Havoc simply stood there, staring into empty space while his mind desperately tried to process everything he had just learned.
Ohara.
West Blue.
Nico Robin.
His brain was practically screaming in denial.
Of all the worlds he could've been sent to...
He had to end up in this one.
"...Seriously?" he muttered under his breath.
Frankly, a lot of people would probably love waking up in the world of One Piece. Adventure, Devil Fruits, legendary pirates, beautiful islands... and, let's be honest, plenty of people would only be thinking about the gorgeous women with ridiculously big assets.
"...Though I'm probably talking shit about those kinds of people."
He sighed and shook his head.
"But seriously... this world is fucking insane."
His expression slowly became serious again.
Everything finally made sense.
Frank.
SCP-3153.
The way he behaved.
The way he protected Robin.
The way he spoke.
"...This world's changing them."
He rubbed his forehead.
"If Frank changed because he lived here..." His stomach tightened. "...Then what the fuck happened to the rest of the SCPs?"
That thought alone made him uncomfortable.
He didn't even want to imagine what some of the more dangerous anomalies had become after spending years in a world like this.
"...Fuck."
Another realization hit him.
"I have to be the one containing every single one of those sons of bitches."
For a brief moment, he wanted to scream at the System.
Then he stopped himself.
"...No."
He let out another long sigh.
"I can't blame the System for this. It isn't its fault... and yelling at it isn't going to solve anything."
Still lost in thought, Havoc failed to notice the little girl sitting on the medical bed.
Robin had been quietly watching him ever since she told him her name and where they were.
The strange man who had rescued her had suddenly frozen, muttered to himself, made several strange faces, and looked like his entire world had just collapsed.
She tilted her head.
"...Mister?"
Havoc finally snapped out of his daze.
He blinked a few times before realizing he had been staring into space for far too long while Robin had patiently waited for him to say something.
Looking at the little girl sitting in front of him, he still couldn't quite believe it.
This was really Nico Robin.
Not the calm, confident woman he remembered from later in life...
But a young Robin.
A child.
"...Damn."
He couldn't deny that, back in his own world, he had a bit of a crush on the adult Robin. She was beautiful, intelligent, and—well—she definitely had some impressive curves.
Havoc immediately shook his head.
"The fuck am I thinking?"
"No. Stop that."
"This isn't the Robin I knew."
"This is just a little kid."
The thought alone made him feel ashamed.
As he looked at her again, those thoughts disappeared completely, replaced by sympathy.
This little girl had no idea what was coming.
Soon...
She would lose everything.
Her home.
The people she loved.
The scholars of Ohara.
The Tree of Knowledge.
All because the World Government wanted to bury the truth in the shadows.
Countless innocent people would die for a crime they never committed.
Then there was Akainu...
"...That lava bastard," Havoc muttered under his breath. "Blindly following his own twisted sense of justice."
His expression darkened.
Robin wouldn't just lose her home.
She would also lose the one true friend she had made on this island.
Jaguar D. Saul.
The giant Marine Vice Admiral who had shown her kindness when almost no one else would.
Havoc quietly sighed.
He couldn't change the future by standing here thinking about it.
Robin was still looking at him, waiting for an answer.
Realizing he'd kept her waiting long enough, Havoc cleared his throat into his fist, trying to hide the embarrassment of zoning out twice in a row.
"Sorry about acting a little strange, Miss Robin," he said with an apologetic smile. "I'm just... processing everything you told me and trying to figure out a solution to my own predicament."
Robin was still confused.
The more she looked at the strange man who had rescued her, the more questions filled her mind.
Who was he?
Where was she?
He had told her she was somewhere safe, so in her young mind she assumed she must be aboard some kind of large ship. It was the only explanation she could think of. After all, this man didn't even seem to know where Ohara was.
Still...
He didn't seem like a bad person.
Not like the people who had made her life miserable.
Her aunt, Roji, always looked at her with annoyance, while her cousin, Mizuira, never treated her kindly either. Then there was her uncle, Oran, who took the money Robin's mother sent home to care for her, only to spend it on himself while neglecting Robin completely.
She had grown used to it.
Even the children on Ohara called her a demon and bullied her because of her Devil Fruit powers.
After living through that for so many years, Robin had become good at telling the difference between people who wished her harm and those who genuinely cared about her.
The scholars at the Tree of Knowledge had always been kind.
Professor Clover.
The archaeologists.
That library...
It was the only place where she truly felt safe.
The only place that ever felt like home.
She just wanted to go back.
If only she hadn't wandered so far into the forest...
If only she hadn't run away from the bullies again...
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud growl from her stomach.
Grrrrrr...
Robin immediately looked down, her cheeks turning bright red with embarrassment.
Havoc couldn't help but chuckle.
"My, my... looks like someone's a little hungry."
Robin quickly looked away, trying to hide her blushing face.
Havoc smiled reassuringly.
"Hey, don't be embarrassed. Anybody's stomach would be growling after a day like you've had." He gave her a friendly smile before gesturing toward the medical equipment. "How about this? Let me check your vitals one more time to make sure you're doing okay. Once that's done, I'll take you to the cafeteria and make you something so good you'll never forget it."
Robin hesitated for only a moment.
She really was hungry.
Not because she had skipped a meal...
Because she rarely got enough to eat.
Most days, her family barely left her any scraps. Sometimes kind people around Ohara would quietly offer her a little food, but it was never enough to keep her full for very long.
Looking back at Havoc, she slowly nodded.
"...Okay," she answered in a small, gentle voice.
The simple reply warmed Havoc's heart.
Havoc walked over to one of the Medical Bay's advanced diagnostic terminals. A large holographic display lit up the moment he approached, filling the screen with medical charts, vital signs, anatomical diagrams, and detailed biological readings.
He glanced toward the little girl before looking back at the screen.
"System, give me the complete diagnostic report on Nico Robin."
The display immediately updated.
Patient: Nico Robin
Species: Human
Sex: Female
Estimated Age: 8 Years
Current Status: Stable
Vital Signs
Heart Rate: Within normal range.
Blood Pressure: Slightly below optimal range.
Respiratory Rate: Normal.
Body Temperature: Normal.
Oxygen Saturation: Normal.
Physical Examination
No fractures detected.
No internal bleeding detected.
Minor bruising across multiple areas.
Mild muscle fatigue.
Moderate dehydration successfully treated.
Moderate malnutrition still present.
Nutritional recovery recommended through gradual dietary restoration.
Neurological Examination
Brain activity normal.
No signs of concussion.
Cognitive function intact.
Overall Medical Status
Patient is medically stable.
Continued nutrition, hydration, and rest recommended.
Havoc quietly read through every line before folding his arms.
"So this is everything?"
Negative. Additional findings detected.
Another section appeared on the screen.
Anomalous Biological Analysis
Subject possesses a Devil Fruit ability.
Ability remains stable. No biological abnormalities currently threaten the patient's health.
Havoc nodded.
"I figured as much."
He looked at Robin for a moment before speaking again.
"Which, by the way, I'm still pissed that I'm in the fucking One Piece world. But I'm not going to hold that against you. I never asked you what world I was in, and if I had, you would've answered me, wouldn't you?"
Affirmative.
Havoc sighed.
"Figures."
He looked back at the report.
"So that's all because of her Devil Fruit?"
Negative.
Havoc frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The System expanded the report.
Additional Medical Findings
Evidence of long-term caloric deficiency affecting normal childhood growth.
Mild vitamin and mineral deficiencies consistent with prolonged inadequate nutrition.
Reduced muscle mass relative to expected age and body size.
Delayed physical development resulting from chronic nutritional deprivation.
Elevated cortisol and stress-hormone levels detected through blood analysis.
Multiple small healed scars and superficial tissue damage consistent with years of poor living conditions.
Immune-system function mildly compromised due to prolonged malnutrition. Recovery is expected with proper nutrition and care.
No permanent organ damage detected.
Prognosis for full physical recovery: Excellent, provided the patient receives consistent long-term care.
Havoc slowly read every line.
His expression darkened.
He already knew Robin had suffered, but seeing the physical evidence laid out in front of him made it worse. The people responsible were the same people who were supposed to protect her and treat her like family.
His hands clenched into fists.
"I swear to God," he muttered under his breath, "I'm going to make that sick fucking family pay."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Getting angry would not help Robin. Helping her would.
He opened his eyes and looked back at the screen.
"System, is it safe for her to eat? And what kind of food should I give her?"
Affirmative. Patient is medically cleared for food intake. Due to recent malnutrition, recommend a balanced meal consisting of lean protein, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and adequate hydration. Initial portions should be moderate to avoid gastrointestinal distress. Nutritional recovery should occur gradually over multiple meals.
A relieved smile spread across Havoc's face.
"Good."
He looked over at Robin.
"Because I'm about to give you a meal you'll never forget."
Robin slowly looked around the cafeteria. Only a moment ago she had been inside the Medical Bay, yet now she was standing in an entirely different room. The bright lights, spotless floors, polished tables, and strange kitchen equipment made her wonder how it had all changed so quickly.
She looked back at the man who had saved her. Another question had been bothering her ever since she woke up.
"...Are you a Devil Fruit user?" Robin asked quietly.
Havoc looked at her with mild surprise.
Robin lowered her eyes for a moment. Ever since she had eaten the Hana Hana no Mi, people had treated her differently. The children in town called her a monster and a freak, while many adults looked at her with fear instead of kindness. For a long time, she believed her powers were a curse, until Professor Clover taught her the truth. He explained that Devil Fruits granted incredible powers to whoever ate one, but the price was never being able to swim again, as the sea itself rejected those powers. Robin had read everything she could find in the Tree of Knowledge about Devil Fruits, especially her own, but there were still so many questions that even Ohara's greatest library couldn't answer.
Now, standing before her was a strange man capable of making entire rooms change around them.
Surely...
He had to possess some kind of Devil Fruit too.
Havoc chuckled softly. "You could say that, Robin... but I'd say it's different from an ordinary Devil Fruit. But that's not important right now. We're here to eat, so let's go."
Robin wanted to ask another question. His answer only made her more curious, but before she could speak...
Grrrrrr...
Her stomach answered for her.
Havoc laughed.
"I guess your stomach already made the decision."
Robin shyly nodded before following him.
A few minutes later, Robin's eyes widened as plate after plate was placed in front of her.
Crispy fried chicken.
Fresh white rice.
A colorful salad.
And a strange bottle labeled Coca-Cola.
She stared at the meal in complete disbelief.
"...It's... all for me?"
Havoc smiled. "Every bit of it."
Robin didn't wait another second. She picked up a piece of fried chicken and took a bite. The crispy coating shattered beneath her teeth while the meat inside was unbelievably tender and juicy. Her eyes sparkled with amazement as she quickly took another bite, then another. She barely stopped long enough to taste the fluffy white rice before reaching for the salad. Even that tasted fresher than anything she remembered. During the hardest days, she had secretly taken vegetables from nearby farms just to stop herself from starving, but they had never tasted this crisp.
Then she carefully picked up the strange bottle labeled Coca-Cola and took a cautious sip.
The sweet fizz spread across her tongue.
Her eyes grew even wider.
"...Wow..."
She had never tasted anything like it.
Back on Ohara, she usually drank water from the well or tea shared by the scholars of the Tree of Knowledge. This strange, sweet, sparkling drink was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She wondered if it came from some distant island far beyond the West Blue, one she had never read about before.
"…The sea really is full of amazing things…" she thought quietly before taking another happy sip.
Across the table, Havoc quietly enjoyed his own meal—a medium-well T-bone steak with steak fries, white rice, and a bottle of Mexican Cola. He looked up just in time to see Robin practically inhaling everything on her plate.
"Easy there, little girl," Havoc said between bites. "Nobody's going to steal your food."
Robin barely seemed to hear him and continued eating as though it were her last meal.
Havoc's smile slowly faded.
He knew exactly why.
Years of neglect had taught her that food wasn't something she could always count on.
He quietly sighed before speaking again. "Robin, if you keep eating that fast, you're not going to have any room for dessert."
Robin immediately stopped and slowly looked up at him with wide, watery eyes. After swallowing the food in her mouth, she asked, "...Y-You mean... there's more?"
"Of course there's more," Havoc replied with a warm smile. "I promised I'd give you a meal you'll never forget. But you need to slow down and chew your food properly first, alright? I don't want you choking yourself before we even get to dessert."
Robin looked down at her plate before realizing how fast she had been eating. Her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment.
"...S-Sorry... I got carried away."
Havoc simply smiled and took another bite of his steak.
"It's alright, Robin. Just enjoy your meal. There's plenty more where that came from."
After finishing their meals, Havoc returned with dessert. The moment Robin saw what he placed in front of her, her eyes practically sparkled and her mouth watered all over again.
Her dessert was a three-scoop banana sundae covered in warm chocolate fudge and walnuts, topped with whipped cream and three cherries. Thankfully, the System's medical examination had already confirmed that Robin had no known food allergies. Havoc kept things simpler for himself with a root beer float topped with whipped cream and a cherry, along with a slice of cheesecake covered in cherry sauce.
"There you go," Havoc said as he sat back down. "Dessert."
Robin stared at the sundae before looking at him. "...This is dessert?"
"Yep. Go ahead."
Robin took her first spoonful.
Her eyes widened.
She immediately took another.
Then another.
Havoc watched her start eating faster and shook his head. "Robin, remember what I said about—"
"Ah!"
Robin suddenly dropped her spoon and grabbed her forehead.
Havoc couldn't help laughing. "I keep telling you to slow down. Now you've got yourself a brain freeze."
Robin rubbed her forehead and looked at him in confusion. "...Brain freeze?"
The term was completely unfamiliar to her. She had read medical journals before, but she couldn't remember ever reading about an illness called brain freeze.
"What is brain freeze?" she asked.
"It's not really anything serious," Havoc explained. "Basically, when you eat something really cold too quickly, you can get a sharp headache for a little while. It'll go away."
Robin nodded while continuing to rub her forehead.
She would definitely remember that.
Still, she couldn't entirely blame herself. This was the first time she had eaten something so cold and sweet. Ohara had sweets like hard candy, lollipops, and cotton candy, but Robin rarely got any. Occasionally, the scholars would give her a piece of hard candy, but things like ice cream were completely new to her.
Once the headache faded, Robin looked suspiciously at the sundae.
Then she carefully took a much smaller spoonful.
Havoc chuckled. "See? You're learning."
Robin blushed slightly and continued eating, this time much slower.
While she enjoyed her dessert, Havoc took a long sip from his root beer float. Unlike Robin, his attention wasn't on the food anymore.
He needed information from her.
"How the hell am I supposed to ask her what happened?"
He needed to know how Robin encountered the piñata anomaly and Frank. There was still at least one original SCP-956 somewhere on this island, along with the possibility of more converted instances.
The longer he waited, the more children could be in danger.
But asking Robin meant making her remember what had nearly killed her.
Worse, Havoc hadn't told her the whole truth. He had said the monster was dead, but he hadn't told her that the piñata he killed had once been another child.
"How the fuck am I supposed to tell her that?"
He could lie. He could simply tell Robin that the original creature could create copies of itself and leave out how those copies were made.
But Havoc hated the idea.
The Foundation existed to keep anomalous truths away from ordinary people when those truths would put them in danger or leave them scarred. He understood why secrecy mattered. But lying directly to a child who trusted him didn't sit right with him either.
Robin was also unusually intelligent for her age. She lived in a world filled with Devil Fruits, Sea Kings, giants, and countless other strange things. Havoc believed she could understand at least some of what was happening if he explained it carefully.
He sighed and took another sip.
There was another problem much bigger than the SCPs.
Ohara itself.
If this really was the Ohara he remembered, then eventually the Buster Call was coming.
That meant he needed to know when.
He needed the current year. Once he had that, perhaps the System could estimate how much time remained before Ohara's destruction.
If he had enough time, he could prepare.
Train.
Capture more anomalies.
Upgrade the Foundation.
Build up his forces.
Maybe by the time the World Government came, he could bring an army with him.
Havoc knew his basic soldiers wouldn't be enough against everything the Marines could throw at Ohara, especially if powerful Vice Admirals or future Admirals became involved. But even buying a few extra minutes could change who survived.
Jaguar D. Saul.
Professor Clover and the scholars.
Robin's mother, Nico Olvia.
The civilians.
Even the people who had treated Robin terribly.
Havoc didn't like some of them. He already hated Robin's relatives after seeing what years of neglect had done to her.
But letting them die when he knew what was coming was another matter.
He wasn't going to do that.
Not if he could help it.
Havoc looked down at his root beer float and sighed.
"I'm not like the Foundation Directors from those stories."
He understood that difficult decisions would come with the position. He had already learned that lesson when he pulled the trigger on SCP-956 clones. They used to be a child.
But there was one thing he refused to sacrifice.
His moral compass.
Havoc looked across the table at Robin, who was now carefully eating her sundae one small spoonful at a time.
For the first time since realizing where he was, he understood that knowing the future wasn't only a curse.
It was also an opportunity.
And he intended to use it.
Havoc took a deep breath. A very deep breath.
Across the table, Robin was almost finished with the last scoop of her ice cream. Havoc watched her for a moment, already knowing he was going to fucking hate himself for ruining the peaceful moment.
"Fuck... I really don't want to do this."
"Robin, would it be okay if I asked you a question?"
Robin stopped eating and looked up at him. Before Havoc could continue, she asked, "Actually... I wanted to ask you something too. What's your name, Mister?"
Havoc froze.
Then his face turned red.
After everything that had happened—rescuing her, taking her to the Medical Bay, calming her down, giving her food—he had somehow never fucking introduced himself.
"You've got to be kidding me."
He coughed into his hand to hide his embarrassment. "Yeah... sorry about that, Robin. I guess after everything we went through, I kind of forgot to tell you my name. You can just call me Havoc."
Robin repeated it quietly. "Havoc..." A small smile appeared on her face. "That's a nice name. A little chaotic... but nice."
"Hey, that's what my parents named me," Havoc replied with a small laugh. "And I guess it fits. I tend to do some chaotic shit when things get crazy, especially if someone's hurting my family. I try to control myself, though."
Robin giggled softly.
Havoc smiled, but he knew he couldn't keep avoiding the real question. "But there's something important I need to ask you, Robin. How did you meet the piñata creature and the centipede? You don't have to answer if you're not ready."
The smile disappeared from Robin's face.
Her body froze.
Her hands started trembling as the memories returned. Havoc could see the fear in her eyes immediately.
"Hey, hey, look at me. It's okay," Havoc quickly said. "Forget it. We can give you some more time—"
Robin raised her hand.
"It's okay."
Havoc stopped.
Robin swallowed before continuing. "I know why you want to ask me. You look like some kind of soldier... maybe a Marine because of your strange clothes and the weapon you were carrying. You don't look like a pirate. Everything here is clean and professional, and the technology is much more advanced than anything I've ever seen." She hesitated before adding quietly, "And... you're nice. You helped me. You comforted me when I..."
Her voice broke.
Tears began running down her cheeks.
"...when I saw it kill them."
Havoc's eyes widened.
That immediately caught his attention, but he didn't question her yet.
Instead, he moved to Robin's side and gently hugged her. Robin buried her face against his shoulder and cried while Havoc softly rubbed her back, comforting her like a father soothing his daughter after a nightmare.
"It's going to be okay," Havoc whispered. "I know this is difficult. We'll do this slowly, one question at a time. I just need you to be brave for me, alright? Because you're one of the bravest little girls I've met."
Robin slowly pulled away, confused.
"...I'm brave?"
"Yeah, Robin. You're brave."
"But..." She wiped at her eyes. "I'm crying."
"And that's okay." Havoc gently wiped the remaining tears from her cheek. "Being brave doesn't mean you don't cry or get scared. You went through something horrible. You have every right to cry. What matters is that you're still here, and you're willing to talk about it even though it scares you."
Robin stared at him quietly.
Havoc gave her the biggest reassuring smile he could manage.
"But I'm not going to force you. So I'm asking you one more time, and I want you to tell me the truth. Are you ready to answer my questions?"
Robin looked down for a moment and took a small breath.
Then she looked back into Havoc's eyes.
"...Yes."
She nodded.
"I'm ready."
Havoc stayed beside Robin and kept his voice calm. He had promised himself he would do this one question at a time, and he wasn't going to break that promise.
"Okay, Robin. First question. When you said them... who were you talking about? What did the piñata monster do to them?"
Robin's hands tightened slightly around each other. Havoc already knew she wasn't talking about Frank. That giant creepy-looking centipede was probably one of the gentlest creatures he'd encountered so far, right alongside Ben and Jerry.
Robin hesitated before answering. "There were... three boys from town. They always picked on me. They called me names and chased me around sometimes."
She stopped there. There was one detail she couldn't bring herself to tell Havoc.
Why they called her a monster.
Why they thought she was a freak.
Her Hana Hana no Mi powers.
Robin remembered what Havoc had done to the piñata creature. He had killed a monster to save her, and some frightened part of her wondered what he would think if he learned that everyone on Ohara called her a monster too. She didn't know Havoc already knew about her Devil Fruit. And she certainly didn't know that hurting her because of it was something Havoc would never even consider.
Havoc noticed her hesitation but didn't push. "Okay. Those three boys. What happened to them?"
Robin looked down. "I... don't know everything. I was running away from them through the forest."
She left out another detail. Normally, her Devil Fruit could have made dealing with those boys much easier, but Professor Clover had warned her not to misuse her abilities against people simply because they were cruel to her. So Robin had tried to ignore them instead.
"I went to my special place," Robin continued quietly. "It's somewhere I made in the forest. I go there when... I don't want to be at my aunt and uncle's house."
Havoc's expression changed slightly. She had made herself a place in the forest just to get away from her own relatives. A little eight-year-old girl would rather sit alone outside than stay in the house that was supposed to be her home.
"Those fucking people..."
Havoc already knew he wanted a conversation with Robin's relatives. And by conversation, he was increasingly thinking his fists might be doing most of the talking.
Robin continued. "I stayed there for a while. Then, sometime in the afternoon... I heard screaming."
Havoc focused immediately. "Three screams?"
Robin shook her head. "I don't remember. I just heard people screaming."
"That's okay. What happened next?"
"I got scared... but I wanted to know what happened."
Her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Robin didn't tell Havoc how she had investigated. She had used the Hana Hana no Mi to sprout an eye farther away, allowing her to look through the forest without immediately exposing herself.
What she saw had terrified her.
Robin's hands began trembling again. "I saw the piñata."
Havoc's expression hardened.
SCP-956.
He already had a terrible idea of what Robin was about to say.
Robin swallowed. "One of the boys was on the ground. He wasn't moving. He was still alive... I think... but he couldn't move."
Havoc said nothing.
Robin's breathing became uneven. "Then the piñata started hitting him."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"It kept hitting him... and hitting him..."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Then his body..."
Robin struggled to continue.
"...broke."
Havoc felt his stomach turn.
"And there was candy everywhere," Robin whispered. "So much candy..."
Her breathing suddenly quickened.
Havoc immediately stopped her. "Robin. Breathe. Don't force yourself. Just breathe, okay?"
Robin took a shaky breath.
"That's it. Slowly," Havoc said. "You're doing fine. We don't need to rush."
Robin breathed in again, trying to steady herself while Havoc remained beside her.
He already understood enough to know exactly what she had witnessed. SCP-956 had claimed another child.
But there were still two boys Robin hadn't accounted for.
And Havoc was becoming increasingly afraid of what her next answer would be.
"Okay, Robin. So that piñata monster killed one of the boys."
Havoc already remembered the three boys Robin was talking about. They had appeared briefly in the story he knew, but they were background characters whose actual names had never mattered enough to be revealed. He remembered them as the kids who bullied Robin, nothing more.
They were assholes, sure, but they were still children. Havoc might've thought they deserved a good ass-kicking for how they treated Robin, but being murdered by SCP-956 and potentially transformed into more piñatas? No kid deserved that.
"Do you know their names? The three boys you mentioned?"
Robin nodded. "Yes. The one I saw the piñata attack was Boro. The other two were Kenta and Milo."
Havoc repeated the names in his head. Boro. Kenta. Milo. They weren't nameless background characters anymore. They were three kids whose lives had crossed paths with an SCP.
"Okay. What happened to Kenta and Milo?"
Robin paused.
"I... only know that Kenta escaped."
Havoc's expression changed.
"And Milo?"
"...I don't know."
A bad feeling settled in Havoc's stomach.
"Fuck."
If Boro had been killed by the piñata Robin witnessed, Kenta escaped, and Milo's whereabouts were unknown, there was still a missing child. Worse, the SCP-956 clone Havoc had killed earlier had already been confirmed by the System to have once been a child.
"Then the one I killed could've been Milo..."
But that still didn't account for the original SCP-956.
"Which means the original bastard is still somewhere out there."
Havoc kept that thought to himself. "Can you describe Kenta and Milo for me? Anything you remember."
Robin nodded. She had gotten a better look at them using her powers, although she still wasn't ready to tell Havoc that part.
"Kenta was the taller one. He had short dark hair and wore a light-colored shirt and shorts. Milo was smaller. His hair was lighter, and he wore a darker shirt. I saw Kenta running away through the trees, but... I didn't see where Milo went."
Havoc nodded, committing the descriptions to memory. Robin took several heavier breaths after finishing, and Havoc immediately noticed.
"Okay, Robin. You're doing good. You're doing really good. What happened next?"
"I ran away," Robin answered. "I went back to my hiding place. I stayed there because I was scared. I thought I could wait until morning and get help."
Her voice became quieter.
"But... I wish I'd done something."
Havoc frowned.
Robin's eyes filled with tears again. "They were mean to me. They called me horrible things and chased me, but... they didn't deserve to die like that. Maybe I could've saved them."
Havoc gently rubbed her back. "Robin, there was nothing you could've safely done. You were scared, you didn't understand what that thing was, and you got away so you could find help. That's exactly what a kid in your situation should've done."
Robin lowered her head.
She didn't believe him.
There was something she could have done.
Her Devil Fruit.
She could have sprouted arms and tried to grab the creature. She could have pulled Boro away. She could have distracted it.
But when she saw what SCP-956 was doing, she had frozen.
She had been too afraid.
And now that guilt remained with her.
Havoc could tell something was bothering her beyond what she was saying. He already knew about the Hana Hana no Mi, and he could guess what Robin was probably thinking.
"She thinks her powers could've saved them."
But Havoc knew better.
Robin was eight years old.
Even if she had used every arm she could produce, there was no guarantee she could have restrained SCP-956. Worse, Havoc had no idea how its anomalous effect would interact with limbs created by her Devil Fruit. Would only the manifested arms be affected? Would the effect transfer back to Robin? Could those limbs become brittle or undergo some other anomalous transformation?
There was no way to know.
And Havoc was damn glad Robin hadn't tested it.
She had recognized something was horribly wrong, escaped, hidden somewhere safe, and planned to seek help when she could.
For a terrified eight-year-old facing an anomaly she knew absolutely nothing about, running had been the smartest thing she could have done.
Havoc gently kept his hand on her shoulder.
"You survived, Robin. You didn't abandon anybody. You were a scared kid facing something you couldn't understand."
He gave her a reassuring smile.
"You did the right thing."
Robin wanted to believe Havoc's words, but the guilt wouldn't let her. Her hands clenched against her clothes until she suddenly burst out, "How can you say that?! How can you say I did the right thing?! I could've done something! I could've helped them!"
Havoc's expression fell. He didn't like seeing Robin blame herself for something she never could have understood. There was only one way he could think of to convince her, and that meant telling her part of the truth about SCP-956.
"Robin, listen to me. If you had gotten close to that piñata monster, you could've been killed by it."
Robin froze. Her anger disappeared beneath confusion. "...What do you mean?"
Havoc took a heavy breath. This wasn't going to be easy, but he didn't need to tell her everything. She didn't need to know about his reincarnation, the System, or how he'd been sent here to clean up a disaster left behind by another Foundation. He could give her enough of the truth to understand what she had encountered.
"Robin, I'm part of... let's call it a clan of people who hunt down things that are difficult to explain. Think of us a little like the Marines, except instead of hunting pirates, we deal with strange creatures and objects like that piñata and others you haven't seen yet. Things that don't follow the normal rules of the world and can sometimes hurt people just because nobody understands what they are. But they're not all dangerous. Some of them are actually friendly and deserve to be protected too."
Robin stared at him in surprise. Suddenly, many of the strange things about Havoc made a little more sense. His weapons, his clothing, the incredible technology surrounding them, and the fact that he seemed to know something about those creatures.
"...There are more of you?" she asked.
Havoc went quiet before sighing. "No. You could say... I'm the last one."
Robin's eyes widened.
"I can't tell you what happened to the others, Robin. That's something I have to keep to myself. All I can tell you is that right now, I'm the last one here."
Robin looked into his eyes. From the way he said it, she came to her own conclusion. Maybe Havoc's clan had once contained many people. Maybe they had been his friends, comrades, even his family, and they had died fighting monsters like the piñata.
Robin quietly got up and hugged him.
"...I'm sorry."
Havoc blinked. He knew exactly what conclusion she had reached, and while it wasn't the truth, correcting her would require explaining far more than he was willing to reveal. He gently hugged her back. "It's okay."
After a moment, Robin pulled away as another question returned to her mind. "Then... does that mean you know what that monster was?"
"Yeah," Havoc answered. "I know exactly what you encountered. It's called SCP-956, codename 'The Child-Breaker.'"
Robin's face paled slightly at the name. "...Child-Breaker..." She remembered what she'd witnessed and quickly pushed the image from her mind, but something else confused her. "What does SCP mean? And why does it have a number?"
"Easy, Robin. One question at a time." Havoc thought for a moment about how to explain the Foundation to an eight-year-old without dumping classified information into her lap. "SCP stands for Secure, Contain, Protect. That's the name my organization uses, and it's also what we call the strange things we deal with. The numbers help us keep track of each one because there are a lot of them."
Robin listened carefully.
Havoc continued, keeping it simple. "The first part is Secure. If we discover something strange and dangerous, we find it before it can hurt more people. The second is Contain. Instead of automatically destroying it, we try to put it somewhere safe where it can't hurt anybody and where we can learn what it does."
"And Protect?" Robin asked.
"That's the most important part." Havoc smiled. "We protect normal people from dangerous SCPs, but we also protect SCPs that aren't evil or dangerous from people who might hurt them because they're afraid of something they don't understand. Actually, I already have two like that here. Their names are Ben and Jerry."
Robin tilted her head. "Ben and Jerry?"
"Yeah. They're two little SCPs called Eye Pods. They look like small teardrop-shaped creatures with one big eye each and little wheels underneath them. They're curious as hell, follow people around, and as far as I'm concerned, they're completely harmless. They don't deserve to be treated like monsters just because they're strange."
Robin's eyes widened with curiosity.
Havoc pointed toward himself. "That's what I mean when I say Protect. Ben and Jerry haven't hurt anyone. They're friendly. So instead of locking them away like dangerous monsters, I gave them somewhere safe to live."
Those words struck Robin harder than Havoc realized.
Something strange wasn't automatically a monster.
Something with unusual powers didn't deserve to be hated simply because people didn't understand it.
Robin looked down at her hands.
For a girl who had spent years being called a demon because of her own strange abilities, those words meant more than Havoc could possibly know.
For the first time, Robin had heard something she had always wanted to hear.
Strange creatures—or even people with strange abilities—weren't automatically monsters. Some deserved to be protected and treated humanely instead of hated simply because they were different. Havoc had also made it clear that there were truly dangerous anomalies in the world, like the horrible piñata monster and other creatures that might hunt, kill, or even eat people. That thought frightened Robin, but she remembered what Havoc had said about the word Protect.
His organization didn't only protect ordinary people from anomalies.
It also protected harmless anomalies from ordinary people.
People and creatures that were different were still given a chance.
Robin's eyes began to water. She looked up at Havoc and quietly asked, "Do you... do you really believe that people with strange powers are monsters?"
Havoc immediately understood what she was really asking.
He knew about the Hana Hana no Mi. He knew how the people of Ohara treated Robin because of it. They called her a demon and made her believe there was something wrong with her simply because she possessed an ability they didn't understand.
Havoc smiled and gently patted her head before lifting her chin enough for her to look at him.
"Robin, I already know you're an anomaly."
Robin froze.
Her eyes widened, and she quickly stepped away from him.
Havoc immediately realized his mistake.
"Stupid! Stupid! You jumped the fucking gun!"
He raised both hands. "Robin, it's okay. It's okay. Look, I'm not going to hurt you or contain you, alright? You're a kid. Whatever strange ability you have doesn't make you a monster. I would never hurt someone like you because of that."
Robin remained nervous, but Havoc's words stopped her from backing away any farther.
"...How did you know I have powers?"
Havoc sighed. There wasn't much point hiding that part anymore.
"When I had the Medical Bay diagnose you, the System detected something unusual inside your body. Something that wasn't an illness or an injury. Once I put two and two together, I figured out that you had some kind of power."
Robin looked down at her hands.
"So... you don't know what it is?"
"Not exactly," Havoc answered. "I know you
have an ability, but I wanted you to tell me about it when you were ready. I wasn't going to force it out of you."
Robin slowly looked back at him.
Havoc gave her another reassuring smile. "And before you ask again—no, Robin. Having strange powers doesn't make you a monster. What matters is what you choose to do with them."
Robin's eyes watered again.
Those were words she had desperately needed to hear.
Not from a book.
Not as an explanation of what Devil Fruits were.
But from someone who knew there were things in the world far stranger than her and still believed they deserved kindness.
For once, Robin didn't feel like a demon.
She just felt like a little girl who happened to be different.
Robin couldn't hold herself back anymore. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Havoc.
For just a moment, his words made everything feel brighter. The fear from the forest, the piñata, the bullying, and everything else disappeared from her mind. She simply held onto him while Havoc smiled, gently patting her head and rubbing her back.
Then Havoc spoke again.
"I also know you've been mistreated."
Robin froze in his arms.
She slowly pulled her head back and stared at him with wide eyes.
She had never told him about that.
She hadn't told Havoc about her aunt, uncle, cousin, or the villagers who treated her like a demon. Then Robin remembered the medical examination. If Havoc's strange machines could discover her Devil Fruit ability, they could probably tell that she hadn't been properly cared for either.
Robin looked down.
She didn't want him worrying about her anymore. He had already rescued her, treated her injuries, fed her, and listened to her talk about what happened in the forest. She didn't want to burden him with her family problems too.
"It's okay," Robin whispered. Her tiny hands slowly balled into fists. "You don't have to worry about that part of my life. I'm... used to it."
Havoc immediately frowned.
"No, Robin."
She looked up.
"That's not okay. Being used to something doesn't make it right." Havoc kept his voice calm. "I don't know everything you've been through or exactly what kind of life you've had."
That wasn't entirely true. Havoc already knew much of Robin's childhood from One Piece, but he couldn't exactly tell her that.
"But nothing excuses people treating you like you deserve to be locked in a cage, ignored, or treated like some kind of monster. You're a kid, Robin. That's it."
Robin stared at him silently.
"You could've attacked me when you woke up. You could've used whatever ability you have against me when you were scared. You could've hurt people with your powers whenever you got angry at them, but you didn't. You have self-control." Havoc gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Someone truly cruel would've used those powers to hurt anyone they wanted. You didn't, because you don't want to hurt people. You just want to live your life."
Robin's eyes began watering again.
"And I don't know who's supposed to be taking care of you," Havoc continued, although internally he knew damn well who they were, "but when I find out, they're going to have to deal with me."
Robin flinched slightly.
She could tell from Havoc's expression that he meant it.
Part of her felt warm knowing that someone was actually angry on her behalf. Someone wanted to protect her instead of telling her to endure it.
But another part became worried.
Robin didn't love the way her relatives treated her. She hated being neglected, being treated like a burden, and knowing her uncle used the money her mother sent for her care on himself. Robin had secretly discovered that truth using her Devil Fruit abilities, listening to conversations she wasn't supposed to hear.
Still...
She didn't want Havoc hurting them.
Robin tightened her grip on his shirt.
"...Havoc?"
"Yeah?"
She hesitated before looking into his eyes.
"...Please don't hurt them."
Havoc was stunned by Robin's request. She really didn't want him hurting her relatives. Then again, he shouldn't have been surprised that she'd figured out what he was thinking. Havoc wasn't exactly good at hiding his emotions, and Robin had spent much of her young life learning how to read people.
He let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. But we're not done with this, okay, young lady? I'm still having a talk with them. And if they ever lay a hand on you while I'm there, I'm throwing hands. I know they're your family, Robin, but family isn't supposed to treat one of their own like that. So I can't promise I won't punch whoever's supposed to be taking care of you."
Robin looked slightly worried by that answer. She had hoped to convince Havoc not to hurt them at all, but at the same time, something about knowing he was willing to protect her made her heart feel warm.
She sighed. "...Okay. But promise me you won't kill them."
"Of course I'm not going to kill your family, Robin. I'm not that much of a psychopath." Havoc raised a shaking fist dramatically, practically imagining flames burning around him. "I'm just going to give them a little lesson about how you're supposed to treat family."
Robin stared at him for a moment before giggling. His protective anger reminded her of an angry wolf guarding its cub.
Then she remembered something.
"But you still haven't finished telling me about SCP-956." Robin's smile faded. "You said running away and hiding was the right thing to do. You said if I tried helping them, I could've been killed. Why?"
Havoc's imaginary flames immediately disappeared.
"Fuck. Back to this."
He had been dreading this part. He wanted to soften the truth, but he'd already decided Robin deserved enough information to understand why she wasn't responsible for what happened.
Havoc sat beside her. "Okay. I'll explain it simply. SCP-956 only targets children under twelve. If a child gets within about five meters of it, after several seconds they become completely unable to move or speak. They're still conscious, Robin. They just can't move."
Robin's face slowly paled.
"Then SCP-956 attacks them. If the victim isn't rescued before it's too late..." Havoc hesitated. "You already saw what happens."
Robin swallowed and nodded.
"The candy it creates is dangerous too. If an adult eats it, they can become extremely sick and could even die. But if a child under twelve eats it..." Havoc took another breath. "They eventually transform into another SCP-956."
Robin stared at him.
Her hands began trembling.
"...Another piñata?"
"Yeah."
Robin suddenly understood just how close she had come to dying.
If she had approached the creature to save those boys...
Five meters.
That was all it would've taken.
Havoc noticed her trembling and gently pulled her into a hug. "Easy. You're here now. It didn't get you."
Robin held onto him until her breathing settled.
Then something occurred to Havoc.
Robin's story wasn't finished.
"Wait a minute..." Havoc muttered.
Robin looked up at him.
"You said you saw what happened from a distance, right?"
Robin hesitated before nodding.
"Then you ran back to your hiding place."
Another nod.
Havoc frowned.
If Robin had remained far enough away, SCP-956 shouldn't have activated because of her. Its documented lethal effect required a child to enter that five-meter radius.
But the original SCP-956's records contained something else.
Something Havoc suddenly remembered.
The damn thing had once started moving around its containment chamber on its own and repeatedly faced toward an elementary school kilometers away. The Foundation hadn't established exactly what that meant, but it suggested SCP-956 might possess some way of detecting where children were even from a considerable distance.
And now SCPs were changing in the One Piece world.
"Oh, fuck me..."
If this world's influence had strengthened that unexplained behavior...
Maybe SCP-956 didn't need Robin to stumble across it.
Maybe it had found her.
Havoc looked at Robin more seriously.
"Robin... there's something else I need you to tell me."
She waited.
"After you went back to your hiding place... how did the piñata find you?"
Robin was still trembling after everything Havoc had told her about SCP-956, but she knew she needed to finish explaining what happened.
"I stayed in my hiding place after I ran away," Robin began quietly. "It was already getting dark, and it was cold. I... used my ability to look around the forest without leaving."
Havoc noticed that immediately. She had finally admitted using her power, but he didn't interrupt her.
"I couldn't see the piñata anymore. I thought maybe it was gone. Maybe it went after Kenta because he was the one I saw escape."
Kenta. Havoc remembered the three names Robin had given him. Boro was the boy she had witnessed being killed, Kenta had escaped, and Milo was still missing.
Robin pulled her legs closer to herself. "I kept thinking about Boro and Milo. I wanted everything I'd seen to just be a nightmare. I wanted to wake up and forget all of it."
Havoc remained quiet and let her continue.
"My plan was to stay there for the whole night. When morning came, I was going to return to the village and ask someone for help. I didn't know if anyone would believe me... especially because it was me asking. But I had to try. I hoped Kenta made it back safely, and I hoped Milo was still somewhere in the forest."
Robin took another breath. "Eventually, I fell asleep. When morning came, I woke up because the sunlight was shining on my face. But then I heard something clicking... and crawling."
She shivered at the memory.
"Something was wrapped around me."
Havoc already knew exactly who she was talking about.
"I couldn't move at first because I was so scared. Then I looked down and saw all these little legs around me. There were so many of them, and they were attached to this enormous segmented body. When I turned my head..." Robin swallowed. "That giant centipede was right there."
Havoc almost smiled.
"Frank. Buddy, you've really gotta learn about personal space."
"It was making those strange clicking noises at me. I thought it was going to eat me!" Robin continued. "So I screamed and used my powers."
Havoc's attention immediately sharpened.
Robin nervously looked at him before finally holding out one of her hands. "I can make parts of my body grow in other places. Mostly arms and hands. That's how I looked around the forest without leaving my hiding place. I can make eyes appear too."
Havoc gave her a small nod, showing her that nothing about that revelation frightened him.
Robin relaxed slightly before continuing. "I made as many arms as I could around the centipede and pushed it away from me. I didn't want to die. I thought it was going to eat me, so the moment I got free... I ran."
She took another shaky breath.
"I ran as fast as I could. I don't know exactly how long. Maybe an hour... maybe two. I just kept running because I was afraid that thing was following me."
Robin looked down at her hands.
"When I finally stopped, I thought I'd gotten far enough away that the creepy bug couldn't find me anymore."
Her expression changed.
"But then... I heard something in front of me."
Havoc knew what came next.
Robin continued, her voice growing quieter. "When I looked up, the piñata monster was there. It was just... staring at me."
Her hands began trembling again.
"I couldn't move. I was too scared. After what you just told me, maybe its power hadn't gotten me yet. Maybe I was just scared, but... I really thought I was going to die."
Robin's eyes watered.
"I started thinking about everyone who had ever been kind to me. Professor Clover... the scholars at the Tree of Knowledge... everyone who made me feel like I wasn't alone. I thought I'd never see them again."
Havoc gently placed his hand over hers.
Robin continued. "Then the piñata started coming toward me. But before it could reach me, that centipede suddenly came out of nowhere and attacked it."
Havoc's eyes widened slightly.
"They started fighting. The centipede kept putting itself between me and the piñata. That's when I realized it wasn't trying to eat me before. It had been following me."
Robin wiped her eyes.
"I still couldn't run. I was too scared. Then I heard something else moving nearby. At first I thought it was another monster."
She looked directly at Havoc.
"But then... you came."
Havoc stayed silent.
"I remember seeing you running toward me. You came straight to me while those two creatures were fighting. You didn't even know who I was."
Robin squeezed his hand.
"And then you picked me up and took me away."
For the first time since she started recounting what happened, a tiny smile appeared on her face.
"That's everything I remember before waking up here."
Havoc finally understood everything that had happened to Robin. He gently pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. "There, there. See? It wasn't so bad getting it all out. And I told you, Robin. I knew you were brave."
Robin rested against him for a moment. After finally telling someone everything, some of the weight on her chest felt lighter.
Then her eyes suddenly widened.
"Milo and Kenta!"
Havoc stiffened.
"They're still outside in the forest!" Robin quickly pulled away. She still didn't know where either boy was, and as far as she knew, the monster was dead. She looked at Havoc with pleading eyes. "Please, Havoc! Please help me find Milo and Kenta! They might still be out there. They need to know the monster is dead!"
Havoc's heart sank.
"Fuck..."
This was the moment he'd been dreading.
He thought explaining SCP-956's abilities had been difficult. Now he had to tell Robin what had happened to Milo—and what Havoc himself had been forced to do.
Havoc took a deep breath. "Robin... I wasn't completely honest with you when I said I killed the monster."
Robin stared at him. "...But you said you killed it."
"I did." Havoc gently took her hand. "Robin, I did kill a piñata monster. But... the one I killed wasn't the original SCP-956."
Robin went completely silent.
For several seconds, she didn't understand.
Then she remembered.
The candy.
Havoc had explained what happened when a child under twelve ate candy produced by SCP-956.
They became another one.
Robin's face slowly went pale.
She remembered Boro's body turning into candy.
She remembered Kenta escaping.
And then...
Milo.
She never saw Milo escape.
"...No..."
Havoc's expression told her everything before he even spoke.
Robin shook her head. "No... no..."
"Robin..."
"The monster you killed..." Her breathing became faster. "The one that tried to kill me..."
Havoc couldn't bring himself to soften it anymore.
"...It was most likely Milo."
Robin stopped breathing for a second.
"No..."
Her entire body began shaking.
"No... Milo..."
Tears poured down her face as the truth crashed into her. The original monster was still somewhere on Ohara, and the creature that had chased her—the creature Havoc had killed—had once been one of those boys.
Robin struggled to breathe.
Havoc immediately pulled her against him.
"I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, Robin."
Robin buried her face against his chest and broke down.
Havoc held her tightly, one hand gently rubbing her back while the other rested protectively behind her head.
"I didn't have a choice," he whispered. "I'm sorry. There wasn't any way to cure him. There wasn't any way to turn him back. Milo was already gone."
Robin cried harder.
"I'm sorry, Robin. I wish there'd been another way. God, I wish there had been."
Neither of them said anything else.
They simply stayed there, holding onto each other as Robin cried for Milo and Havoc fought back his own tears.
For now, there was nothing either of them could say that would make what happened hurt any less.
As both of them stood there which felt like hours Havoc couldn't let this continue. They could grieve later. Right now, there was still another child somewhere out there.
Kenta.
And if Kenta was alive, there was still a chance to save him. But there was another problem—the original SCP-956 was still loose. If that fucking thing could track children from a distance, it could follow Kenta straight back to Ohara's village.
Havoc wiped the remaining tears from his face and looked at Robin. She was still crying, struggling to process what had happened to Milo.
"Robin. Robin, listen to me." Havoc gently placed both hands on her shoulders and got her to look at him. "I know this is bad. I know you're hurting. But we need to focus right now because other children's lives could be in danger."
Robin sniffled and wiped her eyes.
"We don't know for sure if Kenta is still alive. I know you don't want to hear that, and I already know part of you is blaming yourself for Milo, but get that thought out of your head, okay? This was never your fault." Havoc's expression hardened. "It's that fucking monster's fault. That motherfucking piñata uses candy against children because what kid wouldn't trust fucking candy? Milo didn't know. You didn't know. None of you could've known."
Robin lowered her head.
"So don't blame yourself for what that thing did. There's still a chance Kenta escaped and made it back to the village. But that creates another problem. If SCP-956 followed him..."
Robin's eyes widened.
"...The other children."
"Exactly." Havoc nodded. "If that bastard reached your village, every child there could be in danger. So we need to move now. I need you to guide me through the forest and show me how to reach your village. Can you do that?"
Robin was still crying, but she understood. She couldn't let another child suffer what Boro and Milo had.
She nodded. "Okay... I'll help you. I'll take you to my village."
"Good. But Robin, I need you to prepare yourself for the worst." Havoc hated saying it, especially after everything he'd just told her. "I can't promise there won't be casualties."
Robin didn't want to hear that. She desperately wanted Havoc to promise that Kenta was alive and everyone in Ohara was safe, but she knew he couldn't.
She had been gone for less than a day, but she didn't know how long Milo had been transformed before his SCP-956 form found her. If the original had followed Kenta instead...
Robin didn't want to finish that thought.
"There's something else," Havoc said. "When we reach the village, I don't want you anywhere near SCP-956 if we find it."
"But I can help."
"No, Robin. Not against that thing."
Robin frowned. "But my powers—"
"That's exactly what I'm worried about. I don't know how SCP-956's ability would interact with your Devil Fruit. If you sprout arms near it, I don't know whether its effect would only hit those arms or somehow affect your real body too. I'm not gambling your life to find out."
Robin couldn't argue with that.
Havoc sighed. There was one more secret he could safely bend without telling her about the System. "There's something else my clan left me. Think of this place we're in as... another space. A small world separate from the one outside. I can enter it and bring other people inside."
Robin stared around the cafeteria with new understanding. "So that's how we came here?"
"Pretty much. And if things get dangerous, you're coming back inside."
Robin immediately shook her head. "No."
Havoc blinked. "...No?"
"I can't hide here while other children are in danger."
"Robin—"
"I can help you find them!" Robin insisted. "I don't have to fight the piñata. I can scout."
That caught Havoc's attention.
Robin held out her hands. "I told you I can make parts of my body appear somewhere else. I can grow eyes and ears on things around me and use them to look and listen. I can search places without walking directly into them."
Havoc rubbed his chin.
He hated the idea of involving an eight-year-old in an SCP hunt.
But he couldn't deny how useful that ability could be.
"How far can you scout?"
Robin explained what she could manage with her current abilities and experience. Havoc listened before reluctantly nodding.
"Okay. Scouting only. You see SCP-956, you tell me where it is and immediately stop. You do not try grabbing it. You do not try fighting it. And you absolutely do not get anywhere near it yourself. Understood?"
Robin nodded. "Understood."
"And you're not going alone."
Robin tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Havoc stood up. "You'll see." He looked toward the empty room. "System, take us to the Barracks."
"AFFIRMATIVE, DIRECTOR."
The cafeteria disappeared around them.
Robin blinked.
In its place stood the Foundation Barracks.
The room was large and military in design, built from reinforced steel walls and divided into organized sections. Rows of sturdy bunk beds lined part of the Barracks, each with storage compartments underneath for personal equipment. Metal lockers stood nearby alongside weapon racks and equipment stations. Long benches and tables occupied the center, while bright overhead lights illuminated everything with the same clean, advanced appearance Robin had seen throughout Havoc's strange facility.
But the room wasn't what caught her attention.
The soldiers were.
Robin's eyes widened.
Several armored figures stood throughout the Barracks. They wore Foundation combat uniforms with protective armor covering their bodies, while helmets and visors concealed their faces. Some checked equipment while others waited silently for orders.
Robin instinctively moved closer to Havoc.
"Who... are they?"
Havoc glanced down at her. "Before you start asking another hundred questions, they're not regular people. They're basically cloned soldiers created for my clan's operations."
Robin's mouth slowly fell open.
"...Clones?"
"Yeah."
She stared at him.
Then at the soldiers.
Then back at Havoc.
Havoc could practically see another hundred questions forming inside that archaeologist brain of hers.
"Later, Robin."
"But—"
"Later."
Robin closed her mouth, although her expression made it very clear this conversation was nowhere near finished.
Havoc turned toward the soldiers and then looked back at Robin.
He rested a hand on her shoulder.
"We're not going alone."