twisted the dial and lightly traced something with his finger.
Suddenly, the ground beneath the tree exploded upwards in a booming blast. The bark was blown to pieces and all the leaves incinerated in an instant. A moment later, all that was left was a smouldering heap of debris.
"Of course there's still some perfecting to be done yet," was Victorigen's commentary as Robin looked on in alarm, "But I'm sure you now understand the basic enterprise. This dial and all those incubators are connected, it's rather self-explanatory. Why, you were actually part of my inspiration behind this weapon. I'd always admired the way you could bloom limbs onto any surface within your vision, and while this little trick of mine may not be as accurate or contain as much stamina at this moment in time—that was only a small explosion, but after a large one, the weapon's abilities are nullified for a little while— it still has a way to go. Nonetheless, I believe it is accurate enough for me to get you to do what I want you to do," his eyes filled with a possessive aura, "Everyone on Oculto Island, whether they know it or not, is entirely at my mercy."
"The destruction of that weapon killed your subordinates," Robin said, "Didn't they mean anything to you?"
"Their deaths were unfortunate," Victorigen admitted, "However, my largest misfortune on that day was allowing a valuable prisoner to escape. But today is the day I'll set my record straight, and their deaths will no longer be in vain."
Robin frowned. "What are you planning?"
The corners of Victorigen's mouth turned upwards, "All in good time, my dear."
She felt sickened by such mockery, but didn't let her distaste show.
"Well first off," Victorigen began, "That cyborg needs to go."
Robin's fists clenched. She knew she was on no position of power, but she'd fight anyway. "I won't let you do anything to Franky."
"And I won't need to," Victorigen replied smugly, "Because that will be your job."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"What I mean is that you're going to force that cyborg to leave this place without you."
"He wouldn't leave me here alone!"
"True. Not if he thought you wanted to leave. But if you were to convince him you desperately wanted for him to leave this place so that you could stay here with me, well then… do you think he's respect those wishes?"
"It wouldn't be about just him," Robin objected, "It would be about all our other Nakama as well. He wouldn't let me abandon them."
"And what would you know about Nakama, Nico Robin?"
"A whole lot more than you do."
Victorigen gave her a dangerous look and Robin chose to say no more to avoid the risk of him attacking. "Well those Nakama of yours are elsewhere," he said after a moment, "And you're going to make that cyborg leave without any of the others in mind. It's only the two of you, so make it personal. Between the two of us, we've already established the fact that you love him, isn't that right? But because you make yourself so cryptic and unreadable, he has no idea you return his feelings. With all the time you've been spending pretending to be infatuated with me, he's bound to believe you've come to love me instead."
"I'm not going to do that," Robin objected boldly, uncaring of any attack Victorigen may launch on her for her impudence.
None came.
"Perhaps I should rephrase all this," Victorigen said calmly, "Make him leave, or I will execute him myself," he indicated to the screen on which the remains of the tree were still smouldering, "You've seen how easy that would be for me. I wonder what you would do if he were to die, Robin?"
Robin felt herself pale at the thought. This was a dangerous situation, and she had to protect Franky at all costs. Even if it meant giving into the wishes of her enemy for the time being. She attempted to hide any tremor from her voice when she net spoke. "What would you have me do then?"
Victorigen sneered in triumph. "Well I don't want this to be a mediocre effort on your part, Robin," he said, "I know you can be very convincing, very manipulative. That's a trait we share. We both know that cyborg has indiscrete feelings for you. So I want you to break his cyborg heart. I know you have it in you."
Robin felt her firm exterior momentarily crumble.
Victorigen needed no more of a queue to grab the opportunity as quickly as it came. He withdrew a set of seastone handcuffs and fastened one end around Robin's nearest wrist before she could regain her proper bearings.
"What are you—?!"
"No need to panic," he cooed to soothe her protest, "I'm doing something generous for you," he clipped the other half of the handcuff to a narrow pipe in the wall, "I'm giving you time to stop and think about how you'll go about this convincingly. I can't have you approach your dear cyborg in your current state, or you're bound to slip up immediately, and then I'll have to kill him. So I'll leave you to mull it over for a few hours. How does that sound?"
Robin didn't respond as she tried to ignore the weakening sting in her captive wrist. Victorigen had fastened it to the pipe in a way that left her unable to lover her arm below the level of her eyes, and if she were to let it relax, the seastone would dig in. She'd need to remain standing like this for however long he saw fit, and then…
"Once I let you out of this room, you have one hour. If that cyborg hasn't left this island by then, he'd dead. And don't even think about escaping with him or blabbing. I'm watching you, and you know what power I hold."
Robin slowly made her way back along the hallway and down the staircase, towards the common room. Her thoughts were loud in her mind.
Upon her release, Victorigen had informed her of a boat now in the port Franky would be free to use to leave the island aboard. Now the difficult part would be getting him to use it without her.
What would she say to him? Hurting Franky like this was something she never wanted to do. And yet if she didn't do it or tried to explain her actions, Victorigen would kill him. There was no way around it. Last time she'd been this free a prisoner was when she'd encountered Victorigen the first time, but there was a difference between knowing you were on the road to hell and being completely oblivious.
Before long, she found herself back at the entrance to the common room. After a moments pause, she pushed open one of the doors and stepped inside. She only had an hour.
For a moment, she thought she was alone in the common room and was afraid she'd be faced with the added dilemma of having to find Franky before getting him to leave. But after a few quick seconds, he appeared from the direction of his quarters, his tell-tale blue hair swept up into its original style Robin loved so much.
But it wasn't the time for admiring his hair, although seeing him right here and now was like a first breath of fresh air after nearly drowning. He was here, just as he had been in the morning. Unchanged, unaware of the events perspiring around him.
"Robin!" he called upon noticing her and Robin became vaguely aware she'd been standing motionless in the doorway, "Where have you been all this time? Not that I was worried, of course! You were gone a super long while."
It was a moment before Robin realised his statement warranted her response. She made her way further into the common room before replying. "I took a walk," she explained promptly, "And then I met up with Itzal on the way, and we had one of our conversations. You know how long I can talk to him for," she ended with a convincing laugh.
Franky glanced at her, his eyes narrowed for a moment. "Right then," he said with a nod, "At least you enjoyed yourself, I guess…"
She hated the way she had to lie to him. And the worst has yet to come… Nonetheless, his presence was comforting. But it couldn't last. Victorigen was watching her every move.
"I came up with some new ideas for that invention I was telling you about earlier," Franky informed her.
Robin took a moment to recall the project he'd been talking about on the way to breakfast just this morning. It seemed longer ago than it should have. "Oh, have you?" she asked, trying to sound interested although she knew she shouldn't have been.
Franky launched into an explanation of all the additional features and gadgets he'd decided on adding to the contraption, and what purposes they would serve.
Robin sat and just appreciated the sound of his voice although she took no words in. He was right here. So close, yet so far off. Again, like that time eleven years ago, she'd fallen into Victorigen's trap. Once again he was one step ahead of her. She should have known better. She'd gotten herself into such a mess with no way out other than doing exactly what he wanted her to do. Fighting against him now would be far too high a risk. She'd have to go through with his demands, for now at least. And that meant Franky would be getting hurt in the process, even though he had nothing to do with it all. You're wasting time, she mentally told herself. She had to get him to leave and she had to do it soon. There was no time for idle chit-chat when his life was at stake.
"Usually you can't keep them out in the rain, because they'll rust," Franky was explaining his invention in detail by now, "But this one actually uses the water. It can even help look after your flowers, Robin."
Robin smiled despite the situation the cyborg was blissfully unaware of.
He'd always been kind to her. Even when all he knew of her was that she was a danger, even when he'd had every reason to curse her existence. Instead he'd saved her, and in more ways than one. He was always trying to impress her. Always looking out for her. Always trying to make her smile…
He was in danger and he didn't even know.
So lost in her thoughts, Robin didn't notice Franky had stopped his animate talking. It was the soft touch of his hand stroking her hair that brought her back.
He was crouched beside her, surveying her in slight concern. One of his smaller hands emerged from his massive palm and wiped away a stray tear Robin hadn't even been aware she'd cried.
Her breath hitched in her lungs. She wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch, to open up to him about how badly she'd stuffed up. But that would do neither of them any favours. As it was, silently crying in front of him like this was a terrible start. Hadn't she just learned not to be so careless?
"Robin…" Franky said, his voice soft in contrast to the enthusiastic tone he'd been exhibiting only moments before, his large hand coming to rest on her shoulder. He pinned her in a look of such kind, genuine concern, Robin felt as though her heart would tear in two. "Do you want to talk about it?" he offered.
Robin quickly recomposed herself and applied the cool and passive exterior she wore to well. "Nothing," she said, "There's nothing to talk about, Franky." She placed her hand over his in attempt to push it away, but Franky gently caught her wrist. She winced.
"What's this?" he asked before she could pull away.
Robin mentally hadn't exactly paid much attention to her wrists over the past few hours, but she recalled the way Victorigen had grabbed at her with such vigorous force as well as the digging of the sea stone cuffs, and how she'd known they'd leave a mark.
Sure enough, a short glance proved her wrists were lightly smudged with yellowing bruise. A small, partially-open gash slanted down the left one, from where Victorigen had had her stand with the handcuff. Her entire arm still ached dully from the encounter, although she hadn't noticed it until now.
Slowly, Frank lowered her wrist and let go of it. He squat down so he was eye-level with her. He was terribly calm, and when he spoke his voice was filled with a quiet evenness Robin had rarely heard from him. "Who did this to you, Robin?"
"No one did," she replied as passively as she could, "I slipped over while out on that walk. I managed to break the fall, but it put a lot of pressure on my wrists."
Franky's eyes continued to look into hers, very carefully. Why aren't you being honest with me? they said. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Franky asked.
Robin shook her head, but knew it would make no difference. She'd seen Franky like this only very few times in the past, it ever. He didn't seem it, but he was angry.
"I'm sorry I was unable to stop that from happening," he said, "But it won't be happening again," he stood, "Pack your things, we're leaving now."
"What?"
"We're getting out of here," he said, "Right now. No waiting for any ferries or for the others to get here. We're leaving now. We should have left earlier. Go down to the port and wait for me. I have something to discuss with Itzal…"
"No!" Robin shot back firmly, "I'm happy staying here. Why don't you leave on your own if you want to so badly?"
Before Franky could respond, the two doors to the common room opened at once and Victorigen himself entered. His presence was, in a way that sickened her, somewhat relieving. She had no idea how she could carry out the argument with Franky on her own from here.
"Is there an issue?" Victorigen asked, effortlessly sounding genuinely concerned.
Robin noted the way Franky 's hands formed fists when he spoke. "Yes," he said positioning himself protectively between Robin and the new arrival, "There super is, Itzal."
Robin sighed. "It has to do with what we were talking about, Itzal."
Franky looked at her in confusion. "What were you talking with him about, Robin?"
Robin couldn't return his gaze.
"Robin was being quite honest with me earlier, actually," Victorigen stated, "Seems as though there's a lot she hasn't told you. Haven't you noticed how aloof she's been toward you in her time here?"
"What did you do to her?" Franky asked.
"I didn't do anything. I only listened to what she had to say, and I'm fairly certain she wishes to stay here with me."
"Is this true?" Franky asked Robin.
She returned his gaze, "It is."
"I'm not leaving without you," he insisted, "What about the others, hey? They'd be super upset if you didn't return."
Robin shook her head. "Take this, if you must," she said, scooping The Red Thread off the table and thrusting it into Franky's arms, "But that's all. I'm staying here."
"But it's your favourite book, Robin…" he argued, "And why stay here? Is this what you want?!"
"Just take the book," Robin said, "You want to know what happens at the end, don't you? Read it!"
Franky stored the book away into one of his pockets, but he wasn't done, "How will this help your dream?" he demanded, "How will it help Luffy?"
"The lady says she doesn't want to leave with you," Victorigen interjected, "You should respect her wishes. There's even a boat waiting down at the port for you."
Franky turned to Victorigen. "What did you do to her?" he maintained.
"I've already answered your question. As I said, all I did was sat and listened to the innermost feelings of this woman you call your Nakama."
"Liar," Franky shot back, crossing the room to him, "Those bruises along her wrists are your doing, aren't they? And you're forcing her to keep quiet, huh?" he took him by the scruff of the neck and pushed him against the wall, "Listen, you've been hospitable," he said, "But when one of my Nakama suddenly shows up with bruises after seeing you and requests something super out of character, I have my reasons to be suspicious."
While she admired the way Franky retained most of his calm and stood up in this situation, Robin did not like the look of where this was going for him.
Victorigen caught eye contact with her from across the room, and briefly gestured down to his arm with a smug grin, to where she knew the explosive dial was nestled. "Well maybe you don't actually know Robin at all," he provoked.
That would do it. Franky's grip on him tightened.
"Franky stop!" Robin shouted, running over to intervene.
What happened next was too fast for Robin to fully register. Next thing she knew, she was on the floor, flat on her back. The impact of whatever had happened actually hadn't hurt at all. It was the suddenness that had left her somewhat winded and in a state of confusion as to what had just occurred.
Franky was beside her within the next instant. "Robin!" his voice panicked, "Are you alright?!"
"I'm…" she began, sitting herself upright.
Franky's hands shook as he assisted her in doing so. "I'm so sorry, Robin! I super didn't mean it. Are you hurt?"
Suddenly, it made sense. In Robin's abrupt intervention between the two cyborgs, Franky had been on the verge of attacking. Robin had grabbed hold of his arm, and he'd accidentally knocked her to the ground.
It really was nothing though, it probably looked far worse than what it actually was.
"I'm alright," was what Robin was about to say. But the words never managed to come out.
Victorigen's seastone hand encased her shoulder, and Robin felt her energy evaporate like steam. Its potency was a lot stronger than a standard set of cuffs, after all.
"Robin!" Franky called her name again, completely unaware of Victorigen's intervention in the scenario.
"Well look, now you've hurt her," Victorigen said snidely.
As Franky pulled back, Robin had no choice but to relax into Victorigen's weakening hold. Even if she tried, there was nothing she could do against the force of seastone being applied to her shoulder. Deceiving Franky like this felt totally wrong. It made her feel physically ill. But if it was what would save him from being exposed to Victorigen's deadly assets, she'd have to play along. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she suddenly grew aware of the other two's conversation.
"Obviously, that ridiculous body of yours is a danger," Victorigen said in response to whatever Franky may just have said.
Robin had never so badly wanted to punch someone in her life, and at the same time, she couldn't remember a situation in which it was so vital not to attack. All she could do was lie against him until he released his hold. There was nothing she could do without Franky getting hurt as a result.
Victorigen slowly released his seastone hold on her and helped her stand. "Up you get… there we go, are you alright to stand, Robin?" She nodded and he leant in. "Now would be the time for you to make the final blow," he whispered so quietly she needed to strain her ears in order to hear him, "If you want him to live, that is."
"Robin, I—" Franky began.
"No, Franky," she interrupted before he could continue, "I don't want to hear it. I think I've made my stance clear."
Franky didn't say anything in response, but looked at her in a way that made her feel as though her heart had been cleaved in two.
However, Robin's façade was flawless as all her years of training had ensured. She fixed him directly in the eye the coolest stare she could muster. "I don't want to be with you," she maintained, "Leave. Don't bother coming back." There was not much more she could say. Even a carefully trained exterior like hers wouldn't be lasting much longer. She didn't want to look Franky in the eye, but knew that if she had to appear genuine, nothing else would suffice.
Franky stared at her for a few more moments, his expression unreadable. He then softly inclined his head. "Alright," he said, "Yeah, I get it now. I'm sorry I've been a nuisance. Goodbye, Robin." Without another glance, Franky turned and exited the room, bound for the port.
As the door slammed shut, Robin felt her facade finally slip. She dropped to her knees, her heart thundering in her chest, feeling as though it was pumping in tiny fragments, having already been torn apart.
"I had a feeling I'd need to assist you," Victorigen said, "Luckily I showed up and intervened."
Robin ignored his comment. His voice was the last thing she wanted to hear right now.
"You really do love him, don't you?"
It didn't matter anymore. Robin nodded, the pain in her chest rising to a whole new level.
"Then you did the best thing you could have done in your situation. You let go of him. And now he can return to his Nakama without any fuss."
She knew this wouldn't be the end of it. She may have hurt his feelings, but Robin knew Franky would know better. He'd be bringing the rest of the crew back here as soon as he could, and Victorigen would have a war on his hands when they arrived.
Still, she couldn't block Franky's voice from her mind. "Sorry I've been a nuisance…" Robin tightened her fists to a point where it felt as though her nails would tear through her skin. She didn't know much about Franky's childhood before Water 7, but she knew his father had abandoned him on the Grand Line. For being a nuisance…
"Seems like breaking his heart was a double-edged blade for you then," Victorigen remarked in amusement as he observed the exterior evidence of her anguish, "I'll give you a few moments. We have a few moments to kill, after all."
Robin grimaced. She wouldn't give in now. There would be another way around this. She withheld the tears and got to her feet. She had to remain strong, for Franky. "I'm ready now," she said.
Victorigen glanced at her in vague surprise. "That was a fast recovery," he noted, "You're colder than I remember you being."
"I'm the same as ever," Robin declined.
"Anyway Robin, the show is not yet over," he said, taking her by the upper arm and pulling her out of the room.
He practically dragged her through the manor and down a narrow, unused corridor. From what she could see, there were no staff around. Where had they all gone? Robin shook her head. That was the least of her concerns right now.
The passage seemed to slope downwards until Robin was sure they were underground, beneath the manor. She was beginning to worry what the former bounty hunter had in stall for her down here, when they eventually resurfaced into another building.
The interior was unfamiliar and Robin glanced around for any indication as to where they were. She caught sight of a low window, making out the forms of some familiar buildings against the darkening sky. They were in the town.
"This is the observation tower," Victorigen informed her as he prompted her up a spiral staircase, "The tallest building on the island, you would have seen it from any point in town. You can see everything from at the top, and there's a particularly good view of the harbour."
They soon reached the top of the structure and sure enough, the view was just as Victorigen had described.
"Ah, right on time," he noted, pointing down to the port, "There he goes. I'll let you see him off."
Robin looked over and made out Franky's distinct figure, small from this distance, as it disappeared into the boathouse. If only she could talk to him right now, assure him that she'd meant nothing of the words that had been exchanged just a little earlier…
A few moments passed in silence, before a small ship exited the port. Robin watched it longingly, knowing Franky was aboard, sailing away from Oculto. She knew that regardless of what was exchanged between them earlier, he would be hurrying back to the others to fill them in on what happened, and then Victorigen would learn the hard way about what happened when someone messed with some of the Straw Hats. She'd keep him and any of his subordinates at bay in the mean time, she'd just have to—
A sudden explosion shockwaved through the air, and a pillar of flames erupted into the sky before expanding in an over-arching blast.
The sound was near deafening, and yet Robin heard nothing. Her sight was her only sense that seemed to be working, and all she could see hull of Franky's ship as it was torn to pieces and engulfed in the inferno. Everything else was a low buzz in the background.
She tried to form words, but there was no sound she could string together. To the right of her vision, she noticed Victorigen had his sleeve rolled up, a hand firmly over the dial in his arm.
"The soil isn't the only place those incubators were planted. Did I forget to mention that?" his voice faded back into her line of hearing, "Didn't you learn not to trust my words, Nico Robin?"
She felt weak. Her body was shaking all over and she knew she'd probably collapse under the smallest pressure. That didn't just happen. No. She refused to believe it.
"With an explosion of that size, this thing will be useless for another two hours," Victorigen said with a glance down at the dial, "But that's more than what I'll be needing."
Robin couldn't form any words. It just didn't seem real. It couldn't be real. And yet it was, just like everything else that had happened in her time on this island. Just as real as the betrayal of her so-called Nakama from eleven years earlier.
"And the best part about it?" Victorigen leant in to whisper, just as he had done all those years ago, "He died never knowing how you truly felt."
Only three chapters left after this one, so obviously a lot will be happening. Thank you all again for your continued support! Also, I'd like to hear what you guys thought of this chapter. Do you hate me as much as I do?