Dawn rose with the color of blood, spreading over the horizon and painting the clouds a mix of red and orange. In effect, the sun's first light shone on Marineford, casting a glimmer from the salt-stricken walls battered by the sea.
Surrounding the Crescent Island were Marine ships, gently ebbing up and down as waves passed underneath them. The port was busy today; orders from the higher-ups demanded full preparedness.
The Marines understood that something might've happened, if only from the grave expression on Admiral Kizaru's face as he set off with ten battleships. It spoke volumes about why they were on high alert.
Up the high fortress, in a large meeting room that could hold discussions for dozens of personnel, a meeting had been ongoing since last night.
The room was long and painted white, with visible long beams of wood supporting the structure through the walls. Several Vice Admirals, such as Momonga, Garp, Tsuru, and Gion, were seated on high blue sofas flanking the length of the space.
At the head of the quarter sat Sengoku, hands placed on top of the desk, looking at two projected screens. One showed a desolate land, hundreds of meters of circular impact took up most of the projection, and on the fringes, it showed Marine soldiers, many of them wounded, erecting platforms to drag up heavy cannons.
The second screen showed a different scene. In it was a large crowd of people along a long street with various houses and shops. They stared in disbelief at a meteor streaking through the sky, and as it dipped toward them, panic immediately spread.
"It's falling! It's falling!"
"Look, it changed its course. It's falling on the island!"
Horrified shouts rang out, hurried footsteps echoed, and mothers embraced their children as they ran.
"TO THE SHORE! RUN TO THE SHORE!"
The Marine holding the Den Den Mushi shouted, then, without hesitation, dropped the snail and ran for his life. The video continued showing the events until, a minute later, a blinding light spread out, annihilating everything in its path.
Once the video ended, Sengoku looked at the Marine soldier, who hurriedly changed to another snail.
"This is what we're dealing with!" Sengoku said gravely while pointing at the tens-of-meters-long horrifying creature. It had an insectoid appearance, a giant skeletal head with long pincers, and a long body seemingly composed of a spine with masses of rocks and glowing precious stones that ended with a long, forked tail made of star debris. It walked on six limbs, with human-like bony hands and four pale insect wings atop its back.
"What's this?" Garp asked, staring at the horrifying open mouth of the creature.
"We... don't know." Sengoku sighed. No one had any knowledge about this creature, and it most likely didn't belong to their world.
The static image changed, and the creature moved. It spread open its pincers, then an aura of light gathered at the center, quickly growing in size. It lowered its head and fired a beam that traversed kilometers in an instant, aimed at the Marine ships firing the cannons.
BOOM A huge explosion, a white screen, followed by nothing.
"It annihilated three battleships that were two kilometers off the shore, which means this creature is aggressive and dangerous," Sengoku continued.
"And the stationed Marines there?"
Sengoku glared at the projection with hatred. "Dead..."
"How did it fire that beam?" Tsuru asked.
"I don't think it's a Devil Fruit ability—most likely something similar to the fire-breathing dragons of legend," Momonga replied.
Garp, unlike his usual uncaring attitude, sat with his hands crossed, looking grim. His heart burned with rage; countless civilians and Marines lost their lives overnight, and the culprit was that abomination of a creature.
"Can it swim?" he asked, his voice laden with seriousness and anger.
"So far, no," Sengoku replied, then pointed to the next video, which showed the creature digging and squeezing its enormous body through the gap it had created.
"The creature hid itself inside a hole. It showed no further movement, and our soldiers didn't dare approach it... So far, we are in a stalemate."
"When will Kizaru arrive?" Tsuru asked.
Sengoku leaned in his chair, thought for a moment, then answered, "A week at most. Even with the battleships sailing at top speed, it'll take some time to arrive from Marineford."
"Let's just hope that Kizaru will be able to take care of it," he continued.
"It looks extremely strong," Garp said. The devastation that followed its attack was still fresh in his mind; it reminded him of the world's strongest creature, Kaido of the Beasts.
"Kizaru should be able to handle it," Sengoku replied, exhaling a long breath as he watched the live broadcast.
'Let's just hope everything will be alright.'
"What fills your mind, Captain?"
"Nothing... I'm emptying all unnecessary thoughts before the battle."
"Hmm, just like how swordsmen sharpen their blades, then."
"You could see it that way. I wield no sword, but my mind needs to be as sharp."
"Have you heard of the land of Wano, Alexander?" Alarin asked.
"Yes, my father has been there before," Alexander replied, sitting atop the palace roof overlooking the vast sea.
Alarin looked surprised. "Really? Then your father must've traveled a lot."
"That he did, Alarin, that he did." Alexander chuckled.
Alarin looked at his captain for a few seconds, wondering why he laughed.
"Wano is a closed country, Alexander. Few manage to land there. However, I've read that their samurai would write a poem before going into battle, and most of the time it was when they sensed death."
"Haha, are you saying I'm going to die, Alarin?" Alexander laughed.
"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. Your preparations reminded me of that, that's all."
Alexander stopped laughing, then looked at Alarin with a smile.
"But, it's true... I might die..."
"What do you mean?" Alarin's head snapped to Alexander, alarm written on his face.
A few seconds passed with no reply from Alexander as he calmly looked at the sea.
"Who are we facing, Captain? You never told us whom we are going to fight." Grim-faced, he stood before Alexander, demanding an answer.
"It's not your fight, friend, nor anyone else's. It's mine alone."
"Then why are you going if you know the risk?" Alarin gritted his teeth, unwilling to see the death of the one who freed him after all those years.
"Because that thing is hunting me, Alarin. It'll search for me from island to island, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake."
"What is it, Captain? If only you could tell us, we could help..." A hint of anger and desperation flashed across his face. He couldn't stand still—Alexander might not have realized it, but he was the only one anchoring him to a reality that had bestowed upon him nothing but tragedy.
Noticing the emotion in his crewmate's voice, Alexander stood up, patted his shoulder, and smiled slightly.
"You've seen it. It passed over our heads a few days ago."
Alarin's eyes widened. "You mean the meteorite?"
"Yes."
A look of realization flashed across Alarin's face as he looked at Alexander.
"So that's why you've been searching for news about where it fell days ago."
"Besides Hancock, you're the second to know this." He patted Alarin's shoulder and strode past him. When he reached the edge of the roof, he turned and flashed a bright smile at his crewmate.
"I said I might die, but that only means there's a risk involved... before everything, I'm a warrior. That's who I am and who I'll always be... my blood boils with expectation."
He turned back and looked down. "Come, we're close to arriving."
Alarin stood rooted, his captain's words resonating deeply with him.
'What about me? Am I just a pirate?'
He looked thoughtfully at Alexander's broad back as he jumped down. A second later, Alarin smiled and followed him.
"Hancock!" She heard her husband's call but didn't turn around, even after hearing his footsteps approaching.
Alexander didn't call again. He pulled a chair from the table at which she was sitting and looked at the loads of food piled up in front of him.
"Are these for me?" he asked.
"Yes, you should eat," she replied, a hint of sulking in her voice.
"Are you still angry?"
"I'M NOT!!" she shouted, looking him in the eye. There was a struggle, worry in the way she looked at him.
"Why won't you let me help you?"
"Hancock, it's not your fight. That thing is coming for me alone," he tried to explain, regretting even telling her about the Malformed Star.
Hancock's eyes reddened, on the verge of tears. "Why is it coming for you, then? You can at least tell me that…"
Alexander scratched his head. This was a difficult question. "I don't know how to explain it, Hancock…"
He looked at her hesitantly for a second, then spoke. "I have a friend, a very strong friend, in a distant land... He's long gone from this world, but the meteorite was searching for him. And when it couldn't find him, it switched its attention to me, his friend."
He felt ashamed for lying to his wife, but some things had to be taken to the grave. It was better for everyone. The reaction of those he held dear, upon learning what he once was, was a nightmare he didn't wish to witness.
Hancock stared silently at Alexander. There was some truth mixed with lies in his words, and she was smart enough to notice the struggle in his eyes.
"I may not interfere with your battle, but I'll be there," she finally relented. Her heart always won over her brain when it came to Alexander. That was how she was and how she'd always be.
"Good then. All of our crew should be there," he said, holding her arm.
Hancock smiled at his touch. "Eat. I prepared this much for you. I don't want you to go hungry."
"Gladly."
Alexander smiled as he dove into the food like a starved beast.
Thirty minutes later.
"Captain."
Sabine and Cosmos rushed to where Alexander and Hancock were sitting, the table long and spread, with Alexander taking a small nap on Hancock's lap.
"Hmm, what's the matter?" he asked without opening his eyes, enjoying the soft caress passing through his hair.
"We've arrived," Sabine said, feeling uncertain about the captain's meteorite pursuit.
Golden eyes snapped open, staring at a moonlit blue sky. No words were uttered; everything was conveyed through a long stare.
Alexander got up, followed by Hancock, and they walked to the forecastle deck. The sun was already past its zenith with no clouds in sight.
But Dalness Island was overcast with dark clouds the color of night.
One by one, his crew gathered as they approached the island. When they were four kilometers from the shore, they were able to see a few Marine battleships in a blockade formation a kilometer from them.
"Oh, I didn't think they'd be here..." Alexander said, eyeing one of the ships.
"Who?" Axe, Sabine, and Andretta looked warily at the battleships. They had never been in the presence of this many Marines at once—only with Alexander did they experience this.
"The ones who beat you up," Alarin calmly replied.
"They didn't beat me!" Andretta refuted, though the two beside her remained silent.
"Push through at maximum speed."
"Right away, Captain."
On the Marine battleships.
"Vice Admiral, it's the Kuja Pirates!" a captain reported.
Vice Admiral Onigumo, who had a pale look on his face, turned and saw the rapidly approaching six ships led by Perfume Yuda.
"DAMN IT, WHY CAN'T THEY JUST DISAPPEAR FROM MY SIGHT!!" He felt disgusted, the pain of his cut hands still fresh in his mind.
"What should we do, Captain?"
Onigumo stood silently for a moment, assessing his chances with all the additional ships. The Kuja seemed to advance without caring about their presence.
"Don't move the ships, but let them pass. I hope they die to that monster. Notify the other ships."
"Yes, sir." The soldier saluted and ran off.
"Ah!" Onigumo sighed deeply. Letting them do as they pleased hurt even more than his injuries, but he knew a lost battle when he saw one.
Perfume Yuda.
"No reaction?" Hancock raised an eyebrow in surprise as the Marines allowed them to pass unimpeded.
Alexander shrugged. "What can they do when you alone could turn their entire fleet to stone?"
"You have a point," she chuckled as the ship passed Onigumo's battleship.
Hancock stared at the man, then smirked. Onigumo gnashed his teeth, barely holding himself back from ordering the cannons to fire.
"They're afraid," commented Alarin, his eyes eerily glowing green.
Andretta looked at him, noticing how he was trembling slightly. "They know the consequences of their actions. Non-mutual aggression is better for everyone."
They soon passed the Marine ships and arrived at the ruined docks. Alexander ordered everyone to stay on the ships except for himself, Hancock, the three captains, and Alarin.
Alexander walked in silence amidst the destruction. He could still recognize the remnants of a once-prosperous city as he trod on the rubble.
Crack!
He stopped when he heard the sound of something breaking. He lifted his leg and moved the stone he had stepped on. An ashen arm, torn and crusted with blood from various wounds, greeted his sight. A moment later, he closed his eyes and sighed.
He felt partially guilty about what had happened to this island, even though he had never intended for it to occur. But still, it happened because of him.
They moved on.
No one spoke as they slowly navigated through the rubble. Along the way, they passed a few Marine outposts loaded with heavy cannons. The soldiers stationed there looked at them in fear as they passed, but no one obstructed their way.
A few minutes later, they were able to see the edge of the crater.
"Everyone should stop here," Alexander ordered and marched forward without looking back.
"Be careful!" the sweet, trembling voice of Hancock called from behind him.
"I will," he replied.
"What's the captain doing here?" Sabine asked. Until now, they didn't understand why their captain had sailed here.
"You'll see soon enough," Alarin replied, clutching his cutlass tightly.
Alexander reached the edge of the crater and looked at the epicenter of the impact for a few seconds. He could feel it—the creature was nesting below.
"COME OUT!" A strange language, unfamiliar to everyone, came from Alexander.
A moment passed in silence, and then rocks began levitating.
"What's this?" Andretta asked in shock as dozens of large rocks rose into the air.
BOOM!
A giant, long, bony arm burst out from the rubble and slammed hard into the ground.
'A… scent… Usurper… of … order…'
A broken voice spoke, akin to thousands of cicadas screeching at once.
"Ahh, what's this!!" Axe screamed, feeling as if the screeching was inside his head. He lifted his eyes to check on his captain, but then the bony arm pushed against the ground.
BOOM!
The earth tore apart as a giant, human-like skeletal head burst out, its mandible wide open, lunging for Alexander.
'DIE!'