Sabo woke up in an unfamiliar room, head still pounding with new revelations. He had a family. Not the shitty parents he'd run away from, but two sworn brothers. Two brother's he'd forgotten about.
Sabo wanted to scream, how could he have forgotten the two most important people in his life?!
But what was done was done and Sabo wasn't going to waste his time regretting it. Not when it had lead him to the revolutionary army, not when he still had the time to make it up to his brothers.
Speaking of brothers... Sabo stared down at Ace, who was currently sleeping peacefully by his bedside, and smiled. Watching his brother sleep, a quiet sort of contentment filled the revolutionary, as well as an irrational feeling of nerves.
What if Ace hated him for leaving? Logically Sabo knew the pirate probably wouldn't blame him for what had happened, or for abandoning their dream of becoming pirates, but a small part of him was still scared that his brother wouldn't forgive him.
"Hey." A soft voice snapped Sabo out of his thoughts, staring down the revolutionary peered into familiar grey eyes currently filled with affection "Hey Ace." The beaming grin he got in return, was one of the brightest smiles Sabo had ever seen on his brothers face.
Which is probably why he was distracted enough not to notice the fist aimed at his own face "What the fuck Ace?!" The pirate pointed an accusatory finger at his brother "That's for not telling us you were alive you dumb ass."
Sabo opened his mouth to protest, but before he could respond he found himself pulled into a bone crushing hug "Welcome back." Unable to help himself the revolutionary gave out a choked sob "I'm back."
And just like that, the two teens broke down into harsh sobs, soft words and agressive reassurances.
It took the two brothers five hours to give each other a somewhat basic summary of their lives up till now (Ace deciding to hide his time travelling for now). And while both teen's knew the other was hiding things from them, neither made a move to interrogate the other.
They had time, and for today they wanted to enjoy the fact that all three brothers were alive and well. The darker parts of their lives could come later.
Eventually the two brothers finished talking and settled into a comfortably familiar silence "Hey Sabo?" The revolutionary felt a touch of apprehension at his brother's tone, but brushed it off (a terrible mistake, as it would later turn out) as being unjustifiably paranoid.
"Yes Ace?" The pirate grinned, and all of a sudden a shiver ran down Sabo's spine, as he remembered all the crazy shit the Spades had pulled since joining the grandline.
"I'm going to go pull a prank on an ally of the strongest man in the world... Want to help?" Sabo choked on air as he stared at his brother in disbelief "Ace. Why?" The pirate Captain grinned.
"Cause I've decided I don't want to kill Whitebeard anymore, but one of his allies pisses me off, so I'm gonna go prank him! And I need you and your super sneaky spy skills to help me pull it off! Besides my crew said the want a break from my 'insanity' and I need someone to go with me to make sure I don't drown.."
Sabo froze upon hearing the first sentence. The revolutionary may not have seen Ace in years, but he still knew his brother well enough to know that there was no way in hell he would have given up his goal of taking Whitebeard's head, unless something serious had convinced him otherwise.
Deciding to dig into it later, Sabo took one look at his brother's (incredibly effective) puppy dog eyes and groaned. Well aware that he was about to succumb to whatever crazy scheme his brother had planned.
After all, for all that Sabo had been better at stealth, Ace had always been the tactician of the ASL brothers. Meaning that if the freckled man thought his crazy ass plan of pranking one of Whitebeards allies would work, it probably would.
After all the Spades had gotten this far without getting caught.
Letting out a sigh of resignation, Sabo nodded. "I need to call Koala first. And I would like it on record that I protested this." Ace's only response was a shark like grin with far too many teeth. Sabo sighed once more, he'd brought this madness upon himself hadn't he?
Not that he'd trade it for anything in the world.
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Haruta was dying.
There was no way around it. The youngest commander was dying of laughter. But he just. Couldn't. Stop.
Not that he was the only one. Thatch seemed ready to bow down and worship whoever was responsible for this latest prank, whereas Marco seemed torn between wanting to applaud the perpetrator or strangle them himself.
Now, it was no secret that attacking one Whitebeard was equivalent to attacking all of them. However there were absolutely zero rules about retaliation for pranking one of their allied crews.
Not that anyone had been bold enough to try such a thing before now (or at least not anyone outside of the crew *cough* Haruta and Thatch *cough*). Which is probably why the Whitebeards were understandably both surprised and amused to wake up to find their ally Squardo's updated bounty poster.
Squardo's usually subdued pink hair had been plaited in an elaborate braid around a delicate tiara, and dyed bubblegum pink. And if that wasn't bad enough then there was his clothes.
The usually fearsome pirate had been dressed up as a magical girl, complete with a frilly skirt, magic staff and cute animal companion. (And just where the perpetrator found a pink baby alligator Marco would never know...)
The worst part, was that the victim in question had no idea how it had happened. One minute Squardo had been peacefully walking round an island, and the next he had woken up on the ground in a pink frilly tutu.
If not for the fact that the photo had been sent anonymously (and without a customary ace of Spades playing card) Marco would have suspected the Spade pirates. But as it stood he wasn't sure the Spades were even capable of that much stealth against a new world pirate (even if several marine bases would report otherwise.)
Not only that, but the Spades probably would have claimed credit for such a prank, they also lacked a conclusive motive. Which just made the Phoenix even more confused, because just who the hell did have the motive and the skills to pull this off?!
The first division commander wanted to cry, he had been so close to finally finishing his paperwork, and now he had to go around interviewing random islanders, in the hope that one of them had seen something that could help lead him to the perpetrator.
Unfortunately due to his stress, the poor overworked phoenix failed to notice his father requesting one of his brother's to go to Paradise and buy some Sake. A request which would later have some... interesting consequences.
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Safely back on the card deck Ace stared at the latest bounty posters and giggled once more. Sabo rolled his eyes affectionately, still somewhat amused at how resigned his brother's crew seemed to his antics.
"So what's your problem with Squardo anyway?" Ace's giggling died out, replaced with a solemn look "I just don't like him." The revolutionary could tell there was something more to the story but decided not to push, for now.
Pulling his brother up from where he was sat on the deck, Sabo gave a small smile "Koala should be coming to pick me up sometime today." Ace pouted but gave a nod before pulling a slip of paper out from his pockets.
Handing over the paper like an over excited puppy, Sabo couldn't help but smile as he looked down to see a number scrawled down in his brother's familiar handwriting. "Ace I've already got your Den Den Mushi number?"
The freckled teen shook his head grinning "That's the Spades general number, this one's for my private Den Den Mushi. Y'know in case you ever want to call me?" There was something slightly hopeful in Ace's eyes, something that did absolutely nothing to distract from the doubt in his voice.
It took everything the revolutionary had, not to hug his brother into oblivion. "I'll call." Ace grinned a somewhat grateful look on his face. A loud yell echoed from the opposite end of the deck and the two brothers grinned at each other, before going out to meet the irrate revolutionary.
"Koala!" The sun pirate punched her partner in the face before casually proceeding to toss a folder towards Ace "I'm afraid I need the blonde idiot for a mission, so we're leaving now. That folder is all we've got on Blackbeard. Enjoy." Tipping his hat in thanks Ace gave his brother's partner a cheerful wave. "Watch over Sabo for me."
Ignoring the blondes sputters, at how 'he wasn't the one who needed watching' and how Ace was 'a giant hypocrite' The pirate gave one last cheerful wave as his brother sailed off into the sunset. Staring at the revolutionaries retreating boat, Ace took a moment to reflect.
Sabo was alive. Alive and well, and if it hadn't been for his second chance, Ace never would have known. Because the pirate hadn't gone far enough back in time to effect Sabo's 'death', meaning Sabo had to have been alive in his original timeline to, and Ace hadn't known.
The worst thing, was that in this timeline Sabo had regained his memories after meeting Ace. Meaning that because they had never met in the original timeline Sabo probably would never had remembered unless he had somehow run into Luffy or...
Ace paled as the thought struck him. Marineford. One of the most publicised executions in the world, meaning there was no way the revolutionary army wouldn't have had a copy. One which Sabo would have eventually seen.
The freckled teen felt like throwing up, if he hadn't travelled back in time Sabo probably would've recovered his memories after Marineford. Meaning his brother would have woken up after finally remembering his family, only to find one of them dead.
The pirate's fists clenched, and Ace felt the urge to go punch something until it stopped moving. Preferably Teach. Letting out a deep breath, Ace tried to force himself to calm down. Eventually, after ten minutes of breathing, the logia no longer felt like setting the world on fire and laughing in the ashes.
Looking down at the wanted poster still in his hands, Ace couldn't help but smile at the reminder that Sabo was alive and well (and being forced into helping him with pranks). Letting out one last deep sigh, Ace let his smile grow, he wasn't going to waste his time dwelling on what could have been.
Right now both his brothers were healthy and happy (though Luffy was probably bored out of his mind stuck on Goa alone), and Ace had every intention of keeping it that way.
Feeling much more positive Ace went to hang up Squardo's wanted poster on the Spade's prank board. (Complete with Lady Spades bounty posters, the Marines psychological reports, and a written copy of every rumour the Spades had created about Akainu.)
Looking at Squardo's poster Ace couldn't help but feel a mix of irritance and pity for the other man. The young Captain knew what it felt like to truly hate someone. To let that hatred twist inside you, until you were forced to let it out, no matter how undeserving the target.
Ace had attacked Whitebeard in an attempt to rid himself of that soul-destroying self hatred.
So Ace could maybe understand how Squardo had allowed himself to be manipulated by Akainu's words. But that did not excuse his actions. Whitebeard had forgiven the pirate for his misdeeds, so Ace couldn't kill Squardo, nor would he particularly want to.
But that didn't mean he couldn't get back at the man, in a series of petty and inexplicable humiliations.
Somewhere in the distance Squardo shivered.
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It had been one week since Squardo's updated bounty poster, when the letter arrived.
Now it should be known that while news coos delivered mail to pirates and marines all over the seas, delivering normal mail in the same manner (especially across the grandline) was extremely expensive. Which is why most seafarers waiting to get to a stable island before delivering a letter.
However even with the added cost, it wasn't so much the letter itself that was so unusual, but rather the sender. Why the hell was the World Government writing to Ace?! Not only that, but the carrier bird had clearly been instructed not to approach Ace until he was alone.
Cautiously opening the letter, Ace took one look at the contents and burst into laughter, accidentally summoning the rest of his crew onto the deck. The Spades stared at their Captain in apprehension until eventually Dret plucked up the courage to ask what the hell was going on "What is it Captain?"
The freckled teen tried to respond to his treasurer, but instead burst into another bout of helpless laughter. Dusty sighed "Look's like he finally lost it. Make sure everyone who bet otherwise pays Dret."
Ace stopped laughing and pouted at his first mate "I've not lost it. It's just that I've just gotten a very interesting offer from the world government." That got more than a few raised eyebrows, as Ace grinned and passed the letter over to his first mate who also burst out into laughter.
Seeing his crew's curious looks, Ace decided to explain "Essentially, the esteemed world government, has decided to offer me a Warlord position. On the condition that I betray my so called 'sister' by turning her over to the Marines."
There was a momentary pause before every Spade on deck burst into laughter. "Oh my God, they're offering you a position to turn yourself in." Deciding it was in his best interest to abandon what little of his sanity remained, Paddy grabbed what remained Deuce's drink and chugged it down.
Ignoring the sniper's promises of vengeance the young pirate turned to face his Captain "The world used to be sane Captain. I'm not sure what happened between then and now, to bring it to this level of utter madness. But I'm sure it's somehow your fault!"
Ace gave the teen a commiserating pat on the back "There, there Paddy. Sanity is dead, just enjoy the madness."
Ignoring Paddy's sobbing Ace turned to the rest of his crew a wild grin in place "New competition, whoever comes up with the best way to refuse the government's generous offer gets an extra day off training!" The Spades got a frightening gleam in their eyes as their smiles turned sharp. This was gonna be fun.
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Somewhere, miles away, Sengoku felt the confusing urge to go and brutally murder Garp for his sins.
What sins that may be, the Marine had no idea. But he was sure whatever it was, it was definitely Garps fault.
Author's note
Hi guys! So first of all I want to give an overwhelming thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter!! In term of pairings, I have decided not to do a pairing. Though there may be slight hints of MarcoAceI'm not gonna go out of my way to write a pairing, so it might be implied but that's about all. Other than that next chapter will bring a Whitebeard commander, which one is a surprise for now, but again thank you so much for everyone's comments and ideas I've really loved reading them!!! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And thank you all so much for over 200 followers!!!!!! Next chapter will be up next week!!!!