A Dark Move
Cethin hummed a dark tune while he ran his thumb over the murky green tubing that was still threaded through the crystals on Neo's medallion. The pulsing that came from the tubing reminded him of a purring cat. It was soft and soothing to him. He propped his feet up on this desk and pushed his chair back on its hind legs. His brown hair was loose around his shoulders. His black eyes were locked onto the medallion in his hand as he continued to stroke his thumb over it, his mind wandering to the outside world. He wondered when he was going to be sent for. He knew the time was coming soon. The mere thought of getting his hands on her caused him to dig his thumb into the tubing. A tiny but sharp shrill released from the tubing when he pressed too hard on it.
"Oops." Cethin chuckled when the murky green tubing's glow flared up and pulsed angrily at the abusive, yet unintentional pressure he inflicted on it. "Sorry about that. I wonder how it effected her. And I wonder when I'm going to be able to get out of this room. It's boring here. All the fun stuff is going on outside."
Cethin sighed. Dropping the chair back down to all fours, he stood up and walked over to the small and only window in the room. A window that Pica had drilled out for him a few months ago when he complained enough about not having any kind of natural light in the room. Though only a small rectangular window, it gave him enough space to peered out into the kingdom of Dressrosa, not that he could actually see anything from being this high up. Still, he ran his eyes over the dessert shaped buildings. He wondered where she was. He wondered how she was being effected. He's never got to play with a royal before. The prospect of it was started to really excite him. He couldn't wait to get his hands on her and see how she was reacting to everything.
He tucked his hands and the medallion into his pocket. Just as he started to turn and head back to his desk, the sky turned dark above the kingdom. He hummed with curiosity when lightning struck near the coliseum. "So that's where she is. I wonder if she's fighting the young master right now. Whatever. I just hope the time is coming closer for me to go check on her. My curiosity is starting to get the better of me."
Cethin walked away from the window. He pulled the medallion back out of his pocket and sat down at his desk. Staring at the tube like veins running through the crystals while he waited for his orders.
…
"Neo!" Luffy shouted. His heart skipped a beat then took a sharp jolt in his chest when he saw his female friend falling out of the sky. He wanted to catch her, but knew he couldn't. This building separated himself from his friend. He wanted to completely shatter every piece of stone that separated him and her. But he couldn't. There was no time for that anyway. He had no choice but to rely on those that could help her. "Zoro! Catch her! Don't let her hit the ground!"
…
"Right!" Zoro said, despite the fact he was already running to catch her before Luffy even said anything. He knew her crystals would protect her and the baby, but he didn't know strong of a hit she could take before permanent damage was done to her and the baby. He leaped into the air. He breathed a sigh of relief when her body landed safely in his arms. As he landed back on the ground, Kin'emon ran over to him while he ran his eyes over her, searching for injuries and signs of a possible miscarriage.
"What just happened?! Is she all right?! What about the you know what?!" Kin'emon said, catching himself before he could say baby.
"I'm not sure what happened. She just went flying. But I think their both fine," Zoro whispered back to the samurai. He placed his hand on her stomach, wishing that Chopper were there to check her out. But he didn't see any blood anywhere so he figured she was fine, at least for the moment. "Whatever that as, I think it was just strong enough to knock her out and send her flying. They'll be okay. Remember her body is different from humans. That hit, whatever it was, shouldn't have caused any damage. If it had meant to do damage it would have hit her a lot harder than it did."
"And what a relief that is," Kin'emon said. "Still, I do not like the idea of the lady fighting while she is with child."
Zoro nodded. He didn't care much for the idea himself. But there was nothing they could do about that right now. They were far too deep into this thing.
…
"Hey! Did I just hear some explosions and gunshots?!" Usopp's voice shrieked from the transponder snail. "What happened to Tra?! Is he all right?!"
…
"Can you hear us, Luffy?! What's going on over there?!" Sanji asked next. "What's happening?! Talk to us, Luffy! Say something!"
"Neo! What happened to Neo?!" Chopper demanded. "Is she all right?!"
…
"She… she got hit by something. But she's fine," Zoro replied to his worried friends. "I don't see any signs of bleeding or anything. She's just knocked out."
…
"Thank goodness," Sanji said with a huge sigh of relief.
"Yeah." Chopper nodded. He brushed the back of his arm over his eyes and drew in a shaky breath. "I still wish there was some way we could get her to come with us to Zou."
"I agree, but it's not our choice," Sanji said. He scanned his eyes out to the horizon. Pulling his cigarette from his lips, he breathed out the smoke. "She needs to stay. Yet she needs to leave. This whole thing is nothing but a big fat mess."
Nami, Brook, Momonosuke, and Chopper cast their eyes downward with a slow nod following.
…
Doflamingo stared up at the sky. The black, lightning streaked cumulonimbus were fading back into cumulus clouds lazily floating in the pristine blue sky. He scoffed at the similarities between those clouds, the sky, and Neo. She was one very volatile woman despite her childlike appearance. Exhaling in annoyance at how deceptive she could be without even trying, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He inspected his injuries that Neo inflicted on him. Blood had filled his mouth again from his missing teeth. His jaw was swollen, hot, and throbbing from the punch. His torso ached with a bruise already forming where she had hit him. His sides ached a bit from the cracked ribs, but over all the injuries weren't as serious as they could be. He spit the blood out of his mouth before standing up with another chuckle. He walked back towards Neo and Law, ignoring the dagger filled glares from the pirates that were still conscious. "Well, I suppose I should have brought Cethin with me for this one. She was a bit more than I expected."
"You stay away from her!" Zoro hissed. He laid Neo down on the ground, stood up, and pulled out his swords.
"We will not allow you to touch her!" Kin'emon added, pulling out his own sword.
Doflamingo, ignoring them, turned his eyes back to the townspeople. They were gathering back outside since Neo's storm had vanished. He knew he need to keep his momentum going and make sure to turn the people against Law and Neo. With a smile, he said, "I'm sorry to have bothered you all with this fight. This man is a warlord and a pirate. His name is Trafalgar Law. He was behind the false report of my abdication from the throne this morning. He was trying to drag me down out of petty vengeance or something. The woman who attacked me is his wife, Neo. But don't worry. I just got rid of him to protect our kingdom. They won't be bothering us anymore."
"So that's what this was about?!" the townspeople chattered.
"They almost threw Dressrosa in completely chaos!"
"That doesn't matter now! We're safe from them! Our king has saved us!"
"Hey, Mingo!" Luffy growled from his current cage. He wanted so badly to get out and punch that smile off of Doflamingo's face. "How dare you shoot Tra?! And how dare you hurt Neo like that?! You're going to pay for this!"
"Straw Hat," Doflamingo said, turning his eyes to the pirate trapped in the coliseum. His smile grew upon seeing the hatred in the young pirate's eyes. "This is none of your business. Law is originally one of my subordinates. I made it a habit to clean up my own messes. And since she is his lover, I will be taking her with me as well."
…
"No!" Luffy hissed, his eyes sharping, glinting with light and fury. He slammed his first down on the windowsill. "Don't you touch her! Don't you dare touch her!"
"Kin, we have to get Tra and Neo out of here! I'll take on Doflamingo! You get them and get moving!" Zoro said as he and the samurai rushed forward towards Doflamingo.
"Right! I will get them!" Kin'emon said. He placed the transponder snail on his belt before following Zoro's lead. He held up his sword, ready to attack if needed, but headed for Law instead of Doflamingo.
…
"Hey! Talk to us! What's going on?! What happened over there?! What happened to Neo?!" Chopper demanded from the transponder snail. "Someone tell us what's going on!"
…
"Doflamingo just shot Sir Law right in front of us! Lady Neo got angry and attacked! She has been knocked out!" Kin'emon said.
…
"What?!" Chopper shrieked.
…
"Do not worry! She will be fine as Sir Zoro had already told you!" Kin'emon told him. "We are getting them out of here!"
…
"What do we do?! What do we do?!" Chopper shouted as he jumped all over the deck of the Sunny. "We have to go back for her! I know I told Law that I'd let her stay, but I just can't do it anymore! Not with what all's happening! Go back! Go back!"
"We can't," Nami said, looking just as worried as Chopper was. She looked over to Sanji. Without Luffy and Zoro around, he was the strongest on board and that automatically made him the leader of their small group. With as much as he cared about Neo, she knew he would turn this ship around in a second to go back and help her. But they couldn't. They had to get Caesar away from here. And they had to get Momonosuke away from here. Two important cards that Doflamingo was desperate to get his hands on. They would just have to leave Neo in Luffy's capable hands. Neo had some of the strongest bodyguards in the world with her. Whatever happened, they all would be fine.
…
"What?! Did you hear that?!" Usopp asked.
"Sounds like Neo's in a bit of trouble," Franky said. He looked turned his eyes to Robin. The dark haired woman was worried, as they all were. He wanted to ask her if they should go help their friends, but he knew they wouldn't get there quick enough. Besides, they should be fine with Luffy, Zoro, and Kin'emon there to help them. "They'll be all right."
"Of course." Robin nodded.
"If you need to go help your friend, then I will understand," the toy soldier said.
"No." Robin shook her head. "If we did go, we'd only get in the way at this point. I know we're not enough to fight against Doflamingo. We're best suited to stay right here and help you all."
"Very well then." The toy soldier nodded.
…
"Pirate Hunter Zoro and Foxfire Kin'emon, huh? So that child I saw on the Straw Hats ship was in fact Momonosuke," Doflamingo said. He watched the two swordsmen run towards him, but didn't really care about them. "I'll have to go after them once I'm done here and retrieve the boy."
"Don't listen to anything that he says! We won't let him take Momo away from us!" Zoro said. "The boy is protected! Just get Law!"
"Right! Of course!" Kin'emon replied with a nod. He broke off from Zoro and headed for Law's unconscious body.
Zoro tightened his hold on his swords. He mentally prepared himself as well as he could and continued to rush forward. He swiped his swords at Doflamingo, expecting to clash with the warlord. His eyes widened when his swords clanked against a sword. The sword belonged to the old gambler they saw back in the restaurant. What?! It's that old man from before! He pushed his swords against the old man's sword, amazed by his strength, just before heaviness washed over his body. What's going on? This pressure is… he used this before too. Was he the one who just took out Neo? He grunted just before the ground underneath him crumbled beneath his feet. Shadows cast over his eyes as he fell down into the hole and became pinned down by the old man's gravity. This is just great. He uses gravity and the only one who can really do anything about it is currently unconscious.
…
"Zoro!" Luffy shouted. Helplessly he watched as his friend disappeared into the ground before watching as Doflamingo swooped down and kicked Kin'emon away from Law. Fury swirled around inside of his body at the inability to do anything to help them. His eyes then landed on Neo's unconscious form. The promise he made to her came back to him at full force. It was a promise he had no intention of breaking no matter the cost. Forgetting the bars in front of him were sea prism stone, he grabbed onto them. "Hold on guys! I'm coming!" The energy drained immediately from his body, causing him to slump to the floor. "Wait… I fogest… Neo sai… thass sea prishm shtone."
…
Zoro growled in frustration towards the gravity pinning him down. He clenched a hold of his sword and sliced upward, hoping to hit the old man who put him in this position. He realized he at least got close enough when the pressure on him lightened up. He leaped to his feet and jumped towards the opening of the hole. "Old man, you're going to pay for this! You're going to doubly pay if it really was you who hit Neo!"
…
"He can launch a sword attack from a distance? That's quite dangerous," Fujitora said after blocking Zoro's attack. He turned to look to his soldiers when they rushed up to him. "We need the citizens to evacuate this area. Clear them all out at once."
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers replied with a salute.
Fujitora turned his blind eyes back to Zoro when he felt the man's presence back upon the ground with them. He heard Zoro say, "I can't believe that you, blind old gambler, are a navy admiral!"
"That old man is an admiral?!" Luffy, back upon his feet from touching the sea prism stone, gasped.
"He's an admiral?" Kin'emon asked.
…
"We can hear you again, Kin'emon! I'm so glad! We thought you were dead!" Brook said. "Don't disappear on us like that!"
…
"I really do thank you people for your help earlier today. You all were nice to me so it feels like I'm repaying your kindness with the back of my hand. I guess life is just full of ironies," Fujitora said. He tuned into his observation haki and looked around at the pirates before him. His eyes landed on Neo. He carefully scanned his haki over her body. He watched as her spirit changed every color twice before letting his eyes rest on the small red dot around her stomach. I am relieved. It looks like I did not harm her child with my attack a minute ago. He then shifted his focus when Doflamingo moved towards Law. He watched the two men's spirit through the use of his observation haki until the warlord moved over to Neo with Law dangling from his hand. Moving quickly, he pulled his sword back out and cut off Doflamingo's path before he could grab onto Neo's shirt. He kept his position even when feeling the unhappy warlord's eyes burning holes in him.
"What are you doing?" Doflamingo asked.
"I will be taking this young woman with me," Fujitora replied.
Doflamingo chuckled. "That's right. You said you wanted to talk to her. But why do you want to talk to her? What could a navy admiral possibly have to say to a pirate other than telling them they're being arrested?"
"That's none of your business, Heavenly Demon," Fujitora said. He nodded his head towards Law's body in Doflamingo's hold. "You may take him, but she is coming with me."
"Very well then. I'm not in a hurry to officially meet her. I can wait a little bit longer. We have other business to attend to anyway," Doflamingo said. He moved his hand away from Neo's shirt to Law's hat that was still resting upon her head. He pulled it off of her, tucked it into his coat then stepped closer to Fujitora. He leaned in and whispered in the navy admiral's ear.
Fujitora's eyebrows rose on his forehead at the warlord's words penetrating his ears. In response, he re-angled his sword and sliced up the ground around him and Neo before lifting them both into the air. He sheathed his sword as the pirates and samurai below them shouted up at them.
…
"Hey! What are you doing?! Where are you going?! Give them back!" Luffy demanded. "Give back Neo and Tra!"
"Sir Law! Lady Neo!" Kin'emon called.
"Where are they taking them?!" Zoro asked.
"Hey! Are you two okay?! Say something!" Kin'emon said.
"I'm not going to let them get away with this!" Zoro shouted. He pulled up his sword to attack, but stopped when the navy soldiers started shouting at them to surrender and moved in on them.
"Stop! Pirate Hunter Zoro! You're under arrest!" a navy soldier shouted out. The soldiers pulled up their guns and fired at the pirates and samurai.
Zoro deflected their bullets with his sword. He said, "Just great! They know who we are now!"
"It would seem so!" Kin'emon replied, reflecting bullets with his own sword.
"We can't stay here any more! We have to run!" Zoro shouted before he and Kin'emon took off around the coliseum with the navy soldiers following after them.
"Tra! Neo!" Luffy called out as Doflamingo and Fujitora took off with his friends. "Give them back to me!"
…
"This is Kin'emon! Sir Law and Lady Neo have been abducted!" Kin'emon said into the transponder snail while he and Zoro continued to run around the coliseum.
"What?!" everyone's voice shouted out from the tiny transponder snail.
…
"Who took them?! Who has Neo?!" Chopper cried.
…
"Doflamingo has taken Sir Law. And the navy admiral has taken Lady Neo!" Kin'emon told them.
Zoro looked over at Kin'emon and the transponder snail, but didn't say anything. What could he say?
…
"What?!" Chopper screamed. "The navy has Neo?!"
"What do we do?!" Nami asked.
Sanji gritted his teeth and clenched his hands. He stared down at the transponder snail like it would give him the answers to the questions they all had. A warm, gentle breeze, unfitting for the dire situation they were in, tickled his hair. It caused an image of Neo to pass through his mind. He said, "I don't understand. We're all pirates, yet the navy admiral only takes her? Why?"
"Do you think he wants her because of who she is?" Brook asked. He glanced over at Caesar before turning back to his friends. He lowered his voice and added, "If that admiral has observation haki then he'll know that Neo's pregnant. Could that be the reason he took her? Pirate children after all, are hated by the navy along with so many other people."
"That could be the reason he took her," Chopper said.
"But it doesn't make sense," Sanji said. He narrowed his eyebrows in a concentrated thought. "We're obviously in over our heads here. The navy admiral, the soldiers, plus Doflamingo and his own soldiers… they could easily capture us all at this point. But they don't. Doflamingo only took Law. And the navy admiral only took Neo. What's going on in that country?"
…
"We can talk about that at the palace, Fujitora," Doflamingo said, ignoring the crying demands of the pirates below him. He had what he really wanted in his hand. Well, one of two things he really wanted. He dropped his eyes to Neo. She was still unconscious, sleeping on the rubble she and Fujitora was riding on, and totally unaware of what was happening around her. Some of her blue hair was draped over her shoulder. Her body was twisted a bit at her hips, accenting her curves. Curves that would have looked out of place on her if he didn't know that she wasn't really a child like her looks suggested. He couldn't help but envision her expression when she realized he had her lover in his hands. It sent wild shivers of anticipation up his spine. He was ready to torture both her and Law. And having them separated would give him such pleasure upon seeing Law's painful expression of not knowing where his precious lover was. "If you cooperate with me, I'll let you take those brats out of my kingdom."
"I will listen to what you have to say, Heavenly Demon. It's only after that I will decide what to do," Fujitora said. He looked down to make sure Neo was still in place. Feeling she was too close to the edge of the rock for his comfort, he reached down and slid her body closer to him. His hand lingering on her shoulder a little too long.
"A little bit too soft on her, aren't you?" Doflamingo asked.
"Not at all. I was just making sure she didn't fall off," Fujitora said, retracting his hand. "It wouldn't do anyone any good if she fell. Let's get on with this."
With no other words passing between them, the two took off towards the palace. After a few minutes of flying, Fujitora looked down and located one of the bases the navy had set up when they had arrived here. He lowered his rock towards them sensing Doflamingo following him with a deep frown.
"Admiral Fujitora!" a soldier said with a salute before his eyes landed on Law and Neo's unconscious forms. "What?! That's… those pirates are… T-T-Trafalgar Law and Neo! How?! How were you able to capture them?!"
"Soldier," Fujitora said, snapping the soldier's attention back to him. "Take this young woman into the medical tent."
"Huh?! Don't you mean to the brig on the ship?!" the soldier gasped.
"No, I want her to be taken to the medical tent. Cuff her with sea prism stone cuffs and keep a couple guards on the outside of the tent and only one on the inside of the tent if she starts to wake up before I get here," Fujitora ordered. "And do not touch her or talk to her if she wakes up. I'll be back in a while."
"Huh?!" The soldier blinked in confusion. "You want her to be in the medical tent, but you don't want us to touch her?! And you only want one soldier guarding her on the inside of the tent? Are you sure about that, sir?! She's a dangerous pirate after!"
"Are you questioning my orders?" Fujitora asked.
"No, sir!" the soldier replied, obviously panicked from technically from questioning his superior.
"Just follow my orders then, soldier," Fujitora said.
"Y-yes, sir!" The soldier saluted before taking a hesitant step towards Neo.
"Seems like you're giving special treatment to a pirate, Fujitora," Doflamingo noted. "You don't have a soft spot for her because she looks like a child, now do you?"
Fujitora turned to the warlord and smiled. He said, "She does have a strange power over people, doesn't she? Now, do you wish to sit here and chat about her abilities to make strong men crumble to her will or do you wish to continue to your palace and talk? I'm sure you do not wish for the Straw Hat pirates to keep running around your kingdom causing destruction."
Doflamingo frowned. His eyes wandered off the admiral and onto Neo when the soldier started to remove her from the rock she was laying on. He waited until the soldier was far enough away to speak again. "Very well. But I'm going to send a private physician of mine here to check up on her condition. I know you know that sea prism stone doesn't work on her. So why the ruse? Are you trying to protect her secret?"
"Not all of these soldiers are aware that she's not a devil fruit user. At least not yet," Fujitora said. "This is just to make them feel secure in guarding her. I believe she won't cause them any trouble if she wakes up before I return."
"I get the feeling you're not exactly telling the truth here," Doflamingo said. His lips curled into a smile. "But very well. Like I said, I'll send my private physician here. I wouldn't want anything to happen to the soldiers under your command. He has special skills for doctoring and protection. He'll be an asset to your soldiers."
"Why, that's very kind of you," Fujitora said, but he didn't believe the warlord's words at all. Still, he made no move to try and stop Doflamingo from doing what he wanted. He was confident that whomever this man was going to send wouldn't try to do anything to hurt her. Besides he didn't plan on taking forever listening to Doflamingo talk all day. He'd be back before anyone could try anything with her.
…
"Doflamingo! Old man!" Luffy hissed despite the warlord and admiral already being several yards away in the sky. He paced in front of the window like a caged wild animal. His aggravation hitting an all time high that he couldn't do anything to help his friends because he was stuck inside of this place. "You come back here! You bring my friends back! You're going to pay for taking them!"
"Hey, Luffy! Stop standing there talking to yourself and find the exit! You have to get out of there!" Zoro huffed after he and Kin'emon made it back to the side of the coliseum Luffy was on. "We can easily out run the navy for now, but we can't do this forever! We'll wait for you to get out by running around the building! That way we can easily meet up without getting lost! Then we'll go after them!"
"All right! But we really have to hurry though! I think Tra said something after he was shot! They're not dead yet!" Luffy said. He turned to run away from his current spot to run off but stopped when his friends' screams flowed out of the transponder snail. "Now what?! What's going on?!"
…
"W-w-we are…" Brook's voice stuttered from the transponder snail.
…
"There they are!" a navy soldier shouts. "Get them!"
"Crap! They found us!" Zoro hissed.
…
"We have a serious problem over here!" Brook said. "Big Mom's…"
"…pirate ship is bearing down on us!" Chopper finished.
…
"After them!" another soldier said. "Don't let them get away!"
"Enough of this!" Zoro sliced his swords through the air, creating a whirlwind that flung the navy soldiers away from them. He looked back at the transponder snail. "Hurry up now! What's going on over there?! We don't have time to just stand here and talk anymore!"
"What?! Are you sure about that?! It's really Big Mom's ship?!" Luffy asked.
…
"We're going to die!" Chopper screamed.
…
"What the heck is going on today?! Is Big Mom on board the ship?!" Luffy asked.
"Luffy! Run while you talk! We can't sit still like this anymore!" Zoro said as more navy soldiers closed in on them. Gunshots ran out into the air, followed by more demands from the navy soldiers for them to stop and surrender.
"Right!" Luffy nodded. He bolted off, with Zoro and Kin'emon following him on the outside of the coliseum as they continued their conversation with their friends. He had given permission for Sanji to attack Big Mom's ship before they were finally to head off to Zou. That's where they would meet up with them once their business here was finished. After some tearful cries of Chopper and Sanji demanding him to save Neo and Tra, mostly Neo, they hung up. He glanced over his shoulder after concluding his conversation with his friends who were on the Sunny. Staring off into the direction he saw his friends being taken in. "Hold on, you two! I promise that I will save you both!"
…
Fujitora remained quiet as he and Doflamingo landed at the main entrance to the palace. The gunshots from his men bounced through the air before falling silent. He knew the pirates had started running by that point. And he knew his soldiers stopped firing for the sake of the civilians. They didn't want any unnecessary casualties on their hands. A shift in the wind brought the smell of chlorine to his nose. He pushed it aside and followed Doflamingo to the palace doors. The doors creaked open and a woman greeted them.
"Welcome back, Young Master," Baby 5 greeted. Her eyes turned to Law's beaten, bloody body. A smile curled upon her lips from seeing him beaten and bloody.
"Baby 5," Doflamingo said. "Summon Cethin for me."
"Yes, Young Master. I'll get him immediately," Baby 5 said with a bow before rushing off into the palace to complete her task.
…
Fujitora lifted an eyebrow at the man's words. He couldn't recall a man with that name listed under those working for the warlord. Still he maintained his silence as he followed Doflamingo through the quiet stone halls. He tried to envision what the palace would look like under Doflamingo's reign. Were there pictures on the walls? If so, what kind of pictures? He guessed something to do with the ocean or maybe treasure, something fitting for the life of a pirate. His mind wandered to Neo. He wondered what kind of pictures she would have up on the walls of her own palace. Finding out that she was royalty was a shocker for him, yet it wasn't. Somehow the idea seemed to fit her. He wasn't sure why thought. Perhaps he would get his answer once he officially met the young woman back at the navy base he left her at. The opening of another door brought him out of his thoughts of the blue haired pirate.
A brush of wind from the door washed over his exposed skin and he stepped into the room that someone called the Suit Chamber. He waited patiently then. Listening to the sounds of those in the room moving around. A dull thud, and the use of his observation haki, let him know that the warlord had dropped Law into a chair. Clattering of chains then informed him that the younger warlord was now immobile. Suddenly an uncomfortable feeling passed through his bones upon realizing that this young warlord was separated a fair distance from his lover. Law would have no idea where she was or how she was. He knew when the two Heart Pirates woke up it was going to be like dealing with wild animals who had been caged for the first time ever. And only one of those wild animals was really subdued with sea prism stone chains. The other one wasn't so easily subdued since she wasn't a devil fruit user. She had a power, or whatever it was, with no way to shut it off. But he got the unshakable feeling she wouldn't hurt them in any kind of way unless they made a move to hurt her or someone she loved first. He just hoped he could get back to her before she woke up. He knew of her not being a devil fruit user. A few of his men knew of her not being a devil fruit user.
None of them, however, would know how to handle her. He wasn't sure if he knew how he was going to handle her. Would she break free if she knew that they knew she wasn't a devil fruit user and the sea prism stone didn't work on her? He probably should have warned his men about it, but he didn't. His men, who were on Green Bit with him, were probably already leaking that information to the rest of the navy soldiers in this country as it was. He should have ordered them to be quiet for the time being on that subject. He really wanted to talk to the pirate girl before all of that information blew up through the ranks. His thoughts were disrupted when a dark, uncomfortable presence entered the room. Something else passed through the room. It was the smell of death. Whoever this man was, that just entered the room, was covered with the smell of it.
"You called for me, Young Master?" the man's voice asked. "Are you all right, sir? Your cheek looks swollen."
Fujitora turned his closed eyes to the voice and the presence. Using his observation haki, he carefully scanned this new man. The man's spirit seemed just as normal as anyone else. But something about him was setting off warning bells in the navy admiral's body. He wanted to shake off the feeling. Doflamingo had called this man a physician. But he didn't believe the warlord from the beginning. And he certainly didn't believe him now. So who was this man? And how many people has this man killed?
"Yes, Cethin, the fight I was in got a little bit out of hand. It's nothing to worry about. For now, I would like you to go to the navy base set up on Carny Street," Doflamingo said. He rubbed his cheek, just below the bruise he knew was forming there. "Trafalgar Neo is there. Fujitora here knows she not a devil fruit user. I'd like you to keep an eye on her for him while he's here discussing business with me. Most of the other navy soldiers here are unaware that she's not a devil fruit user. I'd feel better if you go there and help them until Fujitora is able to return to his men. Do you understand your orders?"
"Yes, Young Master," Cethin said. He adjusted his goggled on his forehead before tucking his hand back into his pocket. He clenched a hold of the medallion inside. His heart pounded with anticipation in finally getting to go see her, upon finally getting to be able to get close to her. "Would you like me to give her a check up? I hear she's recently been in battle. If she's hurt I could help her."
"That's not necessary," Fujitora found himself saying before Doflamingo could speak. "She's not harmed. She's only unconscious. I only wanted her subdued. And she is."
"Young Master?" Cethin looked at the navy admiral with a frown before turning his black eyes to Doflamingo.
"A complete check up is unnecessary," Doflamingo said smiling at the disappointment in Cethin's eyes. "Just look her over and report back to me as soon as you can, after the admiral returns to the base. That'll be all."
"Yes, Young Master," Cethin said. Still frowning, he turned and left the room while pulling a rubber band out of his pocket to pull back his still loose hair.
Fujitora watched the man go. The bad feeling over the man remained with him. He wanted to follow after him to make sure he didn't do anything to Neo that he wasn't supposed to. But he couldn't. He had to talk with Doflamingo. He had no choice but to put this situation out of his head for the time being. This wouldn't take very long anyway. He would make sure of that.
"Shall we have our little talk now, Fujitora?" Doflamingo asked.
…
Luffy growled furiously as he ran down the halls of the coliseum. His heart pounded in sync with each step he took. His furious steps echoing off of the stonewalls of the coliseum. The musty smell of sweat from the gladiators had faded from his nose long ago. All he could think about was getting out of this place and helping his friends. "Doflamingo! If you or the navy lay a single finger on my friends I'll ram my foot so far up your-" He jerked to a stop when he caught a glimpse of Bartolomeo's green hair coming down another hallway towards him. He turned and ran towards the green haired man. "Hey! It's you! Rooster head!"
"Huh?" Bartolomeo asked, looking up from the blonde man draped over his shoulders.
"I'm so glad to see you!" Luffy shouted, coming up to the men.
"Ah! Mr. L-L-L-Luffy!" Bartolomeo crowed. He fell over backwards, dropping Bellamy in the process of his star struck panic. He caught himself on his hands, his eyes spinning with swirls. Get it together, Bartolomeo! You don't want to miss this opportunity to- Hold on a second! He dropped down to the floor and looked at Luffy. His eyes roamed around the area, looking for Neo, but he couldn't find her. "Where's your wife?"
"Huh? My wife?" Luffy asked. He tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest in confusion before realizing who Bartolomeo was talking about. "Oh! You mean Neo! She's been taken by the navy!"
"What?!" Bartolomeo shrieked, bolting up to his feet. "The rotten navy took your beloved?!"
"Huh?! Oh! Hey, Bellamy!" Luffy, ignoring Bartolomeo's words, greeted his old enemy once he noticed the blonde man sitting on the stone floor beside Bartolomeo.
"But how did she manage to get out of the coliseum?" Bartolomeo asked. He stared at Luffy before quickly turning away when the Straw Hat captain looked at him. "I-I-I assumed you found Mr. Z-Z-Zoro then?!"
"Yeah! We found him! But never mind that! I really, really need to get out of here!" Luffy said. "Where's the exit?!"
"Neo?" Bellamy asked. He glanced up at Luffy from the corner of his eyes. "You mean Trafalgar Neo?"
"That's her! Do you know her?!" Luffy nodded. "She and Tra have been taken! I need to go after them! How do I get out of here?! I can't find the exit!"
"It's hard not to know about her with all the questions she raises in the newspapers. And there is no exit in this place," Bellamy said.
"What?! Are you serious?! Hold on a second! You look like you're more injured than you were before! What happened?!" Luffy asked. His eyes roamed over the blood dripping down Bellamy's face and the scars that weren't there before.
"Once a competitor enters into this coliseum he can never leave it," Bellamy said, ignoring Luffy's questions about his injuries. "There's no point in looking for an exit. You won't find one."
"What?! That can't be right! I don't have time for this!" Luffy said. He started jogging in place. "I really, really need to get out of here! You're Doflamingo's subordinate so you have to know how to get out of here! You're not a prisoner here after all! Please! My friends are in trouble! I have to help them! I promised Neo I would protect her and Tra!"
"Why would I care about your promises? They have nothing to do with me. Whatever. I'm leaving this place. If you follow me, you just might get out of here," Bellamy replied.
"Really?! Great! You're going to take me to the exit now?!" Luffy asked, still jogging in place.
"I'm only saying that if you follow me, you might get out," Bellamy said with a low growl in his tone. "Do you want me to betray my boss? Well, I will never betray Doflamingo! I respect him far too much!"
"Luffy's wife's safety is far more important than your stupid loyalty! And you've got to be kidding! Just a few minutes ago you were-" Bartolomeo started.
"Shut up! That's none of your business!" Bellamy snapped, cutting the green haired man off. "And what are you even saying?! Straw Hat isn't married! That woman is married to Trafalgar Law!"
"You shut up! Mrs. Neo and Mr. Luffy are married! I saw the ring on her finger!" Bartolomeo snapped. His mind filling with a false fantasy of what really happened between Neo and Luffy when he first saw them together. "I saw them together! They were holding hands and kissing!"
"You're crazy!" Bellamy said. "There's no way that happened!"
"Whatever! Let's just go!" Luffy said. He waved his hands in the air. "I don't have time for this!"
The two men looked at Luffy. Bartolomeo quickly looked away and said, "But Mr. Luffy! What about the flame flame fruit?! Don't you still want that?!"
"Of course I still want it! There are certain people that I really don't want to get it, but Neo and Tra's lives are far more important to me than that fruit is!" Luffy replied. "My friends are going to die if I leave them!"
"All right! I will help you! You can count on me, Mr. Luffy!" Bartolomeo cheered with his back was still turned towards Luffy. "I'll help reunite you with your wife by making sure you get out of this place! Then I will win the flame flame fruit for you!"
"What?! You'll do that?! You'll win the flame flame fruit then just give it to me?!" Luffy asked.
"Of course I will! It belongs to you after all!" Bartolomeo shouted. "I promise that I will win the flame flame fruit for you! So don't worry about it at all! Go save your previous lover!"
"Who exactly are you talking to? Straw Hat's behind you," Bellamy said as he stared at Bartolomeo shouting in the opposite direction of Luffy.
"All right! I'm counting on you then!" Luffy said. He turned his attention down the dark hall when he heard footsteps coming towards them. He watched until a silhouette appeared in the dark wall way. He blinked and watched the person walking towards them. "Hm?"
"I'm not going to let you have the flame flame fruit, Straw Hat Luffy," the silhouette said. Stepping out of the shadows, he revealed himself to be a blonde haired man wearing a long black jacket with a buckle on the left sleeve, with a blue shirt and vest, a frilled cravat, and a simple belt holding a pair of loose, light-blue pants with black boots brown gloves and a top hat with goggles over the band. His lips were curled into a smile as he started at Luffy from underneath his hat.
"Who the heck are you?! Where did you even come from?! And how dare you talk to the great and powerful Mr. Luffy like that?! He's going to be king of the pirates someday! Stupid!" Bartolomeo growled as he stomped up to the stranger.
"That's something that I have known for years," the blonde haired man said before pushing Bartolomeo out of the way and walking towards Luffy.
"Hey! You can't just come here and say that! Who are you?!" Luffy said. He watched as the man pulled of his hat. He stared at the man until he noticed he looked familiar. "Wait… you… you're…"
"It's been a while. Hasn't it, Luffy?" he asked.
"Ah!" Luffy jumped up. Tears streamed down his face at the sight of his brother. Jumping again, he grabbed onto Sabo and cried. "Sabo! I thought you were dead!"
"Ha ha! It's all right, Luffy. I know," Sabo said. He looked up to his younger brother as Luffy, somehow managed to hold onto his shoulders with both his legs and arms. "Luffy, you really need to let me go now. Don't you have some friends that are in need of your help?"
"Oh! Right!" Luffy jumped off his brother. "Neo and Tra are in trouble! I have to help them! But there is so much that I want to talk to you about!"
"I know that." Sabo nodded. "There's a lot that I'd like to talk to you about as well. But there's no time right now."
"Yeah. I've got to go after Tra and Neo," Luffy said.
"So you've made friends with the Heart Pirates, huh?" Sabo asked.
"You know them?" Luffy asked.
"I do. I've been following their travels for a while now," Sabo replied. "Neo's has gained the attention of the Revolutionary Army."
"Well, be nice to them if you happen to see them. Neo's really nice. You'll like her," Luffy said.
"Don't worry, Luffy. I'll keep an eye out for her," Sabo said with a smile. "We have no intention of bringing harm to her. You go on ahead and get out of here. I'll win the flame flame fruit for Ace and you."
"That's great!" Luffy smiled. He took one last look at his brother before finally following after Bellamy.
…
Cethin walked out of the Suit Chamber at a normal pace despite wanting to run from the room. He struggled to fight back the desire to dash out of the palace and right to the street that Doflamingo told him Neo was on. But he couldn't do that. He didn't want to and didn't need to give the navy admiral here the impression he wasn't who he knew Doflamingo said he was. He wondered, with how the navy admiral was studying him through his skillful use of observation haki, if the old man knew or suspected that something else was going on here than what was said.
A person didn't become a navy admiral if they were lacking in skills. He figured the old man probably suspected something was going on. But their ruse should be good enough to hold suspicions at bay. At least until he got done what he needed to do. They, after all, had everything planned out long before this point in time. For months they planned for a number of different scenarios. They came up with a large number of roles he could play that would get him close to Neo without suspicions. A physician was one of those. And the one they would have most likely ended up using since they were dealing with both the navy and pirates. Fights between the two were inevitable. Injuries, or knockouts, were also inevitable. And since Neo was with the navy and the word Doflamingo had used on him, he knew exactly which roll he was suppose to play. After months of waiting and waiting the stage was finally set. All he had to do know was get to his prize.
One step through the door and he was out of the Suit Chamber. Cethin picked up his pace to a fast walk. Nodding to a couple of Doflamingo's soldiers as they passed by on their way to wherever it was their master ordered them to go. He watched them from over his shoulder as they continued on down the hall in the opposite direction he was going. They didn't know anything about him. All they knew was he was under employment by Doflamingo like the rest of them.
He recalled the first day he arrived here. He was introduced to Doflamingo's main forces and to some of the lower rank soldiers. But the only thing Doflamingo said about him was he would be living in the palace for a while as he worked on a special project for the young master. Then he was shown to his room where he spent the next seven months preparing for this day. A smile formed on his lips. Finally that day was here.
Cethin turned down the long stone hallway. The large doors that led to the outside were in front of him. He walked to the edge of the staircase and looked down. Taking the first step down those stairs was like have a fresh warm breeze hit him in the face after a long hard winter of being stuck inside. A few soldiers were gathered near the end of the stairs, but he paid them no mind as they paid him no mind. He was closer to the exit.
Placing his hands on one of the large doors that were now in front of him, he pushed it open. Blinking to the bright sun that greeted him. The sun was incredible warm. The wind was still, but the air was fresh and filled with the salt from the nearby ocean. A few seagulls called from a distance. Then he was outside in the palace yard. The fresh cut grass and the trees greeted his senses. Everything felt so new and refreshing after spending months inside of the palace. A small part of him wanted to stand there and enjoy the smells and sounds of nature around him, but he had more important things to do.
He started to run. He ran all the way over to the lift and bolting into the door when it finally opened for him. Slipping his personal key for the first time into the slot he started the slow, painfully slow, descend down from the palace and to the town. This was by far the worst part. He remembered the ride up the lift on that first day. The lift wasn't fast enough then on that day and it certainly was fast enough now. Today it really got on his nerves. He was so close to finally getting his hands on her, figuratively speaking of course, yet all he could do was stand there and listen to the machine hissing as it descended downward.
Cethin pulled the medallion out of his lab coat pocket. Sunlight glinted off the silver base of the medallion as he studied it again. He couldn't recall how many times he has looked at this thing since it came into his possession. It was always the same. The only difference now was the sun was making the already murky green tubing look even darker and the silver shinier. Something the lights inside of the palace wouldn't do. Outside, the medallion looked just as innocent as he heard she was.
A deep chuckle passed over his lips. He was ready to start this whole thing. He was ready to see what she could really do compared to what the others could do. She, after all, was a royal, the strongest of all the elementals. Due to the rumors about her, from what they had learned from Vergo, and from the damage she did to Doflamingo in such a short amount of time, she might be more powerful than they realized, than he realized. And he was going to love this.
He lifted his dark eyes when the lift slowed to a stop. The machinery hissed, clicked and clacked as the door opened up for him. He stepped out. Not even bothering to pause for anything, he bolted into a run. Zooming passed all of the people and stores of the country until he reached his destination about seven minutes later. He paused for a moment just a few feet from the white tents that the navy had set up to catch his breath. Once again he knew he needed to keep calm and not give anyone any reason to suspect it was up to something. While his panting slowed, he looked up at the blue seagull panted on the tops of the tents before easily guessing which one she was in. The tent in the middle had two guards standing in front of the flap. Shoving his hands into his pocket, and forcing back a smile, he walked over to the tent, to the soldiers. "Excuse me. I'm here to examine Trafalgar Neo."
"I'm sorry, sir. No one may enter into this tent while the admiral is gone," one of the soldiers said.
Cethin kept his smile in place. He figured he would be met with a little resistance, but also knew they would still let him in there. He was under the employment of a warlord of the sea. A warlord that the lower ranking navy soldiers did fear no matter how much they tired to hide it. "I am here at the request of King Doflamingo, the warlord of the sea, and of Admiral Fujitora."
"The admiral?" the soldier asked.
"Indeed. Your admiral is aware that I have come here to check on the prisoner. Now, don't waste our time here. I'm sure neither one of us want to walk all the way back to the palace to confirm this," Cethin said. "And I'm certain you wouldn't want to tick off my boss."
The two soldiers shivered at the thought of the warlord. They exchanged concerned looks before allowing the man to enter into the tent. "Very well. Just don't touch her. It's the admiral's orders."
"Don't worry, soldier. I have no intentions on touch her now anyway. I'm only under orders to see if she's harmed," Cethin said. He stepped forward. Lifting up the tent flap, he stepped inside. He paused momentarily to let his eyes adjust to the lower light that forced itself passed the thin fabric of the tent. His light smile then turned dark upon finally seeing her laying on one of the ten cots that lined both sides of the tent, five on each side. He chuckled at the sea prism stone chains cuffed to her wrists. "Oh, how useless those are on her, you stupid soldiers. Now let's get down to business."
Cethin stepped over to Neo and sat down on the small stool that he assumed would be for Fujitora when he finally came back here. He ran his eyes from her head to her toes, slowly taking in every single detail about her. Taking in the sun kissed color of her skin, how flawless, and smooth it seemed to be but for the fading scars that remained on her flesh. His eyes paused at the scar on her left shoulder. It looked to him to be a sword wound that she was always going to have with her. But scars didn't matter. He pulled his eyes off the scar and traced the curves of her body, the yellow shirt, and black shorts she was wearing to the color and length of her hair. Her hair was lighter than it was in pictures. But that was to be expected. Ink could never capture the real beauty of anything. He preferred real life to photographs.
Still, he didn't expect her hair to look so much like the sky above them. It looked insanely pure, but fitting for what she really was. It looked extremely soft as well. He wondered how soft it really was. He wanted so bad to reach out and run his finger through her hair just to see if it felt as soft as it looked. He found his hand lifting up and reaching out for her hair.
Automatically, his movement stopped just a half of an inch from her blue locks from a foreboding feeling. He knew what would happen if he did touch her. He's heard of those rumors as well. She would freak out and so would her lover if he knew she had been touched without permission. But he wasn't scared. He could handle her easily enough. Still he wondered if she would react to his touch in her unconscious state. He had to know. He had to try. His fingers closed the small distance between them.
Just as his light colored skin was about to touch her blue locks, a soft vibration came from his pocket. It reminded him of the real reason he was there and he pulled back from her. Reaching in for the medallion, he pulled it out and let it lay flat in his palm. The strange tube started to glow and pulse erratically. The murky green glow flowed out over Neo's body before centering on her temples. His heart leaped with excitement when Neo's eyebrows narrowed and she whimpered from pain he knew was pulsing through her head right now. She turned her head away from him, away from the pain. He stroked the tubing on the medallion, causing the glow to increase its flow into Neo's body. His heart leaped again when she whimpered once more, gritted her teeth, and clenched her fists, obviously in more pain. He chuckled. "Instinctively trying to get away in your sleep. Just like they all do. It seems that everything is working just fine. And you have no clue what's happening to you."
Cethin chuckled again. He started to put the medallion away, but stopped when the glow strolled down her body and came to a focused point on her stomach. His eyes widened when the glow came to a sharp point. He watched as the glow tried to pierce into her stomach but was stopped by her crystals. Four crystals, one of each element, appeared in front of her stomach preventing the glow from piercing her. He didn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. Was it really possible? "It can't be. It's not possible."
Cethin closed his hand over the glow, cutting it off from her stomach. He then removed his hand and let the glow flow back over her body. Once again the glow went right for her stomach and her crystals reappeared to protect her, to protect the baby that was inside of her. A sinister smile curled on his lips. "Well, well, imagine that. The sweet little elemental princess is pregnant. Young Master is really going to love this piece of information."
Cethin jumped up from the stool, knocking it over in the process. He started to bolt for the exit of the tent but paused when he remembered that he was supposed to stay here until the admiral returned. He thought about that for a moment. Surely Doflamingo would want to know of this little development as soon as possible. But he had his orders. He had no choice but to stay until the admiral returned. He turned back to the sleeping elemental. Watching her for a few seconds before walking back over to the cot. He picked up the stool and sat down on it. With the medallion back in his pocket, he rested his arms on his knees and leaned forward. His dark eyes locked helplessly on her stomach, his mind wondering over the child inside of her. The child that was, or would be, half elemental and half human. He's never been around such a child.
Would it be the same as full blooded elementals? Would it react the same or different to his experiments? Would it be stronger or weaker? Would it have more human traits, more elemental traits, or a good mixture of both? So many questions that could not be answered in the baby's current state of being unborn.
He's only had two pregnant elementals before. And both their children were full blooded elemental babies. This was going to be a rare treat for him. He not only had a royal elemental, but a pregnant royal elemental. This was indeed a very rare occasion. He wondered if Doflamingo would let him have them both.
…
Author's Notes: Think that Luffy and Sabo moment was out of place? Maybe it was unnecessarily added?
Guest: Yes. Any pain Neo feels, Law will feel too, unless her magic isn't working. Don't worry I'm not going to go that dark.
Apple Bloom: You're right. It was Fujitora.
