Judgment
Cade scanned the massive trees then the cloud water that separated them. She was debating what their next move should be when Zoro dove into the cloud water. "Zoro! What are you doing?!"
"He said something about swimming to the island." Robin watched the swordsman as fins poked out of the cloud water.
"He's crazy! There are sharks in there!" Tears damped Chopper's fur. "Zoro! Come back!"
Zoro rose out of the cloud water in a shark's mouth, his sword keeping the shark from chomping down on him.
Cade shook her head when Zoro punched the shark.
Zoro climbed the stairs to the alter. "Looks like we won't be able to swim ashore."
"You think!" Cade smacked him upside the head. "Don't go diving in to unfamiliar water! Leave that up to me! You could have been eaten!"
"It worked out fine," Zoro said.
"Nothing is fine!"
"So where are we?" Zoro asked.
"All we know for sure is that this is a lake somewhere in upper yard," Robin said.
"It looks like a sacrificial alter." Zoro eyed the runes.
"There's a bunch more sky sharks!" Chopper said.
"Seems like we've been taken to a dangerous place by that stupid shrimp." Zoro wrung out his shirt.
"You're a swordsman, yet you used your fist to kill a shark," Nami said.
"Zoro is so strong," Chopper gushed.
"Physically, but lacking strength mentally." Cade huffed.
"I wonder if Heaven's judgment is to let us starve in this place?" Robin said.
Nami tossed down a shirt to Zoro.
"Would something that normal really be done by a god?" Zoro asked.
"I don't know. I've never met this god," Robin said.
"With this ship's bottom in this state, we can't put it in the water. Anyway, please try to repair it somehow, Chopper," Zoro said.
"Eh?! Me?! Understood," Chopper said.
"I'll help you," Cade said.
"Great!"
"Repair it? What are you going to do?" Nami asked.
"I'll enter the forest somehow, and use this place as our gathering point." Zoro pulled on his dry shirt. "Luffy and the others will come here looking for us for sure. Isn't there an old saying 'when you're lost, stay where you are'?"
"The one who should stay put the most is you!" Nami glared.
"That god guy is suppose to be here, right? I want to meet him," Zoro said.
"What?! Why would you want to meet someone scary like that?!" Nami flinched.
"I dunno. That depends on him." Zoro grinned.
"Zoro is more arrogant than a god!" Chopper gasped.
"Don't you know there are also priests here?! You mustn't anger god!" Nami said. "This is just common sense!"
"Stop yelling," Cade said. "Whoever this guy is I highly doubt he's a god at all. Most likely he's someone claiming to be a god for one reason or another."
"Right." Zoro nodded. "I don't even believe in God, so why should I care?"
"Oh, God! I have nothing to do with that guy!" Nami prayed.
Zoro looked up to the limbs above. "Looks like we can use that vine."
"Ah, that's not a bad idea," Robin said.
"I'll keep my waters ready in case you fall." Cade flexed her hands. "Don't want ya'll becoming shark bait."
"Mind if I tag along, swordsman?" Robin asked.
"Okay, but don't get in my way," Zoro said.
"You're going too?" Nami asked.
"Look around. This altar is at least a thousand years old. Seeing such historical remain makes me quite excited." Robin smiled. "Plus, if we find some gems or treasure, we can use them to repair the ship."
"I'm going too!" Nami lifted her hand.
"Huh?! But didn't you say it was scary?!" Chopper said.
"We're exploring history." Nami's eyes sparkled.
"Yeah right. Just say the truth. You're going to find treasure," Cade said.
The three climbed up to the crow's nest. Zoro grabbed onto the vine, pulled on it, then swung across the river. Robin and Nami soon followed.
"Might as well start on the ship," Cade said as the three explorers disappeared into the forest.
"Okay." Chopper nodded.
The two pirates wandered into the storage room, gathered up some nails and boards before heading back out onto the deck. Cade hammered away. Every once in a while she glanced at Chopper. The reindeer was skittish, looking around the massive forest, and jumping at any small sound. "We're going to be fine."
"I hope so. But I can't help but worry. We have no idea who's out there. We have this god guy and his priests. Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji are still no where to be seen." Chopper looked at her. "And you're still effected by the thin air up here."
"True. But there's no sense in worrying. We still have the whistle." Cade tossed the whistle to him. "Why don't you wear it? That way if we get into trouble and I can't help you can call the sky knight."
"Good idea." Chopper slipped the chain around his neck.
"Let's get back to work." Cade pulled back her hammer.
"What? You're the only sacrifices to kill?"
Cade whipped around to find a man riding on a large bird. "Who the heck are you?"
The guy grinned. Holding out his lance, fire shot from the tip.
Flames and heat rolled off the ship.
"Hey!" Cade pulled water from the cloud ocean and splashed it on the fire. "You jerk!" Bending her knees, Cade shot into the air. She swung at him.
The guy smirked as the bird flapped, pulling them out of the way.
"Crap. I'm too slow." Cade gritted her teeth. Pivoting she gathered water over her palms. She moved to strike at the guy, but something held her hands to her sides. "What the heck?!"
The man circled around and hovered in front of Cade. He pointed his lance at her. "So you can manipulate water. That's going to be a real pain since I use fire."
How is this guy using fire? It's not a devil fruit since it came from his weapon instead of his body. Cade eyed the man. Her chest heaved up and down.
"I see." He smirked. "You're having trouble breathing up here. Don't worry. You won't be suffering for much longer." He pulled his lance back then thrust it forward.
Cade gritted her teeth. Her brain spun. A flash of pink knocked the man away from her.
"It's the sky knight!" Chopper said. "He came!"
Cade struggled in an attempt to get free. Light bounced off strings holding her in place. "Strings?"
The string bit into her skin as she pulled. She gritted her teeth. Iron drifted into her noses. Finally the string snapped. She spun and headed down towards the cloud water as the sky knight and his horse bird creature fell.
The sharks spun towards her the second she hit the cloud water, drawn by her blood. She pushed them back with her water while pulling the other two towards her.
A gray blur swooped down. Next thing she knew she was back in the air. Looking down she found she was sitting on a giant south bird. "What the heck?"
"Cade! You're okay! I was so worried!" Chopper waved from the ship.
The south bird dumped them on the deck and flew off.
"Are you okay? Ah! You're hurt! Let me help!" Chopper pulled his bag off his back and started bandaging her wrists.
"It's fine. I was being held by strings." Cade sighed. "That guy needs your help more than I do."
"I'll take care of him next. Don't worry."
...
Cade opened her eyes to the sounds of her crewmates calling from outside. She and Chopper stepped out of the kitchen to find Zoro and the others had returned.
"What the heck happened here?" Nami asked.
"Hey! Cade!" Luffy called.
Cade turned to see her brother waving as he and the others sail up to the ship with a small boat dressed up like a crow.
"You're hurt." Luffy eyed the bandages around her wrists.
They exchange stories.
"So where's that weird old man? He was hurt, right?" Luffy said.
"The sky knight," Chopper said. "He's inside resting."
They go inside. The old man was still sleeping.
"It's amazing for him to fight so hard just for a free whistle he gave us." Luffy bent down next to the man.
"If he didn't come the ship would have been destroyed," Chopper said. "So would Cade and I."
"There's a lot of things I want to ask him. I'll just wait until he wakes up. Thanks to you, too," Sanji said to the bird. "It's getting dark. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to go back to Angel Island. We should head ashore. If we're attacked again we'll have a better chance of fighting on solid ground."
"Yeah! Camping!" Luffy cheered. "Party!"
"Wait! We can't go camping in enemy territory!" Usopp said.
Heading to the island, they gathered firewood and sat down.
"So it's called mantra." Cade stirred her bowl of stew. "That would explain how he was able to predict my next move. And all the while this place is part of Jaya. And this city of gold is suppose to be here. I can't see that happening. Surely the gold is long gone by now."
"Possible. But it won't hurt to look," Nami said.
"Then it's decided then? We're going to go find the gold!" Luffy cheered.
"But why is everything so big here?" Cade asked.
"It's likely due to the strange substances inside of the seal cloud and island cloud. The strange substances seem to abnormally enhance the plants' and animals' growth rates. If that's so this theory can justify the ruins of civilization that were swallowed by the forest," Robin said.
"The south bird that saved us was big." Chopper spread his hooves out.
"Why did they save you in the first place?" Zoro asked.
"I don't know, but those birds were calling the sky knight 'god'," Chopper said.
"God?!" Luffy gasped. "So then I just have to beat up that old guy?!"
"Of course not, you idiot!" Usopp said.
"Anyways, let's think back on the information on the golden city," Nami said.
"What for? It was a city of gold. Nothing farther to talk about," Cade said.
"There was something about some bell shaped gold," Sanji said. "Then something about the south bird."
"On the last page there was something very unclear about the things he wrote," Robin said. "It was 'I saw the gold in the right eye of the skull'."
"That's it! Take a look at this. I combined the map Robin found in Jaya with the ancient map of Skypiea." Nami pulled out the map. "When I combine them at the point of Cricket's home it shows what Jaya would have looked like four hundred years ago."
"Its a skull," Cade said.
"This place." Nami pointed at the map. "Noland meant the whole of the island's body. But the island was split in half, so it was impossible to solve the riddle. We'll go straight to this point tomorrow. But we can't leave the ship here, so we'll split into two groups. There's no doubt about it. There's some huge amount of gold waiting for us here."
"It's getting late. If we don't put out the fire we'll expose our position to the enemy," Robin said.
"Did you hear that, Usopp? She wants to put out the fire," Luffy said.
"Don't say it like that. Robin has been living a dark live, so she couldn't have known," Usopp said.
"What do you mean?" Robin asked.
"Lighting a campfire is an obvious thing, yeah?"
"It's the way of life to have campfire on a camping night, even if we die tonight."
"That's enough! You know very well how dangerous this forest is," Nami said. "There are those priests! Guerillas, too! Plus, forests are always very dangerous at night. There are beasts and monsters."
"Yo! Luffy! How's this for a woodpile?" Zoro asked.
"Not you, too!" Nami said.
"Don't worry, Nami. Those beasts are afraid of fire." Sanji held up a torch.
"Behind you! Behind you! There are some things already here!" Nami cried.
"Looks like they want some fun too." Cade eyed the wolves as they moved in closer to the fire. Together they partied long into the night.
...
"Look! I told you! Somebody was here before! It wasn't a dream after all!" Usopp said. "Someone fixed the Going Merry!"
"But it's not possible." Cade walked around the newly fixed ship. "We didn't have this much repair items. And Merry's back to her original form. The chicken head is gone. Weird."
"Sad to say they weren't very good at it," Sanji said.
Cade jumped to the deck.
"So there are still good people in this world," Luffy said.
"I thought it was some kind of ghost," Usopp said.
"Considering where we are, who could it have been?" Zoro asked.
"We'll probably never know. We should move on," Cade said.
"Cade's right," Sanji said. "Let's just go."
"First we should move the ship," Nami said. "Cade, you ready?"
"Yeah, yeah." Cade jumped back down to the altar. She picked up the ship, noticing the damaged keel. "Huh?"
"Hey, Cade, what's wrong?" Luffy called.
"Nothing." Cade stepped down the stairs and sat the ship back in the water. She rejoined the crew in time to hear Nami going over the routes they had before they split up again. Cade eyed the forest as they walk along. If the birds here are big too other animals are big too. So what kind of animals will we encounter?
As if on cue, a giant snake lifted its head.
"Run away! It's a snake!" Luffy said.
"Hey, big guy, I'll cut you in half!" Zoro grabbed his swords.
The snake thrashed around, biting a tree. The bark snapped and hissed before melting into nothing.
"It's bite is poison! Don't let it bite you!" Cade jumped into the air. Her head spun from the sudden movement. Eyes blurry she was unable to see the snake snapping it's head in her direction. The forest spun into a blur of colors before her back collided with the ground. Air rushed out of her lungs. She laid there for several minutes before her lungs re-expanded. A minute later she sat up. "Guess I better see if I can find the others."
Cade pushed herself to her feet, stumbling before becoming stable, and made her way through the forest. Minutes pass before she finally came upon someone.
It was Robin.
