Here is the second updated chapter; enjoy!

Note 9/20/21: Akimi's name is changed to "Pomona".

Chapter Two:

Enter Pomona, the Prodigy Navigator!

"Hold down that rope, and *don't let go!* Sam will be here soon to tie it down!" Marco snapped, flying above Allen to check on another crewmate. The young chef nodded, steeling himself against the harsh wind and planting his feet down on the wet and slippery deck.

The storm had crept up on them, and caught the pirates off guard. Their only indication of a change in weather had been a sudden burst of wind - that had been enough to get the navigators worried, but it was too late. The sky had darkened, the waves turned vicious, and the Moby Dick was suddenly being tossed around like a salad. The ship itself groaned and moaned as it fought against the waves, trying to stay upright against the wind and rain. Up above, Marco and a few other pirates were trying to tie down the highest sails to keep them from getting damaged. On deck, other members were securing other parts of the ship, taking care not to slip and fall over the rails.

The ship lurched, and Allen tipped forward, his foot slipping as he tried to keep his balance. The rope began slipping from his hands, and he grit his teeth, pulling back roughly and taking two steps backwards. Fate didn't seem to be in his corner however, as the ship roughly tilted in the opposite direction. Allen gasped as his back hit the railing.

The rope slipped from his hands.

His feet slid, looking for friction - but finding none.

The sea suddenly got closer, and the sky was beneath his feet.

Allen screamed as he was tossed overboard, watching the sea speed towards him. From the ship, he heard his name being called, but it was too late. The dark grey waters had already swallowed him. He couldn't tell which way was up and which way meant certain death; the currents kept tossing him this way and that. Frantically he tried to right himself, and managed to do so. With a gasp, he spat out seawater and took in a gulp of air, before the waves pushed him down again. He furiously kicked his feet, treading water as he looked for the Moby Dick.

It was a few feet away, but in this weather, there was no way he'd be able to swim back - and no way anyone could send a boat out for him. A cold shock fell over him as another large wave pushed him under. This was it; he was going to die. He found air once more, still treading, but the sea was relentless in claiming him for its watery depths. He was already tired from fighting against the storm all day; he didn't have the strength to fight the sea as well. Allen's blue eyes closed as his arms tiredly fought against wave after wave; soon, he couldn't lift them anymore. He watched through half-lidded eyes as he sank lower and lower into the sea, the last of his air escaping through little bubbles as he sank.

Then, a flash of silver crossed his eyes.

Before he knew it, he was above the sea once more. His lungs welcomed the new air and he gagged, ridding them of lingering seawater. His ears rang from the continuous change in pressure and the seawater flooding them, but he was able to make out a familiar voice.

"Come on Allen, stay with me!" Evierose said, shaking his body.

She had seen when he went overboard, and her heart dropped as he was pushed under by the waves. Without hesitation, she grabbed a rope, connected it to the railing, and dove under, using air to propel herself towards him. A few of the pirates had seen her jump in, and were waiting frantically by the railing as he held onto the rope tightly, once again forcing the wind to do her bidding and push them back to the ship. Still holding onto the brown-haired chef, she climbed back onto the Moby Dick, dropping down onto the deck. She was panting heavily and leaned against the railing, sinking to her knees slowly as Daphne rushed forward, checking on Allen.

From the relieved smile on her face, it seemed like he would be okay. That was good, she was afraid -

A chill went down her spine and she turned back out to the sea, standing up quickly. She squinted as she hurriedly searched the surrounding area, a deep frown on her face. That energy… it didn't belong to the Whitebeard Pirates. She'd spent the last month with them, and she could already tell which energetic signature belonged to who. This one was new and unfamiliar to her, which meant -

"Evierose, are you okay?" Daphne asked, concern creeping onto her face at how rigid the thief had gone. A beat passed before she turned back to the doctor, an unreadable expression on her face.

"I'm fine… I just thought…" She paused, before shaking her head. "Nevermind. I'm going to go rest; all that swimming took a lot out of me, and I don't think I'm gonna be much help anymore."

Before the doctor could follow up, the thief was gone. She blinked, before humming and turning back to Allen, continuing to monitor him.

~andthatistheendofthenewsceneaddedtochapter2updateyay~

"Have you seen Evierose?" Daphne said as she approached Marco in the galley. She had a bunch of herbs and spices in hand, none of which he knew what they were for. Marco stopped eating and looked around, surprised to see that she was nowhere in sight. The storm had taken a considerable toll on the weary pirates, and most gathered indoors to wait it out - or to rest from their shift fighting against nature itself. So far, the storm had been raging for four days… If he recalled, Evierose wasn't on shift to help keep the ship afloat, and the Second Division was in charge of dinner and cleanup. He looked back to Daphne, who was still searching with a slightly confused expression. "She asked me to give these to her..."

"Last time I saw her, she was heading towards her room," Thatch supplied as he walked past, overhearing the conversation. "She said she had something important to do."

"Well, whatever she's doing has to wait," Allen chimed in, "because she's supposed to be on cleaning duty!"

"I'll get her!" Ace said, jumping up suddenly and rushing towards the door. No one had time to protest as he exited the room.

"What's with the sudden change of heart for him?" Elena said with a slightly disapproving tone. "The other day he barely acknowledged her presence!"

"I think he finds her interesting," Marco said. "Especially since she's the first person in a long time to actually beat him..."

Elena sighed as she turned and stared at the door, beginning to doubt her own reasons for hating the girl. She then mentally slapped herself, burying her doubt and reminding herself that Evierose was the enemy. Still...

Shaking her head, Elena put off her thoughts and continued eating, noting that some of her food was missing. "Hey!"

Meanwhile in another part of the ship, Ace whistled as he walked down the hallway, keeping an eye out for Evierose. Finally, he reached her room, and was about to knock on the door when he heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Y-you'll be back soon, right?" It said. Judging from the pitch, Ace assumed it was a girl, and a young one at that.

"Of course! Dinner's halfway over, so it'll be no time before I'm back!" Evierose said. Shuffling was heard, and then the door suddenly opened. Evierose stepped out and bumped into Ace. Surprised, she looked up at him, quickly closing the door behind her. "Ace! W-What are you doing here?"

Not wanting to be reprimanded for eavesdropping, Ace decided not to ask about the mysterious voice. He would just wait until later, and then he'd ask about it.

"I came to get you," he replied. "You're late for your shift. Why do you have that plate with you?" He asked, noticing she was holding it in her hand. She blushed and hid the plate behind her back.

"Oh that? I found it when I was cleaning up, so I decided to bring it back to the kitchen," she said, waving it off with her hand. "Anyway, we should probably get back to the galley!" And with that, she grabbed his arm and began leading him away from her room.

"Wait!" Ace called out as he pulled his arm away from her. Evierose froze, then slowly turned around to face him.

"Yes...?" She said, giving him a forced smile. Ace stepped towards her, a serious expression on his face. She gulped, feeling the sweat roll down her forehead. It was silent for a moment, neither of them saying anything. Finally, Ace broke into a grin, and held up a maid's uniform.

"You forgot this!" He said cheerfully, causing Evierose to scowl and turn away.

"I am *not* wearing that!" She said, starting to walk again. Ace quickly trailed behind her, still holding up the maid's uniform.

"Oh come on! We're on cooking and cleaning duty! The least you could do is look the part, especially if you're not gonna do other chores!" He whined. Evierose rolled her eyes and continued walking to the galley. "And you have to do what I say because I'm in charge of you!"

"Just because you're taller than me does not make you the boss of me!" She called back to him.

"You being the same size as Allen has nothing to do with the fact that Pops put me in charge of you!" Ace retorted with a smirk. He could see Evierose's shoulders stiffen at the comment, but she continued to walk forward. It was at this point that a thought came to his mind. "Hey, are you really nineteen?"

"Look, I would never lie about my age," she replied, an edge to her voice. Ace gave her a disbelieving glance, and Evierose studied him through a side look. "What?"

"I just find it hard to believe that you're an adult even though you could be mistaken for someone's kid..." he said, which got him a fist to the head.

"Idiot." Evierose said, blushing from anger, and the two continued to head to the galley, the mysterious voice forgotten.

~nodividersagainbecauseilikebeingunique~

Ace yawned as he got up from the table and stretched. Looks like he had another narcoleptic attack after dinner… Hearing a gurgling noise coming from his stomach, Ace sighed, and looked towards the kitchen door. He noticed that a light was coming from underneath it, causing him to wonder who was still in there. He hoped it was someone who would let him get away with grabbing a snack...

Ace approached the door, noting that he could hear the sounds of metal scraping metal. Ah, so it was a midnight-snacker... He wouldn't mind a little company, now would he? With a mischievous grin on his face, he tip-toed the rest of the way to the door, then crouched low behind it. He waited until the scraping noises stopped before slamming the door open.

"I caught you red-handed you little- huh?" Ace looked around, but saw that the kitchen was empty. The fridge was open though, and there was a pot and spoon sitting in front of it. Making his way over to it, he picked them up, and placed the pot inside the refrigerator, then turned to put the spoon in the sink.

The moment he turned, a frying pan met his head. Ace's vision swam, and he collapsed to the floor, the pain bringing him to his knees. The last thing he remembered seeing was a pair of scared sea-green eyes and prussian-blue hair.

Then… nothing. It wasn't until some time later he began to be pulled out of unconsciousness.

"Ace... Wake up..." a voice said. Ace groaned, his head feeling like it had been cracked open. He had no idea what time it was - the storm was still raging on, from what he could hear. He slowly opened his eyes, and was instantly blinded by light. Colors swam together, making it harder to tell the difference between objects. He squinted his eyes, letting them get used to the light, and the blurs of color finally turned into shapes. "Ace?"

He slowly turned his head to the sound of the voice, and saw a blob of pink, orange, white, and blue morph into Daphne. She had smelling salts in her hand, and she was studying Ace's face with concerned eyes. Crouching next to her was Evierose, who looked slightly concerned. Ace tried to sit up, but Daphne gently pushed him back down. "What...?"

"I accidentally knocked you out earlier... Sorry!" Evierose said sheepishly. Ace blinked, the memories slowly coming back to him. He had come into the kitchen to get a snack... Someone had already been in there, and he was planning on scaring them... When he went inside, the kitchen was empty, and... and...

*And what?* He thought frustratedly. Ace scrunched his eyebrows up, trying to recall the very last thing that he saw. Although it was making his headache worse, he could feel the memory coming back to him. *A person, with prussian-blue hair, and sea-green eyes!* Again, he started to sit up, much to the protest of Daphne.

"It wasn't you." He said quietly. Evierose blinked, and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Ace looked at her with a serious expression. "That wasn't you in the kitchen."

"Ace... What are you talking about?" Evierose said slowly, mild confusion in her tone. She was a good actor, he'd give her that; but her voice rose, presumably from anxiety. "I was in the kitchen..."

"No, you weren't; the person I saw had sea-green eyes and prussian-blue hair. There's someone else on the ship..." Ace stood, with Daphne and Evierose following suit. "We need to wake the others and let them know."

"Wouldn't it be bad if we woke *everyone* up?" Daphne said worriedly. "I mean, wouldn't that alert the intruder that we know?" Evierose looked at Daphne and then back at Ace, nodding her head.

"She's right! So maybe the three of us should go looking instead!" Evierose said quickly, grabbing both of their hands and pulling them towards the kitchen door. Ace pulled away from her, and she glanced back at him, slight worry and agitation on her face. "What's the hold-up? We gotta catch this intruder before they get away!"

"It isn't safe for just us three to go looking," Ace reasoned. "What would happen if all three of us get caught? We need a bigger group of people."

Evierose sighed in defeat, and let go of Daphne's hand. "Fine. We'll get a bigger group. But it can't be huge or the intruder will definitely know." She then walked out of the kitchen, leaving Ace and Daphne behind. Ace gave Daphne a confused glance, to which Daphne shrugged at and followed Evierose. Ace then scratched his head, still confused, but followed anyway.

~I'vebanishedthehorizontalbarfromthisstory~

Marco grumbled as he followed Ace, Daphne, Thatch, Sam, and Elena around the ship. He wasn't very happy about being woken up *in the middle of the night* for something Ace *thought* he saw. In fact, their entire group was full of unhappy and irritated people. No one wanted to be up looking for something that could have just been caused by the blow to Ace's head! Most them had *just* gotten to sleep, after being on their feet fighting against the sea, wind, and rain for half the day! Besides, someone would have noticed a ship or anything approaching them - not that anything could get close enough, due to this harsh weather.

"Are you sure it wasn't just Evierose?" Marco asked sleepily. Ace nodded his head, determination set in his face. "Are you absolutely sure it wasn't her?" He nodded again, and Marco let out a frustrated breath.

"Speaking of Evierose, where is she?" Elena inquired. Everyone stopped walking and began looking around for her. She was nowhere in sight, causing the group to become confused.

"You know, now that I think about it, I haven't seen her since we left Marco's room..." Sam said quietly. Everyone nodded, realizing that the presence of the thief had disappeared when their group got larger.

"Maybe she went to the bathroom?" Daphne suggested. The others looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "And then she got lost..."

No one said anything for a while, until Ace turned around and continued walking. "Well, whatever. We'll find her while we're looking for the intruder." Without a word of protest, the others followed him through the ship. After a few minutes of silence and yawning, the group finally arrived at their first destination.

"The storage room? Why here?" Thatch asked.

Ace turned to him, a smug grin on his face. "Because if I were an intruder that was hiding, this is the first place I'd hide!"

*What type of logic is that...?* The others thought while sweat dropping. Ace opened the door and went inside, and the group followed him, staying close together. Slowly they walked through the storage room, trying to silence their steps and breathing. Ace had his hand raised, using it as a source of light, and was sweeping it from left to right. His hand passed over barrels and bags, boxes and jars, and the occasional cobweb.

"See Ace, there's *nothing* here," Elena said irately, giving Ace a glare. "Can we go back to bed now?"

Ace turned to her and shook his head, to which she groaned at. "We still have to check the other levels!" He turned away from her and was about to keep walking when he tripped and fell. The others stared, watching as he landed face first on the ground. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Thatch asked as Ace sat up and rubbed his head. He relit his hand, then hovered it over his legs to see what he had tripped over. Everyone's eyes widened as the light washed over the object.

"Allen!" Daphne cried out, and immediately rushed to his side. His arms were crudely tied behind his back, and he was unconscious. After checking his vitals, Daphne looked to Ace. "He's unconscious; I don't know how long he's been like this though... We need to take him back to the infirmary!"

"You can't go by yourself," Marco argued, "you could be attacked. Plus, you have an injured person, which puts you at a disadvantage. Someone else has to go with you."

"I'll go!" Sam volunteered, then picked Allen up and held him bridal style. Daphne stood also, and the two left the storage room. After they left, Marco turned to the remaining members of his group.

"Now that we've confirmed that there's an intruder on the ship, we need to find and capture him. No one is allowed to go off on their own. If anything happens, make sure you're with another person, got it?" Marco listed, and everyone nodded their heads. Ace then turned and headed towards the door, with Marco, Thatch, and Elena following him.

"Well Ace, where to next?" Elena inquired. All eyes shifted to Ace, who had his back turned from them.

"We keep looking on this level, then we go to the lower levels." He answered. "Chances are the intruder got lost and headed deeper into the ship." And with that, the four continued searching the ship.

Meanwhile, Evierose quietly moved through the ship on her own, occasionally peeking into other rooms. She had split from Ace and Daphne the minute they woke Marco up and went searching on her own. She just hoped they didn't find the "intruder" before she did, otherwise this would turn into an even bigger mess.

"Where did you go?" She muttered as she checked another room. Suddenly, a shiver went up her spine, alerting her that there were people headed her way. Focusing, she found that it was a group of four. "Oh great..."

She quickly turned to run away, but ended up tripping and falling onto her face, letting out a squeal. The shivers were going up her spine a mile a minute, alerting her that the group was getting closer to her location. She hurriedly jumped to her feet and ran into the first room she saw, the sounds of footsteps getting louder. Looking around, she saw a couple of boxes and some sheets sitting in a corner. She rushed over to them, and pulled the tarp over the boxes, burying herself underneath it.

"I think it came from over here!" A voice said. "Check the rooms!"

Evierose stiffened, and tried to breathe as quietly as possible when the door to the room opened. She could hear the person step into the room and begin to look around. Her heartbeat quickened as they moved things to search, getting closer and closer to her hiding spot. Finally, the person was standing over her, the tarp in their grasp. Closing her eyes, Evierose waited for the sound of the tarp being removed, a million answers already going through her mind.

Luckily for her, the door was opened, stopping the tarp from being removed. "Ace, get over here quick!" Marco said before leaving. Ace followed him, letting go of the tarp and heading out the door. Evierose waited until she heard the click of the door closing before releasing a big breath. As soon as she could no longer sense Ace's presence, she jumped up and ran out the door, heading in the opposite direction of them.

"What happened?!" Ace said as he reached Thatch. He was holding an unconscious Elena in his arms, and was sitting on the floor.

"We heard a noise coming from down the hall, and Elena rushed off to see what it was," Thatch started. "By the time I caught up to her, she was already knocked out..."

"I think we may have underestimated this intruder..." Marco said. "Thatch, do you think you'll be okay taking Elena back to the infirmary by yourself?" Thatch nodded, then stood and began making his way back, with Elena thrown over his shoulder like a bag. After he rounded a corner, Ace and Marco looked at each other. Without a word being spoken between them, the two continued their search of the ship.

By this point, they were in the lowest levels of the Moby Dick. No one would be down here at this time of night, nor during a storm like the one they'd been dealing with; the only things down here were spare parts, extra storage, and broken items that they'd long forgotten about. This was the last place they decided to inspect, knowing that an intruder might come down here looking for treasure and find only trash. The silence on this level was deafening as the duo strained their ears for any out-of-place noise. With both of them on high alert, neither wanted to say anything or break the tense silence. Both of them quietly moved through the area, checking every room they passed by. The tension radiating from them was enough to cause the shadows to seem like they were moving. Every creak and groan, flash of lightning or clap of thunder would cause the pair to twist their bodies, sure that the intruder was hiding behind them, just waiting to attack.

Just when he thought he was going to go insane, Marco caught a glimpse of a body rounding the corner. He quickly glanced at Ace, whose eyes widened. "I wasn't the only one to see that, was I?"

Ace shook his head, then looked back to where the body had disappeared, immediately rushing after it. Marco was on his tail, and the light provided by Ace was soon catching the ends of a pair of feet. "There they are! Don't lose them!"

The two of them continued to chase the body shrouded in darkness until they hit a dead end. Slowly, the duo approached the intruder, and the light revealed feet in red kitten heels; a long, red skirt that swished with every movement; a small frame wearing a white short-sleeved shirt; and finally, a round head hosting a quivering mouth, wide nose, scared sea-green eyes, and a mane of prussian-blue hair. Though her skin was dark, he could see the blood draining from her face as she watched the two pirates in fear.

"It's a girl..." Ace mumbled, giving Marco a confused glance. "What are we supposed to-"

Suddenly, the flame in Ace's hand was extinguished, and he fell face forward. Marco immediately dropped to his knees next to him, and that's when he heard the snoring.

"You choose *now* to have a narcoleptic fit?!" He yelled angrily. Sighing, he stood and lit his hand, much in the same fashion as Ace had. The blue glow illuminated the hallway again, but it did nothing to change the look of pure terror on the girl's face. She was gripping a frying pan tightly, and kept it close to her; Marco guessed it was the same one from the earlier attacks. An awkward silence filled the space, until Marco coughed before speaking.

"So... How did you find your way onto our ship?" He asked. He was given an answer in the form of sniffles, and saw the girl begin wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her white shirt. "Hey... don't cry... I won't hurt you... Just answer my questions and everything will be okay..."

Marco stepped closer to the girl and lowered his hand to show that he wasn't a threat. It was only when he caught the glint of metal from the corner of his eye that he realized he was within striking range for the girl. Quickly lifting his arm, he blocked her attack and knocked the frying pan out of her arm. That one move managed to throw her off balance. He then grabbed her arms with one hand, stopping her from making any further attempts to attack.

Marco once again lifted his hand, this time the flame burning brighter, and he brought it close to the girl's face. He could see that she was beyond scared of him, but he wasn't going to let her get off easy. He figured scaring her was enough to get her to relent and tell him what he wanted to know. He wasn't in the business of hurting young girls, and he wouldn't start today.

"I tried it the nice way, but you wanted to fight. You do realize we're pirates, right? This is not a game we're playing; you'll seriously get hurt if you don't back down now." Marco said in a dangerous tone. He could see it was working too; the girl had paled so much that he was sure she'd die of heart failure.

Apparently it had worked too well, because before he knew it, a voice had yelled, "Marco, don't!" and he was tackled to the ground. Turning to see who it was, he was surprised to find a pair of green eyes and a head of silver hair.

"Evierose? Why did you tackle me?" he asked her. She didn't answer his question, and only rushed over to the girl and stood protectively in front of her.

"Don't hurt her Marco! It wasn't her fault!" she said. Still confused, Marco stood, eyeing the girl. She was staring back at him, the fear still traceable in her eyes. "Just blame this on me, but leave her alone!"

It was at this time that Ace woke up. He yawned, then stretched his arms before blinking and staring at the scene in front of him. "Damn, did I fall asleep again? What happened?"

"What happened is that Evierose has some explaining to do…" Marco answered, while pointedly staring at Evierose. She then shrunk back and gave a nervous laugh at the slight glares she was receiving.

"Oh boy… I think I'm in serious trouble…" She said to the girl behind her, who nodded in response.

"Definitely."

~chickenandwafflesaregoodtogether~

"... Not to mention reckless, idiotic, and just plain stupid!" Ace yelled as he paced in front of Evierose.

It was now daytime on the Moby Dick, and after the events of the night, most of the crew had gathered in the galley to listen to Evierose's scolding. The storm had finally died down, to their relief, leaving them with a much needed blue sky, warm sun, and gentle waves. With the disappearance of the storm however, came word of an intruder who *somehow* snuck onboard during the week. News spread fast that it had been Evierose's doing, who sensed the girl when she had jumped in the sea to rescue Allen. The "intruder", who introduced herself as Pomona, was sitting next to Evierose, nibbling on the plate of food placed in front of her. Evierose was sitting with her head leaning against her arm, a look of pure boredom plastered across her face. She used her other hand as a puppet, mocking everything he said.

"Oh please, like you're one to talk about being stupid…" she mumbled while rolling her eyes. "You and stupid are one and the same…" At this, Pomona giggled, earning a smile from Evierose.

"What was that?" Ace said suddenly, leaning towards Evierose. She jumped in surprise, and leaned away from him. "I thought I heard you say something."

"I didn't say anything! Did you hear me say anything?" she said, turning her head to Pomona. She looked up at Evierose and shook her head, then continued to eat her food. Evierose turned back to Ace, a smile on her face. "Yup, didn't say a word! Continue with your boring- I mean, scolding speech!"

Ace gave her a narrowed glare before straightening up. "Whatever. Pomona's going to have to go anyway."

Evierose jumped up with a shocked cry, her eyes flaring to life with anger. "Why?! She didn't do anything!"

Ace gave her a smug smirk, causing her to frown even more. "This isn't a punishment for her. This is a punishment for *you*; I know how much you want her to stay, so I'm sending her packing!"

Evierose's eyes were narrowed dangerously, and her face was red, either from anger or embarrassment. The other conversations had abruptly stopped, causing all attention to be on Ace and Evierose. Pomona was staring worriedly between the two, no longer eating.

"I say she stays." she replied coldly to Ace.

"That's not your call. You're the one being punished." he said, standing his ground.

"But-" Evierose started, stopping when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned to look at Pomona, who shook her head.

"It's okay. I boarded this ship without your superior officers knowing, so the only logical thing to do would be to leave the ship without causing any more trouble." Evierose smiled slightly at Pomona's words, then glanced at Ace.

"You're right about almost everything, except this guy is *definitely* not superior in any way…" she said to Pomona, watching as Ace bristled at the comment. "I don't even know how he managed to worm his way into becoming the Second Division Commander…"

"Would you like me to show you how?" Ace spat out angrily, his fist catching on fire. Evierose turned to him, her eyebrow arched and face smug. "What are you smiling about?!"

"I already beat you once, Portgas, and I'm pretty sure I could do it again. In fact," she started, her smile growing wider. She almost resembled a tanuki who'd just found a new fool to embarrass. "Pomona here already KO'ed you!"

A collective gasp could be heard rippling through the galley, and Ace stiffened. She stood toe-to-toe with the Commander, whose face had become red with humiliation. "That's right; you heard me. You, the oh-so-great Fire Fist Ace, who has a bounty of half a billion Beris, was one-hit KO'ed by a *15-year-old girl armed with a frying pan.*" Evierose said, emphasizing each word by poking him on the chest.

The galley was silent after hearing Evierose's speech. No one said anything, and continued to watch Ace's stiff form. Suddenly, everyone began laughing, causing Ace's face to darken even further. Evierose smiled triumphantly, and even Pomona gave a little giggle. Ace, though, was far from being happy. Evierose took one look at Ace's face and knew that she had crossed the line.

"You know, I should really learn to keep my mouth shut…" she grumbled under her breath.

~it'speanutbutterjellytime!~

Evierose sighed as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was currently mopping the deck of the Moby Dick, much to her dismay. After revealing to the entire crew that Ace was knocked out by Pomona, he angrily gave her the duty of cleaning the deck off, handing her the mop and a bucket. Unfortunately for her, the mop broke seconds after she began, causing her to have to go searching for another one. To her dismay, Ace seemed to have made sure her job would be hard, as everywhere she went, she couldn't find a mop, and no one would reveal where they went. Allen finally caved and revealed that the black-haired Commander hid them in his room, leading her to break into it (and leave evidence that she had, just to spite him). Finally finding one, she headed back up to the deck, realizing that half the day was already over and she hadn't even cleaned a quarter of the deck.

"Wait a minute…" she thought aloud as she leaned against the mop, catching her breath, "why am I doing this by hand?!" she smacked her forehead and sighed, dropping the mop.

She then pointed at it, the tip of her finger glowing brightly. WIth a few quick words, the air around the mop rustled, picking it up and dunking it into the bucket, which followed as the mop began to swipe the deck. Evierose smiled as it began cleaning the deck, then walked over to where Pomona was leaning against the deck. "Enjoying the view?"

"I thought you were supposed to be mopping the deck…" Pomona said quietly. Evierose smiled, and pointed to where the mop was currently cleaning.

"I am." Pomona gave an amused sigh, then turned back to the sea, watching the waves roll by. To be honest, she was going to be a little sad when she left this ship. It seemed to be filled with such interesting people… She had hoped that they'd let her stay; she didn't have anywhere to go, nor did she have anyone she could rely on to help her…

Pomona sighed again, watching the birds fly through the cloudless sky. With the waves gently lapping against the ship, it helped to create a serene, peaceful feeling in her… Well, as serene as being on the pirate ship of one of the most powerful pirates could be. The wind blew softly against Pomona's face, causing her to smile. The breeze was amazing… She closed her eyes, enjoying the serenity of the moment. It was only when she felt the ship lurch slightly that she sat up.

She quickly glanced at the waves, then up at the sky. Her eyes widened as realization crossed her face. Without saying a word, she ran to the ship's wheel, pushing the helmsman out of the way and sharply turned the wheel. The ship obeyed, and quickly veered to the right. Seconds later Evierose appeared.

"What are you doing?!" she asked, running up to her in a panic. Pomona didn't respond, and only continued to turn the wheel. Right behind Evierose was Ace, Marco, Thatch, and Haruta. Meanwhile, storm clouds were brewing in the distance, though no one noticed.

"Evierose, what did you do?!" Ace cried out angrily.

"What?! I didn't do *anything*!" she responded, just as furious. "Why is it that everytime something goes wrong on this ship you blame me?!"

"That's not the problem right now. The problem is that she's turning the ship and we don't know why." Marco said, stepping in between the two.

"Well why don't we ask her?" Thatch suggested.

"You should probably grab onto something!" Pomona called out to them. Before any of them could reply, there was a loud clap of thunder. Everyone covered their ears and looked to the sky, noticing that it had suddenly gotten darker. Without warning, rain began to heavily fall on them. The waves were no longer gently pushing the ship along; they were instead pushing and pulling the ship, threatening to capsize it.

Luckily for them, Pomona's fast thinking had put the ship on the end of the storm. In the distance, a massive water tornado had shot up from the sea and into the sky, sucking up everything in its path. Seconds later, it disappeared, the only record of it ever happening being a gurgling whirlpool that slowly dissipated. The waters calmed again, and returned to their gentle lapping. The sky cleared, becoming blue again, and the wind became nothing more than a soft breeze.

Everyone was silent, staring at Pomona with awe. Suddenly, Evierose turned to Ace, a smug smile on her face. "Did you see that? She saved us! Now you can't kick her off of the ship!"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Again, it's not her punishment. It's yours." Evierose groaned loudly and stomped her foot.

"Well, I don't see a reason why she can't stay…" a new voice answered. Everyone turned to see Whitebeard standing over them happily. "If she can predict storms like that, then why not let her stay?"

Pomona looked up shyly, a smile slowly forming on her face. "You mean…?" Whitebeard only nodded, causing Evierose and Pomona to jump for joy.

"You see, this is why I like this guy!" Evierose said happily. "He knows what a good deal is when he sees one, *unlike* some people!" she gave a pointed stare to Ace.

"Just because she's staying doesn't mean that you don't get a punishment!" Ace retorted. "You still have to clean the deck, especially now that there's seawater all over it!"

At this, Evierose sighed, then waved her hand. Once again, the mop and bucket started to move around, cleaning up the water that was spilled on the deck. "There. It's being cleaned; are you happy?"

Ace shook his head, so Evierose raised her hand. The bucket rose, following the wind currents Evierose created and stopped over his head. Bringing her hand down, the bucket turned over, spilling the water onto him. Everyone laughed as Ace stumbled around, the bucket blocking his view.

"Are you happy now?" Evierose said with a smile. After throwing the bucket off his head, Ace shook his head in annoyance and began chasing Evierose around the deck, with everyone still laughing at the two. Pomona was laughing as well, a genuine smile on her face.

A new adventure...!