To Zion
Part Four
"And it doesn't hurt a bit?" Neo asked. Her eyes were locked onto the glowing red aura that surrounded Elek's hand. She studied it curiously, but also cautiously.
"No, there's no pain at all," Elek said. Patiently watching the young Elemental take in his aura, his eyes flittered to Topaz. He smiled when Topaz smiled at him. The small group of three was down in the training room. A short while ago some of the Heart Pirates were down here training but now it was just the three of them.
Neo was watching her family spar with each other, like she often did since she couldn't participate in close range combat anymore, when Elek had wondered in to use the training room himself. And with her now more comfortable with Elek, she was starting to become more curious about him as an individual and his powers.
"What if I touched it?" Neo asked. "You said before that Law's aura should have hurt me, but it did. Does that mean all of your auras can hurt people?"
"Yes and no," Elek said. "Right my aura isn't being form into a weapon. Go ahead and touch it."
Neo hesitated. Rubbing her thumb over the tips of her fingers before slowly reaching out for the aura. She lightly touched the red aura and jerked back quickly. She blinked several times. Looking at her finger, she noticed nothing happened to her. So she tried it again, this time slipping her finger into the glow until her entire fingernail was engulfed. "It kind of feels like I'm dipping my finger in water but there's no wetness at all. So what kind of weapons can you create? Is the aura itself a weapon or does it have to have an actual weapon shape?"
"Just about anything we want," Elek said. "But the more skilled you are the more choices you can have. If you don't have enough skill you can over work yourself. And, yes, the aura itself can be used as a weapon." He formed the glow into a shield. "We start off with working the aura, manipulating it. Once it feels natural and the shape changes easily for you, you move on to changing the shape into weapons. We start off small. Usually forming a knife then working up to bigger weapons."
"Are they close range weapons only? Or can you do long range weapons like bows and arrows?" Neo asked.
"Most just do close range weapons," Elek said. "But there are some very skilled weapons masters on Zion who can form long range weapons like bows and arrows. They can also control the arrows once they've been fired."
"Control them?" Neo lifted her eyes back to Elek's.
"Would you like an example?" Elek asked.
Neo looked over at Topaz, almost like she was asking if it was okay. Topaz only smiled at her. Both knowing it was up to Neo whether or not she wanted to see this example. And of course she did. She looked back at Elek and nodded. "If you don't mind."
"Of course not," Elek said.
Neo watched with peaked curiosity as Elek's aura began to shift into a bow. She felt almost giddy when he pulled the string back and an arrow appeared. A small gasp passed over her lips causing Elek and Topaz to smile. Her eyes barely were able to follow the arrow when he released it. Another gasp left her lips when the arrow suddenly stopped half an inch from the wall. She summoned her wings and flew over to it. Staying in the air, she inspected the arrow from all angles possible. "You can control it."
Elek nodded. Carefully he moved the arrow away from Neo and began guiding it around the room.
Neo's eyes locked onto the arrow as it flew all over the room.
"So your eyes glow too when you're controlling the arrow?" Topaz asked.
Neo let herself look at Elek. The man was wearing a red aura, somewhat transparent, mask over his eyes, making them look like they were glowing.
"It's more like a mask," Elek said. "This allows me to, um, I guess you could say I'm bonded with the aura arrow. By putting this glowing mask over my eyes I'm able to see where the arrow is heading. This allows me ultimate control. But, at the same time, it drains my powers because I have to focus so much on it instead of what's going on around me and the farther away I get from the arrow the harder it is to control it."
"It sounds like being a Summoner is a lot of hard work and can put a lot of strain on your body," Topaz said.
"It can," Elek said with a nod. "That's why a lot of people don't go over being a First Level Summoner. The Aurae is fairly hard to control. It only gets harder from there with each level after since the summons are animal and nature based. You Elementals know better than anyone how hard and dangerous nature can be to control and you all are a part of nature."
Topaz nodded in understanding. She then turned her eyes back to Neo. The young princess was once again following the arrow, still looking at it with childlike curiosity while she flew with it by it sides, on top of it, and even under it. She smiled and shook her head.
"She can be quite charming when she's not feeling threatened," Elek said.
"Yeah." Topaz nodded. "I'm sorry, again, for her little episode before."
"Don't worry about it," Elek said. "It's all be forgiven. I'm just glad she's finally settling down a bit with me at least."
"She does better with calmer people," Topaz said. "It still might take her some time to get use to Bao."
"I can understand that," Elek said. "Bao can be an acquired taste. He's annoyed plenty of people back on Zion and during our travels."
"You might want to stop the arrow now," Topaz said, pointing at Neo and the arrow. "If you don't, she'll follow that thing all day."
Elek chuckled. Guiding the arrow back to him, he formed his aura back over his hand.
Neo continued to follow the arrow. She brought her face right up to Elek's hand when the arrow absorbed back into his aura. Without thinking she grabbed his hand with both of hers, surprising both him and Topaz. She inspected his hand and aura as if she was expecting the arrow to come back out on its own power. "It's gone. It went back into the aura, your aura. Can you shape the aura into other things like animals?"
"I believe some have shaped their auras into animals and other shapes," Elek said. "But it holds no purpose other than entertainment."
"Oh," Neo said, still holding onto his hand and waiting for the arrow to come back out. She lifted her eyes to his. Her eyebrows lifted up on her forehead when she realized she was actually touching this man. Her cheeks tinted pink and she let her hands drop from his. "Sorry."
"It's quiet all right," Elek said.
Silence fell onto the room for a while. Topaz knew to give Neo a little time to process what she had just done here. Locking her eyes with Elek, she sent him a silent signal by placing her finger over her lips telling him not to say anything for the moment.
Elek nodded in understanding. He let his eyes rest back on Neo, taking her in until she was ready to speak again. While he and Topaz watched the young princess, they both noticed tiredness gathering in Neo's eyes.
Neo placed her hand over her lips and yawned then rubbed her eye sleepily. "I'm sleepy now. I got too excited I guess. I'm going to go take a nap."
"All right," Topaz said. While Neo hugged her, she stroked her hair. "We'll see you later."
"Have a good rest, Neo," Elek said.
"Thanks, Elek." Neo gave the man a smile before heading out of the room. She yawned a couple more times while wondering through the sub halls then perched up when she sensed Bao coming her way. She paused. Taking a few relaxing breathes until the young man appeared in the hall with her. She swallowed when she saw his eyes light up.
"Hey, Neo," Bao greeted, walking closer to her.
She took a step back when he got to close. She started to summoner her crystals, but paused when she noticed Bao wasn't going to come any closer. A thick, heavy silence fell between them for a few seconds. Cautiously, she asked, "So…did you need something?"
"No, not really," Bao said. "I've just been kind of wondering around. You're crew seems to be busy doing other stuff so I think I'm going to hope over to the Straw Hats ship to see if they're doing anything of interest. You want to join me?"
"No, I don't," Neo said, forcing herself to not snap at the man. "I mean I'm going to take a nap."
"Oh," Bao said, obviously disappointed. "I understand. I'll let you get to it then."
Neo nodded slowly. She remained in place while watching Bao walk away. Only then did she notice that Law was carefully watching her through their bond. She shook her head, feeling a bit silly about how she reacted toward Elek before. "You don't have to watch me like that, Law. I'm okay now and I'm going to try a little hard to get to know these two…well, at least Elek. We were actually getting a long just fine in the training room. He showed me some of his powers. I need a bit more adjusting time for Bao though. But I'm not going to over react like I did before. I guess we need to come up with some kind of system for me for dealing with these mood swings better."
'A system for dealing with your mood swings might be a good thing. I'll think about it while you're sleeping. I might be able to come up with something.' Law replied back to her. 'I'll let you do your thing now and not hover over you.'
"Thanks, Law," Neo said. "You're the best."
She continued on through the sub. Entering into their room when she finally reached it. She felt even more exhausted than before. She was so ready for a nap. Slipping under the covers, she lay down and rubbed her stomach gently. "Sleep well, baby."
Closing her eyes, she was a sleep in seconds.
…
Bao walked out onto the deck of the sub and was greeted by the sound of Brook's violin. With his hands on his hips, he looked around. Currently, he was the only from the Polar Tang outside. Since Brook was playing his violin, he assumed all of the Straw Hats were out on the deck of their ship. So he decided to go over to see them for a while like he told Neo he was going to. Engulfing himself in his Summoner's glow, he pushed himself off the deck of the sub, flipped through the air, and landed effortlessly on the Sunny's railing and without causing it to dip or rock on the water. He ran his eyes over the scattered Straw Hats and Ikkaku, the women were sitting at a small round table while the men were scattered around the deck, before noticing after all that one Straw Hat was missing. And that one was Sanji. He assumed the blonde cook was in the kitchen for some reason. He looked right at Ikkaku and said, "What are you doing here?"
"Plotting your murder," Ikkaku said.
"Very funny." Bao frowned at the Heart Pirate.
Ikkaku shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "Well, I have to have a plan to execute if you don't stop trying to flirt with Neo."
"Whatever," Bao said with a roll of his eyes.
"It looks like we have a guest," Robin said, calmly flipping to the next page of her book.
"Wow! That was so cool!" Luffy and Chopper exclaimed.
"How did you do that without rocking the ship?" Usopp asked. "I'd figure with your Summoner's powers making you stronger than a normal human, you would have rocked it like crazy."
"It's part of my cheetah form and Summoner's abilities," Bao replied. "I can land softly on any surface as it is while being a cat like creature, but my Summoner's aura also gives me extra padding when I need it."
"That's so cool!" Luffy and Chopper said. "I want to be a Summoner!"
"That's not happening!" Nami growled.
"So what brings you over to our ship?" Franky asks.
"Boredom mostly," Bao said, jumping down to the deck. "The Hearts are all scattered around doing various pirates things, Elek is working out in the training room, and Neo has fallen asleep again." Sighing, he leaned back against the railing. "She sure sleeps a lot."
"She sleeps when she's stressed," Chopper said. "It's a habit from her past. I thought someone mentioned that before."
"Maybe they did and I forgot," Bao said.
"At least you're leaving her alone while she sleeps," Sanji's voice said.
Bao looked up at the cook. Sanji had his arms crossed over the railing and was wearing a light glare while smoking. Bao shrugged. He didn't feel like arguing. "Anyway, I was hoping to do some fishing or something."
"I could go for some fishing," Luffy said. "It's boring around here."
"Glad I'm not the only one who's bored," Bao said. "Mine if I borrow one of your poles? I really don't want to go back to the sub and get one."
"Sure," Usopp said. He stood up from the deck and wondered towards the inside. "I'll grab them and join you."
"Great!" Luffy cheered.
"I'll fish too," Chopper said.
"What kind of training is Elek doing?" Zoro inquired.
"His Summoner training," Bao said.
"Does that include that sword thing he did on the beach?" Zoro asked, lifting himself up on his elbows.
"Probably. Topaz is in the training room as well," Bao said. "But he usually trains with me when doing that. Otherwise he doesn't get much out of it. Why? Are you interested in his sword skills?"
"I am," Zoro said, standing up.
"Good grief," Sanji said. "Here we go again."
"Shut up!" Zoro snapped. "I just want to spar with him and see how good he is!"
"Yeah right," Sanji said. "You just want to beat someone else."
"So?! It comes with being the greatest swordsman in the world!" Zoro said.
"You're not the greatest swordsman in the world!" Sanji said. "You're only trying to become the greatest!"
"Such a peaceful day broken by a fight," Brook said while he continued to play his violin.
"I'm sure Elek won't mind sparring with you," Bao said. "He'll welcome the chance to train." He paused to look at the three swords hanging on the swordsman's belt. "Thought he's probably not as good as you are. He only uses one aura sword."
"That's fine," Zoro said, walking towards the side of the Sunny. "I'll use one as well. At least until I know how good he is." Without another word, he jumped over to the Polar Tang's deck and disappeared inside.
"Will they be fine?" Nami asked.
"Yeah." Bao nodded. "If Elek is stronger than Zoro, he won't do anything that'll hurt him. But like I said, I doubt that Elek is as strong as Zoro where swords are concerned. While he knows how to use a sword, he doesn't classify himself as a swordsman."
"I got the fishing poles," Usopp announced when he walked back out onto the deck.
"Great!" Luffy ran over to his sniper. He grabbed his fishing pole then went to sit on the railing of the sub.
"Be sure to catch enough for supper tonight," Sanji said. "And half of what you all catch goes to my precious little flower, Neo."
"Okay!" the destined fishers said while dropping their lines into the water below.
"So, Bao," Usopp said a few minutes later. "How long have you been a Summoner?"
"Hm, since I was thirteen," Bao said.
"Is there a set year for becoming a Summoner?" Chopper asked.
"Not really," Bao replied. "I mean babies can't do it because they're too young obviously."
"So what the youngest a person was when they became a Summoner?" Nami asked.
"The youngest ever was four years old," Bao said.
"Four years old with such strong powers like you have?" Franky asked, pushing up his sunglasses on his head. "That's super crazy!"
"Yeah, but we don't start out all that strong," Bao said. "It's just like anything else. You have to work up to becoming a strong Summoner. And the majority of people on Zion just stop at being First and Second Level Summoners, usually the First Level. It's a lot of hard work, which Trafalgar will soon find out. It takes a lot out of the mind and body."
"How many are Third Level Summoners?" Robin asked.
"There's only three hundred thousand Third Level Summoners out of about two point five million," Bao said.
"There's over two million people on Zion?" Nami asked.
"Yeah." Bao nodded.
"Wow," Brook exclaimed, lowering his violin. "If every one of you became Summoners then you'd have your own army that's basically invisible."
"Maybe," Bao said. "But like I said, being a Summoner takes a lot out of you and we have our time limit. Most just don't have the mental or physical stamina to handle it."
"What about the Fourth and Fifth Level Summoners?" Usopp asked. "How many are there or have their been?"
"Let's see." Bao looked up at the sky. "There have only been about three thousand Fourth Level Summoners and thirty Fifth Level Summoners in Zion's history."
"That few?" Nami said. "Wow. The Fifth and Fourth Levels must be really hard to control."
"They are," Bao said, dropping his eyes back down to the water. "Right now there's only one Fourth Level Summoner on Zion."
"And who's he?" Brook asked.
"She is actually the one who became a Summoner at four years old," Bao said.
"What?!" the Straw Hats shrieked.
"You mean the Fourth Level Summoner is only a child?!" Usopp screamed, clutching onto his pole to the point of it cracking.
"Isn't that dangerous?!" Chopper said. "I mean, if it really takes so much out of people…"
"Uh," Bao said. "Well, she's…"
…
Sanji's eyebrow twitched when he noticed the Summoner's hesitation.
…
"She's very gifted. It surprised us all when she became a Summoner so quickly. Usually when someone becomes a Summoner they're about twelve or thirteen years ago," Bao said. "But she's not exactly the most social type. And she's currently eight years old and doesn't really train much as a Summoner."
"Why's that?" Brook asked.
"I don't know." Bao shrugged while keeping his eyes down on the water.
"Was it her choice to become a Summoner?" Sanji asked.
"Why would you ask that?" Bao turned his eyes up to the cook.
"Because she was only four when she became a Summoner," Sanji said. "Was she forced to become a Summoner?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Bao said. "I guess it was just a strange occurrence or something. We've had some of the most skilled Summoners try to train her, but she just refuses. My guess it's because of her grandfather. He's sick. And they have no one else to help pay for his medical bills and stuff."
"Does that mean she's taking care of everything by herself?" Robin asked. She exchanged looks with Nami and Ikkaku. All three women instantly thought of Neo for some reason. Their eyes went back to the Summoner when he started speaking again.
"Pretty much," Bao said. "She's been working odd jobs here and there to buy medicine for him."
"What is he sick with?" Chopper asked. "Maybe I can help? Or maybe Law can?"
"I'm afraid no one can help him," Bao said. "At least no one has been able to help him. None of our doctors have been able to diagnose what he has."
"What are his symptoms?" Chopper asked.
"I don't know him well enough to know that." Bao turned his eyes to the reindeer. "For that information you'd have to talk to him personally."
"I might do that," Chopper said.
"Yeah!" Luffy said. "Chopper's a great doctor!"
"Stop trying to flatter me, you jerk! It's not going to work!" Chopper said, his cheeks flushed red while he squirmed on the railing.
"If you can't, surely Tra will be able to," Usopp said.
"He might not be as willing as I am to help," Chopper said.
"Oh, yeah," Usopp said. "I forgot he didn't want to help the kids back on Punk Hazard."
"No worries," Luffy said, smiling. "Neo can convince him easily enough."
"Neo, she's really got a strong hold over Trafalgar, doesn't she?" Bao asked.
"Of course she does," Sanji said, walking up to them. "And don't you forget that. Their bond goes far deeper than you'll ever know."
"I've notice," Bao said.
"Just get back to fishing," Sanji said.
"You got it!" the four said.
"You know, we should start up a poker game later," Bao said.
"A poker game?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah." Bao nodded. "How about it?"
"Sounds fun to me!" Luffy said.
"Leave me out of it," Usopp said.
"Yeah, I'm not really into poker," Chopper said. "I need to save my money for my medical supplies."
"I can understand that," Bao said. Looking over his shoulder, he addressed the others on the Sunny. "How about you all?"
"Not interested," Nami said.
"No thank you," Robin said, not looking up from her book.
"Naw," Ikkaku said. "I don't feel like it."
"Me either," the rest of the Straw Hats said.
"Oh, fine," Bao said, looking at Luffy. "Maybe some of the Heart Pirates will play with us."
"I'm sure they will," Luffy said.
"Well, wait to go back over there once I'm done dividing up this sea pig," Sanji said while he stood on the sea pig that was still floating in the sea. "No point in making more trips than necessary."
"Sure thing," Bao said.
…
Zoro smirked to himself in anticipation while he walked through the halls of the sub. The closer he got to the training room the more excited he got for this battle. He barely noticed the Heart Pirates as they passed each other in the hall. But they didn't pay much attention to him either. They've been sailing together long enough it was like they were one crew instead of two. And they all made themselves at home on each other's ships.
Stepping into the training room, Zoro immediately saw the one he was aiming for. Elek and Topaz were still in the training room at the moment. And the Summoner had an aura bow staff in his hands. He and Topaz watched as Elek glided through a few moves. He instantly noticed the grace this man had through his moves. He knew that this Summoner was going to be a fairly strong opponent to face. He was just disappointed that they were going to have to keep their sparring to a minimum since they were inside of the sub. All of his attacks could cause some serious damage to the water vessel. He didn't want that. Though he never would admit it to anyone, he feared what Neo would do to him, or have Law do to him, if he sunk her home. So taking it easy was a must. An unavoidable, absolute must. He wanted to live long enough to fulfill his dream and lift Luffy to being King of the Pirates.
"What are you doing here, Zoro?" Law asked.
Zoro turned his eyes to the surgeon who had appeared in the room. "I came to see if Elek would spar with me. I want to see what he can do with his sword."
"I see," Law said.
"Oh, hey," Elek then said, finally noticing the pirates standing in the room.
"Do you two need something?" Topaz asked.
"No, I was just passing through," Law said.
"What about, Zoro?" Elek asked, turning his eyes to the swordsman.
"I came to see if you'd spar with me," Zoro said. "I would like to see how I match up to your Summoner powers." He looked from Elek to Topaz then back to Elek. "Unless you two were busy. Does Neo know you're down here together?"
"She knows," Topaz said. "She was down here a while ago with us."
Zoro looked back at Law for confirmation. He then understood that everything was fine when the surgeon nodded. "I see."
"Sure we can spar," Elek said. "We're not really doing much right now anyway. I was just going through some moves with my bow staff."
"And I was just watching," Topaz said. "He's very skilled. I'd like to watch you two."
"Great," Zoro said.
"But I might not be as good as you since you have three swords." Elek's eyes dropped to the swords attacked to Zoro's hip.
"Bao said the same thing. Don't worry," Zoro said. "I'll only using one. At least until I know what you're capable of."
"Shall we get started then?" Elek asked, twirling his bow into a katana where the style matched Zoro's.
Zoro nodded then headed for the center of the room.
"Just take it easy," Law said. "I want zero damage done to Neo's home. If you two even put one scratch on the sub, I'll put you through the most painful time of your lives."
Elek chuckled nervously. He had no doubt that the Surgeon of Death would make good on that and live up to his reputation. "We'll be as careful as we possibly can."
Law nodded permission for the two men to continue. He couldn't help but look over at Topaz while the two men went through a few warm up exercises. His fire Elemental subordinate was sitting on one of the benches in the room. She had her legs crossed with her elbow resting on her knee and her chin in her hand. She also had her eyes practically glued onto the Summoner. He started to wonder how far her relationship with Elek was going to go. He has seen her flirt with some guys at islands they've stopped at before, but never has she ever seems so drawn to someone before. He couldn't help but be slightly worried for both Topaz and Neo. He knew Topaz would never abandon Neo for someone she barely knew. But how long were they going to be on Zion? He knew it was going to be longer than a month. So she and Elek could very well become really close, close to the point of sexual intimacy. Then what would happen when they had to leave Zion? Topaz would be the one getting hurt the most.
He had to force his mind off of it and his eyes back on the men. He knew trying to figure that out now would only cause himself problems. There was nothing anyone could do about that until the time to leave Zion came. So he wasn't going to worry about it. He shifted his focus on Elek's fighting style. The Summoner was very graceful on his feet. So he was easily able to avoid Zoro's attacks. And, at first glance, it looked as if the two sparring were on equal terms where strength was concerned. He also noticed that Elek's sword attacks weren't as skilled as Zoro's. At the moment, he wasn't sure which one of them would win this session. Going by what he was currently seeing, he was leaning more towards Zoro winning. But then Elek has his Summoner's powers that he could easily use at their fullest strength. Neither one of them said that Elek couldn't use his powers in there fullest as long as they didn't damage the sub. Zoro would probably welcome it since it would make a greater challenge for him.
After ten more minutes of watching the two exchange blows, Law turned and headed out of the room. He had seen enough for now. Elek was a very skill man and could be a very powerful enemy. He made his way up to his and Neo's room. Entering, he found she was fast asleep on their bed, curling up on her right side like she always did. Once he had reached their bed, he dropped his hat on the nightstand then pushed off his boots. He crawled into bed already anticipating for his love to move closer to him, or on him, when he sat down. And sure enough, the second he got comfortable on the bed, Neo moved over to him in her sleep. She curled up under his arm, laying her leg over his as much as she could with the blanket around her.
"But Law," Neo mumbled in her sleep. "She such a cute puppy…she likes…you."
Law chuckled, grateful she was having a good dream instead of the same bizarre dream of him being faceless. He placed a kiss into her sweet scented hair. "Sleep well, my love." He brushed his fingers over her swelling stomach. "Same with you, little one. You let your mommy rest as much as she can. She really needs it. And remember that I'm right here for you both. Everything is going to be just fine. I'll take care of everything."
He placed another kiss into Neo's hair before letting his eyes close to sleep with the two most important people in the world to him. His heart fluttering like her wings with anticipation for the day they can literally sleep together with their child in their arms.
…
"Geez," Bao said. "It's been two hours and not a single nibble."
"I wonder where all the fish are," Chopper said.
"We should get Neo to come out here and call up some fish for us," Bao said.
"Don't you dare," Ikkaku said. "She needs her rest. Besides, she's not your personally fish summoner. If you want fish that bad, then wait patiently for them to bite."
"We know that," Bao said. "This is just very boring today." He jerked his thumb towards Luffy, who was snoring beside him. "And, look, Straw Hat's been a sleep for an hour and a half. How has he not fallen off the railing?"
"He likes his naps," Usopp said. "He's all the time falling asleep. Even in the most ridiculous times and places. He's just gifted."
"That I do not doubt at all," Bao said. He turned his eyes to the women on the ship. "So what have you three been talking about back there?"
"Women stuff," Ikkaku said, smirking devilishly. "If you really want to hear about it, I'd be glad to tell you all about my bodily functions and my period cramps and my-"
"No! I don't want to hear any of that!" Bao said. "I've gotten enough of that from my sisters!"
"You have sisters?" Usopp asked.
"Yeah," Bao said with a nod. "Three older sisters and one younger sister."
"Big family," Usopp said. "It must have driven you insane to have that many girls around."
"It did," Bao said, shuttering in memory of the things his sisters did to him. "When we were younger they treated me like their personal dress up doll. They even made me sit in a baby stroller when I was nine. It was so humiliating. And they're all the time telling me about their period cramps. I was so ready for when they moved out. But unfortunately all the girly, over sharing stuff didn't stop. They were always at home instead of being at their houses. Thankfully when their own kids came, they started mellowing out finally and spent more time at their own homes. But I'll never get over the trauma they put me through."
"That's good to know," Ikkaku said. "Now I know who to go to when you're being a big pain in the butt."
"Don't you dare go to my sisters for anything of the sort!" Bao said, the color draining from his face. "In fact, don't ever go to them at all! Never ever!"
"Oh," Nami cooed. "It looks like we found the right buttons to push for him when he's getting annoying."
"I'll be sure to inform the captain and Neo of this when I see them later," Ikkaku said. With a bright smile on her lips, she leaned back in her chair with her hands behind her head and one leg crossed over the other.
Bao sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I never should have said that."
"Well, then just behave from this point on and we won't have a problem," Ikkaku said.
Bao grumbled to himself. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
"Huh? What happened?" Luffy asked, snapping out of his nap. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing, Straw Hat," Bao said.
"Now that's not true," Ikkaku purred. "We were getting some wonderful information on our new friend Bao here."
"What kind of information?" Luffy asked.
"Nothin-" Bao started.
"His sisters dressed him up as a girl," Ikkaku said.
Luffy busted up laughing. "You were a girl?!"
"What?! Where did you get that from?!" Bao snapped. "I wasn't a girl at all! They dressed me up as a girl!"
"It's still funny!" Luffy continued laughing. "I want to see you like a girl!"
"That's not going to happen!" Bao said.
"Hey, you morons," Sanji said. "Your poles are moving. You've caught something."
"What?!" Luffy and Bao shouted. They tugged up their lines at the same time, revealing a very large sea pig was on their hooks.
"Ah!" Usopp screamed before falling off the railing.
"It's so huge!" Chopper said. "It's got to be twice the size of the Sunny!"
"Great! We have supper then!" Sanji said. He ran towards the railing, jumped off the ship, and slammed his foot onto the sea pig's head, instantly killing it. His feet tapped down on the railing, he pulled out his cigarette and blew out the smoke. "This should be more than enough to feed everyone."
…
Law, with a book in one hand and his other trailing through Neo's blue hair, waited patiently for his love to wake up. He felt her stirring in her sleep before she suddenly gasped and woke up. He turned to her. Placing his book down on the bed, he wrapped his arms around her. "That dream again, huh?"
"Yeah." Neo nodded before resting against Law's chest. "That stupid dream where your face is missing. I hate it. I wish it would go away or I could figure out why I keep having it every single time I fall asleep."
Law nodded. He too wanted to know why this dream kept repeating itself in Neo's mind whenever she closed her eyes and fell asleep. It was very different from her normal nightmares. Both sensed a bizarre lingering danger from it, but also felt like it wasn't really a very big deal. Or at least not like her other nightmares. This one was more of a dreammare. It wasn't as strong as Neo's nightmares, but it wasn't pleasant like her dreams either. He raked his fingers through her hair again. "You going to be okay?"
"Yeah," Neo said, nuzzling against him. "I'm just getting tired of not knowing what it means. At least we're finally going to arrive at Zion in the next day or two."
Law nodded. "It'll be good to get you off the sub again."
"More like getting the Summoners off the sub will be good for me," Neo said. "Though I have to admit, since my little blow up at Elek and his willingness to help Topaz, I'm feeling a little better with him on the sub. And I surprised myself a bit by being able to handle Bao when we met in the hall before."
"I think your little blow up was mostly mood swing motivated," Law said. "It was too extreme for it not to be mood swing influenced. You wouldn't have reacted like that on a normal day. I've been thinking about what we've talked about before dealing with your mood swings."
"Oh?" Neo tilted her eyes to him. Her eyes took in the orb on his forehead before she locked eyes with him.
"If you feel like you're going to blow up like that again, try walking away," Law said. "I know it caught you off guard a bit, but I'm sure you felt it coming on when you heard Topaz and Elek talking."
"I guess I did a bit," Neo said.
"If you come across the crew just tell them you need a minute to calm down," Law said. "And if you're feeling comfortable enough to go off on your own, outside of the sub I mean, then feel free to do it. If you don't feel like completely going off on your own, ask someone who'll follow you while also giving you space to calm down. Do you understand?"
"I think so," Neo said. "You want me to walk away when I feel a mood swing coming on that's going to be as bad as it was before. If we're off the sub, I should ask someone like Penguin, Jean Bart, or even Zoro to follow me. They'd give me plenty of place to breath while staying close."
"That correct." Law nodded.
"I think I can do that. I'll just have to focus a bit more on my feelings," Neo said.
"I can help you with that if you want me to," Law said.
"I think I'd like it if you would. At least until I get the hang of picking up on those mood swings," Neo said.
Law nodded.
"And speaking of the Summoner," Neo said. "I can feel his eagle self down in the training room still. Topaz's down there too. He's moving around a lot, but Topaz isn't. Who do you think he's sparring with?" She kneaded her eyebrows with a frown. "It better not be one of our crew."
"It's not," Law said. "He's sparring with Zoro."
"Zoro?" Neo asked.
"Zoro got interested in trying his hand at fighting the Summoner and with that weapon summoning thing he showed us back on the beach," Law said.
"Oh, yeah," Neo said. "I forgot about that. I should have known Zoro would want to spar with him at some point. I wonder how he's doing against a Summoner."
"There's only one way to find out," Law said.
"You coming with me?" Neo asked.
"No, I've got to go check on our heading," Law said. "Bepo should be waiting for me in the navigation room."
Neo whimpered. Pulling away from him, she got up and straddled over his legs. The move caused his hand to fall from her hair to her hip. She put her arms around his neck and pecked his lips. "You're being a bad boy. You should always accompany me wherever I go. You know I hate being away from you for even a second."
Law smirked. "No, I'm being a good captain who's making sure we're on the right track to our destination and that nothing's going wrong with the sub. And you know we need time apart no matter how miserable it makes us feel. But I'll be more than glad to be a bad boy for you later."
Neo felt her cheeks heat up when a very sexual thought paraded into her mind from his. "Law!"
"What?" Law said, innocently as possible despite the devilish spark in his eyes. "It's not like we haven't done that before."
"I-I know," Neo stammered, her eyes dropping to his chest. She gave his shirt a nervous tug. "But still…"
Her innocence made him chuckle again. He leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead. "Still so innocent despite the fact we're having a child and have preformed almost every sex act known to mankind."
"Almost?" Neo said thoughtfully. "I think we have done them all and invented a few along the way. Humans, after all, don't have control over nature or the ability to fly like I do."
Law nodded, humming in delight at the moves they had pulled off with Neo's crystals and wings. "And we're fairly tame with our sex acts though. Imagine what the crew would do with those abilities if they had them."
Neo's eyes widened. Her already red face turned even brighter at his words. She forced herself not to think about it at all. "Law! Please don't say things like that! I don't want to picture them doing any of that! If I picture that at all I want it to only involve us!"
"I'm sorry, love," Law said, despite his smile. He slipped his hand under the hoodie she was wearing and rubbed her back. "I know you don't like thinking of the crew when they seek romantic companionship."
"I still think I should have the right to order them to not have sexual relations," Neo grumbled. "That way I know they'll never leave."
"You're such a silly little girl," Law said, squeezing her hip.
"Yeah, I know. I can't help it. I love them so much," Neo agreed with a bright smile. While climbing off his lap, she felt her face releasing the heat and going back to normal. She wondered over to the bathroom to take care of her business before she could leave their room. When she came back into the room, she gave her parents' picture a smile before walking over to the door where Law was already waiting for her. She slipped her hand in his and left the room together. They stayed linked by their hands until they had to go their separate ways. Law pecked her lips before heading on down the hall to the navigation room while she wondered down the stairs towards the training room.
The sounds of the sword fight became more and more clear the closer she got to the room. And when she stepped through the door, the musky smell of sweat hit her nose. It wasn't over powerful though. She was use to smelling guys' sweat since her crew trained hard a lot of the time. She watched the two men in the middle of the room exchange a few blows before looking over at Topaz. Her sister was sitting on one of the benches with a light blush dusting across her cheeks as she watched the Summoner man before her. She braced herself to feel jealous, to feel like she was going to snap again whether by a mood swing or not, but she didn't. She did feel a small twinge of jealousy. However, it didn't last long. When it fully disappeared, she wondered over to Topaz. Sitting down on the bench, she wrapped her arms around Topaz's and leaned into her.
"Hey, little sister," Topaz said with a light peck to Neo's hair. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did," Neo said, her eyes drifting back to the two sparring. She tried to figure out how long they had been going at this, but with as much experience they had fighting, she couldn't tell. They really didn't look all that worn out at all. But with the sweat running down their exposed chests and faces, she knew they had been at this for a while. "So how long have they been sparring?"
"For about four hours," Topaz said.
"Four hours?" Neo said. "And they're not tired yet? I know Zoro has a lot of stamina because he's been training to be a swordsman pretty much his entire life, but how is Elek keeping up with him so easily?"
"Remember Elek has a lot of training in all forms of weapons with his Summoner's powers," Topaz replied. "And with the times he's built ships, he's built up a lot of muscle and stamina himself."
"I guess I didn't really notice that with his shirt on," Neo said. "He just looks so…normal?"
"A lot of guys are like that," Topaz said. "You've noticed the crew is more muscular than they look with their boiler suits on."
"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I never would have thought they had much muscles on them if I never saw them shirtless from time to time."
"Careful," Topaz said. "Don't want the captain to get jealous now, do we?"
"I might want that to happen," Neo said, smirking. "I love it when he gets jealous. He's so cute. Besides, I owe him for something he said in our room."
"I think I'll let that one pass. So, where is our darling little Surgeon of Death?" Topaz said. "He didn't follow you this time like the love sick puppy he is."
"He said we needed some time apart, as if we haven't spent time apart today already. He's in the navigation room right now," Neo said. "He's talking to Bepo. We should be arriving on Zion within the next day or two and he wanted to make sure everything is going as it should be."
"Wow," Topaz said. "It seems like it's been forever since we started for Zion."
"Tell me about it," Neo said. "Probably feels that way because of all the tension I was creating and dealing with."
"You're feeling better now, aren't you?" Topaz turned her eyes to Neo. Carefully scanning her orange eyes over her little sister and princess. She looked for any signs of jealous but didn't find any.
"Yeah, I'm feeling better since I've been spending more time with Elek," Neo said. "I'm still a little unsure about him, but I can trust him a tiny bit when it comes to you and the crew now. Though I'm still on edge with Bao. But I was able to handle him easily enough when I ran into him earlier."
"You did?" Topaz asked and Neo nodded. "That's great."
"I know," Neo said, nodding. "So who do you think's winning here?"
"Zoro," Topaz said. "It's clear he's the superior swordsman here. But Elek is giving him a good run for his money."
Neo hummed in thought until she realized something. "Wait you said they were sparring for four hours. That means I slept for about that long?"
"Yeah." Topaz nodded.
"Hm, usually I sleep for only two hours. Guess I was more tired than I thought." Neo's eyes locked back onto the two dueling men. She watched them exchange a few more blows, the glow around Elek's Aura sword flaked off and disappeared like sparks of a fire, until Zoro finally knocked Elek on his back with one easy twirl of his body. The move created a medium size gust in the room. She summoned a wind crystal and absorbed the gale before it would do any kind of damage. She felt Topaz's body tense then go back to normal. Glancing over at the fire Elemental, she saw the slightly worried look in her eyes, before turning back to the men. She said, "At least it's over now."
"Yeah." Topaz nodded. "I guess I got a little glimpse at how you feel when watching the crew spar with each other. But I know it's not as intense for me. You've known the crew a lot longer than I've known Elek. And you're far more protective of the crew too."
"I guess so," Neo said. "Shall we go check on them?"
"Sure," Topaz said.
The two stood up together. Keeping her arm linked with Topaz, Neo quietly followed her over to the men.
…
Elek panted hard while he lay out on the floor of the sub. His chest bounced up and down in desperate for air and relaxation. "You, sir, are one amazing swordsman."
"Thanks," Zoro said. He sheathed his sword and sat down on the floor. "It's my goal to become the world's greatest swordsman."
"I believe you are well on your way to calming that title," Elek said.
"I was starting to wonder if you two were going to quit on your own or quit from exhaustion," Topaz said when she and Neo reached them.
The men looked up to see the two Elemental women standing near them. Neo summoned two water crystals. Engulfing them in cool water, she moved them towards the men, knowing they would need it after their sparring session.
"Thanks," Zoro said, before enjoying a nice long drink of the water offered.
Elek sat up when he saw the water engulfed crystals. He didn't immediately take a drink. He blinked at the water in slight confusion before glancing up at Neo. He watched her for a few seconds. He noted her cheeks were tinted with a slight pink hue and she was having trouble looking at him in the eye.
Neo shrugged while snuggling into Topaz's arm. "You need water too."
"Yes. Thank you, Neo," Elek said. His eyes flickered to Topaz. Both shared a quick smile before he took a well deserved drink of the cool water. "That was just what I needed."
"You know," Zoro then said, brushing the back of his sleeve over his chin. "You're not a bad swordsman at all either. Have you considered becoming one before? I could use a good rival to battle against from time to time."
Elek chuckled. "No, I'm not that good. I just like to dabble in different weapons and fighting forms. I only train enough to hold my own against someone stronger than me when it's needed."
"That's too bad," Zoro said. "With your powers as a Summoner you could have been a real challenge."
"I'm flattered you think so," Elek said. "But I have no intentions of chasing anyone or any titles. You can have it. There is, however, another Summoner on Zion who's a far better swordsman than I am."
"Is that so?" Zoro asked, his eyes and grin sparkled with anticipated danger and promise of a stronger opponent.
"I'll introduce you to him at some point after we arrive on the island," Elek said. "He's always looking for strong opponents to face. But since there aren't many on the island he doesn't get many chances. So he'll welcome your challenge for sure."
"Great," Zoro said. "I can't wait to meet him then."
Then before anyone else could say a word, the two men stomachs released protests of hunger. The girls laughed when the boys blushed.
"It's about time to start getting supper ready anyway," Neo said, getting her laughter under control. "Is there anything you all want? You staying for supper, Zoro?"
"Sure." Zoro nodded. "I'd like to hear more on this Summoner swordsman. And as long as you have booze, I don't care what you make."
"I'm pretty sure the crew can hook you up with some drinks," Neo said, her eyes turned to Elek and Topaz. "What about you two?"
"Whatever you make will be fine with me," Elek said.
"Same here," Topaz said.
"All right then." Neo headed for the door with a wave to the three as she went. While walking through the halls, she came across Jean Bart at the same time a playful mood swing took her over. She giggled. Her bells released through the hall, causing the large man to turn to her. She summoned her wings and flew over to him. Perching on his shoulder like a bird, she fiddled with his hair. "Hey, Jeany!"
Jean Bart chuckled at her nickname she used on him while going through her playful mood swing. "And where are you heading this evening, Princess?"
"To the galley," Neo said in a childlike tone. "It's time to get supper started. I have to feed my babies soon."
"I can't wait then," Jean Bart said.
"Mhmm." Neo hummed while she started to put small braids into the man's hair.
Despite signing internally, Jean Bart remained very tolerant to the young woman sitting on his shoulder and braiding his hair. And despite the teasing he was going to endure later for this, he still like it when Neo braided his hair. He wasn't sure why though. He just enjoyed it.
"Hm?" Neo released his hair and sat up straighter on his shoulder.
"What is it, Neo?" Jean Bart asked.
"Something's happening in the rec. room," Neo said. "Will you take me there?"
"Of course," Jean Bart said. He turned and headed up the stairs. With his long legs it didn't take them long before they arrived at the rec. room. His eyebrows kneaded together when he heard a strange gurgling like sound coming from the room. Not wanting her to get knocked off by the doorframe, he lifted her off his shoulder and sat her back down on the floor then followed her inside of the room to see what made her come here in the first place and find the source of the strange noise. Looking around he found Bao, Luffy, Shachi, Penguin, and Tero at the table with cards in their hands.
"Hey!" Luffy smiled when he saw his favorite blue haired girl.
"What's going on?" Neo asked.
"We're just playing a little poker," Luffy said, holding up his hands full of cards.
"Uh huh." Neo locked her eyes onto Bao.
"Hello, Neo," Bao said. "How's it going?"
"Why are you doing that?" Neo asked, narrowing her eyebrows at the Summoner.
"Don't what?" Bao asked innocently.
"Cheating," Neo said bluntly.
"Cheating?" Tero asked. He looked at Bao then at Neo. "What do you mean?"
"You all can't sense it, but he's using his cheetah abilities to run around the table and look at your hands," Neo said, crossing his arms over her chest.
"What?" the pirates said. Their eyes whipped over to the young Summoner. Bao shrunk down into his chair, knowing he was caught.
"So that's why there was a breeze in here!" Penguin said. "We thought you were using your wind crystals!"
Bao twitched and sunk down in his chair.
"Didn't you all hear that gurgling like noise before?" Neo asked.
"Yeah," Luffy said.
"We've been hearing that for a while now," Shachi said.
"You seem to know what it is," Penguin said.
"I do." Neo nodded. She pointed at Bao. "It's a gurgling rhymic pulsation that cheetahs give out when they're in an emotional state of confidence."
"I should have known you would know about that," Bao said.
"Ah, so that's what that sound was," Luffy said, picking his nose.
"Will you stop that, Straw Hat?!" Shachi snapped. "It's gross!"
"Huh? Stop what?" Luffy asked.
"Stop picking your nose!" Shachi said.
"Why? We all do it," Luffy said.
"No we don't!" Shachi said. "Not in public! And not all the time!"
"I thought your luck was a little too high," Tero said, glaring at the young man.
"We should pound your sorry hide right here and now," Penguin said, slamming his hands on the table as he stood up.
"No!" Bao waved his hands. Normally he wouldn't be afraid of pirates here. But that was when he was out in the open and could using his cheetah powers to their fullest. In the sub, he was confined and couldn't go all out. Plus, he would have Neo to escape. And he knew that wouldn't be possible. He knew she was faster with her winds than he was running. "It was just a joke! Honest! I wasn't going to keep your money!"
"You better not keep it," Neo said, crossing her arms over her chest with a stern glare for the Summoner. "And don't you dare ever try to pull this trick again on my family again."
"Yes, ma'am," Bao said, quickly handing back the pirates their money. "I won't do it again. I promise."
"Heading down to make supper?" Penguin then asked as he forced his hidden glare away from Bao.
"Yeah." Neo nodded. "Any requests?"
"Meat!" Luffy cheered while everyone else said they didn't care. "We caught a sea pig a little while ago! Basil has it now!"
"You always want meat," Tero said.
"Meat is so good!" Luffy said.
Tero sighed at the one track minded captain. "How in the world have you survived being a pirate for this long?"
"I'll get right on that," Neo said before leaving the rec. room. "We should have enough for you."
"Hey, Jean Bart!" She heard Shachi say before getting to far from the door. "Nice hair!"
Soon heavy thumps of Jean Bart's feet filled the sub halls. It was followed by Shachi's screeching, more stomping of feet, incoherent screams and pleas, and a couple of other thumps that suggested that some things got knocked over, one possibly being the table itself before Shachi came bolting out of the rec. room with Jean Bart hot on his heels. Jean Bart screamed, "Come back here!"
"No!" Shachi replied.
Neo hummed to herself while watching the two men disappear from her sight. "I really need to figure out how to stop braiding his hair like that when I get into one of my playful mood swings. I never realize I'm doing it." She giggled. "All well. It was fun, but I'll talk to Law about it later. Maybe I can walk away from those kind of mood swings as well?"
Humming to herself again, she began to skip down the hall towards the galley, her wings flittering behind her as she went. Once she reached the galley she found Basil already inside. He was bustling around the kitchen, pulling out pans and food items for their next meal. "Basil!"
"Hey, Princess," Basil said. "Ready to cook?"
"Aren't I always?" Neo asked. She moved over to the counter, washed her hands before sitting down on a stool. She pulled a bowl of potatoes over to her and started peeling them. She eyed the ingredients that Basil had setting out on the counter tops. He had everything out for her favorite Sea Pig Chowder recipe and already made up piecrusts for her Fried Pies. "I see we're having chowder and pies."
"Any objections to that?" Basil said. "I was going to ask you before I started all this but you were asleep."
"No objections at all," Neo said. "As long as we have plenty of meat for Luffy. He said he caught a sea pig earlier"
"I think we have enough for him," Basil said. "The sea pig he and Bao brought over is very huge. Sanji sent the extra because Luffy was coming over here for a poker game. He knew Luffy would choose to stay over here and eat. He wanted to make sure we have enough to feed him. He figured Zoro would also stay over here."
Neo huffed. She was starting to feel annoyed at her self for sleeping so much and missing out on stuff that was going on in her home. "I seem to be missing a lot while napping. I slept for four hours today."
"Don't feel so annoyed with yourself," Basil said. "You're probably only sleeping longer because you're still stressed out over what's been happening. I'm sure you'll get back to your two hour naps once we're on Zion and things settle down more."
"Yeah, I hope so," Neo said, slicing off more of the potato skin. "So how have you been doing these past few days? I don't mean to leave you with the majority of the cooking."
"I'm doing just fine," Basil said. He grabbed the two yellow onions, a knife, a cutting board, and then joined Neo at the counter. He placed all his things out before he began to cut through the onion.
Neo's stomach lurched a bit at the smell of the onions. Before they could cause her to run out of the room, she summoned a wind crystal and blew the smell away from her. "I wish onions didn't make me want to hurl. I love them so much."
"Honestly, I never thought onions would bother you since you're an Elemental," Basil said. "I guess that's just one similarity you hold with human pregnancies."
"Me too," Neo said. She reached out and grabbed a piece of onion then popped it into her mouth. "The smell bothers me but the taste is as good as ever."
Basil laughed. "At least you can still eat them."
Neo nodded with a smile.
"Uh, Neo?" Bao's voice then said.
The two cooks turned to see the young man watching them. Basil narrowed his eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"
"It's all right, Basil," Neo said.
"You sure?" Basil asked, not taking his eyes off the intruder. "I can kick him out for you if you want."
"It's fine," Neo said. "What did you want, Bao?"
"I just wanted to apologize again," Bao said, rubbing the back of his head. "I really was just playing a trick. I'm not a thief. You can ask Elek. He'll back me up on that. I just didn't expect them to not notice what I was doing. After the game ended I was going to give them their money back."
"Give them their money back?" Basil asked.
"He was using his cheetah Summoner abilities to look at other's hands while playing poker," Neo said.
"I see," Basil said, frowning at the Summoner. "We don't take kindly to cheaters around here."
"Honest!" Bao waved his hands frantically. "It was really just a joke! Ask Elek!"
Neo studied the man's jade eyes. As much as she didn't want to believe him, she could see that he was telling the truth. "All right. I believe you."
"What?" Bao and Basil asked, turning their eyes to her.
"I can tell you're telling the truth," Neo said. "So I won't hold it against you. Just keep your promise and never do it again. I don't want any misunderstanding to happen from this point on."
"Neo?" Basil asked, a bit surprised at his captain's behavior.
Neo smiled at the confused cook. "Really, it's fine. I'm trying to work better on dealing with new people."
"Okay," Basil said.
"Well, I'll just go now," Bao said, moving back towards the door.
"No," Neo said.
"Huh?" Bao paused.
"Neo?" Basil asked.
Neo twitched a bit on her stool. She flicked her wings a couple times, considering her next move. She wasn't sure she really wanted to do what she was about to. But she knew it would be good for her if she did. So, after biting her bottom lip, she looked directly at Bao and said, "You're going to stay and help with supper."
"I…am?" Bao asked, completely shocked.
"He is?!" Basil asked, just as shocked.
"Yes," Neo said with a firm nod. "Use him as you like while we're cooking, Basil. Consider this his punishment for his little trick on the crew. And he will be the one to do the dishes after we're done."
"Well, okay, but I have to warn you I'm not the best cook in the world," Bao said, slowly moving towards the two pirates.
"That doesn't matter," Neo said, going back to her potatoes. "No strangers, outside of restaurants, are allowed to cook for my babies anyway. You're just going to assist us. Basil and I will handle the actual cooking."
"All right then," Bao said, sitting down on a stool. "What shall I do?"
"Start with cutting up this onion," Basil said, shoving the knife and onion towards the young man.
"Great," Bao said, shoulders slumped. "My favorite."
Basil snickered, glade that he decided to make the Summoner cut the onions instead of doing it himself.
"I'm not going to enjoy this, am I?" Bao asked, making the first cut into the onion.
"Punishment is not meant to be enjoyed," Neo said. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before pulling a trick like that on my babies."
"Yeah, yeah," Bao mumbled. Making another cut then wiping the back of his arm over his eyes. "I hate onions."
Neo forced back a giggle. It felt good exercising her captain authority here. She settled back down into helping the preparations for supper while Basil ran the Summoner around the galley as much as he could.
…
Author's Notes: You all are right. Neo did come off as a real brat in that last chapter. No matter how I tried to soften it up, she just came out that way.
Guest: Elemental mood swings are more intense than human ones. Though we shouldn't have anymore like that now.
Apple Bloom: No worries. I don't mind at all if you tell me you don't like something. I didn't like that part either. I rewrote it a bit, but she still comes out as a brat. That should be the only time though.
