ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛᴇ - 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦

𝙫 - 𝙨𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙪𝙥?

As the trio was walking, they eventually stumbled across a certain moss head, who had just encountered a mob hunting him down—and now, they were hunting all four of them. So, Meela and the rest were hiding under a bridge, sitting on Luffy.

"Good job, Luffs!" Meela said, patting Luffy's back. He was shaking. The moss head then noticed the girl and looked at her in confusion.

"Hey... who are you?" the moss head asked, and Meela gasped as she recognized him.

"You're Zoro, right?" Meela stated. Zoro just stared. "Yeah! Aren't you like Luffs' right-hand ma—"

She was soon interrupted as a bear suddenly showed up, scaring the daylights out of everyone, especially Luffy, who fell and dropped them all into the river below.

*(A little timeskip)

Meela and the rest were now sitting on the roof of the hotel. Luffy and his crew were discussing the current situation, now all aware of it.

"Is it for real?! Robin really said that?!" Luffy yelled in anger, not wanting to believe it. Meela frowned, also reluctant to accept it. Despite not knowing Robin personally, she felt bad for her little brother and held out hope that the woman wasn't a bad person, trusting Luffy's judgment. But more and more, that hope was being challenged.

"It's time for everyone to wake up..." Zoro stated, getting everyone's attention. "Robin started out as our enemy. Then we let her on our ship. She wouldn't have left us out of fear after all this time. Before the sun goes down, we need to figure out... is that woman friend or foe?" His words hung heavy in the air. "She said we won't ever meet again after today. It sounds like she's going to do something to make things worse for us."

"If she wants to make it worse, there's only one way," Nami stated. "This time... the successful assassination of the mayor." Meela agreed with that sentiment, though she wished it weren't the case.

"That's the natural thing for us to think. But now that we know she's framing us, this could be viewed as a trap to lead us to the crime scene. If we're found there, we'll automatically be framed," Zoro concluded.

"Wait, you sound like you're already thinking of Robin as an enemy!" Nami yelled.

"I'm just talking about the possibilities. I'm not really on either side," Zoro defended. "If I pick one side and the truth is the opposite... the instant I make my move, I'll be slowed down."

"So are we going to pull up at the scene?" Meela asked, and everyone glanced at her. Even the bear looked confused about who this girl was, and Zoro was curious too.

"We're going," Luffy concluded.

"I don't mind if you do, but we have a problem," Nami stated. "Sanji-kun mentioned a guy with a mask who accompanied Robin, and Iceberg said the same thing. It's not one of us, so maybe he's the reason for Robin's sudden change."

"A mask?" Meela thought, suddenly realizing what was happening. She recalled the rumors about a secret government agency that wore masks, and it made sense why they'd be with Robin. Then, Meela interrupted, catching everyone's attention.

"I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I'd say the masked man works for the government," Meela said, and confusion spread across the group. She elaborated, "Nams... Luffs... remember how I was talking about Robin's reputation?" The two nodded, while the others listened closely. "Well, the government has been after her for years, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're taking advantage of the fact that Robin has been staying with you guys."

"What do you mean by that?" Zoro asked.

"Think of it this way: she's been on the run for like 20 years. She stayed with Croc-a-guy and his secret organization, which kept her from getting close to people. But then, after all those years of having no weaknesses, she joins a pirate crew. That puts her on the spot and makes her easier to track. And it also allows her to get attached to people." Meela paused, looking directly at Zoro. "The government is probably taking advantage of Robin's obvious weaknesses by using them to capture her."

"Yeah, but how does that tie into her trying to kill Iceberg with the masked person?" Nami asked.

"Did he do something to Robin? To control her?!" the talking bear yelled nervously.

"That's the optimistic guess. The pessimistic guess would be that Robin and that guy are actually partners," Zoro concluded.

"My guess is that the government has beef with Iceberg," Meela said.

"That's a good hunch. But just knowing about 'the masked person' or the 'government' doesn't help us much," Nami stated. "What's our goal on this trip?"

"To get Robin back," Luffy concluded. "Otherwise, we'll never know the truth."

"Yeah... just thinking about it like this is a waste of time," Zoro stated. "But then again, she is someone the World Government has tried and failed to capture for 20 years."

"Yes, but this is the only way to find out the truth," Nami insisted. "We've got to try."

"Okay! Then, I'll try my best too!" the bear added.

"Then... let's go," Luffy said, and everyone got up. Meela paused for a moment.

Regarding the current situation, Meela felt she had to help this crew. It wasn't just about helping Luffs anymore; the entire situation left a bitter taste in her mouth as she thought about what terrible things Robin must've gone through to become a threat to the government. She remembered her father telling her all about the World Government and how corrupt it is. She could take it however she wanted and decide what to do about it. And right now, she wanted to fight back. Meela knew very well what was going on with Robin; however, she wasn't telling Luffy and his crew everything—just enough to help. The full extent of the situation was messy, and Meela knew Luffy didn't care. The only question lingering in her mind was: why Iceyburger of all people? Yes, he was the major guy, but why would the World Government want to kill him? As Meela stood up to leave with Luffy and his crew, she couldn't shake the thought of how crazy things were about to get. After all, they were going against the world itself...

...

"Wait... who are you?!" the bear asked as everyone turned to Meela.

"Oh, that's my sister Meela! Meela, meet Chopper! Chopper, meet Meela!" Luffy exclaimed, and Zoro and Chopper began processing that fact. Chopper especially seemed shocked.

"You have another sibling?!" Chopper asked, and Luffy nodded with a chuckle, joining in on the laughter with Meela. "Just how much are you hiding from us?!"

"That's exactly what I said!" Nami added, while Zoro sighed and continued walking, the two siblings still laughing as the others followed, all determined to save Robin and uncover the truth...