Alright, let's get back to Morgan and her family.
I quickly packed up my things and sent a messenger hawk out to break the news to Jeriko. Garp helped us out because, on the horizon, was a marine ship and it was confirmed to be headed for us. I grabbed my things and finally, a whistle to call an old friend. I blew the whistle as I got out to the docks. Sapphire, my sea dragon, surfaced. She sniffed the children curiously as I got my things. Rouge and Eddie were shocked at the sight of her but they heard of her in stories. The children were climbing all over her by the time I had gotten everything. At least she's being friendly to them. She really didn't like Ace so I was worried she might not get along with my children, either. She took the luggage in her front paw while I helped my children onto her back.
"I'm sorry Garp, but you'll have to stay here." I told him.
"Alright. I'll see if I can convince these guys that you were never here. And Ed, take care of your sister." He said.
"I always do." he said with a sad smile.
"It was nice to meet ya, Grandpa Garp!" Rouge called as Sapphire took off.
He waved as Sapphire took off high into the sky.
"Sapphire, take me to The Red Albatross." I told her.
She nodded before heading off into its direction. Rouge and Eddie clung to me as they looked down.
"Sapphire won't let you fall but that doesn't mean you can be reckless. If you're careful, you can even walk on her." I told them.
The twins relaxed a little. I was going to the Red Albatross because, if there was one thing my cousin was good at, it was hiding. She has been thought to be dead several times when in reality, her and her crew just disappear for a good amount of time. It's the same with my dad. Hell! He seems to be a ghost story now but, I don't know if I'm ready for dad to know about these two yet. An hour later, I could see my cousin's boat in the distance. Soon, we landed in the water next to it, Sapphire putting the luggage into her mouth so it wouldn't get wet. Jeriko joyously ran to the rail and waved. She was completely white as a ghost, even her hair. Her striking green eyes were a sharp contrast: two emeralds embroidered on ivory. She is colored like that because her and her mother were both from Flevance. Jeriko was one of the lucky ones whom actually grew immune to White Lead poisoning but, as a result, it's almost impossible for her to have children because, so far, no one else has the right genetics to successfully conceive. Only another survivor can possibly breed with her. Her mother actually had a strong enough immune system that fought it off as it began rather than adapting to it like Jeriko did.
"Hey, cuz!" She shouted.
"It's been awhile." I told her as Sapphire helped the children and I board.
Jeriko is also known as 'The White Squall' on her wanted posters. She's really nice and is the medic of her crew as well as the captain. She studied to be a biochemist and she is, but also a pirate. She may not look it but she's a genius. She has one hell of a memory and knowledge of several things but she can also be crazy. She looked so frail and fragile to anyone who didn't know her because her whiteness gave her a 'sickly' look. It was easy for others to think she was weak, which couldn't be further from the truth. She was also arguably the most beautiful woman in existence with her generously curvaceous body, beautiful hair, and also, her body type was like mine: not fat but not stick thin, either. Her body and mine were nicely proportioned. Think Boa Hancock's body type but the waistline being a bit thicker. To think it's been five years since she had to fake her death to go into hiding.
"Cousin!" Ushio shouted before hugging me.
Ushio is Jeriko's five year old little sister and quite a joy to be around. She's the reason why Jeriko is in hiding so that she can grow up in peace. Ushio also briefly had the lead poisoning but her body was injected with her mother's blood, giving her the antibody to fight the poison off. She then looked at Eddie and Rouge.
"Who are they?" Ushio asked.
"They are my children and your niece and nephew. Introduce yourselves." I told them.
Jeriko was shocked for a moment but then smiled. She did know of mine and Ace's relationship. Rouge was eager to make a new friend and shook Ushio's hand.
"I'm Rouge!" She said with a smile.
Eddie hesitated. He frowned, seeming to be disappointed.
"I was hoping Ushio was a boy." He said and Ushio scowled.
"Eddie, that's rude." I told him sternly.
Jeriko laughed.
"Poor boy just wants some manly company. He has to stay with a bunch of girls." She said.
"That's still no way to behave." I said.
"Sorry..." Eddie muttered.
"You haven't told her your name." Rouge said, also stern.
"I'm Edward." He grumbled.
Ushio smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Hello, Eddie! I'm Ushio." She said, smiling.
Ushio is just as forgiving as I am. She almost seems to love unconditionally, kind of like a puppy... But like any puppy, she'll bare her teeth when threatened. Ushio looked a lot like her brother with her raven colored hair and her smile was the same. The only difference were her eyes which were green as emeralds.
"Show them around, Ushio." I told her.
"Alright! Let's go!" She said, grabbing both their hands and leading them around.
"So, where's your mom at?" I asked Jeriko.
"She's helping dad with the revolutionary army." She said.
"She has stopped by, right?" I asked her.
"Yes, even brought dad with a few times." Jeriko said.
"Good. I was worried she wasn't spending much time with Ushio." I said, relieved.
"Oh, and they're here today as well." She said.
"Really? Where?" I asked.
"Behind you." A guy said.
I looked back to see Jeriko and Ushio's father.
"Hello, Dragon." I said.
Yes, their father is Monkey D. Dragon. He was intimidating to look at but it's not a surprise since he is the head of the revolutionary army.
"What are you and your children doing here?" He asked.
He only knew that I have my own children but not their lineage.
"Someone found out about them being Ace's children. I don't know who tipped off the Marines though." I told him.
"They're Ace's?!" He asked, surprised.
"Yeah and they already have a bounty on their heads. They're twenty-five thousand a piece." I told him.
"I never knew Ace had a lover." Dragon said.
"We did a good job hiding it." I told him.
"Apparently. I'm guessing their bounties came out just today since I haven't heard a thing. Sabo would be making a deal over it if he had known." Dragon said.
"Sabo? You mean Ace's childhood friend?" I asked him.
"Yes. He he is my chief of staff. I'm sure he'd love to meet those two kids when he gets a chance." Dragon said.
We talked about the twins and then Eddie bumped into Dragon's leg, nearly tripping him.
"Whoa! Watch it." He said, grabbing the rail to keep his balance.
"Hey, Eddie, come here. I have someone who'd like to meet you." I told him.
He walked up to me and I lifted him up.
"Eddie, this is Dragon." I told him.
"Luffy's dad?" He asked.
I nodded.
"Wow." Eddie said, awed by him.
"No wonder he has a wanted poster already. He's the spitting image of Ace, except for his eyes." Dragon said.
Rouge came over as well with Mustache, Ushio's pet otter, trailing behind her.
"Look, mommy! He likes me." She giggled.
"Come here, Rouge." I told her.
She walked over and I introduced her to Dragon. She hopped right into his arms and eagerly talked to him. Mustache went back to play with Ushio while we talked with Dragon. Edward soon wanted to explore the ship more and hopped right out of my arms, landing on his feet. He ran off, Mustache chasing after him.
"It's a shame that you and your children must live in hiding from here on out." Dragon said.
"We'll manage. Jeriko and I will keep them well hidden and well protected." I told him.
"Let's hope so." Dragon said.
It's been a month now. We've had several close calls with people on land. A child is an easy catch... or so everyone thinks. Eddie has caught several people by surprise with his strength and he isn't afraid to punch anyone when threatened. He was his father's son alright. Rouge has good speed more than anything and she's good at hiding. Finally, Sapphire decided to help out by giving them each one of her scales. They can contact her through them. She has to give them scales she herself plucks from her body or else dead scales won't work. New scales will easily grow in the place of the ones she took.
We're traveling accross the Grandline, trying to get to our home Island that Jeriko and I used to live. I remember Law also grew up at that island as well when we were in our early teens. I've heard about his recent activities at Dressorosa and I was happy to hear that he and Luffy are getting along. I really didn't want Law to kill him, knowing that he easily could do so.
We arrived on an island and our log pose will take a month to record the island we were on. Before we allowed the children to explore, we explored it briefly to make sure no one will turn us in. Luckily, a friendly fishing village lived here. Ushio, Eddie, and Rouge got along well with the village children, easily making several new friends. I was relieved to see that everyone in the village seemed to love all three of them. None of them even dreamt of turning them in.
Soon though, we had to leave. I had to pry Eddie and Rouge away from their new friends. It was probably the hardest good bye we've ever had but the marines had caught wind of us and the month was up. The next island was full of crooks so I had to keep my guard up. There had been several times when I had to hurt someone. Never sneak up on a protective mom. I even had to kill a few people that wouldn't leave us alone. If I have to kill for my children, so be it.
The next island was pretty much empty except for other creatures. The children loved to explore this one. Finally, we were able to head off to the North Blue. We arrived at the island to be greeted by an old friend of mine: Trafalgar Law's old guardian, Halcyon.
"Hey kids." She said with a smile.
Jeriko gave her a hug. I wasn't surprised to see that they were happy to see each other. Jeriko practically lived with her and Law while we were over here. This island was actually one of the islands no marine will set foot on. It's riddled with a lot of anarchists, who won't hesitate to sink a marine ship. Even a fleet of ships wouldn't come near here. Finally, we were safe... for now. Now all I need to worry about are dangerous pirates looking for money... and this island gets a lot of them.
Safe for now... I think I'll go into the story of Captain Jeriko Jenkins, The White Squall. She could use a bit of a back story. Her and Law's bond is a key component to this storyline.
