One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter One Hundred and Forty Two [Rewritten]

-Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Two-

"He did it! He did it—but got zapped! He did it!" Usopp wailed as I pushed right past him. "Skylar, wait!" he frantically shouted, quickly grabbing hold of my arm and jerking me back before I could get far.

"Let go!" I cried, harshly yanking on my arm. "I have to make sure he's alright!" I stressed, staring back with tearful eyes as I desperately tried to pry my arm from the sharpshooter's grip.

"You'll get yourself killed out there with all that lightning!" he frowned, tightening his hold the minute he felt it start to loosen.

"I don't care!" I shook my head.

"Oh no, the vine!" Robin's startled gasp quickly drew our attention toward the beanstalk that continued to stand tall, acting as if it had never been cut to begin with.

"Wha..." I mumbled in disbelief at the sight.

"The vine's not falling! But...he cut it!" Usopp screamed as he started to panic. "What is that thing made of? It looks like a plant, but it's solid as a rock!"

"No! I saw him cut it—it should be falling by now!" I cried in distress, grabbing my hair and painfully pulling on it.

"Pathetic! This is what you outsiders get for butting in!" Wyper snarled.

"Wyper, what are you doing?" Aisa worriedly asked when the man suddenly stood.

"Quiet!" Wyper snapped. "We Shandorians are the descendants of Calgara, not that kid in the straw hat!" he proclaimed, body uneasily swaying from side to side as if he could barely hold himself up. "If anyone is going to ring that bell—it should rightfully be us!" he scowled.

"Don't listen to him, Robin, Skylar! He's too banged up to stop us—besides, Nami and Luffy are counting on us!' Usopp assured us. "Our only priority right now is knocking that thing down" he said, suddenly gaining a boost in confidence. "Speaking of which, Zoro's already cut through half of the steam—it probably wouldn't take much to cut through the rest of it!" he encouraged, pushing the goggles on top of his head down and over his eyes.

"Look at you, growing a spine suddenly..." I sniffed, weakly laughing as he proudly puffed out his chest.

"My awesome Dance of the Exploding Star should do the trick! After just one little hit, even a gentle breeze will knock that thing over!" he boasted, pulling out his slingshot. "Once again, it's up to me—the last line of defense of our merry band! Robin, Skylar, leave all the dangerous stuff to me!" he proclaimed, demanding to take control of the situation all on his own. "You both tend to our fallen comrades!" he suggested.

"They look like an Oakley Mohican Cake" Robin deadpanned as we looked down at Chopper and Pierre.

"Nice comparison" I snorted, wiping at my watery eyes as I gave another sniff.

"Onward!" Usopp laughed as he rushed towards the vine.

"Sometimes I worry about him..." I softly sighed. "But it's nice to see him be so brave every now and then" I gently smiled, knowing that it probably was difficult for the sharpshooter to build up such confidence and bravery. I couldn't blame him for his skittish nature—there was something jarring about the abrupt shift from the calm and almost peaceful waters of the East Blue to the hectic sea of the Grand Line. It was no secret that the East Blue was the weakest of the four seas, filled to the brim with nothing more than ordinary people and low-rate pirates who kept mainly to their own lane, far different from those that inhabited the Grand Line. There was something understandable about the sharpshooter's fear.

"About that bell" Robin said, turning to Wyper who seemed to be looking the other way. "Four hundred years ago, an explorer from my world said he stumbled upon the City of Gold—people laughed at him and called him a liar. But he has a descendant today who still believes the stories and spent years searching the Blue Sea for any evidence of the City of Gold" she explained, giving mention to Cricket. "If that golden bell can be rung, everyone will know the City of Gold is in the sky and not a myth—there's a reason Luffy's up there, now do you understand?" she asked.