The night spent in good company flew by, Lucy had laughed until her sides had split, Natsu had eaten half of the boat's supplies and Ace had cemented himself at her side for the whole night, as if he were afraid she would disappear at any given moment.

"Right kids, I think this old man is going to get some shut eye." Whitebeard finished this with a loud hiccup and drunkenly stumbled to his sleeping quarters, rocking the boat as he walked.

"Yeah, I'm going to hit the hay too, but first thing's first..." Samson extended his arms feigning a stretch and caught Lucy in a surprise hug, Ace shook his head but couldn't hide his grin.

"It's so good to have you back Lucy and you know what?" He launched himself from the celestial mage onto Ace himself and the two fell to the floor in a heap. "It's good to have you back you mangy dog."

Lucy knew he didn't mean literally, Ace had never left, but he had been mentally vacant for those months that she had been gone. Her brown eyes softened as she watched the two best friends play fight on the floor.

'I hope things never change.'

After everyone had departed to bed and Ace had passed out, Lucy had unwound herself from his tight embrace to return to the upper deck.
The thought of being returned to Fiore with the chance of never being able to return? Lucy shook off the shiver that came with the thought.
Glancing up at the clear night sky, she admired how bright and sparkling the stars were in this world.

"How beautiful." She murmured to herself as the gentle rocking of the waves lulled her into a light slumber.

"Lucy, wake up." Groaning, she popped open an eye and was surprised to see Thatch standing over her with a small wooden box in his hands that he was trying to keep well hidden from sight. He seemed nervous?

'I must have fallen asleep watching the stars.'

"I need you to take this. It will give you the freedom you seek." His words sent a chill down her spine. It couldn't be, could it? Had Ace told him?
His eyes saddened "I would not wish this power upon you but time is short and you cannot afford to be picky with which one you get."

Leaning down into a crouch position, he gently placed the box into her open hands. "I would make this decision quickly, some people would kill for this type of treasure."

As he moved to leave, he smiled sadly. "Your light is strong enough to combat this dark power. Keep an eye on Ace for me kid." As quickly as he had appeared, he had disappeared.

Then she was left with the biggest and most influential decision of her whole life. The future now lay in her hands. With shaking fingers, she unlatched the box and was greeted with the sight of a unique looking fruit, a light violet colour that seemed to churn under the tautness of it's skin, almost like it wanted to break free. She could sense the power emanating from it and knew now that Thatch wasn't kidding, this was treasure that people would kill for.

It was a devil fruit.

A commotion further down the deck brought her back to reality with a crash and she nearly knocked the box out of her lap. A muffled scream and then a loud thud echoed through the inky darkness, something awful had just happened and whatever it was, was heading straight for her.

Creaking footsteps hastily made their way across the deck to where she was crouched.

There was no time to think, no time to contemplate this decision any further, she threw caution to the wind and forced the devil fruit down. The texture was like the outer part of a pineapple and tore her mouth and throat apart as she desperately consumed it.

"You fool!" A vicious presence was suddenly in front of her, one that did not match the warm aura of the Moby Dick. Huge in stature, a man stood in front of her with a murderous intent. Lucy's eyes zeroed in on a blood stained kitchen knifed that was grasped with a vice like grip in his left hand.

A terrible feeling of dread settled in her stomach as she remembered Thatch departing from here mere moments ago? Did this man know about the devil fruit in his possession? Did Thatch know he was being followed, hunted for the fruit?

At the mention of the fruit, it seemed to remind her body of the foreign magical object it had just ingested. Her stomach began to violently constrict and she cried out in pain, clutching her sides to try to ease the terrible cramps that had overwhelmed her.

"You stupid stupid whore, that was not yours to take, it belonged to me!" He was roaring in her face, now brandishing the knife and waving it in an aggressive fashion. Glancing behind him, she could feel the vibration of movement below the deck, the Whitebeard pirates were now awake and on their way.
Blood droplets from the damage caused from the devil fruit slid down from her lips, she smiled up at him.

"Oh, this belongs to you?" Lifting her hand, the new devil fruit powers rose to the surface of her skin, the magic was jet black and deadly. It tingled it's way around her finger tips, caressing her softly but as if it had a mind of its own, tendrils of darkness trailed away from her and reached for the murderer standing in front of her. Flinching away, the man fearfully stared behind him at the hoard of men that had now appeared.

"Lucy!" Ace's desperate voice penetrated the bubble she was in and her magic quickly retreated back to her skin where it nestled itself. "Get away from him, he's killed Thatch!"

Blood roared in her ears, so that was what she had heard. He had died to get her this power.

"He gave away something that was mine, of course I killed him and I'll kill her too!"

"He was your crewmate, your family! How could you Teach?" Samson's voice was full of pain and disbelief.

"Don't think this is over." Teach pointed a chubby finger at Lucy's face. "I will reclaim what is mine, that magic belongs to me." As the men charged forward, he launched his monstrous form overboard into the unforgiving sea.

The pirates followed, but Lucy could do nothing but sit there, her whole body was riddled in agonizing cramps, she bit her lip to stop herself from screaming. The pain caused from the fruit was hurting her body but knowing that Thatch had sacrificed himself to see it made its way to her was hurting her soul.
"Lucy, what the hell happened?" Ace was crouched at her side, checking her over for any wounds, when his fingers reached her hand that was blackened by the darkness caused by her ingesting the devil fruit, she swore he stopped breathing.

"This power…"

Letting out a sob, she winced as the pain racked her body once again. "Thatch." She gasped out. "Before he was killed, he gave me a devil fruit."