Hi guys! Here is the next chapter
This is so late and I am so sorry
Hope you enjoy
Read and relax
Whitebeard saw everyone sitting silent and taking in the news he was dying, and he didn't have too long left. he knew he should have said something, but didn't know how. As everyone was silent, Ace came into the room. "Sorry I am late." Ace then stopped. "Why is everyone sad?" Thatch was the first one to speak. "Pops is dying." He said in a monotone voice. Ace blinked. "Oh, you finally told about the cancer? That took a while." Everyone looked at Ace. "You knew?" Asked Izou, before Izou looked at him. "You told him and not us?" Whitebeard had no idea what was happening, he hadn't told Ace. Ace hummed. "Oh no, he didn't tell me. I always read all the files Bay makes. I have known for a while."
Whitebeard blinked. "She lets you do that?" Ace hummed. "Oh, no. I sneak in, I read them, I put them back, I sneak out. She is none the wiser about it." That meant Ace must have known for a while. Rakuyo looked at Ace. "Why didn't you tell any of us!" Ace shrugged. "Not my place." That was true. Vista looked at Ace. "Can you at least pretend to be sad! Pops is dying!" Ace rolled his eyes. "He's not going to die." Everyone blinked, before looking at him confused, and Whitebeard felt himself confused as well as he spoke. "There is no cure against this late stage cancer."
Ace snorted. "You think cancer wins against me?" They all blinked, Thatch speaking. "It's not you who has it!" Ace shook his head. "No, but I can fix it. I can fix cancer." They all blinked again. "W-what?" Said Izou, and Ace nodded. "Yeah. But seeing its location, I might need Moira's help. Not the best with inside organs on my own." Izou blinked. "You're… serious?" Ace nodded. "Yeah. Ask the others. Corvo had cancer in his lungs, all fixed now." Izou blinked. "Then you need to fix it!" Ace nodded. "Sure." Whitebeard blinked. He had no idea this conversation would turn into something like this. He could be cured? Bay had said there was no cure. But as Ace said, it was his powers, and they were amazing. But were they cancer fixing amazing?
Thatch then blinked, before he looked at Ace. "Wait. You knew Pops had cancer for a while?" Ace nodded, making Thatch continue. "And you knew you could fix it?" Ace nodded again, which had Thatch look shocked and a bit mad as he spoke. "Why didn't you just fix it then! Why wait?!" Ace hummed. "If he's going to have so much pride he can't even tell his own family he is sick, then fine, I won't tell I can fix it." Izou blinked. "But he doesn't want to seem weak." Ace sighed. "And? I'm not talking about telling the entire world, but at least his family. And this wasn't just a flu. He was going to die. If he doesn't respect his family enough to tell them, I won't tell I can help. How would you feel if you woke up one day to hear Whitebeard died in his sleep and he knew he was dying for months? Would you feel good?"
Thatch blinked and opened his mouth, before he closed it and blinked again. "No… I wouldn't feel good. I would feel… left out." Ace nodded. "Exactly." Everyone seemed to think the same, and Ace hummed. "But now, you know. And he's going to be fine. I would probably have waited a bit longer before I said I could fix it, I wouldn't let him die, just let him be for a while until I told him I could fix it. The thing is, I can be stubborn too. And with stubbornness, I usually win." Whitebeard gave a breath. "I didn't want to worry everyone." Ace hummed. "Which I get. But it would end up with everyone feeling betrayed. Trust goes both ways." That was true.
Izou looked at Ace. "How long until you can fix it?" Ace hummed. "I can send Dust to hear when Moira has the time, need her help to make sure it goes perfect. Since it is this late, I want to get it all quick." Made sense. Dust then appeared on the table in black smoke, and Ace quickly got a note out and wrote something down, before he put it in Dust's beak, and the bird shrugged and disappeared in black smoke. Ace hummed. "Give him a few minutes to find her." Sounded good. Ace then hummed and looked at him. "Also, just saying. You will get sick for about a week. Me fixing it will send your immune system into a bit of shock and confusion. Will feel like a bad flu I have heard." Whitebeard nodded. "That is fine." Ace nodded. "Yeah, I thought so. It beats having cancer."
Haruta looked at Ace. "What are the chances of this not working?" Ace hummed. "With Moira's help, basically zero. She makes it so I find it all as she can feel it better than me and say where to use my powers." That was amazing. Ace then hummed. "Okay. She is available in 2 hours, or else you need to wait 4 days." Whitebeard nodded. "In 2 hours sound good. You need any preparations?" Ace shook his head. "No. I do not. Ace will get her and we will prepare. Bay might want to prepare though. She is a medical person, so she won't believe me until we are done. Might want to head to her after this meeting." Sounded good. They then did the meeting half heartedly, before he went to the infirmary with Ace, and when Bay saw him, she sighed. "Your liver is struggling. You're jaundice. Sit here." She said as she motioned to a bed he sat down in.
As he did, Whitebeard spoke. "Ace can fix this." Bay moved her hand to her nose. "Can you please don't give false hope? Nothing will work, not even surgery." Ace chuckled. "And I don't mean surgery. My powers. Combined with Moira though, to be sure it goes smoothly." Bay looked disbelieving, and Ace hummed. "It won't harm him. Let us do our thing, then you can check and see for yourself, okay?" Bay nodded. "Fine."
Bay then got a bed ready and all, and just as she was done, Moira arrived and gave a nod to all of them as a hello, before she asked for some more details, which Ace gave. Then they got ready, and as he felt ready, Ace looked at him. "Now, you need to do one thing: stay still. Breathe deep and calm, try to keep them the same length each time. You might feel a weird sensation you can't decipher. If you feel pain, tell us. But you shouldn't feel pain, and you might feel nothing."
Whitebeard nodded. "Did that guy you mentioned feel anything?" Ace hummed. "Corvo? Yes. But he had cancer in his lungs. Easier to recognize as you can feel pain in your lungs better than pain in your liver." Whitebeard blinked, as that sounded weird. Bay nodded. "That makes sense. You don't usually feel pain in your liver, but often in your lungs, all from coughing to slime, or smoke and other things that damage them." Ah, now it made sense. He would do his best to sit still then.
Ace looked at Moira. "You ready?" Moira nodded. "I am." Ace nodded and looked at him. "Try to keep still, breathe calmly. Should you feel anything, speak up. Is it extreme, which it shouldn't be, move a hand up if you can't speak." Whitebeard nodded. "Okay. I am ready." Ace nodded. "Good. Moira, whenever you're ready." Moira nodded and moved her hand out to his right side and Whitebeard started to breathe deep and calm. Moira then closed her eyes and slightly moved her hands. As she did, Whitebeard felt like something slightly shifting inside him that he couldn't describe. After a bit, Moira spoke. "Ready, Ace." Ace nodded and moved his hands as well to be beside Moira's, and smoke came from his hands and seemed to go into his skin, before Ace also closed his eyes. "Ready." Moira nodded.
Moira then moved her hands a bit more. "Inside the ball I have now, start there." Ace nodded and moved his hands. "Done." Moira nodded and moved her hands. "Right side, more like a square shape. Take it all." Ace nodded and moved his hands. "Done." Moira nodded. "Now, I'll make spots for the reminding parts. Left." Ace nodded. "Done." Moira spoke quickly. "Right." Ace said Done, before Moira said a new direction, and Ace said done. And that's how it went for a minute, before Moira nodded. "Good. Let me find if there is anything left." Moira then seemed to concentrate, before she spoke. "Sort of snake shape, the last bit." Ace nodded and concentrated for a bit. "Done." Moira nodded. "Last check."
Then a minute later, Moira opened her eyes. "All gone." Ace then opened his eyes as well, before he looked at him. "Feeling okay?" Whitebeard nodded. "Yes." Ace nodded. "Good. You might starts to feel a bit tired and ill today or tomorrow, it is normal. It will pass." Whitebeard nodded, that sounded good. Bay then grabbed a machine and pulled it close as it was on wheels, and put some sort of gel on his side, before she brought a thing to check his liver.
After a bit, Bay blinked. "It actually is gone." Ace gave a small look to Bay. "You doubted me?" Bay gave a look to Ace. "It is cancer, late cancer. It has no cure in such late stages." Ace nodded. "Which is right. I am not curing it, I am destroying it." Bay nodded and looked at the screen again. "This is amazing. But I do need to take a few more tests." Bay then looked at him. "You still look jaundiced." Ace nodded. "Yes. His immune system will get confused now, and in a day or two, he will feel sick, like a bad flu. This is because his immune system will try and find out what had them on the alert, which is gone, and lure it out with the usual stuff to make you sick. Raise the core temperature, which leads to other symptoms. You will feel a bit weak for a small bit, it will pass. So, try and not strain yourself. Keep to meetings and such. You don't need to, but I would advise it."
Bay nodded. "Makes sense." Bay then looked at him. "That means no strain, Pops. If you do, bed rest." Whitebeard looked at Bay. "It will go fine." Bay gave a glare, and Whitebeard chuckled. "I'll do my best. I won't seek out stuff, but it might still seek out me." Bay nodded. "I know. So, those meetings you have been holding off on, do them. Like Lester." Whitebeard sighed, he knew he needed to, he had postponed that a lot, and they weren't too far away from him either. Whitebeard nodded and would.
They then left the infirmary and when they got out, everyone looked at them expectantly. "Well?!" Asked Thatch, and Ace hummed. "Went perfect." Everyone blinked, before they cheered. Thatch then looked at Ace. "Is there anything you can't cure!" Ace nodded and looked solemn. "Yeah, there is." Ace then just left, and he felt like Thatch just said something wrong. Trevor sighed, seeming to know what was up as the others had most likely filled him in. "Ace can't cure everything, like the wasting sickness." Thatch frowned. "But I didn't mention that? I meant like cancer wise." Trevor nodded. "Yeah, but that is what took Azuruko's life. Ace wished he could have cured it." Izou looked at Trevor. "How…. how did he take Azuruko's death?" Trevor sighed again. "It killed him. He left for a while, and we were sure he would never talk to any of us again, but then he just shows up one day and acts like nothing ever happened. Never talked about it. But it killed him."
Whitebeard nodded, before a thought came to his mind. "And, Azuruko never told Ace he was sick?" Trevor shook his head. "Kept is a secret from everyone but Ace. That didn't help at all." Whitebeard nodded, and Trevor looked at him with a wondering look. "Why do you ask?" Whitebeard gave a breath. "Ace knew about my cancer, said he sneaks into the infirmary and reads all the files Bay has made." Trevor blinked. "Oh. I didn't know that." Whitebeard nodded. "And I was going to tell Bay, but now I feel unsure. Maybe he does it to be sure he isn't kept in the dark again." Trevor blinked, before he nodded. "That would make sense. Don't tell her." Whitebeard nodded. "I won't." Trevor sighed. "I know Ace has like thousands of trust issues, but he is getting better." That was good to know.
Izou then looked at Trevor. "Couldn't Ace have fixed it? I mean, he can apparently fix cancer." Trevor sighed. "Cancer is most times a growth, so yes, Ace can fix that by destroying it. Azu had the wasting sickness, his body gave out as it grew weaker and weaker, until his heart gave out. It went fast. Ace got 2 weeks. We knew for over a year." Thatch nodded. "Why didn't you tell him?" Trevor shook his head. "I so wanted to, but I had just gotten on terms with him. If I did, he wouldn't believe me, and he would hate me. No one could tell him besides Azuruko, who decided it was better to keep it from him. I am still mad at Azu for that."
Whitebeard felt bad for almost repeating the circle again for Ace, for doing what his late mentor had. but he should have told right away, not kept it hidden. But done was done, and now it was all fine, it went the way he wouldn't have expected. He then told his children they would have a couple calm weeks, which meant meetings. Marco looked a bit confused with it, as the first commander knew the captain didn't like meetings, but also looked proud of him. He was about to end it with that, when he saw Ace sending him a small look, and Whitebeard gave a small breath. "But, so you know. I might be a bit off, as this took its toll. So we'll take it calm." Everyone nodded and got it.
Then the day went on, and he at first felt nothing, but as supper was done, he started to feel a bit under the weather. And when he woke up the next morning, he felt tired and cold, but also sweating a bit. He did go to the infirmary, to make sure, and while Bay did her tests, she sent a nurse to ask Ace if he could get antipyretic, which he could, to lessen the symptoms, which was good. It also did help, and Bay said all the tests were good, no signs of cancer or anything, and she still looked shocked.
Then the day went on, and he told Claus to call Lester to ask for a meeting, which he said he could have tomorrow at noon, and Whitebeard said it was fine, he needed to deal with it. Lester was somewhat powerful, as he had a hand in almost everything. If they got this deal, most supplies would be cheaper, which would benefit them. The thing was what he asked for in return. But the good thing with Lester, was how everything he made a deal on was kept, he never went back on them. It was his reputation, and he valued it a lot.
So, when the next day came, Whitebeard did feel a bit better, but also a somewhat aching in his joints, but it wasn't too bad. When noon came, they were ready for Lester, who came and boarded almost perfectly at noon, and they headed to the meeting room. All the commanders were present, which was a bit unusual as someone usually needed to keep watch, but Mika and Trevor kept watch right now, which was fine as they weren't in too dangerous territory.
As the meeting started, they started with facts, Lester being the only one who spoke, not one of the 2 with him. One who looked to be in his thirties, and one in his forties. The older one looked calm, but the slightly younger one looked around at times and seemed uncomfortable for some reason. As the meeting went on, the guy in his thirties seemed uncomfortable and Lester looked at the guy. "Sit still, Deuce." Deuce nodded and did, and they went on, before he got uncomfortable again, before he suddenly stood up and started to leave. "I can't take it anymore. I need to leave."
Lester looked at Deuce. "You leave, I will add 100 000 to your debt." Deuce shook his head. "I can't stay. The writing and doodles on the wall make me feel dizzy and nauseous. I need to get away." Whitebeard blinked. Writing and doodles? He looked around on the walls and saw no writing and doodles, just the wanted poster to his family, people of interest, and a few other small small things. Lester looked at Deuce. "What writing!?" Deuce moved his hand to an empty wall. "That writing! It really stands out even! It's making me dizzy! Seems so unprofessional. I thought you said they had things in order? They don't!" Deuce was now by the door and opened it as he started to leave. But as his right foot was almost over the door frame, there was a cloud of black smoke next to him as Ace appared, teleporting from his spot to there for some reason.
Ace then moved his hand to Deuce's neck and made him go back into the room and then face the wall he had motioned towards. "What does it say? Say two words and a shape." Deuce shook his head and turned away from the wall. "It's making me dizzy!" Ace spoke in a serious voice. "If you don't give me two words and a shape, I will throw you into the ocean to drown for lying." Deuce looked at Ace, who had a serious face, before Deuce looked at the wall and seemed to concentrate. Ace gave a small breath. "Don't focus on one word. Try and focus on the wall as a whole." Deuce nodded, before he blinked. "The words are 'sica', but the dot over the i is… like a line. And 'Angela'. And the shape is like an A, but it don't have the line in it to make it an A. More like a upside v, and the bottom are like an upside heart of sorts, and something in the middle… it looks like-" Deuce didn't get to finish as Ace nodded, before he looked at Lester. "He's coming with me."
Deuce looked shocked at Ace, before looking at Lester. "You can't let him take me!" Lester gave a look at Ace. "He is in my debt. Until that is paid, he doesn't get to leave." Ace hummed. "I'll give you 20." Lester snorted. "20 000 is nothing!" Ace hummed. "Not twenty thousand, twentie billion." Lester blinked, and before he could speak, Deuce did. "But I only owe you 2.5 million." Lester seemed to be thinking, before Ace spoke. "Fine. He owes you 2.5 million. I'll double it to 5 million, and add 4 zeros. 50 billion." Deuce blinked. "W-what?" Deuce looked at Lester in shock. "You can't let them take me!" Lester hummed. "I want it now." Ace hummed. "Half now, half tomorrow." Lester nodded. "Deal." Ace nodded, before he looked at Curiel. "I'll replenish the funds within a week." Curiel nodded. "Okay." Ace then looked at Lester. "When done here, Curiel will get you the money." Lester nodded and held his hand out. "In case you back down. We shake on it." Ace nodded and shook his hand. "You will get 50 billion, no more, no less. Half today." Lester nodded. "Perfect."
Deuce looked shocked and scared as he looked at Lester. "Sir! You ca-" Lester waved his hand at him. "I don't care. You're not my problem anymore." Deuce looked horrified, and Ace looked at Deuce. "I'm not going to hurt you." Deuce swallowed. "But you're pirates." Ace hummed. "They are, yes. But they didn't buy you, I did. You're not staying here. You're coming with me to my other business." Deuce blinked. "...Which is what?" Ace hummed. "You'll see. Now, come over here." Deuce blinked and walked over to him. "When are we leaving?" Ace hummed. "Now." He said as he moved his hand to Deuce's shoulder, and they were gone in black smoke. As they were gone, Lester shook his head. "Finally rid of him. Can we get this meeting on? After I get my half." Curiel nodded and went and got it, before Lester told one of his men to put it on his boat. Then they went on with the meeting.
As it was moving along, maybe 5 minutes later, Trevor came into the room. "Hey, Ace, I nee-" Trevor stopped and blinked. "Where is he?" Izou looked at Trevor. "He took Deuce and left." Trevor blinked. "Who's Deuce?" Lester hummed. "A nobody who was tripping on something. Said he saw writing on the walls and such that made him dizzy. That guy bought into it and gave me 50 billion for him." Trevor blinked. "He is a no one and saw writing on the walls? And Ace gave you 50 billion for him?" Lester nodded. "Yes. And you can't take it back, the deal is made." Trevor gave a laugh. "You got scammed!" Lester looked mad. "If I don't get my money, I wi-" Trevor shook his head. "No no. You will get 50 billion. It is just, Ace would have gladly given at least close to a trillion for him." Whitebeard felt shocked about that.
Lester's eyes almost popped out of his sockets, before Trevor spoke with a hum. "But as you said, the deal is made. Too bad for you." Lester started to sputter. "B-b- but I can-" Trevor hummed. "Deal is made. Want to go back on it? We can share that information with people. That you go back on deals." Lester swallowed, before he shook his head. "It is okay." Whitebeard knew Lester was one who always kept his end, never went back on any deals, no matter what. He couldn't put that to jeopardy.
The rest of the meeting went fine, Trevor just being there but not speaking, before Lester left, not getting what they wanted, so no deal was made. Lester also seemed annoyed with the fact he could have gotten a whole lot more for Deuce, but the deal was made.
As Lester was gone, Whitebeard looked at Trevor. "Is there actually writing on the walls? And shapes?" Trevor hummed. "Yes. There is. How did he prove he wasn't lying?" Haruta spoke. "He said he could see the words sica and Angela, but the i in sica had a line instead of a dot. And he saw a weird A without the line and an upside down heart thing with something in the middle of it." Trevor blinked and looked at them. "What was in it!" Whitebeard blinked. "I don't know. He didn't get to say, Ace interrupted him and then bought him, sort of." Trevor gave a swear. "I want to know what is in it! God damn it! I knew it was that symbol! Fuck you, Bunny!"
Whitebeard looked at Trevor. "Can't you see it?" Trevor hummed. "I can, yes. But I can only see level 1, not level 2. Ace can see level 2. That symbol is level 2. I don't get how someone who seems to be a no one can see level 2 like that. I mean, why tell it you can read it? I mean, why give it away? Did he want to be bought?" Whitebeard hummed. "He didn't seem like he wanted to be bought. The only reason we know he could read it was since he tried to leave as he said it was making him dizzy and he couldn't handle it." Trevor blinked, before he looked shocked. "No. No no no! He didn't say that! Did he?!" Whitebeard frowned, not sure what the big deal was as he nodded. "He did. Why?"
Trevor looked stunned, before he opened the door. "Mika!" Mika came after a few seconds. "Yes?" Trevor looked stunned still. "A random no one was here. He was in the meeting room and tried to leave as the writing and symbols made him- you're not gonna believe this- dizzy." Mika blinked, before she looked shocked as well. "No. Are you kidding! Is this a joke?!" Trevor moved his hand. "I don't know! They said it! And the level 2 thing is the symbol for-" Trevor looked at them, before he looked at Mika and whispered something, before she looked shocked. "What is in it! What shape or symbol!" Trevor moved his hand a bit up. "I don't know! Ace interrupted him before he could say." Mika shook her head a bit. "Daisuke is going to lose his shit when Ace tells him this." Trevor nodded. "Yup."
Whitebeard felt confused, and Thatch looked at the two assassins. "What do you mean? Who is this?" Trevor looked excited. "I don't know who. But a bloodline." Trevor looked at Mika. "How long have we been looking for a bloodline?" Mika hummed. "About 20 years. I thought they all died out. This is great." Trevor nodded. "Yep. Daisuke is gonna be happy." Thatch looked at the wall. "I see nothing. Not even a scratch. Is this a joke? Was he a slave and this is a cover?" Trevor shook his head. "No. There is this sort of… writing, we can do. You can learn to see it, which takes a lot. Again, I can only see level 1, same with Mika, hard to see level 2. But, only bloodlines can see level 3. I thought they were all is amazing." It sounded strange.
Ace then came back into the meeting room, and Trevor looked at him. "How happy is Daisuke?" Ace chuckled. "Ecstatic. Had to make Deuce read a lot of things to prove it. Have a piece with level 3, which we know what says. It makes no sense, just something to see if you can read it. And guess what, he can." Trevor gave a clap with his hands. "Yes! This is perfect!" Izou then looked at the assassins. "So, what now? He can read this level 3 thing, and now he needs to be an assassin?" Ace hummed. "No. I am not going to force anyone to be an assassin. The road now, is that we tell him why he is special, and that we will protect him. He will get anything he needs, as long as he is willing to help us. It is give and take." Izou blinked. "Oh, that's good." Ace nodded. "Yep. Daisuke and Moira will do their best to prepare him to head out with us. It is dangerous, and he needs to know if we say run, he runs, if we say stay still, he will stop." That sounded good.
The day then went on, and the next day, they had their meeting, and as it was coming to and end, Dust came with a letter, a red one, and Ace took it and read it, before he moved his hands to his face as he dropped the letter, which had him frowning. Ace had never had that reaction before. It had Trevor frowning too. "What?" Ace shook his head as he lowered his hands so they were covering his nose and mouth, but not his eyes as Ace looked up with tears in his eyes. What was in the letter?
Trevor moved and took the letter and read it, before he gave an 'oh no', before he moved and gave Ace a hug, which had him more confused. "What did it say?" Trevor sighed. "Mike died." As Trevor had spoken, Ace shook his head as he moved it down to the table with his arms around it, making Trevor let go of him, and Trevor moved his hand to Ace's back. "It will go fine, Bunny." Ace shook his head. "No! It will not! He wasn't supposed to die for years!" Trevor sighed. "But he did. As you say, it was his time." Ace gave a groan. "Don't use my words against me!" Trevor shook his head. "Not using them against you, trying to support you." Ace groaned. "Then you suck at supporting me!" Trevor just shook his head.
He was about to speak when Ace moved his head up and a hand on his forehead. "Who gave him the right to die! I certainly didn't!" Trevor hummed. "Bunny, that's not how death wo-" Ace shook his head. "No! He isn't allowed to die! Not yet! I am not prepared!" Ace looked to be actually freaking out, which was new. Ace then moved his hands to his eyes. "Trevor," Trevor gave a 'hm', making Ace continue. "I am not ready for this." Trevor gave a small sigh. "Bunny, this won't change anything, we-" Ace cut him off. "Did you not follow what happened?! Mike is dead! I am now the next Mike!" Trevor shook his head. "No, Daisuke is. Yes, some might go to you, but most will go to Daisuke, I am sure of it." Ace nodded , moving his hands away and he still had tears in his eyes. "I need to speak to Daisuke." Then Ace stood up and was gone in black smoke.
As Ace was gone, Trevor hummed. "But honestly, this isn't good." Thatch blinked. "I thought you said it was okay?" Trevor gave a look to the chef. "Did you not see Bunny freaking out? Me saying it was bad would have made that worse." That was probably true. Haruta nodded. "What now?" Trevor sighed. "We go on. Someone dying doesn't mean the end of the world. We go on. Tell Bunny it will be okay, since it will. It might be an adjustment, but it will go fine. But some may still go to Ace, as in those who went to Mike, but most will go to Daisuke. But be prepared for that a few might show up for Ace." Whitebeard nodded, he would be.
An hour later, Ace appeared and Trevor looked at him. "So, how are you?" Ace sighed, hand moving to his head. "Okay, I guess. We're giving him a proper burial in a week, after his family has their burial, as he wouldn't want to know what he was into." Trevor nodded. "That sounds like what Mike would have wanted." Ace nodded. "Yeah, that's what we think too." Ace then shook his head. "I can't believe he is gone. I hate this!" Whitebeard got that. Trevor sighed. "I know. But we can't do anything." Ace nodded, but didn't look happy.
Mika then spoke. "I got an idea. The captain needs to take it a bit calm, Ace is not happy. How about we head to Deokjeokdo?" Whitebeard had heard about that island, but never been there. Before he could ask why that island, Ace spoke. "Yes. I'm going to tell them to change direction." Namur blinked. "Can we?" Ace spoke as he walked out the door. "I don't care what you want, I am heading there." Then Ace was out the door.
as he was out, Trevor chuckled. "There is this zoo there, Ace loves it. He might need something to lighten his spirit, and that will help. We are a day away with good wind I think." Whitebeard nodded. "That sounds nice. We could all use a break and do something nice we don't usually do." Everyone nodded and agreed. Ace then came back a bit later and said their course was changed, and Ace didn't seem in the best moods.
When dinner was over, the weather outside was bad, so most were in the galley, and as they were sitting and talking, Trevor looked at Ace. "Want to play a game of cards? We can play your favorite, if Mika joins." Ace looked at Mika, who nodded. "I'll give. Not my favorite one, but I will do it for Ace." Ace gave a nod of approval. "We will play for 100 belli." The two assassins nodded and Trevor started to shuffle some cards. Thatch then spoke. "Can I join?" Trevor looked at Ace. "If Bunny say yes." Ace took the cards and started to shuffle them himself. "No. Not in the mood to teach anyone. Just us three. Next time." Thatch nodded. "Maybe you can play two rounds? One for you and then teach someone?" Mika gave a groan. "God no! I refuse to play two rounds! One already takes over an hour." Ace nodded. "I know, the reason I like it." Thatch nodded and didn't push.
Then three assassins then started to play, and it seemed to be different rounds, and the rules changed each rounds, and while he first felt 100 belli was not much, it seemed to add up fast, and it was a bit to each, but Ace was the general winner, who ended up getting 3590 belli from each, and Mika got 2230, and Trevor got 1580. It was interesting, how the game went and how they worked it all out. He would like to hear the rules one day Ace was in a better mood. The rest of the day went by fine.
When the next one came, they docked before lunch, and headed off after lunch and to the zoo, and most joined them, which included Ace, who seemed to be in a much better mood now, which was good. When they got to the zoo, they paid for entry, which wasn't too much, and headed in. At first, it wasn't anything too much to look at, before they got to a large fence which seemed to be a large exhibit.
They walked to the fence, to look at the animals behind it. It seemed to be lions. As he was about to try and get a closer look, he heard a sound and looked to his left to see Ace climbing the fence. "Ace, son, you shouldn't do that." Ace just gave a wave to him, before Ace climbed over the fence and landed on the other side. Ace then headed towards the lions, and Whitebeard wasn't sure what to do. This was different than the other lions Ace had been around, there was a reason they were behind a large fence. As Ace was almost at the lions, who were lying and relaxing, he heard a sigh to his left, seeing a worker there. "Hello, Ace." Wait, so the worker knew Ace? Ace gave a chuckle, now being close to the lions and jumped on them, the captain sure the lions would attack, but they just jumped a bit away, before they moved slowly up to Ace and nuzzled him. How did Ace do this?
As the lions calmed down again, Ace looked at the worker. "Hi, Lisa. How have you been?" The worker, Lisa, nodded. "Fine, until you show up. You're scaring the guests." Ace waved his hand. "Nah nah, they're with me. They know I like lions." Whitebeard did, and he had a feeling every animal here would accept Ace. "And," Continued Ace, moving to hold around a lion. "Who can not like a face like this. He's so cute." Lisa sighed. "And yet, he is still a lion. He attacked Lyle last week. He's still in the hospital." Ace hummed. "He probably did something wrong." Lisa shook her head. "No, he didn't. You're just special. Try not to climb over every fence and into the exhibitions." Ace chuckled. "Not promising that." Lisa sighed. "As usual. Try not to scare too many." Lisa then looked at him. "Try to keep him from climbing every fence." Whitebeard nodded. "I will do my best." Lisa nodded. "Good. I know he can be tough to handle and to stop, but just try. He's scaring the others when he runs into the exhibitions." Whitebeard nodded and he got that. One would think Ace would be attacked, but he had a feeling Ace knew where he could go and not. Lisa then looked back at Ace. "Also, don't you dare roar, you scare everyone when you do. Animals and humans alike." That Whitebeard was sure about. Ace roaring would be terrifying.
Ace stayed inside a bit, before he was let out the door by Lisa, who didn't seem to be too happy with Ace, but was probably better than to have Ace climb back out. Lisa did say again to please don't climb into every exhibit, but Ace made no promises, but he seemed to be in a very good mood now.
They then walked on and looked at animals, and Ace didn't climb those yet. But when they got to the wolves exhibit, it didn't take Ace long before he started to climb that fence. Usually, Whitebeard might have said something, but Ace might need this and let it go.
Ace moved into the wolves exhibit, the wolves not seeming to care as Ace walked over, just one that lifted its head and looked at Ace. As Ace was in the middle of the 4 wolves, he sat down on his knees, before he smiled as he brought his hands up and together, before he moved them to his mouth, leaned his head upwards, and howled into his hands, moving his fingers a bit, which created more of a surround sound. But as Ace did it, the wolves lying around lifted their heads and started to howl with Ace. The ones around that weren't with them looked at the scene in amazement. It was amazing to see. Ace was accepted by the wolves.
Ace then was with the wolves a bit, before he climbed out as a worker wasn't close by right now. Then they went on. And when they got to another large exhibit, it seemed empty, which had Ace look confused as he looked towards Lisa, who was a bit away. "Lisa! Where are they!" Lisa hummed. "Closed for viewers. They are in their house, a new baked mom. Need to recover her strength." Ace nodded. "Fine. Be like that." Lisa nodded as she walked away. "I will be! Closed to the public!" Then she was gone and Ace rolled his eyes.
But as the captain was about to speak, Ace grabbed Marco's hand and dragged him to a building. Marco blinked. "Where are we going, yoi?" Ace hummed. "I'm going to see them. You'll join me." Marco blinked. "Why do I need to join?" Ace hummed. "To keep watch while I lockpick. And then you need to meet them." Ace then looked at them. "Back soon. Meet around here." Marco blinked, but nodded and let himself be dragged by Ace. Ace needed this small happiness, and would let him go so Ace could see whichever animals this was.
They then walked around, and after a bit, they tried to find Marco and Ace, but had no luck, which was a bit odd. How long could this take? It had been a small while now he felt like.
-x-
Marco looked as Ace walked up to the large window which was into an exhibit, seeming to mimic a sort of jungle it looked like. Ace did his best to look for the animals inside, but saw none. He wanted Ace to see these ones as Ace needed something to lighten his day. But it didn't seem like Ace would see these ones. Marco did walk up to the glass himself and tried to look, as he knew he had a great sight, courtesy of his phoenix. But he saw nothing.
Marco gave a breath inside himself, hoping they might be able to see them, but no. He then turned to Ace, who had started to do what seemed like picking the look to the door whichever inside the exhibit, which had Marco blink. "What are you doing, yoi? It is locked for a reason." Ace hummed. "I did not come all this way to not see them. I've come this far, what is one more door?" Marco got that and nodded, then Ace managed to get the lock open and the door opened, and Ace looked at him. "You want to join? I am heading in whether you join me or not." Marco blinked, before he decided it wouldn't harm and went up to Ace and they headed inside the room.
As they got inside and a few steps, it was dead silent, and Ace then gave a sort of low whistle in a tune he didn't recognize. Then he heard some shuffling from his left and turned to see a tiger coming out from some bushes. And Marco didn't know what he did expect, but this one was much larger than what he would have guessed. It was racing up to his shoulder while on all fours. The ones he had seen before might have reached a bit above his hip. He was about to turn and head out as he didn't like this, he felt nervous and his phoenix was not at all happy either. But as he turned, he saw the door was closed, and there was no handle on it. They were stuck here. He didn't know what to do when he felt his phoenix screaming at him for being stupid.
Just as he was about to tell Ace they needed to get out, his mind suddenly calmed as he heard Ace humming that tune to calm his phoenix, to calm mythical beings. He turned and looked at Ace who looked calm as he hummed, before he looked at him. "It's fine, just relax. They won't hurt us." Marco wasn't sure, but he believed Ace as well. So he nodded and turned to look at the tiger, which was coming closer. The best was probably to stay calm. The tiger then walked up and past him and went up to Ace and started to rub against him and Ace smiled as he petted the tiger. "Hey, Azruel, are you okay?" The tiger gave a sort of small purr growl. Which had Ace seem happy. "That makes me glad. Where are Amanda and Ava?" The tiger gave a sound and started to walk into the bushes again and Ace followed, which had him follow as well.
As he did, he spoke in a careful voice. "Was that their names, yoi? It said something else outside." Ace hummed. "I gave them names they accepted, not what was popular." Marco smiled, that sounded like Ace. They then walked a bit, before they came to a small clearing, and in the clearing laid 2 lions, and the one who walked with them, Azruel, went and laid down close to one of them, the other lying a few feet away.
Ace then smiled and pointed to the one who laid a bit away. "That is Ava." Then Ace pointed to the one who laid with Azruel. "And that is Amanda. And if I am right, Amanda is a new mom." Ace then walked towards Amanda, before he crouched a bit down in front of her, and Marco felt unsure. "Ace, yoi. Be careful." Ace waved his hand at him. "Shush. They know me." Marco hoped that was true. Ace then petted Amanda, who seemed to enjoy it, before she moved her head a bit and under her neck, half hidden away, laid a small cub, eyes barely open it seemed like, and gave some small sounds.
Ace looked at Amanda. "May I?" Amanda gave a small sound, which had Ace move and carefully pet the cub, before he lifted it, and he was sure Amanda would growl, but instead she moved and laid her head down and gave a breath as she relaxed. Ace then looked at the cub. "You're so cute. And so tiny and soft." Ace then turned his head and looked at him. "Come. Come pet-" Ace turned back and looked at the cub, before looking back at him. "Come pet him."
Marco nodded and walked closer slowly, just in case. He did see Azruel watching him closely, but nothing more. When he was close, he also crouched down, before he carefully petted the cub, and it really was soft. "He is soft, yoi." Ace nodded. "Yes." Ace then put him back with his mom, before Ace petted him. "He is so cute and small. He also needs a name. But what…" Ace then looked at him. "You choose." Marco blinked. "Me?" Ace nodded. "Yes." Marco thought, before he found a name he wanted and looked at Ace. "I have a name, yoi. After one of the most amazing people I have heard about, only 3 letters." Ace gave a look at him. "I swear, if you say Ace now." Marco chuckled. "No. Not someone I know, yoi. Someone who I have heard was amazing. Who were calm, rational, strong, and kind. Who cared about others." Ace looked at him. "I am curious now. Who is this?" Marco looked at Ace. "This cub's name will be Azu. Named after someone who fought to make a change the right way, yoi."
Ace's curious look went away and Marco wasn't able to decipher the look that came onto Ace's face, making Marco unsure if he just made the right choice or not, if it might be a bit too much for Ace right now. He had just lost Mike as well. "You think that?" Asked Ace in a careful voice, and Marco nodded. "I do, yoi. And if you don't like it, we wi-" Marco didn't get to finish as Ace leaned in and kissed him. Marco was a bit startled, but soon responded and now was sure he made the right choice.
They kissed for a while, before Ace leant back from him and had a happy look, before he looked back at the cub. "Hi there, little Azu. I am sure you will grow up to be amazing." SId Ace as he petted the cub, who couldn't be old, at max 2 weeks maybe. They then stayed a bit more, Ace also heading over to Ava a bit and petted her, before he came back to where Marco still was sitting, deciding to not move too much in case. These were tigers, and they had a new cub. Ace did pet the cub a bit more, before he gave a caress to the mother, before they left.
As they walked, Ace gave a smile to him as he moved his hand to his, intertwining their fingers. "Thank you, Marco." Marco shook his head. "No issue, yoi." Marco wouldn't mind watching Ace interact with more animals, as it was something about it which was amazing.
When they got to the door they had walked in, it was closed and still no handle. Ace then walked a bit to its side and moved his hand into a hole and seemed to pull something, which made the door open and they started to head out. But as Marco had walked out of the exhibit and Ace about to, a loud roar, which had him feel uncertain, but Ace gave a smile and turned his head to where they had come from and gave a whistle in the tune he had done, before he walked out and closed the door carefully. He then gave a smile to him. "This was perfect." Marco nodded. "I agree, yoi. This was perfect." Ace smiled, and they found the way out again.
They then walked out, and as they got out of the building, he heard an 'ahem', behind them, and turned to see Lisa. "What did you do?" Ace hummed. "Nothing. They weren't visible from the window." Lisa nodded. "Good. The new baked mom needs all her rest." Ace nodded. "Yes. Also, the new addition's name is Azu." Lisa moved a hand to her nose. "Ace, I swear to God. Stop going into exhibits! They are not out in the open for a reason!" Ace looked at Lisa. "They like me, you know this. No harm done, I am fine." Lisa sighed. "But, did the cub look fine?" Ace nodded. "Yes. Same with his mom. Who looks proud, but a bit tired. But not sick." Lisa blinked. "Wait, did you get so close to see the gender?" Ace nodded. "Yes. Weigh maybe 15 pounds. Eyes newly opened it looks like."
Lisa blinked. "We've tried to lure the adults out, but never able. Mother never leaves her cub." Ace nodded. "And I didn't make them leave, I asked permission." Lisa sighed. "But they only accept you, Ace." Ace gave a sly smile. "And Marco." Lisa blinked. "What is your secret? I need to know." Ace hummed. "I've tried to teach you, you won't listen, not my fault. Have fun." Then Ace took his hand and made them walk away as Lisa gave a sigh.
They soon found the others and Pops looked at them. "Where have you been? We've been searching for you." Marco hummed. "Was inside, yoi." Thatch blinked. "I was sure we searched all the buildings." Ace hummed. "Closed one. Snuck inside. Needed to see my favorites and they weren't outside." Whitebeard blinked. "Who are your favorites? I thought that was the lions?" Ace hummed. "No. They are close second. Tigers win." Made sense. They then went around and looked at more exhibits, Ace not sneaking inside them. Marco couldn't help but smile as Ace kept holding his hand the rest of the stay, fingers intertwined. It was nice.
When it started to get dark outside, they headed back to the boat to relax before they set out again tomorrow. It had been a nice day, a nice break for everyone.
And that's the chapter! Hope you enjoyed
This was some stuff and more for things aligned for later
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