Battling the Demon (One piece)

The Knock-Up Steam!

After Cricket had decided to help Luffy and the Crew, he had gathered them back outside around the table. All but Zoro and Sanji were sitting at. "What did you want to tell us, Old man?" Usopp had asked him since he had told them anything yet.
"Listen up, you guys. First, I'm going to tell you everything I know about Sky Island." Cricket had started off saying. "I dunno if any of it is true, so it's up to you if you want to believer or not." He had stated to them all.
"Yep, I believe you." Luffy had said right away
"That's too fast!" Usopp had slapped the air between them.
"There's something peculiar that happened in this part of the sea. Sometime, even in the middle of the day, a entire portion of the ocean suddenly turns as dark as night." Cricket was pointing off to the ocean in the direction that the crew had originally came from.
"That happened! That happened to us! Right?" Luffy was shouting with his hand high and had then turned to Usopp.
"Yeah! It turned to night, and then a bunch of monsters appeared!" He had finished explaining in place of Luffy.
"You mean the giants?" Cricket had asked, making sure he heard them right. "There's a story about where they come from,  but let's forget that for now." He had then moved on. "The true nature of the sudden nightfall... it is the shadow of a massively dense cloud."
"You mean a cumulonimbus cloud? It was much darker than if there were clouds like that over head." Nami, being the navigator, knew about the way the weather worked so she didn't see how that was possible.
"Old diamond-head Guy, you're so stupid!" Not that Luffy had much room to talk. "On days when there's lots of clouds, it gets cloudy!"
"Yep, cloudy." Usopp was just as stupid.
"Cloudy!" And Chopper was just echoing them.
"All of you be quite." Luna had told them, and they all all looked to her. "The cloud is rare even in the Grand Line and it's called Cumuloregalis." She had began to explained to them it's a cloud that has no air currents or rain and it just piles high in the sky. "It is this anomaly that the sun can't even penetrate through, which is why it becomes nightfall in the middle of the day underneath it. There is also other accounts of the Cumuloregalis remaining the same even after flouting for thousands or tens of thousands years in the sky. It's pretty much like a petrified cloud." She ad explained all that to them, and their faces were completely blank after hearing that.
"That's impossible!" But Nami had jumped up shouting at her. "No cloud can firm without creating air currents!"
"The Young Miss with pretty blue eyes is right. However, You're free to think it doesn't exist. I never asked you to believe me." Cricket had stated to her,
"And I could careless if you don't me, either." Luna had stated after him but then looked at name. "However, if you freak out over ever little thing, you won't last long in this sea." Was all she had said.
"So it's a Mystery Cloud." That was Luffy's way of saying that he didn't understand a word.
"That's right." But Cricket take that and explained that there's no explanation of its existence.
"Luffy, That was awesome!" Chopper for some reason was impressed.
"He only said that because he's an idiot." Luna lifted up her right leg and placed it over her left while crossing her arms under her chest unimpressed.
"Understand? If Sky Island does in fact exist... that is the only place it could be!" Cricket had shouted while pointing right at them.
"Oh, Okay! Let's get up to that cloud!" Luffy stood up loudly thinking that it was possible to get up there. "Zoro, wake up!" He was jumping up and down in excitement along with Usopp.
"Is it morning?" It was when Zoro, who had been asleep the whole time woke up.
"Oi, everyone get ready!"
"Hard turn to the clouds! Hard turn! Hard turn!" Usopp was shouting over and over again.
"Old Diamond-head Guy, thanks for telling us!" Luffy was telling him but at that moment,
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO GEY THERE!?" Nami had completely lost it and seconds later the pair were butted and bruised all across their faces.
"Now that main problem." Cricket was moving on like nothing happened. "And I gotta warm you, you'll be risking your lives!"
"We're half-dead already..." Both Luffy and Usopp were saying.
"The vertically-flowing current, the Knock-Up Steam... if you get on that current, you can make it to Sky Island." Cricket had explained but hearing Knock-Up Steam caused Luna to flinch a little. "That the theory. Get it?"
"It's a current that will knock our ship up into the air, right?" Nami had asked making sure she understood right,
"Oh! So we just have to get blown up to the clouds!" Luffy still had no idea what that meant.
"On an ocean current?" Usopp didn't seem all that convinced and questioned it.
"However, you are forgetting that any ship are destroyed the moment it encounters it not to mention their sent flying off who knows where." Luna had spoken, swing her left hand side to side in the  beside her.
"Usually, Yes. You have to get the timing right. First of all, it's easy to talk about being blasted up by a sea current, but it ain't some nice, relaxing ride up there like you might be thinking. Meeting the Knock-Up Stream is a disaster. By its nature, it should be avoided at all costs." Hearing that, Usopp had began to shake in terror.
"But what kind of principle allows it to reach up to the sky?" Nami had asked, not being the normal scared woman. "We've never heard of anything like that before."
"Yeah." Both Luffy and Usopp nodded in agreement.
"Despite what you may think, the principal behind it is actually reasonable." Luna had her left hand across her chin as she began to see it all play in her head. "Just because there are idiots in this world doesn't mean they're stupid enough to dive head first into a volcano." What She was saying is although their are people that do dumb things a lot of the time they won't do anything intentional to kill themselves, which was very reasonable. "The theory to the Knock-Up Stream is simply that there is a large air pocket cave underneath the ocean floor. There will be times were the cool seawater would end up leaking into the pocket. It is when the water begins to heat up due to the geothermal that it turns into high-pressured steam that causes an explosion under the water. It is this explosion that caused the ocean water to upheaved and form the current into the sky." She had explained the whole theory to them, which seemed to cause a lot of sweating which Luffy was completely amazed even though he didn't understand.
"For approximately one minute, the sea is connected to the sky." Cricket had finished the explanation.
"One minute!? What kind of insane explosion can make the water shoot up like that!?" Nami was shouting while standing up in complete shock.
"The location of the explosion is different every time, and it happens about five times a month." He had informed her.
"We'd be blown to smithereens..." Usopp was still in completely shock.
"Well, Anyway, it's a magnificent natural phenomenon. Trying to reason it out with theories and talk is senseless." Cricket had turned his back to them stating.
"S-So then... this ocean current that on,y pops up five times a month is... the only way to get to Sky Island?" Usopp was asking, hoping that it wasn't true.
"Yeah, and you're the ones at a disadvantage. If there's nothing to land on,  you'll come crashing down to the ocean's surface... and become bits of seaweed." He had said like it wasn't anything big but Usopp had from scared to fall blown terrified.
"Yosh! Let's give up on Sky Island!" He was trying to laugh it off trying to make Luffy to change his mind, however. "This is crazy! Listen here! We'd have to be the luckiest of the luckiest of the luckiest of the luckiest of the luckiest to make it!" He was laughing nervously
"It'll be okay! Let's go!" This was Luffy, so there was no way he was going to give up on something like this.
"I knew it." Usopp had began to cry having his hopes and dreams stomped on right in front of him. "It'll be okay? How can you keep saying such groundless things? I mean, just look at the Going Merry!" He was pointing over to their ship which was falling apart little bits at a time. "Look at how much pain she's in! She won't stand up to a disaster like that in this state!"
"He's right. Even if that ship was brand new, it could never make it!" Cricket had agreed but it seemed to have pissed Usopp off hearing that. "Speed, weight, strength... that ship would be blown up right along with the explosion."
"B... But... see?" Even though he wanted to defend the Merry, that would mean that he would be agreeing with Luffy and head for the Knock-Up Stream but it was also because Cricket was right. "It's crazy, like I said."
"But, you don't have to worry about that. I'll have Masira and Shoujou refit your ship. Of course, they'll strengthen the she's frame as well." Cricket explained to them.
"Yeah! Leave it to us, you guys!" The two monkeys had stuck their up half out of the house windows shouting.
"Thanks for that!" Luffy responded to them. But there were two people that didn't want that to happen, of course it was Nami and Usopp.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Nami had gone up to Luffy asking.
"What?" He seemed confused at what she meant.
"Well, to start with... Oh yeah! We can only stay on this island for at most another day. After that, the Log Pose will readapt to the next island's magnetic field." She had explained desperately although she was right.
"Right! Right! We ain't make it in time! Hey, Old man! I know you're not a psychic, and you probably don't know, but... how many days will it be before the next Knock-Up Stream? Or, or, or, or, or, or how many months? No, how man years?" Usopp was more the glad to agree and was thinking that the next stream would be in a few days at least.
"Tomorrow afternoon. If you're going, you'd better get ready." But once again his hopes and dreams were crushed.
"YOU MEAN WE'LL MAKE IT!?"
"What? If you don't want to go, then don't." Cricket had said as if he had a chose.
"You're lying!" Usopp had shouting pointing right at him. "There's something fishy about it! We just met you today!aren't you being a little too nice!? A-And besides..."
"Oi, Usopp!" Luffy had tried to stop him from saying what he was about to say, however, he was stopped by Usopp.
"You shut up! This Sky Island... our best chance of getting to a legendary island we don't even know the location of... is tomorrow!? And to help us get there, you're gonna refit and strengthen our ship?! That's just too good to be true! Just what the hell are you plotting!? You're the descendant of Norland the Lair, right!? We can't trust you!" Usopp had shouted all of that and no one was saying a word because of the tension.
"OLD MAN! The food's ready!" Until Masira and Shoujou had bursted their huge heads out of the door shouting.
"Move it." Sanji had come out, pushing pass both monkeys. "Nami~! Luna~! Lunch is ready-!" He had started shouting but then noticed the tension in the air.
"W-What is it!? Y-You wanna fight?" Usopp was in guard as if he was ready to fight.
"Masira recorded... that when night suddenly falls in his territory... the day after, he always sees a Cumuloregalis cloud in the sky to the south." Cricket had began walking towards Usopp had he spoke. "Also, based in it's cycle of five times a month, I'm guessing the knock-Up Stream will most likely occur tomorrow. That is also south of here. I'm not 100% sure, but there is a high probability those two events will coincide." But he had walked right passed Usopp who had began to realise what he had said moments ago was wrong. "I'm happy to have met a bunch of idiots like you. Now, let's eat. I want you to enjoy yourselves at my house... my comrades."
"Food! Hurry up, Usopp!" Luffy had shouted to him as the others began to head for the house.
"Yeah, c'mon!" Marisa had shouted as well.
"Chopper, call Robin!" Sanji had told the little reindeer.
"Right!" He was heading for the Merry. Usopp had then fallen to his knees.
"The best we can do is try to befriend him, if we want to get to the sky." Nami had walked up to him saying. "But it's still all down to luck in the end."
"Nami... am I a miserable coward?" He had asked her, all upset.
"And an idiot to boot." She had agreed and added to the wounds. "I know how you feel. Now go apologise." She told him and he had leaped up.
"OLD MAN, IM SORRY~!" Usopp had throw his arms around the man crying,
"W-W-What the hell are you talking about?" Cricket was completely uncomfortable as he was trying to pull Usopp off him. "Ah, Gross! You're getting snot on me! Dumb ass!" And ended up punching him across the head.