HEELLLOOO EVERYBODY! It is I Farouk Shaaban and I'm back with another GROOVY chapter of The Soul King Cometh! I know I've haven't posted in a long time, for multiple reasons(updated other stories, forgetting to, not knowing where the plot should go, Real Life, etc). So I'll forgo my normal routine of a radio host and my answering fan reviews in favor of getting started. Get ready everybody, The Voyage to Raftel now!
Chapter 9: Grand Announcement
Aboard the Sunny
Perle was a simple girl(after all, she'd only been one for a month and a half) and so she followed a simple routine: she would wake up, eat breakfast with her new "family" (which she found out was a fancy human word for pack) consisting of Brook and Sonny, followed by an hour or two running throughout the ship, then mrs. Peach would come and do various strange things to her(she told they were called "tests") and then teach her some basic human things(manners, language, why she had to wear clothes), after that she would go to the library and read all of the books the Straw Hats had collected over the years until dinner and bedtime.
Brook had gone to bed early tonight, meaning she could stay up a lot longer than she was normally allowed(at least according to Sonny) and she spent that time reading riddle books until well after midnight. When she finally felt tired enough to go to sleep, she felt a presence she had not felt in a long time. "Hello my little sphinx," the familiar voice whispered, "My queen?" Perle asked "No," the voice sighed "I am no longer your queen, I stopped being your ruler when the Soul King first took interest in you." Seemingly sensing the sadness filling the young girl the voice continued "Do not worry little sphinx, I shall keep in touch with you." Before Perle could reply the door to the library opened door opened to reveal Brook!
Paralysed with fear Perle just stood in the middle of the room, directly in Brook's line of sight. Brook didn't seem to notice her, in fact it seemed he was talking to himself. "Good evening Robin," He said to the chair to the right of him "Have you seen my copy of The Jazz History of The World? I have been looking everywhere for it." This strange scene was playing out right before Perle's eyes, and she found it deeply disturbing "Do you enjoy riddles little sphinx?" the voice asked, and she nodded her head "Then I have a challenging one for you; what is the greatest gift of life?" Perle thought about this for at least ten minutes(in reality it was only two, she couldn't really tell time yet) before she gave up "It eventually ends." came the sad reply….
The Next Day: Beacon Auditorium
The auditorium was abuzz with chatter as yesterday Ozpin had announced a first year only assembly. Currently every team had shown up with the exception of team CRDL, and rumours abound throughout the class as to what this meeting was about. "Ooh Ooh! Maybe we'll finally learn how Poops?" Nora exclaimed, much to the embarrassment of Ren and the rest of team JNPR, "Please," Weiss snorted "If anything this meeting is most likely in regards to the upcoming Vytal Festival and how to properly behave as representatives of Beacon." before anyone could say anything else and Brook walked onto the stage. Teams RWBY and JNPR didn't hear the headmaster's opening words, primarily because they had to stop Nora from jumping up and down in a strange victory dance screaming "CALLED IT!" They did however, stop her just in time for his closing statement "... and now to tell you all more about the upcoming event, is ." at this the crowd grew silent, and their new music teacher took the microphone.
"I had originally planned a speech," he began "But somethings should just come from the heart, even though I don't have one!" the auditorium groaned at the latest "Skull Joke!" but stopped to hear the rest of his speech.
"I have been many things in my life and my subsequent unlife: I've been a loving son, a loyal soldier, a man of the sea, a captain of men, a lover of music,a star, and a criminal. But the one thing I am most proud of is that I was and still am a pirate." Brook could tell he would be answering a lot of questions after this, but he was on a roll. "Some say that life is a highway, full of experiences old and new, and after a certain amount of miles, you reach the final destination. I reject that, life is like the oceans, there is no straight path to the journey's end, nor is there a definitive ending."
"When I was a young boy, I thought I would become a member of my country's army, and never leave it's shores," The students were shocked at the reveal that their teacher's military background, and he still wasn't done! "Eventually I became bored with the life of the soldier, and like most men of my times, I took to the seas." Brook began to walk around the stage now, as if lost in a memory of a place only he could see. "I eventually joined a crew known as The Rumbar Pirates, whose only requisite for joining was a love of music."
"We soon crossed a landmark of the time known as "The Grand Line", leaving behind only one crewmember, a young whale who loved our music who we named Laboon." The fondness placed on the name "Laboon", was near palpable. "In hindsight, we were not ready for such a venture, as we soon lost half our crew, including our captain, to an unknown disease." Brook paused for a at least two minutes, before he continued "After we gave them a proper farewell I was nominated captain, and we continued on our journey, until we lost a fight with another crew; their blades had been poisoned, and we knew none of us would live through this, save for me." Tears were beginning to form in the old skeleton's eyes, and it seemed clear to all present that this fact still haunted him, "I had promised to send our last message back to Laboon after I died, and thanks to my "semblance" I was able to, but not before I was dead in the water for fifty years." The room was now dead quiet, as they tried imagining being alone for a single day, much less fifty long years. "As I was adrift the world continued to move on, and I later learned that a man had risen to become "King of the Pirates". That man, Gol D. Roger/ Gold Roger" had stolen everything of true value to men: Wealth, Fame, and Power, and on his execution day he made a simple challenge, the first man to rediscover his treasure, The One Piece, would become his successor."
No one could believe their ears, a Pirate King? An object that granted all of man's greatest wants? It sounded impossible "Eventually, I was found by one of the many crews who lusted after Roger's treasure, as well as their own dreams; these were the Straw Hat Pirates, led by one of the so called "Worst Generation": Monkey D. Luffy, or in today's naming style Luffy D. Monkey." at the mentioning of Luffy, it seemed that the rictus grin on Brook's face was replaced with a genuine smile.
"When I first met Luffy it was the first time I was barely sane, my time in isolation had destroyed most of my manners and made me a bit…. Okay I was a huge pervert(The female population frowned at this) but to be fair I hadn't been with people, much less a woman, in fifty years, that will do strange things to a person. Much to my surprise and utter joy, he immediately asked me to join his crew and I accepted. Soon I found myself embroiled in fights beyond your wildest dreams, with the Straw Hats I fought not only common pirates, but also the Seven Warlords, the Four Emperors, and The World Government."
"Those were, and still are, the greatest years of my life." Tears were freely flowing down Brooks face now, in a never ending stream, but they were tears of joy. "I have sadly outlive them all, but that is fine, for I know that I will eventually see them again, but for now I am content with visiting their graves, at the Island of the King: Raftel." Now Brook reached the point of the whole damn speech "Ozpin has given me permission to arrange a field trip to our home, in conjunction with . I am honored that he allowed me my selfish request and promise that it will be an excellent trip. The permission slips for the journey will be handed out tomorrow, they need to be signed by both your team leader and the headmaster, as this is a two week journey." Before any of the more "serious(Weiss)" students could object "Classes will be held on board The Thousand Sunny via telecom, so you will not miss any lessons; Thank you for listening today." Brook then returned the mike to Ozpin, then left for the docks, he had a lot of reorganizing to do.
Aboard The Sunny
Sonny began to mutter under his breath as he prepared for his latest undertaking. Despite appearances, the beloved ship of the Straw Hats was in need of a mass overhaul. They needed to restock on Cora, the Soldier Dock system and the myriad vehicles stored inside needed new paint and minor repairs, and then he needed to replace the sole queen size bed in the women's sleeping area with either hammocks or a suitable substitute(man was Franky ever a pervert). But despite all of that, Sonny was happy. Finally it wouldn't just be him and Brook sailing by themselves, they would have a crew, an honest to god crew! So what if it was temporary? It had been centuries since such a thing had happened! He had spent most of the afternoon with Brook and Perle bringing in massive amounts of fish for the aquarium bar, so that they wouldn't run out of foodstuff. With Oobleck's help they had upgraded the ships navigational system, and Port had given them some modern firepower(though how he did so was unclear, cause some of the weapons were exclusively for the military….). But most importantly, they would have new people aboard, with new stories to share and create.
New dreams to fulfill.
Thats a wrap! Soon the Voyage to Raftel will take place! With this arc we will explore how remnant came to be, who in the bloody hell are the brothers, and finally how The Last Straw Hats fit into the century spanning war between Salem and Ozpin.
Till Next Time!