+~*~*~*~*~*~+
"Fix the ship, fix the ship," the crew of the monkey brothers sing.
"Raise the bow now!" Shoujou commands, and in the next few moments the Going Merry is being pulled back together.
"I'm surprised that you stayed behind, Akari," Usopp says. "Luffy even asked you if you wanted to come along."
I shrug, "As much as I wanted to tell those guys off, I knew that it wouldn't make the situation better. They wouldn't listen to me, but I knew that Luffy would knock some sense into them. Literally."
He chuckles, "That is true. He lets his fists speak for him."
"He also lets his kisses speak for him," Nami teases as she walks by.
My cheeks flare with heat as I shake my head. "He doesn't do anything halfway, and he doesn't think twice if there is something that he wants to do."
"Well, he loves you," Usopp softly grins. "That's what we do when we're in love. Don't think twice, and barely even once."
"Love is strange," Chopper (in his big form) says as he picks up some planks of wood to hand to the workers.
"But it is wonderful," Sanji happily sighs as he floats by with drinks.
"Okay, we know why Akari didn't go, but why did you not follow him, Zoro?" Nami asks.
"Seriously?" Zoro grits his teeth as he walks by with his arms full of wood planks. "Don't fight, fight, don't go, go. Make up your damn mind!"
"But they beat you up too," I say. "Don't you want to get your revenge?"
"Beat me up? Those guys weren't worth anything. It is heartbreaking when at the end of a fight you're only left with pity."
"Are you an idiot!?" Nami screams.
"Shut up and move out of my way!"
"Hey, moss-head!" Sanji shouts. "What did you just say to Nami!?"
"I need boards over here!" a worker calls out. "Boards over here!"
"Yes sir!" Chopper rushes over to the man.
"You are quite useful, racoon-dog!"
I giggle as Chopper exclaims that he is a reindeer.
"You're not worried at all for that boy," Robin steps up to me.
"Hm, against those weaklings? Not even a little bit," I widely grin. "He worries me a lot, yeah, but not this time. I know that he can kick all of those punks asses. You've seen him in action, so don't you go worrying about him now."
She lightly chuckles, "He throws all caution to the wind, but I won't worry about him."
"My darling, are you staying hydrated!?" Sanji calls out.
"Actually, I could use a drink!" I turn to spot the boy skipping my way. "You're suck a dork, Sanji, and the best damn cook around."
He hands me a glass of fruit punch with a tender smile. "Still sure you're in love with our idiot captain?"
"A thousand percent sure," I pat his arm as I take my first sip. "Nothing is ever going to change that."
"I figured as much," he sighs, letting his shoulders drop. "Fate did not bring us together young enough, so this is something I have to come to terms with."
"Don't stop giving me special treats though, okay?"
"You're still a lady that deserves to be treated right," he nods.
"Lady might be a stretch," I chuckle, chugging the rest of my drink and handing it back to the boy. "Someone tell me what I can do to help!"
The next couple of hours go by in a flash as everyone gives their all to make the Going Merry ready for flight. She even gets a set of wings and rooster's comb on the figure head. After all the hurt that she's been through, it is nice to know that she's gotten the best treatment that we can afford at this moment. Once we have more time, we'll have to get someone to really look her over. For now, we need to head out to catch our one ticket up to the sky.
"Gah!" Nami exclaims. "That dumbass! What the hell is he!? The sun is up and he's forty-six minutes late! We are going to miss our chance! Our only chance! If he got the gold, then the weight must be weighing him down! He should have taken that into account when thinking of going there!"
"I don't think he's as concerned with the time as you are," Usopp crosses his arms.
"Probably," Sanji says.
"When his mind is sent on something, he is going to make sure that he gets it done," I defend.
"Do you think maybe he got beat up?" Chopper asks.
"If he did," Nami's jaw clenches as anger flares in her eyes, "I will never forgive him. Even if he had made it back at the right time!"
"Make up your damn mind!" Zoro snaps.
"HEY!" Luffy's voice slashes through the air.
"It's him!" Masira exclaims. "Thank the seas!"
"I did it!" He waves as he is barreling towards us. A sack tied to his back.
"Hurry up!" Nami screams. "We have to set sail now!"
"Look at this!" he holds out his hand to show off some kind of beetle. "It's a Hercules!"
"How do you do that!?" I blurt out.
"What were you doing!?" Nami angerly screams as Usopp shockingly screams.
Zoro chuckles as Luffy screeches to a halt right in front of the Going Merry.
"That's awesome!" Luffy's eyes sparkles as he widely grins. "She's transformed into her flying version! There's no doubt she can fly!"
"Right!" Usopp excitedly cheers.
"I'm getting anxious," Nami sighs.
"A person would fly better than a chicken," Zoro says.
"That is not what I'm talking about!"
Luffy snaps out of his trance, looking right over at me with the biggest smile on his face. "Are you ready to fly?"
I giggle, "More ready than I expected I would be."
He nods, walking over to place the sack that is on his back on the table where Cricket has been sitting at this entire time while he chain smokes. The two crews of the monkey brothers are rushing around to get ready to set sail with us. Our window to make the knock-up stream slowly closing the more we stand around.
"Come on Akari!" Nami grabs my hand, dragging me to the Going Merry. "We don't have any more time to waste!"
"Thanks guys!" Luffy calls out to the brothers. "You can have my Hercules!"
I giggle, rushing onto the Going Merry. "That's more payment than I thought he would give them, but it's only a rare beetle."
"A disgusting bug if you ask me," Nami grumbles.
"Hurry Luffy!" Usopp calls out.
I turn to look back at shore as Luffy starts running toward us. "Aren't you even a little tired!?"
"Not even a little!" Luffy chuckles.
"Monkey Mountain Allied Forces!" Cricket yells. "Don't mess this up! No matter what happens out there, give it all you've got for these guys!"
"Let's go!" Luffy flings himself onto the deck.
"Right, let's set sail!" Nami calls out.
"Okay!" Usopp bounces around.
"Aye-aye, Nami dear!" Sanji gushes.
"Boy!" Cricket calls out, causing Luffy to turn around. "This is where we say goodbye!"
I skip over to be at Luffy's side, waving down at Mont Blanc Cricket. "It is only goodbye for now!"
"Maybe so," he slightly smiles. "Let me tell you one thing that I know for certain about what you are looking for. No one has ever proved that El Dorado or Skypiea don't exist!"
"Right," Luffy grins, placing his arm around my shoulder.
"People may laugh and call them ridiculous legends, so let them laugh! That's what makes it a great adventure!"
"A great adventure," I smile, looking around at Usopp, Nami, and Sanji who have stepped up to us.
"Right!" Luffy cheers.
"Thanks for getting my gold back! And don't fall out of the sky!"
"Goodbye mister!" Luffy chuckles as the Going Merry pulls away from the shore as Masira and Shoujou's ships lead the way out to sea.
"Thanks for everything, Cricket!" Nami shouts.
"I'm sure you'll find El Dorado one day!" Usopp adds.
"Life is better when you believe in your dreams!" I lean over the rail a little as I wave at him.
"Don't dive so recklessly from now on!" Sanji orders.
"Mind your damn business!" Cricket yells, but there is a smile on his face.
It doesn't take much longer for the island to fade into the distance. Another set of memories filling my mind that I can look back on in hard times.
"Whelp, you might as well explain what happened with that Bellamy guy," I tilt my head to look up at Luffy. "It doesn't look like he got a single hit on you."
Luffy grins, tugging me a little bit closer. "That's because he didn't. I slammed my fist into his head when he rushed at me, and it was all over. He was full of himself all the way to the end."
"Not surprised. I didn't think there were pirates like them out there, but it makes sense that not everyone would be out searching for the One Piece. Still, I hope I'm not under a promise that keeps me from fighting next time."
"Okay, listen up everyone!" Nami calls out. "It is seven in the morning now, so we should be at the spot around eleven."
Luffy's arm drops from my shoulders and grabs my hand, tugging me over to where the South Bird is perched on the railing. With his free hand he turns the bird's head, but it always snaps back to facing south.
"As Cricket said, the knock-up stream erupts in a different place every time. We have to get into position before it blows. Now, we're a bit behind schedule, hey! Are you listening!? I'm explaining something!"
"Sorry Nami," I grimace as I look back at her.
"Look at this!" Luffy pulls my attention back to him as he turns the bird's head once more before releasing it where it goes straight once more. "It is facing straight!"
"There are some strange birds in the world," Usopp crosses his arms as he steps up to us.
"It really does only face south!" Luffy bursts into laughter. "Just like a compass!"
"Joh! Joh!" the South Bird angerly chatters.
"What did it say, Chopper?" I look down at the cute reindeer in his small form.
"I'm going to look in a different direction and mess you all up, it said," Chopper answers.
"Try it then!" Luffy falls onto the deck, pulling me down with him as he keeps laughing.
"Wait, it turned north!" I point at the bird.
"Joh," the South Bird seems to laugh. "Joh," it chokes out, and in the next moment it's head flips back to be pointing south.
Usopp falls to the ground as he laughs along with Luffy.
"It has to point south or it gets all antsy!" Luffy holds his stomach.
"JOH!"
"Hey! You're upsetting the big boss!" some men from one of the monkey crews shouts at us.
Luffy stops laughing, looking up at Shoujou and then Masira's ship . "What was that!?" He stands up, helping me to my feet at the same time. "There's nothing to worry about!" he waves at both ships. "Let's all relax."
"And who was it that made us late, causing us to be stressed?" Sanji shakes his head.
"At least the weather is nice," I hum.
"Are we sure about this?" Zoro asks.
"Too late to change our minds now."
+~*~*~*~*~*~+
"That's truly the basics of navigating," Nami nods, the two of us leaning up against the railing as we look out at the sea. "If you ever find yourself along with a boat, you would be able to sail and avoid bad weather. In normal waters, I mean. Out here you'll need a log pose, but other than that, I've taught you enough to get by without me. Not that you'll ever be away from the crew to need to use these skills."
"Maybe not, but it is still helpful to understand what navigating is all about when we spend almost all of our time sailing," I quickly tighten my ponytail. "Thanks for teaching me about all this anyways. Better to have the knowledge and never use it."
"It feels like ages ago that I taught you the basics of reading a map. Surprised that I got you all alone for a couple of hours."
I giggle, "Well, when the boys are focused on the treasure from the wreck, I can do whatever I want."
"Even an angel has her dark side," she chuckles.
"Bad news boss!" someone on Masira's ship yells.
"Great," I groan, placing my hands on the railing and leaning back. "What do you think is happening?"
"What's going on!?" Masira shouts.
"Night is coming to the southwest!" the crewmate shouts. "The Emperor Cloud is here!"
"Are you sure!? What time is it right now!?"
"Just turned ten o'clock! We were expecting it to be this early!"
"This could be disastrous! Shoujou, can we still make it!"
"Divers, submerge immediately!" Shoujou orders. "Check the currents!"
I turn to see a wall of darkness in the direction we are headed. "That's...is that the Emperor Cloud?"
Nami rushes by me to look down at the lower deck. "The Emperor Cloud has showed up early and we haven't located the Knock-Up Stream yet!"
Shoujou lets out his echo cry.
A diver pops up out of the ocean, "Reverberation confirmed! Giant current discovered at twelve o'clock! Giant creature at nine o-clock! Probably a sea monster! Wave at ten o'clock, coming against the direction of the current! Possibly a giant whirlpool!"
"That's it!" Masira bellows. "Turn the prow to ten o'clock! That is the sign of the Knock-Up Stream! Head directly for that whirlpool!"
"At the whirlpool!" I scream, but it is drowned out by everyone else screaming as a huge wave roughly knocks us around. Nami and I hanging onto the railing to
"What's happening!?" Zoro yells.
"The waves got higher!" Luffy calls out.
"We're going to sick!" Usopp cries.
"This is the tremor before the explosion!" Masira warns. "Stay alert!"
"Navigator!" Robin's voice drifts up to us. "What does the log pose show!?"
Nami holds up her hand to look at the object that is pointing right at the dark cloud. "It is pointing right at that cloud! The wind is perfect!" She whips around to look in front of us. "Look, the Emperor Cloud is heading right for the whirlpool!"
I turn around, feeling the wind rushing around me. The waves starting to rotate as we approach the whirlpool. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"
"Where's the whirlpool!" Usopp rushes up to us.
"We've hit the mark, brother!" Masira shouts.
"It's all up to the current!" Shoujou replies.
"Can we do it!?" Luffy chuckles.
"We're going to make it!" Masira confirms as two ropes from either of the brother's ships attach to the front of our ship. "We'll tow you into the whirlpool!"
"Then what happens!?" I shout.
"You'll sail right into the currents, and if you make it to the center, you should be fine!"
"It really is a giant whirlpool!" Nami screams, holding her face in her hands. "No one said anything about something like this!"
"Everything is going to be okay, Nami!" Sanji screams. "I'll protect you, Robin, and Akari!"
"I've never seen a maelstrom this enormous," Robin hums.
"This is way better than that whirlpool when this adventure start!" I cheer.
"Stop! Please stop!" Usopp cries in terror. "Turn around right now! Let's go back!"
"No can do, Usopp, it is way to late to turn around now," Zoro groans.
"Sky Island, we are coming!" Luffy laughs as he steps up beside me, wrapping an arm around my torso. "This is amazing!"
"Are we really going to sail into the sky?" Chopper bounds up to us.
I open my mouth to answer, but a giant sea serpent jumps out of the water but is quickly taken out by the strong current.
"Damn," I breath out. "We better hope this all works out."
"Akari, don't say that," Usopp pouts.
The ropes linking us to the brother's ships detach, and we continue on our way to the center of the whirlpool. It won't me much longer now before we are sent into the sky to see what kind of island is up there.
"You guys are on your won now! Good luck!" Shoujou calls out as both he and Masira wave at us.
"Thanks for everything!" Luffy waves back at them.
"WAIT!" Usopp screams, placing his hands on his head. "Cut me some slack! I'm scared over here!" Tears and snot are pouring down his face. "I want to go home now! We are going to die!"
"Aaaahhh!" Chopper screams as he rushes around.
"No one said a single thing about a giant whirlpool!" Nami screams. "This is fraud! One-hundred-percent fraud!"
"We can't leave without seeing if there is an island in the sky, so everyone take some deep breaths," I smile.
Chopper skids to a halt into my leg as the cloud passes over us to turn day into night. "Aahh! It's night!"
"We're being sucked into the whirlpool!" Usopp bellows as the ship is pulled towards the center of the whirlpool. "Let's turn around, Luffy! We have time! Don't you want to do that!? This whirlpool is going to swallow us whole! This whole sky island is a dream in a dream!"
"A dream in a dream," I hum, leaning into Luffy's side.
"He's right!" Nami shouts. "I think this is all impossible!"
"A dream in a dream!" Luffy widely smiles, turning us around to face the others. "Now that is one great adventure! If we turn back now, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives!"
Usopp and Nami's faces fall while I burst into laughter.
"When you're done bitching, take a look at this," Zoro steps up with a grin.
"What?" Usopp breaks out of his trance and looks over the side of the ship.
I turn my head to see that we have left the ocean behind to go airborne as we are heading right for the middle of the whirlpool. "When did that happen?"
"We're going to be swallowed!" Nami cries.
"I'll hold you, Nami!" Sanji calls out.
"We are falling!" Usopp explodes into screams.
"Take a deep breath and calm your shit!" I snap, taking a step away from Luffy. "We are not going to die! We are prepared for this journey into the sky, and if nothing is there, then it was better to try and find out than not try at all!"
"Akari is right," Luffy firmly nods. "We're going into the sky no matter what!"
"It is also calm now," Zoro says.
My eyebrows furrow together as I look around, realizing that we've come to a complete stop after being thrusted around by the whirlpool and sent into flight. "Is that good or bad?"
"What happened!?" Sanji questions. "Is it just gone now!?"
"We were just in the center of a whirlpool!" Usopp has not lowered his voice. "What is going on now!?"
"No," Nami chokes out as her eyes go wide. "It has already begun!"
"This is the Knock-Up Stream?" I look around in disbelief.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" A man's voice that I vaguely remember slices through the air.
"Huh?" Luffy turns towards the voice. "Hey, Zoro, Akari, look." There's no emotion in his voice.
"Who is it?" I look out at the sea to see a ship that looks like a raft made with the logs of giant trees. "Wait, what are those guys doing out here? And together?"
The man that we met back in Mock Town with long black hair who believes in dreams lets out a loud and annoying laugh. "We caught up with you, Straw Hat Luffy!"
"They're from Mock Town," Nami says.
"Who?" Sanji grumbles.
"We are going to take that hundred-million berry bounty head of yours! Give up now!" the man bellows.
"Did you say I'm worth a hundred-million berries!?" Luffy calls out.
"You don't know!? And why is it so dark around here!? Anyways, there's a bounty of a hundred-million on your head! Pirate Hunter Zoro, you're worth sixty million! And Shuriken Phantom Akari, you are worth twenty-five-million!"
"No way!" I widely smile, grabbing onto Luffy's hand as I bounce around on my toes. "I can't believe this!"
Usopp whips out his binoculars to check if the posters the man looks to be holding up tell the truth of what he is saying. "He's telling the truth! There are new posters! Zoro, Akari, you are wanted!"
Sanji slinks his arm over Usopp's shoulders, "Now hold on! What about me!?"
"Did you hear that!?" Luffy grabs my other hand and starts dancing around. "And you got one too, Akari! That's great!"
"Only sixty-million," Zoro huffs.
"I'm sure that it is only as high as it is because of my connection to Ace, but it is still great!" I chuckle as Luffy pulls me into his chest. "I can't wait to see the photo of me that they took."
"Stop celebrating!" Nami groans.
"I already know that your bounty is going to soar from now on, Dumpling," Luffy lowers his voice. "Not only because of family, but because of how you fight."
"Thanks, Luff," I softly smile.
The moment is ruined as sea around us starts to lift straight up with our little ship placed right in the middle. This must be the Knock-Up Stream, and we are about to be sent into the sky where hopefully an island is waiting for us.
"Everyone, grab onto something or go below deck!" Sanji orders. "The sea is about to blow!"
Luffy's arm immediately wraps around me a few times, picking me up as he rushes to an edge to look over at the wall of water that is pushing us up. "Whoa..."
"Don't let me fall," I blurt out.
In the next moment, the water explodes in a rush straight up with us riding the side. The other crew that came to take us out having their ship destroyed in the process as they were not in the center.
"What's happening!" Usopp shouts, hanging onto a railing.
Luffy lands on the mast as the ship is now going up the side of a wall of water. "Nothing to worry about, dumpling. I have a tight hold on you."
"We're sailing vertically up the surface of this water current!" Sanji shouts, legs wrapped around the railing to keep him in place.
"This is fun!" I chuckle, relaxing back into Luffy's chest. "How is this even happening!?"
"That doesn't matter!" Luffy holds the fist of his free arm up. "We can go to the sky island this way! Go Merry go!"
"Wait a damn minute!" Sanji says through gritted teeth. "We're forgetting something!"
"What's wrong, Sanji!?" I ask. "If we forgot something, it is too late to go back and get it!"
"The ship is starting to float, so it we tilt back, it is all over!"
"What can we do possibly do if all we can do right now is hold on!?"
"But we can't let us tilt back!" Luffy says.
"What's that!?" Chopper screams as he dangles from the mast.
"A Neptunian!" Nami screams as the sea monster that jumped out of the whirlpool earlier flies out of the water in front of us. She's holding onto the railing with one arm as she stands on the wall of the lower deck. "That's the one that got swallowed by the whirlpool!"
A giant chunk of a decades old ship crashes right in the face of the sea monster, pulling it out of the current and plunging into the sea below. No chance to recover.
"Did you see that!?" Sanji shouts. "If we don't do something soon, we are going to end up like that!"
"It's a little late to think of that!" Zoro snaps. "We are still being propelled upwards by the explosions force! There's nothing we can do!"
"Why did we ever think we could do this!?"
"All kinds of things are raining down on us!" I point at all the debris falling down around us. "All victims of the Knock-Up Stream before!"
"It's all over! We are going to fall!" Usopp cries. "We are going to crash back into the sea and die!"
"Hoist the sail! NOW!" Nami orders. "This isn't just a wall of water! This is the ocean! We can sail on it like any other current! The heat from the steam and explosion have created a surge of warm air! If we're going up against the sea and wind, we can navigate it! Who's this ships navigator!?" She looks back at us with a grin.
"You are, Nami!" We all shout; some with a bit more love than others.
Luffy hops down to the wall below, untangling his arms from me. "Everyone, do what Nami says!"
"We'll catch the wind at starboard and sail to port! We'll let the ship follow the current!" Nami explains.
"Aye-aye!" We chant, rushing around to get all the sails hoisted, which is a bit more difficult when the ship is sideways, but we are able to get it done by working together. Well, working together in the way that only we know how, which from a distance might not really look like working together at all.
"This is bad!" Chopper shouts. "The ship is leaving the water!"
"We're falling! We are falling!" Usopp cries, falling into a loop.
"No, we are going to make it!" Nami clenches her jaw. "We are not going to fall!"
Luffy shoots by me to grab onto the neck of the figurehead as the Going Merry lifts off the current. "We're flying!"
I hold onto the railing at the front of the ship, looking out at the beautiful view in front of me. "Never in a million years would I have dreamed of something as amazing as this."
"Well, whaddaya know?" Zoro lightly chuckles. He's taken a seat right next to me.
"This is incredible!" Luffy bellows. "The Going Merry is flying through the air!"
"Wow!" Chopper's jaw drops.
"Nami, you are amazing!" Sanji gushes.
"With this wind and current, we are going to make it all the way to the top!" Nami declares.
"Are we there yet, Nami?" Luffy looks back at the girl. "Are we at the sky island?"
"If there is such a place, it is above the clouds," she points at the clouds ahead of us that we are heading straight for.
"Above the clouds," I hum.
"I wonder what's up there!" Luffy smiles. "Let's head straight for the Emperor Cloud then!"
"YEAH!" We all cheer as we quickly approach the clouds above. It doesn't take long before we a plunging right through them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hope you enjoyed reading! Akari's first bounty has finally been revealed, so I hope that was exciting. This also means that the Skypiea Arc has finally begun, but the next four chapters are going to be some background filler because I am itching to write those scenes. Anyways, I would love to know what you thought! :D