A/N: I'm soooooo sorry, please read on without any distractions from me for now!

- 1 -

- Into the Grand Line -

The floating dock had become a battlefield, beholden to a battle of a scale the carpenter could not have expected; despite the severe lack of length the battle took on. Cracks ran along nearly every board, planks stuck up at varying angles, and there were even a number of holes revealing the slightly choppy sea beneath. Bodies were strewn around seemingly at random, some apparently intact others in varying states of destruction. The remnants of what seemed to have been a tented camp also lay strewn across the decking, all made of the same plain fabric save one. This tent had been made of a near black fabric and had golden ropes holding it steady. This tent now lay in tatters.

If one was to stroll through this battlefield they would notice that the bodies suddenly grew thicker, their number multiplying until the decking seemed to vanish beneath bodies and blood. Gradually the bodies started gaining tendrils of a clear glass-like substance covering their bodies, running where their veins would inside their bodies. Even the substance multiplied until the bodies were completely covered in the substance, frozen in varying positions of pure terror and action. This lead on to some kind of sculpture that had not been cut from the substance, but instead seemed to have been originally created by it.

This sculpture took on the form of a throne covered with thorns and spikes; complete with a man slouched in the chair with an elbow resting on the arm and the head in the hand. A number of feet in front of the sculpture, a second one stood; this one taking on the form of a cross sat at a slight slant to the right. Another figure was on this one, but he was no sculpture. He had shaggy black hair that hung down to the nape of his neck in wild waves and vivid orange eyes that stood out against his tanned skin. The man wore the remnants of some kind of uniform, including a strange set of matte black armour. The armour consisted of a black plated cuirass, black plated backed gloves, and black plated front and backed boots. Under that he had been wearing loose fitting black cotton.

However, all of his clothes were in disrepair, the cuirass holding a number of strangely shaped dents while the fabric was torn and cut in a number of places. This was also true for the man himself, with slices and cuts running across every bit of skin on show. Most notably was a large iron nail pierced through his left eye, and a large bit of metal sticking out of his abdomen. His arms were stretched along the length of the cross and large spikes, made out of the same substance as the cross, were driven through his wrists while his feet rested on a small platform and more spikes were driven through his ankles. His body was slumped forward, allowing his chin to rest on his chest. A large round shield, matte black with a golden eagle emblazoned on the front, lay at the base of the cross with two fist marks imprinted in the metal.

Then the diamond statue blinked.

"How long has he been like that?" Doctor asked.

Dr Doctor Umbra was an old man with white hair that hung to his shoulders and a beard to match. His right eye is dark grey but his left is milked over with blindness. Doctor takes to wearing a green bandana wrapped around his head, allowing his hair to hang out the back, with a battered leather cowboy hat resting on top. He wears a loose fitting white top, with an open collar to his chest, with baggy sleeves tight at the wrist tucked into a blue sash under a slanted turquoise one. Under that he wore a pair of brown shorts tied below the knee and wooden clogs on bare feet.

"A couple of days, he doesn't react to anything except threats." Nemo replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Nemo Kale was a similar size to Doctor but that was the only similarities between the two. Nemo was young with an athletic build, tanned skin and ill controlled blonde hair. His eyes were dark blue and had vicious bags underneath them, a testament to his power. He was wearing a grey tank-top under a tattered sweat-jacket, dirty blue jeans and heavy working-style boots. Strapped to his back was a long katana-length pipe.

"You threatened him?" Doctor asked incredulously

Nemo shook his head with a bemused smile. "Not me, Marshall threw a little bit of a tantrum yesterday. He's still nursing his broken nose." At that moment, Marshall himself stepped out of one of the few remaining tents. Although it had healed, his nose was still wonky, with the tip pointing slightly to the right.

"Why didn't he come to see me?" Doctor said with a frown. "There's nothing I can do for it now."

"He's scared of you." Nemo said simply just as Marshall stopped next to them.

Marshall Kubin, former member of the Kumar Pirates, stood about a foot taller than both Doctor and Nemo. He had white hair hanging to his shoulders that spiked back in random directions and strange sparkling red eyes. His chest was bare, and he wore a rounded leather armour piece on his left shoulder that led down to a criss-crossing of leather straps that ran down his left arm to his wrist. He was wearing loose purple trousers that were fastened at the waist by a black sash and at the ankles by thin black rope. His feet remained bare, with rough soles and cracked nails told the fact that he never wore shoes. He was also missing the entirety of his right arm; all the way up to the shoulder.

Marshall ignored Nemo's comment; instead he started to cross his arms before realising he couldn't and nodded his head towards the diamond sculpture. "So what are we going to do with him?" he asked, his normally menacing voice somewhat hampered by the light rasping his broken nose was causing.

Doctor considered for a minute and then ran a hand down his long beard. "We'll give him one more day and if he hasn't recovered by then, I'll have to do something."

"Something?" Nemo asked, glancing across at the statues.

"Something." Doctor confirmed and turned away from the other two men before walking back to the tent he had claimed as his own.

"You need to learn to control your anger." Nemo said to Marshall, stepping back slightly so he didn't need to crane his head as much to look up at him.

"What?" Marshall growled, glancing down at the First Mate.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. You're lucky you only ended up with a broken nose after antagonizing something you don't understand. If you did that with an enemy, they wouldn't be so kind as to stop at your nose. Learn to control it, or you'll be dead the next time you face someone stronger then you." Nemo finished with a nod and then started to walk away but stopped for one final glance back. "And trust me, you'll meet people stronger then you."

Marshall was left alone but didn't hang around any longer then he had to, despite outer acting, he held an innate fear for the diamond statuette that was his Captain.

The next day, when Marshall arrived, Doctor and Nemo were already waiting at the spot they had had their conversation the day before. Marshall had hung his two swords on the hooks attached to the leather shoulder guard. Both Rekishichizu and Ryuujin Toorima were intimidating in size and shape, although crafted differently, and each had a bonus the other did not. Nemo eyed the swords but Marshall noted he had his katana-length pipe strapped to his back as well. Doctor looked no different but Marshall knew he didn't carry any weapons, or anything of the like.

The diamond sculptures, as well as the body on the cross, had not moved except that the diamond man was now sat forward with his elbows resting on his knees. Doctor walked around the throne until he was standing in front of the man, where he slowly raised his hands and gently placed them on his shoulders. Nothing happened for a number of minutes and Marshall had started to fidget when Doctor let out a low chuckled and stepped away.

"Looks like he's asleep." He said with a smirk, and raised a hand to flick the figure in the forehead.

When he did, the figures head snapped back at the diamond shattered like glass, revealing a man with blue hair underneath, a scattering of scars running along the right side of his face.

"Holy hell Doctor! I'm awake, I'm awake!" He cried as he jumped to his feet, shattering the remaining diamond to reveal his body, and clutched at a red mark that rested on his head where Doctor had hit him.

Kai Velure was a tall man by normal standards, freaks like Marshall don't count to him, with short spikey hair coloured a dull blue and eye that shined a crystal blue. His muscled body is thick and strong, yet still somehow slender and lithe. He wears a tight black top with the sleeves ripped off, leaving tattered edges at his shoulders, a wide brown belt and loose fitting white trousers tucked into high brown boots that are laced tightly down the front.

As the famed captain hopped around, the diamond throne and the diamond encasing most of the nearby bodies cracked and splintered before collapsing to the ground; leaving only the cross with the man upon it. The diamond fragments then started to shuffle along the ground before sliding across to Kai's feet, where they disappeared into his boots until the area was clear of the diamond fragments. Suddenly Kai calmed down and turned to face Nemo and Marshall, who were looking on with strange expressions on their faces.

Kai burst out laughing, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. "You guys thought I'd gone, didn't you!?" he continued laughing before taking a deep breath to calm himself and wiping one last tear away. "You're too serious, seriously."

Marshall rolled his eyes and turned away, heading back towards his tent. Nemo looked as if he wanted to stay but Kai gestured his head in Marshall's direction and then in Doctors. The intent was clear; he wanted to talk to Doctor alone. Nemo nodded and turned away, following Marshall out of the area.

"So what are you going to do with him?" Doctor asked, nodding at the body on the cross.

Kai walked up and stood next to his old friend, one hand resting on his belt while the other stroked his chin. "Lester Hartland of the Amplitudo Primoris was a fine opponent for Diamante Dios, but that doesn't excuse him for what he did. He can stay there and become a message for whoever comes back to find out what happened to him."

Doctor nodded in agreement and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "And what about you?"

Kai thought about making a joke but decided against it. "I've come back now, I can control it."

"Are you sure."

"No. But that'll have to do for now, my mission is not yet complete."

"Speaking of that, what are you planning to do with our passenger on the ship?"

"I'd like to leave him at one of our lock-ups but I can get myself to trust someone won't try to rescue him. He'll stay there until I'm ready to deal with him, along with his friends if the plan goes my way."

"When does it never?" Doctor asked with a grin.

"All the time." Kai replied with a similar grin forming around the long practiced words.

"So where are we planning to go next?" Doctor said.

"That way!" Kai replied simply, and pointed across seemingly in a random direction.

"I thought so." Doctor replied with a smile and reached into his pocket to pull out a strange compass-like object with a glass sphere and hanging needle in the middle. "I found this in one of the tents, probably be useful."

"A log pose! Magnificent!" Kai exclaimed and took the object to strap it to his belt by the straps. "So, ready to try again?"

"What, 'again' again?" Doctor asked, his sly grin still in place.

"Yes, I suppose so." Kai replied as Doctor nodded. "So gather the crew and meet me on the ship, we need to get this adventure started!"

So, a couple of hours later, Kai's crew were pretty much ready to sail. "I've only got one more thing to do." Kai said and raised his arm until his hand was pointing towards Reverse Mountain's entrance to the Grand Line. He slowly closed his hand into a fist, and as he did so a large burg of diamond rose from the water and smashed through the floating dock the Order of the White Eagle had created to capture pirate crews entering the Grand Line. Kai then let the burg sink away and turned to face the three others that made up his crew.

"The Grand Line, my friends. It's going to be a hell of a ride!" then with a shout, the four of them got the ship into a condition to sail and headed out in the direction Kai had pointed before; the way the Log Pose at his waist was also pointing.

A/N: I've done it at last! Man, this must be about the 12th iteration of this chapter; for some reason I kept writing stuff I didn't like. I hope you enjoyed it though, however late it may be, and I bid you to keep your eyes and ears open for the next chapter heading your way as soon as possible. As a reminder for those who have forgotten, credit is due where due for the creator of Nemo Kale, so thanks to Stevethemime for sending him my way.

See you soon!