So sorry this is late been busy and trying to get things done and try and figure out what to do for everybody during the time-skip. I'm going to attempt to use at least three characters per chapter as we go through the time-skip, show what everyone is doing. I will also do each character twice, one at the beginning and the second time towards the end of the two years. Certain characters, like Sabo and Robin, will have a section to the two of them together, so there may be four characters total per chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece!

~Promotions, Quiet, and Mistaken Identity~

Ace glanced at Marco as the blonde poured over lists of members from the second and fourth divisions. It had been a few months since Ace has been announced as the next first division commander, and besides training Ace to use armament haki they had both been trying to get the ship back in running shape.

"Any suggestions?" Marco asked as he returned the last paper to the desk.

Ace sighed. "There's a lot of good choices."

"We have to consider many factor, Thatch was the head of the chefs, and the fourth division commander has always held that position." Marco commented.

"Who's been leading the chefs since Thatch died?"

Marco looked at the papers before pulling one out. "Calico, from your original crew."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Calico?"

Marco nodded. "He was Thatch's second in the kitchen and Pops figured he'd be the best bet."

"Wouldn't he be the best option then for the position of commander?"

Marco looked at the file. "He could use a bit more training."

"We've got two years, and however long it takes for us to make a name for ourselves again."

Marco looked up at Ace. "He isn't just getting your vote because he was your old crewmate is he?"

Ace frowned at Marco. "Of course not, but if he was Thatch's second and Pops had him take over as head chef then he is the best choice."

Marco stared at his first mate, watching the raven's eyes. He saw no hint of doubt or lies in those eyes and he had to agree. Pops had seen something in Calico and probably had been considering the man for the commander spot. Marco gathered all the pages of the fourth division together, leaving out Calico's report. Ace watched as the blonde stuffed the fourth division folder back in the drawer, and pulled out the commander's logs.

Marco wrote on the top of the paper that Calico was a potential commander, and placed his file between Jozu and Vista's files before pulling out Thatch's. Ace frowned as the logs were put off to the side as Marco pulled out another set of logs. Ace had rarely seen the logs before, not having lost any of his division before. Marco placed Thatch's file in there and also grabbed their pop's file and placed it in there, his eyes drooping a bit more as the decision weighed heavily on him.

He finally closed the log and sealed it away, they kept the records off all of their crew so that no one would be forgotten no matter how much time passed. Marco rubbed his forehead as he sighed, taking a moment to compose himself before looking back to the second division files.

"Who do you think should replace you?"

Ace looked thoughtful for a moment. "It'd have to be someone I could work with, he'll be under me but also my partner in helping you run this place."

"Also while your away he will be helping me run the ship." Marco pointed out.

"Roberto."

Marco looked at Ace. "He was also one of your original crew members."

"He was also my first mate and one of the few that actually followed me to the second division when I joined."

"And that proves his capabilities how?"

"He's loyal, what's he been doing the whole time I've been gone?"

Marco sighed. "He's been keeping the second division together, there was a lot of problems after you left."

"No one's told me of this."

"We've had other problems."

"So what happened to my division?" Ace asked as he watched Marco.

"Well since Teach was in your division some of the other areas were wary of the division, not sure if anyone could be a spy, no one wanted to believe there could be a second one."

Ace heard Marco begin to trail off and interrupted. "But they wanted to be careful."

Marco nodded. "Roberto stepped forward and started to check out all of the second division, Nathaniel helping him."

"And no one questioned that?"

Marco shook his head. "Everyone knows Roberto and Nathaniel were you two most trusted officers on your original crew. Since you left the ship they figured they could trust them to be fair in their examinations when acting in your place."

Ace smiled, making a mental note that he had to buy those two some drinks next time. "So what do you think then?"

Marco watched Ace. "Roberto gets the position."

Ace nearly jumped for joy at that but kept his face straight. He waited for Marco to finish replacing files before the phoenix stood. Ace followed him to the door as the man left the office, his face kept blank. As they walked out onto the deck, many of their crew turned to look at them, wondering what was going to happen next.

"I want all of the crew present, commanders come forward." Marco said over the deck as he climbed onto the captain's seat.

Ace stood next to him as he watched the crew slowly gather, several sending the news down the ship or calling over the island. It wasn't long till all of the crew was gathered, the commanders standing at the front of the large group, watching the two standing on pop's seat.

"I know several of you may know what happens to the chain of command since," Marco paused for a moment to gather himself, "Pops died. As many of you may have guessed as acting first mate I am the next in line as captain. I know I can never replace our pops but he wouldn't want us to stop sailing, therefore I will take the position to keep his dream alive."

Though many were sad looking at the thought of their pops death, but also glad that Marco would be captain. There were a few shouts of support and applause in the crowd. Ace watched as the commanders each nodded their acceptance of this fact, small smiles on their face.

"My first order of business is to officially name Portgas D. Ace as the new first division commander."

Ace bowed his head. "I hope to do my best as the new first division commander, it'll be hard following in Marco's footsteps."

The other division commanders nodded their acceptance of this recent turn of events, not looking the least bit surprised. Marco smiled as the young raven looked proud and stood tall next to his new captain. Marco turned back to the crowd of pirates, a small smile on his face.

"As he was promoted there is now a new opening for second division commander, in addition to the opening for the fourth division commander."

Ace watched as several of the crew grew somber, many still upset about Teach's betrayal and Thatch's death. The second and fourth division both looked at Marco intently, wondering what would happen the them. Marco took a moment before looking over the crowd, finding the two he was looking for.

"With much debate between myself and Ace we have agreed to promote Roberto as second division commander and Calico as fourth division commander. Roberto showed his ability to lead when he kept his division together after Teach fled and Ace chased after him. Pops himself was planning to eventually promote Calico as fourth division commander." Marco announced.

It was quiet for a few as everyone looked at the new captain in surprise, Calico and Roberto both looking shocked. After a few moments though their divisions began pushing them forward towards the commanders. As soon as they were both in arms reach of the commanders Jozu pulled them both out of the crowd and put them in front of the chair. Both men looked confused and not sure what to do, feeling everyone watching them.

"Will you two accept the positions?"

Roberto moved forward. "But there are others who have been here longer than us."

Ace laughed. "I said the same thing when Pops offered me the position of division commander."

Marco smiled, remembering Ace being so uncertain about accepting the position. He had watched as the second division all encouraged Ace to take the position as the boy looked so unsure. He remembered Ace taking days to decide, as Thatch acted like the boy had already accepted. The blonde nearly laughed as he remembered Ace coming to him and asking if he thought he fit the position. Marco had kiddingly joked that he couldn't wait for Ace to join for the main reason to get all the extra paperwork off of his desk.

"It took you forever to accept, but you fit the role perfectly." Marco commented.

Ace grinned at his older brother. "Thanks!"

Marco rolled his eyes and smiled. "Roberto will do a much better job though."

Ace kiddingly glared at the blonde. "That's mean."

Marco smirked. "Whatever."

Ace rolled his eyes before looking back at the group below, his smile growing larger as he saw the commanders and the rest of the crew smiling brightly, some laughing. He nudged Marco and directed the blonde's attention back to the crew below. Marco's gaze turned back to the two he was awaiting a reply from.

"Well?"

Roberto and Calico looked at each other, still a bit unsure, Ace shook his head at the two and went to speak before he was interrupted. He looked out at the crews as many of the second and fourth division shouted for the two to hurry up and agree. Calico looked back at the crew before glancing at Ace again, Ace nodded to him and then to Roberto to assure them they'd be fine.

Calico adjusted his turban as he smiled up at Marco. "I'll accept!"

Roberto also tipped his hat before smiling at his new captain. "I will as well."

Marco smiled. "Then, I guess it's time for a celebration to welcome our new commanders!"

The crew cheered in agreement, several searching for the casks of alcohol they had on board, as Marco and Ace jumped down from the captains chair. Marco pat Roberto and Calico on the back as the other commanders gathered around, congratulating Ace, Roberto and Calico on their promotions. Soon a party was in full swing and many of the crew becoming a bit tipsy as they downed their drinks quickly. Marco smiled as he sat back and watched his family, completely content with his brothers and sisters being nearby.

~Kuraigana Island~

Zoro glared at the apes before him as he dodged another one of their attacks. He knocked the one attacking him out as he staggered back, tired. He cursed as he blade returned to normal, it having only lasted a bit longer than before. He was almost positive that Mihawk would still say that the his skills with haki still left much to be desired. Zoro grit his teeth before leaving the area, trekking back to the castle since no more apes had appeared to fight him that day.

As the swordsman trekked into the castle, he frowned as he stopped in the foyer where Mihawk normally lounged. The raven man was still missing, having been called away to deal with one of the level six escapees. Though it was nice having the castle to himself, Perona having followed Mihawk in hopes that Moria would be called out to join the fight.

Zoro sat in one of the chairs and pulled out one of his blades. In the last few months one of the things he had grown better at was relying only on one of his blades. He had spent his whole life training in the three-sword style, but as he had trained with Mihawk he realized the importance of first becoming strong with only one blade.

The green haired man laid his head back and closed his eyes, trying to adjust to the quietness. Perona was very talkative at times and would argue with him quite a bit, and Zoro almost missed those moments now. It reminded him of his crew, though it wasn't the same, but it made him feel more at peace with the separation. When it was quiet like this it made his thoughts stray back to his crew.

They had all been parted so harshly, he wondered how they were doing. Zoro hated the fact that he had been separated from his crew first, but he was glad to have gone first, hopefully someone had gotten away from Kuma safely. The only one he knew the condition of was Luffy, and that was only because of Mihawk and the papers.

He just hoped the others were okay, it felt off being weird not having Usopp telling his wild stories. He even missed that shitty cook and Nami yelling at them for being idiots. It was too quiet without Chopper, Luffy and Usopp running around. He missed Franky talking about the Thousand Sunny proudly and finding new things to invent, and Brook working on new songs. He even missed Robin and her strange habits when it came to interacting with the others.

Zoro glanced out the window out towards the sea with a frown. He missed the feel of their ship being rocked by the waves as they sailed to a new island. He missed the sound of the ocean and the winds blowing through the sails. The feel of the grass of the deck and the feeling of home on the ship seeming like a distant memory. He was anxious to set sail again, anxious to find his crew and continue their journey.

Zoro closed his eyes as he slumped in the chair, letting his mind wander back to the Thousand Sunny. His tiredness overcoming him as memories played as he fell into a deep sleep. A small smile on his face as he felt connected to his crew once more even if it was just through sleep.

~Shiki's Islands~

Ann watched the area wearily as she and Apis hiked through the large forest. Apis was ahead of her, looking around excitedly as Balloon flew overhead, keeping away from any of the large inhabitants of the islands. They had been asked to check out the island by Dragon to see if there may be anything of use left behind by Shiki upon his defeat. Dragon didn't really expect there to be anything they could use but he also thought it'd be a good training opportunity for Apis to practice her powers.

Ann looked up as she saw Apis getting further from her. "Hey! Don't get to far ahead!"

"Sorry!" Apis called back, pausing as she waiting for Ann to catch up.

Ann looked out over the area from where they stood and found the islands to be very beautiful. The sniper of the Seraphim pirates looked over the forested areas before pausing, making out the faint outline of a village not far away.

"Let's head into the town." She suggested as she began making her way down the slope.

Apis happily followed after her, keeping an eye out for any creatures they may run into. As they neared the village she paused hearing a bird cry from above. Balloon came into a landing next to them as another bird landed nearby. Apis giggled as she looked over the bird, finding his duck-peacock appearance to be funny. She moved forward to pet him but jolted back as he released bolts of electricity. Ann pulled the little girl further back as she watched the bird carefully.

The bird stared at Ann carefully before growing excited and jumping around happily. Ann glared at him as she held her hand up hopping to stop him from coming any closer. The bird stayed away but continued to watch Ann with interest.

"He's happy to see you again." Apis spoke after a moment.

"What?"

Apis pointed at the bird. "He says he's happy to see you again."

"I've never seen such a strange creature in my life."

Apis looked at the bird before moving closer. "I think you have her confused with someone else."

"Apis don't get to close." Ann warned.

"He's asking where the rest of our friends are, he wants to play with the guy that didn't get shocked."

Ann blinked. "A guy that didn't get shocked?"

Apis looked at her. "Could he mean Luffy?"

The yellow bird cried out happily at the name and jumped about, making Ann pull Apis back away from it. Spark of electricity came out every once in a while as it jumped around. Balloon just stood back, not impressed with the flighty creature.

"I guess he knows the straw hats." Ann commented.

"So could he be confusing you with that one girl, Nami?" Apis asked Ann.

Ann paused. "We did look alike."

Apis looked at the bird. "I'm Apis and this is my friend Ann, she's not your friend Nami."

The bird seemed disappointed as Apis said this, not quite sure what to think of the situation. Apis moved closer and smiled at the bird as she quickly pet it before moving her hand back so she could avoid being shocked.

"What's your name?"

The bird looked at Apis. "Billy? That's a nice name, we're heading to the village can you show us the way?"

The bird nodded and flew off, Ann got onto Balloon and pulled Apis close as the bird took off after the duck-peacock. Apis laughed as they flew over the islands, enjoying this trip immensely. Ann watched Billy, wondering why she was being mistaken for Nami yet again. She shook her head before concentrating on keeping Balloon straight, she'd figure it out eventually.

~End ch. 21~

I hope I did well on Zoro, I normally don't get to write for him! Mihawk and Perona are gone dealing with World from the 3D2Y special. I was not expecting Marco and Ace to take up most of the chapter at all.

So I've been watching my little brother play Assassin's Creed Black Flag and I love hearing familiar pirate names. I asked him what Blackbeard was, a templar or an Assassin like Kidd is. He's like Blackbeard's my friend and I'm also his captain. I just stared at him blankly before checking with my dad that Blackbeard was indeed a notorious pirate. I told my brother to watch out for Blackbeard if that was the case.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Till next time!