Chapter 4

Monkeying Around

"Still nothing, Usopp?" Luffy called out to him.

Usopp held a pair of binoculars as he sat up in the crow's nest, "Yup, still nothing."

The Straw-Hat Pirates had been sailing for a couple hours now. They filled Maxwell in about the eternal pose Robin had swiped from Masira. As their regular log pose was pointing up at the sky, this direction seemed a lot more credible. So they just sat and watched for land as Maxwell piloted the Merry.

Zoro turned away from the crow's nest, "It can't be that far, right? That monkey-dude did call this area his turf after all."

"Yeah, it should be close. The weather's stabilized for a while now, so we should be in Jaya's climate zone." Nami brushed a few strands of hair out of her face as she felt a tropical breeze.

Luffy relaxed on his special seat, "Jaya must be a spring island."

"Feels nice and warm..." Chopper looked up at the sky as he enjoyed the weather, "What a lovely spring day. Even the seagulls look happy."

Then the feather rats fell dead on the deck, "AGH! THEY'VE BEEN SHOT!"

"Oh! Let's have some grilled-seabird!" "Luffy!"

"S-Shot!?" Usopp crowed from up top, "But I didn't hear anything even close to a gunshot!"

Chopper already had his surgeon tweezers out and he extracted a muster round, "Look! Bullets! Judging from the direction they were flying, the shots were fired in the direction we're sailing!"

Nami came up to the little furry doctor, "What, you think they were shot from an island we can't even see yet? That's just silly, Chopper."

"But I was watching the birds this whole time!" "Sanji! Seagull meat!"

Maxwell came out on deck holding a scarecrow dummy. He had even changed out of his warden mage armour, "...You know, the more I hear of weapons using gaatlok powder, the more I hate them. Now weapons can use it form unknown distances? Bah...!"

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the island of Jaya came into view.

"Whoa! Awesome! That looks like a fun town to me!" From what they could see, the island had palm trees, white sandy beaches, and a couple mountains in the background. The harbour town could be seen with wood houses and inter-shore walkways. Nami, Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper were all crowding the bow.

"Whoa, it looks like a mini-resort...!" "A resort!?" "Faster, Merry!" "You're right! I'd love to go and take it easy for a while."

"Alright, Merry! Let's take her steady!" Maxwell re-energizes the ship, folding the sails, as they begin to ease into port.

Usopp takes a look at the harbour, "Is it just me or are the ships docked at port all pirate ships?"

Nami pats his shoulder, "Don't be silly, Usopp! There's no way pirate ships would brazenly dock right in front of the town!"

Usopp relaxes, "Hahaha... I gues you're right!"

"HELP! HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"

"Oh for Andraste's sake..." Maxwell looked around as they docked the ship. Ruffians could be seen everywhere drinking, singing, laughing, or having some dame around their arm. However they went about their day, everyone was armed, and most everybody wore a Jolly Roger.

Nami, Usopp, and Chopper sulk in terror, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS TOWN..." Jaya, was a pirate island.

"Lotta people here." "Seems like a fun town."

Luffy and Zoro had already gotten off the ship.

Maxwell sighs. Figures those two would head off into this kind of place, "Alright, who else is going to shore?" Most of the others ignored him and watched as Zoro and Luffy walked on.

"It's impossible... There's just no way those two are not gonna cause trouble!" Nami hid behind the rail.

"Yeah... That town already looks like trouble. There's no way. Not now. Not ever," Usopp was watching and hiding along side her.

"Well, I can't just leave them be!" Nami jumps over the railing.

"Ah, wait Nami!" Both Usopp and Chopper watch as she catches up with Luffy and Zoro.

"There she goes..." "Well, I'm sure she'll be safe with those two..."

Sanji emerged from the kitchen, "What? Nami's going out? Well, I'm outta here too then."

The two sailors immediately jumped their cook, "NO! YOU STAY HERE!"

"I-I-IF YOU LEAVE TOO AND... AND... IF THIS SHIP WERE ATTACKED T-T-THEN..." "PLEASE DON'T GO, SANJI!" "O-Okay, okay! Just let go of me!"

Maxwell was not amused, "What am I? Chopped liver?"

Both Usopp and Chopper freeze for a moment, then sigh relieved, "...Oh yeah, we still have the old man with us...!"

"I'M NOT THAT OLD DAMN IT!"

"Hm?" Sanji takes a quick look around, "Where's Robin...?"

Everyone else pauses as they too look around.

"...You think she went into town?" "Who knows..."

Maxwell decides to put that issue on the back burner for now. Robin can handle herself, "...Alright! Usopp, Chopper, I want you to focus on repairs. We might not have a shipwright but Usopp's the closest we got."

"*...Sigh*, alright! You got it, Max," Usopp halfheartedly salutes the first-mate.

"Sanji, I leave dinner up to you, seeing as Luffy gave you something to work with."

Sanji nods in agreement and gets back to work figuring out how to cook those seagulls.

"As for me," Maxwell looks at the training dummy, "You're going to be hearing lightning for a while. Don't worry Usopp, I won't harm the Merry."

O O O

"Plank."

*TZ—ZAP!*

"Here."

...

"Nail."

*ZAP!*

"Here."

...

"YOW!"

*BOOM!*

"Here," Chopper held out another wood plank to Usopp, who had hit his thumb with a hammer.

Usopp sighs sucking up the pain, "...Jeez, How many times do I gotta tell'em? I ain't no shipwright!"

*TZ—BOOM!*

"WILL YOU QUIT IT WITH THE LIGHTNING!" Usopp yells back at the deck.

The Merry goes silent before they hear Maxwell yell, "Sorry~!"

Chopper just looks up at Usopp, "But you're so good with your hands, Usopp."

Usopp smiles with a few nails in his mouth, "I am, aren't I!? That's one of my strong points."

Sanji had appeared above them, "We ought just get a—"

"DON'T YOU DARE COMPLETE THAT SENTENCE!" Usopp interrupts him.

"Huh? What's going on?" Maxwell had come up to the side holding a towel.

"Max! You remember how we got this ship right!?"

"Yes Usopp, I remember..." Maxwell decides to lean on the patchwork wood and tease the poor sniper, "We got it from your betrothed, right?"

Usopp gets flustered at the idea, "B-B-B-BETHROTHED!?"

"USOPP'S GOING TO GET MARRIED!?" Chopper looks at him shocked.

Usopp double-takes between Max and Chopper, "WHAT!? NO! NO, I AM NOT GETTING MARRIED!"

"Oh, but Usopp, what would dear Kaya~ think?" Maxwell covers his face.

Sanji decides to get in on this and hold a hand to his heart, "You only talk about her every second~ hour."

The two mean lean to the sides with every word, "We can hear you while you're in the bunk. Kaya~" "Kaya~!" "Kaya~" "Kaya~!"

Usopp's body twists around like some sort of demented swordfish, "OH SCREW YOU! BOTH OF YOU!"

Chopper snorts, trying to hold in his laughter, "Whoa, that's hilarious...!"

Usopp looks back at Chopper, "What, this?" He does the twisted fish pose again, "SCREW YOU~!"

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Chopper rolls on the pier laughing.

"Oh yeah, about tonight's dinner—"

"SCREW YOU~!" Both Chopper and Usopp do the pose, looking at Sanji.

"Oh, so you don't want dinner?" "NO, WAIT, WE WANT IT! SANJI!"

Maxwell laughs. Things were never boring on this ship.

He looks back at where he had been practicing, and the dummy he had made to practise on. It was a scarecrow Maxwell had stuffed with some straw he found in a few crates. Maxwell made sure the lightning didn't burn the burlap dummy, but it still had a few burns. Maxwell was satisfied with today's results. He believed that he had officially remastered his Storm spells. Max could call down lightning with ease and fire arcane bolts without a care. He always did enjoy the Storm School branch of magic. Training had also improved exponentially with some observers that actually knew what he was doing.

Coincidentally, Max found he could use his new found anchors as casting foci. Practical replacements for his staff. All he needed was a little energy and one of them would be zooming around Max like a yo-yo on a string. And having a new focus, or a few foci, meant his spells would be a lot stronger again. Sure his glyphs allowed for more flexible casting, but they weren't nearly as strong, or long lasting. Max was still going to try and find a new staff, or at least get Usopp on crafting it. He had trained far too long with one just to simply ignore it. But if he can do that, and implement the new casting method...

"Don't forget the new spell you're learning," Mordred's voice sounded from the netted skull.

"I know, I know, I remember..." Max was moving the straw mannequin back into the haul. He will definitely want to use it later down the line.

Anyways, back in the Fade, the four of them had decided that Mordred would be the first to teach Maxwell a new spell. They all agreed, based on how the binding went. It was Mordred's knowledge that allowed the ritual to take place in the first place. They won't delve into the whole practise, not yet, but they'll start with the basics first. Mordred, Mineive, and Salem were taking turns with their lesson plans.

"...Sal~vage!" *Tweet!*

"Sal~vage!" *Tweet!*

Maxwell frowns, noticing a ship sailing by the coastline. They weren't coming into port, but the song was peculiar, "Maybe it's that monkey again...?" Maxwell shrugs. They weren't coming in so it wasn't their problem.

"L-L-LUFFY! ZORO!"

Maxwell turns around, only to notice them both to be covered in cuts and bleeding, "Maker have mercy...!" Only Nami was untouched.

"What's with those wounds!? What happened!?"

Sanji runs up to the edge, "Nami! Is Nami alright!?"

"A-A-Ah!" Chopper turns to the deck, "SOMEBODY GET A DOCTOR!"

"That's you, you idiot!" Usopp yells at him.

Maxwell quickly looks them over as they come aboard, "Is that glass!?"

"I'll get my tweezers!" Chopper immediately runs off to find his medicine bag, while Max gets a wet rag.

Chopper and Maxwell work together to treat their friends. Max dabs around the wounds, cleaning the blood. All the while, Chopper scans their patients, extracting every shard he can find. Once they had gone over both patients, Maxwell would use his magic to heal the wounds.

"So? What kind of freaky monster did you get in a fight with?" Usopp asks as Max and Chopper double check their work.

Luffy talks like nothing had happened, "Just some pirate. It's fine, it's over and done with."

"Yeah..." Zoro only voiced his affirmation.

"It may be over for you guys, but it sure ain't over for me," Nami then starts ranting, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!? IF YOU CALL YOURSELVES MEN, YOU SHOULD UNLEASH SOME WHOOP-ASS WHEN JERKS COME ASKIN' FOR IT! ACTUALLY, YOU SHOULD JUST FLATTEN THIS ENTIRE GODDAMN TOWN WHILE YOUR AT IT TOO!"

"You're the one who told us not to cause trouble," Zoro chides the navigator.

Nami rounds on Zoro, making him flinch, "THE PAST IS THE PAST! DON'T BRING IT UP, OR ELSE I'LL POUND IT INTO YOUR HEAD!"

Maxwell backed away, not wanting to be caught up in Nami's ire. He could get details later, Maxwell wanted to live.

"Oh that's right. Did you ask around about the sky island?

"SKY ISLAND!?" Nami's face darkened, promising murder, and Chopper trembles in terror, "I have HAD IT with that subject! I mentioned the sky island once, and the whole bar exploded, laughing. DID I REALLY SAY SOMETHING THAT FUNNY!?" Usopp plays dead while Chopper shifts into Guard-Point, "WELL!? DID I!?"

"My, my, don't things seem awfully noisy around here."

Maxwell looks over at the dock. Robin had returned from her mysterious disappearance.

Sanji had immediately gone lovestruck, "Ah! Welcome back, Robin~! Will you be earring now? Or will you be taking a bath!?"

Maxwell looks over at the swirly browsed cook, "...Why would you be asking her about that?"

Luffy also greeted their archaeologist, "Oh, you were out, Robin?"

"Yes, to do some shopping," Robin showed her shopping bags, "As well as find some information on the sky island."

Nami now rounded on Robin, while Chopper jumped for freedom, "THAT'S RIGHT! THIS IS YOUR FAULT! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED US OFF ON THIS WHOLE CRAZY GOOSE-CHASE ABOUT A SKY ISLAND! THE MOMENT I FIND OUT IT DOESN'T EXIST, YOU'RE FISH-FOOD!" Zoro had fished him out of the water.

Usopp approaches their least senior crewmate, "Just let her be for now... In fact, don't get close at all. It'll be safer that way."

Robin sprouts some arms traveling up the Merry and towards Luffy, carrying some sort of paper, "Ooh, a treasure map!" They disapeared into petals.

Usopp looks over his captain's shoulder, "It's just a normal map, but a map of where...?"

"This island," Robin takes off her cowboy hat. It was indeed a map of Jaya, "The town on the left is where we are. Mocktown. You see a mark at the coast on the other side, don't you...? Apparently an outcast lives there."

"Outcast?" Maxwell frowns at that bit of news.

"His name was Montblanc Cricket. A man chased out of this town for talking of dreams," Robin smiles at Luffy, "Seems like we may have a mutual interest, doesn't it?"

Max crosses his arms as he thinks about it for a second. Apparently this town didn't take to outlandish claims very well. Luffy and Zoro had been laughed at and beaten up for mentioning the sky island. And now they had a possible sympathizer for looking to do the impossible.

Then again this was a pirate town. A beating heart of the criminal underworld and villainy.

Maxwell still found it a little far-fetched. But, he started up the Merry, and got them out of the harbour.

O O O

An ungodly screech had sounded as they past Jaya Mouth Bay. It was the ship they had seen singing that salvage song earlier. Maxwell shakes his head flinching at the sound on that boat, "Maker's balls, what is that?"

Then a man popped out of the water, "Utan Diver #27! Echo confirmation! School of fish detected at nine o'clock! Judging from their swimming speed, they're likely to be saury!"

"Let's have some grilled fish tonight, boys!" Another voice called from the monkey themed ship. Max could vaguely make out the form of someone on a throne.

Another man popped up, "Utan Diver #4! Echo confirmed! Small sailing ship detected!" It seems like they were sighted.

"What!? A sailing ship!? From which direction!?"

"Umm..." The wetsuit diver turned around and spotted them, "Twelve o'clock!" A small barrel bounced off his head.

"I can already see it myself, you slowpoke! Halt the survey! Return to the ship, Utan Divers!" The ship's crew yelled in acknowledgement.

"Looks like we've already run into some weirdos," Luffy comments from their own ship, "But I don't think it's the same guy as before, Usopp."

Sanji stood with them at that front of the ship, "I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing yet."

Usopp and Chopper hid behind Max's armoured exterior. "Well in any case, we saw them! No doubt about it!"

Chopper nods in agreement, "That's right! The salvage crew we ran into earlier, are definitely from this island! We saw them sailing by the dock!"

"So that was the gorilla earlier?" Maxwell looks up at the ship in front of them, "Huh."

"HEY, HEY! LIL' BROS! DON'T BE MUTTERIN' THERE TO YOURSELVES NOW!" "WHOA-HOO! WHOA-HOO!

Oh great, this crew also made monkey sounds.

"Sonar King" Shoujou sat back in a tree stump throne as he looked down at the Merry, "Hmph... Thought you might be someone important for a sec there... Gave me the jitters, ya did."

He also looked like an orangutang, "Pretty queer face you got there. What species are you?"

Maxwell facepalmed. You don't ask dumb questions—no wait, this was Luffy.

"Homo sapiens, y'idiot."

"HEY, WATCH IT, YOU PUNKS!" "Don't go tickin' off our boss now, y'hear!?"

The crew was defending their captain's honour, but Shoujou waves a hand, "Agh, pipe dow. It's fine, it's fine. In any case, you folks seem like pirates. Did ya hear? That Crocodile was dropped out of the Seven Warlords?" Well, that was good news, "If we're talkin' about sheer ability alone... I reckon I might be gettin' an offer a~ny day now for the seat," Now he was just bluffing, "Which is why I've been waitin' on pins and needles..."

"Oh... You want to join the Seven Warlords?" Luffy asked him. Max looked doubtful. He was pretty sure you had to be a pirate of some renown before being approached by the World Navy.

"Hmm!? ...Like I was sayin', if I had to sum up what makes me so great, I'd say it's the fact that I haven't cut my hair once in the twenty five years I've been alive," Shoujou seemed rather proud of that fact, "Well? Surprised...?"

"Are you retarded?" Luffy asks him with a straight face.

"Hmm!? Now that's a surprising response!" Shoujou's crew starts berating Luffy for his insult, "Agh, quiet, quiet. But your unexpected response gave me the jitters for a sec, it did. But now you listen to me, and listen good... The only thing beyond the tunnel of my rage, is the blood-soaked sea."

"Uh-huh, whatever. I've got places to go to so can you guys move already?" Maxwell wasn't sure if Luffy was messing with them, or humouring them.

"SHUT YOUR TRAP, YOU HALFWIT! THIS IS MY TERRITORY YER ON! IF YOU WANNA PASS, YOU GOT TO PAY THE TOLL!"

"Territory? He sounds like Masira." "Did he say that too?" "WHAT!? MASIRA!? WHAT ABOUT MASIRA!?"

Shoujou had caught Luffy's attention again, "Him? We kicked him overboard."

"K... Kicked... KICKED HIM OVERBOARD!? HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY BROTHER!" Now this monkey was mad.

"Huh? Oh wait a sec. We kicked him off, but he's still alive." "Luffy, I don't think that's helping..."

"SO YOU'RE MASIRA'S ENEMIES!" Shoujou takes up a microphone, "SOUND WAVE... HAVOC SONAR!"

A loud noise emerges from Shoujou's mouth. But it seems to be attacking his own ship.

Well, Maxwell didn't need any prompting. He energized the Merry and started sailing around them. Shoujou seemed to angry to notice.

"So... What're they doing?" Luffy and Sanji just watch the chaos unfold.

"BOSS! YOU CAN'T USE THAT TECHNIQUE WHEN ON DECK...! GYAHHHH!" "IT'S USELESS! HE'S TO BLIND WITH RAGE TO KNOW WHO HE'S ATTACKING!"

"Beat's me. But it's still impressive. He can destroy a ship with just his voice!" Luffy watches as planks on the monkey's ship start splattering.

"Max! Keep sailing! Thanks for getting us out of there!" Nami had emerged from the cabin, having cooled off.

"Sweet, Nami's not mad anymore!" "Well anyone would be, after letting off that much steam..."

Maxwell paused, having heard Merry groan in the Fade. The mage twisted his hand like he was turning a dial and Merry began to glow with an even fiercer blue light. They may have been leaving Shoujou behind, but sound waves were beginning to get to her. So Maxwell combated that by condensing the magic around her.

He looked around. Usopp had done a good job so far, but the repairs still had a bit to go. Maybe it was time to get the whole crew involved?