It's finally Summer Break for me~! Which means I can relax and do my updates more smoothly~! If the weather isn't too hot that is, then I'll most likely lose some motivation because of the heat. Now, that out of the way, do enjoy this chapter~!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Kingdom Hearts. I do not own Guthrie and, soon to join, Allen. Well, actually I kind of do own him.
*OPENING*
Let's fly to the sky
(The sun rises as Merry sails across the ocean)
There's not a single cloud in the sky
(All the current Straw Hats watched the sun rises, Luffy on the figurehead)
Let's fly to the sky. (It's time to fly around) Catch the perfect breeze for you
(The camera faces the sky as the title appears on the screen)
Paint the sky with (Let's go to the wonder world) imagination that no one's ever seen
(Camera faces back to the Going Merry as everyone went on with their peaceful business)
OH! OH! Even if it's too dazzling (Come on)
(Xion looked up and saw Marines ahead of them and warned everyone)
OH! OH! under the sun
(They all prepared themselves for battle. Marines fired cannon balls at them)
OH! OH! If it's you, you can make it! Throw away your pride and FLY!
(Luffy, Zoro and Sanji sent the cannons back at them. Usopp fired a cannon of their own with Xion, in her Wisdom Form, unleashed Triple Firaga at them, followed by a Thundaga, clearing their path)
Everyday is plain!
Real talent makes the world go round
(Going Merry sailed through the smoke. Everyone looked content as they enjoyed the sea breeze)
Deceit won't work anymore.
(Scene changed to Jaya in Mock Town, as camera faced each of the Blackbeard Pirates.)
Mayday, the red light is stopping you too
(Scene changed to Cricket's home, showing Cricket with Masira and Shojo side by side.)
Lend me an ear! And I'm gonna stick on my RAP! Wussup!
(Guthrie fights against some pirates and Heartless. One tried to sneak up on him and Chirithy knocked it away.)
"From tomorrow on I'll get serious!"- seriously cut it out with excuses like that
(Allen danced as he dodged the attacks of the pirates and attacked them at the same time)
Increase your money with your dream! Time is money like NASDAQ!
(The Straw Hats looked at Cricket's gold and searched for the South Bird)
When will you do it boy? It's now or never man! This is the moment, right?
(The crew then arrived at the Knock Up Stream and went to the skies.)
Everybody put ya hands in the air and clap ya hands like this like that
Clap ya hands everybody! Everybody just clap ya hands!
(Scenes quickly changed to different scenes. Xion and Guthrie crossed blades, Luffy's one-hit KO on Bellamy, the group trying to catch the South Bird, then finally their first encounter with the Shandia Warriors)
Let's fly to the sky (It's time to fly around) Catch the perfect breeze for you
(The Straw Hat Pirates arrived on Skypiea and were approached by the White Berets and fought them)
Paint the sky with (Let's go to the wonder world) imagination that no one's ever seen
(Scene changed to the group in the Upper Yard fighting against Heartless, Shandians and Priests)
OH! OH! Even if it's too dazzling (Come on)
(Scene changed to Xion fighting against a blonde Organization XIII member with knives and lightning magic)
OH! OH! under the sun
(Changed to Guthrie and Allen teaming up against the Nobodies)
OH! OH! If it's you, you can make it! Throw away your pride and FLY!
(Changed to Luffy battling Enel. In a flash of light, opening ends with all of Straw Hats on Merry, facing the camera)
Last time:
"The Super-Express Lobster is a messenger for God," Pagaya informed. "What it transports is always an offering to God. So, it's headed to northeast Upper Yard, to the sacrificial altar."
"Sacrifice?! Nami-san, Robin-chan and the rest will be sacrificed?!" Sanji asked. Usopp smacked him for putting the rest of the guys as 'the rest'.
"That's not entirely true. I've heard, although it's called sacrifice, in Heaven's Judgement, there are two kinds of punishment that criminals receive. Sacrifice and an ordeal. They're currently hostages, so to speak, in God's hands."
Xion raised a brow at the last sentence. "Hostages? So then..."
Pagaya nodded, catching on to her assumption. "The ones who are actually being judge... are the four of you."
After witnessing their friends getting taken to Upper Yard to the sacrificial altar, Pagaya went through the trouble of explaining how they can get to where their friends will be, using the map of Skypeia Usopp had on him. Going over how they can get to the altar, the four were determined to get their friends back. Especially one of the four who was a bit too determined to save them, enough to forget the logic in White-White Sea is different from the one in Blue Sea. Luckily, Conis offered to take them to Angel Island wharf, where they can borrow a ship to get to the Sacrificial Altar. However...
'Why do I have a funny feeling about this?' Xion wondered, as she and the boys followed their guide to their destination.
"What's that?" Usopp asked, as they were approaching what seemed like a city.
"This is Lovely Street. After we cross through Lovely Street, we will arrive at the wharf," Conis explained.
"I'm looking forward to going to Upper yard," Luffy said.
"It is possible you will die there."
"Well, everyone dies eventually."
She didn't show it, but Conis was surprised at his words. "And you're fine with it?"
"Not fine; I'm pumped for it!"
Xion sweatdropped at his casual response while Sanji and Usopp both beat their captain for not taking their situation seriously.
'Time and time again, I question if joining this crew was actually one of the stupidest choices I've made,' she thought.
The group of five walked through Lovely Streets, taking in the view.
"Lovely Street is the only downtown area on Angel Island," Conis explained.
"Whoa! Check it out! The stores are floating!" Luffy stated.
"They've been built using the qualities of island cloud."
"Wow. Any yakiniku shops?"
As they walked, Xion noticed something really, really odd. Actually what she was noticing was something way too obvious.
'Why is everyone backing away from us?' she thought. Indeed, as they walked, the citizens of Angel Island all backed away from the group. Although she was aware that they were criminals, but their reaction seemed a bit too suspicious for it to be due to them such.
"Is it just me or is everyone avoiding us?" Usopp asked.
"Can't blame them. Word's probably already gotten out that we're criminals," Sanji reasoned.
"This feels great! All of downtown to ourselves!" Luffy said with a laugh.
'I thought you were suppose to be a good pirate,' Xion thought. 'But still... This sort of reaction just from us being criminals?'
As they continued to walk, Luffy was practically enjoying himself to the products that are being sold at the shops. By practically enjoying himself, I mean he was busy fooling around, not really taking the rescue mission seriously despite the earlier attitude. This only made Xion question her late decision of joining the crew even more.
'Is it too late to join a different crew?' she began to wonder.
Eventually enough, they made it to the docks called Gondola Port.
"Oh! So many boats!" the rubberman stated.
"There are all kinds of boats anchored here," Conis explained. "From hotel ships where you can stay the night to speed-oriented boats loaded with giant dials. There are many other kinds that-"
"Whoa! Look at that gondola!" Luffy interrupted, looking at a fancy red boat with an ox-like figurehead, fit for an emperor. "It's so cool! Let's take it! Look behind it! This one can move on its own like a waver! This could turn into a fun gondola race!"
"Idiot! We're rescuing Nami-san and Robin-chan! Get serious!" Sanji scolded.
"That's going to be impossible..." Xion muttered.
"Your boat is over here," Conis said. The four followed her to the gondola she rented out for them. "It's the Crow." Whatever high expectations they had for their boat dropped at the sight of a black, lame-looking boat before them.
"You can't be serious!" Luffy said.
"Crow? They aren't even waterfowl," Sanji stated.
"I used it until just recently when I learned how to ride wavers," their guide explained. "It's not fast like a waver, but it does have two Breath Dials on board. Please feel free to use it."
"No. I'm not going," the captain of the group said, much to their shock. "I want to go on that one."
Xion practically face-palmed at his selfishness. 'Of course he would.'
"Y-You don't like it? I'm sorry but-" Conis cut herself off at the sight of Sanji kicking Luffy repeatedly in the face.
"You damn ingrate! Apologize! Apologize to Conis-chan from the bottom of your heart! You scumbag!" the chef demanded. "Pay no attention to his selfishness!"
"Sorry..." the rubberboy said, his face practically bruised.
"N-No problem..." the resident of Angel Island accepted.
"Am I the only one who thinks he got more selfish since we arrived here?" Xion whispered to Usopp.
"It just so happens I was also thinking that," he agreed.
The four continued to follow her to get a view of the path before them.
"Your exit is Gate Number 2," Conis informed, pointing at the said path. "It will lead you to the giant Milky Road, which connects to Upper Yard. Y-You simply need to take that."
Xion raised an eyebrow in suspicion at her stutter.
"Hey, Conis. Why've you been trembling since we left your house?" Luffy asked.
The girl flinched at the question. "D-Does it really seem that way?"
"Yeah. It's like you're afraid or something..."
Sanji jumped to conclusion as to what it meant. "Conis-chan, are you worried about us?! I'm so touched~!"
"Idiot," Xion stated, hitting him hard on the head. "That's not what he meant."
"Even so, are you guys going to be okay?" Usopp asked, referring to Conis and Pagaya. "Everyone in town is plainly avoiding us, yet you're leading us to your boat and even giving directions... Doesn't that make you our accomplices?"
"You're looking pale, too," Luffy added on.
Conis kept quiet at their questioning.
"Conis. Exactly what is going on here?" Xion asked. "You're sweating."
Conis was silent at the question and the statement. "... It's strange, isn't it? Explaining the route to your 'ordeal', guiding you here myself... It's like I want to lead you there, despite saying how terrifying it is."
"Stop it! Don't say anything foolish!" the group heard.
"Huh? What was that?!" Usopp gasped.
"'Foolish'?" Xion repeated in a questioned tone.
They then realized the people around them were starting to back away from the group, more tensed than before.
Sanji was catching on to what was really going on. 'Don't tell me they're all...'
Conis was trembling. She couldn't believe what she was doing to these kind people. Guilt was starting to overwhelm her. Eventually, she collapsed on her knees, surprising the Straw Hats. "Could you run away?" she requested. "I'm sorry!" The townspeople were panicking as she was starting to confess the true intentions behind her actions. "I was the one who called the Super-Express Lobster!"
The pirates were shocked at this. "The thing that took Nami-san and the others?! You called it?!" Sanji asked.
"While you weren't on board, I lied to them about a current that leads to Cloud End and had them raise the anchor. That was the signal for the Super-Express Lobster. Once we know someone's a criminal, we'll be killed if we don't lead them to the place of judgement!"
As she continued to blurt out her confession, the people around them tried to stop her from saying any more.
"Stop it! Don't you realize what you're saying?!"
"You're blaspheming the God!"
"Stop her!"
"This is... our citizens' duty..." Conis ended.
"Are you serious?!" Usopp questioned.
"It's strange, isn't it?"
Luffy, with a serious look and tone, said, "Don't be stupid! You didn't have a choice, right?!" Conis nodded at his question.
Her answer made the four glare at her, their expressions darkened. "Then why are you telling us?!"
"Your life is in danger!" Luffy added.
The crowd then began to say something about judgement approaching and staying away from Conis. Cautious, Xion looked around for any sign of a threat, only to see none around her. Something was shining brightly from above, causing the pirates to look up, shielding their eyes from the brightness. The next thing they knew, something was shot down, right where Conis was. Luffy was quick enough to get her away, or at least attempt to.
"It's no good! It's too big!" Luffy stated. The lightning struck, leaving a huge cloud of smoke in its wake.
As they were recovering from the sudden strike, Usopp, Sanji and Xion all stood back on their feet, shaking off any minor wounds.
"What was that?! What just happened?!" Sanji asked.
"Hey... That hole!" Xion called, pointing at a fairly large hole where Conis and Luffy once were. "Did Luffy and Conis...?"
"Luffy!" Usopp shouted.
"Conis-chan! Where'd you go?!" Sanji shouted.
"Luffy! Conis!"
"It's not use," a civilian spoke.
"The almighty God Eneru sees all...!" another said.
Hearing those words worried the three remaining pirates even more.
"They are both safe," a voice assured.
They looked up and saw a familiar knight on a familiar ridiculous pegasus.
"Hey! It's that weird old man!" Usopp exclaimed in realization.
"'Weird'? No, I am the Sky Knight. This one's on the house," he corrected. He then deliberately dropped Luffy on the ground. "Leave this girl with me. I will not let Eneru harm her. You now know this land's true nature, as well as 'God's' power. What will you do now?"
"This land is none of our business; our friends are on 'God's Island'," Luffy simply answered.
"I see. May luck be with you." With that, he and his current-steed took off.
As he left, to the people's surprise, Luffy and the others were boarding the Crow, making their way to Upper Yard where the rest of their crew were... with one of the four crying and screaming in fear.
"Anyone thinks Conis and Pagaya are going to be okay?" Xion asked. "Conis tried to save us and wound up being an accomplice."
"That old Sky Knight said he'll protect her but..." Usopp pointed out.
"Well, that weird old guy doesn't seem so bad," Luffy stated.
"Got no other choice. I want to protect her, but we can't bring her along either," Sanji added, to his own disappointment.
"Yeah, we probably are in more danger than her," the sniper of the group said. "What with a 'sacrificial altar' and some 'ordeal' waiting for us..."
"But man this thing is slow," the captain complained about their gondola.
"This thing is heavier than a waver after all. Besides we can't go back at this moment. We'll have to deal with what we got now," the vice captain retorted.
The group finished crossing the gate. Imagine their surprise at the sight of their destination before them.
"Whoa! What is that humongous forest?!" Usopp gasped.
"Is that Upper Yard?" Sanji asked.
"It has to be," Xion answered.
"Wow! Was there a forest like that on the map?!" Luffy asked.
"There is a forest here, but it's nothing like this," the sniper informed, looking at the map in his hand. "It's just a normal forest."
"People from 200 years ago had that map, right?" the chef asked. "It might've been an old map from when they had it. It's take at least a thousand years for such giant trees to grow."
"But they sure are big trees! I wanna climb them!" the captain stated.
"Do that and I'll toss you overboard," the vice said, scaring the Devil Fruit user.
The group made it to the entrance and, ignoring Usopp's request to be left behind, continued onwards from there, officially entering Upper Yard. As they sailed passed, they noticed a bunch of wrecked ships around them, all sliced in half. While this worried Usopp, the rest of the group paid no mind to them. Just then, they all heard something.
"Forests are full of all kinds of stuff," Luffy said, not at all worried about the sound they just heard. The other three on the other hand...
"No! That's not it!" Sanji corrected.
"Full speed ahead! All ahead full! Paddle! Paddle, hurry! Forward!" Usopp cried out, as he and Sanji were already paddling as fast as possible.
"Huh? What's going on?" Luffy asked, confused at their reaction.
"Just put the pedal to the medal!" Xion shouted, calling out her Keyblade and facing the back of the Crow. "Aeroga!" Just as she said her wind magic, a big moving scythe came falling down. Luckily, the magic the Keyblade wielder called out gave their gondola a good boost in speed, getting it out of the way in time to avoid being sliced in half.
"Whoa! A sickle monster!"
"That's not a monster!"
"Don't let your guard down! There's more coming!" Usopp warned.
"Wait... How many more?" Sanji asked.
The group started to hear a lot more scythes coming.
"Paddle like crazy! Xion, shoot a lot of magic!" Luffy cried out.
The boys started to paddle with all their might while Xion was giving support by giving them more speed with her Aeroga magic, constantly going to the front or back of the ship to do so.
"We're not going to live at this rate!" Xion shouted.
"This isn't good. Take the wheel, Usopp!" Luffy ordered, rushing to the back. "Gomu Gomu no-!"
"Hey, Luffy! What are you doing?! Aim forward!" Usopp demanded.
"Just keep moving! Bazooka!" Luffy used his Bazooka attack to shoot their gondola into the air, narrowly avoiding the scythe.
"That was too close!" Xion stated, as their ride got back on the cloud.
As they continued to sail by, they heard what sounded like gears shifting.
"There's still more?" Sanji asked.
Almost on cue, wooden spears started to rain down on them. Usopp was frantically trying to avoid them with the best of his abilities, but the spears wouldn't stop coming.
"There's no end to them!" the chef shouted.
"They'll get us at this rate!" Usopp said.
"In that case... Reflect!" Xion held up a hand and called up a force field of some sort around the vessel. The spears hit the shield and bounced off.
"Nice one, Xion!" Luffy cheered.
"Xion-san, you're amazing~!" Sanji swooned.
"This isn't the time for that!" Usopp shouted at the love-sick cook.
Soon enough, they managed to make it out of the spear assault.
"Whew. We managed to make it," the vice captain of the group sighed, undoing her barrier.
"I just hope there's no more of this," Usopp said.
In the effect of reverse psychology, the group saw something glint in the trees ahead of them.
"Now what?!"
A razor boomerang then appeared. The group managed to avoid it, only for it to return and continue attacking them, showing no sign of returning to its owner. At one point, it easily cut through some trees like hot knife to butter.
"I'm sick of this place! You couldn't have enough lives to survive this! I'm going back! I don't care what anyone says!" Usopp panicked.
"Calm down already!" Xion shouted, her patience slowly coming to its peak from the sniper's constant whining and screaming.
"No! I'm captain of the Crow!"
"Since when?!" Luffy demanded.
"Even if we do go back, there's no guarantee that we'll return safely," Sanji said.
Just as he said that, the boomerang spun back to them once more.
"Aaahhh! Xion, use that barrier thing!" Usopp shouted.
"It can't stop something that big!" Xion retorted.
"In any case, just dodge!" Sanji said.
Luffy decided to take action. "Alright you! Gomu Gomu no..." The rest of his crew mates waited for him to do something against the weapon. "... I got nothing."
"THEN DON'T ACT LIKE YOU GOT SOMETHING!" Xion shouted, whacking her captain on the head. She noticed the boomerang coming back to them. "Then let's try... Summon: Peepsta Hoo!" Her owl Dream Eater appeared by her side.
"Xion, what are you doing?! That little Dream Eater can't take that thing out on its own!" Usopp cried out.
Ignoring the panicky sniper, Xion placed a hand on her Gunma's head. "Link Style: Cyclone!" Her Dream Eater merged with her, surrounding her body in a green aura. "Now blow away! Wind Sweep!" She jumped into the air and knocked the bladed weapon away with a spin attack, causing it to fall into the cloud.
"Nice hit!" Luffy commented, bringing the girl back on the gondola.
"But this is bad! Now we can't go back! We've come a long way from the entrance!" their sniper stated.
"Wanna get off here?" Luffy casually asked.
"You idiot! I'll die!"
"Then stop complaining!" Xion responded.
"You probably will die though," Sanji casually added, for a big lamprey appeared, mouth wide open to devour the boat and its passengers. Usopp screamed in fear, while Sanji took action this time and gave it a good kick, knocking it out and into the white ocean.
"What was that?! A snake?!" Luffy guessed.
"No, it's a lamprey. A sky lamprey," Sanji answered. "One that big will do more than suck blood."
"What a neat forest!" Of course, the captain would be impressed after what had occurred to them.
"Neat my ass! If this is our ordeal, I've had enough!" Usopp shouted.
"We just entered the forest though. This seems a bit too early for ordeals," Xion pointed out, cancelling her link with Gunma. "You did good." She petted him on the head.
"Xion-swan~ What about me~?" Sanji asked, expecting to be petted as well.
"No." And got rejected by her. "Besides that, we will be in more than trouble if we stop here. Keep going, Usopp."
"'Keep going,' she says," the long-nose pirate repeated in a whispered mocking tone.
That, unfortunately for him, didn't go unnoticed. "Did you say something~?" The Keyblade wielder cracked her knuckles as she asked that.
"N-Nothing!"
"Thought so."
*MEANWHILE, WITH THE OTHERS*
The rest of the Straw Hat pirates on the Going Merry found themselves on an altar in the middle of the white-white sea.
"That damn Super-Express Lobster just deserted us here..." Zoro said, gritting his teeth.
"Where exactly are we?" Chopper asked, standing on the railings.
"What's for certain is that it's the interior of Upper Yard..." Nami analyzed.
"It's almost as if this is the sacrificial altar," Robin pointed out.
"Rather this is the sacrificial altar," Guthrie said.
"This place?!" Chirithy cried out in panic.
"Nami. What's a 'sacrifice'?" Chopper asked.
"It means being offered to God while you're still alive," the navigator answered.
"Oh, that's all? I thought it meant boiling alive or something..."
"That's exactly what it is!" the small Dream Eater shouted. Hearing that surprised the doctor.
"Whatever the method, your life is given to God," Robin explained even further.
"Eeeehhhhhh?! So in other words we're still going to die?!" Chopper gasped in shock. The shock made him lose his balance on the rail, as he tumbled down the stairs.
"Chopper!" Nami cried out.
Thankfully, Robin caught him before he fell into the cloud with her Devil Fruit power. As she did so, however, something was swimming over to the man-reindeer. That something was a shark-like sea monster, attempting to eat Chopper, had Zoro not intervened in time.
"What is that?!" Nami gasped.
"A shark," Robin answered.
"A sky shark to be precise," Guthrie added.
Chopper ran back to the ship, screaming. "Zoro! Zoro!"
The three-sword-style swordsman was fighting off his opponent, both falling back into the water. Both were in the water for quite a while, worrying the group.
"What happened to you, Zoro?" Chopper asked in a worried tone.
Just then, the swordsman and the shark emerged out of the water, the former practically in the latter's mouth, preventing the mouth from closing up with his swords and brute strength.
"There he is!" Chirithy shouted.
"Zoro!" Nami followed.
"The sky shark is beating Zoro!" Chopper exclaimed.
Both individuals fell back into the water. Everyone just stared in silence and shock at the sight that had occurred.
"H-He went under again!" the doctor of the group spoke, breaking the silence. "Zoro isn't coming back up!"
"Do you think... he got eaten?!" the Dream Eater guessed. This freaked the doc out a lot, both screaming and crying how one of their strongest got eaten.
"If he was eaten, the cloud would turn red," Robin noted morbidly.
"How can you say something so scary so calmly, Robin?!" Nami demanded.
Hearing the archeologist say that actually made Guthrie think about the clouds being stained red from blood, sending some chills down his spine. "You say some of the scariest things, you know that?" he asked.
All of a sudden, the sky shark was out of the clouds and into the air, followed by Zoro. The man-eating fish landed back into the ocean, defeated and unconscious, while the swordsman swaggered back up the altar's stairs.
"This is bad. Guess we can't swim out of here," Zoro muttered, walking back to the group.
"If that's possible, no one would call this the sacrificial altar," Chirithy pointed out.
"Why'd you punch a shark when you're a swordsman?" Nami criticized.
"At least he defeated it," Guthrie said.
"Zoro, you're so strong!" Chopper commented in awe.
"What happened to your pride as a swordsman?" the navigator continued.
"Give the guy a break, spoil princess," Guthrie defended the swordsman.
"What was that?!"
Chopper looked back to the clouds and saw more shark fins emerging, swimming around the altar. "There wasn't just one! There's a whole swarm of sky sharks!" he cried out.
"We'll be here all night if we try to take out every single one," Zoro casually said.
"Is fighting really all you can think about?!" Chirithy questioned.
"In any case, we can't get to shore in any way," Guthrie stated.
"Though we can't just sit here, either," Robin added.
Zoro was squeezing the water out of his shirt as he complained, "That giant lobster brought us to one hell of a place..."
"Do you suppose starving us here is Heaven's Judgement?"
"I doubt that's considered as a judgement," the male Keyblade wielder stated to the archeologist. "Then again, who knows what this God thinks." Nami tossed Zoro a blue shirt.
The swordsman looked at Merry's condition. "This is bad. We can't set sail with the hull like this," he stated. "Try fixing the ship somehow, Chopper."
"Huh?! Me?! Got it!" the man-reindeer responded, rushing to get the materials needed to fix the ship.
"Fix it? What are you going to do?" Nami asked.
"I'm gonna get into the forest somehow," Zoro answered. "We should make this our base of operations. I'm sure Luffy and the others are headed here to search for us. It's like they say, 'If you get lost, stay where you are.'"
"Especially you!" the navigator retorted.
"His sense of direction can't be that bad," Guthrie said.
"If only you knew."
As they converse, Robin was looking at the ancient writing on the altar, in which the male Keyblade wielder noticed, as he joined her in the observation.
"Say Zoro, you said you're going into the forest, but what for?" Chopper asked.
"God lives here, right? I'm gonna meet him," he replied.
"I told you not to! What if you run into those freaks?!" Nami asked.
"Donno. It depends on how they act."
"I don't like the tone in that voice at all," Chirithy stated with a sweat drop.
"He has priests on this island too, you know. We can't make God angry! That's common sense!" the navigator scolded.
Zoro turned to her. "Sorry but... I've never prayed to God."
Nami face-planted at those words while Chopper was in awe, stating how cool the sword-wielding pirate sounded.
"Don't believe in him either. So I got no obligation to him," he continued.
As he speak, Nami was praying to God to spare her. Chirithy saw this and sweat dropped at how desperate she was to live.
Zoro noticed the vine looped around the tree branch high above them. "Looks like we can use that vine," he noticed.
"Oh, yeah. Good idea," Robin agreed, as she and Guthrie came around to join them. "Do you mind if I come along, Mr. Swordsman?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind going, too," Guthrie added.
"Huh? Fine, just don't get in the way," Zoro answered.
"Wait! Where are you two going?!" Nami demanded to the two additional travelers.
"We should wait here until Xion and the others join us," Chirithy stated.
"Robin found something out about this alter," Guthrie pointed out, turning to the ancient words on the alter. "Tell them what you learned."
"Well, from what I gathered, it's been at least 1,000 years since this alter was constructed," the archeologist explained.
"1-1000 years?!" Chopper, Nami, and Chirithy questioned in amazement.
"Something this historic makes me throb with excitement," Robin stated with a calm eagerness. "A place with such deep history must have many relics to be discovered."
"You sound pretty excited about all of this," Guthrie noticed, sensing Robin's anticipation. "Guess being an archeologist, you would be intrigued by new historical discoveries. I wouldn't mind seeing what you might discover, whatever that is."
She smiled at the councilor's interest in history. "If we find some jewel shards, it may be a big help to our ship."
At the sound of a certain word, a certain navigator of the crew perked up with the idea of treasure. "I'm going, too!" she cried out.
"EH?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE SCARED?!" Chopper and Chirithy exclaimed.
Nami turned to the two with beli bills in her eyes as she stated, "We're going to dig up some history."
"We can see your actual purpose in your eyes..." Chirithy muttered, Chopper nodded in agreement to his words.
Within moments, everyone but Chopper and Chirithy went up to the crow's nest of the ship, where they would have a good start-off point. Robin used her Flower-Flower fruit powers to pull one end of the vine down to them, which Zoro caught.
"Will that suffice?" she asked.
"It's perfect," Zoro answered. He cleared his throat, preparing himself for some unknown reason. Nami was confused, while Guthrie wondered if he was gonna do what he thought he was. Sure enough, just as Zoro took off swinging, making a call that a man of the jungle would make.
"What is that? A call of bravery?" Nami asked in bewilderment.
Guthrie merely placed a hand to his face and shook his head.
Zoro landed on the ground on the other side as the vine came back to the remaining three. Robin took it and swung over with ease, thankfully with no wild cries, landing neatly on the other side.
"Robin's so cool!" Chopper stated in amazement.
"Eh, not that cool," Chirithy retorted. "Though she did make it rather easy."
Guthrie caught the vine next and held it to Nami. "Why don't you go next?" he asked.
"Why? You caught it!" Nami responded. "Are you scared?"
"Says the girl shaking her legs when seeing the other two swing."
"Wha-?! My legs were not shaking!" Nami took the vine. "Fine, I'll go next, just to prove I'm not scared!"
She climbed onto the railing of the crow's nest, pulling on the vine to make sure it was tight. Looking beyond, she muttered, "This is a bit high..."
"It's about 50 meters. If you don't make it, you'll die," Robin casually pointed out.
"STOP SCARING ME!" Nami exclaimed.
"Now, now. Compared to the thousands of feet in the sky we already are, this shouldn't be too bad," Guthrie noted.
"YOU AREN'T HELPING, EITHER!"
They all noticed that the other sky sharks were eating up the one Zoro beaten. "Ew. Guess sharks are cannibals, sky or below," Guthrie muttered. He looked over to Nami. "Well, you are swinging above the cloud water, so you should be fine."
"Yeah, but if I fall, I'm dead!" Nami barked.
"Stop holding us up, and get going." The male Keyblade wielder hoisted himself onto the railing and grabbed Nami's hands to make sure she had a tight grip. He then shoved her from behind, forcing her into the swing.
Nami panicked as she descended towards the sky sharks, then noticed she was gonna crash into the tree ahead on the other side. "TOO FAST! WAY TOO FAST! I CAN'T STOP!"
Just as she neared it, she was stopped by multiple hands from Robin's arm, saving her. "How very brave of you," the archeologist stated.
Nami dropped to the ground as she recovered from the scare. As soon as she recovered, she turned angrily to the crow's nest and shouted, "COULDN'T YOU HAVE WAITED FOR ME TO BE READY?! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SHOVE ME LIKE THAT!"
"Sorry, but it had to be done," Guthrie called back, grabbing the swinging vine. Before he leapt off, he called down, "Hey, Chirithy. Stay here with Chopper and keep an eye out for the others with him, okay?"
"Right! I'll report to you if Xion returns," the Dream Eater answered.
"If ANY of them return." Guthrie then took a deep breath, exhaled, and made his swing. He reached the others just as easily as Robin.
After the swinging was over Nami sighed as she realized how much she held up everyone and said, "Sorry for holding us up."
"No problem," Robin answered, walking off.
"Can you stand?" Guthrie asked Nami.
"Yeah." She got to her feet again. "Next time, please warn me before you do that." Guthrie shrugged it off.
Zoro made his jungle cry, for some reason. "It's because you didn't do the call."
"THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM!" she barked back.
"Can we just get going, please?" Guthrie asked, annoyed by Nami by now, as he walked off to join Robin. The archeologist noted the size of the trees.
"Okay, Chopper, Chirithy! The ship's in both your hands!" Zoro called out.
"We'll leave it to you," Robin stated.
"Don't do anything reckless," Guthrie warned them.
"We'll see you soon!" Nami waved to them, her attitude taking a full 180 again.
"Be careful, you guys! Come back safe!" Chopper cried back.
"Get back here soon when you are done!" Chirithy ordered.
The four adventurers took off into the jungle, disappearing from view.
"I'm sure Nami will be safe with Zoro, Robin and Guthrie," the reindeer of the two noted.
"She's pretty useless when it comes to defending herself, isn't she?" Chirithy questioned, hopping off the railing. "Still, even though I want Guthrie to be back here, waiting for Xion and the others, I do hope this will be a learning experience for him and his Keyblade."
"You seem dedicated on helping Guthrie being this guardian for Xion-nee."
Chirithy looked up at Chopper as the latter hopped down and asked, "Tell me, how much do you know about Xion? You act like she's your older sister or something."
"She treats me like a little brother, so she is kind of an older sister to me. Plus, I got to see her do so many cool things during our journey here, even before she lost her memory."
"Is that so? So she's been to this world before?"
Chopper nodded, then looked to the area the other four vanished, "Xion-nee's so brave. I wish I was as brave as everyone else on the crew."
Chirithy watched Chopper's longing face for a moment. The doctor walked down the steps and grabbed the toolbox. "Anyways, I just have to do what I can do," he stated. "They left us alone on the ship in a dangerous forest. That means they trust me. I'll work hard. Besides, if something does happen, you'll be there to protect me, Chirithy."
"What are you talking about?" Chirithy questioned.
Chopper walked away, eagerly stating, "Well, you're a Dream Eater. You must have some super cool powers to fight any monsters that come our way like all of Xion-nee's Spirits."
Hearing that made him nervous for some reason. "Uh, I'm not a combatant Dream Eater," he confessed. Chopper stopped in his tracks, turning to him, confused. "Yeah, I'm not like other Dream Eaters, and are able to fight. I'm more of a guidance for Keyblade wielders and one who keeps ahold of their skill medals. I can't fight monsters properly."
There was a moment of silence between the two of them as the revelation sunk into both of their minds. Chopper wasn't as strong as the others, and Chirithy lacked any fighting skills. They were on a ship alone in the middle of a dangerous forest. This led to one conclusion as their faces paled in panic.
"THE ONES IN MOST DANGER... ARE US!" they exclaimed in unison.