Hello again, everybody! Yes, we are back with another volume of the Second Chance as a Pirate series! I had told myself that I should wait until I get another one of my stories done, but considering that some of you people have been asking about this volume, I decided "you know what? Screw it! I'm going to do it!" That... and I actually wanted to this volume anyway. You guys just encouraged me to do it. So, that being said, by the time this chapter is up, I am going to give you guys another day to vote on that poll. The very poll that decides which arc this volume should sail towards. This is the progress so far:

G8 Arc = 3 votes

Long Ring Long Island Arc (3 games) = 2 votes

Water 7 Arc = 2 votes

Remember! One extra day! Then the poll will close!

... Actually, since I'll be away for a week on that day, it won't be fair... One extra week! Then the poll will close, the title of this story will change to a more permanent title, and this story will sail to the arc you readers have chosen!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Kingdom Hearts. I do not own Guthrie and Allen. Well, actually I kind of do own him.

*OPENING*

Let's fly to the sky
(The sun rises as Merry sails across the ocean)
There's not a single cloud in the sky
(All the current Straw Hats watched the sun rises, Luffy on the figurehead)

Let's fly to the sky. (It's time to fly around) Catch the perfect breeze for you
(The camera faces the sky as the title appears on the screen)
Paint the sky with (Let's go to the wonder world) imagination that no one's ever seen
(Camera faces back to the Going Merry as everyone went on with their peaceful business)

OH! OH! Even if it's too dazzling (Come on)
(Xion looked up and saw Marines ahead of them and warned everyone)
OH! OH! under the sun
(They all prepared themselves for battle. Marines fired cannon balls at them)
OH! OH! If it's you, you can make it! Throw away your pride and FLY!
(Luffy, Zoro and Sanji sent the cannons back at them. Usopp fired a cannon of their own with Xion, in her Wisdom Form, unleashed Triple Firaga at them, followed by a Thundaga, clearing their path)

Everyday is plain!
Real talent makes the world go round
(Going Merry sailed through the smoke. Everyone looked content as they enjoyed the sea breeze)
Deceit won't work anymore.
(Scene changed to Jaya in Mock Town, as camera faced each of the Blackbeard Pirates.)
Mayday, the red light is stopping you too
(Scene changed to Cricket's home, showing Cricket with Masira and Shojo side by side.)

Lend me an ear! And I'm gonna stick on my RAP! Wussup!
(Guthrie fights against some pirates and Heartless. One tried to sneak up on him and Chirithy knocked it away.)
"From tomorrow on I'll get serious!"- seriously cut it out with excuses like that
(Allen danced as he dodged the attacks of the pirates and attacked them at the same time)
Increase your money with your dream! Time is money like NASDAQ!
(The Straw Hats looked at Cricket's gold and searched for the South Bird)
When will you do it boy? It's now or never man! This is the moment, right?
(The crew then arrived at the Knock Up Stream and went to the skies.)

Everybody put ya hands in the air and clap ya hands like this like that
Clap ya hands everybody! Everybody just clap ya hands!
(Scenes quickly changed to different scenes. Xion and Guthrie crossed blades, Luffy's one-hit KO on Bellamy, the group trying to catch the South Bird, then finally their first encounter with the Shandia Warriors)

Let's fly to the sky (It's time to fly around) Catch the perfect breeze for you
(The Straw Hat Pirates arrived on Skypiea and were approached by the White Berets and fought them)
Paint the sky with (Let's go to the wonder world) imagination that no one's ever seen
(Scene changed to the group in the Upper Yard fighting against Heartless, Shandians and Priests)

OH! OH! Even if it's too dazzling (Come on)
(Scene changed to Xion fighting against Larxene)
OH! OH! under the sun
(Changed to Guthrie and Allen teaming up against the Nobodies)
OH! OH! If it's you, you can make it! Throw away your pride and FLY!
(Changed to Luffy battling Eneru. In a flash of light, opening ends with all of Straw Hats on Merry, facing the camera)

People say that what's impossible can never be possible. While in most cases, that would be true, in the Grand Line, those are just words. And the people who believe in them, specifically pirates? They should never be.

In the Grand Line, the impossible is, and always will be, possible. Examples would be having a rubber body, changing into a certain animal, growing body parts out of places, even having the occasional crazy weathers, if one was not prepared enough to avoid them. As if that wouldn't be enough, there are also islands in the sky.

One certain crew in which we all have our eyes on had ventured to one of these sky islands and conquered a god. In the process, they helped reclaim the sky people's freedom and claimed some gold for themselves. Returning to the blue sea with some new allies, what sort of troubling adventure awaits for them now?

While they were slowly falling back to the Blue Sea with the takoballoon's help, majority of the crew were in the kitchen, all cheering for the amount of gold that they 'stole' from Upper Yard. Zoro was asleep on deck, Robin was watching their descent from the island, and Guthrie and Chirithy were helping Allen into their Blue Sea clothes. After all, it would look weird to people seeing a half-naked guy on their island.

"You Blue Sea people have such strange yet comfy clothing," the dancer said, trying to put on a shirt.

"Not so sure about the 'strange' part, but we don't wear any tribal clothes in the Blue Sea. It may take a while for you to get used to," Guthrie said.

Allen managed to get his head and arms through the holes they were suppose to go through, but he couldn't bring the shirt down. And for a good reason, too. "You think you guys have clothes with holes in the back?"

Guthrie placed a finger under his chin in a thinking pose. An idea came to Chirithy's head as he, somehow, snapped whatever fingers he had. "I've an idea!"

Next thing the guys knew, Allen stood there in a brown baggy shorts and a green, open-chested vest. On the back of the chest, holes were made for his wings to go through.

"This'll have to do for now," Chirithy said.

"Nice idea!" Guthrie commented.

"And I don't feel uncomfortable in these, either. I like this style," Allen said.

"What say we show the others then?"

"Right!" The two walked out the men's quarters to head to the kitchen where everyone else are.

As they made their way to their destination, standing by the door with an unamused look on her face was Xion.

"What got you looking so sour?" Guthrie asked.

"So to say, Luffy and the majority of the other guys bickering over little guys stuff. Well, some of the stuff like books for Chopper-kun and a lockable fridge are actually good and reasonable to have, especially considering our captain for the latter," she answered.

The trio sweat dropped at those words.

"He does have a big appetite," Allen said.

"That, itself, is an understatement," Chirithy told him.

Xion looked at their direction and, upon seeing Allen's new look, had a light blush on her face. "Y-You look good in that," she managed to say to him.

"Oh! You think so?!" he asked. "I have Guthrie and Chirithy to thank. Most of the clothes on this ship can't really fit me. Especially with my wings on my back."

"Well, Nami did say something about splitting the gold evenly between us. When we reach an inhabited island, we should buy some more clothes for you."

"Now that you mentioned it," Robin called, getting the outside group's attention. "I wonder where this ship is heading."

The three humans and one Dream Eater processed those words in their head.

"... AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Xion's scream got the attention of the other Straw Hat crew in the kitchen.

"What?! What?!" Usopp asked.

"What's the matter?" Luffy calmly asked.

"What is it, Xion-swan~?" Sanji followed.

Turning to Nami, the vice captain asked, "Nami! How's the log pose?!"

"Huh? The log pose? It's..." Nami trailed off as she looked down at their 'compass'. Her face paled as she realized the reason for Xion's scream. "Oh no! We started riding on an air current at some point and now we're drifting!"

"An air current?" Usopp repeated in a questioned tone.

"Come to think of it, there is a wind," Sanji pointed out.

"Is that a problem?" Luffy asked.

"Yes it's a problem!" Guthrie answered. "We won't know where on sea we'll land! For one thing, we might land in the middle of a marines headquarters and be captured right then and there! Not only that, but we can't control the ship when it's just floating like this!"

"Why can't we have Xion use her magic or call her flying Dream Eaters to drag us then?"

"For one thing, my arms just recovered and I got a doctor's note saying that I should prevent myself from doing anything that can put a strain on them for a while," the female Keyblade wielder answered. "And also, do you really expect my Dream Eaters to keep dragging this ship and fighting off the air current during the whole trip until we reached the sea? We all have limits, Luffy!"

"Then we'll just head to the next island once we've reached the sea."

Everyone all sweat dropped at the carefree answer.

"Sure... if we haven't been taken far off course that is..." Chirithy said.

"Are we going to be okay?" Allen asked in a whispered tone to Guthrie.

"To speak to truth, I don't know myself," he answered.

"Although..." Everyone turned to Sanji's direction, who was looking at their octopus with an odd expression.

"What is it, Sanji-kun?" Nami asked.

"Nah. Might be my imagination."

His response confused them. "About what?" Usopp asked.

"No. It's nothing."

"There's a problem! Hey!" The group jumped slightly and turned to Zoro's direction. The swordsman was still at his spot on deck, with a tired look. "Oh, it's just a dream," he said with a yawn.

Those words angered Nami and Sanji, the former who was being held back by Usopp. "What's with you?! You scared me!" Nami shouted.

"I'm gonna cut you into fillets, you damn moss head!" Sanji exclaimed.

Xion would also be angry at the false alarm, but she had no energy whatsoever to care about it at the moment.

"Now, now, Zoro's tired too, after the battle in the sky, so..." Usopp tried to reason, as Luffy just laughed at the scene before him.

Night had soon fallen. Some of the crew were getting some extra shut eyes after being rudely awaken by Luffy and his great plan to steal the gold earlier and wanted to catch up on some sleep. Everyone else were hanging out on deck, or in Sanji's case cooking up some snack, or in Allen's case, dancing in peace and secret at the back of Merry. As Guthrie and Chirithy looked over the edge, watching the clouds as they descended, they heard footsteps, and saw Robin approach them.

"You ever seen anything like this?" she asked the counselor.

"No. I like high places, but this is an incredible bit of scenery I have yet to have seen," he replied.

Robin leaned herself over the railing, watching the same scene as the two.

"So, did you come over here for a reason?" Chirithy asked her.

The archeologist looked to the male Keyblade wielder and answered, "I believe you told me that you would explain your backstory to me, didn't you?"

Guthrie looked up at the sky, recalling that he did say that after they defeated Yama.

"Yeah, I did," Guthrie answered. "Well, I guess I gotta tell you my history, then." He turned over and leaned his back on the ship's railing, with his hands supporting him. "I guess I should start by telling you my full name, then."

"Full name?" Robin echoed, realizing she didn't know his family name.

"My full name is Fennik Guthrie," the Keyblade wielder started. "My mom and dad told me that our family had some sort of affiliation with a fox, though I have no idea what they meant by that. My parents were still the greatest people ever. My dad was proud and strong, and always put his family first before anyone else. He was the one who taught me how to become a skilled swordsman. As for my mom, she was gentle and kind, and was the greatest wife and mother you could ever see. She was the one who told me stories about the Keyblade, the wielders, and about the tales of other worlds. They were fascinating as a kid, but as I grew up, and saw no proof of these tales, I began considering them fables. Guess they weren't lying to me now that I can wield a Keyblade." His smile vanished from his face as he thought about what happened next. "Then, when I was thirteen years old, and right on my birthday, no less, I woke up that morning, and they both vanished."

"They vanished?" Robin echoed in confusion. "What do you mean? Did... they die?"

"Not sure. I meant they just disappeared without a trace. They were no longer at the home anymore. The only thing they left that gave me any clue was a note, which said, 'We have to leave for a while. Some important things came up and we had to leave. When it is time, you will know what that is. For now, live with your aunt Sinopa.' That was the last time I had ever heard from them at all."

Robin looked a bit guilty at this as she said, "So your parents vanished without a trace since that day. That's so sad. I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're gonna be feeling more sorry for him soon," Chirithy told her, which was responded by a hush and a glare by Guthrie.

"Well, continuing from that, I left my home and moved to aunt Sinopa's place, which was over a bar that she and her husband owned. My aunt was always nice to me, but unlike my mom, her sister, she didn't marry a nice man. Uncle Lupis cared more about his bar and money than anything else, and when I was sent to their place, he immediately and forever thought of me as a waste of space. I did whatever I could to help, from cleaning the house, working in all parts of the bar, including making and serving drinks for people. However, it was never enough. He even beat me up just because he was angry at something or someone else."

"That's horrible!" Robin stated, shocked to hear of such an abusive man was the uncle of a caring young man like Guthrie.

"I did get angry, but I never vented out at him or my aunt. I just kept my feelings to myself. Fortunately, my aunt signed me up for kendo practice so I could vent my anger out in something physical. It did work out, and thanks to my teaching from my dad, I ended up the best in town. I even made it to the nationals and made it in third place when I was just fifteen."

As they passed through a cloud, Guthrie's face darkened as he continued, "But being in third place in the Nationals was considered an epic failure to my uncle. A couple days after the results became public, Lupis scolded me and physically abused me for being so useless, and it was worse than before. Sinopa tried to stop him, but he smacked her away too. He insulted my parents, shaming them and saying that they abandoned me because they didn't want to waste their life on me. That drove me over the edge. I fought back at him. I let my rage take control of me and I... I stabbed him with a kitchen knife when he was strangling me." His hands quivered at this memory. It was something he still feared.

Chirithy looked sadly at his partner, as did Robin. Sanji, who was on the upper level, Allen, who was on his way to the kitchen for something to drink, and Xion, who had just appeared from the women's dorm, had started listening in quietly, just like one other person on the ship.

"I ran away from home. I couldn't be in the same house with that man," Guthrie continued. "I was useless to stop him, but I held a grudge against him. Every time I slept, he appeared, scolding and abusing me. I always woke up in a full sweat. My anger towards him continued to grow, but I held it in as best as I could. I wandered around the country for the next year. Part of me wanted to find my parents so they could help me and my aunt from getting away from this man. The other part of me wanted to get stronger so that, when I returned, I could be the one who'll stop him. I could be the one who'll show him who was really useless around her. I was so filled with anger, I started to become not only crueler to others, but to myself. I wanted to vent this anger out as soon as possible. So, when I felt I couldn't take it anymore, I chose to return, now fully believing I could stop my uncle."

His hands quivered, and he began to form tears in his eyes. The memory of what he was about to explain hurt him the most. "When I returned home, I was fully set to challenge my uncle to a brawl. Aunt Sinopa was the first to meet me, and I demand that I confront him. However... I... I had no idea that... when I left, I..." He was having a hard time explain what he had done, but the others could figure it out. Something that Chirithy made sure was vocally confirmed.

"His aunt told him that when he stabbed him, it was on his lung," Chirithy explained. "The damage was too much, and he passed away soon after."

"So you killed your uncle without realizing it?" Robin asked, surprised. "No offense, but why weren't you arrested? Did your aunt hate you?"

"No..." Guthrie sobbed, wiping away the tears. "She... she loved me so much, that she lied. She told the authorities Lupis slipped and accidentally stabbed himself with his own knife. Even... even though my fingerprints were on the knife, she told them that all three of them used the knife because of our job. She apologized for not being able to stop him that day. She knew I never meant to kill. And all that rage, all that hatred towards the man that abused me... had nowhere to go. I never broke so many table and chairs than that evening. I never screamed so hard than that evening. Nor... nor did I cry as much as that evening."

There was a pause as Guthrie wiped away his tears, stifling his feelings of that evening. At this point, now everyone on the ship was listening in on his tale. All seemed to give Guthrie sympathetic looks. He was so hurt deep down, that it was amazing he hid it so well.

"Anyways, I slightly gave up on sword-practice. I instead turned to psychology and learned how to be a counselor for people. I wanted to cure people of the anger or despair in their hearts, but not through violence; through just talking. I helped out however I could at the bar, making sure it was running, along with taking care of my aunt Sinopa. The guilt of my anger was all the reason I pushed myself as hard. I wanted to redeem myself for the empty grudge I held, and for murdering a family member without meaning to. I wanted people to be happy, to be at ease in their heart, as that was the opposite of what I was feeling deep down. I wanted to make sure I was redeemed, a little at a time. Then, on my eighteenth birthday... well, you and Xion know what happened then."

"You awoke to the power of the Keyblade, and came to this world to seek out and protect Xion," Robin recalled.

"Yes... If it was a way to redeem for my past transgressions, then so be it. I'll come here, risk my life for someone I don't even know, and make sure she is happy."

With his story finished, he looked down at the ground, wondering what Robin would say. What could she say? She was pretty much surprised at his backstory. She knew from what she could piece together from before, that he had some involvement with his anger. However, she had no idea it was something like this. True, her story was much more painful, and it was certainly not a place of competition as to who's backstory was worse, but just like her, and so many of the crew members, he had undergone trials and pain in his past.

"If you want to find a way to redeem yourself, then move on," Xion spoke up. Both the counselor, his Dream Eater and the archeologist turned to see her approach them. "I'm not one to talk, since I'm still trying to remember things about myself, but I know you can't just dwell on the past. If you truly feel bad that you did what you did, then move on and make yourself better."

"Easy for you to say," Guthrie retorted. "I could only wish I could forget some of my past. I don't want to remind myself of the anger that was swelling inside me for all that time, for murdering someone in my family, for the guilt and pain of what I felt when I found out I really did kill someone."

"Except I do remember some things that are painful to remember," Xion pointed out, getting his attention. "The pain of saying goodbye. The feelings of abuse from the Organization. The fact that... I have no heart, and I am just a puppet. I... I want to forget those things. But they help me progress to being the person I am today."

"I get what you are getting at, but you are not a puppet, nor do you not have a heart, cause you do," Guthrie pointed out.

"And why do you think that?"

"Because you don't look like that. You seem just as normal as everyone else here. Well, I guess 'normal' isn't the right word, but you get what I mean."

"Well, I don't see you as a harsh, uncle-killing devil, so why would you judge yourself instead of listening to the people who are judging you? You are Guthrie, the Straw Hat's counselor. I think you are better than what you make yourself to be. Stop having the past hold you back, and push forward."

"Guthrie," Robin spoke up, getting his attention. "You said you wanted to find your 'True Happiness'. You also said you wanted to help me find the Rio Poneglyph. With a heart that seeks out hope and cares for even people like me can't be that bad."

"There are times when we have to deal with the most horrible of things without having much of a choice to. You didn't choose your relatives, nor did you really choose to be an unintentional killer," Allen pointed out, walking down to meet with the gang. "I may be the newest recruit, but I know for sure that every one of us here has something we want to forget. But, if it weren't for those, we wouldn't have come to this point."

"As he said. We all have pasts we're not proud of, and we also have done some things we regret doing," Zoro spoke, revealing to have heard the whole story himself rather than sleeping in like they all thought he did. "But the best thing about those pasts is that they make you stronger, and made you who you are today."

"That's a pretty smart thing to say, especially from you, moss-head," Sanji sassed.

"Shut up, you damn cook!" the swordsman barked, standing up and glaring at him.

As the two got into another usual argument, which made Xion sigh at their behavior, then looked to Guthrie as she pointed out, "With crazy misfits like us all, we need someone who can clearly ease the tension. That's where you come in, Guthrie. Make sure you keep the insanity to a minimum."

Guthrie looked down, understanding what everyone saying was right. Everyone here had pasts that were harsh, the most mysterious of which was Robin's. However, he knew that he wasn't alone. These people found ways to smile and have fun as time went on. Maybe this crew will help him truly move on and make him overcome the guilt in his heart.

"Hey guys! Come on up here! This is so fun!" came Luffy's voice. Everyone looked around in confusion, for the boy was not amongst them.

"Luffy?" Allen asked.

"Where'd his voice come from?" Guthrie questioned.

"It sounds kind of far, doesn't it?" Chirithy noted.

"Luffy! Where are you?! Luffy!" Xion called out.

At her call, the crew members who were sleeping all woke up and walked/climbed out of their quarters.

"What are you shouting for?" Usopp asked.

"What did Luffy do this time?" Nami quickly assumed.

"I'm over here! Everyone, come up here, too! This is fun!" their captain shouted.

Everyone looked up, past the takoballoon and saw Luffy bouncing on top of it.

"Whoa! He's up there!" Usopp gasped in shock.

"Awesome! This is awesome!" Luffy shouted happily.

For some reason, watching their captain doing this was making Xion feel uneasy. It wasn't about how he was bouncing away up there... Okay maybe it was that, but there was something about his actions that were making her feel uneasy.

"Hey! Don't be reckless! Our lives depend on that balloon!" Nami called out to him, increasing Xion's worries.

"Don't worry! Don't worry!" the boy shrugged off.

Allen saw the expression Xion was making and said, "You seem uneasy. What's wrong, Xion?"

"Why do I not like him bouncing on our balloon?" the girl asked back.

"What? You want to have fun up there too?" Usopp asked.

"I doubt that's the case," Chirithy answered in her place.

Sanji, who was staring intently at the one thing slowing their descent, paled when he noticed something wrong about their octopus. "No, Luffy! Come back down! Hey Luffy! Stop it!" he shouted in a panicked tone, grabbing everyone's attention.

"What's the matter all of a sudden, Sanji-kun?" Nami asked.

"The octopus is shrinking! If we don't do anything, we'll fall!" Sanji explained, climbing up the White Sea creature to get their captain to stop. His explanation got the crew on guard and worried.

"Now that he mentioned it, it looks smaller than before," Robin calmly noticed.

"What do we do?! We're still pretty high up!" Nami informed.

"Can the octopus still last long enough for us to reach the sea?!" Allen asked.

"If Sanji can get Luffy down in time, maybe!" Xion answered.

Next thing they knew, the pair in question suddenly fell, much to their, especially Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Chirithy's, shock. Luckily, Luffy thought fast and used his devil fruit powers to grab onto Sanji and Merry's rails, saving them from certain death.

The idiot captain laughed as he was hanging. "That was quite a scare, since it stopped bouncing suddenly," he said.

"Like I said, the octopus is shrinking!" Sanji told him.

Everyone else sighed in relief, mainly the four scaredy cats of the crew, as their descent hadn't changed in the slightest. Until the very next second that is, when they all started to float themselves and felt their descent speed up.

"O-Oh? I didn't do anything, but we're back to the ship!" Luffy said, as he and Sanji were both at eye level with everyone else.

"That's because we're falling!" Guthrie told him.

"AAHHHH! We're falling! We're falling!" Usopp panicked.

"This is bad! At this rate, we'll be swallowed up by the sea!" Nami warned.

"There's no guarantee that we'll fall into the sea!" Robin corrected.

"Xion! Do something!" Luffy told their vice, as he and Sanji got back to the ship.

"I'm not a miracle worker here!" Xion shouted.

Chopper, crying tears of fear, noticed Usopp taking something out from his pouch. "What are you doing, Usopp?!" he asked.

"What else?! Protecting this ship!" the sniper answered, equipping himself with his Usopp Aa-aa-aa and octopus shoes. He got to the rails and paled at how fast they were getting closer to the sea.

"What are you going to do?!" Nami asked.

"Don't be reckless, Usopp!" Allen told him.

The guy steeled up his nerves and placed the hook on the rails. "Okay! Usopp Aa-aa-aa!" Next they knew, the guy pushed himself off the ship. Once he was at his rope's limit, he suddenly swung down to underneath Merry.

Seconds later, they left their fall suddenly slow down again. Not as slow as it was at first, but still enough that they wouldn't die.

"It slowed down..." Nami gasped in surprise.

"Oh wow!" Luffy said in amazement.

"Were we saved?" Chopper asked.

"Seems that way," Robin answered.

"Ha ha ha! Did you see my wonderful work?!" Usopp boasted.

"Usopp, you're so cool!" Chopper cried out.

"Not bad, Usopp!" Chirithy followed.

Luffy let out another laugh. "I wondered what was going to happen for a moment there!"

"That was too close for comfort," Guthrie agreed.

"Yeah, seriously. I thought that was it," Nami said.

But of course, life just had to be so cruel to these poor souls. It was not even a second when Nami said that... that the octopus suddenly shrunk, much to their horror.

"But why?!" Xion questioned.

The crew all screamed once more, as they continued their fall. Even Merry was screaming, as Luffy managed to get Usopp back on deck.

"Everyone! Grab onto something and hold tight!" he then ordered.

They all did just that until eventually... they hit the sea.