Grand Voyage- Log 100

Log 100: The Deathwatch Executives
“About time,” the first of the Executives, and the closest to Khan, spoke.

The conference room was fully lit, exposing its occupants without the slightest bit of secrecy, as well as the massive table they were all seated around. The one who had spoken was a rather tall man with pasty-colored skin and effeminate features, with splayed out white hair. As he spoke, he placed the tips of his dainty fingers together.

“About time?” Khan asked, careful to keep a majority of him still in shadow as he took his own seat at the head of the table.

“We’ve been waiting awhile,” said a much more gruff voice, this time coming from a highly muscular man with heavily tanned skin. He was wearing a variety of robes, in particular a rather scarf-like garment covering his mouth, “it’s a joy to hear that we can finally move ahead on this project.”

“I’m more concerned about what you mentioned before that,” said a somewhat shapely woman with long and flowing black hair, as well as odd, purple, ‘tear’ tattoos arcing down her cheeks, “would you mind elaborating on these ants?”

“Who the hell cares?!” a somewhat lanky man with wild black hair and a variety of scars and bandages on his body yawned, stretching back and nearly knocking his own chair over, “we’ll just take ‘em out in the end, right? They’re ants, right?”

“Ants they may be,” chirped a rather small boy who was sitting cross-legged on his own chair, wearing what almost looked like clown makeup, “but ants can be real pains when they want to, right?”

“Minny has a point!” guffawed a rather buff man wearing an orange and blue jumpsuit, with a glorious pompadour.

“The boss also stated that they could be heading here,” a woman in a bird-like outfit also chipped in.

“SO WE KILL ‘EM!” a very muscular man wearing rather primitive clothing, complete with a headset with a set of horns, growled, smashing his fists into the table.

As the group gathered began to break into their own separate conversations over the topic, Khan leaned back slightly, lifting up one of his fingers. Then, as the noise reached a fever pitch, he brought the finger back down, softly, onto the tabletop. As soon as it landed, a small shockwave seemed to roll over the group and the area, causing the Executives to shudder, breaking off their conversations and becoming rather docile.

“...Now,” Khan resumed after the Executives had fully recovered, “since I’ve managed to reacquire your attention, as fleeting as it may be, I propose two courses of action for us to take against these ants, should they arrive here: First, we allow them to explore the island a bit. It will show them what exactly we’re capable of, and hopefully give them pause. Second, we will prepare something of a welcoming party for them. I’ll lead the charge, and will most likely do all the work. If all of these go according to plan, then we should be able to drive them off the island without too much fuss. Is this agreeable to you all?”

There was another few moments of silence, as the Executives all took in their leader’s words.

“...Well,” the white-haired man answered, “you’ve never lead us wrong before in this sort of thing.”

“I agree with Shiroe!” the muscular man in the jumpsuit added, “if you say that it will work, it will work!”

“It does seem like a plan that will work decently in our favor,” the black-haired woman with the tear tattoos observed, lifting up a small cup of tea and taking a long sip, “especially if you lead the charge.”

“Boss is always right...” the primitive man grumbled in consent.

“Kyahahahahahahaha!” the small one laughed, clapping his hands, clothed in gloves too large for him, “this is gonna be really fun, isn’t it, Khan-sama?!”

“Naturally,” Khan answered, “and with that settled, I ask that you all get to your stations and direct your troops in the construction of Memitim. For a changed, and better world.”

And with that, the former Shichibukai exited the room with the same amount of speed and suddenness with which he had entered it, the doors closing softly behind him...

“I-I don’t think I like this feeling...” Kagome observed as she leaned on the edge of the crow’s nest, staring out into the increasingly rough waters ahead of them.

“It’s okay Kagome-tan!” Sid called up to her, “we’ve navigated waters worse than this before! You should’ve seen how bad it was when we first entered the-”

“N-no, not that, Sid-s-san,” Kagome interrupted, “I’m not t-talking about the sea... It’s just... the direction we’re going... it feels like I know this route.”

“Eh?” Sid asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s not the only one getting a bad feeling,” Stormy added as she perched her elbows on the Shooting Star’s railing, gripping her shoulders and shivering slightly, “it feels like we’re heading straight into the dragon’s mouth.”

“Well, we have been fighting these guys ever since we entered the Grand Line,” Pura answered, walking up beside the doctor, hand on the hilt of Yamiryuu, “this is the first time we’ll be confronting them head on, isn’t it?”

“At least we’re finally getting them out of the way!” Knave laughed from his position on the deck, “once we get rid of these guys, we can start sailing regularly again.”

“Gao!” Gopher agreed, jumping into the air near his captain.

“...I’ve actually seen this weather before,” Mercuia observed, looking up at the snowflakes that were now beginning to fall all around them.

“NOW YOU SEE SOMETHING OLD?!” the rest of the crew gaped at her.

“So, how far are we from the island?” D’Artagnan asked Sid, having recovered from the shock first.

Sid glanced down at the Eternal Pose they had found on Blitzkrieg, placed right next to his ordinary Log Pose. “About... fifteen minutes, I think. Should be coming into view any moment now.”

As they continued to sail towards Deathwatch’s base, Kagome glanced around more anxiously. Something she wasn’t entirely sure of, some instinct buried deep inside her consciousness, was telling her that she knew this route, this sea, this weather... and would know the island that they were heading towards. She dug deeper into her memories, hoping to find any clue as to what was causing the feeling...

''“Now, class,” her teacher said, rapping the small sea chart she had drawn on the blackboard with her piece of chalk, “I want you all to memorize this. The island’s elders managed to find and settle an island where we can take refuge should pirates take this island. Got it?”''

''“Umm... teacher?” Kagome asked, raising her hand.''

“Yes?”

“What exactly is the name of the island?” the young girl asked somewhat sheepishly, “it’d probably be easier to remember if I knew the name, I think...”

''The teacher sighed to herself, closing her eyes as she did so in a bemused manner, then looked up again. “Alright, Kagome,” she answered, “I’ll tell you. The island’s name is-”''

“Alright, it’s there!” Sid cried, pointing! The rest of the crew seemed to turn as one, all locking eyes on what lay before them, Kagome included.

It was a decently large island, and due to its status of being a winter area, was covered in a massive amount of snow. A couple of small mountains had sprung up around the base of two large mountains, and lying between these was a massive construct, more like a control tower than any other kind of building. And perched between the peaks of the two mountains was... a massive airship.

Huge in frame and wide in girth, the craft was supported by two massive wings arching out from either side, as well as what appeared to be a massive engine making up most of its bottom half. It was the same matte black as the control tower below it, but there were a variety of windows... as well as massive black holes on the sides of it, clearly for storing, or were already storing, a variety of currently unknown items.

Clustered at the base of both the control tower and the massive airship where a variety of huts and small villages that they comprised, all with the vague black shadows of faraway people hustling and bustling about.

It had changed by an incredible amount since Kagome had first seen pictures and drawings of the island, but the same gut feeling that had warned her earlier was screaming now, repeating the name of the island over and over, despite the fact that it was already well-ingrained in her own mind and memories...

“Himalau Island...” she whispered to herself, her voice filling with shock and terror.

Crossing the island was a huge pain in the ass.

At least, that was the only thought Sirius allowed to go through his head as he marched towards the series of small villages around the airship itself. He hadn’t been back at base for the better part of 2 years, but it hadn’t changed that much. Well, the overall completion level of the airship had, but besides that all was were he remembered it.

The bounty hunter steeled his will, and continued to plunge forward, as snow continued to swirl around him...

The Marimo Pirates had a slightly easier time of it, Sid having decided to go around the island from their current location, so as to reach the villages and the control tower much easier than if they had landed where they had initially arrived. Doing such a thing would have lead to them making a massive trek, that no one in the crew was sure they had time for.

And so, the Shooting Star made its way around the island, and finally docked near the shore, a mere mile from the nearest establishment. The Marimos leaped off the deck, all hitting the shore rather smoothly, and began walking towards the village.

“So, this is your home, Kagome-chan?” Pura asked, looking up at the massive control tower and airship.

“Y-yes,” Kagome stuttered, now trembling violently as she gripped her shoulders tightly, “I-I never thought that they’d come here...”

“They destroyed your island and then enslaved your friends and family?” Art asked, gritting his teeth slightly, “bastards.”

Sid simply stayed grimly silent, walking carefully near the head of the group. Knave, on the other hand, had a relatively neutral, if not borderline happy expression, as he continued to walk forward.

“The hell’s with that face?” Stormy asked, walking near him.

“Well,” Knave said, “I dunno. The fact that we’re not only going to be kicking their asses, but also helping Kagome a bit more makes me happy, I guess.”

Stormy sighed, allowing a small smile. “I guess we all feel the same way,” she said softly. Knave grinned as he continued to move forward.

After a few minutes of walking, the pirates finally reached the village, and they found themselves largely ignored. The inhabitants continued walking about, performing a variety of unknown tasks or simply milling around, all of them having their gazes fixed totally on the ground when they weren’t looking at whatever their task was.

So, they stood in the center of the village, unable to do much except watch the people continue on their way. Kagome stood in the center, taking it all in and beginning to tear up. “...Everyone...” she started.

Knave decided to take action at this, stepping forward and delivering a swift kick to the large black package an older man was carrying around! The senior let out a cry, dropping to his knees as the package flew through the air, before smashing into a nearby wall and sliding down to the ground. Knave landed from his kick, tucking his hands back in his pockets. “You guys could be a bit more hospitable, y’know,” the marimo lad grumbled, poking out his lips in one direction in a manner similar to a duckface.

“M-my humbles a-apologies,” the old man stuttered, desperately trying to get to his feet without much success, “I-I just-”

Before he could finish, however, Kagome let out a gasp! The young girl rushed to the old man, quickly jumping on him and hugging him around the neck, the tears flowing freely now.

“EH?!” the crew gasped at her actions.

“K-Kagome-chan, are you okay?” Mercuia asked, sweat dropping slightly.

“I-I-I!” Kagome hiccuped, now crying freely, “I-I didn’t e-expect to see you here, grandpa!”

“GRANDPA?!”

~End of Log~

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