Aragorn was a tall young man with red hair and Makino's gentle smile. Ace beamed as they were introduced; the redhead shot him a dubious look. "Mum, are you sure this's a good idea?"

"Ara.. I've seen how you look at the sea. It's your father's blood; you won't be happy staying here your whole life."

"But what about you? And the bar?"

"I'll manage." Makino laughed and reached up to pat her son's head. "I looked after that bar alone most of my life, doing it some more won't hurt me. At least if you're with Ace I know you're in good hands."

The redhead frowned. "Mum, he's seventeen. I'm nine and a half years older than he is!"

Ace frowned right back. "My dad's the pirate king and his oldest crew member is seventy one years older than he is. Age doesn't mean shit."

That earned a look of shock from Aragorn. "You're Straw Hat's son? Really? Does... does that mean you've met Red-Hair too?"

"Of course!" Ace laughed. "Uncle Shanks would visit for a party at least once a month; used to tell me all kinds of stories about when Dad was little."

Aragorn gripped the hilt of the sabre hanging at his waist. "I- I'd like to meet him. I have something I need to ask Red-Hair, but he hasn't visited in years. I only ever saw him once."

"Well then, I'll make sure we track him down as fast as possible. Shouldn't be too hard." Ace held out a hand. "Of course, we'll need a ship and a crew first. Uncle Shanks spends most of his time in the New World, so my little skiff won't cut it. What do you say?"

"I say you've got yourself a first mate, Captain." Aragorn smirked and grabbed Ace's hand with his own larger, calloused one. "Where do we start?"

xXx

To be fair, Ace hadn't meant to run the skiff aground on a rocky atoll in the middle of nowhere. It was just, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to shake whatever it was that kept getting him lost. North always seemed to be left of where he thought it was; sometimes he could've sworn the sun was rising in the south-west. It was incredibly frustrating that that was what he got from Zoro. Ace would've preferred the green hair or the perpetually grumpy eyebrows to his marimo dad's nonsense of direction.

The only reason he'd actually been able to make it to Foosha in the first place was that Nami knew how to compensate. She'd somehow figured out what set of wrong instructions would get a wandering marimo where they needed to go.

Aragorn glared at him. "So Captain, care to explain? Because this rock wasn't here when I was steering less than twenty minutes ago!"

"Heh..." Ace rubbed the back of his head. "Um, it's a family thing. My sense of direction is bad- like, really bad. Pa can get lost so badly he defies reality; I don't think I've done that yet, but Uncle Sanji says it's only a matter of time."

The redhead groaned. "Once we find our way off this rock and get a navigator, I'm never letting you steer again."

"Agreed."

Luckily they had a few supplies. It was two days before they saw a boat on the horizon. Ace immediately jumped to his feet and started shouting, waving his arms and bellowing like the D he was. Aragorn winced and covered his ears. The loud monkey dance worked though; the boat turned in their direction after a couple of minutes.

It turned out to be a dory barely larger than Ace's skiff. Two boys were sailing it, both about the same age as the young captain. Both wore long blue jackets and red bandannas that made them look like gangsters; they also both had short, dark hair. The boy steering the dory carried two swords, while the other had several guns of assorted sizes. The gun wielder dropped a messy sheaf of papers as they came up beside the rock.

"Holy crap Davy! That's 'Lost Boy' Ace, son of the pirate king!"

"Really? All the way out here in the East Blue?" The second boy grabbed one of the papers- bounty posters- to confirm. "Wow, you're right Indy. Who'd have thought? A supernova in the weakest of the seas. This could be our big chance!"

The swordsman- Davy- drew his blades and charged Ace. Steel met steel as the young captain whipped out his pipe. Ace growled. "Seriously? Bounty hunters? Someone up there hates me!"

A bullet whizzed by his head, nearly hitting Aragorn. This made Ace livid. He swiftly gave the pair of bounty hunters a royal beating for attacking his crew mate. Kneeling bloody on the beach, they looked at each other as they raised their arms to protect their heads.

"Wait... Davy, didn't Pops say he and Uncle Yosaku worked with the pirate king once?"

"Yeah. They helped him save Aunt Nojiko's village from Arlong."

"Then should we really be going after his son? He doesn't sound like a bad guy."

"But think of all the money we'd get! A supernova, Indy, a supernova. We'd be set for a year at least."

Ace waved his pipe threateningly. "What the Hell are you idiots talking about?"

The two bounty hunters smiled and threw an arm over each others' shoulders. "We're Indy and Davy, sons of Johnny the Hopeless Bounty Hunter! Sorry we came after you; we forgot that Pops is friends with your dad."

"Huh?" Ace stared at the pair, confused by their change of attitude. They really shouldn't be trying to make a life at sea wit such poor information and weak resolve. "Wait, the Johnny and Yosaku who led Dad to the Baratie?"

"Yep!"

"Really... Huh. Either of you a navigator?"

"Davy is," Indy offered. "We knew we at least needed to know that much. He does navigation, I do the rigging. We've gotten by alright that way. Why?"

Ace smirked. "As an apology for attacking us, how about you get Aragorn and me to the nearest port?"

"Of course Ace-aniki!"

None of the four could quite explain what happened after that. They got to the port with no problem; after that, things got weird. Ace and Aragorn were both broke, so they pulled a dine and dash before stealing a small clipper. Only, somehow Indy and Davy ended up helping them fight off angry townsfolk as they were disembarking and ended up on board. Ace raised an eyebrow at the pair.

"So, what was that all about? I could've driven them off myself."

"We're not sure either," Indy said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I think they thought we were with you."

"Well, you are now. They'll tell the marines, so I doubt bounty hunting will be all that easy now. Idiots."

Davy shrugged. "It could be worse."

Sighing, Ace ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I suppose it could. Welcome to the Spade Pirates. At least we have a navigator now."

Aragorn nodded. "And the first rule on this crew is this: never let the captain steer. Just trust me on this."

"Of course Aragorn-aniki!"

xXx

They stopped to resupply in Cocoyashi Village. Nojiko met them at the docks; her immediate reaction upon seeing Indy and Davy was to hit them over their heads with a broom. "You boys! What were you thinking! Getting involved with pirates and stealing a clipper? You're lucky there's no marine base here!"

"It could be worse!" Indy protested, rubbing his head. "It's just Ace-aniki; he's a good pirate at least."

Nojiko looked at Ace and Aragorn. "Oh. Monkey D Ace, right? That's okay then. I guess if my nephews are gonna be pirates, I'd prefer it was with you."

"Pirates?!" a voice shrieked from the tangerine trees. "Are they like Aunt Nami?!" A girl with bright purple hair tore out of the trees, racing excitedly to Nojiko's side. The woman laughed and ruffled the girl's hair.

"Yes, they're like Aunt Nami. That one there is the son of your aunt's captain."

The girl looked at Ace skeptically. "You sure Ma? He looks a little young to be a pirate."

Ace huffed. "I'm the same age Dad was when he started. Monkey D Ace, future king of the pirates- as soon as I can beat Dad anyway." Which could take years given how strong Luffy had gotten. As a brother Ace was incredibly proud; as a son he had a lot to live up to.

"Yuki, daughter of Nojiko and Yosaku." The little girl had quite the grip. Although Ace supposed she wasn't that little- probably a year or two younger than him. "I want to be a pirate like Aunt Nami, but Ma says it's too dangerous."

"It can be," Ace agreed with a chuckle. "But it's worth it. As long as you're free and have your nakama by you're side, there's nothing better in the world."

Nojiko groaned. "Don't encourage her. It's bad enough she convinced Genzo to teach her archery and knife work... I won't have my little girl running out to sea." The lilac-haired woman quickly composed herself. "As for you four, Genzo and I already have supplies ready. Luffy called and told us to expect you."

"Of course he did." Ace smiled and sent Aragorn, Indy, and Davy ahead to start bringing stuff to the ship while he looked to Yuki. He lowered his voice as far as he could so Nojiko wouldn't overhear. "I'm not encouraging you to become a pirate, but if you happen to stow away on the Rebellion, I won't bring you back to your mom."

Yuki grinned and nodded. "I can cook," she offered before leaving, most probably to pack herself a sea bag. Ace smirked.

"Excellent."

xXx

They raised their flag for the first time as they left Cocoyashi- a grinning skull with a spade behind it, wearing Ace's hat. The little captain was proud, though he couldn't help feeling that there was something missing. His last flag had shown the flames of his Devil Fruit; he needed something like that on this one. Oh well, maybe he would find an acceptable substitute for the Mera-Mera no Mi somewhere on his journey.

Not long after Yuki deemed it safe to come out of hiding, Indy called out that he saw a wreck off to port. The Spades approached, wondering who'd been wrecked. What they did would depend on who was there: if it was a marine ship or other pirates they would probably leave it, but they were willing to rescue civilians.

It was none of those. The remains of a huge ship floated in the water, a tattered World Government flag clearly visible. Several Tenryuubito and servants clung to scraps of wood, though the nobles made sure they had those that were larger and looked to float longer. Several obnoxious voices began shouting as the Spades approached.

"You! Pirates! I demand you save me!"

"No, save me!"

"If you save me first I'll reward you handsomely in Mariejois!"

Ace glared down at the bubble-headed prats. His eyes softened when he saw a couple of slave children clinging to a slowly sinking piece of mast. "Indy! Throw a rope to those two kids! If any of the nobles tries to climb aboard, shoot them."

"What?! You can't do that!"

"We're gods! How dare you save those commoner beasts before us?!"

"Shut up." Ace released a tiny touch of Haoshoku Haki. "You clearly don't know who you're dealing with here. My name's Monkey D Ace and even if I didn't have my own reasons to see you drown, Grandpa would never forgive me if I helped Tenryuubito."

Mentioning Dragon was exactly the motivation the nobles needed to be quiet. None of them made a move as the Spades brought the two slave children aboard and turned to sail away. Ace was tempted to have Indy shoot the pompous rats anyway, but he restrained himself. The gunner was low on ammo; it wouldn't do to waste any on slime that would drown soon enough.

The young captain quickly broke the collars and shackles off the children and threw the offending things away before they could explode. He smiled and ruffled their hair- or rather, the girl's hair and the fish-boy's floppy fin things. "It's okay, you're safe now. Can you tell me your names?"

"Mera." Well, it certainly went with her flaming hair.

"Comoro." Ace wondered what kind of fishman Comoro was. Something ancient it looked like; maybe a coelacanth. The young captain smiled at the children.

"Well Mera, Comoro, we're heading for Loguetown right now. I know you have reasons not to trust the marines, but there's an admiral there who will hide you from the Tenryuubito if we ask him. Smokey may have a thing for coming after me and my dad, but he'd never let anyone hurt a kid."

The children nodded. Then Mera hesitantly tugged the hem of Ace's shorts. "Um... Ace-nii? Do you have a flute I can play? It's just, Comoro'n me are really scared right now and music always seems to calm him down..."

Ace patted her head, inwardly glowing at being called brother. It had been so long... He turned and shouted at his crew mates. "Oi! We have a flute or something anywhere?"

He was answered by one being tossed at his head by Yuki. "Here. Ma packed it in your provisions by accident."

It was a hand-carved wooden thing, probably not tuned well. Still, from the way Mera held it, you'd think the little flute had been made of solid gold by an angel. She immediately started to play a familiar tune that soon had the whole crew singing along. Comoro didn't join in, but a smile slowly formed on his face as he bounced gently from side to side.

"Making a delivery, bringing it across the sea

Bink's sake in the hold as we sail through the breeze

Far across the eye can see, the sun is shining merrily

As the birds fly in the sky as they sing out with glee..."

...Maybe the kids would be safer with him? Ace was torn on the subject. He knew that most pirate ships weren't the sort of place you wanted to keep children, but surely it was better than risking them being recaptured by the Tenryuubito. After all, if anyone knew about child-proofing a ship, it was Ace. He'd started sailing with Luffy at seven in this life after all; Mera and Comoro looked about that age. It should be alright.

He really wanted to be called big brother again.

xXx

Ace met the man he wanted for his crew's doctor in the Gold Roger Bar. The young captain was doing his best to avoid being noticed by Smoker while his crew mates stocked up- he was the only one with a price on his head, despite the report that had gone out when Indy and Davy joined.

His first instinct had been to order rum. A pirate bar wasn't the sort of place that usually cared about age, after all. Before he could though, a large hand slid a glass of milk in front of him. "That'll do more for you than alcohol will kid. You look like you're about due for a growth spurt, so you need all the help you can get."

About to argue, Ace turned to the stranger beside him only to have any words die in his throat. The man looked like a blond Zoro, although with a more jovial face. His profession was obvious from the white coat he wore- his Devil Fruit was also obvious, though in that case it was the fluffy ears and tail. Noticing the direction of Ace, gaze, the doctor laughed.

"Inu-Inu no Mi: Model Corgi. Not a horribly useful fruit, but it helps when dealing with kids. They always want to pet the puppy. Name's Tabbart."

"Ace." The young captain downed his milk, never one to waste food of any sort. "If you don't mind me asking, what's a doctor doing in a lace like this? Usually people like you go to the bars uptown."

Tabbart laughed. "Indeed! But most doctors don't have their ex-wife searching for them all over this damn rock. Divorced three years and she's still after my money; can't seem to get it through her head that I don't have much."

That was all it took for Ace to have the man pegged. Doctors were always in high demand; a doctor without money was either a pirate or treated people even if they couldn't afford it. Like Sanji with people who needed food. Since he was willing to buy milk for a kid he hadn't really met, Ace would bet anything Tabbart was the second kind. But maybe he could be converted...

"Ever tried going to another island to escape her?" the pirate asked, ordering three meals from the barkeeper. Tabbart snorted.

"Three times. I'd have to go to the Grand Line to lose the woman! She's that persistent."

Ace grinned. "Well, my crew's headed for the Grand Line as soon as we're stocked up. If you want to try..."

"Mahahaha!" Tabbart's laugh shook the bar. He slapped Ace heavily on the back. "I might just take you up on that. You're one of those adventurer pirates, right? The ones who're made of nothing but well-meaning trouble magnets? Your crew could probably use a doctor."

Thinking back to the day before, Ace nodded his agreement. Davy was a great navigator and a decent swordsman, but as soon as his hands were anywhere but the wheel or the hilts of his blades, he turned into the biggest klutz imaginable. Ace did not want to know how Davy had managed to burn his forehead by raising the anchor. "Yeah, I'd like to have one before we get to the Grand Line, otherwise we might lose my navigator."

"Is he sick?"

"No. Just clumsy."

Ace wolfed down his food when it arrived, Tabbart eating more sedately beside him. The young captain found himself telling the doctor about the Straw Hat pirates and his goal of out-doing Luffy. It seemed the right course of action- by the time they were both done, Tabbart was ready to at least give the Spades a try. The pair wandered over to the room the doctor was renting to gather his things and take them back to the Rebellion.

Smoker found them just as the crew regrouped. He chased them all the way to their ship, ranting about the difficulties their family made for hardworking admirals. The Spades escaped in a way that must have seemed awfully familiar to the smoke man- just as he was about to grab Ace, a hand shot out of an alley. A cloaked man appeared between the admiral and his prey, stalling Smoker long enough for the Spades to get away.

Ace grinned over his shoulder. "Thanks Gramps!"

Smoker growled. "Dragon! Why do you keep doing this? You're interfering with my job."

"And you keep interfering with my family, so I'm afraid we're at an impasse."

xXx

One thing Ace had been afraid of when he started his second journey was that he would have to wait for Water 7 to get a decent shipwright. He'd been resigned to losing the Rebellion the way Luffy had lost the Going Merry, although hopefully without having to fight his gunner. It would've been a pity too; the clipper was faster than anything Ace had sailed bar his old Striker. It really was a wonderful little ship. Took Reverse Mountain like a champ.

At least they didn't hit Laboon coming down. Frequent visits from Brook had calmed the whale down, so he no longer blocked the way and bashed his head into the mountain. Instead a happy song greeted Ace as the Spades sailed up alongside Laboon's massive bulk. The young captain smiled and reached out to stroke the whale's head.

"I know, I know, I missed you too. But I've got my own journey down the Grand Line to see through. I'll come back and see you later, 'kay?"

"Bwaoh!"

They anchored that night at the lighthouse. Old Crocus was there as always; he had a letter from Luffy for Ace. Mostly it was a reminder not to pick the Whiskey Peak field so they wouldn't have the same adventures. Ace snorted at that. As if he would want to be anywhere near that route; he'd been back along it plenty of times when the Straw Hats went to visit Alabasta.

There was a young woman staying at the lighthouse at the same time. She looked vaguely familiar, but Ace paid her no mind. At least not until she randomly shrieked and hit him over the head with a belaying pin. "There you are! Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?!"

"Ow! What was that for?" Ace froze. "Wait... I know you from somewhere..."

"Of course you do!" The blonde woman hit him with the belaying pin again. "We met when your father came to Water 7 to party with Galley-La, remember? Or did you get Straw Hat's brains along with Pirate Hunter's nonsense of direction?"

"Ouch! Quit that!"

All the Spades were staring as their captain cringed away from the crazy woman. Mera and Comoro hid behind Tabbart. It was Aragorn who eventually worked up the courage to speak. "Um, Captain, how do you know her exactly?"

"Ah!" Ace dodged a rope that whipped out at his ankle. "This is Calenthe. Her father Paulie is the vice-president of Galley-La, a shipbuilding company in Water 7. I have no idea what she's doing here though."

Calenthe snorted. "Daddy and Uncle Iceberg got a call from Cyborg asking them to send a shipwright to meet you. Apparently the pervert doesn't trust you to know how to look after a boat. So, what've you got? Have you wrecked it yet?"

Ace reluctantly showed Calenthe the Rebellion, which ended with her moving into the girls' cabin with Yuki and Mera. Before that, though, the shipwright gushed over the little clipper. She ran her hands over the rails and the figurehead, praising the ship and telling it how fast and beautiful it was and how sorry she was for leaving it in the hands of these men for so long. "If I'd known Lost Boy had a beauty like you I would've come faster, sweet thing. But don't worry, I'm here now. I promise I'll take good care of you."

Indy and Davy looked at Ace. "Is she always like this?"

"Yep. You shoulda seen her when Uncle Franky showed her the Sunny for the first time. It looked like she wanted to marry it."

Aragorn shot a dubious look at the shipwright, who was currently in the water examining and stroking the Rebellion's hull. "Don't give her ideas, or she might try it with this one."

A/N: And so we have the story of how reincarnated Ace assembles his new Spade Pirates. And yes, Aragorn got his name as a roundabout Lord of the Rings joke. See, in LotR Aragorn, or Strider, is also called Longshanks by someone at some point. So, bad Shanks joke. *dies of embarrassment*