Coby & Elementals

Neo took in a deep breath and released it as slowly as she possibly could. She took in a couple more and repeated the process a few times. Her erratic heartbeat finally started to slow down. She picked up her wind speed as her eyes ran over the island below her. Being up so high she could no longer smell all of the gunpowder, smoke, and blood that tainted the air below her. She was grateful for that since it was making her sick. Looking down she could still see all of the bodies running around on the ground easily enough. Her heart tightened when she notice none of them were the ones she was looking for.

'Are you all right, love?'

'I'm okay. I'll be much better once I know my entire family's safe. Stupid marines.' Neo thought back to Law. She felt out his presence, for about the thousandth time since she split up from him thirty minutes ago. He was still right where she had left him in his own battle against the marines. They were heading back to Sabaody to finally enter into the New World. Law decided to make a stop on this island before heading to the New World. They were going to pass right by Sabaody without stopping since that place had become more lawless and dangerous since the last time they were on that island. Law also didn't want to risk a run in with the Celestial Dragons, though he wasn't sure how often they went there now with their favorite action house destroyed.

Neo, Law, and Penguin were together when the navy arrived, in a port opposite of the one they docked at, and started trying to arrest all the pirates on the island. And that meant some of their own crew that hadn't returned to the ship yet. Currently they were missing five crewmembers. Neo was out looking for them while Law and the rest of the crew were fighting in town.

'Just take it easy. And keep your distance from the marines if you don't think you can handle them in a face to face confrontation.' Law ordered her.

Neo looked up at the darkening sky. The storm had popped up without her sensing it. It was almost upon the island. Lightning was dancing through the dark gray clouds. As far as she could tell, the lightning was staying in the clouds and hadn't yet to come down and strike anything. She wanted to dissipate the storm right then and there until she knew all of her crew was safe. She knew she couldn't though. She had to downplay what she could do with her crystals. Dissipating a storm would definitely raise questions about her and her crystals if the navy happened to see her do it.

'Remember to relay my orders to the crew when you find them.'

'I will. But there's something else…' Neo kneaded her eyebrows in concentration.

'What is it?' Law asked.

'I think there's another elemental on the island.'

There was a tense pause before Law answered her back. 'Topaz is sensing one too. She thinks its an earth wielder.'

'Yeah. I think she's right. But I don't think he's, or she's, fighting. I'm not sure if he's a soldier or not. He could just be a resident of this island and I didn't sense him until I got closer to him.'

'That's possible. Still, be extremely careful. He probably noticed you're on the island too. Whether he's a soldier or not, he could still try and knock you out with sleep powder or something. I should have went with you.'

'I'll be fine, Law. You just focus on your own battle right now. It-Hold on! I found some more of our crew!' Neo angled herself downward towards a group of ten marines who were holding three of their missing crewmates at gunpoint.

'Remember to keep your distance.'

'Right. It's only a small group of marines.' Neo landed on a rooftop near her crew just as a loud crack of thunder boomed above. She was expecting it but it still made her jump, causing her to almost lose her footing. Once stabilized and a quick 'I'm fine' to Law, she guided her winds around the three crewmates being held at gunpoint. They looked up at her when they noticed the wind was being manipulated. They all smiled at her.

"What are you all smiling at?!" Neo heard a marine shout.

"Don't you even think about escaping!" another shouted.

"Okay," a crewmate said. He cocked his head to the side with anticipation at how the marines were going to act once Neo revealed herself to them. "We won't think about trying to escape at all. We'll just let it happen."

"You shut up!" the first marine, who spoke, hissed. He pointed the gun barrel closer to the pirate's face.

Neo narrowed her eyebrows at the threat, forcing herself not to get angry. She summoned ten of her fire crystals and stuck them right into the barrels of the guns.

The marines blinked in confusion. "Huh? What are those things?"

"You can't have them," Neo said to herself. She flared up her fire crystals and melted the gun barrels. She then sculpted the melted barrels into flowers before lifting up her crewmates to her. "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine," a crewmate said while patting her shoulder.

"Who's that?!" They heard a marine shout. "Huh? She's just a kid!"

"Is she flying? How's that possible? A devil fruit user?"

"Who cares? If she's with those pirates then she's a pirate as well! Plus, she helped them escape! Shoot them all!"

"But our gun barrels are melted. We can't fire or they'll explode on us."

"Did she do that to our guns? She must be a devil fruit user then. How'd she even get up on that roof? Did she jump? What the heck?! Is she flying now?!"

"What are those shimmering things around her?"

"Why aren't you with the captain?" a crewmate asked as Neo lifted them into the air with her wind crystals.

"I was worried about you all when you didn't return to the sub like you're suppose to when a situation like this arises," Neo replied. She lowered the three crewmates to the ground when she felt they were a far enough distance from the marines they just left behind. She put them in an alley so they didn't have to worry about being seen for a while. "Law said I should fly around and see if I could locate you all. We're still missing Shachi and that new crewmate we just acquired. I'm going to keep looking for them. Law wants you all to return to the sub right now."

"Really? He's letting you fly around on your own?" another crewmate asked in shock.

"I'm not engaging in battle unless I have to. But beware that there is another elemental around here somewhere. I'm not sure if he, or she, is a soldier or not," Neo said.

"Would you like us to come with you?" the third crewmate asked.

"I'll be fine. I need to get use to this after all. Plus, Law doesn't want us to cause too much trouble just yet," Neo relayed Law's orders to the crew. "He wants to just ease me into the view of the navy before we enter into the New World as carefully as he possibly can before things really get wild. That's why I let the marines see me when I pulled you all from them."

"All right then. We'll head back to the sub," a crewmate said just before a loud boom of thunder followed by a bolt of lightning flying right at them.

Neo looked up just in time to redirect it away from them. She sent it back into the clouds, sparing them from getting fried.

"Phew. That was close."

"Get back to the sub. This storm's strength just keeps increasing," Neo said. She brought her eyes down from the thundering clouds and looked at her crew. "I don't think this storm is going to form into a hurricane, but I don't know."

"Right." The three crewmates nodded.

Neo watched then run off before lifting herself back into the air. Sensing another strong gust of wind coming, she readied herself for the on coming gale. When connected with it she used it to fly over the island faster. More lightning dropped down from the sky. She easily directed it away from herself and made sure to move it away from the people below her. 'Law, you might want to get the crew back to the sub as quick as you can. This lightning is starting to go crazy. This isn't an ordinary storm. It's going to be nothing but lightning and thunder. Also, I found three of our missing crew. They're on their way back right now.'

'All right. We'll finish up here and head back to the sub. Find the last two then get them and yourself back to the sub as well.'

'Right. Hopefully we'll all be there soon.' Neo looked around at the ground below her. Smart people had already taken cover from the storm, but a few people were still running around. She dragged her gaze along the streets of the island until she got out of the town. "Are they crazy? They should all be inside by now. This storm is-Oh no!"

'What is it, Neo? What's wrong?'

"I found them! They're cornered on a cliff! And they're being arrested!" Neo hovered in the air while watching two navy soldiers put shackles and chains on Shachi and their new crewmate, Tero. She clenched her fists, the storm above her rumbled with her anger.

'Calm down and focus, Neo. Don't let your anger take control of this storm. We can only handle one storm at a time. How many soldiers are there? Can you get to them?'

Neo's body relaxed to Law's words. She disconnected herself from the storm and refocused on her mission. "Yes. There are only three soldiers with them. I can easily grab them. As soon as I have them, we're heading back to the sub."

'Good girl. Now get our crewmates an-Wait! Only three soldiers? Shachi should be able to handle three normal soldiers on his own. Neo, what's going on over there?'

Neo froze in the air. Her palms became damp as she focused in on one of the soldiers. Swallowing nervously, she replied, 'It's…one of the soldiers is an elemental. Shachi and Tero are wobbling around. I think he might have used some kind of powder on them.' Her heart raced.

'Okay. Just relax. We can still get them back without revealing anything. Just-'

Neo jumped when the elemental looked up at her. 'He just sensed me, Law. I have to go down!'

'Be careful. He might try and take you.'

'I'll be fine.' Neo angled herself towards the cliff. She shot herself downwards. She sent a stream of wind ahead of her to warn her crew that she was there. When she knew they noticed her there, through their groggy state, she dropped herself down between the town and the soldiers, blocking their way back to the ships. She looked right at the soldier with dark green strains of hair poking out from underneath his navy hat.

"Well, isn't this a surprise. I thought I had…a feeling you were around here somewhere," the elemental said. Thunder clapped above them when he finished his sentences.

Neo nodded slightly to him as a signal that she had sensed him as well.

"What the heck?" the marine with the long blonde hair said. He and his pink haired companion had turned to face her when she landed.

Neo eyed the other two marines carefully before pulling her eyes back to the one that was her biggest concern.

"You two stay back," the elemental ordered. "She's not what you think."

Neo swallowed, wiping her sweaty palms on her pants. She wondered if this guy has told the navy about himself.

"It's a girl. And she's nothing more than a child," the blonde marine said with an amused smile. "We can take her easily."

"Huh?" The pink haired marine blinked.

Neo noticed he was looking at her crystals with curiosity. She twitched when she noticed his expression changed from curiosity to confusion. She also notice he was looking directly at her instead of her crystals.

"Who…what are you?" he asked.

Neo flinched. Her furrowed her eyebrows. Did he just realize I'm not human that quickly? That's not possible. Even Law was confused about that at first. So how is this one able to-

"Don't just stand there!" Tero shouted. His dark green eyes zeroed in on Neo. His black hair swished while he struggled against the shackles and powder that held him down. "Fight!"

"You're a pirate then, huh? I bet you're here to save these two. Well, tough! I won't let you take them! Prepare to defend yourself! This will be a tough fight for you!" the blonde haired marine said. He pulled out his kukri and charged at her.

"Wait, Helmeppo! She's-" the pink haired marine shouted.

"Just a child, Coby!" Helmeppo shouted. "Three pirates are now our prisoners!"

Neo wrapped her winds around the charging man's ankles and flipped him upside down.

The man shrieked and flailed wildly. "What the heck?! Let me go! How are you able to control the wind like that?! Who the heck are you?! You're just a kid! There's no possible way you can defeat me!"

"So sorry about this," Neo replied with a soft smile. She flicked the blonde haired man away from her. His back collided with the ground, knocking the wind out of him and scattering his kukri. He groaned while picking himself up off the ground. She summoned an earth crystal and wrapped the blonde man up in vines. She turned to face the two remaining marines while the blonde man shrieked demands to let him go, which were mostly drowned out by the rumbling thunder above them. The elemental was just standing there with an unreadable expression on his face. She turned her eyes from him and looked at the pink haired man. Her eyes widened when the pink haired man suddenly disappeared from her sights. She ran her eyes all over the area, but couldn't find him.

"Behind you!" Tero shouted.

"Look out!" Shachi added.

"Huh?" Neo's body automatically turned. She got half way turned around when a solid force slammed into her right cheek. She felt herself fly backwards then collide with the ground. When she stopped rolling, she pushed up on her arms. She placed her hand on her spinning head, noticing the hit disconnected her from her magic when Law tried to talk to her.

'Ne-?! W-o h-t y-u?!'

Neo blinked her eyes a couple times. She was thankful the marine didn't hit her too hard. The disruption of her magic was quickly returning. 'One of the marines. I'm fine, Law. The elemental's not fight for some reason. I'm grabbing Shachi and Tero now.'

'All right. The rest of us are already at the sub. Just get here as soon as you can.'

"I'm sorry for hitting you. I don't care much for hitting girls, but if you really are a pirate then I have my duty to carry out and capture you. Don't fight back and I won't hurt you," Coby said walking over to Neo.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and glared at the young marine. Her red cheek throbbed. She could feel it starting to swell already. The marine knelt down beside her. Through her swimming vision she couldn't help but notice a sincere look of regret for hitting her. She also noticed his look of confusion refilling his eyes.

"You're just a child. But you're something else, too. You're spirit color is different from everyone else's," he said.

"What?" Shachi asked through his own blurry vision. "What is he talking about?"

"How should I know?!" Tero snapped. "If we could just get free of these stupid cuffs then we could help her! How the heck were they able to capture us like this anyway?!"

"That one soldier is an elemental," Shachi said. He nodded his head to the still standing still soldier. "Sorry. I didn't sense him quick enough. If I had, I would have suggested running instead of fighting. He used a powder on us to keep us weak so we can't fight back. That's why we're so disoriented."

Tero scoffed, "These elementals sound like such a pain."

Shachi couldn't help but chuckled at the memories of Luminous and how much of a pain the elementals had been for them. "Don't worry about it, though. Neo will get us out of here."

"Yeah. Right," Tero replied, obviously not convinced.

Neo pushed herself to her feet. She summoned her wind crystals. With a quick gust of wind, she pushed the young marine away from her and floated herself into the air a few feet. She gasped when the elemental was suddenly behind her. He grabbed her left arm and pinned it behind her back. Her heart rate and breathing increase at being touched by a stranger. She summoned her crystals and started connecting them to the nature around them. Thunder booms, vines snapped, waves crashed against the islands while the winds howled and fire flared up. "Ah! Let go! Don't touch me!"

"Forgive me for this, Princess," he said, ignoring her and nature's outburst. He slipped his hand into his pocket then pulled it right back out.

"Neo! Hey! Leave her alone!" Shachi hissed when he saw the marine holding something in his hand. He pushed his feet to run towards the elementals. Just as the marine brought his hand up to Neo's face, Shachi plowed into him.

The elemental's hand slapped near Neo's right eye, releasing an all too familiar powder. Neo closed her eyes and turned her head in attempted to get away from the powder, but enough was already on her to cause problems connecting to her magic. She felt Law's anxiety over her before it faded in and out along with her crystals. "Run!"

'N-o?! Wh-t's –appen-ng?!'

Neo turned toward the direction of the town.

Coby leaped over to them and grabbed her wrist.

More fear shot through her entire body at the contact of another stranger. "No! Don't touch me!"

The storm, her disrupted connection to her magic and being touched by two strangers caused her to pull down a lightning bolt by accident. It struck the cliff, causing it to crumble, taking Neo, Shachi, and Coby with it and knocking the elemental off his feet.

Helmeppo shouted, "Coby!"

"Ah!" Coby cried out as they fell.

Neo rubbed her hand over her right eye, trying to get the powder off her face. She was able to get enough off of it to see they were plummeting right to a bunch of rocks sticking out from the sea. She looked to her right and saw a small area where she could land them if she could get connected to her crystals enough. Summoning one wind crystal, she wrapped the wind around their three falling bodies and pushed them over to her destination. She pushed them a little too hard causing them to collide with the cliff then drop onto the landing she had aimed for.

Shachi's head collided with the cliff, knocking him out. He bounced on the ground then rolled into the ocean.

Neo's body automatically dove for him. She grabbed his boiler suit and tried to pull him back to her. "Shachi! I can't-Huh?" She glanced up when the pink haired soldier grabbed onto Shachi and helped her pull him back to safety. She blinked at the young marine in confusion. "But why d-"

Another loud clap of thunder and a couple flashes of lightning cut off her sentence. She flinched, covering Shachi's body with her own until it stopped.

Coby glanced up at the sky then over to the small cave behind them. "Looks like we're in luck. We can hide in that cave until the storm passes. Unless you can fly us back up to the cliff."

Neo looked at him with caution before trying to summon her wind crystals again. She shook her head. "I can't. Not until this pow…I can't. Sorry"

"Right." Coby nodded.

She noticed that he had noted her reluctance in saying anything, but he didn't point it out or question her. He just got a better hold on Shachi's unconscious body and helped her pull him into the cave.

Neo winced at the rocks cutting into the bottom of her feet while she helped pull Shachi along the ground. She sighed to herself at the thought of possible having to start to wear her shoes on islands regardless of whether she wanted to or not. Once inside, she sat down and placed Shachi's head on her lap. She carefully watched him and the marine while waiting for her mind to clear so she could connect to her magic and Law again.

The elemental picked himself up as quickly as he could. He ran over to the cliff just in time to see Neo fling all three of them to safety. He relaxed then started to summon his own crystals so he could use his vines to pull them back up to the cliff. The drop was around a hundred and fifty feet. He could easily pull them back up, but one problem stopped him. He glanced over at Helmeppo. The blonde marine was crying and shouting out Coby's name repeatedly while crawling over to he edge of the cliff. Can't let him see this.

The elemental pulled another small pouch out of his pocket. He picked it up with a vine then slithered the packet over to the screaming marine's face. He rubbed the vine on the packet, causing the powder inside to sprinkle over Helmeppo's face. The screaming man breathed in the powder seconds before falling over in a deep sleep. He turned back to the cliff, but paused when he heard shouts of more marines coming his way. "Great. Guess the princess is just going to have to take care of herself for a while."

"Hey! There you are! We need to head for shelter! This storm is picking up speed!" a marine shouted.

"Is this the only pirate you caught? And is he okay?" another marine asked. He looked at Helmeppo.

The elemental looked at Tero. The pirate was watching him closely with a displeased glare on his face. The elemental turned to the group of nine marines then headed over to Tero. "Yes. This is the only one. Helmeppo there is just sleeping. He got knocked out. Let's take them and get out of this storm."

"What are you doing? My crewmates and your fellow soldier are still down there!" Tero hissed.

"And you want me to reveal my crystals to them?!" the elemental hissed back. He nodded his head in the direction of the marines. "Let's just get out of this storm for the moment. We can talk then."

Tero scoffed. "Fine."

"Captain, I don't like this!" Penguin all but shrieked as he paced the galley. Occasionally he stopped to look out the porthole before continuing his pacing. "Something happened! We have to go find them!"

"We can't do anything in this storm," Topaz said. She glanced out of one of the portholes that were in the galley. She watched the unrelenting lightning strike in several places on the island.

Law clenched his fists. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it was going to break out of his chest. He shouldn't have let her go off alone. He should have gone with her. He glanced around at his gathered crew. All of them were waiting anxiously for his orders on what they were going to do.

"Captain?" Jean Bart asked. "We could move the ship to where you sensed her last. It's obvious she can't use her magic right now, but they could be at a part of the island where we can easily get them aboard."

"What about the elemental? What are the chances he'll understand that she's with us of her own free will?" Archer asked.

"Well, it really depends on if they had a chance to talk," Topaz replied when they all looked at her. "I haven't sensed much crystal usage from him so it's possible that he hasn't revealed who he really is to anyone. If that's true then he'll avoid using his crystals when others are around. And he-Wait! He's moving away from his current area, but I don't sense the princess with him. I think she's still in that area somewhere. It might be best if we did head over there. Once the princess is back to her senses she'll sense that you have moved and will come to you."

"Right." Law nodded. He then looked at Bepo. "Let's go."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Bepo nodded then ran out of the galley.

"Now, tell me what's going on," the elemental said.

Tero didn't answer him immediately. He just glanced around the room they were in. The navy had commandeered someone's house. They ordered the family of four into the kitchen, away from the pirate who was being held in the bedroom. He was sitting on the floor in one corners of the room. For the moment it was only the two of them. Tero had no idea why or for how long it was just going to be the two of them, but he knew he had to act fast.

"Well, I'm still fairly new to the crew, but your princess is with the Heart Pirates of her own free will," Tero said. He then gave the elemental a quick, condensed version of what the crew had told him. "If you don't believe me, then let's go see my crew. They have some medallions or something that should be able to convince you. There's also another one of you on our crew. Her name is Topaz. She's a fire elemental. She's serving under the captain as a suggestion from your people. It's to keep an eye on things or something like that."

"I have to admit, I do find this a bit hard to believe," the elemental said. He crossed his arms over his chest in thought. "And I would like to meet with your captain and the princess to clear this whole mess up. If you are telling the truth, then I won't stop her from going with you all."

Tero rolled his eyes. "Great. Now how do we get out of here?"

"We're not going anywhere in this storm. It should be dying down here in a few more minutes," the elemental said. He walked over to the only chair in the room and sat down. He crossed his arms and legs and stared at the pirate. "My name is Jory, by the way."

"Oh yeah?" Tero cocked his head off to the side. "All right, Jory, how exactly are you going to get me out of here? You think those other marines are going to just let you waltz me right out the front door? Or are we going to climb out the window here? You'll have to betray the navy. But I suspect you'll do that anyway to save your precious princess."

"You don't seem to care much for her," Jory said.

"For starters, I don't even know her. Like I just said, I'm still new. But, yeah, you're right. I don't care much for her. So what? Are we all supposed to bow down to her just because she's a princess?" Tero spat.

"Of course not. I understand that not everyone is going to get along," Jory said. "I'm just curious if you're going to be a loyal crewmate to her."

"Of course I am!" Tero snapped. "If I wasn't going to be a loyal crewmate to my fellow crewmembers and captain, I never would have joined a pirate crew in the first place!"

"What's going on in there?!" another marine bellowed just before he threw the door open. "Is this pirate causing you problems?"

"Not at all," Jory said with a cocky smirk that made Tero frown. "We're just getting to know each other, that's all."

"Just getting to know each other," the marine grumbled. "Whatever. Just keep it down in here. The storm outside is enough to listen to."

"Right." Jory waved just before the marine left, slamming the door behind him.

"So, Jory, how exactly are you going to get me out of here?" Tero asked.

"Well, that should be obvious enough. After all…" Jory gave the pirate another cocky grin. "I was able to subdue you and your fellow pirate with ease."

Tero's eyes burned with rage. He hissed low, "You elementals are such a pain."

Neo wrung more water out of Shachi's boiler suit. She used it to brush the powder off Shachi's face and was working on her own. She lifted her eyes up to the marine before wiping the water over her right eye. The young marine was still standing near the opening of the cave. He was just staring up at the turbulent sky. She jumped when the marine started talking and walking closer to them. He said, "Well, it looks like the storm is about over."

Neo eyed him carefully. She noticed he was doing the same thing.

He then suddenly smiled at her. "You kind of remind me of another pirate."

Neo raised an eyebrow at him. What's he up to?

"What?" Coby asked curiously. "Don't you talk to anyone outside of your crew?"

Neo nodded, still unsure of what he was doing or what he could possible want from her. She narrowed her eyebrows at him while cradled Shachi's head in her lap. "You can't have him."

Coby laughed. "Even if I did want him, there's no possible way I can get him out of here without help. You're the one who can easily escape. You can control the wind. That's pretty cool. I'd like to believe you're a devil fruit user, but I'm not sure that's the case here. Your spirit energy is different from others."

"Spirit energy?" Neo found herself asking.

"I have observation haki," Coby explained as he sat down. "I can see peoples spirits. I always thought that everyone's spirit was one solid color. But yours is multiple colors. It's like your spirit can't decide what it wants to be. One moment it's a bluish silver color, then it's a darker blue, then green, and then red or orange…it's weird. Are you a devil fruit user or not?"

"I am," Neo replied without hesitation. She paused and wondered what all she should say other than what she just did. She decided to just stay quiet. It wouldn't be long before the marines put together the fact she could use all the elements. She had already used her earth, fire, and wind crystals today.

"You're not like other pirates, are you?" Coby asked.

She shrugged.

He laughed. "You're not. You're too nice. And quiet. Other pirates would be yelling at me or trying to rip my head off whether or not they have devil fruit powers and can use them. But here you are. Just sitting quietly. You kind of remind me of another pirate I know. Only he's way more talkative than you are. You might actually know him since you're with the Heart Pirates. They helped him escape from Marineford during the war there after all."

"Straw Hat Luffy?" Neo asked without thinking.

"That's him." Coby nodded. "I'm Coby. What's your name?"

Neo shrugged. She looked down when Shachi moaned.

Coby said, "Looks like your friend is waking up. That's good. But you still might want him to get him to a doctor. Isn't your captain a surgeon? He should look at your friend there as soon as possible."

"Huh? You're letting us go?" Neo asked. "Why?"

"I know I'm not strong enough to fight you both. As soon as your friend wakes up, I'm sure you'll just your powers to fly yourselves out of here," Coby replied. He leaned back on his hands. "It's fine. My friend, Helmeppo, and Jory know I'm down here. They'll send a rescue party once this storm has passed."

Neo felt confused. She eyed the marine quietly, trying to figure out why he was being so nice and calm. While distracted by the marine, she didn't notice Shachi had woken up.

Shachi groaned at the splitting headache he had and sat up. "Ouch. I feel like I got hit by a mountain."

"Sorry about that," Neo said, guilt stabbing her heart. "I lost control and slammed us all against the cliff. You got knocked out."

"Don't worry about it. I know yo-Hey! You stay back!" Shachi hissed when he saw the pink haired marine.

Coby sat up a little straighter and narrowed his eyebrows.

"It's okay, Shachi. He's not causing us trouble. We're all in the same situation," Neo said.

Shachi slowly pulled his attention from the marine and looked at her.

Neo rubbed the corner of her right eye then tapped it a couple times.

Shachi nodded when he remembered seeing the other marine hit her with something. He scooted close to her so they could whisper.

"I think the storm's about to dissipate," Neo said. She looked out of the cave to see the rain had let up quite a lot and the waves were calming down.

"Are you okay?" Shachi whispered as low as he could without moving his lips.

"Yeah. That one marine is an elemental. He used powder on me, but only got a little on my face. It's almost gone," Neo whispered back also trying not to move her lips. "I think he took Tero with him. And I'm starting to get my magic back. Law's moved the sub. They're coming to this side of the island."

"Then it's probably best for us to just stay put until they get here," Shachi whispered. "Did that guy touch you?"

"Other than upon the cliff? No," Neo asked. She rubbed her wrist like she was trying to get Coby's touch off her. She then shifted closer to Shachi, wrapped her arms around her bent up knees, and rested her chin on them. "I hate it when people I don't know touch me. It makes me scared and vulnerable. I want Law."

"I know. He's come soon," Shachi said. He rubbed his hand on her lower back. The three then fell into slightly comfortable silence as the rain beat down on the sea.

Coby would occasionally look over at the two pirates, mostly Neo. The marine even caught a glimpse of Law's ring before she tucked her hand between her legs and stomach with a sharp glare at him that he didn't find threatening at all. Every time Shachi caught his eye, the pirate glared at the marine. Coby would then wave his hands in a nonthreatening manor before looking out the opening of the cave.

'Law?' Neo called out as soon as she was connected to her magic again.

'I'm here. Are you all right? I was so worried about you.'

'Yeah. I'm okay. Shachi's here with me. I think the elemental took Tero. They're inland somewhere.'

'Topaz senses that he's on his way back here. He might be coming to talk to us. How's the storm up there? Are you safe?'

'Yes. We're in a small cave on the northwest side of the island. And…'

"The storm's over," Neo said, out loud, after ten minutes of silent glares between the two men had passed. When she caught Shachi's eye, she nodded towards the sea.

With an understood nod of his own, Shachi took her hand and stood up with her. They wandered out of the cave just as the yellow sub submerged from the waters.

Law immediately pushed opened the door and stepped out onto the deck.

Neo wrapped her winds around their bodies and lifted them into the air. She paused about twenty yards in the air and looked back at the young marine. Coby was standing outside of the cave, staring up at her with amusement and curiosity.

"Neo?" Shachi asked.

"Sorry," she replied. She then wrapped her winds around the marine. "I can't just leave him there. I don't think he's a bad guy."

"Hey." Shachi elbowed her. "You know you're to follow your instincts. If they're telling you to help him, then do it."

Neo nodded then pulled Coby up into the air with them. She locked eyes with him for a slip second before looking away from him. She flew them all up to the cliff. Sitting the young marine down, she and Shachi both caught two figures running at them. They looked up to see Tero and the elemental. Shachi said, "Looks like Tero is fine. And, look, he brought a friend with him."

"Hey!" Coby cried out when he saw the two running towards them.

Jory pulled out another packet from his pocket. Wrapping it up in a vine, he then positioned his vine over Coby's head so he could lower the powder without it being seen. The pink haired marine started to drift off to sleep as he spoke, "Whasss goinnnn on? Zzzzz…"

Tero paused to look at the snoring marine now passed out on the ground. He rolled his eyes then stepped closer to the edge of the cliff.

Jory knelt down on his right knee.

Tero rolled his eyes again before Neo wrapped her winds around them two and flew them all over to the sub.

Shachi looked at the two men. He said, "I'd like to ask how you two got away from the marines without questions, but I think the answer is obvious."

Jory smirked.

Neo floated them down to the deck. Once on board, she ran over to Law's open arms. He wrapped his arms securely around her while she clenched the back of his hoodie and buried her face into his chest. "Law!"

"Well, I guess that answers that question," Jory said. "All right then. I accept this whole situation."

"Just like that?" Tero asked. "You can't be serious."

"Just like that," Jory answered. "You might not have given me every detail of the story, but it's obvious they care about each other. And they both can confirm your story. I highly doubt humans can easily subdue one elemental let a lone two, especially since one of them is a royal."

"You are a good soldier, sir," Topaz said with a smile. "What will you do now? Surely your fellow marines have noticed your betrayal."

"What betrayal?" Jory blinked innocently, his green eyes shimmering. "There's nothing in the marine manual that says putting your fellow marines to sleep to check on your princess's story and well being means you've turned your back on them and deserted."

"But those two other marines saw practically everything," Shachi pointed out. He held up his hands. "And can you unlock my cuffs now?"

"Don't worry about them. The blonde haired one isn't very bright. Coby, on the other hand, is a brighter soldier with observation haki. I'm sure he noticed the princess is different than everyone else, but he won't cause trouble. I'll have a talk with him later about all of this," Jory said, unlocking the pirate's restraints. Shachi rubbed his wrists once they were off him. "I should be getting back soon. Other marines will be looking for us now that the storm has passed."

"You're staying in the navy?" Tero asked. "I figured you'd quit and serve your princess."

Neo pulled back from Law's chest and looked at Jory. The elemental smiled at her. "I am serving her highness. It's best for me to stay in the navy since she's going to be a pirate. I'll be able to redirect their attention if they happened to start figuring out that she's not human nor a devil fruit user."

"You're good at thinking on your feet," Law noted.

Jory nodded at Law.

The captain then quickly filled the elemental in on what Tero left out. He told him about his plans to keep Neo's bounty as low as they possible could. Jory agreed that was a good idea and said he'd do what he can to help keep it low. Once stories and names had been exchanged Neo lifted Jory back onto the cliff. The pirates then filed back into the sub and took off before more marines could arrive.

"Well that was a fun adventure," Archer said while roaming into the rec. room with some of his fellow crewmates.

"More like a pain in the butt adventure that never should have happened," Tero snapped. He shot a glare over at Neo. "And it wouldn't have happened if you weren't as weak as you are."

Law glared at Tero, pulling Neo closer to him. Before he could say anything, Shachi and Penguin shouted first. Penguin snapped, "What are you talking about?!"

"She's not weak at all! You've seen what she can do with her crystals!" Shachi shouted.

"Her crystals are one matter. Her fighting skills are another," Tero said in forced calm control. He narrowed his eyebrows. "What happened today wouldn't have happened if you all weren't so soft on her."

"But we're not…" Penguin started. His voice trailed off. He knew Tero was right about them. They were soft on her.

"I mean no disrespect, especially since you two are involved," Tero said gesturing at Law and Neo. "But her combat skills are pathetic."

"Don't you call her pathetic!" Bepo growled. "She's just-"

"No," Neo said, cutting Bepo off. They all looked at her. "He's right. I might have gotten a lot better at controlling my crystals, but I'm still lacking in hand to hand combat and in facing off against strangers. I was also thrown off by the presence of an elemental despite being warned some live among humans. I was also thrown off by that pink haired marine's ability to notice right off that I was different. Of course, it didn't help that I freak out every time a stranger touches me, but I still should have been able to handle today a lot better than I did." She paused, looking at her crew while considering her next choice of words. With a deep breath, she continued, "I understand that you all love me and don't want to hurt me, but let's face it, you all holding back when we're sparring has done more harm than good."

The crew looked guiltily down at the floor.

Neo looked up at Law. She said, "And, except for warping, you are still afraid to use your powers on me. I get that Tero doesn't care much for me. And that's okay. I understand that not everyone is going to like me or completely understand my situation. And I understand that there's bound to be some friction between us all because we're sharing such close quarters. But he has proven himself loyal to the crew. And he's also going to be the best training partner for me. He's not going to hold back because he's not close to me like you all are. Right?"

Neo looked at Tero.

He nodded. "Right. We're heading into the New World very soon. Don't you all want her to be better prepared for that? How is she even suppose to get prepared for that if you all keep going so easy on her?"

Law gritted his teeth. He hated to admit it, but Tero was right. Neo was right too. They all were being far too easy on her when it came to hand to hand combat. He looked down at her when she squeezed his hand.

"Let me train with him, Law. I need to do this," Neo said. "I have to do this."

Law considered their situation, and her red cheek, for another minute before nodding. "All right. Then lets get started right now."

Neo and Tero nodded. The crew exchanged concerned looks, but remained quiet. They all knew they had to let this happened. So they watched in reluctant silence as Law, Neo and Tero headed for the training room.

Jory waited anxiously for Coby to come back out. He didn't get a chance to talk to him before the young marine got pulled aside to give his report to their commanding officer. And he didn't have time to talk to him upon the cliff since more marines showed up and he was still sleeping. He shifted his position on the wall when the young man exited the room he was in.

Coby locked eyes with Jory before walking down the hall of the ship. The pink haired man paused when he was right beside the elemental. "So, you're like her, huh? I can't believe I didn't notice until now."

"I guess your powers are becoming stronger," Jory said. He pushed off the wall, shoving his hands into his pockets, and began to walk down the hall with the young man. "So…what did you tell them?"

"The truth," Coby said, causing Jory to flinch. "I told them she had control over the wind and vines. Other soldiers reported her controlling fire. Everyone's coming to the same conclusion that she's a devil fruit user, but no one has a clue to what her devil fruit actually is. They're starting to look into it. And they're going to keep a close eye on her and the Heart Pirates for now. They don't recall if she was with them on Sabaody when Luffy attacked the action house or not."

Jory looked at the young marine from the corner of his eye. "And you're not going to ask questions about this?"

"If I did, would you answer them?" Coby asked, glancing up at the man beside him.

"I think you already know the answer to that question," Jory said causally.

"I have nothing against her. She seems like really nice girl. I'm surprised someone so quiet has chosen the life of a pirate. It doesn't suit her at all," Coby then said. "But I am still a marine. Since she is a pirate I will still try to capture her."

"Right." Jory nodded. Well, at least he's not going to be nosy. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Guess we'll see soon enough. These observation haki users are going to cause quite a bit of trouble for the princess. I hope those pirates will be able to handle it when they meet others who have this form of haki.

The Next Day, New World, Dressrosa…

"Young Master?" Baby 5 called. She hurried through the palace halls, carrying a rolled up newspaper in her hands. She paused in the dinning hall. She glanced around, expecting to see Doflamingo. But he wasn't there. Only Giolla and Lao G were in there. And they were playing cards. "Where is the young master? I thought he was in here."

"I believe he's out by the pool," Giolla replied picking up a card from the pile.

"What's going on, Baby 5?" Lao G asked.

"It's Law," Baby 5 replied. She waved the paper in her hand. "He's made the news again."

"So?" Giolla asked.

"What do you mean 'So'?!" Baby 5 shrieked. "The young master wants to know about these things! He wants to know every single move Law makes! And this one is important!"

"How so?" Lao G questioned.

"He's added a new crewmate. And this one is a girl," Baby 5 replied. She pointed to the paper like it would help her prove her point. They blinked at her. "Oh! Never mind! I'll just take this to the young master now!"

"While you're at it," Lao G said, holding up his teacup. "Will you get me some more tea?"

"Huh?! H-he needs me?" Baby 5 asked flushing and pressing her hands to her cheeks.

"Knock that off!" Giolla shouted. "Just take the paper to the young master! He'll be wanting to know this about Law immediately!"

"Right!" Baby 5 nodded. She rushed away from the two old card players. She continued through the palace halls. A burst of fresh air, tanning lotion and drinks hit her nose when she stepped outside. She spotted Doflamingo sitting in his large chair with a tall, black haired, red bikini clad woman sitting on his lap. The woman was placing kisses on the warlord's face. "Young Master, the paper is here. And there's an article about Law in it."

"Huh?" Doflamingo looked over his shoulder. He then pushed the woman off his lap. She stood up and looked at him. "Go for a swim."

"Yes, Young Master," the woman said with a small pout, but obediently walked away and dove into the pool.

"Let's have it," Doflamingo said. He held out his hand for the paper. Baby 5 immediately handed it to him. He took it and rolled it open. His eyes scanned over the paper quickly. His lips curled into a smile. "Well, that's a bit of a surprise. I really didn't expect to see Law with a woman on his crew. Hmm…there's no mention of the girl's name at all. They only say she has long blue hair, bright blue eyes, looks like a kid and wields of some strange crystals that can control the wind, vines and fire. They don't even have a picture of the girl or her crystals. The navy is assuming she is a devil fruit user, but has no leads on what her devil fruit is or what her power consists of. This is kind of an odd scenario."

"What is, Young Master?" Baby 5 asked.

"Law disappeared shortly after the battle at Marineford. He's been out of the public eye for months," Doflamingo replied.

"Why's that odd?" Baby 5 questioned.

"The rest of the super novas all poured into the New World right after the announcement of Whitebeard's death, but Law didn't." Doflamingo bit his thumbnail. "What's going on with that boy? He helps Straw Hat escape from Sakazuki, disappears for months only to reappear with this child aboard his ship? What was he doing? Where did he go? What's he planning?"

Doflamingo then started to laugh. "Well, this is going to be interesting. I can't wait to see what this boy does now."