AN: LIKE HOLY HECK! Did you guys see what Oda-sensei's done for the 20th Anniversary? I'M DYING OVER HERE! MAKE IT REAL PLEASE! Please excuse my excitement, but now I'm even sadder that it didn't actually happen and that Sabo wouldn't have been there because he didn't remember the two at the time. AHHHH! Now I'm sad again! Onto more serious matters; I'm trying to keep my chapters between three thousand and six thousand words; I'm not actually used to writing this many words for a singular chapter, so it's a nice challenge to set for myself.

My particular decision was to tell Crocus and Laboon of the rumours of a hauntingly familiar singer in a part of the Grand Line. These rumours had been going on nigh for fifty years, and they continued on to this day. The wording of this was going to be the problem, however.

"This is some waterway!" The awe in Luffy's voice was intense, as he stared around him in wonder. I had to remember that out of all the current crew members, Luffy, Usopp and myself hadn't traveled (far) from where we lived for the most part. (I'm not actually sure if I count, but I hadn't left Loguetown since I was rescued by the marines except for the occasional rescue mission.)

"It's pretty amazing that you have managed to make a tunnel this big and live inside here." Nami looked at Crocus with hooded lids, "Is this another 'having a good time' thing?"

Crocus waved his hand, "It's a bit of a hobby of mine as a doctor. Although, before you lot get any ideas about the fact that I don't look much like a real doctor; I did used to run a clinic. And I used to work as a ship doctor for a few years."

A ships doctor. I thought. I suppose that would be one way to describe it.

Luffy lit up. "A doctor! Join my crew!"

The others faulted at this, but I knew that Luffy was only slightly kidding.

"I think he's got another job at the moment, Captain."

Luffy pouted at me, outrageously so for a seventeen year old Pirate Captain made of rubber.

"That's one thing, I'm also too old to be doing reckless things. So stop talking nonsense." Crocus agreed with me, though he sounded a little wistful as he said it. I think that I was the only one who actually noticed it, either that or I was looking for it. Looking for something that would tie this man living in the stomach of a friend to the man who was a member of the Roger Pirates and doctor to the King.

"A doctor, huh? Why are you living inside the whale?" Nami leant on the railing of the Merry as Crocus started to open the gate.

"A whale the size of this one, it'd be impossible to treat him from the outside." Turning the gears again, he turned to us. "I'll open the gate for you now."

As the gate opened, we found ourselves out on the open sea once more.

"ALRIGHT!" Luffy stood where the head of Merry was before it was broken, "I CAN SEE THE REAL SKY AGAIN!"

The gate slammed shut and we had two prisoners, tied up, to deal with. We turned to Crocus, he and Laboon were the ones wronged in this situation.

"What should we do with these two?"

"Throw them overboard?"

Lifting the two unconscious rogues over the side of the ship, Zoro and Sanji let them fly. The awoke from their forced slumber upon impact with the water.

"WHERE ARE WE?"

"OH NO! IS THIS STOMACH ACID?"

"No Miss Wednesday, this seems to be the actual ocean."

"Mister Nine, we must have been knocked out by those pirates."

Luffy casually leaned over the railing of the Going Merry, "So, who are you again?"

"Does it really matter, captain?" I stood next to him, my back turned to Mister Nine and Miss Wednesday.

"Guess not! Shishishishishi!"

"SHUT IT! WHO WE ARE ISN'T ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS!" They mustn't have heard our conversation, as they continued on like we hadn't spoken a word.

"Wait, Miss Wednesday. It may be their business, they're pirates after all."

"That is very true indeed, Mister Nine." Shoving a finger in our direction, Vivi continued. "Prepare yourselves! Our organisation may have some use for you!"

Before they started to swim off they shouted, "GOOD DAY YOU HILLBILLY PIRATES! AND HEED OUR WARNING CROCUS, THAT WHALE WILL BE OURS!"

Sanji came up beside me and stared dreamily after the retreating duo. "Ah, Miss Wednesday was her name? Such a beautiful enigma."

"You can't help yourself, can you Sanji?" I chuckled as he gave me a look, which was softer than one of the ones that he would have given Zoro, Luffy or Usopp.

"Are you sure about letting them go?" Nami asked Crocus, as Luffy had bent down to pick up the Log Pose that had been dropped on the deck floor.

"If I didn't let them go, there would be others to take their place." Crocus explained gently, staring off into the distance.

Currently Portgas D. Ace was looking on in fascination as the Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and one of his closest friends, Thatch, held up the devil fruit that he had found. He was happy for his brother, but a strong sense of foreboding had latched on to him and wouldn't let go. He knew the reasoning behind this.

Along the first half of his journey into the Grand Line, he'd met a person that he would call a friend that had mentioned a devil fruit that would be wanted by a vicious, callous and murderous man who hid in plain sight amongst the crew that he would eventually betray. He didn't ask at the time how she knew this, as there were stranger things in the world than someone being able to see the future. What caused him to worry was how directed, pointed this comment was. He knew that at some point he would come across both the devil fruit in question and the man.

He watched, warily as Thatch proudly showed Oyaji the fruit. He felt eyes on both Thatch and the fruit coming from behind him, turning he looked to see who it was.

Marshall D. Teach.

The man was a part of his own division and whilst he trusted his brothers explicitly (not to the extent that he himself trusted Luffy and Sabo however), there was something off about the man. He could hide himself well enough, but he knew this to be the man that had scarred Red Haired Shanks and made him wary enough in a way that he wasn't even wary about around Whitebeard.

He was suspicious enough with the way he made his way towards Thatch to give his own congratulations, looking at the devil fruit with undisguised want, he visibly lusted for it.

He knew that if this man could harm and injure one of the four Yonko then Ace, whilst stronger than most and getting stronger everyday, wouldn't be able to land a hit on the man if it came to blows. (Which led Ace to wonder why the man wasn't Second Division commander over him; it didn't make sense, surely the stronger you were the higher ranked you should be?) He would need the help of someone else to keep an eye on Teach and Thatch.

He'd need Marco's help, and probably soon if the look on Marshall D. Teach's face was any indication.

"To think that the poor whale has been waiting here for fifty years, does he still think his friends will return?"

Luffy made himself comfortable, laying down against a rock and kicking his feet up. "They're taking a long time, those pirates."

Sanji took a look at his captain, a little annoyed at his naivety. "Idiot, this is the Grand Line. If they said that they would be back in two to three years and they're still not back then logically the answer is that they are dead. They aren't going to come back regardless of how long the whale waits!"

"Why do have to put it so coldly? They might come back!" Usopp got right up into Sanji's face. "Can't you appreciated such a moving story about a whale that believes in the promise his friends made to him?"

Crocus looked up to the sky. "The truth is crueler, however. I heard from a reliable source that the pirates left the Grand Line already."

Nami looked shocked. "They just left him behind? But that would have meant that they left through a calm belt!"

"Yes, but I'm not sure if they survived or not. They wouldn't dare to return here anyway; the seasons, climate, wind and ocean currents are chaotic. Common sense fails. The Grand Line rules over those faint of heart."

Sanji put out his cigarette on a rock, "So they were cowards, more concerned with saving their own hides rather than keeping a promise to a friend. They left the Grand Line never to return."

Usopp wouldn't take this lying down. "They just abandoned the whale? Even though the whale never doubted them? The whale still trusts them? How could they be so cruel?"

"Why haven't you told the whale?" I interjected, sensing that Usopp was going to continue to rant.

"I have told him, but he refuses to believe the truth."

"He won't listen?" Nami asked.

"He has been bellowing at Reverse Mountain and hitting his head up against the Red Line ever since." Crocus looked down in sadness. "He is stubbornly trying to assert that his friends are beyond the wall and that they'll return. I've tried telling him the truth multiple times since then, but Laboon refuses to accept the truth."

"He's still waiting, even after the betrayal and even after there being no point in waiting!" Usopp sighed, almost romantic in a way. He did love a good story, maybe I could regale him with some from home when we got the chance?

"That's exactly why. He doesn't want to lose all reason, of losing the meaning behind him waiting for so long. That's why he refuses to listen to what anyone tells him about those pirates." Stretching out, he continued on. "He's from the West Blue, on the other side of the Red Line. It's far too late for him to go back, that's why his only hope is with those friends that brought him here originally."

I could see the captain sneaking off to the ship. Without thinking too much on it I grabbed onto his arm.

"Maybe something smaller, captain? We still need the mast." I knew that it would be impossible to talk Luffy out of fighting with Laboon, but I could try to lessen the damage that the Going Merry would take. A battle that I was losing very quickly.

"I'll use the top half of it then!" And he ran off.

Sighing, I shook my head. Why did this feel more like babysitting than anything else?

"As much as I feel bad for the whale, if you think about it you've also been betrayed by them. Why don't you just leave the whale already?" Sanji asked.

Crocus motioned towards Laboon. "Look at his head. The longer he keeps bashing his head against the Red Line, the quicker he's going to die. Whilst our relationship is odd, we've been companions for the last fifty years. I can't just look him die."

"YOOOOOOOOOOO!" Was followed by a crack, then a crash as the top half of the main mast was broken clean in two and the captain sprinted up the side of Laboon's head.

"What is he up to now?"

"You take your eyes off of him for not even a second." Zoro turned to look at me.

"Don't look at me, I might not have known he long but even I can tell that trying to get him to do something that isn't ridiculously stupid or dangerous isn't going to happen. I just got him to try to do less damage than what he might have."

Zoro held my eyes for a little longer and nodded, knowing better than most that whatever Luffy wanted, Luffy got.

"GOMU GOMU NO IKEBANA!"

"Is that a mast? Our mast?"

"Yes, but it's only the top half of it."

"Really?"

"He was going to yank the entire thing out and I suggested to use something smaller. I'm surprised he didn't take the mizenmast, however."

"Probably didn't cross his mind."

"BUOOOOOH!" Laboon bellowed out in pain, as Luffy had stuck the top half of the mast right into an open wound.

The mast being broken in half and having been shoved into Laboon's head had just sunk in.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?" Nami had grabbed me by my jacket and started to shake me back and forth, causing me to get dizzy.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?" "HE DESTROYED OUR SHIP!" Were the only things that I could hear through the blood rushing through my head.

Luffy was screaming, a little in horror and a little in excitement. Swinging back and forth as Laboon shook his massive head, trying to get rid of both Luffy and the intrusion. He slammed his head forwards, causing the half mast to be driven a little further into his head.

Luffy still hadn't let go.

Crocus couldn't believe what he was seeing, "HEY KID! IT'S FAR TOO DANGEROUS!"

Nami, having stopped shaking me reached out and grabbed Crocus' arm, "Don't worry about our captain, he'll be fine."

"BUOOOOOOOOOH!"

"YOU BIG DUMMY!"

"BUOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

"TAKE THIS!" Luffy let his fist fly into Laboon's eye. Laboon retaliated by pushing Luffy backwards into the lighthouse.

"What on earth is he trying to do?" Usopp questioned.

"Maybe he's trying to give him something else to look forward to?" I was still dizzy and had to sit down, being helped by Sanji.

"IT'S A TIE!" Luffy had a very self satisfied smirk on his face as he looked at the surprised Laboon. "I'm pretty tough, aren't I? Our fight isn't settled, so we'll do this again one day!"

Luffy stood up, "Your friends may be dead, I don't know, but I'm your new rival! Once my crew and I sail around the Grand Line, we'll come back and settle the score!"

Laboon had tears in his eyes, welling up. "BUOOOOOOOOH!" The next bellow was one of agreement, happier than before.

Crocus looked like he would cry himself, with the rest of us smiling at our captains decision.

Marco looked at the concerned and suspicious Second Division commander as he brought his worries to him. Ace didn't often ask for anything, help or otherwise; he was pretty self sufficient and could handle most things thrown his way.

"There's something off about the way Teach is looking at both the devil fruit and Thatch. I know he's in my division, but I'm pretty sure that he is actually stronger than me. Stronger than what anyone else on this crew thinks he is."

"So what you are saying is that you'd like me to just keep an eye on him whilst you can't, yoi."

"That's exactly what I'm saying. He's always given me a bad feeling, and it doesn't help that the man that my brother looks up to is so wary of him, either."

"Shanks is awfully wary of him." Marco hadn't noticed that until Ace had pointed it out. Whilst the other Yonko was a pain, childish at the best of times, whenever the two crews got together for a sparring match or two he would always go out of his way to avoid the bearded man. Not even his captain got that reaction from the red-haired man.

Ace looked at the older man, worried as to what he might say.

"I'll do it. Hopefully the feeling is nothing and your friend was wrong about her feeling, but we can't be too careful, yoi."

Ace beamed in relief, "Thank you Marco. She said that she hoped she was wrong, too. I hope she's wrong, even though she rarely ever is." The last part was muttered, but Marco heard anyway.

Despite the situation causing Ace to ask him for help, he smirked. It looked like the other flame head had a crush.

"So about this friend of yours."

The usually unflappable pirate blushed. It wasn't obvious, but you could see the tips of his ears burn a bright red. (Marco could have sworn that his ears were actually on fire with how red that they had become.)

"She's just a friend! Geez Marco! Besides if what she said is true, she's probably on a pirate ship somewhere by now."

Marco was intrigued, "She wasn't a pirate when you met her?"

"No she was a bartender, and an occasional information broker. That and she helped reduce people from the marines incompetency."

Marco gave him a questioning look at the last bit.

Ace extrapolated. "She would go out and rescue sailors who'd become caught up in the Calm Belt near Loguetown."

"She sounds like quite the woman!"

Ace was back to blushing, making Marco grin.

A little bit of blackmail between brothers didn't hurt anyone.

I couldn't help but laugh at the monstrosity that Luffy had painted onto the top of Laboon's scarred head. Yes it was recognisable as the Jolly Roger of the Straw Hat Pirates, but it was misshapen and the artist in me could only think that Pablo Picasso would have been proud.

"Done! This is a sign of our promise!" Luffy looked proud of himself. "So don't you bash your head against the Red Line or it'll disappear!"

"BUOOH!" Laboon made a sound of agreement, as Crocus looked on. He looked proud of the situation, happier than he was before.

"Shishishishishi! Good!"

"Captain, Crocus, Luffy, can I have a word?" Everyone else had gone to do their jobs, or in Zoro's case gone to take a nap.

"Sure thing, Ebony!" Crocus nodded his ascent and we made our way closer to Laboon he was looking at me with massive, curious eyes.

"What I am about to say might not be too believable, considering everything we have just gone through. However there have been rumours going around about a triangle near the entrance to the New World." The three of them looked at me and I took a deep breath before I could continue. "There's a haunted area where ships get stuck for months, even years on end. There's apparently a ghost ship there, one that sings."

"A signing ghost ship?" Luffy looked excited at the prospect.

"I worded that badly, the ship doesn't sing but whoever is on that ship does. According to the rumours they hear Binks no Sake quite a lot."

This caused both Laboon and Crocus to sit up a little straighter.

"Binks no Sake? That was a favourite of the Rumbar pirates!"

"I don't know how true these rumours are," I winced internally, they were as true as Brook being a skeleton but I wasn't about to tell them that. "But I've heard that anything can and will happen in the Grand Line. I don't want to get your hopes up, but perhaps there may be a chance of some sort of final resolution?"

Crocus looked at me for a long moment, whilst Luffy had his head tilted.

"A final resolution would be nice." Crocus inclined his head and Laboon nodded in turn.

"I've come to a decision!" After a moment, Luffy grabbed hold of my hand and started to swing our arms together, making me let out a laugh. He smiled triumphantly. "We'll see if this rumour is true and tell you when we come back!"

"Sounds good captain, but I've got a slightly better idea if you'll listen." He paused and nodded.

Turning to Crocus I asked, "Do you have a Den Den Mushi?"

"Yes I do."

"How about we exchange numbers and when we find out more information we'll let you know?"

He agreed and we exchanged numbers, Luffy looking on fondly before running off to clean the paint brushes he had used earlier.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The noise coming from Nami had us all looking over to her in surprise and shock.

"What's the matter, dearest Nami?" Sanji had his arms full of plates with delicious looking food covering them. It made my mouth water, I hadn't eaten since breakfast this morning in Loguetown. "If it's about your food, then the meals are all ready!"

"Nothing like that, Sanji! It's just the compass is broken! It's just spinning in all directions!"

"Nami it's not broken, normal compasses just don't work here. Something about magnetic fields across the Grand Line?" I couldn't remember the exact reasoning, but thought I'd point it out anyway.

"They're right, you know. This is mostly due to the islands around here being rich with various minerals. And the currents and winds being unpredictable." He turned to Nami. "As the navigator you should understand how terrifying that sort of unpredictability can be. If you venture too far out into the Grand Line without knowing this, you will definitely die."

"Without a reliable way to tell directions then we're screwed." Nami conceded, "I honestly had no idea."

"Nami's so cute when she doesn't know!" Sanji sighed dreamily as Usopp panicked and Luffy complimented the fish that Sanji had brought out.

I had to say that I hadn't eaten anything like this before, and it was very nice. "Sanji, this is really good!"

Heart eyes doubled from my compliment. "Thank you Ebony, dear!"

Crocus brought everyone's attention back to him. "To navigate through the Grand Line, you will have need of a Log Pose."

"I've never heard of it."

"I'm surprised; they're a type of compass that records the magnetic fields. They're odd looking, as well."

Luffy held up what he had picked up off the deck earlier. "You mean like this?"

Crocus nodded and pointed to it. "That's a log Pose. Without it you would find it impossible to navigate the Grand Line."

"WHY THE HECK DO YOU HAVE ONE?" Nami went to hit Luffy, but I grabbed her wrist.

"No need to hit the Captain. He's not the only one who has one." I didn't mention that I'd grabbed three or four, whenever they went on sale in the market place I would grab a few bits and pieces that I knew I'd probably need for a journey out on the open seas.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you had one." I replied.

She turned to Luffy who answered her earlier query. "Those two from before left it behind on our ship."

He handed it to her, gently placing it in her hand.

"It has no markings on it or anything." Nami was staring at the log pose with a hard fascination.

"The islands across the Grand Line each of their own magnetic field, so you'll have to record the field interaction between two islands before moving onwards." Crocus rubbed between his glasses across the bridge of his nose. "You can't use any normal means of pathfinding, the log pose is the only reliable way. There's seven magnetic fields out of this mountain which will take you to various different islands. However, they all converge into one eventually."

He grew more serious than he had been before. "The name of the last island that one can reach in the Grand Line is Raftel. It's legendary and only one crew have ever been confirmed to have reached it. The Pirate King and his crew."

"Wait? Does that mean One piece is on that island?" The crew perked up at Usopp's question.

"Who knows."

You would probably know, considering you were on his crew. I thought to myself.

"That's the likeliest theory, but no one has ever reached Raftel to confirm it or not."

"Shishishishi!" Luffy finished eating his fish, picking the bone clean. "We can check it out for ourselves when we get there!"

We sat in silence for a moment.

"Should we go now? I'm finished eating everything."

Sanji turned to Luffy, eyes almost popping out of his skull. "Did you just eat everything by yourself?"

"Even the bones are gone!" Usopp moved the fork around his empty plate with a solemn look on his face.

Nami, on the other hand wound the log pose securely around her wrist. "I'll make sure to keep good care of it."

"I've got a spare, just in case though Nami." I pointed over my shoulder at the fight that was brewing. "Who knows what could happen with these guys?"

"True."

Just as she had said those words, Sanji had kicked Luffy clean across the table, causing Luffy to go flying through the newly secured log pose on Nami's wrist; glass flying everywhere as Nami and I looked in horror.

"YOU TWO CAN GO AND COOL YOUR TEMPERS DOWN!" Nami dropkicked the two offenders into the ocean.

"Thanks Nami, now I've got to go and rescue the captain." Stripping out of my coat for the second time today. She looked at me apologetically. "Oi! Laboon, can I borrow your head for a moment?"

Laboon looked at me for a moment and nodded his consent. He lowered his head down so that I could climb on top and rose. When he was at a height I dived off and into the ocean.

Silly rubber captain. Silly cook. What was Nami thinking?

Ace's fears were realised, as he found Thatch bleeding out on the deck floor. He knelt down, his hands and knees being covered in his brothers blood. Quickly checking to see if he had a pulse, he noted with relief that whilst faint, it was there.

"MARCO! GET THE DOCTOR!"

Marco was just walking around the corner when he saw Ace kneeling over the bloodied body of their brother and rushed to get a doctor.

Ace didn't notice anything since the doctor had came and rushed Thatch into surgery until Marco put a hand on his shoulder. Instinctively his fire whipped out to defend him, until he heard Marco's voice.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Yoi, it's fine. Just be glad it was me and not anyone else."

"Where's Teach?" The last word was said with venom.

"Gone." Marco's reply was flat, his tone even with a cool fury.

"And the devil fruit?"

"Also gone."

The flames of fury, of rage were back again. Marshall D. Teach would pay.

"We'll go talk to Oyaji, I know you'll want to go after him."

"Damn right I'm going after him!"

After rescuing the captain and the cook from the ocean and Nami's fury. Miss Wednesday and Mister Nine were currently prostrating in front of the captain, begging for a ride to Whisky Peak.

"You can come along if you want." Luffy stared them down, clearly saying without words that if the did anything then he would do worse than just knocking them out and throwing them in the ocean.

"You log pose should have been recorded by now." Crocus must have given Nami his spare after I'd gone after Sanji and Luffy. "Is it pointing to the place indicated on the map?"

"Yes it is! Straight to Whisky Peak."

Crocus turned to Luffy, "Are you sure about going to Whisky Peak of all places because of these rogues? This is the only spot you can pick the route you want to go."

"It's okay, I mean if I don't like it we can just sail around again and pick again."

"I… see."

"Well see you then, Flower Gramps!"

"Thanks for the log pose!"

"BUOOOOH!"

"GOOD BYE LABOON!"

"We'll let you know if we hear anything or see anything, okay!" I shouted down at Crocus, who nodded towards us.

AN:Will Thatch survive? Find out! (Ace is as hot headed as ever, so he probably won't find out until the readers of this fic find out!) I also got my results back from university! I PASSED ALL MY SUBJECTS AND AM NOW MOVING ONTO THE NEXT SEMESTER! Like I am beyond happy, as we get to start on the projects that we will be taking into our third year and we get to pick what sort of things we would like to major in and the themes that drive us. I have been waiting to do this since before I got accepted into university back in 2015.