A Survivor's Duty

**Users Involved:** User:Ash9876,
**Setting:** Takamagahara,
**Characters Involved:** Ernest, Quar Antine, Mono Clens, Ilkum, Han D. Cuff, Batna, Crodile Tear, X Marks, Ambrosius Amrita

## Leaping into Agony

Marineford, now known colloquially as Takamagahara, was the new headquarters for the Marines situated in the sky. It was a far greater establishment than what they accomplished over fifty years ago in the Battle of Marineford. It was fortified from all angles, their new Border Patrol existed at every exit, and there were plenty of Marines specialized in ensuring that no Pirates could come anywhere close to Takamagahara without being completely crippled.

One of those Marines, and their leader, was Rear Admiral Quar Antine. Her codename was Kokuguma, and she is often referred to by those who cross her as the "Enclosing Hand." Her grip is said to paralyze even giants. She was on the front lines today, compared to most days, and yawned as the day was fairly uneventful. Most days seemed to be like this, unless Pirates made some big moves.

She did notice a certain figure passing by her, however. He wasn't wearing an official Marine coat, which kept her on-guard. As she raised her hand, Antine completely saw the man for a brief moment. Her vision was stunned and could hardly keep up. Before a thought could even occur on what she'd say, he passed by.

In complete silence, he deafened Antine with his speed. He had left the boundary of Takamagahara before Antine could even process what occurred. By the time she went after him, he was completely out of sight.

"How..." Antine thought to herself. Although her voice was low, it shook in concern and fear. "I have never seen Admiral Ernest move like that..." Antine remembered one of Ernest's training sessions that he would occasionally do for newer Marines. The entirety of the Marine force knew how fast he could move. None could match him.

Yet somehow, what he just did felt...different. Compared to the harmless training he would conduct with others, Ernest's movements were...*purposeful*. He was not running away, but he was running *towards* something.

"I have to report this!" Antine shook her head and gripped her left arm tightly to reinvigorate her senses. She waved her hand to her subordinates, who took her place as she left for Takamagahara's Observation Bureau.

Within the Observation Bureau were a number of Marines stationed with highly advanced tracking equipment. They had eyes on every side of Takamagahara. In the center of the room was an elderly Marine who seemed to be filing some paperwork.

Antine slammed the door open and rushed in, panting from the pace.

The Marines were stunned as they looked towards her, but only the man in the center spoke. "Antine? What brings you here as this sort of sorry sight?!"

"Leave your judgements for later, Clens-dono. Admiral Ernest left Takamagahara in a rush! He was so fast I could barely see him before he had gone. Your subordinates could not have seen him, so I need your insight!"

"What?!" Clens responded. He was a Vice Admiral in charge of the Observation Bureau. His powers of sight were near unmatched by any in the Marines. Even the smallest of motions could be captured by him, which is why he was known as the "All-Seeing Eye."

"Use your eyes and follow me!" Clens told Antine as he swiftly climbed the stairs and reached the roof of the Observation Bureau. Despite his perceived age, his speed was not in any way hampered. Antine quickly climbed up after him, albeit a bit exhausted from her previous running.

As they both reached the roof, Antine noticed Clens' eyes change dramatically. They had become compound eyes thanks to the powers of his Devil Fruit, the Mushi Mushi no Mi, Model: Yellow Emperor.

"Where did you see him?" Clens asked Antine, without looking back at her.

"At my station, North."

Clens adjusted his position so he faced north, and kept two of his fingers on his Monocle as if he were focusing his vision through it. Through his eyes, the entirety of the world zoomed inwards, and moved forward. Within several kilometers of the direction, Clens would be able to see everything with exceptional clarity and at marginally slower speeds than the normal human.

As he attempted to locate Ernest within this narrow field of vision, he did find a figure pushing himself forward, but could not see him with complete clarity. Clens' eyes soon turned red as he attempted to focus his vision on that target even further. But then something unexpected happened.

Clens had gained a clarity that almost appeared as if he were directly behind the Admiral, but Ernest seemed to have notice him. Whether it was merely his instincts, or he simply predicted Clens' eyes would be on him, Clens could not figure out. However, Ernest turned his neck, and in that moment, the sheer emptiness in his eyes shocked Clens, to the point where he immediately deactivated his Devil Fruit and took a step back, perspiring in fear.

"What..." Clens began to say, as Antine similarly was shocked by his expression, "What kind of sight was that?!" Clens exclaimed.

"I told you!" Antine responded, "Ernest-dono is acting strangely! We need to contact Admiral Fuyuki!"

"...No." Clens said, surprising Antine considering he was normally the first to contact the higher-ups.

Antine clenched her own arm in frustration, the sheer power behind the action releasing a small shockwave around her being. "What do you mean!? This is an Admiral we're dealing-"

"A *new* and *improperly promoted* Admiral, Antine." Clens responded, leaving Antine to widen her eyes and tighten her grip on her arm.

"You can't stand the sight of this, I understand." Clens adjusted his monocle as he regained his composure.

"Let us see what we can glean from the situation first. Call Ilkum, Cuff, Batna, X Marks, Crodile Tear and Ambrosius Amrita."

"...Of all of those people, why Commodore-?"

"You'll see soon, Antine. Just call them for me."

Antine gripped her arm tightly once more, bowed, and went to the nearest Den Den Mushi station.

Clens walked a few moments after her, looking towards a somewhat obscure training point in a corner of Takamagahara that most Marines didn't frequent.

"Ah god, this was such a sudden meeting I didn't have time to get into uniform at all!" A youthful male voice rung spoke hurriedly as he puffed and panted his way to the meeting room decided by Vice Admiral Clens.

Commodore Ilkum, a youthful, well-built Marine. He was drafted into the Marines only early last year, June 1576, a few fateful months before Ernest's promotion into Admiral. He was a fool who had placed a bet against Vice Admiral Ernest, declaring that if he won none of his country would be required to conscript.

Ilkum lost, but not without gain. Ilkum proved his strength by keeping up with and landing a single blow on the Vice Admiral, whose movements appeared like a shooting star. Ernest decided that only Ilkum needed to contribute his strength to the Marines and landed him an immediate position as Commodore. Despite being removed from his home, Ilkum was grateful to Ernest for acknowledging his strength, and sought to pay him back.

Ilkum pushed open the door in front of him and exclaimed to his already seated audience. "I heard Ernest-sama left! Why!?"

"What do you think we're cuffin' discussing? Cuffin' sit down." A blond, lean man spoke brashly. He had handcuffs twirling around his right finger in irritation as he waited for Ilkum to be seated.

Gulping, Ilkum sat down and stared at him briefly. Vice Admiral Akahagetaka, Han D. Cuff, an Inspector General who was particularly volatile towards those suspected of betrayal. Cuff was a man that was said to be able to imprison any opponent with his Kino Kino no Mi and was feared as the "Crystallizer" by Marines and Pirates alike.

"Now now, Cuff. No need to be so bitter." Another male voice spoke, and Ilkum turned to him. He was on the opposite side of the table. An equally imposing man but with a honey-laced voice. "Sorry sweetie, you know how Cuff is. Did you want anything? Maybe a bit of candy?"

Ilkum recognized this man as well. Vice Admiral Chashika, Batna. He was the head of the Negotiations Division in the Marines and was often sent as a first line of attack to civilizations not willing to cooperate with the World Government. Beneath his honeyed words and gifts, Batna is said to have a way to speak — or strike — exactly where it hurt. The epithet "Honeyed Fist" was not given to him for his weakness, after all.

"I-I can't believe all this animosity..." A female voice said, speaking on a different side to the table. As Ilkum faced her, he noticed red hair and a strong physique contrasted with her tearful face. As a single tear dropped from her eyes, she looked up towards Ilkum. "D-don't you...think this is too much...Ilkum?"

Ilkum's eyes widened. Vice Admiral Akawani, Crodile Tear. She was the leader of its Public Relations division, and was often out and about from Takamagahara, spreading the positive word of the World Government and Marines in areas that were still neutral to the World Government's influence or had maintained their independence. She was said to be able to find the weakness in any opponent, both physical and emotional, through her tears. Her power over the people made her well known as "Justitia's Tears."

"I-" Before Ilkum had the chance to respond, another man's yawn took over Ilkum's attention.

"Haven't we gotten to the treasure already?" He wiped his single eye as his other was covered with an eyepatch. "I'm only a knot away from leaving, ya' know."

Rear Admiral Aotsuru, X Marks. A former Pirate who was recruited into the Marines for his non-confrontational nature and expertise in finding and collecting treasure from almost any point of the Grand Line, to the extent that he was known as "The Spot" both as a Pirate and later as a Marine, for always conveniently being at the same location that treasure was.

"...From what I have learned, Aotsuru-san, that kind of conduct will cause punishment." Another feminine, but almost robotic voice came from a different point in the table. Ilkum leaned his head to the right to see who spoke, and soon recognized her.

Vice Admiral Shija, Ambrosius Amrita. A lead scientist in the Marines' Artillery Development Division and the founder of Ambrinyte, a metal that had completely altered the way the Marines perceived cybernetic development. It's said that it was her skill that enabled Admiral Ernest to be successfully converted into the cyborg he is today. Her incredible skill with artillery and pursuit of justice lead her to be dubbed as the "Synthetic Hand of Justice."

"Alright everyone, I see we've all had our fair share of showing Ilkum this sorry sight." Clens spoke at the center of the table, leading the others to slowly withdraw from their arguments. Out of all the Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals here, including Quar Antine, Clens had the greatest seniority. He was a Vice Admiral from the generation immediately succeeding the Golden Era of Piracy, and had seen much during his career.

"Let us begin."

"Begin? Begin what?" Ilkum asked. His eyes repeatedly blinked.

"Simply put, we are deciding whether Admiral Ernest should remain in his position." Antine said.

"H-huh? How can we decide-"

"Of course we can, Ilkum." Clens interjected. "We are among the highest authorities in the Marines currently. If we can create a solid case to remove Ernest from power, even the higher-ups won't be able to reject us."

Clens' monocle locked eyes with Ilkum, who had beads of sweat running down his forehead.

"B-but-"

"Seriously, why did we invite the kid." Cuff groaned.

"Don't you get it, Cuff dear?" Batna spoke.

He quickly stood up and got behind Ilkum, grabbing onto his shoulders with a light grip.

"Ilkum here is a valid character witness! He was drafted by Admiral Ernest when he was still a Vice Admiral, after all!"

Fear overtook Ilkum. Sweat began to excrete from his palms and he began to shake.