A/N: Hello. Sorry for the wait. Here is Chapter 8!

and a special thanks to the people the read and commented on Chapter 7! :) Here you go, guest and Narice! Also, thank you Acebin. I noticed you commented twice and encouraged me to continue the story. And i totally agree with you that there really aren't enough stories about Ace and Robin out there!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

Chapter 8: Our Doubts

The clicking sounds of Luffy's sandals echoed as the Rubber Boy ran past the lifeless Baroque Works agents scattered around the ground. Ace pretty much took out everyone, saving Luffy a lot of time. Luffy found his big brother glaring down at an auburn haired man. Behind Ace, Robin laid unconscious.

"Ace!"

"Luffy, take Robin and go back to the others," Ace kept his eyes fixed on the man.

Luffy looked at the blood and scratches on Robin's body. He bit his lip hard and nodded to Ace. Picking his nakama up, he left to find Chopper.

Mr. Green stood up now, having been knocked away from Robin a moment ago. Not paying much attention to the enraged pirate standing in front of him, he watched Luffy carry the girl away.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Robin…" Ace's eyes burned with fury as he spit those words out at Mr. Green. His chest was heaving from the violent rage he felt inside. Mr. Green look at Ace now.

"We were just having a little fun. There's no need to get jealous" He spoke with condescension as he addressed Ace. He decided to toy with the commander for a little bit before heading off.

"Fun?!" Ace's hands ignited into flames

"Don't try to act like a hero. It doesn't really fit the part of the Pirate King's son,"

Ace's scowled and clenched his fists until they turned white. Mr. Green grinned at this.

"That's right. I know your little secret"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Whitebeard is my father"

"Hm… Poor Ace. Still hiding from his dead daddy. Don't deny the truth, devil's spawn." Mr. Green really enjoyed mocking the pirate.

"Shut… Up…" Ace's entire body was shaking at this point. Who the heck is this guy… And how does he know so much?

"Why don't you make me?" Mr. Green smirked. The ground shook as vines sprouted out of the dirt, wriggling and looming over Ace. They blocked his path to Mr. Green. Ace spun around and a spiral of flames expanded forth, attacking them. Dark smoke filled the scene as the thick vines incinerated. Ace looked for Mr. Green in the mess of fire, foliage, and smoke, but he couldn't find him. When the smoke dissipated and all the vines had burned away, it was clear Mr. Green was gone.

"Chopper!"

Luffy jumped onto the ledge of the Thousand Sunny and found his crewmates and Marco on the grass.

"Luffy, where have you…." Nami trailed off.

Everyone stared mouth open at the bloody figure in Luffy's arms.

"What happened?!" Usopp asked

Chopper freaked out and started screaming for someone to get a doctor. Until he realized… "Oh, that's me"

"Chopper! You have to help her" Luffy begged

"Hurry, bring her to the infirmary" Chopper ran to get his supplies

Luffy followed Chopper through the door, carrying Robin. Everyone else just stared after them dumbfoundedly.

Luffy set her down on the exam table.

"You can save her right Chopper?"

"You should leave the room, Luffy" was Chopper's only response.

(Out on the deck)

"Where's Robin?" A voice rang out.

Ace finally made it to the Thousand Sunny and was anxious to know that Robin was okay.

"Ace-san, what happened out there?" Nami asked

"We ran into some trouble. Now please tell me Luffy made it back with Robin."

"Yeah. They went into the infirmary with Chopper" Ussop pointed to the door.

Ace stepped towards the door but was stopped when Sanji and Zoro came and stood in his way.

"You're not going anywhere until you explain what's going on." Zoro said

"How come my Robin-chan is covered in blood but you're perfectly fine?" Sanji frowned at Ace

"You can have an explanation later. Right now, I have to see Robin."

"Bro, I don't think you should go in there. Chopper's working." Franky said

Ace opened his mouth to argue but stopped when he felt a firm grip on his arm. He turned and faced Marco. The 1st division commander shot him a 'you need to calm down' look and pulled him aside.

"Ace, there's something we need to discuss."

"Not now, I – "

"I know you're concerned about her, but she's a part of their crew. They'll take care of her. Robin is in good hands. And what we have to talk about is important."

Ace saw the seriousness in Marco's eyes and sighed.

"Fine."

Ace turned back to the Strawhats. "If anything comes up with Robin, please come find me"

Then the two whitebeard pirates jumped off the Thousand Sunny back to their own ship. The Strawhats weren't sure what to think at this point. The night had started so nicely. How did things become so grim?

Everyone looked up when Luffy came out of the room.

"Luffy! How is she?" Nami asked worriedly

Luffy didn't respond. The captain just walked past his nakama and made his way to the lion's head at the front of the ship. Then he sat down and stared out at the dark ocean, his straw hat fluttering in the wind behind his neck.

Usopp called after him, "Oi! Luffy, you have to tell us – "

Franky stopped the sharpshooter.

"I think Strawhat aniki needs to be alone right now."

"That means Robin's injuries must be really bad" Nami stared at the closed door to the infirmary.

"Robin-chan… I will hurt whoever did this to you…" Sanji resolved

Zoro leaned against the wall clutching his katana that hung on the side of his waist. Even though he didn't say anything, he felt angry at the thought of someone trying to hurt his crewmate. As the first mate, Zoro felt disappointed in himself that he wasn't there to help his captain protect their nakama. He could only imagine what Luffy must be feeling right now.

"Should we tell him about what happened here?" Usopp asked

"Maybe later. This might not be the best time to discuss it." Sanji stated.

(Ace's Quarters)

"First Teach, and now this?!" Ace was furious.

He had just listened to Marco relate to him what happened on the Strawhat's ship. He couldn't believe that another member of their crew might be scheming behind everyone's back.

"What is happening with our crew!?"

"Calm down Ace. There's a possibility that nobody in our crew did anything."

"Are you saying that my brother's nakama lied to you?"

"No. I'm suggesting that he may be an imposter."

"Why would someone pretend to be a whitebeard pirate?"

"I don't know…"

Marco sat on a wooden chair and watched his friend. He can see that Ace had been through a hell of a night. Ace was standing by the window, looking out at the dark sky, and thinking intensely.

"So, are you going to tell me?" Marco said, breaking the silence.

"Tell you what?"

"Oh I don't know… maybe… where you went, did you and Robin have a good time, or just… how the hek did Robin end up with all those wounds?"

Ace stayed silent, his eyes fixed outside the window.

"We're nakama, Ace. You trust me, don't you?"

Ace thought hard. He thought about how Teach, a member of his division, had stabbed them in the back and killed Thatch, and about his conversation with Mr. Green. Marco is my best friend, of course I trust him. But if I really did then wouldn't I have told him about my father already. Ugh! I'm letting that green guy get to me! I have to be able to trust my own nakama… Marco isn't Teach.

"I trust you."

"So talk to me"

"I followed Robin into the forest. She was looking for something. Apparently, someone was threatening to destroy this thing that's really important to her. She got hurt and we were going to come back. But, then these guys show up… And I don't know… We got separated… I should have stayed with her!"

Ace pounded his fist against the wall.

"Don't beat yourself up, Ace. She'll be fine. Nico Robin survived a lot worse than this."

Ace turned his head to look at his friend.

"Ok. What is it?"

"What?"

"You have that face on?"

"What face?"

"That face you make when you're thinking something but not sure if you should say it."

Marco looked seriously at Ace and sighed.

Then he asked, "Do you think it's weird that all of this just happens to transpire around the same time?"

"You think that snoop wearing our mark and those guys that attacked us are linked?"

"It's just a theory. We have a lot to be wary of, Ace."

"Yeah… I want to find the unworthy bastard who thinks he can just walk around carrying our mark."

"You should probably go check up on your girl now." Marco got up to leave.

"She's not my girl."

"Yet…" Marco winked at him and walked the door.

(On the Thousand Sunny)

As soon as Chopper stepped out of the infirmary, he was bombarded with questions. Is Robin going to be okay? How is she? I want to see my Robin-chan! Can we go in? Is she awake? Chopper started trembling as everyone began to crowd and tower over the little reindeer. He was getting overwhelmed until Zoro stepped in.

"Hey! Let him speak!" Zoro yelled over the voices

Calming down, Chopper wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"She's stable for now. But her body when through a lot of trauma and she lost a lot of blood. I really won't know anything else until she wakes up. Also… There's something else…"

"What is it Chopper?" Nami asked

"When I was cleaning the blood off her, I found some weird markings…"

"What do you mean by weird?"

"At first, it looked like black swirly lines. They traced along her entire body like… veins. Then they began to glow and after a moment, they vanished."

Usopp shuddered at the description.

"I wonder what caused this." Nami said

"I don't know." Chopper sighed

"What's important now is for Robin to wake up." Zoro spoke

The crew nodded in agreement.

"Let's go inside. I'll make some tea." Sanji walked into the kitchen, followed by the crew.

Everyone went except Luffy. The captain heard everything the doctor said from where he sat on the lion's head. He sat stiff, his eyes fixed on the darkness of the water his ship floated on.

Getting up onto the ledge of the Thousand Sunny, Ace saw that the deck was empty. He wondered if everyone was inside, and thought he should just go into the infirmary. But then he remembered how the crew looked when he tried to see Robin. It was almost like they blamed him for what happened. As Ace thought about what to do, he spotted his brother sitting alone.

"Luffy."

Ace plopped down next to his little brother on ships figurehead. Luffy just kept staring straight ahead.

"How's Robin?"

"Chopper says she's stable."

"That's good." Ace relaxed a little

"Ace"

"Yes, Luffy?"

"Do you remember when Sabo died?"

"Of course I do…"

"I told myself I would become stronger and stronger so that in the future I can protect all the people I care about."

Ace remembered the seven-year-old on the cliff side, crying about how he wanted to become strong and how he had begged Ace not to die. It was a rough period of mourning for the two boys.

"I thought I had become strong… But I'm weak. I let that wind-guy get away, and I couldn't get to you guys in time… How am I suppose to protect all my nakama…"

"Luffy… You didn't know what was going on. I'm the one that left her all alone, and that's why she ended up like this."

Ace knew that he couldn't convince Luffy of anything. He resolved to just let his brother reflect for a while. Luffy was the captain, so it was only natural for him to feel responsible.

"I think Robin's resting in the infirmary if you want to see her."

"Thanks, Luffy"

Ace walked to the door that led to the infirmary. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and disappeared into the room.

A/N: Sorry Chapter 8 is a bit on the short side guys. Man, things are looking pretty bad huh? I feel like my characters get more and more OOC with each chapter. It's just hard to keep them in character sometimes! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. More Robin in the next one! Let me know what y'all think! Thanks for reading!