Hello and Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow readers! We're back with another chapter of SCP: Soaring to the Sky. I do hope you enjoy this chapter, folks!
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:
"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!"
*WITH ALLEN*
After the little reunion he had with Xion, as well as meeting some of her friends, the outsider Shandorian was on his way back to the rest of his group. On his way back, he was so happy to see the Keyblade wielder after so long, he couldn't help but dance.
'I can't believe after so long, she finally came back~!' he happily thought. 'I wonder if we can hang out like the old days. And I even have some new dances to show her too.' The sound of an explosion broke him out of his thoughts. 'Right. Have a battle to fight.' He quickly sped over to the fight with his skate dials.
By the time he arrived, he saw Laki being restrained by a priest, Ohm.
"Laki!" Genbo called in worry.
Allen charged in to save his friend, when a huge dog got in his way. He thought fast and jumped away from the beast. Allen looked and saw one of his hidden weapons and made his way to it. The dog was smart enough to try and get a bite on him, but Allen was faster and more agile, using his skates to give himself a boost of speed to his goal. He hastily grabbed his spear and jabbed it in the dog's leg, causing it to yelp in pain and whimper.
"Kamakiri's down!" Allen then heard. The outsider Shandorian was shocked to hear that, for Kamakiri was one of their best men.
"This changes things," he muttered. He noticed the dog retreating over to his master's side and followed after it.
"Damn it! And we were so close to victory!" came Wyper's voice.
"'Close to victory'?" Ohm scoffed. "It will soon be night, and our advantage will only increase." The priest then looked over to his limping dog, and his smirk was fading away. "Hey... Which one of you... injured Holy?"
At that question, everyone noticed the giant, white canine licking his wound, all just as shocked as him.
"It was me! Got a problem?" Allen called, holding up his spear as proof. And now his comrades, plus Ohm, looked over to his direction, the latter in rage.
"You did it? Then I suppose I should reward you," he spoke. "I'll make your death quick!" He charged down at the outsider with his sword and brought it down.
On instinct, Allen raised his spear to defend himself... only for it to snap as soon as it made contact with Ohm's. The latter jabbed his blade forward, somehow extending it and made contact with the Shandorian.
"Allen!" Wyper shouted in worry.
Thankfully, the outsider brought his hand up to block the shifting blade, much to his opponent's shock. "Don't worry about me! Retreat to the rendezvous island!" he shouted.
Reluctantly, Wyper gave that order to the remaining members who can fight, as well as telling them to get the injured.
"Your friends won't escape!" the priest fighting Allen said, putting distance between them.
"That's not for you to decide!" he intervened, thrusting out his left hand, flames coming out from his palm. Ohm leapt back to avoid the burnt and glared down at Allen.
"You're dead!"
"Wait, Ohm," called another priest, stopping the guy from his next attack.
"Why should I?" he demanded.
"God Enel has summoned us."
At that reason, Ohm glared at Allen. "Next time we meet, you will not be as lucky." He and Holy left with the other priest.
Allen stood in his place, wondering what had happened. Especially when Ohm used his weapon on him. Looking down at the hand he used to block, he saw there was something in the back of the glove. He opened the back a little more and saw that there were a couple of seashells in it... lined up in a way to make them unnoticeable in the glove.
"No wonder why the back of my hand feels uncomfortable with these things on," he muttered, thinking back to when he got them. Or rather, when he was given them.
*FLASHBACK*
It was when Xion was still able to hang out with him. Allen was doing a dance, in which the girl was enjoying. Once he was done, Xion gave him a standing ovation.
"Oh come on, I'm not that good," Allen said.
"Are you kidding? That was the best I've ever seen you do!" she told him. "In fact I... I have something for you." Xion took out something from her pocket.
"Those looks like those gloves on your hands," he noticed.
"I made them myself. They might not... feel comfortable." Allen put the gloves on.
"The back of the hand feel a bit... Bumpy, I guess. But I still like it. Thanks for this gift, Xion."
*END OF FLASHBACK*
After that, he didn't see Xion again.
"In the end, you're still here for me when I needed you," Allen said, smiling. After that, he went after the rest of his allies to the rendezvous island.
*WITH THE STRAW HAT PIRATES*
The group split up to do different tasks. Sanji was doing the cooking, Chopper and Zoro were collecting ingredients, Nami was thinking of a plan, Xion was training in her dive, Usopp was getting his tools to fix Merry, Robin, Guthrie and Chirithy were... somewhere, and Luffy was watching the stew boil... out of boredom.
With Guthrie, Chirithy and Robin, the three of them were walking along the shoreline of the cloud river, reaching what looked like a large, clear crystal.
"What is that thing? A crystal?" Chirithy asked.
"It's a salt crystal," Robin answered.
"I've never seen one this big before," Guthrie stated, crouching down to examine it. "It's almost the same size as Chirithy." He grabbed ahold of it, whacking the base of it with his knuckle to loosen it, and pulled it up. "This'll make the cook pleased."
"Let's head back to the camp," Robin told him. Guthrie nodded and the trio went back the way they came, with the archeologist of the group leading them.
After a few steps, Robin looked back at Guthrie and asked, "Why did you want to come with me? Aren't you suppose to be protecting Xion, right now?"
"It's not like she's helpless on her own," he responded. "She's darn tough, tougher than me, I bet. Though it was with the help of Luffy, Sanji and probably Usopp, she did beat a priest."
"Which is why you should continue practicing with the Keyblade and its' powers," Chirithy told him. "Unless you fully embrace the power of using it, you can't reach your full potential."
Guthrie sighed at the point his guide was making. "Yeah, I know. Even so, I feel like I was just handed the power and told to do this mission, and I have no say in the matter. It makes this whole thing feel like a nuisance."
"The Keyblade is a powerful weapon, from what I've seen. You're lucky to possess the power to wield it."
"Doesn't feel like it."
"But back to what I was saying before. You could've gone with any of the others. Why me?" the woman asked.
"I don't really know myself," Guthrie answered. "But I feel a bit... I don't know... calmer, when I'm with you. You certainly aren't as flamboyant as the rest of the crew, which is okay with me."
Robin smiled as she pointed out, "You weren't so calm when you were talking down our navigator before."
"Because she wouldn't stop complaining," he answered, getting an irritated look as he recalled their little trip earlier. "She needs to learn that not everything in life is straight and easy."
Robin hopped over a large root, turning back to see Guthrie take a running leap onto it, while Chirithy hopped and grappled himself up onto the other side.
"I'm curious, though. Despite the fact that you became our counselor, you act as though you want to make sure everyone else is happy before you," she noticed.
Guthrie held the salt crystal tighter. "Am I that easy to read?"
"You hardly ever smile or laugh. This adventure is exciting, here and there, but you aren't as excited as everyone else."
The male Keyblade wielder hopped down off the tree root, looking back up at the archaeologist. "It's not that this whole adventure thing is interesting, but it's hardly what I'm looking for."
Robin hopped down next to him. "Then what is it you're looking for?"
Guthrie paused for a moment before he answered her. "True happiness."
The female devil fruit user got confused at the answer. "True happiness?"
"Yeah. Something that'll bring joy to anyone I try to help. It's been my dream to find something like that. Seeing someone smile and feel joy coming from them is the best feeling of all. That's why I want to help so many good people out there and help them seek that happiness they're looking for. It might even help me regain the happiness I lost a few years ago."
This last sentence intrigued Robin. "What do you mean, 'regain the happiness you lost'?"
"Well, you see-" Chirithy started, before Guthrie whacked him in the head with his Keyblade.
"Stop. Don't tell her," Guthrie casually told him. "I know you know my backstory, but I want to be the one to tell anyone THAT part of my past." To Robin, he answered, "I'll tell you about it, some other time. Just as long as you tell me your past at some point. I get the feeling your's is more than just that brief story you told me."
Robin looked away, her smile fading from her. Her past. It was a darkness she would rather not speak about to anyone. If they knew about it, they might not want to be around her, like everyone else. She would rather keep it down deep inside her than tell any one of her new shipmates about it.
Guthrie felt he hit a heavy part of her heart and said, "Hey, I'm not asking you to tell me immediately. Whenever you feel like talking, or when the pain is too much to bear on your own, talk to me. I promise to do my best to help you with your issues, okay?"
Robin looked back at Guthrie's face, seeing the seriousness in his eyes. She nodded in understanding, though she felt like she was never gonna tell him about it.
"If you guys are done yammering, why don't we start heading back to camp, like we said we would," Chirithy told the two.
"Right. Sorry," Guthrie replied, as he continued his pace, with Robin behind him.
'Someone to talk to, huh?' she wondered. 'Guthrie is not from this world, so even if I told him, I'm not sure he would understand. However, he could see how dangerous it is to be around me. But with Guthrie's mysterious past, and the Keyblade he wields, I wonder just how much of a danger it is to be around him.'
With the rest of the Straw Hats, they were busy doing what they were tasked to do.
"UGH! This is so boring!" Luffy complained, tired of watching the stew boil.
"Who told you to watch it?" Sanji asked. "Once the purified water collects in the dish in there, pour it in the canteens. That's all I asked. We have to make sure everyone has enough water for tomorrow."
"Sanji! We brought back a lot of stuff!" Chopper called, as he and Zoro returned with some of nature's ingredients. "We got walnuts, aloe, bananas, garlic..."
"And rats and frogs," Zoro added.
"Okay. Toss it all in the stew," Sanji said, without a care in the world.
"Wait a second! Some of those were really gross!" Nami shouted.
As usual, the lovesick boy's persona changed. "Oh, silly me! How careless... You don't like garlic?"
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEAN!" Nami both shouted.
"Miss Navigator," Robin called, as she, Guthrie and Chirithy made their return.
"Wow, Guthrie! What is that? A jewel?" Nami asked, impressed with the find in the male Keyblade wielder's arms.
"Beautiful, isn't it? But it's not what you think."
"Hey. Isn't that a salt crystal?" Sanji asked, familiar with the object. "Nice find, guys."
"We found it by the lakeside. Thought it might come in handy."
Disregarding that Robin didn't find it alone, Sanji in his lovesick persona said, "Of course, Robin-chan~! It's a key to life in the survival experience~! You're so smart~!"
"Someone gag me now," Guthrie muttered.
"I can make some burn medicine and disinfectant," Chopper said, looking into the ingredients he and Zoro picked up. "That should help the Sky Knight get better."
"I'll help out!" Chirithy said, rushing over to them.
"Need any frogs?" Zoro asked.
"Nope. No frogs," the doctor answered.
"Oi, Zoro. You're not doing anything. Give me a hand," Sanji called.
The next thing the three-sword-style swordsman knew, he was holding up a heated rock with two of his swords.
"Oi! My katanas aren't suppose to be used like this!" he told the chef.
"Quit whining! Disobey the cook and you go without dinner!" Sanji retorted.
Zoro dropped the rock in the stew, having it boil at a faster rate than before.
"What?! We're gonna eat a rock?! Is that good ?!" Luffy asked.
"You don't eat the rock. This is Hot Rock Stew," Sanji explained. "The heat from the rock helps boil the stew. Stew's a great dish. It keeps all the nutrients of the ingredients, so they don't go to waste."
"You really want to make use with everything the food has, don't you?" Guthrie asked.
"Can't call myself a chef if I don't." Luffy was about to open the pot, when Sanji kicked him on the head. "Don't open it!"
"But Sanji, I'm hungry!" the captain complained.
"Didn't you just eat a whole skyshark?!" the male keyblade wielder demanded.
"It was an appetizer!"
"How does Xion deal with you?" Chirithy asked.
Guthrie calmed somewhat at that question. "Speaking of, where is she?" Nami, Sanji and Luffy pointed at one direction. Guthrie looked and saw the girl seemingly meditating. "What's she doing? Meditating? And... where did all of those wounds come from? I remember her having less injuries than that."
"She's doing this thing call a 'Dive to the Heart'," Nami explained.
Hearing that got Guthrie and Chirithy confused. "Her Dive to the Heart?" the latter asked.
"I heard that from Zoro earlier before we got to this island. He was serious about that part?" the former asked.
"Yeah. Xion goes into her meditating position with her Keyblade on her lap and goes into this... inner world, as she called it," the navigator said. "There, she can do some training that she couldn't do while we're sailing. Though to us, it's more like her soul left her body."
"Such as?"
"Let's see... If I recall it was different training session that includes defeating the Heartless that the Voice guy prepared for her."
Hearing this new person, or who they assumed was a person, confused the newest members even more. "'Voice'?"
"Xion doesn't know his name either. And he never told her his name. Oh, and apparently any damage she sustained while in her Heart can also affect her original body, so we have to watch out for it, especially Chopper. But since you two are here, assuming you know some healing spells like Xion does, he can keep his focus on that Sky Knight while you two can take care of her instead. Voice is usually taking control of Xion while she's training, but he's not that talkative. Last he spoke to us through her was when we were sailing to our second island in the Grand Line, and it was to explain to us how the process works."
'I never heard or knew of this process,' Chirithy thought, referring to how Xion can go to her Heart whenever she could.
Guthrie, on the other hand, was wondering why Xion wouldn't go to him for training instead, as he watched her slowly gain more wounds, seemingly from swords, in which Chopper noticed and quickly tended. Guthrie then recalled the last time they sparred. 'I must've really hit her hard. Both physically and mentally,' he thought.
"So this 'Voice' guy... Is he like her Master? Caretaker? What is he to her?" he then asked.
"According to Xion-nee, he's been with her for as long as she could remember, and that's months," Chopper answered.
"And rather than asking about me, why not ask me yourself?" said a voice, familiar to most.
Chirithy and Guthrie turned and saw Xion looking at them, with yellow eyes instead of her blue ones.
"Whoa! Xion?!" the latter asked.
"Wrong. I'm an the Voice that resides in her," she, or he, corrected. "So, you wish to know some things about me. Ask away."
Chirithy, for some reason, felt a bit frightened by the spirit's presence. 'What is this? Who is this? Why do I feel...?'
"So you come up with trainings for Xion? How?" Guthrie asked.
"It's as the navigator said. I have the Heartless do the work," Voice answered.
"How? Last I remember, Heartless-" The counselor was cut off by a sudden, deep slash appearing on Xion's right shoulder. Chopper was instantly freaked out and quickly stitched it up, while the recent recruits were shocked at what they just saw. "What just happened?!"
"Xion's training, of course. The navigator told you, didn't she? About how Xion's body would also sustain damage when she does during her dive."
As much as he wanted to question it, Guthrie knew he would get the answer from the vice captain when she returns and saved it. Instead, he asked, "Okay... And how does this training go? From what Chirithy told me, it shouldn't be possible for a Keyblade wielder to go back to her dive."
"Want to train against Heartless, I see," Voice said, as blood started to seep out of the corner of Xion's mouth. "Some very, very powerful ones. To know more about the Keyblade, I presume? The part Xion already knows?" Though a bit hesitant to respond, the male Keyblade wielder nodded. "Well, I suppose I can teach another, somehow."
At that, Chirithy snapped out of his fear. "No way! You already have a student! And Guthrie already has a teacher!"
"Chirithy?" The Keyblade wielder in question was surprised at how his guide was acting. He never saw Chirithy get so defensive over anything, other than how he should take his role as Xion's guardian seriously.
Voice, on the other hand, just shrugged at the outburst. "It was only a small joke. I can't teach him even if I want to. I'm stuck in Xion's body."
"Okay... Then at least tell me you're doing training that doesn't include magic or skills. She really needs to practice more on her own skill."
"But if she does that, she'll get rusty with her magic. There's especially one type that always backfires on her. The more she practices her magic, the better she can get at it, and the lower chance of having a fireball explode on her face. And there's also that new form she obtained back in Alabasta to work on."
That part intrigued all of the Straw Hats in the area. "What new form?" the counselor asked.
"Oh. She hadn't told you? I guess I didn't miss out on anything after all." Hearing that disturbed the more sensible of the crew.
"You what?! What do you mean by that?!" Nami asked.
"You bastard! Spirit or not, you do not peek in on a woman when she bathes!" Sanji shouted.
"Like you're one to talk!"
"I'm not a pervert like you. I know when to not peek in on a lady during her private time. As for that new form, well, it's her choice when she'll tell or show you the form. As for her swordsmanship, I suppose I'll leave that up to you, new member," Voice told Guthrie.
"Me?" said pirate asked, pointing at himself.
"You were the one who said her natural skills should be improved on. You train her. Oh, and would you look at the time? She's almost done with her training."
"Hey wait! I still have some questions!" It was already too late, for Voice returned to Xion's heart.
*XION'S DIVE*
The female Keyblade wielder finally managed to defeat all the sword-wielding Heartless she asked her master to set back up from her previous visit. It wasn't easy for her to fight without using her magic or techniques, but Guthrie's words about how she should improve on her natural skill did bother her. It especially bothered her the most when she faced off against the Zip Slasher. Though it wasn't a sword-wielder, it was still good with its own blades... enough to put her on the defensive, just like her spar with Guthrie. She was tempted to use her magic, but it would ruin the meaning of her training. Thankfully, she somehow managed to defeat the boss... before it landed a killing strike on her.
"I... somehow... won..." she panted.
'That was quite reckless, don't you think?' Voice asked. 'I never said you're not allowed to use magic, or that there will be penalty for doing so.'
"Even so... I had to do it... with my own skill..." Xion started to heal herself with her Cure Magic.
'So you say, but any further and you could've died for nothing.' The student stayed silent at the master's words. 'In any case, from now on, you're not to do that sort of training in here.' Xion was shocked at the order and was about to retort, when Voice added, 'I had talked to Guthrie about it. While you're here, you're to do training with your magic and your techniques. Don't forget you still have that new form to work on. The one you obtained back in Arabasta. If you want to improve your natural skills, go to Guthrie, assuming he will actually train you.' At that, the female Keyblade wielder kept silent. Deep down, she didn't want to spar with Guthrie, for she feared it may bring back memories she didn't want to remember, like back in Angel Beach. But at the same time, she really wanted to improve on her swordsmanship. Plus, like Voice said, she really would like to start practicing the new form she obtained.
"Okay. I'll talk to him tomorrow," she said.
'You best do that.' With that, Xion went back to the reality world.
*REALITY*
"I'm gonna explain how we should plan to move tomorrow!" was the first thing Xion heard when she got back from her training. Opening her eyes, besides the bandages, she noticed that everyone was getting prepared to eat and hear Nami's plan.
"About time you're up," she then heard. Looking up, she saw Guthrie looking down at her.
"Oh, uh... Hey...?" Xion wanted to hit herself for the tone she used. "How long was I-?"
"What were you thinking?" he interrupted.
"Uh, what?"
"You could've actually died. What if that 'master' of your's sends a Heartless that's too strong for you to handle?"
"Weren't you the one who said I had to improve on my natural skills?"
"Not like that." The guy then sighed, as Chopper and Usopp handed the two Keyblade wielders their portion of the stew. "Look, I'll train with you instead. After what I saw, whoever or whatever your master is can't be trusted."
"You're just saying that because of one training," Xion retorted.
"'One training'?! I heard this isn't the first time it happened!"
"So it happened a number of times. It's not like I'm killing myself. I asked for that sort of training and Chopper-kun can help look after my body while I'm gone. Both he and Voice wouldn't let anything happen to me!"
"That doesn't make this okay."
"Hey, guys," Usopp called, getting their attention. "Nami was going to tell us about her plan, so if you two don't mind..."
The two glared each other and ended their conversation there... for now.
"First, let's review Noland's picture book," Nami spoke. "It was over 400 years ago when Noland first discovered the City of Gold. But when he returned to Jaya years later, the gold ruins were gone!"
Her review was cut off by a certain captain. "This stew is great! Just like-!" Luffy was cut off by Sanji slamming his face with the stove's cover.
"Are you guys listening?!"
"I'm sorry, Nami-san! But he was-!"
Sanji was cut off by Luffy shouting, "These sky island bentos are great, too!"
The next thing the rubber man knew, Xion knocked him out with a hard Graviga spell, leaving him face-down. "Back to the review," she casually said.
"Thank you, Xion," Nami thanked, as though their captain wasn't inches deep stuck in the ground.
'Is it even okay for her to use her magic in that condition?' Guthrie and Chirithy couldn't help but wonder.
"Basically, during those few years, this island, which is part of Jaya, came up into the sky," Nami continued.
"You mean it rode up the Knock-Up Stream?!" Chopper asked.
"That's the only possibility I can think of."
"Cricket did say the sea floor explodes at different places each time," the male Keyblade wielder added. "It would make sense that it happened to this part of Jaya."
"But it's hard to believe that forest on Jaya is the same as this one," Zoro said.
"That's probably due to the composition of sea and island clouds," Robin guessed. "It appears the environment around this sky island allows animals and plants to develop quickly. That also explains the civilization that was swallowed up by this forest."
"And the South Birds that saved us at the lake were huge!" Chirithy added on. "Like this big!"
"That much bigger than the original South Birds? 400 years really did a lot to them," Xion stated.
"But it's strange," Sanji spoke, tossing Zoro his portion of the stew, in which the guy managed to catch. "Why did those birds save you?"
"Well, we're not so sure. But they all called the Sky Knight 'God'," Chopper informed.
Everyone was shocked to hear that.
"God?! Does that mean we should beat up this old man?!" Luffy said, recovered from the spell and eating away his bento... that was suppose to be saved for tomorrow. Pierre panicked when he heard that question.
"Of course not, you stupid loudmouth!" Usopp shouted.
"How the hell did you even recover that fast?!" Guthrie followed.
"Also, that lunch was suppose to be for tomorrow, idiot!" Xion added, not doing her injuries any good with the sudden excitement.
"Alright, that's enough! Sit down, loudmouth!" Nami ordered. "Anyway, remember what Noland's log said about the city of gold?"
"Yes! He saw gold!" a certain rubber fool shouted.
"Obviously, you loud loudmouth! Quit saying whatever comes to mind!" Usopp yelled.
"I recall there saying something about a giant golden bell, and that there were South Birds," Sanji said.
"Wasn't there something about an eye in the log, too?" Xion asked.
"'The skull's right eye is where I saw the gold,'" Guthrie quoted. "Those were his last words."
"That's right," Nami confirmed. "Look at this! I matched the size of Robin's Jaya map with the old Skypiea map. It's just an approximation, but when you put the location of the beach house together..." Everyone gathered around and watched as Nami folded part of Jaya's map and connected it with Skypiea. As she put the two maps together, they couldn't believe what they saw. "Look! This is how Jaya looked like 400 years ago!"
"Whoa! It's a skull!" Luffy gasped.
"It looks like it!" Chopper agreed.
The crew were all impressed with this new discovery.
"Then, the 'skull's right eye' is here," Xion stated, pointing at their destined location.
"Noland was referring to the shape of the entire island," Nami explained. "But since half of it was missing, no one could solve the mystery!"
"So all we need to do is get to that spot," Guthrie summed up.
"But we can't leave the ship alone. We'll have to split into two groups tomorrow. There's no doubt about it. There's an enormous amount of gold waiting for us there!"
*MEANWHILE WITH THE SHANDORIANS*
Allen just arrived at the rendezvous island. He watched as the uninjured were tending the wounded, those already bandaged either helping out or checking their weapons for tomorrow. As concerned as he was about then, he knew none will say a word back to him. Well, other than, "Get lost, outsider," or "None of your business, outsider." To his surprise, one of his allies walked up to him... with an angry look on his face.
"This is all your fault!" he claimed, to Allen's confusion. "You told those priests about our plan, didn't you?!"
Hearing that accusation surprised him. "Huh?! What are you talking about?!"
"Don't play stupid with us!" another Shandorian accused. "They offered you something, didn't they? A position in their ranks? Mercy from Eneru?!"
"Okay. I get you guys dislike me, maybe even hate me, but that's no reason to accuse me of something that's not true! Besides, I thought you guys were prepared to fight them!"
"Exactly what a spy would say! And even if what you said is true, how about explaining to us why Kamakiri is out of commission!"
"We should just get rid of you now while we're still alive and safe!" another Shandorian exclaimed, picking up a bazooka.
"Assuming if we are safe anyway!" another agreed.
Those nearby all got up and pointed their weapons at Allen.
"Stop! It's not his fault!" Laki shouted. "It's my own fault! If anyone is to be blamed for what happened to Kamakiri, it should be me!"
Knowing that it wouldn't change things, Allen just made things easier. "Okay, you know what? Fine. If you guys don't want me around, I'll just be on my way." Without another word, the outsider used his skates and took his leave.
Everyone who despised him were glad to see him gone. Wyper, who was the only one of the few who didn't blame or disliked Allen, approached Laki. "Hey. What do you mean it was your own fault?" he asked. The female warrior flinched at his tone and explained what happened that caused Kamakiri to be injured.
So to say, Wyper wasn't at all amused at the revelation. Not only was his cousin accused for what happened in the battle, when none of it was his fault in the first place, but one of Wyper's close friends and comrades got distracted over some dirt. But, as much as he wanted to lecture and scold Laki, if Allen was with them, he knew what his cousin would say to defend her, especially since she's one of the very few people who never gave him the stink eye.
And so, instead of shouting about how foolish she was, Wyper said, "By the time we defeat Eneru, there would be no need to collect a bag of Vearth."
Everyone was shocked to hear those words coming out of his mouth in a calm tone.
"Wyper?" a Shandorian questioned.
To the rest of the group, Wyper then said, "We will continue the fight tomorrow. Today, with Satori already gone, we already put up a good fight. Especially since one of us, who isn't here at this moment, heavily injured Ohm's pet."
"It was just a pet. Any of us could've taken it," he heard one of his men say.
"Then how come Allen did what you couldn't do?" Wyper questioned with a glare, silencing him. "Now listen up! We're going back to the 400-year-old land of Shandorians! All of us!"
*BACK TO THE STRAW HATS*
The group finalized the plan and was about to rest up for tomorrow. Well, at least that was the plan for the more sensible members of the group.
"It's getting pretty late. We should put out the unnecessary fires," Robin suggested. "They'll give away our position to the enemy."
Luffy and Usopp, who were near the campfire, chuckled as if she told a joke. "Did you hear that, Usopp? She wants to put out the fire!" Luffy said.
"Well, you can't blame her. She's been living in the dark for so long, she doesn't know," the sniper said.
"What do you mean?" Robin asked, confused as to what they were saying.
The next thing she knew, they were on their hands and knees, laughing. "You're always suppose to have a campfire!"
"The desire to having a campfire when camping at night, even if you're on your last legs, is what makes you human!"
"You're the stupid ones!" Nami said angrily. "Will you cut the crap already?! You know how dangerous the forest is!"
"Do not!" Luffy stubbornly denied.
"There are priests and guerillas! And even without them, forests are dangerous at night! There could be wild animals for monsters, for all we know!"
"There are monsters?!" Chopper gasped in fright.
Usopp was reminded of how frightening the island can be, for he kept muttering "Sky Island is scary."
"Hey, Luffy!" Zoro called. Everyone looked and saw a pile of logs stacked up for a bonfire.
"You're serious about it, too?!" Nami shouted in disbelief.
"God, why are men so stupid?" Xion questioned. Noticing Guthrie standing right next to her, she instantly added, "At least you're not like them."
"I'll take that as a compliment," he said.
"It's okay, Nami-san! Wild animals are actually afraid of fires," Sanji assured.
The moment he held up a stick with a flame on one end, there was a large amount of shadows behind him with glinting eyes. "Aaahhhhhh! There's something behind you!" Chirithy screamed.
A wolf with a scar on its right eye walked up to them, growling and barking at them.
"Oi! It's saying something! C'mere, Chopper!" Sanji told their doctor.
'Did he forget that I can translate that too?' Xion wondered.
"'You outsiders are being too damn loud! Get to bed, you dumbasses!'" Chopper translated.
"Say what?!" Sanji and Luffy demanded angrily.
At their tone to her little-brother-figure, Xion whacked them both on the head, knocking them out. "He's only translating, you idiots," she said.
The wolf continued to bark at them.
"'Don't tell me you bastards are thinking about trashing our turf!'" Chopper translated.
"We were brought here against our will, though!" Chirithy exclaimed.
"'This is our land! Who said you jerks could cook here?! This forest is ours! The trees, the grass, everything!'" Before anyone knew it, Nami suddenly went and punched the wolf hard on the head, knocking him out.
"I won't let you have our treasure!" she claimed.
"That's not what he said at all!" the Keyblade wielders shouted.
The wolves growled when they saw their alpha knocked out.
"Hey now! Things seem even worse now! What do we do?!" Usopp asked.
"Do something!" Nami told him.
"But you struck first!" Chirithy pointed out.
The alpha wolf instantly recovered and gave a bark. Instantly, the wolves back down.
"'Forget it, guys. You ain't no match for them even as a pack,'" Chopper translated. "'Girlie. You got a mean punch. I like ya!'" The wolf then said with a grin, in which Nami returned.
"Did we just work things out?" Usopp asked.
"Seems like it," Zoro answered.
"Then let's all have a campfire together!" Luffy suggested.
And so, the bonfire started. Everyone was having the time of their life, dancing around. Even the wolves were dancing. Not only that, there were also some wine being passed along, made by the wolves. The only person who wasn't joining the party was Xion, who decided to train somewhere away from the bonfire, as well as keep on a lookout for any enemy attacks.
'It'll be too risky to dive into my heart. I'll train in the real world for now,' she decided.
"Hey," a familiar voice called before she could even swing her Keyblade. Xion turned and saw Guthrie approaching her. "You're not going to party?"
"Someone has to look out for them. Besides, like Robin and Nami said earlier, there could be other dangers approaching us."
"So you say, but you're also doing it because of what I said, isn't it?"
"Yeah well, you've made your point. I need to improve on my natural skills. That is... unless if you're willing to train me like Voice said."
"As a matter of fact... That's exactly what I'll do," Guthrie said. "On one condition: Do not ever go back to that Dive to Heart thing."
Hearing that confused her. "Why?"
"I have a bad feeling about your 'master'. I mean, who would send their student on a life-or-death training?"
"It's not like he's trying to kill me. Besides, even he knows when to stop the training."
"And when does he stop it? When you die? Because you were looking like you were getting to death's door if it wasn't for Chopper."
"That's only because I wasn't using magic."
"Heard it still happened even when you do magic."
"Are you here to give me a lecture or to help me train?"
Before Guthrie could say anything in response, Heartless suddenly started to appear around them.
"Well, looks like you had the right idea of not partying," the male Keyblade wielder said.
"You don't say," the female agreed. "Thankfully, they're only Yellow Opera and Emerald Blues."
"And that's good because?"
"They're easy to beat and I need to see my results." Without another word, Xion went and attacked the Thunder-magic and Aero-magic based Heartless.
Guthrie, not wanting her to fight off the Heartless alone, joined her in the battle.
As they fought, Guthrie couldn't help but notice how well Xion improved since the last he saw her. Her attacks were quick and well-timed. Any magic the Yellow Opera sent, she quickly avoided them. This made Guthrie question if he was wrong about that teacher of her's.
'Even so,' he thought. 'I can't let her train there again.'
When the last of the Heartless was destroyed, the two pirates dismissed their Keyblades.
"Still think I shouldn't train in my dive?" Xion asked, seemingly satisfied with the result of her training.
Guthrie sighed and answered, "As a matter of fact, I do."
This confused and angered Xion. "Why? You saw how well I did against those Heartless."
"Like you said, they were easy to beat. It doesn't prove anything. Not only that, but they're magic-based Heartless. And even if you did improve so much, it's not worth dying for."
"So if it was you or our crew, you're saying you wouldn't die for them?" That question caught Guthrie off guard. "I train for this crew. I grow stronger for them, for my friends. If it means shedding blood for them, I'll gladly do so. I would do anything for my friends. Question is, would you?"
"That doesn't mean it's okay to die," Guthrie said.
The two Keyblade wielders were staring each other down, clearly not willing to get along with each other. All of a sudden, more Heartless appeared. Or at least, what seemed like Heartless.
These creatures were grey and quite thin. Each with a large, cylindrical head with a flat top and a strange cross-symbol on their head. A zipper took the place of their mouths, some unzipped to reveal gray sharp teeth.
"What the-?! What are these guys?!" Xion asked, getting back into battle position.
"One time Chirithy should've been here. I've never seen these monsters before!" Guthrie answered.
The duo did their best to fight against the new group of enemies, not willing to let one slip past them to their allies. However, due to the fact that they never seen this kind of Heartless before, both Keyblade wielders were having a bit of a difficult time against them. Easy as it was to defeat them in one strike, it wasn't as easy to take these new enemies down when they have an incredible teamwork with each other. It especially didn't help that these new creatures were extremely flexible, avoiding most of their attacks.
"Can't you call your Dream Eaters?!" Guthrie asked.
"I left them back on the ship!" Xion answered, regretting her decision of leaving her cards on Merry.
Guthrie gritted his teeth. He then had a thought; that one of them should stay behind and get the others, but with the amount of these monsters, it felt more like leaving a sacrifice. But after what he told Xion about how dying wasn't worth anything, he'd be a hypocrite to tell her to leave him and get the others and vice versa.
However, it seemed Xion had the same idea. "Guthrie, go get the others!" she told him.
"What?!" he gasped.
"I'll cover you! You get them out of here!"
"You have to be crazy if you think I'm leaving you behind!"
"This isn't a request; it's an order!" Those words surprised him even more. "As your vice captain, I order you to get the rest of the crew out of there or tell Luffy to send back-up!"
Guthrie, for once since he joined the crew, had no words to say against them. As a person, he would want to still stay and help Xion. But as a pirate, he should follow the orders of his captain and vice captain.
While he was distracted, he didn't notice one of the creatures coming in for a sneak attack from behind. Xion, however, saw the thing coming at him and pushed him out of the way of the strike, taking the hit on her shoulder. "Gah!"
"Xion!" Guthrie cried out in worry.
"Just go!" As Xion looked back at him and shouted that order, the male Keyblade wielder saw something shocking.
Before his mind can process the sight, more of those grey creatures were coming in with a group spinning charge attacks. Xion looked back and was prepared to either block or take all those hits... when a burst of flames suddenly came out from the woods, burning some of the creatures and forcing the rest to back away from the two surprised Keyblade wielders. The next thing they knew, a shadow shot out of the trees.
"What do you creeps think you're doing to my friend?!" Allen shouted. He thrusted his arm, somehow sending out more flames at the creatures.
Guthrie found his style of clothing quite familiar and immediately got defensive. "You're-!"
"Allen?!" Xion gasped in shock, making Guthrie confused.
"Not exactly how I imagine us meeting again, Xion," Allen said to the female Keyblade wielder, increasing the confusion. "I'll help you out!" He shot himself at a tree and kicked it, knocking a large piece of bark off, revealing a sword and what seemed like headphones made of seashells hidden in the tree trunk and hitting one of the new creatures in the face with it. As soon as he grabbed the two items, he regrouped with the two Straw Hat Pirates.
"All right now... Let's dance," he declared, putting the headphones around his neck. He pressed the apex on one side, playing some kind of song.
(Insert: Bonamana by Super Junior)
A couple of the creatures charged in with their spinning charge attacks, in which Allen quickly knocked down and out with a strong swing of his sword. Few others charged at him, and this time he responded by avoiding to the right then to the left. And he wasn't just avoiding the moves; he was dancing to the music he was playing.
Neon alkkamalkka alkkamalkka neomu yeppeun miinah
Nal michyeotdago malhaedo nan niga jotda miinah
Nuga jeonhaejweo my baby, to my baby naega yeogi itdago marya
Gidarinda marya
(Baby you turn it up now!)
He knocked away three more of the weird Heartless rhythmically. Just as a group of them was about to gang up on him, he thrusted his free hand forward, letting out another stream of flames and burning them to ashes. The Shandorian went back to dancing a few steps.
"Whoa! He's not bad," Guthrie stated, impressed with his fighting style.
Xion nodded her head in agreement, equally impressed.
Neon, gataboota, gataboota mal jom haera miinah
Ni maeumeul gajyeotdamyeon geunyang naneun salmyi winner
Ee sesangyi ichiran, ichiran, yongki itneun jareul ddara
Na gateun nom marya
Just as one of the creatures charged through the flames, Allen jabbed his sword in its head, destroying it. When the flames died down, he saw there were more coming and shifted his position, sending out more flames and preventing them from coming any closer.
Yet mare say, yeol beon jjigeumyeon neomeoganda
Eusseuk, eusseuk, eusseuk
Geunyeoneun gangjeok ggeuddeogeobtda
Pijook, pijook, pijook.
Nan eodkleokakla eodkleokakla geunyeomani
Nae gwansimin geol, geol, geol
As he continued to dance, avoiding the creatures and striking or burning them down, Xion felt her head throb a little and a scene was starting to play in her head. Not just any scene; a memory... one of Allen doing the dance he was doing now.
*FLASHBACK*
Whether she was done with a mission or had a free day, Xion didn't know. But one thing was for sure, she was watching Allen dancing, and was quite mesmerized by it and the song. As he bowed with the song ending, Xion applauded.
"That was awesome, Allen!" she exclaimed.
"You think so? I feel like it still needs some work. I mean, I am planning on doing this dance as I fight," he said.
"Either you're too humble or you're way too serious about this whole... dancing thing. Plus, I've seen you do your dance fighting, and you're already good with the dances you perfected."
"Hmm... Coming from my only audience, it's hard to tell from one person alone. Besides that, I don't have anything to reflect how I move, so I can't really judge how well I do for myself."
Xion pouted at the first half of his statement. "Well sorry for being one person."
The next thing she knew, Allen placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. One person is still good. In fact, it's great since it's from you."
Hearing that comment, for some reason, made Xion's face heat up.
'W-Why is my face heating up?' she wondered. 'And... do I hear pounding in my chest?'
"Is something wrong, Xion?" Allen asked in a concerned tone. "You look kind of red."
"I-It's nothing! It's nothing!" she quickly answered, distancing herself from him.
"I see. Well, if there's anything you need, you can just tell me. After all, we are friends."
Xion smiled and nodded at his offer. "Sure thing, Allen."
*END OF FLASHBACK*
'He... he was right,' Xion thought, as the mysterious creatures' numbers were reducing at a fast pace. 'I do know him!' Her eyes widened as she saw one of the creatures move in to attack from behind. Allen was too focused on the enemies in front of him to take notice and she knew from how the dance goes that he wasn't going to be able to avoid a hit from behind.
"Allen, look out!" she shouted, tossing her Keyblade at the creature in a Strike Raid.
The Shandorian heard her shout and glanced to behind him, noticing that one of the creatures slipped over to his blind spot. Just when he was about to try to attempt to block a killing strike, Xion's Keyblade pierced through its target, destroying it and saving him.
"Thanks, Xion!" he called, getting back to his dance/fight.
As the Keyblade returned to its owner, Xion used her Cure magic to heal herself right up. "I have to help!" As she got up, Guthrie held her down. "What are you doing?!"
"Doing my job as your guardian!" he answered. "Chirithy will rip my head off if he finds out that I let you die. Followed by the rest of the crew."
"I could care less what happens to me; I'm not letting my friend die!" With a strong Aero spell, she forced Guthrie away from her. Xion took the chance to rush back in the fight. Though the numbers weren't as much as it was before, that didn't mean she wasn't worried about Allen.
The moment he saw Xion helping out with the rest of the creatures, Allen changed up the rhythm of his dance a little, doing some speedy dancing and avoiding more of their attacks. As they missed, the creatures were unaware of the female Keyblade wielder joining in and left themselves wide open for her own strikes, easily killing them and leaving only a handful remaining.
"End it with a bang, Xion!" Allen said, backflipping to her side.
The vice captain agreed with his declaration and pointed her Keyblade at the rest of the new creatures. "Bladecharge." At that one word, she and her Keyblade started to glow, with the weapon getting bigger, twice its original size. "Meteor Shower!" Xion started to fire beams from her Keyblade at the creatures, all hitting their marks and destroying them all.
As soon as the last of the creatures were gone, Allen walked up to the girl. "Well, that was something new. Don't remember you doing that before."
Still wary of the Shandorian, Guthrie stepped in between the guy and Xion. "Hold up! As much as we appreciate you helping us out, who are you?"
"Me? My name's Allen. Nice to meet you," he introduced, holding out a hand. Guthrie didn't show any trust in the outsider.
"Guthrie. He's not like the other Shandorians," Xion told him. "He's that one Shandorian I told you guys about."
The male Keyblade wielder raised a brow in confusion. "This is him?"
"Yeah. But, what are you doing here?" Xion asked the Shandorian.
"Well... Let's just say my group is better off without me." Allen answered.
The female Keyblade wielder knew there was more to what he meant, but decided to not ask any more about it. "Hey. Our friends back at camp are having a bonfire. Want to join in?"
"Is that why I saw a huge light over there?" He pointed to the direction of the fire.
"Majority of our crew and some... guests wanted to party before tomorrow."
"What's tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, we go to find gold."
Allen had a look on interest on his face. "Sounds like fun. Mind if I join?"
Guthrie didn't seem to like the idea and was about to speak against it, but Xion beat him to it. "Of course you can. I'm sure our captain, especially, would be okay with you joining us. Come on, I'll introduce you to them!" She led the tanned guy over to the rest of their crew.
Seeing how much the female trusts this stranger was confusing the counselor more and more. Last he checked, Xion didn't know a thing about the island or anything about the people who lives on it, and yet, she treated Allen as though she knew him her whole life. Unless...
'Did she remember him?' he wondered. His mind then went back to when Xion was ordering him to get to Luffy and the others. 'Back then... Was I imagining it? No. I know what I saw. Her eyes... They changed to yellow, like a Heartless.'