Chapter 14- Changing Plans

Marco didn't speak. He didn't say anything. He only felt.

He felt the warmth of the flesh beneath his fingers. He felt the humming vibrations of the strumming heartbeat and the running bloodstream in the boy's body. He felt the movement of a torso from the steady inhalation and exhalation of breath which also whispered against his neck.

The physical proof of the vibrancy of life within his very hands.

…or was it wings now?

His phoenix had been subdued since the end of the war, only getting slightly flustered when he had first found that Ace's body was in unknown hands. Now it cooed and fluttered with excitement and satisfaction.

Alright, calm yourself, you're embarrassing us both.

The mythical bird whistled back. ~ As if you care.~

Marco had to shrug his shoulders at that.

"Marco…I…I…."

He once again closed his eyes at the sound of his youngest brother's voice, muffled against his shoulder, savoring a sound that he had thought to never hear again.

After several long moments, he slowly released his hold on the boy, his hand returning to him as his phoenix reluctantly allowed itself to recede back within him.

He wasn't surprised to see the bed was slightly charred or that Ace was completely inert. He and Lily had talked about what kind of condition the kid would be in if and when he woke up again. And his own personal knowledge of Ace had told him that he would cause trouble almost from the very moment he regained consciousness.

Those large mercurial eyes looked up at him with slight wonder, though they were beginning to glance down and away in that way that let him know that he was about to hear a myriad of apologies and self-recriminations.

"'I'm so sorry. It was all—"

He held up a finger in front of the boy's face, hushing him instantly with his most stern look.

"I don't want to hear it, Portgas."

Ace seemed to look 5 years younger than his 20 years as his eyes became even wider, glittering with a glossy wet shine. He looked away to the ground abashed, seemingly ready to face the upbraiding of his life. Probably feeling like he deserved every harsh word turned his way.

Marco let out a contented sigh, no longer able to maintain even a slightly harsh demeanor right now. He reached over and ruffled the wavy thick tresses on the kid's head, shocking him into looking back up at him.

He smirked gently, "Do you really think I stayed up nights on end, stitching that broken body of yours together, just to hear you apologize?"

Looking at Ace's face, he simply said in no uncertain terms, "Welcome home, Ace."

They might not be on the Moby Dick, their father might no longer be with them, and their siblings scattered to the winds—but even with all that, their brother had come back to them, and wherever Whitebeards children gathered, it made it "home".

As those glossy eyes changed into becoming welled with tears, Marco thought back to the conversation he had just had with Shanks and Rayleigh. He had been unsure then, but seeing the fruits of their labor before him made it all the more real.

And then and there…he knew he had made the right decision.

Earlier On that Morning, Renata

"Absolutely not."

Shanks rolled his eyes exasperated, "Come on, Marco, you know the plan has merit."

But as expected, the blond didn't budge "No."

In the captain's cabin of the ship, Marco, Shanks, and Rayleigh had gathered to discuss the next steps now that Ace was at least out of serious condition. They had gone the extremely slow route to getting to Saboady to account for the ship exchange, giving the doctors more time to do what they needed to do, and to throw the Marines off.

The Navy would never suspect them to be sticking around so close. It was a dangerous gambit and had so far succeeded, but they didn't want to push their luck.

Now that Ace was stable, he figured that it was time to return home. This time away from everyone and everything had actually been rather cathartic for him. Here he could depend on and be supported by Shanks, with his only main concern being Ace's life, and he had gotten a chance to grieve and delve through his emotions in a way that he probably wouldn't have been able to with everyone looking to him.

However, as time passed, he did miss his siblings and he felt the reins of leadership and responsibility calling to him. And he knew that the vast majority of them had a lot of questions and needed his support and presence.

He remembered a few days ago when he had finally been able to call them with the news.

Four Days Ago

Slipping inside his cabin, Marco took a deep breath and looked down at the transponder snails in his hands. Shanks might be an irritating pain in his side when he wanted to be, but strangely enough…he couldn't ask for a better friend. One that he knew he could always count on when he really needed to.

Sitting on the bed, he quietly thought about what he should say. How to tell them? Would they even believe him? Also, the betrayals of Teach and to a lesser extent, Squard, had made him wary. They had been careful so far, he couldn't take too many risks, especially with Ace still in such a delicate condition.

Making a decision, he attached the white transponder snail to the main one and called a personal number.

Purururu…Purururu…Purururu…gatcha

The call picked up and he was quickly bombarded by the shocked strains of the other's higher-pitched voice.

"Marco? Marco! Is that you?! Oh my God, it's you! Where have you been?!"

He smiled at the enthusiastic familiarity of his fellow commander. "Hello, Haruta. Yes, it's me. But right now, I need you to not bring attention to yourself and tell me where are you right now."

Haruta had been over the intelligence division on the Moby and so knew when it was time to be discreet. He figured that calling him first rather than the main line would limit the amount of notice his call would receive.

The sound of a door closing and locking could be heard before Haruta in a much quieter voice answered him. "Okay, I'm alone now. Are you using a secured line?"

"Yeah, it's necessary."

"I thought I recognized that slight background buzz. I'm currently on the Cetus. Most of the crew is separated on either some of the smaller ships or with some of the allies. A few of the commanders and their divisions went on ahead to get the Monstro out of dry dock."

The Monstro was the sister ship to the Moby Dick and had been built a few years ago with the ever-expanding ranks of their crew in mind. It was also prepped to be a replacement for the Moby if anything were to happen to it.

Haruta continued. "We sent mostly everyone to go on ahead to the New World, though we're staying with the Red Force who is guarding our retreat."

Marco approved, there were just too many of them to keep in Paradise right now. "Whose in charge right now?"

Any of the senior commanders could take charge if either Pops or he weren't available. Most of the divisions were autonomous to a point and the allied ships could do well on their own with their own captains. But they would still need someone to turn to and overall coordinate.

"Izo took over. You know how he is."

He smirked, while Izo was perfectly okay with following someone else's lead, he absolutely detested disorganization and disorder. He also was probably the one among them who was sadly the most used to forging forward in the midst of sorrow. It figured that he would be the first to step up.

"He's on the ship with you?"

"Yeah, he's here, Vista, Namur, and Jozu too. None of us wanted to leave without you. Izo was able to push most of the other commanders to the New World with the crew, but we four can be a bit stubborn."

He both smiled and rolled his eyes at that.

"What's going on, Marco? You've been gone for days and without a word. Even the Red-Hairs don't know anything, and their captain is also missing! D-Did you find Ace? When are you coming back?"

He hated the crumpled frailty and disquiet that lay within the kid's tone. Haruta had been the youngest of the crew prior to Ace's arrival and had felt a close connection to the other. With the loss of his partner in crime, Thatch, earlier that year as well as their father only a few days ago, it had been a very rough time for them all, but Haruta more than others.

He sighed, wishing that he could be there physically with them all, however, he could only hope that his news would be more than enough to help liven their spirits. "Call the commanders on the ship to the room with you. Be discreet."

Haruta nodded before he heard the sound of him getting up and leaving the room. After waiting for about five minutes, he heard him return. "Hey, Marco, you're still there, right?"

Before he could respond, he heard the sound of the door once again bursting open.

"What's this all about, Haruta?"

Marco smiled at the brash sound of Vista's voice.

Izo's voice could be heard coming behind him, "I think I know…has the prodigal mother hen finally decided to call?"

"What?! Marco? Is that you?!" the swordsman exclaimed.

"About time." Namur chimed in.

Haruta shushed them all before speaking again. "Sorry Marco, they wouldn't let Jozu out of the infirmary, but I figured we could tell him what was going on later."

"That's okay, Haruta. First off, how is everyone?" He hadn't been able to get a good idea as to the status of everyone before he had left.

Vista responded first, "We're all good here Marco for the most part. Jozu was probably the one who got the worst of it. The rest of us have been healing up alright."

Well, that was a relief, "Izo, what's the status report?"

The man took up the transponder and the snail took on the seriousness of his visage. "All commanders accounted for with the exception of….the obvious…of course. Of the main crew, we lost 22 men. Of the allied forces, we lost 26. In terms of ships, including the Moby Dick, we lost 5 vessels beyond repair. We have over a hundred injured and we're still getting a tally of our current food and supplies."

Well, it was about what he had expected, but that didn't make the impact any less harsh. The wages of war were bound to be harsh.

Running his fingers through his hair he gave a heaving sigh. "Make sure to get every man's name and of course, if he had any family."

Izo gave a light smile, "Already done. Of the divisions, most of them are headed back to the New World. Kingdew, Fossa, and their divisions went to get the Monstro ready and sail her out. I divided up the others, not including ourselves, and assigned them to different duties towards our future as a crew and cohesive pirate fleet which I'm sure I can go into a lot more detail on later, but for right now, what I want to know is what's. going on. with you!"

Marco could hear the heavy silence that followed Izo's passive-aggressive tirade and took a deep breath as he decided that it was time.

"Alright, I know you all've been patient, but you know I wouldn't be away from you all right now if it wasn't important."

He was met with more silence, but he knew that they understood.

"Izo, who else is on the ship other than you four?"

The gunslinger thought about it for a moment. "All of my and Haruta's divisions are here. A few members from Namur's and Jozu's, though most of Vista's are on another ship. Also, all of the 2nd division is here…for obvious reasons…"

The 2nd division had been having the worst time of it for a while and had been hit the hardest, and he could imagine that they were refusing to leave Paradise without their "fallen" Commander.

This going to be harder than he'd thought.

"Alright, first of all, I'm making this an order. What I'm about to tell you is not to leave that room. Is that understood?"

There, the feel of the atmosphere dropped and a bit of silence before Izo quietly murmured, "Aye-aye, Captain."

Marco gritted his teeth and closed his eyes at the ache that had resurfaced in his chest and behind his eyes. He hadn't meant for it to sound like that. But at the same time, he couldn't take it back.

He let out a quiet sigh once again, drawing his stalwart defenses once again around him. "This goes double for the 2nd Division. No one is to know anything until I say so."

Now, this got a different response.

"What happened?!

"What do you mean? Did you find Ace's body?"

"Those blackguards! It was the Marines wasn't it, they did something to him! I knew we couldn't trust their word!"

"What did they do to him?"

Marco took a few moments to hush them all. "I'm going to tell you, but I need to be sure of your silence first. This is extremely important."

"You know us better than that, Marco," Haruta spoke for them all. "I know our trust in others has been severely tested this year, but please at least know that."

He winced at his censure, "You're right Haruta, I'm sorry. It's just….it's been…"

Izo, once again the understanding one, soothed him. "We know, big brother. This has been a lot for all of us. You're not alone here."

He smiled appreciatively, wetness welling up in his eyes at the show of support from his brothers. "Thanks for that, Izo."

"No problem…Captain."

Sigh…that would take some getting used to.

"Alright, so listen up. You should at least know that I'm still in Paradise and that I'm on course to eventually meet you in the New World, right?"

Namur spoke up, "Yeah, Benn told us that much."

"Well, Shanks and I went together to get Ace back, and what we found…"

Oh, there's no way that they're going to believe me. Marco ran his hand over his eyes, trying to think of the best way to tell them the truth. He knew that if he hadn't been here this entire time, seeing and experiencing everything firsthand, he probably wouldn't believe himself either.

Oh well, there was no getting around it. Time to jump into the deep end.

"Ace is alive."

.

.

.

The silence that followed was thicker than the fog of the Florian Triangle.

Vista was the first to speak, and it was basically the response he expected.

The 5th commander's tone was placating and sympathetic, "Where are you, Marco? We're coming to get you. It's going to be okay, brother, all of this has just been too much for you."

However, Haruta's voice cut it, and it was quietly enraged. "That's not funny, Marco…don't joke like that. It's not freakin' funny."

Namur's was without any nonsense. "Marco, Ace is dead. Pops is dead. We all saw it. We were all there. Whatever you're seeing now is not real."

"You think someone is fooling him?" Haruta asked, calming down just a bit.

"What else could it be?"

"But it's Marco!"

"Hey, with everything that has happened the last few mon—"

Izo's steady timbre put a hush over them all. The expression on his face was enigmatic and pensive. "Marco… why do you think that Ace is alive?"

The blond gripped the transponder tightly as he responded, wanting to somehow convey to them all that he had felt, heard, and seen.

"I saw fire."

"Fire?" Izo asked curiously, thoughtful patience in his words. He didn't scoff at Marco's words, but there was no belief either. Simply an open rapport.

"Fire that responded to a kid who should have been too far gone to lay claim to it any longer."

"Wait…you're saying that Ace's body can still transform into flame?"Haruta's voice was small and trembled ever so.

Marco smiled, his voice getting full. "Even more than that! I've operated on him myself. We got his heart beating again, his lungs to breathe! I know none of you yet believe me, but I've never lied to any of you and I'm not lying now."

"Tell us everything," This time Izo's voice very much carried restrained emotion and demand.

And so he did. Marco told them all. About how they had found the boat and discovered Ace's body in the hands of a couple of Revolutionaries. About first seeing Ace's body and his initial visceral reaction before discovering that Ace had still somehow had the power of his devil fruit. About Lily and her amazing devil fruit powers and how she had found and saved Ace on the battlefield. About forming a partnership with Lily and how she, he, and Shanks had and were still working tirelessly to save Ace's life. About how they had to move ships and kept everything secret to hide the young's man's survival from the government and the Marines.

By the time he was done he knew his face was once again wet with tears, but the intensity of everything that had happened so far and being able to reveal it to his brothers and speak of everything freely, had brought such euphoria that not even his usual stalwart nature could combat the sheer joy that he felt.

On the other end of the line, he could hear Haruta sobbing, all forms of words forgotten. Vista was comforting him, but his own voice was heavy with emotion.

Namur had punched the wall with vigor and cried out in both frustration at the situation, and also from all the many emotions going on within him, but through all of that barely retrained tears could be heard from the Fishman.

Izo had been silent throughout until he had completely finished, and it was only then that he responded. The Wano native had never quite lost the quietly dignified stalwartness that came from the culture of his homeland and his previous profession as a retainer, and that could be heard in how he tried his best to keep his emotions at bay as he spoke. However, Marco could bet that while he did it silently, he was weeping just as much as they all were.

"If all you say is true, Marco….if Ace …if that little firestarter's alive …" His voice broke for a moment before he continued, "...t-then you need to stay with him. Y-You're a doctor and his senior, you need to look after him…don't you worry about over here. We've got everything together over here."

Vista spoke up, his voice thick with emotion, "Ace alive...that's…it's a miracle. That's all I can say. To think! Something good came out of this whole mess!"

Marco smiled, agreeing with him. It had felt that this entire war had been a huge emotional toll on the entire Whitebeard clan, and in the end, it was impossible to deny that the question of "what was it all for?" seemed to hover over the entire affair. They had lost and lost badly and that was not something they were used to dealing with. But this one bright point at the end of all this showed that not all was lost. Not everything had been consumed by the darkness, no matter what Teach had intended.

"We've been keeping this quiet so far, and I know this is going to be hard, but as I said before, I'm going to ask that you do the same. We don't need any accidentally loose lips to the wrong people. First, we all know that now that Ace's parentage is out there as well as how the Marines and World Government love to save face, if the Navy finds out he's alive, there will be a manhunt for him the likes of never before. He's in no condition to protect himself, and sadly, we're not in a good position to either right now."

Everyone else silently nodded somberly in agreement. They had to be very careful now. They had lost their captain and with it their status as an emperor's crew. Their reputation and future as a pirate crew were dancing on the edge of a knife.

Marco also said darkly, "I will be dealing with this when we return, but we know that Squard isn't going to be the only one who might be upset at Ace's parentage. With him being alive again, he's going to draw enemies other than the Navy, and they might even be from within."

His voice was calm now, but it was as hard as clashing steel, revealing his resolve on the matter. "I won't tolerate it. If anyone has a problem with Ace because of Roger, they will have to deal with me. I'm hoping it won't come to that, but we do need to be prepared for it. Secondly…I also don't want to get everyone's hopes up too far. That's why I told you not to tell the 2nd division. They've had a hard time of it with the traitor's betrayal, and then Ace being gone and then his imprisonment, and then thinking him lost. As his brother and friend, I am hopeful for his progress…but as a doctor, I can see a myriad of ways that this can go wrong."

They were all sobered with that acknowledgment and agreed that it would be even more devastating if they were to lose Ace once again after the spark of hope had now been lit. Better to shoulder that burden alone until things were more concrete.

Namur chimed in, "Do you need me to come over there for backup? It won't take me long if I'm swimming alone."

"Thanks, we'll keep that as an option, but for now we're okay. I need you and the others to stay with the crew and help with morale. I know that it bites, but we're going to have to take a little support from the Red-Hair pirates for now. Shanks is thankfully not making a big deal out of it, but I don't expect that to last and for him to eventually start teasing me mercilessly about it when this is all over. But until then, I'm glad for his support."

He smiled quietly, "He's been instrumental in helping us get Ace back, so…for that I will always be grateful."

"You spoke about the one who saved Ace in the first place, the girl who from the way you say it, is responsible for all of this. 'Lily' was it?" Vista asked.

"Yes, she's a Revolutionary who was working undercover in Marineford at the time. We couldn't have done any of this without her."

"I wanna meet her." Haruta interrupted them, his voice barely above a whisper. "I…I wanna meet this woman who could do what all of us couldn't. The woman who saved our brother's life."

Marco smiled warmly. Lily and Schaden would be accompanying them to the New World so it wouldn't take too much to convince them to come to Pops' funeral and meet his family. He was sure with a little convincing ( I mean, they had protected his son after all) that Dragon could be persuaded to part with the pair for a little while.

You see, Shanks was too young and inexperienced to play this game. The Whitebeards were experts at the adoption game. The key was to be subtle. A meeting here, a get-together there, shower them with love, acceptance, and affection, and have tons of patience.

The smile Marco had been sporting began to transform into a smirk. "I'll see what I can do."

Present Day

It turns out the redhead was savvier than he gave him credit for. The plan he had presented, while sound, was not at all something that he had considered or desired.

"Okay, explain to me again why my brother needs to be away from his family for even longer now?"

Shanks sighed dramatically, "Now you're just being difficult."

Marco rubbed the bridge of his nose with irritation. "Look, I can understand reuniting Strawhat and Ace. Anyone with a brain can tell how devoted those two are to each other. I can bet that the first thing the firebrained idiot will demand to know when he wakes up, is where his little brother is and if he's okay. And if he doesn't get a satisfying answer, he will tear his body to ribbons in an effort to get an answer. And unless any of us have that hotshot supernova surgeon's transponder code, we'll have to wait until I can somehow get in contact with Jinbe to find out a satisfying answer."

He could admit that he hadn't given Strawhat much thought as his primary concern had been Ace. However, he knew the kid had been gravely injured, as had the Knight of the Sea who had risked his own life to save the brat. He could only hope that the boy was strong and the doctor kid had been able to save Luffy's life. Ace's will to live would be key to his recovery. If Luffy had died while his brother had lived…everything they had done would be for naught.

"Luffy will live." Shanks interrupted his thoughts while he ran his hand lazily over the woodgrain of the table. "I know my Anchor, he'll pull through. Though his mental state will be another matter…"

He stood up and moved over to sit closer to Marco, looking him directly in the eye, grey meeting blue. "But that's not the point here. We both agree that the brothers should reunite, and not just by transponder snail. They would have both barely cheated death and neither yet knows that the other has beaten it. They will need each other's company after everything that's happened. The question is really about what to do afterward."

Marco's eyes narrowed his frown deepening, Yes, that.

"And you want to go and train Ace? For what? Hasn't he been through enough? Also, aren't you busy enough, emperor? Don't you have your own territory to run, people who depend on you? He's going to need weeks if not months to recover from this, you know. And even when he's back to full health, I'm sure that we can train him just as well."

"Can you?"

The quiet voice cut through their argument and both turned to the veteran pirate who had stayed silent so far.

Rayleigh kept to his seat where he had been whittling a piece of wood with a hunting knife. He didn't halt in what he was doing, didn't look up from his endeavor, but he had without effort taken command of the room with only a couple of words.

"Phoenix, I've known you for a long time, since you were a brat, and I've never known you to be willingly ignorant. I knew Newgate too well to think that he hadn't anticipated his death. He's prepared you for this role for a long time. But you know you've got a lot of work ahead of you."

Marco felt slightly chastened at the older veteran's words, but he responded strongly. "I know that."

"So, you know that everyone is going to be watching what remains of the Whitebeards carefully? What your next move will be, will spell out the future of your family. Whether you go out there half-cocked looking only for revenge in the name of your father, OR if you work instead to restore his legacy and solidify the people and the places that he thought were worth protecting."

The blond felt his skin flush and he gritted his teeth. That rage that he had buried since the war ended, flared up once again. "You're asking me to forget what that murderer did to my brothers? To Pops?! What he put us through?!"

"Of course not, Marco," Shanks interjected. "But you underestimated Teach for years, and you're underestimating him now. And I'm sorry, but if you go out there and face him as you are now, all you'll accomplish is the destruction of what's left of the Whitebeards and the slaughter of your siblings."

His stark, blunt words hit the other man like a well-aimed crossbow and he felt the wind knocked out of him. He wished he could discount his friend's words, and yet he remembered that the last time they had dismissed the ginger's warnings, they had ended up in the very position they were currently in.

He was aware enough to realize he and his crew were not nearly strong enough yet. Perhaps for too long had they relied on their father's strength, and while they hadn't become stagnant, per se, they could definitely use some polish. They now had to be more.

"What you do as captain and the choices you make for your family are your own prerogative." Ray spoke up once again, "However, I'm a bit more invested in the future of the next generation. It's one of the reasons I'm out here in the first place. And now that he has returned to us, that young man in the sickbay is very much a part of that as well."

Marco sighed, both tired and deflated by the entire notion of it all. "We all could use some training, I can see that. But why can't Ace do that with us once he's better."

Shanks interjected, "Come on, Fledgling. Training is going to be the least of it. You're not going to have any time to devote to him. I know what it takes to run such a vast territory and protect it when it's stable, much less one that's threatening to crumble. You're going to have your hands full for the next few years and you know it."

Marco really hated when the other man made too much sense. He had already been running most of the logistics of keeping the Whitebeard territories running for years prior, but now with his father gone, the bedrock had been taken out from under them. People might no longer trust them or him as they had done Pops, and they would need to prove and earn their place as strong enough to protect and hold on to what had been theirs.

"And then there's Wildfire himself." The redhead commented somberly.

Marco raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"Ace. With everything we've just talked about, and the fact that you just said he won't be able to protect himself for a while—do you really think you'll be able to protect him?"

Marco immediately felt his hackles rise at the perceived insult. He and the Whitebeards had their pride.

However, his practical, commonsensical nature quickly doused that fire. He knew that Shanks did not mean the words to injure, or even in jest. He was bringing up a simple fact that he had not thought to–nor probably wanted–to consider.

Rayleigh of course decided to drive the point home. "Once Ace is discovered to be very much alive, and that the Marines failed in their very public goal of destroying Roger's physical legacy, they will come after him with a vengeance. And not just the Marines, but all manner of assassins the World Government can muster. If anyone knows what those people are capable of when truly determined, it's us."

He inclined his head to Shanks as well as himself before continuing on.

"Under normal circumstances, yes, this would probably be nothing to you. However, these are not normal times. You are weak now with too much already on your plate. It would only take one moment of distraction for them to strike and complete the job they started. And this time, I don't think the revolutionary Miss Lily would be able to save him."

Marco sat in silence taking in what both the other men were saying. Their words had a lot of merits and he knew them to be true. Now that his identity as Roger's son had been revealed to the world and the World Government had built a lot of their victory on his death along with that of Pops, Ace would be in more danger now than he ever had been in his life. And not just from the authorities.

His mind went back to Squard and his betrayal and his anger against Roger and his desire for revenge. Squard could hardly be the only person on the seas who would like to get vengeance on the dead pirate king, and Ace would now be a prime target…

He sighed, already feeling himself beginning to give in to their logic. "So you propose to hide Ace away while he recovers and we re-establish ourselves."

Shanks nodded, "Partially. The first place they'll look for Wildfire is among the Whitebeards. And they will find out. Even I can't see us keeping this a secret forever. But even more than that, Ace needs to get stronger in order to be able to protect himself. He has strong skills, yes. But simply being 'strong' is no longer enough. Plus the potential is there. You saw how hard it was to get simply his raw untamed power under control. The kid could be a powerhouse if he honed that into a viable weapon!"

Marco had already marked to himself the vast potential that he had realized Ace was capable of. He didn't know if the kid had been holding himself back all this time, or if he had not even known himself what he had. Ace was already a variable master of his devil fruit abilities, but his haki potential was off the chart.

And the Phoenix was self-aware enough to know neither he, nor any of his siblings would be able to teach Ace those skills to the degree that was required. Especially not with everything else that was now on their to-do list.

And the two people in this room with him, knew more about haki than he would know in a lifetime.

He had to admit that the idea, now broken down made a lot of sense. Also, while he had once put their disinterest in seeking Ace out before as either a protective measure, respect for his feelings in regards to Roger, or simply too painful…he was beginning to get the feeling that like most of the world, they just hadn't known.

He had known about Ace and Roger's connection for a while, though it was kept secret from most, and he had never mentioned it to Ace himself. But he had always wondered why the remaining members had never laid claim to the boy long ago. The Roger pirates were an independent, rowdy bunch, but they were also fiercely loyal to each other and to their captain. It had been unusual for them to ignore his son all his life.

However, it seemed simple ignorance was to blame and Roger had carried his secret to the grave. Now that the truth was revealed, a bit of that fierce loyalty was seeping out once again, and he felt comfortable that Ace was now going to find himself very much under the aegis of at least the two men in front of him, if not more.

Rayleigh put his knife and carving down on the table. "I myself had been planning to offer to train young Strawhat for the next couple of years on the basics of haki. Scarlet over there, could do the same with Ace, though of course to a much more advanced degree. It would take out two birds with one stone: hiding them away for a time from the people hunting them, and it would allow them to become stronger and more capable of handling the trouble that will be coming their way. It would allow Ace time to recover and to train, but also for you and yours to get yourselves together and be better able to protect his back when the time comes."

The corners of his eyes crinkled as revealed a knowing smile. "Of course, this is going to be all up to them anyway. We're merely offering our meager services. It will be their choice ultimately."

Hmph, "meager" indeed.

"Fine…If Ace agrees, it might be for his benefit." Marco relented, though he was still determined that his siblings at least see their brother before he had to disappear for some time.

Shanks wrapped his arm around his shoulders and grinned cheekily. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him. And it might not be so bad to get some training yourself, Fledgling."

Blue eyes narrowed. "It'll be a cold day in Hell before I let you train me."

The man waved him off, "Oh I didn't mean me. I could push your Supreme King haki to its limit true, but I think you already got the hang of it. Just need to practice and work yourself out more. No, what I'm talking about is Awakening."

It was rare for a mythical zoan to awaken, especially for one such as his. The nature of his phoenix had made it nearly impossible for him. He had never had to really worry about it before, but now…

"Who did you have in mind? Not that I'm truly considering it mind you." He glanced sidelong at the redhead.

His smirk grew even further and Marco automatically knew that he wouldn't like whatever the man was going to say next.

"Sapphire."

Marco's eyes widened before he rolled them in exasperating disgust at the other. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Rayleigh sniggered from his chair, stretching his legs out over the table. "Don't knock him, brat. Sapphire may wear the facade of a fool, but he's anything but."

Suddenly the fire alarm once again sounded from below and the smell of smoke was beginning to make itself known.

Shanks sighed wearily, "I swear…I never wished for a ship to be made of Adam wood as much as I do right now. Wildfire is going to burn this ship down before we even make it to land."

But Marco was already on the move, he looked over to a dark corner of the room, "Schaden, can you teleport me? It'll be faster."

The black shade shifted from out of the shadows, not really all that surprised that he had been noticed. Marco and Shanks were observant enough to notice his presence and he had to guess the Dark King had to be at least just as good in that department.

Shanks looked at him wryly and he slunk along the ground before growing and surrounding Marco's form and then in a flash they were gone. "I keep forgetting he's here."

"I don't see how. He was grumbling the entire time about how we keep leaving them out of our plans." Rayleigh commented before standing up.

The younger man spun around in shock. "Wait a minute, you can understand him?!"

A silver eyebrow was raised in question. "Sure I can. Why can't you?"

"Uh, because he can't annunciate? Duh. I don't speak…ya know what? I never did confirm what he actually was." Shanks spoke his thoughts aloud.

"He's a Cimmerian." Rayleigh clarified. "Don't you remember the Black Goblin incident? Roger decided to explore this strange black hole that appeared in the sea out of nowhere and we ended up trapped in the realm of Styx for a month?"

He thought back, combing his memories for what the elder was talking about before it clicked. "Oh yeah! But I was sick with a stomach flu that entire time! I missed the whole adventure!"

"Hmm, oh yes. That was your own fault, wasn't it? We told you not to eat those berries. And now this is why you don't have a clue about what a Cimmerian is or how to understand their language."

Shanks sighed "Come on, let's get down there and help him douse Wildfire again."

Ray got up before putting his whittling wood in his pocket and his knife back in the sheath at his side. "There's no hurry. We can let them have a few moments to themselves."

"What?"

The silver-haired man exhaled heavily, "You know, I'm beginning to think you might need some remedial haki training too."

He looked back at his mentor in question, still not getting what he was missing that the other had obviously already perceived.

Dark eyes stared at him pointedly, "Use your observation, brat."

Shanks didn't bother to question and instead did as he was told only for his eyes to snap open a second later, a growing warm smile shining on his face.

"He's awake."

Ray nodded in confirmation, his smile was a little more subdued but the same warmth was aglow in his eyes. The two didn't bother saying anything else before simply exiting the room and making their way to the deck, each thinking silently about the wonders of the world and the miracle that had occurred in their midst.

Shanks sent up a few words to his captain, who he knew had to be laughing with delight at it all. We did it, Captain. Aaaannd we'll try our best not to lose him again.

As he stepped out into the open air, Shanks was surprised to see Juice running towards him, a transponder in his hand. "We've got trouble, Captain."

He stopped and looked at the snail in hand, trying to assess what could be the issue. "What happened?"

"It's Lisel's first mate, Black Jake from the Regina. They say they got attacked. They can't get in contact with the Force as it's out of range, and they need aid."

He frowned at the news, Lisel had given them use of the Renata and fresh supplies. As part of his grand fleet, he had a responsibility for her and hers, especially as they had just helped them out in their hour of need. Though why had she been attacked? And by whom? And was it so devastating that they couldn't handle it on their own?

He took up the transponder, noting the ragged and battered look of the speaker. His tone was all business. "This is Shanks. What happened, where's Lisel?"

The voice on the other end was broken and wet, suggesting internal injuries were very probable.

"B-Boss….they came out of nowhere…the ca…the captain….she's dead."

A dark gaze shadowed those gray silver eyes. "Go on."

The man continued to gasp out his words. "Most…most of…crew is dead…six of us…still alive…ahhh."

The man's breathing sped up because of the pain and he continued through gritted teeth. "It was the government…ha…ha…Ci…Cipher Pol…they didn't tell us anything…they just said they…they knew …no…no idea what…they…were talkin' about…"

A chill went up the emperor's spine. Could they know already? They had been so careful. But they had found Lisel's connection, which meant it was only a matter of time.

He didn't fear Cipher Pol, but fighting them here could get messy, and as he had just admonished Marco, when things got messy, people got distracted, and that's usually when assassins stuck. Ace had just woken up, but he was now in danger. He also of course couldn't abandon what was left of Lisel's crew.

"Black Jake, is your ship intact? What's your heading and bearing?"

"Ship's d-damaged… stil-l floats..heading…is…"

It took another few moments to get the numbers and words out, at one point it almost sounded as if the pain would cause him to pass out before he finished. Shanks encouraged him, "Stay alive Jake. Keep your people alive. We're coming for you."

The line then clicked off, probably from the man actually passing out.

Quickly deciding on what to do, he turned to Rayleigh who was leaning casually against the balustrade. "It looks like we're going to have a change of plans."

"You know it's very likely you're being called into a trap." he returned calmly.

"True, but it doesn't really matter all that much. What matters is making sure the hunters are driven off the trail. I'm going to assume you know where Anchor is?"

Rayleigh nodded, "I've got a pretty good idea, I was heading there when I 'bumped' into you."

"Then I will have to leave the brothers' reunion to you."

"So we're splitting the party?"

"Only temporarily."

Black Jake felt blood continuously run down the sides of his mouth and he tried to breathe, but his chest was having such a hard time cooperating. Looking down at his heaving torso, he reached for the wooden stake that punctured right through his body, pinning him to the wall. It didn't make any difference, all his strength was gone.

The strains of Shanks' voice came through the transponder snail held to his mouth.

"Stay alive Jake. Keep your people alive. We're coming for you."

Click.

The hand holding the snail hung up the receiver, pulling it away.

Jake gritted his teeth in anger, both at himself and the man who was responsible for all this.

Breathing heavily he looked up at the government dog with venom and spite. "There….ha…ha…I did…as…you asked. N-Now…let them…go."

Black Jake knew he was not long for this world. And he would surely be damned for what he had just done.

All around him, the Regina was aflame, fire consuming the sails and the timber of the ship that he had called home. His captain's rapidly cooling corpse lay near his feet. Her body shriveled and desiccated like a mummy, only covered in blood.

The bodies of his crewmates were strewn all over the ship, all in similar condition—and all dead.

The man holding the transponder leered at him from behind mirrored sunglasses. His right arm had transformed into tangled, knotted wood, and using his fingers, which were thick piercing vines, he held the remaining members of the decimated pirate crew, speared through the torso, staked onto the wall.

Aramaki used his other hand to remove the cigarette from his mouth as he breathed out smoke. "You have indeed been quite helpful…pirate scum."

With only a small heave of his hand, the CP9 mercenary threw the snail into the ocean, effectively cutting off any future communication.

"Your government thanks you for your service. You've been a most excellent distraction."

With only a slight movement of his hand, his vines dislodged themselves from the wall and instead dove deep into his victims, piercing their hearts and killing the whole lot of them in one stroke.

The man then got on his own personal communicator, getting in contact with headquarters. "I need the analysis team to be on the lookout for any unusual activity happening in and around my current sector. Especially any sightings that involve the marks previously noted. Let me know immediately if anything comes up,"

"Yes, sir."

Hanging up, he took a swig of rum from a bottle taken from the ship's stores. Not bad…could use a bit more spice.

And now was the waiting game.

It hadn't taken him long to find the marine boat the revolutionary rats had stolen. The small ship had been abandoned, but an investigation into what had been left behind had been intriguing.

The feel of the place was tense and set off all kinds of alarms ringing in his head. One room below deck had obviously been the most used, a meeting room that held medical equipment and used-up supplies, but that also permeated with the scent of viscera, blood, sweat, and just barely the scent of ash. Someone had been horribly hurt in this impromptu sickbay, and he had a feeling it was the key to this whole thing.

Barely seen on the deck of one of the cabins, a small torn-up scrap of paper had mentioned the Seaside Pirates, who were known to be small-time members of the Red Hair Pirate fleet. They were known to hang around these parts, so it wasn't too hard to find them. Using them as the distraction that he needed to draw the crimson emperor away, he just now needed to wait and see what his prey would do.

Akainu had been on to something. There was something fishy going on here but he just didn't know what. The fact that he could hear the tiniest trace of unease in Redhair's voice at a simple "they knew" said plenty.

They were hiding something. Something big that involved three of the strongest powers in the New World.

With a last swig of the rum, he threw the bottle into the smoldering fires of the ship before taking off once again to the air, leaving nothing but destruction and death in his wake.