Welcome back again, everyone, to the SCP series~! Now, in this chapter, there is a small surprise for you people~ One I hope you all enjoy very much. That said, let's start this chapter.
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 Eneru. In a flash of light, opening ends with all of Straw Hats on Merry, facing the camera)
Last time:
"You creeps kidnapped out friends. You made a cute angel cry and tried to kill her. You have no right to say that we play dirty."
"Well, even if you didn't do that, you seem to have forgotten something," Xion added. "We're pirates. Who says we have to play fair?"
"They're both right," Luffy agreed. "It's amazing that you can predict our every moves. But even if you can predict them, it doesn't mean anything if you can't avoid them, does it?" Satori was sweating uncontrollably when the straw hat boy asked that.
"I-Idiots! Stop it! I'm one of the priests that serves God! Let me go! Hey, are you listening?!" he demanded, freaking out even more as Sanji and Xion's ball floated closer to them. "Not being judged by a priest is a first degree crime in Skypeia! Now listen here! Attacking me means you declare war on Almighty God Eneru!"
"Shut your mouth! Or the flavor will escape," Sanji told him. "For example, when you want to produce the supreme mignonnette from pepper, the important thing is to strongly, roughly, and without hesitation, beat it to pulp." Both he and Xion leapt into the air. "Then the wonderful flavor confined inside will be..." Sanji started to flip over rapidly, with Xion giving him a boost with her Aero.
"Ahhh! Ahhh! Stop it!" Satori begged. "Stop it! It's gonna hurt! Stop it!"
In the end, though, Sanji's hard heel hit hard on the priest's head. "Concasse!" The attack was strong enough to break Satori's glasses and forced a couple of teeth out, as well as leaving his head a bloody mess.
Now that the battle was over, Xion and the boys were making their way to their boat... which somehow got untangled from the vine Gunma tied around the head. Thanks to Usopp's new invention, they managed to get to it before it sailed out of the woods... albeit they got on very painfully.
"Why...?" the sniper of the group asked, head hanging from the Crow and in the white-white sea water.
"You better remember this," Sanji warned, giving him a 'light' kick.
"One of us would've gotten the boat," Xion said, healing herself as she referred to herself and Luffy.
"Abywe, wib med id oud ob da Ost Fobbest..." Usopp said in pain.
Back on Merry Go, after the priest left Chopper, Chirithy, Gan Fall, and his bird to die either from their wounds, drowning or being eaten by the sky sharks, the Dream Eater of a pirate looked around his surroundings in the White-White Sea.
'I... I can't swim...' he thought. 'What was I thinking? I couldn't do anything... This whole time... I can't do anything...! The Sky Knight... His bird... Chopper... I'm so... useless...' He then saw something jump in the clouds after them. 'Damn it! Am I just going to do nothing?! Even if I went to Guthrie, he won't make it in time!' Slowly, he started to feel his consciousness fade away. 'I'm sorry... guys...'
At the same time, at a distance away from Upper Yard, the Shandian warriors were all making their way to the small land. Each were either using skates or boards to get to their destination.
"Listen up, warriors!" the leader of the group, Wyper, called. "Upper Yard is in a state of turmoil! This is a chance we may never have again! Our goal is God's Shrine! Do not fear Eneru! Great Warrior Calgara will be our one and only foundation!"
"AYE!" they all shouted in agreement.
"Braham! Kamakiri! Genbou! Laki! Return safely! This is where we part ways!" he called to his close friends, all who nodded in understanding. "And where the hell is Allen?!"
No one dared to answer, for none knew where Wyper's cousin was. Even if they did know, they wouldn't have informed the outsider.
"Right here, cousin!" came a voice.
Some looked and saw a tanned boy in his late teens with white wings, black eyes and short black hair, wearing a grassy kilt around his waist, held by a rope with a pair of gold pieces. He also had black and red tattoos on his back, which goes all the way around to the front of his right shoulder. The boy also had black gloves on and was catching up to the group with his skate dials.
"Allen! Where the hell have you been?!" Wyper demanded.
"Where else? Upper Yard," the guy casually answered, turning around as he started to skate backwards.
At his answer, he was instantly berated by the other Shandians.
"Upper Yard! Are you crazy?!"
"What would you have done if you got caught?!"
"Are you trying to get us killed?!"
"This is why you're an outsider and always will be!"
The only very few who didn't say a word about Allen's reply were Wyper, Laki and Braham. The former was getting angry with the retorts and silenced them. "Shut up! All of you!" Instantly, they all kept their mouths shut. Turning to his cousin, Wyper then said, "Tell me you didn't just go there to fool around."
"Excuse you, dear cousin, but what you call fooling around, I call a healthy and fun hobby," the suppose 'outsider' said. "Also, who do you think you're talking to? I took notes and memorized where each priest are, their strengths and weaknesses, rest points, even the location of God's Shrine. Oh, and we also have some strangers there."
Wyper simple scoffed with a smirk on his face. "As expected from my cousin. You better have your weapons hidden somewhere over there, because no one is going to lend you their's!"
"I know, cuz."
Wyper then took out his bazooka gun, pointed it at Upper Yard, and fired. "Swear here and now on Great Warrior Calgara! We will light the fire of Shandia!"
"AYE!" they all shouted in agreement. An explosion then occurred from the island.
Meanwhile, with Guthrie's group, the four-man team were walking through the forest, heading towards something Nami found. As they walked, they heard an explosion coming from a distance.
"What was that?" Nami asked, slightly frightened from the sound.
"An explosion, obviously," Zoro answered.
"I heard one earlier too, but this one sounded a little different," Robin pointed out.
"You don't think the others are in trouble, do you?" Guthrie asked.
"In any case, let's just keep going," Nami told them.
Jumping to a higher tree branch, the three-sword swordsman asked, "What're you all worked up for, Nami?"
"You've been acting strange ever since you came down from that tree," Robin pointed out.
"No kidding. What did you see earlier?" Guthrie questioned.
"If I told you guys, you wouldn't under-" Before the navigator could finish her sentence, she slipped on some moss or grass from a tree she was crossing and almost fell, had she not caught herself. "Man, this is ridiculous! Why is it so hard to walk around here?!"
"Maybe it's because you're wearing sandals."
Hinting out the sarcasm in his voice, Nami retorted, "Yeah right!"
"Don't forget that you said this way was faster," Robin added.
"Quit wasting time and spit it out!" Zoro demanded. "What the hell did you see?"
"Never mind, just follow me! This way will lead us to the shore!" Nami tried to stand back up, but lost her balance and went back to her knees. "But anyway, come and help me!"
"Complaining at one time, ordering the next. Make up your mind already, woman!" Guthrie shouted. "Also, since you're the one leading us, take the lead instead of being in the back!"
Annoyed, Nami argued, "Shut up! And also, Guthrie! Can't you create the new Dream Eater we found like Xion can?! If you're so annoyed with having to help me when I ask for it, then why not use it?!"
"Because I don't have, nor do I know, the ingredients needed to create this new ally of our's! It's not like it came with a picture list!"
"Wait, did you say 'shore'?" Robin asked, breaking up the argument.
"Yeah, that's right. I need to get close enough to make sure," the navigator said. "Because I still can't believe my own eyes."
Zoro made another Tarzan cry as he grabbed hold of a vine and started swinging again. Guthrie saw this and couldn't help but sweatdrop. "Really, Zoro?"
"It's the same with me," Robin said, bringing his and Nami's attention to her as she used her Devil Fruit power to help the navigator up. "I have something bothering me as well... I have no definite proof... but if my moonstruck hypothesis would happen to be true, it would be interesting." With a little toss at the end, Nami got on the same branch Robin was on. "Very interesting. My reason to continue living may yet exist." Her mind went back to her time in Alabasta, when she wanted to die, only for Luffy to save her. "But still, it's nothing more than a hypothesis."
Both her companions just look at her in confusion and slight curiosity as to what that hypothesis may be.
Back at the Sacrificial Altar, Chopper slowly opened his eyes and saw nothing but the sky. After a few seconds to confirm his sights and be aware of his surroundings, the Devil Fruit user then sat up in slight shock. "I'm... alive?"
"Chopper, how are you?!" came Chirithy's voice. Chopper looked up and saw the Dream Eater waving at him from the ship, first-aid kit under his arm.
"Chirithy!" Just as he was about to get up, the man-reindeer felt pain spread where he was injured. He then noticed Gan Fall right by his side and panicked at the sight of his condition. "Aaahh! Sky Knight! D-Doctor! Where's a doctor?! Chirithy! Get a doctor!"
"I thought you're a doctor!" the talking Dream Eater shouted, eyes wide in shock that his friend completely forgot his occupation.
"Oh yeah, that is me." Quickly resolving that, Chopper placed his head on top of Gan Fall's chest. He heard his heart beating. Almost as soon as he heard it, Gan Fall groaned in pain. "Thank goodness. He's alive."
"Him and his bird," Chirithy added, walking over to the ship's doctor with the first-aid kit. "Think you can fix them up?"
"Yeah." The two then got to work with tending to their patients. "But, it's weird. We were all sinking, weren't we?"
"We were. Then something dove after us and that's all I can remember."
As they pondered as to who or what saved them, Chopper then flinched as he heard a voice. "Huh? 'God'?"
"What god?" Chirithy asked.
"Wait, you didn't hear that?"
"Hear what?"
All of a sudden, something flew down their way. Before they could see who it was, they ducked in fear of being attacked by the priest again. When they felt something pass them, the two looked up and saw many birds looking down at them. Chopper, being the only one to understand animals of the two, had his eyes wide in shock at what he was hearing.
"How...?"
"We're nearing the sea. I can hear the waves from here," Robin informed the boys. They were still following Nami to what she saw. Zoro and Guthrie both went silent and also started to hear the sound of waves.
Nami, for one reason or another, seemed excited upon hearing that sound. Excited enough to have a crazed look on her face. "Right! We're almost there!" Panting and catching her breath, she then added, "Come on, let's go!"
"Just tell us what you saw!" Zoro demanded once more.
The only response he got from the orange-haired girl was laughter.
"And she lost her mind. Great," Guthrie sarcastically said.
"I hear another sound mixed in with the waves," Robin informed once more.
"Yeah. A real nasty sound," Zoro agreed. "The sound of a whole army of people pushing and shoving. Kind of like what we heard in Alabasta."
"You mean like a war zone?" Guthrie asked. "Then should we be worried?"
"You don't have to worry about your Dream Eater and Chopper. That reindeer really comes through when he needs to."
"Then what about the captain and the others?" Robin asked.
"Luffy?"
"After we were abducted, he must've come after us."
"Out of worry or as an excuse to come here," Guthrie asked back. "Either way, whoever this God is here, if you're right, there's no way he would just let them get to the altar, would he?"
"That's right. And not to mention those guys over there starting their own fight," Robin added to the group causing the explosion. "The situation is getting more complicated."
"That's for sure," Zoro agreed.
"You guys have a knack of getting into trouble, don't you?" Guthrie asked, mostly to Zoro.
"More or less. Besides, we're all used to it. Making a fuss over something like that won't do us any good."
Guthrie turned to where Nami went off to, only to see her gone. "Speaking of fuss... Nami! Where the hell did you go?!"
"Some way of showing you care!" the girl shouted back with white eyes and shark teeth, revealing to be behind a huge tree root that she may have slipped off of.
"Oh. There you are."
Ignoring the boy now, the navigator looked back at the direction of their destination and rushed over there, to her friends' confusion.
Back to Xion's group, the Crow was smoothly sailing on towards the Sacrificial Altar. As they were sailing...
"Like I was saying Usopp, you do it like this!"
"Okay, yosh! 'Come on! Wake up, you dimwit!'"
"'Wha-? Morning already?'"
Yeah... To pass time, Luffy and Usopp decided to make some impressions of their fellow Straw Hat pirates. Luffy was playing the part of sleeping Zoro.
Usopp laughed at how spot on the impression was. "Just like Zoro!"
"Quit goofing off!" Sanji shouted, as he steered the Crow out of the ordeal.
"We don't know what happened to the others yet. And not only that, but there are still three Priests left. For all we know, they might be going through an ordeal themselves," Xion told them.
"'This is the Ordeal of Love'." only to add on to the goofiness, as Luffy made a Sanji impression when they took out Satori.
Xion sweat dropped as she saw what she had done while Sanji gave the two a quite beating.
"For now, we have to keep heading for the sacrificial altar," the chef added, smoking on a cigarette. "Agreed?"
"Bes. Be'r bewwy sawwy," the two painfully apologized.
'Who is the captain again?' Xion wondered.
Back to Guthrie's group, again, he, Zoro and Robin were still running to catch up to Nami, who stopped somewhere ahead of them.
"Wonder why she's in a rush," the archeologist said.
"Jeez. As soon as we see the sea, she gets all fired up," the swordsman stated.
"Complaining one moment, ordering the next. How do you deal with her?" the male Keyblade wielder asked once more.
With the navigator herself, she was standing before the thing she spotted earlier up the tree. "So my eyes really weren't playing tricks on me..." she muttered.
Robin caught up with her and couldn't believe her eyes. "Look at this!" she told the boys, who were still catching up.
Guthrie was the only one of the two to look up and also couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Oi, Nami! I've had enough!" Zoro exclaimed, her patience wearing thin. "Tell us what's going-" He cut himself off as he now knew Nami's reason.
"It speaks for itself, doesn't it?" she questioned. "Look at this. It looks familiar, right? It's not a fairy tail. We saw it just this morning."
The other three still couldn't believe their eyes.
"What's going on here? What's something from the ground doing way up here?" Zoro asked. "It's exactly the same."
"No. That's not it," Robin corrected.
"She's right. Don't you remember? Half of it was missing," Guthrie reminded.
"In fact, it's been bothering me for a while. There shouldn't be any earth in the White-White Sea. It was inexplicable how this island was formed without island cloud. Meaning, this island known as Upper Yard... used to be on the ground."
"I knew there was something wrong with that house," Nami added on to what Robin was saying. "It had two floors, but there was no stairs to get to that second floor. And there's no reason for the house to be built over that cliff. The coastline there was actually a tear in the island."
Guthrie pieced together what the girls said and widened his eyes in shock. "Then to sum it all up... this was a part of Jaya?! Or rather, it was Jaya?!"
"So, some time in the past, the island split apart and this half ended up in the sky," Zoro said. "But how?"
"It could only be that monstrous current. No matter how insane it may sound," Nami claimed.
"Then the City of Gold Noland found back on the Blue Sea... it was right here this whole time," Guthrie said.
All of a sudden, Nami let out a scream. "Thank you, God! Enduring all that suffering to get to Sky Island and then finding out it was the City of Gold! This must be a reward for being a good girl, right~?"
"That's what the scream's for?!" the male Keyblade wielder asked in both shock and annoyance.
"And I thought you were scared of this island's God," Zoro added, as he and Robin sweat dropped at the sudden change in character.
"Eh? God? What good is he? Is he worth more than gold?" Nami asked back.
"But didn't you just say, 'Thank you, God'?" Robin quoted.
"You make no sense," Guthrie said.
"You can say that again," the three sword-style swordsman agreed.
Meanwhile, back to Xion's group, they just exited the Ordeal of Balls and found themselves above a grass field..
"Whoa. What is this place?" Luffy asked.
"Maybe another Ordeal area?" Xion asked.
"Guess that means facing another priest," Sanji assumed.
"Just one Ordeal was more than enough for me, dammit!" Usopp complained. "What's coming next? String? Iron?! Swamp?!"
"Stop panicking already!" Xion whacked the frightened boy in the head. "Besides, if it were any of those then what was the point in choosing an ordeal earlier?!"
Hearing that question instantly calmed him. "Oh. That's true." Taking another look at the grass field, Usopp went back to panicking. "But look at what's down there! There are skulls on the poles!"
The Crow sailed lower and the group saw that there were skulls on top of the poles.
"Whoa. You're right!" Luffy spoke. "What's up with that?"
"Is another one of those monster priests going to show up?!" Usopp questioned.
"Sounds like fun! What Ordeal are we gonna face next?"
"If we lose to the priest, we'll be killed and end up on poles like them!"
"Did neither of you hear Xion-san's earlier question?!" Sanji asked, kicking the straw hat-wearing pirate on the head.
Xion just sighed at the three boys' actions. She looked at the side, wondering if she should train in her heart to pass time, only to see smoke from a distance. "Hey, what's that?"
The boys stopped their conversation and looked where she was looking.
"Looks like something's coming," Luffy said.
"Wait, which one?! Iron?! Strings?! Swamp?!" Usopp asked.
"Would save us the trouble," Sanji said.
"We don't even have time for this!" Xion shouted at them.
Just as they watched the smoke from the distance, a blue beam of flames shot out, destroying a few of the skulls on the sticks.
"GAAAAH! WE'RE DEAD! GAAAAAH!" Ussop hollared at the top of his voice.
The three boys and girl watched as five individuals shot over the umbrella of the Crow. All of them had the same skates as the White Beret they fought before, wore brown, tribal skirts, wings on their backs, and almost all carried at least one kind of weapon. The leading man, in particular, had tattoos on his left shoulder and upper arm, as well as his face, and he carried a familiar set of equipment; a shield on his back, and a large bazooka.
The man looked down particularly at Luffy and Xion, with a look that could kill. As he left them behind, he flipped upside down, aiming his bazooka straight at them, and fired a shot. Ussop panicked in fright, but Xion grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him away as Luffy came in, using his Gomu Gomu no Balloon to not only stop the shot, but repel it straight back. The sight of the expanding human shocked the warriors, though the leading man only cocked an eye.
They landed on the tree branches from afar as one of them in a skull mask asked, "What's wrong with that guy?"
"Paramecia. Only one who's eaten a Devil Fruit could do that," Wyper noticed.
Allen looked closely at the gang of blue sea dwellers and noticed the black coat girl with raven hair. The sight of her was surprising to him, but he recognized her, right off the bat. He blushed a bit at the sight of her face. "It can't be..." he muttered, inaudible to his comrades. "Xion?"
"Wyper, are we fighting?" asked the skull-masked Shandorian.
"Not now. Keep moving," Wyper replied.
At this point, Sanji and Xion started to recognize the leading man. "You're..." Sanji spoke.
'That's the guy who attacked us in the White Sea!' Xion noticed. 'That style of combat, those weapons, and those tattoos... That's gotta be him!'
"We're ready! Come on down!" Luffy barked angrily. "We'll cream you! Make your move big guy!"
"Luffy, we don't have time to get into a fight!" Xion barked, whacking him on the head. "Our crew is more important! Let's not waste any more time!"
Luffy massaged his head as he looked back at the leading warrior, his glare still showing he was eager to fight.
"You sound and stink like blue sea people, which means YOU'RE the ones causing all the chaos in Skypiea!" Wyper shouted at the group of pirates, rising to his feet on the branch.
"Luffy, that's the guerilla we saw back on the White Sea. Look!" Sanji pointed out.
"Yeah. I recognized him as the same guy, too," Xion stated.
Ussop realized this and fell to the ground of the Crow. "Just blow us up and get it over with!" he whined.
"Oh, shut up!" Xion shouted with fang teeth. "We're not gonna blow up!"
Allen was now looking curious and confused at Xion's actions. 'I don't remember her having so much emotion, even less having an anger issue,' he recalled.
"If you don't want to die, then go back to your Blue Sea, immediately!" Wyper ordered. "Because, I promise you, if you do anything stupid on this island, we'll execute you with Eneru!"
"They're up here trying to kill this 'Eneru' guy?" Sanji realized.
"That's the 'god' that Satori guy kept saying," Xion recalled. "So, that means they're not with him, or the priests."
"Then that means they don't have to kill us, right?!" Ussop asked, still crying in fear. "For the sake of keeping our body parts together, can we please sail on?"
Luffy, on the other hand... "Not a chance! How about a fair figh-?!" Xion took a step forward, standing on the edge of the Crow with Luffy, covering his mouth. Knowing whose hand it belonged to was enough for Luffy to stop shouting. He did not want to piss her off again while she had ahold of him.
"We're not here looking for a fight!" Xion shouted at the leading guerilla. "We're only here to find the sacrificial alter, where our friends are at! If you have a problem with our presence here on this island, then fine, be that way! But if you start attacking us again..." She summoned her Keyblade and pointed the tip of it at Wyper. "... we won't hesitate to fight back! Do you hear me?!"
This warning rang to all the present individuals. Luffy was silent as Xion lowered her hand from his mouth. What she said was true enough to him, and he knew Shanks would be like that, as well.
"Wow, Xion-swan! You're so cool when you say that!" the lovesick cook stated.
"Please, Xion! Don't aggravate them!" Ussop whined, clutching onto the edge of her coat. "The last thing we need is for them to have a reason to blow us up!"
Wyper and the Shandorians looked back at Xion, who didn't waver her eyes from the leading man.
"That girl's got a death wish, if she wants to fight Wyper," one of the warriors stated.
"What's with that weapon she's carrying?" one of the others questioned. "It looks like a key. And she just summoned it to her hand from out of nowhere!"
Wyper, on the other hand, was silent. 'That weapon. It can't be...' he thought.
"Wyper!" Allen called, as he stood up and grinned. "I'll take care of these Blue Sea dwellers. Don't you have some priests you wanna fight against?"
Wyper glared back at the young warrior. "We don't have the time to deal with them, Allen," he growled. "Our goal is to reach Eneru and take his head, along with any of his priests!"
"Hey, don't worry! I'll just go talk with them, understand them a bit more, then come back and fight with you guys again, okay?"
Wyper paused as he continued to glare at Allen. Then one of the other Shandorians said, "Let's go. We can leave this outsider here with those Blue Sea dwellers."
"Yeah. He'll just get in the way, anyway! He doesn't even have a weapon on him!" another one responded.
Allen's eyes frowned as he looked at the group who insulted him.
"Fine then. Come back to fight as soon as you're done!" Wyper ordered. With that, he and the other three warriors took off through the trees, leaving Allen behind.
The crew watched as the guerilla who stayed behind turned, using his dial skates to shoot himself towards the group. He performed a spinning aerial trick as he soared, whooping with joy, landing on the ground, and leaping right up at milky road, landing on the edge of the Crow.
Ussop was in terror as he hid behind the mast of the Crow, while Sanji, Xion and Luffy were all ready to fight him.
"Hey! I wanted to fight that other guy!" Luffy barked, throwing a tantrum. "Get back here so I can kick your ass!"
"Forget it. You're no match for Wyper," Allen warned Luffy with a smirk. "He's the strongest and the most ruthless Shandorian on Skypiea. You're lucky he spared your lives."
"Oh, so you guys are called 'Shandorians'?" Sanji asked. "Well, thanks for the warning pal, but don't go thinking we're easy to beat, okay?"
Allen, however, just waved off his words. "Don't worry. I wouldn't doubt you guys would stand a chance against him. After all, you got her on your crew, right? She's tough. Believe me, I know," he added, looking over to Xion.
The crew looked to the female Keyblade wielder, who raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You... know who I am?" she asked.
"What are you talking about? Of course I know you! You and I go way back. You're Xion, right? You wield a Keyblade and you come from that Organization group, right?"
"Woah, woah, woah! Hold on a moment!" Sanji stopped him. "You mean to tell me that you recognize my Xion-swan from before?!"
"Your Xion-swan?" Allen asked, growing hostile as he glared at the cook. "For your information, she doesn't belong to you! She has no strings attached to her, so she's her own person!"
"I appreciate the statement, but I still have no clue as to who you are." Xion stated.
At her question, Allen looked back at her, shocked. "You're kidding, right? How can you forget? I'm Allen, the guy who helped you out not so long ago with all those missions you were on!"
"So he's a friend of Xion's?" Luffy asked, instantly lowering his guard.
"Does that mean he's not gonna kill us?" Ussop also asked, though still quivering.
"No. I'm just surprised to see her here with Blue Sea dwellers," Allen responded to the latter question. "But why are you with them? And why can't you remember me? Did I... not mean anything to you?" At the last question, Allen looked away from the group, crying crocodile tears.
Instantly feeling guilty, Xion said, "N-No no, it's not your fault. I just don't remember a lot of my past. I've been trying to piece them together for a while, joining these pirates as part of their crew, but I don't remember you or anything about this land. Sorry."
Allen was shocked at this and looked back, tears gone. "So you lost your memories?" he asked. The guy then instantly relaxed and smiled. "Then why didn't you say so? I was so worked up about how you've forgotten about me, Xion. If you said that in the first place, I would've understood."
Xion looked at him with surprise. 'He certainly rebounded from that bit of news quickly,' she thought to herself.
"Well, I hope you remember me again," Allen stated, turning about with his back to them. "We had a lot of fun, wandering through the forests during your missions."
"What the hell do you mean by that, bastard?!" Sanji barked, throwing a fit as Ussop tried holding him back. "If you did something to Xion-san before, then I'll kick your butt, right here!"
Allen ignored this as he smiled at Xion. As she looked at him with that smile, something inside her started to pound, her face started to heat up, and she felt weird. 'What was it?' she wondered. She had never felt anything like this before. 'Was it related to this person?'
"You said you're looking for the sacrificial altar, right? Then you're on the right track," Allen told the group. "You should reach the place by sunset at this pace. I have to get back to the fight with my people." He shot off into the air as he performed more tricks with his dial skates. "Dance with the fire of Shandora!" he whooped, as he shot into the forest, disappearing from sight.
"That guy seemed cool," Luffy stated with a grin. "You have an awesome friend, Xion."
"I really don't remember him, Luffy. But if he was my friend, then I guess that's a good thing," Xion stated. "Plus, he told us how long it is gonna be until we get to our friends."
"So that means we're gonna have to survive until the sun sets?" Ussop asked, still scared. "How can we even survive that long? I really do hate this place."
"I really don't like that guy, but he did say we're on the right track," Sanji stated, going back to the steering wheel of the ship.
Xion sat down as Ussop tried to fake a disease to not go back into the forest, while Luffy wanted to eat. 'Allen, huh?' she thought. 'So there was another person who knew me in my past life. Question is, who is he? And why did I feel so... whatever I felt? I can't even put my finger on it! Whatever, I'll think about it later. For now, I'll go train in my heart.'
Few hours since Xion went into her dive, the girl was practicing her swordsmanship against some Bandit and Pirate Heartless, and a Zip Slasher. As she fought, occasionally, her mind went to Allen. Thinking about how funny he kind of was, how nice he seemed, his cheeriness, not to mention how sad he looked when his allies wanted to leave him with the Straw Hats, save for Wyper. And let's not forget his handsome-
'Wait, what was I thinking?!' she suddenly thought, catching on to what she was thinking. Unfortunately, that gave the Heartless a chance to land a heavy strike on her, knocking her back. Thankfully, she was able to somewhat block it in time to prevent a large slash on her chest. However, that didn't stop the rest of them from getting the jump on her.
Xion, seeing no time to avoid all of their attack, could only raise her Keyblade in an attempt to block. Before they could land a hit, the Heartless all disappeared.
'First time back in a while and this is your skill?' questioned her master. 'What's wrong with you?'
"Sorry I just... I have some things on my mind," she said.
'Like that battle you fought earlier? With that round priest?'
"Um... Something like that..." Xion didn't want to tell him about Allen. Even if she asked, she didn't know if he knew about what she was feeling. After all, he is nothing but a spirit of some kind. How could she know if he knows anything?
'Xion, how long have I known you?' he suddenly asked.
"What?"
'I know you're lying to me. I'm here to guide you, no matter what.'
Hearing that, Xion was now conflicted on whether or not she would tell him. In the end...
"Well, there is one other thing," she confessed. "Earlier I met someone from my past. Someone I knew before my amnesia. And... for some reason when I saw him, my face heated up, something in me was pounding, and I was feeling weird. What do you think it means?"
Silence met her question, which was starting to confirm her thoughts that he didn't know what she was talking about.
'... Oh would you look at that? You've arrived at your destination,' the Voice suddenly said. Wait, hand on.
"What's with that tone? Does that mean-?" Before she could finish her question, Xion was already sent out of her heart.
'... Things seem to be getting better.'
Xion was back in the real world and found that the Crow really did arrive at the Sacrificial Altar. How did she know? The fact that Merry was on an altar and Zoro, Nami, Robin and Guthrie were standing on shore nearby.
"Hey, Nami-swan~! Robin-chwan~! Did you miss me~?" a certain lovesick cook asked. "I overcame the Ordeal of Love for you two~!"
"What? Was that the only Ordeal we had to endure?" Luffy asked.
"That's not the Ordeal we had to endure!" Xion shouted.
"Were you guys scared? Rest easy now that Captain Usopp is here!" Usopp boasted.
"Mellorine~! Mellorine~!"
'Kind of wished we didn't find them,' Xion thought to herself, for now she had to endure her sanity until they reached shore.
The group all got on the Merry Go, where Chopper and Chirithy explained to them what they had to endure while they were all gone.
"The mast's... gone..." Usopp spoke, looking at the spot where Merry's mast once was.
"We're sorry, Usopp," Chopper apologized, while Chirithy went into hiding in shame. "Chirithy and I fought with everything we had but... Everything was catching on fire and..."
"Are you two alright?" the sniper asked.
The doctor nodded at his question.
The guy then sighed. "That guy with the burning lance must've been pretty dangerous. But at least he didn't burn you two up too! We'll think about the ship later." He then walked away.
As he walked, Chopper was thinking about he was going to become more reliable to the group, while Chirithy, in his hiding place, was thinking about how he should somehow be more useful to the group. Unlike the latter though, the former was screaming out what he felt at the top of his lungs, all fired up.
"How did you guys beat the Priest?" Luffy asked.
"I blew the whistle," Chopper explained. "Then Sky Knight showed up and saved us."
"Where is he?" Xion asked.
The small Devil Fruit user both looked sad at the question. The two then led them to the lounge, where Gan Fall rested.
"Just for using that one whistle he gave us for free, he fought this hard for us," Luffy said.
"If the Sky Knight didn't come, we and the ship would've been gone," Chirithy explained.
"There's a lot I want to ask him, but I guess it'll have to wait," Sanji said. To Pierre, he then said, "And we owe you some thanks too."
'It was nothing,' the bird said.
While everyone wasn't looking, Xion left the lounge. The only one who noticed was Guthrie, who walked out after her.
"Xion. Oi," he called. The girl seemingly ignored him and went over to the rails. The male Keyblade wielder seemed a bit uncomfortable with the silence.
"I could've done something," she said at last, to his confusion.
"Xion, what do you mean?"
"I could've done something! I could've stayed on the ship instead of going with Luffy and the others, I could've protected my brother and Merry-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where is this coming from?"
Xion faced Guthrie. "I'm the vice captain. And not only that, but it's- It's also my bad habit!"
"And that has to do with this because?"
"Did Nami say nothing about my bad habit in her log?" A head shake was all the answer Xion needed. "Whenever someone is in trouble, I do whatever it takes to save them. To help them. This one time at Little Garden, Nami, Zoro and another friend of our's were stuck on a... wax cake, so to say. Luffy was there, but he was under a spell that prevented him from helping. I was hit by the same spell number of times, and yet I still helped them. I saved them from becoming statues. And there was another time in Arabasta. We had to face off a huge Heartless that could create sandstorms. A Heartless I remembered from my past, and one that isn't easy to beat. I practically did most of the work to defeat it. Me and my Dream Eaters. And before I joined this crew, I was living on an island for months, acting as a guardian, protecting everyone there from any dangers, mainly bad pirates."
Guthrie was catching on to what she was saying. "You've been protecting this crew from any danger that came their way since you joined them. And I'm guessing that seeing this damage, seeing how injured Chopper and Chirithy were, you couldn't help but blame yourself for not doing what you've always been doing."
"I may be a vice captain, but I feel more like a guardian. A protective mother if you will. Which is... kind of what I told them at one point, and I do hope that wasn't added in the log."
"Pretty sure I would've remembered that being in there if it was. But besides the point, Xion, as your friend and counselor, all I can say is: stop being hard on yourself. There's nothing you could've done. If you weren't here to stop it in the first place, nor did you know it was even happening, then why name yourself? If that were the case, then blame everyone here for what happened. Blame me."
"Well, to be frank, if Zoro didn't decide to leave the ship in the first place, we wouldn't have been attacked," Chirithy pointed out, getting their attention from his hiding place, which was in an empty barrel. "According to that Shura guy, if someone were to leave the altar, then that would be breaking the rules they set and would make this place free to attack."
Guthrie and Xion looked to each other, then at Zoro, who felt their gaze. He turned to them, and felt a sort of dread, as a dark aura surrounded Xion, drawn out by her fury.
"I guess in that factor, he is the one to blame for the ship being attacked," Guthrie chuckled nervously.
"Oh Zoro, I would like to have a word with you..." Xion hissed, walking towards him with her Keyblade out.
"This won't end well," Chirithy pointed out, the two viewers afraid of what Xion was gonna do to the moss-haired swordsman.
After beating the first mate senseless, it was decided that the crew would camp out in the woods for the night, to prevent damaging the ship even more. While they were at it, the group will also give in reports of what they've learned.
"Quiet down! We're getting ready to hear everyone's reports!" Usopp shouted.
First group up was Xion's group.
"We went to the Lost Forest, where we met a Priest called Satori who used these Surprise Balls," Sanji began. "It was bad enough with all those Surprise Balls floating around and who knows what was inside of them, but what got us most was this Mantra technique he used to predict our movements."
"We met up with the guerillas after that, only they were really called Shandorians. And not only that, but apparently I know one of them from my past, which also means I was here before," Xion added to their report.
Next group was Chopper's.
"The priest, Shura, came out of nowhere and burned everything!" Chopper explained enthusiastically. "He predicted movements too! Chirithy and I tried to stop him, but he kept avoiding us!"
"He also had a bird that breathed out fire!" Chirithy added.
Lastly was Guthrie's group.
"We discovered that Upper Yard is actually the other half of Jaya. It didn't sink in the ocean; it flew up to the sky!" Nami explained.
Usopp was taking notes on the report. "Alright! Thanks for your reports! Based on your reports, we've learned many things. However, the biggest discovery was this!" He pointed at the last note taken. "This island is the city of gold!"
Luffy, who was eating barbecue skyshark during the meeting, not paying attention to a single word that was said, was shocked at this. "Really?!"
"Nami/I literally just said it!" Guthrie, Xion and the navigator in question shouted at the captain.
"So what's this Mantra thing?" Zoro asked.
"Don't know," Sanji answered. "Maybe something like instinct?"
"Gold, eh?! I've been waiting for an adventure like this!" Luffy exclaimed. "I'm itching to get out there!"
"That's the spirit! Then everything's settled!" Nami agreed.
"She's aware of the possibility of us having to fight more Priests on the way, right?" Guthrie asked Xion.
"Don't question it," she simply answered.
"Hey, hey, Luffy. Did you forget what those Shandorians said?" Usopp reminded.
"God's gonna get mad," Chopper said in fear.
"And he's scary!" Chirithy added. "Guthrie! You better make sure to protect Xion! Even if it costs you your life!"
"Hell no!" the male Keyblade wielder shouted.
"Sounds interesting, doesn't it?" Robin said.
"Well, pirates can't pass up a chance to steal treasure," Sanji stated.
"And there's plenty of enemies out there. This is gonna be about survival," Zoro added. "Sounds like fun."
"You guys... We can be a little afraid of God! Don't blame me if you all get damned!" Usopp shouted, completely terrified.
Luffy then stood up and shouted, "YOSH! GOLD, HERE WE COME!"