Nothing But Time
Nami twirled her baton then brought down a lightening bolt onto a small group of monkeys. The lightening crackled, thunder boomed, but the monkeys stood unaffected by the attack. "What the heck?! Why didn't it work?! What are these things made of anyway?!"
"It seems like they're made of something as strong as sea prism stone! They might be impossible to break!" Usopp shouted as he fired at multiple gorilla size enemies. His green seeds exploded, wrapping vines around the large monkeys, but they easily managed to snap the vines and free themselves. From the corner of his eyes, he could see a smaller monkey running after him. The thing clamped it jaws down on his arm before he could react. He screamed. Failing his arm wildly until he managed to shake the thing off of him. Blood leaked through his skin, coloring his skin red. He fired several shots at it. It jumped away from each one. "Stupid machine! You are totally give me a phobia over monkeys!"
"They're not invincible! They have a weakness! We just have to find it soon! We won't be able to keep this up for much longer!" Chopper said in his reindeer form. He picked up a couple with his horns and rammed them into a tree. They dropped to the ground as he stepped back from them. He managed to puncher their bodies, but they still stood back up. He eyed the holes in them, not registering the odd glow coming from it. "I'm going to have to use my monster form! Maybe I'll be strong enough in that form to cause some damage!"
"Are you sure about that?" Nami asked.
"Got ya!" Brook said from behind her. He poked his sword at several monkeys, making a monkey shish kabob on it. He screamed when they started wiggling around on his sword, reaching for him. "That's so gross! Why don't you die already?!"
"We're not making any type of progress here!" Chopper said. He looked at the Heart Pirates. Using their martial arts skills they were pushing a couple larger monkeys back into Robin's large hands. His crewmate's fingers curled around the monkeys. One of them bit down on her flesh managing to free them. "The longer we take the worse it gets for Neo! I'm transforming!"
"If you go into your monster form and we don't stop them then we're down a fighter!" Usopp pointed out, firing several more shots. "Are you sure about taking the risk?!
"And if we don't do something soon you are going to disappear forever!" Chopper pointed out.
Usopp looked down at his body. Half of it was missing. He screeched and wailed around. "No! Someone do something! Luffy! I don't want to disappear! Save me!"
"That's it! I'm going for it!" Chopper shouted. He pulled out his rumble balls and transformed. "Rumble Ball!" His body expanded with a roar.
…
Bepo jumped put to kick his target. He landed a dozen kicks before the monkey reached out and grabbed him. "Hey! Let go! What are you doing?!"
"Bepo!" Shachi and Penguin cried. They charged forward. Leaping into the air, they kicked and punched the machine holding their friend before it swatted them away.
"Just great." Penguin swiped the blood dripping down his chin and glared at the monkeys.
…
Chopper roared. Charging towards the Heart Pirates' navigator, he whacked the monkey that was holding Bepo. The machine's limbs snapped and crackled from the hit. Bepo, now freed, dropped to the ground. He said, "Thanks!"
"You're welcome," Chopper said as he smashed his target again. This time it cracked completely open and fell to the ground, immobile.
"All right! It looks like you've got enough strength to stop them in that form!" Shachi noted. "Way to go!"
"Maybe or we could just be wearing them down. Either way I only have a few minutes in this form," Chopper reported. "I won't be able to stop all of them."
"Just take out the four largest ones," Penguin said as he punched a smaller monkey. "We'll figure out how to take the rest down. The bigger ones are the ones causing us the most problems."
"Taking them all on at the same time will probably be too much for you," Shachi said. "We'll distract the other two while you take out the other one."
"Okay." Chopper nodded. He waited until the three Heart Pirates were in their own battles with two of the monkeys before charging forward to the last one. He charged at his target. Punching and kicking until he took it down.
…
Sanji broke ahead of his team. Leaping up he swung a kick at the tower holding their favorite blue haired girl hostage. Pain shot through his leg, he felt his bone crack under the pressure. He landed on his feet. "Crap! What the heck is this place made of?! That kick should have at least cracked it!"
Zoro followed the cook's lead. Jumping forward, he sliced at the tower, ending in the same. No cuts appeared on it. Landing back on the ground, he let his eyes wonder up to the top of it. Without a word he jumped up to the top. Floating in the air, he caught a quick glance at Neo screaming in pain before trying to slice the pinchers. He got the same results as they did at the base of the tower. It didn't work. He dropped back down to the ground with a disgruntled grunt. "Stupid."
Topaz summoned fifty fire crystals. Setting them ablaze, she tried to melt the thing. It didn't work. "You've got to be kidding me. What the heck is this thing made of?"
"Hm." Franky rubbed his chin as he stared at the base of the tower, considering it. He couldn't help but noticed that it looked like the tower went under the ground instead of stopped at the ground. "I wonder what's under this thing."
Topaz looked at the cyborg.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Zoro asked.
"The inner workings of the dome," Celeste reported as she popped out of Sanji's shirt. "Vines no attack anymore! Vines no attack!"
"What do you mean?" Franky asked. "What vines?"
"That's right! I forgot all about them!" Sanji shouted. "Neo told me that this place was protected by mechanical vines! They attacked her when she flew too close to this tower!"
"So?" Zoro asked.
"Isn't it obvious? If those things attack before then they should be attacking now. But they're not. They're nowhere to be seen. So there has to be a reason to why they're not attack now." Sanji looked around before he looked down at Celeste. "Celeste, did Pendulum build this tower directly into the inner workings of this dome?"
"Yes, yes." Celeste nodded. "Tower and dome are now one."
"Thought so." Sanji nodded back.
"You going to fill us in on what you're thinking, bro?" Franky asked. "You got a way to disable this thing?"
"I hope so. Neo's magic can't be the only thing powering this thing. There has to be something else, something that was connected to the plants. Pendulum must be redirecting that power to the top of the tower. If we can disrupt that power then we should be able to free Neo." Sanji plucked the little sprite out of his shirt and sat her in the palm of his hand. "Listen closely to me, Celeste. I need you to go into the inner workings of this dome. Get all of your sprite friends to help you. Try to disrupt the flow of power to this tower."
"Right! Cutie can count on me!" Celeste nodded then flew away from them.
"I hope she'll be all right," Topaz said.
"Are you sure about this? Seems like a long shot considering Pendulum is using Neo's magic," Franky said. "What if it's too late?"
"This is the only shot we have." Sanji looked at his friend. "But there has to be power of some kind going to this tower. If not, then why aren't the defenses for it attacking us now?"
"I guess you have a point." Franky scratched his cheek.
"We can't rely on that," Zoro said. "We still need to try and destroy this thing."
"Let's get back to it then," Sanji nodded as they turned back to the tower and continued their assault on it.
Topaz summoned her fire crystals and turned their blaze onto the tower in an attempt to melt it.
…
Law and Luffy flew forwards. With Elian and Velocity at their sides, keeping their glow around their bodies so Pendulum couldn't stop them in time. Still, it wasn't doing much as Pendulum's skills as a fight was right up there with theirs.
"Gum Gum Gatling!" Luffy threw his rapid punches at him.
Pendulum smirked. He disappeared from the hits and reappeared in front of Law.
"Shambles!" Law warped himself closer to Pendulum. When he reappeared, he swiped out his sword.
Pendulum disappeared then reappeared several yards away. "Is that all you got? Don't you get it? You can't defeat me. I've been watching you. Remember? I know about all of your attacks."
Elian growl and brushed some sweat off his brow. "He's right. We're not going to defeat anyone who knows what's coming."
"No! Don't say that! Of course we'll defeat him!" Luffy said. "We'll just come up with a new attack!"
"How can you come up with a new attack? We don't have time for that," Velocity said.
"I don't care! We will think of something!" Luffy proclaimed.
Law tossed his eager and optimistic friend a glance before looking back at Pendulum. Try as he might, he couldn't think of a single plan to stop him. Pendulum matched their speed with ease and did have an advantage over him since he had been watching them for a while. He cursed under his breath. How were you supposed to defeat someone who could control time and knew your moves? They were in an unfortunate stalemate with this enemy. And Neo's, and his own life plus their child, hung in the balance from it. They needed something to get Pendulum off his guard so they could go in for the kill. But what? Suddenly, Law felt his and Neo's heart stop beating.
"Something's wrong! Neo's magic is fading!" Velocity cried out.
Law felt his heart sink into his chest. The pain in their bodies was still there, but he couldn't feel Neo's mind anymore. It was like her thoughts went completely blank. It was like they were on the verge of…dying.
Pendulum whipped his eyes up to the tower. He frowned when he saw that Neo's magic was fading away. He said, "What trick is she trying to pull?"
Luffy, seeing this as an opportunity, shot forward. Encasing his fist in his Armament Haki, he landed a punch to Pendulum's cheek, feeling and hearing the bones crack under the pressure. The time man went flying several yards, taking out several trees before crashing into the dome wall. Luffy charged towards him. With his feet planted on either side of the man's body, he threw his Gum Gum Gatling onto Pendulum.
…
Chopper rushed towards the last of the large monkeys. Bringing his fist down on top of it, he shattered it. His entire body paused upon feeling like something wasn't right. He said, "Something's wrong."
"Huh?" Brook looked at the giant beast after kicking a monkey away from him. "What is it, Chopper? What's wrong?"
"I'm not sure, but I have a bad feeling about Neo," Chopper replied quietly just before his transformation time was up. His body turned back to normal. His eyes floated towards the direction of the tower. He didn't care about falling. He didn't even noticed Shachi grabbing him. "Neo."
"What about her?" Shachi asked. As they landed, Shachi made sure to land on top of a monkey. The monkey cracked and sunk into the ground. He looked around to see that they had destroyed several of the monkeys. He also noticed something else. "Penguin, your body's back to normal."
"Huh?" Penguin looked down at himself. He then got a terrible feeling in his stomach. The stomach seemed to pass from him to Shachi. The two pirates then looked at Bepo. Bepo was staring up at the mirror that held their friend, their little sister. The bear wore a worried expression on his furry face. Penguin stumbled forward. "No…no…she can't be…"
"Hey! What's going on?! Why did you all stop fighting?! We still have killer monkeys here to deal with if you've forgotten!" Usopp asked. He then looked down at his own body. "Hey, our bodies are back to normal! That's great!"
"They defeated Pendulum?" Nami asked, happily.
"No," Penguin said as his fists trembled. "They didn't. It's something else."
…
Law's hat fell over his eyes. He could feel it. He could feel their lives slipping away from them.
Luffy stopped his assault on Pendulum and tangled his limbs around the older man's, making him immobile. "Tra! Do it now!"
Law clenched his sword's handle. Using what strength he had left, he turned and stumbled towards Pendulum.
"Hey, are you okay?" Velocity asked. "Did you get hurt?"
Law didn't answer. He just continued walking towards Pendulum with anger radiating off of him.
"Hey." Velocity tried to follow him but was stopped by Elian's arm. "What?"
"Let him go," Elian said.
…
Pendulum struggled to get out of Luffy's iron grip. But his body was too badly beaten and entangled in Luffy's rubber limbs. He didn't have the energy to free himself. "No! How can this be happening?! I was so close! What did that girl do?! How could she have done anything?! I saw the future! I won!"
"I've already told you. And it's the first thing we learn when becoming guardians of time," Elian said. He clenched his fists at his sides. "You only saw what you wanted to. The future is not set in stone for anyone but God. Even we Time Guardians don't know what future will come true. You didn't think this entire plan of yours through. It was doomed to fail from the start."
"What are you talking about?!" Pendulum hissed, his eyes wild with insanity. "I saw it with my own eyes!"
"You didn't think how this would affect Neo's body," Elian continued. "We are not immortal. We all have our limits. And she has reached hers."
"What?" Pendulum gasped.
"You are far too blinded by wanting to reshape the world into your image that you didn't take that into consideration," Velocity added, placing a hand on her twin's shoulder. "You were too blind to see the other possibilities of this sick plan of yours. You just pushed ahead and took innocent people along on your twisted ride."
"No!" Pendulum cried out. His voice filled with realization that his plan was doomed to fail. He looked up to see Law standing over him like death itself.
Law's eyes glared harshly down at the man underneath him. He lifted his sword and pierced it right into Pendulum's heart without a word, knowing that Luffy would jump back at the last second, avoiding the piercing blade. Law shoved his sword through Pendulum's body until the guard hit the man's chest. Blood poured out of the wound and down to the ground. Iron filled his noise. Still, he leaned into Pendulum's ear. Hissing demonically, he said, "If we die from this, I will find some way of finding you in death and pulling you back into the living world just so I can mercilessly and inhumanely torture you for the rest of our lives."
Law twisted his sword before pulling it out of Pendulum's bleeding chest. Pendulum's body fell to the ground with a thump, his eyes dulling and rolling to the back of his head.
…
Franky, Zoro, Topaz, and Sanji stopped attacking the tower when they heard the pinchers moving away from the mirror above them. They looked up to see the glow completely fading away just before Neo passed through the mirror and plummeted down to the ground.
Topaz remained quiet. She could feel her princess's life force slipping away. Her gut clenched. This could have been happening. Not after they had come this far.
"Sky Walk!" Sanji wasted no time in jumping up to catch her. With just a few kicks, he had her body in his arms. He could feel it. She wasn't moving or breathing. His eyes widened, his heart took a sharp jolt. With his eyes on her, he didn't even notice the mirror was falling on top of them.
"What are you doing, you stupid cook!" Zoro growled. "Get out of the way!"
Sanji looked up at the mirror. To worried about his friend in his arms, his brain didn't even register the danger coming right at him. Nor did he register Franky's fist flying past them, deflecting the mirror before it could hit them. He landed on the ground.
"What's the matter with you?!" Zoro demanded. "Were you trying to get you two killed?!"
Sanji gritted his teeth. He didn't have the strength or the will to fight back.
"What is it?" Zoro asked. "You got nothing to say for once in your…" He paused at the sigh of a tear sliding down the cook's cheek. His eyes then went to Neo. Her color had faded.
"Oh man," Franky whispered. "No."
…
Law turned away from Pendulum's body. Without a word, he warped over to Neo. Dropping his sword before dropping to his knees. He took her from Sanji when he passed her over to him. He cupped her face before hugging her to his chest. "Neo…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to come to this."
"Hey! How's she doing?" Luffy asked, running over to him. He knelt down and smiled. "That was some battle. Wasn't it, Neo? Hey, Neo?"
She didn't respond or move. Neither did Law.
"What's going on?" Luffy asked.
"Neo!" Penguin shouted as the rest of their crews ran over to them.
"Is she all right?" Usopp said. "Please tell me she'll be all right. Chopper, you're a doctor. Help her."
"Even if there was something I could do for them, I can't move," Chopper said, tears pouring down his cheeks.
"What do you mean by that?" Nami asked.
"It was too much for her body to handle," Velocity replied softly. "Pendulum never took that into account. Having that much strain on your body, even for a magical creature…it was inevitable that this would be the outcome."
"Wait! She still has her solar crystal, right?" Usopp asked. "That'll heal her! Right?"
"No," Penguin whispered. He dropped to this hands and knees, tears pouring from his eyes. He clenched the lifeless grass in his hands. "Her solar crystal would have appeared already. She's…she's really going to…"
"You have to remember that Neo and Tra are bonded by their bond," Robin said.
"That means…" Nami took a step back. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "No!"
"Neo and Tra are dying," Robin said.
"What?! No!" Luffy shouted! "They can't! We won! We can go back now!"
No one else said anything. Nothing could be said.
Shachi knelt down to beside Penguin and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Bepo stood near by and closed his eyes, trying to keep his own tears at bay.
"No! We can't just let that happen!" Usopp shouted. "Law! Chopper! You two are doctors! You have to save her!"
"I'm sorry, Usopp," Chopper said. "There's nothing I can do. And neither can Law."
"But we can't just…" Usopp turned to Velocity and Elian. "You're magical! Can't you do something for her?"
Velocity and Elian hung their heads in defeat.
Brook placed a hand on the sniper's shoulder. When Usopp looked at him, Brook shook his head. He said, "Its time to say goodbye to them, my friend."
Usopp clenched his eyes tight. "No…it can't be. Their…their baby hasn't even…I don't accept this!"
"Neo," Law whispered. He pressed his forehead to hers. "Please forgive me. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you or our child. But we'll be together forever. No matter what happens now." His body swayed. Placing one free hand on the ground to stabilize himself, he kept his other around Neo and their child. They were dying. And they were going to do it together no matter what.
Everyone's chests tightened. Their eyes closed. Some cried openly. Some held back their tears, though they struggled to do so.
"Why is Tra glowing?" Luffy's voice suddenly asked out of the sadness like it was just a normal event happening. There was a collective 'Huh?' as everyone opened their eyes to see what the young captain was looking at. They all gasped upon seeing Law's body glowing like Neo's solar crystal.
"What's happening to him?" Brook questioned.
"It's not possible," Elian mumbled.
"What's not?" Nami asked.
"It's her solar crystal," Velocity replied. Her eyes were zeroed in on something, but it wasn't Law's body. Everyone looked at her then at Neo. As they stared at their fallen friend, they began to see something slowly appearing. It was Neo's solar crystal. When it finally appeared clearly then noticed the glow from Law was going into the crystal then passing it to Neo. "We can feel it. Her helpmate is somehow feeding her crystal its healing magic."
"Do you mean that some of Neo's solar crystal magic has somehow been stored in Tra's body?" Robin asked.
"Apparently so," Elian nodded. "But I don't understand how is that possible. If she's dying then her crystals would be dying as well. There's no way this could be happening. If he had magic then, yes, this would make sense. Wait…you all said that they both were dying and tied together through a bond. Does that mean she engulfed him in her magic at some point?"
"Yes." Robin nodded. "That's how Tra was able to learn about Neo's past."
"She never told us that part," Velocity said.
"I'm not surprised," Robin said. "Her bond with Tra is very special to her."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Zoro asked.
"Just a hunch," Elian said. He rubbed his chin in thought. "But it might be possible that Neo stored some of her solar magic within his body when she merged with him like that. And, over time, the magic must have merged with his life force."
"It's possible that Neo's subconscious sensed something like this would happen and took precautions to protect her," Velocity added.
"Come to think of it," Shachi said. "The captain did once mention that, in the vision Neo showed him of her past, it seemed like the crystals took on a will of their own to protect her when those villagers tried to harm her."
Everyone went quiet after that. They held their breath, all were to anxious to see if this was going to heal their two friends enough for them to continue on living or not.
Suddenly, out of the thick silence, Neo took a noticeable breath. Law pulled away from her and looked at her when she did. He could visibly see her breathing. He cupped her face again and brushed his thumb over her skin, not even noticing the life that was coming back into his own body. "Neo?"
Everyone continued to hold their breath. It was still several minutes later before Neo's eyelids cracked opened. Everyone's sad tears turned to happy ones.
"Neo! Yeah! She's awake!" Luffy cheered.
"Yes!" Usopp added. "They're going to be all right!"
"Neo! I can't believe it!" Chopper cried. "I'm so happy!"
Neo's eyes guided over to Law's. She tried to lift her hand up to cup his face but found she wasn't able to. "Law…I-I can't move. Why can't I move?"
"Do you not remember what happened?" Law asked softly.
Neo's eyes filled with questions to his words. Slowly the memories of what happened begin to filter back into her mind. The questions in her eyes were suddenly replaced with fear. Law flinched at the two words that left her lips. "Our baby…"
Everyone stiffened. They all knew that if Neo's body took so much damaged, to the point that she couldn't move, there was no way the baby could have survived. Law swallowed the lump in his throat. He brushed her bangs with his fingertips before placing his hand on her cheek and answering her. "Don't think about that right now. You just rest."
A tear dripped out of her eye and Law brushed it away. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Elian moving towards them. The man kneeled down and reached for Neo's stomach. With lightning fast reflex, Law grabbed his wrist. "Don't touch her!"
"Please, I intend no harm." Elian looked directly into Law's eyes. "I only wish to check on the baby. I can do that. If you will let me."
"Law," Neo called, pulling her lover's eyes towards her. "It's okay. He won't hurt me. He put a spell on our baby to protect our child."
Law released Elian's wrist. He kept his eyes on Neo's as Elian placed his hand on her stomach. Elian's eyes and hand began to glow. There were several more minutes of intense waiting. Eventually, Elian stopped glowing and let out a huge sigh of relief. "The baby's fine. My protection spell worked."
Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief too.
"Protection spell?" Zoro asked. "And while we're at it, just who the heck are you two?"
"Confession time now," Velocity said. "We're actually Time Guardians who serve under Empress Futura. She posted us here over five hundred years ago before the Time Spheres stopped working. We disguised ourselves as Time Sprites in hope to figure out what Pendulum was up to."
"Five hundred years ago?" Sanji blinked at them. "How old are you two?"
"A thousand and five hundred years old," Elian and Velocity replied at the same time.
"What?!" Everyone, but Robin, Neo, and Law shouted.
"Time passes differently here than on your world. And we age a lot slower than humans so that's why we look so young," Elian replied. "I'm sure some of you have already heard some of this, but Pendulum has been fighting with Empress Futura for centuries for control over the Time Stream. When she realized Pendulum was up to something, she posted a couple of her elite guards on each Time Dome."
Velocity added. "During one of Empress Futura and Pendulum's battles, Empress Futura shattered the mirror that he wanted you all to gather for him. She also damaged the Time Spheres, after our posting, so he wouldn't be able to travel the Time Domes. Apparently all her efforts weren't enough considering Pendulum still was able to travel between the domes and learned the locations of the mirror shards somehow."
"But why did he choose us?" Shachi asked.
"I assume mostly because of the Princess. He did say he was watching you all for a long time. And, since the Princess has all the abilities over the four elements, it was her magic he needed to reshape your world just like he tried to do," Elian replied. "But I also assume that he didn't want to take the chance of getting caught by one of us. He's sadistic too. He enjoys making others suffer. He got a kick out of separating you all and taking the Princess back to the past to meet with Trafalgar as a child. I'm sorry. I really wish I could give you more clearer answers, but we don't really know everything. We have no idea what drove Pendulum to do the things he did."
"Thank you for all that you've done for her and our child," Law said.
"You're very welcome. I'm glad everything worked out as well as it did." Elian nodded.
"Neo!" The Heart Pirates cried as they moved closer to her and their captain. Elian stood up and rejoined his sister's side.
"We were so worried about you," Shachi said with a smile and tears. "We thought we were going to lose all three of you."
"I thought the same," Neo said, Law nodded in silent agreement.
"How are you feeling?" Bepo asked.
"Tired, but okay." Neo smiled tiredly at them. Her eyes then landed on Penguin. "Penguin?"
He shook his head then placed his hand on hers. He said, "I'm okay. I was just really scared that you were…"
"I know." Neo smiled at him through her tears. She wished she could hug her friends and Law. She turned her eyes back to her husband. "Sorry, I worried you."
Law pressed a kiss to her forehead before saying, "Let's get you inside. You need to rest now."
"Resting sounds great," Luffy said, earning nods of agreement. "Sanji! I'm hungry!"
"Right." Sanji chuckled. "I'll get right on that. And I'll make something good that will help Neo regain her strength."
"I'd like to help," Elian said.
"Sure. Come on." Sanji waved at the guardian and headed back for the house.
Penguin lift up Neo's hand, that he was still holding, and placed it over her stomach. Law then gently lifted her into his arms and stood up. They all headed inside.
"By the way," Brook asked as they made their way inside. "How was it possible that that mirror became so huge?"
"Well, it is a magic mirror," Velocity replied. "The user can change its shape, even if it's in pieces."
"I guess that makes sense," Chopper said.
Robin sat down and placed the immobile reindeer on the couch beside her, letting him use her lap as a pillow.
Law didn't cast anyone another glance as he immediately took Neo up to her current room while the others stayed downstairs to give them space. Her eyes never left his face as he gently laid her down on the bed. He laid down beside her and propped up on his elbow. He wouldn't look at her in the eyes. Her solar crystal continued to radiate its glow over her body. "Law?"
"Hm?" He still didn't look at her.
"Law, please, talk to me." She frowned when he still refused to raise his eyes to hers. "You're only hurting yourself by keeping it in and keeping me blocked from your thoughts."
Tears were glistening in his eyes when he finally looked at her. He placed a trembling hand on her stomach. He didn't even try to stop them when his tears leaked over his eyelids and down his cheeks. "I'm sorry for everything that you just went through. I didn't mean for anything of this to happen. I was too weak to protect you two."
"Law, stop that. Nothing that happened is your fault. You're only human. You're strong enough to do what you need to do when the time comes." Neo's eyes filled with her own tears. She struggled to lift her hand and placed it over his. "I'm still here. We all are. We're safe now. It's over."
Law nodded and smiled lightly as he brushed his thumb over her stomach.
"Kiss me," she whispered.
He leaned down and placed his lips lightly against hers. He could feel how weak she was just by the lightest touch. Not wanting to waste what little energy she just got back from her solar crystal, he broke the kiss after only a few seconds. He pressed his forehead to hers. "I'll give you a more proper kiss when you're stronger. Right now, you need to sleep."
"Only if you sleep too," Neo said. "I don't want you staying up all night watching me, even though you'll do it anyway after I fall asleep."
Law chuckled lightly. She was right. He wouldn't be able to sleep knowing what she had just went through and how weak she was. He'll watch her and their baby like a hawk. Still, he did as she wanted. Keeping his hand on her stomach, he laid down beside her and pressed his forehead to her temple. Both closed their eyes, breathing in each other's scents.
…
Once Law knew she was sleeping peacefully, he propped himself back up on his arm to keep an eye on her. A soft knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. "Come in."
"Hey, how's it going?" Sanji said upon entering with a tray in his hand. "How's Neo doing?"
Law's eyebrow rose. He had no idea that they had been up here long enough for Sanji to cook them something to eat. "She's fine. Resting comfortably."
"I brought you two some food up," Sanji said. "Would you like for me to bring it back later?"
"No," Neo said, waking up. "I'm hungry."
"Sorry," Sanji said. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's fine," Neo said. "It wasn't you. It was my stomach. Baby's hungry."
"All right," Sanji said, walking over to the bed. He waited patiently while Law adjusted Neo into a sitting position with all of the pillows they had on the bed. Once they were set, he handed over the tray and removed the lid that was on top. "Oh, yeah, we talked about our sleeping arrangements a little while ago. Now that Pendulum is out of the picture we're going to be using the other rooms so you two can have some peace."
"Thanks, Sanji," Neo said. "But it's not necessary to bar everyone from coming in here."
"Yes, it is," Law said in his captain tone. "You're going to rest. I don't want the Straw Hats coming in here and disrupting that until you're feeling better."
"Law, I'm fine," Neo said.
"No arguing, Neo," Law said. "That's an order."
Neo sighed. "Okay, okay."
Sanji chuckled. "I figured you'd say something like that. But I have no idea how long we're going to keep Luffy out of here. He's already been complaining that he's bored with this place."
"I can understand that," Neo said. "He's use to having his freedom. Here we're all trapped."
"If he comes up here I'll immediately warp him outside," Law said.
"I'll pass that along," Sanji said while leaving the room. "But not that it'll do any good though."
"You know you don't have to keep them out of here," Neo said.
"Yes, I do." Law picked up the fork. He cut off a bite of the meat flavored pie Sanji had cooked and brought it up to Neo's mouth. "You two need your rest. Once you're able to move again I might let them come up here."
"You need rest as well." Neo took the bite and ate it. "What about Penguin? Are you going to keep him from me as well?"
"No," Law said. "Our crew can come up here since they'll be quiet."
"Good," Neo said. "I didn't want to have to ban you from my love if you kept them from me."
"They're your brothers," Law said, giving her another bit.
"They all are family," Neo reminded him.
"They're still not coming up here," Law said.
"Fine," Neo said. She went quiet after that and let Law continue feeding her until she became too tired to eat anymore. He shifted her back down on the bed. While she slept he finished what was left on the tray before setting it aside. He then laid down and watched her sleep before the events of the day finally took their toll on him and he fell asleep.
A couple hours later another knock on the door woke them both up. Neo locked her eyes with Law, frightened a bit from her sluggishness and not being in their room on the sub. "Law?"
He kissed her forehead. "It's all right, love. We're still in the Time Dome."
"Oh, right." Neo settled back into her pillow with a sigh.
"Come in," Law said after another knock.
Penguin poked his head in. "Dinnertime. You feel like eating?"
"Come in, Penguin," Neo said.
Penguin smiled and entered the room with two trays in hand. "I hope you don't mind if I join you two."
"It's fine," Law said, helping Neo sit up again.
"How are you doing, Neo?" Penguin eyed her still hovering solar crystal.
"Better." Neo lifted her arms. "I can move a little more not, but not enough to feed myself."
Penguin nodded. "Unless you're milking this thing and want the captain to feed you."
"Why, what do you mean?" Neo asked innocently. "I don't have to milk anything for Law to feed me."
Penguin laughed. "That's true. The captain will feed you at any point in time."
"So how is everyone doing?" Neo asked.
"They're fine," Penguin said. "Just resting up. Once Chopper could move again he checked everyone out. Only minor injures were obtained."
"That's good to hear," Neo said. "I was worried about them."
"I think Straw Hat had gotten more injuries from being bored rather than from the fight," Penguin said.
Neo hummed.
"Velocity volunteered to read books for them, but he turned her down," Penguin said. "Robin took her up on the offer but asked for Velocity to read her history books."
"I'm not surprised," Neo said. "Robin really loves history. And this will be the only time she has to learn about this place's history. She should take the opportunity."
"Velocity wasn't very excited about it," Penguin said. "She wanted to read romances. She's down there right now trying to teach Robin how to read their language so she doesn't have to read the history books."
Neo laughed. Her bells rang out into the room, filling both Law and Penguin's chest with warmth.
"It seems like it's been years since I've heard you laugh," Penguin said.
"It feels like it's been years since I've laughed," Neo said. "All that needs to happen now is to get back to the rest of the crew. I wonder how much time has passed there."
"If too much time has past I'm sure the Elementals have the entire island looking for you," Penguin said.
"They're all probably freaked out when I disappeared," Neo said. "I hope they and the others will be fine."
"They will be," Law said. "They know how to handle themselves."
…
Velocity and Elian stood on each side of Pendulum's lifeless body. Combining their magic together, they formed a transparent coffin about him then moved him to the farthest side of the dome. Velocity said, "There. That's taken care of."
"Yeah." Elian nodded. "If only we had the power to send our friends back to where they belong."
"They'll get home," Velocity said. "You know the empress is keeping an eye on things. All she has to do is fix the Time Spheres. Then she'll come here and send them home."
"I'm ready to get back to our home too," Elian said. "It really is boring here."
"I completely agree," Velocity said.
"We might as well head back inside," Elian said. He turned and led the way back to the house. "Maybe we can teach the pirates some of our games to help pass the time.
"Maybe a few," Velocity said. "I could always read to them like I did with the princess, as long as it's not more history books. I wonder if she'll want me to read to her while she's recovering."
"Maybe," Elian said. "But with how her helpmate is protecting her right now, it might be a while before we can get near her."
"He's amazing!" Velocity exclaimed her cheeks turned pink. "I wish I could have a guy like that!"
"You are insane," Elian said.
…One week later…
"So bored," Luffy whined while draped over the back of the couch. "Can't we go back to the Sunny now?"
"Luffy, we've already told you a hundred times in just the past few days," Usopp said. "We can't go back until someone comes here to send us back. And they can't do that until the Time Spheres are working again.
"But it's so boring here," Luffy said. "There's absolutely nothing to do!"
"Well, we could always go clean up the mess outside," Franky said. He walked over to the open doors and stared out at the tower. "We should probably take that thing down anyway. It's probably making Neo nervous with it and the mirror still around."
"He's got a point," Sanji said, exhaling smoke from his mouth. "That thing could still be used. We should take it down."
"It's not that much of a threat considering Pendulum is dead," Nami said.
"We shouldn't take the chance," Robin said. "Neo, Tra, and their baby almost died once already because of that thing."
"She's right," Brook said. "I think we all will feel better once that thing is down."
…Another week later…
Now, exactly two weeks after they almost lost their three friends, Neo was sitting outside. Law had his arms firmly around her. The rest of their group, with the help of the Time Spirits, that finally came out of hiding, passed their days dismantling the tower that Pendulum had put up. Even though they knew for sure that the man was dead, it made them all nervous that it was still around. Velocity and Elian had put Pendulum in a magic coffin and moved him, and his monkeys, as far away from Neo as they could.
The pirates and the sprites cheered when Franky unbolted the last piece of the tower. Neo sighed as she leaned her head against Law. "It's finally down."
"Good," Law nodded. His hand once again finding it's way to the rather large baby bump that now graced his love's stomach. Neo's hand automatically went on top of his. Both thinking about how their baby was going to come sooner than expected.
The two lovers were about to lean in for another kiss, but they were stopped when the Time Sphere began to glow and hover in place. They stood up just before a bright flash of light appeared followed by a tall woman, dressed in white and purple robes. Her hair was black and just as long as her robes. Her ears were pointy and several inches long. She swiped her hand over her robes like she was brushing off dirt. "Stupid Time Spheres! Pain in the clock! They shouldn't have taken that long to fix!" The woman huffed then looked up at Law and Neo. "Goodness! You really are an Elemental Princess!"
Law stepped in front of Neo and unsheathed his nodachi. The woman gasped but didn't show any real concern over Law's weapon. Placing a hand to her mouth, she said, "Dear me, I did it again."
"Empress!" Velocity and Elian shouted as they flew over. The crews and the sprites followed. Velocity and Elian immediately dropped to one knee in a respectful bow.
"My dear guardians!" Empress Futura greeted them with a bright, warm smile. "I am glad to see you are doing well!"
"Yes, Milady, we are well," Elian replied. "We are glad to see you are well too."
"I'm great now that Pendulum's threat has been taken care of. You have done well." Empress Futura nodded at them then turned back to Law and Neo. "My apologizes to both of you. I did not mean to alarm you in any kind of way. I was just surprised to see royalty from the Elemental bloodline here even though I watched what happened. It's just been so long since I've met one of you."
"You've met my people?" Neo asked, placing a hand on Law's arm to calm him down. He lowered his sword but didn't put it away.
"It's been centuries, but yes, Young Princess." Empress Futura nodded with a smile. She scanned her eyes over the gathering crowd, pausing on Topaz. "And a fire Elemental. Amazing." Her eyes rose to the farthest side of the Time Dome. She raised her hand. With a little wiggle of her finger, one of the monkeys flew over to her. With another little wiggle the monkey's body split in half revealing a substance just like the orb that brought them all to the Time Stream. "Well, that explains that then."
"What is it, Empress?" Velocity asked.
"This is how Pendulum was able to travel to the Time Domes despite the Time Spheres being broken." Empress Futura showed them the split monkey.
"That looks familiar," Brook said.
"What is it?" Luffy asked.
"Time Spheres," Empress Futura replied. "Or what's left of them that is. When a Time Sphere is about to quit working, it gets replaced with a fresh one. They're like batteries. I noticed some of them had been taken from their storage room, but never imagined Pendulum would use them to make his own beacons in a different form. He infused them with his magic to disguise the Time Sphere's pulse. It's very faint right now without Pendulum's magic, but it is there. Such a pain that man has been. I must apologize for what he has put you all through, especially you, Young Princess. And I apologize for not being able to come to your aid. I damaged the Time Sphere more than I had intended and stranded myself as well as everyone else on the Time Domes. I have a lot of apologize to do to my subjects." The Empress huffed and sent the monkey back with the others. "All well. What's done is done. No point stewing about it. I can send you all home now, if you are ready."
"Finally, we can get back to the Sunny. Super!" Franky smiled. "I just hope no one has bothered her."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll send you back to the exact time that you all were brought here. It will be like no time has passed since you were taken," Empress Futura said.
"No!" Celeste cried, clinging to Sanji's cheek with rivers of tears flowing from her eyes. "No go! No go! My cutie! Mine!"
"Sorry, Celeste, but we don't belong in this place," Sanji said as he pressed his finger to the little sprite's back. He plucked her off and sat her in his hand. "I'm sure we'll met again."
"No go!" Celeste bawled more while she grabbed onto Sanji's finger. "No go! My cutie! No leave!"
"I've never seen a Time Sprite so bonded with a human before," Empress Futura said while rubbing her chin. "They're usually so dedicated to their jobs of maintaining Time Domes. I'm sorry, Celeste, but they can't stay here."
"No!" Celeste cried.
"I'm sorry. But you are needed here," Empress Futura said. "But I will allow you to go visit them from time to time."
"Really?" Celeste looked up at the empress.
"I give you my word." The empress nodded.
"Yeah! I see cutie again!" Celeste hugged Sanji's cheek.
"Well, if that's done, can we leave now?" Zoro asked.
"It will be nice to finally return," Brook said. "I miss our beloved ship."
"Are you all ready?" Empress Futura asked.
"We're going to miss you!" Velocity said as she hugged Neo.
"Thank you, for everything you have done." Neo smiled at the twins. "You kept me distracted while my family was away from me. It was more helpful than you'll ever know."
"If you don't mind," Elian said. "We'd like to come see you some time after your baby is born. We've grown kinda fond of you all."
Neo looked to Law. He nodded. "That would be fine."
"How will you find us?" Neo asked.
"Don't worry about that. It'll be easy. We'll give you plenty of time to rest and bond with your child," Velocity said as she tapped her chin. "How about we come find you when your baby is about six months old?"
"Great! We'll be glad to see you again!" Luffy grinned.
"If we're still in an alliance then I'll kill him." Law sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Neo giggled.
"How will we find them?" Usopp asked. "The world is rather big. And who knows where we'll be by that time?"
"Don't worry about it," Velocity winked. "We'll be able to find you easily enough."
"Sounds like a plan then," Franky nodded.
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'm ready when you all are," Empress Futura said.
"Will it harm our baby?" Neo asked. She placed one hand on her stomach and the other in Law's comforting grip.
"No, Young Princess, it will not." Empress Futura gave her a warm, motherly smile. "This will not harm your baby at all. However, despite sending you back to the exact time you were taken, you will remain this far along. Manipulating a body has been a forbidden practice for many, many centuries. And I'm no exception to that law despite being the empress. You will not believe how many people were using that ability to try and escape their time of death. Ugh! It was such a mess for so many years."
"All right," Neo said. "We're ready to go."
With that the Time Empress waved her hand over the group of pirates. A bright flash of light temporarily blinded them before they realized they were back on Purlieu, right where they had disappeared from. The beach, the sand, the smells, and noises from the island filled their senses. Everyone took in their surroundings. Usopp was the first to speak. "Wow. It kinda feels like it was nothing but a whacked out dream now."
"Well, at least we're back where we started," Topaz said. "That way the Elementals shouldn't have started a search party. I should still check things out to see if anything happened while we were gone."
"I'd like the crew to gather back at the ships," Neo said. "And you all too."
"What for?" Penguin asked.
"I've spent far too long away from you all," Neo said. "I want to sleep with everyone tonight."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Shachi said.
"What about your honeymoon?" Nami asked. "You still have time left."
"I know," Neo said. "We'll go back to the hotel tomorrow. I just really want to be with you all tonight."
"I'm all for it as long as Sanji cooks us a great meal," Luffy said, he placed his hands behind his head.
"I'll get right on that," Sanji said, heading for the ship. "But first I want to get out of these ridiculous clothes."
"I'm with you on that one," Neo said.
Law nodded. Picking Neo back up, they all headed back to their ships to change before gathering up the rest of the Heart Pirates. Neo enjoyed the familiar sights of the sub as she and Law wondered through the halls and into their room. They dressed each other, doing their best not to get distracted with other, more intimate activities since the crew would be here soon. And soon they all were sprawled out around the decks of the Sunny and Polar Tang. Their stomachs all filled up with the normal, yummy foods they were use to.
"Now that was more like it," Luffy said.
"I was starting to think I'd never have our food again," Usopp said.
"I'm still having a hard time believe that all happened," Tero said.
"But you saw Neo's stomach," Jean Bart said.
"I know," Tero said. "But still…"
The crew agreed, even the ones who went through the experiences of the Time Domes.
"I just hope it never happens again," Neo said. The pirates agreed. Their voices mingled together into the night along with the lazily sloshing of the waves until they fell asleep.
"Feeling better now?" Law asked.
"Much," Neo said. Her eyes skimmed over the sleeping crewmembers. She was snuggled up against Law's side while they leaned against the sub wall. Staring up at the star filled sky, a thought hit her. "Hm, I left my dress back on the Time Dome. The others left their clothes as well."
"We can get you another one. And they have plenty of clothes," Law said just before a gift bag popped into the room and landed on his legs. The two exchanged looks before sitting up. He grabbed the bag and pulled out there missing clothes. "It's your dress and the other's clothes."
"Velocity and Elian must have realized we left them there. They cleaned them as well," Neo said as Law handed her dress to her.
"There's something else in here," Law mumbled as he took the remaining items out. One was card and the other was a rounded, slightly heavy, colorful object similar looking to the Time Dome. He handed her the rounded object before opening the card. She leaned over and read it with him.
Princess Neo and Trafalgar Law,
While we cannot reveal the possibilities of your future, we can tell you that you two will make great parents. Just keep doing what you do and keep on loving each other.
P.S. We return your clothes along with a present for your baby.
See you soon!
Velocity and Elian and Celeste
"Hm." Neo hummed before turning her attention back to the object in her hand. She noticed a small button on one side and pressed it. The top of the dome started to glow. Stars and a moon began to dance over its glossy dome as a sweet musical lullaby played. Law placed the bag on the floor before taking Neo once again in his arms and leaning back against the wall. "It was sweet of them to give the baby a gift."
"It was." Law nodded.
"Despite what all happened there, I'm going to miss them," Neo said.
"Just remember, you'll see them again."
…
Author's Notes: Well, not the best story ever but better than the original. Thanks for reading and commenting. Death Memories will be updated in two days. So look for it those who are still going to read it.