Anger
"Room!" Law held out his hand. His Room spread over the training room. For the past several hours he had been watching Kailen spar against his crew. It was obvious that his crew had the advantage when it came to martial arts skills. But when Kailen used his crystals on them the elemental was the superior being. Their fight against the elementals was going to be a lot more difficult than they thought. But Kailen was helping them come up with ideas to try and stop the elementals. And unlike Neo, Kailen didn't hold back, at least not much. There as a few times Kailen did hold back since he didn't want to hurt the pirates. Now it was time for him to see what he could do against Kailen's earth crystals. Something he's never done before with Neo. "You ready?"
"I am." Kailen nodded. His crystals began to glow just before thorns shot out of the shimmering aura.
Law watched as the thorns shot towards him. He swung his sword, slicing up multiple thorns but a few flew past his defenses. The thorns sliced across his left cheek. He brushed away the blood with his hand, not carrying it was there. Holding his sword back up, he charged at Kailen.
Kailen held out his hand. A crystal appeared over it. He touched the glow and pulled out a stone sword. He blocked Law's slice with it.
…
"Oh man," Shachi said as his eyes carefully watched the two battling. The room was warm and thick with sweat that all of the sparring had created during the day's training sessions. "The captain is really going at him, isn't he?"
"Yeah," Bepo said. He then sighed when his captain got hit by the thorns. "But it's obvious that the captain's not focusing like he usually does. Those thorns shouldn't have touched him. He should have warped."
"It's no surprise that's happening," Penguin sighed, slumping against the wall behind him. He slid down it until he was sitting on the floor. "He becomes so reckless when Neo is hurting and not by his side. He's just so frustrated with himself right now for losing her that he can't focus straight. If he were thinking clearly, this battle would have been over within seconds of starting. Also, it's clear that he doesn't want to hurt Kailen either. After all, he is our only way of getting to Neo and he's her brother."
"Yeah." Bepo and Shachi nodded their heads in agreement. Their captain was just not the same right now. All of the Heart Pirates could see that. And they all wisely remained silent about it. They knew their captain would be back to normal once Neo was back in his protective sights.
"And he didn't sleep last night either," Shachi added. "He probably won't sleep at all until Neo is back by his side."
"It'll be much longer after that if she's hurt," Penguin said with another sigh. "He won't sleep until he know she's out of all kinds of danger, no matter how minor or major it is."
Another round of head nods passed between the three friends. Law would set up his guard over Neo while she was recuperating from this ordeal. Penguin then said, "I just hope the captain get's some sleep before we get to Luminous for her sake, if nothing else. He'll need to focus completely when we get there."
…
Kailen gasped through soft pants as he continued with his sparring. His body was about to give out on him. He snapped out vines at Law only to have them sliced up in the pirate captain's Room yet again. The elemental banished his crystals, signaling to Law that he surrendered and was at his end. He dropped to the floor, his legs stretched out in front of him. "Wow. I had no clue you were capable of something like this. Is this what they call a devil fruit power? Isn't that right?"
"Yes, it is," Law replied. His Room disappeared as he sheathed his sword.
"I've heard about you devil fruit users during my time among humans, but I've never seen one actually use their powers before," Kailen said through his panting. He brushed sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm. "It's incredible. Although, I don't believe those severing powers of yours will do much good against elementals. Or can you severe through a person's magic and keep them from using it?"
"I doubt that I can. I've never tried though. The only magical being I've ever been around is Neo. And I will never use my powers to attack her. Not even through friendly sparring. All I can do with this particular ability is switch people bodies and personalities or divide their bodies up into piece," Law replied. He propped his sword on his shoulder and put his other hand in his pocket.
"Huh?" Kailen raised an eyebrow at the pirate.
"If I were to switch you with one of my subordinates you would no longer be able to control your crystals because you'd be in one of their bodies and they'd be in your body," Law explained. "Or I assume it would be the same as switching humans. Like I just said, I've never switched a magical being before. It might not work. You might still be able to use your crystals. I know they are apart of your very existence."
"Ah." Kailen nodded. "That makes sense. If you wanted to, you could experiment with me."
Law cocked an eyebrow at the elemental. He wasn't expecting that offer from someone he didn't really know.
Kailen shrugged and then said, "It wouldn't hurt to know if I would be separated from my crystals if I'm in someone else's body. If it works then you could switch the elementals on Luminous with each other or with your subordinates. That would take out a few of them at least."
"Humans controlling the elementals?" Conner questioned. "I'm not so sure about that. Sounds dangerous. People already cause enough damage with devil fruit powers. Can you imagine what would happen if they had the elemental abilities?"
"It's worth a shot still if it'll help save Neo," Archer said. "I'll be the other test subject, Captain. If that's all right with you that is."
"Fine. We'll try it now." Law raised his hand again. "Room! Shambles!"
The crew watched as the elemental and their crewmate Archer got switched with each other. The two test subjects inspected their new bodies. Archer said, "This is crazy weird. I feel like I'm a plant. Or part of the planet or something. I'm not sure how to explain it. It feels really weird."
"That's a normal feeling. We elementals are more connected to nature than humans. We are nature," Kailen said looking down at his own new body. "I feel a little bit different, too, but I still feel connected to my crystals. And I still feel connected to nature."
"Go ahead then and see if you can still control them," Law said.
Kailen nodded. He turned to his own body. Kneading his borrowed body's eyebrows in focus, he summoned his earth crystals. He heard the crew gasp when his crystals appeared around both of their bodies. He moved the crystals around the room before slithering out vines from them. He then banished them. "Well, that settles it."
Law twisted his hand, putting the two back in their correct bodies with in a split second. He shoved his hand back into his pocket. "So you can't be separated from your crystals after all."
"At least not by devil fruit means," Kailen said. He looked at his body finding everything the same. "But there are other magical creatures in the world."
"There's more of you?!" the crew shouted.
Kailen nodded and said, "Yes, there are. And I'm not sure what kind of magic there is in the world, but someone might have the means to take away Neo's magic or mine. So make sure to keep an eye out for them during your travels. You never know who or what you might run into."
The crew nodded rapidly.
"That's all the required training we're going to go through," Law ordered as he headed for the door. "You all are free to train if you wish, but do not over do it."
"Aye aye, Captain!" the crew chorused.
Law then disappeared out of the room without another word or glance at anyone.
Penguin watched his hatless captain go. He wished there was something he could say to the man that would help. But he knew the best thing right now was to just give Law his space. If he were meant to say something to the captain, it would happen when the time was right.
"Hey, Kailen!" Archer called out, gaining Penguin's attention. The man was now sitting on a bench tossing one of the sleeping powder packets, that Kailen made the night before, up and down in his hand. "What exactly are these things made of?"
"Prunus cerasifera," Kailen replied while walking over to the man. The elemental chuckled when the pirate tilted his head in confusion. "The simple name for it is cherry plum."
"Are you serious?!" Archer shrieked. He tossed around the packet between his hands like it was extremely hot before flinging it away from him. "I didn't think that flower was harmful!"
"It's actually not," Kailen said. He snatched the packet as it flipped through the air. "Careful with those though. I didn't make the leaf pouches very thick. We need them to rip open on contact. So they're very thin and will bust open easily."
"Right. Sorry," Archer apologized with a nod. He eyed the leafy packet in Kailen's hand carefully. It was about four inches in diameter with tiny little vines stitched through the leaves. It looked like such a harmless little packet.
"The cherry plum fragrance, in the human world, is use to help relax peoples minds and bodies. It actually doesn't put them to sleep itself," Kailen said as he laid the packet back down with the others. "For the flower to cause people to go to sleep, I have to ground up the flower petals with other naturally grown oils and infuse it with my magic."
"So that's how it's done, huh?" Bepo questioned while he curiously inspected the leaf pouches laying on the bench. There were about twenty to thirty packets for each of them. "You've been busy."
"Of course I have to be extremely careful when making it. If I get the proportions wrong, it could easily kill the person who breathes it in," Kailen said very casually, too casually for the pirates. The entire crew shrieked and bolted away from him and the death packets. He blinked at their sudden outburst and movements. When he realized what he said, and how he said it so casually, he laughed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you all like that. I promise I was extra careful when making these. They're harmless. And even if they weren't, I'd easily be able to create the antidote for it. This sleeping powder is actually a very basic one. It's the first one an in-training healer creates. I successfully made my first batch when I was six years old."
"Wow. Six years old, huh?" Shachi asked. He carefully crept back toward Kailen with the rest of the crew following behind him. "You elementals never fail to impress."
"So when do you think we'll reach Luminous?" Penguin asked. Tension fell among the crew once more.
"Well, at the speed we have been going, we'll arrive a bit sooner than I first thought. If I can keep finding all these fast sea creatures, we'll probably reach Luminous around lunch time tomorrow," Kailen said thoughtfully. "That's if nothing goes wrong between now and then."
"Still, that's three days of fighting complete strangers and two nights without the captain by her side." Bepo sighed with his shoulders slumping. "I really hope this doesn't cause a relapse for her."
"She'll be fine once the captain is with her again." Shachi patted the bear on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Bepo. She knows we're coming for her. She's a lot stronger now than she was when she was first brought to live with us. And with how the captain was able to talk to her you know she'll be all right."
"Yeah, I know." Bepo nodded. "I'm still worried though."
"You all really care about her, don't you?" Kailen questioned softly. He looked over all of the pirates. Their expressions were soft and full of worry.
"Of course we do," Penguin said. "In away, we raised her. She's come to mean a great deal to us all."
"I can easily see that. And that's why I feel I should go ahead and warn you…" Kailen paused. He bit his bottom lip before continuing with what he was saying. "…that my people are going to expect her to remain on Luminous once the darkness has been purified."
"That's not going to happen." Law's harsh voice caused all of them to whip around. None of them expected for him to still be lingering around the room. He was glaring right at Kailen. His eyes sharped with a streak of light of rage burning. "She's not staying on Luminous. Once we have her back, she's leaving with us."
"I figured as much. But others aren't going to be so understanding of letting her go. She's our princess after all. And even after she purifies the darkness she'll still be expected to preform other typical royal duties," Kailen said carefully.
"I don't care!" Law hissed. His steel eyes turned sharp with warning.
"Look, I understand that you all love her, especially you, Trafalgar Law. And I'm going to help you persuade the other elementals to let her go with you." Kailen smiled when Law flinched at the truth of how he felt about Neo. "I'm just warning you that it's not going to be easy. Our people are very conservative. They like the way things are because they work for us. Certain changes can cause problems for our people. And this will be the first time that a royal won't be living on Luminous. It'll be a big change for us all. But I believe, that once my people get to know her and how connected she is to you all, they'll want her to be happy. After all, she hasn't live on Luminous at all after she was born. She won't be use to our customs."
"I never thought about them not wanting their princess to leave," Archer said in a hushed tone. The air in the room became stiff from his words. None of them expected this.
"We can discuss that later in more detail. Right now, there's a request that I must ask of you all," Kailen said in a serious tone. He waited until he knew he had their undivided attention before speaking again. "I know this is going to be a very difficult request for all of you, but please, do not kill any of the elementals. With the exceptions of those who possibly betrayed our people, the elementals are innocent in all of this. None of us want to be taken over by the darkness."
The Heart Pirates fell into a deathly silent stance. Slowly, their eyes drew over to their captain. They knew they could keep a tight control on their emotions during this upcoming fight, but their captain was another story. Their captain had already killed to protect Neo. And they all knew he would do it again without hesitation and without thought. They also knew that their beloved Captain Trafalgar Law has already planned out multiple ways to torture then kill each and every single elemental that hurt the one he loved.
Kailen's eyes were also on Law. The two men once again locked into a staring contest. Kailen swallowed. From the short time he has spend with these men he could already tell that this man, this Trafalgar Law, was not a man to mess with. He knew how much Law cared for his sister just from the times he has seen them together. But this was still a request he had to make.
"Fine." Law delivered his words with venom dripping from every single syllable. If words could kill, everyone in the room would have died right there. "But…if anyone tries to hurt or kill her in my presence, I will kill them. And it won't matter if they did intend to betray your people or not."
Kailen carefully considered the man's words before slowly nodding in agreement. "Fair enough."
…
Law sighed deeply. He was sitting alone in the semi dark control room. Usually this room would be filled with tons of lights and beeping of the sub's controls. But with Kailen using sea creatures to pull them, the majority of the engines weren't being used. Only a few lights and a few beeps filled the room at the moment. It was early in the morning, around five thirty. In a few, but long, hours they would finally be at Luminous.
Law had hoped to find a quiet place to get some rest and relax his brain. But there wasn't anywhere he could go on this sub that didn't remind him of her. This room held the memory of her by his side before they arrived at Marineford and the memory of her sitting on his lap wearing one of her Amazon outfits. His heart tightened at that memory. Those outfits were the first ones she's worn that had been so revealing. She looked so different in them. So grown up, so mature yet still so innocent.
He closed his eyes and tried to feel out for her again. He still couldn't find her. He didn't like that he couldn't feel her anymore. He hissed mentally at himself. He should have tested this ability with Neo when he had the chance. He should have tested it to see how far they could be apart before their link was broken. He wondered if this was something they could train to get stronger with.
Law couldn't think clearly. He rubbed his hands over his face. He slid his hands up to his hair. He kept forgetting his hat wasn't there. She had it with her. With another sigh, he pushed himself to his feet. Although he didn't want to, he knew he needed to get some sleep. Even just a little bit. He wanted to be completely focused when they arrived at Luminous. He would sleep for her.
So he forced himself out of the control room and up to the medical bay. The halls of the sub were eerily quiet. He wasn't sure if his crew was asleep or not. He figured some were while others, like Penguin, might not be. But he didn't go check on them. They all knew they should get some rest before arriving there. They would be fine. Him, on the other hand, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep at all knowing she wasn't safe. He was going to need help.
Filtering through his medical supplies. He pulled out an all too familiar bottle. It was the same sedative he used on Neo. He gritted his teeth. Every single room seemed to hold a memory of her. He popped the lid off and chugged back a swig. He quickly recapped the bottle, placed it back into the cabinet, and then left the room. He paused in the hall when his body automatically turned towards the direction of his room, of their room. He didn't sleep in there. He couldn't do it, not without her.
His body turned back to the stairs. With his hands shoved in his pockets, he moved down the hall in a sluggish stride. No one was in the rec. room when he arrived. His heart seized up again at more memories of her. She learned how to read and write in this room. There was just nowhere he could go without more memories hammering his brain.
He forced himself forward. He paused again when he reached the couch. He could easily see her curled up on it with a book in her hands. He gritted his teeth. Tears pierced the back of his eyes. He rubbed his hand over his face again. Luckily, he could feel the sedative starting to take over. He wouldn't have to think for much longer. He sat down on the couch. Leaning his head back, he stared up at the ceiling as his eyes started to drift close. He whispered her name while drifting off. "Neo…"
…
Neo woke up. Instantly she could tell that something was wrong, something was missing. Pushing herself into a sitting position she noticed a burning sensation in her chest and stomach. Her bangs fell over her eyes, Law's hat no longer there to keep it in place. Lifting her hand she noticed Law's ring was missing. Her finger was cold where it use to lie. She remembered the girl. The one who wanted her ring and hat. The burning sensation became hotter. It scared her. Pulling her knees up, she wrapped her arms around them and buried her eyes. She tried to force her mind to not think about it, to not think about how she broken her promise to Law. But it wouldn't stop. It kept playing over and over in her head that they were gone. The only items she had of Law with her were now gone, in the hands of someone else. It hurt.
"Let's go, brat," a far off voice said to her.
Neo's movements were slow and automatic but some how she slowly lifted her head from her knees. Her bangs were still casting dark shadows over her tear stained eyes. She pushed herself to her feet then slowly walked towards the cell door. The disembodied voice spoke again to her. The voice said, "You didn't eat? They're not going to be happy about that. You need your strength to fight today. But if you want to be stubborn and stupid and not eat then that's your choice. Makes no difference to me. Let's get going then. It's gonna be a long day."
She was so engulfed by this unfamiliar emotion swirling around in her chest that she couldn't even tell if the person speaking to her was a boy or a girl. She just heard a distant mumble. If there was food inside of her cell she never noticed it.
"Let's get going," the voice said.
Neo remained ever silent, her feet somehow taking her where she needed to go. The walk through the castle was a solid blur to her. She didn't even register she that was outside or when she had gotten there. Nor did she register that a larger number of elementals were waiting for her today.
The elementals started to taunt her. "Well, let's get to it, Princess!"
"Yeah! We're ready to have some fun today!"
"Get moving already!"
"I think she's scared. She knows she can't handle all of us."
"Get moving!" An earth elemental male snapped a vine out at Neo. It hit the ground. A small cloud of dirt curled upward into the air at the impact.
"Hm?" Tao, who was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, immediately realized something was seriously different with her. But he couldn't figure out what it was.
The earth elemental snapped another vine at Neo when she didn't even flinch. This vine hit Neo on her left upper arm. Stinging, her skin split open. But she didn't feel it. The elemental laughed at the blood sliding down her arm. "I bet that one stung!"
"Or not. She's still not even moving," a wind elemental female said.
"Well then, if she's going to do nothing but just stand there," another earth elemental said as he stepped closer to Neo. He summoned three crystals. When they started to glow he summoned several vines and snapped them all at Neo at once. The elementals wore confident smirks as the vines flew towards their target. Their smirks vanished when Neo's white glow swirled around her body, stopping the vines from hitting her. Then her earth crystals appeared and started to glow as well. The two glows emerged with each other as they swirled around her body. "Huh?"
"What's happening?"
"Is her white glow infusing with her crystals glow?"
"Give them back. I don't like this," Neo whispered to herself. Her bangs were still casting shadows over her eyes. Her head was so low her chin almost touched her chest. Her other crystals started to appear one by one after her earth crystals appeared to defend her. The white glow from her body began to weave in and out of the glow from all of her crystals. "Give them back. I don't like this."
"It doesn't matter what's going on! Attack her!" someone shouted. Twenty elementals jumped in to form a circle around Neo. They all summoned their crystals. And, at the same time, they attacked her. Their elements flew at her, but didn't hit her. Their attacks only got absorbed by the glow she was emitting.
Murmurs and gasped passed through the elementals when their attacks did nothing. Tao raised his narrowing eyebrows at the unexplained scene happening before him. More elementals when on the attack. And just like before, their attacks did nothing but get absorbed into Neo's glow. Tao whispered, "What's going on inside of her head? Why is she just standing there? And how is it possible her crystals are able to defend her like that? Her elements glow shouldn't be mixing like that. Is it because of her royal glow? Is she developing magic that no elemental has had before? Or have the elemental royals always had this ability but never the right moment to use it?"
Tao remained standing where he was. His eyes locked onto Neo. He waited to see what would happen next.
…
"I'm done with this," an elemental said a few hours later. "She hasn't moved from that spot since this morning. It's almost like she's already dead or something."
"If she was dead she wouldn't still be glowing," another elemental huffed. The two turned and headed away from the castle. "This is boring. I'm out of here."
"Hey, what's going on?" Neo's eyes snapped open at the sound of the familiar female elemental's voice. It was the one who took Law's ring and hat from her. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing much," another girl answered. "She's just been standing there all morning. She won't move. She won't speak."
"Seriously?" the familiar female said. She placed her hand on her hip and inspected Neo. "What's with the weird glowing thing going on around her?"
"No one knows. She's been like that for hours. Hey, isn't that the hat you took from her yesterday?" the second female asked.
"Sure is. Spots are not my favorite, but it totally works for this hat," the girl giggled.
"You're not wearing the ring you took?"
"No," the girl said. "The little princess apparently has little fingers. The ring was far too small for me."
"Or you just have fat fingers."
"Shut up!"
Neo gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. The unfamiliar hot feeling started to grow again in her chest. She could feel a storm starting to brew both inside of her and in nature. The wind picked up. It blew her hair over her shoulders, covering her face. Waves started crashing on the shores as thunder began to rumble overhead. The temperature rose high then dropped low. Leaves and flower petals loosened from their plants and circled around Neo's body along with the wind. Neo whispered as she slowly raised her right hand into the air above her head. "Give them back."
"Hey, what's she doing?" an elemental guy asked. The two girls looked at Neo. Before anyone else could do or say anything. Neo swiped her hand down through the air. A lightning bolt followed her movements and struck the ground right in front of the elemental who took Law's ring and hat from her.
The girl shrieked and dodged the hit, just barely missing it.
Neo started to walk towards her. "Give them back."
"I think she said something," an elemental said.
"Give them back!" Neo shouted. The elements reacted to her scream. The wind picked up even more. The storm above roared with more strength. Lightning flashed across the sky rapidly. A few streaks of lightning slipped down to Luminous and stuck the island. Her fire crystals flared up, creating fire tornadoes from her crystals and from the fire the lightning had created.
The flora of the island rapidly grew. Snapping its plant tendrils wildly at anything and everything it could, even elementals. Vines wrapped around anything they could get a hold of while thorns shot out from flowers like roses and puncture everything they could. The loose leaves and flower petals flew through the air like razors. They cut everything they could touch.
The temperature started to dramatically rise and fall. The sun became scorching hot when the temperature rose. Then snow and ice fell from the sky when the temperature plummeted. Elementals all over the island jumped into the hectic scene and tried to put a stop the uncontrollable elements with their crystals but found it was beyond their abilities to stop or even control.
Neo took a couple more steps towards the one who took Law's ring and hat from her. One of each of her crystals zeroed in on the girl. The crystals elements snapped and hissed wildly at the girl.
The girl screamed as she tried to scramble back from Neo. "No! Stay away from me!"
The girl got up and tried to run. Neo dropped the temperature again. She dropped several large icicles around the girl, preventing her from running away. The girl turned and tried to run back the way she came. Neo flew over to her. Grabbing the girl's shirt, she pinned the girl to the ground.
"No! Let got of me!"
"Give them back!" Neo shouted. Her body trembled. Her crystals moved in closer to the girl's face. "I don't like this! Just give them back!"
"No! Don't kill me!" the girl begged.
Neo gasped. She loosened her hold on the girl below her. Her gray eyes taking in the scared girl beneath her before lifting to Law's hat. She started reaching for his hat. She was just about to touch it when a large amount of fire slammed into her body. Her crystals absorbed the brunt of the hit, but it was still strong enough to push her off the girl. She hit the ground and rolled to a stop.
"Get out of here! You're too weak to handle her!" Tao ordered the girl.
Through her hysterical cries, the girl nodded and scrambled to her feet. She took off without looking back.
"No! Give them back!" Neo demanded. Picking herself up off the ground, she raised her glazed eyes up to the elemental running away. Her crystals went on the attack. The girl shrieked again and crossed her arms in front of her face as if it would protect her. Just before Neo could have the elements strike the girl, Tao blocked her with his fire and water.
"I said to get out of here!" Tao hissed at the girl.
"R-right!" the girl stuttered as she scrambled away.
"Stop it!" Neo cried. She used her winds to push against Tao. Tao tried to push back, but Neo was stronger. His feet slid across the dirt as she pushed against him. "Just give them back! I don't like this! I don't like this feeling! What's wrong with me?!"
"Grr…it's a good thing she's so unfocused. If she was focused, then there's no way any of us would be able to stop her," Tao said to himself over the howling of the winds she was creating. "But why is she reacting this way?"
"Tao, I think it's because Rina took the princess's ring and hat away from her," an elemental said. He joined Tao. He used his fire to help Tao push against Neo. Their combined forces only pushed Neo back a couple inches.
"This is because of a silly ring and hat?" Tao looked at the man beside him. He growled and gritted his teeth. "We have to stop her now! Kill her!"
"But Master Atlas doesn't want-"
"I don't care! If we don't kill her now, she's going to kill us all!" Tao snapped. "Distract her!"
"Right!" The guy flared up his fire as much as he could. While Neo pushed back against the wall of fire, Tao used the distraction to sneak behind her. He summoned over a hundred water and fire crystals. Spinning the elements into sharp points, he fired them forward to skewer Neo. Neo just absorbed them into her crystals. It made her own attack stronger.
She pushed back the guy in front of her. The guy cried out as he was being pushed back. His cries were cut off when his back collided with the ice wall Neo had put up. Tao growled in frustration. His eyes wandered up to a castle window. Atlas was standing there, glaring out at Neo intensely before walking away. Tao scoffed, "I hope your happy, Father. It's going to be impossible to defeat her like this. Her defenses and attacks are far too powerful for anyone to handle. What are you going to do? There's only one way to defeat her now. Will the darkness use that?"
"Enough! I don't like this! I don't want to feel this way anymore! Captain!" Neo shouted. Tao turned his attention back to her screams. Her white glow and crystal glow began to brighten even more. "Law! Help me!"
The ground beneath them began to quake in response to Neo's cries. It caused all the elementals on the island to stop whatever activity they were doing. Those of earth crystals tried to band together and stop the shaking while others tried to prevent getting hit by the other elements that Neo was currently in control of. Even their combined magic was no match for Neo's. She cried out for him again. Her white glow rapidly spinning around her before shooting into the sky, dividing the dark clouds above. "Law!"
Her body snapped. She started lashing out erratically. Her fire burned so hot it turned blue. Her water boiled and froze. The wind started pulling up trees from their roots. The ground rumbled more as rock formations shot out of the cracking ground. She struck out at nature and elementals alike. She even attacked the two nearby buildings. The buildings shook and rattled with each hit she did on them. The elementals inside the buildings screamed and dove for cover. "Law!"
…
'Law!'
Law gasped as he was startled awake from his slumber by Neo's cries. He leaned forward while staring at his hands. His entire body was glowing again. Panting, he pressed his hand to his face. He could feel Neo's fury rolling around in his chest. "Neo, you need to calm down."
"Captain?" Bepo's voice asked. Law glanced up to see the bear cautiously poking his head into the rec. room. "What's wrong? You're glowing."
"It's Neo. She's… she's angry," Law said in a hushed voice. His eyes were widened with the realization of what was going on inside of Neo. He just didn't know why it was happening. 'Neo, can you hear me? Can you sense me?'
"What?" Bepo blinked.
"Neo is actually angry, very angry. What the heck are they doing to her?!" Law clenched his teeth and fists when he couldn't reach her. 'Neo? Can you hear me now? Answer me!' If he could sense her now, she should be able to sense him. Or that's how it should have been. Law knew that this was the first time Neo has ever gotten angry. She wouldn't know how to handle this emotion. "Where's Kailen?!"
"I think he's in the galley with Shachi and Penguin," Bepo said pointing down the hall. Law bolted up from the rec. room couch and out the door before Bepo could say or ask anything else. The bear just quickly followed after the frazzled captain.
The three men were sitting at the table with their drinks in hand when Law shot through the door. They didn't notice him until he slammed his hands down on the table. They all jumped. Shachi barely got the chance to speak. He asked, "Why are you glowing, Captain?"
"How much farther is it?!" Law demanded.
"About thirty five minutes I'd say," Kailen replied as he eyed the man's glowing body. "Are you connected to Neo right now?"
"Yes, but she's too angry to notice," Law hissed. He clenched his fists to the point his nails pierced his skin.
"What?!" Penguin shot up to his feet, knocking over his drink in the process. "What happened to her?! What are they doing to her?!"
"I don't know," Law answered through gritted teeth. "I can't get her to respond to me yet."
"Right. I can feel it now. The elements are really going wild out there. But I don't think she's out of control, yet, anyway." Kailen nodded as he stood up. "Keep trying to get a hold of her. If the elements get out of control, as I feel they are if she doesn't calm down soon, they could give us trouble while getting into the cove. I'll get more sea creatures to help pull us to Luminous faster. When you finally get a hold of her, have her head for the cove I told you about."
Law nodded. He closed his eyes and tried to get through to Neo. 'Neo? Neo, I need you to hear me. I need you to focus on me. Please, listen to my voice. Calm down now. Everything is going to be fine. Please, answer me, Neo.'
…
"I need them! I need him! I can't do this! I don't want to do this!" Neo shouted as she continued to destroy everything she could lash out at. Fires burned the flora, the waves crashed upon the island, the wind ripped leaves of their branches, the earth shook apart causing rocks to tumble down from the mountains. Tears leaked down her cheeks but she didn't even feel them. She couldn't feel anything anymore but that one unfamiliar hot emotion that wouldn't leave her chest. Her body, her senses, all were numb but for that one emotion. She raised her crystals to attack more elementals. Wrapping her winds, she launched herself towards one of them. She grabbed him by his shirt and pinned him to a tree. All of her elements zeroed in on his head. Her body trembled violently. She screamed when she felt herself going in for the kill. The elements flew towards her captive. "I don't want to do this! Law, help me!"
'Neo! Stop!'
Neo paused. The elements froze mere centimeters from the guy's face. Her eyes popped open at Law's voice in her head. Her hand loosened on the elemental's shirt before dropping from the fabric completely. Taking advantage of her pause, the elemental quickly scurried away from her. The raging elements stalled. "Law? Law, where are you? I don't see you. I don't feel right. I don't like this feeling. I don't understand it. I'm losing control."
'I know you don't understand. But it's okay. I'm almost there. I won't let you lose control. Can you feel me yet? I'm about thirty minutes away from you. Neo, release your anger.'
"What? What do you mean? I don't understand."
'This emotion that you're feeling right now is anger. You need to calm down before you lose control. You don't want to kill anyone, remember?'
"I don't want to kill anyone," Neo parroted. The elements started to calm down as she did. The waves rolled back into the sea, the ground stopped shaking, the dark clouds turned back to white, and the flora shrunk back to their normal size. Her glowing remained strong, however. "Law, I need you. They…she took your ring and hat from me."
'What?!'
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to break my promise. She took them." Neo brushed her tears away with her hands, but more took their place. "I need you."
'I know you do. I'm coming. You can feel me getting closer, right?'
"Yes." Neo turned her eyes towards the north west side of the island. "I can feel you. You're here."
'I am. We're going to dock at a cove that's on the northwest side of the island. I need you to come there. Come to me, Neo. Do you understand me?'
"Yes, Law, I understand."
'Good girl. Come to me now.'
"Okay." Neo nodded. She rubbed the heel of her right hand in her right eye before taking a couple steps to the northwest. She got two steps when something sharp hit her hand. A whimper escaped her lips at the burning pain flaring across her hand.
'Neo, what happened?! What hit your hand?!'
Neo raised her hand to her face. A four inch, thin dark brown thorn was sticking out of her left hand. She plucked it out. A small drop of purplish green liquid fell from the sharp end. "It's a thorn. It's leaking something. It's kind of purple and green."
'Never mind that. Just get to the northwest cove. We'll be there soon.'
"Okay." Neo dropped the thorn and started to run towards the cove, unaware of the puncture wound on her hand was turning her skin purplish green.
…
"About time," Tao grumbled as his father walked up beside him. "Does the darkness finally realize it's in over its head now?"
"Shut up!" Atlas hissed. He followed after Neo. "Let's just kill her and get it over with."
"Whatever you say." Tao followed him.
…
"I got through to her!" Law announced.
"Is she all right?" Penguin asked. Panic and concern dripped from his voice.
"She's angry because they took my ring and hat from her." Law clenched his fists. Anger filled his own chest at the thought. It was amazing that she hadn't completely flattened the island yet. "She's calmed down some now that I reached her. She's heading towards the cove right now."
"That's great!" Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo shouted.
"We'll get to see her soon!" Penguin nodded happily. "Just a little bit longer! We'll be back with our girl!"
"Yeah!" Shachi said with a smile of his own. Bepo was behind him with his own smile spread wide over his muzzle. "She knows we're coming now!"
"That's good. Depending on how fast she moves and what kind of trouble the elementals cause her, we should be able t-" Kailen's voice jerked to a pause when he saw Law's left hand. The color drained from his face. "Y-your hand…"
"Hm?" Law looked down at the back of his hand. A transparent, tiny glowing green dot was on it. "Neo got hit by a thorn."
"Are you okay, Kailen? You don't look so good," Bepo said.
"Did she…was it leaking a purplish green liquid?" Kailen forced the words out of his mouth.
"Yes. Why?" Law asked. Panic started to settle over him as he and the other three sensed the sudden urgency in the aura Kailen was giving off.
"That…that thorn is from the deadliest plant on Luminous!" Kailen said. Panic hammered in the pirates' bodies and minds.
"What?!" Penguin shouted, after struggling to find his voice.
"Ack! Has the captain been poisoned as well?!" Bepo demanded. He jumped into the air, his arms, and legs flailing wildly.
"No, if he was being effected by the poison his skin would be turning a purplish green. I think that glow is only a result of their bond, like a warning light or something. The poison is from the nightthorn jessamine. A plant that only grows on Luminous." Kailen sat back down when he knees gave out on him. "Elementals don't like using this flower. It's only used as a last resort. The darkness must have decided Neo was too much to handle. The darkness must have finally decided to kill her."
"How long does it take to kill someone?" Law asked even though he didn't want to.
"It can kill a human in ten minutes. It can kill an elemental in thirty minutes since we have stronger immune systems due to being connected to nature," Kailen explained. He brushed the back of his hand over his chin. "In Neo's case, since she's a royal, she has an hour at the most."
"Then we can still get to her!" Shachi pointed out.
"Possibly. It really all depends on her. She's been fighting a lot these past few days. Her crystals are no doubt weakened, at least a little bit, right now. And with how she just lashed out like she did...if she's too weak, then she won't be able to fight off the flower's poison as easily as she normally would if she hasn't been fighting," Kailen said.
Law's mind was sent reeling. His mind just didn't want to accept what Kailen had just said. But he couldn't deny it. He could feel that Neo was tired from using her crystals to fight, especially today, and her hand was burning at the thorn's entry point. Her anger, an emotion she wasn't familiar with, added with everything that happened these past few days, had drained her considerably. She got that way when she dealt with something that was emotionally stressful on her. Her defenses were now down. Soon she would want to do nothing but sleep.
Law's body shook with anger. He could feel the intense pain settling into the puncture she got on her hand. He could feel her body growing tired and achy from the poison that was flowing through her veins. He gritted his teeth and choked back an unhealthy stream of curses. No way he came this far just to lose her. That was something he refused to accept.
