It's a bit of a shorter chapter, so sorry about that... But! It's about Ace! Enjoy!
Ace sneezed, and narrowed his eyes, wondering who was talking about him. Not much I can do about it though, he thought, and shrugged it off. It seemed he was always two steps behind Teach, and he was growing tired of it. He turned to look behind him, hearing the shouting, and gaped. The restaurant owner was still chasing him?! He took off on a run, winding through some more streets on his way to the dock.
As he made it to the dock, he stopped in front of some fishermen, and gave them Teach's description asking if they had seen him, or his crew on the island. The men seemed puzzled, as if they wanted to agree, but weren't sure, so he tried picturing Teach, in order to give more detail.
They in turn described a few shady characters that they had seen a few days before, and while close… Ace couldn't be sure they were speaking of the same group. Some details were definitely off, and he had a hard time believing that Teach would go to the trouble of coloring his hair pink, or even wearing a wig. Everything else seemed the same though! he argued with himself.
At that moment, a hand gripped his shoulder, and he turned to see the restaurant owner in front of him, and hopping mad.
"What's the big idea?!" the man demanded. "You ate enough to feed ten men, and then you just run out without paying?!"
"What?" the fishermen asked, staring at him in anger.
"Look gentlemen, I'm very sorry, and believe me, I would have paid… if I had any money that is," Ace tried to reason with them. He smiled his most charming smile, but the men just came forward to grab him. "Aahh!" Ace yelled as they picked him up and carted him over to the river.
"And don't come back!" they yelled as they threw him in.
"Oh crap!" he said before the water swallowed him up.
"Ace… you just saved my life," Kiana said huskily, gripping his shoulders as she gazed up at him.
"That's just what I do," Ace replied, looking down slightly into her eyes. He wasn't much taller, but he felt she fit better that way. "You know, your eyes remind me of the ocean," he said as he pulled her into his arms and she blushed.
"I didn't realize you noticed them," she said with a smile.
They both turned as they heard Luffy shouting. "Oh! There he is!" Kiana said happily. "My most favorite captain ever!" as she pulled free and went running.
"Whhha-" Ace stopped, trying to speak, but was only able to push air through his lips. "Whhhoo-"
Ace woke with a start, feeling the pain in his stomach, and coughing up water. Panting, he felt the wood of a dock below him, and looked up to see a young girl looking at him with wide eyes.
"Where… What?" he asked, out of breath, and promptly passed out again.
"Just great…" the girl sighed, and went to get some help to bring him inside the house.
Ace opened his eyes slowly, not wanting the image of bright blue eyes to leave. But he sighed, and sat up, knowing they were gone. He looked around, noting that he didn't recognize the room he was in, and to make matters worse, had no idea how he got there.
He looked around wildly, seeing nothing but a shirt, which he grabbed and tugged over his shoulders. Why he bothered, he couldn't say, since he didn't button the thing, but it made him feel a little more presentable.
The house was small, but he didn't recognize it either. He was starting to panic, so he rushed outside ready to fight. He stopped short as he saw the small girl feeding some cows. His breathing erratic, he glanced around to see nothing but grass and farm. He could hear the water behind the house, and turned to see a water wheel nearby.
Things started to come back to him now… the dine and dash that went terribly wrong, the hope that he had come the right way to find Teach, and finally being thrown into the river without a chance of survival. He slowly walked over to the girl.
"Um, excuse me," he began and she turned with a smile.
"You're awake!" she said happily.
"Yes," he replied. "I believe… I have you? To thank for that?"
"Yes," she said with a bow. "I'm Moda,"
"Thank you very much Miss Moda, my name is Ace," he replied with a bow of his own. "How in the world did you get me into the house?" he asked. "You're such a little thing."
"My friends helped me," she said, giving one of the cows a pat.
"Moo," it lowed, looking at Ace, who flinched and stepped back.
"Oh... uh, of course," he replied.
"Would you like a drink?" she asked, and he couldn't think of why he wouldn't.
"Sure," he said, and she ran in the house. She came back out a few moments later, carrying a large mug and handed it to him. Taking a sniff, he was surprised to find it was ale, and took a swig.
"So Miss Moda," he said as he wiped his face. "You saved my life," he could see she was holding something, and he hoped it wasn't going to take him too far out of his way. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked. "To repay your kindness?"
She looked up at him with wide blue eyes, and for a moment, he wondered if he was seeing things. She held an envelope up by her face as she spoke.
"My parents, work on a galley vessel for the marines," she said hopefully. "The ship always comes back to the nearby base, G-2."
"And?" he asked.
"If you could deliver this letter to the commander there?" she asked with a smile. "I'm sure they'll send the galley to our island, and I could see my parents again."
Ace didn't have a prayer at refusing her. First of all, she saved his life, secondly, he wasn't doing anything else without getting some intel on Teach, and third… well, her eyes were haunting him a little.
"I'd be more than happy to Miss Moda," he said, and she jumped for joy.
"Thank you so much Ace!" she cried, and he felt like a hero.
She handed him the envelope and he handed her the empty mug. "I've got to find my bag, and my boat, and then I'll be off to deliver it," he said with a smile.
"Oh, your bag is in here," she offered, going back to the house. He followed her to get his things, glad that they were not lost in the water, especially his lucky hat. Before he could leave, she gave him a bundle with some bread and cheese, and his canteen that had been filled with water.
"If we don't see each other again Miss Moda, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you," he said, almost surprised that he meant it.
He walked along the river to the town, finding his boat quickly and hopping aboard. The last thing he needed was the townspeople throwing him in the water again. He took off as soon as his bag was stored, and stuffed the envelope in his pocket.
As he passed the small farm, he saw Moda at the dock waving to him. He held up her envelope in promise and gave a tilt of his hat, then sped off down the river.
It didn't take him too long to find the Navy base. Since his small boat didn't require him to use the sail unless he wanted to, he was able to make good time. He munched on the bread and cheese Moda had given him, but knew he'd need something more substantial very soon. As he saw the G-2 base in the distance, he smiled, looking around for a good place to infiltrate.
He saw several ships come and go while he waited to find a marine off on his own, and was curious as to what was happening around here. Finally he spotted his chance, and taking out a marine that had wandered away from the others for a smoke, he pummeled the marine and stole his shirt and hat. He even grabbed the bandanna and threw it over his neck.
And that's as far as I'll go, he thought to himself. I want to fit in, but not that much.
With that taken care of, he made his way inside as another ship docked.
Following the other marines that were dressed similarly, he found himself in paradise, or something close to it.
Self service, he read on the sign above a table filled with food. He followed the line and made his way to the table. "Is there… um a limit?" he asked an older woman who was refilling one of the bowls.
"You go ahead and eat your fill," she said with a smile.
"Really?" he asked, thinking that maybe marines weren't as bad as he thought. He grabbed two of the trays, filling the first one before he had cleared the first table. Putting it up on his head, and balancing, he hummed a tune as he began filling up the next.
He got several dirty looks, but he couldn't care less. Free food was free food, and Ace was not going to miss out on getting a full stomach. He sat down, and started making his way through the food, wondering how he was going to deliver Moda's letter. Perhaps he could simply slide it under the commander's door?
"If only we could get rid of those warlords, the grand line would be a much safer place," he heard a voice behind him say.
Yeah right, he thought. Whitebeard and Shanks are the only reason the other two haven't taken over the entire ocean.
"The other three are bad enough, but Whitebeard has to be the worst."
Ace stopped eating, and slowly turned around. "What did you say?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Whitebeard," the marine continued, unknowing of who he was provoking. "Not only does he terrorize the seas, but he takes on other pirates, and teaches them how to do it too! If he's not stopped soon, we'll never be able to stand up to him, with all the allies he's made!"
"And that's a problem?" Ace asked, standing up.
"A problem?! Hell yeah it's a problem!" the marine replied. "How'd you like to be under Whitebeard's thumb? I guarantee he's crazier than even Gold Roger was!"
Ace's hand shot out, pulling the marine to his feet. "What's the deal man?" the marine asked.
"The deal, is you apologize for saying what you did about Whitebeard, and I won't clock you!" Ace growled in his face.
"What? You're nuts!" the man replied.
"Wrong answer," Ace hissed, and rearing back, punched the man directly in the face, dropping him to the ground as his own hat fell off.
"What?" several marines around him yelled, and the commotion in the room had him almost regretting what he had just done. Almost.
He ran for it, as several marines started yelling his name. Apparently he was pretty well known, and without the hat, only the shirt wasn't enough of a disguise. Of course defending Whitebeard may have had something to do with that too…
He ran quickly, taking random turns throughout the base, until he finally chose a door at random and slipped inside.
"What are you doing soldier?" a voice asked, coming into the room. Ace grinned as he picked up the coat rack, and put the man out of commission. Grabbing his suit, he quickly put it on, and finding some makeup in the bathroom, drew on a fake mustache to match the man who was currently on the floor.
Finding a tray full of food, he started enjoying it, then hearing the marines running through the base in search of him, he stood out of view of the door, and ate the remainder of the dinner.
Before long, a marine came to the room and told him he was needed for a meeting. Seeing as he didn't have much choice, he grabbed a hat and followed the soldier to the military court meeting room.
He didn't speak, just grunted and nodded as he was spoken to, not wanting to give away that he was an impostor. He couldn't help gagging as he took a drink of coffee though.
"Horrible stuff isn't it?" the man next to him said, and Ace nodded.
"Why we keep drinking it, I've yet to understand," another added.
"It's fine, as coffee goes, it just needs something to counteract the bitterness, like cream," another stated.
"Sirs!" a marine saluted as he entered the room. "The top secret reconnaissance ship has returned!"
"Thank you soldier, dismissed," the commander of the base said as he stood.
Ace followed the others out, as they started towards the front of the base. He took another drink of coffee before he realized what he had done, and spit it back into the cup before leaving it on a windowsill.
That is truly vile, he thought.
He leaned back on the windowsill, wondering if it be too much to hope that something about Teach's whereabouts would be found in the top secret ship. He wouldn't know however, until he looked.
He grinned as a crafty thought entered into his mind. What was a pirate to do, after all? He didn't waste any time, opening the window and jumping outside. The ship was mostly blocked, but he could see enough to make his plan work. Taking aim he stuck his hand out like a gun, and shot small fireballs toward the rear of the ship.
Jumping back inside, he picked up his coffee, and sat, looking like he was simply enjoying his beverage until he heard the alarms going off. He threw the drink down and ran with the other marines to the docks, looking up at the ship that was fully ablaze. He gave a small smile, ready to jump in when he heard a marine nearby mention a man that hadn't gotten free.
That will make this a little more difficult, he thought, and taking a running start, jumped into the inferno. He could hear the yells behind him, but he focused only on what was ahead. Moving as fast as he could, he found what he needed, put it in his pocket, and called out for the survivor.
He heard the coughing in the next room, and breaking down the door, he pulled the man over his shoulder, shrugged and grabbed a nearby briefcase as well. Running across the deck, he jumped nimbly back over to the docks. The men around him looked at him in shock, and several men were screaming as though they had seen a ghost.
"You… you saved him!" the commander gaped, and Ace smirked.
"No problem," he said, and the men around him gasped.
"Hey, you're not Captain Torgun!" a man called.
"Only one man could survive that fire!" another called.
"Eep!" Ace gulped, then dropping the man and the briefcase, he started running for it as gun fire rang out.
"Whoa! Almost forgot!" he said as he made a quick U-turn. Getting back to the commander was a problem, but he finally decided to just jump over the men in front of him. He wasn't quite sure how he managed to land on the commander's head… but sometimes he had to just roll with whatever happened.
Grabbing the envelope from his pocket he handed it down to the commander, who was still holding the survivor from the burning ship. "I'm very sorry about the commotion," Ace said, "I simply had a message to deliver in repayment of a debt."
The commander was shocked, but he grabbed the envelope anyway, and Ace made his escape. Sure the marines hit him, several times in fact, but with his flame-flame power, he didn't feel a thing. Once back aboard his boat, he took off quickly, mourning that he hadn't had a chance to grab more food before he left, but glad that he could finally be free of the awful uniform.
He sat back, enjoying the freedom of the ocean for awhile before finally pulling out the paper that he had found about Teach. "Thank you again Miss Moda," he said aloud. "You'll never know how you helped me." He wished her luck in seeing her parents again, guessing that the commander would want the milk and cream for his coffee that her little farm offered.