Vacation
Part Five
"Huh?" Neo blinked and looked around the beach. Everyone from the Straw Hat crew, Law, Shachi, Penguin, Topaz, and Bepo was with her. The women were lounging around on their towels letting their skin get darkened by the sun while the guys were running around playing games or getting into arguments over one thing or another. It appeared to be a normal day at the beach for them. But something did feel right about this. Something was wrong. She just couldn't figure out what it was. Then something caused her to look up. A startled gasp escaped her lips. Instead of seeing the typical light blue sky, she saw the sky was midnight blue with several strange balls with glowing red veins floating around in it. "What is that?"
"Neo, what are you doing?" Law's voice asked.
Neo turned to Law just as he walked up to her. "Law, something's wrong."
"What do you mean?" Law asked.
"Just look up at the sky," Neo said, pointing to the sky. "It's dark. And there are strange balls floating around too."
"Oh, yeah." Law looked up then back down at her. "I'm sure it's nothing."
"Law?" Neo tilted her head. Something about him seemed off too. "What's wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?" Law asked with a dull smile.
"You don't seem like yourself," Neo said. "I'm scared."
"There's no need to be scared," Law said. He started walking towards her.
Neo expected him to pull her into his arms like he always did. But this time he just kept walking on past her. She turned, following him with her gaze. "Law?"
"Come on, Neo," Law said, looking back over at his shoulder. "Let's have some fun."
"But Law!" Neo ran after him. After a few seconds of running, she noticed that she wasn't getting any closer to him. In fact, he and everyone else seemed to get farther and farther away from her. Her heart began to race in panic. "Wait! Come back! Where are you all going?!"
No one responded. They just kept going about their current activities. Sudden movement caused her to look up again. The strange balls started to move around. They flew down towards her loved ones and started glowing.
"No!" Neo shouted. "What are you doing?! Leave them alone! Look out, everyone!"
Still no one answered her. No one even looked in her direction, not even Law who should have been able to feel her panicking. She summoned her crystals and fired all of the elements at the balls. Her attacks just passed right through the strange balls. She gasped. "No!"
The balls floated closer to the pirates, engulfing them in their glow, they started pulling the pirates into them.
"No! Stop it! What are you doing?!" Neo ran towards them. But like before, she couldn't catch up with them. The balls then absorbed all of her friends and family into them then shot into the dark sky. Hot tears streamed down her face. She dropped to the ground. "No! Give them back! Give them back to me! Law!"
"No…stop. Come back," Neo said in her sleep while tossing her head from side to side. "Please give them back! Give them back to me! Law!"
"Neo, wake up." Law grabbed her shoulders. "Come on. Wake up now."
Neo gasped as her wet eyes popped open. Her breaths were labored while her brain registered that Law was right in front of her. She shot up, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh, Law! You went away! You, the Straw Hats, Topaz, Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo! Something took you away from me!"
"Shh. It's all right, love. I'm still here," Law said, rubbing her back. He held her trembling body firmly to his. "It as just nightmare. It's over now. I'm here."
Slowly her breathing slowed down and her tears started drying up. When she finally pulled away from him, she took his face in her hands and kissed his lips. "Law."
"It's over," he said and she nodded.
"But something going to happen," Neo said.
Law wanted to desperately tell her she was wrong. But from past experiences both would know it was a lie. So he said, "I know. Try not to worry about it. We're all very strong. We can handle whatever comes our way. Besides, you didn't dream that any of us got hurt or died."
"Yeah." Neo nodded. "You all were just taken away. I think that's all that happened really."
"And if that happens, we'll make our way back to you," Law said. "Just like we always have."
Neo nodded again.
"Would you like to get up now?" Law asked.
"I guess," Neo said. "We're going to the snowy side of the island today, aren't we?"
"We are," Law said, raking his fingers through her hair. "But if you don't feel like going we could stay in the hotel for a while instead."
"No, I still want to go," Neo said. "Sitting around here will only make me worry more. I need the distraction."
"All right. Let's get dressed then," Law said. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before climbing off the bed.
Neo followed him. Her eyes landing on their matching winter coats laying over the chair in the room. "When did you get those? I didn't seen them in the suitcases before." Her lips curled into a frown when she saw her boots sitting on the floor. "And my boots are here as well. Great."
"Jean Bart stopped by to check in while you were still sleeping. I asked him to go to the sub and get our winter coats," Law said. "He brought them a few minutes ago."
"That was nice of him. Though he could have left the boots behind," Neo said, glaring at the unwanted item.
"Deal with them, love. We're going over to the winter side of the island," Law said. "You know you have to wear them."
"I don't have to," Neo purred as she snuggled up against him and reached for his hair.
"Neo." Law crossed his arms over his chest, putting a bit of distance between their two bodies.
"Oh, fine." She retraced her hand. "How's the rest of the crew?"
"They're fine. He's seen about all of them before he came here," Law replied. "He said some of them, plus a few Straw Hats, were heading over to spend the day there."
"So we might run into them," Neo said. "I wonder if Luffy's staying out of trouble."
"He must be," Law said. "If he wasn't we would have heard about it by now."
"Yeah, I guess you're correct about that," Neo said. "And there's been no fires or explosions so he must be keeping himself entertained."
"Hurry up now," Law said. "I have some things planned for us today."
"Oh," Neo said. "I hope they're fun things."
"I think you'll like them," Law said with a smile.
"I'll definitely hurry then," Neo said before disappearing into the bathroom. Soon she was dressed and ready to go. The two pirates threw their coats over their shoulders and headed out of their room. They had a quick breakfast then headed outside where Neo summoned a wind crystal and lifted them into the air. The island had small motorized vehicles people could rent, but this way was faster and it saved them some money. After a few seconds, the warm island air was quickly replaced with cold island air. The pirates pulled on their coats just before Neo lowered them to the snowy ground. "Wow! It's so beautiful here! Nothing like Punk Hazard was!"
"Punk Hazard probably would have looked like this if it wasn't destroyed by the gas and then by Akainu and Aokiji's battle," Law said.
Neo ran her eyes over the snow covered ground and trees. Her brain tried to imagine Punk Hazard as a beautiful snowy wonderland. She even tried to picture it was a beautiful green wonderland. She couldn't. All she saw was the frozen wasteland on one side and the burning, unfit for almost anyone, side. "I can't picture it. Anyway, where are we going first? The brochures said this place has ice skating, skiing, something call toboggans, several resting cabins are around here, they sell food too."
"I'm not sure if we're going to do things like skating and skiing," Law said.
"Why not?" Neo asked.
"Because you're pregnant," Law said.
"Dangerous, huh?" Neo asked.
"Yes," Law said with a nod. "But you could easily use your wind crystals to keep yourself from getting hurt. I'm just don't want to take any chances."
"You're so cute when you worry about us," Neo said, placing her hand on her stomach and looked down. Snow crunching indicated to her that Law was coming closer. His hand then appeared over hers. She looked up at him before wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him into a kiss. "So, my sweet lover, what surprised are you going to unveil on me?"
"You'll see soon," Law said. He pecked her lips, laced their fingers together, and led her to her first surprise.
Quietly, the two walked through a forest path while Neo kept breathing out to watch her breath dance around in the cold air. She was then distracted by several snowmen lining the path, more than likely built by kids who were running around the island, but a couple were clearly done by Luffy, Usopp, Franky, and Chopper as there were snowmen that depicted their physical characteristics. Neo giggled upon seeing their friends as snowmen. Her bells rang out at the same time a few birds flew away from the snow covered branches. The snow rained down on them, making her gasp at the beautiful sight mixing in with her bells. "Wow. It's so beautiful here. And, wait, do I sense horses?"
Law smiled.
"There are horses here?" Neo asked.
"There are," Law said as he continued to pull her through the forest path.
"Are we going to see the horses?" Neo asked when she felt them getting closer to the animals. "Is that the surprise?"
"Sort of," Law said just as they reached another path. He guided her down it. It was a short path and soon they came to a small farm with several horses walking or standing around in the snow. There were also several strange carts that she thought looked familiar but she couldn't place where she's seen them or what they were.
"What are those things?" Neo pointed the strange carts.
"They're sleighs," Law said.
"Sleighs…now I know I've heard of them before," Neo said. She looked up at the sky as if it would help her remember. "Where was it?"
"One of your books has a horse drawn sleigh illustrated in its pages," Law said.
"That's where I've seen it before!" Neo dropped her eyes back down to Law. "That would have driven me nuts if you hadn't reminded me of it! Thanks, Law!"
"No problem." He leaned over and kissed her hair then walked off without her. After a few steps, he turned back and smirked at her. "You would have remembered if you didn't have so many books."
"Yeah, I guess I do-Hey!" Neo protested. She ran after him when he started walking again. "I do not have too many books!"
"You do too," Law said, picking up his pace. With his long legs, and her discomfort from wearing her boots, he was easily out pacing her.
"Law! You come back here right this second!" Neo demanded.
"Not happening!" Law said, breaking into a jog.
"Law!" Neo summoned her wind crystals. The wind started blowing upon her command. She swirled it around, picking up some of snow then moving it so she could trap Law within its walls. Before he could form a Room, she dumped the snow on top of him. Knowing he would warp out of her attack, she carefully watched him. Sensing the right moment to trap him in her winds again. The second he warped, she was ready and trapped him. Turning him upside down, she brought him back over to her. She narrowed her eyebrows, yet was smiling. "You are such a bad boy. You hurt my feelings by saying I had too many books."
"Yeah, you look really hurt." Law smirked. "You practically agreed with me."
"You caught me off guard," Neo said, flicking his nose.
"Then you should pay more attention to what's going on around you," Law said.
Neo huffed and planted her hands on her hips. "We're on our honeymoon, Law. I'm not supposed to be looking out for tricks and traps. I'm supposed to be completely focused on you. And you're suppose to be completely focused on me."
"I am," Law said. "But that doesn't mean I can't train you when I feel like it."
"Law," Neo said. "We're not supposed to train on our honeymoon."
"Okay, okay," Law said. "You're correct. I'm sorry. I just couldn't help myself. Forgive me?"
"I don't know," Neo said. "You know how much I love my books."
"But you love me more," Law said. "You're not angry anyway."
"No, I'm not," Neo said. She leaned over and captured his lips. "You're forgiven. But no more tricks and no more training."
"Promise," Law said.
"Good boy," Neo said, turning him back to his feet. "Now why exactly are we here?
"I though you would have put it together by now," Law said, straightening out his coat and hat.
Neo looked around. Slowly, she began to, finally, put it together. She gasped. Bringing her eyes back to Law, she threw her arms around him. "Law! We're going on a sleigh ride, aren't we?!"
"We are," Law said, wrapping his arms around her.
"This is so great!" Neo squealed. She grabbed his arm and pulled him over to a couple of the horses that walked closer to the fence to check her out. She released him and started petting the horses. "Hello, babies. How are you doing? That's good. You're all so cute! Do you like your jobs here? That's good to hear. It's fun, huh? I'm sure it is."
Law watched her contently until he caught movement from the corner of his eye. He turned to fine an old man walking over to them with a smile.
"So you're the honeymooners," the old man said.
"We are." Law nodded.
"I see," the old man said, watching Neo and stroking his white and grey speckled beard. "You have fine young wife. Though she looks a little young to be married."
"She's twenty two," Law said with a light frown.
"Oh? Well, she is surely going to age gracefully," the old man said. "Your sleigh is being pulled around as we speak. And all of your requests have been fulfilled as requested. You can take off whenever you feel like it." He looked at Neo questioningly. "Or whenever your wife decides she's had enough talking with my horses. Which ever happens to come first."
"Really? You've pulled that many sleighs?" Neo asked, completely oblivious to the old man giving her a funny look for talking to the horses.
"Thank you," Law said, handing the man his money. "She just really loves animals."
"I can see that. Well, have a nice ride," the old man said before walking off, grumbling about Neo. "Such a strange girl. Speaking as if she can understand animals. Back in my day we never did such a thing."
Law couldn't help but chuckle at the old man since he knew that older Elementals spoke to animals 'back in their day'. Still he let it go. He knew some would always find Neo talking to animals a bit strange. He didn't care as long as they didn't hurt her. He turned his attention back to her. Patiently watching, and enjoying her childlike love of talking to animals, while they waited for their sleigh to come over to them. A few minutes later, a young man guided their sleigh over to them.
"Hello," he said. "My name is Abram. I'll be your driver for today. I am ready when you are."
Law nodded at the man then turned back to Neo. He hated to pull her away when he knew she was already having so much fun, but they needed to get going. "All right, Neo. You've played enough. We really need to get going now."
"Oh." Neo pouted, but said her goodbyes and walked over to Law. They walked up to the black and red sleigh where Law held out his hand for her and helped her into it. "Thank you, Law. You're so sweet."
Once she was safely inside, Law climbed up with her. They sat down and pulled the waiting blanket over them.
"You two ready?" Abram asked.
"Yes," Law replied.
"Then off we go," Abram said. With a flick of his wrists, the reins tapped against the horse and they were off.
"Oh, he's pulling the sleigh so easily," Neo said, leaning over the side. "Don't wear yourself out for our sake, horsey."
Law chuckled when the driver tossed a confusing glance over his shoulder at his love. "She just really loves animals."
"I can tell," Abram said before turning around.
"This is so amazing!" Neo wrapped her arms around Law's. "Thanks, Law!"
"Don't get too excited yet," Law said. "We're just starting."
"There's more?" Neo asked.
"There is," Law said with a nod.
"What is it?" Neo asked.
"You'll just have to wait and see," Law said. "I don't want to ruin the surprise, but we're going to do something that you've really wanted to do before."
"Something that I've wanted to do before?" Neo asked, cocking her head. "Can't you give me a better clue than that?"
"You have all the clues you need," Law said. He pulled her closer to his side and kissed her hair. "For now you just sit back and enjoy the ride with me."
"Okay. I can do that," Neo said despite still remaining very excited about the surprises Law had in store for her. Her eyes roamed over the landscape, enjoying the beauty of the snow covered land while she could. After about fifteen minutes of watching the world around her, she got cold and turned her attention to Law, snuggling into his warmth. "I'm so cold!"
"Summon your fire crystals if you get too cold," Law said. He held his arms firmly around her, holding her close to his warmth as much as he possible could. His hand found its way to her stomach. "I don't want you two getting sick."
"We'll be fine, love," Neo said, tilting her eyes up to him. "We have the best doctor with us after all."
"Yes, you do." Law leaned down and captured her lips. Slowly stroking his warm tongue over her dark cavern when she parted her lips for him.
"Mmm, now that's the perfect way to warm up," Neo said once they parted. Both panting for air as their warm breathes mixed in with the cold weather around them. She snuggled back into his chest, enjoying the ride. Tucked up against Law's warmth and the smoothness of the ride started to lull her asleep. Just as she was about to completely fall asleep, she sensed Topaz near by. "Hm? It's Topaz. And a wind Elemental. What're they doing way out here? Are we meeting up with her?"
"Not really," Law said. "She and Blackleg have a purpose for being out here, but they're not staying."
"Sanji's here too?" Neo leaned over the side again, trying to spot their friends. But she didn't see them. Instead she saw something else, but she couldn't quite make out what it was. She squinted at it as they drew closer. Finally, the thing came close enough for her to see it. There was a blanket spread out on the ground with a picnic basket, a thermos, and a couple candles placed under a tree. "Law, that's…we're going to…"
"That's correct, love," Law said. "We're having a picnic in the snow."
"Oh, my! Law!" Neo squealed. She dove into his arms and hugged him. "I love you so much! You're just the best ever! I can't believe you actually planned this out! When did you plan this out?!"
"I actually booked the sleigh ride shortly after arriving on the island," Law said. "I told you about the brochures."
"I never thought much about that," Neo said.
"Then all I had to do was relay a message to Blackleg and Topaz," Law said. "And I did that when Jean Bart came to our room earlier. Since this island is practically covered with Elementals it wasn't hard for him to find them. He just asked a couple wind Elementals to search for them."
"You are so amazing, Law!" Neo said.
A short few seconds later, the sleigh slowed down to a stop. Law got off first then held up his hand for Neo. She gladly took it and allowed him to help her down.
"I'll be back in a little while," Abram said before taking off.
"They do this kind of thing?" Neo asked while watching the sleigh pull away from them and disappear around a curve.
"For an added fee," Law said.
"Law, you shouldn't have," Neo said. "You've already done enough by-"
"Hush." Law placed his finger over her lips. "I don't want to hear anymore worry about money. We have it to spend on this. And I want to do it. Understand?"
Neo nodded, he removed his finger. "I'm sorry for still worrying about money. This really is one of the sweetest things you have even done. And I really do love you for it."
"It's all right, love. I know it's just normal for you to worry," Law said. "I want you to enjoy the rest of our time here without worrying about the money."
"Okay, I'll try," Neo said.
"That's my girl." Law pecked her lips. He took her hand and led her over to the blanket.
Once they started taking out the food inside, she finally understood Sanji and Topaz's roles in this set up. She said, "You had Sanji cook us a special meal and Topaz came with him to keep the food and hot chocolate hot until we got here."
"That's correct." Law nodded. "And I'm sure they had a wind Elemental to fly them here and away."
"Yeah, I can't sense them near by anymore," Neo said. She scanned her eyes over the woods around them. Her eyes then dropped down to the food when the delicious aroma from the chicken got her mouth watering. She ripped piece of the baked chicken off and popped it into her mouth. "So yummy! Here!"
Law parted his lips when she brought a piece of chicken to his lips. "It is good. But your food will always be better."
"You're so sweet." Neo pecked his lips before turning her attention back to the food. She picked through it. Taking small bites of everything while feeding Law as well. As she did that, Law opened the thermos and poured them some hot chocolate into two mugs.
"Here's to a long and healthy marriage and the birth of a healthy baby," Law said.
"And for the safety of our crew and the Straw Hats," Neo added. They clanked their cups together before drinking. "So yummy. And it's the perfect amount of sugar. Though the chocolate might be too much if I drink a lot of it."
"I doubt you'll drink a lot," Law said.
"You're correct," Neo said. She held up her free hand when she sensed a bird flying towards them. It landed on her finger, chirping a lovely song before flying off again. Soon more animals approached to get a pet or a nibble of food from the Elemental princess.
"This was suppose to be a picnic for two," Law said, laying down on his side.
"Sorry," Neo said. "They're just so cute. But I can tell them to leave if you want."
"No, don't do that," Law said, propped up on his elbow. "I'm enjoying watching you take care of them."
And she did. She spent a little time with them before giving her full attention back to Law. They snuggled together in their private winter wonderland until the crunching of the horse's hooves on the snow alerted them to their ride's return. They packed everything back into the basket for Sanji and Topaz to retrieve later and climb back into the sleigh. An hour later, they arrive back at the sleigh rental sight.
From there they took another path that was meant for walking. Other couples were walking around as well. Some kids and teenagers were roaming the snowy path tossing snowballs at each other or building snowmen. Neo couldn't help but be over taken by a desire to build snowmen. It wasn't something she got to do very often. So they stopped so she could enjoy playing in the snow for a while.
Law smiled as he relaxed against a near by tree with his arms crossed. Contently, he watched Neo putting the finishing touches on her latest snowman and enjoying her childlike enjoyment of playing in the snow. She was elegantly constructing a snow bear inspired by Bepo. He had helped her roll the bottom and middle part of the snow 'bear' since she refused to use her magic.
"I want to do this the human way," she had told him.
Now she was rounding smaller snowballs for the ears of her snow 'bear'. She ran her hands over the ears, carving out the inside of them before stepping back. She placed her hands on her hips as she admired her work. "So what do you think? Does it look like Bepo or not?"
"I think you've captured him quite well," Law said as he walked over to her. He put his arms around her waist and rested his chin on top of her head. He eyed the snow sculpture. While it wasn't an exact copy of Bepo, and one arm was wider than the other, it was very close to the bear. "I think Bepo would be honored that you choose to construct him out of snow."
"I think he makes a great snowman. Don't you think so?" Neo asked as she crossed her arms over his. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.
"He does." Law nodded.
"So what are we going to do now?" Neo asked.
"How about we go for a walk?" Law replied.
"Sounds like fun." Neo adjusted the collar of her coat. She then wrapped her arms around Law's when he shifted away from her.
He shoved his hands in his pockets as they starting strolled along the snowy path. Occasionally they would return a greeting when someone else on the path greeted them. But mostly they just walked in silence, enjoying being with the other. Eventually they became the only two walking on the path as others disappeared to go do other things that the island resort provided.
The woods became very quiet. Neo perked up when she felt nature shifting oddly, alerting her to the presences of some sneaky friends and crewmates.
"What is it?" Law asked.
"We're being followed." Neo said. "I can sense Bepo, Chopper, and Luffy. They're carrying snowballs. There are two others as well. So I'm pretty sure Shachi and Penguin are here too. I'm surprised it took them this long."
"Ambush, huh?" Law shot her a mischievous, secret grin. Knowing she would understand without him having to tell her what he wanted through their bond. "Tell me when they're about to throw them."
"All right. But you'd think they would be smarter than this. They know I can sense the snow moving, animals, and Luffy," Neo said as she carefully tracked the impending ambush. "They're moving closer. They're behind a couple trees to our left. Almost there. Okay, warp."
Upon her command, Law warped them away from their current location causing the snowballs to land on the already snowy path. Shachi growled as he and the rest of his party stepped out from their hiding spots. "That's cheating, Captain."
"Poor baby. You all should know better than to try and ambush me with an element," Neo said.
"It was Straw Hat's idea!" the Heart Pirates said while pointing accusingly at Luffy.
"Huh?! It was not!" Luffy said. "I just wanted to have a snowball fight with them! I said nothing about ambushing them!"
"You did too!" Shachi and Penguin said.
"I wanted nothing to do with this," Bepo said as he and Chopper walked over to the Heart captains.
"Me neither," Chopper said. "I just want to come see if you were all right. I was missing you."
"You're so cute," Neo said, picking the reindeer up in her arms. She lifted her eyes back up to find that Penguin and Shachi had gotten into a rolling tumble with Luffy.
"It was not my idea!" Luffy said.
"It was too!" Shachi said, pulling Luffy's cheeks out.
"Admit it!" Penguin said with Luffy's foot in his face. "Get your foot out of my face!"
"I should have known they would get into a fight," Bepo said.
"I'll cool them down," Neo said. She summoned her wind crystals and blew a wave of snow at them. She dumped the snow on top of them. Silence immediately washed through the trees.
"Hey! What did you do that for?!" the three asked when their heads popped up out of the snow.
"Well, you all wanted a snowball fight." Neo winked. "So, you're getting one."
Then several snowballs pelleted them in the face. They shook of the snow from their faces and look to find it was Law who had hit them. "Captain!"
"Tra!"
Law just shrugged while tossing a snowball up and down in his hand.
"When did you even make those?!" Penguin demanded before another snowball landed in his face. "You're gonna pay for that, Captain!" He jumped out of the snow. Bending down, he scooped up a handful of snow. He rolled it together while dodging behind a tree at another incoming snowball. He formed a couple more snowballs then jumped back out. He tossed them both at his captain, only to get them warped back in his face. "This isn't going to be a fair fight."
Luffy laughed. He launched several premade snowballs at Law. And just like Penguin, he got them all right back in the face. He fell backwards into the snow. "Ack!"
"Well, you all should have know better than to challenge us with a snowball fight." Neo said. Her senses kicked back in. She spun around to catch some snowballs in her winds that Shachi had thrown at her. She shot them back at her brother then used her winds to gather more snow up and rolled them into balls. "You still want to play, boys?!"
"Yes!" Shachi, Penguin, and Luffy shouted.
"Then you're on!" Neo said.
"I'm with Neo!" Chopper announced.
"Traitor!" Shachi, Penguin, and Luffy said.
"I am not!" Chopper snapped. "I didn't want to do this in the first place!"
"Bring it on!" Neo launched the snowballs at the three. They scattered and dodged behind trees to form their own snowballs to throw.
…
Law chuckled humorously as he crossed his arms and leaned back against a tree while Bepo walked over to him. He had no intention of getting more involved in this fight. He was content now in just watched them run around like the children he knew they were.
"So how's it going, Captain?" Bepo asked. "Are you two enjoying your honeymoon?"
"We are," Law said. "Until a few certain pirates decided to show up."
"I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head.
"Don't worry about it," Law said, looking at his navigator. "I know Neo's happy to see you all. I'm surprised she's actually lasted this long in not seeing you all."
"Gum Gum!" Luffy's voice rang out. "Snowball Barrage!"
Law turned back to the snowball fight almost a few seconds too late. A large barrage of snowballs was flying towards him and Bepo. The bear beside him screamed, flailing his arms and legs wildly as he spread out his Room again. He then easily warped away the attack, but not to the one who threw them. He was too caught off guard to use them in that way. His eyes flew over to Luffy who was laughing wildly. He narrowed his eyebrows and took a couple steps towards the rubber man. He stopped when several other snowballs pelleted him in the back. He whipped around to see his own two subordinates and Neo with guilty grins on their faces. Neo, who had Chopper holding onto her back, pelted him on the chest with three snowballs. She tossed a snowball up in her hand and caught it. He growled as he brushed off the snow and took after her. "You're going to pay for that."
"Sure I am." Neo tossed the remaining snowball in her hand at him.
He easily caught it, but before he could do anything else several other snowballs, from multiple locations, hit him.
"What?!" Bepo shrieked. "How could you hit the captain like that?! What were you all thinking?!"
"Nice!" Neo said. "Good job, guys!"
"I honestly didn't think that would work," Chopper said.
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered, clapping his hands over his head. "Good job! Let's do it again!"
"I don't believe that actually worked," Penguin said. "We actually hit the captain! Our captain!" He suddenly felt dizzy. "Our captain!"
"I don't believe we actually did that," Shachi stated, he felt the color drain from his face while he looked at a snowball in his hand. He then looked back over at his captain.
Law was brushing off the snow and grumbling under his breath about it. And probably already planning his revenge on them in the near or distant future. He looked at Neo with a frown. "Why did you do that?"
"Hm? Oh, consider it revenge for what you did to me earlier," Neo said with a shrug. "Besides you should have been paying closer attention to us."
"You said no more training exercises," Law said.
"This wasn't training. It was fun. So come on, my lover. Have some fun with us," Neo called. She blinked in slight shock when Law suddenly warped from his current location. She squeaked in surprise when Law's presence appeared behind her suddenly.
"Uh oh!" Chopper said, jumping down from her back. "I think I should move it!"
Neo attempted to move away from Law, but he locked one arm around her waist.
"Oh, I will have fun soon enough. But, unfortunately, my real revenge on you will have to wait until we're alone because I don't want another soul to hear the delicious moans that I'm going to cause you later," Law whispered in her ear.
Neo shivered at his warm breath tickling her ear as he spoke, his words already melting her inside and out. She wanted to go back to the room right that second and receive her punishment. But, sadly, Law wasn't done just yet.
"For now, you must receive some punished for hitting me and going along with this plan." Law licked her ear teasingly. He smiled when she shivered again underneath his touch. He knew she wanted to receive his threat on punishing her right this second. He could feel it building up in her body. But he wasn't going to let her have it. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction, at least not yet.
"Going along with the plan? I created the plan," Neo admitted.
"Then you really must be punished," Law said. Without another word, he shoved his hand down the back of her coat and her shirt collars where he crumbled the snowball he had caught down her warm skin.
"Eek! Law!" Neo shrieked from the cold snow melting on her warm, or use to be warm, skin. When he let her go, she tried to shake the snow out of her clothes in a strange little dance. "That's just so cold! In more ways than one!"
"That's what you get for treating me the way you did." Law turned to the others who went along with her plan. "Now it's your turn."
"Ah!" Shachi and Penguin screamed as they ran around the forest in a panic.
"Yeah! It's fun time!" Luffy yelled out. He bent down and gathered up snow for more snowballs. This time, he threw them at all of the pirates instead of just one particular target. Winding up his arms, he pitched them into the air. "Gum Gum Snowball War! The battle is on!"
"Ah!" Bepo yelled before a snowball hit him in the face. Shaking it off, he worked together a snowball of his own then threw it at Luffy. "You'll pay for that, Straw Hat!"
"Yeah! Party time!" Luffy yelled.
"Here it comes!" Chopper said, launching his own snowball at Shachi.
Soon snowballs were flying all over the place. The area almost looked like a blizzard of snowballs being hurled back and forth. It developed into a full blown snowball war. Even some other guests, who were out for a peaceful stroll in the supposed to be quiet setting of the snowy wonderland, joined the pirates in their snowball war.
Neo, feeling slightly guilty from the advantage she had over the humans, especially the children, only used one wind crystal to keep snowballs from hitting her stomach and threw snowballs the regular way. She loved this. She loved the enjoyment of how this simple little game made everyone happy. She loved how she was included in this game with complete and total strangers. No one was calling her a freak or a monster. She was just like everyone else. She never thought she would ever feel so happy and part of the world with strangers around. And she had Law to thank for all of this. He was the only one who could have ever gotten her to this point.
…
Law also gave up using his Devil Fruit for the traditional way of throwing snowballs. He had to admit to himself that he was really enjoying this. He felt like a kid again. He felt an incredible sense of freedom. It has been so long since he's felt so free and carefree. And he knew all of this was possible because of Neo. He was the only one who could get him to relax like this. She would always be the only one for him.
…
"That was great," Penguin exclaimed as he dropped into the snowy blanket. His chest heaved up and down while he tried to regain his breath.
"That was so much fun!" Luffy declared. "We're going to have to get the rest of the crews to come here and fight later!"
"How can you think of another snowball war right now?" Bepo asked. He was laid out on his stomach, his tongue hanging out of his mouth in complete exhaustion.
Shachi plopped down beside him and leaned back against his hands. "I don't even want to see another snowball for at least a month."
"I have to say I agree," Chopper said sitting beside Neo. "That was so exhausting. I need a nap now."
Neo ran her eyes over her family and friends. Everyone's skin was now a rosy red from all of the running around they done and from the cold weather. She figured her skin was red now too. She also felt like taking a nap soon. Before she could suggest that, a sneeze exited her nose. She shivered from the already cold weather growing colder as the sun began to lower behind the trees.
Law walked over to her, helped her off the ground, and put his arms around her, using his body heat to try and warm her up back up as he pressed her back into his chest. "The sun is starting to set. We really should get you inside before you get sick. You've been out here long enough."
"Mhmm." Neo leaned tiredly against him.
"Good plan!" Luffy said. He sat up, curled his feet underneath him, and grabbed his ankles. "I'm hungry and want some hot chocolate!"
"I believe there are some log cabins near by," Chopper said, pointing down the path that they were on. "They're open for the public to use since there's also a skating pond near them. They sell snacks and drinks for visitors."
"Great!" Luffy cried. He jumped up and started running down the path. Several feet down it he paused and turned back to them. He jogged in place while calling back for them. "Come on! Let's eat!"
"How can he possibly have so much energy after all of that?" Bepo asked as he and his two crewmates pulled themselves off the ground.
"I guess he gets all of his energy from all of the food he eats," Chopper said.
"We better not let him get too far ahead of us," Penguin said.
The group mumbled in agreement before following after the excited captain. Their walk only took them two minutes. Soon they broke out of the snowy forest path and came upon several log cabins. Several people were running around outside, making snowmen or snow angels, just talking, and some were skating around on the frozen pond near by.
"Wow!" Neo exclaimed as she watched a girl spin very fast in a circle and then a small group fall on the ice. "That girl's amazing! And I decided I do not want to do that!"
"Okay, we won't," Law said.
"You two were going to go skating?" Penguin asked, slightly panicked.
"Not really," Law said. "I wanted to but I didn't want to because of our baby. But we're not going to do it. So don't worry."
"That's great," Penguin said with a huge sigh of relief.
"Come on! What are you waiting for?!" Luffy asked from the door of one of the log cabins.
They walked up the small steps. Luffy entered before them, causing a small bell to ring from the door hitting it. They stepped inside, instantly greeted by the warm fire blazing in the large fireplace to their left. In the middle of the room was a little cafe. Scattered through the room were several couches, cushioned chairs, and rectangular coffee tables. A few other guests were peppered throughout the room, chatting and sipping on their preferred hot beverage.
The pirates wondered up to the café, placing their orders before turning to head for the empty seats near the fire where Neo immediately kicked of her boots while she, Law, and Chopper claimed the couch. Luffy and Bepo sat on the floor while Shachi and Penguin sat in two large armchairs. Luffy, Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin quickly downed their drinks and sandwiches then fell asleep even quicker. Chopper chewed on his own sandwich at a slower place, making conversation with Neo while she shared some spicy nachos with Law. He said, "It was really fun today, wasn't it?"
"It sure was." Neo nodded. "I'm glad I got to see you all over here."
"We're glad too," Chopper said before yawning. He then snuggled up to Neo's side and fell asleep.
"Our babies have really worn themselves out today," Neo said affectionately as she scanned her eyes over the sleeping crews before her. With Chopper on her left side, she leaned into Law's side with his arm around her shoulders. Her eyes started to drift closed.
"And it looks like my baby has worn herself out as well," Law said.
"Yeah, I'm sorry," Neo said. "I really wanted to just snuggle and talk with you right now."
"Don't worry about it," Law said. "I want you rested up for later tonight."
"Hm?" Neo tilted her eyes to him.
"We're going on a romantic dinner date," Law said, locking eyes with her. He smiled when her eyes glittered with happiness. "So you just rest now. We can snuggle and talk later."
"Okay. I don't feel so guilty then," Neo said with a yawn. She rested her head onto his shoulder and started falling asleep. "And I can finally show you my other surprise."
"I can't wait," Law whispered to her. He took her tea mug from her hand and placed it on the table beside him. He then closed his own eyes, enjoying the peaceful setting of the fire warmed cabin and his love in his arms.
…
"See you guys later!" Neo waved to her crew and the Straw Hats as they separated from having just come back to the warm side of the island.
"Bye, Neo!" Chopper and Luffy waved.
"Have fun tonight!" Penguin said.
"See you later!" Shachi said.
"Bye!" Bepo added.
Neo and Law turned towards their hotel. With their coats slung over Law's arm, they entered the build and went immediately to their room where they got ready for their dinner date. When stepping into the room, she snatched up her black dress then paused. "What time's our dinner reservation?"
"It's at seven," Law said. "We have an hour to get ready."
"I should probably take a shower," Neo said. "Despite being on the cold side of the island I still sweated a bit during our snowball war."
"Hurry up then," Law said, tossing their coats over the back of the chair. "I'll take one once you're finished."
"Rats," Neo said, snapping her fingers. "I was hoping you'd join me."
"You know why I can't," Law said.
"I know." Neo pecked his lips then walked towards the bathroom. "I'll try not to take too long."
And she tried her best to hold to her word. But her aching feet loved behind in the water so much that she stayed in it for twenty minutes. Once out, she dried herself off with her crystals while staring at the bag holding her black dress. She debated on putting it on here and now or waiting for Law to take his shower and put it on while he was doing that. It only took a few seconds to decide to let Law have the bathroom. She already took longer than she wanted. So she wrapped a towel around herself, picked up the back holding her dress, and left the bathroom. "Sorry for taking so long."
"Don't worry about it," Law said passing her with his own bag in his hand. "I won't be long."
"Okay," Neo said. Her eyes locked curiously on the bag in his hand. But before she could ask about it, the door to the bathroom closed. She shrugged. She would surely find out what was inside of it at some point. She had her own surprise to get to. She sat her bag on the bed and stripped herself of her towel then dressed herself. When her dress was snuggly on her body, she picked up her hairbrush and smoothed out her hair. After that she laid down on the bed to wait for Law to finished up his shower and getting dressed. Her feet were still sore from having wearing her boots pretty much all day, so she summoned her solar crystal to heal them since she was going to have to wear her sandals to dinner. She knew she could kick off her sandals while they ate. She just wanted to enjoy being with Law and she couldn't do that if her feet were throbbing.
Then before she knew it, Law was stepping out of the bathroom dressed in the tux he wore at their wedding and no hat. Neo gasped and sat up on the bed. "That's…you wore that for…"
"Yes, love," Law said walking over to her. He took her hand and pulled her off the bed. "I wore this for our wedding."
"And you're wearing it on our honeymoon," Neo said, tears dripping from her eyes. "I'm crying now. This is just too sweet."
Law chuckled. Cupping her face, he pressed his lips to her forehead and brushed away her tears with his thumbs. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah." Neo nodded. She slipped into her sandals then linked her arm with Law's.
Their walk to the restaurant was filling with laughter and chatter from the people around them. Set behind their hotel, the restaurant was a five minute walk. And it was far enough away from the theme park that they didn't have to listen to the roller coasters rumbles. Of course the wind blowing towards them also pushed the noise away. The wind bringing smells of fish and local spices from all of the restaurants. It made Neo's stomach rumble and her mouth water in anticipation while distracting her brain from the Elementals inside of the building.
"Here we are," Law said, opening the door to a fancy looking building. It was just as fancy inside with its pure white table clothes, shimmering wine glasses, polished silver, and very nicely dressed guests. He guided her up to a man standing behind a small podium. "Trafalgar."
"Ah, yes, the Trafalgar party," he said. He grabbed two menus from inside of the podium. "Please, follow me to your seats."
They did. And it was at the point Neo sensed all of the Elementals in the building. Some were in the back where the kitchen was probably located while some were dinning here. She could feel their eyes on her, whispering about her being here eating in the same restaurant they were. It made her nervous and she felt like she was being put on the spot.
"Here you go," the man said, bring Neo out of her thoughts.
Law pulled out her chair for her. She sat down, thanking him. "Thanks, Law."
"Your waiter will be here in a minute," the man said as he placed their menu down on the table and walked away.
"I didn't realize so many Elementals would be here," Neo whispered. "There's over twenty."
"Just ignore them," Law said, picking up his menu. "They won't bother us."
"Yeah." Neo nodded and picked up her menu. She ran her hungry eyes over the choices. The majority of the options were seafood related. "I think the blackened salmon sounds really good. But the tilapia with angel hair noodles also sounds really good. What do you think, Law?"
"I think they sound great as well," Law said. "How about we order them and pick off of each other's plates?"
"That would be wonderful," Neo said, slipping her feet out of her sandals.
"Good evening," a young man said when he stepped up to their table. "My name is Benson. I will be your waiter for this evening. Would you two like some fine wine with your meal?"
"No!" Neo gasped, earning a look of confusion from the waiter. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit nervous. I can't drink alcohol. It's a family condition. And I'm pregnant."
"Oh, congratulates on your baby. That's so exciting," Benson said. "What would you like to drink then?"
"Thank you," Neo said. "I'd like some sweet tea, if it's not too sweet."
"I don't believe it's too sweet. Our chiefs here don't like to load down our food and drinks with sugar," Benson said, scribbling her drink down in his notebook.
'Elementals must run or own this place.' Neo thought to Law.
"And what would you like, sir?" Benson turned to Law.
"I'll have sweet tea as well," Law said.
"All right," Benson said. "Would you two like a few minutes to look over our menu?"
"No, we're ready now," Law said. "I'd like the tilapia with angel hair noodles."
"And I'd like the blackened salmon," Neo said.
"Very well," Benson said, scribbling down their orders. "I will put this in and be right back with your drinks."
Neo and Law engaged in pleasant conversation while waiting for their drinks and meal to come. First came their drinks and the steaming rolls that came with their meals. She bite back a giggle when Law glaring harshly at the rolls. Then came their meals, hot and ready to eat. It didn't take long for either of them to come. And she knew that was because of the Elementals. She sensed them using their crystals and got the feeling they pushed their order ahead of everyone else's because she was their royal. She felt guilty for that. She didn't want to be favored over anyone else, but she knew they'd do it despite what she wanted. So she forced it out of her head and enjoyed her meal with Law. Once they were about done with their meal, Benson came over with two pieces of complementary cake. He said it was a gift from the chef and, despite his cheery expression, his eyes showed he was confused at why the chef was doing this. But he didn't question it as he sat the cakes down and walked off.
Neo really wished they didn't do this. She wasn't in the mood for cake, since she had so much sweet stuff to drink today already, but she managed to finish about half of it. Law finished the rest so it wouldn't go to waste. That made her feel better.
And just as Law was finishing up the last bit of the cake, two people walked over to them, one of them a man with very familiar looking brown hair and eyes but with an older face. Neo and Law exchanged glances upon feeling the hostile intent from the man coming towards them. 'Neo, let me handle this.'
Neo nodded.
The woman, a tall blacked hair woman with curves to spare, pointed right at Neo. She said, "That's her! She's the one who attacked your brother at the pool! I saw her with my own eyes! She used some kind of freaky crystals!" Her finger moved to Law. "And he's the one who broke your brother's arm."
Law's eyebrows twitched at the woman using the word freak.
"I will never understand your brother's taste in women," the woman said, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. "He always goes after the young ones. She's nothing but a child."
"So you two are the ones who humiliated and hurt my brother. Well, you're going to pay for what you did." The man pulled out a gun. Women screamed as dishes were dropped and people ducked and ran for cover. He pulled back on the trigger. "Now die!"
The man's gun disappeared. It was replaced with a flower.
"What the heck did you just do?!" the woman shrieked.
"I just warped his gun into a vase where that flower came from," Law said, standing up, his eyes glinting with light from his fury. "Only weak men pull a gun on people who did nothing wrong."
The man's face burned red. "Do you peons even know who I am?!"
"I don't care," Law said.
"I'm Brandon Fairweather!" Brandon said. "I have several casinos all over the New World! The Celestial Dragons even commissioned me to build them their own personal casino! I'm one of the richest men in the world!"
"So what?" Law cocked his head to the side. "I'm a wanted pirate. And so is my wife. Together we have a combined bounty of nine hundred million."
"Y-you're pirates?" The woman, now white in the face took a step back.
"We are," Neo said. "And you really shouldn't have pulled a gun on me. My husband and people do not like it when people threaten me."
Law bolted forward. He planted his fist right on the guy's nose, instantly breaking it. He then grabbed the man's arm and broke it just like he broke his brother's arm. Pulling the man to his face, he hissed, "Don't you ever threaten her again. If you do, I will kill you."
"Princess," an earth Elemental said, rushing over to them.
Neo looked up to the Elemental. She could tell by the way she was dressed that she was a cook here, probably the head chief.
"We'll take it from here," she said. She waved to some Elementals standing near by. "I'm sorry, Mr. Fairweather. But you and your lady friend are no longer welcome here." The Elementals she waved to reached them. "Escort these two out of the building."
They nodded then grabbed the two and pulled them towards the door.
"I am very sorry, Princess," the cook said. "They will not bother you again. Are you injured? Would you like me to call a healer for you?"
"No, that's quite already. I'm fine," Neo said, her royal tone coming out instantly. She slipped her shoes back on and stood up. "Thank you for your assistance."
"Are you sure there's nothing we can do for you?" she asked, worry filling her green eyes.
"I assure you we are just fine," Neo said. "We're use to dealing with people like that. We are pirates after all."
"Very well then. But your meals are on the house," she said.
"That's not necessary," Neo said.
"Of course it is," she said. "We guarantee a good time here at our restaurant."
"And we had it," Neo said. "That man and his girl didn't really ruin anything."
"I still insist your meals be on the house," she said.
"Very well," Neo said, noticing she wasn't going to talk her way out of this.
"Would there be anything else you would like?" she asked. "Anything at all? We would be more than happy to get it for you."
"No, we have had plenty," Neo said. "Thank you very much for the meal and dessert. It was very delicious."
"Oh, thank you, Princess!" Her face flushed. "It's an honor to hear that from you! Now, if you will please excuse me. I really need to get back to the kitchen."
"Yes, of course," Neo said.
The woman bowed at her hips before rushing off into the kitchen.
"Well, that was fun," Neo said. "Are we leaving now?"
"Yes." Law nodded.
"Can we go for a walk?" Neo asked as they exited the building.
"You want to go for a walk?" Law asked.
"Yeah. It such a nice night," Neo said. "The air is so warm. I just feel like being outside."
"Very well then," Law said, pulling her towards the beach.
Once their shoes hit the sand, Neo took off her sandals. Holding them in her hand by the straps, she wiggled her toes in the warm sand and continued walking with her other hand firmly in Law's. Their walk was a peaceful one with only the waves and distant sounds of the theme park to accompany them.
When a band started playing, Law pulled Neo closer to him. He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her along in a slow dance.
Neo smiled. She dropped her sandals on the ground and slipped her arms around his neck. "You know you look very handsome in that tux. It really is a rare treat to see you dressed up like this."
"It's just as rare to see you in a dress like that," Law said, running his eyes over the dress appraisingly. "It suits you. Though I'm missing you in white. While you look beautiful in anything, I think I prefer white on you. It just matches your innocence I guess."
"Well, I have to admit I'm missing you in your hat. I'm so use to you wearing it." Neo eyes looked up at his hatless head.
Law smirked. Forming a Room, he warped his hat to his hand. But instead of putting it on himself he placed it on her head instead and put his hand back on her hip. "I like my hat too. I like it even more when it's on you. You know, I'm going to have to remember to thank Nami and Nico."
"For what?" Neo questioned curiously.
"For making you buy that dress," Law said. He leaned down and placed his lips to her bare left shoulder. He continued to speak to her while placing kissed on her skin. "You look so incredible in it. It's really starting to drive me wild. How about we cut the night short, go back to the room, and you let me help you get out of that thing? I still have to punish you for hitting me with those snowballs."
"Or," Neo fiddled with his goatee with a smile, "we could just stay right here. It's such a nice night. Why should we spend it in a stuffy room?"
"Are you really challenging me?" Law teased.
"I might be doing just that. If I were, what would you do about it, pirate boy? Are you gonna punish me?" Neo teased back.
"Yes, I am," Law chuckled, leaning down to capture her lips. He slipped his tongue inside of her, tangling them together in a blissful kiss that caused them both to hum. Just as he was about to form another Room to warp them back to their room, a scream from a very unwanted person interrupted them.
"Hey! Give us back our stuff!" Luffy growled.
"Straw Hat!" Law growled.
"What are they doing here?" Neo asked. She turned her eyes towards Luffy's voice. She, and Law, were shocked to see three boys running towards them with the Straw Hats, Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, and Topaz chasing after them. She couldn't help but noticed in the moonlit night that one of the three boys was carrying a bag, while another one was carrying Nami's weather staff and the third was carrying one of Zoro's swords.
"Come back here!" Luffy shouted as he threw out his fist and tried to grab the boys, but the boys proved too quick and dodged his attempt.
…
"How in the world did those kids get a hold of those weapons?" Neo asked.
"Who cares?" Law replied.
"We might as well help them," Neo said. She summoned her wind crystals.
…
"Ha ha! Losers!" one boy cried back over his shoulder.
"I can't believe you people are pirates! You're so pathetic!" Another boy laughed.
"Their bounties must be wrong!" The third one laughed as well. "How could they ha-Hey! What's going on?"
"How are we flying?!" the first boy asked.
"Neo!" Luffy waved. "Thanks for the help!"
"What's going on?" Neo asked when their friends joined them.
"Wow! Neo you look so beautiful!" Sanji said, dancing around with hearts floating from his body. "Nami, told us you brought a black dress and looked so cute in it. But her description doesn't do you justice! You are crazy beautiful!"
"These little brats stole from us," Nami said, snatching back her weather staff.
"Give me that!" Zoro growled as he grabbed his sword. "These swords aren't for children!"
"How could children steal from pirates?" Law asked.
"We were sitting down to dinner," Brook explained, taking his cane from the bag. "Right in the middle of it these three kids came up to put on a magic show. While we were distracted by one or two of them the other would slip around and dig through our pockets. They stole something from all of us."
"Why in the world would you kids steal things from pirates when you have an entire island to entertain you?" Chopper asked. "It doesn't make sense."
"Then you live here," one of the boys' answered. "You'd like it only for a while, but once you're done doing everything, a couple hundred dozen times, it gets really boring here. We needed something to entertain ourselves with."
"And robbing pirates was the best thing you could come up with?" Penguin asked. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to you all if you robbed the wrong pirates?"
"They wouldn't be as merciful as we are," Shachi said, reclaiming his hat from the bag. "They would kill you outright."
"Whatever! We're not scared of pirates!" the boys shouted.
"You should be!" Zoro said, giving them the scariest look he could manage.
"We're sorry!" the boys said, tears streaming down their cheeks.
"What are we going to do with them now?" Neo asked.
"Hey, what's that?" Chopper asked before anyone else could answer her question. He pointed at something behind Law and Neo.
The group turned their eyes to look at what he was pointing at. There was some kind of floating blob hovering just three feet off the ground. It was almost black in color with glowing blood red veins running through it.
"What is that thing?" Bepo asked.
Before anyone could answer him, part of the ball shot out at Neo. She wasn't quick enough to do anything, but Law was. He formed his Room and warped her away. The rest of the pirates jumped to keep from getting hit themselves.
"What the heck?! Is that thing after Neo?!" Franky asked, landing with a thud.
"We must protect her," Robin said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"How dare you go after such an innocent girl?!" Sanji hissed. "You're going to pay for that!"
Law warped his sword to him. "Neo, be careful. I don't like how it went after you."
"Yeah." Neo nodded. She released her wind on the three boys when they started wailing. She watched them carefully to make sure they got away safely.
"No one attacks Neo with us around! Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy charged at the blob. He shot out his fist only the have the blob easily dodge it by shifting itself into a crescent moon.
"Ah! What the heck did it just do?!" Usopp shrieked.
"It seems to be some kind of fluid creature," Zoro said. He jumped right at it, slicing his sword right through it. He smiled, thinking he got it, but then gasped when it slipped away from him unharmed. "What the heck?!"
The blob flew towards Neo again.
"You stay away from her! " Sanji said as he tried to kick the thing. He gritted his teeth and growl when the blob easily moved around his kick.
"That's definitely not a good sign," Usopp cried as his shots passed right through it as well.
Robin tried holding it down with multiple hands. It slipped through her fingers. "It didn't work."
"Franky! Fireball!" The blob flared up in its own personal bonfire. "Oh, yeah!"
The blob shot up, leaving the fire behind.
"Great! Now what do we do?!" Chopper said. "Nothing's working!"
"And why is it after Neo?!" Penguin asked. He, Shachi, and Bepo ran over to Neo. They stood in front of her, protecting her.
"No," Neo then whispered. Her body when cold as her heart raced when she realized her nightmare was coming true. It was different in several ways, but this was definitely the blob in her nightmare.
"Neo?" Law asked. "What is it?"
"It's my nightmare," Neo squeaked. Her breathing started coming in short raspy breaths. "You all are going to be taken away. Law…y-you're…that's…I can't…"
"Neo, calm down," Law said. "It's going to be fine."
"Yeah, we can handle this," Shachi said.
"I…can't…I…can't." Neo gasped for air.
The blob went for her again.
"No! Neo!" Chopper cried. "Someone do something!"
"This is bad! Very bad!" Brook said.
"Neo, I order you to get a hold of yourself and fight!" Law said.
"Okay!" Neo snapped out of it. She summoned her wind and water crystals. Working them together, she trapped the blob in an ice cocoon and jammed several ice spikes into it.
"Yeah! She got it!" Usopp cheered.
The ice shattered.
"No! It's free!" Usopp said.
"Let me try!" Nami said bringing down a lightening bolt. "Thunderbolt Tempo!"
Topaz summoned her fire crystals. Joining Nami's lightening, she tried to fry the thing, but it escaped again. "Just great."
"Crap!" Zoro cursed when it didn't work either. "What do we have to do to stop this thing?"
"I want to know what that thing is," Bepo said. "It doesn't have a scent."
"Then it's some kind of machine?" Franky asked.
"I don't think so," Sanji said. "No machine can move like that."
"Neo! Move! It's behind you!" Penguin shouted.
"Huh?" Neo turned just barely getting a glimpse of the blob before someone grabbed her arm and threw her out of harms way. She wrapped her winds around her body, keeping herself from hitting the ground. Her eyes widened when the blob speared Penguin in his lower left stomach. "Penguin!"
"Ah!" Penguin cried out. In a faster pace than anyone could process, the blob split into multiple blobs. The one around Penguin wrapped around his body while its other parts shot over to the rest of the pirates.
"What is this thing trying to do? Kill us or capture us?" Sanji asked as they all struggled to try and get free of their blob traps.
When Chopper was about to be complete covered by it, he expanded into his human form. It didn't do any good. The blob continued up his body like the others. "It didn't work! Luffy! What do we do?!"
"I don't know! Gum Gum Balloon!" Luffy shouted as he ballooned up. The blob tightened around him, forcing the air out of him. "That didn't work either!"
"Law!" Neo screamed. The blob was working its way over her face. She reached out for him. Panic pounding in her head and her heart. She was getting ready to losing them all. Hot tears streamed from her face as their hands touched. "Law!"
"Neo, hold on!" Law cried as he tried to keep hold on her hand as she started to slip from his grip.
"Law! Please! Don't let go! Don't leave me!" Neo begged.
Law's heart shattered in a million pieces at the fear in her eyes. He tried warping them, but it didn't work. The blobs somehow moved with them. He couldn't get them out of this. "Neo, be strong for me. If we are separated, we will find our way back to you. Just wait for us. I promise you everything will be fine. Please, just be strong. You can handle whatever happens."
"I'll try, Law," Neo said. More tears streamed down her face as Law was completely covered and her hand slipped from his. "La-"
Her voice cut off. The blobs completely absorbed them. And they were gone.
…
Author's Notes: I feel like this one was rushed. Just so you all know, I've started revisions on A Frozen Soul rewrite. I've only got Chapters 1-3 done for the moment, but they're started now.
Daichi: They were on that day. They really didn't expect him to show up again.
Apple Bloom: Thanks.