Ace walked down the street searching for a place where he could grab a quick bite to eat. He slid the log pose on his wrist and stared at the needle sitting completely still in the middle of the orb. "The Grand Line's within reach now. Here I go Sabo, wish me luck. I had always hoped we'd both be searching for the One Piece" he jostled the sphere around on his wrist as he contemplated his future adventures in the Grand Line. With his number one priority completed he now had time to find himself a meal. The town may have been small but there was an ample amount of restaurants for the young pirate. He let his stomach guide him to the nearest eatery.

He promptly sat himself down on one of the wooden stools against the counter. "Can I get you something?" the lone cook asked him as he stirred some kind of spice into what Ace could only assume was a kind of soup .

"Ramen." The pirate ordered. Every time he would have the dish it would instantly bring him back to all the wonderful times he had spent with his two brothers throughout his peculiar upbringing.

As the chef began to cook his meal the smell immediately hit the young pirate. He could almost smell the same ramen cooking as he had so many years before. It was their best dine and dash scheme to date and he was convinced that it was the best ramen he had ever had. Possibly it had been sweetened by sensational saccharine taste of friendship; no matter the reason; it was well worth the four story drop to escape capture. The pirate would gladly do it again if he was given the chance. Accompanied with this happiness the reminiscent qualities of the scent also triggered the unpleasant memories associated with that land he had left not so long ago.

For the young captain the glimmers of sorrow served as a reminder to him off just how quickly time passes. It had been seven years since the life altering incident that claimed the life of his dear friend and brother, though everything seemed so recent, as if just yesterday the three of them had been together scrounging for menial funds from the lowest common denominator of society, saving for their pirate fund, causing mischief and getting into trouble, just as little boys should. This made the pirate wonder just how long it would be until he would see his brother again. This, along with the looming reminder that in just a mere three years his little brother would be setting off to sea in his footsteps to test his own strength on the Grand Line.

He feared for his little brother. It wasn't that he was weak, but he was by no means in any condition to be aiming for the goals he had set. But convincing the cheeky boy otherwise proved to be an impossible task. He wondered how the boy would manage without him there to help and protect him.

The cook placed the bowl of noodles in front of the pirate and turned to attend to the other customers in need of his service.

Ace instantly slurped down his meal and promptly left the stand. "Another successful meal" he snickered to himself as he hurried down the crowded avenue.

"Hey, you have to pay for those!" the disgruntled shouted but the pirate captain was already out of range of hearing him.

(~)~(~)~(~)Marine Base(~)~(~)~(~)

"Ace, I always told you to become a marine, why would you disobey me?" Vice Admiral Garp slammed his fist against the desk "family is family, but he's still a pirate and I'm a marine, there are no excuses. I raised him as best I could but the little brat wouldn't listen." He got to his feet and collected himself to address his men.

"What's the matter Vice Admiral Garp, sir?" A young ensign as he handed his superior his jacket and cap.

"Nothing special, Marciavin, just a disturbance of the peace. Tell the boys to get suited up, we're heading to Cloverpeak Island; we have pirates to apprehend."

"Who sir, the East Blue's been rather quiet lately, there are only a few prominent crews."

"The Spade Pirates,"

"The one with the captain worth twenty-five million beri?"

"That's right, we're stopping them before they can do any more harm." He averted his eyes and looked out the window, recounting his past. Where had he gone wrong? Why had none of the people he ever cared about listened to him?

"Vice Admiral, is something the matter?"

"No, now hurry up we have to catch these pirates, if we don't get their soon they'll be gone. They're captain may be hardheaded and unwilling to back down from a fight but they'll be gone before we can even get there if we continue at this pace."

"Aye-aye sir!" he eagerly left the room to deliver the boss' orders to the other marines.

(~)~(~)~(~)Cloverpeak Island(~)~(~)~(~)

Ace continued down the street, passing the various groups of mothers shopping with their children, young couples swooning over each other; completely oblivious to the rest of the world going on around them; and the village adolescents who congregated in mass herds on the street corners against the walls of the sturdy brick buildings that lined the west side of the street. The sound of the vendors selling their fares filled the air, mixing with the cheerful coos and of children galloping throughout the marketplace, on missions sent from their mothers to fetch the ingredients for that night's meal.

It was the kind of place that the pirate captain could never settle into. He was not accustomed to the typical family dynamics, and it was not something he'd ever be able to live in. Despite the liveliness of the marketplace the town was at peace. It seemed as though it hadn't saw any sort of action in years, and that fact alone made the people here happy. They thrived off of the serenity of their quaint little village.

The satisfied captain strolled down the cobblestone street past a weathered brick wall cluttered with town notices and flyers containing important information and local wanted posters. As he walked passed a particular poster caught his eyes "well, what do ya know?" the pirate smirked triumphantly at the crisp sheet of paper acknowledging him. "Wow, would you look at that, twenty-five million, just like they said!" He chuckled, admiring the impressive bounty on his head.

Twenty-five million was no mere child's play, that amount alone would attract the attention of both the marines and a plethora of local bounty hunters. For a first bounty the figure was even more outstanding, and a first bounty of that caliber in the East Blue was all the more obscure. For a mere seventeen year old to gain that kind of infamy in such a short time without the aid of a devil fruit was something even more remarkable, if not unbelievable.

The captain ripped the poster of the wall as a souvenir to show his crewmates, if he was getting this much attention from the Navy it wouldn't be long until they too were getting recognized. Ace chuckled and continued down the street, nothing could ruin this day for him, and he was convinced that by night he would be in the Grand Line.

The Spade Pirates hadn't been a crew for very long but had already worked up quite a reputation. They were known for their quick, blitzkrieg like attacks. Even though they had only been at sea for two months they were the talk of the entire East Blue. Any two-bit dreamer and their mother knew who they were.

Ace sat down on a bench near the common area for a rest. Not thirty seconds later the captain was out like a light

(~)~(~)~(~)Marine Base(~)~(~)~(~)

"Vice Admiral Garp wake up!" the ensign shouted attempting to wake the old man.

"Huh, what?" The elder marine asked with a confused look on his face "oh, I fell asleep again."

"Come on Vice Admiral Garp, sir, we need to catch the pirates!"

"Bwahahaha!" The navy hero laughed at his subordinate's puppy like eagerness. "You really wanna see some action don't you boy?"

"Yes sir, it'd been my dream to join the marines ever since I was young."

"Bwahahaha, you're still young, kid." The man chuckled as he patted the young marine's back.

"Vice Admiral, all the men are suited up and ready to go." Another one of his men reported saluting the veteran marine.

"Alright then, prepare the ship and set our course to Cloverpeak. When we get there are you ordered to find the pirates and circle the ship, but do not attack anyone. I have special business there." Garp turned from his subordinates and headed to his ship.

"Ace, why would you go down this path? You were supposed to become a strong naval officer. Why would you want to follow in your father's footsteps?" the marine was conflicted. He didn't want to have to fight his grandson, he wanted to keep the promise he had made to Roger to keep him safe but there was nothing he could do if the boy had chosen a life of crime over the virtuous one of a marine, or so he justified.

He boarded his vessel and waited for his men. He wouldn't let any of them, other than he himself, cause any harm to Ace. He could care less about the other rotten bastards serving on his ship. It was their fault that their grandfathers hadn't been there to steer them in the right direction.

"Should we set sail Vice Admiral?"

"Yes."

"Aye-aye."

The marine was in no way looking forward to this fight, as he usually was when it came to stopping pirates, and he feared that his men would be able to sense that. How much shame it would be if they found out he was related to pirates. It was bad enough that the Fleet Admiral already knew about his family.

(~)~(~)~(~)Cloverpeak(~)~(~)~(~)

The Spade Pirates were new to the scene, the talk of the entire town, but that didn't make them any big deal. In the grand scheme of things they were nothing more than local rookies. Thousands of pirates with that kind of reputation were annihilated daily on the Grand Line. It was truly the world's best ocean. Despite knowing this Ace would never be convinced otherwise. He was born a pirate, raised a pirate, and he already knew that he would die a pirate.


A/N: I sincerely apologize for my lack of writing, I had an insane week homework wise. it was the end of the quarter and I guess that means assign as much work as you possibly can. I will try not to ever have that length of time between my chapters again.

Next chapter will tell some of the past of the Spades and how they formed and stuff, he'll meet up with Garp with in the next few.

Nope, don't own One Piece, only my OC's.

if you have any suggestions feel free to leave them, OC's are both accepted and encouraged.

Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing!