I do not own any ideas taken from One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, HunterXHunter, Yu Yu Hakusho or Rustage's One Piece D&D. Eiichiro Oda, Masashi Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, Akira Toriyama, Yoshihiro Togashi and Rustage are the brilliant minds behind those stories and I'm simply using them to set the stage for my story! It's all for fun so please enjoy!
Chapter 48: Skypiea
"What the fuck was that?!" Shuhei exclaimed.
"We're in the sky!" Asuka shouted again and laughed.
"You're not even curious as to how we got here?" Renji questioned.
"And how are we sailing on the clouds?" Yasui added as he stared off the ship.
"If we reach the end of a cloud, will we fall?" Zika wondered.
"I think I can explain this." Bulma said slowly.
"Hm?"
"I've heard that there are gas pockets deep in the seas that can erupt and send columns of water high into the sky." Bulma explained.
"What the hell…" Mugen muttered as he looked around the dark sky. "It's dark but the clouds give off a little light."
"What are the chances of getting hit by one of those water columns?" Shuhei asked.
Bulma shrugged and said, "I had only ever heard of the Knock Up Stream, I didn't think it was real."
"How the hell do we get down from here?" Yasui asked and groaned.
"Let's just explore and see what we find." Asuka suggested.
Bulma looked at the Log Pose and exclaimed, "Look! The needle is pointing downward!"
"So we're above an island right now?" Renji questioned.
"Probably not directly above but we were heading straight for the next island." Bulma muttered and sighed.
Hama ran out on the deck and barked loudly as the ship began to shake suddenly. Mugen and Zika ran and looked down at the clouds.
"Holy shit!" Zika shouted.
"It's a giant crab!" Mugen laughed.
The giant crab in the clouds grabbed the Whore and dragged it through the clouds at an alarming speed. The Misfits held on to various items on the deck as the crab dragged the ship up a strange cloud ramp and threw them further up.
The ship returned to a steady pace as it approached a large purple gate that read Skypiea. The Whore came to a stop and an old woman walked out of a booth beside the gate.
The old woman walked slowly toward the ship and asked, "You want in?"
"What's Skypiea?!" Asuka exclaimed.
"A Sky Island." The old woman answered simply.
"What?!"
"A Sky Island?!"
"That's so cool!" Asuka and Shuhei exclaimed.
"To pass through Heaven's Gate, it'll be one billion Extol per person. And the dog too." The old woman said slowly.
"A billion per person?!" Yasui gaped.
"What's the exchange rate for Extol and Beli?" Bulma questioned.
"Hm, paying with Beli? One hundred-thousand per person and dog." The old woman said and smirked.
Bulma gathered eight-hundred-thousand Beli and handed it to the old woman, "Here you are."
"Very well." The old woman muttered as she shuffled back to her booth. The large purple gate opened and the Whore sailed onward.
The ship moved up another cloud ramp and emerged to a thick cloudy sea above Heaven's Gate! They sailed smoothly across the clouds, approaching a landmass in the distance.
"I can't believe it, we're on an island in the sky!" Shuhei exclaimed and laughed.
"And the way that the old lady spoke of this place, there are more Sky Islands." Bulma added with a smile.
"You think you can swim in these clouds?" Yasui wondered.
"You may fall through them if you get too deep." Renji responded.
"How many Sky Islands do you suppose there are?" Zika wondered.
"Oh! I forgot to ask earlier, I got sidetracked by food and then we got flung into the sky. But, who or what is the 'Pirate King'?" Asuka asked the group of them.
"Huh?" Mugen raised an eyebrow.
"Wakaba said something about the Pirate King and then that Lucy girl mentioned it back on Domino Island." Asuka stated and nodded.
"Have you never heard the story?" Yasui asked Asuka with a smile.
"What story?"
"About the King of the Pirates." Renji and Shuhei said in unison.
Asuka shook his head, "Nope."
"Twenty-three years ago, he was executed in the East Blue. Peace D. Avery. The King of the Pirates!" Shuhei explained with a grin.
"He conquered the Grand Line and found the greatest treasure of all, the One Piece!" Yasui added with excitement.
"The One Piece?" Asuka questioned.
"Peace D. Avery acquired it all. Wealth, fame, power. And right before he was executed, he told the crowd to go find his treasure. It's still out there waiting for someone to find it." Zika said and nodded.
"He's where the term 'Peacemain' originates from." Bulma added with a smile.
"Oh! That's awesome!" Asuka exclaimed and grinned. "So then a lot of people are trying to find the One Piece?"
"He's what triggered the Great Pirate Era that we live in." Bulma explained. "Peace D. Avery's death motivated thousands of people to become pirates."
"Awesome."
The Whore came to rest on the shore of a foamy white beach and a peaceful silence hung in the air around the ship. The Misfits looked around at the white beach and marble buildings around it.
"This place is incredible." Mugen said and smiled.
"What's the move?" Zika asked.
"Let's wait until first light, then we'll venture out to the city." Asuka said and pointed passed the marble buildings on the beach to more structures beyond.
"Should we scout around at all?" Shuhei asked.
Asuka shook his head and said, "Let's just sit tight and keep watch."
In the morning, when the light began to shine over Skypiea, two individuals cautiously approached the ship. The duo, a teenaged girl and an older man, stared at the ship and could see no signs of life onboard.
"Excuse me?" The girl called out to the ship.
"Anybody home?" The man questioned.
"Oh, crap!" Yasui rose quickly from the crow's nest and yawned. He stared down at the people and said, "Good morning."
The duo nodded slowly as Yasui climbed down from the crow's nest and walked across the deck. "Good morning." The girl said finally.
"What's up?" Yasui asked and yawned again.
"Oh, hello. My name is Buelle. This is my daughter, Connie." The man said and smiled as the girl waved awkwardly.
Connie wore a tight purple dress with a yellow slash and shoes. Buelle wore a blue toga that was draped around his shoulders and chest, he had open toed shoes and his hair was styled into antenna. Both of them had small white wings that curled upwards on their backs.
"My name is Yasui, nice to meet you." Yasui said and smiled.
The door leading below deck swung open and Asuka dashed across the deck toward Yasui. Asuka looked down at the winged duo and exclaimed, "Cool! You guys have wings?!"
The others walked across the deck and joined the others.
"Hello."
"Good morning."
"What's up?"
"Oh, hello. My name is Buelle. This is my daughter, Connie." The man said again.
The Misfits hopped off of the ship and landed on the thick clouds beneath them. Asuka grinned and said, "I'm Senju D. Asuka, nice to meet you."
"Hi, I'm Bulma."
"Mugen."
"I'm Zika, this is Hama." Hama barked happily.
"Shuhei."
"Renji."
"How are we standing on the clouds?" Bulma asked.
Buelle chuckled and said, "Volcanic eruptions in the past put something in the sky that fused with water vapor to form Island Clouds."
"Many of these have formed over the last thousand years and have created a network of Sky Islands." Connie added.
"So cool!" Yasui and Asuka exclaimed.
"How did you get up here to Angel Island?" Connie asked.
"Angel Island?" Zika asked.
"Isn't this island called Skypiea?" Bulma questioned.
"Ah, yes. The Sky Island is Angel Island, but there's a nearby landmass that was claimed by God in the past. The entire region is Skypiea but we reside on Angel Island." Buelle explained.
"Father, you're saying 'island' too much." Connie nagged.
"A landmass?" Renji, Shuhei and Bulma asked in unison.
"Hold on, why don't you come to our home. We can talk there." Buelle said and smiled.
"We live just up Angel Beach." Connie said and pointed at a nearby cabin.
"Sounds good." Asuka said and grinned.
Bulma stored the Whore in her special DynoCap and tucked it into her satchel. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Flying Nimbus!" The golden nimbus cloud popped up through the thick clouds on the beach and lifted her up.
"Amazing! You have a Flying Nimbus?!" Buelle gaped.
The Misfits ran and bounced across the beach as they cheered and laughed. Hama barked happily and chased Zika through the foamy white sea and Bulma smiled.
Connie looked at Bulma and asked, "Did you use some kind of Dial to store your ship away?"
Buelle began leading the group of them across Angel Beach and Bulma hovered beside Connie as she walked. Bulma raised an eyebrow, "Dial?"
"They aren't very common on the Blue Sea." Buelle said to Connie.
Buelle and Connie led the Misfits down Angel Beach up toward the marble-like cabin. When they approached the structure, they saw that the cabin was made of clouds. They walked up a wide set of firm cloud stairs and Buelle led them inside.
"Whoa, this place is awesome!" Asuka exclaimed.
Connie poured everyone glasses of grape juice and served them the cups with a smile.
"Thanks, Con." Asuka said and chugged his juice.
The group of them sat down in a fancy lounge with a wide window overlooking Angel Beach. Buelle sat in a tall purple chair and cleared his throat, "So how did the group of you arrive here?"
"The Knock Up Stream blasted us into the sky." Bulma explained.
"Yeah, we were just sailing along and got sent flying up here." Zika nodded and Hama barked.
"Oh, wow. I'm surprised you guys survived!" Connie gaped.
"Yeah, I thought we were going to die for sure." Yasui said and chuckled flatly.
"That's dangerous business." Buelle muttered. "Most people who come that way from the Blue Sea often crash back down."
"Oh, right. The Blue Sea is the ocean below, right?" Bulma questioned.
"So, are we on the White Sea?" Mugen wondered.
"The first level of Island Clouds that you passed through is the White Sea. Some Sky Islands exist across the White Sea and even higher up, where we are, is the White White Sea." Buelle explained.
"Creative." Shuhei muttered.
"And this landmass, what is it exactly?" Renji asked.
"It's a chunk of Vearth in the sky." Connie explained.
"Vearth?" Yasui raised an eyebrow.
"Like, soil from the ground?" Zika asked.
Buelle nodded and said, "It's been here for hundreds of years. It is known as Upper Yard, the land of the Guardian."
"And you said that God claimed it?" Shuhei questioned.
"The ruler of Angel Island is titled as God. We've been at war with the residents of Upper Yard since it arrived here." Buelle said grimly.
"People were living there when it appeared beside Angel Island?" Bulma asked.
Buelle nodded and said, "There was a clan of Demons living in Upper Yard. As well as other Skyfolk. God wanted the land and they wanted to defend it. It's a pointless and violent cycle."
Connie gasped softly and said, "Stay away from the windows."
"What?" Asuka asked and turned to look through the window but Bulma stopped him.
"What's going on?" Shuhei asked.
"There's people on the beach." Renji stated.
"Just stay down and avoid the window." Buelle said and smiled faintly. "The White Berets are searching the beach."
"The who?"
"God's Guard." Connie explained.
"God Gin probably sent them to find you." Buelle whispered.
"What does he want with us?" Zika asked.
"Ever since he took control of Angel Island, he's been trying to invade Upper Yard and he wants to militarize everyone to take it. People from the Blue Sea are impartial to the fight so he wants to hire them." Buelle explained.
"He's sent ten Blue Sea pirate crews into Upper Yard to chip away at the Demons and Shandians." Connie added with a grim look on her face. "He doesn't care who dies as long as he can take control of Upper Yard and rule all of Skypiea."
"My son, Connie's older brother, got drafted by God Gin and was sent to his death." Buelle said as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"Then, we should leave." Asuka said slowly.
"What do you mean?" Bulma gaped.
"You should just hide out here." Buelle insisted.
"I don't want you guys to get in trouble because of us." Asuka said and smiled.
"We won't get in trouble if you just hide here." Connie said quietly.
Mugen grinned and said, "Nobody is gonna send us to our deaths."
"Why don't a few of us sneak out there and lead the White Berets away from Angel Beach." Shuhei suggested.
"There's a lot more questions that I want to ask." Bulma said looked at Asuka.
"Mugen, Renji, with me." Asuka said as he made his way to the back of the cabin. Mugen and Renji stood quickly and followed after him.
"Be careful." Connie and Bulma said in unison.
"We'll just lead them away from the beach and circle back here." Asuka said and smiled as he opened a window. He turned back to the others and said, "We'll see you guys soon."
To Be Continued