I don't own One Piece or it's characters :)
Robin's POV
Screaming filled my ears. Screams i knew all to well. It was the scream of someone dying, knowing that any breath could be their last, and watching their own flesh melt from their bones. it was the scream of vanishing life. I knew that sound like the back of my hand. I've heard it once too often. But this time, i didn't know how to feel about it. Should i feel sorry for the ones who tried to murder me? Should i laugh at his screams of pain and death?
I didn't. I only smiled sadly at the red eyes locked on mine as the skin around them turned papery and flaked from the body, floating away as the wind whipped them away. The scream echoed in my ears, the voice fading away as the creature's vocals were quite literally ripped from it's throat. Even as it's final moment of life approached, still those eyes bored into mine like a nail through wood. Analyzing my every thought, my every emotion.
I hit the ground hard, all the air forced from my lungs in one huge gasp. Coughs escaped my throat, wracking my entire body. Gentle hands wrapped around my shoulders and helped me into sitting position as i slowly regained my breath. "Thank you." I said.
"You're welcome," said Nami's voice, and i turned to smile at her, instead my jaw dropped slightly and my eyes widened. The navigator had been completely cleansed of any and all injury. Her skin was shining and scratch free, her hair put up in a nice bun with circlet on her head similar to Antinodea's. She was now wearing a knee length creamy colored toga clipped over one shoulder with gold slippers on her feet. She simply radiated beauty. Looking down at myself, i saw that i too was dressed similarly, and my broken wrists were completely healed. My skin glowed faintly like i had a miniature sun beneath my skin.
"Robin-chan, Nami-swan, you look absolutely radiant, more beautiful than the goddess of beauty herself!"
I looked over at the lovesick chef. He too had been cleansed of wounds, but his mode of dress was much less modest, only a short cloth was wrapped around his waist, leaving him completely bare chested.
"You will stay silent, man!" said the voice of Antinodea. I blinked into focus, looking at the Valkyrie standing a few feet away. She looked just as beautiful as she had down below, if not glowing a bit brighter. She looked forward over our heads. "Take one moment to regain your balance."
"What pushed me inside the light beam?" i asked, standing a bit unsteadily, and finding a light cloud below my feet. It was like being in Skypeia again.
"A Vampire," was a short answer. "That beam purifies everything that enters it, nothing tainted may enter this world. Vampires are creatures of blood, they were vaporized instantly."
That would explain the screaming and my healed wounds. I flexed my fingers, not quite convinced of the magic. I was a woman of knowledge and fact, not one who believes in petty magic tricks like this. Still... my wrists felt fine, and there was no denying the bones were not broken.
But something felt off, not with my body, but with just the air surrounding us. The room we had landed in, the floor dusted with cloud, the twelve golden pillars holding up the pure gold dome of a roof, it was all very regal and realistic. But i couldn't put my finger one what was missing until i did a head count.
"Where is Zoro!?" I demanded, whirling on the Valkyrie, who was keeping her eyes trained on something behind me. i didn't care to turn. "What have you done with him!?"
Antinodea's eyes flicked to me. "I don't know."
I somehow managed to control my hysteria. "If you don't tell me, i may have to force the answer out of you."
She didn't bat en eye. "I'm not in charge of the souls. If you have a complaint, find my sister Xion. She will help you. But that does not concern you, Lady Freyja will speak to you first."
I put on my sweetest smile. "I refuse to see her until you tell me where my Zoro is."
"Robin," Nami whispered when Antinodea didn't reply. "Something's wrong with Sanji-kun."
I looked at the blonde cook. His entire body was frozen in some sort of self administered time lock. I knew he wasn't dead, he had spoken a minute before. Had he seen something? Could it be important? I looked to follow the cook's gaze, inhaling a light breath when i beheld a tall woman leaning against a pillar. She had been silent and undetectable, listening in on our conversation. She was the one who Antinodea was staring at, a darker look shading the Valkyrie's eyes. The newcomer wore clothing similar to Antinodea.
"That is no way to speak to Eir." The new girl spoke.
"Eir?"
"You do not refer to us by true name outside of the trial room, Tufa!" Antinodea snapped.
I could have guessed. When i read a novel about the Valkyries, the book had stated that they rarely used their real names, preferring an alias. Eir must be Antinodea's true name.
Tufa the new Valkyrie no doubt, shuffled on her feet unsteadily. "Lady Freyja sent me. She wants the humans in her throne room as soon as possible."
I maintained my smile, but inside i was fuming. I didn't want to go anywhere without knowing where Zoro was. For all i knew, he was burning in a fiery pit of death for all eternity. Or maybe he was frolicking through a meadow of daises while singing a tone deaf Kumbaya. Both thoughts made me cringe, i couldn't decide which was worse. Well, wherever he was, he'd better not get himself lost... even though he's a body.
Nami somehow managed to revive Sanji, who immediately swooned in front of Tufa, who inched quickly away from the erratic chef. She eventually turned and fled down a corridor from which i assumed she had arrived in the first place. Sanji noodled after her, yelling for his angel to wait. Nami took off after him, leaving Antinodea alone in the room with me.
Without looking at the female warrior, i said, "I don't trust you, Eir-san." just to spite her, i used her true name.
"I don't trust this Valhalla. And i just want to sum up the situation. My Zoro is dead, it is just Nami, Sanji and I. My man's body and soul are missing and as a result, that makes this simple, very very simple, do you know why?"
Antinodea's voice was clipped. "No."
"Because now, Eir-san..." I looked at her over my shoulder, giving my best cross me and you die smile. "There is no power on this earth that can stop me."
I didn't wait for her reaction. I took long strides after the navigator and cook, leaving her in the dust. I was positive i had jolted the Valkyrie a little, but that was not my intention. What i had spoken was the truth. I would not stop until this entire land was turned over and Zoro's body recovered. I would locate this River Chai if i had to fight my way single handed through a million foes. I would drag myself across deserts, hike mountains and pass any test to see this through to the end. I didn't know any woman in the world who wouldn't do the same for the man they loved.
I caught up to Sanji and Nami, who were standing dumbfounded in the absence of Tufa, who had somehow disappeared, in front of a massive set of ornate silver doors, the hinges laced with gold.
Inscribed into the entrance was a crescent moon with two swords crossed over it, a shield in the background. The symbol of the Moon Goddess. The doors swung inward as i approached, admitting us inside a tall corridor lined with stone. The ceiling slanted upward into a triangular shape with small windows to allow sunlight to illuminate the room. At the very end of the hall on a raised platform was positioned a decorated wooden chair, padded with goose-feather pillows. Sitting on that throne was the nudest woman i had seen in a very long time.
She wore only a single cloth draped over her shoulder and across her lap, barely covering her cleavage and leaving a good amount of it exposed. Long yellow hair fell in waves around her face, complimenting her strangely dark eyes. Her legs were crossed daintily at the knee, and her skin shone with a soft light. At her feet was a huge boar, its tusks wickedly sharp. Hanging above her head was a figurine of a horse in flight, it's wings spread like a swan.
This must be Lady Freyja, i figured.
Standing around her were twelve women. I recognized Antinodea and Tufa among them. They must be the Valkyrie family. A few girls had black hair, some brown, some blonde and some white and so on. Their eye color varied as well.
(Author's note: I'll leave how they look like up to your imagination cuz it's really bothersome to describe what twelve Beautiful female warriors look like!)
"Which one of you pleaded for help?" Lady Freyja asked.
Sanji collapsed again. I hope he doesn't die because of blood loss.
I stepped forward, smiling lightly again to quell my rising uneasiness. "It was i, Thank you for rescuing us." I did not bow to her, as it would be proper. She didn't appear to notice or even care.
"I only replied for a single purpose," the goddess of the moon continued. "Reginleif tells me you desire something far more desirable than your own safety."
Reginleif, or who i assumed it was, dipped her head in a nod, her light pink her falling in front of her dainty face.
"Forgive me for not introducing ourselves," Nami spoke up. She had given up on Sanji who was unconscious. "I'm Nami, navigator for the Straw hat pirates. This is Nico Robin, an archaeologist. And that sorry lump over there is Sanji the cook."
"We don't give our names to outsiders," the black haired Valkyrie hissed, her eyes boring into my own.
"B-But Syrena," a blue haired girl whispered, quaking in her own sandals. "We n-need t-to..."
"Shut it, Atina!" her sister snapped.
"Why not you?" another one groaned. "Put away that fierce attitude of yours and try to be quaint for once. You're pissing me off!"
"Say that again, Aerith, i dare you!"
The sound of steel against sheath beat the air, and suddenly a broadsword blocked the Valkyrie sisters from tearing each other apart. The owner of the broadsword was a woman with deep purple hair, eyes like hawk and her limbs bulging with muscles. "Stop it!" she ordered. "Introduce yourselves to the guests!"
Syrena folded her arms. "Sanngrior." This must be the trial room if they are using their real names. I felt a bit honored to witness this. I recognized the name the Valkyrie had used from the book i had read once. Very violent and cruel.
Aerith stuck out her tongue. "Raogrior." The bossy.
Antinodea gave me a hard look. "Eir." Helm and mercy.
The shielded Valkyrie didn't make eye contact. "Randgrid." The shield destroyer.
A tall Valkyrie dressed in simple battle attire with her red hair plaited down her back spoke up next. "Goll." Noise in battle.
The girl whom Freyja had spoken of came forward next. "Reginleif." Daughter of the gods.
Another sister dressed similarly to Goll, but more feminine like said, "Hilder." Battle.
Tufa whispered, "Pogn." Silence.
A Valkyrie with dual swords at her hip introduced herself next. "Skalmold." Sword time.
The purple haired woman who had broken up the fight sheathed her sword once she was sure her quarreling sisters had ceased their disagreement. "Hjorprimul. Please call me Nakoma, it's easier." The sword warrioress.
Atina who had at first tried to calm syrena. "Hrist." The quaking one.
Finally, the only one remaining Valkyrie muttered into the blade of the knife she was cleaning, "Kara." The wild, stormy one.
Twelve Valkyrie. Just like in the legends and myths to which they belonged. Goddesses born to train the spirits of the dead for Ragnarok, the coming of the end of time. A dangerous group of women who would be difficult to defeat.
"tell me where Zoro is!" I demanded once the introductions had finally ceased.
"Who?"
"She means the warrior who was summoned here," Antinodea explained. "The one with the odd green hair."
"That's him!" Nami confirmed. "Where is he?"
Hilder raised her head. "I took care of him." she said.
Is she the Xion, whom Antinodea had told me to refer? I assumed so. "Where did the body go?"
"Where the rest of them go."
Xion was refusing to be specific, and it was irking me to no end. I dare not reveal my inner turmoil and show weakness. "Please," i tried to compromise. "We need him to..."
A sudden breeze blew through the room, but there was nowhere for it to have come from. it smelt of the sea and salt and... chocolate? And was that a rose petal? A large amount of rose petals had suddenly appeared inside the throne room from thin air, riding a salty sea breeze in a tall pillar a few feet away. It grew so dense it was impossible to see what may be inside the pillar, but all was revealed a few seconds later when the wind vanished, the petals floated to the floor and another woman stepped forward, mumbling about dramatic entrances.
Sanji who had just apparently awoken from his stupor, took one look at the newcomer and erupted into another nosebleed and fainted again. Nami facepalmed.
This woman was different from the Valkyrie, i knew immediately she wasn't from the same mythology, Her face couldn't be pinned down to one exact form, it was constantly shifting into different ones, but each face was equally perfect in beauty. Now she had long salmon pink hair and blue eyes, then suddenly transformed into a vision of my mother, complete with those blue eyes that could read my mind. Nami who was standing beside me, saw something else.
"Bellemere?" she whispered.
I didn't know who Bellemere was, but i assumed it was someone Nami loved very much. The woman was dressed in a pink floor length gown, sleeveless, and coming together at her shoulder with a broach shaped as a myrtle.
Freyja," the woman said with a coy smile. "Lighten up and let the heroes have their companion."
"And why should i?"
"Because they love him, and he loves them. I've been watching this endeavor for the past few hours and must say, i think they deserve it."
"Venus!" freyja said, her tone dangerous.
The woman flicked her hair behind her ear, flashing a pure white smile. "Oh, come one Freyja. I'm the Goddess of Love, this is my area of expertise."
I gasped. "Venus... love... could it be?"
"What's up Robin?" Nami asked curiously.
"Remember that book i showed you about Greece?" i said and the navigator nodded. "Well, when that civilization fell, another one rose to power and adopted it's mythology, just adapted it a little to be more warlike. In this new power, Rome their goddessof love was Venus, adopted from the Greek Aphrodite. Her kingdom is that of breaking couples apart or... bringing them together." My voice softened to a whisper.
Venus winked at me. "Spot on, princess! Only the concept of love can't be adapted so easily. I just had my name switched."
An elegant throne suddenly sprouted from the ground in which Venus lounged lazily, examining her already perfect fingernails. "It gets so boring sometimes. There's nothing to do. Until you guys landed on this island, and it's just one thing after another! it's so cute i had to get in on it!" The goddess said.
"Venus-dono," i said in my best convince the enemy of my loyalty voice. "I must ask, have you heard of the River Chai?"
Lady Freyja's eyes narrowed, as if i had suddenly crossed a very dangerous line. Venus however picked at her lip in curiosity. "River Chai, Chai..." she plopped her fist into her palm.
"Oh yeah! You're talking about that legend i wrote millennia ago, back when i was Greek, i had forgotten!"
"WHAT!?" Nami screeched. "You wrote the legend?"
Venus flashed peace symbol. "Of course! it was supposed to help a good friend of mine, but the poor buffon didn't make it in time. i'm surprised it's survived this long."
"What is this legend of which you speak?" hissed Syrena, hand caressing the hilt of her sword as if itching to unsheathe it.
Were the Valkyrie unknowing of this legend? If so, it could prove to our advantage to manipulate this. i didn't open my mouth, however. I would need to select my words carefully if this tactic was to prove beneficial. I kept one eye trained on her as my attention was slightly diverted to the navigator, who had completely discarded the Valkyrie's query.
"Please, tell us!" Nami pleaded to the love goddess. "What do we need to do?"
Venus turned her pure blue eyes on mine, and i had a sudden wave of memories flood in my mind of my mother looking at me in that same way. I lost all concentration on Syrena and focused on that sweet happiness my mother had of seeing her daughter again, but also sorrow just under the surface because of the consequences. It was a bittersweet sight.
"Robin already knows, but unfortunately, you'll have to come to the Greek pillar. I wasn't allowed to bring my River Chai when my alliance switched to Rome."
"But to do that, you need the warrior." Lady Freyja's voice said sternly. She had been silent, and i had forgotten she was in the room. All eyes in the room turned to the Moon Goddess's coy smile. "And we will not give him up."
"What do you want?" Nami shouted. "We'll give you anything."
"Anything is a lofty word, child." Venus said quietly. "Anything includes your life."
Nami suddenly seemed to realize the vastness of her word, and slapped a hand to her lips, her eyes wide with deep understanding of her desperation. Lady Freyja didn't seem phased by Nami's actions, but merely pursed her lips and drummed her fingers on the armrest of her throne. She appeared to be concocting a price, and i wasn't buying.
Seeming to come to a conclusion, she opened her mouth to speak, but i interrupted her. "Show him to us first," I bargained. "Prove that you have him."
Freyja's eyes narrowed. She raised a finger and gestured. The black haired girl Xion came forward, the one in charge of the souls. She reached to the side, and i was impressed when her entire forearm disappeared into what appeared to be a pocket in the air, a portal, an alternate dimension maybe?
Xion's eyes widened slightly, A vein tensed in her bicep, and she suddenly began to grapple with herself as if her arm was suctioned to whatever was on the other side of that gate. But it wasn't stuck, because she pulled it free with ease and stuck her other arm inside. movements frantic.
"What's wrong?" I asked sweetly, hiding my own sudden flood of worry.
"It's... gone..." Xion strained.
"It's what!?" The entire room screamed. All but Venus, i noticed, who had hidden a sly smile behind her hand. The remaining eleven Valkyrie flocked around their sister, bombarding her with questions, to which she merely shook her head sadly.
I kept an eye on the love goddess, who was suppressing her laughter with one hand. My eyes narrowed. my suspicions were confirmed as she suddenly spoke above the clamor. "It's not gone, only stolen!" she giggled.
At the word, all life in the room fell silent. The Valkyrie glared at the Roman intruder, eyes like daggers. I didn't move. I had suspected this. Venus's body language said all that needed to be spoken. She held up her hand, and with a poof of rose petals, Zoro's body appeared in mid air, frozen in the exact position he had been in when he had been suspended by my feet back in the Vampire's stock cells. The Goddess held him captive and this i would not stand for.
"Return him at once!" I demanded.
"But he's dead!" Venus said. "Why do you want this thing? It can't do anything, just lays there and decays. But this however, is what you want." Venus said as a life size jar popped in her other hand.
The jar was complete with an airtight lid. There didn't appear to be inside of it, but when i looked harder, the glass tinted a deep green, and a hand print suddenly pressed itself to the inside of the jar. My fingers curled in frustration, my heart began to beat faster. "ZORO!"
"But you don't want one or the other, do you?" The Roman goddess continued. "You want both, put the soul and body together and Wala! You get your man back."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch, name your price." I said.
In a poof the body and soul jar disappeared. Venus leaned over on her knee, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. "Just you, Robin sweetie, I have a test for you." She smiled.
"A test?" i repeated.
A nod. "Yes, pass the test and i'll send you to the River Chai, where sweet Zoro-san is waiting for you right now. Sound like a deal?"
I was wary. Tests, i had come to learn were dangerous and often result in death. But i do not care about that now. i will do anything to bring back Zoro.
"I accept your challenge." I stated firmly.
A war smile curled Venus's lips. "Excellent."
I hope that you are enjoying the story so far :)