Chapter 5: An Ode to Fisher Tiger

Foolshout Island was a relatively peaceful place, all things considered. Early on in Paradise, close to a Marine base, and one largely ignored by the World Nobles with one notable exception in the past. It was yet another crisp, peaceful dawn. Only for it to be interrupted by the large waves that slammed the coast as a massive whale surfaced by the shore.

"Yohohoho! Thank you, Laboon!" exclaimed Brook as a bony hand reached out of the gargantuan whale's blowhole. Stepping out, Brook dusted himself off before reaching back into Laboon's blowhole and offering a hand to Robin. Nodding in thanks, Robin took his hand and gracefully stepped onto Laboon's head, the whale replying with a happy thrill of its voice in acknowledgement of Brook's gratitude.

Gazing around, Brook exclaimed, "Ah, we're here! You said this island was called Foolshout Island, Robin-san?" Robin nodded in response. "Ara, I must admit that I'm not sure why we are here. I can't seem to recall you ever mentioning an adventure on this island before," said Brook as he gestured out at the large cacti-coated flatlands.

Robin offered him a small smile before replying, "You are correct; I've never actually been to this island before, although it is very close to Whiskey Peak. We're actually here for a close friend of mine…as well as to right a great wrong which can be easily averted," replied Robin before turning her attention onto the town which she figured was inland in order to avoid pirate raids.

"I see, yohohoho! Ara, shall we go, Robin-san?" asked Brook

"Mhm," replied Robin as a pathway of arms formed between Laboon's head and a rocky ledge on the shoreline. "We shouldn't have to wait long; from what I can recall of the story, the men we are waiting for should be showing up within a month or so at the latest," said Robin as they casually walked across said bridge, dispelling it once they touched ground.

Turning back, Robin waved at Laboon with a smile. "Don't worry Laboon, we won't be here for too long! We'll be sure to come down here every day!" Laboon's massive head bobbed, content agreement visible in his eyes as he submerged once more.

And so we spent the next three weeks amongst the townspeople. We settled into our routine cover when on more remote islands; I was a traveling dancer and Brook was my musician. Brook's appearance was explained via the means of mentioning his devil fruit, which quickly got nods of understanding from people that live on the Grand Line, even if the villagers were rather uncomfortable around him. It only took about three weeks of waiting undercover for Fisher Tiger to show up.

"Nyuu, Captain, we see land!" exclaimed Hachi, his three right arms pointed excitedly at the island in the distance. Koala perked up at Hachi's voice and cheered in excitement, causing all of the nearby fishmen to smile happily at her. Koala really had wormed their way into their hearts. Fisher Tiger stepped out of the ship's interior upon hearing Hachi's call, a small, satisfied smile on his face. He…well, he couldn't escape the hatred in his heart he felt for humanity at large. Not really. Not like he pretended he did. But Koala was different; she was an innocent and just a much of victim of the worst cruelty humanity had to offer to fishmen. He only wished she'd stop trying to be so affectionate towards him. Gazing out on the island, Fisher Tiger couldn't help but get lost in recollections of the past, both good and bad.

And then a gargantuan whale popped out of the water. Eyes widening in shock, the fishmen gaped and gasped before they heard a distant, echoing hint of a voice. The whale's mouth opened wide, and out sailed two…humans? One was a skeleton, but it was a human skeleton. The skeleton man was wildly waving a white flag while the woman ship waved at the fishmen. A low growl echoed out of Arlong's throat at the sight and he made to dive into the water before Fisher Tiger's outstretched arm and shake of the head had him nodding, mildly disgruntled.

"Fisher Tiger-san? Permission to come aboard?" shouted the woman as they neared the ship. Fisher Tiger stared hard at the duo before nodding. Most of the fishmen glowered, weary after having sailed for so long with so many negative experiences with humans in Paradise, but they almost uniformly lowered their guard. The fishmen watched in shock as the woman crossed her arms and a series of legs appeared, which the duo used as a gangplank to come aboard. Koala made to hide behind Tiger's leg, somewhat afraid of the skeleton man accompanying the teenage girl. For once, Fisher Tiger payed her touching him no mind as he continued to stare at the woman with mild hostility.

Coming to a stop, Robin took a step forward to address the Captain of the Sun Pirates; "Fisher Tiger-san. Do you know who I am?" queried the woman neutrally, causing him to cock an eyebrow as he stared at her; that line was almost always followed by some blowhard idiot thinking they could boast their way to victory. But the tone conveyed something entirely different. Analyzing the woman's face, he pondered on it before recognition lit up his eyes.

"Aye. Nico Robin, the Flower Prophet. What brings you to my ship?" questioned Tiger, although it sounded more like a demand than a question. Jinbe shifted next to him, a gruff look on his face with mild consternation; Arlong's sister had long since demonstrated that when verified mystics spoke, one should take their word seriously.

Robin smiled calmly at him as she fell to one knee, confusing the powerful fishman. "Two things. First…to thank you."

The fishmen aboard the ship all collectively gaped in disbelief as Robin prostrated herself in seiza before their captain, head on the ground. "Thank you…thank you so much, for what you did at Mariejois, and for what you did for this girl with you. You have taken the first great step towards the reconciliation of all peoples of the Earth. And we all will never be able to repay you for the bravery you've shown."

Fisher Tiger while not quite mouth agape, stared in shock at the woman. This was a first; he usually received a friendly welcome and a thank you from any former human slaves that he had freed, but this was an entirely new level of gratitude from a human that was making him incredibly uncomfortable in its sincerity. Unacknowledged by him, a small amount of weight lifted from his heart at her words. It was these scarce moments like these that continued to fuel his morality, even if internally he struggled to reign in his hatred.

"…Nico-san, were you once a slave?" questioned Tiger as he crossed his arms. Robin shook her head, which was still down. "Not for the ones you're thinking of, but yes, for a short while." Brook stared blankly at his nakama while the questions ran through his head; Robin had never mentioned such a thing to him!

Inside her head, Robin couldn't help but replay all she'd seen and learned of the cruelty of the Celestial Dragons, scenes from her short time as a slave in Tequila Wolf, and most of all, Nami's recounting of the tale Jinbe had told her on Fishman Island, supporting a devastated Koala when she'd found out the true fate of Fisher Tiger partway through her time with the Revolutionaries, and the price put on her head in a past life by the same evil men that had ruined the lives of so many of her friends.

'Thank you so much Tiger-san, for all you've done for Koala. For being the first to take a stand against those devils in men's skin. And for trying your best to look past all the wrongs humans keep committing against your people. I think that you'd have liked Luffy. He'd have almost certainly tried to make a friend out of you.'

Standing up to meet his gaze, she discreetly looked around to gauge the moods of the fishmen. It was in a word, ecstatic. Most were openly happy and celebrating at their Captain's legend. Jinbe's usual gruff demeanor seemed lessened as he grinned, pleased by her words. Even Arlong looked torn between scowling at her and cheering alongside his brethren. Koala, while slightly confused got the gist of what she was saying, and was happily laughing alongside Hachi and Chew.

"The second," she continued, halting most of the celebrating, "is to deliver some rather grave news relating to you," she said as she pointed at first Fisher Tiger, "and you," to Koala. Koala pointed at herself in confusion. "Ara?"

Seeing that she had everybody's full attention, she elaborated on, "Koala is the first seed towards a better future between humans and fishmen, but if it were left up to fate, the village you're about to leave her in will do their best to burn this seed to ashes."

Most of the fishmen, Koala, and Brook looked at her in confusion but a few of the savvier fishmen, Fisher Tiger included, had their moods darken at her words. Jinbe did his best to appear aloof, but he couldn't but to begin eyeing Koala wearily as though already anticipating some form of betrayal. Robin wasn't blind to this.

"To be clear, Koala will never betray you. She loves you all, just as much as she loves her own biological family. Maybe even more. The people that will betray you," she stated as she hitched her thumb behind her towards the island, "are the townsfolk. They're going to call the Marines on you, and Koala won't be any wiser. They unfortunately, are not the generation with which prejudice will die. If I were to do nothing…today, you would die."

Several of the fishmen exclaimed angrily, and Arlong grinned viciously as he had been more than hoping for an excuse. He was almost to the ledge of the ship before an angry "Arlong!" convinced him to back away, an angry, pissed off grin stuck on his face as he thought about what he wanted to do to the miserable, inferior shitstains living in that town.

Fisher Tiger's face was unreadable but his body language made it clear that he was tense, and taking what she was saying deathly seriously. He'd met Shyarly. He knew how these things worked. Slowly, he audibly let loose the breath he'd been holding.

"So now I know. Why are you here, other than to tell me to say my last prayers?" demanded Fisher Tiger, his mind clouded by the hatred and bad will humanity seemed to inherently possess towards his kind. Truthfully, he was weary. This was only the latest in his string of negative encounters with humanity. Thankfully, Robin was a patient and diplomatic almost-adult woman.

"I came here to avoid a tragedy," stated Robin, "and I'm here to tell you what to do to change your fate." Fisher Tiger's frown lessened slightly as he gestured for her to go on.

"Ask Koala to walk into town, and tell her to ask her mother was she thinks about fishmen. Then tell her to ask her what she would do if she saw a fishman. I believe that Koala will show you all once and for all where her loyalties lay and who her family truly is. If you were to die today…it would devastate her. She'd spend the rest of her life blaming herself for your death," proclaimed Robin as her eyes flickered to the wide-eyed Koala.

Fisher Tiger was quiet for quite a while before nodding in acceptance. Turning to Koala, he asked her if she'd understood what Robin had said, to which the girl nodded, eyes still wide and slightly confused. "Go on Koala, go home to your family. But don't forget to ask them what Nico-san said. And remember, that we'll be here for one more hour." Koala nodded before disembarking and hesitantly waving goodbye at her fishman family. Their goodbyes were muted as they quietly watched her turn around and walk away towards the town.

Gesturing at Robin as the two watched Koala walk away, Fisher Tiger couldn't help but ask; "Last time I had somebody read my future, they were very vague and told me absolutely nothing useful. And what they predicted ended up happening no matter what I did. This is the first time I've seen a seer actually tell me that I can change the future, and how to do so. What's your trick?"

A calm smile graced Robin's face as she said, "It's a bit of a secret Tiger-san, but I guess I'm a bit unique. Somehow, it feels to me as though I've lived through all of this before."

Everything happened more or less as I had predicted. Koala had gotten home and had a tearful reunion with her mother. But a tearful reunion quickly turned into shock, followed by outrage at the vileness and hate spewing from the mouth of Koala's mother that had once been the catalyst for the girl fleeing home young and joining the Revolutionary Army. The girl had fled in tears straight back to the Sun Pirates and clung to Fisher Tiger for dear life, sobbing incomprehensibly as she declared the Sun Pirates to be her only family. Fisher Tiger comforted the small girl as he rubbed the top of her head in small circles, seemingly having overcome his distaste for humanity when pitted against the emotional girl who'd joined their crew and had become one of them. Not even Arlong could bring himself to say anything negative at the sight as Koala declared herself a Sun Pirate forever.

And then the Navy showed up, although it was thankfully only one ship that had seemingly been on patrol rather than the full ambush that had happened in another life. The bad news was that it was the future Admiral Kizaru's flagship. The Sun Pirates had been quick to flee successfully as Brook and I volunteered to play bait. Fisher Tiger thanked us profusely as he escaped, promising that he'd one day match the kindness we'd shown him.

In hindsight, I was terrified but the three of us had practiced this maneuver ahead of time in case a day like this ever came. Brook and I quickly jumped into Laboon's blowhole as the gargantuan whale dove deep, just as Kizaru flashed where Laboon's head had formerly been after lazily contemplating whether to stop us. Unable to fight us once we were in the water, we easily escaped.

"Son! I'm off now, this time probably for good. But I know we'll meet again," murmured Yassop as he fondly messed his son's hair, kneeling on one knee before him. Little Ussop's eyes were swimming in tears, a brave but shaky smile on his lips as the Red Hair Pirates gazed on with wry, approving grins at saying goodbye to their newest young friend. Shanks and Beckmann in particular stood just behind Yassop, a wild grin on Shanks' face and Beckmann sporting a small, approving smirk.

"Who would have thought that Yassop's son would be just as likeable as Luffy? We came by originally just to pick up Yassop but instead we got roped into hanging out here for over a month, teaching his kid all about being a pirate," whispered Beckmann.

"-your aim is amazing already. Just keep practicing to make sure it's even better. You're still a bit shaky in close combat, but just remember what Beckmann showed ya and you'll be fine; when in doubt, smash em with your weapon. Also remember that while it's good to be amazing with one weapon, if you can get better at multiple, then the sky's the limit. And-"

"Jeez Yasopp, let the kid breathe!" laughed Shanks, "He's got a good head on his shoulders and he's an absolute sponge for learning any trick we can give him! He'll be fine!"

Yasopp turned back to shoot his captain a dirty glance before focusing back on the smiling Usopp, who's eyes were still wet but was no longer openly crying. "Anyways. The Captain's right, son. You'll be fine. Just don't stop practicing, and I know you'll be great. Just never forget this; don't back down. Don't give up. Never run away from a challenge. So long as you never retreat, you'll always overcome any obstacle in your way."

Yasopp pulled his son into a brief, but tight hug before pulling away, and patting him on the arms in comfort, before lighting up in remembrance. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a red headband.

"Here son. This is my lucky headband. I always carry it with me, and it's seen me through many battles. It's also the headband I had on when I first met your mother, and when I first met the Captain. Lucky things just seem to happen when I have it on, and I think that you should have it. Consider it a gift," chuckled Yasopp, "From your old man, to you. You still have your mother's necklace, right?"

Usopp nodded fervently in confirmation.

"Good! Between my lucky headband and your mother's necklace, good luck and happiness will follow you everywhere you go. When you go out to see, take them with you. I know they'll serve you well!" Usopp quickly pulled off his bandana, and donned on his father's headband with a proud grin.

With all that said, Yasopp stood up and turned away, flanked by his Captain and Beckmann as they made their way onto their ship. "Yosh! We'll meet again son! Next time I see you, it'll be on the Grand Line!"

"I WILL!" shouted Usopp, "I will! We'll meet again dad! Just wait for me to grow up! I'll make you proud! I'll never back down! I'll never run away! I'm going to become the greatest sniper in the world!" Snot and tears ran down his face through a strong but wavering smile, his arms waving wildly as the ship set sail.

"Make sure to practice your melee skills, kid! A sniper's only as good as the distance between them and an opponent! If they get too close, throw down until they're far away again!" said Beckmann as he lazily waved at the boy.

"I WILL! I'LL HIT SO HARD I'LL SEND THEM FLYING INTO THE SUNSET!"

"Make sure to eat plenty of meat! You need protein to get those muscles!" exclaimed Lucky Roo as he waved a leg of mutton in farewell.

"I WILL! I'LL EAT THREE SQUARE MEALS A DAY, AND DRINK PLENTY OF MILK!"

"Be sure to meet up with that Luffy kid I told you about, Yasopp-mini! You guys'll get along like peas in a pod, I swear!" shouted Shanks as smiled and waved goodbye to his friend.

"I WILL!"

"YAY! Brook, Robin, you're back!" exclaimed an overexcited rubber boy as sprinted pell-mell at the approaching duo. The two were dressed in their usual, although slightly unusually, both Brook and Robin were carrying large backpacks on their backs as they made their way to Dadan's cabin. Reaching the two, Luffy jumped at them as to embrace them, and accidentally triggered his devil fruit powers. Arms expanding, rather than wrapping the two in a hug, his arms began to spin wildly around the trio in circles, covering most of their torsos in the rubber boy's arms. Robin, who'd made to catch Luffy in his hug had her arms wrapped around his torso, but her arms were now pinned thanks to the stretchy appendages. Brook too was snugly pinned in the boy's hug, unable to do much but laugh his usual trilling laugh in amusement. Robin's smile was demure but happy as she giggled at the boy's antics.

"Oi, Luffy, stop being so clumsy. You're gonna fa-"

"Shishishi-ah!" "Yohohoho-ah!" "*gigg*-ah!"

The trio clumsily fell over, still trapped in the rubber boy's arms. Ace sighed, shook his head, and walked over as he helped disentangle the trio from each other. Luffy laughed as his stretched arms retracted back to his sides with a snap.

"Oh! Right! Robin, Brook, this is my brother Ace! And I have another brother too! Where's Sabo, Ace?" questioned Luffy as he looked around wildly, as though anticipating his brother to jump out of the foliage.

Ace just smiled, a slightly sinister chuckle echoing out of his throat.

"Yahhhhhhhhhhh!" came a shout from above.

"Ack! Sabo you cheater!" shouted Luffy as he scrambled to roll out of the way of Sabo's falling swipe at his head with his metal pipe. Robin's eyebrow cocked up, slightly confused by the seemingly violent attack before dismissing the apparently lethal attack; Luffy being rubber, wouldn't be harmed by blunt force. Didn't mean that the boys weren't stupid for sparring with something that could bludgeon a man to death.

Luffy had in turn picked up another pipe which Robin noted he had dropped when he'd spotted them, and made to swipe back at Sabo who easily sidestepped out of the way. Ace grinned as he too joined in the melee. Brook and Robin watched awkwardly as the boy's 'sparring' turned into a wrestling match, and from a wrestling match into a hair pulling and biting competition.

Crossing her arms, Robin pulled the three boys apart. Luffy pouted. Sabo grinned sheepishly. Ace grumped.

"Well. That's enough of that for now. Luffy, Ace, Sabo, I have something to tell you. Garp asked me to-why are the three of you cowering?" questioned Robin as the three immediately crouched into fighting positions, arms trembling and weapons in a death grip as their eyes zoomed from one spot to another.

"Grandpa's been training us while you were gone. Like, REALLY training us," shuddered Luffy.

"COME OUT AND FIGHT ME YOU STUPID OLD MAN!" shouted Ace with far more bravado than he clearly felt, as his teeth started chattering in nervousness.

"I'm not even your grandkid dammit, leave me out of it! This is child abuse! I should report you to the Navy dammit!" shouted Sabo as he stamped his foot on the ground in delirious frustration, torn between crying and raging.

Robin and Brook both wearily gazed about, as Brook's hands rested on his cane, ready to fight. Robin didn't react visibly but a thin sweat appeared on her forehead at the thought of having another round of Garp's Chase of Love. Her heart still hadn't recovered from the last one.

After a minute or two of weariness, the kids slowly lowered their guard and stopped yelling obscenities, threats, pleas, and prayers at the air, causing the other two to calm.

"What the hell's going ON!?" came a voice from the inside of the hut. Out stepped a rather large, brusque woman, flanked by several men who were visibly mountain bandits. A rather large tick of frustration grew on her temple as she took in the sight of the two newcomers with backpacks.

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh HELL no. Not again. First I took in that brat, Ace. Then the bottomless pit, Luffy. Hell, I even took in their little friend who's at least polite about it. But I am NOT a motel! GARP! GARP! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE! I AM NOT YOUR PERSONAL FOSTER HOME FOR BRATS AND FREAKS! DO YOU HEAR ME DAMMIT!" raged the woman as she stamped her foot on the ground repeatedly in anger.

Robin just blinked in confusion. Brook merely stared before realizing she was calling him a freak, and slumped in depression. "I have feelings too..."

"Ara, that's too bad. We were ready to pay you for your hospitality too…" said Robin as she looked down, tracing a circle in the dirt with her feet. Nobody noticed that her hair was covering the sly, confident grin she was sporting.

"OH! Well then, that changes everything! Come in, come in! What brings you to Mt. Colubo darling?" asked Dadan as she came behind the two newcomers and swept them into the house. Luffy, Ace, and Sabo just stared blankly at the now closed door before shrugging and resuming their battle.

Some Time Later

"So you're going to…teach us?" asked Luffy, head tilted sideways in confusion as he and his brothers sat before his two nakama.

Robin nodded in the affirmative, before gesturing at Brook. "Your grandfather, Garp, has commissioned us to teach the three of you until you're ready to join the Marines, Luffy." Luffy merely let out a loud raspberry in response, causing the three boys and Brook to break out into chortling laughter. Robin didn't react as arms sprouted on each of their backs and slapped them upside the head.

"OW!"

"I didn't say you'd join the Navy, Luffy. Just that I'm teaching you three until you'd be ready to join," said Robin. Luffy merely stared back, confused, but Ace and Sabo both cottoned on.

"Oh, I getcha. Devious, lady. I like it," grinned Ace.

"Robin-san."

"Nah. I'd rather call you lad-OW! Dammit, stop doing that, you crazy woman!" exclaimed Ace as he clutched the new bump on his head. Robin's smile, for the first time Brook could recall, became slightly strained.

"Robin-san."

"Nah, I think I'd much rather call you she-devi-OW!"

"Robin-san, if you please."

"Take a hike you crazy bit-OWWWWW!"

Sabo just sighed in exasperation as Luffy laughed his ass off.

'Everybody told me that Ace was really polite. This…is not polite,' thought Robin resignedly as she resolved to teach the brat some manners.

Several Months Later

I'm forced to wonder if there's a purpose to what I'm really doing, after this latest set of events. Will my mother and Saul die inexplicably to Aokiji in the near future? Has Fisher Tiger already died an ignoble death to the Marines? Will I somehow, magically see Brook lose his shadow to Moriah in a few years? Sometimes, it seems, that the more you try to change things, the more they stay the same.

As the crew's historian, a personal hobby of mine had been to make a log of our voyage, as well as a history of the Straw Hats. It's why I even had a prayer of changing my nakama's histories, precisely because I'd spent a fair amount of time asking them about their pasts and writing it down into a journal, with the aspiration of one day writing it all into a book. One of the stories I'd managed to get out of Luffy on the way to Zou had been the tale of the 'Sabo Incident'. I had some idea of what had happened, as I'd already previously discussed the topic with Sabo during my stay with the Revolutionaries. But with Luffy's account, I felt like I'd formed a clear picture of the sequence of events, which was why I was so determined to change its outcome. It seemed rather straightforward. Disrupt the arrival of the World Noble. Sabo is then free to sail off. Simple. Easy.

Brook and I had supposedly left for about a month or so on a journey. Truthfully, we were staying in the Goa Kingdom in order to gather information about the arrival of a World Noble. Our plan was simple; have Laboon capsize the Noble's ship, throwing off its aim if or when Sabo sets sail, by swimming underneath it.

The day came, and we did just that. The ship capsized. The threat of Sabo being hit with a cannon was over. But, and this was a major oversight; Sabo's ship capsized too from the gargantuan waves Laboon generated as he broke to the surface. And Sabo had been swept out to sea by the currents. Laboon, unfamiliar with Sabo, was unable to help us find him among the hundreds of Marines in the water. As a result, Brook and I had to row about in our own small ship, desperately looking for the boy.

It was near sunset by the time we spotted a blonde patch of hair floating out at sea. But then, and this is possibly the worst part of this entire tale; the creature Luffy dubbed 'The Lord of the Coast' appeared, and dove straight at the boy. We were too far to do anything but panic as our erstwhile pupil looked to be devoured.

Then something unbelievable happened. Dragon happened. The Lord of the Sea was instantly smacked aside by the man, and the exhausted boy was rescued by him, only to almost immediately pass out due to said exhaustion, caused by trying to stay afloat for over a day. Dragon's ship approached ours, and Ivankov asked us if we knew the boy. I cut off Brook, compelled for reasons I can't begin to understand, to say that no, we did not. Dragon stared at me before grinning wryly and nodding. Sabo set off with the Revolutionaries.

What am I even doing? How could I have let Sabo even get in such a dangerous position in the first place? Why was I so fucking cocky? I…I don't even know what's happening anymore. I changed the future once, and I'm suddenly convinced that I can change anything. Then I drop the ball at such a critical moment. I…

I guess that I can admit that yes, I have been cocky. Ever since I saved the people of Ohara, everything has been going my way. I've changed everything I've wanted exactly how I wanted it. I saved Brook. I saved Fisher Tiger. I helped Koala. I hate to admit it but…I've been taking that for granted. I've been complacent, and lax. I've let things slide by, when I shouldn't have. This is the first time that it's blown up in my face. I'm almost afraid to wonder about what I've unintentionally changed but…

I can't simply reenact the past. No more than I can carry out as a hermit, removing myself from the world until Luffy ends up in Alabasta ready to beat Crocodile. I just can't be complacent, not anymore. If I want something to happen, I've got to stack the deck. I can't do things halfway. I was lucky that in the end, Sabo was alright. But it does beg the question of how such an astronomical thing could have happened twice in a row. What are the chances of it?

It's why I'm honestly terrified at the thought that this world converges with the history of my own; that some events are simply bound to happen, no matter how much I defy them. I refuse to believe it but, a part of me can't help but doubt and fear that this is all for naught what with this latest incident flaunting my failures back at me. Until this failure, this world still didn't feel truly real to me. But now rather than overconfident and in disbelief, this world feels heavier, and the consequences feel real. I miss my crew. My old crew. Will I ever wake up from this world, and get to be with them again? Or am I here, forever?

Well.

That's enough moping. Brook has been an excellent sympathetic ear to me, but he doesn't doubt me at all, not even after this latest failure. Sometimes I wish that he wasn't so enthusiastic and ready to follow my lead; he trusts me implicitly and doesn't question any of my plans even though sometimes, I really wish he would. He's determined to see our united crew together to the very end, and he's put his faith in me. I can't let him down, not after giving him so much hope for the future. I can't fail him or any of our other nakama. We'll be together again soon. This, I swear.

In the meantime, let's at least go tell Luffy and Ace that their brother is still alive and well.

Alright, a longer break than usual between chapters, but that's because school keeps a man busy. I was also spending that time trying to figure out where I wanted to take the plot from here. As you can see, I'm rather sparse on the details at times and am more than content to speed the story along. I mean, I could always give you a full retelling of everything that happens. But where's the fun in that? Who wants to read canon again, every time they read a new fanfic? But then, I'm a big fan of Chekhov's Gun; only tell exactly what's needed to advance the story, and if something gets introduced, make sure that it matters later. Part of the reason why I don't really bother detailing things like the layout of a locale, a character's outfit, one-time side characters, etc. No point bogging you guys down in the details that you probably already know if you're reading One Piece fanfics. Do rest assured, once we get to proper 'arcs', interactions, and moment to moment detail will be far more fleshed out. Robin's changes to the past are only setting up stage props; the real show has yet to begin.

I also got some feedback that really doubted the scene in Water 7 last chapter. One thing that I should have probably been clearer about when I mentioned that Crocodile could lip read; Robin wasn't necessarily voicing out 'Ancient Weapon'. She likely whispered or mouthed it at Brook, and so I left that up to your interpretation. Crocodile's just that good. Why is she talking about the Ancient Weapon at all in Water 7? Well, as this chapter addresses, she's gotten overconfident recently. This is her moment of 'Oh, shit. I fucked up.' Until recently, she was also still harboring impressions that this world wasn't 'real real'. Hence why she took things lightly. Robin will be far less prone to silly mistakes like that in the future.

Finally, why didn't Robin detect the Croc if she has Observation Haki? Well, part of the answer is above; she was overconfident, cocky, and in a limited state of disbelief of this world. The rest of the answer is, why would she have her Haki turned on? Observation Haki has to be consciously willed 'on', unless you're Aisa. And at this time, there's absolutely no danger in Water 7. No CP9 infiltration, no Galley-La company which the World Government is heavily dependent upon for ships, nada. Ergo, she wouldn't have her haki on.

Drop a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas. I'm still in the brainstorming phase of pulling a plot together from the playdough I've given myself, and plan to make heavy use of flashbacks to extrapolate on things that could have happened offscreen when these elements become relevant. No promises on using them, but any and all idea fuel is appreciated.