Circumpolar Compass

"Let me go at once!" Nami hissed. She kicked and flailed in a desperate attempt to get away from the winds that surrounded her. Tightening her hold on her baton she swung it at Neo. Lightning crackled as it flew towards her targets.

Neo calmly blinked and guided the attack away from her and Hoshi with a small flick of her hand.

Hoshi hissed. His fur stood on its ends. "Hey! Watch it where you point that thing! My fur could have been singed!"

"How…how did you do that?" Nami asked.

"I'm not really sure how," Neo said. "I'm a part of nature apparently. Look I know this is confusing. I feel the same way. I have no idea of who I am or where I came from." Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. "And I've seen this guy that I'm holding onto in my dreams. I need to find him. I can't explain why, maybe it's because of the information on the back of this picture, but I need to be with him. I need to know who I am and where I come from. Don't you want that too? Aren't you tired and scared of not knowing who you are and where you came from? Aren't you lonely living here with no memories but for your name?"

Nami sighed. "I am."

"Then join us and lets figure this out together," Neo said. "Please, Nami?"

Nami stared into Neo's eyes, finding them a shocking electric blue full of tears. Her will to deny them was crumbling fast. She sighed. "Fine. I'll join you."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Hoshi asked.

"Hoshi, she's telling the truth." Neo lowered Nami down to her feet.

"I don't trust her," Hoshi said. "She already tried to attack us once."

"I'm not going to do that again," Nami said.

Hoshi scoffed.

"Aren't you the charming one," Nami said.

"At least I'm not a thief," Hoshi said.

"What did you say?!" Nami demanded.

"You heard me!" Hoshi said.

"Okay, okay," Neo said. "That's enough. We need to get out of here."

"Fine," Nami and Hoshi said while sharing a glare.

"But I don't have enough bits and treasure to buy a ship yet," Nami said.

"I could fly us out of here with my winds," Neo said.

"And how much of that do you have?" Nami asked. "I mean how strong are you with that magic of yours?"

"I have no idea," Neo said. "Memory loss, remember?"
"It's not a good idea for you to fly us around anyway," Nami said. "We have no idea how much wind power or whatever you can use. We might end up sinking in the sea if you lose that ability of yours. We need a ship."

"At least you can think logically," Hoshi said.

"Shut up or we'll leave you behind," Nami said.

"No you won't," Hoshi said with a grin. "You need me to help find your friends. I'm the only one who can smell you all."

"Smell us?" Nami asked.

"You all smell different from the people who live her," Hoshi said. "You smell like the sun or something. It's kind of difficult to explain. However the smell can get interrupted by other scents so you can't rely on me to find you all. But you can search for your friends by using the circumpolar compass."

"The what?" Nami asked.

"This." Hoshi's eyes started glowing. A beam shot out and stopped in front of Nami.

"What is this?" Nami held up her hands as the beam formed into a star shaped object. It landed in her hands.

"It's called a circumpolar compass," Hoshi said. " You wear it over your eye so you can see the stardust that each cluster gives off. Each cluster has a different stardust color that can tell us what the cluster is like. It also shows particles that release for each different type of storms that can happen on the Star Line. Anyone can use it but it works best for those who have navigational skills."

"I have navigational skills?" Nami asked.

"That's what the picture says," Hoshi said. "So we need you to find the rest of your friends."

"Okay, if you say so," Nami said holding up the compass between her fingers.

"It'll make more sense when we head out to sea and you start using it," Hoshi said.

"So what do we do now?" Neo asked.

"We just wait for me to steal enough treasure and bits to get us a ship," Nami said. "Unless you want to fly a ship out of here. Can you do that?"
"I'm not really sure," Neo said. "But I won't steal something that belongs to someone else."

"How have you managed to survive until now?" Nami asked.

"What do you mean?" Neo asked.

"How have you survived here?" Nami sat down. "Where did you get money to buy food? You have to eat. Did you manage to get a job or something?"

"Oh, I didn't," Neo said sitting down in front of Nami. "I used my crystals to create fruits and vegetables to eat."

"You can do that?" Nami asked.

"I can." Neo summoned one of each of her crystals. "Each on of these controls an element. I've been using them since I woke up a few days ago."

"Amazing." Nami reached out and stroked one of the crystals.

Hoshi swiped his claws, nailing Nami on her hand.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Nami rubbed her hand.

"Don't touch her or her crystals, thief!" Hoshi said.

"You little rat!" Nami growled.

"It's fine," Neo said. She stroked Hoshi down his head and back a couple of times. "She can't steal them anyway. They're a part of me." She looked back at Nami. "Would you like something to eat? I think I can make more of those fruits you're eating."

"I'm actually getting sick of eating fruit," Nami said. "What I'd really like is some potatoes."

"I think I can do that," Neo said. Leaving only her earth crystal out, she beamed its glow down and potatoes sprouted out of the glow. Summoning her wind crystals she pulled in some broken branches from outside. She placed them in a pile then used a fire crystal to light the wood.

"Wow," Nami said as the fire flared up. Heat washed over their skin. "You're amazing."

"Th-thank you." Heat rushed to Neo's face from the compliment.

Nami reached down and grabbed a stick. "Do you think you can sharpen the end to a point?"

Neo nodded and did as requested.

"Truly amazing." Nami poked a potato on the stick and placed it over the fire. "So what all can you remember?"
"Just every day things like what a tree is, what the sky is, plants," Neo said. "But anything really related to myself I can't remember. I was able to sense these crystals inside of me. Using them was just natural but I don't know or remember what they can or can't do."

"Just like my stealing," Nami said. "It's odd."

"What's odd?" Neo asked placed more potatoes on sticks. She stuck the other ends into the ground and watched them cook.

"I could be wrong but I think that our instincts have helped us survive even though we don't have our memories," Nami said.

"I don't understand," Neo said looking back up at Nami.

"I'm not sure how to make it anymore clearer, but when I was walking through the bazaar the first day I came here I just automatically stole a piece of fruit because I was so hungry. At first I thought I was going to get caught but I didn't. Then I continued to steal and found myself here. It was like a completely different person had taken control over my body and helped me survive. Now you two show up and show me a picture that tells us that I am a thief. Or a former one."

"I think that makes sense," Hoshi said. "Your memories might be able to be taken away in one way or another but no one can steal your instincts. Or not that I've ever heard of."

"Then that would mean our friends in that picture should be able to survive on their instincts too," Neo said.

"Sounds plausible," Hoshi said. He jumped of Neo's lap and sat beside her on the ground.

"I hope you're right," Neo said.

"Just be patient a little bit longer," Hoshi said. "So, thief, how much money do you have?"
"My name is Nami," Nami said. "I have about 950,000. I need a million to get a ship."

"That's still a lot," Hoshi said.

"I'm doing the best I can," Nami said. "It's only been me up until now."

"I'm sorry I can't do anything to help," Neo said. Reaching for the potatoes, she turned them all around so they could heat on the other side. Then she used her earth crystals again to create leaf plates and grew some herbs. Unaware that Nami and Hoshi were watching her closely, she continued to use her crystals to lift the hot potatoes off the fire, cut them up, and then sprinkle a few different herbs over them. She then took one of the leaf plates and handed it over to Nami with a fork she made from a stick. "Here I think this should be done."

"Thank you." Nami took the plate.

Neo then placed a plate down for Hoshi and picked up her own.

"Wow! This is so yummy!" Nami said after taking a bit of the potatoes. "It's a lot better than the fruit I've been eating! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," Neo said as heat rushed back to her cheeks.

"Don't worry about it. You've done plenty right now in making me this dish," Nami said. "We all have our skills. I'll do what I can to get the rest as soon as I can. And yours will clearly come in handy while we're searching for these so called friends of ours. Until then all we can do is wait."

Neo nodded despite not liking the idea of sitting around doing nothing.

"Also it might be best for you to just wait here when I go back into the bazaar," Nami said.

"Why's that?" Neo asked.

"All the people here have dark skin and hair," Nami said. "With our coloring we stick out far too much. And you would definitely attract attention with your blue hair and eyes. I can pick you up a robe so you can occasionally go into the bazaar if you want. But if you do we shouldn't been seen together. That way I'm less likely to get caught."

"I understand," Neo said. "I'll do what I must to help where I can."

"You're kind of submissive," Nami said.

"Is that a bad thing?" Neo asked.

"No, I think it's just a part of who you are," Nami said. "Or I think so. Once we get our memories back we'll know for sure."

"I hope it doesn't take too long," Neo said. "I don't like feeling like I don't know who I am."

"Yeah." Nami nodded. Silence fell over the three as they continued to eat their potatoes.

…

"This is so boring," Hoshi said as he sprawled out on the ground of the cave. "How much longer do we have to stay in this place?"

"I'm sorry, Hoshi," Neo said.

"It's not your fault," Hoshi said. "It's that blasted thief's fault."

"Hey! I heard that!" Nami walked into the cave. She planted her hands on her hips and glared at the creature. "You're so pathetic!"

"Shut up! I'm not meant to just sit around and do nothing when I'm awake," Hoshi said. "Did you at least get more jewels and bits?"

"I got some but we're still short a couple thousand," Nami said. She walked over to the pile of her treasure and emptied her pockets. The jewels clanked together before going silent.

"I'm sorry," Neo said again. "If I knew more about myself I could probably just build us a ship. But I have no knowledge of how that's done. Or none that I remember."

"It's all right," Nami said. "We'll get out of here soon enough. Tomorrow's a new day. Why don't you go into the bazaar for a while and get out of this cave? You've been locked up in here for four days."

"Maybe that's not such a bad idea," Neo said. "We could go to the library or just walk around and interact with the people."

"Yeah!" Nami nodded. "Stretch your legs for a while. We'll be out of here in no time."

"You've been saying that nonstop for the past four days," Hoshi said.

"Then get off your lazy tail and help me," Nami said. She leaned closer to Hoshi and poked him in the head. "All you've been doing is sitting around and forcing Neo to pet you. You're nothing but a lazy cat."

"I'm a guardian not a cat. And I haven't been forcing her to do anything," Hoshi said then smirked. "She pets me because she wants to."

"You're impossible." Nami straightened up with a frustrated huff.

"How about I make us something to eat?" Neo asked.

"Sounds great to me," Nami and Hoshi said then glared at each other for saying the same thing.

Neo laughed, her bells echoed through the cave.

"I still find it hard to believe that your laughter has bells in it," Nami said as she sat down near the fire. "It's amazing."

"I wish I could remember why I have them," Neo said. "I hope it's nothing bad."

"Nothing bad could come out of something so beautiful," Hoshi said.

"You're too much," Neo said. "How about I make us some sesame green bean salad?"

"Sounds great to me," Nami said.

"If that's what you want to make I'm all for it," Hoshi said.

Neo set to work on making the salad for them. While doing so she noticed that Nami was sitting too quietly and seemed distracted by something. "Hey, Nami, are you okay?"

"Why do you asked?" Nami glanced over the fire at Neo.

"You seem distracted a bit," Neo said. "Something wrong?"
"Nothing," Name said. She paused then added, "Well, honestly, I'm a bit concerned about someone."

"You?!" Hoshi gasped. "You're concerned about someone other than yourself?!"

"Shut up!" Nami snapped.

"Want to talk about it?" Neo asked.

"Well, a few days after I started stealing things here these two boys noticed and started following me around," Nami said. "Admittedly, I used them to help get more treasure."

"No surprise," Hoshi said.

"Hoshi, please," Neo said. "Continue, Nami."

"Well, one of them got caught a few days ago," Nami said. "I figured he was taken back to his family since he and his friend were runaways. Anyway, I haven't seen the oldest of the two for a while now. I'm just worried that something bad might have happened to him since they were copying me and my stealing habits."

"Maybe he went home?" Neo offered.

"I hope so," Nami said. "The penalty here for stealing is rather severe."

"A lot of things in the Star Line are severe," Hoshi said. "You're going to have to be more careful in your actions once we leave this island." He gave Nami a pointed look. "And that means no more stealing."

"I'll do what I think is necessary to survive, mouse breath!" Nami said.

"I don't eat mice! They're disgusting!" Hoshi said.

Neo sighed as her two friends continued to argue like they seem to always do. Before long the smell of her freshly made salad filled the cave and brought the arguing duo to temporary cease-fire so they could eat. As they were eating the weather cooled around them and rain started beating down on the leaves outside of their temporary home.

"Well, looks like that's it for the bazaar today," Nami said. "Hopefully it'll stop by tomorrow."

"I'm sure it will," Neo said.

"With or without your tampering with it?" Hoshi smiled.

The two girls laughed. Neo would push the clouds away if it meant they could leave soon her. She said, "Well, we'll have to see. I know this place needs rain but we need to leave."

"Don't worry, Neo," Nami said lying down. "We will."

Neo sat back against the cave wall and listened to the rain until she grew tired. Lying down she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

"Where am I?" Neo asked as she appeared on the deck of a ship. It seemed to be void of people but it wasn't. She could sense him near her. Law was somewhere on this ship. But she couldn't figure out where he was. His presence seemed to be all over. "Hello? Um, Law? Are you here? Where is everyone?"

"It's going as planned," a voice said.

"Huh?" Neo turned to find no one around.

"How much longer?" another voice asked.

"Not too much," the first voice said. "I don't think we completely have their trust. At least the trust of the doctor."

Neo's heart skipped a beat. The picture said Law was a doctor. She wondered if these two voices where talking about him.

"What about the other one?" the second voice asked.

"He's an idiot," the first voice said. "If we told him to go jump in a black hole he probably would do it if we told him it was going to be fun."

"He really is an idiot," the second voice said. "But I find him rather an enjoyable entertainment. I'm actually going to miss him. And the doctor as well. Are you sure we should do this?"

"Are you questioning the boss?" the first one asked.

"Of course not," the second one said. "I just think it's a waste. His skills as a doctor are amazing."

"I have to agree on that," the first one said. "But if we don't do as we're instructed then it'll be our heads the boss has on his wall. These two are ridiculously strong. That's why we have to deal with them. And we only have a limited amount of time to do that."

"No," Neo said. Her heart hammered in her chest. She had to find him. Looking around the deck her eyes wandered up a set of stairs and to a door on the next level up. Law's presence appeared to be stronger behind that door. So she ran over to and then up the stairs, somehow passing through the door. She paused. His back was to her but it was him. He was sitting at a desk, hunkered down over a book. Her hands shook and became sweaty. She opened her mouth but nothing came. Her heart skipped a beat when he whipped around suddenly, his steel eyes landing on hers. "Uh…"

"How did you…" he started but paused. A look of confusion took over his eyes as he studied her. "But you're not…how are you here?"

"What?" Neo asked.

"How can you possibly be here?" Law stood up and walked over to her.

"I don't know," she said. "But you can't stay here. You have to get off this ship."

"What are you talking about?" Law asked.

"You're in danger," Neo said.

"Danger?" Law asked.

"I don't know how I know I just do," Neo said. "You're in danger from someone on this ship. Please, you have to get off of it and don't come back to it."

"I can't do that," Law said.

"Why not?!" Neo asked. She grabbed a hold of his sleeve. The image of them in the picture flashed through her mind. She remembered this man was supposed to be her husband. She released him and jerked her hand back. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you. Though I can't really say why here."

"Who are you?" Law asked.

Tears gathered at the corner of Neo's eyes. "I'm not really sure. But my name is Neo."

"Don't cry, Neo." Law brushed the tears away from her cheeks. "There's nothing for you cry over. I'm fine right where I am."

"No, you're not," Neo said. "You're in danger and you need to leave. Please. I'm begging you."

Law sighed. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

"What? What did you say?" Neo asked. She gasped when she found Law was fading away from her. "No! No, you can't leave!"

Laughter sounded out around her. A splash of red came from Law's chest. She gasped. Her stomach lurched upon seeing the end of a blade from a sword sticking out of his chest. Her eyes wondered from the blade and up to his eyes. Blood was dripping down his chin, his eyes full of shock before fading to a lifeless grey. "No! No, Law! No, you can't! You can't die on me! Law!"

"Neo, wake up! Come on! Please, wake up! You're having a bad dream!"

Neo gasped. Sitting up she panted and looked around the cave. "He's dead. He's head."

"Calm down," Nami said tightening her grip on Neo's shoulders. "It's all right. No one's dead."

"Yes, he is," Neo said. "He's going to die. They're going to kill him."

"Kill who?" Nami asked.

"Law!" Neo said, tears pouring down her cheeks. "We have to get out of here! We have to save him before it's too late!"

"Neo, just calm down," Nami said. "It was just a bad dream, a nightmare."

"No, not it wasn't." Neo locked eyes with her friend. "I can't explain it but I can feel it. Law's in trouble. He's life is in danger. We have to leave this place now."

"Hm." Hoshi hummed. "I think Neo might be right."

"How can you say that over a nightmare?" Nami asked.

"Mostly it's just a feeling," Hoshi said. "But she had another dream about him before she woke up."

"Give me a break," Nami said. "Dreams and nightmares don't mean anything."

"They do if you have a close enough bond with someone," Hoshi said. "And Neo and Law are suppose to be married and having a baby. Neo could he sensing that his life is in danger. And, technically, we all are."

"Okay, I think I can understand it when you put it that way. But we still don't have enough for a ship," Nami said. "We can't leave yet."

"Then…we have to accelerate our plan," Neo said through her pants.

"And what do you mean by that?" Nami asked.

"I'm…I'm going to help you steal," Neo said locking eyes with Nami.

"I highly doubt you have experience in stealing," Nami said. "But despite that you're too innocent to steal. You said before that you couldn't do it."

"I know," Neo said. She gripped her shirt over her heart. Her entire body shook from her nightmare as tears flowed down her cheeks. "But I have to. I can't explain it but I need to find him. I have to save him. We can't die like this. Not here. Not now."

"We?" Nami asked.

"Huh?"

"You said we can't die like this," Nami said.

"I did?" Neo tilted her head thinking of her words. "I did. Then I have made up my mind. I'm going to help you. We have to get to him. Whoever was talking in my nightmare is also going to kill someone else. I'm not sure who they were talking about but I have a feeling it might be one of our friends in the picture. Please, Nami, we have to get out of here as soon as we can."

Hoshi then started sniffing the air.

"What now?" Nami asked.

"I can smell the sun," Hoshi said. "Neo might be right in all of this. One of your friends is getting closer. If we don't leave soon we might not be able to find them in time."

Nami then sighed. "All right. I don't like it but if you really insist on doing this then we have no choice."

Neo nodded.

"Though I'm not sure how well this is going to work out with the state you're currently in," Nami said as she eyed Neo's still trembling body.

"I'm sorry," Neo said. "I can't seem to stop shaking. That nightmare really messed me up."

"Try not to worry about it," Hoshi said. "I'm here for you."

"As am I," Nami said.

"Thank you," Neo said.

"We should fuel up for the day then head on out if you really think you're ready to handle this," Nami said.

"I am." Neo nodded before she moved to get breakfast ready. They all ended up just eating fruit she grew. Then she dressed in the light brown robe that Nami had brought for her. Tucking her hair inside of the hood she stood ready to go. "I'm ready."

Nami exhaled, her eyes filled with concern over Neo.

"It's fine, Nami," Neo said. "While I hate the idea of stealing what doesn't belong to us, I hate the idea of losing Law even more." She placed her hand on her stomach. "I can't explain how much I really need to be with him, how much we need to be with him."

"It's fine," Nami said. "I'm sure we'll figure out the why eventually."

Hoshi jumped up on Neo's shoulder. "If you're really ready then let's go."

Neo nodded.

Nami turned and lead them out of the cave. She continued to follow them until they got to the edge of the forest. They stepped out of the forest.

"That's her!" someone said. "She's the one who's been stealing from everyone!"

"Oh crap!" Nami cursed when they noticed they were surrounded by at least forty people holding guns at them.

"Just great!" Hoshi said.

"That's her, flic, sir," a boy said.

"Are you sure, Sirius?" the flic asked.

"Yes, sir," the boy said. "I guarantee she's the one who's been stealing. She's also the one who threatened me and Vega into stealing for her."

"Friend of yours?" Hoshi asked.

"You little brat!" Nami said to the boy. "How could you betray me like that?! After everything that I've done for you!"

"You've done nothing for me but cheat me!" Sirius said. "You left me and Vega behind to pay for what you have done!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Hoshi said.

"Shut up! No one asked you anything!" Nami said to Hoshi.

"She's hiding all the stuff she's stolen inside of the forest somewhere," Sirius said. "She never let me or Vega followed her into it so I know its there somewhere."

"Then find it!" The flic pointed to the forest. The rest of the authorities nodded and headed into the forest.

"No you don't!" Nami pulled out her baton. Before she could use it one of the flics fired their gun at her. A glowing purple rope shot out and wrapped around her body. "What's going on? I can't move!"

"Those are paralyzing ropes," the flic said. "You are unable to move as long as they are around your body."

"Just great," Nami said.

"Now, you young lady," the flic said turning his attention to Neo. "Are you an accomplice of hers or are you being used like this young boy was?"

"Oh great," Neo whispered. "What do we do?"

"We have to get my treasure!" Nami said. "Don't let them take my treasure!"
"Figures you'd be more worried about that than your life," Hoshi said.

"What did you say?!" Nami growled.

"Please, this is no time to argue," Neo said. "We have to do something."

"Save my treasure!"

"Just fly us out of here," Hoshi said.

"What?!" Nami demanded.

"Look, we're in over our heads here," Hoshi said. "If Neo gets one of those ropes around her then we're done for."

"So what do we do then?" Neo asked.

"We're just going to have to steal a ship right away," Hoshi said. "Fly us away from here and to the docks."

"Okay." Neo summoned her wind crystals.

"Hold it!" the flic said while everyone aimed their guns at her. "Don't move!"

"Go now!" Hoshi said.

Neo lifted up a strong gale. It knocked the authorities off their feet while lifting herself and her friends in the air.

"Now get this thing off of me," Nami said.

"Just press that spot on the back that's not glowing," Hoshi said. "It'll release the rope."

Neo moved closer to Nami and did as she was told. Spotting the spot she pressed it and the ropes fell to the ground.

"Yeah! Thanks!" Nami said stretching out her body. "But we have to go back for my treasure!"

"Don't be stupid!" Hoshi said. "It doesn't belong to you anyway! Wait! Neo, you can just send her back! We're leaving without her!"

"Fine!" Nami said. "I'll let it go this time! But you're going to pay for this later! The docks are that way!"

Neo angled them to their right and headed for the docks. Flying over them they scanned over the ships. "Which one are we taking?"

"One of the smaller ones since there's only two of you to guide it," Hoshi said. "If we need a bigger one we'll get one later."

"That one." Nami pointed to one of the smaller ships.

Neo lowered them to it. Landing on the deck two men stepped out of the door.

"Hey, who are you?" one asked.

"I'm so sorry about this," Neo said.

"I'm not." Nami swung her baton at them, knocking them out with a bolt of lightning.

"You didn't have to do that," Neo said. "I could have just tied them up."

Nami shrugged. "You can do that now."

Neo summoned an earth crystal and wrapped a vine around them before placing them on the docks. She noticed several men running towards them. "We have company."

"Hold them back!" Nami said. "It's going to take me a minute to get everything ready!"

"Okay." Neo pushed her gale towards the men, forcing them back.

"Come back here, you thieves!" one yelled over the wind.

"Hey! Only one of us is a thief!" Hoshi yelled back.

"Shut up! Now is not the time to argue with them!" Nami said as she unfurled the sails. "Besides all three of us are trying to steal this ship! So we are thieves!"

"We're just being pulled along with you," Hoshi said.

"What?! You're the one who said to steal a ship!" Nami said.

"Out of necessity!" Hoshi said.

"You're impossible!" Nami said.

"Just get going already!" Hoshi said.

"We need the anchor pulled up!" Nami said as she descended back to the deck. "Neo, can you do that and hold them at bay?"

"I think so!" Neo said. She dived up her winds and wrapped a stream around the chain to the anchor. Placing it on the deck and filled the sails with her wind.

"Woohoo! Hold on!" Nami spun the helm. "We are officially out of here!"