Coral: okay. I should be safe right now. Ahem. Welcome to the next chapter of SCP: Soaring to the Sky! Not much action will be seen in this chapter, but it will bring about some surprises for you all~ Hope you enjoy them!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Kingdom Hearts. I do not own Guthrie and, soon to join, Allen. Well, actually I kind of do own him.
*OPENING*
Let's fly to the sky
(The sun rises as Merry sails across the ocean)
There's not a single cloud in the sky
(All the current Straw Hats watched the sun rises, Luffy on the figurehead)
Let's fly to the sky. (It's time to fly around) Catch the perfect breeze for you
(The camera faces the sky as the title appears on the screen)
Paint the sky with (Let's go to the wonder world) imagination that no one's ever seen
(Camera faces back to the Going Merry as everyone went on with their peaceful business)
OH! OH! Even if it's too dazzling (Come on)
(Xion looked up and saw Marines ahead of them and warned everyone)
OH! OH! under the sun
(They all prepared themselves for battle. Marines fired cannon balls at them)
OH! OH! If it's you, you can make it! Throw away your pride and FLY!
(Luffy, Zoro and Sanji sent the cannons back at them. Usopp fired a cannon of their own with Xion, in her Wisdom Form, unleashed Triple Firaga at them, followed by a Thundaga, clearing their path)
Everyday is plain!
Real talent makes the world go round
(Going Merry sailed through the smoke. Everyone looked content as they enjoyed the sea breeze)
Deceit won't work anymore.
(Scene changed to Jaya in Mock Town, as camera faced each of the Blackbeard Pirates.)
Mayday, the red light is stopping you too
(Scene changed to Cricket's home, showing Cricket with Masira and Shojo side by side.)
Lend me an ear! And I'm gonna stick on my RAP! Wussup!
(Guthrie fights against some pirates and Heartless. One tried to sneak up on him and Chirithy knocked it away.)
"From tomorrow on I'll get serious!"- seriously cut it out with excuses like that
(Allen danced as he dodged the attacks of the pirates and attacked them at the same time)
Increase your money with your dream! Time is money like NASDAQ!
(The Straw Hats looked at Cricket's gold and searched for the South Bird)
When will you do it boy? It's now or never man! This is the moment, right?
(The crew then arrived at the Knock Up Stream and went to the skies.)
Everybody put ya hands in the air and clap ya hands like this like that
Clap ya hands everybody! Everybody just clap ya hands!
(Scenes quickly changed to different scenes. Xion and Guthrie crossed blades, Luffy's one-hit KO on Bellamy, the group trying to catch the South Bird, then finally their first encounter with the Shandia Warriors)
Let's fly to the sky (It's time to fly around) Catch the perfect breeze for you
(The Straw Hat Pirates arrived on Skypiea and were approached by the White Berets and fought them)
Paint the sky with (Let's go to the wonder world) imagination that no one's ever seen
(Scene changed to the group in the Upper Yard fighting against Heartless, Shandians and Priests)
OH! OH! Even if it's too dazzling (Come on)
(Scene changed to Xion fighting against a blonde Organization XIII member with knives and lightning magic)
OH! OH! under the sun
(Changed to Guthrie and Allen teaming up against the Nobodies)
OH! OH! If it's you, you can make it! Throw away your pride and FLY!
(Changed to Luffy battling Enel. In a flash of light, opening ends with all of Straw Hats on Merry, facing the camera)
Last time:
"Oh! Nami's not a demon anymore!" Luffy said.
"Really?!" Chopper-kun was happy at the news.
"Yeah, she should be calmer after letting off that much steam," Usopp stated.
Just then, we all heard a crack and looked to see Merry starting to break apart.
...
Wait, what?!
"H-Hey! Hold on!" Usopp cried out. "This isn't good. The waves made it to this ship as well! The ship's starting to fall apart, particularly the repaired areas! The ship's body is already worn out as is! If we stay here, the ship will be torn apart!"
"Full speed ahead!" Nami ordered. "To someplace out of his voice's reach!" With that, we quickly sailed away from Shojo and his ship.
We were sailing away from Shojo's ship and his voice. As soon as we were in the safe zone, some of us helped Usopp fix up Merry.
"Seriously... Seriously... Seriously... Seriously... That damn orangutan! He wrecked the ship even more!" he muttered.
"This ship has really started to fall apart," Zoro stated. "Maybe it's about time to replace it."
Even though it may be a joke, Usopp panicked at the sudden idea. "Don't you dare start saying inconsiderate things, too!"
"Don't you dare!" Chopper-kun repeated in amusement.
"You know exactly how we got this ship, right?!"
"Right?!"
Luffy, lightly hammering a needle in some wood for the railing, said, "I know, Usopp. Complaining won't get us anywhere. Going Merry is an important part of the team. So let's work together and repair the ship."
As he said that, Usopp still tried to mimic Usopp when he snapped at Zoro about replacing their ship.
I smiled at his words. 'One of the times I respect him as my captain,' I thought. Next thing I knew, I heard the sound of a crash and turned to see that Luffy hammered a bit too hard and destroyed part of the ship.
"You idiot! Are you repairing the ship or wrecking it?!" Usopp demanded.
"No, I'm really trying to fix it but-" Luffy was cut off as he accidentally destroyed another part of the ship. "Whoops. It got broken again."
"Luffy!" our sniper and doctor screamed.
'And there goes that one time of respect,' I mentally added.
After fixing up the Merry, I went up where Nami and Robin were and conversed with them about our destination on the other side of Jaya.
"We left Mock Town and headed East by circling around the island. We're almost here on the map," Nami analyzed. "That man... What's his name again?"
"Montblanc Cricket," Robin answered.
"Montblanc Cricket, the man who talks about dreams, lives there?" I questioned.
"A-Amazing!" we heard. Looking down to Luffy and Usopp then to where they were looking, we saw a castle by the edge of the island.
"That's his house?! That's a palace!" Luffy shouted.
"Is this Montblanc Cricket guy mega-rich?!" Usopp questioned.
Most of us who were more sane knew better than that.
"Idiots. Look closely," Zoro told them.
"A dreamer, huh? He does seem to be in vain," Sanji said.
"Hm? Why?" Chopper-kun asked, not seeing what was wrong with the castle.
Luffy jumped off to investigate and saw what they meant. "HUH?! It's just a board!"
"What?!" Usopp and Chopper-kun gasped.
"So his house is just half a house. The rest is veneer," I said. "Kind of cheap, isn't he?"
"What kind of dream did he talk about that would get him driven out?" Nami asked Robin.
"I don't know," she answered. "But the person who told me said he knows something about the Sky Island."
"But who knows if there's really anything here?"
As much as it pained me to do this, I knew that if nothing was done, Nami may have us sail away from here. "He might have some sort of treasure here from Sky Island," I suggested.
As if it had become a new magic word, Nami perked up at the one certain word. "Treasure?! Like what?!"
"Um... Maybe gold that can only be found on Sky Island?"
As planned, the navigator of ours got all fired up. "GOLD! Dig the ground, Chopper! Gold will surely appear!" she ordered.
As obedient as he was, my little brother went into his full reindeer form and dug with his horns.
"Will it really appear?" he asked.
"Living alone in such a remote area?" Sanji asked.
"Hello? I'm coming in," Luffy spoke, casually letting himself in.
"Couldn't you wait a moment?!" Usopp gasped.
"It's already too late," I told him. Despite that, the liar of a sniper went to retrieve our captain. I decided to take a look around the area, or was about to when I heard a voice.
'You came at last...' I let out a small gasp and turned to the source, which was the woods close by. 'Please... Take me back...'
"I'll be back in just a bit guys," I informed, running to the direction of the voice. My friends all called my name, but duty calls.
I found myself somewhere in the woods, quite far from my crew. With the glowing, blank Dream Eater card in my hand as a guide, I looked around to see if there was a Keyhole nearby. Turned out, for some reason, it was on a birds nest high up a tree. I didn't bother questioning it and just pointed my Keyblade at it, starting whatever challenge was to come.
'It's been a while since we last did a challenge, hasn't it?' Voice asked.
"It has. The recipes I gained up to this point were mostly given to me," I agreed. "So what's this challenge?"
'Actually, this challenge won't be until later tonight.' I didn't know if he could see me, but I gave a look of confusion at the sentence. 'So until then, you may do what you wish until later.'
"Um... Okay." With that, I walked back to my crew.
*GENERAL'S P.O.V*
By the time Xion returned, she saw a wet, shirtless guy with a chestnut on his head shooting at Sanji with a pistol. Zoro was charging at the man while he was distracted trying to kill the cook.
"What happened while I was gone?!" she questioned, as she charged at the group of men. The next thing they all knew, the guy just collapsed. "What?"
Usopp and Luffy emerged from the water, the former supporting the latter. "My god. What were you thinking?" the sniper asked.
"I saw... bubbles coming from the water," the captain explained, coughing out some water he may have swallowed. "So I was looking in the water, then suddenly a chestnut appeared. The chestnut was actually a guy and he dragged me in the water." The two then looked at Luffy would-be killer. "Hey, old man!"
Xion ran over and crouched by the downed man's side, examining him. "Looks like he's in pain. Chopper-kun, go help him out!"
"Right!" Chopper answered. "Somebody bring him inside the house. I'll examine him there."
While Ussop pulled Luffy out of the water, Sanji reached down and hoisted the chestnut man around the shoulder.
"Hey!" barked a voice from afar.
Everyone turned to see someone rush out from shoreline by the woods. Robin recognized the person as the boy who gave her the map of Jaya, Guthrie.
"What the hell did you do to old man Cricket?!" he demanded, rushing forward.
"Wait, hold on! It's not what you think!" Nami responded, but Guthrie didn't listen. He was charging towards Cricket, who was surrounded by Zoro, Sanji and Xion.
"Xion-san, look out!" Sanji called out, his hands full with the old man.
"Don't worry. I got him," the Keyblade wielder answered, pulling out a card. "Summon: Komory Bat!" Fang came out, screeching at the ready. "Give him an earful, but don't kill him, Fang!" Fang flew at Guthrie, understanding Xion's orders.
"So you control Dream Eaters, do you?" Guthrie asked questionably. "Well, guess what..." Fang unleashed a sound wave at the charging young man, who leapt out of range. "I'm not interested in your Nightmares!" In a gust of light, he summoned a weapon that shocked everyone, especially Xion.
"A Keyblade?!" she gasped.
Indeed, it was a Keyblade, with the guard looking like the helm of a ship, the teeth shaped like an anchor, and a gold medallion on the keychain.
"Ice Dash!" Guthrie shouted. He encased himself in an icy aura as he shot himself right at Fang. He struck him hard, sending the bat Dream Eater hurdling to the ground, encased in ice.
"Fang!" Xion gasped.
"That boy uses... a Keyblade?!" Robin questioned in a wide-eyed demeanor.
"But how? I thought Xion-nee was the only one who uses one!" Chopper cried out.
"Never mind that! He took out one of Xion creatures!" Nami exclaimed.
Guthrie landed on the ground with the frozen Dream Eater behind him, and he charged at Xion. "I won't let you get in my way!" he shouted, pulling back his blade at an angle.
Xion retaliated by summoning her own Keyblade, blocking the attack unleashed onto her. There was a loud clang as the stems of the Keyblades met one another, and a slight shockwave from the force of impact that shook the grass about.
Guthrie saw Xion's weapon and went wide-eyed. "You have that weapon, too?!"
"That's what I was gonna say!" Xion responded, shoving Guthrie away from her.
While in midair, Guthrie did a reverse somersault as sent his Keyblade flying at Xion, shouting, "Strike Raid!"
"Quick Blitz!" The girl responded with a jumping slash that countered the oncoming weapon, striking it away from her.
Guthrie called back his Keyblade to his hand when the attack failed.
"Let's see how you deal with magic. Aeroga!" Guthrie pointed his blade at Xion and unleashed a powerful whirlwind at her.
"Firaga!" Xion retorted with her fire magic.
The two attacks collided, causing an explosion that everyone endured. When it subsided, Guthrie and Xion glared back at one another, wondering how to one-up the other.
"Where did you get that Keyblade?" the former questioned.
"It's mine. I was wondering where you got yours!" the latter retorted.
"Well, it's mine as well," Guthrie answered, getting into a battle stance. "I'm not gonna let you take away Cricket, you understand?"
"Can you listen for a freakin' second?!" Xion barked.
"She's right! Can't you?!" questioned a small voice. There was a puff of smoke in front of Guthrie, and Chirithy came out in front of him.
"Woah! Where did that cat come from?!" Ussop demanded.
"It looks a lot like one of Xion's Dream Eaters!" Nami compared. "But, I heard it speak like us. Xion's Dream Eaters can't do that."
"What are you doing, Chirithy?" Guthrie asked.
"I can sense it. This girl... she's the one we've been looking for!" Chirithy answered, skipping towards Xion, who looked startled. "Yeah, it is! The girl that you are sworn to protect. This is her!"
"'Protect'?" Xion echoed the cat creature's word.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Guthrie stopped him. "That's the girl?! But her friends hurt Cricket! Why should I protect someone who hurt my friend?!"
Hearing such accusation made Xion snap. "We're not the ones who hurt him! He collapsed after he attacked us and he needs medical attention! WE'RE TRYING TO HELP HIM!"
Xion's words broke through to Guthrie, who was taken aback. He lowered his Keyblade as he looked to Cricket in Sanji's arms.
"Sanji, what are you doing?!" the female chosen of the Keyblade demanded. "Get that old man Cricket inside his house so Chopper-kun can have a look at him!"
"Whatever you say, Xion-swan~!" the chef answered in his lovesick response. He then rushed Cricket into the house, with Chopper right behind him.
As Guthrie watched them, he noticed Robin standing nearby. "You again," Guthrie noticed.
Robin didn't respond, but looked transfixed at the boy. 'He uses a Keyblade, just like Demon-san,' she thought to herself. 'Why is there another one of them here? And where did he get his Keyblade?'
Guthrie calmed himself down as he said, "Well, if you're with them, then I guess I'll let you guys off the hook... for now. Right now, Cricket comes first!" Guthrie raced after the doctor and his patient.
"Hold on! You can't just walk away from this girl!" Chirithy cried out as it raced after its master.
Xion watched the two leave, then looked at the rest of the crew with them.
"What in the world is going on?" she questioned. With no answers, the crew followed everyone inside the small house.
"Bring more cold towels! Open up the windows!" Chopper instructed, treating his patient.
"It's caisson disease, isn't it?" Xion guessed.
"Caisson disease?" Zoro repeated.
"Is he sick then?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah. It's a sickness divers get sometimes," the man-reindeer answered. "But it doesn't usually become a longstanding condition. Due to a lack of decompression when surfacing from the seabed, the nitrogen dissolved in the blood gets released quickly and forms gas bubbles at the time. Since the gas bubbles expand inside and outside of the blood vessels, they cause problems to blood flow, muscles and joints."
"So it's some bizarre phenomenon, huh?" Luffy dumbed it down to his own understanding.
"In a way, yes," Xion confirmed.
"My guess is that he kept diving everyday, without giving his body time to recover, and it finally caught up with him," Chopper assumed. "That's why he passed out during the fight."
"You're right on your assumption," Guthrie confirmed, sitting in a chair nearby the entrance of the room. "From the past few days since I've been here, Cricket's been doing non-stop diving, only stopping to eat something or chat with me while smoking, which also doesn't help his lungs at all."
"But why would he want to do that?" Nami asked him.
"Well, he struck some loot on the day we met," Guthrie recalled. "He kept saying 'he finally found it' and kept diving without a long-enough break. What he found? I can't really confirm it."
"He was taking a big risk," Chopper stated. "In some cases, Caisson disease can cause death. He's lucky to be alive." Everyone looked to Cricket, worried about him.
"Just make sure that isn't the case, reindeer doc," the male Keyblade wielder told the doctor in a serious tone. "He's a good man and doesn't deserve to die."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure he gets better," Chopper assured him.
"While we're at it, mind telling us who you are?" Xion questioned. "And why do you have a Keyblade?" Everyone looked to Guthrie, while Chirithy came to his side.
"Yeah, I'd better explain myself. But I'd like to start off with introductions from both sides." Guthrie stood up onto his feet. "My name is Guthrie. I've only been a Keyblade wielder for under a week. This little guy is Chirithy. He's been kinda my teacher for wielding the Keyblade, as well as my guide."
"A pleasure to meet you!" Chirithy greeted, bouncing towards Xion. "Please, forgive Guthrie's actions to you. He's tends to go a little overboard when helping others out, like that old man."
"No, it's okay," Xion assured, thinking to herself how she can relate to that. "Still, I'm pretty impressed that he was able to fight like that, despite only using the Keyblade for less than a week."
"I learn quickly," the fellow chosen answered. "So, mind telling me your name, Keyblade girl?"
"My name is Xion. I'm the vice-captain of this group of pirates."
"Pirates? But you don't act like all those other ones in town."
"We're an oddball group, I know. Anyways, the boy in the straw hat in our captain, Luffy. The guy with the swords is Zoro. Then there's our navigator, Nami, our chef, Sanji, our doctor, Chopper, and our archeologist, Nico Robin."
Guthrie looked to Robin at her introduction. "So an archeologist, huh? Never heard of those kinds of people being pirates. But I guess that's why you were looking for information in town."
"That's right," Robin answered. "Although, I didn't expect to meet another Keyblade wielder like Demon-san."
"Demon?" Guthrie looked over to Xion, who simply shrugged and waved it off.
"Do you know him, Robin?" Nami asked.
"He's the one who gave me his map, as well as where to find Montblanc Cricket," the older woman answered.
"Yeah, speaking of which, now that you found this place, I wouldn't mind having my map back," Guthrie pointed out.
"No need for that!" Chirithy responded.
"But you said-"
"Now that you found the girl you are destined to protect, you don't need to get the map back from that woman. You're going to join with her, which means you're going to join her crew."
"Woah, wait a moment!" Guthrie stopped his partner. "Who said anything about me joining a group of pirates?! And why are you trying to make my choices before I even get a say in the matter?!"
"Because it's your duty!" Chirithy leapt up into Guthrie's face.
"So what?! Let me decide whether to join or not!"
"Hold on, you two!" Xion called out, stopping the argument. "What the heck are you two talking about?! Protect me? Duty? You are not making any sense!"
"So does that mean he's joining my crew?" Luffy asked. "Hey, are you a musician?!"
"Why the heck would that matter?!" Nami, Ussop, Zoro and Xion barked.
Just then, there was a trampling of footsteps. Two familiar large faces appeared through the door of the small house. "Hey old timer! Are you alright!" both shouted. The two were the two monkey men that the Strawhat crew met before, Masira and Shojo. They drew the attention of everyone in the room, putting Ussop and Chopper in a panic.
"What in the world are you people doing here?!" Shojo questioned.
"And just what do you think you're doing to the old timer?!" Masira followed. The monkey man turned to Guthrie. "Hey, Guthrie, tell us what's going on?!"
"Easy, guys!" Guthrie assured them. "They're trying to help old man Cricket. And your loud voices aren't gonna make him feel better."
"He knows these savages!" Ussop exclaimed in a frightened tone. "He must've called both of them here and now they're gonna kill us! Xion, help us!"
The first mate face-palmed herself, knowing that they were just overreacting.
Instead of getting angry, however, both monkey men broke down in tears as they said, "Thanks, you guys!"
Chopper and Ussop both fell and skidded to a halt, while the latter said, "They're thanking us?"
"Now, everyone, get out of the house and leave the doctor to his patient," Guthrie informed everyone in the room. "I'll explain myself better, but give old man Cricket some peace, okay?"
While Luffy was chatting it up with the two monkey men, with Ussop and Zoro listening in, Xion and Robin were right by Guthrie and Chirithy as the male Keyblade wielder wandered up to the edge of the island, grabbing a random rock and hoping it would skip. Instead, it sank in the water with a splash.
"So now that we have introductions aside, mind telling me why you have a Keyblade?" Xion asked. "And why is Chirithy saying you need to 'protect' me?"
"Well, I guess I should start at the beginning, shouldn't I?" Guthrie asked, picking up a flat rock and making it skip a couple times before it sank. "First of all, let me just say that I only knew the Keyblade from a legend I was told by my biological mother and father. Actually, they always called them fairy tales. According to the legends, there was a world filled with light called Daybreak Town and it was home to countless Keyblade wielders who fought against the darkness, but that there were five leaders among them, and a 'Master of Masters' among them."
"There were countless numbers of them?" Robin questioned, amazed. "And they all fought the darkness?"
"According to the stories I heard. My mother was the one who told me about these legends, since she was the one who told my dad. She told me all about the Keyblade and the history of how the world split itself into many smaller worlds after a great war between the five leaders and their groups. She always ended saying that we were among the dandelions that flew away from the fight, and that we were chosen for something special."
Xion and Robin were both intrigued by Guthrie's mother's tale, but also wondering how this connected with him being a Keyblade wielder.
"I pretty much grew up on it for most of my life. But as I grew up, I questioned whether the stories were true. I never saw a Keyblade wielder, nor did anyone I know ever heard this story before," he continued. "But that all changed a few days ago, on the night of my 18th birthday…"
*FLASHBACK*
Guthrie was fast asleep, not even stirring a bit at all. His room was completely dark, with only the moonlight outside his window faintly glowing into his room, due to the moon hidden by some clouds.
Just then, the clouds parted, revealing the moon beaming at its fullest. The light glowed itself on Guthrie's face, as he slowly opened his eyes. 'What was that?' he wondered. 'That dream... What in the world was that all about?' He had just dreamt an unusual one. It had him on a few platforms, guided by a voice that gave him several trials. But what did they mean? He didn't know what they were all about.
"Hey, Guthrie!" chimed a childish voice. Guthrie jumped and looked around his room. "Down here!" The voice came from the floor next to him. He looked down, and saw Chirithy there. "Hey. Glad to see you woke up, in more ways than one."
The teen gasped and backed away from it. "Wha-! A talking cat?! What's with that huge head?"
"I'm not a cat! I'm a Dream Eater Spirit. And the name is Chirithy!" it corrected loudly. "As a matter of fact, I was made to be your partner for your mission, as well as your teacher in the way of using the Keyblade!"
"Hold on, hold on!" Guthrie stopped him in a hushed tone. "First of all, my aunt is asleep, so keep your voice down. Secondly, Keyblade? What are you talking about?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you? You are chosen by the Keyblade, and are chosen to fulfill the duty that was made so long ago!"
These accusations were bewildering Guthrie. He stood up on the opposite side of the bed from Chirithy, while the spirit leapt onto it. "Again, hold on. I don't know what the heck is going on. And I have no idea what you are talking about. First of all, what Keyblade chose me?" On cue, as he waved his arms at his question, a gust of light came. He was startled as a Keyblade appeared in his hand. "What... How did...?"
"That's your Keyblade, Follow the Wind," Chirithy explained. "Didn't you just have a dream involving many trials you had to take before you woke up?"
"Yeah, I- Hang on, how do you know that?!" Guthrie demanded.
"Because I sensed it. As a Dream Eater, I am able to peak into your dreams. Plus, it was really how I came to be. Your trials also awakened me to become your partner!"
Guthrie leaned back on the wall behind him and slid to the ground. This was seriously a lot to take in. He had no idea what to make of this. True, his life wasn't normal, especially in the past few years, but this was clearly something he could not comprehend all in one night.
"So, my mom's stories about the Keyblade wielders... were real?" Guthrie asked.
"Oh, yeah. Your mother's stories about the ancient unions of Keyblade wielders were real," Chirithy replied. "You may not know this, but your family is pretty special. You have no idea of your great ancestor, do you?"
"My ancestor?" Guthrie asked, looking up at Chirithy nearing his side of the bed.
"You got it! You see, one of your ancestors was... She was..." The small Dream Eater trailed off from there. "Huh? That's strange. I can't seem to remember." Hearing that made Guthrie anime-fell.
"What do you mean you don't remember?!" he asked in a whispered tone.
"Hmm... I guess I was asleep for too long, I can't remember much about the history of Keyblades. But I do remember one thing; her care even led to loving someone before the Keyblade War took her away from this life. But her legacy still continues on, for she gave birth to new life."
"You mean... she had a child before the battle?"
"Indeed... Wait, was it a she?" Cue another small anime-fall. "In any case, your ancestor knew that one day, one of her descendants would be chosen to fulfill the task of protecting the light with the power of the Keyblade. To overcome darkness, to push away the emptiness that intends to consume all. And boy, you are that chosen person."
Guthrie looked down at his Keyblade, placing it in both hands. "Why me? I'm not that special," he asked. "In fact, I don't think I'm capable of fulfilling such a task."
"Don't go doubting yourself!" Chirithy barked. "You have a strong heart and a caring one at that! You like to help people out with their problems, whether it is a physical task or one that requires a little 'heart-to-heart' treatment. Now, you have a chance to do so much more than that."
The newly made Keyblade wielder looked at the Dream Eater in slight suspicion. "How do you know so much about me?"
"Because I am connected to you. Not only do I sense your dreams, but as I was born, I was given the rundown of your life. I know all about your life, Guthrie."
"In that case, you know why I don't think I'm right for this task. I may seem kind and caring, but I also know that I do have darkness in my heart. I have felt rage and hatred. Those feelings almost consumed me two years ago, but it diminished after that day... after finding out..."
"I'm not saying you're perfect, Guthrie; I'm saying you are chosen for this task," Chirithy corrected. "True, your road was a tough one, but you overcame, and you still continue to go along a path of light."
"But it was solely based off of regret!" Guthrie exclaimed. "I can't erase what had happened, I know that much. I want to help others out, as many as I can, so that if I see enough smiling faces, I might start to forgive myself for what I did. That's not a path of light; I haven't overcome anything." He half-heartedly tossed his Keyblade away from him.
Chirithy watched as Guthrie tucked himself into a ball, slightly irritated that he was so hung up on his past. At the same time, it couldn't help but feel sorry for the young man. "If you want to find a way to forgive yourself, then fulfilling your duty will do just that," the spirit told Guthrie, causing him to look up. "There's this girl who was reborn in another world. She has been given a second chance in life, regardless of the fact that she sorta didn't have a life beforehand."
"Huh?" Guthrie questioned, confused.
The Dream Eater began to pace back and forth on the bed. "Never mind that. What matters is that she is on a path of light, but people from her past, along with the dark forces within that world, want to destroy her. Her life is important, much more than you think. She has a role to fulfill in the future, but she needs to develop herself in many ways."
"What do you mean?" Guthrie asked, standing up.
"You'll find out when you meet her. For now, you are given this assignment; find the girl in the other world and be her guardian."
"I'm... going to be this girl's guardian?"
"Bingo. And I bet that by finding and protecting her, you will find a path that will lead you to the light and smiles that you are searching for."
Guthrie looked up at his ceiling, wondering. He was chosen by the Keyblade to find a girl in another world, and a special one at that. Still, a part of him felt like this was some sort of setup for him to hook up with a girl, like how his aunt kept doing.
'No. I'm sure that isn't it,' he thought to himself. 'I'm just jumping to conclusions. But even so, for me to become a Keyblade wielder and to travel to another world?' Sure, he had done some traveling and he had trained in the best sword-combat schools around, but a task like that did seem a bit much for him. Not only that, but he wanted to take care of his aunt here. 'Still, would this benefit me, like Chirithy said?'
"Guthrie, go with him," said a woman's voice. Guthrie and Chirithy turned to see a woman with short brown hair, eyes like Guthrie's, wearing a light blue night gown.
"Aunt Sinopa!" the boy identified. "S-Sorry about all this. I can explain all of this..."
"You don't have to. I heard everything," Sinopa interrupted, looking at Chirithy, then back at her nephew again. "So I guess this means you'll be leaving again, aren't you?"
"Hold on! I didn't say I was gonna leave! I still have to help out here. I need to help you and-"
"There's no need. I know why you want to stay, but trust me. I can take care of myself. You need to move on."
Guthrie thought otherwise. "But..."
Sinopa walked around the bed to Guthrie, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Guthrie, you need to forgive yourself, and move on," she told him. "I know you feel guilty to what happened to my husband, but that's in the past. You should go, and fulfill your role as your new companion instructed you."
Guthrie looked down. Even his own aunt wanted him to go. He wasn't so sure about it. In truth, she was right about it all. He felt guilty for everything that happened in the past and wanted to stay in this town, with his aunt, to keep helping out everyone until he could feel like he could go on. Yet at the same time, he wanted to go. He wanted to see if this would help him overcome his past. Based on all the things told to him from Chirithy, he knew that this was an important role. And at the same time, he was given the opportunity to go to another world. That was something he did feel intrigued about when he was younger, during the days when his mother told the stories about the Keyblade wielders.
Considering he wasn't making a decision quite as quickly as she hoped, Sinopa asked, "What was it that your mother always told you?" Guthrie looked up at her. "She always said something to you when you left home, or when you were trying to make a decision. Do you know what it was?"
Of course he knew what it was. It was practically his catchphrase, his way of living. He placed his hand over his heart, closed his eyes, and listened to the beats it made. He thought about what that said to him.
After a moment, he opened his eyes, and looked up at his aunt. "It says, 'I should follow the path given to me'." Sinopa smiled and nodded in response.
Guthrie turned to Chirithy. "Let me just get myself packed up for the trip."
"Great! I'm glad you made the right decision!" the Dream Eater answered, leaping up and down in joy.
Moments later, Guthrie was fully dressed in his attire, a backpack on him. "So, how are we gonna go to that world?" he asked Chirithy.
"You'll open it up for us," it answered. "Go on and grab your Keyblade." As Guthrie went over and grabbed his weapon, his partner added, "By the way, you can summon or dismiss your Keyblade at will. You have the power to do so."
"You're gonna have to teach me all kinds of things about how to use this thing." Guthrie raised the Keyblade.
"I'll put your through the basics on how to use it, as well as how it connects to your vambrace." Chirithy replied.
Guthrie looked to the golden filigree vambrace he had on his arm. He noticed the topaz on it was sparkling. "This has a connection to the Keyblade?" he asked.
"In the style of combat I'll be teaching you, it has an important connection to it," Chirithy answered. "Now go ahead and raise your weapon. I'll guide you through with my powers."
As Sinopa watched from the sidelines, Guthrie did as he was told, raising Follow the Wind and pointing the tip in front of him. Chirithy hopped in front of him and waved his stubby hands upwards. Suddenly, the Keyblade glowed brightly, and a beam of energy shot forward. It almost hit the wall, but the energy stopped and expanded out, forming a portal.
"Whoa!" Guthrie gasped, looking at the portal ahead of him.
"Let's go!" Chirithy declared. "Onward to the new world and your mission!"
Guthrie lowered his Keyblade, turning to his aunt. "Take care of yourself, Guthrie," she told him. "Know that I love you as much as your parents did."
"Thanks," Guthrie nodded. "I'll be back, someday. For now, I'll listen to my mother's words, and continue on." Sinopa nodded in response to this.
He looked to his Keyblade, wondering how to dismiss it, like Chirithy said. Suddenly, the weapon just vanished in a gust of shining energy. "Well, that's one problem solved." He stepped forward with Chirithy and walked straight through the portal, vanishing from sight.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Guthrie finished his tale, looking to the vast sea beyond. "Imagine my surprise to find out I was in a world filled with pirates," he continued. "Still, I had to adapt, and Chirithy did teach me the ways of using the Keyblade. I met old man Cricket and his monkey-like friends, who would keep an eye out for any girls that were unusual to them. But I guess I didn't need that, since you arrived on the scene. And part of a pirate crew, no less."
"Believe me. I was better off a pirate than a marine," Xion pointed out. "Do you realize just just how crappy and corruptive the marines are? The ones on the island I arrived on in the East Blue were bullying the townsfolk into joining them!"
"Sounds like a guy filled with darkness," Chirithy stated. "Guess I was right. Xion was pursued by the darkness intending to destroy her."
"You certainly have your work cut out for you," Robin stated. "Demon-san has joined a group of pirates that have a tendency of getting themselves into all kinds of trouble."
"And you joined them, too?" Guthrie added to Robin, who only giggled in response.
"But that doesn't matter, does it?" Chirithy asked. "The fact is that we finally found you, so now Guthrie will fulfill his role as a guardian for you!"
"I already told you, I haven't officially made the decision."
"But you have to! You already decided before that you would become her guardian!"
"But I didn't say I would be a pirate! There's a fine difference between the two roles!"
"She joined the group, so it should be okay!"
Guthrie turned away from Chirithy, folding his arms in resentment. "Look, I won't make any immediate decisions," he stated, turning to Xion. "Tell me, how long until you guys need to leave the island?"
"Until we find out from Cricket about how we can get to the Sky Island," she answered.
'That won't be an immediate task, that's for sure,' Guthrie assumed. 'So I guess that will give me some time to think about whether to join them or not.'
"By the way, you said that you decided to come here based on your mother's words," Robin noted. "I'm curious as to what those words were."
"Well, it was something that she said the Keyblade wielders of old always said," he answered. Turning to her and Xion, he placed a hand on his chest. "'May your heart be your guiding key'."
"May your heart be your guiding key?" Robin echoed.
"Yep. Basically, just do whatever your heart feels is right. Right now, my heart says that I shouldn't make any decisions just yet, but to get to know what kind of crew your pirate group is, and then make a decision."
"I can see reason in that," Xion stated. "Although, I'm not sure if I can work with that phrase."
"Why's that?" Guthrie asked, confused.
"Cause I don't have a heart. Apparently, I never had one. At least, that's what I remember from my fragmented past."
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." His strong replied startled the 'heartless' girl. "Everyone has a heart, whether they believe it or not. If you can feel something, whether it is happiness, sadness, or anger, that just shows you have a heart. And I can see you clearly have all those feelings."
Xion was taken aback as Guthrie walked away from her and Robin, only to see Shoujou kick Masira from the behind, high in the sky, while Chopper called in that Cricket was awake.
"A strange boy, wouldn't you agree?" Robin asked.
"Yeah... strange guy," Xion replied slowly. What he said was blunt, but it did give her something to think about. Was he right? Did having feelings like those really meant she had a heart? Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she and Robin followed everyone in the half building.
"Sorry I caused you trouble. I thought you were more idiots after the gold," Cricket apologized, smoking some cigarette.
Hearing the 'g' word got a certain navigator excited. "What?! You have gold bullion?!"
"Don't go after it," Usopp said.
Ignoring the question and whispered, Cricket asked, "What did you want to ask me?"
"Old man, we wanna go to the sky island! Please tell us how to get there!" Luffy replied.
"... Sky island?" Rather than answering, the chestnut head questioned the boy. Next thing they all knew, he started laughing. "You guys believe in the sky island?"
Nami was about to hit him, when Usopp stopped her, reminding her he was still a patient.
"There's no sky island, old man?!" Luffy questioned.
"... No one knows. I know somebody who said there was," Cricket informed, smoking. "But everyone called him a legendary big liar. His family became a laughing stock forever." Luffy turned to Usopp, who instantly denied his assumption. "There's an old story most North Blue people know. 'Noland the Liar' is the one." Luffy turned to Usopp again.
"Again it's not me!" Usopp defended once more. "He's got a different name, right?!"
"Let me guess, he's a resident liar on your crew?" Guthrie assumed.
"How did you know?" Xion sarcastically asked.
Sanji seemed to have realized something. "Come to think of it, Noland's name is, if I'm not mistaken, Montblanc Noland. Could it be you're Noland's-?"
Nami caught on to his assumption. "A descendant?! Could this place be the island in that story?"
Cricket simply scoffed. "He's my granddad's granddad's granddad's... He's my distant ancestor... what a nuisance. I doubt there's a drop of his blood in my body. Although the Montblanc family was driven out of the country then, and has kept a low profile, people continue to denounce our family to this day. But no one in the family hates him."
"Why?" Chopper asked.
"Because Noland was an extraordinarily honest person."
Hearing that confused the pirates. "But in that picture book..." Nami spoke.
"Noland's last excuse in the picture book is like this. 'That's right! The mountain of gold sank in the sea!'" he continued to explain. "A stupid-looking face is drawn in this book... but he shed many tears and died a regrettable death. He was sure the island he reached was Jaya when he found the wreckage of a city of gold. He felt there was no way it was just an illusion. Noland insisted that the ruins had submerged due to crustal movements, but everyone thought he was making excuses out of desperation. Noland was executed in front of the laughing onlookers and only the name 'Liar' remained."
"Oh, I see! You're looking for the city of gold on the seabed in order to clear the Montblanc's family name!" Usopp exclaimed.
"Don't be silly!" Cricket shouted, shooting at the Straw Hat sniper.
"Usopp!" Chopper screamed in worry.
Luckily, the long-nose pirate avoided the headshot. "I thought I'd die..."
"How honest my distant ancestor was or how great of an explorer he was has nothing to do with me! Can you understand how a kid would feel being laughed at by strangers just because he's the descendant of such an idiot?! That's how I grew up!" Everyone went silent at those words. "But... yeah, over the past 400 years, many set sail to restore our family's honor, though all of them went missing. I was ashamed of such a family. I ran away from home and became a pirate."
"Oh? You're a pirate too?" Luffy asked.
"It's not that I wanted to become a pirate; I just wanted to escape from Noland's spell. And over time, I came to have my own pirate group. At long last, I entered the Grand Line and I spent all my time on adventures. But ten years ago, my ship ended up here by accident. Strangely enough, only I, who continued to hate the Montblanc family and Noland the most, made it here. The island didn't have a city of gold, just as the picture book said. As I stood on the cape of the island, I felt it was destiny. There was no place to escape to. After deciding to settle my family matter, my crew all left me. If the gold's there, that's fine. If it's not there, that's fine too. It's not that I wanted to prove his innocence. This is a duel with the man who threw a wrench into my life. I want to set the record straight before I die."
At this point, everyone couldn't help but either sympathize or respect the former pirate before them. In fact, Usopp is already shedding tears for him.
"Then, what about them? Why are those monkeys here?" Luffy asked, referring to Masira and Shojo.
"There must've been an exciting drama spoken with the fists of men committing to exploring the seabed," Usopp said.
"Apparently they're fans of the picture book," Guthrie answered for Cricket.
"Fans?!"
"That's quite a simple connection," Nami stated with a sweat drop.
"I think it was five or six years ago. They heard a rumor about me and barged in on me," Cricket explained. "They said, 'We think Noland's gold definitely exists!' In the dark, cold sea, you're haunted by a deeper solitude. I just dived and searched alone everyday. They just came into my life and became my underlings without my permission, and they romp around. Simple-minded idiots like them... make me feel relieved, to be honest. Do you understand?"
'I think I know that feeling,' Xion thought, secretly looking at her crew.
"I do," Usopp replied at Cricket's question, trembling slightly as he silently cried. "Yeah, real comrades give each other strength and..."
"Well, putting the story about the monkeys aside-" Luffy tried to change the topic that he had brought up.
"Then don't ask! Clench your teeth!" The sniper of a pirate hit the rubber man on the head.
All that gave him in return was being tossed across the room by Luffy. "Like I said, I want to go to the sky island, old man!"
"He sure is impatient," Guthrie muttered.
"Yeah, I did tell you, right? The witness to the sky island is that Noland the Liar. If you have anything to do with him, you'll be laughed at like me." Cricket took out what seemed like a logbook and looked through it.
"What?! He's been to the sky island, too?!" Luffy asked.
"Unfortunately, this doesn't say he did, but..."
"A logbook?! Could it be Noland's?!" Nami asked.
"You're right!" Chirithy spoke, holding up a small banner with a circle in the middle.
Cricket tossed the navigator the book. "Read around there."
Nami looked at it intensely. "Amazing... A logbook from over 400 years ago... 'Sea Ephemeris Year 1120, June 21st, Sunny. We left Villa, a cheerful town. Following the Log Pose, we should be heading east-northeast from the harbor. We got a rare item from a bumboat that we came across during the day. It's a ski-like one-person boat called a waver.'" At this point, Luffy, Usopp and Chopper walked closer to Nami to hear more. "'It's a mysterious boat that can generate wind and move even on a day without wind. It seems that you need to get the hang of it to ride, and I couldn't manage it. Right now, it's become a perfect toy for my crew.'" Nami stopped reading and seemed really excited. "No way! What is this? I want it!"
"Never mind that! Keep reading!" those who were enjoying the story demanded.
Chirithy also listened in on the journal and seemed to be in deep thought. 'A boat that can move on its own? And it sounds pretty fast too... Have I heard of something like that?'
"'The power for this seems to be a product found only on the sky island,'" Nami continued to read. "'And I hear that many peculiar things like that exist in the sky. Speaking of the sky island, one of my explorer friends showed me a live skyfish.'" Sanji looked her way as soon as he heard of a species of fish he hasn't heard before. "'I was surprised at how strange the fish looked. To our ship, it's still an unknown area, but as a sailor, I'd like to go to the sea in the sky one day. Montblanc Noland.'" The journal entry ended there. "He said 'the sea in the sky'!"
"It's just like Robin said!" Luffy recalled.
"And it sounds like the sky island was a pretty normal thing for people back then!" Usopp added.
"So it really does exist!" Chopper exclaimed.
"Alright!" all three of the Straw Hat simpleton cheered.
By this time, Cricket already left his home. Chirithy was still wondering where he had heard of the boat Nami just read about, in which Guthrie noticed.
"What's wrong, Chirithy?" he asked.
"Hmm... Maybe I'm imagining it?" it said, ignoring the question.
Xion sighed and went into meditating position. 'I should train for the challenge tonight. Best prepare myself for whatever Voice has in store for me.'