Without any real hesitance or fear, Luffy sprung on top of the Waver and started to glance around to figure out how to work the damn machine.
"Accelerator? This?" He placed his bare foot on the pedal, "Just step on this right?"
Faythe was still sticking close to her Captain. Her parrot form resting on his shoulder comfortably, as she observed her friend's playful energy.
As he pressed down on the pedal, the waver actually went flying, startling even Faythe as she clung on even tighter when she was almost knocked off Luffy's shoulder, "Wah!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH OOOH!!?" He held onto the grips like his life depended on it. Faythe glanced back to see multiple clouds burst out behind them in chunks, "IT'S MOVING!"
Chopper watched with an almost concerned expression, "Wow!!! He did it!!!!"
Faythe felt her body swerve from side to side as Luffy couldn't control the balance of the waver, "Ugah—!? Yah! Wah! Hababah!"
The strange incoherent words slipping from his mouth made Faythe start laughing, "What the hell are you trying to say—!"
"Hey! It's not my fault! Why is it shaking so much...!? I can't stop!!!" He had accidentally tugged the steering handles upward, sending both devil fruit eaters spiraling in the air, "EEEEEK—!!"
Usopp and Zoro stared on in an almost impressed blank look.
"It flipped."
"Pretty big flips, too!"
Conis covered her mouth in worry as she spoke up in concern, "Oh no! Are they hurt!!?"
Pagaya looked like he wanted to do something he was having a ear with himself about the cloud sea, "Oh no... I'm so sorry. It's my fault for letting them borrow my waver."
Everyone in the crew looked on with indifferent looks, well all except Chopper who kept looking back to the sea and the crew frantically.
Sanji crossed his arms casually, "I wonder what'll happen to those with Devil Fruit abilities in this sea of clouds...."
Zoro looked on beside Chopper and Usopp with the same curious attention, "Well, this place is different from normal seas, right? He may actually float."
Out at sea Luffy and Faythe were both trying to get on top of each other to not drown but they just ended up sinking faster due to their weak efforts.
"He sank."
"No good, huh?"
/:/~***~/:/
"That was close!!! They almost sank all the way to the bottom!!" Sanji pointed an accusing look towards Zoro as he carried Faythe limp body in a princess hold while Luffy's hat lay on top of her face to hide from the sun.
Zoro gritted his teeth and yelled back, "It's all because of your stupid babbling!!" He dragged Luffy ashore by one of his feet.
Conis and Pagaya glanced worriedly between the two crew mates that looked to be almost passed out, "No it's my fault for lending my waver to a beginner. I'm very sorry."
Usopp was dragging chopper out of the water with a puzzled sigh, "Why did you jump down too—!?"
"Sky Island so scary. Sky Island so scary." Chopper gurgled out in his shivering form.
"My feet... One of them passes through the cloud..." Luffy gagged out some cloud water.
"Your panicking because your feet passed through—!? My whole top torso phased through!!" Faythe shouted while slamming his hat down on his dazed expression.
Pagaya looked like he was sweating buckets, "In order to fully utilize the power, the hulls of the wavers are made very light. So even the smallest of wave can cause it to turn. This, one must understand the sea very well and be able to predict the waves. I'm sorry!!"
Faythe leaned back into one of the chairs trying to dry off her feathers, "That sounds awfully like a certain Navigator we have."
Robin muffled a chuckle as she stood beside the red head, "I'm sure that is exactly the description of Ms Navigator."
"Right!?" Faythe beamed a smile up at the archeologist.
Chopper waddled over towards Conis with a disappointed gaze, "Is it really that hard!? I wanted to try it—"
Conus turned and crouched, "I've been practicing since I was a child, and I've only succeeded recently."
Pagaya held out his hands to explain, "With training, it takes about 10 years to learn."
Usopp gawked at the years, "That's a long time!!! You'd need a lot of patience!!!"
"Hey—!!"
Everyone turned to see Nami on the abandoned Waver, riding the waves perfectly.
"SHE DID IT!!" Usopp shouted in shock.
"It's so amazing—!" She hollered back cheerfully.
"What...!! Unbelievable...!!!" Pagaya looked on in astonishment.
Sanji looked to be a fan girl cheering on his favorite celebrity, "Miss Nami, you're the best~~~!!"
Luffy gawked at the sight, "Why!? How can she navigate something so difficult to control!?"
Faythe just brought some sunglasses down her face to get the sunlight out of her face as she watched Nami enjoy herself, "Called it."
Robin sat down in a close by chair and seemed to be wearing another pair of shades. A calm smile painted on her lips, "Your predicting prowess seems to be on a streak."
Faythe just grinned as she crossed her legs, "I've always been good at predicting things. Ever since I was little, I always felt like things are just easy to read. It's like second nature to me."
"Hey Nami!! We're going to the Mister's house! Come back now!!!" Luffy threw his hands up in a petty attempt of envy, "Stuuuupid~~~~!! Hurry up and back, Ba~~~ Ka~~~~!!"
Sanji nailed his foot into Luffy's head, trying to shove him away, "Why you..." He was honestly getting sick of his Captain's childishness.
"You guys go ahead!! Mister, can I play a little longer!?"
Pagaya gave a nod, "Yes, but please be careful!!"
Robin held her hand out to Faythe, "Ready to go hear about that anticipating story of yours?"
Faythe grabbed hold and lugged herself up with a bright smile, "Ready as I'll ever be!" She then dragged Robin off to follow the rest of her crew mates.
They all started their way up a long flight of cloud made stairs.
"...How can she navigate it so easily when it shakes so badly?" Usopp muttered, glancing back to see Nami still riding off into the distance.
Faythe noticed Luffy trail behind and stop on the stairs to stare, "Luffy, what are you doing? We're gonna leave you behind."
Luffy glanced up at her with a dead stare, "But it looks so fun...!!" He paused for a second and then stuck his tongue out like a child, "SINK!"
Sanji snapped and smacked the Captain in the head, "Are you a kid!?"
Usopp and Chopper were climbing on the clouds that sat idly by the stair case, "Hey there seems to be some sort of construction site on the other side!!"
"Oh? What, what?" Chopper crawled up to follow Usopp.
Luffy hurried up to catch up to the group, "Ouch!! I bit my tongue, Sanji—!"
Sanji gritted his teeth and carried onward without a care, "Bite harder!!"
Pagaya tilted his head in thought, "Are you talking about the 'Cloud Cutting Factory'?"
"Cloud Cutting Factory? They aren't cutting rocks?"
Pagaya shook his head with a small laugh, "The Factory cuts the cloud into blocks for versions purposes."
"Clouds can be cut into blocks...?"
"Everything is so illogical."
Faythe just let out a laugh, "I keep saying this but you guys always think that everything must have a reason behind them. We're in the Grandline! Nothing is gonna normal or simple!"
Pagaya readjusted the carrying basket on his back and continued up the stairs with Zoro beside him. Sanji was trying to make moves on Conis and Robin just trailed behind to observe her surroundings.
Usopp, Luffy, Chopper, and Faythe on the other hand went left field and started climbing up the clouds beside the stairs like children they were.
"To get here to the White-White Sea, didn't you pass through the 'Milky Road'!?"
Zoro narrowed his eyes, "Milky...!? The route that looked like a flat noodle?"
Pagaya nodded, "That is an artificial cloud canal. There are two natural cloud types in this place. The kind you sail your ships on is called 'Sea Cloud.' The fluffy type that you walk on is called 'Island Cloud.'"
Faythe was gliding above her crew mates, getting a better view of the area but she caught some people giving her hawking stares, so she lowered herself closer to the ground to avoid the looks. Luffy was doing a hand stand behind them while Usopp and Chopper chase after Conis' pet fox. Chopper ended up tripping and faceplanting into the island cloud.
Robin thought over the explanation, "But they aren't just normal clouds, right!? You can swim and sail..."
Pagaya picked up her question and gave her further details on the matter, "That's right. This is because the molecular makeup of each cloud is different. On the Blue Sea, I heard that there is a mineral called 'Kairouseki'...."
"The hell is that..." Faythe raised a brow.
"Kairouseki!? It's because of that?" Robin ignored Faythe and asked.
Pagaya nodded, "Yes. That mineral contains a special substance... We call it 'Pyrobloin'... It's a molecular substance that gets ejected into the air by volcanic eruptions. When it comes in contact with water in the air... Sea Clouds and Island Clouds are created."
Luffy and Faythe looked on with weak smiles.
"Oh—! I get it!!"
"The fuck did he just say...? I couldn't understand a word...!"
Usopp just looked on with a confident smirk, "Yeah~~~! That's right. When I was a little, I often played with it... That molecular substance...!"
Sanji looked at the trio with bafflement, "You can't play with that!!"
"—Nonetheless, the Milky Road I mentioned before... As well as the chairs made of cloud on the beach..."
"Are those two spiral sliders also like that...?"
"Those are also Milky Road." Pagaya nodded, "Anyways, those were originally produced by cutting the Island Cloud at the Cloud Cutting Factory... And then after some density manipulations, these artificial cloud products were created."
Faythe turned her gaze from Pagaya and looked up to see a cloud made arch with a ginormous beach house on the side. It look like a nice little abode for the family.
"This is my home! Please come in."
"What a cool place—! The view is great!!"
"I can see Nami's Waver!"
/:/~***~/:/
Luffy held a shell close to his mouth and spoke into it, saying the first thing that came into mind, "USOPP IS STUPID!!!"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!" Faythe was on the wheezing, holding her stomach while she kicked her legs.
Usopp started to twirl around Luffy, "AH—! Why me~~!?"
Conis watched the trio with an amused look, "Huhu...Now Please press that button on the Shell's Apex!"
"What's an Apex?" Faythe jutted a lip out as she leaned over Luffy's shoulder.
Usopp stood on the other side of Luffy, rubbing his chin in thought, "The top of the shell. But pressing it won't do anything..."
Luffy grabbed the top of the shell and it clicked down, "Wah! It caved in!! It's soft on this spot!"
"USOPP IS STUPID!!!"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!"
"AH—! Why me!?"
The trio all jumped as the shell started to speak back.
The feathers lined up Faythe's arm and started bristling, "WHAT THE FUCK—!?"
Luffy started to to panick and stare in amazement at the shell he held up, "WOW!! EVEN THE SHELL CALLED YOU STUPID!!"
Usopp then proceeded to smack the two, "THAT'S YOUR VOICE!!"
Zoro watched on, ignoring the trio, "Eh—!! It can record sound?" He then glanced down at the shell that Luffy held up to the sky, "That shell is a 'Dial'?"
Conis nodded politely, "Yes. That's a tone dial." Her eyes then traveled over to Faythe who was skimming through the book shelf, "It records sound and then replays it later. It's a special shell found only in the White-White Sea. It's mainly used to record music."
"USOPP IS STUPID!!"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
"AH—! Why me!?"
Usopp and Luffy were still messing with the tone dial, "Hahaha!"
"I see. That's really amazing!"
Chopper sat on the island cloud couch, "This sofa is kind of stiff—"
Faythe passed Chopper and flicked his head, "Don't be rude. We're in a guests house. Be polite." She chastised quietly and gave the reindeer a quick pat on the shoulder before skimming over to another bookshelf.
Chopper rubbed his forehead with a small pout, "Sorry..."
Conis just smiled, "It's okay."
Zoro spoke up, "There's No bottom in this sea. How do these things survive?"
"We get them from the shallows of the beach." Conis answered without hesitation. Faythe was quietly jotting down notes in her head to add into the story for Cricket.
"If this is what a dial is... I don't understand how it can make a waver move..." Robin asked with furrowed eye brows.
Conis walked over to a chest and pulled out a larger shell, "That's not it. This is the Waver's power source. Even though it's smaller, this is called a Breath Dial."
She handed it to Luffy who then spiraled his arm into a fast circle to collect air into the shell's opening.
"If you have it face the wind for 30 minutes, then it will be able to release 30 minutes of wind."
Luffy clicked the apex button and all the wind was blown into his face, "Woah—!"
"The size of Storage is dependent on the size of the dial, but by placing it at the stern, it can easily power a light ship."
"So that's a waver...!!"
"I don't see the amazement." Faythe shrugged while trying to fix the unruly cowlicks in Luffy's hair from the wind.
Usopp frowned at the red head, "Well not everyone can fly like you can, Faythe—!"
"I see. So it moves using the wind from this thing!?"
"Although the waver is the only thing I can handle, there are actually many different types of dials." She scratched her head embarrassed, her cheeks lighting up in a flush of pink, "There are skate and board types as well...."
Luffy leaned on the rails with excitement, "That's nice~~~! I want to ride one, too—! She's so lucky!" He caught sight of Nami still riding on the waves.
Usopp chuckled, "We do, but it's broken. Plus it's been 200 years. There's no way it can still move!"
Faythe rubbed her chin, "But isn't the dial still a shell? A shell could still maintain its shape and power for years and years... So I don't see a reason why we couldn't fix the Waver up as long as the Dial is still working." Faythe stated while everyone else looked over at Conis for a answer.
"That is correct. The dial itself still remains a shellfish. As long as the dial isn't broken, it will retain it's power." Conis nodded with her eye sparkling in Faythe's direction, "As expected from the Great Arcus—!!"
Faythe's face instantly dropped at the title.
"Really!? Hear that!!"
"But you still can't ride it..."
"So lucky~~~~!"
Zoro sat down on one of the Island Cloud sofa's, his swords resting on the side.
"Other than those two, there seem to be many types of dials." Robin pointed out.
"Eh?"
"Dial!" Chopped clambered up onto the coffee table with excitement and pointed a hoof at the shell shaped lamp that had a weird glow inside, "This thing is one, too??"
"Yes, this is a lamp dial. It is used to store light."
Chopper's face glowed from the light as he edged closer, "Wah, the shell is shining!"
Faythe smiled softly at the sight and glanced around to find another bookshelf next to the balcony.
"Although not a direct form of resource, Sky Island's culture is one that has evolved to coexist with dial energy." Conis said with a proud smile, "Additional types of dials include the heat storing flame dial, the scent storing dial, and the image recording vision dial, among others."
"Image Recording Vision Dial??" Faythe perked up, "So like they could take pictures??"
Conis paused to think, "Think of taking a video of something and then being able to replay it in a 3-D version."
"Imma need one of those stat!" Faythe couldn't help but think of the funny things she could record with it.
"So interesting—! So interesting—!!" Chopper cried out happily.
"They are important tools for living in the Sky." Conis smiled down at the teary reindeer.
"So... You've been calling Faythe here, an Arcus ever since you've met her. What's the deal with this so called Arcus??" Usopp spoke up, his arms crossed.
At the mention of the titled Arcus, Conis brightened up even more than when she spoke of her country's culture, "An Arcus is what we Skypiens are most driven by! They are the ones that gifted us with our wings!!"
The whole crew did a whole spit take, erupting in gawks.
"EHHHHHHH!?"
"YOU GAVE THEM WINGS!?"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU GIVE US WINGS, FAYTHE!?"
"BECAUSE THAT'S PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE!?"
"WONT THAT MAKE THEM A GOD!?"
"A GOD!?"
"FAYTHE'S A GOD!?"
Conis stood there with a nervous laugh, "Arcus' were no gods! In fact they were the keepers of the God's treasure and secrets!" Conis chirped happily.
Robin glanced back at Faythe who was being held in the air by Chopper, Luffy, and Usopp, "Didn't you say there was a story about this Arcus you speak so highly of?"
Conis pressed the soles of her fingertips together in glee, "Of course! It was one of my favorite stories growing up as a kid." She hurried off to another room, which Faythe believed was her room, and hurried back out with a leather strapped book.
She sat down in one of the Island Cloud chairs and cleared her throat, "Most of the Skypiens treasure this story in their heart but aren't as loyal to the Arcuses than the Guerillas."
"The Guerillas? You mean that dude who tried to kill us when we first got here??" Zoro spoke up, "Is that why he started to worship Faythe like she was some sort of deity?"
Conis frowned at the thought of them getting attacked by the Guerillas but continued, "They say the Arcus met them first and granted them resources when they were in dire need and in return they gave they're servitude to the great winged creature."
The whole group awed at that, "So Faythe is literally our only chance when facing them." Usopp stated.
Conis smiled, "I wouldn't be surprised if they asked to serve her as soon as they see her."
"Cool! New friends!" Luffy cheered with Chopper.
"New Friends!!"
Faythe listened with a smile, her hand fiddling with the worn paper in her pocket, "So the story?"
"Ah-! Yes, forgive me Arcus!" Conis hurried to open the book, "The Fallen Heaven Star."
"Once upon a time, in the sky far above us. There lived gods. Gods that were all separated by a great force. They all lived so far high in the sky that even we mortals could never dream to reach."
"Wait gods are real!?"
"Shhhhh—!!"
"With those gods, they were all surrounded by stars. Each star held a God's secret or power. It could hold a memory, a treasure, or maybe their own emotion...
Way up above our reach were these mysterious birds. These mysterious birds have shown their selves all throughout history and the archive books.
They are told to be the ones that deliver the stars and letters to every god or goddess. Each flying with magnificent colors that one could only dream of seeing..."
Everyone then glanced over at Faythe who fluffed up in her colorful feathers by the sudden attention, "What??"
"Her feathers are colorful...."
"Dunno if I would call her a messenger, I'm sure she'd fuck that up and make unnecessary drama to make entertainment for herself."
"I like drama."
"These birds were told to be named as 'Arcus Avem'. These Arcus' were told in stories to be seen as shooting stars or the trail they leave behind them called 'Northern Lights'.
These beautiful creatures had no owners, no masters which they serve, nor a creator that they rely on. They are simply there to deliver the gods possessions."
Luffy chuckled at the last statement, "That part really sounds like Fae! Ha! Nothing can hold her down for too long!" He began to laugh out with his arm slung around the red head who couldn't help but crack a smile.
Zoro smirked at that, "Always flying off somewhere."
Usopp nodded in agreement, "Leaving everyone behind and in the dust...."
"One fateful night, a Arcus had dropped a star. A star so precious that it had been a treasure given to her by her favorite god. Not knowing what to do, she had quickly went to ask for forgiveness.
In the end, the gods were angered and showered their wrath upon all other Arcuses. They pointed their finger at the misfortunes and said these words:
'Since you have dropped and lost one of our great treasures, you shall lose your greatest nature!'"
"WHAT!?"
"So it was like an Eye for an Eye type of punishment...." Robin thought grimly.
"That's kinda harsh..."
"What did they do!?"
"And with that, each and every Arcus had faded into a dull color. Losing their great and colorful looks, they were shunned from their other god like friends.
Losing their color also meant losing their power, and now as they gazed at each other, all they could do was stick together and think in disgust at how powerless they were."
"If my powers were taken away, I'd be devastated.... Because without them I'd be still..." Faythe trailed off in thought. A dreadful shiver ran down her spine at the thought of bars encasing her in that tight space.
"The one responsible was later executed by her own kin, all rather furious at what she brought upon them. Without her mistake, they wouldn't have been showered by the god's wrath."
"WAIT!? Her own people killed her!?" Chopper exclaimed in horror.
"BUT THATS NOT FAIR! It was an accident!!" Luffy shouted annoyed at the unfair justice, "People are allowed to make mistakes!!"
Zoro scoffed, "Apparently the gods didn't think the same."
Faythe crossed her arms with a frown, "That's kinda sad...."
"The star in general was stated to fall in the Grand line's ocean and seas. Years passing and the great star had formed a island. An island filled with all kinds of treasures. Some even thinking the One piece had appeared there. The star was figured to be in the middle of the island, resting in a great slumber, forever in a coma."
"THE ONE PIECE!?"
"WAIT THAT WOULD BE AT RAFTEL!!"
"The star is at the last island!?"
Faythe stared in a daze, "So... That star, that was dropped by that Arcus is the said Fallen Heaven Star??" Her eyes widened in realization, "So in order to find the star.. We gotta find the—!"
"ONE PIECE!" Luffy cut in with an almost blinding smile as he stared at the red head, "Seems both of our dreams are at the same place!" He giggled happily, swinging Faythe around by wrapping his arms around her waist securely.
Faythe's blue eyes brightened at the idea, "I guess we are!" She laughed wildly, her red locks following behind her. Her arms wrapped around Luffy's neck as they continued to fool around like excited children.
Conis watched them with an almost envy gaze, her eyes then trailed down to the last remaining words in the book.
"Waiting for the same Arcus that dropped it, to deliver it to its owner. And that is how the Ravens came to be. Said to be stripped of their great power and color. All keeping close in short prayer for a miracle to happen."
With that Conis closed the book.
/:/~***~/:/
It's been awhile, I apologize. I've been working on yet another Fanfic called Golden Flower (Currently 52 Chapters) which is in another fandom called Lego Monkie Kid.
Yes. I got hooked.
Don't judge me.
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter because I sure did! It was finally time to throw out the story behind the Arcus!
And yes there are a lot of foreshadowing in the story.
Luffy - 66
Zoro - 57
Sanji - 5
Usopp - 2
Nami - 5
Robin - 3
Vivi - 7
Wyper - 2
/:/~***~/:/
Word Count: (4053)