Warnings: Violence, murder, possible OoC characters, vampires, ghosts, fluff

Disclaimer: I own my words and the plot only; Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece

Danger lurks behind every corner, but so does safety and reassurance

Ace was angry. No, scratch that, he was beyond infuriated.

There were no words to describe what he was feeling right now. All he knew was that, before him, was a man with a gun to Luffy's head for no reason.

Not that there was any justifiable reason to murder a child.

In the back of his mind, he could only wonder how that boy got into so much trouble. But in the front, all he was focused on was the insane, manic look on the man's face and the trembling form of his baby brother trying desperately not to cry. Wide, innocent eyes stared at him with a pleading look and Ace could smell the fear Luffy was trying and failing not to show.

It made his hatred for humans grow, to see one do this to a child.

"What? You're not going to fight to get him back? Do even you monsters reject what he is? Let me tell you, they will always be rejected!" The man spat out, bringing the gun closer to the boys temple. Ace heard the barely there whimper and he clenched his fists tighter.

"Why do you lowly humans find need to kill off the blue bloods? Why do you feel such hatred towards them, towards a child?" Ace asked in a hiss, his tone of voice murderous, standing tall before the man who was doing such despicable acts. Ace's eyes turned red as the moon glinted across them from behind the rapidly moving clouds. Then, a large cloud covered the moon and the light disappeared from the standoff nearby the village. The only light came from the flames of streetlights and house lights in the distance. Aside from that, they were enshrouded in darkness, mist from the cool, wet air pooling around them and making visibility for the human zero.

"Hahahaha! You monsters don't even know what he is! It's so beautiful! You know, I've never done it before, but I wonder what blue blood looks like splattered across the ground? Don't you think it would be pretty?"

Before he could move again, Ace crossed the many yards between them silently and grabbed his forearm, crushing it in his grip, all in a matter of seconds. The man screamed in agony and let the gun fall as some of his bones protruded from his skin. Still, he held onto Luffy, clutching him tight and making it hard for the young boy to breathe.

Unexpectedly, he cast the widest and one of the most malicious grins up at Ace. "He will be your downfall. He will be the downfall of all monsters and humans, and by letting him live it is all your fault."

Ace moved his hand to the man's neck and glowered at him, his red eyes shining in the moonlight. "I think you humans will kill each other off before this boy can do anything. He has far many more morals than any red blooded human will." And with that, his hand snapped the mans neck in half like a twig. Blood splattered everywhere as it poured from his mouth and Ace watched with sick joy as the man's eyes rolled back into his head with a terrified last scream. Ace took his hand away, let the man fall backwards on the ground, and licked at the blood that covered his hand and arm, frowning at its bitter taste. Then looked down at Luffy. In the man's last moments, he had let go of the little boy. He kneeled down before the boy and helped him to stand on his feet, frowning at the terrified look in his eyes. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

Luffy shook his head frantically and bit his lip with worry. Ace was happy that the boy couldn't see the blood, because he was sure the boy would be crying if he could. "Ace?" He looked at the boy and made a soft humming sound to show he was listening. "Am I evil?" Ace's eyes widened at the question and he didn't know what to say. Nervous by the silence, Luffy continued. "They say that, that blue blood bad. It's evil, demon. Mama died and, and, they all dead. Because they say we evil. Am I evil?" With his vampire sight, in the dark, he could see Luffy's big, watery eyes staring at him, shaking with anxiety and fear. Was this what the red blooded humans had instilled into the boy? At such a young age? That he, of all people, was evil?

Ace pulled the young boy close to him and gently pushed his head to his shoulder. He smiled as he hugged the boy close. "You? Evil? That's such a stupid idea, Luffy. You will never be evil."

It was silent for a few moments before the boy spoke again. "But…but said can't love. I grow up no love. That's what they say. Don't duhzerv it," He mumbled into Ace's shoulder with a shaking voice. Ace could feel him quivering in his arms and tightened his grip on the boy, giving him a kiss on the side of his head to try and reassure him.

"Luffy, they are lying. You will always have people to love you. And you don't want to be evil, right?" He felt the boy shake his head frantically and couldn't help the small smile that crossed his face. "No one evil would ever think of that. You're not evil, Lu, and you never will be. Just like you will never be without love."

The moon came out from behind the clouds while Ace spoke. By then, Luffy's eyes were trembling with emotion. A few seconds later, the tears spilled over with a wail coming from the young boy. Ace moved to sit down and held the boy in his lap for a long time, smoothing down his hair and rubbing a hand up and down his back while slowly rocking him. He didn't say anything as he let Luffy cry, but he let him know he was there.

Ace wondered if Luffy felt like this during the two years he had been with the vampire pirates so far. The thought made his heart clench – and when his heart clenched, he had to wonder how long it had been since he began to care so deeply for this human.

When Ace was turned, he relished in the fact he was no longer human. In the short twenty years he had lived then, he watched his beloved parents get murdered before his eyes; he was told his grandfather, a Vice-Admiral and a hero of justice, was killed in war when in reality, his allied marines had dug his grave and then shot him until he fell into it, then buried him alive until he suffocated on dirt, for helping save Ace from death; his caretakers were brutally murdered in an arson for protecting him; the first woman he had a crush on, who taught him his manners, was stabbed through the heart for treating him as a human, for they believed he was much less than that; his father's apprentice and crew were all slaughtered protecting him; for his lineage, for carrying his fathers blood in his veins, he was hunted down – they had caused him to hate being that mans son even though he once held the man in such high regard. He had no reason or desire to enjoy human company. They had given him no reason to do so.

As a vampire, he was brutal in his attacks. His first ninety years were filled with blood lust. He was known as Bloody Fist or Fire Fist because of the amount of damage he could cause by fist fighting alone. Of course, then he was captured by Whitebeard and kept on the ship, trying to assassinate his current father in his naivety for five years. Only after being worn down after days and months and years did he finally accept the man as his father. He had a family again, and his heart began to rebuild.

But he still hates humans 732 years later from the day he turned.

Except for this one right here, the young boy crying in his arms. He loved this boy like he was, is, his little brother. He never wanted anything to happen to this boy. He wished he could protect him from all the evils of life, but he was finding that it may be to late. He just hoped that always, this boy would retain his innocence and love of life.

"Ace! Don't leave! Please…don't leave!" The words the boy cried caught him off guard. It made him wonder what he went through in his three years before they met. Ace hugged him as close as he possibly could to his body, trying to shield him from the world.

"I promise, Luffy. I'm not going anywhere."

"You're just a magnet for trouble, aren't you?" Marco mumbled, only causing the child before him to laugh. He sighed deeply at their predicament – the two of them were currently lost somewhere on a huge island because earlier, Luffy fell over the railing while he was playing, forcing Marco to jump in after them, but then they got caught in a whirlpool and were now on some island in the middle of nowhere, the ship barely visible miles out in the sea.

"Can we go exploring? Please? Please please please please pleeeeeeeaaaaasssseeeee!" Luffy begged him, tugging at his shirt, and Marco rolled his eyes despite his fond smile at the boys antics.

"Yeah, yoi, we can go have an adventure."

"Yosh! Adventure!" Luffy exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air as he began to run into the woods. Marco easily kept up with him, watching as he ran around, looking at all of the strange bugs and plants he had never seen before.

He smiled at the boy as he thought back to when he went exploring when he was a kid. Those days were very long ago, though, back when he had a few older brothers up until a storm struck and killed them all off except for him. His story was not nearly as awful as many of his brothers and sisters were, but he had bad things happen to him as a vampire – he lost the love of his life, a human who knew who he was and was going to turn that night – to a vicious incubus. When he found the demon, Marco slaughtered him.

"Marco! Burns!" Luffy pointed behind Marco and Marco turned, eyes squinting in pain as the sunlight invaded his sensitive eyes. Then he looked at his own, reddening skin. Inwardly, he cursed at not realizing what time it was. It looked like it could be getting close to seven, which meant he had been in the sun for three hours so far. This could seriously screw him over.

He lives over one thousand years, fighting for survival, to be taken out by the sun, something only an idiotic vampire would die in. What a stupid, pathetic way to die.

He felt Luffy tug on his hand and suddenly the young boy was leading him through the woods.

"Luffy, where are we going?"

Luffy didn't seem to hear him. It was as though he was focusing on something else. However, no matter how much Marco heightened his senses, he could sense no one on the island. The only inhabitants were animals and plants.

So what exactly was Luffy following?

Luffy lead him around for a half hour and by then, he was beginning to feel ill, his skin beginning to blister and turn bright red. For some reason, he was especially vulnerable to the sun. If he didn't find shelter soon, he would die. And the fact that it would happen in front of Luffy made his stomach churn.

But then, Luffy turned and shoved at his legs. Marco stumbled backwards a few steps and then he was enshrouded by darkness. He didn't really know what happened until he looked around and saw he was surrounded by dark, wet and cold cave walls.

Luffy had found a safe place for him.

He smiled down at Luffy as the boy grinned up at him. "Thank you, Luffy." Luffy beamed even more but then, his lips were tugged into a frown.

"Marco, you're hurt," Marco looked down at his burn marks – serious sun burns but he knew that it wasn't bad enough to kill him now that he was standing in darkness. He looked back up at Luffy who bit his lip before his eyes light up with an idea. "Gonna get water to cool you off!"

"Wait! Luffy!" Marco yelled and tried to reach out for the boy, but his skin met sunlight and he was forced to retract his hand with a hiss of pain. His eyes widened as he watched the boy disappear. Nervousness welled up inside of him – they hadn't been to this island in at least two hundred years, and a lot can change in that amount of time. He hoped and prayed that someone out there would watch over the boy when he couldn't.

Luffy had no such worries. He was happily running through the brush, following one of the figures that he had seen for his whole life. Not that his family knew – they never asked. There were actually a lot of people that he saw in his life that no one else could see – it was just that this man was always with him, ever since the beginning, before even Ace. The other people he met after his Mama died. He also wasn't allowed to speak to the man around others on the man's orders.

"Shanks, where are we goin'?" Luffy asked the red haired, translucent man. He laughed as he lead Luffy along through the thick jungle life, teeming with creatures of all sizes, making unidentifiable sounds in the tree tops and on the ground.

"There's a fresh water stream up ahead. If we can somehow get the water to him, his burns would heal faster. For a vampire, burns from the sun can take weeks or months, even years to heal if they're very serious."

"Will Marco be ok?" The boy asked with a quivering voice. Shanks bellowed out a loud laugh and nodded his head.

"He'll be fine, Anchor. Marco's strong."

"I'm not an anchor!"

"Oh, then why did you almost drown today?" Luffy looked down, pouting and frustrated. The elder grinned and ruffled his hair. "Be more careful, alright?" Luffy looked up and stuck his tongue out before running ahead. He knew Shanks was nearby as he could hear his booming laugh.

Luffy jumped around and over roots and bushes and ducked under branches as he ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. Despite the circumstances, he was happy to be outside in the sunlight. It was rare that it ever happened since he wasn't allowed on deck during the day because no one could go into the daylight for long. He relished in the sounds of the birds, small bugs and big bugs flying or crawling around, the monkeys chattering above him and the sounds of animals in the distance.

Then Luffy tripped over a rock and landed flat on his face. He groaned before sitting up and then he blinked, grinning widely. "Fresh water!" He exclaimed as he got up and ran to the small stream. But then he frowned. "Shanks, how do I get it back?" The six year old asked as he looked at the water without any form of bucket. Shanks hummed and looked around before pointing to a pair of bushes.

"There's something metal over there. Why don't you check it out?" Luffy smiled and ran over as he giggled. Shanks stood straight as he watched over the boy with fond eyes, smile deepening when the boy exclaimed in surprise at the bucket he found.

"How didja know it was there, Shanks?" Luffy asked in awe. Shanks laughed at him.

"I've been here before, Luffy," He replied as he watched the young boy get as much water as he could carry into the bucket before he unsteadily began to totter off under the new weight. "Too heavy, kid?" Shanks asked with a smirk, causing Luffy to glare up at him childishly.

"Shut up! It's not heavy at all!" Luffy yelled at the man as he began to move faster. He walked uphill slowly and steadily, grabbing onto rocks jutting out of the earth as he lugged the large bucket along with him. Shanks followed behind him, making sure he didn't fall (which was kind of pointless in his mind since he couldn't touch the kid, but he wanted to at least watch out for him), as he struggled to get the water to Marco.

It was a long process since he was now going uphill, not down, but eventually he made it. He hadn't lost much water on the journey – what he did lose he had spilled on himself –and was proud of himself for being able to carry it. Shanks watched with a smile as he ran up to Marco, who instantly bonked him on the head before hugging him and telling him to not do stupid stuff like that again. They boy only laughed.

Shanks looked up at the sun in the sky and prayed that somehow Luffy would not fall victim to himself like so many others had before him. Like Shanks had.

AN: Posted early because I don't think I'll be able to post this later today. Anyway, good morning! Hope you all slept well, I did. :) So, what do you guys think of this new development? Do you like seeing Shanks here? What do you think about Ace and Marco's pasts? It'll all come into play more later. :)

LyricoJ: hahaha, hope this slightly quelled your curiosity. :)

Genesis: Yes! Update! And you'd be surprised how often they chase Sabo for pranks on the ship. It's quite a lot. Ace should definitely be a dad - he'd be awesome at it. Yes! Luffy calls him Papa. I wanted him to call him Papa but later he'll probably call him Pops. Thanks! :)

luffylova: This may have sated your curiosity - or just made it grow. I can't wait for Robin to come in either! :D

Lover's Red Rose: Hmmm, maybe later, but you'll see why Luffy only gave something to Nami later. And you'll have to wait to see what Luffy is, I don't wanna spoil it.

Kisuminight: Thank you so much! I wanted to give it a try, and I think it's coming out pretty good. I believe this chapter answers your question regarding the afterlife. I know it's not very clear as to how or why, but those answers will come up later.

MysticMaiden 18: Thanks! I love writing their fluff scenes together :)

shadowmarialove: This answers your question - he can connect to the afterlife. The rest of the strawhats will pop up later. He's not a mermaid; he's an anchor, and Shanks loves to tease him for it. Hahahaha, I hope you like the chapter! And come school in a few weeks, I think my updates will be slowing down :(

Don't really have much to say right now other than I'm really hungry. Anyway, Thank you so much for reading this chapter! Please leave a review! :)