Wishfull-star: They don't suffer the whole time, don't worry. There's still love way later on lol.
JoyPiece: Great hypothesis. I can't say if that's wrong or not, I just made it so some old, senile man burnt their ship down. Maybe he forgot to take his meds or had Alzheimers or something, lol. Or he was jealous of the beautiful "Piece of Shit".
sairakanzaki: "Poor ace and his crew their ship was burn to crisp hahaha." Lol you sound as sadistic as I am.
More stuff happens! I finished one of my stories and are posting the next one, go check it out! Enjoy~
Ace was a very good person. Marco couldn't believe they blew it with someone like him. The Ace he'd seen here on the beach was completely different than the snappy, defensive Ace on the Moby Dick. The one that caused problems that were made worse by the others. Ace could have been more than angry. He honestly could have been afraid, too.
Trapped away from home in an unfamiliar place with hundreds of unfamiliar people. It would be overwhelming for anyone. Especially when Ace had serious social problems. He didn't trust easily, or open up easily. But, he'd said there were a lot of good people on the crew. If only his family had changed and welcomed him.
He could have really become a little brother. He sighed sadly. Then he thought about Ace's reminder of Teach. Was he really rotten? Marco wished he'd brought a den den mushi, but he'd left in fury and fervor. To get to Ace fast. He looked up at the starry sky, wondering how things would work out. If he was right, or embarrassingly wrong. About this time being different. About a second chance.
He wouldn't push him. Clearly force was not something that worked positively on Ace. He'll fight back in full. It was honestly impressive that his overwhelming anger, and probably fear, didn't trigger his dragon side to attack anybody. He hadn't laid a hand on any of them. Besides when he broke Thatch's nose and bit him. It was only against Thatch.
He remembered Izo grabbed him roughly, and Ace shoved him away. Marco was starting to realize that Ace had more sides than he'd thought. He was more complex. Two completely different species competed in his head, competed in dictating his actions and feelings. It had to be difficult for him. Marco had some new instincts when he ate his phoenix fruit, how all zoan users feel, but devil fruits were not originally them.
But Ace wasn't originally part dragon. Just since he was three years old. From before he could really remember. So to him, he'd always been this way. Marco felt bad for him. And felt bad for his original actions. He was a jerk, too. It was only apologizing that gave the chance for Ace to accept him and befriend. More like a middle between friend and acquaintance.
The first mate watched Ace sleep, looking like a regular teenager. Marco wished he could tell everybody what he knew, knowing they'd understand more, but he would shatter any and all trust that Ace had in him. So he would not be telling anybody else. He was lost in thought before he saw something big in the darkness. He was surprised that the crew was sailing during the night.
He didn't want to see Ace close up again, but there was nothing to do about it. "Ace, they're here," Marco said, not touching Ace and risking scaring or upsetting him. "Ace, wake up." Ace just mumbled in his sleep. Marco tried waking him up by touching his shoulder, but it set him off and he freaked out, clawing at Marco as he jerked awake.
Marco was shocked. "Don't touch me while I sleep," Ace warned. "Anyone other than my crew shouldn't touch me while I'm sleeping." Marco nodded, still shocked at the reaction. Marco's voice was a little shaky for a few words before he was composed again.
"The Moby Dick is here. Do you want to camp out here tonight? Then we can put all your stuff on the ship tomorrow morning?" Marco offered. Ace looked to his crew, still sleeping like babies, and said he wanted to sleep free for a night. Free. Ace was trapped with us. Caged. How would a creature like a dragon feel being caged?
Ace was so complex, but piece by piece, Marco felt like he was figuring him out better. Learning more just by observations and wandering thoughts. "Okay. I'll go tell them to shut up." Ace thanked him, and went back to sleep.
Marco flew to the ship, landing on the deck. Not everyone was out, as it was very late. Pops was there and Thatch, too. Marco couldn't believe it had only been one day from Ace leaving the ship to now. "How is he?" Whitebeard asked. Marco put a finger to his lips, saying the Spades were sleeping on the beach that night.
Thatch asked if he was okay. "As well as he can be. He was more open a little bit ago with his crew. They got drunk and played dodgeball. I think he could fit in here if we treated him better. I hope it's not a problem I promised we'd buy a new ship for them and take them to a better island."
Whitebeard said that was what he was planning on doing in the first place. "Those poor brats. Losing their ship like that. Did you find the culprit?" Marco scoffed.
"Yeah. An old, senile man in the woods. And he's also dead. No explanation to his motive, no consequences. It made the Spades pretty angry, but I would be, too," Marco explained. Izo was there, walking up and looking sad. He looked guilty. As he should be. Izo asked how he was about leaving that morning. "He left and then found his ship was gone. He feels pretty shitty, but his crew made it better for him after dinner. He refused to drink in front of me, though. I think he was uneasy."
He thought for a moment and decided to say, "Tell everyone to never touch Ace when he's sleeping. He got upset when he woke up with me touching him without permission or warning." He made a pointed look at Izo, knowing he had roughly grabbed Ace and he'd shouted at him. At least he hadn't clawed him.
He turned back to Pops and said they'd bring the things up the next morning. He wanted the ship to be quieter and let them sleep peacefully. The ship was pretty far from the shore, but sounds echoed at night. Those on deck agreed. Marco looked around before asking Whitebeard if anything had happened with the person Ace named.
"He's really pissy with me," Thatch said quietly, all of them being quiet. "I think he's angry I ate the dark-dark fruit. Well, I was the one to find it first, it's not weird to think that I ate it," he added. "Besides that, no real change." Marco nodded, saying that was good. He didn't want to deal with anything about that tonight.
He just wanted to go to bed, where he would probably think a long time. "Get some rest, son." Thatch said he couldn't sleep and was going to practice more with his new, frustrating devil fruit. Marco nodded, thinking Ace could help him out since he's a pro-logia, the only one on the crew. Well, on the ship. Ace wasn't part of their crew.
-x-
Ace woke up at 1:50 to a bad feeling in the air. He looked around the beach, but saw nobody and nothing suspicious. Some of the balls had drifted back and were on the sandy beach. He still felt the bad feeling, and turned to feel it coming from the Moby Dick. He narrowed his eyes since it was pretty far, and saw the fat guy, Teach, approaching Thatch, who was on the figurehead, distracted.
Ace knew this was bad, the way Teach was sneaking behind him. Ace couldn't get there in time to stop him, so he picked up one of the dodgeballs and threw his arm as hard as he could, shooting the ball like an asteroid and hitting Teach in the shoulder, just barely under his neck. But he heard a crack and a shout of pain.
This got Thatch's attention and he jerked up, turning around to see a screaming Teach, holding a shattered upper arm and shoulder joint. People on the ship came out from the screams, and Ace watched and listened as Thatch said what had happened. Ace was still tired, so he walked back to his blanket and laid down, going back to sleep.
The bad feeling had disappeared. He had still been sleepy, so it was foggy for him in the morning. He woke up to Finamore shaking him awake. Ace, of course, did not lash out, but woke up like a normal person. He recognized the voice and scent of his crew, so his body didn't lash out like it had with Marco.
He did feel bad for that. But he hated being touched by people he wasn't close to. Especially when he wasn't expecting it. That was why he freaked out when Izo had suddenly, harshly, grabbed his arm. He sat up and yawned, covered in sand, but it wasn't a big deal. He couldn't burn the sand off of it would melt to glass and be a pain.
Ace stood up and messed his hair up to get the sand out before standing and looking around. The Moby Dick was a bit far away from the shore. It was huge and impossible not to notice. He sighed, not excited to return. "It's our only option, Cap," Deuce said.
"I know. Doesn't mean I like it," Ace said. Marco flew over after seeing Ace was awake. He looked desperate. "What's wrong?" he asked, the first mate looking really perplexed. He asked if Ace remembered last night. "When we went to sleep?"
"After that. With Thatch?" Ace frowned, and was trying to think. He remembered throwing a dodgeball and a bad feeling, but that was it.
He replied, "I remember I got a bad feeling and then threw a ball at it. I was half dead, I don't remember much. Why?" Ace asked curiously, wondering what had been so big that it freaked Marco out like this. He seemed kind of unshakable. He had emotions, when he sympathized with the Spades, but he always seemed composed. Now he didn't.
"Teach tried to stab Thatch last night. You threw a dodgeball at him from the shore and it shattered his arm, making Thatch realize what was happening. You saved him," Marco said. He bowed to Ace, who didn't remember saving Thatch, but was of course glad he had woken up.
Ace asked what happened to him afterwards. "He's in the brig. You were right from the beginning." Ace said he told them so, but it wasn't in a disrespectful way. "We're all really thankful for that."
"Great. They'll be nice to me now that I saved their friend," Ace huffed. Marco quickly said they wanted to try again before that, but that saving Thatch was very appreciated. Ace was glad he saved Thatch, too. He was a good man. Reminded him of Luffy a bit. Marco was like a more boring Sabo. He snickered at it, unable to help himself.
"What?"
"Thatch is a smarter Luffy and you're a more boring Sabo." His crew started laughing and Ace joined in. "They are, though! And Marco even looks like Sabo, you have to admit."
Deuce said, "Being blonde doesn't mean they all look alike." But it was in amusement. Marco asked what they were talking about. "Luffy is Ace's dumb little brother. Sabo was his smarter brother." Marco noticed the past tense, since his face fell.
Ace said, "He was killed a long time ago. Luffy's still alive. He's going to be the next pirate king." Marco slowly asked if Sabo was killed by pirates. "No, he was killed by a celestial dragon. I wasn't there for him. But I'm happy thinking about him. It's not too sad most of the time." Ace saw some Whitebeards coming to the shore in a little boat.
Thatch was looking very uncomfortable in the small craft, being a new devil fruit user now. Water should make him worry. Ace, of course, never needed to fear the water. His expression and demeanor hardened the moment they touched the shore. He was on the defensive again. He would be irritated if everybody was nice cause he saved Thatch.
Though, maybe it would make them realize being an asshole isn't his only quality. Though he didn't consider himself a hero. Thatch was a friend of a sorts. Having him killed by Teach would have been terrible. And he was satisfied he was right about the man being rotten. Though telling them hadn't changed the outcome. A dodgeball had. It was ridiculous, but very lucky.
Really, taken out of commission with a fucking dodgeball. How embarrassing. When the ship reached the shore, Ace had his arms crossed tightly, face blank. Thatch ran at him and threw his arms out. He was going to hug Ace. It wasn't a sudden move, he wouldn't lash out automatically.
He let Thatch hug him and blubber into his shoulder about thanking him and how cool he was and how he was glad he wasn't killed. "That was so cool! I was so confused, though. I was practicing with the devil fruit - which is impossible to see in the dark, psh - and then Teach was screaming with a knife! And there was a ripped apart dodgeball there! I saw you standing up on the beach and then you just went back to sleep!"
This was the first time hearing the story from his view, since all of them had been sleeping. "Have you been going easy on us all this time?!" Saber demanded. Ace hid a smile and shrugged.
"Maybe. Maybe I don't want to kill you," he said.
"Ah, good point," Aggie 68 admitted. "But damn. What a throw." The commanders that were in the little boat nodded at Aggie's statement. Ace looked at them coldly. Especially Izo, who was the one to push him over the edge and make him just give up on being accepted anywhere other than on his ship. His old ship…
Izo bowed, and apologized for being a prick. That what he said was cruel and unnecessary and just totally a dick move. Thatch nodded in agreement, his own arms crossed. Ace still didn't like Izo at all. First, he always was just passive aggressive with looks, then he pulled a gun on him and then said something cruel to him that broke him.
Being away made things better, even if it was for less than 24 hours. "I'm really sorry, and I'd like to start over." Ace didn't respond, not wanting to lie but also not wanting to piss him off. He finally settled with "Okay." He seemed to realize he was not forgiven, but wasn't upset by that. He needed to prove to Ace he deserved respect and forgiveness. They all did.
If he was going to be sailing with them for two months at least, he might want to try harder. He would try harder, but he would accept them being jerks to him. Marco broke the tension and asked if they wanted to start moving everything onto the ship. They nodded. Thatch went up to Ace and gave him another hug, a softer one this time.
"I'm so sorry about your ship. So sorry," he said sincerely. Ace nodded. He didn't say anything other than, "Fucking old man." Thatch sighed and looked around, seeing no remains. Ace said his crew had dragged the remains out to sea to float away.
"There wasn't much left," Deuce said. "It was completely burnt away. There were barely any ashes." He walked to the little boat and started loading things on. The Spade first mate looked at the commanders, including Izo and several Ace had never spoken to. "You will not be pricks to Ace this time."
They nodded, and started to help load things up, having brought boxes to put things in. Deuce seemed to approve of the reaction. Ace was doing his best to start over. His very best, but the hurt they'd caused him kept reminding him that they weren't good people like how they felt. They were mean and nasty and stubborn.
But he also knew he had been as well. He just hoped they tried like he had. He'd rather not hate and be hated for the next few months. The partial dragon started to load books and papers into one of the boxes. Marco was flying them back. It didn't take long for everything to be ready and loaded.
"Wanna go back to the ship? We've already restocked and that old coot is gone, so we don't have anybody to punish, sadly. Though someone will be speaking to the citizens about their refusal of information to me until I pushed hard," Marco said, sounding slightly annoyed. Ace didn't really want to go back, but there was no other place to go. He nodded.
He wished he could just swim there. He would have to be hiding again. Well, hopefully it would be easier this time. He walked into the cramped boat. It was big enough for everyone to fit, but not comfortably. Thatch was looking at the water in worry. "You have lots of people to rescue you if you fall," Ace said with a yawn. He looked back at where the last place he saw his ship was.
His face fell into pain, and he saw his crew mirroring that look. The boat was silent until Thatch asked if Ace would help him with his new devil fruit. "You're a logia, too," Thatch pointed out. Ace frowned and said he guessed he could try. When he made eye contact with Izo, his eyes narrowed automatically. He sighed and put his head in his hands in annoyance.
Fucking get it together. Don't make it any worse for yourself. Izo didn't say anything about it. Well, not about the glaring at him. He hadn't returned the glare or that would have made him think it was a challenge. "I apologize for interrogating you."
Deuce said, "Yeah. It was very inappropriate." Ace looked at him in slight surprise. "I was there, too, remember?" He was glaring at Izo, who looked guilty. The other commanders looked awkward and Thatch was whistling. When they got back to the ship, Ace was more than glad to get off of the tiny boat with those people. Especially Izo. That guy would need to do a lot to make Ace think of him as anything but an asshole. A pushy one, a nosy one.
He tried to tell him to stop thinking so negatively. When he saw Whitebeard on his throne, Ace walked up to him and clenched his jaw and tried to bow in thanks before the captain said, "No thanks is needed. It was partly our doing that your ship is gone, and you also saved Thatch. It was quite the throw. I wouldn't want to be on the opposite team of you. Gurarara."
Ace nodded, glad he didn't have to bow and be ashamed of it. He saw a miniscule nod from Whitebeard. It was appreciated. Showing that he still respected Ace as a dragon. Even if he seemed to want to treat Ace as mostly a human, he was still part dragon and Whitebeard was keeping that in mind. It seemed Thatch was unable to. But, Luffy had been, too.
Almost always I have Teach get caught in the act or having already hurt someone. So I made him lose in a humiliating way. He got caught when a dodgeball broke his arm. Yes, that's right. Lol and Ace just went back to sleep after that. See you next week!