Chapter 1: The Ringing of Bells

Ace lay in his bunk and stared at the roof of the cabin, glaring at the grain of the wood. Wondering again and again, where Cassie had come from, how she had saved him and what had truly happened to her?

Marco sat with a book at the desk, flicking through it. After learning what he could from the Spade Pirates and Ace, he figured out that Cassie must have eaten the Itō Itō no mi, the Move Move Fruit. It was a Logia type, that gave the user the ability to move objects, people and themselves into any free space. It was an unpredictable power, and every user he'd been able to find in his books had so far died using it.

He looked up at a frustrated sigh from Ace, who then punched his pillow. Before going back to his book.

It was a few hours since Cassie has transported them to the ship, and Ace had refused medical care in favour of stewing in his bunk. He had told Marco of how he had come to meet Cassie, a couple of years ago when the Spades had first entered the Grand Line, and how he had tried jto get her to join his crew. She had accepted, but intended to find a few members of her old crew, the Bladed Pirates, to take back some of her belongings before becoming an official member.

The ex-Spades were also all depressed, moping about the place. Even though they had only spent a few happy days with the woman, they had counted her as a friend and crewmember.

Marco's eyes widened for a moment as he re-read the page before leaping up and grabbing Ace's arm.

"She's alive! Ace! She could still be here, we just can't see her."

They both tore from the room and raced back to the deck where Cassie had vanished earlier.

Marco scanned the page of his book once more and looked about the deck for some sort of sign, Ace doing his best to help him.

There was one case of a Move Move user going through the same experience, they had lost control of their ability, and had spent nearly a week between spaces, able to see and hear, but not affect the world around them. No one had been able to see them, except when they had concentrated and brought themselves back to their physical form. If they could just tell Cassie about this, maybe she would be able to come back?

Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, heard the commotion, and for the second time that day, made his way onto the deck to find Ace looking frantic.

"Cassie! You have to concentrate! You can come back, you just have to concentrate!"

"What is going on?" He asked calmly. Marco handed his captain the book he had been reading, and let him read the passage about the last Move Move user.

The quiet, calm of the evening was broken by Ace's shouting, both he and Marco looking for Cassie's presence.

"Are you even still here? Cassie... give us a sign, please." Ace shouted.

The rest of the crew looked out over the deck, all waiting to see what would happen next.

A bell rang.

There was no wind, and the ship was steady... How...?

The bell rang.

Ace darted over to the bell near the base of the stairs, and watched as a tiny purple spark struck the bell, causing it to ring for a third time.

"She's here! She's still here! Marco, what else does it say?" Ace turned back to his friend excitedly, hope back in his eyes.

The Phoenix flicked quickly through the pages but shook his head.

"Just that the last user was in the 'space between places' and that they 'concentrated hard and through sheer force of will, brought themselves back into being.' It doesn't say anything else."

Ace frowned, "Well that's not much help."

The bell rang.

Cassie understood. In the flickering, shadowy world she was in, she heard Ace's voice.

Though her non-existent body and mind was wracked with pain, she knew what she had to do, but she wasn't sure if she could do it.

Cassie concentrated, she tried to bring herself back into physical form, to become real once more, but it was a lot more difficult than that.

The Whitebeard crew now knew all about how she had met the Spade Pirates. She'd heard them talking at dinner.

~Flashback~

Ace and the Spade Pirates had been on the Grand Line for a few months, they had visited a few islands, got in plenty of trouble, and enjoyed every minute of it.

A new island came into view before them and they headed towards it excitedly. It was a small summer island, and seemed to be uninhabited. They had it all to themselves.

Or so it seemed until they came across some snares set for catching rabbits.

They followed the trail they'd found back to a small clearing in the forest. There they found a tiny hut that looked to have been there for a couple of years. Outside, napping in the sun, was a woman. She wore a grey and white tank top and dark green short-shorts covered in gold studs, her dark hair splayed out on the grass beneath her.

She woke suddenly, as if sensing their presence, and she vanished instantly in a crackle of purple sparks.

Ace and the Spade Pirates looked all over the island but couldn't seem to find her again, though they were certain she was near due to the occasional crackle of energy that startled them every once in a while.

A little perturbed but not put off the island completely, they slept on the ship where they felt somewhat safer.

Cassie landed silently on the deck of their ship and looked around before finding Ace sleeping in his own room, tangled in the sheets. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him for a while, wondering who he was and why he had set out to sea.

Ace opened his eyes to see the strange woman from before perched comfortably on his mattress. His fingertips burst into flame as he reached out for her, but she flickered out of existence only to appear near the door, leaning against the frame.

"Well that's not very nice... I only came to say hello..." She said with a mock pout, "I guess it's been a while since I've had to use my social skills."

"Who are you and what are you doing on my ship?" Ace asked in a low, warning tone, making it clear he didn't like her being here.

"Who are you and what are you doing on MY island?" She retorted in a slightly squeaking imitation of his voice. Cassie smiled and opened the door slowly.

"If you want answers, you'll have to catch me first, boy." She winked and slipped out quickly.

Leaping up Ace grabbed the door before it could finish closing and looked around for the odd girl. She was gone, but the faint crackle in the air told him she was still somewhere on the ship.

Rather than waking the rest of the crew, Ace went looking for her himself. He found her leaning against the ships wheel, but once more she disappeared before he could grab her, leaving only a faint giggle behind.

So it went until morning, when the crew woke to find their exhausted captain sleeping against the base of the main mast and the vanishing woman balanced atop the crows nest.

She came down and explained herself to them, about her devil fruit powers, and how she had secluded herself on this island after leaving her last crew.

When Ace awoke he found them having a barbecue on the beach, laughing together. He leapt onto the sand and joined them, her open, friendly attitude a pleasant change from her sarcastic teasing the night before.

She introduced herself as Cassandra Espina, formally of the Bladed Pirates, and explained how her captain had betrayed her to the marines due to her high bounty. How she had escaped, hunted him down, killed him, and scattered the rest of the crew to the dogs.

The Spade Pirates told her of their adventures, and of their meeting Red-Haired Shanks.

After a couple of days Ace informed Cassie that he and the crew were ready to leave. She seemed disappointed but had known they would leave eventually.

"You know, you could come with us. You could join my crew!" Ace grinned.

Surprised, Cassie wasn't too sure how to respond at first, as this wasn't what she had expected to come from him.

"Wait... You're serious?! I... I dunno. I've never really thought about joining another crew." She looked up into the clear skies with a smile, thinking carefully.

Ace tilted his hat back and followed her gaze for a moment before nudging her with his elbow.

"Hey! Okay okay! I'll join you, but not yet, I've got some stuff I need to sort out first. Some of my old crew have a few things of mine that I need to collect."

Ace laughed with her and slapped her back in good humour before leaping onto the ship.

"I'll see you when I see you, Ace!" She called as she waved back wildly.

"That's Captain Ace to you!"

~Present Day~

Cassie watched them talk, and drifted back to the main deck where she found Ace and Whitebeard in conversation.

"I'm fine. I need to be here."

"You think staying awake here is going to do your friend any good?"

"She saved my life! I can't just leave her alone!" Ace retorted.

Cassie flicked his hat off his head making it tumble to the floor. She tried to tweak his ear but couldn't quite grasp it.

Ace looked around excitedly once more, and felt something tickle his ear.

"Cassie!?"

She tried again, and flicked him in the forehead, this time making contact, her hand materialising for a moment where both the men could see it.

"Ow!"

"I think she agrees with me!" Newgate laughed, his voice booming across the deck.