WhiteyWolf26: Thanks for another review! Geez, you're putting out better ideas for the SH's meeting than I wrote! I should say that they do end up meeting two separate times, under very different circumstances ;)


Now, the story picks up. Not much fluff anytime soon! Shorter chapter, though. Enjoy~


Update: adding the next chapter on to this one since it's way too short.


Even though Ivy couldn't fly yet, she was strong enough to help deal with marine ships. She had mastered her dragon abilities over the four months. She practiced every day with Ace, even though she was fine and had even figured out some tactics by herself.

The first time a marine ship played chicken with them, Whitebeard had tested Ace and Ivy's teamwork because it was invaluable to the crew. Ace had only agreed because Ivy was giving him a hurt and angry look when he wanted to refuse letting Ivy go. She was still small even though she was almost one and now the size of a small dog. Still, she wasn't as big as her mother had been.

But he was convinced by her to let her come, and she hung off of Ace's back as he leapt over the side of the ship and onto the other. The marines clearly thought it was easy picking, but they barely got any look at the dragon before Ace shouted, "Flash!" and the marines started screaming in fear of their loss of sight.

Everyone on the Moby looking over had sunglasses. Once it was revealed that she could blind someone, everyone had bought sunglasses for emergencies or situations like this one.

Ace burned the ship down while Ivy blinded the others. She was shot at once, but turned up the heat around her so hot it melted before impact, with the heat spreading so it gruesomely melted the skin off the marines before they turned to ash.

Ivy let the ship on fire with Ace, only her flames didn't dissipate once they destroyed whatever they had burned to nothing. The blue and white fire grew and spread quickly, taking over the inside of the vessel, exploding windows out with the intense heat that no one besides Ace and Marco could survive.

It was over quickly and Ace and his dragon easily jumped over the side and to the Moby Dick as they watched the ship quickly disintegrate. Those who hadnt burned already were on fire. It wasn't a nice sight, but they had asked for it by attacking the Whitebeards. What idiots.

Everyone watched, fascinated, when the flames floated on the water, slowly moving with the current away from their ship. Ace looked down at Ivy, who was looking at him in question. She didn't know if he approved or thought it was impressive. But he did, and crouched down and rubbed under her chin.

"That's my good girl," he said softly. Ivy jumped up and stood up to her back feet, reaching up like a child would to be held. So he did and hugged her tight. The others all looked at the adorable scene, and Ace saw them. He didn't blush, because he wasn't embarrassed about his affection for the dragon he was still raising anymore.

"Want some more practice today?" Ace asked as he brought Ivy to the kitchen for some treats. They were moderating her intake since they didn't want her to gain any extra weight, though she was like Ace and could eat as much as she wanted and not gain weight.

They had found out she was stealing food during the night. A cat flap was made in Ace's door, though she mostly stayed with Ace. Since she had small opposable thumbs with her other little toes on her front feet, she had been pulling open the fridge and climbing up to get meat.

She had been forced to eat vegetables as a punishment. It was a very useful one, which was also funny.

Ivy nodded at Ace's words. "Marco, we're gonna practice some more!" the young man called as he walked to the upper deck. Marco followed them and transformed into his phoenyx state. Ivy had been trying to learn to fly for over a month. It was the hardest thing for her to learn yet, and they wondered how she would have learned if she was still in the wild.

Marco was there to catch her if she blew away from sudden strong winds or fell. Both had happened. The first time she'd spread her wings completely, they were surprised by the wingspan. It was at least six feet from end to end. Before that, no one had really realized how long they were since she'd always had then pressed to herself.

Ivy spread her long, black and thick-feathered wings, and jumped up as high as she could. The wind caught her in one wing more than the other and she was thrown off balance, spinning backwards while screeching until Marco caught her. That was what happened almost every time.

The dragon ran forward to try again. And again, and again. Marco and Ace were very patient with her since she truly tried her best every day, and it was essential for her to learn. "Wanna try with the rope?" Ace asked as she sat down, gloomy that every try was a fail. She nodded, but didn't like the rope. It was like cheating.

She dropped down onto the lower deck, gracefully landing, and walked to the mast. There was a rope that wrapped around it, and when Ivy's body was tied to one end, she was lifted up to try and glide the wind while also not having the risk of being blown away. Even with this, she performed poorly.

She spent a few hours trying, before she had Ace lower her back down and untie her. She laid down and put her feet over her eyes in shame. Why couldn't she learn? Ace looked at her sadly. He stroked her back, and gently played with the thick feathers on her furled wings. "You'll learn, Ivy. We know it. It just takes you awhile. You learned other things very quickly, just because this isn't doesn't mean you should feel ashamed or lose hope."

Ivy didn't feel reassured. "C'mon. I'll go massage your wings," he said and lifted her up. Her wings got sore sometimes after being hit by a strong wind on one wing and not the other. He took her to the library, where it was always quiet, and laid her down on his legs while he sat on the couch. He gently rubbed the skin over the bones, and straightened the feathers that had moved out of place.

She always purred from this, and it helped lift her mood. Ace knew she would learn. She clearly didn't think so, but Ace thought she improved every day. Just a tiny bit. A second longer of not being blown away. A second earlier getting up and trying again. She'd get it. The dragon just needed time and help, which was what she was getting.

Marco had told her when she first failed, that it took him years to perfect his flight of his devil fruit, which reassured but also worried her. It was normal for her to not learn to fly quickly? But she didn't want to have to wait years to be able to do it. Flying looked like so much fun, and she could catch the birds that fly above the ship often.

-x-

Thatch walked onto the ship with his division members hauling the massive stock of food up the ramp and to the storage room. Ivy pitter-pattered over to him, asking for a treat. Thatch looked around before he opened a little box from a restaurant. A glazed takoyaki ball descreetly went from his hand to her mouth. She chirped in thanks and then ran to behind the nearest mast and quickly ate it. Thatch chuckled at it and continued walking with the food carts.

After the food was all properly stored in either the kitchen or storage room on the side, he went out on deck to show everyone what he'd found on an apple tree on his way to the market. Most of the crew was gathered out on deck, taking advantage of the nice weather with the breeze.

The dragon reached Thatch first, smelling something strange. She jumped onto the man's shoulder and looked at the dark purple thing. She only jumped up onto Thatch's shoulder. She didn't even do that with Ace, which had surprised everyone. She had come to like Thatch and not just because he fed her yummy food. He would play with her when Ace wasn't around for the short whiles.

And she also played pranks on Ace. But not mean ones, definitely not ones that would upset him. She would never do that.

"It's called a devil fruit," he said to the dragon perfectly balanced on his shoulder. "You eat it and it gives you powers." She let out a puff of smoke. "Yeah, like your dragon powers. Ace and Marco have devil fruits. That's how Ace uses fire and Marco can fly." Ivy made a cooing sound of interest. She looked at his face curiously. "I don't know if I'll eat it, but I'm gonna show everyone."

Ivy jumped off of his shoulder and followed behind him to Ace, who was playing cards with his old first mate, Izo, and Haruta. The dragon pat Ace's arm and looked to Thatch, and his eyes followed. "Hey, Thatch, you got a devil fruit!" Ace called before Thatch could say anything to anyone. He grinned.

"Yep!" Everyone crowded around him, looking at the fruit while Ace held Ivy in his arms so she could see and not get stepped on by someone.

"You gonna eat it?" Izo asked curiously. Thatch shrugged and said he didn't know yet. Pirates then cheerily guessed about what it might be. They came up with the stupidest powers they could think of, with Marco confirming some of the useless fruits.

Ivy felt something bad from outside of the crowd, but saw nothing bad. It was just Teach. She went back to listening to everyone talk and laugh enthusiastically.

-x-

Ivy wandered around, trying to find Thatch for some treats, but she couldn't smell him anywhere. But there was some weird, bad odor from the back of the deck. She ran over to it to see what it was, only to freeze in horror as she watched Teach holding a bloody knife, with Thatch laying on the deck, gasping.

The dragon saw red as she suddenly flew to Teach to burn him to ashes, already flashing. But he was gone in a black cloud, and she couldn't even smell him anymore. She let out a loud, blood curdling shriek that got the attention of everyone on the ship. It was as loud as that mama dragon's roar had been all those months ago.

Ace came first, and stared in horror at Thatch's still body for a second before running to him and picking him up, sprinting with him to the infirmary. He was losing a lot of blood, and the infirmary was far. He set him down and did the only thing he could think of. He burned the wound closed, getting a pained scream from the cook.

"I'm sorry!" Ace called as he sprinted with Thatch in his arms, Ivy sprinting after him, able to almost keep up. Ace kicked the infirmary door open and laid him on the bed on his stomach, shouting for the doctor on duty to come. She shouted in the pipes that lead to pops, Marco's and the other nurse's rooms.

Even by himself, the doctor treated Thatch, immediately getting him a blood transfusion, and cleaning the messy burn. He told Ace it was quick thinking and might have saved him, but he had lost a lot of blood.

Ivy had jumped on one of the beds next to Thatch's to watch in worry. Her eyes were watery, and she was scared and furious. Teach tried to kill him! And Ivy hadnt gotten there quick enough. Ace turned away from his bloody friend and grabbed Ivy, holding her tightly against him. He knew Ivy might have saved Thatch by getting someone's attention.

Marco ran into the room, followed by the captain. "What the hell happened?! Thatch!" Marco shouted, only to be shushed angrily by nurse Layla, who was the head nurse who was helping with Thatch.

"Ace brought him in, ask him," the first nurse, Tami, said. Marco and Whitebeard looked to him, but he shrugged and looked to Ivy.

"Did you see what happened?" Ace asked quickly, getting a nod from the dragon. "God, I wish you could speak," Ace muttered. Then he began questioning her. "Did he get stabbed?" Ivy nodded. "Did you see who?" Steam came from her nose in fury. They all took that as a yes. "Someone betrayed us?" Ace asked in a horrified whisper. One of his brothers betrayed them and tried to kill Thatch.

And whoever it was possibly did. Whitebeard spoke next. "Get every single person on this crew out on deck. Now," he told Ace and Marco. Whoever it had been had to still be on the ship. "Get everyone!" Tami asked him to be quiet, and the man complied. No one messed with the nurses.

Ivy chased after Ace and Marco, pushing open the swinging door as she passed Whitebeard, who looked at her in thanks and sadness. What did she see?

"EVERYONE, GET ON DECK!" Ace and Marco boomed, getting some other commanders to do it, too. They had no time to explain why, but the other commanders trusted the two and rounded up pirates as well.

By the time everyone was on deck, the commanders knew no one else with inside due to their haki, Whitebeard had stormed out. "Ivy, who was it?" he demanded. She looked at each and every crew member, but she already knew Teach was gone. He'd disappeared, but how would she let the others know?

She looked up and shook her head. "They're not here?" She shook her head again. "Who is missing?!" Whitebeard boomed. The commanders counted each of their members. Someone in Ace's division was missing.

The second division commander looked at the face of each member, and noticed who was missing immediately. "Pops, Teach is gone. Ivy, was it him? Did he stab Thatch?" Ivy nodded. The other pirates started freaking out, asking for information of what happened.

Ivy screeched and ran towards the crime scene, followed by Ace, with Whitebeard chasing as well. He hadnt run in a long time, but he was still quick, his footsteps very loud. When they all arrived, they saw the devil fruit laying on the ground, a bite taken out of it. Ivy ran to it and touched it with her foot.

"Find out what fruit this is," Whitebeard said to Marco, who had a book of devil fruits that Thatch had borrowed. Did he know what the fruit was? The phoenyx disappeared into the ship to find it. "Ivy, thank you," Whitebeard said sincerely. Ivy nodded her head with a chirp.

Ace crouched in front of the dragon and hugged her, tenderly, not the tight hug he'd given to her in the infirmary not long ago. "You might have saved his life, Ivy," Ace whispered. He knew Ivy was saying "of course" when she licked his cheek. Neither focused on the fact that the dragon had flown, even if it was a short distance. "I'm gonna kill him. I won't let him get away with this," Ace growled, not talking to Ivy anymore though they were still hugging.

-x-

"It's called the Darkness Darkness fruit. And it's alarmingly overpowered," Marco said to the commanders, all situated in the infirmary, keeping Thatch with them even if he couldn't talk or hear them. He was stable, but only because he was on life support. Ivy was sitting at his feet, listening to everyone talk. "It controls darkness, able suck in things, defy gravity.. It negates devil fruit powers, as well. It also creates some sort of alternate dimension. He most likely created a portal to there and that's where he went. Right?" the first mate asked Ivy, who nodded.

There was silence for a few moments, before Ace said, "I'm gonna find him, and kill him. He was in my division, so it falls onto me to punish him. Mutiny, betrayal, and trying to murder a member of the crew are the worst crimes that can be committed on a ship. Pops, let me go."

The captain stared at him for a moment. "You'll go even if I tell you not to, won't you?" he asked seriously. Ace nodded, keeping eye contact with his father. The captain sighed. He, too, wanted revenge and justice on Teach for what he'd done. And Ace was a capable pirate.

"Alright."

-x-

Ivy laid on the deck, angry and moping. Ace had just left, without her. If she could fly, she could have gone with him! Now he was off by himself, not knowing where Teach was or what he was planning.

She was not happy with Ace when he told her she wasn't going with him. She was so angry that she blew fire at him, though of course it didn't hurt him. He had sighed. "I love you, and I wont put you in danger from me going off on a long and probably hard journey. I promise I'll call every day to report, and talk to you, okay? I'll be okay," he had promised.

Ivy had cried a little bit as he lowered his Striker down into the water. She wished she could have told him to be careful as she watched him speed away off into the distance. Thatch wasn't here for her, and Ace was gone. She felt lonely, and mostly laid by herself on the deck, away from everyone.

She only made contact with others at evening when she knew Ace would call. He had told her about how he'd seen his brother and his crew. He told her about the amazing winter island with giant bunnies on it. About the weather, and how easily he'd defeated the enemy pirates in
Paradise. He had also reported in from fishman island, where he'd gotten his Striker coated. He told her about the island made of bubbles, and all of these stories just made her wish she had gone with him.

It was lonely at night in Ace's room, so she had been allowed to stay in Marco's room at night, just so she didn't feel all alone while going to bed. Her treats didn't taste as good without Ace or Thatch giving them to her.

When she did eat treats, they were not made right. Too sweet or not enough. Only Thatch could make them perfectly, and he was still unconscious in a hospital bed. She visited him every day, wanting him to wake up and comfort her about her worry and loneliness.

And then, a little over a month, Ace stopped calling. And he didn't answer when the crew called him. After that, Ivy wasn't doing well. She was so stressed all the time that her tail feathers were falling out.

Marco did his best to assure her that everything was alright, just that Ace dropped the transponder snail in the ocean after falling asleep. He did his best to distract her by telling her stories about the things the crew had done together before Ivy came.

But all stories have to end.

Then the nightmare started. She brought the newspaper to Marco at the dinner table before she reluctantly ate her food after the News Coo dropped it off. Of course Ivy couldn't read, so she didn't know the title of the main article on the front cover. But she did feel the fear suddenly gripping Marco.

When he ran from the room, Ivy followed behind. They were heading towards the captain's room. It was early morning and he hadnt woken up yet. Sleep was hard, with one son in a coma and another missing, he slept in if it meant getting any sleep at all.

Ivy growled when the door was shut in her face. She scratched at it, but no one let her in. And she couldn't reach the handle or open it with such a heavy door. So she listened as best as she could.

"Pops, we- we have a problem."

"What is it?"

"It's Ace. Look at the paper."

Whitebeard gasped. "He's going to be executed?" he asked in horror.

"We have to go save him. He's no doubt being help in Impel Down. Two weeks from now."

Ivy was already running down the halls before the captain told Marco to not let her find out.

-x-

Ivy stood at the end of the ship, on the railing. She had always been able to tell where Ace was on the ship. It wasn't that she smelled him, or heard him. She just could always tell where he was. And she knew which direction he was. All she had to do was get there.

Looking down at the waves below her, she spread her wings as wide as possible. It was now or never. She jumped.

-x-

"Ivy! Where are you?!" Marco called, not finding her anywhere on the ship. She was gone. She had heard through the door. Damn her intelligence! Why did she understand them so well? Ace was going to kill them once they saved him.

Marco didn't know if the dragon had been able to fly away, or had fallen into the water trying. Either way, Marco knew she was gone already. She wouldn't even know which way to go! She should have stayed and they could find Ace together!

Marco kicked the wall in frustration, leaving a hole. But no one came since they were all panicking about the announcement of Ace's public execution at Marineford in two weeks. He didn't know if they even had time to get there.


I hope Teach dies a horribly painful and humiliating death in the cannon since I'm getting riled up about it again after watching Shanks talk to WB about him. DIE TEACH. FOR FOREVER. Review!