Disclaimer : I claim no rights to the anime One Piece.

"We acquire the strength we have overcome." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Chapter Six : Drifting Waves.

Once again, Antaeus found himself staring at the same crappy ceiling fan he had when he arrived in Baterilla the first time. The memory caused him to smile and eagerly wait for the next moment. And like clockwork, the door to his room slammed open and Dr. Kureha's form stepped through wearing a scowl; a flask filled with plum sake in her hand.

"It's been three damn weeks and you got yourself injured again."

"Ah," Antaeus croaked, raising a bandaged covered arm. "But this time it wasn't my fault-"

"I don't give a damn if it wasn't your fault or not!" Kureha snapped, marching over and plopping down on the rickety chair next to his temporary bed. "The fact is that you got injured again three weeks after I patched your ass up the first time. What do you have, eh? A magnet attracting trouble stuck up your ass?"

Antaeus snickered, which quickly turned into a groan when the action caused a sharp pain to shoot up and down his body. He flushed up to the roots of his hair when Kureha smirked slyly, having seen his pain.

"Serves ya right, ya damned brat."

Antaeus huffed and turned away from the pleased look the doctor was sporting. "Are Sabo and Drake okay? I remember Sabo being shot and how long has it been?"

"Those two bumbling idiots are fine, Sabo will be sporting a sling for his arm for a week or two and Drake got away with some scrapes. As for how long it's been; about three days give or take."

Antaeus sighed at the answers. Internally gratefully that his friends made it out okay. He would have never forgiven himself if something happened to them. Turning back to face Kureha, he raised an eyebrow at the look of wariness she was giving him.

"What is it?"

Kureha sighed, taking a sip of plum sake from her flask before placing back at her hip. "You really are troublesome, boy."

Antaeus painfully turned to fully face the doctor. "I know, and I'm sorry for causing you trouble again so soon, Dr. Kureha-"

"Ah, shut up, ya damned brat." Kureha snapped without bite. "It's my job to patch idiots like you up." Kureha reached over and gently ruffled his hair. "How's your memory? Didn't lose anything?"

"No," Antaeus lied. "I didn't gain anything either."

"I'm sure you'll get it back," Kureha sighed, staring out the window, a faraway look sliding over features. "It is best that you be prepared if your memory never returns."

"Am I welcome to stay here if it doesn't?" Antaeus asked. "I have no other place to go-"

"Don't be stupid, boy," Kureha turned back to him, golden eyes showing sympathy. "Of course you can stay here. I'm sure Robin wouldn't mind you becoming a permanent fixture in her life."

"She will eventually." Antaeus grinned weakly. "I'll have to save up enough beri to get my own place. I can't be an inconvenience to her forever."

"I doubt you are," Kureha murmured. "Robin has told me countless times that she loves having you. Makes life a little less boring on this island. She used to be an archaeologist a lifetime ago."

"Oh? What made her quit?"

"That's something you're going to have to ask her." Kureha rose from the seat. "Now, it's time to check you over."

"Eh?" Antaeus shook his head, remembering the examinations Kureha gave him no more than a week ago. "I-It's okay! I'm feeling okay-OUCH!"

"Don't be a baby!"

Antaeus hissed when Kureha pressed firmly on his broken arm feeling along the length of his arm. He bit his lips when she moved on to his twisted ankle. He must have landed on it awkwardly when Blackbeard slammed him on the sand.

Thinking of the pirate caused a deep shudder to run over him, closing his eyes he could vividly remember the pirates cold laugh, rancid breath and large, callused hands.

"You cold?" Kureha asked, having seen him shudder. "I can get you some extra blankets."

"No, I'm fine, thank you,"

"What's the matter then? Don't enjoy a beautiful woman's hands on you?"

Antaeus let out a burst of surprised laughter at Kureha's words. The older woman never ceased to amaze him with her bold words. "No, this is all very intimate."

"Cheeky brat."

Kureha finished her examination with a grim frown. "Broken arm, twisted ankle, bruised neck, and multiple scratches. Blackbeard certainly did a number on you, boy."

"It was worth it." touching his broken arm, Antaeus smiled weakly. "I couldn't let him hurt Sabo or Drake."

"Sabo and Drake can take care of themselves." Kureha scolded. "Been doing that since they were kids."

"They've done so much for me and I couldn't just sit there-"

"Of course you couldn't, I can't honestly imagine what kind of person you were before your memory loss; probably a marine."

"Nah, they would've found me if I was marine. They seem to keep tabs on their members pretty well."

Kureha snorted and looked pretty amused about his words, though Antaeus didn't find the statement funny at all. He wondered what she was thinking about.

"So, what now?" he asked, mainly to fill the silence that descended on them.

"You can go home tomorrow," Kureha flicked his forehead playfully. "Sabo and Drake are going to come and pick you up." Kureha moved to the door. "Oh and by the way, those two are pissed at you."

"For what?"

Kureha opened the door and glanced over her shoulder, tossing him a manic grin. "For getting your ass kicked, what else?"

Antaeus mouth dropped as Kureha stepped through the door and slammed it with a resounding force. Groaning, he placed his uninjured arm over his eyes and contemplated drowning in the ocean to avoid the scolding or yelling he was going to get in the morning.

Antaeus watched from the window as the sun dipped below the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, but his mind wasn't processing it enough to truly appreciate it. His mind was on other things. Closing his eyes as the breeze from the window drifted across his face, Antaeus shivered as he remembered the memory flash he experienced before Blackbeard arrived. The sounds of screams and the smell of burning wood made his noise twitch and his eyes burn. Opening his eyes, he turned away from the sunset and buried his face into the soft pillow. He wanted nothing more than to drown out the memory, but he couldn't and for the life of him some part of him didn't want to. It felt as if his brain was telling him not to forget this particular memory, but what was so important about it? From the images, it wasn't too hard to figure that he was in a ship and they were being attacked by the marines.

But why? Why was the ship he was on being attack by the marines? Did they do something wrong? Were they on the run? Or, or was the ship he was on belonged to pirates?

Antaeus took his face out of his pillow at that particular thought. Him? A pirate? It sounded absolutely ridiculous! There was no way that he could be pirate or even belong to a group of pirates.

"Besides." Antaeus thought harshly. "I would never want to be associated with any kind of pirate after Blackbeard. They're nothing but bunch of barbarians! Attacking innocent people for no reason at all."

Antaeus huffed and carefully brought his knees up to his chest. If he ever ran into Blackbeard again then he would make damn sure to break that bastard's arm. See if he liked the sound of his bones cracking and the intense pain that came with it. He finally understood why Sabo disliked pirates. It was a feeling that he knew all too well now. Antaeus took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles, it wasn't good for him physically or mentally to get angry at something that already happened. It wasn't going to help at all with figuring out the rest of that memory flash. the most interest part of all.

"Your husband is going to burn me alive if I don't get you out of here." Antaeus repeated word for word. For some reason, those words brought a beaming smile to his face. He couldn't understand it. He should be frightened or surprised at the fact that he actually had a husband, but he hasn't. Maybe it was the fact that some part of him was hoping that the dark haired man, whom he called Marcellus, was his husband, and if he was, was he out looking for him? Antaeus' heart twisted at the thought of making Marcellus worry, husband or not. He knew the man held some kind of importance if he showed up more than one time. If he ever met Marcellus, ever figured out his real name then he would apologize to him for making him worry.

Shifting his gaze back to the window, Antaeus blinked at the darkness covering the sky. With a grunt, he reached up and shut the window until only a small space between the frame and glass remained. He climbed under the covers and laid his head on the pillow allowing himself to think about Marcellus, from his dark hair to those freckles that he found remarkably cute with each passing day. Once again, he found himself sending a quick prayer to whatever sea god was listening to give him a chance to meet Marcellus and recover his memories. Regardless of the fact that he was enjoying his stay in Baterilla, something was pulling at him, telling him that he had to remember. It was frightening at how strong that feeling was, but Antaeus was up to the challenge. He was going to get his memories back; the bad and the good.

xxxxxx

The next morning Antaeus found himself waking up the slamming of the door and the sound of yelling. Yawning, he rubbed his eyes and looked around, dazed and confused at where the sounds were coming from and who was making all that noise so early.

The door to his room creaked open and Sabo's face peaked in. Antaeus beamed at the sight of his friend who was looking well. His smile slid off his face when he spotted the sling his friend was sporting. Right. He had briefly forgotten Kureha telling him Sabo was going to be in a sling for a few weeks.

"Hey," Sabo came further into the room, sitting down in the rickety chair. "What's with the frown? I thought you'd be happy to see me?"

"I am," Antaeus quickly reassured. "But your arm-"

"This?" Sabo gently moved his constricted limb. "It's nothing to worry about! I've had worse."

Antaeus chuckled. "I'm sorry, but that doesn't make me feel the least bit better about the situation."

"I understand." Sabo suddenly looked serious. "I need you to promise me something, Antaeus."

"What is it?"

"What happened with Blackbeard can not happen again, alright? I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt or worse."

"I promise, but you and Drake have to promise as well, okay? I feel the same way about you two getting hurt or worse."

"Drake and I can take care of ourselves." Sabo stated. "It's you we're worried about."

"So, the both of you can go charging into danger but I can't?" Antaeus asked, feeling offended. "I'm not some frail child-"

"We didn't say you were, Antaeus." Drake said from the doorway. "You were just in here three weeks ago with memory loss and now you're back with worse injuries than you had previously."

"I'm fine," Antaeus spat out. "If I could remember my damn past then I could probably say that I've had worse than this."

"Nah," Sabo said after a brief pause. "I don't think so."

"Again, do you know anyone else with amnesia?" Antaeus huffed, laying back down on the bed. "Don't you two have somewhere to be?"

"Not really," Drake stepped further into the room, closing the door tightly behind him. "We decided to spend the entire day with you and discuss our little incident."

"Great, just great,"

"C'mon don't be like that, eh?" Sabo nudged him with his socked foot. "We were really worried about you, you know?"

"I know and I was worried about the both of you." Antaeus admitted shyly. "I was scared when I saw you got shot, Sabo."

"And we were scared when we saw Blackbeard body slam you into the ground." Drake countered swiftly. "I don't know how you survived, but anyone else would have died from the impact."

"Yeah," Sabo agreed. "It's amazing you got away with just a broken arm. It could have been much worse. He is a devil fruit user after all."

"Devil fruit user? What kind is he?"

"Darkness." Sabo waved his free fingers. "I heard it was pretty freaky. It can render other devil fruit powers useless. That's one of the main reasons why no one really approaches him."

"Sounds scary." Antaeus murmured. "I wonder if he's still around."

"Hope not," Sabo muttered. "Marines might not be around to save our asses this time."

"Indeed." Drake agreed. "Come on, Sabo, let's get Antaeus out of here and into some fresh air. We are here to pick him after all."

"Right," Sabo gave Antaeus a sheephish grin. "I forgot. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Antaeus smiled. "I'm ready."

"You're going alone?"

"Yeah." Ace pulled a tight, black sleeveless shirt over his head and down his muscled chest. "There's no need for all of us to go and didn't you say Marines were spotted in the area?"

"Well, yeah," Marco replied. "That's the exact reason why I don't think you need to go alone."

Ace snorted, pulling on a pair of dark blue jeans. "You can have a little confidence on me, Marco. I can avoid a few marine ships."

"I am aware of that." Marco stated, lips pulling into a wicked grin. "I remember you having a little fun with the marines two years ago."

"Exactly." Ace pulled on his boots, tying them tightly. "And besides, Baterilla is a small island and I'll be in and out in no time."

"With Luffy?"

"With Luffy," Ace repeated firmly. "I know he's there, Marco. I can feel it." holding out his hand, Ace wiggled his fingers. "hand me that make-up, will you?"

"I wish Luffy could see this now," Marco chuckled, watching Ace apply the concealer to his cheeks and arms. "He would have a fit at seeing you putting on make up."

"He wouldn't let it go for weeks." Ace patted his cheeks, making sure his freckles were gone. "I'm going to let him know it was worth it." Ace turned around, holding out his arms. "Well? How do I look?"

"Like a model with that tight shirt on and ruffled hair." Marco snickered. "You'll pass for a citizen and not the Pirate King."

"Good." Ace felt relieved. "That's exactly what I was hoping for." reaching for his pack, Ace slung on his shoulder and made his way to the door, stopping when Marco called out his name.

"Yeah?"

"You forgot these," Marco tossed something to him. "He'll be disappointed if he found out you're not wearing it and he lost his."

Catching what Marco tossed him, Ace opened his palm to see two platinum rings with sapphires. The sight of them caused Ace's heart to twist. Clenching them in his hand, he gave Marco a grateful grin.

"Thanks, Marco,"

"Whatever," Marco waved a hand towards the slightly open door. "Bring him home, eh?"

"Count on it."