New Bounties and the Journey to the Sky!
Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning, Devon spent hours asleep in the boy's cabin, worn out and drained from the battle last night, or rather his usage of Kitetsu in battle. The rest of the crew were glad to have Austin back, safe and sound, but Niri's thoughts soon drifted from Austin's well being to the display of bloodlust that she had seen the night before. Sure, Devon was called a demon for his killing style, and in battle, she didn't care before, but this...this was not like Devon at all!
As Devon snoozed, the crew went about their own agendas. Azu helped finish the preparations of the ship to ride the Knock-Up Stream that night, Kirsty had washed and mended Devon's skull shirt, while Axe, Dusty, and Herman made a quick trip back to Mock Town for a few errands. When they got back, Dusty had a very excited look on her face and a bunch of papers in her hands while Herman and Axe carried some bags of food.
"HOLY SHIT GUYS!" she screamed, waving the papers frantically, "CHECK IT OUT! WE GOT NEW BOUNTIES, AND LOOK HOW HIGH THEY ARE!"
The group of pirates grabbed their own posters and soon, their cries filled the area, making the new and old members of the Saruyama Alliance stop their work and look at them like they were weird.
"Yeah, Drunken Master's got some new respect!" Azu waved his new poster around, "They got my new look down...," he looked at the poster, "Why do I got boobs though?"
"This kinda sucks, I got my first bounty pulled back, but now it's back and even higher...," Niri tapped her foot, face scrunched up in annoyance, which was soon replaced with a big grin, "BOOYA! DON'T MESS WITH ME, PAL!"
Austin held up a V sign as he waved his bounty poster, a sly grin on his face.
Pingu's eye twitched,Only 100 beli?! That kid wouldn't have won his fight without me and I get 100 beli?!
Niri looked down at his poster, "I kinda get Pingu's bounty, but where did they get the name, Pimp of Penguins?"
Pingu's eyes shifted around, Sure, I leave a note in human saying this is the alias, but they can't give me a better bounty?!
"This is a mistake!" DJ protested, his hands shaking, "I fought hard just as everyone else did, but I got way less than Devon does! What the f-?!"
"WOOT!" Axe grinned widely, "Dude, I got more then most of the Shichibukai! I'm rising through the ranks!"
Herman rubbed the back of his head, "Never thought I'd get a bounty...let alone one that's higher than Arlong's East Blue bounty," he looked up at the sky, "I wonder how many people know about these posters?"
-----
At that moment, all around, people that the Axe-Heads had met in their journeys were looking at the new WANTED posters.
In the East Blue...
Tristram Village
"Guys, look, it's our doctor!"
Amelia, Kirsty's replacement and friend from her days before piracy stared at the poster, as did every other villager around.
"Holy shit, just what has she been doing?!" they shouted at once, not sure whether or not to believe it. Amelia actually fainted.
"Someone get the doctor!"
"She is the doctor!"
The Baratie
"Oi, Zeff! Check this out, Axe got another increase!"
"I'm comin'...what's that idiot brat got into now?"
"Hey, ya'll, what's going on?"
Zeff, Patty, and Carne turned to the recent addition to the Baratie, Billie Jean LeBeau, who was carrying a tray of empty plates, closely followed by her large black gator, Bubba.
"Check it out, girl!" Patty held out the posters, "Latest WANTED posters! The guy with the big axe used to work here and-,"
"Oh my gawd!" Billy Jean dropped the tray, startling Bubba, "Herman?!"
"Huh?" Carne adjusted his glasses and looked at the posters, "That merman? You know him?"
Billie Jean nodded, "Yeah, I do. Few years back, he helped me get better at my cookin' and if it wasn' for him, I'd never be here-,"
"Wrecking my plates and dishes," Zeff interrupted, bonking her on the head with his enormous chef's hat, "Get back to work, LeBeau!"
CHOMP!
Zeff's eye twitched as he lifted his peg leg, which Bubba now hung from by his teeth.
"Remind me why I let you keep him here?"
"He's good with security?" Billie Jean asked with a nervous grin, right before getting hit by Zeff's hat again.
Phlan Island
"Nikka...it's time for your lessons!"
The small girl dangled her legs over the cliff overlooking the beach, the Axe-Head's posters scattered around her as her tutors called out her name, wanting her to come to her classes instead of goofing off.
"You guys must be having fun, causing all this trouble...," she laid back and smiled happily, "I miss you all. Thanks again,"
Roguetown
The church was still closed due to renovations, but the old priest who ran the church was far too busy to worry about his flock right now. As he sat at the desk in his office, he looked at Devon's and Austin's bounty posters.
"Boys, you are in a heap of trouble, aren't you?" he sighed and took a sip of his tea, "Still, I hope the Holy Father looks after you, even if you do worship another deity. Bless you both,"
In the Grand Line...
Sakura Kingdom (Drum Island)
A loud crashing sound echoed in the huge castle of Dr Kureha as the old woman kicked over the nearest piece of furniture. She had just seen Kirsty's poster and a vein throbbed in her head.
"THAT IDIOT!" she punched the wall, "It's gonna start all over again...,"
Alabasta Kingdom
Princess Vivi Nefetari leafed through the posters she had "borrowed" from one of the servants of the palace. Carue looked at them and sqawked, wings flapping up and down. Vivi giggled and wrapped her arms around the neck of her large duck friend.
"They seem to be well, Carue...I wonder how Luffy and the others are doing?"
Water 7
Nick Olas sat on the barstool at Blueno's bar and stared at Azu's poster, "That drunken sonofabitch! You gotta be kidding me!"
"Oi oi oi, Nick-hiko, what's wrong?"
Olas waved off the large man in the speedo that walked over to him, "Hey, Franky. You won't believe who just made the news,"
Franky took the poster from Nick's hand and looked it over. Unlike Nick however, he smiled, "Way to go, Azu. Supa bounty!" he turned to Blueno, who was cleaning a mug, "OI! ROUNDS ON ME! THIS IS A PARTY NOW!"
Nick rolled his eyes, "Franky, you may find this cause to celebrate, but I don't! Nma...he used to work for Galley-La, and if word gets out he did, our reputation is shot!"
"Aw, Nick-kun...,"
"Don't be so uptight,"
The boy's face turned as red as his hair as two young women with square hairstyles and somewhat pointed noses sat on either side of him. Mozu, the one in yellow leaned against Nick while her sister, Kiwi, who wore red, drew along the side of Nick's cheek with her finger,"
"C'mon, Nick-hiko, it's just a party, there's no harm in that, is there?" they asked in unison.
"HELL NO!" Nick suddenly smiled and brought both sisters in a large hug, "Blueno, drinks all around, courtesy of Galley-La!"
Franky couldn't help but laugh, "Anything for the ladies, eh, Nick-hiko?"
Somewhere on an unknown island
Ashley Ukita lay on his recovery bed, his body bandaged from the fight with his daughter at Slayheim. He and the other Marines who survived: Atreyu, Fortune, Sam, Glenn, Ichi, and even that narcoleptic Major had told the Marines who saved them everything that happened.
He knew that his actions would bring attention to his daughter, who now had their last name on her poster, but he didn't expect her bounty to go from less than 4,000,000 beli to almost 30,000,000 overnight.
"Wonder if she hates me for this?"
On the open ocean
Deep beneath the ocean's surface, in a large house-like structure that rested on the back of a King Bull, Rayo Verrani sat on a plush chair, reading the paper and chuckling as he read it. He couldn't help it, though, because he had just read about what happened at Slayheim, the insurrection, the slayings, and the criminals responsible. He was still laughing when he looked at the new WANTED posters. As he scanned them, he laughing drew to a close and he sighed, a smile on his face.
"Axe, you and your nakama have seriously just pissed off the Government," he shook his head, "Not bad, kid, not bad. Hope your nakama are ready for the consequences though,".
He looked at the paper again and read the bit about the prison once more. Seconds later, he started laughing again.
"Axe killed a Vice-Admiral?!" he roared, "That kid...geez, they must be giving the Vice-Admiral rank to just anyone nowadays!"
Somewhere further down the Grand Line, Shidyk D. Shade stood on a pile of rubble on an island he had recently come to and apparently, demolished. He had found the posters and he couldn't help but grin when he read Axe's new bounty.
"Well, well, Axe...," he clicked his tongue, "You're turning out to be as interesting as Mugiwara. I wonder what you'll do now?"
In another part of the Grand Line, Veda D. Kagura stared at the posters and the newspaper clipping she had cut out. She put her hands behind her head, leaned back and put her leg on her knee.
"I never expected these guys to go from taking down a crime syndicate," she fanned herself with her hat, "Huh...go figure,"
At the Dojo of the Jade Rat...
"DAMMIT!"
Caine and Edge watched as Stick and Buu went flying into the nearby wall. The former assassin adjusted his goggles, "I think she's found the posters, sensei,"
The Jade Rat chuckled, "Indeed...,"
Kyra Chambers stomped by the both of them, snapping her jacket from it's rack and her sai from the table, "Goody goody having a larger bounty than my own, I'll go and fix that right now, kick people's asses for making mistakes, I'll show them someone dangerous!"
"Kyra," Caine held up his hand, but the Devil Fruit user walked right through the door nearby, "Have fun...,"
Edge clicked his tongue and proceeded to pull his brothers out of the wall, "I think she took that well...," he murmured, tugging on Buu's legs, "Dammit, Buu, you lardass, cut back on food!"
"NEVER!"
On a large ship, two people ran over the deck, a poster clutched in their hands.
"Oyabin, oyabin! Look it's Dusty!"
Foxy the Silver Fox turned to see Porche and Hamburger standing behind him, out of breath, holding Dusty's newest WANTED poster. He took it, looked it over and became speechless as his jaw hit the floor.
"Sh-Sh-She's got more than me?!"
Porche and Hamburger facefaulted and sweatdropped when they saw their captain on the deck floor, heartbroken that his old nakama now had a bigger bounty than his own.
On the ship belonging to the Death Roots, Siamon, Penny, and Endo were looking at the posters, which were brought to them by their latest nakama, a mime named Mars who was worth over 200,000,000 beli.
Penny floated around Siamon's head, "Axe-kun's got a big bounty!"
"Yeah, so does your boyfriend," Endo cracked, holding up Austin's poster. That earned him a kick upside the head from Penny.
"He is not my boyfriend!"
"Explain the kiss then,"
Siamon looked at the posters, "This isn't good...with bounties like these, they'll have a lot of hunters after them,"
"You worried about Niri?"
"What, you kidding?" Siamon grinned, "I'm worried she's gonna blast them before they even get a chance! She sometimes gets crazy with her guns,"
Endo laughed, a large lump now on his head, and looked at Axe's poster, "Well, with this guy with her, she'll be both careful and watched over,"
On the ship of Stein Madro, the grandfather of Endo, the older man smirked widely as he looked at the bounty posters.
"So, Captain Axe almost has a bounty in the range of Shidyk D. Shade, eh? A nittoryu user worth over 100,000,000 beli and that girl with the healing power has a bounty of 140,000,000...," he leaned his head back and laughed, "This will be fun,"
In the New World...
"Hey, Pop! Check this out!"
Captain Whitebeard, a giant of a man, and the only one who could ever match Gol D. Roger, the late Pirate King in strength, lowered his large mug of alcohol to see Marco, the blonde Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, First Division.
"What is it, Marco?"
The blonde man walked up to the upper level and walked to his captain's arms, holding up a poster, "You might wanna see this, Pop. Remember that message we got from Ace awhile back, when he was in Alabasta?"
Edward Newgate, or Whitebeard, nodded and took the poster from his nakama, "Is this her? The girl with the power he mentioned?"
"Oh yeah!" Marco nodded and pointed to the bounty, "Check it out! A rookie with that high a bounty," he shook his head, "I think the Government's spooked!"
"Hmm...," Whitebeard re-filled his mug and began to chug his drink.
Marco put his hands on his hips, "What do we do now, Pop?"
"For now, nothing," Whitebeard let out a belch, "Let's just see how this unfolds for now,"
"Got it, Pop...
In another part of the New World, even "Red-Hair Shanks" managed to get his hands on the new posters, thanks to Beckman. He took a drink from a bottle of rum and wiped hs mouth, "Ah, that's good stuff! Good drink and rookies making names for themselves...fun way to pass the time,"
"Since you lost your arm, right Cap'n?" Roux asked as he tore a piece of meat off his meat rack.
Shanks laughed, "I guess so! Let's see...," he looked at the posters, "Nothing too big here. One kid with almost 400,000,000 on his head, not bad, not bad...," he looked at Devon's and Austin's posters and became quiet.
"Hey, check it out! It's that Macleod kid from the East Blue! Who knew he'd grow up to be a pirate?" Yasopp held out DJ's poster and noticed that his captain was quiet, "Something wrong, boss? You kinda look like you saw a ghost?"
"I think I did, but two of them," he placed the boy's posters in front of him, and tapped Devon's picture with his only hand, "I see him and her in these two,"
"Waddya mean?"
Shanks shook his head, "Nothing, forget it for now, let's just get back to getting to Whitebeard," he climbed to his feet, "I gotta tell him about Ace and Teach,"
-----
Devon yawned and stretched for a long moment after exiting the cabin. He walked to the front of the ship, looking well rested.
"C'mon guys, we're all set, let's go find that Knock-Up Stream!" he said excitedly.
"Yeah, dude, we almost there," Azu muttered, walking behind him, "You've been asleep for most of the day,"
Devon facefaulted, "You serious?!" he looked around to find that the ship was on the open ocean, flanked on both sides by Masira's and Shojo's ships, "When the hell did that happen?!"
"When you sleeping like a log," Kirsty said from behind just before something fell onto Devon's face, blindfolding him for a minute, 'Fixed your shirt,"
"Thanks...," Devon pulled the skull shirt over his back, but he found that it was different than before. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that his wings were now poking out of the shirt through slits that Kirsty had made while he was asleep.
Kirsty rubbed the back of her head, "I did it with Austin too," she confessed, "I thought that if there are people up there," she pointed to the blue sky, "...and you guys have wings like they do, this may help ya blend in, ya know?"
Devon went quiet for a few moments before leaning against the railing, "I guess that makes sense...," he looked around, "Where's Azu's ball and chain?"
"Arisa? Oh, she's stayed behind...," Kirsty laughed a little, "Though, not willingly,"
-At that moment-
"I AM GONNA KILL AZUMAMARO BABA!" Arisa screamed as she flailed her legs, "I AM GONNA KILL HIM, PUT HIS HEAD ON A PIKE, AND SHOVE IT UP HIS CARCASS ASS!"
Dee and Murdoc looked at the screaming lady tied to the chair in front of them, her equipment laying against the wall.
"Why did we do this again?"
"That drunk paid us a lot of money,"
"Oh, right...,"
-Back on the ship-
"By the way, I have a question,"
"Shoot, Dev,"
"I know that they gave us wing attachments to help us fly but...," Devon pointed to the wooden figure nailed to the front of the ship, "Why the hell is the one figurehead we get, a goddamn penguin?!"
Kirsty sighed and shook her head, "I don't know...,"
"Ha ha ha! Guys, check this out!"
Dusty bit her lower lip and smiled as she turned the head of the South Bird that was chained to the mast around. It was facing south before, but now, it was pointing northeast. Dusty fell over laughing when it snapped it's back around to face south.
"This thing is freakin' awesome!" the kitsune giggled uncontrollably as Austin and DJ kept twisting the birds neck, only to make the head snap back into place, "I wish I had one of these,"
Before any of the others could tell them to leave the bird alone, the entire sky went black as night, startling them all. Devon looked up at the sky, alert, "Anyone got any clue as to what this is?"
"It's okay, it's just part of the Knock-Up Stream," Chizuru said calmly, walking to the railing of the ship, "Remember Cricket's info? He said that a very dense cloud appears and blocks out the sun, which is a sign that the Knock-Up Steam is coming!"
"But where?" Devon looked around again, "Hey, Masira, Shojo, where's the-,"
"It's right there,"
The blonde swordsman turned to see Kirsty pointing at a growing hole inside the ocean. It grew and grew, making itself look like a giant whirlpool.
"OH MY GOD, IT'S A MAELSTROM!" Dusty ran around, "WE'RE GONNA DIE, WE'RE GONNA DIE, WE'RE GONNA DIE!"
"No, we're not!" Axe looked at the huge whirlpool and sighed, "Take us in,"
"Aye, Captain," Chizuru ran for the helm, "Just make sure the sails are down for sure, otherwise, this'll be a lot harder that it's supposed to be,"
"Death by maelstrom, death by maelstrom...," Dusty latched onto Niri, "Niri, make them reconsider!"
"City of Gold, City of Gold, City of Gold,"
"Niri?" Dusty turned her friend around to see that Niri was lost in yet another treasure filled fantasy, "Shit! Niri's gone bye-bye!" she grabbed Axe, "Tell me you have some sanity left, even after that order!"
"Sky Island, Sky Island, Sky Island," Axe's eyes were filled with excitement, as if he now considered the possibility of an island up there.
Dusty whimpered and hung onto her faithful mast, "You'll never let me down, Masty, you my friend...,"
Herman and Kirsty sweatdropped, "Masty? She named the mast?!"
Meanwhile, Austin and Devon hung on tightly to the ship as it began to go straight into the eye of the maelstrom.
"This is it, Austin...those journals, those stories Mom told us about him...," Devon looked at his little brother, "We're gonna visit the land of our father!" he looked back up in time to see the Tomahawk soar into the open water, "EVERYONE! HANG ON!"
Immediately, everyone clung tightly to anything and everything they could find. They expected the ship to go downward, but a loud splash later and they saw that the whirlpool was gone.
"That was it?" DJ looked around, "Dude, what a complete ripoff! I'm gonna kick Cricket's ass for lying to us,"
"He wasn't lying,"
The musician turned to Devon, who was now looking down at the water's surface, "Why do you say that?"
"Because, there's something coming up," Devon grabbed hold of the railing while his brother did the same, "Everyone, here it comes!"
"That's what you said last time!" Dusty cried, latching onto "Masty" again, "Make up your mind!"
Suddenly, something huge and powerful burst from below, shaking the ship violently and knocking everyone that wasn't holding on to anything down. Shaking his head of water, Devon looked ahead and watched in amazement as a gigantic stream of water rose high into the air, directly into the clouds above them. Dumbfounded, Devon didn't realize that the ship was caught in the stream and began to rise into the air itself!"
"OOOOOOOOOH SHIT!" Dusty squeezed the mast so hard, large cracks appeared thanks to her claws, "WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"
"No, we're not!" Axe shouted over the water, "Chizuru, what do we do?!"
"Think of this stream as a normal current, captain and sail it like you would any other stream!" Chizuru shouted, holding onto her hat while her nakama lay pressed against the galley walls behind them, "No matter what, we cannot deter from this course!" she turned to Devon, "Axe may be captain, but this is your call, First Mate! Do we fall and see what happens, or do we ride this sucker all the way up?!"
Devon reared his head back and let out a happy howl, "WE RIDE THIS SUCKER ALL THE WAY UP!" he screamed as the ship slowly pulled away from the current.
"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die," tears rolled down Dusty's eyes as the ship finally broke away from the current, "SHIT!!!"
However, instead of falling like she thought, the ship still rose higher and higher, breaking through a thick patch of clouds thanks to the attachments the Saruyama Alliance had made for them. Austin let go and flew into Herman's stomach, which lay pressed against the galley's walls thanks to the gravity. Devon stayed at the very front of the boat, trying his best to keep his eyes open as they ripped through the clouds.
"No going back now...!"
-----
Back in Mock Town, Shifter wandered around, wanting to pass the time while looking for a decent spot to restart his acting career. As he searched, he could swear he heard screaming come from behind him, so he turned and looked out at the sea to see a huge pillar of water rising up out of the water in the far distance.
"Whoa...what the hell is that?!"
As Shifter stared at the Knock-Up Stream, Blackbeard and his crewmates looked at the new posters.
"Ze ha ha ha!" the huge man laughed, "I knew that feeling I had was familiar! These kids are just like Straw Hat Luffy and Pirate Hunter Zolo!"
Jesus Burgess scoffed at Axe's picture, "Kid doesn't look so tough to me, I could probably take him on, know why?!"
"Because you are the Champion, Burgess?" Van Auger asked in a bored tone, looking at the posters through his strange glasses, "Interesting how life turns out. We lose a major bounty, and we find another set of targets to make your plan work, Captain," he shouldered his rifle, "Fate can compensate, it seems,"
Doc Q coughed as he lay on Stronger's back, "I read in the paper what these kids did, Captain...they're supposed to be good,"
"Ze ha ha ha!" Blackbeard laughed again, "Only Fate will tell if they're good or not, Doc, only Fate will tell!"
Van Auger nodded, "True, very true. As I said before when the Straw Hats left for the sky, we are but cogs in the gears of Fate. Sooner or later, we shall meet both groups again, and when that time comes, we will be victorious!"
------------------------------------------------------------------
Kilnorc: Alright, Jaya's finally over, the people around the world know about the bounties and the gang's headed for Skypeia! Fans may know the deal with Kirsty's power and Whitebeard Pirates, but what is the deal with Shanks and the posters of the brothers? Mysteries are abound and they will be revealed in the upcoming...SKYPEIA ARC! -fanfare plays- Enjoy, peeps!
On the next chapter of Homeland...
Axe: Whoa...check it out, a sea made of clouds!
Devon: This...is the White Sea! So this is what those journals referred to!
Chizuru: Something's coming!
Dusty: It looks freaky! A horse, a bird, what the hell is it?!
Seas of the Sky, Kingdom of Skypeia!
Gan Fall: So, his sons are here at last...