[The thing people might notice about Namur's voice is that it's tired, like someone that's been pushing their limits for days on end without time to rest properly.]

Hey guys. Sorry I up an' disappeared for a bit. Somethin' come up, short notice, an' I ain't 'zactly had time t' answer messages 'til now. 'M at Empieza an' shit's real weird. Who all's in town now? Most everbody, right? 'S all doom an' gloom an' shit. Maybe there's good reason, I dunno. Think it'd be fun t' aim for one last hurrah 'fore we all get sucked in t' whatever the hell ol' Jones's brewin'. Anyone wanna join me for drinks or jus' chat, I'm up for it. Theme's gonna be funniest craziest shit t' happen t' y' since y' got here. Bastard wants t' make us scared, we'll laugh in his shitty face, catch me?

[It's getting to be late in the evening when Sanji opens his journal, and for a moment there's only silence. When he speaks, his voice is low, almost like he's talking to himself more than anything.]

Seems like the shitty end is in sight... Feels like it, anyway. Like it won't be much longer.

[He falls quiet again for a beat or two, and then there's a soft exhale before his tone shifts a bit and he becomes more direct.]

We're heading to Isla Empieza. As soon as Meep has a path for us to take, we're going in.

Guess we'll see the rest of you idiots there?


[Action option: He's in the galley, chair tipped back as he sits at the table and stares up at the ceiling with nothing but an overflowing ashtray in front of him and a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.]

[the voice is tired and weary but, nevertheless, Meepish]

I am a very tired Meep, but a very grateful one, and also very angry. So much destruction on our world for what? For power? Control? It’s foolish. The death weighs on me and I now I know the weight my Mistress carries and why she is so...well...cantankerous a lot of the time.

I thank you for saving me and I hope it wasn’t too much of a trouble for you. It was my fault, really, though I can’t remember much... And to hear that Cat is dead as well... Every death is a loss, even if—well—but never mind that. We will remember what good there was in her, Mistress and I, because we have a choice, don’t we? When all is said and done, it’s the only choice any of us have left.

In any case, I have made many discoveries—which is probably why things happened as they did... You see, the shards let off a specific harmonic frequency which, when coupled with the right tonal overlays and countermelodies, will produce various effects of this or that. You can also use life force, of yourself or others, but that corrupts them as is the case with our friend, Mr. Jones. I hope none of you do the same or the Mistress will be very displeased and she is very tired.

For now, I will teach you the magnetation melody. This one should draw all the shards to you. But they may come thick and fast, so mind yourself. Though it might be amusing to watch someone get hit in the face, as I am sure Gan Ning’s compatriots know, it is far less amusing to be bored through by a shard intent on getting to its destination. I am not sure if this will apply to the shards held by Davy Jones, however, so you may have to fight him for those in the end, sadly.

The Mistress and I will work on cutting a path through the mist so that you can work your way into Isla Empieza. It is the gateway, after all, they say. The beginning and the end, and where the Piedra Roja beats strongest. I wish you luck on that endeavor, but it is not yet time for it so try not to let it worry you too much.

For now, listen to the melody and try to mimic it. [As a soft, humming sort of tune drifts out through the journal.] You will know you have it right if it works. Stay alive. Stay safe. Get stronger. We are all counting on you.



[Mod Note: We're aware that the threads on the event log have not yet reached completion, but in order to move the plot along we thought it best to go ahead and assume that our wayward heroes will, inevitably, rescue Meep. And as such, here is the conclusion to that! However, we encourage everyone to keep playing on the log until you actually reach Meep!! Thank you!]

 [being adrift at sea or intermittently docked at nameless ports of no significance was starting to make Venour rather bored. He'd started to explore islands they passed by or were docked near during the day, but even that didn't fill the hole he felt gaping open inside him. In a move of mild desperation for something to do, he resorted to something Selphie had suggested]

 Well, I've decided to try it, this 'friendship' nonsense. Only with the goal of obtaining this powerful magic you speak of, mind you. First attempt resulted in me nearly killing my so-called friend, so the prospects aren't exactly bright. But I'll give it one last chance.

[Since it's a journal, all one can hear is an audible shudder from the viking.]

...Okay, maybe I shouldn't have checked on the shards.

That felt really weird...and somewhat compelling.

[There's a long pause.]

Should I be worried?

Well now we've gone and done it. It's to be expected really. Don't know what happened to th' black thing but 'tis possible Jonesy sucked up some o' its power fer his own. He's got a body now, ye know-- or more than and less than. Not alive and not dead but not undead but his curse is in full throttle as I expect ye were all afraid of.

There's a way ta beat Jonesy as he is now, though it's a small chance. A slight hope. Smaller'n a candle in a windstorm. Otherwise yer just gonna bring th' shards ta him and get th' life sucked outta ye...and this time I don't think ye'll be comin' back. Probably he'll just keep recyclin' whatever lets him bring ye back in th' first place so ye'll just become a part o' him-- and as stupid as ye lot are, I doubt ye want that.

Meep was lookin' fer the answer ta that afore he got swept away. Somethin' about tones 'n voices-- or mebbe languages. Somethin' I've never really understood. As of now, I need help ta get him. Or someones. I found him but he's in a place I can't get to right now. Not and make even more trouble than we already got. If yere up fer it, I'll contact you again in a few days. If not. Well it'll probably take all ye got just ta survive.

Once my Meep is safe...if ever he be... we'll be able to confront Jones once and fer all. Though I can't say as we'll win, but we'll definitely gie him somethin' ta think about.

[there's far less of his usual bluster and enthusiasm in his tone today. So sue him, he's still recovering from his beastly injuries.]

Hate to say this, but. We need help.

My crew's down to just five, and Cyn's pokemon. No one's come back since Jones showed up at Port Chance, and me an' Gaius are in pretty bad shape right now. Draco, Sting...Roxas. They're all gone.

Straw Hat, if that offer for an alliance is still happenin', tell me where you guys are and I'll set sail in an instant. We got no choice, we gotta hook up with another ship. Scratch each other's backs and all that.

...nobody died back there, did they? I been out of commission for a while, I got no idea what's goin' on.

 So. I made it back.

This place really still exists, huh?

*Faye has appeared on a familiar island, but there's no real sense of how much time has passed. She caught glimpses of her home world, but she could have been gone from this world for months. Time seems to work so differently*

Thash, tell me you're still here. I'm coming to find you.

*Despite doing her best to sound cool and collected, her voice quavers slightly with that last statement*

 Hey everyone out there, listen for a sec....[he's usually not huge on just randomly addressing every outworlder with a random journal like this, but this is important...]

Has anyone seen Faye?? I just talked to her last night and now...nothing, nowhere. I know everyone's spread to the four winds because of the race start and monster attack so maybe she jumped on board with one of you for safety.... Can you let know as soon as possible if she has?

[he sounds as if he's trying not to become panicked. It hadn't been long, after all. It's completely possible that in the chaos of the race start she just didn't have time to let him know she was going somewhere...right?]

And Faye if you can hear me...just let me know you're safe okay?

[Days have passed since Ragna's crewmates disappeared, and he's spent those days waiting. Clinging onto the slight hope that they'll eventually return. But even denial cannot last forever and it comes to a point where he finally snaps.]

The hell is this... What kinda sick joke is this supposed to be, huh?!

[Muted sounds of him driving his fist into the wall come from the journal repeatedly as he tries to let out all his anger and grief, but to no avail.]

I knew it... I knew from day one this would happen, and yet─

[And yet he got close to his crewmates like a complete fool that he is anyway, and now he reached the very result he was desperately trying to avoid.

The thuds stop after a while and a short pause later Ragna carries on his monologue, addressing the journal directly this time, his voice far more calmer than before. Amused, even.]

... Y'know what? Works for me. I mean, what the hell. If this world's gonna take everything away from me, then it's only fair if I do the same, right? And if that's the case, then...

[Perhaps it's for the better there is no one around to see the sickening grin that spreads on his face as he speaks those next words.]

I don't need such world.

[For a brief moment, there's nothing but dead silence. Suddenly, the cracks of broken wood can be heard, growing louder and louder every second. Eventually those cease, replaced by a resounding roar rumbling like a thunder.

And then all hell breaks loose.]

[The post is written, but not in a handwriting anyone would have seen before. Usually Namur writes quickly, with a practiced graffiti text. This entry is careful, the letters clear and concise.]

Hotness
Robin         Celestia???
Faye
Selphie
Leanne
Cynthia
Lorelai
Keimi


Kodachi???

Cuteness
Selphie         Celestia???
Keimi
Cynthia
Leanne
Lorelai
Robin
Faye

Kodachi???

Discuss.

Everyone, please remember to stay strong. These zombies can't keep coming forever. If you can, everyone should be fighting in shifts so that everyone can get rest and eat, too.

And... don't let them drag you overboard. I know most of you can't breathe underwater, so don't let them pull you into their world.

[She sighs. "Their world". Is it even safe for her to go overboard, or will these sea-zombies attack her as she swims?]

(Private to the Straw Hats)

Everyone... thank you for keeping me and my workshop safe. I have a present for you all. If you have a moment to rest, please come see me.

[sometime at night but too early for most people to go to bed. There are various bits of moaning and splashing sounds as he knocks zombies into the water]

Hey guys! That race thing is soon, right? So let's all go have fun! I bet there's gonna be a festival and a lot of food and stuff. This is nothing. If you're having problems with the zombies just try to take their arms off. If you die or someone else, that's okay, everyone comes back.

So forget about all that and let's just have a really big party when we go racing? Okay?

We're allies so we have to!

[and he continues whacking at zombies. Probably with their own limbs. Humming what might a familiar tune to some]

[Kodachi's actually taken to writing today instead of her usual flamboyant speeches, which means she's doing some thinking.]

[Finally, her elegant but excessively large handwriting fills the pages.]

I hadn't even really noticed, but I checked the dates and I've been here for more than a year. That means that I've turned a year older, haven't I?

I didn't even get to throw a party!

[Whether she means a birthday party or an anniversary celebration, she doesn't stipulate.]

I wonder what my brother is doing back home. I hope he's bought me a present, even if I'm not around.

You are all welcome to send me presents, of course. ♥

There has been so much chaos and death in these seas as of late.... So many voices and hearts went quiet...

[She goes to let out a long sigh before taking a deep breath and begins to sing.]

Getting real fuckin' tired of these goddamn shitty dead assholes popping up every damn night. What the shit, how many of 'em can there fuckin' be??! Can barely remember the last time I got any decent sleep. Ain't even had much time for good cooking lately, which is a pain in the ass.

[He says, though probably at this very moment you can hear pots and pans clanging in the background as he continues his sleep-deprived rant whilst trying to get dinner made before they're attacked again. Or maybe it's breakfast. Or lunch? Who the hell knows.]

Some of these zombie things are definitely shitheads we've seen before, too. Seriously, just tonight I planted my damn foot in the fuckin' face of one of the jerks who tried to ambush our ship not long ago. Wasn't about to forget his ugly face, just didn't expect to see it again so soon. And so dead. The hell's that about? Thought all those guys were having some kinda shitty summit of their own, and now they're crawling up outta the ocean noticeably lacking a damn heartbeat, what the fuck?

And they're still trying to hold that damn race this year? Tch, whatever. Dumbasses running it must be fuckin' crazy. Maybe there'll be a crew full of shitty dead people participating this time. It's still starting at Port Chance, yeah?

More and more, I become convinced that the powers we face are those of darkness and dark magic. Those attacks that are always most fearsome come at night, or with darkness as their shroud, and wither in the face of light.

I wonder, then, if magic of light and life could truly be our path to defeating it. The shards, powerful as their promise is, seem to feed off the same darker side of pony, or human, psyche. I fear that relying on them will prove, ultimately, fatal to us -- that our success would also be our fall, if they were our weapons.

Perhaps a new sun must shine over this sea, before we can find freedom.

Princess Celestia

[after talking to Motochika, Gan Ning has become homesick. Also, sleep-deprived. And, well, drunk. All perfectly good reasons not to make any sense whatsoever. His accent is probably thicker, to, sorry.]

Y'know what it's like to like...never see yer own people? It's been for...fif...almost sixteen months since I been 'round my guys. My countrymen. My lords. Shit. Now I know I told stories 'bout Orochi before so 'm not gonna bore ya with that again. Just. Damn, I ain't seen Ling Tong in that long. Never thought I'd miss his sassy mouth so damn much. Never even thought I'd miss the old man, but I do.

An' yanno, there been nobody here from my world. Nobody! Xun Yu don't count, she was a he where I come from and I ain't friends with anybody in Wei anyway. Wei. Anyway. Hah! [a few minutes of absurd laughter at his rhyming]

...right, where was I?

I love you guys but I gotta go back. My guys from Wu been in that world more'n sixteen months, more'n two years even. We gotta get them home too. We all gotta go home. There's somethin' about home that this place can't touch. I love bein' a captain again but Lord Sun Jian needs me just as much as my Hazmats do. Hey! Hey crew! We oughta do somethin' to leave our mark on this place. Somethin' where they won't ever forget we were here! They'll tell stories about that time them Hazardy Mats did the thing and their brave an' crazy captain Gan Xingba led the charge and yeah!! Like that! Know what I mean?

...'cuz that's, yeah. Just in case Davy Jones is gettin' fit to send the rest of us away before we can rise up against him. Betcha he's behind the undead. Tryin' ta take us out without liftin' a finger himself. Right bastard.

[he'd keep going if he didn't take one more sip and pass out. He'll get back to the journal when he wakes up]