Wishful-star: (b ᵔ▽ᵔ)b

When he landed, it was in a ruin, and he was tangled around it. He managed to free himself and headed to where he knew his friends were. But he couldn't smell them, and carried the gold ball over his head more easily than he thought. He fell to his knees suddenly as his vision blurred. He needed blood.

His friends weren't there, so he followed their scent, assuming somebody took them. Robin was hit first, right? Maybe she recovered and took them all to safety. He hoped so, he hoped they were alive. He couldn't hear them speaking, but managed to get out and onto the upper level they'd fallen through into the golden city.

"R-Robin!" Luffy called, barely dragging the golden ball behind him, unable to hold it up anymore. Nami was there, safely. He got on his hands and knees, breathing hard before standing up and wobbling.

"Luffy! What's wrong?" Nami asked in worry. Usopp was awake. He'd recovered surprisingly quickly, too. The captain said he needed blood. Robin had a dagger and cut her arm.

"You need the strength, I'll just dribble it into your mouth, okay?" Luffy looked up and saw the black cloud. It would kill them all soon. He couldn't be picky, and Zoro was still asleep. Luffy nodded, and Robin dribbled a stream of blood into his mouth. Zoro's was a lot better, but that thought was in the back of his mind.

Once he had enough for one final confrontation, as this would be the last, he left, climbing up the beanstalk to get high enough to reach that damn flying ship. It was hard, and he didn't have enough time to have an extended fight. He had to end it soon, quickly. There was no time for him, and no time for the island or any of its people.

The lightning bolts started to rain down on the island, destroying multiple areas, seemingly random in their locations. He hoped most of the people were lucky and weren't unfortunate enough to be under one of the bolts.

Just dragging the ball was difficult, but he managed, pouring determination into it instead of blood. He had lasted a long time without being thirsty before, and hoped that would happen again. He made it to another level of the beanstalk. "Is this the top?" he asked. He smelled deeply and looked up, seeing the false god up there, looking at him in indifference again. The whole island stunk of burnt everything. Fire from burning trees in the forest, burnt clouds, burnt dirt, maybe even burnt people.

"Stop running and fight me!" Luffy called furiously. They needed to end it soon. For multiple reasons. But the asshole burnt the beanstalk with a lightning strike, knocking part of it over, almost making Luffy fall all the way back down. Could he even make it back up if he fell? But he didn't fall, and got back to safety.

He breathed deeply, and was distracted from Enel with a huge ball. A black ball that was dense but looked sort of like the clouds. It was falling out of the sky, a big hole in the main blanket of thunder clouds. He watched as it crashed down onto angel island… and eradicated it in a huge blast, a lightning explosion. So many people could have just died.

"Damn it!" he shouted. At least it was quick.

He latched his hand back on the edge of the ship, but the lightning logia kicked it off again, making him fall back on the highest tier of clouds on the massive beanstalk. "I'll be getting that golden bell, now! Don't worry, you'll die a quick death soon enough! Yahahaha!" His ship got higher away. Luffy growled under his breath, trying to figure out how to do something!

But now that he knew Enel was heading for the bell he wanted to ring for Cricket and the monkeys, it pissed him off. He would find it and ring it, not let Enel lay a finger on it, no matter what! He looked around, and looked up at what was left of the beanstalk as another huge ball of thunder was sighted lowering again. This time, over Upper Yard, bigger than the previous one.

Even if he did try to run, it was too late to do anything. The only thing he could do to not die was to stop it somehow. Enel no doubt found the bell by now, which was why he was done with this place, and ready to destroy it all in one blast. Be even more of a mass murderer than he already was.

Luffy took his other arm, looking at the beanstalk. If he could link it to Enel's ship, or at least close enough, maybe he could catch up to him. He used his new strength and slammed his right leg into it, knocking it down in three kicks. Luffy grabbed the ball and held it up as he dashed upwards, along it. But Enel was out of reach. All he could do was get the next nearest thing, better for another reason. Enel's trident had used electricity in it, right? He wasn't good with science or anything, but it was worth trying it! A last ditch effort.

Even if he couldn't reach Enel and ran out of strength, the least he could do was buy the island a little time. He used all his strength in mid air to fling the golden ball on his arm forward, slamming into the bottom of the ball of death. It shocked him, and made him grind his teeth, but he was able to deplete the whole thunderball. It destroyed it, and he latched onto the ship once again.

He couldn't afford to fall again. The lightning burned off the two mouthfuls of blood. He really was running on nothing now. "You damn brat!" Enel shouted, losing his cool. The golden bell was on his ship, and seeing it be stolen like this pissed him off. It didn't belong to this guy, it belonged to the original people here, the Shandorians.

The teen wasn't deeply concerned about their culture or people, but they could at least not have this treasure stolen! And he would ring that for his own reason. His ears were ringing, now, so he couldn't even hear what Enel was saying before he turned into some new form made of lightning.

Luffy twisted his arm trapped in the ball, feeling like it would rip it off. If it did, would blood grow it back for him? He wasn't sure, and definitely didn't want to find out. Zoro, everyone. Please be safe!

"Gomu gomu… rifle!" Luffy screamed, voice hoarse from all of the shouting he'd been doing. He slammed the golden ball into the logia man, melting the ball again in the sharp lightning. It slammed into him, knocking out teeth, breaking bones, and destroying the damn ship to bits. The ship fell to its doom, while the golden bell fell down, passing Luffy and ringing loudly, deafeningly loud.

He grinned, panting. "Did you hear that old man, monkeys?!" he shouted happily. "The gold city does exist!"

Luffy then let himself rest, and plummeted down from the top of the beanstalk. He wasn't even awake when he landed on the clouds below. Nami was there, the one in the best shape besides Usopp. "Luffy!"

"Let's get him back to the ship!" Chopper said.

When he woke up, he was all better, if not very tired. His arm felt sore, but didn't burn. He got some blood, then. How long was he out? He sat up, and rubbed his face. He was still covered in dirt, but the blood and burns on him were gone. He looked around and saw everyone being treated by Chopper for their burns. Since Luffy was on the mattress, they were all on blankets.

"Oh, you're awake," Chopper said gladly. Zoro looked over and gave him a tired smile. He'd done it. Defeated Enel, saved the island and rang the golden bell. Luffy noticed Robin wasn't here. "She went to look for the poneglyph."

He nodded. "What about all the gold?"

"We don't know where it is. We might have to leave empty handed," Sanji said sadly. Luffy tried to think of something, somewhere he saw any gold. "We're not taking anything from the golden city. We'd have to get some from somewhere else. You could find it for us, of course, if there is any. But after you're better. Just go to sleep."

Luffy nodded, and did go to sleep. When he woke up, it was night time and he wasn't at the ship anymore, but in Zoro's lap, surrounded by people singing, dancing, and eating a ton. "Figured you'd rather wake up here than in the galley," Zoro said. Luffy jumped up and didn't say a thing before tearing into the food viciously. He saw others like himself, but they were eating normal food.

He walked up to one, a girl, and asked if he could ask some questions. "Sure."

He spoke to her about all kinds of stuff. But she didn't know the answers to a lot of it, but Luffy did find he was different from the sky people with his markings. They had no name other than the "blessed", which he would not be calling himself personally. But none of them ever felt they were losing control. They also didn't react so intensely to not having blood. They got lethargic and sick, but didn't need nearly as much blood. "Maybe you're a different version, coming from the Blue Sea," she offered. Luffy nodded, standing up and thanking her before walking back to Zoro and humphing, sitting back in his lap.

Though he was careful not to disturb the bandages. Not that Zoro would ever admit they hurt. "What is it?"

"I'm different from the people up here, apparently," he sighed, leaning back against his chest. "Did Robin find the poneglyph?"

"Not yet. The Shandorians told her of one, but she was going to wait for you to get better so you can go with her. She said she gave you some of her blood. I'm not upset in the least, so don't feel guilty, okay?" Luffy smiled and nodded, commenting that Zoro tasted a lot better. Nami snickered at them.

Luffy ate some more, and then remembered something, but didn't say it. He'd seen some shiny metal things in the stomach of the big snake, but there was no way any of them were venturing into the blood cavern to get anything out. Unsanitary and repulsive to everyone. Even to Luffy.

The party lasted long into the night, though Luffy slept for a good chunk of it, still tired, even if most of his body was healed. Blood couldn't cure exhaustion. What a long couple of days. They'd only been there, what, three days? It felt like so much longer, so much had happened.

The next morning, Luffy and Robin went to the golden bell, Robin thinking that the poneglyph could actually be the bell. It was a long shot, but an idea she had, so they went. He was feeling fully better now. He was also keeping an eye out for the smell of metal and other riches. They went to the bell, which luckily handed upright, covered in moss and vines. It had been there so long, after all.

Robin looked at it for a bit, with Luffy unable to read any of it. He couldn't tell what Robin was thinking based on her expression. People were around there, and Luffy smelled some jems and more gold. They both had a different smell. He went to the other side of the bell, where nobody could see him, and smelled deeply. He found there was some inside. He dug up under the ground quickly and quietly, moving his hand under it and touched a huge amount of coins, jems and other riches. They were hidden inside this the whole time. He dug deeper and stuck his head in, able to see just barely, and find the just overwhelming amount of riches.

"Luffy?" Robin asked, and Luffy hurried out of it and put the dirt back in place. "Were you in the dirt?" she asked, seeing him with some on his hands and face.

"Eh…. no," he lied.

"Oh, ok then," Robin said. "The poneglyph talks about another weapon, just as the Alabasta one. Apparently the red blood stone, actually called that, made those around it more powerful. It can't be used by anyone that isn't connected to it, like you are. Meaning that its presence is probably why there are multiple of your kind here.

"I don't think it applies to you. You're different from the others here, right? I think that you came about for another reason. You were born nowhere near here," she said. Luffy pouted, disappointed. Robin was amazed, but she also did sound slightly disappointed. People weren't around anymore, so Luffy told her to bloom an eye inside the bell. "There's a compartment there."

She closed her eyes, and smiled. "My, that's quite a bit."

"Neehee, we're coming back for it," Luffy said with a grin. He ran back the way they came to tell the others about the discoveries made. They were still wounded, with burns but not so much that they were in agony putting pressure on them.

Nami asked if they'd found the poneglyph. "Yeah. It didn't really help, though." She asked what it said. "It only talked about how the people here ended up like that. It's also some weapon that only people like me and them can use."

"What weapon? All it did was make you sick."

Usopp commented, "Well, those like Luffy here were stronger, right? By being near it, it could be a weapon for them. It helped Luffy out, too. Maybe that's the way it's a weapon? But it doesn't apply to Luffy, he wasn't born anywhere near this place," he finished. Luffy nodded. Then he grinned.

"I found a ton of gold and treasure. It'll be hard to get it all back to the ship," Luffy said. Nami jumped up, demanding to know where it was. "Inside the bell. There's a large compartment underneath it. Tons of stuff! We have to get it all. That's why we ventured into the forest. Answers and riches, neehee! We gotta go tonight, and then ditch in secret."

Chopper looked excited, and Sanji looked forward to this as well. "But hopefully we end up at an island soon after this so we can get more blood bags. You're completely out," Sanji said. "And I doubt there are any here. The island that would have had any was destroyed, right?" Luffy nodded.

"Well, I'm here and in a much better state," Zoro said. "After all, I taste the best, right?" he asked with a smirk.

"Gross," Usopp said casually. But Luffy beamed and nodded.

That evening, they went hunting on the island and got plenty of food and meat. Tons of ingredients were there. Sanji said that they got enough for two weeks if they were careful with their resources.

When night fell, they had large blankets, and headed to the belfry, Luffy able to tell nobody was there. The ship was moved so it could be a quick getaway. When they got there, Luffy dug a big hole under the belfry, opening the compartment. He crawled under, and started shoving the goodies out of the hole, filling all of the blankets.

"Oh my god!" Nami said with sparkling eyes. "You're so useful, Luffy!" Zoro got mad, but Luffy just laughed. They ran back to the ship, but were being followed by people who noticed them there.

"Ahahaha! Run!" Luffy cheered. They were laughing, and ditched, hearing them all call for them to come back. "No way! Shishishi!" Luffy cheered, and they made it back to the ship. Robin even had some treasure, running with them. When they got back, they jumped onboard and left, laughing. They looked at all of the treasure there, and Nami hugged Luffy for finding it all. "At least we got some stuff from that hell of a visit. Though not as much as we hoped for."

Luffy shrugged. "The answer is out there, we just gotta find it on our way. And I'm happy I learned that the Pirate King was like me! But we'll be even better. Crocus said they never found the answer. We will, for sure." The others all agreed, glad he wasn't so sad. Though he never really stayed sad too long.

"I want to buy a bronze statue of myself," Luffy declared.

"That's stupid, we should buy cannons! We already have all the dials I traded, so cannons are needed next!" Usopp insisted.

"Nami-san, may I buy a refrigerator with a lock?"

"No! That's stupid, don't do that!" Luffy protested. Sanji snapped at him that it would be for the benefit of the crew. Chopper wanted books and Zoro just wanted rum.

"We'll talk about what we're spending the money on when we're back in the Blue Sea. Besides, I won't have anyone wasting my money!" Usopp pointed out that Luffy was the one to find the treasure. It should be his. "He'll just spend it on something stupid. Besides, can he do advanced math?"

"Haha, nope!" Luffy said.

"There," Nami said.

When they got to the lower level of clouds, with Conis and Pagaya leading them on their own craft, the waver with them now to keep, they called them out; it was as far as they could take them. They were nearly at the exit. They could see it.

"The cloud's end, huh? That's the way out?" Sanji asked. Pagaya nodded. They were feeling a bit sad they were leaving already, but over all were ready to resume their journey and remember this amazing adventure forever. They were all glad they risked their lives to make it to someplace they didn't even know existed. "Do we go straight through that tunnel? Then follow the milky way road down?" he wondered around a cigarette.

Conis and Pagaya said goodbye to them happily, their home no longer under tyranny, but a lot to rebuild. Relations with the Shandorians were also being repaired. So their visit there had done a lot of good, even if most of it was for their own interest and not the islanders. When they got to the door, they were instructed to put the sails immediately.

They did so and put the gold in containers in the storage room so it didn't fly all over the place during the road going 7,000 meters back down to their home world. This really was a completely different world. Then the south bird's weird call was sounded, and the one they had taken with them angrily returned to go with them down.

Nami looked at the log pose. "Alright captain, the log pose is locked on the next island!"

"Alright! The start of a brand new adventure!" Luffy cheered. "Alright crew, let's go back to the Blue Sea!"

"YEAH!"

Conis then yelled, "Everyone be careful! You're about to start falling!" They blinked twice at the wording, and before they could say a thing, the Merry was plummeting down to their home sea. Nobody was hanging onto anything, and the screaming started very quickly. Luffy wrapped himself around the mast, screaming as they fell. But then a huge octopus attacked them!

"Ah! A monster!" Chopper screamed. But the creature surrounded the ship and held onto it with his suckers, and it's head inflated to act like a balloon! They were shocked but relieved and interested. They weren't falling anymore, more like drifting down slowly. Thank god they didn't fall the entire way, the Merry could not have survived.

Then they heard the golden bell ringing over and over, as if a goodbye salute. They were all beaming. That was a good signal that their Sky Island adventure was over. All that was left was landing safely.

Luffy had to stay inside the whole time down, only able to look out the porthole. The octopus was scared of him, and its trembling shook the entire ship. It sucked! Zoro was in there with him, and napped while Luffy played with the stuff they got from Sky Island. He dressed up in the treasure that was wearable. Put the king's crown, jewelry, and other gilted wearable goods.

"Bow to me, Roronoa Zoro!" Luffy said, waking him up to it.

"The hell are you doing?" he asked.

"Nami will get mad about it, so why not try while she's not here? I'm very wealthy, after all." Zoro just shook his head, simply saying his boyfriend was weird. "Unique or original."

"No, weird and rubbery," Zoro replied, and settled back against the wall. Then suddenly they were in the air as the ship fell. Luffy was screaming, and then when the ship landed, he bounced around the room and then flopped on the floor. He heard Nami coming over and pulled off everything before she saw.

Zoro rubbed the back of his head, having been thrown, too. They went on deck, and asked what happened. "The octopus suddenly deflated!" Usopp said. His legs were shaking, and Chopper was, too.

"We're back in our world! Goodbye Sky Island!" Luffy cheered. Nami grabbed his earlobe. "What is this?" she asked, looking at a gold band around his wrist. Zoro said he was playing dress up. "Traitor!" the captain accused.

Chopper wondered if they'd ever go back, and it turned into a conversation between Zoro and Usopp about if people went to heaven after they died. For somebody who didn't believe in god, Zoro did believe in the after life.

"Mosshead would never go to heaven."

"You wanna fight?!"

"Bring it!"

"Stop it you two! God, the moment we get back you're at each others' throats!" Robin said they'd gone too long without doing so. Luffy walked to Robin and asked if she knew where any other poneglyphs were.

"Captain, you know we might not have to find out through a poneglyph, right? Next island we're at with a book store, we can look for anything having to do with history. If our navigator is okay with spending the money that way." Nami said it was fine.

Chopper said, "When I said I wanted books you told me 'maybe'!"

"Nami plays favorites with everyone," Usopp said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean she didn't like you, please don't cry!"

Zoro commented, "We all know Luffy is Nami's favorite." Luffy pointed out she hit him all the time. "Tough love, then."

"There's no way she likes Luffy more than anyone else!" Nami sighed and shook her head. Zoro amended his statement. She had a soft spot for him. Whenever Luffy was in trouble, she was one of the first to help him out. Mostly emotional trouble, of course. Otherwise, she used him as a shield.

Luffy laughed. "Don't worry, I love all of you!" Robin giggled and the others smiled besides Sanji. He only wanted a woman's love. Chopper hugged Luffy's legs.

"I'm so happy we went there! Thank you!" Luffy beamed, and said it was fortunate they hadn't died. Onward to the next adventure!