Ace seeking answers to whether or not there is any chance the world could accept the child of the Pirate King catches the attention of the worst pirate on the sea with tragic results.
Takes place 12 years before One Piece: Fire Prince; Through Fire and Brimstone.
The Dancing Bear TavernSeptember 13, 783 WG
Ace had done it again. He had pestered a bunch of pirates hanging out at the Dancing Bear Tavern with his hypothetical question of what if Roger had a kid. The pirates had laughed and then described what torture they would put such a child through just so they could have their revenge against Roger. And, like always, Ace lost his temper and attacked. The only difference this time was that these pirates were touch more competent than the others. They had managed to catch Ace.
Ace kicked and struck his fists against the arm that held his shirt collar, but the big man would not let go. He glared in rage at the pirate that restrained him. The man looked back equally pissed. Ace had knocked out three of his buddies and given the man a black eye before he was caught.
"I don't know what your problem is, and I don't care, but no one messes with Captain Elden Wright," growled the man. He raised his fist. "I'm gonna beat a lesson into you that you will never forget, brat!"
Ace braced for the rain of blows but someone else spoke up and Wright stopped. "Put the lad down, Wright. Getting all worked up over a little thing like that is what makes ye weak."
Ace and Wright both looked in the direction of the speaker. A trade Captain in a blue coat with short ginger hair and snapping green eyes sat at a table with several men that were probably his crew. A trade Captain was one that commanded a cargo ship and transported goods from port to port. They were a tough breed since they did have to contend with pirates, but they were not pirates.
"You have something to say to me, shark bait?" demanded Wright.
The trade Captain's crew snickered as if sharing a private joke. None of them seemed the least bit bothered by the pirate Captain's presence. Were they that confident that Wright wouldn't try something while in port? Ace couldn't believe a mere trade Captain was standing up to the Wing Pirates. They preyed on trades vessels. This Captain was painting a large target on his ship with his impudence.
The trade Captain took a large swig from his tankard as if he had all the time in the world. Then he rose to his feet and began walking toward Wright. It was clear from his walk that he favored a leg. The cane he leaned on wasn't for show. This was really stupid. The man was crippled, and he was staring down a pirate that could cut him down without a second thought.
"Hey! What are you doing?" shouted Ace.
"Saving yer hide since ye can't seem to save it yerself," replied the Captain. Wright started laughing along with the two members of his crew that weren't unconscious.
"I don't need your pity! I can take care of myself!" snapped Ace.
"And ye're doing such a fine job of it I see," replied the Captain, dripping sarcasm.
"This ain't your fight, shark bait. The brat has it coming for attacking my men. So amscray while I'm still feeling generous," said Wright gesturing toward the door. Several patrons, smelling an impending blood fest were already vacating the premises. The bartender and his two maids were huddled behind the counter, not ready to abandon their bar but prepared to take cover should the steel start to fly.
"Just get out of here, this is my fight!" cried Ace, once again kicking and punching Wright's arm, trying to draw the pirate Captain's attention back to him.
"Ordinarily, ye'd be right about this being none of my business," said the Captain coming to a stop within arm's reach of Wright. "And ordinarily I widnae do anything to risk exposure when I'm here on unofficial business. But ye see…" The Captain moved so fast that Ace couldn't follow the motion. Just, very suddenly, the Captain's cane was in the eye Ace had blackened. "I just can't stand the baying of whipped hounds."
Ace fell to the ground, scrambling away as soon as he hit the floor. Wright let out a scream as he staggered back knocking over two chairs before tripping over his downed comrade and breaking the table he landed on. Those patrons that hadn't the good sense to flee before the blood flew found their exits blocked by the trade Captain's men, swords and guns drawn. Some were grinning and their eyes glittered with a dangerous light.
Ace pushed himself up against the counter as far from the trade Captain and Wright as possible and looked around for an escape route. There were none. These weren't tradesmen, they were pirates! Wright had made a deadly mistake not recognizing one of his own breed.
Wright cast his one eye across the room and was coming to the same conclusion. "Why are you doing this?" he gasped as he held his hand against the ruin of his lost eye.
The Captain strode forward, his cane clicking with each step in the dead silence of the tavern. Everyone was holding their breath, terrified of drawing the man's attention.
"Do I really have to repeat myself?" he asked.
"Why did you call what I was doing the 'baying of whipped hounds'?" hissed Wright.
"Ye lost to Roger, didnae ye?" said the Captain in a low voice. Wright said nothing. "Ye lost and survived yet never did anything to challenge him again. Never improved yerself so ye could face him, to avenge yer defeat. Ye didnae take advantage of his soft heart to make him sorry. Now that he is safely gone ye laugh about torturing an uninvolved baby just to satisfy yer need for revenge that ye were too cowardly and weak to take against the man himself. Ye are a whipped hound that should have retired from the sea when ye refused to rise above the mud. It's so easy to describe what ye would do to a helpless babe. Ye need no courage to face a child, but it shows how pathetic ye are that ye could never face down the grown man.
"Frankly I always found Roger to be a soft touch. He never would finish his fights properly and now his son is dealing with the cleanup. If he had done it right, ye widnae be here to dream about getting yer pound of flesh. Instead of recognizing the mercy ye were granted, the opportunity ye were gifted, ye writhe and moan and make petty jokes at the expense of one too small to be a threat to ye. Men like ye make my stomach churn. Ye have no fire and no pride, just petty losers who think they can compete with me.
"Well, I'm not a soft touch like Roger. When I decide to do battle, my enemies are properly dead before I walk away from it. So, if I ever had a son, he widnae have to clean up after his bum father." The Captain smiled at Wright.
"Okay! I get it," said Wright. "I'm sorry I offended you. I won't do it again. No more talk of Roger, ever! I swear!"
The Captain chuckled and thumped his cane against the ground. He then turned to his crew and said, "Do ye hear that boys? The fearsome Wright is begging old Flint here for his life!"
The Captain's crew all laughed as if that was the funniest thing they had ever heard. Every other person in the room blanched and their eyes widened in horror. Wright gaped in shock.
"Flint? You're Captain Flint of the Headhunter Pirates?!" gasped Wright.
Ace didn't understand but he could guess from everyone's reaction that this Flint was a very big deal. He resolved to learn more about him once he escaped the tavern. Whether it was to avoid him or to speak with him would depend on what kind of pirate he was. Something he was about to find out.
Wright tried to crawl backwards as he raised his hands in surrender. "Captain Flint, I didn't know. I meant no offense, really! We were just blowing steam. It was all drunk talk. We weren't serious! Honest!"
"Ye must think I care about Roger," said Flint, his eyes glittering in amusement, but darkness had entered them as well. Ace felt the ice of fear filling his veins and he wasn't even on the receiving end of Flint's ire.
"I admire the man and all he accomplished. I am truly impressed with his sheer audacity to take his own execution and turn it into the grandest of finales any life could receive. To fire the gun that started this entire era when the Marines wanted to use him as a way to discourage piracy. But I care nothing for him."
"Then why?" gasped Wright as his back hit the wall. Flint continued to advance on him like a tiger stalking an injured deer.
"I already answered that question," replied Flint in a whisper. "I always do a proper job when confronting foes."
Wright shook his head as it dawned on him what Flint meant. "No! Please!"
"Did ye beg Roger for yer life, as well, Wright?"
Wright shook his head, but tears were streaming down his face. Death had come for him at last and he wasn't ready. Ace stared in horror as Flint drew his cutlass and raised it.
"Maybe ye should have been grateful and not bitter." Flint plunged the cutlass down and buried it hilt deep into Wright's skull.
"Captain!" shouted Wright's crew.
Flint turned to face the room. "Finish it up, lads, I've left my card. We'll head out as soon as we're done here."
His men cheered and got to work. Screams were silenced within seconds and Flint's crew cut down Wright's and the other luckless patrons. A few men reached behind the bar and dragged the two maids out. The women cried out and begged to be released.
The barkeeper stood up and cried, "Please, don't hurt them! We won't raise the alarm! We-" One of the men shot the barkeep through the forehead. The women screamed and cried.
"Of course, you won't," said the man who had just shot the barkeeper, "because you're dead and these beauties will be coming with us." The women wailed and begged to no avail.
No one seemed to notice Ace hiding beneath the barstools. Ace knew if he stayed still they might overlook him, however, he couldn't let them take the girls! He had started this with his petty insecurities and those girls were going to suffer for it. Ace grabbed a broken chair leg and charged.
"Let them go!" he screamed. He leapt into the air and brought the club down on the head of the shooter. He succeeded in knocking him out, but these men were several levels above Wright's crew. The other kidnappers punched Ace with a curse and sent the boy flying.
"And you could have lived, too," sneered one of the kidnappers as he raised his own gun.
Ace glared at the man refusing to look away as he pulled the trigger. He was suddenly flying through the air; something having hooked his shorts. The shot fractured the wooden floor where he had been a moment before.
"Now here's a lad with no shortage of courage or perhaps no desire to live." Ace hung from the handle of Flint's cane and the man brought the boy up until Ace hung in front of his face.
"Captain?" queried one of his men.
Flint looked amused as he looked Ace over. "So, this be Roger's helpless babe, huh?"
The crew and the girls gave a start. Ace blanched. "What makes say that, Captain?" asked one of Flint's men.
"The question he was asking. No reason to ask it unless one is testing the waters. He trying to gage how the world would respond to him without him exposing himself. Being a little thing still in diapers-"
"I don't wear diapers!" shouted Ace, forgetting to be scared.
"And then there is the whole rash reaction like he was personally insulted when they gave their honest opinion on the matter. He doesn't realize how badly he is exposing himself when he responds like that," finished Flint.
"Let those girls go! They have nothing to do with this," demanded Ace. "They're aren't pirates or Marines or anyone that would hunt you. So, they aren't enemies! Let them go!"
"So demanding but nice rationale," said Flint, amused once more. He turned to face the women. "So how about this. Since I only felt a need to kill because of those men and those men were riled up because of ye boy, ye owe these women."
"I know that! That's why I'm telling you to let them go! They got nothing to do with this," said Ace.
Flint snorted. "And what are ye willing to pay in compensation for their freedom?"
"Anything!" Ace really meant it. His life was a mistake but theirs weren't. They didn't have dirty pirate blood driving everyone to hate them. They had a chance to live whatever life they wanted. Ace couldn't stand the thought of taking that away from them because he wanted to have a fight with a few low-grade pirates. Who knew such a high tier one would be patronizing the tavern just when Ace was making trouble? And he wasn't even the one Ace was baiting!
Flint looked at him and his eyes were hard. "Whatever disgrace yer father may be, yer mother took the time to bring ye into this world. She offered ye yer life, ye should not spit contempt upon her gift. There is no amount of gold in the world worth more than a mother for they bring a man into this world through their blood, sweat and tears and occasionally at the expense of their own lives. Ye should be more respectful of her sacrifice."
Ace was silent. It was as if Flint has read his mind and his words hit closer to home than he could know. Flint grabbed Ace's shirt and freed his cane allowing him to walk toward the counter.
"Hand that over, Jaeger," said Flint as he laid his cane on top of the counter. Ace couldn't see what Flint was asking for, but he must have received it because he returned his attention to Ace. "Now let's see how much this is going to hurt."
Something struck Ace's bare back and he yelped in equal parts surprise and pain. Flint struck again and again, and Ace cried out with each blow.
"Seems to smart fairly well," said Flint. "Bring the girls up." Ace heard them approach. The women were trying to suppress their sobbing and fear with only marginal success.
"Here," said Flint. "Take this and strike the lad with all the anger ye can muster."
"What?" gasped one of the maids.
"Strike him until I tell ye to stop. It's the price he must pay for yer freedom. It was his deeds that brought ye to this moment. Make him say, he was sorry for being born."
Ace braced himself but the woman who had received the whipping cane was hesitating.
"I can't. I can't. He's just a… I-I can't!"
The men snickered and Flint said, "Ye must not value yerself very highly."
"I can't!"
"Give it to me, Mia! I can!"
"Susan!"
The first blow landed, and it was as if Ace had been struck with a white-hot rod. Flint's strikes had been mere taps compared to the fury being channeled through the cane now. The crew whistled as Ace cried out. He should just say it. Then the girls would go free. No, he had to suffer a few more blows. If he caved too soon, Flint wouldn't be convinced he had paid the price.
The second blow didn't fall, instead Flint made a motion and a gunshot sounded. Ace peered over and saw a smoking pistol in Flint's free hand. A body hit the floor and the first maid screamed.
"SUSAN!"
"Stop," said Flint in a calm voice.
"You promised!" cried Ace.
"I promised them their freedom not their lives if they complied. Death can be a freedom when compared to what will happen if they continue to live." The crew laughed while a few made some noises of disappointment. "Dinnae worry lads. I will grant ye a larger share of the loot so ye can have more fun in Osanato with ladies who know what they're doing."
The crew roared their approval for the compensation. The remaining maid was crying knowing she was next. Flint clicked the hammer of his gun preparing to fire again. Ace was not about to have it. He slid himself out of his shirt, he could the whole time, but he had been trying to save the maids with compliance. He landed on the ground then leapt at the remaining maid driving her back and to the ground with him on top. He covered her as best he could with his tiny body, mostly her head and chest. Flint didn't pull the trigger.
Ace turned to glare at Flint. Flint's expression was neutral save for one raised eyebrow. "You promised. They did what you said. You promised!"
Before Flint could say anything one of the crew growled in disgust and said, "Enough of this game."
Ace turned to look just in time to see a man draw his pistol and aim it at him. The maid saw it too and rolled over, shielding Ace, as the man pulled the trigger. The maid grunted then didn't move again. Her breath puffed out once more then… nothing. Another shot was fired, and Ace saw the man fall to the ground.
"Since when do any of ye get an opinion on when the game ends?" asked Flint in a chilly tone. "Let's go, lads. I imagine the earlier guests who had the good sense to vacate have probably alerted the town constables right about now. We should vanish before they laze themselves over here."
The men grunted and Ace watched as they trouped out of the tavern. Within seconds they were gone, and the tavern was silent. Ace crawled out from beneath the maid and looked around. Bodies lay everywhere and blood was sprayed over broken tables, on walls and even the beams overhead. Several of the dead had swords through their foreheads like Wright had. Calling card. Flint of the Headhunter Pirates. Ace would make sure he would remember. He never wanted to meet them ever again.
He turned to look at the women he tried to save. He didn't blame the first, Susan he remembered she was called. She had been trying to stay alive and he had accepted that. He didn't understand the second maid, Mia, was it? He could understand that some people were just too soft to hurt others no matter what, but why had she sacrificed herself to save him. He wasn't worth saving. He was someone that wasn't supposed to be born. His life was a curse.
"Whatever disgrace yer father may be, yer mother took the time to bring ye into this world. She offered ye yer life, ye should not spit contempt upon her gift. There is no amount of gold in the world worth more than a mother for they bring a man into this world through their blood, sweat and tears and occasionally at the expense of their own lives. Ye should be more respectful of her sacrifice."
Tears slid down his cheek as he stared at the dead woman's face. There was no fear in her face now, only peace and tranquility. Ace didn't know how long he knelt there staring at her. It seemed like an eternity, but very little time must have actually past before a set of small hands grabbed his shoulder and pulled.
He looked up. A boy his size, and probably his age, with short blonde hair, brown eyes and wearing a top hat and blue coat was tugging on him. "Hey, get up! Do you want to be picked up by the town constables for questioning? You have to leave now!"
Ace stared not comprehending. "Come on! You have to go! The constables will not be nice about their questioning of a street urchin." Ace moved like in a dream as he stared at Mia's soft peaceful face. He looked at her until he was dragged out the door and he couldn't see her anymore.
They ran until they were at a hovel in Grey Terminal. Then the blonde boy that had been leading Ace by the hand stopped. "We're safe now. Let me get some bandages and water for those cuts. You just sit here and wait."
Ace stared at the ground and didn't move. The boy looked at him then pushed him onto a log. "Stay there and I'll get some bandages and water. Just stay there." The boy left, returning several minutes later with the promised items. He then began to clean and bandage Ace's wounds.
Ace's shoulders trembled as the boy finished securing the bandage. "Why?" he whispered.
"Huh?" The boy looked at Ace in confusion.
"Why?" repeated Ace.
"Don't know. I just wanted to. Do you really need a reason to help someone?" replied the boy.
"No, why… why did that barmaid shield me then. She knew it was my fault those pirates attacked. Why did she protect me? I'm Roger's misbegotten son. I don't deserve to live," asked Ace.
The boy knelt in front of Ace and stared at him. "You're Roger's son?" Ace nodded expecting the boy to push him away or rip the bandages off in disgust. Instead the boy just titled his head. "Mia protected you from the pirates that killed everyone in that tavern?" Ace nodded again. The boy crossed his arms and looked down; his eyes sad. "That doesn't surprise me. That's just how she is… was… She looked out for people. She's rather die than hurt someone and she believed everyone born deserved their lives. I guess she remained true to herself right to the very end."
"But she died for a worthless bastard like me!" cried Ace, fresh tears falling down his face. He hated he was crying. It made him appear weak, but the tears wouldn't stop. He could handle being beaten but this crushing agony in his heart was something he had only experienced once before. The day he learned who his father was and the realization that despite his grandfather's wish and his own wants, he could never be a Marine. He could never be like the man he admired the most because the Marines would never accept him or his dirty blood. Just as the whole world didn't. Why did his heart hurt all over again for a woman he had never known before today?
The blonde boy leaned forward and hugged him. Ace, ordinarily, wouldn't accept this but he clung to this boy as he began to wail. The boy remained where he was and let Ace cry without further comment.
Unfortunately for Ace, he will meet Flint again.
The story continues in "Through Fire and Brimstone".
Huvnae: Haven't
Aye: Yes
Dinnae: Don't
Didnae: Didn't
Ye/r: You/r
Willnae: Won't
Widnae: Wouldn't
Numpty: Idiot
Nugget: Big idiot
Bimbot/Scunner: Nothing that should be said in polite company much less to your friends if you actually want to stay friends. It would be best to an Olympic runner of both speed and stamina if you actually have the intention of calling anyone these terms so you can escape great bodily harm upon uttering them.