LW: And now for something completely different… sort of
Rubber King and Mirror Master: How the others are doing
Around the middle of chapter 47 – Sacrificial Alter
"Okay, so where the fuck are we?" Zoro asks after the Sky lobster finally let them go, even if it was on top of a step pyramid
"Besides Upper Yard… I have no clue" Nami sighs, this day just wasn't going well for her
"It appears to be an alter, most likely sacrificial in nature" Robin notes in a more clinical tone than some of the crew would like, especially given the subject material
"Sacrifice?" Vivi squeaks, while Kaya and Nami turn green
"What's a sacrifice?" Chopper asks in confusion, turning to Robin as already knows she's the smartest one on the ship
"Ritualistic slaying of animals or humans, usually as an act of devotion to a deity" Robin explains, Vivi nodding alongside her
"She's right, the practice was part of Alabasta's ancient history until Crocodile's drought, then the sacrifice of prized livestock and a portion of what little harvest was produced became a more common thing, anything to bring the rains back as they say" the bluenette adds,
"Makes sense" Nami nods, then realisation dawns "Hold on, that means we're the sacrifices!"
"Pretty much" Artemis agrees, sitting beside Zoro frowning at the symbols on the wall that just look like jibberish.
"I don't wanna die, wah!" Chopper screams, before falling off the Merry, bouncing down the stairs of the alter and nearly falling into the cloud sea beyond was he not caught near the end by a pair of Robin's bloomed hands
"That was way too close" Victor sighs, Kaya and Carue releasing their held breath
"Not done yet" Valentina shouts as a sky shark bursts out of the water, luckily Zoro was there to intercept it, saving Chopper and allowing the little reindeer to flee, only for him to fall into the cloud sea himself
"Zoro!" Chopper screams, tears running down his face
"Uncle Zoro's going to be okay, right Nami?" Artemis asks, poking Nami's butt with her brush to get her attention
"He'll be fine, this is Zoro we're talking about" Nami bluffs, not wanting to scare the child with her own fears for the swordsman's fate
"He's still alive, and uninjured, this place may be strange but water still turns red when blood is spilled within it" Robin assures her in a more direct and logical way "Plus just like Luffy and your papa, he's wicked strong, a sky shark won't be able to beat him" she adds bloomed hands rubbing Chopper's head between his antlers and running through her hair to sooth them both
Bang
"Did Zoro just punch a shark?" Kaya asks, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things
"Yes, it seems all that weight lifting isn't just for show" Robin says with a chuckle as Zoro trudges back up the steps
He grunts as he gets back onto the boat "So, in other news, we're not getting out of this mess, by swimming" as he says that, several fins peek out of the water
"Oh great, more sky sharks" Nami grumbles
"I wonder if this is the so called Heaven's Judgement that military guy was blabbering on about" Robin wonders aloud
"Not much of a trial, unless the only options are starve or get eaten by sky sharks" Valentina notes, almost looking bored
"She's right, you'd think this God would try something a little flashier, like a bolt from the sky to smite his enemies" Zoro adds, looking unimpressed and a little annoyed
"Not every God is a drama Queen Zoro" Vivi defends "Some are more subtle and indirect. Though on saying that, maybe Eneru expects us to kill each other and then he kills the survivors"
"Dick move, especially for a God" Victor grumbles "We're kind of stuck here though, the hull took a battering when that Lobster clawhandled it, so even if we could move it down to the water it wouldn't do us much good" he says with a deep sigh, unlike Usopp the bomber man was willing to admit: that the Merry was dying, and would need to be replaced sooner rather than later.
Zoro nods "Think you can at least have a go at fixing it, all we need is a patch job? I'll head out into the forest, see if there's anything that can help us out there"
"And how do you intend to do that? You told us yourself swimming isn't an option, even ignoring most of us are Devil Fruit users" Nami asks with a bitter tone to which Zoro just rolls his eyes
"This whole place is God's Land, what do you hope to find out here?" Vivi asks
"God. If he's really up here, I'd like to meet him" the expression on Zoro's face could be classed as demonic that was for sure
"That's a really stupid idea, what will you even do if you meet him, slice him with your swords? Kaos thinks he's some kind of Logia, that means normal attacks do precisely Jack shit!" Valentina argues
"Eh, I'll figure it out if and when I meet him, also depending on if he behaves himself or acts like a little bitch" Zoro answers pretty nonchalantly, checking he still had all his swords after the shark fight "I don't believe in him anyway, why would I care about pissing him off?" he asks mostly thinking out loud
"Oh great Enaru…"
BANG
"Ow, why the fuck did you hit me?" Nami shouts at Vivi, more annoyed about the fact she'd used her own weapon than he thwack itself
"Praying to the being who's going to kill us all, besides being stupid it's also disrespectful to the rest of us, as well as the boys and Alvida most likely fighting their way through Eraru's priests as we speak trying to rescue us" Vivi growls, though the climitact is removed from her hands by Kaya's syrup tentacles before she can hit Nami again. Now unarmed the bluenette appears to calm, moving into a meditative pose before reciting what sounded to be a prayer, or at least part of one
"Hikari no buringā, anata wa anata no namae to mokuteki no kono chōshō ni taishite watashinokazoku no shōri o shitatamerudeshou."
"She has a point you know" Robin adds, still examining the alter itself "God's often gain power through worship, praying to him, may just doom our friends" the archaeologist suggests, leading to Nami taking a paintbrush to the back of the head. Turning around she's met with a grumpy looking Artemis
"Don't try hurt Papa again" she commands with a slight hiss in her voice, sending a shiver down the navigator's spine
"That vine looks pretty sturdy" Zoro says, spotting one in a tree just above them "Hey Robin, think you could lend a hand and get that for me?"
"Sure thing swordsman. Provided I can tag along" Robin says with a smirk
Zoro shrugs "That's fine as long as you don't slow me down" Robin nods and blooms hands to bring it down
"Wait a minute, where are you going?" Valentina asks, wondering what had caught the older woman's eye
"You see this alter, it's still standing after over a thousand years"
"WHAT!"
"You can practically feel the history in the very air, somewhere like this is bound to be full of old relics. It's my duty as an archaeologist to find those relics. Just think of all the valuables we could uncover, not seen in centuries" Robin sighs deeply, a soft smile on her face
Of course say valuables in front of Nami and the expected reaction occurs "Hm, in that case I'll join you" she declares, eyes already turned into Berri telling everyone exactly what they needed to know
"I guess that leaves us to fix the ship then" Vivi presumes, actually glad the red head wasn't going to be on the ship complaining the entire time. She's now Zoro and Robin's problem
"Stay safe mama" Artemis says, getting a hug from Robin
"Of course I will, I have our swordsman to protect me" she teases, Zoro rolling his eyes but smiling at the kid, tugging at the vine before getting ready to go
"A hem. Aaaaaahahah" he bellows, swinging over the sky shark infested lake (Eh, close enough to the Tarzan yell I'm probably not going to change it) "You're turn" he shouts, tossing the vine back, Robin barely letting it stop before jumping off herself and letting her swing gracefully to the other side. "Last call witch"
"I'll be fine" Nami tells herself, pulling on the vine to test its strength, then gulping when she looked down 'This is a lot higher than I though'
"Be very careful Miss Nami, if you fall you'll most certainly die, though whether it's from the fall or the sharks I'm not sure" Robin 'helpfully' encourages
"How is that supposed to help me….ah!" Nami screams as she's pushed, her shriek most likely scaring every bird in the area away before she reaches the other side, the only thing stopping her slamming into a tree, being Robin's blooms
"Well, not the total coward I expected you to be" Robin says with a smirk
"She was pushed" Zoro adds
"I stand corrected"
"Oh you can both go straight to Hell!" Nami yells at them both, Zoro ignoring her though Robin's flat 'yes I probably am' sent a cold shiver down her spine.
"So, now they're gone, should we get to work" Vivi asks, getting nods from all those who stayed "Okay, Victor you're the one of us with the most experience in this kind of thing, so lead the way"
"It's not really that much, barely worth the fanfare" the bomberman admits, getting nods of agreement from Vivi and the others.
"True, but some is better than none at all, which is what all but you, Usopp and maybe Kao given he seems to be the one most likely to help Usopp with his repairs before you joined the crew have in terms of repair and carpentry skills" Kaya explains while Chopper goes to get the tools
"Thanks, guess there's no point standing around complaining"
"Agreed, let's make the Merry sailable again" Valentina cheers.
With Zoro, Nami and Robin
"We've been walking for over an hour, and still no sign of this God, nor any of his priests" Zoro complains as he climbs over another tree root
"Well given if God is as powerful as he claims, or is supposed to it won't matter where we look as he should already know where we are. Then again maybe he does and is avoiding us on purpose" Robin guesses impassively
"If he knows where we are, can't he just show up already" the swordsman growls impatiently
Nami groans "You say that because you haven't seen the things I have, something on this island could wipe us off the map in a single strike!"
"If you start praying again I'll smack you" Robin states plainly, seeing the girl already dropping to her knees
"Let her do it if she wants, it's just as pointless as standing around complaining. We need to get across the river though as there's nothing over here" Zoro grumbles, then has to rescue Nami who got a little too close to the edge and caught the attention of a Sky Shark in the clouds.
"Okay, it's official I'm not crossing that, no how no way, might as well just throw myself to the sharks now and give them what hey want. I'm staying right here and nothing will make me move!"
"We probably will" Robin remarks, acknowledging Nami as dead weight, something Zoro told her not to be specifically (though it may have been he didn't see the point in repeating himself, or knew Nami would just argue if he told her off as well)
"You idiot, if you were so scared why did you come in the first place?" Zoro yells in her face
'Because she's a greedy, gold obsessed, bitch' Robin thinks, the information safe in her head from Nami's explosive temper, then she looks down and her eyes widen "Guys, look over here" she shouts, dropping to her knees
"What, is it gold, treasure, gemstones?" Nami asks with eye sparkles
"It's dirt"
"Of course it's dirt" the navigator responds, getting a look from Robin Luffy was familiar with, the 'you're a fucking idiot!'
"We're in the sky" Robin reminds her, her voice dead calm
"Oh yeah" Nami says with a face palm "But how did it get up here?"
"No clue, but the fact this place is made of dirt rather than clouds, might be why it's so special to this God person and the skypians in general" Robin theorises, standing back up
Robin hums as she spots something after a little more walking, something moving out the corner of her eye, potential proof they weren't alone in this forest
"Something wrong Robin?" Nami asks, having noticed the woman stop moving and looked almost lost
"Nothing of concern, we may continue" Robin waves off, it might have actually been nothing, she just wasn't sure.
Back with the Merry
Repairs actually were going better than expected, the girls and Chopper able to follow orders better than Luffy did 90% of the time, there was only one incident involving a lost hammer and a sky shark, but Victor's bombs seemed to do the trick to at least keep them away from the steps
"This is a rather smooth repair job, especially for such amateurs as ourselves" Vivi says with a smile a she continues hammering, accepting a nail from Carue before she runs over to Victor to give him one
"And a lot less complaining Kyahaha" Valentina cackles, sitting on Chopper's shoulder as they work on the hull "Weird isn't it?"
"That the most complaints don't come from the pretty pink princess?" Artemis asks completely shamelessly "But instead the poor, greedy, navigator?"
"Pretty much" Kaya admits, the devil fruit and Nami's lack of prescience on the boat allowing her to pluck up the courage to answer such a question
The peace didn't last too long as soon heavy wing beats could be heard, something was flying in their direction, at a quick pace too
"Holy shit!" Vivi screams as a skull faced bird enters visual range, a man with a pointy moustache, goggles and dressed like an aviator with pale grey wings riding on its back, his lance already drawn as he approaches
"5? Well better than nothing I suppose" he grouses "Those about to be sacrificed, I am Shura, one of the 4 priests of Enaru" he states, arrogance almost palatable in the air
Before anyone could stop him, Chopper blew Ganfall's whistle
Meanwhile
'Hm, what's cobblestone doing all the way up here?' Robin wonders, this island wasn't making any sense; nothing about this island was any different to any other on the Blue Sea… except it was high above the clouds, on the White White Sea.
"Wait, did you hear that?" Nami asks, drawing her attention away from the ground long enough to… yes that sounded like a whistle, or maybe another wind instrument she as unfamiliar with, it could be the sound of an Alarm Tone for all she knew. She shrugs and dismisses it, moving onto a more interesting mystery to solve: why would someone build a well under the roots of a tree?
Back on the Merry
"Those who offer up their lives to Enaru, I shall make this quick" Shura shouts before trying to skewer Chopper on the tip of his lance, missing and leaving a groove in the deck, which quickly came a light
"Fire on deck"
"Damn"
Shura growls "Why resist, die with dignity" he squeezes his legs and his bird exhales a torrent of flame
Bark
KABOOM
"Lasoo" Vivi cheers the gun dog's payload causing an explosion too high for the flames to do anymore damage to the ship… for now
"Okay, now he's asking for an ass kicking" Valentina says with gritted teeth "Let's give him what he wants eh guys?"
"Took the words right out of my mouth" Victor says before shooting an exploding snot ball, which Shura dodges with disinterest
"You really think something like that will be able to hurt a priest of Enaru?" he boasts, then frowns when a yellow blob entangles his hand "What is this?" he asks before ducking a similarly coloured projectile which embeds itself in the wall
"Me doing what Victor and Kaos do, combine my weapons, with my Devil Fruit." Kaya says as she opens her revolver, her hand liquefying enough for golden syrup to flow into the chambers before reforming her hands and closing them. She then spins the chambers, smirking slightly "Want to play guess the payload Mr Fireguy?" she asks, before firing a round from each gun
Given the intent flowing from her Shura's mantra was telling him to dodge as if they were real bullets, only for the left round to come undone, the sticky syrup tangling around the handle of his lance, not that he saw it as a problem as it meant they would be unable to disarm him
"You are nothing but an annoyance" Shura grunts, not even reacting as he moves out of the way of Valentina's drop, diving to avoid a tackle from Chopper, who was swiftly kicked into the mast of the ship "You will all die, same as the idiots who already abandoned you and the fools who believe you can be rescued by surviving the trials" he then catches Vivi as she tries using her slashers, lifting her by the throat "I offer your life to God…." He stops, the spear tip inches from her heart as a prescience enters the range of his mantra, someone powerful, and moving very fast. Dropping Vivi he turns just as Ganfall arrives, blocking his strike with his lance
"Sorry to keep you waiting children"
Quack
"I presume that's about Chopper using the whistle, in which case Go Chopper sounds about right" Valentina says, pulling herself to her feet as she watches Kaya's syrup tentacles extinguish any flames the priest had started while he was here, only mild discomfort showing on her face
Shura sneers at the man "So you've finally returned, allow me to fix a mistake and put you in the ground for Lord Enaru" he then hops onto his bird's back, who growls and spits fire at Pierre who dodges before the 2 riders begin dogfighting, all the while watched by angry eyes
'I hope Usopp's training is good enough… for this'
Each strike sends shockwaves through the air, Shura only a little surprised Ganfall was still this strong, despite appearing to be a decrepit old man he was still God before Enaru dethroned him. The problem for him, was his focus on Ganfall, something he needed to do or else the former God would get past his guard and skewer him, meant he suffered a much more humiliating blow, taking a round in the back from the Blue Sea pirates, the fact Ganfall managed to strike him with his Impact Dial gauntlet a moment later when he lost track of him due to pain and anger, was just the cherry on top for him. Lucky for Shura his bird was able to catch both him and his lance before becoming shark bait, rising back up to Ganfall's level
"You think you can beat me? You're just a shell of your former self and the brats below are barely worth my time, ants beneath God's boot. It's time I ended this farce of a fight. Ordeal Of Strings!" he declares loudly
The 2 warriors strike in a blur of motion, clashes could be heard even if the Straw Hats couldn't tell anything that was going on, either due to distance or speed. When they landed on their mounts once more neither were wounded badly, but there had been some hits given and taken on both sides of the fight. Ganfall was turning to make another attempt when him and Pierre found themselves unable to move
"What! He's just floating" Chopper gasps
"Clearly not on purpose, he looks to be stuck" Valentina notes, tilting her head confused as to the cause
"You have failed the Ordeal of Strings, and now you die" Shura says as he appears in front of Ganfall, impaling the old man on his flaming spear "Nobody enters Upper Yard without answering to the 4 priests, and now even you Ganfall are simply another offering to the Great God Enaru" he pushes forward with his weapon, pushing Ganfall off his mount and sending him into the cloud sea below
"Ganfall!" The straw hats yell, one realising his only chance hops over the edge of the ship and runs to the edge
"Vivi! What are you doing?" Chopper screams, realsing the princess was no longer standing beside him
"What I must, I'm the only one who can save him" she calls back, uncoiling her slashers before diving off the alter into the clouds
Shura scoffs "Diving into your own demise I see, at least you've made it quick" he then turns to Pierre, who was still frantically trying to escape the strings "And now for the Sky Knight's noble steed. You're without a master, and so without purpose. Time to join that fool in death" he shouts, his bird about to tear into the Horse/Bird
Bark
When it was forced to bank out of the way of a grenade being lobbed at it
"We're not going to just let you do this" Chopper declares, shifting into Heavy Point "We're going to beat you, for Ganfall"
Thump, thump, thump
"Hey guys" Victor, Valentina and Kaya turn at the sound of Artemis' voice "I think we should help her, as that's clearly not working" she says, pointing to Carue trying to move the cannons to point at Shura and his bird, Lasoo beside her firing his exploding baseballs at the enemies, with some degree of accuracy, at least enough to keep them off Pierre.
"You're beginning to annoy me" Shura growls, his mantra picking up the next attack 'explosive rounds the heat dial will cause an early detonation and tank the hit easily' swinging his lance he was right, except for on thing… his lance beign blasted out of his hand and landing point down in the centre of the Merry's deck, Valentina quickly yanking it free so as to avoid burning the ship down "How?" he thinks aloud, before noticing the syrup previously wrapped around his hand and weapon, had moved, crawling it's way up his arm and arounf to his back. The priest chuckles "So it seems you can't just keep making that yellow goo, so now you're trying to salvage as much as you can, removing the bullet from my back. Pity you won't last long enough to use it" he boasts, Foosa dodging the cannon fire as well as Victor's breath bombs. His smirk faded when his mantra picked up the real plan "Oh no you don't you little bitch!" he shouts, jumping off his bird, aiming to kill the girl as quickly as he could before she could activate her technique
The remaining Straw Hats were surprised when Kaya drops her guns, Chopper worrying when he sees her smile as well as her eyes turned solely the colour of honey, before moving her hands into her hair, fingers spread as if they were a crown or headdress
Syrup Sea Urchin
Shura was dead before he hit the deck, the syrup Kaya had managed to get to hit him converging on the on round that entered his back, once contained inside him it shifted, forming a spike ball which lead to dozens of needle sized spikes exiting his chest cavity like a reverse pin cushion. Without a master Foosa didn't fair much better or last much longer, going down when it took a cannon ball to the jaw, cracking his Flame Dial, shortly followed by a 2 stager Lasso carefully regurgitated into the cannon before Chopper fired it
"That was scary" Artemis notes, even as Kaya falls to the ground both due to exhaustion as well as her brian processing what she just did "Remind me never to annoy Aunt Kaya" the artist smiles sweetly and sits with the blond, who accepts the hug being offered.
"CHOPPER! KAYA! I need a medic here!" The straw hats all rush to the side of the ship, Vivi struggling to heave Ganfall up the steps of the alter. Chopper and Victor jump off the ship to help, while Pierre, now free from Shura's cloud strings glides slowly down to meet them, concerned for it's friend and master.
"Okay, we're good he's still alive I can do this" Chopper assures himself, while Kaya slowly made her way down the side of the boat with their medical supplies
With Zoro, Robin and Nami
"From what I can tell we're almost at the shoreline" Robin says to Zoro, who nods gruffly
"And only Nami had a nervous breakdown, guess there are benefits to loosing Usopp, and not having Kaos around to facilitate the aforementioned breakdown" he jokes lightly, turning back to see the red head mumbling to herself "I wish she's just tell us what she saw"
"Clearly it shocked her to her core, as well as cause a temporary break from reality" Robin clicks her tongue as she looks at Nami curiously, she then frowns "I hear more than just the tide now, you?"
"Yeah, actually sounds like an army" he pauses for a moment and chuckles "An some explosions thrown in for good measure. Whatever's going on out there, I hope it's enough to distract this Enaru prick long enough for us to find a way to get off this dirt heap"
"Agreed, this could get very complicated… hey where'd Nami go?"
Zoro blinks and looks behind him "Damn it Nami we don't have time for your games"
"Found her… oh my" Robin gasps as she runs off, Zoro following her as quickly as he could "I understand now" she says quietly, once she heard Zoro stop behind her, equally in shock "Why Nami's brain left her. This shouldn't be possible"
"This, is the other half of Cricket's house… which ended up here, when the rest of the island did" Nami voices Robin's current theory, that Upper Yard was originally from the Blue Sea, this proving it more specifically… to be part of the island of Jaya in particular
TBC
LW: Well I think there's a good place to end it, hope you liked it. Also, 2 priests down, 2 to go.
Translation of Vivi's prayer: (aka what I put into Google translate to get that) Bringer of light, may you grant my family victory against this mockery of your name and purpose.
