A/N: Hello everyone! Surprised to see me so soon? Faster update this time, yay! This chapter just came pretty easily to me. Once I started writing, I almost couldn't stop! I think it turned out pretty good. I hope you feel the same.

Also I just want to address somebody's idea about the whole arm cutting off because feeling guilty thing. I don't actually have any plans for that happening (mainly cause I can't stand to make my little Gracie kill babies for that to happen. I'm sorry I'm too soft.), but it is an interesting idea. Kind of reminds me of the new admiral, Fujitora. He blinded himself cause he was tired of seeing corruption in the world.

Anyway, I also want to apologize in advance. Shanks will not be appearing in this chapter. This one is all about Grace and Valeska and stuff. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen:

Not How It's Supposed To Be

The world had descended into a new age of piracy. Roger's last words had captured the imagination of thousands, and the number of wanted men and women had skyrocketed. Some weren't any big deal and were picked off with ease, but the allure of the Pirate King's riches had also drawn out some rather nasty fellows as well. Grace would have liked to be a part of the efforts going towards containing those new threats, but instead her service was called elsewhere.

Somehow, her change of heart regarding a certain red haired pirate had gone unnoticed by her comrades and superiors. They were under the assumption that she would wholeheartedly agree to do whatever they needed her to if it meant scrubbing away the scum that brought society down. Part of that was true—Grace was all for locking up the violent wrongdoers that took innocent lives. But would she wholeheartedly do anything the higher-ups wanted her to?

She decided that she would not. She would never have agreed to what the government was asking of her if she had the choice. Unfortunately, it wasn't a mission that anyone had the choice to refuse. Either she did as she was told or she risked whatever punishment they had in mind for insubordination.

See, this was a very important task. Those in charge described it as "necessary to rid the world of that demon's evil blood." If anyone voiced their discontent, they'd be seen as a traitor. So Grace had to bear with it. She had to go along with this "necessary" effort to erase every flesh and blood trace of Gold Roger from the world, even though it disgusted her.

Grace had to steel her nerves yet again as she watched a pair of marines force a terrified woman from her home and guide her towards the battleship that was currently serving as a detention center where interrogations would take place. The woman's husband was being held back, and Grace feared thing would escalate to the point of violence if he didn't calm down. She could understand his anger. What on earth could the government want with his pregnant wife and why wasn't he allowed to stay with her? What had she done? Why wouldn't anyone give him any answers? His reaction was understandable. But even so, if he didn't back down then one of her associates would take it as a threat. She had seen it happen far too many times.

When the situation started getting more heated, Grace stepped in to try and diffuse the man's temper. "Sir, please don't cause a scene. Your wife isn't in any danger," or so she hoped, "and she'll be released if things check out."

"If what checks out?! What's going on?!"

"That's...classified." Grace replied quietly. She stepped back when he tried to lunge at her to get answers out of her. He was stopped by a trio of other marines, and she had to look away when they subdued him. She let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling another headache coming on.

It would have been easier if they were allowed to explain what they were doing. Surely they'd get more willing cooperation if told these families and couples why they were being taken into custody. But the higher ups didn't want to risk alerting Roger's allies and possible lover to their plan. If word got out as to what they were looking for, then that would throw a wrench into the whole operation. Their prey could slip right between their fingers. So instead of informing the suspects of why they were being taken in for questioning, the marines all but broke into their homes and basically kidnapped them.

It was awful. A heavy ball of guilt had been sitting in her gut ever since the first arrest she'd been a part of. That had been months earlier. Long, excruciatingly taxing months during which her sixteenth birthday had come and gone and she had spent in inflicting unnecessary stress on expectant mothers. She was exhausted and with each passing day she felt more and more empty. She wasn't the only one, thankfully. There were others who seemed to share her discomfort with the whole thing even if they didn't say so. Grace could see it in their eyes when their gazes met sometimes, the haunted and shame that made itself known when they looked away with furrowed eyebrows.

And what was all of it for? What was the government so hell-bent on finding? Well, according to some reports, Gol D Roger may have been expecting a child.

And what would they do if they found his supposed offspring? Grace was afraid to think about it. After seeing what they were willing to do just to find this kid, she wouldn't put it past them to go even further to get rid of what they believed to be a parasite.

Things went on that way for a few more months. During that time, the marines started transitioning from interrogating pregnant women to mothers with newborns and toddlers. There came a point where Grace outright refused to look at anymore of those people in the eye. She was already visited by so many of their fearful faces at night that she thought she might drown in them if she saw anymore.

Luckily, after almost eleven months participating in this fruitless search, she caught a break. Vice Admiral Garp had happened to be in the area as he took down a problematic pirate crew and stopped at the island she was on to recuperate. Grace had taken the opportunity to go see him after finishing up her shift for the day. She needed a familiar, more friendly presence to offset all the negativity she had been dealing with, even if she didn't enjoy hanging out with Garp all that much. That was how she found herself sitting on the deck of the vice admiral's battleship that night with her head hanging low. He was standing a couple feet away, leaned against the railing as he gazed out at sea.

It was quiet for a long time before the old man decided to speak. "Having a hard time, Everett?" His usually chipper attitude seemed to be missing.

"..." She said nothing.

"Just bear with it for a little longer. They'll give up soon." he said.

"Not soon enough." Grace replied. She didn't understand why they were doing it in the first place. The kid had nothing to do with its father or his sins. Her heart nearly broke when she thought about how much the Wold Government despised a child who had done nothing wrong. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. The marines were supposed to protect he innocent, not hunt them down like they were animals. "This isn't..." She felt her throat constrict. "This isn't what I signed up for..." She didn't care to stop the tear from rolling down her cheek when she squeezed her eyes shut. The backs of her eyelids were like a movie screen that played through all the stomach churning scenes she'd witnessed throughout the last year. She couldn't hold it in anymore. All the pent up guilt and resentment came forth and made her bury her face in her forearms in shame. She hated herself for being too much of a coward to speak out against it.

She could hardly remember the last time anything made her cry.

A mere two days later, Grace was transferred back to Grap's division to fight against pirates again even though she wasn't really strong enough to battle the ones they were going after. It was fine, though. She would settle for hanging back and supporting from a safe distance. Anything was better than what she was doing before.

The sound of cracking wood followed by a thud against a wall made Valeska's shoulders twitch involuntarily. She imagined her front door half hanging off its hinges, and the heavy footsteps on her wooden floor made her blood turn to ice. Outside, she heard gunshots and loud pleads for mercy. The oppressive atmosphere that had befallen her peaceful little island was all to familiar. She had experienced something like it before. She was only a small child back then, the memory was still vivid in her mind.

All of a sudden she was six years old again, hiding under her parent's nightstand with her eyes screwed shut and her hands covering her ears. She didn't know where her mom or dad were, just that there were scary men in her house taking anything they could carry. The noise outside was loud and if she looked out the window she would see the night sky was lit up by her neighbors' burning houses. She was sniffling and shaking, and then she froze when she heard the bedroom door open—

The brunette shook her head and clutched the shotgun in her hands tightly. She was standing against the wall in her hallway with the barrel pointed towards the only doorway. She listened to the foot steps as their owner searched the living room for valuables. She heard drawers open and furniture get knocked over. An overwhelming sense of dread clawed at her mind when the footsteps neared the entrance to the hallway.

A tall man entered the bedroom. He was heavyset with greasy black hair and scars up the right sight of his face and neck. His clothes were dirty and bloodstained and he carried a saber in one hand. Valeska nearly stopped breathing because she was afraid of him seeing her. She watched helplessly as the pirate began rummaging through her parents things. He snatched up her mother's jewelry and then swept the box she kept it in to the side. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter that made the little girl gasp. The pirate whipped around and locked eyes with her. "Well well..." He smirked. "What do we have here?"

Valeska forced the memory out of her mind just in time to register the face of the intruder appear around the door-frame. He appeared to be slightly sunburned from long days out in the sun. He was balding and missing a few teeth. She didn't get a chance to really notice anything else about him because she pulled the trigger and shot him square in the chest just as he started to lunged toward her. They both fell backwards—him because of the bullet and her because of the recoil on the weapon. She didn't have very much experience with using one.

She was somewhat disoriented as she tried to get back to her feet. I just shot a man... She thought. Probably killed him... Well, there was a first time for everything. Just as she was about to come to terms with her first possible kill, another pirate rushed through the doorway with wide eyes. "You bitch! What have you done?!" The brunette didn't have time to respond, or even get a good look at the guy before she felt a sudden pain blossom on her cheek as he punched her. She tasted blood in her mouth and tears pricked the corners of her eyes as a pair of hands wrapped around her neck. She clawed at his arms and gasped for breath, but to no avail. Her vision started going dark.

"Waahh! Put me down!" Valeska cried, kicking and screaming as the mean looking man dragged her out of her home and into the chaotic mess taking place in town. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she choked on the acrid black smoke that filled the air. She screamed for help, or at least tried to. Someone had to save her from the scary man dragging her down the street. That was when the marines came. A half a dozen of them showed up and pointed their guns at the man holding her. He dropped her and fled, and she quickly got to her feet and hurried towards the marine holding his hand out to her.

"You let go of her you filthy scumbag!" Suddenly the hands around her neck vanished and Valeska sucked the air she had depraved of. She coughed, her through feeling sore. The sound of a gunshot drew her attention and she looked up to see a female marine standing over the lifeless body of her attacker with a smoking pistol in hand. "Don't you dare touch her..." she muttered dangerously. The marine looked over at the brunette, eyes glittering with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Grace...?" Valeska's voice sounded a bit hoarse. "What are you doing here...?"

"C'mon, Val. We gotta get out of here." The other girl firmly gripped the brunette's upper arm and helped her to her feet. She didn't wait for Valeska to put her thoughts together before hauling her out of the ransacked house, and Val didn't argue. Grace kept her close as she pulled her friend towards the beach where other marines were helping people evacuate the island. On their way there, they were stopped by a trio of pirates. Grace pushed Valeska behind her and stepped forward to fight them. "Get lost, you damned pigs!" She unsheathed her sword.

As the little brunette girl was being carried towards the safety of the marine battleship just off the coast of the island, she looked back at her home town with tears in her eyes. It was then that she saw a girl with silvery white hair about her age also being carried to the ship, but she was resisting the marine all the while. "Let me go! Let me go! They killed my... I need to...!" She bit the marine, and scurried away from when he dropped her in surprise. She ran right up to a pirate that the marines were trying to take down and stabbed him in the leg with a sharp piece of wood she had picked up along the way. The big brute cried out in pain and batted her away easily.

"You little brat...!" He pushed her head into the ground with his foot.

"You...!" The girl struggled against him, tears streaming down her face. "I'll kill you! You dirty pirate!" The marines descended upon the man, pulling him off of her. She got to her feet and ran at him again, only to be stopped. "Let me go! I need to kill him!" She was picked up and held firmly so that she wouldn't escape again. When she realized her struggles were futile she let out an anguished scream.

Valeska watched from a safe distance as Grace put everything she had into subduing her enemies. It was three against one, but they did stand a chance against her fierce determination. She had come a long way.

Soon, some of her comrades arrived to back her up and the pirates were hauled away in chains. Grace led the brunette towards the small boats ready to take survivors to the marine battle ship. Valeska sat quietly, trying to rest her sore throat while Grace helped row the dinghy to its destination. Once they were on the deck, the marine gave her friend a proper once over.

"You look like hell..." she said.

"Heh." The brunette touched her cheek and winced. "Yeah?" As she looked back at Grace, she noticed the slight bags under her eyes, indicative of someone who hadn't had a good night's rest in a long time. She also saw the remnants of emotional exhaustion in her eyes that couldn't have come from what happened earlier. "You look like you've seen it..."

Grace looked away and didn't respond, and Valeska didn't push it. Instead she inquired as to where a bucket might be because she was beginning to feel the effects of her chronic seasickness. To which Grace responded that she should just stay near the side of the ship.

A/N: Grace finally sees the dark side to the World Government and Valeska revisits some events from the past. How sad.

See you next time! And don't worry, Shanks will be there!