Epilogue: TIPS
Two Marines walked down the dark, undersea corridor of Impel Down. However they were not headed towards the depths that history forgot of the Eternal Hell that was Level 6, the prisoner they intended to meet had already been taken up a few levels to an interrogation room. "I trust you know why you're here." The marine in the bucket hat and wooden clogs spoke without turning to the other. "My men inform me you're the best, that after the war at Marineford you were able to reassemble the psyches of those who faced that man… that demon, Whitebeard and lived. I can't imagine their terror and yet they're back to service, thanks to you." He gave a solemn look, not giving approval or disdain to the other.
"I'm just a psychiatrist." The doctor nodded to the commanding officer. "But I'll see what I can do, can you run me through the patient's history again?"
"In 1522 AOP, shortly before the Battle of Marineford, the island of Hinamizawa located in strategic prominence between Marineford and the Sabaody Archipelago was completely destroyed in a natural disaster. The patient was the only survivor. Because of the destruction, our forces were able to establish a base there without protest unlike what had happened years prior when residents of the town protested the building of the base resulting in the loss of a marine vessel. Because of the newly established base, reinforcements were readily available to the Saboady Archipelago and Marineford for the time of the battle. This directly caused three victories on our part. First, the new base caught the pirate crews designated as members of the "11 Supernovas" off-guard as the base did not appear on any maps yet and four of these notorious pirates were captured and executed while fleeing from the Archipelago to Marineford. Secondly, the increased reinforcements routed to Marineford gave us an unexpected advantage in the war against Whitebeard and not only did the execution of Portgas D. Ace, son of Gold Roger go as planned, but the ensuing battle resulted in the deaths of the Yonkou Whitebeard as well as Marco "The Phoenix" and "Flower Sword" Vista. The remaining crew members escaped with "Diamond" Jozu who is currently their acting captain. The last victory is the most important." The man took a breath before continuing.
The Marine Psychiatrist watched, knowing that the events that had taken place had greatly turned the tide of the ensuing war in favor of the World Government.
"Finally, a single Marine Vessel that had passed through the Gates of Justice was intercepted on the way to Marineford by ten ships from the Hinamizawa base that were on their way to provide reinforcements. The ship contained 241 prisoners recently escaped from here, Impel Down. Among them were Former Shichibukai Sir Crocodile and Jimbei, the assassin Das Bones, Emporio Ivankov, and Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates Monkey D. Luffy. There were no survivors. In addition, their immediate elimination allowed us to sink the disgrace of Chief Warden Magellan along with their ship and maintain Impel Down's reputation as the Great Prison." The bucket hat man finished.
"All that from one base… that disaster sure was lucky, eh?" The doctor eyed the officer. "I heard you were the one who orchestrated that "natural disaster" and that's also how you got your promotion two years ago…. Vice-Admiral Glenn."
The tapping of Glenn's wooden clogs on the stone floor of Impel Down stopped as they reached the interrogation room. "Just see what you can do about the mental health of the patient doctor, and leave your rumors to yourself…" The former second-in-command of Slayheim Fortress and current Chief Guard of Impel Down spat with a small amount of disgust in his voice. "Normally we wouldn't care about his mental stability but we need him sane enough to tell us where he thinks that man might be…"
"Understood sir." The Marine psychiatrist entered the interrogation room while Glenn took his spot in the adjacent observation room. The doctor looked over the man with a calm gaze, trying to give off an air of trust to his patient despite his appearance.
The man was very large but his skin seemed to hang off his frame, he had stopped eating in any substantial amount other than just enough to keep himself alive, as if adding an extra torture of hunger to what the guards already gave him. His eyes looked defeated, he didn't even need the large chains that hung from his wrists, made of kairoseki no less. He barely seemed to register the doctor's entrance, his facial expression that of a man already dead, barely bothering to look at the man before his head came down again, as if some enormous weight was tied to his neck. He acted as a man who had tied an anchor to himself and was about to jump ship but couldn't find the will, so he merely stood there, slowing dying under the weight of his burden.
The doctor slowly pulled out a chair and sat opposite the man. "Good evening… Samuel D. Axe." The man failed to acknowledge him again. The doctor pulled out a Den Den Mushi and pressed a button to record their conversation for the Marine records. "Why don't we start out slow? Tell me how you survived the Hinamizawa Disaster. That must have been quite a cataclysm."
"Cataclysm?" Axe spoke hollowly, his face not changing aside from his lips moving. "Is that the fairy-tale they told on the outside? It wasn't anything natural, nothing of god could have done that." A faint glimmer of hate shone in the back of Axe's eyes. "You bastards initiated a Buster Call to contain Hinamizawa Syndrome and took everything from me for the second time that day."
"Second time?" The Marine psychiatrist raised an eyebrow, reacting in a calm tone. "What do you mean by that?"
"Before the Buster Call wiped out the island, most of my crew was already dead… whatever demon or god was on that island killed them before you could get your hands on them."
"If this demon got to them, how did you survive?" The doctor asked again.
"I… don't remember." Axe admitted. "I must have activated my tekkai instinctively and passed out. Because when I woke up the island was already completely toasted and your boys were beginning the search for survivors."
"And according to my records you gave yourself over to the Marine search party without a struggle. Tell me, why would you do that? You, who spent your life being a thorn in the World Government's side, who detested the Marine organization more than any other in the world. Why give yourself to your enemies?" The Marine doctor entreated.
"Because I failed to protect my crew… again I saw my nakama fall before my eyes to force of nature I could not hope to defeat. I saw signs of uneasiness and I couldn't bring myself to leave Hinamizawa before the log pose reset for fear of getting lost at sea. I watched helplessly as they all fell, one…by…one…" His malnourished fingers tapped on the interrogation table to punctuate each word. "After that kind of failure, I could never face them again. I could not join them in death without atoning for my failure. So I decided I would live, and give myself to the worst torture I could think of…"
"Us." The Marine Psychiatrist finished for him. "And that's why you're here, a shell of your former self who has lost the will to live yet refuses to die."
"That's right… even I was not able to leave that island unscathed. You see, in the two years I've been locked up here, I figured out the reason I survived." His sunken eyes stared at the doctor, or rather through him.
"And why is that?" The doctor asked curiously.
"Because Kyuui-sama chose me…" His eyes narrowed and his sagging face tightened with resentment. "I am the new host for that god of death that guarded Hinamizawa from invaders until Hinamizawa itself displeased her. And though I have been chained here, I have power to make those who cross me perish." He shot a glare at the doctor.
The Marine Psychiatrist immediately felt a shiver run up his spine, a heavy weight pushing on his shoulders. In addition he heard the faint sound, he would have thought it was down the hall if not for the thick stone walls, the sound of a small child crying. The pressure he felt was almost like resisting Haki, however whatever drove this man's corpse of ambition was much, much darker.
A tap on the glass from Glenn woke the doctor out of his trance and alerted him to get to the reason he had come here today. "Axe, tell me, where is Marshall D. Teach? You saw him that day, didn't you? Where is Blackbeard?"
Axe's eyes lowered as he remembered. "The day Luffy, Whitebeard, Ace, and perhaps the hope of the entire world died, I saw that man. He broke into level six where I was recently imprisoned. He told those who wished to join his crew to fight to the death. My cellmates immediately broke their chains and turned on me, however I still had my strength, if not my will." His gaze became even more sullen.
"I slaughtered them all without a second thought. When Blackbeard offered me a spot on his new crew, I refused. At that point I had already resigned myself to my atonement. I had decided to stay here no matter what and wait for death. That was two years ago. …I have no idea where he is now." He finally answered with a slight smirk. Despite his frail state he couldn't help but take small satisfaction that despite their victory, the Marines were no closer to their world of justice now than two years ago.
"If you want to have any hope of being able to face your crew again in the afterlife, you should tell us so we can stop his massacre!" The doctor shouted.
Axe couldn't help but let out a raspy chuckle at that. "Looks like until the end, I'm still a thorn in your side…" His cough suddenly got worse and the chair tipped over, chains clattering to the floor as Axe lay writhing in agony. The doctor rushed over to help and Glenn was soon behind him to make sure he wasn't trying to escape.
Axe lay flat on his back, a small light in the back of his eyes as he stared up into the dark ceiling of Impel Down, beneath the sea and sky he used to sail. "I… I'm ready Kyuui-sama, I think I've been away from my nakama long enough…"
"What are you talking about man!" The doctor shouted as he leaned over the captured pirate, the man's cough getting worse.
"I'll let you in on one last secret… because I am still cursed by Kyuui-sama, death follows me, I practically AM death… and in exchange… those whom I proclaim shall die." He looked the Marine doctor straight in the eye and whispered his final words. "Death… by water."
The Marine Psychiatrist stood awestruck as the prison guards took him away. Samuel D. Axe had apparently contracted a long-standing disease while imprisoned and was able to hide his symptoms through sheer force of will until his dying minutes.
Two hours after the interrogation, Samuel D. Axe, the legendary pirate and former Captain of both sets of Axe-Head pirates passed away. The World Government made no progress in their search for Marshall D. Teach. On a return trip to the Marine Hinamizawa base, the top Marine Psychiatrist's ship was attacked by a Sea King and sank, all aboard drowned.
The true nature of Captain Axe's ramblings about the demon god of Hinamizawa and the nature of the Hinamizawa Disaster were never decoded and were kept from the eyes of the public. The dark veil of destiny covered the truth for all eternity in this world.
Well, this is the end. The tragedy of Kaizoku No Naku Koro Ni ends here in this sad dark area. However the truth can still be stolen from the clutches of impending destiny. In the second part of this tale the mystery begins to unravel as light is shed upon the true nature of Hinamizawa, Kyuui, and the mastermind behind the disaster!
Coming Soon: Kaizoku No Naku Koro Ni Kai! (When Pirates Cry: Solutions)