Life on Punk Hazard
Part Three
"LAW!" Caesar shrieked.
Law stopped walking. He turned back to the mad scientist, annoyed at being bothered. "What do you want?"
"Do you know what that woman of yours has been doing?!" Caesar demanded as he stomped up to the warlord. He got right in Law's face when the pirate didn't reply. "She's costing me a ton of money! She's ordering countless amounts of food practically every single day! I'm not a bank! And this place isn't a restaurant!"
"So? We have to eat, don't we?" Law asked in his normal tone, but inside he was beaming. Anything they could do to annoy this crazy scientist really made his day. And since Neo started working occasionally in the kitchen, she had increased the quality of the food and that, in turn, increased the amount of food they all were eating. Then, of course, there were the children. Neo had been making a lot of treats for them, but she was making a lot of healthy ones more than sugary ones. She didn't want to make the kids sick and didn't want them to gain a lot of weight either.
"That's not the point! She's spoiling not only my men but also the children!" Caesar hissed. "Do your job as her husband! Rein her in! She's completely out of control!"
"She's not spoiling the children," Law replied. "If she was, she'd be constantly giving them sweets. And she's not. She's being extra careful and mindful of their diets. Besides, my love can do as she pleases. This isn't hurting the kids. In fact, they seem to be a lot happier now."
Caesar opened his mouth to object, but he really didn't have anything to say. The kids were indeed a lot happier since Neo started playing with them and making them treats.
"Well, since you have nothing else to say," Law said. He turned and walked away from the scientist.
"That pirate," Caesar grumbled. He turned in the opposite direction of Law and started back down the hall. "While he might be correct in saying she's not spoiling the kids, it's clear that he is spoiling her. Those two. They make me sick. Nothing about them makes any sense. He's well know for his cruel nature when dealing with enemies, but she's completely opposite of him. How in the world did they become such a close, sickeningly sweet couple?"
He continued to float down the hall when a thought struck him. He glanced back over his shoulder in the direction he just came from. "Law is heading away from Neo right now. He usually goes outside this time of day. And Neo is usually playing with the kids around this time before going back to Law or their room. This might be my chance to finally take the woman."
Caesar flinched when the memory of Law telling him what one of his subordinates tried to do. He grumbled, "That jerk. He didn't have to kill him. A simple warning would have been enough. But then…he did warn me to not let anyone touch her. And it would be rather stupid to try something with her after that little incident."
Caesar hummed in thought while rubbing his chin. "But on the other hand…I do have Law's heart. If he does anything to hurt me, I can easily crush it. Plus, I have the option of drugging the woman. If I do drug the woman and take her to another part of the labs I can easily tell Law that she's just out for a walk. Or maybe it would be best to do some bloodless experiments. I can't afford to lose another man. Getting Law angry will not be a good thing whether I have his heart or not."
Caesar smiled and rubbed his hands together in excited anticipation. "This will actually be easier than I thought. Law will be gone for at least an hour. That's plenty of time to drug her and do a few experiments on her. And if I get some of her blood, I can do countless experiments. I could accidentally cause gas to pour into the hall. She'll be leaving the Biscuits Room soon."
Caesar shifted into his gas form and flew off down the hall towards his private lab so he could get the gas he was going to be using.
…
"Weeeeee!" The kids cried out happily as Neo glided them through the air with her winds. Neo was sitting cross-legged on the floor with Lin's head resting on her left thigh. While she half watched the kids flying around, she was using her earth crystals to string together flower crowns for the girls and vine crowns for the boys. She chose small white daisies for the girls' crowns and thornless vines for the boys. Some of the boys had asked her to put thorns on them, but she refused. She didn't want any of them to get hurt.
"You're amazing, Neo!" Lin exclaimed as she watched in awe at the other kids flying around the room. "How can you fly the kids while making crowns at the same time?"
"I use to not be able to do thing simultaneously," Neo replied twisting a couple more vines together.
"Simul-what?" Lin asked.
"Simultaneously means at the same time," Neo explained. Funny. Usually I'm the one being told what something means. It's nice to be able to help kids understand something. I wonder if Penguin felt this joy when he taught me how to…her thoughts trailed off at the thought of her best friend and brother. She didn't notice she had started crying until Lin's small hand placed itself on her cheek.
"Are you sad, Neo?" Lin asked. "You're crying."
The other kids stopped their joyful cries and looked towards Neo and Lin with worried expressions. Neo quickly brushed her tears away. Smiling, she said, "I'm fine. I was just missing my brother, that's all."
"I have two brothers!" a child exclaimed. "How many do you have?"
"Well, biologically, I'm an only child. But my parents adopted a boy when I wasn't even born yet. And I also see my crew as my family. So I have twenty brothers and two sisters."
"Wow!" the kids cried. "That's a lot of brothers and sisters."
"It is." Neo nodded. She finished twisting the vine crown she was working on and flew it onto Doran's head.
"Wow! Thank you, Neo!" Doran smiled.
"You're welcome." Neo returned the smile. The brightness of her smile faded when she felt Monet coming towards the room. Sure enough, a few seconds later the green haired, bird woman stepped into the room.
"You're very good with the children, Lady Law," Monet said.
Neo sighed internally at the woman calling her Lady Law. She didn't mind Caesar's men calling her that, but it did bug her when Monet said it. She wasn't even really sure why the men started calling her that. It just happened one day after Law had given them their animal legs. She preferred it that way for some reason. It felt like she could put some distance between the men and herself when they called her that instead of using her name.
"Miss Monet!" the children cried.
"Yes. Hello, children." Monet crossed her wings and smiled. "I see you all are having fun with our temporary guest."
Neo flinched at the bird woman's words.
Monet smiled when she saw Neo's bangs fall over her eyes. She turned to the kids. "It's time for your testing now, children."
"Okay!" the children cried. "We'll see you later, Neo!"
"Yeah." Neo waved to them while putting on the best smile she possibly could. She looked down when Lin didn't move from her side. "Is something wrong, Lin?"
"No. It's just." Lin paused. She tilted her head and blinked a couple times at Neo. "You just looked upset for a moment."
"I'm not. Don't worry about me," Neo replied. She patted Lin's hair, avoiding hitting the flower crown. "You run along now. I'll see you all later. Okay?"
"Okay." Lin nodded. She then hugged Neo and ran off to join the other kids.
"You really are good with the kids, Lady Law," Monet repeated. "So when are you and Law going to have a little bundle of joy of your own?"
"We're not," Neo replied flatly. She stood up and narrowed her eyebrows at the woman. "We're pirates. Having a child would only put the kid in danger of being mistreated. You should know that."
"Yes. That does make sense," Monet replied. Her green eyes dropped down to Neo's stomach. A strange smile curled upon the green haired woman's lips. "However, it is a shame. I can imagine you as a mother quite easily with how you are with the children here. I'm sure Law would love to see you carrying his child as well. But then, I don't know him like you do. He might not like kids at all."
Neo twitched. Something felt hidden behind the bird woman's smile, something dangerous, something secretive. It was like Monet had a secret that was about her, but Neo didn't even know what it was herself. In a compulsive move that came out of nowhere, her hands shot up to her stomach. She took a step back from the woman at the same time five of each of her element crystals appeared in front of her. The crystals pulsed with their elements. Her eyes shot to her crystals, eyebrows kneaded in confusion.
"Oh my. I didn't mean to upset you," Monet said. Her smile faded as her eyebrows rose upon her forehead. "There's no need to for you to go on the offensive."
"I did-" Neo started, but cut herself off. I didn't summon my crystals. They came out on their own. But why? Why would they come out on their own? I know they've done that before to protect me. Does that mean I'm in danger here? Is Monet more of a threat than I think she is? I don't really feel threatened by her. Angry, yes, but not threatened.
"Well, I'll give you my apologies. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sure if you and Law could have children then you would have. If you say it's because of your chosen lifestyle then it can't be helped. I'm sure if there was something wrong with you, internally, he would know about it. He is a doctor after all," Monet said.
Anger flared up in Neo's chest at the woman's words.
Monet smiled in satisfaction and left the room.
"That woman!" Neo growled as she left the Biscuits Room.
'Neo? Why are you so angry?'
'It's Monet! She said something really stupid. She accused me of having something wrong inside of me since we're not having kids! Why would she even say something like that?! It doesn't make sense!' Neo stomped hard as she walked down the halls.
'Calm down, love. She was just trying to provoke you.'
'And she succeeded! I don't know why it bothers me so much. I know we agreed, together, it was best not to have a child. It's just, when she said that…I don't know why, but it just got me really upset. Maybe I'm just tired.' Neo paused her stomping. She ran her right hand through her hair before pinching the bridge of her nose. 'I shouldn't have gotten upset. Nothing like that has upset me before. I only, mostly, get angry when you or the crew is threatened. What's wrong with me?'
'Nothings wrong with you, love. This is really just the first time you've dealt with a woman outside of the elementals. Monet is different from them. Plus, you're still adjusting to this place. You're upset because of that. And you do feel a bit exhausted. Did you sleep last night? You never woke me up.'
'I did sleep. Maybe I just didn't rest properly.' Neo sighed to herself. She dropped her hand from her face and tapped her fingers on her coat-covered thigh.
'Why don't you go lay down for a while and see if you can take a nap?'
'I suppose that wouldn't hurt. Though I'd prefer it if you were there with me.' Neo smiled. Her heart fluttered at the thought of curling up with Law to take a nap together.
'I know you'll love that. And I'll join you soon. Okay?'
'Okay. I guess I'll just have to make do with your shirt until you come back to the room.' Neo's bottom lip pouched out in a pout. She smiled when she hear Law chuckle at her pouting.
'Go on back to the room. I'll be there in a little while and I'll join you in your nap.'
'Okey dokey!' Neo cheered happily. Once their conversation broke off, she continued on her way to the room. Her smile kept growing at the prospect of Law returning to the room soon to sleep with her. She was so happy that she skipped down the hall when suddenly the hallway swung in front of her. She stumbled, bracing herself against the wall. The hallway started to spin. "What happened?"
'Neo, what happened?'
"I don't know," Neo said. "I just got dizzy all of a sudden."
'Do I need to come to you?'
"No." Neo closed her eyes and drew in a breath. "I think I'm fine."
…
Caesar watched his screen carefully. He noted his gas made Neo dizzy and scribbled that down in his notebook. "Very interesting. The gas so far seems to affect her the same as anyone else. I wonder how she's feeling. I should go ask her a few questions."
Leaving his notebook behind so he didn't arouse suspicions, he rushed from the room to get to Neo before the gas wore off.
…
Neo drew in another breath. Opening her eyes she found the room still swaying and spinning. "I think I'm going to be sick."
'I'm coming back.'
"That might be a good idea. This isn't normal," Neo said.
"Neo! There you are!" Caesar said. "I'm sorry to inform you but there was a bit of an accident!"
"What you talking about, Caesar?" Neo panted. Law's alarm rose in her. 'He said there was an accident.'
'Keep talking to stay awake. I don't want to give him the chance to experiment on you.'
'I'll do what I can.'
"A small explosion happened in one of the labs," Caesar said. "Some knock out gas got sucked into the ventilation system. How are you feeling? Any other symptoms?"
"An accidentally explosion of knock out gas?" Neo said so Law could hear her. "I see."
'Accident? I find that hard to believe.'
"The effect should wear off soon," Caesar said. "But do tell me what all you're experiencing. If the effects are too much for you I can give you something for it."
"No, that's okay," Neo said. "I'm just dizzy. As I said, I'm going to go back to the room and lie down."
"I couldn't let you do that," Caesar said. "You're a guest here. And this was my fault. I should have been more careful with my experiment. Allow me to help you."
"No," Neo said. "Really. I'm fine. I don't need any help." She pushed off the wall. Taking a few steps until her head spun, causing her to gag. She dropped to the floor. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"You feel sick, you say?" Caesar asked.
Neo looked up at him. Through her distorted vision she thought she saw him smile. 'Law, I don't think this was an accident.'
'I've already figured that. If it were Caesar would have sent out a warning. I'm back in the building.'
"Is there any other symptoms? How is your vision? I know you're dizzy, but is there anything else? Are you seeing clearly? Or are you seeing things?" Caesar said.
"Just leave me alone," Neo said summoning her crystals. At least I'm still connected to my magic. Maybe the dose was low enough I didn't get disconnected from it.
"Ah, I see you can still use your powers," Caesar said. "That's good. It should mean you've only inhaled a small dose of the gas. I tried to clear it out as much as I could. You shouldn't be breathing in anymore."
"Lucky me," Neo said.
"Let me help you to my lab," Caesar said. "I should monitor your vitals to make sure there's nothing else going on."
"No," Neo said. "I'm fine."
"It's no trouble," Caesar said reaching for her. "Besides this was my fault."
Neo looked up at him. Her heart raced at the blurry sight of Caesar's hand coming for her. Suddenly, Law's presence was right beside her.
"Don't touch her." Law held his sword to Caesar's neck.
"Law." Caesar frowned. "So good of you to come. There was a little accident. Neo breathed in some gas. I was going to take her to my lab and help her."
"Don't bother," Law said. "I'll take care of her from here."
"Yes." Caesar forced a smile. "Of course. It was a small dose of knockout gas so it should be gone soon."
Law put up his sword then picked Neo up, she laid her head on his shoulder, and warped into the room. His anger still burning like a raging wildfire. He laid Neo down on the bed and pulled out his sword again. For the first time ever, he was grateful that she had forced him to get over his fear of using his powers on her. He held up his hand. "Room."
Slicing his sword over her, he divided her up and drained the gas Caesar used on her. Once finished, he sheathed his sword, sat down beside her, and waited to see what would happen. It shouldn't be long before he got his answer, but without knowing exactly what Caesar used on her, he wasn't sure what kind of side effect this was going to have on her. It was proven, though he didn't know it at the time, when he tried to put her back to sleep the first time she woke up on his sub that human medicines can act differently on her. She can fight them. But this one she couldn't since Caesar was easily able to give it to her. Pressing his fingers to her wrist he checked her pulse. It was a little high. "Neo?"
"I'm all right." Neo eyes cracked open and sighed. She groaned and pressed her fingertips to her forehead. A huge wave of relief washed over Law. The removal of the gas was a success. Her mind was starting to clear more. Leaning over her, he gently pulled back her eyelids to check her eyes. "Just relax, love. The dizziness we feel should pass shortly. I don't feel as sick as I did either."
"That's good." Law nodded. A frown tugged at the corner of his lips. "If I could have killed him, I would have. But there was no actual proof that he did this on purpose."
"So, I'll live then, Doctor Heartthrob?" Neo smirked.
"Since you're humor is still in tact, I'd say you're going to survive," Law replied. He took her hand and helped her sit up.
"And here I thought I'd be completely bored while living here on Punk Hazard," Neo then said. She chuckled. "Never crossed my mind I'd have to deal with an attempted rape and becoming a guinea pig for an insane scientist."
Law chuckled lightly. He was glad she was having a good-natured attitude about all of this. He was worried it would damage her a bit, but she's been fine. He's carefully monitored her, through their bond, since the attempted rape and never wandered very far from her. And it was a good thing to. If he had wandered farther from her today then Caesar would have…anger build up in his chest again.
"Law." Neo cupped his cheek, pulling his eyes to hers. "I'm okay. We knew this was bound to happen at some point. But we can handle it. You were close enough. And Caesar didn't do anything, other than gas me, which you took care of. He wouldn't have learned anything from this thing anyway. It's over. Don't dwell on this anymore."
"Right." Law nodded. He placed his hand over hers and kissed her.
…
Hovering herself in the air, Neo hummed cheerfully as she rounded out Snowman Bepo's ears with her gloved hands. She flew back from the group of her snowmen crew to inspect them. Rotating her head this way and that, and even turning upside down, she looking them over and over. This was her fifteenth group of snowmen she's made of the crew. And this one had to be her favorite of them all. She shaped all of them wearing bikinis. She busted up laughing when real images of the crew wearing bikinis popped into her head. She wrapped her arms around her now aching sides and continued to laugh, grateful no one was around to hear her bells, until she sensed Law coming closer to her.
She snickered when the idea to ambush him with snowballs popped in her head. Quickly, she hid the thought from him so he wouldn't be able to tell what she was doing. Using her winds, she scooped up some snow and rounded it into several balls. She then moved the snowballs and her crystals up in their air where Law wouldn't notice them then went back to smoothing out her snowmen crew. Soon the crunching of Law's footsteps was right behind her. She tossed him a smile from over her shoulder. "Hey, Law."
Law glanced over the snowmen crew wearing bikinis. His eyes were slightly widened with amusement. A smirked pulled at the corner of his lips. "I'm never going to be able to get this image out of my head. But I've got to admit, they don't look half bad."
"So can I order them to wear bikinis when we get back?" Neo asked innocently.
"Uh, no," Law replied. He gestured to the snowmen. "This is funny. Actually seeing the crew in bikinis, minus the two women, would be mentally scarring. Even for me."
"Hm? I think it would be funny to see them in bikinis," Neo said thoughtfully.
"Anyway, let's go back inside. You've been out here all day." Law ran his eyes over her. Her nose and her ears were red from the cold weather. "You're clearly cold. Come on."
"Aw, Law. I don't want to go back inside yet," Neo said with a bit of a whine in her tone. She rotated herself in the air and hung upside down once again. Crossing her arms, she pouted. "I want to make more snowmen crewmates."
"Another day, Neo," Law replied. He tapped his sword on his shoulder. "You've been out here long enough for today. Let's go now."
Law turned and took two steps before a couple snowballs hit his back. He turned and raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
Still hovering upside down, she blinked innocently at him and shrugged. "What?"
"Neo," Law warned. Pulling down two more snowballs, she pelted him with them. He held up his hand. "Room."
"Eek!" Neo took off into the sky, but wasn't quick enough.
"Shambles." Law twisted his hand and Neo popped in front of him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to his body. "Do you seriously want to get me annoyed?"
"I could never annoy you. You love me far too much," Neo cooed. She wrapped her arms around his torso. Resting her head on his shoulder, she fluttered her eyelashes innocently at him before pelting his back with ten snowballs.
"You're going to pay for that," Law said, loosening his hold on her.
"Sure I am," Neo replied with a bright smile. She brought her wind crystals and remaining snowballs back down to her. She fired them at Law.
Law chuckled and easily averted them back to her. "Tact!"
And she easily gathered them back up in her winds. She hummed while hovering both herself and the snowballs in the air. "I don't think either of us will win a snowball fight this way."
"Then let's change that." Law jammed his sword into the snow. Bending down, he scooped up a handful of snow and sculpted it into a ball. "No powers. This is going to be a normal snowball fight between us."
"Hm." Neo hummed. She lowered herself to the ground, dropping the majority of snowballs on the ground while taking two in her hands. "A regular snowball fight then with no powers for either of us? I'm not sure that's even a fair fight. You're still superior to be when it comes to physical strength and stami-"
Before she could finish, Law hit her on the chest with a snowball. She wrinkled her nose at him. He smirked, tossing another made snowball up and down in his hand. "What? You started this, my love. And, now, you are going to finish what you started."
"Fine. But I expect hot chocolate and snuggles after this is over," Neo said. Law agreed to that with his loyal promise as always. She tossed a snowball at him. He easily caught it and tossed it, and the one he made, back at her. She dodged one of them, but the second one hit her shoulder. "Oh! You're going to get it now!"
Law chuckled as she rounded out a snowball and threw it at him. For a little over two hours, Neo and Law threw snowballs at each other. They pelted each other on their legs, arms, chests, and a couple accidentally in the face before their tired bodies screamed at them that they had enough. So they headed back inside for some promised hot chocolate and snuggles.
Walking to the kitchen, Neo rubbed her hands on her arms. "Geez! It's so cold out there! I think the temperature just plummeted."
"Well, I did tell you to come inside," Law replied. He shot her a smirk. "You're the one who was being disobedient."
Neo huffed at him in a very childlike way that made Law cock his head curiously. "You didn't order me back inside. So I wasn't being disobedient. Besides, it's not like you said no to our snowball fight."
"I suppose you're correct," Law replied as they rounded into the kitchen. He just watched as she gathered up their supplies. She grabbed two mugs and the hot chocolate mix before heading back out of the kitchen with him. Walking back down the hall to the room, they passed a couple of Caesar's men. Law carefully watched them and took a step closer to Neo.
The men shivered. Neo glanced at them then peaked at Law. Caesar's men had been a bit more distant since Law killed that one guy weeks ago, but they remained friendly. However, they didn't seem to know what Caesar had tried to do to her. All she knew for sure was Caesar had warned his men to not try anything funny with her while she and Law were here. Law suggested that perhaps Caesar just didn't want his men to know since they looked up to the scientist.
"Good evening, Law, Lady Law," the men greeted.
"Evening," Neo replied as Law just bobbed his head lightly. The men went back to chatting with each other while the Heart Pirates continued on to the room. Once inside, Neo sat the supplies down on the table and shed her coat. Tossing it on the back of the couch while kicking out of her boots, she complained about them and the weather. "I'm really starting to hate coats as much as I hate shoes. I think I like warmer weather better than cold. Cold is nice for some things like snowball fights, but I miss my short sleeves, shorts, my Amazon outfits...my bikini."
Law's cheeks tinted pink in remembrance of that bikini incident. He growled, making Neo smile, while taking off his coat for the night. He slipped a shirt on then sat down on the couch. Neo then said, "I should have brought it with me."
Law's pink cheeks burned red. Wide eyed, he shot his eyes to her. "Absolutely not! For starters, there are far too many other men around here."
"Oh, I would just wear it in the room," Neo said while calling out her wings and poured the chocolate into their mugs. She flapped and flickered them several times as she made their hot chocolate. Summoning her water crystals, she heated the water up to the right temperature then filled their mugs with the water. She spun the water until it was all good and mixed with the chocolate. "Just like I do with my wings."
"And it's far too cold here for that, even with your crystals since you're limited here," Law said. He gave her a pointed look. "I won't have you getting sick. You're already spending far too much time outside as it is."
"Oh, you worry too much," Neo said, banishing her wings. She picked up their mugs and joined him on the couch. She pulled her feet upon the couch and tucked herself into his side while he took his mug in one hand and wrapped his arm around her. Tears gathered in her eyes. "I just miss the crew. Making snowmen of them helps some, especially since I can't be around the kids all the time."
"I know it does." Law kissed her temple. "Don't cry. We won't be here for much longer."
She frowned at him. "You said that months ago."
"I guess I did," Law said with a light chuckle. "But I promise we won't be here forever. It won't be long before we take the next step in our plans."
Neo sighed and took a sip of her steaming hot chocolate. She summoned a couple fire crystals and lit them up for a makeshift fireplace. With a shared smile, they snuggled into each other and just enjoyed the moment. Several minutes of snuggles, kisses and sipping hot chocolate later, Law asked, "Are you warmed up now?"
"Some," Neo replied, her eyes shining.
"Well, I suppose I'll just have to do something about that to get you warmed back up," Law said. He took their mugs and placed them down on the table. Neo expected him to lean back up and kiss her, but that's not what he did. Holding up his hand, he formed his Room. "Room. Shambles."
Neo blinked when she found herself in bed, under the covers, and without her clothes. Law stood up and walked over to the bed. He climbed onto it and hovered over her. She glared, playfully, up at him and summoned her earth crystals off to the sides so he couldn't see them. "What the…Law! That's cheating!"
Law scoffed. "Says the one who's using her earth crystals to undo my pants and wrapping them around my-Hn. Geez, Neo. You are sure being extremely playful today."
Neo giggled at the pleasure she caused in him as she continued to slowly wrap and unwrap her vine around him. "If you didn't want me to do such things, then you shouldn't have taught me such things."
Law leaned down with a smirk and nipped at her neck. "If I didn't want you to do such things, then I wouldn't have taught you such things."
"Then you won't mind me doing this," Neo said as she used her vines to undress him. He fumbled for a condom while she lifted him and the cover up with her winds. He slid the condom on then slid into her, purposefully hitting her sweet spot, making her groan this time in pleasure. "Oh, geez, sweet revenge."
"You started it, my playful lover. I'm just returning the favor in kind," Law mumbled through several kisses.
"You know," Neo said through their kisses. "We really should go get something to eat after this."
"Oh?" Law asked while placing kissed all over her face and neck.
"It's odd we're both having a serious craving for your favorite right no-hn." Neo rolled her head back with a groan when he hit both her soft spots above and below her waist. She knocked his hat off his head and dug her hands into his hair before tugging on a lock, singling him to kiss her again. He brought his lips back to hers and plunged his tongue in and out of her mouth for a minute before answering her.
"True. But I'm craving you more," Law said with his lips still touching hers. "So stop talking. And that's an order."
"Fine." Neo wrapped her arms around his neck and shoved her tongue into his dark cavern.
A while later, the two finally crawled out of bed, got dressed and slipped out into the hallway. A wave of silence met them once out of their room. Neo said, "I guess everyone's already in bed."
"Well, it is after ten," Law pointed out. He took her hand and led her down the hall. They remained quiet until they reached the kitchen. That's when Neo giggled all of a sudden. "What's so funny?"
"I'm not sure, but I feel like we're two teenagers sneaking out of their houses to meet up with each other to preform naughty things," Neo said as she pulled out Penguin's ribbon and tied her hair back.
"I suppose it does feel like that." Law's eyebrows raised on his hatless head. He then smirked at her. "But we already did the naughty thing."
"Oh, hush!" Neo's cheeks dusted with pink while she shoved his shoulder. She then walked over to the fridge and opened the freezer part of it.
"It's going to take a while to thaw that," Law said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Not with my powers," Neo said. "Don't tell me you forgot about them."
"No. Just seeing if you were paying attention," Law said. He nibbled at her neck. Neo rolled her eyes. While she worked on their meal, he worked on her neck, effectively distracting her to the point of almost burning their fish. He chuckled when she tried to swat him away. "Think of this as training. Kissing while cooking."
"That won't work considering how much I love your kisses. You completely short out my brain when you-" Neo growled when he pressed his lips roughly against hers, not letting her finish her sentence. After a minute of intense kissing, she was able to slip from his hold. She took off into the air, turning upside down as she stuck her tongue out at him before flipping back up right. "Let me finish this. Then we can eat and kiss until your little missing heart is content."
"Fine." Law crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. "I'll behave for a while."
"Good boy," Neo said, lowering herself back down to the stove. While he didn't touch her, he did start sending her very suggestive thoughts that made her blush. Trying to ignore them, she finally got their meal finished and sat it out on a table.
Law sat down and pulled her into his lap. He kissed her cheek. "Thank you for making this."
"Thank you for finally letting me," Neo said with a smirk. Law chuckled before they settled into eat. Before he could pick up his fork, she grabbed it and speared a piece of fish. "Open up."
"Well, isn't this my lucky night," Law said taking the fish in his mouth. He chewed it, swallowed, and then continued talking as Neo took a bite herself. "Wonderful lovemaking then my wonderful wife not only cooks my favorite meal, in the middle of the night, but also feeds me."
"You deserve it," Neo said before pecking his lips. She then proceeded to feed both of them while occasionally stealing kisses from him before they headed back to the room to go to bed.
While being pampered by his love, Law's eyes couldn't help but wander over to her hair. It was still pulled back in Penguin's ribbon. It struck him as odd she was still wearing it. He then recalled she had been wearing the ribbon more often in the past month or so. He tried to shove it aside with the thought she only was wearing it because she was missing the crew. Penguin was one of her best friends after all. He knew wearing the ribbon brought her some comfort. But there was still a small tingle in the back of his mind that wouldn't leave him be on how odd it was for her to wear her hair back for hours whether she missed the crew or not.
…
Neo whimpered in her sleep. She curled more into herself as her once peaceful dream slipped into a nightmare.
"What's going on?" Neo asked as she watched strange, black shadow like figures battling each other. She looked around, but couldn't figure out where she was. Other dark images looked to her like they were trees and buildings, but she wasn't sure. The only thing she was sure of was the battle since she could hear the sounds of it. The shadows were shouting, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Weapons were bashing together, but she couldn't see what kind they were.
"Master!" Bepo's voice cried out.
"Huh?" Neo shot her eyes to the crew when they came running into the middle of the fight. She rushed towards them, calling out to them. "Bepo? Shachi? Penguin? Topaz? Everyone! You're here! But what's going on?"
"Huh?" She gasped when they passed by her and through her. She turned to watch them dive right into the battle of strange shadows. "No! What's going on?! Why are you fighting?! Who's fighting?! Where are we?!"
Neo looked up when she felt and heard something flying through the air. A strange explosion happened followed by a strange cloud that washed out over the battling figures, on Bepo. Bepo gasped and grabbed his throat before crashing to the ground. She cried out and ran over to him. "No! Bepo!"
Dropping to her knees, she tried to touch him, but her hand went right through his body. She tried several more times to grab him, but her hand just kept passing through him. "What the?"
A couple shadow figures then appeared hovering over her. She looked up and gasped as they raised their hands over their heads. Though she couldn't see them, she knew they were holding weapons. Weapons that were going to kill her crew, her family. Tears streamed down her face as she summoned to her crystals. She fired all her attacks at the shadows, but they just passed right through them. "No! Stop it! Leave them alone!"
"No! Stop!" Neo shrieked as she bolted up in bed. She grabbed her head and continued shouting. "Stop! Don't kill them! Stop it!"
Law bolt up, quickly turning on the lamp that they acquired shortly after arriving here, and grabbed her shoulders. He quickly noticed she wasn't fully awake yet. "Neo? Neo, wake up. It's just a bad dream. Come on now. Neo, I order you to wake up!"
Neo snapped completely awake then. Panting hard with sweat rolling down her forehead and the back of her neck, she looked around the room before her eyes landed on Law. "Law…they're in trouble. The crew is in trouble."
"The crew's just fine," Law said after searching her thoughts on what the nightmare was about. "It was just a nightmare."
"No!" Neo insisted, tears streaking her face. "It wasn't! It was real! They are in trouble! We have to go to them! Law, please, we have to go back to the crew! Now!"
Law drew in a breath and slowly let it out. He tucked her hair behind her ears then pulled her into his chest. Stroking her hair, he said, "Shh. It's okay, love. They're okay. It's just a bad dream."
"Law," Neo's voice squeaked. She pulled back from him just enough to look into his eyes. "No…it wasn't. It was real. It was just like when I dreamed about the darkness crystal and the wave. That nightmare came true. It was also like when I started dreaming about my godfather."
Law's heart skipped a beat. It was true. Some of Neo's dreams and nightmares had come true before. And if this nightmare felt to her just like those did, then the crew either was in trouble or they were going to be soon. He tightened his hold on her, stroking her hair tenderly with one hand while rubbing his other hand over her back. "It'll be okay, my love. Try not to let this nightmare get to you. Remember, they're strong. And they are on Zou. The minks will protect them. I promise they are just fine. They're not going to get hurt. They'll be waiting for you just like they planned. Okay? They're fine."
"I hope so," Neo whispered. She tucked her eyes into Law's throat, breathing in his scent while he wrapped himself around her physically, mentally, and through their bond. "I really hope so."
…
Law sighed when his shared upset stomach with Neo's suddenly felt better. Without asking, he knew what had happened. She had retched up everything she had in her stomach. 'Neo, are you all right?'
'No.' Law sighed again when her reply came to him, telling him she was very upset. 'I want you with me.'
'I know. I'm coming.' Law picked up his pace, but didn't break into a run or warp to her. He just rushed to her since he was almost there anyway. Once to the room, he quickly pushed the door open and entered. His heart sank when he saw her curled up on the couch. She had pulled herself into a tight ball and was weaving Penguin's ribbon through her fingers with tears running down her cheeks. He rushed over to her. Propping his sword up on the couch before lifting her up and sitting down with her in his lap, she laid her head on his shoulder. "You're really missing the crew, aren't you?"
"Uh huh. I'm worried about them. That nightmare just won't leave my mind," Neo said with a sniffle. She turned her teary eyes up to him, breaking his heart. Her spearmint covered breath washing over his nose as she spoke. "Law, I want to go home."
"I know you do," Law replied.
"Then take me home! We're not doing anything here! So let's just leave!" Neo snapped. She lifted off his shoulder and glared at him. Law's eyebrows raised in surprised. It wasn't like her to snap at him like that. When she realized what she had done, her own eyebrows knitted in confusion then in an apology. She rubbed her hand over her forehead. "Oh, geez. I'm so sorry, Law. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just…I don't know. I'm just not feeling like myself right now. I'm upset. I'm homesick. I'm missing the crew like crazy. I'm so, so sorry."
"It's fine." Law said.
"No, it's not fine. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," Neo insisted.
"Neo, love, it really is fine. We've been here for months. It's natural that you're upset and just want to go home. Being away from what you're familiar with for so long was bound to take it's told on you at some point. You're not use to it after all," Law explained. He pressed his lips to her forehead, finding her rather warm. "You're very warm. You really haven't been feeling good all day too."
"I'm getting sick? Is that why I'm so snappy?" Neo asked, laying her head back down on his shoulder with a tired sigh.
"It probably is. Constantly playing outside in the snow, crossing between the boarders of the ice and fire sides of this island didn't help things either. You were bound to get sick at some point," Law said with a kiss to her forehead.
"I'm a bit sleepy," Neo said. She then covered a yawn and snuggled closer into him.
"Then you should sleep," Law said as she started to drift off.
"Will you…stay with me?" Neo asked, just before falling asleep.
"Of course I will," Law whispered softly to her sleeping form. He tightened his hold on her, pressing his cheek to her forehead and relaxed as she slept.
…
Neo smiled happily as she flew around the room, in nothing but her underwear and bra. The room wasn't big enough to really put on some speed during the times she let her wings out to exercise them, but it kept them from hurting. She flipped her feet over her head, hanging upside down as she stared down at Law. He had been sitting on the couch for over two hours now reading a book he acquired from somewhere within the labs. Since they didn't have anything to do, and it was a very boring day, the two decided to stay in the room unless they were needed.
She floated closer to him and dropped down in front of him, while remaining upside down. She blinked rapidly when he didn't notice her. She bit her bottom lip to stifle a giggle. She rose back up in the air and moved behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Law, put that book down and play with me."
She huffed in annoyance when he did nothing but grunt at her in response. Pouching out her lips until she got a different idea to gain his attention. Banishing her wings, since they would get in the way for this, she summoned her wind crystals. She then flew herself under his arms and nestled herself in his lap before taking his ear in her teeth. She nibbled, sucked, and licked his left ear until she finally gained his attention. He asked, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to entertain myself," Neo replied. "I'm bored."
"You could fly around the room," Law suggested.
"I just did that," Neo replied.
"Then read a book," Law said.
"I've already read the books you had shipped in thirty times," Neo said with a pout. She looked at the book he was holding. It was a scientific book. The labs were filled with them. She wrinkled her nose at the book that he was holding. The only other books that were on the island were books for the kids. And she's already read those multiple times for herself and for the kids. "I don't understand the majority of the words in those science books. And you don't have time to explain them all to me. So put it down and play with me."
Law just grunted at her again. She frowned at his lack of attention towards hers. Then a thought crossed her mind. If he wasn't going to listen to her words, maybe he'd listen to her actions. Smiling, she summoned an earth crystal and formed a thin vine from it. She then unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. It was easy since he, for once, didn't have his coat on at the moment. He raised an eyebrow at her when she wound and unwound the vine around him repetitively trying to arouse him.
"Play. With. Me," Neo said pointedly. She summoned another vine and pulled the book from his hands then tossed it across the room without care.
"Well, that is tempting considering you're trying your hardest to arouse me," Law said as his eyes dropped down to her half naked body. His eyebrow rose on his forehead at her black lingerie. His heart rate sped up a bit at her partially exposed bosom. "And considering you're only wearing your underwear." He paused then added, "Why are you only wearing your underwear?"
"I dunno." Neo looked down at herself then back up at Law. She cocked her head to the side. "I feel like it? So are you going to play with me or not?"
"Fine," Law said quickly before snatching her and laying her down on the couch. He smirked down at her as he hovered over her. "But, remember, you asked for it."
"Then give it to me. Now!" Neo demanded playfully.
"As you wish, my half naked lover," Law murmured in her ear, making her shutter. He went right to the soft spot on her neck, instantly gaining a moan from her. He sucked on that spot until he knew a beautiful love bite would show up there in a few minutes before kissing his way down to her covered breasts. He lapped his tongue between her confined bosoms before snaking his hand behind her back and skillfully unclasping her bra one handed. He earned several moans of his name when he took her in his mouth and started playing with her a bit more than she expected. "Remember you asked for this."
"Shut up," Neo managed to say through her moans. His hands trailed down her curves until his fingers curled around the straps of her underwear. Just as he started to slide the thin fabric over her beautiful hips, a loud, panicked knock came on the door.
"Law! Lady Law!" one of Caesar's men cried.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Neo hissed quietly. "We've been in here all day and now they need us?! Can we just pretend we're not here?!"
"I don't think that's going to work with how loud you were moaning," Law said with a smirk as he pulled her underwear back up over her hips.
"You caused it!" Neo said as her cheeks flushed.
"You asked for it!" Law shot back.
Neo opened her mouth to object, but couldn't. He was right. She put them in this position. She crossed her arms over her bare chest and pouted.
He chuckled at her expression before pushing off the couch. He walked closer to the door, but didn't open it. "What is it?"
"We have trouble!" the man said. "Some crazy samurai guy is slicing all of our men up into pieces! We can't handle him!"
"I'll be right there," Law replied.
"Hurry!" the man said before running off.
"Samurai?" Neo asked while pulled her clothes on.
"Warriors who typically carry around long swords and some wear their hair in topknots," Law explained while pulling on his coat.
Neo thought about his words as they rushed out of their room. Once outside, she tilted her head at the scene before them. There was a tall, black haired man in a kimono with a long sword, slicing up Caesar's men.
"Where is my son?!" the samurai cried as he pulled back his sword to slice again. Neo summoned her wind crystals and pulled Caesar's men out of the samurai's reach. The man blinked in confusion when his prey was no longer there. "Hm?"
"Thank you! Thank you so much, Lady Law!" the men cried, literally, as they thanked her.
"Hurry up and get back inside," Neo said. "We'll handle this."
"Right!" The men nodded and scurried back inside the labs.
"I know not who you are, wench," the samurai said. He pointed his sword at Neo and Law. "But I do not fight women. Out of my way! I am here to get my son back!"
"His son?" Neo blinked. "Why would…is he talking about one of the kids here? Is one of them his son?"
"Doesn't matter. He's seen far too much. Room," Law said. He swiped his sword multiple times at the samurai, dividing him up into three pieces. "Shambles."
"What?! What manor of sorcery is this?!" the samurai demanded.
"Sorcery?" Neo whispered. "Does he know I have magic?"
'I doubt it. Some cultures see devil fruit users as sorcery users.' Law said, switching to their bond. 'Come on. Let's take care of this guy.'
'What are we going to do with him? You're clearly not going to kill him.' Neo's eyebrows rose when Law shared his plan to her. 'I suppose that will work. Seems a bit extreme though.'
Neo summoned her winds again and lifted them all into the air. The samurai cried, "The wench has sorcery as well! This is hardly a fair fight!"
Law growled. 'I'm going to change mind on not killing him if he doesn't stop calling you a wench.'
Neo giggled. While flying, she dropped the man's torso in the snow before heading over to the burning side of the island and dropping his bottom half there. She then took herself, Law, and the samurai's head to the cells. She flinched when she noticed the man was carefully inspecting her. They landed outside of the cells and walked inside.
"What are you, wench?" the samurai asked. "I have never felt such a strange sensation of not being human from anyone I have ever met."
"Room!" Law held out his hand and formed his Room once more. He then pulled out his sword and sliced the samurai's head into multiple pieces.
"What have you done to me?!" the samurai demanded.
"Consider that a warning to never call her a wench again," Law hissed. He sheathed his sword, slipped his arm around Neo's waist, and guided her out of the cell.
"Well, that was interesting," Neo said as they walked away from the cells once Law closed the door.
"It's getting annoying. How many people are going to show up here?" Law grumbled. "This island is supposed to be hard to find. People seem to have no trouble finding it."
"There haven't been that many people. It's just been that one small family that was lost and now this samurai guy," Neo said. She wrapped her arms around his. "At least now we can go back to the room and finish what we started. The day's task is done. We are free from them. No one else is going to show up here."
"It clearly can happen again since some people have already been here," Law said. "Plus, other members of the government and navy know of this place. One of them could show up at any point."
"I suppose you're right," Neo replied thoughtfully. "But that wouldn't really matter. You can easily scare off any one of those bums. You're far stronger and smarter than all of them."
"Glad to know you have such confidence in me," Law said with a chuckle.
"Well, I do. You are strong," Neo insisted. "And you're even stronger with me by your side. If I were to ever let loose completely, you know no one would be able to stop us."
"True." Law pecked her hair.
Neo smiled at him. "So you can relax now, my love. Who could possibly show up here that would actually cause us problems?"
