Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Thousand Sunny approached the next stop on their voyage on calm seas, under clear skies. The island, called Prisma, was not large, only a single town visible in the lowlands on the west coast. The town didn’t extend far into the woods that covered the line of hills running east-west like a spine across the center of the island. Despite its small size, there were a number of ships in the harbor, but no sign of a Marine base, which the less-excitable members of the crew took as a good omen. A peaceful port was welcome after the narrow victory at Thriller Bark. So narrow, no one knew exactly how they’d survived the Schichibukai Kuma.

That isn’t quite true, of course. Four members of the crew – Zoro, Sanji, Robin, and Brook - did know, but weren’t telling, not even each other. Zoro knew Sanji knew the swordsman offered his life in exchange for Luffy’s, but the two had silently agreed not to speak of it after the swordsman awoke a week ago. Outwardly, their behavior towards each other was the same as always, although Robin noticed the chef was not as quick to brawl with the swordsman. When Sanji did, he first glanced, perhaps without even realizing it, at Chopper before proceeding. Making certain the doctor was on hand if a problem arose.

Robin didn’t believe the rest of the crew noticed that hesitancy, but she was certain Zoro had sensed Sanji wasn’t fighting with his usual intensity. The swordsman had enough experience to tell the difference. So after their initial argument turned to brawling, Zoro would grow silent and serious rather than continuing to loudly trade insults with the cook as he typically did.

'He probably sees it as pity, or worse, an insult. That Sanji-san sees him as too battered to bother fighting seriously,' Robin mused to herself as she glanced up from her latest reading selection – a legend of a glowing sphere that roams tunnels beneath a village in the West Blue - to observe the rapidly approaching island. In reality, she reflected, it was as close as either man was likely to get to openly admitting concern for the other’s well-being.

The Straw Hats found a small cove out of sight of the village, deciding to drop anchor there and hike into the village. The locals might not recognize them, or even mind if they did (some villages took the approach that pirate money spent the same as any other), but it was still safer to enter town discreetly in small groups than sail in directly.

Nami took charge of handing out allowances and assignments. “Sanji, I don’t know what the markets in a village this size will have, but we’re low on everything, so get all you can.”

“Of course, my darling Nami-swan,” Sanji declared fervently on one knee, hands clasped over his heart. “I’ll bring back only the best for you and dearest Robin. Oh, and I’ll find something for you idiots,“ he added towards the guys as an afterthought.

“Find lots of good meat Sanji,” Luffy shouted, leaping onto the ship’s railing. “I’m gonna go find a monster, or a strong guy in the village to fight! Adventure on Meat Island!” Before he could launch himself to shore, Nami dropped him with a punch to the skull. Fortunately, he fell sideways onto the deck rather than into the sea.

“Luffy, you can’t go crazy out there! The Log Pose needs a day and a half to set, we can’t risk you causing problems by starting a huge mess before then.”

“But Nami, if there’s a problem, I’ll just beat it up,“ Luffy responded as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

Robin could tell Nami wasn’t pleased with that response, so she tried to help. “Captain, if you make the townspeople angry, they may refuse to sell Sanji any meat.”

“Eh?!” Luffy actually took a moment to digest this distressing news. “OK, I’ll be good. I’ll only fight any monsters I find and not villagers!” He nodded vigorously, pleased with his sound decision, and prepared to depart again.

And was again interrupted by Nami. “Forget it Luffy, you’re sticking with. . .” She trailed off. If Luffy went with Sanji, that put him near food. The cook would be lucky to get back with anything. Chopper couldn’t control the rubber boy. Zoro would get them lost. Robin told Nami last night she was eager to explore an old temple in the hills. If Luffy went along, he’d probably destroy it. There was no telling what the archaeologist might do to their Captain if that happened.

Which left Usopp, Franky, or Brook, their newest crewmate. (Nami excluded herself. She wanted quiet time to shop. “Luffy” and “quiet” didn’t go together.) “Brook, were you planning to go ashore?”

The musician nodded. “I was looking forward to being a face in a crowd again, even though I have no face. Yohoho!” Brook hadn’t been on the crew long, but it didn’t take long to learn Nami’s eye twitching meant he was treading on thin ice. He spun on one heel to face Luffy. “Why don’t you come with me, Captain? I’d like to find some supplies to treat the wood of my violin. 50 years drifting at sea hasn’t done it any good. I’m sure if we entertain the villagers with music and dancing, they would help find you someone to fight later.”

Luffy’s face brightened. “Really? Then let’s go!” Wasting no time, the rubber boy grabbed hold of the skeleton with one arm, flung the other towards the shore, latching onto a tree and pulling the two of them onto the island.

This time, Nami let him go. “Zoro, you’re with me.”

The swordsman, seated against the railing, didn’t even open his eyes. “Forget it, I’m staying here to keep watch.”

“Watch the insides of your eyelids is more like it! Franky already told me he was staying behind to do some repairs. Right Franky?”

“Big thumbs up, Nami-sis! That storm yesterday knocked Sunny around pretty good, so I want to take this time to check below the waterline, make sure everything is super ship-shape!”

Nami turned back to the moss-haired swordsman, an unfriendly smile on her face. “See Zoro, you’re not going to lay around here doing nothing. Chopper and I need to restock medical supplies, especially since some idiot got himself thrashed so badly on Thriller Bark!”

Zoro’s eyes opened at that, his expression hostile as he stood. “I didn’t ask you to use that stuff on me, and we wouldn’t be out if Chopper didn’t keep putting bandages on me when I’m just gonna take them off!”

The little reindeer responded in a wounded tone. “But Zoro, you aren’t recovered yet. You could have reopened your wounds.”

“Don’t yell at Chopper, you moron!!”

“I’m not, I’m yelling at you, witch! You’re trying to use Chopper as an excuse to drag me along as your clothes mule like always!”

And since Zoro insulted Nami, Sanji had to get involved. “Don’t shout at my precious Nami with that foul voice, marimo!”

Before a lengthy brawl could erupt, dozens of hands bloomed separating everyone. Robin sighed. She loved her friends dearly, but at times like this, they could drive her a bit mad. “Usopp, were you planning to go to town?”

The sniper had been watching all this from a safe distance. He’d learned the hard way to stay clear of swordsman, chef, and navigator when their tempers flared. He didn’t expect the question and stared blankly for a few seconds before responding. “Uh, yeah. I just needed a few small things, maybe take a look in a junk shop if the island has one.”

“I’m sure between you and Chopper’s Heavy Point, you can carry all the medical supplies we need?”

“Of, of course! That’s nothing for the Great Captain Usopp! I once carried a mountain into the sea to deflect an ocean breeze that was ruining a fair princess’. . .” Robin had already moved on.

“Zoro can accompany me, in case I need anything heavy moved, and if not, then he can rest. Is that more agreeable to you, Kenshi-san?”

Zoro eyed the archaeologist. He didn’t believe for a second she thought she needed his help, and he didn’t care about some old building. But anything was better than being dragged along with Nami. . . He grunted something that could have been “Sure.”

“Wonderful. Then let’s leave immediately.” It was already past midday, and Robin wanted to make use of as much daylight as possible.

As she slung a pack over her shoulder, Nami stepped closer. “What’s the deal, Robin?”

“There’s nothing to it, Nami. I merely wished to end the arguing quickly so all the tasks that need completing would get done. Once Sanji started to defend your honor, things would be delayed for some time.”

On cue, the chef twirled and spun up to the two ladies. “I made you a wonderful lunch to take on your expedition, my divine Robin-chwan!”

Robin thanked Sanji earnestly. The cook’s efforts weren’t necessary; Robin had survived on scraps or worse before. A few hours between now and dinner was nothing. But Sanji would never hear of it. He nearly fainted at her smile, but found the energy to throw another box lunch at the approaching swordsman. Zoro caught it without even looking, pointedly ignoring the chef’s display of swooning. “Ready.”

With that, Robin and Zoro leapt to the sandy shore and headed into the forest.

Chapter Text

“Oi, Robin.” Zoro was getting irritated.

It seemed to him the raven-haired archaeologist was leading him in circles. He was sure they’d gone past that tree with red leaves and a forked trunk three times already, but had held his tongue. If he told Robin she was getting nowhere, she’d just give him that indulgent smile she favored. The one you give a pet or kid that did something you found amusing. None of the crew ever listened when it came to directions.

So Zoro had let the wandering go. But now the woman was stopping to look at the trees. Running her hand over the bark, examining the leaves. Watching a bird sitting on a branch. The bird was watching her just as closely, chirping occasionally. Zoro briefly wondered if Chopper wasn’t the only Straw Hat who could talk to animals. Maybe “bird” was another ancient language Robin understood. “I thought you were in a hurry to get to this place?”

Robin turned from the bird to regard him with amusement. “I’m merely pausing to catch my breath, Zoro-san, and enjoy the beautiful foliage.” Prisma was a fall island, and the woods were ablaze with color. Reds, oranges, yellows, a few holding stubbornly to green. The tree she stood under presently was covered with deep blue leaves.

Zoro stared back, wondering if she really thought he was an idiot. “You aren’t the least bit out of breath. I’m not some porcelain doll, woman. I can handle a little walk.” True, his entire body ached, but that just meant he needed to get back to training. Either that or take a nap. Not waste time hiking in a forest.

Robin shook her head ruefully. She should have known he’d see through her. “Of course, Kenshi-san. My apologies.”

“Then let’s get going. You want to check this place out, and we both know it’s only a matter of time before Luffy causes trouble.” Zoro strode up the hill to Robin and added, “If you really wanted to take it easy on me, you’d stop going in circles. It’s this way, right?” He immediately started back downhill until Robin caught his arm.

“The temple is uphill, Zoro.”

Zoro grunted and let Robin lead on.

Eventually they reached the temple. It sat in a clearing, a low, single-story building of stone stained dark with age. The rear sat flush against a near-vertical rock face. Trees ringed the edge of the slope they were climbing, their tops stretching far above the temple, but none grew in the clearing itself. Sunlight poked through their canopies here and there. The grass in the clearing was knee-high, waving back and forth as a light breeze wafted through occasionally. Birds called in the woods, but the clearing was silent, other than a few leaves crunching beneath their boots.

Robin’s eyes scanned the exterior, taking it all in, looking for any distinguishing marks. But the stone faces showed no markings, just gradual erosion under onslaught of the elements.

Behind her, Zoro spoke up. “I thought temples were more showy. High ceilings, gold, painted windows and stuff.”

Robin answered as she walked the exterior. “In many cultures, yes, but Salterans were more secretive. Believers would know the importance of the place. Hence the innocuous appearance. This is smaller than normal, though.”

Robin pulled out a notebook and began noting dimensions and signs of damage. Zoro followed a few steps behind, scanning both for threats and places to nap. He doubted Robin would want him training around here.

It was then he noticed a vine lifted by Robin’s boot as she took a step. Its presence, and the odd way the leaves were laid out ahead of her, triggered a warning in him. Without conscious thought he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. A loop of rope shot up from where her next step would have landed and arced into the sky. It swung back and forth from where it was attached to a tree for a few moments before hanging still.

Robin observed the near miss calmly. “Thank you, Zoro. Being hauled into the air and swung into a tree would have been unpleasant.” Given how unruffled she was, you'd think he'd kept the wind from blowing away her hat, if she'd been wearing one.

“Maybe there are still some of those Saltines around.”

“Salterans. It’s possible, although they were all believed to have been killed two centuries ago by the people who now inhabit the islands they lived on. It is possible they had materials durable enough to survive that long.”

The two continued walking the perimeter of the temple. They were alert for possible dangers and found two more snare traps, which were easily avoided. Zoro wondered about who would set traps like this, if not the people who used the temple. He recalled Usopp and those three kids that followed him around his home town, pretending to be pirates or fighting off pirate attacks. But these didn’t seem like the kinds of things kids would come up with. No pattern to them, no obvious reason for them to be where they were.

A trapper, perhaps? There weren’t any animals in the clearing, or any game trails, but he’d seen a few in the woods on the hike. But any rabbit or squirrel caught in that thing would have been flung halfway to the East Blue, but maybe there were deer? He stayed on alert.

Robin was more interested in how the building seemed to grow directly from the hill. She had a theory explaining the size of the structure. Eager to test it, she returned to the entrance. There was no door or gate, just an open square in the wall. Robin reached into her pack for a light. As she took the first step in, she found it matched by another, heavier tread.

“Zoro-san, it isn’t necessary for you to accompany me. I know this trip is disrupting your naptime.”

The swordsman scoffed. “Like hell I’m going to let you wander around in here alone when there’s someone setting traps.”

“That’s so sweet, Kenshi-san, your wanting to protect me.” Robin cooed as she fluttered her eyes mock-bashfully. The next instant her voice was all business. “In that case, would you mind carrying the light for me?” Zoro stared dumbly for a moment, trying to follow what had just happened, before giving up and taking the light without a word.

Crouched on a small ledge on the slope high above the temple, a figure watched through a spyglass as the two continued inside. “Nico Robin, eh? She could be handy.” A low chuckle escaped his throat. Then his expression grew serious. “The guard dog could be a problem. . .”

Chapter Text

Robin paused just inside the entrance, crossing her arms. Eyes bloomed through the hall, checking every room and corner. Satisfied no one lurked in the shadows, she dispersed the eyes and examined the images carved into the walls. She moved slowly down the hall, making notes and rough sketches in her journal, occasionally checking earlier pages for something she’d written while researching on the voyage here.

The first of the three rooms in the hall was a simple affair. A basic square, a few piles of extremely old and brittle plant life along a wall. The ropes that bound it together decaying on the ground, tied around nothing now. There were a few amphorae, clay containers three feet tall. A graceful, flowing script encircled the widest part. There was a residue in one suggesting it held some sort of oil, long since evaporated. 'A place to store items to be offered, or supplies needed for their ceremonies,' Robin thought to herself. Having examined the art carved into the walls to her own satisfaction for now, she turned to leave.

Zoro was positioned in the doorway so he could watch her back, but also the hallway and entrance, and stepped aside as she approached. He followed silently. He would rather be napping, but there was something telling him to stay alert.

The next room was on the other side of the hall, farther down. Robin examined the entrance for a moment, running her hand along the stone. Zoro tensed, thinking she’d found another trap. But she continued inside. The interior of this room had one large mural carved into the far wall. A massive being knelt before several smaller ones. Two lions curled around their feet. One hand held an object out to one of the smaller figures. The object projected something – light? power? The smaller figure held out their hands, while another lay prone at their feet. Behind them, several figures bowed, while still others ran away or fell, pursued by a swarm of creatures.

The only other feature was a series of flat stone tables. There were faint remnants of reed mats on two of the tables.

“Was this for sacrificing people?” Zoro knew people were sometimes offered to gods as sacrifices. It seemed stupid to kill someone to appease something that didn’t exist, but he knew that was how some people dealt with fear.

“Not quite,” Robin’s eyes were focused on the mural as she spoke. “Salterans did believe in sacrifice, but not coerced. Kuan was their chief deity, and they believed Kuan wanted followers to live, and enjoy living. Work well, play well, sleep well, eat well. Any offerings - food, art, gems – were meant to be a celebration of their lives. To kill someone unwilling and offer them would be a grave insult.”

She turned to face the solemn swordsman. This quite interested her, but she was surprised to see him listening intently. “People did offer themselves,” she gestured to the fallen figure. “A parent hoping to save a sick child, for example. But this room was for anyone bringing an offering. They would contemplate what they were offering and why. To understand how it honored Kuan, or those they hoped to help, rather than their own pride or vanity.”

The third room sat on the left side of the hall as well, just before the end of the hall. Inside was a stone tub, filled with cool water. A drain ran from the base into the side of the room where the hall ended. The water just overtopped the edge of the tub, filled by a slow drip from a crack in the ceiling.

“This place holds together pretty well if that’s the worst damage,” Zoro observed.

“It’s an intentional feature.” Robin was following inscriptions around the perimeter of the room. “When someone was prepared to go before Kuan, their motivations clear, they would submerge to cleanse themselves physically as they had mentally.”

“So why is the water still dripping if they’re gone?”

“I believe this was originally a cave, one the Salterans carved into a temple, enlarging and shaping existing formations to their purposes. Inscribing their stories on the walls. I believe the tub and those benches were carved out of the cave itself as they created the rooms.”

Zoro let out an impressed grunt, surveying the temple with new eyes. “How long would that take?”

“Depending on the number of people available, lifetimes aren’t out of the question. Remember, it would have been a choice they made willingly.”

“They figured it was worth it?”

“Precisely.”

Zoro could understand that, devoting yourself fully to a goal. He knew the archaeologist could as well. “Kind of small, isn’t it? For a god they liked so much? Or did they decide their god would see it as a waste to do more?”

Robin smiled cryptically and walked to the end of the hall. In the center was a circular piece, set out slightly from the rest of the wall. A face carved into it, large eyes half-open, open mouth showing teeth. The face was also upside-down.

“Would you please remove the stone plugging the drain, Zoro-san?” Robin asked, a speculative look on her face.

Zoro shrugged and complied. The water rushed down the sluice into a hole in the wall. The sound of moving water echoed loudly. The mouth of the circular face began to fill, as it turned out the open part was a hollow stone, polished to transparency. There was a “clunk”, and the face rolled to the right. The opening revealed a set of stairs leading into darkness beyond the reach of their light.

A groove in the wall was revealed by the circular piece moving. There was an opening in the groove, at the same height the mouth had been initially. Water continued to flow from the opening, following the arc of the groove, and into another opening at the bottom. The water could be heard running further into the depths.

Zoro joined Robin at the opening, and both glanced at the stone face. Right side up, it was smiling, although the sharp teeth made it look more hungry than friendly. The expression of the eyes was difficult to read.

“You were expecting all this, eh?”

“Mmm.” Robin said nothing else, but wore the pleased smile she had when solving a problem. Zoro accepted that as answer enough.

“We’re going on, right?”

BOOM

The explosion came from behind them. Zoro whirled, swords drawn, but it wasn’t coming from nearby. They dashed outside, both ready for trouble, but the trees ringing the clearing obscured their view. Robin was preparing to scatter eyes and ears through the forest to locate the sound when the den-den mushi she brought signaled. While Robin answered it, Zoro scrambled for the nearest tree to see what was visible from the top.

“Nami-san?” Robin asked.

“Robin? What the heck?! I’ve been trying to contact you for a half-hour! Are you OK? Did Zoro get you lost somehow?”

“We’re fine Nami,” Robin guessed the cave might be made of minerals with properties that blocked the signal. “What is going on?”

Zoro dropped back to the ground (Robin was surprised he hadn’t somehow gotten lost climbing the tree.) He mouthed “Sunny’s under attack,” as Nami replied.

“A detachment of marines were in town! Including a Rear Admiral! Luffy decked him by accident while dancing and all hell broke loose!” Zoro spat out a low curse.

Robin knew the feeling, but tried to remain calm. “Are any of you hurt? Zoro-san says the Sunny is under attack.”

Even if the snail’s face hadn’t mirrored the navigator’s expression, the stress was clear in her voice. “No, we were able to run before the Rear Admiral could get his bearings, or his Marines could counterattack, but Robin. . . we couldn’t stay put.”

Robin glanced at Zoro. The clench of his jaw the only hint of strain. Worry over a crew he wasn’t there to defend. But his gaze was steady. Robin matched it, for Nami’s sake. Project confidence. “We understand. No one in town should know we’re here. If we maintain a low profile, we’ll be fine until you lose them and return. The Log Pose hasn’t reset, correct?”

“Not yet. I promise Robin, we’ll be back as fast as we can!” Large splashes were audible over the line. Usopp was yelling in the background, something about being allergic to being crushed by boulders.

Robin had survived alone for 20 years. Surviving a few days with a trusted crewmate was manageable. When this crew promised to return, she knew they would. She pushed aside old doubts that wanted to resurface, and focused on reassuring her friend. “We will await your return, don’t worry. Keep yourselves safe.”

“Wait, let me talk to Zoro!” He raised an eyebrow and accepted the snail.

“Yeah?”

“YOU BETTER NOT LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO ROBIN, YOU IDIOT, OR I’LL HAVE SANJI CUT YOU UP AND WE’LL SELL YOUR ORGANS ON THE BLACK MARKET! AN UNUSED BRAIN OUGHT TO GET A GOOD PRICE! GOT IT!?”

Zoro winced at the ringing in his ears before replying gruffly. “Yeah, I got it. Try not get yourself in any more trouble since I’m not there for you to hide behind.”

Nami began to reply, but Franky’s voice cut in, telling everyone to hold tight. Even from a distance they could hear the cola powering the Sunny into the air. That would get them clear of the Marines, hopefully. The connection was lost.

Zoro handed the snail back to Robin. The two scanned their immediate surroundings in silence. “Guess we need to set up a camp. I’ll get some wood.”

“Stick to small limbs, Zoro-san. An entire section of the forest falling randomly would attract attention.” The swordsman raised one hand in acknowledgement as he walked into the woods. After a moment’s thought, the archaeologist scattered eyes throughout the trees. She made sure Zoro was in sight of at least one at all times. Unattended, he’d certainly accidentally wander into town and encounter any Marines still there.

Chapter Text

Night had fallen gradually, the sun descending gracefully behind the trees towards the sea. In fading light, the forest was quite beautiful, but there was no change in the temple’s appearance. It sat, grey and solid, immune to any poetic effect.

The two pirates made camp in the room nearest the entrance. It wasn’t as chilly and damp as the other two, they’d still be shielded from the weather, and their fire wouldn’t be visible unless someone got very close. As two of the most alert of the Straw Hats, it was unlikely anyone could get that close without their knowing it.

They ate the lunches Sanji had prepared, as they hadn’t stopped to eat before everything went sideways that afternoon. There was no telling how long it would be before their crew could return. A Rear Admiral wasn’t likely to give up, even if Coup de Burst took the Sunny out of sight. And the Marines could always call for reinforcements.

Both trusted the nakama’s skills. They would return. But both also knew that, besides Luffy, none of the others were entirely healed from the battle with the Shichibukais Moriah and Kuma. Zoro stared at the fire, absently chewing. He hated not being there to fight with them, protect them. He was supposed to be at his Captain’s side, facing down any threats. His eyes slid up to the historian sitting on the opposite side of the fire. He had nakama to protect right here. Focus on that responsibility, he told himself.

Robin was skimming her notes while taking small bites from a sandwich. Keeping Zoro from getting lost in the woods had taken full concentration, and there hadn’t been time to explore the rest of the temple they’d unlocked before nightfall. So she was taking the opportunity to double-check before they explored in the morning.

From Zoro’s perspective, her face looked calm, totally absorbed in her reading. Her posture suggested she was uncomfortable, like she wanted to curl in on herself. She was probably worried about the others as well. And she might be chilly. They’d kept the fire small to avoid creating too much light and, given their confined space, smoke. Her khaki shorts and light, long-sleeved button-up shirt hadn’t been a bad choice for hiking on a sunny day, but they probably weren’t doing much good now.

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. “Is something wrong, Zoro-san?” Even while reading, she was always aware of her surroundings.

““Zoro” is fine, you don’t have to be so formal. I was just wondering if you were cold.”

Robin eyebrows rose momentarily before a playful smile appeared. “Did you have some ideas on how you’d warm me up? That’s very forward of you, Zoro-kun.” She emphasized the “kun”, pitching her voice closer to a purr.

If anyone said Zoro’s face flushed red, he’d have insisted it was a trick of the light. The fire just happened to flare a bit at that exact moment. Nothing more. “Tch. Don’t be silly, woman. I was just going to say you could sit here next to me if you wanted. This room isn’t the warmest.”

Her response was soft, a hint of resignation to it. “You needn’t worry so. Despite what Nami said, I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”

Of course she was. She’d survived 20 years with the entire world snapping at her heels. That didn’t matter. “I know that,” Zoro answered sternly. “But you’re part of a crew now. That means not having only yourself to rely on. We’ll all help if you let us. It’s just I’m the only one available right now.”

Robin’s expression was unreadable as she processed this. After a moment, she rose gracefully and circled the fire, until she could sit next to him. (She sat on his left, because he’d feel better if he was between her and the entrance, in case of an attack.) “Doesn’t that work both ways, Zoro?” It was warmer here, she noticed. She could swear the young swordsman gave off more heat than the fire.

He tilted his head to meet her gaze. “What does that mean?” he asked, even though he was sure he knew. He didn’t want this conversation again. Between Chopper’s scolding, Nami’s griping, that stupid cook treating him with kid’s gloves, he was getting tired of everyone acting like he was suddenly an invalid. He’d even caught Luffy watching him once or twice. Like the captain worried he was about to keel over. He hadn’t expected it from Robin as well.

(He knew that wasn’t really what they were saying with their actions, and he should appreciate it, but. . . it was different for him. His responsibilities made it different. He’d thought they understood that.)

As if reading his thoughts, Robin responded. “It is not solely your responsibility to safeguard the rest of us. Certainly not at great cost to yourself.”

Zoro didn’t like how she said that. “What, the battle with Kuma? That was nothing. He was just impressed by how hard all of us fought to defend Luffy.”

“Yes, so impressed with you and Cook-san offering your lives he gave you the chance to take all of Luffy’s injuries yourself in exchange for Captain’s safety. Which you did.”

Robin had a lot of experience with liars and people trying to keep secrets. As poker faces go, Zoro’s wasn’t bad. His eyes just barely widened. If you didn’t know him or weren’t watching closely, you wouldn’t notice. Robin did. She’d studied the crew closely from the moment she joined, out of self-preservation.

(She studied them before that even, curious about this odd little group willing to challenge Crocodile for an idealistic princess.)

Zoro’s voice betrayed nothing. “I figured the damn cook knew. Did he tell you, or did you overhear him telling someone else?”

“The other way around, actually. Two of Lola’s crew told Sanji the details.”

He noticed she didn’t deny the eavesdropping. “You don’t need to snoop like that. If you want to know something, just ask. Unless it’s too personal, we’ll tell you. Hell, that stupid cook will tell you or Nami anything.”

Robin didn’t take offense. She knew Zoro hadn’t meant it as a rebuke, just a reminder this crew wasn’t hiding any dark schemes. They weren’t plotting to betray her. She didn’t let his attempt to divert the conversation succeed. “I’m not so certain he would. I believe Cook-san regards it as your story to tell, or not. I know Nami has asked, and he feigned ignorance.”

That got a reaction from Zoro, his jaw dropping in surprise. The idea of the cook not instantly kowtowing to Nami was hard to picture. Pausing to digest this before continuing, he asked, “And you?”

“I agree with Sanji. It would make our Captain sad, and it’s your decision.” Zoro turned back to the fire, jaw clenched. Robin continued. “I don’t mean to chide you for your actions. You acted to protect someone important to us all.” She paused. “We could have shared the burden.”

Zoro kept staring at the fire, but shook his head. “You guys were all unconscious, and even if you weren't, I don’t think Kuma would have let us pull a stunt like everyone taking some of the pain. I was lucky he even gave me the chance. If he’d ignored me and taken Luffy, I, I couldn’t have stopped him.”

His gut clenched to admit that out loud. He’d known when he offered his life, it was the only card he had left to play. He thought it would be worse admitting it to a nakama. Someone who was supposed to be able to count on him, to see their disappointment in him and his failure, but it wasn’t. Maybe because Robin already knew. Or because the thought had been bouncing around his mind for days, tormenting him ever since he woke from his injuries.

It had been his fight with Mihawk all over again. Worse in some ways. He knew Mihawk held back a lot in their duel. And Zoro knew he hadn’t yet come close to the level of the World’s Greatest Swordsman, but he’d been sure he was making progress.

Then he faced another Shichibukai and it was same story, different day. He’d been helpless in the face of overwhelming power, at the mercy of his enemy’s sense of honor. He’d woken from that coma with the knowledge he lived only because that power allowed it. Mihawk could have ended him at any time, and Kuma could have done the same. Except Kuma could have also killed the others after if he chose, and Zoro would have failed them all, not only himself and Kuina’s memory.

(He couldn’t see Mihawk doing that, even if he’d killed Zoro. Luffy and Usopp wouldn’t have interested him enough. He might be wrong, though. Mihawk had destroyed Krieg’s fleet just for kicks, after all.)

He forcibly wrenched his mind away from that distressing line of thought. “Also, it’s my job.”

“To die? To leave the rest of us mourning you?” Robin felt a hint of anger creeping into her voice.

Zoro’s reply carried no uncertainty. “To protect the crew, the one who brought us together, gave us all a chance to be part of something? Yeah, if need be. You did the same, for basically the same reason, right?”

“Yes, and all of you chased after me to tell how needless it was. That I should trust in you to share my burdens.”

Zoro grimaced. Trying to argue with Robin was a losing proposition. She came at things from so many angles, ready for any response. But he wanted her to understand. “Has Nami told you how she joined our crew for good?”

Robin blinked at the abrupt topic change, but went with it this time, feeling there was a point he was driving at. “A bit.” Usopp and Sanji had filled in some blanks, although each embellished in their own way. “The four of you freed her island from the control of Saw-Tooth Arlong, who had it in his grasp for 10 years.”

He nodded. “While Luffy was fighting Arlong, he told the fish bastard something. That he needed Nami, needed a crew, because there were a lot of things he couldn’t do. Like navigate, shoot, cook, or use swords.”

He pressed on. “It’s the same for me. All of you can fight, but you do other things, things I can’t. I can’t shoot or build things. I can’t read a different book every day and keep all that information straight because we might need it. I can bandage a wound, but couldn’t help anyone who was sick. I can cook enough to keep myself alive, but not keep a crew healthy. None of you will let me navigate –“ He paused, waiting for the joke that always came, but Robin remained silent, letting him finish. “And I couldn’t bring a group of people together in pursuit of their dreams.”

He drew the Wado Ichimonji from its sheath and held it vertically in front of him. It seemed to capture the firelight and amplify it, almost shining. Or perhaps it reflected Zoro’s will. “What I can do, is fight and protect the rest of you. That’s all I can do. I’d prefer not to die yet. There are things I still need to do. But I'm prepared to. If my swords aren’t enough, I’ll use whatever else I have. Including my life.”

Robin turned this over in her mind. She understood how it seemed perfectly logical from the perspective he took. But he needed to understand he was worth more to them than his ability to take punishment. As he said, being in a crew meant having others to rely on. In this case, she was the only one available to explain it to him.

Before she could, a low, mocking laugh echoed from further in the cave.

“Aww, such a loyal doggie.”

Chapter Text

Zoro was on his feet instantly, Kitetsu drawn to pair with Wado as he faced the entrance. Robin scattered eyes down the corridor and found the source of the voice just beyond the secret entrance they’d opened that afternoon.

One man leaned calmly against a wall, a light resting next to him, hands shoved into a long red duster. He had sandy blonde hair, in a few short, sharp spikes swept to the right. The hair gel he used to achieve the effect shone clearly in the light. He was an inch or two shorter than Zoro, wearing jeans and a pair of heavy, thick-soled boots with the laces loosely tied. No weapons were visible, but he had a cocky smirk on his face as he glanced at the nearest eye on the wall.

His voice again carried down to them. “Why not come talk to me directly, Nico Robin? Bring your guard dog if you’d like.”

Robin’s eyes met Zoro’s and he nodded. The two stepped cautiously into the hall and moved slowly towards their visitor. He was alone, but seemed unconcerned, even knowing who she was. Meaning he was either a fool, or extremely powerful.

As they reached the top of the stairs, he pushed himself off the wall and turned to face them fully. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Nico. My thanks for figuring out how to open this door.”

Robin folded her arms across her stomach and replied in a neutral tone. “It wasn’t terribly difficult to deduce. I assume there is something in the depths of the temple that interests you?” The man nodded and Robin sighed. Another tomb robber. Far from the first she’d encountered in her travels. “You’re still here, rather than going further in, because you expect me to help you find it.” This was not a question.

He smiled widely, a predatory grin. “Ding-ding-ding. As clever as they say.”

“Why would I help you? My crewmate and I could simply kill you and retrieve it ourselves.” Robin spoke in the most bored tone possible, as if the intruder's living or dying was of no greater importance than what color socks she wore. (It wasn’t.) That casual indifference had frightened more than a few people that tried to cross her over the years.

Zoro, on the other hand, wore a fierce scowl, exuding an aura of destruction barely contained, simply waiting for a line to be crossed to unleash itself.

The man was unfazed by either approach. “You could try, but it wouldn’t go well for you, and especially not for your mutt there.”

Consider the line crossed.

“Rashomon!”

“Seis Fleur!”

Zoro surged forward, preparing to bring two blades in an X-cut across and through the man’s torso. At the same moment, Robin raised her arms just enough to cross them and six hands sprouted from the stairs to grasp his legs. The man only smiled.

“Sneak Strike.”

Then he was gone in a burst of purple and black smoke that Zoro noticed, as he blasted through it, smelled of. . . pancakes? Something sugary. A question for later as whatever the man did disrupted the arms Robin had formed. It was as if they were being pulled wherever he went, but her connection couldn’t be maintained. The sensation stunned her momentarily. At that moment, from a burst of the same smoke behind and to her left, he appeared, fist lashing across her face. It was more surprising than painful, though. The strength behind it far from noteworthy.

Zoro had skidded to a halt and turned, but the man was gone again, only to appear behind Zoro an instant later, and punch him in the back of the head. Again the punch barely annoyed the victim and Zoro whirled, Kitetsu flashing, but the pest disappeared again, reappearing behind Robin and putting her in a headlock before she could react.

“Watch the birdie,” he sneered, “Flurry!” Robin felt as though she was being torn apart as they rapidly appeared and disappeared around the rooms and stairway. After 10 seconds she was barely conscious. They returned to the top of the stairs. Robin’s stomach decided to send her dinner out for some air. The teleporter kept his eyes fixed on Zoro, both hands now clasping Robin’s skull.

“Don’t mind saying that takes a bit out of me. Not as much as it took out of her, obviously. Drop the swords or next jump I’ll only take her head along for the ride.”

Robin’s skull pounded like Luffy had unleashed his Jet Gatling attack inside, but she heard the threat. “It’s, it’s a bluff, Zoro-san. He needs my help to get what he wants.”

The man grinned. “Maybe so, maybe no. It’ll be tougher without you, but I can always just use explosives to get where I need to be. And the guard dog there will have failed to protect a crewmate. You’d just hate that wouldn’t you, doggie?”

If she could focus, Robin thought she could sprout a pair of arms to break this man’s neck before he had time to vanish, but she needed time. Zoro scowled, but sheathed his two swords, then set all three on the ground.

“Very good boy,” the tone infuriatingly patronizing. “I think we need to establish the parameters of this partnership.” One hand still on Robin’s neck, the other reached in a coat pocket and brought out. . . a rock? Zoro tensed, prepared to rush forward swords or no if this guy was going to smash Robin’s skull in. The man shook his head slowly. “Hold still. Merge.”

He released his hold on Robin as he disappeared. An instant later, Zoro was aware of two sensations from his back. One a brief feeling of air being displaced. The other a sharp, sudden pain in his side, a peculiar sensation he’d never experienced before. He tried to turn and grab his assailant, but his body didn't want to obey. Instead he dropped to one knee as the man hopped back. He’d appeared so the rock embedded partially inside Zoro’s torso, only the inch or two he’d held emerging from the swordsman’s back.

“That won’t be fatal, at least not quickly, but the next one,” he pulled another rock from his pocket, “goes in your heart. Like I said, let’s establish the working relationship here. Introductions: You’re Nico Robin and Roronoa Zoro, pirates. I’m Schurke L. Jack, fortune seeker. We don’t like each other, and that’s fine. As far as trust goes, all you need is to trust that if one of you crosses me, the other dies. Help me get what I want, we go our separate ways and never have to see each other again. Deal?”

His eyes were locked on Robin the entire time. Zoro was unimportant, except as a lever against the Devil’s Child. Robin knew it, Zoro knew it. She could see in the swordsman's gaze he was telling her not to surrender, just as she had told him minutes ago. And she would ignore him, just as he had ignored her. Robin would not let Zoro die. That was her responsibility to him and the rest of their nakama, even if it meant protecting Zoro from his own willingness to sacrifice himself to protect her.

So there was no choice at all.

“Deal.” Robin vowed silently this scum would not be allowed to go his “separate way” after this.

(Unless it was his various limbs going their separate ways after she snapped them off.)

Chapter Text

The teleporter smiled, a cold, unfriendly thing.

“Great. No time like the present to get started.” He appeared back at the top of the stairs. “You two go first.”

Her nausea from all the teleports had mostly faded, so Robin stood and moved towards Zoro. He’d gathered his swords and stood waiting. Jabbing at the rock jutting out of him as she reached him, like a child poking at a newly emerging tooth.

“Can you tell how bad it is, Zoro?” Not that she expected he would admit pain even if he’d been torn apart. (As proof, he nearly had been barely over a week ago, and his only complaints were that Chopper tried to restrict his training).

He shrugged. “Mostly numb now. Different from being stabbed, but wrong. I can’t describe it better than that.” He paused. “I could try tearing or cutting it out.”

“As I imagine the rock may be fused with your digestive tract, and I have neither the medical supplies or knowledge to repair the damage you’d do, that would be ill-advised. I’d prefer you not bleed out here, Kenshi-san.” A pause. “You would stain this wonderful temple.”

She tried for an encouraging smile. Zoro responded with a short bark of laughter. “OK, I’ll deal. Let’s go.”

The two continued down. The stairs curved, following a previously existing passage, Robin was sure. Their flashlight and Jack’s would have lit the way enough to avoid stumbling over any remains or artifacts, but the stairs were clear. There were more carvings and history of the Salterans on the wall. Robin paused to check for anything new.

“What’s the hold up?”

Robin glanced coolly at the impatient grave robber. “I’m trying to determine if anything written here would provide a clue to what you’re seeking or where to find it.”

The fake smile reappeared. “The Ruby of Shandalla is the answer to the first question. If nothing there’s about that, quit dawdling.”

There wasn’t, nor anything else she hadn’t seen earlier, so Robin rejoined Zoro and continued on. She waited for an opening, a moment of distraction to strike, but Jack watched them both carefully. “He’s after a gem?” Zoro’s question interrupted her thoughts. She could tell he was also watching for an opportunity.

“Possibly. It was considered sacred by the Salterans, a piece of the Sun given to them by Kuan.” Robin didn’t mention the legends that it was more than just a gem. That it had power that could save or destroy. She wasn’t sure Jack knew that. If he didn’t and the legends were true, it was better he not find out.

She looked back over her shoulder. “This isn’t the only remaining Salteran temple. What have you found that makes you so sure it’s here?”

“Process of elimination. With my powers, I don’t need a ship, so it doesn’t take long to rule the others out.”

“He can travel that far?” Zoro muttered.

“No. He’s eaten the Shotokatto-Shotokatto no Mi. It lets him move through some sort of pathway, but is limited to short-range jumps and can’t carry much.”

“Should have expected you’d know,” Jack replied lightly, as if it didn’t bother him in the slightest.

“As you said, I’m as clever as they say. Just as I know if the Ruby was hidden in one of the other temples, you aren’t smart enough to find it on your own.”

Jack’s relaxed smile didn’t waver. The Nico woman was right, of course. He’d been drinking away the remains of his last score in a tavern a few islands over. Overheard a research group at the next table excitedly discussing these temples and the possibility of an ancient gem. Such an important find, they said. Such a huge score, Jack thought. He followed them discreetly from one temple to another for months, each coming up empty.

Once he’d been certain this was the last temple, he hired some local bandits to slaughter the researchers and bring all their notes to him at a pre-arranged location. Perhaps a bit impatient, but they took so long carefully exploring the temples and recording their findings. All he wanted was the Ruby.

Then he contacted the Marines anonymously and tipped them off where they’d find bandits who killed an innocent research team. In the confusion in the back alleys of Prisma Island’s only town, it had been easy to grab the notes and disappear. As an unexpected bonus, the Marines took off after almost all of the Straw Hats (whose arrival itself was an unexpected surprise), leaving behind the one member who might be of use, plus someone whose well-being he could use to coerce her.

He didn’t mention this. Instead he replied, “True enough. But there are other people with knowledge besides you.” Pause. “Or there were. And as I said, when that fails, explosives.”

Robin turned back to watch where she was headed, the look in her eyes seemingly capable of freezing a person solid. If this idiot had destroyed the last remnants of this culture and the people trying to preserve it. . . It was then she noticed Zoro’s hand on her wrist.

“Unless you’re sure you can get around his power when he’s ready for you, keep your cool.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to advise caution, Kenshi-san."

“More that we should wait for a chance to finish it.” He looked calm, eyes scanning the shadows beyond the reach of their lights.

“When you two start talking, I get the feeling you’re plotting something.”

It was Zoro who fired back. “We were just discussing why you smell like a candy factory, Peek-a-Boo.”

Robin snorted before she could stop herself, which prompted a raised eyebrow from Zoro, unused to hearing a noise like that from the usually composed archaeologist. Jack was momentarily dumbfounded at the nickname, then shrugged. “The place I shortcut through smells like sugary stuff. It could be worse.”

Before Zoro could respond, they entered a large room. Their lights revealed a pair of pillars in front of them, but little else. Robin noticed lanterns on either side of the entrance. Hands bloomed above each, and matches were tossed to both. Once the torches were lit, there was a rush of something, a breath of hot air that moved with a mind of its own, and other lanterns burst to life around the room.

It was at least a hundred meters wide and long, perhaps half that in height. The ceiling and floor were mostly smooth, save a few places where the steady drip of moisture was beginning to create new rock formations. There were two pairs of pillars, one on each side of the entrance, all inscribed with pictures and the writing of the Salterans, running in spirals towards the ceiling.

The open space between the pillars led to a statue. Lanterns ringed the head, revealing a gentle smile, but large, empty eyes. The figure was in the same kneeling posture as the one in the carvings upstairs. One hand held flat, parallel to the ground, palm up. The other hand raised, fingers pointing to the sky, as if in blessing. In contrast to the dark rock that formed the chamber and pillars, the statue was made of a rich orange sandstone. Something most likely brought in from elsewhere. The cave wall behind it had been carved into a staircase that reached the statue's face.

There was no sign of any jewels, something Jack confirmed by teleporting to the head of the statue and scanning it closely. “Where the hell is it?” he demanded.

“If it’s that precious, they wouldn’t leave it in such an easily accessed part of the temple. I’m sure there’s a special place of honor for the holy relic until it was needed.” Robin was circling the pillars as she spoke, scanning the inscriptions. Some continued the history of the Salterans, others spoke of a ritual. They spoke of this room, among other things, and mentioned features she couldn’t see at the moment. She gazed at the statue closely, while Jack stood on its head, watching her and tapping his foot impatiently.

“Schurke, is there anything in the eye sockets?”

“No gems,” he replied irritably.

“I didn’t ask if there were gems, I asked if there was anything in there?” Zoro chuckled. Robin spoke in her usual calm manner, but there was an unspoken, “you fucking idiot” clear to his ears. He despised this guy, was more than ready to let Kitetsu have its fill of bloodshed. But he’d leave it to Robin if possible. She was set on it, and he wasn’t fool enough to get in her way. Not for Jack-ass here.

Jack finished checking. “There are some old braziers in there. Nothing in those.”

“Add something flammable, then light them. This pillar speaks of letting Kuan gaze upon you.”

Once this was done. . . nothing happened. Kuan’s eyes glowed warmly, gazing towards an open space towards their feet, but that was all.

Jack grumbled impatiently, which Robin ignored, continuing to read. The grave robber was too close to his prize to try anything yet, and she knew Zoro was watching him. There were several cryptic statements. ‘Combine the light of your wisdom and conviction.’. ‘Those who seek the greatest favor, must stand before Kuan to receive blessing to proceed.’

She looked towards the statue. The right arm was different from the left. Not only its position. Rather than being a single piece, the forearm was carved separately from the upper arm and attached. She walked closer and noticed a circle, just barely visible, outlined in the floor. She stepped on it, and the circle sank further into the floor. There was a creaking sound from the arm, but nothing more. Robin scanned the surroundings and saw a second circle, slightly behind her and to the right.

“Zoro, could you stand there?” The swordsman pushed away from the pillar he’d been leaning on and stood where indicated.

The arm abruptly snapped forward, the palm rushing towards Robin. Zoro was ready to move her out of the way, but held himself back, seeing Robin watch the arm descend calmly. It stopped just above her head. If she’d been wearing one of her cowboy hats, it would have been flattened.

“Cutting it a little close there, Robin.”

The archaeologist was just able to tilt her head back, and saw the outline of something in the palm. “Yes, it was closer than I expected. Perhaps I’m taller than the average Salteran? Or the mechanism is a bit loose. If it had crushed me, you’d have found it difficult to bring my remains to the Sunny, unless you have a jar handy.”

Jack appeared next to her, and spotting the same object, jumped up and pulled it free. He held a stone the size of his head with an orangish tint, but didn’t look pleased. His hand brushed away some of the orange dust, revealing a clear rock underneath.

“This isn’t the Ruby of Shandalla!”

Robin reached out and took the rock. It was shiny to be sure, clear, almost transparent, the facets clearly visible within.

“Again, do you really believe they would store something so important out here? They believed it was the greatest treasure bestowed upon them by their god.” Robin spoke like asking a child why they thought jumping off the roof was a good idea.

Jack glared daggers, but a circular opening appeared in the ceiling. The moon wasn’t visible, and the stars didn’t add much light, but the sound of the wind rushing by was plainly audible.

“Oh, they installed a skylight. How lovely,” Jack grumbled. “Didn’t these dead people have better things to do than build these elaborate hoops to jump through?” Robin approached one of the lanterns, holding the gem up to it, another passage on the pillar making sense.

’Combine the light of your wisdom and conviction.’ The light passed through the gem and was focused, but directed at an angle. After a few moments the gem began to grow hot, and Robin lowered it. On one side of the room was a round door, which was sealed and had no lights near it. “Reflected light opens the door, but none of the lanterns are in proper position. I imagine their light isn’t strong enough either.”

They tried to use their own lights, but nothing happened. There was nothing around the door that reacted. Robin looked skyward. “We have to wait for the moon, at least, and perhaps the sun,” she thought to herself. She resumed studying the pillars, storing the gem in her pack, one eye on Jack. If he figured out the key, he might decide their partnership was at an end. Not that she objected to that, but he hadn’t left an opening yet, so she needed to wait for the right moment to strike. Zoro resumed leaning against a pillar so he could keep an eye on both of them.

Jack approached the sealed doorway, running his fingers around the edges, feeling for a seam while his eyes never left the pirates. Finding nothing, he reached into a small satchel, and ran his hand across the door again. Then he teleported away.

The Straw Hats began searching for him, but there was a deafening boom and smoke everywhere. Robin tried peering through the haze, but Jack was already appearing behind her. She stumbled forward, out of his reach.

Instead, Jack had to retreat, leaving behind a pained cry and some blood. Zoro had been going over the first fight while Robin figured out this place. There was a noticeable change in pressure when Jack reappeared, air displaced by his arrival. Unless you were close, you wouldn’t feel it. No help there. Zoro couldn’t track Jack, but he could anticipate him. Peek-a-Boo liked to attack from behind. He might jump around a lot, but he was always looking for the blind spot. Zoro had wondered that he didn’t seem to carry guns or blades, thinking maybe he couldn’t spare the extra weight, or didn’t think he needed them. As it turned out, he likes bombs instead.

As soon as he initially vanished, Zoro headed for a spot behind Robin, one hand on Shuusui, the other ready to push her out of the way. Jack appeared, but realized his mistake fast enough, combined with Zoro focusing on moving Robin first, that Shuusui scored only a shallow cut on one leg. Without pause, Zoro planted his foot, and spun right, drawing Kitetsu and swinging the cursed blade in a flat circle.

Sure enough, Jack tried to get behind Zoro, but found a sword waiting instead of the swordsman’s back. He had to stumble back again, a wound across his stomach. Not fatal on its own (Kitetsu grumbled at that, complaining Zoro was too slow, and what was he doing letting this idiot hobble him with a mere rock to begin with), but enough Jack retreated again. He left something else behind this time, another explosive.

Zoro’s eyes widened, but before he could do anything, an arm grew out of his, grabbed the bomb, and flung it away. There was another explosion and the pillars shook, but the room seemed otherwise stable. Robin stayed focused through all this, so that even as she was throwing the bomb, she was ready when Jack appeared on the statue. Two hands appeared on his torso instantly and reached into the belly wound. The teleporter’s scowl became a scream as he tried to wrestle the arms with his own, the pain leaving him unable to focus on his signature escape.

The Devil’s Child was moments from disemboweling him as the wall next to the statue slid open with a rumble. A lion emerged, shaking its shaggy head. It stood 10 feet at the shoulder, body covered in a golden yellow fur, minus some bare patches of a metallic green. It had a mane of deep burgundy. Its orange eyes locked on the two Straw Hats, and it charged.

This distraction was enough Robin lost her focus on ending Jack’s life, and he fled in a puff of smoke. Zoro sprinted past Robin to meet the animal’s charge, Wado now firmly between his teeth. The lion lunged forward, teeth bared, and Zoro blocked with all three blades. For a moment it was a stalemate, until the Pirate Hunter’s right side faltered and he began to slide backwards.

Robin moved to the opposite row of pillars. “Treinta Fleur: Strangle” The limbs appeared in a chain around the lion’s neck. Hopefully she could choke it into submission. But as the arms began to squeeze, she felt a sudden exhausting drain and the arms dispersed. It didn’t make sense, but the sensation was the same as touching karoseki.

Zoro didn’t know why Robin’s attack stopped, but between his injuries and this damp floor, he was having trouble holding his ground. He stopped pushing back and rolled to his right. “Toro Nagashi.”

The sudden loss of resistance let the lion rush past, off-balance, and as it did, Kitetsu cut through the lower leg. An instant later Shuusui did the same above the elbow. One leg abruptly faltering, the lion crashed onto its face, but kicked out instantly with its hind leg. Zoro narrowly blocked, so the claws barely broke the skin. The force still sent him skidding across the floor. He crashed into a pillar and felt the stone inside him shift and twist. Something might have torn, but he was on his feet instantly, watching the lion as it rose unsteadily, adjusting to the inability of its left front leg to support it.

Robin had figured out the bare patches were the problem, and was trying to find some vulnerable position to attack that didn’t have any. As with Jack, the wounds Zoro created were a good place to start. Tearing ligaments and muscles apart like this was messier than her normal method, but it worked. The feline snapped at the arms, which Robin dispersed just in time, and this left Zoro with an opening.

“Oni-Giri!”

Even though Kitetsu rebounded off a bare patch, Shuusui made a clean cut on the lion’s unguarded chest and drove it back. It caught itself before it hit a pillar, claws digging into the floor. Its eyes moved back and forth between its two opponents.

Before it could decide, a low growl from within the swordsman’s chest drew its attention. Accepting the issued challenge, the cat turned to face him. Robin quickly bloomed several hands on its muzzle above and below one canine on its left side, then pulled with all her strength. The tooth refused to budge for a few tense seconds, and the lion tried to reach across his face with the uninjured right front leg. Zoro unleashed another Oni-Giri, trying to disable the limb.

He wasn't successful, as the lion saw him coming and slammed the paw down on his back, smashing him into the floor, but the distraction gave Robin the time she needed. The tooth came free, and more hands formed further up its face, the tooth being passed along until it was stabbed into one eye.

The great shaggy head rolled back in a yowl of pain, and as Zoro hauled himself to his feet to seize the advantage, a small object fell from somewhere above directly into the feline’s open jaws. A moment later a deafening explosion silenced the cat. It fell to the ground, still. Most of its jaws were now missing, but it was still breathing, somehow.

Jack reappeared near the lion, but not too close. His wounds were bandaged and the insincere, patronizing smile was back. “Great teamwork, huh? I bet your Captain loves having a couple of go-getters like you on his crew!”

Zoro picked himself off the floor again, having been blown back by the explosion. He was bleeding lightly from the wounds on his chest and somewhere on his head, judging by the trickle running down it. He spat red on the floor, and flicked blood from his swords, watching Jack grimly.

Robin’s expression was even more hostile. But Jack watched them just as carefully, and Robin would have to adjust her plan to account for the explosives. The moment for a decisive battle was lost, on both sides. Besides, the appearance of the lion had spooked Jack enough he decided to hold off on killing them. The fact his bomb hadn’t even scratched that sealed door might have something to do with it as well.

“Aw don’t be so glum, you two,” he continued. “I know we had our disagreements in the past, but let’s put that behind us. Ancient history, and what better place to leave it, am I right?” He gestured to their surroundings. “Sure, the door over there didn’t open, but there’s another passageway where Tabby here came from.”

“All right,” Robin replied reasonably, which surprised the grave robber. He recovered quickly and gave her a knowing look.

“Still planning to kill me and take the Ruby yourself?”

“Of course, just as you plan to use us to get through any more traps, then kill us at the end.”

“I think it’s the mark of a great partnership when people can understand each other so well, don’t you?” Jack gestured in the direction of the entrance the lion used. Robin and Zoro walked through together, Jack resuming his position at what he considered a safe distance.

Chapter Text

“For those who persist despite being unworthy, who refuse to turn back, this passage through Hoelle shall cleanse or destroy you.” Robin paused from reading the inscription on the wall near what seemed to be a favorite napping spot for the lion, judging by the depression in the ground and remains of bedding. “At least they are polite.”

Zoro snorted. “What’s Hoelle?”

“The Salterans’ version of the realm of damned souls.”

“Any clue what we’ll face?”

“There is a warning here of ‘the twin waits behind it’, but otherwise, no.”

“Whose twin? The lion’s?”

“Perhaps. The carvings of Kuan showed two cats curled at her feet. Her guardians, Arsu and Azizos.”

“We can handle that. Stay behind me, just in case.” Before entering Robin had (carefully since it wasn't dead) confirmed that, however it worked, the bare patches on the lion’s body caused the same reaction as karoseki. That would be a problem if they had to fight another lion, with or without Jack’s assistance.

“Zoro, I would have the best chance of noticing traps, and you are already wounded.”

“It’s not that bad,” he responded, although Robin’s expression said she didn’t buy it. “If there’s trouble, you’re the one who’ll figure out the clues. That’ll be harder if you’re hurt. If you get in trouble, the only way I’m going to think to save you is start cutting all the old stuff in half. You wouldn’t be very pleased with that, right?” Zoro smirked.

Robin gave him a mock-frown. “That’s true. I would have to hurt you if you damaged this place needlessly. Very well, but let's try to avoid any needless injuries.”

An irritating voice from behind them disrupted the conversation. “Hey! You two gonna get moving or what? The sooner we get where we’re going, the sooner I’m just someone who sends mean letters to the newspapers about you.”

The two cast glances back at their “partner” and continued on. The wall that slid open to reveal the lion slammed shut once all three entered. It seemed just as resilient as the door Jack tried blasting open. No choice but to go forward.

Robin held the light so Zoro could keep both hands free and she could keep an eye peeled for any clues or signs of traps. The passageway continued on a level course, walls lacking any markings aside from occasional claw slashes. After a few minutes, Zoro whispered, “Why didn’t Peek-a-Boo just teleport through that sealed door? It would have been hours before we could follow him.”

That had been bugging Zoro. Schurke had probably figured out the trick to using the clear gem to open the door, but Robin still had the gem, and Jack didn't seem prepared to fight them for it. Yet. But with his power, he shouldn't need to, or have needed to open the door at all. Maybe the presence of the lion scared Jack too much to go it alone?

Robin had an answer, naturally. “I believe the Shotokatto-Shotokatto no Mi’s powers are limited to line-of-sight. To use safely, at least. If he tried teleporting without knowing what’s on the other side and misjudged the thickness of the door or position of the wall, he might wind up fused with them when he appeared. Which would either be a quick death, or a very slow one if it was only part of him.”

Robin regretted mentioning the last part as soon as Zoro’s hand drifted to his side. At least Jack hadn’t gone that far, even if it was only to suit his own purposes. An image of the swordsman, face frozen in agony as the rest of him fused with the walls, unable to even scream, flashed across her mind and she shuddered. He was here because she had insisted on bringing him. Because she’d been too impatient to simply wait out the arguing. Nami would have either worn Zoro down, or given up eventually. Robin could have come here alone. Or she could have just left them to it and trusted they'd figure out resupplying somehow.

(How things might have gone for her if she was alone, she didn’t know. But that would have been her own problem, and it was one she was used to.)

She would not let anything else happen to Zoro. From what she could tell when she bandaged the scratches the lion gave him - over the swordsman's grumbling - the rock in his gut wasn’t doing him any favors, but it wasn’t critical yet. There was still time to get help.

(She tried not to consider what might happen if the crew couldn’t make it back for a week or more. Could she remove it on her own? Risk looking for a doctor in town if the Marines were still there?)

“Robin?” Zoro’s voice drew her back. He was watching her out of the corner of his eye, voice gentler than its usual gruff rumble, closer to what he might use with Chopper. “You OK? You drifted off there.”

She downplayed it. “Of course, Zoro, I was simply wondering what the lion eats. I doubt there are enough people sneaking in to sustain it.”

Zoro didn’t buy this, but knew trying to press Robin for answers didn’t get you anywhere. “Guess we’ll find out.”

The path arced left and slightly downhill. After some time, they came to a fork. Both paths were the same size, neither had any markings or distinguishing features.

“Which way, Ms. Expert?” The impatience clear on Jack’s face and in his voice. He had moved closer, but stayed out of range of Zoro’s swords. He wanted that ruby, but wasn’t going to forget the individuals he was dealing with were dangerous, and hated his guts.

Robin searched her memory. Salterans held no views on right and left regarding one being more wicked or virtuous. If they were meant to be in a realm of the damned, it was possible both paths might lead to an exit. Or might both dead end.

“Let’s go right.”

Robin turned to the swordsman, who actually was staring down the right path. She felt a measure of anticipation. “Why?”

“Light was going to help us get through the other door, and the sun comes from the east. East is right. So let’s go right.”

That was about what she expected. Jack, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. “Is he making a fucking joke?”

“He’s really not.”

“Ho-leee shit.”

Robin sighed. “Let’s try the left path.”

The left path, amusingly, curved gently to the right, only barely downhill. The walls began to again sport images, but these were less encouraging than what had been in the main chamber of the temple. Instead of great boons Kuan had bestowed, or successes their love and guidance helped the Salterans achieve, the walls told the fates of those who attempted to abuse Kuan’s benevolence or people. It wasn’t anything Robin hadn’t seen variations of in the cultures of many others, including the current World Government. Unbearable pain. Being torn to shreds. Devoured by Kuan’s agents. Scorched from the earth by a great power. The Ruby, possibly. Which made it all the more critical not to let Jack have it. A simple, selfish man would be dangerous enough with that power, but if he opted to sell it to a Shichibukai, or the Navy. . .

Robin stopped short as she noticed Zoro had done the same. The tunnel had narrowed to a doorway, only large enough to accommodate one person at a time. Beyond, it became a wide, low-ceilinged room. The floor was not the same monotonous smoothness as where they stood, instead carved into separate tiles.

“The change in flooring is certainly suspicious,” Robin remarked. “There’s probably a chasm beneath them. I wonder if it is an endless pit, or full of spikes?”

“I was more worried about the holes in the walls,” Zoro replied. “The other faces we’ve seen haven’t had those.”

“Correct. They represent those who were not able to find their way out, and continue to suffer. They would resent anyone else trying to escape.”

“We stay off the floor, then.” The next instant, Jack appeared at the far end of the room, smiling.

“Robin, I think he’s gonna try something, so be ready.”

“Of course.”

Zoro walked to the edge of the tiles, took a deep breath, crouched, then launched himself towards one wall, drawing Wado Ichimonji as he did. As his boots hit the wall he began to sprint across it. If he faltered, he planted Wado firmly into the wall below him as a brace. He cursed at even needing that crutch. (Rock in his gut or not, this ought to be easier. He wasn’t all the way back from what Kuma did.)

He made it, though, with a final leap to the exit, finishing with a neat tuck and roll that brought him to his feet in front of the thief. Jack gave him a sarcastic golf clap. “Very good, doggie. Can you balance a biscuit on your nose, too?”

“Keep talking, Jackal. Try to trip the trap while Robin’s in there and I’ll show you how I can make just parts of you vanish.”

“It’s “Jack L.”

“Jackal.” Zoro’s eyes stayed on Jack, and the Wado remained unsheathed, while he signaled for Robin to make her way across with his free hand.

Robin stepped to edge of the room, and a chain of arms bloomed from the ground in front of her extending across like a bridge to the exit. Robin made her way quickly as possible. She could have done this for Zoro as well, but not doing so left her free to defend herself or Zoro if Jack made a move against either of them.

She was halfway to the exit when she heard a squeaking noise behind her. Pausing to look, she saw a strange creature squirming through a crack in the ceiling. It fell towards the floor, but landed on her bridge of limbs.

It was shorter than Chopper in his Brain Point form, feet seemingly attached directly to its spherical body, with tiny triangular arms. It was a deep purple, almost black, giving off an unearthly glow. Its face simply two large eyes and a mouth. It was otherwise featureless, but kind of cute, she reflected.

Then it inhaled, and Robin felt a sharp pull on the limbs that formed the bridge. Two of them were wrenched free of the others and dispersed. The shock caused Robin to lose the bridge, but she was able to form hands from the ceiling to catch her shoulders. The creature, having lost its perch, inflated its body and began to flutter towards her, propelling itself by flapping its arms rapidly. After a few moments, it deflated and fell to the floor. As soon as it landed, arrows began to fly from every opening in the walls. As Robin tried to pull herself flat against the ceiling, one arrow pierced her leg. The pain was sharp, but she’d felt worse (Crocodile’s hook through her chest, for one, and that was just counting puncture wounds.)

Robin prepared to form a relay of arms along the ceiling to carry herself to safety when she heard, “What the hell are those?!” Several more of the creatures were squeezing through the ceiling. One inhaled and swallowed an arrow before it was hit. All were squishing themselves flat against the floor and moving slowly towards her. The first one, closest to her, began to inhale and Robin felt herself being pulled in. She created more arms to fight the suction, but that was all they could manage. She needed to figure out an escape, but forming limbs to attack the creatures would run the risk of those limbs being hit by multiple arrows. Not something she cared to experience.

Before she could devise a new plan, she saw a bomb go flying past her into the center of the room, only for the creature to inhale it instead of her. (If Robin hadn’t lived the life she had, that would have seemed strange.) The moment the suction was gone, the arms on the ceiling threw her towards the exit. Except the creature spit the bomb back. She and it were going to reach the exit at the same time. Robin reflected that being blown to bits would at least be a swift death.

Something solid slammed into her and for a moment she thought she'd misjudged her aim and thrown herself into the wall. Then an arm wrapped around her as she was carried back into the room. And into the hail of arrows. Zoro muttered, “Kurasuma Gari,” and even with one arm occupied, repelled the arrows coming from both sides for the instant before the bomb struck the ceiling above the exit.

The shockwave threw Robin and Zoro across the room like one of Sanji's cigarettes being flicked into the sea. “Treinta Fleur: Cocoon.” Robin enveloped both of them in a sheath of limbs before they hit the wall. There was that unpleasant sensation of pain that was and wasn't hers as she felt bones in several of her Hana-Hana limbs break from the impact. The impact jarred their light and the room was swallowed in darkness as the sound of falling rocks grew louder.

Chapter Text

Lying on the floor, Robin dispersed her hands, testing her fingers as she checked their surroundings. The concussion of the explosion in a confined space was brutal, and the dust obscured everything. Soon, the sounds of sharp inhales accompanied the gradual clearing of the room.

She noticed the arrows had stopped, even though she and Zoro sat on several tiles, as did the odd creatures. Perhaps the explosion damaged the mechanism, or the arrows were exhausted. Either way, it was one less thing to worry about.

She heard the swordsman grunt as he pushed himself up. “You all right, Robin?”

“Yes, Zoro, thank you.” Her head, hands, and leg might disagree, but she could worry about them later. She glanced at the exit. The ceiling had collapsed and several tons of rock sat between them and Jack. The rest of the ceiling didn’t look stable either, and the creatures were turning towards them. “I believe we should go back the way we came, though.”

Before she could rise Zoro had thrown her over his shoulder and bolted from the room, the little creatures on their heels.

“Zoro, what are you doing?”

“You’ve got an arrow in your leg, Robin. Better you don’t run until we take care of it.”

Robin didn’t see the point in arguing, deciding to use the opportunity to stop their pursuers. This proved more difficult than she expected. Their limbs were so short and stubby it was hard for her to find a place to grasp. Where she could take hold, she couldn’t find anything resembling a skeleton to break. They were like living marshmallows, except more resistant to being torn to pieces. She turned to a different approach.

“Duo Manos: Shock!”

Robin brought the interlocked giant fists down on their pursuers, also forming an eye on the ceiling to observe the results. When the hands raised, the creatures bounced slightly into the air, so she unclenched the fists and swatted them against the walls. A pair of them bounced off the wall and fell still to the ground, but another was trying to inhale one of the limbs. It wasn’t working entirely, but the limb was being pulled apart piece by piece as individual limbs that formed were sucked in. Not a pleasant sensation, so she dispersed them all.

By then Zoro had reached the fork, the creatures still after them. It seemed a safer place to stand and fight, so the Straw Hats opted to do so, rather than try the other tunnel and risk running into more trouble while these things were still at their backs.

Before Zoro could strike, the closest creature sucked the Wado Ichimonji out of his grip. Robin had never seen such a pained expression on Zoro’s face as during that moment. It was quickly replaced by pure hatred when the creature swallowed and suddenly held the blade in its stubby hand.

Zoro didn’t even recall drawing Shuusui or Kitetsu, as if they leapt to his hands in response to a mental summons. Zoro launched himself forward, only to raise the cursed blade to deflect an arrow. He saw one of the creatures hunch over and tense before another arrow fired from a point above its eyes. The one holding Wado leapt spinning into the air, swinging the sword in a vertical circle towards Zoro. It was an easy move to read, and he blocked with Shuusui, deflecting the puffball. It inflated and was able to halt in mid-air. Zoro took advantage of the breathing room to launch a Nanajuni Pound Ho at the one shooting arrows, only for a third creature to step in the way and inhale that. The next thing he knew, a tiny cyclone whirled towards him.

Robin continued to seek a more efficient method for dealing with the creatures. She noticed one fluttering above her, which then turned into a block of stone and tried to crush her. Robin nimbly dodged (able to push off her uninjured left leg). “Doce Fleur.”

Robin swiftly passed the stone along a chain of hands, with the last pair raising it high into the air before smashing the one shooting arrows. She scored two solid hits before the one she held changed back, so she tossed it between Zoro and its comrade holding his most prized sword.

The creature had fortunately not absorbed any of Zoro’s skill when it stole the blade. It was only the presence of the little cyclone flitting about keeping the swordsman from ending the duel. Robin was impressed the killing intent alone radiating off the swordsman hadn’t struck the creature dead. As it was, the spinning slash (one of the only moves it seemed to have) aimed at Zoro instead cleaved its ally in half. It showed no reaction.

Perhaps it didn’t have time, as Zoro cut it to pieces with a series of slashes moments later. He scarcely had time to retrieve Wado before turning to meet the little whirlwind. It wasn’t just wind, though. Zoro felt something solid in there, and met it head on. He pressed his blades against the cyclone fiercely, refusing to give ground, sparks flying. The spinning slowed, just a little at first, but then at a greater and greater rate.

“Gazami Dori.” Zoro used the two blades in his hands as pincers to trap the creature, then tilted his head and skewered it through the top with the Wado.

Robin left that to him, focusing on the last one. It might be hurt from the bludgeoning, but not dead. It had abandoned the previous strategy of firing arrows, and was trying to inhale her. Fortunately, it didn’t seem able to move while doing that, so it was easy for Robin to remain out of range.

It wasn’t out of her range, though. “Quatro Fleur: Clutch”.

She tried feeding its arms into its own mouth, to no avail. They were too short. She took hold of its upper lip and began to pull back as hard as she could. The mouth grew larger and larger as she formed more hands to stretch the sides as well. The force of the inhale grew weaker as it spread over a wider area, no portion of the body visible from where she stood. There was an abrupt pop!, a rush of pressure, and the creature was simply. . . gone.

Both pirates stared. Zoro spoke first. “Did you expect that?”

“Honestly, no. I hoped I’d find something that would break if I kept pulling.” She crouched to examine the one Zoro had cut to pieces. “How odd. There are hardly any organs other than a stomach. They inhale anything as food or a weapon.”

“You just described Luffy.” Zoro grumbled as he carefully inspected the Wado. It didn’t look like being briefly swallowed had done any damage. He picked up the light from where he’d placed it before the battle began to examine the other tunnel. It curved to the left, but more sharply downhill than the other tunnel. First things first. “Robin, let me at your leg.”

“Such a bold request, Kenshi-san. It’s fortunate Sanji isn’t around to hear your proposition.”

Zoro huffed in exasperation as he crouched in front of her. He was trying to be serious. “I mean, I want to get that arrow out and treat the wound.” He examined it. The arrow had broken through on the far side, but at least missed the joint or any major arteries. “I’m going to have to push it through.”

Zoro grasped her leg gently with one hand, as Robin leaned against the wall. After breaking off the back half of the shaft, he gently pushed the remainder through. He glanced up to make certain he wasn’t hurting her too much, but wasn’t surprised to find her watching calmly, no hint of discomfort showing on her face. He finished and examined the end. “These aren’t poisoned, are they?”

Robin checked the area around the wound. The pain was increasing as her adrenaline wore off from the fight and the near death (Robin was surprised nearly dying even affected her anymore), but it wasn’t an unusual amount based on her experience with puncture wounds. There wasn’t any discoloration or sensation of burning or numbness.

“I don’t believe so. Salterans weren’t known for favoring poisons or drugs as weapons.”

“That’s something, at least. We’ll put a pressure bandage on and wrap it. Hopefully that’ll hold until we can get it stitched up.” To Robin’s surprise, Zoro pulled a first aid kit from the pack he was carrying. “Are your hands OK? You keep flexing your fingers.”

“They were hurt slightly in the explosion, but it’s nothing serious. I might wrap them just to be safe. We should also remove those two arrows in your back, Zoro.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right.” Zoro hardly noticed them. They hadn’t been enough to slow him down. He reached up to simply rip them out, but Robin stopped him.

“I can do that, Zoro. We don’t want the arrow to break and leave you with more objects embedded inside.”

The look on the swordsman’s face suggested he thought that a silly concern, but he sat quietly and let her return the favor. Robin assumed her face must have properly conveyed she would not take “no” for an answer.

“Given their position, I’ll have to pull them back out. Otherwise I’d push them through your lungs. We wouldn’t want you to drown in your own blood.”

Fortunately, the arrows hadn’t penetrated as far as she expected. They might not have struck him squarely. Deflected by the explosion, perhaps. Or maybe his body was simply that tough. She had to widen the wounds a bit to remove the arrowheads, but the swordsman showed no reaction. Task completed, Robin swiftly scrubbed the wounds with disinfectant and bandaged them.

Injuries tended for the time being, the two rose and regarded the other tunnel again. “You figure he’s still going after the gem?”

Yes, Robin was certain of that. “With the cave-in, he can’t go back. He wouldn’t give up, regardless.”

Further into the depths. . .

* * *

Jack sprinted down the tunnel as soon as he threw his bomb into the chamber of death. The forced partnership with the Straw Hats was never meant to last, of course. The point they’d try to kill each other again had been fast approaching. When those little, things, appeared, and Nico Robin was injured, he figured that was as good a time as any. The swordsman was distracted, and it was clear he’d help her first, before trying to kill Jack. Chump. Maybe Jack could get both in one shot. He was sure they’d show no mercy if they had him helpless. It’s what he would do. What he had done, now and repeatedly in the past. Everything ends badly for someone. Make sure it’s someone else.

The explosion was louder than he expected. He thought he’d thrown that bomb far enough it wouldn’t damage the exit, but when he glanced back the entryway was sealed. No sign of the Straw Hats. Good enough. Blown up, crushed, killed by arrows, he wasn’t picky.

He ran on, light not projecting far enough ahead to risk teleporting. Truth be told, he didn’t feel his best. The two cuts from earlier were bandaged, but still bleeding slowly. The one on his stomach in particular itched, like something was eating away at him in there. Have to get that looked at when he got out of here. Didn’t need an infected gut.

(That was another reason he seized the opportunity. The odds were only going to get worse the longer they were together if he kept getting weaker. Especially since that damn swordsman barely seemed affected by the rock he’d stuck in him. Was he just too dumb to notice?!)

Jack was going to find the Ruby of Shandalla, find a way out, and get far away. Hopefully before the other Straw Hats came looking for their two crewmates. Or the Marines came looking for the pirates. Or looking for him. It’s possible the Marines noticed him grab the notes when he sicced them on the bandits.

Wrapped up in this line of thought, he didn’t notice the void until his foot hit air and he pitched headlong into nothing. For a moment, his mind blanked, panic overriding everything. At least the pit was deep enough he had time for his mind to reengage. His light could just pick up the far wall. Twisting in mid-air, he looked up, gauged his position relative to the top, aimed for solid ground, and used his power.

(Jack appreciated times like this, when he didn’t have time to think on how little he understood his power. When he had time to think, he wondered why he couldn’t describe the place he traveled through. Only there an instant each time, but even so. Couldn’t recall ever seeing anything. He was fairly certain it was bright. Maybe? That was the extent of it. Or maybe he did remember, but hid it to protect himself. That thought lived in the back of his mind, alongside the fear one day he’d teleport in and something wouldn’t let him out. It would pluck him from the air and. . . well, that’s why he kept that thought in the back of his mind.)

The next moment he reappeared, out of the pit. Gravity reasserted its grip. This was bad. He had a lot of velocity when he teleported, and that came with him he when appeared. The impact echoed into the distance.

Jack lay there, letting the pain subside while trying not to groan too loudly. Wasn’t the first time he’d “saved” himself that way, but that didn’t make it hurt less. He gingerly tested control of his limbs. They still responded, good. Very good actually, because as he rolled onto his side, he heard rapid footfalls from the direction he’d come.

He groaned again, pain and annoyance mixed with a little respect. They wouldn’t have survived long enough to gain the reputations they had if they weren’t survivors. He made it to his feet and resumed running. The tunnel still arced right, but the downhill slope was increasing. He had the impression of running a massive spiral.

Three of those things fell from the ceiling ahead of him. From a very large hole that looked familiar in shape and size. Oh, what the hell, did they use the pit he’d fallen into as a shortcut? They turned to face him, but Jack didn’t break stride. He vaulted the little monsters, intent on simply outdistancing them. As his feet hit the ground, he felt himself dragged backwards by an immense vacuum. Turning, he saw one trying to inhale him. That must have been what they tried against Nico Robin. At the time, he hadn’t bothered wondering what was happening, content that, combined with the arrows, it would keep her too distracted to deal with the bomb.

“Sneak Stomp.”

He blinked out of sight, and appeared above the one furthest back. He stomped with both feet, squashing the little bastard. It let out a squeak, but didn’t seem too bothered. Still, it got the other two turned around.

“Teleport Blast.”

He teleported ahead of them again, the toll increasing. But as he had when fighting the swordsman before the lion showed up, he left a bomb behind. He turned to see one creature simply swallowed it. He stopped, unable to process this development. It stood there, now flashing orange and white, its entire body vibrating. Then it swelled, and there was light, and pressure, and force, far stronger than his bomb. He felt hit from every direction at once and crashed to the ground, skull throbbing. When he managed to raise his head and make his vision stop swimming, they were all gone. That was some consolation.

Until one fluttered down from the hole. He didn’t know if one of the others had gone up to avoid the blast, or if this was a new one. Either way, he couldn’t seem to get up. It flapped forward slowly, but once above him, turned into a rock. The hell?!

He rolled to his side, but it clipped him on the left shoulder. He might have heard something crack in there, but wasn’t sure over the resounding BOOM! of the stone slamming into the earth next to his head. It changed back and Jack swiftly grabbed hold with his good hand and glanced at the wall.

“Teleport Submerge.”

The only parts of the monster visible were one each of its little feet and arms. He made certain to put its mouth into the wall. He didn’t want it even thinking about swallowing him. Considering how the hand flapped frantically and the foot twitched and kicked, he was certain it would have tried to take him down with it.

It’s what he would have done, after all.

He found his light where the explosion had blown it away from him, and bent over to pick it up. His head spun as he straightened up. He felt more exhausted than ever. Those three teleports in rapid succession when he was already tired hadn’t done him any favors. This whole thing was turning into more of a struggle than he’d expected. But the payoff was going to be worth it. That Ruby would leave him set for life, he just had to reach it.

Chapter Text

“Is this going to get us anywhere?” Robin and Zoro continued steadily through the other tunnel. It continued downhill. So far they hadn’t encountered any dangers.

“Hmm?” Robin hadn’t expected a question. They’d both been preoccupied watching their surroundings, and Zoro seemed content to proceed in silence.

Zoro repeated, “If this Ruby is their gift from God, they’re going to let people passing through Hell reach it?”

“It’s possible. It was believed a sinner could redeem themselves after death if they passed through all the dangers of Hoelle and continued forward. If they used the time to reflect, learn from the mistakes that brought them here.”

“That’s what we’re doing?”

“Possibly,” Robin’s voice grew more animated as she continued. “The lions were represented in the carvings as guardian spirits in service of Kuan. The odd creatures may represent a minor daemon called Telu-ta, who ate condemned souls. That doesn’t mean that’s what these creatures are, but if they were here when the Salterans arrived, it might be how they were interpreted if this was a place believed to be of significance to Kuan. In which case, this cave could have been carved into a representation of Hoelle. Which would include a way out for those who persevere.”

Zoro found himself lost halfway through Robin’s explanation, but got the gist. “Any ideas how close we are?” That indefinable feeling in his gut was getting worse. He needed to get Robin out while he was still able. If all else failed, they could try going back to the door they’d entered through. He could cut their way out. Hopefully Robin wouldn’t snap him in half for it.

(A voice inside asked if he really thought he could do it. If the doors could resist explosives, how tough were they? He could cut steel, but that hadn’t been enough against Kuma, had it?)

“No,” Robin answered, “none of the surviving stories give any sense of how long it might take. Time would likely be perceived differently in the afterlife anyway, where nothing would necessarily age.”

Not the answer Zoro was hoping for, but hardly a surprise. The surprise came when the floor gave way beneath his feet. He saw sharp spikes waiting below. He unsheathed his swords to clear a landing spot when he felt soft hands reach out and wrap around his torso, bringing him to a halt. Then he was lifted back gently to stand next to his crewmate. The chain of limbs dispersed in their usual shower of petals, looking entirely out of place in a dark cave.

“Thanks. Did I miss some kind of warning?”

“No. I doubt we’d be so fortunate every threat is hinted at by the surroundings.” She formed a bridge of limbs across the pit and the two crossed. Zoro felt weird stepping on human limbs, even knowing they weren’t real. Robin could feel pain from them, and her hands were already hurt. He tried to step lightly.

Robin noticed his caution as he crossed. “You don’t have to be so careful Zoro. You aren’t so heavy, or my limbs so fragile, as to break that easily.”

He shrugged and looked back in the pit as he reached the far side. “Looks like you have your answer about what kind of pits they make.”

“Not necessarily. A sample size of one is hardly conclusive. There might be other pits that are bottomless, or filled with venomous snakes.”

The two continued on in silence for several minutes until something occurred to Robin. “You surprised me, Zoro.”

“What, you didn’t think I could be light on my feet?”

“No, I’m well aware you can be graceful whenever you choose.” In her early days on the crew, on a few occasions, she’d been surprised to find him nearby without her being aware he’d approached. He would be suddenly walking past her, and she couldn't tell if it was intentional or by chance. His expression had carried the same unfriendly scowl he'd worn around her constantly those early days.

(At the time, she tried to play it off, hide her unease. Use her practiced false smile to show she was unconcerned, because she meant no harm. So there was no need for his actions, and nothing for him to fear. But it had worried her. She was glad those days were past.)

“I mean that you were actually carrying first aid supplies.” She laughed. “I thought sake the only medicine you consider necessary.”

“Oh,” Zoro rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Chopper added those when he thought I wasn’t looking. It’s a waste – he oughta save them for himself and Usopp - but it makes him feel better, so I left them. And I did have sake, but the bottle got broken while we were fighting that lion.” The swordsman sounded deeply disappointed about that.

Robin couldn’t help smiling, partly at his comment about his liquor, but mostly his consideration towards their doctor. “That’s sweet of you, Zoro. I’m sure Chopper will be glad to know you prize his feelings so highly.” She recalled the argument on the deck of the Sunny earlier today. Or perhaps yesterday, now. It seemed a thousand years ago. “You should still probably apologize for shouting this afternoon.”

“I, I wasn’t shouting at him,” Zoro protested briefly. He fell silent and looked at the floor. “Yeah, I know. I just hate that witch pushing me around. Trying to use Chopper to do it is low.”

“It’s Nami’s nature to express concern that way. It helps her feel she’s in control. She believes she can keep people she cares about from being hurt if she dictates their actions.”

“Yeah, she tries to do too much herself. She tried to deal with Arlong alone, too.”

“Something you two have in common, Zoro.”

The swordsman huffed, unable to deny it, but unwilling to surrender entirely. “You’re one to talk, Robin.”

The archaeologist nodded. “Guilty as charged. It’s interesting how our Captain found so many people used to relying only on themselves, but convinced them to trust others. Even if it is a work in progress for some of us.”

“Yeah, he collected a real pack of weirdos, but – is that light up ahead?”

It was, a bright orange light radiating heat. The two slowed to approach carefully, Zoro drawing Shuusui immediately, his other hand ready on Kitetsu’s grip if needed. They pressed against the wall on either side of the entrance, surveying the room before them. It was a single large room in a hexagonal shape. Lava flowed down the walls to somewhere beneath them. The floor was carved into an elaborate design, but this time, it wasn’t many small tiles. It was a single piece, the image of a large eye, with a long, thin iris. It seemed focused on them.

They entered slowly, Zoro in the lead, eyes sweeping the room ahead. Robin followed closely, watching their backs. They expected the room wouldn’t allow them to simply sprint through, and opted to proceed with caution. The heat was stifling, each breath scorching their lungs. The space above drenched in shadows, the ceiling hidden, the light given off by the molten rock somehow doing nothing to reveal it. Both felt hostile presences lurking, and waited for them to reveal themselves.

They didn’t wait long, as several lizardlike creatures dropped from the shadows. The scales on their backs were green, the undersides a pale white with a hint of blue. A bright shock of red and yellow feathers or spines stuck up from the crown of their heads. Each had a simple piece of armor around their chests, and carried a single kris dagger. Seven of them soon surrounded the pirates. One hissed, and in unison, the seven raised their daggers to attack.

“Vientiocho Fleur: Clutch,” Four limbs appeared on each foe, two at the shoulders, two at the hips. A moment later, all the challengers lay on the ground, broken in pieces. The arms dispersed in a swirl of petals.

Zoro smirked and shook his head in admiration. He already knew, but it was a good reminder Nico Robin wasn’t to be underestimated.

The two pressed on. Steam briefly rose from the skin of both pirates as they exited the heated chamber. The air became increasingly damp, increasing the effect of the chill in the tunnels. The moisture gave the air extra strength to bore into their very bones.

The path continued down. The tunnel resumed its monotonous smoothness. While Robin was impressed by the level of dedication to make even the tunnels this far down match the earlier ones, it didn’t leave much to look at, beyond the occasional small animal. The regular inhabitants of this gloomy realm paid no mind to the interlopers.

“If Chopper-san were here, he could ask these salamanders about what lies ahead.”

Zoro grunted. “Probably have better luck asking one of those lizard guys.”

“I doubt they would pause in trying to kill us long enough to provide information, Zoro.”

“You took them down no problem, though, right? I bet we could have captured one easily if we wanted.” He grinned wickedly. “I’d rather that stupid cook was here, so we could watch him freak out over those crickets,” he gestured towards the insects creeping along the walls.

“Fufufufu.” Robin couldn’t help laughing at the image of Sanji panicking over bugs. He’d probably use it as an excuse to try jumping into her arms, though. “You would get annoyed with his shrieking quickly, Kenshi-san. Once the two of you began fighting, we might never get out. I wonder if we would die of starvation or go mad once our lights ran out of power and were left trapped in darkness.”

“Definitely better not to have Chopper along, then. Ero-Cook might start in with that “emergency food supply” nonsense.” Neither of them thought for a moment Sanji would actually serve the reindeer as food (Zoro would gut the damn curly brow if he even thought about it), but the idea of being trapped in here made both of them glad Chopper and the rest of their crew weren’t with them, even if their nakama had their own problems.

They had taken to using one light to conserve the other. The tunnel leveled out, but the humidity only increased, the reason soon clear. The tunnel abruptly dipped, and where it did, was filled with water. Zoro signaled Robin to wait, and sank in with his light. He reemerged a minute later, water streaming off him.

“The tunnel continues straight ahead, but I couldn’t see the other end of it. Robin, I know you aren’t going to be able to move once we’re underwater, but can you hold your breath?”

Robin thought about it. She had little experience being underwater, all too aware what could happen to her. With her life on the run, there hadn’t exactly been a chance to test how she would fare. A Devil Fruit user shouldn’t enter the ocean unless they have someone they trust to pull them out.

Still, there weren’t any options she could see. The way back to the entrance was closed. The other tunnel was caved in. She needed to get Zoro out. Jack was, as far as they knew, still closing in on the Ruby. She didn’t want him to steal it away, whether its fabled power was real or not. She was certain Luffy held his breath underwater, except when he forgot.

“I believe so, Zoro.”

Zoro watched her closely. He could see the worry on her face, the understandable fear, but also that she was fighting it. That was good, they could work with that. “OK, take some normal breaths, just like you always would.” Robin complied, trying to settle her nerves in the face of what lay ahead.

“That’s good, keep that up.” Zoro walked her to the water’s edge, then stopped. “Put your hands in, you need to prepare for the cold.” Robin crouched and did so. He wasn’t joking. Even if she did hold her breath, or they found places to come up for air, if they were in too long, they would still die.

Robin placed both arms in the frigid water. Her mind screamed at her to pull them back as she felt just the slightest twinge of her strength fading. It might have even been her imagination. She forced herself to keep them there a few moments longer before drawing them back.

Zoro continued, “Once you’re underwater, try to think about things that relax you, or are calming. Your favorite books, wine, taking a nap. . .”

“That last one is more your favorite thing, I believe.”

“Keep telling yourself that, but I’ve heard snoring coming from your favorite spot on the deck more than once, woman,” he shot back. “Underwater, let your body go limp. I’ll hold on to you, so don’t waste energy or air trying to maintain a grip. You’re not breathing, Robin.” He was right, she had gotten caught up in her rising dread about what lay ahead. Zoro’s voice was calm, patient, and he took a few silent breaths with her to help resume her rhythm.

“You’re going to take a deep breath, exhale all of it, then take an even deeper breath, and we’ll go in. You can do this, Robin. We’ll make it through.”

Robin felt more confident than she would have thought possible. Zoro’s certainty helped. Not only in his own abilities, but in hers to face something that by its nature left her defenseless. She felt her heartbeat slowing as she prepared. She met Zoro’s eyes and indicated she was ready.

“OK, deep breath, exhale. Now, deepest breath you can,” as she did, she heard him repeat, “Calm thoughts.” Then he took his own deep breath, looped his arm around her waist, and dove in.

Whether he was reminding her or himself, Robin wasn’t sure.

Chapter Text

Total submersion in the frigid water was entirely different from merely placing her arms in it. The shock almost made Robin lose her breath immediately. Even the chilly atmosphere of the tunnel hadn’t prepared her. Robin’s attempt to focus on “calm thoughts” faltered. It didn’t help she felt her strength vanish as if a switch within had simply been turned off. Her mind rebelled, insisting (accurately) she was in danger and needed to do something about it.

Except there wasn’t anything she could do. Even if she wanted to panic and thrash about, it wasn’t an option. Her life was in the callused hands of the swordsman who held her closely against him with one arm, while using the other arm and both legs to cut (how else would Zoro move, after all? Fufufufu.) through the water.

This realization helped, oddly enough. She had survived alone by staying alert to every eventuality and preparing for them. In that way she could control how things played out. This situation was out of her grasp, but there were a few things she could control. She could remain calm. She could focus on holding her breath. The rest was in the swordsman’s hands, and she was certain he would reach the other side. It helped her regain the train of thought she’d meant to keep from the start.

She pictured herself on the Sunny, all the little pleasures of her life with this wonderful crew she’d found. Sitting at the kitchen table with her first coffee of the day, conversing with Sanji as he busied himself making breakfast. Or sitting silently and watching how smoothly he moved around the stove, entirely in his element. Reading a new book under Nami’s tangerine trees while the Captain and the others played tag or another game on the main deck. Playing a board game with Chopper while Zoro dozed against the railing under a bright sun and a cool breeze. The swordsman waking up abruptly when the little doctor asks him to join their game, a sleepy look on his face as he agrees.

She could feel water rushing past as she kept running through every warm thought she could call forth. The night Usopp challenged the crew to tell scary stories. She had used her powers to grab his shoulders at the moment in his story the monster did the same to the young boy it was chasing. Sniper-san made quite an impressive leap for the crow’s nest. Pity the library’s ceiling was in the way. Franky had fortunately been laughing too hard to be angry about the damage.

Robin wondered how long it had been. Zoro’s pace had not slowed. Even as her legs dangled uselessly, growing increasingly numb, she could feel the wake from his furious kicking. She had no idea if they were close to surfacing. She hoped the path had not forked. An image flitted across her mind of them drowning as Zoro kept getting turned around, ultimately swimming back and forth over the same 20 meters of passageway. She didn’t find that as darkly amusing as normal. Perhaps because it felt like a very real possibility.

She chided herself for her doubt. Despite his terrible sense of direction, Zoro somehow always got where he needed to be when his crew needed him.

Three nights ago, Brook played a series of lovely pieces under a starry sky. Sanji had begun showing off his dancing skills. Leading Usopp to challenge him. (‘No one is better at shakin’ their groove thang than the Great Captain Usopp!’) Then Franky and Luffy got involved. Eventually the four of them had been entirely tangled in their captain’s stretchy limbs. Zoro had quite a time pulling them apart, Luffy laughing heartily the whole time while the others cursed at him.

Her lungs demanded air, thoughts growing muddled. Robin wished she could turn her head to see what lay ahead. Perhaps she’d see the water’s end, or light from another chamber with some creature or trap in it. At that moment, she wouldn’t mind if they surfaced and encountered an Admiral. (The frigid water did not remind her of Aokiji freezing her. It didn’t. He wouldn’t be waiting up ahead.)

But she couldn’t turn her head, or move at all. Even the minimal effort of holding her breath was difficult. Perhaps, she thought, she should try to signal Zoro to let her go. He could swim faster without her dead weight.

She scoffed internally (even that felt like a monumental task). She could not signal him in any way, and knew he would ignore her, regardless. Unfortunately, she did not think she could carry her end of the bargain any longer.

***

Zoro cursed as he felt Robin black out. He couldn’t say how exactly he knew that’s what happened. He hadn’t wasted time checking on her as he swam. She had been doing a good job of staying relaxed and letting him do the work.

(He knew underwater she didn’t have much choice, but he figured it would help her to think of it as something she chose to do, instead of the seawater forcing it on her. Hopefully she wouldn’t think of herself as a burden.)

Still, there was something in the way her head drooped a little more, the sudden rush of bubbles, that told him she had reached her limit.

This is what had worried Zoro. Not that he wouldn’t make it to the end, but that he wouldn’t be fast enough. The tunnel didn’t fork or branch, one small blessing, but it felt endless. He had tied one light to his forehead to show the way, but it was the same walls on and on. He hadn’t seen any place there might be an air pocket, no old drawings giving any clues (not that Robin could decipher them now), no fish to follow. Only absolute darkness, the seawater stinging his eyes as he pressed forward.

His lungs began to complain. His muscles burned. His wounds, the spot where that stupid rock sat, ached and protested. He ignored them all. This was why he pushed himself so hard, over Chopper’s pleas, Nami’s screeching, Luffy begging him to come play. When he truly needed to go beyond his limits, when his nakama needed it, he would be able to.

It wasn’t going to matter if he didn’t find air soon, though, so he kept on doggedly. He wished he could summon Asura right now. Four more arms would come in handy. He felt he’d been swimming forever, but it couldn’t have been even a minute since the last time he thought that. Hopefully less. He didn’t know how long Robin could last without air. He knew it wasn’t very long. Chopper told the crew once, during a lesson on how to treat injuries if he wasn’t around (or injured himself), but Zoro couldn’t remember exactly. He felt a surge of hope as he noticed the tunnel curving up. He dug deep and kicked harder. His light was so bright against the void all around he wasn’t sure he’d be able to see they were nearing the surface.

(If they were nearing the surface. If the people who made this did it as a joke, swim all this way and hit a dead end, then he hoped there really was an afterlife. He’d find their ghosts and spend eternity cutting them to pieces for pulling a bullshit stunt like that. Killing his nakama, when all Robin wanted to do was preserve this place, protect it from that asshole Schurke.)

But he could swear the darkness was lifting in the distance. Maybe it was just the little star bursts flashing in front of his eyes, but he found more strength inside. Yes, it was definitely getting brighter ahead. He wondered if they were going to pop up in another room with lava running down the walls. If so, those lizards better wait until he checked on Robin before they attacked. While still trying to controlling his breathing and his strokes, he began to mentally prepare himself to deal with whatever might be waiting. Whatever it was, if it delayed him, it died.

He burst through the surface with a gasp. He was in a small chamber, ceiling a sharp peak a foot or two above his head. The water was chest-high, flowing in from a triangular opening that would have been appropriate for a moderately-sized dog house. Zoro wasted no time carrying Robin’s limp form outside, trying to catch his breath as he did.

The water flowed from the sea through a low spot on a black sandy beach into the cave. The cave was set into the base of a high wall. High enough he couldn’t see the top. It was near sunset judging by the redness of the light, the air was chilly and very still.

Something didn’t feel right, but Zoro didn’t have time to worry about it. He scanned the area long enough to notice an immense dark shape further down the beach, but no sense of any lurking threat. No hostile eyes staring daggers at his back. Nothing at all, actually.

That would do. He turned his attention to Robin. She wasn’t moving, wasn’t breathing. Zoro laid her on the sand and tried to remember what Chopper taught them. The doctor drilled them for hours, until they proved they remembered. Even Luffy understood how serious Chopper was and managed to focus. Zoro placed his hands over Robin’s sternum and began compressions.

He heard something crack and winced. Chopper said that would happen if you were doing things properly, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear. He kept going, counting in his head, trying to be careful not to press too hard. Robin was tough, but Zoro knew he was strong enough to do a lot of damage. It would defeat the purpose if he crushed her heart while trying to save her.

Robin coughed up seawater straight off, but that was the only response for the first 30 seconds. Zoro recalled an option to breathe air into her lungs. Chopper said it wasn’t strictly necessary, which was good since practice had gone disastrously. Sanji wouldn’t practice on the guys or let them practice on him, and Nami wasn’t letting Sanji or Franky (or Luffy, once he overdid it with Usopp, the sniper’s stomach inflating like he was the one that ate the Gomu-Gomu Fruit) practice on her or Robin.

(When Zoro remarked the girls could practice on each other, Nami clobbered him while that stupid Cook nearly bled out through his nose. Zoro still didn’t know what the deal had been with that. Not the cook, he knew perfectly well what that pervert had been thinking. Surely Nami trusted Robin?)

Zoro had been willing to try, since it could save his nakama. Chopper’s snout in Brain Point made it tricky to do properly, but Zoro got the gist. It couldn’t hurt. He tilted Robin’s head back, held her nose and exhaled twice into her mouth. Still nothing. Back to compressions. Zoro was starting to panic, struggling to not press too hard, cursing himself for not trying to find the exit on his own, then coming back to Robin. At least if he’d drowned it would have only been him. But given the weird crap they’d already run into, plus Peek-a-Boo running around somewhere, he hadn’t wanted to leave her alone.

His thoughts threatened to spin out of control. That he’d forgotten something crucial Chopper had told him. Recriminations about failing his crew bubbled up. Why hadn’t he swum faster, or killed the grave robber the moment he saw him? Images of Nami and Chopper crying over Robin formed. Memories of Kuma reaching for his unconscious Captain joined them. Zoro stomped those thoughts and the pain in his chest down forcibly, focusing on the task at hand, trying to will the raven-haired archaeologist to respond.

“Come on, Robin,” he muttered as he continued compressions, “wake up. You haven’t reached your dream yet. How is anyone going to know what happened if you don’t find that glyph thing? Your heart isn’t this weak. Who’s gonna reassure Chopper or Nami when they get down, or freak out Usopp with creepy observations? Damn it, who am I supposed to count on to be the voice of reason when the rest of the crew is acting like idiots?” Words tumbled out as he hoped something could reach her. “I know you’re the one who’s been keeping Luffy from disturbing my naps the last week. I, I really appreciate that. We just got you back, woman. WAKE UP.”

Zoro finished the last of that set, and was tilting Robin’s head to try breathing again, when she coughed. Directly into his face. Which, gross, but only a little water this time. One cough, two, then she sharply inhaled. This went on for a few cycles, Robin inhaling and coughing. Zoro helped her roll to her side, where she threw up more water, before drawing another shaky breath.

Chapter Text

Robin lay there coughing, slowly realizing she was still alive. Zoro gently helped her sit up, one hand on her back, watching intently for any sign something was wrong. From his demeanor, the concerned look on his face, she knew it must have been close.

“Tha-thank you, Zoro.” Robin wasn’t sure she could even move, beyond shivering. From cold or fear, she wasn’t sure. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, letting her head rest there. The combination of blacking out and being submerged in seawater that long left her drained. She tried taking a deeper breath, to bring her heartbeat under control, and winced as a sharp pain ran through her chest.

“I think I cracked some bones. Sorry.” Zoro looked into his pack (thankfully Usopp had coated the crew’s bags to be waterproof, among other things), and brought out more bandages. “We can wrap them if you think it’ll help. You’ll have to remove your shirt, though.”

Even in her current state, Robin couldn’t let an opening like that pass. “You are certainly bold when it’s just the two of us, Zoro-kun. Perhaps I should insist Nami act as chaperone from now on. You weren’t nearly this forward in Skypeia.” She winced at her voice, an almost raspy croak.

Zoro didn’t comment on her voice, only shaking his head in a mixture of annoyance and amusement. “You know that’s not how I meant it, woman. I’m not that freaking swirly-browed pervert. He’d have blacked out the first time he touched your chest.” Zoro didn’t really mind. If she felt strong enough to tease him, the hopefully she was OK.

“I know, Zoro. It’s just fun. You’re the only member of our crew who gets annoyed or flustered like that. A few cracked ribs are certainly preferable to being dead.” Robin raised her head, counting it a good sign she could, examining their surroundings. “I think extra support might help, since we aren’t clear of the temple yet.” She turned away from him and undid the buttons on the shirt.

“Where are we then? Something’s off, but I didn’t have time to explore.” Zoro knelt behind her, handing the roll of bandages forward. Robin could run them across her chest and pass them to Zoro to bring around her back. He knew she could handle this alone with her powers, but he didn’t see any reason she should push herself when he was there.

“No breeze, for one,” Robin replied, looking out to the water. “It looks like the ocean, but no clouds, or any signs of life. No fish, birds, or even plant life. The color of the light suggests the sun is near the horizon, but it’s coming from almost directly above, and there’s no heat to it. The room doesn’t feel any warmer than the caves we were in earlier, because it’s the same system. I suspect there’s an undersea passage the ocean flows into this chamber from.”

All that would explain the sense Zoro hadn’t been able to shake when he first got here of something being off. He clipped the wrap in place and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Any idea what that thing is?”

Robin carefully slid her shirt back on after wringing it out and looked in the direction he indicated as she buttoned it. She saw nothing. “Did you perhaps mean that, Zoro?” As she pointed to the immense pillar in the opposite direction. Directly in front of them.

“How did it move like that?!”

“Fufufu, perhaps Kuan is having some fun with you,” Robin chuckled gingerly as she examined it more closely. The base of the dark shape sat firmly in the beach, surrounded by the black sand. It was rectangular in shape, all sides appearing perfectly smooth from this distance, not a hint of imperfection. It slanted upwards, at least 50 degrees, probably closer to 60, towards the source of light. Yet it reflected none of that soft red glow, as though it existed in a separate space from everything else in the cave. A space they could see into, but could not be reached.

Robin shook her head. Her imagination was running away with her. Better to base such a hypothesis on evidence. Robin managed to stand and approach it, Zoro at her side. Up close, the pillar appeared just as smooth, made of obsidian or something close. Whatever had been used to shape it was quite impressive to be so precise. She extended her arm, but hesitated. Instead, a hand grew from the sand near the base and reached out, slim fingers tapping the exterior. Nothing happened, and Robin relaxed fractionally. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, some kind of attack, but there was nothing. Until she slid her fingers along the surface. Immediately they were cut by numerous tiny horizontal ridges. A side effect of the tools that shaped it, she wondered, or done deliberately?

She formed a hand with an eye in the palm as high up the pillar as she could, ignoring how difficult it was. The glow was higher still, coming from a separate chamber above. She could also discern the walls of the room they were in, and what might be another opening above and to the right of the one they entered through.

Dispersing the hand, Robin turned to see Zoro seated on the ground. He was using spare bandages to methodically dry and clean each of his swords after the lengthy submersion in the sea. Robin observed his hands were shaking slightly, breathing more rapid than usual. His adrenaline had certainly worn off by now, and his body probably wanted to crash.

The swordsman wouldn’t mention it, of course. He spoke without looking up. “What’s the verdict?”

“I think the Ruby is above us. Quite possibly giving off the glow. Which means this pillar represents the exit from Hoelle for any who made it this far.”

“Doesn’t look like someone could just walk up.”

“No, but there is a slight roughness to its surface. A truly determined person might drag themselves up. Their hands would be in a dreadful state by the time they reached the top. But one couldn’t expect escape from a realm of the damned to be easy.”

“Of course not,” Zoro grunted as he rose. “But we need to get up there. If the glow is the Ruby, we can beat Peek-a-Boo to it. If he’s still alive.” He rose, grasping two swords, craning his neck to survey the challenge. “If you climb on my back, I can pull us up there.”

Robin shook her head. “That’s not necessary, Zoro. I can easily carry both of us.” She formed a chain of hands running up the pillar, although it didn’t reach nearly as high as she intended. She frowned, which didn’t go unnoticed by the swordsman.

“You aren’t back to full-strength yet, you need more time.”

“I’m quite alright, Zoro.”

“Bull,” he snapped. “You were unconscious and almost dead 5 minutes ago, Robin.” What was she thinking, trying to push herself?

Zoro might be annoyed with a stubborn nakama, but so was Robin. “Then I should be well-rested, Kenshi-san. Don’t you always insist a brief nap is all you require to heal, even from injuries far worse than what I sustained?”

Zoro scowled, and Robin, growing more frustrated by his lack of self-preservation (and more on edge from her close call than she would admit), barreled ahead, getting in his face. She glared down at him, taking advantage of her superior height. “You are the reason I am not dead right now, and you expended considerable energy in the process. You are still not fully recovered from what Kuma inflicted on you, and have sustained more injuries since this ordeal began. You need rest at least as badly as I do. Most likely more, whether you admit it or not.”

Robin knew it was the wrong approach even as the words left her mouth. Suggesting Zoro was too weak to do something was a perfect way to make him dig in his heels mulishly, determined to prove her wrong. Hadn’t she been thinking that this morning in regards to his reaction to Cook-san holding back?

She tried a different, more open, tack. “I know you are attempting to care for my wellbeing, but Zoro, you are here because of me. That means your wellbeing is my responsibility. I do not want that man to steal the Ruby after everything he’s done, the damage he’s wrought, but it is not worth your life.”

Silence was the only response as Zoro stared at the ground, face hidden in shadows from the dim light. Robin could picture the stubborn resolution on his face. He was going to fight her on this. He knew she badly wanted to stop Schurke, and he was determined to protect her. But she did not intend to back down. She couldn’t, since Zoro would give no thought to his own health. She wondered if she was strong enough to overpower him right now. If she was, could she then get both of them up the pillar? She would prefer not to take that approach. Zoro would certainly resent it, and Robin felt they’d only recently begun to establish a real friendship.

“If you need rest as badly as me, you must be exhausted.” Robin hardly believed her ears. “If you’re right and the Ruby’s up there, he hasn’t got it. We could rest here a little while. It’s the only way we’ll ever get up there, since neither of us is letting the other carry them without a fight right now, right?” Zoro said plainly. He didn’t like admitting weakness, and he certainly could get them both up there, but having to fight Robin to do it wasn’t ideal.

(He didn’t want to hurt any of his nakama. It was the exact opposite of what he was supposed to do for them. He’d even felt bad about knocking that shit cook unconscious when he tried sacrificing himself to Kuma, especially since he’d already been injured by then.)

Robin smiled. “That’s very astute, Kenshi-san. Taking time to regain our strength would improve our chances.”

Robin settled comfortably on the sand with her arms resting on her knees. Zoro removed his shirt and proceeded to wring it out as Robin had, although he didn’t put his on again immediately. Robin rubbed her arms gently, trying to regain a little warmth in the chilly atmosphere of the chamber. Zoro took a seat behind her, facing the other way. Guarding her back, Robin mused, and trusting her to do the same for him.

Zoro gazed at the ceiling before stating quietly, “It’s not worth your life either, Robin.”

Robin made a soft noise in acknowledgement, but didn’t otherwise respond. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see where the rock was lodged. His abdomen was growing more discolored. Up close, even under the dim red glow, his skin looked paler than earlier. She’d seen blood in the corner of his mouth after the fight with the lion, and again after the Telu-tas.

But his breathing was steadier, less shallow than a few minutes ago, and he wasn’t showing any outward signs of discomfort, at least. She’d just have to keep an eye on him, assist as much as she could, as much as he’d allow. A twinge drew her notice to the wound above her knee. It wasn’t crippling, she’d certainly had worse, but she’d have to be aware of her limitations as well if they had to fight.

After a moment Robin felt Zoro’s back just barely make contact with hers. She smiled at the silent reminder she wasn’t alone here. She hoped he drew similar assurance from her presence. The archaeologist leaned back a little more, resting fully against her crewmate. She noted again that the swordsman seemed to put out heat like a furnace.

The two sat in companionable silence. Zoro would have enjoyed hearing waves, or the feeling of a nice breeze, but decided it was better this way. It reminded him they weren’t out of this nutty temple yet. He couldn’t start napping, and tried to stay in a state of restful awareness. Not quite meditating, but letting his conscious mind and body rest while trusting his unconscious mind to notice danger. At least he could tell Robin had stopped shivering. Even when they were arguing it had been hard to miss. He hadn’t been sure what the best approach was, lacking any materials to make a fire. Wasn’t sure how she would react if he’d offered to hold her, other than to tease him again.

Robin spent her time scanning the walls for anything of interest, and wondering idly where the material for the pillar had come from. If it was obsidian, then it and the dark sand were volcanic in origin.

Prisma Island had most likely formed from volcanic activity, though the weathered state of its hills suggested that had been long ago. There was obviously still current activity, since they passed through a room with magma flowing down the walls, but there were no records of volcanic activity. Which could mean the Salterans found products of a long-ago eruption. She twisted her neck to look at the pillar looming behind her. That would be a lot of obsidian. Geology wasn’t normally an area of interest for her, except as it impacted ancient cultures. Perhaps the Salterans brought the material here from a different island? She wondered if Jack had the notes of the research team he murdered on him. There might be a clue there.

Working over puzzles like this helped her relax. It gave her mind something to focus on that wasn’t necessarily life or death, where the need for an answer wasn’t urgent. She could tease threads out at her leisure, drift to another topic if she wanted. She felt less tense, even as part of her ached to climb this pillar and see the Ruby right now. Her nakama took priority. She couldn’t push herself, because Zoro would feel he needed to as well. And she was tired, even though she could feel her strength returning slowly.

Speaking of nakama, there was another problem she needed to address. “You mean more to the crew than your swordsmanship and physical strength, Zoro.” He didn’t respond, she pressed on. “I know it helps Luffy to have someone who insists on respect for his Captain, and will support his decisions without hesitation, even the more. . . unusual ones. The fact you do this calmly, even in the face of danger, helps the others do so as well. I’m sure they rest easier knowing you watch over them. I doubt they would have been as welcoming to me if you hadn’t remained wary.”

“Hnn, that’s the impression you got from all of them yelling at me for weeks about how I was being an asshole towards you?”

“Actually, I believe Chopper called you a ‘big meanie,’ but yes. I’m sure they appreciated it, even if they wouldn’t say it aloud. It allowed them to be more trusting, because you were there if something went wrong.” Robin had seen nervous glances between some of the crew, an unease, even after she’d seemingly won them over with money and jokes played with her powers.

“Ended up being a waste of time. You weren’t a threat.” Zoro wasn’t sure he’d ever acknowledged that to Robin directly, and figured it was worth telling her. Not that he’d ever been certain she would betray them, only that it was a possibility. One no one else on the crew seemed worried about.

“It’s alright Zoro. At the time, you had no way to know that. I had been your enemy just days before. You made me prove I was truly part of the crew before extending your trust. And even if you had misgivings, you fought to defend me more than once.”

“You hadn’t done anything wrong, and you’re part of the crew. Like I said, it’s my responsibility.”

Robin wondered if she was getting anywhere. She wished their Captain was here. Luffy probably could have said all that need be without a word. The swordsman wasn’t done, though.

“Robin, I appreciate what you’re trying to say. It’s. . . nice, but even so, I don’t regret what I did. I get Luffy wouldn’t want any of us to die for him, but none of us want Luffy to die for us, either. That doesn’t mean I’m not prepared to lay down my life for this crew, if need be.” He paused. “But I’m going to keep getting stronger so hopefully none of us have to do that.”

“I understand that. I simply felt you were not giving yourself enough credit. You are extremely important to all of us.”

Zoro responded with a hint of amusement in his voice. “Is that your way of telling me not to overdo it while we’re stuck in here?”

She laughed. “You do tend to push yourself. Just remember I’m here as well. You don’t have to do it all alone. You and the others taught me that.”

“Then I’ll keep it in mind if you will.”

The two pirates resumed leaning against each other quietly. Robin wasn't entirely satisfied, but felt she'd accomplished something. She knew Zoro would still try to protect the crew, and would probably still be reckless, but she could at least hope he wouldn’t try to take on too heavy of a load when the rest of them were there.

Zoro thought over what she’d said. He couldn’t protect them if he was dead, and the rest of the crew needed to grow stronger as well. But if he sat back and let them fight someone too strong for them, and they were hurt or killed. . . He didn’t know how to handle that.

Robin knew they should start up soon, although part of her just wanted to sleep. She stood to ward off the feeling, but the sleepy feeling reminded her. . . “That was sweet of you to thank me for protecting your naps, Zoro-kun.”

The swordsman swiveled around to gape at her. “What? Wait, you heard that?!”

She chuckled. “Faintly, as if from a great distance, but yes. Along with you demanding I wake up.”

The swordsman looked down, embarrassed. “I wasn’t sure the compressions were working, and I didn’t know anything else to do. I know you’ve been distracting Luffy sometimes.”

“Since Captain doesn’t know what happened, I’m not certain he realizes how badly injured you were.”

“Probably not. I know that’s just how Luffy is, and usually it’s fine, but sometimes I need sleep. So, thanks Robin.”

“You’re welcome, Zoro.” Zoro put on his shirt, now marginally drier, and started to stretch. “Also, you’re quite warm and comfortable to rest against. I can see why Chopper enjoys taking naps with you.”

Zoro’s face turned red again, and he struggled to form a response. Before he could, a voice from above called out. “Oh, what the hell?! You two are still alive?”

Perhaps Kuan took pity on the poor swordsman, providing a distraction in the form of that irritating prick of a grave robber.

Chapter Text

Schurke L. Jack had a lousy trip through the tunnels. After escaping the odd little creatures, his light died, damaged by the shockwave. That slowed him down, his lighter not helping much. He reached a large chamber with lava flowing down the sides, but no apparent exit. Once he entered, some of the lava detached from the wall, and formed into an immense creature. Which attacked him. As lava creatures do.

He’d teleport away and blow it to pieces, more lava would flow from the wall to rebuild it into something new. This repeated until the exit was revealed, and Jack escaped with only one severe burn on his left arm, but minus a few more explosives (and his coat, which was ruined from lava splashing on it).

The creature pursued him. After Jack ran into a few walls because he couldn’t keep his lighter lit to see where he was going, he tried moving slow enough the monster behind him would light his way. That let it get close enough to lash into his back. He abandoned that plan. The pursuit ended when it cooled and hardened. Not until after he tumbled when the path went downhill abruptly while he was looking over his shoulder at it. Naturally.

Then he reached a narrow hallway with more tiles acting as pressure plates. Instead of arrows, these triggered razor-sharp blades to swing from the walls. He hadn’t been able to see all the way to the end, and had been stuck repeatedly teleporting as far as he could until he reached it. His increasing exhaustion made it hard to make the next jump before touching the tiles, and that earned him a few more cuts on his arms and legs. Nothing too deep, but he was tired of losing blood.

Now he reaches this big room, left arm nearly useless, and finds the damn pirates not only NOT dead, but apparently having a smoke break at the base of some big spire thing. He shouldn’t have revealed his presence, but couldn’t help himself. This night has been going down the shitter for hours. Weird room, he thought, with that weak reddish glow coming from the top. Something clicked in his mind. Reddish glow?

The Ruby! They didn’t have it yet! They couldn’t reach it way up there! As worn out as he was, he wasn’t sure he could, either. Trying was better than wasting time fighting these two, as he blinked away from one of the swordsman’s ranged attacks.

Jack reappeared, but only partway up the pillar, to his surprise. He must be more tired than he thought, or else this thing was bigger than it seemed. His boots slipped immediately on making contact. He tried clawing for a grip with his hands, but hissed as his fingertips were instantly shredded. Still skidding, he glanced back and saw the pirates pursuing him. The swordsman was making some pretty impressive leaps to scale the thing. He didn’t seem to be having problems with grip. Jack wasn’t up to more teleports. The pounding in his skull was clear on that. But he didn’t have a better option.

As Zoro fell towards the pillar, a pair of arms grew from it surface, palms up. He landed solidly on them, crouching as they sank slightly under his and Robin’s combined weight, her arms wrapped around his neck and crossed over his chest. The hands steadied, giving Zoro a stable surface for the next leap. The process was repeated each time gravity halted his ascent. In this way Zoro climbed more swiftly than he could have trying to use his swords to haul himself the whole way, and Robin wasn’t expending nearly as much energy as if she formed enough arms to carry both of them up. The force of Zoro landing on injured fingers hurt, but Robin could bear it.

“How’s it going?” Zoro grunted out.

After their first two skirmishes with Jack, Robin decided a different approach was in order. He was expecting her to attack directly, and was ready to escape at the first hint of her limbs on him. But he wasn’t watching his bag of explosives. If she could remove his ability to attack from distance, it improved their odds. She discarded a few between when he revealed his presence and when he began to ascend the pillar, and was splitting her focus between forming two hands for Zoro to land on, and trying to grab more bombs.

Unfortunately, the grave robber was resorting to rapid short jumps now. Robin couldn’t maintain the connection to her Hana-Hana limbs long enough to grab any more.

“He has one or two left for certain, perhaps a few more.”

Zoro grunted, eyes focused on their fleeing quarry. Robin was impressed how well he was holding up. She felt stronger for taking that rest, and it seemed the same was true for the swordsman. That could not be said for the man they pursued. Robin was sure each teleport he made was shorter than the one before it.

Zoro was thinking the same. Peek-a-Boo’s initial jump gave him a head start, but they were closing the gap. Still, unless that guy ran out of gas soon, he’d make it to the top first. He’d have time to prepare, or just grab the Ruby and run.

Jack was less sure of his advantage than Zoro. The headache was almost blinding, his concentration for his jumps wavering. The swordsman was getting closer all the time. Jack couldn’t see his face, but was sure the look on it was bloodthirsty.

(Although he was more worried about that Nico woman. He’d heard what she did to people, and she’d made no bones of her intent to end him).

He didn’t know where the hell these pirates were getting the strength from. Had the other path been the easy one? Did they find a shortcut? Maybe his attempt to kill them opened a new way. Or those little creatures helped them. That would just be so unfair. He’d been working towards this for months. Following those researchers, having to camp out and keep an eye on them in the stupid woods. All the waiting, all the double-crosses, and these two think they’re just gonna waltz in at the last minute and take what’s his? Not a chance.

He couldn’t risk getting close, because he wasn’t certain he could teleport away fast enough. Jack watched the swordsman’s leaps, timing them. The next time Zoro sprang forward, Jack lobbed a bomb, having to reach deeper into the bag than expected, back behind him.

Zoro saw it hurtling towards them and cursed. It'd meet them where they’d land. He reached for his swords, though he doubted he could unleash an attack to destroy it in time. He could at least shield Robin with them and his body.

The archaeologist spoke from behind him. “Just hold on, Zoro. Cien Fleur: Wing.” She took hold of his wrists and he felt himself being pulled into the air. Looking up, he saw Robin had formed two wings on her back, and remembered Franky gushing over how “super-cool” it had been when Robin saved him with this move.

Robin gritted her teeth as she concentrated entirely on the Hana Hana no Mi wings. Zoro was much lighter than Franky, but Robin was more tired than she’d been at Thriller Bark. Trying to keep herself aloft with giant broken fingers was. . . unpleasant. She tried to focus on steady, strong wing beats, on keeping the limbs making up the wings formed, even as she felt them wanting to unravel.

The bomb detonated against the pillar below them, the explosion spraying obsidian in all directions. Robin strangled a cry as jagged shards embedded themselves in her wings and back. The wings began to collapse more quickly. She needed to set them down, now.

“It’s OK, Robin, you saved our necks. I’ll get us the rest of the way.” She pushed them forward, trying to provide as much momentum as possible. At the last moment, the wings dispersed, she released her grip on Zoro’s wrists, her arms resuming their earlier position around his neck.

Zoro hit the slope pumping his legs as hard as he could. The moment Robin released his hands, they went to his blades, and he used them to help keep going forward against gravity’s relentless pull. His boots were barely finding traction, and he bet the soles would be shredded when this was over, but as long as he kept moving, he didn’t slide back. They were almost there, but that jackal-ass was already in the next chamber.

Wings. Jack still wasn’t sure he believed it. She sprouted fucking wings. Flapped her way right over his bomb like the weirdest damn chicken you’ve ever seen. What the hell? He was glad he hadn’t stopped to enjoy their imminent demise. He’d teleported the instant after he chucked the bomb, and when he glanced back, they were in the air. He had a moment of optimism when it was clear the Devil’s Child couldn’t maintain what she was doing, but then her damn dog just runs up the side like he's climbing stairs.

Did the universe have something against a hard-working guy trying to make a buck?

But Jack could see the top. The pillar was set into the spot where the wall and ceiling of the chamber met and there was a simple opening above it. The glow was stronger there. Jack focused everything on that opening and reached out for it in his mind. Then he was gone.

He just made it. One foot on those familiar polished floors, the other scrabbling against the pillar’s surface. He leaned forward enough his body weight pulled him into the room and managed to haul that leg up to join the rest of him, even as it felt like it weighed a ton. He knew the Ruby of Shandalla was ahead of him, knew those pirates were coming, but moving was too much effort at the moment. He knelt there, taking in the room as he caught his breath. After all, there might be other goodies available.

It wasn’t a large room, much smaller than the chamber below. Smaller even than the room with the statue where the lion attacked them. The Ruby sat on a small pedestal in the back third of the room. There were more images carved on the walls on all sides. They all seemed to look right at him. Faces only partially visible in the glow, he couldn’t read their expressions. He couldn’t see anything behind the Ruby, only shadows. Over his left shoulder he saw what looked like a door. It looked as tough as the one he hadn’t been able to blast open, and just as closed. He didn’t see any light sources other than the Ruby, but maybe if you had it the door opened automatically?

He pulled himself to his feet. One way to find out, and it involved getting the thing he was here for anyway. As he approached, he noticed a gleam higher up. The shadows behind the Ruby began to shift, and he stopped. The shadows didn’t, a massive shape beginning to define itself within them. It stepped forward where the glow revealed it and Jack felt his heart sink.

It was the other damn lion. Hard to tell in this light, but its coat appeared the same color, except no mane. A lioness, then? There were the bare spots that gleamed a dull green on her skin. She was at least three times the size of the other one. She stalked forward purposefully, walking smoothly around the Ruby, eyes locked on Jack. He sensed her sizing him up. He didn’t think she was impressed. He reached into his satchel and got another unpleasant surprise.

He was out of bombs. What the hell? He tried to recall how many he’d used, because it shouldn’t have been that many, but the cat lunged. Jack really didn’t want to teleport, but unless he dived back out the way he came, he didn’t have a choice. He aimed for a spot above and behind the lion, but when he reappeared, her tail slammed into him. Like being hit with a warm, furry tree. He went spinning towards a wall, so he teleported again, hoping for enough open space he could lose momentum safely.

The effort was almost too much. He felt torn in half, and expected only part of him to complete the trip. But his whole body made it through, somehow, momentum carrying him into something furry and marginally softer than a wall. Whatever it was barely moved, and he fell to the floor. The impact jarred him badly, head bouncing off the stone. He looked up at what he'd hit and found himself at the feet of the lion. She turned that massive head to stare down him.

A winded voice called out from the other side of the lion. “What's a giant cat doing here?”

“The warning about the other lion’s twin, remember Zoro?”

A pause. “Oh right. It’s been a long day, cut me some slack, Robin!”

“Fufufu. Of course, Zoro.”

Chapter Text

The two Straw Hats stood calm but ready as the immense feline swung her head to observe these new intruders. It was much larger than its “twin”. This room did not really seem large enough for her, Robin mused. That might limit the lion’s mobility, but there wouldn’t be many places for her or Zoro to dodge. Beside her, Zoro began to draw Wado to join the other two swords.

The lioness tensed, but didn’t attack them immediately, and Robin made a decision.

“Sheathe your blades, Zoro. I want to try something.” He glanced at her questioningly for a moment, but complied.

Robin approached the lion slowly, hands open in front of her. “You are a servant of Kuan? You guard the Ruby of Shandalla so only those who properly ready themselves can reach it. It is an honor to meet you.” She bowed at the waist.

The lioness tilted her head to one side, but did not relax. Feline eyes remained locked on Robin’s. “I am thankful for the opportunity to see the Ruby. My partner and I,” she gestured to Zoro, “wished to stop that man from taking the Ruby. We don’t seek its power.”

But as Robin said that, she wondered if the Ruby could be used to remove the rock from Zoro’s body. His other injuries – and hers for that matter – could be dealt with easily enough, but a solid object fused into his digestive tract was another matter.

Her expression must have betrayed her, her poker face failing her (as Zoro said, it had been a long day). Or perhaps the lioness read her mind. No sooner had the thought occurred than the cat’s presence shifted. Gaze shifting from piercing to fierce. The hair on the neck rose, and lips pulled back revealing sharp teeth. It lunged.

“Tora Gari!” A blur rushed past Robin and met the charge head on. Robin felt a blast of air from the collision, then saw Zoro go flying past her towards the far wall. She spun back to face the lioness, and as it took its next step, a string of limbs sprouted in front of its paw. The strength in even a single limb was incredible, but the chain of arms held, barely. The lion pitched forward on its face. Robin dispersed the limbs before it could snap at them, moving to her next attack.

“Uno Manos: Shock.” The lion snarled, but was otherwise unfazed by the large fist striking it between the eyes, although Robin noted its nose was bleeding, either from hitting the floor or Zoro’s attack.

Attention on the archaeologist now, it lunged, forcing her to dive to her right, paws slamming into the ground with a shuddering impact where she had just been standing. She avoided the attack, but the lion spun nimbly to follow her. As Robin rose, her right knee buckled.

“Dos Manos: Seize.” Dozens of small arms combined into two massive ones that rose between her and the attacking feline. The hands grabbed the cat’s muzzle, trying to turn it away, to force it out the opening in the floor. The lioness slashed at the limbs in response, and Robin bit her lower lip at the sensation of skin and muscles tearing. One of the hands slipped and brushed against a bare patch on the lioness’ chest. Robin tried to maintain it, but the drain was too great and the arm vanished entirely. The lioness wrenched free of the other.

“Hyakuhachi Pound Ho!” A blast of wind slammed into the cat’s ribs. It barely stumbled, but the attack on Robin was halted. Zoro could feel some of his bones grinding against each other after that flight across the room into the wall, but he had to press the advantage. He charged forward, Shuusui and Kitetsu spinning in front of him, but the lioness recovered swiftly. She turned, opening her mouth to swallow him whole. Hands bloomed from the muzzle and wrenched at the cat’s whiskers, twisting her head back. As the lioness yowled in pain, and swiveled towards the archaeologist, it left an opening for the swordsman.

“Santoryu Ogi: Sanzen Sekai!” The swordsman’s aimed his strongest attack at the neck, but the cat was still able to defend itself, and raised her right paw to swipe at him. The attack tore through the paw and up the leg, even as it lost momentum and eventually came to a halt against those strange bare spots. The next instant, Zoro was again flung away as the feline flailed the shredded limb to dislodge him. He tumbled across the floor, but at least stopped before crashing into a wall this time.

Which didn’t mean he was safe. As he tried to block out the pain roaring through his body and regain his bearings, the predator crouched, eyes narrowed. It sprang into the air with its three working legs, preparing to bring its full weight on the swordsman like he was an unfortunate mouse. Before it could crush him beneath it, a massive hand grew from the floor beside Zoro and caught the pouncing feline by the throat in midair. Using the lioness’ own momentum, Robin was able to judo flip it over Zoro and send it crashing to the ground on its back. The arm dispersed and Robin dropped to one knee, gasping. She was on her last reserves at this point.

Zoro wasn’t much better off, but he was determined to make use of the opportunity Robin provided. “Ushi Bari!”

Again the cat screeched as Zoro’s blades stabbed repeatedly into the uninjured paw it raised to protect its face. And again the cat recovered faster than expected. Before Zoro’s attack even ended, he was forced to sidestep teeth as they flashed by, the wind from the jaws snapping shut pushing against him.

He wasn’t able to avoid the tail, though. It lashed forward, and even only barely connecting, sent him skidding back towards the opening in the floor. He was about to halt himself with Shuusui, but a pair of hands appeared in his path and planted against his back, stopping him.

Zoro turned to acknowledge the save, but his eyes were drawn to something behind Robin. It was then she remembered the other threat in the room. She hadn’t sensed him approaching, but with his power she might not until it was too late. She rolled to her left, twisting as she did to face the opposite direction.

Chapter Text

Jack wasn’t trying to attack Robin. His eyes were on the same prize they’d been on from the start. He played dead as the Straw Hats unintentionally saved his life by drawing the lion’s attention, working hard to not give any of them any reason to pay him any mind.

Once they were all busy with each other, he started towards the Ruby. The researchers’ notes said there were legends this thing had powers. If that was true, great, it could get him out of here. If not, he would find a way out, and he wasn’t leaving with empty pockets.

He stayed on the ground, dragging himself forward, one eye on the fight to make sure it wasn’t coming his way. Not that he could do much if it did. Standing up felt like it would be the challenge of a lifetime. One thing at a time. Reach the Ruby first, figure the rest out later. It took an eternity. Every moment he was sure the sounds of battle would cease. He’d be in trouble, whoever won, but he reached the pedestal.

Getting to his feet wasn’t as difficult as he feared. Seeing that glowing gem so close gave him a surge of adrenaline. Plus, the pedestal was easy to grip and use as support. Just in time, because things finally grew silent across the room. Too late, he gloated silently. He had the Ruby of Shandalla in his hands. He wanted to raise it above his head in triumph, but figured escape came first.

Jack intended to try teleporting (where? Anywhere? Maybe he could aim blind and make it back to the main temple chamber), but before he could, he was someplace else. Jack wondered if the Ruby had read his desire to escape and made it happen, but noticed he wasn’t holding it. At least, he didn’t think so. He couldn’t actually see his hands, although he was vaguely aware of them. There might still have been a weight in their palms.

At that point a voice spoke. “What do you seek?” It was loud, but not painfully so. Calm, not quite bored, but detached.

“What?” Jack tried to place the location of the voice, but couldn’t seem to turn his head. Or else everything around him looked the same.

“You seek a boon. What is it? Did you not make certain of this and your reasons before you began?”

Jack felt the weight of a gaze upon him, felt something in it that might be irritation. Which he didn’t like at all. He decided to answer. “Money! Or wealth. Whatever you want to call it. And I need a way out of here,” he thought to add.

“The way out will open automatically for your witness. You seek wealth?”

“Yes, anything of great value, as much as I can get!”

“This is worth your life?”

“It’s what I’ve spent my entire life seeking, so - wait, my life?”

“Yes, to receive a boon, that your desire may be achieved, you must offer something. To ask so directly for a boon, you offer your life. Are you prepared?”

“Hell no! I’m not dying! How would I spend it if I’m dead?”

The voice sounded weary. “Another heretic.”

Before Jack could respond, he felt the presence recede. As it did, he became aware of a faint sensation. Not faint because it was light, but because it seemed as though his body was sending the message from a great distance. Something gliding across the surface of his skin. Almost a tickle or caress, from slim, lightly callused fingertips. It should have been pleasant, but Jack felt a surge of terror that, for a moment, he couldn’t place.

Then it came to him. The pirates, specifically Nico Robin. Who killed by – there was a sharp, screaming pain that tore across his mind. Jack felt his body convulse briefly, distantly, and then everything grew very cold, and silent, and dark. All sensation and awareness ceased.

Robin dispersed her arms. By the time she had turned, Schurke was reaching for the Ruby of Shandalla. By the time Robin’s arms sprouted on his torso, he had it in his grasp. The archaeologist tried to act quickly, hoping he hadn’t been playing possum all this time, that she could strike before he escaped.

But he froze the moment he touched the Ruby. The same time, the light emitting from the Ruby flared, increasing intensity a hundredfold. The shadows in the room receded, but grew deeper, stronger, as though concentrated rather than dispersed. Robin flinched, but could see Jack’s eyes had a distant, unfocused look. He did not react to the blinding light inches from his face. Robin didn’t hesitate, drawing what little strength she still had.

“Twist.”

The former grave robber fell to the ground, head turned 270 degrees, face contorted in agony. She felt no regret, but no particular elation, either. Better to have done it sooner, before all this started.

The attack caused Jack’s hands to spasm and clench, so the Ruby was pulled from its place. As his body went limp, the gem slipped free. Robin formed another pair of hands from the front of Jack’s body and caught it.

She was immediately aware of being drawn somewhere, though she could not describe the location. She was vaguely aware of her body, but did not think it had accompanied her.

“What boon do you seek?” The voice was everywhere, and Robin wondered if she was in a place, or if the being speaking was this place. She felt their presence all around. Not overwhelming, simply there, like gentle sunlight.

“What boon do you seek?” It repeated. Robin did not feel she had gone that long without speaking, but perhaps time moved differently here. She considered what she could request, but realized there was another question to answer first.

“What is the price of the boon?” She was certain she knew, but there was no harm in confirming her suspicions.

“Your life.” Now the voice sounded annoyed, the presence hotter. Not oppressive, but less pleasant than before. “Another heretic. The fortunes of my house have sunk low for so many nonbelievers to reach this place. What has become of my followers?”

Robin didn’t see any point in lying. “I believe they were all killed by invaders centuries ago. Or have gone into hiding since then. This temple was abandoned other than your guardians. I’m sorry.”

“I suspected as much. None have asked for my aid in so long. Nor have I heard their voices raised in celebration of their lives and triumphs. I miss hearing their joy.” The forlorn presence like a wind blowing off an empty, icy plain. Abruptly the presence became heavier, and the voice spoke again, pressing down on whatever form Robin had in this place.

“The one before you was not prepared to give his life. Had you tried tricking him into doing so?”

“No. I was not seeking the Ruby. I wished to see this temple, to learn the history of your people. He coerced my friend and I into helping him reach the Ruby.”

“You have no boon to request, either?”

Robin wanted to say “no.” It was the simplest thing. Given the cost, the smart thing. But she thought of things lost, how she could help those she cared about. “Could you restore the island of Ohara and all its people?” Surely it wouldn’t be wrong to restore the lives of so many who died unjustly?

“They would not be as you hope. Their essences reside in a place beyond my reach to retrieve fully. They would be empty, blank vessels, or a shadow, suffering partial existence.”

Robin expected such an answer, but felt she had to ask. “Can you ensure the happiness and wellbeing of my friends?” She didn’t specify, she felt certain Kuan (if that’s who this was) was peering through her memories throughout this conversation.

“Not without removing their free will. Mortals often make decisions that negatively impact each of those things.” Kuan’s tone suggested this was not an unfamiliar request.

Robin’s thoughts drifted to the nakama here with her, a stone fused into his stomach, with no certainty it could be safely removed. She could help him, but he would be furious if she sacrificed herself to do so. Still. . . She saw Luffy’s massive grin vanish at learning his first mate had died. She owed the Captain so much, she could not let him be hurt that way.

(She knew he would be hurt to lose her as well, because that was the sort of person Luffy was, but she knew the bond with the swordsman was closest.)

A familiar voice erupted angrily from somewhere. “She’s trying to do what?! Where is she?! Robin!? Don’t listen to that stupid woman!”

Chapter Text

When the teleporter grabbed the gem, Zoro was torn between attacking him or staying between Robin and the cat, uncertain which was a bigger threat. When he looked back at the cat, Zoro was surprised to see it take a seat. It paused from licking its wounds to glance at him, and Zoro read the look easily enough. The lioness would respond if attacked, but otherwise was done with him for now.

“Robin, wait,” he called and rushed towards her, but the delay cost him. She had already killed Peek-a-Boo (good riddance), and then caught the rock with her Devil Fruit limbs. As she did, her body went rigid, eyes vacant. The gem dimmed with the bastard’s death, but immediately brightened again.

Zoro snapped his fingers in her face, shook her shoulders. No reaction. He tried to uncross her arms, force her to disperse the Hana-Hana limbs, but they seemed locked in place. Unless he broke her arms, it wasn’t happening (he had a suspicion the limbs wouldn’t vanish even then).

He considered cutting the gem in half, grip on Wado tightening, but something told him that wasn’t a good idea. The gem had something to it, to its breath, different from anything he’d sensed since unlocking that ability. He’d felt it swirling all around when it first brightened, something far bigger than the stone, or even the room.

The lioness appeared to sense what he was considering, and issued a low growl from the corner of the room and locked eyes with him. Zoro glared back, not appreciating the implied threat, but knowing it wasn’t what he should focus on. Robin was somewhere else, at least her mind was. If anyone on this crew could get themselves out of that situation it was Nico Robin, but Zoro wouldn’t leave her to face it alone. He rushed to the gem and placed both hands on it.

He didn’t think he blinked, but he was somewhere else without any sense of movement. (He’d wanted to rip it away, free Robin and face whatever it was himself, but no such luck.) He couldn’t describe the place, but it wasn’t the room he was just in. He reached for his swords on instinct, but it felt like he didn’t have hands to reach with, or any limbs at all. He had a surge of panic, until he felt a very distant, weak sense of that familiar weight of his swords on his hip, as if his body was almost entirely numb.

Zoro could sense Robin, somewhere, but couldn’t see her. He tried moving, but couldn’t tell if he was. But he thought the endless red haze, fog, whatever, was getting darker. A surprised voice interrupted his thoughts.

“What the - ?! The witness is not supposed to be here. No one is supposed to be here at all.”

Zoro didn’t recognize the voice, but recognized what he sensed. The same presence the gem gave off, only more intense. The difference in hearing a waterfall from a distance, versus standing beneath it, feeling not only the water cascading over you, but the force of it vibrating within your heart.

“Why don’t you come out here and say that to my face.” Zoro couldn’t see anything. Couldn’t tell if he was scanning the surroundings like he was telling himself to do.

“I already am, in a sense. As much as possible. Have you perhaps changed your mind?”

Zoro didn’t understand what the voice belonged was going on about, but he didn’t like the sound of the question. “Changed my mind about what?”

The voice sighed. It reminded him of Nami, when she was still a minute or two from hitting him. “About who is offering their life for a boon. I assumed it was the woman, but since you are here, have the roles been reversed?”

Zoro tensed. “Neither of us is doing that. Or if it's going to be one of us, it won’t be Robin.”

“You should discuss that with her, as she is deciding what to request in return for her life. You should have settled all this already.” The voice held a sly edge, like Nami when she’s manipulating him into increasing his own debt. Zoro grew more suspicious. What was this thing after?

It was then Zoro became aware of Robin’s voice. And she was asking questions. He didn’t know where she was, so he yelled out, at both whoever he was talking to, and his nakama.

“Zoro? Why are you here?” Well, at least he knew she could hear him.

“You’re supposed to let me go into the traps first. Where the hell are we?”

“Our bodies are, I believe, still in the same chamber we were in before. I believe our minds are conversing with Kuan.”

“And you’re asking this guy for something.”

“Yes, I was considering asking Kuan to heal your injuries.” Robin hoped Kuan wouldn’t take offense to Zoro referring to them so casually.

“In exchange for your life.”

“Yes. I knew you would be cross, and that was partially why I hesitated, but I would be willing to try.”

Even though they did not seem to have physical forms here, Robin could feel Zoro’s grey eyes boring into her fiercely from somewhere. Perhaps it was just his presence, which she could sense now, a distinct singular point, separate from Kuan’s, which surrounded her. Zoro’s seemed to narrow and focus on her entirely, giving off an almost frightening intensity.

“Damn right I’d be angry. Stop feeling guilty about my injuries. You didn’t cause them, and doing something stupid won’t make things better. Coming along was my decision. If I really didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have, no matter what you or the red-haired witch threatened me with.”

Robin could, Zoro reflected, be as infuriating as Nami. Calm and intelligent one minute, the voice of reason, then trying to pull martyr crap like this the next. There was no need for it! He paused, sensing regret. She was trying to help, to take his pain, and even if she shouldn’t, he could appreciate the gesture.

When he spoke again, Robin felt his presence more like a pleasant campfire. (Her mind flashed to them talking quietly earlier that night. It had been nice, despite the circumstances.) “My injuries will keep until we see Chopper. If you’re going to give your life, do it for your dream. Find out the answer to what happened in that lost century.” A pause. “Although you wouldn’t be able to tell anyone the answer.” Zoro knew he’d never remember or understand if she tried passing the information to him. “Or you could ask this thing to take my life and give you the answer.”

Robin blinked, not having considered asking for the truth she had sought for 20 years. She would love to know, but. . . Sacrificing herself for it, here, like this, felt like the wrong way to go about it (sacrificing Zoro’s life was out of the question). When she achieved her dream, she wanted her friends to be there with her, just as she wanted to be present when they completed their dreams. She shook her head, even though Zoro couldn’t see it.

“No Kenshi-san, you’re right. This isn’t what we came here for. I didn’t want Schurke to make off with the Ruby, and he won’t. And I wouldn’t sacrifice you for my dream, since you would certainly fight Kuan with all your strength, and they hate unwilling sacrifices. Perhaps you would like to offer my life for the skill and power to become the world’s greatest swordsman?”

The swordsman’s outrage at her suggestion was noticeable. “I’ll achieve that on my own, without any help from a so-called deity.” Zoro scoffed. What would even be the point if it was just handed to him?

“Then I suppose we are not going to request a boon.”

“This guy going to let us do that?” Zoro tried to whisper, and Robin laughed. She had no doubt Kuan heard everything here. The deity had remained silent throughout her conversation with Zoro, but she felt the presence on her as a gentle pressure.

The voice spoke, tone and presence neutral. “You do not seek a boon.” It was not as a question.

“Not if it’s going to cost us a nakama,” Zoro replied firmly. He had a feeling this thing knew it from the start. He couldn’t see what the game was, and wondered if it was going to insist on taking one of them for wasting its time. Even though Robin insisted they didn’t have bodies here, he still wanted to find her and get between her and whatever they were up against.

“I agree. Neither of us will allow the other to be a sacrifice, so we cannot request anything of you. Will you permit us to leave?” Robin felt Kuan’s presence more heavily, and wondered if they were being judged. They were nonbelievers. They had accessed the Salterans’ most precious holy relic, an item which seemed to allow contact with some vast power. They had harmed what may be servants of this being. There were extenuating circumstances, but there was no certainty Kuan would care. They were said to be vengeful against those who harmed their followers.

(Robin squelched a brief thought of giving her life to have Kuan strike down the World Government and the Marines. At this point, Robin considered her best revenge against the World Government to continue forward alongside her friends and learn everything the Government wanted to keep buried.)

(Besides, requesting that would only start another argument with Zoro.)

“You’ll be returned to your physical bodies momentarily. The way out will be open.” The two pirates felt a greater awareness of their bodies, as the endless crimson fog faded. As it did, they heard the voice again, amusement in its tone. “Heretics trying to get something for nothing, witnesses trying to be sacrifices instead. Nobody knowing what they want to ask for. Why did I even have people to transcribe proper rites? Mortals never follow procedures. . .”

Chapter Text

Robin found herself back in her body, in the temple. She saw Zoro had the Ruby safely in his grasp and dispersed the limbs holding it. The gem’s glow subsided to the dull light it gave off originally. She wasn’t certain how long they had been in that other place. She didn’t feel much more fatigued than she had earlier, so she reasoned it hadn’t been too long.

A noise came from behind and above them. The lioness stood at their backs, watching them impassively. Its eyes locked on the swordsman who held the Ruby.

Zoro met its gaze with a challenge in his eye, teeth bared in an anticipatory grin. “You want to go again?” He went for his swords, placing the Ruby back on its pedestal to have both hands free. As he did so, the lion’s posture relaxed, and it turned its back on them, nonchalantly strolling to the far corner and curling up there. Zoro noticed the right front leg, which had been cut in half to the elbow earlier, showed hardly any sign of damage. He’d normally enjoy the challenge of fighting an opponent who could heal that quickly, but there were other considerations. He relaxed, hands off his swords.

The archaeologist, once she was certain the fight wasn’t going to resume, began to scan every corner of the room. She didn't expect to return, and wanted to take in all she could. She scribbled notes and sketches of the figures on the walls furiously. She could take her time poring over the details later.

“This of any use?” Zoro was holding out a thick sheath of papers. He’d found them in a pocket within in Schurke’s jacket while checking to make sure the grave robber was truly dead.

“They appear to be the notes of the research team Schurke had been following from island to island. At least their work won’t be entirely lost.” Robin closed her eyes, tried not to think too much about people dying simply because they pursued knowledge.

She felt a callused hand land gently on her shoulder. She looked at Zoro, who was watching her with a mix of concern and uncertainty. “We should probably leave, unless there’s more you want to look at.” Robin shook her head. “OK. How do we get out of here?”

Robin smirked mischievously. “Are you saying you are unable to find the correct path, Kenshi-san? I thought your sense of direction would have no trouble with a labyrinth.”

Zoro huffed, “It’s not like you would listen to me if I did, woman.”

They were interrupted by something between a purr and growl. The guardian watched them from where she curled up. The end of her tail flicked lazily back and forth, and she inclined her head towards the opposite corner. The doorway, previously sealed, was open.

Apparently, they were overstaying their welcome.

The pirates exited, door sliding shut silently behind them. The tunnel ran slightly uphill for just a minute before they reached a second open portal. Stepping through brought them back into the main temple, with its giant sandstone statue. The other, smaller lion sat next to the statue in a Sphinx posture, watching intently. All signs of its injuries were gone as well.

As they approached, the lion rose and barred their way. It crouched in front of Robin and nudged at her pack with his nose. She understood immediately, and produced the refracting gem that had sat in the statue’s palm. She held it out and the lion gently gripped it between his teeth. Before he could step away, Robin reached out.

“I’m sorry for the pain I and my friend inflicted on you.” She stroked the bridge of its nose lightly. The feline allowed this, even uttered what might have been a purr. Robin felt it through her whole body as the vibration traveled up her arm. She stepped back to join Zoro, and they continued out of the temple and up the stairs in silence, until Zoro spoke up.

“If that thing is fine after most of its jaw got blown off, does that mean all those weird little things and the lizard guys are back, too?”

“I would imagine. They, like the lions, are considered sentinels. Kuan would want their guardians able to serve.” She thought about it some more. “Or perhaps it is merely an ability ingrained in the two lions. The others’ may still be rotting corpses in the tunnels as we speak. Would you like to go and check, Zoro?”

“Not a chance,” he grumbled in response. “And don’t get any ideas about your going back down there to snoop around and get in trouble. I’ll carry you out of here if I have to.”

“I thought only Nami and Chopper regularly receive such treatment from Roronoa Zoro,” she teased. “Or perhaps you plan to take advantage of me?” She raised one eyebrow and studied his face intently, as if searching for ulterior motives.

Zoro turned bright red and scowled. “I just don’t need you getting any more injuries.” He paused, and then smirked. “And I should be the one worried about you taking advantage.”

“Oh?”

“When you used your powers to stop me from sliding back out the hole in the floor, the hands you formed grabbed my butt.” Zoro wasn't offended or angry. He’d been surprised at the time, but it wasn’t a new experience. People tried before, in taverns, usually. Girls mostly, guys sometimes. They rarely succeeded, because he didn’t drop his guard around people he didn’t know.

A member of the crew trying was new.

They finished climbing the stairs and returned to the first hallway and its three rooms. The door rolled closed behind them.

“I’m not at all sure what you’re implying, Kenshi-san. That was simply the best place for my hands to rest to halt your momentum.”

“Uh-huh,” Zoro responded flatly, not buying it for a second. “That’s why I felt both hands squeeze, right?”

Robin’s face was the picture of innocence. “I was merely making certain I had a good grip. It would have been rather embarrassing if you had tumbled over my hands, and plummeted to a painful death. Your bones would have shattered, your internal organs bursting from the force of impact.” This was actually true. Robin hadn’t been sure she could form more than two arms, so she’d done what she could to make sure two were enough. But it was fun to pretend, a way to play with him. And Zoro did have a nice butt.

“Pfft,” the swordsman waved his hand dismissively. “I wouldn’t be killed by something like that.”

Robin found she had to agree. After Thriller Bark, she wasn’t certain what could kill the swordsman. The answer was one she had no interest in learning.

“Still,” Zoro continued, “you did save me, so I guess it’s OK this time. Thanks.”

“Of course, Zoro, think nothing of it. We’re nakama, we don’t keep score. You saved my life several times as well.”

“Like you said, part of being a crew. You might want to tell Nami we aren’t supposed to keep score,” Zoro grumbled good-naturedly. “She sure as hell keeps track every time she helps, to add it to my debt.”

“Fufufufu.”

In the dim light from outside, Robin could just make out Zoro was looking at her. He abruptly leaned close, so that their noses were almost touching.

“But Robin, if you really want to grab me, just ask next time.” He gave her a roguish grin.

This time, Robin felt her face heat up. Before she could form a response, he turned and exited the temple. The sun wasn’t visible over the horizon yet, only a faint glow heralding its arrival.

“It’s morning? Were we only in there for one night?”

“It would appear so.” Robin stared at the looming shadows of the forest ringing the clearing. She ought to do surveillance, make certain no one was searching the woods, but couldn’t muster the energy.

“There’s no one out there right now. They wouldn’t risk searching the woods in the dark for a couple of notorious pirates like us,” Zoro said confidently as he settled himself against a wall. After a moment, Robin sank next to him, the ache of fatigue in her muscles and joints becoming hard to ignore.

She was startled from her thoughts by a laugh from her right. “Zoro?”

“See Robin?” He gestured towards the brightening horizon. “The sun is rising to the right, in the east, just like I said. Maybe next time you’ll listen to my directions.”

Robin smiled, “While the sun does rise in the east, you’re pointing to your left. The sun only rises to your right when you face north.”

Zoro eyed her suspiciously. “That doesn’t sound right. How can east change direction depending on north and south? Are you trying to trick me, woman?”

“Of course not, Zoro-kun,” Robin replied, struggling mightily not to laugh directly in the face of the directionally-challenged swordsman. She failed, and the sound filled the clearing.

Zoro huffed in annoyance, but couldn’t help smiling at her laughter. He reached into his pack and withdrew a bottle. He removed the stopper and took a long pull, enjoying the burn of the alcohol down his throat. He let out a sigh of satisfaction as he lowered it.

“I thought your bottle of sake was broken during the fight with the first lion.”

Zoro took a second, shorter pull. “It was. I found this on Peek-a-Boo in a different pocket from those papers. It’s bourbon.”

He glanced at the archaeologist next to him, wiped the lip of the bottle with one of the few remaining clean bandages in his first aid kit, then passed it to Robin.

“I know it’s not your preferred drink, but it’s all I have.”

Robin accepted silently, too surprised at Zoro actually sharing alcohol to respond. She took a more restrained drink. It was stronger than the wine she typically drank, the burn much sharper, but not bad. Pleasantly warming in the chill of early morning.

“Think we can get ahold of the crew, find out how they’re doing?” Zoro asked.

“We should check in, but they likely had a long night as well. Let’s wait until they’ve had a chance for breakfast. We can at least treat our new wounds in the meantime.”

Both pirates knew that if their crew couldn’t return for a few days, they’d have to decide whether it was worth the risk to enter the village and buy food, or stick to foraging in the woods. Robin was still concerned about the rock in Zoro’s abdomen, even as the swordsman gave every indication of ignoring it. Right now, both were content to enjoy a chance to rest. The two passed the bottle back and forth in silence over the next half-hour as individual trees became visible in the strengthening light.

“I don’t know much about archaeology or whatever,” Zoro began, “does this count as a successful, what would you call it, expedition?”

“We confirmed the existence of the Ruby of Shandalla, and certain properties it has. I was able to make at least some notes and sketches of the temple’s layout and designs. We stopped a tomb robber. For no more time than we had, it was productive, if unconventional.” In other words, par for the course for the Straw Hat Pirates.

Chapter Text

“ROBIN-CHWAN!!!!!” The shout echoed from the woods. A moment later, Robin and Zoro heard a pair of impacts. A fist hitting a lovesick cook’s skull, and said cook hitting the ground, no doubt.

“Sanji, shut the hell up, we’re trying to not draw attention!”

“But Nami, we want Robin and Zoro to know we’re here.”

“But we don’t want anyone else to know, Luffy!”

Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not drunk enough for this.”

Nami and Luffy stepped into the clearing, Chopper perched on the Captain’s head. They spotted their two friends and started towards them. Zoro could tell Luffy was preparing to launch himself at them. He sighed. He could dive out of the way, but Luffy might damage the temple, which would not put Robin in a good mood. She didn’t need to be exerting herself trying to kill Luffy. Besides, Zoro was glad to see his captain safe and sound. He braced himself, hoping this wouldn’t hurt too badly.

Several hands bloomed from the ground to grasp the rubber boy’s legs. His body continued forward initially, legs simply stretching as his feet were held in place, but eventually he was stopped. “Please be careful, Captain. Zoro had a difficult night.”

At her statement, Chopper bounded up to Zoro and insisted he sit down, so the doctor could check him over. It didn’t take long for the reindeer to discover the worst injury.

“Aaaahhhh, Zoro! You have a rock in your abdomen! It might be in your intestines! You could have sepsis! I’m going to have to operate! How did you do that?”

“Shishishi, Zoro’s so stupid. You can’t eat rocks!”

“You’re one to talk! I’ve seen you try to eat dirt! And I didn’t eat the rock!”

“Dirt’s not a rock, it can have meat in it, Zoro.” Their Captain shook his head, amazed at the swordsman’s foolishness. “So stupid.”

“Oi!”

“Zoro, sit down! You’ll aggravate your injuries!”

Nami ignored all this, rushing up to hug Robin. Robin accepted the embrace gratefully, happy to see her friends. “Is everyone well, Nami-san? You were able to escape the Marines?”

“Oh yeah, it was no sweat,” the strained look on the navigator’s face suggested otherwise, but Robin didn’t quibble. “The Rear Admiral has this power to form rocks and shoot them at us, but Usopp was able to figure out how to angle Luffy to bounce them at the other Marine ships. Then we lost them on the edge of a typhoon that came up. We even used the storm to carry us back here faster.” The younger girl clasped Robin’s hands and the archaeologist couldn’t help wincing. Her hands and arms were quite sore, between the broken fingers, the shards of obsidian, and the slashes from the lioness.

Nami noticed, of course. “Robin, are you OK?” Before Robin could reassure her, Nami spotted the bandage around her leg, which had soaked through with blood at some point. She wheeled around to scowl at Zoro, who was too busy yelling at his captain and calming the doctor to notice his impending doom.

“Zoro, what did you do?”

He turned to face her. “What are you talking about?”

“Robin’s hurt. Where were you?”

“Robin-chwan is INJURED?!!!” The blonde chef came charging into the clearing, hearts in his eyes, and dirt on his face. He skidded to a stop in front of the archaeologist. “Oh, my dear Robin, please allow me to carry you back to the ship. Or perhaps you would like me to check you for other injuries?” he added hopefully.

“That’s quite alright, Sanji-san. My injuries are not so bad, I can walk to the ship easily enough.”

“Of course, Robin-chwan, you are so strong!” the chef affirmed. “Still, how I wish that it had been me here to protect you instead of this worthless, idiot marimo.”

“Yeah, I’m sure your nosebleeds would have sent the giant lions running in disgust.” Zoro drawled from beside them.

The cook whirled around. “What was that, you shit swordsman? Why weren’t you doing your job and protecting Robin-chawn?”

Nami stepped in front of Sanji so she could loom more menacingly over the now-outnumbered swordsman. “That’s right, Zoro. I told you to look after Robin, and you didn’t do it. I’m guessing Luffy won’t let Sanji cut you open for us to sell your organs, so I’m gonna have to charge you for not doing your duties.”

Zoro gritted his teeth, wanting to snap back at them, but he felt they were right. Robin had been injured, and he hadn’t been able to prevent it. He still wasn’t looking forward to Nami screeching about it for a week, or however long she’d lord it over him.

Fortunately, the archaeologist in question saw it differently. “Actually, Zoro protected me very well. I would have died several times, in a variety of horrible ways, if not for his efforts. There is no reason to find fault with him, Nami-san.”

The cook swooned again. “Robin-chwan is soooo forgiving and gracious! A true angel of mercy.” He glared at Zoro. “Hey! You should thank dear Robin for being so kind and wonderful, shithead!”

The swordsman responded by getting in Sanji’s face as Chopper tried fruitlessly to make him calm down. “I already thanked her for saving my life in there, Shit Cook.”

Nami watched Robin intently through all this, checking to see if this was perhaps another example of her unusual sense of humor. Concluding it wasn’t, she sighed. “Fine, because Robin insists, I guess you’re off the hook this time, Zoro.”

At which point Robin decided to have a little fun. “Of course, he was rather forward, between encouraging me to sit by him near the fire, and even putting his hands on my chest.” She cupped her face in her hands and turned away, as if scandalized to even admit it out loud. “Nami-san, I think you will have to come along to protect me if Zoro and I are together on shore in the future.”

Between Sanji turning to stone, Chopper trying to restart the cook’s heart, Nami advancing on Zoro with a dark, furious aura boiling around her, and the swordsman looking entirely betrayed as he tried to splutter an explanation, it was quite the scene. Zoro’s face was beet-red, not helping his protestations of innocence.

Suitably amused, Robin stepped between them again, making certain Zoro didn’t receive any further injuries. “I was just having some fun, Nami-san. He did so to save my life. I had stopped breathing, and he was following Doctor-san’s teachings on resuscitating me.”

Abruptly, she felt a weight latch onto her leg. Chopper’s large eyes stared up, very worried. “Robin, do you mean your heart had stopped? That’s not good!” The wound on her leg didn’t calm him either. “Has this been treated properly? Did you disinfect the wound?”

Seeing the concern on the adorable boy’s face, Robin regretted making the joke so casually. The fact she was standing there calmly discussing it would not remove his concerns. She crouched to face him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Unfortunately, yes. We had to swim through a long passage. It was seawater, so Zoro carried me, but I could not hold my breath long enough, and he had to revive me. But he followed your instructions perfectly, Doctor Chopper. You clearly did an excellent job teaching us.”

Chopper squirmed happily before the rest of her statement sank in and he turned to look at Zoro. “Really, Zoro, you were paying attention?” The doctor recalled Zoro being willing to participate in the lesson. But he had doubted the swordsman would remember any of it the next day. (He had the same fear about Luffy. Fortunately, they hadn’t had to find out whether that fear was justified.)

Zoro felt all eyes turn towards him. He didn’t like remembering how close Robin came to dying under his protection, or the panic he’d felt when it looked like she had. And did Chopper really think he wouldn’t listen? He thought the doctor had a higher opinion of him. “Of course I paid attention. You were teaching something that could save our nakamas’ life. If it’s that important, I’m gonna listen.”

“Awwww Zoroooo!” The little reindeer hugged Zoro’s head, crying as he did. Zoro so often (always) disregarded Chopper’s instructions in regards to his own health. It didn’t make Chopper happy at all (you bastard) to learn he had actually taken some instruction to heart. Zoro awkwardly patted small circles on the reindeer’s back, ignoring Nami’s whispered comment about how come he couldn’t learn to find his way around the Sunny then.

Luffy had been silent through all this. He was entirely preoccupied with something his first mate said. “Zoro, did you say there were giant lions in there?”

“Yeah,” Zoro replied wearily, knowing where this was going.

“Yosh! That sounds awesome! I knew there would be monsters to fight somewhere! Let’s g-“

“NO.” Archaeologist and swordsman responded firmly in unison, albeit for different reasons. Robin didn’t want her Captain to harm the guardians. Zoro didn’t want Luffy to get them trapped in there somehow.

Luffy pouted, but the stern faces of the two convinced him to yield. A moment later the smile was back. “OK, we’ll look for monsters on the next island we go to!” His fist shot into the air, and he turned to run back to the Sunny. “Come on Nami, let’s hurry and set our course! And we can have breakfast!”

Luffy charged energetically down the hill. Nami almost yelled after him the Log Pose wouldn’t have reset yet, but decided not to bother. The ship wasn’t going anywhere without her. She sighed and started after Luffy, shaking her head at the captain, Chopper and Sanji flanking her.

Zoro and Robin prepared to follow, but Zoro paused, turning to face her. “You almost got me in real trouble back there with that comment, woman.”

“I know you prefer to handle that yourself, Kenshi-san, but I couldn’t resist.” Seeing the smile on her face, Zoro doubted she tried very hard.

Chopper called back towards them, “Come on, Zoro, I need to inspect that rock and decide how to remove it safely! And no training for a while! I mean it! Robin, I need to make sure your heart is OK, that there's no water in your lungs, and stitch up that wound! Don't think I didn't notice your fingers are hurt!”

“Yes, Doctor Chopper.”

“Sure thing, Chopper.”

Zoro glanced over at Robin as they started downhill. “At least don’t mention the part about my using mouth-to-mouth.”

“Am I that bad a kisser, Zoro?” Robin turned to him, mock-wounded look on her face. As she hoped, the swordsman turned red again, unable to form a coherent answer. Robin’s gentle laugh carried out of the clearing and over the silent, sleepy island as the reunited Straw Hats made their way through the forest towards their ship, and the next leg of their journey.