The Power of One Dream (A One Piece x Fairy Tail Story)

Part 30

[Several minutes earlier, in another Chamber beneath the Entrance Foyer]

Robin had been safely lowered to the floor of the new room by Charle, with Pantherlily assisting Levi and the Straus Sisters in winged-form struggling with Elfman. Gildarts, Bickslow and Peter Salte meanwhile had fallen straight down the broken infrastructure and flat on their faces along with the unconscious Manticore Sting grunts around them. But there was already someone else in that room ready to greet them.

An older, slender long-grey-haired man dressed in a yellow shirt, dark green pants and purple earstuds, with his arms bound in heavy chains, slowly made his way towards the group. And despite his haggard overall appearance, he flashed them all a menacing grin. "Well, well, welcome my esteemed guests, to this next, and final, part of your ordeal." The group weren't quite sure how to take the man addressing them threateningly while in chains, but readied themselves for whatever. The man meanwhile cast his gaze over to Peter Salte, and his grin became a glower. "As for you 437, helping the enemy? It seems I'll have to get Black Heart to rein in your leash a bit. Assuming he's survived his bout up to now." Salte quivered at the cold, unsympathetic use of his slave number in place of his name, apparently feeling what little resilience he had left slip away. "And as for you, 'Demon Child Nico Robin'..." his gaze fell upon the resolute pirate archaeologist who had released her cloned hands prior to the earlier explosion, but suspected she would again very shortly need her power. "I still have my uses for you in circumnavigating the paths to the Ancient Weapons, and the greatest... of.. powers......."

To the group's surprise, the man tottered as if in great pain while holding his stomach. Then fell to his knees grunting, as a strange change occured to his appearance. His face became markedly younger and strangely elongated, though still quite haggard as the messy grey hair turned bright purple. And among the group, perhaps the most astonished (one of) at the sight of the new man with tears leaking from his eyes... was Levi.

"Please.... Help.. me..."

"I've.... heard about you (Levi uttered dumbfounded), from Lu-chan, Natsu and Erza's descriptions...?? You're... Neinhart... one of the Spriggan 12.... But.... What are you doing here? In Manticore Sting's Base? In chains?!? And.... and..... What is going on here?!?!"

The weeping Neinhart shook his head despondently. "They brought us here, me and Yura. They told us we'd be part of a great new empire, using Dragneel's and this Mugiwara guy's power.... but.... It was all a scam." He covered his streaming eyes with his arm, ashamed of himself in realising just how weak he really was. "That 'Head' guy... He... He did something to me.... Put something.... inside me...... Something that..... took over me.... Messed with my head..... And 'Maw'.... he put me in chains here, while I was trapped in my own mind... (sniffle)... Hooked me up to these tube things, stealing my life-force away...."

At this in the half-light of that room lit by even fewer Magical lights than the Entrance Foyer high above them, Robin could indeed see tube-like structures attaching the weeping man's back to some contraption containing a large glowing purple crystal at the farther end of that room. Though he was assuredly their enemy, she couldn't help feeling slight sympathy for what horrors he must have endured here. A sentiment however that didn't seem to be shared by her comrades.

".... And Yura, that back-stabbing bastard... (sniffle)... He went along with it.... With them... Leaving me in th-this........ After everything......" The man snorted loudly and looked back to the party, still with streaming eyes, and a pleading look in them. "I don't care about revenge on Fairy Tail or taking over Ishgar anymore, alright! I don't care about the past or the other Spriggan 12 or those damn pirates. I'll even go back to prison! I'll never come near your guild again!! Just please.... Please, get me out of this place..... Away from these psychopath leeches..... I'll do any.....thing........"