LW: Wow, chapter 50. I hope everyone reading has enjoyed it as much as I have, and that you're all still around when I eventually reach chapter 100. Given I've come this far in almost 2 years, I could theoretically reach that marker some time in 2021… let's not hold our breath. Anyway, enjoy the chapter everyone, Lonly loves you all :D

Rubber King and Mirror Master – Straw Hat Reunion

"This place… is the city of Gold!" Nami cheers then drops to her knees "I bet this is my reward for good behaviour eh God?"

"Well Nami has officially lost what little sense she has" Robin notes, to which Zoro snorts

"Nah she didn't bring any with her, she heard there might be gold or treasure and jumped with us, the fact this place is the legendary city of gold is a coincidence" he retorts, not that the red head noticed

Meanwhile

"Whoever designed this place… needs glasses and to join their art" Kaos grumbles, plucking on of the skulls off it's stake with disinterest

"Ah, don't touch that, whoever controls this section put them there, and we're next" Usopp scolds, knocking the skull from the older teen's hand "We barely dealt with one trial, and now we're in another"

"Another trial, sounds fun" Luffy cheers, getting lightly head slapped by Alvida

"Luffy, even if they sound fun, they are slowing our progress and in doing so making it harder to get to our friends" she reminds him, making Luffy frown

"Stupid trials, think you can distract me by being kind of awesome, I'm not afraid of you!" Luffy declares loudly

KABOOM

"Ah, it's them, the priests have heard you!" Usopp aqueaks

Kaos sighs as he sits up properly "Unless Ordeal of Strings, meant fuses… then no, that's an unrelated explosion"

"Why are there explosions on God's island anyway?" Sanji asks, taking his eye off the controls for a moment to look in the direction of the smoke.

A he does a group of Shandoreans hop out, gliding over the gondola and ignoring it, until one looks back at them, then aims his bazooka at the group, firing dead on

"Luffy!"

"On it"

Gum Gum, GO FUCK YOURSELF

The bomb was sent back, Luffy's aim surprisingly accurate, as it managed to get a few of Wiper's goons in the blast radius

"Wiper" one of the shandorians stutters, having watched the boy rather casually deflect their attack

Wiper grunts "Paramecia. He ate one of the Devil Fruits, it's the only explanation for how he could do that. These must be those Blue Sea dwellers causing all the ruckus"

"Luffy, it's him, that guy who attacked us in the White Sea. Just left his tiki mask at home I guess" Sanji notices

"Oh yeah. We're not afraid of you, come out and fight like a man!"

"If you don't want to die, go back to your blue sea" Wiper orders, his voice dripping with condescension "Otherwise, we'll execute you along with Enaru" he then gasps in pain, looking back he sees a metal spike had pierced his right wing

"Just go ahead and fucking try" Kaos hisses, his lips curled into a sneer "Sanji, we're wasting time with these idiots, step on the dial and get moving" he orders, getting nods from Luffy and Alvida, while Usopp cries in the corner, mumbling about 'suicidal crewmates'

Ripping out the spike Wiper gives them a dead eyed stare "I won't forget this, get in our way and we'll destroy you" he then turns and using his skates disappears into the trees with the remaining able bodied warriors.

"Well, that was boring" Luffy complains with a sigh, then sat on the boat in a huff.

A little later

"Yah hoo! If this is how I die, at least it was fun" Luffy cheers as the gondola drops down a spiralling cloud canal

"The point is not to die!" Usopp shouts "And what's the point of making a canal spiral like this?"

"Amusement, or boredom depending on who you ask" Kaos replies, gripping the mast as tight as his nails allowed "Amusement for those riding and boredom on the half of the creator"

So was the loop de loop for that matter, which did an excellent job of helping Usopp stick to whatever his current diet was, as he purged the contents of his stomach once they reached the end of it.

With the others, a little later

"Guys we're back, are you okay?" Nami yells as the trio return to the alter, or at least the other side of the clouds to the alter

"Mama, Uncle Zoro, and Miss Navigator are back!" Artemis shouts from the crows nest, getting the others to come out of the Merry to see

"Oh good, we were worried you got killed" Valentina admits as Vivi throws them back the vine so they could return to the ship

At that exact same moment

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first Usopp?" Sanji asks as they begin their final decent

"Good?"

"It's not priests" he deadpans

"It's just a school of sky sharks" Alvida continues with a smirk

"Oh that's a re… SKY SHARKS!"

"Luffy, your turn"

Luffy grins before wrapping his legs around the figurehead of the Crow "Easy"

Gum Gum Gattling

"It's a good thing Luffy's so scary strong, I don't think those guys are meant to go down in one hit" Usopp sighs in relief as the canal levels out again, and they pass through a river of unconscious sky sharks

"Guys, I think we've reached our destination" Kaos chuckles as he points to the alter which the Going Merry was sitting on, then waves to both the exploration party and the repair crew

"It's Luffy and the others" Nami gasps

"Papa!" Artemis cheers, hopping up and down after making it back on deck

"The Straw Hat pirates, reunited at last" Kaya smiles, Chopper doing his happy dance beside her

Inside the Merry

"So, will he make it?" Luffy asks, as they all gather around the unconscious Ganfall

"I believe so, with Chopper and I we should be able to patch him up, even if he won't be much help against Enaru for a while" Kaya answers,

Luffy nods, then he turns to Vivi who sweats "You jumped into sky shark water to save him" he says quietly

"Luffy I…" she begins but gets pulled into a hug by the captain who laughs

"That's so badass Vivi, you rock as always, I wish I'd been there to see it" he grins widely, giving her a quick peck, which Alvida slips in to add her own immediately after

"Don't get me wrong, it was stupid and dangerous, but you were the only one who could have saved the old gheezer, so I'm glad you did Vivi"

"So, now we have the gondola and the Luffy dealt with the sky sharks, we can go over to the shore and make camp" Robin suggests

"Why?" Luffy asks

"So that when Enaru or his minions come looking for us… again… we'll be working from solid ground, and won't get our ship wrecked in a fight with these bastards" Kaos explains "Same reasoning but regarding those weirdoes with the skates we ran into on the way here"

"Oh, okay. Awesome, camping trip!" Luffy cheers, bouncing around

"This isn't a party, we're neck deep in enemy territory, so calm down" Usopp scolds

"Not a party, got it" Luffy then turns to his cook "Hey Sanji, is a barbecue a party?"

Evening

"This sky shark is really good" Luffy cheers, getting nods from a few of the others

Sanji scoffs "As if I'd make anything less than perfection for the ladies to enjoy"

"Quiet down" Usopp scolds, tapping on a blackboard he pulled from the ship "Everyone, time to give your field reports"

"Still not the captain Usopp Kya ha ha" Valentina teases, chuckling to herself, while Kaya rolls her eyes

"We got attacked by some giant dumpling looking bastard named Satori who had cloud balls that had all kinds of crap hidden inside: bombs, snakes, spikes, the works" Sanji begins

"But it's his mantra power that was the worst, he could predict most of our attacks with almost no effort on his part" Alvida adds

"Shi shi shi, good thing Kaos turned that dumpling into a shish kabob ay guys?" Luffy asks with a laugh, digging into more sky shark

Usopp nods "Right, the fact Kaos' reflect powers need someone to attack him in order to do anything is a loophole to the mantra, as well as a trickier one of finding a way to immobilise them without them predicting or even just seeing it coming" he continues "Like those 2 were saying, doesn't matter if you can see 5 seconds or 5 years into the future if you can't DO anything about it"

"We got attacked by a priest called Shura, on a fire bird. He used a lance which burned anything it touched" Chopper begins

"We found a dial in the base of the lance, we presume it's either a heat or flame dial, as that's the only thing that makes sense" Victor adds, having had the time to examine the priests weapon since dealing with him

"He also appeared to have that weird mantra power you mentioned, as most of our attacks he was able to dodge easily" Kaya agrees

"Luckily, Aunt Kaya turned him into a reverse pincushion, and Chopper's animal squad dealt with his bird" Artemis announces proudly

"Wait a minute, we've killed 2 of Enaru's priests?" Nami asks "That's insane, those guys made them sound super powerful"

"They were" Kaos argues

"Oh please, you taking out one I believe, but Kaya, how did that happen if they were so stro…." She stops when a syrup needle stops about an inch from her eye, turning her gaze she sees Kaya had curled up slightly, resembling a honey coloured hedgehog with her back of spines

"Now imagine that, but coming out of someone who isn't a logia. That's what Shura looked like when Kaya was done with him" Valentina explains as the spines retract and Kaya sits up again, looking sheepish

"That… WAS AWESOME!" Luffy cheers

"Moving swiftly on. We didn't get to fight anyone, but we did find out why there's an island in the sky" Robin say, changing the subject

"R-r-right. Upper Yard as originally part of Jaya, the City of Gold didn't sink, it was shot into the sky like we were" Nami explains, her heart still beating like a drum inside her chest

"So the City of Gold, is on this island. Well let's go find it then" Luffy cheers,

"Nice to see you on my team for once Luffy" the red head smirks

"Damn it Luffy, don't you remember what the scary guy with the bazooka said. We'll be executed"

"And God will be mad at us" Chopper adds

"Fu fu fu. I think I might just enjoy this little excursion after all" Robin chuckles, grinning madly, an expression mirrored by her daughter as well as Kaos

"Don't encourage them, you're supposed to be the voice of reason on this crew" Usopp moans, falling to the ground in a heap, Kaya rubbing his back in comfort

Zoro shrugs "Eh, we've pissed off God just by being here, why not hunt for the city of gold while we're up here" he thinks aloud, getting murmurs or nods of agreement from the others

"To spitting in God's face" Kaos toasts

"And getting lots of gold" Nami cackles

"Adventure!" Luffy shouts into the sky

Given it was getting dark rather quickly it was decided they should put off gold hunting until tomorrow, and lucky for all of them as things got darker the land also got quieter, seems the rebels didn't want to fight the priests in the dark any more than the Straw Hats did. From there, while enjoying their late supper, Nami laid out their plans for tomorrow, as well as her theory as to where the City of gold was, but since most of it was her repeating herself Artemis got bored, so Kao watched her as she painted Pierre guarding Ganfall, in a similar manner to Carue with Vivi. Things were actually going well… until the sky wolves appeared

"I'm to young and pretty to die up here" Nami cries, hiding behind Zoro

"Chopper, we need translations please" Luffy yells, as the leader, given his gruff aura and scar across his right eye padded forward and growled at the crew

"You damn 2 legs, we can't hunt with all this racket, go the fuck to sleep!" Chopper translates, wincing at the anger being displayed

"Jeez, calm down a little, we're just camping, we'll be gone as soon as we can" Luffy complains

"Stupid humans, everything up here belongs to us, the dirt, the trees, even the air" the wolf responds (Well Chopper does for him)

"Nobody's stoping me getting my treasure!" Nami screams, punching the wold into the dirt

"Well, we're boned" Valentina sighs, the others tensing as the wolves circle them, until the pack leader howls and they relax

"Girl, you pack one mean punch and I like that rage. If you were like me, I'd want you to have my babies" the wolf says with a smirk, Kaya's syrup tentacles required to stop Sanji attacking him for talking to 'Nami-Swan' like that

"Well, since we're all happy again… it's party time!" Luffy shouts at the top of his lungs

20 minutes later

"You look lost Robin" Kaos muses as he sits with the archiologist

"Tell me I'm seeing what I think I am"

"Luffy having convinced the sky wolves to party with us, then the animals revealing to be expert liquer distillers which has now lead to Nami, Zoro, Alvida, Victor and about a half dozen wolves getting into a drinking contest, while Usopp runs around banging his drum like a crazy person" Kaos lists off everything he sees, chuckling to himself as only Luffy could cause this much insanity unintentionally

"Pinch me this has to be a dream… oh" Robin gasps, turning to Kaos with a raises eyebrow "You had to go for the tit, didn't you?"

He smirks unapologetically and nods "Well, you did say to pinch you" he grins then turns back just as Luffy starts a conga line "Of course you are Lu, never a dull moment"

Robin nods, now smiling herself "indeed"

The next morning

"Ha, see I wasn't hallucinating!" Usopp cheers, jumping around when the group went up to the Merry.

"Someone fixed the ship" Chopper gasps, the damage done by Shura being patched up while they were sleeping

"Nothing special, but it's a good patch job" Valentina notes "Nice of whoever it was, though they also took off the wings and chicken thingie"

"Yeah, weird. It's like whoever it was knew what the Going Merry originally was supposed to look like" Kaya hums, though privately admits the ship did look better as Merry had imagined it

"Well, if the ship's fixed, that just leaves getting her off the alter" Zoro points out "And how the hell do we do that, more importantly, how do we do that without damaging it again?"

Usopp clicks his tongue "I think I have an idea"

"You have a theory" Robin guesses, walking over to Kaos who was rubbing the Merry's figurehead like the ship was a horse or sheep

"1, but not exactly something I'd want to tell Usopp given the rest of the legend" he sighs 'Thank you Klabautermann, you did good work' he thinks, feeling something nudge against his senses as if trying to respond and smiles

"If you won't tell the whole story, will I at least get a name?" she asks, curious

"Usopp saw the ship's kobold." Kaos replies, Robin's eyes widen and she understands

A little later

"Anyone else think this version of 'Operation get the Going Merry off that stupid alter' isn't going to work?" Alvida asks while the others watch Usopp and Chopper drive the Crow out into the cloud lake

"Yes, but let's let the boys have their fun" Nami says with a shrug. The Straw hats watched Usopp skillfully grapple the Merry's figurehead then after attaching it to the gondola had Chopper take off at full speed, unfortunately this didn't move the Merry at all, and just damaged the Crow

"Well that didn't work" Vivi says, sighing deeply

"Probably a good thing too" Kaos adds, confusing everyone "If the Merry had moved, where do you think it would have gone?" he asks, pointing to the steps they were all standing on.

"Fuck"

"Papa" Kaos turns and Artemis was pushing on his leg, while pointing out into the lake "What's Usopp doing to brother Chopper?"

"Using him as bait, apparently" Robin answers with a frown "At least he remembered Carue is off limits I guess"

"How does he know Sky Sharks even like reindeer?" Luffy asks

"He doesn't, but he doesn't want to dangle himself out there so Chopper is the next best thing" Victor guesses

"Fire the harpoon Sanji!" Usopp shouts, once Chopper's flailing had managed to attract a bite

The cook frowns but does as asked, kicking the projectile and sending it through the shark's fin, now tethering it to the Merry. With another pass from Usopp the shark had the Merry moving, and in the direction of the crew as predicted. Opps. When everyone had got on the ship, Chopper had been untied and the shark dealt with and cooked (Luffy got hungry watching the shark fail to eat Chopper) Nami pulled out the maps once more

"So, we need to figure out where we go from here. The exploration crew will go this way…" she points on the map "…heading south for the skull's right eye, avoid enemies and bring back that gold!" she orders

"The ruins should be fun to explore and document" Robin thinks aloud, smiling softly

"Wait a minute" Luffy stops them all "You're the one who's been going on about gold and treaure since we were back on Jaya but you're not coming?"

"Of course not, it's really scary out there" Nami replies, technically pointing out the obvious

"Oh, is that why Kaos is sitting this one out? Cause that seems kind of silly" Luffy says with a shrug

"He what?" Nami shrieks, going over her list (which she remembered specifically writing the 2 idiots were to be OFF HER SHIP for as long as physically possible) to see his name scratched out and written on Merry guarding duty. She then freezes when she feels a weight on her shoulder

"Actually I put myself down. Nami in her greedy bitch mentaility forgot something important, that the ship is just as in danger as the gold hunters and unlike some of us, the Merry isn't the tank we'd like it to be so needs somebody around to help keep it safe. No offence to you Artemis, but I think we need more than you and Kaya defending it" the 2 girls nod in agreement, the navigator not moving a muscle until he removed Shura's lance from her body, the heated weapon slightly singing her clothes

"Hey wait a minute I'm staying too" Sanji argues

"And the first pair of tits you see and you'll be dead" Kaos deadpans

"And me, I'm obviously the captain…" Usopp begins

"Kaos is in charge while I'm gone, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, no backtalk" Luffy shouts, caring a lot more about the others disrespecting his borther than himself

"Who are you and what have you done with Luffy?" Zoro asks, surprised to see Luffy act like this outside his random "I'm gonna kick your ass" moments with the big bad

"What are you talking about, I'm right here" Luffy says in confusion, causing Zoro to sigh

"You know what, never mind. We all get our jobs done and hopefully meet back up when all this is done in the north and move onto the next problem… getting down"

"Agreed"

"To Victory" Alvida shouts

"To Victory" the others chorus

"To Gold" Nami adds, giggling like mad

"To the lost history" Robin says, getting smirks from Artemis and Kaos

"Straw Hats…. Move out!" Luffy orders

TBC

LW: So the straw hats have all been reunited… only to separate again, though at least it's voluntary this time. And Kaos remains on the ship because there's something I want him to do, besides annoy Nami of course ;). Chopper might be remaining on the ship, not full decided yet.

For the record, according to the One Piece Wiki Klabautermann translates to 'ship's kobold' from German, which is why Kaos said that rather than the actual name, not wanting to risk incuring the legend/curse until they were safely back in the Blue Sea.