Neo
Part Two
Robin stood calmly with her arms crossed over her chest. She eliminated another enemy with a twist to his body before looking up to the level above her, the sounds of the battle around her faded away from her ears. She was worried about the fight that was going on up there more than she was with the one around her. She knew this fight with Doflamingo was not going to be an easy one, but there was also something else bothering her. And that was Neo. She just got a sudden bad feeling about her blue haired friend. She knew Viola was keeping an eye on the coming battle but the woman was back on the other plateau. She had no way of knowing exactly what was going on with the battle up above her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She reminded herself that Neo and the baby was protected by not only her crystals but also by Luffy and Law. She knew the two men wouldn't let her get hurt. They would protect her at all costs. Still she worried. Something wasn't right. And her feels were solidified when dark storm clouds rolled in above them, the ground below them started shaking violently, and plants lashed out at them.
"What's going on?!" Bartolomeo asked while he stumbled around on the ground before falling onto his face. He turned around and grabbed onto some vines that wrapped around his legs. "Let go of me!"
"Where did this earthquake come from?" Cavendish asked. He sliced his sword against an enemy before separated his feet to give him better stability on the unsteady ground then cut a couple vines that came up out of the ground beneath him. "What's going on with all these plants?"
"It's Neo," Robin said.
"Why would she be doing this?" Cavendish asked.
"She wouldn't," Robin said, staring up at the distant top level above her. "At least, not of her own free will. Something must have happened up there."
"Of course something happened up there," Gladius said, bring the pirates attention back to him. "The young master has wanted Neo in his hold for several months. And now he has her. He won't be letting her go any time soon. She is lost to you. Just let her go."
"If you think that, then you don't know Luffy at all," Robin said. "He won't let anything happen to her."
"Something already has happened to her," Gladius said. He pointed to the storm above them then at the plants around them before pointing his finger back to the pirates. His sleeve puffed up.
Robin refocused her attention back to Gladius and his soldiers. She knew Luffy and Law had everything under control. She didn't need to focus on them so much. She had her own battle to fight.
…
"Oh no!" Viola gasped.
"Huh? What's wrong, Viola?" Usopp asked. He lifted up his head up from the ground and looking over at the dark haired woman.
"It's Neo. She just suddenly collapsed," Viola said. Her eyebrows were kneaded in concentration as she watched the intense events unfolding on the palace. "Cethin's up there too. He was hiding behind Doflamingo's chair."
"Can you tell what's going on with Neo?" Usopp asked.
"No," Viola said. "But judging from the look on Trafalgar's face, that pendant that Cethin has is in fact Neo's birth medallion. And-Uh oh…"
"What? What is it?" Usopp asked. He forced himself into a sitting position. "What's happening?"
"I don't know why or how, but Neo has suddenly gone over to Doflamingo's side!" Viola said.
"What?!" Usopp gasped. He fell back on the ground before pushing himself back upon to his arms. "This isn't good! If Doflamingo has a way of controlling Neo, we're in for more of a fight than we first thought!"
"What do you mean?" Kanjuro asked, glancing down at the Straw Hat sniper.
"Lady Neo can control the elements through her crystals," Kin'emon said, gaining his friend's attention. "I have seen her demonstrate her magic on board the Straw Hats' ship while we were sailing over to this country. It was very impressive. But she was using every little of her abilities. I do not know what all she is capable of, but from the story she told us of her past, she can easily destroy an entire island with ease."
"What?!" all the people on the plateau screamed.
"Is she really that powerful?!"
"She's going to kill us?!"
"And Doflamingo has her in his control?!"
"Calm down, everyone," Usopp said. "Luffy's not going to let Doflamingo control one of his friends so easily. Besides, she does have a weakness that both Luffy and Tra are aware of. I can't tell you what it is, but they'll be able to handle her just fine.
Plus, if she's still even a tiny bit consciously aware of her surroundings, she'll fight against the control because she loves Tra so much. She will not want to hurt him or Luffy. But if she doesn't have any kind of control, Doflamingo or that other guy could easily order her to not allow Tra and Luffy to get close enough to use her weaknesses against her. Right now we have two humans with devil fruit powers going up against a force of nature."
"Well that was a very optimistic to pessimistic statement," Kin'emon said.
"I'm sorry," Usopp said.
"But they'll be able to handle her," a citizen said. "Won't they?"
Usopp closed his eyes and sighed. "I really don't know. We have spent enough time with Neo and Tra on the way over here to easily notice how protective he is over her. He's going to have the hardest time of all trying to stop her. And you all don't know Luffy like I do. He never wants to fight with a friend unless it's an agreed upon match. He won't just flat out attack someone he cares about for no reason. He also protective of her in his own way since she's his friend and the goddaughter of Red Hair Shanks. The emperor himself isn't going to be very happy that this is happening to her either."
"Red Hair Shanks?!" Viola asked. She whipped her eyes to the Straw Hat sniper and stared at him in shock.
"Neo's the goddaughter of an emperor?!" King Riku added just as surprised at Viola and everyone else on the plateau.
"Is it really possible?" a citizen asked.
"I didn't know Red Hair Shanks had a goddaughter," another citizen said.
"I wonder what the navy will think of all this," a third one said.
"Ack!" Usopp shrieked. He waved his hands frantically in the air. "No! I mean… I uh… oh great! Can you all just forget I said that?!"
"It won't matter. If Doflamingo learns that he'll gladly inform the navy of their relationship," Viola said.
"Yeah, I guess you do have a point," Usopp said. He sighed and rested his arms on his legs. "And Luffy's the type of guy to blurt out that sort of information, especially if he gets angry at Doflamingo."
"What do we do now? Do you think they'll have Neo come out and attack us? Or do you think they'll have her just focus on Luffy and Law?" King Riku asked.
"I don't know," Usopp said just before dark storm clouds rolled in, the ground started shaking, and the plants on the plateau started moving. "Oh this is just great! Can't we get a break here?!"
…
Chopper sighed as he remained draped over the railing and staring back in the direction he knew Dressrosa was. For several minutes, especially after doing the Coup de Burst to get away from Big Mom's ship, he wasn't able to see the island. And he wasn't able to sense Neo anymore either. But he did sense that something was wrong. All of his animal instincts were screaming at him that something was happening to Neo back in Dressrosa. He wanted to take the helm from Nami and go back. But he knew he couldn't. They had their own mission to worry about. They had to get to Zou. And he had to give the message Law told him to Penguin. He sighed again and wondered how long it would take them to get to Zou. He also wondered how long it would take Luffy and the others to defeat Doflamingo and catch up with them. He hoped it didn't take them very long. He hoped he would get to see Neo very soon. And he hoped that he would stop worrying soon too. He knew Neo was with Law and Luffy, two of the most powerful fighters they had on their side at the moment. Not to mention Zoro, Robin, Usopp, and Franky were still with her. She would be fine. So he shouldn't have been worried, right? He leaned more over the side. Too distracted of what was happening behind them, he didn't realize he was slipping off the railing. He didn't even notice someone grabbing him and pulled him back on deck.
"Easy, Chopper. You need to pay more attention. You almost fell off the ship," Sanji said, having grabbed Chopper just before the reindeer could fall completely off the Sunny. He pulled his friend back over the railing and sat him down on it. He could easily see the worry in the doctor's face. And he knew exactly who his friend was worried about. He was worried himself. "Worrying about Neo again, huh?"
"I know. I'm sorry," Chopper replied pathetically as he hung limply in Sanji's hands. "You can release me now."
"I'm not releasing you as long as you're sitting on the railing," Sanji said while eyeing how pathetic Chopper looked right now. "You're really worried, aren't you?"
"I can't help it. I just know that something bad happened just now to Neo," Chopper said.
"Yeah," Sanji said with a sigh. He looked back toward Dressrosa. "I know how you feel."
"You can feel it too?" Chopper asked. He looked up at Sanji with his worried eyes.
"I can. But there's no point in worrying about it," Sanji said. He placed on hand on Chopper's hat. "You know she's as protected as she can possibly be. You'll see."
"Of course Lady Neo is protected!" Momonosuke said. He ran over to the two Straw Hat pirates and smiled at them. "My father and Kanjuro are there as well! They will protect her too! I'm sure of it! Right, Sangaro?!"
"You're absolutely right," Sanji said with a smile.
"Sanji is right. There's no point in worrying so much about this. There's nothing we can do for them but hope and pray they return to us safely," Brook said. He pulled out his violin and laid the bow across it. "And I know they shall. Luffy has never let us down before. He'll pull through again. How about a song to lighten up the mood?"
"I think that a song sounds like a good idea," Nami said. She steadied the helm then walked down to the lower deck to be with her friends. "And how about a snack and some tea? I think we all could use a bite to eat. We're all a bit worked up from everything that's happened here lately. The tea will calm our nerves and we won't worry so much. What do you say, Sanji?"
"Right away, Nami my sweet!" Sanji said. He started to dash for the kitchen but stopped himself. He grabbed Chopper off the railing and sat him down on the deck. "Now, you stay off the railing until you're more consciously aware of what's going on around you. Neo won't be happy if she learns you're this upset about her and ended up falling into the sea."
"You're right, Sanji. I don't want to do anything that would upset her," Chopper said with a smile.
"Right! When she and the others arrive on Zou we'll greet them all with happy smiles!" Sanji said. He then turned and wandered away from his friends. He listened to them happily chatting about what they thought Zou would look like, when the rest of their friends would arrive there, and how hungry Luffy was going to be after the fight with Doflamingo while walking up the stairs. He grabbed the doorknob to the kitchen, listening to his friends for a few more seconds before stepping inside. The click of the door closing barely reached his ears as it shut. He leaned against the door, his hair falling over his eyes, as his mind drifted back to when Neo first set foot into his kitchen. A small twitch in his lips happened when he stared down at the floor where she stood upon first entered this room. He easily remembered how timid she was, how she stayed near the door before finally fully entering the kitchen and sitting down at the bar. She was just so cautious around them at first, carefully taking them in, and making sure they didn't get too close to her before she was ready for them to. He couldn't blame her, especially not after finding out the truth about how she was before. He was glad that Law found her, took her in, and made her as happy as she was. He hated to think about what might have happened if Law hadn't found her. And he hated to think about what could possibly be happening to her back in Dressrosa. He hoped, whatever was happening, that they all would be fine, that they all would survive and meet them at Zou as soon as they could. He really wanted to cook with her again. He hoped he got that chance.
…
Penguin sailed over a fallen log, then skirted around a tree and took off on the forest route he and the others used the most. He knew this forest as well as he knew the sub now. He knew which paths were dangerous, which ones were okay, what trees to climb when a rain eruption happened, and what foods to eat and which ones to avoid. Occasionally, he felt like he knew this forest better than the sub. But he knew that wasn't true. It was just his bitter nature coming out. During those times he just really missed living in the sub and being with Neo. He pretty much blamed everyone and everything for her and their captain not being with them. He never vocalized this, however. He just kept it inside. He knew they weren't really to blame. He was just upset over everything that had been happening. First, Neo and their captain took off to Punk Hazard, then the whole mess with Jack's pirate crew attacking, and everything that was happening in Dressrosa, which they were pretty much clueless on. It was all becoming too much.
Twenty minutes into his little run, he didn't started feeling any better. In fact, his concern for Neo and his captain had grown. He knew this time was different. Something very bad had just happened. But what was it? Picking up his speed, Penguin dashed through the forest, almost blind to the world around him. It was a good thing he knew this forest so well. If he didn't he would have surely ran into something or someone. And he almost did. He rounded tree not expecting someone to be standing there. He jerked to a stop but not quick enough. His body slammed into the person standing in his way. "Ah!"
Both went crashing to the ground.
"Well, that's a nice hello," Topaz said from underneath Penguin's body.
"Ack! Topaz! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to run into you like that!" Penguin said as he pushed himself off the fire elemental.
"Don't worry about it," Topaz said. She sat up, brushed the dirt off her boiler suit, and fixed her now sideways hair brat. "I shouldn't have been standing there like that."
"What were you doing standing there?" Penguin asked. He sat down on the ground and looked at his female friend. "I thought you were still with the crew somewhere."
"I was but I felt so useless to the minks," Topaz replied. "I thought I could go for a walk to clear my head. Unfortunately it hasn't help much at all."
Penguin remained quiet for a minute. He studied her orange eyes, her orange worried eyes. He sighed. "We're really hopeless, aren't we? We're just not going to stop worrying about her until she and the captain are back with us."
Topaz tried to smile. The corner of her lips curled up but quickly fell back down into a light frown.
"Topaz?" Penguin said. His heart thumped hard against his chest. He knew that look. Something had happened to Neo. His instincts were correct. "What is it? What happened to her?"
"I'm not really sure," Topaz whispered.
"Tell me," Penguin said.
Topaz hesitated for a second. She wasn't sure what Penguin would do upon hearing what she had to say. But she had to tell someone. She knew it would only hurt her more to keep it inside. With a deep breath, she said, "Zou's not very far away from Dressrosa."
"What?" Penguin asked.
"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I feel that we are very close to Dressrosa and Neo at the moment. Zunisha must have wandered close enough for me to sense that," Topaz said. She looked up at the sky through the trees on the back of the elephant they were on. The sky was gray, dull, and lifeless. She closed her eyes and connected herself with all of the nature around her. She could feel the animals trembling. Some were jittering about, unsure of what they should do or what storm was about to come. She opened her eyes and looked at Penguin. "And… I didn't want to alarm anyone, but something has shifted in nature. Zunisha has felt it as well." She went quiet. Her eyes dropped to the ground as she chewed nervously on her bottom lip.
"Something's happened to Neo," Penguin said when it came clear that Topaz couldn't get the words out of her mouth.
Topaz nodded slowly.
…
Law's head and heart pounded rapidly inside of his body. His brain spun around inside of his skull. His lungs tightened to the point he couldn't breath. He forced himself to take a deep breath and slowly exhaled while stepping backwards to the place he was beside Luffy before. It was the only thing he could do to keep himself from getting sick.
He was wracking his brain in an attempted to figure out how to get themselves out of this mess and stop Neo before his vision came true. He didn't want to face the fact that they might actually have to fight Neo. He just didn't know how exactly he was supposed to do that, and not just because it took him months to finally use his powers on her. He literally didn't know how to fight her. He knew he could easily warp her body and her attacks around, but if she turned into the wind he wouldn't be able to do anything. She would be far too fast for him to follow her movements and warp her to another location even with his ability to sense where she was. Mostly he just didn't want to fight her. He said that he never would and has kept that up to this day. He was just far too afraid of hurting her.
He forced his eyes off her and onto Cethin. The real problem was that pollution stone on her birth medallion. If he could just get it off then he wouldn't have to worry about Neo attacking them or the island and they wouldn't have to fight her, he wouldn't have to fight her, she would return to normal. However, to do that he was going to have to get passed her first. But could he actually do it? Could he face up to her? Could he fight her?
"You let Neo go!" Luffy demanded.
Law glanced over at Luffy, broken from his worries about having to fight his love for a second. He studied the young man. He got the feel from the way Luffy acted towards accidentally kicking Bellamy in the face he wasn't going to be all that much help. Luffy clearly didn't want to fight Bellamy. So it was a safe bet to say that Luffy wouldn't fight against Neo either. The younger captain even refused to carrying around the disoriented powder that he and Neo made the entire crew before reaching this island. It wasn't just clear that Luffy wouldn't fight a friend it was crystal clear. He knew neither of them stood much of a chance against Neo, especially since she wasn't in control, but he knew he stood zero chance of stopping her himself. He was going to have to convince Luffy to help him take Neo down, if he could convince himself to do it first.
Doflamingo laughed. "I had no intention of releasing Bellamy from the start, why would you think I would even consider releasing one of the most powerful allies I have ever come to have in my family?"
"Because she's not your ally! And she's not in your family! She has her own family that's waiting for her and Tra to return to them!" Luffy said. He pointed at Doflamingo, his eyes burning with rage. "If you don't release her right this second, you're going to have more than one angry emperor breathing down your neck! Shanks will not be happy with how you're treating his goddaughter! Once he hears about this he'll come for you!"
"Straw Hat! You weren't suppose to tell anyone about that!" Law said, glaring at Luffy.
"What?! I forgot!" Luffy said, scratching his fingers into his hair in frustration. "I was just so angry! Neo's so sweet! And they're treating her so terribly!"
"Well, isn't that a shocking surprise," Doflamingo said with a frown. "I never would have guessed that an emperor knew of the existence of the elementals let alone have one as a goddaughter. What other secrets are you keeping from me, Law?"
Law cursed under his breath. He really didn't want the world to know about that. While a goddaughter wasn't the exact same as a daughter, it was close enough. He just didn't know if the navy would officially label Neo as the daughter of a pirate or not if, or when, Doflamingo tells them about this. He knew she was a pirate anyway but the offspring of a pirate was always hated more than those who just chose to be pirates.
"Well then, if we're done talking," Cethin said. "Let's see what this girl can do. Neo, attack."
Law griped his sword tighter. His mind racing with possibilities on how they could possibly stop her. He came up blank. Any little idea he came up with ended with her turning into the wind and escaping to attack them again.
"What?!" Luffy asked just before Neo summoned all of her crystals and increased the wind around them. "Stop it! We can't fight her! She's my friend! And she's Tra's wife!"
"And I should care because?" Cethin asked.
"You! This is all your fault! Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy shouted. He pulled back his fist and shot it at Cethin.
"Neo, defend," Cethin said calmly.
Neo gathered her winds in front of Cethin. The invisible wall reflected Luffy's punch off of it. She then shifted her winds directly at Law and Luffy, pushing them off their feet. She snapped out some vines, wrapped them around their bodies, and slammed them to the floor hard enough to crack it. She winced at the pain shooting through her back. Her knees buckled and she dropped to her arms and knees.
Doflamingo chuckled. He crossed his legs and stared at the battle before him. "Interesting. I wondered how their sweet little bond was going to effect them in this battle."
"He hurts! She hurts! They share pain!" Trebol chanted while clapping his hands. "It's funny! They hurt together!"
"Indeed," Cethin said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook and a pencil. He started scribbling down notes on what he observed with the pollution stone's effect on Neo and how it was also effecting Law. "This is all very interesting. Proceed, Neo. But this time fight in a more hand to hand combat style. I want to judge your reaction time while the pollution stone is in effect."
"Judge her reacting time?" Doflamingo asked.
"In other elementals their reaction time to physical movements was a lot slower than their reaction time with their elements. I figured this is because not many of them actually fought hand to hand very often. A couple of them had experience in hand to hand combat and their reaction time was a bit faster than those who didn't have that kind of experience," Cethin said. "I predict that Neo's reaction time will be a lot faster with the help of the solar crystal. Use your solar crystal on yourself, Neo. Heal that back pain and the darkness inside of you and let's see what happens when you fight them."
Neo pushed herself back to her feet. She summoned her solar crystal and healed herself while wrapping the wind around her fists. Once the pain faded from her back, she charged forward. She headed towards Law then veered off and went for Luffy. She pulled her right fist back and swung at him when close enough.
"Ah!" Luffy ducked to his left as her wind engulf fist flew at his head. He jumped back from her when she kicked at him. "Neo! Stop! I don't want to fight you!"
Neo continued to charge for him. She kicked and punched at him with enough speed and fury to keep him moving.
"Geez! Did you have to train her so well, Tra?!" Luffy asked while dodging another round of kicks and punches. He dodged a punch, then a kick, before blocking another punch. He jumped back from her only to have her follow him. He jumped again when she threw her wind engulf fist towards him. She missed him when he jumped and hit the floor, cracking it. "She's going to crack my head!"
"First of all, it wasn't really me who trained her to fight this well! It was one of my subordinates! And of course she's going to be this good! We were preparing for the New World after all!" Law said, slightly offended.
"Well, don't have him train her so well next time!" Luffy said. He jumped away from Neo and ran around the suit chamber in an attempt to get away from her.
Cethin chuckled as he continued to scribble down notes in his notebook. "I was right. Her reaction time is faster than the others. The solar crystal does have an effect on her body and the pollution stone. Now, Neo, stop chasing him around and fight with Trafalgar."
Law flinched. A cool drop of sweat ran down his already cold skin. His tight hold on his sword cut into his flesh. His heart throbbed in his chest. His breathing came in short sharp gasps when Neo stopped chasing after Luffy and turned to him. He didn't want to fight her. He couldn't fight her. What was he suppose to do now?
Cethin tapped the tip of his pencil on his notebook in annoyance when Neo just stood there staring at Law. "Come on, Neo. We don't have all day. Create some swords out of stone or something and attack him."
Neo didn't move.
"Neo, I'm ordering you to attack him," Cethin said. He pressed his thumb into the vein on her medallion.
Neo screamed out in pain from the polluted glow forcing itself inside of her head. She pulled an earth crystal to each of her hands and formed a thick stone sword. Taking them in her hands, she took a step towards Law, noticeably hesitating before finally running towards him.
Law swallowed hard through his dry throat. When she was fifty yards away from him… he shifted his sword into a defensive position. Forty yards… his swordsman instincts took over and he shifted his sword into an offensive position. Thirty yards away… he was ready to face her as she closed in on him. Fifteen yards… he knew he couldn't do it. Her visions of herself as a child being hated by everyone flashed through his mind. Five yards away… he warped.
Neo readied herself to swing her stone swords at him. At the same second he warped away from her, she changed her direction and flew towards the spot he was going to reappear. With her swords ready, she swiped them at him. Her stone swords pinged against his before he warped again. Just like the first time, she followed him as he constantly warped away from her.
…
"Interesting," Doflamingo said as he watched the display before him. "How is it possible she knows where he's going to end up warping to before he does?"
"I don't know," Cethin said. He tapped his pencil on his notebook before scribbling a few words down. He then looked back up at the one sided fight. "Elementals do have the ability to sense where people are when they're hiding in nature. They can connect to the world around them and feel out where people are hiding. I can only assume that's what's happening here."
"She really is freak! A freak she really is!" Trebol said with a laugh. "And she's going to hurt her lover and friend! Make her hurt them! This is boring!"
"I have to agree. While I'm loving the data I'm collecting on an elemental royal, I do find this whole display rather boring," Cethin said with a sigh. "We're not going to get anywhere like this. Neo, just blow them off the building."
…
Neo paused her assault on Law. She shifted her wind crystals forward. Creating a gale, she guided it to Law just as he warped back into everyone's sight. She wrapped the wind around him then around Luffy before throwing them towards the side of the suit chamber.
"Ah!" Luffy cried as he and Law went sailing through the air. The world around him twisted and turned for a few seconds before he was able to get a clear view of a ledge he could grab onto. He shot out his fist towards the palace, wrapping his arm around a piece of broken building while throwing his other arm around Law's waist. He pulled his friend towards him, securing him in his hold. "Hold on, Tra!"
Law gritted his teeth. He hated to admit it, but Cethin was right. They weren't going to get anywhere if they constantly ran from Neo. He stared down at her. His heart ripping into pieces at the sight of her before finally forcing the words out of his mouth that he never in his life ever wanted to say. "Straw Hat, we have to fight her."
"What?! We can't do that! She's your wife and my friend!" Luffy said. He looked at Law, his eyes widened in shock and with worry.
"I know that," Law said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before reopening his eyes. He looked at Luffy. "But we can't just sit here and do nothing but dodge her attacks. Especially because…" Law took another deep breath before telling Luffy about his vision. "We can't let her attack the people. She would be absolutely devastated."
"You actually saw her doing that? How?" Luffy asked.
"I don't know. But I've never had a vision before. I trust it and my instincts. We have to stop her," Law said. "Listen closely, Straw Hat. We only have two ways of stopping her. The first one is to get her birth medallion away from Cethin and get that pollution thing off of it. And the second one is to disorient her. Despite being completely appalled at the idea of having to fight her, we really have no other option. We have to get her medallion back."
"Why not just disorient her? That way they can't use her against us," Luffy said.
"Going by what Cethin said, he clearly knows a whole lot about elementals. And that means he also knows they can't use their magic if they're disoriented," Law explained. He stared down at Cethin, visualizing decapitating the man's head from his shoulders. "He's not going to just let us do that to her. And I don't want to do that to her either."
"What? Why not?" Luffy asked. "That would be the easier solution to this."
"I know it would be easier to disorient her rather than fight her, but if we do that then she'll be defenseless against Doflamingo," Law said. "However, we might not be able to avoid it. Disorienting her might be our only option. But we're only going to use that as a last resort. Take a couple of the pouches from my pocket. If I think we should use them on her, I'll give you a signal."
"I don't like this, but all right," Luffy said. He reached into Law's right hip pocket and pulled out three of the leaf packets he had tucked inside then put them in his own pocket. "What kind of signal are you going to use?"
"I'll touch the top of my left ear," Law said. "Then and only then you can use the powder on her."
"Right." Luffy nodded. "So what's the plan of actually getting close to her? If she keeps this wind up, we'll never get close enough. Not even with your abilities to warp us like you do."
"Knowing Doflamingo, he won't let her completely go all out on us even if Cethin wanted to," Law said. "He knows forcing us to fight her is going to basically kill us as it is. He'll want to drag this out for as long as he can. And I believe Cethin will conform to that as well. He clearly wants as much information on Neo as he possible can get."
"Right. So how are we going to stop her exactly? She can sense both of us," Luffy said.
"I'm still working on that part," Law said. "Let's just try and get the medallion away from Cethin first. Maybe I'll think of something while we do that."
"Well, all right then," Luffy said completely unsure about all of this.
"Just try thinking of it as another training session like back on your ship," Law said. "We don't actually have to hurt her."
"I'll try," Luffy said, looking down at Neo. He took a quick glance at Law. He could easily see the worry and doubt in the older captain's face. "Are you going to be all right with this?"
"No," Law said, his eyes locked onto Neo. "But I can't just sit back and do nothing. I won't leave her in their hands."
"Of course not!" Luffy said. "We'll get her back!"
"We're getting that medallion and Neo back." Law nodded. Holding up his hand, he formed his Room and warped them as close to Cethin as he could. "Room! Shambles!"
"Watch it," Doflamingo said as he and the others watched Law's Room flow over them.
"Not to worry. Neo knows what she's supposed to do. The darkness has already been planted into her. The only way she can be free is if they get this stone off her medallion. And that can only happen if they can get passed her," Cethin said just before Law and Luffy appeared beside him and Trebol took their place in the air. He smiled at Luffy reached for the medallion in his hand while Law swung his sword at his head.
"Ah!" Trebol screamed. He flapped his arms and legs wildly while suspended in the air.
Neo summoned her earth crystals. She snapped out vines, wrapping them around Luffy, Law, the sword, and lifted them several feet into the air while she wrapped her winds around Trebol and pulled him back to his position behind Doflamingo.
"Come on," Cethin said. He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled up at the suspended pirates. "You're not even trying. I know you two are smarter than this. You can do better."
"Shut up!" Luffy snapped. "You knew we weren't going to really fight our friend from the start!"
"Of course I know that. So we're going to make it easier for you all. Give you a little incentive on stopping her," Cethin said. He stepped closer to Neo. He reached out to run his fingers through her hair but she flinched away, much to his surprise and Law's joy. He pulled back and blinked. "What the heck was that for? You shouldn't have moved."
"Tra," Luffy said.
"Hush," Law hissed back upon realizing Luffy saw it and came to the exact same conclusion that he did: Neo flinching away from a stranger meant that she still had some control over her body and was still aware of her surroundings. His eyes drifted down to her stomach when he noticed she had kept her solar crystal out this entire time since she summoned it to heal her back. He noticed that the crystal was still trying to heal her. With his own mind a little clearer now, he could feel her mind clearing a bit from the crystal's healing nature. He looked up at Cethin then. He noticed the man was eyeing the solar crystal in deep thought. He knew this was the first time that Cethin has had an elemental royal under his control so the man had no clue how this pollution stone was really going to effect her. He then recalled out how Neo was going to attack him first then veered off and fought with Luffy instead, then how she hesitated to fight him when Cethin told her to, and the fact that she flinched away from being touched by a stranger. All of this was in their favor, he knew Neo was doing everything she could to help them regain control over her. Surely with all that and his ability to control her with his orders, they had to be able to take her back.
"Interesting," Cethin said as he continued to eye the solar crystal. "I've always wondered how the pollution stone would effect an elemental who had the ability to heal themselves with the solar crystal. It seems the solar crystal has more of an effect on the pollution stone than I first thought it did."
"Is it going to be a problem?" Doflamingo asked.
"I don't think so," Cethin replied. "It only looks like it's trying to heal her. This crystal isn't an all-powerful fix. And this type of darkness is a form of pollution instead of an actual darkness like the darkness crystal the elementals have told me about. If the solar crystal had the ability to force the effects of the pollution stone out of her system then it would have already happened. Clearly it's not doing that at all."
"Then get on with it," Doflamingo said. "I want to see Law fighting his sweet lover. And since he's clearly going to resist it as much as possible, I want her to turn her crystals on the entire island of Dressrosa."
"What?!" Luffy said.
"Well, I said we were going to make things easier on you," Cethin said.
"No! You can't do that!" Law said. His mind instantly shot back to the memories Neo shared with him about Mertensia. He knew it would devastate her if she turned her crystals on another island like that.
"Neo, you heard the young master," Cethin said. "Let's start shaking things up a bit. And to make things a little more interesting, I don't want you to use your full strength on them. We don't want this fight to be one sided after all. That wouldn't be any fun at all, now would it?"
Neo moved her crystals out towards the island upon Cethin's command.
"Neo, I order you to not attack the island or its people!" Law said.
Neo stopped. Her crystal froze in midair to his order.
Law felt relieved. His guess on her still conscious enough to listen to him was correct.
"Interesting," Cethin said. "How is it possible you can order her around like that?"
"Room! Shambles!" Law said. He warped himself and Luffy out of the vines. He charged right at Cethin. Raising his sword to slice the man's head off only to get wrapped back up in Neo's vines.
"Really, Trafalgar Law?" Cethin said with a frown. "I expected better from you. I've heard how ruthless and cold hearted you were when you were just a kid. Where did that nature go? I was expecting more anger from you since I took your precious lover away."
"Oh I am angry," Law said. His eyes glinted with anger and light. "And you'll find out just how angry I am soon enough."
"Then let's see," Cethin said. He brushed his thumb over the tubing on the medallion. The stone came to life, pulsing as its glow became brighter and flew over to Neo. Multiple times it tired to strike out at the child inside of her, but each time her crystals protected the unborn baby. He chuckled. "Such an impatient little thing the pollution stone is. Don't worry. We'll get to the child soon enough. Neo, attack them and the entire country."
"No!" Luffy said.
"Neo, I order you to stop!" Law said. He gritted his teeth when this time she didn't listen to him. He eyed the glow around her and assumed since it had increased it also block his connection to her somehow.
Neo spread her crystals out. They hovered over the country, ready to obey her silent command. Nature erupted. Dark clouds rolled in over the unsuspecting country and citizens. Waves crashed upon the rocky shores, the winds howled, thunder boomed, lightening flashed, fires flared up, and animals cried out at the sudden shift in nature.
"No! Don't do it!" Luffy said. He pulled back his fists and fired them rapidly at Cethin. "Gum Gum Gatling!"
Neo snapped her vines at Luffy. Blocking each punch he threw before holding out her hands to her sides, gripping the two stone swords she still had. She then charged at Luffy. Striking her stone swords at him while he dodged and blocked her attempts.
"I'm sorry, Neo! I really don't want to fight you, but I don't have a choice!" Luffy said, pulling back his fists. "Gum Gum Gatling!"
Neo flinched when Luffy's punches shattered her swords. She moved her earth crystals forward, snapping out a couple vines at Luffy. Her eyebrows rose when he grabbed a hold of the vines and snapped them from the crystals before shooting out his arms and wrapping them around her, pulling her to his chest. She struggled against his hold while moving three water crystals over his head.
"Straw Hat! Look out!" Law said. But it was too late. Neo released the salt water over Luffy's body, trapping him in a bubble of water with only his head sticking out of it. Gripping his sword, he ran over to them while Neo formed two stone staffs. He blocked her attack with his sword before she could bring down her stone staffs on Luffy's head. He pushed back against her weapons, moving her a few feet away from Luffy. His heart ached when he noticed the tears in her eyes just before they trailed down her cheeks. 'I'm sorry, Neo. I know you don't want to do this. I know it's hurting you so much. But it will be all right. I promise I will set you free again. I won't let these people control you. I won't let them have you. Do you hear me? You belong to me. You belong with me. And that's where you're going to stay.'
'L-Law…?'
…
"Look out!" a citizen cried out when the wind picked up and Neo's violent storm raged over their heads. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed above them while the ground shook below them. The citizen scattered around on the plateau, desperately looking for cover they knew wasn't there.
"We're going to die!"
"How is this happening?!"
"Where did this storm come from?!"
"It popped up out of no where!"
"I know what's going on! This is Trafalgar Neo's doing! She's the only one who can control the weather like this!"
"Viola, what's going on?!" Usopp asked as the world around them started shaking violently. A sharp crack of thunder boomed overhead. It was followed with multiple flashes of lightning. The whole thing made his entire body shake. He threw his hands up in the air and shrieked. "I don't want to die!"
"It's Neo, isn't it?" Fujitora asked. He stood of from the spot on the ground he was sitting on and walked over to the pirates. He shielding his face with his hand, he blocked the wind and debris particles that were whipping around them. "This weather is being caused by her?"
"Yes," Viola said. No longer safe on the ledge she was standing on, she stepped down to the plateau. She closed her eyes again and concentration on what was happening on top of the royal palace. "I'm afraid she is currently in a fight against Straw Hat Luffy and Trafalgar Law. They're pretty resistant in fighting with her."
"Of course they are!" Usopp said. "There's no way they would fight her! They love her too much! Luffy will not stand for this! They won't fight her!"
"They have to fight her," Viola said with a soft sigh. "She's being controlled. They have no choice but to fight her."
"Don't say things like that! They're not going to fight her! They can't! She means too much to them! Plus she's pregnant! Ack!" Usopp said. He frantically danced around when he realized he just said that out loud and right in front of a navy admiral. "Never mind! I didn't say that! You didn't hear that old man!"
"There's no need to carry on like that," Fujitora said calmly. "I already knew she was pregnant."
"You knew?" Usopp asked, halting in his frantic dance. "How?"
"I could see her child's spirit with my observation haki," Fujitora said. "I've known since earlier today when we met at the restaurant."
Usopp held up his Black Kabuto at Fujitora. His entire body shook as he aimed at the man. He said, "Th-then I'm a-afraid I can't l-let you leave this island a-alive. No one, and I mean no one, will cause harm to her and Tra's child!"
"Calm yourself, boy. Despite being a navy admiral, I really have no interest in harming her or her child," Fujitora said.
"You don't? But you're a navy admiral," Usopp said, lowering his weapon.
Fujitora didn't reply to him. He just turned from the palace and walked over towards King Riku. He said, "King Riku, I have met with the young woman who is causing all this destruction to your kingdom. I ask you and your people to not hold a grudge against her. This isn't her fault. She wouldn't openly attack the innocent like this."
"But she's attacking!" a citizen said. "The entire island is under attack not only Doflamingo, but also her!"
"He's right! It's far too dangerous for someone like this to run free! She needs to be stopped!"
"Enough!" Viola said. She turned around and glared at the citizens who were targeting Neo. "Neo is just as much as a victim in this as we all are! She's not in control right now because the real enemy is doing something to her! I've watched over Neo since she and the other pirates have entered into this kingdom! She is not our enemy! She has already made friends with Rebecca!"
"Rebecca? They know each other?" King Riku asked.
"Yes, Father," Viola said. "Neo and Rebecca met when Rebecca was fighting in the coliseum. And Neo went to Rebecca's aid when she was alone and facing Diamante on the fourth step. They have become friends. Rebecca will not be happy if you all turn on Neo. You all should be ashamed. Neo and her friends are here to set us free. I trust her. I know she wouldn't attack us out of her own free will. You'll see. This storm will die when she is set free again."
Usopp smiled when Viola turned back around and met his eyes. He nodded, in an agreement and thanks for sticking up for Neo. "Thank you, Viola."
Viola nodded back before closing her eyes and refocusing on the battle.
…
"Huh?" Law blinked. Did he really hear Neo responding to him?
'L-Law… ankle…'
Law blinked again. He really did hear her respond to him. Before he could think much of it, he dropped his eyes down to his feet. A vine was just about to grab onto his ankle. He jumped back, slicing the vine up when it followed him. He then warped when Neo tried to subdue him with salt water just like she did with Luffy.
'Law… stop me.' Neo fired several fireballs at him. 'Disorient… me…'
Law flinched. He didn't want to do that. But it was clearly their only choice. Or maybe it wasn't. He warped right to Luffy when he got an idea of how to stop her. He then warped them both before Neo's attack could hit them, freeing Luffy from the water. He constantly warped them away from Neo's attacks while telling Luffy of an idea that might work to get her free. "Listen to me, Straw Hat."
"Wah ish it?" Luffy slurred while the winds dried his body each time they warped to a new location.
"We're going to fight Neo as hard as we can," Law said.
"What?!" Luffy asked.
"She's fighting the darkness inside of her," Law said. He swiped his sword at vines Neo shot at them then warped again. "She wants us to disorient her."
"What?! But you said that was only as a last resort!" Luffy said.
"The powder is only a last resort," Law said. "We don't have to actually use it. We can disorient her through me."
"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked.
"You need to hit me as hard as you can," Law said.
"Have you lost it?" Luffy asked.
"No, I actually found it. If we disorient Neo through our shared pain she can easily heal herself with her solar crystal. That way her magic won't be disconnected from her. But we also need to get her medallion away from Cethin. If we can get him and the others distracted with the fight, I should be able to warp the medallion to my hand without them noticing until it's too late," Law explained.
"Are you sure about that?" Luffy asked.
"Yes. This is our only option," Law said. "Remember what I said before. This is just a friendly sparring match. We don't have to actually hurt her. And I want you to focus on fighting her the most. She'll be able to adjust to fighting you a lot easier than she would fighting against me. I'll do what I can to redirect her attacks else where."
"All right!" Luffy said. He patted his pocket with the powder inside. "I'll do what I can to try and stop her! And I still have the powder if we need it!"
"We'll try this first," Law said. He paused before forcing himself to add, "Hopefully this will work and we won't have to use the powder on her. But if we have to, we will."
Luffy looked at Law. He could clearly see that that last part was forced out. Law really didn't want the powder used on her, but he didn't want her in Doflamingo's clutches even less. "Right."
Law nodded. 'Neo, we're going to fight you. But don't get scared. I need you to see this as nothing more than a sparring session. Straw Hat's going to fight you head on while I stay back and try to redirect your attacks elsewhere. Do you understand?' He paused. Hoping she had heard him like she did the last time.
'Yes…'
Law sighed internally. She had heard him. And now they just had to pull this whole thing off.
…
Author's Notes: Sorry, not the best chapter ever. I just can figure out how to handle the fight between Luffy, Law, and Neo properly. And I still have to end the fight somehow. *sulks in a depressive aura while growing mushrooms*
Starrat: I know.
Apple Bloom: Yes, he did. Evil isn't he?
Loveanimation4life: Glad you like. I almost didn't go this way. I almost just had the stone knock her out some how, but that would have been very boring.
Silver Pride: I know the feeling. I've been so engrossed in something before where people thought I was really angry. I'm flattered you like Neo so much. She's such a cutie, but then I'm biased towards her since I created her. I hate Cethin too.
