*shows up two months late with Starbucks.* I don't even like coffee, but I hope you guys like this chapter. I've been working on this chapter for awhile but I just now finished typing it, so I mean its not like I forgot about this story. But Oh my gosh? You guys are so nice in giving feedback? Like wow, I'm glad you guys like it all. And this goes for the people who follow the link from Tumblr. It means a lot!
Now I suppose you don't want me to ramble too much, so see you at the bottom!
DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE
The end of the week came quickly for Ace. As Marco had promised the next afternoon they had enjoyed a lunch of ramen; which surprisingly had tasted very similar to what was back home. It was the only time that he had with Marco for the rest of the week, the commanders busy stocking the ship or making repairs. He didn't wander far from the ship, not wanting to get lost. Though he found a spot near the shore. It was a group of trees, and in the middle of the trees there was a small clearing with a bench in the middle of it. For the shore leave, that's where he spent most of his week. He liked the privacy, and even though he was getting used to everyone and spending more time with them he still didn't feel comfortable spending more than a couple hours with them. Especially since he wanted to be able to explore his thoughts alone.
After the first night, he had been thinking a lot more than usual. Marco had been accepting of his blindness, and the others that heard the story of his brothers didn't seem to mind having family outside of the crew. It threw him for a loop.
Two of his secrets had already been discovered, by accident. He only really had one more left to tell.
Which is why he was currently pacing around the clearing. He didn't know what he was going to do about it.
Ace's mind wandered to what had really prompted the idea. One of the commanders, likely Namur he was one of the more soft spoken, and been talking to Whitebeard. As usual, the nicknames came up Pops and son. While the old man had called him son to his face already, he had withheld saying the 'p' word to his face.
It had been a long time since Ace had entertained the idea of having a father. He wasn't even sure if he was going to be a good son, or if he really wanted to have a man to say the 'p' word to. Though, he supposed it wouldn't be too bad to say that to Whitebeard, everyone else seemed to like calling him that and accepting what it meant.
Ace sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Whitebeard had accepted him as a son already and to everyone else he was already a brother. It should be a simple thing, but there was more than a few things holding him back. One, of course was his desire to not have a father. The other was the blood flowing through his veins. People can change, lineage can't.
Ace puffed out his cheeks and let a long stream of air escape.
What can I do? Go and tell him? Say I'm the son of his dead rival, but please still take me as a son?
He laughed at the audacity of it. Though, telling Whitebeard was probably the best way to handle it. The other times his secrets had been found out by mistake, but they were easy things to understand keeping a secret. If it was found out that he was the son of Roger, he imagined that people's reactions would be less than accepting. It was one of those things you should tell someone up front.
If I tell him now, at least I won't be thrown overboard, I can leave right away if he gets angry with me.
Ace nodded to himself. It was a sound plan, at least this way he would be able to get on another ship and continue his journey. His heart hurt at the thought however. He stamped down with one foot as if that sealed the deal.
"Tonight." He muttered aloud.
He would tell Whitebeard about his father tonight, the others would be too busy getting drunk to question him or Whitebeard if the meeting went south, and it would give him a decent enough lead should someone decide to take revenge. It would be easy to cover up that he was going to talk to Whitebeard. Ace would slip out of the bar, and the others would likely assume that he was leaving before there was a disaster like the last time.
Now that he had a plan, nervousness settled into his stomach. He would be laying himself bare for the first time to people who weren't Luffy and Sabo, it really would make them family. Sure not everyone would know everything, but then again Sabo never knew that he was losing his vision. It balanced out. He took several deep breaths to calm himself, there were still a few hours before he would be able to implement his plan.
He noticed, after he calmed down, that there was also a sense of lightness with it. Like he was somehow freeing himself by confiding in someone else. Ace wondered how much longer that would last.
The air was cooling down indicating that it was getting close to evening, and that meant the Commanders would be finishing up their tasks for the day and the party would start. He stretched his arms above his head and started to walk back towards where he knew the ship was. That way they could find him easily, because he doubted he could find the tavern on his own.
Ace wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew that Marco was looking at him intensely. Well it was more like he could feel someone staring at him, and he was assuming that it was Marco.
He had run into the first division Commander on the way back to the ship and they had chatted for a few moments, the older pirate even going as far as to offer some of the candies he had bought earlier.
Ace shook his head, focus."Is something wrong?"
"That should be my line." Marco replied.
There was no tone inflection that Ace could use to decipher Marco's mood.
"What do you mean?"
"You seem tense... Did something happen?"
Ace blinked, surprised that Marco had picked up one that. It was true that the nervousness from earlier in the day hadn't left, and now that he was getting closer to the actual event it was starting to get worse.
"No." And it wasn't a lie, nothing had happened...yet.
"You sure?"
"Positive, I think I'm just ready to get back out to sea." He shrugged.
Marco didn't say anything, but Ace could picture that the older man was looking at him doubtfully. Thankfully he wasn't pressed any further.
The tavern was louder than last time, inside of just the island's patrons it was now packed with a large amount of pirates. From what Marco had told him, the crew was scattered throughout the city at different bars and taverns, so he guessed there was at least seventy people in the room.
Ace pressed close to the older male, just to make sure he wasn't going to trip over anyone. While he would've preferred to have used his haki and fire combination, he knew that it wasn't feasible. Someone was bound to notice the flame, and with so many strong presences (all of the commanders were in this tavern) he would've exhausted his haki and himself. He was grateful that it was Marco that he walked into, and it seemed like the first mate wasn't too bothered by his closeness, maybe knowing the reason made him more lenient towards Ace.
They walked towards the back of the tavern, he was guessing based on the direction and memory.
Apparently Izou was the first to notice them.
"You two are showing up together again?" He sounded coy.
Marco huffed. "I just happened to run into him."
"Sure." Izou didn't sound like he believed Marco's words.
Ace looked at where Marco was and where he figured Izou to be, wondering if he was missing something.
"Coming through!" Thatch spoke from behind them.
Marco pulled him to the side so that Thatch could pass by. He guess the chef was carrying something, he heard something slosh and hit the table. Maybe he had the drinks?
"First round on me!" Thatch laughed, shoving a mug into his hands.
He supposed the first mate got the same treatment since he heard Marco mumbling about something.
Ace moved so that he was sitting down, trying to stay out of the way of people passing by. He was sitting next to Izou on the outside, and Marco was leaning against something besides him. Thatch was apparently across from him, and Haruta was over to the side talking to Jiru about something.
He let out a breath, this could possibly be the last time he's treated so warmly by these people so he might as well make some good memories.
If anyone was surprised by his willingness to join in they didn't say anything, but he could tell that Marco was watching him again, probably still thinking there was something wrong.
"Report?" A voice ground through the snail.
"Sir! The Whitebeard Pirates are docked exactly where the informant said they would be. It seems they are setting sail tomorrow!"
The snail let out a long breath of air, mimicking the sound of someone smoking. "That's good. And the pirates themselves?"
"The Moby Dick seems to be watched only by a skeleton of a crew, the commanders and the bulk of the crew having gone for celebrations and partying."
"All of the commanders?"
"Yes, sir!"
The man chuckled. "They're making this too easy."
For a moment nothing was said, the scout not sure if he should reply to the comment. He wasn't entirely sure why he was sent to spy on the Whitebeards, but he didn't question his orders, he valued his life too much.
"And Whitebeard himself?"
"I haven't seen him since evening. I believe he's retired for the night."
"Have you seen Fire Fist?"
"He went with Marco the Phoenix to a tavern, the one the other commanders are frequenting."
"Good. Likely it means he's been drinking. This will be such an easy capture. Keep me updated, if you see Fire Fist call me immediately, and do not let him out of your sight."
The scout felt the air drop several degrees at the tone that left the snail phone. He swallowed, wondering why they wanted to pick a fight with Whitebeard of all people. They'd have a better chance if they were messing with Red Hair.
"Yes, sir." He whimpered.
The snail went to sleep with a click. With a long breath of relief, the scout returned his gaze towards the tavern he had seen several of the commanders enter over the last hour. He adjusted his position so that he was in a slightly more comfortable crouch. He had a feeling it would be a long wait.
Ace has made sure that he only had one drink, he wanted to be sober for the talk he was going to have. Thankfully everyone else was absorbed in their own merrymaking to notice what he was doing with his drink. Still he didn't fail to notice someone's gaze on him, the feeling pricked at the back of his neck. He assumed that it was Marco.
By the time he had finished the first mug everyone else was on either their fifth or sixth, maybe more if they were competing in the drinking competition (started by Thatch). He set the mug down and tapped on Izou's shoulder.
The older pirate hummed.
"I'm going to head out for the night, don't want to set sail with a hangover."
The only reason he was giving any explanation at all was so that Marco would know he left. The first mate had left to buy drinks and would probably be concerned if he left without an excuse
as well as other people.
Though they probably won't notice or care that you left. They might even be grateful since you ruined the mood last time. The little voice in the back of his head said.
He shook his head to silence the thought and waited for Izou's reply.
"Alright, be sure to be careful on your way back."
Ace stood then and strolled confidently out of the bar. Or tried too, he stumbled over a table leg, but he didn't think anyone noticed.
Once he was outside he shivered at the cooler temperature, more out of reflex than feeling the chill.
After the initial shock of the temperature wore off he still felt the need to shiver due to a feeling the air was carrying.
Probably making it up because of what I'm going to tell.
He took a deep breath and let his fire out in a light sheet to guide him. There were too many turns for him to count the steps too, so he had to find his way back using the landmarks he had found throughout the week.
He knew that he couldn't rely on that method too much, it was too obvious, but thanks to him getting lunch with Marco he was able to make a path. The ramen shop that they had ate at was on the way from the Tavern to the ship.
It was convenient, and he was grateful for it otherwise he wasn't sure that he would've been able to get back to the ship on his own.
The walk to the ship was quick and quiet and it gave him time to create all of the worse case scenarios he was dreading.
When he got to the harbor he paused, getting cold feet at the thought of divulging his secret.
He could wait until the next island, he reasoned. But then he would have to come up with a lie to tell Marco which is something that he didn't want to do, at all.
Ace took a deep breath, the odd feeling was still lingering.
He shook it off once more and climbed up into the boat.
The scout moved along with Portgas, noting with some pride that he was so far undetected. He supposed that was the reason he had been chosen for this, apparently, high priority mission.
He watched as Portgas hesitated walking onto the Moby Dick, but he saw as the other seemingly made up his mind as in the next second he was confidently strolling up to the ship.
The scout dialed the number he was given now that he was alone.
The boss answered. "Status?"
"The target has boarded the Moby Dick."
"Damn. Keep me informed." The phone was quickly hung up.
It was a busy time so the scout took no offense to the abrupt end to the conversation. There was only a short window of time before they had to make their move. He could only hope that that Portgas was in a place that wasn't filled with Whitebeard Pirates. Even if their boss didn't care about angering Whitebeard, and was planing to do anything to get their target, challenging Whitebeard directly like that was the quickest way to start a minor war.
A challenge so bold wouldn't be ignored, and they were already taking one of the pirate's son.
The scout swallowed at the thought and adjusted his stance. Wondering briefly about the fire that Portgas had used while he was walking. What was its purpose?
After confirming that Whitebeard was in his quarters, Ace slowly made his way towards them. He decided to take the longest way he could to the quarters, for no reason other than he wanted to stretch his legs a bit more.
Of course that was the only reason.
But eventually he found that he was in the hallway that lead to Whitebeard. He couldn't put it off any longer, without him outright stalling.
Ace pulled himself higher hoping that the false confidence would become real confidence.
Before he could change his mind he raised his arm and knocked.
"Come in." A booming yet gentle voice called.
Ace hesitated a second before pushing the door open. He could tell that the room was dimly lit, probably by a single lantern.
"Oh, Ace, how're you?"
"Fine... Actually... Am I interrupting anything?" He asked quietly, if Whitebeard was busy then it wouldn't be his fault that he couldn't talk tonight.
"No, you aren't." Whitebeard answered immediately. "Is everything alright?"
A surge of bitterness rose in him as he thought about blurting about how everything wasn't alright, and how he was going to lose his family (excluding his brothers and the bandits) after he just got them because of who his father was and how he was losing his sight because he was a cursed child.
Instead he kicked at the ground and mumbled. "I have something to tell you."
He could feel the concerned gaze he was receiving. "Okay. What is it?"
Ace fidgeted. "I don't know how to start."
He felt stupid for not better preparing himself for this. However he knew that there wasn't much to tell. It was only a few words, but they would be deciding his fate, three words and a name.
Whitebeard's gaze was still on him. He could almost picture the concern and confusion that would be swirling in his eyes. He would probably be tensed in the anticipation.
Ace twisted his hands around each other, as if he was winding himself up to speak. He hoped that he wasn't talking too long.
In the end this was more for himself that for Whitebeard. He couldn't call the man Pops without telling him exactly what kind of son he would be.
"It's about my biological father, who he was."
Whitebeard grunted and Ace took that as a sign to continue.
"My father was Gol D. Roger." He said the words slowly, so that they wouldn't be misheard.
Minutes ticked by as he waited for his sentence. He was worried that it was going to lead up to an explosion of anger.
And then there was laughter, and it didn't sound like it was a threatening laugh either.
"Really? What a surprise! So that's how it is?"
There was a pause as it sounded like something was being drunk, and the the smell of sake hit Ace's nose. How did he not notice before?
"You don't really act like Roger though..."
He tensed, then he figured that he might as well bring the axe down on himself.
"Weren't you two enemies? You're not gonna throw me out?" His voice came out steady.
"When you said that you had something important to talk about I thought it would be bigger than this..."
Ace raised his head in shock, how was this not big? He could barely make out the man's face, but he knew that the old man was smiling.
"It doesn't matter who your parents were. Everyone is a child of the sea." Then Whitebeard laughed.
Ace was shocked, to put it mildly. Ace had thought being his son would take away any chance of him having his own life, his own legacy. A father of his own choosing.
He couldn't help it, he let out a breathy laugh. Pirates always did the unexpected.
He stayed talking with Whitebea- no - Pops for a while longer. Basic things about how he was doing and was he settled in and did he like the crew.
It was surreal.
It was nice feeling. Until he realized that despite having one burden lifted, he still had several more. His blindness was the biggest one.
He also realized that everything he had told the Whitebeard Pirates they had accepted in stride, not thinking any less or any more of him. But if he told them everything, would they still be okay?
Would things still be okay when Pops finds out that he was practically blind (and completely blind eventually), would Marco still be so nice after he found out his father's name?
Those thoughts didn't provide him with any comfort. So instead of heading to his room to rest he decided to head to the clearing, to clear his head and maybe wear himself out. He didn't want to be found pacing around the ship, that would raise too many questions.
Hopping down onto the dock he noticed that the feeling from before was still there. He shrugged thinking that it was just leftover nervousness.
The walk to the clearing was quick, he had the route nearly memorized by now.
Ace hoped that whatever the strange feeling was that it would go away soon.
The scout tapped at his leg impatiently, praying that Portgas would leave the ship. He did not want to inform the boss that their target was still on the ship.
A few minutes later he saw Portgs leave the ship and head into a nearby copse of trees.
He wasted no time in calling the boss, this would be the best place to capture the pirate.
"He's on the move, heading to a group of trees near where the Moby Dick is docked." Only when he finished did he realized he spoke out of turn.
He was just relieved that he wouldn't have to see the famous Whitebeards in action just yet.
"Head in that direction. There should be a squadron near there."
"Yes, sir!"
Ace wasn't sure what finally tipped him off that there was in fact something wrong.
but late is better that never when he raised his arms in a guard position as someone jumped out with their feet swinging down towards his skill.
He slid backwards from the force.
He heard whoever it was land a few feet in front of him. In just the moonlight he could barely make out his attackers form. When he was about to ask what was going on and twig snapped and suddenly he was surrounded.
There wasn't any doubt in his mind that these were hostiles, so he closed his eyes and focused on his haki. When he opened his eyes he wasn't relying on his sight to help him fight.
Ace shifted his weight and bent his knees into a ready position. "Care to explain why you're attacking me?"
"You have a pretty high bounty." Someone replied.
"Apparently you'll also be easier to capture than the others, as well." Another voice spoke.
Ace swallowed and bent his knees more. He didn't like this at all, but if he attacked first it could prove fatal.
"I'm a Devil's Fruit user, you think I'll be easy to beat." Taunting them was the best way to get them to attack him first.
"All users have the same weaknesses. Arrogance being one of them." The voice from before spoke, it sounded female. "And you have a major one of your own, right?"
Ace furrowed his brows, they couldn't know. There was no way they could know.
"What? Information on high values is high value." The second speaker said.
There must've been a singal because all of the sudden he was being rushed.
It was easy enough to take care of, he spread his arms and shot flames both ways.
But something clamped onto his wrist and he felt the fire pull back into him.
"So it's true, you can't see!"
Ace cursed for several reasons. One, because he was without his ability, two because when he let his flames go he lost track of two of the presences, and the third reason was because they knew.
The last part shocked him into stillness. How did they find out?
There were only a few people that knew. It had to have been passed from one of them, but who? Luffy might've said something on accident, but not to any strangers, and especially if they were asking about him. Ace also doubted that either doctor would tell for their own moral sake. Marco? No... he had that much faith in him, it might be stupid but he didn't think that any of the Whitebeard pirates were like that. They were more the type to fight their own battles.
So who then? Was it a guess or a rumor. Wither way it wasn't good for him and he would need to do something about it.
He got distracted by his own thoughts and barely had time to dodge the foot aimed for his face. The seastone caused his movement to be slowed, and his attacker was able to adjust and swung around with their other foot and made solid
Ace felt his nose bend and start to bleed, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't broken.
Instead he swung his own foot upwards catching the person in the ribs. He heard a grunt and then spun to get out of the way of the person coming from behind him.
Ace was dizzy from that maneuver but he assumed it was partly due to the seastone around his wrist. The legrathy from the cuffs was being put off by the adrenaline for the time being. But from experience he knew that it wouldn't last long.
Ace started to notice that the others were starting to recover from the initial fire blast. He wiped the blood away from his nose tasting some that got into his mouth.
Another person stepped up and he grabbed their arm and flipped them into a group. A sword was drawn and he lifted his cuffed arm hoping to break the cuff off.
The one who was wielding the sword must've been skilled as they switched to the blunt edge. It came down on his forearm, hard. He had to grit his teeth to keep from yelling out.
Instead he used his uncuffed hand to grab the person's sword arm and twist it harshly until the sword clamored to the ground. Then he kicked the person in the torso flat footed. He heard them smack into the ground.
By this time he could tell that the adrenaline was fading. His movements were becoming sluggish once more.
Two people came at him once more and he was able to dodge the first blow but the second was a kick to the rins that sent him flying into a tree. That time he did hear something pop in his chest.
I probably just broke a rib.
His head was foggy but he still tried to get up, that's when another strong kick landed on his torso. What little air he had was forced from his lungs leaving an unpleasant burning sensation when he tried to refill them.
He heard the popping of someone's knees, and while he knew that the person was right next to him it sounded far off. The person then roughly grabbed a handful of hair and yanked his face up. Ace kept his lips together to keep from making a sound
From this distance he could make out a face, it was a male apparently.
"You put up quite the fight despite the seastone, and, ah, your handicap."
Ace didn't dignify the comment with a response, though the tug on his head was growing more painful. He knew why when his head was yanked further up and then slammed onto the ground.
Ace felt the sharp pain, and then nothing.
Marco wouldn't say that he's worried, concerned maybe, but not worried. Izou would say that he was, but he wasn't. He had stepped out from the tavern to get some fresh air. It didn't matter that it was only a few minutes after he learned that Ace had left. He'd been acting weird all night, day, actually if Marco thought about it all week.
So it was only natural that he was concerned.
With a sigh, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to make sure that Ace was able to get back safely.
Marco was the only one that knew about his blindness, so it'd be better if he was the one to find Ace. The argument sounded weak even in his own head.
Slowly Marco made his way to the ship keeping an ear out for quiet footsteps.
Eventually he found himself climbing onto the ship. It was looking like Ace had made the trip back to the ship and was likely already asleep or raiding the kitchen before bed.
Still, Marco couldn't shake off the feeling of worry. So instead he decided that he'd look in the kitchen and around the ship. He'd avoid Ace's bedroom until the morning on the of chance that Ace was already asleep.
When he entered the dining room and kitchen he could tell that no one had been in there since dinner. He stood in the middle of the room, part of him wanted to check on Ace in his room and risk the younger pirate's wrath, the other part of him said that he was just being paranoid.
Marco shook his head. He was the one who probably needed the sleep if he was so restless over Ace of all people going missing. He had dealt with his blindness for most of his life, he could handle himself for a night.
With that decided he headed to his own room to sleep. He didn't feel the least bit bad for leaving everyone at the height of the party. Izou would yell at him in the morning, for doing so, but it wasn't anything new.
He walked to his room keeping his sense primed for anything that could be Ace, or anyone who might've seen him. Strangely no one was on deck aside from the sentries. Marco shook his head again.
The walk back to his room was a solitary one. But once he got there, the bed was as welcoming as ever. Not even worry about wayward brothers would keep him up, if it was an unfounded worry that is.
The next morning Marco found himself waking up to furious banging on his door. He groaned thinking that Izou was going to yell at him already. With a sigh he sat up and ran a hand down his face, noting that it was fairly bright out indicating that it was late morning at the earliest.
"Marco!"
That was Izou.
"Yeah?"
"Have you seen Ace?"
Marco frowned, a heavy weight settling in his stomach. "Not since before he left last night."
"Seriously?"
The older pirate walked over to the door quickly, opening it and almost causing Izou to lose his balance, like he was straining to hear something through the wood.
"Yes. Why?"
"Well, he didn't show up for breakfast, neither did you, so we thought... you know... since you guys left pretty close together last night." Izou shrugged.
Marco didn't know what shocked him more, the fact that people thought he was sleeping with Ace or the fact that no one had seen Ace in at least eight hours. He decided that he could be shocked about both.
"No, and I couldn't find him last night."
Izou nodded. "I thought he was already asleep so I let him be. Then Thatch told me that Ace wasn't asking him for breakfast at the crack of dawn."
Marco tensed. "So no one knows where he's at?"
The question was rhetorical as Marco was already brushing past Izou. He assumed the other had already checked the usual places Ace sought out to be by himself, but that didn't mean that he wasn't hiding out in the upper crow's nest, or maybe he fell asleep there.
The moment that he hit the outside he shifted his arms into wings, the odd feeling that he was getting was making him act rashly.
He landed on the edge of the crow's nest seconds later and only found the folded up blankets that Ace kept up here. He frowned, checking to see if they were warm at all. Nothing. His frown deepened as he rejoined Izou on the deck.
"Not up there either?" Izou asked, though he didn't look like he was expecting an answer to disprove the statement.
"No. Did you ask the sentries if they saw him?" Marco said looking around incase Ace was just blending in.
"I'll do that now. Maybe you should give a head's up to Pops? We're supposed to set sail soon."
Marco nodded and headed off to his father's quarters. He doubted that the fire user had went to speak to their father privately, but there was always an off chance that he did, or Pops had sent him out on an errand. That wasn't completely unheard of at least, and it served to quell some of Marco's anxiety.
He spent a few seconds to wonder why he was so worked up about Ace being missing. It wasn't like this was the first time one of the Whitebeards was late getting back to the ship, or had taken off somewhere else for air; Marco hadn't been anxious about them. So why Ace? Was it because he was new, or something else? His blindness maybe?
There were plenty of tells from the younger pirate that there was something wrong, but Marco hadn't pushed. Now he was wishing that he had, maybe someone on the ship was making him uncomfortable. He doubted that was the reason.
Pops room appeared before him and Marco blinked in surprise, he hadn't thought he was moving that quickly.
He raised a hand and knocked.
"Come in."
With a slight smile Marco opened the door. Pops had always been able to comfort him with just a few words, but worry still coiled tightly in his stomach.
Pops was reading the newspaper, an empty bottle of sake tipped over on his nightstand. He looked up when Marco shut the door behind him.
"What brings you here so early... Marco?" His tone changed from welcoming to concerned the moment his eyes landed on the phoenix.
Of course he could tell something is wrong right away.
"Have you seen Ace recently?"
"He came to talk to me last night. Why?" Pops answered right away, a frown forming.
"Just no one has seen him since he left the tavern." Some of his worry had dissipated upon hearing that Pops had seen Ace.
"He came to me and we talked for a little while, but I haven't seen him sense." Pops replied, moving to stand. "Have you checked every place he usually goes too?"
"Izou did. He's asking the sentries about Ace now." Marco replied.
Pops started walking to the door and Marco fell into step slightly behind him. He could tell that Pops was taking this very seriously. The first mate couldn't help but wonder what Ace talked to Pops about, he had a feeling that it was important.
They reached the deck quickly and Izou was standing by the railing, like he had been about to walk down to get them but then heard them coming.
"Izou?" Pops inquired, his voice becoming more gentler.
"The sentries said that they saw Ace leave, but not come back. Thatch is looking for any sign of him nearby, has been all morning after he told me."
Marco nodded. That seemed like something Thatch would do, he was as big of a worrier as he made fun of Marco for being.
Pops headed to his chair looking deep in thought and Marco followed after him waiting for what his orders would be. They would surely start a thorough search now that they knew Ace wasn't on the ship.
There was a commotion on the boardwalk and Marco walked over to the railing, wanting to see what it was.
Thatch was running up, yelling something and waving his hands wildly, there looked to be something in one of his hands. Without looking at Pops for permission Marco leapt off the ship and moved to meet Thatch half way.
"What's wrong?" Marco asked, though it sounded like a demand.
"I was looking for Ace, and I went over to the trees that he headed off too sometimes, and when I was there it looked like there was some sort of struggle." Thatch panted, then he lifted his hand. "I found this."
Marco's eyes widened. It was Ace's hat. "What..."
"I don't know, there was a lot of burn marks and blood. There was even a broken tree."
There wasn't any need for words. It was obvious. Ace had gotten into a fight, and had apparently lost. Whoever he'd been fighting had taken him away from their point of conflict. Marco figured that if they had gone to the trouble of moving him it meant that they had taken him some place.
He turned to where Pops had moved to the railing and was listening to the conversation with a guarded expression.
"Pops?" Marco asked, breaking the tense air.
"We're going to figure out what happened, and find Ace." He stated calmly, though Marco could see Izou inch away from the intense aura their father was putting off. "Marco, go with Thatch, see if you can find anything."
The phoenix and chef didn't wait to hear the others orders both quickly taking off in the direction Thatch had just come from.
Ace, just please be safe. Marco thought as he picked up his pace.
Aaaaannnndddd we're at the bottom!
Is the ending rushed? I was in a rythym and typing really fast, so I don't know if the ending feels rushed or bad? I'm sorry if it is, I don't want it too be, and I might fix it if its /that/ bad, so I mean if it is don't feel bad telling me, I don't mind. I want this story to be as good as it can be, and if it can be improved then please tell me that!
Until next time! Later! Please leave your thoughts below!
AS A REMINDER TO MY READERS:
1.) I am doing this for fun so I don't mean to offend anyone so I'm doing my research but if you have any suggestions or something is factually wrong feel free to tell me! Please.
2.) Ace's condition is one that I made up using parts from several others, just because I don't think I could've written any of them the way that I wanted to portray Ace.
3.) I am going to update this irregularly