AmericanNidiot: As always, reviews are answered down bellow, and also a thing for readers to join in on.


Ace grunted as he tried to sit up, his nickel gray eyes taking in the room as he reached up towards his face, pulling the nasal cannula off, the removal making him sneeze loudly. Bleary eyed, the young pirate had not noticed the person frozen in the doorway.

Tora dropped her clipboard, drawing Ace's attention to her, and rushed over to her patient to examine him thoroughly. "I thought you would be out for longer. This is amazing. Is your recovery rate shortened due to you being a Logia? On the other hand, is it perhaps genetic? Oh, maybe it is linked to being from a family of D.'s? After all, Commander Rain always healed quickly… but she's also a Logia…" the tiger hybrid spat out in rapid fire succession, leaving the 20-year-old no chance to give his input. Her hands were soft— if he ignored the razor sharp claws— as she ran them over his chest and back, her tiger ears twitching with every breath he took.

The woman looking over him wore red-orange leather skinny pants, a white loose short-sleeved crop top— the right sleeve kept falling off her shoulder, exposing part of her chest— that had 'Tora' written across the chest in dark orange, exposing the dark colored stripes that mimicked the same pattern of a tigers on the exposed skin. On her feet, she wore black flats with red, orange and blue flowers cover the toe area as the vines swirled around and acted as the ankle strap. "Wait, did you say Rain?!" he asked, coughing loudly into his hands as his throat rebelled against him.

Tora handed him the glass of water that she always had sitting on the bedside table, helping him hold the glass and he greedily chugged down the contents. "Of course I did. You're her baby brother, right? Along with Boss Dragon's son Luffy. As Commander Rain's best friend, and doctor, it is my duty to look over you until her return," Tora said simply, putting the glass back down. Reaching over, she fluffed the pillows, allowing Ace to catch a glimpse of a tattoo on her right shoulder blade. It looked very much like the altered version of his former Jolly Roger that he seen on a mass of people back in Marineford. Her ears twitched as she sat back, looking towards the door with a grin. "Odd, you don't have to hide, silly."

"It is rude to barge in uninvited, Tora," came a soft baritone voice as the person entered.

Ace was not expecting a giant small-clawed otter wearing a cream-colored vest and carrying a tray laden with mostly soups, though there was a plate filled with clams and crab legs. "Rain barges in whenever she wants."

"That's because of her personality," he said, placing the tray on Ace's lap before taking the plate of clams and crab legs for himself and sitting down on the only available seat in the room. "Fresh seafood~! My favorite!" he cheered happily, rubbing his paws together before looking up at Ace. "Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself." Odd bowed his head in apology.

Ace scratched the back of his neck, a bit confused over the giant talking otter wearing clothes. "Umm… it's no big deal." Ace winced at how hoarse his voice sounded.

"I suggest drinking some honey-lemon tea. It should help with that nasty croak. Moreover, no one makes tea as great as Odd, our resident Mink and navigator!"

"Mink?" Ace rasped, taking a drink of the tea that the woman gestured to.

"Yes. It is what my kind are called. We are originally from an island called Zou in the New World, and happen to all look like fur-covered mammals, though the women from my home do look more human than us men," Odd hummed, easily opening a clam and eating the meat inside.

"Don't let Odd's cuddly appearance fool you; he is a warrior from birth that can still sneak up on Rain when she's practicing her Observation Haki," Tora chimed in.

"We're masters of hiding our presence from Haki users."

"How did you meet my sister?" questioned Ace as he started sipping at some tomato soup, getting himself comfortable as he tried getting to know his sister's friends.

Tora smiled grimly in remembrance of how she met her friend. "I treasure that memory, but also despise it with my whole being." She began softly as she looked down at her hands. "Most people think I ate a Zoan fruit." She chuckled mirthlessly as the freckled male paused, his gray eyes widen in shock. "I originally was just some homeless girl from the West Blue, yet the Marines thought it would be great to experiment on me instead, to try and mimic the effects of a Zoan Devil Fruit without losing the ability to swim. I was the only test subject that succeeded, while all the others died, and so they kept me in a cage like the animal I resembled. To them, I was not even human anymore, that is if they ever seen me as one. However, that all changed about 4 years ago, when Rain came and destroyed that godforsaken place. It seemed to click in that moment that I had been given my freedom back, and it was thanks to Rain. Shortly after I joined the Revolutionaries just so I could be with her, and worked so hard to be the doctor of the crew, as a way to repay her for everything she has done for me."

Ace smiled fondly as he stared down at his soup. "That sure sounds like Sis alright…"

"What about you, Odd? When did you meet Rain?"

The otter Mink broke a crab leg, exposing the meat before talking. "I met her when she was a child still. I think it was right before Luffy had been born. Anyways, I had been hiding on an island, having overheard slave traffickers were around."

"How much does a Mink go for?" questioned Ace.

"About 700,000 Berries to the right buyer." Shrugged Odd. "As I was saying, I had been hiding, though my clothes had made me stand out in the forest, which is where Rain found me. Back then, I was about as small as she was, so it was no surprise that her clothes had fit me. At first, she laughed at me, telling me how poorly I tried to hide, and saying I would fail at hide-and-seek. After she was done, she gave me her green and brown-splotched vest to wear. For a Mink, the exchanging of clothes symbolizes affection in our tribe, so it meant a lot to me that she did that. Shortly after, she came back and asked me tons of questions after formally introducing herself. It was then that I called her a Lesser Mink for the first time," he chuckled fondly, remembering Rain's look of confusion at the term. "Soon after, Rain introduced me to Dragon, and I became one of the first to join the Revolutionaries, though I made it clear to Dragon that my loyalties were to Rain and whomever she was loyal to."

"Awe, what a cute story!" chirped Tora. "But wait… Is her finding out you're a Mink the reason she willingly goes into the sea?"

"She does that with you, too, Tora. Rain has never been able to swim because of her Devil Fruit, so that's why she trusts us to hold her when she wants to cool off." Odd pointed out, chewing on a crab leg.

"Ah! Speaking of that! Odd, would you help give the Captain a bath?"

Said male choked on his soup, his eyes tearing up from the pain of it going down the wrong pipe. "W-Whoa! I can bathe myself just fine! I don't need any help! Ah… no offense to you, of course," he added at the end as a second thought.

Odd waved the comment off. "None taken. Nevertheless, I wouldn't argue with Tora on this. You have been in a coma for nearly a month now, so it would be best to go slow. Though normally, seeing as Tora is the crew's doctor, she'd be the one to bathe you."

At the mention of this, both Ace and Tora's faces turned red as a cherry. The freckled male could not deny that the female hybrid was attractive, with her flaming copper red hair— the tiger stripes also continued through her hair— that framed her heart shaped face, and those piercing mint green almond shaped eyes that froze him the moment they made eye-contact.

Odd laughed silently to himself, finding their reactions to be amusing as he finished off his food. "Good thing Rain made sure you wore a Seastone bracelet, otherwise you would have set the room on fire, Captain," teased Odd, snickering as the man became so overwhelmed that he passed out.

Tora punched him in the shoulder, her face still flushed from embarrassment. "Shut it, Odd!"

†††

I munched on my gummies as I sat in the navigation room, enjoying the view as Bepo went over the charts, the Eternal Pose I had given him was held in place on the dash, while Jean Bart piloted the ship. Currently Law was avoiding me after he woke up and found himself cuddling me a few days ago, having locked himself in his secret room; so says Shachi and Penguin, anyways. The only time I have contact with him is after I fall asleep in his room (like hell was I bunking in a room full of perverts), seeing as Bepo's room was cluttered with maps and books taking up 25% of the space, while his specially made bed and desk took up the rest. Too bad for Law as Bepo's bed could only fit himself and the few plush pillows and a blanket— though I swear I seen a small polar bear plush when Bepo showed me around— so I was stuck with the grumpy captain.

"You'd think with a Mink for a friend, Law wouldn't mind cuddling so much," I mused, smiling widely as the bear looked up from the charts. "I know Odd's a cuddle monster, though not on Luffy's level, so why is Law so bothered with cuddling?"

"Captain uses me as a pillow and back rest when we're on deck, so there's no point for us to embrace. He also is the one that helps wash and groom my fur," explained Bepo, smiling happily, as he talked about his captain.

I rested my chin on the upturned palm of my hand, smiling at the cheerful bear. "That's sweet of Law," I mused, watching the bear blush. "So, how much longer until we make it to Galaxy Way Archipelago?" I questioned while standing up and dusting off my butt.

"It should not be long now, but you could check the periscope just to be sure." Bepo pointed at the object while still looking at the chart.

Hopping a bit, I gripped the handles and peered through it while moving about, taking note of the crazy current. "Yeah, we're getting close, probably 137 kilometers north-northeast." I voiced, swerving again to look around. Squinting, I messed with the dials, trying to make whatever it was in the distance come into focus. What I seen made my stomach drop as I released the periscope. "Bepo, best get your captain. We got a Marine battleship closing in on us."

"What?!" yelped Bepo, pulling the periscope down to see for himself. "Oh no!" releasing it, the bear Mink rushed over to one of the voice pipes. "Captain! There's a coated battleship gaining on us!"

I rushed over to Jean Bart, looking over his shoulder at the control panel. "Think you could get us passed the storm that surrounds the Archipelago in the next ten minutes?" I questioned, shifting my gaze up to watch through the large reinforced glass window. "Drop 19 meters. You want to stay 25 meters above the seafloor from this point on, otherwise get caught in the current and become Brutus' snack." I pointed out, just as the door opened up.

"Jean Bart-ya, Bepo, what is going on?" demanded Law, taking his seat on the 'Captain's chair'.

"There's a coated battleship directly on our tail, Law," I piped up, before muttering a few calculations to Jean Bart. "Head north 11 meters then head west for 58 meters; there should be a stone arch that will signal clearing the storm and Brutus." I explained, stepping back and heading towards the door.

"Where are you going, Rain-ya?" questioned Law, his slate gray gaze following me as I came to a stop.

"To get ready to greet our guests." I stated, looking over my shoulder and grinning widely. "Jean Bart, if you would be so kind to surface once we are in the clear so I can get off. I'll deal with the Marines while you go on to Sun Island."

Jean Bart hesitated as he looked at Law, waiting for confirmation orders. "We will surface, however we will also stay to watch you greet our guests, Rain-ya."

I nodded in agreement, leaving the bridge to grab my staff. Purupurupuru… Purupurupuru… Purupurupuru… I pulled my Den Den Mushi out from my trusty bag and picked up the receiver. Gotcha. "Hello?"

"Commander Rain!"

"Dalton! What can I do for you?" I questioned while walking into Law's room and grabbing my stuff and packing it away, my staff in hand, as I made my way to the top deck entrance as the sub began surfacing.

"I'm here to inform you that it is not just the one battleship! There are 5 in total, and all of them are being led by Commodore Sanada!"

"Understood. Once the ship you're on surfaces, jump ship and start swimming towards Sun Island, unless you can get ahold of Niko and have him pick you up."

"Copy that!"

I placed the snail back into my bag as I took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled as I opened the doors; the mist spraying me in the face as I watched the five battleships rise and surround us. "Well, well, well! If it isn't cute little Sanada!" I shouted, spying the surly looking Commodore. The man in question scowled, his orange gaze burning as he glared at me.

"Hard to believe we would find you so soon, Hurricane Rain!" he shouted loudly.

"That's Rear Admiral Ame to you, San-swan~" I shouted back in a sickeningly sweet voice.

His dark face turned purple at the reminder. "How dare you impersonate an outstanding Marine!"

"Rear Admiral?" questioned Law from behind me.

I merely spun on my heel and slowly walked across the deck, easily passing by Law as I lowered my head. "Never pictured someone with Vice Admiral Garp's blood to run away like a coward!"

"Who said anything about running away?" I chuckled, making it the other side of the Polar Tang's largest deck, before turning around. "Unlike Gramps, I don't like wrecking other people's toys!" I shouted at Sanada as I began running back across before shooting myself off the railing and began air hopping over to the largest battleship.

"Shoot her out of the sky!" the Commodore screamed at his subordinates.

†††

Dalton coughed, clearing his throat of seawater as he climbed up the side of the yellow fish shaped submarine, blood seeping from the wound on his right flank and staining his sky blue hoodie red with blood as he got on the deck with his heavy metal case. His side burned, forcing the 19 year old to wince and grit his teeth as he popped open the case, displaying the dismantled sniper rifle [1] and his specially made .50 caliber ammunition.

The Hearts seemed to be more focused on the lone woman, allowing Dalton to put together his creation in peace and load it. Once satisfied, the teen grabbed his case and made his way through the gathered pirates. "Excuse me, coming through, guy with a loaded gun here…" The pirates all parted, looking at him questioningly as he set up, pushing his blond bang from his left eye, exposing the scope that covered his blue eye, laying on his stomach as he adjusted the rifle. With a subtle shift, Dalton exhaled slowly and gently squeezed the trigger; the resulting shot shook the submarine as the casing hit the deck, causing a good portion of the Heart Pirates to stumble around while Law gripped the railing.

The round hit one of the battleships, making it erupt into flames as it exploded on impact, making Dalton smirk in satisfaction.

A dissatisfied snail slinked out of the heavy metal case, its eyes glaring at the grinning blond youth. "Dammit, Dalton! What the Hell is going on?" swore Niko from the other end.

"Keep your tail feathers on, Niko my man, and sit back and enjoy my art show, hmm…" Donny grunted, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance as he reloaded the gun and took aim once more.

"Brat! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Get in line!" the teen retorted hotly as he rolled over, his legs spread far apart as he settled the heavy— 120 lbs. worth of deadly machinery at work— weapon between them and took aim; easily firing multiple rounds one after the other to destroy the cannons on the ship behind him before sending out an explosive round. Spent casings littered the deck of the Polar Tang, some rolling off and falling into the sea, while others still smoked from recent use, and a few even slid across the forming pool of blood.

†††

I grunted, my back slamming hard against the ship railing as Sanada sneered down at me, his Seastone laced gloves dyed red from my blood. "After I deliver your head to the World Government, I'll go look for your bastard brother and take his head! Maybe I'll even send Vice Admiral Garp both of your hearts to show what happens to those born of toxic blood!"

Something in me just snapped when he mentioned Luffy and Gramps; Sanada speaking the same words I would hear from those unknowingly talking about Ace, which caused my blood to boil in anger. "I'll kill you before you even lay a hand on Luffy!" A wave of Haki erupted and knocked out all of the lower ranked Marines. Covering my arms in Armament Haki, I rushed forth, using my left forearm to block a punch from the Seastone gloves and quickly jabbed Sanada right in the nose. The moment he staggered back did I quickly lift him up and powerbomb him, causing the boards of the deck to buckle under the force.

"Not so fast!" someone shouted from behind, taking the chance to wrap a chain around my neck; choking me while also pulling me off Sanada. I tried thrashing, yet my head began to spin, a feeling of nausea hitting me hard as it felt like my body started to crash from low blood sugar.

"S-Seastone!" I realized too late as the Marine smashed my face into the deck, while two others spread my arms out as they forced me to my knees.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you, vermin?" sneered Sanada as he got up, and kicked me hard in the face. I spat the forming wad of mucus and blood at his face in retaliation. The sullen asshole scowled, wiping the mixture from his face as he was handed a sword. "Prepare to die for your sins, wretch!" he shouted, raising the blade as he prepared to swing it down on my neck.

I merely chuckled, a grin splitting my face in two as I struggled to breathe with the chain still wrapped around my neck. "We D.'s always manage to find a way to survive, San-swan! Best not forget that!" I rasped as the Marine above me tightened the chains around my neck in hopes of cutting off my air supply. Just as he started to bring the blade down onto my neck, a swirl of blue obscured my vision as the pressure was finally eased off my neck; the Seastone chains going slack and unraveling to the point they slipped off me. Taking the chance, I swept the other Marine's feet from under him as the other two was taken down by the swirl of blue.

"You and Ace sure like getting yourselves nearly killed– yoi!"

"Oh stuff it, you overgrown peacock!" I grunted, jamming my elbow into the gut of a charging Marine, and then sent him flying with a tornado uppercut into the stormy water for Brutus.

†††

Dalton huffed, feeling woozy from blood loss, and felt the Dark Doctor's gaze burn into him as he re-positioned himself and focused on the two remaining battleships. "Stop staring at me like that, it's going to make me blush, hmm…," he sarcastically informed the glowering older male.

Law narrowed his eyes in distaste at the bleeding youth that somehow snuck aboard his submarine, and with such a large weapon on top of it all.

"Stop ignoring me, brat! What is going on over there by Mars Island?!"

The blond teen grunted in annoyance, glaring at the angry looking snail. "Obviously it's Commander Rain fighting alongside— what appears to be— none other than Marco the Phoenix. Hmm… Seems like stupid Sanada pissed her off, if her kneeing him in the groin is anything to go by." Dalton winced, feeling the pain deep within his own loins. "Also, I'm slowly bleeding out while being glared at by the likes of the Surgeon of Death, hmm. So how is everything going on your end, hmm?"

"Do you honestly think this is the time for casual conversation, brat?" Niko grumbled. "If you must know, Tora and Odd are seeing to the Boss. He finally woke up three days ago, and is quickly recovering, which has Tora's tail all in a knot from amazement at his recovery progress."

"So, they're also probably working as a distraction to keep him from joining in any fights, hn?"


AmericanNidiot: Okay, first I'd like to fangirl because raepan2010 is following this story! Like OMFG! Senpai noticed me! -does Sanji's noodle dance- If you haven't already, I totally suggest reading her One Piece fanfictions!

Now that the fangirling is done with (no, it's not, but I honestly need to get this out so it is silently there), I'll get to the main reason I'm editing this chapter (aka chapter 6~ The magic of copy-paste). I just noticed, while writing this chapter, that I cannot possibly make up a whole new pirate crew on my own without possibly reusing old OC's and hammering them into fitting into One Piece. I mean, I already have 6 OC's (not including Rain) for the new Spade Pirates, but I need at least 10 more. So here's the thing, if you want your OC featured into the story (NOT AS A LOVE INTEREST), then send them in via review or PM! If I get sent more than 10, I'll use a random number generator and choose that way. So here you go, guys! Its your chance to shine, and have your character come to life!

[1] - Dalton's weapon of choice is basically Harkonnen from Hellsing, which is used by none other than Seras Victoria. Also, if you haven't noticed, Dalton is based on Deidara from Naruto. Mainly in looks and the way they talk, however Dalton has a bit more of a bratty personality and enjoys ruffling Niko's feathers because he's so damn serious/strict.

ghostvu - Well, we get to see some Ace/Tora in this chapter (which physical description of Tora! :D). There will be more to come between our main pairings, so look forward to that!

Guest (chapter 6) - I finally updated! A bit late, but I updated, so please enjoy!

rose46652 - Did you love it because of Law snuggling up to Rain, or because Rain basically fell back to sleep while petting Law as if he was a cat? ;D

gabrielsangel23 - Your wish is my command!

sarge1130 - You left a review for each chapter! AH! Thank you so much! And you actually got something right on your review of the 2nd chapter. Rain did work for the Revolutionaries for a while (though she mostly did her own thing, hence why she's never met Ivankov or Kuma), though she did not steal a Marines uniform. She actually joined the Navy under the fake name of Ame (which means Rain in Japanese lol), which she eventually became Rear Admiral, though she dressed like a lower ranking Marine just so she could move about more freely. Rain's main goal was recruiting for Dragon and also for herself, and just to screw around with the Government while trying to find any information on Roger being Ace's father so she could destroy it, while also covering her brothers' asses.

Rain is canonly stronger than Ace (seeing as Ace had never actually learned Haki). Her reason of being his first mate has nothing to do with Roger, but with Ace as a whole. She knew Luffy would get someone that will keep him in check, and gather a crew that could easily balance him out, yet Ace is too reckless, and is prone to making Rain worry the most. She's been with Luffy since he was basically born, yet only a few short years with Ace, so she feels the need to mother him more than Luffy because they haven't been together for long.

Actually, I don't ship Luffy with anyone (in a serious way) that is apart of canon. I like fan art of all the different Luffy ships, yet I don't really ship him with anyone. As for Robin, I fully ship her with Franky more so than anyone.

Law does learn Haki during the time skip, because *SPOILERS* he uses Armament on Doflamingo during Dressrosa, and from my understanding, you have to have stronger Armament than your opponent if you ever hope to hurt them, such as with Vergo on Punk Hazard. I'm just guessing that it did not physically show itself until Dressrosa. *END SPOILERS* Though I am thinking of having Rain teach Law the basics before he leaves Galaxy Way Archipelago.

Yes, Rain had her Devil Fruit long before meeting Ace, and even before she met Shanks. She actually has had it ever since she was a child (much like Luffy), around the time Luffy was born actually.

She'll figure out the meaning of Law's tattoos in the far future.

MuffinMan9223 - You mean the cuddle scene?

kurlz - Thank you!

duaba - YOUR WRITING IS ENTERTAINING, BUBU! Like, every time you update, I feel like kicking myself in the ass because I have so many stories to update DX

CrystalVixen93 - Here is the update you've been looking forward to! Sorry I'm late updating, but better late than never, right? :)

I'll hopefully have the next chapter up by the end of the month, or sometime in the beginning of November. If not, someone PM me a kick in the ass so I can get my shit into gear.