Hello Friends! So we are quickly nearing the end of this story and I just finished the last chapter last night! This has been a lot of fun and I can't wait to see your guy's reactions to the rest of it! So please enjoy this one off chapter that is from neither Ari or Ace's perspectives! Hopefully I did my boy Thatch justice XD
This chapter has also been edited by WyrdFyre. Thanks again!
Set List:
Next Right Thing, Kristen Bell (It's only one line please don't kill me Disney)
Warnings at end of chapter
THE NEW WORLD
I watched as Ariadne calmly walked through the wall of flames. She held her head up high as she moved confidently across the charred battlefield and up to her captain. She kept her eyes on Pops as she kicked the shouting teen in the stomach. She then casually stepped in front of him, crossed her arms, and stared straight up at Pops. A few words passed between the two of them before she turned around and swiftly kicked her captain once more, finally knocking him unconscious.
Well someone isn't a scared little girl anymore. But still, I wonder what that all was about?
"Looks like someone grew a spine." Marco said for his spot next to me.
I glanced at him, before looking back to where Adne was talking to Pops. "Well you couldn't expect her to stay a little kid forever now could you?"
"No but last time we saw her the kid could barely get a sentence out when talking to ME and now she can stand her ground in front of Pops? That's almost impressive."
"She's always been strong willed." I said with a smile.
He shrugged. "If you say so."
What's that supposed to mean?
Our conversation was interrupted by Pops walking back up onto the ship and calling out to Marco. "Marco. Take your boys and go round up the rest of the Spades. They're coming with us."
"Sure thing Pops." Marco said before starting on gathering his division and a few nurses as well.
Once Pops was back on board, I noticed Adne standing on the edge of the gangplank, staring at the deck. She looked nervously from the deck to the men moving around, and then she took a few deep breaths, pulling her jacket around herself tightly. It looked like she was trying to psych herself up to set foot on the ship.
Well that won't do. I mean sure it's been a few years and she didn't leave on the best terms, but she's still family.
I walked over to her and lightly flicked her on the forehead. Her head popped up and her eyes went wide.
"Thatch…"
I only had a second to see her eyes start to tear up before she launched herself at me and hugged me tightly.
Guess she missed me.
I laughed before hugging her back. "I missed you too shortstack."
Her arms tightened and I patted her head lightly while she mumbled into my chest. "You know I can't hear you right?" I asked with a chuckle.
She took a step back before smiling up at me wetly. "I just really missed you."
She stood there wiping her eyes and I took the moment to actually look at her for the first time in 3 years. Physically she didn't look all that different. Sure her hair was blue and her frame had filled out a bit more, but she still looked like the same Ariadne who had walked off the ship all those years ago. But when I looked at her eyes I could tell just how much she had changed. Where her eyes had once shone with the hope for a better, kinder life, they were now dulled by the truth of the world. Those eyes belonged in the face of a grizzled old man who had spent decades suffering through the hardships of the world, not in the youthful face of a teenage girl.
What the hell happened to you Ariadne?
I pasted on a smile and threw an arm around her shoulders before leading her onto the ship.
"Well you're back now. So let's go get you settled in." I said in as chipper of a voice as I could manage. "It's been forever since you were last here so we have lots of catching up to do."
She hesitated and turned to look back at the island.
Oh right she came here with her crew.
"Your crew will be fine. Marco is taking care of them so even if they get a little beaten up he'll be there to patch them right up."
"I know I just-" She looked down. "I don't want Ace to wake up without me."
"He'll be fine!" I said.
She just stared up at me with big wet eyes.
Ok, now those are the kind of eyes a teenager should have. Damn she looks like a lovesick puppy.
I sighed. "Ok fine let's go wait near the infirmary. That way you can be there when they finish getting everyone patched up and situated. The boy looks like Jinbe gave him more than a few good smacks."
After all there is no way in hell that kid could have given Jinbe a serious fight. He's probably lucky to have been able to keep up.
She looked down. "They were fighting for 5 days straight."
Wait… 5 days? THAT KID? Against Jinbe?
I looked back at the island where I could see a few of the nurses helping said kid onto a stretcher. "Huh, I heard the kid was strong but damn that's impressive."
"It only ended when they both passed out from exhaustion. So yea, Ace is really strong."
I looked back at her. "Stronger than you?"
She didn't say anything and just shrugged.
"Oh come on don't get all bashful on me now! I know you've been training like crazy over the last few years."
You wouldn't have been able to keep up with the Charlottes if you hadn't. You also wouldn't have that bounty on your head.
"I mean… I guess." She said as she started fiddling with the sleeves of her jacket again.
Actually, now that I think about it there is no way she left Totto without learning a shit ton of new techniques. Not that she wasn't strong when she left, but she has to be a serious threat now. Hell she is probably the reason her crew made it this far this quick...
"Actually. Why don't we go spar?" I asked suddenly. When she moved to protest I kept talking. "Come on it'll take forever for Marco to get everyone rounded up and then it'll take him even longer to get everyone checked out. We have plenty of time. Besides that kick you gave the fire brat looked pretty mean."
And a hell of a lot like Katakuri's if I'm being honest...
"I uh- I don't know. I really should stick with Ace." She said, looking around the deck nervously.
"Adne he'll be fine. Trust-" I was interrupted by a booming voice from across the deck.
"Did I hear you mention sparing?" Vista said loudly while walking over to us. "I've been following your exploits little Adne, and I've noticed a distinct lack of sword play from you."
Oh great, here we go with the swords… Come on man - I was trying to help her relax!
She fidgeted. "Well, it's not really my strongest skill."
"Nonsense! I didn't spend all those years training you just for you to give up! Besides, swordplay runs in your blood!"
Her spine stiffened and she just looked down silently.
"Now come along, I need to see just how your skills have changed. After all, I know you've been busy these last few years." He said as his eyes narrowed.
Oh right, Vista still holds that grudge against Big Mom from all those years ago...
I should probably make sure this doesn't get to ugly.
"Watch your damn feet! Stop lagging behind so much!" VIsta shouted before swinging his sword down on Adne again.
She rolled out of the way and fell onto her hands and knees as her sword clattered to the ground, out of reach. I winced as she knelt on the floor panting.
Ok, she is being a bit sloppy but come on Vista you know you're one of the strongest ones on the ship! Give the kid a break!
"I- I'm trying damn it!" She huffed out.
"You've gotten sloppy, try harder." He said before going in for another attack.
I was about to intervene and block the attack, as a razor thin stream of water appeared and deflected the blade. Just as that happened, Adne jumped up and disappeared with a splash of water on the floor.
"You realize turning into your elemental form just makes you a bigger target, right?" Vista taunted while looking around.
Yea, but where the hell did she go?
Just then, Adne appeared in the air behind him and swung a haki coated leg down towards his head. "But only if you can find me!"
But instead of landing the attack, Vista whipped around and grabbed her leg before throwing her onto her back on the floor.
I winced as she was slammed on the floor boards. She didn't move for a minute before rolling over onto her stomach, gasping for breath. Just as I was about to walk over to make sure she was okay Marco walked in.
"Well that looks like it almost could have worked Adne. Maybe in another 15 years you'll be able to land a hit on one of us." He said, causing everyone else in the room to start laughing.
Did he seriously not see what just happened? Ariadne, 17 year old Ariadne nearly landed a solid hit on Vista. One of the strongest commanders of an EMPEROR CREW, and she almost kicked him in the back of the head.
Does he really not notice how strong she's become?
I rolled my eyes and went to help Adne up from the floor. She stood and brushed herself off with a huff.
"You did good shortstack. You really have gotten a lot stronger." I said with a smile.
A weak smile rose on her face and she opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by one of the other crew members in the room who had been spectating.
"I mean yea, but to be fair she was fighting Vista. There is just no way someone like her could ever so much as scratch him!"
"Seriously!" Another said with a laugh while shaking his head. "But wait isn't she the daughter of Silvers Rayleigh?"
"Oh shit, yea she is! Hey girl why are you so shit with a sword if the former greatest swordsman in the world is your dad?"
"Don't you remember? She's the one who was dead set on being a musician. I mean I don't get why, always seemed pretty pointless to me. Like come on girl, there is no way in hell the daughter of THE Dark King is going to be fucking musician."
"Exactly! Which is why you should really spend more time training. You've grown a bit stronger but you have a long ways to go in order to live up to your potential." Vista said.
"I mean. Sure but she's still just a girl." The first one called out with a laugh.
The others burst out laughing but it only took one glance to see that Adne didn't find the joke funny. She stood there with her head down, her fists balled up, and her back quivering with the amount of restraint needed to keep the tears at bay. The others started to disperse as she stood there trying to make herself invisible.
I put an arm around her shoulders and leaned down to whisper. "You want to go hang out in my room and have some hot chocolate? It'll be just like the old days."
She didn't speak but she did nod her head stiffly without easing her tense pose.
As we were walking towards the door Marco called out. "Oh right Adne, I wanted to let you know that most of your crew is fine. But Ace is going to be out for a couple of days."
She nodded again and then kept on walking.
After getting settled in my cabin I quickly whipped up some hot chocolate in the small kitchenette.
"And here you are my lady." I said as I handed her the mug with a flourish. "My gourmet hot chocolate. Complete with double the sugar and vanilla."
Her eyes widened at the mug and a smile lit up her face. "You remember how I like my hot chocolate?"
"What can I say? I'm just that good." I gave a small bow. "Well, that and it's hard to forget a sweet tooth as big as yours Adne."
She giggled and took a sip.
Well, that was adorable.
Grabbing my own mug I went to sit on the other side of the table from Adne. After a minute I set my mug down and looked up at her.
"Ok so Adne. It's been 3 years since I last saw you and you look like a completely different person. You have to tell me what the hell happened to you after you left. You've definitely been busy but I can't keep track of what's real and what's rumor at this point." I asked while watching her closely.
Are you going to work with me or am I going to have to force the truth out of you like the old days?
She shrugged and averted her eyes as she sipped her hot chocolate. "Well where do you want me to start?"
"Big Mom? You somehow managed to get into her good graces? Which gotta say, is incredibly impressive."
And dangerous. What the fuck was she thinking going there?
"It really wasn't that hard." She said with a shrug. "You remember how my mother used to be a member of Rocks at the same time as Linlin?"
"Obviously."
"Well they were really close for a while there. She was also really close to Linlin's kids, mostly Katakuri and Perospero but still. So pretty much I just walked up, made my relationship to Shakky known, and they started calling me 'Little Cousin'."
I narrowed my eyes. "Right. The family known for executing their own fathers because they aren't a 'blood relation' just accepted you?"
There is no way it was that easy.
"Well not the whole family of course." She said with a smile that was trying to be coy. Trying, but not succeeding.
I nodded. "No of course not. Just the important ones."
"The ones who knew my mother." She corrected.
"Uh huh. Right. Well that's all well and good but Adne, she must have known that you sailed with us. There's no way she would trust you after that."
She sank back in her chair and pulled her jacket close. "It never came up actually."
Bullshit.
I sat back in my own chair and lightly glared at her. "Really. She never asked you for intel on us? Never asked-"
"I don't betray the trust of those who help me." She snapped, glaring at me.
I crossed my arms. "You may not have given them information on us but you certainly threw yourself into helping her crew. They say you wiped out entire islands on your own. You slaughtered thousands of innocents. The Adne I remember hated anything to do with fighting and didn't even want to cut meat in the kitchen. You-"
"It's not like it was that big of a deal. They were too weak to survive the New World, and they had no one to blame for their demise but themselves." She said with an eye roll.
"I don't buy it. I've known you too long and too well to believe that." I asked. "What the hell happened to you?"
She shook her head. "It's not like I had a choice. I-I thought that I belonged there. I wanted to belong there. And if I had to kill a few worthless people then so be it."
What the fuck made her into this?
"But all that blood. Just to fit in?"
"You say that like I had a choice." She scoffed. "If I didn't kill them then Big Mom would have killed me."
"Then why didn't you come back here? Why would you stay? Why would you do that?"
"You think that was an option? The crew hates me! They have never liked me! Hell, they don't even bother to pretend otherwise anymore!"
"Ok first of all, they don't hate you. And even if you didn't want to join the crew we could have taken you somewhere safe. One of our islands-"
"Oh shut up Thatch! You know damn well I would never be allowed to live out my life on a peaceful little island. That has, never and will never be, an option for me." She shouted.
I slammed my fist on the table. "Well maybe if you had given us the chance to actually try and help you then it could have been!"
"NO! When has this world EVER let me rest? When have I EVER been able to be at peace? I have never been allowed to do what I wanted with my life. And I never will be."
I sat back in my chair and I brought my hands up to rub at my temples as we lapsed into silence.
I was the first one to break the silence. "So then why did you leave?"
If it was so damn wonderful there why would you leave?
"Linlin wanted me to marry Peros." She said quietly.
"And you said no?"
She bit her lip and looked down. "No… He did."
Excuse me?
"Wait. You wanted to marry him?" I asked in disbelief.
What the fuck?
"No! Yes? Maybe I- I don't know." She shook her head. "I just knew that I wanted to stay there and I was willing to do anything to make that happen."
"Then what the fuck happened? Why aren't you Mrs. Perospero now?"
She looked down at her lap. "He said that I didn't belong there. And that I was 'trying to erase everything good about myself just to be accepted by people who didn't give a shit about me'. So he somehow convinced Linlin to let us wait until I was 20 to get married. I still don't know how he managed that but he did."
"Ok so then you still have 3 years before you have to go back. Are you going back?"
"I don't have a choice anymore do I? We're here and we both know that Ace won't give up on trying to kill the old man." She said with an eye roll.
"You could still leave."
"No. Not as long as Ace will let me stay."
"And why wait on him? Your crew is all but dissolved anyways."
She lifted her head and looked me straight in the eye as she said. "I love him."
I looked into her eyes as she said that.
Oh Adne, what have you gotten yourself into this time?
"So are you joining the crew?" I asked with a sigh.
Adne immediately tensed up at that. "I- uh- I don't know. That depends on Ace."
"So if Ace decides to join, you'll follow?"
"Of course."
"Because you want to or because you think you have to?"
"Because I love him."
"That doesn't mean you want to join the crew."
"Does that matter?"
"Why wouldn't it?"
"Because I'm not the kind of person who gets what they want." She said with a shrug. "I never have been and I never will be. Therefore my own wants and desires do not matter. All that does matters now is Ace."
"So you'd join the Whitebeard pirates as a fully fledged member? Take our mark and sail under it for the rest of your life? Just so Ace would be happy?"
"That's what I said isn't it?"
"So even though you hate the entire crew and Pops you would join us for Ace?"
"I don't hate the crew! I just- we just don't… understand each other."
I roughly pushed back from the table and got up to cross the room to my closet. There I started digging around until I found a box. I opened it and reached down into the bottom of it. From there I pulled out a small worn journal.
I dropped the journal on the table in front of Adne and said. "You forgot that I've known you since you were 10 years old shortstack."
She hesitantly opened it and drew in a sharp breath when she saw what was written in it. "So you still have my old songs. So what?"
I crossed my arms and stood in front of her. "So that is a preserved record of just how miserable you were on this ship for all 4 years you were here, written in your own words."
She rolled her eyes and threw the journal on the table. "I was a stupid little kid. That doesn't mean anything anymore."
I reached over and picked up the journal before flipping to a specific page. The words on it were barely legible due to the shaky handwriting and countless tear stains on it. "I've seen dark before but not like this. This is cold, this is empty, this is numb. The life I knew is over. The lights are out. Hello darkness I'm ready to succumb." I read aloud.
Adne rolled her eyes. "What can I say I was an angsty kid."
"10 year olds don't write something like that while crying so much that the words are all smudged out of angst."
"Well then, what do you want me to say?" She said with a fake smile on her face. But the smile couldn't hide the soul crushing sorrow and misery hiding in her eyes.
"Nothing. I just want you to think this through before you make a decision that I know you'll regret." I said before moving to walk out of the room. But not before leaving the journal on the table next to her.
I was whistling a random tune while wandering around the deck in the warm afternoon sun.
Days off are seriously the best!
I had been spending the majority of my time with Adne for the last few days. Even though she had been off the ship for over 3 years it was almost like she had never left with how close she stuck to my side. The few times that she wasn't with me she was sitting with that Ace kid in the infirmary.
I wonder if the other twerp on board is up yet? It's been a few days now so the boy has to be up right? Yea I should go check. I wonder if he is as obsessed with Adne as she is with him?
I wonder if he deserves her devotion...
With my mind made up I made my way across the ship, heading towards the infirmary where Ace had been unconscious since he was brought on board. Once I got to the railing in front of the door to said room, it burst open and the kid I was looking for rushed out. He paused at the railing just staring out at the sea before he turned around and sat down. He pulled his knees up and buried his hands in his hair.
Huh, well at least he's up I suppose.
"Hey you alright there?" I called out to the kid as I came to stand next to him.
"Who are you?" He asked attempting to stand but he ended up failing, so he stayed put on the deck.
I jumped to sit on the railing and pulled my leg up to rest on my knee while I watched the kid struggle. After a moment he gave up and put his face back into his hands.
"Hey are you still asleep?" I asked, nudging him with my foot.
"Where am I?" He asked after a minute.
"Oh, you're on our ship. The Moby Dick. But anyways, I'm Thatch, the leader of the 4th division. If you're going to be sailing with us let's try and get along shall we?" I said with a smile on my face.
Might as well try and play nice with the kid.
His reaction was instantaneous and he whipped around to shout. "Shut up!"
Or not.
I laughed as his face turned red. "Guess you're not a morning person. But do you want to know what happened after you passed out?"
"I didn't pass out." He said with the glare on his face deepening.
"No? So Marco didn't carry you back onto the ship because you were so out of it that you were completely unresponsive?"
"No, I mean I didn't pass out. Ariadne betrayed me."
"Wait what? How do you figure that?"
"Didn't you see what she did? I was going to finally get my chance to kill Whitebeard and she stole it from me."
I shook my head. "I hate to break this to you kid but if Adne was enough to knock you out then you don't have a chance in hell of taking out Pops. Adne likely saved you a month of recovery time."
"Shut up! You don't know a damn thing!" He shouted.
I shrugged. "Maybe not. But I know Ariadne and I know Pops. So I know that you would have gotten your ass severely beat, just like the rest of your crew, if Adne hadn't intervened."
"Wait what did you say about my crew?"
"Oh yea that part. Well they proved their loyalty and came to get you back after we brought you on board. So of course we beat the hell out of them."
"You bastard!"
"Relax kid. They aren't dead. In fact they're all on board right now."
"Where are they?"
I shrugged. "Around. You've been out for a few days now but they've been settling in pretty nicely from what I hear."
"Yea, I'm sure they are." He said before forcing himself to his feet and stalking away.
As the kid walked away I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose.
Well that went well. But I still don't see what Adne sees in that boy.
Sure he seems like a decent captain but he seems more like a dick than decent.
I sighed again and turned to walk the other way. As I turned I saw Marco walking towards me. "Oh hey man, what's up?"
He nodded to me. "Hey. Was that the new kid I just saw."
"Sure was. He's a feisty little one. Not the brightest, but he's definitely got spirit."
If you can call being an arrogant ass 'spirit'.
"Yea, but you should have known that just from what the papers say about him." He said with a smirk. "But I want you to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't cause too much trouble."
I groaned. "What? Why do I keep getting stuck with all the newbies?"
"Why are you complaining? You are the one who adopted Adne back when she first got here."
"It was different with Adne. You remember how miserable she was back then."
Kid was nearly starving herself; she was so depressed.
He wrinkled an eyebrow. "Not really. She's always been shy and quiet."
"No, she really isn't. She was just going through a lot of shit back then."
He shrugged. "Whatever. But you've always had a soft spot for her. What's with that?"
I shrugged. "I just know what it's like being the odd one out here."
He put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, what is that supposed to mean?"
"Well you remember how it was when I first got here right?" I asked.
"How could I forget the scrawny little kid with a kitchen knife trying to rob us?" He said with a laugh.
Wouldn't call starving on the street and getting desperate enough to attempt murder just for a scrap of bread funny but oh well.
I grimaced. "Yea, well it's just that it can be hard to tell when everyone is joking or not. Especially when you're that young."
He rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Thatch everyone was joking and you know that."
"I do now. But back then?" I shrugged.
"So what, you think Adne doesn't like us because she can't take a joke?"
I put my hands up and said. "All I'm saying is that the shit the crew says about her doesn't always sound like a joke. Hell I'm not even sure they are jokes half the time."
"Like what?"
"You know as well as I do that if she joined Adne would only be the second girl to join the crew after Whitey Bay. And that didn't exactly end on a happy note."
"We have the nurses." He said.
"Who aren't even real members of the crew. Hell they might as well be prostitutes who know how to give stitches."
"What does it matter if they sleep around? They're pirates, that's what we all do."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Oh come on Marco do not try and tell me that you don't hear how the crew talks about them. Even Pops doesn't respect them."
"Pops respects them plenty."
"Then why does he only call us his kids? We're his sons Marco. Not his kids. He purposely uses the male term."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that we shouldn't let Ariadne join the crew. She doesn't belong here."
"No, she doesn't. But that isn't up to us. Pops has made up his mind already. She's joining." He shook his head. "But whatever we need to go Pops called a meeting."
"Yea ok, fine let's go." I said as we started walking towards the meeting room.
Inside was a massive table surrounded by 17 chairs. All but three of them were filled, the only empty ones were for Marco, me and the unfilled 2nd division position.
We really need to find someone to lead that division. I mean I get that no one wants to replace that Oden dude but come on now it's been years!
I just shrugged and took by seat between Jozu and Vista.
"Well now that we're all here we can get down to business." Pops said after taking a drink from his keg of sake. "Alright, I think you know what this all is about."
"Ariadne?" Vista suggested.
"Well yes, but also the other little brat we picked up. What are your thoughts on Ace?"
"He seems like an arrogant little shit." Jozu said.
Izo nodded. "That's for sure. But then again he did let his crew at least try and escape when we showed up."
"And he stayed to fight himself." Marco said.
"How bad are Ace's injuries?" Pops asked.
"He was pretty beaten up. Given Jinbe's fishman karate, the kid obviously took some serious damage. But he's already up and complaining so he's fine."
Vista interjected. "But I want to know why he would attack us in the first place? Surely Ariadne told him that he wasn't strong enough to take us down."
"I think she did. Why else would she have knocked him out? She knew he couldn't win but she couldn't stop him from trying. The kid is a D after all." I said, chiming in for the first time with a shrug.
"Well that, and she could have just seen how things were going and knocked him out to try and get on our good side."
"Why would she do that?" I asked.
"Oh come on Thatch." He said with an eye roll. "I know you have a soft spot for the girl but you can't deny the fact that she doesn't have even a hint of an idea of what it means to be loyal to anything other than herself."
"Well why should she be loyal to us?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well none of you guys have exactly been nice to her. You all sit there saying that it doesn't matter who your parents are and then you turn around and constantly compare Adne to her father. Don't you think that's a little hypocritical?" I said.
Haruta popped up and said. "But Rayleigh asked us to train her!"
"Exactly! She didn't want to come here. It wasn't her choice and when she finally did have the authority to make her own decisiond she is mocked and belittled for them."
"I think we're getting a little off topic here." Pops interrupted. "Ace remember. I want him to join the crew. Do any of you have any thoughts on the matter."
Most of them shook their heads but it was Namur who spoke up. "He could have really hurt my people. I won't oppose him joining the crew but he'll need to prove he isn't a threat or a racist if he wants my approval."
Pops nodded. "That's fair. If the brat really does have a problem with fishmen then he isn't welcome here anyways. But I get the feeling that wasn't why he burned our flag on Fishman island."
I moved to stand up. "Ok cool is that all? I need to get started on dinner."
"Not quite we have one more matter to discuss." Pops said.
"You want Ariadne to join the crew right?" Marco was the first to speak up.
Pops nodded. "Yes I do. And I want her to take over the 2nd division before too long."
We all stared at him in shock for a minute before nearly everyone burst out in shouts.
He wants her to not only join but he wants her to be a commander?
"You can't be serious Pops!"
"Did you forget she sailed with Big Mom's crew?"
"She can't be trusted!"
"Alright, alright, enough." Pops said, quieting everyone down. "Why do you brats not trust her?"
"She sailed with Big Mom. Who knows what information she gave them on us. Hell she still wears the same jacket as Kata-fucking-kuri!"
Pops shook his head. "Then why haven't the attacks on our territory been better prepared? Ariadne could have told Linlin exactly where to attack to cause serious damage to our islands. But no such attacks have come."
"Ok but if she didn't give them information on us then how did she manage to get them to take her in?"
"Don't you think having someone that resourceful on the crew would be an asset?" Pops asked. Then he turned to me. "Thatch, you've always been closest to her. Do you think she should join us?"
No fucking way!
But I can't exactly tell Pops that...
I shrugged. "Adne's strong, smart, and resourceful. She would be a good member of the crew and an outstanding commander."
"But?" He prompted.
"But, I don't think she should join the crew."
"Why not? She said she would when she left."
"Yes, but that was over 3 years ago. I know that she doesn't exactly love the crew. And to be perfectly honest she just doesn't belong here."
"What, we aren't good enough for her?" Marco asked with an eye roll.
I turned to lightly glare at him across the table. "Because you guys haven't exactly been nice to her. Like ever. Pretty much the entire crew talks down to her whenever she's around."
"We're joking!"
"It doesn't always feel that way." I said before shrugging again. "But that's just what I've seen. I still think if we can get her to join then she would be a great member. I don't think we have to worry about her loyalty if she does join."
As much as I hate to admit it she is likely only loyal to herself. And that kid Ace.
For some reason...
"Ok, but even if her loyalty wasn't in question she's still a girl." Jozu said.
Haruta rolled his eyes dramatically and said. "Oh come on who gives a shit? She nearly knocked Vista on his ass! She's more than strong enough to keep up with the rest of us."
"While I agree I don't think it would be that hard to keep her off the front lines. We could make an exception for Ariadne, after all she wouldn't be the first woman on the crew." Pops said.
Vista shook his head and crossed his arms. "I still do not trust her but I will agree with whatever it is you decide on Pops."
Everyone else around the table nodded in agreement. Some in full agreement, while others more begrudgingly.
"Good. With that settled, Marco can you go find her and bring her here?"
"Sure." He said before getting up and walking out.
We weren't left waiting for long before Marco returned with Ariadne in tow. Marco returned to his seat while Adne was left standing at the end of the table awkwardly.
Pops watched her from the head of the table. "Ariadne, do you remember the promise you made to me when you left the ship 3 years ago?"
She nodded. "I do. But I'm afraid that doesn't matter anymore."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm the first mate of the Spade pirates." She said while looking straight at Pops.
"Your crew was defeated."
"But not disbanded. And until that happens I can not join you." She said.
"So let me make sure I have this right." He said leaning forward to rest his elbow on the table. "You followed that kid Ace when he came to challenge us even though you knew there was no way you would win. But you still came. Now after your crew has been defeated you still won't leave them? Even though you have the option to join the strongest crew in the world and become a commander? Why?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Because I don't betray the trust of those who help me."
Pops burst out laughing. "Well then thank you."
"For what?"
"For proving to the rest of these brats why you'll make a perfect commander one day."
She froze and gulped before saying "I- I um I guess."
Warnings:
Discussions of depression and self hatred through out the chapter. Adne is a sad bean and she needs to talk about her feelings sometimes.