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Warnings at end of chapter
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
EAST BLUE, REVERSE MOUNTAIN
"We have to turn the ship or else we're going to crash!" Ace shouted at us over the roar of the waves.
"I'm working on it damn it! Someone man the rudder!" I screamed back while frantically creating waves to push us away from our imminent death by Red Line.
"The rudder won't budge!" Skull yelled back.
"Ari! Hurry up!"
"I'm working on it!"
Right before our ship was about to crash into the Red Line I was able to finally get us back into the current going up the mountain. Once that was done I collapsed onto the deck.
"That. Was not fun." I said while panting.
"But we made it!" Ace said while laughing.
"Hell yea we did!" Deuce said before high fiving Ace.
"To the Grand Line!" Skull shouted.
"To the Grand Line!" They repeated.
"No going back now I guess. So ya to the Grand Line. Yay." I said while giving a half hearted wave.
"We need to make a toast! Skull mugs! Deuce Booze! Kotatsu keep being adorable! Ari stop crying on the deck!"
"I am not crying! I am trying to breathe after I just SAVED OUR LIVES thank you very much!"
"Yea but we made it! Come on this is the real start of our adventure!" Ace said with a huge smile plastered on his face.
Ugh, that is so cheating...
I just groaned and glared at him before picking myself up before walking over to him while Skull and Deuce came back on deck. Drinks were passed around and we all looked to our captain.
"Alright guys it was a little rough but we made it and we'll be in the Grand Line in a few minutes. So here's to the Spade Pirates!"
"Yea!"
"Let's do this!"
"Meow!"
"This is a cluster fuck but let's do it!"
Just as we all cried out and raised our mugs together we crested the top of Reverse Mountain. The air was suddenly much colder but we were all running on such adrenaline highs that we hardly felt the bite of the wind. And just like that we were hurtling down the other side of the mountain and onto the Grand Line.
"I can see it! Guys I can see the Grand Line!" Skull said while pointing forward.
Ace just put his hand on his hat and said "Finally."
Well looks like there's no turning back now...
I nudged him and said "Hey, let's go show them who we are." Ace smiled.
After a few more minutes of riding the current we finally entered the Grand Line proper.
I always thought that crossing Reverse Mountain would take longer. Huh, oh well. But oh my dear sweet Paradise it's good to be back! Finally I'm back in a place that actually makes sense! I missed you…
I was taking a moment to appreciate the fact that I was finally back into my home sea when Deuce spoke up.
"Um, you guys are also seeing the giant whale right?" Deuce asked.
I looked over to see the guys all gaping at the massive island whale that was floating a ways away. "Oh that must be Laboon. He's bigger than I thought he would be."
"The giant whale has a name?"
"Of course he does. I've never met him myself but I've heard plenty of stories about him." I said.
"Right. Stories about the giant whale."
"You seem to be very caught up on the fact that he is a giant whale."
"Because he's a giant whale."
"And? You've never seen big animals before?"
Ace decided to join in our little discussion by saying, "Really Deuce? We had a ton of giant animals back home. Not as big as him but big."
"Right they're everywhere. Not that weird." I said while Ace and I nodded to each other.
"So are you guys just going to talk about giant whales and ignore the old dude staring at us?" Skull asked.
"What old dude?" Ace asked.
"That old dude."
"Oh that old dude. Yea we should probably just ignore him and continue on our way." I said.
"But that's rude. He looks like a nice old dude. See he's waving at us." Ace said while waving back. "Hello!"
"Come here I want to talk to you!" The old dude yelled at us.
"Ace I wouldn't." I warned.
Ace just ignored me and told Skull and Deuce to start steering the ship over toward the old dude that could only be Crocus.
"Hello! My name is Portgas D. Ace but you can call me Ace." Ace said with a bow once we were close enough to speak comfortably.
"Portgas. Sure. Anyways my name is Crocus and I'm the lighthouse keeper of the Twin Capes." He said.
Questioning his name now are we? Just what are you playing at old man?
"You said you had something you wanted to talk to us about. What can we help you with?" Ace asked, being his ever so happy go lucky self.
"It's better if you come inside. Just you." Crocus said.
"It's a nice day out surely we can talk here."
"I doubt you want the rest of your crew hearing what I have to say."
"What makes you say that? I trust my crew."
"You changed your name."
"Excuse me?" Ace said darkly.
"Like I said you should come inside." Crocus said before walking inside his house.
Ace looked ready to start a fight but after looking at Deuce and Skull, who were talking amongst themselves, he quietly turned to me and asked, "Who is this guy."
I stepped close to him while also angling myself away from Deuce and Skull. Then I said, "He used to be Roger's doctor. He probably knows who you are given his behavior."
"Should I talk to him or should we leave." He asked.
"I've never met him so I'm afraid that's up to you Captain."
"Come with me." He said before jumping onto the land near the house.
"We'll be back in a little bit. Watch the ship." I said to the others before following him.
When we walked inside it was to see Crocus throwing a newspaper on the small table in the center of the room.
"Ok we're inside so talk." Ace said harshly.
"You've got some nerve coming into my house and using that tone of voice." Crocus said while digging through an old filing cabinet.
"YOU TOLD US TO-"
"Is that you?" Crocus interrupted while pointing to the newspaper he had thrown on the table. After looking more closely I saw that Ace was on the front page. "Says there that you and your 'Arrowhead Pirates' were causing some trouble over in the East."
"Arrowhead Pirates? What no we're the Spade Pirates. But when was I in the paper? Did we miss something before we left East Blue?" He asked while picking up the paper.
"Well it has been pretty stormy the last couple of days and I didn't see any news coos so we probably just missed one." I said.
"You've been pretty busy, haven't you boy? You know you should really be more careful doing things like that with a face like yours." Crocus said.
"There a problem with my face?" Ace asked.
"Only if you consider being the spitting image of your father a problem."
"Excuse me?" Ace said darkly.
Come on Ace keep it together we do not need you starting a fight with this man right now...
"Don't get over feisty now. I used to sail with Roger so I'd recognize that mug of his anywhere. Even if he never had freckles. But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm assuming that you didn't know your dad all that well, right?"
"I never met the dead beat."
"Watch it boy. The crew might be disbanded but that's my captain you're talking about." Crocus snapped.
"Well you must not have known him very well if you don't know about all the shit that he put me and my mom through." Ace snapped back.
Seeing where this was going I decided that it would be best if I intervened. I said, "I think we should all calm down. Crocus, you had something you wanted to tell us. If you would be so kind as to share what that was then we can be on our way."
Crocus huffed before saying, "Right. Boy, do you know what Roger died of?"
"Obviously, a sword to the neck." Ace said.
"He chose to go out that way so that he wouldn't die of the incurable disease he had."
Oh, so that's what this is about...
"He was sick?" Ace asked.
"Yes he was and I thought you'd like what little information I have about the disease, seeing as it is likely hereditary."
Ace just sat quietly once he heard what Crocus said. I glanced over at him and saw that he had moved his hat to shadow his eyes.
"You'll have to forgive me as biology was never my best subject. But Roger was well into his 50's when he died so what makes you think that Ace would also contract the disease?" I asked.
"I studied it for years and only scratched the surface of what that disease was. But I do know that Roger would have already had it when this one was born. So there's a good chance that it could have been passed on. He might never get it, he might not get it for decades, or he might get it tomorrow. Who knows. I can't do anything about it but give you a warning." Crocus said before tossing a small journal on the table. "That's a copy of all the notes I took. Do with them what you will."
Ace stood up and walked out as soon as Crocus finished speaking. I picked up the journal and newspaper before nodding to Crocus before saying, "Thank you. We'll be on our way now."
"Only did it for Roger. So don't expect anything else from us." He said.
"Don't worry I won't." I said before slamming the door behind me.
When I got outside Ace was nowhere to be seen but I could sense that he was already on the ship. I quickly jumped back onto the ship and walked over to Skull.
"Skull I trust that you understand how the log pose works right?" I asked.
"I'm pretty sure. Doesn't seem too difficult, and it's already pointing in a different direction so that means it's locked onto an island right? But is Captain Ace ok? He seemed upset and didn't want to talk to us." He asked.
"He'll be fine. Just set sail and head for whatever island the pose is pointing toward." I said before turning to go below deck. I started looking for Ace and had to suppress a shudder when I realized that he was in the cargo hold. I walked over to the stairwell that led down to where he was and froze.
Ugh why does he have to be down here of all places?
I heard the waves hit the side of the ship and immediately tensed up.
Hahaha good…
NOPE! NO! WE ARE NOT GOING THERE RIGHT NOW! Stop thinking about that! NO NO NO NO NO NO! Fuck, keep it together it's just a cargo hold he isn't here this isn't even on this ship. You just need to find Ace and then you can get out of there...
I forced myself to walk through the cargo hold until I found Ace sitting in a corner. "Hey Ace I know you probably want to be alone right now but I think we should talk. Come on we can go up to my cabin. I have a bottle of whiskey we could share." I said quickly while I could hear my blood pounding in my ears.
I need to get out of here.
"I really don't think we have anything to talk about princess." He said.
Oh come on do not do this to me right now!
I took a deep breath before saying, "Don't be stupid Ace. You're pissed off because of your dad right? Well who would understand better than me?" I felt myself force a smile as I said that.
Come on dipshit let's go!
"Damn it guess you're right but why don't you bring that bottle down here. I don't want the others seeing me like this or overhearing anything." He said.
"They're busy out on deck right now so they won't see you and they won't hear anything. Besides why would you want to hang out in the hold anyways? It's all dark and damp and musty and the waves are really loud down here! Let's just go up top. It's a lot nicer up there!" I said while trying to keep the panic out of my voice even though I could hear my voice getting higher high pitched as I spoke.
Damn it Ari get it together! You are supposed to be over this bullshit! Stop freaking out like a little bitch! COME ON!
"You don't like the sound of the waves? You were saying how much you loved them the other day."
"Not down here." I said quickly.
Ace stared at me for a minute and he must have seen something on my face because all he said was, "Ok." Before standing up.
Oh thank you.
If I ended up walking out of the hold at a bit of a rapid pace Ace didn't comment on it. Once I left the hold and was above the water line I immediately felt better and was able to walk at a more normal pace the rest of the way to my cabin. Once I was calmed down a bit I was able to pay more attention to Ace. More specifically, just how tightly he was holding his shoulders. It was obvious that he was extremely worked up right now. We made it to my cabin and Ace sat down at the small desk in the room while I pulled out the promised bottle of whiskey and two glasses. I poured him a glass before taking a long drink straight from the bottle. Then I poured myself a glass and sat down on my bed.
Figuring that he wouldn't be the one to start the conversation I said, "So that was a fun little chat."
That was more than enough to set Ace off as he started ranting, "Just who does that old fart think he is? Going on about how great Roger was. Yea right. Great my ass! After all the shit that he put my mom through! All the shit that I've had to deal with because of him! And now I might get some fucking disease becaue of him! As if it wasn't enough for the bastard to ruin my life now he has to kill me too!"
"I wouldn't say that he was-"
"I mean it's not like I give a shit about dying! But I just don't want to die because of something that asshole passed down to me."
"I know. But at least Crocus gave you information about the disease. We can find a good doctor and they can try and figure out something that he missed. You also might never even get sick in the first place."
"Yea he was just SO helpful. I'll try to restrain my joy. And also why didn't he have anything to say to you?"
"Probably because I don't look exactly like either of my parents and the only thing that is truly a copy of either of them is my hair. Which is why I dye it."
"Right so you can just dye your hair and no one suspects who you are. But what am I supposed to do when it is my face that is giving away who I'm related to?"
Oh I am so not in the mood for your attitude right now my friend...
"Deal with it. Sorry but I don't have a lot of sympathy for you getting a taste of what the last 7 years of my life has been. Especially when the person calling you out on your heritage is being helpful."
"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked.
"Until I left to go find you, everywhere I went, everyone I talked to would say something about Rayleigh. 'Oh your Silvers' daughter? Then you must be great with swords! You'll be a great pirate someday! You want to be a musician? Ha! Like any child of The Dark King could ever be something as useless as that!' Everywhere. I. Went. Crocus was at least mildly helpful. He was a dick sure but at least he wasn't mocking your life goals." Ace looked a bit shocked at my outburst and when he didn't say anything I sighed and said, "Look I'm sorry about the disease thing and I'm sorry that this is how we are starting our voyage on the Grand Line. But this is the reality of the world for people like us. We don't get the luxury of starting life with a clean slate. From here on everything we do will be compared to what our fathers did before us. Not everyone in the world will know about our parentage, true. But I can pretty much guarantee that the higher ups all over the world will."
"You really think that everyone already knows who I am?"
"Not everyone. The rest of the Roger Pirates most likely do because you do look a lot like Roger but once you start making a big enough name for yourself the World Government will start digging into your past and to be perfectly honest it wasn't that hard to find you. Garp did his best I'm sure, but at the end of the day subtly has never been his strong suit."
"So they know who you are? Is that why your bounty is so high?"
"They have their suspicions. But I also have friends in high places who are helping to keep the truth under wraps. But I have long since accepted that it is only a matter of time before they know who my parents are. I suggest that you do the same." I said.
"Great." He said.
"Ace, I'm not trying to make things worse for you right now but you need to know the risks of what we are doing right now. This isn't a game-"
"You think I don't know that? Hell you know what? I want those government ass wipes to compare me to Roger so that they can see just how much stronger I am when I surpass anything he ever accomplished. I'm going to blow his pathetic legacy out of the water."
"You'll need to train a lot harder if you want to have any hope of doing that."
"Oh don't you worry about my strength Air. I have plenty."
I hope that's true. For all of our sakes...
Warnings
-Descriptions of anxiety related to past trauma.
-Mild panic attack
-Both take place between the only 2 line breaks in the chapter, can be skipped with no problems with chapter enjoyment.
Welp that wasn't a fun chapter. .-. Sorry. Also if you look at what Roger looked like when he was 47 and replace his mustache with Ace's freckles they would be twins. Therefore I absolutely refuse to believe that the Roger pirates didn't know that Ace was Roger's son. Nope. Not possible. Also I wanted to get into the article about Ace in the paper but it just didn't fit here so I plan to open the next chapter with that. I think that will work much better. Also also, if you were hoping to see Sanji last chapter then we are in agreement! I wanted to include him so badly and had everything planned out for what would happen with them but when I got to writing that part the fic slapped me with a big NOPE. And I just couldn't fit in the interaction that I wanted no matter what I tried it was just awkward :( and I mean more awkward than my writing already is! Finally, in terms of my awkward writing if you would like to help make it less awkward by being my Beta then hit me up :) Anyways thank you again for reading!