Ch 12: The Mark of a Family

Wow, it's been awhile.

Vulpes: Damn right it has.

Where's Ace and Marco?

Vulpes: Marco needed to go clean up after you slammed that pie in his face, and Ace said he needed to go and get that surprise ready.

Ohhhh…. Well, we can get the chapter going without them anyway.

Guest: Glad you like it!

Guest: Glad to hear that!

StarlightOracle: I am thrilled to hear that!

Starrat: Well, here's the next one!

Nurquistina: You have made my day! I don't want to be a king/queen though, Parliament has all the power… Screw it. ALL HAIL KING/QUEEN Freerunner4427!

: Glad that mental picture wasn't just me!

WolfChild23: Yup, now we only need Marco to figure it out.

Marco: Only need me to figure out what?

Oh nothing Marco, it's got to do with the story. Now, Vulpes! The Disclaimer!

Vulpes: You got it! Vulpes doesn't own One Piece, she never has, and never will. Not if the law has anything to say about it! Now, ON TO THE EMBARES- (Gets smacked upside the head.) I mean, ON TO THE STORY!

Third Person POV:

"So you see fellas," Vulpes said, shuffling the deck. "I picked this interesting game up from an odd Mythical Zoan over in the West. Odd, but a nice man, said he was a Draconiquus Zoan, and a fellow avid lover of the pranking arts. He actually created the game." Vulpes started dealing over the rapidly shifting game board. "He called it, Chaos, and he asked me to beta test it."

Thatch, Jozu, Izo, Vista, Namur, and Haruta picked up their hands cautiously, like the expected them to explode in hand. Thatch's eyebrow rose higher the longer he looked at the cards, which shifted and changed the longer he looked at them. "So," He said, staring at the grinning fox shifter. "What exactly is the point of this game?"

"Simple, my dear Thatch." Vulpes said, leaning back and twirling a card between her fingers. "Confuse the other players into quitting." The comprehension dawned on all of their faces, before they all smirked evilly.

Whitebeard was watching the players with curiosity and interest as they began playing a rapidly confusing game.

"And thus I play Yggdrasil Crash!" Vulpes said, putting her final card hours later. Only Thatch was left as her opponent, as the other had folded from the sheer randomness. "This card allows me to go back in time and anticipate all of your moves, over and over again, allowing me to completely counter them, ultimately confusing you into rage quitting the game."

Thatch threw down his hand in frustration as the others laughed. "How do you do that?!" He asked, staring down at the board, which had finally frozen on the image of a grinning fox.

"Elementary dear Thatch." Vulpes said, twisting the card in her hand. "Kitsunes are some of the world's greatest random pranksters after all." She shrugged, like it was no big deal.

Thatch looked at her for a moment, before slamming his head on the table. Repeatedly.

Everyone was laughing at him by now.

He just knew it.

"SHIP HO!" Everyone shot to their feet as the cry went out.

There, on the horizon a tall ship was rapidly approaching the Moby Dick.

"ALL HANDS ON DECK! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" Marco barked, taking to the skies in a burst of blue fire.

"It's Douma!" He squawked, coming back around.

"It's alright." A voice said calmly. Everyone turned to see Ace, without his shirt on. He walked past everyone, letting them get a glimpse of his masterpiece.

Proudly tattooed across his entire back, was the symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Vulpes' mouth pulled into a wide smile, as she watched her friend leap onto Douma's ship.

Marco's POV:

Fire Fist definitely lived up to his name, and he quickly destroyed the ship.

Vulpes was completely ecstatic when he jumped back on board. He actually glomped him, nearly sending them both overboard. "So," I said, walking up to them. "You're staying?" I asked.

"Well," Ace said, pretending to think it over for a moment. "I DO have the tattoo. I guess I could stick around."

"YES!" Vulpes yelled, taking off. "THATCH YOU OWE ME 25,000,000 BELLI!"

"DAMN IT!" Thatch's voice roared in sorrow.

I started laughing with Ace. God I love that fox…. Wait a minute, WHAT?!

Vulpes' POV:

Three hours after Ace announced he was staying, I was sitting in the ships medical unit, getting my own tattoo from Izo.

"And there we are," He said, wiping it down one last time and cleaning it off. I looked over at my right forearm, where a black version of the Whitebeard Mark was now happily grinning up at me. "You are now officially part of the family!"

"Part of the family, huh?" I asked, smiling and getting to my feet. "Better get ready Izo," I said, smiling at the cross dresser. "Cause the rest of the Spade Pirates are coming for their marks too."

Izo sighed in dismay as I walked away laughing.

When I got on deck Ace, Marco, and Thatch were tussling on deck, clashing in a flurry of blue, orange, and the black of Haki. They were all laughing hysterically and arguing, fighting like brothers.

I leaned up against the door frame, watching them fight like children. A small smile tugged at my lips as Ace and Marco descended into a cat fight. Thatch was thrown out of the fight, and he just stood on the side laughing at them. Everyone else started laughing as they watched as well.

Yeah, definitely part of the family….I thought fondly, my gaze lingering on Marco and Ace for a little longer...

Fuck Yeah! Marco has realized it too! And a few hints have been dropped by Vulpes as well!

Marco: Oh, so that's what was going on!

Ace: Hey guys! Did I miss anything?

Yeah, Marco is in denial about Vulpes, and you finally got your mark!

Ace: AWESOME!

Alright then! So, what will happen the next time? That's for me to know, and you to dot dot dot.

This has been Freerunner4427! See you next time!