Wrapping her hands with the bloodstained ribbons, Annagi was done changing from one of her black dresses she wore when training to that of what she liked to think was her vice-captain uniform.

"Will you come back?" Luffy seemed to appear from the darkness like a shadow. He smiled sadly at her outfit. It reminded him so much of Ace.

"I thought you were asleep."

"I was practicing Observation and noticed you, so I followed."

"An old friend needs my help. I have to go." She finished braiding the white ribbon into a part of her raven hair, letting the rest of her hair fall down past her hips.

"You didn't answer my question." Luffy's tone had never been more serious. He was more insightful than ever.

Annagi was silent. She didn't know the answer. Too much was uncertain. Life became uncertain when her heart died at Marineford.

"Look," Luffy continued, knowing what her silence meant. "I lost him too. He was my brother. Ace wouldn't want you to go about recklessly throwing your life away. You're carrying his baby for god's sake!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Annagi snapped back. Hearing Ace's name just brought the last memory she had of him. "My body isn't what it used to be. I'm so afraid to get hurt, or to go all out. What if it hurts the baby? Everyday it's getting worse. Everything hurts. I feel as if I'm going mad! But right now, I can't afford to think of all that. Ace would never let a crewmate down, and I'm not about to let Ken become shackled like a slave!"

"I just need you to come back." Luffy stepped towards her. He meant to keep his promise to Ace. The woman Ace loved wouldn't be left alone. "Promise me, you'll come back. I don't care when, but promise you'll come back."

She was taken aback. There was something about him that reminded her of Ace in that moment. Looking into his pleading eyes, she spoke softly, "I promise." And with that, she drank one of the prepared vials and disappeared.

"God that never gets any better." Annagi wobbled as she materialized on board a ship. Though the sails were now plain white and the figurehead was missing, she knew it was her ship.

Making her way to the captain's quarters, she half imagined Ace would be there sleeping using their navigational maps as a pillow. Even without Ace, the feeling of the wood beneath her feet and sounds of the rigging swaying in the wind felt like the small comforts of home. As she approached the cabin, she heard her crew's squabbling.

"Listen up, you sea rats!" She kicked the door open just to get them to shut up. "Since you've got time to bicker like old women, I'm sure everything's shipshape here, right?"

They all grimaced. Only half of them were in the room, though their embarrassment filled the room.

Duke cleared his throat. "We've found where they're keeping Ken. Bronco's already there. The point of concern is difficulty of freeing everyone instead of just Ken."

"Of course we're freeing them all." Annagi sat on top of the captain's desk like she used to do, more to steady herself than to sit down. "Everyone deserves freedom. It is the monsters and filth who imprison people, not the other way around."

"It's just that we've done so much work already from the shadows. To show our faces would give us the disadvantage." The turbaned man explained. Zadik was always so pragmatic. "Even though the marines here are disorganized and this place is quickly becoming lawless, there's no way to break them out without recognition. Everyone here except you has bounties on their heads."

"I guess it's time to change that then." Annagi gave the Spade Pirates a roguish grin. Seeing the look on Zadik's face forced her to rationalize her wild statement. "They don't know we're Vengeance, it's just a rumor until there's a face. Just scribbling on walls isn't going to do it anymore. Let's make a statement!"

"Are you crazy?!" Duke calm demeanor changed like the wind.

"Yes, but that's not the point," Annagi laughed a little too madly. These mood swings were the worst part pregnancy. "They're too busy hunting that bastard Blackbeard and regrouping for them to give a care to about a silly girl and her vandalism. By the time they realize what we've done, they won't be able to change people's minds."

Her outburst caused another debate. She groaned at the end; it had taken another hour before a plan could be finalized.

"Are you sure it'll work?" Bronco asked quietly. They were watching the warehouse where the slaves were being held.

"Yeah, the others are set up at intervals between here and the docks to guide everyone once they get to those points. You and Ken should pick off whatever stragglers get through my line of defense."

"I mean, can you handle the contingency of marines if they come here? You were impressive that night on the marine base, but these guys are higher ranked."

"Don't worry about me. I've given Luffy enough bruises this past week and I've even managed to land a blow on Rayleigh. These guys aren't even in the same world let alone level that I've been training at." Annagi conveniently forgot to mention that the blow she landed on the Dark King was more of a suicide move than a tactical one.

With that Annagi walked up to the warehouse. She smiled disarmingly at the four guards at the front door.

"Hi," she said sweetly before they passed out. It was the first time she used Conqueror's Haki deliberately.

Reinforcing her leg, she kicked down the door. It shouldn't have hurt, but it did. Quickly pushing the thought out of her mind, she surveyed the warehouse. There were at least twenty people sold into slavery along with Ken. She saw their hopeless eyes that mirrored her own. Did she look like that when Ace rescue her? Annagi managed to explain the plan to the people as she crushed their shackles.

"Bronco's waiting about 30 yards away, Ken. And remind me why you got captured again?" Annagi was ushering the slaves out of the warehouse.

"I thought it would be easier to rescue from the inside!" Ken laughed before leading the company to Bronco's location.

When they became small dots in the dark, Annagi let out a loud feigned warning. "OH MY GOD! I think those people escaped this warehouse!"

It brought the guards around the building to the front. "Which way did they go?"

"Hmmmm," Annagi unfastened her voulge from her back. She twirled around, cutting and parrying swords as hair caught in the wind at the swiftness of her movements. When they were all down she answered playfully, "You were too slow, I think they got away."

Looking down at her hands, she trembled. It would have taken her longer to deal with them before her training. Imagining what two years of training could do, she forgot that the marine headquarters were close by.

"Stop right there!" She heard a voice call out before she realized she was surrounded.

"No thanks!" Annagi retorted, not waiting for an answer as she ran followed by a blaze of bullets and marines at her heels. Glad that she had worked out how to use Observation and Armament Haki at the same time, she fled.

Occasionally thinning out the herd by making a stand here and there, their numbers did not diminish. As they neared the docks, she sensed a great deal of people. Knowing they were probably civilians, she stopped a final time, turning to face the marine company. Annagi concentrated on them and let out a sigh. One by one they fell down. As they fell, her eyes lit up in pride. It wasn't a fluke, she could actually control this Haki. The adrenaline coursing through her blocked the constant pain she started feeling after the marines attacked.

Just a little bit further and you can rest. Ace's voice was in her head. It was the worst possible time for a hallucination to appear. But he didn't.

Once at the docks, she spotted her ship and the people on it. They looked inconspicuous among all the other ships there. Before she could make her way there, she sensed a dangerous intent behind her.

"Who are you?" an almost robotic voice asked as it tried to swipe at her.

"Damn!" She jumped out of the way. "Let me guess. Pacifista?"

Annagi pulled her scarf down from her face and forced an angelic smile rather than a wince. Losing feeling in her arms, she gripped her voulge until her palms hurt. She heard about the cyborgs from Gramps. Of course he'd know all about them. There was a crowd around them now and sporadic flashes of light from what she believed to be cameras.

"You are not in the database," it simply stated. Towering above her with an emotionless face, the giant curly haired man made no move.

"No I am not," she rushed at it, before jumping into the air, bringing her Haki infused voulge down narrowly missing the Pacifista. Dodging its blows while laying counterstrikes led her to glean that its body was stronger than steel. There was no way he would tire before her. In fact, she knew she was running on vapor; there was nothing left inside her, all strength was sapped from her body several skirmishes ago.

She jumped again. It grabbed her before she hit the ground. Anticipating that he would do that, Annagi made sure her hands remained free so she could use her voulge to cleave his hand. Most of the people were already gone, with the exception of a few reporters hiding behind crates and building, furiously taking pictures. In an instant she was at its heart, piercing through it. The Pacifista remained motionless as Annagi pulled her voulge up, using it as a walking stick to hold her up.

She looked to the reporters in hiding with an air of complete victory that belied the pain that crushed down upon her. "What I want to know was why the Marines and their monster weapon were defending slavers. People just like you and I are snatched from their homes and sold into supposed abolished slavery, owned by so called nobles. And our very own upholders of Justice not only turn a blind eye, but defend them against the loss of their slaves. Do you want to be protected by hypocrites?" A crowd was beginning to form again. Throngs of people appeared after hearing the commotion. "A world founded on injustice never lasts. When Justice is corrupted, Vengeance is born."

In the commotion, Annagi managed to slip away though she was the focus of attention. Blending into the crowd, she reached the ship. It was already ready to set sail and did not look out of the ordinary as several ships had left after the commotion began. Amidst congratulatory cheers and gestures of thanks from pirates and freed slaves, Annagi collapsed.

"She'll be fine, Duke." Annagi heard Gramps say as her eyes fluttered open. "I don't know if it's safe or not, but I do know that if I didn't do that, neither of them would be alive."

Opening her mouth to ask what happened, all she could do was groan.

"Anna!" Gramps exclaimed. He moved to where she would see her. "Okay, this is good. But now I need you to remain calm."

Wondering why she would need to remain calm, her eyes looked down before widening in confusion. Impossible! She couldn't be this pregnant yet. Trying to get up, Annagi found her hands and feet strapped to the bed. As if just realizing it, excruciating pain coursed through her body. Gramps trying to calm her down were the last thing she remembered before everything going black.

The next time she woke up, Annagi saw Gramps smiling down at her wondering how long she was asleep. His voice the gentlest she had ever heard him sound. "Listen, Anna. I need you to listen to me, ok. Both your lives depend on it."

Annagi managed a nod. Her head felt woozy when she felt a needle in her forearm.

"Do you remember what you did at Saboady?"

Still fuzzy, she did remember after a while, and nodded again.

"After you freed everyone and got back to the ship. You collapsed as a result of pushing your body beyond what should be humanly possible. That strain on your body needed time to repair itself. For a pregnant woman, it becomes complicated. Your body couldn't both keep the baby alive and heal itself, so I had to take drastic measures. A colleague of mine was able to harness your own power to keep you from dying and I had to keep the baby alive so I had to speed up its development a bit."

"A bit!" Annagi managed to whisper as her eyes fell on a very pregnant belly.

"Ah, it worked a little bit too well," Gramps sheepishly answered, untying the bonds from his patient. "We had to put you in a deep sleep state for a little over a month now, but his development was unexpected. He's pretty much ready to come into this world."

"H-he?" Annagi hands found her belly, rubbing it gently. It was too much to take in. "And my baby's ok?"

"Yes, but you still need to rest," Gramps firmly stated, helping the girl sit up. "I don't know what kind of training you were doing with Rayleigh, but that's stopping until the baby's born and you've recovered."

"Luffy!" His face flashed in her mind. She remembered their conversation before she left. "I have to go back! I promised!"

"He knows," the old man looked at her searching for some reaction. "Luffy almost got drown and eaten trying to get to Sabaody after he found Rayleigh's newspaper."

Annagi couldn't help but laugh. Ace would have done the same thing; there was no mistaking that they were brothers.

"He managed to convince Rayleigh to visit you once a week," Gramps was busy monitoring the machines she was hooked up to. "As if I don't have things to do that I can go get him once a week. He comes here and just sits there staring at you. Sometimes I hear him muttering as if he's willing you to wake up."

"What?" Annagi began to ask before she let out a shriek. "Ah, something's moving!"

Gramps looked at her blankly. "It's your baby. Babies do tend to move around you know."

Before she could reply, the door flew open and in barged Duke, Bronco, and Ken.

"Annagi!" Ken hurried to her side. "I am so sorry! This is my fault! You'd be okay if it wasn't for me!"

She couldn't get a word in as they fussed over her asking question after question without giving her a chance to answer.

"She. Needs. Rest." Gramps spoke, his tone close to dangerous.

The room quieted down after whispered apologies. After reassurances from Annagi that none of it was Ken's fault and that there was nothing to worry about, she fell asleep listening to a status report of the fallout of her public appearance.

Her face was plastered all over newspapers, not just on the Grand Line, but all over the four seas. The world knew she was the face of Vengeance and an acquaintance of Straw Hat Luffy as they knew her face from before. The people that she freed went back to their homes and told their villages of their rescue. The Spade Pirates continued freeing slaves and scrawling their message on the walls of Marine outposts. They even picked up the habit of protecting any island they came across from pirate skirmishing for power as well as the holding back the fallout from marine and pirate battles. Slowly but surely, people were looking to them as protectors.

"She's still sleeping!" Annagi woke up hearing Gramps hissed venomously. It had been a week since she awoke from her sleep state. Gramps had guarded her like a hawk, observing her for any changes. He treated her like she was a newborn baby.

"I have to see her! I promise I won't wake her up!" It was Luffy's voice. It seemed like he was struggling to get into the room.

It took more effort than Annagi would have liked to get up and waddle to the door. Her center of gravity shifted and even with a week, she needed to hold onto the walls to not stumble. Her past week was filled with tests and more explanations of what Gramps colleague, Ivankov, did. At first, Annagi could not believe that the pink spandex wearing cross dresser had such an amazing Devil's Fruit power. Of course, the years she gave up in return were a worthwhile sacrifice for her son. Her son. It had finally sunk in that soon Ace's baby would be breathing in the world. Her thoughts often turned to Ace when she sat by herself watching the tides ebb and flow. All she wanted to see was Ace with his fire-powered boat sailing into the docks, knowing that was never going to happen again.

Painting a smile on her face, Annagi opened the door. "Hi."

She found herself wrapped in Luffy's embrace before the door fully opened. "Ann! I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Ugh." Annagi could never get used to the baby's kicking.

"Ah! Was that the baby?!" Luffy's hands were all over her belly, giggling like a child. There was no sense to get annoyed at the invasion of privacy. Every one of her visitors seemed to think that rubbing a pregnant woman's belly needed no permission. During his gentle prodding of her belly, she studied him curiously. He seemed a bit older and there were dark circles around his eyes. She wondered if he was pushing himself too far. "It feels so weird!"

After much fuss about her and the baby's health, Luffy and Annagi turned matters to Rayleigh's training.

"When I found the paper, I wanted to go get you. Ray wouldn't let me! I think he knew he pushed you a little too far especially since you're all pregnant. Gramps must have told him you were ok, but I thought you were dead…There was a picture of you clutching that weird double spear thing you have like you were almost dead. And I can't believe you beat a Pacifista! I really want to fight one!"

"No, you don't. I got off easy. It wasn't on guard. I didn't have a bounty on my head." In the light of day, Annagi realized that not running from the cyborg was a terrible idea. "So how come Rayleigh let you have these visits?"

Luffy grinned widely. "If I beat thirty of those giant animals each week and then be able to land two more blows on Rayleigh than the week before, I get to visit."

"Unbelievable," she managed to get out. Annagi gaped at him. There was no way. She used Haki to focus on him and sensed that he did get stronger. Feeling a warm wet sensation trickling slowly down her leg, the girl regretted it the instant she did. "Oh my god! GRAMPS!"