Chapter 1: Darkness Before the Dawn
! An uncertain future rumbled beneath the surface of the earth, and threatened to wash the world away in a tidal wave of anxiety. One of the Four Emperors, Edward Newgate, had been killed in battle with Marshall D. Teach. The son of Gold Roger, a bastard boy from the South Blue, had been executed by the World Government. A paramount war meant to extinguish the flames lit by the King of the Pirates over two decades before had only served to fan them, and pirates the world over turned their torches to the pyre. A new era of piracy was about to bring the world to its knees.
! Word of the war, of Whitebeard's death, of Blackbeard's treachery, and the World Government's humiliation radiated out from Marineford, and soon enough, no one in the four Blues was ignorant to the events of that war, least of all the people of Batelira. It had once been a sleepy town in the South Blue, and were it not for the war, it would have probably remained as such forevermore. But now, it was the epicenter of the anxiety that plagued the world, for it was the hideout where Gold Roger hid away his progeny. It would not be long before the Marines came there, looking for other traces of the Pirate King's legacy. The seas would swell any day now.
! "Does it frighten you?" Tyson asked with a toothy grin. Keo sighed, shifting his glasses, turning his attention briefly to the latest public service message to grace the tavern's Transponder Snail. It was the same message as it had been for days. Yet somehow, it felt more ominous than the day before. Keo could feel it in his gut.
! "Well, does it?" Tyson inched closer with a nasally whine. Keo tried to ignore him but Tyson persisted. "Well?"
! "You're really annoying me," Keo grunted, finally meeting his friend eye to eye. Tyson was a boy of nineteen years, with a mop of curly black hair, freckles on his cheeks and a gap between his teeth. He wore simple clothes, a loose-fitting white tee, a pair of baggy trousers, and carried himself with a slouch. He seemed more lazy than malicious, but Keo knew him to be driven and ambitious.
! The bartender, a young woman with her light blond hair in a bob, approached the boys with a pitcher of water. "You boys want some more water?"
! Tyson turned to her, wiggling his eyebrows with mischief. "Come on, Eloise, can't you give us the good stuff?"
! Eloise shot him a dark look. "How many times do I have to tell you? If I slip you something, the old man will have my job!"
! "Oh, come on," he pestered. "Keo and I aren't babies. We're pirates! Now give us some grog!"
! "If you want to get drunk, go get drunk on your ships," she replied, rapidly losing her composure.
! "Give us some grog!" Tyson sang, predictably off-key. "Grog, la, groggity grog~!"
! "Are you even listening to me?" Eloise cried. "Like I'll get fired over your lazy ass!"
! "Would you both be quiet?" Keo asked, somewhere between polite and condescending. He rubbed lifted his glasses and rubbed his temples. "You're both so annoying."
! "Look who's talking, you annoying jackass!" Eloise shot back, nearly tearing his head off in the process. "Acting all cool and composed? Let's see that cool composure tomorrow!"
! "Eloise," an older man's voice came from behind them. The trio turned to its source, the owner of the bar, who looked at them with a composed and gentle smile. "Is that any way to talk to our customers?"
! Eloise's intensity melted away with a nervous laugh. "N-no, sir. Forgive me, Mr. Kento." She bowed politely, then rushed away from the table in a hurry. Tyson couldn't help but laugh.
! "And you two," Mr. Kento's smile only seemed to grow wider. "Remind me how old you are again."
! Tyson and Keo bolted out of the tavern in a hurry. A crowd of people gathered outside, and Tyson seemed to almost steamroll into them. They reacted with scorn, but Tyson paid them no mind, as he dragged Keo by the arm toward the village square. Once they were out of danger of Mr. Kento's wrath, Tyson took a deep breath, then let out a hearty laugh.
! "Man you should have seen the look on his face!" he continued to crack himself up.
! "I did," Keo replied, deadpan. "I was there, remember?"
! Tyson's smile faded. "Hey, what crawled up your butt? Eloise was right, you have been acting a little cold lately, even for Cool Keo."
! Keo turned away from him and let out a pensive sigh. "It does."
! Tyson listened for a moment, then his face went dumb. "Uh, what does?"
! "You asked me before if it frightens me," Keo turned his gaze toward the harbor, where a Marine vessel weighed anchor.
! "You can't just answer a question fifteen minutes later like that!" Tyson shrieked. "The topic changed, you know! That's socially unacceptable and quite rude!"
! "Well, it does," Keo continued as he leaned against a lamppost in the center of town. "Especially if it means we have to leave this island."
! "Oh, right," Tyson calmed down, getting on Keo's level. "We're pirates, aren't we?"
! Keo laughed. "In name, maybe." He turned to his friend, who stood almost half a foot taller than him. "We don't even have our own ships or crews. Who would want to join one-man pirate crews?"
! "I bet if you weren't such a stick in the mud, you'd find plenty of people for your crew," Tyson smiled. "Or you could just give up and join my crew already. Make me the Pirate King."
! Keo scowled at the boy. "Yeah, right."
! "As if a little shrimp like you could ever be a Pirate King!" Tyson laughed his signature boorish laugh. "You're like a little garden gnome."
! "You wouldn't last a day on the high seas," Keo teased. "You don't even know which way the Grand Line is."
! "Well, we're in the South Blue, so obviously, it's south," Tyson huffed.
! "Pathetic," Keo said with a grin.
! The sun started to set as the boys laughed in the streets of Batelira. That was their day-to-day routine. They talked a lot about one day setting out to sea and becoming pirates, but it always felt like play. Their imaginations ran rampant. It had been like this since they were little. As they laughed, Keo recalled the day they first met.
! Keo had wanted to play pirates with some kids his age, but they mostly ignored him in favor of their other friends. He felt alone, and overlooked. But not by Tyson. Tyson was three years older than him, but just like Keo, had no friends his own age. From that day on, they became thick as thieves. Keo figured that their friendship would last forever. They'd always have days together like this one.
! As it got dark, Keo and Tyson went their separate ways, back to their own homes on the outskirts of the village. Tyson lived alone. His mother raised him, but she passed a few years before, while Keo lived with his grandfather, an inventor named Guglielmo Lodge. As Keo approached his grandfather's house, the door swung open and Lodge leaped at his grandson with a jovial ferocity, squeezing him tight between his massive arms. "Lodge to Keo, did you have a good day, over?"
! Keo pushed his grandfather away with a smile, then entered the house. Lodge followed. The home was cramped, full of equipment and wires. A sleepy transponder snail opened its eyes momentarily to greet them, then seemed to purr without making a sound. Keo put his hand on the snail's shell and rubbed it gently. "Good evening, Reigi."
! Reigi opened his eyes for a brief moment to acknowledge Keo's presence, then promptly closed them.
! "Lodge to Keo, I knew you were coming home," Lodge beamed as they approached the kitchen table, which had a simple supper of soup and a bowl of fruit at the center of the table. "I made supper, but it's not much, over."
! "It looks delicious," Keo smiled, before noticing that Lodge seemed to be waiting for something. Keo knew the drill, but indulged his grandfather anyway. "How did you know I was coming home?" he asked, almost reciting it from his memory.
! "Lodge to Keo, well, I could sense the vibrations of your heartbeat," Lodge replied, though his sounded more natural and sincere, as if they hadn't gone over this a thousand times before. "I could tell where you were because your heart thump-thumped, and it reverberated through your body. Through your feet, then through the earth, and here to me, over."
! Keo smiled, then the two men sat down for supper. It was the same supper Keo ate for a thousand days, as he steeled himself for his grandfather's next revelation.
! "Lodge to Keo!" he suddenly shouted, but didn't surprise Keo. "I forgot to tell you! I finally finished my latest invention, over!" Lodge, excitedly leapt from his chair, then rushed over to a small contraption in his pile of contraptions. It seemed to be a tape deck, with a tape docked inside of it. He excitedly turned to Reigi. "Lodge to Reigi, play Keo's messages, over."
! Keo turned to the transponder snail. It opened its mouth, then let out a shrill, familiar tone. "There are no saved messages for Keo."
! Lodge frowned. This was Keo's least favorite part. "Lodge to self, it's an answering machine. I could swear I recorded something yesterday, over." The old man looked confused, and that was Keo's cue.
! "I'm sure it was a lovely message, grandpa," Keo forced a smile as he helped his grandfather from the kitchen to the bedroom. "You look tired."
! "Lodge to Reigi, go back to manners mode, over," Lodge said to the snail, which promptly closed its eyes. Lodge then turned to Keo. "Lodge to Keo, you're getting so big. So mature, over."
! "It's thanks to you and your cooking," Keo replied with a forced laugh. He tried to fight back the tears. "I can't wait to see what you cook up tomorrow."
! Lodge put his hand against Keo's chest and gave the boy a smile. "Lodge to Keo, I love you, over."
! "I love you too, Grandpa."
! Keo put his grandfather to sleep, then shut the door behind him. He put away the leftover soup into the refrigerator, which seemed to overflow with soup. He took the older stuff out, tossed it into the garbage, then washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. He pondered to himself about how long his grandfather had left, and whether he'd remember that day for much longer. Keo tried not to think about it too hard as he put away the dishes, left Reigi a bowl of clean water and food, then went to his own bedroom. At least as long as things were like this, Keo felt like he would stay on Batelira forever. He wouldn't be able to become the pirate he longed to be.
! The next day, Keo awoke from a restful sleep and in a good mood. He rushed downstairs, careful not to wake his grandfather, and grabbed an orange from the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table. He gave Reigi a brief tap of affection, then raced outside. He could barely contain the pep in his step as he rushed over to Tyson's. He pounded on the door, only for Tyson to open it, eyes crusted over with sleep and drool fresh on his face.
! "Oh no," Tyson groaned.
! "Come on, Tyson!" Keo practically leapt in place. "Let's go to Kento's! We might find some crewmembers today! We might be able to see what those Marines are up to! I bet it's all very exciting and I can't wait to see it! Come on, come on, come on!"
! "Why can't I still be dreaming?" Tyson sighed before shutting the door. A few moments later, he emerged fully dressed–at least to Tyson's standards--and prepared for the day--also to Tyson's standards.
! "Let's go!" Keo shouted, practically dragging the other boy, who practically dozed off standing.
! "It's like you rewrote your whole character sheet or something," Tyson pouted, begrudgingly following behind.
! Keo practically burst with energy as Tyson whined behind him. "It's really annoying, you know. It's like one day, you're Cool Keo. All collected and suave, then the next, you're Hot Keo. And even I can't keep up with Hot Keo!"
! "You're really starting to sound like my grandpa," Keo smirked. "I can't help it, that's just how I am, you know!"
! As Keo hummed to himself, his cares and worries seemed to melt away. At least they did until the two boys found themselves face to face with a Marine patrol unit, five soldiers total.
! "What are you guys doing here?" Keo asked. The soldiers seemed to ignore him and move along, but Keo felt an uneasiness well up inside him. Cool Keo would have let it simmer there, but Hot Keo was going to boil over. "Hey! You can't just ignore us like that? Do you have any idea who we are?"
! "Come on, Keo," Tyson tried to hurry his friend along. "I know they're Marines, but we shouldn't pick a fight with these guys."
! Keo ignored him. "Come on! Do you know who we are?"
! The Marines frowned and looked at each other in confusion.
! "Keo, let's go," Tyson became more forceful. "You're just asking for trouble. And besides, they don't even know--"
! "We're pirates!" Keo boasted. "You're looking at the next two Emperors, don't you know?"
! "We're dead," Tyson panicked. "We're dead, we're dead, we're dead, we're dead, we're dead."
! "He's the War Captain Tyson!" Keo bellowed. "Dread pirate of the South Blue!"
! "No, I'm not," Tyson shot back, trying to diffuse the situation. "He's joking, he's kidding around. Please don't arrest us."
! "And I'm the one you should really fear," Keo raised his fists and puffed out his chest. "I'm the future Pirate King, Guglielmo Keo! And you'll never take us alive!"
! Keo then bolted off in the opposite direction. Tyson took a moment to respond, but quickly followed. "Wait for me!"
! The Marines stood there, dumbfounded.
! "Kids, huh?" one of the Marines half-chuckled.
! "Wait, did he say 'Guglielmo'?" another frowned. "You don't think..."
! "And the other kid," the first Marine caught on. "Was he...?"
! "We should tell Captain Emerson," a third Marine said before pointing to the fleeing "pirates". "And keep an eye on those two."
! Inside Kento's, Keo shouted excitedly as he chowed down on some meat. Tyson sighed, still not fully awake, as Eloise approached them.
! "Geez, it's like night and day with you two," Eloise chuckled as she took their empty plates.
! "Don't look at me," Tyson whined. "I'm supposed to be the goofy and energetic one, but he just sucks all the fun out of me."
! "I wonder," she shot him a mischievous look. "Is that the only thing he sucks out of you?"
! "Should you be asking paying customers those kinds of questions?" Tyson responded nervously.
! "Wait, are you actually planning to pay your tab this time?" she shot back.
! "More, please!" Keo cried. Eloise sighed, taking his plate.
! "Breaking news from Marine HQ," a voice suddenly came over the Transponder Snail. Keo's ears immediately picked up the broadcast. "Straw Hat Luffy, alongside former Warlord Jimbei and Gold Roger's first mate, Silvers Rayleigh, broke into Marineford earlier today, allegedly to ring the Ox Bell sixteen times in declaration of war against the World Government. If you recall, the Straw Hat was present at Marineford, and had close ties to Portgas D. Ace, who was executed alongside Whitebeard only a few weeks ago. No word yet on the World Government's response to the declaration. In other news, the pirate Blackbeard, real name Marshall D. Teach, who was responsible for the death of Whitebeard at Marineford, has been given a new bounty. Officials say the posters will go up sometime next week."
! "No way," Keo's food practically dripped from his agape mouth. "That Straw Hat..."
! Eloise looked at the boys with a solemn expression.
! "Hey, Tyson, can you meet me outside in a minute?" Eloise asked with a low voice. "I'm about to go on my smoke break."
! Tyson nodded as the bartender walked off. He turned to Keo, who was still almost in a trance.
! "I'll be right back, okay?"
! "Yeah," Keo said distantly, lost in thought. The gulf between him and the current generation of pirates was expanding day by day. With the likes of Blackbeard and Straw Hat Luffy out there, the chances of Keo becoming the next Pirate King were becoming slim to none. He turned to Tyson with a defeated look as the boy headed outside. Maybe Keo couldn't become the Pirate King, but could Tyson? Would Keo be okay with being Tyson's first mate? Would he help Tyson reach the summit instead?
! Tyson stepped outside, catching Eloise, who leaned against the side of the building, cigarette in hand. She offered a drag to Tyson, but he declined.
! "They know," she took a puff, the ashes at the end of the cigarette flickering with an eerie glow.
! "They know?" he frowned, before getting her meaning a moment lately. "Wait, you know?"
! "I've always known," Eloise replied. "But the Marines came snooping around, and they're onto you."
! "Me?" Tyson struggled to process the situation. "Am I in trouble?"
! "Who's to say?" Eloise shrugged. "But do you really expect them to believe you when you tell them it's a big misunderstanding?"
! "Not really," he shrugged. "I can't believe you know."
! "Kento told me," she sighed. "To protect you, of course."
! "Who else knows?" Tyson shot her a dark look.
! "Just me and the old man," she replied. "Does Keo?"
! Tyson shook his head. "No."
! "You know what this means, right?"
! "Yeah," turned to the bar, where he saw Keo staring off into space inside, obviously lost in his own thoughts. "I'll need a boat."
! "You've got one," Eloise smiled. "And I'm a good navigator, too. We leave on your orders, Captain."
! Tyson nodded. He turned back to Keo. Would he understand? Could he? Tyson didn't like keeping secrets from his friend, but he couldn't burden him with his darkness. Not when Keo was the dawn.
! Keo walked home quietly, deep in thought. Tyson also seemed to be lost in his own head. Keo wondered if the news had shook him too. Or if Eloise had something. They walked together in silence, the sun setting behind them as they approached the crossroads between their two homes.
! "What's the matter?" Tyson chuckled. "Did Hot Keo cool down? Did you finally give up on stealing my character sheet?"
! "As if," Keo laughed in response. "Hey, do you think... Do you think I could be the King of the Pirates?"
! Tyson turned to him with a crooked smile. "No, I don't."
! "I see," Keo sighed.
! "But you'll be the last asshole standing in my way," Tyson put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Promise me I'll see you at the top."
! Keo smiled, then put out his fist. "Nah, I'll beat you halfway there."
! The two of them shared a fistbump.
! "Hey, will you wait here a sec?" Tyson asked.
! Keo frowned. "Yeah, no problem."
! Tyson rushed home in a hurry. He wanted to make this last night he had with Keo special, something to remember. As he rushed inside of his messy and unkempt little shack, he reached into a closet, past a photograph of his mother. He pulled out a sake bottle, then rushed to a drawer in the kitchen, where he grabbed a pair of sake bowls. He ran outside, alcohol in hand. He wanted to seal their bond as brothers. However, he was surrounded on all sides by Marines. He counted eight as they pointed their bayonets at him.
! "I didn't think it was true," the head of the group said with a grunt. "But you look just like him."
! "Ouch," Tyson grunted.
! "We can't allow that bloodline to exist any longer," the Marine bellowed. "We'll execute you right here."
! A sudden groan caught their attention. To the right, one of the Marines fell to the ground unconscious. A loud striking noise filled the air as another Marine crashed into the dirt. A woman in a skin-tight black catsuit appeared before them. She was familiar, but something about her was off. Tyson got a closer look, but her face wasn't human. She had the face and claws of a cat, and a long slender tail swished behind her. She hissed at the Marines, then disappeared again. A short time later, two more Marines were down. Then another three. Finally, the leader, pointed his gun off in one direction, and he put his finger to the trigger. The cat woman appeared directly behind him.
! "Wrong," she said, then kicked him several feet into the other direction before leaping into the air. When she landed, she landed on her feet gracefully. She turned to Tyson. "Are you all right?"
! Her name was Eloise. She ate the Neko-Neko Fruit, Model: Lynx.
! "I think so," Tyson replied, before noticing her catsuit, and the way it clung tightly to every feature of her body. A little dribble of blood dripped from his nose. "Is that an appropriate work uniform?"
! "We have to go," she turned around, ignoring his perversion. "Now."
! "Hold on a minute," he waved the bottle of sake in the air.
! "You can drink on the ship," she continued to walk away.
! "But, Keo, he's waiting for--"
! "Your life is in danger, what part of that do you not understand?" she shouted. "There will be more. And as long as you're here, they won't stop coming for you. If you want to live, this is the only shot you have."
! Tyson sighed. He wanted to go back to the old days. He wanted to be the Hot Tyson to Cool Keo. The sorta-Cool Tyson to Hot Keo. He wanted to play pirates with his friend forever. He wanted to waste days staring out at the ocean. And when the day would finally come, he wanted to sail out with his best friend's ship besides his, towards the same horizon. He wanted to be alongside his brother, bonded by the sake in his grasp. "I didn't ask for this."
! "Neither did Ace," Eloise sighed. "But you play the hand you're dealt. If you want to fold, they'll send more Marines. But if you want to live, you'll come with me."
! Tyson dropped the bottle of sake to the ground. It shattered, spilling sake all over his legs. "I'm sorry, Keo," he said out loud. "You have to catch up now."
! With Eloise by his side, Tyson disappeared into the darkness.
! It was already dark and the sun was already set, but there was no sign of Tyson. Keo frowned, and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, he grew tired of waiting. It was pitch black outside, so he turned away from the crossroads, then back toward his house. A few minutes later, he arrived home, but something was off. His grandfather wasn't waiting on the other side. His heart began to race. Could his grandfather sense it? It pounded in his chest. Surely, he could feel that.
! "Grandpa!" Keo cried as he burst inside the house. His grandfather stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by Marines.
! "Lodge to Keo, why don't you head to your room, over?" Lodge stared down the Marines.
! "What's going on here?" Keo asked. "What do you want with my grandfather?"
! "Lodge to Keo. Go to your room!" Lodge practically shouted. "Over!"
! The captain of the Marines laughed. "Is this why you've given up your research, Lodge? Raising a family?"
! "Lodge to Emerson, I had to," he replied with intensity. "I'm all the boy has left, over."
! "You know it's not you we value, right?" the captain, Emerson, turned his back to the man before producing a blood-red apple from his pocket. "Just your... talents."
! "Lodge to Emerson, I've got a lot of fight left in me," the old man said with a smile. "It'll be a hundred years before you get your hands on it, over."
! Emerson walked past Keo, then approached the door frame. He placed the apple on a shelf next to the door. "I'm a patient man, and the sun has already set on you, Guglielmo D. Lodge. I'll be back to collect."
! Emerson motioned to the other soldiers, and they followed him outside of the house. Keo frowned, then looked at the apple.
! Lodge burst into laughter. "Lodge to Keo, throw that out, won't you, over?" He motioned toward the apple, still laughing heartily. "Lodge to self, it's been forever since I saw that buffoon, over."
! Keo stared at the apple, then tossed it out into the street before shutting the door.
! He turned around to his grandfather. "He called you D."
! "Lodge to Keo, that he did, over," Lodge smiled as he approached his confused grandson. "Lodge to Keo, I'm a big deal, aren't I, over?"
! "You never told me that you were a D," Keo frowned. A new thought crossed his mind. "Am I a D?"
! "Lodge to Keo, you're thinking too fast," Lodge gave his grandson a big hug. "Your heart is racing. You need to calm down, over."
! "How can I be calm?" Keo shouted. "The Marines are after you. You have a D in your name. It's all too much!"
! "Lodge to Keo, why don't you get some sleep?" Lodge brushed Keo's hair from his face. "You look exhausted. We'll talk tomorrow, over."
! "Okay," Keo sighed, then looked to Reigi.
! "Lodge to Keo!" Lodge shouted, noticing Keo's attention. "I almost forgot! I finally finished my latest invention, over!"
! "I'm really tired," Keo interrupted, more forcefully than he intended. "Tell me all about it tomorrow."
! Keo slammed the door to his room, then rushed over to his bed, fighting back the confusing thoughts in his head. At least tomorrow, Cool Keo would be able to process everything. He at least had that to look forward to. He realized he hadn't found out what was up with Tyson. As he drifted to sleep, he resolved to go see him first thing in the morning.
! Sleep was difficult, and a loud beep stirred him from his sleep, but he drifted back to sleep in fits. When he couldn't sleep any longer, the sun had yet to rise. He got out of bed slowly, made his covers nice and neat, then walked into the living area. He walked past Reigi, too distracted to notice a light flashing on the answering machine. He grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl, then took off into the twilight. He walked at a fast pace, to the crossroads that would lead him to Tyson's house. As he walked, his stomach growled with hunger. He took a bite of the fruit in his hand, and swallowed it without chewing. Big mistake.
! "Ugh, that's disgusting!" he cried, trying to spit it out. Had the fruit rotted on him? He looked down, but it didn't look rotten. Far from it. It looked like no fruit he had ever seen before. No, he had seen it before. In books. The realization came to him as a powerful buzzing filled his ears and he felt strange sensations all through his body. Keo had just eaten a Devil Fruit.
! He turned back toward the house. Why was there a Devil Fruit in his bowl of fruit? He remembered the fruit Emerson left on the shelf. Did he switch them out? A bad feeling welled up inside him. He could feel his heart beating. Thump thump. Thump thump. In the distance, he felt more, subtler vibrations. He somehow knew the rhythm of that heartbeat. "Mr. Kento's at work today," he said aloud. Wait, what? Could he sense Mr. Kento's heartbeat all the way from here?
! Keo remembered him and Tyson being dragged out of the tavern by the collars by Mr. Kento. Keo's head bumped against Kento's chest as he took them to their homes. He could hear the arrhythmic beat of Kento's stress. Here it was now, plain as day.
! "This doesn't make any sense," Keo frowned. Then listened for Tyson's heartbeat. His best friend, who he was closer than blood with. As he approached Tyson's house, he saw a broken bottle on the ground. He couldn't hear Tyson's heartbeat.
! "Tyson?" he called out. "Tyson?"
! As his own heart continued to race, a realization hit him. Why could he sense people's hearbeats after eating a Devil Fruit? Could his grandfather have been... No... He turned around, and kicked his feet off the ground, back in the direction toward his house. He rushed as fast as he could, desperate to push the thoughts back into the deepest recesses of his mind.
! "Grandpa!" he shouted as he burst through the door, hoping for the scene he had walked into the night before. Instead, he was greeted with nothing. Tears began to rush down his face as he slowly approached the bedroom door. He turned the knob and slowly open the door, which creaked in dread anticipation. Keo steeled himself as he walked into his grandfather's bedroom.
! He was half-relieved when he saw a smile on his grandfather's face, but his body was still. Guglielmo D. Lodge, the most brilliant inventor Keo had ever known, had passed away peacefully in his sleep.
! The tears came heavy now. Keo rushed to the bed, and clinged tight to the covers. "Grandpa!" he sobbed as he fell to his knees. In the other room, Reigi opened his eyes for a brief moment, the answering machine still flashing steadily.
! Captain Emerson sat in the captain's quarters of his ship, a bored look on his face. He spoke into a transponder snail's receiver as a boy in a kimono poured him some tea. "I'll send some men to check on him in a couple of days. You should have seen the old geezer. I give him a few months."
! "I want that Devil Fruit, Captain Emerson," the voice on the other end of the snail sneered with impatience. "Kill the old man if you must. Vegapunk won't be thrilled, but it'll be in the best interest of the World Government moving forward. Bring that fruit to me, now. Do you understand?"
! "Of course, Admiral Akainu," Captain Emerson rolled his eyes. This was going to be a pain in the ass.
! "Even if it is a lesser form of Whitebeard's power, the Yure-Yure Fruit falling into the wrong hands will be quite an embarrassment."
! Keo left his grandfather's room, eyes wet with tears, as he rushed to try and tell somebody about what happened. As he left, he turned to Reigi and noticed the flashing.
! "Reigi," he sniffled. "Play Keo's messages, over."
! "There is one new message and two message total," Reigi responded. "Play new message?"
! "Yes," Keo fought back and failed against another wave of tears.
! Tyson's voice played through the snail's mouth. "Hey, Keo, I don't know if your snail's going to get this message, but I'm sorry I left you hanging. I had to go. Don't worry, I'm safe. But I had to start my voyage here and now. And I'm sorry I couldn't have you there beside me. I don't blame you if you get upset, but... I will be waiting for you at the top. Catch up to me, Keo. You are my brother."
! The message stopped as Keo broke into another round of sobs. First his grandfather, and now his best friend, were all gone. He was truly alone.
! "Play old message?"
! "Huh?" Keo frowned, looking up at the snail.
! "Play old message?"
! Keo wiped the tears from his eyes. He nodded to Reigi. "Yeah"
! "Lodge to Keo," his grandfather's voice echoed over the answering machine, familiar to Keo in cadence.
! "Yeah, grandpa?" Keo laughed between tears, playing along to the recording he heard countless times before. When his grandfather's condition worsened and he couldn't bear to hear the words anymore, he changed out the tapes and hid it away. His grandfather must have found it the night before. A wave of nostalgia rushed over him as he heard his grandfather's voice possibly for the last time.
! "You're going to be the Pirate King some day. I know that's your dream, and I know you'll get there. I'll be rooting for you. I love you, my grandson. Over."
! Keo cried but to his shock the recording continued. He frowned. He had never heard these words before.
! "Lodge to Keo," his grandfather continued, the voice now much older. "Thought you could hide my tape, did you? Naughty boy."
! "What is this?" Keo asked Reigi, who just blinked at him, continuing his grandfather's message.
! "I'm sorry you've had to put up with the ramblings of a senile old man all this time. Deep down inside I knew my mind was gone. But now, in my final moments, I see it clearly. You've grown into a fine young man. I'm sorry I forgot your fourteenth birthday. And the fifteenth. And the sixteenth. That was not very cool of me. There's not much time left, but there's something you have to know. Check the fruit bowl, before the Marines come. My Devil Fruit will be there. It's what they're after. You can't let them have it. Sink it to the bottom of the ocean if you have to. Just keep it out of that bastard Sakazuki's hands. I can't believe Whitebeard is gone. And Roger's boy too. I remember them all like it was yesterday. Well, for me, it might as well have been. Dementia joke, yohoho!"
! Keo frowned. It was too late to get rid of the Devil Fruit.
! "One last thing: I left a ship for you. Take it as soon as you can, and don't look back. If they know I've died and you have my Devil Fruit, they'll come for you, with the weight of the entire World Government. They know the danger you possess, but they won't let the world know it even exists. You'll be fighting a very private war. But you won't lose to them. You are Guglielmo D. Keo, the next Pirate King. Go now, my grandson. And don't eat the damn Devil Fruit. Over."
! Keo took it all in. This was some kind of dream. It was too surreal. Something was amiss. But yet, it all happened so fast. Why wasn't he excited as he knew he would be when this day would come? Oh, right. Today, he was Cool Keo. All he could do was get up and get ready. After packing a few important things into a bag, he open the front door and stepped out into the unknown dawn.
! The boy in the kimono watched wordlessly as Captain Emerson strategized with his men. He stepped out onto the deck of the captain's vessel, as silent as he could be.
! "I didn't think you'd show up, big sister," he said as he approached a young woman with long purple hair and a sword at her hip, wearing a long yellow kimono. He slipped her a piece of paper. "This is strictly under the table of course."
! "Don't think because you're my little brother, that makes me a Marine lapdog," the woman replied coldly, taking the slip of paper.
! "You and I both know the bigger things in motion," the boy smiled. "I trust you won't fail, Suzume."
! She looked at the paper. "Killing a kid is cold, even for you, Maruhana."
! "Lord Emerson wouldn't approve of it," Maruhana gave his sister an eerie smile. "But I know that kid ate the fruit. I saw him leave at first light. A power like that, the only thing that will counteract it is a silent assassin. Can you do it, big sister?"
! She smirked. A second later, she was behind him with her sword to his throat. "Can? Yes. But as for if I will, that's a matter of bounty."
! "I knew you'd come through, big sister."