First Arrival
Neo sighed as she plucked another weed from the plot. Her entire body was begging her for sleep. But she just couldn't do it. Having been on this Doom for four and a half days, almost five days, she still couldn't sleep very well. She would be lucky to get two hours of sleep before a bad dream, not a nightmare, would wake her up. Sometimes she would just wake up without any kind of dream. And she was only getting about thirty to forty five minute naps a couple times a day. It wasn't enough though. While she was sleeping, she wasn't resting.
"Out! Out!" Celeste chirped.
Neo looked over at the orange sprite. The little thing was stubbornly tugging on a weed that was at least three times her size. Giddiness bubbled up inside of her but quickly faded away. There was no way she could be happy. Not until her family was back with her.
"Princess," Velocity called softly. "You've been out here for three and a half hours. You should go inside and rest."
"Whew." Elian brushed the back of his arm over his sweaty forehead. "It is rather warm today. We should schedule a small shower for later."
Neo flittered her eyes to the other two. All four of them had at least a little dirt on them from tending to the gardens. Celesta was the only one practically covered from head to toe though. She said, "I'm all right."
Velocity sighed. Moving closer to Neo, she said, "Please, Princess, it's not good for you or your baby to keep doing this."
"I know." Neo placed her hand on her stomach, tenderly cradling the child growing inside of her. The touch also reminded her that it's been days since she last had a shower and was still wearing her black dress. She figured she probably smelled right now. She also knew that the sprites would be too nice to say so. Still, she should probably take a bath or shower now. It would most likely help relax her enough to get some restful sleep. "All right. I'll take a bath. Then I'll try to get some sleep."
"Thank you, Princess," Velocity said with a small smile.
Neo pushed herself to her feet. Brushing the dirt off her body, she headed towards the building. It was a lot warmer than she thought it was. The inside was about as warm as the outside was. She headed up the stairs just as Elian said, "I'll adjust the temperature for the dome. It'll cool down in no time."
"Thanks, Elian," Velocity said, following Neo up the stairs with Celesta.
"Bath time!" Celesta sang. "Bath time!"
"Make sure the water isn't too hot!" Elian called out just as they reached the next level.
"Must you sound like our mother?" Velocity cried back. "I know the princess can't be in very hot water!"
"I was just reminding you," Elian said.
Velocity scoffed. "That boy. He's always so…so…parental."
"He's sweet," Neo said.
"Yeah, I suppose he is." Velocity pushed open Neo's temporary bedroom door. "But if you tell him I said that…"
"I won't," Neo said.
"Bath!" Celeste flew over to the bathroom and disappeared in it.
Velocity and Neo followed at a slower place. Once they had entered, the little sprite was already stripping her clothes off. Velocity huffed. Crossing her arms, she said, "Hold it, Speedy. You better wash that dirt off before climbing into the bath."
"Okay." Celeste pouted.
Neo agreed with Velocity. She stepped over to the sink to wash the remaining dirt off of her. Behind her, Velocity turned on the water to the tub. She listened to the water running. Her mind flashed back to one of the first baths she had on the sub with Law after they were married.
Neo was sitting in the hot bath she had created with her crystals. She had lost track of time so she had no idea how long she had been inside of here.
"How long are you planning on staying in here?" Law asked as he walked into the room.
Neo hummed. "I don't know. Until I feel like getting out?"
"I never will understand why you women like soaking for so long in the bath," Law said, sitting down on the edge of the tub.
"I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm nature," Neo said, lifted a foot out of her water. "I'm in my natural habitat here. It's normal for me to linger."
"That's a lousy excuse," Law said, smirking.
Neo blinked at him. Her lips curled into a smile when she peaked inside of his mind. "Oh, so that's why. You're having a lot of naughty thoughts about me."
"I'm your husband," Law said. He slipped his hand into the water, gliding it up the inside of her thigh until he reached his destination. His smirk grew wider when she tired to bite back a moan of pleasure and failed.
"Ah, Law!"
"Yes?"
"Stop that," Neo said through gritted teeth.
"Not going to happen," Law said, making her squirm.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Neo asked. "Are you trying to…" Her face flushed.
"About time, my naïve little lover." Law retracted his hand. Standing up he removed his clothes before climbing in. He captured her lips with a deep kiss while his hands roamed over her wet and hot body. "Now let me show you a new way to have some fun."
Neo squealed again when Law's lips found hers while his hands reached his destination again.
Neo sighed. Law had taught her so many things, some sexual others not. Now that memory seemed like so long ago. It's only been a few days since they had been separated, but to her it felt like three entire lifetimes had passed. She wondered how much longer she was going to have to endure this.
"Weeee!" Celesta squealed.
Neo looked down to see the young sprite standing underneath the running water.
"It's ready when you are, Princess," Velocity said.
Neo shut off the sink water. Reluctantly, she took off Law's hat and placed it down on the sink before stripping out of her clothes. She then stepped into the tub and sank down into the water.
"Bath time!" Celeste did several cartwheels in the air before diving into the water with a plop. A drop shot up and hit Velocity in the face.
"Celeste! Will you stop joking around like that?!" Velocity demanded.
"Bath fun time! And Velo no fun! Velo no fun!" Celeste chirped while splashing water up at Velocity.
"Cut that out!" Velocity demanded again. "So how's the water? Is it too hot?"
"It's fine," Neo replied as she leaned back against the tub. "The water is just right. Thank you."
"Just right! Just right!" Celeste sang as she swam around in the tub.
"I'll take your clothes and get them cleaned for you," Velocity said. "Call if you need anything. I'll be back soon."
"All right," Neo said. She relaxed against the tub, listening and watching as Celesta continued to splash around in the water.
A small knock came, followed by Elian saying, "How's it going in there? Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine," Neo said. "Thank you."
"All right," Elian said. "I'll be right out here if you need anything."
"Okay." Neo settled back down in the water. She stayed there for about an hour before finally finishing up and pulling herself out. With a towel wrapped around her body and Law's hat back on her head, she stepped out into the bedroom just in time to see Elian leaving. Wondering over to the closet, she dug through it, wishing she had some of Law's clothes with her. Now dressed in the oddly shaped clothes, she headed for the door.
"We have a drink shimmering for you," Velocity said. "It'll be ready in a few minutes."
"Thank you." Neo wondered over to the still open doors. Taking Law's hat off her head, so it wouldn't get any wetter than it already was, she leaned against the doorframe and watched the dome ceiling darken. Distant thunder rumbled while the fake wind blew through the sphere. The dome and house had cooled down considerably. She was glad she chose a long sleeve shirt to wear. But the material was thin. It wasn't going to do much against her pregnancy chills. While waiting for her drink, she fiddled with Law's ring and wondered how her friends were doing.
…
Chopper moaned from all of the aches that now plagued his body.
"Does it hurt that bad or are you just being dramatic?" Ahote asked from his bed.
"I'm not being dramatic," Chopper said. He turned his head on the table to look at the young man he was with. He was glad that the Elemental medicine had worked on the boy. He just wished he had some that would work on him. If he never saw another circus like this again it would be too soon. The second they reached their destination, he was going to disappear, and disappear fast. He didn't want to take the chance of lingering around and get pulled into another show. Enough was enough.
"I don't suppose you're going to stay with us," Ahote said.
"No, I'm sorry," Chopper said. "But I really need to get going once we arrive at the next town. The wagon hit a rock. The two riding inside jumped before slamming back down, Chopper on the crate while Ahote had a softer landing on his bed. The reindeer groaned at the new pain. He hoped they would make it soon. He really wanted to get back to Neo. Not only to see how she was doing, but also to ask her to heal his body. In an attempt to distract himself from the still two hour ride to their next destination, he struck up a conversation now that the boy was fully awake. "So why did you decide to join a troupe like this?"
"Because it's a lot better than it was living back home," Ahote replied, his fingers clutching his blanket.
"What do you mean by that?" Chopper asked.
"My mama remarried last year to this jerk with two kids of his own, both girls. This entire family is very well know and very wealthily from their business transactions and what not," Ahote explained. "They always wanted me and my sister to be all prim and proper. We were never allowed to play and have fun since they arrived. It was all manners all the time. My sister didn't mind much. She was being treated like a princess since she was the youngest out of all of us. I was being smothered to death by all the neatness. And he wasn't the nicest, neither were his kids. I would clean my room only to have them come through and trash it. I'd get in trouble then. He's even hit me a couple of times, saying I was disrespecting him. My mom always took his side. I really needed to get away from them. So when this troupe came to town, I joined them."
"I'm sorry that you went through all of that. It must have been terrible if you ran away from it. But I don't see how this place is much better than your home," Chopper said. "They seem rather cold to you. They haven't been very nice to me either."
"I know they seem uncaring at first. But, in fact, they really are very nice. We all have similar backgrounds. We all ran from something or someone. All looking for freedom from whatever we were dealing with. Most of the time it's the feeling of being unwanted. They have come to form their own family here within the troupe. Master may come off the coldest of them all, but he loves his family very much and takes good care of us all. They all just have a tight bond like a real family should. They warm up to others fairly easy. They just want to make sure you'll do your job and not slack off and all." Ahote looked up at Chopper, his hands loosening on his blanket. "What about you? What are you running away from? Who hurt you?"
"I'm not running away from anything," Chopper replied. "At least not anymore. But I can understand why you'd want to run away. I use to be hurt by people as well because I was so different from them."
"Then why are you in this troupe?"
"I'm not really. I only become a temporary part of your troupe by accident. You were sick and it's my job to care for those who are. I didn't mean to tag along with you all, but I was heading in the same direction you all were anyway," Chopper said. "So, in a way, we're helping each other out in the end. I'm grateful for the lift."
"I see. Then what are you looking for?" Ahote said. "Maybe I can help."
"Well, I, uh…" Chopper glanced at his little monkey companion. It was standing off in the corner and hadn't moved from that spot unless Chopper left the little hut. "I can't really answer that."
"Why not?"
"I know it sounds strange, but I can't answer that either. I'm sorry." Chopper dropped his eyes to the floor.
"It's all right," Ahote said. Chopper pulled his eyes back up to Ahote. The boy was smiling at him. "You helped me keep my job and get better from that illness. If you say you can't tell me what you're looking for then I won't press it. I am grateful for your help. And I'm glad I can return the favor."
"Ah shucks! You don't have to thank me you jerk!" Chopper blushed.
After that the two settled into some pleasant conversation. Ahote told him all about the troupe he was in and Chopper, carefully, told Ahote about his friends and explained more on his own painful past.
…
Neo had just finished her drink and placed it down on the table in front of her when a sickening familiar pressure appeared in the room. And like the times before, the sprites dove for cover behind the couch. She sat patiently for him to appear, adjusting the cover over her legs. Summoning all of her royal tones and postures and whatever else she needed to face him again.
Pendulum appeared on the opposite side of the table. This time he had a chair with him. His hands were folded in his lap. His lips curled into a smirk. He said, "Good afternoon, Princess of the Elementals. How are you doing today?"
Neo glared at him. She knew he already knew how she was doing.
Pendulum chuckled. "Don't worry. You'll have some familiar company soon enough."
Neo's heart skipped a beat. Her brain automatically thought Law was coming back. Then reality came crashing back to her. Pendulum said that she could go see Law if she behaved. There's no reason for him to say that if Law was going to come back now. It had to be someone else. But who? It didn't matter. She would now be with one of her loved ones.
"While we wait for them, how about we play a little game?" Pendulum asked.
Neo's eyes rose. She so badly wanted to lash out at him that he was already playing a game with his life and he was going to lose. But she didn't want him to take away her chance to see Law. She frowned when he snapped his fingers and a chess like board appeared on the table with transparent symbols for pieces that she didn't recognized. She never was good at chess.
"I'm sure this looks familiar to you," Pendulum said. "It's basically the same thing as your game of chest." He smiled. "Let's begin, shall we? I'll explain as we go along."
…
Chopper was in the middle of telling Ahote about the time they dashed into the heart of the Navy to rescue Robin. He was standing on the small table, making dramatic movements of his arms and legs while talking. The sudden stop of the wagon sent him tumbling to the floor. Sitting up, he adjusted his hat. "What was that?"
"Looks like we've stopped," Ahote said. He glanced over the window. The scenery outside had stopped moving. "We arrived too soon. I was hoping to spend more time with you. Do you really have to go? I like having you around."
"I'm sorry," Chopper said, standing up. "I have to go. Neo's waiting for me."
"I understand," Ahote said, his eyes dropped to the floor.
Chopper could immediately tell the boy was sad. And, as bad as he felt about leaving his new friend, he knew he couldn't say. "Don't be sad. We might be able to meet again some day."
"Perhaps." Ahote shrugged.
"Ahote, are you sure you're happy here?" Chopper asked.
"Of course I am!" Ahote looked up at him with a light glare.
"All right then," Chopper said. "But remember this, if you get tired of living here, you can always go home."
"No way!" Ahote scoffed. "I'm not ever going back to that place!"
"Maybe." Chopper shrugged. "But you always have the option of going home. I know your mom and sister would be happy to see you."
"Yeah right," Ahote mumbled.
"I'm sorry I have to go," Chopper said, pulling on his backpack. "I really would have like to seen you preform when you weren't sick. I bet you're really good at it."
"I suppose I'm good enough," Ahote said, his cheeks flushing. "I wish you could watch me too. But we won't preform until tomorrow. We have to get our tents set up. You could just stay and leave tomorrow."
"I'm sorry," Chopper said. "I have to leave as soon as I can. I don't want to get roped into another acrobatic performance. I'm not cut out for this kind of life."
"I understand. Everyone's not meant to preform" Ahote nodded with a forced smile. "I'm glad I got to meet you. And thanks again for your help."
"Don't mention it." Chopper waved goodbye as he headed for the door with the monkey following him. Peaking out, he made sure no one was close enough to catch him running off. He already had people assume he was joining the troupe. That was too much as it was. When he found everyone was just getting out of their own wagons, he jumped from the stairs and ran off into the near by forest. Tucking himself behind tree, he listened to his heart pounding in his chest before carefully peaking out to see if anyone saw him. A relieved sigh left him when no one noticed his departure. "That was close. I was so worried I was going to get caught and stuck there." He looked at the monkey. "So show me the map again. Let's see how far we are away from the shard.
The monkey formed the holographic map upon request.
"Well, it looks like it's not all that far from here. Or I at least hope it's not far." Chopper studied it before looking around the forest. It was rather dense with the weeds and bushes grown up to at least one forth the size of the trees. But with his little body he should be able to slip through things easily enough. So he headed off. "Let's get going. I want to find that shard before it gets dark."
Chopper's hoofs crunched on the organic shaped leaves. He pushed through hair like vines, the smell was sharp in his nose. It was an awkward smell that he couldn't place or describe. The only thing he knew for sure was he didn't like it. He was ready to find the shard and get out of here. Glancing over at the map the monkey still had out, he kept a close eye on it so he didn't stray. Finally, the dots were all piled on top of each other. He looked around but didn't see anything that looked like a mirror. "Well, it should be right here. I wonder why I can't see it. Oh! Wait! It must be under something!"
He then kneeled down and started to throw vines, grass, and leaves out of the way until a piece of mirror with nothing reflecting in it appeared under the fallen leaves. It was almost twice as big as he was with jagged edges. But he didn't care. He grabbed the shard and started jumping around in excitement. "Yes! I have it! I found it! I can go see Neo now! I can leave this terrible place! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
In all of his excitement, he didn't even notice the monkey moving closer to him. He didn't even notice the monkey reaching up and pulling the shard out of his hooves. All he knew was he was extremely happy to finally found it. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and found he was no longer in the forest but standing outside of a clock shaped house. His eyes ran up the house. "Wow. What is this place? Where did that forest go?"
His eyes continued to go up until they landed on the grey sky above him. Leaning too far back, he lost his balance. His arms spun in an attempt to keep his balance but he fell anyway.
…
Neo sighed when Pendulum beat her again for the ninth time in the past two hours. This version of chess seemed to be just as bad as their version of chess. She wasn't good at either.
"Well, it's been fun, Princess of the Elementals," Pendulum said. "But it's time for me to part with you for now."
"What?" Neo looked up at him.
"And remember our deal. Behave and you'll get to see your lover very soon," Pendulum said before disappearing.
"I think this is the longest he's ever stayed here," Velocity said as they came up from behind the couch.
"Hm?" Elian turned towards the doors. "Did anyone hear someone yelling just now?"
"New guest?" Celeste tilted her head.
"Do you think it's one of my friends?" Neo jumped up from the couch. She stared at the doors, wondering who was here.
"There's only one way to find out," Velocity said when Neo didn't move. "It has to be one of them. No one else can come here."
Then Neo sensed it. It was Chopper. She broke for the doors. Shoving them open she found the reindeer laying on the ground. "Chopper!"
"Huh?" Chopper lifted his head up. His eyes instantly filled with tears upon seeing his blue haired friend. He jumped to his hooves and ran to her. Her name was on his lips as he flew towards her. "Neo! Neo! Neo! Neo!"
"Chopper!" Neo held out her arms for him, allowing the little reindeer to dive into them. She held him tightly to her chest. "You're here! You're really here! I'm so glad you are safe! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm glad you are safe as well," Chopper cried. He scanned his eyes over her body. "I'm okay. I'm more worried about you. Are you injured? He didn't hurt you, did he? How's your baby?"
"We're fine. As fine as we can be considering everything that's happen," Neo said. "But he hasn't touched us at all."
"I'm so glad!" Chopper said with a huge sigh of relief. "I still need to check you over and see how your blood pressure is doing." He looked around. "Have the others arrived yet?"
"No. You're the first to arrive," Neo said. "The only other ones that are here are the Time Sprites."
"The Time Sprites?" Chopper blinked. "What are those things?"
"Those things would be us," Velocity said.
"What?!" Chopper shrieked when he saw the three sprites hovering just behind Neo's shoulder. "How the heck are bugs able to talk?!"
"This coming from a talking animal," Elian said.
"Animal! Animal! Animal!" Celeste sang.
"Where are we?" Chopper asked. "What's going on?"
"We're in the Time Stream," Neo said.
"The what?" Chopper tilted his head.
"I guess we have a lot to talk about," Neo said. Thunder rumbled above. She glanced up, not realizing the rain had stopped when she ran out of here. It looked like it was about to start again. She headed back inside. "We should talk inside."
"Okay," Chopper agreed.
Neo entered back into the house. The sprites closed the door behind her while she sat back down on the couch. Keeping Chopper firmly in her hold, she told him everything that happened to her since she arrived here. Once she was finished, Chopper climbed off her lap. As he check her blood pressure, he told her what happened to him. She summoned her solar crystal to heal the pain she knew was in his body. "You could have gotten hurt. I'm so sorry, Chopper."
"This isn't your fault, Neo," Chopper said.
"Yes, it is." Neo tried brushing away her tears. "Pendulum went after me."
"Don't say that, Neo," Chopper said. "He took all of us."
"He's right, Princess," Velocity said. "This isn't your fault at all."
"Please calm down for your baby's sake," Elian said.
"I know." Neo took slow deep breaths, getting her emotions back under control.
"It seems like Pendulum is keeping everyone in the dark about his plans or whatever it is he's doing," Elian said.
"Plans!" Celeste said. "Pendumdum stupid!"
"So where is the shard you found?" Velocity asked. "Do you have it with you?"
"I forgot all about that." Chopper looked at his hooves then around for the monkey. "I had it a few minutes ago when I was still in the forest. That monkey thing seems to have disappeared as well. Maybe it has it?"
"I assume then that it went back to Pendulum seeing as it completed it's mission." Elian crossed his arms. "That must mean that those monkeys have the ability to travel through the Time Stream without the help of the Time Spheres."
"How could that be possible?" Velocity asked. "From what the doctor said, that monkey was just a machine."
"Monkey! Monkey! Monkey!" Celeste cheered as she did cartwheels over the back of the couch. "Silly little monkey!"
"Is she all right?" Chopper asked.
"She's fine," Neo replied. "She's just a bit…"
"Luffy like?" Chopper offered.
"Yeah." Neo nodded with a very small smile.
"Wait a second." Chopper turned back to the sprites. "How could it have been the monkeys? It wasn't them that attacked us on the beach. It was some kind of fluid thing. None of our attacks could stop it. Nothing would work on it. Not even Neo's crystals or Luffy's Haki."
"I don't know what else he could have that would bring you here," Velocity said.
"I'm drawing a blank too," Elian added.
"Blank," Celeste chirped. "Blank."
"Then we have no choice but to wait for the others to return," Neo said. "They might figure something out while they're gone."
"I'm sorry, Neo," Chopper said. "I wish there was something I could have done to stop that thing. Then you'd still be with Law."
Neo reached up and touched Law's hat. She shook her head and hugged him. "Don't apologize, Chopper. This wasn't your fault. I know that they'll be here eventually. And Pendulum said that he would take me to Law if I behaved."
"I'm worried about that," Chopper said.
"I am too," Elian said. "And I wanted to talk to you, Princess, about that."
"What for?" Neo looked up at the sprite.
"Since we have no idea what Pendulum is up to," Elian said, "I'd like to put a protection spell on your baby."
"A protection spell?" Neo asked. "What would that do?"
"It'll put a protective shield around your baby and protect it if you have to fight," Elian said.
"My crystals already do that," Neo said.
"I understand," Elian said. "Just consider this extra protection."
"Well…" Neo bit her lip.
"Maybe you should," Chopper said, gaining Neo's attention. "You clearly trust these three. And your crystals do have their limits."
"I don't know," Neo said. "Law might not like this."
"Princess, I promise this is a safe spell," Elian said. "It won't hurt you or your baby."
Neo thought about it. It might not be a bad idea so she agreed. "All right. What do I need to do?"
"Just relax and show me your stomach," Elian said.
Neo fiddled with the end of her shirt before slowly lifting it up. She watched Elian carefully as he floated down to her.
"This won't hurt a bit," Elian said.
Neo nodded. She and Chopper watched as Elian placed his hands on her stomach. A blue glow emanated from his hands and entered into her skin. A few seconds later, the glow faded.
"There." Elian flew backwards. "All done."
"Thank you," Neo said, lowering her shirt back down. Her eyes dropped to Chopper when his stomach growled.
"Guess I'm hungry," Chopper said, blushing.
"Elian, Velocity, will you get him something to eat?" Neo asked.
"Of course, Princess," Elian said, heading towards the kitchen.
"You should eat as well." Velocity followed her brother with Celeste tailing behind.
"You are going to eat, aren't you?" Chopper asked when Neo didn't move. "I can tell easily enough that you haven't been sleeping."
"Sorry," Neo whispered.
"Don't be," Chopper said. "I understand. But I do want you to eat right now and then I want you to take a nap."
"I…" Neo paused.
"What is it?"
"I need to see Law," Neo said.
"But how?" Chopper asked.
"I'll project myself to him," Neo said.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Neo," Chopper said. "I won't be able to protect you if Pendulum comes back."
"Chopper, please," Neo pleaded. "I can't do this…I just need a minute. I need to see that he's really fine." She placed her hand on her stomach. "For our baby…I'll rest after that."
Chopper sighed. He really wasn't sure about this. Pendulum could come back at any point in time. But then, if Pendulum really wanted to hurt Neo he had plenty of times to do that. "Okay, Neo. We'll eat first. Then you can go see Law as long as you promise to take a nap after that."
"I promise." Neo nodded.
"Then let's eat," Chopper said.
Neo picked him back up and took him into the kitchen. Instantly they were met by sweet smells from what the sprites were cooking.
"It smells so yummy," Chopper said, sniffing the air. It made his stomach rumble more and drool to leak down his furry chin.
"Didn't you eat where you were?" Neo asked, sitting down.
"Yes, I ate," Chopper said. "But all of their food was sour. It tasted terrible. I didn't like it."
"You poor baby," Neo said. "Well, you'll get good food now."
"I hope so. It smells so great," Chopper said, his stomach growling louder.
Elian chuckled. "It'll be ready in a minute."
Neo and Chopper passed the time with idle talk. It wasn't long after that when the food was sat down on the table.
Chopper looked over the strange substances before him. "What is all this stuff?"
"It's the food they have here," Neo said. "I know it looks strange compared to what we eat back home, but it's really good."
"All right," Chopper said. Picking up a spoon he reached out and scooped up an unidentifiable dark grey mush. Sniffing it cautiously before putting it in his mouth. His eyes lit up at the sweet flavor dancing over his tongue. "Wow! It's so good! Way much better than that sour stuff!"
"Glad to hear it," Velocity said.
"Eat as much as you want," Elian said, ignoring Celeste as she dove into some jello like stuff. "We have plenty."
"Thank you! That was so good!" Chopper said when he was finished.
"You sure ate a lot," Velocity said looking at the almost licked clean dishes.
"Was the food really that bad there?" Neo asked.
"It was," Chopper said. "I was having cotton candy withdrawals."
"You poor thing," Neo said heading back into the living room with Chopper still in his arms.
"I guess you want to go see Law now," Chopper said.
"I do." Neo nodded and sat down on the couch.
"I still don't think you should do it, but go ahead," Chopper said. "I know it will help you to see him."
"Thank you, Chopper," Neo said. She kissed his nose before setting him down on the couch. She shifted her position to find a comfortable spot. Once she was settled, she closed her eyes and searched out for Law.
"What Pretty Princess doing?" Celeste asked as she hovered in front of Neo.
"She's projecting herself to Law," Chopper said.
"How can she do that?" Elian asked.
"We don't know," Chopper said. "All we know is that it has to do with their bond and her magic. The first time it happened was just an accident. She had pulled Law's spirit, or something, to her when she was in danger and needed his comfort. With a few practice sessions she they were able to find out that she could also project herself to him."
"It's amazing what she can do," Velocity said.
"Thanks for keeping an eye on her until I returned," Chopper said.
"It was our pleasure," Velocity said. "She's a very lovely person."
Chopper nodded in agreement before settling into watching Neo until she came back.
…
Law, wiping down a table, swallowed a threatening growl when a child threw a pile of mush and hit him on the cheek. In the five days that they have been here he's been pelted with food, spit upon by kids, hit on by the females here, had boiling water dumped on his legs, scorched his hands on hot plates and dishes, and has just about lost his mind. He was ready to leave or kill just about everyone on this dome. Which ever came first, he didn't care. He couldn't figure out how Nami was handling all of this.
Glancing over at the orange haired woman, he found she was once again flirting with a couple male serpents. He also noticed the woman navigator slip her hand into their pockets and pulled out their wallets then returned them when she was finished. He sighed. At least they weren't going without supplies. He turned back to finish wiping down the table and paused. His eyes widened and he could feel the color draining from his face when he saw her. "Neo…"
"Law." Tears poured down her cheeks.
Law stepped around the table. He was on the verge of hugging her when he remembered that no one else could see her. They've already drawn enough attention to themselves while being here. He didn't need them to think he was insane for hugging thin air. Giving her a signal to follow him, he headed over to Nami. Grabbing her he pulled her away from the serpents.
"Hey!" Nami protested. "I was busy!"
"Neo's here," Law whispered just low enough so only she would hear here.
"What? Where?" Nami looked around.
"She's using Projection," Law said.
"Oh, right." Nami brought her eyes back to Law.
"She's right beside me. Keep an eye on my tables. I'm going around back so I can talk to her." Law walked off before Nami could reply. Entering into the kitchen, he ignored all of the clanking dishes and sizzling meat and went right through the back door. Once they were out of sight, he spun around and wrapped her in a hug. "Neo…"
"Law!" Neo clung tightly to him. "Law!"
"Shh." Law stroked her hair. "It's okay, love. It's okay. I'm right here."
"I miss you so much." Neo looked up and locked eyes with him.
"I know, love." Law leaned down and captured her lips. They clung to each other in desperation. Their tongues dancing together in perfect harmony as they tasted each other, wishing they could do way more than just kiss. He pulled away first. Pressing his forehead to hers, his pants mixed with hers. "Has he hurt you?"
"No. We're both fine. Well…as fine as we can be considering everything." Neo sighed.
"I know. And I'm so sorry about all of this," Law said, brushing his nose against hers. "It's going to be a while, but I will come back to you."
"I know." Neo nodded. "I just needed to see you."
Law jerked away. His eyes filled with panic. "Neo! You're not projecting yourself alone, are you?!"
"Of course not. I know I'm not supposed to do that. I'm with Chopper. He arrived a little while ago," Neo said.
Law relaxed. Unnecessary panic, but he couldn't help it.
"I'm also with three Time Sprites."
"Time Sprites?" Law waited patiently as Neo gave him a quick run down of what happened to her. "I see. What is that guy up to?"
Both looked towards the backdoor when it opened. Law frowned upon seeing the monkey had followed him.
"Is that the monkey that's following you all around?" Neo asked.
"Yeah." Law nodded.
Neo turned away from the monkey and buried her face in his chest, aching to breath in his scent, but knowing that wasn't possible like this. She would have to wait. "Law, when will you come back to me?"
Law gritted his teeth. He really didn't want to tell her it was going to be about another three weeks before he could return.
"Law?" Neo looked up at him when he didn't answer. "What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, love." Law tucked her hair behind her ears. "I can't come back to you for about another three weeks."
"What?" Neo gasped. "Three weeks?!"
"I know." Law pulled her back into his chest. "I'm so sorry. I can't get the shard until then. We're catering to the family who lives there then. It's the only way we can get in and out with the shard."
"But I…"
"I know. I want to be back by your side too," Law said. "But we can't. Not yet. You'll be fine. I know you will."
Neo sighed.
"I need you to go back now," Law said.
Neo flinched. "I don't want to. I want to stay with you."
"I know you do, love." Law kissed her hair. "We'll be together again before you know it. Just focus on protecting yourself and our child. You have Tony with you now. That will help you relax until I get there. Will you stay strong for me? You're doing a very good job of it now."
"Okay. I'll try."
"Good." Law tightened his hold on her. He didn't want to let her go. But they had no choice. She couldn't stay here like this forever. Her magic would drain far too fast. And they had no idea if Pendulum would try and attack her for whatever reason. "Just hold on a little bit longer."
Neo nodded. Reluctantly, she let herself fade away from Law.
Law's arms went limp at his sides when she was gone. He let them hang there for several seconds before gripping his fists so tightly they started to ache. Glaring down at the monkey, he hissed, "Prepare yourself, Pendulum. Once I get back to Neo, I'm going to kill you."
…
"Hm." Pendulum hummed to himself as he watched Law in one viewing mirror and Neo in another. "Interesting. It appears like she's communicating with him some how. She is amazing. She's perfect."
His eyes went back to Law when he heard the venom in the pirate's voice.
"Prepare yourself, Pendulum. Once I get back to Neo, I'm going to kill you."
Pendulum chuckled darkly. "Sure you will, little pirate. You have no idea what you're really in here."