Spandam had sent CP9 away to over lock the eating of the two mystery devil fruits that had been found. Leaving him with the annoying prisoners, honestly! A freak show cyborg, the demon child, and some brat from who knows where.

Speaking of stupid brat. That stupid girl hasn't stopped smiling since the call. He couldn't even hit her! Because of that useless Vice admiral and his "Perfection" dream. Whatever that meant.

Tani bobbed her head from side to side. She knew she was pissing Spandam off with her cheery mood. It was kinda hilarious, the guy was such a sick loser that any chances she could get to be a pain in the ass were well worth it.

"Sir," came a random marines voice. The man turned to stare daggers at the poor guy. "Uh... Kaku and Kalifa have consumed the fruits. CP9 are on their way back now." he informed with a bow before booking it out the room.

"No time to relax Sandy Pandy," Tani gloated. Spandam clawed at his desk, before stalking towards Tani with hate in his eyes. "Luffy's not gonna quit so easy. He'll kick your ass so hard, you'll be begging for ya mummy." she beamed.

Spandam threw a small tantrum, only. For his face to brighten up. He pulled out a small golden den den from his pocket, his eyes taking on a manic form.

"You see this? You little runt." he held it in front of her. "With the press of a button. I have permission from none other than admiral Aokiji himself. To summon a buster call, and blow this island to hell." he cackled. Robin tensed, her blood running cold.

"You can't... You can't do that!" she shrieked. The fear in her expression carried the pain of a nation. "You have no idea what-"

Tani's head ached, as it was flooded with flashes of a past that wasn't her own.

Flames burned the once flourishing greenery of the island. Screams of anguish, explosions firing. A sobbing girl, sailing a lone boat while she laughed painfully to herself.

"Derashishishi,"

Tani blinked the vision away. Tears trailing her cheeks.

What the hell was that? Was that the power of a buster call? Why... Was this like the bell from Skypiea? Dimension magic? Probably.

"I can do whatever the hell I want, you demon child!" Spandam claimed, kicked Robin hard in the stomach. A splutter of spit and bile spat from her mouth, onto his shoe. He took offense to this and continued to kick her.

Over and over.

Robin refused to let out a sound.

"You and those "scholars" who poked your noses into things you shouldn't," Spandam berated. Kicking and mocking her. Tani couldn't bare to watch.

"Ohara was nothing but a mistake, a blemish on the government's radar," he continued.

"They deserved what they got! And you'll join them soon enough!" he gave one last kick. Causing a small cough to escape her throat. He pulled the golden den den closer.

"It's funny? How my authority can be used as a weapon." he hovered his finger over the button. "One. Single. Touch-"

"Spandam!" a marine burst through the door with a den den mushi in hand. Spandam panicked and almost slipped onto the button. Just barely missing the little death sentence.

"DONT ANY OF YOU USELESS BASTARDS KNOW HOW TO KNOCK?!" Spandam shrieked. The marine panicked and apologised.

"It's an emergency report sir," he said. Handing the den den to Spandam to answer. He paused, turning to the prisoners with a devilish grin... And not the cool kind that Zoro had.

"Let's play a little game?" he suggested. "How about we guess what the report is. I'll go first," he snickered.

"I think. The marines overwhelmed your pathetic little crew," he spat at Tani and Robin. "Blueno crushed that brat named Luffy," he continued. "And all of your allies have been eliminated," he laughed. Franky growled.

"You're scum," he bellowed. Spandam just spat at his face. Tani let out a snicker.

"Oh, I love these games." Tani grinned innocently. Spandam looked at her with confusion. "I predict that Luffy has completely obliterated Blue-balls, our crew has mowed down your forces. Oh and that the Franky family and Galley-La guys have beaten the shit outta all your dudes." she said with utmost confidence. Spandam glared at her.

He pulled the receiver off the den den mushi.

"Spandam spea-"

"THE STRAW HAT CREW HAVE INFULTRATED THE COURTHOUSE, AND THEIR ALLIES HAVE DEFEATED OVER 2000 UNITS, HALF OF WHICH WERE STRAW HAT LUFFY, WHO IS CURRENTLY MIA!" The marine on the other line shrieked. Spandam almost shattered the mic in his hand. Sweat pooling down his skin.

"Well I got more right, so I win." Tani beamed. Spandam shot a death glare at her, before turning to the window and stalking off to the balcony. Franky joined in on the laughter with Tani.

CP9 arrived, sans Blueno. Who was still standing outside on the roof, speaking with a red and black blob. The gold of a straw hat on the blobs head... Now Spandam knew where Luffy was. A devious smirk on his face.

"Bring the prisoners here," he commanded. "Straw brat is about to be defeated... Once and for all," he hummed.

The agents dragged the captured group outside, seating them by the balcony edge. Front row seats? Nice. Tani couldn't wait. Spandam placed a den den on the balcony's edge, holding up the mic to answer a report from Baskerville. Tani decided to ignore him, in favour of watching her captain kick major ass... If she could actually see anything!

"Oi, square guy," Tani summoned. Kaku gave her an eye roll.

"What?" he asked professionally. She motioned her head towards the edge of the balcony.

"Can you help me up? I wanna watch the fight and you're the least creepy looking CP9 person," she answered. Kaku didn't know if that was a compliment or insult. He might as well, it's not like she's going anywhere.

He lifted her by the chain, letting her walk herself towards the edge. He stood beside her, to prevent her from doing anything stupid. She just bounced with excitement at the sight of her captain.

Luffy and Blue-balls were too far away for Tani to actually hear any of their conversation. She could see Luffy stretching out his legs. Ready to take or deal some damage.

Blue vanished before their eyes... Well Tani's eyes. Kaku could probably see what was happening. Stupid secret agent powers.

The agent reappeared behind Luffy, his leg already swiping for the captain midsection. Luffy was just fast enough to avoid the blow, which happened to be so powerful that it sliced through some of the building.

"Woah... That's kinda sick."

"What? What's... What's gross about that?"

Tani blinked up at Kaku. Was he really having a conversation right now? Alright! This could be entertaining.

"It's not gross? Sick is like a term for something being really cool," she explained. He looked confused by this information. "What rock have you been living under? Does being a super secret agent, mean you need to use Bond levels of speech?" she said. Turning her gaze back to watch Luffy performing a series of back flips to avoid another blow from Blue.

"What's... You know what? I shouldn't even be discussing this stuff with someone like you." he huffed. Tani barked a laugh.

"Too alien for you? Is it the pirating thing? It's the pirating thing isn't it." she joked. "Oh nice! Go Luffy," she cheered while Luffy pulled back to use 'gum gum pistol'. Blue managed to avoid it.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'VE DEFEATED YOU? HOW ARE YOU EVEN TALKING RIGHT NOW?!" Spandam shrieked from beside them. Tani snickered.

"Sounds like my crew is raising hell." she stated nonchalantly. Watching the high speed exchange of blows from the two combatants. Neither really making any progress. They paused, catching their breaths and began talking.

Kaku watched the girl with mild fascination. Vice admiral Delorean has had his eyes set on those like her. Yet Kaku couldn't find anything about her that stood out, except his inability to read her life force. That however wasn't the promised "perfection" that the Vice admiral wouldn't stop shouting about.

She didn't seem special at all.

"Hoho! Is that a gear second I see?" she beamed. Leaning over the railing as much as her limited articulation would let her. She leaned back the moment her eyes spotted the gaping abyss below her... Right... Heights.

Kaku watched with wonder, as Luffy moved with speeds that even Blueno was struggling to keep up with. Tani was having a hard time keeping up, but she managed to catch a couple of speedy moves from the captains regular arsenal. A pistol here, a stamp there. Blueno ended up spawning a door to escape the onslaught of attacks.

"I'll give Luffy like... 30 seconds." Tani commented. How the hell does she have so much confidence in her captain? He looks like some farm boy in a pair of flip flops.

Blueno reappeared right behind Luffy, his attack at the ready. He took a strike and-

Luffy was behind him, his arms already stretching out for a bazooka. Tani was hopping on the soles of her feet.

5

Blueno turned around to stare at Luffy.

4

The agents skin hardened, preparing for the blow.

3

Luffy thrust both arms forward at the speed of sound, a loud crackling sound burst from the movement.

2

The attack hit Blueno square in the chest.

1

He stood at still as a statue. Like the attack had done nothing.

And... Game!

Blueno dropped to the ground. Completely knocked out.

"Go Luffy! Woo-hoo!" Tani cheered at the victory. Her voice so loud it carried across the gap, Luffy turned around to face where Tani's voice came from. His eyes landing on the vibrant colours she wore, her dark brown hair bobbing with every jump of excitement she took.

CP9 looked among each other. Realising what this girl has just done, Kaku grabbed her by the chain and started pulling her away from the edge. Spandam looked at the determined rage on Luffy's face. He began to panic.

"You stupid runt!" Spandam roared. His fist came crashing down against the happy girls cheek. Her body slammed into the concrete ground. Franky and Robin let out loud protests at the violence. Kalifa stepped up to restrain Spandam, did the idiot forget the instructions from the Vice admiral?

Tani looked up at him with a big shit eating grin. She loved the satisfaction of watching this guy squirm-

"ROBIN!!!"

The air around them froze. Luffy's call for Robin echoing over and over. The raven haired woman looked up towards the ledge, she had to tell him to run. To never come back. Leave her be. She wasn't worth it...

She deserved to die.

"ROBIN! COME OUT HERE! RIGHT NOW!"

Robin was lifted from her spot, Lucci whispering something into her ears that Tani couldn't pick up. Kaku dropped Tani next to Franky, who was quick to shuffle closer to the slowly bruising girl. This wasn't even the worst she's been through! So that's pretty neat.

"Spandam," Lucci summoned, holding his hand out for a den den that could project voices like a megaphone. He needed her words to be loud and clear. The twerpy man handed the den den over for Robin to use.

"Luffy..." she said with as little emotion as possible. Luffy looked ecstatic to see her.

"Robin! You're here, I'm heading over right now-"

"Stop... Please." she begged softly. Like the words were foreign to her. "I don't want to be saved. I came here of my own will." she explained. Luffy looked confused.

"Why though?" he shouted back. Robin turned her head away with a pained expression.

"Someone like me... Only brings destruction. Everyone that gets close either betrays me or dies." she said with a slight wobble in her voice.

"Tani-sis," Franky whispered to the girl beside him. She turned to face him. "Can you move your hands at all?" he asked her. She tested the movement. She had slight articulation when flexing her fingers and rolling her wrists. She nodded at the cyborg.

"Hold onto my hand," he instructed, holding open the palm of his massive hand. Tani managed to grab one of his fingers. Curling around it. What was he planning?

"I want to die!" Robins voice yelled. Her words like daggers to everyone... Except Spandam. Who burst into laughter at her words. Franky growled, but a squeeze of the finger from Tani, stopped him from acting on his urges to bite the bastard again.

"Did you hear that? You've wasted your time coming here to save this demon child!" Spandam mocked. Having grabbed the mic from Robin, who kept her gaze turned towards the ground.

She wanted to die.

Her life was a burden.

She couldn't live in this world.

Everything she touched-

"Is that really how you feel?" Luffy's voice called back. Robin couldn't look at him, if she did... She's probably do something selfish.

"Robin! Is that really what you want?" He called to her again, louder this time.

She can't look up. If she does...

She might actually believe she deserves to live.

A loud crash burst from the roof behind Luffy. Tani couldn't see what was happening, but she had a general idea. That was going to be the rest of the crew.

"Robin!" cheered Nami and Chopper.

Bingo! Man, Tani was getting really good at this.

"We're here to save you Robin!" came Sanji's voice. Thank goodness he's still alive too.

One by one, the Straw hat's gathered beside their captain. Lining the ledge of their building, staring at the woman who refused to speak of her true wants.

"ROBIN!" Luffy called again, this time even louder than the last. "WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT?" he asked her again. The woman's resolve was breaking.

What does she want?

That little 8 year old girl would say, "To discover the secret history of the world," with a big grin on her face.

To find people who accept her, even if she's a monster.

To find a family, who loves and cherishes her, the way she would cherish them.

To explore the world, and uncover it's many secrets... One island at a time.

She wanted... Was she truly allowed to have this wish?

"I... I want to sail the seas with the crew... Yet I can't shake my fears that someday, I'll be too much... And you'll betray me." she chocked. Like she couldn't believe her own words.

"She's a stain, a burden that nobody wants to have." Spandam mocked. "See this flag!" he said, pointing up at a navy flag. "For as long as this flag continues to fly proudly-"

Luffy was picking his nose, casually flicking what was caught on his finger to the side. He turned to Sogeking, with an air of seriousness. He points towards the navy flag that waved proudly at the top of the tower.

"Burn it," he commanded. Sogeking nodded, turning his slingshot to aim at the flag. A fire bird star locked and loaded. He took the shot without uttering a word. A flaming bird flew through the air, before landing on the flag, and eating it up with its burning touch.

"Holy shit..." Tani sputtered. Burning a flag was seen as an act of, not only disrespect, but a declaration of rebellion... They declared war! The Straw hats were war criminals now.

"You fools!-" Spandam sputtered, sweat pooling from his face. Luffy cut him off. He inhaled deeply, cupping his mouth to shout.

"ROBIN! TELL ME THAT YOU WANT TO LIVE!" Luffy commanded.

"Live..." she whispered. Her icy blue eyes thawing, melting with tears that spilled from years of grief. Years of telling herself that she deserved nothing but death and destruction, for the sin of being born.

"Robin! Say it louder!" the crew cheered her on. Even Tani and Franky were shouting cheers of encouragement. "Say you want to live!"

Robin lifted her eyes, staring at the crew who had come to save her. The crew who deemed her worthy of living.

The crew who truly loved her.

She inhaled deeply, letting out the loudest, ugliest, most painfully selfish thing she could ever say.

"I WANT TO LIVE!" she screamed. Tears trailed down her face, "TAKE ME TO THE SEA WITH YOU!" she begged.

Luffy grinned brightly. Letting out a hearty laugh.

"Then wait for us! We're coming to save you!" he declared. The rest of the crew letting out affirming declarations beside him.

CP9 scoffed and laughed at the declaration. They would take these pirates out with little effort, let them come.

The tower creaked as the sound of the drawbridge opening, rattled the tower. A den den call caused the already panicking Spandam to start answer.

"He-"

"The draw bridge is opening, I'm working on destroying it, but you have to start moving now!" came the voice of Baskerville. Spandam dropped the den den on the ground and rushed to Robin. Grabbing her by the hair and dragging her away aggressively.

"Someone else take those two!" Spandam spat. Robin was struggling against Spandam. The man wasn't strong, but the seastone chains were draining Robin's energy.

"We'll save you Robin," Tani grinned. Robin grinned back.

"Derashishi~" she sang with a happiness that Tani had never seen before. Spandam dragged her out of the room, slamming the door loudly.

"I'll follow Spandam, the imbecile can't handle a monster like Nico Robin," Lucci sighed. Quick to follow behind the pair. The rest of CP9 were exchanging conversations.

"Ready?" Franky whispered to Tani. She turned to face him.

"Ready for-" before she could get the words out. Franky's butt started to blow up like a balloon. She was just as surprised as the rest of CP9, who watched in shared horror at the unsightly move. They hadn't even noticed that the inflation had caused his chains to burst open. "Franky what the fu-"

"Coup de boo!" he called out. All the air within his... Butt. Was let out in what could only be described as a crude balloon being let out into the wild. His arms clamped around the smaller girl, as he flew past the stunned members of CP9. The burst of air wasn't enough to get them across the gap, but they didn't need to get to the other side.

Tani clung tightly to Franky as he dropped from the tall tower balcony towards the very small patch of grass that the draw bridge would have landed on. Franky used himself as a cushion for Tani's small body. It wasn't a comfy landing, the guy was made of metal for crying out loud!

They didn't get any time to breath before a massive train came bursting through the building at full speed. The speed was enough to get it across the gap. Franky picked Tani up and bolted away from the landing zone. Clutching her head against his chest to shield her from the coming debris.

*Smash!*

Dusty brick powder showered over the pair. While loud whoops and pained groans rang out over the small grassy spot. Franky slowly let Tani back down.

Luffy was dusting himself off on top of the crashed train, Zoro and Sanji's legs were sticking out from under the rubble. Nami was clinging to Sogeking, who was clinging to heavy point Chopper. Tani couldn't help but burst into laughter, feeling pure euphoria at the sight of her crew.

Luffy's head snapped towards the still chained up girl, he jumped from the trains rubble and ran towards her with his arms up.

"Luffy I'm so-oof" she grunted as he slammed into her like a bulldozer. Curling his arms around her in a dozen loops. Tani couldn't breath.

"Oi Oi, Luffy-bro," Franky waved. Luffy looked up at him with a glare. Franky was the super cool cyborg that attacked him... But he did save Tani from CP9, so he must be good. "Robin's being-" Franky launched into the explanation of what's happened so far. Tani blurted it out, she already knew.

"Huh? What is with you and being chained up?" Zoro smirked at the darker girl. She poked her tongue out at him.

"I'm sure you'd be chained up too, if the government considered you to be a threat like me." she joked. Zoro barked a laugh, quickly pulled out two of his swords and swiftly cutting the links.

Nami, Chopper and Sanji all came running over to check on the girl. Nami and Sanji smothered her with hugs, while Chopper did a quick once over, before joining the group embrace.

"Hoo-boy," came a familiar drunken voice. Franky turned away from Luffy to stare at Kokoro, who pushed the rubble off herself from the crash landing, "Reminds me of the good old days with Tom. What a rush," she grinned merrily. Chimney and Gone burst from the rubble like little rabbits.

"Old bag?! What the hell are you doing here!" he panicked. Jumping over to the older woman and helping her out of the wreckage.

"Saving your ass, that's what we're doing," she laughed. Patting Franky on the back, the cyborg wasn't amused. Tani cut off the argument though.

"We've got bigger fish to fry right now." she started. Turning towards the tower. "In that tower, there's about five CP9 agents. Spandam and Lucci are already walking Robin towards the Gates of Justice." Tani explained her findings.

"So we have a time limit?" Sanji stated. Tani gave a nod.

"Spandam wouldn't shut up about it! The moment she's through those gates. Game over." Tani warned. Luffy jumped on his feet.

"Let's get her now then!" he yelled. Tani shook her head.

"We don't know what we're up against-"

"Who cares? Robin is nakama, and nakama fight for each other." he claimed. Tani agreed, but they don't have all the blanks filled.

"Let's just hurry up and find out," Zoro groaned. Tightening his sheath holster. The others nodded in agreement. Tani let out an amused sigh, typical Straw hats.

"Let's go then! We don't have all day," Nami grinned. Clicking her clima-tact together, battle ready.

The crew (plus Franky) burst through the front doors, standing before them was a member of CP9. He looked like a green coin purse, with that golden zipper for his mouth. Everyone held their weapons out, ready to destroy this guy.

"Wait a minute," he said with a squeaky voice. The crew paused, though their posture didn't change. If Coin purse pulled a fast one, they'd be ready. "You can't just go after Nico Robin," he stated factually.

"Why not?" Luffy growled. This was wasting time!

"Because it'll be useless to take her as she is now." he replied. "She's got sea stone cuffs on, and only one of the members of CP9 have the key to unlock them," oh Christ it's a time waster!

"That'll be about five keys," Tani counted. "Unless Lucci has one, which he won't because that's too obvious." Tani continued.

"Why don't we just get Robin-sis first? Then get the keys," Franky suggested. Everyone liked that idea... Until rancid coin purse decided to rain on their parade.

"If you do that, we'll throw the keys into the sea." he threatened. Luffy groaned. All this talking was boring and wasting his time.

"Gum gum pistol!" he shot his fist forward, but coin purse dodged. A puff of air carrying him into the sky.

"You don't have much longer," the enemy said smugly. Floating away, leaving the crew behind.

"We don't have much time." Nami stated. "Tani, you said there's five of them," she asked. Tani nodded. "So we can all split up, find a member, take their key, and meet back here." she planned out. Sanji shook his head.

"That'll take too long, we don't have the time to take out all of them before it's too late." he said. Luffy grabbed Tani by the arm.

"We're gonna go find Robin," Luffy stated. Tani looked at him with confusion.

"We?"

"Well duh, you're the crews tracker. It's your job," he reminded. Oh right she did have a job.

The crew exchanged looks, sharing smiles.

They'd been there when Luffy had his freak out over Tani going missing, his moody whining when they couldn't find her. That den den call when she was found, was the most relieved that anyone had ever seen him. His constant bouncing and nervousness at the idea of losing both Tani and Robin again!

"Luffy and Tani, find Robin. Leave the key collecting to us," Sogeking said. Luffy nodded at him, before dragging Tani with him up the stairs of the tower.

Operation "Let's get Robin!" is now go.

...

Tani hated the universe, plain and simple.

She stood with Luffy at the tippy top of the Tower of jurisdiction or whatever. The winds violent and strong, only Luffy was there to anchor her down.

Below them was a large whirl pool between the tower and the bridge. The Gates of Justice were still closed, so Robin hadn't made it yet.

Now... They needed to get down there... And the most time efficient way to do so, would be to-

"Let's go!" Luffy looped a limb around her waist, dragging her to his side. He made the leap, and Tani used both her arms to hold Luffy's shoulders.

At this point, she's lost the will to scream when falling from so high. She still had the leap in her throat, the terror of the harsh winds against the skin, the tingle in her feet when anticipating impact.

The screaming seemed like a waste of energy now.

"Gum gum balloon!" Luffy twisted Tani to rest on his front side. His body expanding like a balloon... Man that's two balloons in one day.

Luffy smacked into the ground, his torso cushioning the blow for Tani. Luffy coughed out the air when she slammed down into him.

No bones broken? Cool. A perfect landing.

Tani slid off Luffy, fixing up her messy nest of wind whipped hair. Luffy jumped up without any effort, oh to be made of rubber. No bones to worry about.

"How do we get over there?" Luffy pondered aloud. His hand resting on his brow, as he stared at the bridge on the other side. The whirl pool, swirled far too quickly for them to sail a boat or swim across. Tani may be a strong swimmer, but with the weight of Luffy... Yeah they'd be as good as fish food.

"Can you stretch that far?" Tani asked. Looking around for any other ways across.

"Dunno," he rolled his dominant arm and threw it at the bridge.

The arm flew, losing speed with every metre it grew further. The sip in speed, lead to a dip in height. Tani was quick to catch that.

"Pull back," she said. Luffy didn't listen. "Luffy you're dipping-"

Luffy's fist made contact with the ocean's surface, that ocean being a whirlpool. Tani grabbed at the flopping arm of am energy drained Luffy. It was like how the movies made reeling a gigantic fish in, only the dead weight was on the boat and not the other end of the line.

"Tired," Luffy whined, pressing himself limply into Tani. The girl was still dragging his arm back in, she didn't need this fluttering feeling right now!

"Stop being cute when you're tired you moron!" she shrieked. Luffy looked up at her owlishly.

Oh shit... She said that out loud didn't she? Fu-

Luffy's arm finally popped out of the ocean. The wobbling limb came flying straight towards Tani's face, she scrunched her face for impact.

The fist never came, no instead it was the snapping sound that Luffy makes when everything has slapped back into place.

"No, I can't stretch that far." Luffy answered. Tani snickered.

Now what? How is Spandam making his way across?

It can't be across the ocean, otherwise Spandam would still be in sight. Above would also be noticeable, but underground...

Actually that could work.

Tani pushed Luffy off of her. Her hands pressing down on any bricks that she could. Come on, one of these has to be-

"What're you doing?" Luffy asked, leaning in close. He's been extra clingy today. Then again she was kidnapped for a couple hours so that's a factor.

"I'm looking for any secret buttons that could activate a door underground," she explained, pressing down on many bricks while she spoke.

"So... A mystery switch? For a mystery tunnel," Luffy simplified. Tani rolled her eyes playfully.

"Something like that." she smiled.

"Let me help," Luffy chirped, stretching his arm to slap at bricks too high for Tani to touch.

"This looks fun, can I join in too?"

"Oh sure thing Chimney. We need all the hands we can-"

Ah?

"Chimney?!" Tani shrieked with surprise. "Aren't you meant to be with Kokoro?" she asked. The green haired girl just shrugged.

"We found a secret passage way and decided to go on a pirate adventure," she replied. Holding onto Gonbe, who barked.

Secret passage?

"Where?" Tani asked. Luffy finally catching on to the fact that this conversation was happening.

Chimney pointed to the very obvious tunnel entrance that she'd popped through.

"There's this really big door blocking the way. I saw a creepy dude with purple hair walking with this pigeon guy and a lady with black hair." Chimney stated. Tani and Luffy looked at each other.

"Can you take us to the door?" Tani asked politely. Chimney nodded happily, turning towards the entrance and running. Luffy and Tani followed behind closely.

The tunnel was dimly lit, with lanterns that protected the flames from the concerning moisture in the air. Speaking of air, it's stale and smells like sweat and dried blood.

"Here we are!" Chimney grinned. Pointing at the large vault door. "I don't remember the code that pigeon man used," she apologised. Tani pat her on the head.

"You've been plenty of help," she assured. "Luffy, think you can break it down?" she asked. Luffy donned a wide grin, like he'd lucked out.

"Gear 3rd," he called, holding his thumb up to his mouth and clamping down.

Gear 3rd?

He blew into his thumb, and Tani watched with awestruck terror as his arm inflated. It wasn't like a gum gum balloon, this was specific to the limb. He held the enlarged limb into position.

"Gum gum giga pistol!" he announced. Thrusting his fist forward, the rush of air that slammed into Tani and Chimney's faces caused both girls to cover their eyes. The loud crunching of metal followed by the boom that echoed through the tunnel before them.

Looks like sneaking around is out of the question... Luffy couldn't sneak for the life of him.

Tani coughed away the uplifted dust, fanning it away from her eyes. The door was open.

"Cool, let's go Lu-" Tani started, turning to where Luffy was. Only he'd vanished. "Luffy?" she looked around. Turning towards the entrance and finding...

Tani burst into laughter at the sight of Luffy. His entire body had compressed until he was the same height as a puppy. His features squished down with the size. Luffy turned to give her a pout, which made her laugh harder.

"Yo-you're so sm-sm-small!" she chuckled. Crouching down to be eye level with him, he narrowed his eyes and poked his tongue out at her. She did the same. "Shorty," she poked. Bopping his nose.

He snapped his teeth around her entire hand. The shock of the action freaked out her, she lifted her arm (which he was still attached to!) and started waving it around.

Luffy got little dog syndrome when he was tiny! Noted.

"Let go! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

...

Tani had been flying through the tunnel for about five minutes now, a still shrunk down Luffy cuddled into her chest.

"When did you come up with a 3rd gear?" she asked curiously.

"After fighting ice guy, he caught me in his arm. He's tall so I gotta be tall too." he explained. Luffy logic at its finest.

"So you just? Gum gum balloon your limbs?" she pondered. Luffy shook his head.

"I blow up my bones, so they get really big and I can hit things better," he grinned.

Tani saw a light approaching.

There was something big up ahead, she could feel it.

Or that was Luffy's normal sized hand holding onto her arm-

Wait a second.

Luffy's limbs slowly started popping back into their regular size. Tani was gonna trip over him if she kept holding him this way. So she did the most rational thing she could think of.

Switched it to a princess carry.

When his legs returned to normal size, she scooped them up and held under the knee. Her other arm resting his regular sized backside. The last thing to return to size was the arm he blew up.

Luffy stated at her with dazzling eyes. She was so strong now! Her arms were getting bigger too. He wanted to touch them... He was gonna touch them.

"We're here." Tani whispered before Luffy could act on his urge.

The entrance was a large archway, leading to what looked like a circular storage room. There was natural sunlight in here? Was this that tower? That meant they were half way.

Too bad there's a jerk and his pigeon blocking the path.

"Why am I not surprised to see you here, Tanisha." Lucci sighed. Tani dropped Luffy to the ground gently. Keeping her eyes on that predator stare. It was like staring at a giant cat in the wild.

He was blocking the only entrance.

Luffy kept himself in front of Tani, the girl planning out any possible escape route's for them to take to avoid the conflict. Though... She didn't factor in that Luffy had taken this personal.

This was the guy that stole Robin and Tani. One of the guy's who betrayed and tried to kill Iceberg guy. He wasn't letting him get away with this without completely destroying him.

Tani paused in her thinking, something was off.

*chime*

That was a bell, her bell to be exact.

It was coming from behind her. That being the tunnel her and Luffy just left.

Who was coming towards them?

"Do you realize just how dangerous your crew is? Straw hat Luffy." Lucci began to monologue. Luffy widened his stance, while Tani turned her gaze towards the tunnel behind her.

"The demon of Ohara, and that alien you consider to be human. Both of them will lead to your demise," he spoke. Luffy's expression didn't change. "They'd only lead to the beginnings of chaos. A fate you wouldn't be able to handle," Lucci sounded so bored.

*chime*

The ringing was getting closer. The sound of heavy foot steps, no shoe clicks... Franky?

"We appear to have another guest," Lucci stated. True to his word, a mop of blue hair came bobbing towards them.

"Ow! Tani-sis, Luffy-bro." Franky grinned. Tani smiled back, glad to see he walked away from his battle with minimal damage. "Huh? Oi Luffy, need any help with this bastard?" the cyborg offered. Luffy let out a growl.

"Take Tani out of here, go find Robin." he commanded with absolute authority. Leaving no room for protest. Franky gave a nod, Tani looked at Luffy. He wasn't facing her, but the tension in his fists proved he was ready to release some steam.

"You better not lose," she stated. "otherwise we can't share those snacks I got yesterday," she added casually. Luffy snorted at that.

"You better have those meat sticks." he replied. Tani smiled sweetly, not that he could see it.

"Anything for the future pirate king." she saluted. "Kick his ass!" she shouted. Franky grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her onto his shoulders. Making a break for the tunnel exit behind Lucci.

Lucci obviously went to defend the spot like a goalie to a soccer ball. Unfortunately for him, Luffy was faster. Activating gear 2nd to knock Lucci out of the way, Franky and Tani passed through unharmed.

Tani gripped at Franky head with worry. Luffy better not lose.

...

"So what did we miss?" Tani started, this tunnel was too quiet. "We've been running through this tunnel for a while, and finding it was a pain," she admitted.

"We've gotten two keys so far. Chopper-bro went on a bit of a rampage though," he said with a pained bite.

"Chopper what? But he's so... Docile. He wouldn't rampage-"

"I dunno know what he did, but he came bursting through the tower about 5x my height and mindlessly destroyed everything he could." Franky explained. Tani couldn't believe that, it was so out of his character.

"It had something to do with his devil fruit, so I knocked him into the ocean." Franky added. "He's passed out, Nami-sis has him. She got a third key but that was for some handcuffs attached to Zoro-bro and Sogeking-bro." he continued.

Wow... So much has happened already...

"So that means we're still missing two keys?" Tani confirmed. Franky nodded.

"Zoro-bro and Sanji-bro are on it though. So they probably have them by now." Franky concluded.

"I guess you could say that's..." Tani scrunched her face to hold back a growing smile, "That CP9 got their asses..." she sputtered a bit. "SUPER! KICKED!" she beamed.

"OW! LOVING THIS SUPER ENERGY TANI-SIS," Franky boomed with cheer. 

"Report in all marine units," echoed Spandam voice. Only it sounded more like speakers, rather than a natural echo.

"Do you realise what you've just done," Robin growled through the speakers. "You've doomed us all!" she screamed.

Tani looked at Franky, they needed to speed up the chase now. Robin would only react so emotionally to something like...

"Shit! The idiot called for a Buster call!" Tani cried. Franky continued up the spiral staircase, Tani could smell the ocean growing closer. "Almost there!" she encouraged Franky.

"I couldn't care less about those marines lives, they can be replaced." Spandam's voice rang over the intercom like a death sentence... To his own people. "As long as you're turned in alive, I'm free to do and use what I please," Spandam cackled.

"Please, all marine units. Run to the Puffing Tom! It's still docked at the front gate Enies Lobby. You're lives are worth living!" Robin begged. Followed by a swift kick.

The speakers shut off.

"I see the door! Go go go!" Tani practically screamed. Franky held his right arm up and launched it.

"Strong right!" his fist came clean off his arm, connected with a steel chain. The little metal door bent in on itself. Sunshine hitting them in the face.

They'd arrived.

Not even 25 metres away was a downed Robin, her teeth clutched to the edge of the bridge as Spandam kicked, and kicked, and kicked.

Tani jumped off Franky's shoulders, clicking her heels and blasting forwards with a determination she'd never felt in her life.

How dare he hit her! How dare some degenerate piece of shit, hurt someone who'd already been dealt a shitty hand in life thanks to people like him.

The loud crunch of Spandam face against the high speed punch, was the most satisfying feeling Tani had ever experienced. Spandam was sent flying across the bridge, his weak little body bouncing across.

"Robin!" Tani stressed. Turning around to find Franky already curling his arms around her battered body. Tani ran towards her, mixed emotions of pure happiness at finding her again, and sadness at the sight of her broken form. It hurt to look.

"You're gonna be alright Robin," Tani whispered promises. "We've got some keys, and there's two more coming." she put on a positive face. Robin smiled softly, holding her hand up to caress Tani's cheek.

"Derashishishi~"

Tani felt herself tearing up, why? She didn't know-

"Tani look out!" Franky panicked. Tani had no time to turn around before-

*bang*

Tani managed to turn around and instead of finding Spandam standing up right with his massive sword. She found him back on the floor, this time with gunpowder exploded on his chest.

That was... She turned to look up at the tower of jurisdiction. Her eye sight not that impressive, she couldn't see anyone. Yet she knew it was Sogeking... Usopp... It was Usopp that saved her life just then. One slice of that sword would have killed her.

Another shot was fired, this one carrying the rest of the keys. Tani cheered at the sight, though her shout of thanks wouldn't be heard...

"THANK YOU EVERYONE!"

her voice carried far and wide. Atop the tower of jurisdiction, the Straw hat crew smiled... Now it was time to make their way towards the bridge.

Franky spotted a few marines from the other end of the bridge were encroaching on their space. He handed Robin to Tani, dropping the two keys he had in her hands.

"I'll fend off these guys, you free Robin." he requested, before turning to the enslaught of enemies that approached.

"Let's set you free," Tani smiled. Starting with key 1.

Nope.

How about key 3?

Still not right.

Key 4?

Not even close.

That left key 5.

Tani clicked the key into the shackles. A quick snap and crank, the cuffs dropped. Revealing Robins bruised wrists. She held them up to her face, a look of awe at the sight of them. The colour returned to a healthy dark tan colour.

She was back in business.

"Tres Fleur," she grinned devilishly. Man hands spawning on Spandam, who had looked at her with horror.

Tani moved her arms to replicate the move, her hands crossing her chest. Robin smiled at her, their fists clutching down together.

"Clutch!" they sang together.

Spandam's body snapped backwards. Tani didn't even feel disturbed at the display like she normally would be. That asshole deserved it.

A rumbling sound came from the tower inbetween the bridge and the... Did Zoro cut the tower of jurisdiction in half? What a legend.

Back on topic! The tower between both locations. The one that Luffy and Lucci were in. It's shaking, probably due to the on going battle. Nothing had exploded yet, so it hadn't gotten heated yet. When fighting Luffy, if nothing is destroyed, then you didn't fight Luffy. These are the laws of the world.

A loud alarm rang out. Tani turned around to find a large boat... No... More than one boat? Two, three, four? No! That's a whole fleet! Dozens of boats sliced through the ocean towards Enies Lobby.

Robin had stopped moving, her body shaking. While fire burned in her eyes.

The flashes came back to Tani, and they were just as brutal as the last time.

This was the Buster call...

And it wasn't gonna be pretty.