Hello Friends! Only one more chapter! I can't believe this fic is almost done! But anyways enjoy this last little look into our boy Ace!
1/25/21 This chapter has been edited by WyrdFyre! No major changes really but it now has commas and proper spelling lol!
Warnings at end of chapter
THE NEW WORLD
Ok don't wimp out. Just keep low and wait for the right moment. Yea, yea this'll be easy.
I crouched down as low as possible as I slowly crept along the deck of the Mody Dick. I did my best to stick to the shadows, but it wasn't as if it mattered much. The vast majority of the crew had gathered on the main deck for a party. I hadn't bothered with trying to figure out what they were celebrating. I didn't care. I was only here for one reason and one reason alone.
Finally, I paused in my sneaking as I came to stand just a hair behind Whitebeard's massive chair. I pulled my knife from its sheath and took one last look across the deck to make sure that no one had seen me. But as I was ensuring that no one would alert the old man to his impending doom, something across the deck caught my eye.
Thatch was standing with a group of the commanders as he talked and joked with Marco. Ariadne stood close by him as the other commanders talked and laughed with her as well.
Well she's clearly at home here. They all love her…
So why the fuck was she on my ship for so long if this is where she really wanted to be?
I rolled my eyes.
Whatever if she wants to join these assholes then I don't give a shit.
It's not like she was ever going to stick around anyways...
Just as I was about to look away from her, she caught my eye and raised a hand to wave. Realizing that there was no point in continuing with my plan I just glared at her before standing up and walking away.
If I hadn't been so preoccupied with myself then I might have noticed just how tense and uncomfortable Ari actually was…
"Get your head out of your ass and actually dodge!"
"Oof that must have hurt."
"Come on you're better than this stop screwing around!"
What is that?
I had been wandering the ship while trying to figure out another way to attempt killing the old man when I heard a bunch of shouts coming from a doorway. Most of the shouts were corrections on what sounded like a fight but others were simply comments on one person or another getting their ass kicked.
Is this the training room or something?
I cautiously slipped into the room while trying to go unnoticed. However, my caution wasn't really needed as everyone was intently focused on the sparring match going on in the center of the room. In the open space in the center of the massive room Ariadne was sparring with Thatch.
Oh great now she's fighting with them too. Just like the good old pals they are. Wait… isn't he the one she was so excited to see again?
And wasn't he defending her the other day?
Is there something going on between them?
I pushed my way into the crowd so I could watch and glared at the two of them exchanging blows.
Thatch was using his sword that honestly just looked like an overgrown kitchen knife while Ari was fighting with her standard kicks. He swung his sword down and Ari jumped out of the way so quickly that I couldn't follow her movement. Thatch followed just a fast and they both disappeared. The only proof that the fight was even still happening was the sound of boots hitting steel.
Wa- what the hell? Since when is Ari this damn fast? Sure she's always been faster than me but damn, I've never seen her do this...
"You know I'm disappointed little Adne. I thought your devil fruit was just so useful, but you haven't used it a single time!" Thatch said in a lull in the fight.
I rolled my eyes as he said that.
No one is good enough for Ari to use her water. Obviously. I figured this guy would know her well enough to know that.
Ari stood with her hands on her knees as she panted lightly. She straightened up and said. "Well if you insist. Kraken."
Wait what?
Is she actually going to use her water to fight him? But she never fights with her fruit? She's always bitching about how fighting with a logia is too big of a weakness.
As soon as the word left her mouth 8 tentacles of water formed behind her and were immediately coated in haki. They clashed again but this time instead of disappearing in a flurry of attacks Ari moved in slow, powerful, fluid motions and blocked Thatch's every attack with her water. After a flip which had kicked away his sword Ari sent a tentacle to wrap around his ankle and tried to rip his leg out from under him. But he was still quicker and countered with his sword which left Ari sprawled out on the floor instead.
What the hell just happened?
"Impressive. But you've still got a lot to learn Shortstack." Thatch said slightly out of breath, with his sword pointed at her neck.
All I could do was stare in shock as the fight came to an end and a random person near me started talking. "Damn that girl is scary."
I glanced at him before shrugging and saying. "What, is Thatch one of the strongest commanders or something? She still lost."
Sure it was impressive but Thatch has to be the best on the ship second only to the old man right? That's why Ari lost? I mean she was even using her fruit so he has to be one of the strongest here to have beaten her so easily…
"Oh hey you're the new kid aren't you?" He asked, turning into face me.
"I'm not-"
He interrupted me with a shake of his head. "But no, Thatch is strong but he's nowhere near as powerful as Marco or Vista. But still the girl is really young to be able to keep up with him that well."
"But Thatch is one of the strongest on the crew. Right?"
He shrugged again. "Sure compared to you and me but he's still got nothing on Pops."
Thatch can't even compete with Whitebeard? He isn't even the strongest commander? And Ari can't beat Thatch? But…
I still can't beat Ari in a fight. So where does that leave me?
Idiot...
That means you're worthless. Obviously…
The random pirate had apparently kept talking while I was thinking and I just caught the tail end of what he was saying. "-but she still has an advantage on Thatch that she doesn't have on anyone else since he trained her so much over the years. So the kid is still decades away from being as strong as the rest of the commanders."
Which means I will never be able to beat Whitebeard…
I just shook my head to clear the thought and turned to leave the room.
I just wandered aimlessly after leaving the training room. I was hoping to find a place to think but wasn't trying all that hard. But I finally found a quiet spot down in the cargo hold where I didn't think that I would be disturbed. It was near the bow of the ship and was a small spot surrounded by boxes. I actually had to climb over a good number of crates to find this spot. So, feeling marginally safe in my hidey hole I pulled my knees up, rested my head back on the crate behind me and stared up at the ceiling.
What the fuck is going on?
How did I get here?
What am I supposed to even do now?
I let everyone down… I was supposed to be the strong one. I was supposed to be the one to make it to the top.
Guess I shouldn't be surprised that everything blew up in my face…
Like everything always does…
I let my head fall and my chin caught on my necklace. I brought a hand to it and ran my fingers over the smooth beads.
Oh yea I let her down too...
Dadan may have been a real bitch but she was still the closest thing I had to a mom after…
Mom
I was suddenly reminded of one of the last times I had seen her. It had been around my 5th birthday and I remember it was near sunset on a windy day. She was standing on the cliff overlooking the sea near our house. I still recall how her long hair and skirt blew in the wind but no matter how windy it got her flower never fell from her hair. She had walked out there after getting the morning paper that day.
"What are you doing out here mom?" I had asked after running up to her.
She rested her hand on my head while her other fist crinkled the paper. "Just thinking sweetheart."
"Are you ok? Do you want a hug?"
"I always want your hugs." She said trying to force a smile before picking me up and holding me close.
She had carried me inside and we had gone about our regular evening routine. It wasn't until she was tucking me in did she bring up what was in the paper.
"Ace, do you know who Gol D. Roger is?" She had asked.
My brow had furrowed. "Yea he's the meanie that left us here and made you sad!"
"No sweetie. I loved your father very, very much. And he-" She gasped as she started to cry. "And he died today."
She stopped talking and covered her face as she cried.
"Mommy…" I crawled up to her and hugged her as tight as I could.
She hugged me back so tight I could barely breath as she whispered. "I love you Ace. I love you so much. Please don't forget that!"
After that night she had only lived for one more week.
Exactly one day after my mother died Garp showed up.
"You doing alright there kid? Your parents asked me to take care of you should anything happen to them." He had said when he found me alone on the cliff near our house.
I scrubbed my hand against my face to wipe my tears. "Did they tell you that she died of a broken heart?"
"They said something like that."
"That bastard killed her! She waited for him for so long and he never came back! I hate him!" I yelled as more tears streamed down my face.
"I know kid but it wasn't all Roger's fault. Rouge… she had a lot of health problems. The pregnancy was real hard on her."
"Wha- what does that mean?"
"It means when she had you it was really hard on her body. It made her weak and she never got better. She couldn't."
"I- I made mom sick?"
Forcing the memory from my mind I let my hand fall from my beads and I looked up at the ceiling again.
Of course I was the one to kill mom. The only person who actually gave a shit about me…
And I killed her.
What the fuck was even the point of this? I should have- no.
I knew that it would end up like this. What the fuck was I thinking…
Me? Someone important? Someone powerful?
What a joke.
I should just end this bullshit now. I should-
Ace promise me you won't die!
Luffy's voice ran through my head and I gasped at the force of the memory.
Right… Luffy's waiting for me.
He's waiting for me to become someone important. Someone powerful…
I can't- no. I WON'T let my little brother down.
No. It doesn't matter who I am or what I am. It's his fault that everything is fucked up.
I am going to kill that old man even if it's the last thing I do.
With my mind made up I stood and climbed out of where I was hiding.
I have an old man to kill.
It was only a matter of minutes to grab the massive axe I had found laying around and to run up to the deck. Once I got there I didn't even pause and just rushed the old man from behind. I jumped up as high as I could and swung down the axe towards his head. But just like every other time the old fart was faster and smacked me over the side of the ship. I landed with a splash and immediately started to sink.
Fuck.
I opened my eyes to find that I was back on board the ship. Again. I was in the infirmary. Again.
"Oh good you're awake." I turned to see Deuce standing next to me.
He was in a lab coat and was looking over a clip board.
"You know if you keep getting the shit kicked out of you for no reason I'm going to stop treating you." He continued without looking up from his clipboard.
I rubbed at my eyes and said. "It's not for no reason. I need-"
"To beat Whitebeard yea I know. Believe it or not I have heard that one before a time or two. But that-" He was interrupted by a flurry of nurses rushing in the room.
"Oh doctor!" One of them said as she came to drape herself over him.
What the hell?
"I told you not to call me that. I dropped out of medical school."
She kissed him on the cheek. "Oh don't worry about that. We aren't picky. Your strong hands know what to do and that's what counts." She winked before turning to walk away.
Oh great another of my crew is already one of the "family".
I rolled my eyes as he watched her walk away. "Well you certainly made yourself at home here."
He turned to glare at me. "Oh don't start with me. You're the one who dragged us into this mess. So don't blame me for doing what I have too in order to earn my keep."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked while struggling to sit up.
Damn that old man hits harder than Garp...
"Have you not seen the others?"
"What, the rest of the crew? I've only seen you and Ari and you're both looking very comfortable here-"
"Shut up." He cut me off by throwing his clipboard on the bed. "Yes I mean the rest of the crew but if you want to bring up Ariadne then you should know that she hates it here. I've talked to her a bit when you were still out of it. She's just waiting for you to get your head out of your ass and figure out what you're going to do so we can get the hell off this ship."
"I know what I'm doing! I'm going to kill Whitebeard!" I shouted.
He shook his head and crossed his arms. "You know the medical team here is one of the best I've ever seen. Sure a lot of the staff don't have licenses and yea the nurses are a bit questionable. But the equipment? And the doctors? They are top tier and they know what they are doing."
Umm what?
I blinked at him in confusion. "Ok? Good for them. I don't give a shit."
"Yes, I know you don't but you need to. This entire set up is here solely for Whitebeard."
"So what? Is he sick or something?"
"Everyone's health goes down as we age."
Why did I have to get stuck will all the people who talk in nothing but fucking riddles. Just say what you want to say damn it!
I rolled my eyes. "I still don't see why I am supposed to give a shit."
"I mean that Whitebeard is past his prime. He wouldn't even have a chance against Roger in his condition." He said as he let me finish his statement.
And neither would you...
I forced myself out of the bed and stared him straight in the eye. "So you're saying I should just give up because I'm so damn weak I can't even beat an old man."
Don't forget who the captain is here Deuce.
He didn't even flinch as he stared back at me. "I'm saying that you need to stop thinking about just yourself and actually consider the effect you actions have on the rest of the world. We all followed you here because we believed in you and we still want to. But ever since you lost to Whitebeard you've been behaving like a petulant child. The rest of the crew is working to earn what we eat, but you just pout and take whatever you want. You need to grow up Ace."
I leaned back a bit and before I could respond he said. "I thought you were better than this. We all did."
He shook his head and turned to walk away.
Warnings:
Standard Ace angst through out the chapter