Chapter 13

Ace stared at the sky, the breeze rustling through his hair and sending a few strands over his eyes. He was calm, and his mind brimmed with focus and direction that it had been lacking for the past few weeks. His collared shirt was unbuttoned and the recently-fixed necklace rested around his neck, the red beads gleaming in the sunlight.

"Ace."

Ace glanced behind him and saw Sabo. The blond was dressed far more formally than Ace had ever seen him before; he wore his top hat, of course, but his clothing looked both expensive and maneuverable - even more so than his typical wear. He had a pipe strapped over his back and a mask over the lower half of his face.

"Quite the look," Ace commented. Sabo's eyes scrunched at the corners and Ace guessed that he was smiling.

"Thanks. Can't have everyone knowing how dashingly handsome I am, you know."

"Is Luffy ready?"

"Yes. We're just waiting on you, Ace."

Ace stepped back from the edge of the roof of the apartment complex, his hands falling to his sides, hooking one thumb in his pocket. "Time to get going."

Ace could feel the eyes on him; they burned differently than the flames that danced over his skin and hair, burned like lasers on his back. But he kept walking, each stride as confident and long as the one before it. His gaze was focused straight ahead, his mouth set in a hard line. His boots thudded against the concrete as he walked through the entranceway to the warehouse. Every breath he took prickled his lungs because of how charged the air was.

Sabo and Luffy flanked him on either side, walking slightly behind him but keeping stride. Both had the same fire burning in their eyes, and anyone that dared to get too close got chased away by dual glares. They weren't going to stop until they got to the end.

Ace paused before the massive double doors that no doubt led to the main room. He looked up, up, up to see their tops. Then he tensed and lashed out with a hard kick that nearly ripped the doors from their hinges after it busted them open. The resulting bang echoed throughout the large room, bouncing off the concrete floor and metal walls.

Gazes both heavy and sharp landed squarely on Ace and for just a moment he faltered, for just a moment he took stock of the situation around him, for just a moment he thought about what he was doing -

And then he was striding forward again, his gait as confident and uncompromising as before.

"Is that -"

"He looks like -"

"Who the hell -"

"What -"

"Ace?"

He saw the giant of a man sitting by the far wall. Ace walked toward him, ignoring the whispers. When he got close, close enough to see the thinly veiled confusion in the man's eyes, he abruptly turned, planted his feet, pulled back his fist, and punched the man standing nearest to him so hard in the abdomen that he could feel the man's muscles spasm in response to the sudden attack.

Blackbeard went flying, his head slamming into a nearby support pillar. He slid to the ground, unconscious. Scorch marks surrounded the already-forming bruise over his stomach, but Ace turned his attention away from the traitor while he shook out his fist. For all the preparation and strength he'd put into that punch, it had been surprisingly difficult. For a moment, Ace hadn't been sure that his punch would even be strong enough to actually hurt Blackbeard.

The whispers quickly turned to shouts and exclamations of surprise, and a multitude of gang members rushed past Ace to check on Blackbeard. For a second, Ace was annoyed, but then he reminded himself that they didn't know, that they couldn't know about how Blackbeard - only known to them as their brother Teach - was working to stab them all in the back.

Ace smiled at the large man in the chair who was staring at him with a gaze so heavy it was nearly suffocating. "Hello, Whitebeard."

Whitebeard didn't respond for a few seconds. Then he leaned forward, his golden eyes scrutinizing every last detail of the young man standing in front of him. His expression went from surprise to concern to something unreadable in the span of a few seconds.

"Ace?"

Ace glanced to the side and saw a man with blond hair and wide blue eyes staring at him. Confused, Ace tried to place him in his memory. He knew he recognized him from somewhere; the purple of his shirt drew most of his attention, so -

"What are you - you're alive?"

Ace's focus snapped wholly to the man and he nodded, a name coming to mind. "Yeah, Marco, I'm alive."

"Why did you punch Teach?"

Ace looked to the new person to speak, raising an eyebrow at the man's large size before he got his expression under control. "He's the guy that attacked me. I didn't want him to try to run away before I got at him again."

The atmosphere in the room plunged from shocked to dangerous. Sabo and Luffy immediately stepped up beside Ace, their silent presences more than enough to show that Ace was serious.

"Teach is the one that attacked you?" The blond said quietly.

"Marco, if he's telling the truth -"

Ace blinked. Marco? So he'd been right.

"Why - why do you call yourselves him your father?"

"Because, even though it's just a word, it makes us happy."

"Why wouldn't he be?" The man - Marco - turned back to Ace. "Wait here. I'm going to gather the rest of the commanders. We need to talk. Pops, is there anything you -"

Whitebeard shook his head slowly, his gaze still fixed on Ace.

Ace didn't like how troubled he looked.

Every face in the room was giving Ace a pounding headache. He hadn't expected to find the entire experience this painful, and the fact that he was only getting memories in bits and pieces meant that he still didn't know enough to really feel at ease in the room. He kept wanting to edge closer to Marco and the man going by Thatch, if only because they seemed the most welcoming.

Well, Thatch was far more so than Marco. He'd come up to Ace almost immediately when Ace had gone to the informal meeting room, barraging Ace with a series of questions and then interrupting himself to ask whether Ace was really okay, what had happened, the works.

He smelled like spices.

"Ace, one more time," Marco said slowly. "What exactly happened the day you were attacked?"

Ace took a deep breath. They were fleshing out his story, trying to get the bare bones. To have one of their own accused of being a traitor was preposterous; their feelings on the matter were clear on their incredulous faces. Their expressions when Ace had announced Blackbeard's actions the first time had been priceless.

"I don't know exactly how I got into the room. The reason I was there was to spy on a man who bore incredible resemblance to my dead brother." Ace nodded at Sabo, who was standing in the far corner of the room with Luffy and who inclined his head in response. "After moving to a first-floor room with a window, I was attacked. Teach stabbed me in the back, narrowly missing my spine and inflicting serious damage to my internals. He used a Sea Stone weapon, clearly with the intent to kill me. The only reason he didn't is because I turned at the last second, and he left me for dead."

The room went cold. Whitebeard's displeasure came in the form of an ominous, distant rumbling. Everyone else merely glared in the direction of the infirmary for a brief moment, where Blackbeard was being held.

"The shock and blood loss got to me quickly. I collapsed. Teach left after taking my hat and dagger, and my memories from that point on are conjecture."

"Tell us anyway," Marco said, his lips making a grim line across his face.

"I crawled out of the hotel and into the street, accumulating cuts and other minor scrapes on the way. I made it to the entrance to Sabo's apartment building and passed out from blood loss. Sabo returned within a minute of this, found me, and administered first aid before carrying me to his room and administering more in-depth care."

"If you don't mind," a person in the back said, "can I ask you about what you did?"

The words were directed at Sabo. The man was no doubt a doctor, and Sabo nodded. "I consulted a medically-inclined friend of mine for treatment," he said quietly. Kureha, Ace knew, still remembering her intimidating grin.

"We have your hat and dagger," Thatch put in, and everyone turned to look at him sharply. Thatch became distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, we did," he mumbled.

"Where are they?" Ace asked, all too aware of his missing possessions. Thatch looked to Marco, but the blond just shook his head, seeming to say, you got yourself into this, now get out of it yourself.

Thatch sighed. "They're at the old base. By the, uh…" He cleared his throat. "By the grave."

Ace went still. "Grave?"

A clearing in the forest, old pipes that were battered and almost broken planted in an x in the ground over a simple headstone messily engraved with Sabo's name, an apology in his heart that never made it past his lips -

"You were thought dead," Whitebeard rumbled, immediately quieting the whispers that had sprung up. "As such, we did what we would do for any member of our family."

Ace glanced to Luffy, who was looking decidedly pale. He also wouldn't meet Ace's gaze. "Lu?" The young boy started guiltily. "Did you know?"

"N-no," Luffy lied, but he wasn't making eye contact and the very act of uttering the word looked borderline painful from the way his features were contracting. Ace sighed. A horrible liar to the end, that kid was. But Ace realized that to press the issue would just make Luffy feel worse, so he let it go with a quiet, "Okay."

Ace then glanced at Sabo, but the blond's eyes and expression gave away nothing of what he was thinking.

"I'll get them later," Ace decided, turning his attention back to the Whitebeards. "I just -"

"Ace, stop falling asleep in Thatch's cooking. People keep thinking he's trying to poison you."

"He might be."

"Shut up. My cooking is great and you're an ass."

"...ce!"

Ace blinked, automatically pushing away the hand that had been snapping in front of his face. "What?"

"You zoned out," a man in impressive makeup said with a wry smile. Ace thought he recognized him but could not say from where. "We thought you were about to fall asleep."

"Oh. My bad." Ace rubbed the back of his neck while he thought about the brief interaction that had bounced around in his skull. Were these random bits of memories with the Whitebeards going to keep happening at such inopportune times?

"So," Marco said, drawing Ace's attention. The man suddenly seemed bigger, and with a start Ace realized that the impression was coming from his aura of authority. "Izo, go to the place where Ace was keeping watch on his brother. See if his story matches. Jozu, Haruta, double the guard on Teach's room for the duration of this investigation. Ace, you and your brothers can wait in a spare room until we decide what to do with you - Thatch will take you there. I will reinvestigate Teach's story and see what I can find. Everyone else, back to your normal duties."

"Dismissed," Whitebeard said as he got to his feet. Just like that, people began filing out of the room. Sabo and Luffy stayed by Ace, who remained next to Thatch. Marco was talking quietly with Whitebeard, and as tempted as Ace was to eavesdrop -

"Hey, Ace!"

"Shhh, I'm trying to listen!"

"Where did you even get a coconut? The market? And you know that it won't help you eavesdrop on Marco, right?"

"Thatch, he's...I think he's preening."

"Move over. And gimme that fruit."

Ace managed to lean back just in time to avoid a back-of-the-head slap from Sabo, who was looking at him with concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just keep zoning out." Ace made a vague gesture. "Memories and all that. I'm fine, though. Honest."

Sabo looked unconvinced but let the matter go. He glanced at Thatch, who, after listening to Marco for a moment, turned to face them.

"All right! Off we go."

"Where are we going?" Ace asked as he strode behind Thatch.

"We have some spare rooms," Thatch explained as he walked. "We'll just keep you three in one until this all gets cleared up. Once it does, Ace, you and I are going to have words."

Ace shivered at Thatch's tone. "Of course."

They walked in silence for another minute, with Thatch occasionally shooting glances at Sabo and Luffy. He didn't ask anymore questions, but he seemed to find Sabo's presence far more concerning than Luffy's.

Does he know Luffy?

Ace's youngest brother certainly didn't seem threatened by the Whitebeards. Then again, Ace couldn't recall him looking intimidated in recent memory, so he couldn't be sure. They could talk about that at a better time.

"Luffy, I joined a gang."

"Really? Which one?"

"You - you're not surprised?"

"Shishishi! You look happier now! So, which one?"

"The Whitebeards."

Ace abruptly refocused, nearly running into Thatch's back when the man abruptly stopped. "Thatch?"

And then he heard it; a shout from back down the hall, in the direction that Jozu and Haruta had gone. Ace spun in place just in time to see no fewer than ten men and women whirl around the corner.

"Commander Thatch!" They chorused.

"What is it?" Thatch responded, stepping in front of Ace and his brothers. The woman in front took charge while the rest of her group peeled off, no doubt to spread whatever news they had.

"Teach escaped. He attacked the people watching him, almost killed a nurse, and fled."

Thatch stared for all of a second. Then he grit his teeth, his anger borderline palpable. "That bastard."

Ace agreed wholeheartedly, and he could see Luffy's protective fury shining in his eyes. Sabo met Ace's gaze, and his expression was hard.

"Is there any sign of where he went?" Thatch asked.

"No, sir, but Haruta is tracking him with backup coming from the Sixteenth."

Thatch nodded tightly. "Keep spreading the news, then go to the main room. No doubt Pops will have something to say about this."

"Right!"

The woman took off and Thatch faced Ace. His face was calm but anger burned beneath every word he spoke. "Ace, you and your brothers are still going to the room. I'll escort you there but I won't be able to stay."

"But -"

"No objections," Thatch growled. "Ace, don't give me that look. You just got back and we still have to sort that mess out. So let us handle this. We'll use your help later, I know it, but for now you need to be patient."

Ace grit his teeth, swallowing more protests and nodding stiffly. Every step he took away from the medical wing felt like a betrayal but with Sabo, Luffy, and Thatch all watching him, he wouldn't be able to slip away. Logically, he knew that he shouldn't try to sneak out and go after the guy that had almost killed him once already, but he wasn't really in a logical mood at the moment.

Once Thatch had dropped them off, Ace paced back and forth, ignoring the way Sabo was watching from the corner and the way Luffy was fidgeting on the bed.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Teach was supposed to stay here until the Whitebeards (or Ace) dealt with him accordingly. Not slip out and kill again.

At least now everyone knows.

But that silver lining didn't feel all that comforting.

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