sairakanzaki: lots of stuff with the blackness this chapter!

Wishfull-star: Thanks! I would be, too.

I'm so excited for tomorrow because I'm gonna post a new story that I had sooo much fun writing. Then I'll be posting a story every single day lol. Anyways, a lot happens in this chapter! Enjoy~

"Guess what?" Ace asked at the breakfast table between bites of his dozen pieces of long strips of bacon. "Last night, I did ryou! But it was only a night, and then in the dark it worked, too. So, it seems like it works better in the dark," he explained happily, proudly.

"Ooooh~ spooky," Thatch said. Marco told him he was just jealous, with a teasing grin. "I am not!" the chef in training protested. Marco didn't look convinced, and Pops laughed. Bay was sitting next to Pops today, talking about their time at the next island, as she needed supplies for the infirmary, and said, "I honestly don't like Ace being out there alone at night."

"Well, tough," Thatch said, and then cowered when Bay sent him a glare promising pain if he opened his trap again. She really was scary. Marco disagreed with her, too. If Ace couldn't even sleep, then he deserved to be able to roam the ship.

Ace nodded. "I'm careful, don't worry," he said, and then returned to his berry waffles.

That day there was a pirate raid, and Ace was out there. He was brandishing the mop again, knocking people over mostly by jabbing their throats, an underhanded but proficient place to attack. But while he was doing this, he felt something strange. There were people on the ship and on the enemy ship that he could tell were bad people. But then there were others who Ace could tell weren't. Even though they were on the other crew.

He didn't stop fighting them, as they were still trying to harm his family, but there was a vast difference between those few and the rest of the enemy pirate crew. They looted them, losing as expected and the norm. While they were putting the treasure in their treasury, that now had new shelves in the middle of the room, from the floor to ceiling, to hold even more treasure, Ace approached his father.

"Pops, is it haki to tell when somebody is a good person and when somebody isn't?"

"It's is observation haki to be able to sense emotions, but not good or bad people. Why do you ask? Do you feel you can?" he asked curiously, sitting on his throne. Ace sat across from him and nodded. He felt some of those on the enemy pirate ship as good people, and others were bad. "Interesting! What did it feel like?"

Ace explained, "Like, some people just gave a heavy feeling, and others were light. It's hard to explain. But wouldn't everyone be feeling negative stuff, attacking? So how would haki figure out who is good and who is bad?"

Pops said, "I'm not sure. Does anyone on this chip feel bad?" he asked seriously. Ace smiled and shook his head. "I guess I pick good people, don't I? Gurarara. If you ever sense a bad person I invite onto the ship, tell me, okay?"

"I will!" He got up to go count the treasure with the others, since there was quite a bit as they left the stranded ship far behind. Stefan was running up and down the hallway, barking and begging for treats. Ace reached into his pocket and pulled out the little meat balls made for him, and gave two to him, making his tail wag rapidly.

The next day, they were docking at the winter island, and Ace was very excited. Apparently snow made everyone excited. They were all looking forward to it quite a bit. Also to see what Ace thought, the only one who'd never experienced snow before.

So when they entered the island's climate, it got cold and Ace put on his parka, fluffy and insulated to keep him nice and warm. He had full pants on, not shorts, and winter boots. He had a hat, too. "Aww, you look so cute and puffy," Vista teased.

"Shut it!" Ace grumbled back, face pink not just because of the cold. He turned to the captain and asked a question that had been on his mind. "Pops, how does your coat stay on your shoulders at all times? Shouldn't it fall off?"

"That's a good question!" Thatch exclaimed, hurrying over to Ace's side. Pops laughed, and said strong people don't lose their coats. "That's not a very satisfying answer…" Ace nodded in agreement with his friend and brother. The captain just laughed again. So, Thatch and Ace attempted to casually pull his coat off his shoulders.

Thatch tripped Ace on purpose, and he fell onto the coat, pulling it down. "Oops! Sorry, Pops!" Ace said.

"That was quite obvious, my sons," Pops said casually. "My coat will not fall. See?" Ace did see, it was barely hanging on, but still there. "I am just too strong." Thatch had a determined face on, clearly going to continue to try and make it fall. "Though, if my coat is damaged, a month of cleaning the bathrooms shall follow," he added lightly.

Marco started laughing and pointing at them, making Thatch flip him off and Ace stick his tongue out. Pops laughed again as the island came into view. It started to snow lightly, and Ace held out his hands. They really were just made of water! And they melted in his hand. The snowfall got thicker as they got closer, and when they finally reached the land, there was a blizzard going on.

It didn't stop the pirates from getting off. Apparently they'd been to this island before, so they didn't need to scout. It was their favorite winter island, and Ace looked forward to getting to know why. He disembarked, Oden running off ahead, how he usually did. It didn't stop them from dragging him back.

"We're here to show Oden and Ace what being on a winter island is like. Go explore my sons, but stay in groups. The weather sure is frantic," Whitebeard said.

"Aye, Pops!" they said, and darted away. Ace kept sinking into the snow. He was the shortest one, but Thatch was, too. Only he was more graceful at it. Ace's face already stung before they made it to an open field. "Snowball war! Pick your team!" Marco declared. Ace chose the side with Jozu, not Thatch and Marco.

"How could you do this to me, Ace?!" Thatch shouted. Ace laughed, and pointed to the largest teen. But it turned out he sucked at the snowball fight, and Ace's team got pummeled. Ace was okay at it, was fast at making balls. He made them small and hard. He threw one and nailed Thatch in the cheek, making him fall back. "You asshole!"

Ace just laughed before he was slammed in the shoulder. He pretended to be wounded. "Man down! Man down!" he cried.

"That's what you get for betraying me!" Thatch shouted, only he then got nailed in the face again, and flopped onto his back. "Oh no, another man down!" he cried. The clearing was full of laughter and grunts of throwing and being hit by snowballs. Ace had a lot of fun before they were tired out and started a snowman contest.

Izo was there, not partaking in the fight, but sculpting the snow. Ace wasn't really paying attention to what he was making, but it was up against the cliff nearby. When he was finished, Thatch said, "That's dark, Ace."

"What?" Ace asked, looking back at his sculpture. It was him stuck in what looked like a tree trunk. There was a small lump at his feet, Stefan. "Oh. I didn't really notice…" he said sadly. Thatch told him it was pretty accurate. Ace deflated, and he and Thatch worked to destroy it before the others saw. Well, his sculpture was out of the contest, he had to make another one.

But the time was over quickly, and they judged the snow sculptures. Marco's was a whale. "I give it a 6," Thatch said. Marco threw a snowball at his crotch. "Somebody can't handle criticism!" Thatch cried, clutching his groin. Ace laughed loudly, and they moved on to the next. They were all forgettable besides Handi and Izo. Handi's was a detail and spectacular cake with carved patterns in the snow from a stick. Izo's was one of the wild dogs from Wano.

"Where's yours, Ace?" Marco wondered.

"Ah, I got rid of it. It wasn't very good," Ace said, the truth, really. Marco nodded, not asking further questions, no doubt seeing Ace's look of discomfort. They judged, and were split between Izo and Handi. Ace voted for Izo, while Marco was irate his whale wasn't good enough. It was funny seeing him offended at something. So, Izo won the competition.

Rayuko said they should go to the more touristy attractions. Ace was happy to see more, and the group walked through the lightning blizzard and further inland, away from the ship. You could see where Pops had walked off, as he made huge paths in the snow. They followed them and arrived at a frozen waterfall with a frozen lake. Ace walked closer, and saw the fish in the water were frozen, too.

"This place can't be explained. It's apparently never melted, and nobody knows when it had ever been water and not ice," Rayuko explained. Ace was amazed, and walked to the ice before falling on his butt and sliding out further. He tried getting up, but slipped. Thatch was laughing as Ace couldn't get back. Marco pushed him forward and he slid out into the frozen water, too. Ace hit his head for laughing at him.

Ace said, "I bet I can get off faster than you can." Thatch took up the challenge, and both frantically tried to crawl their way to the side, back to the shore. Ace crawled on his belly and made it out first. "Told you! Now who looks stupid?" Ace said with a sneer, making Thatch pout and cross his arms.

Marco looked up the waterfall, and shouted, "Oden?! How the fuck did you get there?!" Marco rarely swore, but it was shocking to see that Oden had somehow gotten trapped in the waterfall's ice. The pirates sighed, and got to picking him out of the ice. They threw huge rocks at the ice below him until it finally cracked and he slid out.

He got back up and turned around. "I knew it! There's a hidden cave," he said proudly. The pirates got up and hurried inside the explore. Ace waited sadly outside. He couldn't go in, it would be pitch black.

"You coming Ace?" Jozu asked.

"I'll wait out here…" But then Marco landed next to him, and lit his body on fire. He smiled and took Ace's arm.

"I won't let it get dark," he vowed, and Ace smiled with a nod, following the group into the mystery cave. When they got inside, Ace felt his power grow in the dark, though Marco did keep the cave lit up the whole way. The cave opened wider, and they saw an open ceiling, as if the top was made of glass, only it was ice. It was beautiful, and Ace's added strength fizzled away.

When they came across a huge stone, Oden stopped in front of it, in shock. "What is it?" Thatch wondered while Ace investigated the rest of the bright cave room. Oden recognized the writing on it, but didn't know what it was. "Well, what's it say? I don't recognize that language," the chef in training said, sounding slightly impatient. Ace paid no attention to the stone, looking around.

"It talks about this island. It had once been a spring island, but the island somehow moved into another climate, and became a winter island. This was when people still lived here. I think we can reach the city from in here!" Oden said, stars in his eyes in amazement. They all cheered to go explore, and hurred faster down the caves.

It got deeper and darker, with Ace holding Thatch's hand and Marco assuring him the light would stay on. Ace trusted Marco, but still was apprehensive. He never wanted to laugh like that again, to feel his face. And he didn't want anybody else to see him be crazy.

They found a huge, tall dome that looked to be the mountain! But it was transparent, bringing light inside. There was a large clump of tall buildings. Nobody was here, though. "Exploring time!" Oden announced, and they all hurried off to snoop around and look for anything interesting to take with them. It may be an old, ancient city that would be a relic, but they were pirates. It didn't matter if they were curious.

The lighting from above kept everything not pitch black, which was all Ace needed. They explored the old buildings. They were heavily damaged by the cold, and when Ace tried opening a door, it cracked into pieces. He was glad he was wearing gloves. He looked around in interest, and found a large treasure chest in a large bedroom of one of the homes. It was frozen shut, so Ace got a rock from outside and banged it until the lock cracked and he opened it.

There were two devil fruits in there! One was rounder and bright orange, while the other was a green banana shape. He picked both of them up and went running out. "Guys! Guys, I found stuff!" he shouted. Thatch came hurrying out, and Ace showed him the devil fruits.

The other had tons of beautiful jewelry hanging around his wrists and a tiara on his head, looking completely ridiculous. It seemed this place was a treasure trove of valuable items. "Wow, two devil fruits?!" Thatch exclaimed, drawing others over, too. Almost everyone was laden with something of value.

Treasure, jewelry, beautiful fabrics. Izo had gorgeous reels of fabric that he would no doubt use for himself. But they all found something of value. "I'm definitely eating one of these," Ace announced. "Thatch, you can have the other, if you want," he offered.

"Totally!" he exclaimed excitedly. They continued their search, and looted the city of anything precious or interesting. It wasn't like anyone would find this place for science or history purposes. So, they unashamedly walked back through the snow and to their ship, arms full of heavy values.

When they got to the ship, they brought everything to the galley so the group could have room to inspect everything. The treasure room wasn't big enough for all of them. They put the spoils on one of the long dinner tables, and sorted. Thatch left to get the devil fruit encyclopedia while the others inspected their valuables. Nobody felt regret for looting an ancient city.

Thatch came back with the book and he and Ace looked through it. Fate had decided Ace to find these fruits. Well, the orange one. The banana was unknown, but the orange one was a fire fruit! Ace beamed. The dark would never plague him. He grabbed it, and declared he was eating this one. "What do you want to do with the other one, Thatch?" Ace wondered.

"Well, it's not in the book. I don't know what it is. But… I'll do it! I'll definitely eat it. Even if it sucks, well, I have lots of time to learn other fighting techniques." Ace nodded, and handed Thatch and green one.

"What happened, sons? Where did all of this come from?" Pops asked when he entered the galley, seeing the hundreds of items of some sort of prize. Jozu explained the ancient, hidden city. Pops laughed, "You sure are pirates!"

Ace and Thatch showed the captain the devil fruits, and Whitebeard smiled warmly at Ace when he happily said, "The dark will never bother me ever again." Ace wouldn't ever be caught in the pitch black. So, he ate it, managing to not spit it out even if it tasted horrible. He waited for a moment before he lit his hand on fire, and he felt a crawling sensation all over his body that wasn't from the fire.

Pops watched him with a dark expression, and Ace asked what was wrong. Oden was watching, too. It probably had to do with the darkness, and he sprinted to the nearest bathroom and looked at it. The black that clung to his body all the time was jerking all around, not staying in one place. Whatever it was didn't like the fire.

Well, he couldn't do shit about it now. Thatch ran in after him, asking what was wrong. He couldn't see anything in the mirror, after all. "The stuff I told you about, it's moving all over the place," he said quickly. Ace lit his whole body on fire, the fruit easy to use for some reason already. The black all gathered into his mouth, and he froze, afraid to breathe.

Then his nightmare commenced and he started to laugh. He couldn't stop, but his appearance didn't change. He grabbed at Thatch, who was trying to help him, seeing how distressed Ace was even if he was laughing this crazed laugh. He ran to the bathroom door and slammed it shut, locking it from the inside. Nobody else needed to see this.

He held Ace on the bathroom floor as he laughed and did nothing else, even if tears were coming from his eyes. "C'mon Ace, you're okay, I got ya," Thatch said, looking like he was trying to not panic. They waited it out until the laughing stopped. Ace could still see the mirror and watched as the black climbed out of his mouth and back onto his body.

He took deep breaths, closing his eyes and clenching his teeth. "Don't worry, nobody else saw it," he said. "The doors are super thick, I don't think anyone could hear through it." Ace stood and glared at the mirror, at the black. He clenched his teeth in anger now, and torched his entire body. He clamped his mouth shut, and grabbed the black flitting around, and thrust fire out of his hands, too, trying to burn it away.

Thatch could hear the screeching noises, too, and looked afraid, too. Probably not of Ace, but the sound that had been in the scary forest. Ace burst it out more, and Thatch could finally see the black as Ace ripped it off of his body. The black lumps writhed on the ground, making Ace back up.

Ace torched the tile floor, burning the black into nothing until it was all gone. He stared down at the damaged tiles, breathing heavily. "Are… are you okay?" Thatch asked, looking at the panting Ace, who had burnt away any and all clothing he'd had on. Ace nodded before he saw black seep out of his skin. Thatch saw it easily as it dripped out and covered him.

He unlocked the door and screamed for the captain as Ace's body felt like it was melting into a black thing. He had fat tears down his face, feeling his body shift and change without his permission.

Pops ran into the room, and shut the door. "Help me!" Ace cried out, tears streaming down his face as they turned black, too. Ace finally fell to the floor, and was out cold. When he woke up, it couldn't have been much later. He was in Pops' hand, with Thatch there, eyes puffy and red. Ace tried to ask, but nothing came out of his mouth.

"Are you awake, son?" Ace couldn't respond, he felt his face, but his hands felt wrong. Pops moved to Ace could see himself. He was still in a human shape, but covering in black, a jagged mouth on his face that couldn't form words. His eyes were pure red. He was shaking in absolute terror and fear.

Please, go back to normal! he begged, though it wouldn't come out. Please, go away! The black listened and seemed to seep back into his skin, only leaving reddened, irritated skin. His face came back, and he broke into sobs. Thatch hurried over to the now normal looking brother, and hugged him. Pops was behind him his hand on Ace's shoulder.

"How do you feel, son?" he asked kindly. A towel was given to him, and he wrapped it around himself, big enough to pass as a blanket. A towel definitely meant for one of the larger members.

"S-scared," he hiccupped. "It was so scary!"

Thatch told him, "Nobody else saw but us. And we don't think you're a monster. Did you ever have the urge to hurt us? Hurt anyone?" Ace shook his head. He hadn't given a thought to them, only consumed in his own fear and panic. "You're not a monster."

Ace curled up and said, "The fire was supposed to make it better! Not worse!" And that definitely was worse. He looked at the charred tiles, wondering if that black was what was keeping him looking normal to everybody else. He looked back in the mirror, but saw nothing but him. "I… I want to go in my room. I want to be alone."

Pops nodded, and he and Thatch brought Ace to his room. Pops stayed outside of his door when he went inside. He turned on all the lights. "Why? Why are you here? What's the purpose?" He suddenly felt something go through his mind. A memory of the time in the forest. It was as if he was out of his body. He watched as he fought his way through the shadows, only he saw there were things all over him, black things that looked like puddles.

They sunk into his skin, where those cuts had been before. Then he collapsed and seized, unable to breathe before the black vines thrust itself into his mouth, making him stop seizing. He heard a shrieking noise as the little puddles fled his body. The vines pulled him, dragged him across the forest floor, and he sunk into the tree. More vines went up his nose and wrapped around him. He saw there were others like him in the tree, all of them with the cuts.

The black vines had saved him. The black puddle bug things had hurt him, and the black down his throat had chased the bugs away. That was keeping him alive. Was it like life support? The things in the forest weren't evil, they saved his life and put him to sleep all that time. Stefan had not been attacked by the puddles when he was there, so he might have already been put to sleep when Ace entered.

Was he wrong this whole time? They looked so scary, and he looked scary in the mirror when he was desperately fighting. "You saved me…" Ace said, and hurried to the bathroom. "I accept you."

His body was covered in black immediately, before it faded away again, into his skin, leaving not a trace there. He felt warm now, not cold anymore. He lit his hand on fire, and felt no pain or anything wrong. All of that happened because he was trying to fight back. "Will you help me? And not hurt me or anyone else?"

He still didn't think the black was alive. There wasn't a living being in the darkness. So it didn't respond. He lit his whole body on fire again, and saw and felt some black retreat from the fire into his eye this time. Nothing came from it other than the mirror showing that dark eye was now dull with no shine.

Nothing hurt, and nothing felt wrong at all. He sighed, and released the flames, going to turn the light off and shut the door, putting himself in complete darkness. But he could suddenly see everything in the dark, and saw the mirror showed him there, with no deformed face, no huge teeth or long tongue.

Was he fixed? Now he really felt bad for burning away those bits of black. They were just working to help him and he brutally incinerated them to nothing. Well, they weren't alive, which he was glad about. He went to his room, opening the door to let out light, his sight going back to normal.

The emotionally exhausted boy got into new underwear and clothes before laying on the bed, and for the first time in many weeks, he fell asleep. He only woke up when Marco was in there, shaking him awake. "Ace! Ace, wake up!" he shouted, Thatch there, too, looking worried. Ace jerked awake, startled. "You were asleep?" the blonde asked, shocked now.

Ace nodded, and sat up. He asked for Pops, and the fourteen year old ran out of the room and then back in with Pops. "How are you, son? You look better, you aren't pale anymore," he said in relief. Ace nodded, and sat up straighter.

"I - we - were all wrong about the darkness. It helped me. It wasn't keeping me hostage in there, it was keeping me alive. And I burnt away all that black that was helping me," he said. "It doesn't hurt anymore as long as I don't fight it. I turned off all the lights and nothing happened." Marco looked so confused, so they explained everything that had happened.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, sounding hurt. Ace looked down, and quietly voice his insecurities. He didn't want anyone to know about it, anyone else. So he kept it with the three of them.

He said, "I'm sorry. It was nothing personal. I just don't want other people to know that stuff."

Thatch was still confused, and pointed out that the darkness had tried to swallow them. Marco answered instead of Ace. "That forest survived by being dark, and we came in with blinding light. Of course they were pissed at us. But, everyone who went in that forests never came out. Doesn't that mean it's bad and dangerous?"

"I don't know. But I know that black puddle things entered me, those cuts were then entry wounds. The black helped me after that, ejecting them from my body. I feel bad for burning it away," he confessed honestly.

"Is it alive?" Ace shook his head. He truly didn't believe he was sharing his body with another creature. "Then…. it's there to help you?" Thatch asked.

Ace nodded. "I think so. As soon as I just let it go, I felt better, and nothing bad happened." He lit himself on fire, and the black retreated into his eye again, not his mouth and causing him to freak out. "Pops, did you see it?"

"I did," the man said with a nod. "It retreated into your left eye."

"That one has no shine. That's kind of weird, but way better than what happened before!" Thatch exclaimed, and hugged Ace tightly. "You're all better now." Ace smiled and said he thought he was as normal as he could be.

He looked at his hands, and said, "I think I'll try new things with it. I don't think it's evil. Well, it's non-living, I don't know if it can be evil, just creepy looking." Marco smiled and was just glad he was okay.

"Don't keep things from me, too. I want to be in on it all, okay?" Ace nodded, and Pops laughed.

"My youngests sure are resilient. Very well, if you accept the darkness as being safe and helpful to you, I accept it as well. But, maybe try not to become how you were in front of everybody else," the captain said. Ace nodded. He wouldn't ever want to look like that, ever lose control. The maniacal laughing had been terrible, unable to stop or talk around it. But Thatch was there for him. A wonderful best friend and close brother.

Ace asked, "So were you going to eat the devil fruit?"

"Yeah! I was, I was just waiting for you to get better first, though," the brown haired teen said. Ace smiled and said he felt better. They could go do it now. Clearly, Thatch had been itching to do so as he jumped off of the bed and went speeding down the hall. Ace got up and followed after. The darkness stayed in his eye for much of the rest of the day after that. It didn't affect his sight and wasn't easily noticeable.

Ace was out long enough for things to have been moved out of the galley, so the table was nice and clear, perfectly clean. The devil fruit was there waiting for Thatch, though. He and much of the other young members were waiting, and the second youngest wasn't really sure of what he should do.

"Do I eat the peel, too?" he wondered.

"Sounds gross, peel it," Oden said, looking excited as well. Sometimes Ace really wondered how he was a grown man. A good guy, but still immature a lot of the time. Except when it came to Toki, then he was a softie about it. Sometimes the youngests spied on them from around the corner. It was all Marco's idea, and he blushed about it a lot. It was funny!

Thatch peeled it, and looked at the gross looking banana before he took a bite and swallowed without chewing. His face showed absolute disgust. And it did taste nasty. Now five of them had devil fruits! Pops, Jozu, Marco, and now Ace and Thatch, too. Ace wondered and hoped Thatch would get a useful power, though they had no idea about what it may be.

After eating it, the table was silent. "Do you feel any different?" Rayuko asked.

"Not really. How do I figure out what it is?" he asked. Pops said they would experiment on deck, regardless of the chill. They weren't going to risk damaging the interior of the ship. The deck got damaged frequently, but not the inside of the Moby Dick. So they all hurried out, and gathered expectantly. It was late enough that everyone had returned to the ship.

Nobody asked Ace any questions, so they didn't know what had happened to him. Thatch ran out to the middle of the deck and asked his fellow devil fruit users what they did. After all, they had a zoan, logia and two paramecias onboard. Ace said, "I already knew what it was. Um, I just thought about covering myself in the element. It came to me pretty quickly, I was surprised!"

"For me, just think of your body changing shape, taking a new form, most likely larger. Well, definitely larger, you're fourteen. But I ate mine with I was six, so it didn't - never mind. Just picture your body reforming."

"W-will it hurt?" Thatch asked nervously. Marco said he was sure it wouldn't hurt. "Okay, then what about a paramecia? Pops, Jozu?" Whitebeard put his thumb to his chin, trying to come up with a satisfying answer. Jozu had no response either at first. "Hello?" Thatch asked impatiently.

The captain admitted he wasn't sure how to help Thatch. "There's no sort of universal order for paramecias. It's just random powers. There's no rhyme or reason to it at all." Thatch pouted, and decided he'd test if he was a logia or zoan before dealing with the possibly frustrating road as a paramecia user.

The Whitebeards watched in interest and suspense, the deck silent besides some shivering. After all, they were outside while it snowed on a winter island. Thatch shut his eyes tightly, trying to come up with something, but nothing came. He opened his eyes and frowned. "It was a devil fruit, right?" he asked sadly.

"I'm sure it'll become apparent sooner or later, son. I just hope it's nothing like mine was. I nearly destroyed the island I was on when I ate it!" Pops said, trying to lighten the mood no doubt. "Be aware, it might sneak out without you knowing," he advised. Thatch was still not happy, was very grumpy.

"Sorry, Thatch. It's been a bad day for you."

Thatch said, "Ace, it was a bad day for you. It was fine for me, if not a bit worrying earlier and then now my devil fruit not showing up when I wanted it to." Ace frowned, and Thatch punched his shoulder. It went through his arm. "If that punch did work, I was going to tell you to not feel guilt over me being there when you had a big problem."

Ace smiled, and started to thank him before the world went dark and the last thing he heard was his body hitting the wood before he was gone. Only he woke up ten minutes later in the infirmary, screaming. There was something by his bed, blood all over it. But then it was gone, and he was gasping in terror.

"Whoa, what happened?!" Thatch exclaimed. Pops was there and looked shocked as well.

"You didn't see that?! It was right there! A monster!" he exclaimed, pointing to where there was nothing. "And why am I in here?!" He was freaking out.

"Ace, calm down. You have narcolepsy. That's why you passed out and why you hallucinated when you woke up," Bay said simply, walking over without her fancy hat on. She say on the doctor's chair.

Ace asked what narcolepsy was, never hearing of it before. Was he sick? He didn't want to cause even more problems. "It's a chronic sleep disorder. It makes you excessively sleepy during the day time, and can sometimes lead to sleep attacks or cataplexy. So, treatment is medication and naps."

The boy was confused and overwhelmed. "Isn't that dangerous? To just fall asleep randomly?" he asked. Bay pointed out he was lucky he just ate a logia. If not, he could risk injuring himself when falling. And before, he couldn't sleep, and now he sleeps too much? Could he still be a pirate when he just randomly fell asleep?

"Calm down. There are many people on the crew already and tons to come with health conditions. This is just one of them. Besides, you're twelve, Ace. you won't be going on expeditions where you'll not be around anybody else. You should be able to manage it with time and treatment," Bay explained patiently, the only time she ever sounded patient.

Ace slumped over, and Thatch rubbed his arm in comfort. What a shit day this was. Jeez. "So, what can I do to get rid of it?"

"Manage it. There's no cure, only treatment," Bay said simply. Then she elaborated by saying he needed scheduled naps throughout the day. Ace sighed, but there wasn't much he could do. He didn't want to be a burden. He worried about failing others. What if he was inconvenient?

Pops said, "Quite the irony. Yesterday it was impossible for you to sleep, and now you have to sleep more than usual." But he wasn't amused. It was ironic, but not funny. Ace was frowning deeply. He turned to the doctor and asked what he was supposed to do. The two of them and Pops made a plan on when Ace would take his naps. One after breakfast and then one before dinner.

It was embarrassing.

After he was discharged, he went to his room and flopped onto the bed, hiding his face in the his pillow. There was a knock on the door, it was Marco. Ace told him to go away. He didn't want to talk to anybody. But the door opened and Stefan came barreling in. The bedroom door was closed behind the dog.

"Oh boy, I can't stay up with you at night anymore," Ace said sadly. Stefan licked his face, and Ace smiled. He hugged the pooch, who nestled with him in the blankets. Ace relaxed, laying his head next to Stefan's before he fell asleep again.