Chapter 8 (Thanks once again to all my lovely reviewers! You've all been so wonderfully supportive and helped inspire me into writing this chapter. I hope it lives up to your expectations. I…don't really have anything else to say. Oh, wait! My sister recently posted her first fanfic ever and it's really good, you should all go read it! It's called "Bread and Circuses" it's a One Piece fic by OperaRose94. Seriously. It's good. Go read it. You won't regret it. Unless you hate creepy things and character death. Then you might not like it. But it's well written and has no grammar mistakes! Le gasp! I know that's a rare thing with fanfiction. It'll be worth your time, so seriously! Go read it!

Anna Banana: :P Thank you! Little Ace really is quite adorable. I'm going to do my best with the reactions. I've been thinking about how to do it for a while, and while perfect inspiration was not forthcoming, I hope that what I did come up with is good enough. I hope no one was too mad at me for adding something made by Void Century peeps. The island actually isn't going to be that important…I just had to get Ace shrunk. XD Thank you! I hope this update is soon enough for you. Don't worry, you didn't rush me. And I totally know where you're coming from, I hate when it takes people forever to update something I love!

e: Here you are! Next chapter posted and ready to read! I'm glad you like it so far!)

They were nearing the beach now. Ace could tell. The ground was growing softer, sandier. The inland trees were fading out and being replaced by their shore-dwelling fellows. Ace dragged his left hand against a wide-leafed plant, feeling the smooth, waxy texture sliding past under his fingers. Several drops of water had condensed on the leaf, and when Ace pulled his hand away it was a little wet. Ahead of him, Thatch stopped and turned to face him. Ace looked up at him in mild confusion.

"Why are we stopping? The beach is right there." Thatch was looking at him, biting his lip. How the hell am I supposed to get him on the ship without the crew freaking out? I need to talk with Marco and Oyaji before they all see him like this. Gah…if only Ace were grown up…he'd know what to do. Thatch looked at little Ace closely. Maybe he still does at this age. Older Ace is a genius at stealth plans, why can't his younger self be the same?

"Listen…I need to sneak you onto the ship without anyone seeing you. We have to talk to my captain before the crew meet you, but the only way back are the boats which are on the beach and guarded. I'm just trying to figure out a way to get you to the ship without making a big scene." Ace looked a little suspicious, but he didn't protest, and Thatch could almost see the gears in his head spinning. Ace considered the problem. He looked Thatch up and down.

"…Do you have any extra fabric?" Thatch looked at him in confusion.

"Fabric?" Ace sighed in annoyance.

"Yes, fabric."

"Probably not." Ace looked away, frustration written on his face.

"Dammit."

"Why? What could you possibly use fabric for?" Ace looked at him like he was the stupidest being to ever walk the earth.

"You're the chef, right? If you wrap me up in fabric, you can say I'm some kind of animal you caught in the jungle and are going to cook back on the ship. It explains why you have me and gives you an alibi to get a boat." Thatch looked down at Ace. Damn the kid was clever. It had taken him less than a minute to come up with that. Too bad it wouldn't work. Thatch thought deeply. There had to be something else they could do. He considered the problem for several moments, brows furrowed. Thatch looked around the empty clearing, trying to think of an alternate plan. All that was in the area were rocks, leaves, trees, vines…wait. The clearing was empty.

Oh shit.

"Ace?" Thatch looked around frantically. The boy had well and truly vanished. I'm dead I'm dead I'm so fucking dead. "Ace!" A large leafy plant rustled nearby.

"What? I'm over here." Thatch looked over at the bush, walking up to it hurriedly. He sighed with relief when he saw Ace sitting at its base. Oh thank god. That could have ended very badly. He looked down at Ace. Ace was currently knotting several vines together and had tugged one of the immense leaves off of the plant he was sitting near. Thatch looked at Ace confusedly.

"…What are you doing?" Ace looked up.

"I'm making a net. Since you don't have any cloth, you can wrap me in these leaves and carry me in the net. It should work well enough." Ace tied off the last knot and held up a fairly large, well-woven net similar to one you would use for fishing. Thatch was surprised. Not only was Ace clever, he was apparently capable as well. Then Thatch noticed something.

"Ace, what happened to your hands?" The center of both Ace's right and left hands were bound neatly with gauze and medical tape. The bandaging on the right hand was more extensive with the wrappings reaching up to the first joint of each finger. Ace pulled his hands back as if to hide them. He tried to act nonchalant.

"Nothing. I got a bad rope burn a couple days ago. The skin is still pretty raw so it's better to keep it wrapped." Thatch scrutinized Ace for a moment, and Ace met his eyes as evenly as he could, trying not to shrink under the intensity of Thatch's gaze. Thatch seemed to accept the lie and spoke.

"We're probably going to need one or two more leaves to cover you entirely." Ace nodded and crouched near one of the larger leaves. He flicked back his right wrist and a smaller version of the hidden blade Thatch had seen on the older Ace slid into position. Ace carefully cut off two more leaves. The first he laid at the bottom of the net. It was large enough that if he curled up, it would cover him from underneath.

"Alright, I need you to lift the sides of the net. Don't lift the whole thing yet, just the sides. And hand me those two other leaves." Thatch did as he was asked and Ace positioned them so that when the net was completely lifted he would be in a leafy cocoon of sorts.

"Alright, ready when you are. Try to keep it brief, it's going to get hot in here. Oh, and as much as possible, don't swing me around. I'm not sure if the knots can take that much strain." Thatch nodded. "Also, I'll try not to move around too much, but if anyone asks to see what's inside, you're going to have to find an excuse for them not to look." Thatch gave a grunt of consent and lifted the net. He was actually kind of surprised by how little Ace weighed. Underfed? He said he had to raise himself and Luffy alone, so I can see how that could lead to less food, but even so, he shouldn't be this light…

Thatch carried the bundle across the sand as quickly as he could without drawing attention. Most of the pirates were out in the forest, but even so there was still quite a crowd on the beach. The person currently guarding the boats was a member of 6th division named Leanne. Thatch approached her with a fake smile. Internally he was down on his knees begging for this to work. If Ace was recognized, the pirates on the beach would all come at him at once. Ace was suspicious and a little jumpy. If a crowd of pirates that he didn't know randomly swarmed him, he'd probably bolt. If that happened Thatch was near certain Ace could outfox them in this forest. But he approached Leanne with false happiness. She had been seated, leaning against one of the boats in a patch of shade, but as Thatch came nearer she stood and stretched her shoulders.

"Hey there Taichou! How was the island? Got anything interesting on it?" Her eyes landed on the net. "Ooooh! What's in that? Treasure?" Thatch smirked and shook his head.

"Actually no. I found this weird animal and thought I'd try to use it in tonight's dinner." Leanne looked up at him with wide eyes, curiosity written on her face.

"What kind of animal is it? Have you ever seen anything like it before?" Thatch knew what her next question was going to be before she asked it. "Can I see it?" He felt a bead of sweat forming on his temple. Come on…think. What can you say? How do I keep her from opening it?

"It looks like some kind of large amphibian, you know, like a frog or salamander. It's bigger than any other amphibian I've ever seen, hence my curiosity." Leanne was walking around him, trying to get at the net on his back. He turned so that he was facing her, keeping her at his front. "I really don't think you should look at it…" Leanne pouted.

"Awww but why? I wanna see." Thatch forced the smile back on his face. Think, think, think, think, think…

"Well…I would let you look at it, but I'm a little worried. Some amphibians secrete poison from glands on their skin, and I'm not sure if this thing's really dead." Ace, who was apparently listening, twitched inside the casing, causing it to move slightly. Leanne jumped about a foot in the air and withdrew her hand, which had been half-extended towards the net, with a shriek of surprise. Thatch laughed aloud.

"Well, now that that's been verified, can I take one of these boats and bring this thing back to the boat?" Leanne didn't remove her widened eyes from the net as she stepped aside.

"Sure, but I wouldn't let Marco see it before it's dead. And don't you dare try pulling something like leaving it in his room or something. He's seriously grumpy today. Snapped at Ace this morning, as well as a few other crewmembers." She paused for a moment. "Hey, wait a sec. Where is Ace? Didn't you two head off together this morning?" Thatch momentarily panicked, thinking fast to come up with a serviceable excuse. He forced a dry chuckle.

"You know how he gets. He found some rock with weird scribbles on it and decided it was vitally important. He's still out in the forest uncovering everything there is to know about any people that lived here. I got a little bored of staring at old rocks, so I headed off on my own." Leanne smiled and nodded. They were all well acquainted with Ace's semi-obsessive stints. She pointed a thumb over her shoulder, gesturing at one of the boats.

"You should take this one. It's got some other supplies the crew found today, so it wasn't going to fit that many people anyway." She grinned at Thatch. "Good luck cooking up your weird frog-thing!" Thatch faked yet another smile and set Ace as gently as he could into the boat. He pushed the vessel into the water and hopped in to begin making the trip back.

(Line, line, line, line just in case the site's a bitch and won't let my legit lines show up.)

Ace stared down at the sparkling water slipping past. Once they were a ways offshore he had climbed out of the net and was now sitting near the edge of the boat staring out at the water. The waters were fairly calm with very small waves. The sun was reflected as a yellow-white medallion against the deep sapphire of the water over the dark sand. Ace allowed the tips of his fingers to trail through the water, feeling the cool, near solid, smooth liquid slide past. The Moby Dick was drawing nearer, and Thatch seemed to be growing a touch restless.

Ace regarded him with a little suspicion. I still don't know if I can trust him…He seems nice enough, but it could all be an act. To be human is to have the capability of lying. Everyone who has ever lived has told a lie, and others have gone through their whole lives believing those lies to be true. Kindness itself is often a lie, used to cover dislike or malcontent, but that's like throwing a blanket over a corpse. You may not see it, but the smell alone is enough. When one's entire world is burning to the ground, we will do anything to escape it. We will throw others between us and the destruction, going so far as to murder our own kind, so long as the illusion we call control remains with us, deluding us into believing we can somehow keep terrible things from happening, that we can somehow change ourselves and the world, but it's a lie. It's all a lie. We have no power over anything. Our worlds melt like wax, dribbling onto the floor to be devoured by broken-necked rats. And soon after, we follow. Clinging to our 'control' like a mother to her infant. Except the baby is dead. Or is it that it never existed at all? This world is built on lies and madness. Everything else can be broken like glass or bones. Glass or bones. And then the madness is all that's left.

"-ce? Ace? Can you hear me?" Thatch's voice pieced through the fog of Ace's thoughts, and he pulled himself out of his mind's restless wanderings. He shook his head briefly to clear it and turned to look up at Thatch.

"Yeah. I can hear you." Thatch was looking at him with mild concern.

"You kind of zoned-out there. You didn't respond when I spoke to you." He looked closer at Ace. "Are you alright?" Ace nodded,

"M'fine." He turned to look back out at sea and found they were much closer to the Moby Dick. They would probably reach it within the next five minutes. Ace looked back to Thatch. He was holding up a coat. Well, it was more like a cloak. Ace looked between the cloak and Thatch. Thatch held the object out towards Ace.

"Do you mind wearing this? Just until we meet my captain." Ace looked at Thatch evenly.

"I have a question for you first." Thatch blinked.

"Alright. Fire away." Ace looked at Thatch seriously.

"Back when we were on the beach, that woman spoke of you knowing someone named Ace. Who is it?" Thatch swallowed. He had hoped Ace had missed that part of the conversation.

"We…have another person on the crew named Ace. He's in Second Division. He and I are good friends. Does that help?"

"It doesn't explain how you knew my name even though I'm sure we've never met before." Ace's eyes were boring into Thatch's, searching for answers. Thatch met his eyes and felt a tinge of fear. There was something in Ace's eyes, a hardness born of desperation. Thatch had never seen it in older Ace's eyes, and seeing it in this child…It was unsettling, unnatural. No 10-year-old should know desperation like that. Thatch felt a kind of sadness, and a need to comfort this child before him. Before he could even think about it, he found himself reaching out towards Ace. He spoke tenderly.

"What happened to you?" Ace jerked back as though stung and batted aside Thatch's hand. Turning away, he replied evenly.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Ace reached out and took the cloak, fastening it about his shoulders and pulling the hood up to hide his face. Thatch continued to study Ace. He was unsure what had just come over him, but he felt he had been on to something. Ace was hiding something.

(Line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line, line)

Getting onboard the Moby Dick had been relatively easy. Very few people had remained on the ship during the day, so the deck was empty for once. Thatch led the way across the deck towards Oyaji's cabin, and as they went Ace looked about with wide eyes. Outside the door, Thatch hesitated. Okay, great. What the hell am I supposed to say? Ace was looking up at him, confused.

"Is this the door to Whitebeard's room?" Thatch nodded distractedly. "Then why are we standing out here? Let's go in." Thatch looked at him in surprise.

"No wait, don't-" But Ace had already opened the door and pulled Thatch through. Both Whitebeard and Marco were in there, discussing something. Upon their entry both looked up in mild surprise. Thatch stood there, eyes wide, looking for all the world like a deer caught in headlights. Thank goodness Ace had at least kept on the cloak and his face remained hidden for now. If Thatch wanted to avoid utter chaos he'd have to ease Marco and Oyaji into the fact that Ace had been reduced to half his age. Marco seemed to have sensed something was off, and was studying the cloaked Ace closely. Oyaji looked curious, and had one eyebrow raised. Thatch's mind was completely blank. He had absolutely no idea what to say. Marco was the first to speak.

"Thatch…who is this? Where did you manage to pick up a kid on an abandoned island?" Marco gestured to Ace loosely, his voice sounding resigned to whatever complications Thatch's latest escapades were going to lead to. Thatch stuttered.

"Well y'see…this kid is-" Ace crossed his arms in annoyance.

"I have a name you know." Whitebeard looked down at him kindly, a warm, parental smile spreading on his face.

"What is it, child?" And before Thatch could stop him, Ace pulled off his hood.

"It's Ace. Portgas D. Ace." The room froze. Whitebeard's eyes widened. Marco's jaw was somewhere in Kentucky. Thatch choked. The moon exploded.

The room was silent for over a minute, the smile still plastered on Whitebeard's face. Marco's eyes were wide. Thatch was frozen where he stood. Please, dear Lord, don't let them kill me. Please. Just let me live. That's all that I ask.

Whitebeard was the first to recover enough to speak. He turned his face, still smiling, but no longer warmly, towards the fourth division commander.

"…Thatch." Thatch shrunk in on himself, wincing. He knew that tone. He was in trouble. Big trouble.

(A/N: Hope you guys like the chapter. It's...not my best. At least, I don't think it is. Let me know what you guys think! I'm a review whore. If you don't know that at this point, I wonder at your sanity. Guess what I'm sending with reviews for this chapter? Slices of PIE. Pie takes a little more magic teleportation powers, so you have to write three whole sentences at least in order to have access to your pie. :) Let me know what you like/don't like. And go read my sister's fanfic! ~Mountain97)