ASL reset

by fantasy is everything

Destiny and their respective choices threw them on vastly different paths, yet there was never a bond as strong as the one forged by sake and an oath. Even after reaching this goal, Monkey D. Luffy could not lie down and rest easily. And that was how the three brothers embarked on a new adventure – an adventure unlike any you've heard about before!

10. Changing minds

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise.

xXx

Names without a description have been mentioned in the story because I don't like to use nameless grunts. In my opinion, it would be rather unrealistic for commanders not to know the names of their subordinates. As such, that list may grow as the story goes on, but these characters probably won't rise to any particular significance. (Unless one of their designs turn out to be particularly well received.)

Original crew :

Francis:

First mate of the Devilspawn pirates, formerly a captain in his own right. Fights using knives, usually partners with his best friend Goode. Orange hair, golden eyes, fairly tall (Think Bill of the Silver Pirate Alliance just with short, lighter hair – I watched this arc only after I'd already designed Francis, and that was pretty much how I'd pictured him).

Confident leader with a good sense for humour, also a very pragmatic thinker. Has recently rediscovered his passion for art.

Finn:

The youngest of the original crew, joined Francis' crew barely three months earlier. Rather insecure, hadn't developed any particular fighting style by the time ASL took over. Tall, lanky at the beginning, but quickly filling out muscle; black, spiky hair, bright blue eyes (if you've ever read Percy Jackson – Finn's practically how I'd imagine a male Thalia – without the emo clothing).

After quite a few difficulties, Finn's finally become the second commander, slowly growing into his new position and his new Devil Fruit.

First to quickly grow close to his new captains, partly due to proximity of age. His idol, however, is Francis.

Ivy:

A short woman in her mid-twenties, the crew's most talented sniper. She joined Francis' crew about four years ago, but due to her shyness, she only grew close to a few of the other members (particularly Goode and Finn). Emerald green hair in a pixie cut, brown eyes, usually wears fancy guns at her hips.

Since Ivy's sister Zandra blames her for their father's suicide, they've barely spoken since they joined Francis' crew. The rift between them is currently causing her quite a bit of trouble.

Goode:

Francis' best friend, formerly the first mate of their crew. Has been on Francis's side ever since his friend had a fight with his father. Fights using two swords, currently the most talented swordsman of the crew. Medium height, muscular, tanned, short blonde hair, heavily scarred (think Stephen Lang in Avatar with a charming personality).

Sarcastic, likes to make jokes at other people's cost, but is usually tactful enough. Also works as the ship's head cook.

Zandra:

Ivy's younger sister, also a sniper, if not quite as talented. Fairly tall, wears her emerald green hair long.

Zandra mostly keeps apart from the crew, always seeming unhappy. Without being prompted, she's rarely seen speaking to anyone.

Beckett:

The crew's current head doctor, a stocky man in his mid-forties. He tends to rant about the idiocy of his crewmates and doesn't understand the recklessness of many of their fights. Spends most of his time researching in his office.

Dante:

The crew's head navigator. Has been with Francis from the beginning. He's rarely seen during the day due to his sensitive skin (suffers from albinism). His white, wavy hair reaches to his chin; when he's outside, he wears a large, fancy hat that shadows his entire face (like Hawkeye's, just larger).

Not a fighter, but brilliant when it comes to his field of expertise. Also diligently writes the crew's log.

First unit – Azure (24 members):

Azure:

Former captain of the Austin pirates, fairly young for his position (around 20). Prefers close combat, can stop anything in its tracks by touching it (Devil Fruit power). Peculiar appearance – white skin, black eyes, sharp nails, dark blue hair that falls straight to his chin.

Azure's character is rather closed off, rarely shows emotions, though Luffy tends to be an exception to that rule. His father was killed by Garp after declaring his intention to become the Pirate King.

Amaryllis:

Cook of the Austin pirates, talented swordswoman fighting with one sword. Rather doll-like appearance, blond, curly hair worn in a ponytail, blue eyes, a bit taller in height than Ivy.

Quite motherly and soft-spoken, but with quite the stubborn streak. She saved Azure's life and nursed him back to health after his father was killed.

Tristian

Second unit – Finn (18 members):

Cameron

Grady

Becca

xXx

For a short description of the first eight chapters, please take a look at the previous chapter. This summary only goes into chapter 9.

The crew has once again set sail, and Ivy and Amaryllis are enjoying their leisure time together. As Amy tries to cheer up Ivy, who's been struggling with her past even more lately, she reminisces about her first meeting with Azure.

Finally, they reach Snowmelt once again, and Azure and Finn head out to scout out the state of the island that's already gotten them into trouble once before. At first, everything seems calm, until Azure suddenly lashes out at Finn to attack the Marine he spots across the street.

After Azure is taken captive, Finn hurries back to the ship, where it is revealed that the trio's grandfather has finally caught up with them. Worriedly, Ace immediately assembles a great part of the crew to head towards the G-9, intending to free Azure and warn Sabo.

Sabo, in the meantime, is having a great time infiltrating the Marine base as a new recruit. After sweet-talking a lieutenant, he manages to get into Vice-Admiral Strawberry's office to deliver incriminating material on Vergo. Unfortunately, Garp takes that exact moment to visit his friend and colleague as well.

While escaping from his grandfather, Sabo coincidentally destroys the entire south wall of the base, only to be acknowledged as the Pirate Prince's brother. The blonde is understandably pissed and knocks out Ace when the elder brother arrives to "save" him.

When Luffy and Amaryllis go to free Azure, they surprisingly run into Smoker, who's imprisoned in the cell next to their first commander. Shortly afterwards, it's revealed that it was Garp who slaughtered Azure's last crew.

Finally, the crew reunites in the G-9's courtyard once again, the fierce battle fortunately finding an end when Azure almost takes Garp's eye and Strawberry knocks out his fellow Vice-Admiral.

xXx

Chapter 10: Changing minds

The sun had just dropped below the horizon when Finn left the infirmary once more. Stepping to the railing, he looked in the direction of the town, closing his eyes in concentration.

During the month of training, it hadn't taken the teenager long to realise that his powers were exponentially stronger when he used them during the night. Considering the nature of his Devil Fruit, it sort of did make sense, he supposed.

Quite faintly, he could make out the tell-tale sounds of battle in the distance, but it turned out to be difficult to distinguish between the different fights. Finn's frown grew deeper and deeper, but no amount of concentration managed to give him that ability.

With a sigh, he relaxed again, rolling his shoulders as his fingers sub-consciously caressed the new bandage around his wrist. "Please be okay," he muttered before turning away from his comrades' battle, letting his eyes roam over the ship he was in command of for the time being.

Even if it was only manned by a skeleton crew, Finn felt a little nervous at the responsibility that had been dropped on his shoulders. Should the Marines sniff out their anchor point (which, unfortunately, wasn't unlikely considering the captains hadn't exactly been subtle when they marched on the base with a great part of their crew) and should they decide to cut off their only way out, it was Finn's duty to make sure they didn't succeed.

Finn nervously tugged at the bandage again even though he really knew he shouldn't. It was obvious that he was in charge, of course. He was the second commander, after all, and since he'd been mildly injured before the battle, it made sense to keep him in reserve, especially since it wasn't terribly likely that the Marines could spare any of their men to attack their ship.

Still, training with his subordinates and crewmates, joking with them after an exhausting but fruitful day, drawing up schedules for the nightly watches and all the other odd jobs around the ship weren't quite as daunting tasks as being responsible for the lives of the entire crew. This was the first real test how he'd handle that pressure, so of course, Finn couldn't help but feel anxious.

Quietly, he prayed that everything would go well at the base, and that everyone would come back alive and safe.

"Maa, you're looking so tense, commander," a husky voice complained. The small of Finn's back stiffened when a voluptuous body snuggled against his uninjured arm.

"Becca," Finn stammered, cursing his cheeks for heating up, "shouldn't you be …" he trailed off, his mind annoyingly empty as it always tended to be around the shameless redhead. "In the infirmary?" he finished in a slightly higher voice when a slender arm snaked around his side to come to rest on his hips in a way that did not go easy on his teenage hormons.

The petite woman looked up at him with large blue eyes as she pouted, "Now, what fun would that be when I can be out here with you, watching the stars?" Annoyingly enough, a twinkling light broke through the otherwise thick clouds at that exact moment.

Desperately looking for some way to defuse that particular tension (once again), Finn's mind scrambled to the last thought on his mind. "I hope they're all okay," Finn said in a strained voice, pointedly turning towards the cliff again.

Just as deliberately, Becca moved with him, pressing her cheek against his upper arm. "You're very attractive when you're stressed," she purred. This, of course, caused Finn to tense even further, likely starting a vicious circle. "I could give you a massage to relax you," she added suggestively.

Finn shivered when fingers which had previously rested innocently against his side slowly worked their way upwards on his back. "I-I don't think that would be appropriate," he stammered weakly as he pried off the arm wrapped around his waist.

However, Becca only took the opportunity to quickly snatch his hand and interlace her fingers with his. "We're pirates," she whispered, almost resembling a hiss. She finally stepped around him, closing the remaining distance between them, their crossed hands the only thing separating their bodies. "We take what we want, and damn the consequences."

"Oh, please, just do us all a favour and get a room," a snide voice commented from behind them. Finn tried to jerk away, but Becca prevented him from escaping very far, their hands still linked.

"W-we weren't –" Finn stuttered as he laid eyes on Zandra standing at the entrance to the crew's quarters, a bottle in her hand, her face expressionless.

"Green's not a good colour on you, bitch," Becca cut in poisonously before Finn could get more flustered. "It clashes with your hair."

Finn frowned in displeasure, the hot rush of blood in his veins slowly cooling down again. Zandra might not be the most sociable person, but that was no reason to be quite so mean to her. "Whatever. I don't give a damn," the sniper drawled, turning around to start climbing the main mast with one hand.

His eyes followed her worriedly while she shakily made her way upwards. It was rather obvious she'd already heavily indulged before she'd opened the bottle in her hand. "Now that that unpleasantness is out of the way …" Becca trailed off, laying a hand on his chest as she blinked up at him with her big eyes.

However, Finn snatched her hand around the wrist before she could make any further advances. "That was unnecessary," he said harshly. "Go back to the infirmary. I'm sure you'll find some way to make yourself useful there," he ordered, turning away from the pouting redhead.

"Maa, you're so mean, commander," she whined, but lifted her hands innocently at his pointed glare. "I'm going, I'm going! But just because I like men ordering me around," she added saucily, before sauntering towards the infirmary.

Finn sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. Becca was always … exhausting to deal with, even though she could be fun when she wasn't in one of her playing moods. Even then, it was entertaining to watch hardened pirates get flustered when she made her advances on them. As long as he wasn't the target, of course.

Looking up the mast, he didn't see a sign of the sniper who'd saved him from further humiliation anymore. Since she wasn't on the wooden planks moaning in pain, he presumed she'd made it up there safe.

Mind slightly torn, Finn looked towards the cliff that hid their ship for the umpteenth time, concentrating on the sounds in the distance again. If he wasn't mistaken, it seemed like the battle was slowly dying down … it shouldn't be too long until they got news about the outcome. He had faith in his captains, of course, but the looks on their faces when they talked about their grandfather were pretty worrisome.

Still, he had some time to kill since it didn't sound like anyone was approaching their location … Finn's eyes unwittingly wandered towards the crow's nest. A drunk Zandra wasn't something he saw every day – he should really check up on her, shouldn't he?

He grimaced slightly when he thought back to the days when he'd just joined the crew and tried to approach the seemingly untouchable sniper. Still, she was the one closest to him in age, and that cold attitude of hers had given her an air of mystery that had fit well with her natural beauty in Finn's eyes back then.

Of course, many indifferent dismissals and the craziness that came with the three brothers a few months later had effectively pushed that old crush of his to the back of his mind. Even now that he consciously thought back to it, he couldn't quite conjure up those feelings again. Too much had happened since then – he wasn't the same easily impressionable, insecure boy anymore.

That thought firm in mind, Finn steeled his nerves and made his way up the mast as well, significantly faster and less shaky than Zandra had a few minutes before. As expected, the sniper was leaning against the mast, bottle against her lips, though she quickly put it down to glare at him. "What do you want?" she snapped.

Finn quickly swung his legs over the railing, though he didn't move away from it when he sat down, pouting lightly. "Geez, no need to try and bite my head off," he muttered. "I just wanted to check up on you."

"Well, you have," the young woman growled. "I'm fine. Now go."

Her hands were shaking, Finn noted almost absent-mindedly. Her heart rate was slightly elevated, her jaw clenched. And … maybe it was just the light, but her eyes did look a little red. But that was just his imagination, right?

For a second, Finn was tempted to just follow her instructions and leave. He'd never had to comfort a girl, or really anyone before – he'd be rubbish at it. Heck, he'd probably make it worse, considering the emotional wreck he himself had turned into often enough.

But even as he unconsciously rose from the crow's nests planks, he faltered. If he wouldn't do the uncomfortable jobs … Internally, Finn cursed Azure diligent teaching, took the few steps around the mast and sat down next to Zandra, snatching the bottle from her hand in the process.

"What are you doing?" she asked indignantly, her heated glare going up a couple of notches.

"If you finish that on your own, you're going to end up in the infirmary," Finn replied indifferently, as if her sour mood didn't bother him at all. "And that's not a fun place to end up in," he added, taking a sip of the bottle even if he wasn't a great fan of the taste.

"It's still better than –" Zandra started, but almost immediately stopped herself from talking, her mouth slamming shut almost forcefully.

"Still better than what?" Finn asked softly, eyeing her from the side as her expression somehow closed even further of.

"None of your business," she finally stated coldly after a short silence during which she'd visibly collected herself. Well, damn. It seemed alcohol was indeed capable of working miracles if it caused even Zandra to lose control.

Maybe he should try getting Azure drunk at some point.

Finn took another sip from the bottle before handing it back to Zandra who practically ripped it out of his hands. As the seconds of silence stretched into minutes, he started to wonder whether he was supposed to say something. And if yes, what on earth he could say to break this silence, considering how Zandra had reacted to his attempts at conversation so far.

In the end, he decided to keep quiet, leaving the sniper to her thoughts as he let his own wander. Light snowflakes started to fall as they sat next to each other, but Finn wasn't bothered by the cold anymore. Somehow, as the day had passed, his own perception of pain and discomfort had changed.

His fingers found the bandage that hid the freshly stitched cut once again. Maybe it was the heart-wrenching look of despair, of hatred that he'd seen on the normally impassive first commander's face. Maybe it was the way his own pain seemed insignificant compared to that of his comrades'.

Maybe it was the way he'd somehow been able to perceive Zandra's despair despite her very best efforts to conceal them.

Finn didn't say anything when she started sobbing quietly next to him, but instead simply laid an arm around her and held her close.

Only shortly before the crew returned an hour later did he gather her up in his arms, jumped down to the deck and carried her to her cabin, leaving her to rest in a fitful sleep.

xXx

Smoker stood at the entrance to the G-9's courtyard and looked at the destruction, an unlit cigar stuck in his mouth. Unwittingly, he shivered, unsure whether it was due to the cold or the picture unfolding in front of him.

It was all too familiar to see his comrades bustle around the sight of an attack, clearing up the area and helping the wounded. It was far more familiar to stand in their midst and give orders, answer questions and do the heavy lifting with his Devil Fruit when there was a lack of progress.

Yet now, all he could do was watch from the distance, melancholy weighing on his mind as he wondered just why his life had gone so wrong. He leaned against the archway and closed his eyes tiredly.

"This was the place the Pirate King died. Gol D. Roger."

"You're really nice for a Marine, Smokey!"

"What's your name, brat?"

"My name is Gol D. Ace, and I think it's about high time someone took this place down."

"Monkey D. Luffy! I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

"Isn't it about time you got going, brat?" While Monkey D. Garp sat down on the snowy ground next to him and stared up at him with his unbandaged eye, waiting for an answer, Smoker lit his cigar, comforted by that familiarity, at least.

"Bwahaha! So you're the brat who got tricked by my grandson, eh?" With far too much effort, Smoker looked up to the entrance of the G-9's prison, trying his hardest not to look as pathetic as he felt. After two weeks of being shackled by seastone and a stricter diet than he was used to, coupled with the unpleasant withdrawal he was suffering from, it was likely a futile effort.

Monkey D. Luffy – despite the trouble the kid had gotten him into, he couldn't bring himself to regret lending him a hand on that day. That was probably a large part of the reason why he was still in this cell – coupled with the fact that he didn't have any information to give about the Pirate Prince's crew. After all, helping a child should not be something that needed to be punished. It couldn't possibly be the boy's fault that he was leading a pirate's life at this age already.

"Your grandson," Smoker muttered, quietly reevaluating his presumptions. No matter how many times he tried to tell himself that Luffy was an innocent who'd been misled onto the path of a criminal, the evidence suggesting something else was stacking up too quickly for him to be comfortable with.

A Vice-Admiral as famous as Garp the Fist wouldn't let his grandson be kidnapped by pirates without them suffering fatal repercussions, would he? So how come Luffy was sailing on a pirate ship and called the Pirate Prince his brother? The son of the man who had been his grandfather's greatest enemy?

"Open the door and leave us," the Vice-Admiral ordered the soldiers accompanying him.

"But, sir," the one on his right started protesting, but the Marine hero didn't let him finish his complaint.

"But, what? He looks about ready to keel over. The boy couldn't hurt a fly in this state, could he?" The fact that Smoker didn't even have the energy to bristle at the condescending tone unfortunately only proved the truth behind the Vice-Admiral's words.

A minute of jangling keys and squeaking doors later, Smoker was alone with the man he'd greatly admired for his whole life. Somehow, when he'd imagined meeting his idol, a situation like this had never even crossed his mind.

"How did he look?" The silence before had been unexpectedly comfortable, but now Smoker couldn't help but wonder if Garp always looked this serious.

"He looked," Smoker started, pausing as he thought back to their meeting. The sunny grin despite the cold, the excited chattering while the kid slurped his hot chocolate with relish. "He looked happy," he stated, acknowledging that this was the paradox he was struggling the most with. How could a child look so happy when he had to have witnessed the gruesome side of life as a pirate? "Was he kidnapped, sir?" Smoker finally asked hesitantly.

"Bwahaha! You should drop the sir. You're not a Marine anymore," Garp laughed, not at all answering his question, instead giving him a veritable heart attack.

"What?" he asked breathlessly as his world started to fall to shambles around him.

"I doubt that the brat's been kidnapped," Garp answered, apparently oblivious to the effects his words had had on Smoker. "If it'd just been Ace, it would have been possible, but I'd have heard if there was a crew strong enough to take all three of the brats in the East Blue," he continued, pressing a pack of cigars and a lighter into the shocked ex-Marine's hands.

"Let me tell you a story about my family, boy," the Vice-Admiral said a little grimly while Smoker scrambled to light the long-needed cigar. "And then I want to ask for a favour."

"They're setting sail in an hour," Smoker finally replied, exhaling a puff of smoke, his eyes roaming over the familiar sea of white and blue once again. "Anything you want me to tell them?"

Garp sighed and opened a bag of rice crackers, offering them to Smoker, who quickly declined despite feeling flattered by the offer. "Just watch out for them," the Vice-Admiral said quietly.

"Yes, sir," Smoker responded gruffly, dragging deeply on his cigar.

"Bwahaha! You should really drop the sir now, boy," Garp laughed as he stood up and put a hand on Smoker's hand, mussing up his hair. The former captain's cheeks coloured at the embarrassing treatment. "Respect for Marines doesn't look good on a pirate."

"No, I guess not," he sighed, ducking his head as he cast another rueful look at the destroyed Marine base. "I'll be going, then," he muttered, turning towards the town and the cliff he knew a certain ship was hidden behind.

"Be careful out there, brat," the Vice-Admiral said instead of a good-bye, pushing him out of the gate. Before Smoker could react to his statement, the old man was already gone, his presence inciting the soldiers in the courtyard to work even faster.

Smoker sighed for the umpteenth time in this cursed month and buried his cold fists in his pockets. Slowly, he started walking through the town, passing vaguely familiar alleyways, shops and restaurants, a tension noticeable amongst the few people on the streets. Hardly surprising, since neither the battle at the Marine base nor the sad state of their building had gone unnoticed.

Forcefully, he dismissed his worry for the people from his mind. That wasn't his responsibility anymore. From now on, he'd be the one causing the trouble for the people. And wasn't that a cheerful prospect.

It was with great relief that Smoker finally left the town behind him. It would be good to get away from people for a little bit, and once they'd set sail, once he was back on the familiar terrain of the sea, he might be able to delude himself that his entire life hadn't just been turned upside down.

A couple of minutes of silent walking and finally, he laid eyes on the ship for the second time ever. When he'd helped Luffy carry his first mate back to the ship, he hadn't been paying too much attention to his surroundings, but this time, he decided to take a minute to appreciate his new home.

It was smaller than he'd expected. If he had to be honest, it was exactly the size of ship he was most comfortable with, easily fitting a crew of thirty people. Considering what little he'd seen of the crew, so far, though, he'd expected their vessel to be a bit larger.

Just as his eyes wandered towards the figurehead, a loud crash on the ground quite close to the ship attracted his attention. His brows furrowed. Had the Marines decided to stage an attack on the pirates, after all? It hadn't seemed very likely from what he'd seen at the base.

The young blonde he'd seen fighting against Vice-Admiral Strawberry during the last few minutes of the battle he'd witnessed crawled out of the hole in the snow, adjusting his hat and his crawat as he did. Sabo, his mind supplied readily, his mental voice sounding suspiciously like Garp. Had shown up with Ace and Luffy from one day to the other. A genius that had figured out Observation Haki by himself at the tender age of ten.

"You're such a sore loser," the boy drawled towards the ship, taking his pipe off his back as he looked towards the railing expectantly.

Smoker followed his gaze only to be blinded by a rush of flames the blonde quickly evaded. "I can't believe you knocked me out, you bastard," the Pirate Prince growled as he jumped down after his initial attack, throwing flaming blows at the person who was supposed to be his brother.

The blonde simply shrugged as he avoided and dissipated the blows with his pipe nonchalantly. "It's not my fault you can't properly protect yourself, Ace," Sabo replied sweetly, a teasing smile on his face.

What on earth was he getting into here? Smoker watched with exasperation and mild confusion as the raven growled and renewed his efforts, the fight getting even closer to the ship.

When one of Ace's blows singed the hull, Smoker had enough of this madness. "White Blow." Both of his fists shot out, his arms extending as smoke billowed all around him, wrapping itself around the quarrelling brothers, who immediately started struggling indignantly. "You're going to destroy your ship if you keep at it," Smoker growled, starting to sweat under the strain.

Then Ace turned into fire, sneaking out of his grip and crawling back towards him through the smoke before materialising himself once again in front of him. "Who asked you to but into our fight, eh?" It should be absolutely ridiculous that Smoker was wary of a teenager.

If anybody else had been hit by the Pirate Prince's firey punch, they would have suffered severe burns, but thankfully, Smoker wasn't just anybody. Eternally grateful for his Devil Fruit, he turned into translucent smoke, impervious to fire. Unfortunately, the same applied the other way around, Gol D. Ace completely unbothered by the smoke surrounding him when everybody else would have choked.

"Oi, tone it down, you two, would you?" the blonde complained, waving his hand in front of his face while he approached them. Smoker hadn't even noticed when he'd broken from his grasp, but then again, he'd been otherwise occupied.

Miraculously, the Pirate Prince listened to his brother, though Smoker had a feeling that he simply wasn't terribly interested in fighting against him. He wondered if he should feel insulted for not being considered a worthy opponent. "You don't tell me what to do, bastard!" he shouted at the blonde, glaring heatedly at him.

Okay. Maybe he was simply otherwise occupied. Hopefully, since Smoker couldn't help but admit that he was curious just how a fight between smoke and fire would turn out. "Hai, hai," Sabo replied, rolling his eyes as he raised his hands innocently. "Nobody's telling you to do anything. But you don't want to scare off the newbie, do you?"

Smoker's left eye twitched. "Tch," he growled disparagingly, burying his hands in his pockets. Did he look like he was easily scared off? And who did that brat think he was, calling him a newbie while he was barely out of his diapers? His perpetual frown grew a bit deeper.

Meanwhile, Ace's mouth opened and shut periodically, looking from Sabo to Smoker disbelievingly. "What, him?" he finally stuttered disbelievingly, eyes still wide. "When? Why? How?"

Sabo shrugged condescendingly. "That's what happens when you spend all of your time napping," he said nonchalantly, turning towards the ship as he expertly ignored Ace's indignant spluttering. "Come on. Let's get you acquainted."

A little perturbed by the brothers' strange antics, Smoker didn't protest and walked towards the plank leading up to the deck. However, only after a few steps, Ace jumped after them, pushing Sabo out of the way. The blonde fell to the ground face-forward, inadvertently eating quite a bit of snow if his choking sounds where any indication.

"I'll show him around," Ace stated triumphantly, comradely bumping Smoker's shoulder with his fist. "Nobody needs you here, Sabo," he added petulantly, striding up the plank, dragging the speechless ex-Marine with him.

Once again, though, it didn't take long for the other to catch up to them. "Please," Sabo said, throwing a brotherly arm around Ace's shoulder, "you'd get lost trying to find your own bed. And fall asleep standing." Even for Smoker, who honestly did not want anything to do with this situation at all, the smirk on Sabo's face was painful.

"Oi, that was one time!" Ace shouted, wrestling out of his brother's hold and nearly poking the blonde's eyes out when he pointed his index finger at him accusingly. "And you said you wouldn't mention that again!"

Sabo shrugged innocently. "There are some things that may never be allowed to rest," he stated ominously, earning an indignant shout from Ace.

"You're going to stand here all day if you wait for them to finish," a bored voice toned from Smoker's right. Deciding to heed the advice, Smoker fully entered the deck and walked towards where it came from.

If he'd been expecting anything normal from the crew that Monkey D. Luffy was a part of, he was sorely disappointed. A young white bear was lying on its side, a dark-skinned teenager with a spotted hat and a gigantic sword leaning against him. Right next to the bear's head, in perfect reach for both of them, was a game of Shogi.

Smoker blinked. How on earth had they managed to find a Mink at the beginning of the Grand Line? From what he'd heard, they were a rather reclusive people, only a few ever leaving their island, to an extent that most people didn't even believe they existed.

"Smoker, right?" The teenager smirked at his surprised look. "Finn told me about you. You'll be joining his unit since our first commander's out of commission. He'll probably show up soon enough," he explained, gaze returning to the board as he moved one of his pieces.

"Eh, it's no fun to play against you, Law," the mink whined as he scanned the board desperately, looking for any way out of the trap the teenager had just sprung.

"You've been getting better, though," the newly named Law replied with a fond smile that looked strangely out of place on his serious face.

Despite now having a name to match the face, Smoker asked, "And you are?"

"That's Trafalgar Law. Swordsman, surgeon and smartass. Bepo's one of our navigators," a voice cut in from behind Smoker. When he turned around, he saw an orange-haired man practically breathing authority approach. "And I'm Francis, first mate of this crew," he added, holding out his hand.

"A pleasure," Smoker gruffly replied, taking the hand. Hm. He could have bet that this man was captain material. Maybe it was time to simply ask directly. "So we have two commanders and a first mate," he counted, shoving his hand back into his pocket. "This may be a stupid question, but who's the captain?"

The look on Francis' face was absolutely exasperated as he rubbed his forehead while Law snickered quietly. "Ugh, that's why Luffy shouldn't be allowed to recruit," he sighed, "he never covers the basics." The hand switched from his forehead to his chin. "Now, how to put this …"

"Oi, Smokey! Ace'n'Sabo just told me you were here!" Luffy shouted cheerfully as he dragged his brothers towards the small gathering by the necks. It was a miracle that they were still breathing, but from the looks of it, it wouldn't be long.

"Right," Francis announced, ruffling the youngest brother's hair. "Those three idiots are. Have fun trying to stay alive."

Smoker blinked in surprise. The Marines sure would've been interested in that tidbit of information.

xXx

At Marineford …

"We're still assessing the extent of the damage done, but from what I've seen so far, I estimate it will take us at least five months to rebuild the base and resume our regular operations," Vice-Admiral Strawberry finished his agonisingly long report.

The Fleet-Admiral's teeth threatened to combust from how tightly he'd clenched them. "Two Vice-Admirals," Sengoku finally growled. "There were two Vice-Admirals on this island, and you're telling me those three brats still managed to infiltrate a highly secure base, free one of their crewmates and destroy said base – and on top of that, you let them escape unharmed."

It was a credit to Strawberry's unshakeable composure that the voice coming out of the Den Den Mushi didn't show the slightest hint of unease at being faced with his superior's wrath. "As I said earlier, their crew did take a bit of damage, most notably their first commander, who we had in our custody. And Gol D. Ace was knocked unconscious at the beginning of the fight."

"By his own brother," Sengoku repeated through his clenched teeth, still disbelieving of the ridiculousness of that particular event.

"By his own brother," Strawberry repeated, pausing slightly. "So technically, two Vice-Admirals were matched by only two of the brats, as you said previously," the Vice-Admiral added in a self-ironic tone.

Another vein popped up on Sengoku's already strained forehead. "This is inconceivable!" he spit, before visibly collecting himself. "Someone must be helping them from the sidelines," he added in a more normal volume, hanging up on Strawberry before the infuriatingly calm man could reply.

His index finger started tapping impatiently against the desk as he looked over the pictures once again, depicting the few prominent members of the demon brothers' crew they were currently researching.

Like so many times before, his gaze rested on the blonde brother – the only one who's origin was completely unknown. Even his talks with Garp, who by all rights should have known something about his adopted grandson couldn't tell him where the kid came from.

Just as he was mentally upping the priority of sending men to Dawn Island and find out everything there was to know about the boy, his unwanted companion had to comment about the current state of affairs. "They escaped from two Vice-Admirals."

"Yes, I know," Sengoku admitted reluctantly. Those brats had rapidly made him reach the borders of his wriggling room. Now he wouldn't be able to pull the Marines' punches anymore. "You know your orders."

xXx

"Sit down and hold still, idiot."

"But it doesn't hurt anymore! Honest!"

"Are you a doctor?"

"Well, no."

"Then you're not equipped to judge that. So sit down, and shut up."

"But I'm busy."

"Oh, for goodness' sake, we'd be done already if you stopped complaining."

Azure groaned.

Immediately, the bickering stopped, instead the shuffling of feet was heard. As Azure started to blink sleepily, the ceiling of the infirmary slowly registering in his mind, the younger voice once again spoke up. "Azure! How are you feeling? Are you -?"

"Get out of my way, you fool," the older voice interrupted. Beckett, Azure's mind realized as his consciousness returned to the present. So, he was back on the Tigris.

He didn't know how to feel about that. The new revelation about his captains, their relationship with his personal nightmare weighed as heavily on his mind as it had for the brief duration of the fight in the G-9's courtyard. Luffy's cheerful, welcoming smile suddenly gained a different light, a more sinister quality that he knew would haunt his dreams in the weeks to come.

But Luffy'd given him a choice, hadn't he? He wouldn't have to stay here, on board a ship with relatives of his father's killer. But strangely enough, his heart sank further at the thought of leaving. Once again, he'd be left with nothing, back to the beginning, would have to build a new life from scratch.

His thoughts wandered to his crew. Would they go with him should he decide to leave? Azure wanted to confidently think so, but they weren't really his crew anymore, were they? They were part of a larger group now and forcing them to choose would leave both sides weak and vulnerable.

"I didn't think he had a concussion, but this lack of reaction is worrying," he heard Beckett's voice again, trying to focus as he processed the words.

"I could get Law to scan him," Finn suggested, the former younger voice now properly categorised as well.

"I don't need that little upstart in my infirmary. Now get out and let me work," Beckett growled just as Azure decided to try and sit up. "And you're going to be a good boy and stay down," the doctor scolded after the door fell shut behind Finn.

Azure was briefly tempted to protest the condescending treatment, but then again, Beckett was a good twenty years older than him. Besides, unlike some people, he wasn't completely unreasonable when it came to the necessity of medical treatment.

As such, the first commander stayed silent as the doctor worked, complying with his instructions without complaint, not that there were many. Apparently, Beckett wanted to avoid moving him too much at any cost.

"Well, you seem to be recovering quite nicely," Beckett finally declared, moving back to his desk where he started to scribble furiously. "You're far better healed than I'd have expected, considering how long you've been unconscious. Then again, it might be the norm for your kind for all I know." The last bit was said with a pointed note Azure just as pointedly ignored.

"Where's my bandana?" Azure asked instead, blending out the voices from his past that look from Beckett had conjured. There was, after all, a reason why he never left his cabin without it – he almost felt naked when he wasn't wearing it.

Beckett gave him another long stare, before shaking his head in resignation and throwing the aforementioned headdress towards Azure. "You can leave, but for goodness' sake, take it easy. I mean it. And you're checking in every morning and night until I say otherwise."

"Understood," Azure said tonelessly as he tied his bandana around his head, tucking a few stray strands of blue hair behind his now hidden ears to keep them out of his face. His first steps were a bit wobbly, but aside from the occasional twinge of pain and a general heavy feeling weighing on his body, it seemed he really was just fine.

When he left the infirmary, he almost opened the door into Finn's face, the second commander jerking backwards and tumbling to the ground in his characteristic show of clumsiness. Why on earth he'd been standing exactly in front of the door when he could have simply waited beside it would likely forever remain a mystery to Azure.

"Ow," Finn whined, cradling one of his arms. "That probably wasn't good."

Only now, Azure spotted the bandages on Finn's wrist, blurred memories from the fight in the town returning to his mind. That … that was his fault. It hadn't even been a conscious decision on his part – Finn had simply stood in the path of his revenge.

Azure's fist clenched and forcefully unclenched as guilt filled his mind. Was this really what he wanted? Was avenging his father's death really worth it if it drove him to injure friends, comrades on the way to fulfilling that desire?

"You could have at least helped me up," Finn grumbled as he climbed back to his feet. Noticing the first commander's continued silence, the teenager sent him a questioning, worried look.

Azure walked away without saying a word, an unpleasant pounding filling his head. Even though he heard Finn calling out to him, and noticed the looks he received from the crew, he continued walking.

What was he supposed to do? If the encounter on the island had proved anything at all, it had shown that Azure wasn't anywhere near strong enough to defeat that man. He … "I'm sorry, Austin," Azure muttered into the empty air stretching into infinity in front of him as he clenched his hands around the railing.

"Hey, Azure." His black eyes flickered to his right, where the eldest captain had jumped onto the railing. Somehow, the look on his face seemed so knowing, yet insecure, uncertain how he'd react. Had Luffy told his brothers what he'd revealed in the G-9's holding cells? "How're you holding up?"

Azure turned back towards the horizon, pondering the non-existent answer in his head. How was he holding up? The one thing that had kept him going since that night had suddenly, undeniably been shoved far out of his reach. But maybe, he could find something else to hold onto.

Ace watched him in silence for a while, for once looking much older than he actually was. They were only six years apart, Azure remembered. Even so, he'd never expected to experience so much understanding from a fourteen-year-old. It was so easy to forget their age sometimes.

"You know what the shitty old geezer's most famous for, don't you?" Ace finally asked, crouching on the railing in an impressive display of balance.

"The Pirate King's capture," Azure replied without hesitation, refusing to look at his captain's face. This hadn't actually consciously occurred to him yet, but in truth, Ace's and his situation in this regard wasn't all that dissimilar. Except …

Almost as if he'd read his thoughts, Ace nodded. "Of course, I didn't even know my dad, and he would have died of his sickness before my birth regardless of his capture." Azure's surprise didn't show on his expression. "I probably can't completely understand what you're going through, especially since I don't know what happened between the two of you, but please, hear me out."

When Azure neither visibly nor audibly reacted, Ace continued, "I honestly don't know what drives Garp. None of us have ever been terribly close to him, he simply wasn't around enough. But I never understood how exactly he became a Marine."

Azure's lips tilted slightly downwards, his brow forming an almost unnoticeable frown. The frightening urge to start frothing at the mouth about that monster, how he'd taken everything from him for no reason at all, how such a cruel bastard wasn't capable of complex motivations, how he simply lived off causing pain to others –

His throat was as dry as parchment, the taste on his tongue bitter when he forced himself to swallow his fury. The railing cracked slightly under his tense white knuckles. "Without Gramps, I wouldn't have seen my first birthday, much less gotten the chance to become the captain of my own crew," the raven said as if didn't notice the first commander's discontent.

For the first time during their conversation, Azure truly looked at his captain. Ace wasn't like Luffy, always cheerful with an undercurrent of serious promises. Sure, at the first glance, they might resemble each other greatly both in looks and attitude, but … Ace wasn't as light as Luffy was.

Even if most people would accuse Sabo of being the one who thought too much, given his cultured manners, Azure was fairly certain by now that that wasn't the case. Ace somehow seemed like a far more tortured individual than the blonde captain, holding onto his brothers with a raw desperation Azure couldn't understand.

"The Marines combed the island my mother lived on, because they knew Roger spent his last year there," Ace snarled darkly, jumping down to stand next to Azure with a wary glance to the railing. After a calming breath, he continued, "They suspected there might be a child somewhere. If my mom hadn't been so strong and stubborn, I'm sure they would have sniffed her out. I don't know whether I should be mad at her or grateful," he muttered under his breath.

"But the thing is – she died when she gave birth to me," Ace's voice stuttered slightly at the words, but he seemed surprisingly composed considering his words. "And then Gramps was there. He'd promised the man everyone calls his greatest enemy that he would protect his son. He essentially committed high treason just to fulfil the most hated pirate's last wish."

The words rang true. Of course, they did. The rational part of Azure's mind pointed out that he really should have expected the story to go this way, considering that Ace was alive today. No matter how much he wanted to see the bastard as nothing but a heartless monster, the world was never as black and white as that.

Azure discreetly blinked his angry tears away.

"He's likely in hot water, now that the Marines've found out about Luffy and me," Ace sighed, drawing a hand through his dark strands. Another heavy sigh followed. "I'm crap at this. Listen. I'm not going to tell you to give up on your revenge. None of us are. Especially …" He grimaced a bit awkwardly.

"Especially since, if I'd been raised by someone different, I might have as well joined you on that quest. I can't fault you for wanting to avenge your father." The concession somehow sounded a bit more personal than Azure would have expected considering that Ace had already admitted to lacking a true bond to his father.

"Just please, don't leave," Ace suddenly blurted out, his cheeks colouring slightly when Azure looked at him with unconcealed surprise. "You're a part of our crew, our family. It wouldn't be the same without you."

The invisible hand that had held his heart in an uncomfortable grip for so long Azure couldn't really remember what it was like to breathe unhindered finally, lessened its grip marginally. Azure's hand trembled slightly when he let go of the broken railing. "I'll think about it," he whispered, looking away from Ace.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ace nodding after scrutinizing him warily for a bit. "Anyways, we're having a meeting," Ace continued when Azure didn't verbally react. "You up to it?"

Azure hesitated, before shaking his head. "I think I'll go lie down," he said quietly, noting with relief that Ace didn't protest.

The track to his cabin had never seemed as gruellingly long as it did on this day. The stares from the other members of their crew, both wary and worried, depending on who they came from, weighed heavily on his shoulders until he finally closed the door behind him.

Gingerly, he sat down on his bed, wincing as he laid onto his back. His black eyes traced the wooden ceiling, a pattern that had become so familiar to him during the last two months. He sighed deeply, trying to get rid of the tenseness in his shoulders now that he was alone, in his own private space, but his muscles refused to relax.

"You'll always be family," he heard Luffy's voice in his mind, conviction and desperate hope in his tone. "It wouldn't be the same without you," Ace's words echoed, over and over again until Azure wanted to cover his ears, but unfortunately, he knew he couldn't stop sound that only existed in his head.

He didn't want to be their family, not if it meant … They already counted him as their family, blood-family in Luffy's case, he didn't belong here! Why would he want to live with, support someone he had cared about first?

"They can make you stronger," a voice that sounded suspiciously like Austin whispered. "They're already training you to reach their level. You can use that. You can use them." Azure curled on his side as nausea hit him.

"He's their grandfather," the voice insisted in a snide tone. "He cares about them. He'll show up again. You'll get another chance. Use that." Azure's body started trembling a little, so he dragged his blanket to cover him. Of course, that didn't stop the cold that had spread through his veins.

He felt vile, disgusting for even following such a train of thought, but no matter what he did, he couldn't stop himself. "You'll always be family," Luffy whispered again, and though guilt threatened to consume him, that didn't stop the nasty voice he didn't want to acknowledge as a part of himself.

"I'd rather die than give up on my dream," he suddenly remembered, the words that had effectively landed him in this mess he was in now. "I'd rather die than give up on my dream." And Luffy'd meant that.

How far was Azure willing to go for his ambition? Was it worth his life, his relationships, his happiness, his soul?

His pillow was soaked with salty tears. Another choked sob tore out of his aching throat.

"What am I supposed to do, Mom?"

The emptiness in his room didn't reply.

xXx

"It's so embarrassing! I'm his commander! I'm supposed to be able to beat him!" Francis hummed non-committally as he listened to Finn's rant with only half an ear, refining his sketch of the iconic winter landscape he'd seen at Snowmelt in the meantime.

Luckily for the second commander, his peer was a more attentive listener than the first mate was. "Then learn Armament like I've been telling you. There. Problem solved," Law drawled, looking completely unsympathetic to Finn's plight.

The raven glared. "Right. I'm gonna go do that, then. It's not like it takes hours upon hours of mental discipline, nooo. That's why you can do it already," he snapped sarcastically. Francis hummed again, not quite realising no answer was expected from him right now.

Law rolled his eyes as he turned a page in one of the medical books he carried around everywhere on the ship. "I don't need Haki," he stressed. "I can already cut anything I wanna cut."

"Not if you're going to fight other Haki users, you won't," Finn countered smugly. Francis cleaned his brush in the beaker of water and dipped it into a different shade of blue afterwards.

The surgeon smirked, leaning back cockily. "I'm still going to be able to beat you for quite a while, then," he said gleefully, obviously relishing in the second commander's frustrated growl. "Careful. Your eyes are looking a little red, there," he fluted jokingly.

"If they were, you wouldn't be talking," Finn hissed, crossing his arms as he pointedly looked away from Law. When his eyes fell on Francis, the orange-haired man hummed again on instinct, but didn't lift his gaze to acknowledge his friend. "Please, Francis, help me!" the teenager whined when he grew tired of the brief silence.

Francis mixed a few colours together until he was satisfied that it fit the sea quite well. As his brush met the paper again, he mumbled absent-mindedly, "Pour water on him."

The colour really was perfect. That was exactly how the salty water had looked before it hit the shore. "Pour water on him? Seriously? He's made of smoke! What's that even gonna do?" Finn looked quite incredulous, Francis noted when he briefly lifted his brush from the paper.

The first mate paused briefly, brush hovering over the rest of his art supplies, before shrugging. "Blow him away, then," he amended, proceeding with his far more important work.

"That doesn't even make sense," Finn exhaled, putting his head into his palms.

"Knock him out with your magic eyeballs," Law suggested, sounding greatly amused at the other teenager's complaints.

Finn didn't even lift his head in his despair. "That's cheating," he mumbled exasperatedly.

"He's a Logia," Law countered, stifling a yawn. "That's cheating, too."

"You're all cheaters," Francis threw in with a disinterested voice.

"Agreed!" Sabo chirped from the bed, where Luffy was drooling on him. The kid looked disgustingly cute when he was asleep. Not at all like the little devil he was when he was awake.

It was at that moment that Ace chose to join them. Alone. Immediately, the mood turned more sombre. "No good?" Sabo asked shortly as he adjusted his arm around Luffy a bit more tightly. Francis reluctantly put away his art supplies and placed his unfinished picture in the corner of the room where it could dry undisturbed.

"He didn't say much," Ace lamented after he'd closed the door, leaning against it now. His freckles stood out far more against his skin as he tiredly looked around the room. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Wait for what exactly? Francis frowned as he'd been wont to do frequently during the last few days whenever he thought about the first commander. He liked Azure – the man was sensible, logical, reasonable, and that was something that was deeply necessary with three captains as crazy as theirs.

But as fond as he was of Azure, Francis was torn over what to think about the recent happenings concerning him. His actions had been so far out of character it wasn't even funny, even if they were somewhat justified. Francis couldn't imagine what it must have done to him to see the murderer of his entire crew stand before him so unexpectedly.

He couldn't put himself in Azure's shoes, and he was glad for it. That was a tragedy he could certainly do without. But still, it made the first commander terribly unpredictable, if his loyalties might now be divided between his dead father and his captains, who were related with each other in a way nobody could have predicted.

Not for the first time, Francis cursed the fact that it had been the kids' grandfather who'd been sent to contain the threat Azure's father had to have posed in the past. There were dozens, hundreds of Marines who probably would have been strong enough to deal with them. Why did it have to be Garp? The man should be retired, already!

Still, as much as Francis felt for Azure, he knew he had to be wary. He knew that he would have to be the one to keep an eye on their first commander, to make sure he didn't turn on them. The thought alone made him feel guilty for doubting the blue-haired man's loyalty, but to hope that this hadn't impacted him negatively would be foolishly optimistic. And Francis couldn't afford to be Luffy.

"What's he doing here?" Ace suddenly asked rudely, crossing his arms as he glowered at the surgeon lounging next to Finn. Francis sighed at the already predictable, terribly unoriginal confrontation to come, but he suspected that for once, Ace actually used his grudge against Law to diffuse an even more tense situation.

"Petitioning," the surgeon in question drawled, unbothered by Ace's usual hostility. If anything, it seemed to amuse him. Considering how antagonistic and occasionally sadistic Law was turning out to be, Francis certainly wouldn't be surprised if he enjoyed Ace's attitude.

"Law wants a medical unit," Sabo explained more elaborately, throwing an apologetic look towards his brother. "And he's right. If it hadn't been for him, we'd have probably had casualties during the battle."

"Fine, fine," Ace grumbled, looking close to pouting. "Shouldn't Beckett be here for that, though? He is the senior doctor on this ship."

All looks turned back towards the bored surgeon louning on the couch. Raising an eyebrow at the sudden expectant looks, Law yawned. "Your choice, captains. But I'm sure you know that Beckett's more of a general practicioner. I'm an experienced field surgeon, and my devil fruit makes me uniquely equipped for the kind of work I'm expecting."

"Good point," Francis conceded, though he wasn't completely comfortable with the idea. It wasn't that he didn't like Law or thought that he wasn't capable of fulfilling his job, but Beckett had been the doctor on his crew for quite a while. As such, the first mate was painfully aware of the elder man's pride.

"I'd like to talk about it with Beckett, first, though," he added, already discarding ideas on how to break the news to him. That was certainly one conversation he wasn't looking forward to.

"So Law's gonna be the third commander, then?" Ace asked reluctantly, his voice barely above a growl. "Which people is he going to command, exactly?"

For once, Law actually looked hesitant before speaking. Maybe because despite their strained relationship, Ace was still his captain, and in this case, he'd certainly need his approval. "I'd hoped the other two units could spare a few people with medical experience. There's already a couple who help out in the infirmary. And I don't need that many. Five to ten should suffice for now."

"Go ahead," Finn immediately allowed, maybe a little too quickly. "You can have Becca." Francis snickered at the teenager's plight, who glared indignantly. "Hey, she works in the infirmary, anyways. It's a justified decision," he stressed, the embarrassed blush suggesting otherwise.

"She'll be heartbroken," Francis lamented, his amusement not veiled in the slightest. The fellow redhead was always good company if you knew how to handle her. "Though I'm sure she'll be very happy with Mr. Tall, Dark and Broody here," he added suggestively.

"Oh, stop, you're making me blush," Law drawled sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "What do you think?" he asked more seriously in the direction of their captains. Luffy snored happily.

"Sounds good," Sabo confirmed. "Talk it over with Finn and …" he broke off, grimacing slightly. "Go to Amy. I'm sure she can help you out. And let us know who you picked afterwards."

"Keep it quiet for now," Francis stressed again, anxious at the quick orders. "Beckett's easily offended."

The surgeon's dark eyes swept to him, the bags under his eyes unusually prominent in the fading daylight. "You sure you don't wanna give the position to Beckett?"

Francis hesitated for a moment. It was very considerate of Law to relinquish the position he'd just been promoted to, especially when even Ace couldn't deny that he was perfectly qualified for it. "No," he finally said with resolve. "Beckett's a grown man, he can take it. Besides, he's never been on a battlefield before and won't ever go there if he has anything to say about it. I'm sure he'll be fine with it."

"I won't intrude in his infirmary, if he worries about that," Law conceded. This matter had to be quite close to his heart for the surgeon to be this accommodating. "We're just going to have to coordinate on medical supplies occasionally."

"I'll pass it on," Francis acknowledged, turning towards the door when a sharp knock resounded through the room. "Yes?"

Dante entered the room with an annoyed expression on his face, the rimmed glasses far more prominent as his hat was missing. "Got an island the log pose's not pointing to. Do we want to go there?"

"An island the log pose isn't pointing to?" Sabo asked incredulously, shaking Luffy awake gently. "That's not possible, is it?"

The white-haired man pinched his nose, adjusting his glasses in the process. "If it was impossible, I wouldn't be here," he snapped, before he apparently remembered that he was usually quite fond of the blond captain and his extensive knowledge. "But you're right. If there was an island closer than the one our log pose's pointing to now, it would be pointing there, but it doesn't," he continued a bit more calmly.

"So it's a mystery island!" Luffy immediately contributed, up and going far too quickly for a sleepy head like Francis to realistically conceive.

"Yes, it's a mystery island," Dante huffed exasperatedly, tapping his finger against the door handle impatiently. "So, do we go there or not?"

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Francis looked around the room to see only intrigued, excited and absolutely exhilarated faces. "Do you even have to ask?" he sighed. And there went his hope that they'd manage to go to an island once and not get into all kinds of trouble.

Luffy ran outside with a loud cheer, the rest of the group following more (or less, in Francis' case) enthusiastically to join their many crewmembers already pointing towards the strange phenomenon. "There really is an island," Ace admitted with a sceptical glance to his log pose.

"It looks kind of boring, aside from the fact that it shouldn't be there," Sabo added, mirroring his brother's tone as he scrutinized to the bleak, rocky island from afar.

"Never judge a book by its cover, right?" Ace remarked smartly, sending the blonde captain a mischievous smirk.

"Oh god, now he makes book jokes. The world's coming to an end," Sabo complained dramatically, clutching Ace's shoulder in despair. Francis spontaneously decided that Law and Finn were much better company if he wanted to give his nerves a break.

"Come on, Law, magic us to the island!" Finn ordered when the first mate approached the pair, unfortunately only a few steps separating them from the two bickering captains.

Law growled through clenched teeth. "I can't. My room doesn't reach that far," he snapped, his knuckles white against the dark hilt of his sword.

"It doesn't?" Finn asked with mock surprise that definitely indicated that he'd already been aware of that fact. "I bet I could make someone faint from that distance," he bragged, completely unfounded as far as Francis was aware.

The surgeon obviously thought similarly to the first mate. "Yeah, right. Why don't you prove it?" he purred, pointing towards the rocky shore.

The blue-eyed teenager spluttered. "There's nobody there! I can't do it without a test subject!" Francis spontaneously decided that Finn was spending far too much time in Law's presence if he already talked about test subjects, and wondered absent-mindedly if the dark waves were supposed to look this inviting.

Their spat was fortunately broken up by an outside force. Unfortunately, that force distinctly smelled like rubber that had been accelerated to quickly and was accompanied by two indignant yells. A wary glance back to his previous position showed that the two elder captains were, indeed, gone.

Francis buried his face in his hands. "Not again," he moaned desperately. Why couldn't they, just once, act like normal, reasonable human beings?

"There, there," Goode said good-naturedly, patting his back a bit too hard for it to be comforting.

The first mate sighed, too exasperated to really put up much of a fight. "Alright, pick it up, guys," he ordered, burying his hands in his pockets. "We need to catch up to the captains. Any way we can go faster, Dante?"

His former mentor sent him his usual condescending look. "Feel free to pick up the paddles if we're too slow for you," he snapped, his eyes flitting from the clouds to the sea to his log pose to his notes, anywhere but Francis' face.

"A simple no would have done it," Francis grumbled, but quickly put up his hands in defeat when Dante sent him a stern look.

A few minutes passed by faster than he could blink as they tried their best to catch up to their wayward captains. However, at long last, Francis couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach anymore. "Is it just me or are we further away from the island than before?"

An uneasy silence met his statement.

"Does anyone here have any ideas how we could go faster?" Francis asked desperately at the lack of reaction.

Nobody on deck quite wanted to meet his eyes as heads were scratched, strange tunes were whistled, and awkward whispers were exchanged.

Finally, a deep sigh interrupted the uncomfortable mood. "I can probably give you a bit of a boost," Smoker grumbled, exhaling a cloud of smoke that was quickly joined by more pouring from his arms. The heavy gas was directed towards their main sail, generating pressure that hadn't been there before.

For a few seconds, Francis actually believed they were making good time. The island was finally getting closer again, once again turning larger than simply a spot on the horizon until they could once again make out the outline of the rocky coast.

Then, the ocean swallowed the island whole.

Another silence fell over the deck, this time tinged with disbelief and mild panic.

"So … that just happened," Goode stated drily.

Francis groaned and wondered if he should finally get out of bed. Unfortunately, he also knew that he wasn't nearly imaginative enough to dream such a mess.

xXx

Ace was having an incredibly difficult time breathing.

That didn't actually bother him that much, though – to be honest, he was more pissed about the fact that the air pressure was so high that he couldn't curse his ridiculous little brother who simply couldn't enter an island normally. What was so evil about a plank or a rope?

Anyways, as Ace was slowly turning blue, his skin turning cold against the turbulent rush of air slamming into him, he forcefully turned his head to watch where they were going.

The rocky landscape they'd seen in the distance was approaching far too quickly now. Unfortunately, he still couldn't make out anything more than the boring picture Sabo and he had discussed earlier, since his visual receptors couldn't quite deciper the onslaught of ever-changing information they received.

Still, he could make out enough to pick the perfect time to free himself of Luffy's tight grip and land on his feet before his little brother could crash them against the large rock that had suddenly turned up in their way. And if the lower half of his body turned into flames from the sudden impact, nobody ever had to mention it again.

Luffy, of course, stubbornly continued on his way and blew through the rock, leaving an interesting shape imprinted in it.

"So …" Ace started, looking around himself. Sabo wasn't anywhere closeby, so he presumed that the blonde had used Luffy as a buffer and was probably with their younger brother. Feeling for their presences with his Haki, Ace started his trek towards their position.

It had only been three days, and they were already on a new island. A bright, slightly mischievous grin appeared on the raven's face. Oh, how glad he was they'd set sail earlier than they'd originally planned! The last few months had simply been brilliant, with all their ups and downs and the craziness that was the Grand Line.

And their crew was simply great. Even with all the problems they'd run into since starting their journey, it had only forged closer bonds between their already numerous shipmates. And they were still gaining new members, still expanding.

Ace smirked. Soon, they'd be able to rival Shanks and Whitebeard in size, if not quite in quality yet. And once they'd proved they could be considered as worthy opponents … His grin slipped slightly. Well, Ace was counting on Oyaji's sentimentality for his old rival, was praying that fond memories would prevail long enough for them to be able to form an alliance with the Whitebeard pirates.

Even if he couldn't join their crew this time around, even if he didn't really want to, anymore, since he now had a different family he was just as, if not more responsible for, he at the very least wanted to make sure that they wouldn't be meeting on the battlefield as enemies. That was something Ace was absolutely certain he wouldn't be able to stomach.

But those contemplations were still quite far into the future. For now, they had to make sure they even made it into the New World in one piece, considering the Marines' recent, rather intense pursue. Not only that, but they'd also have to keep an eye out for a certain Shichibukai.

"Luffy?!" Ace immediately picked up his pace when he heard Sabo's shout a bit ahead of him. "Where are you, Lu?" A worried frown appeared on the elder raven's face as he recognised the mild panic in the blonde's voice, and he started running while searching for his little brother's presence.

He was barely out of breath when he reached Sabo, both their faces lined with concern and concentration. "What happened?" Ace rushed out hurriedly, scouring the island's surface with ever-increasing fear.

Where the heck was Luffy? This wasn't supposed to happen, they weren't supposed to get separated again. Luffy wouldn't just disappear on them like that, unreachable by Haki, without telling them first. As inconsiderate and unthinking he could sometimes be, he usually was at least as close that they could easily feel each other if they tried, for the peace of mind of all three.

"I don't know!" Sabo downright screeched, his eyes wide. "He was right here, we were talking about the island, you know, usual stuff, talking about meeting up with you and all that. And then, he was just suddenly gone, from one moment to the next, I wasn't looking for just a second, I swear!"

"Fuck," Ace cursed. Not even for a moment did he think about telling Sabo to calm down, knowing this would be a futile effort when he was a second away from a panic attack as well. He knew Luffy could handle himself, of course, he knew – but he was still his little brother. Freaking out was completely justified.

"There's nothing on this entire island! Where the heck could he have gone?" Ace gave up his search with Observation Haki, turning up nothing. Nothing on the entire island. It wasn't populated by anything but birds, snails, and crabs. A crab could hardly have kidnapped their little brother, could it?

"I don't know!" Sabo repeated, clutching his own elbows with his hands. "Let's just look, okay?"

A tense silence fell between them as they started walking over the rocky island, only broken when one of them shouted Luffy's name without success. With every second that passed without a sign of Luffy, their faces scrunched up further, and they moved closer together.

Ace was maybe a second away from grasping Sabo's hand just to make sure his blonde brother was still here, at least, when he heard him stumble, rocks rumbling against each other. "What the …" Sabo muttered annoyedly, before falling silent.

And he stayed silent.

Ace almost didn't turn around. For a few precious seconds, he kept walking, desperately ignoring the voice in his head that said that Sabo. Wasn't. Making any sounds.

Then, he turned around.

And Sabo was gone.

Later, Ace would be proud to say that he didn't hyperventilate. But it was a very, very close thing.

His breath was going to fast, and the world was turning in ways it shouldn't. At some point, he fell to his knees.

"Sabo?" His voice was weak, barely above a whisper. "Sabo!" he repeated louder and louder, until his voice had grown to a shriek.

Somehow, he managed to stumble back to his feet, making his way back to the spot he'd last seen his blonde brother. The ground was somehow more uneven than before.

He couldn't muster up enough focus to use Haki to search for his brothers. But that didn't matter, did it? They were gone. He hadn't found Luffy, why would he find Sabo now?

Ace wasn't sure where he was going. Everthing looked the same. How could he find them when he didn't even know where he was?

Luffy and Sabo could take care of themselves. They could. They were the three demon brothers. They could take on anyone.

So why couldn't he find them?

Suddenly, the ground disappeared beneath his feet.

Ace didn't even have enough mental capacity to curse when the air once again rushed by him far too quickly, but the slide to wherever was probably pretty mild in comparison to flying with Luffy. Which would happen again.

After an achingly long period of disorientation, Ace painfully landed on his ass. A bit dazedly, he looked around the place he'd fallen into, taking in the metal walls, the artificial lights, the sparse furniture and the mountain of a man peering down on him.

Ace blinked. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered where the heck this man had come from when he hadn't felt a single human being on the entire island when he'd scoured it for Luffy before.

That tiny thought managed to bring back some rational thought to his brain, fighting bravely against his overwhelming panic. If he'd missed this man, maybe he'd simply been sloppy and missed Luffy and Sabo, too?

Then again, he wasn't completely certain this man was human. He was huge. His shoulders were far broader than they had any right to be, his arms looked downright bloated in a very unnatural way. Even though his movements were mostly smooth when he moved closer to Ace, there was something mechanical to them.

"That's your third, then?" he asked gruffly, lifting his sunglasses to look at Ace with intense eyes. What on earth was going on with his chin? He lifted his strange arms, revealing blue stars tattooed on them, and struck a weird pose. "SUPER!"

xXx

A/N: Thanks for still being here despite the horrendously long waiting time! Unfortunately, with 12k chapters, it's very easy to hit a writer's block, but so far, I've always managed to find my inspiration again at some point.

This time, I simply wasn't happy with where Azure was going. I had a whole part written out where he tells the others about his past, where he finds closure, so to speak, and simply decides to surpass Garp. But that just ... didn't fit. This is such a complex issue, it simply didn't feel natural for him to come to terms with this so quickly. So this is likely going to stay a smoldering conflict for a while.

Anyways, I hope you still liked the chapter! Finally, the first strawhat has entered the stage! Tell me your thoughts!

A few things that came up in the comments:

1) Yes, Garp did indeed kill Azure's crew. He is a Marine, after all. Going after pirates is kind of his job, even if he's seen shirking it more often than not. I feel it's far too easy to forget that sometimes, that Garp has earned his reputation as a ridiculously strong Marine.

2) For the people who're still asking for the rest of the Strawhats to show up ... I'm working on it. I've recently had an idea how to introduce them earlier than I'd originally planned, but it's all still very vague. I don't want the story to be too plot-driven. My focus, as you might have noticed, is more on the characters.

3) I don't have a fixed past between Law and Luffy in mind - I'm kinda waiting for what the manga will reveal, but I'll probably be waiting for a long time still, so I'll have to come up with something at some point. But I feel that the prospect that Law dies for Luffy in the canon future is fairly likely.

4) I originally planned on revealing the new bounties and Sabo's epithet this chapter, but it felt unoriginal to do it the same way as last time. So it's gonna come up in the next chapter.

5) I got a comment that I'm portraying the whole Ivy - Zandra thing a bit one-sided. That's true, and intentional. However, since I didn't want this to escalate, this chapter shows a bit of a different side of her.

6) Ace's narcolepsy is known to the crew, actually. It would be kind of difficult to hide. And Ace didn't have a narcoleptic fit during the last chapter, Sabo knocked him out, just for clarification. I'm not really planning to give him medication, because he didn't take anything in canon ... no idea why, but I figure he'd just forget to take it. *shrugs*

7) CP9 has partly infiltrated Water 7 already by the time we'll get there. In the manga, it says they infiltrated five years before the Strawhats arrived there, and we're currently six years ahead of the canon timeline. I'm aware of that. But I also think it wouldn't be very subtle if four agents infiltrated the island at once. So that's the excuse I'll be going with - they simply didn't arrive all at the same time.

8) Pairings for Ace, Sabo and Luffy - they're currently fourteen and eleven respectively. They'd be very unlikely to meet anyone their age, who could even possibly grasp what they're going through, so no. Not to mention I think I'd be crap at writing romance. Especially for One Piece.

That should cover the reviews, I think. If anyone has any other questions, let me know! Especially you now finally have a new chapter to think about :P

Unlike last time, I'm not gonna promise the next chapter will come soon. My writing process is very unpredictable. But I'm gonna do my best! See you soon!