Chapter Two:

Failed Attempts:

*Two weeks before Ace's execution*

Dadan fate on Garp faded away after the first week passed with no news whatsoever, she knew pretty well the old man and his sense of 'justice'. Afterward she tried many times to set sail to impel down but failed due to her gang or Makino stopping her, sometimes she could mange sailing about one meter from chore nevertheless her boats –which were stolen- end up drowning. All her life crouched in mountains now wanted to SAIL, she was aware of the fact that she was like a snake who wanted to fly which was impossible unless between the claws of an eagle but she never gave it up and with every day ended she felt herself even more restless.

Makino re-opened her bar for the bandits to set there and wait for any news, though nothing come of it more than troubles which Dadan started whenever she saw pirates,

"Are you going to Marineford?" she asked a pirate.

"Why would I? The road to the new world would be safer without that Yonko and the marines busy with…" He was proud to brag with what he thought a genius idea, but she was sick of hearing the same thing over and over again, she grabbed his collar and yelled "You coward…When the lions turn their back the rats like you show their asses"

"Boss…stops please" The bandits plea went into the dead's ears.

"Filthy woman what did you just said?" The pirate snapped willing to throw a fist.

In most of her fight she ended up with bruises and scratches, she was lucky to clash with chickens, 'lucky?' She smiled ironically wiping blood from her lips. 'Fool' the strong ones were heading in that second to Marineford and there was no way in hell they cross their island, it wasn't even in their path even so she continued her unreasonable fights. Neither Makino nor the town's people could stop her, not today or tomorrow. Something indeed had crushed inside of her, she needed to move her fist and swing her axe, she needed to convince herself that she was TRYING her best or that thing will crush the whole her.

Dadan sat at the Party Bar again, Makino slide a cup of rum to her direction but she didn't make a move toward it as her mind was traveling to who know where.

"Dadan…" Makino murmured softly pulling her to reality, her eyes glowing with anxiety.

"Oh thanks…They swore to drive me nut isn't?" Dadan faked a tired smile to assure the woman in front of her but she failed miserably.

Makino was about to speak forward when a crew stepped in the bar, the bandit woman was about to ask their destination or rather pick another fight.

"Ha ha ha…The marines gonna do us a favor, choking that cocky brat." One of them spouted out loud as the others laughed.

She held her axe tight. Well, a fight come flying to her she had to accept it gladly, the next thing she know was charging in whosever badmouthed Ace. At the end of every fight Dadan was the one to get hurt the most since her fighting skills weren't much.

"Dadan, you should stop…N-Nothing will be solved like that" Makino said while bandaging her arm, they almost killed her if it wasn't for the villagers who chased them away.

Even before Garp showed up with Ace in his arms she knew she wasn't cut out to be a mother since children are handful, nuisance, and a true headache. That what she used to think, instead she understood that she wasn't cut out to be one because she had nothing to offer her kids. But she still, even if in a tiny way, their mother.

"They're my kids." She mumbled with a weak and sad tone, stating to herself more than to Makino. The green-haired woman's eyes widened at the honest words then nodded her face in agreement "…Indeed."

*The Day Before Ace's Execution*

The risen sun illuminated the horizon chasing away the darkness of the night, and announcing a new day. Although 'New' was never the right word to described it since we woke up every morning with the same bed hair as always and the same problems laying there beside us not bothering with manners, just slapping us first thing after we opened our eyes. So it was just 'another' day.

The Life persuaded it motion as the bird sing, the river stream and the wind drift between the leaves of the trees. The time stops for anybody, let alone Dadan. She was tired, stressed, and inevitably broken since it was the day right after Ace's execution.

Her illogical essays stopped, she just sat at the kids hiding base in the tree, sinking in her memories.

In effect a certain event played itself in front of her.

That day she was hiding behind a tree, like a cat ready to leap on them –maybe a bear would be more suitable, anyway- She swore when she catch the brats she would definitely made them suffer for stealing her jar of sake.

"Ahh! You stole some of Dadan's booze" Luffy said with his eyes on the jar between Ace's hands.

'It isn't SOME, it is All I've got' Dadan prepared to jump on their heads; she was just waiting for the right moment to hook all the three at once.

"Did you know, guys?…If you exchange drinks then you can become brothers" Ace persuaded pouring Sake on three cups "When we become pirates we may not be able to end up in the same crew…but the brotherhood we share will never die"

She couldn't find the right words to describe their naive actions, binding their brotherhood with her stolen booze but she saw the zeal in their soul to do so 'I'll let it slip, just this time' she walked away but still heard their loud voices "STARTING TODAY…WE ARE BROTHERS"

A rustle knocked her out her lucid dream, Makino entered Dadan eyesight with a bottle in her hand which draw a weary smile in her lips.

"I figure you want some" Makino handed her booze which she accept gladly.

"I need it" Dadan corrected.

"Have faith…"

'An unbreakable bond huh?' "…Luffy would be in his way to save Ace, I know that much"

"…He's not weak," based on all the news she heard about Luffy, Makino was pretty sure he is definitely was not a weakling.

"Reckless" Dadan said instantly, she remembered the times he got almost slowed by crocodiles then added "…Beyond imagination."

"Whitebeard would be there as well." The old man was a living legendary, after Gold D. Roger he was the strongest in the previous generation and his presence intimidate the successive one. Whitebeard as the strongest man alive he was worth trust in saving Ace that was Makino thought. Nevertheless, Dadan ignored the statement or rather what she talked about explained her fear.

"I've never imagined I would feel the same as that time," Makino's eyes darted to the woman next her in curiosity after all she never talk about her past.

"We lost both parents in a fight between pirates and marines…I was the youngest and the only female out of my three siblings thus accustomed to do chores and take care of the house while my brothers work in a small field we had. They took good care of me…Bright days, huh?" She sipped from the booze bottle before continuing.

"Not until a certain king took over the island, he filched the fields of all the poor people, ours too, then used it for his own trade. We faced hunger and cold, still it wasn't that bad sleeping under the stars or eating others leftovers cause we were together and that what mattered…One day the revolution started even his army joined the civilians, he was cornered so he pay pirates to fight for him. Red was the only color you could see in streets, we hid inside a cave in the forest waiting for Marines to do something yet the whole damn thing was good for their benefaction."

Makino saw the bottle tremble in Dadan's hands, Was-she scared? Angry? Sad? She couldn't tell as the woman's eyes were like empty abyss reflected nothing but cold darkness.

"The war took days and we had to search for something to eat…Stupid human body and it needs…The day we left the cave we encountered a group of pirates, my brothers protected me with all they had or at least they tried, I screamed for the pirates to stop but they didn't…I begged them to spare my brothers lives…It was all in vain. When I saw a sword was going to thrust into one of my brothers my body moved on its own…Cold disappeared as the red clot was warm, and I realized I was somehow satisfied and no longer hungry, still I was so sad cause 'we no longer could be together' I closed my eyes so I could just go already…But I opened them again in the house of a mountain bandits, they said it was a miracle because I was the only one to survive."

She laughed out loud which made her tears even brighter, tears for some reason hung in the corner of her eyes and refused to roll down.

"It was a 'MIRACLE' can you believe it? The only survivor…I called it a curse since I was fated to stay alone, a curse because I had to live and let them go where I couldn't reach…A curse force me to wish I was long ago death before losing or even before I met them." She pointed to the wanted post of Ace and Luffy which she hung there.

"Dadan, they will make it out of it alive. They're Ace and Luffy after all, a second commander in Whitebeard crew and the other is a Captain…Nope they're more than that and we should trust they could make a 'Miracle'." Dadan blanked at the overwhelmed trust Makino has for Luffy and Ace, she also did the same. Nevertheless for Dadan it was so scary to hold tight, other than her axe which perceptible, in just feelings.