Coco: Hey, guys, it's me! And I'm back with another chapter. Not much to say before we begin, just that I hope you all go take a chance to vote on the poll I have on my profile. About which fillers you'd like to see in this story. I'm going to leave it up probably another week or so before putting up a new one that will ask which movies you might like seeing.
Now, shall we get started?
'I don't have time for this shit,' Sanji thought as they got past the last trap only to come across five tunnels that presented five ordeals.
In front of him, Usopp was shaking nervously at the tunnels before them while Luffy was grinning in excitement. Each tunnel had something written above, which Sanji supposed were to let those entering the Upper Yard pick which ordeal they wished to go through. The first one and shortest entrance was the Ordeal of Darkness. Then the other ordeals were as followed: Ordeal of Swamp, Ordeal of Iron, Ordeal of String, and Ordeal of Spheres.
"So, what do we do?" Usopp asked.
"Um, let's go with spheres!" Luffy suggested as his grin grew.
Usopp glanced back at him seeming uncertain due to how quickly Luffy made his decision.
"Why do you like that one?" Usopp asked.
"Spheres are like balls, right?" Luffy replied. "Sounds fun!"
"That's your only reason?!" Usopp demanded. "They're ordeals! They're not supposed to be fun! Not that I'm disagreeing with you. Spheres is definitely the one that doesn't sound too violent. At least to me."
Sanji honestly didn't care what they picked as long as they reached the others.
"I mean, all darkness makes me think is a dark, scary cave full of monsters." Usopp said with a shuddered. "And all swamp makes me think of is me sinking, and I'm talking about the kind of sinking you don't come back up from."
He shook his head to get the image out of his mind because the more, he thought about it, the sicker he felt.
"Okay, so what about iron?" Luffy suggested.
Immediately all Usopp could think about was someone dropping iron anvils on top of them, and not the small kind. No, anvils large enough to crush them and the crow all at once.
"No, thank you!" Usopp said as he shook his head back and forth. "Way to scary!"
"Fiine," Luffy said with a huff and an eye roll. "String then!"
Usopp frowned looking to consider the option. However, when he pictured them having to hang by a string 10,000 meters in the air, he grew pale.
"No way," he said. "It sounds so harmless, it's probably the worst."
He then looked to their last option, which was the ordeal of spheres. The one that sounded like the safest option until Usopp pictured them getting smushed by a large, red ball that rolled right on top of them.
"Come to think of it, spheres doesn't sound all that safe either." Usopp said. "Maybe we should think this over."
Sanji shook his head at the frightened sniper since they didn't have the time to just sit here. Besides, it was too late for this.
"We don't have time for a debate here," Sanji cut in. "We're right on top of it."
"Alright, spheres it is" Luffy decided.
The boy pointed excitedly towards the last tunnel as he looked expectantly at Usopp. Said boy sighed unhappily.
"Okay, I guess we'll just have to trust Luffy's instincts on this one." Usopp murmured unsurely.
"Then it's decided," Sanji said. "Just don't let your guard down, guys. Remember these are God's islands 10,000 meters above sea level. Anything could happen."
Luffy just laughed and cheered for them to move forward, which had Sanji giving him a look. Though he wasn't surprised Luffy was being so carefree about all this. Usopp wasn't happy with Luffy's carefreeness either, but he did as he was told as he quickly steered them in the direction that would take them through the Ordeal of Spheres.
"Driver, would you mind not shutting your eyes?" Sanji requested.
Usopp, who had closed his eyes tightly as soon as they entered the tunnel, let out a whimper. He slowly opened his eyes only to whine again when seeing how dark it was.
"No, it's just as dark with them open," He cried. "What if they tricked us and this is the Ordeal of Darkness instead?"
Sanji shook his head at Usopp as the sniper continued to whimper. Luffy, who laughed a bit, was the exact opposite of the frightened Usopp. His grin couldn't get any wider even if he tried as he looked to his two crewmates.
"Hey, guys, what if this is like one of those games?" Luffy asked.
"Like a what?" Usopp questioned.
"Ya know, like if you picked the right door, you get a prize." Luffy explained. "But if you pick the wrong one…"
He trailed off leaving what might happen up in the air, which had Usopp freaking out.
"What are you talking about?!" Usopp snapped. "What if we picked wrong?! Why couldn't you mention this before, Luffy?!"
Instead of replying immediately, Luffy just let out a thoughtful hum as he cupped his chin in his hand.
"Hmm, let's see here," He murmured before a grin pulled across his face. "If you pick the wrong one then you fall off the island!"
He laughed as he said this, but Usopp didn't find his little joke funny in the slightest.
"How could you say something so stupid?!" Usopp demanded to know. "We're thousands of meters in the air! I don't know how many times your life can flash before your eyes during a fall like that and I don't wanna know!"
He glared at Luffy as he said this, but the boy of rubber just laughed not looking worried in the slightest.
"You guys are both being idiots." Sanji said as they reached the end of the tunnel. "Nothing like that's gonna…"
Sanji trailed off with his eyes widening when their path ended with a sheer drop. The group of three men started screaming as the crow started plummeting downwards. All three of them thinking the fall was going to take them back down to the blue sea. A fall that was surely going to kill them. However, after a few heart-stopping seconds of falling, the crow landed on a new road of clouds. Sanji gasped in relief as his heart started to return to its normal rate.
"W…we're alive," Sanji murmured in shock.
From the front seat, Usopp, who had tears running all over his face, whimpered.
"I seriously thought we were falling all the way back down to the blue sea." Usopp said.
Sanji growled standing up to kick the culprit to their fears in the head. Luffy just laughed looking as if he just had the best fun he has had in years.
"That's because somebody had to make up a lame story to scare us!" Sanji growled.
"I was scared!" Luffy defended himself though his large grin remained. "I thought I was a goner too!"
Sanji just glared at the younger male as he went to take Usopp's spot at the helm considering the sniper was in no condition to continue driving. He pulled out a new cigarette to place between his lips. His nerves screaming at him to get the familiar, soothing taste of nicotine into his lunges. He lit the cigarette and took a drag before addressing his crewmates.
"Okay, so what is this place?" Sanji asked as the boys took in the forest around them.
Trees taller than even the ones on Magus stood around them. Giving off the same weird vibes as the foliage they encounter on the island they met Wren and Vladimir. However, the really odd thing about this forest of giant trees was the white spheres floating around them.
"A forest…with balls." Luffy replied.
Sanji resisted the urge to roll his eyes because he could tell that much for himself.
"They're balls made of island cloud." Sanji said looking at the spheres curiously.
"He, awesome!" Luffy said. "They look like really big snowflakes! Now, what could be scary about that? See, Usopp? It's okay!"
Usopp, who still hadn't recovered from the fall, just continued to whimper and cry in the back of the crow. Luffy tilted his head at the boy wondering when the sniper was going to snap out of it.
"Hey, heads up," Sanji cautioned. "The milky road is leading us up into the trees."
"I just don't see how this is an ordeal, do you?" Luffy asked.
He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary thus far, and he was honestly a bit disappointed.
"Not yet," Sanji replied. "It'd be great if there was nothing ahead, but somehow I doubt it."
If his time with this crew taught him one thing, it was that something could go wrong at the moment's notice. It was best to stay alert.
"Hey, what if it was like one of those games and we picked the right door?" Luffy suggested. "And now all we have to do is float around in this giant snow looking for the others?"
It wasn't the most exciting thing to do, but Luffy was sure he could find something fun to do as they traveled. Like, play with the spheres floating around them.
"Y-yeah, maybe that's it!" Usopp, who was starting to recover from earlier, said hopefully.
"You're still being idiots!" Sanji snapped at the both of them. "They think we're criminals! I doubt that they'll let us off that easy. Use your brains for once. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more traps like the ones from earlier. We have to stay sharp. Let's just keep moving."
As Luffy pouted at Sanji's bossy tone, Usopp gulped while looking around the forest in worry. As if he expected something to pop out and attack them at a moment's notice.
"What?" Luffy asked. "Are you the captain now? Can we at least have a snack?"
"Oooh, yeah!" Usopp agreed. "What do ya got in the bag, Sanji?"
"Yeah, give me!" Luffy agreed.
Usopp reached for said bag, but Sanji turned to glare at him darkly, which had Usopp freezing.
"No, no snacks!" Sanji snapped.
"But, Sanji, we need to keep our strength up!" Luffy argued.
"Just a little something?" Usopp pleaded.
All that excitement from earlier had him hungry, and the thought of Sanji's cooking had his stomach growling in need.
"I said no." Sanji said firmly. "Now, listen, it's really simple! I'm going to keep steering. You guys keep watch out the sides!"
Both boys who had already snuck out some food, whined. However, they did look out the sides like Sanji told them to. As Usopp commented about how high they were, Sanji frowned.
'Something's not right,' Sanji thought to himself. 'It's too quiet. There are five priests, so I assumed each tunnel would lead to one. Why haven't we seen one of them yet? I've got a bad feeling about this.'
Sanji's frown then deepened when he heard the distinct sound of a certain two idiots goofing off. He turned around to glare at the two as they were passing one of those round island clouds back and worth.
"I thought I told you to keep watch?!" He snapped.
He wasn't in the mood for their games since they had their crew to find and this ordeal to get through before that. Luffy looked like he might retort to Sanji's comment, but before he could, a snake popped out of the ball he and Usopp had been playing with. The scaley creature went to take a snap at Usopp who screamed shrilly.
"A snake?!" Sanji gasped in disbelief.
Luffy frowned at the reptile while drawing back his leg to kick the snake away from him and his crew.
"Stupid snake ball!" Luffy snapped.
Usopp sniffled off to the side while not believing how close he came to losing his life for the umpteenth time today.
"Okay…didn't see that coming." Luffy said as he tried to calm his racing heart.
However, he was soon back on edge when Usopp screamed loudly once more.
"Sanji, cloud ball!" Usopp warned as he pointed behind Sanji. "Kick it away!"
Sanji frowned at the offending object as he was quick to react and reared his leg back.
"I don't like the idea of being snake eggs." He said as he shot his foot forward.
It made contact with the soft sphere, but instead of being sent away like the snake ball, it seemed to hang for a moment…before exploding. The boys cried out in shock and pain as the explosion was powerful enough to send smoke flying everywhere. Once it cleared away, the boys, who had seen better days, were left standing there stunned and with wide eyes.
"For crying out loud?!" Usopp shouted. "What's with these things?!"
The group of three then stiffened when the sound of laughter cut through the air.
"Hohoho, silly children." The owner of the laugh spoke. "These are surprise clouds."
Sanji frowned looking for the source of the voice as did Luffy while Usopp hid behind them.
"You never know what's going to come out of them!" The voice continued. "Hohoho, heso!"
The group then looked up seeing an odd man with long, wavy hair and with a form that matched the round, cloud he was sitting on.
"I'm so glad that you chose my challenge." The man said to them. "The Ordeal of Spheres!"
He then let out a laugh as the boys were trying to figure out just what they were looking at. Sanji tilted his head.
'Wren-chan, we might be together again sooner than I thought.' Sanji though as the round man before them danced merrily. 'Because if this is the best these God has to offer, it shouldn't take us long to get through this ordeal at all. Just keep waiting for me, Beautiful.'
Wren frowned coming to a stop after she stepped up onto one of the large roots belonging to one of the many trees of Upper Yard. She looked back in the direction in which they came with an odd feeling washing over her.
'Why do I feel worried so suddenly?' She wondered to herself.
She then stiffened when an unfamiliar voice reached her senses. She placed her hand on her sword, which didn't go unnoticed by Zoro. The greenette, who had been watching Robin and Nimue converse, looked to his fellow swordsman.
"Something wrong?" He asked.
Wren didn't reply at first as she tilted her head to the side as if listening more carefully. When sensing how young the voice felt, Wren lowered her guard.
"No," Wren said as she dropped her hand. "Anyway, are we only going to travel in this direction? There must be somewhere we can go for more information. Nimue-san?"
She looked to the older woman as she was being helped up over a root by Robin and Nami. Nimue smiled at the young mage.
"I do know of a few places," Nimue replied. "Though some are best to be left alone. Like the Shandia Village. My alliance with them is shaky due to a few hotheaded youths in the tribe."
She said this with a fond smile as if those hotheads were dear to her heart or people she cared about.
"They don't like outsiders, so it's hard for me to get close to them." She continued.
"These Shandians," Wren began. "They're the descendants you mentioned before. The ones who came from the sea below."
Nimue nodded her head in reply as the group took a small break during their trek. Havel happily taking a moment to curl up and rest his aching paws.
"Correct," Nimue said. "Their current Chief is more welcoming to my presence and told me a bit of their history. The island they called home had been knocked up into the air 400 years ago. The people of Skypiea, who hold things such as dirt, which they call Vearth to a precious degree, attacked the Shandians to claim this land for themselves. It has been a struggle for the last 400 years. The God before Enel tried to bring the Shandians and Skypieans together and share this sacred land, but before that could happen, Enel took over and cast out the previous God."
Wren, who took a seat next to Zoro and Robin, hummed thoughtfully at this information as Nami gasped.
"Wait, you mean Enel isn't the first God?" Nami questioned. "So, is God not really an all-powerful, immortal being?"
Zoro snorted because it was like he was saying all along. God wasn't real, and whoever this Enel was, he could take him.
"Those who hold the title of God here are more like a king of a country." Nimue tried to explain. "Not an actual god. I will leave you to decide whether the God exists. To us of the mage and fae community, we do not believe in one supreme deity. We pay homage to nature and to the mother and father of all fae. King Oberon and his wife Queen Titania. But I suppose that information is irrelevant at the moment."
Though her words might be true, Robin seemed interested to hear more. More about what Nimue could tell them off this place and of her and Wren's culture.
"To point out the obvious, this Enel didn't honor the former God's wishes and unit the Skypieans and Shandians nor allow all to call Upper Yard their own." Wren summarized. "Instead, he became a dictator. One the Skypieans fear and the Shandians hate. Yes?"
Wren's crewmates have slightly filled her in on what she has missed since their separation. Nami doing most of the talking as she had told Wren about Conis and her father. And how they had gotten into trouble in the first place.
"Correct," Nimue said with a nod. "Though Enel is only a mortal, he has frightening power. He has seemed to have eaten the Goro-Goro no Mi, which has enhanced the power of what the locals here call mantra. Which is the ability he uses to watch over all of Skypiea."
"Conis mentioned Enel being able to know what they were doing at all times," Zoro spoke up. "So, this mantra allows you to read thoughts and see people from far away."
"Not necessarily." Wren spoke up. "I don't exactly hear coherent thoughts. Just this form of presence that most, who share the same ability, refer to as a voice. It allows me to tell when others are near and 'hear' their intentions."
Her crewmates looked at her in a bit of confusion, which had her realizing she never explained haki to them. It was such a common thing in the New World that she has forgotten that those from the Blues and Paradise typically don't know of its existence.
"Uh, wait, are you saying you can use mantra too?" Nami asked with wide eyes. "Wait! That explains how you always seemed to know when something was about to happen. Like that time, you sensed Scorpion before he showed up with Luffy!"
"Or the time that you knew there was more than that weird Chess guy out on the water when we had to deal with Wapol." Zoro added.
Wren nodded her head as she crossed one leg over the other. Getting comfortable as she felt as if their small break might be longer than she previous thought.
"In the Blue Sea World—our world—it is known as haki." Wren said. "More specially, Kenbunshoku haki. It was one of the three abilities; one can gain through special training. Based on what Nimue has mentioned, these priests and Enel do not have the ability to use the two other forms of haki, which means I might have overestimated them in the beginning."
Of course, she also knew that a person didn't need to know haki let alone all three forms to be dangerous. However, those who could master all three were monsters in their own right. She not being one of those rare, special individuals.
"It's best not to underestimate them either, Misce." Havel cautioned. "Remember what happened with Crocodile?"
Wren frowned because she did remember and would rather not think about it. She made rookie mistakes. Ones that she wouldn't repeat.
"Back to what we were discussing earlier, Nimue-san," Robin cut in. "The Upper Yard, do you perhaps know what it was called before it was sent up into the sky? You mentioned it once being part of a different island."
Nimue shook her head then looked down at her cotton fly to see if she knew. However, her familiar merely shook her head in reply.
"I have a theory as to where this place came from," Wren spoke up.
The group turned to look at the halfling as she had her head tilted back to look up at the trees.
"Really, Wren?" Nami asked. "Where do you think it came from?"
"…what island happens to be below us at this moment?" Wren asked. "Maybe not directly below, but still close enough to this floating island?"
While Robin and Havel quickly caught on to what Wren was hinting at, Zoro frowned in confusion. Nami, however, seemed to be following Wren as her eyes widened.
"No way," Nami whispered. "Do…do you really think the Upper Yard was once Jaya? Which means the City of Gold…it didn't sink but flew up into the sky?"
"It's a possibility," Wren said with a small shrug. "However, until there is more evidence, I won't be jumping to conclusions. Though instead of wondering around aimlessly, why not ask the locals? The ones who have spent the last 400 years on this island?"
As her crewmates looked at her in confusion, the ground beneath them happened to start shaking. The pirates—minus Wren—stiffened and looked around in worry. Wren, however, smiled as she looked over her shoulder. Zoro followed her line of sight with his eyes widening at what stood behind them.
There peeking around one of the large trees was a giant of a man. No, a giant of a man who looked like a tree. His body was long like the trunk of a three with his branches forming arms and legs. Leave stuck out from the top of his head and formed around his face like a beard. His face resembled one of an old man, which his dark eyes cementing the fact that he was a being who has gone through many, many years of life.
"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" Nami screeched when she saw the large being.
She huddled close to Havel, who was in his large form, for protection, but the feline didn't even bother raising his head.
"This, young ones, is an ent." Nimue explained. "The oldest one in this forest."
As Nami still looked a little scared at the sight of the ent, Robin looked completely fascinated as she stared up in wonder.
"There's no reason to fear, little humans." The ent spoke in a deep voice. "I am merely here because I heard whispers of a halfling on our little island."
Wren's crewmates looked at her with wide eyes when hearing the ent was here for her. Said creature was staring down at Wren as she glanced over her shoulder at him.
"Greetings to you, Misce." The ent said to her. "And allow me to welcome you to our home. Any child of our queen mother, whether half or whole is welcomed here."
Wren, who stood and turned to face the ent, smiled at the old fae as he crouched down to get a closer look at her.
"Hello, Ent, and thank you." Wren replied with her smile growing. "If it isn't too much trouble, perhaps you could fill in the things that Nimue-san does not know. We wish to know more of this place from before it came to the sky."
The ent seemed to smile as he held out his hand to the halfling and her friends.
"Allow me to show you," The ent said. "The history of this sacred place."
Coco: And that's it, everyone! I do plant to get the fae involved in this story as I reveal more of Wren's past and culture while Nimue helps her reconnect to her roots. So, while it might not change the storyline as a whole, they will have a role to play in the fight against Enel. After all, the Upper Yard is their home just like the Shandians. Many of the fae calling Upper Yard their home having been there since it was a part of Jaya.
Anywho~ The whole crew should be back together next chapter :D
Now, as always, remember to stay safe and keep being your beautiful selves!~ Until next time!
