Dangerous Weather

Part Two

Law struggled to keep his expression neutral and his body relaxed as he felt Neo's rising anxiety hammer into his chest and mind. He cast the tattoo artist a quick glance- he was busy with tattooing Law's ring finger so he didn't notice the pirate's attitude shift- before letting his hat drop over his eyes. He clenched his teeth and tried to break through the panicked wall Neo had suddenly put up around herself. 'Neo, calm down. What's wrong? What happened?'

Focusing on her as much as he could, Law tried to penetrate the walls with his presence and thoughts. He knew of only one thing that could get her this upset. Someone had pinned her. He forced his own anxiety down while reminding himself that Penguin was still with her. 'Neo, I order you to calm down and tell me what happened.'

'Law…'

He relaxed when she finally replied back to him even though he could still feel her mind and body thrashing wildly in a desperate attempt to get whoever was on her off.

'She grabbed me! I'm pinned! She pinned me! What do I do?! What do I do?! I'm losing control!'

'No, your not. Just breathe and push her off of you. You can handle this. I'm right here. And Penguin is still with you, right? Just focus.'

Neo forced herself to take several shaky, deep breaths. Calming her mind and body, she turned her head to her right, she looked at Penguin's worried and the reindeers' panicked expressions. They were being pushed into the ground by the elemental's winds almost to the point of breaking the earth beneath them. And her own loose control over her crystals wasn't helping anything. Feeling anger replacing her anxiety, she focused that rage onto the woman pinning her down. She summoned her all of her crystals to her and released her hold on nature. The flora when back to normal size, the ground, lightning and thunder became silent as the dark clouds faded back to their normal gray.

Using her fire crystals, she placed them at the woman's chest and flared them up into blue flames right against the woman's body. She heard the woman swear before feeling the pressure on her body lifting off of her. Propping up on her elbows, Neo concentrated on the wind pinning down Penguin and the reindeer. She forced herself to take control of the wind. Once she had control over it, she shoved the gale up into the sky and dispersed it out towards the sea.

With the howling winds now gone, Neo heard Penguin gasp with relief from the pressure as she pushed herself to her feet. Stumbling over to her brother, she ran her eyes over the reindeer. They were shaken up, but okay. When they looked at her she ordered them to leave. "Hurry up and get out of here. It's not safe." Neo dropped to her knees. She grabbed Penguin's shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

"Not really," Penguin coughed. "But I can still fight."

"Well, that was an unexpected reaction," the woman noted, patting out the remaining smolders on her now burnt clothes. She carefully took Neo in while taking a few steps closer to the duo. "Was I imagining things or do you have a serious issue with being touched? I don't really recall that in any of the articles I read about you. I could be mistaken though. But, then, that's not surprising as there's a lot you've kept hidden from the public."

Neo turned her sharp, angry blue eyes to the woman.

The woman laughed. "Now that's a scary look. Did I anger the pretty little princess? If I recall correctly, the papers also mention that you're not aggressive unless one of your crewmates gets hurt or is on the verge of getting hurt."

"What do you want?!" Penguin demanded. He stood up and glared at the woman. "Who are you?! Why are you attacking us considering?!"

'Neo?'

'I'm fine now, Law. There's an elemental here who's not friendly. She pinned Penguin and some reindeer. I was able to free them, thanks to you. But she's a water and a wind elemental. And, I'm not sure, but I think she's up to something. She was able to hide herself from me somehow. I didn't sense her at all until it was almost too late. I can feel others, humans, hiding in the forest nearby. We're trying to get information out of her right now.'

'All right. I'm almost done here. Can you handle her?'

'I'm not sure since I haven't dealt with snow and ice before now. She's clearly a well-trained elemental. I'm guessing since she's in the New World that has a lot to do with it. She's older than Topaz too so she's got a lot of experience under her belt. This isn't going to be easy.'

'Just stay calm. You can handle this. You're her princess and she knows that. And be careful. Since you are a royal she'll probably try every dirty trick she can think of if she really is an enemy. I'll be there soon.'

'All right.'

The woman cocked her head to the side with a smirk.

Neo kneaded her eyebrows when the woman didn't answer Penguin's question. Instead she created another gust of wind and increased the speed of her winds. The winds blew up the snow and creating both a loud howl around them and a visual barrier.

What is she doing? This isn't an aggressive move at all. Neo carefully inspected the woman's movements as Penguin tensed up beside her. She flicked the elements around her crystals in a warning fashion when the woman walked closer to them. Still not feeling an aggressive motivation from the woman, she slowly began to understand what was happening. The woman was blocking their conversation from whoever was hiding around them.

"Tell me, Princess…why are you pretending to be a devil fruit user?" the woman asked.

"Probably for the same reason you're hiding your real identity," Neo said.

"And what makes you think I'm hiding?" the woman asked. She propped her hand on her hip and cocked her head with a smirk. "I'm openly using my crystals here."

"You're openly using your crystals, but your crystals are no where in sight. Those gloves you're wearing, that's where your crystals are." Neo pointed to the woman's hands. "I'm guessing you've designed those gloves specifically for concealment. That's why there's a small dome shape in them under your palms. And that's why the fingers are cut off. The elements can freely come out of them giving people the impression that the wind and water is coming from your fingers. And, before you started questioning your princess, you increased the winds so there would be not only a sound barrier between us and whomsoever's out there, but also a visual barrier. You're clearly hiding the fact your not human from those who are. It's perfectly clear that you don't want people to know about Luminous or the fact that we elementals exist despite openly attacking your princess."

The woman frowned at Neo's easy deduction of the situation. "Well, aren't you the perceptive little princess."

"And, as your princess, I want to know the meaning of this," Neo said, her tone slipping into her royal one. "Who are you? Why are you attacking us? And how is it possible you were able to hide yourself so well from me?"

"Don't think everyone's going to bow down to you just because you're a royal, Princess!" the woman hissed. "I'm no longer loyal to the throne of Luminous! I refuse to bow down to you!"

"Good. I actually don't like it when people bow to me. It makes me feel weird. But with how you were just treating my crewmate and the reindeer, I'm actually kind of tempted to force you to bow before me. Despite that we have the right to know who you are and why you're attacking us," Neo said.

"Fine. My name is Ren. And I can hide from you so easily because my skills are far superior to yours, Princess. It's easy for me to blend in with this island's weather since I've spent years in the harsh environment of the New World. Those pansies back on Luminous are extremely weak compared to me. They've gotten far too comfortable living on an island that's been nothing but peace for years while I've been out here in the real world for the majority of my life," Ren said. She then sighed. "They have so much potential if they would actually use it and stop hiding on that island. The elementals could rule over this world."

"It has not been as peaceful on Luminous as you might think." Neo cut her words off there. Since Ren was also an elemental, she felt that the woman deserved to know what actually happened on the island before she returned to it and purified the darkness crystal. Ren clearly demonstrated that she was still loyal to Luminous since she hadn't revealed her true nature to anyone, but Neo's instincts refused to let her say anymore.

"And the point of attacking us?" Penguin asked.

"As for the point of this, well, let's just say that I have been hired to take on you all out for a certain client of mine." Ren smiled.

"So you're an assassin," Penguin said. He ran his eyes over the swirling snow wall blocking them from the rest of the world. He wondered how many could be hiding behind that wall.

"If you want to call me that," Ren said with a bored shrug. "I never cared much for titles, but whatever. As long as it keeps my belly full with food and pockets full of money it doesn't matter what people call me. All that matters now is for you two to prepare yourselves to fight."

"You're out of your mind if you think you can take us down so easily," Penguin said with a smirk. "Since you've targeted us you should know who our captain is, right?"

"It should be obvious that I do. I'd make a poor assassin if I didn't even know who my targets were. He's Trafalgar Law from the North Blue, the Surgeon of Death, newly appointed warlord of the sea, user of the op op devil fruit," Ren recited. "He's well known for his cruelty to his enemies. And, in my humble little opinion, one of the hottest men on the planet."

Neo forced herself not to react to the woman's words. She clenched her fists and teeth, trying desperately to maintain that carefree, cocky attitude that she's seen Law demonstrated so many times. Relaxing her hands and teeth, she said, "If you know who our captain is then you should know ticking him off is a very stupid thing to do. Attacking us is a death sentence."

"Not to worry," Ren replied nonchalantly. "I'm already prepared for him and the rest of your crew to come running to the rescue. They won't even be able to get into the forest. Not even your captain's warping ability can help you now."

"Then that means the real ambush is for the captain and the rest of our crew, not us? We're just the bait to get them to come here?" Penguin questioned.

"Something like that," Ren hummed then smirked. "So let's dispense with all these annoying pleasantries and get on with it. Let's see how you fair in my elements, Princess!"

Ren's dark eyes glinted with danger. She dispersed her winds, causing the barrier around them to disappear and revealed fifty men all dressed in the same style gear as her. They were covered from head to toe so Neo and Penguin couldn't see or tell if they were men, women or both.

'Law! You and the crew be extremely careful when coming to the mountains! This elemental, Ren, has set up an ambush for you all! She's apparently an assassin that's been hired to take you and your crew down! And they're all wearing head to toe white so they're going to blend in with the snow really well! And I'm sure she knows that Topaz is here despite not mentioning her yet. So she's going to be able to tell when Topaz gets closer. Tell her to be careful too.'

'All right. We'll be careful. I'm almost done here, two minutes, then I'll gather the crew and well headed that way.'

'I'll be sure to relay any other information to you she might give up.' Neo glanced over at Penguin. She gave him a light nod, signaling him that she had informed Law of what was going on here. Penguin nodded back and the two took their battle poses. "Element Crystals! Wind Lift!"

Ren's subordinates cried out when Neo lifted them off the ground. The elder elemental shook her head with a low laugh. "That won't do at all. It's not very fair of you to take on my men with all that power. They're normal humans after all. Not a single one of them has a devil fruit. So let's even the odds a bit."

"What are you talking about?" Neo asked.

"I thought you were smarter than that. My men will fight him. And you will fight me," Ren replied.

Before Neo could process what the elemental had said, Ren lifted herself into the air with her wind crystals. The enemy shot over to Penguin with striking speed, grabbed him then lifted him into the air fifty feet.

"Ren!" Neo hissed. She released the men she was holding onto and followed the elemental into the air.

"Let's see how fast you are, Princess! Follow me!" Ren called back over the howling wind she created and was riding. The elemental woman flew herself and Penguin towards the mountains.

"What is she doing?!" Neo asked herself. She picked up her own wind speed so she wouldn't lose them. The cold wind bit at her face as she flew around a bend. She glanced down and caught a glimpse of a reindeer running as fast as it could. I hope the other reindeer are somewhere safe. And that that one gets somewhere safe too. Neo glanced up when she saw something. She gasped and almost faltered in her wind control. In the valley between the mountains was a huge ice cage that covered one fourth of the valley floor. It had platforms along the top of it and close to seventy men standing and sitting on the platforms. They were waving various weapons in the air while shouting inaudible threats. She took a closer look when she followed Ren over to it.

"Take a close look, Princess," Ren said. "Notice anything familiar here?"

Neo carefully dropped her eyes down to the cage and men. The cage, obviously, wasn't familiar at all. She's done nothing with ice before. Upon a closer look at the men, Neo's chest tightened as the air vanished from her lungs. She noticed some of the men below were from the Wind Walker crew. The first crew Law took his first pirate heart from. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, yes, Princess," Ren laughed. "All these men came here seeking revenge. I sought them out so I can let them have it."

"No!" Neo shouted. She shot herself towards Ren. Figuring what the woman was going to do, she quickly angled herself down seconds before Ren pivoted her own body towards the cage. She wrapped her winds around Penguin's body when the elemental dropped him then quickly disappeared from her view.

"Drop me!" Penguin shouted.

"Don't be stupid!" Neo cried back. She started to pull Penguin back to her.

He glanced over Neo's shoulders to see Ren reappearing and charging right at Neo's back. "Duck!" Penguin screamed. He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out one of his powder pouches.

Neo ducked her head just before he tossed the package mere centimeters from her eyes.

Ren cursed under her breath. She tried to dodge the small packet but it clipped her at the corner of her left eye. Her wind control faltered and she plummeted several feet before washing off the power and regaining her altitude. With a growl, Ren charged at the two Heart Pirates. Creating an ice sword for each of her hands, she stabbed and slashed them at the two. "I should have known you'd know how to make that powder! Well, that little trick won't work again! I'll be sure to keep the wind circling around my face!"

Neo shifted and dodged herself and Penguin out of the onslaught of sword slices while simultaneously using her fire crystals to melt the ice swords to which Ren would just regenerate with her crystals.

Penguin growled, "Neo! You have to let me go!"

"I won't!" Neo shouted back.

"You know this isn't going to work! She's far too fast for us to escape! And you're too concerned about protecting me! You know that's not how you're supposed to fight! Do the right thing! Drop me and fight!" Penguin demanded. "The captain won't like that you're doing this! You know better! Now drop me!"

Neo bit her bottom lip to the point of almost drawing blood. Her heart gave two sharp beats before she lowered herself and Penguin to the ground. She gave Penguin a sharp look. "You are forbidden to die here."

"You know I won't," Penguin said with a smile. "We've beaten these guys before, right? And, hey, at least you kept me out of the cage. That's something, right?"

Neo nodded stiffly.

Penguin nodded then turn and ran to the men who were sliding down the ice poles of the cage.

Neo forced herself to pull her eyes away from Penguin. She glared up at Ren, who was just hovering in the air.

Ren asked, "Are we going to fight now or what?"

Rage bubbled in Neo's stomach. She closed her eyes for a second. When she reopened them, she took complete control over her wind crystals and slipped into their invisible stream. Shooting up to Ren, she balled up her right fist, wrapped a stream of wind around it and struck the woman with all the force she had within her. She sent the dual element woman flying head over heels. Neo quickly followed. When Ren righted herself, Neo dropped her feet into the woman's stomach and pushed her into the snowy ground below. She glared down at the woman underneath her. "We fight. But remember it was you who started this. I hate fighting."

Ren coughed a couple times before being able to gather air into her lungs. She gasped, "And yet here you are on a pirate crew and willingly attacking me."

"Only because you attacked my crewmate and have set up an ambush for the rest of my crew," Neo hissed. "And you'll soon see what a mistake that was."

"I'm so sure," Ren said with a confident grin. Several ice spikes rose up out of the ground. Neo flew away from them while melting them with her fire crystals.

Ren flew up into the air and continued to bombard Neo with more and more ice shards and spikes.

"Wind Ringlet!" Neo cried out. She gathered ice shards and propelled them back to Ren who easily batted them aside with her winds with a flick of her wrist.

"Come now, Princess. There's no need for you to pretend that you're a devil fruit user. None of the humans can hear you at this distance and speed," Ren said, glancing back towards the ice cage. "Besides their too busy with their own fight. I wonder how long he can last again them. What do you think? Five minutes? Ten minutes? Two minutes? Why don't you take a look for yourself?"

Don't listen. Don't look back. She's just trying to throw you off guard. Penguin is fine. Penguin is strong, Neo told herself. "Just shut up and fight me!"

"Aw, you're no fun. But every well." Ren created ice swords again then charged forward with break neck wind speed. "Let's continue."

Neo dodge, but got a cut on her right cheek. She hissed at the pain. The warm blood instantly turned cold against her already cold cheek. She wasn't sure, but she felt like the temperature around her was dropping and wondered if that was nature's doing or Ren's or if she was just imagining things. Flaring up her fire crystals, she managed to melt the sword. But when Ren pulled it back to her, the sword just grew back. They locked into a repetitive battle of sword swipes, sword melting and sword regenerating. This isn't going to work. She clearly has more speed, endurance, agility, and, well, practically everything else over me. But I have all four elements and she only has two. I can beat her, but how? Up till now I've been using only the basic attacks of my crystals. Perhaps it's time I step it up now. I might be able to take her by surprise that way since she's been following our travels and been paying very close attention to what I've been doing. Okay. That's it. I think I might know how to turn this fight into my favor. I hope it's the right decision.

Topaz stared down into her glass of water with narrow eyebrows trying her best to ignore the nauseating smells of alcohol, unwashed men, and their cackling laughter. She was carefully tracking Neo and thinking she should have went with her and Penguin instead of coming here with the rest of the crew. Her eyebrows narrowed even more when suddenly a bad feeling gripped her when the wind shifted under the control of an elemental. Crap! When did…how did that elemental appear without me sensing her? And if I didn't sense her then neither did Neo.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like something a little stronger?" a voice asked.

"Huh?" Topaz glanced up. Beside her was a tall, dark brown haired guy with a charming smile that popped out two cute dimples on his cheeks. His deep green eyes sparkled at her with heart stopping charm.

"I asked if you'd like something stronger to drink," he said while sitting down in a chair beside her. "You look a bit tense. And I would love to have a drink with a lovely lady such as yourself."

"That's very nice of you, but I really don't drink. I have a serious, uh, unstable reaction to alcohol," Topaz replied with a friendly smile. What am I doing? I don't have time to make small talk no matter how cute he is.

"Seriously?" The man blinked.

"Yeah." Topaz nodded. Her bad feeling started to grow then. Turning on her bar stool, she scanned her eyes around the tavern and located her crewmates. They were sitting at a table with drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces, unaware of the brewing dangers outside. "It runs in the family. So zero alcohol for us."

Topaz stood up.

The man asked, "Where you going? I can understand not wanting to drink if you can't, but I was still hoping we could talk for a while. Maybe get to know each other?"

"Sorry, but I need to go find my little sister," Topaz said with an apologetic smile.

"Is something wrong?" the man asked.

"Yeah," Topaz mumbled. Before the man could say anything else, she rushed away from him and over to the crew.

"What is it, Topaz?" Bepo asked when he noticed the concerned look on her face.

Lowering her voice, she said, "There's an elemental on the island. A dual element, water and wind. Neo's fighting her right now."

Instantly, the crew was on their feet and bolting for the door. Bepo lingered behind to slam money down on the table for their drinks before rushing after his crew.

Shachi shouted, "You should have said something sooner!"

"I wish I could have. The elemental is very skilled. Where's the captain?" Topaz said as they ran through the town.

"He should be in there!" Conner shouted. He pointed to the tattoo parlor just seconds before their captain came bolting out of the door.

"Captain!" Bepo cried.

"Let's go!" Law ordered while doing a quick mental count to make sure all of his crewmembers were there before leading them in the direction Neo and Penguin was. "Be on your top guard! There's an ambush waiting for us somewhere between here and the mountains!"

"An ambush?" Shachi asked.

"Yes." Law nodded. "The elemental has friends who are waiting for us. They're decked out in all white gear so they're going to be hard to find in all of this snow."

"If the wind would blow the correct direction, I could sniff them out," Bepo said. The group rounded the block, scaring and scattering some local town folk. The mink shouted back at them from over his shoulder. "Sorry about that! Emergency!"

"That's probably going to be impossible. Both Neo and this other elemental are using the wind in their battle," Topaz informed them.

"How is she doing?" Tero asked.

"She's holding her own for now. But since this elemental hid herself from Neo so well it's obvious her skill level is very high. Neo might-Hn!" Law winced when pain shot through his right cheek.

"Captain?!" the crew shouted.

"I'm fine. Neo just got her cheek cut." Law held out his hand. Forming a Room, he warped his crew out of the town. "Room! Shambles!"

He warped them until he landed them at the spot where he had separated from her and Penguin a little over an hour ago. His chest tightened when he saw the snowmen that they had made. It hurt him that she was just having so much fun a short amount of time ago and was now in a battle for her life. Shaking his head, Law forced those thoughts out of his mind. This was the life they chose. He turned his eyes to the forest and carefully scanned his eyes over the terrain. "Be careful. Remember there's an ambush here somewhere."

"Right." The crew nodded.

"Let's go," Law said. The crew made their way quickly, but cautiously, towards the forest. They all knew that they had to make it look like they didn't know an ambush was waiting for them.

"Aye!" Bepo cried out when several white blurs leaped up from the snow and tried to attack them. He kicked out his foot, catching the blur's gasped in shock when his boot collided with his diaphragm. Other crewmates kicked and punched the attackers, easily knocking them out.

"Look out!" Tero cried when one tried to sneak up behind Topaz. He dashed over to help her. Before he got three feet, she had sensed the man behind her.

And just before his club could smash in her head, she spun around, chopped the man on the wrist causing him to drop his weapon then grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back until she could hear bones snapping. The man wailed out at the pain. She chopped him behind the neck, causing him to slump over into an unconscious heap.

"What?" Topaz smirked. Placing her hands on her hips, she raised an eyebrow at the man just staring at her in slight disbelief. "I haven't trained all these months for nothing."

"Right," Tero huffed. The two then jumped back into the ongoing battle.

"Geez! How many of them are there?" Shachi asked. He backed his back up against a crewmate. They kicked and punched the seemingly never-ending men hiding in the snow.

Several of the white clad men jumped on top of Bepo, covering the bear. Jean Bart then grabbed the men and started flinging them off one by one until there were just a few left.

Bepo then kicked them off of him. "Aye! Aye! Aye! Aye!"

"Bepo, you all right?" Jean Bart asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Bepo looked around as more white spots began to lift up off the ground and charged at them. "There's our ambush."

"No kidding," Archer said just before one of the white men kicked him in the side, sending him flying.

"We really don't have time for this!" Shachi cried out. "We have to get to Neo and Penguin! They're going to be in serious trouble if they have just as many people to fight as we do over here! And I'm sure Neo's got her hands full with that elemental!"

Law swiped his sword at two more men. Their white jumpsuits and chest split open. Their blood squirted out of their wounds, staining the pure white snow beneath them. He glanced towards the mountains. He knew Shachi was right. If he knew Neo and Penguin at all, Neo would have tried to protect Penguin in the beginning. His subordinate would have then reprimanded her, causing her to let him fight whoever was around while she focused on the elemental.

"Room!" Law held up his hand. His Room spread out over the field, engulfing a large proportion of it. He sliced his sword in the air causing over fifty of the men to separate into six different pieces. He sheathed his sword, rested it on his shoulder, and started rotating and swiping his hands in the air. He attached the men with each other and their surroundings before warping his crew closer to the forest. "Shambles!"

Just as they popped back into view, over a hundred more white dressed men popped out and attacked. Conner shouted, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Where in the world are all of these guys coming from?" Archer asked as they began to dodge and attack the enemy again.

"She must be trying to wear us down," Bepo said, kicking an enemy away from him.

"Captain!" Shachi shouted. "You should go on ahead and warp to Neo and Penguin! We can handle things here!"

"Right." Law nodded. "I'll-"

"Wait!" Topaz cried out, cutting the captain off. "Do not leave my side!"

Law's eyes sharped at the woman telling him what to do.

Topaz elbowed a guy in the face before pointing up to the sky. "There's a storm coming! And it's not being created by nature!"

Law raised his eyes up to the sky. Dark gray clouds were swirling above them.

Topaz continued, "It's the elemental! I don't know what she's up to, but it's not good! All of the animals have suddenly disappeared! I'm not even sure if Neo notices it yet!"

"She's right, Captain!" Bepo called out. He kicked and punched a few more men before jumping over to his captain's side. "I can feel a very intense storm coming as well."

"I'm not saying you give up on going after them," Topaz said. She kicked a guy away from her then ran closer to Law. She dropped her voice low so no one outside of the crew could hear her. "I'm just saying stay close to me. That elemental is going to create an ice storm. She might be aiming to freeze us all to death. I can keep the crew warm with my crystals."

"But that'll reveal your magic to others!" Bepo shrieked in a low, forced controlled voice.

"Not if the ice is bombarding the island." Topaz shook her head. "No one will be around to see it. Not even her men."

"What?!" Bepo shrieked out loud that time. "What do you mean?!"

"I mean, with as aggressive as this storm feels, I'm starting to doubt she has any loyalty to her men here." Topaz kneaded her eyebrows in a serous way. "I think she intends to kill them along with us."

Penguin panted hard as he ran through the thick snow beneath his feet. Despite how much fun he was having with Neo earlier, he was really starting to hate snow. It was not good terrain for running in. The only consolation he had was the enemy was having trouble running in the snow as well. He was more gifted in the athletic field than those behind him, so he was able to gain plenty of space between himself and them. He knew he wouldn't be able to fight them all at once. So he used an old trick he knew about. He would run for a while then, when the fastest runner was separated from the group, he turned and fights them until he got them knocked out.

But there was a down side to this as well. There was only one of him and over seventy of the enemy. He was wearing down while they ones he hasn't fought yet were gaining on him with their full strength. It wouldn't be much longer before he wouldn't be able to fight anymore. And he had no clue how Neo was fairing.

He glanced up in the sky. Neo and Ren were still battling it out in the air. They were just tiny little specks to him, so he had no clue which one was which or who had the upper hand. Glancing back over his shoulder, he noticed another one had separated from the group. Well, at least they haven't caught on to this trick. Or perhaps they're just too stupid to notice it.

He spun around and slammed his fist into the face of his attacker. The man instantly went down. Penguin bolted away from the spot then repeated the attack a couple more times before his body started screaming that it couldn't take much more. He glanced back over his shoulder. There was about thirty-five of the enemy left. He had to come up with a different plan to take them out, preferably all at once, if he was going to live through this. He wondered what that could possibly be. He was trapped in a mountain valley with only snow and rocks, some too small some too large, to do him any good.

Penguin pin wheeled his arms when his boot caught on a hidden rock beneath the snow. He fell forward and face planted in the cold powder. Groaning, he pushed himself up. "Speaking of rocks."

"And now we got you, Heart Pirate," one of the enemy pirates said. They all gathered around him with menacing grins on their unwashed faces.

Penguin winkled his nose. He was glad they were outside. It looked like these men haven't bathed in weeks. He opened his mouth to release a smartelic reply, but paused when the man in front of him suddenly went flying over his head with a startled cry. He blinked in disbelief when he saw one of the reindeer now standing where the man use to be. The reindeer spun around and gouged his horns into another enemy. He looked to find that the reindeer herd had returned and was actually helping him to fight. Even the baby reindeer was stomping on feet, biting legs and other soft body parts. Some of the enemy now laid unconscious on the ground while some actually shrieked like little girls and ran away. He shook his head with a smile, knowing full well that these creatures didn't come back on their own. "That girl. I don't know whether to lecture her about focusing on her own battles or hug her for saving my neck. Perhaps I'll -Achoo- do both -Achoo-. Great. Now I'm getting a cold. Achoo!"

Penguin patted one of the reindeer's necks when it came over and nuzzled his arm. He looked up to the sky and narrowed his eyebrows at the gathering dark gray clouds. "Those weren't there a moment ago."

Neo picked up her speed with her fire attacks. The more Ren swiped at her with her swords the more Neo tried to melt them.

Ren chuckled. "Seriously? Is that all you've got? I expected better from a royal. What's wrong, Princess? Did you get far too comfortable sitting on the throne of Luminous?"

"I've never sat on the throne!" Neo cried back, dodging a sword swipe.

"Oh? Really?" Ren smirked. She swiped her swords at Neo then tried to skewer her with ice shards she shot up from below.

Neo sensed them coming and redirected them at Ren who easily batted them away.

"Now that's interesting. Why don't you tell me about it?"

"Sorry. But that's one story you're never going to hear," Neo replied. She flared up her fire crystals at Ren's sword again.

Ren smirked at Neo's repetitive, predictable nature. The dual element elemental pulled back her melted ice sword. She started to form it back with her crystals, but released a sharp gasp when Neo shot out a spiral vine right at her hand that exploded with fire from a crystal hidden inside the spiral. The surprise attack melted the sword and the elemental's hand.

Neo's stomach turned at the awful smell of burning flesh and body fat. It was like a mixture of beef and fatty pork with sweet, acrid, lingers-in-your-nose type smell that made her wondered if it was going to be something she would eventually forget or if she as stuck with the smell in her mind and nose forever.

"Well, I guess you do have some surprises lock away inside of you," Ren said while examining her burnt skin. "You're not as repetitive as you seem. And I see you've sent some help to your pirate friend." She glanced down at the ground. She frowned when reindeer had finished off her little army.

"Attack my crew as a huge mistake as I've already said," Neo said with a few pants.

"Perhaps." Ren shrugged. She pointed up to the sky with her uninjured hand and smiled. "But I'm still not out of this little game just yet."

Neo glanced up at the sky. Her eyes widened as her stomach and body temperature dropped. Through the pounding of her heart in her ears, she somehow heard Ren asked, "Tell me, Princess, I know you can handle extreme weather conditions since you are who you are, but how well do you think your crew can handle an ice storm beating down on them?"