"You ready?" Singe shouted to the other girls, "I'll go first, see you on the other side!"

"Don't worry," Ash shouted, before following her sister, "if something goes wrong, at least… well let's just hope nothing goes wrong!"

"Nothing's going to go wrong," Mia tried to reassure herself, "what's there to be scared of?" Mia checked her watch, it was midnight. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and jumped.

~Mia, earlier that day~

"Come on Mia," Ash begged, "its fun!"

"He even agreed to give us a discount for your birthday!" Singe, who was sitting on the ground by Mia's feet, looked up at her with big, innocent eyes

"But why does it have to be at midnight?" the idea made me nervous.

"So you can do it when the clock strikes twelve," Singe smiled brightly, "to celebrate the transition to freedom! Can you think of a better way to commemorate your jump into adulthood than jumping out of a plane?"

"You only turn eighteen once," Ash grinned, "and jumping into a pool isn't memorable enough!"

How did I get myself sucked into this plan? I asked myself as I watched my three best friends, skydiving for my eighteenth birthday…

It had probably been Singe's idea; she was usually the one who came up with weird things. Not that I minded, they were usually pretty fun, but it took a lot of courage to actually get up and do most of the things she suggested. Her twin sister, Ash, loved her ideas, but she was usually a little quieter and less dramatic. They're twins, but it's impossible to tell from looking at them. Singe's straight blonde hair and grey eyes was a huge contrast to Ash's bright green eyes and wavy black hair. The only reasons anyone would have to think they were related were their heights and the light freckles on their cheeks.

"Okay, I'm in," I knew I would regret this later, "it sounds like it could be kind of… fun."

"Great! So we'll meet up after work to go over the safety precautions." Singe and I were university student but Ash worked at a sporting goods store.

"Sure," I watched them run to their car. I was the shy one in the group, the one who got nervous at the thought of jumping out of a plane with no training… why? Because I had a fairly normal upbringing. Two parents who love me, a few siblings. No crazy stories about pirates and flying ships.

Singe and Ash, well, their mom had a lot of money, but she always told them outrageous stories. Stories about somehow going into the world of a show called One Piece and falling in love with a pirate named Portgas D. Ace, the man made of fire. That's why she named them after fire related things. She told the twins all about him and the adventures she had. Everyone told the girls that she was crazy, that she got that way when their father left… but no one actually knows who their father is.

Their mom's favorite story was about a ship flying sailing through the sky but falling back to the ocean when it reached the end of the clouds. Then she died, two years ago, and they started skydiving. They say it's because of how much she loved that story. They want to fly with her through the clouds, be able to fall when they reach the end.

~Singe~

"You ready?" I had to shout so they could hear me. I knew Ash was excited, but Mia had the most terrified expression, don't look like you're about to die, it's perfectly safe, "I'll go first, see you on the other side!" Then I jumped. It was an amazing feeling, it always was. Freefalling, watching the ground get closer as you plummet toward the earth.

But the best part, I laughed when I saw Ash and Mia jump. Mia had herbrown eyes squeezed shut and, as soon as she opened her eyes, she opened her mouth in a scream that I couldn't hear. Eventually her scream stopped and she smiled, is right before you pull the cord for the chute… when you think of what would happen if it didn't work. I kept laughing, smiling at my best friends, but my smile faltered when I tried to release my chute. I pulled the cord but nothing happened. I looked at Ash; she had a look of terror plastered on her face. Mia was screaming again when I looked at her, her short brown hair was a mess. I smiled weakly and they looked at me.

"I'm sorry," I said. I knew they couldn't hear it, but they knew what I had said. Then everything went black.

~Ash~

Am I dead? I wondered as I looked around, falling for all of eternity, surrounded by darkness… I strained my eyes against the darkness and I was slowly able to make out a speck of light below me. I watched it intently, there was nothing else to do.

"NO! I don't want to die!" I screamed as I fell into the light. When my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw that I was alone. Did they survive? Was I the only one to die, or is it the other way around? There was an island beneath me and it was quickly getting bigger. I noticed a ship near the island but my attention was quickly drawn back to the island. I could see rivers now, and little dots moving around. The animals look like ants from way up here, I smiled at the thought, concentrating on the animals. I didn't notice the thing that wrapped itself around my waist until it jerked me away from the island. The sudden change in direction made my head spin. i watched helpless and my vision slowly faded to black.

~Mia~

I screamed as I felt myself falling, and falling… and falling. Suddenly there was a blinding light and I had to cover my eyes with my hand. I thought it was night… Where are Ash and Singe? I asked myself after slowly opening my eyes. The twins weren't there… I was alone, shouldn't they be here too? There was something blue under me, but I had no idea what it was. When I got closer, I could see something under the blue, a dark spot moving around. Then I understood. It was water.

I knew I would regret letting them talk me into doing this, I closed my eyes and braced myself for the unavoidable impact, biggest mistake of my life. I hit the water with tremendous force and the impact made me black out.

~Singe~

It's my fault, I thought as I plunged headfirst into the light, they're gone and it's my fault. I watched the dark spot below me getting closer.

What the hell is tha- oh shit. "Sorry!" I shouted repeatedly after hitting each bird at least I think they were birds. They were huge brown things with wings; at least they slowed me down a lot. I looked down again and saw a sea of blue with another dark spot below me. When I got closer, I recognized it as a ship. I put my arms over my head as I went through the sail at a slight angle and crashed through a wall, getting wrapped up in something. My vision blurred more the longer I was upside down, but I didn't have the strength to free myself. A pair of horrible pants stepped in front of me just before I lost consciousness.