Vergo
Part Four
Neo panted as her solar crystal washed its glow over her. She looked at Vergo and Smoker then over at Law. She carefully took in Law and how tired his body was. He was just as, if not more, tired as she was. 'Law, give me a minute and I'll heal you some more.'
'No, don't worry about me. Heal yourself for now.' Law thought to her. He lifted up his head and looked over at her. 'I'm fine. But you feel like you're getting a fever.'
'I might be.' Neo thought about how heavy her body was feeling and how warm her forehead was now that she wasn't fighting. 'For once I'd be willing to take a nap.'
'I'd join you. Maybe once this is over we can do just that.' Law laid his head back on the floor and returned his eyes to Vergo.
'Oh, by the way, the lab's on fire.'
'I figured as much. Some of the Straw Hats brought in the little dragon in to the lab when I opened the shuttered before for them, the soldiers and some of Caesar's men that were trapped outside the lab. It's sedative must have worn off. That would be the only reason its attacking.'
'So that's why it felt like floating fire. I forgot I couldn't sense the dragons here. I'm healing fine so I should be able to absorb the fire if it gets too far out of control. Right now, it's not causing problems so I'm going to let it burn.'
'That's fine. As long as we can get out of here, I'd prefer this place to burn to the ground.' When Law felt her nod in acceptance to his words, they both turned their attention back to the oncoming battle at hand.
"What is this place? Is very disturbing," Smoker said as he looked around.
"That's none of your business," Vergo replied, turning more towards the intruder.
"Hey, Vergo! Why are you looking away?!" Law called out. "I'm not done with you yet."
Neo's heart skipped a beat when Vergo turned back to Law. Her eyes widened when he took out Law's heart and squeezed it. Both screamed out in pain. Neo curled more into herself. She struggled to keep her solar crystal's glow down low. She gritted her teeth and hissed.
"I'll take care of you two later. I'm sure Joker would love to hear my theory on how I believe you two are bonded to the point that if one of you died then the other would die. He might even want to test that theory himself. For now, you two just shut up and think about how you're going to grovel to me and to Joker," Vergo said.
'Law, please. Don't provoke him anymore.' Neo's pants increase as the pain in her chest subsided.
'Sorry. I won't do it again. Despite how much it aggravates me, I'll let Smoker handle Vergo from this point on. He should be able to get my heart back easily now that you've worn him down.'
'I'm sorry I couldn't get it back. I should have been able to grab it.'
'Don't worry about it. He was too much on guard. You did more than enough.' Law sent her a smile through their bond. She nodded in response and forced herself to relax.
"Vergo!" Smoke said, calling the man's attention back to him. "I don't want the troops to learn about you and your involvement in this. They admire you like a father. It's a serious breach of their trust. I just can't believe that you're Joker's dog. It's sickening."
"It's far too late for that. I ran into them a little while ago," Vergo replied.
"What did you do to them?!" Smoker demanded as he pulled out his jitte and charged towards Vergo.
"I don't remember," Vergo replied. He raised his haki infused bamboo staff to block Smoker's attack.
'Neo, I want you to remain calm, but I need you to know that Joker, most likely, is listening in on everything that happened here between us and Vergo.'
Neo's eyes widened. Her heartbeat increased and a cold wave washed through her body. 'But…then he knows everything that Vergo suggested about us!'
'Calm down. It's fine. Joker would have come to the same conclusion. I just want you to be prepared for when we go to Dressrosa. Joker will probably try and use this against us, mostly you since you're not use to how he works, in some way or another.'
'Geez. This day just keeps getting better and better.' Neo huffed. Her pants were finally subsiding.
"You're getting all heated up, Smoker," Vergo said. He pushed Smoker away from him. "Don't tell me you are actually worried about those navy misfits. I'm the base commander. I can do whatever I wish to my good-for-nothing subordinates. Plus, you're going to have to die here anyway since you've learned who I am."
A vein popped out on Smoker's forehead before Vergo moved in front of him. Vergo held up his bamboo staff to his mouth. He blew into it, firing a bullet at Smoker. Smoker, using his smoke, appeared behind Vergo and took a swing at him with his jitte. Vergo bent backwards to avoid the hit then kicked and swung at Smoker with his staff. Smoker formed a smoke twister and voided the hits before slipping in front of Vergo and landing a punch on his nose, sending the base commander flying across the room. Vergo hit the railing, smashing it in, and then fell to the floor before picking himself up.
"Even if you've known them for a long time and even if you are the base commander, which I don't acknowledge now, once we're out of the base, a unit commander is responsible for the troops' life. Don't lay a hand on my men!" Smoker shouted.
'Law, I really hate having to leave the rescue of your heart to this soldier-Uh!'
'What's wrong, Neo?' Law glanced back over to her.
'The fire's just caused one of the tankers to explode. And…and the gas from outside is leaking into the B building!' Neo thought to Law as Vergo and Smoker traded haki infused punches, kicks and hits at each other. She pulled her focus from the battle and concentrated on the fire within the laboratory. She summoned a few of her fire crystals to those spots and started absorbing the fire into them. 'I can bring the fire under control, but with as low as my magic is at the moment, I can't completely get rid of it yet.'
'That'll be fine. Just do what you can.'
"My armament haki far surpasses your ability with it," Vergo said. "You should know that it's completely useless to fight against me. Are you really going to try and take revenge on their deaths? Those soldiers were useless."
Neo turned her eyes back to the fight. She studied Smoker. It was obvious he was wearing down. She narrowed her eyebrows and frowned. She really didn't like the idea of leaving Law's heart into the hands of a marine, especially a vice admiral. But she knew she didn't have a choice. Despite Vergo's attention being on Smoker, she knew he was still keeping an eye on her and Law. Her eyes lowered to Vergo's pocket where Law's heart was. She wondered if she could possible summon an earth crystal close enough to pull the heart out of his pocket. Her thoughts of attempting that were halted when Smoker released a series of punches at Vergo. She watched as his fist extended in smoker form and tried to land a punch on Vergo. She gritted her teeth when Vergo started using his shave technique. She wouldn't be able to even try if she couldn't keep her eyes on the man, even if she could sense Law's heart in his pocket. Finally, Smoker landed another blow on Vergo.
"Don't mess with the navy!" Smoker hissed.
"I didn't know you cared so much about those men," Vergo said, after picking himself up off the ground. He cracked his neck a few times before staring Smoker down.
Neo's eyes remained on Smoker. She felt a smile twitching on her lips, but wasn't quite sure why.
'And why are you suddenly so smiley about?' Law asked her.
'I'm not sure. I guess I've just never really been around the navy before, in this type of way. Smoker's just…he just seems so loyal to his men.' Neo pushed herself up into a sitting position.
'Don't you dare get attached to him!' Law frowned. Jealousy vibrated through his chest and mind.
'Don't worry, Law. I'm not. I'm just a bit surprised I guess. He really doesn't seem like the type of man that would get so attached to his soldiers. I…I think I just obtained some respect for him because of that.'
'Fine. Just as long as you don't become attached to him.' Law grumbled, his jealousy slowly leaving his body. Neo giggled at him and his jealousy. 'Is there anything else you want to inform me about?'
'Yeah. Monet's going a bit crazy in the Biscuit Room and Chopper, for some reason, is quite upset. I don't think it's anything too serious but…'
'They'll be fine. Monet's not that strong at all. And since they all were trying to help the kids, the Straw Hats and the navy should be gathering in that room at some point.'
'I guess so. But if something happens I'm going to go help them. That is, as soon as we get your heart back from Vergo.' Neo glanced towards the door.
'You're too protective at times.'
"You're one to talk.' Neo shot Law a smirk through their bond.
'Vergo is finished. You'll see.'
"Mocha!" Neo gasped when Chopper's painful cries pounded into her head. She grabbed her ears and fell back to the floor. Tears streaked down her cheeks.
'Neo?! What is it?! What happened?!' Law's heart raced when panic when Neo suddenly collapsed, both their heads throbbing in pain. 'What is this pain?'
'I…I think something happened to Mocha. This is Chopper's angst we're feeling.' Neo clenched her fists. She hated how useless she felt in the moment. But there was nothing she could do for either of them as long as Vergo still had Law's heart. She looked at the battle before her.
Law, now sitting up and leaning against the rail, glanced over at her. He hated how she felt so useless, but he also knew there was nothing either of them could do for anyone at the moment. He turned his attention to the battle. "Smoker…"
Smoker was going back on the attack. He punched the ground, cracking it, and sending up a puff of smoke before charging at Vergo. He threw a punch at Vergo, who blocked it with a punch of his own. He hissed, "Vergo! How dare you mess with the navy?!"
"This fight is pointless. You're too weak. You can't beat me," Vergo replied. The two locked into another battle of their haki. Smoker tried his 'White Blow' attack but Vergo just grabbed his smoke arm and landed a vicious punch to the vice admiral's face. Smoker's body flew back and crashed into the railing. "You keep on fighting me because I betrayed the navy?"
"I just want to settle this! I have to finish you off with my own hands!" Smoker declared as he stood back up. "Vergo the Pirate!"
"Your haki isn't good enough to defeat me. Why do you refuse to see that?" Vergo asked, once again locking into a haki infused battle of punches and kicks from each other. Smoker landed a punch on Vergo's face, but the man used his haki to stop it. He asked, "Are you don't yet, Smoker?"
Neo's stomach lurched when Vergo landed a vicious series of punches to Smoker's stomach that sent him flying across the room and crumbled against the broke railing. She forced herself to look away from the battle and took several deep breaths. She felt Law's eyes and concerns on her as she tried to get her body under control. 'I'm fine. Just a little nausea.'
'Because of the battle?'
'No. You know battles don't make me nausea. It's just the combination of everything.'
'I suppose so. You still feel a little feverish.' Law pushed himself to his feet. 'Sorry about this, Neo, but I have to provoke Vergo again.'
Neo groaned. 'You are so going to pay for this later. I'm adding another fifty baths to your promise for giving Caesar your heart. Do you understand me?! I get a hundred baths with you! And I get them whenever I want them!'
'Of course, love.' Law managed to push himself to his feet. He looked at Vergo when the man addressed him on what he wanted. "If only I could take back my heart, I'd be easily able to kick your butt, Vergo!"
Neo took in a deep breath and readied herself for the intense pain that was about to come their way.
"You just don't learn either, do you? Don't you care about the pain you're causing your precious love over here?" Vergo asked while lifting up Law's heart. "And it's Mr. Vergo!"
They screamed. Law grabbed his chest and fell backwards onto the floor. Both writhed in severe agony as Vergo continued to squeeze the heart in his hand.
"I was suppose to take you two to Joker, but you two have been far too much of a pain to deal with. I have no choice. You two will die here along with this naval trash." Vergo sighed. He looked over his shoulder when Smoker stood up. "You still want to fight, Smoker? Even though you know that you are no match for me?"
Neo blinked in confusion when Smoker spun a tornado of smoke around Vergo. From inside the tornado she heard the clashing of their haki infused weapons "What's he doing? He shouldn't spread out like that. Vergo has armament haki. He can hit Smoker a lot easier now. Unless this is a trick. Could it possible mean that…?"
She heard a few more punches before the smoke tornado started to disappear. Through breaks in the smoke, she saw Vergo punching Smoker away from him. Smoker landed on his feet and released even more smoke.
Vergo then asked, "Why do you keep insisting on utilizing your devil fruit powers? It's not like you to do that, Smoker."
Neo swallowed down a gasp of realization, finally understanding what the vice admiral was really trying to do. He's trying to grab Law's heart. It's brilliant. There's so much smoke that Vergo won't even notice if some moves towards his pocket. I should have thought about this before. It's the logical solution to a problem situation like this. Neo bit her bottom lip in concentration on the battle. She watched it very closely, studying Smoker's style.
Law glanced over at her when he felt her concentration pulling into a sharp focus on the battle. A smile pulled across his lips. He loved how she, over the years of her training, had gained the ability to study her opponents fighting styles and apply them to her own battles. A swell of pride bubbled up in his chest. She would grow stronger through doing this. Quickly, he shook his head. There was no time to think about how proud he was of her. He could reward her on that later. Right now the focus needed to be on Vergo and Smoker. He looked down at his hand when smoke covered it.
'Law! It's…' Neo's eyes shot over to Law.
'Yeah. Smoker got my heart back.' Law confirmed her feelings. A huge wave of relief washed over both of them, mostly it was from Neo. She felt so happy relieved tears swelled up in her eyes.
'Law…we got our heart back!' Neo rubbed the heel of her right hand in her eyes. She smiled, as swell of possessiveness over Law washed over her. She heard Vergo saying something about having enough of this and that this was over, but she didn't care anymore. They had their heart back. There would be no more pain from this. This was already over. Law was going to finishing this now. Exhaustion over this whole thing took her over. She slumped to the floor in relief. "It's over. It's over. It's over."
"Bamboo Demon!" Vergo cried out.
Neo looked over at the almost forgotten battle. Vergo had slammed his haki covered bamboo staff into the Vice Admiral's stomach. The move snapped Smoker's jitte in half. Smoker and his jitte landed on the floor with a sickening hard thud. She flinched. Her forgotten upset stomach reminded her it was still there. She placed one hand over her mouth and hoped she didn't retch.
"I know you want to kill me for messing with the navy," Vergo said. "But you have to be much stronger to be able to defeat me, Smoker. It's over."
Neo lowered her hand to her stomach when Law stepped forward. She took slow deep breaths as Law spoke. He said, "You got me back my heart, Smoker. Thank you for winning it back."
Vergo glared as Law placed his heart back where it belonged, in his chest. He turned back to Smoker and growled. "Now it makes sense! That's why you kept turning into smoke!"
"Now we're even," Smoker said through he tired pants. "Just finish this all ready."
"Are you really that unhappy about having to owe a pirate a favor?" Law asked. He formed his Room and warped his hat back to his hand. He placed it on his head, covering his eyes.
"It's a dishonor to the navy. I have no right to face my men after this," Smoker said.
"But it's the only reason I'm still alive," Law said, even though he really wanted to say 'Even thought it's the only reason we're still alive.' He was started to feel the same possessiveness over Neo that she was feeling over him. They both wanted to refer to themselves as one person. "It's over. Mr. Vergo."
"You miserable runt! Well, at least you finally remembered your place in all of this!" Vergo hissed with a frown.
"Go ahead and keep thinking like that! But don't assume that you people will sit on the thrown forever! You two!" Law lifted his eyes to Vergo. "I know you're listening, Joker!"
Neo flinched. Her mind snapping back to when Law told her that Doflamingo was listening to their conversations with Vergo. She swallowed. She knew he was right, but it was still a bit of a shock. She turned her eyes from Law and looked at Vergo. She assumed he had a transponder snail in his pocket.
"Vergo is a dead man, Joker. You're about to lose your most trusted pawn. And Straw Hat is currently taking care of Caesar. That means you've lost everything, including losing SAD. You couldn't see this coming because you are far to overconfident. So why don't you just sit back and continue to laugh like always and think about your next move. But you won't be laughing for much longer because…" Law paused. He smiled before continuing. "…we're about to do the unthinkable!"
Neo cringed when Vergo took off his coat. The coat fell to the floor with a pink, blue and yellow transponder snail wearing pink feather and sunglasses on top of it. The transponder snail vibrated with a deep laughter, making her body tremble. It was Doflamingo. He said, "Nice try action so tough, you little squirt! Tell me, it's all an act just to impress your love. She is still there, correct? She doesn't seem like the type to willingly abandon you in a time like this."
Neo narrowed her eyebrows and growled despite her body still trembling. She was angry, frustrated and afraid all at the same time just from the sound of this man's voice. The voice of the man who let Caesar preform these terrible experiments on innocent children. The voice of the man who tortured her love. The voice of the man who killed the one person Law loved after losing his family. A rumble of thunder vibrated through the room.
Law sent her soothing thoughts and wrapped his presence tighter around her. He assumed she would have a reaction like this. This was the first time she heard Doflamingo's voice. He had no doubt that, if the other warlord were here, she would attack him. 'Easy, Neo. He can't hurt us. He's not even here.'
Neo swallowed. Her thunder vanished from the room.
Doflamingo laughed again. "Nice display of aggression, my dear sister-in-law."
"I'm not your sister!" Neo snapped.
"Of course you are. Law's been like a little brother to me after all. I'm really excited that I'm going to meet you," Doflamingo said with another laugh.
"Law's not your brother! You have no clue what a family even is!" Neo screamed. Her mind rapidly going over everything Law had told her about this man, about what he did to Corazon, about how she, somehow, met Corazon when she was poisoned on Luminous. She had no clue how she had actually met a dead man, but she truly believed that she did. She truly believed that she had met the man who had healed Law. She truly believed that Corazon had somehow protected her while she was with him. "If anyone of you Don Quixote's are my brother then it would be Corazon!"
"Corazon? Corazon is dead. Why would you even consider him a brother when you've never met him?" Doflamingo asked, his voice laced with venom when he said Corazon's name.
Neo flinched, both at the man's words and at her own. 'I'm sorry, Law. Should I have not said that?'
'It's fine, Neo.' Law's lips twitched into a smirk. 'You've actually ticked him off quite a bit. I know he's seething right now.'
'Fine. But I'm not saying anymore to him. I don't want to talk to him anymore. I don't even want to hear his voice. I don't want to hear Corazon's name from him again. Make him go away. Just make him go away, Law.' Neo covered her ears and pulled her knees up to her chest.
'All right, love. It's almost over.'
"What's wrong, little sister?" Doflamingo asked, making her flinch and press her hands to her ears even more. "Nothing else to say? You seemed so talkative a second ago. Did I say something that I shouldn't have? Well, it doesn't matter. We can chat more about this later. Right now, I want to know if you, Law, are positive that you will survive. Look at Vergo there. You really ticked him off now, didn't you?"
Neo gasped. Her eyes locked onto Vergo's body in disbelief. She knew he had full body armament haki, but didn't realize how intimidating he could be with his bulging, haki covered muscles. She planted her right foot on the floor while getting up on her left knee. She summoned fifty of each of her crystals in automatic preparation to help Law.
"Do you remember what happened the last time that you crossed Vergo?" Doflamingo asked. "How did it go that time? The time you ticked Vergo off? What did he do to you? It was traumatic for you, wasn't it? You probably think a lot about that time."
Law lifted his sword off his shoulder and started to unsheathe it.
"You must have a terrible fear of Vergo," Doflamingo continued. "A deep seeded fear that will never go away."
Neo jumped when Vergo slammed the tip of his bamboo staff onto the floor. She gathered the elements around her crystals, even though she was sure Law could handle Vergo just fine on his own.
"Even with your incomparable swordplay, you can't do anything. His haki is far stronger than your severing abilities," Doflamingo said.
Neo frown and glared at the transponder snail. She could feel the man's smug grin from the other side of it. She wished she could wipe the look off his face then make him eat it.
"In terms of both status and power, you are no match for Vergo!" Doflamingo declared.
Law lifted his left hand. His Room smoke swirled around his palm as Vergo charged forward. He pulled out his sword and sliced it across Vergo's torso and the entire room.
Neo blinked. A strange stillness settled over the room as she let her element crystals fade away. She slumped back down to the floor. It was over.
"It's been two years since the war of the best. Did anyone actually accomplish anything? All you did was stay calm. All Whitebeard did was end the era. The navy rounded up new strength. The big-timers didn't make any moves at all. It's like everyone was just preparing for something else. That war was only the beginning of something else. You've always told me that a new era of daring ones is coming along with an unstoppable swell! Well, now I have broken the gears! And no one can turn back!"
Neo summoned her wind crystals when the divided building came crashing back down. She diverted the falling debris away from them while Law sheathed his sword.
Vergo pushed up on his bamboo staff. He said, "Broke the gears? There's no turning back? That's hysterical."
Law, seemingly ignoring Vergo, walked over to Smoker. He looked down at the marine.
Neo watched as Vergo pulled himself along the floor before pushing his body up into the air. She gasped and, in an automatic reaction, whipped her crystals towards him.
"Learn your place!" Vergo hissed. "Law!"
Law reformed his Room. He turned back to Vergo and sliced his body up into multiple pieces before placing them on the railing.
Neo sighed. Booms and crashing debris sounded throughout the room while she banished her crystals. She placed one hand on her face and the other on her stomach. "Oh, geez. Finally. I don't think I could take much more of this."
She looked up when she heard Vergo cursing out loud. He said, "How am I suppose to eat breakfast tomorrow?"
Neo blinked rapidly and in disbelief at Vergo's shattered body pairs that were now attached to the railing in the room. Suddenly, without any warning, she laughed out loud. It was one of those rare, out of control laughter that came from deep within. She pointed at Vergo, uncaring about the odd stares she was getting from all three of the men in the room and uncaring about her bells.
Law's heart about jumped out of his chest when she laughed. He about turned his powers on her to get her to stop. He was on the verge of pulling out his sword when he realized that neither Vergo nor Smoker was taking notice of her bells. He took a closer inspection of her. He relaxed with a sigh and pushed his sword back into its protective case. It was far too noisy in here. Her bells were being cover by the sounds of the collapsing building. He only heard them because of their bond and prior knowledge of it.
"What the heck is her problem?" Smoker asked as he inspected the laughing woman. "Is she seriously laughing at a time like this?"
Law just blinked. He tilted his head at Neo. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'Neo? What's so funny? Why are you laughing like that? Do you even realize you could have given away the secret of your bells?'
'I-I know I could have! But I-I-I don't know why I'm laughing!' Neo wrapped her arms around her stomach. Her laughter continued to come at full force with no signs of stopping. 'I just can't stop laughing!'
'You have seriously been acting weird here lately.' Law blinked again as he started to walk over to her. 'Well, at least the sounds of the building collapsing are hiding your bells.'
"What the heck is the matter with you, woman?! How could you possible be laughing right now?! This isn't funny!" Vergo hissed. Still Neo showed no signs of stopping. "What an upsetting turn of events. How dare you, Law! You might have caused a serious upset, Law. But I know you're going to regret it! You will do well to keep that in your mind! You know nothing of Joker's past. And that will be your downfall!"
Law stopped, mere feet from where Neo was laughing on the floor, and turned back to Vergo.
"Upstarts like you with a little touch of fame following behind them can't possibly hope to seize the reins. It's filled with others who are much stronger than you are. And stop that laughing, you child! What's wrong with you?! This isn't funny!" Vergo hissed as he sent a harsh glare at Neo. She momentarily paused to take a look at him then started laughing all over again. He growled then turned his attention to Smoker. The vice admiral was pretty much ignoring the whole thing. He had turned his attention away from the laughing pirate and pulled out two cigars. He placed them between his lips and lit them while Vergo started to address him. "Tell him, Smoker. Tell him that there's no room for someone who thinks they can-"
Law swiped his sword at Vergo's head. Slicing the man's head vertically once more.
Smoker stood up. Still ignoring Vergo, he walked towards the door. He gave the laughing pirate one last glance before shaking his head and continuing out the door.
Resting his sword on his shoulder, Law said, "Don't tell Neo what to do. And don't worry about me. You have far more important things to worry about. Like how you're going to get out of this. This room will blow sky high soon. Goodbye, Vergo the Pirate."
Neo continued to laugh. She was laughing so hard that she didn't even register Law had put up his sword and was now standing less that a foot from her. She didn't even feel his confused eyes on her as he stared down at her. He said, "Neo?
Tucking her solar crystal under her coattail, she suddenly stopped laughing and shot up to meet his gaze with a sharp glare. Law about recoiled from the glare and from her sudden change in moods. She snapped, "How dare you put me through all of that! What's the matter with you?!"
"I, uh…" Law blinked again in pure confusion. He had no clue what to say or what brought on this sudden change of moods.
Despite still glaring at him, she spreading her solar crystal's healing glow over him while she grabbed his zipper and jerked it down. Her glare lightened up and she started to blink rapidly, she pressed her fingers to his whole chest as if she was making sure she didn't dream they got their heart back. She sighed when her brain finally accepted it as real. Law really did have their heart back. It was right there where it should have been all along. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his chest. She kept her lips there and felt his heartbeat a few times before pressing her forehead to his chest with another sigh. "It's back. It's really back. Our heart is really back inside your chest."
'Yes, love.' Law replied cautiously through their bond. 'But we don't have time for this.'
'I know you're correct. You and Smoker have to pull the carts to the R Building for everyone to escape in while I go help Chopper.' Neo thought, knowing what his next move was going to be. She quickly lifted her head up from his chest. She pushed up on her toes and kissed his lips then pulled away before Law could even comprehend what she had said. She wrapped her winds around herself and was halfway out the door before he registered her words. 'But we are having some serious cuddle time at some point after this.'
'What?' Law asked flatly through their bond. 'Where do you think you're going?'
'Sorry, love, but I have to go help them. Something bad happened to Mocha. And even if Chopper gets assistance from his friends or the navy, carrying Mocha will slow them down. I can fly them faster to the R Building than they can run. I'll be fine. I have enough magic to get there and back while holding back the gas if we run into it.' Neo replied to him as she continued on down the hall. She could feel he was a bit upset with her for leaving, but both knew it was the right choice. Mocha was far too big for them. She was their best chance to escape the gas and get to the R Building successfully and quickly.
'Fine. But I expect a better kiss at some point after you return. Preferably when were alone.' A suggestive smile pulled across his lips that he passed to her through their bond. He passed suggestive, sexual thoughts to her as well.
'I think I can manage that.' Neo smiled, passing her own suggestive thoughts to him. 'I'll be there as soon as I can.'
'Right.' Law nodded. He continued to walk to the door.
…
Neo locked her mind onto Law's location as she also searched out where Chopper was. A wave of relief washed over her when she found him in one of the examination rooms on the second floor of the B Building. She would be able to get there within just a few short minutes. She took a deep breath and sent her thoughts to the reindeer. Chopper! I'm coming for you! Just hold on a little bit longer! I'm going to fly you all to the R Building! I can get you there faster than you can run! She looked over her shoulder when she felt Caesar's presence flying away from where he should have been. She wondered why she felt him flying off. She about stopped flying when she realized she could feel Luffy too. "That's odd. I've never felt him before. Oh, wait, Straw Hat's made of rubber. And rubber is made of, uh…Law?"
'Yes?'
"What's rubber made of again?"
'I think you remember. Just talk it out.'
"Okay, there are two types of rubber, natural and synthetic. Natural rubber comes from rubber tress. Latex is taken from the tree when it's about six or seven years and…Oh! Of courses!" Neo smacked her face. "Rubber trees! That's why I can sense Straw Hat! Rubber is a part of nature!"
'You can sense Straw Hat?' Law thought to her. His voice was laced with jealousy as his body twitched.
"I love it when you get jealous," Neo said with a smile, her heart fluttering in her chest. "But I can't believe I never noticed until now. Geez! First I didn't sense Monet following us, my crystals failed during our fight with Caesar and now I just realize I can sense Straw Hat. How messed up has my magic been?"
'We'll figure that out later. Just get to the Straw Hat doctor and get back to the R Building. We don't have much time left.'
"Right!" Neo nodded. She shook the thoughts from her mind. They could figure out why her magic's been off later.
…
"Chopper! We have to go! It's not safe here anymore!" a soldier cried out.
"Uh-huh! I've done all that I can for her for now!" Chopper replied from his perch on Mocha's body. "Let's get to the R Bui-Huh?"
Chopper's voice cut off when he felt Neo contacting him again. Neo? What is it? You're coming for us? What?! I'm not sure that's such a good idea, but okay. It does make sense that flying with your winds would be faster than running all the way there. We're still going to start heading that way. I hope you can find us easily enough since you've been here for months.
"Uh, Chopper? Why are you daydream?!" the man asked in a panic. "We have to go! The building is collapsing!"
"Sorry about that. Neo was…" Chopper paused. His instincts screamed at him to not reveal that Neo can contact him somehow.
"Neo? You mean Lady Law? What about her?" another soldier asked.
"It's nothing. I'm just worried about her I guess. Let's get going!" Chopper ordered.
"Yeah! Let's go!" the soldiers cheered. They picked up the unconscious girl and ran from the room and down the long hallways.
"Mocha! Stay with me! Let's get out of here together! Neo wants to see you again!" Chopper told the child. He looked up when he felt Neo near. Just then, Neo rounded the corner and smiled at him. His eyes sparkled with admiration for the blue haired pirate. "Wow! That was fast! You're so cool!"
"Chopper!" Neo cried out. She then gasped at the unconscious child. "Mocha! Chopper, what happened?!"
"She'll be okay, Neo! She ate all the drug candies to keep the other children from eating them!" Chopper replied. He looked down at Mocha then back up at Neo. "Please, don't worry. I've pumped as much of the drug candy out of her. Now, we just have to get her out of here. Law can probably help her more than I can. Isn't that correct? I assume he's been studying medicine a lot longer than I have. Plus, he's got his op op devil fruit to help him."
"Right." Neo nodded. She summoned a five more wind crystals and gathered them all up in her winds. "He'll help. I'll make him do it even if he refused to."
"Hey! What's going on?!" a marine demanded as he kicked his airborne feet. "Let me down!"
"Sorry, but I have to fly you all to the R Building. It's faster than running," Neo informed them. "Law severed the building so the poison gas from outside is coming inside."
"What?!" the marines shrieked. "Then let's get out of here!"
Neo nodded then flew them down the hall. A marine turned to her. He asked, "Are you sure this is the right way?"
"Of course I'm sure. I memorized the map of this place when we first came here. Law didn't want to take the chance of me getting lost in this place," Neo replied.
"Well, I was going to tell you directions to the R Building," Usopp's voice said, "but it looks like you're going to be just fine with Neo there."
"Huh?" Chopper looked around. "Usopp, is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," Usopp replied. "I've taken control of the control room. I'm going to shut the door to the R Building once everyone is inside. That way the gas won't get in."
"That's great! Thanks!" Chopper replied.
"Sniper King Usopp?" Neo then asked after a few seconds of thoughts.
"What is it, Neo?" the sniper asked.
"There should be some of Caesar's men in the control room," Neo said.
"Yeah, they're here. They over heard Caesar admitting he never cared about them and was just using them during his fight with Luffy," Usopp replied. "They're pretty upset about it."
"I see," Neo said. She glanced down. So he did betray them. He never cared about them. That's why he was able to leave them outside for the poison gas to kill them. She gritted her teeth with a low growl. "Sniper King Usopp! Please, bring them with you to the R Building! This isn't their fault! Caesar was using them!"
"Huh? Oh, sure thing. I guess you've formed a friendship with these guys since you've been here for so long," Usopp's voice said.
"Yeah." Neo nodded. "Something like that."
"All right. We'll see you soon then. The other's are almost to the R Building as well. Just keep run-uh-flying! I'm leaving Chopper and the others in your hands, Neo!" Usopp said.
"Right!" Neo nodded again. She picked up her wind speed. When she felt Chopper looking at her from Mocha's body, she turned her eyes to him. "What?"
"You really care about people, don't you?" Chopper asked.
"Uh…" Neo blinked.
"You kind of remind me of Luffy. But you're way calmer than he ever is. There's just something about you that's just very relaxing," Chopper said with a soft smile. "I like it."
Neo smiled. She held out her hand to him. When he placed his hoof in her palm, she curled her fingers around him. "Thanks, Chopper."
…
Usopp smiled as he watched Neo take Chopper's hoof. He chuckled to himself. I guess Chopper has found himself a new friend. She is a nice girl. A bit skittish and shy, but very nice. I'm glad she gets along so well with Chopper. It seems she'll get along with the rest of our crew as well. He pulled his eyes from that screen and over to the screen where Nami and the others were running. "Hurry up, Nami! You're almost to the R Building!"
"Why? Why is this happening to us?" one of Caesar's men asked. Usopp glanced at him from over his shoulder. They all were crying from Caesar's betrayal. "I can't believe that the master is such an awful person! Who should we trust from now on?!"
"You're worried about that when this room is falling down around our heads?" Usopp asked.
…
"Hold on, Mocha! Just a little bit longer!" Chopper pleaded.
Neo flew a bit closer to him and Mocha. With her solar crystal still hidden in her coattail, she passed her solar crystal's healing glow over the young girl's body. You can do it, Mocha. I'll help you heal. I don't know if my solar crystal can do anything against whatever poison this is, but it should help you some. We'll get you to Law. He'll help you. He'll remove the poison from your body. Won't you, Law?
'Of course I will, love.'
Neo flinched. She had forgotten their bond was still open with each other and he was monitoring her. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to…'
'It's okay, Neo. I knew this was coming anyway. I knew my doctor skill surpassed the Straw Hats' doctor. And I know how much you love the kids.'
'And you're not going to argue with me on this?' Neo narrowed her eyes playfully.
'No, I won't.' There was a short pause before Law spoke again. 'As long as you don't bite my head off again.'
'I'm sorry. I don't know why I snapped at you like that. I guess everything just came crashing down and it was just an unexpected reaction, maybe a nervous reaction.'
'I figured as much. Just hurry up now. Smoker and I are almost to the R Building.'
'We'll be there soon. Not as soon as I thought. I'm a bit slower since I'm not completely healed. But we will be there.'
'Just focus. And if you feel like your magic is going to fail you again, put them down and have them start running again. I don't want you to get hurt.'
'I will, Law. I'll see you soon.' Neo flinched when an unexpected scream shouted out from behind them. She turned to see the skeleton member of the Straw Hats was running towards them with something under his bony arm.
"Chopper!" the skeleton cried.
"Huh? Brook?" Chopper turned and looked at his crewmate. "Ack! Brook?!"
"We have a problem! Kin'emon got hit by Caesar's poison gas and died!" Brook cried.
"What?! Neo, stop! Please stop!" Chopper shrieked. Neo, against her better judgment, halted at the reindeer's request. "What happened, Brook?!"
"While we were helping the children in the examination room evacuate and looking for Kin'emon's son, we met a young girl. And she said that his son was turned into a small dragon! He ran off to find that dragon we sliced up earlier! And he ended up like this!" Brook informed them. Everyone looked to the statue under the skeleton's arm.
"That's crazy! What was he thinking?!" Chopper said, his eyes wide and round.
"What should I do? What do I do?!" Brook demanded as he danced around in a panic.
Neo gasped when she felt the gas closing in on them. She opened her mouth to inform them of this, but Usopp cut in before she could utter a word.
"Chopper! Brook! Don't stop now! What are you doing?!" Usopp's voice asked. "Hurry up! You don't have time to waste with this!"
"He's right," Neo said. She looked at Chopper. "We're almost to the R Building. All we have to do is go down the stairs right here."
"And the gas is coming up from behind you!" Usopp added. "Get a move on!"
"Ah!" Chopper, Brook and the soldiers screamed when they saw the purple gas flying towards them.
Neo summoned a few more wind crystals and pushed back the gas.
Chopper cried out, "You saved us!"
"Not for long," Neo replied just as her crystals started to flicker again. Not now! Don't start acting strange on me now! I really need you right now! "My ma-powers are fading again! We have to get to the R Building before it's too late!"
"Right!" they all screamed.
Neo gathered Brook and Kin'emon into her winds and started down the stairs.
…
"Do we really need this thing?" Smoker grumbled as he and Law pulled the very large, very heavy carts down the hall.
"Yes, this was the cart that they used to haul the SAD equipment into the building. We can fit everyone on it and use it to escape from here. The lab's going to collapse soon. We have to escape as soon as possible," Law replied. He then had to force himself to smother a gasp and his panic when he felt Neo's magic take a dive. 'Neo! Is your magic fading again?!'
'I think it might be. My crystals just flickered a little bit. But I'm fine. We're heading down the stairs now.'
Law bit back a growl. Now was not the time for her magic to be acting up again. 'Just hurry. I want you back in my sight. And I want you to stop using your crystals for a while.'
'I'll use them as long as we're in this building. I know I'm going to have to help in our escape.'
'Neo…' Law warned.
'I know, Law. My safety is above everyone else here in your opinion. But I'm not going to let anyone get hurt anymore. I promise, once this is over, I won't use my magic for a while. I'll even hold off on using it, unless it's life or death, until we arrive at Dressrosa.'
'Fine But you'll only use them when needed. If something comes up that someone else can handle then they will handle it, not you. And I'm giving you a check up as soon as I can. Deal?'
'Yes, Doctor.' Neo smiled. 'I agree to that compromise.'
Law cast a glance over at Smoker when he felt the marine's eyes on him. He frowned. "What?"
"I was going to ask you what's up with that woman of yours, but I know you won't answer me," Smoker said even though he knew it was useless.
"You got that right," Law grumbled, turning his eyes back head of him.
Smoker studied him for a few seconds before adding, "You know everyone's going to figure it out eventually. What will you do then?"
Law didn't reply. He only spoke up again when Luffy came into his sight. "Straw Hat!"
"Tra! Smokey! I wasn't expecting you to come from that way!" Luffy said while waving at them as the navy cheered at their commander's return.
"Yeah! Smokey!"
"What?! Smokey?! He's back!"
"Smokey!"
"All right!"
"Smoker…I'm glad you're safe," Tashigi mumbled to herself as she inspected her commanding officer.
"Smokey! We're so glad you're safe! We have so much to report to you!"
"Stop scream!" Smoker ordered. "I know!"
Law, ignoring the rambles of the excited navy soldiers, looked around the room for Caesar, barely noticing Brownbeard lying beat on the floor. Glaring, he looked at the Straw Hat captain and walked over to him. "Hey! Where did Caesar go?!"
"Oh, you know that door that was right there? Well, I kicked his butt and he, plus the door, went flying that way," Luffy said while pointing in the direction of the missing door. "How far do you think he flew? He really went sailing!"
"What?! Hey! You… Our plan was to kidnap him!" Law hissed.
"I don't even want to capture that jerk anymore! Do you have any idea what he did to his own men?!" Luffy demanded. "He betrayed them!"
"What are you talking about?! You can't just change the plan because Caesar did something you didn't like! What are you going to do if he gets away from us?! The whole plan will be ruined!" Law pointed out.
"So what?! Who cares about that jerk?!" Luffy replied.
"You think you can just change the plan as you like? What's the matter with you?! I never should have trusted you to take care of this!" Law hissed as he turned away from Luffy.
'Law? What's wrong? Why are you angry?'
'This idiot Straw Hat captain just smashed Caesar through the door! I have no idea where he is now!'
'He's outside of the lab.'
'What?!'
'I sensed Caesar flying away from his location before. I didn't know what happened. But when he stopped, he was outside. He's near the ocean. I'm guessing he hit the tanker since it's still docked there. I'm sorry. I should have told you I felt him flying off.'
'No, it's not your fault. It's this idiot pirate here.' Law grumbled. He then addressed Luffy again. He said, "We have to go after him!"
"What?!" Luffy protested with an annoyed look on his face. His look vanished when he noticed something. "Hey! Where's Neo?! Isn't she with you?!"
"She went to help your doctor," Law replied, even though he didn't really want to, as he walked away from the young captain. He placed his hand on the broken door and looked down the dark hall.
"What? That's great!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Don't worry, Brownbeard. Chopper will be here soon to take care of you. Hey, Luffy? Do you think they're all right?" Nami asked after expressing concern over Brownbeard's condition.
"Of course their fine. Since Neo's with them, I'm sure they'll be here any second," Luffy declared.
Law sighed at the Straw Hat captain's words. He could feel her magic starting to fade once more. That is if Neo's magic doesn't quit on her again. He looked back at the group. He said, "Hey, Straw Hats! Everyone needs to get onto the carts! Now! We have to go after Caesar!"
…
SilverHerron: Thanks. Fight scenes are still a pain to write, but I think I'm getting use to them the more I do them. I just wished I could have had her finish him off instead of having to stick with Smoker doing it. But she did technically beat him, so that's good. I hoping to start one of my other Neo/Law stories soon and give her opponents she'll defeat completely.
Deideitk: Thanks. Vergo's a smart man so it made sense he could guess close enough to the truth. Neo does know what Mingo looks like. Most likely Law showed her a picture of his wanted poster or one from a paper.
Apple Bloom: Thanks. More coming. Hoping to get a new story up soon.
Rodinaashraf: Thanks. He is smart. And yes, I'm back. It's Observation Haki.
PuddyKatz: She does have Law whooped. Her fights with Mingo are going to be intense I think.
KittyCCCC: Yeah, curse Vergo's smartness.
