Chapter 12
Riders in the Sky
Zoro put his katana away. With the White Berets either down or shaking, there wasn't much point in fighting anymore. Plus, he saw the face Maxwell was making. It was like he was looking at a particularly offending piece of turd.
He thought he'd change the subject, "By the way, Nami! How much money do we have on board now?"
"Eh?" Somehow Nami had retreated back to the Merry when the fighting started. It may have seemed cowardly, but wasn't a fighter in reality. "50,000 beli."
"50,000!?" Zoro then thought about it for a second, "…That's it?"
"Yeah, normally it would only last us for 1 or 2 days!" Nami explained
"Why are we so poor!?" Luffy was taken aback, "I'm the captain, so I'll say something… you guys should think about how you spend our money!"
"IT ALL GOES TOWARDS FEEDING YOU!" the rest of the Straw-Hats reply. Even Maxwell chimed in. Honestly, he was still adjusting to the paper and coin currency of this world. But he knew they spent to much of it on Luffy's bottomless pit of a stomach. He even forgot about the whole "demon" comment for a moment.
"DON'T IGNORE ME!"
Then Captain McKinley shouted at them, instantly returning Maxwell to a sour mood.
"Y-Y-Y-YOU—" the captain was shaking in his boots, despite his righteous persona, "—YOU ARE A LIVING BLASPHEMY! GOD SHALL DEFINITELY BRING HIS WRATH UPON YOU! A-A-AND…" McKinley then remembered the other citizens of the Blue Sea, "YOU ALL ARE GUILTY! NOT ONLY FOR DISREGARDING CIVIC LAW, BUT FOR HARBOURING THIS DEMON! YOU ARE ALL OFFICIALLY CLASS-2 CRIMINALS!"
"…We're gonna die…!" Both Conis and Pagaya squeaked. And Max couldn't help but dryly glare at the locals.
"RETREAT! IT'S IN GOD'S HANDS NOW!" McKinley ordered his remaining forces. The White Berets quickly pick up their injured and run like all hell had broken loose.
Nami then chose this moment to return to the beach, "We were tricked! Didn't that old lady say, 'You can still go…' But once we did, it became 'Illegal Tresspassing!?' This is fraud! They can't do this!"
"That's true," Usopp sighed, "However, even if she's said, 'You may not pass,' we probably would've used force to get through."
"Really?" Luffy asked.
"Oh SHUT UP!" Nami yelled back at her captain. Luffy would likely just walk in without a care.
"Anyways!" Pagaya suddenly had their attention again, "Now things have become really complicated. If you're Class-2 criminals, we can't help you…" Normally this would be a measured, reasonable, response… If they weren't standing 30 feet away from them.
Maxwell then sighed, "I suppose we'll have to go to a courthouse or—"
"P-Please! …Don't come any closer?" Conis tried to laugh off her sudden panicked instance.
Maxwell was not amused.
"…Hey, Luffy!" Maxwell called back towards his captain, "I'm going to head back to the ship. See if there's any chores that need to be done."
"Chores? Why would you want to—?" Maxwell immediately left, ignoring whatever else Luffy was going to say. He didn't want to spoil the 'conversation.'
O O O
Maxwell slammed the door behind him. He was not an Abomination for Maker's sake! The Skypieans had something against him using lightning, fine. Conis and Pagaya shied away from him, fine. But at least have the decency to say it to his face! This whole farce had put him in a rather sour mood, and thus he returned to the ship.
He donned his warden styled armor and tried to calm himself down by breathing. While Max may have learned restraint and moderation in the Circle of Magi, even he still had that infamous Trevelyan temper. As a child, it had certainly gotten himself in trouble enough times. Fighting other apprentices, burning books, defacing the chapel brazier, he might as well have been a wild child when the Templars brought him in. The only things that saved him from being sentenced to Tranquility were his Great Aunt Lucille and Senior Enchanter Lydia. Both had taught him lessons and shaped him into the man he was today.
The mage sat down. He was already in the kitchen and figured this would be a better place calm down in, rather than his compartment.
Max slowly dragged his hands over his face. It helped calm him down from time-to-time. He was trying to ignore the need to hit something. Coming to the world, even if it wasn't by choice, Maxwell thought he had left those kind of prejudices behind. It was a world of islands and pirates for Maker's sake. No Circle of Magi, no Templars, no Chantry. He thought he wouldn't be persecuted for his magic here. The only powers people really had in this world were the Devil Fruits, and even they didn't gripe on Luffy that badly for it. Maybe it was just the pirate's life...?
There was a knock on the door. Maxwell might or might not have slammed it on his way in. The mage sighed, got up from the table, and went to the door. He opened it, just to not find anyone, which confused him.
"Max...?" Maxwell then looked down, realizing it was Chopper who had come to see him, "Are you okay...?"
His shoulders seems to sag, realizing he wasn't to only one on the crew to be previously persecuted, "I'll be fine Chop, just... bad memories."
Chopper was a reindeer who at the Human-Human Fruit, a literal paradox between man in beast. The little doctor had told them of his life before Dr. Kureha. "You're not mad at Conis and her father are you...?"
Maxwell stepped out of the door and leaned against the railing. It took a moment for him to answer, "...I think 'disappointment,' is the word I'm looking for. Fear is irrational... *Sigh* And clearly I triggered something that made them afraid of me."
Chopper climbed up to sit on the rails, "Nami said she saw this huge bolt of lightning destroy a cliff at Upper Yard. It killed a man who was running on the island. And before that, he was was being chased by four other people. She thinks it was God who did it."
"—Call him Enel," Maxwell retorted. Though his words didn't have any venom in them, "Any man who styles himself a god does not deserve such treatment."
"...Yeah. It does seems scary though."
"...Then maybe we'll just sick Luffy on his ass. Tell him God stole all the island's meat," Maxwell smirked.
"Hahahaha! That'd be fun to see," Chopper appreciated the joke.
"So what did the crew decide?" Maxwell turned to the human-caribou.
"Well, Nami wants to leave, but Luffy wants to go explore Upper Yard. Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp went back to Pagaya's house to get the food to go, and maybe some notes about fixing the waver."
Maxwell nodded, "...So act like nothing happened. Got it."
The ship suddenly jostled, nearly knocking over the mage. Chopper himself had fallen off the railing onto his back, "W-W-Whoa!"
"The hell!?" Maxwell looked from port to starboard, and realized the Merry was being held by a giant shrimp again. Only this one seemed bigger than the last.
"Where's it taking us!?" Zoro yelled. It seemed to have waken himself up from his nap.
"Hey! Everyone abandon ship! It's not to late!" Nami called out.
"And the ship!?" Chopper replied back, "If they take our ship—"
"Don't worry! I'll stay here!" Zoro hand a hand on one of his katanas.
"What!? What do you think you can do by yourself!?" demanded Nami.
"ENOUGH!"
The crew all flinched at Maxwell's command. They had nearly forgot he was still here. Maxwell walked down the step, "While Luffy is gone, I'm the one in charge! If you have something to say about it, say it now!"
No one answered.
Maxwell joined everyone on the bow and looked at their archeologist. She was the only one who hadn't said anything, "Robin, you see anything?" They were going incredibly fast.
"...I think the priests prepared for anyone who tried to escape. Look!" Everyone did, it was more sky-fish, similar to the one Sanji had knocked out when they were in the White Sea, "Those gigantic sky-fish... They're chasing us with their jaws wide open!"
"Even if we jump, we won't survive..." Zoro assessed the situation.
"What if we just take down the big shrimp!?" Chopper suggested. It seemed like a good idea.
"No! Too risky," Maxwell was tempted to fight too, but he had to be smart right now, "If we take on this shrimp we risk capsizing, being crushed in it's claws, and still having to deal with that hoard of sky-fish."
"Maybe, it's started?" suggested Robin.
"You mean Heaven's Judgement...?" Zoro asked. Clearly Max had missed out on something, "So instead of sending pursuers, they make us come to them... Cunning bastards."
"Then we're going to that island again!?" Nami ask, terrified. She didn't want to go back, "LUFFY! USOPP! SANJI!"
"While, we might be able to do anything about this shrimp, but perhaps we could use some target practice?" Mordred's eyeless skull lit up, signalling he was inhabiting his anchor.
"What are you talking about, Mordred?" Maxwell asked his spirit.
"Inferno spells," the skull replied.
Maxwell levitated the skull to eye level, "You want me to train, while we're in the middle of a crisis!?"
"Might as well get some practice in. This shrimp looks tough, so any spells that glances on the shell will probably be shrugged off. Oh look! And there are some tasty venues to vent your frustrations on!" Maxwell looked at the sky-fish and realized the spirit was right. At least it would pass the time, "Do try not blow yourself up."
Maxwell took another look at the sky-fish, "...Alright everyone hunker down! Until we arrive somewhere, I got fish to fry!"
O O O
The Super Express Speed Shrimp had taken them into Upper Yard.
Maxwell had been so focused on practising his fire magic, he had practically ignored the world around him. All he knew was they had entered a river and target practice had just upped the difficulty. It wasn't until the sky-fish disappeared, and the shrimp dropped them off, that he did stop.
The ship was on an altar, a giant protrusion in the middle of a lake. However, all around them, giant trees grew at the edges of the lake. They were enormous! Blocking out out parts of the sun and practically the size of mountains. The lake they were stranded in was all sea cloud, making Maxwell wonder if there was a freshwater/seawater differential. But if this altar stood in the middle, then there was likely a basin in here.
"What is this place?" Chopper asked, looking around. He was standing on the railing, trying to get a better look.
"All we know is that we're somewhere inland on Upper Yard," replied Nami. She was looking at the braziers above them, decorated with crossed spears, a shield, and a cow skull.
"This appears to be a sacrificial altar," said Robin. There were plenty of pictographs in this place.
"A sacrificial... altar?" Maxwell's words came out slowly. He didn't like where this line of thought was leading, "Oh great, this better not be like Tevinter. I could do without the blood magic."
"Nami, what's a sacrifice?"
Nami blinked looking back at Chopper, "It's when living things are offered to a god."
"Also demons, tyrants, blood-thirsty magisters..." Max muttered under his breath.
"Oh is that all? I thought I was gonna get boiled alive," Chopper sighed in relief.
"But it's almost the same," Robin teased the reindeer, "No matter the methods, we still have our lives offered to God."
"WHAT!?" Chopper screamed, "THEN WE'RE GONNA BE KILLED!? Whoa—Ah-AGH!" He lost his footing and fell over the edge.
"Chopper!" Maxwell ran over to grab him, but he wasn't fast enough. He watched as their doctor went ass over tea-kettle down the alter steps. Thankfully Robin used her powers to catch him before Chopper could fall in.
Then a shark jumped out of the water, planning to eat him. Thankfully, Zoro intervened, swords drawn.
"What is that!?" Nami looked wide-eyed at the giant fish.
"A shark. A shark in the sky. It's a sky-shark," Robin replied.
Maxwell looked at her strangely, "Nothing ever phases you does it?" He then watched as Zoro tried to fight the shark in the water. The swordsman was seen keeping it's jaws open as he had all three swords out.
*SPLASH!*
"ZORO!" Nami and Chopper cried out.
...
...
...
"Ah... He's not coming up... Did he get eaten...!?" "GYA~! ZORO'S BEEN EATEN!"
"...If he was, the cloud would be turning red by now."
Maxwell decided to ignore Robin's macabre sense of humour, "Zoro! Finish this up already! This is no time for games!"
He then saw Zoro jump out of the water, giving the fish an uppercut, "GET OUTTA MY WAY!"
With the shark knocked out, Zoro swam back to the altar. He sheathed his swords and climbed up the steps back towards the boat. Maxwell had his arms crossed, "...Well?"
"It looks like we won't be able to swim ashore..." Zoro took of his shirt and ringed it out, "There are a bunch more sharks in those clouds. Seems like a dangerous place..."
"You're a swordsman, yet you used your fist to kill a shark!" Nami commented on his performance. Chopper was easily more impressed, ignoring the swords comment.
"...I wonder if Heaven's Judgement is to let us starve in this place?" Robin decided to go down the rope ladder.
"Would something... Tch, dammit. Max, you better get down here! And Nami, find me a dry shirt, will you!" Zoro was looking at the ship.
"What? What's wrong?" Maxwell climbed down the rope ladder and dropped onto the altar proper.
He then saw what was wrong, "...Blight and Maker damn it," the shrimp's claws had punctured the haul right near the keel. Merry might have been sitting on a bed of clouds, but she was still injured.
"Well, with the ship's belly in this state, we can't put it in the water. We'll need to repair it somehow..." Zoro put on the new shirt, "Chopper! Think you can try?"
"Eh!? Me?" The reindeer then nodded, "Understood!"
"Repair it... So what are you gonna do?" Nami looked at Zoro warily.
"I'll enter the forest somehow, and we'll use this place as our gathering point. Luffy and the others will come here looking for us for sure. Besides, isn't there an old saying, 'When you're lost stay where you are?'"
"So the exact opposite of what you're planning..." Maxwell deadpanned. He could have pointed out his lack of directions, but decided not too.
"What? God's on this island, right? I want to go meet him," Zoro explained himself.
"What!? Why would you want to meet someone scary like that!?" demanded Nami.
"...I dunno. That depends on him," the swordsman smirked.
"Sweet Andraste..." Maxwell resorted to pinching his nose again. Talk about bravado.
"Don't you know there are also priests here!?" Nami yelled at Zoro, "You mustn't anger God! This is just common sense!"
"Sorry. I never pray to God!" Zoro then lost his smirk, "I don't even believe in God, so why should I care?"
Maxwell shook his head, "...If it's any easier, just call him Enel. I sure as hell ain't calling him God."
"Gotcha..." Zoro then saw something up high, "Looks like we might be able to use that vine." Maxwell also looked up. One of the giant trees above them had a branch sticking out above them. A giant vine also sagged a over it's side and it might be possible to pull it down.
"Ah... That's not a bad idea," said Robin, "Would you mind if I join you?"
"Eh?" Zoro looks at her strangely, "...Okay, but don't get in my way!"
"Wait, Robin's going too!?" Nami looked over the edge of the ship, down at them.
"Take a look around!" Robin spread her arms, "This altar is at least a thousand years old. Seeing such historical remains... Makes me quite excited," Maxwell could even see a smile forming in her lips, "Plus if we find some gems or treasures, we can use them to repair the ship."
"I'm going too!" Nami raised her hand.
"Huh!?" Chopper stared at Nami, "But didn't you say it was scary...?"
"We're exploring history!"
Maxwell deadpanned. More like she wanted to go tomb robbing, "...Nothing I say, is going to convince you guys to stay put, is it?"
Robin and Zoro already got the vine down so that it hung over the ship.
"Sigh... Fine. But I'm staying here!" Maxwell shouted at them as they climbed up to the crows nest.
He heard Zoro try to clear his throat, "...Hu! K-k-khuh...! ...AAAAUUUHHH AHAUH~ AUHAHAUAH~!"
…What sort of strange druffalo call was that? Zoro swung across the lake to the shore and landed safe enough.
Robin went next, but she didn't do the neandrathavic cry thankfully. The vine swing was working out pretty well.
Lastly it was Nami's turn, "...This looks pretty high..."
"It's probably 50 meters high. If you fall you'll die," Robin called back.
"Don't say things like that!" Nami yelled at the other female Straw-Hat. She was psyched out as it was... But she took the leap of faith.
"Wah...! AGH! FAST... TOO FAST! I CAN'T STOP!" Robin thankfully caught her, "Oof!"
"My, aren't you a brave one?"
"Well then, the ship is yours, guys~!" Zoro called back to the ship.
"Please take care!" "We'll be back soon~" The girls called out to them.
"Alright! Be careful out there!" "Come back safely!"
Maxwell looked back at the Merry and sighed, "...Now, how are we going to do this?"
"Hey Max!" The mage looked up to see Chopper looking down at him from the ship, "Do you think I can hold onto the whistle?" Chopper was looking a little nervous, "I just realized how much danger we're in..."
The mage raised an eyebrow, and sent a mental message towards Merry. He heard her giggle, "...I think Merry wouldn't mind you talking it. Besides, we'll be fine!" Maxwell saw a timber fall out of Merry's haul, "...I think... Just make sure to put it back when the others arrive!"
"Okay!" Chopper ran back across the deck.
Maxwell meanwhile looked back at the forest. It was so tall and dense, he could barely see the sky, "...Probably should have asked Zoro to get some timber, while he was out exploring... If he can cut through iron, he can very well chop down a few trees..." A shadow suddenly loomed over him, "Huh?"
"What? Are you two the only sacrifices I get to kill?" It was a man-angel-Skypiean-whatever, riding on a giant condor.
"Shit!" Maxwell immediately drew Mordred's anchor.
*PPPPPPIIIIIHHHHH!* Chopper had also seen the rider and blew Gan Fall's whistle.
"Hm..." "Sky Rider" Shura looked at the skull held floating in Maxwell's hand, "At least I get the blasphemer... Now, offer your life to God Enel!" Shura jabbed his lance at Maxwell and the mage immediately rolled out of the way.
Max rolled into a crouch and conjured fire with Mordred's skull. He thrust his focus at the aviator unleashing a spell of Blistering Pain. The lance of fire shot at the priest but Shura commanded "Fuza!" and his mount immediately flapped into the air.
"Now why did you do that?" Shura looked down as Fuza circled the ship, "Nothing you do will be able to save yourselves. Fuza, burn him!"
The condor swooped down to make a pass on the mage. What really surprised Max was that the bird breathed fire! He had to jump out of the way into the hole in the haul to dodge the stream of flame.
"Hmph. Mistake," Maxwell barely jerked his head out of the way and narrowly dodged a lance through his noggin. Maxwell's eyed the weapon that nearly skewered him, and then quickly cast Wildfire in front of him. However, the priest jumped out of the blast radius before he could get flash fried.
Shura stood on Fuza once again, "Hm... You're definitely a ranged fighter. You'd likely could have blasted me with that attack a few times. No doubt the altitude slows you down, typical of a Blue Sea dweller."
Maxwell breathed, glaring at the priest. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of confirming his assessment.
"AGH! THE SHIP!" Both men looked up to see Chopper salvaging what he could from the flames. Some of the rigging had caught fire.
"Chopper!" Maxwell warned as the priest lunged at the reindeer, his eyes widening with fear. Not only was he slower from earlier, he also had to protect Chopper and the Merry! That man's lance was able to catch fire somehow, and his bird breathed it like a dragon.
Max lifted himself out of the hole only for Fuza to breath fire on him again. He jumped, diving into the ship's haul, and out of the blaze. The fire was too close for comfort. Maxwell immediately raced through the haul, hearing the sounds of combat and cracking wood.
By the time he got back on deck, the mast was already gone and Shura stalked up to a Human-Point Chopper, "STOP! PLEASE STOP! I PROMISED...! I PROMISED I'D HELP WATCH THE SHIP!"
"...Tch. What should we do Fuza?" the priest rubbed his capped head, "First you tell me not to attack your friend, then you tell me you don't want to die, then you tell me not to destroy this ship. You put me in a difficult situation...! You really are a selfish animal."
"F #$ OFF!" Maxwell shoots off a couple of arcane bolts using his hand in deliberate gestures. Mordred periodically fires off his own as they're whisked along within the energy.
Shura rolls, weaving in between the magic missiles, searching for an opening in Maxwell's assault. He can't seem to find any, the arcane bolts were deadly, accurate, and Shura can barely dodge. Shura had lost the element of surprise, and now he was paying for it.
"What is life, without sacrifice?" Shura instead backs off, jumping onto a higher railing, "If someone wants to survive, then someone else must die... That's how the world works."
"Spare us the Chant, and get off our ship!" Maxwell readied a fireball to aim at the sky priest.
Shura glared at being rebuffed, "Did you know this is the Altar of Sacrifice...? Right now your other friends are risking their lives to come here. On this island, each of the Four Priests controls a territory. When the target enters one of the territories, no one other than the coresponding priest may attack. That is the rule. But this altar is not part of that any area. Let's call it a free area... It doesn't matter who does what, but... Well, it's for after the people being tested are dead."
"...What then...?" Chopper asked the priest. He was on guard as much as Maxwell was, "If Luffy comes here and saves us, we can escape from here together?"
"Yeah. That's it... If you can escape from this free area. Anyways, that's just the original rules for Judgment, and in special situations, the rules can be changed."
"Special...!?" Chopper looked at the aviator weirdly.
"Correct. For example... If three the sacrifices used vines to escape to that forest over there..."
"Eh... That's a special situation?" Choppers eyes then bugged out realizing what Zoro had encouraged. Maxwell could blame the swordsman later. How had this blasted winged alter boy been avoiding his attacks!? Arcane bolts were usually dead on.
"For the crime of running away, someone must pay for it with his life as sacrifice. This is the way of the world. When they come back they will also be punished, so they can realize their mistakes. You must give your life to God!" Shura then lunged at them.
"No way!" Both crewmates yelled, and tried to roll out of the way. Chopper had gotten stabbed through the shoulder and Shura had dodged the fireball Max had hurled at him.
Just then, Shura turned around to block another lance. Gan Fall had returned, responding to his whistle, "Thank you for waiting."
"KNIGHT OF THE SKY!" Chopper cried out unable to stop crying.
"Hun... A rare guest!" Both men jumped back and landed on their respective mounts. Now they took this battle to the skies, "Gan Fall!"
"OOOOO! KNIGHT OF THE SKY!" "Hold still Chop! I still have to mend your wound!"
"A strong opponent. He is well trained. We must fight harder Pierre." "An old man like you is useless! Let's just play with him... Fuza!" Both birds had responded to their respective masters calls.
"Yell all you like!" Gan Fall readied his lance.
"THIS ISLAND DOESN'T NEED TWO GODS!" Then both riders jousted. It was a combination of martial arts and thrusting. Both of the White Sea dwellers fought mid air as their birds flew past each other. It was then Gan Fall that did the unexpected by turning around. Shura gave chase, barely realized what he was doing but was too late. Pierre did a barrel roll and Gan Fall landed on Fuza right behind him. The knight reached out his palm and then concussive force knocked Shura off his condor.
Chopper continued to cheer on while Maxwell looked for an opening. He can still fight, he just needed a good shot, and not hit the chevalier.
Gan fall jumped as the condor dived down towards his master. Fuza had caught Shura on his back and caught his lance it their beak, while Gan Fall got ready for another charge.
"We need to finish this, Pierre! GO!"
"You bastard..." Shura glared at the old man, "You know that you are a criminal too...! Why have you come here...!? Foolish thing, I will show you my anger towards the foolish." The priest then stood up, "TRIAL OF STRING!"
There the fighting picked up. The aerial fighters clashed with lance and limb, and the birds made sure to be a platform to jump off of so they could still fight midair.
Chopper looked up in amazement, "I can't even see their movements... So strong!" Maxwell stayed silent eyes darting trying to keep up with the battle.
"I do not think I am able to bargain with you!" "HA! You are still lukewarm!"
The riders jousted again, and this time Gan Fall got a solid hit in. Pierre and Gan Fall turned to make another round but somehow they suddenly froze mid-flight. It was like a fly had caught in a spiderweb.
"WAHAHAHAHAHA! How is it, Gan Fall!?" Fuza came around and Shura gloated at the old knight.
"Why you villain! What did you do to me!?"
Maxwell got ready, this was he only chance to take down that priest.
"There is no need to answer a dying man!" Shura prepared to impale the old knight. However, Maxwell intervened.
"EXPLODING BOLT!"
Lightning shot down from the canopy, hitting Shura mid leap. Maxwell's spell had hit! And the thunder boom had been enough to knock away both Gan Fall and Shura's mount, "Yes!"
Gan Fall and Pierre rightened themselves as whatever had had a hold of them disappeared. The knight looked to the ship bellow at the man who had a triumphant smirk. Had he been the one to summon that lightning?
Shura was in shock, both figuratively and literally. Why was he struck down? Had he done something to displease Enel? No wait... that blasphemer! That heathen sorcerer who dare tread on God's domain! Shura tried to right himself, but his body wouldn't listen to him. He had to burn that warlock!
He then saw the water clouds as he tumbled through the air. He was going to fall into the lake! He didn't want to die! There were sky-sharks in those clouds! "FUZA!" he called for his mount, but then he saw his condor had been knocked out and falling with him," No... No! Nononono—!" The Priest of God Enel fell into the clouds.
And thing he saw, was a set of jaws coming to devour him.