Outro: So It Begins…

March 31, 801 WG

Holiday stared at the footage Angwen had retrieved from the security feed for Veranian. Particularly, it was of the cryo-chamber room. What Angwen had seen when he reviewed the tape had made him seal the recording and call Holiday directly. It had taken several days for Holiday to arrive at the facility. Angwen had been babbling in excitement and terror and the only thing Holiday had been able to understand was that it concerned Monkey D. Luffy.

Angwen had been obsessed with Rocklin's failed project for years, probably because he had been a junior assistant at the time. However, the man always remained professional and never rambled on about his passions. Always conscious and considerate of others. It was because of this that Holiday came. Angwen never became incoherent when discussing matters no matter what the subject was.

The footage and the detailed report of the pirate attack on the island shook him to the core. The Marines scarcely knew what happened. None really saw what attacked them only that it wielded blue lightning and nearly a dozen ships had been destroyed allowing the Thousand Sunny and the Polar Tang to escape.

Lady Marlene's words made more sense now.

"Never forget, Holiday, the power of the Rose is to alter fate and there are many ways this can be achieved. Good fortune is simply the most passive way it expresses itself."

The sneaky Lady of the Rose had known. Rocklin's project hadn't been a complete failure. Holiday grew excited with this new possibility.

"Did you hear about Veranian, Lady Marlene?"

Marlene turned to regard her aunt. The woman was almost identical to her in appearance save she wore a short-sleeve shirt and leggings and wore a pair of swords at her hip. Lean muscles rippled beneath the fabric as she shifted her stance. She was older by twenty years but the age difference hardly showed.

"I have. Our little brother has begun to claim his birthright as a Tenaris. I am relieved. It is not an easy task to reverse a person's fate. We are fortunate that Maryanne guided him to the one place where we could."

"Is this truly all right? He is opposing the World Government and may herald a new age of chaos, should he be allowed to continue."

"Kings come and go. Dynasties rise and fall. The World Government can no longer be saved. It's fate was sealed long ago by its own selfish actions. My mother saw that truth before her demise. We must prepare for the fall and guide this world through this transition, Anastasia. He is the key to the new order. I saw it. Without him, all will fall to ruin and darkness."

(Notes)

Story continues in "Pluton".

Luffy and Law realize the World Government has a weapon that they had wanted to use on Raftel. The realization that it could be the ancient weapon Pluton has the crew rushing to find it before it can be used on anyone else. With Alabasta on the hot seat after King Cobras's daring questions to the Gorosei at Reverie, the become the next likely target for the newly awakened Pluton. Luffy, however, is without his devil fruit powers and the psychic abilities he was using before appear to have vanished. With the Pirate King at his weakest he needs his allies more than ever, but first he has to get their attention without drawing the Marines to him. It's a race against time to destroy the ancient weapon before its fury can be unleashed on the innocent people and raise the curtain for a whole new era of fear for the people of the world.