Another Surprise

'Who do you think it is?' Neo continued to eat her food as if nothing was wrong. With a pathetic meow and sad eyes from Sora, Neo gave the begging feline her fish. The fish, much to the Wano citizens enjoyment, was caught by the elementals who also aided in making fresh fruits and vegetables for the party.

The cat purred her thanks and sunk her teeth into her fishy treat.

'I don't have a clue. Is there anything else you can tell about this person?'

'Wish I could.' Neo sighed.

'Try not to worry about it.' Law patted her knee.

Neo nodded and tried to focus on the party instead of the person watching her and Law. She ran her eyes over the crowd she looked for members of her own crew and of the Straw Hats. They were easy to spot, at least her crew was. Since the emperors had been defeated there was no reason for them to hide among the people. So they had switched back to their normal clothes. Their suits stood out among the kimonos. The only Straw Hats she could easily locate were Chopper and Luffy.

"Hm?" Neo perked up at the feeling of another presence looming a couple hours off Wano.

"What is it, love?" Law asked.

Neo smiled. "Godfather's coming."

"Why would that old man come here?" Law grumbled.

"Maybe to check up on me and Luffy?" Neo offered. "We did just fight against two emperors."

Law shrugged. "Go on."

"You don't mind?"

"You know I don't. You're wanting to see him anyway. Go on. Have some fun while you can. He probably won't stay around long."

"You're correct." Neo kissed Law. She checked on Cora, who was sleeping in the sling, then flew towards her godfather. With the wind at her back, she flew across the ocean and within seconds found the ship heading towards Wano. She flew down to Shanks, a big smile on her face. When close enough she floated Cora in her winds and threw her arms around her godfather's neck. She took a deep breath of his scent. The booze, this time, was faint. Apparently he and the crew have been busy enough to not drink much. "Godfather!"

Shanks chuckled and curled his arm around her waist. "It's good to see you, Neo."

"I'm not the only one who came to see you." Neo pulled away from him and lifted Cora from the sling. "Godfather, meet your grandson." She giggled. "Well, in reality."

"And he's just as fine of a lad as he is in our world." Shanks allowed the baby to be placed in his awaiting arm.

"Whoa! So that's Neo! The captain's goddaughter? She's hot!" a voice said.

Neo looked to see who called her name. As she did she noted several unfamiliar faces on the ship. "New crewmembers?"

"Some of them. Hello, Cora," Shanks said. "It's nice to finally meet you in person. You are such a handsome boy. That father of yours isn't trying to corrupt you yet, is he?"

"Godfather." Neo shook her head with a smile.

"Hi, hottie." A man with brown hair pulled back in a long ponytail walked up to her. He held out his hand. "I'm Stake. It's nice to meet you. I must say that your bounty poster doesn't do your beauty justice."

Neo tilted her head. "Law would slice you into several pieces if he heard you say that."

"Slice me up?" Stake asked.

The crew, the main ones, laughed. Yasopp patted Stake on his shoulder. "Boy, we warned you to respect Neo. Her husband probably wouldn't just cut you up. He'd kill you. In short, you have no chance with her. So don't bother trying."

"You're married?" Stake looked back at Neo.

Yasopp shook his head with a heavy sigh.

"Forgive him, Princess," Benn said as he tapped his head. "He's a brilliant fighter, but not the brightest up here."

"It's good to see you all," Neo said, ignoring the flirt working his way towards her. She gave them a warm smile. "You all look well. I'm glad."

The crew greeted and waved to her.

"You could be nice and at least say hello to me," Stake said.

"Godfather," Neo turned back to Shanks, "you won't believe all that's happened and what we found on Wano."

"Shall we get comfortable then?" Shanks asked.

Neo summoned her earth crystals. She formed them some large flower chairs and sat down. Monster ran over to her and hopped up on the flower with her before starting to pick through her hair. Neo giggled and pat the monkey on the head before giving her attention back to Shanks.

"Before you start talking, where is that no good husband of yours?" Shanks asked.

"Still on Wano." Neo paused, sensing Law moving, then added, "Well, more like under Wano. Sort of. There's more to Wano than what people see. Anyways, we met a man, Tsuki, who's descended from elementals. He doesn't have magic, but he did take us to an underground cave where a bunch of crystals were. I used them to create weapons for the war."

"Good idea," Lucky Roo said. "Those crystals are hard to break."

Neo nodded. She continued to tell Shanks of everything that happened. "And that's it. Do you think this crystal body form thing is a normal way for elementals to get around powerful haki?"

Shanks hummed in thought. "Good question. It's possible, I guess. Humans can grow and develop in unexpected ways. I would assume it's natural for elementals to do that as well, when the need arises. Maybe even more so than humans since you're connected to nature."

"Why's that?" Stake asked. "They're strong enough without developing into something else."

"Elementals are by far stronger than humans in more ways than one way," Benn said. "While they are capable of awakening the three types of haki is very rare for them to do it since they're not really needed."

"And why's that?" Stake asked.

"Call it a personal belief if you want, but I believe elementals are already on par with someone who uses all three hakis, but with minor differences," Benn said. He flicked up a finger for each example he gave. "First, nature can warn them when someone is about to attack or hiding somewhere close. That's equal to observation haki, though they can't view the future. Second, they can use hard elements such as rocks for defense. That's equal to armament haki without coating their bodies. And now with this strange crystal body Neo's been using could make it even more like armament. Then there's conqueror's haki. Every human being is afraid of nature to some degree, especially when a storm is baring down on them. All elementals have to do is tap into that to give an opponent pause. That was proven when Big Mom backed away from Neo."

"Really?" Wide eyed, Stake looked around at all the elementals on the ship then his gaze stopped on Neo. "You're more powerful than I thought. No wonder you took those two emperors down so easily."

"There was nothing easy about it. Many people were hurt, some died." Neo frowned, narrowing her eyebrows at him. "Luffy took down Kaido on his own. Myself, Law, and Kid were the ones who took down Big Mom. Though I don't think I was much help."

Shanks chuckled. "I know you were more help than you think. You awoken your crystal form again."

"Maybe." Neo shrugged. "It was still hard to get passed Big Mom's haki until I transformed. And, like in Dressrosa, I haven't been able to call on that form again."

Shanks hummed. He held Neo's eyes before looking down at Cora. "Well, it's something you'll have to practice using. Going by the way it formed in both occasions it appears to be stress related, plus there's your desire to protect the ones you love. I bet that's the main switch. Your strength always comes through to its true nature when you want to protect someone you love. It pushes all the fears you have from your past down so you can do what you need to."

Neo hummed in thought. Her godfather had several good points. But could she get to the point of being able to summon that form at will?

"You could always try to regain that form by thinking of the times you changed," Shanks said. "Think of the stress, how your family and friends were in danger."

Neo nodded. She might have to do just that. It could be a form that comes in handy in the future. And there was the mystery of the beams of light. "What do you think of those beams I mentioned?"

"I honestly don't have a clue." Shanks shook his head. "The only thing I could say is the obvious. Those beams are pointing you to two different places."

"I wonder why it would be doing that. Where would I need to be going?" Neo crossed her arms. Monster laid his head on her lap and gave a couple soft ooks at her. Silence fell over the crew in contemplation.

"Maybe it leads to a secret past elementals hid," Stake said. Everyone turned there eyes to him. "What? There's that whole void century thing. So it is possible elementals have something like that. Or maybe they have something to do with the void century."

"Maybe," Neo muttered. It was possible, but how likely would it be? What would elementals hide from their own people?

"Well, either way, it's still a form that could be useful to you. It already came in handy twice. Besides..." Shanks looked down at Cora and started baby talking. "We have to keep your mommy safe. Don't we, Cora? Yes we do!"

Everyone laughed at the big bad pirate baby talking to the baby.

"So, since you'll be with us until we get to Wano," Stake said as he slipped up to Neo's side. His hand reached for her shoulder. "Maybe we can get to know each other better."

Neo's body ticked with annoyance. Before she could react, Monster clamped his sharp teeth down on the man's hand.

Stake released a girly scream. The crew busted out laughing.

Neo chuckled, thankful for Monster's interference.

"All right. That's enough of that." An earth elemental wrapped a vine around Stake and headed for the ship's interior. "You've annoyed the princess long enough. Time for you to make yourself scarce before you get yourself killed."

"What?! I was only getting to know her! That stinking monkey didn't have to bite me!" Stake said. "I'm bleeding! Let me-"

The elemental wrapped a vine around Stake's mouth before disappearing inside.

"Sorry about him," Shanks said. "He's a self proclaimed ladies man. I'll have a talk with him later."

"He's lucky Monster was here." Neo scratched the monkey's chin. "I've decompressed from the war some, but not fully. If he stayed here I might have had to tell Law about him."

Shanks chuckled. "Well then, I'm glad he's gone. I don't really feel like losing a crewmate, even if it is a guy like Stake."

"So what have you been up to lately? I assume since you didn't contact me when I called it was because you were on your way here already and wanted to surprise me." Neo leaned back against her flower chair.

"Well, normal pirate stuff," Shanks said. "One particular event involves someone I believe you are familiar with."

"Oh?"

"Bartolomeo."

"Really?" Neo's eyebrows rose.

Shanks nodded. "He's being causing some problems in my territory by burning down my flags while putting up Luffy's."

"I'm not surprised." Neo shook her head with a chuckle. "That guy worships the Straw Hats. I wonder what Luffy would think about this. He's friend with Bartolomeo, but he's known you longer."

"Don't worry Luffy about it," Shanks said.

Neo nodded. Maybe it was better if Luffy found out on his own. Besides, it's not like he could track down Bartolomeo and stop it. There's no telling where the green haired man would be once they set sail from Wano. So she sat back and focused on her godfather instead. They were sailing at a steady pace so it wouldn't take long for them to get to Wano.

...

"Hm?" Neo turned to her right when she sensed plants sailing over the water and towards Wano.

"What is it?" Shanks asked.

"Someone's heading for Wano," Neo said. "Whoever it is controls plants, but aren't elemental."

"Must be the admiral Aramaki," Shanks said.

"Aramaki," Neo said. "Green Bull."

Shanks nodded. "Figures they'd send someone to attempt capturing you all."

"And while we're tired and still recovering." Neo huffed and stood. With Monster clinging to her back, she walked over to the railing. Looking out towards the front of the ship, she saw Wano coming into focus. "Should I go warn them?"

"Naw." Shanks came to stand beside her. "It'll be fine. Wano has some strong fighters."

"That's true." As the ship fell silent, Neo focused on the battle taking place on Wano land. She sensed a few of their friends that assisted in the war. Though when Momo appeared the others stopped fight. Though the boy took up the fight, shooting out attacks that felt similar to ones Kaido used. "Momo... you're already protecting your home."

A few minutes later the ship pulled up to Wano. The wind elementals onboard lifted the ship to the top of the waterfall.

"Here, Neo." Shanks gave Cora back to her. "And, please, stay behind me."

"Okay." Neo stepped behind her godfather with Cora just before the emperor released his haki. Several bodies on the ship hit the deck. Their mouths were foaming and hanging open.

"Ah, geez, Captain," Lucky Roo said. "You knocked out the newbies again. Can't you do better with your haki control?"

Shanks laughed. "Sorry. Well, that's that. Guess it's time we head out."

"But you just got here." Neo pouted.

"I know. But we both have our own adventures we have to get back to." Shanks gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "We'll be leaving soon. Guess it's time to say goodbye, Cora. Oh. Seems like you have another guest coming."

The crew looked up to see Marco flying towards them. He landed and looked at Neo. "Oh. What are you doing here?"

Neo shrugged. "Just visiting my godfather. But it's time for us to go back. By the way. Thank you for all your help. Your fire was a great asset to Chopper when he was facing Queen's poison."

"It was my pleasure." Marco smiled.

"There a reason you came here?" Shanks asked.

"Just looking for a ride back home," Marco said. "No one here is going my way."

"Not a problem." Shanks nodded. He turned to Neo and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Take care of yourself."

"You too." With that Neo flew herself and Cora back to Wano's capital. She stopped by the palace where Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Jinbe were sitting on the roof. Empty dishes and sake bottles were strewn about. "Luffy."

"Hey, Neo!" Luffy grinned.

"What are you doing up here without Law?" Sanji asked.

"Law's busy with something. And I was..." Neo's eyes locked onto Luffy. She paused. Shanks never said she couldn't tell Luffy he was here. But something told her she didn't have to.

"What is it?" Luffy tilted his head.

"It's nothing." Neo smiled. If Godfather wanted to meet with Luffy, then he would have. It's not time yet. Besides... I get the feeling Luffy already knew Shanks was close by. And I have another problem to worry about more. We'll be leaving Wano soon. Will I really be able to say goodbye to the Straw Hats?

...

Neo was standing on the deck of Polar Tang. Cora was asleep in a flowerbed beside her. With one arm across the railing, she rested her chin in her other hand. Her eyes were sliding from one person to another as the three crews loaded up on supplies. The other three captains were sitting together discussing which way they were heading when they set sail.

While the dock was buzzing with words and actions, all Neo could do was think about how she would be separated the Straw Hats. She didn't want that. But she couldn't ask them to stay together either.

So, what was she doing to do?

The feeling of being watched, again, hit like a tidal wave. This time she was ready. It also helped there wasn't as many people around like it was in the capital.

Neo snapped out a vine. It wrapped around the person hiding in some bushes and pulled that person into the light. She parted her lips to demand an explanation but paused upon getting a good look at the person. "Law!"

Law stood, sword ready, but he too paused.

The person was a woman, three heads taller than Law, with all too familiar dark eyes and curly blonde hair.

"Who's that?" Topaz stepped out of the sub.

"Topaz, keep an eye on Cora." Neo flew down to the ground and grabbed onto Law's sleeve. She lowered the woman so she was sitting right in front of her and Law. "It's... but it can't be."

"This a friend of yours?" Luffy asked.

"No, but she's..." Neo glanced as Law. His skin was pale, eyes widen with disbelief.

"Who are you?!" Law demanded.

"Man, this isn't how I wanted this to go." The woman shifted in the vines. "All well. "My name is Rosin." She locked eyes with Law. "You are the person who got my father killed."

Neo tensed.

"I am Donquixote Rosinate's daughter."

"Corazon's daughter?" Neo asked. Law was thinking it also, but he was too shocked to say anything. Denial was also rolling around in his foggy brain.

"Yeah." Rosin nodded. "I know this is a shock to you. I'm sure my dad never mentioned me to you. Considering the work he was doing at the time he didn't want anything to slip out when he was around Doflamingo."

"Are you a marine?" Neo eyed the woman carefully. Rosin wasn't wearing a navy uniform, but that didn't mean she wasn't one of them.

Rosin smiled. "Of course you'd be worried about that. You did defeat two emperors recently and then there was that issue with Green Bull."

"You know about Green Bull?" Neo placed her hand on Law's arm, his body relaxing under her touch.

"Well, I am the daughter and granddaughter of navy soldiers." Rosin pointed at herself. "While I'm not a soldier I am well aware of what they are doing. Well, most of the time. Despite being Sengoku's granddaughter I'm not permitted to know a lot of stuff. Still..." A light shimmered in her eyes. "I manage when I need something."

"Why are you here?" Law asked.

Rosin held up two fingers. "A couple reasons. At the top of the list is my desire to meet you, Trafalgar Law." A shadow fell over her face. "You are the reason I lost my dad."

Law frowned.

"Second thing involves your lovely elemental wife." Rosin pulled the glove off her hand. There was gasp from multiple people as the sun glinted off the light green crystal engulfing her skin from her finger tips to the middle of her forearm.

"That's... then you're a..." Neo muttered.

"That's right, Your Majesty." Rosin nodded. "I am half elemental."

"Law!" Neo grabbed onto Law's arm. "That means..."

"That's how Corazon knew about the elementals," Law said.

"That's right!" Rosin sang. "Mother told him everything she knew about her people, even about their royals."

"Corazon knew... but he... how did..." Neo's head spun. She dropped to her knees. The winds around them began to pick up. Waves lapped against the ships. Birds released sharp caws and flew in circles about them. "He never said anything."

"Hm? What do you mean? Dad never met you. He died long before you and Law met," Rosin said.

"It's complicated," Law said.

"Neo!" Zeus and Chopper called as they rushed over.

"Are you okay?" Chopper dove into her arms.

"We were worried about you." Zeus flew around Neo's shoulders before pausing in front of her.

Neo closed her eyes and drew in a couple deep breaths. With her mind clear she smiled at them. "Yes, I'm fine." Her eyes locked on to Zeus. She had learned about his survival and how he now lived in Nami's baton during one of her visits to the palace when they were still healing. "Sorry to have worried you."

"I'm glad," Chopper said.

Neo, keeping the reindeer in her arms, stood. "So what do you want with me?"

"I was hoping you could tell me what these glowing beams are." Rosin flattened her palm so it was parallel to the ground. It was the same glowing beams Neo had with her crystal form. One of them pointed right at Neo. "They've never happened before. A few days ago they appeared, pointing in two different directions. I knew you all were in Wano. One of the beams was pointing in that direction. I didn't know if it was leading me here, but now it's clear that it was. I have no idea about the second one."

"Unfortunately, we don't know much about them either," Neo said. "This was the second time that crystal body of mine appeared. I can't call on it at will."

"Oh." Rosin huffed and crossed her arms. "So yours is full body. Interesting."

"Hey! Captain!" Shachi called out. "Everything's loaded! We're ready to go!"

A smile bloomed over Rosin's face. "Whelp, guess I'll just have to sail with you for a while so we can talk about this more."

"What?!" The Hearts gasped.

Hello, my readers. Just a couple things to say. First, glad people are still interested in Neo and Law's story. I know I went on hiatus for a long while so Wano could close. Second, as we know, Law and crew are separating from the Straw Hats. So there won't be any One Piece cannon material for Neo and crew probably until the manga reaches Raftel/Laugh Tale.

For a while rumors have said One Piece will end in five years. Now they're saying that'll happen in three years. But Oda only knows when it'll actually end. So, unfortunately, that means I will go on hiatus multiple times until the series ends.
I do have a couple small arcs planned, an idea that I'm trying to work into a decent amount of chapters, and of course I still plan on doing the movies Stampede and Red. Hopefully I'll be able to think of other ideas to do so I'm not on hiatus for the whole three to five years, or how many years it takes, for Oda to finish.

To remind you, I have zero plans of abandoning this story. The only way that'll happen is in such cases that are beyond my control like injury or death. God willing I'll still be around when One Piece finally comes to a close. This is my number one favorite anime. I wanna know how it ends!