Taken

"Hm." Neo hummed as she sat on the railing of the Sunny. Law was standing beside her with his arms crossed and his hat over his eyes. She watched intently while Eri floated around the vine ball she had made yesterday for this exercise. Luffy was, like he had been, by her side and holding her hand. Eri seem to be able to handle the wind better when Luffy was with her and holding her hand. She was glad Eri had Luffy as a friend. This was obviously the way they needed to help Eri. It also made her wonder what Eri was thinking about last night when she formed two small twisters in her hands. She wanted to tell someone about it but got the feeling she should keep quiet. So she did with the exception of telling Law later that night. "She seems to be doing better today."

Law grunted in response.

"Oh, stop acting like you don't care," Neo said, shoving him lightly on the shoulder.

"I only care that she gets control over the wind so she doesn't hurt you or our baby," Law said. "Other than that, I don't care about her at all."

"Of course," Neo said, turning her eyes back to Eri. "Though I can't help but keep wondering why she's so afraid of the wind. Do you think it's possible that she has been hurt by the wind? She was only a child when she first started to write letters to Luffy. So it's possible that she did have a bad experience with the wind. And it's possible that her winds are the reason for her and Luffy's letters from going back and forth."

"Are you suggesting her winds took the letters to Straw Hat?" Law asked.

"I don't know," Neo replied. "I mean, it's possible since magic is clearly involved. I just can't figure out how it could happen. Eri said she never was in the room when the letters got switched. And she asked for the letter to be taken to someone. If she had to ask then there had to be another party involved."

"Well, maybe it was someone else who did send the letters," Law said. "Someone that's human."

"Possibly, but who could it have been? Maybe an Elemental knew about it?" Neo asked knowing she probably wouldn't get an answer.

Eri was concentrating on the vine ball in front of her, unaware of the conversation between the two Heart Pirates. She had no idea how she was actually doing what she was doing. All she knew was she was doing it. And it was all thanks to Luffy. He managed to calm her down. As long as he was beside her, holding her hand, she knew she could do this. And she was. She didn't even care that the rest of the Straw Hat crew was watching her.

"You're amazing, Eri," Luffy said.

"Th-thank you, Luffy," Eri stuttered.

"You have to get out of here!"

"Huh?" Luffy and Eri asked at the same time. They looked at each other, confused. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Chopper asked.

"Someone said we have to get out of here," Luffy said as he looked around for the voice.

"I didn't hear anyone say that," Usopp said.

"You're imagining things," Zoro said.

Suddenly, loud bangs shot out into the air causing the Sunny rocked violently when something hit the water beside the vessel. A few of the Straw Hats screamed while they all grabbed onto something to steady themselves.

Eri panicked until she felt her chair being lifted into the air. She glanced over at Neo who nodded at her.

"What the heck was that?!" Nami asked.

"There's two Navy ships behind us!" Franky shouted out.

"What?!" Usopp screamed.

"Where did they come from?!" Brook asked.

"I have no idea," Franky said. "But they're firing cannons at us!"

Three more cannon balls hit the water. The ship rocked again.

"Luffy! What do we do?!" Franky asked. "Should we fight?!"

"Let's-" Luffy cut himself off when young man with blonde hair landed on the deck suddenly.

"Who the heck are you?!" Zoro demanded while pulling out two of his swords.

"Skylar?!" Eri gasped.

"Your brother?" Luffy eyed the new man on his ship.

"How did you even get here?" Sanji asked. "The Navy ships aren't close enough for you to have jumped over."

"I was riding along with the Navy," Skylar said. "Once I saw your ship I took a smaller boat and rowed over here to reclaim my sister."

"You rowed all the way over here?" Sanji looked back at the Navy ship and kneaded his eyebrows.

"Hey! There's another ship coming up fast!" Franky yelled out.

"What?!" Luffy asked. "Who's is it?! Another Navy ship?!"

"I don't know!" Franky replied. "There's no Jolly Roger, but it's certainly not another Navy ship!"

"It must be those men that took Eri then," Sanji said.

Eri felt her chest tightened. They were trapped. There was no way they could get away from two Navy ships and Boss.

"Well, Captain?" Sanji asked.

Eri turned her eyes to the Straw Hat cook. He was so calm, one hand in his pocket and the other on his cigarette. She had no idea how he could remain so calm in this situation. They were pirates with the Navy on their tail. If they got caught they would be in serious trouble.

"Tra?" Luffy looked over at Law and Neo.

"It's your call, Straw Hat," Law said. "If you want to fight, then we'll fight."

"No," Luffy said. "I don't want to risk losing Eri to them until she has a handle on her talismans. We run. Franky!"

"You got it, bro!" Franky said. "Everyone! Prepare for a Coop de Burst!"

"Get the sails!" Nami shouted.

"On it!" Usopp and Chopper, in his human form, were already climbing up to the pull in the sails.

"Neo, let's get the sub," Law said.

"Okay." Neo nodded.

Eri watched the Heart Pirates turn back to their own ship. Neo had summoned a couple of her wind crystals and lifted the yellow sub out of the water. She marveled at the control the Elemental had.

"Here we go! Coop de Burst!" Franky yelled out.

Eri gasped when the ship suddenly went flying again. She squeezed her eyes shut until she knew the ship had finally landed back into the water.

"How in the world did the Navy and that boss guy find us so fast?!" Usopp shrieked.

"That was so scary!" Chopper said.

"It is odd that they caught up with us so quickly," Brook said. "However, the Navy could have had ships in the vicinity all ready. They could have just used transponder snails to pass along information. Do you think that Boss also has more crewmembers that are in the area?"

"It's possible that he does," Sanji said.

"Or it's possible that Boss has talismans," Law said.

"Well, like I said before, Boss has a talisman that can track other talismans. Most likely he could have other talismans that could bring his here this fast," Eri said. "Unless the Navy has one too, I have no idea how they managed to get here so fast." Her eyes drifted to her brother, her forgotten brother who looked very unpleased. "Hello, Skylar."

"Don't you hello me," Skylar said, holding back the hiss that was forcing its way out. "Do you have any idea how worried mother and father have been? Why are you with these pirates?"

"Well, they saved me," Eri replied.

"You can't be serious," Skylar said, looking at her like she lost her mind.

"It's true." Eri waved her hand at Luffy. "This is Luffy. The one I've been writing to."

"Luffy? As in the pirate who you've claimed to be writing to since you were a child?" Skylar looked over at Luffy.

"That's me!" Luffy smiled.

"Get real," Skylar said, ignoring the pirate and turning his eyes back to his sister. "You've been kidnapped by pirates. I bet they're just holding you for ransom like those other men."

"But they're not…" Eri's voice trailed off.

"Hey! We did not kidnap her!" Luffy shouted. "Eri's my friend! She needed help and I came to save her! We're trying to help her now!"

"Help her?" Skylar glared at the pirate. "If you cared about her at all you would have returned her home immediately! But you pirates only care about your treasure! How much were you going to ask for her?!"

"Skylar, please," Eri said.

"Enough, Eri," Skylar said. "You have no idea how much danger you are in. Pirates are not your friends."

"But they are. Just like Shanks," Eri said.

Skylar snorted. "Shanks, deep down, is like all pirates. If it came to it, he would use you as a hostage or sell you off for money too."

"Hey! Don't talk about Shanks like that!" Luffy snapped. "Shanks cares about his friends! If he knows Eri then he cares about her and would never do anything to hurt her!"

"Don't give me that bull crap, pirate!" Skylar snapped. "I've heard it all before! And I've seen what you did to Enies Lobby and so many other places! You're not my sister's friend and you'll never be! I'm taking my sister back as soon as we land on an island!"

"Well, you're going to have a long wait!" Luffy said. "Because we're not stopping until Eri has mastered her talismans!"

"Talismans?" Skylar blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"These earrings." Luffy pointed to the earrings on Eri. "Eri can control the wind through them. We're helping her get control and stop being afraid of the wind."

Skylar looked at Luffy like he had two heads before laughing. "You can't be serious! There's no such thing as talismans! And there's no island hidden in the winds!"

"How did you know about that?" Zoro asked.

"It's a legend that several people have heard about," Skylar said. "We were told about it as kids. My sister can be a bit…unstable."

Eri clenched her hands in her lap. She wasn't unstable at all.

"She use to pretend all the time that she was playing on that island with her fairy friends," Skylar said. "But enough is enough." He looked at Eri. "I'm taking you home, sister. You've had a hard past few days. I know you're tired and need to rest."

"But I'm fine," Eri said, unable to meet anyone's gaze. She didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay on the Sunny with Luffy. "I'm…"

"Don't speak now," Skylar said. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm here now. Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry."

"Can we just tie him up?" Usopp asked.

"Skylar does seem to be causing a lot of problems here," Chopper said. "We can't let him take Eri away right now."

"Well, I am taking her," Skylar said. "She's my sister. I know what's best for her."

"You don't know anything! There's nothing for her to be worried about!" Luffy said. "She's been safe since she's been on my ship!"

"Let it go, pirate," Skylar said. "I can see now that you haven't hurt her at all. But I am taking her home now."

"You can't do that!" Luffy said. "Some real bad guys are after her!"

"I know that," Skylar said. "But all they're after is money. We found a ransom note after all."

Eri looked up. She noticed Skylar was talking as if he has met Luffy before. She then remembered that Luffy had stopped by her home. That's how he found out she had been taken. They must have bumped into Skylar before leaving there.

"There's nothing to worry about anymore," Skylar said. "Our parents have talked to the Navy. They're going to set up Navy soldiers at our house for now on to protect Eri."

Eri clenched her teeth. With Navy soldiers around she would be even more of a prisoner. There had to be a way out of this. She glanced around at the pirates hoping that they would have a solution for this. No one spoke up. Her hope quickly dwindled. They were going to return her home anyway. It was her fate to always be a prisoner.

"Look we can understand why you are worried about her and want to take her back home," Nami said, "but it really would be a better idea if you let us help her get control over her talismans."

"Not that again." Skylar crossed his arms.

"It's true! Go ahead, Eri! Show him!" Luffy said.

Eri looked at Luffy then down at the deck. She didn't feel like it. Luffy's hand took hers once more. She looked up at him.

"I'm right here," Luffy said.

Eri nodded. At least if she proved to her brother that she really could control the wind then she could still stay here for a while. Turning her palm up, she worked to summon a small whirlwind again. Minutes later, nothing happened. She was about to give up when her brother snorted, but then it happened. The whirlwind appeared in her hand.

"That's…"Skylar said, his arms dropping to his sides.

"See? We told you. Eri can control the wind," Luffy said with a bright smile.

"And we really do believe that it would be best for her to stay with us until she's gotten better control over it," Robin said. She gestured to Neo, when she and Law returned to the ship, as the young man looked at her. "Neo is a master at controlling the wind. She's helping Eri learn how to manipulate it."

"Well," Skylar said, "I suppose it would be all right for her to stay for a little while longer." Her crossed his arms back over his chest and glared at each one of the pirates. "But I will be staying with her. And I will be watching you all very closely. If I think any of you are putting her in danger I'm going to stop you."

"That'll be fine," Luffy said.

"Good." Skylar nodded firmly. He then turned back to Neo. "And if you do anything that will hurt her, I'll-"

"Room. Shambles." Law formed his Room. He cut off Skylar's head and warped it into his hand.

"What the heck?!" Skylar shrieked. "What did you do to me?!"

"I'll only giving you this warning once so listen carefully." Law glared down at Skylar. "I do not and will not tolerate anyone making threats against Neo. If you do it again, I will kill you. Understand?"

"Law's very protective of Neo," Sanji said. He leaned against the railing before rubbing his cheek against Neo's. "But then we all are. So his warning goes for us too. If you try to threaten or hurt Neo we all will kill you."

"F-fine," Skylar said, a bead of sweat running down his face. "Just…just put me back to normal."

Law tossed his head to Usopp, who looked none to thrilled to have to touch a severed talking head. Still the sniper put Skylar's head back on his shoulders and walked away while wiping his hands on his pants.

"So gross," Usopp mumbled.

"So let's see what you can do," Skylar said.

"All right, Eri," Law said. "Start again."

Eri nodded. And once more she started floating the ball of vines around for a while. After that, Neo created an obstacle course with her crystals so she could work on controlling the wind better.

Eri was sleeping restlessly in Nami and Robin's bed. She was so worried about her brother taking her back home that she couldn't sleep. And she was even more worried that all of her tossing and turning was going to wake her two bunkmates up. With a mental sigh, she pushed herself up and shifted into her wheelchair. A quietly as she could, she rolled over to the door and left the room. The cool night air was the first to greet her. She glanced around the deck to see who would be on duty to night. But she didn't see anyone. Her eyebrows kneaded together. She knew that someone should have been out here. At least her brother should have been since he objected to sharing a room with the pirates. So where were they? A cool chill sent a wave of dread over her. Her heart took a sharp beat when a shadow appeared over her, casting down to the deck below, looking long and menacing. Her voice just barely over a whisper when she said, "No…not again…how?"

The shadow jumped. A thud. He was behind her.

She couldn't fight. She couldn't even think to fight. Her brain shut off. Her mouth was covered with a white cloth again. She blacked out.

Eri's head throbbed as her senses started coming back to her as she pulled out of her deep sleep. She expected to smell the room she was in on that island, but instead she smelled damp wood, mold, and moss. The room swayed. Apparently they had her on a ship this time. She figured they saw no point in going back to a hideout that people knew about. It was no longer a safe place for them to hide. She forced back a groan and pushed herself into a sitting position.

"How are you feeling?" Pratt asked.

Eri didn't want to look at him. But she forced herself to do it. He looked like a scolded puppy. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to yell at him. Her voice didn't let her. Instead she just sighed. "He'll never stop. Will he?"

"He won't," Pratt said.

Eri noticed something else in his voice. She couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly but she knew she wasn't going to like it. She said, "Just tell me."

"He has your brother and Straw Hat," Pratt said, his eyes locked onto the floor.

Eri's chest tightened. Her lungs appeared to vanish from her lungs. These madmen had her brother and Luffy. What were they planning to do with them? Were they going to hurt them? Kill them?

"They won't be hurt if you do as you're told," Pratt said as if reading her mind.

She wanted to ask how they had managed to get onto the ship and take out the pirates as easily as they did. But it was obvious. They used gas. It worked against her guards. Of course it would work on the pirates no matter how strong they were. She wondered how long they would be sleeping. It didn't matter. By the time the others woke up, they would be long gone. The Straw Hats and Heart Pirates wouldn't know which way they should go to look for them. They were all on their own. She knew Luffy was strong. But could he get them out of this? She might, just maybe, be able to fly them away from Boss and his goons. "Where are they?"

"Waiting for you," Pratt said. "They're out on the deck. Your wheelchair's out there too."

Eri gritted her teeth and clenched the blanket that was over her legs. She was going to have to be carried. Looking down, she noticed that she wasn't wearing any other talismans. She had access to her winds. A tick of caution entered into her. Why wouldn't Boss lock her magic? Was it because she was still scared of the wind? Because he had Luffy and Skylar as prisoners? She didn't know which. It was probably both. "Take me to them."

"Okay," Pratt murmured. He didn't move. He sat there for a few seconds before pushing himself to his feet and walked over to the bed.

Eri stiffened when he put his arms around her. He lifted her with ease. Her heart was pounding in her chest as he moved her towards the door. Carefully, he opened it, stepping out into the hall. They wondered down the empty, semidark hallway before coming to the open door at the end. She blinked the salty air away from her eyes. Her heart clenched tight in her chest again when she saw her brother and Luffy bound with chains that were linked to the mast. They were barely visible in the half covered moon. Seeing Luffy she instantly knew they were using sea prism stone on him. His body was slumped against the mast. His eyes filled with fury upon seeing her.

"Eri!" Luffy called out with exhaustion. "Are you…hurt?"

"I'm fine, Luffy," Eri said. The second she was in her chair, she grabbed the handrim and rolled towards Luffy and Skylar. She jerked to a stop when Mitch and Jaq stepped in her way.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Mitch said.

"You're not allowed to go near them," Jaq added.

"Things are going to be a little different from this point on," Boss said.

Eri turned to face him. She was too upset to even notice he was standing there.

"You're going to take us immediately to Anemone," Boss said.

"What?" Eri breathed, her body going ice cold.

"You heard me," Boss said. "I won't waste time with setbacks anymore. The Navy is breathing down our necks. I can't wait any longer."

"The Navy?" Eri asked, confused.

"Never mind them," Boss said. "We'll be long gone before they can catch up with us again."

"I…I won't," Eri stuttered. "I-I c-can't."

"Eri, don't listen to them," Luffy said. "You don't have to do anything. Just fly out of here."

"Oh, yes, Eri," Boss said, taunting. "Fly away from here." He pulled out a sword and stuck it up to Luffy's neck. "If you do your friend here and your dear sweet brother will lose their heads."

Eri gritted her teeth. Her eyes watered as she watched Boss hold a sword to Luffy's neck. A sword that could cut his throat, his rubber throat that could easily deflect bullets, but not a sword. Luffy had no defense against a sword. Her stomach lurched.

"Well, what's it going to be?" Boss asked.

"But…I…" Eri started.

"Don't so it, Eri!" Luffy said.

"Shut up, pirate!" Mitch kicked Luffy in the stomach.

Luffy coughed. Lifting up, he glared at Mitch.

Eri swallowed. Her head pounded along with her heart. She had no idea what to do. She couldn't fly. She couldn't take them to Anemone. But she couldn't let her friend and brother get hurt.

"You have until sunrise to decide," Boss said. "If you don't take us to Anemone, I'll kill them."

Robin woke up from her slumber. She wasn't sure what had woken her up, but she looked around and found that Eri was no longer in their room. Pushing the blanket off her, she placed her feet on the floor and exited the room. Instantly, she felt something was wrong when the deck was void of people. Looking up to the kitchen, she saw no light on so she knew Sanji wasn't up and had taken Eri in there. So where was she? And where were Chopper and Brook. Those two were suppose to be on watch tonight.

Walking away from the door, she headed up to the helm. A gasp left her lips when she saw Chopper laying on the deck. She ran over to him and placed his head in her lap. "Chopper? Chopper, what happened? Are you all right?"

Chopper didn't move.

"What happened here?" Robin said, looking her friend over. "He doesn't appear injured. I wonder if this is gas. That was how they took our crew on Punk Hazard."

Robin stared at Chopper's furry face. If it really was gas then there was nothing she could do for him. He would wake up when it wore off. Laying him back down on the deck, she went to check on the others. Walking towards the men's quarters she found Brook sitting on the mast bench. He too was fast asleep. She headed on into the men's quarters. Her eyes ran over the sleeping men until she noticed two of them were missing. "Luffy! And Skylar!"

Robin ran out of the room and back to the women's quarters. She grabbed Nami and shook her. "Nami, wake up."

"Hm?" Nami opened her eyes and sat up. "What is it?"

"Eri, Luffy, and Skylar are gone," Robin said. "And the others have been gassed or something. They won't wake up."

"What?!" Nami snapped completely wake. "How?!"

"I don't know," Robin said. "I just woke up and found them in this state."

"Well, who do you think took them?!" Nami asked.

"The same men before are the only obvious choice," Robin said. "They used gas on the guards at Eri's home."

"That would be the easiest way to avoid a fight," Nami said.

Robin nodded. "We can rule out the Navy. I doubt they would pass up a chance to catch pirates."

"But why take Luffy and Skylar?" Nami asked. "Eri's the only one who can use the talismans."

"Most likely they're going to use Luffy and Skylar against her," Robin said.

"That's just stupid!" Nami said. "Eri's afraid of the wind! She can't control it yet!"

"I guess Boss is getting desperate," Robin said. "We should inform the Heart Pirates of what happened."

"Yeah." Nami nodded. "I'll take care of the ship. You go talk to them."

Robin nodded. The two women then left their room, not bothering to change their clothes.

Nami ran up to the helm while Robin crossed her arms and formed and arm bridge over to the sub deck. Walking across her makeshift bridge, she landed on the deck then rushed up to the door. Luckily, they had left it unlocked for her so she went right in. "Hello? Is anyone awake?"

"What's up?" Shachi poked his head up from the stairs. "Robin? What's wrong?"

"Eri, Luffy, and Skylar have been taken," Robin said.

"What?!" Shachi shouted.

"I need to speak with Tra and Neo," Robin said.

"Of course!" Shachi waved for her to follow him. "Come on. I'll take you to their room."

Robin followed. They both remained quiet.

Shachi wanted to ask a million questions but held his tongue. He knew the woman wouldn't want to tell the story more than once. Upon reaching the correct room, he knocked on the door. "Captain! We have a problem!"

A minute later the door opened, revealing a newly wakened Law and Neo. Law said, "What's wrong?"

"We have a problem," Robin said before proceeding to tell them what happened.

"Luffy's been taken?" Neo said. Her head became light, causing her to lean against the doorframe.

"Easy, love," Law said, slipping his arm around her waist.

"What do we do?" Neo asked. "They're long gone by now."

"I don't know," Law said. "Could you sense Eri's winds?"
"Not if she's too far away," Neo said. "We don't know when they were taken. They could be hours ahead of us."

"And we have no idea which direction they went," Shachi said.

"Then we have no choice but to sit still," Law said.

"But how can we?" Neo asked. "The only reason for them to take Eri is for her to take them to Anemone. She's not ready to use her winds on her own. And Luffy's probably tied up with sea prism stone chains."

"She's got a point, Captain," Shachi said.

"I know," Law said. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "Maybe we can think of a plan to find them."

"I could ask some sea life," Neo said. "It's possible that they saw something."

"All right," Law said. "Let's go."

Neo nodded. The small group of four headed up to the deck. Once there, she summoned her wind crystal and lowered herself into the water. With an air bubble around her head, she called for the sea creatures. "Hello, friends. I need to speak with you."

Several fish swam up to her.

"Did you see another ship that came close to ours?" Neo asked. "Some friends of ours were taken. Oh? You did?! That's great! They went southeast? Thank you so much." She flew back to the deck and dried herself off once her feet touched the deck. "They went southeast."

"Then we have our heading," Law said. "Shachi, go over to the Straw Hats ship and assist them as they need until the rest of their crew wakes up."

"Aye, Captain," Shachi said.

Neo wrapped Shachi and Robin in her winds and lifted them over to the Sunny. "What about us?"

"We can't do much of anything until we catch up Straw Hat," Law said.

"I'll use my crystals," Neo said.

"No, you won't," Law said sternly. "You've been using them way too much lately."

"Law, I have to," Neo said. "You know I won't be able to rest until I know that Luffy is safe."

Law sighed, looking down at the deck.

"Law." Neo cupped his cheek and pulled his eyes to her. "I'm fine." She placed her hand on her stomach. "We're fine. I can do this."

"All right," Law said. "But after you get some sleep."

"Fine." Neo nodded in acceptance. "But don't expect me to sleep very well."

"Oh, you're going to sleep just fine," Law said, guiding her back into the sub by her waist. "Even if I have to drug you."

"Hey!" Neo whacked him on his chest.

Law chuckled. He took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. "I'll rub your back."

"That's better," Neo said.

One question rolled around in Eri's head. What should she do? She was trapped. They all were trapped. She couldn't take them to Anemone. She was too scared. And she had no idea on how to actually get them there, even if she wanted to. "Luffy…what do I do?"

"Don't talk to him, Eri," Skylar said. "He's a pirate. He doesn't care about you."

"What?!" Luffy screamed, before his energy was drained again. "Of…of course I care about her. S-she's my…friend."

Skylar scoffed. "Pirates don't have friends. They only betray each other. And use each other to get one step farther."

"That's not true," Luffy said.

"Just shut up," Skylar said. "Eri, you have to just take them to Anemone."

"What?" Eri asked.

"Eri, if you don't then they're going to kill us," Skylar said. "Probably you as well. It's best to just give them what they want in this situation."

"No! She can't!" Luffy said. "She's afraid of the wind!"

"Rubbish," Skylar said.

"He speaks the truth," Mitch said. "She's a baby when it comes to using the wind."

"Just stop talking and take us there already," Jaq said.

"I can't," Eri whispered. She clutched her head in both hands. "I don't know how."

"You know how," Boss said. "You just don't remember."

"I don't know how," Eri said again. "I can't do this. I can't. Just let us go."

"That's not going to happen," Boss said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You have three hours. You better start figuring things out."

"Luffy," Eri said.

"It's all right, Eri," Luffy said. "My friends are going to find us missing. They'll come after us."

"Are you kidding?" Skylar said. "We're long gone from them."

"You don't know my friends," Luffy said. "Trust me. They'll find us." He glared at the men who took them. And when they do you four are in for a serious beating."

Mitch laughed. "Sure thing, Straw Hat. They have no idea where we are or where to even look for us. And as long as we keep going they'll never catch up to us."

Luffy smirked. "You don't know Neo."

"We know about her," Jaq said. "Like Mitch just said, they have no idea which way we went. They'll never catch us."

"Just leave them alone," Boss said.

"But we have to guard them," Jaq said.

"No, you don't," Boss said. "They can't escape from us. She needs the keys to unlock their cuffs. And I have them right here in my pocket. There's no way she's skilled enough to steal them."

"Fine," Mitch and Jaq said. They walked away from their hostages and entered into the ship.

"I suggest you hurry up and make up your mind," Boss said then followed after his men.

Eri looked at Pratt. The man looked guilty, extremely guilt. Then he too disappeared inside the ship. She turned back to Luffy and Skylar. "What do I do?"

"Just give them what they want," Skylar said. "They will hurt us if you don't."

"They'll hurt us if she does," Luffy said. "Just wait for my friends. I know they're coming."

"But how, Luffy?" Eri asked. "We're hours away from them. I know Neo has her wind crystals, but she can't even find us."

"Yes, she can," Luffy said.

Skylar scoffed. "And how do you know that?"
"Because I know Neo," Luffy said. "She won't let them get away with this."

"You're an idiot," Skylar said. "Don't listen to him, Eri. He doesn't know you at all."

Eri sighed. She had no idea what she should do. Either way it looked like they were going to get hurt. So she had to make a decision. Just take them to Anemone or allow them to hurt Luffy and Skylar. She closed her eyes. She couldn't do it. She couldn't let Luffy and Skylar get hurt. If they did make it to Anemone they might be allowed to go free. If not then it's possible that they could escape. They had a greater change of escaping on an island than the sea, didn't they?

All too soon the sun was coming up over the horizon. It was time to tell them her decision. She gulped when she head the men come back out onto the deck. Boss said, "Well?"

"I'll do it," Eri said.

"Eri," Luffy said.

"I'll take you to Anemone," Eri said.

"Good girl," Boss said.

Eri gritted her teeth. She could feel Boss's smug smile behind her. "I just need a little time to try and figure out what to do to get there."

"Fine," Boss said. "But this had better not be a trick to stall us."

"It's not," Eri said.

"Then get to work," Boss said then walked away.

Eri sighed. How was she supposed to figure this out? She closed her eyes. Please, help me. I need to come to Anemone. I need to save my friends here. I can't let Luffy get hurt. He means so much to me. Please, tell me what I'm supposed to do.

"You are not ready to come here yet."

"I know I'm not. But I don't have a choice. I can't let them hurt Luffy. He means so much to me. He kept me alive. He kept me going when no one else would. I…I love him."

"Very well. I will assist you the best I can. Now, focus on the wind in your talismans. Once you have a hold on it say, 'Silver Wind of Anemone. Rise us to the sky. Show us the way to your lands.' You can bring whoever you wish with you."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Eri laced her fingers together. Keeping her eyes closed, she felt out for the winds. She felt them slowly coming out of her earrings. A rush of calmness flowed over her. The person she was talking to some how appeared around her. Whispering, she said, "Silver Wind of Anemone. Rise us to the sky. Show us the way to your lands."

A gust of wind blew. It was followed by another five seconds later. Then another one four seconds, then three, two, and one until a steady flow of wind was pushing them along. Eri peaked through her eye. She gasped when she was the wind was silver. It was shimmering. Though she didn't know if it was the wind itself or if it was the sun reflecting off of it.

The wind wrapped around the ship, slowly lifting it off the water.

The men came back outside.

"Wow!" Mitch gasped.

"It's really happening!" Jaq said. "We're going to Anemone!"

Pratt remained silent as he looked over at their prisoners.

Boss just smiled.

Eri turned her head away from them. Whispering as low as she could, she said, "Please, bring Luffy's friends with us. We need their help."

"Oh, my head," Usopp said as he started to wake up from the gas.

"I think I drank to much," Zoro said, rubbing his head. "Hold on. I didn't drink anything last night."

"Hey, where's Luffy?" Sanji asked.

"What time is it?" Franky asked.

The door opened. The men winced and groaned at the morning sun shining into their room.

"About time you woke up," Shachi said. "Hurry up. Come out onto the deck. Straw Hat, Eri, and Skylar have been taken."

"What?!" The men got up and scrambled out of the room where they were filled in on what happened.

"But why didn't they gas your room?" Chopper looked at the girls.

"Maybe because Eri was in there?" Nami suggested.

"But she could have screamed for your help," Brook said.

"That doesn't matter now," Law said. "All that matters is we head towards the direction they went."

The Straw Hats looked over at the two Heart Pirates as they settled down onto their ship. Neo said, "I'm going to fly us as fast as we can, but-"

"What's happening?!" Usopp shouted, cutting the woman off.

"The ships are being lifted into the air!" Brook said. The pirates looked around to see silver wind wrapping around their ships.

"But how is that possible?!" Chopper asked. "Neo! Do something! Please!"

"No," Neo said, gaining a lot of looks that told her she was crazy. "I think its Eri."

"What do you mean?" Law asked.

"This wind moves like it has a purpose," Neo said. "I believe it's taking us somewhere."

"But where?" Franky asked.

"Anemone," Robin said.

"So you think those guys got Eri to say whatever it is she needed to say to get them to that island?" Sanji asked.

"That doesn't make sense," Zoro said. "She's afraid of the wind."

"Unless something else is scaring her more," Robin said.

"What would that be?" Brook asked.

"Luffy and Skylar," Neo said. "They would be the perfect hostages for them to use against her. She cares about them both."

"Then we should prepare ourselves to arrive on Anemone," Law said.