Chapter 01: Marco Snaps! He Wants A Vacation!

Marco inhaled deeply as the Moby Dick shook for the third time that day. He was in his office doing the paperwork for first division, fourth division, second division and half of Whitebeard's paperwork. The last time he let Thatch do his division's paperwork, they ended up in a marine base, being chased by Garp. How that happened, he honestly didn't want to know. And as for Ace? Apparently, the kid always forgot (like hell he'd believe that) about it or accidentally set fire to it. There's no way in hell he's going to let the kid do the paperwork after that. Doing it himself causes less headaches. And as for his father, that lazy ass shoves all his work on him with a 'gurarara' and tells him it's hazardous to his health.

Oh no, I got a paper cut! I'm going to die! Marco thought viciously. Yeah right, stupid lazy ass Oyaji, yoi. And the nurses did absolutely nothing but giggle. He hates his sisters sometimes.

Then, when the other divisions tried to shove all their work onto him he drew a line and exploded.

Honestly, sometimes he thinks his family only loves him because he's the first mate, does all the paperwork, and is strong. Yeah... Sometimes, he feels that the only person that will ever love him is his soulmate. Who has yet to show herself/himself. How disappointing. He's been around for a long time, yet he hasn't even heard a whisper of of their name.

Another tremor overcame the boat. He sighed. He knew full well why the boat was shaking. It was the cause of his kid siblings Ace, Haruta and Thatch. Yes, Thatch is a kid despite all outward appearances. Have you ever met the guy?

Marco regrets ever letting those terrors meeting, let alone becoming friends. Thatch and Haruta were bad enough on their own, but now with Ace? A logia? A fire logia?

Yet again, another tremor shot through the Moby Dick and Marco's eye twitched as he watched his ink bottle tip over and spilled onto his paperwork. Which he had been doing for the past 48 hours. Without breaks.

Now, half his paperwork was covered with ink black...well, ink which he was just finishing. And thus, we have nearly finished, ink covered paperwork, and a sleep deprived, annoyed flaming turkey out for muder.

Another tremor.

SNAP!

The pen in Marco's hands snapped from the force which he held it. A dark aura surrounded the usually composed and indifferent commander. But that snap not only signified the pen snapping, it also signified his patience for this ending. He was out for blood.

Standing up, he made his way to the deck (after making a few pit stops around the boat) where he knew the troublemakers would be for lunch. They were having a party or something because it was someone's birthday or something. They never needed an excuse for a party. So he knew his father and most of the commanders will be there. And he, of couse didn't join the festivities. Because he was busy doing the paperwork. Which the Idiot Trio™ (A/N: Ace, Sabo, Luffy. Zoro, Sanji, Luffy. Thatch, Haruta, Ace. Among others) had ruined not moments before.

Anyone he passed by inched away from him in fear, wide eyed. The tick mark on his forehead was growing bigger by the second, the already dark aura around him was growing darker as well, and his scowl was growing more angry. Oh yes, everyone he met decided to not mess with him and instead go hide in their rooms until this was over.

The door slammed open and everyone looked in the direction of the entrance to below deck. They were met with an angry, slightly flaming, and very much glaring, first division commander. A satchel was slung over her head.

The commander made his way over to Whitebeard. His eye was twitching.

"Oyaji. I'm going on a mission." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

Whitebeard frowned. "Son, I don't think you should go. You don't look all too well."

Marco twitched. "Let me put it this way, yoi. If I don't get the hell out of here in the next half an hour, we will have two brothers and a sister less and three bodies to dispose of." He continued on, as if he hadn't said that he was about to kill (or decapitate) three of his siblings. "It's taking me everything I have not to decapitate those three idiots and unleashing my phoenix on them, yoi."

Whitebeard's frown deepened. It looked like he was about to say something, but he didn't have a chance before someone slung their arm around Marco's shoulder.

"Hey there, bro!" Marco twitched. "You look a bit pissed off. Going to an island to cool down? You going to have some fun?" Thatch wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

The next second was a blur. Marco's eyes flashed and the next thing Thatch knows, a foot was lodged into his gut sending him into a wall.

"THATCH!"

"That was strangely refreshing, yoi." Marco muttered under his breath. Most of his siblings were now by the fourth commander's side.

"Marco..." Whitebeard warned.

He just sighed. "I'm going to be on Arc Island, yoi. Apparently, they're having a bandit problem and sent us a request. The island is under our protection, yoi." He clarified. "I'll be back in about a week." Marco smiled viciously. "And I can vent all I want and nobody will care, yoi." Of course, the mission will probably take only about a day or two, but he seriously needs a break. So he just...tweaked the truth a bit. And of course, it'll take six hours to get there, and then take out the bandits after resting for a bit. So after that, he'll have a week to relax and rest.

Whitebeard sighed, seeing no way to convince his sick looking son to stay. If he does get sick, his phoenix will heal him up. "Fine." He agreed. "But send me a report when you've taken care of them."

Marco tired not to feel guilty. He wasn't going to send the report as soon as he was finished. He wanted his long deserved vacation, dammit, yoi! "Sure. I'll try, yoi."

Whitebeard opened his mouth to say something but Marco already transformed and flew off.

"Oyaji..." Ace, his youngest son and second division commander, looked...concerned? Well, that's certainly a new expression. And just months before he was trying to kill him. He's come far. Whitebeard smiled fondly. "Yes, son?"

Ace flinched. Whitebeard's smile dimmed a little. He noticed a while ago that Ace hated to be called 'son'. He found it a little worrying, but he was sure Ace would tell him when he feels comfortable enough.

"Nevermind, I'm sure it's nothing..." Ace cast a look at the small blue dot that was slowly growing smaller by the second. He didn't know why, but something in the pit of his stomach was telling him 'something will go wrong'. But... Marco's a big boy, he can take care of himself. He didn't need Ace worrying about him. Nobody needed Ace. Except from Luffy. But Luffy was Luffy. It was different. And soon enough, the truth will come to light, and the Whitebeard Pirates will hate him. Like everyone – except Sabo and Luffy – does.

The first thing Marco did after he arrived on Arc Island was go to the inn. He had landed near the village but far enough to not be seen, and after buttoning up his shirt to cover his mark to not cause a ruckus, made his way into the village.

Arc Island is...a special sort of island here in the New World. One side of it is a wasteland, with nothing but a boiling hot desert and poisonous animals. The other side is much warmer, giving off a feeling that the people are on a spring idland. Arc Island mainly gets their income from selling the various rare herbs and vegetations that grow in the spring, and sometimes in the desert, area. A lot of people lived in those places, which helps them get food. The people that live there are experts on how to survive in their respective are.

There are seven villages on the Island, each one known for a strange phenomenon. The village near the sea and harbour, Maldives, is known for its beautiful clear waters. And at night, the water closest to the island turn neon, electric blue. He had only seen it a few times, back when his Oyaji put it under his protection. Only a few prople live here, less than a hundred.

Then there's Lehigh Valley, the nearest one to Maldives. It's near the forest in a small valley. There's a beautiful lake and waterfall there, but Lehigh Valley is known for a strange phenomenon that happens three times a year. Every year, after it rains, instead of one, as much as eight rainbows form over the village. It's supposed to be a beautiful sight, but he had unfortunately never seen it. Much less people live here than at Maldives. About only fifty or so.

Then there's the mountain village, which was abandoned after wild animals attacked and rampaged, nearly killed everyone. It was abandoned over seventy years ago. It's phenomenon seemed rather strange. Once a year, in summer and on a full moon, the mountain it was residing son opened up in some place, allowing people in. Marco didn't know what was hidden in there. The islanders were rather secretive about it.

Then there's the forest village, Rastoke. It was near a beautiful lake called Taikwa. It was a relatively small village, but beautiful nonetheless. It didn't have a phenomenon per say, but it had a small water windmill that, according to the locals, can either heat up or cool down the water in the lake. Quite a lot of people live there, definitely more than in Maldives.

The only desert village on this island was called Sunagakure. As its name suggests, the village is in the heart of the desert. It's near a large oasis so its citizens can survive. The houses are made of hard sand, white stone or their houses are just tents. But the most peculiar thing, is that every night the sand in the desert turns pitch black. And when there's a full moon, the white turns as whute as snow. The desert is known as Onmyō.

The village in-between the spring and desert areas is called Rose Garden. It's a large village with tons of entertainment, shops, restaurants, and it gives off a sort of Aladdiny feel. [1] It doesn't really have a phenomenon, it's just a very beautiful, very lively city. It's where most people live.

And finally, there's Fairy Town. It's a large settlement somewhere deep in the forest. According to the locals, it's the oldest city of the island but people abandoned it centuries ago. So not only ruins remain. And the locals also say that those who try and find the ruins suffer from painful deaths either by accidents, or the animals.

But what had to be the most peculiar thing about this island, is that it had a earth railway system connecting each town. Of course, the Fairy Town and the mountain town railways weren't used nowadays.

Marco had landed near Rose Garden. He made his way to the large city with a bored, but agitated look on his face.

Once he reached the city, he raised an eyebrow. It was quite a roudy town, he observed. Children were running around on the street, merchants had small tents set up on the sides, filled with food, drinks, small accessories, clothes – anything you can imagine! The streets were made out of sand with small allies on the sides, leading to the darker parts of the city.

Thatch would've certainly loved this town. Marco sweatdropped as a woman wearing only a bikini top and a long skirt walked by him. Then he shook his head. Nope. No thinking about those idiots, yoi. I'm on a break, well mission, so no thinking about them. No thinking about the havoc they're causing on the Moby Dick, no thinking about them getting Garp to chase after then, causing trouble on islands... He trailed off, a little pale at those thoughts. Oh dear god, is it good that I'm gone for a week, yoi? They can accidentally cause Oyaji's death for all I know, yoi! And yes, his brothers and sisters were capable of that feat. Very, very capable.

He groaned. Let's just get this over with, yoi.

Marco turned to a young man at a stand. "Excuse me, can you direct me to an inn or a hotel?" His tone was polite and he resisted the urge to add 'yoi'.

The man blinked once before giving the phoenix a crooked grin. "There' only one 'otel in this city, unless yur fine with stayin' in a brothel."

"No thank you. I'll take the hotel." Marco replied dryly. Maybe he can nap for a bit before going out to take care of the bandits. God knows he needs it. He hasn't slept properly for a while now.

The man shrugged. "Sui' yurself. I'm Antonio by tha way." He outstretched his hand over the table. Marco noted that it was full of accessories and clothes.

Marco stared at him with a raised eyebrow. There was no way he was going to give his name to a total stranger and potential enemy, it didn't matter that the kid was living on an island under Oyaji's protection. Besides, the kid wasn't his soulmate anyway. His soulmate was most likely female. The writing was feminine and as was the name, but he's been sailing the New World since he was a teen, so as far as he knew his soulmate could be a man. But his soulmate's name certainly isn't Antonio.

After a few awkward moments Antonio pulled back, his grin now awkward. "Well," He cleared his throat. "I'm assuming you aren't a Luigi?"

Marco sighed.

"I'll take that as a no..." Antonio shifted awkwardly.

"Antonio!" An exasperated female voice came from behind the younger man. A raven haired woman came from behind the fabric. A scowl was on her face. "Asking customers names again?"

Antonio smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Not me you have to apologise to." She gave a pointed look to the annoyed blonde.

"Sorry 'bout tha trouble, sir." Antonio apogised while rubbing the back of his head.

The woman sighed. "Get back to work, dumbass."

Antonio squeaked. "Yeah, miss Vernadez!" He scurried off to the other side of the bopth or whatever this was.

Miss Vernadez rolled her eyes before turning to Marco. "Didn't expect to see you of all people here, commander Marco."

He tensed before relaxing, finally recognising the woman. "Hello, Andrea. I'm glad to see you're feeling better, yoi." Andrea was one of the older residents of Arc Island, in her late thirties. She was here the last time he and his crew visited, but he remembered she had lived in Maldives five years ago. She had been suffering from an illness, but it seems she's all fixed up now.

Andrea smiled. "Thanks, commander, for your concern." He decided to not ask about why she was living here instead of back down below.

"This may seem a little rude, but why're you here? If the Moby Dick was sighted someone would've informed the citizens."

Marco hesitated. If there was anyone who knew about the island, it was Andrea. "No, it's just me. I had to get away from those idiots on-board or I would've decapitated Thatch, Haruta and Ace, yoi."

Andrea tilted her head to the side. "Ace, Ace, now where have I heard that–" She cut herself off with an exclamation. "Oh! Hiken no Ace, right? What's he doing with your crew? Wasn't he a captain of his own crew?" She looked bother proud of herself and confused.

Marco sighed, finding he couldn't lie to the younger woman. "He joined us, yoi. Of course, yoi, after trying to kill Oyaji 100 days straight. He was recently appointed as the second division commander, yoi."

Andrea giggled. "He certainly seems like an interesting guy. Not just anyone has the guts to try an' kill Whitebeard-san for a hundred days."

Marco nodded slightly. "Anyway, yoi. I decided to go on a mission. The bandits..."

Andrea's face darkened. "So I assume you're here to take care of them?"

"Yoi." He nodded.

Her lips twitched upward. "Okay, I'll tell you what I know. But it's gotta be quick 'cause I have a business meeting in a few minutes."

"Okay, yoi. Tell me what you know, yoi."

Andrea's face turned serious. "The bandits go around towns calling themselves the Nano bandits." Marco twitched. Daring and brave, yoi? "So far, they've only hit Rastoke and Lehigh Valley. They haven't the guts to venture into the desert or take on the Maldives residents. And security here is too good. So far, they haven't killed anyone, but the mayors think they will soon. I'm guessing that's why they sent in a request."

"Only Rastoke and Lehigh Valley so far, yoi?" Marco frowned.

Andrea grimaced. "The damages aren't pretty and most of the residents went to the other towns to live with their relatives until the bandits are taken care of. So please, Marco-san. Take care of those bandits as soon as you can." She bowed slightly.

Marco looked away awkwardly. "I was planning on tracking them after I got a room at the hotel..."

Sher looked up. "So you're headin' to Vanessa Hotel? Well, you can't miss it." She pointed to a large building in the distance. "It's that one, it has the hotel's name on the building so it's rather easy to find." He spun around on his heel.

"Thanks, miss Andrea, yoi!" He threw her a lazy wave.

"No problem!" He heard her call out.

"Why do you mean you have no free rooms!" The receptionist froze under his glare.

"I-I'm sorry sir but the last room was taken minutes before you arrived." She squeaked as Marco's glare darkened considerably. "B-But I can book you a room! There's a couple who'll be ch-checking out in two hours!"

Like hell he's going to wait for two hours only to get a room where a couple stayed an did who knows what!

He sighed deeply. It seems he had no other choice but to leave and take care of the bandits now. Waiting for the room was also a choice, but like he said (thought?) before, he wasn't staying in a room that had been occupied by a couple.

"No thank you." He replied curtly. She flinched.

He turned around and exited the hotel. Looks like he's gonna have to deal with the bandits now. But where would he look for them? They've stuck Lehigh Valley and Rastoke so they're most likely somewhere in the area. But where? This is a large island, so there's no way he could just search blindly for them. Even with his flying it would take a while, not to mention he isn't feeling all that good.

So he has to gather information from somewhere. The smart thing to do would be to hit the shadier parts of town, and if that doesn't work he'll have to head over to Lehigh Valley and Rastoke.

Decided, Marco casually walked into an alley looking bored. He didn't pay the thugs and shady bastards around him any attention. He had a clear destination in mind.

A little later on Marco saw a sign. Emily's Brothel, the sign said. Under it, was a door to a shady looking building decorated in elegant, red swirls. There were other buildings too, but they didn't interest him. Along the street were red lanters. He was in the red light district.

You can get a lot of information in these kinds of places. 'The shady go where the shady is!' ...Or so says Thatch. Speaking of, why was he believing anything Thatch says? Oh yeah. It's because Izo (one of his more bearable brothers) was the one who first said that.

So basically, if the bandits were male and they didn't have girlfriends they either rape someone or go to a brothel to release tension. And who knows what type of things they said in there.

There are a bunch of brothels in this city, so he might as well start with this Emily's.

Once he was inside he went to the bar and sat down. "Just some sake." He muttered to the bartender, who proceeded to nod at his request.

"Well, well, well." A sultry voice drawled from his left. "What might a handsome devil such as you be doing here?" Marco turned his head slightly. A young woman with smooth black hair and half lidded blue eyes wearing only a knee length kimono that fell off her shoulders and barely covered her assets was leaning on the bar. She was smiling.

He scoffed. A prostitute, huh? The people who become prostitutes are either Blank[2], were rejected by their soulmate, were forced into this, were sold or born into this, or they had just given up hope on ever finding their other half.

"That's none of your concern." He replied cooly. Sure, he sometimes played around with people (he was by no means a virgin), but now wasn't exactly the time.

The prostitute 'hmm'-ed thoughtfully. "I'm assuming you're here to ask about the bandits. Right, kaizoku-san?" Marco tensed and shot her a look.

The bartender returned and set the sake bottle and cup in front of him. Marco threw him a few beri without even looking at him.

"Oh? And where did you come to this conclusion?"

The prostitute rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease! Why else would a pirate be doing here? Er, let me rephrase that." She continued as Marco started to open his mouth to list the many reasons just why a pirate would be in a brothel. "Why else would a pirate of your standing be in this small brothel when it's very well known among the citizens that we have a little bandit problem? And since this island is under your protection..." She trailed off. "Well, I think you get the point." She then added as an afterthought. "My name's Emma."

"...For a prostitute you're quite smart."

"And for a pirate you're quite pineappley." She shot back without any hesitation. Marco twitched. The pineapple comment always got to him. He did not look like a pineapple. He has blonde hair for fucks sake, and, oh, what was it again? Oh yeah! He's a human.

"Now, let's get down to business." Emma leaned toward Marco. "I want these bandits outta here as soon as possible. They hurt my lil' sis and they gotta pay for it." He certainly understood that. If anyone hurt his siblings, no matter how annoying they are, he'd be out for blood. So he can sympathise with the prostitute. He paused, he blinked. Wow, I never thought I'd say that.

"Last night a bandit by the name of Satoshi visited the brothel and, coincidentally, I was picked to...ahem, entertain him." Emma coughed softly. "You would be surprised at what type of things idiots like him say when they're entertained." The quirk of her lips could've been a smirk or a smile, but Marco couldn't te–nevermind, it's definitely a smirk.

"What did you learn?" Marco inquired politely.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman." She muttered under her breath. "Anyway, I managed to get that he and his group would be meeting up in the forest later tonight."

"Do you know where?"

"Yeah," She nodded. "Do you have a map of the island?" She grimaced at his 'are you an idiot?' look. "I'll take that as a no then." She grumbled about something that sounded like 'stupid pineapples'.

Marco twitched. Nope. He was not going to k–hurt his only chance at finding out about the bandits. Not even when she calls him a pineapple. Nope. At least, not right now.

"Fine then." Emma sighed, a deep, exasperated sound. "Why do I try anymore, honestly." She mumbled as she stuck a hand into her kimono. Marco clearly avoided looking at her, for politeness if nothing else.

"Aha!" She gave a victorious smile slide onto her face. "There you are!" She pulled out a rumpled map from her chest area.

Marco grimaced.

Emma just huffed and smoothed the paper so at least something was able to be seen. "Oh suck it up, you big baby." She told him. Before Marco had a chance to reply, she pointed to a spot on the map where a large city was drawn with the words 'Rose Garden' under it. There were a bunch of other landmarks on the map but Marco didn't pay them any attention. "So currently, we're here in Rose Garden."

"Oh really? I had no idea." The phoenix zoan deadpanned.

Emma ignored his comment and instead pointed to what looked like a small clearing on a map, north of Rose Garden and near Fairy Town. "The bandits are supposed to meet at this clearing in half an hour, so you better hurry up. It's north of here and about a few kilometers away from the ruins of Fairy Town." She then looked up at him, face serious. "Commander Marco, I know you may be strong, but... There's just something not right with those bandits. It's like they have magic or something." She shuddered, and looked as if she was remembering something horrible. "They're crazy strong..."

Marco cut her off. "Don't worry, I can handle them. They're most likely just some Devil Fruit users trying to get Oyaji's attention to piss him off." At her uncertain smile, he reassured her. It was his job as the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates to make sure anyone and everyone under his Oyaji's protection stays safe. "I'll be fine. I'm not the first division commander for nothing, you know."

Emma smiled weakly. "Take care."

And Marco proceeded to walk out of the brothel after finishing his sake.

Emma's smile fell, a frown replacing it. "I really hope nothing happens..." She whispered to herself.

A sudden voice from next to her, where Marco had sat, startled her into releasing a yelp. "Don't worry, the kid'll be fine. He ain't Whitebeard's first mate from nothing." Lady Emily said with a small smirk – or was it a smile?

Emma relaxed at the sight of her boss.

"Besides, if anything goes wrong the Miko will most likely swoop in to save his ass." It was definitely a smile. Mischievous, smug, but a smile nonetheless.

Emma agreed with her. "Lady Emily, is commander Marco..?"

Lady Emily grinned viciously. "Yup. And now it's time for payback. And I'm going to win the bet." She cackled victoriously.

The younger prostitute sweatdropped at her boss's antics. "There was a betting pool..?"

Lady Emily waved her off, face blank except for a small, smug smirk. "Go entertain some of our guests, Emma. Or I'll sic Playboy-kun on you." Emma grimaced. Yeah, she'd rather take hours of endless work than having to deal with her boss's nephew.

With that, Emma hurriedly went off to a young amn sitting in a booth.

Lady Emily smirk was back full force. Oh the money... I so knew it! Ha! Ellen lost~ She thought gleefully. All that money...mine~

She paused. I wonder how the Miko will react? She wondered, pursing her lips. Well, she'll most likely kill me – but the money. And I can't wait to see her face... She chuckled.

Lady Emily knew that the girl would be mad at her. But it was so going to be worth it. Especially her reaction.

The occupants of the brothel stared at the laughing head prostitute warily. The last time she laughed like that, half the island ended ended up naked, drunk and with raging headaches. Though...not specifically in that order...

Does anyone know who Marco's soulmate might be? After it's revealed, I'll add it to the character selecty thing.

Oh, and as for why Marco didn't 'yoi' much during the conversation with Emma was because he was series, tired, and he didn't even know the woman.

And I royally screwed around with the plot of Fairy Tail to my liking. I never really got passed the Gajeel and Natsu vs Twin Dragons fight. I kinda got interested after that.

And yeah, I made Marco a little...I don't know? I made him feel a little left out I guess? Oh I don't know. I'm just going with the flow.

Oh, and there might be a few crack pairings in this. Fuck that. This whole thing will be crack because I'm a shitty writer and a hormonal (pre-?)teen. Who has depression and I'm pretty sure a minor form of ADHD.

EXPLANATIONS↓

[1]: Imagine the Rose Garden from Fairy Tail, where Lucy and Éclair were attacked.

[2]: A Blank is a person who wasn't born with a Soulmark and is instead a normal, unmarked human like we are.

Oh, and before I forget, I have a poll on my profile concerning my stories and which ones I should update the most and soonest. Of course, the stories that I did not include on the list will be updated regularly or whenever inspiration strikes.

Love y'all, Rin (woth the help of Rena 'cause it's 11pm and Rin has school tomorrow–scratch that. We both have school tomorrow. Fuck.)

Reviews make me happy and make me update faster!