Chapter 3

The Shadow lady was the bandit's complete and utter nightmare. Never mind Ace, or Luffy, or Sabo. The ghost was a demon, one who tortured them for her own amusement.

Dogra remembered the first day Ace had been handed to them. The moment somebody complained about the baby their hair would catch fire, or they would be sent flying down the mountain by a random bout of rain, or their trousers would go missing.

And all they could hear was cackling.

And worst of all, baby Ace always looked happy when these horrors happened. He'd clap his hands and giggle. He was also the only one who wasn't targetted.

Understandable, once Dadan sat Dogra and Magra down, and explained who exactly the baby was.

Gold Roger's and Portgas D. Rouge's son.

The son of the Devil and a Witch.

But they cared for the hell spawn. Despite said hell spawn's mother terrorising them.

The ghost found it amusing to give them hell. She would cover the house in dirt and dust, or dump plates everywhere, or full glasses of water would cover the floor. Sometimes she would even dump a random creature from the forest inside their home. Dogra would never forget the time he saw that freaking huge bear inside the hut, snoring away. He had nearly pissed himself.

And no, this wasn't just when Dadan said something bad about Ace out of frustration. It was nearly every day. She was just as much of a nightmare as Ace.

In fact, Ace probably got it from her.

Every bandit with sense was terrified of the ghost. Which is also why Dogra felt a slight bit of sympathy for those who messed with Ace without understanding who was at the boy's back.

All the bandits got away alive at least. None of the other sorry bastards did.

Which brought Dogra to his current problem. The kids had been living in their tree house for the past few weeks now, and thus, the shadow lady left them alone.

It had brought about a strange sense of peace none of them had experienced in years.

Until now.

The ghost must have gotten bored, because there was blood all over the walls. All dirty filth that no sane person should ever have to understand or read. Magra had gone red, purple, then white, and promptly passed out.

Dadan screamed and cursed the entire day away.

.::.

Ace had been tested out by the doctor Gramps kept bringing him to for the past two weeks. Sabo looked constantly worried, while Luffy just seemed confused, then horrified by the idea of getting his blood taken, like Ace's had been multiple times. Luffy said they needed to beat up the doctors because they were evil.

Sabo had smacked him over the head.

When Garp agreed with Luffy, a tree had smacked his head.

Ace had decided he'd follow Sabo's and the Shadow lady's advice and keep going to the doctors. He really didn't want to get smacked by a fist, or a tree. And admittedly, he was curious why he kept falling asleep all the time.

"Narcolepsy?" Ace frowned at the medication.

"Yeah, the doctor said these would help you not pass out everywhere," Garp said. "All you need to do is take them- OW!"

A rock bounced off his head.

"I TOOK HIM TO THE DOCTOR, DIDN'T I?!"

This time it was a boulder. Ace winced. Gramps' face was planted into the dirt.

There was a message on it too.

'You didn't listen to all the instructions.'

"That damn ghost drives me insane," Gramps grumbled.

Again he got smacked by a rock.

"Grandpa keeps upsetting the Shadow lady!" Luffy cried.

Sabo winced. "He really seems to annoy her too."

"In life and in death apparently." Gramps sat up, rubbing his head.

"Do you..." Ace hesitated. "Do you really think she's my mum?"

Gramps paused, staring at him thoughtfully. "If she isn't then whoever this ghost is has the exact same personality as her. The same one you've gotten."

Ace smiled fondly at the idea.

"Who is Ace's mum exactly?" Sabo asked. "You seem to know her well."

Garp grimaced. "She was a simple village girl-"

He landed flat on his face again, this time though it was an entire tree that crashed into him. Ace winced. The Shadow lady stood behind the large hole in the ground, cracking her knuckles menacingly.

"THAT'S WHAT THEY CHANGED HER HISTORY TOO DAMMIT!" Gramps snarled, shoving the tree aside.

Ace glanced at the tree, spotting another bloody message. 'Ask Naguri about Portgas D. Rouge. Also, I'll tell you what the doctor said exactly later. I've got an ass to kick first.'

.::.

Sabo sat beside Ace, Luffy on Ace's other side. Luffy had instantly began asking about Rouge, not even greeting Naguri first. Naguri had went pale, whispered something to the sea, before grinning. Sabo had caught something about 'mercy' and 'Davy Jones', but nothing else.

Naguri ended up having them sat down around another campfire, eyes bright.

"You want to ask me about Portgas D. Rouge?" Naguri tilted his head, grinning. "She is the greatest female pirate who has ever lived! The lone pirate thief, who would steal off of anyone and do so successfully. On the seas she was known as Hibiscus Rouge, for the flower she kept in either her hair or her hat."

Ace and Luffy were absorbed. Sabo couldn't help but smile fondly at the sight. It was a rare thing for Ace to look so eager to learn something.

Naguri beamed. "She was there the day Roger defeated me. You could easily see how smitten he was with her, despite the fact she was making off with half his treasure from the Oro Jackson at the time."

Naguri threw his head back, laughing. "Such a spitfire!"

Sabo snorted.

Thief indeed.

But looking at Ace made Sabo soften. Ace was starstruck. Eyes bright with wonder. Sabo nudged Ace's shoulder gently with his own, and Ace grinned at him. The excitement on his brother's face almost melted Sabo's heart.

He rarely saw Ace this happy, and it was an amazing sight to behold. He was finally acting his own age, and not doubting his own existence.

"She was one of the greatest pirates?" Ace breathed out.

"She was one of Roger's rivals! She could stand toe-to-toe with the man in a fight. There's not many people who could boast about that. I would never have been able to face her and live!"

"She could beat you?" Luffy gasped. "But you're so strong!"

"Trust me, she was wild and beautiful. The world couldn't tame her, no matter how many times people tried to capture her. She was a known Portgas, and everyone wanted her because of it."

Sabo's blood boiled at the thought.

"But she was never captured?" Ace asked.

"If I heard correctly there had been a couple times, but she always broke herself out."

"Her crew mates helped her?" Luffy grinned.

"I did say that she was a lone pirate," Naguri reminded them. "She had no crew."

"WHAT?!" They all screeched.

Sabo didn't think lone pirate was meant so literally. That was insane!

"If I heard correctly, she didn't like people that much. She had her select few, and that seemed to have made her happy enough. She would sail out on the sea, just her and her ship, 'Little Red', to surf the waves." Naguri hummed. "If only I had a wanted poster to give you kids. But hers were removed a long time ago."

"Why?" Sabo frowned.

"People don't want their Head Witches being associated with bad things. A Marine Head Witch? That would be all over the news, but a pirate? No, their deeds would be removed from history. Rouge's adventures were barely on the newspapers. The only reason people knew she did anything was because her bounty kept going up, and of course through gossip."

Naguri smiled at Ace. "You should also be more careful, Ace. That's two secrets you've given me now-"

Sabo recoiled. "We never said-"

"Roger would only have ever had a kid with one woman, and the same would have gone for Rouge," Naguri said. "Plus, you look exactly like her. Except the dark hair."

Ace grinned. "You really think I look like her?"

Sabo snorted. "I've been telling you that for years."

Garp had given Ace a photograph of her. It was old and delicate, and it always amazed Sabo how gentle Ace was with it. The pair of Portgas' were of different colours, but Ace was nearly her clone otherwise in looks.

"The spitting image," Neguri said. "Which is why you gotta be careful who you ask about her. She was famous, and struck terror into many people's hearts. No matter how much the World Government tried to cover her up, and how they got rid of her bounty posters, people won't forget Portgas D. Rouge so easily."

.::.

Garp slumped against the tree, bruised and exhausted. The Shadow lady was slouched across from him, the pair of them panting.

The forest was a wreck.

But with a wave of her hand, things began to fix themselves.

Garp snorted. "Ace is going to be tired after that."

A stone whacked his head, but this time it didn't bother him. He was pleasantly sore. It had been a long time since he had gotten such a good fight in. He had missed it.

"Rouge, if it's really you..." Garp began, frowning the shadows way. "I need you to tell me that you aren't influencing Ace to be a pirate."

He could feel her glare.

"Yeah, that's not something you would do, huh?" Garp sighed, but sat up, wincing at the fresh bruising. "Look, together we can convince Ace to become a Marine. It would keep him safe and free. We've had witches allied with the Marines before and they were allowed to stay out of Mariejois."

Blood formed on the tree. 'And in return they were kept in Marineford or the other Marine bases instead.'

"Ace has the potential to be stronger than any of them," Garp insisted. "He could reach my rank one day, and when he does that, nobody will feel the need to hold him back. He could run his own ship, just as I do, or even travel with an Admiral. Kuzan would be an excellent fit for him. Ace might finally calm down a bit, and Kuzan might get a kick up the ass-"

The shadow snorted, but she grew softer.

'You're an idiot.' Garp scowled, ready to protest. 'But a good one. You want what's best for Ace because you love him-'

"Of course I do. He's my grandson."

'But Ace has the right to choose his own path. That's what freedom is for-'

"Your freedom got you and Roger both killed. You died young," Garp scowled. "I don't want Ace to die young. I didn't want you to die young either. It shouldn't have happened. You should have just handed yourself over-"

'And they would have gotten a Portgas and killed Ace for having Roger's blood in him. And then they would have breeded me.' Garp winced at the thought. 'No, I'm happy it turned out this way. Besides, if it hadn't, Luffy wouldn't have his big brothers. And you would never had gotten to hold Ace.'

Garp scowled at the thought. She was right. He would never trade the moments he had with Ace if it meant getting Rouge back.

He yelped when a fist punched his head.

"Fuck!" he cursed.

The shadow pointed at the ground.

'But you've got to express yourself better! Ace doesn't think you love him with the whole 'do you think I should have lived', and then 'I dunno, find out yourself'. I mean, seriously?'

Garp winced. "I mean... That wasn't my exact reply?"

That earned him a very unimpressed look. He couldn't see it, but he couldn't feel it. It was burning into his head.

'This is why your wife left you.'

"Ouch." Garp scowled.

'She's just as bad. She left Dragon to be raised by you, and look at him. He's started his own revolution.'

"You're not pulling any punches, woman."

'When have I ever been known to?'

This had to be Rouge. Unless her ancestors were just as ruthless, which honestly Garp wouldn't be surprised at by this point.

But the infuriating woman refused to confirm who she was.

Garp glanced out towards the sea, and frowned. The shadow followed his gaze before tilting her head.

"Has Ace started to stare out towards Mariejois yet?" Garp asked.

The shadow shook her head. 'Too young.'

"Twelve?"

She nodded.

That was one thing all the head witches did, as far as Garp knew. They all stared out towards Mariejois, no matter where they were, if they were lost in thought. Rouge used to do it all the time when he was fighting with Roger. He'd notice her gaze grow distant, and would see her stare off into the distance.

One of the Roger pirates would swiftly distract her. Usually one of the kids.

"I don't know what your lot is searching for," Garp muttered. "But the World Government seems to want to bring you to it."

'And the very idea of that scares me.'

Garp softened. "I know. It scares me too."