PLEASE READ!
So, I have some bad news I'm afraid. I know my updates have been messed up lately, but don't worry - I am not giving up on this story. I'm actually just being swamped by school work. I have five weeks of school left until my school year ends. This means lots of exams, tests, revision, assignments and assessments. Unfortunately, due to all that, I haven't been able to write much. So, I am not going to have any scheduled updates for the next five weeks or so until the school year is finished. If I can find time to finish a chapter, it will be posted. Although, I cannot guarantee anything just yet. I'll just have to see how it goes. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. I'll hopefully be back to updating weekly soon enough.
After Luffy had flipped off the waver and went flying into the clouds, I planned to go after him. But, Chopper decided he wanted to help and threw himself in the water too. I went after Chopper instead and dragged him back to shore while Sanji and Zoro went to get Luffy.
I dragged Chopper back up onto land and left him with Usopp who was chewing him out for jumping in as well. My attention was drawn by Nami who was knee deep in the clouds, looking at the waver that had floated to shore.
Even though I was not human, I still wanted to have at least one go on the waver. Who wouldn't? It's like a motorbike and I knew how to ride those. So how hard could it be sitting in one?
'Hmm… I wonder,' I pondered as I trotted back into the watery clouds.
I reached Nami's side just as she was about to climb into the waver, so I barked to get her attention.
"Huh? Oh, Mamori. What's up?" she asked.
I jerked my head at the waver before looking back at her, wagging my tail. I tried to use the puppy eyes as I stared at her, my head tilting to the side.
"You want to ride it too…?" she guessed, thinking over it for a second. "It's so weird now that we know you are human… I guess there is enough room for you to sit in the back. Fine, jump in."
I didn't give her a chance to change her mind; in one smooth jump I launched myself out of the liquid clouds and onto the Waver. I shuffled towards the back of it, sitting down and wiggling my bum into position. Nami quickly scrambled in after me, getting her into position as she grasped the handle bars.
"Hold on," she instructed as she put a bit of pressure on the accelerator.
The waver seemed to move forward a bit at a really slow pace, a soft humming sound coming from the bottom of it. After a few seconds Nami slowly started to increase the speed until the wind was whooshing through my fur.
"It's so amazing!" she called out happily as we whizzed around the area. I let out a loud bark to agree with her, an impish grin lighting up my muzzle as I leant the opposite way to the waver turned so the boat didn't tip over.
"THEY DID IT!" Usopp yelled from the shore.
"What!" the old man yelped from the shore. "Unbelievable!"
"Nami, Mamori, you're the best!" Sanji cheered from the shore.
"Why!" Luffy gaped. "How can they control something that difficult!"
"Controlling this really requires a certain level of skills," Nami explained to them. "Careful observation is needed, so Luffy, it's out of your limit."
"Hey, Nami and Mamori! We're going to the mister's house! Come back now!" Luffy ordered like a child. "Idioooots. Hurry up and come back!"
"Why you," Sanji hissed as he kicked Luffy in the back of the head.
"You guys go ahead!" Nami called back. "Mister, can we play a little longer?"
"Yes, please be careful!" he answered.
"It's like I'm in a dream!" Nami exclaimed. "There's a ship that actually exists that can sail freely without wind! Would this work on normal seas? The one that Luffy brought back was broken for sure. I really wish I can bring a waver back!"
'Well, I wonder what she'd say if she saw the technology we have back where I come from,' I laughed silently to myself, tilting my head up to the sky as the wind rushed past me. 'This is so awesome! I miss things that move this fast!'
"So huge…" Nami gaped as we both stared up at the island before us. "Where is this?"
'My spidey senses are abusing me again… I think we should leave,' I mumbled quickly, a shiver running down my spine. This island didn't feel right. It was the only place that had solid ground and lots of vegetation… It just didn't sit right.
"There is real land here," Nami pointed out, "these trees are all gigantic. I wonder how old they are, I can't even see the top."
I heard something behind us and Nami and I both tensed and froze for a second. What could possibly be on the clouds behind us?
I heard the sound of a gun being pulled out and I snapped my head around at the same time as Nami. Shock and horror crossed both our faces as we saw the odd tribal man behind us, his cannon aimed at us.
As if that wasn't bad enough I heard the sound of someone or something running through the forest behind us. It was soon followed by the loud bark of another dog and the yell of a few voices.
I forgot about the guy in front of us and instead turn my attention back to the land as a few oddly dressed men came into sight between the trees. The looked to be chasing another man which confused me even more. What the hell was happening and what was wrong with this place!
BANG
The tribal man shot the cannon straight into the trees where the other odd men were, the area exploding in a dust cloud. The loud boom of the blast caused my hearing to echo in my ears for a second as I tried to get my ears working again.
'We should go!' I gasped in dread, using my teeth to tug at Nami's pants. 'Like, now! I can't fight while we are on the clouds!'
"What? What was that!" Nami panicked, freezing in place.
"Help! Help me!" the man that was being chased begged as he dragged himself to the edge of the island, blood running down his face. "Let me get on your boat! I… Beg of you! I'll do anything you want to repay you…"
"But there is only one seat and Mamori is in the back! Would he fit?" Nami continued to panic.
'It doesn't matter!' I objected. 'Let's just grab him and get out of here before something else comes!'
"Waah!" the man cried out suddenly as a beam of light came down from the sky and started to envelope him. Suddenly the blast seemed to triple in size and turn into a blinding light causing me to turn my head away, my eyes snapping closed.
"Damn it! Is it God Enel!" the tribal man cried out in the background. "He actually did that to Vearth!"
With that said the tribal man took off on across the clouds and away from us as the light disappeared, a fire left in its place.
'Wait!' I yelped to myself, sucking in a sharp breath. 'God! Wait, wait, wait! As in a real God? I've read a bit of mythology and I've never heard of a god called Enel… Is he really a God and is he good or bad? Damn, this is not good.'
"Hah..." Nami panted as we both turned to look where he had taken off.
"Get a water dial!" a voice called from the shore and Nami quickly made the decision to hide us. She drove the waver right up the side of the island and she pressed her back flat against the rocks in an attempt not to be seen. I flattened myself against the bottom of the waver, holding my breath as the fire was put out.
"I think that person was talking to someone," one of the voices pointed out.
"Woof, woof!" a dog barked.
"Hey, tell that dog to shut up!" another voice hissed. "It was a raider who got away just now."
"That guy was begging for his life, right?" yet another voice asked, bringing the tally up to four people and one dog.
"But what was Enel thinking? Why did he do it himself?" the first voice asked.
"Time was up probably," was the reply he got.
"Time was up? Again?"
"Next up, illegal trespassers have entered this country," one of the voice said and I got the feeling they were talking about us. "We got Yamashiun's message. Seven citizens of the Blue Sea came up on a ship."
I heard Nami's sharp intake of breathe and I figured she has caught on too. This was so not good… Wait, 7? They weren't including me in the count!
"Only seven?" one snorted. "Doesn't sound exciting."
"Seven heads? It's not divisible by 4!" a voice protested.
It didn't take long for them to leave one by one as they headed off to look for us. When I heard them get far enough away I peeled myself off the floor of the waver, glancing nervously at Nami. Without making a sound Nami got back into position and got the waver moving again. We floored it as we got away from the island, hurrying to let the others know what had happened.
"This is bad!" Nami exclaimed. "We must warn everyone!"
"Oh no!" Nami gasped as we almost reached the shore where we had left the others. "Somebody's there! Are they with those from earlier?"
'More of them?' I growled lowly as I waited for us to get close enough to the shore so that I could see whatever it was. 'Damn dog sight…'
"Please don't do anything stupid guys!" she begged to herself as she tried to speed up the waver even more. My claws dug themselves into the wood as I fidgeted nervously in the back. We really cannot go anywhere without something like this happening…
"PLEASE WAIT!" Nami screamed when we got close enough and we saw everyone else standing on the boat and Luffy was on the shore with a bunch of uniform wearing fools standing off with him.
"AHHH!" Sanji yelled out happily from the front deck of the boat, waving at us. "NAMI, MAMORI! YOU'RE BOTH SAFE!"
'I was more worried about you idiots…' I deadpanned although I really was happy to see that they all looked safe.
"LUFFY! DON'T OPPOSE THOSE MEN!" Nami ordered.
"BUT THESE GUYS…" Luffy started to argue back.
"Don't oppose them? Hey Nami! Can we afford to pay a fine of 7 million beri!" Usopp argued.
"… Oh…" she mumbled, a dark looking crossing her face. "So we just need to a pay a fine of… 7 million beri…"
'Oi… Nami what's with the creepy face...?' I whispered nervously as I glanced at my friend with wide eyes; they grew even wider when Nami didn't bother to slow down at all as we reached the shore like. 'Hey… Aren't you meant to stopping like about now! NAM-AHHH!'
Nami didn't bother to stop at all; she just ran the waver straight up so it went flying into the air as I hit the bottom of the waver, clinging on with my claws.
"THAT'S TOO EXPENSIVE!" Nami screamed as the front of the waver smashed into the captain of the uniform wearing idiots. His head snapped around and sent him flying back as the waver flew further along the beach before hitting the sand and skidding along.
"HEY!" I heard Usopp and Zoro call out in the background.
"CAPTAIN!" the uniformed troops called out.
"Ah! It's over! Because of their illogically high fine, I lost it!" Nami gasped as the waver finally came to a stop. Nami gracefully jumped out, keeping a grip on the handle bars so it wouldn't tip over to the side.
'Nami, you psychopath!' I hissed as I dragged myself to the side of the waver and flopped out of it, landing roughly on the ground. I laid on the ground, gripping it roughly with my claws as I tried to regain my breath, 'Land sweet land! I am NOT doing that again! Ever! I thought you were the sane one, but it turns out you are just as crazy as the rest!'
"Oh, Mister," Nami said, ignoring me as she dragged the waver back over to the old man. "Thanks for letting me use the waver. It was very fun!"
"No, no," he waved off her thanks. "Don't mention it. You guys are in big trouble…"
"Let's run now! Luffy! Mamori!" Nami ordered as she spun around and grabbed onto Luffy's wrist, dragging him along the beach after her. I was left to quickly scramble to my feet and chase after them so that I didn't get left behind.
"What!" Luffy protested as he was dragged. "Why! Didn't you already attack them?"
"If we mess with God it'll be a real pain!" Nami snapped. "That hit back there was just an accident!"
'Accident my ass you spaz!' I protested as I caught up to them.
"HOLD IT!" the weird captain yelled at us as he pushed himself back up to his feet. Luffy and I quickly stopped even though Nami kept running into the liquid clouds, stretching out Luffy's arm. "There is no escape! Not only were you impolite to us, but their action was hindering our duty! It's a class 5 crime! With the power invested in me by God Enel, I sentence you to cloud drifting!"
"Cloud drifting!" Conis gasped in horror. "That can't be!"
"What's that? Drifting clouds sounds comfortable!" Luffy asked Conis cheerily as Nami let go of his arm and made her way back over to us.
"It's not good at all!" Conis protested. "It means putting you on a little piece of island cloud so you will drift in the sky until you die! It's a death penalty!"
"I see," Robin said from the boat, "no wonder ships would fall from empty sky. The galleon that fell from the sky was probably sentenced to the same thing 200 years ago."
"GET THEM!" Mr. Captain Beret ordered and all his lower soldiers' pulled out bows and arrows, drawing them back.
Luffy and I both tensed and I itched to get my knife out of it holder but I held myself back to wait and see how these guys would attack.
"RUN! YOU GUYS CAN'T BEAT THEM!" Conis screamed at us.
"Don't say that Miss," Captain beret said eerily, "you sound like you're helping them."
'DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN HER YOU PIG!' I snarled, flashing my teeth in warning.
"FIRE!" he ordered.
"ARROW OF CLOUD!" three of the soldiers called out as they released their arrows which spiraled towards us, a stream of white substance emitting from them in the wake.
"NAMI! OUT OF MY WAY! GET ON BOARD!" Luffy ordered as he pushed Nami roughly in the direction of the boat.
"Okay!" Nami agreed as she quickly ran towards the boat and away from Luffy and I.
The arrows shot past Luffy and I as we both jumped up into the air to avoid the trail of cloud that followed them.
"Cloud?" Luffy asked in confusion as a few of the soldiers kick their roller skates into gear and jump up onto the cloud trail.
'Bring it on!' I said as I barked out loud, flipping around so that I touched down on one of the clouds. The surface was solid yet bouncy so it was easy for me to jump forward and run towards one of the advancing men. I figured that Luffy could easily deal with the other two.
When I saw him pull out two double sided blades I quickly flashed out my own knife, meeting his charge head on without hesitation. As he swung the right blade at me I used the bounciness of the cloud to launch myself up into the air so that my body was at his head height.
I saw his eye widen as I curled into a ball and used the motion to fly straight into his head which caused his head to snap roughly back. The blow knocked him out and sent him flying off the side of the cloud stream and back onto the ground.
I uncurled myself as I touched back down on the ground, throwing my head up in an aloof manner as my eyes scanned for anyone else who was going to challenge me.
"GOMU GOMU NO…" I heard Luffy start to saw as I looked up to see him in the air. He quickly turned into a ball of flying legs and fists.
"Could this be a Devil Fruit!" Captain beret gasped.
"HANABI*!" Luffy yelled as his fists and feet went flying everywhere and took out a lot of the troops.
I tensed when I noticed one of the few troops left standing pulling back their bows with another arrow notched. Before I could make my way over there Sanji and Zoro beat me to it and took care of the remaining few left.
'When did they get here?' I blinked before frowning. 'I could have taken them out, there was no need for them to get off the boat... And I was calling Nami a psychopath. I'm such a hypocrite.'
"Now that I think of it Nami," Zoro said as he sheathed his sword, "how much money do we have on board?"
"50,000 beri left," Nami answered from the boat.
"50,000? That's it?" Zoro replied.
"Yah," Nami confirmed as I wandered my way over to the others. "We're almost out!"
"Why are we so poor!" Luffy complained, pointing a finger at the boat. "I'm the captain, so I'll say something. You guys should think about how you spend out money!"
"YOU SPENT THE MOST ON YOUR FOOD!" Sanji snapped back at him.
"They defeated the…" the old man started to say.
"White Berets!" Conis finished for him. "Citizens of the Blue Sea should have problems fighting them…"
'I wouldn't compare them to humans,' I snickered to myself. 'Oh… Wait… That includes me too. Oh well, it's not like I am human anymore.'
"Ha… Hahaha… You fools," a voice laughed from behind us and we all turned around to see the Captain Beret push himself up. "It would have been fine if you had done as I said… We, the White Berets, are the nicest law enforcers in God Land. They on the other hand won't be so forgiving! With this, you have become 2nd Class Criminals. Mo matter how you cry or scream... Hahaha! The priests of Upper Yard will personally judge you! Heso!"
"We were tricked!" Nami exclaimed. "Didn't that old lady say 'you can still go'? But once we did it became illegal trespassing! This is a fraud! They can't do this!"
"That's true…" Usopp agreed as he crossed his arms. After the rant from the Captain Beret him and his troops had dragged themselves away like kicked dogs with their tails between their legs. The others had then come off the boat and back onto shore. "However, even if she'd said 'you may not pass', we probably would've used force to get through."
"Shut up!" Nami snapped.
"Anyway, now that things have become really complicated," the old man started to say and we all looked towards him only to notice him and Conis standing far away from us. "If you're a class 2 criminal, we can't help you."
"Why do you have to stand too far away to talk!" Nami yelled at them.
'Nami, calm down,' I sighed and frowned as I looked at the pissed off female. 'What happens, happens. It's better if they don't stand near us now or even associate with us.'
"Oh well, it doesn't matter," Luffy laughed as he cracked a smile. "We're already being used to being chased by the authorities. Also, why did you two come back?"
'Pardon?' I muttered as I blinked and stared at Luffy.
"Huh?" Nami asked as well.
"We were just about to go to the place no one should enter for a big adventure," Luffy explained, frowning in frustration."Wait, I meant to go there to you both of you…"
"You are a really bad lair!" Nami hissed as she began to smack Luffy in the forehead continually as she yelled, "Big adventure! I told you! There are some really scary guys on that island! You're just saying that because you didn't seem them yourself! Even though I don't know if they're really Gods, their super and illogically immense power is real! An island like that… I will never go there a second time!"
"Fine!" Luffy grumbled as he clutched his head. "We'll go by ourselves, you stay here!"
"NO!" she objected. "Pursuers are coming! We're leaving this country!"
"LEAVE!" Luffy yelped in a horror. "DON'T TALK CRAP! JUST THINK! WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT, ADVENTURE OR YOUR LIFE!"
"My life!" she snarled. "Followed by money!"
"Ah! Followed by me?" Sanji questioned.
"SHUT UP!" Nami denied, shoving Sanji away.
"Oh, by the way," Usopp said as he turned his attention to Conis and her father. "We kept trying to get to sky Island but we never thought about how to get back! Is there a safe way back? Can we really go back to the Blue Sea?"
"With you current situation… A safe route is nonexistent, but…" Conis hesitated in answering him. "There is a way to the blue sea. You must go back down to White Sea and then head far east to a place called 'Cloud End'."
"Cloud End?" he replied.
"Yes, although I don't think you should try to run. Sky Ocean is very big," Conis warned us.
"What do you mean?" Usopp questioned.
"Are you saying we can't escape from those guys?" Nami mumbled before turning around and waving back at us as she started to walk off. "If that's so, then it's the same wherever we go. And if we stay here, we'll just cause you more troubles. Now that we have no place to hide, let's just set sail. Conis! Mister! Thanks for everything!"
"Ah! Mister! Can I take all the food from earlier?" Luffy asked in excitement.
"Oh, of course," the old man replied more than happily.
"All right! Sanji, get the lunch boxes!" Luffy ordered Sanji.
"You don't miss a thing do you?" he laughed.
"I have a request too! Mister, you're an engineer, right?" Usopp started to say. "Can I have some tools and materials for fixing the ship?"
"Oh, no problem," he replied simply, signaling them to come with him as he started walking towards some steps. "Just come to my place again!"
"Wait!" Nami protested as Luffy, Sanji and Usopp followed the old man. "Where are you guys going?"
"I'm gonna go get some food!" Luffy answered simply. "You guys go ahead and prepare for our adventure!"
"ARGH!" Nami screamed in frustration before she spun around to face Zoro and I."That idiot! He still wants to go! It's really scary here!"
"How would I know?" Zoro objected and I just shrugged my shoulders. We don't know, the others guys on the island could just be as weak as the berets. And that God guy may not even be real.
"I don't care either way, so don't yell are me!" Nami sighed before turning her attention to Chopper who was climbing back into the boat. "Chopper! You're still on my side. Right?"
"Don't scare him," Zoro said as he sweat dropped at Nami's tone. "You know it yourself. Once Luffy is set on doing something, he'll do it even if we all protest against it."
"Okay, then! I'm not going!" she snapped back.
'Then who is going to look after you?' I questioned as I raised an eyebrow in her direction.
"HOLD ON!" Nami screamed as she clutched onto the railing. "WHAT'S HAPPENING!"
"AHHH!" Chopper screamed as the boat continued to speed backwards.
After we had all started getting the boat ready to sail, something had picked up our boat from under us and next thing we knew the boat was jerked back and started moving with the thing that picked us up.
'PUT! US! BACK! DOWN!' I howled in rage at the giant shrimp looking animal that had grabbed us. My feet were wobbling unsteadily under me as I tried to keep my grip on the decking by digging my nails in.
"WHERE IS IT TAKING US!" Zoro ranted. "HEY! EVERYONE! ABANDON SHIP! IT'S NOT TOO LATE!"
"AND THE SHIP?" Chopper protested. "IF THEY TAKE OUR SHIP!"
"DON'T WORRY!" Zoro answered. "I'LL STAY HERE!"
'LIKE HELL!' I screamed back at him, snarling softly under my breathe. 'SO NOT HAPPENING! I AM NOT GOING TO LEAVE YOU HERE!'
"WHAT!" Nami shrieked. "WHAT CAN YOU DO BY YOURSELF!"
"Wait!" Robin gasped as she drew our attention to the back off the boat. A frown crossed my face with I noticed several giant fish chasing after us with open mouths. "It looks like they are prepared to stop our escape too! Those gigantic sky fish, they're chasing us with their huge mouths open! Even if we jump, we won't make it."
"What if we just take down the big shrimp!" Chopper suggested.
"It's useless, whatever we do," Robin responded. "Maybe it's started!"
"You mean, 'Heaven's Judgement'?" Zoro gritted out. "So instead of sending pursuers, they make us come to them… Such cunning bastards."
'This is not good! Not good at all! If this guy can send monsters after us, maybe he is really a God after all! I thought Gods were only in myths that you read before bed time!' I muttered to myself.
"Then we're going to that island again!" Nami gasped in panic at the thought.
"LUFFY!"
"USOPP!"
"SANJI!"
A sucked in a deep breath when I saw the shark surface again, Zoro in its jaws as he used his swords to stop it from closing its mouth. It had been his genius idea to try and take out the sharks that had surrounded the altar we had been placed on. So, of course the idiot had jump overboard after giving me a sharp order to stay on the boat and not get in the road.
"ZORO!" Nami screamed.
"A SHARK! ZORO IS LOSING TO A SKY SKARK!" Chopper cried as the shark dove back down into the cloud.
'IDIOT! IF ONLY HE'D LET ME HELP! STUBBORN FOOL!' I snarled, my tail swishing in annoyance as I tried to hold myself back from jumping off the boat and running down the altar steps to help him.
"Ah!" Nami freaked after a few minutes when Zoro didn't come back up."He's not coming up! Did he get eaten!"
"GYA!" Chopper panicked. "ZORO'S BEEN EATEN!"
'He'll be fine!' I tried to reassure myself and Chopper at the same time. 'Zoro is too pig-headed to be killed by a shark.'
"If he had, the cloud would be turning red by now," Robin said eerily.
"Don't say such scary things!" Nami snapped at her.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Zoro yelled as he broke the surface of the clouds, sucker punching the shark so it went flying away from him.
I couldn't stop myself this time; I jumped off the boat and took off down the steps, jumping three at a time. Zoro dragged himself up onto the steps and started walking up them back towards the boat. I meet him about halfway down. I did a quick circle around him, scanning for any injuries.
"I'm fine," Zoro waved me off as he continued up the stairs and back onto the boat. I followed him, frowning at his back while cursing his attitude. I could have helped him.
"Hah…" he panted as he stopped next to the side of the boat. "Damn! Looks like we won't be able to swim ashore… Where in the world are we?"
"All we know for sure is that this is a lake somewhere in Upper Yard," Robin answered as I jumped up onto the railing of the boat, perching there. "It looks like a sacrificial altar."
'Sacrificial?' I questioned before swearing. 'That's just fucking great! Of all the Gods it had to be one that likes sacrifices. Bloody typical!'
"There's a bunch more Sky Sharks!" Nami pointed out where more of the sharks gathered at the base of the altar.
"Seems like we've been taken to a dangerous place by that damn shrimp," Zoro said as he wrung the water out of his top.
"You're a swordsman, yet you used your first to kill a shark," Nami pointed out.
"Zoro's so strong!" Chopper cheered in the background.
"I wonder if Heaven's Judgment is to let us starve in this place?" Robin asked.
'Where the hell is your mind at?' I mumbled as I spared Robin a glance.
"Would something that normal really be done by God?" Zoro questioned.
"I don't know, I've never met him," Robin replied.
"With the ship's bottom in this state, we can't put it in the water," Zoro continued after a few seconds. "Anyway, please try and repair it somehow Chopper!"
"Eh? Me?" Chopper squeaked. "Understood!"
"Repair it… So what are you going to do?" Nami retorted as Zoro finally put his top back on.
"I'll enter the forest somehow and use this place as our gathering point," he responded. "Luffy and the others will come here looking for us for use. Isn't there an old saying, 'When you're lost, stay where you are'?"
"The one who should stay put the most is you!" she snarled in reply.
"God's on this island right?" Zoro asked. "I want to meet him."
'Of fucking course you do,' I deadpanned before shaking my head. 'Men.'
"What!" Nami yelped. "Why would you want to meet someone scary like that!"
"I dunno, that depends on him," he replied as he tilted his head in an aloof manner.
"Zoro is more arrogant than God!" Chopper marveled as his jaw dropped.
"Don't you know there are also priests here! You mustn't anger God!" Nami tried to talk some sense into him. "This is just common sense!"
"Sorry." He smirked, "I never pray to God. I don't even believe in God, so why should I care?"
"Wow!" Chopper mumbled in awe, sparkles forming around his face.
'I don't exactly believe in God or Gods. As far as I care everyone is free to believe as they want. I like the stories about Gods, but it's nothing more than stories to me,' I sighed. 'Whoever this guy is, I am actually rather curious to find out more…'
"Mamori is cool too!" Chopper said, his sparkles doubling.
"Oh God!" Nami said as she knelt down on the boat and started to pray. "I have nothing to do with these guys!"
"Looks like we can use that vine," Zoro said as he pointed to a vine that was hanging on the boat thanks to a rather large tree limb.
"Ah, that's not a bad idea," Robin agreed. "Would you mind if I joined you?"
"Eh?" Zoro replied. "Okay, but don't get in my way!"
"Wait! Robin is going to!" Nami gasped.
"Take a look around!" Robin said. "This altar is at least 1,000 years old. Seeing such historical remains makes me quite excited. Plus, if we find some treasure or gems, we can use them to repair the ship."
"I'm going!" Nami said with no hesitation.
"HUH!" Chopper exclaimed. "But didn't you say it was scary?"
"We're exploring history!" she chirped as her eyes turned into Beli. Chopper and I sweat dropped at the same time.
'Relax Chopper.' I tried to comfort him. 'I'll stay with you. It's not as if I could leave you alone in such a dangerous place.'
"Thank you Mamori!" he replied, seeming to relax a little as he explained to the other what I had said. "Mamori said she'll stay here."
"Well then, we are leaving Chopper, Mamori!" Zoro called back to us as they started to walk away in-between the trees of the forest.
"Please take care!" Robin said, waving to us.
"We'll be back soon!" Nami added as she waved as well.
"Okay! Don't worry about us!" Chopper called from our place sitting next to each other on the railing. "Come back safely!"
Once they were out of sight Chopper dropped back down to the deck and walked over to grab some tools. I couldn't exactly help Chopper in repairing the ship thanks to my non-opposable thumbs, so instead I just sat on the side of the boat, my eyes scanning the tree line for any approaching threats.
"Since Zoro and Robin are with Nami, she'll be okay," Chopper mumbled to himself. "I didn't go because I was scared. It's so cool to have such courage! Someday I want to have it too! Anyway, I have work to do. Leaving Mamori and I alone in this forest to repair the ship, they must really trust me! That's right! We're all alone in this dangerous place so…"
A look of shock and horror crossed Chopper's face when he realized the situation we were in. It took him long enough. If anyone was in trouble, it was us. They knew where to find us and they would be coming eventually. Let's just hope Luffy and the others find us before then.
'Chopper, I will protect you,' I called out him as he turned to face me. 'That's why I stayed here. I will guard you and the boat no matter what.'
"The whistle," Chopper sighed as he pulled it off its place where it was nailed to the mast of the ship. I lifted my head up, watching him curiously. "Alright then! Good thing I still have this! If something happens, the knight of the sky will save us."
'Chopper, I won't let anything happen to you,' I reminded him, sending him a soft smile.
"But who is going to look after you!" Chopper protested.
'I don't need anyone to look after me!' I complained childishly as I dropped my head back onto my paws with a pout.
The sound of flapping wings drew both Chopper and my attention, our heads turning to face the direction it was coming from. My eyes widened in horror when a weird looking man that was riding a bird rose up from next to Chopper who was now down on the platform on the altar.
"What?" he said as he held his lance out to the side. "You two are the only sacrifices to kill?"
'CHOPPER!' I screamed mentally as I threw myself off the side of the boat, racing over towards Chopper. 'DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!'
BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH
The sound of Chopper blowing the whistle in his panic echoed in my ears but I ignored it. I needed to get Chopper out of that guy's way right now.
I jumped straight over Chopper who was standing there in horror, his face going somewhat pale under his brown fur. I landed in front of the small reindeer, my eyes narrowing in on the threat I now had to face.
'Chopper!' I snapped at him. 'Stand back!'
"Eh? What's this?" the guy on the bird mumbled as he looked at me. "Oh well. Now, it's time to offer both your lives to God Enel."
'LIKE HELL!' I protested as he pulled back his lance.
I quickly slipped into action as I jumped back, shoving Chopper to the side roughly. I felt slightly bad for pushing him around like this, but it was for his own good. The tip of the lance imbedded itself into the ground where we had been moments before. The lance guy the dragged his lance across the ground as he pulled it out, fire springing up from the ground where his lance had touched.
'Fire?' I gasped as I took another step back so that I was hovering in front of Chopper who was trembling on the ground.
"Why did you dodge?" Mr. Lance asked calmly. "There is nothing that can save you two now. Fuza! Burn them!"
The large bird that he was riding suddenly threw its head back before opening its beak and allowing a jet of fire to shoot out towards Chopper and I.
"AAAAAHHHH!" Chopper screamed from behind me as we both dived to the side to avoid the attack. I felt the fire licking at the tip on my tail as we rolled across the ground the smell of burning fur tickling my nose. I flipped over twice before snapping my legs out again and jumping up to face off with Mr. Lance once again.
'My tail!' I complained as I swished it back in forth in the air to try and cool it off. 'You burned my tail! You son of a bitch!'
"THE SHIP!" Chopper screamed as he pulled himself back up and ran towards the ship. I forgot all about my tail when out of the corner of my eyes I saw fire began to burn up the ropes of the ship.
'Shit! Merry!' I swore mentally as I tried to think of a plan of action to get this guy away from Merry and Chopper. 'Chopper! Can you put the fire out?'
"You're going to grow…" Mr. Lance said eerily and it was at the same time that Chopper did transform into his human form so that he could reach the boat. He jumped up, latching onto the side of the boat as he pulled himself onto it.
Chopper quickly tore the burning ropes so that it was no longer attached to the mast and then he began to stamp on the burning rope to try and put it out.
'Eyes on the prize!' I snapped towards the distracted attacker as I jumped forward. I ran across the altar for a few steps before I launched myself up into the air and at the bird Mr. Lance was riding. Before I got close to him, he had swung his lance around towards me right before I was going to pull out my knife.
My eyes widened at his speed and I stuck my paws out so that they came in contact with the lance rather than my body. A yelp tore its way out of my throat when fire seemed to spring up under my paws, an intense burning sensation running through them. I had meant to jump straight back off of the lance but the sudden pain caused me to falter which gave Mr. Lance a chance to swing his lance and send me flying.
I flew through the air and back towards the boat, flying over Chopper's head as he continued to try and put out the flames out on the boat. My back connected with the mast causing me to bounce off of it as the wood splintered and cracked, a rush of breath escaped my lungs.
"MAMORI!" I heard Chopper yelling in the background.
"Oi, oi!" Mr. Lance protested as he flew toward Chopper. "It shouldn't matter what happens to the ship that is not going to be carrying anyone anymore. You are you're nakama cannot be saved."
"Stop it!" Chopper demanded as I tried to drag myself back up to my paws. The pain that shot through my blistered and burnt paws had my eyes squeezing closed. "Stop it! And don't you lay a finger on the others!"
'First my tail and now my paws… That bastard!' I gasped in pain.
"AHHH!" I heard Chopper cry out again causing my head to snap up in time to see him transform back into his small form as the lance was thrust at him by Mr. Lance who had jumped off his bird.
"If you're going to carry on like this," Mr. Lance said as he swung his fist and hit Chopper. "Then you might as well offer your life quietly!"
As Chopper bounced back up off the deck from the hit Mr. Lance swung his foot and kicked Chopper to send him flying.
'CHOPPER!' I screamed out in horror, a million emotions flooding my system all at once when I saw him get hurt.
Chopper flipped back through the air, heading straight towards the mast where I had been thrown before. I jumped up in the air so that Chopper connected with my side instead, sending both him and I flying back against the mast, the wood splintering behind me again.
"NO!" Chopper screamed and I opened my eyes in time to see a blast of fire heading straight towards us. I quickly managed to twist myself around a bit, thrusting my legs against the mast so that both chopper and I fell to the ground. Once I felt us both slam into the wood I quickly covered Chopper's body with my own, pressing us to ground as the fire connected with the mast.
Once I was sure that no more fire was coming, I rolled off Chopper and heaved myself back up onto my blistered paws. Chopper quickly scrambled up as we both turned around to Merry's mast alight with fire.
"AHHH!" Chopper yelled as switched back to his lager form and ran towards the burning mast. "STOP! I BEG OF YOU! STOP!"
'CHOPPER! DON'T! YOU'LL BURN YOURSELF!' I shouted at him as he began to try and pat down the flames so they would go out.
"Don't attack the ship! Please don't do that!" Chopper begged as he wrapped his arms around the mast of the ship and began to tug on it. I couldn't do anything; I was left staring in horror as Chopper hurt himself whistling trying to save the ship. "OOW! DAMN THIS!"
CRACK
The mast snapped off the bottom thanks Chopper and he quickly swung it around and threw it off the side of the ship and into the liquid cloud bellow.
"Hah… Hah… Damn," Chopper panted as he fell back to the deck on his ass. "Don't do it again! I'm the ship… The ship guard! They asked me to watch the ship! Hah… Hah…"
"What should we do Fuza?" Mr. Lance asked as he began to walk across the deck towards Chopper. "First you tell me not to attack your friends, then you tell me not to destroy this ship. Then you say you don't want to die. You selfish animal. You really piss me off."
'You son of a monkey turd,' I snarled lowly as I stalked across the deck towards him as he got ready to attack Chopper again. 'You come here and attack my friend, then you attack me and then you go for the boat! Now Chopper is hurt and it is all my fault! I was meant to look after him and not let him get hurt! I PROMISED HIM I WOULD PROTECT HIM AND THE SHIP! I may not be as strong as the others but will not sit by and watch my friends get hurt! This boat and my nakama are my life now and I will not let you mess with that! GO DIE IN A HOLE ON THE SIDE OF A GARBAGE MOUND!'
"Mamori…" I heard Chopper mumbled and Mr. Lance's attention turned towards me instead of Chopper.
"What's this? The dog is still interfering? Yet another selfish animal," Mr. Lance said in a low voice as he pulled back his lance and got ready to attack me.
'DIE!' I screamed as I yanked my knife out of its holster and got ready to feint to the left. Just as I began to jump towards the left, Mr. Lance drove his lance straight into the path I was going to take. At the last second I managed to stumble back so that I wasn't impaled, the tip of the lance sinking into the wood and causing the wood to catch on fire.
"STOP! THAT LANCE BURNS STUFF!" Chopper begged from the background which caused me to falter my attack.
'Fuck!' I swore and instead of continuing to attack Mr. Lance I used to burnt front paws to try and put out the fire on the deck before it manage to spread further.
"You want life without sacrifice?" Mr. Lance asked as he looked towards Chopper. "If someone wants to survive, then someone else must die. This is reality. You know already that this is the altar of sacrifice, right?"
"Ah… Yes!" Chopper answered as I finally managed to put out the fire.
"Right now your other friends are risking their lives to come here!" he explained. "On this island, each of the four priests controls a territory. When the target enters one of the territories, no one other than the corresponding priest may attack. That's the rules. However, this altar of sacrifice is not in any of the territories. In other words, this is a free area, so any priest may attack. However, we have to wait until those in the trail die."
"Eh?... Then?" Chopper gasped. "If Luffy comes here and saves us, we can all escape from here together?"
"Yeah, that is so," he answered. "If you can escape from this free area. Anyway, that is just the original rules for judgment and in specials situations it can be changed. For example, three of the sacrifices used vines to enter the forest from here."
"Eh? That's a special situation?" Chopper gulped as he realized it was the others fault that Chopper and I were allowed to be killed now.
"For the crime of running away, someone must pay for it with his life as a sacrifice. This is the way of the world. When they come back, they will also be punished so they can realize their mistakes."
'So in other words…' I mumbled, my eyes growing wide. 'Only one…'
"One of you must give your life to God!" he yelled as I jumped at him again.
"NO! MAMORI!" I heard Chopper yelling in the background.
I aimed my knife to try and catch Mr. Lance in the stomach but he seemed to predict my movements and he slipped back a bit so I just missed him. Before my feet could touch back down he thrust the lance straight towards me and I didn't have time to move as the tip imbedded itself in my shoulder blade. Because of a dogs anatomy, instead of sinking straight through flesh, it sunk into flesh and then smashed into bone. My whole body jarred as metal met bone and dug into my scapula.
A burning sensation spread over my body when the flesh around the lance began to burn and smolder. A screamed yelp left my body and my legs gave out on me as he drew his lance out of my shoulder. The smell of burning flesh and hair stung my nose as I tried to drag myself back up before Chopper decided he needed to get himself involved again.
Before Mr. Lance could stab me again something dropped out of the sky, aiming for him. Metal connected with metal and Gan Fall's lance was blocked by the priests' own.
"Thank you for waiting!" Gan Fall announced.
"KNIGHT OF THE SKY!" Chopper cheered happily, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes.
"A rare guest!" Mr. Lance commented as he pushed Gan Fall back up into the air and away from himself. Pierre quickly swooped in so that Gan Fall landed on his back. Mr. Lance didn't waste time and he too jump up into the air and onto the back of his own bird as he cried, "Gan Fall!"
"Mamori!" Chopper called out as he scrambled over to my side, switching back to his normal form. "Are you okay?"
'I'll live,' I snorted as I tried to stand back up and help Gan Fall if he needed it. 'I've had worse.'
"Don't move!" Chopper protested as he pushed me back down onto the deck. "You're hurt pretty bad!"
"A strong opponent," I heard Gan Fall say up in the air. "We must fight harder Pierre!"
"BIH!" Pierre agreed.
"An old man like you is useless!" Mr. Lance laughed. "Let's just play with him Fuza!"
"Gukakaka!" his bird agreed.
"Yell all you like!" Gan Fall said as Pierre dove towards the Fuza and Mr. Lance in mid-air.
"This island doesn't need two Gods!" Mr. Lance yelled back at him as their lances meet in mid-air.
My head started to spin again because of the loud noises when their weapons clashed together and from blood loss. I squeezed my eyes closed, tuning out from the fight for a few minutes as I tried to ignore the constant screaming my from shoulder.
"OOOH!" I heard Chopper cheering loudly which must mean the fight was going well, "KNIGHT OF THE SKY!"
There were some more sounds of fighting and yelling for a few minutes but my brain was too lazy to process it all right now. All sounded to be going well until Chopper gasped loudly in panic and ran up to the railing of the ship. I quickly snapped my eyes open to see what the problem was and I looked up in the air only to see Gan Fall's chest get run through by Mr. Lance's lance.
"WAAAAH!" Chopper yelled as the old man began to fall down from the sky. "KNIGHT OF THE SKY!"
'NO!' I cried loudly and I began to struggle back up to my paws as Gan Fall fell into the clouds.
"BIH! BIH! BIH!" Pierre began to panic.
"Wah!" Chopper yelled as he climbed over the side of the boat and without thinking he flung himself off the altar and into the clouds below. "Knight of the Sky!"
'CHOPPER! YOU IDIOT!' I yelled as I loped across the deck, leaving bloody paw prints where I trod. Without thinking I jumped off the side of the boat and into the stone altar below. My shoulder shouted in complaint when I landed and I ended up hitting the ground instead of landing the jump. 'DAMN IT! CHOPPER! GAN FALL! COME ON LEGS! WORK DAMN YOU!'
I painfully dragged myself up once again; my whole body shaking again as I stumbled forward to the edge the altar. Without thinking it through properly, I threw myself off the altar after Chopper and Gan Fall.
I flipped around the air as I fell, my back entering the clouds first when I finally smacked into them. Landing in the clouds from a long distance is the same as landing in water. It stung like a bitch. My whole body froze and refused to allow me to move so I left sinking through the clouds whilst facing the surface. Just as my vision started to go black I saw Pierre get slammed into the clouds as well and he began to sink like a rock too because he was a Devil Fruit user too.
'Chopper! Gan Fall! Pierre!' I cried out. 'Come on! Move damn you!'
No matter how much I screamed and yelled at my body, it refused to obey me at all. I was sinking into a black land as the water swallowed us all. I'd failed to protect anyone…
*Gum Gum Fireworks
Beta read by praeses