Okay, we are getting to a fun part soon enough. I promise. If things go as well as I hope, then we will be getting to a good part. Here we go! I'm so freaking nervous…
Song of the chapter is 'Louder' by Les Friction. Awesomeness does not belong to me.
Knocking out the sun with a runaway transmission
A force that can't be heard, coming in louder than words (x2)
We have the force to fight
We have the blinding light
A war is more than heard, coming in louder than words(x2)
Louder!
When we get to the part I hope we get to, then you will hopefully see why I chose this song. Let me just say this much, Atticus is going to get beyond pissed off. And when we get there, you might want to go listen to the song if you don't already know it. I feel like it really fits.
One little note first: There is a channel on YouTube made by The dragon. Best way of finding The Dragon is to search for 'No Theme But Amazing' playlist. Should be one of the first to pop up. Anyway, though not all the videos are One Piece, The dragon has made a soundtrack. Each song from this story is on it in the order of the chapters. If you're interested, have a look. ^^ I thought it was pretty cool.
Disclaimer: One Piece? Nope. Harry Potter (references)? Nope again.
Claimer: Atticus? Yep. Estrella? Yep again.
Here the Chapter Starts
Atticus jumped awake upon hearing the scream of terror. After the camping party, cloud wolves and all, he was too tired to stay up much longer and ended up passing out on his familiar after she returned to them. Nola wasn't too far away, preferring to sleep out of sight of the others. Yet hearing that yell was like turning the lights on for his brain, jolting him into a fighting mindset.
He sprinted towards the Merry, feet swift enough to barely be touching the ground. Only to come skidding to a halt when he found Usopp laying on the ground. He didn't look injured, just scared.
Sighing, he nudged the sniper with his foot. "Usopp, it's way too early for this," he complained, his sleepiness coming back in almost full force. "Come on. Get up and let's get back to the others." No movement, but Atticus knew the other wasn't scared to a literal death. Hearing a sound like a hammer, he looked towards the Merry. In the fog, he couldn't see much, but he spotted the outline of somebody on the ship. "Who is that?" he muttered to himself.
The figure turned to him and smiled, a voice faintly whispering into his mind. He blinked in surprise before smiling back. "I see. Well then, Merry, have a good night." Reaching down, he picked Usopp up and threw him onto his shoulders. "As for us, we're going back to bed."
When he was back at the camp and Usopp was put back into his own makeshift bed, the blonde went over to Estrella and laid on top of her coiled form, her wing covering him. The agathodemon nudged him slightly, causing him to look up. "What happened?" she asked him lowly.
"Nothing, but I found out what's on the ship," Atticus replied, rubbing her nose. "I thought they were just a fairy tale, but one is on the Merry right now." He huffed out a soft laugh. "A klabautermann."
Here is a line!
He woke to another scream, which caused a chain reaction from some of the others. Groaning, Atticus woke more slowly this time, probably not jumping to fight mode because Estrella was snickering, thus canceling out any subconscious thought of a threat being nearby. "What the what?" he asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Nola showed up," Chopper supplied. "Usopp kind of freaked out."
"Explains everything," the blonde sighed as he staggered to his feet. "Usopp! Calm down! That's just Nola."
"What?!" the sniper exclaimed. "You said Nola was just a snake!"
"She is," Atticus brushed off, waving his hand to the gigantic serpent. "She's over four hundred years old. And she lives up here. She's going to be freaking huge, like everything else."
Luffy laughed, holding his hat on his head and he looked up to Nola with a wide grin on his face. "She seems nice," he declared.
"'Nice' would not including eating me as soon as seeing me," the tall teen sighed, stretching his arms. "Good morning, Nola. Screams and all."
"I'm used to the screaming," Nola told him gently as Estrella flew up to land on her head. "Are we going to continue our search?"
"Yeah, but let me talk with my friends for a bit to figure out what we're going to do," he replied, scratching at the whisker hanging near him. "You can listen in, if you want."
"Thank you. I believe I shall."
"Hey, Nola!" Luffy suddenly shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth in an attempt to amplify his voice. The large serpent stared at him curiously. "Thanks for getting the Merry off that altar! We owe you one!"
She reared back in surprise, her head tilting as the rubber captain grinned and laughed happily. Strange, she was almost reminded of Noland. Almost.
As everyone gathered for breakfast and a quick go-over concerning who would do what, Atticus cut everyone off. "I made a deal," he confessed firmly, lacing his fingers together as everyone looked to him curiously. "Nola here, she knew Montblanc Noland. The city. This island before it came up here." Sighing heavily, he continued as the gigantic snake looked down upon the group. "She is the guardian of the city, but she lost it. I promised to help her find it again, and she'll tell me what she can. She didn't have to help us, that wasn't part of the deal. But she helped anyway."
"So you're saying what exactly?" Sanji asked, blowing out a puff of smoke.
"I can learn what she has to teach, but no one will take word-of-mouth as proof," Atticus continued, looking over the crew. "Before we even think about taking anything, we should ask for the blessing of the city's guardian. We should make sure that she will be fine with us taking these finally pieces of her past away before we touch anything."
"That… actually sounds like a good idea," Usopp said lowly, crossing his arms and looking up to Nola. "It would be bad to upset something that can swallow us alive."
"So, Nola?" Nami called out, clasping her hands together.
Yellow eyes looked at the orange-haired navigator, thick tongue flickering out.
"Nami, let me," Atticus sighed, placing a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "She can understand us when we speak human, but-"
"They may take," Nola suddenly said, causing the tall blonde to look up at her in surprise. "There is one possession they must never try to remove. Should we find the Fire of Shandora, you and your friends will not attempt to remove it from the city."
"You're sure? I mean, everything in the city is a part of your past, and the past you shared with your friends," he reminded. "I don't want us to take something that meaningful to you."
"You are kind and considerate, little one," the serpent continued as Estrella nuzzled the top of her head. "You and the Winged Hatchling. But I care not for the small items. The only item of importance, the only thing that Calgara and his people protected for as long as they could, the one item that was lost when we came here… The bell, the Fire of Shandora. That must never leave. If we find it, and it is away from the city, it must be returned there."
Nodding, he replied, "I understand." He turned back to the crew, holding Nami to his side so that she wouldn't try to ask Nola for permission that was already given. "We can take from the city, Nola doesn't mind. But there is something of great importance. If we find it outside the city, we have to bring it to the city. It's a bell, she called it the Fire of Shandora."
"The Fire of Shandora?" Zoro repeated.
"Man, that would be so cool!" Luffy exclaimed, eyes sparkling and fists clenched in excitement. Nola growled lowly at him, fangs bared. "But I understand! It was something that belonged to her friends, right? Don't worry. We won't take it. Though if we do find it, I want to ring it so that the old man on Jaya can hear it. Then he'll know that Noland wasn't a liar and the city is real."
"Old man?" Nola asked curiously.
"Noland's descendant," Atticus supplied. "Montblanc Cricket. Though if I try taking you down to the Blue Seas to meet him, it would be hard for you to get back up here." Nola nodded in acceptance of the explanation. "So, how are we going to go searching? Estrella and I are going to stick with Nola and we'll see what we can find from the altar."
A few opted to stay with the Merry, Gan Fall being one along with Sanji, Usopp, and Nami. His explanation was along the lines of another attack on the ship being possible, but with everyone splitting up, he can try and teach a few of them about the priests, Eneru, and their abilities, even though Atticus did tell everyone what he learned from Shura. It made sense and no one was really able to object to the man sharing some knowledge.
Everyone else looked in their designated areas, though Atticus claimed he wouldn't be surprised if Luffy and Zoro got lost during their search. Nola started looking over the altar then around the area.
Waiting for the serpent to take the lead once she knew her way, Atticus leaned against his familiar's tucked wing. "So, what happened at the village?" he asked.
Estrella sighed softly. "Most of the homes were gone, swallowed by the forest," she explained. "Nola wept over them, saying names and something about their spirits living on in the forest. I think it was a prayer she used to know when they were alive." Looking down at her master, she added softly, "It looked like it helped her. A little."
"I hope so," Atticus murmured. "I doubt she had time to say her good-byes when everything went to hell."
Nola turned back to the duo, lowering to the ground to not hover too high for the teenager. "I believe I know where to go from here," she informed. "Will you still come with me?"
"I'd be honored," the tall blonde accepted with a nod.
Here is a line!
As Nola slithered along the ground, her massive form winding around trees with ease, Estrella glided alongside her. Atticus, not wanting to be caught off guard by Eneru or his priests, used his Kenbunshoku to keep an eye on the area. He wasn't able to spread it as far as some would, but it was enough to alert him to the multiple battles and auras in the area. And there are a lot of them, even with the speed that they were flickering out.
"The Shandora were the tribe that Noland met when he landed on this island," Nola explained to him. "They worshiped my family. Noland landed here when it was in the blue water after a sickness was being spread. It was unknown to the tribe, scaring them. Calgara, for the sake of the tribe, even went as far as attempting to sacrifice his own daughter. But Noland killed my grandfather and saved Calgara's hatchling.
"I met them shortly after my father died. I was a small thing then, but I enjoyed being around them. I loved the sound of the bell. While friendship grew between Calgara and Noland, Noland's people were chopping down trees that had a sick flavor in the air around them. When Calgara found out, he was angry and demanded Noland leave the island.
"But his daughter, Mousse, went to them that night, asking why they chopped down the trees and explained to them why Calgara was so upset about it. When she was told the trees were sick, and that sickness was spreading to the tribe, she went to tell Calgara. By the time she told him, Noland was already on his ship and sailing away. Seto and the whole tribe rang the bell for him to hear while Calgara ran to the beach to ask for Noland's forgiveness."
"What happened afterwards?" Atticus asked, leaning towards the large serpent. Not that he was unbalancing Estrella anyway, who still flew straight and level. "Down in the Blue Seas, the story went on about how he told his king about the golden city. And the king wanted to see it as well. When Noland got back to Jaya, the city was gone and he was executed for lying to his king." Hearing Nola growl angrily, he asked, "What really happened?"
"The ground rumbled one day and we were brought up here," she replied. "When everyone woke, there was this large human claiming to be 'God' and that the land was now his. Calgara, Seto, the other Shandora… they all battled against him. But the air was too thin and they had not yet adjusted. They lost the battle. The survivors ran from the village. Again and again, the battles happened. The Shandora kept trying to reclaim home, even though it is in the clouds now. Because this is their home, not some other human that thinks he is entitled to it."
"Sounds like a typical human," the blonde sighed, rubbing his head. "We're a selfish, violent species."
Nola hummed in acknowledgement. "The Shandora are still alive now, still trying to reclaim their land," she informed him. "I taste them in the air, battling the minions of the thief." Shaking her head, she sighed lowly and added, "They do not know me. I don't know if they even know about the Fire of Shandora."
"I think they know, otherwise they wouldn't fight so hard still," Estrella commented. "I don't blame them at all."
An explosion went off nearby, causing the two serpents to jerk back in surprise. Atticus focused on the area, picking up on Zoro's presence, as well as another. "Zoro's fighting," he announced.
"Against who?" his familiar asked.
"Not sure." Blinking in surprise, he cursed himself with a snarl. He was picking up on the others as well, including Gan Fall and his weird bird. Robin was also around, as well as a powerful logia, but their auras were muted, as though buried under something. What happened since they all separated? He hadn't fought any priest, though that could have been because most would take one look at Nola and wisely run the opposite direction. That didn't mean they couldn't have left the others alone.
He doesn't doubt the strength of the crew, but he was curious about what drew them all to the same area. The ship has to be located somewhere safe, otherwise the group that stayed with the Going Merry wouldn't be here as well. Luffy was occupied with another human, a strong one with a powerful will to not only survive, but to win. He wasn't sure if it was against Luffy or just in general, but that one craved victory and was willing to die in attempt to gain it.
"Zoro and Luffy are the closest," he informed. "They're fighting different people, but I'm not sure which side they're on."
"Do you wish to see if your friends need help?" Nola offered.
"No, they'll survive well enough without my interfering," he denied, shaking his head slowly. "Besides, cutting into their battles kind of pisses them off."
One of the auras flickered out, soon followed by another weaker one that could have simply just been another animal. The logia he sensed suddenly acted up, electricity dancing along his skin as his magic battled against the current in the air. A snarl echoed into his mind, causing him to flinch at the reminder of his beast. It had been so quiet for a while, he thought it went dormant. Yet it seemed to take the logia's antics as a challenge.
"Something's happening," Nola announced as the ground shook under her. It shattered under her, dropping her several feet below the surface.
"NOLA!" they cried out for her, Estrella diving down after the huge snake with Atticus flat on her back. Several chunks of ruins fell, as well as the crewmembers in the area. But through everything falling, Atticus couldn't figure out where they were, even with his Kenbunshoku. Too much moving around and he doubted that they would be able to catch everyone without being hit with a rock as well.
Nola crashed into solid ground below, the debris falling around her or tumbling off her body. Wiggling, she suddenly threw back her head. "What was that?!" she exclaimed, angrily looking around. Only to freeze. Water gathered in her eyes as she took in her surrounding.
"Nola!" Estrella called for her.
"You okay?" Atticus asked worriedly. Gasping, he looked along the ground for the rest of the crew. He managed to spot Nami with a small girl and Gan Fall near her. Zoro was holding Chopper, Luffy next to him and Robin just standing there in surprise. "Where are we?"
"Home," Nola whimpered, tears slipping from her eyes as she looked over the stone buildings.
"Nami!" Atticus called out, Estrella gliding down enough for him to jump from her back. "What's going on? You guys okay?"
"This is…"
"Yeah," Nami replied, nodding her head. "Eneru attacked us on the Merry. Sanji and Usopp are both hurt, but Conis and her father are watching over them."
"Nola?" Estrella softly chirped.
"He attacked you guys?!" Atticus exclaimed angrily.
"The city," Nola choked.
"Hey, guys!" Luffy called out, waving his hand in the air as he stumbled over rubble to them, Robin and Zoro following after him. "There you are! Where are we?"
"I'm home."
"This is the City of Gold," Robin revealed. "Eneru, however, took all the gold away. He didn't know about the bell, though, until I mentioned it. I'm sorry, but I believe he may go after it."
"The bell?"
"Atticus, that snake friend of yours is acting weird," Zoro pointed out.
"Where's the bell?"
"She's in a bit of a shock," he informed. "Wait, Eneru didn't know about the bell? We know it's not on Jaya otherwise it would be somewhere obvious. And Nola seems pretty convinced its up here, too."
"The Fire of Shandora!"
"What are you doing?" a pompous voice demanded. "You're very noisy, Master of the Sky."
A bright flash of light enveloped Nola.
"God's Judgement!"
Lightning struck down. Estrella sharply pulled away before she was struck, but the electricity still surrounded Nola's massive form. Everyone stared with wide eyes as the lightning dissipated, Nola slowly shifting before finally falling to the ground.
Estrella shrieked, the sound piercing the air itself as she circled above Nola, gliding down to her burnt form. "Nola! Nola, wake up! Don't die! You just got back home! You just found your city!"
"The Master of the Sky," a man nearby shakily said, his tattooed light brown skin shivering in his shock. "My burn bazooka could never even harm it. Yet one strike from Eneru…"
Atticus staggered over to Nola, his hand shaking pressing against her skin. Eneru was floating on a cloud orb nearby, rambling on about his survival game and being disappointed that his prediction was wrong. That instead of five survivors, there are ten, double his predicted amount. The words were muffled to his ears, though, as he pressed against the snake's burnt hide, hands soothingly rubbing the scales.
The beast in him growled, then snarled loudly. Soon, an angered roar filled his mind. His vision turned red with rage as his teeth grinded together. He couldn't hear anything being said. Burning heat surged through his veins as he jerkily turned to Eneru.
He will pay… He will pay… He will PAY!
A crack echoed into the air only for a second to follow, Atticus appearing behind Eneru. The God smirked at him, as though expected nothing to happen, especially after showing how easily he could dispatch Gan Fall. The tall blonde swung down his fist, the skin colored black with Haki, straight into Eneru's face. The so-called 'God' fell from his cloud orb, colliding into the ground.
Air hissed as he sharply breathed in and out through his teeth, marching over to Eneru as the man picked himself back up. His eyes were focused solely on the other, not hearing the crew calling his name.
"How did you strike me?" Eneru demanded, his eyes wide. He couldn't hear anything from this boy. The only voice he could hear from him was saying the same thing over and over again, louder and louder.
'He will pay. He will pay! He will PAY! HE WILL PAY!'
Atticus leapt forth, legs black as he balanced on his hands and swung out, kicking Eneru in the side. The 'god' attempted to dodge, but was kicked back down into the ground, that strike soon followed by another.
"That's Busoshoku?" Nami asked in amazement.
"Man, Atticus is really mad!" Luffy exclaimed, eyes wide and jaw almost to the floor.
Eneru managed to get back to his feet in time to dodge the next kick flying towards his head, his staff held out as the man stared at Atticus in fear. Never before has he been struck. No one has ever hit him. There was no one his Mantra could not hear or see.
"First, you send your little pet shrimp to steal our ship and our friends," Atticus snarled, stepping towards the false-god. "Then you sent another lackey in an attempt to not only destroy our ship, but also murder our youngest crewmate. After that, you attack the ship personally, injuring two of my friends while threatening my cousin. And again, you cause more harm to them by breaking the ground under our feet, bringing us down here. Then when Nola is finally back home, after four hundred years, you electrocute her just because she's loud."
Eneru blinked and the teen was gone. Gasping, he looked around. He couldn't see the boy until he heard him from above, an angered shriek echoing into the air and chilling his bones. He looked up then sharply leapt to the side, evading the strike that cracked the ground and kicked up dust and pieces of rubble. Seeing the dust clear, his eyes grew wide when he didn't see the boy in the middle.
"You look worried," that dark voice whispered into his ears. Before he could dodge, a black hand swung out and struck the side of his head, throwing him into the wall of a nearby building.
"Insolent insect!" Eneru roared, creating another bubble of cloud to stand on as he floated upwards. "You dare strike me?! Then you shall suffer your punishment!" He pointed his staff to the smirking blonde. "Ten Million Volts!"
The electricity surged from the staff, flying towards Atticus. "You're scared," he accused before disappearing into the air, Apparating from the strike only to appear in front of Eneru on the cloud orb. "Have you never faced an opponent that manages to actually hit you?" His hand grasped Eneru's face, a sickening grin splitting his lips as his red gaze focused on Eneru's fearful eyes. "You call yourself God? How stupid you are. I think you need to learn some humility!"
A black fist dug into Eneru's stomach before a knee rose as the 'god' fell forth, the joint hitting him in the face. Atticus kicked out, striking Eneru in the chest and throwing him back to the ground. Not giving the god any pause, he leapt down from the orb, ready to force all his weight and strength into the false-god's form in order to crush him more into the ground.
But Eneru suddenly disappeared in a flash of lightning, electricity jolting through the air and swirling around Atticus as he landed. He looked around the dome surrounding him. It was all Eneru, his body pure electricity and surrounding him.
"Atticus, look out!"
The dome crashed into him, surging through his body. Hundreds, thousands, eventually millions of volts. When it released him, blood was pouring from his mouth and nose, green eyes bloodshot, and his skin smoking from the burns. A spear stuck in his body.
"Gomu-Gomu no Rocket!"
A blur slammed into Eneru, knocking him away from the blonde, but the attack caused the spear to be jerked from his chest. Blood gushed from the wound, his breaths wet and raspy as more red spilled from his lips, his knees shaking to stop him from falling.
"Atticus!" Nami called out, running to him while still carrying the unconscious Chopper. "Oh, no! It sounds like he punctured one of your lungs!"
"I'll live," he reassured as Estrella coiled around them, Robin and Zoro coming over as well. Though the other man did nothing and Gan Fall is currently unconscious because of Eneru. "He hurt us too much," he growled out as he shakily balanced himself once more. "He needs to pay!"
"Atticus, no!" Zoro shouted, knocking the teen to the ground then pinning him. "You're injured! Don't push yourself any more or you'll die!"
"He needs to pay!" Atticus snarled, wriggling under the swordsman. "He needs to fucking DIE!"
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right, outsider," the tattooed native agreed, hoisting up his bazooka to his shoulder. "And he will."
Here the Chapter Ends
I said he'd get pissed. He got pissed. Eneru kept pushing and Nola was the last straw for Atticus. He's still pretty pissed.
What shall happen next chapter? I dunno. But you guys know the drill by now! Let me know what you think! ^^ Ja ne, minna-san!