Chapter 70
Aerial Stew

"You should rest."

Eli jumped up in the air and kicked yet another sky shark away from the Striker. After a few second in the air, the shark hit a tree before collapsing on the ground, unconscious. "I'm fine."

Ace shrugged before pointing at two sharks surging in their direction. A deep exasperated sigh flew from her mouth as Eli glared at the belligerent fishes. Ever since they had resumed their course through the Upper Yard to meet with their crewmates, about half an hour had passed. The sun was already setting and so the luminosity was reducing on the holy land. On the other side, it seemed that the number of creatures attacking the raft only increased exponentially. The cool and refreshing breeze caressing the pirates' bodies had become disagreeably freezing and Eli felt that her weakened body wouldn't hold much longer. Yet, even though they had successfully passed their ordeal, the pirates had no idea what was waiting for them. And so, they kept advancing on the cloud road, hoping to soon see their friends safe and sound.

"Can you hear that ?" Ace asked. Looking around he raised his finger.

Silent, the pirates strained their ears, a gushing sound arising in the direction they were going to; it could only mean one thing, one dreadful thing.

"Waterfall !" they both said in unison, looking at each other with wide bewildered eyes.

Their heads snapping forward, they saw a white haze veiling their route. On the spot, Eli dashed to the back of the Striker and tightly wrapped her arms around the mast. Deafening, the sound of the waterfall increased as they got closer, faster, the strong current increasing their speed but not only, huge flames bursting from his feet, Ace was propelling the raft toward the threatening obstacle as fast as he could.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING ?" Eli yelled, hoping that Ace could hear her above the thunderous sound of water crashing down. "HOI !" Hugging the mast, she reached out her hand and tapped the flame user's shoulder repeatedly.

But Ace didn't turn his head and not a sound left his mouth as the young man's dark eyes focused on the end of the cloud road.

As they burst into the haze, water covered the both of them; Ace's flames extinguishing in the humid atmosphere. Yet, and even though the rotor wasn't alimented anymore, the Striker surged through the moist mist and was hurled in the air.

They were in a large open space, four waterfalls crashing into a large lake. For a few seconds, the raft flew forward, Eli's shrieks fading as they quickly lost their previous velocity until the plummeted downward. Whiteness filling her mind and ears, the girl clawed on the mast, gritting her teeth as she did. Her feet lifted off the floor while the hair fluttered upward. After a few, frantic heartbeats, the Striker hit the surface of the lake with a loud splashing sound. Eli was whipped against the mast as the raft stabilized on the water as well as the mind of the pirate girl.

In the middle of the fluffy lake there was an altar and, on top of it, the Merry. Eli's eyes widened as she stared voicelessly at the little ship; on its board, no pirates were to be seen and the main mast was gone.

Worry bursting into her chest causing her heart to pound with force against her ribcage, Eli dashed on the surface of the lake and climbed the altar's stairs in a split second.

"Chopper ! Robin !" Placing her hands around her mouth, the pirate girl yelled out, desperately looking around for her crewmates. "Zoro ! Nami !"

Her footfalls resonated on the deck as Eli walked from a side of the Merry to the other. Swiftly running up the stairs, she opened the lounge's door, calling out the names of her crewmates before dashing to the reserve. Where are they...? The girl bit on her bottom lip while her eyes quickly scanned the empty males' quarters.

"ACE ! ELI !"

To the sound of her dear captain's voice, Eli's head snapped up, prairie-dogging in search for the teen. On the lake's shore, Luffy was waving cheerfully, a large grin on his childish face.

"We're here !" he yelled, Chopper appearing to his side.

A bright sensation of relief washed over the girl upon seeing her crewmates safe and sound. Grinning back at them, she dashed on the lake, appearing in a flash in front of the two teenagers.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Eli said, hugging tightly on the little reindeer. "I'm sorry I wasn't here, Chopper..."

"Elisabeth~" Sanji popped from behind a tree, his arms and legs wriggling as he gamboled to the girl. "I'm fine too~" he said, his arms wide open.

Eli let go of the little reindeer and stood up. Chuckling, she watched Sanji's loving face while his arms remained open; obviously, he was waiting for a hug as well.

"Hey Zoro, Sanji wants a hug," Ace said smugly, watching the whole scene with amusement.

Things became so noisy then. A furious Sanji barked insults toward both Zoro and Ace; they mixed with the swordsman's harsh grunts and Ace's loud laughs. Luffy and Chopper's giggles, Usopp's smart remarks, Nami's annoyed grumbles, and Eli and Robin's lovely laughs... Despite the bandages and the bruises covering their bodies, they were all fine. Laughing with each other like they always did. They were all fine and happy to be together again.

For that night, the pirates had decided to camp on the ground. Sanji was preparing a huge amount food for the whole group, a boiled dinner with all kind of meat and vegetable found on Upper Yard.

While they strolled though the giant forest in search for ingredients, Chopper told Eli that he had been attacked by a priest when he was guarding the Merry. It was during their fight that the main mast of the little ship was destroyed. Ashamed, the little reindeer, told the girl that he had called the knight of the sky to help him. The fight was fierce and the knight ended badly injured.

During their harvest, the two pirates found some medical herbs, aloe vera, and garlic and, as they came back to the encampment, a bright smile on his cute face, the little doctor dashed off to Gan Fall's side to take care of his unconscious savior.

The rest of the crew was helping Sanji with the diner, except for Nami who was apparently working on a map, and the two D brothers who were engulfing a whole roasted sky shark.

"It's ready !" Sanji said.

Inhaling the exquisite smell of the stew, the pirates were slightly drooling as they sat down.

"Everyone's here ?" As the cook served the bowls, Nami called for the pirates' attention. "Let's review the content of Norland's log book." Wearing her glasses, the redhead looked like a teacher. "Four hundred years ago, he found a city of gold on the Island of Jaya."

Wordlessly, the pirates nodded before eagerly digging into the their large bowls of stew.

"But when he came back a few years ago, the golden city had vanished without a trace," Nami said. "During our exploration, Robin, Zoro and I found the other side of Montblanc's house on the seaside cliff-"

Eli choke on a chunk of carrot. "What !" she said with a strangled voice. Hitting her chest with her fist, the girl managed to clear her throat. "You mean that we're on Jaya ?"

Nami nodded. "The knock-up stream must have propelled this part of the island in the sky four hundred years ago."

Speechless, Eli stared at the redhead. Was that even possible ? What kind of monstrous stream must have occurred to manage to tear an island apart ? Her bewildered gaze trailing up at the huge trees, and down at the ground. The chronicler found, at last, the answer to the question that had been pertaining in mind while approaching the Upper Yard. Earth did not form in the sky; it was brought here.

On the spot, the chronicler put away her bowl of stew and took her logbook to write down those theories. "There is probably something in the sea cloud that had enhanced the plants and animals growth," Eli said.

"Yes," Robin said. "And the golden city must be hidden in this thick greenery."

Eli nodded thoughtfully. The chronicler was so focused and amazed at those revelations that she didn't notice Luffy who was stealing her bowl of stew.

"Oi, Luffy !" Ace slapped the rubber boy's hand.

"And the south bird that saved us was this big !" Chopper said, stretching his little arms as far apart as possible.

"But she doesn't even touch it..." Luffy pouted, nursing his hand.

"The south bird saved you ?" Eli said, raising her face from her book. "How cute~"

A ruckus caused the jade-eyes girl to turn her head around. Eli tilted her head to the side as she watched questioningly Ace and Luffy somehow fighting...

"It's her food idiot !" Ace said harshly.

Eli smiled warmly at the black eyed young man and picked up her bowl and spoon. "Thanks."

"Haha." Ace scratched the back of his head with a sheepish laugh while pushing his young sibling away with his free hand. "It's nothing..."

A stupid smile on their faces, the two lovers gazed at each other, deeply, until the sound of someone clearing his throat, extremely loudly, snapped them out of their slight loving daze.

"Why did those birds save you ?" Sanji ask Chopper while glaring at the raven-haired pirate.

"I don't know..." Chopper looked in Gan Fall's direction thoughtfully. "But they called the knight 'God'..."

"GOD !" Luffy yelled. "So I have to kick that old man's ass ?"

"Of course not, moron..." Usopp muttered.

"Anyway !" Nami adjusted her glasses on her nose. "You remember the last sentence in Norland's logbook ?"

"In the skull's right eye, gold is seen," Robin said.

"Exactly !" Nami claimed, startling the group with her loud cheerfulness. "Take a look at this." The navigator produced two sheets of paper and affixed them together before turning them around. "I combined Jaya's map with Skypiea's."

The pirates' eyes widened as they leaned in the maps' direction. The two of them combined perfectly in one and only island that had the shape of a skull.

Usopp scrambled over to Nami, looking at the maps with wide amazed eyes. "So the skull's right eye is..."

"This place !" The navigator pointed before standing up. "We'll go straight to this point tomorrow !" Nami's eyes chestnut eyes were sparkling as she spoke. "We'll split into two groups. The first one will take care of getting the Merry out of the Upper Yard, while the other will search for the golden city."

Nami's money-lusty endeavor raised the pirates' spirits higher than ever before. They gathered all the wood they could find and made a huge woodpile. As their laughs pervaded through the giant forest, a pack of wolves soon joined the joyous group for their improvised party in the holy woods.

Sitting by the campfire's side, the fire reflected in Eli's jade eyes. With a smile on her face, she gazed at Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp who were dancing with the wolves, until the sound of Sanji's bewildered screams reached her ears. Looking in his direction, she saw the young man literally burning up with rage in front of a very amused Ace. A sigh left her mouth as she observed the blond making wide, and quite threatening, motions with his arms.

For a moment, she considered whether or not she should intervene in this umpteenth quarrel and, as his yells grew louder, Eli stood up.

"Hey," she said quietly, the cook spinning on his heels on the spot. "What's up ?"

"Elisabeth~" His hands clasped to his face, Sanji's cigarette started producing heart shaped smoke. "Are you still hungry ? There is a lot of stew left if you like."

"Oi !" Ace frowned. "You told me it was empty not a minute ago."

With a scornful huff, the cook grabbed the flame user's bowl and walked over to the large pot. As he filled the two bowls, Eli sat down by Ace's side.

"What happened ?" she asked quietly.

"I told you, he's jealous..."

Eli rolled her eyes quite greatly before setting her gaze on his freckled face. "How could that be ? He doesn't even-"

"Here Elisabeth~" Sanji handed Eli her bowl and threw Ace his.

"Thanks." The girl gave the cook a smile before plunging her spoon in the stew.

As she brought the mouthful to her lips, the strong scent of the dish reached her nostrils and, already, her mind's hunger was fulfilled with this delicious smell. As the taste burst onto her tongue, a delighted smile crept on her lips while her eyes glimmered with pleasure.

It was as she brought another spoon to her mouth that Eli noticed how quiet the two pirates were. Her jade gaze lifted from the stew to peer at them, her eyes widening slightly as she saw that they were staring at her.

"What ?" she asked, before engulfing the spoon's content.

"Nothing, nothing," they both said in unison. Silent again, they glared at each other.

"Sanji..." Eli called out quietly. "Are you aware that a wolf is hitting on Nami ?"

"WHAT ?" Swirling like a shot, the blonde's keen eye localized the redhead in a split second, a grumble resonating from behind his greeted teeth as he watched a sky wolf swooning over the navigator. "Be right back," he mumbled as he made his way through the joyous crowd partying around the campfire.

"So tell me, Freckles," Eli began, interrupting the young man's scoffed chuckles. "How could Sanji be jealous of something he doesn't know."

"I told him."

"You WHAT ?"

"I told him," Ace repeated, cocking an eyebrow at the girl's loud reaction. "Why are you angry ?"

"Why- what ? ...You !" Eli's face flushed as she peered at the blond from the corner of her eye. "Why did you do that, moron ?" She slapped Ace shoulder.

"What the hell ?" Ace frowned. "Because it's true, duh !"

"You could have lied !" Eli whispered harshly.

Pushing his empty bowl aside, the young man stared at the embarrassed girl. Something akin to anger stirring inside of his dark orbs, Eli saw his jaw clenching.

"Are you ashamed that we're together ?"

"Shhhhhh !" Eli hushed the young man slamming her palm on his mouth. Rapidly, her gaze scanned her surroundings to make sure that none of their crewmates could hear their private discussion.

On the spot, Ace grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from his mouth. "You are ! You are ashamed !" he said harshly, even louder than before. "I thought you wanted this too Eli !"

"I do..." Eli said quietly. Discreetly, she settled a hand next to his, her little finger lightly caressing his skin in hope to calm his anger. "But it's all so new and... strange."

"Strange ?"

"I'm still not used to this and I don't want them to know yet," she murmured glancing over to the other pirates.

"And why is that ?" Ace's ire was painted across his freckles face and it seemed that, despite her attempts to ease him, Eli only made him even angrier. "In case you change your mind ?"

"Of course not." A frown on her face, Eli couldn't quite believe how insulting Ace had just sounded. "Don't be silly."

"I'm the silly one ?" Ace stood up briskly and turned around towering over the girl. "Come to me when you made up you mind, Eli !"

Without another word, the flame user walked to the other side of the campfire, leaving Eli alone to her bowl of stew.

"No, you're the silly one..." Eli muttered, a childish pouting look on her face.

Walking up to her favorite cliff, Eli was surprised to find a child's figure's sitting at the edge. As she approached, the Sutan girl saw that said child was a little girl. Her rave hair fluttering upon a warm salty breeze, she was facing the sea.

"Hey," Eli called out, a few meters away from the girl. Slowly, she turned her head around, her big blue eyes setting on the Sutan's green ones. "What's your name ?"

"... I'm Robin," she replied quietly, lifting a little hand to her windswept hair.

"Nice to meet you, Robin." A hearty smile on her face Eli crouched down next to the girl. "I'm Elisabeth."

Silently, Robin's blue gaze studied the Sutan girl before trailing behind her figure. "Are you going to burn them all ?"

Eli turned her head over her shoulder and looked at the pile of wood and corpses raising high above the ground, a large swarm of flies flying all around, attracted by the stench of the decomposing bodies.

"Of course." A large grin on her face, streams of tears poured from Eli's jade eyes as she turned her head around to look at Robin. "They'll only rest in peace among the stars."

"EliEliEliEliEliEliEliEli !"

Shaken violently fore and aft, the girl squeezed and spread her eyelids several times before managing to recognize Usopp in her hazed filed of vision. A frightened look on his face, the teen was shaking his crewmate like a rag doll, while murmuring her name over and over again.

"Wha-a-a-t ?" she managed to say despite her laden tongue.

A sigh flew from his mouth as Usopp released, at last, the girl from his tight grip. "You were having a nightmare," he said. Pointing a thumb at his chest, he grinned widely. "And captain Usopp came to save you !"

Blinking a few times, Eli ran a hand through her short hair. "Thanks..." Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, and the girl wasn't quite sure if it was caused by her dream or the frantic waking up. "I guess..." she muttered.

"Are you okay ? Do you want to walk a bit ?"

Surprised by his friendly offer, Eli sat up and titled her head to the side questioningly. As she peered at the long-nosed pirate face intensely, she felt something strange and very familiar emanating from his stiff face.

"Why are you... afraid ?" she asked.

"Nonono not at all..." With a sheepish laugh, Usopp averted her intrusive, jade gaze. "Since you just had a nightmare and I wanted to take a leak-"

"What ?" Eli's eyes widened like large plate as she stared in a befuddle manner at the teen. "Go ask one of the boys, chicken !"

"But I am asking a boy-OW!" Usopp rubbed his shoulder after receiving a punch from the angry girl. "Okay okay... I'll go alone."

Eli glared at the teen as he sheepishly walked away until he disappeared behind a large tree. With a deep sigh, she let herself fall on her back and covered her cold body with her sleeping bag. She was very awake now and, as her eyes gazed at the thick forest's canopy, the girl tried to remember the content of her dream.

It was her home country. Her comfort place on a cliff overhanging the ocean... Robin was here. A little Robin, the same as the one she had seen on her poster. Rolling her head to the side, Eli looked at the archaeologist's sleeping figure wrapped into her sleeping bag.

What a strange dream...

Even if the memory of the dream was very vague, a disagreeable sentiment remained imprinted in her mind and under her skin. As she looked back at the past few days, the Sutan girl couldn't help but think that those reminiscences were because of Ace.

For years she had managed to put everything aside, but now, the phantoms of her past came to haunt her more and more often. Was that her conscience's doing ? Was it because she had to tell him ?

Despite being wrapped into her thick and warm sleeping bag, Eli felt cold and soon, she found herself searching Ace. But the young man was nowhere to be seen and the girl's mind started to stir annoying. For years she had faced her fears alone. For years, she had managed to bury those every painful memories deep inside, hiding the pain behind a cheerful mask, but now... Now, and for the first time, they were back, because of him and now she needed him.

How troublesome.

Out of anxiety, Eli finally stood up. Stealthily, she made her way though the bodies of her crewmates sleeping on the ground and scanned the dark area. Narrowing her eyes, she searched for a glimpse of the flame user and, at the moment her jade gaze fell on his orange hat resting on the soil behind a tree, Eli felt expectancy stirring in her guts.

Swiftly, she tiptoed in his direction, a wave of relief washing over her as she saw Ace sound asleep. Light snores rising from his sleeping figure, a smile appeared on her face and, without giving it a second thought, she slipped inside of his sleeping bag. Wrapping herself around him, Eli enjoyed his warmth with a little moan and buried her face in his neck, the disagreeable aftertaste of her dream vaporizing within his familiar heat.

"...Eli...?"

The girl gave a little sigh. Somehow she had wished that he would remain asleep.

Ace turned around to face her and Eli smiled upon seeing his lovely, freckled face. "Hey," she said quietly. "Sorry I woke you."

"It's okay." Ace yawned and stared at the smiling girl. "What will the others think if they find you here...?"

Eli pressed her chest against his and sighed again. "I'll leave before they wake up...?"

"You ?" Ace huffed. "You're always the last one to wake up."

"Don't be like that..." she said quietly, feeling a slight wrench on her heart.

Very obviously, he was still angry, and somewhere Eli knew that she couldn't blame him but she wished that he could understand her.

"I want this... It's just that I don't want them to get involved." Eli shifted her head to look at him, trying to conceal the sad look on her face with a little smile. "I just want to be with you, Ace..."

Wordlessly, Ace gazed deeply into her green eyes, something warm fluttering in his dark ones.

"Eli... I..." Gently, he brought his hands to her cheeks and pressed his forehead on hers. "I've wanted this for a long time now... I..."

"Me too." Pressing her lips on his, Eli kissed him tenderly. "I'm sorry..."

On the holy land of Skypiea the two pirates in love slept in each other arms and a few hours later, under the first rays of the morning sun, Ace was the first to wake up, leaving the embrace of the pirate girl and protecting the secrecy of their love.

to be continued

Not really satisfied (again) and sorry for the delay (again). I'm trying to get over a writer block and thanks to some of you (you know who you are), it's gradually fading away. Thanks :D

You can go read Twig 18 now :)