*Rises from the depths of the ocean late with Starbucks.* Uh, hi? I'm going to pretend it didn't take me this long to get this chapter out and leave it quietly here and hope that you all still enjoy it as much as you've been seeming to. Also lot's of skipping around and some info dump. But the next chapter is going to pick up and get exciting. This chapter is also known as Side Characters Get Some Love.
In his experience, he knew that coincidences were very rarely just that. The timing was too perfect. Ace had told him of his lineage and then he was taken. Whitebeard was old, but he hadn't lost his sharpness yet. More than likely this group had some sort of problem with Roger or knew how eager the Marines would be to get ahold of his son.
It was simply amazing, that people could be so greedy that they would put their lives on the line for something so non-important. Still, even their apparent cleverness wouldn't let them live long once they caught up.
He didn't feel sorry for them, to have the full wrath of him and his sons solely on them, especially Marco.
Despite the situation, he grinned to himself. Marco and Ace, they certainly were the pair, he could see how Izou was so keen to figure out their relationship to each other. Subconsciously, they were important to each other. Never in all of his years with Marco (and it had been so many that he no longer knew the number) had he seen him form that fierce of a protectiveness over someone. The phoenix was relaxed around the fire-user, and it was nice to see. Ace on the other hand, from his limited experience with him, seemed to be the most at peace with Marco. They had also spent a large amount of their time together.
Whatever came of it he'd approve of, they were good for each other. Its why he had sent Marco ahead, Whitebeard could tell that his eldest was growing restless and stressed (and it would start to take a toll on him).
That was two days ago, meaning at any time he would be called and given a report. He had a sinking feeling in his pit that he knew that he shouldn't ignore, whether it was about Ace and his current status or about the kidnappers themselves he wasn't sure.
The call came after he settled in with lunch. As usual the nurse had made sure it was as green and leafy as possible.
'Peru-peru-peru'
He looked over to where the snail was now awake, it already had Marco's features.
'Peru-peru-peru'
"Hello?"
"Pops!" Marco sounded surprised.
"Is everything alright?" There was an odd twist to his gut.
"I think," there was a long pause, "No, I know we've been tricked, yoi."
The twisting settled down into something heavier, he knew Marco would explain in time. His son had always taken the time to phrase his thoughts correctly.
"There's no sign of a ship out here, and every island I've checked is uninhabitable. By the charts any further they'll hit the gales and that will tear any ship smaller than the Moby apart."
Had they really been mislead so badly? It had cost them so much time already, whoever this group was, The Snapdragons (which seemed to be another trick) now had a week lead on them, and by the time they got back to their original starting point it'd be a two week lead.
"Return to the ship, we'll have to think about our next course of action," Whitebeard sighed heavily, away from the receiver.
"Yes, Pops."
Ga-chunk.
It'd take Marco another day to get back to the ship. They were far enough behind, there wasn't a way to make up unless they were fortunate to catch a tailwind, at this time of year it was unlikely. And now they were back at the beginning, not a single link to Ace's kidnappers, and any that they would have would be long gone off the island.
Whitebeard felt his age for the first time in a long while. There was absolutely nothing they could do. Keep sailing in the direction they were told and maybe it was the truth, or turn around and potentially pick the wrong direction from there and waste more time. Of course they could stay at a port until they hear something new, but that might not happen and the Marines would be nervous enough to engage his family if they were stationary for any length of time, and he doubted his sons would want to take such a passive stance. His hands were tired, and he was having trouble seeing how they could save Ace in a timely manner with so little to go off of.
It was made worse when he thought about what Ace had told him that night. He was Roger's son, a person that many would want to see hurt and dead as if that would settle any score they had with the Pirate King. A cruel fate indeed. He vowed that when they got Ace back there wouldn't be a soul that would know that the Gol bloodline still lived. Ace would have full discretion on who knew.
There was one thing that bothered him, the Marines had killed any woman and child thought to be involved with the Pirate King. Rouge would've had to have been in a town, heavily pregnant, how did she hide herself and the baby that long? Whitebeard guessed that there was a friend in the Marines, and he had a vague guess as to who it could be.
He still couldn't believe that someone had been bold enough to challenge him on such a direct level. The care that they had taken to avoid pursuit was telling him that they weren't sure they could win a head on conflict. Of course, he thought, it could be a directed attack on Roger or Ace himself. It was the most likely case when he thought further on it, much of Ace's past was a secret and it was possible that he made some bad enemies or if he knew he was Roger's son then other people surely knew as well. Information like that would catch a very high price.
It was a slap in the face, if that was the case, because he was Roger's son then there had to be talk about that in the information network. There was only one person on the ship that could find talk about something like that, or may already know about any news like that.
His door slowly opened, he saw a small mousy girl, Ellie. She was the nurse sent to check on him, it had been decided that he would be checked on every hour because of the potential damage rising stress levels could cause him.
"Ellie?"
"Yes Pops?" She spoke quietly.
"Can you find Haruta for me? I need to talk to them."
She looked startled by the request, "Right away!"
A few seconds the door had clicked shut and he heard the sound of running footsteps. This was grasping at straws, but it was the only thing that he had to grasp at.
Haruta knew it wasn't unusual for Pops to call down one of the commanders, but they weren't used to being called down so suddenly. Something had to be wrong, Ellie had come charging straight at them, yelling about Pops wanting their presence.
"Any idea what Pops wants?" They asked.
"No, he just asked me to get you," she wrung her hands together, "do you think this has anything to do with Ace?"
Thinking on it, it made sense, that this this would be about their currently missing brother. Still if it was something important the, why wouldn't anyone else be called down? Oh no! What if I missed a summoning call, that'll be so embarrassing!
"Maybe. No one else was down there?" Haruta asked.
"Pops was talking to Marco when I was down the hallway, maybe he found something?"
They shrugged. It was hard to know what Marco would report, the New World was unpredictable most of the time, it could've been that he got stopped by the weather or something else had happened, like an island suddenly surfacing. Haruta winced at that thought, it was throw off Marco's homing and it could make him permanently disoriented and then they would have two brothers missing.
"Haruta!" Ellie was holding up her hands looking worried, "you spaced out there for a moment."
"Sorry, it's a lot to think about. We've never had something like this happen before."
Ellie nodded in agreement. She had only be aboard two years but rarely was anyone approached in a hostile manner. Being on such an infamous crew had its perks.
Haruta moved forward. More anxious to see what was the importance of the meeting now. Ace was a good friend and it would be nice to get him back as soon as possible. As it was they felt rather useless waiting around. Everyone was feeling that way, everyone but Marco that was. He was able to go out and do something. All of the commanders were in agreement that Marco would be practically unbearable if he hadn't been allowed this mission.
Maybe Izou's speculation has more to it than they had given him credit for. If that was the case then it was all the more important that they get Ace back. In all the years of being on this crew Haruta had never seen Marco infatuated with anyone, not even going to a brothel. They thought about it, Marco would be good for Ace maybe even getting him to open up to the crew and Ace might get Marco to loosen up.
Pop's door loomed bigger than it ever had before. Not knowing what the meeting was about was making it worse. Ellie gave an encouraging thumbs up from behind. Haruta took in a deep breath and knocked, once, twice, three times.
"Enter."
Haruta opened the door just wide enough for them to slip in before closing it quietly, "you wanted to see me?"
"Yes," Pops looked out of his window.
They took a seat across from their father and swung their legs. Patience wasn't a particular strength of theirs, but in this case the longer the conversation was put off the better. They could at least think of what to say, even though they didn't have the question. Man this really bites.
"Haruta," they jumped at being addressed, "has there been any odd chatter in the information channels?"
"Odd? How do you mean? Nothing normal ever happens in the New World."
Pops rubbed his mustache, "anything stand you to you?"
They thought about it for a moment, there was a lot of information daily, but it was usual run of the mill stuff. Where the marines are, the situations on some of their territories, movements of the Revolutionary army, Pirate crews and their locations. Ah.
"Drum island had a crew drop someone off recently and rumors say there's an unknown vessel heading that direction. Could be a meet up."
"Hm," Pops raised an eyebrow, "what was said about the man being dropped off?"
Haruta shrugged, "a civilian. A doctor from East Blue. Even in the turmoil it isn't unheard of for medical professionals to study there."
"And this vessel?"
"Well local tavern keepers have only been able to get their destination, and the sightings are frequent but it seems like the crew is rushed. With a lot of medical supplies being bought."
"Could be a sick crew member seeking treatment," Whitebeard's voice was heavy, "is that the only unusual information you have?"
"Things have been pretty quiet lately," Haruta felt like they just failed a test.
The sigh that Pop's let out was long and exhausted.
"Pops?" They moved to sit on the edge of their seat, "what is it you wanted me to find?"
"I was seeing if the crew had been bragging about capturing one of my sons."
That made sense. Haruta shook their head, "nothing like that. They're smart, I'll give them credit for that. Has Marco found anything?"
Pops shook his head, "no. He's returning back to the ship. We'll have to plan from there."
"We've lost the trail?" Haruta whispered.
"It seems like that's the case."
They shook their head, hand going over their mouth. It was impossible, they were one of the most well informed crews on the sea, how could they lose the one ship that actually mattered. Something had to come forward for them. Haruta thought harder on if they had heard anything. The only thing sticking out was the Drum Island business, but that had nothing to do with them.
Was there nothing that they could do? A horrifying thought circled around Haruta's heart.
Have we lost Ace permanently?
Ace felt light, lighter than he ever had before. He'd just been given his next dose of medicine and the pain fled his body. It was heaven, anything was heaven compared to the pain he was in. Something prodded in the back of his mind that he shouldn't be so willing to subject himself to this medication, but the more pain filled part of his brain smothered it.
There was still someone moving around the room, whoever it was that gave him the medicine. Things clattered together and he ignored them. Pleasant heat was coursing through his veins.
"How is he?" A new voice, or maybe he had been there the entire time.
"Completely claimed by it, sir."
"Really?"
Something jostled him and he only knew that he moved because his head bounced harmlessly against the ground. Or at least he was pretty sure that he was still on the ground. Huh. And then the thought vanished.
"He won't remember a thing in this state."
"Good. Then he won't cause any problem when we exchange him at Drum Island."
An island made of drums? Weird. Wonder if Marco knows about it? He stilled, that name registered, but he wasn't sure why. Marco? Yoi!
Ace dissolved into a fit of giggles, who the hell says yoi? What did it even mean? The two men stopped talking and the there was a loud bang and Ace was left alone still giggling. Again part of him worried about this, he thought there was something wrong with his ribs and that he shouldn't be moving them too much.
The giggling went on for what seemed like hours before he was out of breath and sleepy. His head dropped completely to the ground and the rest of his body relaxed as well. Ace's eyes started drooping and he didn't feel like fighting it. The dreams he would have would be as pleasant as the feeling currently coursing through him.
Since Chopper had told her of the pirates coming a week ago Kureha had been keeping an eye on the docks. The last thing they needed was a group of pirates wrecking their already ruined livelihood. What she would do if they did show up, well she wasn't entirely sure.
There was that long ago gotten den-den mushi number of Whitebeard's she had, nothing would deter pirates more than seeing any of the Whitebeard Pirates arrive at the island. Though, there was the question of if he would even remember her, she had been younger and he had been barely able to maintain a presence on the Grandline with his captain's crew.
It was the only thing that could save this pathetically cold island she called home.
Though that man could've just been talking and the threat was just that. Still she would keep her eye on those arriving.
"Doctorine?"
She turned to face the reindeer, "hm?"
"Will the pirates be like Doctor?" Chopper tilted his head.
Kureha turned her gaze back out of the window, "probably not."
"Eh? Why not?"
"The nice pirates are the outliers, most that have taken to the sea were the wrong sorts."
Chopper looked crestfallen. She understood why, even if that quack hadn't been an actual doctor he still called himself a pirate, Jolly Roger and all.
"If you decide to ever leave this island as a pirate, make sure you find one like that quack's to serve under."
"Okay!"
"Are those ointments finished yet?"She laughed when she heard the squeak and rapid tapping of hooves down the hallway.
A month, hm. Kureha frowned, she didn't know that man's time table but she could assume that the pirates would be punctual. Chopper's source had also said to watch the newspapers, she wondered what kind of sign he would be getting.
Dwelling on things she could do nothing about helped no one, so she instead turned around to go find where her apprentice went and make sure he hadn't completely ruined the ointments.
Honestly, she just wished this whole age of pirates was over with. Roger and Whitebeard going at it had been enough for her to last a lifetime. Every other crew was just blowing hot air out.
+7 days
Two weeks and they were back where they started. They had lost some time on the trip back, the tailwind they had all been pleased about had turned against them, or it was more accurate to say that it hadn't changed. Marco was about two seconds from flying off of the ship himself in search for Ace.
Really the only thing holding him back was experince. He knew how bad the New World could get, and there was a chance that he might not even find his way back to the Moby if he got disoriented. However the moment that they had a clear destination all bets were off.
Izou came up beside him, "your brooding is ruining whatever good mood is still on this ship."
Marco snorted, "sorry, yoi."
"It's understandable. We don't have a single lead on this organization. There's nothing on them, we know they're good, but so are we."
On some level he knew that, but in practice he couldn't find his optimism, "it's like trying to find a ghost."
Izou nodded, "but we'll find the ghost and then beat them up."
"What about Ace, yoi? We don't even know his condition or what they're planning on doing with him."
"Haruta is keeping an eye on the bounty checkpoint, also they keep listening for anything suspicious that could be them."
Behind them the usual pre-docking rush was ending as the boardwalks drew closer. Marco narrowed his eyes, there was a man running towards them waving his arms, apparently trying to get their attention.
That usually never was a good sign, a civilian wanting the attention of pirates. Maybe it was the desperation, but Marco leapt of the ship and glided down to meet the man about halfway. Izou called after him and then called for Thatch.
The man didn't even wait for him to straighten up,"oh, thank the gods you're back. I had thought that you had left port for good and then I would've felt horrible-"
"Slow down, I don't understand a word you're saying," Marco said.
"Okay," he took a long deep breath, "you're part of the crew that was here a while ago? Asking about that Ace kid?"
Marco's heart started beating faster in anticipation, could it really be information? "That was us, yoi. Why?"
"Well, when your people were asking around I didn't put the two and two together until your ship had left port. I'm Wallace the dock master here, I know every ship that enters my port. Only they aren't all as memorable as your fine ship. What kind of wood is she made out of?"
Izou and Thatch appeared behind Marco, and he thanked them silently for the reminder to not lose his cool.
"You were saying about Ace?" Marco tried to steer the conversation back to one that was helpful.
"Right, right. Sorry. Just haven't talked to a pirate before, much less legends like you lot," Wallace smiled apologetically, "so this Ace kid, he's the one on the poster?"
Marco only raised an eyebrow.
"Well, it hadn't occurred to me when you were asking about ships that had been docked recently, but there was one that hadn't docked but set anchor out near the coral reef and several skiffs landed on the beach throughout the day."
He shared a look with his brothers. This could be something.
"These skiffs, what stuck out about them?" Thatch stepped forward.
"Well, they were there all day for one. Skiffs are usually meant for quick stops you know, don't have to bring in the big ship and dock only to leave an hour later."
"That's it?"
Izou elbowed Thatch.
"Well, no. I went inside the dock house for maybe five minutes round midnight, and when I came out they were all heading to the ship. Every one of them. There was blood on the sand too."
"You're certain, yoi?"
Wallace grinned proudly, "smelled it myself."
Marco wasn't going to get into that, "do you remember anything about that ship? Its flag, a name, an usual body style?"
"Er, well," Wallace stepped back, "my memory is pretty foggy."
It was only with a great amount of patience that Marco didn't phoenix punch (Thatch's term) this man. He was one of those people. Willingly gave out information for a price. Honestly Macro wouldn't have been surprised if Wallace wasn't the one to sell out their location in the first place.
However, Izou's patience had run out. He pulled and cocked his pistol in one fluid motion, "I hope this jogs your memory."
Wallace swallowed, "I believe it does. The flag, it was one of those skull ones. Black, and it had handcuffs behind the skull with beli symbols in the eyes."
That was something they could work with. They had to track down that ship.
Marco turned and began to walk back to the ship, Thatch turned with him.
Izou however had one last question, "which way did it head?"
"Back towards the Red Line."
"Let's go Izou, he's not worth the bullet." Thatch called.
"I don't know, he could've sold out Ace in the first place, and he didn't bother mentioning this the first time that we asked."
As much as he agreed with his brother, he knew that Thatch also had a point, "we can't kill him, yoi. If we cause trouble then we'll just get delayed by the marines."
Izou stared the man down for a few more seconds before he uncocked the gun and turned to fall in step with his brothers.
As they returned to the Moby, Marco heard the rapid beat of footsteps. They'd probably have to wait awhile before they returned to this particular island. It wasn't that big of a loss to Marco personally, but it was a convenient place for supplies.
That was fiddling with his hands. 3...2...1...
"Do you think that's them? The ones that took Ace?"
Marco shrugged, trying to project the calm that he was usually known for, "I don't know who else it could be, yoi."
"Either way," Izou sighed, "is our only clue."
"It's a flag. Flags change, it might have even been a decoy," Thatch muttered darkly.
"Again, we don't have anything else," Izou countered.
Thatch fell silent. It was rare for the chef to be so negative. Marco knew it was because everything seemed to be false or a dead end, but he knew that if they lost hope now, Ace would never be found. The Whitebeard Pirates never gave up on family.
He lept up to the railing, leaving behind the ensuing argument that would occur.
Jozu jumped at his sudden appearance, "thought you three would be gone for awhile."
"There was somebody with information, yoi," Marco shook his head.
"Helpful."
"Aren't they always? They seem to always know when people are willing to pay for information."
"And did you?" Jozu raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not, yoi. Do you know where Haruta is?"
"They were with Jiru."
Marco leapt off of the railing, "thanks."
Finding Haruta, as always was a challenge. Despite being on the ship longer, it felt like he didn't know it at all. How Ace navigated it better would forever be a mystery. No. It'd be something that he would ask after they got Ace back.
Jiru had shook his head apologetically, informing him that Haruta had just left. Marco sighed, even though Haruta was short they certainly disappeared quickly. Just as he was about to show his frustration he felt the presence he was looking for a few doors away.
He hadn't checked their room... Was he really losing his edge that much? Marco shook off the feeling and moved towards the door.
"Who is it?" Their voice was muffled.
"Marco, yoi."
There was some shuffling and then the door opened. Haruta looked like a mess, pale skin (paler than usual) and bags underneath their eyes. Honestly, they looked as exhausted as Marco felt.
"Yes?" Haruta said after a few seconds.
"We've got new information. The flag of a ship, yoi."
They perked up, "really? What is it?"
"A pirate flag, skull with handcuffs behind it and beli symbols in the eyes," Marco said.
"Okay. I'll go through my reports again and have my network looking for any signs."
"After you sleep, yoi."
"What?" The blinked, "but-"
Marco held up a hand, "you're no good to anyone if you're tired. Any delays you cause by resting will be far less than having to keep going through the information because you miss something."
Haruta didn't look convinced, "on two conditions."
"Sure, yoi."
"One, I get my network looking for this ship first. Two, you have to rest as well."
"I can't-"
They held up a hand, "you're no good to anyone if you're tired. Only if you're tired it's not delays it'll cost us, but lives. Besides, Izou keeps worrying about the lack of sleep you're getting and that's making everyone worry."
Marco frowned. Haruta had a point about him being needed in the fight, and if Izou was worrying then it must be obvious. Really he couldn't argue, well he could but it would just be for the sake of stubbornness.
"Fine."
"All right! Settle on the bed."
Maybe he was more sleep deprived than he thought, "what?"
"This way we both know we're fulfilling the agreement!"
"And stop the nightmares?" Marco guessed.
Haruta grinned sheepishly. Marco rolled his eyes in fondness. The bed was small and he knew it would be cramped but if it helped both of them then it would be worth it. They just needed the sleep.
About an hour later Haruta crawled in the bed next to him, the phoenix had been dozing lightly and was woken up by the sudden movement. Without a word he shifted to give his younger sibling more room. It wasn't much longer before Haruta was snoring softly and it was only minutes afterwards that Marco fell into a dreamless sleep.
It was well past dinner when they both finally awoke. Actually Haruta was already up flipping through papers. Marco yawned and stretched before watching his sibling in curiosity.
"How long have you been up?" He asked after five minutes went by and there was no change.
"Uh. Not long," Haruta responded.
There was a moment of disbelief, but Marco let it slide. Haruta had tried to rest and obviously this was important. Instead he let the other work while he watched. The crushing exhaustion had faded into just a weariness, so the rest had done him some good like he had thought. A quick glance out of the window told him that it was the middle of the night. Looks like we'll have to raid the kitchens. Ace usually gets away with it, wonder how he does it.
"Ah-ha!"
Marco's eyes snapped to Haruta in surprise.
"I knew I wasn't crazy! Marco! I knew it!"
"I'm doubting that claim at the moment, yoi. What did you find?"
Haruta frowned at him, "the flag."
The flag? What- Oh! That flag! "What do you mean?"
The commander shifted from foot to foot. It was obviously important and they didn't want to be held up in their report. Marco raised an eyebrow and Haruta stilled,they were currently superior and subordinate not siblings.
"The flag earlier sounded familiar. I told Pops about it a few days ago, maybe a week ago."
Marco made a go-on gesture.
"Well, there was reports of a pirate ship that seemed to be heading towards Drum Island."
"That's in the Grand Line, right?"
"Yeah. Known for their doctors. Anyway, I remember reading a description of the ship from a port town in Alabasta."
Marco tilted his head in a very bird-like fashion, "why did Pops want to know about that?"
Haruta shrugged, "he just asked about anything unusual. Pirates heading to Drum is in that category."
"Well," Marco stood up, "let's go tell Pops and see if we're turning our ship back towards the Grand Line. That won't worry any marines at all."
Ace blinked slowly when he heard the door open. This wasn't in the routine, the painkiller was barely wearing off, and they had been increasing the time between each. He tilted his head in confusion.
"There he is."
Ah. Boss dude. Ace kept his mouth shut, even in his pleasantly buzzed state he still couldn't trust this guy.
Fingers pressed under his chin, causing Ace's head to be lifted (with less resistance than he usually would like). Suddenly they were wrapped around his neck squeezing.
"I don't want you talking. Just listen boy."
Ace kicked out weakly at the nickname.
"Ah-ah, none of that, or we'll make you scream."
The fight had drained him anyway, he hadn't been feeling right lately. Sickly. Like he was burning and it wasn't because he was on fire. A fever?
"Good boy," the boss chuckled, "now since you haven't given us any trouble I figured it was time for a reward."
Ace wanted to ask for his chains to be off, he couldn't run with how he was feeling but all that came out of his mouth was a gasp.
"You don't get to decide what you're reward is," the fingers tightened, "what you get is some information. I figured you would like to know who sold you out, hm?"
Truthfully, he did want to know. How anyone had figured it out was beyond him. Even Marco and Jared had only known because he outright told them (his former first mate had suspected, but that was only because they were in close quarters). A person that could figure out he was blind could figure out that he was Roger's son, and he wanted that information floating around less than he wanted the blindness rumor.
"Well, I think you're familiar with a Doctor Connor?"
Doctor Connor... the name was ringing faint bells, but he couldn't place a face or a place in which they had met. Was it the doctor that had told Marco about his blindness? That didn't seem right.
"I believe he was the first person that you told about your eyesight."
Oh! What? Ace gasped and the fingers tightened. He was going light-headed.
"So you do remember him?" The boss man sounded unconcerned, "it's strange to learn that everyone is out for themselves. Even the doctors."
Ace couldn't comment that he had learned that long ago. Still there was a mild sting of betrayal. Doctor Connor hadn't been anyone to him, just a means to an end, but he had trusted him enough not to blurt one of his darkest secrets to the universe. He knew he couldn't tell anyone because he had figured out that a situation exactly like this would happen.
No one else was going to learn his secret. Not even Whitebeard and Marco would never learn his other one if he had any say in that. There was too many cards stacked against him so he had to play his close to his chest. In the end had he ever trusted the Whitebeards? Ace had felt the pressure to come clean about his father because he was worried about what would happen if it came to the surface on his own and the other time had been an accident.
So, no. He hadn't trusted them and now he felt horrible about that. From what he knew they all had some level of trust in him and he couldn't return it.
How fucked up that the curse of his father was preventing him from living like how he wanted.
"You see now? You'll never be anything more than a means to an end. I bet those pirates only took you on because you could fight against Jinbei and have the Mera-Mera no Mi. We all know they'd toss you out on your ass if they found out about your eyes."
Marco hadn't, so that was a blatant lie. Then again it seemed like Marco was a little bit of an outlier when it came to things his family did. Though, the reasons for him joining had really never been explained properly. Whitebeard had just wanted him as a son.
Strength means everything in the New World.
The boss seemed satisfied as Ace's throat was released.
"I suppose this lesson on trust came a little too late. Considering you'll be dead in less than two weeks."
With that the door shut ominously, cloaking Ace in darkness.
He shook his head. Clearly the man had been messing with him. A last ditch effort to get a rise out of a docile prisoner. It had been effective, hitting in all of the week points in his armor.
Not to mention if the Whitebeards had meant to save him, then he would've been saved by now. They wouldn't let a slight like this stand.
Had he been a more paranoid person he might even think that someone else was going to get a piece of his bounty.
No, Ace. The Whitebeards let you know if they're going to take you out.
He bent down to try and ease the burning of his face.
Though they might let a kidnapping slide if they didn't care about the person.
Two weeks. That seemed like an eternity. More than enough time to beg forgiveness for whatever sins he's committed and damn his captors and father to hell.
At least the burning feeling was soothed by the tears rolling down his cheeks.
Ace awoke slowly, he had to bite his lip as a wave of pain hit him and curled into himself when his muscles had started to convulse. He blacked out.
When he finally came back he was more sore than he had been spat out whatever had been in his mouth. It felt it a little frothy. Shivers wracked his body causing the pain to increase.
The painkillers hadn't been given to him yet, that much he knew. Those would take away the pain but he would have the warring temperatures problem. His stomach twisted and he ended up dry-heaving. Once that passed he collapsed.
Something by the door slid open.
"Is he dead?"
"No."
"Okay. Good."
It clicked shut.
Ace whined pitifully. He wanted some kind of human interaction, preferably someone to rub his head like had done for his brothers when they were sick. Though he would take anything to make him feel like he wasn't the only person in the world. If he got out of here, then he swore that he would be more social with the crew.
Provided they even wanted him back.
Tyson leaned back in his chair. The prisoner was getting sicker. Their ship doctor assured him it was nothing fatal, but the guards had told him that it appeared that he had had a seizure.
The drug had kept him calm but the area around the prisoner's finger nails had begun to yellow. They had to stop the treatment lest they cause more damage. However, the organ damage might be worth it if it kept him alive. It was only the short term they were looking at after all.
He'd make the call in a couple of days. The ship was only a couple of weeks from Drum, but Tyson was rethinking his lack of medical interference.
Ah, well, he shrugged, hindsight was twenty-twenty.
"You're certain of the reports?"
Haruta nodded their head vigorously, "of course, but to be one hundred percent certain I would have to confirm it myself."
"But how do we know the dockmaster was speaking the truth?" Namur asked.
Fossa shrugged, "there's no profit in him continuing to lie. No one would go that far to throw someone of their trail. Two weeks in most cases would be enough."
"And if we don't move it could be weeks before we get any new news," Jiru responded.
"Besides, I'd be keeping my networks looking for any other sign," Haruta spoke up again.
Whitebeard nodded along to each of the arguments, each of them had a point. Still, even with all of the lies going around Drum was their only solid lead. It would be a risk, a month of travel time at least, and they'd be leaving the New World. Someone could take advantage of that and he'd be too far away to respond.
Those two weeks had hurt them as Fossa said. There really wasn't a choice.
"We'll head to Drum unless any new information surfaces."
Several of the commanders made noises of agreement, others were just content to finally have a solid was better than the waiting and aimless drifting.
"Plot a course, the fastest one. Inform some of the other crews to watch our territories while we're out in the Grand Line. Prepare to depart at dawn."
His children stood up and began to fulfill the orders. Whitebeard would let them figure out the details.
"Marco," he called after seeing his eldest walk slowly towards the door, "wait a moment."
If anything was as worrying as Ace's disappearance it was Marco's health. His first mate settled himself back down in a nearby chair. After everyone had left Marco raised an eyebrow.
"When we get a week out from Drum, I want you to fly ahead. Scout the terrain."
"Of course, yoi."
"And should there be hostiles, do not engage," Whitebeard held Marco's gaze, "they have the ability or the gear to take out a logia. No one should fight them alone."
Marco nodded. It made sense, but that didn't mean he would have to like it. Even though he was known for his calm personality, he was itching for a fight. Not to mention they didn't know what kind of condition Ace would be in.
That was still three weeks away. Three very long weeks.
Since Pops hadn't said anything else he assumed that he was dismissed.
Well. Hope you enjoyed. Its on the shorter end, but since I actually updated I feel as though I get a pass? I've been working on this chapter periodically since the last time that I updated and so my style may switch in the middle of the work and I apologize for that. I attempted to make it consistent and grammatically correct. But alas I am a single person. Leave your thoughts below!
AS A REMINDER TO MY READERS:
1.) I am doing this for fun so I don't mean to offend anyone so I'm doing my research but if you have any suggestions or something is factually wrong feel free to tell me! Please.
2.) Ace's condition is one that I made up using parts from several others, just because I don't think I could've written any of them the way that I wanted to portray Ace.
3.) I am going to update this irregularly