Thank you so much for all the support you guys gave me after my update post last week. My situation is more or less the same, despite working to improve it career-wise with no immediate results, but I have been feeling a bit better.
On a more important (as far as you guys are concerned) & more uplifting note, I created a Tumblr page to act as a sort of update hub for all my various accounts & projects. There's not a lot on it now, but you can check it out for updates & an easier way to contact me. You can find me at GamerDameMedia, & I'll tag any story related posts at #LYBM.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I only own my original additions. This story is for entertainment purposes.
Warnings: Mild Violence
Allowing herself to be kidnapped without fighting back went against Abel's instincts, and better judgment, but there was little they could do for now. Taking out the lobster was impossible, and jumping was pointless. All the crew could do was wait until the lobster took them wherever it planned and find a way back, all while dealing with whatever trial awaited them. Without knowing anything about this Enel, Abel couldn't hazard a guess as to what ticking him off would entail, but typically offending gods required atonement through blood. Abel doubted he was going through all this effort just to verbally reprimand them.
Hearing a keening sound by her knees, Abel glanced down to see Dogmeat sitting with his shoulders tense, ears flat against his skull in clear distress. He didn't look afraid, as Abel doubted an undead dog could fear anything, but he certainly didn't look happy about not doing anything. Abel patted his head reassurance. Dogmeat didn't remove his gaze from directly ahead of them, but did relax his muscles a bit. Glancing at her humanish crewmates, Abel found them every bit as tense and apprehensive as the dog. Robin and Zoro were, for the most part, sternly impassive, waiting for the enemy's next move, and Chopper looked nervous but did his best to hide it. But Nami looked like she'd had a breakdown, slumped on the deck in disbelief like a discarded doll. "Red," Abel called to her, making the navigator twitch and jerk her head toward Abel. "What did you see at Upper Yard?" When the redhead nearly glared at Abel for reminding her, she continued calmly, "You're the only one with some idea of what we might be up against." It was foolish not to have some idea of what they might face.
Nami sighed, realizing Abel was right. Complaining did no good right now. They needed to stay alive. Dragging herself to her feet, Nami explained, "When I was playing around on Pagaya's waver, I saw this island in the distance filled with the most giant trees I'd ever seen. It seemed too odd that I had to check it out."
"So you did go there," Zoro commented.
"I did, but I didn't get off the waver," Nami corrected. "I heard voices from the forest, and then this guy showed up. He looked really beaten up, and begged me to take him off the island. He even pulled a gun on me! But before he could do anything, this giant pillar of light came down from the sky and vaporized him!" Nami flailed her arms around dramatically to emphasize the vastness of the beam. "It destroyed a part of the island and everything!"
"That must have been from this god," Robin pointed out, and Abel nodded. Beams of holy retribution from the sky were a common theme among gods.
Nami continued, "I heard more voices, so I hid. I didn't get a look at them, but it sounded like several guys had been chasing this man. I bet they were the priests, and that guy had illegally gone to Upper Yard. I heard them talking about illegal entrants, and I knew they had to mean us, so I hurried back."
"That's how you knew we were in trouble with the authorities," Abel concluded, to which Nami nodded.
"Hey!" Chopper's voice perked up, drawing the humans' attention. Standing on the bulwark, the doctor pointed ahead of them. "We're going to one of those Milky Roads Pagaya talked about."
Turning her attention back to their forced path, Abel saw that Chopper was right. A Milky Road, similar to the one they'd traveled up from Heaven's Gate, emerged from the clouds before them. Aside from simply sloping gently up before leveling off in the distance, rather than forming a spiral, it was identical. The lobster didn't even pause as it hit the road. As the ship sped up the slope, Abel caught a glimpse of something in the distance. A faint but very large shadow through the misty clouds in their path. Was this the infamous Upper Yard?
The answer became a decided 'yes' as the mist dissipated and a large island loomed before them. It matched Nami's description perfectly. From shore to shore, nothing but ginormous trees dotted the landscape, the canopies so densely packed together it resembled a carpet of greenery in the sky. It was so shockingly different from the normal landscape of pure white that Abel understood perfectly why this had become sacred land to the people here. If Angel Beach had been a standard sky island, Upper Yard was an anomaly. Something foreign, even alien. The growth of the massive trees could easily be interpreted as a direct result of god's presence, while also being intimidating. It might just be Abel's perception, but it felt ominous.
"Is that it?" Zoro asked, coming to stand at the railing. "Upper Yard?" Nami nodded with a silent scowl.
Rather than going around the island, the Milky Road went straight through the trees, swirling up and around in a clearly defined path. Abel tried to get a glimpse of the land below, but the lobster traveled too fast. Everything was a blur. "Look," Robin commented, pointing off to the side. "There appears to be numerous roads." Multiple Milky Roads traced the forest, every one of them following a different but equally convoluted path.
"And odd addition for a place where supposedly only God and his chosen are allowed to tread," Abel drawled. What did God need with roads?
Crossing her arms, Robin said thoughtfully, "Perhaps their purpose is less that of a road and more like a maze. To make it hard for trespassers to enter or leave." Just at a glance, it was impossible to tell where any of the roads led. It could be to certain death or an exit. Hell, maybe none of them were exists. "They're very efficient kidnappers," Robin said, almost joking.
Zoro snorted. "I bet they've had lots of practice."
Before the pirates could consider this further, the lobster made a sharp descent, following the Milky Road. Abel grasped the ship as her stomach lurched at the sudden dip, eyes forward as they headed down into the forest proper. Once they broke the canopy, it took Abel's eyes a few seconds to adjust to the sudden darkness. It wasn't pitch black, but the thick leaves prevented a lot of sunlight from reaching the ground. When she could see in detail again, Abel couldn't help marveling at the sheer size of the trees. She recalled how huge the trees back on Jaya had been, but these trumped that easily. Abel wondered briefly if these were redwoods, as she'd always heard those were some of the largest trees. This forest had to be ancient for the trees to reach this size. It was hard to comprehend their exact size as they blurred by, but they all looked big enough for a person to carve a home into the trunk without damaging the integrity of the plant.
Suddenly, the forest opened up, revealing the end of the Milky Road... within a circular lake with a tall stone structure protruding from the very center. Before Abel had the chance to really analyze it, the lobster veered sideways as it pulled up to the pillar. It ducked down into the clouds before leaping, tossing the Going Merry into the air. Nami and Chopper screamed and everyone scrambled to grab onto something. Dogmeat accidentally butted into Abel's leg, knocking her down on one knee, pinning the beast to the deck. Abel then fell to her hands as the ship landed against something firm, but soft enough that they hull didn't break.
When everything finally stopped shaking, Abel dug her knee out of Dogmeat's side with an apology, pushing herself up to her hands and feet before climbing fully upright. After sparing a glance to ensure the crew was fine (which aside from being a little shaken, they were), Abel turned her attention to this new location.
The lobster had left, his job clearly completed now that they'd apparently delivered them to where they were supposed to go. They sat perched atop a stone pillar smack-dab in the middle of a large lake filled with clouds. The shore was far enough away that the only way to reach land was either to swim or randomly sprout wings. Coming to stand at the railing so she could look below them, Abel found a patch of squishy clouds had cushioned their landing. The pillar itself gave Abel some major ancient pagan cult vibes. It bore more than a passing resemblance to pictures she'd seen of altars ancient tribal people would strap human sacrifices to before gouging out their hearts for some heathen god. The only difference was this particular altar was big enough to hold an entire ship of sacrifices. Fun times. It didn't help matters that this altar obviously continued to see use given the lit braziers flanking the altar's back wall. The braziers were even complete with the stereotypical ox skull on top, crossed spears, and shields marked with the kanji or "kami" or "god" emblazoned on the front, further reinforcing the impression that this Enel was a heathen god.
Leaving the others to take in the lovely scenery, Abel vaulted over the railing to get a better look at the altar. It was very tall, with a large backing covered in what looked to Abel to be hieroglyphics. She didn't understand any of the symbols, but each had been carved meticulously into the back, every symbol bigger than Abel's head. As Abel wandered across the altar, she heard Dogmeat jump down and follow after her, sniffing inquisitively as he went. After pacing around the ship, Abel discovered three sides of the altar were almost sheer, with only the front having barely enough slope to house a long set of stairs. The stairs were so steep that one wrong step would send the person careening down into the clouds. Actually, speaking of clouds, Abel wondered briefly if the altar was floating in the clouds. It felt solid, suggesting it was actually attached to something stable, so maybe this particularly lake had a bottom. Abel's thoughts were distracted when she noticed something on the bottom of the ship's hull, and knelt to examine it.
"Where are we?" Nami whimpered from the deck, staring fearfully out at the dark forest surrounding them on all sides ominously.
"I think the better question is how do we get out of here?" Zoro retorted.
"I can tell you how we won't be getting out of here," Abel interjected. "This ship."
Curious, Zoro jumped down to join Abel, having noticed her staring at something. Abel didn't look up when she heard him approach, but pointing to the hull. "A parting gift from our lobster friend," she quipped, waving at the large holes in the bottom of their ship. The lobster's claws hadn't punched completely through, but it had damaged the wood. "Even if we could find a way of getting the ship down in one piece, it won't stay afloat."
"Shit..." Zoro cursed, to which Abel agreed.
As their current acting captain considered their situation, Abel turned to stand. However, as she did, her knee grazed roughly against the altar. It didn't hurt, but the rough texture gave Abel pause. Since when were clouds rough? Even the manufactured cloud stairs back on the other island had felt smooth. Curiously, Abel ran her hand against the altar. It felt like stone, some of the grit even coming off on her hand. It shouldn't be such a big deal to find a stone altar, but based on what Pagaya had told them, everything should be made of clouds. Why was this altar made of stone? Did it have some significance? Had they traded or stolen from Blue Sea people to get it?
"Think we can swim it?"
Zoro's sudden question broke through Abel's contemplation. For a second, she stared blankly at him, while he looked at her oddly, wondering why she was still kneeling. Once her brain actually processed the question and linked the context, Abel gazed out at the lake. "We haven't had the greatest luck with swimming so far..." she drawled. She supposed they could, but somehow she didn't think the priests would make it that easy.
"We won't know until we try," Zoro retorted, pulling something out of his pocket. Abel stared at the goggles in his hands. Where had he gotten those? When had he gotten those? They didn't belong to anyone in the crew.
These questions were pointless, however, as Zoro wordlessly slipped them over his eyes as he made his way down the steep stairs. Abel followed a few steps behind. When he reached where stairs met cloud, Zoro paused to adjust the goggles so they fit snuggly around his eyes. His thinking was that they might help him see a little better in the water. What got Usopp in trouble before (among other things) was that he said he couldn't see much through the blur of the clouds. Hopefully he wouldn't fall through. Once he was satisfied, Zoro announced, "Here I go," and jumped in.
The remained crew watched as Zoro disappeared beneath the sea clouds. It was surprisingly murky, perhaps because despite acting like water they still rolled like clouds. But whatever the reason, it was impossible to make out anything below the surface. Abel had to admit, though, she didn't like that the man hadn't resurfaced. Why would he swim under the water? Granted, the consistency of sea cloud wasn't like water, so perhaps it was just hard for Zoro to stay afloat.
Next to her, Dogmeat gave a low growl. Abel glanced at the dog, but the sea churning before her caused her head to snap back around. Barely a second later, had a large carnivorous sky fish leaped from the surface... with Zoro in his mouth. "There he is!" Nami shouted over Dogmeat's barking, as if they couldn't all see Zoro in the fish's mouth, holding its sharp teeth away from his flesh with all three swords and a foot. "Zoro!" Nami shouted.
"A shark!" Chopper squealed. "Zoro's losing to a sky shark!"
Abel grabbed her crossbows, but the shark and Zoro had fallen back into the clouds before she could take aim. An uncomfortable silence fell over the area as the two disappeared beneath the deceptively calm lake, broken only by Dogmeat's hostile snarling.
A few tense heartbeats went by before Nami started panicking. "He's not coming up... did he get eaten!?"
This sent Chopper screaming, "Zoro's been eaten!"
In contrast, Robin said with eerie calm, "If he was, the clouds would be turning red now."
"Not if he was swallowed whole," Abel couldn't help saying. It was a coping mechanism.
"Stop saying such scary things!" Nami yelled at both of them.
"C'mon, Red," Abel replied, her posture relaxed despite the fact that she kept her eyes trained on the clouds, crossbow in hand. "Even if Chief did get swallowed, he'd just cut his way out."
Fortunately, gutting sky sharks from the inside wasn't necessary, as the next moment both Zoro and the shark reemerged as Zoro punched the shark away. "Get outta my way!" The shark collapsed into the clouds, tongue hanging out and a large welt on the head, and Zoro slowly climbed up the stairs. He looked waterlogged, out of breath, and annoyed, but unharmed. Pausing before Abel, Zoro shoved the goggles up onto his forehead. "... damn!" he panted, glaring at the forest. "Looks like we won't be able to swim ashore..."
It was on the tip of Abel's tongue to say she told him so, but she refrained. It was better to try and know than not try and miss an obvious solution. Instead, she said, "They clearly don't want us to leave." She couldn't say exactly what these priests had planned, but she doubted it was nice.
As they headed back up the stairs, Zoro glanced out the clouds, noticing even more sky sharks swimming around, their blue-and-black striped fins sticking from the clouds. "That giant lobster brought us to one hell of a place..."
"You're a swordsman, yet you used your fist to kill a shark!" Nami snapped, amusing Abel but annoying Zoro.
Ignoring the navigator, Zoro pulled his soaked shirt over his head, wringing it out. Abel tried really hard not to stare at Zoro's muscular torso, but it wasn't easy thanks to the water trailing across his tanned skin... the scar across his chest diverting the trails of water across his torso... the muscles in his arms tensing and flexing as he twisted his soaked shirt... his tongue darting out to catch the water on his lower lip... Son of a bitch! Abel thought as she forcefully tore her eyes away to stare at the sky before she got herself in trouble. She didn't know if this Enel was omniscient, but if he was, she just gave him an interesting picture.
Willing herself to calm down, before even the animals could sense her pheromones, Abel listened as Robin drawled, "Do you suppose starving us here is Heaven's Judgment?" She must've jumped down at some point when Abel was distracted, and the hunter wondered if the other woman had seen her staring.
"Would God really do something so bland?" Zoro asked back.
"I don't know... I've never met him," Robin replied dryly.
A blur of blue pulled Abel's attention as it landed on Zoro's head, obscuring his vision. It was only once he dropped his shirt and pulled the blue blob off his head that Abel realized it was a dry, blue tanktop. Glancing at the damaged hull then back up at the deck, Zoro called, "Try to fix the ship somehow, Chopper."
The deer jolted. "Eh!? Me!? Okay!" He didn't know why Zoro was asking him, of all people, but if Zoro trusted him, he'd do his best.
Not everyone was so understanding, however. "Fix it..." Nami murmured. "Are you planning to do something?"
As Zoro pulled on the dry shirt, Abel felt both relieved and annoyed. And a little surprised Zoro actually owned clothes other than his usual white shirt. Typical guy thing... buy fifteen pairs of the exact some piece of clothing. "I'm gonna find a way into the forest," Zoro replied at length. "We should probably make this our base of operations. You guys can keep a lookout. I'm sure Luffy and the others are headed here in search for us." Abel briefly glanced toward Robin as the woman wandered around to observe the hieroglyphics. But she continued to listen as Zoro explained, "It's like they say, 'When you're lost, stay where you are'."
Abel snorted. "So you're doing the exact opposite of your own advice?"
Zoro stared at the hunter seriously. "God's on this island, right?" Zoro asked rhetorically. "I want to go meet him."
While Abel merely raised a brow at this, Nami snapped, "What!? Why would you want to meet someone scary like that!?"
"I dunno," Zoro teased, placing his hands on his hips in an attempt to act coy. It didn't suit him. "That depends on him."
"Zoro... is more arrogant than God," Chopper breathed, sounding awed.
Dogmeat caught Abel's eye and gave her the most unimpressed expressed she'd never seen. He snorted, shaking his head. "I concur," Abel agreed, feeling more than a little amused that she understood him. "If he had any more testosterone it'd be dripping out of his ears." It was bad when the zombie dog was giving you sass.
"He has priests on this island too, you know!" Nami shouted, attempting to reason with Zoro despite the fact it was common knowledge he could be as bull-headed as their captain. "The last thing we need is you pissing off God! This is just common sense!"
Zoro halted any further complaints as he turned and gave them all the most devilish smirk in the history of smirking. "Sorry," he said darkly. "I never pray to God."
Abel could only stare for a long moment, unsure if she should be impressed or abhorred by the sheer amount of machismo on display before her. She'd hardly be accused of being reverent, but she didn't necessarily make it her business to piss people (deity or otherwise) off. Behind her, Chopper squealed in pure idol worship while Nami prayed for forgiveness. No wait, she was praying for god to not take his wrath on Zoro out on her. Saying the first thing that came to mind, Abel drawled, "You do realize the saying, 'To punch out God,' is an expression reflecting the impossibility of a task, not a challenge to aspire to?"
The mood shattered, Zoro sighed, "I don't even believe in God, so why should I care?" Focusing on more important tasks, Zoro scanned the area of something to help him get off this altar without getting eaten. His eyes landed on a stretch of green overhead. "Looks like we can use that vine," he announced, pointing at a branch stretching over them.
"Ah... that's not a bad idea," Robin agreed. "Mind if I join you, Mr. Swordsman?"
Zoro looked surprised, not used to Robin being actively involved in anything they did, but shrugged. "No, but don't be slowin' me down."
"Wait... Robin, you're going too!?" Nami gasped.
Grinning at Nami's surprised expression, Robin replied, "Take a look around. At least a thousand years have passed since this altar was built. Historical things like this make my body tingle...!" For once, her voice sounded genuine. The smile of Robin's face wasn't a mask, but genuine enjoyment. She actually looked at peace for a change. Abel supposed it shouldn't be surprising. The woman was, first and foremost, a trained archeologist. "Where there is great history, there should be just as many old relics." Placing a hand on the altar, Robin continued, "I'd wager even a few gems or treasures to help out our ship."
The response was predictable. "I'm going too!" Nami shouted with much gusto.
"Huh!?" Chopper gasped at this turn. "But didn't you say it was scary?"
Nami nearly giggled. "We're exploring history!" she sung, her eyes shining at the idea of something more than just broken pottery. Even Chopper saw through her lie.
With their course clearly set, Abel sighed, "All right... let me go change into something more travel-appropriate," as she turned to board the ship.
Now it was Zoro's turn to look surprised. "You're coming too?"
"You have a problem with that?" Abel challenged, placing a hand on her hip teasingly.
Zoro studied Abel for a long moment before he said in a low voice, "No."
Abel smiled, before making a careless gesture. "I can't in good conscience let you wander into the forest and potentially encounter something supernatural without me."
The pirates took a few moments to gather any supplies they might need for their trek into the forest. Anything they felt might be useful, they placed into backpacks. Unsurprisingly, Zoro was the first to be ready to leave. He stood impatiently on the deck, a medium-sized pack resting comfortably against his back. Zoro stared out at the forest they were about to explore, idly listening to Chopper gathering equipment from the storage room. His goal, at least, was to figure out where exactly on Upper Yard they were. He had no doubt Luffy and the others would find them eventually, and he wanted to have some idea of how to get the ship out by then. And if they happened to run into this Enel along the way... well, he wouldn't be torn up about it.
Hearing footsteps approaching behind, Zoro turned to find Abel the first woman to emerge from below. He couldn't help raising an eyebrow. First the dress, and now shorts? Was she deliberately taunting him? He wouldn't put it past her. Zoro hadn't really noticed (or had avoided noticing) until then that Abel had really nice legs. They were thicker than Nami or Robin's, but still in proportion to her body. Toned. What did they call it...? Dancer's legs? The legs of someone who spent a lot of time running and jumping around. They suited a nimble hunter like Abel.
"Pretty nifty, right?"
Zoro jolted at Abel's unexpected question, snapping his eyes guiltily up to meet hazel ones. But rather that giving him a teasing or knowing look, Abel just smiled, placing her hand on something. Zoro realized she had a new accessory strapped to her leg. A brown leather satchel connected to a slanting belt, resting just above her crossbows on her thigh. Zoro resisted sighing, realizing Abel must've interpreted his staring as him noticing the accessory, not him ogling her legs.
Keeping his mind firmly in the realm of what was acceptable with-company territory, Zoro watched as Abel did a little spin. He saw her compound bow housed snuggly on the back of her belt, as well as something else. A gun. Since when did Abel own a gun? Yet there it was, positioned just to the right of her bow, the handle within easy grabbing distance of her right hand. It took Zoro a second to recognize just what the gun was. A sawed-off shotgun. Warric's shotgun. The abrupt realization hit Zoro like a punch in the gut, leaving him unsure what to think. He was happy that Abel felt comfortable carrying the very thing that had ended her ex's life, as utility was very much an Abel-thing. But it also served to remind him that Abel was, in fact, still recovering from her grief. Recovering well, and actively, but recovering nonetheless. Perhaps his discomfort stemmed from the visual reminder that Abel was more experienced than him in the realm she was asking him to enter.
Ignorant of the swordsman's dilemma, Abel took a moment to adjust her outfit to where it was more comfortable. She unbuttoned the cuffs of her sleeves to give her arms more room to move. With the warm weather and potential for getting roughed up while exploring, Abel had opted for something easy to move around in yet capable of taking a beating. Her collarless button-up, a smoky blue color, had three-quarter length sleeves, ending just below her elbows, and with the cuffs unbuttoned provided ample room to move. It also had corseting built into it, so it fit very snuggly, offering comfortable structure and protection from scuffs or bruising if she fell. Her brown leather shorts had lacing up the sides, and were loose enough in the legs not to constrict her movements. And while they weren't Nami-level short, they were short enough not to get in the way of her crossbows or satchel strap. Abel knelt down to adjust the brownish-black cable-knit leg warmers over her knees, hoping they would pull double duty of protecting her legs from scrapes as well as preventing chaffing from the brown cuffed boots, which Abel choose for their thick, traction-heavy soles.
Abel stood as Nami and Robin emerged, idly adjusting her scarf. "Ready," Robin announced, though the navigator behind them looked anything but. It was on the tip of Abel's tongue to comment that they were in less-than-suitable travel wear, with them both still in heels, but knew better than to comment on women's choice in clothing.
"Let's go," Zoro urged, already climbing up to the crow's nest.
Rather than following, Abel knelt in front of Dogmeat and told him, "Stay here." Dogmeat didn't take too kindly to this, letting out a loud, plaintive whine. Giving a lopsided grin, Abel reached out to ruffle his ears. "I'm leaving you in charge of protecting the ship and Doc. I give you permission to bite anything that's not us that tries to board this ship. Understand?" Abel made her voice firm at the end. Dogmeat lowered his ears, trying to give Abel his best puppy dog eyes. But when she didn't relent, Dogmeat sighed before sitting up straight, like a proper guard dog. He gave her a growling bark, which Abel thought would have been a salute had he been human. "Good boy."
Joining the crew at the highest point on their ship, Abel watched as Robin used her Devil Fruit to sprout two hands on the branch overhead, tossing the long vine down. "How's that?" she asked as Zoro caught the end.
"Perfect," Zoro decided after giving the vine a few tugs to ensure it was still securely attached to the tree above. It was even longer than the distance from the tree to the ship, meaning it should have enough length to get them easily to solid ground.
When he climbed onto the crow's nest's ledge, Abel expected Zoro to swing. Instead, however, he paused and began to clear his throat. Abel and the other two women stared at the man in confusion. He looked like he was preparing to give a rousing speech or something. But he didn't, instead grabbing the vine with both hands when he was finished doing... whatever that was. Kicking off, Zoro swung across the lake, all the while letting out what Abel could only describe as a wild man call. Abel felt torn between laughing and shaking her head, so she did a little of both, chuckling in a I-can't-believe-this-is-my-life kind of way while lowering her face in shame. Next to her, Nami murmured in equal confusion, "What is that? A catchphrase?"
"Must be a guy thing," Abel replied, raising her face again. Regardless, Zoro easily made it across, landing safely on the ground on the shore.
As the vine swung back, Abel stepped up to go next. Grabbing the vine firmly with both hands, Abel lifted her feet as she kicked off from the ledge. She didn't do... whatever it was Zoro had done, but she couldn't help smiling as she swung over the lake. As she crossed the lowest point of the swing and neared the shore, Abel lowered her legs, slowing her flight. When she passed over the shore, Abel let go of the vine, landing lightly on the ground next to Zoro. "That was fun," she commented as she turned to watch Robin swing over.
The archeologist didn't hesitate, even as more sky sharks appeared to feed on their dead friend. When it came to Nami's turn, however, the redhead looked distressingly pale. Even at the distance, Abel noticed her fearful stance, body curling in on itself as she held the vine with a death grip. Nami wasn't quite as adventurous as the rest of them. Hoping to encourage the girl, Abel cupped her mouth and called, "It's just like jumping off a swing set when you were a kid!" Abel had loved doing that, seeing which sibling could get the swing highest before leaping, but it drove her father crazy.
Less than helpfully, Robin warned, "It's about fifty meters. Mess up and you die!"
Even Abel pulled a face. "Pretty sure she's already aware of that..." Abel drawled. Personally, if Abel would've said it, she'd have left out the last bit.
"All right, fine!" Nami snapped, apparently irritated at their lack of fear. "I'm going! Is that what you want!?" Well, if the anger motivated her...
Nami held good form as she jumped off, instinctively curling her legs up to pick up speed, even if she kept her eyes shut. Unfortunately, she lost her focus as she saw the sky sharks swimming around, fear kicking back in. So as she passed the lowest point and began swinging up toward the shore, she forgot to stretch out her legs, resulting in her speeding up rather than slowing down at the point she was supposed to let go. Nami realized this, screaming in panic as her face made a straight line for a tree trunk. Fortunately, Robin sprouted a web of arms to act as a cushion for Nami to bounce into. "See, you have guts," Robin praised, not entirely being sarcastic.
Nami collapsed in a heap on the ground, panting like she's run a marathon. "Thanks... for catching me..." she managed as she tried to slow her heart.
"Anytime," Robin replied as she turned away, readjusting her small backpack over her shoulder as she focused on the forest.
Zoro startled Abel as he let out another wild man call, almost right in her ear. What was he doing? Demonstrating his lung capacity? "... is what you should have done," he chastised Nami when he finished his call.
Abel couldn't blame Nami for yelling at Zoro, "That had nothing to do with it!" Abel just grinned. God might not have to worry about killing them. They were clearly on their way to killing each other.
Leaving Nami to recover, Zoro called back, "Okay, Chopper! You're in charge of the ship!"
"We're counting on you!" Robin added.
"Stay out of trouble!" Abel advised, both to the animals on the ship and her comrades.
Heaving a final sigh, Nami lunged to her feet. Sliding her pink backpack on, she waved at Chopper, "We'll be back soon!"
Dogmeat gave a sharp bark, and Chopper yelled, "Bye! Everyone be careful! Don't take too long, okay!?"
Chopper and Dogmeat watched as their crewmates disappeared into the forest, traveling between the giant tree trunks and upturned roots like a canyon. Chopper gave a crooked, nervous smile. "I guess Nami is okay, since she has Zoro, Abel and Robin... I'm too scared to go..." Next to him, Dogmeat gave a little whine of protest before stalking across the deck. Chopper sweatdropped at the strange dog, but figured he didn't like Abel leaving him behind. And even though he wasn't exactly comfortable with the taciturn undead, Chopper was very grateful to have him around. At least he hadn't been left completely alone in this creepy place.
The quartet of pirates meandered, rather aimlessly in Abel's assessment, through the overgrown forest for a while before Abel asked, "What exactly is the aim of our exploration?"
"To find God," Zoro answered swiftly.
Abel pulled a face. "If that was the case, we should've remained on the sacrificial altar," Abel said, emphasizing the end. "No doubt someone would've shown up eventually."
Nami snarled, "Don't be stupid, Zoro! We need to find a way off this island!"
Robin paused, and as she was at the head of the line, this made everyone else stop as well. She pointed at something off to the left, through the trees. "There's a natural river over there. I'm certain it feeds into the lake. If we follow along the bank, not only should it prevent us from getting lost, but it may lead us to the shore." Abel had to stand on her toes to peer over the tall roots, but saw Robin was right. A river cut through the forest just on the other side of the trees. What's more, it wasn't one of those Milky Roads. Perhaps this river fed clouds from the sea into that lake. If that was the case, then it should lead them out.
"Sounds good to me," Nami eagerly agreed, not wanting to get lost in a scary place like this. Even though nothing had happened yet, Nami couldn't shake the feeling of constantly being watched. She didn't know if it really was this god or if she was just paranoid, but she didn't like it either way.
Cutting across to the river was more difficult that it sounded, as the roots were so tall and thick climbing over them was akin to climbing a mini mountain. Abel was glad she'd chosen the clothing she did. She couldn't imagine climbing around in those heels like Robin and Nami were. Well, Robin probably had it a little easier, as she just sprouted hands to help give her some extra pull to clear the climbs. Nami, on the other hand (Abel nearly chuckled to herself at the bad word play) had to do it old-school, climbing on her hands and knees. Standing atop a root, Abel offered a hand to their navigator, which she happily took. Nami offered Abel a breathy thanks as she reached the summit, leaning on her knees to catch her breath. Abel had to give the redhead credit; she might not be as physically capable as the rest of them, but she had moxy. It probably helped that Nami was the sort whose physical abilities grew the more irritated she became. Spite could be a powerful motivator.
After a few more ridiculous hurdles, they finally reached the riverbank. As Abel slid down the last root to the bank, Zoro complained, "Where is this God, anyway?"
"If he's a god, he might have already foreseen our actions long ago," Robin pointed out. For all they knew, they were playing right into his hands.
Zoro placed a hand on his swords. "Things'd be a lot faster if he came to us..."
Abel resisted rolling her eyes at his single-mindedness. "Have you ever paused to consider, Chief, that if this Enel is the sustainer of this world, destroying him might destroy this world and everyone in it?" The look on Zoro's face told her he hadn't thought of that. Then again, if Zoro truly thought he could kill a god he must not put a lot of stock into their power. Abel supposed if something could be killed, then by definition it couldn't be a god. Abel mentally threw her hands up. This is why she preferred to focus on monsters and the like. Thinking about theology from anything other than a scholastic mindset just made her head hurt.
Finally catching her breath, Nami chastised, "I'd rather he not show up!" Foolishly trying to reason with Zoro, she continued, "How many times do I have to tell you!? The god on this island is horrible!" Nami shivered as she remembered the sheer destructive power she'd seen before. If that beam of light could demolish a giant chunk of land, what chance did they stand? Tearfully, Nami clasped her hands together and stared piously into the sky. Abel raised a brow as she watched silently. Where did that halo of light suddenly come from? "Oh, Lord..." Nami began, and Abel bit back a laugh at the visual representation of someone literally having "the fear of God" put into them. Not thinking that if this god really did exist he certainly didn't owe them any favors, Nami beseeched, "We are but simple sailors. Please leave us in peace! Oh! And please let us find some treasure."
"Nice prayer, Nami..." Zoro drawled.
This time Abel couldn't resist. "Ask and ye shall receive," she quoted in amusement.
Leaving the girl to her own devices, Zoro focused his attention on the river. It was too far across the jump, and Zoro had already learned not to trust the peaceful appearance of the clouds here. There were probably monsters inside, not to mention potentially no bottom. "Anyway, walking along the river won't get us anywhere," he announced. "We should cross and check out the other side." They hadn't found much of interest on this side, and if Zoro had to guess, this river deliberately separated them from the rest of the island.
"Yes," Robin agreed, more than content to continue exploring this strange place.
"But how?" Nami asked, judging the distance with keen eyes. "Use a vine to swing across like before? Or do we climb a-" Nami's speculation cut off abruptly as the ground beneath her feet crumbled due to Nami standing too close to the shore. Staggering to one side, Nami screamed, her arms gasping desperately for something to pull herself back to safety, yet finding nothing. Unable to right herself, she began to take a header into the clouds... and right into the awaiting jaws of a sky shark that had appeared like an alligator waiting patiently to strike.
The others lunged at once, but it was Zoro who reached Nami first. Lashing out, he grabbed Nami's shoulder roughly with one hand, using his momentum to swing her around and throw her back to the shore, while simultaneously kicking the sky shark in the throat. Abel intercepted Nami, catching her against her own body and securely wrapping both arms around the girl's torso, allowing her to slump against Abel, safely away from the clouds. The sky shark collapsed on the far shore, not dead but clearly down for the count. "Those things are everywhere!" Zoro growled.
Nami panted heavily in Abel's arms, trembling as the adrenaline left her. Abel wisely refrained from asking something stupid about if she was all right, as the answer was clearly a resounding "no." She just let Nami right herself. As she anticipated, Nami's fear turned to anger. Even as she stood limply against Abel, Nami yelled, "If you think I'm crossing that now, you're crazy!" Her voice wavered, but not her resolve. Finally trusting herself to stand on her own, Nami pulled away from Abel. Her legs shook slightly, but she remained standing. Nami glared hatefully at the clouds. "We may as well hop in and give the sharks a free snack!"
"Calm down," Zoro chastised. Had telling someone to calm down every actually made them calm down? "It'll be fine. We'll just keep walking upstream and hope we find a safe place to cross over."
Ignoring the tears in her eyes, Nami snapped, "I said forget it! If you're gonna go, then you can go alone, Zoro!"
Zoro made a sound of irritation. "If you're that scared, you shouldn't have come in the first place!"
Abel was about to intervene in their yelling match, as they were both right in their own way, but Robin beat her to it. "Say..." she began, her calm voice tinged with curiosity cutting through the tension as cleanly as Zoro's swords. Almost instantly, everyone looked toward the archeologist, argument temporarily forgotten. Abel would've applauded the woman, except it seemed clear redirection wasn't her intent. Rather, she stared intently at the ground. "This ground..."
Nami frowned at the odd statement. "What about it?"
Wordlessly, Robin ran her hand along the ground, grabbing a handful of dirt. "It's dirt," she said. And despite the obviousness of the statement, she said it as she'd just uncovered the secret to life.
Thinking along the same lines as Abel, Nami replied blankly, "Of course it is. It's ground."
Realizing they weren't making the connection, Robin clarified, "This is a sky island."
Ah... Abel thought, finally realizing what Robin was going on about. She'd noticed, but hadn't thought anything about it because, to her, this was normal. But because it was normal to them and their world, that made it very abnormal. Abel had been so distracted by the kidnapping and the massiveness of the trees that she honestly hadn't noticed the ground was actually earth, and therefore ought to have no reason for existing in the sky. Talk about missing the forest for the trees.
This epiphany had them all staring at the ground. "You're right," Zoro agreed. "It isn't all fluffy..." He tapped his heel against the ground, finding it solid.
Nami picked up a handful of the dirt herself, finding the usually unpleasant sensation oddly comforting in the midst of all this bizarreness. "It feels like such a long time since I've touched dirt like this..."
"I noticed earlier that the altar was constructed of sandstone, not repurposed island clouds," Abel contributed.
"So why is this island different?" Nami questioned, although none of them had the answer.
"I'm not sure," Robin admitted. "But that fact that this place is different might be what makes this place so special."
Crossing her arms, Abel stared contemplatively at the canopy overhead. "I can't help but feel this is significant..." she murmured, brow drawn. She didn't know why or what, but she had the nagging sensation that this was a huge revelation. She just couldn't place why.
"At any rate, it's reason enough to start exploring," Robin concluded.
With no other direct course of action, the group decided to stick with the plan of following the river. It would lead them somewhere... or at the very least they'd come across a place to cross. Honestly, it didn't matter much to Abel. She had no problem aimlessly wandering around. As she tagged behind the rest of the crew as, with Robin leading the way in her enthusiastic exploration, Abel simply let her mind wander. Perhaps not the best idea in enemy territory, but Abel felt confident between the four of them nothing would sneak up on them. There was just... something. Something she couldn't quite place her finger on. Staring up at the massive trees shrouding them, Abel frowned. There was something significant about this little island that nagged at her.
Despite being a bit miffed about being left behind, Dogmeat was nothing if not loyal to his orders. At least when it came to his master. The others... well, he ignored them mostly. But if his master said to watch their territory and keep the prey out of trouble, then he'd do so. The ship had come to represent his territory as well, and from what he'd gathered there were other humans coming to threaten it. And while Dogmeat tolerated the other humans that were part of his master's pack, he would not be so tolerant of other humans coming into his space. Not that he was sure the strange winged humans were humans, but it mattered not. If it intruded on his territory, it was an enemy. And his master trusted him to handle enemies as he saw fit.
Dogmeat spared a glance at the prey making a lot of racket on the deck. Dogmeat wasn't quite sure what type of beast the creature was, as he'd never seen anything like him in the deserts. He knew a lot of things he wasn't. The beast wasn't bird, nor fish, nor reptilian, nor canine. He wasn't even one of those bizarre beasts he'd seen rubbing up against humans while purring on occasion. All Dogmeat recognized was that he was a species that in the past Dogmeat would've considered food if he could catch it. So being asked to guard the prey went a bit against his nature. Not that he needed to eat, anymore. But the only reason Dogmeat didn't instinctively chase him when he started screaming and running around was because he knew the beast as part of his master's pack. So as much as it irked him, especially when his master gave attention to the prey, Dogmeat restrained himself.
The dog snorted as he watched the prey rapidly shift moods. One minute he was panicking, the next he was smiling and proclaiming he'd fix the ship like the green-haired alpha had asked. Dogmeat gave a doggy frown. Was the green-haired human the alpha? He certainly gave off the vibe of one... but with the way he constantly clashed with the blond human who smelled of food and smoke, Dogmeat wasn't sure. Who was the leader of this pack, now that he thought about it? None of the humans fully stood out as the alpha. The chewy one seemed to be closest in terms of directing what the humans did, but other times it seemed that the red-headed she-beast barked the most orders, striking fear and compliance in the ranks. Dogmeat lowered his head to his paw, opting not to think too hard. He'd just stick with his human.
Seated atop the galley, Dogmeat kept an ear open for anything that might pose a threat to them. So far, aside from the giant predatory fish in the water, he hadn't sensed anything dangerous. And so long as they stayed away from the water's edge, the fish didn't bother them. Hearing a sudden, rhythmic thumping, Dogmeat swiveled his head around to discover the prey in his more human form, banging metal together against the side of the ship. Fixing the hole there, apparently. Seeing the prey calm, Dogmeat tuned the noise out. Or at least he did until the creature let out a loud scream. Dogmeat leapt to his feet, expecting them to be under attack. But he didn't see anything. No humans. No giant killer fish. Blinking owlishly, Dogmeat turned to glare at the prey for causing a commotion. When he saw the prey holding his human-like hand, grimacing in pain and two fingers an angry shade of red, Dogmeat felt the tension leave his body. The foolish creature had merely hurt himself. Dogmeat gave a low growl of irritation as he sat back down. The prey really was his own worst enemy.
Dogmeat resumed his seated patrol, listening to the gentle sounds of the forest. It was so different from the desert he'd spent his life in. No blistering heat or searing wind howling across vast, open spaces. No scuttling of the sands or insects seeking shelter. It was... rather nice, actually.
Perking up at the sound of the prey's hoofs on the stone, Dogmeat twisted his head around to keep him in sight. Thing attracted trouble like a magnet, and his master would be upset if something happened on his watch. So Dogmeat paid special attention as the prey peered nervously over the steps at something near the water's edge. Sitting up, Dogmeat found it was the object the prey had been using to fix the ship that had his attention. He must've dropped it when he screamed. It had landed on the final step, right at the edge of the water... the water that still had killer fish swimming around. That explained his apprehension.
Dogmeat was mildly impressed when the prey, realizing he needed the object, steeled himself before sliding down the stairs' edge. He slowly lowered himself closer to the bottom, all while whispering, "Gently..." to himself. When the prey reached the bottom step, Dogmeat watched with rapt attention, waiting for something to happen. Nervously, the prey tiptoed (as best he could) across the step, toward the object. After each step, he'd pause, waiting from something to attack. Fortunately, the attack never came. The prey beamed as he picked up the object, unmolested, before turning to climb back up.
Unfortunately, any respect the beast might've earned for this little show of bravery swiftly went out the proverbial window when, as a bird called from its flight overhead, the beast screamed as if someone had taken a branding iron to him, jumping and flailing around so much in his blind panic it was a wonder he didn't fall into the water. Dogmeat wished he had both eyes still so he could roll his eyes in exasperation twice as hard. Eventually the daft beast realized that he wasn't, in fact, in danger, and covered his mouth, looking around nervously. Dogmeat was fully on his feet when he spotted a fin nearing the stairs. So when one of the giant fish leapt into the air, jaws poised to swallow the prey whole, Dogmeat lunged, throwing his body from the top of the ship and letting gravity to the rest.
Chopper barely had time to scream before the sky shark was knocked away by Dogmeat head-butting (or perhaps more accurately body-butting) the sky shark. The fish collapsed back into the water as Dogmeat landed somewhat awkwardly beside Chopper on the stairs. It took the doctor a second to even process what had happened, and by that point Dogmeat had already turned away to return to the ship. A cold shiver bristled Chopper's fur as he realized just how close he'd been to being eaten. If Dogmeat hadn't intervened...
Dogmeat jolted slightly as Chopper raced passed him, practically propelling himself back onto the relative safety to the deck. At least he had the courtesy to scream his thanks to the dog as he passed.
Chopper struggled to catch his breath as he hugged the mast, letting the solidity of the vessel ground him. He must've been shivering very hard, because the mast gave a rattle, causing it to make a jangling sound. Chopper's ears twitched at the calming metallic sound and looked up. The One Whistle the Sky Knight had given them shined beautifully in the scattered rays of the sun. Chopper's breath caught when he remembered the old man boldly proclaiming that, should they need help, they could blow on the whistle and he could came to save them. Chopper eyed the whistle with equal amounts eagerness and caution. I have Dogmeat with me... but it couldn't hurt to have some extra insurance. Just in case. Surely even with the zombie dog here, no one would get mad if Chopper ended up blowing the whistle. Nami had only said Luffy, Zoro, Abel, Sanji and Robin couldn't use it.
Feeling surer of himself, Chopper reached up, tugging the delicate, precious item from where it hung. Repositioning it around his neck, Chopper felt far more secure, its light but real weight against his chest granting him confidence. Chopper nodded to himself. "Now if anything really bad happens, the Sky Knight will come save me! But...!" he quickly reminded himself. "I can only blow it as a last resort!" Emboldened, or perhaps try to pump himself up, Chopper leapt onto the bulwark and proclaimed boldly to the forest (and Dogmeat, now at the top of the stairs), "All right! I'm going to work hard and watch over the ship!"
Dogmeat would've shaken his head, had he not been distracted by the sound of something approaching. It sounded like... wings. Very big wings. Approaching from the back of the ship. Chopper must've noticed it, too, because he asked, "What's that?" as he jumped down.
Chopper began to run over to see what kind of creature neared, but Dogmeat threw his body in front of Chopper, blocking the way. Chopper gasped, staggering back. He felt confused as he saw Dogmeat's ears lower, shoulders hunching as he let out a warning growl. But it wasn't directed at the deer. No, it was meant for the duo fluttering close to them, ill intent as clear as day on their faces. "Huh?" the man rasped from atop the buzzard's back, scowling at dog and deer. He glanced at the platform for a moment before returning his glare on the two animals. "You're the only sacrifices I get to kill?" Dogmeat's lips rolled up in a savage snarl as Chopper took a deep breath before blowing in the One Whistle.
Abel allowed herself a smile as she trailed along behind the group, for once with Robin in the lead. The hunter found it nice to see the older woman showing some genuine, open enthusiasm. Her tightly guarded mask was slipping, if only a little. Abel couldn't help wondering if, since whatever event had prompted Robin to seeking shelter with scoundrels, she'd ever truly laughed or felt happy. Sure, the woman chuckled at their crew's antics, which Abel herself attested to be unerringly amusing. But she always kept everyone at arm's distance. Abel felt her smile deepen in amusement at her own thinking. With Robin's powers, keeping people at "arm's length" took on a whole new meaning.
Abel didn't particularly mind the distance, as she herself wasn't always the most forthcoming. But... well, maybe the reason Robin's aloofness bothered her so much was because it came across as Robin feeling like she needed to do that to protect herself. If Abel was distant, it was because it was her preference. Never had she felt like she needed to do so. It wasn't necessary to keep herself safe. Yet Robin always acted like the next attack was right around the corner. Like the crew would eventually do something to harm her. The thought was laughable, of course. Knowing Luffy, even if Robin did make the first move toward betrayal, he would never allow the crew to harm Robin back. It saddened Abel to think what that must feel like. To feel like the world itself was your enemy. Hopefully, for however long she stayed with them, Robin would at least find some peace and contentment among the crew.
Climbing over a large root, the group came to a stop as something caught Robin's attention. The other three paused and watched as Robin slid down to the ground, kneeling and placing her hand delicately on the moss-covered earth. Seeing the woman preoccupied with her observations, the remaining three spread out a bit to take a breather. Eager to rest her feet (seriously, why did she decide to go hiking in heels?) Nami slumped to the ground, enjoying the solid structure supporting her back. Zoro turned to stare back the way they'd come, his posture relaxed but alert, no doubt watching for potential threats. Abel, on the other hand, placed a palm against the thick trunk of the tree they stood below, gazing up at the branches overhead. For some reason, staring up at the ceiling of green, Abel couldn't help a sense of Deja vu. Her brows furrowed in concentration. The forest had a very similar vibe to South Grove on Jaya... just on a far greater scale. It brought to mind those tiny sponge toys that increased in size as you added water. And while Abel could assume that most tropical forests would be similar, since their revelation that this was not a normal sky island, Abel was slow to dismiss even the slightest observation or niggling intuition. Every time she thought about it, it gave Abel a "tip-of-the-tongue" sensation - like she knew something but didn't quite know what she knew. Abel tried not to think about it too much, because it definitely felt like the sort of thing that would drive her mad, but overthinking was a common trend for the hunter.
Hoping to distract herself, Abel poked at some vines that stretched over her head. They were as thick as her torso, and stretched around the tree trunk several times before disappearing beneath the clouds beside them. It almost made Abel think of a tether, or anchor. Abel was very carefully where she prodded, as the vine appeared to be poisonous, judging from the long, hypodermic-like barbs protruding at random intervals along its length. When she touched it, Abel's hand flinched back at the odd texture. It felt warm, pliable and... fleshy. Not at all like a fibrous root. And did it just... Did it flinch?
Equal parts apprehension and excitement, Abel's eyes followed along the length of the "vine" to the water. The clouds remained undisturbed. But now that she was paying attention, Abel noticed several similar "vines" reaching out around the area, all wrapped firmly around a sturdy tree before disappearing in the clouds. Staring harder, Abel noted that, where the "vines" dragged along the shore, the ground was disturbed, grass rubbed away, as if the ground had given way under the weight of the "vines." As if the "vines" were holding something very heavy. Abel's hand slowly slid to her crossbow, not wanting to alarm the others just yet. She wasn't getting any odd vibes, like they were in immediate danger. Nor did she feel cold. Perhaps whatever was hidden in the water wasn't a threat.
A sharp, distant trill made Abel jump, breaking her stare down with the clouds. As it echoed into nothing, for a brief second Abel thought she'd merely imagined it. A product of her racing, tense mind. But Nami disproved that theory when she asked, "Did you guys hear that? What do you think it was?" She stood, looking around.
"Quiet..." Zoro growled, voice harsh but soft and low. Abel heard the distinct sound of him thumbing one of his swords. "Don't move." Abel didn't have to look to know there was an intensely focused expression on his face right now as he tried to find the source of his unease.
Immediately, the tension Abel had just felt returned, only now it spread to the others. Everyone remained motionless, frozen in place. Abel couldn't even hear their breathing. Her hand remained on her crossbow, her eyes fixed on the water. Abel snapped to attention when she heard water splashing... but it wasn't from the stream beside them. Above!? Instinctively, Abel's head turned toward the sound, eyes widening as she saw a large alligator springing out of the Milky Road above them, making a dive-bomb toward their navigator. "Nami!" Abel shouted, moving before the syllables even left her mouth.
Four things happened at once. Nami opened her mouth to scream. Abel yanked on Nami's arm almost hard enough to wrench it out of socket. Robin sprouted four pairs of arms from the alligator's snout to clasp them together, holding its jaws shut. And Zoro punched the beast in the jaw. "I'm sick of you things!" he snarled in irritation.
Abel held the stunned redhead as the beast collapsed into the clouds. She seemed too in shock to properly show fear. Abel laughed, the shot of adrenaline making her voice quaver a little. "This just isn't your day, Red." Poor girl wasn't even doing anything to make herself a target, yet she'd been attacked twice. Perhaps the predators could sense the weakest of the group. A common tactic among ambush predators.
Shaking out his fist, not used to punching so many things, Zoro glanced at the stunned girl. "You gotta be careful," he murmured.
This seemed to snap Nami out of it. Abel felt the girl shudder, though she couldn't tell if it was from fear at how close she'd come to being eaten or just coming to her senses. "T-Thanks..." she mumbled, sweating.
"I think it's best if we move on from here," Robin calmly suggested, giving Nami an understanding smile. The redhead nodded vigorously, pulling away from Abel. No one could blame her. "I noticed the ground here is covered in cobblestone," Robin explained as she took the lead again, heading down river. Her heels clicked against the moss-covered stones. "Cobblestone means civilization," she further explained, almost with a bounce in her step. "It leads this way. If we follow it, we may uncover the secret of this place."
Before following, Abel hazarded a glance back. The vines were gone.
Back at the ship, Chopper continued to cower behind Dogmeat, the whistle still dangling from his teeth. His panicked panting made the whistle let out a weak, whimpering trill every so often. Dogmeat snarled aggressively at the man and the ugly buzzard, haunches ready to let fly. The buzzard's eerie yellow eyes sneered slightly at them while the sky human glowered down, his tense expression leaving little room for doubt in his dark intent. The scents lingering on him made Dogmeat's long-dead stomach turn. The sharp, artificial smell of chemicals he'd recently learned to recognize as human hair-gel... the rich headiness of real leather... ashes... blood... death... If Dogmeat still had fur it would be bristling.
The man scowled at them from atop his mount, the fact that he was glaring down two animals doing little to alleviate his bloodlust. "Now..." he growled, holding a large metal lance tightly in his gloved hand. "Offer your life to God Enel!" As he swung the lance down, Dogmeat jumped back, using his body to knock Chopper out of the way. Dogmeat glowered as the lance dragged along the stone after them, leaving a trail of fire.
"Fire!" Chopper gasped, regaining his footing, clutching at Dogmeat's side.
The winged man snarled, glaring behind his stupid goggles as he drew himself up atop the buzzard. Dogmeat prepared himself, expecting the man to pounce. But first, he growled, "Why do you struggle? There's no way that you can escape death! Die gracefully!" Instead of jumping at them, like Dogmeat expected, the buzzard flew back a bit, putting some distance between them as it opened its beak. The fireball shooting from its beak caught both animals off guard. Fortunately, while Chopper could only scream in fear, Dogmeat had the wherewithal to grab him by the scruff in his mouth and leap to the side. Dropping the deer out of the line of fire, Dogmeat turned to retaliate. He vaguely heard Chopper scream about something, rushing toward the ship, but Dogmeat kept his focus on the flying duo. He couldn't reach the enemies physically, but..
"He's going to get big..." the winged man murmured, catching Dogmeat off guard a second before Chopper turned into his Heavy Point. How did he know...? How could he have known? Metaphorically shaking his head, Dogmeat focused on more important things. Hoping to take the man off guard, he opened his jaws, letting out a forceful bark, sending a wave of force at the buzzard. The winged man let out a hiss, and the buzzard easily flew around the attack, the force rustling its feathers, but the man still glared at the ragged-looking beast.
Hearing a sharp, snapping sound, Dogmeat tilted his head toward the ship. Although the fire hadn't hit them, it must've been close enough to the ship to ignite the ropes, and in his panic, Chopper had ripped the rigging in his larger form. With part of its support missing, the mast groaned dangerously. But Chopper was far more concerned with putting out the flames, stamping hastily on the flaming rigging with his bare feet while cursing. "Hey, hey," the man called, surprisingly calm for being on the offensive. Ignoring Dogmeat's snarls, the man commented, "Why do you care when there won't be anyone to get on board? You and your friends cannot escape death."
"Who the hell are you!?" Chopper shouted. "Stop it! Don't harm them!"
If Dogmeat could, he would tell Chopper that it didn't matter the identity of who was trying to kill them. Instead, he lunged at them both as he saw the man's muscles tense, knowing instinctively he was going to jump at Chopper. The man did, thrusting his lance out, but fortunately Chopper shrunk back into his normal size, easily avoiding the attack. The man's outstretched leg was an easy target, and Dogmeat happily dug his fangs into his booted ankle. The man growled, but thanks to his thick leather boots, Dogmeat's teeth couldn't find proper purchase. "You wanna help your friends... then off your life instead!" he snarled, striking out with his fist. His punched landed squarely in Chopper's chest, winding the deer and smashing him into the deck hard enough to bounce. Then he swung his leg with the dog attached, forcing Dogmeat to let go. Dogmeat crashing into the mast hard enough to leave a crack, and threatening to topple it. But the blow barely affected him, and he was turning his body unnaturally to push off against the wooden pillar. With all three legs, he pushed off, narrowly avoiding having the lance spear into him. Instead, it pierced the mast, igniting it a second later.
Both man and beast stalked across the deck, squaring off, doggedly ignoring the pillar of fire beside them. As Dogmeat snarled threateningly, the winged man couldn't help asking, "What sort of creature are you? Why doesn't my Mantra work?" Even if Dogmeat was capable of answering, he wouldn't have the slightest idea what the man was on about. The man glared suspiciously at the beast, doing his damnedest to get a read on it. This shouldn't have been so difficult. It didn't matter that it was just an animal, or that he was facing two foes at once. His Mantra was perfect. He could see what the other creature was going to do perfectly well. But not the dog. The man strained his mind, listening hard for something. But there was nothing. Not a single whisper from the beast. If he closed his eyes, he could easily forget the creature was even there.
The man scowled heavily. "What sort of abomination are you?" he demanded, tuning out the other creature yelling uselessly at him not to burn their ship. "What sort of foul creature did the Blue Seas people bring with them, that is beyond even the reach of the Almighty God Enel?" He didn't know what this thing was, lacking any sort of soul for him to hear, but he could not overlook this... blasphemy! The Blue Seas people were already slated to pay for their disrespect. The existence of this creature, here in their sacred land, was just another crime to add to their list.
Before either could attack the other, Chopper startled them both by ripping the mast completely up from its base. With a surprising display of strength and pain tolerance, he held the flaming pillar aloft just long enough to toss it down into the water. It bounced off the stairs once before crashing into the clouds, flames immediately doused. As the mast floated atop the clouds, Dogmeat couldn't help snarling a, "What the hell?" at Chopper. Yeah, the rest of the ship wouldn't catch fire, but he didn't think the humans would be so grateful.
Ignoring this fact, Chopper gave a tearful glare at the winged man. "You bastard," he panted. "You bastard. Stop it already! I-I'm in charge of this ship! They asked me to look after it."
Dogmeat flinched as the man sighed, raising his hand. But instead of attacking, he merely pushed his goggles up. "Well, what should we do, Fuza?" the man asked. The buzzard, Fuza gave a screech, flames sparking from its mouth. Dogmeat had never seen a bird capable of such things, but it wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen since following the humans. Personally, Dogmeat didn't understand the humans' propensity for stopping to chat in the middle of a fight, but if his soliloquizing afforded Dogmeat the chance to sneak in an attack, he'd take it. "He says not to harm his friends. He says not to damage the ship. He says he doesn't want to die. What a dilemma." The man glared disgustedly at Chopper. "Such a damned selfish animal! He really irks me!"
As the man attempted to lecture Chopper, Dogmeat used his distraction to stealthfully sneak around, keeping his pacing soft and slow, his eyes trained on the bird perched just behind his master. The man was strong, but without his bird, he'd be just another human. And three legs or not, Dogmeat was still faster than any human. He knew the man couldn't fly on his own, despite the wings. If he takes out the buzzard, he'd be grounded. Dogmeat's eyes shone with predatory instinct as he let his nature take over, remembering all the times he'd hunted skittish animals in the desert. Slow... and quiet... one paw at a time...
Not noticing the dog's intentions, the man continued to lecture, "The ship... your friends... and yourself... You don't want to lose any of those?" Enraged by Chopper's selfishness, the man launched himself at the deer. He wasn't going to kill him... yet... but he had a point to prove. Thrusting his lance forward, as he disgustedly expected, Chopper moved out of the way. And rather than facing the attack head on, he chose to save himself over his supposedly precious ship, resulting in the lance piercing into the metal supports along the top of the bulwark. The man scowled, even as his lance melted the metal. "If you want to live so much, then why are you so weak!?" Ignoring Chopper's screams of dismay, the man allowed the lance to dig into the ship until the metal burst into flames. Only then did he pull away.
Dogmeat tuned out Chopper's frantic attempts to put the fire out with his bare hands. Everything faded away except the bird. That's right... keep looking the other way. Birds had good eyesight, but it was highly movement based. If he was slow enough, he could sneak close enough to ambush it.
"You creep!" Chopper snapped as he finally put out the fire. He spun around, throwing a punch at the man, but it was easily dodged as he jumped away before the blow was even close to making contact.
With his back to him, the man asked, "Are you trying to live... without sacrificing anything?" Chopper wasn't sure if his eyes displayed anger or fear as he stared up at the man. How was he able to predict his moves so easily? He'd heard the man before say he was going to grow big when he should have no way of knowing Chopper could do that. What was he?
Relaxing his stance somewhat, the man began again, "For someone to live, another must die. That's how life is. Did you know that this is a sacrificial altar?" Did this creature not understand why he was even here?
"Y-yeah," Chopper admitted, not sure where this conversation was going, but accepting that talking meant not fighting. At least for a moment. Why, oh why, did he have to show up now? When he was all alone? Although he didn't draw attention to it, Chopper saw Dogmeat stalking around. It took all of his willpower not to flinch, to control his animal instincts. But maybe if he kept the man talking, it would give Dogmeat time to do... whatever he was planning. "I heard something like that."
"The rest of your group is desperately trying to get here," the man... assured? "There are four separate areas that we, the priests, govern. The rule is that when the targets are in one area, the other priests aren't supposed to do anything to the targets. But this sacrificial altar doesn't belong to any of those areas. In other words, it's a free area. So it doesn't matter who strikes that ones at the altar. But it should be after those who're receiving the ordeal in some area die."
Chopper felt his blood run cold at the last statement. "What!? Then, Luffy and the others are..!?"
"Don't freak out," the man, the priest, chastised. "My coming here doesn't mean your friends' death... unfortunately..." He sounded disappointed. "I came here for a different reason."
That was worrying, but something the man said gave Chopper a tentative spark of hope. "Does that mean we can also get out of here if Luffy and the others come to rescue us!?" That sounded like what he meant. If they were the incentive for the others to go through the priests' trial, then if they passed didn't that mean they were free to leave?
"Yeah, that's right," the priest admitted, before adding ominously, "If you can get out of this free area. But hold that thought. The reason I came here is because, although those are the normal judgment rules, when there's an exceptional situation, the rules change a little."
"Exceptional..."
"Yes. For example, when four of the sacrifices escaped to the forest over there without permission using vines."
"Ah..." Chopper murmured in understanding. So because the others had gone to explore rather than staying here- Chopper jolted as if someone had taken a cattle prod to him. It's all his fault! he realized. If Zoro hadn't suggested exploring, then the priest wouldn't be after Chopper right now! They could've just waited patiently, and safely, for Luffy and the others to reach them, then left!
Tension riddled Dogmeat's body as he crouched at the top of the stairs, body partially shielded by the banister, his tannish skin helping him blend in with the wood. So close... almost there... When Fuza stretched his long, slender neck down to glare at Chopper from behind his master, Dogmeat's instincts snapped, along with all the tension stored up in his muscles. He launched himself at the bird, mouth opening impossibly wide. Fuza saw his movements and flailed his wings, trying to take off, but he didn't get completely out of the way in time. As soon as his fangs grazed soft flesh, Dogmeat's jaws snapped closed faster than a bear trap. Fuza shrieked, body thrashing as he tried to shake the dog loose. But Dogmeat dug his fangs in as deep as possible, trying to sever a windpipe or artery. Dangling from the bird's neck, he curled his body up, letting his back feet press into a feathery chest while wrapping his single front leg around the back of the neck, digging himself in even closer.
"Accursed abomination!" the priest yelled, spinning around from where he'd been prepared to launch himself at Chopper. This creature had to go! His very existence flew in the face of God!
The priest thrust his lance at the dog, ramming through its offered back, just missing the spine. Dogmeat flinched at the distant memory of pain, but didn't let go. It was only when his body burst into flames from the inside that he registered the pain, more a searing heat rushing through his being than anything. But it was enough to break his single-minded concentration on his target. As his jaw slackened somewhat as he tried to move away from the heat causing an increasing sense of panic, Fuza jumped at the opportunity to bat him away with a mighty wing. Dogmeat barely registered his body bouncing off the railing before plummeting to the clouds below, Chopper's panicked screams following him all the way down.
Eventually the pirates found themselves at a dead end. The cobblestone trail Robin had been following so eagerly ended after being uprooted by a towering tree, and there didn't seem to be any more man-made stones lying around. "Where to now?" Zoro questioned, not really seeming to care where they went.
With no immediate answer available, Abel's eyes wandered. It was difficult to tell just how far they'd traveled, as their journey in had been via the Milky Roads, but she guessed they had to be near the shore. As her eyes roamed around the forest, they spotted something that was decidedly not foliage. "Hey," she called gently, catching the others' attention. Pointing ahead, she stated, "There appear to be ruins on the other side of the river." Slightly ahead of them, on the opposite shore, roughened stones protruded from the ground at odd angles, seemingly tethered in place by vines and winding tree roots. Despite the obvious wear of time and weather (assuming "weather" existed here), these stones showed the remnants of hand carvings on their worn-down faces. They most certainly weren't natural.
Robin's eyes lit up at further signs of civilization. "We should be able to use that fallen tree to cross to the other side," she eagerly suggested, motioning to a downed tree slightly south of their current location.
Nami, however, wasn't so keen on this idea. "No way!" she protested vehemently, hands gripping the straps of her backpack in a mix of anxiety and anger. "After everything's that's happened so far today, there's no way I'm crossing that!" Although the fallen tree was the same gargantuan size as all the others in this forest, thus making it essentially the same size as a normal bridge, Nami'd had nothing but bad luck any time she got near the river. With the way things were going, as soon as she stepped foot on it the entire thing would probably snap in half.
"Then stay here," Zoro growled unsympathetically.
"And be a sitting target!?" Nami shrieked, startling some unseen birds.
Before the two could spiral into another unproductive argument, Abel mediated, "Why don't you walk in the middle, Red. That should make you less of a target for any potential threats." Abel sympathized with the navigator. Poor girl kept finding trouble through no real fault of her own.
Nami scowled, looking like she wanted to protest, but with the idea of staying here or heading back to the ship completely on her own being just as unappealing, she relented. "Fine," she sighed, before glaring at Zoro. "But you have to pull up the rear!" Let Zoro be the target for some animal. He could handle it. Zoro just shrugged, his nonchalant attitude further irking the redhead. Fortunately, Abel discharged the situation by giving Nami a friendly push toward Robin, silently indicating to walk between the two women. Nami continued to look apprehensive, but at least felt secure that if something did happen it wouldn't escape the two women's notice.
Abel had to admit, however, that walked across the fallen tree was a little dicier than she initially suspected. Oh, it felt secure enough, and was wide enough they could've walked two or three abreast and still had plenty of room. But the moss growing along the bark didn't exactly make for the most secure footing. Moss is surprisingly slippery, meaning Abel needed to concentrate on where she stepped on the uneven trunk. If Bullseye were here he'd be making some comment about Chief stepping on his kinfolk, Abel jokingly thought.
This forced Abel's mind to turn to thoughts of how her other comrades were holding up. It seemed pretty clear that their group was intended to be the bait to lure the others onto the island. Why else would the lobster just leave them unharmed in the middle of this forbidden land? And Luffy would no doubt rise to the challenge. But what would they face? Were they the ones facing Heaven's Judgment? That was the only thing that made sense to Abel, because aside from the dangerous local wildlife, their group hadn't faced any real challenge. And somehow Abel didn't think this Enel would be content to let nature dole out his punishments. Not after the trouble of bringing them here.
Not that Abel doubted they could handle any trouble, but... well, what had happened with Conis and Pagaya? She hated to think that such nice people would've had a hand in this, but it was more than a little suspicious that they were shanghaied immediately after they followed Conis' randomly offered advice. And fear could be a powerful motivator. Abel was tempted to ask Robin for her thoughts, but had ultimately decided against it. It would be purely speculative, ultimately not useful to their current situation, and would just induce argument if Nami caught wind of it.
Luckily, Zoro's complaining gave Abel a much-needed distraction. "Hey, Nami, get a move on," he urged impatiently from behind Abel. Abel glanced up from where she'd been idly watching her footing to take in Nami's slow, tense pace. The woman looked ready to snap at the slightest hint of danger, cautiously picking her way along the tree. Her slow pace forced Abel and Zoro to lag behind Robin, who seemed to have no hesitation in crossing.
"Shut up!" Nami predictably snapped. "Don't talk to me right now! What'll you do if I fall!?"
Either she just jinxed herself or Nami's yelling had provoked one of the sky sharks beneath them, because no sooner than she'd said this did a sky shark leap out of the clouds at the three. Flailing slightly, it somehow managed to aim its fall to come down, mouth first, on them. Abel would've pulled a crossbow, but she was preoccupied with Nami's screaming. In her panic, Nami misstepped, her shoe slipping on the mossy surface of the bark, sending her sliding over the side. Leaving Zoro to handle the riffraff, Abel lunged for their navigator. Letting her right hand drag along the trunk in hopes of snagging a vine as she fell, Abel reached her left for Nami. At least Nami had the presence of mind to latch onto Abel's reaching hand with both of hers, clutching the limb for dear life. Almost simultaneously, Abel felt something grab her right arm, bringing both women to a sudden, pulse-pounding stop.
As she dangled from the tree, trembling navigator in one hand, Abel took a deep breath to calm her adrenaline before looking to see what had her. It wasn't too much of a surprise to discover two arms protruding from the tree trunk, one holding Abel's hand the other securely wrapped around her forearm. "Your powers are quite... handy," Abel called up, only slightly meaning it as a pun. Abel thought she hear Robin chuckle before more hands appeared, forming a line to pull Abel and Nami back up, passing Abel's arm off up the line. As she did, Abel couldn't help but wonder at how the hands felt warm. She wondered if she could feel Robin's pulse from them.
Zoro gave them the final pull up, grabbing Abel by both the hand and her shirt sleeve to hoist them both securely on the bridge. Abel gave him a thanks, while Nami remained collapsed on the trunk. Abel tossed the girl a sympathetic look. "Sure you don't want to head back?" she offered.
Nami's head whipped up to stare at Abel as if she were crazy. "Are you kidding!?" she gasped, her voice cracking. "I'm not letting you guys out of my sight!" Three times now Nami had fallen into unexpected trouble, and all three times the only reason she wasn't dead was due to her crewmates. Nami didn't even want to think about what would've happened if she stayed on the ship. It wasn't safe by any stretch, but Nami felt she was better off staying with the others. With that in mind, Nami pushed ahead... crawling on her knees to avoid any further mishaps. Zoro looked like he was going to say something, but he smartly kept his mouth shut when Abel tossed him a look.
Finally reaching the other side, Zoro noted that Robin had paused in her relentless march. "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her staring intently at something in the distance. "Did you see God or something?" For some reason, the question prompted a snort from Abel.
"No..." Robin murmured, not taking her eyes off the target. "A well."
"A well?" Nami repeated.
Climbing down after them, Abel found that it wasn't just a well. No, it looked like they'd stumbled across a tiny bit of ruins. The ground, despite being covered in moss and crisscrossing vines, wasn't dirt, but rather the same stone they continued to see throughout Upper Yard. A set of broken stairs disappeared under a nearby tree's roots, and broken bits of walls protruded from the ground at odd angles, reminding Abel eerily of disturbed tombstones. The well in question that consumed Robin's attention was surprisingly intact despite being half covered by a thick root. Even without any knowledge of archeology, Abel could tell it was practically ancient, from the wearing of the stones to the simple design. It was basically just a hole in the ground. Trying to be as unobtrusive as possible as Robin examined the stones with a trained eye, Abel noted that she only saw blackness within. The water level must've fallen dramatically since the well's construction.
Surveying the ruins from atop a root, Zoro asked, "Do you think people used to live here?" The broken walls reminded him a lot of the old city on the supposed Lost Island, but in a lot worse shape.
"Can't imagine why else there'd be a well here," Nami replied, brows drawn thoughtfully. "But why would a god need a well... or anything material for that matter?" Sure, perhaps the priests were mortal, but then why let this place fall into disrepair? Surprisingly, the one person who might have the answer was too busy with her examination. Wordlessly, but intently, Robin removed her backpack to pull out a small vial.
Idly watching the archeologist work, Abel was struck with a sudden revelation. "What if this is the reason for the guerrillas' hostility." Nami, Zoro, and even Robin looked up at Abel's sudden declaration. Mind working quickly to put the pieces together, Abel reasoned aloud, "If this island is truly the only one of its kind, its unique nature would certainly be enough for the natives to believe it was sacred... special. And when Gan Fall stepped in to deal with the guerrilla, he made it sound as if there had been hostilities between their groups for a very long time. Is it not plausible, then, that the guerrillas hate the world because the natives stole their home from them?" That would be enough to make Abel angry.
"You think this god kicked them to the curb?" Zoro concluded.
Abel shrugged. It was just a hypothesis, but it at least made logical sense. "Somebody at some point in history had to declare this place off limits. If no one lived here at any point, why tell them not to go here?" The others considered Abel's words. They made sense... but it wasn't like they could ask anyone to confirm them. Okay, technically they could. But somehow the idea of asking the guerrillas, priests or Enel himself sounded close to suicide.
Nami stared up at the trees as she mulled everything over. Like Abel, she couldn't help sensing that there was something off about this place. Why was there land here? How was there land here? How did a giant chunk of land end up in the sky? After some deliberation, Nami swallowed, before calling, "Robin." When the dark-haired woman looked up, Nami reluctantly yet stubbornly asked, "Can you help me get up to that branch?" Nami pointed at the lowest branch above them, which was still too far to be reached by climbing alone.
Eyeing the distance, Robin asked, "Are you certain that's wise with your luck today? A fall from that height will kill you."
Nami scowled, turning slightly pale. "No... but I can't help thinking this island feels familiar somehow. Maybe if we had a better vantage point." As much as it might have been safer to let the others go, they didn't have the same knowledge of geography as Nami did.
Carelessly, Robin gave a little shrug before sprouting a line of hands up the side of the tree, staggering them like living ladder rungs. Bolstering her courage, Nami took Robin's hands and began to climb. Abel kept her eyes on the redhead as she ascended the tree, just in case she fell, or something tried to attack her. Fortunately, Nami made it to the branch without incident, setting herself along the edge. Abel couldn't see exactly what she was doing from the ground, but she'd guess taking out her binoculars.
"Is that well that strange?" Zoro asked, pulling Abel attention away from Nami's perch. The hunter glanced over long enough to see Robin's disembodied hands raising the vial from the well, a bit of dried dirt carefully collected within. So it was completely dry.
"Yes," Robin answered simply, turning to face the man. "Don't you think it's odd for a well to be stuck under a tree?"
"Pretty impractical," Abel drawled before raising her eyes back toward Nami. She was still in one piece. Good.
"The balance between civilization and nature here is off," Robin continued. "The civilization couldn't estimate the growth of this tree." Wells were very important, and therefore were typically built out in the open, usually in the center of a city. They were constructed so that everyone could have easy access to a water supply. Even if one had been constructed near trees, which might indicate a steady supply of water underground, no one in their right mind would build one in a location they thought would be overgrown. The only logical solution Robin could reach was that the people had no idea the tree would grow this large. But why not? This tree was no different than all the others. Were none of the trees supposed to be as massive as they were? And if so, how did they come to be? So many fascinating questions, it almost made Robin giddy. "I've never seen a case like this before."
Zoro frowned, admittedly not feeling the same exploratory glee as the women, but at least vaguely interested. If they thought there was something strange going on, outside of the possibility of God existing here, he'd play along. Wasn't like he had anything better to do until the others found them. Tilting his head back, Zoro shouted, "Hey, Nami! Can you see anything up there!?" When Nami didn't reply, even in irritation, Zoro scowled. "Hey! Say something! Did you find God!?"
Abel couldn't help but snort at his question. "Are you attempting to proselytize us, Chief?" The way he kept asking if they'd "found God" made Abel think of him as someone going door to door trying to spread the "good news." And that image amused Abel to no end.
"I wonder if she saw something," Robin mused, coming to join the other two.
When their navigator only gave a strangled gasp, their concerns rose. "Hey!" Zoro tried again, growing increasingly concerned and irritated. "What do you see!?"
From the ground it actually looked like Nami was... shaking. Abel could faintly make out Nami lowering her binoculars, based on the quick glint of sunlight bouncing off the lenses. Abel saw Robin making a motion to sprout arms, likely for them to climb up to the navigator, when she finally spoke. "Guys!" she yelled down, and Abel frowned at the noticeable tremor in her voice. As Nami precariously climbed to her feet, she shouted, "We need to head for the shore!" Nami pointed in the direction she'd been looking. "That way!"
"The shore?" Zoro repeated, wondering at Nami's sudden heel-turn. "Why?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you..." Nami murmured.
Abel cocked an eyebrow. She can say that with a straight face after everything we've already seen today? Color Abel intrigued.
Nami glanced around before announcing, "It'll... It'll be faster if you come up." She sounded like she didn't want to stay in the trees, but curiosity won out over self-preservation. This further incensed Abel's curiosity. There wasn't much Nami valued over her own life. For her to willingly cast safety aside could only mean she'd discovered something important. And as she didn't sound "excited", it couldn't be gold.
The trio on the ground shared a look but relented. With Robin's help, they easily climbed to join Nami. Abel found it amusing how quickly Robin's powers were becoming blasé. A few more times and Abel'd barely bat an eyelash. When everyone was reunited, Zoro demanded, "All right. Enough mystery. Tell us what you saw."
Nami huffed, but her expression seemed more terse. "It's too difficult to explain," she began, before mumbling, "I'm not entirely sure I believe it myself." Straightening, Nami again pointed in the distance. Following her pointing, Abel didn't immediately notice anything, although she could make out a bright patch of light in the distance, suggesting an end to the forest. The shore, Abel assumed. "It'll be faster if you see it for yourself. C'mon."
Despite Nami's insistence on "leading" them, she somehow ended up trailing behind as the more nimble, confident pirates picked their way across the canopy. Only Abel trailed further behind, mostly to ensure nothing bad befell their navigator. Fortunately, the tightly crisscrossing branches made for a convenient tree highway. Abel glanced up from watching Nami's back, literally, to see Zoro and Robin a little ways ahead of them, pausing every so often to ensure they didn't go in the wrong direction. A sudden rumble pulled Abel's attention away from her crewmates, and she paused to stare deeper into the forest. Though distant, Abel immediately recognized the fading echo. "What was that!?" Nami gasped, everyone having stopped at the commotion.
"Artillery fire," Abel replied blandly. "From a cannon... or possible a bazooka." Abel thought of the guerrilla who attacked them, and wondered if he was attacking the island. Perhaps they lived in secret on the island somewhere?
"I heard some earlier," Robin added. "But this one seems different."
Not hearing anything further, Abel concluded, "It's very distant." Whatever it was, they weren't in immediate danger from it.
Sighing, Nami steeled herself. Abel resisted chuckling when the girl raised her arms out to the side for balance. "Either way, we need to keep moving forward."
At the lead, Zoro jumped to a higher branch blocking their path before turning to give Nami an odd look. "What's the big rush, Nami?" Before she wanted nothing more than to go back. Now she was getting tiffy because they were being too slow?
"You've been acting strange," Robin agreed. "What did you see?"
"Did you see God or something?"
Before Abel could retort that if that were the case Nami would be running away, the redhead came to her own defense. "It wasn't! I told you! If I explained it, you still wouldn't understand-!" Nami's chastisement quickly morphed into screaming as her foot once again slipped on some moss, nearly sending her careening off the branch. Fortunately, Abel had been half-expecting it, and snagged the back of Nami's shirt before she could fall. Instead, Nami landed on her stomach on the branch. Abel stood back as Nami flailed a bit, reminiscent of a child throwing a tantrum. Not that Abel could blame her. Nami wasn't having the best day. "This is so stupid!" the redhead wailed. "Why can't I just stay on my feet!?"
"You're the one who said this way would be faster," Robin pointed out with a coy smile.
"Just spit it out already!" Zoro snapped. "Just what did you see!?"
"No questions," Nami snapped right back, scowling petulantly. "Just follow me!"
Abel couldn't hold her tongue this time. "Then shouldn't you be in the lead?"
Nami glared at the hunter. Likely the only reason she wasn't yelling at her was because she'd been relying on Abel so much not to crack her skull open. Instead, she settled for yelling at Zoro and Robin, "Hey! Give me a hand!"
Taking pity on the women, Robin did just that. She gave Nami several hands, in fact, sprouting a chain of arms, each growing from the palm of the one before it. As Nami grabbed on, Abel moved around her to shimmy up a vine dangling from the branch Robin stood on, slightly higher than the one she and Nami had been traversing. Abel paused to watch Zoro swing ahead on another vine, giving another one of those wild man calls. She merely shook her head.
As Abel clambered onto the branch, Robin murmured, "I, too..." Abel paused in climbing to her feet, staring up at the woman. Her tone of voice had changed slightly. Become less... flippant. Perhaps hesitating, Robin used the opportunity to pull Nami up, arms melding together. "I, too, have something that's been bugging me..." Robin gave a secretive smile, voice almost in a whisper. "Although I don't have any proof." Making sure to leave room for Nami on the branch, Abel gave Robin her undivided attention. As she stared off in the distance, perhaps in thought, Robin explained, "If this theory I dreamed up turns out to be true, it'd be interesting. Very interesting..." With the flick of a disembodied wrist, Robin threw Nami safely onto the branch.
"Care to share?" Abel queried.
When Robin turned to look at her, Abel was struck at how... happy Robin looked. Her eyes shone with the barest traces of what Abel could only describe as hope. "Maybe my goal in life is still attainable." Abel's eyes widened as she processed that statement. Did Robin mean she thought there was a poneglyph here? In Upper Yard? Is that why she'd been so excited to find those ruins?
As if tempering her own enthusiasm, or perhaps just being coy, Robin added as an afterthought, "It's only a theory, though."
"Hey!" Zoro called, and Abel noted that he'd swung down to the ground, a clear path leading toward the light at the end of the tree-lined tunnel. "Hurry up!" he urged, swinging the vine back toward them. Abel tried, but ultimately failed, to hold in her laugh at the pale look on Nami's face.
Luckily for all of them, swinging to the ground was far less stressful than swinging over a chasm. And Nami seemed much more sure of herself now that she was on solid ground. So sure, in fact, that the woman almost ran ahead of them, seeming to grow more desperate the closer they got to the shore. It was still a tough journey, though, as they now had to navigate over tall roots. Nami slid a few times, but was in no real danger of hurting herself.
"We're close to the sea," Robin announced at one point. "I can hear the waves now. Listen..."
Everyone paused to take in the subtle but comfortingly familiar sound of waves lapping at the shore. "You're right!" Nami panted, sounding almost fanatical. "We're almost there!" Abel almost expected Nami to start laughing like a madman. But all she did was pant harshly and stubbornly march onward. "Just a few more steps...!" she chanted to herself.
Abel watched the younger woman in mild concern. "Do you think she's delirious?" She certainly didn't sound... stable. Even Zoro looked concerned when their navigator laughed like a woman possessed.
"I hear noises mixed in with the waves as well," Robin randomly interjected.
"Yeah," Zoro agreed. "Sounds just like a battle." He glanced over his shoulder. It was very distant, probably taking place on the far side of the island, but Zoro recognized it nonetheless. Distant rumblings that couldn't be related to thunder, and angry voices on the wind. "The sound of many people changing... I heard enough of that in Alabasta." This wasn't just a skirmish. It was an all-out war. But between who?
"I wonder if things are all right," Robin admitted.
"If you mean Chopper, don't worry about him," Zoro reassured easily. "He's tough for being so fuzzy. When push comes to shove, he can take care of himself. Plus, he's got that weird dog with him." They could handle themselves. Zoro wouldn't have left them alone if he thought they couldn't.
Robin didn't look so confident. "No, I meant our captain and the others."
Abel couldn't help smiling. "Although Boss tends to cause a ruckus everywhere, I think this sounds a bit much, even for him. Undoubtedly they're en route to us, and facing their own challenges, but I suspect a new party has entered the fray. Perhaps the guerrillas have taken God's distraction with us as the perfect opportunity to stage a coup. Assuming my speculations are correct, of course." Until finding evidence to the contrary, Abel still held to her hypothesis that the guerrilla's might be descendants of Upper Yard's original inhabitants who were miffed about being ousted.
"The situation has gotten a bit complicated," Robin concluded.
"Yeah, it certainly has," Zoro agreed.
Crossing her arms, Abel drawled, "Our crew has a knack for being at the wrong place at the right time." Getting swept up into bigger events seemed to be par for the course.
"They're probably okay," Zoro again assured, returning to the original topic. "They're used to being in all sorts of trouble. Getting worked up over little stuff like this gets us nowhere."
Abel laughed, placing her palms together and giving Zoro a little mock-bow. "Words of wisdom from Sensei Roronoa. Though I find it mildly disconcerting how us being dragged in the middle of someone else's war has become 'little stuff' to you." Zoro just rolled his eyes at Abel's antics, but couldn't help the barest glimmer of a smirk.
Whatever retort he might've had died when he noticed Nami racing forward again. "Nami, wait!" he called before she went off on her own. But she ignored him, pushing forward with renewed haste. "Nami!"
"We must be close to whatever has her so worked up," Robin observed.
A growl rolled from Zoro's throat. "C'mon, before she gets in trouble again."
The three chased after the redhead before she got too far ahead of them, clambering over thick roots and uneven terrain. Whatever it was she saw, it must've lit a fire under Nami, because despite the difficulty the woman continued to run ahead of them, unrelenting in her pace. Abel couldn't help wondering what aside from treasure could egg their navigator on so much. But given the growing size of the portal of light, they had to be near the end. Abel jogged a little ahead of the others, opting to go around the roots where she could. Her curiosity needed to be sated.
Coming around a tree partially blocking the light, Abel saw that Nami had finally stopped, but only because she'd reached her destination. Slowing her pace somewhat, Abel raised a hand to shield her face from the light, blinding against the relative darkness of the forest, silhouetting Nami. But when her eyes adjusted, Abel nearly stumbled at the sight greeting her. A familiar, and admittedly mundane sight in most respects. But, as with how a familiar land island was out of place because it was somewhere it shouldn't exist, so too was this sight out of place.
A house. Or rather, half a house. A circular stone building perched directly on the edge of a sheer cliff. Strange, yes, but not unfamiliar. Suddenly, Abel's inability to catch her breath had nothing to do with physical exertion.
"Hey, Nami!" Zoro called from somewhere behind, irritation evident. "That's enough. It's about time to tell us-" Zoro fell strangely quiet, threat trailing off into a gasp.
"Speaks for itself pretty well," Nami commented at the silence, running a hand along the weathered, vine-covered stone. "Look at it." Keeping her hand against the building, as if it would disappear the moment she disconnected, Nami walked slowly around the side. "You recognize this, right? It's not actually even a matter of recognizing it, since we were looking at it until this morning."
They remained silent, simply taking in the sight, until Zoro exclaimed, "What's going on!?" He came to stand between Abel and Robin, unable to take his eyes off the building. "Why would something like this be here? It looks exactly the same. Like a copy." Why make a copy of such a bizarre thing? Who up here would even be able to do that?
"You're half-right, Chief," Abel replied. "There is no reason for there to be a copy of Cricket's house here. Except it's not a copy." The final piece of the puzzle lay before them. Abel finally had an answer to the odd sense of this island being significant. "The odds of there being two identical half-houses perched perfectly on a cliff are slim-to-none. But that's not what this is. This isn't an identical copy. There were never two half houses. Only a single house, split in half." Abel's heard pounded, excitement for this discovery rising in her throat, sending tingles from head to toe. They were standing on history. Tearing her eyes away from the house, Abel's exuberant gaze met Zoro's confused one. "This is... was! Jaya."
Zoro's eyes widened. He looked like he wanted to protest, but couldn't. As impossible as it sounded, it actually connected all the oddities they'd encountered. "Then, the island was split into two a long time ago, and one half rose into the sky?" Saying it out loud really struck home how insane it sounded. "But how could something like this...?" How did that even happen? Surely even in the Grand Line islands didn't just break apart and float into the sky!
"It had to have been the Knock-Up Stream that did this," Nami concluded.
"Given how regularly that event occurs in the area around Jaya, it's not improbable that one could form under a landmass purely by chance," Abel agreed.
"The seabed in the area must be littered with underwater caverns," Robin added.
Zoro felt a shudder run down his spine as he turned his gaze back to the house. Part of him couldn't imagine what would happen if that monstrous current erupted beneath an island, yet he clearly saw the outcome of that very improbable event. The fact that this large island had survived more-or-less intact was nothing short of a miracle. And that helped put in perspective why the natives viewed this island as sacred. An island, with properties unlike any other, just appearing one day? Who wouldn't attribute that to a god?
Abel gasped when another thought struck her. "Then that means... Noland's city of gold might actually exist! He was telling the truth, but sometime between his departure and return, the Knock-Up Stream happened, splitting the island. And naturally he would've attributed it to the island sinking. Because who in their right mind would predict this?" Abel motioned to the island around them. She felt her excitement reaching all-new heights. She was standing on living proof of an old fairy tale. It might not have been a monster or creature of legend, but it was a legend. Finding the truth behind the myths was Abel's greatest joy in life.
To Be Continued...
Not the most exciting chapter, as it's basically people walking around a forest for 22 pages, but necessary for reaching the fun parts I've got planned in the next chapters. Fights, questionable physics & Abel being... persuasive with a certain swordsman.
