~Third~

The Going Merry and her crew breached through clouds once more as they finally reached the height of one hundred thousand meters up in the sky "There it is!"Luffy said as sky island loomed straight infront of them "Wait didn't the sign we pass say Skypiea?"Robin asked "Yeah that's the same name scribbled on the map that Luffy found"Nami said.

"So i guess that galleon that fell on us actually did come here, the last time they set eyes on this was two hundred years ago i'm amazed this place has stayed beautiful for so long"Nami said as the ship reached the shores of the island, Luffy, Usopp and Chopper ran off to the shore, Nami went to change.

"You know Luffy we have a bit of a problem there's no sea bed so we can't drop anchor!"Zoro called over to the rubber boy "You know i thought about that and who cares!"Luffy called back before getting playfully shoved by Usopp, Nicole giggled a bit "Don't worry about it too much i bet we won't have to worry about a storm washing the ship away this high up"she said patting his chest as she walked past "Where are you going?"he asked "I'm gonna change, this shirt is too stuffy"she called before going into the cabin, Zoro shrugged and dropped anchor anyway.

"Well regardless of how the ground may feel it sure is an amazing sight better then i imagined" Zoro muttered "It's a sight for sure but i think our shipmates are overreacting bugs me when they get all worked up"Sanji said taking off his shoes before jumping off the ship "When they get all worked up?"Zoro muttered with a sweatdrop.

"Oh you're hurting me i said i was sorry!"Nami said as she came out of the cabin having changed clothes and with the south bird that flew off once it was outside "We forgot about the south bird we really should have let him go he'll never survive here"Nami said "I wouldn't sweat it birds adapt very quickly to their environments, or so Nicole has told me, and if not there seem to be people living up here don't worry about it he'll be fine"Zoro said.

"Yeah i guess, hey the anchor"Nami said "All taken care of it hit the heavier cloud below which is what i think this place is floating on"Zoro said "That means that sky island floats on a sea of cloud cover i wonder if its stationary in the sky or if it moves with the tide"Robin wondered outloud also having changed clothes "We can sit on deck all day and pick this whole thing apart but come on what fun would that be? Fact is most of this makes zero sense so let's make the best of it"Nami said jumping off the ship.

"This is why we came here you guys welcome to sky island"Nami said and laughed as she ran off "Swordsman you joining us?"Robin asked turning to Zoro "Yeah, i'll be along soon, just waiting on Nicole"the swordsman said, "You two have it easy"Robin said looking over to the shore with a somewhat sad look in her eyes that didn't go unnoticed by the swordsman "The only thing standing between your relationship is pride"she said before quickly changing her mood as she jumped off the ship.

Nicole walked out just then having changed her shirt for a spaghetti strapped crop top, which of course was black, she had also switched to torn cropped jeans that were about as long as her usual skirt, today she was letting her hair flow free as usual the pin securely on her sword as usual, the sword on a belt loop hanging at her left side and all her various necklaces stored safely in her room with other valuables, she had also switched from her usual boots to strap on sandals, she looked over to Zoro noticing him staring at her "What?"she asked "You look good" Zoro said.

Nicole blushed at the comment "Shut up"she grumbled jumping off the ship, Zoro chuckled taking off his boots and following her to the shore, "I didn't figure i'd get wet walking through clouds"Zoro muttered as him and Nicole reached the shore "Huh? What's that?"Zoro asked noticing something, Nicole looked over "Zoro that's not -"she went to say but was cut off Zoro went and used the fluffy thing like a towel, she sighed a bit as Zoro finally noticed his error "Oh sorry"he said letting go of the creature.

Nicole knelt down and smiled at the small fox like thing "I'm sorry about my friend he's an idiot you see"she said "Hey!"Zoro protested, Nicole ignored him offering her hand for the fox to smell, she stayed absolutely still as the fox sniffed her and ever so slightly nudged her hand, Nicole smiled as she petted the fox "You are fluffy like a towel, such a cute little thing"she said scratching the fox's chin "Su!"the fox said happily.

Then they heard a harp being played "Look there's someone over there on that cloud"Zoro said pointing over to the person "Oh great i bet it's another monster"Usopp said "Where's the whistle? Where's the whistle? We can ask the sky knight to save us"Chopper said "No we can't that's not who you think it is that right there is an angel"Sanji said "Angel?"Usopp asked.

"Heso"the angel greeted "Heso?"Luffy asked "You think she's trying to say hello?"Usopp asked "Could be, bet this place has a different language"Nicole said the fox cuddled up in her arms now enjoying head rubs "Su come here"the angel said and the fox jumped out of Nicole's arms leaving her pouting a bit.

"Did you come from the blue sea world?"the angel asked walking over to them "If that's what you call it we sailed up a river of clouds to get here, speaking of here is this your home?"Luffy asked "Yes it sure is and i'd like to welcome you to Skypiea's angel beach, i bet you'd like to drink that"the angel said referring to the pumpkin like fruit Luffy was holding.

Luffy nodded as he handed to fruit over "The top of a conache is as hard as steel it's impossible to crack so you have to cut through to the under side like this"the angel said cutting into the fruit "Here you go"the angel said handing the fruit back after sticking a straw into it.

"My name is Conis and this little one is Su, she's a cloud fox if you need anything at all please let me be of service"Conis said "Actually we've got tons of questions i hate to bother you but we've never been to any place like this before"Nami said "Sure ask me anything you wanna know" Conis said "Guys look something's coming"Zoro said looking over as someone was approaching them.

"Oh that's my father"Conis said "Heso Conis!"the man called "Heso father!"Conis called back to him "Can't you say hello like normal people?"Luffy asked "Huh? Conis what's that thing he's riding on?"Nami asked "Ah that would be my fathers waver"Conis said "Wow that's awesome!" Luffy said "Hey didn't Noland's log book mention something about a waver?"Nicole asked "Oh yeah"Nami said recalling that as well.

The man came in crashing in to the shore "Oh my goodness is everyone alright?"the man asked "You're the one who crashed!"Zoro yelled at him "Hey Luffy didn't you bring back something like that waver from the seabed?"Nami asked turning to the rubber boy "Oh yeah i did didn't i"Luffy said.

"Did you make some new friends Conis?"the man asked "Yes they arrived a few minutes ago from the blue sea world"Conis said "Oh still adjusting, there must be a great many things that puzzle you about the white white sea i'm sorry"the man said "There's no need to apologize" Usopp said "Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner my name is Pagaya"the man said.

"oh uh it's very nice to meet you"Usopp said "So father how was the fishing today?"Conis asked "Quite a successful venture i have an idea you should all come for dinner, we'll fill your bellies with a taste of the island"Pagaya said "I'm all for that i'm starving"Luffy said "Sky island cuisine? You mind if i help you prepare it?"Sanji asked "Not at all"Pagaya said "Before we go i have a question, this boat it doesn't have any sails to catch the wind and you weren't rowing it either so how does it propel through the water?"Nami asked.

"Oh of course your people aren't familiar with dials are they?"Conis asked "What's a dial?"Luffy asked, Pagaya let the rubber boy try out the waver but he crashed rather quickly "Oh no i hope he's alright"Conis said "It's all my fault i shouldn't have let a rookie use a waver"Pagaya said "Since Luffy can't swim i hope this sea is more buoyant then ours"Sanji said "Maybe if he can stay floating in the air then you're probably right he can handle it"Zoro said.

"Oh look he's already drowning"Nicole said as Luffy sunk into the cloud sea "Huh he sank"Sanji said "Not the first time i've been wrong"Zoro said "Ah i'll save you!"Chopper yelled diving in after, Zoro and Usopp went to fish them out and dragged them back to shore "That was close"Sanji muttered "You were standing on the beach what do you know about close? Oh yeah thanks for all the help by the way!"Zoro said.

"No need to be snappy, you handled it fine on your own"Nicole said "I apologize for letting him take the waver out with its light weight even a small wave can shake the rudder unless you know the white white sea like the back of your hand the waver is almost impossible to ride again i am sorry"Pagaya said.

"It's only recently that i became good enough to ride it"Conis said "Whoa is it really that hard?" Chopper asked "It usually takes ten years of training to drive it"Pagaya said "You gotta be joking!"Chopper said "Well Nami seems to be handling the waver just fine"Nicole said pointing over to the navigator cruising along on the waver like a pro "Wow look at her go!"Usopp yelled.

"That's incredibly i can't believe it, this is her first time?"Pagaya asked "Yeah how come she can do it and i can't?!"Luffy yelled "Wow! This really requires skill no wonder you had a hard time Luffy!"Nami called and laughed "Nami we're invited to dinner so get off that thing and stop being so rude!"Luffy yelled at her only to get kicked by Sanji "Talk about rude"he said.

"Stupid waver hog!"Luffy yelled "Go on ahead if it's alright with Pagaya i'd like to stay out here and ride!"Nami yelled "That's fine just be careful!"Pagaya yelled back, Nicole pouted a bit "You just know she's gonna be on that all day, i wanted to try too"she muttered, Zoro patted her head having heard her "You'll get your chance"he said "Doubt it"she muttered pushing his arm off and following the others as they were lead by Conis and Pagaya to their home.

"Wow is that some kind of factory?"Usopp asked noting something on the way there "Indeed it is that is our cloud quarry sight it's where our clouds are manufactured and cut to meet all types of needs"Pagaya said "I didn't know you could cut cloud"Zoro and Nicole muttered "You did take the milky road to get to the white white sea correct?"Pagaya asked "Milky road? Is that the name of that messed up current we took up here?"Zoro asked.

"Yes it's a canal constructed by our engineers and made from the natural clouds we quarry, there are actually two types of natural cloud on our island your ship landed on top what we call sea clouds and the ones that stand on their own where we can live and build on are called island clouds"Pagaya said.

"They're not the normal clouds we're used to are they?"Zoro asked "No they're composition nucleus is different from what you usually see it has to do with the mineral found in the blue sea world called sea prism stone"Pagaya said "Sea prism stone? What effect does that have on the clouds?"Robin asked.

"It's like this inside the sea prism are particles called pyrobrine during volcanic eruptions these particles gain moisture and ascend into the sky our clouds are formed based on the density of the moisture"Pagaya explained "Oh yeah i heard about those things"Luffy said "Sure i remember that from when i was a kid"Usopp said "Enough sarcasm"Sanji told them.

"In all actuality there are three types of clouds that we use in our day to day the sea and island types are natural the man made ones come from island clouds, now if you'll follow me please" Pagaya said showing the way to his home.

While Sanji and Pagaya went into the kitchen the rest of the Strawhats relaxed in the living room, Zoro immediately taking a seat on a couch with Nicole quickly following sitting next to him, Robin taking a seat as well, Chopper sitting across from her and Usopp and Luffy just stood around, there was some commotion from the kitchen but we're gonna ignore that.

"So uh i was wondering could you explain more about these dials you mentioned earlier?"Robin asked "Sure but it's complex i don't know exactly where to start"Conis said handing an ordinary looking sea shell to Luffy "This doesn't look like a dial it's just a sea shell"he said "Yes at first glance but why don't you put it to your mouth and talk"Conis said.

"Like this?"Luffy asked holding the shell close to his face "Usopp stinks"he spoke into the shell "Why do you always pick on me?!"Usopp asked "No just press down on the apex of the shell" Conis said but Luffy didn't get what apex meant so Usopp pushed it for him as he explained it "Usopp stinks"Luffy's voice came clear from the shell.

"The sea shells making fun of Usopp too!"Luffy yelled "What did i ever do to you sea shell?!" Usopp asked "Hey that's a neat trick, so it can store any sound and play it back?"Zoro asked "Then that shell is one of the dials"Robin said "Yes we call this one a tone dial, it's a shell that records whatever it hears"Conis said.

"Hey hold on i didn't think there was a bottom to your sea where do these things live anyway?" Zoro asked "They live in the shallows and the cloud reefs"Conis said "I still don't see how that little thing could move your fathers sky waver"Robin said "Well that's because this is the kind that powers the waver, it's smaller but it does demonstrate the same process"Conis said and showed on the wind chime that the shell she picked up blew out air.

"This is called a breath dial, it allows to store the wind and expel it at your desire, the wind capacity varies on the size of the shell, if you attach the right size to the stern of a ship you can move along swiftly"Conis said "So the bigger the dial the faster the waver?"Nicole asked "That's right"Conis nodded "I've never heard of anything like that"Robin said "I get it now the waver moved by blowing a stream of wind through the water"Usopp said.

"Dials don't just power wavers there's also the skating kind, the board kind but i don't go for those the waver is about as crazy as i get"Conis said "I wish i was out there on that thing instead of Nami and i could be if we figure out how to fix the one we have"Luffy said "How did you ever find a waver in your world?"Conis asked "Well it's kinda hard to tell if that's what it is you know? That hunk of junk is two hundred years old and a total reack there's no way it works"Usopp said.

"That might not be the case, dials are made from the remains of dead shell fish they could last indefinitely so long as the shell itself isn't broken you might get lucky"Conis said "I told you so!"Luffy said "You never said anything like that"Usopp said "I know"Luffy said.

"I'd venture a guess there are many types of dials is this one here?"Robin asked pointing to the one on the table "Yes that's a lamp dial"Conis said switching the lamp on "Neat it lit up from inside"Chopper said "Right there are flame dials that store heat and fire, flavor dials that store taste and aromas and vision dials that store everything the user sees which you can watch again and again"Conis said.

"I wanna live in the clouds for the rest of my life"Chopper cried "To be honest we couldn't sustain life in the clouds without these dials, our culture has evolved with the dials i suppose in the same way they evolved with the white white sea"Conis said as Zoro had fallen asleep snoring loudly, Nicole jabbed him waking him up "Let me nap damn woman"Zoro grumbled "I will, later though"Nicole said.

"Ladies and gentlemen dinner is served we have for you sky lobster with special sauce and a side of island fruits i can't pronounce"Sanji said serving said dinner and everyone dug in "Hey guys any of you know where Nami is?"Sanji asked "I think she's riding the waver"Luffy said stuffing his face "I don't see her"Sanji said.

"She probably went out too far, she's like that who cares you should have some of this"Usopp said "I'm worried do you think she's okay?"Conis asked her father "I have my concern but i can't say one way or the other"Pagaya said "What're you talking about?"Luffy asked "In the clouds there's a place called the Upper Yard no one is ever allowed to step foot on, it's not too far away it would only be a short trip by waver from here i'm afraid your friend Nami might have set ashore there out of curiosity"Conis said.

"What's so bad that no one can ever go to this island? Is it full of monster?"Usopp asked "It's sacred ground"Conis said "Sacred ground?"Robin asked Conis nodded "But it's so much more then just that it's the island where god lives"Conis said.