Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own One Piece.

Summary: Ann is a normal reclusive wanderer; she doesn't consider herself a pirate, after all you need a crew for that and a big ship, right? All she ever wanted was to explore every island in the grand line. So why can't the marines and bounty hunters just leave her be? Follow Ann's first year exploring the Grand line, discovering shocking things about the world she was born into but never dreamed possible, in her thirst for knowledge, adventure, and excitement. Then plunge head on into the Whitebeard War in a desperate attempt to save Ace. But why does she care what happens to Ace? Can she change fate? OC-centric.

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Chapter 1: Prologue

…step through left, flag right, reach, step up, shift weight, pinch…. each movement, synchronized with a breath, was slow and precise. Occasionally the slender figure would stop on a particularly good hold and rest for a moment, shaking out one arm to get rid it of the slightly pumped feeling starting to creep into the muscles before continuing on. A blank, calm mind allowed the body moved on instinct, the texture of the warm rock vibrating with life beneath small hands.

Hands gripping the top, the young girl brought one leg up in a heel hook just below the top and mantled up the end of the route like a boulder problem. The top outs were always the toughest part for her. Even after years of climbing she still didn't have much upper body strength, couldn't even do a pull up. Not that she really ever tried to, one needed to use their legs and technique in order to climb well. Using a lot of upper body just wore you out faster, one reason she never practiced pull ups; they would give her an out, allowing her to muscle up a route instead of using good technique and making it look pretty. Plus she was just plain lazy and didn't want to practice them.

Laying on the rock for a moment mentally taking inventory, her legs were a bit shaky as where her arms. The climb itself, 12b, was difficult, but wasn't, by far the hardest she'd climbed. The route was damn long though, with just enough overhang to rate it a 12b, in her opinion, without the overhang it might have been an 11c/d. It had been awhile since she had come across a higher rated climb that was so high.

She lazily reclined back on her elbows and gazed at the setting sun from her perch on top the two hundred fifty-foot cliff she had just free solo-ed, sweat still glistening on her forehead causing her blonde/black bangs to stick to her face. The elated feeling she normally felt after completing such a climb was curiously absent, not even the stunning array of colors painted against the darkening sky brought her pleasure. Instead, she felt a deep coldness seep into her chest, at odds with the dry heat of the summer island she was currently on.

Something's wrong, she thought, focusing on the feeling and trying to figure out what it meant.

"Kak kak" a small peregrine falcon circled the girl once before dropping a newspaper in her lap and perching lightly on her right shoulder.

"Ah, thank you, Zephyr." Impassively tucking a blonde/black strand behind her right ear, exposing a thin chain connecting the six of the seven piercings there, as she skimmed through the paper. Not really her favorite reading material, to her newspapers were mostly depressing, usually reporting disasters, wars, deaths, new laws, the latest pirate attack, and mayhem in general, but it was always wise to keep up with the happenings of the world. No matter how reclusive her brother thought she was, at least she did read the news. Turning the page Ann froze, her hands began to shake as she slowly read the main article. The coldness in her chest rapidly expanding with every line she read.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Her grip tightened on the paper, "Fuck no." Her eyes closed, head bowed as she focus on calming the tears that threatened to fall. "I should have gone the moment I felt… so what if he got upset about it? At least it wouldn't have come to this."

Taking a deep breath she opened her eyes, now was not the time to fall apart. She had to go to him, do whatever it took to get there in time. Time was of the essence; she was at the beginning of the grand line, almost at Reverse Mountain for gods' sake. How on earth could she make it to the opposite red line in three days? No, no, she shook her head, she couldn't think like that, she would make it in time, Zephyr was fast, and she just had to believe he would get her there in time.

"Looks like there's going to be a long journey ahead of us, Zeph and a short time to get there" Ann cocked her head to the left looking side ways at her friend. "It'll be tough, impossible really, but we have to try."

"Kak!"

"That's right Zeph, we will make it in time, no matter what." The girl turned her angry gaze towards the eastern sky, eyes flashing. "We're going, to Marineford."

With that resolve she calmly stood and dusted off the seat of her black leggings and adjusted her teal sash before stepping off the edge of the cliff with a smirk.