Coral: Well this is without a doubt the longest chapter I've written for this series. The reason for its length is because I really want to put in the fight in Mock Town in this chapter, as well as putting in the search for the South Bird. But other than that, folks, do enjoy this story.
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:
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.'
Xion was training in her Dive to the Heart. Since the crew were going to go to Sky Island, she had Voice call up some aerial Heartless. At the same time, she also had to improve on her Wisdom Form. At the same time though...
"You know, I just realized you didn't give me any detail about tonight's challenge. Aren't you going to at least give me a hint about the challenge?"
'If I tell you that, there won't be a challenge,' Voice replied.
"True as is, can't I be allowed to be prepared?"
'Not possible.'
Xion ended the conversation at that and continued to take down the Heartless.
After the training exercise, Xion was out of her Wisdom Form. "That should do it."
'If I may ask, shouldn't you ask Cricket about the seashells? Or Guthrie for that matter,' Voice pointed out.
"True, but at the same time, I feel like I'll get better answers if I go to the Sky Island, where the shells are from."
'Well, I suppose that's true.' If Voice had a face, Xion could clearly see that he was smirking.
"Well, I should be getting back by now. Don't know how long I've been here, but I do know that it might be night time right now."
'Very well. Good luck with the challenge, Xion.' With that, the girl returned to the real world.
When Xion returned to the real world, she was greeted by the sight of her friends partying around.
"Damn, this rum tastes great today!" she heard Cricket happily state.
"Hey, eat up!" Sanji said. "There's a whole course of pike and more to come!"
"What happened while I was training?" Xion asked Robin, who sat next to her with the book on her lap.
"It's dinner time," she simply answered, taking a sip of her glass of beer.
"I can see that."
"Well, it's about time you woke up," Guthrie said. "I find it surprising how you stayed asleep from all this."
He was hit on the head by Chirithy, though it wasn't at all that painful. "That's rude, Guthrie! Besides, I'm sure it took a lot of practice to ignore all this noise."
"If only you knew," Xion muttered.
"Well, I guess I wouldn't blame you. Your friends are all too rowdy for my taste."
Robin turned to the next page of Noland's log. "'The skull's right eye is where I saw the gold'," came Cricket's voice. Everyone ceased the party and turned to him. "Bottled with tears, those were the last words Noland wrote."
"And it was also that very same day that he was executed," the male Keyblade wielder added, hearing the story and quote once before.
"That's right. And even after coming here to Jaya, I still don't understand what he meant by that. The skull's right eye... Maybe it's the name of a city that used to be here. Or maybe it was a metaphor for his own inevitable death. The blank pages that follow tell us nothing. That's why we dive! We see a dream! There, on the ocean floor!"
"That's right!" Masira agreed.
The party continued on for the night. Cricket continued to talk about his ancestor's adventures in Jaya, especially about the golden bell and the weird birds they had encountered. From the sound of it, Cricket actually did like Noland rather than hating him. The chestnut-head diver even showed one of the golden bells he found during his dive.
"But it doesn't prove the City of Gold was there," Shojo said. "You could find something like that lying in any old ruin."
"But it does prove that civilization was there," Robin pointed out. "Ingots were designed to divide up gold into gram masses. Meaning there was also trade and commerce there."
"Right. And the call of that strange bird," Cricket continued, as he gestured to Masira to reveal a golden statue of some bird, amazing the pirates.
"Golden bells and birds. They must be symbols of the ancient Jaya," Sanji assumed.
Cricket smoked a cigarette. "I'm not sure. But this might have been a part of an ancient molding. This is a South Bird and it lives right here on this island."
"And it has a weird call?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah. Just like it says in the log book."
"South Birds have been used on ships since ancient times to-" For some reason, Masira cut himself off here. He and his brother then looked at each other and seemed quite pale. The next thing the crew knew, the monkeys and Cricket all screamed.
"OH DAMN!"
"What?! What's wrong?!" Xion asked.
"This is bad! You guys have to go to the forest! The forest in the south!" Cricket said in a frantic tone.
"What are you talking about Ossan? You lost it?" Luffy questioned.
"You need to capture one of these birds! Right now!"
"How come? What's up?" Usopp asked, for they, including Guthrie and Chirithy, were all still confused with the panicked tone.
"Listen carefully. Tomorrow, you guys are going to sail to the Knock-Up Stream! It's directly south of this cape. So how are you going to get there?!"
"We'll just sail our ship straight there," Luffy answered, like it was the most obvious thing to do, which would've been true.
"This is the Grand Line! The moment you stray from your course, you'll have no idea which direction is which!"
Nami and Xion realized what he meant. "I see! Since we're going to be sailing towards an area of water instead of an island, we won't have anything to tell us the right way," the navigator explained.
"The log pose can only point us to where an island is; it can't tell us which was is north, south, east or west," the vice captain added. "But wait, then how are we going to get there?"
"You make use of this bird's special trait! Certain species of animals have an accurate internal sense of direction. You can use that to determine your position," Cricket answered.
Luffy laughed at the info. "So that would make Zoro less evolved than an animal!"
"You're the last person who can say that!" the swordsman said.
"The South Bird is the most extreme example of this. No matter how large a stretch of land is or how much the sea tosses an turns, its body will remain pointed in a single direction." Hearing that made Guthrie and Chirithy realize something. "Without that bird, you'll never be able to set out from here. And as for sky island, you'll miss your one chance to get there!"
Hearing that part shocked them, especially Luffy, Usopp and Chopper, while Guthrie and his Dream Eater raised their hand to try to speak.
"WHY ARE YOU TELLING US THIS NOW?!" the captain demanded, as most of them tried to scramble out the door.
"Hey, guys," Guthrie called, only to still be ignored.
"There's no time! You have to go!" Cricket told them.
"It's the middle of the night and you want us to go tramping around in the woods?!" Usopp questioned.
Cricket tossed them three nets. "You forgot these! We're gonna get to work on your beat-up ship! In hindsight, we really shouldn't have had that party!"
"How can you say that now?!" Usopp continued, as Sanji and Zoro dragged him into the woods with everyone else following.
"Now listen! You have until morning to catch a South Bird and bring it back here!"
"Let's go with them!" Chirithy told Guthrie, as he somehow managed to drag the boy along.
"Hey! Don't drag me! Where do you have the strength for situations like this?!" he questioned.
And so, the pirates all ventured deep into the forest. As they walked, Xion had to deal with a cowering Ussop behind her.
"It's so scary here..." he muttered.
"Let go of me, you idiot!" Xion barked. "If you didn't want to come, then go back to the ship!"
"My stomach is still full from eating so much," Chopper moaned as he rubbed his belly. "I couldn't catch a bird, even if I tried."
"Don't worry, we're not gonna catch a bird," Guthrie assured the little doctor. "I already befriended one."
"Say what?" Nami questioned in surprise, as everyone turned to him. "You mean you actually befriended one of those birds?"
"Well, that takes care of that," Luffy grinned childishly. "Then there was no need to panic, right?"
"Let's see if he's willing to join us first," Guthrie responded. "It is his home, so he wouldn't want to leave that quickly." Guthrie looked to the sky and formed his hands around his mouth. "KYOOOOOOH!" he called in a deeper voice.
"What kind of noise was that?" Ussop questioned in a frightened tone.
"That's a peculiar sound, just like the old man said," Sanji muttered. "Is that really what the South Bird sounds like?"
Guthrie nodded in response, and called out the same sound again. He did this two more times, and waited.
"Kyooooh!" an echoing, deep-toned bird cry called back from the distance.
"Hey! That sounded peculiar!" Everyone except Guthrie, Chirithy and the girls realized.
"Oh, really? You think?!" Nami questioned.
Just then, something flew down from the tops of the trees, landing right on top of Guthrie's head. It looked like the same bird as they saw from the golden statue, with light green and wine red feathers. "Kyooooh!"
"Holy crap! It's a South Bird!" Ussop exclaimed.
"It's really as ridiculous-looking as that statue," Zoro stated.
"Wow! I can't believe how easy that was!" Chopper stated in amazement. "Guthrie, you're amazing!"
"I only met him yesterday, after saving him from a swarm of Heartless here. Since then, he and I became good buddies," the male Keyblade wielder explained.
"There are Heartless in these woods?" Xion questioned.
"Yeah. A group of Heartless, plus a bunch of oversized insects. Apparently, one of the South Birds here is pretty mischievous and likes controlling the creatures in these woods, making them attack anyone who comes in, mainly me."
The South Bird was saying something. However, most of the group couldn't understand him. Most of them.
"Say what?!" Chopper exclaimed.
"The South Bird is using the Heartless to attack all the other birds?!" Xion questioned.
"Hey, what are you talking about?" Guthrie asked. "Can you understand what this South Bird is saying?"
"I am part-animal," the pirate doctor explained.
"Well, that's helpful. So that mischievous South Bird's controlling the Heartless? That's definitely something I can't walk away from." He looked up at the South Bird on his head. "Hey, if we go find and beat some sense into this bird, can you guide us south of this island? There's something there we need to get to."
The South Bird didn't, or rather couldn't, turn to him, but his eyes looked down at him for a few seconds. Then he cawed.
"Guess that's a yes," Xion understood.
"Right! Let's kick this bird's ass!" Luffy promptly stated, punching his fist into his hand.
"This particular South Bird doesn't like to stay in one place, so let's split up and search for it," Guthrie told them.
"Who made you captain?"
"No one. It's just the logical thing to work with. Let's split into three, since you, your chef and swordsman have the nets."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Sanji agreed.
"Then let's do it," Zoro stated.
"Right!" the three men cheered, clanking their nets together above them.
'Voice... can it be that the challenge...?' Xion thought.
'Yes. Catch the South Bird that's been causing trouble in the forest,' he answered in her head.
'Just catch it?'
'That's all you have to do. Without harming it, that is. Good luck with that. You'll need it.'
With the plan set, they all divided into different paths. Sanji was with Ussop and Nami, while Luffy had Chopper, Xion, and Chirithy, who wanted to stay by her side due to it being his and Guthrie's duty to guard her. That left Zoro with Robin, Guthrie, and the South Bird perched on the male Keyblade wielder's head. As they split, Xion warned Robin and Guthrie to keep an eye on Zoro, for reason he, Chirithy and the South Bird didn't know.
*LATER, WITH TEAM ZORO, ROBIN, GUTHRIE AND THE SOUTH BIRD*
As they ventured on through the forest, the group heard the sound of screaming.
"I heard screaming," Robin calmly said.
"Leave them," Zoro simply told her.
Just when Guthrie was about to state how heartless he was, when Zoro suddenly took out his sword and cut something. That something landed on the ground with a thud.
"Is that a centipede?" Guthrie asked instead.
"It's really creepy," Zoro stated.
"You really shouldn't go around killing everything we come across," Robin told him. "The poor things."
"It's his fault for coming after me."
"You sure it wasn't just a coincidence that it fell on you?" Guthrie asked. The South Bird on his head cawed in agreement.
Zoro ignored him and started to walk.
"Zoro," the archeologist called.
He stopped in his tracks. "What?"
"That's the way we just came from." He paled at those words.
The group then heard a familiar call.
"That has to be the bird!" Guthrie said. The South Bird on his head nodded in agreement.
"This way," Robin went on ahead. "Watch out for that quagmire."
"Oi! Hold on-!" Zoro stepped into the quagmire he was just told to not step in.
"Did she not just tell you to not step there?!" the male Keyblade wielder shouted.
While Zoro was desperately trying to get out of the quicksand, Guthrie heard the sound of the South Bird's cry. He then turned to see a bunch of Heartless, composed of Neoshadows, Flower Riders, and Search Ghosts appearing before them.
"Heartless!" Robin gasped, crossing her arms in preparation.
Guthrie waved a hand in front of her. "Make sure Zoro gets out of the quicksand. I'll handle these," he told her.
Robin nodded in understanding and doubled back to Zoro as Guthrie summoned his Keyblade. The South Bird flew off of Guthrie's hand, going to a higher branch to avoid the fight.
Quickly, he charged in as a Neoshadow shot forward with brandished claws. Guthrie halted and took a step back to avoid the swing, then swing in with his own Keyblade, striking it hard into the trees.
The Searcher Ghosts had their eyes glowing like search lights. Guthrie saw this and leapt out of their sight. He then came around to the side, and unleashed an Ice Dash on the both of them, causing them to collide with one another and destroy each other.
He then sensed the Neoshadow he fought before regain itself as the Flower Riders flew in with their spinning flowers. Guthrie ducked underneath the flying enemies, but the other Neoshadow met him and slashed him, causing him to fall backwards.
The injured Neoshadow pounced upon him, along with its brethren. Guthrie struggled to keep them off of him. Irritated at the weight, he shouted, "GET OFF!" and unleashing an Aeroga that sent the group tumbling into the air, along with the Flower Riders. Guthrie shot upwards at the enemies, striking the two closest, being the Neoshadows, and defeated them. The male chosen of the Keyblade then finished off the Flower Riders with a Strike Raid that struck them all. With that, they were defeated.
Guthrie landed on the ground, sighing in relief as he used a Cura spell to heal himself. He turned to see Robin and Zoro approach him from behind.
"That was quite impressive," Robin commended. "Nowhere near as good as Demon-san, but impressive."
"Hey, what's with that dark vapor going into your vambrace?" Zoro asked, pointing at his arm piece.
The gem was glowing as the dark vapors of the Heartless were being absorbed into it. "Oh, that?" Guthrie asked. "Yeah, I'm still figuring it out."
Once all the dark vapors were absorbed, the gem shined brighter and a silver medal popped out. Guthrie caught it and examined it.
"Sonic Blade. Looks like a pretty decent attack," he stated. "Maybe I should add it."
The two watched as Guthrie flipped his Keyblade upside down and tapped the medallion on the chain. Instantly, the chain glowed to reveal a circling of medals, floating in midair.
"What is that?" Robin asked in an amazed tone.
"These are all the attacks I can use that are attached to the Keyblade," he answered. "According to Chirithy, I am able to attach five Ability Medals to it, at my experience. But with more practice and connecting with my Keyblade and I can go up to having eight Ability Medals attached to it."
Guthrie placed the medal he obtained within the ring of medals, having it aligned with the other four. With that set, he tapped the medallion again, and the medals shined as they returned to the Keyblade.
"That doesn't even look close to what Xion does with her powers," Zoro stated. "She just uses her magic and whatnot whenever she wants to. And she always learns more thanks to all that meditation she does when she does that dive into her heart thing."
"I don't know how she does her style, but this is what Chirithy taught me," Guthrie told him. "See, every time I fight a being with darkness in them, like the Heartless, my Power Brace, as Chirithy called it, absorbs that darkness, and transforms it into light. It can then morph that energy into a medal for me. The more darkness it gains from a battle, the stronger the medal it will be. They come in bronze, silver, and gold medals. Chirithy said there were other colored ones, but they were special, and would be explained to me when I get one.
"So you absorb the darkness of the Heartless and they become medals?" Robin questioned.
"Right, although it's not just Heartless. If I fight an enemy who has darkness in their heart, my Power Brace can absorb that after a battle, and it becomes power."
"Does that mean you can suck all the darkness from someone's heart with that thing?" Zoro asked, pointing at the vambrace.
"No. There will always be that darkness that will never leave a person's heart like that. But that's why we have to use words and actions to free them of that remaining darkness. Though there are some that are too stubborn to listen or see." He was reminded himself of the muscular man he fought before in Mock Town, Jesus Burgess. He clearly had darkness in him that he would not let up.
"Let's keep looking for the South Bird controlling the Heartless," Robin said, walking past Guthrie. Turning back to him, she added, "Though I would love to hear more of what Chirithy has taught you so far. I would like to learn a little bit more about you, too, while we're at it."
Guthrie blushed once more at the words she said and the sly grin she was giving him.
"Uh, sure. But let's keep an eye out, okay?" he suggested, following the archeologist.
Zoro, who was behind, started walking, when the South Bird traveling with them settled himself on top of his head. "Hey, what the-?!" he gasped.
"Kyoh Kyoooh!" the South bird stated, making himself comfortable on his head.
"Looks like the South Bird likes you," Robin chuckled.
"Get off of me!" Zoro barked, waving his hand at the bird, who flew just above him until he stopped. Soon as he did that, he settled back down on his head again.
Guthrie chuckled at this. Robin noticed this was the first time she caught him laughing slightly. He barely shown any signs of happiness or joy since they met him, the one time being him with her during the party. She was curious as to what his story was.
*MEANWHILE*
"I got it!" With Luffy, Chopper, Xion and Chirithy, the four were looking around for the troublesome South Bird. Along the way... "Look, Chopper! It's Atlas!" Luffy showed the man-reindeer the beetle he just caught.
"Atlas?" Chopper asked.
"Yeah! Atlas and Hercules are admired by people all over the world!" The young pirate was impressed as he took in the information. "Don't you know? You can't catch it by the head!"
"One Piece or that, which is cooler?!"
"Ah! That's too hard!"
"You two do realize we have a bird to find, right?!" Chirithy questioned.
"Just leave them be," Xion told the talking Dream Eater, keeping an eye and ear out for their target. "I learned so long ago that no matter what you say, mainly to Luffy, not only will he not listen, when it comes to it, he will actually get the important job done. Mostly."
"When you put it that way, I guess there's nothing to worry about then..."
"Run!" they faintly heard. Looking over to the source, they saw the two boys running their way, away from bees.
"What the hell did you two do to be chased by bees?!" Xion demanded with shark teeth, as she and Chirithy ran away from them.
"Don't just run with us, Xion! Use your magic!" Luffy ordered.
"I can't! I do that, and I won't be able to get the Dream Eater recipe!"
"Huh?! There's one here?!" he, Chopper and Chirithy gasped.
"Of course there is! And you, Chirithy! How can you not know if there is or isn't a Dream Eater here?! I assumed you all can sense each other!"
"Well as you can see, we can't! At least, not as a recipe!" the little one shouted.
'Voice! Can I at least use my special attacks?!' Xion mentally asked her mentor.
'I didn't say you couldn't,' he answered. 'And likewise, though I did say you cannot harm the South Bird as you try to capture it, that doesn't mean you can't attack the Heartless.'
'You say that now?!'
"In that case, Firaga!" Xion used her fire magic to burn down all the bees.
"Hey! What happened to 'no magic'?!" the three with her demanded.
"Apparently just because I can't use harm the South Bird to catch it doesn't mean I can't use it for other things like killing the bugs."
"Oh. Then nice one, Xion!" Luffy cheered.
"As expected from the girl Guthrie has to protect!" Chirithy followed.
"Cool~!" Chopper squealed.
"Do not just be amazed!" the girl scolded.
Just then, the four heard a 'thud'. They turned and saw a bee hive right next to them. The bees flew out and chased after them. The next thing they knew, weird monkeys started to swing by. Powerwilds to be exact.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Xion shouted, as they all started to run away from them.
As they ran, she and Chopper heard something. They turned and saw a South Bird looking at them with a smug look.
"Guys! It's that bird!" the reindeer shouted. "That bird's the one controlling the Heartless and sending these bugs at us!"
"Which means he's the target! Go, Xion!" Luffy ordered.
"After we get these bugs and Heartless off our tail!" the Keyblade wielder shouted. "And don't make me do all the work! You're the captain! Start acting like one!"
*LATER*
After getting rid of the Powerwilds and the bees, the evil South Bird sent a group of overgrown mantises after Luffy's group. Said group of bugs were quite skilled in their blades, they cut down part of the forest. Not only that, but Creeper Plants and Dire Plants appeared and either shot roots or fired seeds at them.
With Sanji's group, he, Nami and Usopp had to deal with a bunch of huge ladybugs, rolling down the hill to them. Nami hid behind Sanji as the cook kicked the bugs away. Poor Usopp was defenseless and was getting hit bug after bug.
With Zoro's group, they were facing off against an army of oversized crickets and some Shadows. The three-sword-style swordsman and the male Keyblade wielder easily defeated them all, but more kept coming, much to their annoyance.
As more time passes, the three groups were either being assaulted by bugs or Heartless controlled by the wicked South Bird. Eventually, the three groups reunited somewhere in the middle of the forest.
"No luck. We didn't see a single one," Zoro sighed.
"We saw one," Luffy spoke up. "But there were a lot of bugs, plants and monkeys so we couldn't get close."
"I get the bugs, but plants and monkeys?" Guthrie questioned.
"Heartless," Chirithy and Xion answered, panting along with Chopper.
"We mostly ran the whole time," the reindeer said.
"Damn. Ten of us and we pull a big zero? Get it together, guys!" Usopp said.
"You too," Sanji added to the long-nose pirate, stating that he shouldn't really be talking.
Guthrie's South Bird cawed a few times in annoyance.
"'Don't forget about me,' he said," Xion translated.
"I understand Chopper, but how can you understand birds?" her fellow Keyblade wielder asked.
"Chopper-kun taught me some time ago."
Guthrie had a bit of a confused and disbelief look on his face. He then shrugged it off and decided to believe her.
Nami went on her knees. "I can't run anymore..."
Just then, they heard the sound of a South Bird above their heads. Looking up, they saw it was the one specific bird they were looking for. Said bird seemed to be laughing as it was dancing around on the tree branch it was on.
"'You'll never catch me! STUUUPID!'" Chopper translated.
"What was that?! You came here just to gloat?!" Usopp shouted. He took out his slingshot and aimed it at the bird. "I'll shoot you down!"
All of a sudden, arms came out of its wings and wrapped around the bird. Another arm came out from the tree branch and tossed it down to the pirates. Everyone was dumbfounded at how easy it actually was to catch it.
"If I can see it," Robin simply shrugged.
'And with that, the challenge is complete,' Voice said in Xion's head. Light appeared before the group and the next Dream Eater recipe appeared before them.
"Huh?! There was a Dream Eater recipe here on this island?!" Nami gasped.
"Xion, why didn't you say something?!" Usopp asked.
"I would've, if we weren't in a rush to get this troublemaker of a South Bird," the vice-captain said. "Besides, the challenge to get it had to do with finding the bird. What's done is done."
"Challenge?" Guthrie and Chirithy questioned.
"We have a lot to talk about if you're going to join this crew."
The group returned to Cricket's place. When they returned, they were met with a horrible sight.
"Cricket!"
"Masira!"
"Shojo!"
Guthrie, Usopp and Sanji cried out the names as they ran over to the fallen, bloody and bruised trio.
"What the hell happened?!" Nami questioned.
"Shit, who did this?!" Sanji demanded as he brought Shojo back to shore. "Oi! Give me a hand!" Chopper went to help Sanji get Shojo back to shore.
"AAHHHH!" Usopp screamed. "The Going Merry! How did this happen?! Who did this to her, dammit?! Who?!" Said vessel had the front part taken down somehow.
"Sor...ry..." Cricket weakly apologized.
"Cricket/Ossan!" Guthrie, Xion and Luffy looked down and saw the guy regaining his conscious.
"I'm really sorry. We were here, but we couldn't do anything!" he apologized, to their confusion. "But still... There's still time. We still have time to strengthen your ship...!" As Cricket tried to force himself up, Xion held him back.
"Calm down, Cricket!" she told him.
"She's right! First tell us what happened!" Luffy said.
"Nah. It's nothing. Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter anymore," the chestnut-head man told him. "More importantly, did you-?" He looked up and saw two South Birds with them: one on Zoro's head, much to the swordsman's annoyance, and one tied up in his hand.
"That's it. Great job catching, not one, but two South Bird. They'll do fine." Cricket let out a light cough.
"Luffy!" Nami called. Everyone turned to her. The next words that came out gave them all a shock. "The gold was stolen!"
Everyone stood frozen in shock at those words.
"It... It doesn't matter. Forget about it," Cricket told them. "More importantly, you guys-"
"What doesn't matter?!" Usopp interrupted.
"Cricket, you spent ten years diving for those gold!" Guthrie said, just as mad as Usopp that Cricket just waved off his problem like that. "You can't just-!"
"Shut up!" Cricket snapped, silencing Guthrie. "It doesn't matter. This is our problem, got that? The three of us of the Saruyama Alliance have our duties. Your ship is in no shape to sail right now. We have to finish by morning. We're not giving up on your voyage! Listen, I swear I'll get you to Sky Island."
"Oi, Luffy," Zoro called. Everyone looked over to him and saw him pointing at a mark painted in what's left of Cricket's house.
"That's Bellamy's mark," Nami recognized.
"Need a hand?"
"Nope. I'll be fine," Luffy turned down Zoro's offer.
Hearing that made Nami panic a bit. "No, Luffy! Don't do anything stupid! There's only three hours left until we set sail!"
The pirate captain ignored her words. "If I follow the coast, will I reach that town from this afternoon?" he asked Robin.
"Yes. You'll reach it," she answered.
"I'm coming with you," Guthrie said. "I want to at least see those guys pay for what they did to Cricket and the others."
"Wait a second. Where are you going?!" Cricket demanded Luffy and Guthrie, both who were walking away. "You'd better not be messing in our business! Do you know who you're going-?!" He was caught off at the sight of a sheathed sword offered to him.
"If you want to stop them, you'll have to use this," Zoro advised.
The chestnut-head mad looked at the straw hat-wearing pirate. "K-Kid..."
Luffy cracked his knuckles. "I'll be back by dawn."
"No, you'll be back earlier than that," Xion corrected. "I'm coming with you guys. It'll be faster to fly directly over there than following the coast. Besides, I want in on this as well."
"I'm coming too! Someone has to watch over the Keyblade wielders! Especially Guthrie!" Chirithy said.
"What do you mean 'especially Guthrie'?" his owner asked, only to be ignored.
"Sure thing," Luffy told them.
Seeing there was no way to talk them out of the situation, Nami sighed and shook her head. "Fine. But three hours, guys. If you delay us anymore than that, we will miss our chance to Sky Island!"
"Like I said, we will be done in less than three hours," Xion promised. "Summon: Komory Bat, Ryu Dragon." Fang and Wyvern appeared out of their cards. "Fang will carry Luffy. Guthrie, Chirithy, we're taking Wyvern. Time to make our return trip to Mock Town." They all nodded and gave their master and her friends a ride over to Mock Town.
About a half hour worth of flying later, the three humans and three Dream Eaters arrived in Mock Town. As soon as they landed, Xion returned her Dream Eaters to their cards.
"We're here," Luffy said. "If they all want to fight, you all take care of his crew. Bellamy is mine."
"What are you saying? I should be fighting-!"
"Don't, Guthrie," Xion interrupted the male Keyblade wielder, much to his confusion. "You can't stop Luffy once he made up his mind. Especially if it's to people he can't forgive. People who hurts his friends, toys with them, ridicules them. Mostly the mastermind, the leader of that group of people. Which is why I suggest, unless if you want to waste more of our time and get in a fight against him to see who fights Bellamy, you should do as he says."
That was the first time Guthrie and Chirithy heard Xion say something quite... scary. They didn't expect her to say anything like that. And likewise, neither of them were sure if she was telling the truth, especially not of what they knew about Luffy during the short amount of time they knew him. After all, the guy didn't seem like a... revenge type of person or the type of guy who would take anything seriously. The two weren't even sure if he can fight.
"BELLAMY! WHERE ARE YOU?!" they suddenly heard him shout. Looking up, they saw the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates on top of one of the buildings.
"When did he get there?!" Chirithy gasped in shock.
"Come on!" Xion led the two over to the building Luffy stood on top of. Once they arrived, the saw a blonde guy with a scar on his head walking out of a pub.
"We were just talking about you," he said to Luffy. "You want something."
"You know what we want!" Guthrie called, having the guy look at him, Chirithy and Xion. "Are you Bellamy?"
A huge, evil smile formed on his face. "And if I am?"
"Give back the Diamond-head Ossan's gold!" Luffy demanded, answering in his place.
"Gold?" Bellamy laughed at the demand. "The stuff that old man Cricket had?" All of a sudden, his legs became springs and he shot up to the building Luffy was on. "I ain't giving it back! I stole it from him, as a pirate. And being a pirate yourself, you shouldn't have any objections to that."
"But I do," Luffy corrected, confusing his soon-to-be opponent. "Those guys are my friends. So I'm stealing it back."
Hearing that made Bellamy laugh. "I gotta ask you... Can you fight? Do you know how to throw a punch?! What's a coward like you gonna do to me?!" Luffy stayed silent at his words. "If you're just gonna stand there scared like you did this afternoon, you ain't gonna steal anything from me! Coward!"
"He's underestimating him. That's bad," Xion said.
"Then we should've left this matter alone?" Chirithy questioned.
"I knew I should've been the one to fight him," Guthrie said.
"You're mistaken." The two turned to Xion with questioned looks. "It's Bellamy who's underestimating his opponent."
"This afternoon was different," Luffy simply told him.
That answer made Bellamy laugh. "Oh really? What is different? Then this time I'll make sure that you'll never give me any of that insolence again!" He used his devil fruit powers and shot himself off the building, forcing it to break down. "I'll have this finish in an instant! Spring Snip!" Moments before he could hit the part of building Luffy was on, the latter pirate jumped off the piece to a different building. Bellamy landed back on the ground and sprung himself back to his target. Luffy just barely dodged the hit, which resulted in him hanging on to the edge.
"Luffy!" Chirithy cried out in worry.
"Damn it... What is he doing?!" Guthrie questioned.
"What did that brat come here for?" they heard one of Bellamy's crew mates, Sarquiss, asked with mockery.
"Let's just watch Bellamy's show," another member said, as a few of them laughed in amusement.
"He sure talked big, but now it's like he's running scared!"
Hearing all this slowly made Xion a bit angry.
"I see nothing different," Bellamy said. "Nothing's changed from this afternoon!" He shot to Luffy once more, who just got back up on the roof and just avoided the hit. "I thought you said you were going to take back the gold from me! All you do is talk shit! You can't even stand up and face me! All you can do is stand there and ramble on about your dreams! What kind of man does that make you?!" He shot to Luffy again and this time, he actually landed a hit on him. This caused him to crash onto the floor.
Bellamy landed on the roof top of one of the other buildings. "You can struggle all you want. There's no escaping my Bane Bane ability."
"You finished already?! What a shame!" Sarquiss mocked.
"There's no way that brat could be a match for Bellamy," one of the crew members said. Everyone else of Bellamy's crew laughed in agreement.
"There's a difference between being weak and holding back," Xion spoke, causing them all to stop laughing and looked her way.
"What are you saying? Didn't you see that kid get beat by our captain?" Sarquiss asked, his smirk not leaving his face.
He was proven wrong as Luffy got back up on his feet.
"I'm not ready for you to kick it just yet!" Bellamy called. "I'm just about to start the real show!" His legs turned back into springs. "Spring Hopper!" He sprung off the roof. Unlike before, he started to spring from one flat surface to another, picking up speed and momentum. He started to go so fast, it was hard to keep track of where he was.
"Bellamy disappeared!" one of the townsfolk shouted.
"It's the same thing he used against Roshio the Executioner!" another said.
Hearing that got Xion's attention. "What do you mean?" she asked.
As he explained the previous situation to her, Bellamy arrogantly mocked the Saruyama Alliance. As he took in every word, Luffy's face grew darker and darker within the second. "Do I know how to throw a punch?" he spoke, raising and cracking his fist.
"Finish him off, Bellamy! Fools like him don't deserve to be a pirate!" Sarquiss said. Their crew mates laughed at those words as if it was a fact.
"FAREWELL, STRAW HAT!" Bellamy shouted, zooming over to Luffy.
The next thing they knew, Bellamy crashed on the ground, with a fish imprinted on his cheek, his eyes blank and blood coming out of his mouth and some on his struck cheek. The rest of the pirates, Guthrie and Chirithy looked at the scene in shock as blood- Bellamy's blood- dripped from Luffy's fist.
"Oi, quit it with the jokes, Bellamy," Sarquiss spoke first. "Come on. You're just playing around, right? Say something!" All he got was silence from the knock-out pirate. "Oi, Bellamy! Quit with the games! Stand up and give us the usual show, Bellamy! You're the B55,000,000 Big-Time Rookie, remember?!" All of a sudden his face paled as if he had remembered something. One of the piece of paper in one of his crew mates' hand was blown out and hit his face. Sarquiss took a good look at it and paled even further.
"The Ossan's gold," Luffy spoke. "Give it back." Most of the pirates ran in fear.
Later, Luffy, Xion, and Guthrie walked out of the pub with three sacks of gold on their back and Chirithy following them.
"That's definitely all of them!" the little one said. "Now we're sure to make it in time!"
"Then let's not waste anymore time," Xion said, taking out her flying Dream Eater cards.
"I think it's best if we run the rest of the way back," Guthrie suggested. "If we fly across the water and lose one of the gold somehow, it'll be hard to get it back."
"When you put it that way, I guess that's true."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
As the quartet walked away, they heard Sarquiss shout out, "Hey, you! Come back here! You hear me?! You stupid bunch of runts! I'm talking to you!" Luffy, Xion and Guthrie ignored the temper tantrum he was making, while Chirithy looked back, worried.
"I'll get them! I won't be beaten by some pretend pirate!" Sarquiss barked, attempting to charge forward while being restrained by his crew members. "What's wrong! Where are you going?!"
Luffy stopped in his tracks, surprising the enemies behind them. The other three looked to him as he echoed, "Where am I going?" He raised his bloody fist, scaring Sarquiss as he was worried he might punch him, too. Instead, he changed his fist into a finger pointing to the sky and answered, "The sky."
Sarquiss was shocked at this, but he grimaced as he rose to his feet, throwing off the arms trying to grab ahold of him. "Well, guess what?! Nothing ain't up there except your head! You hear me?!"
"Can't you just acknowledge that your captain's been beaten by our captain and be done with it?" Xion asked, turning full around to Sarquiss. "It's over. Luffy defeated Bellamy. We won back Cricket's gold. What part of that do you not understand?"
"Shut up! That was a lucky shot, and that's all!" he barked. "I'm a real pirate, not like you! If you think you won now, how about I show YOU that you guys ain't nothing but a bunch of dreamers! Me versus you, bitch!"
Xion glared at Sarquiss. Luffy looked to Xion, wondering if she was gonna accept the battle.
"There was no need for any foul language," Guthrie muttered. "We need to head back before it's too late. That guy is not worth the fight."
"Maybe so..." Xion muttered, putting the sack down and walking forward. "But he needs to be taught a lesson. Luffy, I know we need to hurry, but is it okay for me to fight him?"
"Yeah. Go right ahead," Luffy answered.
Guthrie was surprised. 'Why would she go into a battle that wasn't worth it?' he wondered.
Sarquiss pulled out his large kukri-like sword, while Xion produced her Keyblade, holding it at the ready. Sarquiss gritted his teeth as he noticed it. She uses a weapon like that kid behind her. He looked to Guthrie behind Xion, who was concerned about how long this would take. 'That kid was definitely something the last time I saw him use a weapon like that!' Sarquiss reminisced.
*FLASHBACK*
A stomp on the planked road drew everyone's attention, including Sarquiss and Lily.
"Wiiihahaha!" A large brute of a man by the name of Jesus Burgess was laughing hardily as he stood in front of the short young man, who was Guthrie. "Hey, kid! I heard you were pretty tough stuff against a few of the townsfolk, here!" Burgess barked, pointing at Guthrie. "Well, my captain has taken an interest in you, along with that weapon you use, so I'm gonna beat you up, and make you join our crew!"
"For the record, I didn't want to start those fights, nor do I want to start a fight with you," Guthrie defended. "I can tell you aren't a person of good intentions, so I won't join you, even if you forced me to."
"Is that so? Well, too bad!" Burgess retorted, leaping at him. "You're either joining us or you die here!" Guthrie leapt backwards, avoiding a grappling hug from the brute, and summoning his Keyblade at the ready.
The battle was over in less than five minutes. Burgess had the advantage in brute strength, but that was all. Guthrie was nimble, smarter, and had the powers of the Keyblade at his side. It was totally shocking, nonetheless, too see the battle end with Burgess slamming through the walls of one of the buildings after a powerful Ice Dash to the chest. Guthrie stood there, glaring at the unconscious Burgess. Sarquiss was baffled by the amount of strength he had. 'How could a runt like that beat up someone that big and strong? Who the heck was he?' he wondered.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
'I know that kid was tough, but that doesn't mean I can't beat this girl!' Sarquiss finished thinking. 'Besides, I got a secret weapon that even Bellamy doesn't know!'
He laughed hardily as he thrust his hand into the air. In a puff of smoke, he summoned a darker version of one of Xion's own Dream Eaters; a Fin Fatale.
"A Dream Eater?" Xion gasped.
"Hey, that looks like the one fish Xion has!" Luffy pointed out.
"Another Nightmare wielder," Guthrie muttered.
'So he's like Haxel so long ago,' Xion recounted, seeing Sarquiss's mischievous grin. She then pulled out one of her her Dream Eater cards. "Summon: Fin Fatale!" Torpedo, her own Fin Fatale, appeared in front of her, ready to go.
"You got to be kidding me?!" Sarquiss barked in shock. "I had a plan to shock you with this thing and you end up having one, too?!"
"If you're gonna complain about every darn thing, then it'll just make it easier for me," Xion sassed, readying her Keyblade.
The two Fin Fatales launched at one another, smacking their tails at one another. Xion followed in after, while Sarquiss started twirling his blade like a windmill. Both blades clashed with one another, with Xion's face calm while the latter was angry. Their blades clashed with one another like crazy, but Xion wasn't using any of her magic or techniques.
Sarquiss doubled back from Xion, then charged back in, spinning like a buzz saw. "Big Chop!" he roared.
"Collision Magnet!" Xion unleashed a magnetic force that caught the spinning enemy then, with a swing of her Keyblade, sent Sarquiss over her, slamming into the ground behind her.
"Sarquiss!" one of the female members cried out.
"Damn! That girl's good!" a male pirate added.
"And that fish of her's is beating his!" another male pirate noticed, watching Torpedo blasting Sarquiss's Nightmare away with a blast of water.
Sarquiss got back up, panting from the painful experience, while seeing his Dream Eater flip back up again next to him. He glared at Xion and Torpedo, who stood still, waiting.
"You... fake pirate!" he growled, getting to his feet.
"Says the guy who's on the ground, right now," Xion retorted.
"Shut up! You're just a stupid dreamer who has her head in the clouds! You people make me sick! You disrespect Bellamy, and you disrespect everyone by calling yourselves pirates!"
Xion was irritated by Sarquiss's words, indicated by how she tightened her grip on her Keyblade. "You're the one who gives pirates a bad name. You mocked anyone who dreams big and who dares to go the distance. You abused my crew. You hurt Cricket and those two monkey-brained idiots with him. You talk like dreams won't come true for anyone. You're just sad."
Sarquiss's eyes dilated in fury. "I WON'T BE RIDICULED BY SOME FRAUD LIKE YOU! I'LL CHOP YOU INTO SHREADS!"
At this, his Nightmare became a dark ball of energy as it fused itself with Sarquiss. He emanated a dark aura that rippled like water. A horn grew onto his forehead, much like the his Nightmare. The back of his coat suddenly produced the symbol of a Dream Eater Nightmare.
Everyone in the vicinity was startled by the vice captain's transformation, some were even afraid. Well... except for one certain pirate.
"Whoa! That is so cool!" Luffy exclaimed. "He grew a horn on his head!"
"You're easily amused, aren't you?" Chirithy questioned in a disbelieving manner.
'How in the heck did he do that?!' Guthrie questioned in amazement. 'Did his rage cause his Nightmare to fuse with him?'
"Hahahahahaha!" Sarquiss laughed maliciously. "Oh, this power! It's so incredible! Not even Bellamy can even stand to defeat me, let alone a fraud like you!"
'This is like what happened to Haxel,' Xion recalled, readying herself for what's next to come.
Sarquiss threw his kukri blade forward, which became encased in the black, watery aura. He leapt onto it and rode it at Xion like a flying surfboard. Torpedo unleashed a blast of water, but Sarquiss avoided it effortlessly. Xion put her guard up as Sarquiss struck her. The force of the attack caused her to fall backwards, slamming onto the ground as he flew over her.
"What's wrong?! Can't you fight back?!" he sassed, twirling around and shooting at Xion again, who started to rise back up. She got hit hard in the back and fell to the ground once more.
"Xion!" Luffy called out.
"She's in deep trouble," Chirithy pointed out in worry. He turned to his master. "Guthrie, you have to go in and protect her!"
Guthrie didn't respond immediately to this. He knew it would be disrespectful to interfere with a battle she started.
Xion got back up again, with Sarquiss coming at her once more. Fortunately, Torpedo dove through the floorboards of the road, like a ghostly fish, and shot out underneath Sarquiss's surfboard blade, knocking him away from Xion.
"Thanks," the Keyblade wielder thanked her partner.
"That doesn't change a thing, you know!" Sarquiss barked, drawing her attention back as he continued to try and attack her. "You may have some fish to help you, but that's all! You're completely useless, just like your dreams! Your captain and that swordsman didn't even put up a fight before! That fool, Cricket, was too weak to stop us! And it's all because you people are just two-bit dreamers who believe in some dumb fairy tale that doesn't exist! Your dreams make you weak and nothing more!"
Throughout this speech, Xion kept avoiding the attacks he delivered, but her anger grew and grew as he kept talking. Finally, she snarled, "Don't you dare talk down about other peoples dreams! It's one thing to mock me, but I can't stand someone calling people close to me weak because of what they believe in!"
She stopped dodging and started charging head on with Sarquiss, only to end with her being overpowered and sent flying backwards. She got back up again and angrily pursued him, unleashing a Strike Raid. Sarquiss parried her Keyblade by flipping his blade up and spinning it in front of him. He then slashed Xion hard with it, causing her to reel back in pain, a part of her coat ripped.
Luffy, Chirithy and Guthrie both were shocked at the attack, while some of the Bellamy Pirates were shifting from being terrified of Sarquiss to rooting for him.
Xion panted as she raised herself up, doubling over a bit as she panted hard, angrily glaring up at the smirking Sarquiss, and charged at him once more, summoning her Keyblade into her hand as she roared in fury. Xion unleashed all her rage onto him, trying to take him down. She was like a rampaging bull, furious from what he said. She wasn't even aware of Torpedo anymore, who became afraid of its master. Every time she tried to strike him, Sarquiss would overpower her, and she would fall backwards from it. The more she failed to defeat him, the more frustrated she gotten.
"It's all over for you!" Sarquiss barked at a roaring Xion, slamming her hard in the gut and sending her crashing into a wall, breaking barrels in front of it. She fell down to the ground, barely able to rise back up again.
"Xion, get up!" Luffy called out. "What are you doing?! You're way stronger than him!"
"Guthrie, I don't know what's stopping you, but you have to save her, now!" Chirithy barked, looking up at him. "Xion's life is at risk. You're her guardian, so do something! Go in there! Fight that guy! Anything!"
Guthrie watched Xion as she struggled to get up, fumbling back down to the ground again.
"Hahahaha! Look at you! You're so black and blue, that I can't tell you from that dumb coat you wear!" Sarquiss chortled, causing an uproar of laughter from the other pirates. Xion gritted her teeth, infuriated that he was overpowering her so easily, and she wasn't sure why.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Xion's eyes became startled as she recognized Guthrie's voice call out to her. "Are you really this stupid?! Letting a guy like that win your anger over with mere words?!"
"Guthrie, why are you insulting her?!" Chirithy gasped.
"That might be a bad idea!" Luffy told him, worried she might attack him. Guthrie completely ignored the two.
"You want to show him that you are the stronger one? That your dreams and beliefs are far superior than anything he has? All you're doing is letting him get under your skin and make you act like a angry, blind rhino," he continued. "You cannot win a fight like that! You know you are better than this! You're a pirate who sticks to her beliefs and dreams, right? All he is is a bully, and bullies are all talk, and not bite!"
"How dare you!" Sarquiss growled at Guthrie. "As soon as I'm done pummeling her, you're next, Key boy!"
"That's if you can actually beat her. If you ask me, I've seen enough that she cares for the people close to her. Sure, she's a bit reckless at times, but her heart's in the right place. I'm certain that if she stops being so enraged like this and think straight, she'll easily beat you, no problem!"
"Oh really?!" Sarquiss questioned, and he laughed once more. "If you ask me, she's doing a pretty horrible job at it! In fact, I bet that punch your captain made to Bellamy was merely a fluke! All those damn dreams and beliefs you people have are what weigh you down and make you weak!"
"You're damn wrong about that." Sarquiss stopped laughing as he heard Xion's voice. There was a glittering of lights as she used a healing spell on herself, removing the injuries she had. "The dreams and beliefs we have don't make us weak," she muttered. Her face shown a calmer anger than before. "It's the thing that makes us strong!"
Luffy grinned at the turnabout of Xion's emotions. Guthrie nodded in approval.
"So you still have the ability to talk like that?!" Sarquiss questioned. "Look at yourself! You can't even touch me! You claim all of that's your strength, then it's pretty darn lousy! I'll put an end to you, right now!"
He started spinning his blade beneath his feet, becoming a spinning, razor sharp disc of black water. "Riptide Chop!" he roared, shooting at Xion on the spinning weapon. Xion charged forward, her face calmer than before. Her friends were wondering if she was still thinking straight, while the Bellamy Pirates were rooting for him to slice her in half.
"Link Action," she muttered. Her Fin Fatale suddenly jumped out of the planks as though jumping out of water, her hand on its head. "Water Blaster!" Xion grabbed onto her spirit like a gun before her, aiming at Sarquiss. Just when he was close enough to land a hit on her, Torpedo fired a powerful stream of water at him, pushing him back.
"What the-?!" he tried to speak, which proved impossible with some of the water getting in his mouth.
A couple minutes later, the soak fest came to a stop. Sarquiss stood back on his feet.
"Damn you..." he panted, catching his breath. "I'll make you pay for-!"
"Thunder Dash!" Xion encased herself in a coat of electricity and shot herself hard into Sarquiss's gut. The attack was so hard, Sarquiss coughed up blood. His blade clattered to the ground as he shot past his fellow pirates, breaking through a few walls, and falling backwards, his legs sprawled out of the hole he was in. His eyes were blank and the dark aura surrounding him and his weapon before vanished. He was finished.
Xion landed neatly on the ground, brushing herself off as she looked at her defeated opponent. His fellow pirates were baffled at the state he was in, and at how easily she defeated him after all the abuse she took before. Luffy chuckled eagerly, while Chirithy looked up at Guthrie, amazed.
'He managed to calm her rage with his words. That was some fine work, Guthrie,' he thought. 'You're not the kind of guardian I thought you were, at first, but I bet you will do just fine, as long as you're keeping an eye on Xion.'
The Starlight Blade called back Torpedo to its card and walked back to her friends and captain, while the other pirates were helping out Sarquiss.
"Let's go. We wasted too much time as it was," Xion ordered.
"Right! We need to bring back pop's gold," Luffy agreed. With that, they ran along the coast to Cricket's house.
Xion turned to Guthrie, who turned back at her gaze. "Thanks, Guthrie. If you hadn't spoken up like you did, I would've been beaten for sure," she thanked.
"Let me ask you something, Xion," Guthrie responded. "I know you have that reindeer kid as your doctor, but do you have anyone in your crew who takes care of your mental stability?"
"I... don't think so," Xion answered.
"What the heck are you talking about?" Luffy asked, confused.
"I'm talking about a ship's counselor," Guthrie explained. "A crew needs to be mentally sane if they are able to take on all kind of ordeals. These seas can not only be tough to you, physically, but if your mind is not stable, it can cause confusion and disorder among crew members."
"That might not be a bad idea to have," Xion agreed, looking at a certain captain of her's. "Considering the annoyance some of our crew members give us, we might need someone to talk to us and help us calm down so we won't try to kill one another. Besides, it could also help for future fights so we won't let our anger get the best of us."
"Well that's settles it!" Chirithy stated, hopping onto Guthrie's shoulder. "Guthrie can be your ship's counselor!"
Luffy and Xion looked to the two of them, one in confusion and one smiling.
"Why would we need one? I don't need one," Luffy stated.
"Yeah, but people, like me, need it when dealing with YOUR childish behavior!" Xion barked, terrifying Luffy as she turned back to Guthrie again. "While we're still talking about it, are you really any good? I mean, I know you were able to get me back to sanity in the middle of that fight, but still..."
"I am pretty good with words and I have studied a lot in counseling and psychology from the past two years," Guthrie stated.
"Not only that, but he's helped out so many people back in his home town," Chirithy added. "He's always found a way to put a smile back on anyone's face, at any age and any time. At least, that's what I remember from the memories given to me. Either way, he has to be a member of your crew, so he can also be your guardian. So let him join!"
"Then what do you say, Guthrie?" Xion asked her fellow Keyblade wielder. "Would you mind joining a bunch of pirates?"
Guthrie paused for a moment, thinking things through. Finally, he answered, "Being a pirate means I'll be in constant danger, and based on what you guys said before, you're certainly ones who look for all kinds of adventures. Even so, it might help me out, as well as fulfill the duty that was forced onto me. I'll let my heart be my guiding key, and it says, 'okay'. So let's do it. I'll be your ship's counselor."
"Alright! We have a new member of our crew!" Luffy cheered, jumping in joy with a fist pump.
"Let's hurry back and tell everyone the good news," Xion told him. "Plus, we need to make it back before the sun comes up!" With that, the group shot along the shore of the island, back to Cricket's place and the Going Merry.