Chapter 8:

A image started to form around them and this time the older woman could feel that it was definitely her memory again. Robin's legs were shaking and her entire body was trembling. "Luffy," she whispered and everyone looked at her. It really unnerved them all to see her in such a state.

She was normally with Zoro as the strongest members of the crew emotionally. Nothing could phase her, but just one of her memories had her on the verge of tears and the memory wisps started to form again. "Luffy, please," she pleaded and Nami knew that if she moved, the woman using her shoulder as a crutch would collapse.

They all wanted to help her but the darkness was gone and they were on a grassy cliff. There were four people in front of them on the edge and they could see the sky was rough with black storm clouds.

The water down below was covered in white caps and slamming into the rock wall a hundred feet below. Looking down over the edge of the grass they could see large rocks sticking out of the water.

Chopper's eyes went wide as he was the first to turn around. The others turned to look as well and saw a teenage version slightly older than the one they'd witnessed earlier. On either side of her were men who looked like hard-bitten criminals. The one right behind her had a hand on her shoulder and was wearing a ripped up purple pirate captain hat.

'Great job using your powers to discover these rats on our ship,' the man congratulated the girl. Teenage Robin didn't move a muscle except to nod her head. Her expression was blank and her eyes void of all emotion.

The adult version of the woman saw the four people on the edge and didn't even turn around to see herself. She was shaking harder than ever and Nami turned away from younger Robin to watch where she was looking. The orange-haired girl looked back and forth and slowly realized what was about to happen.

'Yeah you've finally proven yourself as a member of the crew,' a guy on her right with an eyepatch smirked.

'Not just yet,' the captain behind Robin said and now the girl reacted. She turned her head a little and her eyes, and the eyes of almost all the present crew members went wide as the man behind her was holding the barrel of a pistol. 'Take it,' he ordered.

She reached up and grabbed the handle of the gun. One of the men kneeling on the ground started to whimper. His glasses fell off and he reached down, trying to grab them with his teeth since his hands were tied.

The shorter boy next to him started to cry, and the man who looked like him on his left started pleading, 'Please, we weren't planning on mutinying, we just wanted to leave the crew. Let us live, forgive us, we'll stay on the crew. At least let my son...'

'Kill them,' this voice vibrated around the memory and continued to echo as adult Nico Robin screamed and fell back to her knees.

"No, no, no, no, no," she kept shouting as she grabbed her ears.

"Robin!" Chopper shouted but there was nothing he could do to help her. Each crew member was dealing with their own memories, but it was hard to imagine their own hardships with Robin's memory in front of them.

The teenage girl holding the gun didn't react at all like the older woman. She grabbed the gun and pointed it at the fat man all the way on the right.

'Wait! I have a wife, she's pregn...' A huge crack of thunder boomed in the background of the memory and everything went silent as lightning crackled across the sky. During the brief moment when the memory was better lit, the crew saw the splash of blood exploding from the man's chest. His kneeling form dropped backwards off the cliff and he was gone.

The man slightly to her right slammed his head on the ground and began babbling for her to let him live. His begs got no response as the crew started to hear the rain again only for it to be drowned out by the sound of another loud crack, only this time it wasn't from the sky.

The person's head was pushed farther in the ground and he stopped moving. Even the men behind Robin seemed unnerved and a few took steps back as the teen didn't hesitate to put another man down mercilessly.

The captain who told her to do it was also looking at her in fear as she turned the gun towards the kid. He looked to be a few years younger than her and she paused for a split second before pulling her finger on the trigger. "No!"

Next to the boy, his father lunged his tied up body in front of the trembling boy. This act of sacrifice seemed to shake the teenage girl from her state and her eyes went wide. 'Daddy? Dad!' The boy started shaking his father's body.

'She's cold...'

'A real monster...'

'The Devil's Child...'

These words echoed through her mind as the old crew members behind her started whispering louder than they thought. The captain right behind her stepped back and he looked on as the girl lowered her gun a little. 'There's one left,' he whispered.

Young Robin looked away from the two dead bodies of the men in front of her and back to the kid who was crying at the edge. He looked back and their eyes met, everyone watching knew the two of them were looking each other straight in the eyes, into each other's souls.

"That bastard, forcing..." Sanji didn't finish his sentence as they watched Robin lift the gun and point it at the boy's face. Her hand was shaking but her eyes were cold and the pistol fired.

Suddenly the ground began to shake. The pink haired girl who was holding them here started screaming, "STOP! What are you doing?!" The memory was vibrating more violently than any they had seen the entire time. The thunderstorm in the sky started ripping the place to part with lightning that sliced across the sky and tore the memory at that point.

"What's happening?" Usopp screamed as he lost his balance and fell to the ground next to Nami and Robin.

"Robin's pushing her out of the memory," Nami responded just as loud. She was trying to comfort the woman, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the boy's face.

His face seemed to get larger as a hole formed in his forehead and blood spurted out in every direction. The exploding memory became tinted with red that dripped down every side.

They could all see the younger Robin's expression as the boy tilted back like he was going to fall off the cliff but then stopped. His back leaned over but his knees were planted on the ground and he wasn't falling off. 'Fall,' she urged in a small whisper and the others couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Tears started coming out of the teenager's eyes as she stared at the boy on the edge for longer and longer. Her body was shaking and she looked down at the gun in her hand with the utmost disgust. 'Rahhhh!' She chucked it as far as she could over the cliff and her crew members in the memory were staring at her in terror.

'Just fall already!' She shouted between sobs and ran over to the edge. She lifted a foot when she got close and planted it against the boy's stomach. This was closer than she'd ever been to the kid and his soaked bloody face was most vivid. 'I'm sorry,' they heard her whisper as lightning cracked all around her.

His face split in two as the memory destroyed itself in the most violent manner possible. She pushed into the kick and his body toppled over the ledge, his eyes open and looking up at her the entire time he fell.

As the wisps holding the memory together finally started to fade, they all heard voices behind her. The first was of the man with the eyepatch, 'She's ruthless. It's too dangerous to keep her on board.'

Then they heard the captain in a fading voice, 'You're right. Next time she falls asleep we'll cash in her bounty. Stupid little bitch,' the last thing they heard was the maniac's laughter.

Nobody could say anything as they all stood there in the blackness. Usopp got back to his feet and looked at the older woman with fear. He realized what he was doing and cursed at his instincts, knowing that he was doing exactly what the little girl fighting them wanted. Still...

"Yow," Franky whispered. All the guilt he'd been feeling for getting his master killed was replaced with pity and an unease in his stomach. His guilt was important to him, but compared to what he just witnessed, he felt he got off easy.

"I wish I had not seen that," Brook uttered, not even adding that he didn't have eyes.

Zoro felt bad for the woman and didn't say a word. She had her head bowed and they could all see her trembling, staring at her hands in horror.

"That's all in the past," Nami cooed into her ear and pet the woman's long hair.

"How?" Robin whispered and only Nami heard her. "How could she have found that? I haven't thought about Louis for fourteen years. I didn't even remember... it was like watching a different person." The guilt coursing through her was too intense, it was driving her mad.

"Are you all ready?" A shrill voice shouted from the sky. They were all angrier at her than ever before now and even Sanji was glaring up at the sky with murderous intent for whoever caused Robin this much pain. "I'm going to break her," she giggled, "and it's going to be so much fun!"

"Ahhhh!" Robin grabbed her hair and screamed up at the sky as panic set in. "I don't want to watch anymore! Don't make me watch!"

"Too late," the girl sneered and the wisps floating around them started getting more defined and pulling themselves into each other.

Luffy took off his Straw Hat and walked over to where Robin was on her knees. The woman looked up at Luffy with horrified eyes and his face soothed her. He smiled at her and lowered his hat on top of her head, "You don't have to watch Robin."

Only Zoro and Sanji could see the next movement as Luffy moved faster than the others could witness. He chopped the side of Nico Robin's neck hard, since she was a strong woman. Her eyes rolled back and her eyelids closed as she crumpled into Nami's arms.

The navigator was so confused at what just happened since Luffy didn't even seem to move. Zoro nodded in understanding and Sanji sighed a breath of relief. He never would have been able to do that, but he knew it was for the best.

"Aww, that makes it less fun," the girl said in a disappointed tone. "Well, at least now I don't have to worry about her interrupting my memories with her annoying blocks."

"They're not your memories!" Usopp shouted furiously at the sky.

"That's right!" Brook agreed.

"Either way, I control them. That makes them mine," she laughed and two large fragments pulled together and the crew watched as it surrounded them on all sides.

The crew was in the midst of a circle of trees and Robin was standing in the middle. A group of boys were taunting her and throwing tomatoes.

'We did it!'

'Take that monster!'

Chopper instantly felt guilt since he always felt unique in that aspect. He thought that the other members didn't know what it was like to live their lives being called a monster. But here was Robin, no older than eight years old, getting cast aside by society.

'So creepy!'

'Monster. Monster!' They chanted at her.

The girl frowned and glared over at them. She swung her arm and large vines of arms extended from her sides and punched the boys on the heads. "Serves the little twerps right. I'd have beat some manners into them myself," Sanji growled.

'Ah, I've been attacked by a monster!' The boys all started crying and ran off as the memory changed.

They were in the same location and could see remnants of the tomato on Robin's childhood face. A bunch of birds had gathered around her, but scattered as a grown woman approached.

"She doesn't look too happy," Franky stated.

'Hey there,' the woman barked in a mean tone. 'My kids came home crying that they were beaten even though they didn't do anything.'

"Well your kids were lying!" Usopp shouted ironically.

'Don't approach my kids anymore. Can't you say anything?! Geez! You really are a disgusting girl.' Memory Robin started running away and the vision faded again.

"Harsh," Zoro stated.

"She didn't deserve any of that, she's just a kid," Nami whispered. She thought about how she felt her village hated her, but now that she thought about it, they never said such things to her. It was because they knew what she was doing the whole time, but at the time she thought it was hard.

Next they saw her walking through some sort of town square. As she walked through the marketplace in a purple dress with no sleeves, a younger little girl walked past while holding her parent's hands. 'Hey hey, what are we having for dinner tonight?'

'What do you want to eat?' asked her mom.

'Hmm, I want, I want...' the girl sounded so happy as she skipped along with her folks. 'Home Rice!'

Her father chuckled, 'You really like Home Rice!'

'Yeah!'

The mother laughed along too, 'Then I'll have to make a lot.'

The memory faded as the happy family laughed into the distance.

It seemed like the same day when the memory started back up. Now they were inside a house and Robin was still wearing the same dress, but the sun was setting outside.

For the first time since the memories started, they heard her voice. It sounded so sad and empty, 'I'm home, sorry for being late.'

"Oh good," Chopper sighed in relief, "from the way she looked at that family, I thought..." he stopped as no one was greeting her. The house was empty and she walked in.

'Aunt Roji?' The girl walked in and up to a piece of paper on the table.

Against all of their better judgments, they walked up and looked at it as she read. Chopper spoke out loud, "To Robin, today is our daughter's birthday. The three of our family, without any intruders have decided to go out to dinner."

"Sounds like a shitty family if you ask me," Franky muttered.

Chopper kept reading, "There's bread left for your dinner so eat it properly. Be sure not to use too much jam." His voice got sadder as he was reading it and it seemed like this was just a normal day in Robin's life if not a little more sad than usual. "When you're done eating and before we get home: wash the plates, clean the house, bring the laundry inside and be sure to go upstairs before it becomes too late."

The memory split apart around them and they watched on all sides as Robin washed the plates using her powers to help. On the other side she was taking down laundry from a rack outside. Then it showed her scrubbing back and forth on the floor that didn't look dirty.

It lasted a few more seconds before they saw tears drop from the girls face and she seemed shocked that she was crying. Robin rubbed her eyes and then used the brush to scrub her tears into the floor.

Finally the memory faded but didn't tear apart around them as they were still stuck in Robin's sequence. They couldn't figure out what it was about her seemingly casual memory that had them all feeling so sad, but it just had to do with her life.

Each one of them had had bad days, and a lot of them in fact. But when they looked at the way the eight year old took being treated like a monster and ignored by her family, they realized they all had fun times as kids that she never did.

Nami thought back to when her and her sister ran around the village happily and the great times she had stealing from pirates to save her village.

Usopp thought about growing up and playing pirate with the younger kids, never knowing that there was someone out there who spent those same years running from the largest organization on the planet.

Zoro thought about training to defeat Kuina. He recalled smiling and making his promise with her after their fight.

Franky remembered the good times building the Sea Train with Iceberg and Tom.

Brook recalled the great times as a pirate with his nakama.

Chopper thought about the way Doctor Hiluluk made him smile and how Doctorine taught him medicine.

Even Luffy started to think about his brothers subconsciously as he watched Robin. She was back and walking through the dark towards the biggest tree that any of them had ever seen.

"What?" Franky exclaimed. "That's Adam's Oak! The wood I made the Sunny out of. I never knew there was this much of it in the world."

The girl in the memory walked right up to the tree and towards a door while holding something in her hands. 'Good evening. Professor Clover, I've come to return the book.'

Little pops were heard all around the room and the lights flickered on. The Straw Hats smiled as they watched the smiling people jump out like it was her birthday. 'Congratulations Robin!'

'You're amazing Robin.'

'A true genius!'

"I'm confused," Nami scratched her head.

"I know what you mean Nami." Usopp stated, "I thought I had her entire childhood defined as horrible but it seems there are people who liked her."

"Of course there were," Sanji replied. "Just look at how cute she is," he said like that was the obvious reason.

They had a cake for her and the old man with weird hair like Chopper's quack doctor started talking. 'Robin. That doctor's test for archaeology you took the other day, you got a perfect score. From today on, you are finally recognized as an archaeologist.'

She seemed so surprised and happy in one look that it confused the smiling Straw Hats who were expecting a bad memory. 'Starting from today, you'll be one of our companions who'll work on research with us.'

She smiled wider than kid Robin ever had before and they could tell by the way she was straining to stretch her lips.

'Here's the proof...' The man started and then the memory started moving fast around them.

The young girl's annoying voice called out, "I don't wanna watch this! Show me the ugly!" It stopped fast forwarding and everyone still seemed happy, somewhat.

The old man in front of her put a hand on top of her head and the crew smiled at the warm scene. 'In the research that will appear on the road later on, you'll contribute to the world by understanding other cultures.'

Young Robin spoke up enthusiastically, 'Professor, I want to solve the mystery of the Void history!'

Everyone in the room seemed to panic at once and Clover shook his hand, 'You can't you can't! That has always been forbidden!' His eyes were wide and he was sweating but the girl wasn't dropping the subject.

'Why? If we study the Poneglyphs, we'll know what happened in the avoid Century right?'

He jumped backwards, 'Why do you know so much?' He exclaimed, 'You've been using your ability to spy on us in the basement once again!'

Chopper tilted his head, "Why would they be in the basement when there a room like this?" They were in the largest library any of them had ever seen.

"Because if these people were studying the Poneglyphs," Franky started, "then they were breaking one of the worst laws the World Government has."

The man was explaining the very same thing to the young girl who just didn't want to understand. She argued that they were all doing it in the basement and wouldn't let her in even if she asked.

She seemed pleading at this point, like becoming an archaeologist meant that she thought she'd finally be able to study with them. Everyone around her seemed disappointed and saddened by her will to study them, but no one was cracking. They were all against the idea.

"Why don't they let her help?" Usopp asked.

"Would you involve an eight year old in a treasonous crime if you could avoid it?" Nami responded and he closed his mouth.

'Indeed,' the man started as he got on eye-level with the shaking girl, 'you have become skilled enough to be called an archaeologist, but you are still just a kid. If you are found working with us, you'll be beheaded.'

"Just for reading!?" Chopper exclaimed.

Brook nodded his head, "It has always been like this. A law longer than I have been alive for."

The old librarian continued, 'This is something we're doing, being fully prepared. Since eight hundred years ago when this became the law of the world, there have been as many scholars who have lost their lives trying to uncover the truth as there are stars in the sky. This is a good time. I'll tell you about it,' Robin kept crying as he spoke, not wanting any excuses why she couldn't follow her dream.

'Those who are able to decipher those ancient, historical writings, are those in Ohara alone. We can't go back anymore. Swear on the Tree of Omniscience! The next time you approach the basement, we will forbid you from entering the research facility and the library!' He told her and her eyes grew wider as more tears spilled, 'Got it?!'

She ran away and sprinted out the door to end the memory. "Great way to end the party," Franky muttered feeling for everyone here. The people just wanted the girl to be safe, and Robin just wanted to follow her dream.

'Wa-water,' a voice grumbled and they looked around to see the memory was separating into many fragments again.

In each one they saw Robin, and surprisingly a humongous giant next to her. He had long orange hair that looked like a mane around his head.

'Ya saved me, thanks,' the giant said in one of the images as he finished drinking water. As that one and the first to fade in disappeared, on the other sides of the Straw Hats, more memories of him followed.

'Is this your first time seeing a giant?' She nodded and they all looked to a flashback of Robin standing on a hill next to the odd man. 'I'll warn you, don't judge me as bein' like those barbaric giants from Elbaf. There are peaceful giant clans too ya know.'

"Hey, don't diss on Dorry and Brogy," Usopp shouted and Luffy agreed. "Those giants were awesome and from Elbaf."

The giant continued to tell her not to tell anyone that he was there. Even though she said she understood, the man just kept saying that she was lying.

"Who would she tell?" Nami whispered sadly.

'There's no way a kid like you could keep a secret.'

It sounded like a low blow, but she hit below the belt and retorted calmly, 'But I'm not interested in you.'

He started chuckling and shaking back and forth as he laughed, 'Derishishishishi, derishishi,' he continued even as the girl questioned.

'Dereshi? What is that?'

"It seems like every giant has their own type of unique laugh," Nami smiled remembering Little Garden's giants.

'What are you talking about, I'm laughin!' He continued making the weird noise and Robin stared at him in awe, looking like she'd never heard of laughing before. His laugh was contagious however and soon she was laughing too.

The giant told her that she should laugh more and she blushed, her cuteness making everyone in the crew smile. 'I go by the name Saul. Hagwarl D. Saul.'

'D?' Robin asked and suddenly the crew became silent. They watched as the little girl seemed intrigued by the letter in between the man's names.

'Yeah, I don't really know much about it,' Luffy's ears perked up and he mentioned that he had that letter in his name. The rest of the crew sighed since that was already why they were listening close. 'Everyone in my family line's got it.'

"This one is trouble," Zoro stated. The others looked at him, "He may say he's from a peaceful clan, but have you ever heard of a peaceful man with a 'D' in his name?"

"Luffy and Ace have the craziest families I've ever heard of. Then there's Blackbeard," Nami stated and shook her head before looking back at the giant with a nervous look, hoping he didn't do anything to Robin.

The memory behind them started to get louder as this one began to fade and they turned. It looked like a similar area with Robin sitting atop a cliff, the Tree of Omniscience far in the background. "Don't ya get bored?" Saul asked her. "You come here to keep me company all day, don't your friends and parents notice you're gone?"

"I don't have any parents. I have a mother, but she's been sailing the seas for her job since I was little." The crew members who had seen the small blurry memory of the white haired woman leaving behind her daughter looked at each other. "I don't even remember her face. I like all the archaeologists, but they won't let me join in on their research so I'm being left out. As for the kids in town... they say I'm creepy so they won't play with me."

"Rough times," Franky said wiping a tear from his eye. He never wanted to go and play with the other kids, but it hurt to see someone that did not get to. To get left out because she was different from them.

The little girl showed Saul her powers but he didn't seem surprised. He told her he'd sailed the Grand Line and seen many Devil Fruit eaters so he wasn't scared.

"I'm jealous," he started with a large grin, "it looks handy!" His play on words made Luffy start cracking up despite the situation and then the Goofy Trio all started laughing the same way as the giant, "Dereshi shi shi," he laughed along with the pirates.

"Why are we watching these?" Nami suddenly asked.

"I was thinking the same thing," Brook mentioned as he looked around and saw Saul and Robin laughing in a lot of different scenarios all looking to have spanned the same few days.

"I can only think of one reason," they all turned to Zoro who was staring silently at the flashbacks, "something really horrible is about to happen."

The man started speaking after Robin laughed at his laugh again, "You know, when you laugh you can be happy." Robin asked why and he just told her to accept it, "When you're happy, laugh! Which also means if you laugh you'll be happy. Even though you're small, it looks like you're suffering a lot. Ya just need to laugh. When you're sad, just laugh."

She countered with, "If I laugh when I'm in pain, I'll look like an idiot."

"She's got that right," Usopp nodded.

"That's not true," he laughed again, "test it out if you want."

She seemed hesitant, but then the two of them just started laughing the same way. "Dereshi, Dereshi shi shi shi shi..." The memory faded away and all the little happy memories vanished as the world became dark again.

The long memory wasn't over yet, in fact it didn't seem to be wavering like any of the ones before it. They guessed they had Luffy to thank for that one. Without a conscious Robin to fight off her memories, they were flowing easily.

"Looks like you just made her job easier," Franky growled as more wisps started to form around them.

"Better than forcing her to watch these," Nami cast a look over to the unconscious woman who was shaking in her sleep. "Robin!" She called and ran over.

"What's happening to her?" Usopp asked Chopper who ran over to check her out. She was wriggling around on the ground with a scared look on her face.

"Haha, hehehe," the girl's shrill voice started laughing at them. "I've never had an enemy fall asleep in here before, but it looks like she still has to watch these memories." Luffy's face dropped as he thought he'd helped her. "The only thing you managed to do is make it so you can't comfort her while she watches."

The rubber man's face widened in shock and he clenched his fists as hard as he could before punching in all directions aimlessly. "Stop it!" Sanji kicked his head into the ground. "You already hurt Robin, don't go attacking randomly or you'll risk hitting Nami-San." No one felt like correcting him and saying that the captain could hurt them as well.

"It's alright Luffy-san, you were just trying to help," Brook assured seeing the strained look on their captain's face.

"This is so stupid," Zoro muttered looking at the memories of the giant around them. It pained him to think about what was going to happen to the man if Robin's happiest memories had to do with him.

"It's like he's her only friend," Usopp whispered.

"He is," Nami said and he looked at her. She was fearing the same as Zoro and just continued grimly, "This is painful to watch. Everything I've seen of Robin's life so far has been painful, but the happy memories seemed almost as bad."

Brook added, "I do not believe she owns any other clothes either." They all looked around at the three memories around them where Robin was sitting or talking with Saul. At once they all noticed that she wore the same dress every day.

Nami gasped and cursed whoever that aunt was that didn't clothe her niece.

"So you're leaving already?" The small girl sounded sad as the giant had just finished his raft. That memory overtook the others and spread out around them.

"Come on," Saul urged, "don't make such a sad face." He smiled to raise her spirits, "Come to think of it, I was planning on hoisting a flag. I guess I'll be here a bit longer." Both of them started the annoying laugh that somehow made the crew watching smile and feel guilty at the same time.

The memory continued as Saul sat down and they looked over the water. "Say," he began, "have you ever wanted to go out to sea Robin?"

"Yeah, but my mom has been really busy with her archaeological research." The crew was stunned to see Robin talking so openly and with such a wide smile. Even when they talked to her and she laughed or smiled with them normally, there was always a darkness hidden in her expression. That darkness wasn't present in the black haired girl's eyes and they weren't ready to see what put it there. "One day when she comes back, I'll get her to take me along with her."

"She's always been the most quiet about her past," Nami stated. Sanji took a long drag of his cigarette to sooth his rising nerves.

"There are things about ourselves we don't want others to see," Zoro started, his usual response to the memories.

"Sure, I'm fine with keeping 'some' things a secret," Usopp agreed slowly, "but for her it seems like it's 'everything.' That can't be healthy to ignore everything that's happened to you," the others were worried about their friend but the memory was still going in front of them.

"... didn't you say you don't even remember her face?"

"Yeah," the girl answered with a sadder look, "but she's still my mom. I miss her."

Nami and Usopp looked at each other and the two of them gave each other a look of understanding. They were the two on the crew who actually grew up with a mom, only for her to be torn away. The two felt closer after watching each other's memories.

Robin kept talking and again the atmosphere of the Straw Hats got tense, "You know Saul, there's a hundred year gap in history that we have no record of."

"Yeah, it's called the Void Century. It interests me but the Government forbids studying it." The giant answered.

"I heard my mom is traveling the world to study it. Don't tell anyone though. It's a crime." By the look on Saul's face, that last bit of information shocked him.

"That's a common reaction for the bombshell she just dropped on him." Sanji said.

"After she said she wants to travel with her, she's pretty much admitted she's a world felon." Franky sighed.

"Don't tell me she's seeking out the Poneglyphs?!" Saul exclaimed in a quieter tone even though no one was around.

"You know about them?" Robin asked.

"That's not important," he started to whisper, "listen Robin. You can't talk about this around people. Especially since your mom is out looking for th..." His eyes popped twice as big as normal as he examined the girl before him.

"What? What happened?" Chopper asked as the tension in the air kept rising. Saul's face was sweating profusely and he started to shake nervously.

"Robin," he croaked out and the Straw Hats knew that something was wrong. "Do you know your mother's name?"

With a proud look on her face, Robin answered, "Olivia." Saul's mouth opened wide and he looked like he couldn't breath. "Her name is Nico Olivia."

The giant fell back in shock and shook the ground. "I'm guessing he knows the name." Brook said softly.

"If she was studying the Poneglyphs she is probably an infamous criminal," Franky agreed.

"That's not it," Sanji stated and Luffy turned to him. So far the captain had been watching silently but he asked the chef what he was talking about. "The look on Saul's face, he knows that woman personally." He could only imagine how beautiful Robin's mother was, but it wasn't the time to talk about that even if a trickle of blood dripped from his nose.

"Wait!" Saul had gotten up and was leaning in to Robin's face as the girl sat on a small cliff. "Does that mean this is... the island of Ohara?"

"Yeah." Robin nodded.

Everyone except for Brook froze at the name. They all remembered Robin's cries from the top of the Tower of Justice. How she pleaded with Spandam not to use the Buster Call. How her entire home island was wiped off every map in existence.

"Ohara," Chopper whispered and looked around the island.

Confirming their nervous reactions, Saul jumped up and shouted, "This is bad!"

Brook had heard of the island before but as he saw his crewmates' reactions he asked, "What about Ohara? It's the island with the largest library in the world. I should have known that this was where Robin-San was from."

Nobody responded to him so he asked again and Sanji turned his head a little, "Ohara no longer exists." He turned back and couldn't see he confused reaction on Brook's face before realizing what that meant.

"The government can be very cruel," Franky stated though he was shaking in fear of what they were going to witness.

Saul kept shouting how bad his luck was that he drifted all the way to Ohara. He looked like he finally absorbed the information and needed to act, "There's no time! Robin," he bent down to the confused girl still kneeling on the rock face.

"Yeah?" the innocent girl responded.

"This may come as a shock to you, but listen carefully. There are almost certainly Marine battleships on their way here!" He called out.

"Wait," Usopp shouted, "you mean the Buster Call was already activated?"

"Her home was in West Blue, maybe it takes a while for them to get there." Nami offered though it wasn't convincing and everyone was still confused and hoping the memory would be over quickly.

"The Marines? Why?" Robin asked.

"To eliminate the island's scholars," Saul told her and her eyes went wide.

"Eli-minate?" Robin asked as the word set in.

"If you really are a scholar..." the giant pleaded.

"No way."

"Then under no circumstances..." He continued.

"No way."

"Can you tell the government!"

"You're lying!" Robin shouted and Nami could only think about how it felt when the Doctor back home told her she had to run away to save her mom. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"It's the truth, I wouldn't lie to you! Hurry, go into town and make sure nothing's up! There's a chance your mother is back," all the anger and denial on Robin's face vanished at the sound of that.

"M-mom?" She asked as the memory began to fade again but the walls of the place held together.

The next memory started coming in and everyone in the town of the island was in a panic. "It's starting," Zoro said grimly.

They were all running the opposite direction of Robin who was running towards the giant tree.

'There's a woman running around with a rifle!'

'Get away!'

The little girl they were getting pulled behind completely ignored the person running past her, but every member of her crew stared at the woman with huge eyes. She had long white hair, but her face and especially eyes made such an uncanny resemblance that it was obvious.

"Robin's mom," Nami gasped.

"She really is gorgeous," Sanji stated with a wide smile that no one was in the mood for.

The mother and daughter ran past each other and the crew was shocked they didn't stop. "Looks like they don't even recognize each other." Luffy stated confused.

"I doubt my parents would recognize me if they saw me now," Franky said.

Brook agreed, "I doubt mine would either." The others sweat-dropped at the two.

They kept following the girl until she got to the tree and ran right inside. She was panting heavily and the crew looked around to see all the scholars rushing around. Something was definitely wrong.

"What is it Robin?" Professor Clover called to the door in surprise.

"Was my mother here?" She asked between breaths and everyone in the room gasped.

"Oh she was definitely there alright," Sanji said, their faces giving it away.

Clover was the only one who kept his composure, "What do you mean? You know your mother is far from Ohara!" He looked to be thinking deeply about something, "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

She seemed to believe him and bowed her head in disappointment. "Oh yeah," she remembered, "I heard there are Marine battleships on their way here. They're coming after all the scholars!"

"Is there a big commotion in town?" The man asked knowingly, "It's not because of battleships. It's just a Government ship, it just arrived here." He walked up to Robin and bent down to eye-level with her. "They're performing the strictest inspection yet."

"Maybe Saul was wrong," Chopper offered.

"I doubt it," Zoro said. "It feels like this is the end."

"No need to be so blunt," Nami whispered.

"We're going to find out one way or another," Zoro stated angrily. "Might as well not fool ourselves. If you don't want to watch then look away."

The Professor was still lecturing her, "... If someone from the government talks to you, whatever you do, don't let them find out your an archaeologist. Nobody would ever suspect someone so young to be a scholar. Got it?"

Before she could answer, a man was thrown through the doorway. Everyone turned and stared at the Government officials in black suits barging in the door.

"Stop what you're doing! Everyone put your hands up and come outside!" A man shouted after barging in with his gun raised.

"Do you have to be so violent?" Clover asked. The tall man had light green hair sticking out above his head, to either side, and down his beard all equal in length.

"We suspect this Oharan facility of being used for the high crime of deciphering Poneglyphs!" No one in the room reacted and they were much better at keeping this secret than the shock of hearing Robin ask about her mother. "We are here to conduct a thorough investigation."

Clover and the official kept talking and the crew stared at young Robin's scared face. She seemed so terrified but also angry that no one was telling her anything.

"That has to be frustrating," Zoro said as everyone started ignoring her and all the adults were being escorted out the door. Robin only followed because she wanted to, not because the men in black ordered her to.

All the scholars were gathered up on the lawn in front of the huge tree. Robin walked with the guards and stood next to them as all the men and women she knew were forced to sit in a cramped circle.

She turned her head towards the town where people were frantically running around.

"I can't believe they were researching ways to destroy the world!'

"What's happening?" Usopp asked nervously, his anxiety rising by the second. Everything was moving very fast and the island looked like it was on the breaking point.

Citizens were running all over the place and a crying father shouted next to his sobbing son, "Where's the evacuation ship?!"

"Hurry to the western shore!"

The old man started speaking to the girl standing next to him. "Robin, it looks like there's an evacuation ship. I have no idea what they're planning anymore. You should go," he urged while making it sound casual so the officials wouldn't suspect anything of her.

"No! There aren't any nice people there!" She exclaimed and the crew felt bad for her yet again. All she wanted were friends and people to care for her but everyone she liked were getting arrested. "I'm staying here with you guys!"

"Robin!" He urged louder.

"But I'm no diff..."

He cut her off before she could incriminate herself, "Just go!"

The crew paid the man a silent thanks that he protected Robin there and was nice to her when the rest of the island seemed to hate her.

"Hahahaha," Franky's ear twitched at the annoying laughter and he turned his head to see three men approaching over a hill.

"He looks familiar," Chopper stated with a confused look.

The man in the middle of the three had a long coat on behind him and looked to be in charge. "Nicely done gentlemen."

"Just doing our jobs Director!" All the officials chanted.

"Director?" Nami said slowly, "wait, he couldn't be..."

"No," Franky said and shook his head. "That's not Spandam, but more likely his father, Spandine."

The man started talking about the white haired woman on one of his subordinate's shoulders. "I'm surprised," he laughed. Everyone there got annoyed by his voice already, "there are some fearsome beasts out there in the woods."

It was the same woman they saw before and the crew knew it was Robin's mom. She looked battered and beaten and they could all figure out what happened.

Sanji took a look at the men next to the Director. "That's the previous generation huh?"

"Of what?" Brook asked.

"CP9," Zoro answered, "the Government's personal assassins." The two men looked very powerful compared to the others around them.

Showing off a bit of that strength, the man holding Olivia tossed her up in the air effortlessly with one hand and she fell face first in the dirt. Sanji couldn't help himself and dove forward, kicking the person in front of him to no avail and shouting in anger about it.

"She almost killed me," the director laughed, not sounding like he cared much. "Listen up," he shouted at the cowering scholars who couldn't look at their comrade, "this person is an escaped prisoner. The rest of this woman's crew was already exterminated for the crime of deciphering the ancient writings."

"That's gotta hurt," Franky muttered and they all watched the horrified and pained expressions of the scholars trying to hide their connections.

"However," the annoying Government leader continued, "we don't know who their leader is. Could you all make it easy for me and admit you know her?"

"Did he really think that would work?" Zoro asked annoyed.

"Robin," Clover could sense this was escalating very fast and he spoke quickly, "get to the evacuation ship. Now!"

The woman on the ground lifted her head and Robin saw the movement. Everyone held their breath as the two of them made eye contact. Then the black haired girl turned away and blushed.

A few of them felt like saying 'Awww' because of the cute timid side of Robin, but the tension in the air was so thin they could cut it with a knife.

Suddenly the tension broke as the woman staring at her daughter began to cry and a huge explosion shook the ground. They all looked for the source of it and wound up looking right at the Tree of Omniscience that the scholars were trying so hard to protect.

"What the hell!"

"What do they think that library is?!"

As the scholars voiced their complaints, a Den Den Mushi began to ring in the arrogant man's coat. He picked it up, "Hello, is this the Director?"

"Yeah it's me."

No one could breath as the voice on the other end spoke, "We found something. There's a secret underground room. There's a large stone that looks like a Poneglyph, and research documents clearly containing the ancient writing."

"Shit," Sanji muttered.

"They're screwed," Franky said in a sympathetic voice. They all knew what they were getting into, but he couldn't help but feel bad for the peaceful scholars.

"Alright, nice job," the Director hung up and glared at the archaeologists with a wide smile on his face. "Ahahaha," he laughed evilly and it was obvious who the real demons were in this situation. "Well now Oharan Scholars! You're all officially good as dead!" He threw his arms out to the sides and laughed even harder.

None of the people around him reacted as he continued to shout. "It's really a shame. On this day, all the world's best archaeologists lost their lives!"

"He doesn't know that!" Usopp shouted.

"Yeah, maybe someone will save them," Chopper agreed hopefully.

"What a let down," the man said with a sigh, "my task here is finished. Inform the Gourosei," he stated and half of the Straw Hats dropped their jaws.

"The g-g-Gourosei?" Usopp whimpered and took a step back.

Chopper stared at his friend wondering who they were. Nami looked down at the reindeer, "You don't know?"

Luffy seemed just as confused and Zoro did as well. Brook had a stricken look on his face and whispered, "Those five individuals rule the world. That's all I know. They are the representatives of the World Government, but they control even the World Nobles."

"The Celestial Dragons?" Zoro asked with a hint of disgust in his voice. Then he realized just how powerful these people must be if they could boss around those snobs.

"It's impossible to think that such powerful people were involved with this." Usopp stated, "Just how dangerous could a group of peaceful scholars be to them."

Franky sighed, "Knowledge is power. Whatever reason the Government has for keeping the Poneglyphs a secret, it doesn't just have to do with the Ancient Weapons." He thought about the Pluton Blueprints he burned and shuddered at the thought of what could possibly be worse than that.

Young Robin was pleading the whole time with the Professor. She didn't want all the scholars to die. "...just for reading ancient writing? Why?"

"You stupid kid!" The director shouted at her. "They were trying to resurrect an ancient weapon in order to kill countless people!"

"She knows better than anyone that that is a lie," Chopper cried as the little girl seemed more and more confused as this went on.

"At least she got to the evacuation ship. Those scholars really saved her life by not implicating her with them." Nami stated and most of the others agreed.

Franky stayed quiet however and remembered the bounty poster that Tom showed him when he was younger. The poster was of Nico Robin exactly as she looked right now, and he said that she was the most dangerous person alive.

"That's not true," she shouted. "Nobody was doing that!"

Clover was begging now, "Please stop Robin. You won't get anywhere with that errand boy."

Spandam's father shouted furiously at the name he was called, "What was that!?"

"Is the weapon really what the Government is afraid of?" Professor Clover asked and everyone except for Luffy and Zoro shuddered.

"I don't know if we should listen to this," Nami suggested. It was starting to feel a lot like Whiskey Peak when Vivi let slip that Crocodile led Baroque Works.

"I," Usopp started, "I don't think it will be as bad because only we'll know about it and no one will know that we know." Clover looked like he was about to say something that the World Government didn't want anyone knowing so he was questioning whether or not to hold his ears.

"And me, hehehe," a little girl's voice shouted over the sky. "This is getting pretty interesting actually." They could hear a munching sound and it sounded like she was eating popcorn.

Luffy's stomach grumbled and he became only angrier that they were stuck there still.

One of the CP9 agents behind Spandine held the receiver to the Den Den Mushi and said that he got through. Clover was now on his feet and interrupted the Director who was about to speak with them.

"Before I die, let me speak with the Gorousei- the top men of the world." Without waiting to be told to continue, he spoke towards the phone the officials were holding up. "We Oharans have been collecting research for ages. It's our dream! I would like to present our theory on the Void Century to them."

"I don't know if I should cover my ears or not... Although I don't have any ears!" Brook shouted.

"What nonsense," Spandine responded with a chuckle.

While the officials talked to each other, Clover spoke in a hushed tone. "Hurry and get out of here Robin. Hearing what I'm going to say is a crime."

The group of people sat still and Robin looked horrified as the officials ran around and pointed all their guns at them. "I really hope she doesn't see them all die," Nami whispered, fearing the worst for her friend.

At least when Arlong attacked her village, only her mother was killed. Everyone else was allowed to live, despite many injuries. Here... no one was going to make it. "Why doesn't she hurry to the ship already?" Chopper asked while biting down on his nails.

Over the Snail Phone, a voice said, "Is that so?" He sounded like a very, very old man and it was surprising that the person speaking was one of five who controlled the World Government.

Spandam's father answered, "Yes. This is a capital crime. We've gotten a hold of all the information we needed, we're only awaiting your orders."

A new man's voice spoke, "It can't be helped. This is truly a deplorable result," and it really sounded like he regretted the situation they were all in. "But they've broken the world's law. We can't let them get away with this."

Clover interrupted the man and the Straw Hats had to admire him. Standing up to the top members of the Government he cut in, "I've had enough with the small talk, Gourosei."

Spandine shouted that he was out of line for speaking to such powerful people. "You're talking to the people holding the highest political power in the world!"

The man on the line didn't seem as upset and spoke, "So you're the authority of archaeology, Professor Clover of Ohara. You are a great contributor to the world's cultural heritage. I know your name well." There was respect in his voice even as he said, "To think a man like you would stray from the righteous path."

"The past belongs to all mankind," Clover responded. "Nobody has any right, to try and stop the desire to know the untold history."

The crew was pulled a little away from the Professor, but they were still watching just like memory Robin. She was standing to the side of the circle next to an abandoned building and poking her head out to watch.

The Gourosei argued, "If someone reads the Poneglyph, the possibility to revive the ancient weapons will arise, bringing a great deal of danger to the world."

"Sounds like something Baka-berg would say," Franky muttered hearing the same words from his friend's mouth over and over again.

Sounding even more like Iceberg, the old man on the line continued, "Even if the case is you don't have any ill intentions, if someone desires to use them to a villainous end, the situation will be the same."

Clover replied, "Whatever the past may be, as long as it's history crafted by the hands of mankind, we have the responsibility to accept it all."

"Sounds like something Robin would say," Chopper said.

"Guess we found her biggest influence." Sanji agreed and watched the small girl's scared face as she watched the scholars.

Something was bothering him, more than the fact the scholars were about to be killed. If Robin did escape, which they knew she did since she was still alive, then how did the Government find out about her? It bugged him and he couldn't shake the sense of dread he felt.

The Professor kept talking, "If one is able to understand this without fear, countermeasures will be possible no matter what happens."

"That is an idealistic argument," a man over the Den Den Mushi argued.

Zoro bowed his head and had to agree with the men, but that didn't mean he sided with them. It was an idealistic way to look at it, but the point stood that the scholars had every right to study it.

Clover narrowed his eyes, "I wonder about that. Isn't the idea of it being impossible simply suited to your purpose?"

The men on the other end seemed surprised but Clover wasn't going to slow down and give them time to respond. "Of all the truths remaining in the world nowadays, the ones we want to know the most are the engraved messages of the Poneglyphs and the reason of their existence."

"This is it," Brook said nervously, still on the fence about whether or not he wanted to know. None of them could look away and listened as the old man began to speak.

'Why did people of the past carve their messages on hard stone in an attempt to transmit them to the future? They engraved history on unbreakable stones and dispersed them throughout the world. Wasn't it because they feared having their message destroyed if they were to put it on paper or books?'

"Destroyed?" Chopper asked while biting his nails even more and curling up small.

"In brief," he continued, "This is evidence that the people who left this behind had a clear enemy."

"What are you trying to say Professor Clover?" Someone asked from over the phone, another old man by the sound of it.

"If we consider the other possibility of these people being defeated by some enemy, then that enemy should have survived and stayed in the history. Oddly enough, eight hundred years ago, just as the Void Century was coming to a close, the organization known as the World Government was created."

Time seemed to slow down and every Straw Hat except for Luffy opened their mouths wider and wider. "What?" Sanji asked, wondering if what the man was implying was right.

"If the enemy of the fallen people was today's World Government, then we can come to a conclusion, that the Void Century is an inconvenient history that was erased by the hands of the World Government." Clouds covered the sky and cast a darkness over the area. All the officials looked like they didn't know any of this and some looked nervous that they were hearing such information. "By reading historical documents from that time and by deciphering a certain number of Poneglyphs, we noticed the existence of a country before too long. What these texts revealed to us was the shape of a powerful country. It once took pride in its enormous strength, but all information on that country has been completely erased. It's very probable that when they realized the deeds of an allied nation, named the World Government, they carved the truth on stones in order to entrust their ideas to the future. These are the Poneglyphs that remain in the world to this day."

"I see," a Gourosei stated, "this is an audacious hypothesis."

Clover wasn't deterred, "The ancient weapons will indeed coerce the world. But more importantly, won't the existence and ideas of that country, being revealed with the true history, be even more of a menace to you World Government?" Now even Spandine seemed nervous as Clover knew a lot.

"This is ridiculous, can something like that even happen?" Usopp asked.

Franky was shocked but nodded his head, "If the Government wanted to, they could have erased every last bit of information about the Country."

"But what could knowing about them have changed?" Chopper asked.

"Just the idea that the Government destroyed them is enough for them to want to stop others from finding out about it," Sanji stated.

Professor Clover was only making it worse for himself. "We must make clear the nature of this menace, but what holds the key to solving everything is the name of that once flourishing country..."

"KILL HIM!" A voice shouted over the snail phone and Spandine obliged. He pulled out a pistol and fired, everyone shocked at how fast the pin dropped. They didn't know what could be so bad about learning the name of the country, but it had the most powerful men in the world freaking out about it.

Clover's body snapped back like when they watched Bellemere and everything started to slow down. Robin's eyes went wide and she screamed as the man's body spurted blood out the front and back of his chest. "PROFESSOR!"

A few of them heard over the Snail Phone while the other scholars were panicking a Gourosei member speak five words that made them shake. "Ohara has, learnt too much." Whoever was on the other side of the line didn't seem to like what he was doing one bit but he still gave the order. "Give the order to attack."

"No! They can't kill them," Chopper shouted.

"They're the World Government," Sanji took a puff of his light, "they can do whatever they want."

"You mustn't let anyone escape," the voice ordered the officials.

Robin was crying and running up to the fallen professor, but Spandine reached into his coat and pulled out a different Snail Phone. "Then with this Golden Den Den Mushi that Admiral Sengoku entrusted unto me, I'll engage the Buster Call!" He spun and pressed down on the button on top. "Take care of this."

The scholars seemed to know that something was coming and the Straw Hats knew all too well. "The Buster Call," Usopp remembered the bridge and the entire island of Enies Lobby burning around them. It was like Hell.

"Robin, hurry to the evacuation ship," the man urged, now on his last breaths.

"No! I don't want to be alone," she shouted.

"Don't say silly things at such a time," as they continued to beg her to leave, the scholars noticed that the giant tree had burst into flames from the earlier explosion.

"YOW! That Adam wood is more valuable than anything!" Franky shouted knowing how rare the material he built the Sunny out of was.

"I don't think that's why they're panicking," Chopper growled. "All those priceless books are going to get burned."

'What is this for World Government?' The scholars shouted.

'Weren't our heads enough!?'

Spandine couldn't care less and said that the earlier fire must have started it. The scholars kept shouting and the officials pointed their guns at them but the Director grimaced, 'Don't, it's alright. There's no need for guns anymore. Government officials retreat.'

"They're just leaving?" Brook asked.

"You don't know what the Buster Call is like," Nami said with a shiver. "We only saw a part of it, but the entire island we were on was covered in fire and explosions."

All the scholars ran back towards the tree to try and put out the flames. The officials ran the other direction except for the CP9 agents and their leader.

The people there couldn't believe what was happening, but Robin seemed the most distraught as she was just a child. She didn't know why all this was happening, but she stared in horror at the burning library and could hear screams coming from inside as the scholars tried saving the precious books.

"We're taking that woman along," the Director said. His subordinate grabbed her by the arm and picked her up. "There's still information only she knows. We can't have her die here," while they walked her off, Robin stared in their direction and didn't move an inch.

"Why isn't Robin running to the escape ship?" Chopper asked. He wanted her to escape as soon as possible so this memory could end.

"You heard her," Luffy said in a serious voice, "she didn't want to be alone."

Franky nodded, "Those other people were nothing but nasty to her."

The Straw Hats were confused as the memory started to twist and something appeared in the blue sky above them. It was another hazy memory being pulled together by a few stray wisps. It was blurry but they could all make out tiny hands reaching forward and grabbing the blurry face, "Mama, mama!"

Eight year old Nico Robin started to recognize who the person getting dragged away was. Ignoring the pleas of the few scholars behind her, she stepped towards the agents. With tears in her eyes she kept walking and her breath became more staggered. She got several yards away from the scholars before calling out, "Are you, my mother?"

The group walking away from her stopped and the woman with white hair began to shake. It was such a sad scene that Chopper had to turn away and Franky began bawling at the sight of it. They'd all forgotten the crazy knowledge of the world history they learned and were only focused on their friend's suffering.

More little memories were being formed above their heads near the happy one of her mother bouncing her in her arms.

'Monster!'

'She was thrown away by her mother you know!'

'Thats my daughter's dress! How dare you wear it?!'

'Im sorry Aunt, I just wanted to try it on...'

'She eats a lot, even though she's just a freeloader.'

All the horrible memories were followed by one of the girl just sitting alone in the woods, crying softly with no one around.

The memories faded so only the young Robin remained and she called out again as the agents kept walking, "Are you my mother?"

"What is it? You had a kid?" The nasty Government man asked.

Olivia didn't turn around but they all heard her say, "No. I'm sorry. I think you have, the wrong person."

"Ha, weirdo brat," Spandine mocked before strutting away. "Let's get going."

Robin had tears streaking down her face on either side and liquid was dripping down her lips from her nose too.

Chopper, Usopp, and Nami all began to cry when Robin shouted out, "I'm Robin! I've grown a lot! Don't you remember me? I've always been waiting for you to come back."

"Oh man," Usopp said with tears in the corners of his eyes.

Sanji wanted to tell that he'd make the bastard who was making her cry pay, but it was another beautiful woman and he couldn't do that. Instead he just glared at Spandam's dick-of-a-dad and hoped the bastard died a painful death.

"Are you... really not... my mother?" Olivia couldn't handle it anymore and dropped down to her knees. "Someday," Robin said between tears, "I wanted to walk together with you, while holding hands..."

Zoro thought back to the only other two times he was this sad. One was when he received the Wado Ichimonji, and the other was watching Going Merry die. Now he wasn't a sentimental person, but it was impossible to watch Robin's tears without feeling your heart get torn apart.

Luffy was already letting tears drop though he stayed silent, stunning his first mate standing next to him. He didn't know what the captain was thinking, but watching Robin's tears became contagious and soon Zoro realized he was the only one of them without water in his eyes or already letting it stream down his face.

"I studied as hard as I could and became an archaeologist! I can read the Poneglyph too!"

"No!" Sanji, Franky, Zoro, Nami, and Brook shouted at the same time.

"She just signed her own death warrant!" Usopp shouted as Chopper began sobbing harder.

Clover yelled at her to stop and Spandine was shocked to hear she could read them. "So let me stay with you! Mom!"

Suddenly the ground shook and then began to constantly rumble and the Straw Hats looked around. The grassy hills around them were shaking and huge explosions burst out all over the island.

One cannonball flew right over their heads and slammed into the Tree of Omniscience, knocking down some of the standing archaeologists near it.

"Please," Robin shouted over the blast, "don't leave me alone again!"

A few explosions occurred right behind Spandine and he panicked. The two CP9 agents proved their skill by not even faltering, only casting a small glance at the explosion that happened next to them. 'What the Hell! We still haven't left the island! Do they want to kill us?'

As if answering his question, an explosion blasted him backwards from a ball that landed in front of him.

Spandine told the other agents to memorize Robin's face and not let her get off the island like the scholars. Another explosion hit and he panicked, telling them to forget Olivia and to just run away. 'If we stay here we'll be killed to. Our first priority is my life.'

The crew wasn't even paying attention to him anymore and all watched as Robin walked sadly up to her mother. She frowned and fell to her knees in front of the crying woman with white hair.

Olivia seemed happy now that she didn't have to hide it any longer. Robin grabbed her hand and whimpered with tears in her eyes, "I've wanted to do this, for a long time."

"Robin!" Olivia pulled her daughter in for a tearful hug while explosions continued to blow up the fields around them. The occasional cannonball would drop and make a ball of fire erupt near them, but so far they were safe.

"Mom!"

"What horrible circumstances for a reunion," Brook lamented.

Clover bowed his head, "It's my fault. Is it true you can read the Poneglyphs? If I had paid closer attention..."

"I'm sorry," Robin apologized to the bleeding man. "I wanted to be able to read them no matter what..."

She sounded ashamed in what she'd done, but her mother pulled her away from the hug and looked her in the eyes. "I'm really amazed, that you managed to accomplish something as great as this." Some of the crew members had calmed down and were wiping their tears as they watched the semi-happy reunion surrounded by fire and explosions. "You did your best and studied a lot. This isn't something anyone can do."

"It's something no one can do," Nami whispered.

"She's the only one alive who can read them," Franky added.

"You're amazing Robin!" Olivia pet her daughter's head and she seemed so shocked to hear her mother's words.

"She really is," two voices said at once and Zoro and Sanji glared at each other. It was amazing for the two of them to agree on something, but to say the same thing at the same time, now that was unheard of. In any other situation, the other crew members would have made a big deal out of it, but they couldn't look away from the archaeologist mother and daughter pair.

The daughter was crying hard and it made them forget it was a memory for a second. They all just wanted to walk over and comfort the girl, though her mother seemed to be doing that already. Years of suffering were pouring out as her mother spoke soothing words in her ear.

"Olivia! If you can manage to sneak on the evacuation ship with Robin, you two can escape the island!" Clover called.

"Oh good," Chopper said, wiping away his tears. "Her mom's going to make it."

Someone wanted to remind him that she was the only one who could read Poneglyphs so that couldn't be, but they didn't have it in their hearts. He'd have it broken to him in a few seconds.

All of a sudden, a huge form burst from the smoke and called, "Robin, so you were here? I've been searching for ya!"

"Saul!" Robin shouted.

"Saul?" Olivia asked surprised that the giant was there. "Why are you on this island?"

"This must be some kind of fate," he replied. "My ship sunk and I was saved on the beach by Robin. More importantly, this situation is really bad. Ya gotta leave this island quickly!"

She paused for a second and then shoved her daughter forward, "Take care of Robin. Help my daughter escape from the island at all costs!"

"No! What about you mom?" Robin asked fearfully. "Won't you stay with me?"

"Why isn't she going?" Chopper asked sadly.

She had a determined look in her eyes, "I still have something to do here."

"Mom! I don't want to be separated from you! I just met you," she tried holding on to her mother's shoulders as tight as she could.

'Robin,' she started in a soft voice, 'as a scholar of Ohara you must understand.' The whole crew could hear the shouting from inside the Tree and suddenly knew what she was planning. 'History is the people's treasure.' Hearing that it was their treasure, Luffy understood why they were all willing to risk their lives for it. 'It'll certainly illuminate the future you're about to live. However, you must teach the next generation, the history you've obtained from the past, otherwise it'll disappear.'

'Put out the fire!'

'Save the books!' The shouting was louder than the explosions still rocking the land near them.

As Olivia kept talking to her daughter, the crew members looked around and could barely comprehend the amount of destruction in such a short amount of time.

Five more cannonballs dropped leading a line of explosions up to the Tree of Omniscience where two became direct hits and lit more of the trunk on fire. "...even if Ohara is destroyed, we can't give up on the future that you'll be living in."

"I don't get it."

"You'll understand someday," her mother said.

"NO!" The sudden scream shook the Straw Hats and they all jumped, turning around and seeing the unconscious adult Robin writhing around on the floor. "MOTHER! No," she started to whimper and calm back down and they felt so bad for her.

"I wish we could help her," Nami whispered and Luffy took it personally, getting more angry at himself for knocking her out.

"I thought she wouldn't have to..." He stopped as a hand clapped him on the shoulder and he saw it was Sanji.

"She'll understand," he said, "even if I'm pissed at you, we all understand."

Saul grabbed Robin gently and picked her up. "No, I want to stay with you!" The girl shouted and reached down for her mother that she couldn't reach.

The giant started running away and the crew was dragged, watching Olivia disappear in the distance. "Mom! MOM!" Both Robins shouted at the same time.

Her mom was already out of sight when they heard her shout one last thing, "LIVE ROBIN!"

As the giant ran through the woods with a crying Robin, the Straw Hats were hoping the memory would end soon. "He just had to get her to the evacuation ship." Nami said and she seemed concerned for the big man. "I just hope he can make it back to his raft after that."

The others felt the same way and watched glumly as Robin pounded on Saul's chest. "Saul! Go back, please," she begged.

"Impossible," he said, "I can't do that. Be proud Robin!" he told the crying eight year old, "Yer mom is great! Ohara is great!" The giant was running down the hill covered in explosions and fires. The smoke filled the air so he could barely see where he was running. "Someday you'll have to pass on this island's history Robin!"

Nami thought for a second, "I guess that's kind of what she's doing right now... even if it is against her will." She felt lousy for watching her friend's memories like this. For all the others, they didn't like it, but were able to cope and show them the memory. For Robin, her memories were hidden not just from them, but from herself. She never let herself get too emotional because those memories would rise and Nami understood that now.

"Ohara fought against the world!" Saul shouted. "Ah now they're targeting me!" He pulled Robin down and cupped her with his hands but the rest of the crew watched a cannonball hit him directly in the face and exploded.

'Saul!' Robin shouted.

From the Marine ship close to the shore, the Straw Hats heard people shouting.

'A direct hit!'

'Im sorry Vice-Admiral!'

'Don't apologize, he's helping the demons,' the crew was startled at that.

"He's a Vice-Admiral!?" Franky shouted.

"Not anymore I'm guessing," Sanji stated.

"I'm sorry Robin, that must've startled you," Saul lowered her to the ground and put her down. "Wait here for a sec," he started running off.

"Uh, what's he doing?" The cyborg asked as Saul went running away from them.

"Saul-san!" Brook shouted.

"What's he..." Usopp's eyes as well as most of the crew's grew wide as the giant ran right up to the warship and grabbed it around the front.

'Firing from the shore. What would they have done if they hit Robin!?' He shouted angrily and his giant side showed with his strength as he pushed the ship off the shore. 'I got no idea what I'm doing. So I'll just protect my friend!'

'Stop it Vice-Admiral!'

'Get ready,' he growled with blood dripping down his face, 'You won't get off easily having made me your enemy!' With a force of superhuman strength, he lifted the front of the ship out of the water and then held the entire thing above his head so it was sticking up and down.

Their wide eyes popped out of their sockets when they saw the hidden reserve of strength the giant had. "Might not be from Elbaf, but forget what he said about 'peaceful clans.'" Nami whispered.

Sanji dropped the cigarette from his mouth and they all stared in shock at how easily he held the boat. Marines were falling off and screaming in terror but the Straw Hats only dropped their jaws further as Saul chucked the warship and it slammed straight into another one and split it in half.

"Ahhhh!" Chopper screamed as a cannonball exploded near them. The madness of the rampaging giant, along with the explosions from the Buster Call was too much for him. "Even though we're in a memory, it feels like the end of the world!"

"Saul stop it! You'll die!" Robin shouted as explosions and gunfire slammed into the giant man.

He was hit in the face by another cannonball but all he could do was turn to Robin and shout, "What are you doing? Get to the evacuation ship and leave the island!"

The amount of explosions picked up and it literally took their breath away. "Robin-chan!" Sanji shouted and the girl started to run as a black ball full of gunpowder flew towards her. It exploded on the ground where she was standing and she fell to her stomach from the blast.

When she lifted her head from the ground, she saw the same horrifying sight that was sending chills down the crew's spines. All the trees were catching fire and the giant tree in the center of the island kept getting hit by more cannonballs.

"When Spandam said Ohara wasn't on the map any longer, I thought he meant..." Franky started and clenched his fists, "not this, I didn't know something like this was possible."

Robin was running and was now on her knees surrounded by burning everything. She started to cry harder and shouted in the sky, "Mom!"

"Get out of there Robin!" Nami called.

"Run Robin-san!" Brook shouted at the girl.

"Get out of there," Usopp yelled. As if she could hear him, she was back on her feet and staggering through the woods towards where the evacuation ship would be.

"Go already!" Saul shouted into the distance. "What was your mother's wish?"

They all remembered what she said, and so did the girl who finally sucked it up and ran for the ship. It wasn't far and she reached it in no time. Someone on the ship shouted when it was about to take off, "Wait somebody's coming!"

She got there but didn't receive the welcome they were hoping for. "Aren't you the monster?" One of the kids on board the boat asked. It was filled with people all looking down at her.

Another kid shouted, "It's true!"

Followed by, "get away monster!"

"Don't shout such things," A man scolded.

Another man argued, "but that criminal Olivia in the papers, isn't that the criminal's daughter?!"

"So what?" Luffy shouted at the people who were getting on his nerves. His brother's face flashed in front of him, "It doesn't matter who your parents are."

"That's right," someone agreed, "if we let her on the ship we could be targeted too."

The more prominent viewpoint was to save her and someone shouted, "Don't be foolish."

"She's just a kid, hurry and pull her in."

"Evacuation ship! Don't let that runt aboard!" A loud annoying voice called from the water. The people holding out the rope for her stopped and the Marines on board kept them from continuing, "Even if she is just a kid, she's an archaeologist. She's one of this offensive's targets."

"Robin no," Nami whispered. How could they not let her on the ship? How else could she have escaped?

They all watched as Robin ran and Saul became furious with the CP9 Director. He started sprinting at them and all their attacks were useless on him until something stopped him in his tracks.

The crew didn't see what it was since they were getting pulled with Robin, but a huge chunk of cliff exploded and Saul fell to the ground.

The girl turned around and called her friend's name. The Straw Hats all looked as well just to freak out when they saw the person.

"Him?"

"It can't be."

"Aokigi?"

"It's all over."

Brook was confused and looked closer at the man, "Isn't he the fellow who helped us when we faced Z?"

"Yeah," Zoro said with worse memories of the man. "But before that he was a Marine Admiral."

"Kuzan," Saul whispered, knowing how he was taken down.

"My my my, if the Buster Call was somehow hindered by a former Marine, wouldn't we look quite ridiculous?" The admiral stated.

"I though Vice-Admirals took charge of a Buster Call?" Nami questioned.

"Back then he probably wasn't an admiral yet," Sanji answered.

"Kuzan, do you hold pride in this bombardment? Get back to yer senses!" Saul shouted.

"Looks like the two of them have some history," Zoro stated.

"Probably friends in the Navy before Saul deserted," Franky agreed.

'This is weird! You must have noticed it too. That this is nothing more than an example. Just for that they're going to annihilate Ohara!'

Sounding like an arrogant fool, Kuzan just replied, 'If it's for the betterment of the world, it can't be helped. Aren't the scholars breaking the law? What's called justice changes depending on where you stand. That's why I won't blame your justice.'

"And I always thought Aokigi was a follower of Lazy justice," Sanji stated with a puff of his cigarette, "maybe it was this that changed his mind."

"However, if you're going to get in our way... I won't just ignore it." He was wearing a blue hat and dark sunglasses so they couldn't read his eyes and determine what he was thinking right then.

Before any more words could pass between the former friends, a huge explosion shook everyone. Both Vice-Admirals, Robin, the Straw Hats, everyone turned slowly out towards the water where a huge fireball kept growing.

"That was..." Usopp started and his words got caught in his throat. Even Zoro dropped his jaw and his hand trembled in anger as he heard the screams of pain from the sea. The entire ship of citizens who had evacuated from the island went up in flames.

The shouts and screams of people burning alive echoed all around them. These sounds seemed louder than anything else like Robin's memory was strongest here. She could try to forget the smell, and the burns on her skin. She could forget the sight of the flames and the terrifying thoughts she had, but the screams of the children and all the others would stay with her forever.

"The evacuation ship was blown up!" A marine shouted from the CP9 ship close-by. Even Spandine seemed horrified by the act of random cruelty, "W-why?" He asked no one in particular.

Kuzan was staring out at the water with sweat on his face and could not believe what just happened.

"It was a bombardment, from a Marine ship. It's from Vice-Admiral Sakazuki's ship!" They all looked out over the water at the smoking cannons and felt rage towards whoever this Vice-Admiral was.

"Sakazuki," Chopper growled, "I want to find that Vice-Admiral and do things to him," he tried to think of what he'd do to the man but all he knew is that it would be bad.

"He's not a Vice-Admiral anymore," Franky stated and they all looked at him.

"You mean he got promoted?" Nami asked. "Which one is he?"

"Was he," Franky corrected. "The man who blew up that ship was none other than former Admiral Akainu," everyone stared at him shocked, "the new Fleet Admiral of the Marines."

"Akainu," Luffy growled and the disgust mixed with hatred in their captain's tone made them shiver.

Sanji had been fuming in rage and fire overtook his entire body. He was trembling and looked angrier than they'd ever seen him. "All the ladies on that ship! How dare he? How DARE he?!"

"All those innocent people for what?!" Chopper screamed. He got into his Heavy Point and roared up in the air in fury.

Nami thought she even heard a high pitched gasp from the sky above her. It was like even the girl watching found this memory horrible, and considering the things she'd been laughing at... "Robin," Nami started in a sad voice as tears came to her eyes. The others looked at her as she whispered, "the last survivor of Ohara."

Everyone looked so angry and sad that someone had to do something. Brook looked up at the horrified look on Kuzan's face. It seemed the future Admiral was as distraught as they were and never wanted it to go this far. The skeleton panned over to the shocked giant and called out in a joyful voice, "Look, Robin-san still has Saul-san! He must have saved her!"

"Y-yeah," Usopp said, anything to take his mind off of the slaughter her just witnessed.

"Is this justice's way of doing things?" Saul shouted, directing his anger at Kuzan. The ice man prepared himself, "Can you still hold pride in it after that?!" He rose a huge fist above the future Admiral.

As Aokigi jumped away he scowled, "I didn't plan to overdo it like that total idiot!"

"Do you think this is why he fought Akainu for the Fleet Admiral position?" Usopp asked and they all looked at him. "Jimbei said he couldn't stand a Navy run by Sakazuki, maybe this is what he was thinking about when they battled on Punk Hazard."

"Maybe," they thought it was a possibility but we focused on the memory and couldn't elaborate further.

Saul lifted Robin, "Get away Robin. His strength is abnormal!"

"There were warships all around them and the entire island is on fire! Where does he expect her to go!" Nami screamed in anguish. If they didn't know that Robin survived this, it would have looked like she had no chance.

The giant ran through the woods carrying her in front of him. They ignored the yells of the Marines behind them and followed those two.

Zoro looked back towards the burning tree in the center of the island. Sanji was thinking about the same thing, "Do you think any of the scholars escaped?" Instead of anyone answering his question, four huge explosions rocked the tree and they watched a huge branch fall off.

Someone screamed off in the trees to their right and they couldn't see who made the noise. It didn't sound good. Chopper held his ears as they were dragged with her and he couldn't get the images he'd seen out of his head. None of the others were faring much better although some were better at hiding it than others.

"Ice Time Capsule!" A long trail of ice spread from Aokigi's hand and caught Saul by the left foot. His leg almost instantly froze and he tripped forward, being careful with Robin the whole time.

"No!" Luffy and Franky shouted.

"Saul-san!" Brook yelled.

Usopp and Chopper were hugging each other on the ground as the giant became partially covered in ice.

The young girl looked up at the orange haired giant's face, "Saul are you alright?"

"Robin, run away," he begged.

The crew heard steam rising and the heat of the fires was melting the ice right next to Aokigi. The steam around him and the flames glinting off of his sunglasses made him look horrifying. The man was already twice as tall as any normal person, but his powers and strength made him a monster.

Saul was panting hard, the ice stretching up his chest. It was clear the giant's time was over, but they didn't want to admit it. "Get up shitty giant! Help Robin escape!"

"You can do it Saul!"

"Saul!"

"Get up!"

Of course he couldn't hear their shouts and just pleaded with the little girl. 'Run as fast as you can. If you stay on the island, your life is gone for sure! Set out to sea on my raft.'

'What about you?' Robin asked close to tears.

'This is the end for me, I've been caught,' he muttered.

"No! You can do it Saul!" Usopp shouted and ran forward trying to touch the giant. His hands went right through the image and he felt so helpless.

"He can still make it right?" Chopper asked and no one answered him. Instead they looked over where Kuzan was slowly walking towards them.

"Go!" Saul commanded in a louder voice.

"No! There's nobody at sea!" Robin screamed. Her face was covered in sweat from the nearby flames.

"Robin you have to run!" Nami shouted at her friend.

"Please escape," Usopp begged her.

"He's trying to save you Robin-san, go," Brook pleaded the girl. She seemed like she'd rather die than be alone.

"She's been pretty much by herself from the beginning, but now he's really the only one left," Zoro said in a grim tone. He didn't always have someone but he was different from her. The girl in front of them wanted someone, anyone to protect her, to be friends with her.

"Listen well Robin," Saul urged as his breathing picked up. "You might be alone at the moment, but someday, you'll definitely find nakama!"

The whole crew froze and looked to their Robin who was lying on the ground and breathing hard but looking a little calmer. The young girl in the vision had wide eyes and a quivering lip but she just asked, 'Nakama?'

'Yeah, the sea is vast. Someday without any doubt, nakama who will protect you will appear. No one in this world is born completely alone!' He shouted and the tears in her eyes grew, still refusing to fall as she tried to be strong in front of her friend.

"Why did we have to take so long to find her?" Nami whispered.

"Twenty years she was alone," Brook said softly. "I spent fifty in the fog, but I was a grown man who had already lived a full life..."

"For an eight year old girl... to be completely alone in the world. Hunted by the Government for reasons she doesn't understand," Franky growled. Chopper was in tears again as they continued to stare at the memory.

Saul looked back a little and panicked at the sight of Aokigi getting closer. "Run Robin! Without looking back!" He knew what was coming.

"At least he doesn't want Robin to see this," Sanji said, respecting the man for making her look away. "It would really scar her..." he saw that she wasn't turning and the newly lit cigarette in his mouth dropped.

"When things are rough, do as I taught you. Laugh like this," the man was grabbed from behind by Aokigi but he ignored it and kept looking forward at Robin. "Dereshishishi derishi shi shi!"

"Saul look out!" She shouted at him.

"Look away!" Nami shouted, hoping the little girl wouldn't see this.

"I can't watch," Usopp turned away and pulled Chopper into a hug so the reindeer wouldn't have to watch it either.

Franky's eyes were spewing so much water that he could rust. Brook next to him had an arm around his shoulder and was also crying out his empty eye sockets.

"Turn Robin-chan!" Sanji shouted but he already had a good idea that she wouldn't.

"Dereshishishi..."

The Vice-Admiral whispered in a low tone, "Ice Time." He looked to be hating every second of his job, but he pressed his hand against his former friend and ice started spreading across Saul's body.

"Saul!" She begged the man who just kept laughing, tears in his eyes now.

His mouth was open mid-laugh when the ice reached his face. It was horrifying watching someone die like this and as the ice coated his face they all heard him say, "Go meet the nakama who are certainly waiting for you, somewhere on the sea... Robin!" His voice faded out and the ice stopped spreading.

She stared at him for a few more seconds before the tears broke loose with her loud cries. "Ahh ahah," Robin started sobbing and turned around sprinting away into the trees.

"Saul!" Franky and Brook shouted.

Nami had come to like the giant so much in the few memories she'd seen of him. Now he was a statue behind them and they knew that no one was planning on thawing him out.

Real Robin was screaming on the ground, obviously not liking this part of her dream.

Tears fell behind the running girl's face and dropped to the steaming ground below them. "It's not over?" Usopp asked in horror as even with Saul gone, the bombardment of the island continued.

"She's the only one left! What are they still attacking for?" Sanji yelled furiously. "How can they call themselves 'justice?' They're worse than any pirate I've ever seen!"

No one could disagree and they'd all known some horrible pirates. Something like this though, none of them though it was possible.

"The scholars were slaughtered just because they wanted to learn," Chopper whispered as he looked back up at the running girl.

"Saul was killed because he tried to save them," Franky added tearfully.

"And they killed all the civilians for no REASON!" Nami screamed bursting in anger. She looked back at Kuzan who was standing next to Saul's body and looking towards Robin. She felt genuinely afraid for her best friend here.

"I've never seen something so horrible, I wish I could rip out my own eyes," Brook yelped. He didn't even add that he didn't have eyes to rip out, that was how enraged he was.

The bombs kept falling and the flames kept rising. Robin never stopped running once as everything burned around her. Her screams fell empty since there was no one around to hear her, everyone was dead.

"Maybe the scholars are still trying to save the books back at the..." Chopper started and looked that direction before freezing mid-sentence and falling back to his knees.

The Tree of Omniscience started to creak and then it began to topple. The Straw Hats were silent as the largest tree on the island began to fall. It was completely engulfed in flames and Chopper's idea that the archaeologists might still be alive was thrown away.

They couldn't even keep watching the tree as the vision shook. At first they thought it was from the tree hitting the ground, but then they saw her. Robin was running forward as an explosion hit behind her. She kept going and a second hit closer, before they knew what happened, one landed right next to her feet and sent her flying in the air a few feet.

It was horrible and they thought she was going to drop hard, but it wasn't the end and two more explosions knocked her spinning in midair before she fell to the ground and skid.

Her tears kept falling as now she was in physical pain along with everything that happened. "Ahh! Robin!" Most of them yelled.

Grown-up Robin was writhing on the ground and Luffy was biting his fingernails now. He couldn't stand to see her in the present or the past, but as Captain he had to be strong and couldn't look away.

She kept going once she struggled up and ran up a small hill over the trees. She was looking for the shore and saw which way she needed to go, but before she ran back down, she took a good look at the island.

The place she grew up in was no longer recognizable. Luffy was reminded of the Gray Terminal fire and how everything he could see was ablaze, but back then there had been the safety of the city and the outlying forest. Here there wasn't a speck on the island that wasn't roaring with fire and the crackling sound of burning trees. She looked so fearful that it was clear this one sight was etched into her memory for good, going to haunt her nightmares for years, decades to follow.

A cannonball fell out of the air and broke apart the cliff she was standing on. The hill wasn't too big, but she still rolled down the crumbled side and bounced off a rock before slamming back down to the ground.

The crew winced again at the amount of pain she was in.

After a few seconds of lying there, she managed to get herself to her feet and ran for the clearing. "Nice now she can get on the raft..." Nami ended her sentence by shrieking and they all looked ahead to see that child Robin froze as well and her tears even stopped on her face.

"Aokigi!" Luffy shouted at the admiral angrily.

He was sitting on a tree stump with a small row boat next to him. "Absolute Justice," he stated in a cold voice. "It's been known to sometimes drive a person to madness. I've decided to let you escape from this island."

Every one of the Straw Hats dropped their jaws. After everything he and the Marines had done, he was just going to leave the mission unaccomplished and let her go? Sanji nodded, he had definitely changed his view sometime during this event.

"I understand," Zoro was the first to regain himself. "To keep from going insane over what they just did here, he saved a single child. It may not have been enough to atone for their sins, but he felt it could keep him sane." He nodded his head, glad the man had made that decision.

"A seed was protected by Saul, I wonder what it'll grow into." She looked at him with intense hatred that wasn't meant for a girl her age's face. The tears stuck on the bottom lid of her eye shook with the fury in her frown.

The tall man could sense this, "It's your choice to hate whoever you want, but consider yourself lucky to still have your life."

"I can't stand this guy," Franky shouted, wanting so much to hate the man who murdered Saul, but also having to thank him for saving Robin.

"Try to live as plainly as you can. I left a trail of ice on the sea. Travel straight ahead with the small boat, and you'll reach land." He told her.

"She's a little girl and I don't see land for miles!" Chopper shouted.

Brook wondered out loud, "Does he even expect her to survive?"

He kept going, "And then, always remember. I am not your ally."

"Yeah you showed that quite clearly when you tried to kill her before Water 7!" Usopp shouted, remembering how they met Aokigi and he froze her and their captain.

Robin's mouth was wide open and she couldn't believe, or comprehend what was happening. Kuzan just got up and started to walk towards her and then past her, "If you do something, I'll be the first enemy to come capture you."

She sucked up all her fear and spun to the man walking away, "My mom is on the island."

He didn't even break his stride, "No one will be saved. If it's so painful that you want to die, you're free to do so."

The small bit of hope she still had was crushed in an instant. Suddenly all around the Straw Hats, they saw all the happy moments in the memory so far. The archaeologists surprising Robin, her mother's reunion with her, Saul telling her to be proud, they all whisked by as Nice Robin stared down at the floor. She knew that every one of those people were dead and was accepting it as they watched.

They could see that she was very close to just giving up. If she did, no one would have blamed her at this point.

She walked back though and got on the rowboat, paddling out with her tiny arms. Once she was a couple hundred feet from the shore, the memories were still coming all around her and they knew that they weren't the only ones seeing them. The young girl was thinking back on these things too.

'"Just laugh. When you have a hard time, just laugh."'

'"If I laugh when I'm in pain, I'll look like an idiot."'

'"That's not true!"' memory Saul told her and it faded away with his laugh. All they could see was Robin slowly lifting up the paddles and pushing the water past her. The island getting further away was a burning bright light and the flames danced wickedly in front of them.

They found themselves standing on the water around her rowboat and just kept getting pulled along with her as she went. It was heart-wrenching to watch as Robin wiped away her tears and closed her eyes. She put a brave smile on her face and started, "Dereshishishi, Dereshi shi shi," she chuckled.

The laughs did nothing to help the Straw Hats. It was clear they were forced and it wasn't helping to make her feel better despite what Saul said. She released the paddles and curled up her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Dereshi shi," she coughed and looked down so her head was between her knees too, "Dereshi, shi shi, dereshi," she laughed and every time it brought even the stronger members of the crew closer to tears.

Saul's face popped up around her and started laughing and she would mimic it each time. Soon the dereshis didn't sound like laughs anymore, but painful sobs that she stuttered out while trying to laugh.

"Make it stop," Chopper begged and clamped his ears shut with his hooves.

She did stop though, the laughs doing nothing to help. Her eyes were clenched shut but the tears seeped through and she lifted her head. The amount of pain she was in made every crew member take a step back at the look on her face.

"Ah ahhh ahha," she shouted in agony. The tears were filled with all the pain, suffering, and anguish of not only the night, but her entire life so far, and what was in store. Her childlike voice cried out louder and some of them looked around to make sure no Navy battleships could see her, "Ahhhhh, AHHHHH!"

The memory finally faded with Robin screaming and they were glad it was over. It was tough watching something like that, but they just wanted their Robin to be able to stop thinking about it. Unfortunately, it wasn't over.

'79,000,000 beri?! An eight year old girl has such a large bounty?' They all saw Robin hiding in an alleyway and start running as she heard the people reading the papers.

'It seems she's a survivor of the famous Oharan Criminals, who were scheming to destroy the world."

"That Ohara?'

"That isn't what happened!" Nami shouted into the darkness as the voices continued.

"How scary must it have been for her?" Usopp questioned darkly. He couldn't imagine it and knew that he would have chosen death.

"I heard about Ohara," Franky said with a dark look in his eyes. "Like everyone else, I believed what the paper told me. Tom told me that the most dangerous person in the world... was Nico Robin."

The voice in the memory was quieter but they could still hear it, 'I don't know how she did it, but they say she sank six Marine battleships.'

'That's why they put such a high bounty...'

"That's ridiculous!" Brook shouted but of course they couldn't hear him.

Young Nico Robin ran through the darkness and anytime the memory began to form around them, it was just a different environment with her crying softly and with a determined look on her face. She wasn't giving up. They saw the memory from earlier where Robin was walking alone through the snow, but unlike before they actually knew why she was by herself now and it tore at them.

They heard someone scream in the darkness of her memory. "That child can't be allowed to live, she's the child of the devil!"

"Please, let us stop watching!" Chopper yelled up at the sky, directly at the little girl who was speeding up the memories they had to watch.

Ignoring the reindeer, she showed them Robin with a smile on her face. "Thanks for always helping out," an old woman said to her as the girl outside was handing her a pile of hay.

"No thank you for letting me work," Robin replied.

"We'll be having some guests before dinner," all their eyes opened wide as Government officials appeared behind the old woman and started swarming Robin who slipped away. "I told you where she is, now where's my money?!" The old woman ordered.

"People make me sick," Nami shuddered. Robin couldn't trust anyone, they were all deceiving her.

Next they saw Robin peeking in a doorway from a bedroom she was staying in. There were two men at a table, "She's a good girl, but if she stays with us we'll be in danger too. Plus... Look at this bounty!" Lightning crackled outside the window with a huge blast of thunder. The light shone on the man's face she was staying with and in her mind he looked like a demon.

The horrified little girl went running to her window and jumped out. She still only had the small purple dress and nothing else to her belonging.

She ran for a while before sitting down tired. A dog ran up to her and she started making the dereshi noise as it barked. Just like everyone else though, it left her and they couldn't tell if it was the rain or just tears on her face. All of a sudden they heard a noise but it didn't sound like it was coming from the memory.

They all turned around fast and watched as Robin got to her feet. Her eyes were glazed over and she didn't move a muscle. The little girl decided to keep tormenting her and faces appeared all around them.

'Shes the devil!"

'Your sin is just being alive!'

'The little runt is cursed!'

'Nico Robin,' they froze at the sound of that voice and a few of them snarled. Only Franky and Brook were confused. They looked to see Crocodile turning around in a chair with a wide grin on his face, 'I want to borrow your power. It seems you can read the Poneglyph, am I right?'

Their adult version of Robin stared around as bodies fell all around her. The early members of the Straw Hats recognized who they were. Half the people were dressed as the Royal Guards of Alabasta, and the others looked like the rebels.

They watched in horror as a slightly younger Nico Robin walked through the busy streets after the battle. She was limping and had a large cloak so no one would recognize her, but the crew could see her face. Robin was looking around at all the blood splattered on the walls, the piles of bodies lined up on the sides of the road. Her face was strained with guilt and it almost looked like she wasn't going to be able to keep walking.

"Enough," Luffy whispered and it seemed to snap everybody back to what was happening.

"Robin snap out of it," Nami yelled at her, "that isn't who you are anymore."

"I can't wipe away my sins, my hands..." she looked down and none of the others could see it, but in Robin's eyes they were soaked in red and dripping blood. "I can't wash away what I've done," she whispered.

"We all saw what happened," Franky told her, "it wasn't your fault you had to live like that." He still felt his heart lurching after watching Saul.

The others felt the same way, most of them thinking about the passenger ship. Every single person on the island, even the Marines who helped them board, were all engulfed in a ball of fire and burned alive.

"Ace!" The memory around them changed fast and they saw a younger version of Luffy on his knees.

Some of the crew ignored the memory change since Robin was in a dire state. She looked on the verge of self-destruction seeing too many sad and regretful memories at once.

The few who did look over dropped their jaws. Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper all gazed ahead in shock as a man jumped in front of the kneeling captain. A large man in a naval uniform stood with his molten fist completely through Luffy's brother's back.

Franky and Brook turned around and had seen the picture of the man before. They knew who he was and looked at Luffy who was staring in shock at the memory.

It was terrible and they watched the man pull his arm out of Ace's chest and his flames tried to heal him but couldn't. He dropped down and started to die as Luffy shouted for a doctor. The boy pulled his hand away from the hole on his older brother's back and saw red coating the entire thing.

"My only regret," they heard a whisper, "is that I didn't get to see you fulfill your dream." Ace collapsed forward and dropped to the ground with blood splattered all around him.

On the other side of the memory they saw Robin standing back up on that rock cliff with her entire island burning around her.

Past Luffy started to wail at the top of his lungs and his rubber body allowed for his jaw to unhinge. His mouth was so far open that it didn't surprise them how loud his voice was. His screams made many members of the crew clench their ears.

Nami and Sanji had been trying to calm down their archaeologist friend but the two of them cast a quick glance back to see what the screaming was about. When they saw Luffy there next to his dead brother it made them want to scream as well.

Robin's memory started to get pushed to the side as it switched with Saul's slowly freezing body. In the place of the memory that had been there, a woman with pinkish hair appeared and Nami didn't pry her eyes away fast enough not to see her mother get shot in the heart again and blood to explode out.

She screamed and a few members looked in her direction to watch Bellemere get shot over and over again as Arlong laughed in the background.

"Nami!" Chopper shouted and turned to her. He grabbed her head and had her look down at the ground before his eyes went wide in terror.

The memory wasn't his own, but at this point they knew that the girl was definitely controlling the memories now and pushing them all off the edge.

Franky turned and ran towards the reindeer who was shaking in fear and regret, trying to get Brook to follow him. He saw the skeleton wasn't following and turned to see him staring above past Luffy's screaming form to where two men stood alone in a room.

"Send me off, with my favorite song," a man covered in some sort of sickness rasped. The musician holding a violin and looking very much like Brook started to play Binks Sale in a slow rhythm and with all the painful memories around them, it only made each one worse.

The man whispered while Brook was playing, "You're the captain now Brook. Protect the crew with your life, I'm counting on you." The skeleton began to cry tears of sorrow at that.

"I'm sorry Captain Yorki!" He screamed, "I couldn't save a single one of our friends."

The robot saw it was hopeless and looked over to see if he could help the reindeer. Sanji was standing next to him and Nami, between the orange haired girl and Robin, turning back and forth yelling at them to calm down and that none of it was happening.

Usopp was staring ahead at the burning Going Merry and then it switched to him fighting Luffy and he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"It's all in the past!" Franky yelled as he finally got a good look at what Chopper was so afraid of. It wasn't his memory at all, but of Franky's. The monster in the image was of Chopper back in Enies Lobby and it was destroying everything, attacking his own friends even.

"I'm a monster!" He yelled and gripped his hair pulling it in different directions.

Nami reached over to calm him down but saw Genzo in the background get sliced a hundred times by Kuroobi and blood spurted out all over him. "AAAHH!" She screamed and fell backwards in horror.

Zoro knew he had to take control since Luffy was beyond taking command. He'd yelled at the captain to hold it together, but Luffy wasn't able to pry his eyes away from his brother's dead corpse as it lay inches away from him.

"Ero cook! Calm down Chopper first, then get him to help with the others. Brook!" He shouted loudly and the skeleton snapped out of it and turned to him, "Try to focus and help out! Franky," he yelled to the other member of the crew who seemed capable still, but the cyborg had stopped moving.

Tom's body lay in front of him with a large harpoon sticking out of his chest. The memory was shaking and it looked like a larger puddle of blood was spreading beneath Tom that wasn't there the first time. It was from Franky's own battleship and Zoro knew that he just lost him. She was getting stronger, even able to twist the memories now and they were losing it.

Zoro spun to go over and snap Luffy out of it himself, when he saw something that made him freeze in his tracks. In front of him, larger than all the smaller memories that people were focused on, there was on open coffin.

Sanji looked away immediately from the okama queens chasing memory him around in a dress and was somewhat glad that everyone else was staring at their own memories or hiding their faces; he didn't want any of then seeing that. Especially Marimo, he thought and turned to Zoro who he thought was trying to calm down Luffy, but the man was staring ahead at a giant memory version of what he must have seen.

Inside the humongous coffin was a girl. It looked as if the image had zoomed in and it only showed the girl with the large gash on her forehead that was covered in dried blood.

"Close the coffin," Sanji heard someone shout from next to kid Zoro who was holding a hand on the lid.

He needed to make sure for himself, Zoro remembered this moment very well. "She was getting her whetstone for her sword, when she fell down the stairs," a kid said next to him.

Another boy spoke up in a whisper, "I don't know why she would, she never uses it anyway. We only train with the wooden ones," kid Zoro's eyes widened and Sanji dropped his jaw too.

He knew that the girl had died that way, but only now did he put two and two together. The memory about Zoro's promise to her about becoming the best wasn't rough because of how he now had to fulfill their promise, that must have been the day before this flashback. He thinks he killed her. She had to sharpen her sword because he challenged her to a fight, and she died because of it. "Marimo!" He called over, about to say something.

"Don't," Zoro warned harshly before turning and running to Luffy. The blonde chef was stunned, he thought that even the shitty swordsman would be struck by that memory a little more. "None of this is real," he started shouting in a loud voice. Nami stopped her whimpering and Franky shook his head clear at the sound of his clear cut voice. "Get a grip you guys," he said and walked over to Luffy before punching him on the back of the head so his face hit the black floor.

"You're not that monster anymore," Sanji told Chopper and the small reindeer with the blue hat looked up at him. "Now you can control your powers and are still a monster, but you're our monster."

Chopper sniffled a little and managed to keep his eyes away from the giant rampaging beast below him.

Luffy realized at that moment that Ace was gone, but his crew was still there. Jimbei's words after the war flooded his mind and he got a grip before turning and thanking Zoro. Then he started running across the area where all his crew members were turning away from their memories.

"I was so close!" They heard the little girl in the sky scream. Almost all of them had been ensnared by her, but the few who weren't brought most of the rest back.

"Robin!" Luffy shouted and ran right up to her. In an unusual show of affection for their captain, he wrapped her in a huge hug and tackled her to the ground. "Saul was right!" He told her and her eyes snapped wide, losing a bit of their glossy coating. "There were nakama waiting for you out at sea. We're those nakama! No one is born alone in this world!"

Chopper wiped a tear away from his face and Nami brushed her arm across to wipe her own. "He always knows exactly what to say," she said as they watched Robin's eyes close and then snap back open with a small smile on her face.

"Luffy," she whispered and then looked up, "everyone."

"Ace died," Luffy called out as he backed away from her, "but I still have all of you! My nakama!"

The others all nodded with strong determined looks on their faces.

"No! This can't be happening! Those were your most powerful memories!" All the memories around them finally started breaking into wisps and it wasn't violent at all. They all vanished and the crew looked up to see the little girl floating above them.

"Those were our saddest memories," Nami shouted back in response, correcting the child. "The most powerful ones are the happy ones we spent together as a crew!" Each member agreed and the girl with pink hair got very nervous.

"I won't hit a girl," Sanji stated and turned around, not wanting to take part, but also not going to stop what was about to happen.

The rest of them all glared up at her with such an intensity that her fading powers stopped working and she couldn't make herself invisible. Robin crossed her arms and hands came out all over the girl's body, wrapping her up.

While she was immobile, the rest of the crew moved in and attacked. Zoro beat her with the back of his swords while Usopp wrapped her in vines with a pop green. Brook turned into a ghost and scared the shit out of her while Franky gave her a strong Right to the face. Nami zapped her with lightning and even Chopper jumped up and then plowed his hooves forward knocking the wind out of her. "Gum Gum," Luffy was the last one to add in an attack to the small woman covered in scrapes and bruises, "Bazooka!" He shouted and when his hands connected with her, the blackness around them shattered into pieces.

"We made it out!" Usopp cheered and pumped a fist in the air.

The girl went flying so far they couldn't see her anymore and the crew celebrated their escape with cheers and hollers.

"We made it!" Nami shouted and ran forward. Sanji held out his arms with hearts in his eyes but she picked up Chopper and squeezed him tight in a happy hug. He glared at the reindeer while a few of the others laughed.

After a few minutes of calming down, they all started walking back to the ship in relative silence. Then out of nowhere, Usopp said, "I feel a lot closer to all of you." No one stopped walking and they saw the Sunny getting closer. "I mean..." he whispered and then regained the confidence to keep going, "it sucked that we had to go through that, but I'm glad you all saw something that I never would have been able to share with you."

Brook thought for a moment and then stated in a happy tone, "I agree Usopp-san, it helps to know that I can share the burden of losing my crew."

"And getting Doctor killed," Chopper added with a sad smile.

"And Tom arrested," Franky agreed. "I'll never be able to lift that weight off my shoulders, but at least it's a little lighter with you guys to help armored me carry it."

The others said they were happy to help carry it and smiled before getting back to their normal selves and climbing on board their ship, ready to finally leave the island.

As the ship sailed away, Sanji walked up to Zoro on the side of the ship and removed the smoke from his mouth. He sucked up his usual anger at the swordsman and looked out over the water as he said, "I'll help you become the best," the green-haired man was stunned at the chef's words and didn't look at him. "If it's all for a lady, then how could I refuse?" Then he coughed and added, feeling weird with all the sentimental shit, "and if you need help carrying that burden."

Zoro knew that Sanji had figured out what he was living with and sighed. He wanted to insult the chef and tell him off, but he was too tired, at least that was the excuse he gave himself. Sanji was trying to help him, and he couldn't think of another time except for fighting Kuma when that had happened. "Sure whatever," he just mumbled and the chef started walking away.

Suddenly Zoro smirked evilly and tilted his head towards the chef, "Don't worry, I won't mention the dress to anyone," Sanji froze where he stood and his face turned red with anger and embarrassment.

If there was one person he didn't want knowing about that, it was him. He turned around slowly and saw that Zoro was dropping it there, like that was really the only time he would mention seeing Sanji in a dress.

"He wasn't the only one to see it though," Usopp giggled from the balcony of the kitchen. He just told the captain and he and Luffy started cracking up and rolling around on the floor again.

The two men looked up from the deck and Zoro grinned, "Eh, nothing I could do about that."

Sanji's body burst into flames, "USOPPPPP!"

A/N Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the ending to Straw Hats Stuck in Memories. Yes, there are other memories the members didn't see, but I thought that was a great place to end. Twenty thousand words! WOO! I don't think I've ever uploaded a chapter that long before. To everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed, thank you very much for making this such a successful story. For everyone who reads my other One Piece fanfics (and those who don't if you want to): One Piece Tourney, and Brook's Abduction, I'm going to take a small hiatus from them and try writing a One Piece and Kingdom Hearts crossover, still don't know what I'm gonna call it. Once again hope you enjoyed, now time for the reviews!

Black Night Wolf

Yippee you updated ;). Anyway another great chapter and I can't wait for more. So I hope you update soon and I wish you the best of luck :).

Glad you liked it and I tried not to make you wait too long. Robin had a whole lot of baggage so it was an extra long chapter ;). And Thanks!

Ralman23

Thanks its actually the one where escapes from Law's after Marineford. Just research dark luffy and this is the first it comes up. Anyway like the Franky flashback and Usopp forgiving him. really touching to the heart-bro, oh sorry aniki! (Does a super pose except in the opposite direction)

Haha, thanks for the review. Yeah I remember that scene, it was pretty heart-wrenching itself, but I felt that whole thing wound up being too happy when Jimbei told him about his nakama so it would've been a happy memory.

Ashlielle

Wow! I didn't read this story before now because I thought it would be like all the other ones, but this is great! I love the way the story goes, most of the added parts, and I can't wait for the next chapter!
*hands you a cookie* Because cookies are cool, yo.

*Eats cookie... DELICIOUS thanks! Hope you liked the new chapter even if it took a while to read. And I'm glad it's unique from the other memory stories you've read!

Daseki no Kama

can't wait for the next chapter!

Here you go!

RedZoro

Poor Robin she is the more touch by all her memories, I possibly cry for her.
Thar chapter was really good and make Franky regret his act was a really good idea.

Just proofreading the chapter a few minutes ago I was on the verge of tears. Thanks, I'm glad I included that chapter 'cuz I almost thought about just making this one Chapter 7, but decided what the heck! I'm happy you read this when I posted the first chapter and have stayed by it to the end. Thank you very much!

And that's my first One Piece Fanfic completed. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and anyone who read the story to the end. Have a great day!