Hello and welcome to the last chapter of Open Seas!

I would like to thank all of you who have stayed with me, despite the fact that the story was updated sporadically and had its ups and downs in quality.

The good thing is, that there will be a sequel to this story, hopefully soon. The even better is that I will most likely do some re-writing and correction on the existing chapters.

So, for the last time, enjoy the latest chapter of Open Seas!

Chapter 33: ZAA-We

Ran had always liked high places. So, here, on top of the highest tip of the mast of Moby Dick was as good as home for her. Usually, people got scared of the height. Well, of falling into the pit below, rather than the tallness itself. For the pilot, it was the other way around. She loved the fall. She loved the thrill of it. The dropping feeling in her stomach when the air would rush through her hair and the cold would bite her face and make her eyes water. She loved every second of it. Then, she was perfectly aware of how fragile life was.

The pilot could still remember the first time she had gone chain-crawling. It was a trend, one very popular among teens on Arcadia. They would go to the very edge of the Cloud City, where the White Sea could be seen in the abyss. Then, they would climb onto the massive iron chains that connected the Mainland to the Peripheral Islands. The large links were made ages ago for transport and to secure the islands, so they wouldn't drift. However, since the pilot fleet began its official work, transporting back and forth, the Royals had made it a point to abort the usage of the chains.

Now, they stood alone, forgotten, covered in rust and moss. Perfect for a challenge. Shrimp and Bohai had done it, not much before Ran. Ranmao had always been the little one in their family. She had always been the small sister that they had to watch out for. So, naturally, she wanted to rise to that challenge.

So, when the teens finished their challenge, she had been there, watching. Shrimp has been last, crawling on the chain like a snail as far as he could go and back. And when they headed back, congratulating each other on completing the 'coming of age' ritual, the boys didn't notice the small girl clambering onto the first link. However, Bohai had turned to seek out approval from his cousin and found her gone. That day, she broke the record on the chain-crawling. She was barely eight.

Ran smiled softly, remembering the feeling from back then. The iron, heated by the sun underneath her fingers. The fresh air, blowing through her short hair. The high clouds, which she could see as she hung upside-down. Yes, she sometimes missed Arcadia. Hell, she often missed Arcadia. But, she wasn't going back. Not to stay. Never to stay.

The pilot rubbed her fingers across the helmet in her lap. It was heated from the sun, but not unpleasant. She could hear the soft humming of her glider in the back of her mind. The Sparrow wanted to fly once again. With a sigh, Ran threw the helmet on the floor of the crow's nest below her. It clanked and rolled away. Screw it, she thought. The pilot was frustrated. That was an unusual thing for her. She was mostly happy, or indifferent. This time, she was frustrated.

She had come back to the Moby Dick with Thatch and Ace no more than a month ago and since then, she hadn't flown. Well, she had fluttered around the ship when she got too restless. And, she had flown away during one of the nastier fights that they had gotten into. But she had always returned right away. Ten requests for package delivery had come and she had refused them all. Ranmao of Arcadia, the Pilot of the Sparrow had refused a request to fly to an unknown island. Something was wrong. So very wrong and she was very frustrated.

The girl would spend hours working on the Sparrow or the Striker (as Ace had named his AGT boat, quite dumbly in her opinion) with the spare parts and upgrades that Shrimp had sent her on Grandia. It was the only thing that calmed her down these days. Everything else annoyed her. She couldn't stand to sit and chat with Izo about this and that. She would get restless even when eating and end up walking around with a banana or a piece of toast. She would try and practice her mantra, and then get bored in minutes. She didn't even attempt to participate in the celebrations on the ship.

The worst part of all this was that she couldn't put her finger on what exactly was wrong. The Sparrow was in top condition. All she needed to do was step on a paddle and she would soar away from the ship. But, she never did.

The cool, salty air blew into her face and she welcomed it, letting go of her restlessness for a moment. This sensation, the one when she was all the way up, as far as she could go with air on her face, this was what she lived for. Taking one more deep breath, as if preparing for diving, Ran let go and slipped down the mast into the crow's nest. The horizon was empty, and she was free to relax for a while. A mosquito buzzed to her left and Ran waved the little insect away.

The pilot took out the letter that she had gotten from Shrimp. It had flown in a few days back, but she hadn't gotten around to reading it until now. The paper was light blue and soft to her fingers, just like most of the paper that one would find on Arcadia. With ease, Ran deciphered the code in which Shrimp had written his note. Strange, she thought, it had been a long time ago since they had made up the code and pretended to be spies together.

Ran,

Greetings from the Higher Authority!

Mom and Dad are well, still ecstatic about the fact that you are flying on the Blue Seas. Dad sneaked in a couple of things in the package that I'm sending, I hope you don't mind. He says that you will need it for some of the new parts that we had used when repairing the Sparrow. I didn't tell him about the fact that you are using core connecting technology. Can you imagine his reaction if he found out? How is that treating you, by the way? Any headaches? Weird sounds? Loss of sight? I haven't been able to find much about the technology here, but these are some of the symptoms when you should stop using it! Don't mess with it, Ran.

On a better note, Bohai is entering the Generals' Training Program soon. He keeps babbling on and on about how great it is and how he will be just like his Uncle. Personally, I'm sick of it. He still thinks that my ambitions of taking over the shop are foolish. Sucks to be him when I'm rich and famous and he's off fighting someone else's war! Ha ha!

I don't mean that… It's getting pretty bad here, Ran. There have been uprisings on two Peripheral Islands already. They tried to hush the news, but it ended pretty bloodily. As far as I know, the Second Pilot Squadron (which had been sent to deal with it) had massacred an entire settlement on one of the Islands.

I'm writing this letter in code, in case that it gets read somewhere along the way. The Royals are trying to stifle the rebellion as quietly as possible, without involving the Blue Sea Dwellers. My advice to you is, don't come back to Arcadia for a while. Not unless the need is great.

Hopefully, I will still have my head on my shoulders after mailing this and will be able to give you updates.

Take care, little cousin.

Jinhai

Ran frowned, folding the letter and placing it in one of her pouches on reflex. Trouble on Arcadia was not an uncommon sight. In fact, there was always a quarrel or two between the Periphery and the Mainland. Yet, a Pilot Squadron had never been sent out to deal with the unrest. Perhaps Shrimp was right and she needed to stay away from the Sky Island for a while. Not like she wasn't doing that already.

Ran gave a long sigh, and looked up. The sun was high in the sky, shining down on her mercilessly. She had been at the highest spot on the ship for a while now and her head was beginning to hurt. It was time for a break. The pilot slid down to the crow's nest expertly and grabbed her helmet on the way. As soon as she touched the golden surface, the Sparrow's song became louder in the back of her head. The trip down the rigging was fast and short, as the girl had become an expert by then.

Ran nodded to the first pirate that she saw and gave him a smile. "Do you think that you could get someone to take my spot as a lookout? I've been up there for at least four hours, so I'd like to take a break now." The middle-aged man nodded without a word and hurried to execute her request himself.

The girl shook her head and headed towards the galley. As she mostly hung out with Izo, she often forgot that most of the pirates on the Moby Dick weren't used to seeing women on deck. In fact, they ogled the uninterested nurses with the look of starved men on their faces more than often.

Truth be told, the pilot had suffered from a lack of self-confidence recently. She had first become an outlaw by mistake and then, she had gotten injured. The thin scars were barely visible on her skin (due to some cream that Izo had been forcing her to put on them regularly), but a couple she couldn't hide. There was one long pale strip of disfigured flesh on the inside of her left thigh, where Taurus had cut into mercilessly. Ran longed to hide it with her shorts or skirt, but it was impossible.

The other one lay on her chest, a puncture in the shape of a jagged star-like line, where Kage had played with his knife. That one she managed to hide with her tops. It was ugly and it made her feel sick whenever her fingertips touched it. She couldn't feel anything on those two scars. The tissue had been cut off from its nerves, making it completely dead.

It was Izo that had convinced her to forsake her bodysuit once again. He had told her that if she didn't have those scars, she wouldn't be the person she was today. She shouldn't be ashamed of her wounds, but proud of them. They meant that she had fought her battle and survived. It was nothing to be ashamed off, especially since she had won against the Zodiacs.

Ran smiled to herself. That pirate Commander truly was a gift.

Ace sat in his favorite spot on the ship, on the roof of the Captain's quarters. He stared at the horizon, allowing his thoughts to become blank. He didn't have much work that day. Even if he did, he didn't really need to do any of it. Leo had been an absolute wonder since the raven had been elected and promoted as the Commander of the Second Division. Not only did the blond pirate know the crew and its many jobs inside out, but he was also quite good at multitasking. Ace had given him the position of his second in command as soon as he could.

He was a in a rather somber mood. Ran had packed up that morning in a hurry, just after breakfast, and then gone around, saying her goodbyes. It had taken way more than an hour, since the size of the crew was quite impressive, not to mention the fact that the pilot had been crushed about the fact that her favorite Commander, Izo, wasn't there to see her off.

It was a strange thing, seeing her fly off on her machine, waving and smiling with the rest of the crew. Ran was a free spirit, Ace knew that. She was a stranger in the Blue Sea, as her people called it, and someone who didn't really belong anyone. But, he couldn't have helped but noticed that she had fit in quite well at Moby Dick, despite her loud protests about her status as a 'Migratory bird'.

Ace knew that Ran loved nothing more but to wake up early and work on the Sparrow, tweaking its gears and implementing the new ideas which would allow her more speed and flexibility. But, after that, she would each day eat her breakfast with Penny, the shy girl which he had rescued from slave traders. The two teenagers had become fast friends, smiling and laughing together, Penny's cheeks always a little red. Obviously, Ran had discovered that the small girl was a shy person and was corrupting her. Not that Ace really minded. A pirate without some knowledge of the R-rated material was no pirate at all. Except maybe his brother. Yes, he couldn't imagine anyone giving Luffy the birds and the bees talk. Well, apart from what he himself had managed to pound into that idiot's head.

But that was beside the point. Ran was happy on Moby Dick. She had even taken one of the small boats, going with Leo on a mission assigned by Ace. True, it had been an intelligence mission, just gathering some information from a local island, but the two had done it brilliantly. She and Leo had told the story of how Ran had almost gotten kidnapped and enslaved by a pirate Captain at least a thousand times, along with the theatrics. Of course, Leo had rescued her, showing his Whitebeard tattoo. That had been enough to make the group back off. It was Whitebeard, after all. One of the Yonko. No matter how old, his name alone was a promise of pain if someone touched one of his precious daughters or sons.

"Ace?" A familiar voice sounded behind him, but the raven didn't turn. He wasn't in the mood. Heck, he wasn't in the mood for anything. "Ace, paperwork's piling up. We just got a new bunch from relations." The owner of the voice, a blond, lanky pirate plopped down next to him, his legs swinging over the edge of the Captain's quarters.

"Can't you handle it?" Ace asked, his eyes still not moving away from the horizon.

"I can, but I won't." Leo, his second in command, told him. "Here." He handed the Commander an amber colored bottle. "Why don't we drink for a bit, I'll listen and then we go back to work?"

Ace undid the cap, taking a swig. The drink burned down his throat familiarly. Rum. He could remember the first time he tried rum. It had been with Luffy and Sabo. They had somehow managed to swipe a bottle from Dadan and taken it deep into the forest, into their lair. There, they had debated what they should do with it. In the end, he had taken the first sip. It had burned his throat and tasted vile, making him dizzy, but he had stuck it out. He had had to be brave in front of his brothers, after all.

Now, rum was different. It reminded him only of one person. Of Ran. He could remember when she had first arrived to Moby Dick. She had been a pretty sight for sore eyes, that was for sure. Ran back then, with her long hair and bright smile, and that bikini top, when she jumped off of her glider, like she knew exactly what she was doing. Yes, she had been perfect. Not that she wasn't perfect now, Ace argued with himself, taking another swig. No, now he had complicated things. Back then, she had simply kissed him, just because she could. Now, he had messed it up. He liked her too much.

"Was I wrong?" Ace asked his friend suddenly, turning to him. When the blond didn't answer, instead furrowing his brow, the raven spoke again. "About Ran, I mean."

"Ah." Said Leo, sounding rather miffed. "That."

"What?"

"Well, let's just say that there's a lot of gossip on this ship." Leo said. There was a moment of silence between them. The waves sloshed in the background, the day calm and sunny.

"What do they say about us?"

"That you got her pregnant. That you asked her to marry you. That she's in the closet and toying with you." Leo listed, his lips quirking upwards. Ace laughed out loud. "That you're in fact madly in love with her and have no idea what to do with that fact?"

"What?" The raven Commander turned to his friend and mentor, a blush on his tan cheeks. "I'm not in love with Ran!"

"Nor did you get her pregnant. Just a rumor." The blond pirate leaned back on his hands, looking at the sky. "Pretty bright up there, isn't it?" He asked.

"Yeah." Responded the Commander absent mindedly. He remembered the trip which he had taken with Ran on her glider. It was a real thrill, trading a boat for a flying machine. True, she had flown lower than usual while he was with her, but still. He wasn't used to heights. It was a different kind of a thrill. He could see why the pilot loved her lifestyle as a Migratory bird so much.

"Have you ever been to a Sky Island?" Asked Leo, taking the bottle of rum from his Commander. Ace shook his head in silence. A large, white, fluffy cloud covered the sun above them, creating a small patch of shade. "I'm thinking of going. It's definitely on my bucket list." Grinned Leo.

"Ace, yoi." Marco's familiar voice came from in front of them. The two pirates shot up. "Ah, Leo. You can come, too." And the first mate walked off towards the main deck.

"Well." Ace commented, closing the rum. "If Pops is sending Marco, that spells real trouble."

The skies were clear, blue and bright. There were only a couple of pure white clouds moving lazily across the wide expanse, slowly, like they didn't have a care in the world. There was little wind and the small waves were so tiny that a pirate wouldn't even consider them waves.

It was a perfect day for lying about and doing nothing.

For flying, it wasn't so good. Ran had landed the Sparrow some time ago into the water, leaving him to float there. She was seated on its body, in the middle, eating her meager lunch, like she was used to. The bird was swaying softly from side to side in the sea, relaxing her and lulling her into sleep. But, she knew that she couldn't take a nap.

The pilot finished off her sandwich, taking a part of the bread and throwing it into the water. A couple of curious fish, which had been inspecting the vessel, hurried to eat the offered food. Ran sat on the glider, watching them. It was a school of colorful fish, which usually swam about the corals. There is an island nearby, figured Ran.

But, she didn't really care. She stood on the glider, undoing her chopstick-held bun and numerous belts with pouches. She was glad that she had traded her pilot suit for shorts and a tank top again. The pilot jumped into the cool water, scaring the fish away. She stayed under for a moment, enjoying the way her mind quieted and the constant buzzing of mosquitoes stopped. It was nice under the surface, calm and peaceful.

Her lungs burned, warning her and Ran swam upwards, breaking the surface with her head. She took a deep breath, enjoying the warm air filled with oxygen. It was a good day to be alive. She allowed herself to float on her back, looking up at the sky. The curious fish nipped at her bare flesh, curious about this new creature in their habitat.

Ran's mind wandered to Shrimp's letter once more. He had written about the unsettling situation at Arcadia. And, it wasn't just the usual stuff. It had been on her mind since she had read the letter. And Bohai's timing with entering the General Training Center was less than perfect. War was never a pretty thing. And on Arcadia, it couldn't really be called war. It would be a massacre.

Ran knew that.

She had run away from it once, and she wasn't looking forward to seeing those images once more. The burning islands, the screaming people, the blood. Blood everywhere. But, this time she wasn't a kid. This time she was a young woman. She was brave and strong. And she could help. She wasn't just going to run this time. It was time that she stopped being a Migratory bird and grew a pair of claws. She couldn't leave her family in the middle of that mayhem.

Ran lowered her legs and looked around for her glider. The Sparrow had floated off a bit, but not too far. A short swim would do her good. She headed towards it, using breaststroke as her swimming style. She could still remember the first time she had swum in the Blue Sea. It had been so different from the cloudy waters of the White-White Sea. But, she remembered another swim much better.

It had been during one of her weeks of staying with the Whitebeard pirates, when she and Ace had had a long, midnight, drunken talk about swimming. She had wondered many times if he missed it, being a Devil Fruit user, but she had only gotten the courage to ask him about it once she had drunk quite a bit of rum. And, he had admitted that he did, in fact, long to swim again. He had told her about the number of times which he had dived off the shore to save his drowning brother, who was a Devil Fruit user himself.

So, Ran had offered to for a swim with him. She hadn't even thought about it really, courtesy of rum, and she had stripped off her shorts and tied her hair back and waddled into the low waters of the sea in front of them. Ace had reluctantly followed, with quite a few protests, but she had managed to convince him. Then, she had held him afloat, once he had lost all strength in the water. They had laughed quite a bit about that next morning, seeing as they could've both drowned, drunk as they were.

Ran smiled as she grabbed the edge of the Sparrow, thinking about Ace. He had become distant. She pushed herself up on her hands and got out of the water. She didn't have the young pirate figured out, but she knew him well enough. And she truly couldn't figure out why he was giving her the cold shoulder. Sure, he had done the whole 'it's not you, it's me' routine, which Ran had somehow managed to get through without killing him. But, even in that, lengthy speech, he had never given her a reason why they couldn't continue their relationship.

Well, not like they were anything to begin with.

Ran stuck the golden helmet on her wet head, securing it. Immediately, she could hear the singing of the Sparrow in her head intensify. Maybe it was her fault. Maybe she should've pushed herself more. Maybe she should've demanded from Ace to tell her what he wanted.

No.

Ran stepped on the small paddle of the Sparrow and it soared. She didn't want to push her relationship with Ace. She wanted it to be a relationship. And that wasn't just built overnight. She hadn't been ready to step into anything when he had been. And now that she was, he wasn't. He had respected her. Now, it was her turn. She would do that, no matter how much it hurt.

Besides, she had more important things to worry about then her feelings. If Shrimp was worried about Arcadia, she should be, too. Ran leaned on the glider, trying to find the best air current. It was tough to catch one on a nice day like this. But, Ran was good. She was very good. The pilot managed to catch a current and glide onwards, stepping off the power paddle.

She had a plan. First, finish all the deliveries that she had piled up. Next, gather enough money for the supplies. Third, fly to Arcadia.

To be continued…

To my wonderful reviewers, thank you for being patient :)

LeiaGray: Thank you very much! I'm glad that you enjoyed Ran and Ace's interaction and Marco and Jade's side pairing :D

PippinSqueaks: I'm glad that you enjoyed the story :) I hope that you'll stick around for the sequel :D

meep15: I'm sorry about the long wait xD I lost my inspiration there for a bit, but I think that I'll be writing the sequel soon :D

supermeg12: I'm sorry for the waiting xD I'm glad that you liked the story and I really hope that you will stick around for the sequel :)