Hello everyone, here is the next chapter

I know this is late, and it doesn't help that it's short. Things have just been hectic. I hope everyone liked that last one, and stuff continues in this as the assassins try to settle again

Hope you enjoy

Read and relax

Whitebeard sat in the galley the next morning, after the assassins had returned. The clock was just a bit past 6 in the morning, not too many awake yet, but some were. Marco and Ace were still not here and he wondered if Ace was still asleep. Trevor had said he would be asleep for a while, the captain not sure how he knew it. But, he had a feeling it was because of sleeping medication, or something close to it at least. He hoped things would be fine and go back to normal soon, hoping what Trevor had said about Ace acting a bit different wouldn't be too bad or last too long.

After half an hour, Mika and Trevor went into the galley. The two assassins sat down and took some food, him noticing they sat more straight that normal, their faces a bit more passive, more unemotional. As the captain was on his way to ask how they were, Dust came and landed next to Trevor, giving a small caw and tilting its head. The assassin grabbed a small bowl, which was empty, and filled it with a bit of bread and crackers, putting it in front of the bird. The raven was probably hungry too.

But, instead of eating, Dust gave a caw, grabbing the bowl with his beak and dragging it to the end of the table. He took the food out and threw it on the table, then lifted the bowl and threw it off the table. He turned and gave a caw at Trevor, his wings flapping.

The assassin gave a sigh, moving a hand towards the bird, the bird giving a caw whilst trying to avoid it. Trevor moved it until he was close to the bird, the captain certain it would bite Trevor. But, when the assassin touched the bird, he gave it a pet, the bird moving into his touch, giving a small caw. "I'm not happy myself, okay. Just don't be like this too." The bird gave a small caw, ruffling his feathers, before moving to a plate and taking some fish and eating it. He then moved and placed himself in Trevor's lap, the assassin having a hand petting him.

Even the bird seemed to act differently, Trevor looking to be half-expecting it. He wondered if that meant it would be worse for Ace, that he would act different too. He knew the bird and Ace were connected.

Everything was normal after that, him noticing the assassins generally talking less, especially Trevor. He was really talkative most of the time. Now, they were eerily silent. He needed to speak to them later. Everyone seemed to notice it and kind of let it go, sending looks at the captain. He wondered if Ace would be much worse than this. From what Trevor said, it sounded like it. He hoped the man was wrong, that he would be the same as them.

After a few more hours, most now being in the galley, a few already starting to leave, Ace entered through the door.

He looked good, no injuries or anything, not that he expected any, but the captain hadn't seen him in months. He did walk more straight-faced, unemotional, and seeming to overlook everything. Whitebeard felt he was seeing the assassin and not Ace. That was probably what Trevor meant when saying that Ace would be professional and cold, being the assassin. It was a change to go back to normal, to not being an assassin, a leader, after 3 months of being it. He knew it would take time. Many noticed Ace coming through the door and spoke a bit lower, seeing something different about him too.

When Ace was close to the table, he didn't move to sit down, but moved to stand behind Izou, doing something. The sixteenth commander seemed confused, before Ace moved his hands and took the necklace- which he had untied- off the sixteenth commander and placed it on the table beside the man. He then walked on and into the kitchen.

Izou moved a hand to her neck, looking confused. "...What..?" Trevor gave a sigh. "You don't know what that necklace means, do you?" Everyone gave a frown, especially Izou. Did it mean anything special? It was a bit different from most necklaces, being broader and sitting against the skin. But, it suited the crossdresser, as it had purple and gold markings on it. "What does it means? Wasn't it just a necklace?" Trevor shook his head. "I was going to mention it, but wanted to wait, to not do it in front of everyone."

"That type of necklace is called a 'choker'- it kinda ruins it I guess- but what it means is this: you are a high class hooker, a whore, amazing at giving head."

He saw Izou blink, before looking at the neckla- choker in mild disgust. "I need to burn that." Trevor gave a nod. "You should. I was sure you didn't wear it for that reason. I just needed to find a way to tell you, but Ace fixed that." Everyone nodded. A few seconds later, Ace came out of the kitchen again, a few crackers in hand. When he was beside their table, Izou looked at him. "Thank you, Ace. For taking the necklace off."

The man just gave a nod, not even looking up from something- papers of sorts- he was reading, and walked out.

"...Isn't he going to eat more?" Thatch was right, if that was what Ace was going to eat; it was way too little. Trevor gave a sigh, standing up and heading after Ace, saying "Ace," in a weird tone as he went out the door.

As they were out, Mika gave a sigh. "It's going to be like this for a bit."

The captain gave a nod, understanding it. He had hoped Ace wouldn't be in a professional state, even though Trevor had said he would be. He knew it would be true since Trevor said it, but he had hoped. Now, he hoped it wouldn't last long, that things would be back to normal soon.

He didn't see much of Ace during the day, just seeing him here and there as he was walking around while he was reading, face never changing from the passive look or tall stance. Ace never gave much attention to those who spoke to him either, even less of an answer, never saying anything unless he needed to.

"Pops?" He looked to his left, seeing someone from the second division there, Jensen, looking unsure. "Yes, son?" The man gave a nod, turning to look behind him. "Is… is Commander Ace okay?" The captain gave a frown, looking where the man looked and saw Ace there, reading something and still looking his professional self. "Why are you asking, son?" Maybe something had happened. The man shook his head a bit, turning to look at him.

"I don't know. I just asked him about the meeting tomorrow, wanting to say weneeded a few things. And, he didn't even seem to… acknowledge me. He just gave a nod and went on… not saying anything. He usually chats with us when we say these things..."

The captain gave a sigh. He had noticed it himself but tried to ignore it in a way, knowing it would be like this. Trevor had warned them. He had said Ace would be more professional, cold in a way. Trevor had said he wouldn't answer if he didn't need to, and that was something he might not need to answer. "I know, I get it, son. The last few months haven't been easy, neither on us nor them. It will be like this for a while. If you want to, you can tell one of the others if you feel uncomfortable with it." He understood if it would be weird to have Ace like this. He was a likable commander, nice and always used to chat with his division, but he hadn't done anything like that now. Jensen shook his head a bit. "It's okay… I just wondered why and if it's normal. He's so… distant."

The captain gave a nod. "I know. But, right now, it will be like that. A lot has happened, a lot we don't know." Jensen nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. I know Trevor and Mika are the same, they just are more… themselves in a way." He nodded. "I know. Things will calm down in a few days." Jensen nodded. "Okay, Pops. I hope it gets better; it's just so weird, unnerving in a way." He gave a nod to Jensen and a goodbye as the man left.

He really hoped things would go back to normal quickly himself.

The next day came and they docked at Fishman Island, going to be there for a day or two. He noticed Ace, Mika, and Trevor being with Evie and Jacob now and then, the two also being more tense, not as calm and carefree as they had been before. He guessed this was something all of the assassins dealt with now. But, months being a leader could take atoll, especially in a war or in hiding.

"Excuse me, Mister Newgate?" He turned to his left, seeing someone that looked to be from the Rooks, based on his clothes. "Yes?" The man gave a nod.

"I'm John, part of Boss'- Jacob's gang, the Rooks- and I wondered… he's an assassin, like a few on your crew, and I wondered... are they acting… weird?"

The captain had a feeling where this was headed. "When you say weird, how?" John gave a small frown. "Like… distant… cold. He does stuff by himself. Both him and Evie actually." He gave a small sigh. "They're not the only ones. They will get better, just give them time." John gave a nod. "Okay. Thank you. We were worried for them. They just haven't ever been this… distant." He gave a nod. "I can imagine. Just try and be as normal as you can." The man nodded, giving a thanks before leaving. The captain was glad to see Jacob's gang caring about Jacob and Evie.

He was sure things would go back to normal, and he hoped it would happen quickly

-x-

Marco gave a knock to Ace's door, wanting to see if Ace was there. He was going to tell him that dinner was just finished, and wanted to see if Ace would eat today. He hadn't been seen during most meals, and when he was, he took a small piece of food and left. Marco wanted Ace to eat more, this wasn't good. Trevor did say this was how it would be for a few days, but still. He didn't like this- all of this was hard for them- and he guessed it was for the assassins too. But, he felt like Ace wasn't here, not the Ace he knew and liked, and he wasn't sure what to do with it. After hearing a caw from Dust, he opened the door and went inside, seeing Ace standing over his desk, looking at a few papers.

"Hey," started Marco, taking a few steps towards Ace, but stopping a few feet away, not sure how close he could be. "Are you coming to dinner, yoi?" Ace didn't look up at him, turning a paper over, shaking his head. Marco gave a nod, having expected that, but he still wanted Ace to open up more. Ace just felt so cold and emotionless. It was much more than Marco had ever experienced before, even when he was working. He didn't like it. "I miss you, yoi," said Marco, needing to say it, even though he didn't know why. He really missed Ace. He was here, but he wasn't here at the same time. It was starting to get to him.

As Marco was on his way to leave, a hand moved to his, stopping him. When he turned, he saw Ace had moved and was holding his hand.

Before Marco could speak, Ace entwined their fingers, before moving to carefully stand close to him, head leaning on his chest, doing a small shake of his head.

Ace didn't say or do anything more, just holding their hands together and leaning on him, but it still had Marco needing to look up to keep his tears at bay. He didn't expect this, and to have Ace doing this- showing he still was there but was struggling with all of this was just hard. And, he had been on edge for over 3 months now. Marco would savor this moment, just so glad to be close to Ace for a moment.

They stood like that for a minute, before Ace let go of him and left, leaving him alone in Ace's room.

As Ace was gone, Marco moved a hand to his face, moving to lean on the desk, trying to gather himself again. That felt much more emotional and passionate than what it probably was. It was the first time he had been close to Ace in months, and Ace was struggling right now but was still close to him. After 10 minutes, he still felt emotional and on edge, but he'd made a decision. He moved out of Ace's room and across the deck, keeping himself together for now, and headed for Pops room, needing the man's support right now. He knew the man had headed to his room to relax after dinner.

When he got to the captain's room, he walked in, not knocking as he just couldn't right now. Pops sat in his chair and was shocked at seeing him suddenly bursting inside his room. He looked to be on his way to ask, when he saw how he looked. Marco felt he was barely keeping it together, and he was sure he looked just as he felt.

As he was inside the room, the door closing, Pops moved and crouched down, ready to embrace him in a long, much-needed hug, he now realised. Pops had a hand behind him on his back, making him feel better as he felt all his emotions just bursting out, from the last few months and what had just happened. It was the breaking point, him feeling himself crying and just full of emotions needing to be let out.

Whitebeard looked down at his son, not having seen this in years, to see Marco this on edge.

He had thought the worst was over since Ace was back, but he was wrong. He could only remember a rare handful of times when the first commander had just burst through his doors, not knocking, and just breaking down like this. He felt, and heard, Marco taking shaky breaths, trying to gather himself. After a few minutes, when he felt Marco was more gathered, he decided to speak up. "Is it about Ace?" He knew it was because of Ace, but he needed to ask to be sure. He hoped Marco would tell.

The blond gave a nod, moving his hands to dry his eyes. He then spoke, telling what had happened, how he had asked Ace about dinner, telling Ace missed him, explaining what he felt. That he felt Ace was back, but not back, and that was hard. And then, telling about Ace just entwining their fingers and leaning on him, showing he still was there, and that was the thing that became too much for Marco. He got why that was the thing that pushed him, that Ace recognized that he was having issues, and did that small thing,being close with the small hug and holding hands, which obviously was a really big emotionally for Marco, not having been close to the other in a long time. Ace still cared for Marco, and this showed it.

He comforted Marco for a few more minutes, telling that things would calm down, as he could already see Trevor and Mika slowly becoming more normal too, not as tense, but still very tense. It would be harder for Ace, but he would go back to normal with time. Marco nodded and agreed to that, before wiping at his eyes again, giving an apology for bursting in his room like this, which had him shake his head, making Marco look at him. "Don't apologize for needing comfort. No matter how old or strong you are, you will always need emotional support, and I never want you to apologize for it." He knew it was a long while since Marco had done this, but he was still human. Marco nodded to it, and stayed with him until supper. He saw Marco needed that, having reached his limit.

Whitebeard would make sure to be there for Marco and keep an eye on him. He felt this was starting to get to everyone, which was no surprise, but it proved how everyone was used to the three assassins now, and didn't like how they acted out of character to what they were used to.

-x-

While they were at Fishman island, Shanks was apparently on his way to the Grand Line, just needing to check a small issue in the New World.

They didn't stay with them for long, seeing as they would set sail soon, a few goingto get the last bit of supplies Trevor mentioned he and the other two assassins had ordered a few things in a shop a bit away. It was a shop they used to buy more regular things, and they were welcome to join, which they accepted. They would do that later today, the Red Haired captain telling them he had been there himself a couple of times, and they had a lot of different things, from weapons to food.

But, as the Red Haired captain was telling them how things were in the New World- telling what he knew already on how things was, but it was good to hear it was true- he noticed Benn standing at the railing with Ace, both looking out at the ocean.

Not that it was unusual, but as he looked, he saw Ace holding his hand out to Benn as the man took a drag of his cigarette, and then handed it to Ace, who also took a drag of it, nodding and answering something Benn asked. He had no idea Ace smoked.

The captain looked at Shanks when he paused. "I didn't know Ace smoked." Shanks gave a curious hum as he looked towards the two at the railing, giving a sigh when Ace took another drag of the cigarette. "He doesn't. But, he does on rare occasions when he just needs to clear his mind. Bad habit I say. I'm trying to get Benn to stop." The captain gave a nod, not liking this. He knew it was wrong of him to think that, he had many smokers in the family, but they had been doing it for years, and most smoked cigars, which weren't as bad, like Curiel.

The red-haired pirates stayed for a small bit, before they left, their boat being ready to leave. When the red-haired pirates left, they headed to the shop, most of the commanders joining along with a handful of others crew members, to help carry what they would buy.

The shop was a decent length away, takingalmost 3 hours to get there, but the shop was a big one, and half-hidden, so it made sense. It had everything from food to weapons. They had sections for clothes, weapons, and more, which was just amazing, especially seeing how much they had of each item . As they were walking through it, a man behind the counter caught his attention, by placing bottles of something on the counter. When he and a few others were at the counter, the man gave a smile.

"The bottles you ordered. Our best ones."

The captain gave a frown, looking at the bottles at the desk. Why did the man say it was theirs? They hadn't ordered anything, at least not to his knowledge. Maybe it was Thatch? The man did mention he wanted to try a new type of booze. "What kind is it?" He needed to know what it was as it was a bottle he had never seen, but also felt he had. The shopkeeper gave a smile.

"It is 6 bottles with 98% pure vodka, 6 with 92% pure, and 8 with 88% pure. Just as requested." He said it as he motioned to the groups of bottles.

He blinked, waiting for the man to laugh and say he was joking. That was way strong. It was deadly strong. He didn't even know alcohol this strong existed. That had to be a mistake, no one on the ship would order this, as they had a rule of not have anything above 30%, since it could be dangerous. He could also see the commanders thinking the same. But, just before the captain could speak.

Ace appeared and grabbed a bottle, which was 98%, opening it and starting to drink, putting the rest in a cart, before moving on.

This was Ace's? He drank it pure? He knew it was strong, but this was deadly.

He was just about to tell Ace to put the bottle down, and to not buy the others. He wasn't going to watch Ace poison himself. But, before he could, Trevor was there, stopping him with a hand. "Don't. I know, believe me, I know you're not happy about this. But it's how Ace will handle this. He will be fine. I promise." Whitebeard sent a look at Ace, who was looking at some things, weapons, drinking from the bottle, not liking this. Was this what he usually drank? He assumed that, at most, he drank alcohol which was 60%, and that was rare and hard to find. He looked to his side when he heard Trevor giving a sigh, the man having a hand on his face.

"He won't die, or be poisoned. Ace will be fine, this is nothing new."

That was not what he wanted to hear, but at the same time, he wasn't too surprised. He did know that Ace drank strong stuff, but not this strong. He took a breath and gave a nod. "Okay." He would trust Trevor with this. He could hear his commanders making sounds of surprise and dislike,clearly unhappy with his decision. He was reluctant, not wanting Ace to do this. But knew the last days- months- had been hard for him, and if Trevor could promise Ace would be fine, he would trust that judgement, no matter how much he didn't want to. He was reluctant, and would keep his faith that things would be fine.

He did his best to calm his commanders down, explaining why he allowed this, which he never would normally. He could see Marco looking understanding, almost as if he was waiting for this to happen.

He hoped he wasn't making a mistake right now.

-x-

They spent almost 3 hours in the shop, and when they were done, the captain noticed Ace had finished an entire bottle, meaning he had drunk one liter of the strongest vodka he had ever heard about in a few short hours.

And it was starting to show.

Ace was no longer looking tense, or even having his professional expression, but was looking really relaxed and was even half-stumbling at times. He could see the other commanders, aside from Marco, not liking this. Marco obviously didn't like it himself, but he knew Ace did this at times, and knew there wasn't much they could do, as it was how Ace coped. The captain had told the others this, that they shouldn't interfere with it, telling them to trust him and Trevor, the man also telling them that this was nothing new. None of them liked it, but they did their best to not say anything.

But, as they were heading back to the boat, the emergency Den Den Mushi rang, with Haruta on the other end. When she spoke, they were shocked to hear it was from the boat, the marines had attacked, forcing them to flee. They had gotten away, but didn't know if they should head back or not, due to the marines, along with an admiral, being there. They knew they couldn't face them without the captain, or most of the commanders, which he understood. Trevor came up with the idea to have the boat go to Udo, where the train went, and they would meet them there.

The captain had to say he didn't know of a train from this island, or any train aside from The Sea Train. Trevor did say it was a somewhat hidden train, often being forgotten about since it wasn't as big or fast as the sea train, and didn't go as far, only to 4 minor islands, aside from Fishman island, which sounded like a good plan. Whitebeard told the ones on the boat to go to Udo , with Trevor telling them how to get there. The only issue was that the train didn't go often, only once every 3 days, and wouldn't go for another 2 days, meaning they would need to stay on Fishman island, which was okay, the captain feeling positive that everyone would turn out fine.

And even though Ace was drunk, he was joining in on what they should do. The captain was amazed to see how well he was handling himself and how he managed to still be in a right state of mind, with the exception of a somewhat slurred word every now and then, and the occasional stumble when he drank from his bottle. They all agreed to wait here on the island and try to stick together, in case the marines came to the island.

-x-

Marco agreed it was a good idea to stay on the island, trying to think of the best place to stay for the two nights, especially for them to stay away from view. He didn't know the island that well, so Trevor, and Ace, were very helpful. He also made sure to stand close to Ace, just to be sure he was fine. He really didn't like this, but if he was honest, he wasn't surprised. He had a feeling it would come to this, Ace drowning his issues with vodka. He didn't like it, but understood it.

"How abou-" Started the chef, piping in, but was cut off as Ace quickly turned around, throwing his bottle towards the bottle thankfully missing by an inch, shattering at the wall behind Thatch.

The fourth commander looked shocked- which all of them were- and half-scared. Ace moved a hand up and made a small motion. "Did not plan that… and it was half-full… damn…" The assassin then turned and walked away, obviously looking for another bottle to drink from, as he just shattered the one he had. Trevor gave sigh, looking at the chef. "Don't take it personal. You just startled him and he reacted." The chef blinked. "What?! I startled him?!" Trevor nodded. "Yeah. How would you react when someone suddenly spoke behind you? I know it's not a normal reaction, but it is when Bunny's drunk." All of them gave a nod, Marco would remember that, that Ace was easily startled now.

Izou looked at Trevor. "Why do you let him do this? Drink himself stupid?" Trevor gave a small sigh. "I can easily go and take away all his vodka and make sure he doesn't get more." Izou looked baffled. "Then why don't you go and do that!" Marco had to agree, he had wondered that himself. "Easy," Started Trevor.

"If I take the vodka away, he will only turn to take something much worse. I'd rather have him stupid drunk, than hooked on some stupid drug that might actually kill him."

Marco felt himself swallow at that, hoping it was just a possibility, than a past reality. "How do you know that?" Asked Thatch. Trevor gave a small shrug. "Because we have done that before, and I will never do that again. Ace was out for almost 3 days, his heart stopped 5 times . So again, I would rather have him drunk than on a more dangerous substitute ." Marco felt himself move a hand to his face, no idea what to think of that. He thought the drinking was bad, but it could, and previously had been much worse. He did send a look to Pops, seeing him having an understanding look. Marco knew the man was thinking of approaching Ace's drinking and this might make him wait a bit before doing that. The situation was worse than they had believed.

The day continued calmly, so they tried to relax. Marco never venturing far away from Ace, just in case. When night fell, he was shocked Ace was still walking around with a bottle full of vodka, not seeming to even have slowed down, just getting more and more drunk, but not as bad as most where. At the level of being only buzzed, though very few would be after drinking 4 liters of vodka, it was horrible to see how normal this was for Ace and Trevor.

When night did come and they headed to the hotel they had decided on, which had a bar and such in it, Trevor told him to just relax for the night, while he would make sure Ace was okay, telling Ace wouldn't sleep or even take a break from his drinking. He did say he could help Trevor, wanting to make sure Ace was fine, but Trevor said that he needed to relax, and he reluctantly did, especially when Pops agreed. He really did hope Ace would be fine.

The next day, they didn't find Ace or Trevor until it was way past noon, closing in on 4pm, with Ace looking no worse than the day before. Though he was half-slurring his words occasionally, he still looked okay and was still himself. It was unnerving to see how normal Ace was with this, even more when they saw how normal Trevor took it. He didn't like it at all, and would speak to Ace about this when he was sober again.

As the day passed, they headed to a bar as it was starting to get late, needing something to do until the train left at 4am, and would take about 6 hours. It was a long ride, but it would go fine and the train stopped close to the docks, which made getting to the boat easy.

While they were at the bar, just relaxing, Trevor got a call on his personal Den Den Mushi, and were shocked when it was Daisuke, who said he wanted to drop by with Mika, to see how they were . Marco knew Mika had left to do something a few days ago, but didn't know she was with Daisuke, which was perfectly fine. Trevor did leave to meet the man, and most likely for them to speak about something work related. Ace didn't want to go and stayed with them at the bar, causing Trevor to frown, advising them to call if anything happened, and not be afraid to do so, which caused him to think that the other assassin had a feeling something might happen.

But, when Trevor did leave, nothing happened, and things remained calm. Ace even joined in a game of pool with a group who were playing, seeming to enjoy that, even drunk.

Marco really hoped things would go fine and everything would go back to normal soon. He didn't like this.

-x-

Whitebeard watched as Ace was playing pool, joining a game with some people from the bar, looking to be thugs, but he wasn't sure. Ace did seem to have fun, which was good. He was concentrating, and had a look in his eyes, like excitement. He had lost the first game, but played another one now, playing better, amazingly so, also getting the ones he was playing with in on a cash prize to the winner.

Maybe things were getting better. He was glad Ace wasn't drinking all the time at least, doing other things too. He had a thought things would be different, seeing as they were in a bar. Based on what Trevor had said, he didn't believe it would be as calm as this, which was good. The rest of them were enjoying themselves, talking and having a few drinks.

As things were calm, the Den Den Mushi they had rang, the captain answering since it was most likely from the boat, perhaps needing one or all of them back. When he had asked who it was, Trevor answered. "How's Bunny?" He gave a nod, the assassin just checking up on Ace, to be sure things were fine. "Fine. Playing a game of pool." It would probably calm the assassin too. The Den Den gave a nod. "With who?" He shook his head. "I don't know. Just some people that are here. This is their second game, he lost the first one, but winning now it looks like. A cash price in place to make it interesting."

But, instead of hearing the man saying it was a good sign, the Den Den looked shocked and small panicked. "Stop him now! I'm on my way!"

Then the Den Den went back to sleep, making the captain blink. What did that mean? There obviously was some reason for Ace not to play, and he could see his commanders coming to the same conclusion and on their way to stand up and tell Ace they needed to leave. But, just as they stood up, the game finished, Ace giving a laugh and telling the other players that he won, who looked very unhappy. As Ace seemed to move towards the prize money, one of the men he played with got an angry look, moving to attack Ace from behind, obviously not happy with losing, the other 2 also going towards Ace in a threatening manner.

As they were about to go and keep them from attacking, Ace turned around with the pool cue still in his hands, and smashed it into the head of the first guy, sending him to the floor.

The other 2 looked shocked, before charging at Ace, Ace using the cue again to hit one man, sending him to the floor, kicking a chair to make the last man stumble, and bashing the cue over his back, sending him to the ground too. Ace grinned, looking pleased. The cue broke over the last man's back, Ace held it in one hand whilst moving towards the first guy, who was trying to get up, still very dazed and uncoordinated. Ace used the sharp and broken end of the pool cue to stab the guy, which had the pirates move to try to stop Ace. He was obviously going to kill the guy, which was wrong. He hadn't done anything too bad, only going to stop Ace from taking the money.

Before Ace could do it, Trevor was there and stopping his arm with the cue, giving a mad look to Ace. "No!"

Whitebeard gave a breath, glad Trevor had made it in time, as they wouldn't have. Ace just rolled his eyes, giving a 'tsk', dropping the cue and moving out of Trevor's grip, grabbing his bottle from the counter, taking a chug and walking out of the bar, doing a half stumble as he drank.

Trevor gave a sigh, standing up and looking at the three on the ground, who were groaning and trying to get up. "You guys okay?" One of them nodded, half-standing up. "Y-yeah. Thanks man." Trevor gave a nod. "Yeah." Trevor then looked at them, giving a sigh. "He does this at times. Makes others attack, so he can attack and kill. Just, don't let him play more pool, or anything, with anyone outside of the crew." The captain nodded, still shocked, and Trevor walked out of the bar, most likely heading after Ace.

Ace had almost killed someone for fun, while drunk.

They were still shocked by what had just happened and the captain wasn't sure what to do now. He knew Trevor could handle Ace, and that he knew more about what Ace was like whilst drunk. He had seen Ace drunk before, but never like this. The other guys who had been playing pool, got themselves up and headed away, looking shocked still, which was understandable as that was something that even shocked them.

They tried not to think about it, hoping nothing like this would happen again. They didn't see Ace, or the other assassin, for a while after that, not until an hour before the train would arrive. They had met them at the station, Trevor looking like his usual self, maybe a bit annoyed at Ace, The captain knew Trevor didn't like Ace drinking, but wouldn't stop it, due to what could happen if he took it away, and that he himself often drank, though not as much as Ace. Ace was still obviously drunk, but looked more… confused, acting more slow and not responding at times when spoken to, staying close to Trevor and Marco, not seeming to want to do anything, not drinking much while he was there, which he hoped was for the best.

After half an hour, Trevor said he needed to leave, but would return later, Ace staying with Marco, keeping a hand on his face as he looked to try to make sense of everything. Everyone did seem to realise Ace was at a point where he was confused and drunk, them letting him try to gather himself and leaving the other alone, Marco always by his side.

After a few minutes later, the train came. They couldn't do much as the ones on it needed to disembark first, also getting their things off. They were told that they could board when the train blew it whistle, along with placing their things in the luggage cart, seeing as they had a decent amount after shopping.

The train blew its whistle, signalizing they could board. The ones on it had gotten off a few minutes ago, them glad to be able to get back home to the boat. It would be good.

They started to load their items on the carriage, all of them helping. As they started, the captain turned when someone spoke. "I'm going on the train," Said Ace as he boarded, hand on his face and still looking confused, doing a small stumble. As the assassin had walked on, Marco gave him a look, before following. The captain hoped Ace would sober up soon.

It took about 20 minutes, as they needed to maneuver and bind a few things. They then walked on the train, Whitebeard needing to keep his head a bit lowered to not bump into the ceiling. It was a bit too small for him to stand, but sitting in a cart would be fine. As they were walking to find a cart to sit in, hopefully find the one Ace and Marco were in, Izou stopped in front of a cart he had opened and seemed shocked, before looking at them, motioning them they got to the cart and saw inside, the captain smiled at the scene.

Ace and Marco were in a seat, Ace sitting in Marco's lap, leaning on Marco's chest, Marco having his arms around Ace, both asleep.

It was good that Ace was asleep, the assassin not having been asleep for the last 2 days, whilst he had been drunk. Maybe this was a good sign. They walked inside, some others going to other carts as there wasn't space enough for too many in one cart, and since the captain was so large, he took more than one space. Most of the commanders stayed in the cart they now where in, a few joining the others. There was enough space for a few more in the cart, but they shouldn't all be in one place, in case something happened. They settled down and relaxed, glad to finally be on their way back home.

After 10 minutes, the train started moving, and a couple minutes after, the door opened and Trevor, Mika, and Daisuke walked in. Daisuke and Mika sat down in empty seats. Trevor walking over to Ace and Marco, moving a hand to Ace's neck, then his cheek, before giving a breath. "He's finally sobering up." He said as he moved to sit down, Daisuke giving a nod. "Good. What was it, 2 days?" Trevor nodded. "Yeah. So it's not too bad."

Whitebeard blinked. "Not too bad?" Trevor nodded. "Yeah. He has been drunk for up to 5 days before, so this is good." The captain nodded. He didn't know that, and that sounded bad. The assassins did seem used to this, and that did explain that. "Does it happen often?" Trevor shook his head. "No. This is the 3rd time." That was good. Daisuke gave a sigh. "5th time." Trevor did send a look at the man, but let it go. That was way too many times, but it did sound rare. He hoped it wouldn't happen again.

Things were calm for a while after that, all of them just talking and relaxing, glad to be heading home, a couple falling asleep. It was getting late, and a lot had happened would be good to get back home, everyone excited for it.

After 2 hours, the captain heard someone take a breath, half-startled, and looked over to see Ace moving, waking up, also waking Marco with the movement.

Ace moved a hand to his face, looking a bit worse for wear, standing up and heading towards the door. "-'m gonna puke," Muttered the kid, before he walked out of the cart, most likely to a bathroom. The captain wanted to follow the kid, wanting to be sure Ace was fine. But, Trevor sent him a look, shaking his head, making him sit back. They did update Marco on where they were, that there were only 4 or so hours left until they arrived, their boat was ready, waiting close by their train stop, only a short walk away. The first commander seemed glad about that, wanting to be home too. After about 5 minutes, the door opened and Ace came back inside. The kid gave a look to Trevor, looking to be half-confused and looking a bit worse for wear.

"Okay. I've spent 2 -or something- days drunk, and don't remember a quarter of it. But why, just why, are we on a moving train?" Said the kid as he moved to sit down in Marco's lap again. Trevor gave a small chuckle mixed with a sigh. "We're heading back to the boat, you just happened to sober up now. You okay?"

The captain waited for Ace to just say yes or not answer, but instead, Ace shook his head. "No, I'm not! My head hurts, the floor is moving - we're moving! - and I still want to puke my guts out!"

Ace then moved a hand to his face, looking to be in pain and sickly, before moving his face to Marco's chest, most likely shielding the light out, having a headache. Marco moved his hands to be around Ace again, looking a bit shocked, most likely by the truthful outburst by Ace. Trevor gave a sigh. "This is always how it is after you sober up. Just get through it." Ace gave a nod, head still in Marco's chest, Marco sending a look at Trevor, who nodded, which seemed to calm the commander down. This was all shocking, and the calm demeanor to the assassins had helped tell this was nothing unusual, which was a bit sad.

Things were calm after that, Ace seeming to fall asleep after a few minutes, which was good. He needed the sleep. Many others fell asleep, wanting some shut-eye before they got to the end station. The ones awake were the assassins, Marco, Whitebeard, and Izou. As they were asleep, Daisuke stood up and moved over to Marco and Ace. "Sit more up." Marco did, moving more up in the chair, Daisuke moving Ace more up-right in his lap, moving the head to lean sideways on his chest, leaning on it, the assassin not waking up. The captain then noticed tear tracks down Ace's cheeks, Daisuke moving to dry them away with his thumbs. Marco looked at Daisuke. "Is this normal, yoi?"

Daisuke gave a nod. "After he has been drunk for more than 24 hours, he gets a hangover, and the breakdown is normal."

Marco gave a nod, moving his hands on Ace's back as Daisuke went to sit back down after being sure Ace was fine. It was good to know Ace was fine, but didn't like that this was normal, that this happened. He needed to bring this up with Ace; he just needed to find a good way to do it. He would be sure to speak to both Bay and the assassins, to find the best way to help Ace. This wasn't good.

Nothing much happened after that, Ace not waking up again, many of the others still being asleep as well. When they did arrive at the end station, they woke the rest up, moving out, Marco trying to wake up Ace, but not having any luck, Ace only mumbling "-na stay 'sleep." Marco gave a sigh at it, moving to stand up and lifting Ace with him, just going to carry Ace. The two went straight to the boat, the assassins helping with unloading the luggage and carrying them to the boat. When they did get to the boat, they had a small celebration, many still being tired. Ace and Marco weren't there, but he was sure they were asleep in one of their rooms, at least Ace, Marco hopefully too.

He hoped things would be fine.

-x-

Ace opened his eyes, closing them as the light hurt, hand moving to his head.

After a few minutes, he tried again, finding it easier. He sat a bit up,looking around confused. He was in his room? "Ace, yoi?" He looked over to see Marco sitting up next to him, making him lay back down, head still hurting. "Weren't we just on a moving train?" Ace was sure they were. He heard Marco give a small sigh, hand coming to his head and moving through his hair, which felt good. "We were, but got back a bit ago. You fell asleep on the train, yoi. We tried to wake you, but you wouldn't, so we just carried you here." Ace gave a nod, that made sense. "How many days?" He heard a sigh. "Two, yoi." He gave a nod. That was about how long he didn't remember.

There was a lot he didn't remember, and would think that over when he felt better. The hand on his head moved in a massaging way. "How are you feeling, yoi?" Ace gave a small nod. "I'll be fine." He literally felt like shit right now but wouldn't admit that.

They relaxed in bed for a while, Ace just getting his bearings right, Marco having a hand stroking his head, which helped a lot. After some time, maybe a couple of hours, Marco spoke. "How about we go get some breakfast, yoi?" Ace thought for a second, before he nodded, moving to sit up. "Yeah. That sounds good." He should also just face the consequences. He knew Trevor and Daisuke would be mad at him - they never liked that he occasionally spent days drunk. He was sure none of the pirates liked it either.

Ace just wished he remembered what had happened the last 2 days. He needed to ask Trevor about it.

-x-

Whitebeard sat in the galley during breakfast, many still asleep since they got back late. Everyone was glad to have them back.

After half an hour, more came and almost all commanders were there, same with the assassins, just a few missing. After a few more minutes, Ace and Marco came in, Ace looking a bit pale, but much better than before. The commanders at the table went a bit quiet as Ace sat down, Trevor moving away before they got to the table. Thatch gave a smile to the kid, looking a bit unsure. "Hey, Ace. How are you?" Even the captain felt that sounded forced. Ace gave a sigh, sitting down. "Yes, I've been drunk for 2 days. Let's not speak about it, and nothing's changed. Now, where is Trevor?" The captain didn't like that, that Ace was avoiding it, but wouldn't mention it now. The commanders did nod to it, letting it go. The way Ace said it probably helped.

A few seconds later, Trevor came and put a plate of something in front of Ace, looking to be sushi. Ace gave a look to Trevor, looking relieved. "Thank you!" Trevor gave a chuckle. "You're welcome." When the assassin sat down again, he looked at them. "I think all assassins have sushi as comfort food." He gave a nod. That was why Ace asked for Trevor, knowing the man made this for him. That was nice of him.

Whitebeard was sure things would go back to normal now, which was good.

And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed

I know this was short and a bit rushed. It was supposed to be longer, maybe two chapters, but I found out I didn't want to spend too much time on this as I think things should progress more now and I have things I want to get on with, and can come back to this later

If you have the time, I greatly appreciate feedback

If you like this story, go check out Ace of Spades One Shots, which contains one shots and different scenes from this story. And, over at Archive of our own (AO3) There is a person called ScandinavianTrash that has made this story into a podfic. Please go check it out. It is amazing

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