Thieves & Shadows
Penguin watched as the fog gathered around his precious little sister. A tiny heartache plucked at his chest. He really didn't like it when he couldn't be with her and help her. He jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder. Turning away from the fog, he found Shachi smiling at him.
"Come on, Pen," Shachi said. "Let's get inside so we can dive."
"Fine," Penguin said. He gave the drifting fog one last look before heading into the sub. With a heavy clank followed by several clicks, Bepo closed and sealed the door. Penguin remained standing in place. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the bear pass by him. Then, without realizing it, he started pacing back and forth in front of the door.
…
Penguin paced. And paced and paced and paced. Every so often he'd pause and looked at the door or concentrated on feeling if the sub was being lifted to the surface of the sea. Nothing. For three hours nothing happened. He paced some more. His legs and feet throbbed but his spinning mind was too busy worrying to even notice.
"Will you stop pacing so much?" Shachi asked. "You're going to wear out the floor."
"I can't help it!" Penguin said. "They should have contacted us by now! This waiting around is driving me crazy!"
"You know things can go awry," Conner said walking into the room. "I'm sure everything is fine. You'd know if it wasn't with your freaky connection to Neo."
"Hey! It's not freaky! It's Big Brother Intuition!" Penguin growled. "It's easy to understand! A lot easier than her bond with the captain! It's a normal bond!"
"And are you feeling like something's wrong?" Conner asked.
"Well…no," Penguin said.
"Then relax." Conner turned and headed back down the stairs. "You're going to worry yourself into a head full of grey hairs before you're even thirty years old."
"He's right, Pen," Shachi said. "You know there's nothing to worry about here."
"I know, I know," Penguin said with sigh.
"Then why don't you do something other than pacing and staring at the door?" Shachi asked. "Why don't you go read? That always passes time for you."
"Maybe," Penguin murmured. He turned his eyes back to the door, thinking. Rubbing his neck in frustration, he forced himself away from the door. His crewmates were right. All he was doing here was worrying himself sick. Neo was with the captain and Topaz and Archer. They would do anything and everything to keep her safe. So he headed down the rec. room, grabbed a book, and settled into reading while they waited for word on what was going on above them. As he opened his book his eyes wondered to the only other pirate in the room, Tero. The man was sitting at the table, drumming his fingertips on the wooden surface. "Worried I see."
"Don't be silly," Tero said, crossing his arms. "Why would I be?"
Penguin snickered. "Why bother acting like you don't care about her? We all know you do. Maybe not like the rest of us do. But you do in your own way."
"Just shut up and read your stupid book," Tero said.
"Okay," Penguin said. "But don't worry too much."
Tero growled but said nothing.
Penguin chuckled before letting his eyes drop down to this book. He read, one word at a time while occasionally looked up at the door or focusing on the sub to see if it was rising. Reading again, he started reading until his mind got completely absorbed in the book.
…
"Are you all ready to go?" Lane asked.
The pirates nodded before following Lane back out the back door. In the warm night air, Neo summoned her wind crystals and lifted them into the sky.
"Wow," Lane said, his eyes down on the ground. "I never thought I'd fly like this. I never thought I'd ever fly at all. You sure you know what you're doing? How long have you had that Devil Fruit of yours?"
"You don't have to worry about her," Law said so Neo wouldn't have to lie. A sadistic smile curled upon his lips. "She'll only drop you if you try to hurt us."
Archer and Topaz busted up laughing when Lane went pale.
'Law, he said he wasn't going to hurt us. I believe him. You don't have to scare him like that.'
'I know. But a little insurance never hurt anything. It's good he knows his life is in our hands now.'
Neo smiled but shook her head at him. She then lifted them high enough into the sky so they could still see the world below them but should be far enough away that no one spotted them. Or they shouldn't be spotted since it wasn't the norm for humans to look up for danger. Her attention turned to the forest that passed below them. The forest was thick and lush. None of them could see below the canopy. She connected herself to the animals she could find stirring in the night. Despite using animals as her own personal lookouts she still asked, "Do you think anyone's down there?"
"It's hard to tell," Lane said. "Sometimes Brock's men monitor the island through the nights while sometimes they don't. Usually they stay near the edges of the island though. They're more worried about outside attacks rather than inside attacks. They don't have many fighters on this island. And those that are here are just mere humans that can't stand up to Devil Fruits."
"How many Zoan Devil Fruits will we be facing?" Topaz asked.
"Last count I knew of only six Zoan users on the island," Lane said. "They're all carnivore animals. There's a tiger, a bear, a lion, a fox, a snow leopard, and an owl."
"The owl could cause us problems up here," Archer said. "Does he go flying often?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Lane said.
'Neo, keep an eye out for the owl.' Law thought to her.
'I will. And I'm sure Topaz is searching as well. The animals below us are telling me no one's in the forest.' Neo glanced over at her sister. Topaz nodded at her, confirming her suspicious. 'It's a good thing that Devil Fruit users typically only use them in fights than recreation.'
'We still need to keep our guard up.'
'I know.' Neo nodded. More trees passed by before they broke into a worn down garden just outside of the mansion. She huffed at the lack of care it had been given. "They could at least water the plants. They're dying of thirst."
"Focus, Neo," Law said. "We're here to take care of the thieves not to tend to plant life."
"Sorry," Neo said.
"She has better eyes than I do," Lane said. "I can't even see the plants from way up here."
"So, uh, what now?" Archer asked.
"We sneak in and tie up everyone that's inside," Lane said. "Hopefully one of the windows is unlocked."
"I'll just warp us inside," Law said. "It'll cause too much trouble and waste a lot of time looking for an open window."
"Oh," Lane drawled. "Right."
"Neo, lower us down," Law said.
Neo nodded. The lower they got the more the mansion came into view, as did the dying flora on the ground. She frowned at the drooping flowers and browning leaves on the bushes. A strong desire to tend to the plants filled her. She hated fighting her nature to care for them. But she forced herself to turn away. "The forest is so lush. Are they killing the plants on purpose?"
Law lifted an eyebrow at her.
Neo shrugged.
"That's a big house," Archer said eyeing the building.
"Hence why it's called a mansion," Lane said.
"Ha, ha." Archer rolled his eyes.
Neo pulled her eyes away from Law and eyed the building. It was four stories high with springline windows decorating the bedrooms and a balcony on the second floor master bedroom. 'It's nice. I guess. But I think we'd need something bigger if we were to live in a house.'
'You'd need a mansion the size of your castle just to hold your books.' Law smiled.
'If only.' Neo thought dreamily.
'Maybe one day, love.'
"Someone important use to live here?" Topaz asked.
"A noble family," Lane said. "But they moved out over fifteen years ago. Before all this happened it was use as a form of hotel when storms damaged homes too much for the people to live in them."
"That's nice," Archer said. "At least the building didn't go to waste."
"Let's get to work," Law ordered. He waited until Neo brought them to the edge of the mansion before forming his Room. With a low pop they entered into the hallway of the top floor of the mansion.
"Hey! What are you doing in here?!" a gruff looking man demanded.
Neo trapped the man in her winds, summoned her earth crystals, and bound his body and mouth with vines before he could call for help.
"That was fast," Lane said. "She is good."
Law smiled. Pride swelled in his chest as he thought about what his love could really do.
"How many men do you think are in the mansion?" Topaz asked.
"It's hard to tell," Lane said.
"We'll just have to take them down one at a time then," Archer said.
"We also need to find where they keep the bomb and trap maps," Lane said. "The Navy will want to extract the bombs and traps from the island."
"Don't tell me you're going to make us do that as well." Archer frowned.
"No," Lane said. "The Navy will do that themselves so the weapons don't end up in the hands of, uh, pirates."
"We don't steal bombs," Archer said.
"We can't risk it," Lane said. "Sorry. But you're still pirates even though Trafalgar is a warlord. We should split up."
"No," Neo said. "I'm not having my crew separate from me anymore than we already are."
"We have too," Lane said.
"No, we don't," Neo insisted.
"We're staying together. If you want to sneak off on your own then feel free to do so," Law said.
"Fine." Lane sighed in defeat. "We'll just stick with the plan of whittle them down one by one or whatever."
…
Eira watched the small group as they flew off towards the northwest. Adjusting her bag's strap, she trailed after them. She jumped along the rooftops until she got to the edge of the town. Then she had to jump down to the ground and continued to follow them. Reaching the forest, she felt danger again and leaped into the trees. Unable to see them from down here, she hoped they continued to head northwest. It would be easier to follow them if they did. She paused on a tree branch. Ice crackled under her feet. It started lifted her into the air but she stopped it. Narrowing her eyebrows she focused on an odd feeling she didn't notice before. It was the woman, Neo. She could somehow sense the woman's nature elements moving away from her. She could also feel Law moving away from her, too. "That's odd. I wonder why I can sense them like that."
Shaking it from her mind, she continued to jump from tree branch to tree branch. Sensing them didn't really matter. It only gave her an easier way to track them. They continued heading northwest so that's where she went. Jumping to another branch she scared a couple of birds before moving on. They chirped threateningly at her before settling back down in their nest. "Sorry. I'm in a hurry."
She continued to follow after them, wondering where exactly they were going and why they were going all the way out to the middle of nowhere. But eventually she spotted part of a building through some leaves. Jumping a few more branches, she landed and parted some leaves to see what was going on. She spotted no one outside, but knew Neo and Law were inside of the building as she could still sense them. She glanced around, wondering why the pirates would have come here of all places. Was the rest of their crew here? She sniffed the air. There were so many different scents scattered around the air. Most were coupled with the dirty smell of the unwashed. She rubbed her nose with the back of her arm while debating on what she should do now. These scents could be those of their crew, but then she noticed the smell of animals that weren't native to this island. "Devil Fruit users? Has to be. And I don't recall the Heart Pirates having Devil Fruit users other than their captain. Well, and the fake one of Neo's."
…
"Huh?" Neo glanced to her left in confusion. She then glanced over at Topaz. Her sister nodded to confirm her suspicious. They were sensing that icy presence again.
"What is it?" Law asked.
"Nothing," Neo replied. 'That person, the icy one, followed us all the way here.'
Law frowned.
'I'm sorry, Law. I guess I shouldn't have said anything right now.'
'No, you did the right thing. I'm just want to know who they are and what they want.'
'I guess we'll know after we take care of this.'
Law looked at Neo. Worry spun inside of his head. He hated the thought that anyone was targeting her.
'Relax, Law. I'm fine. Let's just get this over with first. Then we'll go out and see who's following us.'
"Okay," Law said. "Let's go."
The group made their way down the bare hallway. At each door they came to they knocked on it. No one answered so it appeared everyone was either downstairs, at the other side of the mansion or outside somewhere. They came to the top of the massive stairs. Carefully, Neo lifted them back into the air and floated them down to the second floor. She placed them down gently on the floor. They all settled in and listened to the voices below.
"I can't believe how easy this has been," a man said.
"Yeah. The Navy won't mess with us."
"They're just too stupid."
"Or we're just too smart for them."
"Same thing."
"No, it's not!"
"Yes it is!"
"No! It's not!"
"All of the Devil Fruit users are downstairs," Neo said.
"That's just great. So what's the plan?" Archer asked. "Do we ambush them?"
"Yes," Law replied. He looked at Lane. "Are you okay with that?"
"Yeah, fine," Lane said. "Let's just get this over with. The Navy's waiting for my call."
"Neo, take their weapons away," Law said.
"Got it." Neo nodded.
Law held up his hand and spread out his Room. He then warped them downstairs and right in the middle of the living room.
"Hey! Where did you come from?!"
"Never mind that! Kill them!"
Neo summoned her wind crystals. Once the men pulled out their guns, knives, and swords, she lifted them all into the air. Pulling them together she used her fire crystals to melt them into one giant mess, careful not to set off the gunpowder.
"Hey! Give those back!"
"Sorry. It's a little late for that. You should have said something sooner." Archer charged forward and punched the man who just spoke.
"Give me my sword back!" A man charged at Neo. Before he could reach her a foot shot out and kicked him in the face.
"Don't touch my sister," Topaz said.
"Thanks, Topaz," Neo said.
Topaz nodded then charged into the fight.
Neo glanced over at Lane. He too was fighting. And so was Law. But Law was at a bit of a disadvantage due to not having his sword. She pulled two earth crystals to her. Lighting them up with her glow, she pulled a stone sword out of the ground in the same shape and weight as Kikoku and gave it to him.
"Thanks, Neo." Law grabbed the sword. Still in his Room, he sliced up over half of the guys, ignoring their cries of protest in the process. "This is more like it."
"You won't get away with this," the owl Devil Fruit user said.
Neo stood ready as the Devil Fruit users started transforming. The owl was the first to charge at her. She lifted herself into the air with her winds.
"Come back here!" the owl said following her every move. "I'm a fast flier! You're not going to get away from me!"
"Maybe," Neo said. She flew around the room with the owl on her tail. She kept just out of reach of him. "You're not bad."
"Told you so." He smirked.
"But you're not good enough," Neo said. She dropped three feet. When he was directly over her head, she shot up several vines into his stomach. She flew out from underneath him just as his body started to fall. Then suddenly a hand wrapped around her ankle. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Fear gripped her chest. Images of her past flashed through her mind. Her crystals erupted with her scream. "Ah!"
…
Law gritted his teeth when Neo's anxiety skyrocketed and her panic filled his body. He whipped his eyes to her just before her elements broke into the room. Vines and plants sprung up from the floor, water pipes burst, the wind howled and blew everything around like a tornado, even the people were having trouble keeping on their feet.
…
"Crap!" Archer cursed. "The tiger grabbed her!"
"Neo!" Topaz called.
"What's the heck is going on?!" Lane demanded grabbing onto the stair railing. "Is she trying to kill us?!"
"No!" Archer called over the winds. "She just can't handle being touched! Just hold on! The captain will calm her down!"
The walls cracked. Lane said, "Before or after she breaks the house apart and kills us?!"
…
Law warped himself up to Neo. As soon as he was in front of her, he dropped his fake sword to place his hands on her shoulders, kicked the tiger's face until he let go, and wrapped his arms around her. Bringing his lips to her ear, he said, "It's okay, Neo. You're fine. You're not hurt. No one's going to hurt you."
"H-he touched me." Neo curled her fingers around the front of Law's shirt. "He touched me."
"I know he did," Law said. "He's not touching you now." He looked up at the floor above them started cracking. "Neo, I need you to calm down. You're going to bring the house down on us."
"Okay, okay." Neo took in several deep breaths before finally calming down.
"That's my girl," Law said.
"Captain!" Archer called up. Pieces of the wood broke off the house and rained down on them. The house creaked and groaned under its broken walls. "The house took too much damage! We can't stay in here any longer! And we certainly can't fight here!"
"Right!" Law said just before warping them all outside. "Shambles!"
…
Eira's hairs stood up on her entire body upon feeling a huge shift in nature and the plants around her started moving on their own. She became even more confused when she realized it was coming from inside of the house, from Neo. "What the heck?! How powerful is her magic?!"
She blinked when several people appeared outside just before the house collapsed. She tucked herself back behind the leaves. Her eyes locked onto the only blue haired person around.
…
"That was way to close!" Archer said as the house crumbled.
"You idiots! Look at what you did to our home!" a man shouted. "Just wait until the boss gets here! He's going to-"
"Shut up." Lane kicked the man, knocking him out.
"You're really going to pay for this now!" the lion hissed.
Law glared at the Devil Fruit users. There was no way he was going to let Neo fight anymore right now. And there was no way he was going to let them come anywhere near her again. "Shambles." He warped a huge pile of debris onto the Devil Fruit users, knocking them out. "This fight is over."
Neo sniffled. "Good."
"Well, that went a lot easier than I expected. And way too easy." Lane looked around. "But I won't complain. We should expect the rest of their group to show up soon. We need to tie these guys up before that happens."
"Neo, can you give us some vine ropes?" Law asked.
Neo nodded and did what was requested of her. Vines rose up out of the ground and coiled together for them.
"But we still need those maps," Lane said looking at the damaged house. "It's going to take forever to dig through all of that."
"Don't worry about it," Archer said. "Neo can easily clear it all out. She just needs a few minutes to calm down."
"She just doesn't make any sense." Lane grabbed a couple vines off the ground. He walked over to the men and started tying them up.
"Here the rest of them come," Topaz said upon seeing some men breaking through the forest.
"Good." Archer cracked his knuckles. "I'm no where near satisfied. Captain?"
"Go ahead since they're not Devil Fruit users," Law said.
"Still be careful," Neo said pulling her face away from Law's chest. She looked up at him. "I want to go home."
"We will in a few minutes," Law said.
"Not soon enough." Neo sighed.
"What heck have you done to my home and men?!" a black haired man demand.
"I'm guessing you're Brock," Archer said.
"I am! And you're going to pay for this!" Brock charged forward with the rest of his men following.
Neo watched as Topaz and Archer fought off the remaining men before finally feeling secure enough to pull away from Law. "I want more snuggles when we get back to the sub."
"Anything you want, love," Law said.
Neo summoned her earth crystals again. She tied the rest of the men up before lifting the broken house apart. Once she had cleared enough away they started looking for the maps.
"Found them!" Archer said thirty minutes later. He looked at them. "Dang! This map looks like a Christmas Tree! There're so many bombs and traps around the island!"
"A lot more than I thought there were." Lane looked at the maps. "It's going to take forever for the Navy to dig them all up."
"I found the chalice," Topaz said holding up the stolen artifact.
Law nodded. They had completed their mission.
"It doesn't look like the bombs and traps are very close to the town," Neo said looking at the map. "So the crew should be safe to come ashore."
"What are you going to do now?" Archer asked.
"Call this in," Lane said. "The Navy will get here by morning and we'll start cleaning things up. Thanks a lot for your help. Would you mind dropping me back at the town? I need to get a hold of my contact now."
"I guess." Neo summoned her wind crystals lifted them into the air. Once they were back over the town, she sat Lane down then headed towards the sub. Hovering over the sea, she sensed where Bepo was then lifted the sub using the water to push it to the top. She then placed her small group on the deck just before the door swung open.
"Neo!" Penguin ran over to his sister and threw his arms around her. "I was so worried! What happened to the plan?!"
"Things got a little crazy," Neo said hugging him back. "But we're fine now."
"I assume everything went fine," Shachi said while walking out onto the deck.
"A few minor set backs," Archer said. "But nothing we couldn't handle."
"I'm so glad," Bepo said following Shachi.
"What are we doing now?" Shachi asked.
"We're leaving," Archer said.
"Wait," Neo said. "We can't just yet."
"Why not?" Archer asked.
"We need to figure out why that person is following us," Neo said.
"What person?" Penguin asked.
"Following us?" Archer added.
"We're being followed while on the island," Law said. "Neo senses the person has magic and control over ice and snow."
The crews' eyes whipped to their little sister.
Neo shrugged. "I have to know what they want." She tugged at her vest. "But first I want to get out of these clothes."
"Good!" Penguin said. "Inside with you, young lady!"
Neo giggled. She kissed Penguin's cheek before heading inside. A smile spread across her face when Law slipped his hand into hers and walked with her. "Try not to worry, my love. I'll be careful."
"I know," Law said. "Because I'm going to be right there with you."
Still sensing his worry, she lifted him into the air with her wind crystals. Pulling herself up she flew them down to their bedroom and entered. Once inside, she laid him down on the bed and straddled over him.
"What do you think you're doing?" Law placed his hands on her hips and squeezed.
"Trying to stop you from worrying." Neo lead down and placed multiple light kisses on his lips. "How am I doing?"
"Not bad," Law said. "But I'm still not quite relaxed."
"Oh." Neo pulled away. She slipped the vest off her chest, tossed it to the floor, and then leaned back down to capture his lips. She traced her tongue over his lips before snaking inside of his mouth. Her tongue swept over every inch of his wet, warm cavern, earning a hum of delight from him.
"Now I'm getting relaxed," Law said when she pulled back for air.
"Good." Neo sprawled out on his body and pressed her lips back to his.
…
Eira waited until the pirates were long gone before heading back to the town. Her mind spun with what she had just witnessed. Getting close enough to kill them wasn't going to be as easily as she had first thought. Land in the tree at the edge of the forest, she paused on the branch and looked out to the sea. She was going to have to get onto their sub. That is, as long as they don't leave the island before she could get aboard.
She jumped down from the branch, clearing the dangers that were there. Following Neo's magic trail, she headed towards the edge of the island. She stopped on the cliff. Her eyes landed on the yellow submarine that was strolling slowly along the island. She watched it until it pulled into the docks. "Good. Doesn't look like they're leaving just yet."
She turned and ran back into the town. When she got there, she jumped upon a store rooftop and proceeded to make her way to the docks. There she stopped on a two-story house over looking the docks. She waited for Neo and Law to come out. But all she saw so far were the crewmembers. Or she assumed they were since they were coming out of the yellow sub. The newspapers didn't talk much about the rest of the crew so she had no idea what they looked like or what their names were. Still, she watched them closely. Her mind worked through possible ways to try and get onboard. Could she use the crew? Maybe get one kidnapped somehow and pretend to rescue them? Would pirates fall for that? Would the captain let someone on his crew for saving a crewmate?
Eira tucked her feet under her legs. She watched the crewmembers walk off the docks and into the town before looking back at the sub. Law and Neo still hadn't come out. She tapped her fingers on her knee in annoyance. "What's taking them so long? What are they doing in there? Ugh. Maybe I don't want to know."
…
"We really should get out there and make sure the crew's not getting into trouble," Law said through Neo's kisses.
"Oh." Neo pouted. "And here we're suppose to cuddle."
"We are and we will," Law said. "I just want to make sure they're behaving. It's been almost two hours since they left the sub. You know how they can get into trouble. And the bombs are still-"
"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Neo pulled him off the bed with her wind crystals and over to the closet. She pulled off her clothes, but for her underwear and bra and had her normal clothes on in three seconds. "Let's go!"
Law chuckled. "If you were going to change in front of me you could have done it slower."
Heat rushed to Neo's cheeks.
Law pecked her lips. "Don't worry, love. I've seen it all before."
"Oh!" Neo covered her face with her hands. "I didn't mean to do that!"
Law chuckled again. He pulled out the ribbon from Neo's hair and worked the braid out before putting on a yellow shirt with their Jolly Roger on it. He then pulled her hand away from her face and led her out of the room, grabbing his sword as they went. "Come on, you. We have a spy to track down."
"You're not upset?" Neo glanced up at Law.
"Of course I'm not," Law replied. "There's nothing to be upset about. I'm to be your future husband. And I'm your doctor. It's only normal for me to see you naked."
"Half naked," Neo said.
"Half naked," Law repeated.
Neo exhaled. "Sorry I blushed."
"Nothing to apologize for." Law leaned down and pecked her lips before climbing the stairs to the main deck. Before stepping outside he released her hand.
Neo reluctantly let his hand go. Switching back to her subordinate position, she pulled them into the air with her wind crystals. 'So are we going to go right after her?'
'Her?'
'The one following us.'
'They around? Wait…'
'What is it?' Neo looked at Law.
'I can sense them now, too.' Law kneaded his eyebrows.
'I wonder why? Maybe they're like Elementals? Once you know about them you can tell if one's near by?'
'Possibly. Let's just be careful. Act like we're going into the town then trapped them in your winds.'
'Okay.' Neo lowered them to the ground. Sticking her hands in the jeans of her pockets, so she wouldn't reach for Law's hand, she walked beside him as they headed farther into the town. She waited a few seconds before summoning her wind crystals above the one following them. They cried out when she trapped them.
"Hey! Let me go!"
Neo brought the girl down to them. Her eyes widened a bit upon seeing the girl in her snow leopard form. "You're not human."
"I am, too!" she snapped. "I'm just different! Now put me down!"
"Why are you following us?" Law asked.
"I have my reasons," she said. "And they're none of your business. Now, release me. I don't like being held like this."
"We're not releasing you until you tell us why you were following us around," Law said.
The girl gritted her teeth. A low growl released from her throat.
"Could you at least tell us what your name is?" Neo asked.
The growl cut off. The girl looked at Neo, contemplating the question. "Just call me Eira."
"Neo!" Penguin cried out.
Neo glanced over at her brother. He and the rest of the crew were running down the street towards them.
"What's going on?!" Penguin demanded. He took his place beside Neo and glared at the girl in her winds. "Who is this?!" He paused. "Her eyes…they look just like the captain's."
"This is the person who's been following us around," Law said.
"Why do you keep following Neo and the captain?!" Shachi demanded.
"Yeah, she's really going to answer you just like that," Tero said.
"Shut up," Shachi said. "I can try."
"Then by all means," Tero said.
"Enough," Law said. The men went quiet.
"It's obvious that you have been following us around," Topaz said. "You might as well tell us why."
"I'm just curious that's all," Eira said.
"Likely story," Penguin said.
"It's the truth," Eira said. "I've heard about these two and wanted to check them out."
"I want you to join our crew," Neo said.
"What?!" the crew shrieked.
Law lifted an eyebrow at her.
Eira blinked. A scoff left her mouth before a bout of laughter. "You can't be serious!"
"Hey! Stop laughing at her!" Penguin growled.
"Then she shouldn't have said that!" Eira shot back.
"I'm serious," Neo said. "I want you to join our crew. We know you have been following us since we landed on this island. So it's obvious you have an interest in us. Though we're not sure if it's because of the reason you have said."
"Are you calling me a liar?" Eira asked.
"If she's not then I am," Penguin said crossing his arms.
"Penguin, please," Neo said.
"Sorry," Penguin said.
"Your crew is so whipped by you," Eira said. "But why so quick to invite me? I could be looking to kill you for all you know. You're already suspicious of me."
"You won't kill us," Neo said. To prove her trust in the girl, she banished her wind crystals, freeing Eira.
Eira righted herself just before landing on the ground. She narrowed her eyebrows and swished her tail.
"A little over confident there," Tero said, "aren't you, Neo?"
Neo shrugged. "Possibly. But I don't believe so. Well? What do you say, Eira?"
Eira stared at the blue haired pirate for a few quiet moments. She said, "Fine. But I'm not just going to hop on your little sub like a good little doggie. If you really want me on your sub then you're going to have to catch me."
"What?" Tero asked.
"You heard me," Eira said. She pointed at Topaz, Neo, and Law. "Only you three aren't allowed to participate in this little game because of your Devil Fruit powers and your Elemental magic."
Law narrowed his eyebrows. His heart stopped at the same time his body went numb. He knew Neo grabbed his arm, but he couldn't feel it or look at her. "You know Neo and Topaz are Elementals?"
"I do." Eira nodded.
"But how?" Topaz asked.
"I can just sense it. They smell like nature," Eira said. She pointed at Topaz then at Neo. "That one smells like fire while this one smells like all of nature. I can't believe that those dumb Navy soldiers this she had a Devil Fruit power. Their stupidity is like a bottomless pit. There's no end to it. But who cares about that. That's the only rule of this game. If your subordinates can catch me then I'll join you."
"This is ridiculous! Tell me you're not really considering this!" Penguin said. "There is something seriously wrong here! Someone one had to tell her about Neo and Topaz."
"Calm down, Penguin," Shachi said.
"I will not calm down!" Penguin snapped. "This person has been stalking our captain and sister! And now we find out she knows Neo and Topaz are Elementals?! I don't trust her!"
"Is it always this lively?" Basil asked.
"Not this lively," Topaz said. "So far we really haven't run into anyone who just knew about us."
"I see," Basil said.
"Neo?" Law asked.
"We agree to your rules," Neo said. "But the chase is to stay inside of the town. I do not want my crew running around the forest with all the bombs and traps still in the ground."
"Very well then," Eira said. She turned and ran off. "The game has begun."
"This is crazy," Penguin said.
"Yeah," Bepo said. "It's not like you to invite someone so quickly onto the sub."
"What's up with that?" Shachi asked.
"I'm sorry," Neo said. "I can't explain why I feel like this. I just need her on the sub with us."
"If you say so," Tero said.
"We trust you, Neo," Shachi said. "But we can't hide our feelings either. We know she's dangerous. We can just feel it. And she's clearly after something. And that could be to kill you and the captain. It's dangerous to invite her onto the sub."
"I know." Neo nodded. "And you know you don't have to hide your feelings from me."
"We might as well take off then," Archer said.
"This is just stupid," Conner said. "Why do we have to chase her around?"
"It'll be fun," Archer said.
"Yeah. Right." Conner rolled his eyes.
"Let's just get this over with," Penguin said while taking the lead in going after Eira.
"Are you angry with me for doing that?" Neo asked as the crew walked away.
Law ran his hand over his neck and shoulder. A contemplating sigh passed over his lips before her turned towards her. "No, I'm not angry. I'm more confused than anything. It's not like you to invite strangers onto the sub so quickly."
"I'm confused too," Neo said, wrapping her arms around herself. "But I know this is the right thing to do. I can feel it. There's something familiar about Eira. And I'm not talking about how much she looks like you."
"I thought she looked more like you," Law said. Looking over his shoulder, he check to see if anyone was watching before taking her hand in his.
Neo curling her fingers around his. His warmth came to her in soothing comfort. "I don't know what it is. I just feel like she needs to be with us. And despite her rough exterior, I know she's not a bad person."
"Is this because of your dream?" Law asked.
"I think it might be," Neo said. "I think the two are connected." She looked up at him. "It can't just be a coincident, can it? Having a dream about a snow leopard, snow, and ice then meeting Eira?"
"I don't know," Law said. "If it is a coincident then it's a big one. What about you, Topaz? What are your thoughts on this?"
"I thought she looked like both of you," Topaz said. "Like she was your child or something."
Heat rushed to Neo's cheeks.
"Our child?" Law asked.
"Just an observation." Topaz shrugged. "Despite that, I'm not sure why but I agree with Neo. There's something familiar about her. And you know that it's not safe to have a magical creature just running around like she's been. She obviously knew that we're not humans. She could go tell the Navy that."
"I don't think she'd do that being a magical creature herself," Law said. "And it's clear that she's not an ally of the Navy since she's attacked them before."
"That's true," Topaz said. "But it's equally true that she's not an ally of ours or pirates either. You know by inviting her onto the sub is inviting danger."
Law nodded.
"If you really don't want to have her, then I'll understand," Neo said.
"I won't do that to you," Law said. "You know I trust you and your instincts. I know you really feel her place is on the sub with us. So it will be done. For the time being I think we should keep the fact we can sense her to ourselves. It might come in handy later on."
"If the crew can actually catch her that is," Topaz said.
"I get the feeling they will," Neo said.
"I still don't like this," Topaz said.
"I know," Neo said.
"So what should we do while we wait?" Topaz asked.
"We could just sit outside," Neo said. "Would that be all right?"
Law nodded and led the two women over to the steps of a near by building. They sat down and watched as their crew ran through the town looking for Eira.
"Hey, I didn't think you all would still be here," Lane said.
"We're taking a short break," Topaz said looking up at the man. "The crew wanted a day or two off."
"I see." Lane nodded.
"So did you get a hold of the Navy?" Topaz asked.
"Yeah. They'll be here tomorrow like I said," Lane replied. "For now they want me to try and keep the people of the island in the towns so they don't hit one of the bombs."
"How are you going to do that?" Neo asked.
"I'm not revealing the fact that the thieves have been taken down," Lane said. "Since we left them in the forest, no one should know hopefully until the Navy gets here. I guess we'll see. I'm going to keep watch over the thieves until morning. How strong are those vines?"
"They should be strong enough to hold them," Neo said. "I took away all of their weapons."
"What about the Devil Fruit users?" Lane asked.
"Don't worry about them," Law said. "I removed their hands."
"When?" Lane asked.
"When you were tying the others up," Law said.
"Don't you have sea prism stone cuffs?" Topaz asked.
"I do," Lane said. "I went a head and put them on the Devil Fruit users. I just wanted to check and make sure that none of them could escape the vines."
"They won't," Neo said.
"Okay," Lane said. "Well, thanks for all the help you've done. I couldn't have done this without you all."
Law shrugged.
"Sure," Topaz said. "It was…fun?"
Lane laughed then walked away. "If you say so. See you around."
"See you," Topaz said.
"I almost said we should be gone before the Navy gets here," Neo said. "I forgot we sort of allies to them now. I don't think I'll ever get use to that."
"It might be best to leave before they get here," Law said.
"Why?" Neo asked.
"Because of Eira," Law replied. "Remember, she's wanted, too."
"I forgot," Neo said. "They call her Spotted Death. Not very original of them."
"So how long before we get her backstory?" Topaz asked.
"Who knows? She's clearly not the type to open up about herself," Law said.
"We'll just have to wait and be patient with her," Neo said. "I promise everything will be fine."
"We trust you, love," Law said. "Just be careful around her. I don't want you alone with her at any point in time. She's clearly up to something since she didn't even bother trying to escape from us. And while you believe she's a good person that doesn't mean she's not capable of doing bad things. Remember what happened to Basil's sister?"
"I remember. You don't have to worry," Neo said. "I don't think Penguin is going to let me be alone with her at any point in time. I just hope she doesn't do anything to the crew. If she harms them in any kind of way because of my decision to let her board the sub…"
"Don't stress about it, Neo," Topaz said.
"I'll try not to." Neo smiled.
"So, how well do you think they're doing?" Topaz looked down the street. They hadn't seen the crew for a few minutes now.
"I'm sure they're doing fine." Neo looked up at Law. "I hope. Maybe I should have had Penguin stay with us."
Law thought the same thing.
…
Penguin gritted his teeth as he and the crew ran through the partially destroyed city. He was having serious doubts about all of this. And he was thinking he should turn around and go back to Neo. His eyes zeroed in on Eira. She was running several yards in front of them. He could tell she was doing that on purpose. The way she moved, the taunting way she looked back over her shoulder at them and smirked. She was just messing with them, playing with them like they were mice. She was clearly a lot faster than she was letting on currently. He wondered why she was doing this. What was the purpose? Why was she stalking his captain and sister? Was she going to kill them? That was the only think he could think of. And it set his blood boiling. He wanted to kill her to prevent that from happening. But then he thought about Neo. For some reason she wanted this stranger in their sub, their home. It made no sense. But he knew he could trust Neo. Neo wouldn't purposefully put them in danger. There had to be more going on here that what they all saw. There had to be.
Penguin blinked when Eira suddenly jumped. Following her with his eyes, he found she had landed on a fire escape. She smirked and flicked her tail at them. He heard the crew growling and shouting in frustrations but they began to climb the ladder one by one. He remained in place. Jumping only when a hand found it's way to his shoulder. He turned to find it was Shachi.
"You okay?" Shachi asked.
"I guess so," Penguin said. "I'm just worried."
"We all are," Shachi said. "Something's just not right about this whole situation. How did she even manage to find the captain and Neo?"
"She had to be somewhere near a Navy ship," Penguin said. "That's the only way I can figure it. She had to over hear some soldiers talking about our crew. You can't tell me it's just by luck she found her way here at the same time we arrived."
"There's the possibility she was here before we arrived," Shachi said. "Maybe she lives here?"
"I doubt it," Penguin said.
"Well, either way, Neo wants her on the crew," Shachi said. "It's only a matter of time before we learn if that's a good or a bad thing. So let's just get after her and get back to Neo."
Penguin nodded. He watched as Shachi headed for the ladder. "Wait."
"What?" Shachi turned back around.
"Let's go to the other side of the building," Penguin said. "I doubt she'll stay on the rooftops."
"Well, okay," Shachi said.
Penguin nodded then lead the way to the other side of the building. Just like he thought, Eira dropped down from the roof a mere three seconds after they had arrived.
"What the heck?" Eira blinked at them. "You were supposed to go up to the roof."
"I thought you might jump down," Penguin said. "You seem more like the tricky time."
"Huh," Eira said. "Well, I guess you're a bit more smarter than I gave you credit for."
"You should never underestimate a pirate crew," Penguin said. "It could mean your end."
"I'll keep that in mind," Eira said.
Shachi lunged forward. "Gotcha!"
"Not!" Eira leaped up in the last second. Planting her foot on Shachi's head, she jumped over Penguin then dashed off down the street. "Maybe next time!"
Shachi growled and adjusted his hat. "I'm getting the feeling we're not going to like having her around."
Penguin nodded. He glanced up when some of the crew shouted from above.
"Man, she jumped down!"
"What now?"
"We go back down of course!"
"Let's go!"
"This is stupid!"
"Let's get her!"
"The crew sounds divided between wanting to kill her and wanting to catch her," Penguin said.
"If she uses my head as a trampoline again I'll be one of the one's who want to kill her," Shachi said.
"There she goes!"
"After her!"
"A least they're motivated," Shachi said.
"I guess so," Penguin replied.
"Come on," Shachi said. "Or, if you don't want to be here, you could always go back to Neo. No one said you had to participate."
"I'll be fine," Penguin said. "I'll chase her for a while. Then I might end up going back to Neo then."
"Of course," Shachi said. "You don't want to worry your favorite little sister."
"She's my only little sister," Penguin said.
"Meh." Shachi shrugged. He placed his hand on Penguin and guided him away from the area. "Come on. Let's just get this over with."