The Knock-Up Stream:

-x-

"Where the heck are they?" Nami demanded as the Straw Hats as well as a heavily bandaged Cricket, Masira, and Shoujou stood on the shore beside Cricket's damaged house waiting for their Captain and First Mate to return. "I expected this sort of thing from Luffy but I thought Y/N would've gotten him back here on time. They were supposed to be here five minutes ago! We're going to miss the current!"

"Well, Y/N's usually on time," Usopp reasoned, "but now he's got Luffy and the gold weighing him down so I'd compensate and add about twenty minutes."

"Uggh..." Nami groaned in annoyance, "Why does that rubber idiot always insist on making everything ten-times harder?"

"The only schedule Luffy's concerned with is his own," Sanji said.

"You don't think someone in town beat them up do you?" Chopper questioned.

"Those two, no way," Zoro stated.

"What about that guy Bellamy?" Usopp asked. "He sounded pretty nasty."

Nami growled, "Well if Bellamy didn't beat them up then you better believe I will!"

"Oh is that right?" Zoro challenged her, "Tough girl. The only reason you or Bellamy could beat those two is because they wouldn't bother fighting back."

Cricket, Shoujou and Masira sat silently as the Straw Hats complained about their Captain.

"HEEEEEYYYYYYYY!" a loud familiar voice called out to them.

The Straw Hats turned in time to see Luffy and Y/N come rushing out of the Southern Forest on the back of a huge spider. Luffy was smiling and waving while Y/N held reigns made out of spider's own webbing.

"LOOK THERE!" Masira exclaimed. "They're back! I knew they'd make it!"

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Y/N apologized as they rode up on their giant spider. "The gold was weighing us down so we decided to take a shortcut through the forest. Without the South Birds sending swarms of giant bugs after us it wasn't so bad. We ran into this thing on the way and since we were a little worn out from sprinting all the way to Mock Town and halfway back we decided to convince it to give us a ride." No one failed to notice the large lump on the spider's head.

"You're still late!" Nami complained.

"By what? Five minutes?" Y/N questioned, "That falls under 'fashionably late' in my book." Luffy and Y/N jumped off of the spider's back. Y/N tossed the sack of gold to Cricket then turned to the spider, "Go." And the spider raced off back to the forest.

"SHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed, "AND LOOK AT WHAT I CAUGHT!" Luffy held up a bug. "It's a Hercules!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Usopp yelled.

"YOU STOPPED TO CATCH A BUG!" Nami screamed.

"No we didn't, I swear," Y/N assured her, "You have to have more faith in me than that. Luffy just reached off the side of the spider and grabbed it."

"WHOA!" Luffy gasped when he spotted the Going Merry. The upgrades added by the Saruyama Alliance included a pair of metal wings coming out of the starboard and port sides, a metal tail coming off the stern, a metal collar had been fastened around the base of the badly repaired figurehead at the bow along with a headband around the Going Merry's sheep head which added the red comb and waddle of a chicken. "THAT'S AWESOME!"

"Introducing the Going Merry: Flying Edition!" Usopp proudly announced.

"IT CAN FLYYY?" Luffy repeated with stars in his eyes.

"I KNOW!" Usopp exclaimed as he motioned to the still gathered members of the Saruyama Alliance, "They built it just for us!"

"WAH-HOO!" the Saruyama Alliance cheered and posed.

"SHISHI!" Luffy laughed and posed along with them. "WAH-HOO!"

"They turned our ship... into a chicken..." Y/N dead-panned, notably less impressed.

"Something about it makes me feel kind of uneasy," Nami admitted.

"For once I agree with you," Zoro said, "Chickens don't even know how to fly. They should've made it a pigeon."

"WHAT'S THAT GOT TO DO WITH ANYTHING, YOU DOPE!" Nami snarled.

"Everything," Y/N replied, "A pirate's ship is a representation of himself. If we float around in a giant chicken, everyone else is gonna think we're chickens."

"No wonder Usopp's so proud of it," Zoro remarked.

"IT'S TIME TO SET SAIL!" Usopp called out. "Come on, if you're with me, let me hear it!"

"YEEEAAAH!" the Saruyama Alliance cheered. The Straw Hats and the Saruyama Alliance boarded their respective ships leaving only Luffy and Cricket lingering on the shore.

Cricket had set his recovered gold on the stump in between them and was silently smoking a cigarette. He had yet to acknowledge his gold being given back.

"What're you waiting for?" Cricket eventually asked. "Get on board... unless you plan on missing your chance at the sky... like a fool."

Luffy smiled and nodded, "Thanks for the ship!" he chirped.

Cricket casually put out his cigarette in the ash tray in front of him. "Thank them," Cricket said as he motioned to Shoujou, Masira and their crews who had boarded their respective ships. "They built it."

"Yeah, THANKS FOR THE SHIP YOU GUYS!" Luffy called out to them. He held up his beetle and grinned. "YOU CAN HAVE MY HERCULES!"

"Oooh, really?" Shoujou asked. "Ya mean it? Are you sure? THAT'S SO KIND OF YOU!"

"I still don't see what the big deal is about bugs," Y/N admitted.

"Alright, enough of this foolishness," Masira resolved, "We have some time but not much."

"Follow us," Shoujou instructed, "We'll lead the way!"

"COME ON LUFFY, LET'S GO!" Usopp shouted as Luffy ran to the ship.

"COMING!" Luffy returned.

"Hm," Cricket grunted to himself as he watched the boy go then glanced back at his recovered treasure. He remembered what Bellamy had said to him after he beaten him up and stole it.

"The City of Gold is just a fairy tale! That liar Noland dreamt it all up!"

"YOUR DREAMS WILL NEVER COME TRUE, EVER! HAAHAAHAAAHAAAHAAAA!"

Cricket gripped his treasure and turned to face his crew, "SARUYAMA!" he shouted.

"AYE!" they all chorused.

"I'm counting on you men!" Cricket addressed them. "I don't care what happens, you give our friends here everything you've got!"

"YEAH!" the men cheered.

Luffy smiled back at Cricket before jumping onto the Merry, "TIME TO SET SAIL!"

"You heard him," Nami said to the other Straw Hats, "Shove off!"

"ALRIGHT!" Usopp exclaimed.

"YEEES! MISS. NAMI!" Sanji swooned.

The anchor was raised and the chicken-themed Going Merry cast off from the shore.

"Well kid, looks like this is where we part ways," Cricket told the departing ship as the stood on the shore.

"Yup," Luffy replied.

"There's only one thing you've gotta remember above everything else," Cricket advised. "Not one person in history has ever disproven the existence of Sky Island! People may say I'm crazy, and even laugh at me but I don't care, I'm a romantic, like you."

"Romantic," Luffy repeated. Not a person that believed in the romance between people but a person that believed in the romance between and man and his dreams that drove him to making them come true.

"Oh, and thanks for retrieving the gold," Cricket added almost as an afterthought as the Going Merry set sail with the two Saruyama Alliance ships at its side.

"Our pleasure," Y/N stated. He looked over his shoulder and found Robin standing behind him. "Someone should put a bell on you." Robin simply smiled.

"And hey," Cricket said, "don't be falling from the sky, ya hear?"

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, "SEE YA AROUND, POPS!"

"THANKS FOR EVERYTHING CRICKET!" Nami called out.

"THINK OF US WHEN YOU FIND THE CITY OF GOLD, OLD TIMER!" Usopp exclaimed.

"DON'T DIVE TOO RECKLESSLY!" Chopper advised.

"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Cricket snapped.

-x-

The Going Merry wasn't the only ship that had set sail for the Knock-Up Stream. A large boat designed to look like a raft was sailing in the same direction. The body of the boat was four huge logs strapped together with cannons carved into them. There was one mast and it had three black sails on it. The top and bottom sails were small but the middle one was large and displayed the ship's Jolly Roger. Instead of only have the two diagonal crossbones, this one also had a third one going up and down. And instead of having just one skull, this mark had three with the two skulls at the sides looking in opposite directions while the one in the middle faced straight ahead.

This was the pirate ship of the Blackbeard Pirates. The raft's design meant that the ship went wherever Fate took it.

"It's morning already?" Blackbeard questioned as the sat in front of the main mast with Doc Q while Jesus Burgess and Van Auger stood at the front of the ship and looked off ahead of them. "Burgess! See anything out there?"

"Can't even see an outline of the shore yet," the masked grappler admitted, "You really think they're going to that Sky Island?"

"Yeah," Blackbeard replied, "So they say. They'll be pretty tough to follow up there. So we've gotta take care of 'em before that." Blackbeard grinned. "'Straw Hat' Luffy, who would've thought that twerp would be worth a hundred million berries?"

-x-

"Okay, listen up!" Masira instructed as, Shoujou, their respective crews and the Straw Hats sailed south for the Knock-Up Stream. "It's currently six forty five AM. We need to arrive at our final destination no later than eleven. It's like Cricket already told us, the spot where the Knock Up Stream erupts is different every single time. We need to get there as early as possible in order to pin-point its exact location."

Luffy tuned out Masira's explanation and instead focused on the South Birds perched on the rear railed of the front deck. Both of the South Birds were dutifully staring south.

"Check it out!" Luffy called out to the others on the front deck as he grabbed 'Stupid's' head and turned it to the side.

"Joooooohh!" Stupid called out in annoyance.

"Luckily we're only a little bit behind schedule," Masira continued but then noticed that Luffy wasn't paying attention, "HEY! ARE YOU KNUCKLEHEADS PAYING ATTENTION?"

Luffy took his hands off of the South Bird's head at being reprimanded which allowed the South Bird's head to snap back into the right south-pointing position. SWUK!

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed in amusement while Usopp and Chopper stood nearby, "Did you see that? It has to face forward! Shishishishi!"

"Strange," Usopp remarked, "I've never seen a bird like that."

"They can only face south!" Luffy continued to laugh, "It's that funny! These goofy birds act just like compasses! Shishishishishi!"

KONK! The other South Bird leaned forward and bonked Luffy on the head with her beak.

"JOOOOH!JOOOOH!" Stupid crowed.

"Did you hear what it said?" Usopp asked Chopper.

"He said he's 'going to face a different direction on purpose and laugh at us when we're lost'," Chopper translated.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed, "Go ahead and try!"

"Jooh!" Stupid grunted as he turned his head so he was looking backwards.

"Whoa!" Luffy gasped, "He really did it! He's facing north!"

"Jooooh... joooooh..." Stupid started groaning and sweating from the exertion of facing a different direction. Swip! He turned his head so he was once again facing South.

"TOLD YA HE COULDN'T DO IT!" Luffy exclaimed, "SHISHISHI!" Usopp and Chopper joined in at laughing at Stupid's failed attempt at looking in another direction.

"Jooohh..." the other South Bird crowed and sweat-dropped.

"HEY! SHOW THE BOSS SOME RESPECT AND PIPE DOWN OVER THERE!" some of Shoujou's men yelled, annoyed at the Straw Hats for ignoring one of their bosses.

"No, they're fine," Shoujou reassured his men. "It reminds me of the old days when I was young and irreverent."

"Uh-oh, what'd they say?" Luffy wondered as he turned his attention away from the South Birds and towards Shoujou's men. "HEY! There's no point in getting so worked up fellas! Shishishi! Try to relax!"

"And who put us being schedule?" Sanji questioned.

"Hey, it was only five minutes," Y/N pointed out, "Considering its Luffy, you should be thankful I got him back when I did. The way I see it, we've still got plenty of time."

"You know what, he's right," Masira decided, "Being tense won't get us anywhere. We may as well enjoy ourselves."

"I see your point," Shoujou said, "Full speed ahead men! Anyone not relaxing answers to me!"

"Aaahh, that's better," Luffy sighed.

The Going Merry and the two Saruyama Alliance ships visibly sagged as their crews relaxed.

"This is ridiculous," Zoro muttered.

"Hey, if we're all just relaxing do you mind if I call up my turtle?" Y/N requested. "I don't want him getting hurt in the Knock-Up Stream so I'm gonna try to figure out a way for him to follow us from the sea."

"Just tell him to follow the cumuloregalus cloud," Masira advised, "Once you're on top of it, your turtle can just follow it from below and he'll be nearby when you come back down."

"Then you'd better get some money out," Nami suggested, "If we're not gonna see your portable safe while we're up there you should get our funds together while you still can."

"Good call," Y/N said as he pulled out the receiver to the Transponder Snail he'd planted in Sheldon's ear. "Sheldon, come on up."

-x-

About three hours later, the Straw Hats and the Saruyama Alliance were still sailing south... but were the Blackbeard Pirates.

"Wait... what's over there?" Jesus Burguess wondered as he lowered his binoculars and just stared off ahead of the ship. "The sky! Its dark!"

There were no binoculars needed. The dark shadow being cast by the thick clusters of clouds up ahead were plainly visible to everyone on their ship.

-x-

The Straw Hats and the Saruyamas were sailing nearby. Sheldon had gone back underwater and was shadowing the three ships from below. One of Masira's men spotted the dark clouds.

"BOSS! LOOK! I see the cumuloregalus cloud to the south-west!"

"It can't be!" Masira barked, "What time is it?"

"Ten o clock!" the man exclaimed, "THEY'RE A FULL HOUR EARLY!"

"Shoujou!" Masira called out to his brother, "Do you think we can make it?"

"DISPATCH THE UTON DIVERS!" Shoujou ordered. "FIND ME THOSE CURRENTS!"

"Ooo! Ooo!" Shoujou's team of divers grunted before they dove into the water. SPLOOSH!

"INCREDIBLE!" Nami exclaimed as she stared at the clouds up ahead.

"WHAT'S GOING ON NOW?" Usopp asked as he came running out of the storage room while Sanji poked his head out of the galley.

"The cumuloregalus clouds appeared a lot sooner than expected!" Nami explained. "Now everyone's scrambling to find a current!"

"WOOOOOO-HAAAAAAAAA!" Shoujou shouted into his microphone so his team of divers could use his voice as sonar. When it came to undersea search and salvage, Shoujou and Masira were the best there was.

SPLOOSH! One of Shoujou's divers broke the surface and waved his arm and shouted, "SONAR WAVES DETECTED! THERE'S A LARGE CURRANT AT TWELVE O CLOCK!"

"THERE'S A LARGE CREATURE DETECTED AT NINE O CLOCK!" another diver yelled, "IT COULD BE A SEA KING!"

"THERE'S WAVE ACTIVITY DETECTED AT TEN O CLOCK GOING AGAINST THE CURRANT!" a third diver hollered. "I BELIEVE IT'S A GIANT WHIRLPOOL, SIR!"

"THAT'S IT!" Masira realized, "FULL SPEED AHEAD DIRECTLY FOR TEN O CLOCK! THAT'S WHERE THE KNOCK-UP STREAM'S GONNA ERUPT! I'M SURE OF IT! GO!"

SHOOOOM! A huge wave blew past and rocked all their ships.

"Hold on!" Zoro warned the others as the Straw Hats clung to various parts of the ship. Except Usopp and Chopper who were clinging to Y/N.

"THE WAVES ARE GETTING HIGHER!" Nami exclaimed in alarm.

"WE'RE GONNA SINK!" Usopp wailed from on Y/N's back.

"Steady men!" Masira ordered, "It's a pre-eruption tremor!"

"ERUPTION?" Chopper shrieked while perched on Y/N's shoulders.

"Chopper get your hoof outta my eye!" Y/N complained, Chopper moved it and Y/N turned to Zoro, "Zoro, get the South Birds into the anchor room. It doesn't look like we'll be needing them anymore and I don't want them exposed to the storm."

"I thought you hated birds?" Zoro questioned.

"I do," Y/N admitted, "but we took them away from their home so that means it's our responsibility to look after them.

"HEY! MISS. NAVIGATOR!" Robin called out to Nami, she had to practically shout over the roaring waves. "WHAT DOES THE LOG POSE SAY?"

Nami glanced down and the Log Pose on her wrist, "ITS POINTING STRAIGHT UP AT THOSE CLOUDS!" Nami shouted back.

"You mean... the Sky Island's above that?" Usopp questioned as he looked up at the dark stormy clouds above them.

"The wind direction's perfect," Nami realized, "THE CLOUDS ARE LINING UP EXACTLY OVER THE CENTER OF THE WHIRLPOOL!"

"What whirlpool?" Luffy questioned, "I haven't seen anything!"

"It's just starting to form up ahead," Y/N pointed out.

"Nice work brother!" Masira said to Shoujou, "I think we hit the jackpot on this one!"

"Yes, and it seems we're in for a nice-sized explosion!" Shoujou added.

"Do you think we'll make it?" Luffy asked.

"Of course!" Masira replied.

SHUK! Metal hooks shoot out from Masira's ship and clamped onto the front railing of the Going Merry.

"What's that?" Luffy inquired.

"We'll lead you to the inner edge!" Masira informed them.

"Alright," Nami said, "But what should we do?"

"Position yourself on the flow and head towards the center!" Masira instructed them, "Then you'll be fine."

"HE WANTS US TO GO TO THE CENTER?" Nami repeated incredulously. She didn't like the idea of sailing to the center of the whirlpool.

"It makes sense," Y/N reasoned, "You said before that the clouds were lining up with the center of the whirlpool. If the Knock-Up Stream is coming out of the center of it then that's where we need to be."

"In that case..." Whap! Nami had joined Usopp and Chopper and was now clinging to Y/N's front. But before Y/N could once again resign himself to once again being their meat shield, he realized he had two new additions.

"Really?" Y/N asked as she glanced down at Robin's arm that was hooked on his.

Robin shrugged as she casually stood next to him, "Everyone else was doing it," she replied.

Y/N looked the other way at Sanji, the cook wasn't clinging to him but was standing right next to him with is hands in his pockets. "REALLY?"

"Someone has to protect the women," Sanji stated. "You've got your hands full."

"HEY!" Usopp and Chopper yelled.

Y/N glared over his shoulder at Zoro who was the only one down on the main deck, "Don't you get any ideas!"

"Please," Zoro scoffed then smirked, "Besides, even if I wanted to there's no room."

"HERE WE GO!" Luffy shouted as they were pulled into the whirlpool.

-x-

The Going Merry Sails to the Sky:

-x-

Cricket was still sitting on his stump stood outside his house with his sack of treasure on the stump table behind him. The sky up above him had gone dark due to the presence of the cumuloregalus cloud.

"I have never met a group of characters like them before," the man remarked.

"YOU MEAN THERE'S NO SKY ISLAND?" Luffy shouted when Cricket had told them that the Sky Island was only supposed to be a fairy tale. "ARE YOU SURE?"

"Cricket's gold!" Nami exclaimed after she'd discovered that his gold had been stolen by Bellamy the Hyena. "IT'S ALL GONE!"

"You know me, Luffy," Y/N had said to convince his Captain to take him along to retrieve the gold. "I won't just stand around when someone's hard earned treasure has been stolen."

"We'll be back by morning guys," Luffy vowed before he and Y/N set off.

"Shishishi! See ya around, pops!" Luffy laughed as he and his crew set off for the Knock-Up Stream, intent on proving that the legendary Sky Island was actually real.

Cricket put out his cigarette on the edge of his overflowing ashtray, he smiled faintly as he remembered the pirates that had changed his life. "Always yapping about dreams..."

-x-

"I DON'T WANNA GET SUCKED IN!" Usopp screamed as the Going Merry sailed in the outer rim of the swirling whirlpool while being pulled by Masira's ship.

"I DON'T REMEMBER SIGNING UP FOR ALL THIS!" Nami shrieked.

"DON'T WORRY!" Sanji reassured her, "I'll make sure nothing happens to you!"

"Gurgle!" Y/N gagged as he was inadvertently strangled by the terrified duo, "Can't breathe!"

"I've never seen one quite this big before!" Robin admitted as she stared around her at the enormous whirlpool that they were currently sailing in.

"Teeheehee!" Chopper giggled, he was ignoring what was going on around him and was instead picturing the happy geyser gentle pushing the Going Merry up into the air.

"THIS IS BAD!" Usopp wailed, "I CHANGE MY MIND! I WANNA GO BACK!"

"Sorry Usopp," Zoro apologized to him, "Too late for that. You-Know-Who is already excited."

"LET'S GO TO THE SKY!" 'You-Know-Who' cheered in elation. "SHISHISHI!"

SHOOOOM! An enormous yellow Sea King with green spots and a fin going down its back burst out of the water in front of them. "YAAAAAAHHH!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper yelled as the clung even tighter to their meat shield at the sight of the monster's huge teeth.

But the current in the whirlpool was too strong even for the mighty Sea King and pulled it away from the Going Merry and further into the deadly water storm. The fact that the terrifying monster was no match for the current they were sailing in only served to terrifying Nami, Usopp, and Chopper even more.

"It's time for us to go!" Masira called out. The hooks had been removed from the Going Merry and he had sailed his ship back over to Shoujou's while the Straw Hats continued to sail further into the whirlpool. "The rest is up to you! Good luck!"

"BYE GUYS!" Luffy exclaimed as he smiled and waved at the monkey brothers. "THANKS A LOT FOR EVERYTHING!"

"DOON'T GOOO!" Usopp howled while Chopper screamed along with him, "I DON'T WANNA DIE! TAKE ME WITH YOU!"

"NO ONE EVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT DIVING HEAD-FIRST INTO A GIANT WHIRLPOOL!" Nami yelled.

"Enough you three!" Y/N snapped as he finally pried Nami and Usopp clingy hands off of his throat. "You can either cling to me, or you can scream, not both! I'm don't wanna go deaf!"

"I agree," Robin said as she used an extra hand to clean out one of her ears.

Usopp and Chopper stared at each other. Then slipped off of Y/N and started screaming a new. "COOOOME BAAAACK! IIII'M SCAAAARED! I DON'T WAANNAA DIIIEEEEEE!"

"WE'RE BEING SUCKED IN!" Chopper waited as the Going Merry swirled around the outer rim of the whirlpool.

Nami whimpered and decided she preferred having a meat shield to screaming and tightened her hold on Y/N before she buried her head in his chest.

"Don't be so unreasonable Luffy!" Usopp pleaded to the Captain with tears of terror running down his face. "Let's go back while we still have time! Don't you understand! This Sky Island stuff is just a myth! It's not worth getting us killed!"

"It's all make-believe?" Luffy questioned, "Is that what you think?"

"This is starting to seem like a really bad idea!" Chopper protested.

"It may be a stupid dream," Luffy admitted, "but I have to try." Luffy turned to face them with a huge 1000 megawatt grin that made if face practically sparkle, "IF WE DON'T DO THIS WE COULD REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!"

"It's too late!" Usopp cried in despair, there was no arguing with the Captain when he was this enthusiastic. They were DOOOOOMED!

"Instead of wasting your time bickering, you might wanna take a look," Zoro suggested as he pointed off the side of the ship. "It's sucking us in."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Usopp and Chopper screamed as the Going Merry was sucked out of the outer rim of the whirlpool right into the middle of it.

SPLOOOSH! The Going Merry touched down in the center of the whirlpool and suddenly the waves were all gone. The sea was calm.

"What happened?" Sanji sputtered, "It disappeared!"

"What's going on?" Luffy wondered.

"But... I don't get it..." Usopp said, "Where'd it go?"

BLUB! BLUB! BLUB! Underneath the Going Merry, the water started bubbling.

Nami felt the underwater tremors and let go of Y/N. "I feel it..." she said as she stared down at her feet in terror. "Its starting..."

"What?" Y/N questioned.

"The whirlpool has sunk under the surface!" Nami explained, the panic clear in her voice.

"You don't mean..." Usopp whimpered.

"HOOOLD IIIT RIIIGHT THEEEEREEEE!" came a loud shout.

The Straw Hats turned to see a raft like boat with black sails sailing out to meet them in the middle of the underwater whirlpool.

"Hey Zoro... look!" Luffy pointed out.

"Who is it?" Y/N asked as he squinted in an attempt to see who was on the incoming ship.

"It's that guy from Mock Town," Nami, who had decent depth perception, realized.

"What guy?" Sanji questioned.

"Mr. One Eye, that sniper we encountered is there too," Robin observed.

"ZEHAHAHAHA!"

The sound of the familiar laughter caused Y/N's eye to narrow and his fists to clench.

Blackbeard and Van Auger stood on the two middle logs of the raft-themed boat while Jesus Burgess and Doc Q were on the side ones using oars to paddle them closer to the Going Merry.

"'STRAW HAT' LUFFY!" Blackbeard shouted, "I'VE COME ALL THIS WAY TO COLLECT ON YOUR HUNDRED MILLION BERRI BOUNTY! SO DON'T BE SHY! ZEHAHAHA!"

"Yyoouu..." Y/N growled through gritted teeth while his clenched hands shook.

-x-

"Were those youngsters expecting some company?" Shoujou wondered as he and Masira watched as the Blackbeard Pirates closed in on the Straw Hats.

"I don't know brother," Masira confessed.

-x-

"A hundred million?" Luffy repeated. No one had gotten around to telling him about his raise in bounty. "What're you—" WHUMP! Luffy was cut off went Y/N pushed passed him and shoved his brother to the ground.

"TEACH!" Y/N shouted.

"Well if it isn't my old pal, Y/N!" Marshall D. Teach remarked, "It's been a while! How'd that eye of yours heal up?"

"Eye... Teach..." Nami repeated to herself then her eyes widened in horror, "Oh no..."

"I'm not your pal!" Y/N spat, "YOU RUINED MY LIFE YOU BASTARD!"

Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji's eyes widened in realization, "So that's the guy..." Zoro whispered.

"Then you're gonna hate to hear this kid," Blackbeard said, "But now that Crocodile's been arrested, my latest goal is to replace him as the Seventh Warlord! I'm here for your Captain's impressive bounty! Actually... with you and the Pirate Hunter thrown in that's almost a quarter billion berries! Maybe the two of us meeting here after all this time is Fate!"

"Oh no, he said the F-word..." Nami whimpered.

"LIKE HELL I'M GONNA ALLOW THAT!" Y/N yelled he reached up for his eye patch. Whap! Luffy grabbed his wrist and held him back.

"Y/N... we don't have time for this..." Luffy told him. SWOOOSH! Y/N swung around and threw his brother off of him and sent him tumbling down the steps.

"SANJI! DO SOMETHING!" Nami shrieked.

Y/N reached for his eye patch again but this time Sanji grabbed his wrist before he could pull it off. Whap! "Y/N!" Sanji snapped, "CONTROL YOURSELF!"

WOOOSH! THWAK! Y/N spun Sanji off of him and with a well-placed kick sent the cook crashing into Usopp and Chopper causing all three of them to land in a heap. WHUMP! Y/N turned back around and stepped onto the railing.

"Don't tell me you're trying to stop me again, kid," Blackbeard said, his good-natured smile was now gone. "I thought you would've learned your lesson about fighting Fate after last time."

"This time I'm not trying to stop you..." Y/N growled, "This time... I'LL KILL YOU!"

Whap! "Seis Fleur!" Six arms grew out of the railing and Y/N's body, two anchored his feet down onto the railing while the other four wrenched his arms behind his back. "Mr. One Eye, think about what you're doing... the Knock-Up Stream's about to go off..." Zoro finally reached the front deck and wasted no time in yanking Y/N off the railing while Robin continued her attempts to reason with him, "There are four of them and you have no idea how strong they are. If you go over there there's no coming back."

"SO BE IT!" WHAM! With his arms still pinned behind him by four of Robin's, Y/N slammed bodily into Zoro and knocked the swordsman off of him.

"Y/N DON'T!" WHUMP! Nami launched herself across the front deck and pounced on him, with a helpful hand from Robin grabbing his ankle she managed to knock him down. Whap! Whap! Arms instantly grew out of the deck and restrained Y/N but he continued to struggle.

"He's fighting," Robin stated as he crossed her arms across her chest and struggled to keep Y/N pinned on the ground, "I don't know how long I can hold him without hurting him."

"DAMN IT Y/N!" Nami yelled as she rolled on top of him, "CALM DOWN!" Desperate, she leaned in and kissed him. Y/N's eye widened in surprise as did Zoro's and Robin's.

"Is... is she trying to suck the fight out of him?" Chopper questioned. They'd finally managed to extract themselves from the pile.

Usopp blinked but to their surprise Y/N's struggles were dying down. "Yes Chopper, that's exactly what she's doing."

"Miss. Nami! NOOOO!" Sanji wailed.

Luffy held him back, "It's working, don't interfere."

"Get a room," Zoro complained before he turned around and looked the other way.

"Uuuhhh..." Blackbeard said not sure what do now that his targets were ignoring him. "Hello?" He waved. "We're here to capture you!"

-x-

"Make sure you keep your eyes opened, Going Merry crew!" Shoujou called out.

He and Masira were oblivious to what had just gone on. But what they did notice was the fact that the still water underneath the Going Merry was starting to rise.

"It's here," Shoujou noted, "I hope they're ready for it. BRACE YOURSELVES!"

-x-

The giant dome of water the size of the whirlpool had risen up underneath the two ships.

"Huh?" Blackbeard grunted when he felt his ship start drifting backwards.

The Going Merry had been exactly in the middle of the whirlpool so it rode upward on top of the rising dome while Blackbeard's raft started sliding backwards down the side.

"EVERYONE GRAB ONTO SOMETHING!" Sanji warned the others. The Straw Hats scrambled to grab onto the nearest railing or any sturdy part of the ship they could find.

"They're still going at it..." Robin felt obligated to point out as she stared at Y/N and Nami. Nami had successfully drained the fight out of Y/N but now he was returning the kiss and it was actually starting to get pretty heated. The two of them were in their own world completely oblivious to everything going on around them.

While she held onto the railing behind her, Robin sprouted arms out of Nami and grabbed onto the ones that were still holding down Y/N.

"AAAAAAH!" Usopp screamed. "OOOH NOOO! THE SHIP! IT'S BEING LIFTED UP!"

The dome of water reached its peak before it exploded upward. KA-BLOOOOOSH! An enormous torrent of water as wide as the whirlpool erupted upward and sent the Going Merry flying up towards the clouds.

The Going Merry had been on top of the dome and shot straight up with the Knock-Up Stream. Blackbeard wasn't so lucky and his raft plummeted downward and broke apart when it hit the ocean.

"WAAAAAAH!" Blackbeard and his crew screamed in alarm.

-x-

Outside his house, Cricket smiled as he watched the Knock-Up Stream explode upward knowing that his faithful crew had gotten their friends on it.

The Knock-Up Stream was truly a sight to behold. The mighty column of water had shot miles up into the air and burst through the bottom of the cumuloregalus cloud.

-x-

"HELP! WE'RE GONNA CAPSIZE!" one of Masira's men yelled as both ships rocked from the huge waves that were coming off of the Knock-Up Stream.

"HOLD STEADY!" Masira ordered.

"DON'T LET GO MEN!" Shoujou shouted.

The monkey brothers stared off their ships at the Knock-Up Stream, "GO SKY ISLAND!"

-x-

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Nami yelped in alarm. She and Y/N's had finally broken apart when they realized they were hanging from the arms Robin had coming out of the deck.

"We're sailing up a huge pillar of water!" Sanji exclaimed.

"AAAWEEESOOOOMEEE!" Luffy shouted as he launched himself over Y/N and Nami and grabbed onto the chicken-shaped head of the figurehead.

"HOW ARE WE DOING THIS?" Usopp screamed.

Nami pushed herself further off of Y/N and held the wind blowing through her hair, "Wind..."

"Robin, you can let us go," Y/N instructed. Robin nodded and her arms disappeared causing Y/N and Nami to slide down the now sideways front deck until they connected with the railing. Since the Going Merry was now sailing straight upward, the floor was sideways and the deck and walls were now flat. Y/N quickly repositioned them so they were sitting on the railing.

"ALRIGHT!" Luffy cheered, "I CAN'T BELIEVE ITS FINALLY HAPPENING! LET'S GO TO SKYPEIA!"

On the main deck, Zoro was casually standing on the wall beside the storage room, Sanji and Chopper were leaning against the main mast, Usopp was clinging to the rear railing of the front deck with his body fluttering like a kite in the rushing wind.

"Hold on," Sanji warned him, "It's not gonna be that easy. Look..."

"OH WHAT NOW?" Usopp complained.

"What's wrong?" Luffy questioned. "Did we forget about something?"

"The hull's starting to float," Sanji pointed out.

The Going Merry had been sailing straight up the side of Knock-Up Stream but now they'd reached a height that was too much for their little winged ship and it was starting to push off of the pillar of water. Considering how high they were now, there was no way they'd survive the impact with the sea.

"If we don't stop it we're gonna fall into the ocean!" Sanji continued.

"WHAT DO YOU EXPECT US TO DO?" Usopp demanded as his dangling body wiggled helplessly while he clung to the railing, "We're having a hard enough time holding on!"

"OOOH NOOO!" Chopper suddenly screamed, "WHAT IS THAT?"

Something large and yellow had come out of the side of the Knock-Up Stream and was now falling towards them.

"IT'S THE SEA KING!" Zoro realized.

"From before?" Chopper questioned. The familiar monster that had been sucked into the whirlpool dropped past them and continued to plummet helplessly towards the sea.

"See?" Sanji said, "It's only a matter of time before the same thing happens to the Merry."

"I know," Zoro replied "But what can we do? We don't have a whole lot of options when it comes to Mother Nature. We're at her mercy."

"I guess we hold on and hope for the best," Sanji resolved.

"WAAAAAHHHH!" Chopper screamed again as large chunks for broken ships started dropping from above them and fell past them. "SHIPS ARE FALLING FROM THE SKY! WE'RE GONNA END UP DRIFTWOOD JUST LIKE THAT!"

Usopp was practically crying, no, forget 'practically' he was actually crying, "WE'RE GONNA TAKE A NOSEDIVE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN ALL BECAUSE LUFFY HAD TO FOLLOW SOME STUPID DREAM!"

Nami spun around and called out to the crew on the main deck, "Spread the sails!" she ordered, "Right now! It may be a pillar of water but it's still the sea. It's a rising currant! The wind from below is a rising air current caused by geothermal heat causing a steam explosion. It may be packaged differently but it's still wind and water." Nami smiled down at them, "Trust me, I'm a Navigator, aren't I?"

"THAAANK YOOOUUU MIIIISS NAAAAMIIIII!" Sanji swooned.

Y/N stared wide-eyed at her, then smiled and rolled off the railing, "Aye-aye," he dropped down onto the sideways main mast and ran along to drop the main sail. "Let's go crew, Navigator's orders!"

"YEAH!" the Straw Hats chorused. The main sail dropped and billowed with wind.

"Alright guys," Nami instructed, "Catch the starboard wind and align the ship with the current!"

"YES MA'AM!" the Straw Hats replied.

"Hey... we're rising above the water..." Chopper pointed out in alarm as he stared off the side of the almost airborne ship. "Is that okay?"

"NAMI!" Luffy yelled, "DO SOMETHING! WE'RE GONNA FALL!"

"Come on..." Nami urged the ship, "Do it..."

SHOOOOOM! With the wind blowing into the billowing sail and the chicken wings out at the side, the Going Merry pushed off of the Knock-Up Stream and started FLYING up to the clouds.

"WE'RE FLYING!" Luffy exclaimed. "YEEAAH! WE'RE HEADING TO THE SKY!"

"We made it..." Usopp mumbled in shock.

"..." Robin was silent but was smiling brightly.

"AAAAAHH!" Chopper screamed, not sure what to make of the flying ship.

"YES!" Zoro cheered.

"I did it!" Nami realized.

"MISS. NAMI! GOOD JOB!" Sanji gushed, "I THINK I LOVE YOU!"

"I'll say," Y/N whispered, instead of staring up ahead like all the others were, his eye was locked on the Navigator.

-x-

"Go for it kid," Cricket thought to himself as he stared up at the sky, "Always remember to keep dreaming."

-x-

"YEEEAAAAHHHH!" Shoujou and Masira cheered as their friends' success.

-x-

"If the wind keeps this up, we can sail as high as we want," Nami explained to the others.

"Hey Nami!" Luffy called back to her, "Are we almost to Skypeia?"

"If it exists, it's past those clouds!" Nami replied as she pointed up ahead.

"Past those clouds..." Luffy repeated. "I can't wait to find out what's up in the sky! LET'S BUST THROUGH 'EM AND FIND OUT! YEEEEEAAAAAAAHH!"

And so the Going Merry flew upward into the sky and into the clouds towards the Sky Island.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!