Sorry about the delay in posting this but here it is! I'm still working on the story I promise. I just have been busy with school since it's my senior year and stuff. Any I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.


A couple years passed after Ace became the 2nd Division Commander and things went back to their usual routine. Today, people seemed to notice Ace in a very giddy mood for some reason. No one knew why but it must've had to do with the newspaper he was carrying around. People had tried to ask the flame man but for some reason, Ace's narcolepsy kicked in and would stay asleep long enough for the asker to give up. It was only when Ace found the captain that everyone got their answer.

"Oi Pops check this out!"

He opened the paper and pulled out a bounty poster. Everyone who was nearby got a peek at the wanted man. It was a young looking kid with short black hair, a goofy smile, and a straw hat on his head. The kid's name was Monkey D. Luffy, nicknamed Strawhat Luffy otherwise, and held a bounty of 30 million beri.

"Huh, why are you showing me some cocky brat?"

"Pops look at this! This brat is my little brother."

"BROTHER?!"

Everyone was surprised to hear that the commander had a younger brother, but not quite surprised that Luffy's first bounty was so high. Ace started to ramble on about the time he spent with his little brother in the jungle training to be great pirates. This eventually had to stop when the lookouts spotted the ship of the pirates led by the Decalvan Brothers. Everyone went to prepare for the fight, leaving the topic of the 2nd Division Commander's brother for later.

Some days after, around dusk, some of the crew were hanging around on deck gathering around a certain Water Dragon Slayer reading the paper.

"Looks like Ace's bounty went up again. You're at about 550 million now!"

Melody held up the updated bounty poster with Ace on it clearly stating the new price for his head. The chatter seemed to stop when Thatch came over.

"Hey Ace, Melody, looks like I found something interesting today!"

The man with a pompadour-hairstyle held up a strange looking fruit that everyone nearby examined it. Its skin was a lavender color with spirals scattered about and a few green leaves sprouting out on the top.

"Huh, isn't that a Devil Fruit?"

"Yeah but I have no idea what kind it is though. No idea if I'll eat it up or not..."

Melody stood up and got a closer look at the magical fruit. With her dragon-nose she took a sniff and pulled back a second later.

"I'm not so sure about that fruit, Thatch. Something's not right with it."

Thatch say the girl's worried face and gave her a reassuring look.

"Don't worry, I'll keep it locked up in my room until I figure out what it is."

Everyone was warned of the upcoming storm later that night and most of the crew returned to their sleeping quarters. Nobody noticed, however, that when Teach had caught sight of the fruit his face of astonishment turned into ill intent.


That night as the storm raged on outside, a dark-blue-haired girl was standing on the upper deck, letting the rain hit her. Due to her magic, she enjoyed the falling moisture and would at time just relax and not have to worry over minor sickness. However, just as the thunder roared, she saw the shadow of a large figure heading to where the 4th Division slept. Then, when lightning hit, she saw who the figure was.

'What is Teach doing up in the middle of the storm... and heading to the 4th Division rooms?'

In the years she had been on the ship, she knew the large man as a veteran crewmember that loved cherry pies. He always said he had a certain ambition but no one could never get a straight answer of what that goal was.

Teach hadn't noticed her apparently as he looked side to side as if making sure he was in the clear. Melody saw the smile grow on his face and felt like it carried malevolence. Then she thought back to that afternoon and remembered the words Thatch said to her.

'I'll keep it locked up in my room until I figure out what it is.'

She wasn't sure what was going to happen but Melody wasn't going act oblivious to it even with a trusted member of the family. As quietly as she could, Melody followed Teach from the upper deck without being detected. She listened as Teach knocked on Thatch's door, hoping that nothing bad would happen as the door creaked open.


The 4th Division Commander was looking at the Devil Fruit he had obtained. It was sitting in an open chest, untouched since he found it. He wasn't sure what to do but what the Water-Dragonslayer said was making him have suspicions. Her sense of smell never failed them before so why would it now? Maybe he shouldn't eat the fruit but... what if it was going to be something amazing. His thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on door. Closing the chest on his way, Thatch opened the door to see a familiar 2nd Division crewmember.

"Teach? What are you doing up in the middle of the night? And in a storm?"

"Zehaha, I know it's sudden and all but there was something I wanted to talk to you about and I couldn't wait for tomorrow."

Thatch stepped out of the room in fascination as to what the 2nd Division member wanted from him.

"What's it about?"

"The Devil Fruit you found. I think I may have an idea of what it is: the Dark-Dark Fruit"

"Eh? How do you know this?"

"A long time ago, before I even joined the crew, I read about it. It's suppose to be a Logia-type fruit."

Thatch walked past Teach in thought, unaware that the large man was slowly removing a dagger that was hooked onto his deck.

"Whatever it is, maybe Melody was right... Just the name sounds off. Wait, you read about it years ago? Why would that fruit be on your mind for so lon-"

Before Thatch could even finish, he felt a sharp pain in the middle of his back. Thatch stepped away from Teach, only to be cut on the middle of his chest. He moved his left hand to his back and right to his center. Feeling something wet, the brunette lifted his hand up to reveal blood. He saw the wound in the front and luckily it wasn't too deep but his back wound was very close to the spine. Thatch then looked towards Teach, who held a devious smile and the bloody dagger. He walked into his room and carried the box containing the Devil Fruit.

"I've been on this ship just to increase my chances of finding this thing. The crew's policy of finders keepers in terms of Devil Fruit is going to get in my way, so I might as well get rid of the middle-man. No hard feelings, Thatch! Zehahahaha!"

His injuries prevented the brunette from dodging fast enough and Teach was coming at him with the dagger again. However, as lightning flashed once more on that stormy night, Thatch saw a shadow jump from the upper deck.

"TEACH!"

The voice screamed in near rage and the figure had latched onto Teach's back, causing the man to stumble and miss his mark. Thunder roared as the figure jumped off and kicked Teach away from Thatch. The 4th Division Commander didn't have to guess as to who the figure was since there seemed to only be one crewmember who enjoyed being in storms like this.

Lighting flashed as his suspicions were confirmed and saw Melody standing beside him. He could see her teeth bared and her pupils had retracted greatly with anger. Thatch winced from the pain of the stab wound but spoke.

"Melody g-"

"Get to the nurses before those wounds bleed out more. I'm not letting this asshole escape."

Thatch looked towards the young girl who's eyes never left the enemy in front of her. Teach, on the other hand, had regained his composure, placed the chest down, and was getting ready to take down the obstacles in the way of his goal. Thatch understood what was going to happen but verbally expressed his reaction.

"Oi! I can't let you fight him, Melody! Even without a Devil Fruit he has the means to be as strong as any of us commanders!"

"And if he eats the Dark-Dark Fruit what do you think will happen?!"

Thatch stayed silent as her expression of rage turned into a mix of worry and determination.

"... You're in no condition to fight, Thatch. That fruit is probably the only thing to get Teach to whatever he's aiming at. Get to the infirmary. I don't want anyone to get killed tonight because of some fucking fruit! I'll throw it overboard if I have to."

The brunette could tell that this girl was not going to back down. With his hand applying pressure to his wound, Thatch hurried to the nearest divisions. As he moved he looked back at Melody and saw a memory of a little girl who always kept a determined look on her face.

'Melody, you never give up do you? Don't get killed yourself or else I'll never hear the end of it.'

When Thatch was away from their vision, Teach chuckled at the girl before him.

"I forgot how you always liked the rain. Why don't you just go and enjoy it while I get off this ship."

"After what you did?! I'm not letting you get away with that Devil Fruit."

Teach grinned, showing his missing teeth, then looked at the chest containing the fruit.

"Oh this little thing. I've spent decades on this ship acting complacent to this life until I found the fruit. Everyone would always ask what my ambition was and you're going to see it soon enough when I'm off this ship."

"And I'm not going to let that happen. WATER DRIVE!"

Suddenly the raindrops pouring down seemed to glow blue and stop in midair. Those glowing drops of water then slowly gathered around Melody like a cloak. Melody engulfed her arm and showed her teeth as she ran towards the large man.

"You're a traitor to your family and you're going to get what you deserve! Water Dragon's Torrential Fist!"

Melody jumped and struck Teach in the face, the force of the punch pushed both of them back. Melody used the short distance the put her legs together and engulf them in water. When her body almost hit the deck, her hands stopped her and pushed them straight forwards and bucking her legs at Teach.

"Water Dragon's Piercing Bite!"

Her feet came in contact with Teach's gut but instead of being pushed back like Melody expected, he stood his ground. The 2nd Division member grinned as he grabbed the girl's legs and swung her around. After enough centripetal force was gained, he threw her towards the railing of the ship.

This left a huge splintering crater in the deck and crater, with Melody in the center. A small line of blood trailed down the side of her head but the blue-haired girl ignored it as she stood back up. Teach took action and charged towards Melody with the dagger at hand. Melody kept moving around to avoid the blade that still carried Thatch's blood on it. The Water Drive spell allowed her body to flow like water and gracefully dodge the attacks. She then started to retaliate with punches but they barely seemed to push the man back.

"Dammit. This is going nowhere!"

"They're over there!"

"What's Teach doing?"

Both pirates looked back to see some of the crew awake, but with no commanders, watching the scene. Melody yelled at them as her forearms became covered in water.

"Everyone stand back! Secret Dragon Slayer Art!"

Some of the crew recognized the attack and stepped back. Melody brought her arms forward and spun then in a clockwise circle. Teach could feel some unknown force pulling him towards the girl. When her arms had crossed over each other and a magic seal appeared, Melody took a stance and unwound her arms.

"Sapphire Lily: Whirlpool Vortex!"

As her arms moved counter-clockwise, the seal released a spinning whirlpool. The thing aimed for Teach like a drill and hit the man dead-on. Melody's arms were rid of the water and she took deep breathes as the spell took some energy out of her. She looked back to where she shot Teach when her eyes widened in shock.

"No... How is that- When did he even get that?!"

In the pathway of water puddles that showed the remains of her attack, laid the chest that contained the Dark-Dark Fruit, only that the chest was open and the fruit was gone. She looked at where Teach was now to see him eating what was left of the Devil Fruit.

"Zehahaha, do you want to know what this fruit can do? Darkness acts as gravity, taking away the light. This may be the first time using this power but I've already understood how it works after years of tremble in the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit"

From where Teach stood some black force was trailing along the deck. Much of the crew was in shock at Teach's new power and it grew even more when the dark matter had reached their feet. The pirates that were caught were starting to be sucked down into the darkness struggling to escape its grasp. Melody, being one of the victims of the pulling realized there was no escape so she kept calm and put her hands out and muttering under her breath.

Everyone unaffected by Teach's attack were calling out to their crewmates or looking at Teach with disgust. When the people that were caught in the darkness were fully submerged in it, the black material retracted back to the 2nd Division pirate who laughed.

"You bastard! What did you do to them? Bring them back!"

"Zehahaha, oh don't worry I will."

Teach lifted his arms up and grasped his hands. From his back the same black material floated up like smoke and in a matter seconds, all the crewmembers that were just sucked in were carelessly spat out. Once the last pirate, Melody, had crashed onto the floor everyone rushed to their comrades. Teach looked at some of the victims of his attack and grew confused.

"Eh... thought that would've done more damage on them."

Most of the crew was battered in bruises and cuts in such, but that seemed to be the most of it.

"It would've... if I hadn't blocked out most of the attack. Water Veil... unlock..."

Everyone then noticed that the people who were just freed from the attack glowed blue which then dissipated into the air. Teach just glared at the girl before he walked away towards the life boats. None of the crew made of a move to get him back as they were too worried about their injured friends. Teach made his way onto a lifeboat and it descended into the waters. The rain seemed to stop as Teach rowed away from the Moby Dick.


Thatch sitting on a bed, getting patched up by the nurses in the sick bay. Luckily his wounds had were not too life-threatening but were deep enough and close enough to the vitals that he'd be out of combat for a while. As the nurse was wrapping bandages around the wound, the infirmary door was slammed open by a panicking crewmember.

"We got injuries, bad! T-Teach did it!"

Thatch looked up in worry as the nurse who was tending to him stood up and ordered the men to place the injured on the beds. Soon pirates from the different divisions filed in with wounded on their shoulders or carrying their comrades. About ten men came in, then Thatch saw someone carry Melody on their back.

"God... What happened?"

Melody was placed on a bed next to Thatch. The 4th Division Commander had to wait for the nurses to finish cleaning and wrapping the cuts Melody received before he could speak to her. They didn't put as much as a the others since her magic gives her a slight healing factor. Once she was patched up, the blue-nette turned her head towards the 4th Division Commander with regret in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Teach got the fruit and jumped ship."

"Melody don't be sorry you did what you could. If you hadn't been here tonight, I may have been dead."

The girl brought her knees closer and grasped her head as she imagined the thought.

"Please don't say that. I was really scared when I saw Teach stab you. I thought you were going to die!"

Thatch could almost see the gloomy aura appearing around Melody as he felt guilty. She had seen the events before the betrayal occur and it would probably not a happy sight to see your family getting stabbed by another one. Without reopening his wound, Thatch leaned over and placed his hand on the girl's head.

"Sorry about that but don't worry I'm alive now."

The tender little moment was then interrupted when the commanders had rushed in a state of panic. They looked at the 4th Division Commander and the water mage in shock.

"Teach did that to you guys?!"

Both injured pirates nodded in response. The commanders that had entered soon changed their faces from shock to anger. Melody knew what they were thinking and spoke up.

"Whatever you guys do, don't go after him!"

Everyone looked at the girl as she continued on.

"Teach just ate the fruit and what he's already capable of is all around you. Actually, they probably would've been in even worse states if I hadn't used my magic in the last second."

Even with Melody's statement, they had the thoughts of going after Teach and making him pay. That was until they heard the gruff voice of a familiar father-figure.

"Don't go after Teach, my children. I'm making an exception, just this once..."

The commanders looked at Whitebeard who had entered the infirmary. They wanted to argue with their captain's decision but complied, except for one flame-man.

"I'm not letting Teach get away for this!"

Ace was marching out the door in fury. Any able-bodied person in the infirmary quickly acted and stopped Ace from heading out the door.

"Stop it Ace! Just calm down!"

"You heard Pops, he made an exception! You don't have to chase after Teach!"

"Let me go!"

Ace broke the crowd for a second, the expression of anger still on his face as he looked to the others denying him.

"He was part of my division! If I ignore this then what happened to Thatch, Melody, and the others won't be resolved!"

Melody sat from her bed and wanted to stop Ace right then and there but her magic energy was at low levels and the nurses would berate her for using it. She watched as everyone stopped to look at Whitebeard, who had looked down and closed his eyes with a sigh.

"Ace... It's fine just this once. I don't have a good feeling about this."

The 2nd Division Commander didn't allow himself to take in the old captain's response and stepped out of the crowd.

"He hurt multiple crewmembers and escaped! He lived under your protection for years, and he just spat it right on your face!"

Whitebeard as everyone else looked at Ace in distress, as he slowly walked away and placed his hat on his head.

"And above all else, he tarnished his father's name. You think I'm just going to ignore that?! I'm settling this!"

Ace picked up his bag that he placed on the ground earlier and ran over the edge of the deck. Once he set himself on the railing, he jumped off. Marco had hurried to the railing to watch Ace jump onto his personal ship, the Striker.

"Hey wait-yoi! Get back here Ace!"

The freckled man ignored them as he set his feet ablaze where it went into the engine of the boat. The flames activated the engine and the paddlewheels of the boat, and then the 2nd Division Commander sailed away, after the traitor of the Whitebeard Pirates. The pleas of his crewmates were muffled out by the sound of the engine.


So Thatch didn't die! But Ace is still going on his Blackbeard hunt. Anyway I feel like the next couple chapters will be a bit slow but I hope you enjoyed this chapter.