Chapter XXVI: Party's Over

Blake parried a slash of air coming from a dial. Leaning to the side, she swept her leg under the DJ, tripping him. The attacks of these DJs were fickle to dodge, but her semblance made it easier. While she couldn't keep up something like that forever, it helped with the few moments it mattered most.

Gambol Shroud shimmered like a dark fang in the light, cutting across the white outfits of the DJs. One by one, they fell, and she didn't glance back to see if they got back up. Sun had her back, and she needed to make it to the guy behind the DJ stand.

Ohm kept firing the cloud discs, sometimes spinning them before launching them. Cardin had begun as his primary target until Ohm grew frustrated with the boy's tanky nature. However, trying to hit Blake and Sun proved much more difficult due to their agile nature.

They had been making headway until they reached only some yards from the DJ stand. Ohm spun one of the records and a burst of sound propelled from the speakers behind him. Sun toppled over, Blake barely caught herself, and Cardin just managed to dig his feet into the ground enough to stay standing straight. Even many of their enemies failed to keep their balance.

"They're angled perfectly around me," Ohm gloated. "Enough sound dials to pack a punch."

Blake barely managed to react this time as a disc whirled past her, just barely missing. "Pretty good reflexes, cool cat," Ohm joked.

Blake narrowed her eyes. "Really?" Sun commented for her. "First, you annoy everyone with your music, then you say things like that?"

Ohm raised an eyebrow above his glasses. "What? Don't you know: everybody wants to be a cat."


"Oh no!" Ruby cried, blocking an attack with her scythe. "He's singing scat!"

"Ski-bi dibby yo da dub dub!" Hotori yelled as he launched another attack.

Bit by bit, they were getting worn down, and Ren was tired. His movements were growing sluggish by the minute against Kotori. His blades were missing their marks and any of his shots went wide due to Kotori's surprising agility. Despite them being so large and spherical, they moved with a deceptive speed. Not to mention this mantra of theirs.

Satori had mentioned it, but these two confirmed it. Whatever mantra was exactly, it seemed to be some sort of ability that let them predict movements. At one point, Kotori had fun messing with Ren by simply calling out the direction Ren was attacking from, only to sway out of the way far before the strike came.

Slowly, he was getting pressed back. He could tell that it was some sort of messed up game for Kotori. Ren was pushed from the ship step by step until his back hit a tree. Kotori wound his hand up, angling the palm to Ren's face. Then, for some reason, Kotori hesitated looking to his right. A splash of water came from nowhere.

It looked almost like a fluid fist soaring into Kotori's face. While it only made him stumble, that was enough for Ren to slip out of the situation.

"Get away from my friend!" Came a battle cry from the direction of the attack. Ren turned to see Neptune rushing toward them. In the distance, he could see that Neo had joined Ruby in fending off the scat man Hotori. Looking back at Neptune, Ren did a double take.

"Your hand, what happened?" Ren rushed over, seeing that there was an appendage missing from Neptune's arm, yet the boy hardly looked worried. In fact, he looked more frustrated than anything else.

"Oh, ya know," Neptune brushed it aside. "The usual Grand Line stuff. I ate a weird fruit and now I have powers. That," he pointed at Kotori, who seemed to be recollecting himself, and said, "was my fist. I'm still getting used to turning it back to normal."

First Ren smiled, then he laughed. Somehow, the dread he was feeling had faded in an instant. "This guy's tricky," Ren told Neptune. "He's faster than he looks and he has those dial things under his gloves. One hits pretty hard, and the other he uses for distractions."

"Got it," Neptune said. From his wrist, fluid flowed out slowly taking the form of his hand. Then, his fist morphed from its transparent state to looking no different than before he launched it. "Bring it on."

"Neo," Ruby called. "This guy is dangerous. I mean, he knows scat!" Neo raised her eyebrows in concern. "I know! So, we need to be careful and not let our guard down."


There was a sudden disturbance. It wasn't the peaceful quiet that was broken, but the other way around. Wyper's eyes shot open as his body went into fight or flight. He was by no means alone. One by one, the Shandians stood up to hear that, for the first time in so long, the island was quiet.

"What does this mean?" One of Wyper's men asked him. With a stoic expression, Wyper tucked a cigarette between his teeth and slowly lit the end. For a moment, he simply allowed himself to be in that moment of quiet.

"Whatever happened," he finally broke the silence. "It might not all be over just yet. We need to follow through and make sure this is finished. I'll be damned if we lose this opportunity because we were naive."

No one doubted his words. They had yet to make preparations in the dark before, but the process was well ingrained within them. Even without sight, their hands readied their weapons as they fell in line behind their leader. Through the jungle that had so often been filled with Enel's never ending forces, they moved in silence.

"You think those kids had anything to do with this?" Braham asked, catching up to Wyper.

"They might have," Wyper mused. "They certainly felt full of spirit when they were with us. It wouldn't surprise me."

Braham smirked. "And you almost sunk them from what they told me."

"Well, I might be glad I didn't."


The sight was almost too surreal for Jaune. One moment, silence reigned over the crowd surrounding a dancing man. The next, that very man began compensating the silence by making his own music. Jaune was sure that song was "Divine Rapper" by Skittle. The sight didn't last very long as he was standing still in the middle of enemy territory.

Jaune dove into the ground, trying to get as far in any direction that he could. The pounding feet above echoed until he was certain he was just far enough away. Bursting out of the ground, Jaune found himself behind a bald man. The distant roaring of a crowd made Jaune think that he didn't hide the direction he was headed in well enough.

Turning to check, he saw a large array of speakers instead. If Jaune had been even a foot closer to the man by him, the shock waves would have gone around him. However, he was taken off guard and launched into the man, toppling them both over the side of the table.

"The hell?" Ohm yelled as Jaune tried to push away from him. Jaune had barely gotten onto one knee when Ohm flew at him, fist pulled back.

"Two mace style: Crouching Goliath!" Ohm tumbled back as Cardin slammed his weapons against Ohm's sides. Then, while trying to hide how hard he was panting, Cardin reached a hand out to Jaune. With a slap, their hands met and Cardin pulled him up.

"So, what did you do?" Sun asked, trotting over to them.

Jaune scratched the back of his head, turning to where the distant crowd was headed from. "I went a little too far and shut down their music."

After knocking another DJ down, Blake joined them. "It doesn't sound like this is over just yet though."

Jaune shook his head. "No; their head guy started just singing on his own. I think if we stop them, we can stop this all, but there was too much for me to handle in there."

"Then let us help you." Jaune turned to see Wyper standing there, and his soldiers slowly filed in behind him.

Jaune stared at them for a moment, he looked down for just as long, and he turned toward the heart of the party. "Right; thanks, I won't let you down. Crew with me: we're drilling through their lines to get to that guy in the middle of all this."

Nothing could compare to the unity Jaune felt when Sun, Blake, and Cardin stood behind him. Confidence swelled within Jaune as they ran toward the approaching crowd. The clash of dials meeting blades echoed all around him. Shots striking aura, fists striking flesh, and the falling of people echoed into the night. Jaune pushed forward, determined not to let himself be slowed down. They weren't as skilled as some opponents he faced, but they had sheer numbers. For every one he knocked down, two more took their place. Luckily, his crew and the Shandians helped with that.

"I would use my devil fruit, but I need to make sure I get to him," Jaune called out.

"Right," Cardin responded, gritting his teeth as he blocked another attack.

Sun, after smacking two different guys in the face, asked, "How far away do you think it is?"

"It's hard to tell," Jaune grunted. His sight was a clouded vision of lights, darkness, dust, and people. It would be impossible for him to pick out a single person in the distance.

However, Blake was a different story. "Not too far! We're getting close now." And she was right. The crowd was beginning to thin, and before long, Jaune could just make out the arms of someone grooving in the distance.

His efforts doubled, making headway through those surrounding the man. Then, in a swift motion that made all feel still, Jaune broke through the last line. Without hesitation, he slammed his shoulder into the man. Thus, the man who never stopped dancing fell over, now still.

Shocked gasps surrounded him, and while the sounds of distant fighting rang out in the distance, those around him stopped to see what had happened. Slowly, the man stood back up, dusting off his baggy pants. He regarded Jaune with eyes that held both intrigue and disinterest, as if Jaune was only a fly that had disturbed him.

"What's this?" The man drawled, glancing around. "Why has the dancing stopped? Where is the music?"

Jaune squinted. "Weren't you singing because the music ended a while ago?"

Tapping his chin, the man pondered Jaune's words. "Perhaps I was. What of it; why are you here, crashing the sacred lands of partying?"

Jaune held up his sword. "Everyone around here is sick and tired of hearing your loud music. They've tried asking you to stop, but you haven't listened. So, we're here to end this!"

As the man looked Jaune up and down, it only reinforced that he saw Jaune as a bug. Slowly, he held up his hand. Jaune tensed as a mic was tossed over the crowd, landing directly into his palm.

Across the entire area, every speaker still intact came to life. "These losers came and crashed the party, everyone. Let's go take this shit elsewhere." As the man's voice boomed over them all, a series of childish groans followed. Then, they began dispersing toward the edge of the island. Wherever they were headed, Jaune hoped it wouldn't cause any more issues.

As he was, Jaune felt his knees buckle a bit before he fell back onto his butt. He sighed, staring up into the sky, muttering, "It's finally over." In the distance, the sun peeked over the clouds and warm light washed over the land.

Blake walked over to him, helping him up. "For a moment, you almost seemed like those characters from my stories."

"Really?" Jaune asked. "What are they like?"

The realization of what she had said suddenly hit Blake. Her cheeks dusted pink and she glanced away. "They're — they're heroic and dependable."

Wyper came to Blake's rescue, walking toward their group. "I never thought it would be a group of kids to bring us peace." He turned back to his people, watching as they helped each other up while Enel's partiers dispersed toward the edge of the island. "I apologize for how I treated your group when you first arrived here. I think it hardly matters now what music you do or don't like. Not when you've helped us like this."

Jaune gave him a wide grin. "We're happy to help! So don't worry about it." With that, Sun and Cardin chatted while Blake helped Jaune walk as they all made their way back to The Bucket.


Whoever's voice called out over the island, it brought relief to Ren. While Hotori and Kotori were on the ropes by this point, a decisive end to their fight was more than welcome. Ren sat down in a seat toward the side of The Bucket and looked around. He would be lying if he said that the vessel hadn't grown on him. It wasn't as close to him as Ruby who constantly worked on its repairs or Neo who had initially made it, but the ship almost felt like it was part of the crew. That's why it hurt to see the condition it was in.

Hotori had been the main culprit, but both he and Kotori had damaged their ship badly. Holes were torn in the metal, now cut and warped. Neo was busy trying to make sure the cockpit was functional while Ruby checked every crack and crevice to assure they wouldn't sink any time soon.

Neptune sat near him, propping his hands behind his head as they watched Ruby run around the main area. "You guys have put a lot of care into this ship, haven't you?" Neptune hadn't grown as attached as the earlier crew, but he could see the love they put into it.

"It's become a home for us," Ren replied. "I wonder if we could still be our crew without it."

Just then footsteps drew their attention. Neptune waved Ren to stay seated while he checked what was going on. After peaking his head from the side, Ren could see Neptune relax. "It's the rest of the crew! They're back." Neptune jumped back down the side of their ship and the other followed him.

Jaune took Neptune's spot next to Ren. The two sat in silence as the rest of the crew readied the ship. "That was quite the adventure," Jaune muttered. "We should probably check back in with the Skypieans before we go. I'm sure they'll know it's over, but we might as well tell them ourselves, right?"


"They should be somewhere around here," Ozpin muttered to himself, looking over a map. While the Grand Line was difficult to navigate, it wasn't impossible. Especially in the first half where the most complex path that could be taken was one of only a few. They could easily be mapped out, and that was what the marines had done.

Ozpin stared at the line that marked where the Straw Hats should be following, but it made little sense. Reports of them had greatly diminished, including that of marines. They were following the path and circling back, all while keeping in touch with their men stationed along the path. There was no way that the Straw Hats could just disappear, and here they were.

"This hardly makes sense," Ozpin growled to himself. "How could they just vanish? Even if this was the effect of a devil fruit, there isn't one recorded of this effect. I doubt there is a semblance responsible for this, so what is it?"

The door to his room burst open. "Sir," the soldier that entered saluted. "We have an urgent report for you! It's matters involving the rest of Remnant, so we were asked to bring it to you."


Jaune was hardly expecting Gan Fall to be the one to greet them. Yet, there he was, waiting for them as they made it back to Angel Island. His armor had been traded in for some more formal wear. He greeted them with a large smile, happily shaking Jaune's hand.

"I didn't imagine that you would all be the ones to help us sleep at night once more." His voice was soft, beckoning them to follow as he paced the streets. "For so long, we've dreamed of even a single night's rest. Is there anything we can do to repay you?"

Jaune smiled, adjusting his hat. "Unless my crew has anything in mind, I think I'm good. The adventure was enough for me."

Of those present, two were currently missing. Just before they made their way over to Angel Island, they were stopped by some of the Shandians. They claimed to have something related to the ruins to show them, and Neo and Neptune jumped on the opportunity.

Gan Fall stopped, turning back around to face them. "When you leave, there is a certain path that you should take. Toward the edge of the north side, You will find a path that goes downward. It won't take you all the way to the Blue Sea, but it would be much preferable to falling."

With a yawn, Jaune nodded. He was looking forward to getting some well deserved rest after all of this.


Neptune followed along as the Shandians led them farther into the jungle. They had already reached where the party had once taken place. Crushed cans, streamers, and food littered the ground. Not to mention the damaged equipment that had been left behind.

He thought it was a bit awkward how some of the partiers had returned for the still working equipment. Yet, they didn't appear to be causing any problems, so they were just left to be. Neptune did pick up on their conversations though. Something about using an airship to go party on the moon. At this point, he just labeled them as insane.

The forest opened up to the base of a giant vine stalk, spiring into the sky. Neptune stared up at the giant plant. He had made glimpses of it before, but had made no note of it. With everything they were experiencing, a large plant felt hardly out of the ordinary, yet this was much larger than he was expecting.

The Shandians led them around the side, and a large, golden structure slowly came into view at the base of the vine. "This was something sacred to our ancestors," an elderly Shandian spoke up. Neptune could see why. He shared a glance with Neo, seeing the spark of excitement in her eyes. His own steps grew a bit faster as they approached the giant structure. It was a large platform with stairs to its surface and several pillars, two of which held up a massive bell, all made of solid gold. Then, centered underneath the bell on the side of the platform, was a large, gray surface with writing.

"Our ancestors fiercely protected this," informed the elder. "We know little of what it says, but we know that they gave their lives to keep it secret; however, they were waiting for the right ones to see it. For your help, we are more than happy to share this with you."

Neptune pulled out his scroll and started taking pictures, as many as he could. Neo was having the time of her life, running her hand all over the gold. Then, Neptune looked closer at the inscription.

"It's about a giant weapon," he said. He could almost feel the attention snap to him. Even Neo turned to regard him. "It's about some weapon named 'Poseidon.' I — this is crazy."

"You can read it?" The elder moved to stand by him. "For centuries, my people protected this, not knowing what it says, and you can read it?" Neptune nodded. The elder broke out laughing. "Well, if it's about some sort of weapon, I don't think we need to worry any longer. The Shandians have no use for such a thing. So, thank you for putting that mystery to rest, young man."

"It's weird though," Neptune muttered more to himself than anyone else. "I can read a lot of things, but this feels different. It's almost as if there's more to it than I can see." He squinted closer. "Wait, what's this?"

Neptune pointed his finger to a part of the gold, just outside the bottom right of the gray surface. In it were carvings that the others could see as similar to the ones in the writing. "It says: 'Gol D. Roger was here, bel—' and then it cuts off. Just those three letters."


Once the crew was together again, it felt nice to be finally setting off. They were mostly tired, and Cardin suggested they stopped and rested first. However, Jaune insisted that they keep going. They had spent so long here already, and they could rest on the ship once they made it back to the Blue Sea. In response, Cardin had promptly passed out, leaving Neo to be their helmsman. This time Neptune went up to help her pilot The Bucket.

Ruby, having been excited about the idea of dials, had collected a lot of them before they left. From the amount she took, there was no doubt that Skypiea's debt to them had been paid. She had been messing with a few of them and Crescent Rose, though Jaune also spotted some sketches she had made. It seemed like Cardin would soon be getting a better mace — or three.

Toward the back of the ship, Ren and Sun were busy swapping stories. Ren seemed to be surprised about some sort of ordeal Sun had gone through. Whatever it was, Ren appeared impressed.

As for Blake, she seemed seated almost as far away from him as he could. She had been acting a bit off ever since they had stopped the party. At the moment, she was deep in reading one of her books, occasionally glancing up at him. Each time he caught her, she would hide her face with her book again and go back to reading.

Then of course, there was — Jaune froze, blinking at the sight he was looking at. Neo, who was supposed to be piloting the ship, was fast asleep on the floor. Steadily, he got up and moved over to the cockpit. Maybe Neptune was a fast learner. Opening the door, he saw Neptune laying face down against the controls, snoring.

Jaune would have liked to say he stayed calm and rational, but a very unmanly sound escaped his lips. To be fair, it was a bit too late to wake anyone that knew how to pilot their ship. The path they were supposed to take could be seen many yards from where they were. Instead, a sharp cut off was directly in front of them.

Jaune's scream woke Neptune and anyone else who was sleeping. He could hear his crew rushing to see what was happening, but he paid no attention to that. Instead, he found something to hold on tightly to and braced for what was to come. He glanced up to see Ren's worried face, then their entire world tilted.

Everything began floating upward, anything that wasn't fastened down flew to the back of the ship. Neptune went flying past Jaune, slamming into Cardin and then both impacting the back wall. The world around them rattled as the bolts did their best to hold the metal sheets together.

"What happened?" Ren yelled over the rushing winds. Jaune opened his mouth, then a horrible feeling overtook him. It was a dread that he hated, one that he had hoped he was finally rid of. Jaune wasn't the only one that was screaming anymore: especially now that it was known that his devil fruit didn't help with flight motion sickness.


AN:

I've been sick these last two days and staying home from work. While that sucks for most of everything, it's given me some more time to write. The last time I wrote one chapter in a day was because I was so excited to be back after my burnout, this was just because I felt there was little else for me to do.

I hope you guys like Neptune's devil fruit. I don't know how obvious it is yet, but you can probably guess. Besides, it will obviously come more into play now that he has it. Also, Neptune reading the poneglyphs? I would say I didn't see this coming, except I totally did since I had this planned out since he read that girl's number all those chapters ago.

As for Blake…this was something I had planned since the beginning of the story. I've been debating back and forth whether to include it or not since I wasn't sure how well I can write that sort of thing, but I thought it fit. After all, Blake's dream here is to live out her literature, and it's currently missing one key part… If anyone isn't a big fan of that, don't worry, it won't be a huge part of the story. Though, like I said, this is my first time writing anything like that, so let me know what you all think.

Anyways, next chapter: Out of the Sky and Into the Frying Pan