Title: All's Lost

Rating: M for adult themes (not for sex)

Author: EudaimonArisornae

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

WARNING: SPOILERS up to the end of the Water 7/Enies Lobby arcs

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Franky slumped the trio against the wall and quickly limped to the front of the building. He thought that he had escaped the marines' attention, but he knew it wouldn't be long until they stumbled upon the lone structure in the center of the forest.

"Weapons left," he shouted breathlessly, aiming at the low stone tunnel entryway. The rocks crumbled, barring anyone from entering.

He glanced around the building, trying to ascertain how long it would hold out when they were discovered. The walls were made of thick layers of stone, and the only way to get in was the entrance that he had just destroyed. Several narrow windows lined the wall near the roof. Although the windows offered a few precious slivers of daylight in the chamber, they were too narrow for a human to crawl through.

He knelt down next to the motionless figures of Robin, Nami, and Sanji. The events of the day replayed in his head like a nightmare.

- - -

Several shots resounded through the clearing.

"Usopp!" Nami shrieked as the long-nose man collapsed to the ground. Chopper rushed to his side.

Dark shapes started to approach from the shadows of the trees. More shots rang out, hitting Franky on his chest. His steel body deflected them with a dull ping.

"Why are there people attacking us?" Nami shouted, drawing her weapon defensively. "We haven't done anything!"

"This is a trap," Zoro said suddenly, deflecting bullets with one of his swords.

"What?" Luffy cried out. "But those old men told this island was deserted!"

"They lied. The gunshot that hit Usopp came from the front," Zoro explained. "So we weren't followed. They were anticipating us coming here.. Now the shots are coming from behind as well."

"It feels like a set-up," Sanji agreed, lighting a cigarette.

"Oi, Chopper, is Usopp okay?" Luffy called.

Everyone turned around and stared at Chopper, realizing that he was shaking.

"Chopper?"

Chopper turned around. Tears were streaming down his face.

"The bullet got him through his heart," he wailed. "He's dead."

Nami dropped to her knees and covered her mouth with her hands. The rest of the crew gasped.

"No, that can't be!" Luffy shouted. "Chopper, do something!"

"I can't do anything, Luffy," he balled.

- - -

"Robin?" Franky asked urgently, checking to make sure she was still breathing. Carefully, he carefully laid Robin's body in a resting position. Her abdomen and right leg had sustained heavy injuries. Even if they found a way out of there, he didn't suspect that she would be able to walk again for a while.

He moved onto Nami. She was wheezing loudly and periodically coughing up blood.

"Franky…" she gasped breathlessly. "Robin and Sanji…"

"Robin's okay," Franky told her. "I'm about to check on Sanji."

She nodded laboriously, clutching a wound on her chest. Blood slowly seeped through her fingertips and stained the front of her shirt.

Franky grimaced as he gazed at the wound. He knew that the hole in her chest went straight through to her back.

- - -

Moments after Usopp went down, a sea of marines rushed forward and attacked the crew. Bullets continued to fly from all around them.

The crew quickly realized that they were fighting a completely different caliber of marines than what they were used to. Many of them were terrifyingly strong or possessed devil fruit powers. They were not the usual weak soldiers that the marines sent after them.

Recognizing that she was vulnerable, several soldiers swarmed Nami. Their attack was so swift and powerful that she had no time to counter.

One of the marines adeptly slid a sword into her back below her shoulder blades while she tried to block the rest of the attacks with her Clima Tact. The marine's blade slid through her body and protruded through the front of her chest.

"Nami-san!" Sanji shrieked from the distance, watching her disappear beneath the blanket of marines. His cry rang out loud enough to hear amidst the din of the battle. A tornado of black shoes and blonde hair cut down dozens of marines as he rushed to her.

The orange-haired girl was crumpled on the ground, and another marine was about to deliver the finishing blow. Sanji knocked him out and picked up the bleeding girl.

Her breath was coming in short, painful gasps.

"Oh god, Nami-san," Sanji cried, cradling her body tightly against him. He struggled to fight off another onslaught of marines while keeping her body free from harm.

As he tried to kick the sword out of the hands of one marine, another soldier took the opportunity to slice him across his leg. Sanji let out a cry of surprise and fell to his knees.

"I won't let you die, Nami-san!" he declared valiantly, lifting himself to his feet.

Another marine tried to stab Sanji in the same manner that Nami had been stabbed, but Robin intervened.

"Clutch," she shouted, and extra arms sprouted out of the marine attacking Sanji, putting him into a headlock. A moment later, the sound of cracking bones echoed across the battle, and the marine sagged to the ground.

- - -

Franky moved on to Sanji with concern. A large pool of blood was already surrounding him.

"So much blood…" Nami gasped.

The cook had sustained the worst injuries of the three of them. Although Robin had protected him when she could, he threw himself in front of the marines several times to prevent the two women from being injured any further.

With despair, Franky realized that he could not hear Sanji breathing. He pressed his head against the blonde man's chest, trying to detect the faintest patter of a heartbeat.

He heard nothing.

"Franky?" Nami wheezed, her eyes brimming with tears. "He can't be dead, right?"

The bite his lip and looked up at Nami. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"What are you saying?" she cried.

"He's dead."

"No," she tried to wail, but the word came out as a whispered shriek. She started coughing again. Dark blood splattered from out of her mouth.

"Sanji, you idiot," she said, when the coughing fits stopped. "You didn't have to die for me." Painfully, she raised an arm to wipe the tears and blood smearing across her face.

Franky tried to listen to his heartbeat again, but Sanji's body was limp and lifeless. The cook had multiple bullet and sword wounds riddled across his body, and he had lost so much blood.

"It's getting harder to breathe," she wheezed after a few moments of silence.

He looked at her with concern. He desperately wished that he know what to do to help.

"Franky," she asked him, "can you put me next to Sanji?"

"What?"

"I can't move on my own," she said faintly. "I want to be near him, though. That idiot…" she stopped to cough for a moment. "That idiot would've liked it if he knew I was close to him."

Wordlessly, he moved Nami until she was sitting next to him. She laid her head on the dead man's shoulder. "Sanji," she cried softly, grabbing onto his arm.

Franky stared at her sadly. I don't know how much longer she can last, he though quietly, listening to her labored breathing.

He moved over to where Robin lay, and started to tie off some of her injuries in order to stop the blood flow. He silently wished that Chopper could have been there.

- - -

Zoro threw himself in the middle of the melee, swords drawn, with his black bandana tied around his head.

"Strawhat pirates," one of the commanding officers bellowed from the distance. "You're not getting away from us this time. We've called on most of the power of the marines to fight you here, and we've studied your weaknesses. You aren't getting away."

Zoro ran in the direction of the voice. "I'm going to find you and prove you wrong," he growled, clutching his katana tightly in his teeth. "I cannot die here."

Furiously, Zoro slashed through everyone that got within inches of him, leaving a trail of bodies and blood in his wake.

"Shoot him!" a marine screamed in the distance. "He can only deflect so many bullets at once."

Zoro ducked low, bracing himself for the attack. A barrage of bullets flew in his direction. When the firing waned, blood was trickling down his back and one of his thighs.

"Heh, you think that a couple of bullets can stop me?" he grinned menacingly. He stood up, oblivious to his wounds. "It takes more than a bullet to stop me."

"Horn point," Chopper cried out, jumping in front of Zoro. The reindeer had been trying to knock out as many marines as he could with the heavy antlers on his horn point form.

"Zoro, you're wounded," Chopper shouted, butting his head into several marines.

"It's fine," he said nonchalantly, slashing his katanas in the chest of an approaching marine.

"That Ero-Cook was screaming for you," Zoro said after a moment. "I think someone is hurt. I'll cover you if you want to go look for them."

"I'm having a tough time getting through this crowd, and my rumble ball is about to run out," Chopper said, sounding panicked. "Zoro, these marines are strong."

"Not strong enough," Zoro stated. He thrust his katanas in the direction of a group of charging marines. "Tatsumaki," he rumbled. The marines crumpled on top of each other, covering in lacerations from the attack.

Suddenly, a net flew over Chopper's head and tangled on his horns. The reindeer reverted to his regular form and fell to the ground.

"So heavy," he gasped.

"Oi, Chopper!" Zoro shouted. "What happened?"

"It's… it's a seastone net," he said, weakly trying to untangle himself. "I can barely move."

"Shit," Zoro cursed, slashing at the net in an attempt to cut it open. His sword had no effect

"I can't cut it?" he growled in surprise.

Three marines wielding large, curved blades lunged toward Zoro, driving him away from the net.

Another group of marines surrounded Chopper and aimed pistols at him. Realizing what was happening, Zoro tried to flee from the assaults of the swordsman who were surrounding him and run to Chopper's aid, but it was too late.

The marines fired multiple shots into Chopper's body as he wailed in pain.

- - -

Franky carefully bound Robin's wounds. The flesh in one of her legs had been torn to shreds, and she had a small puncture in the lower part of her abdomen.

When he was done bandaging her, he looked over at Nami, who was still leaning heavily on Sanji's rigid body. Her breathing has grown slow and weak. Tentatively, he put a hand on your shoulder.

"Nami?" he said worriedly.

She didn't stir.

He patted her slightly. "Come on, you've gotta stay with me." Momentarily forgetting Robin, he moved over closer to Nami.

Her breathing was nearly inaudible now. He lowered his ear to her chest, trying to hear her heartbeat.

"You should probably hit me for this," he said jokingly, but she did not respond.

Franky's eyes widened as he listened to her heartbeat. It was slow and irregular, and growing fainter as each second ticked away.

The orange-haired girl started to choke. He quickly straightened out her head, but she continued choking, still not conscious. The blood was flowing freely from her mouth now, and it dripped down his arm as he head her neck straight.

Trembling, Franky realized that she was dying and there was nothing he could do about it. He leaned her back against the wall and rested his hands on her shoulders, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry," he bawled. "I don't know how to save you."

- - -

Franky fought zealously, using his full artillery to pump the marines full of bullets or knock them out of his way. Desperately, he tried to keep from getting caught as struggled to meet up with the rest of the crew.

Running toward Zoro, he nearly tripped over the seastone net on the ground. Cursing, he looked down and saw what remained of Chopper. They had pumped him full of so many bullets, he could barely recognize him anymore.

"You bastards," Franky shouted. "Strong right," he shouted, firing his fist into several more marines.

"Oi, Franky," Zoro called out, slicing into several bodies with a sickening squish. "Get everyone out of here, now."

"What?" he said in surprise.

"Whoever's left, get them out of here. Luffy and I will hold them off."

"Not a chance," Franky said flatly. "They're fighting dirty in this battle. You can't expect to get out of here with just the two of you fighting."

Zoro looked at his darkly, his eyes hidden in shadows. "If you don't get them to safety now, none of us may make it out of here."

Franky gaped at Zoro for a few seconds. He was a terrifying site. The swordsman was covered in the blood of the marines he had slain.

In the distance, he heard Luffy shouting.

He decided to heed Zoro's order. He would gather the rest; they had already lost two nakama. The death toll did not need to get any higher.

After fighting through hordes of marines, he stumbled upon Nami, Sanji, and Robin. With his last ounce of energy, Sanji was trying to keep the marines from attacking the two women. Nami and Robin were both lying motionless near his feet.

"Franky, get them out of here," Sanji said breathlessly, beckoning at the two women.

Franky picked up Nami and Robin and put them gently over one of his shoulders. "Come on," Franky said, "Follow me. Everybody's going to come soon so we can get out of here." He didn't realize that Sanji was so close to his limit.

"I'll guard from behind," Sanji told him.

Yet they had barely traveled fifty yards when Sanji collapsed on the ground. Franky slung him over his free shoulder, fired a string of bullets into the distance, and ran as quickly as he could, trying to break free of the marines.

- - -

Robin woke a short while later, wincing from the pain. Her head felt a bit fuzzy, like she had been hit by something. As she slowly drifted awake, she became aware of the sound of sobs.

She realized that someone was holding her tightly, and she could feel their breath on her head. She tried to move, and a new wave of pain coursed through her body, causing her to cry out in pain.

"R-robin?" she heard Franky stammer.

"Yes?" she asked, opening her eyes slightly. She realized that he was the one holding her.

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked carefully.

And as he asked the question, she suddenly remembered everything.

"Usopp," she cried out. "He's dead."

Franky nodded slowly.

"Where's everyone else?" she said frantically, attempting to sit up again. The pain shot through her body again.

"Don't try to move," he said softly, tensing his grip around her body. "You're hurt pretty badly."

"Where are they, Franky?" she asked again. "The last thing I remember was trying to help Sanji… and someone hit me over the head."

He sighed heavily. "I'm so sorry, Robin."

Her eyes widened.

Tears streaming down his face, he nodded in the direction of Nami and Sanji.

Robin stared at the unmoving bodies, and her eyes began to well with tears. "They're… dead?"

"Yes," he choked.

"And everyone else?"

He stared at her sadly and brushed his hand across her cheek.

- - -

Luffy had driven off countless marines, using gear second, and he had managed to sustain only a few injuries. When Zoro finally met up with him, Luffy was fighting two high-ranking marines who possessed devil's fruit abilities.

Luffy had a terrifying expression on his face as her fiercely battled the marines. His face was contorted into a rage that Zoro had never seen on him before.

"Zoro," he heard Luffy shout, his voice low and dangerous. "Where is everyone?"

"I told Franky to get everyone out of here," Zoro called back. "But you should know…"

"Know what?" Luffy yelled.

"Chopper is dead."

Luffy stopped in his tracks and stared at Zoro, carelessly knocking one of the marines backwards.

The captain's already terrifying expression turned even darker, and he turned to the two marines who were focusing on him.

"Two of our nakama are dead," he said flatly. Suddenly, he assaulted them with a barrage of powerful punches.

"TWO OF OUR NAKAMA ARE DEAD," he screamed, and he put his right hand in front of him. "Gear third," he shouted. He bit his thumb, swung his left arm back, and began blowing air through his body.

His hand grew enormous, and he swiftly knocked away the two marines who had been attacking him.

"Get out of the way, Zoro," he growled.

Zoro jumped aside and engaged in a fight with another group of soldiers.

"Gomu Gomu no Gigant Pistol," Luffy wailed. His giant fist burst forward and crushed dozens of marines simultaneously.

Franky heard Luffy's cries in the distance, and for a moment, he thought that maybe they would still be victorious.

He turned around for a moment, still holding the three limp bodies over his shoulders. Luffy's enormous arm was easy to see, and he could just barely spot Zoro standing near him.

"Take them down, Strawhat!" Franky cried out with joy.

And then, the unthinkable happened.

A large missile fired from the distance and struck Luffy on the arm. Franky's jaw dropped as the oversized arm suddenly shrunk down to a normal size, and blood splayed out from the arm.

"What the hell?" Luffy screamed.

A marine wearing the uniform of a vice-admiral walked toward him, pointing a gun at Luffy's head.

"Strawhat," the vice-admiral sneered, "it seems as if our little experience has worked."

"What's going on?" Luffy asked, trying to stop the blood from gushing out of his arm. "How did you shoot me? I'm rubber!"

The marine laughed mercilessly. "It's our newest invention against devil's fruit users." He fired his pistol at Luffy's other arm, and the bullet tore through his flesh.

"Sea stone projectiles. Bullets, missiles, anything we can fire at you," he laughed. He fired another bullet. Luffy dodged before it hit him.

"We know your weakness," he grinned, "and now we're going to use it to take you down, Strawhat Luffy."

"That's why you tricked us to come to this island, so you could ambush us?" Zoro snarled.

"That's right. We paid those old men to tell you about the rumor that one piece was hidden on a secluded island near Raftel, and not actually on Raftel. We knew you would come here, and that it would be the perfect ambush. After all, it's a well known fact that Monkey D. Luffy is trying to become the next pirate king."

Luffy and Zoro simultaneously lunged at the vice-admiral.

A chorus of bullets and missiles flew at the pair synchronously, and blood began to gush from their heavily wounded bodies. Yet the two continued forward at a breakneck speed toward the vice-admiral.

Although Franky desperately wanted to see the outcome of the fight, he saw a chance to run away as the marines watched Luffy and Zoro being pelted with bullets.. He ran deeper into the woods, hoping that none of them were on his tail.

- - -

"That's all I saw of them," Franky finished, still holding Robin near him. "But their bodies were so heavily damaged…"

During the story, she had unconsciously put her arms around his neck. She hugged him more closely, trying to stop the tears from flowing.

"They might have survived for a short while," Franky continued, "but I don't know how long they could continue with so many bullet wounds."

She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, inadvertently smearing blood on her face. "Does anyone know we're here?" she asked finally.

"They'll figure it out soon enough," he replied.

"How bad are my wounds?" she asked, straining to look down at her stomach.

"You won't be walking any time soon," he said, gently putting his hand under her jaw to prevent her from viewing the injuries. Franky wanted to spare her that painful image.

Robin looked at him with concern, and then let her gaze drift over the bodies of Nami and Sanji.

"What about escaping? Is it possible?"

Franky remained silent.

"Franky," she said softly, "you're not telling me something."

The blue-haired man sighed heavily. "I don't want to make a bad situation seem even worse," he spoke finally, "but there are two problems with breaking out way out of here."

"And those are…"

"The first problem is that I'm nearly out of cola."

Robin's heart sank. She doubted that Franky would have the strength to fight his way through another horde of marines without cola.

"And this is the second problem…"

He stretched out his right leg in front of him slightly so she could see it.

The front part of his foot had been bent forward and twisted, and the back of his heel looked as though it had been melted off.

She felt a chill run down her spine. "How did that happen?"

- - -

As Franky fled through the forest, he optimistically believed that he had evaded the attention of the marines. He hoped that if he could just make it to water, he could find a way to escape to the sea.

This plan was abruptly crushed when an oversized marine jumped out in front of him, cutting off his path.

"Did you think you could get away so easily?" the marine sneered.

Franky scratched his head. "Well yeah, actually, I did."

The marine crinkled his face into an expression of disgust. "You won't get through me," he boomed.

Shit, Franky thought desperately, I'm limited in what sort of firepower I can use while I'm carrying these three.

"Hentai," he shouted, and his legs began to separate. "Franky Centaur."

Before the marine had time to react, Franky launched himself at him and pinned the soldier to the ground.

"Weapons left," he shouted, aiming the guns in his left arm at the marine's skull.

The marine laughed cruelly. "Is that all you've got?" he sneered.

Suddenly, Franky realized that the marine was twisting his leg. Shocked, he glanced at his right foot and saw that the metal was burning red hot and starting to drip.

"That's my devil's fruit ability," the marine cackled, reaching out to grab the gun in Franky's arm. "I can heat anything to any temperature I want."

Instinctively, Franky released his hold and jumped off of his body before anything else could be damaged. The metal on his right leg bent and twisted until it began to solidify again.

- - -

Robin stared at his foot somberly. "So we escaped only to be captured again."

He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," she said softly. "We've had nearly impossible odds so many times… it's amazing we ever made it this far."

"I'm still trying to figure out a way to get you out of here," he stated.

"We've lost this war, Franky," she said remorsefully. "We've no chance of escaping. We declared war on the World Government, and we lost."

"You realize what they're going to do with you when they find you," Franky warned.

"Even if they take me alive, I won't read the poneglyphs for them now. I can face pain or death. The only read leverage they have..." She gazed into his eyes, sadness reflecting in her light blue eyes. "The only real leverage they have is you. I don't think I could bear to watch them torture you."

He bent down and hugged her tightly. "I'll destroy myself because I let them do that."

"You can actually do that? I thought that was just a bluff you used at Enies Lobby."

Franky nodded. "Yeah, I can do it." He sat upright again.

"Can you take me with you?"

"What?" he asked with shock.

"When you self-destruct… Can it end my life as well?"

"Robin, I can't do that," he said, mortified at the idea.

"I'd rather die here than die at the hands of the marines. Or worse, I could be kept prisoner for the rest of my life, and they could torture me until I tell them how to make the ancient weapon."

She sat up, bringing her face closer to him and ignoring the pain in the rest of her body. "Please, Franky," she pleaded. "I'd rather die here with you."

"It'll cause an explosion," he said finally. "The little bit of cola I have left will probably make it large enough to destroy this building, maybe a little further."

"Then you'll do it?"

He nodded reluctantly.

They heard voices in the distance. "We're still missing four bodies! They've gotta be around here somewhere!" shouted a male voice.

"Hey, did anyone check in that building over there?"

"I tried to, sir, but there's no way they could get in. The entrance is completely collapsed!"

"You idiot," the other man exclaimed, "these rocks were just knocked down. Can't you tell by looking at them? The rest of the strawhats are probably in there right now."

Robin felt her heart sink. "So these are our few last moments," she said quietly.

"Yeah," he acknowledged, "When do you want me to…?"

"When they surround us," she said. "Perhaps we can take down a few marines while we're at it."

"Alright," he agreed.

Despite knowing that these were the last few minutes of her life, Robin felt a peace drift over her. Even the pain of her injures seemed bearable, knowing that it would all be over in a few minutes.

"Franky, perhaps it's just the dire situation," she mentioned, "but I'm suddenly remembering how I felt on the first night that we met each other at Enies Lobby." She tried to sit up a little bit straighter so that she could face him properly.

He looked at her questioningly.

"When we first spoke on that train to Enies Lobby… Though you were only a stranger whom I had just met, you said something that changed me forever. You told me that my existence wasn't a sin." She smiled faintly and leaned in toward him. Her voice softened. "And you risked your life countless times to save me.

"When Spandam tried to kill me with that monstrous elephant sword, you threw your body in front of him to save me…"

"I'm made of steel," he pointed out. "It couldn't hurt me."

"But you didn't hesitate. You barely knew me, and yet you were willing to throw everything away on saving me when you could have escaped. We weren't even nakama yet."

Franky smiled sheepishly. "It was no big deal…"

Robin smiled back. "So now, in these last fragile moments, I wanted to tell you that I may have fallen in love with you that day. I've never been in love before, but it's the way I imagine it would feel. Perhaps that's why I was so reluctant to let you stay behind at Water 7."

His eyes widened in shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"I'm sorry if that's a bit shocking," she apologized. "I never felt that it was appropriate to mention it, but right now I'm reminded of how I felt on that day."

Several marines started to shout from just outside the building. Robin looked around and realized that the light was starting to dim.

"Nightfall is coming," she noted.

"Dammit," Franky spoke finally.

"What is it?"

"That you just told me those things. I wish I could have known them sooner."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

Wordlessly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against hers. She clutched onto him tightly, and he clasped her body against his, deepening the kiss.

"Alright, set up the canons," cried a voice from outside.

Reluctantly, they pulled away from each other.

"I wish I could've done that more," Franky said regretfully, savoring the taste of her sweet lips on his tongue.

Her vision became blurred as her eyes began to fill with tears. "Let's not die with regrets," she told him. "Let's just appreciate that we had this final moment."

"I fell in love with you that day as well," Franky admitted. "I never thought that you would feel the same way, though, so I never even tried to bring it up."

She kissed him softly again. "What fools we are, waiting until it's too late."

He nodded, and gently wiped away a tear that was rolling down her cheek.

A voice boomed from outside again. "When I give the signal, start firing!"

"This is it," Robin whispered.

"I wish we had just a few moments longer," Franky said with a heavy sigh, pulling her into an embrace. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," she breathed, grasping him tightly.

"I'll count to three."

"Alright."

"I love you, Nico Robin," Franky said quietly.

"I love you, too, Franky," she replied, her voice quavering slightly.

"One…

"Two…

"Three."