All That Glitters (One Piece\Zolo) 131

Quick Recap: You revealed that the shipwrights were from Cipher Pol 9, a secret intelligence agency under the World Government that has the right to kill anyone who gets in their way. Robin revealed that she was working for them to achieve her goal. Luffy tried to fight Lucci, but Lucci used his Rokushiki. Now you only have 2 minutes before the place burns down.
START THE QUIZ
Lucci didn't seem all too concerned with the fire that was about to happen. Then again, he didn't plan to be here when the building went up. No, he was planning to go find an important person to finish up their business here at Water Seven then leave, leaving you to take the blame. You secretly wondered who this important person was. You suspected it was who they thought really had whatever it was they were looking for that Iceberg didn't have. Of course, that didn't really tell you much. Then again, you kinda had more pressing matters to deal with. Like the five CP9 agents standing in your way.
Arms crossed nonchalantly over his chest, Lucci explained, "The flames will rise from a number of rooms on the first floor soon. But the culprits were pirates... these things happen."
"... you...!!!" Paulie gasped, finding the strength to sit up on his knees.
"You use the masks of other people to get away with whatever you like," Nami finished for him. "Talk about rude!!"
Blueno appeared unmoved. "They're already tainted masks," he retorted. "I see no problems with that." You were, after all, just pirates.
Glancing at the clock, you thought, `We don't have time for this "zippy" banter.` Time was ticking by. `This seems familiar...` you mused. Hadn't you done this way back in Alabasta? They talked about tainted masks, but their methods were no better than Crocodile's.
"I'll be going then," Robin suddenly announced, turning her back on your and pulling the hood of her shawl up over her head. Wouldn't want to be spotted now that she was making her getaway, now would she?
"Yes. You've done your part," Lucci agreed, not taking his eyes off you.
Luffy, however, was not about to let Robin get away. "Wait!!! Robin!!! I won't accept it!!!"
"Good-bye," she simply said, heading for the back window.
"Robin!!" Nami and Chopper shouted at the same time.
From his position on the floor, Iceberg panted, "... don't let her go...!! Don't let Nico Robin...!!" You weren't entirely sure why he was so afraid of her, but he apparently knew more than you did. He seemed to be afraid of what would happen if she got what she was looking for, which had you thinking a few things...
"Where are you going now!!?" Luffy demanded. "We just found you!!!" Not waiting for an answer, because he already knew Robin wasn't going to give him one, Luffy ran after her. Unfortunately, Blueno blocked his path. Luffy let out an angry, impatient growl. "Get outta my way!!!" He aimed a kick at Blueno's head.
"Tekkai." Luffy's kick hit the former bartender right in the middle of his face, but it was no use. Blueno didn't even flinch.
Luffy's eyes narrowed, and you could see he was starting to get desperate -- and worried. These guys were tough. "I said, get outta my way!!!" he repeated and sent a barrage of punches at Blueno.
Instead of taking the attack head-on with the Tekkai, Blueno used another of the Rokushiki techniques. "Kami-e." Blueno dodged through the punches with fluid, unnatural grace. Luffy's fists didn't even graze him. "Taking hits are not our only skill."
Chopper's eyes widened in shock at the man's immense skill. "Whoa!! He's not getting hit at all!! And he's so huge!!" How could he move so quickly and be so big?
"It's like he's a piece of paper, floating...!!" Nami observed.
"Exactly," you replied. "Kami-e" literally meant "paper drawing." It allowed the fighter to float and bend between attacks like a sheet of paper floating on the wind.
Suddenly, Luffy stopped his attack when he realized how close Robin was to the window. "Robin!! Wait!!!" Naturally, she didn't. So Luffy focused his anger to the obstacle keeping him from Robin. "You...!!! Gum-Gum..." Blueno cocked an eyebrow as Luffy stretched his arm back, holding his shoulder. "Bullet!!!" His arm rocketed forward.
"Soru." With a burst of speed, Blueno disappeared a second before Luffy's Gum-Gum Bullet hit him.
Luffy's brow furrowed in aggravation as his arm passed harmlessly where Blueno'd once been. "He disappeared again!!" This was getting annoying. Why couldn't they just stand there and fight?
"It only seems as though I've disappeared with the explosive power of my legs..." Blueno retorted as he reappeared directly behind Luffy, back to him.
"You!!!" Luffy was getting angrier by the second, which unfortunately made him act rashly. He quickly spun around and threw a sloppy punch at Blueno.
But the agent had yet another trick up his sleeve. "Geppou." In a very ninja-esque move, Blueno jumped into the air and then did a series of jumps... in midair! This was Geppou, literally "moon step," and it basically allowed a fighter to jump on air as if it were as solid as the very ground beneath your feet. Luffy looked completely dumbstruck by the admittedly impressive move. Gazing down at him, Blueno explained, "I can kick the air and float..."
"He's flying!!!" Chopper gasped.
"Now is not the time to be impressed," you blandly told the reindeer. You were quickly running out of time. Right now, you had to prioritize. And the most important thing was to stop Robin from leaving while simultaneously getting out alive. Fighting CP9 was not a priority for you at the moment. You simply didn't have the time necessary to fight them. Besides, they were just the periphery enemy. Robin was your main target.
Forget CP9
Coming to that conclusion, you stepped forward to try your hand. With the flick of a wrist, your tetsugin shot out across the room. You completely ignored the agents and focused only on Robin, who was almost to the window. The wire wrapped several times around her calves. With a quick pull, the wire tightened and pulled Robin off balance, causing her to fall. Robin let out a startled noise and used her Hana-Hana Fruit to sprout several arms from the ground to catch her before she slammed into it. Pushing herself up with her arms, Robin glared at the wire before following it back to you, where she glared at you as well. Not that you really paid her any attention.
Too bad you didn't have time to congratulate yourself because you already sensed two figures closing in on you. Nik and Kalifa appeared on either side of you. And as they leapt into the air and drew a leg back, you already knew what attack was coming. `Shit!` you cursed as you knew there was no way to dodge it in time. So you did the only thing you could: you pulled your wire-platted glove up to block your chest, where they were aiming for.
"Rankyaku!" Both agents swung their leg forward at the exact same time, creating a massive amount of energy. The energy hit dead center of your glove, hitting the wiring. However, the attack covered a much larger radius. You grit your teeth as you felt the attack cut into the skin of your arms and knock you off your feet.
Zolo's eyes widened when he saw what he could only describe as a blade of air. `A cutting technique!!?` he questioned. He'd never seen anyone cut with just their legs. Regardless, now wasn't the time to think of such things, because the attack was still heading towards them. "Get down!!!" he shouted at Nami and Chopper.
"Why!?" Nami shouted back, but ducked down anyway. When Zolo told you to get down, you didn't ask why, you just did it.
And she did it just in time. She'd barely thrown herself to the ground when the attack went right over her head. Nami and Chopper let out a cry as it sliced into the doorframe and wall. Luffy got hit by the very tail end of the attack, knocking him into a wall but not doing any other damage. The Rankyaku was aptly named. It meant "storm leg," and that was the best way you could describe the attack. Their legs were so strong that they could cut through the very air... and anything else in its path.
That included you. While Zolo, Nami and Chopper ducked in time, you were not so lucky. Having taken the brunt of the assault, it knocked you out into the hallway. Fortunately, slicing into the wall seemed to have absorbed most of the energy, so by the time you made it into the hall, you were out of harm's way. Of course, by that time the damage was already done. You were very surprised to discover that you were still on your feet. Shaky feet, but on your feet nonetheless. Your left arm trembled from having taken such an attack head on. Thankfully, the wire-platting had deflected most of the damage away from your body, protecting your chest and vital organs. On the other hand, the Rankyaku cut deeply into both of your arms, right where your bicep met your deltoid. You sunk down to one knee and pressed your hands into the two wounds. You winced. The bleeding wasn't that severe, but it stung like hell.
"Vaughn!!" you heard Chopper exclaim in concern.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm your pounding heart, you looked up. You paled slightly when you saw what you'd just survived. Where the Rankyaku had sliced through the wall, it left a nearly ten foot long cut. And not just a thin cut, but a very thick one. A heck of a lot thicker than you'd be able to make with a sword. Considering what it did to the wall, you counted yourself lucky to have suffered so little.
Nami was in even more shock than you as she peered at you through the cut that was roughly the same size as her head. "They cut the wall with their kicks..." she almost whimpered. This was insane. She'd never seen even Sanji do something like that, and he had the strongest kick she'd ever seen.
"If you have the speed to create a kamikaze, then it's possible," Kalifa responded calmly. "That's Rankyaku."
Storm Leg...
Zolo wasn't going to stand back any longer. They certainly weren't holding back, so he wouldn't either. He ran forward, one sword already drawn and reaching for another. KLANG!!! Zolo's sword met Kaku's large handsaw-type weapon. The two men pushed against each other, trying to gain the upper hand. "We met on the ship, Roronoa," Kaku greeted.
Pushing his full weight into his caught sword, Zolo accused, "You're not a shipwright!! So your inspection at the time..." You blinked in surprise when you realized what Zolo was thinking. Honestly, the thought had never occurred to you. You were a tad preoccupied. But if Kaku wasn't really a shipwright, was what he said about the Merry Go...?
Kaku frowned. "Unfortunately for you... I was serious when I appraised it."
"That's too bad." Wielding the Yubashiri and Kitetsu, Zolo slashed at Kaku. Kaku drew a second handsaw and met Zolo's attacks. They easily parried one another's blades. Cipher Pol agents may have turned their bodies in to weapons, but Kaku was obviously trained as a swordsman.
A sudden and strong gust of wind drew your attention to the now open window. Robin stood before it, shawl blowing wildly. Thanks to Nik and Kalifa's interference, your tetsugin had lost its hold on Robin, allowing her to escape. Luffy jumped to his feet. "Don't go, Robin!! I'm not done talking to you!!!"
Sparing him a single glance over her shoulder, Robin stated, "No, I'm done. We will never meet again." Then she reached for the windowsill.
"Robin!!!" Nami cried in panic.
Zolo's eyes took on a demonic gleam. With a sharp slash, his sword sliced the top half of one of Kaku's saws. Hoping to catch the man off guard, he slashed with the same sword again but in the opposite direction. Kaku jumped out of the way, pulling quite a feat of acrobatics as he caught himself in a one-handed handstand. Zolo quickly glanced back at Luffy. "Luffy!!! Hurry up and catch Robin!!!" Luffy didn't need to be told twice as he ran towards Robin as fast as his legs could go.
Although it had only taken a second, Zolo had looked away for far too long. Kaku smiled. "Roronoa... you've got guts, looking away." Zolo's eyes snapped back around, but it was too late. Using the Shigan, Kaku stabbed his right index finger into Zolo, not once, but three times. Just below the right side of his collarbone, the left side of his chest, and in the stomach.
"Zolo!" you cried out as the swordsman fell to the floor with a heavy thud, blood pouring.
Kaku straightened up, not looking down at Zolo's fallen form. "We don't need bullets to pierce human flesh."
Zolo!
Your eyes narrowed dangerously as you ignored the pain in your arms and heaved yourself to you feet. You weren't sure if you were trying to help Zolo or Luffy, but you had to do something. You ran back into the room, Nami and Chopper jumping out of your way. But you didn't make it far before you heard, "Shigan." Your body reacted almost instantly, before your mind even processed what you were doing. Reflexively, your hands came up and clasped together, catching a hand poised for Shigan just millimeters from your chest.
You glared darkly at Nik as you were almost face-to-face with the man. Your arms shook from both the pain of putting such stress on your recently injured arms and from the amount of strength you had to expend to keep his hand away from you. You were so focused on that hand, threatening to pierce through your ribcage, that you failed to notice Nik shift his weight to one foot. You did notice, however, when he brought a knee up to slam into your stomach. You gasped as the knee pressed up on your diaphragm, knocking the breath out of you. Taking advantage of the situation, the hand that you had a hold of changed position and swung up, catching you with the heel of his palm under your jaw. It caused your teeth to clack together and made you stumble backwards.
Before you could right yourself, Nik lunged at you, tackling you to the ground. Before your back even hit the floor, you felt two sets of hands upon you. One pair grabbed your wrists and pinned your arms to the floor above your head. Another, slightly larger pair grabbed you by the ankles and held your legs down.
Naturally, you started to struggle, sending the two men a look that would've made anyone else cower. Nik had your arms while Blueno held your legs. You struggled violently, desperation beginning to set it. You tried with all your might to flail your arms or legs or to heave your body up. But the two men were using Tekkai to keep your limbs immobile. "Take it easy, princess," Nik attempted to calm you, the term coming out almost affectionately. "You'll only wear yourself out." Of course, this only made you struggle harder out of anger.
"Luffy!!"
Nami's panicked cry caused you to look up. Following her gaze, your eyes widened as you saw Luffy being held in the air by Lucci. Lucci held Luffy in the air with a single hand grasping his face. Like you, Luffy kicked and punched to get loose, but Lucci was unmoved. Looking at her out of the corner of his eyes, Lucci ordered, "Go, Nico Robin." Without another word, Robin jumped out of the window.
"ROBIIIIIIIN!!!" Chopper screamed.
Nami was more focused on the three of you. "Luffy and Vaughn were caught so easily...!!"
`Don't remind me,` you thought angrily, renewing your struggles. You knew these people weren't going to let you go. If you couldn't come up with a way out of here, you were all going to die.
With the same impassive expression, Lucci carelessly tossed Luffy aside. Luffy slammed into the wall, causing chunks of it to crumble onto him. "Luffy!! Vaughn!! Zolo!!!" Chopper shouted, temporarily forgetting about Robin to focus on you.
Nami's eyes were wide with fear, her face an unhealthy shade of white. She could hardly believe what she saw. The three of you were the strongest among the crew, yet all of your efforts were useless. You hadn't stood a chance against these agents. Such power was unfathomable. "... what... what's with their strength...!!?"
Paulie, who'd you'd completely forgotten about being there, muttered, "Who the hell are you?"
"... our surroundings have changed...!!" Lucci said, ignoring Paulie's question. "We, of the CP9, have been prepared to give our lives for the government. We've trained our bodies to great extremes since we were young. Thus, we've gained the six superhuman strengths... Rokushiki." He stuffed his hands in his pockets carelessly. "I think it has finally sunk into your hearts. Us five are assigned by the government to extreme mission. And..." His expression darkened, making you unconsciously shudder. "You lowly pirates can see the huge difference in our combat power...!!!" By this time, both Luffy and Zolo had managed to push themselves up. However, you could tell by their panting that they were in a lot of pain. Scanning your crew, Lucci continued, "This incident is of the utmost secrecy. It's not something you can touch!!!"
"Lucci," Kalifa interrupted. "It's about time the fires should be starting. We should hurry..."
Lucci barely nodded. "Yeah. But it's such a pity." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think... I'll show you something interesting..." With those words, Lucci's body started to change as he revealed just how much of a monster he really was.
A monster!?
Smoke began to waft through the room as the fires started in the lower levels. Somewhere in the back of your mind you could hear people shouting outside. But all of this went unnoticed as the occupants of the room gaped in horror at Lucci's newly revealed power. Even you ceased your struggles to stare at the man. Yeah, you'd known about this ability, but that didn't take away the shock of seeing it firsthand for the first time. It was... monstrous.
"Lucci...!!!" Paulie gasped, eyes wide with fear. "What the heck are you!?" Beside him, Chopper started freaking out. Understandable, considering...
Although his facial expression didn't show it, you suspected Lucci was very pleased by your reactions. "It seems the fire has begun to spread," he observed dully. You felt a cold chill run down your spine at how deep his voice had become.
Her grip on her Clima-Tact unintentionally loosening, Nami gasped, "A Devil's Fruit...!!!"
"Which fruit was it!!?" Luffy asked.
You thought the answer rather obvious. "The Cat-Cat Fruit, Leopard Model." Zoan Devil Fruits had two classifications: a broad class and then a specific species. Lucci's fruit was fairly obvious, given the leopard spots down his body. In his half-beast form, his body grew until he loomed over you, hunched-over back brushing against the ceiling. His arms elongated and grew more muscular, his hands sprouting dangerously sharp claws and his clawed feet burst through his shoes. Yellow fur covered his body, his shoulders broadened, and his hair grew wilder. His face grew to resemble a wild cat, his teeth sharpened into fangs, and he even sprouted a tail. How his clothes didn't shred from his expansion, you weren't sure. You had known about Lucci's Devil Fruit, but you'd never seen it for yourself. And gazing up at the hulking figure, you wished you hadn't.
Zolo's brow furrowed as Lucci's form towered over him. "A leopard man, eh..." Despite his bravado, you could see the apprehension in his eyes.
"He's huge!" Luffy exclaimed.
Chopper looked ready to bolt. Given the fact that he was a reindeer confronted with a very large predator, you could understand. Though there seemed to be something more the animal instinct behind his fear. "This is bad..." he whimpered. "A carnivorous Zoan is a lot more violent!!!" That was bad. It must be the predatory instinct.
"Logia, Zoan, Paramecia... there are many unique abilities..." Lucci drawled. "But for Zoan, it's our special quality to strengthen ourselves physically. Our powers increase the more we train. Zoan is the strongest kind in close combat."
"What the hell... is this...!!" Paulie breathed. This was... insane.
A commotion coming from outside caught your attention. It sounded like a bunch of the dockworkers coming to Iceberg's room. They were probably concerned he wasn't able to get out of the fire... and rightly so. But they were only going to make it harder on themselves. Especially since the CP9 agents heard them as well. "Lucci, the other shipwrights are coming up!" Kalifa warned, reaching inside her cloak for something.
"... no, they can't..." Lucci drawled. If the others came up here and saw the chief mechanics dressed like the attackers, surely even they could put two and two together. Then CP9 wouldn't be able to pin the blame on you. "Rankyaku." Lucci kicked his leg out, aiming for the doorway. The others gasped as they saw a cut forming just below the ceiling. Only this time, things were much worse. In his half-beast form, Lucci was far more powerful. So instead of just cutting a single wall, Lucci's Rankyaku traveled farther and cut through several walls. And while you were on the top floor, there were still the towers above you. Lucci's attack had destabilized these structures.
Your eyes narrowed at the ominous creaking coming from the ceiling above you. For a second, nothing happened. Then the ceiling bowed in and you heard the god-awful crashing sound as all the floors above you came falling down. The floor shook below you and you had to squint your eyes to keep some particles of debris from getting into your eyes. But it wasn't you who was in the most danger (though that might be a subjective thing, since you were pinned down by two government agents). No, it was Nami and Chopper who were in the worst spot. They were still right in front of the doorway. And now that the top had been cut, there was nothing supporting it. You could already see it starting to crumble. Straining your neck up as high as you could, you shouted, "Nami, Chopper!! Get away from the wall!!"
Sadly, your warning seemed to come too late, as a large hunk of ceiling came hurtling down right towards Nami. The navigator's eyes widened in horror as she tried to move, but it was falling to fast for her to get away. "Nami!!!" Chopper cried. Before Nami knew what happened, Chopper butted her forward with his head, knocking her out of the way.
Nami winced as she skid across the ground, but seemed to be fine otherwise. Pushing herself up onto her knees, Nami turned to thank Chopper, only to scream when the ceiling collapsed on him. "Chopper!!!"
Your body tensed as you scanned the hunks of wood and steel for any sign of the doctor. Frankly, you hadn't known he had it in him. That was a very courageous thing he'd done. Despite your best efforts, you could see no sign of life under the pile of wood. Your eyes burned with both anger at what'd happened and concern for Chopper, and your struggle to free yourself renewed.
"I think it's time to leave," Lucci announced. "Kalifa."
"Right." Kneeling down next to you, Kalifa grabbed your neck in a firm grip, trying to hold your head still. Naturally, you tried to pull away from her grasp, but your range of mobility was rather limited. "Stop resisting," she chided, like anyone would really just give up like that. Still, she did manage to tilt your head to the side. You felt a sharp prick of pain, and then the woman stood back.
When she stepped back, you tried to lash out at her, not knowing what she'd just done to you but certain that it wasn't good. But an odd thing happened as you continued to fight against your restrainers: your struggles began to lessen. You weren't doing it intentionally. It just felt as if your entire being was slowly being turned into lead. Your arms, your legs, even your brain felt increasingly heavy until you could barely move. The world began to blur, and then fade around you until you couldn't even remember your own name.
REST OF QUIZ IN RESULTS + SPECIAL THANKS TO Catgal412 FOR THE CUTE PIC

Seeing your glazed-over expression through half-lidded eyes, Nik and Blueno slowly removed their hands from your body. Nik was almost sorry it had come to this. He liked that firey spirit. But they couldn't take any chances, and the CP9 would not underestimate their opponents. `Pity...` he still couldn't help thinking.
"Vaughn!?" Luffy called in concern when Nik and Blueno let go of you but you didn't move. You remained in almost the exact same position you'd been in when they'd held you down, except maybe a little more relaxed.
Zolo's settled a glare on Kalifa, who he was sure what responsible for... whatever was wrong with you. "What did you do to her?" he growled. He could tell by the blank look in your eyes that you weren't there.
"I injected a very strong tranquilizer into her bloodstream," Kalifa explained easily, holding up a long needle and empty syringe. Luffy and Zolo's brows furrowed in anger and Nami's eyes widened in shock.
Lucci walked over to you, his movements surprisingly graceful for such a large frame. Addressing the three, he said, "I hope you've finished all of your business with her, because we're taking her with us."
"WHAT!!!?"
"We can't take any chances, and she has the annoying habit of finding ways to foil plans." They weren't about to let five years of hard work go down the drain just because you unexpectedly showed up. Lucci reached a massive hand down and closed it around your bicep, pulling you up.
But Luffy wasn't going to stand for this. He shot to his feet, his eyes burning with rage. These people had already taken one crewmate from him, he was not going to let them take you too. "PIGEON GUY!!!" His fist stretched out and this time it actually hit its mark. Luffy punched Lucci hard in the side of his face, knocking his back a few steps and causing him to drop your body. Letting out an angry cry, Luffy rushed forward to defend you while you were helpless.
However, it was a very foolish move, because Lucci'd had more than enough. He was tired of playing around. Once Luffy got within range, "Shigan." Lucci thrust his index finger into Luffy's torso. Now, Luffy's rubber body may have saved him last time, but one weakness Luffy could never make up for was his vulnerability to sharp, pointed objects. And in his half-beast form, Lucci had claws. So instead of Lucci's attack simply bending Luffy's body, his razor-sharp claw pierced right through the flesh.
Luffy stumbled back, doubled over as he panted for breath. He pressed a hand to the painful, bleeding wound in his stomach, matching the exit wound in his back. "Luffy!!!" Zolo yelled.
Showing his animalistic side, Lucci licked the blood from his finger. Then he grabbed Luffy's head in his massive hand and lifted him off the floor. "I'll send you... off this island!!!!" With inhuman strength, Lucci threw Luffy through the wall and sent him flying through the air. Luffy screamed the whole way as he disappeared from sight.
"Luffy!!!" Nami cried out.
"You!!!" Perhaps blinded by anger or simply desperate, Zolo rushed at the leopard man. Zolo was pissed about... well, everything. Holding tightly onto Kitetsu, which had shown itself able to slice through solid stone, Zolo aimed a downward slash at Lucci.
"Tekkai." Lucci simply blocked the blade with his bare forearm, similar to how you would with your tetsugin. Quickly spinning around, Lucci kicked Zolo hard, knocking him through the wall the same way his did Luffy.
"Zolo!!!" Nami screamed as Zolo vanished into the night sky. This was unbelievable. All three of you were taken out so easily. To say Nami was in shock would've been an understatement. And now she had to worry about her own safety.
"You, too..." Lucci drawled before turning away from the two holes. Lifting your unresisting form by your wrist and tossing you over his shoulder none too gently, Lucci ordered, "Let's tie up the loose ends and get out of here." Nami, Paulie and Iceberg tensed.