Updated: April 26, 2018
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Do You Hear the Bells?
WARNING: Some darker tones in this chapter but nothing to graphic or traumatic (I think)! Oh! And guess what, guess what!? This is the last chapter of the Skypiea arc which means…the Clodagh Arc starts next chapter! We get to figure out Rowan's past and why she's so mean to Zolo! Are you excited!? I am!
Onward we go!
Rowan awoke with a light groan. The back of her neck was throbbing with pain.
The soft jingling of coins clattering against one another gave Rowan pause. Her jaw clenched, grinding her teeth together as she stared down at herself.
It was like she was back in Alabasta. A too tight skirt hugged her large hips in a deep red fabric before it turned into a sheer color that went all the way down to her gold bangle ankles. Rowan twisted her bare foot, feeling the gold confinement hug the joint. Her stomach was bare, showing the heavy scarring. The same red colored fabric covered her in a halter top that flowed down to the middle of her back but was cut practically under her breasts in the front. Gold beads jingled around her chest and more bangles were encasing her biceps and wrists. She was relieved to find the old leather strap upon her wrist was simply hidden by a bangle.
Rowan frowned heavily, brows all but furrowed into a single line. Her teeth grinding together, Rowan stood up from the plush bed she had been laid upon. She tossed the mosquito sheet to the side but froze almost instantly upon seeing the room.
"Good evening, Mistress," three voices echoed. Rowan stared down at three white clothed women bowing to her. All had their hair pulled into a low ponytail and had light jewelry.
"If you would please follow us, Mistress," one of the women said. The three of them came up from their bow and started towards a large door. Rowan watched them wait by the door and look back at her without a trace of impatience. Instead of following after the women, Rowan peered at the room. It was large and richly designed with plenty of gold intertwined into the cloud-made foundation and colorful drapes.
"Where am I?" Rowan demanded with her red brows narrowed.
"We cannot answer that, Mistress. If you would please follow us." Rowan's brows only furrowed farther. For a short moment she contemplated simply staying in the room and letting whoever was in charge come to her. She quickly forgot that idea when she realized that would mean she was stuck in the room with an unknown identity. So, with a heavy frown and narrowed eyes, Rowan left the room. She disliked the fact that two of the women instantly took up residence behind her while the eldest of them lead.
Rowan was lead through many twisting tunnels of cloud material before she and the others were dumped into a court yard of sorts. Her eyes instantly snapped to the others standing within. She even paused for a moment, refusing to surround herself, but the others kept walking.
There were other women and some men dressed as those that had led her to the court yard. Then there were four others that stood out to Rowan as the most dangerous. There was only one woman amongst three men and they all stood beside one another, staring at an empty seat. Rowan did stop completely when all heads turned to her. Her upper lip twitched when she saw the woman's face twist into a disgusted expression. She couldn't be mad; her own expression was probably the same when she had seen herself in the ridiculous outfit current adoring her body. Red really wasn't her color.
Rowan's tilted to the side lightly though when she realized the woman was wearing a similar outfit…
Bold fingers dug themselves into the red curls on the back of Rowan's head, pulling at her hair.
"I knew it'd look good on you!"
Rowan's body spun on a bare heel as her other leg snapped up. The skirt fluttered around her legs while the tight material around her hips moved in the wake of her motion.
Her leg hit nothing. No one was behind her.
All the hairs on the back of Rowan's neck stood on end as a laugh echoed behind her and a hand entered her hair again.
"I've wanted someone to wear this outfit for a while now. Ever since it came up from the water below! But you're the first who I thought would fill it out right. And I was right!"
Rowan spun for a second time, arm lashing out to back hand the man behind her.
Startled was the best word for her surprise when a thick hand caught her wrist, her knuckles just a hair's breathe from slapping a square jaw. The hand on her wrist was tight and more powerful than the average man if it could stop her attack. Eyes narrowed once more, Rowan peered up into the face smiling down at her.
The man was tall. One of the taller men Rowan had seen in her life. She only came up to his shoulder. His features were very box like, which to Rowan, only made his muscular form seem that more noticeable; and, his chest and arms weren't hidden underneath a shirt but bare for the world to adore. Even if the man hadn't said he was the one that wanted her in the ridiculous outfit, Rowan would have guessed it had been him. His lower half was garbed in loose, orange pants with a black pattern and his waist was covered by a flowing blue sash which held up a light-blue veil. Gold bracelets were on his arms and ankles and there were even toe rings. Due to the fact she was practically staring at them, Rowan was double impressed by how long the man had gotten his earlobes to go. They stopped at his breast and the ends were decorated by gold and diamond pieces. Stretching high above his head were four large Tomoe drums attached to a large ring.
Rowan stopped in her investigation of the man and returned her glowering green eyes to his jeweled hand and which still held her wrist. It looked rather small in his grasp. She didn't like how small it looked. Like a chagrining bull, Rowan felt her pride burst forth and come to the head front. Her head tilted back, not to look up at the man's blue eyes, but instead to give the appearance that she was looking down upon him.
"Let go." The man only flashed white teeth at her. Rowan's rage (not entirely the man in front of hers fault) boiled to a thundering roar. If it were at all possible, Rowan's back straightened into a stiff line and her face turned ice cold.
"Let. Go." Rowan about sputtered like a riled tomcat when the man simply spun her around with a flick of his wrist. The skirt around her ankles fluttered up before wrapping around her legs like a lover and flowing back out. The golden decoration on her chest clinked against one another and the headpiece intertwined in her hair jingled.
"I like it."
Rowan had enough.
Her anger fueling her, Rowan used all her force to pull her wrist free from the man's suddenly lose grip. Using the momentum he had given her, Rowan spun out of his reach before tucking herself in close to his body. Her fists were up like a boxer's and with a cold expression, the woman went in for an uppercut right to his jaw. This attack was familiar for her to use against those larger than her. Many thought they could simply come in close and overpower her. It was the coming in close part that killed them. Rowan's fist would connect with their jaw, right under the connection joint, and proceed to crush the joint by slamming the jaw up. It always broke and only one other time had it not succeeded in knocking a man out.
Her fist never made contact. But the pain did. Almost like a sensory overload, Rowan's body filled to the brim and burst with painful energy. Her sight went black as her muscles spasmed and clenched in ways she didn't know possible. Her brain almost gave out under the stress. Everything shook as a scream caught in her throat. Her heart galloped in her chest and Rowan was sure it was going to implode. She hit the ground hard but barely noticed it in the wake of her clenching muscles.
The first thing she saw when her sight came back was the man's jeweled feet. Her heart was still racing and her breathing came out in harsh pants as it tried to overcompensate her heart beat and aching lungs. Rowan actually flinched, and instantly regretted it, when the man knelt down and picked her up, bridal style.
"Silly girl. A simple mortal should never attack a Kami."
'No…' Rowan's mind screamed in panic as the dots finally connected in her head. The man holding her and leading her paralyzed body was the king of this world; Kami Eneru. The man Luffy was going to fight. She had to warn him. She had to get away and tell the others and flee back to the sea below. As they were now, they would be no match for this man made of lightning. With that realization, Rowan understood a few more things that had been confusing just a few hours before hand: how Eneru had been able to attack Conis on Angle Island; why those on Skypiea feared him so and why no one had defied him and lived; how a man was able to set himself up as a true God.
Rowan was unable to hold back the light whine as the man plopped down in a throne like seat, her body jerking with the motion. All her muscles hurt as if she had run a marathon for days and at top speed. She had felt better after facing a sea king then she did now.
"But you've learned your lesson now, haven't you? Good!" the Kami laughed while propping her up against his shoulder and sitting her in his crossed legs. "You Blue Sea people almost always need a little extra push before you become compliant." Rowan's leg twitched with a harsh spasm. She watched with a thundering heart as the Kami placed a hand on the twitching thigh muscle and began to knead his fingers in. His other hand had returned to her hair. His attention was drawn back to said hair as he tugged on it lightly.
"I've only ever seen red hair once. It's so strange…" Rowan found herself choking slightly as she tried to get her body to move. It was refusing any attempts and only continued to spasm lightly. "Like blood…no…more like a ruby or wine." Eneru smiled brightly, much like a child given a new toy, before he turned to the four in front of him. "Go away now. You know what to do. I'm done with you." He leaned his head back against the throne while turning his eyes to a giant of a man that had suddenly appeared at his left. "Take the men and leave with Yama." The giant only nodded before turning away and leaving.
"Kami…" a soft, yet high pitched, voice whined lightly. Rowan barely saw out of the corner of her eye the woman dressed as she, walked forward and kneel at the Kami's feet. "Must I leave? Can I not stay with you? I would be most humbled to stand beside you and watch you put all these pathetic insects in their place." Rowan's form jerked with Eneru's snort. His eyes had yet to leave her red hair as his fingers ran through it.
"I told you to leave Saraswati." Rowan saw the flash of hurt pass the woman's dark eyes before they landed on her. Rowan could honestly say very few had ever looked at her with as much hatred as the woman did then. Slowly, and with great reluctance, the woman stood up and left behind the men that were already long gone.
Silence filled the court yard as the Kami went to playing with Rowan's hair. His nails would dig in to her scalp before pulling with force that didn't hurt and twirl the locks between his fingers.
Rowan was just beginning to get feeling back into her hands when he began to talk.
"I've decided to take you on my ship. Saraswati has been saying for ages now that I would do well with a queen." Rowan's gut clenched to the point of nausea. "Someone to take care of internal affairs in my home so that I don't have to be bothered with it. I know she keeps working to get my attention in hopes that I'll make it her." The man laughed in his loud and boisterous way while his hand all but clenched in her hair. He pulled her head back from his shoulder so he could look at her face full on.
"But I think I prefer you. I like a woman that stands head on. A warrior-woman." Rowan didn't hold in her grunt when his hands went down to her hips and twisted her. She suddenly found herself astride the man and did not lik the change of seating in the least. She was still too paralyzed to remove herself however. "A woman who'd face a Kami is a woman I want ruling my home. Though…" Eneru's smile suddenly turned into a very dark smirk as he brought his hands up and cupped her cheeks. Rowan felt disgust well in her chest as she tried to pull away. "You learned that defying me leads to nothing more than a dead end. You should be a good girl from now on." His smirk turned back into a smile.
Rowan's body was allowed to fall forward; her nose fell in to the crook of the man's neck, filling it with the scent of oil and clean flesh. Rowan didn't know it was possible to feel such a strong sense of dread and disgust all at once when she felt a hot mouth encase her eardrum. One hand splayed out across her back as the other gripped her hip and began to run a thumb over the scars on her stomach. It was through sheer strength and will that she was able to twitch her entire body as the god began to trail his nails up and down the old scar near her hip on her back. Rowan was painfully aware that despite him sending away the men and woman, they were still surrounded by others. Eneru didn't seem bothered by this at all. His teeth bit down on her earlobe before he released it and softly said,
"I've heard of giant Varse creations called mountains. You are what I believe mountains will look like. Harsh and scared with hard planes…" The hand on her stomach stretched out, nails falling down the hard abs and dead scar tissue. "Something that shows history. An insurmountable force that brings nothing but awe to the people even while being a daunting force to recognize." Rowan about gagged on air when she felt the man's tongue run up her neck and follow the shell of her ear. His tongue disappeared back in to his mouth only to whisper, "But even mountains will fall before Kami."
Eneru didn't see it for Rowan was still nestled in the crook of his neck but a hardness filled Rowan's eyes then. For now she was stuck, paralyzed by the man's power. But, once she had control once more, he would see just how insurmountable she was. He would regret letting her live without chains and guards; even if she wasn't able to get to Luffy this man would have no more power of her.
Eneru's hand continued to run up and down her back, unaware of the dark thoughts plotting in the woman in his arms.
"Have they all gone below?" Eneru questioned while resting his hand right above where her skirt began.
"Yes, everything is ready," one of the beaded men standing at the bottom of Eneru's throne answered. "The 3 Priests will lead with their trials while Lady Saraswati destroyed our enemies. Then Commander Yama's Militia with 50 members…this is our entire battle force! Do we really need to go all out, my Lord? The invaders are only composed of the Shandia and a few citizens of the Blue Sea." Eneru's laugh rang in Rowan's ear.
"The more the merrier, isn't it?" he chimed happily. "Also, you brats underestimate the potential of the Sky Combat!"
"The potential?" another man asked, not sounding insulted in the least. Eneru shifted, forcing Rowan to shift with him.
"Yeah, it'll start revealing itself soon!" The Kami laughed again before his hand disappeared from Rowan's back. "Give me a banana." Rowan felt a presence appear next to her side while Eneru held out his hand. "Let's see…we have 50 soldiers…3 Priests and Saraswati…so including me, we have 55 fighters. There are also 20 Shandia, 4 citizens of the Blue Sea entering the forest, and 4 more on their ship…no. That should be just 3 more. The old man can't fight anymore."
'They followed through with the plan,' Rowan thought with some horror. She could only pray they stayed close to each other and didn't get separated. If Nami was with them, Rowan believed that they could all come up with a plan to defeat the man in front of her. She had to believe that.
"And this pretty little one," Eneru said while the hand that had been on her stomach came to wrap around her back. "So the total is 82 fighters! Now this will be an eliminative skirmish." Eneru laughed before his took a large bit out of his banana. Rowan was disgusted to listen to him chew but could only move herself slightly. Her muscles were so tired and tight. "3 hours from now, how many fighters will remain? Anyone want to guess?"
"We're playing…a game?" a man asked.
"This is great!" Eneru cheered much like a child. His laughter rang out again before his head turned. "Hey, you! Take a guess." A startled voice, soft and obviously female, quickly stuttered out,
"Me? I can't. I don't understand that kind of thing—"
"Huh? Useless! It's not good to be too dumb. Just use your feelings. Use feelings!" Rowan felt Eneru shift and one of his legs uncured as she assumed he used it to point. "You! Take a guess."
"Yes…hmm, the 3 Priests will survive, that's for sure; along with Sarawati. She's never been hit in battle. The militia is very strong too, so they won't fall easily. But the enemies are strong enough to rival the priest, so…within 3 hours, there will probably have 30 fallen fighters…so there will be 50 remaining." Eneru's laughter was the loudest as he finished off his banana.
"You think so? 50 fighters?" he all but jeered. He tossed the banana peel and stabbed out with his arm. "That is an immature guess. You underestimate the nature of this battle."
"Then how does Kami see this situation?" the man asked with a polite tone.
"Alright…I'll tell you," Eneru said as if he held a great secret. "In 3 hours, among the 81 fighters, the number of survivors shall be…five."
It was hard and incredible painful; but, Rowan was able to bring up an arm. With what little strength she could gather, Rowan pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her breathing was labored and her heart had yet to come down from its earlier gallop. Still, Rowan locked eyes with the god in front of her.
"Da, what's a god?" Fiachra paused in his building and looked up from the sand. An arched brow was raised high. Rowan simply stared at him with young and innocent curiosity.
"A god?" The little girl nodded before going back to trying to build a sandcastle. Her father soon returned to helping her, using a shell to carve out little windows. "Well…a god is somethin' people look up ta—"
"Like a king?"
"Eh, no' exactly. A god's more like a…superhuman. Some believe dat 'er god create 'e world. Or, sometimes, 'ey believe a god decides 'er fate. An gods aren't usually 'eld responsible like a king. If somethin' happens 'en god musta been mad and 'at's 'at."
"Are dey bad 'en?" the little girl asked, a worried frown on her face. Fiachra put the shell down and plopped his chin on an open palm.
"Not always. Some 're good. Some 're bad. Sometimes 're both." The little girl pouted out her lip in thought before blowing a giant raspberry.
"I don't wanna have a god." Fiachra laughed and ruffled the girl's hair, ignoring her indulgent squawk.
"'en don't." The girl went back to her castle for a short while before another question came to her. Turning to her father, Rowan asked,
"Do ya 'ave a god?" The man shook his head causing his long red locks to jingle and dance.
"I follow da Kings, Ro. I follow da Kings."
"You're wrong," Rowan grunted out with a heavy pant. Eneru raised one of his bold eyebrows, the hair disappearing under his white bandana that hid his hair. Rowan paid no attention to the sudden intake of breaths that came from the others surrounding them. Rowan only had eyes for Eneru as she gritted out through the pain, "Eight. At least eight will remain." Eneru's other eyebrow went up before he burst out laughing. His hands came to cup Rowan's cheeks but as his long fingers touched her skin, Rowan used the last of her energy to escape his grasp. Sitting how she was, Rowan was able to stare down her proud nose at the man. Eneru's smile turned into a dark smirk as he recognized the absolute look of disdain on Rowan's face.
"And why do you say that?" he rumbled out in a voice that was a clear threat. Rowan ignored it in favor of growling out,
"They will defeat yours. My crew will not fall. They are too strong to fall to a game. Not even in a game where a man is playing god." Rowan didn't have the strength to escape Eneru a second time. His hand encased her jaw, gripping it tightly, before a bolt of electricity was shot through her jaw. The pain was not as intense as the first bolt had been but it still stole her sight and forced her entire body to clench up like a seizure. Her hands clenched helplessly at her sides. She was positive her jaw was clenched so tight she was going to crack a tooth.
"I prefer you when you don't talk," Eneru rumbled, his hand still tight on her clenching jaw. "You shouldn't talk anymore." Rowan fell against Eneru's chest a second time as her muscles stopped having powerful spasms.
There were a few moments of silence that was filled only with Eneru eating a few more fruits provided by the other women. Rowan took the quiet as a gift and tried to relax her body. She had to save her energy again if she was going to get away and rejoin her crew to warn them. Eneru was sitting with his eyes closed and the only notice Rowan got before he spoke was a light tension that took his body before it relaxed.
"In the first battle, their leader went berserk. Shura was defeated," Eneru's voice echoed over the silence. The silence was completely shattered by a group of sharp breaths before one of the men cried,
"Shura?"
"Shura underestimated Sky Combat, that fool!" Eneru laughed without any remorse. Rowan turned her head slightly so she could see Eneru's face. He was the definition of relaxed.
"This—this is terrible news! The Priests who were undefeated for the past 6 years—two of them have been defeated in two days!"
"Yeah!" Eneru laughed. "It can't be helped if they got eliminated. Maybe they weren't protected by the will of the God!" Eneru laughed at his own joke. Rowan was beginning to regain control of her body, inch by inch. Rowan thought she was being soft enough with her movements that Eneru wasn't going to notice. However, her theory was shattered when Eneru stood to his feet. Rowan was forced to her own, and the only reason she didn't fall was Eneru's hand around her bicep. "Come." Rowan was frog marched to the entrance of the compound and walked out onto the cloudy material.
"Where—" Rowan found herself asking when they went through the front door. Her answer was given in the form of an explosive light. Rowan was almost thrown forward from the sheer force of the explosion behind her. Stunned and mouth agape, Rowan turned her head over her shoulder even as Eneru continued making her walk. "Wha—" There was nothing left of the compound; nothing but charred remains of the building cloud and smoking body, burnt black.
"As I said, only 5 will remain." Rowan's head cracked when she turned to look back at Eneru with new found dread.
"They were your servants. They—they weren't even warriors." Rowan had seen the women's hands. They had all been soft with very few calluses. They were simple handmaidens. And the men had been no better. "Why?"
"This world no longer has any value to me. I am going for far greater things. They would not survive on the path we are now taking." Eneru all but beamed into Rowan's pale face. "I do not tolerate the weak and only the strong survive. If you do not survive you are therefore weak."
"They were yours."
"And I did away with them."
"They were yours to protect!" Rowan found herself getting louder. She just couldn't believe a man, someone who was supposed to be a god, would kill his people simply because he was through with them. Eneru peered down at Rowan with one of his blond eyebrows raised high.
"If you need my protection then you are not strong." Eneru looked off to the side before a smile appeared on his face. "And now it is your turn to show me you are strong." Rowan looked off to the side but saw no one. Rowan was forced to look at Eneru when he clasped her chin and pulled her attention back. "Show me you are worth my presence." His lips caught hers then. Disgust and horror filled Rowan with a red hot anger. Forgetting who it was that stood before her, Rowan lashed out.
Her hand went right through the spot Eneru had been only a second before. His laughter was the last thing she heard before the second explosion. Rowan was forced forward a second time, only this time she did lose her footing and was sent sprawling. Rowan had barely risen to her feet when she heard something cutting through the air. It was as the sound got closer, quickly, that Rowan's body went into action. She threw herself to the side, uncaring how she fell as she watched a blur whiz pass. She wasn't expecting the second attack.
The explosion hit her in the chest and slammed her into the ground. Rowan choked on air as her lungs slammed into the back of her ribs. She was forced to lay on the cloud floor until her lungs resumed their job. It was enough time for her attacker to show themselves. Rowan wasn't surprised when it ended up being Eneru's woman. The look of rage on the woman's face was somehow expected as well. Rowan had to take a moment to recognize the weapons in her hands. They were chakram, but instead of having a hollow center, a dial was suspended.
"How dare you? And how dare you get back up!" the woman hissed through clenched teeth as her nostrils flared. Rowan forced herself to her feet, rubbing at her sternum. "I've spent the past ten years trying to gain Eneru's favor and you just fall right in to his lap in a matter of seconds!" Rowan reached into the space between her breasts and clasped her brass knuckles. "I'm going to sever your head from your body and serve it to him!"
"Bring it on bitch." Rowan took some enjoyment out of watching the woman's face go a brilliant shade of red. But Rowan didn't allow herself to enjoy it for long. Rushing the woman, Rowan's brass knuckles sent sparks flying as it skimmed the sharp blade of the chakram. Sarawati, Rowan remembered, barred her teeth in Rowan's face which was only inches away. Rowan snarled right back. She caught Sarawati's foot when she tried to kick at her temple. Rowan grasped her ankle with her opposite hand before throwing the woman like a sack of flour.
Sarawati hit the ground with a yelp and rolled. Rowan was forced to dodge a flying chakram when the woman tossed one. It zipped past her head with the sound of a buzz saw. Rowan watched it fly past, knowing she was safe. Sarawati had thrown it to wide.
The explosion hit her body full on. There was no heat or flash. Just an invisible barrier that slammed into her front and sent her flying backwards. Rowan barely held in her grunt as she was thrown. For a second time Rowan's lungs forgot how to work. Her left ear was hot with pain as something wet leaked out. Rowan slapped a hand against her chest and restarted her lungs. The coughing fit she experienced forced the pain in her ear to intensify. Rowan wiped at the dripping substance coming out of her ear and found blood on her fingertips.
'My eardrum?' she pondered, eyes narrowed in confusion. Rowan looked back to the chakram that Sawashi had retrieved. She rubbed at the blood running down her neck a second time while snarling at the dial within the chakram. 'How…' Sawasati gave Rowan a vicious smirk while tossing a chakram up and down. Rowan noticed a small quake had taken over Sawasati's body. Looking back into the woman's feminine face, Rowan also noticed her eyes were moving in a more frantic manner now.
"Figure it out yet, you tart?" Rowan's entire body twitched. "Up here in the White Sea we fight with dials. Do you even know what a dial is?" Rowan forced herself back to her feet, ignoring the wave of unbalance she felt. "It's a type of sea shell. We collect them. And depending on the dial we can do this—" Rowan watched Sawasati press the top of her dial while holding the base of the shell out. Nothing seeable came out but Rowan felt the vibration even without it hitting her full on in the chest.
"Sound," Rowan muttered, her hand coming up and clasping her injured.
"So there is a brain between your ears," Sawasati snarled while spinning her chakram. Rowan glowered at the woman while feeling her pride swell.
"It's not what's between my brains you need to worry about."
Like the suspenseful dance of bull versus matador, the two women circled. Each waiting for the other to lower their guard so they may strike a fatal blow. Sawasati mimicked every one of Rowan's moves, constantly keeping a distance between them. Rowan frowned lightly. The woman wasn't giving or taking a single step. And her quaking had taken on a larger tremor. Rowan's red skirt fluttered with her movements. Her annoyance at the ridiculous outfit only surged as it continued to try and pull her attention away from Sawasati. Rowan's attention went completely to Sawasati as the woman's grip on her two chakrams tightened. But nothing more came of the movement. Rowan frowned lightly. Chakram were a weapon for both close and distant combat; and with the dials Rowan believed Sawasati to be a distance fighter but when she didn't throw her chakram after another clench, Rowan gave a small smirk.
"Scared, Sawasati?"
"Shut up!" Her next move was easy to see through. The chakram came at her head first like the two other attacks, but Sawasati followed it up by trying to use the other chakram to decapitate her in close combat. Rowan dodged the attack. The sound of another blast burst through her good ear, causing Rowan to look down. Sawasati knee was coming at her full force; much too fast for someone of her muscle size to be able to achieve. It was a quick glance at Sawasati's shoes that permitted Rowan to spot the sound dial. Rowan brought down her arm, slightly bent, and clipped Sawasati's leg at the knee. It forced the attack to go sideways and left the woman's center open. Rowan brought her fist into the woman's stomach. She felt the body cave in under the pressure.
"Your mistake bitch. We Clodagh are grapplers, not snipers." Sawasati fell to the ground on her side, choking on the bile Rowan had forced up. The red head lashed out with a leg, planning on kicking the blond in the temple. Her leg never made contact with her head; instead it slammed into the dial just as Sawasati pushed the apex. Rowan was thrown backwards into the air, her femur jamming into the socket. It was with some complication that Rowan spun her body to the side and rolled when she hit the cloud. It was with even more difficulty that Rowan placed weight on her hip.
'It's always my hip or stomach,' Rowan growled while moving her hip in hopes of getting more blood flow. Sawasati had gotten to her feet and was wiping blood and puke from her chin. Her breathing was obviously labored and she was shaking on her feet. Rowan couldn't stop the smirk despite the pain in her hip.
"How do you keep getting back up?" Sawasati screamed. "No one gets back up! Even the Priests have a hard time getting up after getting hit by my sound! It's enough to bring down a building!"
Rowan paused, finding herself stunned to the point of letting her guard down. Rowan's eyes narrowed as she fell into a lax stance.
"Do you ever use your fists Sawasati? Have you ever fought without your dials?" Sawasati's body tensed dramatically only to crumple under the pain coming from her stomach.
"Of course not!" she snapped. "Unlike you, I care about how I appear! I will not be turning my beautiful form into something as vulgar as yours! Look at your stomach!" Rowan peered down at the harden muscles that made little hills down her stomach; the white scar tissue that webbed across said hills like snow covered mountain tops. "Your body looks like a man! How Eneru can find you appealing in any way is beyond my understanding!"
"I believe a lot is out of your understanding," Rowan snarled before looking back down at her body. Her entire form was heavily muscled but right now Rowan wasn't caring. It was these muscles that were about to prove themselves. Rowan held out her fist, the fingers curled but not clenched. "I don't know how your warriors are made here on the White Sea but where I'm from, warriors are built to last."
Rowan's arm came up into a loose boxer position as her legs worked themselves into a stance.
"So you had best hope that your weapons last longer than I because if not, you won't last a second against me." Rowan smirked. "And you know that."
Rowan watched the blond sling both chakram at her with a scream. It was impossible for Rowan to dodge the two blasts that hit her from both sides. Rowan gritted her teeth against the blasts, allowing her body to get slung. She felt her other ear drum burst with a painful eruption while the other throbbed with an explosive pain. Rowan hit the ground and quickly threw herself back up. Her world spun dangerously and forced her to stumble. Forcing past the wave of nausea, Rowan got back to her feet. Watching Sawasati grab her chakram that had boomeranged back, Rowan was able to clamor to her feet and stand to her full height. Her world continued to whirl but Rowan was conscious enough to fling herself to the ground when Sawasati threw her chakram. The dials went off above her and Rowan felt the impact of sound hit her back. Gritting her teeth, Rowan forced past her inability to breath.
Rowan made it a few more feet closer to the woman before her chakram were back in her hands. Sawasati didn't get a chance to throw her weapons a second time. Rowan rushed forward, pumping her arms at her sides and jumping the last few feet. But then she was at just the right distance. Sawasati lashed out as if to slice Rowan's throat with the sharp blade. Rowan pulled back her head, watching the dangerous item graze her exposed neck. Rowan got in closer to Sawasati, making it impossible for her to get a full swing. With a backhand attack to Sawasati's wrist, the blond dropped her weapon. The woman let out a cry, but was quickly shortened by Rowan grabbing at the back of her head.
"Told you you'd lose if I got close." Rowan used her hand on the back of Sawasati's neck to bring the woman's head down. It gave Rowan the perfect chance to slam her knee into the woman's already injured gut. Rowan tossed the gagging woman back up into a standing positon. It was extremely easy for Rowan to backhand Sawasati, snapping the woman's head to the side.
"THOUSAND ARM PUNCH!" Rowan let her body go through the many punches, each one hitting the same exact spot as before. Sawasati's body was forced back repeatedly as Rowan's onslaught of punches connected with her sternum. Rowan almost stopped her assault early when she felt Sawasati's body give out much earlier than anyone she had ever fought. But Rowan only continued, advancing forward a step for every one Sawasati took back. Blood burst in a flow that splattered against Rowan's chest.
Sawasati hit the ground after the last punch like an anchor in the deep sea. She was barely conscious while laying upon the clouds, blood still trickling from her lips.
"I didn't break it," Rowan found herself saying. Standing above Sawasati, Rowan continued, "Your sternum. It's fractured not broken." Rowan looked at the woman sprawled out at her feet and let out a huff. Knowing there was nothing left for her, Rowan turned and started to walk away. She barely heard the woman's hiss something out through her mouth full of blood; though that could have been due to Rowan's damaged eardrums. Still, she did turn around.
"Why?" Rowan found her heart give nothing when she saw the woman's face was drenched in tears. "I've always been the strongest. And I was able to stand beside him. I was strong for him!" Rowan paused, her mouth open and her ears still ringing.
"You don't make yourself stronger for someone else." Rowan didn't know why she was saying this. Perhaps it was the defeated look in the woman's eyes. Perhaps it was the fact that she could see Sawasati's hurt at the idea of losing. Or maybe it was because Rowan could see herself standing where Sawasati was now. "You don't make yourself strong for any man. Not because you love them. Not because you want them to recognize your strength. Because if you try, when your strength is really tested, you will find it failing. "
"What do you know?" Sawasati choked out, blood trickling down her chin. Rowan scoffed at the harsh words spat at her, realizing she really had no reason to talk anymore. But staring down at Sawasati Rowan found herself snapping out,
"Because I tried." Rowan let out a snarl before turning her back on to the woman. She let out another when her equilibrium went off. Snapping like an injured dog over her shoulder, Rowan rumbled, "I tried to make myself stronger for a man and it got us both killed. So I got stronger by myself. And look at me now." Rowan looked down at her hands, callused and hard, before running them down her bare stomach; her fingers dipped into the hard muscle. "I'm strong enough to conquer gods."
'But not a man…'
"So get strong by yourself. And if he doesn't notice then he's not worth your strength."
Rowan didn't bother waiting for another response. She simply went off at a jog, ignoring the swaying world.
Her guide to the crew came in the form of a giant snake falling from the sky. Rowan had been making her way down, deep into the clouds that surrounding what appeared to be a giant bean stalk. It had been no easy trek and Rowan was covered in a thick coat of sweat. Cursing and calling for the Kings of Old to help her, Rowan hadn't expected their answer to be the snake that easily dwarfed her a hundred times over. It crashed down around her, breaking the cloud that supported them, and sent her tumbling down with it. It was through sheer luck alone that Rowan wasn't smashed under the snake's weight or bash her head against the sudden ruins that surrounded them.
"Rowan!" The red head flinched, fists tightening around her brass knuckles as the voice yelled in her ears. Nami barely dodged the fist. "Oi! You disappear on us then try and hit me? What happened to you?"
"Sorry Nami," Rowan apologized while rubbing at her now aching body. She supposed it would simply be easier to not ask how the navigator ended up with the snake. "Ears got blown out."
"What are you wearing?"
"Don't ask." Together, Nami and Rowan ran from the suddenly crying snake. Rowan wasn't surprised to find the Sky Knight in the position Nami lead her. "You're up." Rowan frowned when she saw the wounds he sprouted. "You shouldn't be fighting."
"It's not like he has a choice!" Nami snapped before peering over the ruins that surrounded them. "…the snake's acting strange. Is Luffy doing something to it?"
"Luffy? What does Luffy have to do with the snake acting weird?"
"He got eaten."
"…you're not serious."
"I'm afraid she is. She and the little girl along with Pierre are still inside the snake."
"The snake is crying."
The lightning bolt came down much like the snake had; quick, sudden and catastrophic. Rowan grabbed Nami by the shoulder and shoved both her and the knight against the wall, throwing herself on top.
"He's here," Rowan snarled, fear making her heart patter away in her chest.
"Nami!" Rowan threw her head up and peered around the side of the ruins. Nami squirmed out from underneath her and peeked out as well.
"Zolo."
"Zolo!"
"Bitch."
"Miss Boatswain." Rowan came out from behind the ruins and instantly saw the look on Zolo's face go from furious to stunned.
"Not a word," Rowan snarled, stressing each word with a sharp bite.
"You look beautiful Miss Boatswain."
"What did I just say?"
"The hell happened to you?" Zolo snapped, losing some of his confusion for mirth as he got closer. Rowan jabbed her finger at the man, her face twisting into a fierce expression that promised only pain.
"You are the last one I want to talk to about this!" Rowan stiffened her spine and glared at the four surrounding her.
"This isn't the time!" Nami snapped at everyone. "Luffy is still in there—"
"What? How did he get in there in the first place?" Zolo snapped.
"I don't know! He was in there before me!"
"We need to get Luffy and get out. The snake's body should have protected Luffy from the lightning. The god, Eneru, he has lightning powers—"
"Congratulations!" Rowan's entire back stiffened to the point of pain as she spun on her bare heel and stared. Eneru, sitting on an orb of cloud, floated around a corner with the red headed Wiper who was dodging an attack. "You made it to the finals of my little game. The goal is simple. 3 hours after the Shandorians entered the island how many people among the 82 contestants will survive? It's a survival game! Of course I am also a contestant. I even allowed some people to join the fun after the game had already started. My prediction was that there would be five survivors. In three minutes the three hours will be up. Thus, it is quite problematic that there are still seven survivors here. Gods prediction can never be wrong." A dark look covered Eneru's face. "So who here will be eliminated? Will you do it yourselves or should I?"
Rowan's lips turned heavy as they sunk. Her brows also furrowed as she looked over to her crew. Zolo was leaning heavily on one leg, two of his swords in hand. His expression was unbothered.
"Hey, you want to?" he asked Robin who stood beside him.
"No thank you."
"Rowan?"
"Of course not."
"Me neither."
"Not me," Wiper growled, his teeth clenching hard on his cigarette even as he shifted the large bazooka on his shoulder.
"I refuse as well!" Ganfor declared. All heads turned to Nami's hiding spot. She scrambled, obvious in fear before she choked out something that was supposed to resemble words. Everyone took that as a no and, together, their weapons were pointed in Eneru's direction. Rowan stared down her lifted arm, eyes narrowed as she and the others growled,
"You will!"
"Impudence. Do you really believe that you can defeat me?" Eneru lost his dark expression for smug contemplation. "I wouldn't expect less from the survivors of this game; however, do you know who you are talking to? It seems that you don't understand what a god is!" Eneru pursed out his lips and gave Rowan a pouty expression. "I had thought you would have learned by now, girl." Rowan's muscle tightened as she ignored the shivers that went up her spine. She definitely did not want to be near the man again.
She honestly hadn't expected it; though, looking back, it shouldn't have been so surprising. Still, watching Zolo leave her side and come to stand in front of her, blocking her from Eneru's roaming eyes, stunned Rowan to her very core. The anger rumbling from the swordsman was even more shocking. The relief of seeing Zolo's back, using his body as a shield for her, brought warmth to her chest; warmth that not only stunned her, but also terrified her more than the man sitting on his little cloud.
"Oh? Is that how it is?" Rowan found she couldn't yell at the swordsman. She could only take comfort in the fact that he stood before her and ignore the revulsion at herself for cowering. "The old man fighting for the prosperity of Skypiea; the warrior fighting to return to his homeland; and Blue Sea pirate trying to steal gold. This world is filled with so many troubled lambs! Even the country itself has greatly sinned!"
Ganfor had had enough.
"Instead of talking nonsense why don't you tell me what you seek to accomplish here and where are the Militia members being held captive?" he thundered the last part, his voice echoing through the empty ruins.
"I simply seek to return, Ganfor."
"…return?"
"Yes. I have a place I should be. On the Sky Island where I was born, where people say God lives. Endless Varse! And there, there is limitless amounts of varse! That is the ideal world I seek!" Eneru crowed like a rooster before sunrise. "That is what I deserve to have! This God's Island, this puny piece of varse is nothing, yet you've fought for centuries to control it! Do you understand?" he mocked. "The reason you fight is actually more philosophical. Think about it, not a cloud but born of the sky; not a bird but lives in the sky; this country in the sky defies all laws of nature! Varse, man and God all have a place they belong!"
"You can't—" Ganfor cried, catching on to something Rowan did not. Rowan did not see it but Eneru's face split into a smirk worth of a madman.
"What do you mean 'you can't,'? I am doing what a god should do. I am sending you all too where you belong! Under the sky!" Rowan jerked as realization smacked her. He was going to send the island plummeting 1,000,000 miles back down to the earth.
No one would survive.
"You want to destroy this country!" Ganfor screamed.
"It's the law of nature—"
"Don't think so highly of yourself, Eneru!" Ganfor slashed his arm out as he roared, "'Kami' is nothing but a title we call the leader of our country!"
"That's before I became Kami."
"The people of this world don't need a Kami!"
Rowan looked to Ganfor. The rage etched into his wrinkled face stuck her heart like an arrow. The fire that burned in the man's eyes, a heat that would out shine the sun, crackled with his fury.
"What is a king without his people…but a fool?"
Rowan didn't look towards the others as they all looked back at her. She kept her green eyes on Ganfor. His face, still contorted with wrath, crinkled lightly with his curiosity at her words. Rowan felt her heart surge with new found determines as she stared at the man…as she looked upon a fallen King.
"Without his people a king is nothing, for the king is but the head. A head without a body is useless. It needs feet to walk, hands to hold and a form to stand. Even the head is nothing by itself; it still needs a mouth to speak, eyes to see and ears to hear. So what is a king without his people but a body-less head on the ground? And what does one think when they see a head cry 'I am king' except 'what a fool,'?"
The lightning struck her body. The pain went beyond feeling as her nervous system went past its threshold of pain. She found herself staring into the stunned face of Ganfor as her body fell to its knees. Her world tumbled as it continued to fall.
It was Zolo's furious face that she saw last before her world went dark.
The sound of rumbling thunder woke her from slumber. Her body felt as if she had rolled through the coals and each muscle felt like a hundred weights had been attached to each individual fiber. The sky above was black and lightning bolts struck at unbelievable intervals. She wasn't where she last remembered, she realized as voices echoed in her damaged ears.
"Rowan's awake too!" The red head moved her eyes, the muscles burned, and saw Usopp. Beaten and bruised but still alive. "We need to get out of here!"
"Come on Wiper!" a girl's voice cried out, high pitched and young.
"Move!" Rowan grunted as Usopp snatched her up and threw her form. She landed on top of an unconscious Sanji, also charred from Eneru's attacks, as the top of the beanstalk that they were currently next to, smashed into the cloud surrounding them.
"What is going on up there?" Robin asked.
"Oh no! Luffy! Anyone see Luffy's corpse anywhere?"
"He won't die," Rowan grunted, shoving herself up on to shaking arms before throwing herself on to her butt and staring up into the clouds and black sky. The others of the crew looked to Rowan as she bent in on herself. "If we are to survive he can't die."
"Wiper! See? I told you. You can't climb now!" the girl's voice cried out a second time. Rowan looked over to see the same girl she had chased across the clouds. She was disappointed, even with the world crashing around her, to see that the girl didn't have her bag.
"The bell is right above us," Wiper's voice came to Rowan. It was strained, broken, just like his form, but still held a steel tone that most others could never achieve. "I'm so close to fulfilling great Karugara wish…" Lightning struck all around them as a thunderous explosion echoed across the sky.
"…Angel Island was…eradicated?" Ganfor's voice moaned but Rowan was too tired to look for the king. "Why? Why! Eneru! You heartless monster!"
"We need to get out of here!" Usopp cried out.
"We can't." All eyes turned to Robin as the woman looked up at the focus of the storm. "Right now Luffy is up in the clouds, looking for the golden bell."
"You mean Luffy is trying to…"
"Yes. According to what he said, he probably is—"
"He wants to ring the bell too?" Wiper choked out.
"If he said he is going to do that, then there is no way that Nami can get him to come down. His target is the same as Eneru's after all." Rowan looked to the sky.
"So we wait for our Captain," she said. There was a silent agreement as everyone looked to the top of the beanstalk.
"Look out!" Usopp shouted as something came falling quickly to their position. He was the only one that dived out of the way of what ended up being a leaf.
"Look, there's something written on it!" the girl cried out. "It's a message from Luffy and Nami!"
"What does it say?"
"Cut the beanstalk," Robin read aloud. "And make it fall westward."
"Look up!" Rowan looked back to the sky. Her stomach plummeted all the way to the Blue Sea as she stared up. The size of the moon, a giant cloud of darkness broke from the clouds striking with their lightning.
"He's beating us down," Rowan choked out, feeling a light shake take her form. Her head snapped back to the beanstalk and the thickness that it made up. It was easily four times her size if she grasped her own ankles and wrapped around it.
"They'll use the falling beanstalk as the bridge to the ship!" Rowan didn't ask what ship they could possibly be talking about and only continued to look at the beanstalk.
"That must be what they're planning to do," Zolo agreed.
"That is suicide!"
"Then you go them that," Zolo snapped at Usopp.
"I would if I could!"
"Is it suicide or a working solution? We won't know until we try it." Rowan was forced to fling her pain filled body to the side as a lightning bolt struck down on their company. "Quick! Find a place to hide!" Zolo's voice thundered over the explosion. Rowan turned back to the beanstalk. "Go back to the ruins!"
'If only I had my explosives!' she bemoaned to herself. Zolo wasted no time doing anything similar and simply ran forward, hand on blade. Gritting her teeth, Rowan clenched her fists at her side.
"Can he make it?" Usopp stuttered out as more lightning shot down from above, dangerously close to the running swordsman. "We're count on you! You are the only one here who can cut that thing!"
It was but a minute but felt an eternity when Rowan saw Zolo's work on the beanstalk. His attack cut deep and a large portion fell from the stalk. Usopp cheer was drowned out by the lightning.
"Oh crap! Good thing he was able to chop the beanstalk!"
"It's no good! It's not falling," Robin snapped. Rowan fell to her knees as the earth suddenly shook.
"A cloud-quake?" Rowan felt her heart stop as the beanstalk swayed. But still the beanstalk did not fall.
"We need a bigger impact!" Rowan found herself turning to look at Ganfor. The man could no longer move, his body finally failing him. The desperation in his eyes was what made Rowan move. Throwing her body into Usopp, who was still squabbling, Rowan dug into his satchel. A short dagger he had in place was pulled out.
She pierced it into her stomach.
"Rowan!" Usopp screamed as he caught her in her fall. "What are you—"
The warmth was welcomed as it spread from her stomach and throughout her body. With renewing strength Rowan shoved Usopp from her.
"Careful. Do not get my blood upon you." Rowan stood up, no longer shaking or feeling the pain that burned her body. Shaking her head like a dog, Rowan let out a gruff sound and set her eyes on the beanstalk. She took off like a shot. It was easy for her to only focus on the heat in her blood. It forced her forward, giving her a burst of energy that could only be recreated through drugs. Rowan threw her body left and right, dodging lightning as she thundered across the clouds. The stock got closer and her fists tightened around the brass knuckles that were still resting on her hands. She bound from one ruin to the next, gaining height. Her legs, twitching with energy, threw her into the air and next to the beanstalk.
"PHANTOM PUNCH."Her fist connected with the stalk and she felt it quake under her strength. Rowan plummeted through the air, watching the part she had hit explode under the pressure. But still the giant did not fall. "…damn."
Her energy fled from her, leaving her even more tired and sore than she had been before. Rowan actually welcomed the darkness as she slammed into the clouds below.
Rowan was the last of the crew to wake up. And when she did she almost laughed. She was spread out on a soft mat, bandages and creams covering her burns and blazing beside her, larger than any she had seen before, roared a bonfire. Angel Island, the natives of the varse, and her crew danced around the fire as they sang, ate and drank to their hearts content.
"About time you woke up." Rowan turned her head to see Zolo, a mug of no doubt grog, in hand. The swordsman, covered in his own fair share of bandages, sat beside her right next to her head. Zolo took a long chug of his grog before breathing in a giant sigh and smacking his lips. He peered into his cup and mused aloud, "Never thought pumpkin grog would be so good."
Rowan pushed her sore, but healing, body up into a sitting position. She felt more than saw Zolo shift closer as if he were going to help her. However, he did not touch her and Rowan was able to sit up and watch the others party.
"We won…" she grunted with light pain.
"Yeah. You missed the bell. Surprised that didn't wake you up." Rowan looked over at the swordsman. He was still staring into his mug. Rowan notice how his features were accented by the dancing flames' shadows.
"Everyone is okay?"
"Banged up but living and not maimed if that's what you're asking," Zolo grunted. Rowan made a noise in the back of her throat but said no more. She simply continued to stare at the sharp features that made up Zolo's face. His long nose, pointed so sharply; his broad forehead that went for miles (Rowan thought he might already have a receding hairline); powerful jawline that was currently clenched. Rowan frowned softly. Just feet away from her the party of centuries was going on on an island that wasn't supposed to exit and yet she sat in a cloud worse than Eneru's.
Rowan looked to the bonfire.
"I thought he was going to be my everything. That we would grow old together. By the Kings I had no idea what it was we were going to do for money or even how we'd support each other…but that didn't matter. I was young and…in love I like to think." Rowan saw from the corner of her eye Zolo looking to her. She was happy she wasn't still looking at him. She didn't know if she could continue speaking if she met his eyes. "I thought we were going to grow old together, have children together and live in happiness till the end of our days." Rowan chuckled softly as her head dipped and she closed her eyes tight. "I was foolish to think so. He died not even a year later. Murdered by Conor."
Rowan clenched her teeth as she felt the swell of sadness well up in her heart and try to escape as tears. Already berating herself for thinking that this would relieve the tension between the two of them, Rowan clenched her sore hands into tight fists.
"His body wasn't even cold when I turned and fled. I don't even think he saw me leave. I pray to the Kings he didn't see me." Rowan unclenched her fists and looked down at the blurred appendages. "The last thing I saw was the bullet leave the back of his head as he stood in front of me…trying to protect this worthless creature that he should have simply abandoned. But he didn't. And he's dead."
The bandages on Zolo's hand caught the skin of her chin. He brought her to face him and Rowan caught herself staring into the man's black eyes.
"Go to sleep." Rowan couldn't stop her snort. Zolo ignored her noise in favor of pushing her gently down back on her cot. "Sleep."
Rowan didn't sleep but she did lay down and shut her eyes. She wasn't sure if she was happy or not when she felt Zolo's fingers trace along her jaw line before he left her alone. She knew she wasn't comfortable when she realized that, while it wasn't exactly pleasurable for her, Zolo's touch wasn't revolting like Eneru's had been. When Zolo's lips had been on her flesh it had sparked fire in her. A fire that warmed itself into a hot pulp in her stomach. When Eneru had touched her it had felt like a poison. Despite the tears, and the anger, Rowan knew Zolo's touch was not unpleasant, nor not necessarily unwelcomed.
Rowan relaxed into her mat and listened to the screams, shouts and foolishness of celebration.
She had fallen into a light sleep when Luffy appeared at her side hours later after everyone else had passed out in a drunken stupor.
"Wake up Rowan!" he hissed poorly before climbing over her, kicking her in the process, and slapping Nami awake. "Wake up Nami! I gotta idea!"
"Wha—"
"Let's steal all the gold and run for it!" Rowan was awake fully and sat up. Only the moon gave her light to see by.
"Eh? Gold?"
"Shush! Not so loud!" Luffy snapped, forgetting to whisper.
"You're the one yelling!"
"Shut up! I'm trying to sleep!" Usopp thundered while slamming his hand into Chopper.
"Ow!"
"Huh? Is it morning already?"
"Good morning Nami-chan! Huh? It's still night!"
"What's all the noise?"
"Usopp hit me!"
"Shut up you fools!" Rowan snarled, snatching Luffy up and slamming his lips shut. When all was silent Rowan released Luffy's lips and motioned to the now awake crew. "Now…continue."
Rowan stared up at the statue, still needing proper fixing at the legs, but standing none the less. The man's face was stoic in its cloud structure. She remained staring up at the statue glad for the silent village. All the Shandorians were still back at the campsite leaving her to herself.
"An apology," she said to the statue. "For breaking your legs." Rowan brought the alcohol up and popped the cork off. She took a sip of the liquor herself, feeling it burn down her throat. "To the Kings of Old," she cheered and dumped the rest at the feet of the statue. "Watch over them. They'll need it in this time of change."
Rowan made her slow way back to the camp. When she passed some of the Shandorians headed back to camp, Wiper in the lead, she only gave them a simple nod and continued on her way. Wiper gave her a look, clearly not understanding why she was headed back from their home.
"Simply paying respects," she told his silent question before leaving them.
"Rowan! Where did you go?" Luffy hollered when Rowan finally made it back into the deep ruins. Rowan ignored Luffy's hullabaloo and joined the group of males. Her brows furrowed when she noticed the bitch was gone.
"Where is she?"
"No idea. She'll be back though." Rowan let out a huff but lost it in favor of looking to the boys. All of them carried a satchel ready to burst at the seams. Rowan lost her frown in favor of a smirk.
"It went well then? No troubles?" Rowan nodded to Sanji as he handed over Rowan her own bag. She opened it lightly and felt her smirk turn into a bright grin. Gold, ancient and sparkling, shimmered when the light touched it. "No more poor pirates!"
"Let's go back to the ship now and leave without that woman!" Zolo huffed, obviously having enough of the waiting.
"You bastard! We can't do that!" Usopp snapped, turning on the swordsman along with the others. "You didn't say anything when we were waiting for Rowan!"
"Stupid!" Luffy shouted.
"Green-haired bastard!"
"Bastard green-haired!" Chopper mimicked Sanji. Rowan rolled her eyes and pulled the reindeer away from the ensuing ruckus caused by the boys suddenly throwing themselves into a brawl.
"Don't be a fool Chopper. Stay out of the big deer games before you get hurt." Chopper puffed his cheeks out and began to squeak about being a big deer. Rowan only made a noise of acknowledgement when he tried to kick her. She did pick him up and move him when the brawling boys came to close.
"Hey! I see her, its Robin!" Usopp suddenly said through a fat lip. Luffy pulled himself from the heap and threw his arms into the air. Rowan had to peer around the boy to see the woman. She was walk towards them with a whole mass of angels behind her that were carrying a large covered item. It took most of the angels to carry whatever it was.
"Hey! Robin! Hurry up!" he thundered, causing his voice to echo. "We stole their gold! We need to hurry up and leave now!" Rowan's fist came down up the back of Luffy's head, sending his face into the dirt.
"Idget!"
"Dimwit! Why did you blurt it out! Don't you see all those people behind her?"
"This isn't good! They have a huge cannon with them!"
"So many people and a huge cannon?" Chopper screamed. Rowan frowned, not understanding how something that big could be a cannon but she didn't want to stick around and figure out what it was. Throwing her bag over her shoulder Rowan rushed to in the direction of the ship.
"Run!" she cried, not even bothering to throw it over her shoulder. Rowan didn't bother to listen to the screams and shouts of the angels behind and just kept running. She scrambled for purchase as she tore through the jungle and made it to the boat. She tossed her satchel over the side of the boat, heard the crunch as the gold hit, and quickly climbed aboard. "Set sail. Now," she ordered to Nami who quickly scrambled. Rowan only took a moment to look at the ship. Because she had been captured she hadn't awoken to the changes. It was a tad rough, but Merry Go had been fixed since their landing and the mistreatment by all the shrimp that had carried them around. The wings had been removed and the figurehead was a ram once more. Rowan had decided it best not to question when the crew had told her that none of them had fixed the ship. Usopp swore he saw someone but they had had no friends in God's Realm at the time, making his words lose their credibility.
Rowan and Nami were quickly joined by the others, all of who deposited their baggage and proceeded to help Nami get the ship moving. Rowan was untying Conis' small boat from theirs so they wouldn't get drug with them.
"Anchor is raised!" Zolo shouted.
"Sails are down!" Sanji called as the snap of filling sails echoed across the deck.
"Which way Pagaya?" Rowan called down to the small ship. Conis's father pointed east. She nodded her head sharply and rushed to the lounge. Her hands grasped the steering staff pulled. The ship began to move, picking up speed quickly as it pulled away from the piece of land.
"We made it!" Chopper chimed happily. Once the course had been set, Rowan exited the lounge and looked back to the small island. Only two days she had spent on the island and so much had happened within those 48 hours. As the island disappeared behind them, Rowan looked to Zolo. He was standing at the front of the ship.
"Gold! Gold! Gold! We got gold!" the boys changed merrily as they emptied the bags onto the deck.
"We're rich! What should we buy? How about a giant statue? A super awesome one!"
"Idiot!" Usopp snapped at the prancing Luffy. "That's a waste. We should buy cannons!"
"Nami-chan! May I buy a refrigerator that has locks on it? Please?"
"Me, too! Me, too!" Chopper squealed. "I want to buy something too! I want medical books."
"I want rum."
"Quiet down!" Nami snapped at the loud squalls. "We will talk about our spending after we are back in Blue Seas. Though nobody is going to waste my money on trash. Okay?"
"Your money Nami?" Rowan called down from the lounge, an eyebrow raised. Nami only smiled up at the boatswain. Rowan let out a snort but let the matter drop. Nami was right when she said they should worry more about getting to the Blue Sea first.
"Everyone!" Conis suddenly called out. "Please look to the front. We are almost at the exit!"
"I can see it already!" Rowan looked ahead and smiled in relief. Smaller but similar to the first they entered, was a gate with 'Clouds End' written across the top.
"The Cloud's End…so we are getting down from there?" Luffy bounded to the front of the ship before flopping down on the top of Merry's head.
"We are leaving already?"
"Not soon enough," Rowan snipped under her breath. Her opinion seemed to be the least favorable though.
"Yeah, I am feeling a little bit nostalgic already," Sanji chuckled.
"Time to say goodbye to this White Sea," Zolo smirked.
"Sky Island was fun but it was kind of scary," Chopper admitted.
"Look alive crew," Rowan ordered as they neared the entrance of the gate. Looking over the side she saw that Conis and her father had anchored their little boat in a nearby dock and were now running next to the gate. "Do we just go through the tunnel then follow the Milky Way all the way down to the Blue Sea?"
"Will we come back later?" Chopper questioned.
"This is as far as we can accompany you," Pagaya called to the ship, running beside her.
"Take care of yourself, everyone!" Conis begged.
"Thanks for taking us here!"
"Thanks for everything!"
"Conis-chan, take care of yourself too!"
"Conis, Mister and Siro, take care!" The small white fox creature yipped at Conis's heels.
"Excuse me! You must put away your sails immediately!" Rowan nodded firmly before motioning to the crew.
"You heard the man!" There was a scramble as the crew quickly threw up the sails and began to take in any loose objects.
"Roger that! It'll probably be like a 7000-meter runway! Let's move!"
"Move all the gold inside the lounge!" Nami ordered.
A strange noise, loud and familiar, suddenly filled Rowan's ears. She turned her head just in time to watch the South Bird they had brought with them, fly past her head and slam into Luffy. Both hit the ground, the bird successfully whipping out Luffy.
"He's saying 'don't forget me here'," Chopper translated.
"Oh yeah…we took him along with us on our way up."
"How did he find us?"
"Alright, Captain!" Nami continued as if Luffy didn't just get a bird to the chest. "It looks like the post has locked on to the next island."
"Okay. This is the start of a brand new adventure!" Rowan felt her gut tighten but she smiled none the less. "Alright crew! Let's get back to the Blue Seas!" Rowan closed her eyes tight as they passed under the gate. She couldn't find the courage to look ahead.
"Everyone, be careful! You are going to start falling soon!" Conis's voice floated to them.
"Falling?" echoed across the deck.
Rowan felt her stomach bang into her skull. One second her feet were on the wooden floor and the next she was floating in midair, her eyes popping out of their sockets and her jaw slack.
"Good luck!"
Rowan wasn't proud of the girlish scream that flew from her lips like the killing call of a banshee. The ship plummeted through the air, gaining speed as its mass tried to find a constant. Rowan's stomach turned into a knotted stone inside her skull when a giant octopus, larger than Merry Go, sprang from one of the clouds they were passing. She didn't even have time to grab her weapons when the floor was suddenly shoving her spine back to Conis. Rowan groaned as she rolled on the floor and looked to the clouds. The giant octopus had its long tentacles wrapped around them, but instead of feeding, its entire head had inflated like a balloon.
"It's floating us down!" someone called as Luffy's laughter rang out.
Rowan flinched, expecting another attack when the sound came. It bashed against her tender eardrums but not in a necessarily painful way. It resounded deep in her chest, restarting her heart that had stopped at the decent. Despite its great volume Rowan found herself smiling at the noise.
"The bell," Nami's voice came over the loud clang.
"It must have been huge," Rowan whispered. Rowan closed her eyes a second time, basking in the pleasant ringing.
Rowan did not know the meaning behind the bell. She did not know that the descendants of the Shananoians had been looking to ring it for the past 400 years or that it was the song of their ancestors. But, floating on the gentle breeze with the sound echoing in her heart, Rowan found a semblance of courage to look ahead and to the next adventure.
