Neo
Part Three
Luffy turned to face Neo. Mentally he had to prepare himself for facing off against not only his friend, but also the goddaughter of the man he admired most in the world. He really, really didn't want to fight her. He didn't like fighting with a friend in the first place. And Neo was different from everyone else. His relationship was different with her than anyone else. He felt slightly more protective of her than he did his other friends. He wasn't sure exactly why. He didn't know if it was because she was the goddaughter of Shanks, if it was because of her past, or if it was just the combination of everything. One thing he did know for sure was he acted slightly different with her than with anyone else. He liked holding her hand when they were together. And he has only done that with her. That made him want to fight against her even less even if this fight was to save her.
He reached back and touched the straw hat lying against his back. He recalled the moment on the ship when she revealed to him who she really was and her connection to Shanks. He also recalled his promise to her and how he let her wear his hat. He didn't want to carry around the powder pouches. And now he had three of them in his pocket. He was still determined not to use them. He understood that they might not have a choice in using them, but he was going to do everything he could to not resort to them. He closed his eyes and drew in a breath. He knew that he would if it came down to it. He exhaled and opened his eyes. Locking onto the blue haired woman in front of him, his eyes dropped down to her stomach. Her solar crystal was still hovering near her. It reminded him that her and Law's child was protected. Still he would avoid hitting her in the stomach. He didn't want to hurt the child.
"I'm sorry, Neo! We'll end this as quickly as we can! I promise this will be over soon!" Luffy said as he charged forward. He pulled his fists back. Carefully aiming, he launched his attack at her. "Gum Gum Gatlin!"
…
Neo stood watching Luffy run towards her as the air around them whipped a strain of her hair in her face. She brushed it back behind her ear and shifted her earth crystals forward just before her wings unfurled from her back. She flapped them a couple times, working out the slight stiffness that was in them. Locking her senses onto Luffy's rubber qualities, she blocked each of his punches with vines while she pelted him with small rocks.
"Ouch! I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but come on!" Luffy said. He closed his right eye while he continued to punch at her and get pelted by her own assault.
…
Bellamy watched in shocked silence at the display before him. He, like everyone else, has heard the rumors about Neo, but never imagined she would be like this. He never would have guessed she was actually this powerful on her own or even being controlled by something. He looked up at the three other men he was with when they started talking about her. He listened carefully to them, finding out what all he could from them.
"Interesting," Cethin said before scribbling this event in his notebook. "So those are what the wings of an elemental royal look like. I wonder if they're all the same or if the shape and color varies from royal to royal."
"Wings?" Doflamingo asked. He straightened up a bit in his chair. He eyed the blue ombre wings on Neo's back with minor curiosity. "Why does a royal have wings?"
"It's just something they're born with," Cethin said not looking up from his notebook. "They are kind of like a crown to them, just another symbol of their royal birth. They will have absolutely no effect on the out come of this fight. It doesn't look like they are going to be effected by the pollution stone in any sort of way. I don't expect them to be either."
"She can fly with the wind," Trebol said, eyeing her wings curiously. "Her wings seem pretty useless to me. Except maybe to rip them off."
"Why is that, Cethin?" Doflamingo asked. "Could they be used as a weapon?"
"They're just wings. While they are of her magic as well, they have no use in battle," Cethin said. He glanced up from his notebook and looked over at Neo. "There's no way to use them as a weapon. Who knows why she brought them out? They're pretty to look at, but I have no use or interest in them. It's best to just pretend their not even there."
"You better be right," Doflamingo said. A frown spread out across his lips as he sunk back into his chair. He didn't like the fact Neo's wings seem to have come out on their own. And he didn't like the fact that Cethin didn't seem concerned about them at all. But perhaps the man was right. Perhaps Neo's wings were just wings.
…
Law exhaled while watching Luffy charge forward towards Neo again. It took everything he had to keep himself from warping Luffy away from her each time he watched the younger man charge at her or throw an attack at her. He knew none of this was a real all out attack on her. Luffy was just doing what they had planned to do. And he needed to do his part. Once Luffy had started punching at her again, he spread out his Room over their bodies. "Room."
He started to proceed with his own part of the plan but stopped when Neo's wings suddenly appeared behind her. 'What the heck? Neo, what are you doing? Why did you bring your wings out? You know you don't fight with them. Neo?'
'Don't… know.'
'Did they come out on their own?'
'Yes…'
Law's eyebrows twitched. Why would her wings come out like that on their own? They have no use in battle. Are they somehow trying to protect our child? But why and how? Her wings have no offensive or defensive use what so ever. Her wings are just a symbol of her royal birth. They don't help her at all in battle. So why would they come out on their own now? What's going on with her? Is this just another effect of the pollution stone?
Law was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Luffy shout. He had forgotten about his part in this plan. He pushed his thoughts of Neo's wings to the back of his mind. Maybe he could figure out an answer for that later. Right now they had to get Neo back on their side and get rid of the pollution stone. He started warping away her attacks, feeling really grateful that she had healed him while they made their way over here. If she didn't, he wouldn't have had enough strength to fight her and then Doflamingo. "Shambles."
…
Neo continued her assault with her vines. She snapped them rapidly at Luffy before slipping in some giant thorns.
"Ah! Thorns!" Luffy cried. He jerked his body to the left, just barely missing being impaled by one of the thorns. He leaped up when another one flew right at his lower regions. With his feet spread apart while he hovered in the air, he grabbed himself to make sure he was all there. "That one was way too close! Come on, Neo! Don't aim for that area!"
Neo fired more rocks and thorns at Luffy. She frowned when they suddenly disappeared from her view. She glanced over at Law. He had warped her attack away. Turning her eyes back to Luffy, she held out her hands to her sides. Hovering an earth crystal over her palms, she formed two stone staffs about five and a half inches long. Taking them in her hands, she rushed forwards towards Luffy. She swung at him.
Luffy dodged the first couple of swings she took at him. He then activated his armament haki. Using his coated fists to block her attacks then shatter her weapons.
Neo twirled the remaining two foot long parts of her stone staffs. She then brought them together in front of her stomach. Aiming them at Luffy's own stomach, she used her earth crystals to extend them.
"Oof!" Luffy felt the wind leaving his lungs when Neo jammed him in the stomach. He flew backwards several yards before his back hit the ground. He bounced then flipped back up to his feet and charged back at Neo. "Sorry about this, Neo!"
Neo stood ready. She held up her stone staffs.
Luffy, fists still engulfed in haki, rushed her, and shattered her staffs.
Neo then jumped over Luffy's head. Flying through the air, she tried to charge at Law.
Luffy whipped around. He shot out his fist. Wrapping himself around Neo's ankle, he pulled her back to him. "No way, Neo! You're fighting me right now!"
Neo looked back at Luffy when she went flying back to him. Her body arched in response to the way he pulled her back to him. She snapped out her wings. Flapping them as hard as she could, she slowed herself down to a stop. She hovered over Luffy for a few seconds before flapping her wings harder, lifting him up off the ground.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Luffy asked. He kicked his feet furious as if it would help him land back on the ground.
Neo then took off. She flew around the outside of the palace. Pulling Luffy along behind her, she flew around the boarders of the palace three times before she suddenly doubled back.
"Ah!" Luffy screamed as he flew around the air.
"What are you doing, Straw Hat?!" Law asked from below. "Just let go of her!"
"I didn't think she could fly me like this!" Luffy said. He still didn't let go.
"Look out!" Law said when he saw Neo turn around in her flying.
"Huh?" Luffy looked up to see Neo flying at him with her fist pulled back, ready to punch at him. "Ah!" He finally released his hold on Neo's ankle. He flung his other fist down to the palace. Wrapping his arm around a broken piece of the building, he pulled himself away from Neo's punch just before her fist could collide with his face. He slammed into the floor, break it even more than it already was. He sat up and gasped. "Dang it, Tra! Why did you have to teach her to fight so well! I almost got flattened!"
"Don't start that again!" Law snapped. "Just do what you're suppose to do!"
"I know! I know!" Luffy said. He looked up to see her coming at him again. Before she could land a punch on him, he back flipped to his hands then kicked his shin onto her right shoulder. He kicked her just enough to push her away from him. He landed back on his feet at the same time that she did. The two charged towards each other. "Gum Gum Gatlin!"
Neo shifted back to using her earth crystals. She lifted up pieces of the broken palace to block Luffy's punches. Occasionally, she would slip in a vine to try and trap him again, but Luffy was catching on quickly to her fighting style and adapting to it. Whenever he saw a vine coming, he dodged it until Law warped it away. He then would go back on the offensive, punching and kicking at Neo.
…
Law continued to warp Neo's attacks away from Luffy while he thought carefully on how Neo let Luffy shatter her stone staffs and her current style of fighting. He knew she did it on purpose. He knew because she has seen Luffy used that exact same move on Pica's stone body, minus the enlarged hands. And the stone man was a lot larger than her stone staffs. He also knew she knew what armament haki could do. He knew she wasn't using her observation haki. He also knew that Neo was repeating the same exact attacks on purpose.
He glanced over at Cethin. He hoped that man didn't know she had observation haki. If he did and ordered her to use it on them, they wouldn't stand a chance of stopping her. She was already purposefully holding herself back quite a bit and using her weaker attacks in an attempt to let him and Luffy stop her. From that he knew it would only be a matter of time before Cethin noticed what she was doing or just got tired of her repeated attacks and ordered her to do more with her crystals.
…
"Neo," Cethin said in exasperation. He tapped his pencil on his notebook in annoyance. "You're just repeating the same exact attacks. That solar crystal of yours is becoming a real nuisance. I want you to get more serious about this fight. Really make them work for trying to save you."
Cethin ran his thumb over the stone on her medallion. The glow increased and flowed over to her. "Now stop resisting me and fight them properly."
…
"Hn." Neo winced at the pollution increase on her body. She stopped her current assault on Luffy and stumbled back away from him. She grabbed her head in pain. The throbbing was so much she was surprised that she hadn't passed out or her head hadn't exploded yet.
"Neo?" Luffy asked. He reached out for her but stopped when she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. His heart sunk in his chest. He didn't like it when one of his friends cried, especially when someone made them cry. It made him angry that Cethin was hurting her so much. But he didn't show that emotion to her. Instead, he gave her the friendliest, warmest smile he could possibly manage. "It's okay, Neo. I don't blame you for anything. Whatever you do, I can take it. I'm rubber, remember? Just go ahead and attack. We're going to set you free. I promise we will."
Neo's tears spilled over her eyes. She engulfed her fists and feet in air and charged towards Luffy. She struck him in the right cheek, knocking him down to the ground.
Luffy hit the ground. He instantly sat up and smiled at her despite the redness and throbbing that was now present in his cheek. "See? I'll be fine no matter what you do to me. So just let me have it."
"L… Luffy," Neo mumbled. She closed her eyes. Taking in a deep breath before finally charging at Luffy.
Luffy jumped to his feet. Easily, he blocked her punches and kicks as they rapidly exchanged hits. He made sure he was careful to not aim for her stomach. Instead, he aimed for her own fists and legs when she threw a punch or kick at him. He threw a punch back at her, making sure he didn't use his full strength so she could easily dodge him. He only used enough to make it look like he was really trying. He flinched when one of her fists flew right beside his right cheek. The wind cut through his skin, but it also burned it. He took a closer look at the wind swirling around her fists. He noticed that fire was also engulfed in the winds. She was becoming more serious about this fight thanks to the pollution stone. He brushed the blood away that was trickling down his skin with the back of his hand. "That's just great."
Neo pulled back her fist. The fire in the wind increased until there was a small tornado of fire swirling around her limb.
"Ah! You've got to be kidding me!" Luffy screamed. His eyes bugged out of his head at the fire tornado. "How the heck am I suppose to stop that?!"
…
"Aha ha! Straw Hat can't stop the fire!" Trebol laughed. He clapped his hands over his head. "He can't stop the fire! I love it! He's done for! He wasn't ready for this! Look! I'm so excited I have snot coming out of my nose!"
"About time she started taking this more seriously," Cethin said. He continued to stroke his thumb over the stone on her medallion. "Though I am impressed at how she's responding to all of this. I can't wait to really test out her magic. And I can't wait to see what her offspring can do. I wonder if it will be as strong as full blooded elementals or if being half human will weaken it. I have so many theories on that."
Doflamingo mentally growled while Cethin continued to ramble on about what he wanted to do with Neo and the unborn child inside of her. The man was really starting to annoy him. He almost wished Neo would turn her crystals on Cethin and kill the annoying man. The man had already served his purpose. Cethin was expendable. But he knew she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't kill him. Law, however, would. He pulled his eyes over to Law and watched him. He wondered what Law's plan was on saving Neo and how he was going to kill Cethin. He let his eyes drift back to Neo when she released her fire tornado at Luffy.
…
Neo threw her fire and wind engulf fist at Luffy. The fire tornado released from her hand and spun towards Luffy.
"Ah!" Luffy screamed when the fire tornado came towards him. He jumped to his right, just barely missing behind burnt to a crisp. "That was too close!"
Neo fired another fire tornado at him.
Luffy screamed again and jumped away from her second attack. He dodge a third one, and then a fourth one before he started running around the open room in a panic. "Ah! Tra! Do something! Warp them away! Warp them away! Hurry!"
Neo increased her attacks. Sending multiple fire tornadoes at Luffy. One flew right at Cethin, Doflamingo, Trebol, and Bellamy. She almost let it hit them. But when it became clear to Cethin she wasn't going to stop it, he brushed his thumb over the stone and ordered her to redirect the attack. She did. Feeling the disappointment from the order, she redirected the attack towards Luffy.
…
Law did. He warped some of her attacks away from Luffy, but he wasn't fast enough to move them all away. He gritted his teeth as he watched Luffy run around the former suit chamber in an attempt to keep himself from getting fried by Neo's fire while he continued to warp the fire away from them. He turned his eyes to Neo, his heart shattered into a million pieces at seeing her tears streak down her blank expression as she continued to attack her friend. Part of him wished she wasn't consciously aware of what she was doing. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed hold of one of the powder pouches. He really, really didn't want to use it. But she was becoming too much for them to handle. If they kept this fight up for much longer they wouldn't have enough strength to fight Doflamingo. He had to do it. He had to use the powder on her. He would then have to warp her back down to the lower level, order her to stay there, hope she obeyed, and let Robin watch over her until the fight was over. He watched her carefully. He pulled the pouch out of his pocket, keeping it and his arm against this side so no one would see what he had. When she had her back to him, he warped over to her. Standing behind her, he wrapped his left arm around her arms and waist while he placed the pouch over her eyes. "I'm sorry, Neo. This is for your own good."
…
"Well, this is interesting," Doflamingo said. "What is he doing with that pouch?"
"I'm not sure. But if he's holding it to her-No!" Cethin called out. "Neo! Stop him! Don't let him use that on you!"
"What is it?" Trebol asked, looking down at the panicked man.
"A powder that will disorient her!" Cethin said. "They're trying to stop her from using her magic! She'll be useless to us if they do that!"
…
Neo shifted her winds. Circling them between her eyes and the pouch, she blew the powder away from her just as Law dug his fingers into the leafy cover. She then slipped the wind between her body and Law's. She knocked him away from her. She winced when his body collided with the ground.
"Neo! Get rid of any more of that powder they might have!" Cethin called out to her.
"Just great!" Luffy said when Neo's vines gathered around him and Law once more. "This guy just had to do his research on her people!"
Neo slipped her vines into Law and Luffy's pockets, pulling out the powder pouches they were carrying.
"No!" Luffy cried. He reached out and tried to grab the packets. He couldn't get them. She had pulled them too far from his grasp. And before he could extend his reach, she tightened her vines around his body, pinning his stretchable limbs in place.
"Good girl, Neo," Cethin said. "Now burn those so they can't use them against you. And increase your attack on the island."
Neo flared up a fire crystal. She dropped the pouches into the blaze before increasing her attack on the island. The ground beneath them began to shake more violently.
…
All around Dressrosa the elements flared up at Neo's desire, or forced desire. Waves grew to over twenty feet tall. They struck down on the rocky shores of the country, grinding away at the stones.
Fires flared up, raging like wildfires that send people running in fear.
The wind howled as small tornadoes began to spin around the country on its outer boarders.
The earth rumbled. The ground cracked. Buildings cracked and crumbled to the ground.
People screamed and ran for cover. Navy soldiers tried desperately to get them to safety. But they all knew they weren't safe. There was nowhere they could go to get out of the elements. The majority of the country was already broken. And Neo's storm was making it all worse.
All of the animals in the country were confused. They ran around the country not sure of where they were suppose to go or what they were suppose to do. Some cried out in pain upon sensing the distress that Neo was in. Other coward down in fear of what she could do to them and the entire country. All of them knew she wasn't doing this on purpose. They knew she was good. They knew she was their friend. And they all wished they could help her.
…
"Such power," Sabo said to himself. He sent out his own fire to gather around the fire that was obeying Neo's command. He gathered it all back into himself, saving some citizens in the process from getting burnt. He then carefully scanned his eyes around the devastation going on in the country. He couldn't help but notice that most of this storm seemed to be focused on the outer parts of the country and around the palace. He wondered if Neo was doing that on purpose. He knew she wasn't doing the storm on purpose. The position of the storm's damage was clear to that. He just didn't know exactly what was going on. "I wonder if there really is a way for someone to control her. I know she's too soft hearted to actually do something like this on her own. But what is it that's causing her to do this? We're going to need to know that. If someone else does this in the future… all of her people could be in danger. Not to mention the entire world."
Suddenly, everything stopped. The storm vanished.
"Huh?" Sabo adjusted his hat. He looked back up at the palace. "I guess everything's back under control. Whatever happened, I'm going to have to get information on it. Dragon and our own elemental friends will want to know about this."
…
"Great! What do we do now?!" Luffy asked. He could easily feel the vibrations of Neo's earthquake through the vines that held him. He looked over to see pieces of the palace falling off. "This whole place is going to fall apart if she keeps this up!"
"We proceed with our plan!" Law said before warping them from Neo's vines. They landed on the ground. He sliced up Neo's vines as she tried to trap them again. "Do it now, Straw Hat!"
"Right!" Luffy said. He swung his fist towards Law. He really hated this. But he did it. He closed his eyes just before his fist connected with Law's head.
Law braced himself for the hit. He felt extremely guilty for doing this to her, but with the powder gone they had no other choice. He closed his eyes. He felt his body fly through the air upon Luffy's punch hitting him in the head. His body hit the ground. He rolled to a stop, laid there for one second before forcing himself to sit up. His eyes went right to Neo.
…
Neo readied herself for whatever attack Law and Luffy were going to do. But the attack didn't come towards her. It went to Law. Luffy threw a punch at Law. She shifted her crystals to block the attack from hitting him, but quickly stopped herself. She knew what they were trying to do. She struggled against the darkness inside of her, the elements fought against her will leaking out towards the two people she cared about, threatening to strike them down. Then the struggle suddenly stopped. She felt the punch on Law shoot through her own head.
Her vision blurred. Her body swayed. Her attack stopped. She felt her crystals fading away from her as the chaotic weather around Dressrosa was silenced in her ears. The dark clouds rolled away, leaving the bright sun shining down on them. It was finally over. Her knees buckled underneath her and she crumbled to the ground.
"What?! No!" Cethin shouted in disbelief. He gripped her medallion tightly in his hand, pressing his thumb into the stone as hard as he possible could. "Neo! Get up!"
Neo pushed up on her forearms. She screamed out at the pollution penetrating her body but still tried to obey and disobey the order she was given.
"R-Room! Shambles!" Law held up his hand. Through his own swaying vision and his shared pain with Neo, he warped her medallion and the spare stone to his hand, while moving Cethin closer then dividing up the man's up into multiple pieces. Ignoring Cethin's cries of protest, he grabbed onto the vein like stone, he started to pull it off. The stone shrieked and pulsed, increasing its glow around the entire medallion as it struggled to hang on. He flinched and almost stopped tugging on it when Neo screamed out in pain, and her pain passed to him, as the stone tried to pump more pollution into her. "Stop it! Stop attacking her!"
One last hard tug and it was off. The shrieking from the stone silenced as the glow faded away. Panting hard as he looked at the thing in between his fingers, Law felt relief that she was finally free from its control but also felt sick because it was still so close to her and tried to reattach to her medallion while it slowly shifted back into its stone form. He wasn't going to give it the chance. He created his Room again and warped the stone as far away from her as he possibly could.
"Yeah! You did it!" Luffy cheered before running over to Neo. He knelt down beside her and pulled her into his arms. He scanned his eyes over her, surveying the damage and how exhausted she looked. "Neo?"
"Hn…" Neo slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. Her distorted vision cleared with the help of her solar crystal. "L-Luffy…"
"Yeah." Luffy nodded with a bright smile. "I'm so glad you're finally back."
"I'm sorry," Neo said. Fresh tears gathered in her eyes before spilling over her eyelids. "I didn't mean to-"
"Don't apologize," Luffy said gently, cutting her off. "It wasn't your fault. You have nothing to feel guilty about."
"I know." Neo nodded tiredly. Too tired to move, she just glanced around with her eyes for the one person she wanted most in the world to hold her. "Where's Law? I can barely sense him."
"Don't worry. He's taking care of some business," Luffy said. He glanced over his shoulder at Law. The former warlord was walking towards Cethin. He didn't have to see Law's face to know how ticked off the man was. He could sense the danger and the intent to kill from right where he was. He turned his eyes back to Neo, shifting his body a bit to make sure she couldn't see what Law was about to do. "Business that I'm sure you don't want to see."
"Yeah." Neo chuckled softly. She knew she didn't need her connection to Law to know what he was getting ready to do to Cethin. He's done it before and he'll do it again and again to anyone who hurt her. Cethin signed his own death certificate the moment he targeted her. She closed her eyes and relaxed in Luffy's hold while her solar crystal healed her. She spread its glow over Luffy's body, healing him from the small amount of damage she had caused him. "I'm glad you're here, Luffy. Godfather would be happy to know how strong you have become."
"He'd be proud of you too," Luffy said.
"Yeah. I'm going to have to contact him once this is all over," Neo said. "I'm sure he's worried about us and waiting for me to call on him."
"I'm sure he is too. He'll be excited to know you're having a baby," Luffy said with a bright smile.
"Don't be silly, Luffy. You know we're not having a child," Neo said.
"Hm?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about? Of course you're having a child."
Neo chuckled. "You just don't give up, do you? Did I hit you too hard or something?"
…
Law stared down at Cethin's scattered body, his eyes burning with rage for the man below him. He gripped his sword and Neo's medallion then pointed the blade towards his target before sinking it into Cethin's right hand. His entire body and soul enjoyed the pain filled cry that left his victim's mouth. Twisting his sword into Cethin's hand, he said, "You will no longer hurt her or any elemental ever again. I'll give you a minute to pray or say any last words before I kill you."
"It doesn't matter… that you're going… to kill me here," Cethin said between painful breaths. "I've already sent some pollution stones and clear instructions on how to use them to the navy. It doesn't matter that you have set her free, there will be others who will come for her. The human race cannot contain its curiosity and fear when it comes to what's different from the normal. She and her people will be hunted down by so many others. She will be feared by them the most since she is the strongest of her people."
"And I'll deal with them just like I've dealt with you," Law hissed. He pulled his sword from Cethin's right hand and slowly sank it into the man's left hand. His blood coursed hotly through his veins at the sounds of Cethin's screams. If only he had more time to completely and fully torture this man like he really wanted to. But he didn't. They still had the main fight to get to. "No one is ever going to take her or our child away from me."
…
"Young Master," Trebol said, watching Law stab his blade into Cethin's body. He tilted his head to the left, causing his snot to swing from the movement. "Are you not going to help him?"
"Why? He's served his purpose," Doflamingo said. He smiled in enjoyment of the pain Law was inflicting on the man. He brushed his fingers over the bruise on his cheek. "He's not a fighter. There's no point in saving him. He can't do anything else for me at this point anyway. He's useless now."
"I suppose you are correct!" Trebol said. "He is useless now! Very, very useless! Let him die! The useless are dead! Let him die!"
…
Law pulled his sword from Cethin's left hand. The screams he elicited from the man only fueled his anger and sadistic nature towards him. He stabbed his sword into Cethin's left leg, his right leg, and the sides of his torso, his shoulders, and his ankles before stopping. Blood tainted the air and spilled over the stone floor, but he didn't smell it anymore. His disdain for the man had blocked out his senses of everything else. His protective, sadistic side was on the verge of completely taken over him. They would have completely taken him over if it weren't for the fact that Neo was still nearby. When he got like this, he always sent her away with at least one of the crew. He never did this with her so close. And he always blocked his connection to her when like this. He knew she didn't like this part of their lives. But she never tried to stop him, especially when he was doing this out of protection for her.
…
Neo flinched at the sound of Law's blade sinking into Cethin's body. It made her stomach roll. If she wasn't so tired she would have covered her ears, but she still couldn't move properly just yet. She closed her eyes and turned her face into Luffy's body in an attempt to hide from the noise, the blood, and everything. She forced herself to keep her breathing slow as Luffy placed on hand on her hair and tightened his hold on her. She knew he sensed his was making her uncomfortable and was doing what he could to ease her until Law was finished.
"Just hold on a little long," Luffy said, keeping a close eye on Doflamingo in case the warlord decided to attack them. "It's almost over."
Neo only nodded against him in response.
…
"Now die." Law placed his blood stained blade to Cethin's heart. He slammed the blade into the man's chest, sinking it four inches into the floor beneath. He watched in enjoyment at the life draining from the man's eyes. This man was no longer going to be able to hurt his love. He closed his eyes, feeling out when Cethin's soul had departed from this world before pulling his sword out of the lifeless body with a harsh jerk.
…
Doflamingo chuckled. "Now that's the cold hearted kid I use to know. Too bad it takes a woman to get him to revert back to that way."
…
"No!" Usopp cried out as the vines tightened around his body, cutting off his blood circulation and his breathing to the point his face started to turn blue. "I -on't -ant o -ie!"
Everyone on top of the plateau was struggling against Neo's vines and winds. Those who weren't wrapped up in vines were trying to free those who were. Tank and King Riku ripped vines from a couple citizens before moving on to the next. Kin'emon and Fujitora sliced their swords against some vines, freeing several men.
Suddenly, the storm died. The vines released their captives and went back to lying on the ground as harmless as they usually were.
"Ah!" Usopp screamed when he was released from the vines. He landed on his head with a violent thud. He sucked in as much air into his lungs as he possible could before sitting up and saying, "Air! That hurt! What happened?!"
"They did it!" Viola said. "They finally freed Neo! She's no longer under Cethin's control!"
"What?! That's great!" Usopp said, jumping to his feet. He looked at Viola. His joy quickly turned to worry upon wondering how exactly they stopped her. "Wait! How did they do it?! They didn't use a powder on her, did they?!"
"No. Straw Hat punched Trafalgar and she just stopped," Viola said. She opened her eyes and looked at Usopp. "How is that possible?"
"I'm glad they didn't use the powder," Usopp said with a sigh. "And I can't answer your question. It's not my secret to tell."
"That's okay," Viola said with a smile. "I'm just glad she's no longer under their control."
"Me too." Usopp nodded. Everyone else couldn't help but nod and smile in agreement.
…
Robin landed on her feet after being freed from her vines. She didn't bother looking behind her when Bartolomeo slammed into the ground upon being released himself. She looked up towards and smiled. She knew that Neo was now back under Law's control. Neo… I hope you're okay now. Just don't feel bad for what you did. It wasn't your fault at all.
"That hurt," Bartolomeo said. He pulled his head out of the ground and shook the dirt from his hair. He then got stars in his eyes at the power Neo had displayed. "That was so incredible! Scary, but incredible! Only Mister Luffy could possible have such a powerful woman by his side! This is so great!"
"You are a complete idiot, Bartolomeo. She's not Straw Hat's woman. And that wasn't incredible. That was insane," Cavendish said. He was slicing vines that had trapped him, but when the storm died down the vines released him on their own. He landed on his feet with ease. "She's insanely powerful."
"I have to agree with you on that," Gladius said. He brushed the dirt off his clothes and stood ready to attack again. "Now that that parts out of the way we can continue with our own battle."
"Then let's resume," Cavendish said. He lifted his sword, light glinted off the blade before he ran in for an attack.
…
Law flicked his sword, causing some of the blood on it to fly off and land on the already bloody floor. He turned away from Cethin, releasing his Room as he walked over to Neo and Luffy. He sighed as he knelt down next to the two. He laid his sword down on the ground before Neo all but flung herself the best she could into his arms. She would have done it literally if the pollution were completely removed from her system. But it hadn't and she was still weak from it and from the pain Luffy had caused her through Law. Luffy had to help her move from his arms to Law's awaiting arms. A small smile appeared on his lips when she grabbed onto the front of his coat. Leaning into her ear, he whispered, "It's all right, love. It's all over now."
"Law, I'm so sorry," Neo said, tears streaking down her cheeks. "I didn't mean to attack you or anyone else."
"Hush," Law said gently. "That wasn't your fault. No one's going to blame you for it. I won't let them do that. Look here."
Neo sniffled while pulling back from him a bit. She looked down when he brought his left hand up for her to see. Her eyes lit up as a smile spread across her lips. "My birth medallion."
"Your birth medallion," Law said. He then created a small Room around them and warped it around her neck, right where it should be. He let his hand fall to her stomach noticing for the first time that she, their baby, was starting to show. It wouldn't be long now before she noticed it too. He was going to have to tell her about it sometime soon. Hopefully it was before she noticed it, but he wasn't too concerned if he didn't. He knew she would brush it off to weight gain. She just wouldn't consciously know that their child caused the weight gain. He quickly pushed those thoughts aside. He didn't want her to notice them. He refocused his attention and watched her contently as she cried happy tears at having her long lost treasure back. While watching her, he noticed warmth coming back into his body as the pollution inside of her became less and less. He was happy she was returning to normal, he had her back, but he was also concerned. He was hoping with the pollution stone now far away from her she would instantly return to normal. Clearly that wasn't the case. This thing wasn't like the darkness crystal that when purified the elementals instantly reverted back to normal. This stuff was lingering inside of her. She wasn't going to be able to fight with them just yet. His eyes wandered to her solar crystal. It was still hovering beside her, now engulfing all three of them as it healed them from their recent battle. He wondered how long it was going to take the crystal to get the effects of the pollution stone out of her system. He and Luffy was going to have to protect her until she could defend herself properly again.
"Neo, how are you feeling?" Luffy asked. His eyes running over her medallion curiously before he lifted his gaze to hers.
"A lot better," Neo said. She pulled her eyes away from her medallion and looked at her friend. "The pollution is still inside of me, but I have control again. However, I'm not going to be able to fight just yet. I don't want to take the risk of hurt people while it's still inside of me."
"That's understandable," Luffy said with a nod. "You just rest. We'll handle things from this point on."
"Thanks, Luffy," Neo said. She pulled her eyes away from him and looked at Law. "But there is one thing that I'm really concerned about."
"What's that?" Law asked.
"My wings are out," Neo said. She kneaded her eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"
"Didn't you summon them?" Luffy asked.
"No." Neo shook her head. She looked at Luffy then back at Law like he would have the answer to this mystery. "Why are they out? I can't get them to go away either."
"You can't?" Law asked, concerned she couldn't control them. His eyes flittered to the blue wing that was draped across his leg.
"No, I can't," Neo said. "I've been trying to make them go away but they won't listen. What's happening with them? Why are they even out?"
"I don't know," Law said, returning his eyes to hers. "You just summoned them when we were fighting you."
"That's odd," Neo mumbled. "I don't get why. They've never done this before."
"This is sweet and all," Doflamingo said, gaining the three pirates attention. "But I've been patient long enough. It's time to continue with this. Black Knight!" He lifted up his hand. Strings came out of his fingers, twisting together as they created another clone of him. "And since she's no longer able to fight, she can die first. Kill her."
The clone shot forward. Lifting its own hands in the air to form its own strings.
"You're not going to touch her!" Law hissed. He grabbed his sword while reluctantly pushing Neo back into Luffy's arms. He jumped up just in time to block the clone's attack from slicing her into pieces. "You stay away from her!"
"Neo, can you sit on your own?" Luffy asked. When she nodded, he released her, stood up, and charged towards Doflamingo. "Then, I'll fight the real one!"
"Law! Luffy! Be careful!" Neo said. She gritted her teeth at her current helpless situation. She lowered her eyes to her solar crystal and wondered how much longer it would be before the pollution was completely out of her. From the way she felt, she figured there was just under half of it still inside of her. She hoped it would be completely gone, or gone enough, before this battle heated up too much. She didn't want Law and Luffy fighting all on their own. She wanted to back them up but was resigned to just watch for the time being. She turned her eyes to Doflamingo when the man moved again.
…
Doflamingo smiled. With a wiggle of his fingers, Bellamy stood up with his swords in his hands.
"Bellamy?!" Luffy asked just before Bellamy swiped his swords at him. He lost his balance do to shock and the sudden avoidance of the attack and fell backwards to the ground. "Hey! What are you doing, Bellamy?! I said that I was sorry for what I did before!" He kicked up his feet when Bellamy struck at him again. The man's swords landed on his sandals but didn't manage to break them.
"Straw Hat! He's being controlled!" Law said before he jumped away from the clone.
Luffy gritted his teeth at that bit of information.
"I'm sorry, Straw Hat. Please, stop me," Bellamy said before swiping his swords at Luffy again.
Luffy jump away from Bellamy's attack again and again. It was bad enough having to fight Neo. He really didn't want to fight another one of his friends.
"I don't know how you know him but if you want to stop him, you got to knock him out!" Law said, blocking his own attacker's attack. "Just do it! Straw Hat!"
"I don't want to do that again!" Luffy said while he continued to jump away from Bellamy. "I don't want to fight another one of my friends!"
Tears drip down Bellamy's face at Luffy's words. He struggled against the control that Doflamingo had over him, but it did no good. His body shot forward against his will.
"You're going to die really soon. But it's not a bad way to die, huh? Do you remember what I told you once before, Law? The weak do not have the right to chose how they die," Doflamingo said.
"You jerk!" Luffy said. He landed on his feet, sliding back from Bellamy before glaring at Doflamingo. "We came all this way but you still refuse to fight us yourself?! You used Neo as a shield and now you're using Bellamy as a shield! I've had it with you! Tra! I'm going to kick his butt now!" He activated his armament haki and spread it over his hands and arms up to his elbows. "He's ticked me off enough!"
"Idiot! I told you that was our secret plan! I also told you not to get worked up!" Law said.
…
Neo's heart skipped a beat when Luffy ran towards Law. She knew this was planned, but it still bothered her that Luffy was running towards Law ready to attack. She exhaled, settling her nerves and reminding herself this was just a plan. Luffy wasn't really going to hit Law. It just didn't help that they had to preform a mini version of this plan on her so they could stop her. It worked on her so hopefully it would work on Doflamingo and this would all be over with. She forced herself not to become over confident. She knew full well that plans didn't always go perfectly.
…
"I'm going to do it now! Gum Gum…" Luffy said as he continued to run towards Law.
"You idiot! You are going to pay for this later!" Law said.
"He's going to attack Law again!" Trebol said with a laugh. "Are you going nuts, Straw Hat?! This is fun!"
"Room!" Law created his Room around them all. He watched as Luffy ran towards him while simultaneously blocking the clone's attacks. When he noticed Luffy was close enough, he switched his body with Doflamingo's. "Shambles!"
"…Red Hawk!" Luffy shouted when Doflamingo appeared in front of him. He slammed his fists into the older man's body as hard as he could.
…
"Dofy!" Trebol cried when his boss got punched. Bringing his attention from the hit, he looked down to see Law smiling up at him from Doflamingo's chair.
Law waited until the snot man noticed him before he released his own attack. He jumped out of the chair and sliced Trebol's body into multiple parts. "Radio Knife!" While flying through the air, he looked over at Luffy with a harsh glare. "Straw Hat! You're the worst!"
"You're in the same generation!" Luffy smiled.
…
Author's Notes: Not the best chapter in the world. Just couldn't get the fight to come out like it was in my head. At least I got it done. I can always rewrite it later.
Silver Pride: Ah, that's so sweet. I'm glad you like her so much. I like writing for her. I've got so many stories ideas in mind with her. Dumb plot bunnies won't leave me alone. Another one's going up right now, but will focus more on another OC I'm creating. And you're right. There was a similar situation in the original. And it popped up here too.
Apple Bloom: He got some revenge in this one. If only he could have tortured Cethin like he really wanted too. It would have gone on for days.
Starrat: I'm apparently gifted with cliffhangers. At least this one isn't plagued with them like previous stories. I'm trying to avoid them as much as possible.
