Touching Time (revised)

by Trafalgar Neo

It's black with glowing red veins coursing through its round body. It's trapped the pirates. Unable to defeat or get free, they black out. Waking up they find they're separated and on islands called Time Domes. But as they start with their assigned task they're given by their real captor, they find they're not on islands at all. They're not even in the New World. TimeTravel-ish

9. Into the Domes P2

Into the Domes

Part Two

"This is just g-g-great!" Usopp screamed as Pendulum's image faded away from them. "W-w-what do we d-do now?! I'm going to d-d-die out here! He said he g-gave us what we need to survive! That liar! Do we look prepared to survive out here in the cold?!"

"Well, it's possible that he did give us what we need," Brook said. "The snow could have just buried it."

"That's just great," Usopp said, looking around the white curtain blowing around them. "We're never going to find it in this blizzard. We'll die before we do."

"I wonder when it will be morning. There might be stores around here where we can get the proper attire for this snowy atmosphere," Brook said as he looked around their dark surroundings. He looked for signs of the snowstorm letting up, but it didn't look like it was going to do that any time soon. In fact, the wind started blowing harder and more snow fell from above causing icicles to start forming on his brittle bones. "I feel like my bones are going to snap in this weather."

"So where is the shard?" Bepo asked. "If it's close we could just get it and get out of here right now."

"T-t-that's a good idea," Usopp said. He brought his face closer to the monkey, hoping that the glow from it would be warm. "All right you, s-s-show us where da shard ting is ow or else."

The monkey's lit up again. It formed a map that showed five dots on it. Four of the dots were clustered together while the last dot was some distance from the rest.

"T-t-there is no heat-t-t from this t-t-hing," Usopp said, his body violently shivering. "How c-c-can it work in this weather?"

"So how do we read this thing?" Brook asked.

"Well, considering there's a group of four dots here and just one over here," Usopp said, pointing to the dots when he spoke about them. "I'm sure we're the cluster of dots while this single one is the shard."

"I think you're correct," Bepo said. "There's nothing else but unreadable lines on this map."

"It looks like it's some distance from us," Brook said.

"Yeah. Great," Usopp said before releasing a string of sneezes. "I'm really going to die out here."

"You're not going to die. All we have to do is dig a snow cave. It'll still be cold, but it'll be a lot better than it is out here," Bepo said. He turned his eyes away from his two companions and looked around. He tried to pick out a good location for their snow cave, but since he really couldn't see but a few feet in front of him, he had no choice but to just dig one right where they were and hope an avalanche didn't bury them. He dropped to his knees and started digging into the snow. "I'll try to dig as fast as I can."

"Great," Usopp said. "Thanks a lot."

"Here, Usopp," Brook said, placing his jacket on the sniper's shoulders. "You need this more than I do. It's not much, but it should help some."

"Thanks, Brook," Usopp said, tightening the coat around him.

"If you need any help at all, Bepo, just let me know," Brook said.

"Thanks," Bepo said, pushing snow away. "But I'll be done soon." Several minutes later, Bepo had finally got the cave dug out enough. He stuck his head back out of the hole. "Come on in. You'll be able to get out of the wind now."

"Wonderful," Usopp said before practically diving into the opening with Bepo.

Brook slowly followed in after him with the monkey following. The monkey's eyes then lit up again. Its glow was a soft green that tinted the white snow and gave the pirates just enough light to see each other. Bepo continued to work on the snow cave. He patted and smoothed out the snow until there was only a tiny hole for a door that would allow them to get out once the storm was over. He then moved over to the other two pirates and sat down with them. He said, "That should be good enough."

"You have done well, my friend," Brook said. "Thank you."

"It's still pretty cold in here, but at least we're out of the wind now," Usopp said before releasing another round of sneezes. "That stupid idiot! Just wait until Luffy get's his hands on him! He's going to regret doing this to me! Gave us all we needed! What jerk!"

"You can lean against me and use my fur for warmth," Bepo said, shifting closer to Usopp. "I know it's not much, but it should help some."

"Thanks a lot, Bepo," Usopp said, leaning against the bear's side. "I'm lucky that you're here with me."

"Don't mention it," Bepo said. "We have to rely on each other to survive this."

"I hope that thing doesn't melt the snow," Brook said as he stared at the monkey's glowing eyes. "It doesn't feel like it's giving off any kind of heat right now, but still. By the way, did anyone notice the strange markings on the map?"

"Yeah. What about them?" Usopp asked.

"I did as well. But I didn't know what they were," Bepo said.

"I was just thinking," Brook said. "We might be on an island that doesn't speak our language. Those markings kind of looked like words to me."

"Well, that's just great," Usopp said. He glared at the monkey. "So your owner said we are equipped with what we need to survive. Does that mean you can speak the language here?"

The monkey didn't answer.

"You stupid monkey! What's the point of having you here if you're not going to answer any of our questions?!" Usopp snapped.

"No point in getting upset about it, Usopp," Brook replied calmly. "We just have to wait until the storm passes and for morning to break. Then we can see what kind of journey we really have ahead of us. Hey, for all we know the shard is just laying there waiting for us to come pick it up. Then, whoosh, we'll be back with our friends in no time at all."

"Speaking of our friends…" Usopp's voice trailed off as he looked up at Bepo. "Do you think Neo will be all right when she wakes up? I know this isn't the first time she's been taken away from you all. And with what happened on Luminous…"

Bepo ducked his head with a heavy sigh.

"Stay strong, my friend," Brook said kindly. "I truly believe that she will be just fine. She knows that none of us will rest until we are all united with her again. I bet she's already up and waiting for our return. We all will be back with all of our friends soon. You'll see."

"Brook is absolutely correct! I saw what she is capable of when we were fighting Doflamingo back in Dressrosa! She's amazingly strong!" Usopp said. "And she's even stronger now! And don't forget she has that Projection thing between her and Tra! They can easily speak with each other! So she'll be fine!"

"Thank you for the support," Bepo said. "I know Neo's a lot stronger than she was in the past. And she and the captain do have their Projection technique, but they can't use it unless they're in a safe place."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that part," Usopp said. "But they're both smart. They'll use it when they know they're safe."

"Yeah." Bepo nodded. "I just hope that Neo's really in a safe place and that the captain is the first one to return to her."

"From the scene that we saw of her and from the way Pendulum was speaking about seven shard pieces, I bet Neo's on her own," Brook said. "It wouldn't make much since for her to have someone with her since she's basically his hostage."

"We're all his hostages," Usopp said. "He's just using Neo for leverage. He clearly knew that she was the one we all are the most protective over."

"And he'll die for that," Bepo said. "The captain won't stand for this at all."

"Yeah." Usopp nodded. "I think we all know exactly where this is going to end up."

Brook nodded in agreement. No matter what happened to them, they all knew they were going to end up in a battle with this Pendulum guy one way or another. After that the three pirates went quiet just listening to the howling winds from their small opening. There was nothing else they could say now. So they passed their time in silence or constructing small snowmen out of the snow around them. Occasionally, Brook would detach his soul from his body to see if the snowstorm had passed or if it was morning yet. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Brook finally announced that the snowstorm was over. He pulled his soul head back into the snow cave and said, "Hey, it finally stopped snowing. And the sun is starting to shine, despite not being able to see it. We can leave this cave now."

"Great," Usopp said. "I'm starting to get really stiff sitting here. But I am a lot warmer. Thanks a lot, Bepo."

"Any time." Bepo smiled. He moved over to the entrance of their snow cave and started to dig them out of it. Within a few minutes, the hole was big enough for them to climb out.

"Wait a second," Usopp said, his boots crunching the snow as he climbed out of the cave. Once standing on the snow, he looked up at the mountains and the sky that surrounded them. "You really can't see the sun. But how can the sun be shining when there is no sun?"

"Maybe the sun is still below the mountains," Bepo suggested.

"I suppose that could be possible. We are surrounded by a lot of mountains," Usopp said, inspecting the mountains that surrounded them in all directions. "Dang! We're lucky were didn't have multiple avalanches fall down on us! What is this place?! The Island of Mountains?!"

"Hey, the monkey is showing the map again," Brook said, looking down at the map.

"Great," Usopp grumbled.

"It looks like the shard is this way," Bepo said while pointing behind him towards a passage way through the mountains.

"This is going to be such a long walk," Usopp said, his shoulders drooping low.

"Let us be off then," Brook said as the three headed off.

…

"This is ridiculous!" Usopp screamed when his leg sunk for the fifteenth in the snow. The icy chill of the snow only made his throbbing leg hurt more. "It's amazing that we haven't feel inside of a hole or something!"

"Maybe we should take a small break," Brook said. He sat down on the snow with a tired sigh. "We've been walking for almost two hours now."

"They must use sleds or something to get around on all of this snow," Bepo said.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," Usopp grumbled while he tugged on his leg. After about six tugs, he managed to get himself free. But in doing so he lost his balance and fell backwards into the snow. "I can't take much more of this! I'm tired! I'm cold! I can't feel my nose, fingers, and toes! Pretty much my entire body is frozen! And I'm hungry! Moron! You said you gave us all we needed to survive! Well, along with no warm clothes or proper gear to walk over snow, you didn't give us any food!" He sat up and snatched up the monkey by its neck, shaking it as he yelled. "Are you listening to me, you jerk?! I know you are! You said so yourself! Give us the proper equipment to survive this you moron!"

"I don't think getting angry at that thing is going to help the situation," Brook said.

"I don't care!" Usopp said. He tossed the monkey away from him, which landed perfectly on the snow, before falling backwards. "I just want something to eat!"

"We are burning a lot of calories walking through all of this snow," Bepo said. "We need fuel if we're going to be able to keep going." His eyes dropped down to the map the monkey pulled out again. "But on the upside, it looks like we're pretty close to the shard now."

"We might as well keep walking," Brook said. "Who knows? Maybe the shard is at a nice warm restaurant that full of yummy foods and hot drinks."

"Fine," Usopp said reluctantly. He forced himself to sit back up. "But it better be at a restaurant with hot food, hot drinks, and a blazing hot fire."

The three pushed themselves upon their feet. Trudging along in the snow, they listened to the snow crunching under their books and their stomachs rumbling in protest of not having anything inside of them. Brook then said, "How about a song? It will lighten the mood and make time go by faster."

"Fine," Usopp said.

"I wouldn't mind a song," Bepo said.

"Then we shall sing Bink's Brew," Brook said. He cleared his throat and started singing. "Yo hohoho, yo hohoho, yo hohoho, Yo hohoho, yo hohoho, yo hohoho. Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Bink's Brew. Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide. O'er across the oceans tide, rays of sunshine far and wide. Birds they sing, of cheerful things, in circles passing by. Bid farewell to weaver's town, say so long to port renowned. Sing a song, it won't be long before we're casting off."

Unable to hold the cheerful song at bay, Bepo and Usopp soon found themselves singing along with the musician. Their voices drowned out their rumbling stomach and the crunching snow beneath their boots as their voices lifted higher into the frosty air. And before they knew it a large ice mountain halted them from continuing their song and their journey. The three stared up at the massive mountain. Blinking a few times, they dropped their eyes down to the map the monkey was displaying for them again. They looked back up at the mountain then back down at the map and then back up at the mountain. Brook and Usopp both twitched before their voices shouted out over the mountains. "You have got to be kidding me! The shard is in the mountain of solid ice?!"

Bepo tilted his head as he looked at the ice mountain. "Apparently so. We're practically standing right on top of the single dot." He looked back down at the map to make sure he saw the dots correctly. "Yup. That's what it says."

Usopp grabbed the monkey by its neck and shook it violently again. "Hey! Pendulum! You stupid moron! You knew that shard was here didn't you?! You said you gave us all the necessary equipment that we needed to get it for you! What a load of crap that was! How do you expect us to drill into an entire mountain made of ice to get that stupid shard?! Do you expect us to dig it out with our hands?! We need tools to get that stupid shard! Drills! Hammers! A blowtorch! Dynamite! A rock! A plastic spoon! Anything is better than nothing! Answer me! You're so going to pay for this!"

"Hey, what's that over there?" Brook asked.

"What's what?" Bepo looked at the skeleton. Ignoring to continuing rant of the sniper, they walked over to whatever it was Brook spotted. Their eyes widened at what they had found. "What is this place?"
"I don't know," Brook said, turning back to Usopp. "Hey, Usopp, you better come check this out. You won't believe what we found."

"What is it?" Usopp, forgetting his anger, dropped the monkey and ran over to his friends. He peaked inside of the hole at the base of the mountain they were standing at and gasped. Due to their shock of discovering the shard was inside of an ice mountain, they didn't see than someone was carving part of the mountain out to form some kind of dwelling for someone. "Wow!"

"It looks like someone is already working on carving this mountain out. I wonder what for," Brook said as he walked around a large area that kind of reminded him of a hotel lobby. On each side of the room were unfinished large staircases that led up to a balcony on the second floor with several other rooms that were on the verge of being cut out.

"Are there literally people living here that are carving out a mountain to look like a building? This place kind of looks like a hotel," Usopp said as he inspected his surroundings. "And who would want to live in an ice hotel anyway?"

"Animals who live in cold climates," Bepo said.

"I suppose so," Usopp said. "But even they need to stay warm at times. If you lit a fire in this place it would melt. Maybe this is just a hobby or something. Maybe like a sandcastle contest but with ice castles the size of mountains."

"I suppose that could be a possibility," Bepo said.

"In any case, we found the right place. The map shows we're practically sitting on top of the lone shard now," Brook said, leaning over to inspect the map again.

"So that means the shard is definitely someone where inside of this ice," Bepo said.

"Yeah, but knowing where it is does us absolutely no good since we don't have any tools to chip away at this ice," Usopp said.

"Well, maybe there's-" Brook started before he was cut off by an unexpected voice.

"Oh, Papa, look!"

The three pirates whipped around when someone shouted. Their hearts pounded wildly against their chests while their bodies froze upon seeing a small group of bunnies standing on their hind legs, holding several different tools, standing in the opening of the ice mountain. Their eyes were filled with as much shock as the pirates were. But with all the tools they were carrying the pirates felt threatened. They probably shouldn't have been here. They could be trespassing for all they knew. Their bodies tensed up in preparation to run if it was needed.

"Isn't this wonderful?!" the girl bunny said while clapping her paws together.

"Wait…what?" Usopp said.

"They're not here to kill us?" Brook asked.

"Apparently not," Bepo said.

"Oh, thank the sparkling ice crystals above. I was worried that the foundation was going to keep on ignoring our request for more workers," the tallest male bunny said with a smile. "But, I have to ask, why are you three out here without the necessary winter gear? It's extremely dangerous to wonder around this area without thick parkas. I'm surprised you're all alive. Well, I guess the bear is not much of a surprise, nor is the skeleton…what's that about?"

"Well, there's a really good explanation for that, my good sir," Brook started. "You see, we were on the beach, talking with some friends of ours when suddenly this strange bl-"

"Shut up!" Usopp whacked Brook on the head. He then smiled awkwardly at their bunny guests. "Please excuse us. We have to have a little meeting." He then grabbed the skeleton and Bepo and dragged them away from the bunnies as far as he possibly could. "Have you lost your mind, Brook?! We can't tell them anything about us or else that Pendulum guy might hurt Neo!"

"Oh, right." Brook nodded, looking down at the monkey. "I forgot about that. I'm so use to answering with the truth."

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

"We just play along with them. That one bunny said they were waiting for someone to arrive. We'll just pretend to be those guys and help out here. That way we can get the shard easily since we won't be the only ones working here. They've already started carving this place out. It should be easy enough for us to figure out what we're suppose to do without asking many questions," Usopp explained. "Plus, they have the tools we need to work with. Who knows what would have happened if these peo-uh-bunnies hasn't shown up just now. And I'm still freezing. They might have a warm coat for me to wear. We have a golden opportunity here."

"That makes a lot of sense," Brook said.

"Yeah," Bepo said. "Sounds like we have a good plan then."

"Let's just hope they don't ask a lot of questions about us. If they do, just leave it to me to come up with our cover story." Usopp glanced back over at the bunnies. They were waiting confusingly, yet patiently, by the opening of the ice mountain. With an awkward smile, he walked back over to the bunnies. "Sorry about that. Our meeting is over now. And, yes, we are those who you have been asking for. But we weren't exactly informed very well on the requirements for this job. So that's why we're not really prepared for it. But we all are very hard workers and we learn very quickly. So just tell us what we need to do. And, if you would be so kind, we're going to need a place to stay as well."

"I see. Well, that makes a lot of sense. The foundation hardly ever gets things right. But we can easily show you what you're supposed to do. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find it's not that hard at all. And we can easily find you a place to stay while you're here." The tall male bunny smiled. Upon moving closer to the pirates to shake their hands in a welcoming gesture, the pirates noticed the bunny had dark grey fur with black markings under his dark blue parka. "I'm just glad we finally have help. We were never going to get this place done on our own. My name is Gnash. Bijou, do you have the spare parkas?"

"Yes, Papa. I'll get them immediately." Bijou, the only female, was solid white wearing a silver parka, dashed back out of the opening. She came back five seconds later with three very thick parkas in her paws. Holding them out to the pirates, she introduced herself. "I'm Bijou."

"Thank you. It's so warm!" Usopp exclaimed as he snuggled into the coat that wrapped up his cold body. "Thank you so much! I'm Usopp. And these are my friends, Brook and Bepo."

"Welcome," Gnash said as he pointed to the other three bunnies with them. "You've already met my daughter, Bijou. So these are my sons, Kobet and Tippy. And their friend Jigsaw."

"Hi," the boy bunnies greeted a bit dully. The pirates carefully studied the bunnies' color and memorized their names. Kobet had the same color as his dad while Tippy was a lighter grey with darker fur at the points of his paws and ears. Jigsaw was a chestnut brown bunny with a white belly.

"Let's get started. We have a lot of work to do," Kobet said as he and the other boys handed out the tools.

"What exactly are we doing here anyway?" Brook asked.

"We're carving out the ice of course." Jigsaw gave Brook a puzzled look. "Are you sure you're from the foundation? I know they can mess things up in several ways, but you three really seem lost here."

"Of course we're from there. Like my friend said, we just weren't informed well on what this job entailed. So of course we're kind of out of the loop in what we're doing here." Brook laughed. He turned away from the bunny and growled to himself. "This sounds more like a job for Franky! I'm a musician not an ice carver!"

"Don't worry about it. We can show you what we're doing as we go along. You'll pick it up really quickly. We should get started now," Gnash said. "We have less than two hours now to get our workload done today."

"Less than two hours?" Bepo asked. "What do you mean by that, if I may ask?"

"Let me guess," Tippy said as he spun a tool in his paw. "You three are originally from the warm sector, correct?"

"Warm sector?" Bepo questioned.

"Of course we are!" Usopp jumped in front of Bepo. He glared back over his shoulder at the bear and quietly hissed, "Idiot! I told you to play along, did I?!"

"I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head.

"Ah, bunny snaps!" Tippy growled. "The foundation really did messed up. And this time it was a huge mistake!"

"What do you mean by that?" Brook asked.

"The foundation does nothing but place ridiculous demands on its workers," Bijou explained, crossing her arms while leaning against an icy pillar. "They refuse to supple enough workers with enough skills to meet their ridiculous deadlines. They want this ice lodge done in three months. But, as you can probably guess already, it's an impossible task to be asked of such few workers. Then they have the nerve to complain when their rich clients are unhappy about their lodges not being finished on time."

"I can understand all of that. Carving out all of this ice does sound like a lot of hard work for just a few people do complete." Brook nodded. "But what did you mean by having less than two hours to work?"

"This place is constantly bombarded with severe winter storms. Even though we all are born with thick winter coats it's still impossible for use to work more than two hours a day," Tippy replied.

"Only two hours a day?!" Brook and Usopp shouted.

"What's wrong?" Bijou asked. "Do you have problem with that?"

"Not really. It's just we're use to working longer hours," Usopp said.

"Definitely screwed up," Tippy grumbled while he turned away from the group and headed up to the second level. "I'm going to go ahead and start working."

"We all should start as well," Gnash said. "Just join us when you're ready to start working. We have plenty of tools out in the sleds."

"This is just great," Usopp said once the bunnies were far enough away from them. "We're never going to get out of here. Why couldn't that guy send Franky here? He could just easily melt this ice in just seconds."

"Possibly, but we were sent to specific places on purpose," Brook said. "So wherever Franky is right now, he's worth more there than he is here."

"That's just your opinion," Usopp said.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now," Bepo said. "Let's just get started. The quicker we learn what we are suppose to do the quicker we'll get back to Neo."

"I can't argue with that at all," Usopp said. "Fine. Let's get this started so we can get it over with."

The pirates scattered out then among the bunnies. Bepo went over to Bijou who was chipping away at what he guessed was the reception desk, Brook went over to Kobet who was carving out a room on the ground level, while Usopp went over to Gnash who was working on the unfinished stairs. They all quietly watched for a while until the bunnies handed over their tools to allow them to practice chipping away the ice while giving verbal instructions to the pirates when it was needed.

"Chip away a bit slower," one would say.

"You're doing fine," another one said.

"You're a natural at this," one said.

"Okay," Gnash said about two hours later. "That's all the work we can do for today. Let's pack it all up and head home before the temperature drops."

"We're already done?" Usopp asked, looking up from the railing he was carving out.

"Time flies when you're working this hard," Gnash said. "We'll be back tomorrow. You all did a great job considering this is your first time doing this."

"Thanks," Usopp said, gathering up the tools he had lying around. "It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. But I can easily see how this would take forever to get completed. The details are so fine on all of this stuff. Maybe you should organize a revolt against the foundation."

"Oh, we've thought about it," Gnash said while leading them outside. "Let's just get everything on the sleds and get back. We can talk more about that at home."

"Sleds?" Usopp looked at the sleds before them. They weren't like any sleds he had seen before. They were missing the boards that the musher stood on and there were two seats in the front that could easily fit two minks the size of Bepo. "They look more like sleighs to me."

"What are those?" Brook asked upon seeing creatures on a lead line attacked to three sleds. They had the body of a large cat but had long rabbit ears and sharp teeth. All of them were pure white to the point they blended in with the snow around them and wouldn't have been seen if they didn't move.

"They're cabbits," Bijou said. "They pull our sleds around for us. They're incredibly strong and fast so it takes only minutes to get places."

"Hey there. You're kind of cute," Usopp said, getting closer to them. He reached out to pet one. "Yes, you are cute. Neo would love-ah!" He jerked back his hand when one of them tried to bite him. "What the heck?!"

"They might be cute, but they're not the most friendly creatures in the domes," Jigsaw said.

"Remember that from now on," Kobet said.

"Yeah, I will," Usopp said, checking to make sure he had all of his fingers. "One, two, three, four, and fine." He wiggled his fingers. "That was close."

"Come on," Bijou said, once she had all of her tools inside of the sled. "We only have a few minutes to get home before the next storm hits."

"Are they going to be able to carry us all?" Bepo asked, inspecting that the sleds weren't all that big.

"It'll be fine," Gnash said. "The cabbits are use to pulling a lot more weight than all of us and our tools. They were made for harsh labor. In fact if all they do is sit around they become very restless and destructive. So the heavier the load the better it is for them."

"That's impressive," Brook said.

"Get on already," Tippy snapped, climbing into the front seat, he grabbed the reins. "We don't have all day. The storm's already coming."

"Okay, okay," Brook said, looking up at the darkening clouds. He climbed into the sled, noticing something odd about the clouds but couldn't quite figure out what it was. To him, it looked like the clouds were completely flat and curving upwards instead of rolling in on them. "There's something odd about those clouds. They don't look fluffy like they should."

"What are you talking about?" Tippy said, casting the skeleton a glance over his shoulder. "They're as normal as they always are. Don't you all have dome controlled weather back on your dome?"

"Dome controlled weather?" Usopp said. "But of course we do. Why wouldn't we have it?"

"You people are so beyond weird," Tippy said, facing forward. "The dome's weather is control here just like it is on your own dome. That's why we can have all these ice sculptures around and why we also have such harsh winters. That's the way it's always been here. The foundation is in control."

"That's just crazy," Usopp said.

"Well, the foundation does as it pleases," Gnash said, climbing into the sled.

"So the foundation is in a lot more control than I though it was," Usopp said, following Gnash into the sled.

"Mind if I ride with you?" Bepo asked the female bunny.

"Sure," Bijou said, smiling. "Get on."

"Okay." Bepo nodded and climbed into the free seat beside Bijou.

"I hope you don't mind going fast," Bijou said. "My team of cabbits is the fastest around."

"They are not!" Tippy scoffed. "Mine can be yours any time!"

"You have never beaten me! Not once!" Bijou shot back.

"Just great," Kobet said from his sled. "Do you two always have to argue about who's the fastest?"
"Yes!" Bijou and Tippy said.

"You had to ask," Jigsaw said from beside Kobet. "Can we go now? Ma's going to want me home before this storm hits."

"Okay! Let's go!" Gnash said with a flick of his reins.

"Ah!" Usopp screamed as he, Brook, and Bepo were thrown back against the seats. The world around them disappeared into a blur of nothing but white and grey. As the sleds turned, their bodies were thrown up against the sled sides or the rabbits they were riding with. Then, before they knew it, they were jerking to a stop in front of a house in a small town.

"That…that was insane," Usopp said, hanging over the front of the sled with his skin tinted green.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Brook said.

"I don't feel so good," Bepo said, his eyes rolling around in his head.

"Beginners," Tippy said with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, I'm out of here," Jigsaw said, jumping off the sled. "See you tomorrow."

"Later, bud," Tippy said.

"Are you three all right?" Bijou asked when the pirates didn't dismount with them.

"We…we're fine," Usopp said, prying his fingers off the bar in front of him.

"I thought I was going to die," Brook said, stepping out of the sled, he fell onto the snowy ground. "But then I am already dead so…"

"That was way more intense that we thought it was going to be," Bepo said, smoothing down his wind blown fur.

"Well, we did warn you," Bijou said.

"Thanks a lot," Usopp grumbled. He then turned his eyes to the buildings around him with a heavy sigh. They all, like the mountain, was carved into ice. "Great more ice. I'm going to have to wear this coat all the time."

"It's not as cold inside as you might think," Gnash said. "Kids, take care of the cabbits. I'll show our guests to their room."

"Sure thing, Papa," Bijou said as she and her brothers lead the cabbits around the side of the house.

"Come on," Gnash said with a wave. "I'll show you around now."

"Great," Usopp said. Hunkering down in his parka, he grumbled to himself. "I don't want to work in an ice cube. Why in the world would I want to live in one?"

"Surely it won't be that bad," Brook said. "Let's just check it out."

"Fine," Usopp said. He pushed himself forward wishing with all of his might that Neo was with them or they'd get lucky and free the shard within just a few days. An unexpected gasp left his lips when he entered into the house and was met by a rush of warmth from a fire. He whipped his eyes right to the source of the heat and gasped. There was a rather large fire burning in a fireplace carved out of ice. "What?! How is this possible?! How is that ice not melting with all that heat?!"

"We coat the ice in a special sealing liquid. Once it morphs to the ice there's no way to get it off," Gnash said, removing his parka. "So no matter how hot a fire burns, the ice won't melt one single bit.

"This is amazing!" Usopp said, running his eyes over the room. It was just like any other living room he had seen before with the living room, dinning room, and kitchen all making up one room with a staircase on the left side of the kitchen. The only difference was just about everything was made of ice. Only the living room chairs and couch were made of soft cushions.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting a fire at all," Brook said.

"You can hang your clothes up here with mine," Gnash said, placing his parka on a hook in a small closet near the door.

"Thanks a lot," Usopp said, hanging his parka up with his friends.

"This way to your room," Gnash then said. The pirates followed him up the stairs and down the hall to the last door on the left. "The other rooms belong to the kids. I hope you three don't mind sharing a room. It the only one we have left."

"Yeah, this will do fine," Usopp said, running his eyes over the room. There were three bunks built into the walls with ice desks and a chair beneath each one. A large closet took up the wall to their left, while another door was on their right.

"We're use to sharing a room," Brook added. "And this place is actually about the same size as our room back home."

"Same with me," Bepo said. "I don't mind at all."

"That's good to hear," Gnash said, pointing to the other door. "You even have your own bathroom to share. We offer this place to extra help when the foundation feels like sending them out until they can get a place of their own to stay."

"Oh, yeah," Usopp said. "You were going to tell us about the foundat-" He paused when his stomach interrupted him with a very loud growl. "I forgot we haven't eating in hours."

"I forgotten about that as well," Brook said.

"Then lets get you something to eat," Gnash said, heading back downstairs. Once down in the kitchen, he started pulling out all kinds of vegetables and fruits for the pirates while they sat down at the table. "Here you go. Eat up. We have plenty."

"Great," Usopp said, soundly less thrilled than his stomach was. At least they had something to eat despite it all being vegetables and fruits. So he wasn't going to complain about it.

"Sorry that all we have to offer you is this," Gnash said when he noticed Bepo was slowly picking at the food. "Our diets consist of nothing but fruits and vegetables."

"It's all right," Bepo said. "I can eat them just fine."

"We do have ice holes in the floor of our home," Gnash said.

"Ice holes?" Usopp asked, alarmed.

"Don't worry," Gnash said. "We're completely safe on them. A lake actually runs underneath the snow and ice here. When the homes were constructed ice holes were put in so those who eat meat can fish."

"So there are other creatures here besides yourselves?" Brook asked while Gnash moved around the kitchen to prepare them something to drink.

"Yes." Gnash nodded. He placed a steel pot on the stove and turned on the burner. Letting it heat up before pouring some purplish liquid inside of it. He then placed a lid over it and turned back to the pirates. "You'll meet them soon enough. We'll have to get you some rods to fish with, but you're more that welcome to use our kitchen. We should probably get you some more clothes. I'll have my kids look through our old stuff and see if we can find something that will fit you all until you have enough monetary gain to support yourselves."

"We appreciate it," Usopp said.

"Yes, thank you very much," Brook said.

"Thank you," Bepo said. "Now what about this foundation? You said before that you've tried to take them on or something."

"Yes, we have," Gnash said, his once smiling face turning gloomy. "But the only thing we managed to accomplish was losing some of the workers we already had."

"What do you mean by that?" Usopp asked, feeling the dread pouring into the room.

"The foundation doesn't like being told what to do," Gnash said. "So when we protested against them, they retaliated and ended up killing some of our workers."

"That's awful," Brook said.

"One of them was my beloved," Gnash said, looking at a picture on the wall that was near by of an older female bunny that looked like Bijou. He brushed his eyes before pulling out some mugs and placing them on the table for his guests. "She was an amazing worker. And she was one of the strongest supporters of taking on the foundation."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Usopp said.

"Thank you," Gnash said. He picked the steaming pot up off the stove and walked it over to the table. He poured the hot liquid into the mugs while he continued. "That was about seven years ago now. So I'm not really all that sad anymore. I know my beloved wouldn't want me or our children to be sad. She was so passionate about what she believed in."

"If the foundation is that bad, why keep working for them?" Bepo asked.

"We don't really have much choice," Gnash said. "There nothing else to do. And with the Time Spheres not working there no possible way to move to another Time Dome."

"Time what now?" Brook asked.

"Huh?" Gnash gave them a skeptical look. "How could you not know about the Time Spheres and Time Domes?

"Never mind him!" Usopp said, shoving a carrot into Brook's mouth. "We know all about them! His brain, if he had one, is just frozen! We need a little more time to thaw out! That's all!"

"Ah, yes, that makes sense I guess," Gnash said, heading for the stairs. "Well, I'd get started on finding you some more clothes to wear. If you'll excuse me."

"Sure," Usopp said. "Take your time. If you need any help, just let us know."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine, "Gnash said before disappearing back up the stairs."

"So what do you think he meant by the Time Spheres and Time Domes?" Bepo asked.

"From the way he worded things it sounds like the Time Spheres are some form of traveling. So that must mean the island we're currently on is called Time Dome," Usopp said.

"He said Time Domes," Brook said. "So maybe that means we're on a cluster of islands called Time Domes."

"That's a possibility," Bepo said. "I'm just glad we found some friendly people here."

"That is a good thing, but we still need to be careful about what we say and how we act," Usopp said. "We're a long way from our home and friends. And we have no idea how these people will react if they discover we're not really from this foundation place."

"It sounds like such a horrible place too," Brook said. "I wish there was something we could do about it."

"But we can't. So don't try and pull us into their problems like Luffy would," Usopp said. He took a drink of the hot liquid before continuing. "We have to get that shard and get out of here. Besides once the Time Spheres, or whatever they are, start working they'll all leave to go find Neo. I'm sure of it."

"You're probably correct," Brook said.

"At least the drink is nice," Bepo said, taking another sip of his hot beverage. "It smells really sweet but has more of a soft bitter taste to it."

"It sure is," Usopp said taking another drink himself. "I wonder what it is. It kind of tastes like oranges. I know Nami would love it."

"Neo would love it too," Bepo said, becoming depressed at the thought of his favorite blue haired girl not being around.

"We'll work even harder tomorrow," Brook said. "We pretty much know the location of the shard. And chipping away at the ice will be easier than we thought. All we have to do now is just be patient until we can get the shard out."

"Yeah." Bepo nodded.

"Well, I wonder what there is to do around here," Usopp said. He stood up from his chair and walked around the room. He picked a book off a shelf and started flipping through it. "They don't look like they have all that much. And this book is fill with the same strange lines as the monkey's map."

"Maybe they really do speak a different language than we do," Brook offered. "A lot of people can speak more than one language."

"Yeah." Usopp nodded and placed the book back on the shelf. "Let's just hope they don't ask us to read anything from any books. I don't even think I could come up with a good enough lie to get us out of that one."

…

Neo brushed away the remaining tears on her cheeks before finishing off the spearmint flavored drink that the sprites had given her. With the last bit on her tongue, she finally noticed the drink basically felt like silk. She held out her empty glass and said, "Thank you. It was good."

"It's a drink that was developed to help calm people down," Velocity said, engulfing her magic around the glass, she flew it over to the sink to be washed later. "It's also packed full of vitamins that are really healthy for you and your baby."

"Man, you've been through a ton of misfortune," Elian said, flicking his wings while he looked up at Neo from her knee. "No wonder you freaked out like you did when you woke up."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I've gotten better at dealing with new places and people. But I still can't handle being cornered or touched by people I don't know."

"You don't seem to have a problem with us touching you," Elian said, his eyes lifting to Celeste who was lying on Neo's head.

"That's because you're so small and nonthreatening," Neo said. "If you were a threat to me, I'd be able to sense it a bit and wouldn't let you all touch me."

"Well, it's nice to hear that you trust us," Velocity said when she rejoined them. "And I'm sorry about Pendulum doing all of this to you and your friends."

"Thank you," Neo said.

"And don't worry about him touching you," Elian said. "Despite his cocky attitude earlier, I doubt that he'll actually touch you. He was just using your fear to try and control you."

Neo nodded. "I'm just glad he didn't touch me and I didn't lose that delicious meal you all made for me."

"You sound like you're feeling better," Velocity noted.

"Feeling better! Feeling better!" Celeste sang.

"I will once I get reunited with my crew," Neo said. "But I'm not sure how I'm going to survive a month or two without them."

"I don't believe it will be that long," Velocity said.

"What do you mean?" Neo asked.

"Each of the Time Domes are different from the rest," Velocity said. "The challenges your friends will be facing will be different from the rest. So my guess is they'll start showing up some time this week. Just because the shards are shattered and scattered doesn't mean that someone already has them in their possession. Some of them could just be lying around on the ground just waiting to be picked up by your friends."

"She's correct," Elian said.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I guess so."

"We'll entertain you while we're here," Velocity said. "We can tend the plots together. If you don't find that kind of thing to boring for you."

"The plots?" Neo asked.

"You might know them better as fields or gardens," Elian said.

"I see. So those were real gardens out there," Neo said.

"We have to eat as well," Elian said. "Usually the majority of the food that's grown here is for vacationers. But with no one coming here since the Time Spheres stopped working, we have all we want and then some. It'll be nice to share it with someone else for a change."

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

"Well, it's getting a bit late now," Velocity said, glancing over at the window. Colorful rays of the sun were starting to pour into the windows. "And you need your rest. It's been a long day for you and your baby. Things will look better tomorrow."

"I suppose your correct," Neo said. She stood up when Elian flew off her knee and headed out of the kitchen. They all remained quiet as they walked back up the stairs and into the room she had woken up in. She paused once inside of the room and stared at the bed. Her heart ached at the thought of having to sleep alone, without Law by her side. She reached up and pulled his hat off her head. Bringing it down to her face, she pressed her nose into it, with deep breaths she took in his scent in an attempt not to cry again.

"Bed! Bed!" Celeste said making a beeline right to it so she could bounce up and down on it.

"Is there something we can do to make your stay here more comfortable?" Velocity asked.

"Do you have extra pillows?" Neo asked, lifting up from Law's hat.

"We do," Elian said. "What do you want them for, if I may ask?"
"Well, I'm use to sleeping near the wall on my left side while Law sleeps on my right side," Neo explained. "Normally, I'd just move the bed to mimic our room, but this one can't be moved."

"Say no more, Princess," Velocity said.

Neo watched as she and Elian disappeared out of the door. Not knowing what she really wanted to do now, she walked over to the balcony. The doors opened up for her and she stepped outside just in time to see the remaining sunset changed into a starry sky. She murmured, "Everything feels so fake here. There's no real sun, no real stars, and moon, there aren't any animals of any kind, and there are fake plants. I hope you all come back soon. I really don't want to stay here for months."

She sighed heavily, her mind wondering what the others were going through at the moment. Was it getting nighttime where they were? Did they all have some place to keep them dry and warm? Did they have food to eat? Did Penguin find some first aid kit to take care of his injury? She didn't know. And she wouldn't know, possibly for weeks to months on how they were doing. The only one she could possibly see before then was Law. But she didn't feel secure enough here, even with the sprites, to attempt using their Projection to go see him. She wasn't even sure they were close enough for it to work. Still, she wanted to try. Maybe if a couple of her friends came back she would be able to do it then?

She tightened her hold on Law's hat while she continued to stare up at the dome ceiling's artificial nighttime scene. It looked so real. But she knew it was completely fake. She yearned for the real thing. She yearned to be back on the sub with Law and her crew around her while they laid out on the deck starting up at the billions of stars decorating their real sky. When they got back she was going to have every single one of them do that with her. They were going to just lay out under the stars and be thankful for having each other. She closed her eyes, letting tears streak down her cheeks. "We will be reunited. God, please…you all be safe as you possibly can be and come back to me soon. I'll stay as strong as I can for you all. I'll be waiting for you."

"Princess," Elian called as he flew over to her. "Please, come back inside now, lay down, and get some rest. It will do you no good to sit up and worry all night long. I know your friends wouldn't want you to worry."

Neo knew she needed to go inside. But how could she possibly sleep when she was all by herself? She peaked over her shoulder to find that the pillows had been laid out on the bed to mimic a wall and Law and Celeste was already fast asleep on one of them. It only made her heart tighten even more in her chest seeing the bed now like that. A substitute would never work.

"Elian's correct," Velocity added, joining them out on the balcony. "You're only going to stress yourself out more if you stay out here and stare up at the ceiling."

"I know." Neo sighed, pulling herself away from the fake sky above. She walked over to the bed to lay down, but paused.

"Would you like to change out of your dress?" Velocity said. "There are plenty of clothes for you to wear here. They might not be to your style, but they're better than nothing."

"No," Neo said. "I don't feel like taking off my dress. It was what I was wearing when I was last with Law."

"We understand," Velocity said.

"We also set out items for you to clean your teeth," Elian said. "They're in the bathroom if you wish to use them."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I should at least brush my teeth. Law won't want me to get a cavity."

She walked over to the bathroom. Upon entering it, she noticed a strangely shaped looking toothbrush, or what she assumed was a toothbrush since it was sitting next to a normal look tube of toothpaste. She picked them both up with one hand. She found that the toothbrush felt like some kind of rubber and was about a half inch thick while being four inches long. The bristles were also rubber feeling. They stuck out like nubs on the end of the brush. She untwisted the lid to the tube and push a little of its contents out. The smell of cinnamon lifted up to her nose. At least it was a smell she could identify so hopefully it would taste just fine. She brought it up to her mouth and inserted it. Slowly, she began to pull the tiny nubs over her teeth. It felt awkward at first but she got use to it after a few seconds. After rinsing out her mouth she used the other facility before heading back out to the bed.

Without a word to the spites, she climbed onto the bed and sunk down between the pillows and under the cover. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Velocity lying down on a pillow near her head while her brother kept himself at the opposite end of the bed. She didn't mind where they slept. While they weren't Law or anyone else from her two crews, she was a bit glad that she wasn't completely alone here. She exhaled and closed her eyes. It didn't take very long for her eyes to pop back open. There was just no way she was going to be able to sleep much to night if she slept at all. So she rolled over on her back, holding Law's hat to her chest and fingering his ring. Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to figure out where her crews were and what they were doing.