Kia lay there, awake and aware, but didn't open her eyes just yet. Her head was positively throbbing, and even trying to think made her nauseated. She slowly reached up, and felt the painful knot on the side of her head. Looking at her fingers, and seeing that there wasn't any blood, she figured Zoro had hit her with the back of his blade.
She supposed then that she should be grateful he had kept her from being electrocuted, but she wasn't quite feeling it. She began to hear voices, yet continued to simply lie there. Eventually she figured out that it was Luffy and another screaming, and then Robin's voice was added as well.
"The navigator is with him. He plans to destroy all of Skypiea…"
"What?!" a girl screamed.
"Robin, is Kia okay? And the others?" Luffy asked, and Kia could hear the worry in his voice.
"They will be," she answered.
There was plenty of noise as the two of them left again, and Kia got lost once again in her thoughts.
Eventually she felt something touch her face, and she opened her eyes, squinting at the light. She saw Robin above, peering down into her face. "Can you stand?" she asked.
"I think so," Kia replied. "His sword was turned, but he still packs quite a punch." Kia moved slowly, and had some help, but made it to her feet.
"We can't stay here," Robin said. "We need to move up the beanstalk. Can you help me move them?" she asked pointing over to where the other unconscious people were.
Kia looked over, seeing the three large men and little Chopper. She nodded, and said, "it will be slow going, but yes."
Slow going was a bit of an understatement. Robin was still weak, and couldn't use her powers for much more than hand holds as they climbed. Kia thought it was a very strange sensation, gripping warm, human hands as she climbed up a giant plant. The girls decided to go with the heaviest first, so Kia had Wyper, and Robin had Ganfal.
Kia had grabbed bandages from her bag, and they tied the men to their backs, knowing they wouldn't be able to hold them with just their own strength. Kia put Wyper's arms over her shoulders, and held his arms with one hand, and started climbing with the other.
Frequent rests, and a lot of sweat later, they finally reached the next level of cloud layer, where they had been before Eneru had caused everything to come crashing down. They dragged Wyper and Ganfal over to a shaded area, and laid them back out. Kia could only be glad they were still unconscious, mostly because that trip would have been very uncomfortable otherwise.
After an extended rest, they made their way back down to their friends. Kia argued with Robin a bit about who would take who, and finally Robin relented to take Chopper. Kia had used a valid point, that Robin was using her energy to help them climb, and therefore should take the smaller of the two.
However, Robin made up for it by using more of her energy to help push Kia upwards during the second climb, though Kia didn't complain. Zoro was heavy, and she felt she would drop him several times during the trip.
Robin went first, and got to the top long before Kia did, but she stood at the top with her arms crossed, and Kia could feel the hands that she was climbing on pulling and pushing her upwards as she went.
As Kia made it to the top, and Robin was pulling Zoro up, they heard a strange noise, and Robin looked up.
"What is it?" Kia asked, focused on getting Zoro to the cloud above her.
"A… ship," Robin answered.
"It's him… Eneru," Kia replied,and Robin nodded, returning to her pulling.
"There are massive thunderclouds filling the sky around it as well," Robin said, as Zoro was clear, and she grabbed Kia's arm to help her up.
They moved Zoro and Chopper over to the others, and Kia looked them all over, putting on medicine and bandages where they were needed. Knowing Zoro's adverse reaction to too many bandages, and thinking that Wyper was most likely the same, she went sparingly with them.
After cleaning up Chopper, she found his wound wasn't as bad as it originally looked, which was a relief. He had definitely been through a traumatic experience, and the fact that he was still out was proof of that.
Robin and Kia sat together afterwards, just watching over the others and waiting for Luffy to return. They saw the huge bolts of lightning that Eneru was sending down lashing through the sky, and going over what they knew, they determined that waiting there was the best course of action.
Finally hearing some shouting, they looked up, to see Pierre and a little girl come falling at them.
"Robin! Watch these two for me!" Luffy shouted from up above them. Robin made a few extra hands in order to catch them, and Kia could barely hear her words to Luffy over the screaming of the girl.
"Luffy! What are you doing?" she yelled
"Robin! The bell is at the top, right? Eneru is going after it?!" she heard.
"Yes!" she replied. "If it's here, it's at the top! But Luffy…!" she stopped yelling, and turned to look at Kia. "and… gone."
"Were you expecting him to stay and get the whole plan?" Kia asked with a smile. Robin rolled her eyes, and turned to the girl. "So, little one, have you seen our Navigator? She's a woman with orange hair," Robin asked.
"You mean Nami?" the girl said, and pointed up. "She's on the ship. Luffy went to save her."
Robin and Kia both nodded, seeing as that made sense why he was in such a hurry. Though they were all surprised when Nami came riding up on her waver from another direction, with two others in tow.
"Miss Navigator, and Long Nose, and the cook too," Robin said in surprise, as the girl ran to give Nami a hug. Kia looked at them, seeing Sanji draped over Usopp's shoulder, so she went to help them. After Usopp laid him down, and Kia did what she could for his new burns, she went to check on the others again.
Kia could hear Nami in the distance, explaining quickly what was going on, and deciding to go after Luffy. Kia shook her head when Nami told them all to get back to the ship, wondering when they would finally understand Luffy's determination to see things through, no matter what. Kia knew that they weren't going anywhere until Luffy rang the giant bell, so she continued her ministrations.
She had made it back around to Wyper, when she heard, "Hey! Get away from him!" and found Aisa in front of you, looking ready to fight. Since Nami had helpfully said her name, Kia didn't need to worry about being introduced.
"Aisa, isn't it?" she asked, and the little girl nodded warily. "Well Aisa, I'm just checking to make sure he's still in good condition, and seeing if he needs any medicine. He's in pretty bad shape, having used his reject dial on Eneru."
"He… he did?" she asked in awe.
"Yeah, he did. It almost worked too," Kia answered. "Since he's the most injured, I've been staying close, just in case. But I promise, I'm only trying to help."
She looked at Kia again and asked, "You're part of Luffy's crew?" and Kia nodded. "Okay then, but I'm watching you."
"No problem," Kia said with a smile, and moved on to Pierre, who had lain down next to Ganfal.
The minutes stretched on as they waited, and once they discovered the huge spherical cloud descending on Angel Island, no one spoke any longer. They all just watched in a mixture of awe and horror as the cloud descended like a peaceful rain, only to explode in a huge flash of light once it touched the ground.
The noise was like any other explosion, but the light was brighter than staring directly at the sun. Everyone shielded their eyes from the blast, and when it finally ended, and they looked out again, they found… nothing. Nothing at all was left of Angel Island, not even the clouds it had sat upon.
Kia suddenly felt movement next to her, and put her hand out to stop Wyper from moving. "Be careful, you have many injuries," she said, then let him go, and moved back. It wasn't like he was going to listen to her anyway, but she had to try. She saw Zoro moving, and went over to speak to him.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked, helping him sit up.
"Like I've been electrocuted."
"That's good then, since you were," she replied, knowing how grumpy he was when he was injured. "Do me a favor and stay sitting for awhile, okay? If you do, I won't pay you back for the huge knot on my head."
He winced, but nodded, and Kia got up to check on others. Ganfal was the next to wake up, and once he saw what happened to Angel Island, he was inconsolable. But he stayed sitting by Pierre, so Kia just let him be.
"We should hurry and go," Robin said loud enough for everyone to hear. She picked up Chopper, ready to head out. "There is nothing else we can do here."
"We're not all here," Kia commented, gazing out at the sky around them.
"Kia, we have to go!" Usopp cried. "We'll die if we stay, and Nami is bringing Luffy back to the ship, remember?"
Kia turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "No," she replied.
"No?!" he exclaimed, coming up and grabbing her shoulder to turn her around to face him. "What do you mean, no?"
"I mean no. I'm not leaving, because Luffy isn't leaving. You know as well as I do, that once he gets an idea in his head, nothing will sway him. Nami might reach him, but that doesn't mean he'll go."
"What?" Usopp said again, but she just shook her head. "We didn't come here just for us," she said more quietly.
"Eneru is almost at the top of the vine," Robin announced.
Ganfal looked up this time, in confusion and asked, "What does he want that is there?"
"I believe there is a large golden bell there that he is searching for," Robin answered, and Kia saw Wyper turn to face her and glare.
"A golden bell? That's what you said, isn't it?" he demanded.
"Yes," she replied.
"And Eneru desires it?" he asked and she nodded. "You must tell me exactly where it is!"
Usopp was yelling between them, trying to convince everyone to leave, but their conversation continued.
"At the top of this beanstalk," Robin said.
"You're sure?" Wyper demanded again. "How do you know?"
"Wait wait!" Usopp yelled. "We promised we'd meet on the ship!"
"The coward's right," Aisa added.
"The remains of Shandora are below us. The beanstalk pierces through the heart of the city," Robin explained. "A map I discovered there, indicated the belfry was in the center as well."
"So… it's right above us then," Wyper said, and Kia watched his demeanor change from anger to awe. She turned back to face the huge beanstalk.
"Hey!" Usopp called. "Why are you ignoring me?!"
Wyper started to walk to the beanstalk, and Aisa did all she could to stop him. He turned to her, for some reason explaining, "Great warrior Kalgara longed to hear it ring!" he told her. "It is our true goal!"
"Our true goal?" she questioned, and he nodded.
"Luffy's too," Kia said without turning, and she could feel the eyes on her back.
"Kia's right," Zoro spoke up. "Luffy told us earlier that he wanted to ring that bell, and he won't stop until he does, Nami or no Nami. He wants the old timer to hear it."
Robin looked concerned. "Yes, he did say that, but given the situation…"
Wyper interrupted, looking angry, "He's going to ring the bell?!"
"Yes," Zoro answered. "No matter what."
"He'll find a way," Kia added.
"Hey! Something's falling, look out!" Usopp called, taking cover. Kia stepped back as a giant leaf fell down around them, and several people looked up.
"Something is written on it!" Aisa called out, getting everyone's attention.
"What's it say?" Usopp asked from his hiding place.
"Cut down this beanstalk, and make sure it falls to the west," Robin read aloud.
"It's from Nami and Luffy!" Aisa said happily.
Zoro stood, determined now that there was an actual plan. His captain needed something, so he would see it done. "Hey Knight," he called to Ganfal. "Which way is west?"
"Wait, we're going to do it?" Usopp cried, running over.
Zoro turned to Ganfal. "Which way?" he asked again.
"Yeah," Usopp said, even as he gulped. "Which way?"
"That way," Ganfal pointed. "Toward Eneru's ship."
Everyone looked up to the ship, seeing the humongous sphere starting to descend from the clouds around it.
"It's even bigger than the last one!" Usopp cried. "We'll never get away now! What exactly are they even planning?"
"It's pretty obvious," Kia said, and they turned to her as she explained. "They're using the beanstalk to get close, and as it falls they'll jump over to Eneru's ship.
"That's crazy!" Usopp said.
"Then you go up and stop Luffy," Zoro suggested.
"He won't listen!" Usopp screeched.
"I don't care how crazy it is," Zoro said. "we have no choice!" Lightning started striking the ground nearby, and everyone moved the injured away from the beanstalk.
"That maniac is trying to destroy this land, and there are only two people who can reach him now!" Zoro continued. He then turned and headed back to the stalk, pulling his sword free.
"Watch out for lightning!" Kia called after him, just as he narrowly avoided a strike. He avoided several more and attacked the vine, cutting out a huge slice of the stalk before he was struck again by Eneru's power.
"Zoro!" Usopp called out, but he didn't move. "He did it though, he cut it! Even though he got zapped!"
"But it isn't falling," Robin said.
"You outsiders from the blue sea are pathetic," Wyper said as he stood shakily. "We Shandorians are the descendants of Kalgara, if anyone should ring the bell it should be us, not that kid in the straw hat!"
"Don't listen to him," Usopp said, "he's too banged up to stop us."
"He has a point though," Kia offered, then turned to speak to Wyper. "Though considering you can hardly move, and have no way of getting up there in time…" Wyper glared at her, as he fell to his knees again.
"The swordsman cut through half of the stem," Robin said, looking at the stalk.
"Then… then perhaps some exploding stars will take care of it!" Usopp said bravely. "Once again, I must come to the rescue for my crew! Robin, Kia! Leave the dangerous stuff to me, and watch over our fallen comrades!" With that he headed for the stalk, shooting his exploding ammo in hopes to take it down.
Wyper continued to glare at Kia, and she just smiled in return. "Before we came here, we met a man who told us of his ancestor. The man was an explorer, who said he stumbled upon a city of gold…" she trailed off with a smirk as she saw Wyper's interest peaked.
Robin also noticed, and picked up where Kia left off. "Yes, people laughed at him, and called him a liar. But his descendant still believes the stories. He has spent years searching the blue sea for any evidence of the city of gold."
"Luffy is up there," Kia said and pointed, as Wyper stood again to face them, even though they were watching Usopp's attempts with the stalk now. "Because if he rings that bell, then down in the blue sea, they will hear it, and know that it not a myth, that the city of gold exists in the sky."
"Do you understand now?" Robin asked. "Noble isn't it? Trying to vindicate a man he never knew? He has had chances to escape, but he's determined to see this through." She smiled, and didn't notice as Kia glanced over at her. "That guy's nuts…" she said endearingly.
"What.." Kia turned slightly, hearing the emotion in Wyper's voice. "What is the name of this descendant?" he asked.
"Montblanc Cricket, why?" Robin asked, glancing back as well.
"And the ancestor that came here…" Kia could feel tears welling up in her eyes at the soft tone of Wyper's voice and the tears coming from his own. "please tell me… was it Noland?"
"How…?" Robin started, as she too turned to fully face him.
"Wyper?" Aisa asked. "Why are you crying?" Wyper put his hand on her head, though I wasn't sure is he was about to fall again from his injuries, or if he wanted her to feel a part of it all. He was silent, and we stayed quiet as well, as he peered up at the sky.
Then, there was a huge shaking, and Wyper was moving to the stalk. He pushed Usopp out of the way, and climbed up.
"REJECT!" he called, and there was an explosion through the stalk.
"Wyper!" Aisa called.
"That fool!" Ganfal muttered.
"We have to get him and Zoro out of there!" Kia yelled as she headed toward them.
"We have to run away!" Usopp called as he ran to intercept her. Kia tried to avoid him, but he caught her and pulled her along away from the stalk, and towards the others.
There was shouting from both him and Aisa, as they cheered on Luffy, but before long, lightning lit up the sky again, and there were bolts coming down all around the base of the stalk.
"He's trying to make it fall down before they reach him!" Robin said in shock.
"Usopp!" Kia yelled, grabbing his arm. "We need to get Wyper and Zoro!"
"Kia, we can barely keep ourselves alive!" he yelled back, trying to put out a fire from a bolt that struck near him.
Kia stood at the edge of the cloud, waiting for the lightning to stop so that she could enter the area, and save her friend. "Once it stops, I need all your help!" she called behind her to Robin and Usopp. "I won't be able to carry them both on my own!"
The lightning was still randomly striking, and they could only watch as Wyper stood back up, and shouted at the sky, even as the huge stalk could no longer stand and began falling over to the east.
"Wyper!" Aisa called as Robin held her back. Eneru struck again, and everyone was pushed back by the blast of lightning around them.
"The vearth, of course!" Ganfal said. "It will not fall to him!"
The lightning stopped and the stalk continued to fall. "Get out of the way!" Usopp yelled.
"Go! Go! Straw Hat!" they could hear Wyper yell.
Kia looked up, seeing the huge sphere moving towards the ground where they stood. It looked as if death was coming. "Luffy's taking care of it!" she yelled "Let's get our friends out of the way!"
She moved forward, and this time, Usopp came too. It was hard to traverse, as most of the cloud cover was gone from between them and the stalk, but eventually they made it, and searched around for Zoro and Wyper.
They stopped and looked up as the sky suddenly became clear, the giant thunderclouds gone. "Way to go Luffy!" Usopp cheered.
"Ring it, Straw Hat!" Wyper called, letting Kia zero in on his location. "Light the fire of Shandora!"
"Usopp!" she called over to him, "Find Zoro!"
"Right!" he said, though he was looking up as lightning came across the sky, making him jump.
Kia came up to Wyper, though she waited as the bell rang, letting Wyper enjoy the moment he had worked and fought for his entire life. She looked over as Zoro sat up, seeing how close he was, and went over to him instead. He shrugged her off, but she checked him over anyway.
He looked okay, which was crazy in of itself, but the real miracle was Wyper. How he was alive, she didn't know, but the fact that he was still able to stand? Insane amount of willpower. When he crashed, he would crash hard.
Zoro and Kia sat, waiting for that inevitable moment. Wyper however, began speaking of Noland, hoping that he could hear the sound of the bell, wherever he was, and his descendants as well.
Zoro gave Kia a questioning look, so she began to share the story with him, how Noland was friends with the Shandorian people back then, and then coming back, found the city as well as his friends gone.
"No wonder he refused to deny it existed," Zoro said. "That would be denying his friends existed as well."
"And he couldn't do that," she agreed.
Wyper finally exhausted all his energy, and fell over, and Kia looked to Zoro. "You need more rest, or can you make it?" she asked.
He looked at her, and she could see the indecision on his face. "You know, it's okay to be honest when it's just you and me," she said with a smirk, and headed over to see how she could help Wyper.
"I guess I'll rest some more since we're staying then," he said with a grumble and she grinned to herself.
Eventually, the others came looking for them, and Kia cheered to see them all awake again, even though they were all covered in bandages.
"You've taken good care of them," Chopper told her, as they teamed up to wrap up Zoro. Once finished, they all gathered together in the ruins, waiting for Luffy to return.
"Heeeeeyyyyy!"
They could all hear the shout, and turned to the sound of Luffy yelling. It had been quite the ordeal, but the crew was all back together again.
"Nami! And Conis!" Sanji yelled in a sing-song voice, so happy to see them.
"You brought food?" Zoro asked, standing up, obviously done with the bandages, and seeing the three of them carrying sacks full of food.
"Yep!" Nami answered. "We found the priest's storage locker on our way back!"
"There was lots more!" Luffy said with his mouth full.
"Is this all that's left?" Kia asked teasingly, and the others laughed.
"Hey, at least he did leave some!" Nami joked, and they laughed again.
They started setting out cloths to use as place mats, and Zoro asked about Conis's father, only to find him right behind them. Conis was ecstatic of course, and then they heard about the Skypieans making their way towards Upper Yard.
They ate slowly, enjoying the rest, and the company. Kia grabbed a few things from the stash and she and Chopper started grinding ingredients to make more medicine- they had gone through most of the supply after all. Eventually, it grew late, and Nami suggested they sleep on the ship that night, but Luffy vetoed that right away.
Everyone was in the mood to celebrate, not sleep.
Kia knew she'd be asleep as soon as she laid down, but once the Shandorans and Skypieans came, the party started and was out of control before she could do anything about it.
She made her way around the huge fire, handing Zoro another mug of ale, to which he nodded. Sanji pulled her into a dance, followed by Usopp. She handed an armful of snacks she had grabbed to Luffy, and winked at Chopper before sitting again.
She didn't have her sketchbook, so she simply looked at everything she could, committing it all to memory.
Kia woke, but it was still pretty dark. She could hear the snores of several others, so she closed her eyes again, trying to will herself back to sleep. She could heard Luffy whispering to Nami about stealing the gold, and then suddenly they were yelling, then Usopp was joining them, then Chopper, until not only was the crew awake, but everyone around them was too.
After four days of partying, they were all ready to head out, though to be honest, Kia thought Robin could have looked at the ruins forever. The Shandorans were searching for the bell, and Robin was most eager to get a look at it herself.
They also hadn't left because Chopper and Kia had been monitoring the injured, and swapping medicinal recipes with both cultures.
But leave it to Luffy to get down to the main reason, "We're going to steal the gold," he said. "And run!"
The crew became excited at this new plan, except for Robin- who wasn't there- and Kia, who… if she were honest- didn't want to go into a snake's stomach.
The problem didn't come until later that morning, when Kia came upon Zoro and Chopper talking to Luffy. They were trying to convince Luffy to leave her behind on the gold hunting, and he wasn't getting why. She didn't want to go, true, but they didn't know that, and she wondered why they would say it. So she listened.
That turned out to be a mistake, because she heard something she had worried about from the start.
"Kia's immune system is weaker than ours," Chopper said. "It takes her much longer to heal from injury, so we need to keep her safer than anyone else."
"Plus the fact that she can't fight," Zoro added. "She needs to stay back from now on, until we know if an island is safe or not."
"No way," Luffy replied annoyed. "She's part of the crew, so if she wants to go, she goes," he said stubbornly. "She's our friend, so if she needs protecting, it's our job to protect her."
"No one is saying we won't," Zoro said. "You know we'd all protect her with our lives if we needed to."
"All we're saying is, let's keep her from getting hurt," Chopper added.
"Hmm, I don't want her to get hurt…" Luffy said.
"Exactly," Zoro replied. "She can stay out here, and let Robin know what the plan is when she gets back from wherever she is."
"Okay then," Luffy said. "Is it time to go?"
"Almost," Chopper answered. "Just a few more things to gather, and Usopp is still down there trading for dials."
Kia barely heard that last sentence, as she was already moving away. She couldn't care less if they wanted to keep her safe from islands or snakes or whatever now. Zoro had said they would protect me with their lives, and the other two hadn't disagreed. With their lives! They couldn't do that! Didn't they know how important they were?!
The rest of the day was a blur, as Kia stressed over what she had heard. Zoro had been right, she knew she was weak. But seeing it in a new light, that her weakness would lead to someone else getting hurt, or worse in order to protect her? She couldn't let that happen. I'm not really a Straw Hat anyway… she thought. I'm just along for the ride, until I find my sisters.
And… I already know where two of them are. It could be fairly easy to find them, if I got help from the Marines.
The thought didn't sit well, but it didn't go away either. Kia shrugged as she was informed to stay while a smaller group went in search of the gold. They decided to have her and Nami return to the ship to prepare for a quick getaway.
Conis decided to accompany them, and the three walked down to their ship.
"Kia, what's your problem?" Nami asked suddenly.
"Nothing," she answered, shaking herself from her thoughts. "I'm just uh, sad… to leave, I guess."
Nami narrowed her eyes at the other girl, not falling for it, but Conis started talking about all the things the pirates had done for her and her people, and Nami didn't have the heart to interrupt her. Kia tuned out once again, as her thoughts turned to what would happen after they returned to the blue sea.
After the initial drop, which was frightening even if you knew it was coming, and hearing the bell sending them off, everyone settled in for the journey back to the sea.
Kia grabbed her sketchbook, making several quick sketches of the people she had met so that she would be sure to remember the scenes. Then looking around and seeing she was alone, turned to a further page and starting making a pro and con list. Zoro was nearby, but went to sleep, and Kia looked over, unsure if this was going to be part of his new, "keep Kia safer" strategy.
She glanced up as the others gathered around Nami, after she screamed about being off course. Then Zoro woke up with a yell, "something's wrong!" only to burp, and then say it was just a dream. Luffy of course, found that funny, though no one else did. Kia scowled at him, as she tried to calm her racing pulse.
Hour after hour, they waited, doing normal things. Eventually Zoro woke up, and claimed he was bored, which Kia could admit was a first, if he was too bored to even sleep.
"Hey Zoro, if you're bored, I've got something you can do! And it's fun!" Luffy's voice called out.
"Where did his voice come from?" Usopp asked. Kia pointed up, but doubted that anyone noticed.
"Yeah, he sounds pretty far away," Nami replied.
"Luffy!" Sanji called. "Where are you!"
"Up here!" Luffy called back, and several of the crew moved so that they could look up at the octopus balloon, to see Luffy bouncing on top of it like it was a trampoline.
"Luffy! Get down! Right now!" Sanji yelled.
"Why are you yelling?" Nami asked him, as he ran to the edge to climb up.
"The octopus is shrinking!" he yelled back to her, and she repeated his words to the others.
"It does look smaller than it was before," Robin said.
"It needs to get smaller in order for us to descend, doesn't it?" Kia commented.
"Not necessarily," Robin responded. "And shrinking too fast would make us fall from a very great height."
The others looked out as Luffy and Sanji tumbled over the side of the ship, waiting to hear from the three that were at the railing. Hearing Sanji yell at Luffy was one good sign, and the three breathed a sigh of relief. Of course all that stopped once the balloon lost most of its air, and Luffy and Sanji were suddenly above the ship again.
"We're going to hit the sea so hard, we'll sink to the bottom!" Nami yelled as all of the crew found themselves floating above the deck as they fell.
"Only if the ship doesn't shatter first!" Robin yelled in response.
"Shatter?!" the word caused Usopp to forget everything else in order to protect the Merry. "I guess it's up to me then!"
He climbed to the railing, and hooked his "Aaaahhh!" grappling hook, then shot out, bringing himself underneath the ship, where he put several breath dials. Everyone felt better as the ship slowed in its descent, even Kia- though now her butt hurt from falling back to the deck so hard.
Just as she got comfortable, the balloon lost what air it had, and they went crashing down to the sea.
"Nami! Robin! Kia! Are you okay?" Sanji called out.
"That was scary!" Nami replied. "What happened to the balloon?"
"Seems it lost all its air," Robin said.
"Wonder how that happened," Sanji growled at Luffy, who at that moment, got an octopus balloon attached to his head.
"Don't whine," he said with a laugh, pulling it away from his face. "At least we're still alive!"
"It seems so far away now," Robin said, looking up.
"Yeah," Chopper agreed. "Like dream world. I wonder if we'll see it again?"
"Who knows?" Zoro said with a smile to Chopper. "Maybe you'll see something similar when you die?"
"Not you," Usopp frowned at Zoro. "I doubt you're going any place nice."
"Why you jerk…" Zoro grumbled.
"By the way," Luffy said, as spotlights and sirens started blaring. "Does anyone know where the heck we are?"
This was it… Kia thought. Navarone… She hadn't been sure if they would be landing there or not, but if she was going to leave and try to get help from the Marines… it was now or never.
"We've got to get off the ship!" Robin yelled as everyone began running around.
"Kia!" Chopper called as she ran for the door.
"I'm right behind you!" she called back, heading to the bedroom. She needed to hide her sketchbook because she couldn't let the marines find it, there would be too many questions. Nami had shown her one of the many hiding places in the bedroom- a false bottom in one of her drawers- and that's what she made a beeline for, hiding it away. Then, grabbing what she could, she ran up to the deck and dove off the side.
With all the lights on the ship, she was sure she was spotted, but no one came after her in the water. She made her way to the shore, making as little noise as she could. She was soaked and cold, and she shivered in the night air as she crept towards a building.
Kia could hear the patrols with their low heeled boots clacking as they walked, so taking her own wet shoes off, she snuck inside what looked like a vent. Putting the screen back in place, she lay curled up inside, taking the time to sleep, since nothing would happen until morning anyway.
Kia knew she wasn't a master of stealth, but it still surprised her at how quickly she was caught. She was taken directly to the commander's office, where he stood there, and watched her. It was extremely unnerving, but she supposed that was his tactic.
A knock on the door sounded, and a marine came in with news of a couple of marine ships outside the gate that wanted clearance to come in.
The commander approved it, and began talking to himself as he walked around the office. "I've haven't been so riled up in quite some time," he said. "But they are stuck here, so the problem now is finding them. But why did they come to Navarone in the first place?" he asked as he looked at some wanted posters. Turning, he looked at Kiana, curious if she would answer.
"Purely by accident," she said. She wasn't going to say much, but that was something she could say over and over and would never be believed about. True to form, the lieutenant commander sneered, and the commander chuckled.
"I'm sure," he said. "So, you're part of the straw hat crew?" he asked.
"No," she answered, which had his eyebrow rising. "They were giving me a lift, as I am trying to locate my family. My sisters and I became separated here on the grand line, and I'm trying to find them. I was stuck on an island that they stopped on, and they offered me a ride, that's all."
"I find it interesting that you would accept such hospitality from pirates," he said with a sly smile. In any other case, he would have had a good point, but he had never met the Straw Hats.
"It was temporary, and they are unlike any other pirates," Kia replied. "And I didn't have many options. I have reason to believe that Vice Admiral Garp knows where one of my sisters is, and if you will be willing to help me, then I can take my leave of the pirates."
He made eye contact with her, until it was uncomfortable for her, but Kia didn't back down. "If I find that you are being truthful, we'll speak of this again," he finally said. She nodded, knowing that was as good as she could expect. "Am I safe in assuming that you won't tell me much about the pirates?"
She hesitated, but then nodded. "I am not sure what I could tell you, and I find it difficult to assist in their capture after they have been helping me."
He was disappointed, but seemed to accept it. "For now then, you'll have to wait in a cell," he warned, giving her a chance to change her mind.
Kia nodded again, and waited silently as he called a marine to escort her away.