Chapter Four - Escape
Emilia didn't like nightmares. They told her about her past, and every time she woke up from one, she never screamed or broke out in a sweat like everyone else. She woke up angry, and tired and ashamed of herself. Unlike other nightmares, hers spoke of her past, of the incidents that really occurred, incidents she could have stopped if she wanted to. It was her guilt that ate her from the inside and Emilia lived with it because it was her own selfish satisfaction that kept her going. She had to find someone. She had abandoned everything, even her humanity for that one thing. The girl noticed that the ship was quiet and she stepped out of her room to the deck. She wondered if anyone was on guard duty, but she didn't care. Her gold bracelet was with her and she wasn't going to run away.
Not yet, she thought and let out a breath which was followed by a tuft of smoke. The air was chilly and the strong winds did nothing to cause any sort of shiver in her body. Winds didn't affect her whether it was cool or warm. Her hand brushed her dark hair and she tried to remove every tangle in them, cussing when it seemed difficult to remove a few. She wore her strapless black tank top and brown shorts, she was barefooted and this attire would have caused anyone to think she would freeze, considering how cold the weather was. She walked to the front of the ship and admired the silence of the waters. It was something she always found solace in. Her face had a calm expression and she said nothing.
She could tell from her Eternal Pose that they were entering the magnetic field of a winter island, and judging by the change in weather, they weren't too far off either. She knew the island, it was where she had to go and begin her journey on her own. There was someone there she had to meet, someone who could lead her into finding whom she wanted to find. But that was for later. She had to leave the Spade Pirates because she found herself getting attached to the crew, she wasn't friendly with anyone openly, but Joel had tried befriending her and a few more days to that and Emilia would definitely fall into that trap. There was no way she found the captain friendly, but it was Joel with whom she had a heart-to-heart talk to. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to leave when the time was right.
"It's too cold out here, what're you doing?" A familiar voice said from above, and she only guessed that he was up in the Crow's Nest watching her. She didn't reply immediately but a while later she hummed and let it go. There was no point in talking to someone she didn't want to, and it wasn't as if Ace was anywhere close to being her friend. If there was one person she trusted least in the entire crew then it had to be Ace, and she trusted no one. Ace was a captain, a famous pirate, strong even. She knew he had enough strength to go against her in a fight and he was equally cunning, she hadn't witnessed it yet, but she could tell he had been through a lot before and that was how he was so strong now. "I didn't know you were a marine," He said, his voice now behind her. Not too close, for that she was thankful.
She turned around and gave him a look that said she didn't care. "You don't know me, Captain." She didn't call him 'captain' because she respected him. Even he knew that. "I'd prefer it if my crewmates are the only ones who call me Captain, Emilia the Sylph," He said, and Emilia groaned loudly. She raised her hands in the air and then brought them back down in defeat. She felt every need to punch the man's face at that moment, but she held herself back. "Don't call me that, and I'll call you whatever you want me to." Ace wasn't amused. "Anything but captain." Emilia rolled her eyes. "Portgas." Ace didn't say anything to that. "So, you've revealed to us that the marines are after you." Ace finally said, walking to the edge of the ship, and leaned against it. He was staring at Emilia now, who seemed to have found a comfortable spot by the mast.
"Does it bother you? I thought marines chased after pirates all the time," Emilia fought back with a grin which Ace returned. "Well, pirates need no back story, but you seem like you have one." Emilia watched the male carefully and then said, "Why does it matter to you what my story is? I told you it was a deal. You're doing this just for the money, Portgas. Not to become my friend in anyway." Ace nodded. "It's human nature to be curious." Emilia scoffed at Ace and turned her head away as she said, "And it's my nature to be secretive." Ace wouldn't admit it, but he sensed some sort of spunk in her that he appreciated in a way. But, since she was no friend, he acted like it annoyed him.
"What if I say that the deal's off?" Ace's words didn't shock her but made her laugh. She looked at the sky, the richness of the dark blue almost made her sigh with awe. There was the moon, but it wasn't full, and the whiteness of the moon reminded her of milk. The smirk on her lips was now replaced by a frown. The whiteness of the moon reminded her of something else as well. She turned back to Ace and said, "Do you think you can take me on, Portgas?" Ace let out a breath, which he did so because he wasn't engrossed with what she asked him and said, "Don't flatter yourself Emilia, you are no match for me." Emilia frowned.
She stood up and walked over to the male and placed her hand against his chest, which was bare at the moment, his yellow shirt had been discarded somewhere else and his orange hat was missing. With one push, Ace winced and his hand grabbed hers and the two fell off the ship, "You're a devil fruit user too-"Emilia chuckled and grabbed his wrist, and submerged his body neck-up in the ocean. Emilia stood beside him, on the water, and smirked at him, her hand firmly holding onto his. "If I let go, you die," She said and Ace didn't understand. He felt the strength in him fade little by little and he grumbled. "How the hell…are you…" He couldn't even complete what he wanted to say, but she knew what he was curious about.
"You think I'm standing on water," She said and it was then Ace saw where she was standing. There was a thin layer of air that was on top of the surface of the ocean and Ace was flabbergasted. "I can walk on air," She finished and Ace chuckled once and said, "Well, water is my weak point. And if I pull you down you drown with me," Emilia nodded and stood up, pulling the male up with her. She grabbed onto him and the two jumped back to the ship which hadn't moved too far ahead. "But, you wouldn't have done that," She told him, her back facing him and Ace didn't utter a word. She knew she was right. And so did he.
"I don't want to talk to you, Portgas. I don't want to talk to anybody. My story is my own, and if I didn't ask for yours, you don't ask for mine. It's fairly simple. I'm just a travel companion. You don't have to look out for me. And I won't look out for you. If it's that much of a matter of pride to you, then you can call of the deal and drop me off at the next island-""No, we came so far. I'm taking you to the New World." Emilia bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't want that. "Great," She muttered with no enthusiasm at all.
"How can you stand the cold?" he asked her next and Emilia turned to him and blinked. "I'm wind, man." Ace frowned. "Whatever," He said and jumped back to the Crow's Nest, pretending not to be amazed, and tried to get some sleep. Emilia walked back to her room again, and laid on her bed. She had another bracelet with her, the black stone bracelet which she didn't wear like one. She had it around her upper left arm, below her shoulder. It spoke of a story that was so tragic, that Emilia didn't realize she had tears in her eyes as she thought back to it. But before she went any further with her thoughts, she calmed herself and forced herself to go to sleep.
They reached the island the next day, around noon and Emilia was the first to hop off. Ace grumbled and ordered Joel to follow behind her and he did as he was told. Ace would follow right behind her, but something was wrong. Before Joel could even jump down, there was a loud explosion and the mast of the Spade Pirate ship fell. Emilia turned to them, from on top of the building and smirked. "Get them, men," she said and a group of marines rushed after the Spade Pirates, and it was at that moment Ace recognized that paper she was holding. He knew she held onto someone's wanted poster, but he didn't know who it was. It was his. "This was your plan!?" Ace screamed at her and Emilia shrugged as if she was innocent. "Don't think pirates are the only ones who can con," She said and waved at them, and jumped off.
Ace was infuriated. He had never been this angry before, and to think that he was outnumbered by the marines was preposterous. He knew he couldn't trust her, but even after all that, he ended up believing she wanted something that would cause her to stay with his crew. He believed she wasn't a spy, but she was probably the only spy who revealed that she was one and still didn't get caught. "Captain! She was a-""I know! Prepare for a fight." There were many things he didn't understand. If she was the Wind-Wind no Mi user, then how had she blown up the mast? Why did she target the Spade Pirates? Why had she lied so much when it wasn't even necessary? And why, this was what Ace hated the most, had she made her lies so believable?
It was almost as if, she tried to con Ace with the truth. There was no way she had no back story. And now, Ace was more determined to figure it out than before. And he would never forgive her, she had endangered his crew and exposed him. She had betrayed his trust, and broken the deal, something Ace wasn't too fond of. He was sure he would make her pay. And even if she was a woman, he just didn't care anymore.
His hands turned to fire and he burned everyone in sight. It was a dazzling sight for an onlooker who was not scared of battle. The Spade Pirates looked on to their Captain with a newfound admiration; it was a sight they surely couldn't miss. Ace jumped in the air, twisted and burned everyone in sight, sure not to kill them, but enough so that they wouldn't be able to follow him. He knew his bounty would only increase after this feat, but he didn't care. He sent a gush of fire straight against four marines with guns ready to fire, and they didn't know what hit them. The fire that came out of Ace's hands shone brightly with his orange hat, he was like fire personified. No one could defeat him.
After the battle which wasn't too easy, since by the end of it Ace was exhausted. "Captain, what now?" His crew mate asked him and Ace's anger hadn't left him. He was still burning and his ire shone with every pore on his body. His crew mate stepped back and Ace said, his voice dangerously low, "We find her," And they judged by his voice that Emilia, if found, would not leave again.
It was probably only Joel who had felt a little compassion for the girl. He felt betrayed as well, but he was the only one who believed she had no other choice. It didn't seem like she was lying to him they she desperately wanted to get away from the marines before. Even if it was an act, even if she did try and con the entire crew, Joel had the mindset that she had a reason to do it and once they figure out what the reason was, they'd know she wasn't at fault. It was the circumstance that drove her into doing something like that. And he knew one more thing which was vital. Her past was connected to her betrayal.
Emilia had to rush. The marines in the island had not yet heard of her betrayal to them, and this was what led her to force them into charging at the Spade Pirates. She had contacted them via a den den mushi back at the pirate ship and they had listened keenly. But, now they knew she was here and before they contacted the Marine headquarters, she had to make a run for it. She knew the marines that went after Ace wouldn't hold him back for long either, and when Ace was free she knew for sure he'd come after her. Her getaway had to be quick and she prayed and hoped that the pirate ship was here.
If her calculations were right, then it should be. The pirate captain she was thinking of was a fool who had once helped her get away from the marines when she had lied to him about a treasure she would lead him to. It wouldn't be too hard to con him once more, being so treasure loving as he was; the red-nosed pirate strove for only that. 'Where are you, Buggy?' She cursed as she ran to the other end of the island, her Eternal Pose leading her to him exactly. She had to admit, Buggy was an idiot but he did come in handy at times such as these. The last time she had met him was when he saved her from the Marines when she first escaped from them. She had lent him a Log Pose which she had hoaxed. Her Eternal Pose would lead to the location where that Log Pose was, and that was how she knew Buggy was in this island.
It wasn't her plan from the beginning. She didn't have Ace's poster at all, she had collected that in the previous island. The poster she had was of someone else, and since Ace knew she had a poster, and he did not know whose it was, she knew he believed she had plotted this all along. She had cast off an implosion on the Spade Pirate ship mast, and that alerted didn't matter to her; she had planned to con him anyway, so she felt no sense of regret in doing what she did. There was this little part of her that questioned whether what she was doing was really worth it. Whether what she was doing was going to get her what she really wanted. She ignored the part of her mind as casually as she could and began to look for Buggy's ship. He was her means of escape now, and she couldn't waste time thinking of Portgas.
She couldn't find Buggy's ship. She checked her Pose once more it pointed to the dock before her, but the ship wasn't there. 'What the hell?' She hated this. She turned around breathing a little quicker than before and licked her lips, trying to calm down. What if he had seen through her Pose and threw it to the ocean? That meant she couldn't get out of the island and her plan failed. Emilia couldn't afford that.
"Nice to see you again, Emilia the Sylph," A familiar lazy sounding voice said and she couldn't turn. If she moved, her legs which were now ice would break. "Kuzan…nice to see you," She muttered and he offered her a chuckle. "I'm not with the marines right now," He said to her and her eyes widened as she felt the warmth come back to her feet. "So I have no reason to attack you," He said and she turned to him and craned her neck to see his face. "Why are you here then?" She asked him and he scratched the back of his head and said, "I think I got lost," Emilia chuckled and said, "If you were in your right mind you'd capture me," Kuzan nodded and said, "I haven't been ordered to and I follow only orders," Emilia was thankful. "But, Emilia do know this…if I'm ordered to find you, I will kill you." Emilia nodded.
"Did you find the Buggy Pirates here?" Kuzan hummed and said, "I might have. But, they're clearly not here anymore," Emilia was red with anger. She didn't know why she asked what she did next, but she did. "Are you going to attack the Spade Pirates?" She asked next and he sighed. "No, I guess I won't." She didn't understand. What was he here for? She ignored all of her thoughts and rushed to the ship. Kuzan watched her, but said nothing. "Don't get killed, Emilia…" he said and walked away, wondering why he approached her while he was so comfortably sitting back at the bar.
Buggy was no fool. He knew just where to put his ship so that the marines don't find him. But, the minute he walked through town with his crew he saw a whole bunch of marines rushing toward the dock opposite to where he had docked his ship. He froze, but his crew as amazed. "Captain Buggy! You knew just where to land on the island to avoid the marines! They don't even see us!" he knew it wasn't that they didn't see the Buggy Pirates. It was because they had seen something much more significant that they didn't want to attach his crew. But, his crew needn't know that.
"See! I told you, who do you all think I am?! I am Buggy!" he laughed with fake confidence that his first mate saw through but said nothing against. "Captain Buggy, why are you still using the Log Pose that the girl gave you? She did con us," Buggy cussed at the recollection of the incident and checked the Log Pose once again. His first mate showed him the new Log Pose that they had acquired and he said, "Let's use the one we stole from the bar, Captain! Throw that damn girl's Log Pose into the ocean!"
That seems like an idea, Buggy thought and they boarded his ship. He was glad with the loot that he had at present and as soon as he boarded, he plopped the Log Pose into the ocean and screeched with happiness. "Let's set sail, boys!" A cheer followed and the Buggy Pirates set sail once more.
Ace was with Joel, and his crew had split up into two teams. The anger hadn't left, but as he kicked off an unconscious marine, he heard the den den mushi ring and he picked the call, but didn't speak anything. "This is Navy Headquarters! We heard that Emilia the Sylph has landed on the island is that true?!" Ace looked at Joel who in turn looked right back at him and Joel said, "Yes, she has." The den den mushi without suspicious spoke back, "Capture the traitor at all costs! She cannot leave the island! Once you capture her, prepare for execution! There is no need for permission!"
Ace was frozen stiff. "Can I ask why she has to be executed?" It seemed like the person at the other end was taken aback by the question but spoke anyway, "Did you forget she killed Vice Commander Bristoff before she left the marines!?"
This was enough for Ace to need a reason to look for her.
Author's Note: Woah. I took a long time to write this one, I had this whole scenerio planned out and it didn't turn out like I wanted it to however, I am happy I'm maintaining a shadow in Emilia's past. Huehue. This story might have like 40 chapters or something, and with the pace I'm going in it might take long, but worry not! I'll try and update just as quickly as possible. Sophomore year in college is a drag, I find no free time to do anything but assignments and presentations. Ugh. .
Ace is someone I can never forget. It's been over a year since I saw him die (I was well behind One Piece at the time), and every time I think about Ace my heart jumps. There's a possibility that I might look for Ace-like qualities in a man in the future, but you know what's happening to me these days? I've been wanting a bit of Sabo-like qualities in men too. UwU. I'm bad, I guess. Anyways, read and review my loves~! I always love reading what you think of my story!
