Categories > Anime/Manga > One Piece
"You stupid, stupid, stupid woman who doesn't know when to give up!"
Robin gripped the edge of the Bridge of Hesitation tightly between her teeth, not daring to let go for a second. If she did, Spandam would pull her away from it and then drag her through the Gates of Justice, and then all hope would be lost.
The stone brickwork grated against the enamel of her teeth, wearing it away every time Spandam pulled on her hair. It hurt, but she clung to it with the tenacity of a drowning man to a raft.
I just need to hold on a little longer, Robin thought. Everybody is coming to save me!
Luffy was right behind them. She had heard him call her name up the tunnel, and everybody else would be following him. Chopper and Sanji in particular would walk over hot coals to reach her. And they would not stop fighting, no matter the odds, until she was safe.
As if he had read her mind, Spandam began stomping on her back and shouting "There's nobody coming for you! That little weakling couldn't hope to get past Lucci, so give up, you stupid stupid woman!"
You're wrong! Robin wanted to shout, but could not risk releasing her grip. He's coming, and your flunky won't be able to stop him!
Spandam could think what he wanted. He'd never seen Luffy in action, but she had. And she remembered.
She remembered the final round of the Davy Back Fight. Luffy had been frozen and beaten, frozen and beaten, again and again, so many times that it each time it seemed impossible that he would get back up. But each time he did, pulling himself to his feet even though his wounds should prevent him from doing so. And then, although he could barely stand, much less fight, he screamed out that he would fight for his Nakama until he died, and brought his hands up into a fighting stance. He would let none of his friends leave him that day. He would die before he saw that happen.
She remembered Skypiea. She remembered lying in Luffy's arms, her skin scorched, scarcely able to move. She told him everything she had heard, all that she knew about Enel's plans. The look in his eyes as he asked Aisa to lead him to Enel surpassed anger and entered the territory of pure, elemental rage, and in that moment Robin knew that all of Enel's powers meant less than nothing; There was nothing that could stand against that kind of fury.
She remembered Alabasta. Underneath hundreds of meters of solid bedrock, in the middle of a collapsing temple, he stood against an impossible foe and won. He had narrowly escaped death twice already today, and still bore an enormous wound in the center of his chest where Crocodile's hook had pierced him. He was dying from the paralyzing poison that Crocodile hid within his hook. And still he kept fighting. He did not give up, pressing onwards harder and harder, in spite of his injuries, until at last he beat Crocodile through the bedrock and sunlight shone upon the temple's interior for the first time. Who could stand against that kind of man?
And most of all she remembered Saulo's final words. The sea is vast, he had told her. One day, without any doubt, Nakama will appear who will protect you! By the time they arrived, she'd lived so many years and suffered so many betrayals that she had given up hope, and so she had not realized what she'd found until she had already surrendered it.
But now she was getting a second chance. All of them were coming to save her. All she had to do was hold on just a little bit longer. She had waited far too long for her to lose them again, not when they were this close.
Shutting her eyes tight against the pain, Robin gritted her teeth and waited.
Robin gripped the edge of the Bridge of Hesitation tightly between her teeth, not daring to let go for a second. If she did, Spandam would pull her away from it and then drag her through the Gates of Justice, and then all hope would be lost.
The stone brickwork grated against the enamel of her teeth, wearing it away every time Spandam pulled on her hair. It hurt, but she clung to it with the tenacity of a drowning man to a raft.
I just need to hold on a little longer, Robin thought. Everybody is coming to save me!
Luffy was right behind them. She had heard him call her name up the tunnel, and everybody else would be following him. Chopper and Sanji in particular would walk over hot coals to reach her. And they would not stop fighting, no matter the odds, until she was safe.
As if he had read her mind, Spandam began stomping on her back and shouting "There's nobody coming for you! That little weakling couldn't hope to get past Lucci, so give up, you stupid stupid woman!"
You're wrong! Robin wanted to shout, but could not risk releasing her grip. He's coming, and your flunky won't be able to stop him!
Spandam could think what he wanted. He'd never seen Luffy in action, but she had. And she remembered.
She remembered the final round of the Davy Back Fight. Luffy had been frozen and beaten, frozen and beaten, again and again, so many times that it each time it seemed impossible that he would get back up. But each time he did, pulling himself to his feet even though his wounds should prevent him from doing so. And then, although he could barely stand, much less fight, he screamed out that he would fight for his Nakama until he died, and brought his hands up into a fighting stance. He would let none of his friends leave him that day. He would die before he saw that happen.
She remembered Skypiea. She remembered lying in Luffy's arms, her skin scorched, scarcely able to move. She told him everything she had heard, all that she knew about Enel's plans. The look in his eyes as he asked Aisa to lead him to Enel surpassed anger and entered the territory of pure, elemental rage, and in that moment Robin knew that all of Enel's powers meant less than nothing; There was nothing that could stand against that kind of fury.
She remembered Alabasta. Underneath hundreds of meters of solid bedrock, in the middle of a collapsing temple, he stood against an impossible foe and won. He had narrowly escaped death twice already today, and still bore an enormous wound in the center of his chest where Crocodile's hook had pierced him. He was dying from the paralyzing poison that Crocodile hid within his hook. And still he kept fighting. He did not give up, pressing onwards harder and harder, in spite of his injuries, until at last he beat Crocodile through the bedrock and sunlight shone upon the temple's interior for the first time. Who could stand against that kind of man?
And most of all she remembered Saulo's final words. The sea is vast, he had told her. One day, without any doubt, Nakama will appear who will protect you! By the time they arrived, she'd lived so many years and suffered so many betrayals that she had given up hope, and so she had not realized what she'd found until she had already surrendered it.
But now she was getting a second chance. All of them were coming to save her. All she had to do was hold on just a little bit longer. She had waited far too long for her to lose them again, not when they were this close.
Shutting her eyes tight against the pain, Robin gritted her teeth and waited.
Sign up to rate and review this story