So after looking over the reviews, I realized that a lot of you don't read Resolve. Well, I knew that already... But why?! This is actually just a side-story to Resolve. You can consider it a prequel, really. If you read it you would have known that Law and Marco were Yonkos. I saw surprised when you guys commented about that since I thought most of you, or at least a good number of you, would read the main story. To be honest, I put a lot more effort into that one than I do this. A LOT more. Why is this one popular?!
Also, here's the longest chapter in the story thus far! By like 20 words, but whatever. I actually had most of it written out last night and it was longer than this but my computer crashed T^T I'm VERY bitter about that. I wanted to be working on the bonus chapter for Resolve but here I was rewriting this! Ugh! Well, enjoy...
Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece. You know the drill.
Darkness began to fade into morn on the sweet horizon, bright colours dancing on the edge of the sea. By then even the night watch had drifted into sleep, leaving solitude on the main deck. Luffy found himself at Whitebeard's door. The old man asked earlier in the night to have a talk with him but he'd only just then been able to get away from his brother. As much as he enjoyed being with Ace again he couldn't help but think that the man was trying to make him reveal more information about the future. His brother spent the entire night asking questions about what would happen to his crew and how he would die and it took everything Luffy had not to slip up. Sure he told him some things voluntarily but he resigned himself not to give anything more away.
There was a nagging voice in the back of his head, sounding much like Robin, which told him that altering the future would be a horrible, horrible mistake. If it weren't for that he would have told Ace about his death a thousand times over in the hopes that he could change it. But that voice was right—messing with time, nigh impossible as it was, could end up leading to a worse outcome than he remembered. More people could die. He didn't want anyone else's blood on his hands.
He knocked hesitantly on the Yonko's door. Within moments he was ushered inside. The giant man sat at an equally large desk, filing through papers that most likely detailed the statuses of the crews he was allied with, as well as the locations of his many divisions. There was huge bottle of grog placed next to his free hand, containing enough alcohol to drown the Straw Hat captain.
Newgate studied him from the corner of his eye before he turned to fully face the Pirate King. There was a barely visible smirk under his mustache.
"You're late, brat," he declared, his heavy voice carrying proudly through the room.
"Shishishi, sorry about that!" Luffy bounced over to the bed and made himself comfortable, sitting on the mattress. "I just got away from Ace."
"Gurarara," the man laughed.
Luffy took a minute to study the Yonko. Having only seen him once before he didn't remember much about him. So that was the strongest man in the world at the time, huh? He wondered how he'd fair against him in a fight but quickly brushed that thought aside in favour of more pressing matters. "So what did you want did you wanna see me for?"
"It's about our talk a few days ago."
Luffy visibly winced at that. He knew what it was about. That first day after he was brought to the past he was a nervous wreck. He'd hid his frantic worrying behind a calm, cheerful smile so that no one noticed but after a while he needed someone to confide in and that person was Whitebeard. He told him everything—Teach, Thatch, Ace's determination for revenge, the battle at Marineford and all of the deaths throughout, up until the bitter end. There was something about the old man that was calming and he was easy to talk do, despite his intimidating stature. The words just flew off his tongue naturally. Now, though, he was beginning to regret that talk.
He eyed the giant bottle of alcohol on Newgate's desk. "C-can I have some of that?" He felt he'd need it to get through the rest of the night. As though he'd anticipated the question, the Yonko grabbed a mug from behind him and poured some of the liquid into it before handing it off to the Pirate King. They both took large swigs before continuing. "What do you wanna know?"
"When will Thatch be attacked?" the old man asked bluntly, refusing to say 'killed' as it would mean he was resigned to his son's fate.
"Hmm…not sure." The Pirate King found himself wishing that the Marco from his time was there; he was around for that incident and would be far more useful to the Yonko than Luffy could ever be. After all, he didn't really ask about the events leading up to the war, seeing how they were such a sensitive topic for the Whitebeard pirates of his time. "It wasn't long after Ace became 2nd division commander—I know that."
"So the boy accepts?"
"Yep!"
Newgate's smirk grew. He had a feeling Ace would assume the role but hearing that it was a certainty pleased him greatly. Something was causing him to hesitate, he knew, and so he had his doubts that he would agree to taking over that position. Maybe whatever it was that stopped him would be revealed in time. Still, he would have to make his decision soon which meant that it wouldn't be long before Teach made his move.
"Hey, giant ossan," Luffy began, scratching his head. He saw the old man acknowledge him and wondered how to word his question. He didn't want to come off wrong, especially if the man's strength lived up to the rumors. "Why did you stop me?"
"When you attacked Teach?"
"Yeah. We wouldn't have to worry if the bastard was dead." He took another sip of rum and downed a good third of the mug. He listened to the Yonko back then but wasn't sure if he regretted it or not. He was conflicted; one side of him wanted to keep everything the same for fear of bringing about a worse future and the other wanted to change it to save the many lives lost. Which was right? It was rare for him to hesitate like he did.
"He's yet to do anything wrong, my boy."
"But he will."
"And when he does we'll be prepared," he assured him, using one of his giant finger's to ruffle his head comfortingly. Though the Pirate King was twenty-seven, he was nothing more than another child of the sea to Newgate. That night, when Luffy opened up to him, the two gained a strong bond through their desire to protect Teach's future victims. He wasn't sure if the boy felt the same, but he'd begun to treat him as one of his sons just like he did with the members of his crew and all of his allied forces. He still thought of him as a cocky brat, though.
Luffy sighed. "I hope so. I really don't want to relive that." He stared back at his reflection in his beverage, silently playing the battles of Impel Down and Marineford over and over in his head. He'd done that a lot over the last decade—going over those events, thinking of all possible 'what if' situations. What if he went to find Ace when he first noticed his vivre card burning? What if he arrived at Impel Down sooner? What if he didn't get hit by that poison? What if he found Ace's cell just a little bit earlier? What if he was stronger? What if he hadn't stopped when Akainu attacked? What if…
"Anything else, ossan?"
"How long after does Ace get imprisoned?"
"About a year… I think."
"I see. Is there anything else I should know?"
"Well…" There was one thing he neglected to mention during his ramblings that night. "When you died he…took your ability."
Silence. After a minute or so Newgate let out a hearty laugh and slapped him on the back. "I appreciate the warning, brat."
"Shishishi no problem, ossan!"
They continued with idle chat for half an hour before Luffy decided to take his leave. When he opened the door he caught his brother mid-knock. The two blinked at each other awkwardly before Luffy moved aside and let him in. He waved a casual goodbye and pondered staying before he inevitably proceeded onto the deck. He had a feeling he knew why Ace was there and didn't want to negatively affect his talk with his captain.
Ace watched the closed door for a second before he turned back to Whitebeard. "Why was he here?" he asked, staring curiously at the Yonko.
"Nothing for you to worry about, son," he assured with a fatherly smile, eliciting a similar one on Fire Fist's face. "What is it?"
"Oh, well…" he fumbled with his words, wondering how to phrase his next sentence. It was evidence in his aversion to eye-contact that he was nervous—worried, even. "I need to talk to you about something. It's, uh, kind of important."
"Go on."
"Umm…" Now that he'd finally mustered up the courage to face the old man, he was starting to second guess himself. He wanted to back out and forget he even brought it up and the fact that he was being so tactless wasn't helping with his unease. It was rare for him to act as aversive as he was and he knew his captain could see right through him. "Oyaji, I'm actually…"
"Spit it out, boy," he commanded, though his voice no more demanding than it usually was. If he didn't encourage him to speak they would be there all night.
"I'm the son of Gol D. Roger." After those words left his mouth, Ace found himself shutting his eyes tightly in anticipation of the verbal bashing he was sure would follow. Oyaji would be pissed and would kick him off the Moby Dick. He'd hate him—he was so sure, yet all that followed was amused laughter.
His eyes shot open and he looked to his captain with confusion.
"Is that so? What a surprise! You don't really act like Roger, though…"
"Weren't you two enemies? Aren't you gonna throw me out?"
"When you said you had something important to talk about, I thought it would be bigger than this."
"Eh?"
"It doesn't matter who your parents were; everyone is a child of the sea. Gurarara!"
As Whitebeard laughed, Ace couldn't help but smile. That was the first time since his journey began that he'd confided that information to anyone and the response was far more than he ever hoped. He was accepted. Despite his lineage, he was welcomed into the crew. And he could make his decision.
"Then… I suppose the offer for 2nd division commander is still open," he said, looking hopefully at the Yonko. He was ready to accept.
"Of course, Ace," Newgate replied, grinning at the most recent addition to his family.
After a few more words his son left and, though he was glad the boy accepted the offer, his concern was growing. If what Luffy said was true, it would only be a matter of time before Teach made his move. Everything would soon be set into motion.
A/N: So yeah. New chapter. And if anyone complains about length, I ask that you look at all the chapters before this because none of them have reached 2,000 words. This is a side story, always has been, and so I'm not bothering to do 2,000-4,000 word chapters like I do with my other stories. That aside, hopefully this wasn't too crappy. The first version was better but my computer had to be an asshat and delete it. And what I had done of the bonus which I was REALLY getting into! Damn you, computer!
Oh yeah and Resolve reached 300+ reviews ;_; I'm so happy!
To my lovelies~
Kitsune Foxfire: Glad you liked it, then!
MeikoKuran999: I'm happy you do! ^^ As stated at the top of this chapter, the Yonkos are the same as in Resolve since this is a side story :)
RoXaS707: Well sorry but it's not :/ It's centered around character development, Luffy coming to terms with his life and melancholic moments. Besides, do you know how hard it is trying to come up with a reasonable fight scene when the main character is the strongest person in the world?! T^T I've had issues with this and with Resolve because of that. Found a solution in the main story for later, but not in this one...
XxSaorixX: Well seeing that it's Luffy... Yes, yes he will :P Probably more than once. Glad you enjoyed!
Kiyoumi: Oh he'll blurt out a lot of stuff, but it'll be a bad thing hehe. Well at least he has SOME restraint :P
Natylol: I'm happy you liked it .
roy23: Look, every chapter is 1,000 or more. Not even one has reached 2,000. It's a side story to Resolve so please don't expect more. I don't care if you're not satisfied, it's my story and I'm not going to increase the length of the chapters for anyone else. I have three other stories that I've deemed more important than this one and keeping up with all of them is a daunting task. Plus I'm a full-time university student. And I'm looking for a job. And a new place. If you're not satisfied then write something yourself to keep busy or look for something else to read. Sorry if it sounds rude, but I've got too much going on to make this more than what it is: a side story. A prequel. And you're kind of demanding. This is also my last priority for updates. It won't be updated as often. It's my least favourite, not to mention the reviewers for my other stories are immensly kind and patient and usually inspire me to work on the other stories first. And you're like the 6th person I've said this to in the past 2-3 chapters but this is NOT an action story. Sure there will be fights, but it in no way centers around that.
Dev's Inferno: Thanks.
mks 12 98: That's the point :P Luffy's hiding that fact from Ace because explaining it would involve telling him what happened.
Son Goshen: Yep! Luckily their little talk convinced him and he moved on! But now he's pestering Luffy about the future =_=; There will be more brotherly moments, don't you worry! :D (So glad you didn't ask for action like everyone else...)
Cyborgnetics: Then thank you, glad you do! There will be two stories tonight too: this and Divide. And then I'll work on Reverse and the bonus chapter tomorrow aftter doing my homework! (Because I REALLY need to get that done...) Lol I've read her works and I agree completely,they're awesome XD
spoons-are-evil: Well new in this story at least XD But more awkward than nervous. Auto-correct can be a pain u_u Sorry about that typo... I'm going to go over all of my stories and correct the stupid typos over the break so please ignore them until then. And you're welcome~ I love getting reviews and can't help but respond XD
kuroivy: Lol my other stories are constantly updating so I guess you don't read those :P Well I'm sorry I'm not your one of your favourite authors =_=; Yep. Like I said, that was revealed in Resolve a LONG time ago. I'm assuming you don't read that story though XD It's short because all of the chapters are short. All of the chapters are short because this is a side story. Love you too!
Insane Blood Prince: You're welcome! Here's another!
Neko-VongolaPrimo: He didn't say which Admiral because he doesn't want Ace to know :P I'll warn you now that you are definitely not going to be satisfied with the ending :P
xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Yep, just like in Resolve! Glad you're excited!
samettikettu: Lol glad you did XD Yep, confusing an awkward. The next chapter will address that, actually :P
Vegetable of Darkness: I love your pen name :P And you'll see that soon! As you can see, that little incident will be happening in no time!
azab: Glad you do!
angelrider13: Lol yep, kinda! Well even if it doesn't count as bonding they'll bond in the next few chapters :D Because I am a sucker for brotherly love. Luffy's still undecided and Ace doesn't know enough about his death to change it, so you'll have to wait and see~
shadyboy: There will be fighting but this is NOT an ACTION fic. Otherwise one of the genres would be action. But its not. I focus my stories on character development and interaction so if you're dead set on fight scenes then it's probably best you look elsewhere.
99 Luffy: Glad you like them! Wish I liked this side story as much as you people seem to...
Diclonious57: That would ruin the plot :P
Sora Tsuiki: Well it's just a side story/prequel to A Pirate's Resolve so it's not meant to be long. All of my other stories are funner to write anyways :P Well I'm glad you do :D I have issues writing him in this story for some reason...
Shankie: Awe it's ok! Don't worry about it! ^^ I'm glad you do~ I'll tell you now that you will not be satisfied with the ending e_e;
AkaNeko-san: HA! My cookie! Too bad I can't eat sweets... Lol glad you liked that part XD That was my favourite part to write in that chapter. Well it's longer - the longest yet - but still under 2,000 words.
ASLfangirl: I'm happy you did ^^ Well it's been mentioned in Resolve but the actual scene hasn't happened yet. I'll tell you now that it will be quite differentthan this scene though. Hmm... You might cry. Depends on how sensitive you are. More than likely you'll just be pissed. Or irritated. Or both. You're the first person who said that and I love you for it ;_; Many reader complain about length, actually =_=; You're welcome~
StrawberryGirlKairi: Yay! Thank you :D
SioQu: Yep, just like in Resolve. They might. Luffy is still undecided so only I know muahaha!
Sealing Mistress: Thank you! You're so kind ;_; I'm so happy you like them!
alynawatlovers: That would have ruined the entire story :P You're welcome!
NeitherSaneNorInsane: Well then don't look at the side bar =_=; I reply to all of my reviewers and that's not going to change. Either deal with the long Author's Note or stop reading. Here's an update.
Galymad: Glad you do :D Most people don't like those aspects so I'm really happy you said you do! Lol yep! Marco doesn't really have ambitions like that it seems so it would likely be a fluke. He's very useful as a Yonko though muahaha. Here's an update~
(Well, for every 3 good reviews we had one where someone complained about something *sigh* See why I rarely update this story? T^T Ah well, I won't quit. Gotta troll you more, after all. Actually I don't really troll much with this :/ The other three I do... Oh well. So I'm going to update Divide now and reply to its reviews. Adieu~)
