Chains That Bind Us |One Piece

Upper Yard 7

After discovering that the island that that were one had once come from the Blue Sea, once apart of Jaya where the City of Gold was stand to be. The five had headed back to the location they left the Going Merry and Chopper, however, there was no sigh of the little Doctor. "Chopper! Where are you?" Nami began calling out to him but there was no response. "Did something happen, Chopper? Answer me!"
"Oi, the Merry's mast is gone." Zoro pointed this out as the ships mast, which had been tall and centre of the ship was completely missing. "What kind of remodelling did he do?"
"That's not what happened! It was attacked!" Which only caused the orange hair navigator to snap back at him, at this was only thing that would make sense to the mast missing. "Chopper! Sorry we took so long! You can some out now!" She tried calling out to him once again. However, there was still no response from him. "Stop hiding! Answer me, Chopper!"
"Perhaps he was torn limb from limb." This cold joke came from Robin,who had said this nonchalantly.
"Quit thinking of these scary things!" But this time it was her that was being snapped at.
"Archaeologist-san's being generous, Navigator." Andrew scoffed, leaning against a tree's root. "Torn limb from limb implies there were limbs left to find. With a mast gone like that, he was probably crushed into a fine, reindeer-flavored paste. There's likely nothing left of him but a hat floating somewhere in the clouds." Andrea let out a bright, melodic giggle, clapping her hands together as if Andrew had just told a delightful bedtime story.
"Oh, Andy! You're so imaginative!" She chirped, her bubbly voice contrasting disturbingly with his words. She skipped toward the edge of the island for the lake, peering down into the white sea with a wide, cheerful smile. "Maybe he's not paste! Maybe he's been stuffed and mounted as a trophy for some sky-hunter! Wouldn't he look just darling above a fireplace with his little blue nose?" She turned back to the horrified Nami, winking playfully. "Don't worry, Nana-chan! If he was eaten, I'm sure he was delicious! Chocho-chan always did look like he'd taste like cotton candy!"
"You two are just as bad as she is!" Nami wailed, clutching her head. "Stop joking about our doctor being dessert!"
"Oi, Chopper!" Zoro stepped forward after a heavy sigh, ignoring the twins' dark banter. "You there or not!? What happened!? Speak up!" A moment later a shadow was moving on deck.
"N..." And the sound of Chopper's voice could be heard. "No... Nothing scary happened at all!" However, the tears and snot said a completely different story. Along with the bruises and bandages. But seeing that he was alive caused Nami to sigh in relief.
"Okay, okay. You're bog and strong." She tried comforting him like a child. "Now tell us everything that happened."
"Hey! Look over there!" That was until Andrea had excitedly pointed towards the Milky Way, where all the Skysharks had gathered together with their mouths open for some reason. "What are those weirdos doing? Are they trying to catch the clouds? Or maybe they're just practicing their choir routine!" She giggled, leaning dangerously far over the edge to get a better look.
"Hm?" Andrew didn't share her amusement. He glanced toward the top of the white stream, his eyes narrowing as he noticed something massive barreling down the Milky Way. It slammed into the sharks, sending them flying into unconsciousness.
"We're soaking wet!" Someone was saying on the craft.
"Hey, look! We found 'em! It's the Going Merry! That must be the Altar!" The others had looked to see the people that were shouting, and of course it was their idiot captain and the others.
"Hi, Nami~san! Robin~chwan! Andrea-chan~!" There on the raft was Sanji waving his arms around as hearts were flying out from him. "Did you miss me~? I overcame the Ordeal of Love!"
"Ugh, his brain is clearly the first thing the 'Ordeal' destroyed." Andrew stated, rolling his eyes.
"What?" But he wasn't along as Luffy was cling onto the figure head. "Was that the only Ordeal we had to endure?" Luffy was saying all disappointed.
"We're you guys scared?" This was followed by of course the last member of the crew, Usopp. "Rest easy now that Captain Usopp is here!"
"Hey~! Lulu-chan~ Sansan-chan~ Usouso-chan~!" Andrea was jumping up and down, waving with both her hands above her head.
"Sounds like they're all okay." Nami seemed satisfied since they weren't acting out of character for them. After that, the three of them had come to the shore so that the other five could get onto the Crow and headed back to the Going Merry, where they had found Chopper wounded, he had then explained that a Priest with a flaming lance had attacked the ship. But when Usopp saw the mast gone, he was lost for words.
"The mast's...gone." But when Usopp saw the mast gone, he was lost for words.
"Um, Usopp... I'm sorry. I fought with everything I had, but... everything was catching on fire, and..." Chopper was trying so hard to explain.
"Hey, are you alright?" Usopp only turned around and asked him.
"Yeah..." that surprise Chopper, But he answered.
"That guy with the burning lance must've been pretty dangerous. But at least he didn't burn you up too!" Usopp laughed happily down to Chopper. "We'll think about the ship later." Usopp said so happily walking off, but hearing those words had caused tears to swell up in Chopper's eyes but he had blinked them away and ran to the side of the Merry that he had climbed onto.
"I'm gonna be a man who everyone can depend on!" Flames of determination were surrounding him.
"Oi, Chopper! How'd you get rid of that Priest?" Luffy had asked, coursing him to stop.
"I blew the whistle. The Knight of the Sky came to help me." Chopper had turned around to him answering.
"Where's the weird old knight guy now?" Luffy then asked, which caused the reindeer to taken Luffy, Nami, and Sanji to the Knight of the Sky, Gan Fall, who was injured laying on a futon unconscious with his bird, Pierre, sitting beside him. As for the others they were out on deck, just in case there was another attack. The remaining five crew members stayed on the ship's deck, watching. The mood was tense as Zoro was watching the jungle.
"Keep watching." He told the others, hand resting on his swords in case. "The priest might have help."
"R-Right!" Usopp was scared, holding his slingshot tightly. "I am ready for fire attacks!" He yelled nervously, while hiding behind the swordsman.
"Our new members are very different." Robin smiled calmly, watching the new twins as she spoke.
"Just being realistic, Archeologist-san." Andrew stood next to Zoro, looking serious while speaking towards the woman. "Being careful keeps you alive." He looked at his sister, who was happily humming and walking on the ship's edge. "My sister thinks differently."
"Oh, Andy, don't be boring! It's nice here!" She looked down the altar towards the white water. "It's like floating on soft cotton candy! We should get some skysharks as pets!" Which caused him to sigh.
"They are large, dangerous animals, Andrea. Not pets." He told her straight out while shaking his head.
"They have cute open mouths!" She said happily. "They look so happy swimming! I am sure they are safe if we name them!"
"Safe is a tricky word here." Robin added, smiling. "Especially in a sea with flying islands." Just as Usopp was about to agree with Andrew... the door of the kitchen had opened as the others were leaving.
"In any case, let's head to the forest and camp at the lakeshore." Sanji had spoken this as he was leaving the room following after Nami.
"Why?" Luffy asked this behind him, not understanding why they wouldn't sleep on the ship.
"The ship will get destroyed if we have to fight here, right? Use your head!" The one that had began answering was Usopp, with his hands lifted.
"Also, it's probably a little easier to fight on the shore." This was also added.
"Aya! Alright! Camping! Party time!" Luffy was shouting while jumping.
"Yay!!" Along with Chopper and also Andrea. Although, unlike the girl that was excited about the camping, the doctor looked a little confused after a moment.
"What? Hey, wait! We're in enemy territory!" They had been shouted this reminder by Usopp. "You wanna camp!?" That was shocked at how relaxed they were.
"Alright! Then, let's start by barbecuing those Skysharks!" It seemed that the captain was all for camping as he was now looking out at the unconscious or dead Skysharks.
"Yay! Sounds delicious!" Andrea was all for it as she fist pumped the air.
"Oi, didn't you want to make them your pets earlier?" This question caused her to turn towards Zoro that had been the one to ask this, watching how her actions and thoughts changed instantly.
"Yeah, but they look delicious." She was drooling while answering.
"She really is like Luffy..." The man couldn't believe that there were two people like this in the world.
"Your sister is very lively, isn't she?" Robin asked, leaning against the railing, watching Andrea leap over a crate to chase after Luffy and Chopper.
"Lively is one word for it." Andrew didn't pull his gaze from the jungle as he replied. "To Andrea, danger is just a game she hasn't lost. She doesn't see the risk; she only sees the adventure." Robin chuckled softly,
"A rare quality. Many people spend their lives trying to find that kind of light." Andrew finally turned his head slightly, glancing at the archaeologist. He noticed the way she watched the others—her smile was perfectly in place, yet there was a stillness in her eyes that didn't quite match the cheerfulness of the crew. He didn't speak his thoughts, but he remained silent for a moment, observing the quiet distance in her posture. A few feet away, Andrea suddenly stopped mid-laugh. She had been about to tackle Chopper into a pile of ropes, but her eyes drifted toward Robin. For some reason, she stopped smiling for a moment, her golden eyes reflecting a thick, ink-like shadow was coiling around Robin's shoulders, swirling like cold smoke that no one else noticed.

By the time crew had moved to the shore with supplies and set up their tents for camping the sun was almost set but it wasn't dark due to the large burning fire that was cooking the Skysharks that were impaled like skewers. "Yeah, this is yummy!" Luffy and Andrea were both already eating one of them each, as everyone was sitting down, all but Usopp.
"Geez, you'll eat anything." Nami sighed at the pair stuffing their face.
"Hey, this is pretty good." That was when Usopp began tapping on the black board they for some reason had, pulling all attention to him.
"Quiet! We're in the middle of reports." With everything now calmed down it was time for the crew which had been separated till now to give information that had gathered while apart.
"We encountered Satori from the Illusion Forest, a priest twho use a surprise balls." Sanji had Ben the one to start as he held a grinding bowl in hand. While the surprise balls made the fight tough, the toughest part was that he predicted our movements using a technique called Mantra or something."
"Mantra?" Andrea titled her head, mouth full as she chewed. Beside her, Andrew's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The priest Shura, who appeared out of nowhere, used a sphere that burns everything." Chopper had spoken up next, explaining the priest from his battle. "Also, he seemed to predict my movements, too. Although I tried to attack him many times, he dodged each time. The bird he was riding blew flames and burned the main mast." He looked frustrated by this fact.
"You guys had a really hard time." This had been followed by Nami who was looking over at the two who spoke earlier. "But we discovered that this island is the other half of Jaya. The city of Gold didn't sink in the sea, but it flew up into the sky!" She informed them of what they had discovered while exploring.
"Alright! Well, everyone, thanks for your reports." Usopp spoken as he had wrote all the information on the board beside him. "Based on your reports, we've learned many things. "However, the biggest discovery is this!" His pointed at the information about Jaya. "Believe it or not, this island is the city of gold, the one that the Saruyama Alliance was searching for!!"
"Really!?" Luffy was completely shocked upon hearing this, most likely because he hadn't been listening.
"I already said that, didn't I!?" Which had Nami snap at him as she spoke about it earlier.
"So, what is this Mantra thing?" Zoro asked this question towards Sanji was still gridding something into paste.
"I don't know. Maybe it's like an intuition or something." This was the only guess he could come up with to explain it.
"Intuition, huh?"
"Hey, Chopper! Should I ground more?" Holding up the bowl towards Chopper, Sanji asked this.
"Yes. Make it so that he can swallow." Who was once again looking over Gan Fall. "His digestive tract is a little damaged." The man was still unconscious.
"Gold, huh?" Luffy stood up, clearly filled with excitement. "I've been waiting for an adventure like this!" He was pumped about the adventure that was coming their way. "I can't wait!"
"That's what I wanted to hear!" Nami winked towards him in agreement. "This simplifies things!"
"Hey, hey, Luffy. Have you forgotten the Guerrilla's wearing from earlier?" However, the excitement and enthusiasm did not reach the long nose.
"God's gonna get angry. He's scary!" But he wasn't the only one, as the doctor was sweating.
"That sounds fun." Robin was chuckling in amusement.
"Well, as pirates, we can't back off when there's treasure close by, can we?" Sanji was saying with a smirk.
"We've got enough enemies. It's gonna be a survival game." Despite saying such words, Zoro looked excited himself. "Sounds fun!"
"A city made of gold?!" Andrea's eyes lit up at the word 'gold.' She tossed her finished skewer aside and stood up next to Luffy, pumping a fist into the air. "Think of all the snacks we can buy, Andy!"
"We have to survive the 'God' first, Andrea." Andrew reminded her, though he didn't stop her.
"You guys... Shouldn't you be at least a ting bit afraid of God!?" Usopp was in tears as he was speaking to them. "I'm not responsible for this. You'll be punished, seriously!"
"Alright! Let's do it! Gold hunting!!" Luffy shouted at nothing was going to stop him at all.
"Gold hunting!" Andrea echoed with a bubbly laugh, her excitement matching the captain's.
"Andrea." Hearing her brother speaking to her, the girl turned towards him. "This Mantra, is it that?" He asked her like he suspected it to be something they knew about.
"Hmm..." The girl was thinking for a moment, her index finger on her chin. "Probably, but it seems that these people and the crew don't know what it is."
"Should we say something?" This had been asked by the serious twin.
"And what fun would that be!? Besides, they'll learn about it soon enough." Andrea whispered back with a mischievous wink. "Let's just focus on the gold!" However, it seemed that despite having information about something important neither of the twins had spoken up about it.