Author's Note - This chapter was a bunch of plot points i wanted, but wasn't sure how to string them together. Hope it worked. Some of you who have been with the story from the beginning may have noticed a change in format of the previous chapters. I came to the realization that i occasionally abandoned stories that were good but formatted poorly, while i continued less impressive stories that looked nice. I have gone through and sharpened up my format in the hope of drawing more views, followers, and reviews.

Disclaimer : I do not own One Piece or any of the other fandoms from which names, places, abilities, or references are taken! Imaginary points to anyone who catches said references throughout the story and PM's them to me. Dunno if you'll get anything real, but i give sneak peaks and deleted scenes to my repeated reviewers, so it isn't unthinkable.

Chapter 16 - A Deal With the Devil

It was the most heartbreaking thing she had seen in her life. Her captain, Ace, her hero, falling apart. He had ran toward the rear of the cave with single minded focus, but she had seen the shower of tools and apple and weapons fall from nowhere around him. The scythe clattered to the ground. The Striker hit the wall before landing on its side. An old broken Eternal Pose that Soul had carried since they had met his was nearly crushed as Ace ran past.

He slammed his hits against the wall, coating them with haki and pounding until he chipped away at the stone before he slid to the ground. He knelt there, staring at the blank stone wall, surrounded by the evidence that their friend was gone.

Steel blamed himself for not seeing the creature before, but Ace knew that bullets would never have slowed it down. He was the one who had brought them into the cave. He was the one who positioned Soul in the back. He was the reason Soul was dead.

Kuina barely made it to Ace's side before her own legs gave out, shaking with grief. She held the man as she cried. He just knelt there, completely lost. Franky was the one who finally carried them out. He moved all the parts that had been left behind with the disappearance of the young shipwright onto the ship, then carried them into the town to find their crew.

Olivia saw her sister's face and knew something had gone wrong. Cora was the first to pick out who was missing. She had been hysterical, determined to go to the cave herself and find him. Olivia had to give her a dose of tranquillizer to get her to the ship.

Ace locked himself in his room when they were back on board, and they did not see him for a day and a half. When he came out and ate, still looking as empty and lost as before, the weight of Roger's injuries seemed to beat him down even farther. Franky helped them out when he could, but there was nothing the shipwright could do to fix their captain.

Rachel awoke the first day, and although she didn't know the man who had died, she could feel how much it had hurt the people who were caring for her. It soaked into her like a physical force, and more than once she felt like crying herself for the man she had never spoken to.

Roger was out for three days, and when he finally awoke, it was Rachel who was present to tell him of Soul's death. Olivia was angry, and combined with the pain of losing her close friend, she had lost all traces of her usual cheerfulness.

Callan was on crutches, but in the best mental shape out of the crew. Having known Soul for only a few weeks, and not present during the incident, he only felt a fraction of the pain and sadness that the others did, and so, he coordinated most of the crew's work over the next few days.

The Straw Hat Pirates were broken.

So, your are Monkey D. Ace...My brothers are afraid of you, you know. Especially Aegiel...

"Who are you?" Ace said quietly. The voice was all around him, like a deafening whisper in the darkness.

My name is Golasi. It seems my pet has taken something that you desperately want back.

Before him in the dark, Soul's pale body appeared, blood still flowing down his neck from the vicious bite that had taken him. As quickly as he had appeared, he was gone.

"Soul! Golasi! Whoever you are, why did you take him?!" Ace shouted into the darkness.

Oh, it was nothing personal. But anyone traveling in the company of a man with the middle initial D, particularly one carrying a fruit of the most powerful variety, is a considerable threat. But don't worry. He's still here, with me. I could return him, for a price.

"What price?" Ace asked weakly.

My brothers... They have imprisoned me and taken my kingdom. The government and the warlords... They follow their will. Most of them, at least. But the people who once followed my will are unable to help me.

From the darkness, and tall man appeared, dressed all in blue and black. He grinned and extended one skeletal hand to Ace. He seemed to glow with his own light, and behind him he could see the black creature than had stolen his first mate prowling in the shadows.

Destroy my brothers, and in return, I will return this man to you.

"Soul. His name is Soul!" Ace snarled.

Soul, then. His name is inconsequential to me. To everyone, really. Dead men tend not to matter all that much. But if we have a deal, he shall live again, at least for a while. Until death finds him again. But be careful, I can only return those I take personally. Do we have a deal?

"Who are you? How do you have the power to raise the dead?" Ace demanded.

I am the third brother. I was given the kingdom of the earth, but I also took the moon. My elder brothers took the sky and the sea. My people of the moon were taken from me and given to them, along with my kingdom of the earth, and I was imprisoned here, in the darkness beneath all things. But I sent my power out to the world. The Devil's Fruit are the incarnations of my vengeful power. I could give you one, you know. A few have found their way back to me.

The man held up his other hand and a few fruit appeared in his palm.

The darkness fruit, the tremor fruit, the magma fruit... All unimaginably powerful in their own right, but together, combined with a mythical zoan, you could topple my brothers without any force standing in your way.

He waved his hand and another appeared.

The hydra fruit... A form of the dragon who heals like the phoenix. Every killing blow would only make you stronger. Four fruit... The power to conquer the world a thousand times over, as well as Soul's soul, in exchange for the destruction of my brothers who stole so much from me. Do we have a deal?

"No. I won't take the fruit. Give me back Soul, and I will tear down the brothers who drive the government and warlords. I will destroy those who took away your kingdom." Ace extended his hand.

Deal, young pirate. The man grinned and faded into the dark until only his hand remained, holding tight to Ace's, cold as ice. Then he was gone, and Ace awoke.

"Ace! You look better." Kuina hugged him when he stepped out of his room with his eyes clear and his shoulders back. He was far from happy, but at least he no longer looked like the world had already crushed him.

"I feel better... How is everyone? I haven't been behaving as a captain should."

"They're fine. Almost everyone is up and about again. Callan really pulled through and took charge while you were... For the past few days. Rachel, the warlord, is still in rough shape, but she's no longer in mortal danger." Kuina reported.

"Not a warlord anymore... I've been expelled from their ranks, as predicted." Rachel limped toward them, a rolled up newspaper in her hand.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Ace said. She laughed.

"They treated me like garbage and ordered me to kill you. I tried to kill you and you treated me like a friend. I'm well rid of them." She smiled, then. "Thank you. No other man would have saved the life of someone who had just tried to kill him. I owe you a great debt."

"No you don't. You did what you believed was right. You became a pirate for the freedom, and joined the warlords out of a desire to learn and a belief in justice. Your sense of honor would never let you truly follow any will but your own." Ace said. Rachel gaped at him.

"How could you possibly know that?!" She demanded. He gave her a sad half smile.

"I just know. It's like I can hear it in everything I see about you." Ace said. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Still at Water 7... We were waiting for you to be ready to hold a... funeral..." Kuina barely whispered. He shook his head.

"No funeral. He's coming back to us, Kuina." Ace said firmly. She looked at him in shock.

"What? Ace... Ace he's dead! I was there! That monster tore open his neck and dragged him away! All the things he had stored with his powers reappeared! What more proof is there than that?" Kuina wanted to slap him. How could he deny that Soul was dead?

"I've made a deal with the devil. We will get Soul back. Do you trust me, Kuina?" He looked into her eyes, and despite her disbelief and anger and sadness, she nodded.

"Always."

"Then take me to the cave." Ace said, holding out his hand. As she reached for it, he almost flinched away, expecting the thin cold hands he had felt in his dream. But no, her fingers were soft and warm, and he knew in his heart that it was no dream.

After they had vanished, Rachel wandered up to the kitchen, seeing Olivia was absent, she slipped in and sat at the table while Roger worked.

"How's your leg?" She asked quietly, flipping through the newspaper.

"Better. I'm lucky, would have bled to death in another five minutes. Any higher and I'd have been done long before the others showed up." Roger said, smiling.

"I'm glad I missed, then."

"Missed? I don't think you have missed a blow with a sword in your life. You exactly where you meant to. You were expecting me to block you and would have turned your blade to cut a few tendons." He said. She nodded reluctantly.

"It was the best move." She defended herself weakly.

"It was. You are really amazing. Even better than the captain, but only with a sword. If you stick around a while, I'd like to learn from you some." As usual, Roger held no grudge. Rachel nodded.

"I think that would be nice." She thought about where she could go now. "I'm not a warlord, my father is dead... My crew! Felix and Sean... Roger, I have to get to my crew!" Rachel was frantic now. How could she have been so careless?

"I'll take you." Olivia said, opening the door and extending a hand to the former warlord.

"Thank you..." Rachel took it hesitantly, and was gone in a flash.

Now she felt the same weight of loss as her new friends. Her ship, hand crafted by her father, was a smoldering wreckage. There were only a few bodies, and she recognized only two as members of her crew. The rest must have been from Felix's crew. The others who had followed her likely scattered, assuming she had died. Without her warlord status, they were wanted men again. She couldn't blame them. It still hurt, though.

"I'm sorry... Losing your nakama is terrible..." Olivia genuinely felt bad for the woman for the first time. Rachel wiped her eyes and shook her head.

"They'll be fine. They're all strong. They were in danger and I wasn't able to help them. They made the right choice..."

"Not a one of us would ever leave our captain." Olivia said. Rachel smiled sadly.

"I had more men, but fewer friends, I guess." She turned back to the doctor. "I'm sorry, you know. I didn't think when I told Roger about Soul. I just thought he would want to know as soon as possible and never considered that he should hear it from one of his nakama."

"It's okay. It was stupid for me to be mad at you for that." Olivia admitted. "He has a lot of respect for you, and you were able to tell him without breaking down crying. You did the right thing."

"Captain!"

Rachel turned to see a crowd of men running toward her, all of them grinning happily.

"Captain, we thought you were dead! We've been searching the city for a week!" Her first mate came to a stop right in front of her and sighed in relief when he was close enough to tell it was definitely her. "It took most of our cash, but we pooled together and got a new ship..."

"You didn't have to do that... I had enough left over to pay for it." Rachel was shocked. Not only had her crew stayed, they had been searching for her since she had gone missing? And they'd replaced their ship.

"We wanted to be ready to set sail when we found you. We can't let the warlords come back for our captain." The man smiled at her. He gestured up the beach at a ship that was remarkably similar to her father's. "I know he annoys you to death, but David is the one to thank for it. He's been working night and day to get it ready for us."

"He... That persistent idiot... Where is he?" Rachel asked.

"On the ship, passed out from exhaustion."

"Well, we should go wake our new shipwright." She sighed. She'd probably regret this. She turned to Olivia. "I'll come by to say good bye before we set off, okay?"

"We'll wait for you." Olivia nodded then vanished.

"Who's that?" Rachel pointed at the platform that rose above the crowd. Two men knelt there, but it was clear which she was asking about.

"That is Roronoa Zoro, Rachel. The greatest swordsman in the world. He defeated the warlord Dracule Mihawk, and he's the first mate of the Pirate King." Her father explained. The girl watched, fascinated, as three swords were passed reluctantly down to a woman near the front of the crowd.

"Why does he have so many swords? He only has two hands!" Rachel asked.

"He fought with one clenched in his teeth. Many people said he was a demon in human form. They say no human could fight with such strength, skill, and ferocity." Her father said. He had followed the story of the Pirate King and his crew for months. He held a deep admiration for their shipwright, Cutty Flam, now known throughout the world as Franky the cyborg.

"Wow... I want to be like him some day." She turned away as the sword fell to end his life. She was seven years old at the time.

Now, eighteen years later, Rachel was not much closer to her goal than when she was a child, at least in her mind. Once her crew was settled in on the new ship, and had finished expressing their relief of her safe return, she went to bid farewell to the Straw Hat Pirates.

"I understand. I could never ask you to leave your nakama to teach me. But maybe we'll cross paths again some day. I'll be looking forward to it!" Roger said to her, hugging her once then sheepishly extending her sword to her. "I repaired the hand guard."

"Thank you Roger! I can't wait to spar with you again!" She smiled and returned the hug, then turned to leave. "Ace and Kuina aren't back yet?"

"No... We're going to go looking for them if they aren't back by dark." Olivia said, pointedly not looking at the woman hugging the cook. With her head turned away, something caught Rachel's eye.

"That ear ring... I've seen it before..." Rachel couldn't place it, but she knew that small golden rod was familiar to her.

"It was my father's. My mom and sister each have one two. Apparently they each represent one of his swords. Mom always said Kuina got the 'problem child'." Olivia fingered the ear ring idly, smiling as she thought about her mother and sister.

"Three... Swords... Your father... Was he Zoro?" Rachel was wide eyed.

"Yeah... I'm Roronoa Olivia. One of his two daughters. I guess we didn't really introduce ourselves, did we?" The doctor said, unaware of the awe and wonder that was rushing through the swordswoman's mind.

"No... Bit hectic..." Rachel just gaped at her, then shook her head and forced herself to stuff the small part of herself that wanted to scream with excitement deep down inside until she was alone.

"Yo, Rachel! Glad I got here before you left! I've got something for you!" Franky said, entering the kitchen and extending a hand to her. In his palm sat an Eternal Pose, the needle jerking around wildly.

"What's this?" Rachel raised an eyebrow as she took the device and looked it over. "Is it broken?"

"Oh no. It is special. This is a single needle Alliance Pose. I've only ever made two now. This is so that no matter where in the world you are or they are, you'll always be able to find this ship." Franky explained, and suddenly Rachel held the device with much more reverence.

"This... Thank you. This means a lot to me." She smiled and carefully slipped the pose into her pocket.

"Be careful with it. If that falls into the wrong hands, anyone could find them. Those warlords you fought before would hunt them to the ends of the earth. Destroy it before you let it be taken from you, understand?" Franky warned her darkly.

"I understand."

"Good!" Franky grinned and laughed, patting her on the shoulder. His strength nearly sent her to the floor. "Good luck, Rachel. Drop by any time if your ship needs repaired!"

"I will! Thank you sir!" She grinned back. Her father would have cried if he could see her speaking to the shipwright he had always aspired to.

"What are you doing with that? That's Soul's!" Cora shouted as Rachel was walking toward the edge of the deck, studying the Alliance Pose.

"What? No, Franky just gave it to me!" Rachel said, confused, and a little scared of the unstable girl.

"I recognize it! It's identical! We picked it up after he..." Cora took a deep breath to keep her tears back, then took a step forward. She may have thrown a knife at the swordswoman if Franky hadn't intervened.

"Woah, Cora. That is a different one. Soul's is still in his room where I put it when we came back. Dunno where he got it, but I assure you, they are identical but there are two." Franky held up his hands to calm the girl. She looked up at him, then nodded, whispering an apology to Rachel, then running off to ensure she hadn't been lied to.

"So... Soul had the other one? Who'd you give it to originally?" Rachel asked.

"Luffy had it after I made it. Never even knew he gave it away. He gave our greatest allies five of the triple needle variant, and we kept a five needle variant on the ship, but that was the only single needle variant I ever made before now. We had no way to track it, but it could track us. Luffy said he would save it until he found the right person. I guess somewhere along the way he must have done just that." Franky said, scratching his head.

"What do you mean by 'the right person'?"

"Luffy could tell a persons heart instantly. There was no deceiving him. Not after he started hearing the voice of all things. He was always instinctive, but after that it was almost scary how clearly he understood things that mystified everyone else."

"The voice of all things... Hear... Ace can do that too, I think. He read me like a book this morning. He said he could hear it in everything he saw me do." Rachel said.

"Well, he does carry his father's will. That troublesome D." Franky grinned.

"D? What does their middle initial have to do with anything?"

"It's more than an initial. It's an inheritance. A Will of its own. Something powerful that no one without the will can fully understand." Franky said. He'd seen it first hand, the strength of the Will of D.

"I see... I should be going. My crew is waiting. It was an honor to meet you, Franky. My father always hoped to meet you, so I'm glad I was able to fulfill that dream for him now that he's gone."

"It's been an honor to meet you as well. If Ace sees so much in you, then you are certainly someone worth meeting. Or will be one day." Franky waved farewell to the small ex warlord, then turned back to the doorway where Cora was cradling Soul's log pose. She was not doing well.

"What are we doing here, Ace?" Kuina asked, standing at her captain's side as they looked into the dark cave on the beach.

"This is where we'll get him back." Ace said confidently, walking into the darkness. She followed reluctantly. When they reached the back of the cave, it was still the same solid stone. The blood on the ground had dried and flaked under their feet. It was sickening.

"Ace... He's gone..." Kuina whispered. Ace shook his head and examined his hand. The hand he had shaken had felt as cold as stone. Just like the wall had. He pressed his palm to the wall, but nothing happened. Sighing in defeat, he stepped back, but as he did, the wall came with him.

No, not the wall. A body.

"Soul!"

Say your vow aloud and accept your payment in the sight of this witness. The voice echoed around them. Kuina almost screamed, but Ace didn't even flinch. He'd been expecting it.

"In return for Soul being returned to us, I will destroy your two older brothers who have stolen your kingdom." Ace spoke clearly and loudly into the dark. As the echo of his voice faded, Soul opened his eyes weakly.

Excellent. This vow can not be broken. I have held up my end and can not revoke it. If you fail to uphold your end, my pet will take you as well, and your soul will rest with me. You'll never see your father in the next life.

Ace nodded to the darkness, lifting Soul to a sitting position. The reaper looked around in confusion, rubbing his neck where the monster's fangs had clamped into his flesh, then reached out into open air and frowned.

"My apples are all gone..." He mumbled. Ace laughed. He was back. Kuina hugged him tightly and jumped them both out of the cave.

It seemed that what had seemed only moments in the darkness with the voice had been several hours. The sun was nearly set when they reached the ship. Rachel had long since left.

"Soul!" Cora nearly knocked Ace and Kuina over as she rushed to throw her arms around the reaper.

"Cora! How's it going?" He gave her a half smile as she tackled him to the deck boards.

"Looking up." She sniffed as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Glad to hear it." He held her at arms length. "You have been crying way too much, Cora. I wasn't gone that long."

"Where did you go?! They said you died!" She demanded.

"I... Don't know. I remember Franky saving us from the sea king, then the monster bit my neck, and everything went hazy. Then I woke up in the cave with Ace and Kuina. I thought I'd just passed out... I'm sorry I worried everyone."

"Just don't do it again." She smiled at him, then helped him up.

"We're getting ready to set sail. All your stuff is in the workshop or your room. Franky will be back before we go. We haven't shown him your G.P.S. yet, so you might want to wait until then to go to sleep." Ace said after checking with Callan and Kuina.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Soul looked at his captain. "How did I come back, Ace?"

"I... I made a deal. It's nothing to worry about. Go see the rest of the crew. We all missed you." Ace said evasively.

"Alright. First, I'm getting my scythe and an apple. I just don't feel right without them." Soul said, turning toward the stairs down to the workshop. "And my old log pose. Did it get thrown downstairs or in my room?"

Trying not to look as shy or nervous as she felt, she pulled it out of her pocket and held it out to him. He raised an eyebrow, but accepted it without question.

When he had assembled his belongings in his preferred places in the nowhere around him, he came out, just in time to meet Franky.

He led the cyborg to the navigation room and explained his Grand Pose System to the master shipwright, who was very impressed, and asked permission to use the design in a future ship.

As the rest of the crew drifted out of the room, Franky caught Soul's shoulder and held him back a moment.

"How did you come to possess my first single needle Alliance Pose?"

"It was my father's... He never told me where he got it, but I know it was important to him, so I kept it. It's really yours? I thought it was just broken. The last time I checked it, I was on the ship and it was going crazier than usual. That explains it..." Soul said thoughtfully.

"Did your father ever cross paths with Luffy?" Franky asked. Soul thought for a moment, then nodded.

"He did. At Raftel. My father was one of the marines who attacked first. Luffy spared his life."

"I remember that man... Luffy took special interest in him specifically. We never saw him again after that day... What became of him?"

"He... died. Killed by the same monster that apparently just killed me." Soul said.

"I see." Franky raised an eyebrow and leaned in close, speaking quietly. "Haven't told Ace your full name yet, have you?"

Soul stumbled back, eyes wide.

"N-no... How did you know?"

"Because if you had, he'd have known why you had that pose." Franky grinned. "You'd be the fourth then. You shouldn't keep secrets like that from your captain, although you might not have been allowed back into the world of the living if anyone knew who you were."

"It's that important?"

"More than you can imagine. Luffy hand picked you before you were even born, and his son knew you as soon as he met you. You're going to play a large roll in what's coming."

"What's coming?"

"A storm, Soul. Roger and Luffy started it, but Ace is going to really bring it to our doors." Franky turned and walked to the door. "Tell them. They need to know."

He left then, leaving Soul to his thoughts. He had heard mention of it around the ship, and knew it carried some weight, but he hadn't realized how much it meant. Just knowing his name may have stopped whatever deal brought him back?

He felt the ship begin to move and was shaken from his thoughts. He walked up to the deck to find everyone in high spirits, laughing and smiling, going about their daily lives as if nothing in the world could bother them.

"Guys... I have something I need to tell you." Soul looked around. The crew's eyes were fixed on him. "My name is Hunter D. Soul."

The fourth D is revealed. I had him planned from the start, which is surprising.

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