Spandam was a believer all right, and it was making Kia pretty jittery. Nothing was going as it was supposed to, and she knew it was her fault, but she was ignoring that fact for now as she recalled the past thirty minutes.

"We have to get Nico Robin to the Gates of Justice- that's the mission," Lucci had stated, sounding bored.

"They'll keep following after us," Kaku said. "It appears they will not be swayed, even with the threat of the World Government coming after them."

"We could easily set a trap that keeps them in the tower of law," Kalifa added in speculation, as she glanced over at the Fukuro. "Perhaps letting it slip that they need a specific key to get the sea prism stone handcuffs off their friend, and since they don't know which key they need…"

"They would have to collect them all, ya-yoi!" Kumadori finished for her, as he understood what she was suggesting. "They would have no choice but to fight us all- which would ultimately spell their doom!"

They all turned, hearing Spandam squawk loudly. "What should we do?!" he yelled, looking petrified as he grabbed Kia's shirt and pulled her to face him. "Run for it?!"

Kia's eyes went wide as the members of CP9 were studying her again. "uh, I dunno?" she muttered, trying to sound clueless. She had been wanting to mess with Spandam, not get all of CP9 thinking the same. Best case scenario would be a cell with frequent interrogations if they started believing it.

Spandam turned and started moving into the office. "I'm taking these two to the Gates of Justice immediately! Do what you need to do to stop those pirates!" He grabbed his cloak and sword, and turned, seeing the girl looking pleased.

Just in case… he thought as he buckled his sword to his belt. "Lucci! You come with us, and protect me! I mean, uh, escort the prisoners."

Lucci glanced at the women, and seemed indifferent as he moved to the desk grabbing a set of handcuffs and holding them out to Kia with a smirk. She held out her hands in front of her, and he merely shook his head.

Kia moved her hands behind her back, not liking the amused expression that Lucci wore as he walked towards her. He tightened them a little too tightly, and she could just imagine the smirk he wore as she squeaked.

Hearing Jabra talk about how many of her friends he would kill, had Kia's temper rising, and she blurted out that he didn't stand a chance- that all of them would be defeated.

The operatives glanced at her again, then turned back as if she hadn't spoken, and Kaku stated that he would be fighting the swordsman. Kalifa added that she could easily handle the womanizer. Kumadori said he would go give Fukuro back up, and Jabra let them all know they had better hurry, or he would kill them all before the others had a chance.

Spandam strode off, and Lucci gave Kia a push, saying "follow him." She hesitated, and his eyebrow rose menacingly. "We simply need to get you both there alive," he said meaningfully. "Not unharmed." He reached out for Robin, grabbing her arm and squeezing until she gasped.

"I'm going, I'm going," Kia caved easily, and hurried to follow after Spandam. She stared at the floor as she moved, angry at herself for letting her temper get the better of her. I've given away more than I should have, she thought miserably. Now they won't underestimate the others like they should have…

Looking back, she could see several things she should have done differently, but it was too late for that now. There was a good part, however, and that was that Robin was no longer fighting against the idea of rescue- and was in fact trying to fight back against being taken away.

They weren't able to do much yet. Kia had felt bad that she couldn't hold back the scream when Lucci had wrenched her handcuffed arms upwards, and Robin had stopped in her tracks- and come along quietly after that.

Spandam had been asking questions of Kia, who replied each time that she didn't know the future and she had been trying to stall him, to which he would scoff and tell her that they would see once they had her at Navy headquarters.

Kia moved forwards slowly, playing up her injuries from a fall as the cause. Lucci continued to walk behind her, and if she paused at all, he would put his hand on her back to propel her forward once again.

"I wonder what my new position will be, once I get that promotion," Spandam began talking yet again. "After all, I'll be the hero of the Navy. No! The hero of the entire world!"

Kia had a sudden thought to give him what he wanted- even if it was a complete lie. Perhaps she could get him to let his guard down if she had him feeling invincible.

"Admiral," she muttered, and then gave a fake gasp as if she had said something she didn't want to. She cursed herself, using all the pent-up emotions from earlier to help sell it.

"Whaaaat?" Spandam cackled with joy. "Did you hear that? WA HA HA!" He stopped, and turned to Kia, pointing right at her face. "Tell me everything!"

Kia looked back at him with a stony expression, and he sneered, giving Lucci a nod. Lucci grabbed Robin's arm, and it was enough to have Kia shaking. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you!" she replied, looking back and forth between them.

"So, the fleet admiral is looking to retire, but he wants to go out on a high note!" she said, weaving fact and fiction together in what she hoped was a seamless way. "Being able to have the threat of the ancient weapon will give him what he needs, and he'll suggest Admiral Aokiji as his replacement."

"And of course, Aokiji will choose his most trusted subordinate to take his place," Spandam continued, already being able to see it in his mind. "I'll have the might of thousands at my beck and call!"

"And Lucci will lead CP9 after that," Kia said hesitantly, unsure if that would be something he wanted. However, Lucci looked indifferent.

Robin was horrified, but as she looked over at Kiana, she could see that while she was speaking of disturbing things, she wasn't truly upset. She was playing the part well for Spandam, but Robin knew her better than that. Glancing back at Lucci, she could see that he also wasn't buying it, though he didn't say a word to refute her either.

Robin decided to just go along for now and conserve her strength. The sea prism stone was leaving her exhausted, and she would need all her strength to help when the opportunity to escape finally presented itself.

It wasn't much longer, when they heard a large crashing sound. It seemed to reverberate throughout the tunnel, and most definitely came from behind them.

"What was that?!" Spandam cried, looking behind them. "Probably just the pipes or something… right?!"

"Not likely," Lucci replied, refusing to sugar coat it. "Perhaps one of the pirates blew the doors open?"

"Those solid steel doors?!" Spandam squeaked in fear. "No! No! There's no way that they could even find this place!"

"Well, they could," Lucci said with an excited smirk. "After all, we had a child and her pet following after us."

"WHAAAAAT?!" Spandam practically wet himself, and Kia gave Robin a roll of her eyes. "Why didn't you get rid of them?!"

"You didn't order me to," Lucci replied. He continued on, pushing the women ahead of him. "Would you prefer that I go back and check?" he asked.

"Vice Admiral! Vice Admiral! Urgent call on the transponder snail!"

Garp looked up, and gave a sigh, then gestured for the three he was pummeling… er… training, to take a break. The soldier ran forward, handing the snail to his commanding officer.

"This is Garp," he barked into the snail.

"Vice Admiral Garp," the reply came, and he didn't recognize the voice, so he assumed it was someone calling from headquarters. "Based on your current location, you have been summoned to answer a Buster Call," the man said.

"What?!" Garp replied, shocked. "A Buster Call?! Where?! Under whose authority?!"

"Admiral Aokiji's authority, and the location is Enies Lobby," the voice continued in the same direct tone. "The target is a group of pirates known as the -what? Oh, please hold Vice Admiral."

The line buzzed, and Garp lowered the snail. Enies Lobby?! he thought in surprise. What group of pirates could make Kuzan this desperate?!

"Vice Admiral?" the voice returned, and Garp snapped back to focus.

"I'm here," he replied.

"The order has been rescinded, as it appears that there are now enough Vice Admirals that are closer, sir."

"I can still make it," Garp replied hastily, wanting to find out what was happening.

"You are two days away, and we cannot wait. Thank you anyway sir," the voice responded, and immediately hung up, with a "cah-lick".

There was silence around Garp, as he handed the snail back to his man. The man stared at it for a moment, before asking, "Your orders sir?"

Garp looked down, a frown on his face before finally accepting that this was out of his control.

"We continue as we were," he replied, giving the man a nod. The man looked back at him in surprise, and Garp reiterated. "As you were, sailor."

"Y-yes, sir."

Reese exchanged looks with Coby and Helmeppo before turning back to Garp. She could tell that this was not the time to be flippant. "Sir?" she asked tentatively. She stayed quiet until he finally raised his head to look at her. "Can…I mean… Well… what's a buster call, sir?"

He looked over to Coby in question, and the boy nodded. Garp gave the go-ahead gesture, and he started to explain.

"It's a last-ditch maneuver," Coby said quietly. "It summons the closest five vice admirals, who attack the target without mercy, bombing from their ships until there isn't anything left. It's the worst thing I've ever read about, and as far as I know, has only been used once before, over twenty years ago."

"They just bomb something out of existence?" Helpmeppo asked.

"Right," Coby answered with a nod. "The island twenty years ago had to be taken off of all the maps, because it is no longer there. And it sounds like the same thing will happen to Enies Lobby."

"But… not if our own people are there, right?" Reese asked, still confused. "I mean, Enies Lobby is a Navy stronghold. They aren't actually going to destroy it," she turned back to Garp. "Right sir?"

Reese looked at him expectantly, seeming very sure of herself, and Garp almost didn't want to disagree, but the kid was wrong, and he had to set her straight.

"That's exactly what they are going to do, " he replied, looking back out to the water. "If they can get out of the way they won't be killed, but the attack won't stop to save them, because it means that the target may escape."

"So, what?" Reese looked shocked. "The ends justify the means?! That's crazy!"

The other three looked at each other before looking back to her, wondering if she was going to take her sudden anger out on them. "Well?!" she added, and then rolled her eyes as she watched the trio of men shrug and look uncomfortable.

"I think it's impossible to think that the Straw Hats won't be involved in all this…" Helmeppo muttered.

"Luffy seems to get into a lot of trouble, doesn't he?" Coby asked, and Reese wondered if they had forgotten that Garp was still near them. "I was really hoping that we'd get to see him."

"Weren't we going to capture them?" Reese gave him a smirk, gesturing towards the Vice Admiral.

"You all have worked very hard," Garp responded, and the three young marines looked at him in question. "Besides, we aren't on a specific mission, and I think we had better look into Water Seven. They have a pretty nasty storm this time of year, and the citizens may need assistance."

Reese waited until Garp had walked back towards the ship, and then turned to Coby. "Does that mean we aren't trying to capture them?" she asked with a hopeful grin.

Lucci was gone, staying behind to fight with Luffy, but Kia was worried, since she was changing things just by being there. Robin didn't try to run away, knowing that her friend would be hurt to get her to return, and for the same reason Kia couldn't either.

They tried to get away together, but Spandam's elephant sword had rammed into them, flinging them both into the stone wall, and causing them to topple down the stone stairs. Kia was worried she had broken something in the impact, and the idea of trying to run again had little appeal.

She was thinking furiously, upset that she had forgotten about Funkfreed and trying to remember what was coming, but all she could think of was that Franky would be coming after them.

Once they got to the top of the bridge, and saw the huge gateway looming, Kia and Robin both froze. She could hear Robin murmur "no…" and she looked to her friend, seeing the fear on her face.

She turned, calling her name to get her attention, though she had to say it twice before Robin looked at her. "Robin. We're not going in there. No matter what."

Robin was trembling from the pain, the fear and the exhaustion, but she took a deep breath and gave Kiana a nod. "No, we're not," she replied. She looked back to the gates, and out to the sea. "You could just jump out into the water," she said quietly. "You can get away."

"Not without you," Kia replied. "Besides, they're coming."

Robin paused, but eventually she nodded slowly. "I believe that," she said, the small piece of hope growing in her heart. "But… the buster call."

Kia could see her tremble yet again, and she moved closer so that she was shoulder to shoulder with Robin. "They are already headed to us," she declared, giving Robin a look of assurance. "They won't be killed, I know it."

"Get moving!" Spandam yelled, giving each of them a push. They started walking slowly, and Kia continued to limp along. Her leg was injured, but she was definitely overplaying the injury to stall for time. "I've waited a long time for this, and no one will mess this up! I'll be the government's hero! No, the hero of the entire world!"

Kia was paying more attention to Robin than she was to walking. She wanted to help, but with each step she felt her own despair growing. Where is Franky? She wondered. Shouldn't he have come by now?

"Hey! Guards of the Gates of Justice!" Spandam suddenly screamed into a transponder snail.

"We're here Sir!" the reply came. "Did you need help with the prisoners?"

"Of course I don't need help!" he yelled, offended. Robin and Kia glanced at each other determined that they would make sure that was not the case. "You all should be out here saluting! The Navy's hero is passing through!"

"Uh… of course Sir! Just a moment!" the snail clicked off immediately.

"Idiots..." Spandam muttered. He glanced back at his captives and started laughing again. "Look there!" he laughed as he pointed. "That small gate is the true entrance. A single step beyond that gate signals the end for you, Nico Robin, and the moment my name is engraved into history! Ha ha ha!"

"No!" Robin shouted, just as Kia ducked and rammed into Spandam with her shoulder. He toppled over, and Kia screamed for Robin to run.

"I'm right behind you!" Kia shouted, trying to get back to her feet, but getting tripped up by Spandam's flailing legs.

Spandam beat her to his feet and gave her a kick that had her groaning in pain and unintentionally staying down. He ran after Robin, who in her exhausted state didn't make it far before she fell. She continued to fight, even as Spandam drug her to her feet. She wiggled free and made a dash for the side of the bridge, knowing she couldn't jump, but perhaps she could have something to hold on to.

"Stupid woman!" Spandam hollered. "Your obsession with living is just disgusting!"

"Shut up!" Kia yelled from where she was laying.

"You both chose the life of criminals!" he shouted back. "And now you have to pay! The only good thing you can do in this world is to die! For the sake of justice!"

I don't want to die! Robin cried inwardly. I don't want Kiana to die! I just have to hold on… everyone is coming, they're coming! She gripped onto the side of the bridge with her teeth, holding on with all she had.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?! THERE IS NO HOPE FOR YOU!" Spandam screamed, as he ripped Robin off of the ground, causing her lip to tear open. "After 20 long years, the curtain falls on the battle of Ohara! That wretched island will finally be wiped from history!"

Robin was silent for only a moment, as the best and worst moments of her childhood flew through her mind in a series of testaments to her homeland- before the buster call that ruined everything. She heard Saul's voice telling her of her duty to tell of how Ohara fought against the entire world.

"I'M STILL ALIVE!" she screamed, as the tears ran down her face.

Spandam was taken aback, but he quickly recovered. "But you're going to die," he said in a sinister voice, as he pulled back his fist to punch her down for even thinking of talking back to him.

Just then an explosion rocked the bridge, and they all looked back to where they had come from.

"Franky!" Kia shouted, suddenly remembering about the land mine. "NO!"

Spandam looked between Robin and Kia, pulling his whip from his belt and wrapping it around Robin's torso, not caring whether or not it was too tight. He started towards the gate, dragging her along. "The guards can grab the other one, but I need to take Nico Robin through. Cutty Flam may be gone, but others may actually follow after him!"

BOOM!

"Director!"

Kia looked up, though she and Robin were looking in a different direction than the marines, back towards the Tower of Law.

"Where did that come from? Who's doing this?!" came the shouts from the marines.

Kia squinted and was able to just make out the figure. "Sniper King…" she breathed gratefully.

Franky continued to be impressed with the ladies of the Straw Hat crew. They were tough cookies, for sure. He could tell they were both injured, the blood alone that was dried over their bodies was evident of that. The tear streaks through the dirt and blood showed that they had both cried, though he had no idea for how long.

They were both physically and emotionally exhausted, but once he had taken the cuffs off of each of them, they both stood, albeit shakily, and prepared themselves to continue to fight for their freedom.

Even when Spandam had used his elephant sword, and all the marines had pointed their weapons at the trio, Franky had done all he could to keep them safe and direct every aggression at himself. But then the women had stepped up next to him.

"We'll help you!" Robin had declared, and Kia nodded.

"I don't have my weapons, but if you'll cover me, I'll grab something from the fallen marines," Kia added.

"We don't have too many to fight up here," Franky added, as he took care of what was left. He turned to the escort ship and grinned. "We should grab a ride out of here while we wait for the others though, don't you think?"

It didn't take long, with Franky leading the charge, and soon the escort ship was Navy free. It was perfect timing, as something shot out of the water, right in front of where Franky stood, and he staggered back in shock.

Kokoro started laughing as she dropped the group of pirates and her granddaughter with cat in tow onto the deck of the ship. Franky rubbed his eyes, wishing he could get the image out of his head. "Put some clothes on, you old bag!"

Kia and Robin just stood there as their friends began coughing and waking up and watched in fascination as Kokoro went to put her pants on, her tail splitting in two as she did. "How does that work?" Kia asked. "Do you have to think about it, or does it automatically happen when you're out of the water?"

Kokoro looked at her, and gave her a wink, but exclaimed "You're alive!" as the others all started on about mermaids.

Robin and Kia exchanged glances, wondering if the others even noticed that they were there.

Franky looked over as he heard squeals of joy, "Robin! Kia!" He looked away as the crew ran to their friends, giving hugs, and welcomes. He didn't want to let the tears fall that were threatening to. Instead, he looked over to Kokoro, knowing that sight would put him straight.

"I… I can't move!" Franky turned back at the sound of a thud, seeing the little reindeer crying as he fell on the deck.

"I'm not surprised," Zoro said, looking around at the fires from the island. "I'll explain it to you later."

"Hey, look at that," Usopp spoke up, and he turned with the rest of them to look back at Enies Lobby.

"We need to get ready," Franky replied, trying not to worry about his family. "It seems an order was handed down not to kill Nico Robin or Monkey Kiana."

"Monkey?" Nami asked, looking to Kiana,who shrugged.

"Is that why they aren't firing on the bridge?" Zoro mused. "They must still want to take Robin back then." He looked up to where Robin was. "Once they've leveled Enies Lobby, they'll probably come for Robin and fight hand to hand, to make sure they can take her alive."

"Don't talk like she's not standing right here!" Nami yelled at him.

"That isn't good!" Usopp yelled, no longer trying to disguise his voice. "We're exhausted from those fights, and those ships are probably chocked full of navy men!" He glanced around quickly. "Where's Luffy when we need him?!"

"He's still fighting that pigeon jerk, Rob Lucci, on that first bridge support," Sanji answered calmly.

"Where? Should we go help him?" Usopp asked.

"No," Zoro replied, still watching the dust flying from the support where Luffy was. "That pigeon guy is really tough, and we'd probably just get in the way."

"We should wait here for Luffy," Nami decided as she looked around the ship. "We'll need to make sure we don't lose our only escape route."

Franky stood by with the Straw Hat pirates, knowing that his family were beyond his reach. He could only trust that they would make it out, and he'd need to work with these pirates to make sure he made it out too. It was a brief time, but he was able to get his breath back, and brace himself for what was to come.

He glanced to his right, seeing that the other men were doing the same. The navigator enlisted Nico Robin to help get the ship ready to sail, and the younger girl was trying to tend to the reindeer-gorilla. He had had the thought before, but he couldn't help having it again. These straw hats… they're something else.

Everyone turned towards the sound of a loudspeaker, as a dispassionate voice came from the ship's transponder snail. The gasps and cries were enough to make Kia break down, though knowing that the people that helped them weren't gone. She debated saying something and was about to when Franky's voice rang through the air.

"HURRY STRAW HAT! YOUR FRIENDS ARE WAITING! I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU DIE TOO!"

"Luffy!" Usopp shouted, hoping to get his attention so that they could run. "He won't… die, will he?" he murmured in trepidation.

"Are you stupid?!" Zoro countered.

"Whaaa?" Usopp shot back, offended. "I'm just worried!"

A large explosion had them all reeling.

"They broke the bridge in half?!" Sanji exclaimed.

"They're coming…" Zoro said, his hand gripping his sword hilt.

"We won't let them have her!" Nami cried from behind them, as she stepped to the front of the escort ship.

"Hey, there's Luffy! See?" Usopp called. "LUFFY!" he screamed, hoping that the captain would hear him. "OVER HERE!"

Zoro and Sanji looked at Usopp, and then understanding dawned, and they stepped forward as well.

"WE ALL MADE IT TO THE BRIDGE SAFELY!" Zoro hollered.

"AND WE SAVED ROBIN and KIA!" Sanji shouted.

"YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE LEFT!" Usopp continued.

"BEAT HIM!" Franky called, not wanting to be left out, and wishing he was there giving Lucci a bit of payback as well.

"STAY ALIVE SO WE CAN ALL GO HOME TOGETHER!" Usopp, Sanji and Zoro shouted together.

Luffy was panting, but he gave them a smile and a nod before turning back to his foe.

Usopp continued to watch the pair stare at each other, but the other three men turned away.

"Now, it's a question of how long we can last," Zoro said. Sanji looked at him, and then at the escort ship where his ladies were waiting. His eyes widened as he realized that even if they held on until Luffy beat the pigeon guy, they still had a big problem.

Without a word, he dashed off to fix it.

"Granny, can you keep Chopper safe?" Kia asked, as she stood.

"Of course," Kokoro answered, wondering what the girl was doing.

"Gia?" Chopper asked. "I gant moob!" he cried through his tears.

"Nami!" Kia called as she moved over to the other women.

"Yeah," Nami replied with a nod. "We've got to take the fight to them, otherwise the ship might get damaged. And if that happens, we won't be able to escape."

"Then let's go," Kia said, gripping the twin pieces of wood she carried. Sanji had kicked a couple of stair rails off the ship's banister so that she would have a weapon that she was used to. She had been prepared to fight with a sword she had picked up from a marine, but was grateful that Sanji had seen it, and had been so thoughtful to change it for her.

She glanced over at Robin, a question on her face, and Robin nodded. "I'm coming too," she replied to the look. "They won't catch me again."

Nami and Robin were able to take out large groups of marines that came after them, and Kia would move out and take out any stragglers that were still moving after the lightning or clutch maneuvers from her friends. It wasn't proper tactics to wallop them with a stick, but they were fighting for their lives. Proper tactics be damned.

They had a small respite to the fighting when they heard Usopp's shout. Looking up the stairs, though they couldn't see him, the anguish in his voice had them all moving, hurrying quickly up the stairs to where the main force of the fighters was. Down at the end of the bridge stood Usopp- not Sniper King.

"Don't get distracted!" Nami shouted, letting loose a ball of lightning. "We have to keep fighting!"

"Right!" Kia and Robin answered, turning back to their foes.

They were all disturbed however, hearing Usopp and Luffy's shouts, and were all worried about Luffy's state. Zoro did all he could to protect Usopp as he continued to shout words of encouragement in his own bizarre way.

"This isn't HELL! STOP ACTING LIKE THIS IS THE END! WHY ARE YOU MAKING US WORRY?!"

Kia could see Nami shake her head, and she grit her teeth in determination. It's almost over… he's going to beat him! C'mon Luffy!

It was difficult to measure the time that it took, as she just concentrated on soldier after soldier, not always able to avoid the blows that came her way. But she knew that if any of them got by her, then it would be Robin or Nami that was hurt- and she couldn't let that happen.

There was smoke all around them, and it became hard to breathe- both from the dust and the soot from the fires of Enies Lobby. Her eyes were already burning, but it was nothing compared to when she heard the hoarse screaming.

She could recall the sound- it was Luffy, giving every last drop of his strength and will to stop the CP9 agent from going after his friends. It was raw, rage combined with fear, and it had her breath clogging in her throat at hearing it.

She wasn't the only one affected, as slowly everyone around them came to a halt. Their weapons were still half raised, and they were all panting from their efforts, but the screaming had them all pausing to listen.

"ROBIIIIIN! LET'S GO BACK TOGETHER!"

Robin whirled around, tears forming in her eyes as she heard the words that meant everything. "Luffy…" she murmured, the hope that she had been afraid to nurture blooming into a secure knowledge of friendship. He had stopped them- these people that had seemed insurmountable to resist- all of these friends had stood in front of her, and they had won.

The tears fell again, though she didn't think she could cry anymore. She glanced around, seeing her friends with weapons up to continue to fight. She thought of Saul- her first true friend- and remembered his words.

"Dereshi.." She murmured happily. "Dereshi-shi-shi."

"Kiiiiia!" Luffy complained. "I wanna sit on my special seat!"

Kia just shook her head. "And you will, silly. Zoro and Sanji said they'd carry you up there, didn't they? But first you have to be cleared by the doctor." She turned to where Robin was holding Chopper so he could evaluate Luffy. "Chopper?" she asked.

"The same as everyone else," Chopper said with a relieved smile. "Lots of rest."

"Okay then," Kia said, as she placed a band-aid on Luffy's forehead. "At least the bleeding stopped. We should probably get you a change of clothes too, these have had it."

"Yeah, they're not worth saving," Luffy chuckled as he looked down at himself. "The guy was tough, and when he turned into the cat monster, his nails were super sharp!" he told her.

"I can imagine," she answered. "Of course, there was also gunfire, and cannon balls as we made our way out of there. I'm just glad we are all alive."

He smiled back. "Thanks for taking care of Robin too," he told her. "I'm glad she wasn't alone with those creeps."

She blushed slightly, happy at the praise, before he shouted right in her face. "SANJI! ZORO! MY SPECIAL SEAT!"

They stepped up, having waited for her to okay it, and carried their captain up to the Merry's figurehead. Neither would admit it, but they were both happy when Luffy rolled over and gave the figurehead a hug. "Thanks, Merry!" he said with feeling. "We escaped because of you!"

Kia moved across the ship and stood next to Usopp at the rear railing, who was still hiding behind his mask as Sniper King- worried about facing Luffy. "I hope you realized," she said quietly, as he glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "that we wouldn't have made it through that if you hadn't been there."

"I don't know about that," he replied sadly as he saw the bandages that seemed to be wrapped all over her.

"Every single one of you had a part to play, and if anyone was missing, then escape wouldn't have been possible," she continued. "I mean-"

"Why do you do that?" he hissed, trying to stay quiet. "Why do you say it like you aren't part of the equation?" he asked.

"Well, I …" she was at a loss for words. "I didn't do much," she admitted.

"On the contrary," a voice spoke up. Kia and Usopp yelped, and looked around in surprise, but didn't see anyone.

"Robin?!" Kia asked, recognizing her voice, but not seeing her. Knowing her power, she looked closer at the railing, seeing a pair of lips on the rail, near where they were standing. They smiled at her as she saw them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I had a feeling this conversation would happen at some point," Robin's extra mouth continued. "I honestly can't say what would have happened if Kia hadn't been there, but I feel like I would have just given up long before getting rescued. Usopp is right."

"Hah!" Usopp grunted, turning to Kia with a smug look, before turning back. "Did… did you just call me Usopp?!" he asked, surprised.

"And Kia?" Kia asked, as she realized what had Usopp reeling. "Robin…" she couldn't seem to ask, but she was reeling.

"That's what your friends call you both, isn't it?" Robin asked, chuckling. "Well, since I've given my input, I'll let you get back to your conversation." With those words, the pair of lips disappeared, leaving behind a cherry blossom that blew out onto the water.

Kia and Usopp looked at each other, smiling happily. At least Kia thought Usopp was smiling, but with the mask, she couldn't really be certain. "That's new…" Kia said happily, her eyes filling. "I'm so glad!" she grabbed Usopp into a hug, needing to hug someone.

Usopp wasn't sure what was happening, so he gave her back a few pats uneasily. "Uh…." he started. He wasn't sure how to deal with his tumultuous emotions, let alone help Kia with hers. How can I even lecture her about not acting like part of the crew? he wondered. Look what I did.

He stayed near Kia after that, not in a creepy way, but because he felt comfortable around her. She had some of the same insecurities as he did, and yet it seemed like she brought out his courage- and he hoped he did the same for her.

If anyone had asked, he would have said he was closest to Luffy- even though he felt a little inferior to the others because of his cowardly tendencies. But he didn't feel the same about Kia. Not because he felt she was below him or anything… but because he always felt that they understood each other, and each held themselves back a little from the others.

When the Galley-La ship appeared, and when the Merry Go cracked, Kia stayed by his side, somehow knowing that he needed the support.

And when the Merry spoke to them, Kia turned into him for comfort as her sobs racked her body. He put his arm around her shoulders and was able to lean his head down to hers- masking his own tears and cries. He wasn't sure if the others saw, but he at least felt like he was still a man. He owed her for that too.

They stayed away from the others as the Galley-La members took them back to Water Seven. Eventually, Usopp had to ask. "Hey Kia? I know that I push everyone away, because I feel like I don't measure up. And… I feel like you understand that, and so it makes it easier to believe what you tell me, because you don't just brush my feelings aside, you tell me the truth."

"I do understand, because I feel that way too," she replied, glancing at him with a nod, and then staring back out at the water. She looked emotionally drained, but he didn't know when he'd be able to ask her about it again.

"Maybe," he conceded. "But… well, I want to be that type of friend to you too," he said, feeling awkward and vulnerable, but not knowing when he'd get another chance. "But, there's this…wall."

She glanced at him again and gave a sigh. "okay," she answered, not really answering him.

"Kia," he said, not happy that she was pretending not to understand that he was asking for her to share. She gave another sigh and turned to him.

"Back home, before I went to Drum Island I mean," she started, not really wanting to go into it. "I had a couple of friends. We did everything together, and we were so close. I felt as if they were like my sisters, I was closer to them than I was my own sisters, actually."

"Wow…" he murmured.

"Then, there was the accident, and my parents died," she continued, the betrayal still sharp. "At the beginning, they were there for me. Saying they were sorry and trying to comfort me." Her face hardened, and he wondered where she was going with this.

"About one month later, we were out having dinner at a restaurant, and I saw this dish on the menu that was my mom's favorite. I didn't mean to, but it just hit me, and I started crying. I missed them so much, and even though I thought I was grieving pretty well, it would just come out of nowhere sometimes and strangle me."

He nodded along, understanding. He had lost his own mother when he was younger, so he could empathize with everything she was saying.

"They both got really angry with me," she said, and he looked up, shocked.

"Angry? What for?" he asked, frowning.

She gave a big sigh, the resentment welling up inside her, even now. "Because I wasn't any fun to be around anymore," she told him.

"What?!" he demanded, shocked.

"Yeah," she agreed, giving a sarcastic chuckle. "They both thought it had been long enough, and I should just let it go. I was really making their lives depressing."

"They said that?" he asked. "These friends that were like sisters?!"

"They said a lot more than that, but basically they just dropped me out of their lives. They didn't call, they didn't come see me, and if I tried to get in touch with them, they ignored me, or made up lies as to why they couldn't spend time with me."

She paused, the turmoil throughout the day making it harder to deal with her current emotions. "It wasn't all bad though," she said, trying to let it go. They weren't in her life any longer, so it wouldn't do any good to dwell on it. "My real sisters were there for me, and we became much closer. They are the best friends I've ever had."

She turned back to him, giving him a smile. "Plus, now I have all of you." She looked away, feeling bad. "But that's why sometimes… I doubt my friends, even though I don't want to."

He nodded. "I don't blame you," he replied, feeling horrible that he had added to her doubts. He turned back and gave her shoulder a nudge with his own. "But at least there's one person you never have to doubt, and that's Luffy."

He chuckled, and she joined him. "That's true," she replied. "He literally just demonstrated that he'd fight the whole world for his friends."

"Yeah," Usopp deflated, feeling inadequate again.

Kia looked over, seeing his hunched figure. "Could you imagine if we could all be like that?" she asked, looking out at the water. "But I think the rest of us may never measure up," she chuckled. "Besides, how often do we have to explain the meaning of words to Luffy?" she asked, reminding him that everyone had weaknesses, even their captain.

"Ha ha ha!" he chuckled, reminded of Luffy's look of confusion each time they had their little game of words. "Remember that time that you said, 'much to my consternation?'" he laughed.

"And he apologized and said I could take as long as I needed in the bathroom," Kia answered, chuckling, even as she shook her head.