Changing One's World

Things can be different with one divergence in the timeline. One cannot begin to imagine how things will change with a decision being different. But will these changes be for the better or for the worst. Find out as the Straw Hats will face their adventures a whole lot differently!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece!

Chapter 14: The Truth of Doubles! The Truth of Doubles!

Deep in the forest, Zoro and Chopper were collecting fruits and other foods for the meal the crew were planning on having. Zoro had opted to collect the supplies so he could get away from Sanji, as he hated to see the cook 'trip all over himself like an idiot'. Zoro was glad that Chopper had decided to come with him, as Zoro wanted to keep a close eye on the reindeer after his fight with Shura. Zoro's eyes focused on the boy's hoof. It was covered in bandages, which the poor boy had to apply himself. Due to the fact that Chopper's bone structure changes when he becomes his different forms, the damage was less extensive when the boy was in Brain Point. The wound had already begun to heal, and Zoro guessed Chopper would be able to fight by tomorrow. Despite his worry, Zoro was proud of the little reindeer. Zoro always respects those who fight bravely, but with Chopper it was different. Zoro was able to watch the boy come out of his shell and become more loyal and brave, which the man appreciated greatly.

Chopper kept turning his head to the sounds of the battle in the distance. The boy was confused as to why wars had to appear everywhere. Doctor Hiluluk had always said that his problems would always look small when he saw how big the world was, and Chopper couldn't agree more now that he had begun to travel with his friends. But it seemed that despite how vast the oceans were, war seemed to infest everything. Kicking a pebble on the ground with a frown, Chopper wished that every country could have cherry blossoms to heal them.

The sounds of battle had begun to die down and Chopper stopped walking completely. He fully turned his body towards the sounds of the battle, noticing something with his animal ears. Zoro stopped walking and turned back to look at the boy.

"Why'd you stop?" Zoro asked, with a hint of concern in his voice, his slightly furrowed eyebrows mirroring his worry for his reindeer-friend.

"All that racket seems to be getting further away from us," Chopper said, his mind racing with possibilities as to why it had happened.

"Maybe those guerrillas and priests have finally decided to call it quits for the night. Good riddance if you ask me. Hearing the sounds of a battle and not taking part always sets me on edge," Zoro murmured, his right index hand shifting to rest on Wado, "Let's go Chopper."

Zoro waited for Chopper to catch up with him before setting out. Chopper grabbed the man's right hand and pulled Zoro along, smiling up at him with a big grin. Zoro gritted his teeth, feeling like a child having to be led by an adult as to not get lost.

Sanji inspected the fruit he had cut up, two of which were in the shape of hearts. He pushed the fruit into the pan and turned his attention to the fish he caught, filleting the creature with both skill and care. A couple of metres away from Sanji, Luffy was watching a large pot with water inside of it being heated on a fire. Luffy had a slight frown on his face as he looked at the fire closely. He pressed his finger against the side of the pot, seemingly forgetting that fire tends to be hot. Luffy quickly retracted his finger and let out a yelp, rolling away on the floor.

"I'm so bored!" Luffy whined, with his finger in his mouth to soothe the pain he had caused himself.

"Nobody told you to watch the boiling water," Sanji said, turning to Luffy and noticing the man's finger in his mouth, "Or touch it either. You have one job and one job only, which is to take the distilled water and fill up the canteens. So, make sure that happens as we'll need fresh drinking water tomorrow."

Luffy huffed and rolled on his front, glaring at Sanji childishly.

"Ordeal of Water," Luffy said, making fun of Sanji with a smug grin on his face.

"DO YOU WANT TO EAT?" Sanji yelled in anger, making Luffy stop immediately in fear of not being fed.

Zoro and Chopper appeared from around a tree next to Sanji, both of whom were carrying different foods for Sanji. Chopper had a gleeful smile on his face, as he couldn't wait to see how impressed Sanji was with what they had gotten.

"Sanji! We've got loads of great stuff!" Chopper said, holding a bowl full of different items.

"Excellent! Let's see the haul," Sanji said, not bothering to look at the Mosshead.

"We've found walnuts, aloe, bananas, garlic!" Chopper exclaimed, running up to Sanji to show him the contents of the bowl.

"Rats and frogs too," Zoro said in a monotone voice, not trying to impress the cook like Chopper.

"Nice! It all goes in the pot," Sanji said, gesturing to the pot with his knife.

"DISGUSTING!" Nami shouted incredulously, with her signature shark-like teeth, "You can't expect us to eat that mess!"

"Silly me," Sanji said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I'll be sure to take the garlic out."

"That was the only good bit!" Nami screamed, waving her hand to the side.

"Is our navigator having another meltdown?" Robin asked, having walked in carrying a large gem-looking object.

"Now that's what I call a gem!" Nami said with glee, having forgotten about the food immediately, "It's huge!"

"Big, yes. But it's not a gem stone," Robin pointed out, making Sanji turn his head towards her in realisation.

"Hey, that's a salt crystal! Nice find Robin dear!" Sanji said, his eyes lighting up in appreciation.

"I found it on the shore and decided to bring it back with me," Robin said with a small smile, "I figured we'd find some use for it."

"Not only is salt important to our survival, but without it, my food would taste awful!" Sanji said with a laugh, proceeding to cut the fish with extreme vigour.

"Tastes like crap anyway," Zoro said under his breath, before turning his attention towards Chopper.

"If I take half of the garlic and aloe, I can make antiseptic and burn ointment to heal the Sky Knight!" Chopper said with a happy smile, rummaging through the bowl of foods.

"Need any frog?" Zoro asked curiously, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Zoro!" Sanji said, finally turning his attention towards the swordsman, "You're not doing anything, so I got a little job for you!"

Zoro watched as Sanji placed a rock on top of two of his swords, above the pot with the food inside.

"What now?" Zoro asked with a frown, confused as to why his swords were being used for something stupid like cooking.

Sanji began to spin on his right foot, his whole body becoming a blur. Luffy shot up immediately, excited to see the cool move again. Robin looked at Sanji out the corner of her eye, and Nami looked up from her work to look at the cook. Chopper stopped looking for the correct amount of aloe and stared at Sanji in amazement, while Zoro looked at the spinning with curiosity.

Sanji stopped spinning and the crew looked in amazement to see Sanji's right foot glowing, making stars appear in Chopper's eyes. Zoro stared wide-eyed at Sanji, fascinated by the heat that was being emitted off the man's foot.

"Whoa," Nami said, slightly dazzled by the heat coming from Sanji's leg.

"So cool," Luffy and Chopper said, amazed by how cool Sanji looked as of this moment.

Zoro stared at the foot in shock, amazed that Sanji could pull something like this off. Zoro could clearly tell that this was a move used in battle, and sweat began to drip down the Vice-Captain's neck. Zoro had always considered the gap between him and Sanji to be small, but noticeable. However, seeing Sanji's foot burn like the sun, made Zoro consider that maybe that gap was a lot smaller than he thought it was. Perhaps, Zoro mused, that the gap was basically non-existent. Closing his eyes in acceptance, Zoro felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Zoro could finally admit that the cook and he were equals in terms of overall power. Zoro glanced at Luffy from the corner of his left eye, considering Luffy's strength compared to the rest of the Monster Trio. Zoro, after his duel with Luffy, had felt slightly lost. Throughout most of the journey in the East Blue, he had thought Luffy and he were equals in strength. However, the rubberman had proven him wrong; showing speed and strength that Zoro would have never anticipated. Zoro had felt content having an equal, as it gave perspective as to how strong he was himself. But as Luffy kept on getting stronger and stronger, he became more of a bar to overcome than a template for himself. This had made the swordsman's training all the more difficult, as he no longer had an indication as to what level he was currently at. But thanks to the cook, he finally had an idea of what level he was at and how much stronger he needed to get to beat that man. However, despite this thankfulness, Zoro still hated that stupid perverts guts.

Sanji leaped into the air, snapping Zoro out of his thoughts. Zoro glanced at the cook with a grin, excited to see his power.

"Diable Jambe: Premier Hachis!"

Sanji's foot struck the top of the rock, and Zoro strained slightly to prevent it slipping off his swords. Sanji jumped down to the ground and his foot extinguished, leaving a flaming rock in his wake.

After giving Sanji a round of applause, most of the crew went back to what they were doing. After letting the rock heat for a minute or so, Sanji ordered Zoro to put the rock in the pot. Sanji put the lid on top of the pot, the water bubbling as he did so.

"Ah! You just dropped a rock in the stew! Does it taste good?" Luffy asked, the sound of preparing food having gotten his attention.

"Don't be stupid, we don't eat it. The stone's heat cooks the stew from the inside out," Sanji explained coolly, with a small smirk on his face. The man clearly enjoyed cooking, and loved explaining different cooking techniques to people.

"Oh?" Chopper asked, a bit curious himself.

"Trust me on this one. You'll need all the nutrients in this dish to survive this place," Sanji further explained to Chopper.

"Smells like we got a winner!" Luffy said, lifting the lid only to get smacked back by Sanji's foot.

"Keep your hands off!" the man growled, pushing his foot against the top of Luffy's hat.

"But I'm hungry," Luffy whined like a child.

"It's not ready yet! Weren't you just cramming a Sky Shark down your gullet like ten minutes ago?"

"Yeah! But that was just an appetiser," Luffy explained with a bored expression.

Nami looked up from her work after hearing Luffy's complaints.

"Sweetie, wait until the food is ready," she said calmly, making Luffy turn towards her.

"But Naaaammmmiiii," Luffy whined, looking at the navigator with his puppy-eyes.

However, Nami knew the man too well and turned her eyes away just in time as to not be taken in by her boyfriend's charm.

"Luffy," Nami said with a growl, making the man huff and walk away from Sanji with a pout.

"Impressive," Robin noted with a small smile, making Nami smile brightly with a giggle.

Zoro walked towards the lake to see Usopp and Aisa surrounded by loads of equipment, all of which were from Usopp's supply or that they had just collected now.

"What are you two doing? Sanji's almost got dinner ready," Zoro asked, having noticed Luffy and Nami's apprehension due to the girl not being in their sight.

"Aisa and I are going to haul this wood over to the ship for repairs!" Usopp said, making Aisa nod with a grin.

"I'll carry them over with my water so Usopp doesn't get eaten," Aisa said with a chuckle, making Usopp turn to her in fear.

"THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HERE?" Usopp screamed, also seemingly having only noticed the sharks now.

Usopp ran off, muttering about how he would fix it tomorrow. Clearly, the man did not want to swim in shark-infested waters.

Zoro sighed and turned to Aisa, who looked determined to carry the wood to help the Merry. Merry was her friend, someone who she knew she could count on. Sometimes, when Aisa woke up in the middle of the night, in her little den in the Crows Nest, she would tune everything but the Merry out with her Haki and feel. Just feel. The Merry was a very special ship, Aisa had come to that conclusion since her first day setting foot on the floating lamb. But now, whenever Aisa would look at her, she would feel a sense of dread. Was it just Skypeia, or was it something more? The girl snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Zoro's voice.

"You can do it tomorrow Aisa," Zoro pointed out, making the girl look towards him, "Let's just go eat dinner okay?"

"Hang on! I'll move them over in the meantime," Aisa said, pressing her hand against the ground.

"How will you do both?" Zoro asked, a little bit confused by the girl's actions. Aisa was Zoro's friend, non-existent warts and all, and also his student; but even he had to admit that the girl could be a little weird sometimes. Zoro hypothesised that it was Nami's influence, though he would never say that out loud.

"With my new technique I've been working on," Aisa explained, as her arm turned into water and started to pour more and more water onto the ground. She started to strain a little after a couple of seconds of doing so. This technique took a lot out of her, understandably so. She would have to ask Chopper if there were any adverse effects later.

"Great. You made the ground wet, let's go," Zoro said in slight annoyance, ready to carry the girl if he had to.

"WATER CLONE!"

Suddenly, the water shot up from the ground and immediately formed an exact replica of Aisa, down to the same clothes as well. The clone blinked once before smiling at Aisa and Zoro.

"Yo!" the clone said, sounding exactly like Aisa, making Zoro jump out of his skin and causing his eyes to bug out hysterically.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Both of the clones burst out laughing due to the expression on Zoro's face. The man was struggling to form a sentence as Aisa was instructing her clone how to cross the river without getting attacked by too many sharks.

"HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT?!" Zoro screamed in confusion, watching as the clone began hauling wood over towards the Merry.

"Hmmmmmm? Oh, like an hour ago. None of you would play Hide and Seek with me," Aisa said with a small amount of contempt, sticking her pinky up her nose.

"Hey Luffy! Hey Nami!" Aisa said with an excited grin on her face, approaching the couple. Luffy was lying at Nami's feet while she wrote in her notebook.

Turning to face the girl, Nami pushed her glasses up her nose and swung her legs over the side of the log she was sitting on, crashing her legs onto Luffy's chest, making the man wheeze for a second before turning his head to Aisa. Luffy instantly grinned at the sight of the girl, her grin easily being one of the few things Luffy could focus on for more than 10 seconds.

"What is it Aisa?" Nami said, leaning her chin on her palm while Luffy struggled to get Nami's feet off his chest.

"Wanna play Hide and Seek?" Aisa asked, looking towards Luffy expectantly. Luffy always played games with her, except when he was eating or doing something with Nami. And especially when he was doing captain things, though those moments were too few and far in-between.

Luffy and Nami looked at each other with tired eyes. For all their love for the girl, even the energetic Luffy was out of energy, still purging the Sea-Stone from his lungs, though he was nearly done doing so. Nami rubbed the girls head with guilt, removing her chin from her palm to do so.

"Sorry Aisa. But Luffy and I are really tired," Nami said, watching as Aisa's face fell with disappointment, "But I'm sure someone else will be free to play with you!"

Aisa pondered on this for a moment, before deciding that maybe the two did need the rest. Hell, she wasn't even their daughter in their eyes from what she could gather, so she shouldn't expect everything from them. Besides, just because Luffy and Nami had been the sole focus of her dream, doesn't mean that she didn't enjoy everyone else's company immensely.

"Okay!" Aisa said happily, kissing Luffy on the cheek twice before running off towards Zoro.

Luffy brushed him thumb against his cheek with a small, fond smile. Looking up at Nami with perhaps one of the biggest grins she'd ever seen him sport, Nami watched as he lied back down at her feet and fell asleep quickly for a short nap. Nami watched as the girl ran towards Zoro and shook her head with a smile, before turning towards her cartography notes once more.

Nami kept cartography notes in a small book. It was Nojiko's idea after Arlong kept punishing Nami due to some of the maps being destroyed and Nami not being able to construct them without going back to the island to chart it again. Nami's near perfect memory usually meant she didn't have to do this, as she could remember every map she had ever drawn. However, during this time period, she didn't draw and remember maps because she wanted to, she did it because she had to. Perhaps, the girl did this to free her memories for more precious ones; ones Arlong could never kill.

Aisa scurried towards Zoro, who was sleeping before having to leave with Chopper to get food for Sanji.

The girl began poking her mentor's face, trying to stimulate the man to wake up. Zoro, perhaps after the 20th poke, grunted and forced his eyes open. Zoro stared into Aisa's eyes as they bored deep into his soul. That look, it could only mean something was important or wrong. Those eyes held a deep intensity in them, a desire to desperately complete a goal. Zoro's brain was immediately on high alert, as he began to reach for Wado, fearing for the worst.

"Hi," Aisa said with a giggle, watching as the man fell over in pure shock. Honestly, Zoro could be so funny sometimes, the girl thought amusedly.

Watching as the man slowly righted himself, Aisa began to feel a sense of dread. Her amusement quickly vanished into fear. She did not want to spar with Zoro after she had just woken him from his nap. To be honest, a quarter of their training sessions were spent napping. According to Zoro, 'It's the path to salvation and destruction. Only true warriors can walk the balanced path'. Honestly, Aisa thought the man was a little bit weird sometimes. She loved him like he was her uncle, but Aisa hypothesised it was her mum's influence on the man, what with all the brain damage she had given him. It was lucky her dad was made of rubber, or else he would be in a permanent coma by now. Although, Aisa would never say that out loud. Aisa had indeed taken many personality traits from various Straw Hats, with Luffy, Nami and Zoro's traits rubbing off on her the most, although she had been telling some morbid jokes recently.

"Did you just wake me up to say hello?" Zoro asked with false dangerousness, ready to start an impromptu training session. Or a napping session, depending on how much time Zoro had on his hands.

"Nope! Wanna play Hide and Seek?" Aisa asked, watching Zoro fall back asleep as soon as she asked. In all fairness, Aisa thought with a grin, if Zoro went hiding they would most likely never see him again, or he would have found the One Piece.

Aisa's face then crumpled with childish annoyance, similar to one her Dad would make when imagining something unpleasant, and began to walk off with her hands in her pockets.

"Stupid Mosshead," Aisa murmured, knowing it was just loud enough for her teacher to hear and making sure to push all her bangs over one eye to really annoy the man.

"HEY!" Zoro shouted, shooting up and drawing Wado and Yubashiri, but the girl just ran away giggling.

Aisa smiled at her teacher's actions, watching as Chopper dragged the man off to get supplies. She knew everyone on the crew so well now. She could tell Zoro wasn't actually angry with her. Aisa had learnt quite quickly that Zoro's swords were the gateway to his emotions. If Zoro was feeling protective or interested in a fight, he would draw Wado. If he was feeling happy or honour-bound, he would draw Yubashiri. And if the man was out to kill, and was seething with true anger, he would draw Kitetsu. That's how the girl knew the man wasn't angry just before now. Never before in her life, had she seen Zoro draw Kitetsu against an ally or friend. Kitetsu had one purpose, and one purpose only. Aisa shivered while walking towards Robin. That sword gave her the creeps. She sometimes heard a 'voice' ringing out through the ship in the night. Through her Haki of course, but that didn't make it any less terrifying. It was malicious and angry, ready to cut at any given moment. But if you look underneath all that, you see sadness. So lonely, so very lonely. Such was the life of a cursed sword. It would scream and cry into the night at Aisa's Haki. But if the sword's presence got too loud and scary, making the girl curl up into a ball and want to cry, two other 'voices' would flare up like fireworks. One was old and very wise, with an honour bound duty and made Aisa picture an old man with a big beard and a cane. The other was soft and yet so lively, strong and yet so humble. When Aisa focused on the sword, all she could think of was the darkest, bluest hair she had ever seen. But alas, such was the life of the ship's scout with Haki.

Aisa sprinted past Sanji, sparing the man a glance as she did. She loved hanging out with Sanji. Sanji was the person who spared the most time for her on the ship, bar Luffy and Nami. The man was always ready to rope himself into any childish behaviour the girl would get herself into. Sanji seemed to be dead-set on making sure Aisa got a proper childhood, only not joining her when he was cooking. But even then, the man always invited Aisa to talk with him while he did so; or sometimes, he even allowed Aisa to help him cook. Aisa truly did love those days, looking back on the memories fondly. However, whenever he did hang out with her, Aisa always felt something beneath the surface. As if, he was trying to correct a mistake, or make someone proud. Whenever her thoughts moved this way, she could picture a smiling blond woman lying in a bed, before a large blond man whisked the image away. The image would leave as quickly as it would arrive, and Aisa could never quite piece it together. Such a lovely smile though. The thought of smiles brought great happiness to the girl, but they also had dark undertones.

Approaching Robin, Aisa watched as the woman closed her book and stared at the girl with a soft smile. Aisa loved when Robin read to her, always fascinated by stories people from the Blue Sea could conjure. Aisa grasped the woman's leg, looking up at her face which continued to sport that same, soft smile. But the image of Robin saying she wanted to live still plagued Aisa's dreams, each time making less and less sense. Why was she handcuffed? Why did she sound so liberated but looked so trapped? Where was the crew? Were they dead? Captured as well?

Aisa had thought once of asking Robin if she wanted to live, but held back on asking. Perhaps, in trying to prevent the future, she ended up making it happen? From a young age, ever since she unlocked her Future Sight, Aisa had realised the dangers of looking into the future. Aisa would try to take her dad's ideals, and just live in the moment. Dad was always happy, because maybe he didn't care too much about the future? And yet, during most nights, Aisa could find Luffy sitting on the figurehead, staring out into the sea. And she knew she was incorrect each time she did. Most nights, she would talk to him for hours, but some nights, she would just watch. And the two would bask in each other's Haki, so very glad they weren't alone.

"Hey Robin," Aisa said with a giggle, watching as the woman placed the book down on the floor, "Wanna play Hide and Seek?"

"Sure," Robin said with a smile and laugh, closing her eyes as she did so, "Who shall be it? I'll have you know I'm quite the master at this game."

"You, of course! You just have to find me each time, and we'll start again when you do! Then we'll see who is truly good at this game!" Aisa explained, before quickly running off after hearing the woman start counting down from 10.

Aisa burst through a bush and hid behind a tree, giggling to herself as she was sure she would win. She always used to play this with Laki when she was younger. Aisa paused for a moment. Laki. She was here, in Upper Yard. Aisa felt guilt creep its way up her throat. How worried she must be, as someone she considered a sister dropped off the face of the world. And it really was quite like that. Aisa jumped without hesitation, not even looking back once she had. Aisa pulled her knees to her chest, realising that while she was happy now, she might have made other people unhappy in doing so. Did she have the right to do such a thing? Perhaps in trying to make her life easier, she had made it twice the more difficult? But she loved dad, mom and the others so much! Was it so wrong to be properly happy for the first time in her life? What would she trade for a life with the Straw Hats?

Before she could ponder more on such things, a hand sprouted through the tree and tapped her on her shoulder twice. The thought of Laki drifted off when the girl realised she had just lost the game. Aisa poked her head through the bush she came through, her eyes landing on Robin who had her arms crossed.

"ROBIN! NO FAIR! YOU CHEATED!" Aisa shouted with shark teeth, watching as the woman laughed at Aisa's expense. Aisa had not factored Robin's abilities when playing the game, as she payed the price. Never underestimate your opponent, Aisa thought. The second most important credo in Zoro's books, and she had completely forgotten it.

"YOU'LL SEE! I'LL BEAT YOU NEXT TIME!" Aisa shouted, running off in a hurry.

And so, began the long drawn out process of Aisa being continually found by Robin. After the tenth game, Aisa clearly had enough of being beaten and walked off with a pout on her face, with Robin's laughter echoing off the trees as she did so.

Aisa sat down on the floor and crossed her arms with a huff.

"Why can't I find anyone to play who doesn't cheat?" Aisa thought, still glad to have played with anyone at all, but annoyed at Robin's skills. She really was a master at that game, Aisa had to give her that much.

Aisa clenched her fists in frustration, as water began to drip onto the floor. Before Aisa knew it, she was standing in a small puddle which reached the soles of her sandals. Aisa looked down at the puddle curiously, staring into the eyes of her reflection. As Aisa began to move her face closer to the water, the puddle began to morph as a face shot out of the water.

"Yo!" the face said, making Aisa shoot back in shock as the face formed a body from the puddle, "Wanna play Hide and Seek?"

Aisa stared at the clone with a blank expression on her face. Her mind was racing. How the hell did she do that? That was so cool! Ideas began teaming in her head, as a massive grin made its way onto both of the two's faces.

"You know what this means right?" the clone asked, its eyes dancing with amusement.

"Yep!" Aisa said, almost shaking with excitement, "You're going to be so useful. I now finally have an exact equal! I can finally practise-"

"Fighting Skills!" Aisa said with a smile.

"Kissing!" the clone squealed in excitement, jumping up and down. The clone stopped and processed what the original said, the smile slowly falling from her lips as embarrassment and shock settled in, and began to look at Aisa with a neutral facial expression.

A South Bird flew over the forest and the Sea Sharks were merrily swimming about. The tree leaves swayed in the breeze, almost like a melody of sorts. Nothing but the sound of nature. Aisa stared at her clone in shock, wondering how the hell this was her clone. The clone just continued to stare at Aisa with a blank face, before slowly turning back into a puddle and sinking into the ground inch-by-inch, feet first. The clone kept staring at Aisa with a nearly robotic face, as it finally turned back into water after what felt like an hour to Aisa, before being absorbed by the soil. Clearly, the clone had misjudged the intentions of her counterpart, and Aisa could only continue to stare at the ground in shock.

"What?"

Clearly, ground rules were going to have to be established.

Zoro stared at Aisa with a raised eyebrow, watching the girl look towards the clone as if she was remembering some confusing event, before grabbing the real Aisa and Usopp's shoes, and hauling them both over his shoulder to the campfire.

"You really are your father daughter," Zoro regarded Aisa with a knowing smirk, making the girl look at the man in shock, not having expected the man to say such a thing. She composed herself quickly enough, and began to smile to herself.

"Yep!" Aisa said with a nod and a Luffy-esque laugh, making Zoro laugh at the similarity. Definitely her fathers daughter.

"Let's go eat kiddo," Zoro said fondly, walking off with Aisa laughing the whole way.

Zoro entered the campsite, easily vaulting over a large tree root to do so. Aisa jumped off Zoro's shoulder with vigour, pushing the swordsman's shoulder back a little. Aisa turned around and stuck her tongue out at him, before running off towards the fire.

"Yes! Finished!" Nami said, sitting up from her log and closing her notebook with a huge smile. She adjusted the glasses on her face and turned towards Sanji and Chopper, who were dishing up dinner.

Sanji handed two bowls to Chopper, initially only handing one to the reindeer so he didn't have to use his injured hand. However, the boy disagreed and firmly stated he could take both.

"Ladies first, remember?" Sanji said, watching as Chopper managed to grasp both bowls without dropping them.

"Sure," Chopper said keenly, always trying to make himself useful to the crew.

Sanji turned towards the rest of the group, watching as people began to file in and sit in their seats. Luffy and Nami sat next to each other, unsurprisingly, with Aisa sitting on a smaller root beneath them. Everyone else spread out around the fire equally, but within listening distance of each other.

"I'll be around with your meals shortly. And eat up! I don't want the food getting cold," Sanji said, shooting a pointed look towards Usopp. Everyone in the crew knew the man liked to talk during meals, and as such, it made him an easy target for food snatchers and cold meals.

"Now if you would all listen up while you eat," Nami said to the group, making everyone look towards her, "I'll explain the plan for tomorrow"

As soon as Nami said the word 'plan', Luffy started to block out the noise and look towards the sky in interest. Nami, having seen this immediately, knocked him lightly on the head to get him to listen. The man turned his head to her with a sheepish grin, much to the amusement of Aisa. The girl let out a giggle and Luffy pressed his index finger between her eyes in response, making the girl go cross-eyed. Luffy burst out laughing at the girl's expense, and before Aisa could get a response in, Nami let out a small cough. The two stopped immediately and looked towards Nami with the exact same sheepish grin Luffy sported before.

Chopper handed one of the bowls with heart-shaped carrots in to Robin, following Sanji's instruction to the letter. Zoro, meanwhile, handed bowls to Luffy, Aisa and Nami. Chopper, having walked over to them afterwards and seeing that Nami already had a bowl, gave the last bowl to Zoro with a cute grin.

Zoro smiled down at Chopper and gave him a nod in thanks, before picking up one heart-shaped carrot with his spoon with a smirk.

"Wow Eyebrows," Zoro taunted, making the cook look at the man, "I didn't know you had such deep feelings. Can't say I'm surprised you swing that way."

Seeing the man's smirk, Sanji dropping his cooking equipment and rushed towards Zoro. Zoro handed the bowl to Usopp, who looked at the heart-shaped carrots in the bowl with a laugh before digging in, and charged towards the cook in response.

Before the two could reach each other, Aisa appeared out of nowhere and dispersed into water between the two, creating a puddle on the floor. Not before giving her counterpart a knowing smirk, making the girl sigh. How the hell did that personality trait happen? In shock, both Zoro and Sanji slipped on the water and fell backwards, prompting Luffy to laugh. Everyone proceeded to stare at Aisa, who was laughing just as hard as Luffy due to the two's display.

"Oh yeah," Zoro said with a smile, getting up at the same time as Sanji, who proceeded to walk away and dish up for the others, "Water Clones."

"CLONES?" Usopp said in awe, while Luffy ruffled the girl's hair proudly, also being in awe.

Before Aisa could explain, Nami cleared her throat and gathered the attention of the crew once more.

"Now, as cool as Aisa's new abilities are," Nami said, throwing a proud smile Aisa's way, "We have important things to discuss. We'll review Noland's book first. He discovered the City of Gold 400 years ago. However, after leaving the island and returning with his king, he found the gold ruins had vanished. Luckily, we know what happened to these ruins. The ruins and gold were shot up into the sky by the Knock-Up Stream, just like we were!"

"Do you really think a whole island could have done that?" Chopper asked Nami curiously, wondering how it could be possible for a whole island to simply shoot up into the sky. Surely that would require a stupid amount of energy, Chopper thought curiously.

"It's the only thing that makes sense. Remember, Cricket said that every time this phenomenon occurs, it's in a different location. When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," Nami said, making Aisa's eyes widen. She always knew Mom was intelligent, but she really was a genius. Her mom was pretty cool, Aisa thought with an internal giggle.

"That explosion was enormous. I'm not surprised it lifted an island," Usopp confirmed, thinking back to the explosive power of the Knock-Up Stream. There was simply so much energy in that blast, Usopp thought to himself, a stupid amount even!

"It's just… hard to believe this forest is the same one we saw in Jaya," Zoro pointed out, still coming to terms with the sheer absurdity of the situation.

"Imagine how it is for me. I could never have imagined something treated as sacred as Upper Yard could be shrouded by lies and mystery for so long," Aisa muttered, still trying to figure out what to make of that revelation.

"I believe it has something to do with the odd composition of the island clouds up here. Look at all the trees, fish and wildlife. Something about this island dramatically increases growth rates. Which explains how an entire society could have been swallowed up by these forces," Robin supplied, explaining some of her findings so far.

"That also explains why the South Birds who saved us were so huge!" Chopper said, thinking of the South Birds who came to his aid earlier.

"400 years of growing would do that to a bird," Zoro pointed out to Chopper, as Sanji threw a bowl of stew into his arms, nearly making the swordsman spill it all over himself. Zoro looked towards Sanji with a growl before looking down at his stew. At least these ones didn't have love hearts in, Zoro thought with relief. The swordsman would take what he could get.

"My question is why did the South Birds go to such great length to save you guys?" Sanji asked curiously, looking towards Zoro with a cocky grin when seeing him frown at his stew, paying the man back for earlier.

"I don't know," Chopper said slowly, remembering what happened after he was saved, "But when they saw him, they referred to the Sky Knight as God."

Aisa closed her eyes knowingly, allowing the others to soak in the information. She looked towards the Sky Knight with a smile. Gan Fall had always had such a comforting 'voice'. It made one feel watched over and safe. She never had anything against Gan Fall, always having felt his presence when growing up.

"HE'S GOD?" Luffy said in shock and awe, "BUT HE'S NOT ENERU!"

Pierre guarded Gan Fall with a wing, ready to whisk him away if things went south. The bird narrowed an eye in suspicion, worried for the injured man.

"That doesn't matter," Nami said with a sigh, trying to put the conversation back on track, "Does anyone remember what Noland's log said about the City of Gold?"

"I do," Luffy said, raising his hand quickly, "It's a city of gold!"

"You're such a dumbass!" Usopp shouted, making Aisa snort with amusement.

"I think he wrote about South Birds and a giant gold bell," Sanji interjected, reeling the conversation away from an argument, "Of course, there could be a lot more."

"The last thing he wrote in the log before he died was something odd. It's something even I can't figure out, not even after seeing this island. It says the City of Gold is in a skull's right eye," Robin said with a slight frown, still trying to piece the puzzle together.

"That's it!" Nami said, reaching for two maps in her bag as the whole crew gathered around her, "I matched Robin's map of Jaya with the old Skypeia map. Of course, this isn't exact and there may be some incorrect overlaps but when you match up the location of Cricket's house with the broken part we found up here, this is what the island looked like 400 years ago!"

And lo and behold, the mixed maps looked like a skull.

"Neat, it's a skull!" Luffy said with a huge grin, with Aisa dangling from his right arm like a monkey.

"It is a skull!" Chopper said with a little fear, wondering how an island could end up looking like a skull naturally.

"Well?" Nami said with a smile, impressed with her work.

Luffy placed a kiss on the woman's forehead with a larger-than-life grin, while the whole crew let out praises for the navigator's work.

"Where in the skull's right eye though?" Usopp excitedly asked, still thinking about the situation practically however.

Nami pointed to an island within the right eye with a smirk, her glasses slightly falling down the bridge of her nose when she looked down to point at the map.

"It's the only structure within the right eye! And no one has found it yet, because of all the people who tried, we're the only ones who have had both maps!" Nami explained, proceeding to point at Usopp's nose.

"Of course! We must be lucky pirates," Usopp said, sweating at the thought of the dangers that came with the adventure.

"It kind of makes sense," Zoro said with a grin. Maybe he could take some of his own gold to finally pay off his debt to Nami. Now that would be a worthwhile heist, the man thought.

"HIDDEN TREASURE!" Luffy and Aisa screamed at the same time. Aisa was glad that there would be some reward at the end of this apart from beating Eneru.

"The only thing left to do is make our way to the skull's eye. From there, I bet Eneru won't be too happy about us taking his gold. So, we kill two birds with one stone when he eventually comes after us," Nami said with a smirk, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, "Since we can't leave the ship unguarded, we'll split the crew into two groups tomorrow. On the other side of this island, awaits more gold then we could have ever dreamed and Aisa's freedom as well."

The Straw Hats had finally finished eating and were clearing up the mess they had made. Luffy rubbed his belly, satisfied by the stew.

"Now that's what I call gourmet," Luffy said with a burp, standing up and patting down his shorts.

"Tomorrow we get the gold and kick Eneru's ass!" Chopper said, excited for the pirate adventure to come, while carrying all the used plates back to the ship.

"You got it!" Nami said enthusiastically, carrying the spoons that had been used for eating.

"You think it will be sunny again?" Luffy asked the girl on his shoulder, looking up at the sky.

"Since we're above the clouds, undoubtedly so!" Aisa said with a smile, distracted by the presence of her dad.

"We should put out the fires if we don't need them," Robin supplied with a neutral face, "It's beginning to get late and we do not want to announce our location to enemies."

"What a rookie move," Luffy said with a smirk, "You hear that Usopp? She wants us to douse the fire. What are we going to do?"

"Huh?" Robin said with a sweatdrop, confused at Luffy's behaviour.

"I don't know," Usopp said with false condescendence, "It's not her fault though. She's never been exposed to this kind of living before! We should be tolerant!"

"What are you two saying?" Robin asked, on the back foot in the conversation, which was a rare occurrence.

Suddenly, Luffy and Usopp were sobbing at her knees and smacking their fists into the ground in frustration.

"You have to have a campfire! That's what makes it camping!" Luffy said with a whine. A man's romance indeed.

The two began to sob, and Aisa burst out laughing at the two's reaction, but after seeing Nami look at the two with an angry expression, Aisa immediately stopped and walked away whistling. She didn't want to be on the wrong end of her mum's infamous temper.

"HEY!" Nami said, pulling Luffy up by his shirt, "Lay off the sob stories! You know how dangerous this island can be! Let's not give it any help in killing us!"

"Don't care!" Luffy said, dismissing Nami's point as if she were a child, making the woman seethe in anger.

"WHAT? Between the priests, Eneru and a war, I think even you would have a hard time fighting all of that!" Nami said, stepping closer to her boyfriend in anger, "Not to mention the giant bloodthirsty monsters that wait around the corners to eat us!"

"MONSTERS!" Chopper screamed in fear, overhearing the shouting argument between the couple, his voice echoing throughout the trees.

"Luffy, take a look!" Zoro shouted, before gesturing to a large pile of logs, "Is this enough wood for your fire?"

"Can you idiots think for one second!?" Nami seethed, as even Sanji had helped his rival collect the wood for the fire.

"Don't worry," Sanji explained casually, trying to ease the woman's fear and anger while lifting a lit torch, "Wild animals are afraid of fire! They'll stay away!"

Many pairs of eyes blinked in the darkness, staring right at Sanji's torch.

"They're surrounding us!" Nami said, tears streaming down her eyes as she noticed the eyes in the darkness, "We'll die!"

The crew heard a growling from the darkness as a wolf with a scar over its right eye emerged. It bared its fangs at the crew, saliva dripping down on the floor. Usopp and Chopper screamed in fear, while Nami clung to Luffy's side like a vice, making the man cringe in pain. The wolf began to growl and bark at Sanji, making the man look down at the wolf with a raised, curly brow.

"Chopper, what is he saying?" Sanji asked the doctor, glad to have such a useful translator on the crew.

"You jerks are being so loud, we can't even hunt!" Chopper began to translate, his face mirroring that of the angry wolf, "You dumbass humans can go to sleep already! I'm amazed at how you can all be both eyesores and earsores!"

"WHO'S A DUMBASS?" Sanji and Luffy asked Chopper with shark teeth.

"I didn't say it! It was the wolf!" Chopper quickly pointed out in a sweat, before continuing to translate for the wolf, "You rotten, bipedal bastards better not be trying to take what doesn't belong to you!"

"No, we're not like that! We were brought here against our will!" Chopper explained to the wolf, before having to translate for the wolf more, "THIS IS OUR FOREST! You think you jerks can just come into it and start building fires?"

"Sorry," Chopper said with a sigh, "Everything here belongs to us! The land, the trees and the air!"

The wolf was brought down to the ground by Nami's fist, who's owner stared at the wolf angrily.

"Nothing is keeping me from that treasure!" Nami said, her eyes turning into Berris, "You got that, you stupid mutt?!"

The other wolves began to advance in anger, all growling and snapping at the air. They continued to do this for ten seconds, before a weird feeling washed over all of them. All of a sudden, the wolves let out a whimper and bowed their heads towards Luffy and the crew.

"Back down boys! We may have the numbers, but they have the raw power! It's in the air! And feeling that, I can tell it's not worth it! Girl, you pack one mean punch. And one of you, your aura is scary!" Chopper translated for the wolf leader, who was sweating and staring at the one who's aura was that of a king, "I've got to say orange girl, you're my kind of angry!"

The wolf turned his head with a sheepish grin to look at the scary one, who's eyes bored into his very soul. He knew a possessive stare when he saw one.

"But not my kind of girl," the wolf said, making Luffy tilt his head in confusion. Was the wolf courting him? It was like that one incident back on Dawn Island, Luffy thought with a strained face, digging into his memories. Luffy remembers drinking a lot of booze with Ace, and meeting many different kinds of animals with Ace, all of whom kept offering to-. Suddenly, an image of Ace smacked an image of Luffy on his head, telling him that was one of their most important secrets. Image Ace and Image Luffy started rocking back and forth while crying, remembering the running they had to do. Dear god, so much running. But they escaped physically safe. Mentally was a different story however. Luffy snapped out of his thoughts and stared at the wolf.

"I'm a boy though," Luffy said with a confused frown. Why was this wolf acting all weird all of a sudden? Luffy came to the conclusion it must be the water, smacking his fist into his palm as he did so. The crew stared at Luffy in confusion, even the composed Robin was staring at Luffy like he had grown another head.

"I didn't mean it like that! So, you're not scary, just an idiot!" the wolf said, making Luffy stick his tongue out. How dare he call him an idiot, with a stupid growly voice like that.

"Whatever you dumb mutt," Luffy said, sporting a massive grin, "CAMPFIRE PARTY!"

Most of the crew threw their arms up in joy, not wanting to bring up what just happened. How did Luffy understand the wolf if Chopper stopped translating ages ago? Those thoughts drifted off as the campfire party began. The crew danced around the fire with the wolves, with Luffy and many wolves howling off into the night, with Luffy making sure none of the animals slipped anything into his drink. Luffy shook his head with a grin. Couldn't fool him with the same trick thrice. He'd just run away like he did the other times.

"This is fantastic!" Nami said, looking at a cup of alcohol, "You guys make this stuff? Amazing! More please!"

Zoro drank from his own bottle, before turning to his left and seeing another wolf drinking booze as well. Zoro grinned at the wolf and the two gave a toast to the party, the sound of glass hitting a wooden cup ringing off into the night.

Many of the crew began dancing, while Robin watched with joy as the eccentricity of the crew shone through. She really was happy here, she thought, as she drank from the wooden cup of alcohol the wolves had given her.

Aisa and the other wolf pups began to play a game of Hide and Seek through the forest. Aisa loved making new friends, the girl noted, as she scrambled up a tree to hide from one of the pups. Although, some new friends could be a bit...forward. Seriously, where the hell did that personality trait come from, the girl thought with a sigh.

"TOMORROW WE FIND THE GOLD!" Luffy screamed, and many of the crew shouted in agreement. Finally, a treasure actually worth risking everything for.

"TOMORROW!" Aisa shouted to her dad from a high tree branch, only to stumble when she shot up from her sitting position and fall off the tree. Luffy caught the girl easily and began dancing around the fire with her, both of them giggling like children the whole time.

"I'm surprised you're getting along so well with the cloud wolves," Gan Fall said with amusement to Robin, walking slowly towards her, "I know of no one else who can cause such festivities on Eneru's land!"

"It's good to see you're awake," Robin said with a smile, standing up to greet the man, "Are you feeling any better?"

"I apologise for being such a burden to you all," Gan Fall said, his shoulder sagging with guilt, which caught the attention of Zoro.

"You're too hard on yourself," Zoro pointed out, having already decided he respected the man for saving Chopper's life, "You saved our friend and the Merry."

"That's my duty," Gan Fall said humbly, sitting down to rest his legs, looking towards a dancing duo with a frown.

"There is still some stew left," Robin pointed out, gesturing to the pot of stew on her left, "Would you like some?"

"Thank you but no, not right now," Gan Fall answered, nodding his head appreciatively. He could not eat, not when he had a prime opportunity to talk to the girl.

Luffy looked to his left and saw Gan Fall wide and awake, and allowed Aisa to run towards the old knight in joy. Aisa was glad to see the man awake, and glad he was still alive.

"Thanks for everything!" Luffy said, clearly very drunk, "Wanna dance with us?"

"YEAH!" Chopper slurred, making Zoro look at the boy with a mixture of confusion and pride.

A wolf jumped onto Luffy's back and smiled, making Luffy scream in shock and panic, and Sanji jumped on the wolf's back in turn, looking towards Gan Fall.

"Is Conis okay?" Sanji asked in concern, wanting to know if the angel they left behind was safe and sound.

"Very much so!" Gan Fall said with a smile, "I've sheltered her and her father in my house. Not to worry, they are fine."

"I was worried she would never see me again!" Sanji said, before being pulled into a dancing circle with Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and some wolves.

Aisa sat down next to Gan Fall, and looked up at him with a small smile. A moment of silence passed between the two, as they looked towards the blazing fire in front of them. Robin and Zoro had started their own conversation to the right of the two, with words such as 'contest' and 'bet' being thrown around. Gan Fall looked down at the little girl, and closed his eyes with guilt once more. He must talk to her; he must know if she is aware of the truth. But first, the Blue Sea dwellers must be informed of the reasons for the plague of war in this land. They had to know of the mess they had fallen into.

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but I heard your earlier conversation about how this island was known long ago by the name Jaya. But I believe you have yet to hear the story of how this island got to be sacred. The ground of the Upper Yard must remind you Blue Sea people of your home down below," Gan Fall explained, looking towards the fires once more and the wood upon which it sprouted from.

"It does," Zoro said softly, grabbing a handful of dirt and allowing it to fall through his fingers.

"Yes, you're lucky," Gan Fall said with a smile, picking up a handful of dirt, just as Zoro had, "What you see around us and beneath our feet is something that does not naturally exist in the sky. Island cloud can support plant life but it cannot generate its own. Plants and soil are foreign things to our lives here. Our people call it Vearth. I suppose little Aisa may have mentioned it to you earlier. It is sacred to those living among the clouds. It's what they all desire. To understand war, you must understand the fuel that drives it. And to survive your journey tomorrow, you must understand this war."

Zoro looked towards the flames in understanding, before walking away from the two with Robin to go hang out with the rest of the crew. Silence plagued the two yet again. But all things must be broken.

"I'm sorry," the man said, prompting Aisa to look up at him. What could he possibly be sorry for? Chopper and the Merry? Because that clearly wasn't his fault.

"For what?"

"Your mother," the man quickly responded, making Aisa's eyes widen in shock, "I tried to save her. I want you to know that. When Eneru stopped her heart, I could feel it. She died in my arms. I tried so hard to bring her back, but she wouldn't budge. She died for being gifted, and I could do nothing to help her. She was a brave woman, your mother, always fighting for what she believed was right, and for you."

Aisa's eyes welled up with tears. She tried to remember her face, desperately. Aisa's hands shook with grief, her nails digging into her palms. She couldn't remember her, no matter how hard she tried. All there was, was a smile. A loving smile. Aisa rarely saw it, but it comforted her none the less. She had Luffy and Nami now, but she still desperately wished her mother was still alive. But only He was left, and she hated that with every fibre of her being. So many children, thousands of women taken, all in the hopes of finding a child who was skilled and looked nothing like Him. Because that was what He feared. Himself. So far up His own ass, Aisa scoffed in her head, that He only fears that which He associates with power, which in His eyes was only Him.

"She wanted me to tell you," Gan Fall said quietly, making sure no one could overhear, "That she loved you. More than anything. And despite all what happened, she was so very happy you existed."

Aisa nodded, wiping her tears away. She may not have shown it, but Aisa knew her mother loved her dearly. Hell, it was why she was still alive. Aisa's face morphed into one of disgust and revulsion. Again, how many had to die, so Aisa could live? So she could be happy?

"You know, don't you?" Gan Fall asked, looking at the girl sympathetically. She was a true prodigy of the colour of Observation, but she was the progeny of something far more sinister. He was so glad she didn't look like Him, so she didn't have to look in the mirror and see him. Amazing, it seems all of His genes manifested themselves via her Haki and strength, except of course, her eyes. Those piercing blue eyes, Gan Fall shuddered, like lightning. Oh gods, the man thought, how many? Old friend, what have you done?

"Of course I do! I always have! How could I not?" Aisa seethed quietly, her hands shaking, "He was never my father. Hell, He's nothing. Not to me, not to them, not to Skypeia, not to you, not to the world! I will gladly see Him dead!"

Aisa's voice cracked at the end, as tears dripped down onto her hands. She hated it all. She could always feel it, the connection. It made her sick. How many children to get it right? And Aisa wasn't even perfect! She could be regarded as a failure! How many? HOW MANY, the girl screamed in her head.

"Some stupid part of me always wanted to believe He would care one day. Swoop in and fix everything. Be my...dad. A small part of me still wants to love Him. To forgive Him. But that part of me is being killed, rightfully so. It's only Luffy, and it will always be Luffy," Aisa said, sobbing, "We're just tools to Him. My mother was a tool for her talents, and all those women and children, and I am a tool to Him as well! Born out of a need to create the perfect follower, but never a perfect lookalike!"

"So, you will do what needs to be done?" asked Gan Fall, looking towards the other Straw Hats with a small smile. Hopefully, it would all be over soon. These Blue Sea Dwellers bore far more responsibility than they thought. How many souls could they possibly lay to rest? Gods, how many?

"I will protect them. I don't need my Haki to know that. I will avenge my mother. And I will kill Him. I'm not His daughter," Aisa said, wiping her eyes once more and looking determinedly into the flames, imagining leaving Sky Island forever, with the Straw Hats.

Gan Fall nodded and walked away, after sparing the girl one more glance of pity. The coming days would be hard, but to be free was the gift. And was there no greater gift than that?

Aisa stared further into the flames. She could feel the souls begging to be put to rest. Or were those voices in the future? Why? How many? Gods, how many?

She felt nothing for Him.

She was nothing like Him.

How many?

He was no one.

He would forever be no one!

Gods... how many?

She crushed the last good will she had towards Him, not that there was much to begin with. She had to ask Him, how many were there?

She had the Straw Hats, and mum and dad. The future bore the answers. It would not take her long to move on. But she had to know! She just had to know!

Father.

No…

Not even that. Soon you die, soon I'll be free. Their souls shall be free. So, I shall utter your name as if it means nothing, for you are nothing. And when you die, they will all laugh at you. Gods, how many children? How many?

Nothing but a falsity in every sense.

How many?

Nothing but a murderer...

Gods, how many have there been? How many will there be?

Nothing but Him...

Nothing but...

Eneru.

Yo! It's been an awful long time since a chapter, hasn't it? Terribly sorry, but I'm doing my final exams in a month or so! Then I'll be writing non-stop in the summer (hopefully!)

Mkay, review time!

The Keeper of Worlds: It's all just fluff in this arc isn't it! I'd say this arc is definitely about family for this story. If I had it my way, I would've skipped this arc! But this arc is important for Aisa to bury the past and finally move onto the future with a clear conscience. But that one question will never leave her.

ArifPG: Update right now XD. I'm glad you like my story so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Banane Jon: Glad to help :D. And I'm sorry to keep you waiting again but at least the chapter is here now right? And don't worry, I love this story so much so I'll keep it going. Just gotta finish my exams!

VoyagersUnite: Thanks so much! I will continue no matter what! Luffy and Nami will adopt Aisa soon. Don't need Future Sight to know this arc will culminate with that. Pretty sure I mentioned it in a review answer before :D

time to flame: YEAH! Nami's doesn't belong to anyone! Luffy's not like that filthy Arlong ya know? Belonging has to at least be a mutual thing :P. But in all seriousness, in the end, this is a fanfic! Pretty sure there is one out there that caters to your taste. And if there isn't, then write one! That's what I did!

ArtemisxHolly: Oh how I love when people get the references! It makes me so happy. Keep 'em peeled Lewis, there are far more than that one in this story. Can be like an Easter Egg hunt!

Dat guy: Not to worry friend, it'll ALL be explained. Not in this arc, but there is a reason! If you can't bear to read this story anymore because of it, then I'm sorry to hear that. But I promise you, it WILL be explained. There are small hints as to why already, but I won't need to retcon anything for it to make sense! Feel free to PM me if you want me to elaborate more.

CelestialSlayer: Thanks so much! I won't leave it unfinished, so don't worry. But, if you, or any reader wants an update, please feel free to PM me! Really, I'll get back to you within a day and either get motivated or give you a good reason! Thanks for the support.

jimmysmith790: I'm glad you enjoy it! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Bktalks22: I guess I understand that. But in the end, without Aisa, how would this fic really be different ya know? I suppose some spooky twists happened, and I've got a long story planned ahead which does deviate from canon, but Aisa is the driving force behind those changes. At least in my perspective as the writer. But your perspective is just as valid if not more! But I'm glad you're enjoying the rest, it really does mean a lot :D!

So, if any of you feel that your question is unanswered or you wanna talk about this story without clogging up the review box (:P), feel free to PM me and I'll get back to you in a jiffy.

I have been waiting so long to write that ending! Actually just so happy. I had to get it just right, ya know? It's so important to Aisa's character and this arc as a whole, that I needed it to be perfectly unexpected. Damn, I wish I had a Beta to go over my story XD. Oh well :D, I really hope none of you saw this coming, but please feel free to leave a review if you did.

Oh I almost forgot! Upon writing this chapter, I actually realised I do in fact need to make a retcon. So here goes.

RETCON HERE, PLEASE READ

If I mentioned anything else before, and I know this is kinda terrible writing, it is now void. Aisa is in fact 9 years old, as per actual canon, and her birthday is January 3rd. She also, retconning any other statement saying otherwise, does have Light Blue eyes, as does her father.

That's all from me. Sorry bout that.

Hopefully, I'll cya all soon after my exams :D

I hope you all enjoyed the newest addition to the collection!

My PM box is always open if you have a question about the story that can't be done in a review :P

Please leave a review if you enjoyed it or have any criticism, flame or no!

This is, TheHumulisScriptor, signing out!