Welcome ladies and gentlemen!
I am very happy to say that I have passed some of my exams and am waiting for results for a few others! Yay me :D
Anyways, sorry for the wait, I was pretty busy with said exams, and I still am :(
So, back on track. Thank you, my new favs! Tater, Lilikoikoi and LuffyGirl, welcome to the family, darlings! Also, Tater, gOthiCkUrOcHo69, Lilikoikoi and LuffyGirl, thank you so much for the follows!
My favorite reviewers, Savage Kill and Otaku-chan, thanks for visiting, I'm putting my answers at the bottom! Kissed to you guys! :*
Chapter 9: LaFee - Beweg Dein Arsch
Ace sat on the railing of Vista's ship. His feet were hanging comfortably on the outer part of the vessel, the playful waves jumping towards his shoes. Ace stared out to the dark water, deep in thought. He loved these moments of calm before the dawn. He liked to stare out to the sea then. The sea and the sky would be dark at first. So dark that you couldn't tell them apart. But then, the first rays of sun would shine. They don't light up the sky immediately. First, you see the sky go from navy to a lighter hue of blue. Soft and serene, the air still cold from the night, the salty taste of the ocean tingling on your tongue.
The dark waves light up slowly, next. Ace liked the way the drops shined in the not yet up sun. He liked the way the waves lit up from below and looked ethereal. The whole sea would shine for moments, the sky and the ocean finally separating. Ace had heard stories about it. There was one that told how the ocean and the skies kissed all night and then had to separate during the day. He liked that one.
It was in these moments, when the sun slowly rose, signifying the birth of a new day that Ace usually wondered about his own birth. He knew that he was the son of the devil. Of the monster. He had come to a conclusion that he, by extension was an abomination, too. He resented the tainted blood that flowed through his veins. He hated. He hated himself, his father, the world, the Government. He hated a lot. There was one person that he could never hate, though. The woman that had selflessly sacrificed herself for him. He had taken her last name in her honor. He often fantasized how it would be if his mother were alive. He often wondered how her embrace would feel. But he didn't regret it. He wished for it, but he didn't regret a single thing in the past. If his mother hadn't been brave, he wouldn't have had two amazing brothers. He wouldn't be who he was today. But, even that determination didn't stop him from wondering if he should have ever been born.
"Ace-sama, you look deep in thought." A soft feminine voice came from behind the young pirate. "Is something bothering you?" Ace turned slightly, just enough to see the girl standing behind him. Her name was Penelope, Penny for short, and she was one of the slaves that they had rescued. The girl wasn't from the Torentes Islands, so she had chosen, more like begged, to sail with Vista back to Moby Dick. She had said that she wanted to return the favor. Help her saviors.
"Nothing at all." Ace retorted, giving the timid girl a smile. Penny walked forward and placed her hands gently on the railing. She was a small girl, shorter than the raven beside her. Her hair was a soft shade of strawberry blond, tied in a long braid and her figure was slim, but filled out in all the right places. Ace smiled at the redness that had spread on Penny's cheeks and nose from the time she had spent on the ship.
"You should get a hat, Penny." The former slave gave him a confused look. "Your face is getting red." She blushed a fine tomato red now, causing Ace to laugh. He had been surprised when the small girl had asked to travel with them. Heck, after what the Hollow Skull had done to her, he didn't expect her to want to come close to a pirate ever again. Strangely, Penny had become attached to Ace fast, considering him some kind of a guardian angel. The young pirate, however, didn't catch on to her developing idolization of him. He just enjoyed the attention, thinking that it was just friendship. All in all, Ace was as oblivious as usual.
"Do you think that Whitebeard-sama will like me?" The girl questioned again. "Do you think that he will allow me to stay on the ship?" Ace noticed that she was looking at him expectantly. He gave her another smile, enjoying the blush that spread across her already red cheeks once again. She was a very timid little thing.
"I don't know." Ace joked. The girl pouted at him, crossing her arms. They watched the sun rise slowly for a few more minutes. Then, Penelope turned towards the galley and spoke.
"I'm going to go eat some breakfast. Would you like to join me, Ace-sama?" Ace grinned and jumped off the railing, holding his orange hat secure on his head.
"Sure. I'm starving."
~~~~pb~~~~
Ran woke up to the feeling of someone shaking her shoulder. She blinked a couple of times to focus. She saw a blue and red blur with something that had a golden hue right in front of her.
"Morning, cuz." Shrimp's voice greeted. "C'mon, up you go." That's right. She was back on Arcadia. The Sparrow was rusting. Ran jumped up, feeling her sore muscles stretch and her bones pop because of the uncomfortable position that she had slept in. Shrimp laughed. "Haven't slept in a garage for a while, have you?" Ran growled at him.
"Shut up. I'm fine." The pilot walked forward clumsily. She shivered slightly in Arcadia's morning wind. It was much colder up here. She would need to dig out some of her old clothes. Or just steal some of Shrimp's unused ones.
"You coming?" Shrimp called from somewhere below her. Ran looked around. That's right. She had arrived last night and had started working on the Sparrow right away. Shrimp had helped her get the glider all the way to the Fifth level. There, they had found an abandoned plane garage where they could work. After all, they were doing illegal work. Once a glider was deemed unusable, it was supposed to be melted, not repaired.
Ran climbed down the metal stairs, stretching. The abandoned space was wide enough for two Sparrows. It had a bottom and top floor. There were pieces of metal, discarded gear and red flying paper everywhere. The two relatives didn't mind it. When they were younger they used to go into the abandoned places and build their experiments all the time. She was pretty sure that Shrimp had continued doing it even after Ran had flown away. The older sibling, Bohai, well, he had cleaned up his act.
"Looks better." Ran remarked, looking at the glider. She had managed to take it apart last night and rub the homemade anti-rust solution all over the wings. Shrimp had been very helpful. There was still some leftover acid solution in the leaking metal barrel near the wall. Ran smiled, thinking of the first time when she had used the lime and salt solution. It had been ages ago.
"I'm still not sure about the inner mechanism. You made it mostly with iron parts, right?" Shrimp said, inspecting the centerpiece of the Sparrow. Ran had managed to combine Breath Dials along with Arcadian Gear Technology to create a self-propelling vessel. It was an unusual technique, as Arcadians liked to stick to their own stuff.
"Yes. But I figured after I clean it up, I could patch it a bit." Ran smirked. "With gold." Shrimp whirled to look at her, jaw dropping.
"You're insane." He whispered. "Let's do it!" And she had her cousin on board. Patching with gold was not only a difficult process, but a dangerous and expensive one. Gold wasn't too expensive to buy here, they had plenty of it. However, the tools to introduce the substance to the existing vessel were expensive. They would probably build their own in the end. And there was a high risk of the two metals coming apart during flight. Needless to say, it wasn't a frequently used procedure.
"But, cuz, we need to go home now." Shrimp was suddenly pulling her hand. "We missed dinner and Auntie is gonna be furious."
"Crap." Ran murmured and started running, pulling her cousin behind her. Her mother may not be a soldier, but she was a force to be reckoned with.
~~~~pb~~~~
It was at breakfast that Ace realized why Kondor had been appointed a permanent cook on the Moby Dick. Most pirates could only make the essential stuff. And essential stuff meant edible. In Ace's opinion it was alright, but by Penny's face, it was barely edible. He laughed when she took her first spoonful and grimaced.
"This is horrible." She complained. "Is the food always like this?" She enquired, quickly washing the taste down with her water. Ace managed to stop laughing to give her an answer.
"No. We have a pretty great cook on the Moby Dick." He said through chuckles. Penny got up, picking up her almost untouched tray.
"Well, until we get back there, I am going to make myself useful." And with that the short girl walked to the kitchen. Ace watched her as she went. She seemed better. Penny went through a terrible trauma. She hadn't spoken much for a while. Ace took complaining and working as a good sign. Then again, he was no expert.
The scent of fried onions and eggs came from the kitchen, causing a line of pirates to form at the door. Penny had thrown the men on cooking duty out of the kitchen and was taking over. Ace soon abandoned his food, which was a very rare sight, and headed towards the entrance, too. He managed to peek through a gap in between bodies and got a good look at the scene. Penelope was almost flying around the kitchen, cutting, salting, adjusting the fire and arranging the finished food. Ace stared in awe as the former slave cooked with a wide smile on her face, serving the full plates to the hungry pirates.
The crowd took their plates and slowly dispersed. Ace had managed to steal a bowl full of fries and moved a bit to the side. The raven found himself leaning comfortably against the wall, watching the young girl work and munched on his food. It was when the crowd cleared that Ace went into the kitchen to get a whole pile of plates. Penny gave him a smile and served the dishes. Even back at the Hollow Skull ship she had been amused by stories about his appetite. Seeing it in person delighted her.
"Seems that Kondor will have some competition." The young pirate remarked through food, sitting on a bar stool and eating. He had chosen to stay in the kitchen and use the counter as his table.
"I can't do much. But I'm not useless." Penny said, giving a sad smile. Ace looked up at her, his eyes boring into hers, serious.
"You aren't useless. You're important." The pirate told her before digging into his food again. The blonde girl pulled out her own chair and sat next to him, waiting for the oven to signal that the next batch was baked. Penny pulled a plate towards her and ate some fruit.
"Thank you, Ace-sama, for everything." She told him quietly, staring at the strawberries on her plate. "For getting me out of there. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along." She looked to Ace now, only to see him head first in his plate, fork still raised. Vista's division members gave each other meaningful looks as they listened to the young girl's twinkling laughter coming from the kitchen.
~~~~pb~~~~
It took about a week for Vista's group to almost catch up to the Moby Dick. The Commander had told Ace to be careful with Penny. Of course, the young pirate had no idea what Vista meant. Sure, he tried to keep an eye on the former slave, worried that the treatment that the Hollow Skull put her through would cause her to be rash. However, the girl seemed fine. She cooked every day, and didn't allow the pirates to help her. She also often sat on the deck, just watching the sea.
Ace asked once why she did that. She told him that she had lived by the sea her whole life, but that she had never been able to sail. Her father was rather protective, so he didn't allow her to get on a boat. And when the Hollow Skull Pirates took her away, they never let her leave the brig. So, Ace would often catch her staring out to the sea, thinking. He wondered if she heard the same calling that many pirates hear. The sea howling, demanding you to go out there, feel the adrenaline surge through your veins when you are at the mercy of the ocean. He himself stared out to the open sea often. Whenever Ace felt the pull of the ocean, he looked out to the waves. He didn't feel it often, as he spent most of his time at the sea. He had mostly quenched his thirst for the thrill. He felt free.
That is where Ace found Penny that afternoon, too. After lunch he looked for her. He had wanted to show her how to navigate the ship. However, when he found the short blonde, all of those thoughts vanished from his mind. The first thing that Ace heard was soft, muffled sobs. He followed the sound and saw Penny sitting on the ground, leaning against the railing, head in her lap. She didn't seem to hear the pirate approaching.
Ace came closer, feeling his nerves get unsettled. There were a few things that the raven couldn't handle and one of those were crying women. He would just, sort of freeze up, and then he couldn't feel his legs. He wouldn't know what to do with his arms. They would just hang limply, maybe swing at his sides uselessly.
He had gotten better at it, though. Sure, he would still feel uneasiness in his stomach when he saw a woman crying. His heart would speed up and then he would feel his head pound. Almost like he was having an out of body experience. His body would go into autopilot mode, kind of numb. This is what happened when he saw Penny crying, too.
He sat next to her, silent. The blonde didn't react to his presence. She kept crying her eyes out into her hands. Ace wasn't sure how long he sat there, not touching the young girl, just listening to her sob and choke on her tears. He wouldn't dare touch her. He had seen how girls that have had experience with pirates like Hollow Skull react to physical contact. The only thing he could do now, was sit with her, and provide comfort with his presence.
"Please don't look at me." Penny spoke, her voice scratchy from crying. Ace had to strain to hear her. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. Heck, he wasn't sure how to deal with this situation at all.
"You're going to be alright." He told her. "Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But you're going to be alright." Ace saw her raise her head. Now Penny's doe eyes were focused on him. Then, she started wailing again, hysterical.
"No! I'm filthy! I shouldn't be alive!" Ace caught her hands that were tearing at her hair. Penny flinched and started screaming, trashing about. The pirate quickly let her go. She was completely out of it, crying once again, murmuring about how she shouldn't have been born. Ace shooed away the crew that was gathering with his hand and attempted to calm down Penny without touching her.
"Penny. Hey, Penelope, listen to me." The girl calmed down slightly, but her head stayed down, sobs racking her small body. "Never say that you shouldn't be alive. Ever." Ace's voice was strong and confident, even though there was a storm in his own head. Who was he to tell her that? He felt a bit encouraged by the fact that she had raised her head a bit and was staring at him intently. "You are the only one who can decide why you are alive, Penelope. Nobody else can tell you what to do. Understood?" The girl gave him a tiny nod now, sniffling. He gave her a smile of encouragement.
Suddenly, Penny stood up, smiling shakily at Ace. "I'm going to go cook something." And the girl was gone. Ace felt his muscles relax and he plopped back down. His back hit the railing and he lowered his head into his hands, sighing again. He felt like absolute crap.
~~~~pb~~~~
"Take a look at these." Shrimp said, tossing a notebook into Ran's lap. She put her sandwich down, brushed her hands on her working pants and took the notebook. The duo was taking a food break from fixing the Sparrow. They had cleaned up the abandoned building a bit and now it was a place that they went to every afternoon and stayed in until almost midnight. Ran started going through the sketches. Shrimp's notebook was full of detailed pencil drawings of various mechanical setups. She picked up her sandwich with one hand and flipped the pages with the other.
"These are pretty good. I can see this working." Shrimp nodded enthusiastically. "But, really? Golems?" She looked up to her cousin, frowning at his grin. Golems were a type of robots. They were described in many scripts that were brought from the Moon, however, no one knew how to assemble them and make them function properly anymore. Ran suspected that they used the mysterious core as their primary propel-function. They were considered a myth these days. Besides, golems had been made a taboo subject a few decades ago. If Shrimp was working on them under the radar, he was being quite the daredevil. She gave him a disapproving look.
"I know, cuz. But it's worth it." Shrimp told her, plopping down. "I've mostly figured out the mechanics. Their cores are a bit of a problem, though. And also, the materials. All the prototypes that I've made failed." Shrimp took his multi-purpose goggles off and mussed up his hair.
Cores were a mystery technology brought from the Moon. They existed in most of the machines and allowed for them to have a life of their own. Some would call them magic, since they were a conscious of sorts. No one really knew how the cores worked, though. There used to be a way to contact them, through core connecting. Neither Ran nor Shrimp knew a lot about cores. They had learned the basics through books, but nothing else. Ran liked to think of them as little, beating hearts of the machines. Maybe that is why she never could melt down a vessel.
"I can help during breaks." The pilot nodded. She stood back up and tossed Shrimp his notebook. Ran walked to the pieces of the Sparrow and pulled her work goggles back down. The pilot picked up her makeshift heating tool and continued working on adding gold to the iron. Shrimp and Ran, they couldn't afford the tools that they needed so they either borrowed some from the family shop, or they made them themselves.
The metal door of the garage screeched as someone opened it from the outside. Ran turned off the heater and prepared to use it as a weapon if necessary. Shrimp had jumped up and prepared a pipe as his last defense. This was the Fifth level, after all. Not only could they both get killed for just being here, but they would get arrested if a soldier discovered them. After a few tense moments, a mop of dark hair entered the room, equally dark eyes locating the two trespassers.
"Get out here and help me, you delinquents." Shrimp's elder brother called. He looked to their weapons of choice and raised an eyebrow. "Scary." The man teased. Shrimp snorted and tossed his pipe away. The duo followed their relative outside, not quite sure what to expect. Sure, Bohai used to be as much of a law breaker as they were, but he had been walking on the straight and narrow during the last four years. Ran had barely recognized him the last time she had come for repairs.
Bohai was shorter than Shrimp, and less muscular. Hence, Shrimp had gotten his ironic nickname due to his size. Bohai still towered over Ran, though. In the recent years he had cut his long hair, and now it was a midnight colored messy mop, slightly shorter than Shrimp's. He usually wore his red guard uniform, but now he was in casual work clothes. By the grease, he had probably been helping his father before coming to find his brother and cousin.
"What are you going here, brother?" By Shrimp's tone, the two still hadn't worked out their differences. Ever since Ran had left, the brothers had been drifting apart. The pilot wasn't sure what the problem was, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to get involved. She remembered the way that her cousins used to argue. It wasn't pretty, and it usually was over stupid things.
"Bringing this." Outside of the garage there was the old truck that their family used for towing. Of course, it had been modified by their uncle and father, who had lovingly named it Betty. Betty was currently pulling a container behind her. Ran peered in, curious. She saw top notch metal parts and resources. The pilot turned to her cousin, a look of disbelief on her face. True, they lived in the Third circle, but they weren't rich or anything. It was because of Ran's father's position in the army that they had that status. They couldn't afford these kinds of parts.
"By the Storm Thief! Where did you get these?" Ran yelped at Bohai. The man smiled at her gently.
"There are a lot of people that you have done favors for, Ran. We all pitched in. We know how much you care about that glider of yours." Bohai gave another smile to the girl. She looked shocked by his words. True, she had done quite a bit of work, even before leaving Arcadia. She loved flying, and if carrying some cargo meant that she could fly freely and gain some pocket money, it was her pleasure. Besides, there was a law on Arcadia that told how you had to work if you were able.
"But it's still too expensive!" The pilot complained.
"Oh, you have the wrong idea, Ran. We didn't buy most of it. It's more of a case where we gathered what we didn't need." Bohai scratched the back of his head, nervous. "Sorry, it's just leftovers." At this, Ran's smile brightened. She ran over to her cousin and hugged him.
"Sheesh, you shouldn't be that happy about leftovers, cuz." Shrimp complained while rummaging through the new materials. "But we can use most of these. Oh, look! An old core connector!" Shrimp was holding some kind of a bulky helmet. It was slightly rusted with lots of wires and gears hanging off and sticking up in weird directions. Ran and Bohai exchanged doubtful glances. "We could try and set it up, you know." Shrimp was grinning in excitement.
"I'm taking that back." Bohai said sternly.
"I wanna try that!" Ran exclaimed at the same time, eyes glinting in excitement. Bohai gave her a disapproving look, arms crossed while Shrimp let out a whoop of joy.
"Only as a last resort, you delinquents." The elder cousin scolded.
"Party pooper." The two in question complained to each other under their breaths. Bohai started unloading Betty and carrying stuff into the abandoned space. He frowned slightly. His brother and cousin were too careless. Core connecting was forbidden. That technology had been forgotten, along with the golem research. And now they were digging into both of those topics, quite recklessly. He knew what his brother was into. He had seen Shrimp staying up and drawing those setups. Of course, he would protect them as long as he could, and he would never turn them in for their curiosity, but there were others not as kind as he was.
Bohai glanced at his two relatives that were going over the new materials outside excitedly. He then inspected the disassembled Sparrow. It was built well, he could tell. Ran's work had always been exceptional. He and Jinhai had, after all, taught her all she knew. He put the metal planks in the corner and walked over to the centerpiece of the Sparrow. Ran still hadn't removed the all the torso plates, however, he could see a small yellow orb where the heart would be if the Sparrow were real. It looked like a tiny Sun. It was the core. The mystery that moved almost all machines on Arcadia. It was one of the old technologies that weren't supposed to be researched, just taken for granted.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Bohai hadn't even noticed his cousin approach. She smiled as she looked at the small heart of the glider. Her eyes had that twinkle that all mechanics had.
"It truly is remarkable." The man murmured back.
"Hey, come help me out here!" Shrimp called, irritated, from outside.
~~~~pb~~~~
It was a rare sight to see all family members attending dinner. However, when it happened, it made Ran's aunt ecstatic. She had been humming in the kitchen happily for a while. Ran's aunt was a wonderful woman in the pilot's opinion. She had married Ran's father's older brother and had Shrimp and Bohai. The woman loved her job and her family. She owned a tiny bakery on the lower Third level and worked there from early morning until late evening. Ran didn't see much of the redheaded woman. However, when they did meet in the middle, they always had a blast. Unlike her own mother, her aunt still had a bit of a wild side and she loved shopping. New clothes were always guaranteed when her aunt planned an outing. And cakes. If there was a person that could bake like a magician, that was the slim redhead.
The woman, currently assigned cook, made the youngest members of the family set the table while she filled plates. Ran's mother was still in the bathroom, getting revitalized after a hard day at work with a bubble bath. Nobles could be very unpleasant. Uncle had just come in and gone to change into something non-greasy. Ran's father still wasn't home from work. The three almost siblings ended up setting the table quickly, and then they took a short break in the living room, sinking into the soft chairs and sofa.
"Those pirates and their government at the Blue Sea, they fight, no?" Bohai asked Ran. The two brothers had never left the White Sea. They quite enjoyed it up there, but they were rather curious about the other part of the world.
"Yes. The Marines, that's the government, want to enforce the law, and the pirates want to be free. So they end up fighting a lot." Ran nodded.
"Which side are you on?" Shrimp asked, grinning.
"That's not what I meant." Bohai interrupted before Ran could answer. He was giving his brother a rather disapproving look. "I meant, do they use combat skills against each other?"
"Yes. They also have Devil Fruits." Ran answered. Bohai looked pensive after hearing this, while Shrimp started firing off questions about different Devil Fruit users that Ran had met.
"I think you should learn some sky combat, Ran." Bohai interrupted. Ran snorted. "I understand that you don't want to fight, but this will be purely for protection." Shrimp had gone quiet, too, watching his brother carefully. "I know that after flying so much you can probably use mantra. If not, it will come much easier to you than it came to me. And you can use some of those crazy inventions of my brother's while developing your own style of sky combat." Bohai listed, getting excited. "Oh course, I would teach you myself. What do you say?" He grinned at Ran. The pilot sat there, dumbfounded. He had probably been very worried about her being all alone and unprotected at the Blue Sea. But to hell with it. Right now, she could see her cousin from four years ago. If teaching her how to kick some ass meant that he would regain some of his more insane streaks, she could sacrifice some muscle pain. With that thought, Ran nodded.
"But!" The pilot stopped her cousin from hugging her in joy. "You have to promise it won't interfere with my fixing the Sparrow." Bohai sighed, relieved. It was a reasonable demand.
"I swear." He replied, finally hugging the girl. They both heard Shrimp awe in the background and then jump of them, attempting to make it a group hug.
That's all folks!
Before I go to reviews, a bit of my current plans for this story:
Ran will NOT gain amazing powers or whatever. I'm trying to keep her as original as possible. I'm hoping that she isn't a Mary Sue.
She will get off her high cloud and back to the Blue Sea, and by extension Ace. Let's face it, you don't just fall in love with one woman right away and live happily ever after. Especially Ace. He is kind of oblivious, in my opinion. I think that, at this point, they both have some kind of feelings towards each other, but aren't too sure what to name them. Mostly they think that it's friendship.
Ok, I'm almost done. I was very inspired by steampunk. Arcadia is like one huge steampunk fantasy of mine. I hope that it isn't getting too confusing. Also, I based some of the things that I will further develop on Ghost in the Shell. I read the manga a long time ago, and once I started making Arcadia, it just came natural to put some of the elements in. I strongly recommend reading it, or watching the anime, it may be old, but it is amazing!
Also, Arcadia is an ironic name, as in Greek Mythology it is considered to have been the home of Pan, the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, hunting etc, and Arcadia is celebrated as an unspoiled, harmonious wilderness.
Reviews:
Otaku-chan: I am glad that you found it IC and unexpected! I was trying to be spontaneous xD I know that not a lot of fanfiction writers use Ace's narcolepsy as an asset, some even forget about it, so I like to use it as much as possible :D
Hope you enjoy the chapter, love!
Savage Kill: I'm glad that you have been amused :D I do try hehehehe~
I don't think I'm ready to part with the Sparrow yet, and believe me, neither is Ran. If she lost her 'home' right now, I don't think she'd get over it. She sees the Sparrow as an extension of herself, she needs more development before she is able to lose something as crucial as the Sparrow. I think it'll live, for now mwahahahahha!
Aaaah the rebellion! I am glad that you've noticed my hint at that thing… Well, they were all most certainly influenced by it, but, it will all become clear later. What we are seeing now, all the rules and regulations and the strict separation of classes by wealth is the aftermath of said, partially failed, rebellion.