Leeches

Neo gasped, shooting up from the couch. Her eyes darted around the rec. room as she drew in air, unaware of the concerned looks she was getting.

"Neo," Penguin said. "You're okay. You're in the rec. room. Remember?"

Neo drew her eyes to him.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Penguin asked closing his book.

"No." Neo shook her head. Pulling Law's hoodie over her nose, she breathed in his scent. Her rapid heartbeat slowed from the familiar scent swirling in her nostrils. She focused on Law's location. Connecting with the island, she located him somewhere in the middle of the island, possibly in a cave of some sort. Feeling drained she released her connection and sunk into the couch.

"Do you need to call the captain back?" Archer asked.

"As much as I hate waking up without him here, no." Neo shook her head. "It was just a weird dream."

"Care to share?" Penguin asked.

"I dreamed that a venus fly trap came to life as if it was a snake. It was slithering around, gobbling up everyone from the crew. Then it pooped them out whole. They smelled like daisies." Neo giggled at the image of her confused family in her dream.

"That is a weird dream." Archer leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head.

"Perhaps it was caused by your pregnancy?" Robin asked.

"Maybe." Neo blinked.

"Can you tell how the captain is doing?" Penguin asked.

"He's fine so far," Neo said, snuggling back into Law's hoodie. "Though he's very far away. I don't like it. But at least he's not hurt."

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Archer said. Swiping up the cards off the table he shuffled them.

"It won't be soon enough," Neo mumbled.

"Would you prefer getting to Wano over this?" Archer asked.

Neo squished her lips to one side then wrinkled her nose. "I'd rather take all of my loved ones to a deserted island where they don't have to get hurt."

"Not going to happen." Archer smiled.

"I can dream." Neo sighed.

"Ow! Time to change up!" The pirates drew their eyes to the door. Franky was turning sideways, bending down, to get inside of the room.

"It's amazing you can fit through any doors," Usopp said once the cyborg had cleared the door.

"I'm going then." Archer stood up and left the room. "See you later."

"So how are things outside?" Neo asked.

"Everything's fine," Usopp said. "The only trouble we had was with a spider that climbed into one of your crewmembers boiler suits. He strip off everything but his boxer before getting it off him."

Neo giggled at the image popping into her head. "I would like to have seen that."

"It was a funny sight." Usopp smiled. "I never seen a grown man act like a little girl before."

"Maybe I can drop another spider down his boiler suit." Neo tapped her chin while looking up at the ceiling.

"I wouldn't mind helping." Usopp sat down at the table.

"Yes!" Neo clapped her hands. "You can use your amazing sniper skills to shoot it into his clothes!"

"I never knew she could have such a mischievous side." Franky laughed. "Super cute!"

"It is." Penguin nodded. "But I still hope she goes back to normal after having the baby. She's more mischievous now than she was before being pregnant."

"It doesn't matter, Pen." Neo looked at him. "You'll love me no matter what."

"Of course." Penguin ruffled her bangs.

Neo reveled at the attention with a squeal. Her eyes then landed on Franky's colorful body. Upon remembering what his hair could do, she got up from the couch and ran over to him. "Let me play with your nose!"

"Huh?" Franky looked down at her.

"I want to play with your nose! I want to see your funny hairstyles!" Neo batted her eyelashes at him. "Please? Please? Pretty please? I'm bored and want to have some fun!"

"Okay, okay." Franky sat down at the table. "Have fun."

"Yeah!" Neo leaped into the air before moving closer to him. Reaching up, she pressed his nose. His buzz cut was replaced with long curly hair. She giggled and pressed his nose again. This time she got hair in shape of a pumpkin. More giggles. Time and time she pressed his nose, getting more crazy hair and releasing more giggles because of it. Then Law's voice came to her head. She paused, her hand hovering less than an inch from Franky's nose. "Huh?"

'Neo, Leeth got free from us. We think he and several other leeches are coming to try and take you again.'

"Okay," Neo said. "We'll be ready."

"What is it, Neo?" Robin asked.

"It's Law. He told me the leeches are going to come attack the sub," Neo said. "He thinks they're after me."

"Well, we're not going to let them get anywhere near you." Penguin punched his fist into his hand.

"We should get ready for them then," Franky said. "They could already be outside for all we know."

"What?! You mean they're sneaking around outside and we don't know it?!" Usopp pulled out his Kabuto.

"Then lets get ready." Neo turned around and headed for the door.

"Hold on." Penguin stepped in her way.

"Penguin." Neo frowned. "What are you doing? We have to go outside."

"You can't go out there." Penguin placed his hands on her shoulders. "Leave the fighting to us. This is why the captain left us behind."

"But…" Neo looked at the floor.

"I know you want to protect us, but this is one time you have to let us protect you," Penguin said.

"Yeah, I know." Neo nodded. "I'll stay here then. But we still need to be able to get away from here. I hope the sub will work now. We need Archer back in the sub."

"Aye." Penguin nodded.

"You two should stay here with Neo," Franky said. "Usopp and I will tell the others and send Archer inside."

"I'd rather stay inside." Usopp gripped his Kabuto, his knuckles turning white. A stream of sweat trickled down his temple as his eyes slipped over to the porthole. "Finding the elements is scary."

"Thanks, Franky," Penguin said.

"No problem." Franky gave a thumbs up before grabbing Usopp and leaving the room.

"Hey! You don't have to drag me! I can walk you know! No! I can't walk! I'm allergic to fighting the elements! They cut off the circulation to my legs! Yeah! That's it!" Usopp screamed as they went.

"He's never going to change. The silly little coward. I hope they don't get hurt, at least not too bad," Neo said. "I won't be able to do much for serious injuries with my solar crystal."

"They'll be fine," Robin said.

"Still, they're up against the elements." Suddenly unable to stand still, Neo paced the room. "I might be able to help them but I don't think I can do much with my crystals unless I can see them. I mean I can probably help through nature, but I've never done that really from inside of the sub."

"You're stressing too much," Penguin said. "Think of your baby."

Pausing, her hand went to her stomach. She exhaled and said, "Right. I'm calm. I know the others can take care of this as they have before. And they have trained with me. So they know how to handle the elements better than anyone else."

"Hey, Neo." Archer poked his head into the room. "The leeches have arrived. Should I try and see if the sub will work and move it away from the island? Jean Bart said it would be a good strategy. That way only the ones using wind and water will come after the sub. The crew on land is going to distract the others."

"Okay. Get down there and move away from the island but keep close enough so we can keep an eye on what's going on over there," Neo said. "And pray that the sub works now. If not I'll move us with my crystals."

Archer nodded before disappearing into the hall.

"Robin, will you help keep an eye on things outside?" Neo asked.

"Of course." Robin nodded.

"Penguin, I'm counting on you to do what you do best," Neo said.

"You know it." Penguin smiled while cracking his knuckles. "None of those magic stealers are getting anywhere near my sister again."

"And I'll get the sea creatures to help as much as they can," Neo said. The sub jerked. She stumbled forward before Penguin caught her. "What was that?"
"Sorry," Archer said over the voice pipe. "The battle has begun and I think the leeches are trying to sink the sub. Hold on. We're moving away now!"

"I guess that means the sub is working," Penguin said.

"Oh, by the way," Archer said, "the sub's working again. I guess whatever magic they used on it has worn off."

The sub lurched, causing the pirates to stumble a bit.

"Perhaps it would be best for you to sit down," Robin suggested.

"Probably a good idea." Neo walked over to the couch and sat back down. Closing her eyes she connected her mind to the near by sea and land creatures. "Friends, I need your help. My family is currently outside right now fighting against creatures that can steal my magic. I ask for your assistance in helping them. Thank you, my friends. Be careful."

"So do we have back up?" Penguin asked.

"Of course we do." Neo smiled.

"What?!" Usopp shrieked and over a hundred leeches ran towards the sub. "We have to fight all of them?!"

"Ow! This is going to be fun!" Franky shouted.

"No! It's! Not!" Usopp shrieked.

"Calm down!" Ikkaku said. "We've got this under control!"

"Remember we've trained with Neo," Conner added twirling his iron staff before placing it on his shoulder. "These guys might have stolen her magic but they took us by surprise last time. This time will be different." He looked down to the island where the rest of their half of the crew were standing. "Hey, Jean Bart! Take care of things down there!"

"You got it!" Jean Bart called back just as the wind picked up. Several of the leeches leaped into the air. The pirates braced for them to turn the wind on them but all the leeches did was land on the ground before jumping back into the air. They repeated this action until they landed right in front of the pirates. The leeches then leaped forward, slamming a gust of wind at the pirates. Jean Bart sidestepped the attack. Swinging his hand he nailed one leech on its back, sending it flying into another leech.

Basil stood with his hands lifted into fists. Three leeches charged at him. He dodged punches and kicks at him. "Hey! It looks like some of these leeches don't have magic!" The world suddenly turned upside down. "What the heck?"

"Shame you had to notice that." A leech stood over him. "Now I'm going to have to kill you."

Basil gritted his teeth. He lifted his foot to kick the leech but a large black bird swooped down. The bird nailed the leech on the head with its beak. Waving his hands, the leech ran away. Basil jumped up and started fighting again.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Usopp said. "Hey! It looks like Neo asked the animals to help us!"

"Told you so!" Ikkaku laughed. The sub gave a violent jerk, throwing them off balance.

"What the heck was that?!" Usopp asked.

Conner pulled himself to his feet. Looking down over the railing he saw some leeches using their control over earth to throw rocks at the sub. "Looks like they're trying to sink us."

"What?!" Usopp shrieked.

"No problem!" Franky leaned over the side. "Franky! Fireball!" With a deep breath, he breathed out fire. Heat rushed through the air. The leeches shrieked and scattered. "Yeah!"

The sub hummed to life before pulling away from the island.

"Looks like the sub is working again," Ikkaku said.

"Keep on your toes," Conner said. "They're still going to come after us."

"Right!" Ikkaku nodded.

They stood ready, watching as their friends battled on the island. And like they knew, some of the leeches started slipping into the water and flying over to them.

"That's just great!" Usopp lifted his Kabuto. Aiming, he took out three at once.

"Nice shot!" Ikkaku said. One leech landed in front of her. She kicked out her boot, nailing the creature in the head. Before she could lower her foot to the floor wind wrapped around her ankle and flipped her onto her back. "Ouch."

The leech stood over her, his wind ready to rip her to shreds.

Conner swung his staff, cracking the leech in the head. The leech crumbled to the deck.

Closing her eyes, Neo connected to the sea creatures outside of the sub. Several fish were swarming around some leeches. A pod of dolphins were smacking against the leeches, some using the leeches as balls to toss around on the surface. She looked over at Robin. "The sea animals are doing their best to keep the leeches away from the sub. How are the others doing?"

Robin, with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes closed, concentrated on the eyes she formed outside on the sub. "They're doing okay. Some of the leeches are causing them trouble but they're working well as a team against them."

"And the leeches on the sub?" Penguin asked.

"The group on the deck is keeping them busy," Robin said. "Wait. One of them is sneaking towards the door. Well, it's our dear friend Leeth. He's entering into the sub."

"We should hide you." Penguin grabbed Neo's arm.

"Wait, Penguin." Neo pulled back before he could pull her off the couch. "I say we give him what he wants."

"Excuse me?!" Alarm rose on Penguin's face. "After what happened the first time? You want him to take your magic again?!"

"It's not going to happen," Neo said. "We both know his type. He'll want to gloat over what he's done. You and Robin can hide then attack him before he can touch me."

"Neo, this is insane!" Penguin waved his arms.

"It might be, but you know as well as I do that he can sniff out, sense or whatever, where my magic is. He'll avoid you and Robin as much as possible. And we have no idea how much of Topaz, Kailen, and Healer Zinnia's magic he has."

"She has a point," Robin said. "She did tell us that Law said Leeth escaped. It's possible he drained some more of their magic before coming here."

Penguin groaned, rubbing his face in growing frustration. "All right."

Neo nodded. "Then you two go hide. I'll stay in here and wait for him."

The two left the room. Penguin gave her a lingering gaze before forcing himself to hide.

Neo exhale. This was extremely stupid. But it had to be done. Getting off the couch she walked over to her books and started looking them over to appear distracted. She knew it wouldn't take Leeth long before he found her.

"Well, well," Leeth said.

Neo shivered when his voice entered into the room. She turned to him.

"Look who's all alone. And looking extremely vulnerable." He licked his lips.

"How did you get in here?" Neo asked, trying to ignore the hungry gaze in his eyes.

"It was easy. All I had to do is wait until all your little morons up there were distracted then sneak inside." Leeth took two steps to his right.

Neo took two steps to her left, keeping her eyes locked onto Leeth. "So you used your own people?"

"That's a horrible way to put it," Leeth said. "But yes. That's basically it. You just taste so wonderful. I had to have you all to myself."

Neo shivered. Those words coming out of someone else's mouth made her stomach turn even thought she knew he was talking about her magic. Law had been the only man to ever say them to her. "And what do you plan on doing with my magic?"

"Nothing much," Leeth said. "It's not like we have plans to take over the world or anything. We just love the taste of magic. It's a rare thing for us to eat."

"Is it necessary for you to live?" Neo asked.

"No, of course not," Leeth said. "If it was then we would have died out a long time ago. But it is still our nature to eat magic. And considering there are four of you here at once there must be more of you in the world."

Neo school her features but her heart leaped into her throat. These creatures clearly knew nothing of Luminous. And she wanted it to stay that way. "There's no way for you to know that for sure. For all you know we could be the last of our kind."

"Says the one who's with child." Leeth's eyes dropped to her stomach.

Neo bristles. Fire raged inside of her. Her crystals wanted to come out, but she refused to let them.

"Perhaps I will keep you alive until you have the little one," Leeth said. "Then I can have both of you. The child might be as strong as you are. I'm sure you two alone can feed us for years to come."

"You're not getting either of us!" Neo hissed. "This is my home! And it's time for you to go!"

Leeth chuckled. His chuckle was cut short when arms sprouted on his shoulders, arms, and legs. "What the heck?!" The hands clamped over his mouth and bound his limbs. He squirmed against the hold.

"Are you all right, Neo?" Robin asked as she and Penguin ran into the room.

"Other than being furious at what he said, I'm okay," Neo said.

"You better get out of here before he tries to drain your magic again." Penguin slipped his arm around her shoulders.

"Wait," Neo said.

"But-"

"It's okay, Pen. I don't think he can," Neo said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look at him." Neo waved her hand at Leeth. "If he was going to take my magic he would have by now."

"You're right." Penguin looked at the creature. "He's not taking your magic."

"It appears that he is unable to if his mouth cannot be opened," Robin said. "How fortunate for us."

"This is great!" Penguin smiled. "We can bind their mouths! Neo and the baby will be fine now!" He headed for the door. "I'll get some rope!"

"Or I could just use my vines." Neo summoned her earth crystals.

"Oh. Right." Penguin rubbed his neck.

Neo threaded vines over Leeth's body. Once he was secure Robin released him. They all remained tense for a few seconds, waiting to see if he would free himself. The tension relaxed when it was obvious Leeth wasn't going to take her magic. "Let's spread the word about this to the crew."

Penguin and Robin nodded. They all left the room. Rushing up to the main floor, Neo stayed on the stairs while her friends headed on outside. She listened to the chaos of the fight, waiting for when it would be safe for her to step outside.

Tero tensed when the bird he was riding on took a sudden dive. It only fell three feet before regaining altitude, but it was still a shock. His heart thumped hard against his chest. "This is so stupid. Elementals might be a pain but at least I know their magic is reliable, pregnancy notwithstanding."

"Is something the matter, Sir Tero?" Kin'emon asked.

"It's nothing," Tero said. He looked down to see some leeches preparing for an attack. "Looks like we've been spotted."

"Indeed." Kin'emon looked down as well.

"How shall we handle this?" Kanjuro asked.

"We jump down and take care of them. Go down, bird," Tero said. The bird squawked before it angled its oddly shaped body towards the ground. Its small wings gave out on it. A string of curses flew out of Tero's mouth as they plummeted. Seeing as the bird wasn't going to catch itself, he watched until they were low enough to jump. He watched the leeches carefully. They all fired the four elements up at them. Finding the right moment, he jumped from the bird. Landing on one of the vines flying towards them, he slide down it then kicked the leech in the face. The rest of the leeches surrounded him. "Such a pain. I wouldn't do this for anyone but Neo."

The leeches charged.

Tero spun, jumped, and dodged their attacks. Second later, his two companions landed. They used their swords and large paintbrush -embedded in haki- they knocked down two dozen leeches. Vines wrapped around his arms, pinning them to his sides. He cursed again for letting himself get distracted.

"It was foolish of you to come here," a leech said.

"It was foolish of you to attack our crew." The vines squeezed Tero, their thorns breaking his clothing and skin. He heard Kin'emon and Kanjuro call his name. But their rescue wasn't going to come soon enough as they were fighting their own battles. He could feel his circulation getting cut off. His fingers wiggling towards the knife he kept in his pocket in hopes to reach it and force the tingling away. If he didn't get these vines off him he was going to die. Neo would not be happy about that. Then something awoke inside of him. His right hand became coated in black. Reaching up he grabbed the vine and ripped through it. The vine fell to the ground. "Well, that's convenient."

"Sir Tero," Kin'emon said, slicing down another leech. "It appears you have awakened your haki."

"This is too easy," Uni whispered to Clione. He watched as his friend slipped forward, grab a leech from behind a bush, and pulled it to them.

Clione slammed his fist down on the leech's head, knocking it out. He glared at his friend. "Please, don't say that. You're going to jinx us."

A gust of wind flew passed their heads. The swoosh of wind was follow by screams. They whipped around. Two leeches were screaming from the throwing stars embedded in their wrists.

"Are you all right, my friends?" Raizo appeared beside them.

"Yeah. We're fine," Uni said.

"Thanks for having our backs," Clione added.

"Think nothing of it. We are allies now," Raizo said. "We must continue. Are you ready?"

Clione and Uni nodded before the stealth team headed off again.

Law exhaled. A leech charged at him, wind wrapped around its strange shaped hands. The leech swiped out at him. He warped behind it before slicing its head off. The creature released an ear-piercing screech.

"What have you done to me?!"

"Not nearly what you deserve," Law said. "You're lucky I don't stay and give you all the torture you deserve for taking away Neo's family." He turned his attention to the rest of his group.

Bepo was currently being held twenty yards into the air by some vines. With a wild cry, he snapped out his claws, slicing the vines into shreds. The leech tried to wrap more vines around him but Bepo was falling far too fast. Spinning around, he landed a solid kick on top of the leech's head before landing on his feet.

Shachi was suspended in the air by a leech. His body flew towards a cluster of trees. Law held up his hand in an attempt to help Shachi out, but before he could Shachi grabbed onto a tree branch. Using it he swung down to the leech, tackling it to the ground. He pulled back his fits and punched the leech, knocking it out successfully.

Zoro was busy blocking and slicing up blasts of fire that was being shot at him. He did it a few more times before slicing a tree down. As the tree creaked and fell, he kicked it towards the three leeches. The tree smashed down on them with an angry crash. "Annoying little pests."

"At least their magic is fading," Shachi said wiping sweat from his chin.

"For now," Bepo said. "But why risk going after Neo when they already have three elementals in their clutches?"

"Gluttony can be a big problem for a lot of people," Law said.

"Gluttony?" Bepo looked at his captain.

"Leeth got a taste of her magic and wants more," Law said. "That's why more leeches went after her."

"Should we go back?" Bepo asked.

"No. You know they'll be fine. Neo will be more upset if we don't bring the others back. Let's go." Law continued towards the tower. His eyes slid upward. Tero, Kanjuro, and Kin'emon were flying over them. Their birds took a sudden drop. He hoped it was a planned drop. He figured it was when Tero leaped from his bird and disappeared behind some trees. Kanjuro and Kin'emon soon followed. His eyes went back to the tower. He had no idea where the stealth group was, but he was sure they were doing just fine.

"We're almost to the tower!" Shachi said.

"How are we going in?" Zoro asked.

The leeches guarding the building stepped forward. Their hands became engulfed in flames.

"Fire," Bepo said. "Should have known."

"We're charging right in!" Law said. "I'll warp myself inside! You all take care of these leeches!"

"You got it!" Bepo and Shachi said.

Zoro grinned.

"Room!" The leeches halted for a second upon seeing Law's Room spread out about them. He warped into the building. Inside he was greeted by a staircase, the glow of torches, and nothing else. He rushed up the stairs. After three minutes of nothing but stairs, he started using his Room to get to the top faster. Warping into the room at the top, he startled four leeches. The elementals were bond to tables by straps. Wasting no time he placed three of the four in the elementals place. He then sliced the leech. The leech's eyes widened before his body dropped to the floor with a hard thud.

"You're going to pay for that!" a leech hissed. Fire and water gathered around them.

"Sorry." Law smirked. "But I got what I came for." He warped them outside. Leeches bodies littered the ground. "I see everything is fine here."

"Of course it is." Zoro sheathed his swords.

"The leeches lost more of their magic so they were easily defeated. How are they, Captain?" Shachi ran over. Kneeling down he looked over the elementals.

"They should be fine in a few minutes," Law said.

The elementals started groaning. Kailen shifted then sat up. "What happened? I feel like a mountain fell on me."

"The leeches drained more of your magic," Shachi said.

"Neo!" Kailen looked around. "Where's Neo?!"

"Relax," Bepo said. "She's still back at the sub. The rest of the crew and Straw Hats stayed with her."

"She's okay." Kailen sighed. "I'm glad."

"Ah, man." Topaz placed her hand on her forehead. "That was not fun."

"We're alive?" Healer Zinnia pushed up on her elbows.

"How are you three feeling? Other than being tired," Law said.

"Okay, I guess," Kailen said.

"Same here," Topaz said.

"Some rest will do us wonders." Healer Zinnia laid back down.

"Then do it. The others should be coming soon," Law said.

"Someone want to fill us in on what happened?" Topaz asked.

"I will." Shachi sat down before filling them in on what happened since they were taking. Ten minutes later the elementals were sitting up.

"It looks like our energy and magic is coming back," Kailen said, summoning a crystal.

"Obviously since they didn't take much more of our magic. They must have wanted to keep us as long as they could." Healer Zinnia pushed up her glasses. "By the time we get back to the sub we should be back to full strength."

"Hey!" Everyone turned to Uni's voice. He, Clione, and Raizo came running up to them. "You all okay?"

"You finally came." Shachi stood up.

"We were still looking for leeches," Clione said.

"The creatures fled in fear of us," Raizo said.

"They barely knew we were there," Uni said. "We stayed hidden the majority of the time."

"The only ones left now are Tero and his group." Bepo looked up in time to see the missing three descending towards them. "Never mind."

"I see we found them," Tero said.

"Any serious wounds?" Law eyed the blood spotted on Tero's boiler suit.

"No, just poked with thrones," Tero said. "We should get back now. The others might need our help."

A nod of agreement and they headed out of the cave.

Neo rocked back and forth on her feet as she kept a close eye on Law as he and his group came closer to the sub. Finally, after what felt like a thousand years, they emerged from the forest. She held her ground until they were thirty yards away.

"Law!" Neo threw out her hands and ran over to him. Plowing into him, she buried her face in his chest before looking up at him with a pout. "You idiot. You took far too long."

"I'm sorry." Law smiled. "But you have your family back now."

"Right!" Neo jumped away from Law and over to the elementals, her eyes roaming over their tired bodies. "Are you all okay? How do you feel? Are you hurt? Should I heal you? What am I saying? Of course I should use my solar crystal!" She summoned it, washing its healing glow over them. "I'm sorry! I should have done that immediately!"

Healer Zinnia stepped forward. Placing her hands on Neo's shoulders, she said, "Calm down, Princess. We're only drained a bit. Nothing a good night's rest won't cure."

"Are you sure?" Neo looked them over again.

They nodded.

"Of course we're fine," Topaz said.

"We are," Kailen said.

"I'm so glad." Neo pulled them into a hug. "I was so worried about you all. We should get you into the medical bay."

"That's not necessary," Healer Zinnia said. "We just need-"

"No!" Neo stomped her foot. "You three are going to the medical bay! And you're going to stay there for a few days, at least! No working, no fighting! Am I clear?"

The elementals stared at her, as well as the pirates.

"I'm sorry." Neo ducked her head. "I didn't mean to yell at you. I just want to make sure you're all fine."

"We understand." Kailen hugged her.

Neo leaned into his hold.

"And if it will keep you from worrying, we'll obey that order," Topaz said.

"Thanks a lot." Neo pulled back from Kailen. "I really would like it if you let Law monitor you for a few days. You've never had your magic drained like this before. We don't know if there will be any side effects."

"Very well then. You have a very good point." Healer Zinnia shoved her hands into her pockets. "If it pleases you, I'll obey the order as well."

"Thank you," Neo said. She looked around at the rest of the crew, spotting Tero's injuries. She opened her mouth.

"Don't start." Tero waved his hand. "It's nothing. All I need is to clean out the wounds and bandage them."

Neo nodded, satisfied with his words.

"I see you all have things under control around here." Shachi looked up at the bound leeches. His eyes shot back over to Neo. "Wait! Neo, you shouldn't be out here! They're going to drain your magic again!"

"It's okay." Neo slipped her hand into Law's when she felt his heart race. "We discovered they can't take our magic if they can't open their mouths."

"Really?" Shachi looked at the creatures again. All of their mouths were bound tightly with ropes and thick vines.

"Yup." Neo nodded. "Robin trapped Leeth in her hands. He was unable to take my magic. So we gagged them all once they were defeated."

"What are we going to do with them now?" Usopp asked.

"We're leaving them here," Neo said. "I'm sure the others will come looking for them at some point."

"We should just kill them." Law glared.

"Not in front of me you're not," Neo said.

"I know." Law squeezed her hand.

"Can we leave this island now?" Neo asked.

"Is the sub working?" Tero asked.

"It is." Archer nodded. "We can leave at any time."

"Then let's go," Neo said. "I want far away from here."

The pirates climbed up on the deck. Law held Neo back. He kissed her. "Go inside. I'll be right there."

Neo stared into his eyes. She could tell he wasn't going to let Leeth live after what he did to her and their baby. "All right, Law." Walking backwards, she kept her eyes on him until she was inside. There she headed up to the medical bay to check on her family. The first room she came to she found Healer Zinnia and Topaz inside. Topaz was sitting on the bed while the healer was giving her a check up. "I told you to rest."

"Old habits die hard." Healer Zinnia smiled.

Neo huffed. "Clearly you're doing fine. Still, I worry."

"My apologies," Healer Zinnia said.

"It's all right." Neo scratched her arm. "Just don't over do it. I'm going to go check on Kailen." She left the room and entered into the next. Kailen was lying, propped upon pillow, on the bed. She sat down beside him. "How you feeling?"
"A lot better than before," Kailen said. "I'm just glad you and the baby are okay."

Neo nodded.

"Where's Law? I figured he'd be with you."

"He's taking care of some last minute stuff."

"Ah." Kailen nodded in understanding. "I should have known."

"At least this happened before we got to Wano," Neo said. "I don't think I'd been able to handle it then. This on top of having to deal with an emperor? Man, what if Kaido had those creatures under his control? It's already going to be a pain dealing with so many zoan type devil fruit users."

"I'm sure you'd be fine." Kailen placed his hand over hers. "You've grown so much. Penguin told me how strong you were while we were being held hostage."

"I had to be." Neo placed her free hand on her stomach. "Though I might not be able to do it again. I already woke up without Law here. I really, really hate that."

Kailen chuckled. "I think you're always going to hate that."

"I sure am." Neo nodded with a smile.

Law walked into the room.

"That was quick." Neo looked at him.

Law shrugged. Placing his sword against the wall he walked over to Kailen and checked his blood pressure. "Any changes?"

"No." Kailen shook his head. "I am feeling a lot better though. I think Healer Zinnia is right. All we need is a good night's rest."

Law nodded. "So far it doesn't look like there's going to be any side effects to this."

"That's great," Neo said. "Now as long as nothing else happens before we get to Wano. Do you need anything, Kailen?"

"No. I think I'm just going to take a nap," Kailen said.

"Okay. Just calls us if you need anything," Neo said.

"I know." Kailen nodded.

Neo slid of the bed and followed Law out of the room. There they found Tero leaning against the wall. His boiler suit was tied down around his hips so she could see the bandages around his arms and torso. It wasn't typical for him to go around without his body covered, unless it was extremely hot or he was training, so she knew he did this so she could see he had taken care of his wounds.

"I figured you two would want to know." Tero pushed off the wall. "I've awakened armament haki."

"Really? When?" Neo asked.

"When we were fighting the leeches," Tero said. "It just happened. I was able to break out of the vines that way."

"I think I could have done without knowing that last part." Neo huffed.

"Sorry." Tero smirked.

"All right. When you feel up to it start training with your haki. I train with you when I can," Law said.

Tero nodded then headed down the stairs.

"I think he said that last part to annoy me." Neo wrinkled her nose.

"It's his way of letting you know he loves you," Law said.

"I know. But still." She followed Law on down the stairs. "He loves to do that. Annoy me, I mean. You should mount his head in the rec. room."

"Why?" Law glanced at her.

"I'm pregnant." Neo smiled back at him.

"Not a reason to do that," Law said.

"Well, I could have stressed out," Neo said.

"You knew he was fine," Law said.

"You're supposed to be on my side." Neo pouted.

"I am." Law pecked her pouty lips. "So what would you like to do now?"

Neo hummed. "Well, snuggling sounds like a good idea. Though I can't decide if I want a bath before or after that."

"You're really indecisive about that?" Law asked.

"I guess not. We can snuggle in the bath and snuggle in bed." Neo wrapped her arms around his. "You know I want as much downtime as I can get from you before we get to Wano."

"All right." Law kissed her hair. "My love gets what she wants."

"You're such a good boy." Neo beamed.

Chuckling, Law continued to guide her down the stairs. Reaching the second floor they paused to listen to the laughter of the crew coming up from the third floor before turning and heading for their room. No doubt they were celebrating their current victory. The couple entered their room. Neo removed the hoodie while Law placed his hat on the nightstand and his sword up against the wall. Dropping the hoodie on the foot of the bed she followed Law into the bathroom. Filling the tub with a water crystal the two started undressing. Law placed his hands on her hips. He pecked her lips before kneeling down to press his lips against her stomach. "I hope you didn't cause any trouble for your mommy today while I was gone.

A flutter of butterflies erupted inside her chest. Her fingers ran through his hair. "Don't worry, love. He behaved nicely."

"Good." Law stood up. Pecked her lips then climbed into the water. The temperature was just right. Hot enough to smooth their muscles but still cool enough that it wouldn't hurt Neo or the baby.

"This is nice." Neo slipped in, her body relaxing from the tension she didn't know she had. She leaned back against Law's chest.

Scooping water into his hands, he brushed them over her arms.

"So what exactly are we going to be doing when we get to Wano?" Neo asked.

"Nothing until Straw Hat comes back," Law said.

"I wonder," Neo said.

"About what?"
"Considering it's going to be a while before Luffy and the others come back, we're going to be in Wano for a while," Neo said. "I wonder if the other Straw Hats are going to be able to stay hidden until their captain gets there." She glanced over her shoulder at him. "They're not exactly known for being stealthy like our crew is."

Law exhaled.

"And it's not like we can lock them up on the sub," Neo said. "We need to know what Kaido and his forces are doing, right?"
Law nodded.

"So how are we going to handle this?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

Neo cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, maybe it won't be. But it'll be a lot better without Straw Hat here," Law said. "If he was around he undoubtedly would charge in full speed and cause multiple problems for us."

"He'll probably do that the second he gets to Big Mom's territory," Neo said. Worry settled in her chest.

"No." Law gave her a squeeze. "Don't start worrying again. They'll be fine."

"Sorry." Neo relaxed against him. His hands went to her thighs, massaging them. "I didn't realize how tense I was before we got in here."

"I notice your breasts are a bit tender, too," Law said.

"The joys of pregnancy as you have told me," Neo said. "So do you think Kailen, Topaz, and Healer Zinnia will stay put?"
"We have nothing to worry about with Kailen and Topaz," Law said. "But the healer woman doesn't strike me as the type to sit still for long. Surely she'll be up checking on the other two despite your orders."

"I guess it can't be helped. She's been doing this for years after all," Neo said. "Stopping her would be like trying to stop you from being sadistic towards your enemies. I'm a bit tempted to ask you what you did to Leeth."

"The only thing you need to know is those pests will never take your magic again." Law kissed her shoulder.

"Hopefully we'll never see them again." Neo ran her hands over his knees.

Law agreed with a hum, pressing his lips to her neck.

"You better not be trying to arouse me," Neo said.

"No, I'm not. I know you don't feel like sex right now," Law said. "I just can't help kissing you. You taste so good."

Neo smiled. They stayed in their bath for a full hour before finally finishing. She used her crystals to dry them off before they left the room. After dressing, and Neo brushing out her air, they climbed onto the bed. Law laid down first. Neo then snuggled against him. "This is so nice."

"If you need to sleep you should," Law said.

"I'm fine. I got some rest while you were gone." She looked up at him. "Though I woke up without you. Again."

"Sorry." Law kissed her.

Neo snuggled back into his side, her finger tracing over his tattooed chest.

Author's Notes: Ugh. Not the best I've ever done. But there it is. I realize I should have given the Hearts haki long before now. All well. Live and learn. Hopefully, we'll get to Wano soon. I think writing that will be more fun than this. It would help a lot if I knew exactly how long it takes Law and his group to get to Wano. Right now I'm suspended with moving the plot along because of that. I'm ready to have Baby Cora here.

Guest: Glad you like it. I can try one with Sanji. Though it might be a while before I can get it posted. I'm trying to work on a book I want to publish. So we'll have to see what happens.

AmbertheCat: Glad to hear you're doing better. And, sorry, it's not the best battle ever written here. I didn't feel like writing much of one since Wano will most likely be nothing but fighting. Battle scenes are not fun to write, especially when they drag on and on.