"Ah…we meet again Lieutenant…" the Emperor at last said after finishing his examination of Len's Marine officer's costume "…or should I say…FORMER Captain Pirate Leonard Fis Rendish the Ironade Butcher!" It was followed by gasps and whispers from the spectators as they found out that 'Lieutenant Hank' is actually one of the most wanted rookie and warrior from Iron, North Blue 'Leonard Fis Rendish'. A guy that everybody thought has been dead for years when the infamous barbarian Pirate crew reportedly perished, swallowed by a giant tsunami in a great battle against the then newbie Whitebeard crew.
Damn he remembers me
"So you ate it?" Shiki said raising his eyebrow, this guy's always been stupid but he never knew he's this stupid by stealing and consuming his devil fruit. He's undoubtedly got unresolved issues with this guy, this lowlife has killed several of his prized subordinates so imagine how upset he was when he found out that he'd not been among the dead back in the island but now here he is looking as healthy as ever, standing with that smug smile of his in front of him for him and him only to kill and suddenly he found his thirst for avenging his fallen comrades has been greatly reduced. He only dared to do this because he thinks he got power over me. He purposefully made his new-found DF fruit power as his bargaining chip out of this doomed Marine ship, he's quite smart for a stupid guy.
"It's intriguing that a ruthless man like you, is willing to give himself up for these petty civilians" Shiki said, still with that ambiguous smirk on his face. Len knew this guy hasn't made up his mind yet but he better be because under that gaze of his he's afraid his bravado act is going to fall apart soon. If he could see it for just a second, he and his son are done for. That's what makes a Pirate like Shiki stand on a whole different level than others, people like him know when they're being lied to, they just have to if they want to remain at the top.
"It's not them Shiki, it's my hunger for power…I am done beating your lowlife lieutenants over and over again I want to move on to the big fish…killing you is a start, the effect haven't set in yet, so I don't know what it might be, but if it has, you'll be the first to know I assure you" He tried to say it as if he really was the one stupid enough to eat it and seeing how honest of a man he is, it took a lot of effort.
Despite the storm it was relatively quiet at the moment. With Shiki stroking his beard appraising Len. It's all in his hands now like it's always is. It's a difficult choice he's facing right now and he wants to make sure he's got the best of both.
"Alright then I believe you" Shiki stopped stroking his beard while Len still with his cool act to disguise his relief "what are you waiting for? Off you go then!" the Emperor gave a pat on Len's shoulder. Len felt something powerful pulling on his shirt and before he could do anything he already found himself plunging to the raging sea below dropping face first into the dark cold water.
"Oops! Me and my silly power again!" onboard of the Marine ship Shiki's mood seems to have lightened up a bit, the exclamation was followed by laughter from his crews. He did it on purpose of course to check if the 'Lieutenant' has really consumed the devil fruit or not. "I want the divers team looking out for him down there" then he gestured for the rest of his crews to watch the surrounding water for any sign of Len resurfacing while he himself still deeply in thought.
Shiki knew he was gambling here, if the guy really ate it there's a big chance he'd drown along with his power, if he lied he'd get one of the strongest and worthy rookies the opportunity could provide him, but still that means he had lied to him and the Marine still get to have the fruit though they won't survive Calm Belt nor will they survive in New World even without him intervening…so there's got to be some kind of punishment for his lie, Shiki thought. He figures he could use that guy's strength and mastery of haki in his planned coercion of a certain pirate Captain into joining his quest against the world but what would his crews' reaction be if he employed a guy who's decimated countless of their friends as one of his right hand men? Damn, this is confusing; being a leader he's got to decide fairly for everybody! Maybe he should pass his role to Indigo instead? No. Bad idea. Well his crews did say that he could never think straight in his 'rage streak', maybe he should get some rest first. But then, what's he going to do about the Marines? He just doesn't like it when the Marine gets their way like that, stealing his hard-earned devil fruit, possibly to give it to some weakling and make it turn against him or his friends, he can't let that happen as long as there's a 0.00001 chance of them surviving the Calm Belt, not when the possibility of preventing or even retaking it is still within his reach. Well if I can't have it then no one can!
His crew was right he can't think right with all this…rage and exhaustion, he's already spent from the days-long war, today just this day he's going to let fate decides for him. For now he could live with 0.00001 chance.
"Alright I'm done for the day" it was responded by a disbelieving look from everybody onboard the ship. The poor civilians couldn't believe that the Emperor would just let them go like that, but either way they're really grateful and started cheering amidst secretly "Cap'n go on steady now, from what I seen from up here a hail storm is nearing" Shiki said as he climbed back to his ship and motioned for his crews to continue to look out for Len. As the Marine ship wobbled away, the massive ship was still visible on the horizon, steadily floating a little over the ocean like an island…fishing something out of the water…
Later on the ship
The doctor rushed from one dismembered body to another as he frantically tried to search for any sign of live from the earlier massacre. He'd also dispatched everything who can walk to help the survivors as best as they could. Damn it, they didn't call Shiki 'killing machine' for nothing! The doctor thought as he learned how precise and effective Shiki's attacks are from the wounds of the bodies. All the stab wounds never missed an inch from his target's hearts or arteries, lessening the doctor's hope for any survivor. Suddenly he heard the sound of someone sobbing; with his hope restored he quickly went to the source of the cry to find none other than Ravlos on the floor with a bloody lifeless body of what he figured as his friend on his lap. Both of his hands on his friend's chest trying in vain to put pressure on his friend's wound.
"Let me check" the doctor kneeled down to check for any pulse without waiting for Ravlos' response for good measure. Both men knew with a wound like that and the blood stained clothes it was too late for Ravlos' buddy. In fact it's been too late since the second Shiki's anti-gravity blade pierced through his buddy's heart like it was a thin piece of paper.
"HE GOT MY FRIENDS! I SWEAR I'M GONNA WIPE EVERY LAST STINKING PIRATE OUT OF THE SEA EVEN IF IT COSTS ME MY LIFE!" Ravlos wiped his nose with his bloody arm while trying to calm himself, his eyes still full of anguish and rage stared at the sun rise beyond. The two guys just sat there among their fallen comrades on the middle of the deck, silently. The doctor knew all too well how the feeling of losing one's friend felt. It's one of the crucial steps of building a powerful Marine soldier. He's realized this the hard way a long time ago and for now the best response is just to cry it all away.
2 days later…
Sounds of people arguing and whispering in the background from the upper deck woke the doctor from his short sleep. The storm is still raging outside so what are those people doing up there? Are they crazy? Is Shiki coming back? Did he realize that he's been fooled? No, if he had the ship along with the rest of the crews would have been in the bottom of the sea by now. No he's not the problem, Len did a terrific job, that guy…which means there's another problem…great…just great, just what I need. Talking about problem, he needs to feed the late guy's son now that he's under the doc's care.
Lazily, the doctor got up from his comfortable hammock, shrugging his back before putting on his rounded glasses before his tired watery sleepy eyes, his battered shoes and found that the kid's still wide asleep beside him in a makeshift hammock made out of his thin blanket. For a kid who's trapped in a doomed voyage to hell with a bunch of strangers he sure is quiet! Let's see if there's milk in the canteen. There the doctor went, not bothering to put on his blood stained lab coat or comb his wild black hair like usual which leaves him with his ragged black trousers a size too small for him and his signature faded crimson and black 'punk' striped t-shirt.
"Hey anybody got milk?" the doctor opened the door toward the upper deck. Only to be ignored by the crowds who seemed to be occupied with something else. Figuring that they probably couldn't hear him in this raging storm he approached the commotion with his one of his hands protecting his face from the strong gust of wind.
"We need to go back! This is suicide!" were some of the yells that the doctor could make out, spewed forth from the mouth of the bewildered civilians at the frustrated captain on the bridge.
"We won't survive Calm Belt!" yelled another survivor
"I'd rather be back on that island with Shiki's goons than be eaten alive by sea monsters!" shouted another frantic voice, followed by nods of approval from everybody. "Shiki might be a monster, but he and his goons aren't THE monster!"
"If you got any functioning log pose then please be my guest! Because as long as you're in my ship, you follow by MY rules" blared the Captain in a rare act of authority, already knowing that nobody got any, knowing fully well that they think they wouldn't need to since these people trusted the Marines to bring them out of safety only to be met with a shocking news that the only way to safety is by them having to go through another kind of hell. Well, they didn't know that this wasn't in any part of the Marine's plan…it wasn't supposed to go this way but it did…The Pirates were so strong it annihilated most of their battleships along with the Vice Admirals and other Marines including the Cipher pol agents. The Marines had greatly underestimated the strength of the flying Pirates who had somehow managed to bring almost every Pirate in New World into their fold. The Marines thought it was impossible for anybody to tame these pirates of New World but he, Shiki the Golden Lion disproved that.
"You don't understand, we can never go back, the New World is not safe anymore with the Golden Lion Pirates stronger than ever and the absence of authorities, it's only a matter of time before they destroy another island and then another, we have to get out of here while we can! This is our only way out" the Captain tried to reason with the nervous civilians below.
"BUT if you want to go back out there then I'd be glad to provide you with some lifeboats, I'll even give you this only log pose I have since I won't be needing them anymore" he gestured to his navigator to take off the log pose from his wrist. Feeling that he, at the very least, owe his passengers the right to choose their way to die.
Some men stood forward, a man large burly man grabbed the log pose and proceeded with his group to get a lifeboat and some food.
Realizing that the time has come to give them some sliver of hope, the doctor came forward "If I could please get your intention!" The doctor stepped in while clapping his hands to, well…get attention
He fished something out of his pocket and showed it to everybody on the deck "Do you know what this thing is? This bracelet is made of pure sea stone, before Len gave himself up for the safety of all of us he told me about one possible way to cross the Calm Belt safely" his raspy voice untarnished by the huge rain storm while holding the aforementioned stone bracelet. It was loud enough to gain the attention of the men who were previously busy opening the tarp of one of the lifeboats.
"Take something made of sea stone close to you, it'll radiate something that makes the sea monsters stay away from you, you do that you're safe, that's all what he said to me" reminiscing the scene he had with the late Len. It was fast, he didn't even fully get the answer when he asked him as to where did he get such an idea. As from his looks he can't be a scientist or a genius for that matter. But he better be right, it was the deal, he give the doc a way out of this predicament the doc will make sure his baby's safe in his care. When asked how in the hell could he trust a guy he just barely knew he just casually said that he got a good instinct. It was either him or Ravlos, but figuring that the guy had a whole live ahead of him in Enies Lobby he said he's the better choice to take care of his child. What a guy…
"How's that supposed to work?!" one of the guys who were unraveling the lifeboat asked, approaching the whispering crowd once more.
"I don't know but you've got to trust me on this! Just do it fast if you want to live, Calm Belt won't be far now and we have to quickly abandon ship as there won't be enough sea stone to protect the whole corner of the ship!"
Seconds later the crowd quickly dissipates, some guys still continued to grab some lifeboats while the other ran frantically to grab some sea stone. It's not surprising. Though reputedly rare, sea stone bracelets are actually the 'hip' accessory to wear in New World. It's not just hip, legend has it that it could negate fruit users' ability. Well this is going to add to the dozens of other rumors regarding the ability of the so-called 'magical stone'. That is if any one of us survives to tell the tale.
"Hey just out of curiosity, if this plan does not work, what's our chance of getting out of Calm Belt?" asked the doctor as quiet as possible as to not make the crowds go back to their hopeless state.
"Hmm…2 out of ten maybe, never more" the Captain said as a matter of factly. If the deck hadn't been so loud with people running and shouting around the Captain would have heard the doc's gulp.
"Some folks who don't have sea stones, I have one in my quarter, for the rest of you…my aide's going to lead you to the armory where you can grab some sea stone made cuffs…just don't put it around the both of your wrists or you'll be handcuffed for real heheh" said the limping Captain as he went back to his quarter.
"What about you?" the doctor asked as he followed the Captain into his quarter. The quarter is quite big and lofty too, in his 2 years working in this ship he rarely goes in here as the Captain usually mingle with others in the canteen or 'the longue', he was surprised at how soundproofed the room was aside from the occasional sound from the dangling chandelier above. The desk on the far side of the room is filled with paperwork, one of those paper is a wanted poster for one 'Mikio Itoo'. There's a large red oriental carpet on the floor, aside from the general map of New World with various dots and lines strewn across the map, a large painting of a woman with regal pose and elegant pink low-cut dress are hung across a set of windows with classical facade displaying the storm outside. There are some tall bookshelves behind his desk storing the Captain's expedition journals and collections. The Captain surely is a man of knowledge.
"Heh?" The Captain just turned his head to take a glimpse at the doctor.
"Aren't you going to grab some for yourself?" to which the Captain laughed "my job is done here doctor…I've lost most of my men…and soon I'm going to lose my one best nakama, one that I've been working on since I was only a deckhand…" He said as he ran his hand gently across the quarter's wall.
"While you doctor…" he said as he continued his walk toward the safe in the corner of the room "you still have that kid you have to take care of, a kid of a hero, another casualty of this bloodbath that I've failed to do anything about…it's your duty now" The Captain said as he opened the lock of his safe and limped outside to give some of his sea stone supplies. Some of it was quite unique. A sword with the handle adorned with sea stone ornaments, guns with sea stone tip and a square handcuff. What kind of hand is expected to go in there? The doctor thought.
"You're a fine man Captain, I wish I'd known you sooner" The doctor said as the Captain passed him by, the Captain only replied with a nod.
A quarter hour later the edge of the black storm could be seen, the edge of the Grand Line…Calm Belt. For the naked eyes the straight line of the border could clearly be seen, black, raging sea from their side and calm, sparkling, blue water beyond the line. Spanning from the edge of horizon to the other, the Calm Belt divided the Grand Line from the rest of the sea, dividing its cloud, wind, storm and the sea current itself. Over there where the sunlight reaches even to the deepest trench of the sea and the still sparkling water begs to be explored is said to be the gate to the 'other side' itself where every journey and dreams end. It's the way out, the only way out of Grand Line's wilderness they said. For Grand Line Pirates this is the inevitable.
On the Marine ship
"Alright this is it people! Lower the lifeboats and prepare the sea stones, remember! Keep them in the water where the sea monsters can sense them!" yelled the doctor as he helped a group of survivors on to their lifeboat. The Marines anticipating for the Calm Belt went aloft to set the sails.
"Report Captain! We managed to get hold of Vice Admiral Andreas and 2 other ships, we've informed them about the sea stone possibility" said his aide after saluting him.
"I've checked everywhere like you requested, all civilians aside from those who chose to stay are aboard the lifeboats Sir!"
"Good work Master Chief Petty Officer Nyasa, now you and the rest of the Marines go with this last lifeboat" the Captain motioned them to one lifeboat which is still tied to the main ship.
"You should go first Sir" said his aide
"Nay, I believe at a situation like this…the Captain should be the last to leave" with that the Marines understood, it's that silly 'code of conduct' again, despite the life and death situation the Captain still holds the ancient sailors' deeply rooted 'code of conduct'. They could never understand such silly code as it's against human's most basic instinct, instinct to survive, to live. But then that means there's nothing anyone can do to budge him so they relented and started to climb down one by one, the last being the doctor with Len's baby. The baby's been crying since he woke up, he's tried everything but to no avail. He just hoped that he got enough milk onboard the lifeboat.
"There's no way I'm getting you out of this is there?" The Captain just smiled while placing both of his hands on the doctor's shoulders.
"Goodbye doctor, raise him well will you" the bearded Captain patted his shoulders.
As the doctor and the baby reached the bobbing lifeboat below the Marines started to shout for their Captain, shouting that it was his turn but the Captain just looked from above, from his ship and with a blade cut the rope in one swing.
"CAPTAIN WHAT ARE YOU DOINN'?!" the aide shouted even louder followed by the rest of the Marines and also an amplified cry from Leo, as the boat parted from the ship. The Captain just saluted them for one last time from the bow of the ship, put his hand down and turned his back. The battleship's getting smaller and smaller in the horizon even though nobody bothered to row, even though there was no wind, it's as if something had made it impossible to go back.
Then suddenly there were swarms of sea monsters and serpentine sea kings seen swimming smoothly with their huge fins and slick skin beneath the water around the ship, a large pink sea king that looks like an eel with an afro started the attack by striking the ship from the port side, as a result woods and ship parts flew everywhere while the ship tilted to the left. Then everybody could only watch as another sea king jumped the ship and crushed the deck, making it split in two as it went, sinking it effectively. A loud grating voice could be heard overlapping the sea kings' howls as both parts of the now destroyed ship got pulled down into the depth of the sea by the sheer force of the monsters. Then giant tentacles could be seen rising from the sea wrapping itself around the masts, entangling them and any parts of the ship still floating above the surface and forcefully pulled them down. A loud dull sound followed by a huge splash of water was produced as the giant mast gave in to the pressure and broke the water surface. It took a lot of effort for the trembling Marines to not just let the seat stone go and cover their faces wishing that it was all just a dream. Then just as soon as it started, it ended, the ship has disappeared from the surface, with only tiny ripples and bubbles coming from below marking the spot where a giant battleship just less than a minute ago sailed strong among the wide calm sea. There was no longer any sign of battleship or sea kings in the area. Everything's gone and the sea stone did its job.
Some of the lifeboats survived the sea and 5 days later a rescue ship would come to their rescue. While it's a little too late for some, the Marines, some civilians, the doctor and the very healthy baby Leo got rescued.
In an island somewhere in North Blue, the doctor sat on a warm white sandy beach still in the same costume he wore the day he left the ship. The people that have made it to the North Blue are now quarantined for identity checks and treatments of injuries. Meanwhile the doctor sat there with a now calm blond baby on his arms, stroking its silky velvety hair while looking at the wide horizon spread before him, a smile at the corner of his thin lips. He's made it. They both made it. He's never felt so grateful before in his life and this is all thanks to him. Now he remembers it clearly.
**days ago**
"Wait, before I go in keep this safe" Len said, taking off the bracelet that's been adorning his wrist since forever.
"What's this for? Where did you get this sea-stone bracelet?"
"I got this off some scientist kid in a winter island somewhere, he's a genius, said sea-stone radiate something that could do something to the sea monsters…keep this submerged for full effect…but remember the stone only covers limited area, so you need to get on the smaller lifeboat for this to work…and listen, all of this is for your word…" Len said as he put on the bracelet on the doc's wrist, now it looks out of place with the bracelet dangling from the doc's wrist, clearly it's made for bigger arm.
"My word?" the doc turned his head back toward the giant
"Your word that you'll be keeping my son safe"
And it's a wrap for the three chapters long prologue!
Hope you enjoy it