Garp found his opening; in a swift move, he grabbed the girl in his arm and walked off to Mt. Colubo.

Annagi struggled to break free. She had grabbed her voulge, but her arms were pinned down against Garp's body. After screaming to be let go did nothing, she decided to remain silent. Ace hadn't disappeared like he did the first time; he followed right behind her. There's something wrong with me. She knew he was a hallucination, and no matter how she willed him away, he didn't go.

"Not another one!" she heard the gruff voice of a woman as a door creaked open.

"No, more like a prisoner," Garp refuted her objection. He put her down, as someone brought rope to bind her hands and feet.

He threw her on the floor. Annagi could see the woman who spoke, as well as several other people in the room. She smiled to herself; it was Dadan. Ace had described her when he told her of his childhood.

Garp pulled down the scarf. The entire room gaped at her.

"Isn't she the one with Luffy?" Dadan asked the others.

A short man brought the newspaper, holding it up next to her. "Looks like it."

Annagi remained quiet, looking at Ace for some sort of signal as to if she was in danger or not. He sat down, so she could see him.

"Who are you? How did you get from Marineford to East Blue so quickly? Why are you dressed like Ace? What are you doing with Luffy?" Garp bombarded her with questions as the others noticed that she was indeed dressed like Ace.

"Speak up, brat!" Dadan would not tolerate anyone insulting the name of her foster son's memory.

"The whole story?" Annagi asked. She made up her mind to tell them.

Knowing that Garp didn't need to hear her say the words she said to him, she decided to tell them her story. Dadan would have heard it anyways. Ace protected Garp, meaning that she could trust him, despite resenting him.


There was commotion above on deck. The prisoners of the pirate ships cowered in fear. It had been weeks since they had been sold into slavery. The pirates were set to take them to auction. The deplorable conditions and the cruelty to the pirates drained all hope from them. As they heard groans and howls of pain, they could not help but imagine a crueler master as they would change hands to an even crueler crew.

The door to the brig opened unceremoniously. A young boy twirled the chain of keys around his fingers as he walked to the prison bars. Annagi was in a corner in the back. She couldn't quite make out what was happening.

"They were idiots," he commented casually as he unlocked the door. "How did you people end up getting captured by them?"

There was still silence. The prisoners knew not to judge books by their covers, especially when such a young man could dispatch a crew of fearsome slaver pirates.

"Suit yourselves," Ace started to walk by up the stairs to the deck. "I'll be commandeering this ship until we reach a port. You can do what you like when you get there. If you don't get in my way until then, you'll be fine."

Things finally seemed to reach some sort of normalcy aboard the now liberated slave ship. It had been two days since Ace had come aboard. The pirates were now locked in the brig. The prisoners had free rein, except for the occasional request from their young savior.

"Someone bring me some food!" The young man was at the helm.

Annagi sighed. The boy wanted food again. He had just eaten. It was all the prisoners could do to feed him. Fishing was a daily activity for the rescued group. The prisoners had decided it was Annagi's responsibility to bring him food; they were too intimidated. Since she was the only one who wasn't a part of the group that was sold to the pirates, she was a stranger to them, and it didn't help that she didn't really speak to them. Opening up to strangers was never her strong suit. Being brought up as a servant didn't help her overwhelming reticence.

She walked carefully with the platter of food and drink. Her fear dominated her annoyance at pulling the short end of the stick so to speak.

"Oh, thanks, um…what was your name again?" Ace asked her, munching on the freshly caught fish.

"Aruna D. Annagi." She mustered all her courage to speak to him.

"Thanks, Ann!" He sat down, drinking up the pirates' ale. "Could you take the wheel for a while?"

She crinkled her nose at the shortened form of her name. Annagi obliged, not wanting to know what the consequence of saying no was. There was a mental block on not saying no. Punishment always came from that word.

"So what's your story?" he asked, looking up at her. She was the only one that came near him. He knew that she was forced to.

Being at the ship's wheel was a freedom that she had never known. The salty wind blowing in her face, the feel of the wooden wheel under her fingers, the movement of ship as she moved it ever so slightly, those were things she found herself lost in. It was as if an entire world sprang up before her eyes. She was in control of something for once.

"Ann?"

"Oh!" Annagi snapped out of it. "I'm so sorry! What did you say?"

Ace chuckled. He watched her smile as she drifted from the reality she was in. He knew the freedom she felt. He felt it too when it took off from Dawn Island. The open sea and endless possibility, and the chance to become truly free pulled at him.

"I asked you for your story."

The girl frowned. It wasn't a story at all. It was the sad reality of her life. Nevertheless, she told him of her life of indentured servitude, the loss of her family, and her selling off to these pirates to the auction house for the World Nobles. She didn't know how she could speak so easily to him about the most painful memories in her heart.

Ace listened to her life with the most intent look on his face. She was also born into this world with no say. Hearing her story resonated with him.

"What about your story, Ace?"

"My story begins now."

Annagi stared at him in wonder. It was what she wanted, a new beginning. She had abandoned all hope when she set foot on this ship.

The days that followed deepened the conversation between the two. Though they came for different backgrounds, they felt a familiarity with the other. Annagi was able open up for the first time. She didn't know how much she wanted a companion to say the things she held in her heart until Ace offered to listen to her. To tell someone her story was cathartic; she felt a freedom that she had never dared to dream. Ace never spoke about his past, but of his aspirations, each day filling the slave girl's world with color and life.

"Land ho!" Ace proclaimed, motioning everyone to listen up. "We're about to dock on this island. I'll go my way and you go yours. Do whatever you want with your prisoners and the ship, but I'm taking their gold. You should be able to collect a bounty for these idiots though."

The freed slaves cheered. They had misjudged the man who saved them. Though he wasn't very endearing, even to the point of being abrasive, they were alive and could see a future.

Annagi frowned. The past few days had been a breath of fresh air. Being aboard a ship, sleeping under the stars, feeling the wind on her skin awakened her from all she had ever known. She found a kindred spirit in her savior. She didn't know what she would do. The others on board had made plans of returning to their homes. They were just stolen from their families, not sold off. Not having a home to return to ground her back to reality.

"Try not to get yourselves in this situation again." Ace got off the ship tethering his little boat onto the docks. He walked off, waving goodbye, though he didn't look back. "Other pirates aren't like me."

Annagi walked off the ship. She had never been by herself before in a strange place. Not knowing what to do, she started following Ace.

"Uh, Ann? Why are you following me?" Ace asked, a little annoyed.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I have nowhere else to go."

"Well, you're not coming with me." Ace sped up.

"Damn it, Ace! Wait for me!" She cried as the distance rose between them.

He broke into a run, all the while reminiscing about Luffy.

In the end, he did get away from Annagi. She walked into the town, unsure of what she should do. The world looked both new and frightening. She had no money, worldly knowledge, or idea of what she would do.

Annagi walked around the town, exploring freely while searching for Ace. She had never been able to do that as a servant. Her forays into town from the mansion were for errands that she could not have strayed from without punishment; she had seen the other maids beaten for stopping at a shop or buying a sweet that was not a part of their task.

She walked through the park, smelled the flowers, and sat on a bench watching the seagulls fly toward the sea. She wandered about until she found herself back at the docks. The ship was gone. There was a twinge of panic as she saw it a ways in the distance. The others had resupplied and left already. There was no going back for her. Frantically searching for Ace's boat, she sighed in relief as found it tied to a wooden mooring bollard on the wharf.

Annagi sat on the post watching the sun set. It seemed so sad.

"What have we here?" Annagi was too absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't see the gang of thugs approach her.

She remained silent and terrified, though she tried her best to maintain an outward picture of calm.

"Is the pretty little girlie babysitting this little boat?" A young man grabbed her, pulling her close to him.

"Stop!" She cried out, struggling to get out of his grip.

"What say we just take this boat and smash it to smithereens?" Another man brandished an axe, walking ever closer to Ace's boat.

"No!" Annagi screamed before biting her captor's arm, and escaping his clutches.

She didn't know what to do. All she thought of was protecting Ace's boat. He had so many things to do. Being the freest man on the seas, having adventures, making a name for himself, all of the things that made his eyes sparkle were tied to his boat. She couldn't let a few ruffians take it all away.

She saw a stick lying on the ground. Picking it up, she held it tightly as she rushed the men. She swung it, hitting one of them. A slew of curses were hurled at her, followed by swings of the groups' fists. The stick was wrenched away from her, and it became a tool that beat her mercilessly as she fell to the ground. There was nothing she could do; she laid on the ground, curled up as small as possible, her back taking the brunt of their assault. Hit after hit, pain shot through her body, tears overflowed onto the ground.

Suddenly, the beating stopped. Afraid to look up, Annagi heard screams and blows being exchanged. Arms reached for her, she cowered at the touch. She found herself being carried on the back of a silent Ace.

"What the hell were you thinking, you idiot?!" He broke the silence a few minutes into their walk.

"They were going to take your boat!" Annagi stuttered between sobs. "I couldn't let them. I wanted to protect your dream, your freedom…"

Ace didn't reply. It was still a stupid reason.

"Thanks for saving me. But, you can let me down now."

"Oh shut up, I'm taking you to a doctor." He exasperated, gripping her tightly.

"I'm fine!" She attempted to sound as lively and lighthearted as possible. Annagi had always taken care of herself. Rarely had the family she worked for taken her to see a doctor. "I've been beaten worse. It's nothing."

Annagi woke up the next day to see Ace sleeping on a couch next to the bed she was in. There was a man looking over her.

"Good morning, miss," he spoke quietly, hoping not to wake Ace. "There was no internal bleeding, just some bruising. You'll be sore for a couple days."

"Um, doctor, I don't have any money to pay you." She didn't want to be in debt. "I can work it off, doing whatever you need me to."

"It's already been taken care of. He also asked my nurse to buy you some clothes." The doctor pointed to several bags in the corner of the room. He gave her a bottle of painkillers and left the room.

Ace yawned, waking up. He stretched before getting up. "Good morning."

"You didn't have to do this."

"Do what?" Ace raised an eyebrow.

"Everything."

"It's repayment. For my boat." He walked out of the room, waving a casual goodbye.

Annagi wasn't going to let him get away again. It was the second time that he saved her life. He gave her more than her life; he gave her a future, filled with hope, possibilities, and freedom. She winced, getting up out of the bed as fast as she could. Grabbing the bags on the floor, she ran out of the building after him.

She caught up, walking beside him with a small smile as they headed to his small boat. "You could have waited for me, you know."

"I'm leaving, where do you think you're going?" Ace questioned, a puzzled look painted on his face.

"With you of course!" Annagi had made up her mind.

"I don't think so!" Ace retorted. He stopped at the wharf, untying the mooring lines from the bollard. "Why would you want to go with me?"

"Repayment," Annagi replied simply. Getting into the boat, she looked up at Ace with defiant eyes and the sweetest smile, as he looked at her dumbfounded.

He smirked at her, getting into the boat. He didn't think he would meet a person that he respected so quickly. Nor did he think he'd find a person that seemed so familiar; she reminded him of Luffy at the core. "Then both our stories start now. Don't regret it, girl."


The entire room was silent. They were enraptured in her story. Hours had passed. Garp listened, slack-jawed, as did Dadan. They could not believe their ears. Their Ace had always had adventures, but there was never any hint of what she told them.

"After I joined him, we founded the Spade Pirates. I was his second in command, until he left for the New World. Apparently I wasn't strong enough to fight the strongest man on the seas." Annagi summarized the story she just told them. She laughed at her last comment. "I could always see through his motives, I never wanted to be safe like he wanted me to be. All I wanted was to stand next to him like I used to. Now I'm standing alone, well, not completely." Annagi continued.

The room stared at her, puzzled. No one was with her.

"So that's why I'm here, Dadan." Annagi shattered the silence. "He was my idiot, but when he told me about you and how you all raised him, I knew he truly loved you, despite it all. I wanted you to know that. And I wanted a favor. I have no plans on dying like his mother, but I will need a little help now and then, taking care of our baby. I know that he'd like that as well."

Dadan's mouth opened wider than before. The mountain bandits were all flabbergasted. Garp was like a statue.

"B-b-baby?!" He managed to stutter out.

"I knew you were bringing another mouth to feed, Garp!" It was the only way Dadan could cope.

"I-if it's too much trouble, that's okay too!" She quickly stated, not wanting any problems.

"No trouble at all!" Mogra managed to say for all of them.

Annagi looked at her vision of Ace. He was still there, smiling at her, giving her courage to recount their adventures. Without him, she had no idea how she would have gotten through it.

"Thank you…" She gave a half-hearted smile, more to Ace, than to the room who listened to her story.