A/N: Hey guys, Im back! Surprise! Hehehe... yeah... sorry about that month long disappearance! I didn't mean to do it I swear, and I have good reasons as to why I was missing, but I wont go into that here, if you want to know why I disappeared read the A/N at the end of this chapter and I'll tell you all about it. Just know that I will not abandon this story. Ever. I've already planned out all the next chapters and the ending, so I wont have any problems with that, BUT I may disappear again this month seeing as Christmas is coming and things are going to be hectic, so there's your heads up, but January will be back on the regular schedule for sure! So! About this chapter. Its kind of boring I guess, but long(ish?) I tried to make it longer but I didn't want to make it too boring. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to see you next week if things don't get too out of control!
Warning: Ace might seem a little OOC! He's going a big part of the next few chapters so I hope its not too bad, but we only saw Ace for a short time throughout the anime so we never got to know how he would act in some situations. I hope I did him justice though!
"Its a good thing we've got these clouds or else I wouldn't be able to move!" Tony says cheerfully, looking above them where Cat Burglars clouds were floating, following the group as they walked.
"Mm, its gonna suck when you guys leave, I'll have to be pulled on the sled again." Chopper said sadly.
"At least you don't have to walk through the heat." Usopp said, jealous.
"At least you're not the one pulling him." Nami said.
"Like your one to talk, besides, Zoro thinks its training, he wants to pull Chopper!" Usopp whined, Zoro merely shrugging, not denying the words. Luffy laughed at his crews antics, arms behind his head as he walked slightly ahead with Sabo, the two of them having a conversation of their own involving Luffy asking Sabo if he's had any interesting meat at the organization he works at.
Meanwhile, the other future members, besides Tony who was caught up in the previous conversation, were thinking about how they could forgive their past. Sniper was beginning to trail behind as he thought, staring at the ground.
Could he forgive himself? He hadn't exactly been trying hard to get to his Captain when they were separated, and that's what bothered him the most. He was acting on his own desires, completely forgetting that he had a Captain to try and return to. Instead of working on a way to get back he was blindly eating food left and right, trusting that everyone was ok, and that it would all work out in the end.
How wrong he had been.
His Captain was fighting a war without him. His Captain was traversing the hell of Impel Down, doing everything in his power to save his brother, and he was rolling in food. Monkey had gone to Marineford, fought in a war, and lost his brother, all while he was running from man eating plants, only wondering how he was going to live, and potentially eat more food.
When he saw that newspaper it was like the happy filter on his life shattered, showing the dark, horrible truth. He had failed his Captain. He had failed Ace. How was he supposed to become a Brave Warrior of the Sea when he was running from bugs and not facing the truth that his Captain was in danger, and he had done nothing to help him. He could have lost Monkey in that war, and he wouldn't have been any the wiser, not until the newspaper came to deliver the news to him.
Sniper blinked back unwanted tears at the thought as he raised his head, noticing how far back he had trailed, nearly to the point that Cat Burglar's clouds weren't covering him in shade anymore. Speeding up his pace he caught back up, glancing over to Monkey who seemed to, uncharacteristically, be thinking, like the rest of the future members besides Tony. Scanning around again he saw Ace slightly off to the side.
If he wanted to be a Brave Warrior of the Sea he had to face his past. Steeling up his courage Sniper took a deep breath, straightening himself and walking over to Ace. The older looked at Sniper as he approached, offering a smile in greeting, which Sniper nervously returned. Though curious everyone else kept to themselves, starting conversations amongst themselves so Ace and Sniper could talk in private.
"What's up Sniper?" Ace asked easily. Sniper stared at the ground in front of them, not sure how to answer.
"Well, I was thinking... to get back we have to... forgive our past, and to do that, the best way would be to talk to you... so..." Sniper trailed off, not knowing how to continue. Ace waited patiently for Sniper to continue, thankful for his experience as a division commander. Members of his division always came to him when they had problems and he had gotten good at listening and giving advice to them, so why would this be any different?
"When we were separated all of us were sent to different islands." Sniper began, feeling that the best way to talk about this would be to start from the beginning.
"I don't really know where the others were sent to, we never really talk about it, but I was sent to one of the islands in the Bon Archipelago. At first I had no idea where I was, or anyone else, but when I got hungry and calmed down I realized the whole island was covered in food and I started eating, almost forgetting everything that had happened. I met a guy named Hercules, and he saved me from the man eating plants on the island, but... all I could think about was eating, and I was just hungry, not even thinking about how I should try and leave the island and get back to the others. I was a coward, and I didn't want to try fighting the plants on that island so I was going to wait, but..." Sniper trailed off again, remembering the newspaper that came that day.
"Then the news came... the news of your execution... and... I..." Sniper once again trailed off, the memories of that black and white picture of Aces body on the stone ground of Marineford haunting him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, turning to Ace now with a look of sadness.
"It.. it just hit me. Hit me that, while Luf- Monkey- while Monkey was fighting a war to save you I was waiting for him to find me because I was too scared to save myself. I guess... what I feel guilty about is how much I used to rely on Monkey, how much I didn't try to defend or save myself. I would always wait for Monkey, always wait for him to do the fighting for me, but when I was waiting for him then, he was miles away, doing his best to find you, and I didn't do anything more then eat." Sniper said gloomily. Ace frowned, sensing that Sniper was done speaking for the moment, and decided now was the best time to start talking.
"You know, its not your fault. Its not your fault that I went and got captured, its not your fault that you all were separated, and I know its not your fault Monkey went to save me. Whether you were on an island miles and miles away or right there with him I know that, if you had known what was happening, you would have helped him, no matter how scared you were. Its not your fault that you relied on Monkey so much, he's your Captain, and from what I know of you so far, you had only seen him fight for you all and protect you from the bad guys, so to expect him to show up on your island and save you wasn't too far fetched an idea. What matters is that when you found out about what happened you fought through your fear and did anything you could to get to him, right?" Ace asks, sounding much wiser for his age. Sniper gapes at him momentarily before answering.
"Y-Yeah, but-"
"No buts, because in the end you were loyal to your Captain and you realized that he needed you, whether it was that same day or months later. You still did everything you could to get back to him." Ace finished. He didn't know all that well what had happened but he could guess.
"If you had known that Monkey went to go fight a war would you still have sat there and ate all that food, or would you have tried to find a way to get off the island faster and help him?" Ace asks. Sniper looks to the ground, but doesn't hesitate to answer.
"Of course I would go and save him!" He says, causing Ace to smile.
"Then you kept your promise with me. You looked after Monkey when I couldn't, and Im sure that future me knew that too, whether I saw you guys at that war or not." Ace says in a finality type of tone, leaving no more room for argument. Not that Sniper had anything more to say.
It was like a weight was lifted as Sniper slowly straightened from his slightly slouched position. Talking to Ace had definitely helped, and now, looking back on it, knowing that Ace accepted the way he had acted, believed that he had kept his promise, made all that guilt melt away.
He had tried getting to Monkey after he found out what had happened, he wouldn't be able to call himself a Straw Hat if he hadn't! And in the end, as long as he did the best he could, it would all be alright.
Cat Burglar watched as Sniper slowly smiled after his conversation with Ace, watched as he slowly straightened and rejoined the group, talking to Tony, Chopper, Monkey and Luffy animatedly, and realized that maybe she should talk to Ace too. It helped Sniper, and she had no doubt it would help her too, but she could feel the nervousness beginning to take form in her gut. She wanted to talk to Ace, and she knew he would listen, but she still had the nagging thought that, once Ace knew she had just been up in the clouds, literally, while his little brother had been fighting a war he would get mad at her and tell her how stupid she had been. She knew these fears were irrational, but she also knew there was always the smallest possibility that something like that could happen.
Taking a deep breath she gathered her emotions, clearing her face and making it impossible to tell how she was feeling in that moment. Walking over to Ace she didn't say anything, and neither did he, everyone else around them continuing on with their own conversations.
"I guess the best way to... accept what happened is to talk with you, huh?" Cat Burglar asks calmly, though a storm still raged inside her. Ace nodded.
"It would seem so. I didn't know that I was going to become a therapist on this trip, but I guess its good practice." Ace jokes, and Cat Burglar feels the smallest hint of a smile grace her lips at the attempt to ease the tension. The navigator took a deep breath, her gaze drifting from Aces face to the clear, cloudless sky ahead of them. Well, if you didn't count the clouds she created herself that is.
"So... the best way to get this over with would be to start in the beginning, right?" She asks, mostly to herself, yet Ace still answers.
"That's where Sniper started, it seems to be a pretty good method." He says calmly, patiently, Cat Burglar nods in response, gathering her thoughts, thinking about how she should start.
"Well... I guess... My guilt starts at the second I was separated from Monkey." She begins, a frown falling on her face as she remembers that day.
"What happened?" Ace asks curiously, not even knowing how the crew had been separated in the first place.
"I wont tell too much, but... we were all being sent to different islands due to a devil fruit. First it had been Roronoa, then... well, that doesn't matter anymore... what matters is that, when I was running from the guy with the devil fruit I was terrified, Monkey had told us to run, that we couldn't fight this man, and... when I saw all of my friends disappearing without a trace, it scared me, and his hand got closer, and I saw Monkey running towards me, heard him call my name," Cat Burglar stopped suddenly, a shiver running through her at the memory, the raw fear she saw in her Captains eyes at that moment, the desperation.
She took a calming breath, closing her eyes and breathing as deep as she could. Ace walked silently, taking in her words. Whoever this person was must be strong for Monkey to tell them to run and not fight. Not to mention this person was making them disappear completely to different islands? What kind of devil fruit did this guy have?
"When I saw him I said something I regret saying the most in my life. I looked him right in the eye, held out a hand and said, 'Luffy! Help!' and within seconds I was sent to Weatheria, a Sky Island. I disappeared right in front of Monkeys eyes after asking him to help me, when I knew he couldn't help me, he had been too far, but I still said it, and I regret it. It was almost like I was rubbing it into him that he wasn't strong enough to save us then. Even after that, when I was on Weatheria, I had no sense of urgency. Sure, I knew that I had to get back to the others, had to regroup with them, but when I saw all of the different advancements Weatheria had I was awed, I began to think, 'Maybe I don't have to get back right away, after all, they can survive a few extra hours, maybe even an extra day without me!' If only I had known what was happening while I was wasting time there, just because the thought of a shower intrigued me!" Cat Burglar says with almost a seething anger towards herself for her selfless actions then. She could remember having those thoughts and they appalled her.
Ace had remained silent, feeling that the best way for Cat Burglar to get over her guilt would be to vent the whole ordeal, whereas Sniper needed comfort and reassurance that what had happened wasn't his fault. Everyone deals with their guilt differently and soon he was going to know how each member of the Straw Hat crew dealt with theirs.
"But did it stop at showers?! No! That stupid weather knot made me want to stay, the stupid weather ball made me want to stay, the stupid research notes made me want to stay! Im a navigator, and right in front of me was years of information on weather patterns and ways to manipulate them, and while I was busy having fun in the clouds Monkey was in a war, going through hell, without us, without me, because I was too busy lolly gagging!" Cat Burglar shouted, continuing her rant. Everyone respectfully, and some even fearfully, ignored Cat Burglars words, even Nami herself, no matter how curious they were to know what she was saying. They all continued on with their own questions and thoughts, not even glancing twice at the raving red head who was flailing her arms around wildly, shark teeth adorning her normally mischievously grinning mouth.
Ace dodged the navigators flailing limbs with ease, having had good practice when Luffy was little and learning his devil fruit powers, and watched with almost amused eyes, though made sure not to let too much amusement show in fear that the navigator would turn her wrath his way. After a few more minutes of ranting Cat Burglar sighed, running a hand down her face, eyes closed, yet a look of frustration still present on her face.
"Sometimes I just want to go into the past and shout some sense into myself." She grumbles. Ace smiles a little, deciding now was a better time than ever to speak.
"You may want to change the past but that's impossible, there's no reason dwelling on something you can't change, so you may as well look at what's ahead of you and work on being a better person then you were yesterday. Like I told Sniper, I know that if you had been there at Monkey's side that day you would have done all you could to help him. You would have chosen Monkey over all of the advancements on Weatheria, and that's what matters in the end, that you would have helped if you had known." Ace says, watching the frustration and anger melt from Cat Burglars face, her arms going limp at her sides. She closes her eyes briefly, taking another deep breath, before smiling slightly as well and turning to face him.
"You know what? Your right. I spend too much time looking back on things I could have done, things I should have done differently, when I should be trying to find things to do differently now, find ways to better myself." She says, her self-confidence increasing, smile widening. It was quiet between them once more for a moment before she spoke again.
"Thanks Ace. I really needed this, more then you could imagine, and there aren't exactly many people to rant to on this crew. Robins always got an ear open, and I'm sure Monkey would listen if asked, but... I never want to burden them with my problems, especially when they've gone through much worse things then I have." Cat Burglar finishes, glancing at the mingling crews. Ace nods.
"Its no problem, I understand, but Im sure they wouldn't think you were burdening them, they care about you." Ace says, the conversation falling silent for the last time. Cat Burglar left, mulling over everything she's ranted about and all the advice Ace gave her while Ace waited for the next crewmate to come his way in search of forgiving themselves. He didn't have any idea who would be next, or when they would come his way, but he wasn't surprised when it was Tony who did it, shyly skirting away from the other crewmembers and making his way to Aces side, staring at the ground ahead of them and fidgeting with his hooves.
Everyone deals with guilt differently, and it was his job to figure out how to help Tony.
"Hey Tony, what's up?" Ace asks, trying to start the conversation, knowing that if he didn't do it now they would probably walk in silence for hours.
Tony let out a small 'Eep' of surprise, jumping slightly, before fidgeting beside him once more, looking everywhere but at him.
"I-I.. you know, I-Its just that... everyone's coming to you about... about what happened a-and..." Tony trailed off, not quite sure what to say next.
"You think it'll help you too." Ace said matter of factly, Tony nodding meekly in response.
"Im sure it will, no need to be scared, I can handle anything you throw at me." Ace said cockily, grinning towards Tony who smiled back.
"W-Well... when we were separated I was sent to the Torino Kingdom and the natives tried eating me. After they were attacked by giant birds and a lot of talking and convincing I made friends with all of them, and they had so many books on medical knowledge! It was so cool, and I wanted to read all of them, but... then the news came... and I saw what happened. Monkey had been in a war, and I, his doctor, wasn't there to patch him up, wasn't there to help him get better! He almost died and I wasn't anywhere near him to help!" Tony cried, fat tears rolling down his face and drying in his fur.
Suddenly he let out a wail, attracting the crews attention, but they all seemed to think that Ace would handle it, and after sending a worried look to Tony they resumed with their conversations. Before Ace could try to comfort the tiny reindeer there was fur blocking his view, causing him to stumble back slightly as he realized Tony had just latched onto his face.
Ace realized at that moment that the reindeer wasn't going to be like Sniper and Cat Burglar who found comfort in talking things out, Tony was going to need physical comfort rather than the comfort of words. Smiling softly Ace pried Tony off his face, resuming their walk, while hugging Tony to his chest, letting the blue nosed reindeer cry as much as he wanted too.
It went on this way for a little bit, the crew trying their best to block out the sounds of Tony's wails, though Robin seemed to be having the hardest time with that, and Ace continuously petting Tony's back and making sure they continued walking straight. When Tony finally let go Ace set him on the ground, raising an eyebrow and smiling.
"Better?" He asks, and Tony nods, rubbing his eye.
"Yeah... thanks Ace." He said, smiling up at Ace, causing Ace's smile to widen.
"No problem. Besides, you don't have to worry, now that you're back together you'll always be there to patch up Monkey, and if he ever gets in too much trouble make sure to yell at him for me. My little brother can be more then a handful at times and can be overly reckless." Ace said, Tony giggling in response.
"Don't worry, I always tell him he shouldn't do such reckless things, but he never listens. I'll be sure to yell extra for you too!" Tony says in a childlike manner that keeps Ace's smile on his face, watching Tony rejoin the group happily, a weight seemingly lifted off the poor reindeer's shoulders.
Glancing around at the others Ace noticed just how many more people had to come talk to him. He was happy to help but it was hard to give advice on something you knew nothing about. Ace was stubborn though, and he'd be damned if he didn't try and help the crew. Looking once more at the group he sighed.
Well, three down, seven to go.
A/N: Hey guys, hope you liked this chapter! I feel like the end was kind of rushed but I really wanted to get this chapter out this week sooo... meh. What can you do? Anyways, as I promised at the beginning of this chapter, I'll explain why I disappeared the whole month of November:
The day after I had uploaded the last chapter I hadn't yet begun writing this one. After an amazingly boring day at school I was met with the news that there was a death in the family and before I knew it we were out the door and driving our way down to Florida with nothing more than an extra set of clothes, chargers, and toiletries, meaning... I didn't have my laptop. We left in such a rush that I didn't have time to grab my laptop and we ended up staying in Florida for 2 weeks before coming home. After that I was playing catch up at school and, seeing as its my Senior year, of course we were doing five different projects and essays. *Sigh* This also left me no time to write, and seeing as Thanksgiving break was right around the corner I was hoping to work on this then, but I was still completely swamped in school work so nothing got done then either. By the end of November, and after narrowly passing my classes, I finally had time to write again and I began the arduous task of remembering where I left off and rereading previous chapters so I wouldn't forget anything. After that I wrote this somewhat decent chapter and that leaves us to now! Like I said before, December might be just as hectic and I might disappear again but I'll do my best to keep getting my chapters out weekly! Just know that, come January, everything will be normal once again! Anyways, see you guys next week (Hopefully)!