Marineford

Neo gasped as she shot up in bed. She placed her hand on her chest while trying to slow down her panicked breathing and racing heart.

Law automatically woke up and sat up beside her. "Did you have a nightmare again?"

"Yeah," Neo mumbled.

Law put his arm around her and pulled her to his side. "You haven't had one for a while. Was it the same one?"

Neo flinched.

Law lowered his voice to his captain tone. "Neo."

"No." She sighed, knowing not to lie to him. "It was a different one."

"How so?"

"It was about that battle here on Sabaody." She laid her head on his shoulder as she turned to her side a bit, her hand automatically grasping onto the front of his shirt. "I know you all are fine, but it still scares me that you had to go through that." She tilted her eyes to his. "Will I ever get use to this?"

"You will." Law nodded. He then said, "I believe this only effected you more deeply because I had forbidden you from using your crystals. You had gain confidence in using them and had comfort in the fact you could back us up if needed. But it was still a lesson you needed to learn. "He went quiet after that. He gently stroked her hair until he felt her relax before speaking again. "Feeling better now?"

"Yes."

"We still have a few hours before it's time to get up. Would you like to try and sleep some more?"

"Yeah." When he released her she laid back down and he pulled the covers back over her shoulders. Slowly, her eyelids drifted closed.

When he knew she was asleep again, he reached out and brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek before shifting closer to her. He decided to stay up and watch over her sleeping to make sure she got enough before having to get up.

...

"Captain?" Neo asked. She was sitting on his bed running her brush through her hair. Law was sitting over at his desk. He had been in that spot since she woke up. She had no idea how long he had been sitting there since he always woke up before she did. Nor did she know what he was working on.

"Yes?" Law asked. He kept his eyes down on his paper.

"Are you…" She hesitated thinking about the past couple of weeks having Jean Bart on the crew. Despite not having gone anywhere yet the man spent most of his time off the sub and in the town. A lot of the crew have been coming and going from the sub. Mostly it was to keep an eye on things since Jean Bart was an escaped slave. But no one seemed to even be looking for him. "Are you going to tell Jean Bart about my past? He's been here for a couple weeks now and no one's said anything about it."

Law looked up at her at that point. She had lowered her brush to her lap and was fingering it worriedly. He stood up and walked over to her. Tilting her chin up with his finger, he gave her a gentle smile that made her cheeks tint pink. "That's up to you. It's your decision when we tell him about that. I know he's only been here a short time and you're still adjusting to him. Do you want to tell him now?"

"I'm not sure," Neo whispered.

"That's okay." Law nodded. "Just take your time. You should move at your own pace with this."

Neo nodded with a light, understanding smile.

Law paused to think about the past couple weeks after the battle. She had been clingier to him and followed him just about everywhere he went during the first week after that battle. Then she started to break away from him in the second week. He figured she really needed to be near him so he never protested and the crew never released a single teasing snicker so he figured they sensed her feeling vulnerable too.

His eyes dropped from hers down to her lips. He laid his thumb on her chin, brushing it and her bottom lip lightly, earning a tensing reaction from her. With a smirk in his eyes, he slowly pulled his finger from her chin. "Let's go. It's about time for breakfast."

She quickly placed her brush back on his nightstand and rushed after her captain. They walked quietly to the galley. A few crewmembers were already inside chatting amongst themselves, Jean Bart included.

Law paused when he noticed Neo stopped walking. They had just entered into the room when she stopped. Turning back to her he found her just staring into space. "Neo?"

"I'm fine," she replied. She smiled at him then let her eyes drift over to the largest crewmember. She could feel the rest of the crew watched her quietly to see what she would do. Her eyes kept darting in Jean Bart's direction then quickly away. "Um, g-good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Neo," they chorused back.

"Good morning," Jean Bart said carefully.

Neo smiled lightly. She tucked her hair behind her ear and walked over to Penguin who was standing at the stove stirring a large pot of oatmeal. The black and white hatted man ruffled her hair with a smile. She took over stirring the oatmeal while Penguin moved to slicing up some bread.

As they turned their attention to cooking breakfast, Law walked over to the table and sat down. He picked up the morning newspaper to see if anything new was worth reading.

"Looks like it won't be long now before she wants to tell you of her past," Archer said. "I'm a bit surprised. I figured it would be longer."

"Hm?" Jean Bart looked at him then at their captain.

Law nodded in agreement. "She seems to be adjusting to you."

"You all know her better than I do," Jean Bart said.

"Anything of interest in the newspaper?" Shachi asked.

"No," Law said. "I guess the navy didn't manage to catch the Straw Hats at all."

"I wonder where they ended up," Bepo said.

"Well, their goal is to also go to the New World," Shachi said. "So I highly doubt they went very far."

"Breakfast is ready!" Penguin announced while places a couple plates of bread down on the tables.

Neo summoned her wind crystals. Lifting the large pot off the stove, she scooped out the oatmeal into pans and placed them on the table before claiming her spot beside Law. She took a bite of the oatmeal before Archer addressed her.

"Neo, after breakfast how about we play a little bit?" Archer asked.

"I guess so," Neo said. "What do you have in mind?"

"It's a surprise." Archer winked.

"Oh?" Neo tilted her head.

"I found something we could use for playing but also for training. You're going to love it," Archer said.

"I can't wait to see it then," Neo said.

"Great." Archer nodded then turned back to his breakfast.

Neo continued to eat as well. It didn't take them long to finish up breakfast. She helped Penguin clean up the dishes then went outside. The captain was once against leaning against Bepo as the bear was napping. Only difference was they were on the ground instead of the deck. Summoning a wind crystal, she lifted herself and Penguin down to the island where Archer and Shachi were waiting for her. Her eyes landed on the ball tucked under Archer's arm. "What's up?"

"This." Archer took the ball in his hands. "Surprise! It's a soccer ball."

"A soccer ball?" Neo asked.

"You kick it around and try to get it into the other team's goal," Archer said. "But we don't have any goals. And since you're not allow to use your crystals here we're just going to kick it around for a while."

"Okay." Neo nodded.

"Here we go then." Archer placed the ball down on the ground and kicked it to Neo. "Now kick it back to me."

Neo tapped the ball with her boot. It rolled towards Archer before he kicked it towards Shachi. Shachi then kicked it to Penguin who kicked it back to her.

Law sat back and enjoyed just watching his crew playing around with Neo. Archer had a good idea in buying this ball for her. It would help them all get some exercise and help build up their team trust. Once they get to another island he'd let her use her crystals to create them a couple nets so they could play for real. He continued to watch them until Conner came running up to them.

"Captain! Captain!" Conner called out before coming to a stop next to Law.

"What is it?" Law asked.

"You're going to want to come into the town! They're showing the battle! I mean the war between the navy and the Whitebeard Pirates!" Conner said.

"They are?" Shachi asked.

"Why would they do that?" Penguin added.

"Who cares? We have to see this. It's going to be the fight of the century!" Archer said.

"And not only that," Conner continued, "but Straw Hat's there as well!"

"What in the world would Straw Hat be doing there?" Shachi asked.

"Let's go," Law ordered.

The crew got up and followed their captain into the town. Neo stayed close to Law as he led them up the side of a building until they could see the screen showing everyone the battle. All of their eyes landed on the fight. She flinched, remembering the battle they were recently in. Her fingers curled around the back of Law's hoodie. Her eyes locked onto the screen when Luffy appeared. He seemed more enraged than he did in the action house. The battle raged on and on until an announcement was made that caused everyone, but for her, to gasp.

"Did I hear him correctly?! Ace is the son of the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Rogers?!" a man in the crowd shouted out.

"It's not possible!"

"But we all heard it!"

"So that's why they're really executing Fire Fist!"

Neo looked around at the crew. She wanted to ask questions but their stern expressions kept her quite. So she turned her eyes back to the battle and watched until Whitebeard himself made another announcement. He shouted out, "The One Piece is real!"

Pirates on the island screamed out, excited about the confirmation of the One Piece. Some of them ran off, not caring about the war anymore.

"Captain?" Neo stepped closer to him.

Law hushed her and kept his eyes on the war.

Neo resumed watching it as well for a while. But it all started to get to her. Her stomach and head spun from the fighting. She pressed her forehead against Law back and closed her eyes to get away from it. Then the crowds became upset about the screen going black.

"What happened?"

"Is the war over? Who won?"

"Are they keeping us from seeing something?"
"I bet Whitebeard sold out his crew and ran off!"

"Sold out his crew? What a load of crap," Law said. He pushed away from the building and headed back towards the sub with Neo still clinging to the back of his hoodie. "Whitebeard's a legend because he would never sell out his crew. Let's go. We're leaving."

"I wonder how this is going to end," Penguin said.

"You mean the war, right?" Neo asked.

"Yeah." Penguin nodded. "A lot of soldiers and pirates are going to die today. But that won't answer who's going to win."

Reaching the sub they all climbed up and went into the vessel. Law said, "Neo, why don't you go read for a while?"

"Oh, um, okay," Neo said before heading down the stairs.

"What was that for?" Bepo asked.

"I don't want her to hear this yet, but we're going to Marineford," Law said.

"What?!" Penguin gasped. "Are you serious?!"

"But why, Captain?" Bepo asked.

"I can't really answer that," Law said. "All I know it's the right move. We're going to help Straw Hat out."

"But Neo…" Penguin looked over to the stairs. "She's not going to like going into another battle. And not just another one. This is a war."

"I know," Law said. "I have no intentions of getting into the fight. I just want to go there. I can't really explain it. But keep quiet about it for now. I'll tell her when I'm ready. Just get the sub moving. We need to get there as soon as we can."

"Aye, Captain," the crew said before heading off to fulfill their orders.

Neo sauntered down the halls of the sub. She noticed a strange feeling in the air, but wasn't sure what it was. The crew was acting a bit strangely as well since they had returned to the sub. They kept talking quietly to each other about something when she saw them passing by the rec. room. Sometimes they would pause and look at her before waving and heading on to their destination.

She tried to focus on reading, and did for a couple hours, but now she couldn't focus on it at all. Her mind kept going to Jean Bart being on the crew. He seemed to be a rather quiet man when he was around her. Though she wasn't sure if that was his nature or if the crew had told him to be like that. Either way she realized she was starting to like the old man even if it was just a little bit. She wanted him to know about her past since he was going to be staying with them. If the captain had let him on the sub and onto the crew then she knew she could trust him.

So putting up her book she headed out to talk to the captain about it. She wasn't sure where everyone was at the moment, but when she came upon one or two, they acted nervous before rushing off somewhere. It struck her as odd how the crew as acting lately but that didn't matter. Right now, she was looking for Law so she didn't stop to question their actions. "Hey, Conner, have you seen the captain?"

"He's in the navigation room." The man paused on the stairs before continuing on his way up.

She headed downstairs towards the navigation room. She found the captain, plus Bepo and a few others, in the bear's the room.

Bepo had a map laid out on the table. He was the first to notice she was there. "Uh, Neo…"

Law quickly turned to her.

Neo caught a look in Law's eyes, but it fade to quickly for her to figure out what emotion it was.

Law then addressed her, "Neo, is something wrong? I thought you were reading."

"I was. Well, sort of. I was thinking about Jean Bart," Neo admitted. Law kept his eyes on her as Bepo exchanged looks with the other crewmates. They could guess easily enough what she was going to say next. "I…I want him to know."

Law walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Captain. You trust him enough to be near me and on your crew, so he should know." Neo nodded then added, "But I don't think that I can actually tell him myself. Captain, would you-"

"Of course I will," Law agreed before she could even finish her question. She locked eyes with him. He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Want to tell him now and get it over with?"

"Uh, aren't you busy?" Neo broke eye contact with him and looked over at Bepo. The bear jumped then fidget nervously. The other crewmates exchanged nervous glances.

"No, I was just going over some plans with Bepo," Law replied cautiously.

"What plans?" Neo asked. She noticed Law hesitating. Her chest tightened up with concern as she folded her hands in front of it. "Captain, what's going on? The crew's been acting odd as well. I don't like it. It's scaring me."

"Calm down, Neo." Law placed his hand on her head. "It's nothing for you to worry about right now. We'll talk about it later. For now, let's go talk to Jean Bart."

Without another word, he quickly guided her out of the room. They found Jean Bart sparring with a couple other crewmates in the training room. They paused when Law said, "Jean Bart, I would like to speak with you."

"Sure thing, Captain," the man replied.

"You all can go do whatever," Law said to the other two in the room. They gave their captain a questioning look then quickly guessed what was going on when they looked at Neo snuggling against him arm. They nodded to Law and quickly left the room. Law's eyes then dropped to Neo's. She looked up at him. He studied her eyes carefully before slowly nodding then turning to the only other person in the room. He then proceeded to tell the large man about Neo's past. When he was finished, he paused to let Jean Bart absorb the information. He then turned to the girl on his arm. "Neo, do you feel like showing him your crystals?"

Neo nodded against his arm and summoned her crystals. She called upon all of them to release the elements they held.

Jean Bart blinked rapidly before speaking. "Wow. I never would have guess someone like this would even exist. I'm sorry you had to endure all of that hardship."

"It…it's okay. I'm better now," Neo said softly. She turned her eyes up to Law, oblivious to the admiringly, lovingly, heart fluttering smile she gave to the man she was attached to. "The captain has helped me a lot."

Law smirked at her while returning the exact same look and feelings she was giving him.

Jean Bart finally saw what the crew had told him about. "So they were right."

"Who was right about what?" Law asked, turning back to the man.

"Nothing, Captain." Jean Bart smiled. "It's not important. I'll be sure to keep my distance still until you are completely comfortable with me being around."

"Thank you." Neo gave him a grateful smile without eye contact.

"Is there anything else, Captain?" Jean Bart asked.

"No, you can do whatever now," Law said. He turned and guided Neo back out of the room.

"Captain?" Neo asked as they walked down the hall. He hummed in response. "What's going on with you and the crew? You all seem so tense about something. There's a strange feeling in the air. I don't really like it."

"Yeah." Law rubbed the back of his neck. "I know you don't. I've been trying to find the right moment to talk to you about this."

"About what?" They both stopped walking at the same time. She looked up at him.

"About what's going on with the battle at Marineford." Law slowly scanned her eyes. He didn't want her near a battle so soon after Sabaody. But it didn't look like he was going to be able to stop it.

"You're going to fight again," she said, lowering her eyes to the floor with such a sad expression that made Law's heart sink.

"Don't make that face." Law lifted her chin back up with his finger and pressed her forehead to hers causing his hat to push up higher on his head. She tensed at his actions like always but didn't pull away. "I don't plan on fighting or letting the crew fight. This is more of a…spur of the moment kind of thing."

"Spur of the moment?" Neo asked softly.

A couple crewmates came around the corner but quickly turned back around when they saw Law pressing his forehead to Neo's.

"It's something I just feel like doing," Law explained.

"I think I understand," Neo said.

"If you don't, you can always ask me," Law said while pulling away from her. He then took off his hat and placed it on her head, covering her eyes. "Now, I don't want you to think anymore about it."

"I'll try not to." Neo adjusted his hat and smiled.

"That's a good girl." Law put his arm around her shoulders and continued to lead her down the hall, keeping her by his side for the rest of the trip to Marineford.

"There's ice over the surface around the island," Neo said. With her eyes closed she focused on what was going on around the island they were heading for. "I can also feel someone moving around on the island who feels like ice as well."

"Aokiji," Law said. "He and the other admirals should all be there as well."

"I think I can feel them, too," Neo said. "One's a light wielder and the other one controls magma." Pressing her temple to Law's shoulder, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "The island is shaking. There's a lot of fire as well. The animals are scared. I'm scared."

"It'll be all right," Law said.

"She's right," Archer said looking at the screen before him. "There's ice all over the place. Getting to the island is going to be difficult. We might need Neo to move some of the ice." He looked back at them. "Can she even do that?"

"Neo?" Law asked.

"I think I can," Neo said. "I should be able to heat the seawater with my water crystals. But that might make Aokiji notice me."

"As far as I'm aware logia users can't sense their elements being manipulated," Law said. "So, if you can, fix a place where we can surface. We need to get as close to the island as possible."

Neo nodded. Closing her eyes, she snuggled back into Law's arm while feeling out for the perfect spot. She followed along the ice, seeing it inside of her mind at the same time the wood from the ships appeared to her. She projected her water crystals under the ice when she found a spot a little thinner than the rest. The water bubbled around them, warming the ice. "It's working."

"Hey, I can see the space she opened," Archer said. "Shall I take her up?"

"Do it," Law answered.

Neo turned her eyes back to Law when she heard his sword click. The sub rose to the surface. It jerked, throwing her against him. She tensed at his arm locking around her body.

"We've surfaced, Captain!" Archer informed them.

Law looked down at his female companion and said, "Stay inside, Neo. I don't want anyone outside of the crew seeing you here."

"Right," Neo replied with a light nod.

"Archer, stay here and get ready to leave," Law said.

"Aye, Captain," Archer said.

Neo's heart started beating faster with each step Law took to the door. Before he was able to step through she said, "Captain, wait!"

"Huh?" Law looked back at her. "What is it?"

"I, uh…" She paused and looked down with a sigh. "It's nothing. Never mind."

Law studied her for a while before walking back over to her. He tapped his sheathed sword on her head. He chuckled lightly. "Stop worrying. I promise I'm not going anywhere near the battle."

"Okay." She caught his eyes. Her heart flittered then tightened when he winked at her. She watched him disappear from her sight. She wanted to follow him. She wanted him to remain in her sight forever but knew that wasn't possible. Seconds dragged on like hours. Her feet carried her to the door. She glanced back at Archer. The man had his eyes on the controls, ready to take off at the captain's orders. She stepped out into the hall and made her way up to the main floor. Standing at the top of the stairs she pressed her back to the wall and listened. She could hear the captain's voice yelling at someone but she couldn't understand what he was saying due to all of the gun and cannon fire. She had no idea what was going on outside. She had no idea what exactly the captain was planning on doing here.

While she anxiously waiting for him to return a strong vibration ran through her body. She could feel it. The vibrations of the island were coming to her in strong waves. It was out of control. No, someone was trying to control nature. The animals could sense it. The birds and fish hurried away from the island in an attempt to get away from it while others remained in place. Wrapping her arms around herself she slid down to the floor. Her body trembled uncontrollably just like the island outside the sub. Her mind clouded with the fear nature was screaming at her with. "What's happening?"

"Neo?" Conner's voice asked through the clouds in her head. His hand was warm on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"I-I don't know. Something's happening to nature. Someone's trying to control it or something. I think it's another devil fruit user. It's out of control. It's too much. I…I don't like it. I don't like how it feels. It hurts," she replied just as the waves started rocking the ship. Pain hammered into her head. She grabbed her head, tears streaking down her cheeks, and screamed, "Stop it! Stop it! It's too much!"

"Hey, it'll be all right," Conner said.

She didn't hear him as she continued to mutter about nature being out of control.

"Neo," Conner gasped. "You're…you're glowing."

"Someone's coming," Neo said seeming to not have heard him. She looked down at her hands, at her glow. "Someone's coming. Someone…I know…I know them."

"What are you talking about?" Conner asked.

"He's coming. It's him. I know him," Neo mumbled.

"What the heck? Don't tell me she's having a nervous break down," Conner said just before Penguin came running into the sub. "Hey, Penguin! Thank God you're here! I need a little help over here!"

"What's wrong?" Penguin asked, rushing over to them. He knelt down and placed his hand on her shoulder, inspecting the glow around her body. "What happened to her? Why is she glowing?"

"I'm not sure. She just kind of freaked out a bit or something. Something to do with nature being out of control then she started glowing and saying something about someone she knows being here," Conner said. He stood up and followed after the others, leaving Penguin to take care of her. "I'll leave her to you."

"Neo?" Penguin asked softly. He cupped her face when she didn't respond. "Neo, can you hear me? Neo?!"

"I'm okay. I can hear you," Neo replied through labored pants. The halo glow around her started to fade. "It stopped. The shaking stopped. But he's still here."

"He who?" Penguin asked.

"I don't know." Neo shook her head. "I don't know."

"Okay, we'll figure that out later. Let's go then. The captain won't be happy if he sees you like this. He'll no doubt hunt down whoever made you feel this way." He took her hand and helped her to her feet then pulled her towards the medical bay.

Neo rubbed her nose when the smell of iron entered into it. Her eyes dropped on the two strangers lying on the operating tables, their bodies covered in blood. "That one's a fish."

"Fishman to be more precise," Shachi said.

Neo pulled her eyes away from the fishman and looked at the other injured one. "That's…"

"Yeah. That's Straw Hat Luffy," Penguin said.

"He's hurt." Neo's eyes landed on his wounded chest. She flinched at the memories of her own stab she did when she woke up in this room and subconsciously grabbed onto Penguin's arm. Her eyes then landed on the other injured party. He had a large wound on his stomach. A gag slipped out of her mouth. She forced her eyes off of him and onto the floor while placing a hand to her lips.

"You don't have to be in here if it's reminding you too much of your past," Penguin said softly, he placed his hand over hers. "This is the first time you've seen such bad wounds."

"I'm okay." Neo shook her head. "But who's that? The fish."
"Jinbe," Penguin said. "He was one of the seven warlords."

"Oh." Neo released her hold on him and moved to the head of the operating table Luffy was on. She looked up from his injured body when Law, carrying a straw hat, and Bepo came running into the room. Relief washed over her body upon seeing the captain was all right.

"Neo?" Law asked.

Neo stiffened, and the crew jumped, when Law spoke to her with that dangerous tone he got when someone upset her.

"Were you crying?" Law finished.

"I was. It was because of something that happened on the island, when nature went crazy. Everything was shaking so much," Neo replied wiping her drying tears away. "It hurt. But I'm okay now."

Law eyed her carefully before nodding, half satisfied, and handed the hat over to Penguin before pulling on a pair of rubber gloves. "All right. Shall we begin? This one's been shot through the stomach. It's amazing he's still alive. Straw Hat's injuries are even worse. But I think his emotional trauma is the real issue."

"Do they need anesthesia?" Penguin asked.

"Not in this state no. They're both unconscious. And Straw Hat's one step shy of comatose. Which means no matter how grizzly this gets you won't hear a single peep out of them." Law smiled, his eyes taking on a joyful look at the coming surgeries. "It's going to be a fun operation, yeah."

"Everything's looking good. His pulse is steady," Shachi said.

Neo stood and just watched as one of the crew pushed a trolley with surgical equipment over to Law as he began working on Luffy's wound. She gasped when she sensed ice flying towards them. "Aokiji's attacking!"

The sub rocked and shook from the ice shards hitting the panels, throwing the pirates off balance.

"Curse that Aokiji!" Conner shouted. "He's trying to sink us!"

"We have to do something!" Shachi said.

Neo glanced around at the panicked and stumbling crew. Bepo was obviously the most freaked out. He was screeching at their captain and rolling all over the floor. The bear jumped up and ran over to Law. He said, "What do we do, Captain?! What do we do?! Aokiji's going to kill us!"

"I don't care! Just do something!" Law ordered through gritted teeth.

Even though that wasn't her order, she still felt like she should do something. She had control over the elements after all. And ice was just frozen water. Surely there was something she could do to help them escape. She closed her eyes and released a low, steady breath. She concentrated on what was going on outside of the sub. She felt out the ice that was coming at them then summoned her water and earth crystals.

Law cast her a concern glance when he sensed her crystals appearing in the room.

Penguin also gave her a concerned glance while reaching for her. "Neo?"

Law raised a hand to silence the man. When his subordinate looked at him, Law gave him a look that told him 'It's okay. Let her do what she feels she needs to.' then went back to work on Luffy after casting Neo one last glance.

Penguin backed down and allowed Neo to continue without another word.

Half of her crystals faded and appeared on the outside of the sub while the other half remained with her. The crystals that remained began to glow while the ones on the outside of the sub did her bidding. She used her water crystals to try and push back the ice while using her earth crystals to call up sea plants and rocks to try and block the ice that was beating down on them. Sweat began to bead on her forehead from trying to keep up with so many ice shards. Another jerk of the sub send her off balance. Her crystals faded. She flew backwards landing in someone's arms.

"You okay?" Conner asked.

"Yeah." She looked up at him with a nod. "Sorry, I couldn't do much about that ice."

"You did fine." Conner smiled. He patted her on the head after helping her regain her feet.

Once stable, her eyes drew over to Penguin. He was watching her with a relieved smile. She returned it with a small smile of her own.

"We're finally free, Captain," Jean Bart's voice said through the voice pipe on the sub.

Neo glanced over at the voice pipe, wondering when Jean Bart had gone to the control room. She sighed. It didn't matter. They were now safe from Aokiji.

As the minutes ticked by the crew started leaving the operating room one by one. Having stood for a couple hours, Neo's feet and legs ached. So she sat down at the foot of Luffy's bed. His straw hat was also sitting there so she picked it up and placed it on her lap. She watched Law working on Jinbe. Since the fishman was so large Law had to stand on the bed. The air grew warmer and warmer. She summoned two wind crystals and created a breeze for them. "We're close to some volcanoes."

"Are you feeling better now?" Law asked.

"Yes," Neo replied. "I guess so."

"Talk to me," Law ordered softly.

"The earth just started shaking. It was…it just felt weird. It was like back on Sabaody. When the girl of the Straw Hat crew created that storm inside, but this was a lot worse. It felt dark. I didn't like it and I freaked out a bit. I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to apologize for that. It didn't feel right to you. That's understandable considering how you're connected to nature. You did very well in handling yourself back there, by the way."

"But I…I didn't really do anything. Oh, and I also felt someone coming closer to us. He felt familiar somehow. I started glowing, too."

"You sensed someone coming?" Law finished up with Jinbe at that moment. He jumped off the surgery table and tossed his gloves in the trash before grabbing a towel to wipe off his hands while he studied the girl. He tilted his head as he stared at her. She was sitting dutifully on the edge of the table. Her eyes were down on the straw hat she was holding. He could easily tell she was going over the events that just happened. Suddenly, her expression changed to a tense one and she started to glow again. "Can you elaborate on that?"

"I don't know. I just…" Neo paused when jumbled voices and a baby crying then entered into her ears. Dark images filtered across her eyes. The first image she saw appeared to be a woman. The next two was men. The first man was right beside the woman with his arm around her shoulders. He was shorter and didn't have broad shoulders like the other one did. The woman was clearly crying and holding something to her chest. She then handed whatever she was hold to the second man. A third image appeared in her vision. This one was smaller than the rest. He didn't say anything, but hugged the woman and the first man then walked over to the second man.

The woman opened her mouth. It appeared she was pleading with someone, but Neo couldn't hear clearly what anyone was saying. The second man nodded and said something back. Panic rose in the room when the woman slumped forward. A third man appeared in the room. He hastily said something to the second man then ran out of the room. The second man handed the small person in the room the bundle he was holding. He said something to the smaller person then left the room.

"Neo? Neo!"

Neo swayed when Law's voice snapped her out of her trance. Her body fell forward until hands pressed against her shoulders. "What…what happened? I don't feel so good. I feel dizzy."

"I don't know. You were glowing again," Law said. He kept her hands on her shoulders to stabilize her.

"That's the second time," Neo whispered. "Why does this keep happening?

"I'm not sure. Are you feeling better now?" Law said.

"Yeah." Neo nodded.

Law lifted his hands off her shoulders. He was thankful he wiped off enough blood that it didn't get on her or her clothes. He watched her as he continued to wipe off his hands.

Neo looked down at the hat. The board shoulder man in her vision was wearing a hat that looked like this. She then said, "Captain, why does Straw Hat wear this hat? Is it important to him?"

"I don't know," Law replied.

"Will they be okay?" Neo asked so softly that Law almost didn't hear her. She looked at the two injured parties lying unconscious.

"Only time will tell. Come on. Let's get out of here," Law summoned.

Neo slid off the bed. She paused to put the straw hat down and glanced at Luffy once more. She felt bad that he was hurt like he was, but she knew that Law did everything he could to save him.

"Neo?"

"Coming," Neo replied. She quickened her pace to catch up with her captain. Just as they reached the main floor muffled voices came from deck. "There's a snake on the deck."

"A snake?" Law walked over to the door.

Neo remained by Law's side as they exited the sub. Her anxiety immediately increased when she noticed a strange woman with long black hair standing on the deck with the crew. She automatically grabbed onto Law's arm and stepped halfway behind him.

Law tossed her a glance over his shoulder, she didn't notice. She was half looking at the black hair woman and half hiding her face in Law's sleeve.

"How is he?! How's Luffy?!" the woman demanded.

"I did everything I possibly could," Law said, still rubbing his hands clean.

"So does that mean he'll be okay?" the woman asked.

"We'll just have to wait and see. He's in stable condition now. But he took on a lot more damage than most people can endure. There's no guarantee he'll survive." Law said looking down at Neo when she peaked more around his arm.

"Captain, who is that?" Neo asked.

"Boa Hancock," Law replied. "She's called the pirate empress."

"What an uplifting prognosis," a voice said.

"Who said that?" Bepo asked.

"Me! Duh! If you want Straw Boy to wake up you're going to have to show him some love!"

The pirates looked up at the navy ship and found several people standing there. They all cheered for the Straw Hat captain.

"We own Straw Hat our lives so take good care of him!"

"We'd still be in prison without all his help!"

"Now the new kama can finally go to the Kamabakka Kingdom!"

"Off we go! Farewell, Straw Hat! We're heading home!"

"So, uh, who are they?" Shachi asked.

"They are a group of prisoners from Impel Down. Luffy appears to be their friend. They must have snuck onto the ship as well," Hancock said.

"I can't believe he pushed his body past the limit a second time. That's how strong the bond was between Straw Boy and Ace Boy," the man with the purple hair said before jumping over to the deck of the sub.

Neo ducked back being Law when the stranger landed on the sub.

"You tell them, Iva! Nothing stopped him then and nothing will stop him now!"

"I wish that were true. But fate can be cruel. You can't save everyone. All of that work for nothing. He's almost dead because that's the kind of world this is," Iva said.

"Don't get down, Iva! Straw Hat will pull through this! I know it!"

"Don't you dare die on us, Straw Hat!"

"Luffy has touched so many lives. If there was some way I could take his place so he would survive. Poor darling," Hancock said before covering her face and turning her back to everyone.

"Ah, so lucky," Shachi said.

"Must be nice to have the pirate empress fawn over you like that," Penguin added.

"You're a new face. Are you one of Straw Boy's pals?" Iva asked.

"No. I can't say why I saved him. It's complicated at best. You going to pressure me for the details?" Law said.

"No, no. Let's just say that your heart guided you to his side." Iva crosses his arms.

Neo peaked out from behind Law to inspect the purple haired man. His head was the largest she had ever seen. It didn't seem possible that someone could stand up straight like he was doing.

"Oh, hello there," Iva said when he noticed Neo looking at him. "Aren't you an interesting one."

Neo whimpered and ducked back hide Law.

"And a shy one," Iva said. "I never expect that. But then you're all different just like we are."

"What are you talking about?" Penguin asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," Iva said with a smile.

Everyone's eyes turned to the door of the sub when some of the crew started talking. "Hey! You shouldn't be up yet!"

"The captain said that you needed to rest. Your wounds could open up."

"Get back here, please!"

"Leave me be," Jinbe said.

"Jinbe," Iva said when the fishman stepped out onto the deck.

"I know you. Captain Law of the North Blue," Jinbe said.

Law nodded in reply.

Neo glanced at the fishman, wondering how he could move with such a horrible wound on him. She wanted to help heal him but had no way of doing so.

"You look awful. Should you really be moving around like that?" Iva said.

"I own you. I own you my life," Jinbe said to Law.

"Enough. Lie down and get some rest," Law said.

"My mind is trouble. Luffy…the pain for him is so much that I can't rest. I have failed you friend. Remorse…if this is how I feel then just imagine him. His collapse may have been a mercy since it allowed us to take him away. But what now? Even if he survives with the immensity of his loss I feel for when he awakens," Jinbe said.

Neo leaned in closer to Law. The fishman's words weighed her chest down despite not understanding much of what was going on.

"You, the fuzzy one, where's your transponder snail?" Hancock asked.

"You mean me? I'll go get it. If you like," Bepo said.

"He's so lucky," Shachi said.

"No fair. I want to serve the Pirate Empress as well," Penguin said.

"Captain, they're acting funny again," Neo said.

"Just ignore them," Law said.

"I will summon the Kuja ship so we can sail across the calm belt even with this submarine. The world government can't find out that Luffy's alive or they'll come after him. Let us harbor him safely on the maiden island," Hancock said.

"Really?" Iva asked.

"As long as they still view me as a warlord Luffy will not be in danger there," Hancock said. "Now that that's settled there is something I'd like to ask." She pointed at Neo. "Just who the heck are you?"

Neo ducked her head.

"Her name is Neo," Law said. "She's staying with us."

"She's not a pirate?" Iva asked.

"No," Law replied.

"Well, that's interesting," Iva said.

"What is your relationship to Luffy?" Hancock asked. "Answer me girl!"

Neo squeaked. She pressed her face into Law's hoodie.

"Don't yell at her," Law said. "She's not use to being around people. And you all are the ones invading her space."

"Sounds like she might have been through some turmoil herself," Iva said.

"You could say that," Law said. "But we're not giving you the details. So don't ask for them."

"Don't worry. We won't," Iva said. "It'll be more fun to see how things play out as they are."

"Play out as they are?" Penguin asked.

Iva just smiled.

"So she has nothing to do with Luffy," Hancock said. "That's good."

"Where are we going?" Neo asked once they had reentered the sub. She followed Law up the stairs with Penguin and Shachi behind them.

"Amazon Lily," Penguin replied with a dreamy expression on his face.

"This is like a dream come true," Shachi added with his own dreamy expression.

"Captain, they're acting strange again." Neo looked at the boys from over her shoulder before turning her eyes back to Law. "What's wrong with them? They seem to do this a lot. Why?"

Law flinched at her question. He could feel his cheeks getting warm. He didn't dare look back at her, but knew questions like this were bound to happen at some point in time. Neo was clearly grown more conscious of the world around her and how his crew was acting around women. He cleared his throat before and took a deep breath before speaking. "Never mind them. They're just excited about a new adventure. There's something I need to talk to you about right now."

"What is it?" Neo asked as they came to a stop at the top of the stairs.

"It's about the island we're heading for," Law replied. He studied her as she stood patiently for him to continue. He swallowed before speaking again. "This island is entirely, and only, filled with women. We men are not going to be allowed to enter their village. But it's possible that they will want you to enter because you, too, are a woman."

"Oh." Neo's eyebrows turned up in a slightly worried fashion.

"While I'd rather not have you out of my sight, you will be safe on this island," Law continued to explain.

"Captain?! What are you saying?!" Penguin, snapping out of his trance, screeched.

"Are you going to let her go with them?!" Shachi asked.

"It will be beneficial for Neo to spend time with some women. If that's going to happen, I'd rather it be with women that I know will not hurt her or try to take advantage of her abilities," Law explained, casting his men a glance.

"I guess you're right." Penguin sighed.

Law looked back at Neo. "This means if you feel comfortable enough to go with them, I will allow you to. I'm also allowing you the choice of revealing your abilities to them or not. It's your choice. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Neo nodded and looked down at the floor.

"You don't have to decide anything right now." Law placed his hand on her head, regaining her attention. "It's going to take a while for us to get to that island. I just wanted you aware of what might happen when we get there."

"I understand, Captain," Neo said.

Law nodded in acceptance to her words before continuing to lead his three shadows into the room where Luffy was still lying unconscious. The beeping of the heart monitor and the air from the breathing mask were the only noises in the room at the moment. He walked over to his patient to check on him.

Neo continued to follow him until she got to Luffy's bedside. She stared down at him. Several tubes and wires were running to his body and under the blanket that was over him. He was totally unaware of what was going on around him. She watched him sleep, wondering what he was going to do when he woke up. From what she could gather from the way people were talking this Fire Fist Ace was someone important to him.

"Come on, Neo," Law said. "Let him rest."

"Yes, sir." Neo turned and followed Law out of the room.