Small But Feisty
Neo wiped the last bit of the water off the plate before placing it onto the stack she had already finished. Laying the towel down she picked up the dishes and put them in the correct cabinet.
"Thanks for the help," Penguin said. "You didn't have to wash the dishes too. Helping with cooking is enough."
"I really don't mind," Neo said closing the cabinet door. "Like I said before this will keep me busy. These past two weeks have sailed by now that I'm helping you."
"You do seem to be a lot better than you have been," Penguin said. "Though…"
"What is it?" Neo asked when Penguin didn't continued.
"I've just been wondering about your eyes," Penguin said.
"What about them?" Neo tilted her head.
"It's only an observation but they appear to be more bluish grey when before they were plan grey," Penguin said.
"Really?"
Penguin nodded.
"I didn't even notice," Neo said touching the corner of her eye. "I guess they're going back to normal since I'm feeling better. Normally they're electric blue."
"You're eyes changes colors?" Penguin asked.
"Apparently so," Neo said. "Though this is the first time that it's happened. And consider that our parents were…"
"Sorry," Penguin said. "I didn't mean to bring up your past."
"It's okay," Neo twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. Part of her wanted to continue and tell Penguin about what happened on Luminous. But a stronger part of her didn't want to reveal that. It made her wonder if she was going to trust them enough to actually tell them the whole entire truth. Her breath hitched in her chest. It was unnerving. Very few knew of their people and home island.
"Something wrong?" Penguin asked.
"It's nothing," Neo said. "So how often do you all stop on islands?"
"Well, it all really depends on the situation," Penguin said. "We pack enough food to go for a month on the sea. Sometimes longer if we can catch some fish."
"It's already been a month since we've been on your sub," Neo said.
"We might stop soon then," Penguin said. "Sometimes we also stop just to get off the sub for a while. It can get rather dull around here when you do nothing but stare at the same walls and people over and over again."
"I'm still a bit surprised that a pirate crew is using a submarine to sail," Neo said following Penguin out the door.
"I guess it is a bit unusual," Penguin said. "Most want wooden ships like pirates of the past used. But there are a lot of advantages in using a sub."
"Better escape options," Neo said.
"You're rather observant," Penguin said.
"I don't know about that," Neo said. "It's just the obvious." They entered into the rec. room. "Regular ships can't dive under the water. You have the advantage over other pirates and the navy."
"You are observant," Archer said.
Neo glanced over at the man. He and Conner were at the table with a deck of cards out. Though she didn't recognize the game they were playing. "What game are you playing?"
"It's called baccarat," Archer said.
"Never heard of it," Neo said.
"We could teach you to play it," Conner said.
"Maybe later," Neo said.
"All right then," Conner said.
"Aren't you supposed to be in the control room?" Neo looked at Archer.
"I'm on break right now," Archer said. "I might be the head pilot of the sub but I still need my breaks from it. Some of the other crew can pilot the sub as well."
"I should have known. I'm sorry," Neo said.
"Don't worry about it," Archer said with a dismissal wave. "You're still learning how we do things here. And it hasn't help that you've avoided us for a while."
"You're correct," Neo said. "And I am very sorry about that."
"It's understandable considering how you came aboard," Conner said placing a card down. He then smiled and winked at her. "But you're more friendly now. And a lot cuter."
Neo flushed with her own smile. "Thank you. You're not so bad looking yourself."
"That's our mechanic." Archer snickered. "Not so bad looking. The women really fall for him. You should see how they rush to him at taverns."
"Shut up," Conner said. "They don't really flock to me like that at all."
Neo took a moment to compare the two's looks. Archer was a slim man with neatly cut black hair and shining green eyes that made him look almost baby like. Conner was more muscular, no doubt from being a mechanic of the sub. His black hair was a bit on the shaggy side while his blue eyes were deep, almost entrancing. She could see how and why girls would fall for him. He was rather attractive. An unwelcome shiver ran down her spine when a shadow fell over her. Instantly she knew who it was.
"Miss Neo," Law said. "I've been looking for you."
"Lucky me," Neo mumbled before turning to face him. "Did you need something?"
Instead of answering her, Law looked over at Conner. "Is this a bad time?"
"No, not at all, Captain." Conner placed his cards down on the table and stood up. "We'll continue this later, Arc."
"Uh, sure," Archer said with a slow blink.
Neo looked at him. When she did he turned his eyes down to the cards in his hand and started picking at them. She then looked at Conner who was walking over to her or the door. "What's going on?"
"Sorry." Conner rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.
"Miss Neo, I want you to come to the training room with us," Law said.
"What for?" Neo asked.
"It's obvious your brother can fight since he's been training already," Law said. "I'd like to see what you can do."
"Uh, okay?" Neo knitted her eyebrows.
"If you're going to get off the sub I need to know that you can handle yourself properly," Law said.
"You saw that back in the restaurant." Neo crossed her arms over her chest.
"That pirate was drunk and sitting down," Law said. "And this isn't negotiable, Miss Neo. Either you come and do as I want or you will be staying on the sub every time we stop on an island."
Neo gritted her teeth and dug her fingernails into her skin. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and released it. There was nothing to get upset here about. If he wanted more proof she could fight, physically, then so be it. "Very well, Captain."
Law frowned at her sarcastic tone. "Let's go."
"Lead the way." Neo smiled, thrilled she got under his skin for a change no matter how small it was.
Law turned and walked out of the room.
Neo glanced back at Penguin. Instantly she could tell he was suppressing a grin. She shrugged with her own smile then followed after the captain. The three crewmates followed her. While walking downstairs she sensed out where her brother was. Currently he was in the crew's bathroom.
"All right," Law said once they had reached the training room. A few others were in there at the time sparring. They paused to give the new arrivals a glance before going back to their practice. "Conner has agreed to be your sparring partner for this. Depending on how you do he might be your sparring partner for the remaining time you are on the sub."
"Whatever you say, Captain," Neo said.
Ignoring her, Law nodded to Conner. "Get started."
"Sure thing, Captain," Conner said. He walked farther out into the room then turned back to them. "Well, let's get to it."
Neo shrugged. She stood before him. "I'm ready."
Conner hesitated for a few seconds before lifting his fists.
Neo watched him carefully, waiting for his first strike. He swung at her. She dodged to her right. Spinning on her heel she kicked her other foot up to his head. Her ankle collided with his wrist.
"You're fast," Conner said.
"Thanks," Neo said. Pushing up on her other leg she spun her body around in hopes to kick him in the head. It didn't work. Conner saw her move coming and grabbed her leg. She gasped when he flipped her onto the floor. "Ouch."
"Sorry! Did I hurt you?!" Conner's eyes widened.
"No," Neo said picking herself up off the floor.
"I'll take it easier on you," Conner said.
"Don't you dare," Neo said taking her fighting stance. "I might be small but I can take anything you throw at me. So don't let my looks and size force you to hold back."
"Well." Conner cracked his knuckles. "If you insisted."
Neo dodged another punch from him, barely. It came way faster than the last and made her question her words to him. She threw one back, barely missing his chin.
Conner jumped back from her before launching forward.
Neo side stepped his punch, grabbed his arm, and flipped him onto his back.
Conner bounced back up. With a lightning strike flash he clipped her ear with her fist.
Neo gasped, spinning on her heel.
"Conner!" Penguin growled. "If you hurt her I'll pound you into the ground!"
"Shut up!" Conner said. "She's doing just fine! Besides she told me not to hold back!"
"I don't care! She's still smaller than you! And she's a girl!" Penguin said.
"What?! Being a girl doesn't matter!" Conner said.
Neo threw a few punches at him to which he easily deflected. She then landed a kick on his stomach. Suddenly the world around her flipped upside down and she was on her back again. Glancing at her sparring partner she found him in a down position. He had kicked her feet out from underneath her before she even noticed him moving. "Okay. I surrender. I obvious can't defeat you. There's no point in continuing."
"You did fine," Conner said. He stood up and offered his hand.
"Thanks." Neo took his hand and let him pull her to her feet.
"That was great, Neo!" Penguin said while clapping.
"That wasn't bad at all," Archer said. "Where did you learn how to fight like that?"
"Our Godfather taught us," Neo said.
"To be honest, I never would have thought a small girl like you could be so good at fighting," Conner said. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Neo said. "I know a lot of people will underestimate me because of my size. It gives me the advantage over them." Her eyes dropped to the floor as the first time she was taught to throw a punch came flooding back to her mind.
"Hiya!" Neo shouted as she threw out her fist at an imaginary enemy pirate, her arm snaked out into a half circle. "I'm going to kick your butts!"
"You wish, Princess!" Poppy said grabbing a stick off the ground. She swung it around like a sword. "I've always been physically stronger than you three! I'll kick a lot more butt than you will!"
"Well, we'll see about that," Neo said. "Come on, Lily! You too, Violet!"
"I don't want to play this game," Lily whimpered from behind Violet. "I don't like fighting."
"I'm not interesting in this either," Violet said. "I don't want to chip a nail."
"You two can be such killjoys," Poppy said. "Come on, Neo. Let's continue to play pirates."
"Yeah!" Neo nodded before jumping down from the log she was standing on.
"What are you kids doing out here in the forest?" Shanks asked walking over to them.
"Godfather!" Neo ran over to him. Her arms flung around his leg. Smiling she looked up at him. "We're playing pirates! But you don't have to worry. My guards are close by as always."
"Playing pirates, you say?" Shanks glanced over at the two guards, or in their direction as they were behind some trees trying to pretend their princess couldn't sense them there.
"Yeah." Neo turned from him and threw out a punch.
"That wasn't bad, Neo," Shanks said. "But you're doing it wrong."
"I am?" Neo looked up at him.
"When you throw a punch you need to hold your arms close to your body like this." Shanks drew his arms to his body, fists up. "Then you throw your fist out in front of you like this." He threw a punch in a straight line. "See? By throwing out your fist and arm like you were you won't be able to land a hit on anyone. The punch would be far too slow. You want to jab straight out at your target."
"Like this?" Poppy mimicked the pirate's example.
"Yes, that's good," Shanks said with a nod.
"Yeah! I can throw a punch!" Poppy jumped up and down.
"I'm not sure it's something to celebrate," Violet said. "Seems kind of barbaric."
"Fighting can be barbaric." Shanks squatted down to their level. "But fighting can also save your lives. And it's not that much different from using your crystals. In fact it would be a good idea if you all learned how to fight with your body and not just your crystals."
"Why?" Neo asked.
"While it's not very likely that some other humans will find this island it's still possible," Shanks said. "And some of them will have powers that your crystals won't be able to do anything against. Or you might find yourself off this island and need to keep it a secret that you're elementals. You'll need to be able to defend yourselves."
"Well, I have to admit that makes sense," Violet said. "But it would be so much work."
"I promise it will be worth it," Shanks said.
"Is that why you and the crew teach other elementals how to fight?" Neo asked.
"It is." Shanks nodded.
"Then teach us too!" Neo said.
"Yeah! Teach us!" Poppy said.
Tears swelled up in her eyes. That's how it all got started. Once done with his healer lessons Kailen joined them everyday that Shanks or the crew trained them.
"Neo?" Penguin said.
"I'm okay." Neo brushed away her tears. "Just missing my friends and Godfather." She turned to Law. "So? What's your analysis of my abilities?"
"You need to learn to be more aggressive. It's fine that you look for ways to use your opponents size against you but that won't always work on people," Law said. "So you will be working with Conner to improve. No objections."
"Fine." Neo crossed her arms over her chest. She winked at Conner. "I think I'd like spending more time with him. You have some really cute crewmates on your crew."
"This is training, Miss Neo, not flirting," Law said clearly displeased with her lightheartedness.
"There's nothing wrong with be friendly." Neo sidled up to Conner, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Right, Conner?"
Conner laughed, clearly understanding her motives, and slipped his arm around her shoulders. "You got that right, Sweetheart."
Law turned and left the room.
"I don't think he liked that," Neo said.
"It's hard to say since you're the first female we've had on the sub," Conner said.
"And a very cute one at that," Penguin said.
"You're so sweet," Neo said.
"And let me guess," Kailen said upon entering the room. "You're going to flirt with the crew just to annoy their captain?"
"I would never be that shallow," Neo said. "I really do find these guys cute. And if it annoys Trafalgar then a bonus for me."
Kailen shook his head. "Fine. Do as you please. But keep it tame."
Neo shrugged.
Kailen sighed.
"Okay, okay," Neo said. "I'll try not to over do it."
"Good." Kailen nodded.
"So what now?" Neo asked.
"We could continue sparring," Conner said.
"I suppose we could," Neo said. "I don't have anything else to do right now."
"Then lets get started," Conner said taking his stance.
Neo followed suit and their sparring continued.
A couple hours later, they finally stopped. Conner stretched out his body. "I think you're going to give me a much of a work out as I'm going to give you."
"You might be right," Neo said wiping sweat off her forehead before stretching with him.
"There you all are," Bepo said.
"What's up, Bepo?" Penguin asked.
"We're going to be landing soon," Bepo said.
"Finally!" Neo cheered. "It feels like it's been years since I've been on land! I'm so going to go explore the forest!"
"If they have one," Bepo said.
"What do you mean?" Neo looked at him.
"We don't always land on islands that have forests," Bepo said.
"Oh, right," Neo said. "I forgot." Her shoulders slumped. "Well, we'll be in nature either way."
"You like forests that much?" Archer asked.
"I like all nature," Neo said. "But I'd have to say that forests are my favorite. So many animals live in them."
"Are you an animal nut?" Conner asked.
"I might be," Neo said. "That a problem?"
"No, but it might be for the captain," Conner said. "He doesn't allow pets on the sub."
"What? Why?" Neo asked.
"A submarine isn't a good place for animals to be," Archer said. "Present company excluded of course."
"Thanks a lot," Bepo said.
"Don't worry," Neo said wrapping her arms around his. "You're one of the cutest animals I have ever seen."
Bepo blushed.
"Still, it's rather dangerous to have animals on a pirate crew since they could get hurt from other pirates, the navy, and from just about anything," Archer continued.
"That does make sense," Neo said. "All well. I guess I can just have temporary animals onboard."
"Neo, what are you planning?" Kailen crossed his arms.
"Oh nothing." She smiled innocently. "But you do know that animals love me."
Kailen ran his hand through his hair. "Beware that she will be bringing animals on the sub in the near future."
"I get the feeling things are going to be a lot more exciting with you two around," Archer said.
"I guess we'll see." Neo stretched out her back. "Well, I'm going to go get cleaned up a bit."
Kailen followed her out of the room. "You better not be planning anything that is going to get you in trouble with the captain."
"What difference would it make? We're already his prisoners," Neo said.
"I know. But I'd rather not have you locked up in the brig," Kailen said.
"He won't do that," Neo said.
"Neo, this isn't our Godfather's crew we're dealing with," Kailen said. "This is a pirate who's know for torturing his enemies."
"Am I supposed to be scared of that?" Neo glanced at him.
"No, but you can respect that," Kailen said.
"Oh, don't worry so much," Neo said. "It's not like I'm going to ask a bunch of animals or sea creatures to invade the sub. That would be a bit suspicious. We're trying to keep a low profile."
"Sometimes I wish Shanks didn't have such an impact on you," Kailen said.
"You worry too much," Neo said. "Besides I got a lot of this spunk from our mother."
"That you did." Kailen nodded. "Still, don't go overboard."
"I won't. I promise," Neo said. "Well, here's the captain's room. You following me in?"
"No, I'll leave you alone now," Kailen said before walking away.
Neo turned to the door and knocked.
"Come in," Law said.
Neo entered. "Just came to clean up a bit."
"Fine," Law said. "Go ahead."
Neo nodded and stepped into the bathroom. Turning on the water she cupped her hands under the stream and splashed her face. Done with the water she turned it off then combed out her hair with her fingers before leaving the room. "Thank you."
Law grunted in reply.
Neo left the room. Sensing her brother upstairs, she headed up to him. They waited on the main floor for the sub to dock. It didn't take long for the Heart Pirates to start migrating in their direction. Twenty minutes later the sub was pulling into the dock of the island.
"Miss Neo," Law said walking over to them.
"What is it now?" Neo asked.
"It's about you and this island," Law said.
"What about it?"
"You need to pick someone from the crew to escort you around," Law said.
"What? Why?" Neo frowned.
"In case you get the idea of escaping," Law said.
"You can't be serious," Neo said. "Why would I try to escape? I have no way of going anywhere." Though she knew that wasn't entirely true. They could escape if they found some elementals. But, for one, she would have already sensed them if there were any on this island. And, for two, she still didn't have her birth medallion back.
"It doesn't matter," Law said. "You're still a prisoner on my sub. And you will not be going anywhere without at least one of my crew with you."
Neo growled.
"If you don't like it you can always come with me or stay on the sub," Law said.
"Fine! Conner!" Neo looked over at the man. "Mind if I tag a long with you today?"
"Sure thing," Conner said. "I don't mind at all."
"Is that okay with you, Captain?" Neo asked bringing her eyes back to Law.
"Fine," Law said. "Do not let her out of your sight."
"Aye, Captain." Conner nodded.
Neo rolled her eyes.
Shachi walked over to the railing and unlatched a part of it then lifted it up. Turning around he disappeared over the side.
Neo watched as the crew descended one by one.
"You ready?" Kailen asked.
"Yeah." Neo nodded. She walking over to the edge and looked down. There was a ladder built into the sub. "Well, that's a smart thing to do." She climbed down. Reaching the deck, she asked, "So what now?"
"I really don't care," Conner said. "We can go wherever you please."
"What are you going to do, Kai?" Neo asked when her brother joined them. Seagulls cawed overhead while swooping down to land on the docked ships masts. She glanced up at them, thinking about having them go into the captain's room for a while.
"I think I'm going to go do a little shopping for us since the captain paid me already," Kailen said. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a few bills for her. "Here take this. Buy something of interest. And keep out of trouble."
"Thanks," Neo said pulling her eyes to him. "I might find a book I'd like."
"Let's go," Law said.
The group headed towards the town. Once they stepped into it the crew scattered in different directions, disappearing into the crowds. Her eyes landed on Bepo and Law. She wondered where they were going. Well, she wondered where Bepo was going. Law didn't matter to her.
"Shall we get going?" Archer asked.
Neo turned to find the man had stayed with her and Conner. "Sure."
"Anything in particular you're wanting to look at?" Archer asked a minute later.
"A bookstore if they have one," Neo said. "I need more books or else I'm going to shrivel."
"You won't shrivel from lack of books," Conner said.
"I will too," Neo said. "I'm that dependent on them."
"Never mind him," Archer said. "He's a hopeless pessimist."
"And Archer is a hopeless optimist," Conner said.
"You two sound like polar opposites," Neo said.
"We are," Archer said. "But we're also best friends."
"So did you two come onto the crew at the same time?" Neo asked.
"We did," Archer said. "We're actually from the same island called Bristol. My family has always build submarines. An obsession with them runs in my family. When the captain came looking for one he found us. And I had always wanted to sail the seas. So I took his offer when he asked me to the sub's pilot." He put his arm around Conner's shoulders. "And of course this guy came since he was one of the best mechanics we had. He couldn't be without me."
"Shut up," Conner said. "I can live just fine without you."
"You know you would have missed me if you stayed behind," Archer said.
"Whatever," Conner said.
Neo pulled her eyes away from them and scanned the village. Kids were playing, adults were talking, the air was filled with spices from restaurants, and they had a bookstore. She squealed and ran for it, forgetting about her guards.
"Hey! Neo!" Archer called after her.
Neo didn't stop. She rushed up to the building and entered. Breathing in deep she reveled in the familiar smell of books. "So many books!"
People stopped and looked at her. She didn't noticed.
Rubbing her hands together, she took a step forward only to get pulled back by her collar. "Hey!"
"Don't 'hey' me," Conner said releasing her shirt. "You're supposed to stay with us. Remember? Captain's orders?"
"Oh." Neo's shoulders slumped. "I forgot."
"It's fine," Archer said. "We knew where you were going. Let's look around while we're here."
Neo nodded before rushing towards the isles. One by one she looked over the titles only stopped occasionally when one caught her interest.
"Are you almost done?" Conner said. "We've been in here for almost two hours."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Neo looked up from her book she got to reading. "I got lost in this book."
"Clearly," Conner said.
"Oh, leave her alone." Archer walked over to them. "She's having fun."
"It's fine," Neo said. "I can lose track of time when I'm around books. I found three I'd really like to get."
"Then pay for them and let's go," Conner said.
Neo headed for the check out counter. They left the building.
"That was fun." Archer stretched out his arms. "What now? I'm kind of a hungry. Why don't we get a snack or something? I could go for some ice cream."
"Sounds good to me," Neo said.
"Here let me carry those for you." Archer took her bag of books.
"Thank you," Neo said.
"Don't spoil her," Conner said.
"I'm not spoiling her," Archer said. "I'm being a gentleman. Something you could learn about."
"We're pirates," Conner said. "We don't have to be gentleman."
"You can be," Neo said. "And I think you'd be a great gentleman."
"Don't count on it." Conner smirked. "I've never been like that and never will be."
"He's right," Archer said. "He wouldn't know how to treat a lady properly if he tried."
"I do just fine," Conner said.
"Only in his mind," Archer said in high whisper.
Conner shook his head.
"Hey, there's an ice cream stand," Archer said. He led them over to it. A few people were in front of them so they had to wait a few minutes.
"How can I help you?" the man asked when it was their turn.
"Three cones," Archer said. "One vanilla, one chocolate, and, Neo, what do you like?"
"Vanilla," Neo said.
"Make that two vanillas," Archer said.
While waiting for their ice cream cones, Neo looked around some more. Her eyes landed on six very burly looking women wearing fur pelts and capes. Frowning she hoped they didn't kill the animals only for their fur.
"Oh no," a woman said. "It's them again."
"We should get out of here," another woman said as they rushed away.
The burly women walked farther into the town. One grabbed a man by the front of his shirt. His entire body trembled as the woman looked him over. The woman frowned said something to one of the other women then shoved the man aside. The man rushed away. More people saw the women and rushed away from the area.
"Huh? Who are they?" Neo pointed to the women. "And why is everyone running away from them?"
"Oh, them," the ice cream man said. "Those are mountain women. They live up in the mountains around here. They only come down when they want to…"
"What?" Archer asked taking his chocolate cone. "What do they come to town for?"
"When they want to breed," he said.
"Excuse me?" Neo blinked.
"What are you talking about?" Conner asked in mid lick of his ice cream.
"They're known for taking men from the village," he said. "They use them to get pregnant and then kill them."
"You have got to be kidding," Archer said.
"You best avoid them at all costs," the man said handing Neo her ice cream. "They don't really care who they take."
"Thank you." Neo took her cone. They walked away. "Should we find the others and tell them about the women?"
"It's not necessary," Conner said. "They can handle themselves. Besides they'll notice how people react around these women."
"If you say so," Neo said.
"This looks like a nice place to sit," Archer said.
Neo looked up at the large oak tree. It stood tall and proud at the edge of the town almost like it owned the place. She sat down with the pirates. Licking her sweet, cool, and creamy ice cream she watched the townspeople. The burly women were still grabbing men and looking at them. "I wonder why they do that."
"Who knows?" Conner said.
"They might be like the Kuja," Archer said.
"The who?" Neo asked.
"Kuja," Archer said. "They're an all female pirate crew that comes from an all female island called Amazon Lily."
"I think I've heard of them before," Neo said. "But why are they an all female island again?"
"They hate men because of all the wars they start or something like that," Archer said.
"That's sound so dumb," Neo said. "Women fight just as much as men do."
"Maybe," Archer said. "That's just how it is there."
"Don't forget they kill all men who step on their island," Conner said.
"Leave it up to you to remember that part," Archer said.
Conner shrugged.
"Well, look at what we have here," a woman said.
The three glanced up to find the burly women had come over to them.
"They're really cute, Olga," the smallest of the group said. "I think they'll do just fine."
"I think so too, Melina," Olga said.
"Sorry," Conner said. "Whatever you're selling, we're not interested."
"Good because we're not selling anything," Olga said. The other women laughed. "You two men are coming with us."
"Excuse me?" Conner asked.
"As much as we'd love to go with you," Archer said. "We're already spoken for."
Neo tensed when Olga looked at her.
"You mean her?" Olga said. "You have got to be kidding. A small mountain wind could knock her over."
"Uh, I wasn't talking about her," Archer said.
Neo smirked. "You would be shocked to know how false that statement actually is."
"Shut up, child," Olga said. "You're of no interest to us. We only want the men."
"Yeah." Melina giggled. "They're better than any other man we've seen here today."
"Indeed," Olga said. "We have had some good fortune today. Now get up and let's go. It's a long walk back to our home."
"We're not leaving," Conner said.
"Shut up!" Olga hissed. "Men should be seen not heard."
"You're starting to get on my nerves, woman," Conner said.
"Conner, lighten up," Archer said. "Let's not start a fight here."
"I'm not starting anything," Conner said. "But I will finish this if they don't walk away right now."
"Look, dear," Olga said. "We're mountain women. We take what want."
"Look, dear," Conner said. "We're pirates. We do as we please."
Neo looked at the man then back at the women. She knew from sparing with him that he did have some skills, but she wasn't sure that was enough. There was something off about these women. They were carrying them with far too much confidence. And there was no sign of arrogance in their eyes. It's like they were holding a secret back. "We should just go."
"No way." Conner stood up, tossing his remaining ice cream on the ground.
"Hey! Don't waste food!" Archer said.
"If you people want to fight us then fight," Conner said. "I'm ready for you all."
"No, Conner." Neo jumped to her feet. "Please, let's just go."
"I'm not running away," Conner said.
"Archer," Neo said.
"She's right, Conner." Archer stood up and took his friend's arm in his hand. "There's no point in fighting here. Let's just go find the rest of the crew."
"You're not going anywhere," Olga said when the three tried to step around them. She and her friends blocked their path, pinning them in against the tree.
Neo gritted her teeth. If only she had her crystals. She could easily get them out of this.
"Looks like we're fighting after all," Conner said cracking his knuckles.
"You always want to fight," Archer said with a sigh. "Fine. Let's get this over with."
Neo glanced at them. These two were literally night and day. Conner was like a male version of Poppy while Archer was a mix of Violet and Lily. A smile pulled across her face while her heart clenched. It was such a strange mixture of relief and sadness mixing around inside of her.
The pirates charged forward. Leaping into the air they brought their boots down on two of the women. Neo expected the impact. But at the last second the women stepped out of the way.
"What the heck?" Conner said.
"They're fast," Archer said. They landed on the ground and charged again.
Neo watched as each punch and kick they threw at the women got dodged. "What the heck is going on here? How are the guys missing each time?"
"Why don't you try your hand instead of just standing there?" Melina asked.
Neo turned to her.
"They are your friends, aren't they?" Melina smiled. "Are you just going to sit there and let them be taken?"
Neo clenched her fists. This woman was trying to bait her. Still, she knew she couldn't do anything. These guys might not be her friends, yet, but there was no way she would let them go so easily. She launched herself forward, expecting the woman to avoid her attack. And she did. Melina stepped to her left to avoid the punch. Neo turned and followed, landing a kick on the woman's arm. Her kick stopped short. Pain shot through her leg. "What are you made of?"
"We're mountain women," Melina said. "We work hard all day long, unlike you puny little thing. You look like you haven't done a full day's work ever. Why are you even with these men? You could do so much better."
"What do you mean?" Neo asked rubbing her sore leg.
"Men are weak," Olga said. "They do nothing but cause pointless wars with each other. So we have a goal. A goal of making strong women to take over men's positions in the world."
"You can't be serious," Neo said.
"I assure you we are," Olga said. "We currently have over two thousand sisters."
"Congratulations," Neo said.
"We have no interest in fighting you, girl," Olga said. "But if you have an interest in leaving the world of men then you are free to come to our mountain home."
"I'll keep that in mind," Neo said.
"With some training you could make a fine warrior for our tribe," Melina said.
"I think about it," Neo said. "If I decide to join you how do I find your home?"
"Neo, what are you doing?" Conner asked.
"You're not seriously thinking about going, are you?" Archer added.
"I might," Neo said avoiding eye contact with the pirates. "They have a point. After all your captain did imprison me. And you two are my guards on his orders."
"Oh, you poor thing," Melina said. "I'm sorry I attacked you."
"It's all right," Neo said. "We're strangers after all. So how do I find you?"
"Just follow the trail," Olga said. "Our sisters keep a look out at places but we'll tell them you're considering joining us. They won't bother you."
"That's very sweet of you," Neo said.
"You could come with us now," Melina said.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. If I leave I must tell my brother," Neo said.
"Another man." Olga frowned.
"Maybe," Neo said. "But he is my brother. And he's saved my life. I can't just walk out on him without telling him goodbye."
"Fine. Do as you please," Olga said. "Let's go, sisters."
The women picked the pirates up, slinging them over their shoulders like potato sacks. They left.
Neo sighed. With her leg still throbbing, she limped towards the town.
...
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I was out of town last week. And I needed a break from writing.