Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it! I've decided the pairing!!!! It's going to be….
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I'M NOT TELLING!! MWAHAHAHA!!! (But seriously, I think I've dropped enough hints to choke a hippo)
This chapter is more an informational chapter than anything, nothing too much happens. Stuff's actually going to happen in the next chapter, so bear with me here!
Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece
Chapter Five: Dials
"Oi, there's someone out there," Zoro said, looking out over the ocean.
Everyone saw a strange man riding out over the waves in a strange boat. It looked sort of like a wave rider. "Ah, my father," Conis said happily.
"Heso, Conis-san!" her father called.
"Heso Father!"
"Um… what are they talking about?" Luffy asked, blue lines over his eyes. (If you don't get the joke, see the translation note in the last chapter.)
"What is that?" Nami asked. "That thing he's riding?"
"You mean the Waver?" Conis asked.
"That thing's pretty cool!" Luffy yelled.
"A Waver…" Nami murmured.
"Ah, yes, I'm sorry! I'll be stopping now!" Conis' father called. Dressed in a tan robe, he wore two black gloves, a large woven basket on his back, and a pair of strange goggles on his forehead. His hair was rather strange. It clumped at the top of his long face like a bush (with the antennae that seemed to be a natural part of hair for these people), and another bush covering his mouth. The only way you could tell he was talking was from the up and down movements it made. The strange, small wings were on his back also. His eyes were the ones that always looked like they were closed, and he also had the strange wings on his back.
He didn't slow down as he neared the beach… rather he ran over the beach and crashed into a tree. Everyone stared in stunned silence.
Conis' father picked himself up rather shakily. "I-is everyone alright?"
"WHAT ABOUT YOU?!" Zoro and Usopp yelled at the same time.
Hoshi just remained stonily silent. She couldn't trust these people yet.
"Hey, Luffy, didn't you guys bring up something like that from the ocean floor?" Nami asked.
Luffy was still drinking out of his fruit thingy. "Yep," he said between sips.
"That's what Norland wrote about in his diary… a ship that sails without wind!" Nami realized aloud.
"Are these your friends, Conis-san?" Conis' father asked.
"Yes!" Conis said with a genuine smile. Hoshi looked at her suspiciously. "We just met! They came all the way up from the Blue Sea!"
"I see," Conis' father said with a smile… or what seemed to be one. It was hard to tell past that beard. "That must have been a very difficult journey. This is the White-White Sea. I'm sorry."
"Oh, no, it's cool," Usopp said, waving his hands from side to side.
"I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Pagaya. I'm sorry."
"Ah, no, it's fine," Usopp said, becoming more flustered at all the 'I'm sorry's.
"Father," Conis asked. "Did you catch any fish?"
Pagaya smiled. "Yes, a good catch," he said, indicating the large woven basket he carried. "Would you all like to stop by my house? I could treat you all to a little happiness of the sky!"
"Can we?! We'll go, we'll go!" Luffy shouted happily. Hoshi still felt uneasy, but she felt herself relaxing. These people were no real threat.
"Sky Island cuisine, huh? Will you let me help you prepare it?" Sanji asked, dusting off his hands.
Nami was checking the Waver. "Can I ask you something, Pagaya-san?"
"Of course! You may ask me anything, I'm sorry."
"This… doesn't have a sail to catch the wind, and you weren't rowing it. How does it move?"
"Oh, so you all don't know about Dials?" Conis asked.
"Dials?" Luffy asked. "What are those?"
A few seconds later, there was an explosion on the shore as the Waver took off. Luffy was attempting to ride it… with catastrophic results. He was gassing it without realizing what he was doing.
"AHH!! WHY IS IT SHAKING SO MUCH!? IT WON'T STOP!!" he yelled. As a reflex, he pressed the gas pedal all the way to the floor… the wrong thing to do. The Waver put on a burst of speed and flew into the air. Luffy flew in a screaming arc and landed in the sea.
Conis and Pagaya were looking horrified. "I hope he's not hurt!" Conis breathed.
"What a tragedy!!" Pagaya exclaimed. "I'm sorry for letting a beginner handle the Waver!!"
Hoshi still hadn't said one word since the arrival of the two Sky Island inhabitents, but she ventured out of the cabana and stood between Zoro and Sanji. "Say…" she said. "What happens to people with Devil's fruit abilities in this sea? This ocean's different, right?"
Chopper was shocked, and was running around the beach in terror.
"Oh right," Zoro said, thinking it over. "Maybe he can handle it."
Luffy sank into the cloud. "S-SABE BEEE!! (save me!!)"
Chopper screamed.
"He sank," Hoshi pointed out.
"No good, eh?" Zoro sighed.
"Guess not," Sanji muttered.
Chopper was freaking out. "OH NO!!!" he yelled, jumping into the ocean to save Luffy.
A couple minutes later, Sanji and Zoro dragged a drowning Luffy back to shore. Usopp dragged a drowning Chopper to shore, and Hoshi had swum out and brought in the Waver.
"Hey now! He was about to fall through the bottom of the cloud!" Sanji chided.
"It's your fault for standing around blabbering so long!" Zoro grumbled.
As the two started bickering, again, Usopp was reviving Chopper. "Geez, why'd you jump in too?" he asked the little reindeer, annoyed.
"Sky Island scary… Sky Island scary…" Chopper trembled.
"I'm sorry! This would not have happened if I did not lend him my Waver!" Pagaya apologized. "The body of the Waver is very light. Even a small wave can move the rudder, and unless you know the sea very well, you will not be able to ride it! I'm sorry!"
Conis explained to a wide-eyed Chopper. "I myself only recently became skilled enough to use it."
"It's that hard?!" Chopper exclaimed.
"Yes, it is, I'm sorry. With practice, it may take about seven years," Pagaya confirmed.
"Holy crap!" Chopper said, his eyes popping out.
Hoshi sweatdropped. "Um… then what's Nami doing?" Everyone looked.
"Come to think of it, where'd she go?" Zoro asked, looking around.
Nami was out on the sea with the Waver, having the time of her life. "This is the greatest!!" she whooped.
Usopp and Luffy's jaws fell to the beach. Sanji had a heart in his eye. "NAMI-SAN!" he called. "YOU'RE WONDERFUL!!"
"Oh my! This is quite extraordinary!" Pagaya exclaimed.
Luffy's eyes bugged out. "How can she ride that thing?!"
"This thing really does take a lot of control and delicate observation!" Nami called. "It'd be impossible for someone like you, Luffy!"
Luffy got blue lines on his head, then he yelled. "OI! WE'RE GOING TO THE OSSAN'S HOUSE!! GET OFF THAT THING RIGHT NOW, YOU DORK!!"
Sanji kicked Luffy in the head. "Don't talk to Nami-san like that!"
"YOU DORK!!" Luffy raged.
"You guys go ahead!" Nami laughed. She was having too much fun to get mad at Luffy. "Is it alright if I borrow it for a bit longer, Oji-san?" she asked Pagaya.
"Of course! Take care!"
"Riding on the sea like this without having to calculate for the wind… it's like a dream!" Nami said happily. "I wonder if I can use this on the regular ocean?"
Hoshi shielded her eyes. "Whoa! The happy glow! It's blinding!"
"YOU DORK!" Luffy yelled. Sanji stuffed Luffy's face into the cloud beach.
"Oi, Pagaya-san, what's this up here?" Usopp called. He had started climbing the staircase and was pointing to a place on the left. "It looks like a construction site!"
Pagaya explained as everyone started to climb the stairs. "Yes, this is a cloud cutting site. This is where clouds are cut and prepared for manufacturing."
Luffy and Usopp and Chopper weren't listening… they were dancing and bouncing up the cloud on the side rather than using the specially cut stairs.
"Can you really cut clouds?" Sanji asked disbelievingly.
"You came here up the Milky Road, yes?" Pagaya asked.
"That roller-coaster road?" Luffy asked. "Yup, we came up that one."
"It was manufactured using Island Cloud cut from here. There are two major types of clouds here. The one you used to sail here is Sea Cloud, and the fluffy cloud that we can walk on is Island Cloud."
"Well no matter how you look at it, it isn't normal," Zoro grumbled.
"Yes. The solidification nucleus which produces each cloud is different. On the Blue Sea, there is something called Kairouseki, correct?" Pagaya asked.
"Kairouseki? That has something to do with this?" Robin asked, looking up.
"Yes. It is found in Pyrobloin, a sulfur protein particle transported into the sky by volcanoes. When it reacts with water vapor, the differences in density determine whether Sea Cloud or Island Cloud will be formed."
A blue aura hung over Luffy and Usopp's heads.
"Oh sure, that!" Luffy said, laughing uneasily and waving a hand.
"Yes, yes, yes, I know all about them," Usopp said. "I used to play with sulfur protein particles when I was a kid-"
"Liar," Hoshi snapped. "You can't do that with sulfur protein particles."
"Well anyway, the kinds of cloud you find here are Sea Cloud, Island Cloud, and ones artificially manufactured from Island Cloud," Pagaya explained. They reached the top of the staircase. "Here we are. The view of the ocean from here is really quite fantastic, I'm sorry."
"Oho! I can see Nami on the Waver!" Usopp said, squinting at the little black dot on the ocean. He glanced at Luffy, who was staring at the dot. "Oi, what's wrong?"
"That Nami… How's it so easy for her?!" he grumbled. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "SINK!!!"
"Jerk!" Sanji kicked him and dragged him up the remainder of the stairs.
They entered Pagaya's house, which was virtually right next to the staircase. "Hey ossan!" Sanji asked, looking around. "Where's your kitchen?"
Pagaya smiled… or moved his mouth under his beard into what Hoshi thought might be a smile. "It's right this way." He led Sanji into the kitchen, a sliding door to the left. They had entered into a cozy sitting room, with delicate pink walls and three couches surrounding a square table. There was even a small balcony that looked over the ocean.
Hoshi was crouching and looking at a strange object on the table. Besides the teacups, there was a strange blue shell. It was built in layers, and had holes about the size of a coin all over it. She could see quite clearly by now that Pagaya and Conis meant them no harm, enough for her to relax. Her nerves were still humming a little, and the phoenix was shifting about uneasily.
She was about to inquire on the object when a loud yell emitted from the kitchen.
"Is something wrong?" Pagaya exclaimed.
Hoshi heard Sanji cough a couple times. "N-no, I'd just never seen this sauce before, so I tried a little of it. Man, it really has a strong flavor, this sky-colored sauce. My tongue's gone numb!"
There was an uneasy silence, then Pagaya said, "It's gone bad. I'm sorry."
"THEN DON'T LEAVE IT LYING AROUND!!" Sanji yelled. There was a sound of smashing glass. "I ate a whole spoonful of the stuff!!"
"I'm sorry! Are you cut!?"
"NO!"
Hoshi chuckled. "Sounds like he's having fun!" she noted, glancing at the kitchen door. She got up off her kneeling position next to the table and flopped on the cloud couch next to Zoro.
Usopp put on a self-important smile. "He's simply overjoyed at seeing the rare sky cuisine…" he sighed.
Robin looked at Conis. "I know we just got here, but could you tell us more about those Dials you mentioned before?"
"Of course!" Conis answered. "Let's see… How should I explain?" She walked over to a side table behind the couch Chopper was sitting on.
"Ahh… what a nice, cushiony chair…" the little reindeer sighed.
Conis picked up a grey, spiraling shell and gave it to Luffy. "What, you have shells here?" he asked.
"Yes, please try saying something into it," Conis smiled.
"Yosh!" Luffy brought the shell close to his mouth. "USOPP'S A DORK!!" he yelled into it.
Usopp fell down behind Luffy. "Why, why, why, why did you say that?" he moaned.
"Now try pressing the apex of the shell," Conis instructed.
Luffy looked at the shell in his hand, confused. "What's an apex?"
"The top of the shell," Usopp said, sweatdropping. He pressed it.
"USOPP'S A DORK!!" the shell said.
Luffy and Usopp started freaking out. "AH!! THE SHELL'S MAKING FUN OF USOPP!!" Luffy yelled.
"AND IN YOUR VOICE!" Usopp shouted.
"Hey, that's really something," Hoshi admired. Conis glanced at Hoshi and smiled. Hoshi gave the blonde a small smile and a slight nod.
"It recorded the sound," Zoro said, an eyebrow raised.
"The seashell is a Dial?" Robin inquired.
Conis smiled. "Yes. This is a Tone Dial. It is able to record and replay sound. It is one of the shells of the White-White Sea.
"But this sea doesn't have a bottom," Zoro pointed out. "Where do the shellfish live?"
"They live on reefs in the shallows," Conis explained. "The reefs move with the island."
"But I don't see how that could move the Waver," Hoshi said. Conis walked over to the side table and picked up another shell. This one was more flat and purple. "Yes, this is the propulsion Dial for the Waver. This one isn't very large, but the concept is the same as the Tone Dial." Conis pressed the apex of the shell and aimed it at a wind-chime. A gentle wind blew out of it, making the wind-chime ring. "This one is a Breath Dial," she explained.
Luffy held his hand out. "I want to see!" he said, stars in his eyes.
As Luffy played with the Breath Dial, Conis explained, "The Breath Dial sucks in wind and releases it freely. The capacity of the Dial determines the strength of the wind that blows out of it. By putting these on the aft of ships, it can move light ships or large ones. And that is the Waver."
"I see, so it keeps blowing air to keep the ship moving," Usopp clarified. Conis nodded.
"That Waver's neat!" Luffy exclaimed.
"There are actually many other types of Wavers… skate types and board types," Conis continued.
"So that's how that guerilla was skating on top of the clouds," Hoshi murmured. Zoro glanced at Hoshi.
"I want to ride!" Luffy said, hoisting himself up on the banister with his arms and clapping the soles of his sandals together. "Nami's so lucky! We even have one too!"
Conis looked at Usopp. "You all have a Waver?"
Usopp cringed apologetically. "Sort of by accident. We picked up a really old beat-up one. But after 200 years, it probably won't move."
Luffy made a face.
"Well, that isn't necessarily the case," Conis said. "Dials are made from the remains of shellfish. As long as the shell isn't broken, there's no reason why it shouldn't be perfectly functional."
Luffy whooped and started dancing around. "Hear that Usopp!? We've got a Waver!!"
"But you still can't ride it though," Hoshi pointed out.
Luffy hung his head. "I can wish," he grumbled.
Hoshi laughed. Robin pointed to the shell on the table that Hoshi had been looking at earlier. "Is this another type of Dial?"
"Yes," Conis smiled. "That is a Lamp Dial." She pressed the apex of the shell, and it started glowing. Chopper's eyes were bugging out of his head.
"There is one that stores fire, the Flame Dial, and one that stores smells and aromas, the Flavor Dial," Conis said. "There are so many different kinds of Dials."
Chopper was moved. "That's so cool! That's so cool!"
"So I'm guessing that these Dials are an integral factor of Skypia's culture," Robin smiled.
"Correct!"
Hoshi glanced at Zoro and sweatdropped. "Idiot, don't go to sleep while other people are talking," she told him, hitting him with each word.
Okay, this chapter's getting long, so I'll stop here. Hope you all enjoyed and will review!