A Subtle Shift in the Tide
"This is extremely stupid," Neo said.
"What's stupid is you walking backwards down the stairs and thinking you'll be able to catch me if I happen to fall," Archer said lowering himself down to the next step.
"Well, you shouldn't be walking down the stairs," Neo said. "You should be using the ramps."
Archer laughed. "Maybe. But I like the stairs better."
Neo growled.
"You're like an over protective mother," Archer said.
"And there's nothing wrong with that." Neo narrowed her eyebrows at him. "And I'll continue to do as I wish, and worry, as long as I'm on this sub."
"I'm sure you will," Archer said just as they reached the third floor.
"You shouldn't even be up," Neo said. Walking right beside him she scanned the floor for any possible hazards that would cause him to slip and fall.
"I'm fine to be up," Archer said. "I've spent enough time in that recovery room as it is. I need a change of scenery."
"Change of scenery," Neo said. "How are you going to take a shower? You can't stand on that foot or get it wet!"
"Well, if you're thinking about giving me a sponge bath," Archer said. "Forget it."
Heat rushed to Neo's cheeks. She stuttered, "N-no! O-of course not! I didn't…I wasn't…"
"Calm down." Archer laughed. "I'm teasing. I know you're not going to do that."
"Oh!" Neo puffed out her cheeks.
"That's a cute look for you." Archer turned and sat down on the couch. "You should keep it."
"Oh, hush. You comfortable enough?" Neo asked while Archer settled down on the couch in the rec. room. She fussed and fluffed the pillow underneath his ankle. "Do you need another pillow for your foot?"
"No, I don't need another pillow," Archer said.
"So you're going to milk your little boo boo since we have a pretty young woman onboard." The two turned to see Penguin leaning against the doorframe.
"You're just jealous I'm getting all of Neo's attention now." Archer smirked.
"So jealous," Penguin said. "I only get to spent time with her in the galley making food for you three times a day."
"Then you'll survive," Archer said.
Neo wasn't sure but she thought Penguin rolled his eyes in response. "Did you need something?"
"Not really," Penguin said. "I was thinking about making some cookies and wondered if you wanted to help. That is, if I can pull you away from Milking the Injury Archer."
"Cute," Archer said. "You should write that down."
"Yes, I can help." Neo looked at Archer. "Do you need anything?"
"You could grab me one of those books off the shelf." Archer jerked his thumb to the bookshelf."
"Sure thing." Neo stepped over to the bookshelf. "Anything in particular?"
"No. Just randomly grab one," Archer said.
"Even if it's one of the ones I bought?" Neo pulled the book off and held it out to him.
"That'll do." Archer took the book and opened it.
Neo gave him one last look before following Penguin out of the room. The rest of the crew was wondering around so if he needed anything he would be able to get help.
"Is it typical for you to fuss over someone like that?" Penguin asked.
"Is that bad?" Neo asked.
"No," Penguin said. "I just haven't seen you do it before. But then none of use have been injured yet."
"I guess I do," Neo said. "I did fuss over my friends and family when they got sick or hurt back home. It's not like I plan to do it. It just happens."
"And here's nothing wrong with that," Penguin said. "It only means you care. Still, don't let him get away with having you do too much. He might be hurt but he's not helpless."
"I know." Neo nodded. "I only want to help."
"You're so nice." Penguin smiled. They stepped into the kitchen. Dancing around each other, they pulled out everything they needed.
"So what kind are we making?" Neo asked.
"The crew favors sugar cookies and chocolate chip," Penguin said.
"Sounds good to me," Neo said. Washing her hands she tied an apron around her waist then started on the chocolate chips cookies while Penguin did the sugar cookies. In a fit of childishness she started slicing up the chocolate chips and placed them on the cookies in the shape of the Heart's Jolly Roger.
"You're being awfully quiet there." Penguin glanced over at her. He attempted to stifle a laugh but was unable to. "What are you doing? That's hilarious!"
"I don't know. I just felt like doing it," Neo said. "Do you think the crew will like them?"
"They're going to love them," Penguin said.
"And your captain?" Neo asked.
"Most likely he'll be indifferent," Penguin said.
"He needs to lighten up some," Neo said.
Penguin shrugged. "I'm use to it."
With one cookie sheet done each, they put them into the oven and waited for them to be done cooking.
"Something smells good," Shachi said entering the galley. "Sugar cookies and chocolate chips?"
"And you're not getting any of them until they're done completely," Penguin said slapping Shachi's hand away from the dough.
"Aw, come on," Shachi said. "Just one?"
"No," Penguin said. "Raw cookie dough isn't good for you anyway."
"Hasn't hurt me yet," Shachi said. "Besides, it's just one." His eyes dropped to the chocolate chip cookies. "Is that our Jolly Roger on those?"
"I couldn't help myself," Neo admitted. "Do you like them?"
"I think they're cute." Shachi picked one up, looked at it, and then tossed it into his mouth.
"Hey! What did I just say?!" Penguin said.
"What?" Shachi said around the cookie dough. "You slapped me away from the sugar cookies. You didn't do anything for the chocolate chip cookies."
"I meant it for all of them!" Penguin said. "Neo! Back me up here!"
"Uh, well, it's okay," Neo said. "It was just one."
"You really are going to spoil the crew," Penguin said.
"Sorry." Neo smiled.
"Don't worry about it." Shachi stepped around the counter. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he nuzzled against her cheek. "We'll love you more for it."
"You're so sweet," Neo said.
"Well, as long as we don't eat too many sweets it'll be all right," Penguin said.
"Why's that?" Neo asked.
"The captain wants us to remain as healthy as we can," Penguin said.
"Yeah. We have to remain strong to we can fight our enemies and find the One Piece," Shachi said. "Can't do that if we're overweight and huffing and puffing for air."
"I don't think you all will ever get that big no matter how many sweets you eat," Neo said. "You're all very fit."
"Well, we would remain strong if we kept working out," Penguin said. "But if we stopped all this muscle will turn into flab. We're not all naturally skinny like you, Neo."
Neo looked down at herself. "I guess I did inherited that from my mom."
"She was small too, huh?" Shachi leaned against the counter.
Neo nodded. "She was."
"When did she die?" Shachi asked.
Neo flinched. She bit her bottom lip to keep the tears from falling.
"Sorry," Shachi said. "I didn't realize it was that recent."
"It's fine." Neo brushed the tears way. "I don't want to talk about her."
"Oh, hey! The cookies look done!" Penguin stepped over to the oven. Opening it he grabbed the potholder and pulled them out of the oven. "We're ready for the next batch."
Neo picked up the pans and shoved them into the oven. Her eyes paused on the contraption. The first time she had cooked with Penguin he already had the stove going. Since then she had to pay close attention to how the stove and oven worked so she could pretend she knew what she was doing. Lucky for her it didn't take long at all to learn how they worked. She straightened up and turned to them. "So, how many people does your captain want on his crew?"
"He doesn't have a set number," Penguin said.
"We'll take about anyone as long as they're loyal to the crew and are strong enough," Shachi said.
"I noticed you all seem to rely on your hand to hand combat skills," Neo said. "Is that a requirement for joining?"
"No," Shachi said. "Our crewmembers can specialize in any kind of fighting they want."
"Think you'll add anymore devil fruit users to the crew?" Neo asked.
"Hard to say," Penguin said. "But it's possible."
"Why all the questions all of a sudden?" Shachi asked.
"Curiosity," Neo said. That and she wanted to compare them to her Godfather's crew. Right now the Heart Pirates were nowhere near her Godfather's level. But she knew it was only a matter of time before some rookie pirate crew targeted him and the other emperors. Then reality hit her. This crew was her Godfather's enemy. What would she do if they came face to face with each other? Would she be able to sit by and watch them fight? Or would she betray the Heart Pirates to her Godfather? She glanced up at Penguin and Shachi. They were lost in their own conversation so they didn't notice her rising anxiety. She breathed in. It was a possibility but most likely it would happen long after she and her brother returned to Luminous. There was no need to think about it.
…
Law leaned back from his book and stretched out his body. Bending over his books studying for the past three hours had finally caught up to him. His entire body was screaming for a break. Pushing back from his deck he stood up and left his room. Stepping out into the hall he was greeted by the smell of warm chocolate. It pulled him downstairs to the galley. Laughter from his crew found him once he reached the third floor. He paused at the door to listen in on his crew.
"These are amazing!"
"Yeah!"
"Neo, you are an amazing cook!"
"I say we should hire her on as our chef!"
Law peaked inside. Several of his crew was gathered at the tables with the cookies and glasses of milk, or whatever they felt like drinking. Neo was at the center of it all. Whether she put herself there or not, he wasn't sure.
"Thank you," Neo said. "But I'm not that good."
Clearly she was modest. So he figured his crew surrounded her on their own.
"You are too!" Archer said. "I would really love it if you did become our cook forever."
"You just want her to spoil you like she's been doing." Shachi punched his crewmate on the arm.
"Hey! Don't hit me! I'm wounded already!" Archer protested but his smile never wavered.
"As much fun as the sounds," Neo said. "I can't. You all know that we have to find our godfather."
"Yeah, we know," Archer said. "Still, if you ever consider becoming a pirate you should join our crew."
"I'll keep that in mind." Neo smiled thought she knew if she joined any pirate crew it would be Shanks'.
Law's eyes locked onto her smile. It was sweet and very genuine. Something that was rare seen on her but was becoming more frequent. He's seen it before but there was something different about this smile. It caused something to stir inside of him, something possible dangerous. Now that he knew Neo and Kailen were connected to another pirate crew it wasn't the smartest thing to let them get close with the crew. There was the possibility that their pirate crew would be there enemies at some point in time. Technically, as opposing pirate crews, they were already enemies. But what would happen if they happened to meet up? Would Neo and Kailen betray their, his, secrets to their pirate crew? They were, after all, his prisoners. They had no loyalty to him to keep anything they learned on his sub and crew a secret from anyone. Unfortunately, there was no real way to stop it. His crew already enjoyed having the two onboard. Even if he wanted to kick them off his sub he couldn't. So he just walked away. Leaving everything up to fate.
…
"So much for keeping your healthy diets," Neo said once the majority of the crew had left the galley. The plates that held the cookies were almost empty.
"We'll have to make more next time," Penguin said.
"Or make them taste terrible," Shachi said. "That'll stop the crew from eating them."
"How good are you at baking pies?" Archer asked.
"I'm okay," Neo said. "I guess."
"Then you'll have to make some so we can see," Archer said.
"Well, we'll see," Neo said. She reached for the empty glasses. Suddenly the sub dipped into the water. The crew and elementals were thrown off their feet. Glass shattered on the floor. Alarms shrilled throughout the vessel.
"Ah!" Penguin screamed while doing his best to dodge the broken glass.
Kailen summoned his crystals and shot out some vines over the broken glass, letting the pirate fall onto them instead. "What the heck was that?"
"Why are there alarms going off?" Neo asked. "What's going on?"
"Something must have happened with the sub," Penguin said. "Thanks a lot, Kailen. That would have hurt."
Kailen nodded.
"Listen up, everyone," Conner's voice then said over the voice pipe system. "There's an issue with the ballast tanks. We're going to have do an emergency docking. It's going get a bit rocky so hold on."
The sub bounced again.
"Ballast tanks?" Neo asked staying close to the floor.
"There are spaces in between the two hulls that can be filled with either air or water. These are called the ballast tanks and, with the diving planes, they give a sub control over its buoyancy, particularly during the first part of a dive or a return to the surface from the depths," Shachi said. "When the ballast tanks are filled with air, the submarine rises to the surface because it has positive buoyancy. With water inside the tanks, the sub has negative buoyancy so it sinks deeper into the ocean. The tanks at the front, known as the front trim tanks, are usually filled with water or air first, so the submarine's bow falls or rises before its stern. The ballast tanks can also be used to help a submarine surface very quickly in an emergency."
The sub continued to bounce, causing the pirates to be thrown around more. Then finally after several minutes of the harsh treatment the sub settled down.
"Please tell me it's over," Archer said hanging upside down from his chair.
"I think it is," Shachi said.
"We're fine now," Conner then said over the voice pipe. "We've reached an island."
"Thanks for telling us," Penguin grumbled.
"Ouch." Neo rubbed her head. "That was not fun at all."
"Did you hit your head very hard?" Kailen took her head in his hands and examined her.
"No," Neo said. "At least that happened after we got the cookies done."
"Yeah. It would not have been fun to have hot cookies and cookie sheets flying over the galley," Penguin said. Picking himself up off the floor he walked over to a small closet and pulled out a broom and dustpan then cleaned up the broken glass.
"How are you doing, Archer?" Neo asked.
"I'll survive," Archer said straightening himself up. "Though if this was something preventable I'm going to wring Conner's neck."
"Everyone all right in here?" Law came rushing into the galley.
"A bit shaken up but we'll all live," Shachi said.
"Shachi, Penguin, help the rest of the crew do a sweep of the sub," Law said. "I want to know if anything got damaged during that little episode."
"Aye." The two pirates headed out of the room.
"What do you want us to do?" Kailen asked.
"You can stay here since you're not as familiar with the sub as the others," Law said before leaving the room.
"So where do you think we docked at?" Neo asked.
"Most likely just an uninhabited island," Archer said. "If I remember what Bepo said the other day it's going to take us at least four more weeks to get to the next island."
"I hope nothing is torn up with the sub," Kailen said.
"If it is Conner will be able to fix it," Archer said. "Since we don't have any orders why don't we head up to the deck and see what's out there?"
"If you're up to it," Neo said.
"I am." Archer nodded before using the table to pull himself to his feet.
Kailen picked up his crutches and handed them to him before they left the galley. To speed things up, Kailen used vines to lift Archer up the stairs. The door was already opened by the time they reached it.
"Everything looks good over here. Any damaged on that side?"
"No. I don't see anything."
Neo glanced over the side to find a couple of the pirates were in the water with a transponder snail. She assumed they were looking for external damage.
"Looks like no one lives here," Archer said.
Neo looked over to the island. A thick forest was covering it.
"Or they're on the other side," Kailen said.
"All well." Archer shrugged. "It doesn't matter. At least this is a good place to camp."
Neo looked down. He was right. There was a grassy area prime for camping. It kept them close to the sub and they could see if any other ships were sailing in. They waited on the deck for about twenty minutes before Bepo and Law came outside.
"How is the sub, Captain?" Archer asked.
"The only damage found was in the engine room," Law said. "Some pipes busted and forced water into the ballast tanks."
"Can it be fixed?" Kailen asked.
"It can but it'll take a few days," Law said. "So we're going to camp here until the sub is fixed. Go ahead and set up camp."
Neo took a quick glance at the captain before looking away. They hadn't said a full sentence to each other since their little tiff with the mountain women.
"Sure thing, Captain," Archer said.
"I'll help too," Bepo said as Law headed back inside.
"Kai, lift Archer down to the island," Neo said.
Kailen summoned an earth crystal. Wrapping a vine around Archer, he lifted the pirate off the sub before climbing down himself.
"Hey! Wait for us!" Shachi called as he and Penguin rushed out of the sub. "We're coming too."
"Great." Neo climbed down the ladder.
"We should clear a spot for a fire first," Archer said. "And get some firewood. Since I can't carry anything right now I'll clear some grass."
"I'll help you with that," Kailen said.
"I guess that leaves us to get the firewood," Neo said.
"Let's go," Penguin said. The group of four headed into the woods. Penguin and Shachi stay closed together while Neo and Bepo walked away from them.
"I should stick close to you," Bepo said.
"Captain's orders?" Neo asked.
"No, I want to," Bepo said.
Neo smiled. She loved the bear so much already.
"Mind if I ask you a question?" Bepo asked a few minutes later.
"I guess." Neo grabbed another branch.
"Why do you smell so sweet?" Bepo said. "I mean you smell sweet and like nature."
"Honestly, I'm not really sure," Neo said. "Our nature smell pretty much comes from our crystals. But as for me smelling sweet? I really don't have an answer for that." Guilt hammered her hard. She did have an answer. It was because she was a royal. "I was just born with it like my crystals."
"I like it," Bepo said.
"You're so sweet," Neo said smiling.
"We should head back now," Bepo said. "I think we got enough wood for a while."
Neo looked at their full arms. They could and would come back for some more later. So they headed back to the camp where Kailen and Archer had a spot cleared.
"That should do it," Kailen said. "No grass should catch on fire now."
Neo and Bepo sat their wood down. Archer grabbed some sticks and started piling them together. Ripping off few dry leaves from a branch, he struck a match and lit them before placing them under the wood. He blew into it. Soon the wood crackled from the flame. Smoke lifted into the air.
Penguin and Shachi returned a few minutes later. They set their wood down then sat down themselves. One by one the rest of the crew started to join them, most with their camping gear. Penguin said, "I hope it doesn't rain. I'd like to sleep outside while we can."
"It doesn't look like storms are coming," Shachi said glancing at the sky. "Maybe we should try and get in some fishing while we're here?"
"Sounds good to me," Penguin said. "Want to join us, Neo?"
Neo hummed. Never before had she used a pole and hook. Her fishing involved getting into the water and chasing the fish. "I don't know."
"Ah, come on. It'll be fun," Penguin said.
"I might sit with you guys, but I really don't feel up to jamming a hook in a fish's mouth," Neo said.
"Sorry." Penguin ducked his head. "I shouldn't have asked. I forgot about your love for animals."
"Don't worry about it," Neo said. "I know you all just aren't use to having someone like us around. You can still fish."
Penguin nodded.
A couple of hours past before the pirates decided to start fishing. With nothing else to do Neo followed them. Sitting on the edge of the island, she dipped her bare feet into the cool water. Her eyes locked onto the water lapping up on her ankles. A longing to jump into the water almost over took her. If she did jump in it would be the only time she has without her crystals. She was a decent swimmer. However there were still times when she could have gotten herself into some life threatening trouble with strong currents. During those times she always used her crystals to get her out of them. They couldn't save her now if she went in and got into trouble. She sighed.
"Something wrong?" Penguin asked.
"No," Neo said leaning back on her hands. "Just a bit bored I guess."
"Fishing can be like that at times, especially when the fish aren't biting," Penguin said. "But at least we don't have to fight."
"That is a plus," Shachi said.
"As long as no other pirates or marines or mountain women show up." Neo looked over the ocean. No ship was in sight but that didn't mean they weren't there just outside of her gaze.
"I doubt we'll see any mountain women," Shachi said. "There're no mountains here." His line dipped into the water. He pulled it in with a decent size fish. "Hey! I got one!"
Neo turned her eyes away from the fish. She didn't want to look at it hanging on a hook. It was hard enough listening to it wonder why it was out of the water. The pirates pulled in six more fish before she got up and headed back to the fire. Sitting down she stretched out her legs so her cold, wet feet could warm up by the fire.
"Couldn't handle it, huh?" Kailen whispered to her.
Neo nodded. "I had my fill." Her eyes flickered over to the captain. He was leaning back against a napping Bepo with his hat down over his eyes. It was impossible to tell if he was napping as well or if he was just observing things. Paranoia tapped at her brain forcing her to remove her eyes from the man. She was staring at him longer than she should have. It unnerved her. She shifted. "So do you think it'll rain while we're here?"
"Most likely," Kailen said. "These flora here is way too lush. Clearly this island gets a lot of rain."
Neo dropped her eyes down to the grass. Placing her hand on it she found it soft under her skin. "It'll be nice sleeping out here. It'll be like when we were kids."
"Ah, those were the days," Kailen said. "I'm sure we drove the guards crazy with all our camp outs."
"It's their own fault," Neo said. "They didn't have to be there."
Kailen shook his head. Both knew they would be there whether or not they wanted to.
"So what are you two whispering about over here?" Archer scooted closer to them.
"About our past camp outs," Neo said. "We use to do this a lot when we were kids."
"You're lucky. My family and I never did camping trips," Archer said. "So I love it when we get to sleep outside. The world is completely different at night. And being out here in the open sea you can see so many stars."
Neo lifted her eyes to the sky. It was only about three in the afternoon. They'd have to wait to see the stars. Her eyes dropped down to Law. She wondered how he felt about sleeping outside and looking up at the stars. She jammed her thumbnail into her thigh to force her brain off the captain. There was no way she actually cared about his thoughts on the subject matter.
…
Two days past since they landed on this island. Conner was still repairing the sub. The pirates and Kailen were keeping busy by sparring with each other, fishing, and going for swims. Neo only did a little sparring with her brother and Conner. The rest of the pirates didn't want to fight her no matter how many times she said she didn't mind and could take whatever they threw at her. So most of the time she just sat and stared at the fire or out at the horizon or watched the crew spar. Animals, like always, scurried over to check her and her brother out. They got a lot of odd looks from the pirates when they spoke to them. Well, she got more than Kailen did. She always spoke more to animals than her brother. It was something she couldn't control. Though she had no idea if it was an impulse or just an unbreakable habit. Either way, there was no way she was going to stop talking to animals. She loved them far too much. But now, with her tolerance on boredom dwindling fast, she jumped to her feet.
"Hey, Bepo." Neo latched onto his arm when he past by. "Will you go for a walk with me? I'm getting bored with sitting around here."
"Sure," Bepo said. "But why me? Why not the others?"
"Because they're busy," Neo said. "Besides I haven't spent any alone time with you."
"I guess that's true," Bepo said. "All right then. Where shall we go?"
"Yeah! Let's go walking around in the forest for a while." Neo pulled him towards the woods. Sensing someone watching her, she glanced back to find the captain watching them walk away. Before she could study the look in his eyes, he dropped his head so his hat hid them. "Hm?"
"Something wrong?" Bepo asked.
"It's nothing." Neo faced forward. The hot sun vanished over the trees as they stepped inside of the forest. "Think we'll find anything here?"
"Like what?" Bepo asked.
"I don't know," Neo said looking around. "Maybe some ruins? Or broken down houses? While there doesn't appear to be anyone living here now it doesn't mean someone didn't live here before."
"Makes sense," Bepo said. Suddenly, he paused. The sudden movement forced Neo to back petal.
"What the…?" Neo glanced up at the bear. His nose was twitching. She barely managed to suppress a squeal at how cute he looked.
"I though I smelled someone," Bepo said.
"One of the crew?" Neo scanned her eyes over the forest.
"No," Bepo said. "This scent was different."
"Well, maybe another ship landed and they're looking for food?" Neo offered.
"Possibly." He started walking again. They walked for fifteen minutes before making a very unwelcome discovery.
"What the…?" Neo halted in her tracks. Her heart slammed against her chest. The air in her lungs vanished. Her stomach turned violently. She gagged before she knelt down to the animal's body. It's claws, head, and fur was missing. Her head spun with confusion and pain. "What is this? Why is this animal like this? I don't…I don't understand."
"Looks like a poacher is around here somewhere," Bepo said. "This kill looks recent."
"Poacher?" Neo looked up at him. "I don't understand. What's a poacher?"
"You don't know what a poacher is?" Bepo asked.
Neo shook her head.
"It's a person who hunts an animal for a trophy," Bepo said. "Depending on the animal they take different things from it. Like if a deer or moose has really big horns they'd take them and leave the rest. Some kills animals for their fur, their teeth, tusks, stuff like that."
"And they leave the rest here?" Neo asked.
"They do." Bepo nodded.
Her fingers curled around the grass, ripping it from its roots. Sadness flooded into Neo's chest. Her breathing came in short, sharp gasps. "No…it can't…how…could…"
"Calm down, Neo." Bepo knelt down beside her and placed a paw on her shoulder.
"It hurts." Neo clenched her eyes closed. She wrapped her arms around herself in a useless attempt to protect herself from this horrible sight. "So much pain."
"What are you talking about?" Bepo asked.
"Them." With tears streaming down her cheeks she looked to her left. There sticking their heads out of a bush was two bear cubs.
"Are those…?" Bepo trailed off.
"Yes." Neo nodded. "They're this bear's cubs. They don't understand why their mother won't move." She trembled. "They're so scared."
"But how do you know that?" Bepo looked back at her.
Neo trembled. This time it was the devastation of the event that kept her quiet.
"We should get out of here," Bepo said. "The poacher is probably still around. It might have been his scent I smelt before."
Neo didn't move.
"Neo," Bepo said. "Did you hear me?"
Neo nodded, slowly. "I did. I'm just…this is too much. I never knew. I never knew something like this happened."
"You never knew about poachers," Bepo said. He watched at the two bear cubs wondered over and snuggled up to her side. "Who exactly are you?"
Neo sighed, stroking the cubs' fur. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry this happened to your mother. If I had known I would have stopped this."
"You're talking to animals again." Bepo looked around, unsure of what to do now.
"Well, look at what we have here," a man said.
Neo and Bepo whipped around. Standing there was a man dressed in dark green wielding a large gun. The tanned skin of his arms were marked up with scars.
"Two little bear cubs I missed, a beautiful young woman, and a talking bear," the man said. "Looks like I just hit the jackpot."
"Who are you?!" Bepo growled.
The cubs cried and tried to get closer to Neo. "It was you. You killed their mother."
"Indeed it was me," he said. "I am Rico, the best beast hunter in the world. I travel all over in search of beast for clients."
"You're sick," Neo hissed. Clouds rolled in overhead shrouding the forest floor with shadows.
The flora surrounding them shifted. The unexpected movement brought Bepo's eyes to them. The flowers and bushes grew in front of him. "What's going on?"
"Sick? People kill all the time," Rico said. "This is the same thing."
"It's not the same!" Neo snapped. "You killed their mother for trophies! You didn't kill her for food or survival! This was a heartless, pointless kill! How could you?!"
"Heartless? It certainly was not," Rico said tilting his head. "One shot and she was down. Pointless? Again, it certainly was not. This little beauty will fill my pockets with lots of money to live on. And the trophies, as you say, will make nice decorations for my clients."
Neo clenched her trembling fists. In a split second she crossed the forest floor and landed a punch on the man's nose. His head snapped back, blood gushing into the air.
Rico stumbled back from the force of her punch. Catching himself, he grabbed his nose. "Ah! What the heck was that for?!"
"For the life you took for no reason!" Neo landed a kick on his stomach. He buckled. "You killed an innocent creature that had babies to take care of!" Grabbing his head, she slammed her knee into his nose, breaking it. "You left two babies to survive on their own!"
"You little b-" The man's words cut off in Neo's ears when he swung up, his fist caught on her chin.
Neo felt herself flying through the air before landing hard on the ground.
"Hey!" Bepo rushed forward.
Lifting up, Neo watched Bepo land several kicks and punches on the man's body.
"Don't you touch her!" Bepo shouted through his assault.
Neo forced herself to sit up. Her jaw throbbed, no doubt swelling from the punch. She ignored it. The fury she felt from this man was too strong for her to care about an injury. Never before had she felt such anger. She wanted to take a knife and stab it multiple times through his heart. The cubs' cries pulled her attention to them. They were cowering under a near by bush. Their small bodies trembled. She exhaled and turned her attention back to Bepo. Rico was on the ground. The man might have had some muscle on him but it was clear he didn't know how to handle a fighter like Bepo.
Breathing hard Bepo walked back over to Neo and knelt down in front of her. He cupped her throbbing jaw. Guilt was plaster all over his eyes. "I'm sorry. I should have jumped in sooner."
Neo grabbed his wrist. "It's fine. I really didn't expect myself to react like that. I was extremely angry. The pain hurt too much. I wasn't able to stand back and-" A shot rang out.
Bepo's eyes widened. Blood spewed out of his chest. He fell forwards.
"No!" Neo screamed. She grabbed him, but was unable to hold him up due to his size.
Bepo fell to the ground. Thunder boomed above them.
Neo froze, unable to do anything but watch as her friend laid lifelessly on the ground.
…
"Huh?" Kailen's eyes shot to the forest when a gunshot ran out into the air. Nature shifted angrily, causing him to shutter. The wind picked up, bringing thunder and lightning fill clouds over the camp. He stared at the sky, wondering if the storm came in on its own or if Neo summoned it in. Either way nature was furious right now. "Neo?"
"Huh? Where did this storm come from? It was clear a second ago," Archer said.
"Did I hear a gunshot?" Shachi asked.
"It sounded like it can from the way Neo and Bepo went," Penguin said. "Captain, should we go check on them?"
Law kneaded his eyebrows. He could feel it. Something was definitely wrong. He rushed towards the forest. "Let's go!"
"Aye!" Shachi and Penguin shouted as they raced after him.
Kailen quickly followed.
"Oh man," Archer grumbled. "I'm stuck here."
…
Neo stared down at Bepo. Her hands and arms were covered in blood from the attempt to stop the bleeding. The red blood mixed in with his orange boiler suit making it impossible for her to tell exactly where the wound was.
"Stupid bear," Rico said between breaths. He spat blood out onto the ground. "You two…never should have touched me. Now…you're going to die. And that bear will make a nice trophy for me. I think I'll have him stuffed and add him to my personal connection." He chuckled, cocking another bullet into place. "White bears are rare. And he talks. I would keep him alive because of that, but he's too wild. He'll have to be put down."
"Stop it!" Neo screamed. Shimmering green crystals appeared around her.
"What the heck?!" Rico screamed. Vines lifted up and snapped at him. Thorns shot off from bushes and embedded in his skin. He lifted his rifle and aimed at Neo. "I don't know what kind of freak you are but you're going to die!"
Neo lift a cold glare at him. Shots were fired. A wall of thick vines shielded her. As they fell back down she stood up. Cocking her head to the side, her eyes cold and distant, she said, "I will not die."
Rico's eyes widened. A sharp crack of thunder sounded overhead, drowning out his cries as thorns and vines pierced his chest.
Turning away from the man, Neo knelt back down. Her eyes ran over the blood on Bepo. She knew he needed help. And fast. But what should she do? Should she leave him here and go get the others? She knew she couldn't lift him up. She was far too small and weak for that.
Bepo coughed. "N-Neo…"
"Bepo." Tears poured from her eyes. He was still alive, for the moment anyway.
"What…what did you do?" Bepo asked.
"What do you mean? I mean, stop talking!" Neo said. "You have to hold still! I'm going to get you help!"
"The plants," Bepo said. "You did something. You moved them like K-Kailen."
"What?" Neo glanced around. There shimmering beside her was some of her earth crystals. Her heart jumped into her throat. She could use her crystals again. She could use her solar crystal to help her friend. Hope was dashed when she tried to summon her solar crystal. It wouldn't listen to her. She slammed her fist into the ground in frustration. "Blast it!"
"Such a…pretty crystal."
Neo glanced at Bepo. His paw was curling around a green crystal. It took several seconds before she recognized the crystal was an earth crystal. Without hesitation she used her earth crystals to slip vines underneath Bepo's body. She was about to move him when the cubs cried out to her. Her heart ached. There was no way she could leave them. So she wrapped them in her vines and pulled them with her.
…
Kailen's heart hammered rapidly in his chest. The forest blurred past him as he ran with the pirates. The storm, the shifting in the nature, it had to be her. She had to have gained the use of her crystals again. But how? How did she manage to regain them?
"Neo!" Penguin called out.
"Where are you?!" Shachi added. "Bepo?!"
"There!" Kailen said when a large mass of vines came towards them.
The small group came to a halt.
"Hey! You're all right! We thought that…" Penguin's voice trailed of when Neo lowered the vines to the ground. "Bepo!"
"What happened?!" Shachi asked.
Law rushed forward to check on his navigator.
Fresh tears poured like waterfalls from Neo's eyes. "He…he was…protecting me." She hiccupped. "A guy…back there…killed a bear…babies…"
"Neo." Kailen rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her. His eyes caught sight of the two cubs.
"What is she talking about?" Shachi asked.
"Neo?" Penguin knelt down beside her, unaware of the bear cubs until they cried. He jumped back from them. "What the heck?! What are those bears doing here?! Their mom is going to kill us!"
"No," Kailen said finally understand what his sister was saying. "Their mother is dead."
The pirates looked at him.
"Someone killed their mother," Kailen said. "Isn't that right, Neo?"
Neo nodded.
"Penguin, Shachi," Law said. "Go in the direction they came and check things out. I'm taking Bepo back to the sub."
"Aye, Captain," the pirates said before running off. Penguin paused to look at Neo before turning to catch up with his friend.
"Let's go," Law said. "And leave those bear cubs here."
"No!" Neo hissed. Thunder roared above with multiple lightning strikes. Flowers and bushes grew up twice their normal size and lashed out at the pirate captain.
"Neo! Stop that!" Kailen ordered. "It's fine! No one's going to take the cubs away from you!"
Neo settled into her brother's embrace, pulling the cubs closer when they walked over to her.
"Captain Law," Kailen said. "I know I have no right to ask this of you since I'm technically your prisoner, but please don't take the cubs away from her right now. It's very important that you let her take care of them."
"We can't take them with us," Law said. "A submarine isn't the place for animals."
"I understand that," Kailen said. "I just need some time to talk to her about it. I promise she won't keep them forever."
"Fine." Law looked down at Bepo. He was pressing hard against the wound but it wasn't doing much good. "I have to get Bepo back to the sub. Room. Shambles."
In a few seconds the small group was back at the sub and in the medical bay. Kailen continued to hold on to Neo while Law set to work on saving Bepo's life. He studied Neo's body for injures and only found her chin swollen. Leaving her on the floor of the sub, he stood up and got some water in a basin and a couple washcloths. Sitting back in front of her he started working on washing the blood off her. The whole time she just sat and stared into space. Her crystals had faded away but the storm outside remained.
Other members of the crew rushed inside of the room. Before long the otherwise quiet room was filled with the beeping of the heart-monitoring machine.
Neo remained ever still. Not once did she look up in Bepo's direction. But she didn't have to. Kailen knew she was worried about the bear. He only hoped this didn't affect her like the death of their parents. Surely not since they haven't know Bepo as long as their parents. And, somehow, she managed to get her earth crystals back. He scanned her face in hopes to find the answer. Only he found tears and a swollen jaw. Whispering her said, "He's going to be okay, Neo. He's not going to die. The captain will see to that."