Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for another disappearance. This one wasn't planned, as I genuinely did not mean to fall down the stairs at my house! Before anyone gets worried, I'm fine. I ended up bruising my tailbone when I fell, which has made it literally impossible for me to sit down for the last month plus. It's only just recently started to fade, so I was able to sit and write, finally!
Following Shoujou around the edge of Jaya was thankfully uneventful, at least off the Going Merry. On it, an argument was taking place.
"Why're you being so defensive?" Marianne asked Usopp, arms crossed. "Merry has served us well, but if she falls apart we're screwed."
"You know why!" Usopp replied, "a friend gave it to us, we aren't ditching her!"
"Would your friend prefer you drown because the ship she gave you fell apart?" Marianne demanded. Usopp blanched at this, not having any words. Luffy stepped it at this, sensing a fight coming.
"Don't worry Usopp," he said, "Merry is one of us. We aren't going to ditch her just yet."
"Thank you Luffy!" Usopp said. "At least my Captain agrees."
"'Yet', Usopp," Nojiko said. "Merry is too small for all of us."
"Yeah," Vivi added, "I mean, the 'girls' room is made for one, not five. We add anymore, we'll have no room to sleep."
"Just sleep below deck with us," Johnny said.
"Yeah, no," Nami replied. "I can already hear you guys snoring through the floor. Not happening."
"Can't we just build an addition?" Usopp asked.
"How do you expect to do that when you can't handle basic repairs?" Zoro asked him. Usopp again seemed to have no answer, but his eyes seemed to catch something ahead of them.
"Hey, look at that!" He shouted. Luffy turned to look, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"A castle?!" He demanded. Ahead of them, on the shoreline, was a massive castle that spread upwards into the sky. Shoujou was docked nearby, so it was clearly their destination.
"This guy must be loaded!" Yosaku shouted. "Big Sis Robin, what did you hear about him?"
"Nothing extravagant like this," Robin answered. "He's mostly talked down on. Although he apparently thinks Jaya has a massive gold stash on it somewhere. Luffy could almost hear Nami's brain clinking with thoughts of coins.
"Gold?" She asked in a sing-song tone, "how much, exactly?"
"Never enough to satisfy you," he said with a snort. Nami glared at him, looking annoyed.
"I wouldn't need to worry about money so much if you'd stop eating a mountain of food at every meal," she said.
"That's just not true," Luffy replied. "I only eat 3/4's of a mountain now. I'm on a diet."
"Really?" Nami asked, grabbing a hold of his cheek. "You're still fat." With this she released his cheek, making it snap back into place and making him stumble backwards. Before he could retaliate, Marianne scoffed.
"Place isn't 'extravagant' at all," she said. "Look a little closer." Luffy looked back at the castle, squinting at it as they got close. He couldn't see what she meant, though. It just looked like a normal castle.
Once they got to the shore, though, they realised what he meant.
"It's a painting on plywood!" Johnny exclaimed it surprise as they stared at the tiny hut behind the painting. Comparing the painting to the hut behind it was giving Luffy whiplash.
"I saw paintbrush marks when we got closer," Marianne explained from between Johnny and Yosaku. "Paint is cracking thanks to water, too. Needs to be waterproofed."
"Where's your friend?" Luffy asked Shoujou, who was lounging in a chair nearby.
"Seems he went diving," the monkey replied lazily. "He'll be back soon, relax and wait."
"Getting my ass kicked made me hungry," Luffy said flatly, walking for the hut's door. "Can we eat?"
"Didn't you just say you were dieting?" Nami asked.
"It's a cheat day."
"What, this and every day?" Ignoring his Navigator, Luffy opened the door to the hut and peered inside. It was painfully empty, making his stomach groan in irritation. He'd have to go get something later. Closing the door, he walked back a few paces and threw himself down on the ground, yawning.
"Let me know if anything happens," he said. He put his straw hat over his eyes, but stayed awake and listened to the others talk.
"So, my newfound friends," Shoujou said. "What are you looking to ask Cricket?"
"We were looking into the rumours of Sky Islands," Vivi replied. "Apparently Mr. Cricket is well known for chasing dreams." Luffy smiled as she talked. She really was good at this.
"Sky Island, huh?" Shoujou asked, voice deepening. "Are you here to make fun of him, then?"
"No, of course not," Vivi said. "We're trying to get to Sky Island." Shoujou was quiet for a moment before letting out a laugh.
"We'll see what Cricket thinks," he said. "But I see why you came looking for him now. Everywhere else on Jaya you'd get laughed out of for thinking the place was real."
"You don't say..." Nojiko muttered. Luffy could tell she was still irritated by what had happened back at the bar, but he didn't say anything. The fatass they'd run into outside the bar was right. They hadn't needed to throw any punches.
"What's this book?" He heard Johnny asked. "'The King of Liars, Noland.'"
"Huh?" Sanji asked, "I know that book. It's a fairy tale from the North Blue."
"Why do you know that?" Nojiko asked him.
"Haven't I mentioned it? I was born in the North Blue." He replied, "raised in the East Blue though."
"Let me see it," Nami said. Luffy heard her open it before continuing. "In a country somewhere in the North Blue, there was a man named Mont Blanc Noland. He was an adventurer who told stories of adventures he'd had. However, the townsfolk never knew whether or not his tales were true."
"Sounds like Usopp," Zoro noted.
"Hey!" Usopp shouted.
"One day, Noland came back to the Kingdom and told the King, "There is an island out there that has a mountain of gold on it!"" Nami continued. "So, the King brought two thousands soldiers with him as Noland lead them to the island. They had to face vicious waters and sea monsters, but they soon reached the island Noland spoke of with only one hundred soldiers. However, when they got there, all they saw was a jungle."
"They lost nineteen hundred soldiers?" Marianne asked, "yikes."
"Noland took the blame for the catastrophe and was sentenced to death," Nami said, turning the page. "Before he died, he said "I know! The Island fell into the sea!" But by now, no one believed a word he said. Noland continued to lie until he died, but no one listened to a word of it. The pathetic liar died with no one listening to his words." Nami went quiet as she finished the story, closing the book.
"What the hell was the point of that story?" Nojiko asked.
"That you shouldn't tell lies," Sanji replied. "It's a good book for kids. And Usopp."
"Do you guys have a problem with me?" Usopp demanded.
"We love you just the way you are, Usopp," Vivi reassured him.
"Why do you sound so listless?" The liar demanded.
"Noland sounds like Roger," Luffy finally said.
"Does he?" Yosaku asked, "how?"
"Both men died talking about their dreams," Luffy said as he sat up. "Only people believed Roger."
"The island mentioned in the book must be Jaya," Robin reasoned. "Cricket is looking for Noland's gold."
"They're both called 'Mont Blanc'," Sanji said. "Family connection?"
"You could say that," Shoujou affirmed. Before anyone could say any more, the sound of someone surfacing from the water rang nearby. Luffy sat up and turned to look, watching as a muscular man with an odd bulb on his head climbed out of the water, watching them warily.
"Who are you people?" He demanded, "Shoujou, these friends of yours?"
"In a sense," Shoujou replied, "they wanted to speak to you."
"To me, huh?" Luffy supposed the man in question was Mont Blanc Cricket. "What do they want with me?"
"We wanted to ask about Sky Islands," Vivi said, "do you know anything about...?!"
Vivi didn't get to finish her sentence before Cricket hit the ground, coughing up blood.
After dragging Cricket inside, Chopper started giving orders. He ordered all the windows open and fresh, cold towels be applied to Cricket's forehead, and he watched the man closely as he breathed raggedly.
"What's the diagnosis, Doc?" Luffy asked him from a chair nearby.
"Decompression sickness, most likely," Chopper replied. "It's what happens when you free dive too deep into the ocean with no protective gear. The water pressure buildup, and then release as you surface, is too much stress on the body. He should be okay once we stabilise him though."
"Sounds likely," Shoujou said, having joined them inside. He was lazing on the floor nearby, looking disinterested. "He dives daily."
"Daily!" Chopper exclaimed, "how is he not dead?! Decompression sickness is no joke!" Luffy watched as Chopper reapplied a fresh towel, frowning. He wanted to talk to his guy about Sky Islands, and now he was out cold.
"I'm gonna take a walk," he said. "Warn me if he wakes up."
"Don't stray far," Nami told him.
"I won't," he replied. Opening the door, Luffy walked outside and back into the open air.
Just in time to get a punch to the face.
"Let the Boss! go" A familiar voice shouted, "Boss, Shoujou! Are you okay?! I spotted an unfamiliar ship and a ruffian here!"
"Ruffian?" Luffy demanded, already annoyed he'd been hit. Jumping to his feet, he prepared to punch back when he realised it was the other ape guy from before. What had been his name? Mastiodon?
"Easy Masira," Shoujou's voice echoed from inside. "They're friendlies. No need to start fights."
"Oh!" Masira said, "my bad then. Sorry friend! I mistook you for a-hey! You're that pirate from earlier. What a coincidence!"
"An annoying one," Luffy grumbled, wiping dirt from his face. The punch hadn't hurt, of course, but he was still miffed. He was about ready to punch the monkey back, but he caught Nami giving him a death glare from the doorway. Smiling as innocently as he could, he lowered his arm and acted as though he hadn't been about to deck Masira in the face. Nami pointed two fingers at her eyes, then aimed them at him threateningly. He understood perfectly. She was watching him. Masira hadn't hurt him, but Nami definitely would.
"What're you doing here, big guy?" Luffy asked him instead.
"Ah, this is the base of operations for our pirate group! The Primate Pirates!"
"Fitting name."
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Luffy said swiftly. "Not important. You guys know Cricket long?"
"Long time!" Masira agreed cheerily. "We've been working with him for years. We usually live on our ships though, as the house is too small for all three of us." Luffy figured the house was too small from anyone, but he didn't mention that. Before he could say anything more, Nami poked her head back out the door.
"He's waking up, Luffy!" She told him. Thankful to be free of the ape, Luffy walked back towards the house was greeted by the sight of Cricket sitting up, groaning as he did so.
"Nice to see you back up so fast, onion-head!" Luffy said.
"Hard to stay out when you morons won't stop screaming," Cricket replied irritably. "Still, I am grateful for your Doctor. I already feel much better."
"No diving for a few days!" Chopper warned. "Else you'll make it worse!"
"Yeah, right," Cricket replied. Luffy got the sense that the man wasn't taking Chopper very seriously. "Anyone got a smoke?"
"Here ya go," Sanji said, offering him one. Taking the cigarette, Cricket also took a light from Sanji's lighter, thanking him as he did so.
"What did you guys want again?" He asked, "Shoujou said you wanted my help or something?" Luffy looked to Vivi, who was already stepping forward.
"We came to ask you about Sky Islands, Mr. Cricket," she said as cordially as she could. "we've heard you're a man familiar with Fairy Tales." Cricket watched her quietly for a moment, puffing on his cigarette. Then he burst out laughing, rocking the tiny house with the noise.
"Sky Islands!" He roared, "Miss, what castle did you grow up in? That's a tall tale! Sky Islands! Hah!" Luffy felt annoyed that the onion-headed geezer was laughing at them, so he took a step closer.
"Are you trying to say they don't exist?" He asked. Cricket stopped laughing, taking a long drag from his cigarette.
"Who knows?" He asked, "I sure don't. I know of a man who said they did. A great liar he was."
All eyes in the room turned to Usopp.
"What?!" Usopp demanded, "I've never met this guy before! Stop looking at me!"
"Well, you are known for lying Big Bro," Yosaku told him.
"And not much else," Marianne replied from between him and Johnny.
"No, not your friend," Cricket interrupted. "The great Liar, Noland."
"From the story book," Nojiko said.
"Aye," Cricket agreed. "He and I are distantly related. Granted, he and I are generations apart."
"The gold you're looking for is his from the fable, then?" Robin asked. Cricket grunted as he shifted.
"Yes, it is.".
"So you're here to prove him innocent!" Usopp cried, "that's awesome, old man!" Johnny and Yosaku immediately sniffled.
"Mr. Cricket, that's so cool of you!" Johnny said.
"Quit talking out yer ass!" Cricket shouted, making the trio jump. "I don't care about Noland's reputation! He's dead and gone! I care about my own life. Noland's 'lie' ruined my family's life, all the way down to me! My entire childhood I was ridiculed for being a Mont Blanc! I'm here to see if my life was ruined on a lie or not. If my suffering was caused by him, or by the people who refused to believe him."
"And the monkey's?" Zoro asked.
"Fans of the story," Cricket replied with a hand wave. Shoujou amd Masira nodded.
"It's such an epic tale!" Masira cried out. "We wanted to find the gold Noland spoke of. That's why we're divers!"
"Yes." Shoujou agreed, "we'll find that gold for sure."
"Enough about monkey's," Luffy interjected, feeling they were too far off topic. "What did he say about Sky Islands, old man?" Cricket scoffed at him.
"Impatient, eh?" He asked, reaching over to his bookshelf nearby. He pulled out a ragged leather journal, flipping it open. "You won't find anything in that kid's book about Sky Islands, or even anything in this Captain's Log. Just a single paragraph says anything about it." Having found the page, Cricket handed the book to Nami. "Have a read, Miss. See what it says." Nami took the book from him and flipped it over, her eyes scanning it.
"This afternoon, I met a merchant and purchased a peculiar object," she read aloud. "He claimed it was called a Waver, and that it was from the Sky Islands. It was an incredible ship that moved with no wind, and seemed to travel faster than even the best ships I have seen. Wow, I want one of those!"
"Keep reading," Cricket replied.
"The Waver's source of energy only exists on the Sky Islands, as with many other unique objects. Speaking of, an adventurer e encountered showed me a fish from the sky! It was a very strange creature, with wings like a bird instead of fins. Apparently there are many unique creatures and items in the Sea of the Sky's. I wish I could go there, but apparently it is very difficult and sometimes impossible. A ship our size wouldn't make it. Oh well. Perhaps one day, travel to the sky will be easier. So they do exist!"
"Don't get so excited," Cricket told her. "He could still be a liar, after all. Who knows if it really exists."
"It's doubtful he's lying," Robin said, a hand on her chin. "His writing style suggests he is regaling a factual experience, not making something up. No one writes a personal log in lies, that's just silly. I suppose it's possible that the men we spoke with are liars and charlatans, but I don't think Noland himself was lying."
"I remember reading stuff like that," Vivi said. "Back in the old days, frauds used to use monkey and fish skeletons to pretend they'd found a fishmen corpse, trying to sell to the highest bidder."
"Yeah, and it was harder to tell if they were liars back then too," Nojiko agreed. Yosaku and Johnny practically had steam coming out of their ears.
"So are we going to the sky or not?" Yosaku asked, "I'm lost."
"Yeah, me too." Johnny agreed.
"It's possible alright," Cricket said. "We can help you, too. Just one question for you lot."
"What?" Luffy asked.
"You ready to die over this?"
"No," Usopp answered immediately.
"Why do you ask?" Luffy asked. Cricket took another drag from his cigarette, exhaling loudly.
"Because you'll be risking life and limb to get there is all," he replied. "Have to make sure."
"Of course we're sure!" Luffy replied, "I can't be King of the Pirates if I've never been to a Sky Island!"
"You definitely can!" Usopp argued. Cricket just laughed.
"King of the Pirates, huh? Well now who's believing in Fairy Tales?" He stood from his seat and cracked his back. "If you want to get to Sky Island that bad, we'll help ya. Just don't come crying to use if you get killed."
A little bit shorter of a chapter today, but I wanted to post and reaffirm I am still alive! Just in a lot of pain. So updates will trickle out slower than usual. I have gotten an idea, though.
I'm so nervous to even ask this, but this recent injury has given me an idea. Would anyone be interested in following a Twitter? I hate even asking because I don't want to sound self-important or like I've got a thousand readers who would, but I felt so bad this last month while I was in pain and unable to sit down to update. So I could use it to post updates and things like that.
I'll be honest, I feel like a narcissistic dick even asking.
If no one is interested I obviously won't, but let me know. It'd be easier than posting a new chapter that's only twelve words long saying I won't be able to update for a while. I dunno, was an idea I had. Let me know what you think! And be nice, at least. I already feel bad lol.