Queen of the Pirates

The Search for Keys

"Ugh," I groan, feeling a heavy pressure over my entire body. My eyes are barely open, but I can't seem to see anything but darkness. My arms are still wrapped around Luffy, so I can only hope that he is going to get us out of whatever predicament we've gotten into. "Luff, can you hear me?"

"Not a lot of room," Luffy groans. "Did we crash?"

"Yes. I think we're under some rumble."

"Give me one second, and I'll get us out."

It really does only take Luffy a second to concentrate his efforts on the stones that trap us. He pulls his arms away from me, and throws the stones off us. In the next second he grabs my waist and jumps up to get us both back on our feet.

"Alright, we're here!" Luffy exclaims.

"And we're ready to kick more World Government ass!" I cheer.

"Straw Hat..." Franky mumbles. He really is wearing a black speedo, his floral button up is completely undone, and his sunglasses rest at the top of his forehead. His forearms and hands are huge compared to the rest of his body.

"Thank you, monster lady!" Luffy looks over at Kokoro, Chimney, and Gonbe.

I pinch his side, "Granny Kokoro, you're the best!"

"Hey, guys, snap out of it!" he looks back at the pile of rumble where the others must be. "This is nothing!"

"Shut up," Zoro groans. "We're not made of rubber like you or protected from danger like you do for Akari. We're normal humans. After being in a crash like that, nobody could..."

"Just bounce right back!" The other five of the crew burst out of the rubble with a roar with their fists (or in Zoro's case, sword) to the sky. Even a little banged up, when there's a situation to deal with, nothing is going to hold us back.

"Everyone's okay," Luffy lets go of my waist and crosses his arms.

"Well, none of you guys are normal," Franky says. "Just making that clear."

"Normal is boring," I shrug. "I'd say that you understand that better than most."

"Is that right, little missy?"

"You tell me, Mr. Speedo."

"We can discuss whatever this is later," Luffy grabs my hand, pulling me towards the only stairs in this room. "There's the stairway. C'mon! Let's save Robin!"

"Hold it," a higher pitched male's voice stops us all in our tracks and looking in the direction it came.

"What the hell is that?" Luffy asks.

"Reminds me of a really ugly frog," I comment.

The enemy that has revealed themselves is perched up on the wall like a fly. He's one of the CP9 members we didn't meet back at Water 7 and is the large round man with a huge mouth that appears to have a zipper going across it. He's wearing a formal black suit and has styled his green hair nicely.

He lets out what must be a laugh heavy on smacking his lips together. "So, you've made it to Enies Lobby! But even if you go to the next room, Nico Robin is no longer there. Lucci has taken her to the Gates of Justice. The director is with them too."

"You've got to be kidding me," I grumble.

"Don't ask me how to find them. We of the CP9 won't let you get there. Our orders are to kill you all!" He strangely laughs. "Unless you beat all of us, there's no way you can save Nico Robin." He fishes a key out of his pocket and holds it up for us to see. "Take a good look."