A/N: For some reason, this chapter was ridiculously hard to write. I honestly have no idea how I managed it, but I'm glad that I did. I hope that you enjoy it regardless!

Helping out Sanji in the kitchen was definitely an interesting experience. The man was in his element, and I didn't want to distract from it only chiming into to ask what went where and if there was anything I could do. (Of course there wasn't, Sanji didn't want to make anyone else do what he considered his job onboard.)

As Sanji wasn't letting me help him out, I had decided that I was going to write in the Straw Hat chronicles some more about our adventures and add little pictures in between, so that faces and features of the islands couldn't be missed if we never got to visit them in person. The Giant Captain's faces were now being immortalised in the logs of the future Pirate King.

So lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Sanji coming to sit beside me.

"May I have a look?"

I startled, ink splattering all over my hands. "Dammit!"

Sanji gave a short laugh, but handed me a wet towel to clean up. "Sorry, Ebony. May I have a look?"

Still cleaning up the ink, I passed the incomplete passage over to him. "I'm trying to give it a bit more of a storybook feel to it, you know? Most people wouldn't even believe that someone alive has had these adventures. Who knows? Maybe we could convince the Captain to let us publish these, see if we could make some profit?"

Sanji couldn't help but laugh at that, "Nami-swan would be happy to make money, you would just have to see if we could get the others to agree to it."

"And a publishing house that would take the script."

Because honestly, how many places would take a written document like the chronicles being written? And where would we find a publishing house that could and would take such an eclectic novel? One that clearly had piracy as an undertone at the least and one the openly objected to the government at best?

"We could find one, I bet we could."

"This crew could do probably anything that they set their minds to doing, Sanji."

He beamed towards me, more like the teenager that he was than the face that he put on to others, most likely happy at the use of his given name.

We sat in silence as Sanji read through the book, laughing at random intervals whenever something caught his interest.

"Are there any stories that you'd like to add? Anything from before I joined the crew?"

Fifty minutes later, the two of us were interrupted by the shouting of our crew, and the sudden berating of Vivi from both herself and the crew as the shouts died down.

"Wonder what that was all about?" Sanji would have gone out to defend Vivi, if the princess herself wasn't already berating herself.

"They'll tell us if it's important." I paused for a moment, trying to remember if I had missed something, "I hope."

"Do you mean to tell us that we had Mister Two on our ship?"

Sanji moaned in despair, something had happened whilst the two of us were talking in the kitchen. (Because of course it had.)

I knew I had forgotten something, again. I wasn't forgetting everything from the previous timeline, mind you, but not having read or watched it in such a long time I was sure to forget smaller details such as this one, but to be fair it was a pretty big detail to miss.

I really needed to sit down and write what I remembered and I had no idea whether or not to include filler episodes or even the movies, purely because some of the timeline was following the manga and some the anime.

Luffy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a wry grin on his face. "Yeah, he had a really cool devil-fruit too!"

I turned to Vivi, who was looking downwards towards the deck flooring. "And you didn't recognise him?"
"No! I knew about rumours of him being a huge okama, but it didn't register that it was him!" She broke down crying, her eyes already red. "He wore my father's face and I still didn't realise!"

Nami put her hand on the Princesses shoulder as she broke down for the second time that day.

"We're not saying it's your fault, Your Highness. We just need to be careful, well more careful, from here on out."

"I have an idea."

Sanji scoffed, "You, moss head? You have an idea?"

Zoro glared half-heartedly at the cook, "Yes, is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes."

Zoro continued as though Sanji hadn't spoken, "We each have something on us that identifies us as us to each other."

"That's actually not a terrible idea." Sanji couldn't help but point out, looking as though he had sucked an incredibly sour lemon as he did so.

"What sort of thing do you reckon?"

Usopp interjected before the glaring pair could devolve into another argument.

"A mark on our arms? Some sort of jewellery? I'm not sure."

Luffy laughed, "A cross on our arms! Like the one on Chopper's hat! X marks the spot!"

So that was a thing here, too. Good to know.

"Permanent?" Nami needed that detail apparently, so did I.

"Semi-permanent, I've got some paint that'll work."

Usopp rushed off towards the boys cabin and hurried back with a set of brushes and a large pot of black paint.

"Is it non-toxic?"

Usopp looked up towards me and shrugged, probably never having heard the term before.

I supposed it's probably not the worst thing that I've ever done, and won't even meet the list by the end of my life so why not?

"When we get to Alabasta and change into clothing that's suitable, we'll do it then!"

Vivi pointed out; most of us weren't wearing clothes that would be suited to a desert country.

"Or we could do them now and cover them up?" Zoro replied, voice as dry as the desert.

"I like that idea!"

And so it was settled, with the nine of us painting crosses on each others left arms, and wait for the paint to dry.

Now, all we had to do was wait until we made it to land and bought clothes suitable for the desert.

(As long as Sanji didn't get me one of those bellydancer costumes, I'll be good.)

"My food!"

Luffy was still upset, having taken to gnawing away at the railing of the ship after being scolded by Vivi. He hadn't known that sea cats were sacred and if he had, he would never have tried to eat one. (They looked so damn good though! And even with Ebony's emergency supply of food, they hadn't eaten since breakfast the day previous.)

"You'll be able to eat whatever you want soon." Vivi comforted him.

"What kind of food? Cat?"

Before Vivi could answer him, Nami's footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.

"The wind and the temperature have stabilised, it seems."

"We'll, we've definitely entered an Alabasta climate zone." Vivi smiled, happy to be almost home. "The sea cats are further proof of this."

Luffy pouted, he was hungry dammit!

"Those ships behind us are even more proof we're close to Alabasta."

Zoro had an almost demonic grin on his face.

Luffy turned around, the happy smile on Vivi's face dropping almost as quickly as it had appeared. There had to have been at least twenty ships (even more), all flying the flag of Baroque Works.

"All the members?" Vivi couldn't continue her sentence.

"They must be coming together," Ebony finished, stretching her arms above her head. "Something big is about to happen, I can feel it."

"Eh? What else can you feel?" Luffy heard Zoro mutter; the relationship between the chronicler and his first mate was an interesting one.

"My foot up your arse?" Sanji and Luffy snorted at Ebony's retort.

Zoro just glared mulishly at the blonde, who grinned at him unrepentant.

"They're probably the billions!" Luffy shouted; Zoro and Ebony had by this point, devolved their argument into poking each other in the ribs as hard they could.

"There's two hundred of them, that'll be tough." Nami was frowning, and Usopp in dramatic tears. Chopper looked confused, as he probably hadn't been informed of the entire situation that the crew had found themselves in.

"Yeah, and these ones are the elite bounty hunters. Completely different from those on Whisky Peak." Vivi pointed out, which had Usopp falling onto the floor in a heap.

"We've gotta shoot them with the canon!"

"No! I need to eat first!"

Zoro and Ebony still hadn't stopped poking each other, but that didn't stop them from interjecting into the conversation. "Stop getting worried, they're nothing."

"The word has probably gotten around that the Straw Hats are no more anyway. We're good for a bit." Zoro must have poked Ebony just a bit too hard as she let out a yelp before clutching at her side.

Zoro grinned in triumph happy at his victory as Ebony pouted.

"There's only nine of us," Sanji took a drag from his cigarette, "All hope is going to be lost if we don't keep sight of our true objective."

There was a silence aboard the ship before everyone grinned. Luffy couldn't help but be ecstatic, this was going to be one hell of an adventure, help out a friend in need and he was going to see Ace!

"The paint has got to be dry by now? Right?"

Usopp nodded. "The second coat should be, yeah. I've got some strips of cloth that we can tie around them."

"Tie them on tight, our enemies have plenty of mysteries." Zoro was saying as he tied his on.

Chopper tugged on Luffy's vest, "Would I be able to have some help?"

"Sure thing!" Luffy couldn't help but mourn the fact that he would never be able to eat venison again without picturing his latest crew member and newest friend. He didn't want to make the tiny reindeer uncomfortable though and it was a sacrifice that he was willing to make.

"As long as we can see these, we don't need to doubt each other." Nami had a wicked gleam in her eye, and Luffy couldn't help but laugh. She was apparently incredibly excited to be able to deceive one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Sanji and Ebony, on the other hand, were querying Mister Two and his abilities.

"Does he really look that much like us?"

Usopp turned to Sanji, "He doesn't just look like us, he is us."

Ebony had a funny look on her face, as if she wasn't sure what to say. "That's disturbing."

The others were sure that they weren't meant to hear the rest, but they did. "It would be helpful for cosplay though."

"We were even dancing!" Usopp continued as though Ebony hadn't spoken.

"I'm not particularly interested in okamas, thank you."

Ebony snorted, causing Sanji to look at her strangely. She waved him off, as she started to giggle uncontrollably.

Zoro finished tying his arm with a flourish, "Now that we know he's amongst the enemy, we can't allow for any careless individual actions."

"Smart."

Chopper placed a paw on Zoro's leg, "What should I do?"

Usopp ended up answering, "Just do what you can, nothing more or less. Run away from enemies you can't beat!"

"You're just telling yourself that, Usopp." Sanji pointed out dryly, but Chopper seemed to take the comments to heart.

Getting over her giggle fit, Ebony stood. "We're almost to the harbour." She pointed out, "There's an inlet we can stop in, to hide the ship."

Vivi tilted her head to the side, "That's not a bad idea."

"Hopefully it allows for an easier getaway in the case of marines or Baroque Works."

Luffy jumped to his feet, "Okay! Whatever happens from now on, our left arms are proof of our friendship!"

All of those onboard stood, raising their fists in a circle at their captain's proclamation.

"Now, let's get onto dry land!" Luffy laughed, "I'm hungry!"

A lone figure made their way through a crowded market street, heavy cloak covering their tall frame. They were in a hurry, which would have been obvious to anybody if they had paid more attention.

"We've been looking for you, Miss Midsummer Eve."

"Should have looked harder then, shouldn't you?"

"Now, now Midsummer Eve, if not for us. If not for me taking you in, you would be dead. Turned to dust."

The voice of Sir Crocodile, Mister Zero, was cold and unwelcoming. He sat atop a gilded chair as if it were a throne, and expected her to bow down to him in thanks.

For what? She was more than capable of taking care of herself, she had done so since she was eleven years old and thrown out onto the streets by a stepfather who couldn't have cared less about her.

"I'm a lot harder to kill than what most people expect." Her accent was tinged by The Voice in her anger and annoyance. "And many people have tried and all have failed."

"And yet, here you are." The infuriating man had a point, she hadn't left because she had nowhere else to go. She knew no one and know one knew her, or even her deeds. "Nowhere to go from here. If anyone else knew, well you would be hunted, Outlier."

Outlier.

That was all she was in this world, not Hero or Traitor. Not even sister or wife.

Outlier.

The gathered members of Baroque Works looked on at her in fear because of this status. She had done nothing in their eyes to deserve this fear, none besides Mister Zero had seen her in battle. (And he feared her due to this; she hadn't used The Voice either.)

At least that would give them a legitimate reason to fear her and she would understand.

"Now, come Miss Midsummer Eve, we have much to do and there is so little time."

She glared after the man, as he swept from the room with Miss All Sunday following along behind him.

She was going to find a way out of this organisation eventually.

And then she would find her way home. She had to.

Ace was still in shock.

The two of them had moved from the little boat that they now shared, docking and coming across a restaurant in the middle of the desert. Between the two of them, and Ace's occasional bouts of narcolepsy, they had devoured at least a quarter of the kitchen's stock. (At least that was what Sabo estimated, Ace wouldn't put it past him that it was an accurate assumption.)

His brother was alive, without most of his memories and scared from the shot to his boat when they were children, but alive nonetheless.

"Uh, Ace? You in there?" Said brother waved his hand in front of his face.

"Yes, I am."

"You've been quiet," Sabo started to talk but stopped. He didn't know what to say, either.

Ace couldn't help but laugh an almost hysterical laugh. "I honestly never thought you were dead, but actually seeing you alive. Having you in front of me, its... its harder than I thought it would be."

Sabo looked at his older brother in silence. Yes, he could understand that. One part of him felt like the young child that he was when he had set off from Dawn Island and another part of him the Revolutionary adult that he had become.

"I still don't remember everything, it's mostly still like a dream? A good dream, but still something that shouldn't exist? If that makes sense?" He had removed his top hat and was running his hands through his blonde hair, messing the curls up even further.

"No, it makes sense." Ace could see where his brother was coming from, but it still hurt that he couldn't remember everything from their childhood.

"If she hadn't sent the letter along with Dragon, I wouldn't be here right now." Sabo chuckled, "I'm glad she did though, if what she wrote was true it's better this way."

She? A letter? Dragon?

Ace couldn't help but repeat these questions out loud.

"Dragon, the Revolutionary was given a letter by a woman in Loguetown. Someone who knew me, who knew about us and Lu."

Ace froze, there weren't many people he had told (drunken or sober) about his littlest brother, let alone his thought to be dead sibling. A suspicion had formed and he couldn't help but voice it.

"The person who wrote the letter wouldn't happen to be someone who goes by the name of Crow Queen, would they?"

Sabo sat up straight, eyeing Ace off. "Yes, it was."

Ace started laughing. Of course, it was her, but it begged the question, how did she know?

"How did she know where to find you?" This came out sharper than Ace had intended it to. He wasn't angry, per se, a little confused and sad but not angry.

"That's her story to tell how she knew where I was, but please don't hold it against her." Sabo anxiously wrung his hands together, "It isn't something that she wants getting around. Much like your.."

That was something that Sabo clearly remembered, finding out who Ace's biological father was.

Ace winced, so he remembered that. At least he didn't have to voice the words or even think of them at that moment. Small mercies, he supposed.

The chatter that had been going on in the background suddenly came to a halt.

"I guess you don't have a problem with eating in full view of the pubic, but what does the Second Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates want in this country?" The smokey voice said, "You're a long way from the New World Portgas D. Ace."

Sabo looked at his brother and grinned, "Well, well big brother, you've got yourself an admirer."

Ace was surprised he heard Sabo's comment, regardless of the fact that he was sitting right next to him, over the shouting that had taken place after the (clearly) marine had spoken.

"WHITEBEARD PIRATES! ONE OF THE WHITEBEARD PIRATES!"

"I KNEW I KNEW THAT MARK!"

"WHY... WHY IS HE HERE?"

Ace turned to look over his shoulder, feeling confident enough to leave his back wide open to the marine. "I, well, we are looking for our little brother."

"We?"

Sabo stood up and turned his back to the bar, leaning his weight against it and placed his top hat back onto his hair.

"Yes, we."

The marine pointed towards Sabo, "I feel like I should know your face, you're not a pirate."

Sabo laughed and Ace couldn't help but join in, "Think about it. It'll come to you eventually."

"Regardless, just sit tight and let me arrest you."

Ace by this point had turned around on his swivel chair, resting his elbows against the bar his brother was leaning on.

"Rejected, no can do."

"Didn't think it'd be that easy."

"You don't get to where we have by giving in, Mister Marine," Sabo interjected.

"I'm looking for an entirely different pirate," the marine continued on as if he hadn't heard Sabo.

"Then let me go."

"I can't do that. As long as I'm a marine and you're a pirate!"

"That's a stupid reason, chill out man."
"You're one to talk Fireman."

Ace very maturely stuck his tongue out at his brother, who rolled his eyes.

What happened next happened very fast, as the marine came soaring at Ace and Sabo who had no time to react. The force of whatever had sent the marine flying caused the three of them to plough straight through the bar and out the other side of the building, leaving wreck and ruin in their path.

"What hit us?"

Sabo had pushed the marine off of the two of them and helped his brother to his feet.

"Dunno, but whoever or whatever it was is in for it when I get my hands on them."

"Temper, temper." Sabo shoved his hands in his pocket, as Ace and he apologised to the restaurant goers whose meals that they had just interrupted. "But at least you now know how to say sorry."

Ace glared weakly at him, but couldn't dispute the fact. He had been a right terror as a child and he knew it. Being raised (sort of) by a bunch of bandits and an absolute nutcase by the name of Monkey D. Garp probably didn't help.

The marine had gotten up as well, also apologising before turning towards Ace and Sabo, who had already started to walk towards the source of the breakthrough.

Sabo stopped as soon as he saw who had caused it, grabbing onto Ace's arm with a vice like grip.

"Look, Ace! It's Lu!"

Ace had also come to that realisation, but before he could say anything the marine had pushed the pair of them down shouting "Straw Hat!" before chasing him out of the restaurant, Luffy shouting apologies the entire way out.

"We better get after them!" Sabo took off after his brother and his marine pursuer, Ace not long behind.

"Wait, Luffy! It's us!"

"No."

"But, dancers are citizens!"

"No Sanji, I'll keep the skirt but not the top."

He had gone and done it, specifically after I had told him not to. I was comfortable in the clothes that I had found, loose linen pants and cotton cloak that went over my singlet top. The broad brimmed hat was almost like an umbrella, its width covered almost three people if I were to stand as close to them to be shoulder to shoulder. My shoes were the same boots as the ones I had been wearing the entire time, but now actually covered in sand.

"But look at Nami and Vivi!"

"Yes, but they're more comfortable in those sorts of clothing than I am. Besides, they'll have to cover up considering we're going into the desert."

Sanji's shoulders slumped in defeat, but he conceded the point. He didn't stay defeated for long, as he turned towards the other males of the crew and started to berate them for their fashion choices.

"Honestly Sanji, we're going to help save a country not walk on the runway."

"Heh, you got told shitty cook."

I whipped around to Zoro, pointing at him. "Don't you start either!"

The tone of my voice must have been enough because the two of them stopped arguing. In fact, the whole crew became silent, as we waited for our Captain to return.

It didn't take long as shouts were heard in the distance, getting closer.

"What a ruckus, did they find a pirate or something?" Zoro clucked his tongue.

"What are the chances that that isn't our Captain?" I sighed then froze, Ace was here, wasn't he?

"None."

"Yeah, didn't think so." I was dead.

Luffy ran right past us, shouting greetings as he did so.

"Well, crap."

"THERE'S THE REST OF THE STRAW HATS!"

Nami screamed at Luffy, "Come back once you've lost them you idiot!"

"GET BACK, MEN!"

Smoker was in hot pursuit of our Captain and I desperately wanted to throw one of my knuckledusters at the man to slow him down but I knew I needn't have bothered, as Ace appeared out of nowhere.

"KAGEROU!"

White hot flames blocked Smoker's pathway to Luffy as Ace and another stood in front of the Captain.

"What do you want?" Smoker looked annoyed, his pray being protected by a clearly superior predator.

"Cut that out." It wasn't Ace who spoke, but the familiar top-hatted, tails wearing man who accompanied him.

Shit, I'm definitely dead now. Happy, but dead.

"You may be smoke, but I'm fire and your powers don't stand a chance against mine."

"What he said."

"Who are they?" Nami stuttered out.

Luffy was silent for a moment before he grinned, backing up towards us. "Ace! And…"

Ace turned around to face his brother before Luffy could attempt to name the other man, "You haven't changed a bit, Luffy."

Luffy laughed happily, as Ace turned to me.

"Ebony, you better get everyone back. We'll stay here and eventually catch up to you all."

"Will do, flamehead." My palms were sweating something shocking. "I've got a lot to tell you all."

Something sharp showed itself in Ace's pale eyes, "I know."

Luffy grabbed my shoulder and pulled me along with him, as the rest of the crew had already begun to run.

"Let's go, Ebony!"

A/N: That reunion could have gone either way and really so could Ace's temper. I feel he may be a little OOC, but something like this is a little difficult to portray without either overwhelming or underwhelming the plot or characters (at least for me). I start my new course at uni in about a week or so, but I'm hoping to get at least two more chapters written so that I can post them whilst I'm studying for the next semester, fingers crossed!