GammaTron: Hey. Long time no see. Sorry for the long wait. My only excuse is that I've been busy with all sorts of other stories and things going on in real life. Thanks to the you-know-what going on, I had some free time at last.
Chapter 6: Skypeia 3: War Game
"ALRIGHT! TIME TO MOVE OUT, YOU LAZY BUMS!" Nami barked.
"MEN! ARM YOURSELVES FOR THE WAR!" Wiper barked.
"Escape Team, finish up what we were doing last night!"
"Iron Team, arm yourselves with Heat Dials and Impact Dials!"
"Explore Team, get ready for adventure!"
"String Team, prepare the Flame Dials and Axe Dials!"
"OKAY~~!-! I'LL DISTRIBUTE THE FOOD!-!"
*POW!*
"THAT IS THE ONE JOB THAT I WILL NEVER GIVE YOU!-!-!" Wiper and Nami roared, standing over a pleasantly plump Shandian and Luffy respectively.
"But first, get Merry back in the water!" Nami then barked.
"Swamp Team, go with them!" Wiper added, "Aisa, stay on that ship and DON'T LEAVE TO COLLECT VEARTH, DAMMIT!"
"Those two are quite alike when it comes to orders," Kamakiri noted.
"Agreed," Usopp nodded as he was handed a cream-colored Dial, "Eh?"
"Milk Dial. They're used to dispense the Milky Roads," Laki explained.
"Oh! That's neat!" Usopp grinned, "So we'll be using them to get Merry into the water?"
"Yes," Laki nodded, "Though with all the Sky Sharks in…"
"We got breakfast," Zoro informed as he stood with a group of Shandians...with a huge pile of Sky Sharks behind them either without their heads or covered in cuts, burns, or holes in their bodies.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU MEN?!" Laki barked, eyes blank and teeth sharp.
"She's right! That's barely a mid-morning snack!" Luffy argued before Nami slammed a fist on his head.
"Only you would think that is just a snack…" Nami growled.
"Well, if this doesn't scare the remaining Sky Sharks, I do not want to find out what will," Roll cringed.
Roughly thirty minutes later and Merry was being taken down the stairs of the altar on a Milky Road, Kamakiri, Wiper, Zoro, and X helping to keep her from going down too fast. Usopp was holed up in the men's quarters with Roll in the women's quarters, both keeping a close eye on Merry's keel in case the crack went through completely.
"What are you looking at?" Aisa pondered.
"The complete map of Jaya for both this side and the side back on the Blue Sea," Nami replied, showing the top maps to her.
"Uwah! It's a skull!" Aisa gasped.
"Exactly," Nami nodded as she put the map of Jaya away, "And the City of Gold is in the left 'eye' of the 'skull.'"
"And you think He is there?" Aisa gulped.
"Yep," Nami nodded, "Which is why Luffy is with the group heading there."
"Your captain?"
"X pointed out something I should've thought of sooner," Nami replied, grabbing Luffy as he ran by and stretched his arm for her, startling the little girl, "His body is made of rubber."
"Rub-bur?" Aisa tilted her head as Laki walked over, "What's that?"
"You don't know what rubber is?" Nami blinked twice.
"Aisa, you've had rhubarb before," Laki frowned.
"No, not rhubarb, Laki. Luffy ate an Akuma no Mi called the Gomu Gomu no Mi," Nami explained as Luffy stretched his cheeks with a big grin, "His body became rubber. It's...well…"
"A tough elastic polymeric substance made from the latex of a tropical plant or synthetically," Roll explained, poking her head out of the women's quarters before going back in.
"Huh?" Aisa blinked twice, "Ugh...That made my head hurt."
"You said it," Luffy nodded with smoke coming out of his ears.
"It's this," Usopp informed, getting out of the men's quarters and over to them, as he pulled out a rubber band and stretched it a few times, "See? No matter how much you stretch, it'll go back to normal."
"And the most important reason for Luffy getting to go? Rubber can't be harmed by lightning," Nami winked as Usopp went back to the men's quarters.
"?!" Laki and Aisa looked at Luffy with wide eyes.
"Huh? What are you talking about? I wanna go so I can kick the bastard's ass because he's hurting our friends," Luffy snorted, banging his fists together.
"Huh?" Aisa blinked twice.
"Yeah. We're all friends because we celebrated together, Old Man Knight's our friend because he helped us when we needed it most, and so are Conis and the Old Man who welcomed us up here, gave us great food, and even helped us get here," Luffy nodded.
"It's just his way of thinking," Nami surmised to the two as Merry gave a sudden move as it changed from diagonal to horizontal travel.
"No changes," Usopp and Roll spoke up, poking out of the hatches to the quarters.
Nami nodded while the four helping Merry down got on deck, "Okay! Everyone gather around!" she pinned the map to a board X and Usopp had quickly made by the left stairs, "Take a good look at this map. You see this place here? For those not aware, this is the home of the Shandians that was taken from them. The Explore Team will be making their way south to here with Wiper and his strongest men. Most likely, God Enel will be there so watch out."
"We have three goals there; end Enel's control, reclaim our land, and ring the bell there," Wiper informed.
"You're making this sound easier than it is…" Usopp deadpanned.
"Nami, quick question," Roll held up a hand and a sheet of paper, "This list to separate the crew into the two teams doesn't have you on the Explore Team."
"Huh? Really? But why not? I thought you wanted the gold," Luffy noted.
"I'm not immune to electricity or fast enough to dodge it," Nami bluntly stated, "Plus, it's scary."
'HUH?! She wants the gold so badly, yet she isn't willing to risk her life for it?' Chopper thought in shock, 'So strange!-!-!'
"I should never have told her about how fast X and I can move…" Roll muttered with a facepalm.
"While we're on our way to confront God Enel, Swamp Team, String Team, and Iron Team are to head out to find and confront the remaining Shinkan. Remember that we can't directly hit them while they're focused so make sure to do distractions before striking," Kamakiri informed.
"And don't forget that Ohm's dog is trained way too well so you can make him knock himself out if you want!" Usopp added.
"Escape Team, we'll be navigating Merry out through the Milky Roads and making sure she doesn't get anymore damage to her," Nami informed, Usopp grimacing at being reminded once more of Merry's cracked keel, "We'll be having an escort of Gan Fall and several Shandians in case God has anymore men outside of the Shinkan out there and for any traps. If we can recover the Dials from any traps that have them, that's a bonus for us."
"And you're sure you don't mind us taking the gold from here?" Zoro raised a brow.
"It's just a shiny rock we used," Wiper shrugged, "It's not of any importance outside of that."
X barely grabbed Nami's wrists to keep her from trying to strangle Wiper for that comment. Roll pouted a little as she put her collapsible broom away since she knew X had it handled.
"The Escape Team will dock Merry where the other half of the house Cricket-san lives in on Jaya and meet up with the Explore Team once you're given the signal in the form of the bell ringing," X informed for Nami, "Is everyone ready for what will happen today?"
"YEAH!" Luffy cheered over everyone else's voices of agreement.
"Right! Then let's get going!" Wiper ordered, earning cheers from his men as they went off to their tasks.
"HEY! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, ZORO?!" Luffy shouted as he pointed behind him, "THE WEST IS THIS WAY!" he sighed before turning and walking east, "You are such a baka with no sense of direction."
"Oi, Luffy! Do you ever listen to other people?! She said it's in the 'skull's right eye,' so it's to the right. That's this way!" Zoro argued as he pointed to the right...which was north, "YOU DUMBASS!"
"A...Are they idiots?" Wiper deadpanned.
"Captain-san and Swordsman-san seem to be," Robin noted, a smile on her lips as she adjusted her stetson.
"South's this way, you two!" Chopper called.
"Wait, what? ...Damn island moving on me," Zoro growled as he went the way Chopper pointed.
"...He's not serious, is he?" Kamakiri asked.
"He blamed me for him going the wrong way when we first met," X replied, "It seems he has issues admitting he makes a mistake."
"Shut up, X! I do not!" Zoro barked, eyes blank and teeth sharp.
"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed as he tapped a long stick he found on things as he went South at last.
"Oh! Luffy! That's a nice stick!" Chopper awed.
"Shishishi! I think so, too! But I can't give it to you. Go find one yourself!"
"Okay!" Chopper nodded as he began to look around, "Stick, stick…"
"I feel a headache coming to me from this…" Kamakiri sighed, "It's drunk Wiper all over again."
"OI!" Wiper barked.
"Have they all gone below?" God's Avatar asked.
"Yes...everyone is ready. Including the Shinkan and their Trials along with Commander Yama and fifty members of the Kami no Gundan," a man with a big black beard and wings in a toga informed, "That is our entire battle force...!-! Do we truly need to go all out? The invaders are merely Shandorians, Gan Fall, and some Blue Sea Dwellers..."
"Yahahahahahaha!-! The more the merrier, isn't it? Oh and...you truly underestimate the real power of Sky Combat!" God's Avatar laughed before snapping a finger and a shapely woman in a toga that left little to the imagination proceeded to peel a banana for him, "Let's see...we have fifty soldiers...three priests...So, including myself, we have fifty-four fighters. There are eighteen Shandians coming here along with five citizens of the Blue Sea who entered the forest and five more on their ship three from up here with them...no...one up there. The old man can't fight anymore and the other is a simple child. In total...There are 81 combatants!-! Now, this will be a Survival Game. Yahahahahahaha!" he rubbed his chin in thought with his free hand, "Now the question is, how many fighters will remain after three hours? Anyone want to guess?"
"...You turn everything into derision…"
"And so? Oi, Gode! Take a guess," God's Avatar ordered, taking a bite of his peeled banana.
"...Hm...The three Shinkan will survive, that's for sure...The Militia is very strong, too, so they won't fall easily," the bearded man noted, "But the enemy is strong enough to rival them-even managing to kill Satori-, so after three hours...There will be more than likely thirty one fallen, so fifty will remain after three hours."
"YAHAHAHAHA!-!-! You really think so…? Fifty fighters remain?" God's Avatar laughed as he finished his banana, "You are quite optimistic, but you seem to underestimate the severity of the violence that will soon befall us."
"...Then how does God foresee it, oh noble Avatar?"
"Yahahahaha...God knows all and knows the true number…" the Avatar replied before holding up five fingers, "Only five will remain in three hours."
"The wind is perfect!-! The wind is perfect!-! Ah~~~ This is the best!" Usopp exclaimed.
"Your medicine, Gan Fall sir," Roll noted, offering the elder a bowl of purple porridge, "It's mixed into some porridge to help deal with the aftertaste."
"Thank you," Gan Fall thanked with a nod.
Roll nodded with a small giggle before walking down the stairs to see Nami talking with Laki and Aisa.
"It looks like we're making good headway," Laki noted.
"I don't sense anyone coming our way," Aisa added.
"That's good so far," Nami agreed before looking over at Roll, "Oi, Roll-chan, think you can contact X for a status report?"
"Of course," Roll replied as she removed the green half-orb on her shirt, "X-Nii, come in."
"Eh? What's she doing talking into that?" Aisa asked.
"It's how she and X can talk to one another," Nami explained.
=YAHOO~!-!-! WE'RE ON A GIANT SNAKE~!-!-!=
"...X-Nii, please put the speaker on," Roll deadpanned as she handed the mike to Nami.
=You're good= X informed.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE ON A GIANT SNAKE?!" Nami roared, eyes blank and teeth shark-like.
=Ow~= Luffy groaned =That was loud, Nami!=
=We were attacked by this snake until it saw Berserker-san= Robin explained =Doctor-san has been doing well in translating=
=His name's Nola and he was named by Montblanc Noland and Wiper's ancestor!= Chopper explained =He thought Wiper was his ancestor and now we're getting a ride from him to find the city of gold and Enel!=
=On a side note, I've strained my systems and will need to stay immobile to do internal repairs= X added.
"What did you do to strain yourself to that point?" Roll asked.
=He and Zoro blocked the fangs when he tried to bite us= Kamakiri replied with a sigh =GRK!=
"Huh? What happened?" Nami asked.
=We can't move!= Chopper exclaimed =Ah! Even Nola's stuck!=
"Did they enter the Trial of Strings?" Laki gasped before Aisa gasped.
"No. The path they should've been on shouldn't have put them anywhere near it," Nami replied, scowling as she bit her thumb.
"He's there!" everyone looked at Laki, "Shura's there!"
"?!"
=Oi! I've been waiting for all of you. Nice poses= Shura spoke from the device =Please, pardon the violence to come=
"That ship-hurting jerk…" Roll growled.
=Shura!= Kamakiri snarled.
=Oh please. You don't need to tell me my name. I already know what it is= Shura informed =Now then...here's some pretty bad news for all of you. Last night, God spoke through his Avatar=
"?!" everyone looked at the speaker in shock.
=He decreed that we Shinkan could set up our Trials anywhere on the island instead of simply on those paths= Shura explained =So welcome to the Trial of Strings. Now that you're all bound, your survival rate...is three percent=
"He's using that String Cloud stuff again…" Roll scowled.
"String Cloud?" Usopp repeated.
"Very thin clouds that act as string that he can ignite with his spear," Roll explained before looking over at the girl's cabin where a bag of Dials was by Roll's bed, "I spent most of the night once the party was over collecting every single Dial I could find at that sacrificial altar and most of them had String Clouds in them."
=Look carefully, you're completely strapped in...all because of your stupidity! Kahahahahaha!= Shura laughed =Well...everyone...EXCEPT ONE!-! Let's go, Fuza!=
=Wiper wasn't caught!= Chopper exclaimed before they heard cannon fire going off.
"Aisa," Laki spoke.
"Wiper just shot some of the bigger branches and Shura barely dodged them."
=No one can defeat me in a battle in the air!= Shura declared.
"Wiper! Beware! Shura uses a Fire Lance!" Gan Fall called out.
=AH! COW GUY GOT STABBED!= Luffy freaked.
=Wiper, why did you throw your gun and shield away like that?!= Chopper freaked.
=Dammit, Wiper!= Kamakiri growled as they heard something big crying.
"I'm going to amplify the signal," Roll noted, twisting the orb still on her chest.
=...shield!-!? What a fo-HM?!= Shura began before they heard something clench onto fabric.
=Say your prayers to Enel!= Wiper declared.
=An Impact Dial?! If you can believe you can hit me with that…=
=You're wrong. It's not an Impact Dial...this is ten times as powerful as one. I asked the stretchy Blue Sea Dweller to hit it with his strongest blows just to make sure= Wiper growled before a click was heard =Reject=
=!-!-!= a sickening crunch was heard before frantic flapping went off before fading away.
"His ribs were shattered...minor fractures are more than likely decorating everything inside of the spinal column where it hit. Erratic heartbeat meaning it was directly over his heart area…" Roll muttered to herself, "Considering the durability of people and the improved healing rate since 20XX...Six months on bed rest and a month of physical rehab if he receives immediate medical attention."
"Reject?" Usopp pondered.
"It's a special kind of Impact Dial that releases ten times the normal force of an Impact Dial," Laki explained, showing an Impact Dial before barking at the speaker, "DAMMIT, WIPER! WHAT THE HELL?!"
=I'm made of tougher stuff than you think= Wiper snorted before they heard a sword being pulled out before a series of slashing noises went off.
=Okay. We're good= Zoro noted.
"Guys, take all the Dials that guy has on him!" Nami called.
=Eh? Why?= Chopper asked.
"Oh, I get it! We could probably use the Dials to improve our weapons and Merry, right?" Usopp guessed.
"Well, there's that. But also it'd make him defenseless and any opponents they run into easier to fight off," Nami shrugged before thinking for a moment, "In truth...I always thought Dials were simply everyday accessories like water storage, cooking...that stuff."
"That is still true. However, any tool that can benefit man can also harm man," Gan Fall informed, "Dials are very beneficial, however…"
"In war, they can be devastating," Laki continued for him, "A Heat Dial, meant for warming things and cooking, could be equipped to a spear or blade to let it burn the opponent. And Flame Dials, which can store fire and even useful for helping put them out by storing the flames within, can be put into an animal's mouth to let it become a fire-breathing animal."
"Like Shura's lance and Fuza," Roll noted.
"Exactly," Gan Fall agreed with a nod.
"And what about that 'Mantra' stuff?" Usopp asked.
=From what we've figured out, it lets you 'hear' what someone is going to do or feel them out= Kamakiri noted =Like Aisa and being able to tell us about things like the defeat of Satori or her being able to tell if someone's lying or not=
=Or finding where we hide the presents for Yule= Wiper growled before yelping =What the hell?!=
=Quit moving! You popped your arm out of the socket!= Chopper barked.
=I see why Satori wore gloves. He may have had something in them to deal with the recoil= X noted.
=...Now why didn't we think of that?= Kamakiri muttered before a loud crack was heard mixed with Wiper grunting.
"...Tell me I didn't just hear Wiper force his arm back into the socket…" Roll spoke, her eye twitching.
=WHAT THE HELL, WIPER?!= Chopper snapped =YOU DON'T DO THAT!=
=We don't have a choice. We're at war at the moment and we need every able body out to fight= Wiper snorted.
"We are going to have words when we meet back up, Wiper!" Roll barked before a 'click' went off, "...They hung up on me." her eye twitched as she pulled out her broom, "Excuse me, I think I found some Heat Dials combined with the String Dials. I need to go attach several to my broom."
"Okay, while I'm still mad at you for resetting your arm like that, nothing's wrong with it. But please be careful with that Reject Dial," Chopper pleaded as Wiper looked at his bandaged arm, "Just one shot tore open your arm and popped the bone out of its socket. Who knows what using it multiple times will cause!"
"Hmph," Wiper snorted.
"Ugh...You and Zoro are completely alike," Chopper sighed before blinking twice and looked around, "Um...where is Zoro?"
"He said he was going to walk beside Nola, see if there would be anything good to eat," Kamakiri noted.
"...He got lost," Chopper groaned.
"Oi, X, how are the others?" Luffy asked.
"Checking now," X replied, closing an eye, "...?! Sanji's been attacked."
"EH?!" Luffy gasped.
"There's someone on Merry," X noted, "Grey skin...electric generators on his back…"
"?! God's Avatar!" Kamakiri gasped.
"SANJI!-!-!"
"LAKI!-!-!"
"NOOO!-!-!" Usopp screamed as Sanji and Laki collapsed, their bodies covered in burns and smoking, "Hang on! Please, don't go into the light you two!"
"PIEEE!" Pierre cawed.
"A-AHH! N-No heartbeats!" Usopp panicked as Gan Fall harshly glared, Nami shivered in fear with Aisa hiding behind her, and Roll stared in shock.
"It...it can't be…" Roll whispered in shock.
"YAHAHAHAHAHA!-! What fools..." God's Avatar chuckled, sitting cross-legged on the railing, "Attacking me does no good...not such a good idea. Assuming I'm not going to attack."
"Then why are you here?!" Gan Fall demanded.
"Hah! Such a cold greeting! Especially since we haven't seen one another for six years now...former God...Gan Fall."
"GYAAAAA~!" Usopp wailed, "He killed Sanji and Laki~!"
"Roll!" Nami barked, snapping her out of it, "Diagnosis!"
"R-Right. Second and third-degree burns...n-no. There's still a pulse from them both," Roll observed, "They're suffering from acute electrocution but it wasn't fatal." 'The durability of humans in this age…' she looked back over at God's Avatar, 'B-But still...h-how are you here...Elecman?'
"Oh?" Roll squeaked as God's Avatar was before her, his eyes looking right into her own, "You know of my Avatar's original name?"
'Is...is he reading the electrical pulses that make up my mind?' Roll thought in shock.
"How amusing! Another Avatar," Elecman sneered.
His hand shot out...and Roll knew no more.
"G-GAH!" Roll gagged as critical damage alarms were blaring inside of her systems, "O-ow…"
"R-Roll?"
Roll snapped her head to see that she was now somewhere else. It appeared to be a set of damaged ruins with a massive beanstalk piercing the heavens near them. The one speaking was Nami...who was covered in injuries. She looked around, seeing bodies littered in burns about while Ohm was nearby, out cold and bleeding from slashes covering his form with his dog twitching on its back, knocked out cold with a large indent shaped like a paw on his face. Looking down, her eyes widened. Her original outfit was gone, replaced with just a skimpy outfit akin to a belly dancer combined with a miko's uniform. She had a semi-transparent red skirt with red silk baggy pants that were transparent enough to show her slender legs beneath the fabric with gold cuffs on her ankles, neck, and wrists. Barely containing her breasts was a bikini top themed after a miko's top while her ribbon was gone; replaced with a gold ribbon that made her hair into a braided ponytail. Her body was littered in injuries consisting of sword slashes that exposed her inner electronics and even a gaping hole in her waist.
"Wh...what?" Roll gulped.
"Y-You're back, right?" Nami asked warily.
"Y-Yeah," Roll replied, "N-Nami, what...what did…?! Elecman!"
"You know that Avatar's name?!" Nami demanded as she ran over.
"H...He's one of my younger brothers," Roll explained.
"You have more siblings than just X?!" Nami demanded.
"I thought he was destroyed and that it was just X and I that were still alive from that era!" Roll argued, "I'm just as shocked as you!"
"We are talking later about this," Nami grumbled, "Right, just...um...can you still move with...well...that?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm going to need to find some material to do repairs, but...but I think I'll be good for a few days so long as I don't exacerbate the damage," Roll replied, "What hit me anyway?"
"Everyone here," Nami replied, "Enel...he...he was controlling you and had you attack us. Wiper, he had Kairoseki on his skates and used a kick to force him out of you. He…" she pointed towards the right, "He did it…"
Roll looked to the right and her eyes widened. Wiper stood, burnt from electricity and bleeding from various wounds on his body. Yet...he stood over two bodies. One was Elecman, his eyes blank and his body, surprisingly, unharmed. The other was a tall man with his earlobes stretched down to reach the middle of his waist with black discs in them. He wore no shirt and orange and purple cloud-themed pants and white sashes. Coming out of his back was a set of several lightning-themed drums while a gold staff was near his right hand.
"Is...is that…?" Roll gasped.
"Yeah. That...That's Enel. He managed to use that Reject Dial and…" Nami began before lightning erupted from Enel's body, "?!"
"N-No…" Roll gasped, his X-Ray vision activating, "He...he's restarting his own heart!"
"N-no!" Nami gasped as Enel slowly rose up.
"Mere men cannot make God feel fear…" Enel informed, wiping some blood from his mouth, "For true terror comes from God, and God alone." he looked around, "What have I been saying? Just give up." he watched as Wiper collapsed, "Oh look."
"D...Damn it!" Wiper cursed.
"You look awful, o Wiper the Warrior," Enel noted.
"My...my name is...is…" Wiper inhaled.
"Hm?"
"...IS NOT SOMETHING YOU MAY SO CASUALLY USE!-!-!" Wiper shouted, his voice growing hoarse as he continued to talk, "For I am the descendant of the great warriors who fought for death...hah...for their home 800 years ago...hah...hah...The Warriors of Shandia!-!-! Since that day...Following the dying wish of the great warrior, Kalgara...hah...For four hundred years...we have been searching for this place…" he stood up, "NOW I'M FINALLY HERE!" he gave Enel a fierce glare, "OUT OF MY WAY, DEMON!"
"..." Enel spun his staff around before slamming the end into Wiper's feet, shattering the Wavers.
"?!"
"The same trick won't work twice, Wiper," Enel informed, "Kairoseki won't help you again. To fire a shot of a man's suicidal attack and survive...that is rather impressive." he tapped one of the drums on his back, causing it to transform into a bird made of lightning, "But you're still no match for me."
"Wiper, get out of the way!" Roll shouted.
"Sansenman Boruto Hino!" Enel declared as the bird shot out and slammed into Wiper, electrocuting him.
"O-Oh no!" Roll and Nami gasped before a blur went past them, "Zoro?!"
Zoro grabbed a piece of the broken Wavers as he charged at Wiper, throwing another piece at Roll and let it collide with Roll's head, shutting her down once more.
'Damn it, Zoro…' Roll managed to process before she went into stasis mode.
Roll groaned as her systems booted back up.
"Hmph. Be thankful to your God and his Avatar's knowledge of repairing you."
"?!" Roll's eyes opened, looking up at Elecman.
"Yes! Praise God Enel!" Roll's head snapped to look at Nami with wide eyes.
'Nami…' Roll thought before flinching as she remembered Enel could read her thoughts before noticing that he was looking away from them.
"Tend to my other Avatar," Elecman-Enel ordered as he walked out of the impressive throne room with machinery strewn about.
"N-Nami, what…?" Roll began.
"Zoro hit you with Kairoseki and knocked you out," Nami explained, "I pleaded for him to take me, saying I would follow his ways and go with him to Fairy Vearth."
"Fairy...Vearth?" Roll repeated.
"The moon," Nami replied, "At least, that's what I think is what he means. Right now, we're in a ship called the Maxim and…" she bit her lower lip, "...and he destroyed Skypeia to demonstrate to me his power while he had Elecman repair you."
"?! Skypeia…?" Roll gasped.
"Y-Yeah...It...All that's left is Upper Yard," Nami trembled, "I...I don't even know if...if anyone there…" Roll instinctively moved a hand up to wipe some of Nami's tears, "And...and I don't where Luffy or X are and...and we don't even have your radio since I don't know where he took your clothes."
"N...No…" Roll whispered in shock, "...W-Wait. Why did he have Elecman repair me without him possessing him?"
"It...It's because you had that Kairoseki imbedded in you," Nami explained, "He can't touch it without losing his Logia powers of the Goro-Goro no Mi."
"Akuma no Mi," Roll realized, earning a nod from Nami.
"The whole time...Elecman had this...this angry look," Nami explained.
'He's been under Enel's control this whole time…' Roll thought, 'I'm not surprised he'd be mad.'
"I don't know what he did with the seastone, though," Nami continued before flincing as thunder rumbled outside.
"Wh...What's going on now?" Roll asked.
"He...He's targeting Upper Yard now," Nami replied, helping Roll up and letting her look down at the gold plating that covered where the gaping hole had been on her, before they moved towards a window to see lightning rain down on Upper Yard.
"IT IS GORGEOUS!-!" the two heard Elecman-Enel's roar of glee, "SO THIS IS THE GOLDEN BELL OF SHANDORIA!-!-!"
"Oh shit…" Nami gasped.
"I SHALL TAKE IT WITH ME TO FAIRY VEARTH!"
"Everyone…" Roll whispered in fear as the skies began to darken.
"I'm sorry, Captain. They made this too hard to break even for me," X apologized as he glared at the massive golden ball the size of Merry covering Luffy's right hand.
"That bastard…" Luffy growled before his eyes widened, "X!"
"I see it," X replied as the two looked at a massive pitch black sphere crackling with blue lightning formed over the massive golden ark that was flying in the air, the sphere ten times as large as the ship, "He's created another Raigo (Thunder Greeting/the term used for the coming of Amida Buddha to welcome the spirits of the dead) just like the one that destroyed Skypeia."
"X…"
"Before it formed, I still saw the people were reaching land on Upper Yard," X replied, his frown growing as the sphere grew bigger and bigger with each passing second, "But given that he's charging it even further...there's a chance that Upper Yard…"
"He's going to blow it up like he did Conis and the old man's home! That bastard…" Luffy snarled.
"He wouldn't do that unless he already found the bell," X noted, 'Considering that Enel said that there were voices down there, it means the others are still alive. I hope the leaf with the message I wrote on it was received.' he walked over to a Waver on the cloud that was connected to a massive beanstalk, "Captain, get on the Waver."
"Eh?"
"Wiper gave us a chance to win," X noted as he held up a hand, showing a piece of Wiper's Kairoseki embedded into it, "I'll grab his Avatar, forcing him out of it. After that, hit him with everything you have."
"Yosha," Luffy replied, a stern look on his face as he got on, "...Ah. What about the big kintama?"
"When it begins to fall, we'll use the fall to add momentum to the Waver," X explained, "It will help us move that towards Enel. Considering he uses gold to channel the current, we can use that gold to destroy his Raigo."
"Yosha!" Luffy agreed before the cloud and beanstalk shook as lightning rained down on the land.
'Pagaya-san…' X thought as the cloud and beanstalk began to move towards the Maxim after several minutes passed, 'The Jet Dial Waver that you repaired…' he twisted a knob and a gauge on the steering shot straight to the red, 'Your final piece...will help us.'
"IT'S TILTING!" Luffy roared.
"The Jet Dial is set to maximum!" X informed, "It's time to go!"
"YOSHA!-!-! IKUZE, X!-!-!-!" Luffy roared.
"Oh? You're trying to reach me?" Elecman-Enel pondered as he noticed the two, "Hmph. Puny mortals. God has no time for you." lightning shot out of the sphere and began to strike at the base of the collapsing beanstalk.
"This isn't good. If he manages to break the base, we won't have enough momentum to reach him!" X grit his teeth.
"YAHAHAHAHA! Even though you are immune to my lightning or are even fast enough to avoid it, you can't stop me if you can't get here!-!-!" Elecman-Enel cackled, "GO BACK DOWN THERE AND AWAIT YOUR END BY THE ADVENT OF THUNDER, RUBBER MAN!-!-!-!"
"It appears that he's completely terrified of you," X noted as he kept the Waver charging up the beanstalk as it continued its fall.
"He won't get away that easily!-!" Luffy roared as he began to twist his stretching right arm.
"Hmm? Is that someone's dying words that I heard below?" Elecman-Enel pondered before his eyes widened as Elecman fell to the deck as Nami and Roll came out.
"That's…" Nami gasped.
"Kairoseki!" Roll finished as Elecman coughed as he got up, the piece of Wiper's skates' seatone embedded in his chest.
"Target hit," X noted, his arm changing back to normal, before the Waver shot off the beanstalk and directly at the startled Enel on top of his flying ark.
"I'M COMING, ENEL!-!-!" Luffy roared.
"WHY IS HIS ARM COVERED IN GOLD?!" Roll freaked.
"Oh! Well...Luffy and X showed up before we took off. Turns out they got eaten by Nola and only got out when you got knocked out again and we were brought here," Nami explained before grinning while holding up Roll's phone and a Dial that was bright blue with a lense on the top, "I took some good pictures of something I think everyone up here will enjoy having. But Enel used his powers to perform metallurgy on the gold and Luffy's arm got stuck in that."
"Oh…" Roll realized before seeing Luffy's arm twisting itself more and more, "What's he doing?"
"GIVE BACK THE GOLDEN BELL!-!-!-!" Luffy roared.
"You're too late, trash. Even if you forced me out of my Avatars, my power is still beyond anything you're capable of standing against!" Enel declared, "Raigo is already big enough...SO IT IS TIME FOR YOU AND THE WHITE-WHITE SEA TO BE GONE ONCE AND FOR ALL! VANISH INTO THIN AIR, MORTALS!-!-! RAIGO!-!-!"
"X, throw me!" Luffy ordered.
"Understood," X replied as he grabbed Luffy and threw him, the force of the throw causing him to crash into the ship's deck as Luffy continued towards Enel.
"YAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What can you do against such an absolute power, Rubber Man?!" Enel cackled.
"Come on…" Elecman whispered as he looked at the sky above.
"UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!-!-!-!" Luffy roared as he entered the Raigo.
"LUFFY?!" Nami freaked, "That thing is a whirlpool of electrical currents and high air pressure!"
"Even with his rubber body…" Roll cringed.
"GOMU-GOMU NO…" Luffy roared within the Raigo before it began to shine brightly as Luffy swung the gold ball and his free limbs about wildly, "HANABI: OGON BOTAN!-!-!-!"
"Why is it suddenly emitting light like that?!" Nami gasped as she covered her eyes with an arm as the three robots' eyes dimmed to avoid damage.
"That bastard forgot about one single thing," Elecman chuckled darkly, "Gold is a conduit."
"We tried super hard to get up here to the Sky Island...I WON'T LET YOUR STUPID BALL DESTROY IT!-!-!" Luffy roared before the Raigo dispersed as the clouds above dispersed, letting the sun shine bright upon all, "TURN SUNNY NOW!-!-! UWOOOOOOOOOOOOH!-!-!-!"
"Everyone...I can see them! They're cheering!" X observed, an eye close.
"RING IT, BRAT!-!-! RING IT!-!-!-!" the three robots managed to hear Wiper roar, "RELIGHT THE LIGHT OF SHANDORA!-!-!"
"PLEASE LET US HEAR THE SONG OF THE ISLAND!-!-!" Gan Fall roared, once more heard by the robots.
Luffy twisted his gold-covered arm as much as he could. Enel's nose flared as he began to breathe heavily, giving Luffy the harshest, most fearsome glare he could at the rubber man. Luffy just grinned at Enel.
"Heh heh...Hi again!" Luffy greeted, "This time it's my turn to knock you off!-!-!"
"How dare you destroy the Raigo, you Cursed Monkey of the Blue Sea!" Enel snarled before he began to transform into a massive fatter version of himself made of his electricity with his drums now a 'cloth,' "NOW YOU HAVE TRULY ANGERED GOD!-!-! MAX 200,000,000 VOLT AMARU!-!-!-!"
"Amaru...That is a dragon/serpent-like chimera of Tiwanaku and Inca mythology," X noted.
"Looks more like Raijin to me," Roll compared.
"Raijin?" Nami repeated.
"Thunder god that eats babies," Roll explained.
"...Considering how he sets himself up as…" Nami noted with a shudder of revulsion.
"GET HIM, KID!-!-!" Elecman shouted.
"GOMU-GOMU NO…" Luffy roared as he reached Enel, "OGON RIFLE!-!-!-!"
'Too fast!' Enel thought in shock.
The golden ball slammed into Enel. The false god screamed as his form dispersed, revealing his normal form stuck to the end of the golden ball. The arm continued to stretch further and further towards the golden bell.
"HEY! CRICKET-OSSAN!-! CAN YOU HEAR IT?!" Luffy roared, "THE GOLDEN CITY IS HERE!-!-! FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS...THE GOLDEN CITY…" golden ball met golden bell and…
*CLAAAAAAAAANG~!-!-!*
"HAS ALWAYS BEEN UP HERE IN THE SKY!-!-!-!" Luffy screamed as the golden ball shattered as the bell fell off of the cloud.
"He did it!" Nami cheered before realizing something, "...Ah...Enel was powering all the Jet Dials in this ship."
"Yep," Elecman nodded.
"He's been beaten and falling now," Nami added.
"Yeah…" Elecman growled as he kept his eyes on the falling Enel.
"Meaning he's unconscious."
"Nami, what are you saying?" Roll asked.
"No power...means we're going to start falling," Nami squeaked as the Maxim began to fall, "NOOOOOOOO~~~~!-!-!"
Elecman grunted as he jumped off and grabbed onto Enel, "You bastard…"
"Elecman?!" Roll cried out in shock, jumping after him.
While the Ark Maxim fell towards the land, Enel and Elecman fell towards the White-White Sea while Roll crashed into the top of a tree, the massive leaves cushioning her fall. Within moments, the two crashed into their respective areas. Beneath the 'water,' Enel's eyes snapped open as Elecman's hands harshly grabbed his neck.
'YOU BASTARD! Why...Why the hell did you do this?!' Elecman thought.
[Twenty Years Ago]
A young boy in just a pair of orange pants with scraggy blond hair awed as he came upon a large black stone covered in squiggly lines. He poked at it with the staff made of Island Cloud until a tiny panel slid into it. He yelped as the stone broke apart, exposing a capsule. A siren went off and the boy scurried behind a buildup of cloud, peeking out as the capsule opened once the water within was drained. Elecman groaned as he stumbled out, wearing a pitch black bodysuit with red gauntlets and combat boots with gold lightning patterns going up his sides.
"Wh...What the hell...?" Elecman groaned as he slowly opened an eye to see the boy looking at him, "...Who…?"
[Ten Years Ago]
"Looks like some more stuff's coming up here, Enel," Elecman noted as he saw an eruption of White-White Sea clouds.
"Yahahaha!" a young Enel laughed, wearing a black jacket with his wings poking out of slits on it, "Let's get going before anyone else can get it then, Aniki!"
"You got it," Elecman beamed as he gunned the Waver, channeling his electricity into it to boost the Dial's power to let them shoot off towards it.
Enel roared as he swung his Island Cloud Staff, smacking the tossed up objects towards the land. After several minutes of driving and smacking things around, the two soon went back to land to check their spoils.
"Dang it. Still nothing related to news," Elecman sighed as he looked at the items that had come up from the Blue Sea, "I really need to learn what's going on down there."
"I still don't see what's so important about things down there," Enel huffed before he picked up a coconut that was light-blue with jagged swirls, "Huh? What kind of Coconut is this?"
"No clue," Elecman replied, "But finders keepers. Whatcha gonna do with it?"
"Well, it's been a while since one of these came up here," Enel chuckled, "Aw what the hell! I've been hoping for some coconut milk! Yahahaha!"
"You do that and I'll get this stuff back to our hut," Elecman chuckled as he scooped everything else up into a sack and easily carried it all off, leaving Enel to his weird coconut.
[Six Years Ago]
"I finally understand now…"
"Snrt. H-Huh?" Elecman snorted as he awoke, "Enel…?" he looked around before his eyes widened, seeing Enel's wings gone...replaced with a set of drums with a lightning print to them, "E-Enel?! Y-Your wings! They're…"
"No longer needed," Enel chuckled as lightning flashed as thunder rumbled...with people screaming in agony, "Just like this land is no longer needed in my domain."
"Enel?"
"In fact...This body is needed no longer," Enel chuckled, "Yes...Yes...Yahahaha...I get it now!" he tuned and Elecman tensed, seeing a madness in Enel's eyes as his body began to turn into electricity, "You...You were a blessing from the seas...as my herald...nay! MY AVATAR!-!-!"
[End]
'You used me! Robbed me of six years of control! Six years of enslavement! Of killing innocents!' Elecman thought as he strangled the struggling Enel, 'No more…' Enel's eyes widened in fright as electricity crackled from the generators on Elecman's back, 'NO MORE!' Enel's screamed were drowned by the water in the clouds, 'THIS ENDS NOW, DEMON THAT KILLED MY FRIEND!'
"It rang…" Luffy panted.
"Yep," Nami agreed, she, Luffy, and X on a tiny bit of cloud that X had managed to get them on to avoid falling with the Ark Maxim, "X, can you see Jaya from here?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot. We're directly over it at the moment," X replied, "Though I do have something I believe may be a way that Mr. Montblanc knows we're here."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Nami asked.
"When we first saw the Cumuloregalis...we saw shadows of giants," X recalled, "And yet...no giants here."
"Oh yeah! That's right!" Luffy exclaimed, "Where's the giants?! All we've seen is the giant snake!"
"..." Nami pondered for a moment before her eyes widened, "Their shadows…"
"Huh?"
"Luffy, those were Shandians we saw," Nami explained, "Or, rather, we only saw their shadows that were cast by the sunlight!" she looked over at X, "You mean that they might have seen our shadows down there?"
"More than likely...They saw Captain Luffy's shadow after he rang the bell," X replied.
"Shishishishi! I must have looked like a gigantic giant!" Luffy laughed.
"Yeah, yeah," Nami replied as the three resumed looking at the blue sky above.
"...EH?!-!-!-! ROLL HAS ANOTHER BROTHER?!-!?" Luffy freaked.
"YOU JUST REALIZED THAT?!" Nami snapped, eyes blank and teeth shark-like.
"Elecman!" Roll called out as she frantically looked around near the 'water,' cringing as small sparks came off from her bad arm from the crash of the Maxim, "Elecman, why did you do that? Wh…" her eyes widened as an eruption of lightning came from the 'water,' "?! E...Elecman?"
For a few moments, everything was still. It was soon broken by a loud splash and a gasp of air. Roll ran over to the gasp to see Elecman pulling himself out of the clouds. He grunted as he got onto land and pulled out the piece of seastone in his chest.
"Elecman!" Roll shouted as she tackled him into a hug, "It...It really is you!"
"R-Roll? Oh g...oh robotics. Roll, I'm so sor…" Elecman began.
"You're here! Y-You're really here...How...How is it possible?" Roll sniffled.
"It...it was the Doc," Elecman explained, "He left a recording in my pod, explaining that he rebuilt me to see the future that is made. But as you can tell…" he scowled, "It didn't pan out that way. Still…" he glared at the clouds, "That fucker can't hurt anyone anymore."
"...Y...you…" Roll gasped, looking at him with wide eyes.
"I don't regret what I did," Elecman stated, "That...that monster died the moment he ate that damn blue coconut."
"...Blue coconut?"
"Yeah," Elecman replied before his eyes widened when he looked at a tree, "Another one!"
"Huh?" Roll looked up at the coconut tree nearby to see a light-blue coconut with spiky swirl patterns on the surface at the base of it, "What is that?"
"That's the damn thing that started this shit," Elecman growled.
"So that's an Akuma no Mi?" Roll pondered as Elecman picked it up.
"So that's what this thing is called," Elecman noted before his free hand began to spark, "Then I might as well…"
"Wait!" Roll called, grabbing the hand's wrist with her good arm, "If you destroy it, it will just turn another coconut into it!"
"...Say what?"
"Robin, one of my crewmates, told me a bit about them," Roll explained, "When the user of one dies, the powers go into a nearby fruit and transforms it into a new Akuma no Mi. When that is destroyed, it just inhabits another one."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. The only way to stop that is by letting someone eat it," Roll replied.
"..." Elecman looked down at the Coconut before smashing the top of it and drank the juice in it, "?! G-guh...UGH! WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS THIS NASTY SHIT?!" he began to spat at the ground away from the two, "Ugh! It tastes like the fumes from a billion burnt electrocuted corpses to the point there's burns on the burns on the burns!"
"Wh-What?!" Roll gasped, "Why did you…?" she flinched as Elecman turned his hand into gold lightning and back, "?!"
"With how long that bastard controlled me...this is just second nature," Elecman noted, mostly to himself as he constantly changed his arm between the two states before looking at where the Maxim was barely visible in the jungle, "...I'm taking this as far away from here as possible."
"Eh?" Roll pondered before following after her brother as he made his way to the Maxim, "Elecman, what are you…?"
"Roll, this power...it let him control you and me," Elecman explained, "It let him restart his own heart when it stopped. And look at all it did to this land! We both know that controlled or not...the people here...they'd all be afraid of me. They've known me as 'God's Avatar' for years. They see me...and they see someone who's killed so many lives." he put his hands on the body of the Maxim, "Gold Alchemy."
Lightning heated up the gold and he pulled his hands away, letting the gold flow after it. He moved his hands about and quickly reshaped the gold and three of the Jet Dials into a small ship, pointing towards the sky.
"Elecman, what are you doing?"
"Enel had the right idea, going to the moon," Elecman noted, earning a surprised look from her, "But unlike him...I'm going up there and see if any space stations are still up there. Even if there isn't, I'll stay up there and far away from the planet."
"Wh-What?! But...but why not go with us?" Roll asked, "To the Blue Sea?"
"Considering that I hurt so many of your new friends...I feel this is the best choice," Elecman replied.
"But you were under control. I...I'm sure that the…"
"Roll, please stop trying," Elecman spoke, stopping her while he kept his back to her.
"...Please don't leave," Roll pleaded.
Elecman sighed, "Never change, Roll."
With that, his body turned into electricity and went into the ship. Roll started to run towards it before the Jet Dials went off, knocking her away as it took into the sky, "Elec-nii…"
"So...How are we gonna get down?" Nami asked as she got on the Waver.
"Captain, can you inflate yourself to cushion our fall?" X asked.
"Yep!" Luffy beamed.
"Luffy, don't you d…" Nami began before the trio yelped when the cloud was dispersed by a small gold rocketship, "GYAH!"
"Here we go again!" X exclaimed.
"Was that the lightning bastard?!" Luffy exclaimed as he stretched his arms out to grab Nami and X.
"I detect no heartbeat in there," X replied, "More than likely...that was Elecman."
"Aw great! He got controlled again?!" Luffy groaned.
"Perhaps we can ask Roll," X replied, keeping an eye close.
"WHY ARE YOU TWO SO DAMN CALM?!" Nami snapped.
"Gomu Gomu no...FUUSEN!" Luffy shouted as he swelled up like a balloon just before they could crash in the ground.
Instead of smashing down onto it, Luffy's inflated body squished down against it, slowing down Nami and X. He released the two just before he deflated and landed on his feet, glaring up at the sky and barely seeing the gold glint.
"She's that way near the shore," X explained, "She's encountered the Skypeians that have arrived on boats and is providing medical assistance for them." he then turned towards the trees, "Heso, Conis."
"Conis!?" Nami gasped as said Skypiea walked out in surprise aimed at X.
"So Ms. Navigator is with Mr. Captain and Mr. Handyman," Robin noted as Roll finished wrapping her head.
"Yes," Roll replied, "Now keep that bandage on your head for now. You were hit in the head with lightning and it's a miracle in itself that you're not dead from it or dealing with mental trauma." she pursed her lips, "Umm…"
"We know it wasn't your fault," Usopp assured, covered in bandages much like everyone else, "You were under the control of that Enel guy."
"It's quite interesting that you were repaired with gold, Ms. Nurse," Robin noted, an arm growing out of Roll's side to poke the gold that was replacing the missing part of her midsection.
"It's a conductive material, but I'd feel better if I had actual parts to replace them with since I'm pretty sure I'll wake up one night and have Nami over me with a blowtorch," Roll noted.
"Oh come on. She wo...she'd prob...yeah, I can't counter that," Usopp sighed.
"So what happened to the golden bell?" Sanji asked.
"I think it fell nearby," Roll replied, "But I was more focused on, well...on my younger brother Elecman."
"I'm sure he'll be okay," Usopp noted.
"I do have to agree with his reasons for leaving," Robin agreed, "Mr. Chef would more than likely kick first, ask later. Same with Mr. Swordsman."
"Would they rea…" Roll began.
"Yes, yes I would," Sanji stated.
"Oh…" Roll noted, sweating a little.
"Still, it's a shame. There's no more gold here," Robin noted.
"So we're stuck as penniless pirates," Chopper sighed.
"Not exactly. Elecman only took enough gold to make a smaller ship and left the rest of it," Roll replied.
"?!"
"I'm...conflicted now," Sanji admitted.
"That's fine and all, but did he leave any Dials behind? Come to think of it, I'm wondering if we can do some bartering with the natives on more Dials…" Usopp muttered, "You can't really find those in the Blue Seas…"
"Oh! I took some Dials from the Priest I fought!" Chopper beamed, pulling out a pair of gloves and a shoe, "He had Swamp Dials in his gloves and a Jet Dial in his shoes!"
"We'll have to work on those Swamp Dials. They may not work right on the Blue Seas. Same with the Milky Dials…" Usopp noted.
"HEY~~~~~!-!-!" a voice called out, causing everyone to look to see a large bundle in a cloth coming towards them.
"AAAAAH~~~!-!-!" Sanji exclaimed, his visible eye becoming a heart, "NAMI-SWAN~~~! CONIS-CHAN~~~!-!"
"Luffy! X!" Chopper cheered.
Minutes later and Conis was crying before the group, "I'm so glad you're all safe~! I was so worried, but I couldn't do a thing..."
"Su~" Su whined, pawing at Conis' leg.
"Oh, Conis-chan~~~ Were you really that worried about me~~~?" Sanji swooned.
"Stop acting crazy," Usopp deadpanned.
"Where did you get all of that?" Roll asked, looking at the large bundle.
"We found the priests' storage on the way here," Nami explained, "This is all just food and it's barely even a tenth of what was in there. We also found their Dial storage as well."
"Oh yeah. We were going to steal their Dials, too…" Roll recalled.
"I took this from that Ohm guy," Zoro informed, holding up a purple handle, "He said there was an Eisen Dial in here."
"Eisen?" X repeated as he took the handle and looked it over, "That was the cloud material that was said to be as hard or harder than normal steel…"
"Hooray for the beam!" Luffy and Usopp cheered, remembering when they encountered the Ordeal of Iron.
"It's nice to see you again, Conis-chan," Roll noted.
"Su~"
"You too, Su," Roll giggled as the cloud fox let herself be picked up by the gynoid and purred when the nurse scratched in just the right spot.
"Su~~"
"Oi, Conis. Where's your father? Feels weird not seeing you two together," Zoro noted.
"Ah...He...um…" Conis sniffled, "He tried to protect me...and...and Enel…"
"Y-You mean…" Chopper gasped.
"Oh, Conis. I'm so sorry," Roll gasped.
"It...It's fine, really. I...I know he'll be watching me," Conis assured.
"I always have," Pagaya noted, hugging her.
"Oh thank you, father," Conis sniffled.
"PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT'S WRONG RIGHT NOW!-!-!" nearly everyone barked at the two.
"You're alive!" Roll exclaimed.
"I'm sorry that I'm still alive," Pagaya apologized.
"It's deja vu from just yesterday…" Roll muttered, "Minus the crashing Waver."
"How did you...Did you fall to the White Sea?" X asked.
"Yes. My apologies."
"Father~!-!-!" Conis sobbed happily.
"I thought I was going to keep falling down to the Blue Sea itself, but I was saved. People who were escaping to Cloud's End were down there and are now coming back up using Cloud Dials," Pagaya explained, "But since Angel Island is completely destroyed, they're all coming here to Upper Yard."
"X…" Sanji began.
"I can confirm that is true," X confirmed, an eye closed.
"That's a relief," Conis noted.
"Great! Now it's time for something really important then!" Luffy beamed.
"PARTY~~~!-!-!" Luffy cheered as a large bonfire blazed in the center of the ruins.
"Is it just me or does this always happen when a big battle is over with for this crew?" Roll asked, sitting beside Chopper and X.
"It seems like it. We celebrated on Merry when Wapol was defeated and I joined and then we partied when Crocodile was beaten," Chopper recalled.
"It's quite nice," X noted, smiling a bit, "Parties. Everyone seems quite happy."
"Of course they are," Roll noted as she watched Shandians and Skypieans drink, eat, and simply celebrate with one another, "They've been at war for over 400 years. I think anyone would be willing to end it all after such a long time."
"With how long it's gone on...how long do you think this will go on?" X asked.
In the end, it took three days and two nights before everyone was done partying. During that time, Roll had managed to change out of the revealing outfit and put her normal clothes back on and was relieved to finally have a radio on her once more. During it, several Shandians and Skypieans worked together to pull up the rediscovered bell from where it had fallen and Usopp and Roll-with help from Conis developing the photos Nami had taken (and all of them having to pause every so often since the pictures had been of Enel's shocked face from discovering Luffy was immune to his powers. Seriously, how could someone's face be that hilarious?! I blame the elongated earlobes.)-managed to barter for several Dials with the natives for rubber bands and rubber-based materials along with said developed pictures. Roll even managed to get several dozen different Dial-based weapons for some pictures.
"Oh just think of everything we can do with these!" Usopp cheered happily as he and Roll carried several large bags filled with Dials.
"New attachments to some of our weapons. New addons to the kitchen and bathrooms!" Roll noted, "Explorations tools to be made and portable cooking kits!"
"You two look pretty excited," Zoro noted, practicing his arm swings with his katanas, "How was trading?"
"ARE YOU TRAINING WHEN CHOPPER AND I SAID TO NOT TO?!" Roll snapped.
"What? It's just stretching exercises," Zoro snorted.
"It was a big success!" Usopp cheered before Roll could snap, "We got so many Dials! With these, the Usopp Factory will be better than ever! Oh, you want some attachments for your swords?"
"No thanks," Zoro replied.
"Oh! I can use the Heat Dials, Cool Dials, and Thunder Dials for Nami's Clim-a-tact!" Usopp beamed, "Maybe even for my hammers! Heheheheh! This is awesome! Wahahahaha!" he blinked twice, "Ah. That reminds me, where are the others?"
"No clue where X went. Robin neither," Zoro huffed.
"I'll go look for Robin-chan," Roll noted, putting the three bags she had (all thrice the size of Usopp's single bag) beside Zoro, "X-san might be helping with making some houses."
"Sounds about right," Zoro agreed, "Your brother tends to like helping others in need." he then pointed towards the snoring Nola nearby, "As for the others, they're still in there."
"Leave it to Luffy to find gold in the one place no one'd expect; the inside of a snake," Usopp shuddered in disgust.
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
"Ah! There it is! It's the bell!"
"Whoa~! So that's what made that heavenly ringing?!"
"Hurry and get it off the beanstalk! It's still unstable!"
"So...This is the Golden Bell," Wiper noted once they got the bell off the beanstalk.
"It's even more majestic upclose," Kamakiri admitted.
"Too bad one of the pillars broke off," another noted.
"What's this?" a Skypiean asked as he looked at a stone block below the bell.
"That's the historical text that our ancestors swore to protect," one of the Shandians explained, "This was the reason why we've fought so hard for the last 400 years."
"Chief, can you read this?" another asked an elderly Shandian.
"...I cannot decipher the language, but that is not important because…" the elder began.
"'Before the Heart of Truth, there is no need for words.'"
"?!" everyone turned to see Robin walk up with Roll.
"'We are the Recorders of History, existing in harmony with the sound of the Great Bell,'" Robin quoted.
"W...Where did you learn of those words?" the elder asked.
"I found them written on a rock in the Shandora Ruins," Robin explained, "It also said you are the Warriors of Shandia, protectors of the text."
"Can you really decipher...that ancient text?" the elder asked.
"We can," Roll confirmed as she and Robin walked up to the Poneglyph.
"Hmm...The Ancient Weapon with the power so strong that it was named after the God of the Sea…'Poseidon,'" Robin noted.
"!?"
"Ancient weapon?"
"There was something like that here?"
"Roll?" Robin asked.
"I always got a headache from using the X-Ray Vision on these…" Roll muttered, rubbing her head as her eyes glowed a little, "But father always tended to hide extra writing in these on the opposite side. 'To release a great helper, simply put your hands on all four sides and push in simultaneously while ringing the bell.' ...Robin-chan, you don't think…"
"Ocho Fleur," Robin informed as eight arms grew out of the sides of the Poneglyph, "May we have the bell ring please?"
"Of course," the elder replied.
"Okay! Together!" Wiper ordered as he and Kamakiri jumped up and kicked the bell, making it ring as Robin's arms pushed in on the four sides.
The sides of the Poneglyph began to glow, burning away the moss that had grown on it. The stone slid down into the base of the bell, exposing a metallic red and blue capsule. A blue gem on the top of the capsule lit up before projecting a light. Roll's eyes widened as she gasped when the light made an image form. Before them was the image of an elderly man. He wore brown slacks, a red sweater, and a white button shirt under it. Over all that was a labcoat while he had a wooden cane in his right hand. Despite his age, he still had a full head of grey hair and a large bushy grey beard. His eyes opened, revealing the gentle blue eyes hiding a deep well of knowledge within.
"P-Papa…?" Roll gasped.
"A g-ghost?!" some of the people exclaimed in shock.
=Actually, I'm a hologram= the 'man' chuckled before looking at Roll =Someone managed to find you and X=
"Mmmm...Papa, why did you seal me away?! You know that…"
=I did, which is why I did so=
"?!"
=In truth, when you were resting, I decided to flip a coin. If it landed on heads, I would seal you with X so he would have family with him when he awoke. If it landed on tails, I would respect your wish. As you can tell, it was heads= Dr. Hikari informed before looking at the people =I see that humanity has evolved to grow wings since I was last in Shandora. I'm relieved that the Poneglyph survived under the protection of all of you and your ancestors. Thank you=
"..." both Shandian and Skypiean tried to not flinch and look away with shame. Even if the man was a 'spirit,' his gentle, grateful smile seemed to echo in them all.
"Papa, I...I encountered Elecman," Roll noted, "He...He's gone now. Going to the moon."
=Hmm...I see…= Dr. Hikari noted =I don't remember if I did that, but I do know that in here is someone you know very well. And judging from the gold replacing part of your waist, you'll need him and what he has= he looked around =Where is X, by the way?=
"He's helping with repairing some homes, Dr. Hikari," Robin replied.
=Hm?=
"Oh! This is my friend, Nico Robin. She's learned how to read the Poneglyphs by her own," Roll explained.
=Really now? I'm quite impressed you learned how to read the language I made to hide my research and the history of the world= Dr. Hikari noted, impressed by her =I do hope you'll use that knowledge to help others= Robin merely smiled at him =Well then, if you read them then you were the one who released my children. I thank you for that. Roll, if you see X, tell him I'm hoping you're both enjoying life= he looked towards the people =Thank you, all of you and your ancestors, for protecting this. Your duty in guarding it is complete and I thank you all for all these years=
The hologram faded and the capsule hissed open. Roll's eyes widened in glee and a large amount of relief. Slowly jumping off the opened capsule was a small, Aisa-sized robot. It appeared to be just a grey/blue head wearing a large flat green helmet with gold detailing and a pair of feet wearing green and gold shoes.
"I am Eddie~!" the robot cheered, its blue eyes shining a little in glee at seeing Roll.
"Eddie!" Roll cheered, hugging the robot.
"Ugh...They're all so slow…" Luffy groaned.
"Look, the sooner we can hide this on Merry, the sooner we can go look for them to get out of here," Nami ordered as they carried several large bags (Nami's being the smallest) towards Merry.
"Shishishishi! We got so much gold~!" Luffy cheered, "I should get eaten by snakes more often!"
"NO WAY!" everyone barked.
"Oh! I see X up ahead!" Chopper exclaimed, "X~!"
"Hm?" X looked up from the scroll he was reading, "Oh. Hello, everyone."
"X, where have you be…" Nami began before pausing as she looked at a massive thing bundled up in a large cloth he was leaning on, "...What is that?"
"The broken pillar from the gold bell," X explained.
"?!"
Nami dashed over to the cloth and quickly pulled it off. She froze up as the gold, still somewhat covered in moss, glistened. The others gawked with Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper's eyes popping out in shock.
"...Was I not supposed to steal this in secret?" X asked upon seeing their faces.
"S...So much gold…!" Usopp exclaimed in shock.
"Where did you get all this gold?!" Chopper gawked.
"It is as I said. It was part of the base of the bell that fell from it when Luffy hit the bell with Enel and the golden ball," X informed, "I noticed that the bell also seemed to placate the snake, which is why I didn't try to take that. From the few monetary lessons I have been given from Nami, I calculated that this is all worth approximately 19,084,451,337 Belly."
"...EHHHH?!" everyone but Robin and Nami exclaimed in shock.
"Oh, X!" Nami squealed in delight as she was instantly hugging the blue bomber and kissing him repeatedly on the cheeks, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
"Her eyes! Her eyes!" Usopp whispered loudly as he noticed that Nami's eyes had turned into Belly signs.
"..." X stood frozen in place, a heavy blush evident on his face, as Nami skipped off in a happy daze.
"Why couldn't it have been me?!" Sanji comically sobbed as he banged on the ground.
"HOLD IT!" everyone looked at Usopp, "There's no way we can take this!"
"WHAT?!" Nami roared, making Usopp squeak in fright as she had a katana to his throat.
"WHAT?! KITETSU?! Dammit, you witch, give that back right now!" Zoro barked.
"He's correct," X noted as he looked at the pillar and then at Merry, "The size alone would prevent us from taking more than 34 percent of the gold pillar. Even then, the weight of that gold would sink Merry the moment a tenth of that gold was put aboard."
"But...the gold…" Nami's eyes watered.
"Hey~!"
"Oh, Roll! Robin! There you girls are!" Usopp waved, "We're leaving, so h…" he spotted Eddie running beside Roll, "WHAT IS THAT?!"
"Eh?" Luffy looked, "Sugei! Is that a walking mushroom?!"
"This was in the Poneglyph of Skypiea," Robin explained.
"One of my family's Helper Robots. His name's Eddie!" Roll introduced.
"I am Eddie!" Eddie cheered, jumping up and down happily.
"Money~" Nami sobbed, hugging the gold pillar.
"...What's with her?" Roll asked, pointing at Nami while raising a brow.
"X brought that pillar of gold and we can't take it or Merry will sink," Sanji replied.
"Huh?" Roll looked at it, "...Huh. That's the fifth biggest pillar of gold I've seen in my life."
"Fifth biggest?!" Chopper and Usopp gawked.
"Hmm...Eddie, you think that you can store this up?" Roll asked.
"Eddie?" Eddie tilted his head before walking over to the pillar and looked at it before nodding, "I am Eddie!"
"What are you talking about?" Nami asked, pausing in her misery to glare at the tiny robot.
"Zoro-san, get to cutting the gold. Nami-san, Eddie's more than just a normal robot," Roll wagged her finger as Zoro began to use his swords to slice chunks off the pillar, "Eddie, Dai Henkei!"
"Eddie!" Eddie confirmed before running away from everyone and glowed.
As Eddie glowed, he began to expand. Metal plating shifted as more hidden metal and wiring were exposed, adding on more and more size to him. The humans and X stared as the glow faded, allowing the factory-sized Eddie's shadow to come over them all.
"I...am...Eddie…" the robot's deep voice rumbled as a conveyor belt extended from his door-like mouth.
"We can even access this place when Eddie's small, but he tends to prefer growing big first so it doesn't look weird," Roll explained as she faced X, "Put the gold on the conveyor belt once Zoro cuts it up and Eddie will put it into storage."
"A...We have a portable storage…" Usopp gawked.
"And backup parts for X and I," Roll smiled as she walked up the stairs Eddie deployed at the sides of the belt, "Come on in before we get started."
After a few moments of sharing looks, Luffy was the first to run in after Roll with a big grin of excitement. Once everyone was in, many of them couldn't help but awe. Eddie may have appeared to be big on the outside, the inside was even bigger! There were several levels to it with an elevator set up on the opposite side of the main floor. Said main floor had a set of operating tables with three-fourths of the tables surrounded by machinery, tools, and spare parts while the remaining fourth sported medical supplies, surgical tools, machines for performing various procedures, and several shelves of medical texts. It was sealed off from the robotic areas to avoid contamination.
"A medical bay!" Chopper squealed as he ran over to that area, "Oh my~! So many medical texts!"
"There are five floors in Eddie," Roll explained, "This is the medical ward for both humans and robots." she rapped the gold on her waist, "And I think I need it at the moment. The second floor is a library where we have all kinds of books we've collected over the years."
"Ah, that seems interesting," Robin noted.
"The fourth and fifth floor are storage where we'll put the gold in via teleporting it," Roll explained as she pointed at a circular platform on the end of the conveyor belt.
"I am so glad to have you on our crew~!" Nami cheered, hugging the blond.
"I'm still mad at you for being so cheap," Roll informed with a deadpan look, making Nami let go and back away sheepishly, "And the third floor is meant for Research and Development which go with the first floor where robots are also built."
"So cool~!" Usopp awed.
"Oh, what's this?" Luffy asked as he ran into the elevator.
"That's the elevator. We use that when we have bread," Roll explained, earning looks from the others, "You never teleport bread. Trust me. It is a horrible idea."
"Ah! Help~!" Luffy pleaded...his head stuck in the door while the elevator went up.
"HOW DID YOU EVEN DO THAT WHEN THE SENSORS SHOULD'VE STOPPED IT?!" Roll snapped, eyes blank and teeth shark-like.
"Oi, X, did you make a claim on that pillar out there?" Zoro asked.
"Yes," X replied, "I carved my name on it."
"Huh?" Nami pondered.
"So that means it belongs to X right now," Usopp noted as he looked out at the gold pillar.
"Yes," X nodded before looking at Zoro, "How much do you owe Nami-san?"
"A lot since she keeps increasing it," Zoro grumbled.
"...Eh?"
"Nami-san, I'm paying Zoro-san's debt," X informed.
"Eh?" Nami squeaked.
"It's my way of repaying him for helping me understand some basics in being a pirate," X informed, "Primarily the claiming of treasure."
"Eh?" Nami squeaked.
"...Nami?" Usopp pondered before the orangette collapsed, "Ah! Wh-What happened?!"
"I think she passed out when she realized I was out of debt," Zoro noted.
"AH! Doctor! We need a doctor!" Chopper panicked.
"Chopper-chan, you're the doctor!" Roll replied.
"Ah! Right! Hurry! Roll, help me with the equipment!" Chopper ordered as he turned to Heavy Point and carried Nami into the medical bay.
"I'll make sure to teach you how to use them properly," Roll noted as she followed.
"Gold! Gold! Gold~! So much gold~~!-!" Luffy and Usopp cheered as they danced around Merry on the White Sea after several hours of treating Nami for shock and dismantling the gold pillar and several sheets of gold from the Maxim that Roll had gone back to grab with Zoro, Luffy, and X, "We got the gold~~~!-!-!"
"We're rich! Swimming in moolah!" Usopp cheered in glee.
"Let's buy a huge statue!" Luffy cheered.
"BAKA!" Usopp barked, "We have more pressing matters!"
"That's right! We need a better fridge with a lock!" Sanji informed.
"BAKA! We ne-well, we do need that…" Usopp noted.
"We need it more for Merry," Roll informed.
"Huh?!"
"What do you mean, Roll?" Nami asked.
"It would be better for Usopp-san to explain," X informed, earning the sniper everyone's attention.
"It's like she said. Merry…" Usopp sighed, "Do you remember the morning after the big party we had before everything went down up here? When Merry was repaired to before we flew up here on the Knock-Up Stream?"
"Yeah. You three did a pretty good job," Nami noted.
"It wasn't just us," Roll informed, putting a hand on the mast, "Merry helped us fix her main body."
"Main body?" Nami repeated.
"Please come out, Merry," X spoke.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then everyone but Usopp, Roll, and X jumped back when Merry's Klabautermann emerged from the mast, seemingly having been one with the mast itself. Eddie...passed out, twitching in trying to process it. Sanji was the first to realize it.
"Klabautermann…"
"H-Hi…" Merry greeted.
"How did she do that? Where'd she come from?" Luffy asked.
"Captain, this is Merry," X informed.
"Eh? ...Huh, you have the same name as our ship," Luffy noted.
"Luffy, she is our ship," Sanji informed.
"EH?!" Luffy gawked.
"S-Sanji's right…" Merry informed.
"Merry knows the risk," Usopp informed when Sanji was about to say something to the girl, "She knows them and she still took a Klabautermann. But…"
"But my keel...it...it's close to breaking," Merry admitted, sniffling a little, "I...I'm not gonna be able to go on…"
"No way! You're one of us, Merry! You're a great ship and…"
"She's still from the East Blue," Zoro noted, a solemn tone in his voice.
"...Dammit," Nami cursed, "I should've known. She was made in the East Blue, considered the weakest of the seas. She's not meant to handle the insanity of the Grand Line."
"All of you...you can all heal just fine and dandy. But...but me? I...I just keep getting stuff added on and on," Merry admitted, "A-And the Knock Up Stream…" she sniffled, "It...It was…"
"?!" everyone's eyes widened as X gently held the shivering Klabautermann.
"She's on the verge," X informed.
"We need to put that money into at least trying to help her. If not…" Usopp trailed off, begging in all but words to not finish that.
"Usopp…" the sniper looked at Merry, "Remember what you promised me that night, okay? If...if I can't keep going…"
Shaking a bit, Usopp nodded and replied, "If we've done everything we can do...if there's absolutely no other option…if there's nothing else we can do...then I'll let go. But not any sooner than that."
"Thank you," Merry thanked with a nod.
"Wait, wait. I'm still lost," Chopper admitted.
"It's an old tale," Robin noted, "When ships are loved deeply, they will manifest a spirit known as a Klabautermann."
"Oh! So they're good, right?" Chopper asked.
"Not...not exactly. We...we only manifest when...when the ship is on its last leg," Merry admitted, "When we're not strong enough an-and not tough enough and…"
*BONK*
"Owie~!" Merry yelped, holding the bruise that formed on her head...and on the sheep head on the front of the ship.
"BAKA!" Luffy barked, "If anyone should be hating themselves, it's us!"
"?!" Merry looked up at him with wide eyes.
"I'm bad at steering! I made you hit an iceberg. I broke your sail and your mast, too," Luffy continued, "Zoro and Sanji are both stupid so they've broken some things, also. Each time Usopp repaired you until X joined, it was bad. If anyone's going to be doing anything…!" tears formed in his eyes, "It should be us who should be apologizing to you!"
"...But I can't accept it," Merry whispered, earning looks from the crew, "Because...even with all of that...I've always been happy. Even...even now, knowing that I'm...I'm most likely not going to be able to stay with you as your ship anymore...not for much longer...you still want to try to help me. It...It makes me feel so loved by you all and...and I can't help but be thankful for it."
"...Yosha," Luffy spoke, sliding his hat down to hide his eyes, "We're going to keep the money to help save Merry. If we can't...then we'll respect your wishes, Merry."
"Thank you, Luffy," Merry thanked before fading back into the ship.
"Okay, we have a big mission now; finding an island that can help Merry," Luffy informed.
"Aye-aye!" nearly everyone replied before X looked out to behind them, opening his closed eye.
"Conis, Laki, and Pagaya are coming this way," X informed.
True to his word, an engine for a Waver roared before a boat driven by Pagaya with Conis and Laki sitting behind him drove alongside Merry.
"Hey~!" Nami greeted with a wave.
"We're here to see you off!" Laki explained.
"Cloud's End is just ahead!" Conis added.
"Cloud's End…" Nami whispered as everyone looked ahead to see a large stone structure resembling two sea serpents acting as an arch that were spewing clouds from their mouths.
"So this is where we go to leave Sky Island?" Sanji asked.
"Yes," Laki replied before throwing something to them, "Catch!"
X caught the object and looked at it, "A Dial?"
"Wiper wanted me to deliver you the Reject Dial," Laki explained, "He feels it will be put to good use with a group going on a grand adventure that will more than likely be filled with dangerous battles."
"We'll make sure to put it to good use," X assured.
"Awwww~ Do we have to goooo?" Luffy whined, laying on top of Merry's head.
"Yeah. I'm feeling a bit nostalgic already," Sanji noted.
"Time to say goodbye to this sea of clouds…" Zoro noted.
"Sky Island was fun, even if it was scary…" Chopper admitted as Pagaya stopped the boat by a shoreline near Cloud's End and the three got off to run alongside the Merry.
"This is as far as we can accompany you," Pagaya noted.
"Make sure to keep your sails put away for this!" Laki advised.
"Take care of yourselves, everyone!" Conis called.
"Conis, Ossan, Laki! Take care!" Luffy called, giving a wave, before looking over at Nami, "Nami?"
"The Log Pose set last night," Nami explained, "We've got our next destination all set up to head out to."
"I am Eddie?" Eddie asked, looking at Roll.
"Apparently, all the islands on a strip of sea all have their own magnetic fields," Roll explained.
"I am Eddie…" Eddie nodded.
"Yosha! It's the start of a brand new adventure!-!" Luffy cheered, "It's time, everyone! LET'S GO BACK TO THE BLUE SEAS!-!-!"
"Everyone, be careful!" Conis warned.
"You're going to be falling soon!" Laki added.
"...Did she say 'fall?'" Usopp repeated once they went through the arch...and right off the cloud.
For a moment, nothing happened.
"Heso!" Conis called.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!-!-!-!"
With that, Merry began to fall rapidly towards the Blue Sea. Conis pulled out a whistle as Laki snickered as she pocketed a Visual Dial to develop later.
"Here goes...the Sky Island Special...Balloon Octopus Whistle!" Conis beamed.
With that, she blew into the whistle. Beneath them within the clouds, eight tentacles shot out of it and latched onto Merry. Before anyone could react, a flat octopus came out connected to the tentacles and the falling caused it to puff up like a balloon, stopping the fall.
"O-oh...They had something to help people down…" Roll noted as color returned to her face.
"E-e-e-e-eddie…"
"That terrified me, too," Roll agreed before the octopus made some noises.
"Okay, I think he's saying 'Don't worry. I'll get you down easy and safely,'" Chopper noted, "My hold on aquatic languages is kinda bad, but I hope I managed to pick out the intentions right after having to translate for Nola after he switched to eel language after I couldn't understand his natural Sea King tongue…"
"Luffy, no bouncing on top of it," Nami quickly ordered, "It might deflate too fast and that'll really snap Merry's keel."
*Riiiiing~! Riiing~!*
"I swear, no matter how many times I hear that bell…" Roll noted as everyone looked up at the clouds, "I'm never going to forget that majestic bell's ring."
"I don't think any of us will," Nami agreed.
"EDDIE!"
"Eddie?" Roll blinked twice as she looked over at Eddie to see him running around...with a large cottony tail poking out of his helmet, "Huh?" she ran over and pulled out the tail, revealing Su, "Su?!"
"Su…" the Cloud Fox groaned.
"How did you get in Eddie?" Roll asked.
"Suuuu…"
"She says 'shut up. I have a hangover the size of Nola,'" Chopper translated.
"...She got drunk and stumbled into Eddie while we were loading the gold, didn't she?" Roll asked.
"More than likely," Chopper agreed.
"And we're too far gone to get her back to Conis, aren't we?"
"Yep," Zoro replied.
GT: Hope you all liked it despite the long wait.