AN: Here you go guys! I have to say that there's not much interesting in this chapter because it provides a set up for the next one where a lot of stuff will be explained.

Anyways, thank you guys for all you're support! If you want updates and previews and art, follow me on tumblr – link is in my profile~

Also, thank you to Harle for betaing again!

-three-

-A Change in the Air-

The figure appeared to be extremely tall, humanoid in appearance. Ace forced his eyes to adjust in the blackness, but it was almost as if there was an… absence of light, emanating from the figure itself.

"Children?" The figure mused, his voice strangely lilting, seemingly speaking to itself. "What are children still doing here? I thought they'd all been cleared out before…"

"Who are you?" Ace called out angrily. "Let us pass or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" Suddenly, the shadowed figure was before them – more like looming above them, and a startled noise escaped the dragon in human form.

Ace staggered backwards, Luffy shoved behind him, and growled lowly.

The shadowed figure let out a low chuckle. When they spoke, their voice was a masculine drawl. "You wish to get past me? Then go. I have no business in hurting children."

Ace gave a surprised blink, his grasp on Luffy's hand never loosening. "… really?"

The shadowed figure made no further reply and made to move passed Ace. But then, he just stopped.

Ace was frozen, feeling some sort of latent instinct inside of him scream at him to run. The man was old – very, very old, much older than Ace's own two-hundred years – and the dragon knew that if it came down to it, he wouldn't stand a chance.

Come on, move, his mind hissed. Move! Take Luffy and run!

The little boy was quivering beside him, trying to keep up a brave front, but the dragon's body just – wasn't – moving –

"Get out of here. Now." The shadowed figure said, an undercurrent of steal to his words.

He moved passed Ace, and the dragon in human form whirled around, Luffy clinging to his side, so he didn't have his back to the figure.

And – they were no longer alone.

Several metres away, in the middle of the cobble road, stood another large, humanoid figure. Unlike the shadowed figure, Ace's keen eyes could easily make out the newcomer.

It was a man, dressed in a mass of ornate grey armour that clearly bore the mark of Mariejois, just the same as the soldiers Ace had been so desperately trying to hide from. But there was something… different about this soldier.

Unlike the others, he wore a deep crimson cloak, with a hood that shadowed his face. He had no visible weapons on him either, and carried himself with his arms crossed over his chest.

Like he was waiting.

Ace didn't like this at all. With this man came such a – repulsive aura, and a rotten stench that reminded him of death; it made his skin crawl and hair stand up on end. He needed to get out of there, away from the danger that had just presented itself.

"I know you're there Borsalino." The newcomer spoke. There was no inflection in his voice, it was just… flat. "You should know that you can't keep yourself hidden from me."

There was a loud scoff that came from the shadowed figure. "Honestly Sakazuki, I wasn't even trying. I could have easily hidden myself from you – you're so blinded by the Tenryuubito and their beliefs it's a wonder you can even see your own hands when you hold them out in front of you."

There was a blinding flash of yellow light and Ace flinched back, and Luffy let out a loud gasp. That light was exactly like the one they'd seen before the first explosion, and now – now Ace realised what it had been.

A warning.

The shadows had melted away to reveal a man who was bathed in a soft yellow light. He wore the same armour as the other man – only the cloak he wore was yellow. Pointed ears adorned with golden hoops, strange orange eye-glasses – and the mark of Mariejois had been scratched out. Ace knew instantly that this man was not human – though whether he was a half-blood or a full-blooded creature, it was hard to tell.

"It is you who is blind, Borsalino." 'Sakazuki' spoke, voice void of emotion. "The Tenryuubito are the ones who will lead us into a golden age, and if by doing so we must eradicate the scum of the earth, then I will gladly do so."

A loud, amused laugh came from the one that was called Borsalino. "And that means me as well. Or have you forgotten these?" He tapped his pointed ears. "I am a high-blood elf, Sakazuki. And I will not be killed so easily. I've sit by for too long and allowed my life and the lives of my people to be dictated by those 'divine' shit stains.

"… And that includes the lives of other creatures as well. We've already lost so many ancient races. I will not let my people join their ranks."

Standing seemingly relaxed, his hands shoved into pockets of his pants, Borsalino tilted his head slightly, catching Ace's eye. "I told you to get out of here. So run."

Ace didn't need to be told again. Still holding onto Luffy, he turned to run.

But he only got a few more steps before something knocked Luffy down, causing the dragon to stumble. His hand was knocked from Ace's grasp and the dragon cried out in shock as a burning hot hand enclosed around the back of his neck, lifting him high into the air.

A foul stench invaded his nostrils and filled his lungs, and Ace wheezed, trying to breathe. He struggled wildly, the urge to shift and defend almost overpowering but something –

Something was preventing him from doing so. That repulsive aura was pressing in around him, into him, stopping him from reaching for the magic that would allow the shift to take place.

Burning tears stung at his eyes, he was gasping for breath, and Sakazuki's emotionless voice droned in his ear, "Where do you think you're going, half-breeds?"

Ace trudged down the dirt path, the rocks digging into the pads of his feet painfully. It irritated him immensely, and he debated shifting back to his normal form.

But the moment he felt Luffy run up to him and jump onto his back, not caring about the wings or the spines, Ace thought better. It would be good to be the same size as Luffy, so they could talk. For however long it was needed.

He stumbled a bit, but didn't shake Luffy off, and proceeded to walk in the direction of the forest. The path they were following was old – it hadn't been used in years, because there were other, more accessible paths in and out of Whitebeard's territory. Not that anyone actually left these days.

Listening to his brother giggling in his ear, the dragon allowed a soft smile to grace his lips. This just felt so… weird. He'd never thought he'd hear his brother's laugh again.

It almost felt like some screwed up dream.

He peered down at the arms wrapped around his neck, and once again Ace noticed the elasticity of his brother's limbs. If they were going to start anywhere – even though all the dragon really wanted to know was how his brother had survived – it was there. "You're a half-blood."

His brother mad an affirmative sound. "Yeah. Came in a few years back. Remember I could always stretch really far, but…" Luffy unhooked his arms, leaning his entire weight against the dragon, and shoved his hands before Ace's eyes.

Ace's nose wrinkled and he almost shoved the hands away so he could see where he was going, but Luffy was already moving them. He grasped one of his fingers and pulled, and Ace was intrigued to see it stretch – beyond abnormal proportions. Luffy released the finger and it snapped back, and he wriggled them in Ace's eyes once more before wrapping his arms around the dragon's neck once again.

"I got stronger!" The pride was clear in Luffy's voice. "Shanks taught me all kinds of magic before he left me with Dadan, and I trained every day before - "

He suddenly cut himself off and grew disturbingly quiet.

There were many things that Ace wanted to ask – most of all, what the hell had happened with Luffy, who the hell this Dadan person was, and also about Shanks. As far as Ace knew, that man was a powerful – if not the most powerful - wizard alive. A nomad who never stays in the same place for more than a set amount of time, either helping or causing havoc, depending on his mood. Ace had met him only once before, when he'd seemingly 'wandered' into the forest and Ace had been sent to retrieve him because Whitebeard had 'wanted to talk' with him.

The wizard had been… strange, for lack of a better term. He was exceptionally young in appearance, his face handsome and scarred, with hair as red as blood. He had been easy going and flirty, and Ace hadn't known what to make of him. He'd escorted the wizard to the Hall and then went on his way, but later on he'd felt the entire mountain range shake with the Old Man's anger.

Marco told him that they'd spoken and drank together, and then something the wizard had said had greatly upset the old man to the point where a fight had begun – it had lasted for only a moment before the wizard appeased the Mountain King's anger and went on his way. Apparently to calm Whitebeard's anger, Shanks had gifted him with a large bottle of extremely rare elven mead.

The only thing Ace managed to gather from it all was that Shanks was strange.

And the dragon wanted to know just how Shanks was connected to Luffy.

But…

Ace did not like the way Luffy's voice had dropped off. It caused an unpleasant feeling to curl within his belly and he had to resist the urge to drag the boy into his arms and smother him in his scent, to confirm that he was alright.

After a few moments, Ace said, "We have a long walk ahead of us. Tell me what happened – from the beginning."

"Then it's your turn?" Luffy questioned. Ace felt his lips move against his neck where skin met scales, and he shivered.

"Yeah." The dragon replied.

"Yosh!" Luffy finally released Ace and slid down his back. "Robin! Do we have any more meat?"

The dragon looked back over his shoulder to peer at his brother and the demon that had been following behind them, his wings now folded tightly against his back. Robin had an indulgent smile on her face when she replied, "I'm afraid not, Luffy. You ate all of our supplies just before we crossed the border."

The half-blood visibly wilted, a pout on his lips. "Aw, I thought Sanji packed a whole lot more…"

Still pouting, Luffy turned back on his heel and trotted up to the dragon. "Ne, Ace – that old guy Whitebeard has a lot of food, doesn't he? Like, lots of meat?"

A grin stretched across Ace's lips – though it was muted. Luffy was stalling, and the dragon didn't want to prod him. But it was refreshing to hear that apparently the kid's love for meat hadn't dwindled at all. "Yes Lu, there's lots of food at the Hall. You can eat as much as you want when we get there."

The boy still looked put out, but he'd brightened up enough to grin. He walked beside Ace, easily able to keep up with his long strides, his eyes darting from side to side, taking in their surroundings – and then settled on Ace.

The dragon caught his eye and raised a questioning brow, but Luffy only grinned at him, eyes alight with happiness. They dragon grinned right back, baring all of his sharp teeth, and Luffy snickered, skipping ahead a few steps.

They were now walking down the last small slop, the forest spread out before them. The path, severely overgrown, disappeared into the dark undergrowth, and Ace grabbed his brother's arm gently, careful not to stick him with his claws.

"Don't go on ahead of me." The dragon warned. "The path is hard to follow, and there are many creatures in this forest that wouldn't mind trying to make you a nice afternoon snack." He glanced behind him at Robin. "That includes demons as well. Though a few creatures may find your foul aura difficult to stomach."

The demon merely gave him a calm smile, her blue eyes like steel. "I can very well take care of myself, great one. As can Luffy. Do not worry yourself over us."

Ace snorted before turning back to face the path. He dragged Luffy beside him once again – so long as he wasn't running ahead, Ace didn't have much cause for worry.

The boy pouted again but remained by the dragon's side, and for a few minutes they walked in silence. Ace couldn't help but find it odd because Luffy had never been quiet, but again he didn't question it. He waited for Luffy to start speaking, and focused on the path.

His presence should be enough to keep the most dangerous of the forest inhabitants away – save for those too stupid to recognise the aura of a dragon. Those were few and far between however, and Ace wasn't too worried. Even still, Ace cast out his senses and allowed his inner fire to flare, allowing it to burn hotly under skin and scale. If anything got too close he'd burn whatever it was to a crisp before it had to chance to realise its mistake.

"Ace…"

The dragon glanced at Luffy out of the corner of his eye. "Hm?"

"I thought you were dead."

Ace's step almost faltered. He looked properly at his brother, lips pressed in a thin line. Once again, there was that dark shadow in Luffy's eyes. A shadow that had no right to be there.

Unconsciously, Ace's tail curled around, the furred tip brushing against Luffy's side in a comforting manner; and Luffy grabbed it hugging it close to his chest – just like he used to do when he was a kid.

I thought you were dead too.

The dragon heaved out a loud sigh. "… What happened?"

AN: Explanations next chapter~