Chapter 8
Skyward Bound
Progress was remarkably fast when the Saruyama crews arrived. Everyone pitched in to fixing the Going Merry. Trees were chopped, logs were cut, nails were hammered, metal was shaped, no one stood around lazily. Chopper made sure Masira, Shoujou, and Cricket didn't open their wounds pitching in, the three bosses refused to stay still. Maxwell himself helped raised the bow so they could get it back attached to the main haul. Once that was secured, everyone did little odd jobs around the ship. Usopp in particular nailed boards together for others to putt on the Merry.
Then there were the modifications. The haul was twice as thick then before, having another layer of wood hammered on. Two wing like appendages were added to the port and starboard, elevated at a slight angle. Their stern had an arching board hanging from the poopdeck like tail feathers. And to add a little more detail, Merry's figurehead had a tied on bird crest. To be honest, Merry either turned into a chicken was was wearing the ship version of Brazilian carnival. Usopp called it Going Merry's Flying Model.
Nami meanwhile, was ranting, "Oh for goodness sake! What does he think he's doing!?" They had finished the shipwright work and ready to sail, but Luffy was still missing, "It's already morning! MORNING!" The crew was all waiting outside Cricket's house, "He's 46 minutes later than the time he promised to come back by! Does he WANT to miss the knock up stream! I bet it's because of that heavy gold figurine slowing him down! He probably never even took that into his calculations! He's such a simpleton!"
"Uh..." Usopp sweat-dropped at Nami's choice of words, "I don't think he even made any calculations in the first place."
"Yeah, 100% likely." Maxwell wasn't sure if Sanji was agreeing with Usopp or Nami.
"You don't think he was beaten, do you...?" Chopper asked.
"IF HE LOST, I'D BEAT THE CRAP OUTTA HIM EVEN IF HE DID ARRIVE ON TIME!"
"Just what do you even want from him, woman..." Zoro muttered. He'd been dealing with Nami's bipolar issues their entire time on this island.
Maxwell leaned over and whispered, "I think she just doesn't want to look embarrassed."
"WHAT WAS THAT!?"
"Nothing!" Both men parroted.
"HEY~!" Luffy's voice called out from along the cape.
The Saruyama Allience perked up, "It's him! Thank God he's back!"
"I DID IT!" "HURRY UP LUFFY! YOU'RE ALREADY LATE!"
"LOOK!" Just what was Luffy on about now? "A HERCULES BEETLE! IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO FIND THIS!" He was holding it up as he was running.
Now it was Maxwell's turn to yell, "JUST WHAT IN ANDRASTE'S MERRY UNDERPANTS WAS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT A BUG!?"
Luffy then noticed Merry's modifications as ran into camp, "WHOA! IT'S AWESOME! THAT LOOKS LIKE IT'S SO GONNA FLY!"
Usopp was psyched right along with him, "I KNOW RIGHT!?"
Nami let out a sight, "Personally, I'm getting uneasy just looking at that thing."
"I agree. A pigeon's much better at flying than a rooster—" "THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM HERE, YOU BLOCKHEAD!"
"Luffy," Maxwell took a calming breath, "Did you get it back?"
Luffy nods at him and then walks over to Cricket. He places a sack he had been carrying back on the table. It was all of the gold Cricket had collected over the years, returned after it had been stolen.
"...Get on the ship, you ain't got much time left," He didn't talk about the gold. Cricket just smothered another cigarette into his ashtray. There was a whole pile of them in it, "Or do you want to waste your only chance to go to the sky, you idiot..."
Luffy smiles, "Right. Thanks for fixing up the ship."
"Thank them, not me," Cricket pointed behind them at the Saruyama ships.
Luffy turns to the monkey brothers, "Thanks a bunch, guys! I'll give you my Hercules beetle!"
Both brothers look at him bashfully, "Really!? Are you sure!? Man, you're such a nice guy!"
Masira was the first to snap out of the embarrassment though, "In any case, just get on the ship! We're runnin' outta time!"
"We'll go on ahead first so catch up!" Shoujou and Masira start op the water wheels on their ships.
Maxwell smiles as he himself jumps on. He energizes the ship, feeling every new piece of wood and metal. It was time to see what this ship really could fly!
"SARUYAMA ALLIENCE!"
The crews of both monkey themed boat stand alert at Cricket's call, "DON'T GO SLIPPING UP NOW, Y'HEAR!? NO MATTER WHAT! PIT EVERY LAST OUNCE OF ENERGY YOU'VE GOT TO GET THEM UP IN THE SKY!"
Luffy smiles looking back at the diver. Then he jumps on, "Alright, let's go!"
"Let's set sail!" "Woohoo!" "Aye-Aye, Nami~!"
"Kid!" Cricket runs up to the side of the Going Merry, "This is good-bye for you and me now! There's one thing I know for certain at least... Whether it's the City of Gold or Sky Island, there's never been a person who's proven they don't exist!"
"Right!"
"Sure, people might laugh, calling it an absurd dream, but so what!? ISN'T THAT DREAMING PRECISELY WHAT MAKES IT ROMANTIC!?
"Romantic, huh?" Luffy leans against the stern. Maxwell already had the ship turned around.
"That's right!" Cricket smirks, "Thanks... For getting back my gold...! Now don't you go falling out of the sky!"
"Shishishishi!" The wind caught in their sail as they started shoring off, "SEE YA, MISTER!"
"Thanks for everything, Mr. Montblanc!" "I'm sure the city of gold exists!" "Don't push yourself too hard, mister!"
"No need to worry about me!" Cricket waved as the ships went out to sea. He never met people like that before. Fools who could meet a stranger and immediately become friends chasing after dreams. Cricket really did hope the Straw-Hats find what their looking for.
O O O
Maxwell took to the modifications in stride. He could feel the extra weight in the floor boards and the drag from the tail feathers. Although the wings did stabilize their weight so they weren't tilting all over the place. Still, the magical energy ran through them, and it was all smooth sailing for now.
"Listen up!" yelled Shoujou, "It's 7 in the morning right now! It'll be around 11 by the time we get to our destination. Like our boss said, the knock-up stream changes location everytime, so we'll have to quickly search for it's exact location as soon as we arrive there. No since we're a little behind schedule... Hey! Are you listing to my expl—"
*BOING~!*
"Hahaha! It turned back around!" Luffy was messing with the southbird they had caught. The crew kept it chained to the railing back bow railing so it wouldn't go flying off.
"That sure is one weird bird," Usopp and Chopper had also gathered around it.
Luffy still found it funny, "It really can't face any other direction than south! It's like a compass! Hahahaha!"
*JOOOEEE JOOOEEE JOOOEEE!*
Usopp looked down at Chopper, "What did it say?"
"He said he'll face another direction to make trouble for us."
Luffy sat back on the deck, "Ahahaha! Let him try!"
The bird turned it's head around with a cocky smirk, "Oh! It's facing north!
*Joe...* now it was struggling to keep it's head in place, *Jooee...*
*...BOING~!*
"HAHAHAHAHA!" "It can't rest unless it's facing south!"
"Alright, alright, that's enough torturing the bird," Maxwell walked up the stairs with a banana in his hand, "We're already late enough as it is," He peals it and hands the banana flesh to the southbird.
*JOE!* It squawks at him angrily.
"Oh, so you don't want it?" Maxwell moves to eat it it himself
*JOOOEEE~!* It flaps it's arms in quick protest. So it did want the banana!
Luffy waves off his first mate, "Panicking now ain't gonna solve anything, so let's take it easy, eh, guys!?"
"Whose fault do you think it is that we're late?" Sanji jabs at his own captain.
Masira leans against his own ship, "Well, he's got a point. We've still got a few hours left, so there's no point in staying nervous all they way through."
"Ah, okay then... Alright boys, full speed ahead... while relaxing!" Shoujou cheered.
"Aye-Aye...!" "Ah... Nice weather we got..." "Uo... Ho..."
Both Saruyama ships seemed to sag along with Merry. It was like like the ships themselves were laying back.
"Is this really fine?" muttered Zoro.
"I'm more curious how the ships are sagging like this. I mean look at the mast!" Maxwell looked up to see the main sail tilting to the side like the mast was some wet noddle.
Still, they kept their pace steady sailing over the ocean. They followed the southbird's beak to Nami's direction, sailing for about three hours without a sign in sight. Usopp and Sanji had already gone inside to cook and tinker. Zoro took a nap, Chopper watched a Luffy made himself into macrame around the mast, and Robin just sat and read a book.
Max looked down at his sides, "So... What do you guys think?" He had been busy looking out at the sea. The spiritual anchors lit up with their inhabitants.
"A reservoir amount of water being shot up into the sky, and we're going to ride it into a sea of clouds? Outstanding. Positively riveting. I might just ask a darkspawn for lunch next," Mordred's sarcasm wasn't lost on Maxwell.
"I think this whole plan is insane," Mineive deadpanned.
"We are well past the point of sanity, Mineive," Salem's calm demeanour sounded, "Miss Nico said it herself, logic is lost on the Grand Line. It might just be possible... Granted, taken with a healthy amount of caution."
"Well... There's no turning back now," Maxwell adjusted another pulley on Merry's rigging. He had to be sure they were still going full speed.
"BOSS! THIS IS BAD!" One of Masira's lookouts sounded from their boat.
"Speak of the devil..." Maxwell muttered.
"Why, what is it!?" Masira ran up to his underling.
"Night's falling... from the southwest! IT'S THE EMPERORNIMBUS!"
Max clambered onto one of the Merry's shrouds to get a better look. They could see it, a great mountain of clouds to the starboard bow.
"Already!? What time is it!?" "It's only 10:00! It's here much sooner than we thought!" "This is bad... Shoujou! You think they can still make it!?" "Utan divers! Dive at once and find a current!"
Usopp and Sanji came out of the cabin, "WHAT'S GOING ON!?"
Nami called back to them, "The emperornimbus cloud's here sooner than we thought! And we still don't know where the knock-up stream will be!"
The Utan divers were already underwater and Shoujou sang into his microphone. The divers depended on this echolocation. All they could do was wait until they reported.
...
...
...
"Echo detected! Large ocean currents at 12 o'clock!"
"Echo detected! Unidentified large animal at 9 o'clock! Most likely a seaking!"
"Echo detected! Waves crashing against the ocean currents at 10 o'clock! Likely to be a giant whirlpool!"
"THAT'S THE PLACE!" yelled Masira, "TURN THE SHIP TO 10 O'CLOCK! THAT WHIRLPOOL IS OUR SIGN! WE HAVE TO CATCH UP TO IT!"
Maxwell jump down onto the deck and went to the bow, "Let's go Merry!" The Going Merry's rigging blazed to life as they turned 60 degrees to port. The emperornimbus was already coming towards them. They just needed the knock-up stream. "Hold on tight!"
The crew yelled as the ship began to toss and turn, "THE WAVES GOT HUGE ALL OF A SUDDEN!"
"GAH~! WE'RE GONNA SINK!" "IT'S THE TREMOR BEFORE THE BLAST! BE CAREFUL!"
Maxwell kept rigged as he directed Merry through the turbulent waters. It was already dark and they needed to keep their course steady.
"Ms. Navigator! Where's the log pose pointing!?" Robin called out to Nami.
The redhead looked at their main compass on her wrist, "...It's pointing straight up!" Max could barely make out a swirl in the clouds above.
"The winds are perfect! They're directing the emperornimbus right above the whirlpool's eye!" Masira yelled over the storm-like conditions.
"WHAT WHIRLPOOL!? I DON'T SEE A WHIRLPOOL ANYWHERE!" Usopp yelled as he looked about.
"Looks like we guessed right this time, brother!" Masira yelled over to Shoujou.
"And this blast looks to be a big one!" Shoujou responded.
"WE CAN MAKE IT!?" Luffy called to them.
"Yeah, you should!" Two grappling hooks grabbed onto Merry's prow, and then Masira yelled again, "I'll take you too the whirlpool!"
"THEN WHAT!? WHAT DO WE DO AFTER!?" Nami asked drastically.
"Just follow the currents all the way to the centre without resisting!"
Maxwell then saw it. The giant whirlpool that was supposedly where the knock-up stream was supposed to be. Maxwell had to gape at the monstrosity. It was the size of a large island and the blue water turned black as it went deeper down it's funnel, "The centre of the whirlpool!?" It was certainly larger than the one he experienced back in East Blue... Wait, we're they supposed to sail into that thing!?
"I NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ANOUT BEING SWALLOWED UP BY A GIANT WHIRLPOOL!" "NAMI! ROBIN! DON'T WORRY, I'L PROTECT YOU TWO!" "Interesting, I've never seen a whirlpool of this size before." "TURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACKTURNBACK" "Give it up Usopp... It's too late. We've already got one crew member gung-ho about this."
"LET'S GO!" yelled the would-be Pirate King
*RAAAWWWWRRRRR! GRAAAAA! GULB GULB...*
They watched as a giant seaking got swallowed by the spiralling current.
*RAAAWWWR...!*
...
...
...
"Well... shit," said Maxwell.
...
...
...
"Alright then! The rest is up to you!" Masira and Shoujou yelled from the far edges of the whirlpool. They hadn't even noticed Masira had already let them go.
"Okay! Thank's for getting us here!" Luffy waved at the monkey brothers.
"NO—WAIT!" Usopp dashed to the railing, wailing out of panic, "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! YOU BASICALLY DRAGGED US TO AN EXECUTION! GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE YOU DAMN LUNATICS!"
Chopper and the southbird were bother screaming their heads off.
"I NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT A GIANT WHIRLPOOL! THEY DUPED US!" Nami yelled in terror.
"AGH! NIGHT'S ALREADY FALLEN ON US! THE WHIRLPOOL'S SUCKING US IN CLOSER AND CLOSER!" Usopp turned to his captain, "LUFFY, LET'S TURN BACK! WE MIGHT STILL MAKE IT IF WE TURN AROUND NOW! YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT SEAKING! THAT WHIRLPOOL ALONE WILL KILL US, LET ALONE THE BLAST FROM THE KNOCK UP STREAM! SKY ISLAND'S JUST A DREAM WITHIN DREAMS!"
"A dream within dreams...?" Luffy just looked out at the whirlpool, "You're right!"
"Exactly, Luffy! I think it's impossible too!" Nami pleaded with her captain.
Luffy turned to face then with a twinkling smile, "An adventure on a dream island wishing dreams!? We'd regret it for the rest of our lives if we gave this chance up!" The two teenagers could only look at him in despair.
Zoro approached the two crewmates "Guys, while you were making a futile last ditch attempt to dissuade our captain... Maxwell still hasn't changed course."
"Wait—What!?" Nami and Usopp both turn and see Maxwell still at the bow. He had magical energy still running through the Merry. And they were now past the tipping point of the funnel.
"Nami~ leap into my arms!" "GAAAAAHHHHH WE'RE GOING TO FALL! GAAAAAHHHHH!"
*Plop!*
...
...
...
"Huh?" Both Nami and Usopp looked around.
Maxwell fell onto his back, breathing hard, wheezing and bug-eyed. The sail had been folded in response, "Maker have mercy... Sweet Andraste... I thought I was gonna die...!" The mage was also shaking.
"SO DID WE!" Usopp and Nami yelled back at the mage.
The seas were calm. Thr wind was dead. The whirlpool had disappeared.
"What!? Why'd it disappear!?" yelled Sanji.
"What happened!?" "How could that gigantic whirlpool just suddenly vanish!?"
Nami looked down with building dread, "...No... It's starting...! The whirlpool's already been negated to the ocean floor!"
"...Huh?" "Wait, what!?"
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" A new voice sounded in the distance. It was enough to snap Maxwell out of his post-trauma. Who would be dumb enough to follow them out here?
"Hey, Zoro," Luffy said to his swordsman, "Over there."
The whole crew looked to see a pirate ship, though it looked more like a giant-sized raft with a three sailed mast. "ZEHAHAHA! I CAUGHT UP TO YOU AT LAST, STRAW-HAT LUFFY!"
Nami recognized that voice, "Ah... Those are the guys from Mocktown..."
"Wait, is this that 'Bellamy' fellow?" Maxwell asked.
"No, no, some other guy we met in town... He really seemed to like cheery pie."
"I'VE COME FOR THAT 100 MILLION BELI HEAD OF YOURS! SAY YOUR PRAYERS!" declared the pirate.
"100 million beli head? What're you talking about?" Luffy called out to the scruffy pirate.
"Ah, so you really didn't know..." Blackbeard then pulled out three wanted posters, "There's now a 100 million bounty posted for your head! And as for your friend, 'Pirate Hunter Zoro,' there's a 60 million beli bounty! Not to mention your little magician friend!"
Usopp had a pair of binoculars out, "He's right! Those are the new wanted posters! Zoro! There's a bounty on your head now!"
"Really? Let me have a look," Maxwell took the binoculars out of Usopp's hands and saw for himself.
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
"STRAW-HAT" MONKEY D. LUFFY
B 100,000,000
Luffy's bounty really had gone up! Must have been because of all the whole trouble back in Alabasta. Luffy did defeat a warlord after all. Max looked at the next poster.
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
"PIRATE HUNTER" RORONOA ZORO
B 60,000,000
The picture for Zoro poster, Maxwell realized, was a photo of the swordsman during the battle of Alubarna. He even had the dirt and grim from the battle. Max wondered who he fought to get such a bounty? Finally, Max looked at his own poster.
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
"MAGISTER" MAXWELL P.D. TREVELYAN
B 29,000,000
...
...
...
"Wait a Blight damned second...!" Maxwell leaned forward, "WHAT THE F #$!? WHY IS MY BOUNTY SO LOW!? IT MAY HAVE GONE UP, BUT HOW AM I LOWER THAN ZORO!? THERE'S SENIORITY TO CONSIDER DAMN IT!"
"So you're admitting to being an old man?" Zoro smirked behind him.
"NOT THE POINT!" Maxwell turned away from the spy glasses, "I was the first one to join this crew! What the hell are those marines thinking!? It should be at least be 61 million!"
Zoro tisked at the mage, "Well, you snooze you lose, grandpa."
"OH GRANDPA NOW, IS IT!?" "Shishishishi! Who cares!? I got 100 million!"
Nami rounds on the wanted men, "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU THREE GOING ON ABOUT THIS!? IT IS NOT A GOOD THING!" Generally, the high their bounty, the more likely the marines and bounty hunters were to come after you. Something about being a threat to the World Government.
"Hey! Hey guys!" The crew then notices Shoujou yelling at them far off. They were still watching them, "Don't get distracted!"
"Huh?" Maxwell looked at the Saruyama ship oddly. Why would they...? Oh no.
Maxwell looked over the side and saw the swell building right bellow them, "ALL CREW ON DECK! GRAB ONTO SOMETHING OR HEAD INSIDE!"
"GYAAA! THE SEA'S GONNA BLAST US TO SMITHEREENS!" Usopp screamed.
Maxwell braced himself in the corner of the cabin and the stern for the inevitable—
*KAAA—BOOM!*
"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"
Maxwell felt himself pinned to the wall as the g-forced propelled them up into the sky. But as they went higher, Maxwell felt those forces lessen.
"W-WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Usopp yelled hanging form a railing.
"The ship's riding on the pillar of water!" Sanji yelled actually being on top of it. They were actually sailing up the knock-up stream!
"Woohoo! This is awesome!" "How's this even possible!?"
Luffy grabbed onto Merry's head crest, "Yahoo! Let's go straight up to the sky! Go, Merry, go!"
Maxwell stood up, shaky from the sudden force applied to them. Then he watched in awe as water rushed up alongside them. He even took a look behind to see the rapidly shrinking sea below them. It was like riding up in a sling and cart with a humongous crane.
"Wait a second...! I don't think this is as good as it seems...!" mentioned Sanji.
Usopp finally got even footing, "Why, what is it?"
Even Luffy looked back, "What's wrong? Did we forget something?"
Maxwell felt it, even as Sanji said it, "The entire ship's beginning to float off the water stream! At this rate, we're gonna get knocked off the stream and fall back down!"
Usopp glanced down at the ocean below, "E-E-Even if we know that, just what can we do!? We're barely hanging onto our lives as it is already!"
"AH! WHAT'S THAT!" Everyone looks up where Chopper pointed. A giant axolotl like creature had fallen past them.
"A seaking!" "It must be the one that got sucked in earlier!" "It's only a matter of time until that happens to us too!"
And then ship debris started falling past them, brought up from the bottom of ocean. It was far enough away as they were still close to the current but who knows what will happen here. They were literally riding a natural disaster!
"MAX! RAISE THE SAILS! QUICKLY!"
Maxwell realized is it was Nami talking to him, "WHAT!?"
"This is still the ocean, it's not just some separate stream of water! What we're riding up right now in an ocean current! And the blast created by the heat and steam from the ocean floor has given rise to a skyward wind!" Wait was she implying—?
"As long as we're dealing with the winds and seas, I can navigate through them! Did you all forget who's the navigator of this ship!?" Nami had a determined smile on her face.
"...Hahahahaha! Well why didn't you say so!?" Max laughed. It seems they both have become cracked in the head. Maxwell immediately crouched down and slammed a hand on Merry's exterior. Magic sprang into life around the Going Merry and the sails unfurled.
"Turn the rudder port-side so we can catch the wind from starboard! We've gotta match the ship with the ocean current!" "Right!"
Maxwell had the Merry's rudder match the wind and water. The whole column had been moving up in a steady rotation.
Chopper looked over the side, "AH! THE SHIP'S FLOATING OFF MORE AND MORE!"
"WE'RE GONNA FALL, WE'RE GONNA FALL! DO SOMETHING, MAX, NAMI!" Usopp cried to them desperately.
Nami only looked up, "Don't worry we can make it!"
"I'm gonna fly!" Maxwell perked up, looking around for the little voice he knew was Merry's. He felt it as the ship lifted off the column. The ship was no longer in the stream. But they weren't falling.
No, they were still going up! ...They were flying! Merciful Maker, they were flying!
"WHAT!?" "WE'RE FLYING!?" "HELL YEAH! WE'RE FLYING IN THE SKY NOW!" "Is this for real!?" "WHOA!" "We did it!" "Wow...!" "NAMI~ YOU'RE AMAZING~!"
Max and Nami look at each other, hugged, and did a little dance, "HAHA! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Sanji looked down at them in "chivalric" anger, "Oi Max! Watch we're your putting your hands on Nami, ya bastard!"
Both of them let go and looked at each other, "As long as I can grasp the winds and ocean currents, we can sail anywhere!"
"And I'll be at the helm! With my magic and your brains, there is nowhere in the world this ship can't reach! Let's make history, Nami!" Maxwell raised a fist as a cheer.
Their ship was literally flying! How many sailors could lay claim that their ship actually flew? They were doing the impossible, directed by a thief, and steered by a sorcerer. All the while following the lead of a rubber-man captain with a straw hat.
"Hey Nami," Luffy looked down from his special seat. Even 90 degrees he still wanted to watch the journey from their, "Are we gonna arrive at the sky island soon!?"
Nami smiled and looked above them, "If it exists, it should be just beyond that cloud!"
"Above the cloud, eh!?" Luffy looks back up, "I wonder what's lying for us up there...!? LET'S BREAK THROUGH THE EMPERORNIMBUS!"
Maxwell couldn't help but pump his arms up and cry out in triumph, "WE'RE GOING TO THE SKY!"
Then his face was suddenly hit with water.