Milo stood next to his younger sister, waiting for her bus to arrive. The sky was clouded over, threatening rain. There were several patches of blue on the horizon, but his mother insisted it was going to rain and not clear up, as the weather report had said. Bellemere held her princess umbrella over her head, making sure every strand of her orange hair was protected from the impending water.

"It's not raining yet, Bella," Milo said, "Put it down. Your bus is almost here."

"No. Mommy did my hair today and I want it to stay pretty." Bellemere insisted, the twelve year old pouting at her older brother.

Milo sighed, shaking his head and spotting the yellow bus at the end of the road. "Your bus is here, put your umbrella down."

Bellemere didn't put down her umbrella until the bus had completely stopped in front of her. The doors opened and Bellemere climbed up the steps, a grin on her face as she joined her friends. The bus driver, an old and bald man, waved at Milo. He waved back as the old man drove away.

Milo scowled as the bus drove down the street and vanished as it turned a corner. He trudged back up the driveway, not wanting to face his parents. But he didn't have to wait long, as they both were standing on their front porch. His father had a half smile on his face, but his mother looked furious.

"Milo Monkey," she started, her arms crossed over her chest. "Now, while you were out at Malcolm's last night, we got a call from your school."

Milo bit his lip, getting ready for the lecture. "You were fighting?" His father asked, his smile vanishing to look disapproved as his mother glared at him. His father's smile returned when his mother looked away.

"Yeah…" Milo didn't know what to expect when his parents ordered him into the house. He sat at the dining table, his hands fidgeting on his lap as his mother paced in front of him.

"Why?" Was the first question, the one he had been dreading.

"I… he was making fun of Andy. I didn't want to get caught, but the gym teacher saw the end of it."

His father laughed. "Luffy!" His mother scolded, slapping the back of his head. "You shouldn't be encouraging him!"

"Sorry Nami," his father laughed, "But he's like me."

"Maybe too much," Nami sighed loudly and leaned on the table. "Well, that can't be helped. He is your son."

Luffy looked at Milo, "We have a meeting with your principal tonight, so when you get home we'll be bringing you in with us."

Milo paused, "So… you're not mad?"

"Milo," His father started, "You're sixteen. When I was your age, I was fighting sea monsters. Nami had to take the night off work, but that's not the big problem here."

"That's just a story you told us when we were little." Milo muttered.

Luffy put a hand on Milo's shoulder, "So? Who says it never happened?"

"Common sense. Sea monsters don't exist, and even if they did there's no one alive strong enough to fight one."

"I don't know, Milo. Your father's quite the man." She picked up her purse. "Come on, I'll drive you to school. You too Luffy, hurry, or you'll be late."

Luffy jumped up from his seat, grabbing his wallet and darting out the door. Nami shook her head, smiling. She followed Milo out the door and to the bright red car in the driveway.

"Why'd you have to get such a flashy car?" Milo asked.

"Because your father's favorite colour is red," Nami replied.

"But he can't drive."

"He the one who bought the car."

Milo huffed, staring out the window. The high school was only a few blocks away, and they arrived quickly. Milo jumped out, shouldering his backpack. Luffy rolled down the window, "If you do fight, don't get caught this time."

"What your father means," Nami said loudly, leaning into view, "Is have a good day."

"I'll try," He waved as his parents drove off, his father headed to the docks and his mother to the mall before she had to be at the news station.

"Hey! Milo!" Andy barreled into Milo from behind and slung an arm over his shoulders. "How'd it go with your parents?"

Milo turned his head to see his friend looking sheepish. "It went fine. I don't think they're that mad."

Andy visibly sagged in relief. "That's good. I was worried they'd get mad. Then I'd feel bad."

"Nah," Milo waved his hand dismissively. "Dad started talking about how he beat up sea monsters when he was my age."

"He's still talking about those crazy adventures? His stories were the best when we were younger." Andy grinned.

"Yeah, but he seems to think they're true." Milo sighed. "Dad can be really childish sometimes."

"But he's still cool," Andy argued. "Cooler than mine at least. My Dad works at the bank and all he talks about is money."

"He's lame. You just think he's cool because he lets us do whatever when you come over."

"So that makes him a cool dad."

Milo gave up, hearing the bell ring and sprinting to his locker. "See you at lunch!" He called to Andy.

Milo entered his classroom with seconds to spare. His teacher gave a disapproving stare as he slid his seat at the back of the room. She started her lesson, and Milo zoned out. He never cared for physics.

The morning seemed to drag on, which was fine with Milo. He really didn't want to face his parents and principal tonight. But that also meant when lunch finally came around, Milo was starving. He loaded up on cafeteria food and joined his friends at their usual table.

"Geez, only you could eat that," Malcolm said, eyeing Milo's heaping plate.

"Shut up, I'm hungry."

Andy snorted, "The only person who can eat more than you is your dad."

Milo shoved a forkful of food into his mouth to avoid commenting. Tim reached over and stole one of Milo's buns, grinning as Milo tried to stab his hand with his fork. "You missed," Tim taunted, and tried to duck as Milo threw his spoon at him, nailing him between the eyes. It left a bruise.

Lunch passed quicker than Milo would have liked, and he was back in class. English and Math passed, and then Milo was standing with Malcolm, Andy and Tim at the front of his school. Andy patted his back, "Good luck with your parents tonight."

"Yeah… thanks…" Milo slumped and grimaced.

"We'll be at the school too," Tim said. "Basketball practice. If it goes bad, come see us. We'll hide you from Mrs. Monkey's wrath."

"Good luck," Malcolm laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow. Tell me how it goes, alright?"

"Thanks," Milo muttered, leaving the school ground. He trudged home, and arrived at an empty house. His sister would be getting off the bus in a few minutes, so he left the garage door open when he entered. Leaving his backpack on the table, he went into the living room. His gaming console was sitting on the T.V stand, and he sat down and powered it up. If his parents decided to ground him it would be the first thing to be taken away.

Milo shuddered, remembering the last time he got in trouble. His father had tried to play one of his games, and Milo was forced to sit and watch his father fail. Both Bellemere and his mother found it amusing. He browsed through his game selection, pausing slightly when he heard the bus pull up outside his house. His sister entered the house, closing the garage door behind her and joined him in the living room.

"You're gonna get in more trouble if Mom and Dad find out you're playing video games instead of doing homework," Bellemere said, sitting on the couch.

"I don't care," Milo muttered, picking out a game.

"But they're gonna be mad!" Bellemere said again. "I don't like it when they're mad."

Milo heard the front door open halfway through Bellemere's sentence, and shoved the game back onto the shelf and powered down his PS3. Bellemere perked up when she heard their parents enter, and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Hey Bellemere," Milo heard his father's voice. "How was your day?"

"My hair stayed in!" Bellemere exclaimed happily, and Milo could imagine her pointing to it.

"That's good," His mother said. "We're going out tonight. Milo! Get ready to go! We're going out for dinner before meeting with your principal."

Milo sighed, standing and entering the kitchen. His father's face was smeared with grease, and his mother had a cloth in her hand. "Hold still, Luffy." She ordered as she snagged his chin and began wiping off the grease. "Go take a shower and change. You're filthy."

"It's not my fault! It's messy work!"

"Go" Nami pointed. Luffy went.

Milo stepped further in, "Mom?"

Nami turned around. "Milo, good. Are you wearing that tonight?"

Milo glanced down at his jeans and t-shirt. "Yes?"

She nodded, "Alright. What are you going to say to your principal tonight?"

Milo sat down next to Bellemere, who was coloring. "I hadn't thought about it," he admitted.

"That won't do," she said, shaking her head. "You always need a plan of attack."

"I'm just going to apologize," Milo muttered.

Nami laughed, "You should stand up for yourself. It was the other kid who provoked the fight, right?"

"Yeah, but I threw the first punch. You said that fighting is bad."

"I'm not saying that standing up for yourself and your friends is a bad thing," Nami came over to the table and sat across from Milo. "But you should try going about it a different way. Only words were thrown first, right?"

Milo nodded.

Nami smiled. "Be the bigger person. Don't fight back. It'll provoke them if you fight."

Milo looked down at the table. "Mom, this is different. You haven't gone through this before."

"Who says I haven't?" Nami asked, crossing her arms and looking insulted. "Your father and I were in a town called Jaya once. This was over nineteen years ago. That makes me feel old," Nami shook her head, returning to her lecture. "But there was a man there, called Bellamy. He insulted your father, but Luffy didn't do anything."

"What happened?" Bellemere had paused her coloring to listen.

"Well, Bellamy started a fight. But Luffy and Zoro didn't fight back. They got their asses handed to them!" Nami laughed. But a moment later, she grew serious again. "But because they didn't fight back, Bellamy got no satisfaction out of beating them."

"Who's Zoro?" Bellemere asked.

"An old friend of your father and me," Nami explained, smiling faintly.

"What happened next?" Milo asked, fascinated with the story. His parents didn't speak of their past much.

"He provoked us later," Luffy's voice came from the doorway, having heard the previous sentence. He had changed into clean clothes and had a towel over his head. "And because we didn't fight him before, he didn't know how strong we were." Luffy grinned. "I beat him."

"But only keep the first part in mind," Nami said sternly. "Hurting people up for no reason isn't worth it."

Milo nodded, "What did he do to provoke you, Dad?" As far as he knew, his father was completely optimistic and couldn't get mad.

"He stole something from a friend." He turned to Nami, "Are we heading out? I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Nami muttered, but stood and grabbed the car keys and purse. "Alright, let's go."

Bellemere jumped up, abandoning her coloring book. Milo stood, a knot in his stomach forming. He didn't know how much of an appetite he would have. Before leaving the house, he glanced at the clock. 4:43pm. He had less than three hours until his parents would meet the principal. He wasn't so worried about the fight, since his parents didn't seem very angry about that. His grades weren't the best. He was failing physics, and his mother always insisted that he do his best and make a good future for himself. She'd be disappointed to hear how bad he was doing in that class.

He left the house, climbing into the car next to his sister. His mother had taken the towel off of Luffy's head, as he had forgotten to take it off before they left the house, and tossed it into the backseat with Milo and Bellemere. "Hang that over your seat," she ordered.

They left, arriving at the restaurant a while later. Luffy was the first one out, bouncing eagerly on his heels as the rest of his family joined him. They were seated by a young woman, who brought out complimentary breadsticks. They were gone a few moments later, devoured by Luffy and Milo, who, despite being nervous hadn't let his appetite suffer.

"Honestly," Nami scolded. "Be polite. And Luffy, try not to shove everything into your mouth at once. And no stretching."

His mother always said that when they went to a public place for dinner. Both Milo and Bellemere had no idea what it meant. Bellemere had asked once, and their mother had waved her off, claiming it to be an inside joke and would tell them when they were older.

Luffy pouted, but brightened as a waiter approached them. "Can I get a milkshake?" Bellemere asked, and Nami nodded.

"Hello, my name is Rachel, and I'm going to be your waiter for this evening. Can I start you off with drinks?" Rachel asked.

"Can I get a chocolate milkshake?" Bellemere asked shyly.

Rachel nodded, "Of course sweetie. And for you?" She turned to Nami.

"Just water, please."

Rachel nodded and scribbled that down on her notepad. "For you, sir?" She addressed Luffy.

"Do you have sake?"

Nami sighed loudly, sounding annoyed. Rachel looked confused. "Sorry, sir. I don't believe so…"

"He'll have water too," Nami interrupted.

Rachel looked to Milo, "What about you, young man?"

"Coke,"

Rachel nodded, "I'll be back in a few minutes with your orders."

Bellemere began drumming her fingers on the table. "Stop that Bellemere, it's not polite," Nami scolded lightly, catching Bellemere's fingers.

"But there isn't any coloring here. I'm bored." Suddenly, she brightened. "Daddy, can you tell us one of your stories?"

Luffy looked at Nami for approval, and she nodded. "Go ahead."

"Alright," Luffy grinned and took off his hat, which had been resting on his back. Placing it in the middle of the group, which was tradition when he told one of his stories, he began talking. "We left off at Sky Island last time, right?"

Bellemere nodded eagerly.

"Good. Now, it started on an island called Jaya," Milo perked up at the name. That had been the name of the island his parents had been to, the one his mother mentioned at the house. "The adventurers landed, and went into town. They needed to get more information on the Sky Island so they could get there. Their log pose was pointed at the sky-"

"The log pose looks like Mommy's bracelet, right?" Bellemere interrupted.

"That's right," Luffy said, catching Nami's hand gently. Nami allowed it to be guided to the middle of the table, where both Milo and Bellemere could see it. "It looks like this, but the needle was pointing at the sky." The needle in his mother's bracelet wasn't moving, pointing north.

"Cool," Bellemere whispered as she leaned closer, her breath fogging the glass of the bracelet.

"Now, the swordsman, the navigator, and the captain arrived at a bar, while the rest of the crew stayed behind on the ship. They asked the bartender where they could find information on the Sky Island, but the people in the bar laughed at them, saying that the Sky Island didn't exist. One man took offense to the adventurer's dreams, and began calling them names. But the adventurers didn't fight back. So the bad man got even madder, and began to beat up the captain and the swordsman. But they still didn't fight back. The bad man beat them up, and the navigator had to bring them back to their ship."

"Were they okay?" Bellemere asked, her eyes wide.

"Of course. When they got better, they found a man who lived on the other side of the island who wanted to help them. He told them of a current, called the Knock-Up stream. This current would bring them to the Sky Island."

"How?" Milo asked this time. He believed these stories as a kid, but listening to them now… They sounded so absurd.

It was Nami who answered, "It starts when a huge underwater cave fills with gas. This gas, over time, becomes pressurized, and creates a crack in the ceiling of the cave. Water is sucked into the crack, and on the surface, a powerful whirlpool is created. While the cave is filling up with water, all the gas is released. Once most of it is gone, pressure causes the cave explodes. This sends a huge stream of water straight up into the sky."

"The adventurers found where it was going to be, and rode it up to the clouds, where they burst out of the clouds and landed on an ocean in the sky!" Luffy finished.

"How is there an ocean in the sky?" Milo asked again. "That defies the laws of physics."

"Well," Nami said, "Clouds are made of water vapor. If they were thick enough, a ship could ride it. For example, if they used a different nucleus. A stronger material than just dust." Milo made a face, not convinced.

Luffy paid him no mind and continued talking. "Once they were there, they were attacked by a man wearing a mask. He had on a pair of special skates that allowed him to ride above the White-White Sea."

"What's the White-White Sea?" Bellemere asked.

"The name of the ocean in the sky." Luffy answered. "But the adventurers were saved by the Sky Knight. This man defeated the attacker and gave them a whistle. 'If you need my help, blow the whistle and I will save you' Is what he told the crew."

"Um… Terribly sorry to interrupt…" Rachel was standing next to the table, a tray of drinks balanced on her arm.

"No problem," Nami said, as Luffy took his hat off the table. Milo turned red, embarrassed to be caught listening to a childish story.

"Two waters, a coke, and a milkshake." She placed the drinks on the table and stood back. "Have you decided on your meal?"

They all placed their orders. When Rachel left, Bellemere turned back to her parents with an expecting expression. "What's next?"

Luffy opened his mouth, but Nami beat him to it. "We'll continue later, what comes next isn't for the dinner table."

Bellemere pouted, and Milo felt a tang of disappointment. Despite being almost seventeen, his parent's stories never got old. Even if he stopped believing them. Especially when he saw his parent's expressions when they were talking. Joy, happiness, adventure. There was also sadness and regret when his father talked of the captain's brother. So many emotions passed over their faces, it almost made him think the stories were real. Almost. Despite the enthusiasm, a lot of what happened was impossible.

Fruits that gave powers? That was the first thing that threw him off. A talking reindeer? Nope. A man who could wield three swords at once? Definitely not. A living skeleton. No. A cyborg shipwright? Ha! A ship that could fly. Ridiculous. Fish men and mermaids? Impossible.

He had heard the story all the way through once before, being the older child. He used to beg to hear the stories, and it ended with the adventurer's captain becoming King. He hid a smile. The One Piece, which his father represented with the strange, locket sized amulet he wore around his neck, had been their goal throughout the story. He remembered when he heard the ending. He had been eleven, and almost cried when his father uttered the words 'The End'.

Rachel returned, this time bearing food. Another waiter was following her, carrying the rest of their order. He felt sorry for her, having to carry his and his father's meals.

"Hey, Dad," Milo asked, his reminiscing bringing forth a question. "What happened after they found the One Piece?" He lowered his voice so Bellemere wouldn't hear. She hadn't heard the ending yet.

Luffy paused, putting down his fork. Nami looked over, having heard the question as well. Bellemere sipped at her milkshake, oblivious.

"The captain and the navigator fell in love," Nami said quietly. "But the crew was attacked. The two of them were separated from the rest of the crew."

"Where did they end up?"

Luffy and Nami exchanged glances, both of them looking sad. "Another world," Luffy finally answered, giving Milo a half smile.