Chaos in Dressrosa

Part Five

Neo, Luffy, and Law kept an intense watched down the tunnel as the footsteps got louder the closer they came. Neo felt Law's neck ache from lifting his head up to see what was coming. Neither said or did anything about it, as they remained quietly staring down the tunnel at the dark figure walking towards them.

"This is just a water well that has been tipped on its side. There is absolutely no shortcut in here," a deep voice said. The voice made them all tense up before the owner walked close enough for them to see.

"It's you! Doflamingo!" Luffy said.

"Doflamingo!" Law hissed.

"Law!" Neo grabbed the hilt of Law's sword and pulled it out, knowing it wouldn't do her much good against Doflamingo. She knew she was going to be pretty much useless in facing this man with her magic since his strings can cut through all her attacks. But without her magic, she was completely helpless. Her sword skills weren't good enough to face Doflamingo with.

"Stay calm! Don't panic! He'll only feed off that if you do!" Law told her in a low tone.

"But you're chained up and my magic is out again!" Neo replied back.

"I order you to just stay calm! It'll be fine!" Law said.

"Calm… I'm calm… sort of." Neo relaxed her body at Law's order but keep his sword firm in her hand.

"I see all of you weaklings are working together now. It looks like you're going to get those handcuffs off soon, aren't you, Law?" Doflamingo said.

"Why the heck are you here?!" Luffy demanded. He threw a punch at Doflamingo. He gritted his teeth when Doflamingo deflected it and his hand bounced around the walls of the tunnel before snapping back into place.

"I came to save you, especially my precious little sister-in-law," Doflamingo said, looking right at Neo with a smile. "What's wrong, dear little sister? Why are you holding that sword? Why not turn your crystals on me like you did before? Is something wrong?"

"I'm not your sister! And there's nothing wrong with me!" Neo said, lifting the blade in a defensive move. She winced at the pain throbbing through her head and ultimately lowered the sword. She placed her free hand on Moocy's back to steady herself.

"Are you sure about that?" Doflamingo asked, taking a couple steps closer. "You appear to be in pain. Why don't you come with me? I can get my personal physician to take a look at you."

"You stay away from her, Doflamingo!" Law hissed. "She's not going anywhere with you!"

"Perhaps. But I'm starting to doubt you and Straw Hat's smarts. How could you three fall into such a stupid trap? That crap about a shortcut?" Doflamingo said. He held up his finger and shot out a string at Moocy.

The bull cried out in pain. His body jerked at the string passing through his body.

"Straw Hat!" Law said.

"Moocy!" Neo said. She pressed her arm to Moocy, tightened her legs against his sides, and angling Law's sword away from them so she didn't cut anyone. "Hold on!"

"Bullet String!" Doflamingo said before firing several more strings into Moocy's side.

"Moocy!" Luffy shouted.

The bull cried out. His body jerking with each string that hit him.

"Forget about him, Straw Hat!" Law said before Moocy lost his footing. He felt his own body jerk as the bull fell over into the water. He, somehow, managed to stay on the bull while Luffy and Neo fell into the water. The cold water splashed on his face when he turn to see Neo and Luffy break the surface.

"Luffy!" Neo cried when she surfaced. She had Luffy under her arm, doing her best to keep his head above the water while she kicked furiously with her legs to keep them both up and not get sick from her pounding head or lose Law's sword. Through it all she managed to pull Luffy back over to Moocy. "Can you hold on?"

"Yash… tanksh… Neo…," Luffy slurred. Putting his hand back on Moocy, he pulled his weight off Neo.

"You really have no sense of crisis, do you?" Doflamingo said. "It's pathetic."

"Stay… with me… Moocy…" Luffy said, sliding down Moocy and back into the water.

"Luffy!" Neo grabbed him before he could sink into the water. She pulled him back to the bull and tried to pull him farther up on Moocy. But she wasn't strong enough. To have a chance of getting him to a safer point, she'd have to let go or put up Law's sword. She couldn't bring herself to do either. But without Luffy at full strength what chance did they have? She tried pushing Luffy up higher on Moocy, bring them both of their chests out of the water. Her arm wobbled, causing both to sink back into the water. "Not strong enough!"

"Just hold on, Neo!" Law encouraged her.

"This really is pathetic. Anyone could kill you guys at this rate. There are some idiots who are saying that they are going to kill me rampaging out there. It's amazing that you were able to find people who decided to side with you under these circumstances. I've been giving you due respect for that special ability of yours since the war of the best two years ago, but I can't believe that you're actually this dumb. Why did you choose him, Law? You used to be a more promising man. Even as a kid you were more ruthless and cunning than this. Am I right? Who was it that turned you into such a soft headed sap?"

"Shut up! I'm not willing to become like you! I've been saved!" Law snapped.

"By my brother Corazon, you mean? If you haven't become such a coward, why do you want to die such a pathetic death alongside this moron?" Doflamingo asked.

"Stop it! Law's not a coward! You are!" Neo screamed. Using her anger she hosted Luffy up on Moocy enough so he could hang on without her. She then proceeded to climb over the bull herself. Tightening her hold on Law's sword she glared at Doflamingo, envisioning running the blade through his heart. She jumped back down into the water and headed right for him.

"Neo?! What are you doing?!" Law demand, his voice filled with panic as he jerked violently at the chains holding him back from stopping her. He couldn't believe she was marching right up to Doflamingo without her magic to back her up. He knew she was acting out of character lately, but this was nothing short of a death sentence.

"Yes, Neo, come to me," Doflamingo said, his grin growing wider. He held out his hands like he was welcoming her into his arms. "I like that look in your eyes. You're becoming bloodthirsty. Just try and take me down."

"Don't taunt me!" Neo snapped.

"What's she doing?" Luffy asked. "Has she lost it?"

"Neo, stand down! That's an order!" Law shouted. His heart skipped a beat when she didn't listen to him. His blood turned cold as he watched helplessly as she charged forward towards the one man he really didn't want her to be around right now.

"Do it now," Doflamingo said.

Neo screamed out in excruciating pain. She dropped Law's sword, it's blade clanking against the ground as it bounced on the stone floor until it came to a stop. She grabbed her head and dropped to her knees.

"What did he do to her?! Who was he talking to?!" Luffy asked, struggling to pull himself out of the water. Anger built up in his chest that Neo was hurting, endangered from being that close to the enemy, and at himself for not being able to help her.

Law gritted his teeth. His head pounded in sync with his heart. Both felt like they were going to pop out of his body. He glared at Doflamingo. "What did you do to her?!"

"I didn't do anything to her," Doflamingo said, reaching down for her.

"Don't you touch her!" Law said. He wiggled his body, desperate to get off this bull and over to Neo. But the sea prism stone chains zapped his strength leaving him completely helpless.

"Stop! Don't you touch the girl! Or hurt Straw Hat!" Jeet suddenly said.

"Keep your hands off of them!" Abdullah added as they appeared out of the darkness, their weapons at the ready before slicing through the warlord.

Doflamingo's body split in half. Strings uncoiled, revealing the man to just be a string clone.

"It's a clone as I thought," Law said, relieved it had been taken down, before dropping his eyes back to Neo. She was still clenching her head, but was now laying on her side, curled up into a ball.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jeet asked, reaching for her.

"No! Don't touch her!" Law snapped just before the man's fingers could touch her arm.

"Huh?" Jeet looked up at Law. "But she's in a whole lot of pain."

"She'll be fine unless you touch her. She can't handle being touched by people she doesn't know," Law said.

"He's right. Please, don't touch her," Luffy said, tired from being in the water.

"Sure thing, Straw Hat!" Abdullah said. "We won't touch her if you say not to!"

"We're just glad that you're safe," Jeet said. He elbowed his friend. "In any case, we should pull them out of the water now."

"Yeah!" Abdullah said, following Jeet forward. Entering the water, they went behind Moocy and pushed him out of the water.

"You saved us. Thank you," Luffy said, plopping down on Moocy's side.

"No, no, no, no," Jeet said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "No need to thank us."

Law growled and wiggled around until he managed to fall off the massive bull. He hit the floor with a thud, ignoring the slight pain he caused himself, and continued to wiggle towards Neo. "Neo!"

"Here," Luffy said, sliding off Moocy. He hoisted Law back over his shoulder and carried him over to Neo. He sat his friend down before dropping to the ground himself in exhaustion.

"Neo?" Law said, brushing his fingertips against her back.

"L-Law… it… it hurts so much," Neo said. Rolling towards him, she pushed herself up and into Law's chest. Exhausted from the little movement, she panted hard while resting against him. "What's happening to me? Why does it hurt so much?"

"I don't know," Law said, tucking her head under his chin. "I'm sorry you're in so much pain. I promise I'll figure it out as soon as I can. Your breathing's starting to slow down. Is the pain lessening?"

Neo nodded weakly. "It's starting to go away."

"That's good to hear. But what about that thing? Is that really his lower body? Did we really bring down the big game?" Abdullah asked, looking and pointing at the lower half of the thing they sliced up.

"Idiot! I told you before! That's just a fake!" Law said, inspecting the clone's lower half like it was going to spring back to life and attack again. "He took the trouble to send the string puppet to tease us? Or did he send it here to take Neo?"

"If it was here for me then why didn't it just grab me and go? We clearly weren't in any position to fight back. It gives me the creeps," Neo said. She looked at what remained of the string clone and grimaced. Her stomach churned at the sight of it and how she walked right up to it with the intent to kill it. She gagged, closed her eyes, and turned more into Law. "It's making me nauseous too. I can't believe I walked right up to it like that. I'm so sorry, Law."

"Shh," Law whispered, pressing his lips into her hair. "It's all right."

"What was he doing here anyway?" Jeet asked.

"He said that he came to save us," Luffy said. He looked at the clone body and tilted his head. "Save us from what thought?"

"Oh yeah! Actually, it might have something to do with that Kelly Funk guy from earlier! He tricked us!" Jeet said. "He led us into this place as a trap. When he learned that we were going to stop him. But Doflamingo showed up and did it instead. Kelly Funk was taken out in a second. Doflamingo then came in here."

"What?! If that's true, then it's like we really were saved by that jerk!" Luffy said. "He's mocking us! What's going on out there?! How are Cabbage and the others?! Where are they?"

"We've totally falling behind. I bet everyone else has already reached the second level by now," Jeet told him.

"Dang it! I thought we could take a shorter route that would get us to the Sunflower Field first!" Luffy said.

"We've got to go back! Hurry up!" Law said. He looked down at Neo. "Can you move?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She lifted up off of him and readjusted the sheath on her back. "I think I'll be fine. Let's go back."

"No! Let's just go for a shorter route!" Luffy slammed his fist into his palm.

"What are you talking about, Luffy?" Neo asked. "What short route? We're in a dead end tunnel."

"If there's no shortcut here, I'll have to make one!" Luffy said, looking up at the ceiling.

"What?!" Jeet and Abdullah asked. "Don't tell us you're going to punch a hole in the ceiling!"

"You got it!" Luffy said before throwing Law over his shoulder again. He then grabbed Law's sword, placed it back in its sheath before pulling Neo to him. "Come here, Neo! Hold on tightly to me! We're going up!"

"Uh… Law?" Neo asked, completely unsure about this as her arms automatically wrapped around Luffy's neck.

"Just hold on tight," Law said, despite not want either of them in this situation.

"Gum Gum! Elephant Gun!" Luffy cried. Throwing his enlarged fist upward, he punched a huge hole in the roof of the tunnel. Some of the roof crackled and crumbled down around them while the majority flew upwards with his fist.

Neo squeaked and ducked into Luffy's chest.

"You are far too reckless, Straw Hat!" Law shouted.

"Guys! Take care of Moocy, okay?!" Luffy said.

"Okay!" Jeet and Abdullah said with a nod.

"All right! Let's go!" Luffy threw his fist upward again. He grabbed a hold of the edge of the hole and flung them all upwards. "Gum Gum Rocket!"

"It's Straw Hat!" a man shouted when they went flying up from the tunnel.

"All right! We caught up with them on the second level!" Luffy said as they sailed through the opening then through the air. He looked down before landing on the ground with ease despite the load he was carrying. He then checked on Neo who was still clinging tightly to him and looking a bit shaken up. "Hm? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She forced her trembling arms to let go of him. "Just a bit shaken up. I'll be fine."

"Let's get going, Straw Hat!" Law said. "We don't have time to stand around here all day! You ready, Neo?"

"I am." Neo pulled Law's sword back out of its sheath. "Let's go."

"Yeah! Wait for me, Mingo!" Luffy said. The small group of three turned and ran off into the middle of the fighting. He glanced up at the top of the plateau. "Doflamingo's at the top of this place, right?"

With gunshots, swords clashing, and shouts firing through the air, Luffy kicked and punched the enemy as he ran through them. Occasionally, he looked over at Neo to check on her and her own progress. She was easily disarming the men with Law's sword and knocking as many out as she possible could when she had the chance. He jerked to a stop when Cavendish and his horse ran past him and Law then stopped. "Cabbage! Are you going to get in my way, again?!"

"No. Get on," Cavendish said.

"What?" Luffy asked.

"I mean I'm give you all a ride because I have no other choice!" Cavendish said.

"You sure?" Luffy asked.

"You want to get to Doflamingo as soon as possible, don't you?" Cavendish asked.

Neo walked over to the horse.

"Of course I do!" Luffy said. He jumped up on the horse and laid Law in front of him. "I'm ready! Now go!"

"Can't you even manage a little thank you?!" Cavendish demanded.

"Whatever, just go!" Luffy said.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Cavendish said. Growling he faced forward. "Never mind! Let's go, Farul! What the heck?!" His jaw fell open when he saw his horse had his head tilted over with a dreamy expression as Neo stroked his neck lovingly.

"Hey, you. How are you doing in all of this? You look like you're holding up well. That's good to hear," Neo said as she stroked her sword free hand over his white coat. "Looks like your owner takes very good care of you. Really? It's good to hear that he does."

"Is she having a conversation with my horse?" Cavendish asked.

"Neo, we don't have time for this," Law said, wondering when exactly her magic came back.

"Yes we do!" Neo snapped. "There's always time to see how an animal is doing!"

"What the heck is wrong with her?" Cavendish asked.

Luffy laughed. "She just really loves animals."

"Well, we really need to get moving!" Cavendish said. "Will you just get up here?!"

"I'll fly," Neo said.

"Neo," Law said in a warning tone.

"Law, you know there's not much room on that horse," Neo said. She walked around the horse so she could look at him. "I won't go very far from you. And if my magic cuts out again, Luffy can easily pull me on the horse."

"Fine," Law said in surrender only because they didn't have time to get into a fight.

Neo nodded. Summoning her wind crystals, she lifted herself into the air and flew along side them. She looked down at Law to see how he was handling riding on the back of a horse instead of the bull. She could tell he was annoyed at having to be hauled around like this and his back was starting to ache from the awkward position, but he was handling it fine. If he got into too much pain she could fix that with her solar crystal. Her eyes then caught movement. She looked up to see another man, dressed as a coliseum fighter, was now sitting on the back of the horse with Luffy.

"Listen up, if we get caught by the top executives, we'll get stuck here. I'm going to cut the wall and make a path for us. So it's up to you to kick the other enemies butts while I'm doing that," Cavendish said.

"Got it!" Luffy nodded.

"And we're going to go straight to the third level… hey!" Cavendish continued, turning around to see Kyros sitting on the back of his horse. "We've got an extra passenger! Who the dickens are you?!"

"Oh, Soldier!" Luffy said, looking over his shoulder.

"When did you get on?!" Cavendish demanded.

"How is it possible that horse is carrying four people?" Neo asked curiously as she flew along side them. She flew up to Farul's head. "Are you okay with this? Really? Well, if you say you can handle it… all right then."

"Just now. I followed the path that Luffyland made," Kyros said just as Neo flew back to the spot she was in before.

"I see. That's how you followed Straw Hat and got on Farul- Hey! You're followed way too close!" Cavendish said.

"That's great! I was looking for you!" Luffy said.

"Even if you are friends, we're way overloaded! Get off!" Cavendish said.

"We're going to meet up with Rebecca!" Luffy said, ignoring Cavendish.

"Rebecca is among the enemy?! Why didn't you stop her?!" Kyros asked.

"Listen to me!" Cavendish demanded.

"We're meeting up with her at the Sunflower Field on the fourth level," Luffy said.

"But she's on the criminal list, too!" Kyros said.

"Don't worry! She's with my friends!" Luffy said.

"Luffy called you Soldier. Does that mean you're Rebecca's father?" Neo asked, carefully taking in the black haired man.

"That I am." Kyros nodded. He then eyed Neo, noticing she was the one that Luffy's friends were talking about before and noticing her inhuman nature. "Ah, you must be Neo."

"Yes," Neo said cautiously, easily noticing he noticed the truth about her.

"It's all right," Kyros said with a smile. "Luffyland's friends asked me to keep an eye out for you."

"They did?" Neo asked.

Kyros nodded.

"Listen to me! My dear horse Farul only can run beautifully with two people or less!" Cavendish said. "Get off!"

'This is annoying. The bull's back had more space.'

'Yeah. I can always fly you, too.'

'I keep telling you to-'

'Save my magic and energy. I know, I know.' Neo flew down closer to Law. 'I really don't like that I can't help you all very much. It's really starting to make me feel like that weak little girl I use to be.'

'Don't feel guilt about that. You're doing what you can. Saving your magic and energy will help in the final battle with Doflamingo, despite the fact I really don't want you near him.'

'Sorry, but I'm not leaving your side again. And I hope so.' Neo nodded. She narrowed her eyebrows, releasing a low rumble of thunder. 'He's got me so furious over all of this.'

He's got me so furious too, Law thought to himself. His mind wandered back to the tunnel. The words clone Doflamingo had spoken right before Neo collapsed in pain appeared to be directed at her and her fury. But was it really? Or was clone Doflamingo talking to someone else? There could have been a transponder snail anywhere on the clone or even in the tunnel.

"By the way, pops, why did you take off before?" Luffy asked. "I turned around and you were just gone. Rebecca was on the transponder snail and asking for you."

"Because whatever the situation brings… what I have to do is bring down Doflamingo and take back the country! But there's one more thing I must do! There's one man in the family's top executives that I want to take down with my own bare hands at any cost!" Kyros said.

"You're not willing to die for that, are you?" Luffy asked.

"No way! I won't be defeated with this human body!" Kyros said.

"Really?! All right, then!" Luffy said.

"Nothing's all right! Get off!" Cavendish snapped.

"Huh?! You get off!" Luffy said.

"That's nonsense! You really are the worst generation!" Cavendish said.

"Watch out! Look where you're going! Hey, eyes forward!" Luffy said.

"Like I said, don't tell me what to do!" Cavendish said.

"More arguing. Hey, Luffy. Look there," Neo said, pulling their attention to her. She pointed ahead of them.

"What?" Luffy asked. He turned his eyes to the direction she was pointing in.

"Is that…?" Cavendish asked.

Looking forward, they found that all of the men from the coliseum were no longer arguing with each other over who was going to take down Doflamingo. They were united and fighting together to take out Doflamingo's forces, clearing a path for them. But also there, were several of Doflamingo's top fighters, Gladius, Baby 5, Machvise, Lao G, and Dellinger.

"Go ahead, Straw Hat!" Sai said, slicing down an enemy.

"We're going to keep them busy!" Boo added.

"What?! Why are you doing this, guys?!" Luffy asked.

"Because I'm Dagama, the military tactician! This is a war! Even if we all run wild blindly, no one will ever reach the top!" Dagama said. "We must unite to get you ahead!"

"I don't trust Dagama but I agreed with his plan," Blue Gilly said. He roundhouse kicked six men before looking at Luffy. "We'll keep the executives here and let Straw Hat go ahead!"

"Leave this mess here to us and go!" Hajrudin said.

"Make sure to get him there, Cavendish!" Sai said.

"Hey, hey! My horse is not a stagecoach!" Cavendish yelled.

"We got to win this war!" Elizabello shouted.

"Now this is interesting! Let's go!" Luffy said.

Cavendish tapped his heels on Farul's sides, guided his horse forward without another word.

"Don't let Straw Hat and the others proceed to the third level!" Gladius ordered his men.

"Bring them down at any cost! You guys!" Machvise said.

"Law, it's Doflamingo's top executives," Neo said. She summoned her crystals, gathering them around the small group she was with. She eyed the executives closely, remembering everything Law taught her about them. She watched as the soldiers with them jumped into the air. She shifted the wind, ready to blow them away. "Are they serious? I can easily- Huh?" She paused when the fighters, the king and the one with the long legs and blue hair, from the coliseum leaped up to the men. They punched and kicked through the enemy with easy. They were followed by the giant that batted away several of Doflamingo's soldiers with his club. "Well, I guess they have it all handled."

"I don't like it but I have no choice but to count on you guys now!" Ideo said, turning towards them as he and the rest of the coliseum fighters stood together as a united front, blocking the enemy from getting to Luffy and his group.

"Cavendish! Take Straw Hat to the royal palace at any cost!" Dagama said.

"First Straw Hat tells me what to do and now you guys!" Cavendish sighed. Still he moved his horse forward. "Let's go, Farul!"

"I won't let you get away!" Gladius shouted. He lifted his arm, his outfit bubbled up, ready to fire at them.

Neo, hearing Gladius' cry, turned around and sheathed Law's sword. Flying backwards, she prepared to fire her elements at Gladius, but stopped when Sai came between her and her target. She watched as he easily blocked Gladius' attack then charged in for his own attack. She asked, "They're strong, but are they going to be all right?"

"We're not letting you get to the palace, Straw Hat!" a Doflamingo soldier shouted.

"When will they learn? Do they really not understand what I'm capable of?" Neo turned her attention to the man. She watched a he and another fired their bazookas at a tower. She set a gust of wind to blow the tower away before it could fall in their path. She smirked at Law when she heard him chuckle.

"We're just lucky they're so stupid," Law said.

"Too bad the top executives aren't," Neo said, looking back towards the fighters. She turned around just in time to see Dellinger slamming his horns into one of the fighter's stomach. "Dellinger just stabbed one of the coliseum fighters with his horns!"

"What?!" Luffy leaned over to his right and looked behind them. "Dagama!"

"He must have taken him out because he had taken command of the fighters and organized them!" Neo said. She turned around to head back and help them, but stopped when Dagama yelled at them to keep going.

"Don't stop!" Dagama said. He grabbed onto Dellinger, forcing the younger man to remain where he was. "Get to the top, Straw Hat! Keep going!"

"He's right, Neo," Law said, easily catching her desire to help them.

Neo gritted her teeth. She really hated fighting and hated she couldn't help the coliseum men or her own lover and friends much. She hated that she had to force herself to turn away from them. And she really hated that Doflamingo's soldiers kept shooting at them as more shots and gunpowder filled the air. She had never felt so sick of hearing the shots and smelling the gunpowder than she was right now. With a frustrated growl, she turned her crystals on the men shooting at them. "Stop shooting at us!"

Using her water crystals, she froze the bullets that were flying at them then froze the guns in the hands of the enemy. This gave Cavendish a clear path to continue up the structure the palace was nestled on. And once the enemy was subdue, she turned her attention to making sure Farul didn't slip on the broken buildings that Cavendish was guiding him onto.

"You have some very useful powers, Trafalgar Neo," Cavendish said.

"Thanks. But we need a path to continue upward," Neo said while she examined the cylinder shape of each level of the plateau. It really looked like a four level cake to her. And it made her stomach grumble. This time she ignored her cravings to eat something. Now wasn't the time for that. "I would love to just fly everyone to the top, but with my, uh, issues I've been having I can't do that safely. Give me a minute to carve out a path for Farul to run on."

"Do not worry about that, Trafalgar Neo. I had this part planned a long time ago," Cavendish said. He pulled out his sword and sliced the air, creating a yellow x like shape in the air. "Blade of Beauty! Saint-Exupery!"

"Wow!" Neo exclaimed as his attack carved out a smooth path for Farul to run on. "I didn't know anyone could do something like that."

"Think nothing of it, Trafalgar Neo," Cavendish said with a dashing smile. "It's just one of my many beautiful attacks."

"Please, just call me Neo," Neo said. "It's easier that way."

"Very well, milady. If you insist, I will call you Neo," Cavendish said.

Law released a low grumble of annoyance. "Stop flirting with her!"

"What?! I'm not flirting with anyone!" Cavendish gasped. "What is wrong with your generation?!"

Neo looked at Law and smiled. 'You're insanely cute when you're jealous.'

'I'm not jealous. I just don't want him talking to you.' Law pouted.

Neo couldn't help but squeal at Law's cute pout and jealous scowl. "You're beyond cute when you're jealous and pouty!"

"Hm?" Cavendish glanced over his shoulder at the former warlord. "What are you getting jealous for?"

"Just shut up and guide your horse!" Law snapped.

"Touchy." Cavendish huffed before turning back around.

"Too cute," Neo whispered when she flew closer to Law. When he grumbled again, she pecked his nose then looked up to see what Luffy was up to. She found her friend was now sitting on Kyros shoulders and had his Second Gear activated. "Be careful, Luffy. I don't want you falling off."

"Have no fear, Neo," Kyros said. He tightened his hold on Luffy's ankles. "I will not allow him to fall off."

"Thank you," Neo said.

"Gum Gum Jet Gatling!" Luffy shouted as he knocked out the guys with their guns frozen to their hands plus a few others that had joined them.

"It's like Doflamingo has a never ending supply of men," Neo said. She stared down at the unconscious men that were now scattered on the level below them. Her wind crystals flickered a bit, causing her to dip a couple feet.

"Neo!" Law said.

"I'm fine," Neo said, pulling herself back up. "My magic isn't disappearing. It just faded a little bit. I've got about only half my strength. I can still fly."

"I'd prefer it if you got on the horse," Law said.

"What?! She can't do that! No offense, Neo!" Cavendish said, looking over his shoulder. "We're already over loaded as it is! She doesn't look like she weights much, but still! If we put anymore weight on Farul we won't be getting to our destination at all!"

"He's right, Law," Neo said. "I can still fly. I'll do that for as long as I can. I don't want to put Farul under anymore stress than he already is."

"Fine," Law said with a defeated sigh. He then gave her an, 'I mean it look'. "But if you feel like your magic is going to fade again, you get on this horse. I don't care if he is overloaded or not. You're more important than he is."

"I know," Neo said with an understanding nod.

"Hey!" Cavendish protested. "My horse is important, too, you know! And what do you mean by magic?!"

"Law?" Neo asked.

"It's all coming out anyway after this," Law said with another sigh. "If you want to tell them, then you can."

Neo nodded. She glanced at Cavendish then at Kyros. Both men were waiting curiously to hear what she would say next. "I'm not a devil fruit user at all. I'm an elemental."

"A what?" Cavendish asked, taking in her inhuman nature carefully. He turned forward when more shots rang out into the air.

Neo deflected the shots with her winds while Cavendish sliced the ground ahead of them, clearing another path for his horse to run on. When he turned back to her, she continued. "I'm sure you both have noticed at some point that I'm not exactly human." The men nodded. "That's because I'm not. I have magic that controls the elements that I can also create or use them when they're around me."

"So all of your people can control the four elements like you can?" Kyros asked.

"Uh… not exactly," Neo said. She glanced at Law. With a supportive nod from him, she told them the truth. "Only a royal can control all four of the elements and a solar crystal."

"You're a queen?!" Cavendish gasped while Kyros' eyebrows lifted on his forehead.

"No, I'm not a queen. I'm only a princess. It's a long story, but I didn't take the throne. I still lay claim to my royal heritage, but I declined to be queen so I could be with Law and our crew," Neo said. She smiled at Law when their eyes locked. "I was raised by Law and the crew since they found me a couple years ago. That's why I know more about being a pirate than a royal."

"Well, I guess that explains all the questions about you in the newspapers," Cavendish said, turning his eyes back in front of him. "It all makes sense now. But why are you saying all of this? Why reveal the secret to us now?"

"Because Doflamingo already figured it all out. The navy, at least some of them, know about her now, too," Law said. "They're going to, without a doubt, release this information to the public."

"So there's no more point in keeping it a secret," Neo added, chewing thoughtfully on her cheek. Both her and Law wondered how this was going to effect not only their lives, but the lives of the elementals and their home island of Luminous.

"Oh, the longleg got taken out by that weirdo with the high heels!" Luffy shouted, breaking the Heart Pirates from their thoughts.

Neo gathered her crystals to help the fighters, but stopped when Cavendish shouted.

"Don't turn away from the goal, Straw Hat! And don't waste time helping them, Neo! They chose to enter this fight to get us ahead of them and on our way to Doflamingo!" Cavendish said. "We must continue on and get to the palace where Doflamingo is at any cost! That's our goal here! They all knew what they were getting into with this fight! And I knew it when I heard Doflamingo's speech earlier! This so called game the Birdcage is nothing but a fake game! As soon as the weapon trafficking and the secret with the toys were revealed, all the people currently inside this country were sentenced to death, I believe. Doflamingo won't let any information about that out of the country. That's why I believe he enclosed the island in the Birdcage. Which means Dressrosa is a solitary island, now cut off from the rest of the world. Believing in miracles and waiting for the end of the game will only get us all killed. The only way to get out of this alive is to move forward and take down Doflamingo. There are a variety of troubles here in this country. So many unexpected things are happening around him but it appears that Doflamingo is very much enjoying it. I don't know anyone who's more cunning than that man is. Doflamingo is a notch above all the others on all fronts but he had made one mistake. He brought in all those odd, tough warriors from all over the world for the event at the coliseum to battle it out against each other. But now they are turning on him as a united front. And we're not going to be defeated. Because, after all, I will be the one to take Doflamingo down."

"Hey! What are you talking about?! I said that I was going to kick Mingo's butt!" Luffy shouted.

"I said that I was going to do it, Straw Hat!" Law said.

"I'm very impressed, but I will be the one to do it!" Kyros said.

"Hey, Soldier! You said that you wanted to kill one of the executives!" Luffy pointed out.

"Not again," Neo said as the men started to once again argue over who was going to take down the insane warlord. She cringed when a loud boom rang out in the air and through her head. Looking down to the step below them, she noticed more of Doflamingo's soldiers arrived with bazookas. The soldiers aimed them at her group and fired. She frown, more people shooing at her lover. She glanced at the arguing men before guiding her winds to fling the bazooka shells back at those who were firing them. "Don't any of you care we're still being shot at here? And not just with guns, but bazookas?"

"That's a personal thing, Luffyland! Taking back King Riku's country is my sworn duty! I have to put an end to the tragedy that started here ten years ago!" Kyros said.

Neo sighed and continued to redirect the shells raining down on them. With each one she tossed back, her lips curled more and more into a smile.

"If we're basing this on time, my grudge started thirteen years ago! Huh?" Law said. He turned his eyes to Neo when he felt something dim in her mind. From his upside down position he could barely see the dark smile on her lips as she hovered just above him. He tried entering into her thoughts to see what was going on inside of her head. His eyebrows kneaded in worry when it felt like a solid wall of darkness was preventing him from viewing her thoughts. But her mind was open to him. She hadn't disconnected their connection. So what was happening to her? Why couldn't he read her thoughts? His eyes then flickered to one of her wind crystals when he noticed it liquefied and shifted before becoming solid again. "What the heck was that?"

"Then mine is thirty!" Luffy shouted.

"Oh shut up! You're not older than I am! You guys, get off!" Cavendish demanded.

"You get off!" Luffy shot back.

"It's my horse!" Cavendish said.

"You told me to get on!" Luffy pointed out.

"Will you morons stop arguing?!" Neo screamed as she forced back a bazooka shell and each of her elements with more force that was needed. The force was so great that she shot it several yards into the ground, cracking the ground into rubble.

"What's with her?!" Cavendish squeaked as he stared at the ground below them where Neo shot the shell. "She's suddenly so aggressive! I know people are shooting at her husband and she gets angry when that happens, but still! Wasn't that a bit much?!"

"Is she all right, Tra?" Luffy asked. He leaned over Kyros' shoulder but kept his eyes on Neo as she continued attacking the enemy below. "She seems a bit different from before."

"I've noticed that too," Law said. He continued to watch Neo. Trying once more to enter into her mind to see what was going on. And once again he felt like he was being blocked from reading her thoughts. "I can't tell what's going on with her. One of her crystals just liquefied, too. They've never done that before."

"Liquefied? But what about your little bond thing?" Luffy asked.

"It's not working properly," Law said through gritted teeth.

"The road is ending!" Kyros said.

Luffy looked up towards their ending road while Law kept his eyes on Neo.

Cavendish lifted his sword and sliced out the last few yards that separated them from the third level. He said, "Finally! We're almost there! The third level is just ahead!"

"All right! Go straight to the fourth level like this, horse!" Luffy said.

"About time!" Neo said. She flung her last shell back down to the second level before turning her attention to the third level. "I hope there's more of a challenge up here! Those soldiers were so pathetic!"

Law's eyebrows twitched. This definitely wasn't normal. Neo never sought out a fight.

Farul's hooves thundered against the stone path. He leaped over the end of the road then slowed to a stop. He stared into the mist that covered the third level. He shook his head back and forth in refusal to move forward.

"What's the matter, Farul?" Cavendish asked as he and Luffy leaned over to look at the horse.

"He says something's coming," Neo said. She landed beside Farul, placing her hand on his neck and staring into the mist ahead of them.

"How do you know that's what he said?" Cavendish asked.

"Because I can also talk to animals," Neo said.

Law watched her carefully. A small amount of relief filled him when she appeared to be acting normal again. But it was quickly dashed when he found he still couldn't read her thoughts. That strange wall was still up inside of her head. His own thoughts were disrupted when strange clicking vibrated through the air followed by what sounded like tin being banged on the ground. He turned his eyes to the noise, coming from the mist.

As they all stared at the mist, four large, dark figures started to take shape. The clicking became louder as the dark figures approached them. Then the figures stepped out of the mist, revealing themselves to be giant, wind up, nutcracker like dolls with blue soldier outfits, wild blonde hair that stiffly stuck out from their hats, sharp pointed mustaches, and black eyes that held a disturbing lifeless gaze.

"What are those giant dolls?!" Luffy asked.

Neo twitched at the clicking sounds the toys made as their heads tilted to the left then right and as their jaws robotically bobbed up and down. The noise shot tiny sharp jolts through her head. She massaged her left temple while keeping her right hand on Farul's neck for support when her vision blurred and began to spin.

"Tin soldiers?" Kyros asked as he carefully inspected their large size and numbers as a few more of the tin soldiers came through the mist, clanking and clicking as they walked along. They didn't look to be carrying any type of weapons, but their size was enough of a weapon so it didn't matter.

"They're a little too big to be children's toys but… more than that… they're in horrible taste!" Cavendish said. Farul shook his head again at the loud banging the tin toys made when walking. The pirate gripped his sword, ready to charge forward. "Let's cut through them all at once, Farul!"

Farul whinnied and charged forward at his master's command.

"Go!" Luffy cheered as they rushed forward.

Neo lifted herself back into the air, following along side the horse.

One of the toys tripped over a piece of a broken building as they walked towards the fighters. Luffy said, "Oh! One of them fell!"

Neo flinched when the large tin body collided with the ground. The sound shot through her whole body, making her feel nauseous. She shot her hands to her mouth to stifle a gag.

"Hm? You're not getting sick are you, Neo?" Cavendish asked since he was close enough to hear her muffle gag.

"No, I'm all right. It's just my headache. All these loud noises are aggravating it," Neo replied with a few slow breaths. She placed her hand on her cheek noticing she had a slight fever again. She could feel Law's eyes on her, but she didn't turn around to give him an assuring smile.

Something else that's out of character for her, Law thought.

"Are they really that clumsy?" Kyros then asked.

"What should we do about them?" Neo asked just as the toy lifted up its head and looked at them. She jumped at both Farul's whinny and at the toy suddenly coming towards them. Swiftly, she moved her crystals in front of them to blow the toy away from them but only got a small breeze to expel from the crystals before they faded away. She gasped and dropped to her feet with a small thud. "Not again!"

"Neo! I order you to dodge!" Law commanded before the toy picked up its speed and shot towards them.

Neo's body instantly reacted to the order. She jumped to her left, narrowly avoiding the tin toy as it rushed passed her. She brushed her hair away from her face while she sailed through the air. She landed on her feet, kicking up dust as she skidded to a stop. She then clamped her hand on Law's sword. She pulled the sword out of its shield with an angry jerk. "Stupid magic! Why do you keep disappearing on me?!"

"What the heck?! It tried to take a bite out of my head!" She heard Luffy shrieked. Pointing the sword away from her body, she ran towards her friends and the other tin toys that were still after them.

"Stay alert! We're going to go ahead like this! Each of you, defend yourself!" Cavendish said. "Neo! Do something! You have fire! Melt them!"

"No!" Neo gasped.

"Why not?!" Cavendish asked.

"These are toys just like everyone else was! That means they're human!" Neo said.

"Neo won't kill," Law said. "So don't force her to do it. If you do, I'll be the one to kill you."

"That doesn't make any sense! You're a pirate!" Cavendish said.

"I won't kill!" Neo said.

"Fine! Then don't kill! But do something!" Cavendish said.

"Even if I wanted too I couldn't! My magic is out again!" Neo said. She ran next to Farul and held out Law's sword in defense.

"Okay! It's fine!" Luffy said. "Neo, just do whatever you feel like!"

"We're totally surrounded," Kyros said, pointing out the obvious.

"Is their numbers increasing?" Luffy asked when more toys appeared.

"It looks like we must destroy them in order to advance," Cavendish said. He glanced down at Neo, eyeing the sword she was holding. "Are you able to use that thing?"

"Yes." Neo nodded. "Law and the crew taught me well. I might not be as advance as someone like you, Kyros, and Zoro, but I can handle a sword."

"Very well… wait a second…" Cavendish took a closer look at the sword Neo was holding. "Isn't that a cursed blade? I feel an unpleasant energy coming from that thing."

"It is. And yes I can wield it," Neo said.

"How is that possible?" Kyros asked.

"Because I'm not human," Neo replied.

"At least that's what we believe. Neo's sister, Topaz, can wield it as well," Law added. "But no one else on our crew, other than me, can."

"Interesting," Cavendish mumbled. He eyed Neo once again with renewed curiosity.

"All right!" Luffy said, bring Cavendish out of his staring. He punched his fist into his palm and jumped off Kyros' shoulders. "You mean we're kicking all their tin toy butts, correct?"

"Yes," Kyros said affirmatively, following Luffy off the horse.

"That's right," Cavendish said, joining the other two men on the ground.

Neo took a deep breath as she watched the other three fighters. She watched as Luffy punched the toy that bolted right at him, Kyros slice up two of the toys, and Cavendish slice up one to pieces. She flinched at the pain in her head when their tin bodies collided with the ground. Pressing her fingers to her forehead when her head spun, she wondered if she should just stay out of this fight.

"Neo, if you don't think you can fight, then don't," Law said when he noticed she was hesitating. "You can leave it up to the others. I don't want you to get hurt."

Neo gritted her teeth. Her heart pounded hard in her chest as she thought about fighting these toys. They were made of humans. So didn't any damage they inflict on their toy bodies affect their human bodies? Or did it only happen to their toy bodies? She didn't like that she didn't know. She could be hurting innocent people if she attacked them. Her eyes shifted to Kyros, to his missing leg. Did that happen when he was a toy? Or when he was human? She tightened her hold on Law's sword as her eyes drifted to Luffy's fight against the tin toys. She couldn't just leave him to fight. She took a hesitant step forward then stopped when Luffy used his Gum Gum Gatling on a toy. She felt like each hit he made on the toy was happening in her head. Her knees buckled under her. She placed her hand over her mouth and gagged. She couldn't fight.

"Neo?!" Law's heart took a sharp jolt when she collapsed.

"P-perhaps I should just sit this one out," Neo said. Her breathing became labored, her skin became clammy, and her head continued to pound and spin right along with her stomach and the hits the three men were making on the toys. "I don't feel so good."

"Just breath slowly," Law instructed. "Once your magic comes back use your solar crystal."

"But it's not doing any good," Neo said. She looked up at Law from her spot on the ground. Her eyes became misty. "What's wrong with me?"

Law opened his mouth to answer, but he really didn't have one. He no longer thought that all of this was happening because she was pregnant. Something else was happening to her. And he knew it had to do with that man, Cethin, which had visited her when she was with the navy. It made his blood boil to think a stranger was hovering over his love while she was unconscious. Who knows what he did to her? Did he touch her? What did he do to cause her to act so aggressive and enjoying causing fear and pain to others?

"Oh! My leg is stuck!" Luffy then shouted.

"Luffy!" Neo cried when she saw Luffy's leg trapped inside of one of the tin toys. She forced herself to her feet. Holding Law's sword tight and at an angle so if she fell it wouldn't pierce her flesh, she ran towards her friend. She slowed to a stop when Cavendish suddenly appeared and sliced the toy away from Luffy.

"Whoa! Thank you! You saved me!" Luffy said, relieved.

"Kid, you're giving me a lot of trouble," Cavendish said with a frown.

"Luffy! Are you okay?!" Neo asked as she rushed up to her friend. She ran her eyes over his body, only relaxing when she found no damage to him.

"Yeah, I'm good," Luffy said with a nod.

"Here comes some more," Kyros said as more toys appeared.

"They're coming one after another!" Luffy said.

"How many of them are there?" Neo asked, readying Law's sword.

"We can't spend much more time here!" Kyros said.

"I'll take care of them all at once!" Cavendish said.

"I will!" Luffy said.

"No, me!" Cavendish said.

"Must you guys always argue over who's going to take down the enemy?" Neo asked. "Is that a guy thing? Why don't you all just take them out at the same time?"

"Fine! It's first come, first serve, then!" Luffy said.

Neo started to rush forward with them when they charged back into battle, but she stopped herself. The questions she had about them came rushing back to her mind. She couldn't bring herself to attack. If she had the use of her crystals, she knew she could easily wrap them up or freeze their legs in place. But cutting them up she couldn't bring herself to do. She lowered Law's sword and allowed the three men do all the fighting. To make sure she stayed out of the way, she walked back over to Law. "I'm sorry. I can't do it. I will if they come after you, but…"

"It's fine," Law said. "You know you don't have to fight if you don't feel like it."

"I know." Neo nodded. "I just feel a bit guilty for leaving it all to them."

"You have nothing to feel guilty about," Luffy said. "They're already done anyway."

"Huh?" Neo blinked when she found Luffy and Kyros were already sitting on top of Farul. Confused she pointed back over to the tin toys now laying in pieces all over the ground. "But how did… I just walked…"

"We're that good!" Luffy grinned.

"All right! Those creepy dolls are defeated! Let's go!" Cavendish said, turning towards his horse.

"Hey, Cabbage! Get on already!" Luffy said. "We're waiting for you."

"Why are you guys getting on my horse before me?!" Cavendish demanded.

"You going to ride this time?" Luffy asked, turning his attention back down to Neo. "You look a bit pale."

"Yeah. I probably should-" Neo started. She was cut off by Cavendish shouting for his horse to dodge.

"Dodge! Farul!"

Neo's instincts kicked in, causing her to automatically jump away from Farul. Jumping through the air, she saw a toy clamp its large mouth over the horse's head. Her eyes searched in panic for Law. He was on the horse's back, but wasn't now.

"Horse!" Luffy said after he landed with Law on the ground.

"Law!" Neo ran over to Law and Luffy when she saw them safe. She dropped down beside Law, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?! I thought you got eaten!"

"I'm fine," Law said.

"Is it still alive?" Kyros asked.

"You jerk! Gum Gum Jet Pistol!" Luffy shouted before knocking a hole into the toy. The toy creaked as it fell backwards onto the ground with a loud crash.

"Farul!" Cavendish shouted as he rushed up to horse. "Stay with me! What a powerful jaw! It crushed his head! Don't die on me, Farul!"

"Law?" Neo asked, her eyes begging him to let her help.

Law nodded.

Neo nodded back then, not wanting to leave Law's side, she summoned her solar crystal over Farul's injured head.

"What are you doing?" Cavendish asked when her solar crystal started to glow and the glow flowed over his horse's head.

"I'm healing him. I can't actually fix much of the damage that has been done, but this will help him," Neo said. She locked eyes with Cavendish when he looked at her. "He'll be fine."

"Thank you," Cavendish said with a nod.

Before Neo could reply to him, the toy Luffy punched a hole in started moving again.

"What the… I blew a hole in its stomach!" Luffy gasped.

"You monster! How could you do this Farul?! Blade of Beauty! Round Table!" Cavendish growled. He jumped to his feet, his sword in hand, and charged at the toy. He leaped into the air, spinning in a circle and sliced the toy's head off. He landed perfectly on the ground with a sharp glare at the toy. But his glare faded when the toy picked itself up and put its head back on. "What?!"

"Are they invincible?!" Luffy asked when all of the other toys started to pick themselves up and literally pull themselves back together.

"It put its head back on? What's on going with them?" Neo asked. "Does that mean they can't be killed?"

"Gum Gum UFO!" Luffy cried. He spun his body around and jumped into the air. He knocked through the toys, throwing one against the stonewall of the plateau.

Neo flinched at the loud sounds stabbing into her head and tucked herself against Law's side, wishing all the fighting was over.

"Blast it! If only I had the key to these cuffs, I could take care of them in a second!" Law cursed.

"What? Someone's falling from above!" Luffy then said when the sounds of yelling started to come closer to them from the sky.

They all looked up to see two men falling towards them. One man landed on one of the toy's head before landing on his face on the ground. He said, "I wasn't paying attention…"

"It's that guy from the coliseum," Neo said, noting the man's green hair and the second man who landed on the ground seemingly unconscious. "And Gladius."

"Rooster Head!" Luffy said.

"That must be Mr. Luffy!" Bartolomeo said.

"Robin!" Neo and Luffy said when their dark haired friend glided down on her wings made of hands.

Luffy! Tra! Neo! You guys are here!" Robin said.

"Neo?! Mr. Luffy's lovely wife?! Where?! Where is she?!" Bartolomeo gasped. He jumped to his feet and whipped his eyes around several times before spotting Neo. His eyes sparkled with joy then turned sharp when he noticed she was leaning against Law. He pointed at the Heart Pirate captain. "Who the heck are you?! And why are you touching Mr. Luffy's wife like that?!"

"She's not Straw Hat's wife! She's mine!" Law snapped. He glared at Bartolomeo. "I take it that's the guy who thinks you and Straw Hat are married."

"That's him," Neo said with a firm nod.

"Forget him! Nico, where's the key?! Give it to me now!" Law said, turning his eyes away from Bartolomeo to Robin.

"Rebecca has the key…" Robin started.

"What?!" Kyros said, cutting the woman off.

"She's heading for the Sunflower Field on the fourth level!" Robin said.

"Rebecca," Kyros said, looking up.

"She got away," Gladius said, standing up. "Well, she just one little tramp. I know she can't do anything even if she can get to the palace. I'll go after her and kill her later."

"No! You won't!" Neo hissed.

"Neo, don't!" Law shouted before she took off into the air. "Great! Her magic just had to come back right now! Neo! Come back here this second!"

"No! I can't leave Rebecca alone! The enemy's up there!" Neo said to him before cutting off their connection so he couldn't order her to come back.

Law cursed under his breath.

"Silly girl," Gladius said as he watched Neo disappear towards the Fourth Level.

"You leave her alone!" Law demanded.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of fighting her," Gladius said. "The young master already has special plans for her. I'm only interest in you all and that witch, Rebecca."

Law forced back another string of curses. He had to get up there and fast.

"You jerk!" Kyros said.

"It's you!" Luffy said.

"My name is Gladius. I'm going to take care of you all first," Gladius' right forearm bubbled up as two toys stepped behind him.

"Leave them in my hands," Robin said.

"Yeah," Bartolomeo said.

"What?" Luffy asked.

"Luffy! Tra! And Soldier, too! Just go now! Get to the Sunflower Field on the fourth level! Neo and Rebecca needs you all!" Robin said.

"That's right!" Bartolomeo said. "Your lover needs you, Mr. Luffy!"

"She's my lover! Not Straw Hat's, you moron!" Law hissed. "You just wait until I get these cuffs off me! I'm going to severe your head right off your shoulders! And without the use of my powers!"

"Robin, are you sure?!" Luffy asked.

"Yes! Rebecca's waiting for you! Just go! Neo won't be able to protect her for long with her magic failing!" Robin said, looking back at her captain.

"Okay. Got it," Luffy said with a nod.

sarge1130: Thanks a lot. I'm glad people are liking how she's fitting in. It is hard since all the men do is strut like peacocks here. I hope to have fun with the crew, Law and Neo's mood swings and food cravings later. Hee hee. ;)

ktabb23: Hi! Glad you like it. I can't wait for the baby too. Funny I'm getting more excited about a fictional baby than an actual baby, my cousin's having one any time now. But we're gonna have a while before Neo and Law's baby arrives. Boo on that. Who knows how long it'll be since we're about caught up to the manga here.

Inazumame1997: Thanks a lot. I'm glad people like it so much. I keep second guessing things. Especially with what's about to come with Neo and Cethin. I still don't have it all worked out. I guess that'll fix itself when I start writing. It usually does.

GodzNo: Thanks. Glad to hear it. I didn't want that part to become annoying. No one's complained yet so I guess it's fine after all.

Apply Bloom: Yeah. Insert Jaw's theme song.