Wishfull-star: Thank you!

The next island was coming soon. Ace didn't know what it was, but its arrow was going insane on the log pose. That should be fun. But when they got there, the island was gone. "Oh, fuck you. No. I'm getting us to that damn island," he swore, angry he'd been looking forward to a crazy island for awhile.

He had everyone raise the sails and got in the water to take them to where he could sense the crazy island. It took hours to find it, but he'd never seen such a thing. The island was literally floating away from them. Ace grinned and sped up, pulling the ship faster. When they got to it, Ace latched onto it with his claws, and pulled himself forward. He took both anchors and embedded them into the back of it.

He popped up and got onto the ship. "Time for an adventure!" he declared. "You can feel it, too, right?" he asked them. There was a completely abnormal presence there. None of them looked especially excited to be on an island going who knows where. "C'mon, I doubt any other crew could pull this off. If we do lose the ship, I'll get us back, right?"

That was rational, and they relaxed at that a bit. They disembarked, all of them, and walked onto the land. They went hurrying towards the source, Ace running and them having to keep up. He jumped and dodged the many roots of large trees. They others stumbled a bit, but only because the roots were wiggling around, though not attacking them. The whole island felt alive, and he was painfully curious. He ignored his crew's uncertainty. He walked deeper into the forest, climbing the mountain. He made sure his crew was okay, keeping his haki extended all around him, keeping their presence in the back of his mind. If there was any change, he would notice.

When he came to the center of the island, after seeing countless strange bugs and creatures, he came to a clearing, his crew panting and standing there, too, not long after he stopped. There was a downward slope. Sabo said he didn't feel good about this. Ace was too curious. "You can go back, if you want. I want to see what it is."

He slid down into the hole, finding himself in some gross, slimy cave. He looked up and called to them that he was alright. He walked in deeper, his crew staying away besides Sabo. The whole thing stunk badly. Reeked. Ace was starting to think there was something off about this island, but then he saw what was given off the presence, the unique one he was desperately curious about.

It wasn't some treasure, but a pulsating mass of gooy, wet stuff. He looked around the cave and saw vines all over them, but they weren't vines, but veins. He backed away, putting his finger in front of his lips. Sabo nodded, and they both quietly, left before Ace stepped on one of the veins. A loud screeching noise erupted, and the whole island shook. He grabbed onto Sabo, who rocketed them both up, burning the inside of the island, whatever the hell it was.

They shouted at the others to run. The island was alive! And awake. It thrashed about, them being thrown every direction. He grabbed them all and then leapt off of the thing. He changed into dragon form, smelling blood in the water but not looking, and they got everyone back on the ship and the anchors released.

The living island swam away, luckily, and didn't attack them. He looked for the source of the blood, and he saw half of Saber's face was covered in blood. He had a large gash right above his eye. Aggie hurried him into the infirmary, Ace running after, feeling sick and cold. It was his fault, they all didn't want to go. Look what happened?=.

And he had been doing so well…

"Captain, I'm really fine," Saber said while Ace sat on the dragon figurehead, curled up. "It was only a cut." Ace sourly said he nearly lost his eye. "It's just an eye, I have another one." Ace shook his head. They were all trying to cheer him up, but it just wasn't happening. He felt terrible, he'd had such terrible judgement.

He'd been reckless for so long, but not consequences had come from it. It got to his head, him thinking he was invincible and could protect each one of them. And he let them all down. He felt like a shitty captain. After Saber could not convince him, he felt Sabo behind him, who grabbed him and threw him on the deck. Ace was shocked, and the blonde looked furious with him.

"You fucked up! Move on! None of us are dead, nobody lost a limb or an eye! Move on! None of us are upset, don't beat yourself up for something stupid!" Sabo shouted, fuming. Ace jumped to his feet and countered that.

"I'm the captain! It's my duty to keep all of you safe! I don't care if he only had a scratch, it could have been worse and he got injured because my curiosity and recklessness got to my head! You're not captain! You're the first mate! I try and do everything safely myself! And I've been doing well, and now I totally fucked up!"

He was angry and he and Sabo were glaring daggers at one another. Deuce said, "And how is fighting amongst ourselves going to help this? Ace, I hate to break it to you, but you're 18. Saber is a responsible person, part of the blame is on him."

"Don't pull the age card!" Even though there had never been an age card in the first place. Saber looked upset, seeming like he felt he was the cause of this.

"Look, you fucked up. We know that and you know that. Also want to know what we all know? We're in the goddamn middle of the New World. Has any of us gotten hurt up until this point? No? And who is responsible for the safety of the crew? You just said it," Deuce said in a snappy voice. "And who has to be calm and collected to be the pillar of the crew?"

Ace scowled but had no come back. "How about the remedy for this is to not let curiosity get in the way of the actual situation. This could be a good lesson for all of us. We can't be careless here, any of us. It shows that Ace can't take care of us every second. He's not our babysitter. It also shows Ace is not some superhuman who never makes mistakes that have consequences." Then he pointed to Saber. "Look at his face! Do you see any large, violent scar that will impact him for the rest of his life? Did he lose an eye? It was a fucking angry tree root! You didn't hurt him! You already decided we were leaving by the time it happened!"

The deck became quiet, Ace still upset but seeing their points. Sabo was calmed now, too. "Why don't you go on a swim, Ace? Just to cool off. We can weigh anchor here. We'll be fine if you're gone for an hour, promise." The others nodded. He sighed and accepted their words, and gladly accepted the invitation to swim by himself. Jumping over the side to cool off and think to himself, not stew or anything.

-x-

Ace was much more careful now. He was still the same person, but he vetted every single island they went to before the ship got there. He checked to see if it was safe. He was never seeing it the first time when the whole crew arrived. They said that was good enough. The only thing that had actually hurt Saber was the island they chose.

It wasn't as if Ace was swinging a sword around and it hurt him. He just picked a terrible island and didn't listen to anyone when they said it seemed bad. Well, he was a captain, not a reckless and cocky teenager anymore. An adult. He had to be an adult. He was still the same person, but he paid more attention to everything around them.

And he kept that from the others. They didn't see him any different as a person. Just that he was more prepared for new islands. All of them would be vetted first, no matter if their compass needle was very steady. And never go to a moving island again. He did wish, in hindsight, that he had looked more as it left and less at his bleeding crew member.

He wished he knew what the monster looked like, but nobody really did. It hadn't actually attacked any of them, so maybe it was peaceful. Ace assumed he'd injured it. Stepping on something inside its body through the small opening cavity. He felt bad for that a bit, he really did.

"We're reaching the latter half of the New World. I've decided it's time to go to Wano," he announced one day, seemingly suddenly, as everyone had been on deck doing various things since the weather was so good. He'd been thinking about it for the last two islands. He wanted to go and help rebuild his birthplace that he'd abandoned.

He was five. But he was older when he saw the pain and suffering he'd detached himself from. Their fate did not affect him, so why should he help? He still thought that way. He did things that would benefit them, and didn't show compassion all the time when a kinder person would. But this was his home island. He wanted to see it lush and healthy, even if he didn't live there anymore. Never would.

The crew grew serious and nodded. They'd known from the start that Ace wanted to go to Wano. They were also aware of what it was to their pirate journey. They'd been sailing over a year and a half, from the day he'd picked up Sabo, as that was when the pirating started. Months had passed into over a year quickly for everybody.

Wano was their last stop. They'd agreed to take up Whitebeard's offer. They didn't tell them yet. Once their journey was over, they would. And they all agreed that being on a larger crew with so many people would be a nice change of pace. They didn't need to do everything themselves. Ace swore that the older members were getting gray hair.

"They may be hostile to us, so I want one of us to go into town and buy clothes that will make us blend in." Sabo offered to go, wearing minimal clothing. They nodded. Ace said, "We will be visiting Onigashima. What's left of it. We will leave the ship docked there and then go to the island via me. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We have to survive the way up first!"

They looked worried, but excited. They had a small island to stop at that Ace knew was at the edge of the crazy sea leading up to the isolated country. They were there briefly, and stocked up on supplies that they then bolted to the floor and sealed the shut for the ride up. Ace had never gone up and carried something at the same time. But if fish could do it, a massive dragon should be able to as well.

Ace was nervous. What would happen to them if they weren't wanted? Would they hold a grudge on Ace? He hoped not, since he didn't impede their coup. A successful one. He wished to thank those that helped take Kaido down, though he doubted Luffy and Law were still there. He also doubted that the country was fixed. Much of the poison was impossible to handle without being ill from the fumes of the pollution. It was a mess, even though Ace had never actually seen that place. He'd never seen the terrible parts of Wano, and didn't remember his time as a starving child.

When they reached the sea, he couldn't be distracted. It was another thing he had to do for his crew. It was his wish to go there first. They agreed with his sentiment and wanted to go, but this was mostly for him. He got the harness on as he weathered the stormy waves after so much time of not. He used to make this trip so often. It had been a long time, but he fell into step easily.

Up and up the waterfall they went. He made sure they were all inside, but could hear some of them screaming as the waves and gravity tossed them around until they made it into the bay, the ocean surrounding the island. He pulled them away from the waterfall and remembered the last time he'd been here was when he attacked King. So long ago.

He hoped no suppressed memories and emotion would bubble up when he reached his former "home". No place other than his ship was home. He knew that well. His crew came out and looked at the crazy seas easily until they reached the area coming from Onigashima. Most of the waves never bothered him since he'd always been below. Now it was throwing his ship about.

But he continued on, heading to the place he had fled from. When they got there, they docked at the back. The whole place was a mess. An absolute mess. Decimated and burnt, crushed and brittle. Damaged from rain, waves, storms. It was like a warzone, and he imagined that it had been.

They disembarked, and followed Ace through the place. They had to walk over all the debris and remains in each hallway, each room. He found his bedroom, where he had been heading to from the start. It was where he'd spent the most time. Then there was Queen's room, but he didn't go there. He was glad to see it across the hall though, and destroyed, collapsed in and just nonexistent. Like walls had never been there in the first place.

His crew said nothing as he entered his room. There were the water basins with algae and other disgusting festering water. There was no trace of the room he'd had here, even if it had been intact on his way out. He didn't know if he would have been able to destroy this place even if he did take place in whatever happened there.

Ace picked apart the room, but everything was destroyed. But then he searched for any clothes they could use. There had to be some, at least some clothed skeletons. And he found plenty of them, and some had Wano outfits on. He had no problem ripping the clothes off of the skeletons. The fabric didn't smell anymore, and had no source of remains on it.

The others found some, and even Ban found women's clothing. He forgot the names and faces of the women who had been there, but he'd never known well. They got changed, and Ace went to the front port of the island, where parties used to occur. Concerts. It had been over a year, he felt no sadness about Queen's betrayal. It was what it was. There was no changing that, and there was no used being sad about something that had never been real.

They came across what he assumed were the remains of Kaido, or at least some of him. The giant skeleton of his dragon fruit. It was halfway in the ocean with the back and tail still resting on the caved in roof of the building.

Once they were dressed, with their hair in the correct way, Ace transformed and they got on his back. He had water and food in his pouch, money, too. There had been a lot of discarded money that they'd discovered and would put to good use. He swam through the strong waters quickly, the others holding onto the rope tied around his neck to keep them from being washed away.

Ace swam them to the coast of Kuri. He transformed and they dried off with Sabo's heat. Ace had told them how to behave, about the culture, what kind of place it had been and what it hopefully was now. They walked through the forest, which was cleaner, but still polluted in some places.

He somehow knew where he was going as he found a tiny little house made of poorly made sticks and stone. It was crushed, but he recognized it. "I lived in this thing. When I was five, all alone." He looked up and started to head to Okobore Town. When they entered, he saw it was completely changed. He saw people there still smiling, unable to help it, but hopefully some of these smiles were genuine. He took a deep breath and entered the town. He looked around, not recognizing any of it. It might be because he was young, or that it had changed so much.

"I ate the SMILE here. That was the last time I was in this place," he said quietly. He walked into town more, everyone staying quiet but looking curious and relaxed. Then he heard somebody say his name. A woman's voice. It wasn't in anger, so he turned around, face full of regret and guilt. Now that he was here, he wished he hadn't come back. But he was unable to just leave it forever.

Ever since the start, he planned to return some day. When he turned around, it was to see somebody he barely recognized. A name came to mind. "Tsuru-san," he said. She didn't look at him angrily, but hugged him. He was no doubt much bigger than the last time she'd seen him. He was starting to have vague memories of his time here, but not many and not so clearly.

"You came back," she said, pulling away from the hug. He nodded.

"I'm sorry I never came to help-"

"You were five. You took the chance at a better life. Nobody can fault you for that." Ace protested, saying he worked for them, he didn't care about the country. He didn't know why he was saying this. His crew stayed silent, like they weren't even there, were invisible spectators. "That was long ago. And we here know that you never attacked or hurt the country."

He sighed, "I only helped the Beast Pirates as an All-Star."

"Who was gone most of the time or resided in the ocean. We know of what you'd been doing, and where you had been living. But why have you come back? And with a crew, too," Tsuru asked curiously.

Ace said, "I feel responsible for some of this, and I want to help. I want to help my birthplace that I didn't give a shit about for so long." Tsuru smiled, and she led him to the tea house, her tea house, that had plenty of supplies and water. He never bought anything from here, but remembered Tsuru's kindness of giving him fresh water.

Everyone in there recognized him, and there wasn't a trace of hatred. Those who smiled, he could tell they were true. "Ace is back!" He felt awkward, but sat down and had some tea. Tsuru invited his crew to come in, who all looked awkward and uncomfortable. He took some of the tea with a grateful bow, and drank some. He didn't know if the tea was good or if it was just nostalgic to be here.

"I'm sorry, I don't recognize many of you," he said honestly. The whole room was focused on him, everybody not looking at him like they hated him. He had not expected his return to be met by this, not by hatred only.

"Maybe it's because we put on weight! You sure have." Ace smiled lightly. He said he hadn't expected a warm welcome. "Boy, we never hated you. If we were given the chance that young, we would have left for food, warmth, a place to bathe, too." Ace swallowed and drank more tea. "And it's great to see Ace made some friends." The Spades all laughed awkwardly, but not really in discomfort.

Like Ace, they were starting to feel a bit more relaxed and not fearful. "Everything looks so good. Are things better now?" They all nodded at that, looking truly happy and at peace. Ace smiled and said he was very glad.

A younger girl said, "You don't have any freaky animal parts!" Ace laughed and said he was glad of that. He commented that the remains of the Beast Pirates had gone after them, but never got a scratch in. Then he turned serious, and asked about what happened with Kaido and Onigashima.

They explained what they knew, and it matched up with the decimated remains of the yonko's old hub. They heard of Luffy and Law and their other allies. How their escapades left many dead, but they prevailed. Big Mom managed to get away but lost one of her sons. The other allies helped to defeat the Beast Pirates and drive the leftovers out of Wano.

"And what of Orochi?"

"He's dead now. The new shogun is Oden's son, Momonosuke." Ace hadn't been around when Oden was alive. But he knew he was important to the people here just based on how much his former allies hated him. "He has to have a lot of helpers, but that's to be expected of a young boy." Ace nodded, knowing that was true.

He said he was glad he left when he did, or he may have been used to stop the rebellion and the battle that so many people had been waiting for. "We were glad of that as well. But where had you gone?" Ace explained about him overhearing that they were to kill him, so he left. He made his own life, starting all the way in the East Blue, and made his way here with the crew he had.

They were angry that he would have been betrayed. "I was a mess after that, but the Whitebeard Pirates helped me out. We're planning on joining them. This is the last island we'll visit as the Spades. We're ready for it. For a change of pace." They nodded, somehow knowing about him. He asked if the country wasn't so isolated anymore.

"No! We actually know what the rest of the world is like now, and what is happening," Ochuro said, one of the workers in the tea house that knew Ace but he didn't remember. Ace then asked if there was any way for him to help the island. "Working to clear the pollution in Udon could be incredibly helpful."

Ace asked if there was anything he could do in specific with his devil fruit. "Like, tow things away from the island? I can swim and am really strong in the water. I pull my ship all the time." He felt that his crew wasn't even there, and he didn't sense that they were bothered. They knew this was for Ace to do, and to let him go at his own pace.

"You could help dismantle Udon and take away the polluted factories. They have a graveyard of them, but cannot get them out of the country. They pollute the water when the rain falls." Ace asked if dragging them out and over the waterfall would be of help. "That would be a lot of help. We don't want the ocean around to be polluted, but there is nowhere to put the factory remains."

Ace smiled, nodding, feeling he had a mission. "Come back and have more tea before you leave," Tsuru said sternly. Ace smiled and said he would. He thanked them for the information and good tea. He pulled out some money, but they declined. Their teas were on the house.

The seven of them left, and Ace was smiling lightly. They were going to walk to the Flower capital. A long walk, but they'd be fine.

"This is going better than I expected," Sabo said in a cheery voice. Ace nodded. "Those people seem really nice." Ace said he felt bad he didn't remember them. "Hopefully the others here think the same of you." Ace nodded, hoping that as well.

They didn't run into many people on the way there, but the rice fields were not polluted, growing what had been a complete luxury only under two years ago. Things had improved greatly while he was on his pirate journey. Maybe they really didn't need much help. Moving some things that only he could would be very helpful.

"We'll help you out in that place you're going to. We're sticking with you, the only reason we're here, really," Ban said. Ace nodded, thanking them for being so understanding. "Of course! We're not just your crew, we're your friends." Ace smiled and nodded, acknowledging that was very true.

When they reached the Flower Capital, he didn't really remember it looking any different. He hadn't been there in many, many years. He was glad he wouldn't need to meet the nasty Orochi. If there was one thing he remembered about Wano, it was that Orochi was creepy. He knew the guy was being used the whole time by Kaido, but he was still annoying and slimy and creepy and all sorts of other negative adjectives.

Of course, Ace wasn't going to speak to the shogun, but he needed to ask any organizer for help. He found somebody, one he didn't want to meet. He would rather see someone neutral, but here Ashura Doji was, the pink haired fat man. All he could remember of him was that he was an enemy that Ace never met or had seen in person.

"Uh, excuse me. We'd like to help rebuild the country. I was told you need help taking the remaining factory structures out of the country but not into the surrounding waters?" Ace asked, voice surprisingly strong the more he spoke. This man couldn't kill him even if he wanted to. There was nothing to be worried about other than being fully rejected and feeling terrible. The man looked at Ace and he looked back. Over ten feet tall, he towered over Ace, but he was not intimidated.

"Didn't expect you to ever come back. You can help lug the things out of our seas." Ace was surprised this leader wasn't upset with Ace, since he had no personal ties to Ace. He asked one question, though.

"Did you all make them suffer?" The man nodded. The Beast Pirates and Orochi all suffered a great deal. Ace nodded, didn't smile, didn't say he was relieved with that. But he was glad. Then the pink haired man grabbed his arm, startling Ace and making the others go on guard. Ace put his hand up. The larger man asked him why he defected. "They were going to kill me. I wasn't vicious enough to them."

"I thought so. I've never seen you, but there was a huge bite mark out of King. I take it that was you?" Ace nodded. "Hmm," and he turned away. By another man, who he didn't recognize at all, gave them a map. There was a caravan going there soon, they could wait for it to come back and go help.

The group were handed face masks made out of fabric to try and keep the fumes from harming them. The factories were still very dangerous and polluted. His crew didn't complain about the danger. The seven of them waited at a soba house that Ace bought them all food at before the wagon came.

A bunch of people got off, and the seven of them and some others got on. "Hey, what do you think the Whitebeards will think of us?" Sabo asked. None of them had met the Whitebeards but Ace, had never spoken to them or anything. Ace said they would definitely welcome them. And they were strong, so they'd be very useful to them, an important asset.

They spoke of more light matters until they got to the destination. They were given gloves, too, which was appreciated. There were many others dismantling the factories in the Udon prison, where he saw the pollution being drained into huge metal tubs and then dumped into a huge hole. Ace thought that was a bad idea.

How would they get all of shit out of the land? "Sabo, collect some of that sewage and attempt to burn it. Away from the other large portions of it." The blonde nodded, and went to the nearest puddle, he scooped it into his hands and hurried away. They all watched him light it on fire and saw it burst into huge flames, consuming Sabo's body before it was gone and Sabo was back to normal.

"You think burning that will get it to go away? To disappear?" Aggie asked. "Isn't that reckless?" Ace pointed out that, once everyone and everything was gone from this area, the factories pulled down and removed, then there would be nothing to be lit on fire. It was a barren wasteland. Nothing there to burn, not even any trees.

The others admitted that was true. They hurried down and had their masks and gloves on. People were already hauling the things to an area that had walls around it, a massive zone where the towers were, with long tracks where they'd been dragged.

"Excuse me," Ace said. "We're here to work. Those need to be removed, right?" he asked who looked like the leader, overseeing everything and yelling at somebody every few minutes.

"And what're you gonna do about it?" he snapped. Ace didn't react. He was being smart, even if he was a bit annoyed. He was just trying to be helpful. Ace replied that he could drag them out to sea and down the waterfall, where they wouldn't harm the island anymore. "And how you gonna pull that off?"

Ace said he had a devil fruit that allowed him to swim, and he was very large. "Well, ya gotta get it to the coast, first. But sure, if you can do it, knock yerself out," and he turned away. Well, that basically left them to their own devices, which was great! They started tackling the first factory tower that Ban cut into pieces to be carried away more easily. Her blade was coated in armament haki so it was not damaged by the sewage. Bree used his devil fruit for once and lifted them out, dragging them to the coast.

Ace got to work immediately, coming back and forth to get more, dropping them over the waterfall. It was polluting the sea, but would not harm the water around Wano. After the first factory tower was gone, everyone had their attention on them, and they all began helping out. Ace got a lot of exercise, and was pulling chains with the polluted things so they didn't touch his skin, even if he was covered in scales. The first two factory towers were gone, and the others were being sawed off and removed from the land itself. The Udon prison was a disaster that looked like it hadn't been touched in a long time.

A lot of innocent people died there, so maybe they were leaving it as some sort of memorial. There was a break where everyone ate some steamed rice. Then they all got back to work. It was a long day, and they were all sore and tired by the end, but in a satisfying way. Ace was no longer frowning lightly, but he was smiling. He hadn't been shunned and was now helping out in a way only he could.

By the end of the day, all that was left was a large puddle of sewage. Sabo asked if they'd attempted burning it. "Yeah, but it explodes. Nobody can get close enough to do it." Sabo offered to try. "It'd be suicide."

"Sabo is a fire logia. He is made of fire. So, burning it will get it out completely?" Ace asked, taking a drink of the water. It was getting dark, and there was a camp here to sleep at and then get back to work in the morning.

"Well, as long as you don't die, go ahead." The camp was more than far enough from the vad of sewage and pollutants. Sabo hurried over. He took off his outfit, only in his underwear, not wanting to risk ruining the clothes. They all watched from afar, Ace knowing Sabo would be just fine.

Then a massive explosion erupted out of the vad, consuming Sabo. It was so intense that it let out a blast of air. They watched as it continued to burn and scorch the land for an alarmingly long time before it dissipated, leaving nothing but a burnt crater. Sabo walked out of it perfectly fine if not having some ash on him.

Saber used his fruit to blow the debris and smoke out to sea before running over and finding it was all gone. Whatever energy and enthusiasm that was had before seemed to triple. When they got up, everyone worked hard that day as well. It became routine. Cut up the factories, bring them to Ace, who then swam them and dumped them over the waterfall. Then, after the area was cleaned, Sabo would destroy the remains so they could rinse and repeat the next day.

After two weeks, the area was cleared of all of the factories and pollutants. Three of the devil fruit users did most of the work. Bree flew the factory parts to the edge of the water while Ace hauled them out and Sabo cleaned up at the end of the day.

When the last tower was gone and the land no longer covered in green sludge, only scorch marks, they had a party. Many came to visit, including some of the shogun retainers to celebrate the hard work and thank who had done it. Good food and sake for the others were brought. It was one of the largest successes of cleaning up the country. They had had nowhere and no way to get rid of the remains of Kaido's factories. And then some pirates came to help.

Looked like pirates in Wano weren't all bad.

Over the next couple of months, Ace and his crew helped fix the parts of Wano they could. It didn't feel like a long time for any of them. It felt good, doing something so obviously productive to everyone around felt great. They got even more physically fit as they worked. The crew were welcomed by everybody, and Ace had unanimously even been forgiven or forgotten, as they didn't think it was worth it to get angry.

When the last polluted stream was cleaned was the time to say goodbye. Ace knew he would never come here again. This was his last time in his home land. And it was bitter sweet while also satisfying. To leave knowing their presence helped. Ace finally helped his country, not ignored it as somebody else's problem to take care of.

They got heapings of food and gifts, and many were crying as they'd gotten friendly with them. Especially the people who had worked with them to clean up the polluted places as well as getting rid of what none of them could have done on their own.

They made their way to their ship in Onigashima, cheering when they were back home. They would miss the ship when they assimilated. And it was finally time to call them and take the Whitebeards up on their offer. Ace was sure it wasn't rescinded, as they'd done nothing to deserve that.

They were on the deck outside, still in the port behind the decimated island, and called the Whitebeards with the den den. They were all drinking or eating treats. Things that they hadn't had in months and were now binging on Bree's cooking.

"Ace? It's good to hear from you! How have you been?" Marco's voice asked.

Ace explained they'd spent the last three months cleaning up Wano. They had decided long ago, but asked if the offer to assimilate was still open.

"Where are you right now? We'll come to pick you up," Marco said, a smile in his voice. Ace beamed and said they'd meet them at the island at the base of the entrance to Wano. "We'll be there as soon as possible."

Ace thanked him, saying it was the perfect ending to their relatively short journey as the Spades. Even if it had only been nearly two years, it felt more than long enough. It was time to be a pirate, but relax a bit. Just a bit.

The next day, they came down the waterfall, Ace seeing the factory pieces deep, deep below the surface of the water. He could only vaguely see the shiny parts and could slightly smell and taste the nasty sewage, but it wouldn't harm anyone up there, and the koi lived on the other side of the waterfall. They would be fine.

It wasn't a week later that the Moby Dick arrived. Everyone was more than excited for new brothers. He finally met Whitebeard, though it felt like he'd already met him before. They moved their precious belongings to the ship, and stood by as Ace set the Piece of Spadille aflame, watching her burn the whole time, a light smile on. Their journey wasn't over, their story was just starting a new chapter with more characters and a slightly different plot.

Life was good, and Ace was truly happy, finally completely free from any demons from his past that he left at the decimated Onigashima. Ending it where it started.

The end.

To be honest, I'm very disappointed about this story. I legit thought it would be popular, but it wasn't. :( Better luck next time. Thought there was one more chapter but I was wrong, so I wasn't able to do a poll. Since this story is now finished, I have 10 fics in waiting. The majority are various crossovers or aus. I already have three MHA crossovers going on right now, so I'm not sure if I should not make it four. Maybe 3 is enough. Idk what I'll post next tbh. Thanks for reading!