Neo & Uta

Neo stood above the audience, watching the people as they slept. She wondered what they were seeing and doing inside of Uta's dream world. Was it like the real world? Were there dangers? She shouldn't have been thrown off by how her separation with Law felt. If she had kept her senses she would have looked around the world Law was in. The only thing she could recall was the lighting. It was brighter where Law was. Here it was cloudy. Fog hung thick around the island.

Neo took a deep breath and pushed her thoughts aside. The only thing that mattered now was Uta and everyone who was trapped by her.

With a light breeze she pushed the fog back enough so she could take inventory of the people below her. Her eyes landed on the Straw Hats. They appeared to be fine. Sleeping as if it were a normal nap instead of tampering from a devil fruit. If they were doing anything in that other world they showed no sign of it out here.

Movement pulled her eyes from her friends. It was Uta. The young woman was heading towards the Straw Hats with a basket of slender mushrooms hung on her arm. The mushrooms tickled the back of Neo's mind but she couldn't place what they were.

The thought vanished when Uta knelt next to Luffy and reached for his hat.

Neo lifted up with her winds and lowered herself down as she pulled the straw hat away before Uta could touch it.

"What the heck?! How is...?!" Uta stood and looked up with surprise before her eyebrows drew together. "Who are you?"

Neo landed and placed Luffy's hat on her head before meeting Uta's eyes. "A friend of the Straw Hats. You are not allow to touch this hat."

Uta placed her hands on her hips, tilting her head. "Have you been here the whole time? No, if you were you would have fallen under my devil fruit power." She rubbed her chin in thought while inspecting Neo. Recognition lit her eyes. "Wait a second! I do know you. You're Neo, princess of the elementals and Shanks' goddaughter." Uta huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised."

Neo nodded and licked her lips. "Uta, you need to release everyone."

"No way. I'm doing this for them." Uta threw her hands in the air and spun on her toes. "They are happy where they are now."

"Are they though?" Neo's eyelids lowered. "Did you ask them how they feel about what you have done to them? I know plenty who you've trapped that won't be happy about it. Luffy is one of them."

"I didn't have to ask them." Uta frowned. "Listen to me, Neo. I've spoken with people. I know the hardships they have suffered. How the pirates are always hurting them. How the navy does nothing about the pirates. How islands are suffering because of the Celestial Dragons taking their money for tributes. It's a mess." She held her hands out to her sides and smiled. "What I'm giving them is freedom! And happiness! They don't have to deal with pain anymore or worries. Surely you can relate to that."

Neo drew her lip between her teeth as her fingers touched her stomach, directly on the last injury she had done to herself.

"You know what pain is like." Uta stepped closer to Neo and placed her hand on the pirate's shoulder.

Neo flinched and pulled back.

Uta continued without noticing the flinch. "I know you do. I know your story. How could you of all people want to take happiness and safety from people?"

"I don't want to take anything away from anyone." Neo closed her eyes. She understood where Uta was coming from. It was exactly what she wanted for her family and friends. But she also knew it was an impossibility. She opened her eyes. "But I refuse to take people's free will to chose. What you are doing is wrong. Ask anyone of the people you have trapped. They won't agree to what you are doing no matter how hard his or her life might be."

"Don't preach to me!" Uta stomped her foot. "You don't know anything! You're a pirate! I'm sure your crew has don't plenty of bad things."

"Don't talk about my crew like that!" Neo clenched her fists, thunder rumbled overhead. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Uta, listen to me. You admitted you know about me. Or, at least, you know part of my history. I've been abused and punished myself for the majority of my life. It wasn't until-"

"Shut up!" Uta reached for Neo. On reflex Neo slapped her hand away. "If you want to talk tell me where Shanks is. You know where he is, don't you? I know all about you elementals. Your people have been highly favored by Shanks for many years. And you are his favorite."

"Favorite? What are you talking about?" Neo cocked an eyebrow.

Uta started pacing around. "When I was little it was all Shanks and the crew could talk about. They went on and on about how you were born a unique royal. How you had bonded with him shortly after being born. How he tried to help you and your brother escape from the possessed elemental. How he had to find you no matter what. He always thought of you. He constantly looked for you when I was on his ship. And I doubt he stopped looking for you since you are his favorite daughter."

"Uta, I'm not... Shanks doesn't have favorites." Neo touched Uta's arm to get her to stop pacing.

"Don't!" Uta jerked back. "Don't lie to me! I've see the pain in Shanks' eyes when he couldn't find you! That lost, helpless, distant expression he wore! It didn't matter that I was right there! It didn't matter what I did! He always wanted you!"

"That's not true." Neo gripped her fists.

"It is true! He abandoned me! He never abandoned you!" Uta glared, her eyes filled with burning rage.

"Uta, Shanks would never-" Neo was cut off by Uta's singing.

"Kono kaze wa..."

Neo swirl wind around her ears with a sigh. Uta was angry at her for something she had no control over.

"...doko kara kita no to-" Uta stopped singing. "What the...? How can you get past my devil fruit powers?!"

Neo paused her winds. "Uta, will you calm down for a minute and listen to me? Shanks didn't abandon you. He never would-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Uta stomped her foot. "You don't know what happened! You were God-knows-where when that man abandoned me here!"

"I do know what happened! Shanks told me everything!" Neo pressed a hand to her chest. "I might be his goddaughter. I might have came into his life before you did. But Shanks does not have favorites. He loves you as much as he loves me. He asked me to come here because he's worried about you. He's worried that Tot-"

"Where is Shanks?! I know you know! Tell me where he is, right now!"

Neo sighed at being interrupted again. "Of course I do. I know exactly where he is. We are bonded, after all."

"Then tell me. Tell me where he is right this second."

"I won't."

"Fine." Uta crossed her arms. "Don't tell me. Keep your secret. Just remember it was your choice. Your little pirate husband is in my control. I can do anything I want to him and it'll be all your fault. Unless you tell me where Shanks is."

Neo tilted her head slightly. "Law is more than you can handle. Don't mess with him."

"We'll see about that." Uta drew in a deep breath.

Neo covered her ears in wind again as Uta started singing. Her lips curled into a frown when the Straw Hats lifted off the ground. They all charged at her. Neo exhaled and trapped them in her winds.

Uta glared at her then ran off.

Neo laid her friends back on the ground then watched as Uta ran to the stage. She shifted her wind crystals to grab the young woman but stopped. There was no point. Nothing she did or said was going to reach Uta. All she could do was wait until Shanks arrived. He would know how to stop her. She hoped.

Neo gnawed on her lip as she felt Fujitora, among others, finally setting foot on the island then felt Shanks still several miles from the island. She turned to go to her godfather but stopped. Instead she sat down and closed her eyes in concentration. She had to let Law know that Shanks had arrived and to see what was going on in the world he was in.

The two worlds started mixing together, a blur of fog mixed with the colorful world of Uta's making. Neo spotted Law standing with several others, a few belonging to the navy. The distraction caused her to fade back into the real world.

Neo drew in a deep breath and focused harder. She found herself back in the sing world but couldn't take a solid shape. Her body kept fading in and out. "Law! Godfather is here!"

"We're working on a plan here," was the only thing Law got out before Neo went back to the real world.

"Great. I hope that was enough." Neo summoned her wind crystals and headed off towards Shanks' ship.