Cricket watched as the Knock-Up Stream exploded, flying high into the sky and punching a hole in the Millennium Cumulonimbus. He was too far away to see if there was a ship riding the current, but he was sure they'd made it in time. The extra hands the Straw Hat crew provided had seen to that.

"Good luck, you crazy kids!" He shouted, raising his glass to the sky. "Hopefully you don't die!"

"Oh come on! What the hell is that?!" Marshall D. Teach shouted, staring up at the column of water before him.

"No clue," one of his men replied, "but it seems we lost Straw Hat Luffy." Marshall grumbled irritably at this, balling up the wanted poster into a ball and tossing it into the ocean.

"Whatever," he muttered, "we'll see em again boys. If they survive, that is. We've got other shit we need to do. Come on, let's make some space before Fire Fist comes a knockin'!"

Luffy laughed like a maniac as Merry flew through the air, rocketing skyward at speeds he never thought he'd reach on a ship.

"This is awesome!" He shouted as Merry flew, trying his best to keep his footing.

"Yeah, for now!" Nami shouted, "but we're gonna fall if we don't do something, because we've drifted to the edge of the Stream!" Luffy looked over to see she was right. Merry was riding the edge of the Stream, and they were losing speed by the second. "Luffy, make yourself useful and open the sails! We need to catch the explosion of wind the Stream made!" Obeying her swiftly, Luffy stretched his arms and flew up the mast, untying the sails and throwing them downward. Once the sails were released they exploded upwards as they got the massive upstream of wind, Merry jerking forward as her speed increased.

"That good?" He called down to Nami, who gave him a thumbs up.

"Good work!" She shouted, "with that, we should be able to ride this thing long enough! Soon, the wings will-!" Nami was interrupted by Merry groaning. Luffy watched in awe as the wind caught the wings installed on the sides of the ship, increasing their speed even more. Up and up they went, farther and farther into the clouds. Luffy was practically bouncing with excitement, keeping his eyes on the sky as they accelerated into this insane adventure. He was so excited, he was light-headed!

No, wait, he was definitely light-headed.

Once Luffy got back down on the deck, he nearly collapsed.

"I'm kinda dizzy," He muttered. Looking around, he saw the others were dazed and confused as well, and it was only getting worse.

"It's High Altitude Sickness!" Chopper shouted, on his knees. "There's less oxygen high in the sky! We're gonna suffocate before we get there!"

"I knew this was gonna get us killed!" Usopp shouted, "why did we have to do something so stupid?!"

"It's been an honour, Big Bro Luffy!" Johnny shouted, rolling onto his back as he panted for air. "Tell my family I love them!"

"What family?" Luffy asked him, wondering who he was supposed to relay this information to.

"This has got to be one of the lamest ways to go," Marianne muttered, coughing as she gasped for a breath. "Like, seriously? Suffocating as you fly thousands of feet into the air? What the hell man."

"Well, at least we'll look good when we slam back down into the water and Merry shatters into a million pieces," Robin said, somehow still cheery. "Our bodies wouldn't survive the fall of course, not from this height. We'd all turn into goo when we hit the water and be scattered with the current."

"Maybe you should stop, Robin," Vivi offered weakly from the railing she was holding onto, "I'm already gonna be sick." Luffy felt like joining her. It was too hard to breath up here. Maybe Cricket should of told them that and left them a bunch of those diving suits. They could throw a hose back down to regular heights and-

Before Luffy's stupid thought could finish itself, Merry blasted through another layer of clouds and revealed the sun again. She lost her momentum quickly and fell back downward, slamming hard into what sounded like water. A horrific snap sounded, which he guessed was the wings coming off. They had been through a lot, so it was a bit presumptuous to assume they'd survive the journey. He couldn't tell though, because he was paralysed by oxygen deprivation just like the others were. Still, he fought to the railing and lifted himself up it, looking over weakly.

"Holy shit!" He shouted, "guys, take a look at this!" He heard everyone grumbling behind him as they stood, but he was too stunned to look away. Spread out before them was a vast white ocean of clouds, which flowed like water all around them. He realised quickly that the sun was still hidden behind more clouds, but it was strong enough to shine through to where they were.

"An ocean in the sky," He heard Nami muttered, "I can't believe it." Luffy laughed at this.

"Might wanna write that one down for your map," he told her. She laughed in disbelief.

"I'll have too, yeah," she agreed. "It's amazing something like this could exist." She looked down at the Log Pose, and Luffy noted a problem.

"Oi," he said, "why's it still pointing up?"

The Log Pose on Nami's arm was still pointing skyward, telling them they had not travelled far enough.

"Oh come on!" Yosaku shouted, sinking back down to the deck when he saw it. "We have to go higher?! Man!"

"How do we do that, I wonder," Nami murmured, watching the Log Pose intently before scanning their surroundings.

"Perhaps we only made it halfway up," Robin offered as she walked over to them. "An interesting thought, a layered island in the clouds."

"We need to find a way up," Nami deduced. "Which means we need to learn about the sea. Who wants to test the water for us?"

No one spoke.

"Don't make me pick for us," Nojiko warned. "Whoever volunteers will get away from chore duty for a week."

This caused a scramble to be chosen for the job. In the end, though, it was decided Sanji was going. His legs were stronger than everyone else's, so he could swim and dive faster than everyone.

"Well, I guess I gotta take one for the team," Sanji muttered, walking over to the railing. "If I fall back down, I swear I'll haunt you all."

"I'll be counting my prayers that you do," Zoro replied. The cook cast him an irritated glare before he hopped up on the edge and peered over at the clouds.

"Well, here goes nothing." With this Sanji leapt from the railing, and fell downward. He splashed in the water like he would have below, and he surfaced easily as he would below.

"How is it?" Nami asked him.

"Like regular water, I think," Sanji replied. He swam around the Merry in a circle, humming to himself. "Yeah, it's just like water. No different."

"Can you dive?" Nami asked.

"Wha-Seriously? What if I fall out of the cloud?"

"Luffy, grab his ankle," Nojiko instructed. Luffy did as he was told and stretched his arm, sending it down to Sanji's leg and grabbing a hold of him. "There, now you won't fall out," Nojiko told him. Sanji looked apprehensive.

"I don't know," he said. "This is seriously dangerous. Can we explore a different way?"

"Please Sanji?" Nami asked. Luffy noticed she was batting her eyelashes at the cook. "For me?"

Sanji was below the clouds before Nami was finished her sentence, which made her snort.

Luffy did his duty as rope, extending his arm more and more as Sanji dove deeper. Wow, the cook sure could go fast, couldn't he? Luffy had not stretched his arm like this in a while. Before long, though, something felt off. The resistance below felt much lighter, and his arm was swaying slightly.

"Huh," he muttered, "wonder what that means." He watched his arm sway to and fro for a moment, wondering what it meant. Robin stood next to him and raised her arms, closing her eyes. He heard her suck in a breath quickly.

"Luffy, pull him up," she said, panic in her eyes, "he's hanging out of the clouds only by your grip."

"What?!" Luffy shouted. He retracted his arm as quickly as possible and, within twenty seconds Sanji erupted from the water and flew back onto the deck, panting heavily as he held a hand to his chest.

"I-I am not volunteering next time!" He exclaimed. Luffy laughed at this.

"Come on Sanji!" He said, "wasn't it fun, swaying from my arm like that?"

"No! I thought I was toast!"

"You had a little fun."

"No, I did no-!"

Sanji's complaints were interrupted as the clouds exploded around them. Luffy looked back to see a gigantic octopus had surfaced, glaring at them angrily.

"Seems there's local wildlife as well," Robin noted like is was an innocent curiosity. Luffy frowned.

"Can you guys get that?" He asked, "I'm kinda hungry for octopus." His order was carried out immediately, the three swordsmen on the crew flying into the air at the octopus.

He was not prepared for the outcome.

As Yosaku and Johnny slashed at it's tentacles and Zoro went for it's head (wherever it was), Luffy watched the octopus pop like a balloon would, it's skin exploded out in different directions as it died. The swordsmen landed in confusion, sharing curious looks.

"No resistance to that thing," Yosaku said, swinging his sword vertically to test his arm. "It was so light and easily killed."

"Yeah, that was odd," Johnny said. "Well, I've never killed an octopus before, so maybe they all do that."

"Don't be stupid," Zoro told his students as he sheathed his blades. "Clearly sky animals are a bit different."

"It is fascinating, isn't it?" Robin asked. "Animals who have adapted to life in the skies, evolving to match their environment. Life finds a way."

"Can we find a way?" Vivi asked as she hugged herself. "I-It's kinda cold up here." Luffy wondered what she was talking about for a minute before he remembered Vivi's home was a desert. She was not accustomed to being exposed to cold temperatures. She'd had a coat on Drum, after all. Here, currently, she did not.

"Good point," Luffy said. "Alright guys, looked around for anything that looks out of the ordinary. Well, more than we've already seen. So, I guess just look for something we haven't noticed yet? I dunno."

"What a spurring order," Nojiko teased. "I'm so ready to go."

"I'm not as good at barking orders as you are, Commander Hard-Ass," Luffy shot back.

"Sorry, did you say swabbing the deck for two months?"

"No, nothing like that! Haha, don't sweat it Nojiko. I would never." Nojiko looked annoyed with him, but he could tell she was entertained. Her eyes gave her away.

"That looks weird," Chopper noted. Luffy turned to see the raccoon dog holding their binoculars, looking out into the sky.

"What is?" Usopp asked him, walking over.

"I can see another ship," Chopper said. "Like ours, I mean. It's just over that wa-!" Chopper cried out in surprise and fell from the railing, backing away from it quickly.

"Chopper, what did you see?" Luffy asked, senses on high alert now.

"T-The ship exploded into a fireball!" Chopper shouted as he jumped to his feet and held onto Robin's leg. She looked mildly entertained by this. "T-There was a rhino! A rhino on the clouds, and it's coming this way!"

"A rhino?" Marianne asked, "Hey Chopper, is hallucinations a part of High Altitude Sickness, because that sure sounds like a-!" Marianne, too, was interrupted as a man skilfully jumped up onto the Merry's deck. He looked as Chopper described, wearing a rhino mask and clutching a giant weapon.

"Don't start something you can't finish, my friend," Luffy warned him. The man did not reply and jumped for him, aiming his open palm at him. Luffy stretched his arm back to counter, but found he was sluggish and heavy.

"Huh?" Was all he managed before the man slammed his palm into his face and drove him down into the deck. Luffy groaned as his head spun, just barely able to see the battle through his squinted eyes. The intruder swept Sanji off his legs and hit Zoro in the head with his weapon, both hitting the deck as well. Johnny and Yosaku charged him, but they too were fought off as the man slammed his palm into Johnny's stomach and his weapon into Yosaku's face. They both went down. Nojiko raised a pistol and aimed it at him, and Usopp was on the upper deck aiming at him with his rifle.

"One more step," The Quartermaster warned, cocking the hammer on the revolver back, "And Usopp takes your head off."

"Y-Yeah!" Usopp called, trying to appear brave behind the scope. "I-I won't miss at this distance." Luffy had to give the intruder credit, the weapons made him pause his assault. Luffy saw the man's muscles tensing up from where he lay. Another attack was coming.

"Guys, look out!" He managed to groan out. Luckily, he hadn't needed to worry.

"Blue Bomb of Serenity!" A small metal ball left Marianne's hands as she peered out of the cabin. The ball soared through the air and exploded, blue paint flying straight at the intruder. The man did not dodge fast enough, and ended up drenched in the blue paint. Luffy smiled as the man's muscles began to relax and he stood up straighter. He was done, at least for now."

"Good job Mari!" He called as the painter revealed herself. She blushed at his compliment.

"Someone has to save your sorry ass, Captain," she said. "Stop hiding Chopper, he's done fighting for now." Chopper too appeared from the cabin, hiding his small frame behind Marianne's only slightly bigger frame. Luffy groaned as he got to his feet, rubbing his head.

"What the hell was that, you guys?" Nami asked, "he kicked all your asses!"

"Something isn't right up here, Big Sis!" Yosaku said. "My head hurts, and my muscles are all slow and weak!"

"That's the altitude doing that," Chopper explained. "See, the human body runs on oxygen. Your blood, and by proxy your muscles, need oxygen to operate. There's less of it up here, so you guys aren't getting enough air to fight at full capacity."

"Wish I knew that before I ran at him," Zoro muttered, rubbing his head. "What's rhino-boys deal?"

"Let's find out," Marianne said, looking up at the man she'd stopped. "Reveal yourself, stranger, or Usopp really will take your head off." As usual with victims of Mari's paint, the man complied with the order. He reached up and took off his mask, revealing his tattooed face. He had a swirly tattoo over and under one of his eyes, and one across his upper body on the same side. His brown hair was shaved except for one single braid, which fell to his lower back. His body was as built as some of the toughest guys Luffy knew, which wasn't a good sign. The man's only clothing was a grass skirt, held up by a rope belt.

"Name's Wyper," the man said gruffly. "Sorry for trying to kill you. Wasn't chill of me." Ah, right. Mari's paints made people talk very oddly when under the influence.

"No it wasn't," the small painter agreed. "What the hell was that about?"

"All trespassers from the Blue Sea deserve it," Wyper replied. "Except you guys, I guess. You're pretty cool."

"Blue Sea?" Nami asked, "he must mean the ocean below."

"Yeah, that," Wyper agreed. "Most of em are pricks, like those guys I just dealt with. Thought you guys were too but, you're pretty nice."

"Why attack?" Marianne pressed, "what's the reason you hate Blue Sea folk?"

"Well, we already got enough problems with intruders cause of that bastard Enel," Wyper said. "We don't need more problems from stupid explorers. Not you guys, obviously. It's good practice." Wyper had just thrown a whole lot at them with no context, which just made Luffy's head hurt even more. Marianne looked displeased with his answers, so she cast a glance at him. Luffy noted she was probably asking his permission. He simply nodded at her.

"Hey Wyper," she said. "We're gonna take a nap, okay? You must be tired."

"Not really," Wyper said as Marianne approached him. "I can still fi-Ah, wow, I guess I am tired." As the man spoke, Mari had painted a grey circle on his leg. Exhaustion Grey. "I guess I'll take a nap too. Anywhere cool?"

"Yeah, of course," Marianne said. The entire crew watched as Wyper walked over the wall of the cabin, sat with his back against it, and promptly fell asleep. They watched him for half a second, but he did not awaken.

"What would we do without you, Little Sis Mari?!" Johnny asked, scooping the girl up in his arms. "You're so cool it's unfair!"

"P-Put me down, you oaf," she said abashedly.

"Not before I sing your praises!" Johnny said, spinning in a circle with her, Yosaku joining them with glee.

"Get his stuff from him," Luffy said. "All of it." The crew moved on his order, stripping Wyper of all his possessions save his skirt, moving it away from him. Luffy took inventory for a second and saw a shield with a painting on it, some sort of launcher, a knife, some weird shell things, and what looked like skates. What the hell was all that? He'd ask Robin later. "Tie him up."

"You got it," Zoro said. He and Sanji moved together and dragged Wyper to the mast of the ship, grabbed a pile of rope, and tied it tightly around him. Usopp gave pointers from nearby, and soon the intruder was covered in rope except for his head.

"Good work team!" Luffy announced as Zoro and Sanji moved away. "Especially you Mari, what would we do without you?"

"Y-You'd be fine," Marianne muttered, her eyes being hidden beneath her sun hat when Johnny put a hand on her head with a laugh.

"Now what do we do?" Vivi asked, still hugging herself to stay warm. "Wait until we wakes up?"

"We could," Nojiko said. "With you here, we can probably negotiate with him."

"You think he'll listen to me?" Vivi asked.

"You kidding?" Luffy asked, throwing an arm around her. "I bet the Pirate King could be swayed by you, Vivi!" It was the Princess' turn to look embarrassed, but Luffy didn't have time to tease her. "Let's see what we can do before we wakes up. Nojiko, you're smart, think up a plan with Vivi for when he wakes up."

"You got it Captain," she said. "What do you think, Vivi?" Luffy watched the two blue-haired girls walk off to the side to engage in planning, so he turned to the others."The rest of us need to figure out what's going on around here."

"Perhaps I may be of help?" Luffy jumped and whirled at the voice he didn't recognise, and what he saw didn't help deter him. A gigantic bird landed on the edge of the Merry, which was bright pink with red polka dots. That was disturbing by itself, let alone what got off it's back. He could only be described as a knight, but knights lived in castles, he knew that. Why was a knight in the sky?

"Don't surprise us like that," Nami said with her Clima Tact ready. "You can see what happened to the last guy."

"Yes," the man agreed, Luffy realise he was old with a huge beard. Aside from that though, the poor guy was scrawny. Not a scary knight. "You sure handed it to Wyper, and he'd a very strong Shandia warrior. Whoever subdued him must be very powerful."

"Any more compliments and I swear I'm jumping overboard!" Mari shouted, her face beet-red. The knight ignored her outburst.

"Where are my manners?" He asked, "my name is Gan Fall. I am what they call The Knight of The Sky."

"Never would've guessed," Sanji noted. Gan Fall ignored this too.

"and my compatriot's name is Pierre," he said, gesturing to the bird. The bird cawed and raised it's wing at them.

"Hey Little Bro Chopper," Luffy heard Johnny whisper. "Can you understand the bird?" Chopper hummed in confusion.

"Kinda...It sounds like he's talking with a thick accent. It's hard to describe, but he talks different than animals down below."

"Who names a bird Pierre?" Yosaku muttered to himself. "I'd name him Spot, look at those spots."

Luffy had to refocus on the important conversation here, he was losing track of the conversation.

"I assume you lot are from the Blue Sea," he said. "It's impressive you took down Wyper while weakened." Luffy half-expected to see Marianne take a swan dive into the clouds, but she didn't. "We are 7000 meters above the Blue Sea, after all. Up here, oxygen is very scarce and people like you all struggle to make it. It's even worse at the White-White Sea 3000 meters above us." Luffy inhaled deeply at this, and he was annoyed that his lungs still felt empty.

"Why could this Wyper guy surf on the waves with no boat or anything?" Vivi asked, "was it those skates we took from him?"

"It was," Gan Fall said. "They are an invention of the people who live up here. But, questions can wait. I need to talk business." Gan Fall cleared his throat and stood a little straighter. "These seas are dangerous for Blue Sea people. Even if you defeated Wyper, he will not be the last. Many of his people roam these seas taking down anyone they see. There will be more. But for fifty million Extol I could be hired to protect you. What do you say?"

"Fifty million say what?" Nami asked.

"Extol," Gan Fall replied. "Surely you know of the currency in these lands. fifty million is a fair price, I promise you! Much better than you will find elsewhere."

"We don't have any Extol," Nojiko said, "and if we did, I wouldn't give you fifty million."

"Wha-How can you not have any Extol?" Gan Fall asked with a raised eyebrow. "Surely you gathered some from the lower islands on your way up here."

"...Lower Islands?" Nami asked.

"Yes, the sky islands below us. You went through them yes?" Gan Fall blinked, "surely you didn't ride the Stream?! It's so dangerous." Luffy cast a wary eye at Nami, who he could tell was close to bursting. He needed to diffuse her before he got punched for making her take the Stream.

"We have nothing to worry about!" He exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Nami as if to present her to the old man. "We have the best Navigator in all the Sea's. Right Nami?"

"Hmph, of course you do!" Nami said, cheeks pink. Good, he'd diffused that ass-kicking. It was a good thing Nami's weakness was stroking her ego. And money, but he already owed all his to her anyway. He didn't need more debt. "I got us through that Stream no problem!"

"Did you now?" Gan Fall asked. "You're a cut above the usual explorers, I'll tell you that. Here, you can have a free whistle. Call it a prize for being so tenacious." The man dug into his pocket and tossed a whistle at Luffy, who caught it. Looking closer at it, he saw it was just any old whistle. Who cared?

"Here Nami," he said, tossing it to her. "You earned it."

"Oh, thanks!" Nami said, "uh, what is it exactly?"

"A whistle to call me," Gan Fall replied. "The first is free, but after that I'll charge you. Only fair, don't you agree?" Luffy thought the old man was kinda a cheapskate, but he didn't voice this concern. "Now, I'd love to stick around, but I have matters to attend. Fare thee well, travellers! I wish you well on your journey!"

"Wait!" Nami shouted. "How do we get higher? We're kinda stuck here."

"Ah," Gan Fall replied, "travel a bit further North than this. There you will find a bouncy cloud that acts as a barrier. You will find a small passage through it, and you will arrive at Heaven's Gate."

"Heaven's Gate?" Usopp asked, "we really are going to die, aren't we?"

"Stop being such a wuss, Big Bro," Yosaku said, slapping Usopp on the back. "We'll be fine!"

"Do be quick though," Gan Fall warned. "If you're too slow, your prisoner might be noticed by his allies in the area, and you'll be set upon again. Make haste!"

"He does have a point," Nojiko said as Gan Fall turned to his bird. "So, why the bird? He your friend?"

"Friend and ally!" Gan Fall said. "For Pierre has eaten a Horse-Horse Fruit. As such, he can transform into a flying horse for me to ride into battle!"

"A Pegasus?!" Chopper asked, "I thought they were a myth!" Gan Fall laughed and gestured to Pierre, who looked full of himself.

"Feast your eyes on one!" He said, "Pierre, do your thing!" At his word, Pierre cawed and began to morph. His wings turned to legs, and his face began to extend. He looked like a horse alright.

The ugliest horse Luffy had ever seen. It took everything he had not to laugh at Pierre's stupid polka dots. Gan Fall got on the horrid beast's back, and Pierre took off. Luffy could just barely see the man waving to them as he flew away.

"The Sky is weird," he decided.

"Coming from you?" Nami asked, "yeah it's weird alright."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing Captain! Now, get your rubber ass in gear so we can go." The crew quickly fell into working order, the Merry slowly heading towards the direction Gan Fall had pointed them in. It was slow going, what with the lack of wind up in the cloud sea, but they managed. They also didn't see any of Wyper's presumed allies, which was also good. They soon found the bouncy cloud Gan Fall described, and as much as Luffy wanted to bounce on it, they had to hurry before someone saw Wyper passed out and tied up. They found the opening relatively quickly and, with a little of Nami's navigating expertise, they got through the twists and turns of it easy enough. Once they rounded the last bend, Luffy looked up and saw something amazing.

"A gate?" He asked. The Heaven's Gate, as it was, was a literal gate. Like to a theme park and everything.

"It's like we're already dead," Usopp moaned.

"Or in line at a park," Vivi said, "anyone got the entry fee?"

"We're pirates Vivi, we don't pay for squat!" Nami said.

"Once a gold hoarder, always a gold hoarder," Zoro said. Nami smacked the back of his head, making him snort.

"Maybe we'll get a free entry like Gan Fall gave us a free whistle?" Yosaku asked. "That'd be nice. I'm fresh out of cash after Nami swindled me in poker the other day." Nami promptly ignored that. As they approached the odd gate, they saw it was indeed some sort of entry. Luffy watched as an old women appeared from a doorway on the side of the gate, looking at them. She had a small device in her hands, but Luffy couldn't identify it at this distance.

"Entry for how many?" She asked. Luffy turned and did a headcount.

"Thirtee-" he started, but Nami covered his mouth.

"Twelve," she said innocently. When she glared at him, Luffy realised he'd counted Wyper among them. That was an accident. He wasn't one of them, so he could pay his own entry fee.

"That'll be one billion Extol for each of you," she said. "Payment plans are available."

"Uh," Luffy started, "we don't have that."

"Go ahead then," the old woman said, turning to leave. Luffy spared a look at his accountant, but Nami shrugged.

"If she's letting us go, we go!" She hissed, "it's not illegal if we got permission!"

Of course, silly of him to think otherwise. The crew got Merry through the gate and into a small entryway. Before anyone could speak, Merry lurched as she was grabbed by a sea creature digging it's claws into her.

"We're being attacked!" Chopper shouted.

"Not again with the seafood," Zoro muttered, grabbing his blades.

"That'd be the Speedy Shrimp," Luffy looked over to see the same woman from before watching them. "He takes visitors to the Sky Islands. Just let him take you up." As if on command, the shrimp in question burst forward, swimming rapidly towards a winding pathway of milky white clouds.

"This place is so cool!" He shouted in excitement. "Sky Island, here we come!"

Amazon watched the trespassers go with no expression on her face. She didn't care one way or the other, she just did her job. She raised her Radio Dial to her mouth and sent her message along.

"This is Amazon at Heaven's Gate. Twelve illegal immigrants are on their way to Angel Beach. Mighty God above and his loyal priests, I have given them the Sky's Judgement. May their fall from this place be swift and imminent."

I cannot put into words how odd it is to be motivated again! I've written like, fifty thousand words of chapters in the last month! Not all for this story, obviously, but it's still so odd to feel motivated after all this time. I hope you guys enjoyed, let me know what you think!