To Zou

Part One

Neo was standing on an island. It was quiet. No one seemed to be around. Even nature seemed oddly quiet as she stood there staring at the world around her. All the houses were shut up, doors were closed, windows were shut, and curtains were pulled over them. But she still felt like people were still here, somewhere. And something about this placed seemed very familiar. "Where am I? I know this place. But where is it?"

Neo walked forward. Walking along the worn path, the town was on her right and a round rail fence was on her left. Beautiful flowers were growing all over the lush green fields. She paused when a couple of brown horses ran through the field. Deep inside of her she felt a mix of joy and dread. She knew this place but she just couldn't place where it was. Then she suddenly heard the cries of a baby. The unexpected noise made her heart race wildly inside of her chest. As if she knew where she was going, she turned from the horses and bolted away from them. Her bare feet thudded against the ground as the baby's cries came closer and closer.

She jerked to a stop when she came upon another familiar part of this island. It was a tree. A tall tree with a swing attached to it. Her body ran cold. Her heart skipped three beats when she realized where she was. One solitary, raspy word passed over her lips. "Mertensia…"

The swing began to rock with the breeze that blew up from behind her. Slowly, the image of a little girl, herself as a child, appeared on the swing. Her heart skipped another three beats. She wanted to run. She wanted to get away from this place, but she couldn't move. Her feet were frozen in place. She was expecting the people to come. But they never did. Then she heard the cries of a baby again. Looking around, she tried to find where the crying was coming from, but she couldn't locate a baby at all.

"What's going on?" Neo asked herself when the wind picked up. She looked up to the sky when thunder rumbled ahead. A storm was coming. But why? She wasn't controlling it. And her child self wasn't controlling it either. That's when her eyes dropped back down to her child self. She gasped when she found herself staring at a baby instead. A baby with black hair was wrapped in a blue blanket, lying in a familiar looking crystal crib. "No… it… it can't be. Why would… why would my baby crib be here?"

The cries from the baby increased. Neo didn't want to step forward and look into the crib, but she couldn't help herself. Her feet carried her forward. She wanted to close her eyes. But they wouldn't listen to her. And, slowly, by some unseen force, she looked into the crib. There it was. A baby. The baby that had been crying was lying in her crystal crib. As if the baby sensed her standing her, he looked up at her. His cries softened upon seeing her face until the baby smiled. So many emotions washed through her body when the baby looked at her with Law's grey eyes. She loved the child. She hated the child. She was afraidof the child. She was afraidfor the child. So badly she wanted to turn and run from the baby. But something inside of her wouldn't allow her to do that. Something inside of her was telling her she needed to stay with the baby. "It's not possible. You can't be our b…"

Neo shook her head and forced herself to step away from the crib. "No! No! This isn't happening! It's not! It's just a dream!"

She stopped walking when she heard the baby starting to cry again. She immediately walked back. Once back in the baby's sight, he stopped crying and smiled at her. More baby cries filled the air. It brought her attention from the grey eyed baby. She looked around. Several more cribs and babies had appeared. Some were crying, while others were laughing, or sleeping. But her eyes went right back to the grey eyed baby in the crystal crib near her. Seemingly under its own power, her hand lifted up. She reached in for the baby. Just before her skin touched his skin a violent storm erupted on the island. Thunder boomed deafening loud, lightning struck so bright she had to close her eyes, the wind roared causing violent waves to crash on the island, plants grew large and snapped out violently at the world around her, and the entire island shook from an earthquake. One by one the babies started disappearing.

"No! Stop it! Stop it, nature! Go away! They didn't do anything wrong! Stop it!" Neo grabbed her head, dropping to her knees as she continued to scream. "Stop it! Stop it right now! Just go away! I don't want this! I don't want any of this! I didn't mean to do it!"

"No, stop it," Neo said. She gripped the blanket around her as tightly as she could, unaware that she was creating a storm above the ship.

The dark clouds rumbled. Lightning flashed bright in the sky and struck down at the ship while the winds howled, causing the sails to fill with wind and waves to rock the ship hard.

"Ah! What's happening?!" a Barto Club member asked as the waves slammed up against the ship. He stumbled until he hit the wall nearest him.

"Where did this storm come from?!" another one asked.

"Ah! We're all going to die!" Usopp shouted. He grabbed onto the mast just as a wave rocked the ship again. "Someone do something!"

"This is awesome!" Luffy laughed from the figurehead.

"No it's not!" Usopp screamed.

"Neo," Robin said as her eyes dropped to her friend. She was sitting opposite from Neo where her friend was resting with a cup of tea in her hand. The rest of the Straw Hats were scattered around the ship, but cast their worried eyes over to their friend and started wandering over themselves, except for Usopp who was still clinging to the mass.

Law rushed over to his love from where he was leaning against a wall with his eyes closed in deep thought. He all but threw his sword down on the deck before grabbing her shoulders. He said, "Neo? Neo, wake up. Neo!"

Neo sat up with a startled gasp. Her breathing was coming in rapid gasp as she tried to get herself free of her nightmare. "Stop! Stop it! They didn't anything wrong! Go away! Just stop!"

"Neo, look at me," Law said in a firm voice. He cupped her cheeks and turned her grey eyes to him.

"I… I can't… I'm trapped… they're all trapped," Neo said. Her eyes darted everywhere as her fingers curled around his coat. "They're dying because of me!"

"They're all trapped?" Robin asked.

"Who's dying?" Franky asked. "Trafalgar, is she okay? Or is she still dreaming?"

"She's just a bit trapped in her nightmare. This happens often. She'll wake up fully in a second." Law brushed his thumbs over her skin and spoke softly to her. "No, you're not trapped. No one's dying. You're safe. Neo, I need you to look at me."

"I can't. I can't," Neo said, her eyes still darting everywhere. "Law, help me."

"Neo, I order you to look at me," Law said.

She did. Neo locked her eyes onto Law's. Instantly, her lungs took a deep relaxing breath. She exhaled and said, "I'm okay. I'm safe."

"You are." Law nodded. "You were having a nightmare about Mertensia, weren't you?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "It was dif-" She cut herself off.

"What? Did something else happen?" Law asked. When she didn't answer him, he tried taking a look in her mind. He only got a quick glimpse of a baby crib before she cut him off from her thoughts. "Neo?"

"It's nothing," Neo said. She looked up to the sky and saw her dark clouds fading away from the area. "I'm sorry. Did my nightmare effect the weather?"

"It sure did," Usopp said. He was climbing down off the mast when she turned her eyes to them. "It was crazy."

"I'm so sorry," Neo said. She scanned her eyes around the deck. All of the Barto Club members were clearly freaked out about her explosion of strength as they were cowering behind the mast or behind doors, railings, and the Straw Hat pirates.

"That must have been some nightmare if it effected your crystals," Franky said. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Neo said.

"Neo," Law said in his warning, captain tone. "What was your nightmare about?"

Neo flinched. It took her a few seconds to bring her eyes back to Law. She said, "It was about Mertensia."

"Neo," Law said, knowing there was more to the story than that.

"Sorry. I just need some time alone," Neo said. Without giving Law the chance to reply, she got up and walked away from him.

Law stood up. He moved to follow her, but stopped when he remembered her words about needing to be alone at times. This was one of those times.

"What was that about?" Robin asked. "You two never mentioned her crystals went out of control when she had a nightmare."

"Usually they don't," Law said. "Something was different about this one."

"Different?" Franky asked.

"What do you mean?" Usopp added.

"I got a quick glimpse into her mind before she cut me off. In her nightmare there was a baby crib," Law said.

"A baby crib?" Zoro asked.

"It seems like her pregnancy is effecting her nightmares," Robin said.

Law nodded slowly. His mind going over and over the crib that he saw in Neo's mind. It looked like hers back on Luminous. He wanted to talk to her about it, but knew he needed to give her space right now. This was the first time she had ever walked away from him after having a nightmare. That just wasn't like her at all.

"Hey! Where's Neo?! Did she stop that storm?! It was awesome!" Luffy said as he ran over to his friends after coming down from the figurehead.

"It was actually her who created the storm because of a nightmare," Usopp said.

"A nightmare? That's not good. I know what she needs! She needs to have some fun!" Luffy said before racing off to find his friend. "We can go fishing! Or swimming! She can take me underwater with her crystals!"

"Room! Shambles!" Law spread his Room out over the ship just as Luffy was racing up the stairs.

"Hey!" Luffy protested as his back collided with the deck. He looked up at Law, upside down since his head was at Law's feet. "What the heck was that for, Tra?!"

"Just leave her alone, Straw Hat," Law said. He bent down and picked up his sword. Resting it on his shoulder while shoving his other hand into his pocket. "She just needs some time alone. If you attempt to bother her right now I'll divide up your body and attach you to several parts of the ship."

Luffy crossed his arms and huffed. "I don't like it when my friends are sad."

"We all know that, Luffy," Robin said.

"But there are times when your friends just need to be alone and work things out in their own time," Zoro said. He sat down on one of the chairs near Robin, crossing his legs with his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. "I know it's going to be hard for you, of all people, to sit still on this but just give her space for now."

Law watched Luffy for a moment before walking back over to the wall to resume his position in thinking.

Luffy sat up. Grabbing his ankles he stared at Law before looking off towards the direction Neo went.

Neo walked up the stairs that led to the stern of the ship. She wanted to go to the bow since that was the end of the boat that was going to get to Zou the fastest, but she didn't go there since she knew Luffy was sitting on the figurehead until a few seconds ago. She wondered if he was going to come find her at some point, but figured Robin or Law would stop him. So she curled up against the edge of the ship and sat there with her birth medallion in her hands.

"Is she really going to be okay?" Gamba asked as he and seven other members of the Barto Club cautiously watched Neo from the stairs. They were several steps from the top, peaking over the edge, just staring at her. She was now standing with her elbows on the railing of the ship with an octopus wrapped around her legs and four small crabs, one on each shoulder while the other two remained on the deck.

"I don't know," one of them said.

"She's been standing there for almost four hours just staring at her necklace," a second one said.

"I find it creepy that that octopus has been with her for almost an hour and those crabs even longer," a third one day. "She's like a total fre-" The man's voice was cut off when Law's sheath came smashing down onto his head. His body slumped on the steps, bringing the gathered groups attention to him.

"Hey! What the heck was th-"

Law pulled out his sword with his lightning fast reflexes. He pointed the tip of his blade right at the man who was speaking. His eyes glinted with danger and it's own storm of fury at what the man, who he knocked out, was going to say. "I'm only going to give you this warning once. So listen well. Neo is not a freak or a monster. If anyone tries to call her that or anything similar I will cut their tongues out of their bodies with them alive and without my powers. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the men, faces pale, shrieked. They picked up their fallen comrade and scurried off like scolded puppies.

Law watched them go before sheathing his sword. He then looked at Neo. Sadness filled his chest as he watched her just stand there, almost completely out of touch with reality. He sighed heavily before heading back down the stairs. Just a few more days. Just a few more days and we'll be back with the crew. She'll be fine.

Neo stared down at her medallion with her tired, droopy grey eyes. Her elbows were starting to ache from the constant position of resting on the railing of the ship as her thumb brushed over the silver material time and time again. For two days now they had been traveling on the Barto Club's ship. And for those two days her mind was a mix of solid emptiness and a multitude of questions and worries that she couldn't yet voice to anyone. She couldn't even voice them to Law, the one person she was closest to. And she was blocking him from looking into her mind. She was unsure as to why she was putting a wall up between them. She just was. She hoped that this was just one of the rare times that she couldn't talk to him. One of the times that she would go talk to Penguin for advice then go speak with Law. Only problem, Penguin wasn't here for her. He and the rest of the crew were days away from them. And not a single person could answer how long it was going to take them to get to Zou. She didn't even know. She knew once they got close enough she should be able to sense all the minks there. Or she hoped she could. Her magic had been fading in and out for the past two days still. So she wasn't sure if she would be able to sense them once they got close enough or not. She wasn't even sure if she was going to get to speak to her godfather. It's been a few days since the downfall of Doflamingo. Since Shanks hadn't contacted her yet, she figured he was busy with his own mission or was in a dangerous position so he couldn't contact her yet. Though she did get the feeling he was going to call for her soon. For the moment her magic was holding steady.

"You all should go back to the sea now," Neo said to her sea friends. She lightly patted them all on their heads as a silent thank you for being there for her. "I know you want to stay, but you can't. Go on now. I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Reluctantly, the four crabs and the octopus slowly crawled away from her and made their way back to the sea. She watched them go then dropped her eyes back down to her medallion until she sensed a pod of dolphins near by, she lifted her eyes from the medallion and looked at the light grey creatures before her. A small smile pulled on her lips. The dolphins were jumping out of the water, jumping over each other, and clicking happily at her. They could sense her distress and were doing their best to cheer her up. It didn't work. While she still enjoyed seeing the creatures' cute attempts at trying to entertain her, she just couldn't really enjoy it. If this were any other day, she would have immediately dove into the water to play with them. But it wasn't any normal day. Her life had been turned upside down with three little words: 'You are pregnant'. And she didn't know how to deal with it. The feeling of a familiar presence walking up to her caused her bangs to fall over her eyes.

"They're so cute," Robin said. She leaned against the railing and watched as the dolphins continued to jump around in the water. "They really love to preform for you, don't they?"

Neo didn't reply. She didn't even move. She was upset with the dark haired woman and had been avoiding her these past two days. But since she wasn't really in touch with the reality around her, avoiding people was easy. Still, there was one thing, two questions that kept running through her mind. "How long? And who all knew?"

Robin looked over to Neo. She studied her friend before looking back out at the dolphins. "I knew pretty quickly. It was pretty easy for me to figure it out. I'm very good at paying attention to the world around me. Sanji figured it out when you two cooked together. He wasn't sure at first because he used his observation haki and noticed the unchanging red spot amongst your spirit, but he eventually came to the right conclusion. We ended up telling the rest because we all were worried about you. We wanted to make sure you were protected. You do understand that, don't you?"

"Yeah," Neo whispered. She then perched up at bit.

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"Godfather is calling me," Neo said before walking away from Robin.

Robin watched her friend walk away from her. Part of her was glad that they had waited until the fight with Doflamingo was over to tell her that she was pregnant. But part of her wondered if they should have told her sooner. She was completely split on this. She was worried about Neo, mostly because she didn't know anything about elemental pregnancies. Not having a child herself, she didn't know what to say or do here. Just like Law, she wanted to get back to their sub so she could read the books on elemental pregnancies.

"Hey! Neo!" Luffy called before swinging down from the top if the mast. He landed right beside Neo and took her hand in his. "Let's play! I want to fly for a while!"

"Sorry, Luffy," Neo murmured. "I don't feel like flying."

"Aw, why not?" Luffy asked.

"Luffy, leave her alone," Usopp said. He walked over to the two pirates and grabbed Luffy around the waist. "She's not feeling very well right now. She's still to shocked."

"Shocked? About the baby?" Luffy asked.

Neo flinched.

"Yes about the baby! Now stop bugging her!" Usopp said in a sharp whisper while he continued to try and pull Luffy away from Neo. "Let go of her!"

"No! I'm staying with her!" Luffy said, wrapping one of his arms all around Neo, his forearm brushing against her baby bump.

"Luffy!" Neo said, startled at the contact of his arm against her stomach. "Please, let go of me. Godfather is calling for me. And he's worried."

"What?! Shanks is calling for you?!" Luffy's arm immediately untangled from Neo. When it did, his fist accidentally popped Usopp on the nose.

"Ouch! -uffee! -at -urt!" Usopp said. His long nose now smashed up against his face as his body fell backwards onto the deck.

"Oh! I wish I could see him! It's been so long!" Luffy gushed as he continued to follow Neo. "But then I'm not a great pirate yet! So that would violate our deal we have! I still want to see him thought! Ah! I'm so torn!"

Neo half listened to Luffy as she made her way to the center of the deck where the Barto Club had once again pulled out the chairs for their guests. It was also where Law was currently sitting. She knew he would want her close when entering into her dream world to meet with Shanks despite being on a friendly ship of pirates and having the Straw Hats around them. She sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. "Godfather's calling for me. I'm going to go see him for a while."

"All right," Law said with a light nod. "You just take as much time as you need. I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

Neo nodded.

"Hey! If I wanted to go, would you take me?!" Luffy asked, pointing at himself.

"It doesn't work that way, Straw Hat," Law said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Luffy looked at Law.

"It's their bond. Only the two of them can enter into their dream world," Law said.

"You can't even go into it?" Usopp asked as he walked over to them, his nose now straight again. "I figured you would be able to since you're bonded to her as well."

Across from Law, Zoro opened his eyes. He was napping on the seat but found this conversation interesting enough to listen.

"I would have thought you could do it too," Franky said. The cyborg walked over to the group and sat down on the deck.

"There is the possibility I can do it," Law said. "But I chose not to try."

"I see," Zoro said with a smile. "You're not very fond of Shanks, are you? You get jealous when he's around? Or is it because he's still technical a rival pirate despite being Neo's godfather?"

"Because he's a rival," Law said, the brim of his hat fell over his eyes.

"I don't think you're being completely truthful there, Trafalgar," Franky said. A grin pulled across his lips when Law's hat fell over his eyes. "That's super cute! He even gets jealous of her godfather giving her attention!"

Usopp snickered. "I never would have guessed that a guy like you was such a softy at heart when it comes to a woman. It's cute."

Law grunted but ignored the cyborg and sniper. "Go on, Neo."

"Hey, mind if we watch?" one of the Barto Club members asked.

Law glanced at Neo. When it didn't appear she objected to it, he said, "You can, but you won't see much of anything. While I have the possibility of going into their dream world, others do not. All you do it see her sitting here and that's it."

"I'm still going to watch," the club member said.

"Me too," another one said.

"I'll watch for a minute," a third one piped up.

Neo closed her eyes as the crew of seven men gathered around her. Normally she didn't like being the center of attention outside of her crew, but now she was too out of touch with everything and everyone that she didn't care about the extra eyes staring at her. Hugging her knees tightly, she closed her eyes and relaxed with an exhale. The world around her faded as she slipped into her dream world.

"Where is she?" Shanks asked himself as he paced around the field they often met at when they visited each other. He was far too concerned about her to enjoy this wonderful place or even sit down. Walking away from the nearby tree, he finally sensed Neo appearing in their dream world. He whipped around. His eyes instantly landed on her before his brain registered that she was really there. He rushed over to her. Within just a few steps, he was right in front of her wrapping her in his arm and warm embrace. "Neo! I've been so worried about you! Do you realized you nearly gave me a heart attack for what you did in Dressrosa?! What the heck were you two thinking?! Taking on a warlord like that?! And not just any warlord! You went after Doflamingo of all people!"

Neo listened quietly and obediently. As she listened to her godfather ranting on about the dangers they, or technically Law, put them in, she breathed in his familiar scent that was still mixed with booze. There was also cigarette smoke mixed in with how much Benn smoked, but being in their dream world, it wouldn't hurt her or the child inside of her.

Then Shanks moved away from her, taking his warmth with him. He started pacing around again as he continued to rant on about how stupid and dangerous their new adventure was. "I know that rotten husband of your is, or was, a warlord himself, and his bounty was over four hundred million, and you're an elemental princess with all the elements bending to your will, but that was just insane! Stupidly insane! I know I'm not one to talk since I'm a pirate as well! But I'm your godfather! I know you're a pirate and an adult, but you're still just a child! He was supposed to keep your bounty from getting so high! You shouldn't be out fighting dangerous pirates like that! Seriously?! What was that rotten husband of your thinking?! He wasn't-" Suddenly he paused, realizing Neo hadn't tried to say a word or even stop him. He turned back to her and blinked. That's when he noticed something was off. She wasn't smiling at him like she normally did. She was just staring down at the ground, looking like she hadn't slept in days. He also noticed her eyes weren't the same electric blue that he's come to know over the many times they came to this place. "Neo, what's wrong? Are you okay? Your eyes are grey."

She shook her head.

Shanks walked back over to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "What is it? What's wrong? Did something happen?" His eyes dropped to the medallion around her neck. "Wait… isn't that your birth medallion?"

She nodded.

"Tell me what it is," Shanks said gently. "What happened?"

"Godfather… I'm… I…" she stumbled to find her words. No, she wasn't stumbling over her words. She just couldn't say them. She couldn't and she didn't want to say it. So how was she going to tell him that she was pregnant?

"Neo, what happened?" Shanks asked, his voice now taking on a concerned tone. "Did Law do something to you?"

"No, it's not…" Her voice trailed off. Law did do something to her. He got her pregnant.

"Then what happened? I don't like that you're being so quiet." Shanks ran his eyes over her face, taking in her sleepy expression. "And it looks like you haven't had a decent nights sleep in days. What's going on?"

"Godfather… I'm…" Neo's trembling hand reached for the tail of her shirt. Slowly, she pulled it up to reveal her baby bump to the red haired man.

Shanks' eyes dropped to her stomach. At first he was confused at why she was showing him her stomach, but then he saw it. Her normally flat stomach had a little roundness to it. His hand started to fall off her shoulder. Catching it, he placed it more firmly on her and pulled her closer to him. His hand then moved to her head as she buried her face in his shirt and cried. "Oh, Neo, it'll be okay. It'll be okay."

Neo just lightly shook her head and continued to cry.

Shanks could only hold her close to him. He knew words weren't going to help her. And for a while they remained standing there. It wasn't until twenty minutes later did he sense that she was growing tired from standing in the same place and from her pregnancy. So carefully, he guided her to the tree he had formed there by her hand. He sat down first then gently pulled her down to his lap. "Just sleep. I know you're tired."

Neo nodded. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, easily falling asleep in seconds.

Shanks watched her sleep for a while. His mind was suck on how she couldn't tell him with her words that she was pregnant. He didn't want to admit it, but it was very clear. Neo, despite knowing she really was pregnant, was refusing to admit it verbally. Sighing, he closed his eyes and wondered how that was going to effect things.

"So that's it?" a Barto Club member asked. He blinked a few times as he continued to stare at Neo just sitting there beside Law.

"I told you that you wouldn't really see anything," Law said, slight annoyance in his tone. Apparently every single one of these men were just a dumb and clueless as their leader. His eyes wandered for to the inept leader. The green haired man was leaning against the wall of the ship near the doors that led to his room, chatting with some of his crewmates. At the very least he was relieved that Bartolomeo hasn't made another move on trying to get him away from Neo. He thought that Neo hanging him out at window at the palace had finally put a stop to it. But he still was cautious around him. And if he tried to get in between Neo and himself again this time he would flat out kill him. His attention was pulled away from his green haired enemy when Neo suddenly leaned against his arm.

"Did she just fall asleep?" the Barto Club member asked.

Law didn't answer. He knew she had fallen asleep, but didn't know that falling asleep in her dream world effects her in the real world. She never done that before so neither of them knew how this would effect her. He was glad for the information and glad she was getting some extra sleep.

"Aw, I should have told her to tell Shanks I said hi," Luffy said. He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted for a moment before a goofy grin appeared on his face. He leaned forward, reaching for the absent girl in front of him. "Hey, I can I wake her up and tell her to say hi for me?"

Law grabbed his sword from his shoulder and whacked Luffy's hand. "Don't touch her, Straw Hat. Just leave her be."

"Ouch! Hey!" Luffy whined. He jerked back, rubbing his now red hand. "I just wanted her to tell Shanks hi for me."

"Then you should have thought of that before she left," Law said, resting his sword back on his shoulder. "I don't want any of you to bother her right now. She needs to be with Red Hair for a while."

"Huh? Why?" Luffy asked, tilting his head to the side.

"She just does, Straw Hat. Knowing her, she'll tell him you said hi anyway. He knows we're together after all," Law said. But the truth of the matter was, he didn't want anyone to wake Neo up. The more she slept, the faster their trip to Zou would pass for her.

Neo had no idea how long she had slept for, but when she woke up she was still sitting on Shanks' lap. Light snoring coming from the man caused her to look up at him. A small smile appeared on her lips at the man. His mouth was hanging open with a little drool dribbling down his chin. She wondered if she should wake him or just let him sleep. Before she could decide, he woke up. She said, "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Not really," Shanks said before yawning and stretching out. "I just sensed you waking up. Do you feel better now?"

"A little bit," Neo replied.

"If you're not sleeping well you should have the little surgeon give you something for it," Shanks said. He stroked her hair tenderly before letting his hand drop to her back.

She shook her head. "I'll be fine. I just need to get back home."

"Where are the others?" Shanks asked. "I know you all didn't go to Dressrosa. You would stand out too much having an entire crew there."

"On Zou," Neo said, knowing Law wouldn't mind if she told him that. They weren't planning on stay there for every long anyway. Her mind then reminded her of a more important reason for coming to see him. "But never mind that. We have bigger problems to deal with. Doflamingo knows about the elementals."

Shanks hummed. He really wasn't surprised at that revelation.

"And he found a scientist that also knows about us, or knew since Law killed him for what he did to me in Dressrosa," Neo said.

"What do you mean?" Shanks asked, his eyebrows narrowing. "What did he do?"

"He found a stone that can cause us harm. It has the ability to take control over an elemental," Neo replied.

"What?" Shanks asked, his voice filled with alarm. "You better tell me every single thing that happened while you were in Dressrosa."

Neo nodded. Though she didn't tell him everything, since she only needed to tell him the important parts right now. Nonetheless it all came spilling out of her.

Once she was done telling him all the important parts, including the strange way her crystals reacted to her when Law got his arm cut off, he cursed under his breath. He put his arm back around her and pulled her back to his chest. "No wonder you're so out of it. An episode like that would really freak anyone out. I'm sorry. I should have been there for you."

"No, we both know you couldn't have been," Neo said, shaking her head. "We're all right. Law's arm is healing nicely thanks to Princess Mansherry and Leo. Plus, I've been healing him too with my solar crystal."

Shanks nodded. "Still, I'm worried about you. That pollution stone sounds like it's going to be a serious problem, especially since the navy now has them. And you're wanted alive."

"It's possible that Jory has something to do with the navy wanting me alive," Neo said.

"Right," Shanks said. "I'm going to have to send a scout to check on him."

"A scout?" Neo asked. She looked up into her godfather's eyes. "What do you mean? You're not going to send one of your subordinates to the navy-"

"No, no, calm down, Neo," Shanks said, rubbing his hand over her back. "I'm not sending a pirate anywhere near a navy base. Don't worry about that. I was just going to send some wind elementals to check on him. I'm also going to send some back to Luminous to inform them of what's going on out here and I'm going to have them start spreading the word to the elementals that are living among humans. So try not to worry about them. I'll make sure they understand how these pollution stones work and to avoid them as much as possible."

"Going to send? Some elementals are traveling with you right now?" Neo asked.

"They are." Shanks nodded. "A couple recently came back from Luminous last week. Your brother is apparently driving everyone crazy with how much he misses you."

"I see," Neo said. She dropped her now watering eyes from his and thought about her brother. Her hand grasped onto her medallion. "I miss him too. I wish I could see him. Great… I'm crying again. Stupid emotions won't make up their mind on how they want me to feel."

"It's okay, my child. I'm sure the little surgeon has informed you that your moods are going to change a lot while your pregnant," Shanks said. As she cried, he went quiet for a while just thinking about what she said on how she wanted to see her brother and what he could possible do about that. "Neo, what are you and your crew going to do once you regroup at Zou? You don't have to tell me your plans, I'm just more curious in where you are going. I want to have some elementals keep a close eye on you now that you're expecting."

"I'm not really sure. I don't even know if Law would like if I told you," Neo said. She brushed her tears away then took a deep breath. "But after what we just did in Dressrosa, I'm sure you already figured out what it is Law has planned."

"Yeah." Shanks nodded. "He's going after Kaido, the King of Beasts."

"The other Super Novas are moving against the emperors as well." Neo lifted her eyes back to him. She pleaded to him with her grey eyes and her words. "Godfather, please, be careful. They're going to come after you too. I don't want to lose you. Not now. Not only after a few years of finding you again."

"Don't worry about that right now," Shanks said. He stroked her hair again before he moved to rub her back. "I'll be fine. It's not like I didn't expect this to happen. You knew it as well. And you know none of us will live forever."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I know. I still don't want to lose you."

"I know. Now, if you need to talk to Trafalgar about what I've asked of you, then go ahead," Shanks said. "I'm not in an extreme hurry for your answers, but I would like it as soon as you two can come to an agreement on it."

Neo thought for a moment then said, "It doesn't matter. Not with what happened after Dressrosa. I'm not really sure where we are going once we reach Zou. But the two samurai we're traveling with us right now want to go to Wano after we regroup with the others. So that's most likely where we're going to head next."

"Wano," Shanks said. "I see."

"If you want to know more after that, that will be something I need to discuss with Law," Neo said. "But with how protective both of you are of me, he'll probably agree to letting me tell you where we are."

"I hope he does," Shanks said. He stared at her gloomy expression for a few minutes before speaking up again. "So, how's Luffy doing? What do you think of him now that you've met him?"

"Luffy's doing fine," Neo said, leaning back against him tiredly. "He's a bundle of energy that for sure. And I'm sure he'll want to say hello to you if he could."

"I'm sure he would too," Shanks said. "Tell him I said hi as well."

"I will." Neo nodded. "It's kind of funny."

"What is?" Shanks asked.

"That I got use to Luffy so quickly. I know it was because of your hat and connection to him, but still, I still feel like it's a bit odd since I prefer quiet people over loud people with the exception of my crew of course."

"And Luffy is one of the loudest people I know," Shanks said with a laugh. "He was like that even as a kid."

"He's also let me wear your hat a couple of times, much to Law's dismay," Neo said. "Usually he doesn't let people do that."

"And I'm sure the little surgeon just loved that." Shanks laughed. "Sometimes that boy is far too protective and possessive of you."

A small smiled appeared on Neo's lips. "He is. And like usual he's being extremely patient with me. Although, I think he just smacked Luffy or something. I can feel him getting upset at him for some reason."

"Then it most likely has something to do with you. Since you're here Luffy's probably trying to bring you back to the real world. With everything that you told me about what happened in Dressrosa, you must have become pretty special to Luffy then," Shanks said. "He must have been very surprised when you revealed your secrets to him."

"He was a bit. But I think being connected to you was the biggest shock of all to him," Neo said. "He loved it. For the others, they were shocked in a whole different way. So has everyone else that has come to know about us. I'm sure the navy had a few choice words of their own when Doflamingo told them about our connection."

"I'm sure they did. And I'm sure some pants needed to be changed after that too," Shanks said. He lifted his eyes to the sky of their world. A bright smile appeared on his face as he envisioned what the navy felt when finding out he was Neo's godfather.

"They're probably going to be releasing an article about me soon," Neo said. "I have no idea how I'm going to handle so many people knowing. I know I'm a lot more comfortable now than I was before, but when people have learned it's always been such a small group. Now the entire world is going to know. I don't know if I can handle the stress."

"You'll be fine. You've got a good support system around you. And you'll have an even stronger support system when you get back to your ship," Shanks said, though he was having a few doubts about how she was going to do because of her current lack of vocalizing her pregnancy to people. He hopes she would be able to over come that soon.

"I guess so," Neo said.

"You guess?" Shanks asked. "You've always been so confident in your crew."

"I know. I'm just not myself right now," Neo said. "I hope that changes when we get back to the crew."

Shanks slowly nodded. Doubt that she would get back to normal was racing through his head. And he didn't like it. He hoped that someone would be able to get her to snap out of this. He wanted to try and get her to vocalize her pregnancy, but felt it wasn't the right move. So he remained quiet on that and decided to let those who spent the most time together handle it. Instead, he asked, "Neo, have you used your wings since you transformed in Dressrosa?"

"No, I haven't. I've been kind of afraid to," Neo said, tilting her eyes to his. "I don't know if they're going to be back to their normal selves or if they're going to be crystals. Why? Do you know why they did that? Is it normal for elemental royal's crystals and wings to change like that?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Shanks said.

"So it's the first time you've heard about it," Neo said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could give you the answers to everything, but I just can't," Shanks said.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. Once we get to Zou I'm sure Law will ask Topaz about this," Neo said. "She might know something."

"It's possible since she grew up on Luminous," Shanks said. "I'll still pass this along to the elementals that I'm sending back to Luminous. They'll do some research there and bring it back to me. If they find anything I'll let you know as soon as I do."

"Thank you, Godfather," Neo said. She then looked around their world. It was the same as always. The glowing bellflowers were still spread out in their field, lighting up their world with a warm familiar glow. "How long have we been here?"

"For about four hours," Shanks replied.

"That long?" Neo asked, bringing her eyes back to his.

"You slept for over half of that time," Shanks said.

"I'm so sorry." Her eyes dropped to her lap. "We only get a limited amount of time to see each other like this and I waste it by falling asleep."

"Neo, don't talk like that," Shanks said with a fatherly tone. "You needed to sleep for multiple reasons. I don't want to hear you apologizing for something like that again. You clearly needed the nap. Do you understand me, young lady?"

"Yes, Godfather. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Neo said.

"I'm not upset. I just don't want you apologizing for something you need to do and don't have control over," Shanks said. He wrapped his arm snugly around her and held her close. He could feel her baby bump brushing against his tone stomach. His own paternal instincts wanted to keep her with him until she had the baby, but he knew that wasn't possible. She needed to be with Law. She didn't need to be with him. He also wanted to touch her baby bump but knew better. She wasn't ready to get fussed over like that. And he wasn't going to make her anymore uncomfortable than she already was. There would be plenty of time for fawning over her and the baby later, he hoped. "You understand that, don't you?"
"Yes, Godfather," Neo said with a light nod. "I'll try not to let it happen again. I'm just so… moody."

Shanks chuckled lightly. "You'll grow more use to that in time."

"If you say so," Neo said.

"It will be fine. You'll see." Shanks pressed his lips to her forehead. He then leaned back against the tree and told her about some of his own adventures he had been going on with his own crew. He figured she could use the distractions.

She sat quiet and listened to him for the next two hours. That's when both decided it was best for them to get back to the real world. "The times we have together always seem to fly back too fast."

"Yeah, they do. But I'm so glad we get to see each other," Shanks said.

"Me too," Neo said. She was able to give him a small smile, which he returned with one of his own.

"I love you very much," Shanks said.

"And I love you as well," Neo replied.

"I'll see you later. Remember you can always call for me if you need me. And I can always come find you if you need to see me in person," Shanks said.

"I know. Thank you," Neo said. Reluctantly, she began to fade away from him and returned to the real world.

Shanks, like always, watched her disappear before leaving himself.

Neo opened her eyes. She jumped and tucked herself into Law's side when she saw all of the extra eyes watching her. "What the…"

"You idiots!" Usopp shrieked as he whacked all seven Barto Club members for startling Neo. "I told you people to not stare like that!"

"We're sorry, Mr. Usopp," they said before scurrying away from the group.

Neo relaxed once the men were gone. She sighed and pulled away from Law a little bit.

Law's lips tugged down in a small frown when she pulled away from him, but he quickly forced the frown away.

"So how was Shanks?!" Luffy asked before anyone could speak. He jumped right in front of Neo. Bending at the knees, he brought his face right to hers to the point their noses were almost touching. "Was he all right? Does he look okay? Did he ask about me? Does he know the other pirates are coming after him?"

Suddenly, hands and arms grew from Luffy's shoulders. They clamped over his mouth. Robin said, "Take it easy, Luffy. She just got back. Give her some room to breath."

Luffy muffled something from behind her hands.

"Sorry about that, Neo," Robin said. She gave her blue haired friend a smile, but it wasn't returned. All Neo did was nod once. She frowned, upset that Neo was upset with her.

When he was freed, Luffy said, "Sorry. I just wanted to know how he was."

"Godfather is fine. He told me to tell you he said hi," Neo said.

"He did?! That's great!" Luffy smiled. "I'm so glad!"

"There is something I need to talk to you about," Neo said, turning to Law.

"What is it?" Law asked.

"Should we leave you two alone?" Zoro asked. He leaned forward, pressing his elbows against his knees and laced his fingers together.

Law looked to Neo for the answer since he didn't know what this was about.

"No, that's not necessary. It sort of concerns you all to since we're traveling together for a while," Neo said. "Godfather just requested that I tell him where we are going to be. He's worried since the navy now knows my secrets and has access to the pollution stones. He only wants to know so he can send elementals to check on me. He's also going to have them spread the word about the pollution stones. A few are currently traveling with him. He's also going to send them back to Luminous."

"That's good timing," Usopp said. "At least the word is going to get spread out quicker than we thought that would. That should bring you some relief."

Neo nodded. It did even if it was just a tiny bit of relief.

"But what about letting Red Hair know where you all are?" Zoro asked. "I know he's her godfather, but…"

Law nodded. "It could cause trouble."

"Trouble? Godfather would never-" Neo started.

"Not from him, Neo," Law said, cutting her off. "Elementals are good at keeping themselves hidden. But they aren't perfect. Constant going back and forth between our two crews could cause them problems. However, there could be some benefits in having the elementals come to our sub."

"Godfather doesn't need an answer immediately. But he does want it as soon as we can decide," Neo said.

"What would you like to do?" Law asked. "Would you like it if some of your people were with us?"

"I don't know," Neo murmured. She dropped her eyes down to the deck of the ship. She really didn't know what she wanted right now. "I also spoke to Godfather about what happened with my crystals and wings."

"Oh?" Law asked, hopeful that the red haired man would know something.

"He didn't know anything about it either," Neo said.

"I see," Law said with a sigh.

"He's also going to ask the elementals about it," Neo added. "He'll contact me when he has more information on it."

"Well, that's good," Usopp said. "If anyone can get the answer, it'll be him. You'll know in no time."

"I guess," Neo said, resting her chin on her knees as she hugged them.

Shanks exhaled before he opened his eyes. Leaning off the side of the wall he was leaning against, he was immediately greeted with the eyes of not only his crew but also the five wind elementals and two water elementals that were currently with him. The groups were scattered about the deck of his ship, eagerly staring at him and waiting for the news he was going to bring them.

"So how's our precious princess doing?" Yasopp asked.

"Yeah, is Luffy causing her and their alliance a ton of trouble?" Lucky Roo asked.

"I'm sure he's causing them plenty of trouble with what they just pulled off in Dressrosa," Rockstar said. His eyes were staring down on Neo's wanted poster. "That surgeon was supposed to keep her bounty low."

"He's lucky we don't hunt him down and make him pay for that," a wind elemental said. He gripped his fists just as the wind around him started increasing.

Shanks looked up. He said, "Enough, Eden. That will do no one any good. I know you all are upset, but we have bigger problems than her high bounty."

"What do you mean?" Eden asked. Upon noticing the seriousness in Shanks' dark eyes, his winds calmed down.

Shanks took a deep breath. After slowly letting it out, he told them everything that Neo had told him.

"What?!" everyone shouted. "The princess is pregnant?!"

"She is," Shanks said. He knew that would shock them all more than anything else he told them.

"That's," Eden started but he couldn't finished.

"Considering how the princess is, this can't be good on her health or the baby's," Rena, a water elemental said. She strummed her fingers on her thigh in thought. "Perhaps she should return to Luminous."

"You know that's not going to happen, especially after everything that happened the last time they were there," Benn said. He drew in a puff on his cigarette then released it. "She needs to stay with Trafalgar, you all know that. We all do. And there's no way she'll force him to return to Luminous. The Heart Pirates are her family. She's not going to leave them for anything or anyone."

"But you heard what the captain said!" Rena protested. "The princess is completely out of it! She needs to be looked after by Healer Zinnia!"

"She just needs time to adjust. All three of them will be fine once they get back to their crew. Correct, Captain?" Yasopp turned to Shanks. He was expecting his captain to agree with him but all he got was a concerned look from the red haired man. "What is it?"

"Neo can't even verbally admit she's pregnant," Shanks said.

"What?" Yasopp asked.

"When she told me all she could do was lift up her shirt," Shanks said. Leaning forward he press his elbow to his knee and sigh. "I could easily tell she's in a bit of denial about this whole thing. And the fact that she won't verbally admit it has got me fairly concerned."

"So what are we going to do about that?" Eden asked. "Healer Zinnia would not like hearing this. With the princess's past she's going to be a high risk pregnancy. All this stress could cause problems to both her and her baby."

"I'm well aware of that," Shanks said. He brought his eyes up to Eden and the other elementals. "That's why I have a special mission for you all."

Author's Notes: Whew. Almost didn't get this one finished do to lack of sleep. So, I wonder what Shanks' plan is. Any ideas? I think just one more chapter before we reach Zou. I can't think of much for them to do at this point. I'd like to have three chapters before we get to Zou, but I don't think I can come up with enough stuff to do that.

AoiAi: Thanks. I'm hoping they come off as cute sometimes and she's not all snappy at them but for certain times.

Apple Bloom: Yeah. We still got a few more chapters coming.

GodzNo: Thanks. And thanks for the correction. I fixed it.