Value

"Where you going, Bepo?" Neo asked when the bear passed by the rec. room at the same time she was coming out of it.

"It's such a nice day. A nap is calling my name," Bepo replied with a friendly smile. "I figured I'd take one on the deck while we're surfaced. Would you like to come with me?"

"I would like that." Neo nodded. She followed after the bear with a light skip in her step.

They were about to the door when Law suddenly cleared his throat and called for them. "Where are you two going?"

"Out on the deck," Neo answered as the two turned back to the man. He had his sword resting on his left shoulder and his right hand stuffed in his pocket. She slipped her hands behind her back and laced her fingers together. "Bepo wanted a nap and asked if I wanted to go with him."

"I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head when Law looked at him.

Neo giggled. She reached up and patted his head. "Such a cute bear. There's no reason for you to apologize. Or is there, Captain? We didn't do anything wrong, did we? We're not leaving the sub." Her expression filled with worry.

Law felt guilty when she turned her blue eyes to him. He didn't mean to give her the impression she had done something wrong. "No, there's no reason for him to apologize. I was just curious as to where you two were going."

"Oh, okay," Neo said.

Law was relieved when a smile returned to Neo's lips.

"Would you like to come with us, Captain?" Bepo then asked.

Neo looked back up to the bear before looking at Law again.

Law could easily tell she wanted him to come, but was still to shy and unaware of her feelings to ask him to. He thought about the question for a split second before answering. "Sure. I'm not doing anything right now anyway."

Neo's eyes lit up at his answer.

Bepo caught her delight, but being more rational than Shachi and Penguin, he was able to keep his snickers away easily. He did smile though while saying, "Let's go then."

"Mhmm." Neo nodded. She waited for Law to join her side while Bepo went ahead and opened the door for them. When Law was beside her, they locked eyes with each other before following after their animal companion. By the time the two got out on the deck, Bepo was already on his back snoring. She giggled again. "Silly bear. He falls asleep so fast."

Law smiled at her enjoyment of the bear's sleeping habits. He then asked, "Was there anything you wanted to do out here?"

"I guess. I feel like moving." Neo turned to him. "I still feel a bit weird after hearing about where I'm from and what happened. I'm just so, um…"

"Restless," Law said filling in the word she couldn't find. She nodded. "Then go ahead and do what you wish. It'll help clear your head."

"Thanks, Captain." Neo and Law shared a smile before she walked away from him.

He remained in his spot as he watched her lift herself upon the railing of the sub with her winds. He then walked over to Bepo, sat down, and settled in against the sleeping bear while keeping his eyes locked onto Neo.

Neo bent over and placed her hands on the railing of the sub. She brought her legs up straight above her before spinning around on her hands a few times. She lowered her feet to the rail to complete her delayed handspring. She paused then took of on the railing with an array of handsprings and cartwheels. After completing them, she bent down then shot herself into the air, without using her crystals. She did a few twists and spins while flying through the air before landing back on the rail effortlessly. A smile pulled across her lips. She continued with her little training session, unaware of the heart pounding effect she was having on the ever-watchful captain.

Law shifted. His hat fell over his eyes as he watched Neo do whatever she felt like on the rail. Disappointment settled into his chest when he realized she wasn't wearing her Amazon outfit anymore. She was wearing her white button up shirt and shorts. The disappointment didn't last long. It vanished when Neo bend her knees to launch herself into the air. Before she did, Law's eyes wandered helplessly over her well-toned legs.

He forced his eyes to stop focusing so much on her bared skin. Instead, he looked over her acrobatic movements. He quickly noticed she had improved, a lot. She had gotten faster with executing her moves. She had also improved on herself confidence in executing those moves. It seemed their time on Amazon Lily wasn't a waste after all. His heart pounded against his chest again when his mind, without his permission, automatically went back to the outfits Neo had acquired from their time there. He sighed at his inability to control his thoughts and emotions where she was concerned. He felt ridiculously hopeless. He felt…ridiculously in love. And he loved the way she made him feel. He really was hopeless.

Still he couldn't stop himself from feeling this way. He didn't want to stop himself from feeling this way. He settled back down into watching her movements. He had no idea how long he had been watching Neo's acrobatic dance on the railing of his ship when unwelcome snickers brought him out of the trance she had put him in. His entire crew had gathered around him. He cast another glance at Neo. She was still moving around on the railing so he was unsure if she knew the crew was outside with them now. Disappointed by the interruption, he growl before turning back to them and asked, "What do you all want?"

Knowing better than to bring more attention to what their captain was doing, they went right to the point of their unexpected visit. Shachi asked, "We wanted to speak to you about what our next move is. We all want to know when we're going to the New World."

"We're not," Law stated simply. "For a while anyway."

"What do you mean we're not going to the New World?!" the entire crew questioned.

Neo paused at that point to look up at them. Finding interest in their question, she stopped what she was doing and sat down on the rail where she could still see Law and he could still see her. She quietly listened to the conversation at hand.

"Are sure about this, Captain?"

"We'll be the last ones there!"

"Of course I'm sure," Law smirked. "There's no point into rushing into a chaotic storm with other pirates doing nothing but killing each other. Let them kill each other off. It'll be better for us if they do. The One Piece is not going anywhere. It'll be right there waiting like always. We'll enter into the New World when the time is right. And that will be a time that suits me."

Neo dropped her eyes back down to the floor with a low sigh. She couldn't help but wondering if the reason they weren't going to the New World was because of her. Unknown to her, Law looked over at her at that point, easily reading what was on her mind. She then heard him speak again, but didn't look at him.

"Just shut up and follow me," Law said.

"All right!" the crew shrieked just as happily and as loyally as ever.

Neo smiled a bit at their loyalty to the spotted hat man.

"Aye aye, Captain! I'll follow you anywhere!" Bepo cried out in his sleep.

"Will you stop sleep talking?!" Shachi and Penguin shouted.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh shut up!"

"If there's nothing else," Law then said, "you all can go."

"Great! I can't wait until we get there!" a crewmate said while they all headed back inside the sub.

Penguin paused to look at Neo. She didn't notice, however. Her eyes had dropped back to the ground. Penguin sighed when he saw the doubt in her lowered eyes. But he didn't say anything to her. He knew the captain would speak to her about it. So he followed after his fellow crewmates, leaving his sister in their captain's capable hands.

Law waited for his crew to completely disappear inside before looking back over at Neo. He watched her for a few minutes before calling to her. "Neo?"

She looked up at him. He wiggled his finger at her. She immediately obeyed his silent command. She slid off the railing and walked over to him. He removed his sword from his shoulder and laid it down on his right side. He then tapped the floor on his left side. She obediently sat where she was told. She dropped to her knees and sat down on her legs. "Yes, Captain?"

"I saw that look of doubt in your eyes," Law said. "Talk to me. Tell me why."

Neo fiddled with her fingers before answering him. "Is it…is it because of me?"

"Is what because of you?" Law blinked.

"Are we not going to the New World because of me? Because that man, the emperor Red Hair Shanks, is my godfather? He's in the New World, right? If we go there he could sense me. He could come for me," Neo said with her head low. Tears started to gather at the corner of her eyes. "I know you are strong, but he's stronger, isn't he? Because he's an emperor? He could easily take me away from you, couldn't he?"

"Neo," Law said her name then paused. With a low sigh, he reached over and tilted her chin up. He flinched at the tears in her eyes. "Red Hair being your godfather definitely puts an interesting spin on things, but it's not the reason we're not going to the New World yet. And if he wanted you to be with him then he would have already come for you."

"Do you really believe that?" Neo looked timidly into his eyes.

"I do." He smiled and nodded. "You are safe here with me. And if Red Hair Shanks does ever come for you, I won't let him take you. I'll get stronger so I can protect you." Law was relieved when a small smile donned her lips again and her tears vanished before they could fall. Lowering her gaze from his, she shifted uncomfortably while her heart pounded against her chest. He knew her heart was racing when she lifted her fingers to rub against the still unfamiliar beats.

She soft voice reached his ears again. She said, "I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"About some stuff that guy, the Dark King, told us about where I'm from and all," Neo said.

"What exactly are you thinking about?" Law asked carefully and softly. His mind was spinning with curiosity.

"About it all actually, but mostly about the bonds he mentioned." She lifted her eyes back to him. "What all do you think I can do, we can do with it? I mean, I think I can connect to memories of Red Hair Shanks and my parents."

"What do you mean?" Law tilted his head at her words.

"Remember back on the sub when you were operating on Jinbe?" She continued when Law nodded. "I was holding the straw hat and started to glow? I saw images of people. I think…I think they might have been my parents and Red Hair Shanks."

Law's eyes widened. He remembered the event, but never pressed her for complete details of what she saw since she wasn't sure and it had upset her.

"Is it possible that I could have actually remembered them? And remembered Red Hair? Even though I had just been born?" Neo asked.

Law didn't answer her right away. He wanted to give her a straight, solid answer, but he wasn't sure there was one. "Well, I have heard tales of people having memories from being a baby. Although, I'm not sure that has been proven true or not. I believe it's possible that you really saw them."

"Do you think I could do it again?" Her question surprised him. He didn't think she would ever want to do something like that again since it made her dizzy, but then they didn't have all their current information on her back at that point in time.

"There's only one way to know for sure," Law said. He paused to take her in before adding, "Do you want to try it?"

She hesitated to answer. After a minute, she slowly nodded.

Law nodded back then said, "Go ahead. Just focus on what you were feeling and thinking when you first did it. Focus on the images that you saw."

Neo nodded again. She closed her eyes. Law waited patiently as the painfully slow ticking second that passed by. About two or three minutes later, a familiar white glow slowly began to appear. Law continued to wait, for what he wasn't really sure. A light hum passed over his lips when her glow extended to him. He remained quiet. He didn't want to disrupt her concentration as long as she was keeping calm. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in his eyes. Everything faded away and was replaced with darkness. Then his body came back into focus. In a slightly panic he looked around. "Neo?"

He calmed down when she appeared beside him. She opened her eyes and looked at him, but didn't say anything. He was going to reach for her, but paused when the sounds of a baby crying filled the empty space. The cries were followed by muffled voices. Slowly the images Neo saw the first time started to come into view. "Captain…"

"I'm here." Law reached out and placed his hand on her hair. Voices cut Law off before he could say anything else. Panic was clearly present in their tones.

"Captain! Their coming!"

"Keep firing! We have to escape!"

"Shanks, please, take care of her."

"We can't take much more of this!"

"Please! You're their godfather! You have to keep them safe!"

"I will."

Neo gasped. She and Law suddenly were back on the deck of the sub. She panted hard while trying to focus back on reality.

Law stroked her hair. "It's okay. It's over. You did fine."

Unable to speak yet, she just nodded a couple times. A few minutes later, she finally calmed down. "I don't want to do that again. You're not going to add that into my training are you?"

"No, I'm not," Law said. "If I ever do add it, it will only be because you want it there."

"Thanks, Captain."

"And speaking of training," Law said. "We're going to start back up soon. I'd like to include Jean Bart in your training now. I've noticed you're talking to him more often. Are you getting use to him being around?"

"I'm getting there," Neo answered. "I still kinda jump when I see him, but I'll be fine to train with him."

"That's a good girl." Law chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"Go on, Captain..." Bepo suddenly chirped in his sleep. "Tell her…"

"Huh?" Neo leaned forward to peer at the bear around Law's shoulder. When she moved, Law let his hand drop from her hair to her hip. "What did he say?"

"N-nothing," Law slightly stuttered. "He's just talking in his sleep. He does that often. You know that."

"Yummy fish," Bepo muttered while making 'yum yum' noises. "Tasty."

A light smile formed on her lips. She giggled.

Law let his hat fall over his eyes. The corner of his lips twitched at the sight of her smile and the sound of her bells. He let his eyes drop to his lap. He noticed that, at some point, Neo had rested her arms on his leg to stabilize herself as she watched Bepo sleep. She was completely unaware of it.

"Hn." Neo suddenly winced.

"What's wrong?" Law asked.

"My back hurts," she replied.

"Again?" Law pulled his hand from her hip. "Let me take a look. Turn around here."

Neo turned her back to him.

He lifted up her shirt and unhooked her bra strap. Like the first time, he saw nothing. He rolled his own shoulders when a light pinch formed between his shoulder blades. Once the pinch was gone, he rubbed his fingers over her skin to make sure nothing was there. She tensed at his touch, but didn't pull away. "Hmm…"

"What is it, Captain?" Neo asked when he hummed in thought.

"I don't see anything." When he concluded nothing was there, he hooked the strap back into place and lowered her shirt. He tapped his finger on his knee while she turned back to him. "I don't like that this happened a second time. If it happens again, I'm going to run some tests on you." Alarm flashed through her eyes. Law put his hand behind her head and pulled her to his chest. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing. I'll only do the tests if it happens again. I promise it won't hurt. I'll take care of you. Okay?"

She clenched his shirt with a light nod. Silence fell between then for a while before Law spoke up again. "Also, I don't want you off the ship without me by your side from now on."

"Hm?" Neo tilted her head so she could look at him. He looked down at her with a soft caring look in his eyes that she didn't understand. He smiled lightly at her confusion while tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I want to make sure you are protected. I'm the strongest of our crew. If these elementals do attack, I'll be the one to most likely be able to handle them," Law explained.

"Okay, Captain," Neo said.

Law lightly nodded.

She then laid her head back down on his chest with a content sigh.

Neo paused to catch her breath for a split second before Jean Bart charged at her. He had his fist pulled back in preparation to hit her. She held her ground until the right moment before launching herself into the air with her winds. Jean Bart's punch hit the ground. It sent several rocks and dirt chunks flying. She summoned her earth crystals and used them to throw the rocks and dirt at the man. She avoided his face. She didn't like going for the cheap shots even if this was just a friendly training session.

He easily blocked the barrage then started to charge at her again. He paused when he couldn't find her. He blinked several times before she finally appeared a few feet in front of him. He raised his arm, causing her to plant her feet there. He started to tilt over, but he managed to keep his footing. She gritted her teeth and pushed away from him. She did a back flip before landing on her boots.

Jean Bart smiled. "Not bad at all, kid. All most had me that time."

Penguin clenched his fists and squealed nervously, yet excitedly, over the fact that she almost took Jean Bart down. "So close! Come on, Neo! You can do it!"

Law held his traditional smirk while watching his favorite charge train. He was leaning against a log while Penguin was sitting on it beside him. The rest of the crew was scattered around on their current island. Occasionally, the others would come back to check on Neo's training before going back to their own training, fishing, napping, or whatever they decided to do. For the past four days, Neo's orders for training were to knock Jean Bart over. Once this had been completed, Law was going to have the crew join in to create obstacles to keep her from knocking the large man over again.

Neo panted. She brushed the back of her arm over her chin before charging in for another attack. Jean Bart stood ready for her. Once she was close enough, she dashed to her left.

He caught her fake though. "Going to the right, huh?" He moved his defensive posture to his right. He was ready to block her again, but got a surprise when she disappeared then reappeared in front of him. "What the…?"

"Huh?!" Penguin gasped. "She disappeared!"

"Gotcha!" Neo smiled when she reappeared and slammed her feet onto his chest. With all of her wind crystals behind her, she pushed the man over. She remained standing on his chest, even after he landed on the ground. After she was sure he was down, she jumped off him a little worried she might have hurt him. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

Jean Bart grunted. He propped up on his elbows and smiled at her. "Of course I'm okay. I was just surprised. You moved so fast that I didn't even see you. But you finally did it. Congrats, kid."

"Thanks." She dropped to the ground herself. She was panting hard from her training.

"Neo! You did it!" Penguin chuckled. He knelt down to check on her and gave her some water he had waiting for her. "Are you all right? Have some water."

"Yeah, I'm okay" Neo said through her pants. She took the water from him and took a drink. "Thanks."

"That was incredible. You completely disappeared. I couldn't follow your movements at all." Penguin smiled.

Neo looked at him while contemplating his words. She asked, "Was I really moving that fast?"

"It appears you have gotten faster," Law then said. Neo looked up at him. "Considering you have control over the wind it's to be expected that you could move just as fast as it can. Well done, Neo. You've completed this part of your training. We'll pick up it up again the day after tomorrow."

"Oh, um, okay." Neo blinked.

"Is there something wrong?" Law asked.

"No, I was just…I thought I was going to be a sniper. How does this help me with that?" she asked.

"You will specialize in being a sniper. But I still want you to be able to handle yourself in close range combat," Law explained.

"Ooh." Neo nodded then smiled. "Okay. I get it now."

Neo shifted before sitting up with a yawn and stretched out her arms. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning, sleepy head." Shachi greeted her. She looked to find the man was squatting down, extremely close, beside her with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting in the palm of his hands.

"Ah!" Neo, startled by the man, jumped and grabbed onto something familiarly solid beside her. "Shachi! Why are you sitting there like that? You startled me."

"I'm sorry." Shachi laughed. "I didn't mean to. It's just…you were sleeping for so long and you just looked so cute. Right, Captain?"

Neo turned to finally take notice of who she was holding on to. She blinked in slight confusion then examined their close proximity and at the fact that her pillow was on his other side.

Law smirked at her confusion. He had removed her pillow and laid her head on his lap at some point while she was still asleep.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to grab you like that," Neo said.

"It's fine," Law replied nonchalantly.

"I over slept?" Neo questioned when Shachi's words filtered back into her mind. She let her hands slip from Law, much to his disappointment, and then looked up at the sun's position. She had over slept. From the sun's spot in the sky, it was almost ten thirty. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"Captain order us not to," Bepo replied.

"Huh?" Neo glanced over the few crewmates who were around their camp then looked at Law.

The captain just shrugged. "You've been training hard the past few days. And you know rest is just as important as your training is. If you push too hard in your training, you'll end up getting injured. And I do not want that happening. Understand?"

"Yes, Captain, I understand." Neo nodded.

"Hey Neo, we're thinking about exploring the island some. Do you want to come with us?" Penguin said. He, Neo, Shachi and Bepo were cleaning up the dishes from lunch.

"I would like to, but the captain doesn't want me out of his sight," Neo replied while she wiped off a wet plate with her towel.

"Those are his orders, but he could come with us." Bepo smiled. Neo turned her eyes to him so she didn't see the double thumbs up Penguin and Shachi gave to the bear from behind her. "You should ask him to join us."

"I didn't think he does stuff like that," Neo said, glancing at the captain.

Law was leaning against the log like always with his hat over his eyes and his arms crossed over his chest. His sword was currently on the ground beside him instead of leaning on one of his shoulders.

Neo tilted her head and examined the shirt he was wearing. It was a short sleeve dark blue one. She was use to seeing him in his hoodie. But it had been warmer than usual lately.

"He'll do it if you're the one who asks him to come with us," Shachi responded.

"You think so?" Neo questioned.

The three looked past Neo's shoulder to glance at Law then looked back at her.

"Of course he will! Go ask him!" All three of the men nodded fiercely and cheered. They gave Neo a push towards their captain. She stumbled a bit, but never lost her footing. She tossed them a questioning look. They gave her cheesy grins and thumps up. "Go for it!"

Neo could only shrug. She then walked over to Law. When he sensed her standing there, he raised his eyes to hers. She moved her hands behind her back and, bending her knee, tapped the tip of her toes on the ground before speaking. "Uh, Penguin, Shachi and Bepo want to go explore the island. They want me to come with them. I know I'm not supposed to leave your sight, but they said you'd come with us if I asked."

Law pulled his eyes over to his three meddling subordinates. They waved guiltily at him. He released a puff of air from his nose before looking back at her.

"If you don't want me to go, it's okay. I can stay in camp with you," Neo said.

"It's fine. We can go with them," Law answered while he stood up.

"Really?" Neo looked at him. He gave her a half smile at the joy she had in her eyes.

"So, do we have you two added into our little entourage?" Shachi asked as he walked over to them with Penguin and Bepo following.

"Entourage?" Neo questioned.

"A group of people surrounding or attending an important person," Law explained.

"Oh." Neo nodded.

"Let's be off then," Penguin suggested. The group, but for Law, nodded. They turned away from their camp and started their little voyage over the island.

"Wow," Shachi exclaimed a couple hours into their exploration. He ducked under a low hanging branch. "This island is a lot bigger than it looks. I hope we don't get lost in this jungle."

"We don't get lost with Neo with us," Penguin said. He shot Neo a confident smile. She smiled back, feeling a bit awkward at the praise. "She can always fly into the sky to find our direction."

"Hm?" Neo hummed as her smile faded. She looked carefully around her environment. A few birds flew by her, checking her out before moving on. The leaves shifted in the wind, a few falling off and disappearing behind another tree.

"What is it, Neo?" Law asked. The other three stopped walking and looked at her. "Do you sense something?"

"Yeah, I do." Neo nodded. "But I'm not sure what exactly nature is trying t-"

Suddenly the ground underneath them crumbled. They all cried out in surprise when they started to fall.

Neo, unable to react quick enough, found herself being pressed into the familiar chest of her captain. She closed her eyes and clenched a hold of his shirt.

Before Law could form a Room, his back slammed against something that was surprisingly soft.

Neo remained stiff against his chest as she clung to him. He tried to examine her, but their only light was from the hole they fell through. It was too high to provide him enough light to check for injuries. He caressed her hair. "Neo? Are you injured?"

Neo pulled away from him slightly, but didn't answer.

"Light up a fire crystal," Law said.

"R-right." Neo nodded. She summoned a fire crystal and did as she was told. At that time, her eyes met with Law's worried ones.

He scanned his eyes over her face. She was upset, but not crying. He opened his mouth to question her again, but she spoke before he could.

"I'm sorry. Y-you had to save me again. I should have sensed that the ground was going to crumbled," Neo apologized with a sigh.

Law lightly chuckled. "There's no need for you to apologize. That wasn't your fault. You really shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself when something happens like this. You're still learning after all."

"But you and the crew could have gotten seriously hurt!" Neo said.

"But that didn't happen, did it?" Law pointed out. "We actually landed on something rather soft."

"Huh?" Neo looked down. She placed a hand on the ground beside Law. She pushed down on something soft and damp. The odor of moss, dirt, and water then filled her nose. The moss was very thick so it provided the perfect landing spot.

"See?"

Neo brought her eyes back up to Law when he spoke. She felt her face grow warm when her eyes locked onto his. He lifted his hand up. She tensed and her fire crystal flared up when his calloused fingers brushed over her soft cheek. Her fire light up their surroundings more. It revealed their three forgotten friends. Bepo wisely remained quiet, yet blinking curiously at the two on the ground while Shachi and Penguin snickered at the position their captain was in with Neo.

"You really didn't have to light up the area like that." Shachi chuckled. "I'm sure you two were just fine in the low, romantic lighting."

"We were absolutely fine being left in the dark," Penguin added.

Law growled as he rose into a sitting position, lifting Neo with him.

Neo was too glad to see her friends that she didn't register their words or the fact they made Law growl. She smiled and unknowingly snuggled into Law's chest, making his heart race rapidly. "You're all right!"

"Was there any real doubt?" Penguin grinned. He placed his hands on his hips before looking around their surroundings. He couldn't see much though. Even though Neo gave them more light, it only revealed a few more feet of their current location. "We had just as soft of a landing as you two did."

"Where do you think we are?" Bepo asked. He too started to look around.

"Neo, can you give us more light?" Law asked.

"Sure." Neo summoned more fire crystals. Spreading them out over their heads, she lit the crystals on fire. The light washed over the ground and up walls of a cave. Small creatures hidden in the darkness scurried away from the intruding light with angry cries. "Where are we?"

"It looks like we're in some underground cave," Penguin answered.

"There seems to be a path over here." Shachi pointed to an area where he had walked.

After standing, Law held out his hand to Neo. She took it and allowed him to help her stand up. He then grabbed his sword that he had discarded when he checked on Neo. Keeping her hand in his, Law led her over to Shachi. Once united with him, they all began to move down the path he had discovered. Their feet sunk into the moss with each step they took.

"You okay?" Law asked when he felt her shudder. The other three looked at her, but didn't say anything.

"Yes, Captain, I'm fine," she replied. "I can sense some creatures nearby. They keep watching us. They don't like that we interrupted their darkness. They want the light gone."

"They're not going to hurt you, right?" Law released her hand so he could put his arm around her and pulled her to his side. Her hand automatically grabbed onto his shirt. "We're leaving now."

"I know." Neo nodded. She faced forward again and tried to tune the creatures' unhappy chatters out of her ears. She wasn't sure how long they had walked, but the path suddenly led them to a circular cave. Her fire spread over the room and bounced back at them. Without being asked, she added more fire crystals.

Penguin and Shachi gasped when the light revealed the reason Neo's fire reflected back at them. The cave they had entered was filled with glittering gold and jewels. Vines and dust covered the treasure.

"Wow! Look at all that treasure!" Shachi and Penguin shrieked. The two then immediately dashed forward and starting picking through their findings. Bepo walked up to a pile of his choice and looked through it at a slower pace. Neo remained standing with Law as he cautiously looked around for possible danger.

After coming to the conclusion that they really were the only ones here, Law pulled Neo closer to the piles of gold and jewels to inspect their findings himself. She found she missed the warmth of his arm around her when he pulled his arm from her, but didn't think about it much. She turned her eyes to the piles of gold. Slowly she walked among them, knitted her eyebrows.

Penguin noticed the confused look on her face. "What's up, Neo?"

"I don't understand," she said.

"Don't understand what?" Penguin questioned.

"This stuff is valuable, right?" Neo raised her eyes to him and he nodded. "Then why would someone leave it alone like this? Why not take it with them?"

"Well, ships can only carry so much gold," Penguin explained. "And pirates often accumulate tons of the stuff. If they were taking too much with them, they'd sink. That's why pirates hide their treasure. They can always come back for it later."

"Then someone will come back for this," Neo said.

"Probably not," Bepo said. They looked at him. "This stuff hasn't been disturbed in some time. Look at all the dust and vines growing over the piles. Most likely the owners of this were pirates and have been defeated or arrested."

Neo looked back down at the pile she was standing by. Bepo was right. The treasure was covered in dust and vines clearly showing that it hasn't been moved in a long while. She had missed that somehow. She reached out and picked up a bracelet from the pile. She brushed the dust off with her fingers to reveal the thick golden bracelet had four rubies embedded in it at opposite points. She carefully placed it back on the pile before asking, "And it's okay for us to just take it?"

"Of course." Penguin nodded. "We're pirates after all."

Shachi then suddenly appeared beside Neo with a simple gold band style crown set with gemstones of different colors in his hand. He placed it on her head and chuckled. "So cute! You'd make a lovely princess!"

Neo blinked. "Uh."

Shachi then took her hand in his. With a low bow, he waved his free hand in the direction of a near by rock. "Your thrown, milady."

She allowed him to then guide her to the rock. She sat down with without protest. She folded her hands in her lap and blinked again.

Penguin joined them at that point. He cooed, "Ah, you make such a cute princess. You sure do have the grace of a princess."

"Princess?" Neo asked.

"Daughter of a king and queen who rules over a country," Penguin explained.

"Oh, right. Those are in some of my books." The crown, being a bit too big for her, slipped and fell over her left eye. She pushed it back up. "I won't know anything about being a princess though."

"Perhaps not." Shachi shrugged. He then put his arm around Neo's shoulders and lowered his voice. "But you are sure a princess to our captain."

"What do you mean?" Neo asked.

"I mean you are valuable to him." Shachi said while Penguin nodded in agreement.

"Valuable means something important or useful." Neo blinked. She removed the crown from her head and looked at her distorted image in one of the gems. "And I'm valuable to him?"

"Of course you are! You're his precious little lo-" Shachi and Penguin said at the same time.

"What are you two doing to her?" Law suddenly asked, cutting them off and causing them all to jump.

Neo immediately stood up from her rock throne. When she did her right foot sunk through some wet moss. A rock was hidden underneath it. She whimpered in pain when the rock sliced the side of her right foot. The crown fell from her head and landed on the moss.

"Neo!" Penguin shot his hands out towards her.

She grabbed onto him to keep herself from falling over.

Bepo, hearing Penguin's cry, looked over at them. When he smelled her blood, he rushed over to them to make sure she was okay.

"Sit back down," Law ordered while quickly stepped over to her.

Penguin guided her back down to the rock.

Law leaned his sword against his shoulder before carefully picking up her injured foot.

"I'm okay," Neo replied.

"This cut is fairly deep," Law reported after brushing as much dirt away from the cut as he could. He laid down his sword and carefully lowered her foot back down. He then lifted the tail of his shirt up to his teeth and ripped a piece off.

"Y-you don't have to do that," Neo protested softly.

"No arguing," Law ordered. "I can't properly clean this until we get back to the sub. I need to make sure no more dirt gets into the cut."

"Y-yes, sir." Neo nodded. She sat obediently quiet after that.

Law carefully wrapped his makeshift bandage around her foot. When she winced at the pain he gave her an apologetic look. She returned a small smile to him. He then tied off the bandage and stood up. He stepped closer to her. Slipping his right

arm around her back, he put his left arm under her knees and lifted her off the rock.

She opened her mouth to protested being carried, but quickly closed it.

"Now how do we get out of here?" Penguin asked, looking around. "There has to be a way out of here if the gold got put in here in the first place."

"I believe the opening is that way." Neo pointed to the far side of the cave. "I can feel the sea. There's very light breeze coming from that way, too."

"Let's go then," Law ordered. "Bepo, grab my sword."

"Aye aye!" Bepo quickly grabbed the discarded sword before following after everyone. After several minutes of walking down the damp cave, a light began to appear before them. They exited the cave onto a beach about half a mile from where their campsite was posted.

"Hey, we're not that far from the sub," Bepo noted.

"Ironic. We never would have known if we didn't go for that walk," Shachi said.

Law cast his crew a glance from the corner of his eyes before he started walking again towards the sub.

"Hey, what happened?" Conner asked when the small group returned to the camp. "Neo, are you all right?!"

"Yes, I'm fine." Neo nodded with a smile. "I just cut my foot on a rock."

"You all can talk to Bepo, Shachi and Penguin about this. I need to take care of the cut before it becomes infected," Law said, cutting off questions before they could be asked.

Neo waved to the crew as Law passed by them.

Once close enough, Law warped him and Neo onto the halls of the sub. He then proceeded in carrying her to the medical bay. He placed her down on the exam table then gathered the necessary items he needed to tend to her wound. She sat obediently while he flushed out any dirt remaining in the cut before applying the antibiotics. She flinched when he applied the stinging medicine to her foot.

"Sorry," Law said.

"It's fine," Neo said softly as she waited for him to finish.

While putting up his supplies he gave her orders on what to do and not do with her injured foot. "Avoid walking on that foot until it's healed. Use your wind crystals to fly. If you have to use your foot, keep on your toes. And no soaking your foot either. It's showers from now on until it's healed. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Captain," Neo said.

Law nodded in satisfaction before pulling her back into his arms. He took her back out on the deck, warped them to the ground, and then walked over to the fire. He sat her down then sat beside her. Bepo was the only one there.

Neo looked around for the missing crew and asked, "Where did the others go?"

"They forced Shachi and Penguin to show them where the gold is," Bepo replied as he sat down by Neo's free side. "I think gold fever hit them."

"Gold fever?" Neo asked.

"They got excited about our gold fine," Law explained. "They probably when to get it."

"Oh."

"How's your foot feeling, Neo?" Bepo asked.

"It's still throbbing a little bit, but it's fine." She smiled.

"I'm glad." Bepo smiled back.