Chapter 34: Another One Bites the Dust
As the crew reached the edge of town, questions arose of how they were going to get to Alubarna on time and if they were expected to run the whole way there. It had been difficult enough just walking through the desert before, much less expend the amount of energy it would take to run.
Luckily for them, Chopper appeared at that moment riding a giant crab, Lashes at his side. Chopper explained that the crab was Lashes' friend and would take them where they needed to go. Luffy wasted no time in climbing on board, eyes gleaming at the sight of the huge crab.
They had barely started on their way when Luffy sensed something incoming, aimed right for Vivi who sat oblivious to the danger beside Nami. Jumping up from his spot on the crab's eye, Luffy pushed himself toward Vivi, surprising the crew with his sudden movements.
Ignoring them, Luffy shoved Vivi down, grabbing the golden hook that had nearly grabbed the princess and holding it firmly in place. There was sand streaming from it and Luffy could feel the struggle as the hook attempted to return to its owner, but Luffys grip was too strong.
"You guys keep going. I'm going to handle this myself." Luffy told the crew who were watching with wide eyes. Without waiting for a response, Luffy allowed the hook to return, taking the teen with it.
"Make sure you return Vivi to her home! Make sure!" Luffy shouted to them as he flew through the air, holding onto his hat instinctively. He could feel the cloud of darkness radiating off of both Crocodile and Miss All Sunday who were steadily growing closer, but he could also feel the conviction coming from his crew, the crab seeming to increase in speed on its way to Alubarna.
"Luffy-san! We'll be waiting for you in Alubarna, okay?!" Vivi's voice echoed across the quickly increasing distance between the crew and Luffy, but Luffy heard it loud and clear.
"Yeah!" Luffy shouted back, noticing that his journey was about to end. Seeing this, Luffy focused all of his attention on the two in front of him.
"Princess Vivi got away from us, huh?" Miss All Sunday asked casually, her emotions telling him that she wasn't at all bothered by this turn of events. Landing carefully on the ground, Luffy let go of Crocodile's hook as it returned to his hand, the sand materializing into an arm once more.
"Either way, the Agents are scheduled to gather in Alubarna. Contact them at once." Crocodile told her before turning an unimpressed look toward Luffy, the warlord's emotions telling the teen that Crocodile was not only annoyed but angry as well.
"You've taken your nonsense a little too far, 11097." The man said, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Luffy returned the look, removing the blue sash tied around his head and hat.
"She tries to help everyone she sees, despite how weak she might be. She can't bear to abandon anything, so she's always in pain. She doesn't think that anyone needs to die in this revolt." Luffy said, dropping the sash to the ground and holding his hat.
"Nobody needs to die? There are many maudlin, peace-loving fools like that. That's because they don't know what a real fight is. You think so too, don't you?" Crocodile accused, voice deceptively calm for the anger that was present.
"Yeah, but as long as you're around, she's going to go at you, until she dies. So I'm going to put you down, right here!" Luffy shouted, eyes sharpening as he continued glaring. Crocodile only laughed, some of the anger ebbing away to amusement.
"That's worse than nonsense. You're the unsalvageable fool here. This is a good example. You get close to someone and then die because of it. I've forsaken tons of people like that." Crocodile laughed. Luffy continued glaring, though a smile twitched on the corner of his mouth as he heard the words.
"Then, you're the real fool here, aren't you?" Luffy asked, feeling the shift of amusement flash right back to anger at his words. Miss All Sunday laughed quietly at Luffy's words, covering her mouth with her hand as she did.
"What's so funny? You want to die, too, Nico Robin?" Crocodile asked, the calm finally leaving his face as he frowned. Miss All Sunday, or Nico Robin, merely continued smiling, lowering her hand. Like Crocodile though, Luffy felt that her emotions betrayed her outward calm, an ugly feeling creeping inside of her at the sound of her name.
"If you feel like it, go right ahead. Besides, didn't you promise not to call me by that name?" She asked as she began walking away from them. Luffy took the opportunity to look at the woman's aura, remembering that the last time he'd seen it there had been something he couldn't quite figure out about it.
Checking it now, he saw that, like Smokers earlier today, it had gotten a few shades lighter. What confused Luffy however was the fact that, instead of being a dark grey like he would have expected a lighter black to be, it was actually turning into a deep purple. It was still black at its core, but as it faded out around her Luffy could see that the color really wasn't black at all like he'd first thought, the color fading out like a gradient into purple.
He'd never seen an aura that was purple before and it made him both uneasy and confused. The only time he'd seen an aura any other color than blue, black, or grey it had been Ace's after he'd woken up from his coma. He'd had a strange yellowy green color for a short while, but it had quickly gone back to blue once his memories were returned and that had been that.
Of course, he and his brothers, and then Whiskey once she'd found out about Luffys abilities, had tried determining what the yellow color had meant, but seeing as Luffy never saw the color again in either Ace or anyone else, they didn't have enough information to come to any conclusion. The same could be said for the situation he was in now, watching as Robin continued heading off into the desert.
During his musings, Luffy had missed the short conversation between Crocodile and Robin, but when the warlord threw a miniature hourglass into the sand and told Luffy he had three minutes the teen immediately prepared himself to fight.
Deciding to worry about Robin's weird aura later, Luffy rotated his arm, a deadly grin spreading on his face.
"3 Minutes. I don't have any more time to mess with you longer than that. You don't mind, do you?" Crocodile said, his confidence in his abilities nearly overpowering.
"No, that's fine," Luffy said, flexing his fingers, a few of them popping under the strain. He removed his robe, knowing it would only restrict his movements, and lowered into a crouch. A grin slowly begins to spread across his lips as the anticipation of a fight grows, and then Crocodiles moving, attempting to swipe Luffys neck with the sharp point of his hook.
Luffy wastes no time in ducking under the attack, rolling onto his hands and kicking out his foot, covering it in a thin layer of haki to ensure that, should his foot hit the warlord, it wouldn't end up phasing through him due to his devil fruit.
Being locked in that cage was good for one thing after all, and that was observing his opponent.
It seems Crocodile either wasn't prepared for Luffy to attack so quick after his dodge, or he wasn't expecting the haki that had been included in the attack. Regardless, Luffy's foot made contact with the back of Crocodile's left shoulder, causing the man to stumble forward at the impact. With a growl of annoyance, the man spins around to glare at Luffy.
Stretching his arm out in front of him, Crocodile lets the limb dissolve into particles of sand that immediately shoot out towards Luffy's neck. Swinging his body to the right, the particles fly by him, only for his haki to tell Luffy that the particles have changed direction behind him and are once again aiming for his neck. Unable to dodge quick enough, the hand reassembles from the sand and grabs at the back of Luffys neck, and much like Crocodile had done earlier, Luffy stumbles forward at the force behind the hand.
Holding himself steady though, Luffy sweeps out his leg just as the hand pulls him backward. His leg stretches out toward Crocodile who turns to sand to avoid it, and at the same time, Luffy grabs at the hand on his neck, using haki to crush it in his grasp. To avoid a broken hand, Crocodile releases his grip, the sand returning to his body.
"What a nuisance." Crocodile growls, flexing his fingers to rid them of the ache of being crushed.
"I think I've had enough of your games, Straw Hat Luffy." The warlord says, Luffy feeling just how irritated the man truly is.
"Desert Spada!" Crocodile shouts, his arm turning into what looked to be a sword made out of sand as he flings the entire appendage forward. It carves through the sandy ground like a knife and Luffy wastes no time in dodging this attack as well, watching as the slice cuts straight through a rock without resistance and leaving a split in the ground.
"Oh, so you dodged that as well? Good thinking, that attack would have left you saying more than, 'ow'." Crocodile taunts, some of his earlier confidence returning as he grins at Luffy, only to receive a glare in return.
"So you're done with the jokes as well, then? How convenient, so am I. Desert Girasole!" Crocodile shouts out, his smile dropping from his face as the sand sword reappears, only for Crocodile to push it into the ground. All at once, the sand all around, as well as beneath, Luffy starts falling inward, creating a large pit of quicksand.
Fumbling for only a second, Luffy begins to attempt running out of the hole, only to find that he's being pulled in faster than he's making any progress. Annoyed, Luffy throws his arms behind him.
"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Hitting the ground with enough force, Luffy is flung into the air. To avoid falling right back into the quicksand, Luffy stretches his arm out, grabbing onto Crocodile much to the warlord's surprise. Before he has the chance to turn to sand, Luffy pulls himself forward, covering his fist with haki and throwing it forward.
"Gum Gum Pistol!" The fist makes direct contact with Crocodile's face, sending him flying backward away from both Luffy, as well as the quicksand that slowly returns to being normal sand.
"I thought you said we were done with jokes!" Luffy shouts, his earlier anger and rage returning now that he has someone to vent it on. After all, most of his anger and rage had to do with Crocodile in the first place, so to finally be able to hit the elusive man was cathartic as much as it was necessary to save Alabasta.
Speaking of anger and rage, Crocodile's own was reaching a breaking point as he stood back up, face contorted in rage unlike before.
"Enough. Die!" Crocodile shouts, as he throws his hook out in an attempt to get even a scratch on the rubber man. It was pointless however due to the fact that Luffy had plenty of time to move out of the way, and even when the hook changed direction mid-air, Luffy only grabbed it as he had earlier, the hook mere inches from his cheek.
"Is this the best you could do? I thought you were supposed to be stronger since you were a warlord and all." Luffy said with a frown, not even meaning the words to be a taunt. He was legitimately disappointed that this was the best the man could do against him.
And he'd been so excited for this fight too.
"The best I could do? You-!" Crocodile cuts himself off, eyes drifting over to the hourglass from earlier, still stuck in the sand. The top half of it was empty now, all of the sand having fallen to the bottom half. Frowning, Crocodile attempts to bring his hook back to his hand, only to find that Luffy's grip was too tight to let it.
"Getting distracted in the middle of a fight? I thought you said you knew what a real fight was!" Luffy said, surprising Crocodile with how close it was. Turning, he saw that Luffy was much closer than earlier, the warlord's hook in one hand and his other thrown back behind him in preparation of another attack; one that Crocodile would not be able to dodge with thanks to his distraction.
With a roar, Luffys fist flew back into Crocodile's face, nearly indenting it with its force as he was shoved back onto the ground. Standing only a foot away, Luffy dropped the hook and glared down at the warlord, breathing only slightly labored.
Dazed, it took Crocodile all of two seconds to remember the time limit he was on. Despite his anger at Luffy for getting in his way, he knew he couldn't waste any more time messing around with him here, and because of that he regretfully pushed himself up off the ground.
"As much fun as this has been, 11097, you're three minutes are up. Like I said, I don't have time to hang around with you any longer." Crocodile said, putting on the air that he wasn't defeated despite appearances.
"And I'm not going to let you take Alabasta," Luffy said, voice deadly serious as he continued to glare at the warlord. There was a moment of silence as the two stared each other down, neither conceding to the other, but as the sun glared off the hourglass Crocodile was once more reminded of the passing of time.
"Just try and stop me." Crocodile growled, his body quickly turning into sand and flying off in a seemingly random direction to Luffy.
"Hey! You coward! Fight me for real!" Luffy shouted, annoyed that Crocodile was once again getting out of fighting him. After all, he'd finally gotten the chance to punch him, and not only that, but he'd been winning that fight!
It was all for naught however as Crocodile continued to fly away, either not hearing Luffy's taunting or not caring enough to come back.
Letting out a huff of annoyance, Luffy only continued glaring at the floating sand for a moment longer before moving to pick his desert gear up off the ground. Putting back on the robe as well as his cloak, Luffy couldn't help but focus in on the shiver of darkness that he could feel nearby, recognizing immediately who it belonged to.
"What's wrong with your color?" Luffy asks, more to himself than Nico Robin as she walked over to him slowly. This didn't seem to be what the woman was expecting as she blinked and stopped walking. Outwardly, she looked the picture of calm, however, Luffy could feel not only her confusion but her apprehension and caution towards him.
"My color? I don't know what you mean." She responds carefully, still not entirely sure what the question is referring to. Luffy turns to look at her, taking in the still strangely dark purple/black color surrounding her. It's almost fitting that her outfit resembles a lighter shade of purple than her aura, almost as if she knew they would match.
Seeing that Luffy wasn't going to elaborate his question further, Robin decided to move the conversation on herself. Besides, she wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she wasn't comfortable with how Luffy's eyes darted around her, as if he were seeing something there that others couldn't.
"Why do you fight? You, who have the name of 'D'?" She asked instead, pleased to see that Luffy's eyes were no longer skirting around her like they had before.
"'D'?" Luffy asks. This time he was the one confused by the question, not sure what his middle initial had to do with anything.
"Apparently that was a pointless question, huh? It seems we're both full of information others don't understand." She says with a sigh as if underwhelmed by this revelation, yet Luffy could feel the almost pit-like feeling of disappointment and hopelessness that formed as a result. It wasn't a pleasant feeling at all, and it wasn't one Luffy felt all that often. It was such a deep-seated hopelessness- as if this woman no longer had anything to live for- that it surprised Luffy with its intensity.
It was almost as if that pit of emotion were sucking the life out of Luffy, and before he knew it he realized that he'd accidentally begun to feel that hopelessness as well. Pulling himself away emotionally, Luffy felt as he also physically took a step away from Robin. He was only just barely aware of another burst of surprise and confusion from the mysterious woman, but as was usual, it didn't show on her features.
Doing his best to shut off Robin's emotions entirely, he tried focusing on the words falling from her mouth instead, regardless of the fact that he'd already missed a few of them in his distraction.
"-know about facilities?" The few words he did pick up sounded like a statement, yet the questioning lilt at the end told Luffy that there had been more words before that would turn the statement into a question. Not knowing what those words were, however, Luffy could only frown at her in confusion. He already didn't like this new topic- and really it wasn't a new topic at all, everyone here seemed to be obsessed with facilities- and all he wanted was to go after Crocodile rather than talk to Robin. The woman was too confusing to him, even if he could feel her emotions and see her aura.
Even those were confusing.
"Huh?" Luffy asked, and while most would have assumed Luffy didn't know the answer to the question, Robin knew otherwise and could see that he'd been distracted.
"I wanted to know what it was you knew about facilities." She said the words as calmly as she always did, but as always her emotions betrayed her outward appearance, telling Luffy that she was extremely interested in what his answer would be, even as he did his best to block out all of her emotions.
"What do you know about facilities?" Luffy asked instead, not daring to give away more than was already known. He wouldn't put it past this woman to somehow be a part of a facility- a doctor, nurse, or guard for example.
"As I said before, more than most. Yet, even that is abysmally little. Tricky things, facilities. The governments doing a fantastic job at keeping any and all information about them close to their chests." Robin said, a small twitch of a smile forming on the corner of her mouth. This only made Luffys frown deepen and his stance stiffen with tension. When Luffy didn't answer, Robin continued.
"You, however, know just as much, if not more, than the government knows. They don't take too kindly to having people lose that could expose their secrets." She said ominously, another strange emotion of long-burning anger and resentment bubbling up inside of her before she quickly smothered it.
"Besides, you've already told me more than I've been able to find out alone in years." She said in levity, turning and raising a hand as if in farewell. Her statement made Luffy bristle further and even though he couldn't see her face now, he could feel her amusement despite the seriousness of the topic for Luffy.
"Oh don't worry, I was being truthful when I said what I knew was little to nothing. Anything I've been able to find out from you is miles ahead of what I've learned alone. For example, there are multiple facilities, something I've found out by your use of the word facilit-'ies'. Plural." She finished, turning to look at him over her shoulder, the amusement visible on her face as Luffy had suspected.
Still, Luffy said nothing.
The smile dropped as she sighed, seemingly bored now as she turned to face him directly once more.
"In any case, I don't see myself learning much else about them unless you yourself tell me," Robin said, her shoulders dropping as she looked up at the sky that was quickly turning darker as the previously setting sun sank beyond the horizon.
As was becoming the norm for Robin, her emotions confused Luffy as he felt a strange sense of peace mingling with the hopelessness from earlier. Despite peace usually being a good emotion, the combination of it with hopelessness made his skin crawl just as much- if not more- than it had before.
"I found you!" The new voice broke both Luffy and Robin out of the bubble of emotion that had developed during their conversation. Both of them turned to watch as a man cloaked in white and crutching along with the use of a sword slowly walked their way.
"Where is Vivi-Sama?!" He asked Robin, gaze and emotions intense and fierce with protectiveness. Luffy had no idea who this newcomer was, but their emotions and blue aura told him they were more likely friend than foe.
"My. Are you awake already?" Robin asked, her emotions changing so quickly back to the aloof calm of earlier that it nearly gave Luffy whiplash.
"Now that I've got a handle on your abilities, this won't end up like last time!" The man said confidently despite how beat up he looked.
"Don't overexert yourself. You must be seriously hurt. This works out perfectly. Why don't you take him where he needs to be? He's the courageous knight that delivered your precious princess to this land, after all. Besides, the princess is safe. She's on her way to Alubarna right now. I'm not sure about what will happen to her later, though. The situation is what it is, you know?" She asked as she walked away from them and towards a waiting bananawari nearby.
As much as Luffy could feel that the man wanted to go after Robin, Luffy could also feel that he wanted to help him after hearing who he was. Luffy couldn't care either way and honestly, he was glad that Robin was leaving. Almost every emotion that came off of her was negative, and with her confusing purple/black aura, Luffy wanted to be as far away from her as possible at all times.
A sudden grumbling from his stomach distracted him from all things Robin. Placing a hand on his rumbling stomach he turned to the newcomer who had fallen to his knees.
"Ne, I'm hungry. Wheres the meat?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
As much as Luffy wanted to go right to where Crocodile was and beat him up, there was yet another thing keeping him from doing this. Namely, he was out of fuel.
Okay, so there was more to it than that. Really, it was the fact that he had no idea where Crocodile had gone. He knew what the place was called, sure, but he had no idea where the place actually was. So much time had passed now that Vivi and his crew's scent had all but faded because, despite the fact that he could usually pick up a scent that was days old, all the sandstorms and open-air had done nothing to help in that. There was nothing for the scent to cling to, and as a result, there was nothing to follow.
The only clue he had to finding Crocodile was the man dressed in white from earlier, and he was so beat up that he wasn't really any help at all.
He and Pell- as Luffy had come to learn was the man's name- had gone back to Rainbase to get both food and medical attention.
But most importantly; food.
Luffy was starved after all the running and fighting and nearly dying. As eager as he was to fight Crocodile, there would be no fighting if Luffy was starved, and so out of necessity really he shoveled any edible looking thing in front of him into his mouth while Pell recovered on a bed beside him.
Luffy had also learned that the man had a devil fruit as well, one that would help them get to Crocodile fast, and that was all Luffy had needed to know. However, they had to wait at least until the morning to set out so Pell could rest and recover from whatever fight he'd been in earlier. Because of this, Pell was sleeping- or at least attempting to- while Luffy ate.
It was a wonderful distraction for the rubber man, and he would have gone on doing this forever if it weren't for the fact that there were more pressing matters to attend to. Oh, and the fact that he quickly ran out of food.
Without the distraction though, Luffy was left with the itching under his skin as all of the day's proceedings came back to him. From the cage, to the water, the flashbacks, Crocodile and Smokers questions, and then Nico Robin. Today had been full of anxiety and bad memories for Luffy and the last thing he wanted to do was dwell on that.
Glancing over to Pell, he saw that the man seemed to have finally fallen into sleep, breathing peacefully despite his injuries and his emotions muted. Reassured that the man would be fine alone for a few minutes, Luffy walked over to one of the windows in their room and looked out, craning his neck to look up towards where the roof was. Seeing a lip only a short distance above the window, Luffy grinned and stretched his arm out toward it, pulling himself out of the window and into the air.
Still holding the lip of the roof, Luffy swung himself up onto it and found it to be empty as predicted. Pleased with this he moved to the middle of the flat roof and laid down with a huff, looking up at the stars with his hands cushioning his head.
Sighing heavily, Luffys carefree smile fell to a more neutral look, his anxieties from the day quickly returning at the lack of distraction once more. If he had been back on the Moby he would have gone to talk to Whiskey, knowing that she would still be up right about now. Even if she wasn't, there was sure to be someone else awake that he could talk to. Pops, Marco, maybe even Thatch or Izo. While Whiskey knew the most about him and his brothers, there was still the occasion that they would go and talk to other commanders they were close to, or Pops himself, knowing that they would listen and help them through their troubles.
Now, however, he was alone. At least, in the literal sense. He had his own crew now, people that he was going to have to learn how to trust and rely on- open up to. That was a scary thing for him, to let in a whole new group of people into his life. Tell them about the horrors of what had been his childhood, about what he was still facing to this day.
While he knew that what had happened to him wasn't his fault and that the resulting PTSD and anxiety weren't his fault, he couldn't help but feel almost ashamed that all of it had happened in the first place. He was strong, was trying to be stronger, and yet he was still being bogged down by these irrational thoughts and memories that told him he was in danger when he really wasn't.
He knew, logically, that not every single doctor was out to get him. Not every marine had the same ill intent of those who ran the facilities. Not every person on the street was carrying a needle that was meant to put him to sleep, only to be shipped back to the facility. Rationally, he knew all of these thoughts were irrational. Yet they continued to nag at him.
What if tomorrow he woke up and it turned out Pell was a doctor? After all, the man was a stranger to him. All Luffy had to go on was his connection to Vivi- which Vivi wasn't around to confirm- and his blue aura- which didn't always mean someone was good. Or what if Pell thought he was doing good by having Luffy locked back up and brought the marines to him? That wasn't something a bad person would do. It was something anyone would do given what they'd been told about Luffy and his brothers. Luffy wouldn't be able to blame them if they tried to do so.
But this didn't help dispel the worries. If anything, this only perpetuated them.
So maybe Pell didn't turn him in, but what about a few days, or even months down the road when his crew finds out about everything that's happened to him? Would they leave him? He's got problems- a lot of them- so what if they felt like it was too much to deal with? Who would want to follow a captain with so many problems anyway? Captains were supposed to be strong and fearless and courageous, but if Luffy were to be face to face with Haru right now, he couldn't say that he'd be any of those things.
And that just brought him back the realization that at any moment really, he could be face to face with Haru. Sabo had said himself that he was back in the Grand Line, and then Ace had come and it was confirmed that Haru was close, even sending bounty hunters after them. The man was actively hunting them down, or at least was still thinking about them and willing to pay a bounty hunter's fee to get them back.
What if at the next island they saw Haru? Luffy was sure that if he did see the doctor he would... Well, what would he do? Freeze up, probably. He was sure he would freeze up. He would stare at the doctor, wonder if it was really him, wonder if he was just imagining him, and then once he realized he was real it would probably be too late.
It took all too long for Luffy to realize that he had quickly worked himself into an anxiety attack. His breathing was quick and heavy, yet it felt like a struggle to even attempt breathing, the feeling of choking all too familiar to him. His chest felt heavy too, almost to the point of painful, and if he hadn't already been laying down he surely would have fallen to the ground.
He tried to remember what Whiskey had taught him about getting through attacks. Something about breathing- slowing down his breathing- but how was he supposed to slow down when he couldn't get enough air in the first place? He was breathing so hard because he couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe and his chest hurt and his arms are starting to feel tingly and this is like the facility all over again and maybe he'll actually die because of this. This might actually kill him because he can't breathe and-
No, that's right, Whiskey said he had to slow down his breathing. She said he could breathe even though it felt like he couldn't. That all he had to do- all he had to do- to do...
He had to...
It was hard to focus his thoughts, hard to center in on the fact that despite it feeling like it, he wasn't actually dying. He would be just fine, it was just an anxiety attack, and all he had to do was wait for it to pass, that's all.
Something about breathing. Slowing it down. He had to slow down his breathing because he's breathing too heavily and his chest really hurts now, almost like someone sitting on it, but he's rubber so even that wouldn't be painful. Someone who knows haki then. Someone whos coated a rock in haki and has placed it on his chest.
But he just has to breathe. Stop getting sidetracked. It's not helping. Breathing helps. Breathing is good. Slow it down.
Deep breath in for three seconds, that's what Whiskey said. Deep breath in for three, hold for two- how was he supposed to hold it? He could barely get it to begin with! That's the problem, he can't breathe and he's going to die because he can't breathe and-
Deep breath in for three, hold for two, and then... He can't remember the rest and the air he was holding expels from his lungs in a loud huff. He's still hyperventilating and the fact that he can't quite remember Whiskey's instructions isn't helping in the slightest.
His chest still hurts and the entirety of his arms tingle now right down to his fingertips.
Deep breath for three, hold for two, and out for... five? No, that doesn't feel right, he can't let it out that slow, it's too hard to even get in for three.
Deep breath for three, hold for two, out for four? Closer, that almost felt right, not so much like he's straining to get to four, but it's still not perfect.
Deep breath for three, hold for two, out for three? That one feels the best, and he's still hyperventilating, but now he's got a plan. He can slow his breathing down, Whiskey said so, and he's done it before. He's had anxiety attacks before and none of them killed him.
Anxiety attacks are scary, but they won't kill him. They haven't yet. He just needs to breathe. Focus on breathing. In three, hold two, out three. Three, two, three. He remembers now; Whiskey telling him that. Three, two three, like a sandwich, and the bread is made of threes. Two is the meat of course. Three, two, three.
It's still hard to focus, his chest doesn't hurt so much anymore, though it's still painful, and his arms still tingle- his lips too now that he thinks about it- but he can make out the stars above him. He remembers Sabo staying up with him that one time, telling him about the different constellations. Like pictures in the sky, he'd said. The stars make a picture, a sandwich made of threes and twos, and he'll get through this. Anxiety attacks are scary, but they won't kill him. He'll be fine.
Slowly, painfully slow, he feels the grip of the anxiety attack loosening. He feels its tendrils slither away from him, releasing him from its oppression. He's got a headache from breathing so hard, and there's a lingering tingle in his limbs accompanied by a weakness that forces the rubber man to remain on the ground, but he's survived.
He hasn't had an anxiety attack in a while. A long while. The last time had been at least a year ago now. Whiskey had told him a few months after the realization that he hadn't had an attack in a while that, while there may be periods where he wouldn't have any attacks, that didn't mean they were gone forever. Anxiety attacks could pop up at any time, and while the thought itself was anxiety-inducing, she reassured him that, should they come back, he would be ready to handle them.
And he was. It took a minute for him to remember, but he did and he was fine.
Grateful that he'd gotten out onto the roof before his attack, Luffy relished in the open air. The stars high up above him reminded him of the fact that he was still free, and would remain free. He had friends- a family- that would come save him should he be sent back to a facility. Pops would never let them be taken again. Pops would keep them safe.
Before he knew it, he'd fallen asleep under the same stars that the rest of his family were falling asleep under.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
When Luffy woke up next, it was under the blazing sun and Pell's foot nudging him in the side.
"Ah, so you are still alive. I'd begun to wonder if Crocodile had given you internal bleeding." He said, pleased to see this wasn't the case. Confused, Luffy sat up, noticing that despite the night's sleep, his head still ached with the remnants of last night's attack. Other than the dull headache though, he was raring to go.
"Huh? I'm fine. Can we go now?" Luffy asked, remembering what the day's plans were.
And just like that, the previous day's anxieties melted away for today's adventures.
"It'll take us some time, but we should reach Vivi-sama and Crocodile within the hour," Pell said, before promptly turning into a large bird. Having seen Marco turn into a flaming bluebird before, Pell's light and dark brown feathered bird weren't all that impressive, but it was still cool nonetheless as Luffy gazed at him with stars in his eyes.
"Wow! Cool! So cool! Yosh! Let's go!" Luffy cheered, hopping onto Pell's back without hesitation, noting the slight irritation from Pell and promptly ignoring it.
"Am I just a camel to you then?" He muttered before taking off, Luffys impromptu resting spot being helpful in that regard.
"Huh?" Luffy asks, not having heard what Pell said. When he got no reply, the rubber man merely shrugged, looking forward as the wind whipped around him and tangled his hair. A determined grin spread across his face as he leaned forward eagerly as if he would be able to see Crocodile from here.
Soon. Soon he would be able to fight Crocodile for real. He would fight him, beat him, and then there would be a big party with lots and lots of food.
Pell chose to ignore the rumbling coming from Luffys stomach.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
When the castle came into view the sight they were greeted with was anything but welcoming. Nico Robin was standing beside what Luffy remembered to be as one of Mr. 2's stolen faces. Vivi's dad then, maybe? He was pinned to the wall and looked as beat up as Pell had yesterday, and the emotions that rolled off of him screamed of worry and fear, yet not for himself. At the edge of the courtyard where they were gathered, Crocodile was holding Vivi by the throat, dangling her in the open air and threatening to drop her to the fighting citizens below.
If the fall didn't kill her, those opposed to the royal family certainly would.
Realizing how dire the situation was, Pell sped up as fast as he could, his wings beating heavily as he strained to go faster. Luffy leaned forward in preparation, blocking the darkness coming from Crocodile and Robin and focusing solely on the fight to come.
Before the fight though, they had to save Vivi who was now falling; Crocodile having dropped her with a laugh. With a snarl on his face, Luffy felt his fists clench around the fabric of Pell's white cloak, leaning even further forward as Pell moved to catch Vivi.
"Crocodile!" Luffy yelled out, enraged. There was a moment as the warlord's laugh stopped abruptly, but Luffy wasn't able to dwell on that as Pell swooped underneath the princess and Luffy was wrapping his arms around her so she wouldn't go flying off from the force.
"Just in time," Luffy said with relief, his anger diminishing slightly with Vivi's safety.
"Luffy-san...! Pell-san...! There isn't much time left before the Square is blown up." Vivi said, voice soft and her emotions just as negative as the Kings had been.
"Everyone's... already down... My voice... no longer reaches anyone... At this rate, the country will..." She cut herself off here, hugging Luffy close in an attempt to release any of the emotion she was feeling. Frowning, Luffy continued facing forward, his eyes alight with the rage that had been simmering and building in him ever since he'd decided to fight Crocodile.
"Don't worry." Surprised, Vivi looked up just as Luffy smiled at her.
"You're voice is heard by us!" Luffy told her, his determination shining through clearly in his voice. Hope filled the princess as her grip tightened on his vest, tears welling in her eyes.
"Right!" She agreed weakly, smiling happily now as she wiped back the tears.
Pell took this time to fly to the base of the castle where Luffy and Vivi got off. The civil war was waging behind them, but thankfully everyone was too caught up in their own fights to notice the Princess and pirate behind them.
Looking up at the tall wall, Luffy began rotating his arm in an attempt at stretching it out before the fight that was coming up.
"Be careful, Luffy-kun." Pell warned, and while their time together had been short, Luffy could still feel that Pell was worried about him.
"Don't worry, I ate tons of meat last night so I'm ready to go!" Luffy said cheerily, interlacing his fingers and stretching his arms out above his head.
"I'm gonna finish this," Luffy said confidently, eyes narrowing at the speck he could just barely make out on top of the wall. Crocodile. Even from here, Luffy could feel the darkness creeping down the wall like a trickle of water. It oozed off of Crocodile, streaming down the wall and leaving a puddle at Luffy's feet.
The sooner Crocodile was defeated, the better.
"Ah, It's Luffy!" A familiar voice made Vivi and Pell turn to see Chopper staring with wide eyes, his emotions quickly becoming cheery at the sight of the rubber man.
"Tony-kun!" Vivi greeted in semi-surprise.
"Luffy!" Usopp cheered, covered in a full set of bandages, only his head and fingertips visible.
"And Vivi's here too!" Usopp noticed, his emotions also turning happier at the sight.
"Usopp-san! And Sanji-san! You're here too!" Vivi said, watching as the chef slowly walked up with Lashes in tow.
"Ahh! What the hell, Vivi-chan?! You're hurt so bad!" Sanji said, taking in the scrapes all over the princess.
"Usopp!" Nami's yell and following hit had Usopp falling to the ground.
"Nami-san... Mr. Bushido... Everyone's alive..." Vivi murmured as if she couldn't quite believe it.
"Who asked you to create a prop for parties?!" Nami asked, leaning against her brand new blue clima-tact that Usopp had made her. She looked bruised and beat up, but she was standing even though she had to lean on the weapon for support.
"Hey, you're standing!" Zoro barked from behind her, breathing heavily and bleeding from the cuts on his chest.
"Nami-san!" Sanji cheered.
"It... It did have a powerful attack though, didn't it?" Usopp asked weakly, a goose egg on his head where Nami had his him.
"I'll deal with you later! Vivi... So what's going on? What's with this dust devil?" Nami asked, referring to all the sand and dust flying around them, making it hard to see.
While his crew were talking amongst themselves, Luffy had stretched his arms up to the top of the wall and was holding on to the edge, preparing to launch himself up to where Crocodile was.
"Sorry guys, he got away the first time, but I'm not gonna let him get away this time. So, I'll leave everything else up to you." Luffy told them, eyes narrowed and a frown on his face as he looked up at the wall. Behind him, his crew was silent for a moment, but there wasn't any hesitation or doubt in any of them.
"Go already," Zoro said with a smile.
"He won't know what hit him!" Usopp encouraged.
"I'm gonna put an end to all this!" Luffy told them with certainty before letting his body fling itself towards his hands. Mingled in with the sounds of explosions and fighting, Luffy could hear the sound of his crew cheering.
"You bastard!" Luffy roared as he neared the top, Crocodile becoming much more visible to him now.
"So your back, 11097." Crocodile said with a frown, a cigar burning in his mouth.
"That's right, and this time you're not getting away!" Luffy yelled, rising high into the air above Crocodile and pulling back his fist. Without giving Crocodile a moment to react, Luffy threw the fist forward, hitting Crocodile square in the face like before and sending him flying back. Moving quickly, Luffy grabbed Crocodile's shoulders as the warlord attempted to get back up, and spinning his rubber body like a wheel, Luffy rolled toward the man, headbutting him and revealing the shiny black coating on his forehead.
"Gum Gum Buzzsaw!" Luffy shouted once the attack hit, letting Crocodile fall back to the ground, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth. Luffy stood and watched the downed man for a moment, triumphant smile quickly turning back to a glare.
"Get up." For a moment Crocodile didn't so much as move, though Luffy knew he wasn't defeated yet. He was still conscious, and his anger was beginning to rise once more, telling Luffy that he was merely staying down for his own sake.
"Get up you damn Gator!" Luffy growled in annoyance, wanting to get the real fight started already. Finally, Crocodile made a move to sit up, a smile slowly stretching on his face as he began laughing.
"You think you can beat me? Some snot-nosed kid from the old man's crew? I'm one of the eight warlords of the sea! I'm in an entirely different league than you!" Crocodile yelled as if he were trying to convince himself more so than Luffy. Annoyed with all of the warlord's talk, Luffy reeled his fist back once more.
"Gum Gum Pistol!" Letting the appendage fly forward, he watched as Crocodile moved out of its path, his smile slipping to a frown.
"Your attacks no good if I dodge it." As he said this, he grabbed onto Luffys arm before the rubber limb had any chance to snap back, and with a strange pain, Luffy watched as the entire limb shriveled. Gritting his teeth, Luffy watched as the once rubbery arm came back to him withered and dry.
"When you train your devil fruit it can open up so many new techniques. This is why we'll never be on the same level. I may be sand, but I've trained my ability to not only be the dry sand but also to suck the water out of anything it touches." Crocodile boasted, raising his hand as if it were a weapon. Luffy, still gritting his teeth, got an idea at this.
"Sucks out the water, huh?" Looking down at the jug of water from the old guy at Yuba, Luffy grinned before sticking the straw in his mouth and sucking down half of it. With it, his arm slowly inflated back to the rubbery arm it once was, all pain gone from the limb now.
"What was that you said about training your devil fruit? If that's the only difference between you and me then you're wrong." Luffy said, widening his stance and placing a hand on his knee. Crocodile frowned at this, disappointed that not only did his power not affect Luffy like he'd hoped, but not even his boast had worked.
"Gear... Second." It had been a while since Luffy had used his gears in an actual fight. He'd used it back on Usopp's island, but only to get from one point of the island to the other quickly. Other than that, he hadn't had a need to use the technique in a fight since leaving the Whitebeards.
The feeling of his blood pumping and his body heating up almost calmed him, as counter-intuitive as that was. The steam that rolled off of his now pink and red-tinted skin was familiar, and as he looked up through it at Crocodile, he not only saw but felt the inklings of fear and worry returning to the warlord's emotions.
"You're right, we aren't on the same level," Luffy said before suddenly disappearing from everyone's sight. Crocodile looked around wildly, scrambling to get up off the ground, but it was a useless attempt as Luffy reappeared in front of him, both of his arms tucking in beside him.
"Gum Gum... Jet Gattling!" With a roar, Luffy let his fist fly, moving so fast that the onlookers couldn't even see them. The only evidence of their existence was Crocodile stumbling back, his body jerking as each fist made contact in a different part of his body. The attack was relentless and seemed to be never-ending, but after a few moments, Luffy let his arms snap back to his sides, his body falling back to the ground without the force holding him up anymore.
There was another second of silence as Crocodile gathered himself, sitting back up with more blood falling from his mouth than the mere trickle from earlier.
"Get serious... You're nowhere near my level!" He roared, veins popping out on his forehead as he said this.
"I'm always serious," Luffy replied, his voice implying as much as it was spoken in complete earnest.
Beside them, Robin was unpinning Cobra from the wall, demanding he show her where the Poneglyph- whatever that was- was located. Luffy ignored them for the most part, but he did glance their way, his eyes lingering on the aura around Robin and checking on it. It seemed that it wasn't done fading as he saw it was an even lighter purple than before. Like previously, however, the core of it was still black. The edges of it though were starting to become noticeably more purple though which was an improvement from what it had been before when it was barely distinguishable as anything but black.
Still unsure as to what this meant, Luffy pushed it from his thoughts, turning his attention back to Crocodile as he told Robin to hurry up. Whatever it was that Robin was doing was of no importance to Luffy though, so he let her and Cobra go, ready for the fight to get serious now. So far, it had been pretty one-sided and he was hoping Crocodile would be able to do something now that there was no more distractions.
"Listen up, Straw Hat. Every rock on the ground can be destroyed." Crocodile said, his voice low as he placed his palm on the ground. Watching with a frown, Luffy saw as the grass beneath the palm drained of its bright green color and faded to a withered brown, much like his arm had. The wither spread across the entire ground, right up underneath Luffy, and even passed him. Beside him, a palm tree completely shriveled up and burst apart, nothing more than dry leaves and bark.
"Ground Secco!" With that, the entire ground split apart, cracks and crevices forming and putting Luffy off balance. Not seeing how this was an attack though, Luffy only continued watching.
"The true power of sand is drying. Look! My right-hand dries out everything... with no restraint..." The ground began rumbling, and then the building was as well. Statues were turning into sand and crumbling away, and even Luffys sandals disappeared in a puff of sand.
"Everything that's connected to this hand... Dry up! Ground Death!" Dust swirled around them, blocking Luffys vision. Beneath him, stone and lawn crumbled to sand, and to keep from getting caught up in the draining powers of Crocodile's hand, Luffy grabbed onto the palace wall. Climbing up on it, he saw what had once been a courtyard looked more like a miniature desert now, and from the mixture of sand and dust swirling in the air, a more cohesive stream of sand flew off, cluing Luffy into the fact that it was actually Crocodile making an escape.
"You damn Gator! Get back here!" Luffy roared, and without hesitation, he began chasing after him, making good use of roofs and the backs of those who were fighting still. With only one target in mind, Luffy didn't pay anything or anyone else any attention, his entire focus on the stream of sand flying through the air.
There was a brief moment where Luffy lost him, the sand blending in all too well with all the other surrounding dust and sand, but after climbing onto one of the taller buildings, Luffy could smell the faint cigar, oil, and earth mixture lingering from the mere seconds it had been nearby. Resuming his chase- this time following scent rather than sight- Luffy weaved through buildings, dodging stray swords and bullets as he went.
The thing about scent though, was that it could, and did fade. With all the wind, dust, and sand flying through the air, Crocodile's scent got too well mixed in and Luffy found himself running in circles for far longer than he would have liked, but finally, he reached what had to be the place that Crocodile was at. Not only was the man's scent stronger here, but Robins and Cobras were as well, indicating that they were here as well.
Looking across the grounds, he saw a hatch pulled up, revealing a set of stairs that seemed to be where the scents led. As he started running over to the stairs there was another rumbling from the ground that nearly threw him off balance, but being used to rocky floors, Luffy was quick to right himself and continue on to the stairs, running down them without hesitation.
Just stepping onto the underground stairs though sent a shiver through Luffy. Even from here, he could feel the emotions coming from the three inside, and none of them were good.
Cobra was the tamest of them, his emotions full of peace, acceptance, worry, and a still lingering fear for something other than himself. Luffy could easily piece these emotions together and came to the conclusion that the man was ready to die. He'd felt that kind of peace and acceptance before in others, that calm in knowing death was coming and they were okay with it.
Crocodiles were much wilder in comparison to Cobras. There was a mixture of anger, betrayal, acceptance, frustration, and something completely unhinged. The only comparison Luffy had for the last strange emotion was someone who had nothing to lose and everything to gain, someone who'd legitimately lost their mind.
Finally were Robin's emotions. As always, they were confusing to parse through, but somehow they were the easiest to understand.
She was dying.
Truly dying. Not like Cobras perceived future of dying. Not the knowledge that death would be coming and they were prepared. She was well and truly, actually dying. There was a pain rolling off of her that was at the forefront of all of her emotions, telling Luffy that she must be injured somehow which would be the thing killing her. Under the pain was the same hopelessness mixed with betrayal, and acceptance, much like Cobras own. Like Cobra, it was easier to understand the emotions as someone who was ready to die, yet unlike Cobra, she wasn't at peace with her death like he was. There was an underlying longing, a feeling of being unfinished. It was a small feeling, barely even there, and Luffy was sure that if Robin took the time to think about her own emotions at the moment, she wouldn't even know it was there.
She wasn't ready to die, despite how she tried tricking herself into believing she was.
Running as fast as he could down the crumbling stairs and into a crumbling hall, Luffy hopped from fallen column to fallen stone before they could block off his path. Following his nose, Luffy continued down hall after hall, only to find that the scents were behind the wall he was now staring at. Seeing this, Luffy punched it, crumbling the wall into pieces and creating an opening for him.
Stepping through the hole, Luffy took a few seconds to recover his breathing after running for so long, glaring at where he knew Crocodile would be once the dust disappeared.
He was right, and as the dust settled to reveal the warlord's face, he was met with wide-eyed surprise.
"You...!" Crocodile didn't say anything more, too shocked at Luffys arrival to finish.
"I've cornered you, you Gator! There's nowhere else to run!" Luffy growled out, annoyed at this cat and mouse game. Why wouldn't Crocodile just let him win already?
"No matter how many times- What are you still fighting for?! Are you here because of the old man?!" Crocodile spits out, enraged and not understanding why Luffy was going so far to destroy his plans.
"Pops has nothing to do with this. I'm here because my friend needed help getting rid of some guy trying to steal her kingdom." Luffy replied evenly, the fire burning in his eyes, yet not showing in his tone.
"All of this- this running around. All of it over someone like that naive brat?" Crocodile asked, still not understanding in the least.
"You still haven't returned what you took," Luffy answered instead, only confusing Crocodile more.
"What I took? Is it money...? Fame...? Trust...? Lives...? Rain...?" With a laugh, Luffy saw with his own eyes now just how unhinged Crocodile had become, just as his emotions had predicted.
"What would you have me return?! There's so many things I took away!" Crocodile finished, continuing to laugh. Luffy wasn't fazed however and continued staring down the warlord.
"The country," Luffy replied simply, not wasting any more breath than necessary. He was still enraged with Crocodile, but to see the man so... insane made this a lot less fun. To see the man crumble, to watch him lose his mind wasn't fun no matter what he'd done.
"The country? You say funny things... I'm just about to take this country... by becoming its king." Crocodile said, picking at his nails carelessly.
"When we got to this island, it was already gone. Her country was gone...! If this is really her country... she should be... smiling more!" Luffy said, his voice growing exponentially louder until it was a shout. For a brief moment, Crocodile was back, that unhinged aspect of him reigning itself in to make way for the familiar anger at Luffys words, and at its appearance, Luffys own anger came back as well.
With another roar, Luffy ran forward, swinging his leg up and kicking Crocodile in the face. Much like at the courtyard, Luffy didn't wait for Crocodile to right himself from where he was slumped against the wall and instead punched him again, sending him crashing back into the wall and creating a crater.
"Rainbase... the courtyard... and now here. I'll reward you for your persistence in fighting me!" Crocodile growled as he sat up, pulling off the gold cover of his hook and revealing another hook underneath it that had holes in it, purple mist releasing from them.
"It seems that you want to beat me up no matter what. And I'll also admit that you're an annoying enemy to me. This is a poisonous hook." Crocodile said without any preempting, showing off said hook.
"As a competent enough pirate, you seem to understand that a duel between pirates is always a fight for survival and that there's no such thing as 'playing dirty.'" Hearing these words for what they were, Luffy lowered back into a fighting crouch. Despite his resistance to poisons, Luffy was still going to be cautious, because while they'd yet to find a poison that could affect him, that didn't mean one didn't exist.
"With the explosion up there, this place will probably collapse in one breathe as well. This is the last time. Let's settle it once and for all!" Crocodile shouted, raising his hook, the purple mist curling in the air with its movement.
With that, the final fight truly commenced. Sending a punch Crocodiles way, the man dodged it only to swipe at Luffys still extended arm with his hook. Seeing this, and being warned by his haki, Luffy grabbed his arm with his other hand and pulled, causing his arm to wobble out of Crocodile's reach.
Running forward, Crocodile attempted a swipe at Luffys throat, but the rubber man backflipped away, using his momentum to send a kick towards Crocodile's stomach that connected, causing the warlord to fly back in the wall again.
"Tell me... honestly... what is it that you know about the government, hm? You, a mental hospital escapee being hunted down by the dogs of the navy. It must be truly interesting. They don't reserve that kind of treatment for just anyone." Crocodile said, coughing up, and then spitting out a glob of blood as he grinned maliciously at Luffy.
"Shame that I won't find out from your lips though. This is game over. Once this poison is in your system-" Luffy interrupted his ramblings with another kick. Growling in annoyance, Crocodile turned to sand, quickly rematerializing behind Luffy and swiping at him again. Though Luffy was warned of this with his haki, Crocodile had successfully cornered him- literally- in the corner of the hall. While Luffy would normally be able to make an escape, there wasn't enough time, and he only just barely had enough time to grab the man's shoulders as he reappeared, using them to lift himself in the air.
Despite this, the hook still managed to nick his right ankle, the poison mist seeming to seep into the wound immediately now that there was broken skin. Annoyed that he'd been poisoned after all this, Luffy continued the flip over Crocodile, planting both his haki covered feet forcefully into the man's back and sending him to the ground.
Despite this, Crocodile only laughed louder, triumphant.
"Game over, Straw Hat! 11097! Trio from Hell! That poison doesn't discriminate, and soon you'll be dead! It's a shame I couldn't turn in your bounty, it would have been a great welcoming present to my new kingdom!" Crocodile laughed, the hysteria returning momentarily. Luffy frowned, noticing a slight tingle coming from the cut now, but ignored it.
"I'm not dead yet," Luffy told him resolutely, grabbing Crocodile's head and lifting him back up, much to the warlord's surprise. With him back on his feet, Luffy spun, slamming his leg into the man. He followed it with a quick gum gum gattling, and then another kick that sent the very bloodied man into the ceiling, and then back to the ground.
"Useless, useless, useless! In 15 seconds, the bomb will go off! Anything you do is useless!" Crocodile shouted, enraged once more as he looked up at Luffy from the ground, expression wild.
As the seconds ticked by though, there was no explosion. No earth-shattering boom. Nothing. It seemed that Crocodile noticed this as well as his hysteria flared brightly with fury. Shooting to his feet, Luffy felt the warlord's emotion wash over him, dousing him in the burning, blood-boiling feeling as if he were the one feeling it.
And honestly, he'd been close to feeling this intense rage towards Crocodile all on his own.
"I'm certain that what you're after isn't in this country! Isn't that right?! To achieve someone else's goal... What's the point in dying over that?! If you ditch a friend or two you can stay out of trouble. You guys are total idiots." Crocodile mocked, veins popping out all over his face as he glared at Luffy. With how strong the man's anger was, Luffy hadn't even noticed that just in the past few minutes, Crocodile's darkness had grown as well. His aura, which had already been black, was tinged even darker than when Luffy had first seen it, and the darkness inside of him had grown stronger as well.
Shivering at the feeling of the oozing darkness, Luffy pulled away from that emotion, remembering where he was and what he was doing.
"That's why you still don't understand. Vivi... She tells others not to die, but she's the first to lay down her own life to save others. If we don't help her, she'll die. You guys will kill her." Luffy said, voice deceptively calm despite his borrowed rage.
"That's why I'm telling you that you can just ditch that burden-!" Crocodile said the words with a mixture of desperation and confusion as if he couldn't possibly fathom why Luffy would still be fighting for someone else.
"We don't want her to die! That's how friends are! That's why we won't quit fighting as long as she doesn't give up on her country!" Luffy roared loudly, and if the walls hadn't already been shaking, they surely would have with how loud and intense Luffys voice was.
"Even if you guys end up dying?" Crocodile asked, his own rage simmering down at this response to make way for his ever-growing confusion.
"If we die, we die," Luffy answered firmly.
Like he'd told Crocodile before, he'd done the dying thing before. He wasn't scared of it, especially if it was because he was trying to help his friend.
It seemed like Crocodile was going to say something in return to that, but Luffy suddenly realized just how numb his leg had gone in the meantime. It wasn't in pain, but his entire right leg- the one that had been nicked- had no feeling in it which caused him to lose balance, falling to one knee.
Seeing this, Crocodile burst out into laughter, his confusion and anger now turning to glee and amusement.
"Even after all that, you're body doesn't back you up!" He barks out, laughing even harder. Luffy ignored him in favor of figuring out if the numbness should be worrisome or not. So far only his leg was numb, but everything else was fine. It wasn't in pain still, but the numb seemed to be traveling slowly. The real question was whether the numbness would fade on its own as Luffys body fought the poison, or if it would persist and actually kill him.
There was a loud boom from outside that surprised everyone except Crocodile. Stopping his laughter, he looked up at the crumbling ceiling, a small smile forming.
"Finally... the beginning is here..." Crocodile said softly, holding out his arms.
"What was that?! The bomb?!" Cobra asked, eyes wide. After all, it hadn't gone off earlier when Crocodile said it would, but that didn't mean it couldn't still go off.
"A failproof. Should the cannoneer not be able to light the canon themselves. Today marks the beginning of my enormous ambition... this country... is mine!" Crocodile said, the mania creeping back in as he continued smiling, chuckling a little as well.
"You're... wrong..." Luffy said, struggling to stand on his still numb leg. The creeping numbness was now making its way across the right side of his hip and chest, but he still had the use of both arms and his left leg.
"Everyone up there... is fine," Luffy told him, watching as Crocodile's arms slowly fell and he turned to look at the rubber teen. Luffy could feel with his limited use of haki that many people were still fine, and while he couldn't feel everyone, Crocodile had said the bomb would kill everyone.
So if a few people were fine, that meant everyone was fine.
"And you can't defeat me!" Luffy said, a finality to his tone. Crocodile was silent for a moment as he merely observed Luffy, the rage twinkling in his eye a moment before fading back to amusement.
"Your final moments and that's all you have to say? That's a bluff that suits you well, a loser who's about to die any moment..." Crocodile said as he began walking up to Luffy, rocks tumbling down even faster than before around him.
"I am the man who'll be King of the Pirates!" Luffy said, his words spoken with such conviction that Crocodile stopped moving.
"The more you learn about these seas, the more you learn to not say such thoughtless things as that. Pointless dreams will get you nowhere!" Crocodile shouts, running forward, hook outstretched. Spinning on his numb heel, Luffy wobbles slightly but manages to stay standing long enough to slam his good leg onto the golden handle of Crocodile's hook, sending it to the ground and snapping the poisonous hook off completely.
Losing balance, Luffy fell to his knee again but used his hands to push himself forward, kicking his good leg out once more and slamming it into the warlord's face.
Tired of the back and forth, Luffy coated as much of his fist as he could in haki, sending that towards Crocodile as well and making contact.
One after another, Luffy sent his fists into the warlord's chest, and despite the attempt to shield himself with his sand, the fists made contact each and every time, each with a shiny coating covering them. The force sent Crocodile back onto the ceiling, but Luffy didn't stop, continuing his attack even as the rocks tumbled and fell beside him.
With a final roar to expel any anger still left, Luffy threw one final fist into Crocodile's stomach, breaking open the ceiling and sending the warlord defeated into the sky, blood falling from his mouth and forehead.
By now, the numbness had reached Luffys right arm as well, but that was just as well. Crocodile was finally defeated, and he left everything else up to his crew and Vivi, so he knew things would be handled outside.
From beside him, he felt the shock and awe of Crocodile, and from slightly further down the hall he could feel the ever dimming emotions of Robin.
Realizing that there were still things left to take care of, Luffy struggled to stand using his non-numb left side. It was strange to hobble along, dragging a completely numb leg and arm along with him.
"Straw Hat Luffy. I give you my thanks." Cobra said, smiling at him as he watched Luffy grow closer. Smiling his D smile, Luffy paused in his hobbling.
"No problem!" With that out of the way, Luffy continued his hobble towards, only to be stopped once more by Cobra grabbing his numb leg.
"The poison. I have an antidote for it. Here." Cobra says as he pulls out a red bottle, handing over to Luffy who takes it with a surprised blink.
"Oh, thanks!" Smiling cheerfully, Luffy downs it in one go, waiting for it to take effect as he glances over toward Robin.
During the fight, she had managed to prop herself up against a wall, though that didn't mean she was recovering. Her emotions were still slowly, yet surely dimming just as they had been since he'd first gotten here.
Cobra watched on silently as Luffy continued his hobble over to Robin, limbs still numb for the moment. As he made his way over, Cobra started talking to the woman, and for the most part, Luffy tuned it out in favor of focusing on not falling. Using the wall- which was still crumbling- for support, Luffy finished the journey, breathing slightly labored with the effort it took.
"I give up... I've searched for it for 20 years and I'm out of clues. This place was my last hope... and a failure." Robin said weakly, her emotions mimicking her words.
"Dying here is fitting for me. Living life like this has exhausted me... All I want is to learn the history... but there are too many enemies... to achieve my dream." Robin says, a tear falling as more well up in her eyes. There's a smile on her face, and despite saying she was ready to die, like earlier, her emotions said otherwise. Luffy could pick out the longing much easier now as she grew closer to death; her realization that death wasn't actually what she wanted.
She wanted to live, and yet she was done with living.
Not wanting to hear anymore, Luffy promptly picks Robin up with his good arm, slinging her over her shoulder and beginning his hobble back over to Cobra. It was much more difficult with Robins added weight putting him off balance, but thankfully he was beginning to gain feeling in his arm.
His leg was still a bust though.
"Okay, let's go," Luffy announces, dragging himself over to Cobra and picking him up under his now recovered arm.
"Wait a second! I no longer have a reason to live! Leave me here!" Robin pleaded, almost angry that Luffy was saving her.
"Why do I have to listen to you?" Luffy asks instead, continuing his march out of the crumbling hall. Surprise filled her at his response and she's left speechless.
"Besides, you want to live, you just don't know how. Why die without figuring it out?" Luffy asks, not waiting, or even expecting a response. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees what was once a black aura fade into a dim lilac, grey tinting the color, and yet, the grey wasn't a bad thing. It didn't hold the same meaning that grey held in other people.
While in others grey meant bad, the grey in Robins felt different- looked different- and that was without taking into account the fact that it was purple. Whatever this purple color meant, this grey was mingling with it, hinting that this purple could fade to blue as well, and seemed to be on its way to doing so. Any darkness that Robin had felt emotionally seemed to have melted away during their time underground as well.
All in all, Robin seemed to be one of the rare few that was slowly becoming good.
Crocodile has been defeated everyone! With that, we'll be moving swiftly on to wrapping Alabasta up, and then we'll be moving on to an arc entirely of my own making. I know all of you are eager to see more original content and so I'm hoping you'll all enjoy what I've come up with! To give you all an idea as to what to expect next, the next chapter will be wrapping up Alabasta, the chapter after that one will be a transitioning chapter, and then after that we'll move on to the next arc which I've dubbed Konoro Town.
As for the fight with Crocodile; I felt that the warlord would have at least an understanding of what haki was, but doesn't know how to use any himself. As a result, I think he would have been prepared for Luffy to have haki seeing as he had been sailing in the New World for a while, but I also feel like he would have just assumed that, despite Luffy's high bounty, Luffy had only gotten it because he was a part of Whitebeards crew. Hence, he wasn't too shocked or confused as to how Luffy was hitting him, but he was surprised Luffy was actually able to hold his own against him.
I hope all of you are as excited as I am to see the next arc! I'm working hard on thinking up some new arcs for all of you to enjoy and I can't wait to get them written up. Sadly, the next semester is fast approaching, but as always, I'll be pacing myself so I don't overwork myself with this or my schooling.
And so, I will see you all again in two weeks with the next chapter! Thank you as always for your support in my endeavors!