Chapter 13: The Baratie and the Cursed Mask Arrival at the Floating Restaurant
The Baratie appeared on the horizon. A huge ship transformed into a restaurant, with extravagant decorations and a luminous sign visible for miles.
"WOOOOAH!" exclaimed Luffy, his eyes shining. "IT'S HUGE!"
"I can smell the good food from here!" added Usopp.
Walter, still perched on my shoulder, pricked up his ears and sniffed the air. He squeaked with excitement.
"Calm down," I murmured. "We're going to eat, I promise."
But something was bothering me.
"System, the Iron Fist isn't here?"
[CONFIRMATION: DON KRIEG HAS NOT ARRIVED YET] [ESTIMATED DELAY: 2-4 HOURS]
"Strange. In the anime, he arrives before us, right?"
[FATE HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY DISTURBED] [YOUR PRESENCE IS MODIFYING THE TIMELINE]
"Good. That gives me time to watch Nami."
[RECOMMENDATION: CONSTANT SURVEILLANCE] [SHE WILL ATTEMPT TO STEAL THE GOING MERRY]
"I know."
We docked and boarded the Baratie. The interior was... luxurious. Elegant tables, white tablecloths, silver cutlery. A real high-end restaurant.
A man in a black suit approached – the maître d'.
"Welcome to the Baratie! How many people?"
"Six!" announced Luffy. "We're starving!"
The maître d' counted. "One... two... three... four... five... and a rabbit?"
"Walter is part of the crew!" declared Luffy proudly.
"A... pirate rabbit?" The maître d' blinked. "Very well. This way."
The Cook with Flaming Legs
We were seated at a large table. A few minutes later, a blond waiter with a cigarette in his mouth approached.
Sanji.
His eyes scanned the table, then fixed on Nami.
His expression changed instantly.
"MADEMOISELLE!" He practically threw himself to his knees before her, pulling out a rose from nowhere. "You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen! Allow me to offer you the meal of your dreams!"
Nami blinked, surprised. "Uh... thank you?"
"ANYTHING YOU WANT! FREE!"
He turned to us, his expression becoming cold again. "You others, you pay."
"Hey!" protested Usopp. "Why do we pay and not her?!"
"Because she's a goddess, and you're just regular guys."
I pulled a gold coin from my pocket. "No problem. We can pay."
Sanji looked at the coin, his eyes widening slightly. "Pure gold?"
"I have my sources."
"Very well. What do you want to eat?"
"EVERYTHING!" yelled Luffy.
"Same," added Walter with a squeak.
Sanji stared at the rabbit. "The... the rabbit just answered?"
"Yeah. He's special."
"This restaurant is getting weirder and weirder..."
The Contest
Thirty minutes later, the table was covered with dishes. Meat, fish, pasta, vegetables, soups, desserts... a feast fit for a king.
Luffy and Walter looked at each other.
Then they smiled – well, Walter did what looked like a smile.
"LET'S HAVE A CONTEST!" declared Luffy.
"LUFFY, NO!" cried Nami.
Too late.
They began to devour. Plate after plate. Dish after dish. At a mind-boggling speed.
"MORE MEAT!" yelled Luffy.
Walter squeaked in agreement.
The Baratie's cooks watched the scene, horrified and fascinated.
"They... they're eating for thirty people..." stammered one of them.
"And the rabbit is eating AS MUCH as the boy!" added another.
Sanji observed with a mixture of admiration and despair. "Where does it all go?!"
Finally, after an hour of culinary carnage, Luffy and Walter collapsed.
Their bellies were so swollen they looked like balloons. They literally rolled on the floor, unable to move.
"I... I won..." groaned Luffy.
Walter squeaked weakly. "No... me..."
"Tie," decreed Zoro.
I looked at Walter who was already sleeping, snoring softly. "Alright. To bed, little guy."
I summoned the Foundation door – under the surprised looks of the restaurant's customers – and carried Walter inside.
"What was that?!" asked a customer.
"A magic door!" answered Luffy cheerfully.
I placed Walter in his cell – which he would probably leave in a few hours – and returned to the restaurant.
Gin and Krieg's Arrival
When I returned, the atmosphere had changed.
A man collapsed near the entrance. Thin. Starving. Half dead.
Gin. Krieg's subordinate.
Sanji brought him a meal without hesitation, ignoring the other cooks' protests.
"Everyone deserves to eat," he said simply.
Gin devoured the food, tears in his eyes. "Thank you... thank you so much..."
Luffy looked at him with interest. "Who are you?"
"I... my name is Gin. I'm a member of Don Krieg's crew."
"The Iron Fist?" Zoro straightened up.
"Yeah. Our fleet was destroyed... by one man. A single man. He annihilated us all."
"Who?" asked Usopp, nervous.
"Dracule... Mihawk..."
Silence fell.
Gin finished his meal, thanked Sanji once more, and left.
Luffy turned to Sanji. "Hey! Join our crew!"
"No."
"COME ON! We need a cook!"
"I said no."
"WHY?!"
"Because I owe a debt to the old man. I can't leave."
While they were talking, I noticed something.
Nami was discreetly getting up and heading for the exit.
"She's going to the ship," I murmured.
[CONFIRMATION: SHE IS ATTEMPTING TO STEAL THE GOING MERRY]
I followed her silently.
Surveillance and Dilemma
I climbed aboard the Going Merry just after Nami. She was checking the sails, preparing to depart.
"Going somewhere?" I asked.
She jumped. "Marc?! What are you doing here?!"
"Watching you. Were you planning to steal our ship?"
She stared at me, then sighed. "Look, it's complicated. I have... obligations."
"Arlong."
Her eyes widened. "How do you...?"
"I have my sources. And I know you want to protect your village."
"Then you understand why I have to leave."
"No. Because you can't beat him alone."
"I HAVE TO TRY!"
Before I could respond, a huge noise echoed.
BOOM!
A massive ship – dilapidated, half-sunk – crashed violently against the Baratie.
Don Krieg's flagship.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
[ALERT: ANOMALY DETECTED] [DISTANCE: 50 METERS] [SCP PROBABILITY: 92%] [SOURCE: KRIEG'S SHIP]
My heart accelerated. An SCP. On Krieg's ship.
I looked at Nami, then at the ship.
Dilemma.
If I left to find the SCP, Nami would steal the ship. But if I stayed...
[RECOMMENDATION: SCP PRIORITY] [YOU CAN FIND KONOMI ARCHIPELAGO LATER]
"Damn..."
I turned to Nami. "Don't leave. Please."
"I have to..."
"TRUST ME! We'll help you!"
I jumped off the Merry and ran toward Krieg's ship.
The Cursed Mask
Don Krieg boarded the Baratie with his men. Weakened. Starving. Injured.
"Please..." he said humbly. "Feed my hundred men... we're dying of hunger..."
Sanji hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."
But as soon as the food was served, Krieg changed his attitude.
CLANG!
He struck Sanji with an armored punch, sending him flying.
"THANKS FOR THE GRUB, IDIOTS!" he roared. "NOW THIS RESTAURANT IS MINE!"
His men stood up, weapons in hand.
That's when the water exploded.
A small boat. A cross-shaped candle. And a man.
Dracule Mihawk.
"You..." growled Krieg. "YOU!"
Mihawk drew his sword – huge, black, magnificent – and swung it with a casual gesture.
SLASH!
Krieg's ship split in two. Literally.
"What... WHAT?!" yelled Krieg.
Zoro stepped forward, three swords ready. "I challenge you."
Mihawk looked at him. "You are brave. Or stupid."
The fight began. Short. Brutal. Mihawk used a small knife – so as not to dishonor a weak opponent.
Zoro attacked with everything he had. But it was useless.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
Every blow was blocked. Every attack, deflected.
Finally, Mihawk switched to his main sword.
"You deserve this."
SLASH!
The blade slashed Zoro across the front. Blood spurted.
He fell backward, into the water.
"ZORO!" Johnny and Yosaku dove to save him.
Mihawk observed the swordsman who refused to die. "You have ambition. Never lose it."
Then he left.
Sanji watched the scene, in shock. "Why... why didn't he abandon his dream? He was going to die..."
Luffy clenched his fists. "Because it's his dream. And a pirate never abandons his dream."
The Mask's Theft
Krieg, furious, turned toward the Baratie. "YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"
He pulled out a weapon – a toxic gas launcher.
PSHHHHH!
A deadly green cloud spread.
"PUT ON YOUR MASKS!" yelled Krieg to his men.
He reached for his belt and grabbed his gas mask. But this wasn't an ordinary mask.
[CONFIRMATION: SCP-1499] [CLASS: SAFE] [ABILITY: DIMENSIONAL TRANSPORT] [DANGER: HOSTILE PARALLEL DIMENSION]
I froze. "Oh shit... he's going to put it on..."
Krieg placed the mask on his face.
And disappeared.
Instantly.
As if he had never existed.
Silence fell over the Baratie.
"WHAT THE... WHERE DID HE GO?!" yelled Gin, panicked.
The Baratie's chefs looked at the spot where Krieg had stood a second earlier. Empty. Just his shadow on the deck.
Luffy tilted his head, completely lost. "Huh? Where did he go?"
I calmly approached the spot, pulled out a watch from my pocket, and began whistling while checking the time.
The chefs stared at me, shocked. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"Waiting," I answered simply.
"WAITING FOR WHAT?!"
"For him to come back."
Luffy looked at me with curiosity. "Marc, where did Krieg go?"
"To another dimension. A very bad dimension."
"That's cool!"
"No. Not cool at all."
[TIME ELAPSED IN THE DIMENSION: 30 SECONDS] [ESTIMATE: HE WILL RETURN SOON]
"Step back," I said calmly to the chefs. "Everyone. Now."
"Why...?"
"STEP BACK!"
They obeyed, stepping back several meters.
Then it happened.
A mass appeared.
Not Krieg.
A MASS.
Of flesh. Bloodied. Torn. Mutilated beyond all recognition.
Pieces of yellow armor were still clinging to the raw flesh. An arm. A leg half torn off. Something that might have been a torso.
But the face... the face was the worst part.
Eyes wide open. Mouth frozen in a silent scream of agony.
The gas mask – SCP-1499 – was still on what remained of the head.
SPLATCH.
The mass collapsed on the deck, leaving a pool of blood slowly spreading.
Silence.
Then the screams.
"OH MY GOD!"
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
"IS... IS HE DEAD?!"
The restaurant's customers were vomiting overboard. The chefs were backing away, horrified. Even Sanji, usually stoic, had paled.
Gin fell to his knees. "CAPTAIN... CAPTAIN!"
Tears streamed down his face as he looked at what remained of Don Krieg. The man who had saved him. His boss. His mentor.
Reduced to... this.
Luffy watched the scene, mouth open. "Marc... what happened?"
"He put on a mask that transports to another dimension," I explained, calmly approaching the mass. "A dimension inhabited by hostile creatures. He must have lasted... what, thirty seconds? A minute maximum?"
I pulled out a plastic bag and, carefully, removed the mask from what remained of Krieg's head.
[ANOMALY CAPTURED: SCP-1499] [CLASS: SAFE] [DON KRIEG: DECEASED] [CAUSE: DEVOURED BY DIMENSIONAL ENTITIES]
I placed the mask in the bag and sealed it.
"SCP captured. Thanks for your contribution, Krieg."
I said this without emotion. Coldly. Clinically.
The chefs looked at me with horror. Not because of Krieg. Because of ME.
Because of my reaction. My calmness. My... satisfaction.
"You... you knew this was going to happen..." murmured one of them.
"Yes."
"And you let him put on that mask..."
"Yes."
"YOU MONSTER!"
I looked at him. "He was going to kill everyone here with his toxic gas. I just... accelerated the process. And recovered a dangerous object in the process."
Gin was still crying, holding a piece of yellow armor. "Captain... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Sanji approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's over. Leave. Start a new life."
Gin nodded, unable to speak.
The fight was over.
Krieg was dead.
And I had my fourth SCP.
[ANOMALY CAPTURED: SCP-1499] [CLASS: SAFE] [DON KRIEG: DECEASED (DEVOURED IN PARALLEL DIMENSION)] [ANOMALIES CAPTURED: 4/5] [PROGRESS TOWARD GUARD TEAM: 80%]
I looked at the mask in my hands. It seemed ordinary. But I knew what it could do.
"One more," I murmured.
The fight was over.
Krieg was dead.
And I was one SCP away from unlocking my guard team.
[END OF CHAPTER 13] [ANOMALIES CAPTURED: 4/???] [SCP-006: FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH (SYMBIOSIS 85%)] [SCP-005: SKELETON KEY (CONFINED)] [SCP-524: WALTER (CREW MEMBER)] [SCP-1499: GAS MASK (NEWLY CAPTURED)] [CREW: LUFFY, ZORO (INJURED), NAMI, USOPP, MARC, WALTER] [NEXT MEMBER: SANJI (PENDING)] [NEXT DESTINATION: KONOMI ARCHIPELAGO (ARLONG)] [SYMBIOSIS: 85% - NEARLY INVULNERABLE]