Grandline
The hull of the sea ship cut through the choppy waves of the Grandline.
"You're standing in my light, you long-fingered freak," Pin Joker spat as he was nursing a fresh tear in his bandages. He sat on a crate and sharpened his sword.
Needles looked at Pin Joker. He stood like a statue near the railing. His hooked claws caught the pale sunlight. "Maybe if you spent more time looking at the enemy instead of your own reflection, you wouldn't be covered in more bandages than a mummy," he said. "You're a liability, Joker," he added.
"Liability?" Pin Joker roared as he lunged to his feet. "I was the one taking the brunt of them," he added. "You were busy playing tag," he added.
"Enough," Gasparde's voice boomed from the bridge. He walked down the steps with a Transponder Snail in his hand.
"Where did you get that?" Pin Joker questioned.
"Back from home," Gasparade responded. He thought back to Enies Lobby when they stole a lot from the Marines.
"The Marine frequencies are screaming," Gasparde said. "I've been listening to chatter for the last few days," he said. He paused and said," The World Government is moving assets. Admirals, vice admirals, rear admirals are all gathering." He added, "There will be something big happening."
Eldoraggo, had been daydreaming while leaning against the mainmast. He snapped his head up. "Big? How big? Does 'big' mean they're moving the tribute gold? Are the Heavenly Gold transports nearby?" he asked.
Kuro didn't even look at him. He stood at the bow. He pushed his glasses up with the heel of his palm. "The world is changing, Eldoraggo," he said. "The balance of the Powers is shifting," he added.
"The Yonko will be coming soon," Gasparde added, his smile turning predatory. "When the Marines scramble like this, they are preparing for him," he said. "And I have an idea," he said.
"What idea?" Pin Joker questioned.
"Information sells better than spice or silk. We have the frequencies and the layouts. We could pass this information to them for the right price," Gasparade added.
"Information like that, it would give us resources to build something," Kuro murmured.
"And money," Eldoraggo cackled. His eyes glinted with a feverish light. "And money means gold. Mountains of it. Gold bars, gold coins, gold teeth," he added.
"Messing with the Yonko means death," Morgan growled as his heavy axe-arm rested on the railing. He looked at Gasparde with a grim, hollow expression. "We're playing with fire that could incinerate you before you knew what even hit you," he added.
Gasparde let out a cold, dry chuckle. "He already has one foot in the grave and going there means certain death," he remarked.
"There is something there," Needles shouted as he pointed off the starboard bow.
A plume of thick, oily black smoke rose from the water.
"What is that?" Pin Joker questioned.
"It must be gold," Eldoraggo remarked as he stepped forward.
"It could be a trap," Morgan said as he looked in the distance. He rubbed the sharp axe in the palm of his hand.
"Lets go and see it," Kuro said as he touched his glasses.
The ship sailed closer and they saw mangled, blackened sheets of reinforced steel and hissing steam. It was the wreckage.
"What is that thing?" Pin Joker asked as he looked at the crushed metal.
"Pull it in," Gasparde commanded.
Needles lashed out with a weighted line. He snagged a large, semi-intact metal pod. There was copper wiring and burnt alloy. With a heave, he hauled the heavy wreckage onto the deck. The metal groaned. It was still radiating a faint, unnatural heat.
Needles used his claws to pry open a jagged seam in the pod. With a shriek of tearing iron, the hatch fell away.
Inside, curled in a ball amidst sparking wires, was a man. He was scorched. His clothes were in tatters. He was coughing up grey soot.
Gasparde stepped over the man. His shadow loomed large. "Who are you? What was this thing?" he questioned.
The man looked up. His eyes were wide with a primal, soul-deep terror. He reached out with a trembling hand
Needles showed his weapon. Gasparade raised his hand.
"I won't die, not like the others," he said as he coughed blood.
Kuro knelt down. His eyes narrowed behind his spectacles. He noted the quality of the tech in the wreckage. "How did you get here?" he questioned.
"And who did this to you?" Pin Joker asked as he saw the man was bleeding.
The man's voice was a broken whisper. "Ben," he said.
The air on the ship turned ice-cold. The bickering stopped. Eldoraggo's greed vanished. Morgan's hand tightened on his axe. Even Pin Joker lowered his sword.
Gasparde looked at Kuro, then back at the shivering survivor. He reached down and hauled the man up by his collar. "Take him to the galley," Gasparde ordered. "We need to have a chat. A long one," he added.
Clockwork Island
Meanwhile, in the air inside the ClockWork lab hummed with the high-frequency whine of active processors. There were row after rows of sleek monitors which cast a cool, blue glow over the various brass-rimmed dial. It had a tangled nest of wires that snaked across the floor. In the center of the room, there were massive cylindrical incubation tanks. It was filled with a viscous, glowing emerald fluid.
Emma stepped up to the primary console. The blueprint for the new project crinkled in her hand. "Mrs Sumi, we are ready," Emma remarked.
"Everything looks fine," Sumi replied as she scanned the instruments. "Put it in," she added.
"Yes Mrs Sumi," Emma responded as she fed the paper into the machine's intake slot. The device made a rhythmic whirring sound as it swallowed the document, and a moment later, a brilliant green light pulsed from the crown of the machine.
At that moment, a heavy compressor above the central tank slammed into life. The liquid inside began to churn violently. There were great bubbles rising from the depths as the chemical composition shifted at a molecular level.
"It's starting," Sumi whispered as her eyes widened with anticipation.
They moved closer. They saw the emerald fluid began to drain rapidly through the floor grates which revealed the figure that had been forming within.
As the last of the liquid cleared, the glass hissed open. A figure stepped out of the steam. She was tall and slender. Her long, wavy white hair cascaded over her shoulders. She had dark, curved horns swept back from her forehead, and a pair of small, obsidian bat-wings twitched tentatively on her back.
She adjusted her open, fur-trimmed beige trench coat. The ornate brown belt cinched her waist as she took her first breath of the lab's recycled air. She had a thin, heart-tipped tail flicked behind her black trousers.
Emma stepped forward. She adjusted her glasses as she looked over her. "Vital signs are optimal," she said.
Sumi circled NO. with a grin. "She looks incredible, what is your name?" she questioned.
"I am NO," NO replied as she smiled. She looked at the two scientists. Her expression remained neutral and professional. "Thank you both," she added.
Sumi smiled. "Work husband said it would be better to head over to the Partia Lab," she suggested.
"There is the pink substance which allows for the Devil Fruit integration for you there," Emma added.
nodded once. "Understood. I will go there and then to My Excellency," she said as she flexed her wings. With a powerful snap of leathery membrane, she took to the air.
Sumi and Emma looked at her. "She already had the upgrades," Emma remarked.
Sumi smiled. "Excellency," she teased. "They come with the most unique ones," she said.
East Blue
The roar of the Miss Love Maxima's engines flew through the sky and came down. Amelia and Isla stood on the bridge. "It is amazing this ship can pretty much pilot herself," Isla remarked.
"Yes, it came back all the way here and can go anywhere," Amelia added. "Our Captain is an amazing person," she remarked.
Isla nodded. They flew for a few hours. The massive, high-tech vessel then came down. It hovered just above the edge of the island.
Amelia adjusted the strap of her satchel. She looked around beside her at Isla.
"This island is abandoned," Isla remarked.
"Yes there are no natives," Amelia added.
"It should make our lives easier," Isla replied.
"In theory," Amelia said. They headed straight for a nondescript structure built into the side of a gilded cliff.
There, they found a pristine white lift door. It looked out of place against the rugged terrain. It was clean and high-tech. The doors slid open in the presence of them.
"Mrs Sumi did mention, it knows," Isla said.
"How?" Amelia asked.
"Maybe sensor," Isla replied.
The interior revealed walls of polished steel and aluminum
Isla stepped inside first. Her boots clicked on the metal floor. She looked at the minimalist control panel. There were only two buttons: "G" and "D."
"You know which button to press?" Isla said as she glanced at Amelia.
Amelia smirked. "Mrs Sumi mentioned D," Amelia responded.
Isla pressed the button and lift dropped with a silent, high-speed whine. They stood there for a few minutes until they arrived. The doors parted and they saw a sprawling, abandoned laboratory.
The scale of it was staggering. They saw high-powered microscopes, and strange, brass-rimmed cooling units sat on long tables littered with yellowing papers and complex schematics.
"Look at the tech in here," Amelia whispered.
"It is just like the other lab," Isla replied as she moved to the center of the room, where a massive circular table held a variety of specialized scientific equipment. In the center sat a heavy-duty terminal.
She flicked the power toggle. The hum of a cooling fan kicked in, and the screen flickered to life.
"Amelia, look," Isla called out as she looked at the loading screen on the monitor. "It is like the one back on ClockWork Island," she added. She saw the exact same rotating encryption logo and interface.
"It's a synchronized network," Amelia realised. "Captain, Ben mentioned to start work on the Mecha-O-Zilla," she added.
"Mrs Sumi said it was important," Isla said as she opened her bag and picked up the blueprint and inserted it into the machine. The lights flickered at that moment. There were loud sounds of sawing and hammering and wielding.
"It has started," Amelia said.