Chapter 14: Momentary Relapse
"Execute the Ace of Spades?" repeated Spade, a smirk crawling up to her lips. "You think you could?"
Kuma's blank eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
"…Portgas D. Ace is currently being held in Impel Down. It's only a matter of time before you join him."
"Give me a break."
Spade sped up, her legs moving so quickly that they seemed to glow with a silver light as she slammed them into Kuma's face. She bounced away immediately, taking care to keep herself dematerialized as her green eyes flashed with a fury that could not be described.
"You Marines will never kill Ace," she snarled, dodging a paw-shaped blast of air and swirling forward for another attack. "Whitebeard will never settle for it."
"We are prepared for that."
"Shichibukai…traitors of pirates," she said with disgust. "What does Vegapunk give you that you desire so much, Bartholomew Kuma, that you'd betray the entire pirate race?"
"Odd words coming from someone who used to be a Marine and also has Vegapunk's inventions in her legs," remarked Kuma indifferently. "You cannot dodge forever…shall I resort to more unconventional methods to convince you to come along quietly?"
Kuma suddenly disappeared and reappeared immediately by Zoro's unconscious body. He brought a hand up, another paw-blast forming in his palm…
Spade zoomed forward, her body solidifying just as Kuma brought his hand down at Zoro. She was sent slamming into a wall, her arms wrapped tightly around Zoro's waist as she pulled him to safety. Coughing out blood, she opened one emerald eye blearily, checking to see if Zoro was okay. It didn't look like he'd incurred any additional injuries…
"Still the same, Skye Spade," said Kuma quietly. "Always jumping in for a man…is this Pirate-Hunter Zoro a replacement for Hiken no Ace?"
"Don't you dare suggest that," she said in a deadly tone, setting Zoro down onto the ground. "Don't make stupid assumptions, Kuma."
The Shichibukai cleared his throat.
"Allow me to reinstate my conditions. You know that you will lose. You cannot possibly defend all your crewmates and except to remain alive, and the moment you are dead, they will die as well. Come with me, Skye Spade. I will take you to Impel Down. Trade your life for theirs."
Spade stayed silent, knowing the full weight of Kuma's words. She knew very well that what he said was true; there was no way she could run around carrying more than Zoro…
"Come along, Skye Spade," said Kuma seriously. "You don't want a repeat of the past."
* * * * * * *
"Here you go, Whitebeard," said Spade with a vindictive smirk, throwing Charles Marthen on the deck in front of the towering member of the Yonkou. "One large, fat, disgusting pig, ready for execution."
Marthen was positively choking on his tears.
"M-Miss Porter," he stammered, "w-what's the meaning of this?"
Spade stepped on Marthen's neck viciously, cutting off his circulation. She leaned closer, smirking.
"Miss Porter?" she said mockingly. "Sorry, the name's Spade. Oh, and this—" she pushed harder on his jugular, causing him to gasp in more terror, "—is for trying to feel up on me when I was playing poker."
"And this—" A jet of fire flew out from above Spade, singing Marthen's ear. He howled more in fright than in pain. "—is for trying to grope her when she was playin' roulette. I don't appreciate ya hittin' on my woman, Marthen."
"That's enough, both of you" said Whitebeard dryly, though Spade could see the amusement on his face from the way his mustache twitched. "Good work, you four. Got the money, Spade?"
"No problem," she said, waving her hands as the suitcases levitated towards her boss. "I get to keep the rest, right?"
"Split it with your crewmates," said Whitebeard sternly. "I'll take care of Marthen from now."
Spade happily (yes, she was happy—money made a girl happy, now matter how pissy she normally was) walked to an empty part of the deck, followed closely by Marco, Thatch, and Ace.
"You know," she said wryly, "people probably think I'm some…whore because I have three guys following me around…"
"We're not following you," said Marco seriously. "We're following the money."
Spade shot him a joking death glare (there was really no difference in a fake death glare and real death glare when it came to Spade—the effect was always instant recoiling) before setting the extra sets of suitcases on the floor. Before any of the men could make a movement to claim their prizes, she sat on them.
"The hell, Spade?" said Thatch, eyebrows raised.
"Let's talk about this," she said, a dangerous smile creeping to her lips. "Since we filched a bit more than we'd anticipated…let's stick with each of you getting a hundred mil and I get two hundred."
"Says who?" Marco said, not amused.
"I think I should get a little…extra," she grinned, "because after all, who was the one who figured out about the magnetic pulls under the table at the craps table?"
The three men remained silent.
"And how the roulette game was rigged?"
Again, silence.
"And finally, who the hell was the one that got groped by a fat ass and was told to 'deal with it' in order not to blow our cover?"
Silence.
"Me," she concluded for them. "So I think I deserve a little extra."
"You're one demanding chick," muttered Ace.
"I guess that's an okay!" she said brightly. "Now, here's your suitcases…"
"Spade," said Marco lethally.
She met his gaze fearlessly.
"Yes, dear Marco?"
They stared each other for a long moment.
"Fine…" the first division captain complained. "Except you're treating me to lunch the next time we land…"
"Me too," growled Thatch, yanking his suitcase from under Spade, causing her to fall to the ground with a thump.
She glared at him and stood up, stretching. A voice from behind called out.
"Yeh guys are back!"
Spade turned around, green eyes flickering as she saw Marshall Teach approach.
"Hey Teach," greeted Thatch amiably. "What's up?"
"Nothin' much," chortled the much bigger man. "Jus' heard yeh guys were back, thought I'd say hullo." His eyes landed on Spade. "Hullo, Spade."
"Hey," she said with a nod. She was rather curt with the men on deck, excluding Marco, Thatch, Ace, and occasionally Jose. She found it to be more beneficial so she could avoid getting stared at. They only stared at her because she was the only woman who wasn't constantly attending to Whitebeard…
Ace seemed to know this, for he protectively slid a hand around her waist, eyes narrowing at the way Teach seemed to be leering at Spade.
"Well, me and Skye are wiped out," said Ace with a fake yawn. "We'll be leaving now."
"With my money," said Spade, in a much better mood than she'd been in a long time.
The suitcases levitated behind her as the two of them walked back to their cabin.
"Hey, Ace!" called Marshall.
He turned around.
"Yeah?"
"Have ya heard? They want ya to be Second Division Cap'n!"
Ace blinked.
"Seriously? But I'm…rather new."
Teach shrugged. "Not a problem. O'course, if ya don' want it, the lil missy right next ta ya is also a candidate."
"I decline," said Spade automatically. "Though if Ace wants it, I won't mind helping him out a bit."
"Who ever said I needed your help?" said Ace arrogantly.
"Oh, the things that would've happened before if I hadn't been there…" she murmured.
"Sure, sure, whatever," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'll think about it, Teach. For the time being though…I'm gonna go sleep."
"Have fun, you two," grinned Thatch. Marco smirked along.
Spade scowled at her crewmates, knowing their unsaid innuendos, and was steered by Ace toward their room. As he shut the door behind them, Spade dropped the suitcases to the ground with a loud thump.
"Excellent, I have tons of spending money now."
"You're gonna share, aren't ya?"
"In your dreams, Ace."
"Oh…I forgot." Ace reached into his pocket. "I filched these from the casino." He tossed a package at her. She caught it, surprised.
"Thought you'd like them," he grinned. "A little souvenir. Pretty slick deck of cards."
"Hm." She flipped them over in her hand. "Oh, look, the ace of spades is on top," she said. "And an intricate design, at that…"
She traced her finger around the pointed edge of the spade, smiling faintly. What a…pretty design…perhaps she'd get a tattoo like it…
"Say…Skye."
There was a sudden seriousness in his tone that made Spade turn around and face him, her expression perplexed.
"What is it?"
"…I'm not complainin' or anything, but…I keep feelin' like you…let me off a bit easy the other day. You know…about the whole…" his voice faded away.
Spade raised an eyebrow, knowing what he was talking about.
"You want me to stay mad at you?"
"No, that's not it!"
"Good, because then I would've started thinking that you were some masochist or something…"
Ace made a face. "…I just felt it wasn't quite in your personality to just…forgive me so easily, given what could've potentially happened…"
Spade sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"I guess," she said slowly, "part of me just knew that you wouldn't have done it…'cause it's not in your nature…"
A smile flitted to Ace's freckled face.
"You trusted me."
"Oh, do stop it with your strange sentimental notions," she said snappishly. "Damn, I was in such a good mood before you brought it back up…"
Her sentence faded away as Spade felt Ace suddenly grab her from behind, his one of his hands slinking up her shirt.
"Ace!" she said indignantly, flushing at the abrupt contact. "Just because I said it was okay doesn't mean you can just—"
"I don't think I've said this to you before," he said quietly.
His following words were so quiet, so soft that Spade, despite the close proximity between Ace's mouth and Spade's ear, did not hear. All she felt were three short breaths, the sound of whispers, warm, inviting…seductively murmuring the famed, overused, trite three syllables that every girl wanted to hear… She knew very well what he had just said.
His arms around her tightened as Ace buried his face in her neck, kissing it. She brought a hand up to his arms, touching it, feeling the instant heat shoot up her fingertips…this unavoidable chemistry between them, this instantaneous connection between the two…she could feel her heart pounding on her ribs, like a bird fluttering against a cage, as her flush deepened. Her lips were dry; she moistened them with a brush of her tongue, and finally…
"Me too," she said very faintly.
Spade felt him apply more pressure on her waist as he spoke up.
"Say the sentence."
Spade, if possible, grew even redder, her body heating up not only as a result from the contact with Ace's hotter than normal body…she opened her mouth again. Her words came briefly, just before Ace's mouth closed over hers.
Days, weeks, months passed. The Ace of Spades stayed together. And while Ace and Spade were not without problems, they remained the same, constantly bickering yet steadfastly, well…in love, to be ridiculously cliché.
And so two years went by.
******************
Two years after Spade first met Ace. Whitebeard's Second Division.
"…Skye…"
Spade heard Ace's whispered words by her ear. She did not stir, instead clinging to him tighter as her eyes remained stubbornly shut.
"Skye, if you don't wake up right now, we'll go for round two."
Her jade eyes flitted open, already in their morning death glare mode.
Ace grinned. "Not the look that should be coming from someone who's nearly chokin' me with her embrace."
"I'm sleepy. Shut up."
"…Are you sayin' that you're blamin' your weariness on me?"
"Yes," she said defiantly. "Now shut up, Ace."
She heard him exhale; she jolted back reactively as his hands slid around her bare waist, pulling her closer to him.
"You sure weren't complainin' last night," he said with a smirk as he lifted her onto his chest. "Sure you don't want round two? Or three? Or four?"
"No, thank you," she said, annoyed, slipping out of his hold and rolling off the bed. "I'll get dressed now."
Ace sighed behind her as she withdrew a set of clothes from the closet; she could feel his eyes burning into her back.
"What?" she said irritably, buttoning her shorts.
"Love your tattoo," he mused. "Looks so damn good…"
She'd gotten it sometime around their one-year "anniversary." And of course, Ace had paid for it.
"Thanks," she said, tossing a shirt over her head. "Now you can't gawk at it."
"You could just go out in a bikini top…"
Spade rolled her eyes. "And have Marco murder me for 'disturbin' the peace.' No thank you. Get up, you hypocritical commander. You've got work to do."
Ace blew out another breath and caught the shorts that she threw at him with an easy hand. Spade stared at her reflection in the mirror, grabbing a brush from on top of a shelf and brushing through her long hair.
"I should really cut it…" she groaned, weaving her hair into a braided bun. "It's getting so damn long; annoying to deal with."
"I like it long," commented Ace, buckling his belt and reaching over on a chair for his ostentatiously orange hat. "C'mon, dear, we've got work to do."
"We?" she said indignantly. "No, Ace, you do. This is what's good about bein' the vice commander."
Ace simply chortled as he placed his arm around her, a customary position nowadays, and walked with her out on deck.
"We're so unlucky that Marco's visitin'," said Spade with sigh. "He's gettin' so picky with me about my clothes…"
"I should be the one doin' that," said Ace.
"You wouldn't care if she strutted out on deck stark naked," said Marco's voice behind them. "Anythin' to please your eyes, Ace."
The duo turned around. Spade grinned upon seeing her fellow crewmate.
"Please your eyes too, Marco," smirked Ace. "I always knew ya had a thing for Skye…"
"Oh please," said Spade, rolling her eyes. "Marco's like a brother. Hope you slept well?" she added, her question directed towards Marco.
"Good as it comes," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "Old man gave ya a good ship, Ace."
"Pretty nice…you joinin' us for our next stop?" inquired Ace.
"Where would that be?"
"Dunno. Wherever the Log Pose takes us."
"Man, you're one crappy navigator," said Marco, shaking his head.
"I don't navigate—Skye does. She's the one with the funky wind powers, after all."
"They're not 'funky,'" she said shortly. "Do use better adjectives for my amazing skills."
"…Too hard to think of any."
Spade mouthed something obscene, causing Ace to laugh, his grip on her shoulder tightening. Despite her annoyance, Spade smiled very faintly. The last two years had been blissful.
******************
"Land ho!" echoed Marco's booming voice from the second floor. "Speed the winds up, Spade!"
"Sure, sure," she said, cramming the remains of her toast in her mouth as the winds suddenly took off into harsher breezes. The ship moved along at a pleasantly swift speed; Spade's jade eyes scanned the oncoming island.
"And here we go," grinned Ace, appearing beside her. "Drop the anchor, boys, and let's check it out!"
"It's a boring island, Ace," said Spade. "What is it called again? Steel Island? Just mainly used for manufacturing, right?"
"I dunno, you're the girl, you're supposed to know about these things."
She smacked him across the head, unsurprised when her hand simply passed through, her fingers tingling from the heat.
"Do stop it with the stereotypes," she said. "It might help if you were a little smarter, Ace dear."
"You're the one who always says I'm smart," he chuckled, ruffling her hair.
"Only in battle, and half of that is natural instinct," she said aggravatingly. "Marco!"
The first division captain appeared. "Yeah?"
"Ready to depart?" said Spade.
"Yeah…how about we split? I'll take half your men, you take your other, we secure the premises, get any supplies we need, and set off. Steel Island's just known for prosthetics and armor, so we won't have much to do here…"
"See," said Spade pointedly, "Marco knows his facts, which makes him a much more successful man than you are, Ace—"
"Yep, which explains why he don't have a girlfriend yet," Ace smirked.
Marco rolled his eyes.
"Ya know, I always thought that if I'd met Spade first, she would've gone for me," said Marco with feigned thoughtfulness. "Who knows, maybe Spade really likes me more than she likes you, Ace."
"Which is why she's sleeping with me—"
"Okay, you immature fools," she said, "drop it. Let's go."
The two parties split up, Ace and Spade with one group, Marco with the other. They were carrying on perfectly fine, buying supplies, Spade buying clothes, and after a few hours, were just about to head back to the ship when Spade caught the sight of something strange in the midst of a cluster of trees. She slowed down and finally stopped, her arms laden with packages as her eyes narrowed, squinting in trying to see what it was.
"Somethin' wrong, sweet?" Ace questioned, stopping as well.
She didn't answer, pursing her lips instead. The figure in the clearing seemed vaguely familiar and rather ominous. Her conscience told her to leave immediately, but she wanted to check.
"You," she said to a crewmate. "Here, take this." She plopped everything into his already-full hands, causing him to stagger a few steps before regaining his balance. "Get back to the ship, I want to check something."
"Skye?" said Ace, alarmed, dropping his stuff and following her as well. "What's wrong?"
"I think…I just saw a Shichibukai," she said. "I just wanted to check."
He caught her by the shoulder and whirled her around.
"Are you crazy?" he said fiercely. "We should leave if we saw someone—you don't want to cause a scene here, Skye."
"I don't want a fight, all I wanted to do was check—"
"Which one?" he asked beadily.
"…Kuma. Bartholomew Kuma."
"Yeah, we're leaving," he hissed, dragging her away. "Not dealin' with him right now, Skye."
"Hang on—I just wanted to know what he was doing this far out in the Grand Line!"
"You are so looking for a fight, aren't you?"
"No," she said defiantly. "I—"
"I thought I heard your dulcet tones," a deep and somber voice said behind them. "It's been a while, Skye Spade."
Spade stiffened, turning around, her lips parting in a snarl as her green eyes flashed.
"And I thought it was your fat profile I saw," she said in a deadly tone. "It hasn't been long enough for me to forget your ugly face, Kuma."
"Tsk," the Shichibukai said, somewhat amused. "Still as feisty as ever. It would've been smarter to avoid me, Spade, like your friend wanted."
Ace scowled at having been degraded to the "friend" status.
"Oi, you," he said, annoyed, "we're just gonna go now—"
"What are you doing here?" demanded Spade, which caused Ace to throw her a nasty look. "Steel Island…is Vegapunk here?"
"Ha, good intuition."
"So he is. Are you getting yourself outfitted again, or are you—"
"Skye, what are you talking about?" said Ace.
"Nothing," she said briskly. "Let's go. I have all the information I need."
"Information?" said Kuma. "Did you perhaps want an upgrade on your legs?"
"Ha," she laughed humorlessly, "I'm not like you, Kuma, I'm fine with my first edition. Let's go, Ace."
"…You need to explain this to me—"
"You don't really think I'm just going to let the Ace of Spades walk away, do you?" said Kuma.
A vein was throbbing in Ace's temple.
"I sure don't like getting interrupted every two minutes," he growled. "Can't I at least finish a sentence?"
"You've finished two now, hon," Spade smirked. "And Kuma…you want to arrest us? I'd like to see you try."
"…I will bring you back to the authorities…"
"You're sure not a pirate," said Ace dryly. "More like a Marine. Turning us in…what do you plan to achieve? There weren't any orders given to you about us, were there?"
"I have orders from Admiral Aokiji to capture Skye Spade if I ever see her. That order still stands."
"Aokiji," said Spade with venomous fondness. "Really? I'm honored."
"You should be…several Shichibukai have been told to follow and capture you, myself included…you know too much, Skye Spade."
"I'm honored," Spade repeated. "Well then…"
She disappeared from Ace's side, her green eyes burning with hatred, as she suddenly appeared above Kuma and slammed her leg down on his face. Her speed was already activated at eighty percent of its capacity, making the blow nothing less than formidable. Her onslaught of offensive attacks did not slow down; she appeared behind Kuma before he had a chance to retaliate and kicked him forward, towards Ace.
"Catch, Ace!" she called.
"Skye!" he shouted, half his body already aflame. "You are one crazy woman!"
"That's why you chose me, right?" she said, almost laughing as he blasted Kuma out of the way with a fireball. "I make life fun. Say—"
Her sentence was cut off as she was forced to dodge a paw-blast from Kuma. The Shichibukai stood up slowly, anger apparent on his normally impassive face.
"This is…intolerable," he said, fury lining his voice.
"Very," said Spade. "Now then…Ace, dear, ready for more?"
"No," he grumbled, "we should settle this quietly like decent people."
His words contradicted his actions; his hands were already gleaming with a roaring flame.
And so the fight ensued.
******************
It seemed like Ace and Spade were winning for a good bit of the time. Kuma could not keep up with his archenemy who had the ability in her legs to penetrate his armor, and Ace was no push-over when it came to offense either.
But luck, fate, the stars, whatever it was, was against the Ace of Spades that day, for it began to rain.
And the moment the rain started falling, Ace and Spade started losing, for neither of them could dematerialize, and Ace could hardly even attack.
The fight dragged on for another half an hour, Spade growing alarmed with the amount of injuries that Ace was starting to accumulate. With the ability in her legs, she had still been able to dodge a few of Kuma's attacks, but Ace, no longer able to dematerialize, was spending more energy than he was used to on defense, and thus had incurred more than a few injuries, of which some were fatal.
Spade gritted her teeth, realizing the need to flee as her own legs started aching from the increased use, as much as she detested the idea, especially since she was the one who'd started the fight first. When Kuma zoomed in front of Ace, she dove forward, grabbing Ace by the shoulders as the bomb sent them flying into a tree.
"Don't protect me," he snapped, knocking her hands away. "Watch yourself."
"You're always like this—why can't I try to protect you? You're at the disadvantage!"
"I don't need you getting hurt for me," he said coolly, bringing a hand up to her lips and wiping away a trail of blood from her lips . "I'll distract him—you get back to the ship and get Marco."
"Or it could be the other way around," she said snappishly, dragging him out of the way of another paw-blast, "and I could stay here while you get Marco, and—shit—"
Kuma had compressed the air around them into a miniature explosive and had suddenly thrown it in their direction. It blew apart right in front of them; Spade suddenly felt her body be flipped around, shielded by someone else's arms; they went crashing into the branches. Something pierced through Spade's left arm, and she let out a pained shout.
They finally skidded to a halt, Spade gripping her arm tightly. She opened her eyes, flinching, then widened them as she stared at Ace's bloody face.
"Ace!" she said, forgetting about the pain in her arm and grabbing onto his shoulders. "You…shit, you didn't just take the blow all by yourself did you?"
"…'Course, I did…" he said, his breathing labored as he collapsed into her arms. "It's…what the guys do…"
His entire back was splattered in red, covering the tattoo symbolizing his loyalty to Whitebeard. Hands trembling, she wrapped her hands around his neck, breathing quickly as she attempted to hoist him on her back.
"C'mon, Skye…" he said raggedly, "you don't expect…that you could drag me all the way to…the ship, could ya?"
"Shut up," she said, legs shaking violently under his added weight. "This is all my fault—I provoked him—"
"Shut up…"
She could hear Kuma approach them from behind; Spade sped off, her legs a blur as she tried to get back to the ship safely. She could hear the heartbeats pounding in her ears as a wave of guilt washed over her. Kuma wouldn't have attacked had she not stupidly gone up to him and declared war; he wouldn't have attacked had Aokiji not been after her, not Ace, for Kuma didn't do anything unless he had orders…
Her body was screaming in agony as she finally saw it in sight. She didn't know if Kuma was still following them but she did not slow down; at long last, she crashed onto the deck, her legs creating a good amount of splintering of wood, and immediately collapsed as unconsciousness claimed her.
******************
"…You're awake," said Marco's deep voice. "I know you are."
Spade's eyes snapped open as she bolted up, breathing harshly. Images ran through her head like a fast-moving record: of Kuma, the rain, a bloodied Ace—Ace!
"Ace!" she said breathlessly. "How is he?"
Marco looked at her seriously.
"Alive," was all his reply consisted of.
Spade let out a long breath.
"You…were rash again, weren't you? Trigger-happy?" he said accusingly. "Like the time on Shabondy Archipelago…you couldn't help but want a fight—"
"Not like this," she said shortly. "Not like this…damn rain—"
"Not the rain," said Marco, eyes narrowed, "it was you, Spade. You need to learn to control yourself…"
Spade fell silent, knowing the truth in Marco's words.
"Something personal again, wasn't it?" said Marco. "Something Ace wasn't involved in, but you somehow pulled him into it…"
"Stop," she said in a strangled voice. "I know."
She stood up, staggering slightly. Marco caught her by the waist, holding her upright.
"Sometimes, you're stupid," he sighed. "But I know you didn't mean it. I didn't intend to be curt…it's just…"
"I know," she snapped, her mood turning for the worse as pain claimed her body, especially her shoulder, and as her mind began to obsess over the entire incident with guilt. "Let me go. I'm going to go check on Ace."
He nodded slowly, loosening his hold on her. Spade slipped away, instinctively walking to the nearest cabin door and opening it quietly. One look at Ace and Spade flinched. His entire chest was bandaged, his handsome face covered with cuts and bruises. Spade walked over to his bedside, her fingers hovering over Ace's face as she studied it, every contour, every freckle, the places where his eyes strangely crinkled up whenever he smiled or laughed obnoxiously…she felt another pang, this time in her chest, and she knew what she had to do.
Ace never liked Spade protecting him. He was always adamant about the man-woman roles, that it was the male who had to protect the female…as exemplified when they'd met Whitebeard, and just now as well…Spade's lips flickered in a weary smile, worn and pained, as her olive eyes continued to look at her partner's face. Very suddenly, she bent down and placed her lips swiftly on his, savoring his warmth for a brief moment, then straightened up.
She'd protect him, whether he liked it or not. The entire thing was her fault to begin with…and she knew for a fact that the Marines would continue to send the Shichibukai after her…and who knew who it'd be next time…Aokiji, Kuma…anyone…
She would leave.
******************
Spade walked out onto the deck. The sky was cloudy, dark, damp. Marco was at the edge, his tall profile illuminated by the moon that was lingering behind a few clouds.
"Marco."
He turned around.
"Ace sleeping?" he said.
"Yeah."
"Poor guy…knocked out like a light."
She shrugged.
"Whatcha just shruggin' for? Guy just got beat up for you."
"…Weak."
She was the weak one.
Marco's eyes flickered with alarm. "Don't be sayin' somethin' like that. Tried his best. You couldn' do better, y'know."
"Tch. I'm leaving."
Oh, the irony.
"What?!"
"No point staying here any longer. I'm leaving. Taking a spare boat, Marco. Tell the others when I'm gone."
"Hey, whoa, girlie, you can't just leave, what about Ace?"
"What about him?"
"C'mon Skye…"
"It's Spade." Because only Ace could call her Skye. "Don't talk to me like you're so familiar."
"It's been two years since you came on this ship…some familiarity's gotta be assumed, y'know? Spade, you can't just leave. That'll kill Ace."
A terribly twisted smirk crept to her lips as she grappled with the ropes of an emergency boat, something she'd never used before.
"He won't die from something that petty. I'm leaving. Tell him when he wakes."
"Skye…"
A pause. Some scuffling, a splash. A boat floated over the edge of the ship.
"See you later, Marco. Learned a lot from you."
"Spade, I'm gonna wake up Ace."
"Let him sleep. Even if you do go, I'll be gone long before you get him outta bed."
"Just wait a moment, Spade. I'll go wake him."
Marco went inside the barracks, leaving Spade alone. She sighed, the veneer of confidence fading. She tossed her bags down onto the boat below her; something fell out of one of them. She recognized and levitated it upwards into her hands. It was the deck of cards that Ace had given to her two years ago…still new and crisp. She'd never played with them.
She drew out the first card of the deck. Ace of spades. The irony. Or was it coincidence?
No use in waiting until Marco came back. No use in another goodbye.
Spade threw the card against the wall, following it with a dagger, nailing the center of the card against the barrack's side. She looked at it for a short moment, her heart suddenly wrought with an intense emotion as she knew that her days as the Spade were over; she felt something wet slide down her cheeks and knew what they were. The door to the barracks opened; Marco was coming out.
Spade jumped over the edge of the ship, landing cleanly for once in the emergency lifeboat, and with an easy push of her winds, sailed quickly out of sight.
No use in goodbyes. They were understood.
* * * * * * *
"…Fine," Spade said quietly. "I'll come with you."
She noticed Kuma relax a bit.
"Good choice. Then come."
Spade sighed and walked over to him when someone held her back by the shoulder.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" growled Zoro by her ear. He was leaning on her shoulder quite heavily.
"Ah, you're awake," she said apathetically. "This entire transition would've been smoother had you stayed unconscious."
"You're not leaving," he said.
"But I am, my good man."
"Stop it!" he snarled. "You have this…protecting people thing, you—"
"Protecting people thing?" she said, astonished. "First-mate, if you have a problem with me dragging you out of the way of impending doom, then—"
"Stop it!" he said again. "Never once…have you actually relied on us, Ava."
Her eyes grew smaller. He was the only one who called her by her surname.
"It's Spade."
"And never once…have you called me by my name. There's no trust in you. Why can't you just let us work with you a bit—"
"Because I don't need your help, Zoro," she answered. "Get out of the way, first-mate. You don't want to die here, do you?"
"Hey, you," he said, now addressing Kuma. "If you want to take someone's head, take mine."
"First-mate!"
"Why are you so keen on defending Strawhat Luffy?" questioned Kuma. "Don't you have ambition? A goal? If you die here, that is all useless."
"If it's the only way to save the crew, then it's not."
"But it's not the only way—" snapped Spade.
"…Very well. But I have a condition."
Kuma lifted Luffy's unconscious body into the air, bringing a hand to his chest, exuding some sort of bubble from Luffy's still figure.
"What I have taken from him is his pain and fatigue. You will have to take it in his place."
"Don't do it," said Spade sharply. "This is stupid, first-mate, just let me go—"
Kuma flicked a bit of the bubble at Spade, who was caught off guard. A jolt of incredible pain was sent throughout her entire body; she let out a scream, dropping onto her knees as her muscles shrieked in unbelievable hurt…
"Now you see how much even the slightest bit does," said Kuma indifferently. "Are you willing to do this?"
Spade felt Zoro's eyes look at her with a trace of worry, then turn back to Kuma with resolution.
"Just let me decide on the place."
Spade caught Zoro's ankle, her breathing ragged.
"Don't…be an idiot," she said harshly. "You're going to die—"
"Ava. You've always been a bit headstrong for your own good," he said with the barest trace of a smirk. "This protecting people thing…looks like I've got it too."
Her consciousness was flickering in and out; she could see Zoro's footsteps fade away into the distance. Moments passed as Spade simply laid there on the ground, not knowing where she was, only feeling the aching pain in her limbs…a pair of feet stopped in front of her.
"Skye Spade," said Kuma's voice.
She didn't not reply. It hurt too much to.
"I will let the crew go this time, as a man of my word. Next time, however…it'll be your sacrifice."
Spade's eyes closed. She didn't need to her the ominous message that Kuma left as a last sentence. She knew it without him saying so. All she needed to know was that they were going to be left alive.
For now.
Free Talk:
WHEW! In return to you guys breaking your record for reviews, I typed an extra long chapter, with the finale of the past arc. :D Happy? Hopefully? Haha, sorry if it seemed a bit rushed.
In case you're wondering, Spade will be arrested. Just not now. At Shabondy though, which is why Kuma said "next time."
I do hope you enjoyed this chapter...:) Please review!!! (And the new chapter of One Piece is out! No Ace though...and WTF, World Government? Gah, I hate Sengoku.)
Review, review, review! :D
Love, -m.n.-