Warm Memories and Brotherly Bonds

Chapter 26: The City of Gold in the Island in the Sky

"So we finally get to see it?!" Brook called excitedly, waiting impatiently for the images to come back so that he could see everything. "The Sky Island?!"

"Not right away," Sanji answered, and when they looked at him in surprise he added, "We ended up running into a little bit of trouble before we got there."

"Isn't that always the case with us?" Usopp sighed as the memory finally reappeared around them and they were standing on the Merry's deck once again. Their past selves were spread out everywhere, dripping wet and panting for air as if they had all just run a marathon. The air seemed to be so thin that it was difficult for them to draw breath... there was bright sunlight all around and it took them all several minutes for their eyes to make anything out.

The first thing they noticed through the light was that the ride had taken it's toll... both of the Merry's wings on her sides had been broken clean off and the sails had been torn to shreds... they could hear their past selves all gasping and coughing, and then memory Zoro's voice croaked out, "What the... what just happened to us? Everyone alright?"

No one answered him, too exhausted to speak. But as their eyes cleared even more, Brook and Franky gasped.

"CLOUDS?!" Brook screamed in shock.

"No freaking way!" Franky wheezed, running to the side of the ship so that he could get a closer look. "We're really floating on clouds?!"

"That's how we felt," Nami said knowingly as Luffy finally got back up and was looking around excitedly. "Hey guys! Look out there! What is that?!"

The others were slowly getting to their feet, and their jaws all hit the deck when they saw. They were sitting afloat on a sea of white, fluffy clouds alright. Franky just stared in amazement as Brook was screaming in wonder, as loud as his fans had been when he was on stage.

"I forgot about how amazing this place was," Usopp whispered as Chopper nodded, his eyes as bright as his past self's.

"What in the world?!" memory Sanji gasped, truly not believing what he was seeing.

"It's solid white!" Luffy cried out joyfully.

"THEY'RE CLOUDS!" memory Chopper yelled, his eyes were practically glowing, looking like he wanted to jump into the clouds and see for himself.

"Yohohoho, truly spectacular!" Brook gasped out once he had screamed himself hoarse. "I wouldn't believe this if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes! Well, I've got no eyes... Yohohoho!"

"Yeah, and if they're freaking out now, wait till we get to the island," Nami whispered to the others, knowing that these two going to lose their minds when they say it. Her past self was gapping at it all, wanting to know how it was possible—and what was keeping them from falling?

Luffy tried to reason that since both clouds and boats float it was the same thing. Rolling their eyes, they tried to explain it to him that it was completely different until Chopper realized that memory Usopp had stopped breathing—apparently the shock of breaking through the clouds was too much for him to take. After a little panicking and CPR, Chopper was able to get him breathing again, but it looked like he was going to pass out again when he got a good look at his surroundings; as if truly not believing that he was alive. He screamed in panic, crying out to know where exactly they were.

"Basically..." memory Nami whispered, "It's an ocean in the sky!"

Franky was straining his eyes to try and make out the shape of anything that might be an island, before he asked them, "Where's this floating island though? I don't see anything?"

"You'll see," Robin said in amusement.

"No way!" past Usopp said to what Nami stated, running to the side of the Merry to look down at the clouds. "Seriously?"