The Gate Keepers of Knowledge

At a Marine Base Somewhere in Paradise ~ April 9th, 1585

Walking through the tunnel hallways of the base was always a long stroll. The base architects constructed long tunnel pathways in between sections for easy and organized travel, also in case of possible intrusions or attacks. The base walls were constructed with strong metals and stone making the walls dense and more stable. The Base was painted white and silver all over. But the payment for that is having to walk from sector to sector, which on average took about 15<35 minutes between each. A total of 5 sections make up the entirety of the structure. of the base, They all represent themes of nature.

Base Sections:

Main Section Code Name: SUN. Sun is located At the center of the base, this is where all the marines that live and occupy the base, and here is where all types of business and missions are held on a daily basis. Sun is the largest building in the base with at least 1,500 marines and government officials staying in that building alone.

Second Section Code Name: EARTH. Earth is located south of SUN, this section holds all the Medical and Science divisions This base is the smallest building in the base but houses the brightest minds they have. At least 400 people work in this building.

Third Section Code Name: WATER. Water is located west of SUN. Water is the combat unit of the base, in charge of the deployment of soldiers and military power. Water is the second largest building in the base.

Fourth Section Code Name: MOON. Moon is located North of SUN, this section holds special authorized personals. This section hold the least amount of number with that being 50 Members working in this division. This is the second smallest building in the base.

Fifth Section Code Name: CREATURE. Creature is located east of SUN, this section is for outside assistance from other people who aren't partnered with the World Government. This building is the third-largest in the base, there is also an unspecified amount of people who operate this building.

Shimotsuki Kazama walked through these halls to SUN, after receiving a message from a superior. He had been chosen for another mission and had to attend a special meeting. Kazama was finally happy about this mission, it wasn't an escort mission for once. Although he's had a few clashes here and there nothing beats something brand new.

The tunnel was packed with world government workers going to and from section to section.

"It is very busy today," he thought to himself, looking out the bulletproof windows of the tunnel he glanced at the beautiful garden they had outside. The people in charge of this place said that everything in the garden was grown and modified in the labs on the base. They serve as an extremely beautiful sight as well as a hidden defensive mechanism. The garden contains special plants known as Carnifig, they are sentient carnivorous plants that were genetically modified. This is similar to how a zoo keeper would need to attend to the animals of the zoos, the workers attend to the Carnifig.

There were many other unique inventions that housed the base, but nevertheless, Kazama had to stay focused on the task at hand speed walking his way to SUN. A few steps later coupled with some deep gasps of air Kazama made it to the front entrance of SUN. This was his first time attending a meeting at SUN and the base in general, the building itself was huge but similar to the other buildings forming a dome shape. With the code name written on the side of it in bright red.

Walking through the open lobby he went up to the clerk working the desk at the front, "Hello miss? I'm here for a mission be brief?"

"Ok hun just give me a second," the clerk continues to type away on her computer, running through logs and scheduling files.

"What did you say your name was hun?" She asked pulling down her thick-brimmed glasses.

"It should be Shimotsuki Kazama, ma'am," he replied.

The clerk would punch his name in on her keyboard and then print him a ticket. The ticket she printed had a barcode with a Room number on it.

"Scan that ticket at the room number door to unlock it, sweetheart. It's going to be on the second floor first door on the right." She then handed Kazama the ticket and sent him on his way. As Kazama made his way through the lobby toward the nearby elevator, he was amazed at the sight of the building. On the lobby floor, you could see all the way up to the top of the building, the roof was a glass ceiling that allowed natural light indoors. It was modern looking with cool statues and figures of marine hero's like the great Garp and Sengoku displayed. Truly a sight to see, there Kazama would reach the elevator doors and wait.

Franklin Columbis had taken about a hundred different wrong turns and gone to what seemed to be just about every inch of the SUN section of the base, everywhere that is except where he needed to be. The young Mink Marine had been assigned to the base recently alongside his partner and Oz who had gone to visit EARTH to be in awe of the scientific achievements made in the section. This left Columbis to try to find his way around the place. After both of the boys had been promoted their mentor Rear Admiral Flint thought it best for them to take on more responsibility and be more aware of major threats and concerns posed against the Marines.

"Can I help you sweetie?" a voice said from the front desk. Columbis turned to see a kind-looking clerk and walked over to her.

"Is it that obvious I'm lost?" The young pup said scratching his head.

"You've passed by reception 9 times now," she said with a smile embarrassing Columbis a bit, "you're one of those SHIELD boys right?"

Columbis became a bit more well-known having recently joined SHIELD the new special unit division. "Yes Ma'am, Warrant Officer Franklin Columbis reporting for a briefing," he said while standing up a bit straighter tempted to salute but did not want to further embarrass himself.

The woman began typing, "Columbis, Columbis, Ah here we are," she printed a ticket once more, "second-floor first door on the right, you can't miss it." Columbis took it and thanked the nice woman proceeding onward.

He took a deep breath as he approached the doors, he had been to briefings before but never ones in such a professional manner, in the past he always had an ally or was surrounded by his fellow crew or teammates, as he steeled himself he scanned the ticket and proceeded into the room.

Enter Rebecca Brave, whose station had switched more than a dozen times in the past year alone, no matter where they put her, she always seems dissatisfied. Always climbing, clamoring for more and this time she was hopeful to finally break out of the cycle and prove herself, though she was always hopeful for that.

She approached the front desk, hands in her jacket pockets, before smiling to the receptionist "Brave." she spoke confidently. The receptionist pointed to herself "Me?" she asked. Brave chuckled and waved her have before her face "No, no. It's my name, Rebecca Brave. I'm here for a briefing." she said. The receptionist's face changing shades only slightly as she began typing on her computer "O-of course, one moment.." she said.

She printed out a ticket before holding it out to Brave "Second-floor, first door on your ri-" she said, before Brace grabbed the ticket, placing her other hand on top of the receptionist's "Don't be embarrassed, it was an honest mistake, we're only human after all." she said, before pulling back her hands with the ticket. Before any more words could be shared, Brave moved away and toward the elevators, taking place alongside Kazama waiting for the doors.

With the telltale tremors of a Giant's footfalls, one Commodore Cromwell Hiflfgar made his way to center of the base, also known as SUN. "Of course Ae had to get called to a base tha' was too small fur me to fit inside, this is just shapin' up to be a great experience." The giant sarcastically mumbles to himself while casting a cursory gaze over the base and its inhabitants.

Hiflfgar decided that instead of looking around and bumbling like a buffoon, he would just ask the general area for advice. "OI! Any of you lot know where the commandin' officers are meant to meet up at? The person who gae' me directions did a miserable job at it." He asks, his voice echoing throughout the area due to his vast size.

After a minute or two, where a few of the assembled normal-sized marines that weren't actively busy conferred amongst themselves, they eventually pointed the Giant in the direction that he was looking for. With a quick "Thanks fur the help!", he made his way over to the building and promptly took a seat, knowing full well that if he didn't he might be too far away to be able to hear the conversation held inside.

Stepping into the Sun, Fork Gaslom was ready for this big mission. Despite just being a Lieutenant he felt he could give it as any other marine. He had been at the base working on some upgrades. Fork was a clone afterall, his genetic code was pretty wacky. He was sure there were some abilities he didn't fully understand. Maybe super tough skin or some other wacky powers? Either way, he needed something some other abilities so he could help the world and keep justice safe. Walking into the meeting Fork would give everyone a salute. "Greetings. Lieutenant Fork Gaslom reporting for duty!"

The elevator Kazama had been waiting for finally arrived, stepping into it was much nicer than expected. It was a complete glass make, giving off the appearance of floating people going up and down from floor to floor. He looked at his Ticket as he jittered it in his fingers he scanned the ticket into the screen reader, Kazama was never the one for interviews and meetings, this was the only time he would be considered awkward from his usual prideful confident self.

Kazama wasn't alone in the elevator, he was joined by a few people who also stood by the doors. The space was large enough to hold at least a dozen people at a time. The trip from the lobby to the meeting room floor was only seconds you couldn't even feel the speed of the platform rising at such high speeds.

Ding! Arrived!

The elevator doors had slid open revealing a nice office room floor, stepping out he would glance at his ticket and remember what the clerk said, "Second Floor, First door on the right." Pivoting his body toward his desired direction he moved with a slight speed walk, trying not to be late.

"Here it is," he said. Kazama reached out with his left hand twisting the silver knob of the meeting room doors. He opened the door and glanced around, looking left then right he grabbed a seat at an open desk.

As Columbis opened the door to find more Marines sitting and talking amongst themselves he tried his hardest to walk in and try not to draw attention to himself. He often tried this and failed to do so considering he was normally always the only Mink in the room. Nevertheless he closed the door behind him and began looking for a seat.

He smiled as he found one of the closer desks to be opened and did a small little jog over to it, making sure to nod to each Marine whether he recognized them or not. He also made sure to make direct eye contact with those that outranked him as was expected of him according to Flint. It made his jog longer as he found a vast majority of the room were his superiors.

Brave followed in stride, entering the meeting room alongside the others, though she was never one to try and keep her head down. She noticed the large marine outside and grabbed a Den Den Mushi from the various tables, moving to the window, she opened it before climbing out, utilizing Geppou to reach the giant, landing on the man's shoulder. "Sorry to intrude, but we can't have you miss the briefing, Commodore." she claimed, holding the Den Den out near the Commodore's ear.

Hiflfgar stares at the Captain for a brief moment before releasing a short bark of laughter at the situation. "Gyahahaharr! Pleasant ta finally have some accommodations fur once! If ye want to go inside, ye could jus' set it down on me shoulder if ye want, would be right splendid of you lassie." He said, raising his hand to point at a spot near enough to his ear that the Den Den Mushi could be placed if the Captain so wished.

A lot of marines were showing up this mission. Whatever they were being called for must of been super important. Fork didn't have much to add as he put his hands on his side and looked for a chair to sit down and listen to the report.

As the rest of the marines poured on into the meeting the rumbling of a tall giant could be heard outside, one of the marines opened a window to allow sound to flow into his ears. The chemistry was already starting to build, Kazama who had been sitting alone off to the corner scanned the room. It was filled with lower-ranking soldiers and captains alike. "Big crowd..." Kazama thought to himself scanning the room. Just outside the room, footsteps could be heard coming towards the room.

The room which was filled with chattering, quickly turned silent as they anticipated the incoming personnel. As the steps finally reached the door entrance a brief moment of silence before the door flew open...

"Alright Lads and Gals, buckle up we got some information today aha!" An old woman who was wearing a formal marine uniform burst in, shouting at the top of her lungs. She had two others with her a man and a woman, they both seemed in their late thirties. The man had short dark brown hair while the woman had bright orange hair.

The old lady quickly walked up to the podium that stood before the entire meeting room. The three of them started to pull out papers and set up a monitor and projector.

Columbis could not help but feel his anxiety rising as more and more people entered the room. A situation that called for as many Marines as this one must surely be a matter of heart importance. This caused things to turn into one of the moments where Columbis knew he had every right to be where he was but his mind kept telling him he didn't. A habit he had hoped he would knock away by now but an environment like this proved to be a challenge.

He could not help but look around at the various Marines in the room and the giant one outside of it, he thought while taking note of Commodore Hiflfgar. On the bright side, it made his presence as a Mink less out of the ordinary by comparison. He tried to relieve his nerves by attempting to talk to a nearby Marine that is until he heard footsteps coming somehow different from the others he had heard before.

When the room grew quiet in preparation for the arrival of the superiors who were to lead this briefing, Columbis silenced himself along with everyone else. When they walked in Columbis found himself once again restraining from getting up to salute, but as he saw no one else do it he figured his former commanding officer Captain Johnson had been playing a prank on him by telling him to do so.

As the woman between the two men began to take the floor Columbis got out a small notebook and a pencil ready to take notes. He used to record the briefings he went to but as he began moving up the ladder the missions became more sensitive and he was no longer allowed to do this as it became a security risk.

Brave saluted Commodore Cromwell before speaking up once more "I'm certain the briefing will be the same from here, Commodore." she replied, turning down the mans offer for her to return to the room of the briefing. Though realistically, she just wanted to give the large man some company, it wasn't in her heart to make someone sit outside. As the meeting began, Brave continued to stand on the Commodore's shoulder, attentively watching the on briefing inside, while holding the Den Den in a position befitting to them both.

Hiflfgar looked towards Brave out of the corner of his eye, a small smile crossing his features before he spoke. "Awfully nice of ye to join me out here lass, not often I ge' company ou' here during these types of meetings, or mos' marine meetings fur tha' matter." A small frown flitted across his face before the reminder that there was pleasant and present company erased the expression as if it had never existed. Once Brave turned her head towards the meeting, Hiflfgar opted to do the same, might as well set an example to all those lesser ranked marines who are paying any attention to him.

Fork was just ready for this meeting to get going. Waiting for this information was killing him. Then again, considering everyone's rank compared to his own he was most likely going to get stuck on the easy duty. Fork rubbed his forehead at the thought. Guess he just needed to rise in rank before he started complaining.

The elderly woman took to the podium and tapped the mic, "Testing...Testing," she coughed then continued, "Greetings everyone I hope your time at this facility has been well spent. To start things off let me tell you a little something about myself, my name is Jane, and I'm one of the lead directors of this military base. I have been serving the World Government for years now, and I have fought in many battles in my prime. But that's enough about me, let's get down to the real issue shall we?"

The room lights started to dim as the projector began to display a slideshow.

In all honesty, Columbis did not know what the focus of the briefing was. Rear Admiral Flint had started explaining details but fell asleep before he got to anything important. He just said it concerned recent events. Columbis thought something that made headlines in the News would be the focus so he limited it down to that.

Yet still, it seemed as if there was so much going on in the world at the moment. So many new powers on the rise, so many new threats to the Marines, Justice, and the peace they tried so hard to keep. He wasn't sure what aspect of chaos this briefing would focus on but he knew whatever it was would be for the betterment of the world.

So he straightened up and listened closely his focus no longer on his anxieties or insecurities, he did not care if he really belonged in this room or not, he was here now and needed to focus on the task at hand.

Jane would then conduct her presentation, she had with her a yard stick used for pointing. "Alright, to give you a quick rundown of what's going on with today's meeting. There has been some information recovered in regard to an ancient kingdom. Thanks to our lovely staff members here we were able to recover a supposed location of this place, we are not sure whether this kingdom is related to the taboo.

The information came from a leaker connected to the Hunter Union and an archeologist named Harvard, we can assume more people within that community knows about this location as well. So our mission is simple, we are to confirm the location and its inhabitants, and if we run into some enemies along the way we are in all right to get rid of some unnecessary trouble. Of course, it would be better to capture them and those who know about this place but these times that's not always the easiest thing to do. Are there any questions so far?"

Columbis raised his hand and waited to be called on by the woman who pointed to him granting him permission to speak.

"Two questions ma'am," he said speaking up so she could hear him, "one, why are we pursuing an accent city? Does it hold secrets or powers that would benefit us to gain access to first or harmful if our enemies got ahold of them?"

Before continuing he made sure to let his question resonate with the room, seeing a handful of nods confirming that he was not the only one thinking this he continued.

"And two, can we trust this Hunter Union?" Columbis had not heard of such a company meaning it was more an official affiliate of the World Government or the Marines. Perhaps out was his traditional study methods but he preferred to gain information from sources outside of the Marines's own spies or the CP's who were infamous for getting knowledge such as this.

Brave's brow furrowed, the current lack of information was disturbing, there wasn't much to go on yet. As Columbis spoke up she pursed her lips, she had doubts that those questions would be answered in their entirety.

Jane grinned giving a warm look to the concerned marines.

"Why we are pursuing it is above your rank and is classified information, but know that it's nothing but taking mere caution... As for the Hunter Union, it's a little more complicated than it may seem, the man who leads the organization has been pursuing ancient history for years and has caused us a few problems here and there. Now with his announcement of his company, this would only spark others like him to pursue this history and that is something the World Government wants to keep a close eye on."

A quick snort of suppressed laughter would leave the giant Commodore after Jane's speech. "I sure do love goin' on missions with barely a scrap o' information ta work with abou' the important bits." Hiflfgar quietly remarks with a sarcastic drawl to his tone, his distaste for the lack of information readily apparent.

Kazama would listen to Jane as she exposed more information about the mission at hand, "Above our rank? But we were meant to fight their battles?" The whole mission seemed strange, they were hiding something from them, but what was it was the question.

So a hidden island that they were going to investigate. It was some old kingdom that had been lost to time. So, establishing a foothold was going to be essential. He was not sure why they had to do but then again, from what he knew about Army, they were not so massive to occupy a new land. Plus, the job was to find the island and confirm critical information. Then again there was some suspect stuff about them not being given key information since it was above their rank. Fork was not someone that questioned that much stuff. If this was the job the Marines needed them for, he would do everything in his power to help out.