Log One, Journal One.

I understand the need for secrecy and seclusion, but was it honestly necessary to put our research center on an island that is completely disconnected from the magnetic fields of the Grand Line? It's rendered some of our more delicate testing equipment useless until we recalibrate all of it.

No matter. Minor delays are immaterial so long as we have a functioning finished product.

Current trials with volunteers are proceeding well, with relatively minimal side effects. However, the key issue is in maintaining the effects. Currently, experiments with artificially produced sera show that any benefit vanishes quickly after injection.

Hence why my expertise was required, I suppose.

It is astonishing that we were able to acquire such a location, if I may have a personal aside in these logs. The engineers at Ivankivraion really have come a long way in navigation and construction. Some of their ideas, though...steel hulls and cannons the size of buildings? Pfah! Well, so long as they come up with a few good things, I suppose letting the madmen on that particular island run free with their ideas is adequate...even if they are a bunch of oil-encrusted d-

Log Four, Journal One.

Had to invent and construct three new instruments to get at the issue, but I finally have the ability to look closer than ever at samples from the volunteers, and to test them for chemical contaminants.

It appears that our attempts at creating artificial sera have had some manufacturing error - the resulting 'cells', for lack of better terminology, are distinctly malformed in comparison to their normal counterparts. The lack of side-effects thus far is mostly due to the volunteer's own bodies destroying them. It seems to be something like the body fighting off an infection. Actually, I should see if I can observe that as well.


We do not die here. Not to this.

The world is blurry when I force my eyes open, colors and shapes smeared without distinction. Everything feels heavy, including my eyelids.

Blotches of color move, meaningless sounds echo. There's a blue patch near my hand. I reach out, twine my fingers through strands.

Tired. So tired.

...

Are you listening, child?

The man smiled at the dragon, and at the tree that it was coiled around. The tree was new, in the scheme of things, but the place that was not a place, the hill of white clover...change was something that would happen to it, no matter what.

We aren't dead. Colour me surprised, the man said.

We were far too close, the dragon growled. Was it worth it?

Perhaps, the man answered, lighting his pipe. Lives were saved.

They are doomed to the same fate, the dragon said. And I do not mean ordinary mortality. Death would be a mercy.

The man shrugged. What are you, that can judge death and mercy?

I am as pure an expression of what we are as might ever be, the dragon said, rearing back and spreading its wings.

You are rage and spite and power, the man replied evenly. For all that you wish to keep me safe, your purity is at the cost of humanity.

WE ARE NOT HUMAN! the dragon roared, scorching the clover beneath its jaws. Neither of us are, it said, more quietly. Why have you not accepted that?

I have, the man said, unmoved. But for all that I might be inhuman, why does that mean I must be evil?

The dragon blinked. Evil is a concept for lesser beings.

Nihilism does not suit you well, dragon, the man said. Why use it now?

Because...if you insist on this self-flagellation, on denying what you can be...you cannot continue on, the dragon said softly. It bowed its head. Because if I cannot convince you that you are not evil, then I must try to convince you that evil does not matter. You still confuse me. Why must you hate yourself for living?

Because my existence demands the death of others, and nothing changes that simple fact, the man answered.

The dragon smiled, row upon row of teeth. You forget your own words.

Oh? the man asked.

First: you sail upon the sea where the rules of the world warp. Second: you sail with the one who seeks to change those rules for all. And third...The dragon paused, lowering its head to gaze at the man. You are a pirate. And what are mere rules to our kind?

The man fell silent.

We will speak again, the dragon said. Of memories and stolen lives, yes?

The man nodded. There is much, he said softly, that needs to be discussed.

Consciousness returns in a flash. The first thing I register is the oppressive smell of a hospital.

The second is the person in the corner of the room breathing the even, steady breaths of someone who's fallen into an exhausted slumber.

Alright. Time to see what's going on. I open my eyes, register the unfamiliar tiled ceiling of a hospital, and sit up slowly, pacing myself. My chest and back ache, but it's less pain and more the dull ache of well-exercised muscles. And…

Thu-thump.

My heartbeat is...off. Almost...twinned.

Oh fuck me, what did Vinci do?

Focus, Kaneki. Figure out exactly what happened, then determine if Vinci needs to be punched in the face.

I abruptly realize I have no clothes on.

And, judging from the scent - spices, clean sweat, and a faint trace of detergent - the person sleeping in the corner is Six.

Right, so that's that question about the punch-worthiness of my captain settled, moving on.

The hospital cot's thin blanket makes for an adequate makeshift toga. I swing my legs off of the cot, and try to pad away silently…

And Six opens his eyes, sees me, and practically leaps out of his chair to tackle-hug me. I freeze for a moment at the uncharacteristic act, then carefully hug him back. He's a lot less bony than I remember, how long was I out? "Um...there, there?" I say carefully. "Was it that bad?"

Six flinches, and I loosen my grip and step away, giving him space. The taller man frowns slightly, fingers twitching. "You nearly died," he says softly.

"So, yes, then. How long have I been…?"

"Two weeks."

Oh. I glance at the chair. "Were you...here? The entire time?"

Six pauses, then shakes his head minutely.

"Good," I say. "You've been taking care of yourself, then."

Six blinks, then a small, fleeting smile flits across his lips. "I did not know what you would think. I should have expected that."

"You really should've," I say with a grin. "The only one I'm allowed to expect unreasonable things from is myself."

Six considers this for a moment, then cocks his head. "Your training schedule may require adjustment, then."

"Was that a joke?"

"Yes."

"Good job. So, what about-"

THOOM.

I blink and wave away the haze of dust. "There was a door, guys," I say wearily, before C and the Oni swarm me, Pamca snatching me up in a hug that makes me question whether my ribs are actually unbreakable.

"Don't give a shit," Eka says cheerily when Pamca finally lets me down to breathe. "Also, welcome back, Boss. What do you need?"

I blink, then scan the room, seeing only eager smiles. "Just like that, huh? I'm back on my feet and the first thing you want to know is what I want?"

Tina smiles sheepishly, the statuesque woman scratching the back of her head. "Told ya he'd be cranky."

"Shut it," Eka says without losing the smile.

"What the merry idiots failed to explain is that we have what we want," Dui says evenly, the blue-haired aristocrat dodging Eka's retaliatory lunge with practiced ease. "You're the only one who could need something at the moment...Boss."

I raise an eyebrow. "Fine, then. Your first order is to find me my god-damned clothes. I have a captain to talk to." My stomach rumbles. "Also, food, please," I add more quietly.

Six brushes past me, slipping through the press of bodies as he gives me a nod, and given how everyone else starts perching themselves wherever there's space, I guess that he's going off to get me both of those.

I perch myself on the edge of the cot, before sniffing the air and looking at C, who...yeah, he stole my sunglasses, the little shit. "You smell different," I say flatly.

"So do you, big brother," C replies. He adjusts his tie. "The captain did science to you first, and when it worked he tested it a bit and then did it to me."

"A lot's happened, the past couple weeks," Eka says quietly, leaning against a wall and scratching at his close-cropped beard. "Hospital here's part of the Center, by the way. And you got lucky, waking up when you did. Six was gonna head on back to the Ends soon."

I raise an eyebrow. "I guess that does make me lucky," I murmur. "Still, any disasters?"

"Beyond you getting some horrible weird sickness because you can't learn what not to eat?" Percy snarks, the prizefighter pacing a small section of the room. "Nah, nothing yet. Captain's been really pissed about something, though, and it isn't you getting hurt. Lasted way too long for that."

I consider everything that had me and Herman on edge in Emory, then nod. Government clusterfuck, almost certainly. Great. Well, we're probably about to burn everything down...I really, really hope Smoker and Tashigi have left by now.

I look at Chandos, who cocks his head. "Yeah?" the mustachioed ex-Marine asks.

"I know you've got dice on you, and it's not like we've got anything else to talk about that I won't be getting out of Vinci. Fancy a game?"

"Actually, how are you planning on getting information out of the captain?" Pamca asks.

I shrug. "I was planning on grabbing him by the ankle and shaking him until the secrets fall out."

"You'd probably just get a bunch of scalpels and random abominations of nature."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about the killer gerbils," Dui moans, burying his face in his hands.

"I like the gerbils," C objects.

"That's because they're afraid of you, C," Eka chides.

"So, rules?" Chandos asks as he takes out a set of cups and dice. "And what're we betting, exactly?"

"Eh, I've got no cash on me, so how about I let whoever wins get out of a sparring match?" I propose.

"Not a lot," Eka muses.

"One of the solo ones," I clarify.

"Okay, yeah, that works," the Oni leader amends. "So, Pig, then?"

"Sure."

Dice roll and rattle, and for several minutes I lose myself in the game. I fall behind on points pretty quickly, C taking the lead and the rest of the Oni falling in behind him despite their best efforts. At some point, Six ducks back in through the hole in the wall with a tray of food and a duffel bag, and I don't even look before chowing down.

Then, I pause, smelling the tension in the air as everyone stares at me. I look down at the sandwich in my hands.

The half-eaten, not-tasting-like-rotting-death-like-everything-not-flesh-always-has sandwich.

Tina's smiling, though she's trying to hide it behind her hand. Everyone else seems to be waiting on my reaction.

I swallow the mouthful of food, keeping my breathing and expression controlled. "Huh," I say neutrally. "I guess I really do need to talk to the Captain."

The tension visibly deflates, and Eka accepts a large wad of cash from a clearly annoyed Chandos.

"One day you're going to learn to stop taking bets from him," Dui chides.

"Same day you give up wine, dandy," the sabre-user growls.

I smile at Six. "Thank you," I say softly. "For the food."

The cook nods, then hands me the duffel bag. "You should probably get dressed, Kaneki," he says softly. "And I am glad you're happy."

I take a deep breath, keeping a lid on things a little longer. "I...I think I need a moment, guys," I ask quietly.

Everyone pauses for a moment, before glances pass between them all and they leave silently, leaving me alone in the room.

I take several deep breaths, restraining the urge to run after them shouting questions, the urge to laugh or cry or both, the joy and the worry I feel and everything else…

In. Out. Walls up, clothes on (and for once I'm glad the red color on the coat is dye instead of the blood I pretend it is, I don't need to find out right now whether I still have the need).

I've got a captain to talk to.


Vinci slammed a textbook's worth of notes and files down on Franz Josef's desk, and the doctor flinched.

"I have failed," Vinci said flatly, and the words burned.

"Failed? But your Augments-"

"Augments fizzle and die against a deep-rooted infection. Kaneki's only worked because his particular horrifyingly competent biology fought back enough to let the Augment take hold. Against people who have been living with these symbiotes their entire lives...not a chance." He let out a breath. "And, as you told me when we were still pretending this was a plague, symptoms are irreversible once begun. Purging their systems entirely will kill them, and altering the symbiotes themselves beyond the most crude methods is functionally impossible, because that results in their deaths as well. Apparently, my ancestor didn't consider the possibility of needing to remove them." Vinci paused. "The only real option, beyond what the Cogs have been considering...I'd need to enter the archives."

"The archives which are guarded inside and out, heavily monitored, and which you accessing will probably see you stripped of your Warlord status?" Franz Josef asked with a sigh.

Vinci grinned. "Did I ever tell you why I came to this island, doctor?"

The weaselly-looking man shook his head carefully.

"I knew something was rotten, but I didn't know what. Figured it was under the Center, but didn't know the specifics. Now, I do. It's an entire treasure trove of knowledge, every experiment the World Government's run in the biological department." Vinci leaned forwards. "If you think I'm letting the chance slip through my fingers, you are sadly mistaken."

"And helping the people of Emory?" Josef asked sharply.

"My knowledge is insufficient, as are my methods. But the little documentation you were able to smuggle out of the archives shows methods even more advanced than my own work were created fifty years ago. The only reason they aren't currently in use the world over is because the World Government locked the research away. And the archives are huge. There has to be something I can use in there, some buried creation that is even more advanced, that even you don't have access to." Vinci paced Josef's office, hands folded behind his back. "A counter-organism, a method of altering the symbiotes without destroying them, even a way to safely purge them - something that was never considered because the applications in this scenario weren't thought of. Something."

"And what do you get out of it?" Franz Josef asked, folding his hands.

"You don't trust me? After begging for my help?" Vinci asked.

"After two weeks of committing what some will no doubt call treason to aid you, I trust you to have a reason for this and a plan," Franz Josef replied, glasses flashing. "So what do you gain?"

"Well, if this works...beyond the simple pleasure of breaking a problem five decades old and getting to rub in my cousin's face that I managed to solve something he thought impossible to...I want knowledge, doctor. And it's all under my feet. All I need from you is a way inside." Vinci smiled, and turned away, picking up his scythe from where he'd leaned it against the doorframe. "Don't keep me waiting."

"Captain."

Vinci snapped his head to the right, staring down the hall at the unmistakable form of Kaneki, on his feet and moving towards him.

Oh. Well. Prices were going to be paid, he supposed. At least he was awake, but Vinci dearly wished Six or the Oni had seen fit to tell him that.

"We need to talk," the ghoul continued, gaze steady.

Vinci nodded. Time to take his lumps. "Not here," he said, glancing down the hallway and moving to another doorway. He wrenched it open. "Come on, in here."

Kaneki glanced at it dubiously. "That's a closet, captain."

"And?"

Kaneki rolled his eyes - had he noticed the change there yet? - but complied, stepping into the closet. Vinci followed him.

It was not a comfortable fit. Neither of them were exactly small by the standards of normal humans, and Vinci's head brushed the ceiling. Kaneki glared up at him, arms folded in a vain attempt to preserve personal space. "So now that we're in the closet together, are you finally willing to talk?"

Vinci couldn't meet the man's eyes. "I…I'm sorry."

"Wait, what."

The words were difficult to get out, but they needed to be said. "I...I used the Demon's Heart on you without consent, I allowed my cousin to take samples from you in exchange for keeping you alive, I violated about a dozen of my own rules, and…"

Kaneki hugged him, and Vinci froze.

"So you kept me alive," the ghoul said simply.

"Yes, but-"

"But nothing. You kept me alive, you made it so I can eat regular food again, and you didn't even have to murder anyone I like to do it. So thank you, and stop feeling fucking sorry for yourself," Kaneki said, letting go and stepping back as best the limited space allowed.

Vinci's mouth worked for a moment. "...since when are you a hugger?" he finally asked.

"Since I don't have to worry about my instincts deciding to take over and make me want to munch on people, you prick."

"That sounds more like a psychosomatic thing than…"

"Hush, let me remain committed to my role as the tormented monster."

Vinci let out a shaky laugh. "So you're not mad? Even about…"

"Well, I'm pissed at your cousin for taking advantage of the situation, but he was on the murder list anyway after what he did to Elisha. We do still have the plan intact, right?"

"I gave Jack the details, but…" Vinci paused, then gave Kaneki the quickest possible explanation of what was going on in Emory. The sudden spike in ambient temperature was not surprising in the slightest.

"So, slaughter is gonna happen," Kaneki growled, eyes practically glowing. "Wonderful."

"Might not even need to," Vinci said. "Just show your face and they'll surrender. Particularly since…" He paused.

Kaneki narrowed his eyes. "Since what, Vinci?"

"Have you gazed at a mirror recently?"

"I - No, what the fuck did you do?"

Vinci handed him a small hand mirror, and Kaneki looked into it, facing his new eyes. Slit-pupiled, red on black, and unchanging. Demon's eyes, for someone with a heart to match.

"Huh," Kaneki said briefly, before handing the mirror back. "Got an extra pair of sunglasses in that coat?"

Vinci wordlessly handed him a pair, identical to the ones he'd previously had, and the ex-ghoul took them before running his hands through his brown hair - scruffier now, but still the same sharp-peaked, cropped-sided thing it'd been before he'd been changed. "Right," Kaneki said. "Gonna talk to Jack then. See what I've got to do." He grinned viciously. "Wade in their blood, captain."

He clapped Vinci on the shoulder, and then left him alone in the closet, walking off and humming tunelessly under his breath.

Oh, thank science. Vinci hadn't slept in three days, but he was fairly certain that he hadn't just monumentally screwed up and doomed them all.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Eh, even if he had, Jack would probably fix it. Or Kaneki would murder the problem. It was fine.


Jack was happy that Kaneki was up and about, and apparently raring for a fight. Truly.

However, he had a strong feeling his headache had returned the exact moment the first mate had woken up, and the way Kaneki was staring at him through the blank lenses of his sunglasses while Jack organized the various spread-out detachments of the crew that were setting up throughout the five towers of the Center (and still trickling in over the rail line, because moving too many people at once was bound to arouse suspicion) made Jack wonder just what the...was he even a ghoul anymore?...wanted.

At least the Hunt had already gotten their warnings and their orders about the oncoming clusterfuck that would happen in the next couple of hours, and had made their own preparations. One less problem for Jack to solve.

"Right," Jack said, as he closed the connection on the large transponder snail sitting on his fold-out desk, glaring at where Kaneki was leaning against the wall of the empty room Jack had claimed as a base of operations (after the Fae and the Cogs had ensured nobody would be listening in, obviously). "What do you want?"

"The Oni and Six have been assigned to the Ends."

Jack sighed. "The Wraiths can take care of the battleships at dock, but there's always two on patrol near the waters themselves. If we want to make a clean getaway, those need to go, and planting charges on a ship at sea and full of Marines on alert is something very, very different from doing the same to empty ones. So the Oni need to be a breach squad, they're the best heavy hitters who aren't going to draw attention like the rest of us when this kicks off."

"You're assuming that the Marines are immediately going to know when we breach the archives, then," Kaneki said. "And come loaded for bear."

"Anyone with a bounty and a fancy name is here," Jack said with a nod. "We want their eyes on us."

"Hm. The security forces here?"

"We're planning to keep them tied up as long as possible. Horus is currently sleeping off enough anesthetic to keep down an Emperor."

"You drugged him?"

"I'd rather not have you be upset he got killed in the fighting."

"Hrmph." Kaneki didn't disagree, though.

"As for the rest," Jack said. "We've got enough people spread throughout the towers that taking out the scientists who got handed some of the captain's research should be pretty easy. We're ignoring the 'Prevention' half, they're legitimate, but everyone in the 'Research' labs are on the target list." Franz Josef hadn't been happy about that, but had been somewhat mollified when Jack had produced reports detailing some of the less horrific things being cooked up in there. Well, not so much 'mollified' as 'had to be restrained by three of the Wolves while cursing at the top of his lungs', but Jack was just glad the man had stopped interfering in the planning after that.

The benefits of torturing lock codes out of Marines were many, it seemed.

"And Six?" Kaneki asked carefully, and Jack hid the urge to smile at how much of an effort Kaneki was clearly making to be unemotional.

"I think keeping Six as far away from the fight as possible is a good idea," Jack replied. "He's been training even harder since you got hurt, but...he's not someone I want in the thick of things."

Kaneki nodded. "So once things kick off?"

"All of the officers, the captain, the doctor, and everyone's bodyguard clubs, save yours, take the elevators down and breach the archives. There's three in the central spire, we won't find much resistance once we get in beyond some custodian. Get in, take whatever looks useful for the Captain or the Cogs, take your tunnel out and link up with the Ends. We'll have to carry the Devil Fruit users through the water but everyone's strong enough to handle that fairly easily. Get back on board, sail for better horizons, and lay low for long enough that the World Government gets distracted by bigger problems like whatever Straw Hat does next. Oh, Enies Lobby went down pretty much like you said a few days ago, by the way."

Kaneki smiled. It was not a pleasant expression. "Well. I almost feel pity for Spandam."

"Does he even deserve it, given what you said about him?"

"That's why I said almost. So what about-"

Puru puru puru puru-

Jack glanced at the transponder snail that, thanks to some Cog-derived modifications to its rig, was listening in on Marine communications.

"This is a general announcement to all Marine personnel and Center security personnel. You are to arrest any and all members of the Nightmare crew immediately and detain them until further notice. All officers of the Nightmare crew are to be brought to Arlen Marine Base once captured."

The snail fell silent, and Jack met Kaneki's eyes. The ghoul nodded, and bolted out the door, wings already bursting free from his back.

Jack picked up the central transponder snail linked to all the baby ones carried by each detachment of Nightmares. The connection opened, and Jack smiled as he picked up his hammer with his other hand. "Bosun to all Nightmares. Execute Plan Charlie Foxtrot."

Gunfire sounded from all directions.