Free Heart

Ch 79 - I am a Mantra User

"Chopper...Chopper is scared," Emmy said quietly with her hand to her heart, "Really scared...I hope everything is okay."

"They'll be fine," Luffy replied and moved her hand into his, bringing it to his lap, "Zoro's with them."

"More importantly, which ordeal do we choose?!" Usopp asked from the wheel.

They were still sailing down the Milky Road on the Crow, getting deeper and deeper into Upper Yard, and they were approaching a large wall that had four archways for them to go through. An unique ordeal was carved over each arch, letting their victims choose their own deaths.

"Swamp Ordeal...Iron Ordeal...String Ordeal...Ball Ordeal..." Sanji read out loud, "Hmph...Is this god playing with us?"

"If it's a game then Ball Ordeal!" Luffy shouted, "Let's play ball!"

"I doubt it's anything like a game!" Usopp snapped, "But...I do agree with ball. It sounds the least violent and threatening. Emmy, do you get any bad vibes from any of them? Feel anything evil?"

"I don't sense anything. Luffy's guess is as good as mine," Emmy said.

"Same," Sanji agreed.

"Okay. I guess we're going to the Ball Ordeal," Usopp gulped as he spun the wheel.

"Don't let your guard down. We're on God's Island, 10,000 meters up in the air," Sanji warned as they passed under the archway and into a tunnel.

"Ahhh, I can't see anything!" Usopp wailed. Everything went dark and there didn't seem to be an end in sight. Emmy could barely see the front seat let alone what lied ahead.

Luffy pulled Emmy closer to him and then he wrapped his whole arm around her waist. "Are you scared?"

"Yes," Emmy whispered into the dark void, "Luffy...What if...what if there's a wrong answer to this?"

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked.

"Oh! Like if we choose the wrong one, we'll fall right out of the sky, while the other ones actually lead somewhere?" Luff laughed.

"Don't say something so scary!" Usopp shrieked, "That's a 10,000 meter drop! Are you kidding me?! Even falling has its limits. How many times would your life flash before your eyes?"

"Shishishishishi," Luffy grinned, "Wouldn't that be super scary? Scarier than god, right, Emmy?"

Emmy gulped but she couldn't help but agree. She understood what the captain was doing to cheer her up. No matter who she was about to face - World Nobles or even an almighty god - ultimately, they were not as dreaded than death itself. Leaving her life now, leaving her nakama, leaving Luffy, was what scared her the most.

"I doubt that could happen, Emmy-chan," Sanji said but without much confidence as the light from the end of the tunnel grew closer and closer, "We'll be just-"

The Crow sailed right into the light and off the edge of the Milky Road. There was no forest, no road, and no cloud to catch their fall.

"ARE YOU KIDDING MEEEeeeeeeeeee?!" Usopp shrieked as they began to free-fall through the vast and empty sky. The sniper's hands gripped tightly to the steering wheel while his legs floated out behind him like a paper flag caught in a windstorm.

Emmy clung to the captain, who had only one hand on the pole of the umbrella. The cook also gripped it tightly, not wanting to fly away to god knows where. The wind roared past their ears and pushed their bodies up into the air, battling against gravity, which was doing it's hardest to yank them down.

They dropped right through a wispy cloud and continued to accelerate. Just when the sniper was losing the strength to hang on, they landed with a hard splash that splattered ocean clouds every which way. The captain curled up seconds beforehand. The first mate landed against his rubber body while his own back rammed hard against the boat.