A/N: A new chapter! Yay! And in true One Piece fashion, I'm building up to the final confrontation! As always, I hope you guys enjoy!

Elle looked down at the small bundles in her arms and couldn't believe what she was looking at. Twins. Two children. Not just one, but two. One with pale white hair, the other with bright red. Both with loud screams, proving their strength despite their early entrance to the world. Elle leaned down and smelled the tops of their heads. And both smelled like Shanks. The smell was both comforting and a heartache. As she watched her sons feed, Elle couldn't keep her eyes off of them. They were so tiny, so little. But the strength of will she felt emanating from them reminded her of their father.

"What are you going to name them?" a soft, female voice came from beside the bed.

Elle didn't bother to look up. When she had suddenly gone into labor the previous afternoon, Dadan had called in Makino. Elle still didn't like the woman, couldn't help but feel jealous that both Shanks and Luffy liked her. But the woman had been very helpful the past several months, taking Elle to and from the doctor's appointments the Old Fart had insisted she make. Elle would have rather Dadan accompany her (because, despite both of them not wanting to like each other, Elle did think of Dadan as a mother-figure). But Dadan had a bounty and couldn't go into town with Elle, since she was much more recognizable than Elle nowadays. So Elle tolerated Makino, knowing that despite everything, she was a good woman.

A good woman who had asked a good question. As her stomach had started to grow, Dadan had given Elle some clothing to both fit better while still making her look feminine. Elle's brothers had made fun of her, especially when her stomach started to interfere with her fighting abilities, and thus her ability to train them. A few nights ago, after they had finished eating but before the boys had gone home to their new tree-house, Luffy had asked why Elle's stomach was growing. So she had tried to explain that she was about to have a baby.

"What's her name?" he had asked innocently before being whacked on the head by both of their brothers.

"It might not be a girl," Sabo had said at the same time Ace said, "It doesn't have a name yet."

Luffy had held the back of his head with tears in his eyes. "I was just askin' a question!" he whined, crawling over to the safety of Elle's arms. He looked up at her, putting their beloved straw hat on his head. "So? What're ya gonna name it?"

Elle had only been able to blink down at him. "I dunno," she had answered truthfully. She gently rubbed her belly, feeling the little babe inside kick it. It was already a fighter. "Do you guys have any ideas?"

Luffy had instantly shouted, "Elle!" before hiding in her arms. "Don't hit me! It's a good name!"

Elle laughed and tried to hold Luffy as close as she could. The Little Shit lowered his raised fist and brushed his hand under his nose. "She can't name her kid after herself, dumbass," he had said. "At least say Eli or something."

"I'd like to see you come up with something different!" Luffy shouted from the safety of his Nee-Chan's arms as Blondie laughed at his two brothers.

The Little Shit had looked up the sky as he considered Luffy's words. "Nee, Aniki," he said softly, ignoring Elle's growled, "Aneki! I'm your sister, not another brother!"

"Your kid's parents are notorious pirates," Ace continued, still staring up at the sky. Elle's fur lowered back down as she regarded her brother. "That means people witl hate it."

"We won't," she answered softly. Ace had looked at her sharply, scowling deeply. "Even the most notorious pirates have people who love them, no matter what. And the love of family is unconditional."

Ace had quickly looked away, but not before Elle had caught a glimpse of the tears filling his dark eyes. "That kid is going to grow up under the shadow of his parents," he said softly. "So I'd want to give him a name that represents freedom. Like—"

"Sora," Elle answered Makino, looking down at the child in her right arm. She kissed his feather-soft white hair. "The oldest one will be Sora. And his little brother will be Eli." Elle kissed the red hair of the babe in her left arm.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Before either woman could answer, the door opened and in walked Garp's Second. The man looked at Elle and the children in her arms. Something flashed across his face too fast for Elle to be able to read before he straightened and stood at attention. The words he spoke made the blood drain from Elle's face and her hands start to shake. She knew that as soon as her children were born, Sengoku would call in her debt. And as soon as those little babies were placed in her arms, Elle had known that she would agree to whatever he wanted. But she hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

"She just gave birth!" Makino said, standing up to move between Elle and the Marine. "You can't expect her to be able to walk around and fight so soon!"

"Makino," Elle said in a calm tone. "It's okay. I'll be fine."

So Elle had carefully placed the twins in the cribs the hospital had provided and gingerly gotten out of the bad. Dear god, it hurt to move. But Elle just clenched her teeth and followed the Marine. He had given her a new outfit, navy pants and a tight-fitting white blouse. The white jacket he had given her was a surprise, as was the rank. Elle, a Marine Captain? At her shocked look, the man had explained that the rank wasn't set in stone, that she would get her official rank after she had spoken with the Fleet-Admiral. But for her job today, she was a Captain.

Elle pushed through the pain throbbing between her thighs and marched behind the man, her back straight and head high. And she had stood in front of the group of marines with her shoulders back as they waited for the large ship to approach the island. Elle had schooled her face into a blank mask, ready to get this job over with so that she could get back to her children, and then back home. Her white brows had only narrowed slightly when she saw the little fishing boat set sail. Her fluffy ears had only laid flat against her head when she recognized the flag flying from the mast.

What was Sabo doing out there? Shouldn't he have been at home with Luffy, Ace, and the others? Speaking of Luffy and Ace, were they on the ship with Sabo? Had the three of them decided to steal a ship and get a feel for sailing early? Had they caused that massive fire last night, and were currently running away from the authorities? Why hadn't they just gone home—

Elle's mask of indifference shattered at the first explosion. Rage had filled her body and a scream had torn from her throat, but the sound was drown out by another explosion. Pain ripped through her entire body as Elle fought to try and reach the bastard who dared hurt her brother. She would rip the fucker limb from limb. If only she could get out from under these fucking marines! Get out of my way, goddammit! I have to—

"Stand. Down." The harsh voice was accompanied by a large hand shoving Elle's face into the dock. "A Celestial Dragon shot down that pirate ship. You are a Marine. Your job is to escort the Celestial Dragon to the palace. Ignore the ship."

But Sabo—

"Was a pirate. You are a Marine, Elle. Think of your children and do the right thing, soldier."

Two tiny faces flashed in her mind, making Elle pause. Her entire body started to shake and she felt tears fill her eyes. And Elle made the hardest choice of her life. She chose her children over her brother. And a little piece of her died that day, bled out from her soul into the ocean. A little piece of her latched onto the body of the brother that she would never see again.

With a loud gasp, I sat straight up in bed, my hand clutching my heaving chest. I pressed my hand tightly against my pounding heart and closed my eyes. I silently willed it to slow, telling myself over and over again that it was just a dream. Except, it wasn't. The pain of seeing Sabo blown up... I would never forget that, even if I lived a thousand years. But he wasn't dead, not truly, I told myself as I wiped the tears from my face. Even if he was no longer the brother I knew, he was still alive and fighting to help children who were like him. Help children who were tired of the vile creatures who ruled this world.

I let out a heavy sigh and lightly slapped my cheeks. Enough of that. I swung my legs out of bed, the action making my side ache. I stood up and walked into the bathroom, pulling off Shanks' shirt as I walked. I stood in front of the mirror, naked, and looked at my injury. The guards Brutus had hired had been more vigilant than I had expected, and had found me before I could escape. One of them had gotten in a lucky shot and manged to graze my right flank. After Kiri-Chan had left, I finally let Shanks and the boys deal with it. While Shanks had wiped away the blood, Sora and Eli had run upstairs to grab my special salve. And now, thanks to that salve, I just had a small scrape along my ribs. It ached, but would be fully healed in the next hour or so.

I looked over as the door to the room opened, revealing Shanks. He gave me a small smile and leaned against the bathroom door frame. "I was wondering if you were awake," he said, his deep voice soothing. "I know you need sleep in order to heal quicker, but we need to leave soon."

"Right," I said with a nod. "Did my package from Beckman arrive?"

Shanks nodded over his shoulder. "I put it on the dresser," he said as he stepped aside so that I could pass. "But what did you have him send you?"

That morning, before we had left to go shopping for the Hot-Springs, I had given the Red Force a call and asked the guys to send over some things for me. To answer Shanks' question, I opened the box and showed him. Shanks let out a little laugh and happily took his items from it. I had figured that we would be hearing from Brutus sooner rather than later, so I had had Beckman send over my uniform. And I also realized that I was quickly going through all of Shanks' clothing, so I had his crew send over some more shirts as well.

When I was dressed, I stood in front of the mirror and took in my appearance. The navy pants were similar to the ones I had worn in my dream, but were tighter and tucked neatly into my knee-high black boots. My white shirt was also tight, hugging every curve of my body from just below my chin to my waist. It was sleeveless, giving me better mobility. I pulled on my unmarked white trench coat and quickly braided my hair. Once I had shifted back into my semi-hybrid form, I felt comfortable enough to turn and face Shanks.

My heart did a queer little flutter as I took in his appearance. For once, Shanks was wearing a suit. His black pants fit him nicely, the bottoms actually resting on the tops of his dark shoes for once. His white shirt was buttoned to his collarbones and tucked in. That, combined with the black jacket and slicked back hair, made Shanks look very presentable. And very attractive. Seeing my gaze, Shanks gave me a small wink and pulled his cloak on, covering his missing arm. Shanks opened the door for me and I stepped past him, giving my head a sharp shake. This was not the time to be wondering if we had time for a quick round of bedplay.

As I walked by him, Shanks leaned down and whispered, "You look amazing as well, Kitten."

I felt my cheeks heat again and muttered, "I didn't say you looked good."

Shanks' chuckle chased me down the hallway. "Your gaze said enough, Kitten."

"Okay, someone clue me in here?" the kid said, almost in a snarl, as Shanks followed Elle down the stairs.

When the pirate looked at Elle, his mouth had snapped shut and a slight blush had appeared on his cheeks before he quickly turned away. Shanks felt much the same. Sure, in his many years as a pirate, Shanks had seen several attractive female marines. Especially those who worked under Vice-Admiral Tsuru. But none could compare to Elle. Her clothing hugged her every curve, seeming almost lewd despite the fact that the only skin you could see was on her face and hands. Elle had her hair tied back from her face in a tight plait that fell down her back. The white coat she wore was a mirror-opposite of the black one she had on when they arrived. It somehow brought to mind those Marine Officers wore, while still looking very distinct and different. This close behind her, Shanks could see where she had ripped out the stitching of the word 'Justice', but he doubted anyone else would notice.

She walked with purpose, her shoulders thrown back and her fluffy tail high. Shanks was happy to see that Elle had decided that she could once again resume her hybrid-form, since he absolutely adored her fluffy ears and tail. And while she may be fluffier, the addition of her longer claws and sharper teeth made Elle seem even more formidable than before. Shanks loved everything about his Kitten and had been glad when she led the way from their bedroom, as it gave him time to subtly adjust his cock in his pants. Shanks wasn't sure the last time a woman had turned him on just by looking at him.

"I already told you," Elle answered the newbie, her apparent irritation in her tone of voice. "The three of us are going to have dinner with Brutus."

The kid scowled and crossed his arms over his bare chest. He looked much the same as he had before Shanks went upstairs, but his pants at least seemed to be in a similar vein as Shanks': plain black suit trousers tucked into his boots. "That shadow dude made it seem like you're supposed to bring the boys," the kid growled.

"Oh, I'm sure that's what Brutus wants," Elle said, buttoning up the front of her coat and grabbing a white knit hat from a table. "But that's what he gets for using vague wording in his orders. Sen-Kun and the Old Fart learned that the hard way."

Seeing the look of confusion on the rookie's face, Shanks laughed and decided to clear some things up for the kid. "Elle was made to follow orders," Shanks said, putting his hand at the small of her back as they walked outside. "But she's also a little shit who likes loopholes."

The rookie pirate's forehead wrinkled, so he must've lifted an eyebrow. Elle giggled and said, "In the order, Brutus just said I needed to attend with my 'two male counterparts'. He never said my children, and you guys could be considered my counterparts. So here we are."

The kid just shook his head, muttering something under his breath about wily women, before following after them out into the cold night.

I stood in front of the large gate, my heart beating a mile a minute in my chest. Just a few hours earlier I had been casually walking along the top of the fence it was a part of, playing the part of an apathetic house-cat, and had been almost shot off of it. And on the other side of that gate and those walls was the man who still made me scream in the middle of the night. No, I wasn't just scared of facing him again. I was down-right terrified.

The sound of feet shifting in the snow to my right and an arm brushing against my left reminded me that I wouldn't be facing Brutus alone. Before I could even glance at him, Shanks leaned closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist and tucked me into the safety of his side. Surprisingly, the Little Bastard threw his arm over my shoulders, seemingly scowling at the gate in front of us as if it had personally offended him.

I tucked my head down to hide my smile. Nope, definitely not going to be facing Brutus alone.

As if they heard my thoughts, the guards standing at attention at the gate lifted their transponder snail. I heard a voice say we were cleared to enter and forced myself to smirk at the surprised guards. They scowled back at me, but opened the gates for his. Still keeping their arms around me, Shanks and the Little Bastard started walking in sync with my steps. It was maybe a couple hundred feet from the gate to the front door of Brutus' laboratory, making this one of his smaller compounds. But considering that it still took up a good fourth of the tiny island meant he definitely held some significant power here. And if you factor in his relationship with Kaido? Well, that meant we would have to be careful in how we took him down. I just hoped my tentative plan was enough to prevent a war from breaking out between Shanks and the other Emperor.

As we approached the bottom of the steps leading up to the building, the large doors swung open wide and out stepped the man in question.

A/N: Cliff hanger! Boom!

But seriously, I feel like I've gotten back into the swing of writing, so I might be posting another update relatively soon. I hope.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you guys think!

P.S. In case you guys don't know, I did post a collection of One-Shots that relate to Elle and ASN. It's called The Siren of the East Blue and I would love it if you guys read it while waiting for the next chapter!