Going Back
Neo smiled when Law tilted her chin and stole yet another kiss from her. He made good on his promise to give her a proper kiss when she was stronger, but still he held back. She wasn't back up to a hundred percent yet. It took a whole week before she could fully move on her own again. But she tired easily with only a few steps. Law ended up carrying her everywhere. He wanted her to reserve her strength until she was closer to behind back to her full strength.
Not wanting anyone, especially the loud Straw Hats, to drain the strength she did get back in the first week, Law kept her in their room. He only allowed short visits from them. Sanji was the one, of the Straw Hats, who made the most trips up to the room. The cook made sure to make her meals that would help her regain her strength while keeping her and the baby healthy. The Heart Pirates were allow to come in more because they were a lot calmer than the Straw Hats. It wasn't until the first half of the second week that Law finally took her downstairs to spend time with everyone.
Now, exactly two weeks after they almost lost her, 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 its way to the tiny baby bump that now graced his love's stomach. Neo's hand automatically went on top of his. She wondered when the tiny bump had snuck upon her. One day it wasn't there, then next it was.
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 butt! I didn't damage them that bad!"
The woman huffed then looked up at Law and Neo. "Goodness! You're 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. "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.
"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," Empress Futura nodded at them then turned back to Law and Neo. "My apologizes. I didn't mean to alarm you. I was just surprised to see royalty from the Elemental bloodline. It's 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. 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. "Hm…That explains that."
"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. When a Time Sphere is about to quit working, it gets replaced with a fresh one. Their 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. 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 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," 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.
"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. "We'll meet 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."
"Empress?" Velocity asked.
"Very well," Empress Futura nodded. "If it is all right with them, you may go with them."
"I go?! I go?!" Celeste asked.
"So how about it, Captain?" Sanji chuckled.
"It's fine with me," Luffy smiled brightly.
"Looks like we have another crew member," Nami said. Robin smiled and nodded.
"Well, if that's done, can we leave now?" Zoro asked.
"It will be nice to finally return," Brook said.
"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."
"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 can meet up with you too!" Luffy grinned. 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 pick a place then guide you there."
"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," Empress Futura gave her a warm, motherly smile. "This will not harm your baby. However, despite sending you back to the exact time you were taken, you will remain three months along. Manipulating a body has been a forbidden practice for many, many centuries. And I'm no exception to that law. 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."
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. Everyone took in their surroundings. Usopp was the first to speak. "Wow. It kinda feels like it was nothing but a whacked out dream."
The crews just stood there. They were taking everything in. Nami soon spoke up. "Neo, if you're feeling up to it, we'd like to go shopping with you before we have to part ways. Are you all going to be here for a while longer?"
"For a few more days," Neo replied. "And I'd like that."
"We'll see you later then," Nami said as she waved. The Straw Hats said their goodbyes and headed off.
"Guess we should be heading back as well," Shachi said, grabbing Neo's sandals and Law's jacket off the ground.
"Are you two going to go back to your room or back to the sub?" Bepo asked. "And what about the rest of the crew? Are you going to tell them now?"
Neo looked at the white bear before her eyes guided up to Law's. He patiently waited for her answer. "As much as I'd like to be home, I don't want to disrupt the crew's vacation. They were so excited about it. Let them have their fun. We can tell them about everything when we're all back on the sub."
Law nodded in agreement before sweeping her into his arms. The three crew mates followed after them. Even though they were back in their own time and world and knew Pendulum was finished, they were still on edge a bit and wanted to make sure their captain and their little sister got safely back to their room. When Law finally sat her back on her feet, her eyes went to Penguin. He was emitting a strange silence and had his eyes down to the ground. Neo walked over to him and took his hands in hers. "Penguin, are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Penguin nodded.
"Penguin," Neo squeezed his hands.
He sighed and returned the squeeze. He smiled at her. "Really, Neo, I'm fine. I guess I just haven't completely processed the fact that you're really having a baby. I'll be fine though."
"I guess with everything that's happen it all does seem a bit surreal," Neo said. She then leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Why don't you all get some rest? Things will be clearer in the morning."
"You're right," Penguin nodded. He gave Neo a kiss on the cheek before heading for the door. Neo said her goodnights and kissed Bepo and Shachi before the three finally left the room.
…
Neo flared out her hair with the back of her hands. As her hair fell back into place, she stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing Law's shirt once again. She placed her hand on her baby bump as she shut the light off and exited the bathroom. Law was already laying in bed. He was on his back with his hands behind his head and his right leg slightly bent up. Only one lamp beside the bed was on.
She walked over to the bed. She momentarily watched him with a light smile before climbing onto the bed. She straddled over his hips while leaning down to placing a couple kisses on his bare tattooed chest. "Mmm…Don't start something you don't plan on finishing."
Neo chuckled before shifting up and giving him a deep kiss. She broke the kiss and laid down, half on him and half on the bed. She sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. "Hm, I left my dress back on the Time Dome."
"We can get you another one," 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 her dress. "It's your dress."
"Velocity and Elian must have realized I left it there. They cleaned it as well," Neo said as Law handed it 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 dress along with a present for your baby.
See you soon!
Velocity and Elian
"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 pillows. "This is really happening, isn't it? We're really having a baby."
"We are," Law kissed into her hair.
"And we'll be okay," Neo tilted her eyes up to him.
"Of course we will, love," He stroked her cheek affectionately. "Are you still scared?"
"A little bit," Neo lightly nodded. "But I have you and the crew by my side."
"And you'll always have us," Law whisper softly while leaning down to capture her lips with his.