In case I forget to resolve it in the story. Ace and Sabo stopped Wolves from going into Choppers outskirts by spreading scary rumors. They have got a pretty good reputation as being tough so anything they say is taken pretty seriously. Now that the 'grandmother plot' is finally resolved they are going to focus on the fallout from all of it. From here the characters have to get a little more serious about the race war and the unrest in the forest. But for now this is mostly a cute chapter. The group is coming together more and more. Next chapter should be the super overdue flashback to either Ace or Sabo when they just started living together. They each get their own short flashback because it's cute although if you have any thoughts on who you want to see next just tell me because I could go either way.

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Marco looked up confused at his father. In his hands was his familiar cell phone. He thought he had dropped it in the forest.

"How did you get this?"

Oyaji raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. While he clearly didn't approve of Marco's 'impromptu trip'. he could tell his father had pride for his bravery and survival skills. As a parent Whitebeard gave him a certain level of trust to make his own decisions. This was something many other parents wouldn't even consider so naturally Marco counted himself grateful.

"It was left on the front porch of city hall."

Marco's frown grew as he took it flipping it open to inspect it. To his surprise an image flooded the screen. It was Luffy and Ace from the night they had ran into the hunters.

His concern only grew as he flipped through the pictures. Who would do something like this? One of the hunters possibly. He couldn't see a motive for it though. What could they possibly be trying to accomplish?

"Who else saw this?"

"Nobody but me and Luffy's grandfather."

Marco looked up at his father confused. "His Grandfather?"

Whitebeard nodded continuing on. "For some reason he swears up and down this boy is his grandchild."

"And you don't believe him?" Marco prodded.

"I want to for his sake but… His grandson is dead."

Marco froze at that. "What?"

Pops nodded obliviously. "It was a long time ago the kid must have been around seven years old. He just went missing one day. Hunters searched all over those woods."

Marco nodded. This was nothing new. Every time someone went missing hunters would search the woods hopeful to find a body. "But they never found anything?" The wolves had probably dragged it away.

To his surprise Oyaji shook his head. "No they found something alright. They found some of his clothes covered in blood."

"Couldn't he have still survived?" Marco sked feeling dread well up in his throat.

"Not with loosing that much." Pops said sadly. "He was such a tiny kid it's horrible to think he died in such a violent way. Of course there were rumors…"

Marco's head shot up at that. "Rumors about what?"

Whitebeard frowned as he looked at his son. "It was probably the rantings of a paranoid town."

"What did they say?"

"Well things were getting out of hand but they claimed that it wasn't an accident that it was murder."

Marco's skin crawled at the revelation. "But they were just rumors right?"

"Most likely. All I know is that Garp had become increasingly worried about his son and he had tried to take custody of his grandson in the days leading up to his disappearance."

"Is the other boy his step brother?"

"Huh?" Oyaji said taken by surprise. "No he was an only child. Garp only had one grandchild."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded giving his son a strange look. "You don't happen to know something do you?"

Marco shook his head lazily not revealing anything. "Nope."

His father clearly did not buy it but he nodded anyways. "Well all I can tell you is his name is Ace and he is supposed to be dead."

Marco nodded hopelessly confused as he snapped his phone shut. He needed to tell Ace about the pictures, he owed it to the teen for risking his life two times already. If it was at all possible then maybe he could get some answers. Why did they say Ace and Luffy were supposed to be dead?

He thanked his father waiting impatiently for him to head off to work before stowing his phone in his pocket and grabbing his coat. If there was one thing he was good at it was returning debts

He had the map Ace had given him. Hopefully this would be enough to find their tiny cabin again… that plus a sizable hunting rifle. He figured that as long as the daylight held out he could make it there relatively unscathed.

Barring that thought in his mind he headed for the edge of town. Driving his poor beat up jeep to the limit. All while thinking of the unanswered questions piling up. Considering their reactions he hadn't dared to bring up what Doflamingo said. Although he was dying to know more. Prince of wolves (was their even such a thing?), Head hunter in training and vampire noble? For starters none of them seemed very motivated to fulfill their roles. Secondly how were they so friendly with each other with backgrounds like that? Luffy should be trying to kill Ace, Ace should be rallying the wolves against him and Sabo… he wasn't actually sure what vampire nobles did. Probably just mess with people's lives all day and plot. Clearly none of them took these tittles very seriously as the rest of the world either gave up on them or seemed to think they were dead. And the three were in no rush to set the record straight.

Also in terms of interesting news it turns out the three weren't actually related. Until today Marco thought they could be half-brothers but it was looking less and less likely as time went by. It wasn't like thinking about it was going to get him answers.

Sighing he slammed the car door intending to do the rest on foot. Swinging his weapon over his shoulder he stared down at the map. According to this all he needed to do was follow the path until he saw the first marker. This was supposed to be even Luffy proof. Sure enough a few minutes of walking he saw an arrow head carved into a tree trunk. It was tiny and discreet unless you knew what to look for. He was just about to follow the trail when a familiar sound caught his attention. Someone was…talking. Not just someone by the sounds of it. He recognized those voices. Following the road a little further he followed the slashes carved in the tree trunks unsurprised to see two familiar faces.

"What could you two possibly be doing?"

Zoro sheathed his swords with his familiar infuriating grin. "I was practicing. This idiot insisted to come along." Said idiot looked miffed at the comment.

"I was trying to train, you know bulk up a little bit."

Zoro rolled his eyes at that. "Where are you off to?"

"There's something I have to tell Ace."

That got both of their attention as they stared at him stupidly. "You can't be serious? What could you have to tell him that was so important that you journey through monster infested woods to do it?"

Marco looked at them for a moment as he considered. "Sorry can't tell you." He said with a smirk. He figured he better keep this one to himself.

"Seriously? You're going to leave us in the dark here?"

"Yep!"

The three of them stood there awkwardly for a few seconds until he asked. "Want to come."

"You've got to be kidding me"

"Why not."

Usopp and Zoro said speaking at once.

"Seriously?" Usopp questioned him. "We barely got out of here last time?"

"Its good training." Zoro replied as he headed off to join Marco.

"You guys can't leave me alone here." Usopp yelled after them.

"Oh we can't?" Zoro teased as he continued walking. "Tell the vampires hi for us will you?"

Marco watched with amusement as Usopp scrambled after them yelling loud enough to attract all the vampires in the entire forest.

XXX

Despite the quick pace they still had quite a long journey. This was not made easier by the fact tht Zoro seemed to keep getting lost every five minutes. Usopp and Marco would look at each other fearfully before darting off after the idiot. And even after a stunt like that the green haired idiot still had the nerve to continuously ask if Marco was lost! Thankfully enough the view of the tiny cabin finally shut the swordsman up.

"Get back here Chopper!" They heard a familiar voice call as a brown streak rushed by them. A familiar figure was quick to follow. They watched with interest as Luffy lunged at the creature hugging it tight so it couldn't get away.

To their immense surprise it appeared to be a stark naked creature with fluffy brown hair and large innocent eyes. He stared up at them in fear as he wiggled out of the kids hold darting back into the cabin.

Luffy frowned as he pulled himself up to his elbows wiping dirt off his cheek.

"Good to see you?" Marco said still a little surprised.

Luffy turned to them surprised. "Oh your back!" He said with his usual infectious smile.

"Er… what are you doing?"

He seemed to remember his previous task at that moment as he once again took off after the naked little boy.

"Chopper come back here!" He yelled tearing through the house.

"Er, Luffy?" Usopp called as he crept closer peering inside.

"You can't make me!" Came the defiant cry from the little animal.

"I don't like them either but Sabo says humans have to wear clothes."

To their surprise it was Ace who answered the door much more gracefully this time in comparison. He leaned against the frame fixing them with a confident smirk.

"Don't tell me? Are you in trouble already?"

"Nothing like that." Marco told him thankfully.

Ace nodded thinking for a moment before moving aside to let the three of them in. "Well then."

Marco noticed that most of his cold anger towards them had disappeared. While they probably weren't the people he wanted to see on his doorstep so early in the morning at least he didn't hate them like he used to. Marco didn't know if it was tht he had decided them trust worthy individuals or simply the fact they accepted him even after finding out he was a wolf. It was probably a mix of the two thing. Either way it was a welcomed change.

"So what's going on here?" He asked curiously as he watched Luffy chase the child.

Ace shut the door turning to deal with the problem before them. "That's Chopper we are watching him for a friend… Luffy's in charge of him."

"Why?" Zoro deadpanned as a smirk crossed Ace's face.

"Well for one thing it keeps them both busy. Secondly Chopper is the only person on earth who can tire that kid out."

It was true. It would seem Luffy had finally met his match babysitting this thing. They watched as he lunged over the table as the tiny creature narrowly avoided his outstretched fingers.

"What is that thing?" Usopp asked curiously as he peeked over Zoro's shoulder.

"Chopper," Ace told them. "He is a reindeer hybrid."

"Are you for real?"

Ace nodded oblivious to their shock. Apparently he couldn't see what was so surprising about that.

Marco was about to ask how that was possible before a groan cut him off. "Why is it so loud?"

They turned to see Sabo standing in the stairway yawning. Ace smirked at this as he moved to hand his brother a mug of coffee.

"Up late last night were we?"

Sabo nodded as his head fell on Ace's shoulder still half asleep. He mumbled something incoherent only to be shaken awake again.

"What were you doing?" Marco asked curiously as he observed them.

Sabo yawned widely as he looked up, seemingly noticing them for the first time. He composed himself before wiping the sleep out of his gaze as he straightened. Marco got the notion he didn't want to show weakness in front of them.

Despite the good will between them and the other two brothers apparently it didn't extend to Sabo. He was the brother they had spent the least amount of time with and honestly he was a bit of a loose cannon. But if he had to guess Marco would say his affection for them hadn't increased much since their first meeting.

"The woods have become very hectic lately," Sabo said with a small cryptic smile of his own. "There is plenty of things to keep an eye on around here.

"And Sabo has his eye on everything around here." Ace said shooting a grin at his brother.

"Oh like you can talk," Sabo shot back hitting his arm lightly with the now empty mug. He was wearing the honest smile he had only for his brothers.

Marco watched them through half lidded eyes trying to hide his interest. He had always had a knack for observing, even if it sometimes bordered on nosey. There was a subtle difference in how Ace reacted with Sabo then how he did with Luffy. If he had to give it a name it would be protective and occasionally possessive of the younger one. He kept him in close sight and everyone else away from him. This contrasted the teasing competitive banter he had with Sabo. This made sense considering Ace and Sabo looked to be about the same age and Luffy was his baby brother.

He looked over at the other two to see if they were listening. Instead their interest was fixed on the little raccoon creature.

"Oy Luffy!" Zoro called. "Need any help?"

Luffy yelped as Chopper leapt over him, using his back to springboard his escape. He crashed to the floor only to pull himself back up determined this time. Chopper was laughing hysterically at this as he teased his friend.

"No!"

"You sure?" Zoro egged. "Bet I can catch him faster."

"Like you can human," The creature called ducking behind a wall in a horrible reverse attempt of hiding.

"Your so on!" Luffy challenged fixing Zoro with a determined glare. The two of them scrambled after the creature leaving Usopp to run after them.

"It's too early for this," Sabo said rubbing his temples.

"You were the one who told Luffy to make Chopper wear clothes." Ace pointed out.

"I thought it would keep them busy," Sabo argued weakly. To his credit it definitely kept them busy. Just not as quietly as he was hoping.

"The one time your plan backfires." Ace laughed.

Taking advantage of the privacy Marco pulled out his phone. "Actually there's something I need to tell you guys."

Ace and Sabo shot each other a look, picking up on his change of tone.

Checking to make sure the four of them were fully occupied he showed them the pictures watching their reactions carefully.

"What the hell?"

That seemed pretty fitting. Basically his reaction as well. "My phone was stolen and left in front of town hall."

He nearly jumped as Ace growled giving Sabo a more serious look. The blonde's attention however was fully invested in Marco. As if he was a news broadcaster.

"Who saw it?" Ace asked impossibly tense.

"Not many people, it was intercepted by Oyaji." Marco assured him. "Although Garp did see it."

Ace nodded slowly mulling it over. He clearly did not look happy at the revelation but there appeared to be more at stake here then he was aware of.

Sabo frowned looking at the picture again. "Who on earth could have taken it?"

"And why did they use my phone?" Marco grumbled.

"What did Garp say?"

Marco frowned as the confusion came flooding back to him. Considering the teen usual approach to questions he wondered if he should even bother trying to get some strait answers.

"Well he thinks its you two. But he is alone in that opinion as everyone in convinced you are dead."

When Ace didn't say anything he grew curious.

"So… how did you manage to pull that off?"

"Huh?" Ace looked up sharing a glance with Sabo.

"Why do you want to know?" Sabo challenged politely.

Marco shrugged playing it off casually. "Well I was a little curious to be honest. They said that Luffy lost too much blood to possibly survive." To his surprise Ace and Sabo looked at each other, twin smiles blooming across their face.

"Told you it would work." Sabo said smugly.

"You just love saying I told you so don't you?"

Marco looked between them lost. Clearly he was missing something. "You two did that?"

Ace and Sabo shared another look, more serious this time. He felt like they were having a silent conversation.

"Some of it," Ace admitted earning him a huff from the blonde as Sabo had clearly voted against telling Marco. Still he felt a little flattered that Ace was starting to trust him. Even if it still wasn't very much.

"The blood on his clothes was real. He nearly bled out." Ace's expression was somber as if he was remembering something extremely unpleasant. Marco also noticed how his voice got lower.

"The blood surrounding the area was rabbit blood." Sabo injected.

Marco nodded slowly. That would make sense. This way even if they tested it they probably wouldn't bother with the surrounding bloody dirt as well. He also noted Ace didn't bother bringing up why thought he was dead or how they even knew him. But he figured he should stick to simpler questions.

"So why did you do it? Surely his family is worried about him."

Sabo and Ace looked at each other once again obviously wondering how they should phrase this. "In their own way they might be," Sabo said tactfully. "But for now it's probably best if they think he died."

Ace huffed crossing his arms as he turned away. "They better feel bad after the crap they pull…ooof." He groaned as Sabo elbowed him in the ribs.

Marco frowned at that. So they actually intended for his family to think he died. But Ace had said 'they' instead of him. From what he could tell all Luffy had was a dad and grandfather. It sounded like Garp was just as clueless about this as everyone else so that just left Dragon. One man was hardly considered a group. Who could the others possibly be? He doubted they were going to tell him anything else so he opted to tactfully let the subject drop.

The more he learned the more confused he became. He had thought they were just three brothers toughing it out in the woods. Then it turns out Ace was a wolf Sabo a vampire and they weren't even related. Sabo was a high ranked noble only for him to turn down all that power to live in a tiny cabin with two different boys from another species. Luffy was supposed to be the fiercest hunter of the bunch but apparently threw all of that away and was 'better off dead'. He gave up humanity for a world full of monsters waiting to eat him the first chance they got. Instead of hunting the monsters he lived with them. And last was Ace. The supposed Prince of wolves but from what Marco had seen that was not true. He knew next to nothing about Ace except Garp seemed to know of him without actually knowing him.

Marco was startled out of his thoughts by a victorious cry.

"Got him!"

The three of them looked over at a pile of tangled limbs. Together Luffy and Zoro were holding a wiggling Chopper.

"Nooo!" The little creature wailed.

"Is wearing clothes really that bad?" Usopp asked skeptically.

Chopper looked up at him as if he just noticed the long nosed teen for the first time. He blinked silent for a moment before screaming.

"Gah! Another human. Get away from me."

Usopp jumped at that, clearly not used to being on the receiving end of fear. He knelt down besides the creature with a frown. "It's Usopp not 'you human' and I'm not scary."

"What are you even doing in the forest? I thought humans didn't come here."

"We had to visit Luffy." Zoro spoke up from besides him.

Chopper calmed at that not expecting that answer. He turned to Luffy a serious expression on his face.

"Are you in a gang?"

Luffy laughed at that. "No stupid that would be…" He paused for a second thinking it over carefully. "Really cool!" He finished.

He turned to Sabo and Ace, his eyes wide with excitement. "Hey can…"

"No!" They said unanimously cutting him off.

"But!"

"Nope!"

He pouted as he turned away muttering 'stingy' under his breath.

"Were friends," Usopp explained carefully.

Chopper looked between them confused. "Friends? Like you play together?" Well that was one way to put it. While not incorrect it was a bit of a broad term.

"Sure, why not."

Chopper nodded thinking carefully. He looked up at Usopp puffing his cheeks in determination. "Your Luffy's friends?"

They nodded.

"I'm his friend too! And friends share stuff so does that mean we are friends too?"

Usopp and Zoro looked at each other lost for words. Things usually didn't mean people. That logic also wasn't grounds for friendship. But they could hardly tell the little creature that.

"Sure," Usopp said after a moment. He offered his hand to the creature only for him to lick it.

"You're supposed to shake it," Luffy told him sitting back on his heels.

"Why would I do that?"

"Just go with it," Ace called. "Humans like their stupid gestures."

Chopper nodded understandingly. "Alright," He held out his hood shaking Usopp's awkwardly.

"Friends it is then."

"You too Zoro!"

"This is stupid."

"Say it or he will bite you."

"Friends." The swordsman said coming over to kneel in the small group on the floor. His expression quickly changing into a grin as he saw Choppers impossibly large smile.

.

Chopper made friend's yay! The SH are coming together slowly but surely. Marco is also getting closer to Ace while Sabo stays distant. We got some more insight into Luffy's situation. Even though it seems like we have a good idea of what went down there is still a lot more to come. This was just a small piece of the story and a lot of the information from whitebeard was wrong/ simplified. I know I already said this last chapter but from here the focus is going to shift into Sabo's past more. There will still be hints and clues about Luffy's and Ace's though. Anyways I hope you liked the chapter. Please tell me what you think.

Lostdog200: Aww thank you! It was a fun summer even if it was super stressful. I'm really glad you liked it! It's nice to hear it made you happy. Hopefully you will like this chapter as well.

Amy: So I will go into it later and it is a bit of spoiler but Gol D. Rodger was king of wolves. So Ace has no official title but genetically that's what he would be. (but shhh it's a secret) I'm glad you liked the chapter! It was really fun to write. This one is a little mellower but we get some character growth. Thanks for such a nice review