Hey guys :) Thanks for the reviews - i really appreciate it! To those of you who commented and said that the second chapter wasn't as good, I hope that this one is better lol the last chapter was really meant to start introducing the other characters and show more of the setting of the story. Anyways, I hope you like this new addition.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, nor the characters connected to it.

Chapter 3:

She woke to an empty bed and the sounds of light bickering creeping in from beneath the closed bedroom door. Robin stared at the cracked and slightly crumbling ceiling as she absentmindedly listened to some small argument between Zoro and Nami. It didn't seem to be a major problem, but rather just an argument for argument's sake. The way the two went at it, made Robin speculate that this was just a part of their normal morning routine.

Robin slid out from beneath the blanket and sat upright with her legs draped off the side of the bed. She glanced out the window and saw a foggy white morning – more absorbent whiteness that seemed to suck the life out of the new day before it could even start.

Reality seemed to set in as her thoughts replayed last night. Robin ran a hand through her slightly tangled black hair as she realized her situation.

Crocodile was going to be angry – murderously so when he finds that she won't show up to their meeting that was scheduled for ten o'clock this very morning, and realizes that the person Robin was supposed to have killed last night was still breathing.

She thought back to three days ago – a Thursday evening – when Crocodile had called her into his office.

He ran his whole operation in the shadows of a popular casino that he ran and operated called Rain Dance. From the front, it looked like a legitimate place, full of gambling fun and fortune, but if you happened to step through the doors that said "private" you'd find the base of operations for the underbelly of the whole city.

She remembered walking through the casino with her usual blank expression, only mildly curious about what errand he'd have her run this time. The last one had been a simple message delivery to a man who thought to run against Crocodile's endorsed candidate for mayor. The job had included a small 'breaking and entering' and a little discussion over pulling out of the race. She had broken into the man's house in the dead of night and like a shadow, and crept into his bedroom. Robin had been asked to get her point across as strongly as possible and decided that startling him when he was most vulnerable was a good way to do it.

She watched the man quietly for a moment as he slept alone in his large bed, and analyzed her surroundings. The room was quite tidy for one that belonged to a widower and single father, and much too frilly, she thought. His teenage daughter must have been in charge of decorating it, Robin mused as she noticed the lacey bed skirt and alarmingly girly curtains, because he didn't seem the type to like lace or frills. In fact, in all the photos she'd seen of him – and even now as she watched him sleeping – he seemed very masculine and dominant. Even in photos he seemed to have an aura of power and intelligence…not the type of man to like lace.

At the moment, he was sleeping on his back with one arm bent up to rest on the pillow beside his head and the other stretched down and outward, half covered by his blanket. In his sleep, the blanket had slouched down to the middle of his shirtless stomach, revealing a chest of dark and curly chest hair and a decently fit midsection – he wasn't ripped, but he was much more in-shape than most politicians nowadays.

A smirk danced across Robin's lips as an idea came to her. Due to his more or less upright nature and air of power, she thought up the perfect method to get Mr. Crocodile's point across.

With light and graceful movements she eased herself up onto the edge of his bed and slowly crawled towards him. Despite her faint movements, the man slept soundly, unaware of the sudden awakening he'd receive in mere moments.

Robin aligned herself with his body and gently moved to straddle his waist.

He stirred slightly at her sudden weight, but didn't wake up.

She smirked instinctively as she leaned forward and suddenly pressed her elbows into his chest and rested her chin on her interlaced fingers, "Wake up, Mr. Nefetari."

He suddenly jerked himself out of sleep and tried to sit up out of instinct, but Robin's elbows stabbing into his chest forced him to stay down. He was probably strong enough to throw her off of his body, but Robin had the advantage of surprise.

His eyes widened, and even in the moonlit darkness she could see how clear and blue his startled eyes were. While he was still in a shocked silence, Robin spoke with her jazzy voice, "Good evening, Mr. Nefetari." She kept up her smirk and waited for him to finally speak.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked loudly, still too shocked to struggle and throw her away.

"Now, now, Mr. Politician – you might want to lower your voice…unless you don't mind if your daughter see's us like this," Robin shifted her head so that it rested solely in the palm of her left hand and placed her right hand face down on Mr. Nefetari's chest.

His brow creased and his hand knocked hers off of his bare chest, "Answer me – who are you?" He asked forcefully, in a much lower voice.

"Much better – but I'm afraid, Mr. Politician, that you're asking the wrong question. It doesn't matter who I am, but rather, who sent me," Robin replied slyly. She sat up straight, while still straddling his waist and let her hands shift to rest on her thighs.

"So who sent you, then?" he asked, irritation very audible in his voice.

Robin kept up her smirk, "You see, Mr. Politician, my boss is a very powerful man. He's the one who runs this whole town, you see? And this boss of mine sent me to persuade you to pull out of the election for Mayor. He's very adamant that your opponent be the victor, and told me to use any measure necessary to convince you to drop out."

Mr. Nefetari swallowed loudly, "You're one of his people aren't you…one of Crocodile's men."

"You are very correct, Mr. Politician," Robin said smoothly. She moved her hands from her thighs to his stomach, where her long fingers traced shapeless designs on his pale skin, "but saying I'm just one of his men, is quite rude. I'm one of Mr. Crocodile's trusted officers – and I am very good at my job."

His fists clenched, "No matter what you say, you won't get me to drop out, so you should just go and tell your boss to screw off. Even if you hurt me, it won't change my mind."

"Hmm, but it wasn't you I was planning to hurt," Robin said with an eerie chill in her voice.

Mr. Nefetari immediately froze, and his eyes turned very dark, "If you even think of laying a hand on my daughter, I'll –"

"Oh, bur Mr. Politician, I've already thought about it. Very thoroughly too – but I'm afraid that it wouldn't be me in charge of hurting her if my boss sent out the order. She'd be very lucky if it were me though – I'm much more gentle than Mr. Crocodile's other officers."

Robin felt the rage boiling up inside of him, but he didn't say a word to the black-haired bed intruder. He was caught and he knew it. He wouldn't dare put his daughter in danger – especially if he knew the type of men that Crocodile would normally send to do the job.

She suddenly leaned over Mr. Nefetari's body and let her mouth hover just millimeters away from his left ear. She could feel his anger and fear for his daughter radiating off of him along with his body heat as she floated above him. She whispered into his ear, "So, Mr. Nefetari, it would be advantageous to both you and your beloved daughter if you dropped out of the election. You have two days to publicly announce your withdrawal – if you still refuse, be ready for the consequences."

With one fluid motion, before Mr. Nefetari could even blink, Robin leapt gracefully off the bed and disappeared soundlessly from the bedroom. Without making any noise, Robin left the politician's house the way she had broken in – through a window she'd unlocked and opened. She moved like a shadow and was sure that Mr. Nefetari heard nothing after losing sight of her.

She'd given the man two days, as Crocodile had instructed.

And three days later, Robin was being called into Mr. Crocodile's office.

She walked down a wide hallway, towards two extravagant double doors that would open into Crocodile's personal office. There were no guards outside the rooms like you'd expect because there was no need. Crocodile didn't waste his manpower on useless positions like bodyguards – he was powerful and strong enough to deal with any intruder himself.

Robin placed a hand on the finely sanded and carved oak doors and pushed them inward. She was expected for her meeting and therefore had no reason to knock.

She slid through the opening of the doors and let them fall shut behind her. As always, the room was darkly lit and the air was heavy with the stench of acrid cigar smoke. The office was a large, high ceilinged room, decorated with sparse furniture and earth tones.

Robin heard a muted creak, and looked to the left to see Mr. Crocodile turning his tall-backed desk chair to face her. Even sitting down he cut a massive figure. He was a broad shouldered, well-muscled man that when standing towered above even her, who was much taller than was normal for her age of seventeen. He had pitch black hair that was slicked back and cut so that it stopped at the base of his neck, intimidating brown eyes that looked almost black in the dim light of his office, and a terrible scar running across his face that started about an inch beneath one eye, traveled across the bridge of his nose, and stretched past his second eye. But the most fearsome thing about the terrible man was the bronze-plated steel hook standing in place of his left hand. If it weren't for his expensive Italian suits and thick fur-lined coat, he would give off the aura of a pirate in a fairytale.

"Nicco Robin," he said using her full street name, "You're late."

Robin let her unfazed smirk grace her lips, "Not terribly." She walked with long strides towards his desk. As she reached it, she ignored the chair on the other side of it and instead sat on the corner closest to him. She crossed one leg over the other and looked to her boss, "You wanted to see me?"

Crocodile blew thick smoke out from the side of his mouth, aimed for Robin's face. She closed her eyes to keep the smoke from stinging her eyes, but otherwise didn't respond – he knew that she didn't like the smell of cigars, and she knew that he liked to try and draw out a reaction from her. "I did. Have you been paying attention to the news?"

Robin shook her head and replied, "I don't bother with the local channels."

"Well, it seems that our friend Mr. Cobra Nefetari hasn't withdrawn from the election yet. He appears to have ignored my message. Maybe you weren't convincing enough."

Robin's smirk lessened, "He must not be as intelligent as he looks."

Crocodile gave a deep and slow laugh, "Even your insults are irritatingly polite."

Robin ignored his laughed statement and continued, "If Mr. Nefetari is left in the election, he'll definitely win the majority. I'm afraid our Mr. Galdino isn't as popular amongst the people. Will you send someone to give a more physical message?"

Crocodile chewed on the end of his cigar and inhaled a deep breath. He picked up a photo from his desk that had previously been lying face down and after letting out another cloud of bitter smoke, held it out for Robin to take. "Go after the daughter this time."

Robin took the picture between two slender fingers and held it up to observe. The girl was thin and very pretty as she smiled for the camera. It was a school photo, but even so, it came out very nice. Robin could see certain features in her face that resembled her father, Mr. Nefetari, and noted the strange light blue color of her long hair. For being such a polite looking politician's daughter, blue wasn't exactly the color you'd expect.

Robin's blue eyes flickered back to Mr. Crocodile, "What level of damage do you want?"

Crocodile broke out into a cold and toothy smile, and his deadly dark eyes sent icy tingles down Robin's spine. He shook his head slightly from side to side, "I want you to kill her."

Robin's emotionless face didn't betray her, but her insides started completely freezing over as her mind was sent into flustered thoughts.

Kill? He wanted her to kill the girl?

She'd be perfectly happy to rough her up and break a few of her bones, but kill? Robin had never killed anyone before. She'd stabbed, and shot, and maimed a few people over the years, but that had never resulted in murder.

But despite her objection to the killing, she didn't show her discomfort. "Understood," Robin replied.

"I don't care how you do it, but I want it done on Saturday night."

Robin nodded but stayed perfectly still. Despite being more confident and bold in Crocodile's presence than others would dare to be, she wasn't stupid enough to leave until he permitted it.

Crocodile exhaled another cloud of smoke in Robin's face and stated, "You've never killed anyone before, have you, Nicco Robin."

Robin closed her eyes against the smoke and shook her head, "Not that I'm aware of."

He gave another slow and drawn out laugh that made Robin want to shiver, "If you pull this off as well as you do everything else, there might just be a higher position for you when you get back." He gave a dismissing wave of his hook and nodded towards the door. "Meet me here at 10 on Sunday morning."

Robin nodded and stood up from the corner of the desk. She made her way towards the intricate double doors, and as her hand touched the cold metal handle to pull it open, Crocodile spoke, "Don't disappoint me, Nicco Robin. I don't accept failures."

Even now as she sat on the edge of her borrowed bed in a condemned apartment building, she could remember the weight of his words. Despite being a heartless and emotionless soldier that had always done as he commanded without fail, he somehow knew that she was reluctant to kill. Despite being cold and mechanical in her work, he knew that she'd always taken care to leave her targets breathing.

He saw her reluctance and warned her not to disobey his order.

And yet, that was exactly what she'd done.

She'd disobeyed and the consequences were drawing near.

Robin looked out the window once again and was still greeted with the same white fog that blocked out the rest of the world. It seemed to isolate her in the rundown bedroom and separate her from everything else.

How the hell was she going to get out of this one? It would only be a matter of time before Crocodile was able to find her – and now that she was accepting help from others, it would be more than just her life taken by his hand…or hook depending on how brutal he felt like being. She could imagine all too well what Crocodile would do once he found her, and it wasn't something to look forward to. Her only real option of escape from punishment had been to end it herself…but that hadn't quite worked out as she had planned.

A knock on the door seemed to construct a bridge that connected her isolated room to the rest of the universe and broke her train of thought.

"Come in," she spoke out calmly despite the unease she was feeling concerning her sure-to-be limited future.

The redhead poked her head in the room as she cracked open the door. She gave a small smile, "Good, you're awake. We're going to go get breakfast and meet up with the rest of the crew…Luffy said he wanted to talk about something important, so I'm guessing it has to do with your situation."

Robin nodded and stood up, "I'll be out in a minute."

Nami's head disappeared and the door closed, once again leaving Robin alone.

Robin finally got to her feet after being lost in thought for a good twenty minutes or so, and started to pull off the borrowed pajamas. She changed back into her jeans, purple v-neck shirt, and plain black bomber jacket, and combed her hair with her fingers so that it wasn't as tousled and messy.

As soon as she stepped out of the bedroom, she saw Luffy jump to his feet from a chair at the card table pushed into the corner of the room and start to stretch out his body by touching his toes. "Alright," he said happily, "Let's go eat!"

Nami, who'd been sitting in the open window, carefully moved her legs from inside the room to outside and started walking down the platform to the stairs. Luffy climbed out next, followed by Robin. She turned back, expecting to see Zoro and the young boy from last night following behind her, but found that the apartment was empty. She faced forward again and asked curiously, "Where are the other two?"

Nami let Luffy start down the stairs of the fire escape first so that she could answer, "They went to the building's basement to shut off the generator and water valve. Since the apartment building is condemned, it technically shouldn't have power or running water, but we've got a friend who fixed up the wiring and generator for us and worked on the plumbing so we could have hot water. We have to turn it off whenever we leave though so that we don't draw attention to the place."

Robin nodded and smirked, "Sneaky."

"It's pretty handy – we're lucky that Franky knows a lot about construction and electrics. It's really thanks to him that we're able to live here – when Luffy first found the place, it was pretty uninhabitable." Nami and Robin started down the old metal stairs with echoing steps. They looked and saw Luffy already on the ground stretching once again as he waited for the two of them to catch up.

"How many others are we going to meet?" Robin asked, as she came first to the fire escape ladder that hung down, missing the ground by about five feet or so. She'd heard both her and Luffy mention a few other names, but was curious to know how many more people she might be dragging into her business with Crocodile.

Nami hummed as she waited for Robin to climb down, "Well, besides the four of us that you've already met, there are four other guys. I'd try to prepare you for meeting them but, anything I say will probably scare you off." She gave a small laugh that said I'm joking, but not really and started her decent down the rusted ladder after Robin's feet touched the ground.

Once all three were on the ground they took off for a place Luffy only referred to as "Sanji's", leaving Zoro and the young brown-eyed boy to catch up to them later.

Interesting? Decent? Horrible? You should tell me lol

Thanks for reading!

**Note: I also want to say that in future chapters, a few characters are going to be out of character or described differently due to the fact that talking doctor reindeer and 70-year-old living skeletons with afros don't exist outside of the OP-verse. As this is an AU a few characters will be changed a bit - Chopper mostly because I'm making him a little younger than usual and giving him a new back story to make sense with the setting - but i'm going to tie in as much of his OP personality as possible even with the changes i'm going to make. lol alright that's it, I'll stop blathering on now**