Conclusion
"There it is!" Hoshi said as the large castle came into view. He instantly spotted no ships were at the docks. "The Astro Unit doesn't appear to be around. But expect them to show up."
"You can also expect Laden and his crew to show up," Law said. "I doubt they'll let go of what we did to them."
Neo placed them near the docks. She then lifted them off the ship once Franky had dropped the anchor. She rushed them to the castle.
"Oh crap! We're too late!" Zoro said when they reached the castle grounds. Kuro was there with an almost completed crystal structure.
"That's right, pirates," Kuro said placing the last blue crystal into place, forming a giant star.
"What's going on?!" Usopp cried when the ground started rumbling, waves crashed on the shores, animals scattered and cowered down in fear.
"He's moving the clusters into one," Robin said. "We have to stop him or everyone will die!"
"We need Tsuki for that!" Kailen said.
"Then Neo and her group should go!" Sanji said.
"Be careful, Neo," Law said.
"You too, Law," Neo said. "We'll wait until Kuro's distracted."
"So good of you pirates to come back," Kuro said. "I so enjoyed our battle last time."
"You only caught us off guard! That's not going to happen again!" Luffy ran towards Kuro. "Gum Gum Gatlin!"
"Velocity," Kuro said. The star on the staff started glowing. He easily dodged Luffy's punches.
Sanji and Zoro ran towards Kuro.
Kuro fired several meteors at them, slowing them down. They kicked and sliced the meteors.
Usopp and Franky fired their attacks.
Robin crossed her arms over her chest. Her extra hands grabbed onto Kuro's ankles.
Kuro tried to get free, but wasn't quick enough. Usopp and Franky's attacks hit him, but did no damage. Kuro said, "Nice try. But I'm far more powerful now that I have this scepter and the crystal. You pirates don't stand a chance."
"We'll see about that! Gum Gum Giant Hammer!" Luffy swung at Kuro.
Neo, deciding this was the right moment, slipped away with Chopper, Kailen, and Hoshi. Hiding behind some bushes she watched Law for a few more seconds before forcing herself away. "Be careful guys."
They rushed towards the castle, using the statues and bushes to keep hidden from Kuro's sight. Finally, they entered into the castle and into the foyer.
Neo scanned her eyes around the halls. Everyone still seemed to be in place the last time they were here. The paintings were on the walls, the tables were still standing, and the only thing that was missing was Tsuki.
"So where would she be?" Chopper asked.
"I'm not sure," Hoshi said. "There're so many rooms in this castle I don't even know where to look."
"The throne room," Neo said.
"Why would you think that?" Hoshi asked.
"Back on my island there's a secret room behind the thrones. It's where they keep all the birth medallions of past royals. They are sacred. So that room was build specially for them. If I was going to keep someone trapped that's where I would hide them. The dungeon, towers, or bedrooms would be too obvious."
"Well, it's not like we have any leads," Chopper said. "We might as well check it out."
"Then let's check it out," Hoshi said. He took the lead and led the group down the hall to the throne room.
They entered.
"The tapestries are missing," Neo said. "But it looks like everything else is in place."
They walked over to the thrones and stepped behind them. She ran her hand over the smooth wall.
"I don't see anything," Chopper said. "Maybe she's not here?"
"Then I don't know where else she would be," Neo said.
"I still think you might be right," Hoshi said. "Kuro would spend most of his time in this room. He'd want Tsuki close to him. He knows she's the only one who can take the Star Scepter away."
"But why didn't he kill her?" Neo asked. "That seems like the best way to keep her from retaking the scepter."
"Who knows?" Hoshi said. "Let's keep looking."
…
Law sliced his sword at the meteors that Kuro kept firing at them. He was doing his best to keep his mind on the fight rather than on Neo. Still, he kept an eye on her. He had to know she was all right. He knew she would be safer inside the castle. But that was only if Kuro didn't notice she was gone. If Kuro did notice there was no doubt in Law's mind that the man would go after Neo. And he was not going to allow anyone to hurt Neo and their baby. He looked to his friends. They all were doing their best to not get hit with the meteors as well. Kuro was moving too fast for them. They needed a way to slow the man down. Then he saw Penguin take off. His subordinate's body disappeared. Suddenly, the meteors stopped.
Kuro cried out before hitting the ground.
"You're not the only one with the powers of velocity," Penguin said coming into view again.
"You pirates are nothing but pests," Kuro said. He stood up and waved his hand in the air.
"He's up to something," Zoro said.
Just then several Astro Units and Laden's crew appeared.
"Well, hello, Law," Makoto said. "So lovely to see you again."
Law frowned. Seeing her wasn't something he wanted to do.
"Looks like Hoshi as right," Franky said.
"This is just great," Usopp said. "They set up a trap. And we walked right into it."
"It's not like we had a choice," Topaz said. "We'd still have to fight them."
'Law, what's wrong? Why are you frowning?'
'Laden and his crew, plus the Astro Units, just showed up.'
'Are you all okay?'
'We are for now. But I don't think we're going to be able to keep this up for long. They out number us. Most likely they're going to wear us down with sheer numbers.'
'We're still looking for Tsuki. Just hold on a little bit longer.'
Law nodded. They were going to try, but they all had their limits.
"Let's get to it then," Makoto said running her hand over her thigh. "Kuro said I can keep you once this fight is over."
"Wow! Such a hottie!" Sanji said.
Law scoffed. "You won't be getting anything but a severe beating."
"Oh? You're the type of man to hit a woman?" Makoto listed her head.
"I am. But in this case I'm not the one you should worry about," Law said with a smirk.
"You're not talking about that girl from before?" Makoto shook her head. "She's just a child."
"A child that you don't want to mess with," Law said.
"Then where is she? I would love to fight her." Makoto looked around. "Oh, dear. She doesn't appear to be here. Could it be that she went to find Tsuki?"
"What?" Kuro looked around. "Another one of the pirates is missing too."
"Crap," Law cursed.
"Allow me to go after them," Makoto said. "I have a small vendetta against the blue haired wench."
"Fine," Kuro said. "But I expect you to win. If you lose you will die by my hand."
"Don't worry, Master Kuro. I won't let you down," Makoto said heading for the castle.
"No you don't! Room!" Law swiped his sword at her.
"Velocity." Makoto moved out of the way.
Law cursed again. "She never said she had a star flake. I'm such an idiot."
"Law! Go after Neo!" Sanji said.
"Right!" Law took off towards the castle. 'Neo! Makoto's coming to fight you!'
'Okay. I'll be waiting for her.'
'I'll be there in a few seconds' Law warped himself into the castle.
…
Neo walked away from the wall she was running her hand over.
"Something wrong, Neo?" Chopper asked.
Before she could answer, she winced in pain. Looking at her arm she found blood leaking down her skin.
"Neo!" Chopper ran over to her in his human form. "What happened?!"
"A woman Law and Luffy were sailing with is in here," Neo said looking around the room. "She has a velocity star flake." Another cut appeared on her arm. "I can't sense the star flake."
"Well, that's interesting," a female said before appearing before them. "I guess that means I have the upper hand."
Neo summoned a fire crystal and shot a blast of fire at her.
"Too slow," Makoto said disappearing again.
"Ignore her. We have to keep looking," Hoshi said before getting thrown into the air.
"Hoshi!" Neo caught him with her winds and pulled him into her arms.
"I'm fine," Hoshi said.
"She's running around us," Chopper said. "I can smell her but she's moving too fast for me to strike at her."
"Maybe I can." Neo combined her wind and fire crystals to create a stream of fire. It didn't work. The wind Makoto was creating was pushing back again Neo's wind and fire. "She's good."
"What do we do?" Chopper asked.
"Just hold on," Neo said before Law warped into the room. She watched him slice his sword.
"What the heck?!" The wind Makoto was creating vanished. Her body was split in two. "What happened?!"
"You threatened my love," Law said. "That's what happened. And you're going to pay for it with your life."
Fear rose in Makoto's eyes. "Y-you can't do this."
"It's your own fault," Law said before looking at Neo. "Keep looking. But hurry. I don't know how long we can keep this up outside."
"We're trying," Neo said before Law warped himself and Makoto out of the room.
"So how are we going to find Tsuki?" Chopper asked.
"Maybe Kuro can help us with that," Hoshi said.
"How?" Chopper asked.
"By using his scent," Hoshi said. "This room is big. And he will only be walking a path from the door to the throne unless there's a ball. Since he's been looking for that crystal he'll most likely not have had a ball recently." He ran over to the thrones and sniffed them. "Let's see where his scent leads."
"I'll help." Chopper ran over to the thrones. He sniffed them then the two of them stared sniffing around the room.
Neo waited and watched them while sensing out where Law was. She rolled her eyes at the joy he was having in torturing Makoto before finally warping back outside to help in the battle.
"Hey! I think I found something," Chopper said.
Neo turned her eyes to him. He was near the wall where a tapestry used to hang. "What is it?"
"Kuro's scent just ends right here," Chopper said.
"There's got to be a secret door there then," Hoshi said running his eyes over the walls. "Now we just have to figure out how to get into it."
"We don't really have time for that. I'm sorry," Neo said. Summoning her earth crystals she created some vines and jammed them into the floor. Once they had a good hold she pulled part of the floor up, revealing a set of stairs.
"Nothing like the direct approach," Hoshi said before running down the stairs.
Neo followed, using a fire crystal to light their path. The stairs led them down into an open room. In the middle of the room was a bed with Tsuki laying on it.
"Tsuki!" Hoshi ran over to her and jumped upon her chest. "Tsuki?"
"Is she all right?" Neo and Chopper walked over to her.
Chopper pulled out his stethoscope and pressed it to her chest. "She's alive and breathing."
"He probably used the scepter to put her into a deep sleep," Hoshi said.
"Then how do we wake her up?"
"Like this," Hoshi said. His body started to glow.
"What are you doing?" Neo asked.
"My job. Don't worry. Everything will be fine," Hoshi said. His body turned into pure light. He flowed over Tsuki's body.
"Hoshi." Tears burned Neo's eyes.
Tsuki opened her eyes.
"She's awake," Chopper said. "How are you feeling, Tsuki?"
"Like my head's about to explode." Tsuki took Chopper's hand and sat up. She looked at Neo. "Why are you crying?"
"Hoshi," Neo said. "He's…"
"He's okay," Tsuki said. "He didn't die."
"He didn't?" Neo asked.
"No." Tsuki shook his head. "He just did part of his job as a guardian. The scepter has always had the ability to put rulers to sleep. It's a counter measure to ensure that there was a way to take them down if someone became a tyrant. Each of us rulers have a guardian to wake them up in case of something like happened."
"I see," Neo said.
"I also see that you all found each other," Hoshi said. "How's the battle going?"
"We need you to use the scepter," Neo said.
"Of course." Tsuki nodded. "Let's get going."
…
Shaking the blood off his sword, Law gave Makoto's lifeless body one last glance before warping back outside to the battle. Scanning his eyes around he saw that a lot of the Astro Unit and Laden's men had been defeated. But his friends and allies were clearly wearing down from the battle. He could easily see they all were huffing and puffing, a few of the weaker ones were having trouble standing. Making his Room bigger, he cut as many Astro Units in half as he could. Zoro and Sanji then leaped into action and knocked them out or killed them. He didn't really take the time to check.
'Law! We're coming!' Neo called through their bond.
'All right. We're as ready as we possibly can be.' Law looked over at Luffy. With a light nod he gave Luffy the clue it was time to put their plan into action.
Luffy leaped into the air. "Gum Gum Gatlin!"
"When are you going to learn that's not going to work on me?" Kuro asked. He aimed the scepter towards Luffy. "Now. Die." The scepter disappeared from his hand. "What?!"
"Your reign of terror ends here, Kuro," Tsuki said.
"You! But how?!" Kuro asked. "I hid you!"
"Lucky for me I have friends that wouldn't give up on me," Tsuki said. She aimed the scepter at the crystal formation. A beam shot out of it. "Star Scepter Shatter!"
The beam hit the crystal formation. It shattered it to pieces. The ground stop shaking.
"Star Scepter! Scatter the crystals once more!" Tsuki said. The crystals were gathered into the scepter's glow before being shot out over the sea. "It's over, Kuro."
"No!" Kuro shrieked. He lunged towards Tsuki.
"No way," Zoro said running his sword through Tsuki's chest. "You're not going to hurt her again."
Kuro stumbled back from Zoro before collapsing to the ground.
"Finally. It's over," Nami said.
"Yes, it is. Star Scepter Transport." Tsuki waved the scepter into the air, transporting those who attacked her and her friends to the dungeons.
"Great. Can we eat now?" Luffy asked. "Hey, where's Hoshi?"
"He's resting right now," Tsuki said. "And you all should rest as well. I'll have a meal prepared."
"Don't go through the trouble," Robin said. "You've been through a lot."
"All I've been doing is sleeping since Kuro scattered you all," Tsuki said. "You all need a good meal and some time to rest."
"Great!" Luffy said.
"I could use some rest." Usopp plopped down on the ground.
"So could I," Neo said. She leaned against Law when he walked over to her. "Baby's tired too."
"Then rest. You remember where you room is?" Tsuki asked.
"We do now that we have our memories back," Neo said. Taking Law's hand she lead him into the castle until they reached the room they had stayed in the first night they arrived in this place. She crawled onto the large bed while Law pulled off his boots. Once he was laying down she snuggled up against him, instantly falling asleep.
Law kissed her hair before closing his eyes.
An hour and a half later, Neo woke up to Law watching her sleep. She smiled at him. "Hey. I thought you were sleeping too."
"I was. Then I woke up so I could watch you sleep." Law ran his hand over her stomach before leaning down and placing a kiss on their baby's home.
Neo smiled. Her heart fluttered at his touch.
Law began to kiss up her stomach, reaching her neck he sucked on her soft spot.
Neo hummed and arched her back. She tugged on his hair.
Obeying her signal he lifted up and captured her lips with his. His hand roamed over her sides, pulling her shirt up.
…
"Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?" Tsuki asked. Standing on the docks, she looked over the pirates. Some were standing on the docks with her while the rest were already on the Sunny.
"I'm sorry," Neo said. "We really have to get going. The rest of our crew is going to wonder where we are. For some reason they didn't follow us into this place." She lowered her eyes before looking back up at Tsuki. "How's Hoshi?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Tsuki smiled.
"Hey!" Hoshi jumped upon Neo's shoulder. "Do you think I'd really let you leave without saying goodbye?"
"Hoshi!" Neo squealed.
"I'm so going to miss you," Hoshi said while purring and rubbing his cheek against Neo's.
"I'll miss you too," Neo said.
"You all are welcome here at any time," Tsuki said. "I look forward to seeing you again."
"We're totally going to come back here one day," Luffy said.
"Only if we don't get scattered again," Nami said.
"Time to go," Law said.
Neo nodded. She placed Hoshi down on the docks before lifting them up and placing them on the ship. They all waved goodbye as the Sunny moved away from the cluster.
In a few minutes the cave they came through appeared. They passed through it, slower than they entered.
Neo watched as the cave finally opened out to the New World. Sitting there in the water was the Polar Tang. "Finally. We're back home."
"And we're going to have a lot of explaining to do," Law said noting the worried looks on their crew's faces.
"Still. It's good to be back," Neo said.
"Hey! What the heck happened?!" Jean Bark asked when the Sunny pulled up beside them. "The sea weed got all bunched up at this cave. We had no idea where you went!"
"We're so sorry!" Neo said. "But you're not going to believe what happened!"
Author's Notes: Again, I'm sorry this came out terrible. And, again, I plan to never write a story like this again unless I do some serious planning for it. But thanks for reading. I'm off to work on other fics I've wanted to get up. I'll be doing more Neo/Law but also some stories with the Straw Hats and OCs. See you later.