Departure & Arrival
Punk Hazard
Law sat on the edge of the bed and watched Neo sleep. The sub was filled with an odd, somehow eerie, quietness and stillness. It felt as if the sub itself knew what was about to happen and was also sad at the captain and Neo's departure. In just a few short hours they would finally be departing from their sub, their crew, their home. So many emotions and questions were running through Law's mind. Mostly they hovered around the fact that this was the first time Neo was going to be separated from the protective walls of the sub and crew.
While she would be with him, he knew this was going to be a big adjustment for her. He knew she would be fine, since she would be with him, but it still bothered him. She was so use to having the crew around. So use to having her family around to talk to, to play with, and to do things with. And she was so protected, so sheltered within these walls and with the crew. Now she wouldn't have either of them. It was going to be just the two of them. And the mere thought scared him quite a bit. Anxiety and concern had all his muscles coiled tighter than a snake.
But the moment had arrived nonetheless.
They were leaving today.
Law reached over and stroked Neo's hair, waking her up from her much needed slumber. She had trouble falling asleep last night, even with him rubbing her back. She was worried. How could she not have been? She was worried about leaving her home, her family, about what all would or might happen once they were out at sea by themselves, then with everything dealing with Punk Hazard and Doflamingo. It had taken him over two hours of back rubbing and snuggling to finally get her to fall asleep for him. He almost caved in and gave her something to help her sleep, but decided not to when she finally started drifting off for him.
"Hn." Neo groaned in her sleep and pulled the blanket tighter around her. "I still sleepy."
Law chuckled at her childlike reply. He leaned over and kissed her temple. "Come on, my love. I know you're still sleepy, but it's time to wake up. You can take a nap later if you need it."
Neo cracked her eyes open and looked at Law. A deep sadness settled into her eyes and chest like an anchor. "We're leaving today."
"Yeah. We are." Law brushed the teardrop away with his thumb when it leaked out of the corner of her eye. "Can you get up now?"
"Yeah." Neo nodded somberly. Sighing, she sat up, stretched out her body then followed Law off the bed.
He kissed her forehead before she stepped into the bathroom to get dressed for the day. He watched her disappear into the smaller room. When he pulled his eyes away from the door, they landed on her corner. He walked over to it and looked at her large white bear before looking up at her pictures. She wanted to take every single one of the pictures with her, but didn't want to take the chance they would get damaged, lost, or stolen. So she decided to leave them behind where they would be safe and protected.
With a heavy sigh, Law turned from the corner. He ran his eyes over the room and wondered if they had everything they needed packed to take with them. His mind ticked off the list of things they had to bring with them. Most important was the healing cream for Neo's back and wings. The only place she was going to be able to use her wings was in the room they stayed in on Punk Hazard, as long as they didn't end up sharing a room with other people. He didn't think they would. There shouldn't be anyone, or many people, on the island. He knew there was some. He just didn't know how many or how strong they would be. He figured they shouldn't be all that strong, but he knew to take care, especially with Neo.
While standing there in thought, Neo exited the bathroom. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back with a sigh.
He placed his hand over hers and rubbed his thumb over her skin.
"Are you okay, Law?"
"Yeah," Law replied, a bit too flatly.
"Law," Neo said, voice heavy with doubt.
Law sighed and turned to face her.
She pinched his goatee. "You've been on this sub for years. And you've been with Bepo for ten years. I know you're going to miss them both and your crew. You can't hide that from me."
"I can try." Law smiled.
Neo rolled her eyes, causing him to chuckle.
"Okay. I'll admit it. I'm going to, sort of, miss them."
"I suppose that will have to do," Neo said with a sigh.
He smiled again before he leaned down and kissed her. He then slipped his arm around her shoulders and led her to the galley to have their last- hopefully only for a while -meal with the crew. The two tried to ignore the deafening silence that had settled over the entire sub, but it wasn't really possible. They entered into the galley to find the entire crew was already inside. The crew greeted them with halfhearted greetings.
Neo's heart swelled up with affection as her eyes filled up with tears at seeing Penguin over by the stove and the new cook sitting at the table. The new cook, Basil, winked at her. It was obvious he chose to step back and let her and Penguin cook this meal together. So she walked over to the stove while Law sat down at the table.
Penguin rubbed her back before the two settled into cooking breakfast. Soon the room was filled with grease and sizzling bacon and weak small talk. The atmosphere remained dull and heavy as they ate. Neo was sitting on Law's right with Penguin beside her and Topaz on his other size. Bepo was sitting on Law's left side, trying his hardest not to cry, which he failed. Many times the mink cried dramatically all over his food and even sometimes on Law, begging them not to go. The surgeon, despite showing some outward appearances of annoyance, actually enjoyed the bear hugging and crying over him. Neo did her best not to snicker each time this explosion of emotions happened and kept her husband's secret enjoyment secret.
All too soon they finished eating, Neo and Law gathered up the small amount things they were taking with them then met the crew out on the deck.
Neo paused to take in the world around them. Just off the shores of an uninhabited by people island, she noticed that nature was silent too. It was as if nature itself was reflecting how she was feeling at the moment. The gray clouds above matched their mood perfectly. The sea was still, the wind was still, and the animals were also still, even the sea creatures below weren't as active as they usually were.
Neo sighed at the small wooden ship tethered to their sub. Law decided it would best if they separated from the rest of the crew long before reaching Punk Hazard. He figured it would be best this way for Neo. He was concerned that if the crew went with them all the way Neo would lock them all together with her vines and refuse to let them go. So he commandeered another ship for them to use.
While Law warped their belongings onto the new ship, Neo stared, teary eyed, at their crew. The main fifteen, which went with her to Luminous, were all starting back at her with tears of their own. The newer crewmates looked solemn but held no tears in their eyes. Even Tero was a bit emotional this morning despite him trying to hide it with an annoyed expression. With a sudden bolt of emotion, Neo summoned her earth crystals. She wrapped a vine around the entire crew and pulled them into a huge group hug. "I can't believe I'm leaving my babies! I don't wanna go!"
"We don't want you to go either!" the crew, or most of them, cried.
"It'll be f-fine," Shachi said with sniffles.
"Yeah!" Bepo nodded furiously, dramatic tears streaking his white fur. "Time will pass by quickly! You'll be home before you know it!"
Law flinched at his subordinate's words. Doing his best to hide the feeling from Neo, he knew there was a huge chance they weren't coming back. He, himself, figured this would be the last time they ever saw the crew. But he couldn't let Neo feel that, even though he knew it was a possibility. He wanted her to hold on to the possibility, no matter how slight it might be, that they would return to the crew and the Polar Tang.
"Try not to worry, Neo," Topaz said in a smoothing, motherly way as she rubbed Neo's back. "The crew will be just fine."
"Protect them with your crystals if you have to," Neo said to the fire elemental. "Don't hold back because you're worried about our secrets. Your safety is top priority."
"Yes, my princess." Topaz nodded. "I will use my crystals to protect the crew if the need arises."
"Thank you, Topaz," Neo said, her voice cracking. Warm tears streamed down her cheeks. "Thank you for everything that you've done for me. I know it wasn't easy for you to come with us."
"Think nothing of it, Neo." Topaz tucked Neo's hair behind her ears. "It is my pleasure to serve you. You have become more to me than just my princess. You are my little sister. You always will be."
"And you are my big sister." Neo nodded. More tears streamed down her face as she hugged the elemental. They pulled apart so Neo could move on to the rest of the crew. She ran her eyes over them before narrowing her eyebrows. "You all behave yourselves. You eat all your vegetables and fruits. Do not over do it on the sweets or the alcohol. And do not, I repeat, do not even think about getting into any unnecessary fights. If you do, so help me I'll have Law order you all into the work out of your lives and then have him divide you all up into a million little pieces and leave you all to put yourselves together again. You all go straight to Zou!"
"Don't worry about it, Neo," Shachi said with a chuckle. He ruffled her hair before hugging her. "We promise we won't get into any unnecessary fights. And we'll head straight to Zou."
Neo nodded affirmatively. She ran her tear filled eyes over the crew once more before hugging them all. She thought she hugged them all, but realized one was missing. She roamed her eyes over the deck until she found him. Separated from the crew, leaning against the sub wall with his hat hanging low over his face and his arms and legs crossed, was Penguin. An incredible painful jolt stabbed into her heart.
Law locked his eyes onto Neo when he felt her heart take a sharp jolt. He knew from the beginning this particular goodbye was going to tear her apart. So he sent her comforting thoughts and wrapped his presence around her as much as he could.
Forcing her feet to move, she walked over to him.
This particular goodbye was going to be the hardest. She, after all, had a different connection with Penguin than she did with the rest of the crew, but for Law of course. She had kicked him. Back when she woke up on this sub, completely and totally petrified of everything and everyone one, she kicked him, hard. He was very cautious around her after that for a while, unsure if she was going to do it again. She had spent a lot of time with him since then. He was the main one who taught her how to read, write, and cook. He had become a teacher to her, a best friend, a brother, a confidant and was the very first to notice where her and Law's relationship was going to head. They, without a doubt, had the closest and tightest brother and sister bond amongst the crew. They all knew this separation was going to be the hardest on them.
Once a half a foot separated the two, Neo's voice disappeared. She parted her lips multiple times, but no sound came out. Penguin was having the same exact problem. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. There was so much to say in such a short amount of time. At the same time, they wondered what exactly they could or should say here. Neo's voice cracked as she finally got his name out. "P-Penguin…"
Pushing off the sub wall, Penguin opened his arms a split second just before she dove into them. He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders while placing his right hand on her head, holding her as close as humanly, or elementally, possible. Tears were pouring down Neo's cheeks like waterfalls. Tears were also streaking down Penguin's eyes as they held each other. She clenched the back of his boiler suit and cried some more. Choking out his words, Penguin said, "You'll be fine. We'll be fine. Time will pass quickly. You and the captain will be home before you know it. You're strong now. You can handle anything this mission throws at you."
Still unable to speak, Neo nodded multiple times. Slowly, the two pulled back from each other. Penguin wiped away her tears, but more replaced them. He cupped her cheeks. "Take care of yourself, baby sister. And take good care of the captain. Don't let him get too crazy out there. Okay?"
"Mhmm." Neo nodded. "I…I will. You…you take care too. I'm…going to m-miss you so much."
"I'll miss you too," Penguin said softly.
"Neo," Law called as he walked up to the siblings. Neo glanced over her shoulder at him. His eyes softened and his heart ached from the sadness and tears in her eyes. "It's time to go."
"O-okay." Neo nodded. She turned back to Penguin and cupped his cheek before forcing herself to walk away from him. She walked right into Law's arms. He wrapped his arms around her while she buried her face in his chest and clenched his shirt.
Law looked over his crew. He nodded at them. "Take care, all of you. If you die on her, I'll personally haul your sorry butts out of the grave and kill you."
Soft chuckles passed among the crew. They nodded. "Aye aye, Captain."
Law nodded once more then, knowing Neo wouldn't be coherent enough to fly them, warped them to their new, temporary ship.
Shachi untied the tether and tossed it down to his captain. The crew gathered at the railing to watch as Neo and Law's ship floated off into the distance. Shachi sighed. "Well, that's that. No more time for sulking. We need to set sail ourselves."
"Right," the crew mumbled as they headed inside.
Penguin remained by the railing. He continued to stare out at the horizon where he last saw Neo and Law.
Bepo and Shachi exchanged looks before walking back over to their friend. Shachi placed his hand on Penguin's shoulder. "Hey, you are going to be okay?"
"Yeah." Penguin nodded. "I'll be fine. The first day is always the hardest. And time will pass faster than we think it will."
"It will." Shachi smiled.
"Let's go inside now," Bepo said. "We've got a long trip ahead of us."
Penguin rubbed the back of his arm over his eyes. He then nodded. "Right. We have to head for Zou."
With one last look at the horizon, the three Heart Pirates turned and headed into the sub. Bepo closed the door. All of them were doing their best to ignore how instantly lonely it was in the sub without their captain and their little sister. A big hole was now present in their home and their lives.
…
Neo sighed as she kept her arms around Law's torso and her face buried in his chest. He kept one arm around her, with his hand on her hair, while he steered the helm of the ship in the correct direction. Once he caught the winds in the sail, he let nature do the work for him. He then pulled Neo to the small bench near the helm. With his sword against the wall, he sat down and guided her to his lap, knowing this departure was emotional and she would fall asleep soon. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her hair. "It'll be okay. Today will be the hardest of them all. Tomorrow will be better."
"Mhmm." Neo nodded slowly. "How long will it take us to get to Punk Hazard again? I'm going to go crazy on this ship with nothing to do."
"It should take us about three or four days to reach the general spot that the island is in. Then it's just a matter of time. When we're close enough you should be able to sense the island's conflicting elements," Law explained.
"Right," Neo said. She covered a yawn with her fingers then placed her hand over Law's. She glided her fingers over his skin and his wedding band until she lulled herself into a nap.
Law held her in his lap for a long while before laying her down on the bench, giving her his hat as a pillow, as he attended to the ship to make sure they kept in the correct direction. He knew that would be best. He didn't want her to wake up in this strange ship and he wasn't beside her.
Sometime later, Neo cracked her eyes open to the unfamiliar color and damp wood smell of the new ship. Startled, she gasped and sat up. She relaxed when she felt Law coming closer to her. She looked up to the door just as Law stepped back outside, bring the smell of fried fish with him. "I'm sorry, love. I meant to be out here when you woke up."
"It's okay. I just got startled a bit," Neo replied. She rubbed the remaining sleep out of her eyes before grabbing his hat and standing up. "I think I was having a weird dream. Something about Bepo being half fish, like a mermaid, and was seriously conflicted about eating the fish he was having for lunch. He was a crying mess. The poor thing."
Law chuckled at the mental image that provided for him. "Well, the fish I'm cooking might have had an influence on your dream."
"You cooked fish?" Neo asked. She then looked up at the sun. The large yellow ball was hanging low in the sky just a few feet above the horizon. "Did I really sleep the whole day away? I don't usually nap that long."
"This time things were a bit different. You didn't get much sleep last night," Law said. He held out his hand for her. She slid her hand in his and followed him inside. The smells of the grilled fish was stronger once inside. It made her mouth water and her stomach rumble.
"I guess you're right," Neo sighed. Law pulled out one of the chairs for her. She sat down and placed Law's hat on the table while he took the chair beside her on her left. She glanced over their meal, fried fish and rice balls. The main meal Law knew how to cook. He knew how to cook other stuff, but that was his specialty and preferred option when he did cook. "It was very sweet of you to cook for us. You could have just woken me up. I didn't mean to sleep that late and leave you all alone."
"Don't worry about it." Law leaned over and pecked her lips. "You needed to sleep. I didn't mind cooking at all. And I got some fishing done. I haven't done that in quite a while."
"Well, thank you very much, my husband. I love the rare times you cook," Neo said with a smile.
"You're very welcome." Law kissed her again before they picked up their forks and started eating.
Halfway through, Neo glanced around the small galley. It held a small cabinet for their small supply of food, a stove, a fridge, the table and four chairs. Her mind began to go over how small this place was. There was no way her crew would have been able to fit inside of this place. The galley of this ship wasn't even half the size of the Polar Tang's galley. Jean Bart wouldn't have been able to even get inside the door either. She didn't notice the tears running down her cheeks until the back of Law's hand brushed against her skin. She looked at him and placed her hand over his.
"It's okay. It'll be okay."
"I already miss them so much," Neo whispered. "It hurts. I have this strong, strange feeling inside of me. What is it? What's wrong with me?"
"You're just homesick," Law said, feeling what she was feeling. He should have known right away that she would be instantly homesick with how attached she was to the Polar Tang and crew. He tugged on her hand. "Come here."
Letting go of her fork, she stood up and moved onto Law's lap. He kissed her forehead when she laid her head on his shoulder. He pulled her plate closer to them and fed her and himself as she leaned into and breathed in his familiar scent to help calm her down.
Once their dinner was completed, the two of them headed back outside for a while. Standing at the helm, Law looked around in a desperate attempt to find something to distract her with. There was a tiny library inside of the ship, but the majority of the books were scientific ones. Even if she could understand all of the scientific terms inside of them, he knew she was too upset to read. She needed something else to do, something more distracting with physical and mental interaction.
Just then a pod of sixteen orca whales breached the ocean surface. Law smiled. Animals and sea creatures would be a great distraction for her. And they would always be around them unlike books and the crew. He looked down at her. "Why don't you go play with the whales?"
"Hm?" Neo blinked up at him.
"It'll take your mind off how lonely you feel without the crew," Law explained.
"I guess so." Neo nodded somberly. She looked out at a large, black and white whale that was spy hopping out of the water. "What are they doing?"
"I believe that what's called spy hopping. They're breaching the water so they can see what's going on. They're probably inspecting our ship or you," Law replied.
"Huh…they are curious," Neo said. The whale clicked and chirped before falling back into the water. "No way!"
"What is it?" Law questioned.
"They said some others who feel like I do passed by here a couple weeks ago!" Neo reported. Her eyes were shining from that information. A small smile had spread across her lips. "I wonder who they were. Do you think they're friendly? Maybe some elementals who travel with my godfather since we're in the New World?"
"It's a possibility. Red Hair Shanks did say that elementals occasionally travel with him," Law said, glad she was feeling better even if only lasted a short while. "You going to go play?"
"Yes." Neo nodded. "You think it's for the best. Plus, I want to ask them if they can tell me more about the elementals that came through here. Do you think we'll see them?"
"It's always a possibility, especially if they sense you're nearby." Law carefully looked around their surroundings. No islands, or ships, were insight, but he knew that didn't mean a thing. They could be just out of their sight. Or, if any elementals were nearby, they could be hiding even thought Neo could sense them. He narrowed his eyebrows and wondered if they were friendly or not.
"Relax, Law. There are no elementals nearby," Neo said. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "If I ever sense some near, I'll return immediately to the ship."
"You're such a good girl." Law smirked. Summoning and then lifting herself up with her wind crystals, she pecked his lips then flew out to the whales. He crossed his arms over the railing of the ship to watch her play with the whales for a while.
Neo flew down to the one whale that spy hopped out of the water. The whale rolled over onto its side and wiggled its flipper at her. She giggled. The whale clicked in surprise at her bell filled giggle. "Yeah, I have bells in my laughter. Does it bother you?"
The whale shook its head back and forth.
"That's good. Can you tell me more about the others you said felt like me? What type of elemental they were? You can sense I hold all the elements within me and my crystals, right?"
More whales gathered around her as the one she was talking to told her about the others. It told her all four of them were of the wind and that they seemed friendly enough when they played with them. "Well, that's good. They might be friendly to me then as well. It too bad they already left."
Just then a baby whale, with three small white patches above his left eye, rose out of the water and bumped into her. Neo giggled and wrapped her arms around the baby. "You want to play? All right then. We have some time before the sun goes down. Let's play."
Neo dove into the water. The whales followed her. Clicking and singing happily as they all glided along in the salty water. Using her water crystals, Neo formed fresh water around her eyes so the salt of the ocean didn't sting her orbs. This also gave her a clearer picture of the underwater life around her. Different, colorful types of fish, and other sea creatures, swam by, some occasionally stopping to inspect the elemental before hurrying back to their school or back into their holes they came out of. She stroked the fish, whales, a couple dolphins that came up, inspected the ocean plant life and reefs while underwater. She even located a clam that willingly gave her its shiny pearl that was nestled in its mouth. She thanked the creature and pocketed the little gem before turning her attention back to her whale friends.
Occasionally, Neo would grab onto one of the whale's dorsal fin and let the whale pull her along until she needed air. Instead of rising to the surface for her much needed air, Neo used her wind crystals to create an air bubble around her head. She filled her lungs before speaking. "There. Now I can breath underwater."
The baby whale came back beside her. He clicked a few times. "Oh, you're right. I better tell Law what I'm doing so he doesn't worry when I don't surface."
'Law?'
'Yes?'
'I've created an air bubble around my head so I won't be surfacing much for air.'
'Okay then. That makes sense. You can spend more time underwater that way. But don't spend too much time down there. The sun's going to set soon.'
'I know. I won't be much longer. I think the whales are about ready to leave too. I'll be back soon.'
Soon the time for them to depart from each other had come. She patted and stroked every single one of the whales before heading for the surface. The second she flew into the air, she used her wind and fire crystals to dry herself off then landed on the deck where Law was waiting for her with a smile. She went right to him. Wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. "That was great. Thanks for suggesting it. It helped."
"I'm glad it did," Law replied, stroking her hair. "And I get the feeling you're going to sleep very well tonight."
"Probably." Neo giggled. "I did swim a lot. And I'm now hungry. I'm going to grow a couple apples. You want some?"
"That would be nice." Law nodded. He then guided her back over to the bench they shared earlier. The two sat down. Neo grew them four apples each despite both of them only eating two at the moment. They then settled into guiding the ship along and watching the stars until it was time to go to bed.
The next three days went about the same for Neo and Law. Law would spend the majority of his time making sure the ship was heading in the right direction of Punk Hazard while Neo would play in the ocean with whatever sea life she could call up to her. Every once in a while she could be able to call in some birds to play with as well. And, of course, Law would distract her a lot with kisses and other intimate activities to which both highly enjoyed.
Soon, but not fast enough for Neo, the time for them to arrive on Punk Hazard was drawing insanely close. All Neo had to do now was locate the volatile island. Standing beside Law at the helm of the ship, Neo closed her eyes. She relaxed her mind and body and began to search out for the element divided island. She glided her mind along the ocean currents, occasionally asking a sea creature about the island if she felt like she wasn't looking in the right place. Suddenly, the conflicting powers of the ice and fire island slammed into her and Law's mind like a giant wave crashing onto an unexpected beach. She cried out and severed her connection to the island.
Law caught her when she went stumbling backwards. Worry filled his voice as he called to her. "Neo?! What was that?"
Neo didn't answer him right away. She kept her eyes clenched shut tightly until her solar crystal appeared beside her. She grabbed a hold of his shirt when she felt his anxiety rise from the appearance of her solar crystal. "I'm fine, Law. I just found Punk Hazard, that's all."
Law cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry, Neo. I didn't think you'd have a reaction to the island like this. I thought it would be more like on Sabaody."
"It's fine, Law." Neo peaked through her right eye. She smiled lightly when she saw his concerned face. "I didn't think much of this either. I too thought it would be like Sabaody's mangrove trees."
"What happened? What was that we felt?" Law asked as he helped her straighten back up on her feet as the solar crystal finished with its job and vanished. "It almost felt like we were in a battle of some kind."
"I'm not really sure. While the fire, ice, and snow are a part of nature it just has a very different feeling to it. It might have something to do with it being produced by devil fruits." Neo rubbed her chin in thought. "I always get a weird feeling coming from a zoan type devil fruit user. They're inter-species, different, but united from the powers of the fruit. Despite the devil fruits coming from nature there's still just something unnatural about them. Like humans were never meant to be animals and there's an oddly silent battle going on inside of them that the user doesn't even notice." Dropping her arms to her sides, she sighed. "Or I could just be imagining things. I don't know. I'm not smart like you. I have no idea why this affected me like it did. The island is natural, but also unnatural. I wish I could figure out how to explain it."
"You are smart, my love. Don't ever thing you're not." Law kissed her forehead. "And I understand what you mean. There might not be a real explanation as to why devil fruit users affect us in the way that they do. At least, there won't be an explanation without experimenting with them both."
"I just hope no one finds out about all of this and decides to turn me into a science experiment." Just as Neo spoke those words, an icy chill ran down both her and Law's spines. Their eyes, flooded with worry, locked onto each other. They were getting ready to land on an island with a brilliant, yet insane, scientist who wouldn't hesitate to do just that. "You…you don't think that…"
"If he does, it'll be the last thing he ever does," Law replied with light glinting into his eyes. "Besides, you can handle him just find. He's only a gasman and a scientist. He's not a fighter. You can easily blow him away with your winds."
Neo nodded, but felt a bit insecure. She tucked herself into Law's chest and arms. Feeling her insecurity, he wrapped his arms around her and held her comfortably tight to him.
"I've never thought about it before, and I don't want to alarm you now, but what do you think would happen if I, or another elemental, ate a devil fruit?" Neo called on her wind crystals to support him and held on tighter to Law when she felt his knees buckle. She cupped his face and grew concerned at the pale, petrified look on his face. Brushing her thumb over his cheek, she asked, "Law? Law, what is it? You're scaring me."
"Hn." Law flinched at her words. He quickly pushed away his fears. He wrapped his arms back and her and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry, Neo. It's just…I honestly never thought about it before either. You're nature and the devil fruits hold powers of nature. They say you'll die if you eat two devil fruits. That's said because of the price of greed, but the devil fruits might not know you haven't eaten one."
"So you think I'll die if I eat a devil fruit?!" Neo's voice raised in alarm.
"Shh." Law stroked her hair more. He tilted her lips to him and kissed them. "I didn't mean to scare you. I don't think it would do anything to you. It shouldn't since you don't have devil fruit powers. But, still, I want you to avoid any suspicious looking fruit. And if you are unsure about fruit in general, don't eat any unless you create it. Do you understand me?"
Neo nodded. "But what if someone tries to trick me into eat one? Like they hid it in something?"
"I don't think anyone would do that since they could easily, accidentally, eat the devil fruit themselves. Devil fruits are typically easy to spot with their odd shapes and swirl patterns. Just be extremely careful from now on, especially since we're going to be on an island with a crazy scientist." Law twirled a strain of her hair with narrowed eyebrows. His eyes locked onto her eyes as his mind wandering through this new information. He also wondered why they never thought of it before. With a sigh, he brought the strain of hair up to his lips and kissed it. "While I prefer you to stick with me every second while we're on this island, I know that's not possible. But I do want you to stick with me for the first couple of weeks. I want to make sure you get good and secure in this place and learn how everyone acts there before you go wandering off on your own. Do you understand me, Neo? Or am I going to have to order you to stay by my side?"
"No, my love. Ordering me to stay by your side isn't necessary. You know I'll do it until I'm comfortable enough to go off on my own. I might not ever go off on my own at Punk Hazard considering everything," Neo said, adding the last sentence thoughtfully.
Law chuckled before kissing her forehead. "You'll wander off after a while. We both know you will. You're going to get bored while I'm busy with other things."
"Oh? So you're going to let me wander on my own?" Neo smirked at him. "I thought I wasn't allow off the sub without an escort."
"Don't you dare get smart with me." Law smiled, tugging her closer to him. "You're not going off the sub without anyone. I'll still be with you. Besides, you won't wander outside of my Room range. We both know that to be a fact. You'll stay close enough for me to easily warp to you in case of danger."
"So true." Neo pulled him down into an intense kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he slid his hand around her thighs then lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist to stabilize herself while intensifying their kiss.
"Hm, Neo?" Law hummed through their locked lips.
"Mhmm?" Neo hummed back without breaking their kiss.
"As much as I'd love to keep doing this, especially when it can lead us back to bed, we really need to get to Punk Hazard," Law mumbled into their kiss. With a sigh, Neo pulled back from the kiss, sucking on his bottom lip before releasing him. She pouted at him. He pecked her lips with a chuckle. "Come on. We can continue this later."
"Fine." With another sigh, Neo unwrapped herself from him. She summoned her wind crystals and filled their sails. Law grabbed the helm as she pointed northwest. "It's that way, my husband."
Law turned the sail in the direction they needed to go. With Neo's control over the wind they easily reached the island within minutes. The closer they got the more Law watched her and felt out her feelings carefully as she adjusted to the conflicting elements of the island as they glided along the icy side. He relaxed when she began to adjust to the way it felt. She chuckled. He glanced at her. "What's so funny?"
"Those icebergs are unnaturally placed," Neo said pointing at one of the tall, naturally sculpted ice forms before them. She wrapped her arms around herself when a cold breeze blew over them. "I suppose they never imagine someone like me would exist and could easily notice that. So, how are we going in? I can easily move them. Or are we flying or warping in? Think we'll need this ship later at some point?"
"Hm." Law glanced over the icebergs. "There should be at least a ship or two here, but it might be best if we went ahead and took this one with us. We always have your abilities as back up if we need to fly or escape on the back of sea creatures."
"Right. I'll move the icebergs then." Neo nodded.
"Wait. Let's get our coats on first. And you need your boots too. It's getting far too cold out here. And I don't want you using up all your magic to keep warm," Law said, passing the control of the ship to her while he headed inside to get their gear. A minute later Law emerged with them. He handed one to her and they slipped them on. He chuckled while she snarled her nose at the collars and whimpered at having to wear shoes again. "Let's go now."
"Okay." Forcing her attention away from the neck covering collars and her confined feet, she started to move the icebergs just enough so their small ship could slip passed them. Another few minutes later a large, snow-covered structure and the mountains came into their view. Law slid his hand into hers when he felt her starting to tremble. She clenched her hand around his and stepped closer to him. Soon the ship bumped against the island and there was absolutely no chance of turning back.
This was it. They had finally landed on Punk Hazard.
Neo winced at the opposing elements fury. "Geez."
"You're wincing? Are you all right?" Law asked, even though he was feeling it too. "It's the island again, isn't it? I know it's uncomfortable."
"Yes. It just feels like the battle between Akainu and Aokiji is still going on," Neo replied. She squeezed his hand when he started to grow concerned. "I'm fine. I just need to adjust a little more, that's all. I'll be use to this in just a few more minutes."
"All right then." Law nodded. He stepped away from her to grab his sword, which was propped up against the wall by the bench. He then walked back over to her. He ran his eyes over her and searched her feelings. She, of course, was nervous, but would be just fine as long as she was with him. "Let's go now."
Neo summoned her wind crystals and flew them off the ship. Once on the island, Law carefully searched her feelings again to make sure the island wasn't hurting her in any kind of way. "I'm fine, Law. You can feel that. Now, stop worrying so much and let's just get this over with."
With another nod, Law led the way to the large structure in front of them. The crunching of their boots on the snow was soon drowned out by the howling winds. She shivered and smacked Law's arm when she felt him internally gloated over how he was right about the coats. "You hush up! You don't have to gloat about it!"
"Sorry." Law grinned.
"Yeah. Sure you are." Neo poked him in the ribs before digging into the left pocket of her coat. She pulled out her black gloves and slipped them on. She glanced over the yellow jolly rogers and spots decorating the left upper arm and around the bottom of their coats. "Well, at the very least we match in these things. It's very cute that you had them customized like this."
Law growled as his cheeks turned pink. Cute definitely was not what he was going for when having them customized. Neo giggled at his reaction then calmed herself down once they reached the front door of the structure. They climbed the stairs and paused at the large doors before them. They shared another glance and kiss. He asked, "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Neo replied, trying her best to calm her nerves. Law nodded before hesitantly reaching for and pressing the buzzer that was mounted on the door. A couple minutes later, the heavy door creaked open, revealing a man sitting in a strange floating device. His dark eyes widened, his mouth fell open, his face turned white in recognition of the two pirates standing before him.
"Y-y-you're," the man stuttered. "Y-y-you're T-T-T-Trafalgar Law! Warlord of the sea! And T-T-T-Trafalgar Neo! Heart of the Elements!"
"Correct," Law said with a smirk. "And we are here to speak with Caesar Clown. Where is he?"
"Uh…" The man blinked multiple times, the color slowly coming back to his face.
"Hey. What's going on over there?" another voice asked from inside the building. He came over, revealing himself to be in the same floating device as the first guy. He too had the same reaction as the man who opened the door. "Trafalgar Law?! Trafalgar Neo?! What the heck are you two doing here?!"
More men gathered in the same floating devices, with the same shocked expressions as the first two. Their panicked voices faded off from Neo's ears as she entered into a private conversation with Law.
'Law, what's wrong with them? Why are they in those things?'
'It looks like they can't walk. There used to be people living on this island before the explosion happened and everything died on the island, remember? Or people thought every living thing died. But that clearly isn't the case. Caesar must have found them, saved them in his own twisted way, and is now using them as guards or something.'
Tired of these strange men's reaction to their arrival, Law decided to try and move things along. He frowned at the men. "Well? Are you going to let us in and take us to Caesar? Or do we have to force our way inside?"
"Oh, well," one of them said. "Come on in. We'll have to inform the master of your arrival. It'll take a couple minutes. Just come in and wait here by the door."
The two Heart Pirates then stepped inside the building. Neo's heartbeat increased a little with each step. Her eyes quickly roamed over their surroundings of the grayish blue multi-floored, rounded room. More men in the floating device gathered around their level and on the level above them. Their shocked whispers spun around the air as her eyes darted around the room in a faster pace, her chest growing heavy. She then started mumbling. Her breathing becoming labored with each word she spoke. "There's so many. How many are there? This place is so huge, so sturdy. I can still get out of here, right? The door is right behind us. Is that the only way out of here? It's so enclosed. I don't like this. I don't like it here."
Law looked at her when he felt her starting to spiral out of control. 'Neo, you're fine. Just breath.'
"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just breath. I'm breathing," Neo mumbled. She took a deep breath. Before she could let it out, the loud click of the door closing and the sounds of locks clicking made her jump. Her heart rate shot up. She spun around to the closed door, the unfamiliar looking door, and panicked even more. "No! Don't shut that! Let me out of here!"
"Huh?" The man who opened the door, and closed it, blinked in confusion at Neo's outburst.
"Let me out of here!" Neo cried out as she lunged for the door. Law hooked his sword free arm around her waist. She subconsciously grabbed on to him, keeping her eyes locked on the door, her escape route. "No! Let me go!"
"Neo, calm down. You're safe. I'm right here," Law whispered in her ear. He made sure to wrap his feelings and arm around her tightly. "Deep breaths. Just take some slow deep breaths."
"I…I can't. I…I can't breathe," Neo gasped. "Law, help me. I need out of here."
"Neo, I order you to breathe. Take several long, deep breaths," Law said. Instantly, she took in several deep breaths. Her heartbeat slow down with each one. "That's my girl. You are safe here. You are not locked inside. You are not trapped. You can leave through that door at anytime you please. And, if necessary, I can warp you outside easily. You know that."
"I know that," Neo replied with a slow nod. A few more deep breaths, she finally pulled her eyes from the door and looked at Law. "I know that. I'm safe. I'm with you. They can't hurt me. I'm not hurt. I'm not trapped."
"That's right." Law nodded.
Neo nodded back then pressed her forehead to his chest.
"Is she all right?" a man asked.
"She's fine." Law hissed and glared at the man. The man flinched and backed away from the two Heart Pirates. Carefully, he scanned his eyes over the rest of the men in the room to see if they were going to dare speak to them again. All the men flinched when he looked at them then floated off. He rubbed her back. "It's all right, Neo. They're gone."
"I'm sorry. This place is just so huge and obviously build for strength," Neo said, lifting off his chest. "I've never been in a place like this before. I feel so trapped and helpless."
"You're not. Just keep telling yourself that. You're not trapped. You can leave this building at any time you want." Law tucked her hair behind her ear then brushed his thumb over her cheek. "At any point, if you want to go back outside, I'll warp you out of here. Okay?"
"Okay." Neo nodded.
Law searched her feelings. He felt her stabilizing again, but asked about it anyway. "Are you stable now?"
"Yes." Neo nodded. She narrowed her eyebrows in thought. "At least enough to continue with this."
…
"Master! Master!" one of the men cried as he floated into Caesar's laboratory. The scientist was hovering by his experiment table, watching a pink liquid bubble in a beaker.
"What is it?" Caesar, in his gas form, turned from his experiment to face his subordinate.
"Trafalgar Law and Trafalgar Neo have just arrived!" the man shouted. "They're requesting to see you!"
"What? What the heck does a warlord of the sea want with me?" Caesar asked suspiciously. "And…wait…isn't Neo that woman who using crystals to preform her attacks and call upon the elements?"
"Yes, Master. I do believe that's the one. The woman who married Trafalgar Law," the man replied.
"Ah, yes. She's also the one that's caused quite a stir amongst the navy. Many have questioned her. I have as well. I have wondered what kind of woman, and devil fruit user, she really is," Caesar said as he shifted in place.
"Shall I show them in?" the man asked.
Caesar laughed. "Yes. By all means, show them in. I want to see them immediately. Bring them to my lab right now."
"Yes, Master! Right away!" The man nodded then quickly left the room.
Caesar laughed again. "Incredible. I finally get a chance to see this woman for myself. I'll finally be able to see if the newspapers are true."
Caesar flew over to a filing cabinet and opened it up. He pulled out several papers and scattered them over his experiment table. He glanced over the articles. High lightened on the pages were all the similarities reported on Neo. "Looks like a child, hesitates, won't kill, only aggressive when one of her crewmates has been hurt, unfamiliar devil fruit, has an inhuman feel about her…all right then. Let's see what kind of woman you really are, Trafalgar Neo."
