This chapter is an introduction to the story, I will go more in depth later. Warnings and some explanations will be found in the AN. Please read and enjoy

The Moby Dick was quiet, more quiet than usual. The only sounds that could be heard where the regular sounds of the ocean and seagulls that flew above the boat. The upper deck, where the Captain's chair was placed, was almost empty. The only ones on the deck were Whitebeard and the commanders, as they had sent the others away, telling them to stay beneath the deck until they got the answer.

The atmosphere was tense. Everyone, aside from the first commander, Marco, and Whitebeard, were fiddling with something. Some were twiddling thumbs or playing with their shirt or weapons. Even though the Captain and first commander sat and stood still, they still added to the tense atmosphere. They were tense, the Captain and first commander looking out at the sea, waiting for a sign that their request had been heard. And most important of all, accepted.

Red-haired Shanks had been the one to tell them what to do. That they needed to write a note of what they wanted and who they were, but not explain it. Just a simple ̈I need information about this or him, or I want you to kill/assassinate or sabotage something/someone," nothing more. Then, they would need to tie this note to a raven or crow, and tell the bird to deliver the message to him. How it worked, Whitebeard didn't know, and Shanks refused to tell if he knew how.

The next day, the answer would come in the form of his messenger, a bird Shanks had said. And they would know what bird it would be when it arrived. And even if he accepted, he could still decline if they did something wrong when he himself showed up. And when he showed up, they were to have a file ready, a file with details about what they wanted him to do. And at the bottom, the reward would be listed. The reward needed to be right, as he could very well just hand the folder back and leave if he was unhappy with it.

Then, as they waited, a sound could be heard. It was different from the other sounds of the ocean, it stood completely out, and it only intensified the tense atmosphere on the Moby dick, as everyone froze for a moment before looking up in the sky. A completely black raven flew towards them, its size bigger than most. It let out another cawing sound, causing many of the commanders to swallow, this was what they had been waiting for.

The raven landed on a ledge, not too far away from the captain's chair. It looked at the Captain and let out an another cawing sound and moved its wing a bit. Something red could be seen behind the wing, most likely an envelope. Marco was the first one to move, he was the one that was going to get the envelope; they had talked about it, about who should get the note when the messenger arrived. Marco had been chosen since he was the best choice at the moment, mostly because of Whitebeard's size– they didn't know if he would have been able to get the envelope with his big hands.

As Marco was nearing the raven, he noticed something and hesitated. He shot a look towards his Captain and adoptive father, seeing if he had seen it too. The way he looked back at Marco and the bird with worry, signaled that he had noticed it too. The raven's beak and claws had something that resembled a type of armor, and there was no doubt what material it was; seastone. Which meant that not even Marco's power could help him if the raven decided to attack him.

Marco took a deep breath and walked up to the bird. When he was an arm's length away from the bird, it moved. The raven lifted its wing, showing the envelope that was tied to its side. Marco moved his hand with caution toward the envelope, the bird making no movement as he untied the envelope. As the envelope was removed and Marco retracted his arm, the raven lowered its wing back to its side, before it flew up to the mast and stared at the captain, waiting.

Marco moved back to Whitebeard's side, and handed him the envelope. Whitebeard looked at the envelope: it was deep red, almost like blood. It had a wax seal with the imprint of a spade. He carefully opened the envelope, ripping the seal. Inside was a single note. Whitebeard took the note out, and opened it. On the note there were only a few words written, written with red ink on a white paper.

I Accept.

I will arrive tomorrow at noon, be ready.

Whitebeard read the note one more time, just to be sure he had read correctly, even though there was absolutely no way the note could be fake or deceiving. On the bottom of the note, there was a single mark that proudly stood out and gave Whitebeard the complete certainty that the note was legitimate. It was a spade, not just a plain spade mark, it had a design. It was simple and elegant with a skull in the middle, smoke oozing from the mark. (1)

There was no denying it, the mark was exactly the same being left behind, either branded into a victim, or a card left behind to show that he had been there to either sabotage or gather information. The mark of the greatest, most dangerous and deadliest assassin to this day, had answered their call and was coming; the Ace of Spades.

As Whitebeard lowered the note, having checked it out, and giving it to Marco, the raven made its move. It gave a cawing sound, before it flew off, clearly waiting to be sure they read the note. As Marco looked the note over, Whitebeard sat quietly waiting. He knew his sons were getting impatient and more nervous by the minute. When Marco finished reading, clearly checking the mark just as Whitebeard had, Thatch broke the silence, "Well, what did he say?" Marco looked up at Whitebeard, getting a nod from him, then looked back at the other commanders. "He accepted, yoi. He will be here tomorrow at noon."

They only hoped they would not mess this up.

1. For those who wonder what the mark looks like, it is the cover image of the story

And here's a link to it; www . uihere free-cliparts/ace-of-spades-playing-card-espadas-ace-card-2535761

I chose this because it fits the name Ace of Spades, and the skull represents the death and deception he causes, while the smoke also represents the way he brands his victim, seeing as Ace has a different fruit in this story

And, this chapter is a bit short and focuses only on the Whitebeards. This will change, and I will tell Ace's story of how he came to be

Ace's connection to Shanks will also be explained later

If you wonder about something else, please feel free to send me an PM if the AN before was not enough