Chapter 9

AN: here it is the last chapter before the epilogue. Thank you for everyone who reviewed and followed this fic. I appreciated it and it's what kept me motivated to keep going on this.

Garp crumpled the newspaper in his eyes, tear rushing down his face. He had been on his way to visit his grandsons after Sengoku had delayed his return with a stupid mission that any lower ranking officer could have completed. Then the mornings headlines read that a fire had spread on a small island in the east blue taking the lives of both marine hero Monkey D. Garp's grandchildren. He didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. He had trained them himself. Knew they were strong and knew how to service. He ordered his men to return to Dawn Island at full speed. He wouldn't believe it until he heard it from that damn bandit who was supposed to be taking care of them.

The Moby Dick was well into the Grand Line by the next morning. The crew was pulling over time trying to get the boys as far away from the marines as they could. They didn't yet know why they were after Ace but Marco planned on finding out as soon as the boys woke. The doctor said that they smoke they inhaled wasn't as bad as it could have been and they would be just fine with some rest.

In fact Marco and Izou were accompanying Thatch who was bringing their new additions some food to the sick bay. The commanders were hoping to get some answers from them. They didn't really care what the reason was but they knew that it had to be serious for marines to go after kids and if they knew they could be able to protect them better.

Thatch knocked softly on the door. "Breakfast time!" he called out. A crash and some yelling could be heard before the door was yanked open.

"FOOD!" Luffy cheered. Every bit as energetic as normal. It amazed him how these kids could bounce back so easily from what they suffered countless times. Thatch chuckled and walked into the room with Marco and Izou behind him. Luffy ran back to the bed and jumped on it making Ace, who had still been sleeping groan.

Thatch sat the tray packed with eggs, sea king sausage, pancakes and fruit onto the bed side table. He knew how much the boys could eat so he hadn't even bothered with plates, just filled the tray.

"Now Luffy you have to share this with your brother'," the fourth division commander told the smallest boy before he even got the notion to eat all of it himself. Sabo moved onto the bed his stomach growling for food. They hadn't eaten at all since breakfast the day before. Too much had happened and then they had all fallen asleep.

"I know," Luffy said, his cheeks puffed out in a pout. Ace sat up and moved the tray to the middle of the bed and the three sat around it eating. Once they seemed content Marco decided it was time to ask, while their guard was down even if it was only a little bit.

"So, what were the marines after you for, yoi?" he asked in what he hoped seemed like a casual manor. The response was immediate; all three of them froze up. "Look, we can protect you if we don't know what we're protecting you from.

"We don't need protection," Ace retorted. "Besides the marines think me and Luffy are both dead so it doesn't matter."

"It dose matter," Izou insisted, starting to get frustrated with Ace. The boy was too stubborn for his own good.

"Ace…" Luffy started, looking up at the older boy. He didn't see any harm in telling but Ace did. He knew what people thought of Gold Roger. He knew what people would do if Roger ever had a child. Yesterday was proof enough that he could never escape the sins of his father. Even though Smoker thought it wasn't right and had helped him, Even if Luffy and Sabo accepted him. It didn't mean the Whitebeard who was Rogers rival and his crew would accept the son of the Pirate King so easily.

"I trust them, Ace," Sabo said then, resting a hand on Ace's shoulder. Ace looked away, having an inner debate with himself. It seemed like forever had gone by before the boy finally answered.

"I won't tell everyone," he said slowly, looking up at the three commanders. "Just you three, Whitebeard and the other commanders… no one else needs to know."

Marco agreed to that. "Alright yoi. Finish eating and we'll go see pops." Izou left to round up the other commanders and bring them to Pops' room so they could talk.

Saying that Ace was nervous was an understatement. He was practically shaking as he stood in front of all sixteen division commanders and Whitebeard. The only thing that eased his mind a little was that his brother's were at his side. He just hoped that if Sabo and Luffy's intuition was wrong that it would only be him that they lashed out on.

"Well son what is this about?" Newgate asked, looking at Marco. They had only been told that they needed to have a meeting. Noting of what it would be about.

"Ace has agreed to tell only the people in this room what the marines were after him for yoi," Marco told them. They nodded. Marco had told them last night that the marines had been on the island and that they seemed to be after Ace.

"Well… the marines found out something about me," he said skirting around the subject. Sabo elbowed him for that. He glared back at the blond.

"What did they find out," Vista asked, hoping to encourage him to keep speaking. They all knew it must be something serious if the marines were coming for a child. There was no way for it not to bed. It wouldn't be the first time either. They all remembered the Nico Robin girl who had been running from since she was eight.

"I… my father was Gol D. Roger," he finally blurt out. There was silence for a few moments before whitebeard's laugh boomed though the room.

"Gurarara! Is that all?" he laughed before taking a swing of his sake. "It doesn't matter here but I can see why the marines would be after you."

"Wasn't my father your rival?" Ace asked suspiciously.

"The sins of the father shouldn't be passed on to the son," he said firmly. "Who you're father doesn't matter, we're all children of the sea." Ace looked at him in amazement and then at the commanders smiling in agreement. He couldn't stop the tears that built up in his eyes from leaking out.

"So we can stay?" Luffy asked hopefully.

"Of course gurarara, whitebeard laughed. "I want you to join my crew and become my sons."

The three boys couldn't contain their excitement. Though none of them knew what it really meant to have a father, Ace had died before he was born, Luffy's left him with Garp and Sabo was treated as a thing more then he was a son, they were excited to be part of a real pirate crew.

Marco smiled as he watched the three. He already considered them his brothers before they even joined the crew as many of them did. If nothing else they at least had an interesting journey ahead of them. The commanders cleared out of the room leaving the boys with Whitebeard. Izou and Thatch went to spread the word about the boy's staying while Marco went to write a letter. He had seen the morning headlines and figured a certain bandit would like to know her/his (he still didn't know) boys were safe.

It took two days for Garp to arrive on the shores of Dawn Island. He didn't bother stopping in Fuusha and none of the village's stopped him as he made his way to the mountains. They all knew where he was going.

The hike up to the bandit's hide out took half the time it normally did.

"DADAN!" Garp shouted furious. He had had two days to absorb the news and his grief to turn into anger. Anger at Luffy and Ace for being so stupid. Anger at the ones who had set the fire and anger at Dadan who was suppose to be keeping them safe. "GET OUT HERE YOU WITCH!"

The curly orange haired bandit came running out of the shake at the sound of Garp's screams.

"Garp!" she/he gasped. "Before you start yelling I can explain!"

"Explain why my grandson's are dead?!" he raged.

"They're safe!" Dadan yelled back, holding up the letter they had gotten from Marco. "I just found out yesterday."

Garp took the letter and read through it. His teeth clenched and he crumpled the paper in his fist. "That Sengoku." If it wouldn't compromise Ace's safety then he would give that man a piece of his mind and a taste of his haki coated fist.

"I better inform my son that the news report was false," he mused to himself. He gave the letter back to Dadan. "Burn that so no one else gets their hands on that information."

Dadan nodded and ran back inside to do just that as Garp left, feeling a lot better than when he had arrived. He didn't like that his grandson's, all three of them since he considered Sabo one of his own as well, had been taken in by the most wanted pirates on the Grand Line, but he also knew there wasn't a safer place for them now that the marines knew about Ace's father. He just hoped they kept their heads down till they were old enough to take on anyone who came at them. He also knew that a visit to an old adversary was in order soon.

Dragon laughed in relief when he had read the letter from Garp. Luffy was just fine and staying with pirates of all people. Well in a way it was better then a marine in his book. He didn't care what his son became as long as he chose his path freely.

"A celebration is in order," he told his second in command as they went back below deck.

"What do you think gramps will say when he finds out we're living with pirates?" Luffy asked as the three of them sat on the rail of the Moby Dick watching the sun set.

"That crazy Jiji will probably show up at some point," Ace replied.

"He should just be happy the two of you made it out alive," Sabo put in. "Between pirates and death I think we all know which would have been worse."

Ace nodded, hoping Sabo was right. He couldn't leave and go back to the East Blue anyway; neither could Luffy when the world thought they had died in a tragic fire.

"What are we going to do now, Ace?" Luffy asked looking to his older brother. Sabo looked to him, wondering as well.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ace asked, with a grin. "We're going to live free, freer than anyone. Just like I promised."

"Yeah," Sabo agreed grinning back. "I'm going to change the world," he decided. "I don't want anyone to feel like we've felt."

"And I'm going to be king of the pirates!" Luffy cheered. Ace ruffled his hair.

"We know Luffy," Ace laughed.

"What about you, Ace?" Sabo asked.

"Me? I'm going to live," he smiled. "I don't want to live a thousand years or anything, just getting through today will be enough as long as I'm free, because I have the right to exist."

"Hey Ace," Luffy said.

"Yeah, Lu?" Ace asked looking down at his little brother.

"I'm glad that you were born," he repeated the words that he had said back then because he felt like Ace needed to hear them again.

"I am too," Sabo agreed, putting an arm around Ace's shoulder. "Because if not for you I'd still be feeling like I don't belong and Luffy would still be in that dark lonely place." Ace couldn't help but smile and feel like they finally belonged.

AN: and that's it. I hoped you all enjoyed it and thanks again for following along. Stay tuned for the Epilogue coming in a few days hopefully.