Ace of Spades

by himmelblu

Ace of Spades, the most feared name across the ocean, he was the most feared and notorious assassin and informant there ever was. No one knew who or what he was, some say he is the spawn of the devil. And now, the Whitebeards needed his help. And maybe they even get a new son in the process. (Up to chap 52 'The Plight' is main story, the rest are just loose ends and ideas)

76. AoS chapter 75 The Assistance

Hello everyone, here is the next chapter

This chapter is a bit long and is a collection of different things.

There is a smut scene, it starts and ends at the (*)

There is also some torture

There is also a bit of another language in this. The translations is at the end of the chapter, under the AN

Hope you enjoy it

Read and relax

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Ace let out a breath, still upset with the Luffy and Trafalgar ordeal. He had just returned from another small massacre, and it had helped somewhat. He had left for the massacre straight after he had helped Sabo get back to the Revolutionary army. He had a feeling Sabo wasn't happy about the Luffy and Trafalgar ordeal either, but he couldn't do much when he was still training. So he would see what Sabo did when he came back from his training. Sabo could be cunning, so he was looking forward to seeing what he would do. After he had returned and showered and was standing in his room, there was a knock at his door, and when he gave a 'come in', Marco appeared. "Hi, Marco." Marco smiled back at him, having a long rectangular box with him. "Hi. How did it go?" Ace hummed. "It went fine. It helped. What's that?" Marco moved the box to be in front of himself. "It's for you. A present. It is your birthday after all." Ace sighed. "You didn't need to get me anything." Marco shook his head. "I wanted to, yoi. Open it." Ace nodded and moved to open the box, before he took a sword out, blinking when he felt how light it was. It was an assassin's sword, a short sword, the blade about 13 inches long. It was black, the entire sword and hilt, and it had some red markings on the blade itself, the hilt having black rope braided around it for support and to make it easier to hold. The sword also had 5 indents on the blade, three on top and two underneath. It created a nice finish as well. It was magnificent. "How did you get this? How were you able to buy assassin's equipment? I still have the dagger from last year." Marco chuckled. "I won't tell. Call it luck, yoi." Ace hummed. "Luck, not something I often believe in." Marco chuckled. "I've just asked the right questions at right places, yoi." Ace nodded. "You need to be careful. Asking for this at certain places can be dangerous." It was, some would outright attack if you asked for assassin's equipment. Marco chuckled. "I ask carefully, no worries, yoi." Ace nodded, that was good. But, it was a nice sword, it never hurt to have multiple swords. But this one, he would use. Ace gave a smile to Marco. "Thank you, I like it." Marco chuckled. "It's nothing." Ace then put the sword down on his desk, before he moved closer to Marco and connected their lips.

Ace moved his hands to Marco's vest, dragging him down to the bed. As the two were making out, their clothes soon found the floor.

(*)

Ace moved to straddle the other man, Ace being on top as usual. He still wasn't okay with being underneath. As they were kissing, Ace reached into the small desk by his bed, grabbing their bottle of lube and handing it to Marco. Marco quickly got the bottle opened and coated his fingers, before they found their way to his hole, where one carefully penetrated, making Ace moan. Marco had really good fingers, they were just the right size. When Ace got used to the first finger, a second soon followed, making Ace moan out again, lips still connected to Marco's. Ace then moved to sit up, he was going to enjoy this. When Marco's fingers hit the right spots, it had Ace moan out, back arching a bit with each thrust of the fingers. Marco was also watching him carefully, the hand on his hip tightened at times when Ace arched and moaned, probably liking the sight.

When a third finger joined the other two, Ace's back arched again, letting out another moan. It felt really good and he almost couldn't wait for what was to come. So when he felt he was ready, he moved a hand to Marco's and removed it, before he lined up with his member, slowly sitting down, making both of them moan. As Marco was inside, Ace sat still for a second, enjoying the feeling of the other man inside himself. Ace then started to move, slowly at first. He shifted his hands to Marco's, dragging them to be on his chest, sliding them down before one found his way up to his left nipple, carefully playing with it, which felt great. Ace then sped up a bit, making Marco groan, and when he did, he tugged at his nipple, which had Ace move a hand over it. "Not so rough." Marco nodded and continued more gently. There was a thin line between what was okay and not, and he wanted every time with Marco to be enjoyable. Ace then sped a bit more up, Marco starting to meet his movement with upward thrusts, which had Ace continually moaning. Every thrust the man gave was just perfect and hit his prostate just right. Ace enjoyed how Marco's left hand was roaming his front, hitting all the right spots, his right hand was on his nipple and played with it gently.

As Ace felt himself nearing his finish, his movement became more rapid, placing his hands on Marco's chest to help him move himself more quickly and to feel the man up too. It seemed to work as the other moaned out at it and Ace continued to feel around the man's chest. When he felt Marco's movements become more erratic, Ace figured the other was reaching his finish too. Ace tried to keep his pace steady but found it hard as Marco's thrusts were moving him up and down too quickly with their force . When Ace thought it couldn't be better, Marco moved a hand to his member and moved it in time with his trusts, and it had Ace arch his back as he moaned out, feeling himself reaching his finish fast. When he was about to come, he felt Marco give a deep thrust, before the man came deep inside him, Ace soon following.

(*)

When they were done, Ace fell down next to Marco on his back, out of breath. As he was down, Marco moved a hand to his. "That was amazing, yoi." Ace nodded. "It was." Both of them catched their breaths, before they moved to clean up and put their clothing back on. Ace then moved to sit down by his desk, Marco moving to stand behind him. "Paperwork, yoi?" Ace nodded. "Yeah, I need to get it done by tomorrow, I promised Daisuke.". It wouldn't take too long, maybe an hour. Marco gave a nod. "Can I help, yoi?" Ace hummed. Could Marco? This was paperwork with sensitive information, if Marco joined, he would learn information about other assassins. But then again, they were a team now and he did trust Marco. "You can, but you need to keep everything you read to yourself." Marco nodded. "I will do that. I won't tell anyone." Ace nodded. "Okay. What you do is go over the people's names and check how many assignments they have done, how it went, and put a rank next to it in terms of performance. Everything from 0-10. Just try your best and I'll check it later. It isn't too hard, but the ranking will signify if someone deserves a promotion or not." Marco nodded. "Okay. but I don't know if what I write will be usable though, yoi." Ace chuckled. "Which is why I will double check it after. If you're going to help me, you'll need to learn how. Think of it as a new learning curve." Ace did trust Marco and would like to include him in his work as much as he could. And, he felt certain that Marco wouldn't tell anyone about any of the information he had learned.

When they were done, about 30 minutes later, they headed out onto the deck. Ace planned to check the paperwork later that tonight, maybe after he had slept a bit, or maybe before. When they got out on deck, everyone was still joly and glad to see Ace, who still had several more hours of his birthday left. Ace wasn't fond of celebrating his birthday, but he would manage it. The others were so excited, and Ace tried to be excited himself, or at least pretend he was. He did get many more presents throughout the day, most being either a weapon or some sort of clothing. It was mostly weapons. And while he got many different types of swords and daggers, none were of the same quality as the one Marco had gotten him. Ace would save them and maybe use one now and then as his pirate self. He needed more regular weapons, he only had assassins weapons, so it was nice to have regular weapons too. As the day moved by, Ace was glad none were overbearing or too much, probably understanding Ace wasn't fond of people making a huge deal of this or the celebrations that usually came with birthdays for crewmembers. Ace had seen the other birthdays and they were much more rowdier than this. This was just a calm birthday, which was great for Ace.

When the evening came, Ace headed inside to his room. Ace checked the papers over, finding Marco had done a decent job. There were only a couple things that needed a change. He would make sure to go over them with Marco later. As he finished, he got an assignment, which shouldn't take too long, and headed out to do that. But, the assignment went overtime, taking most of the night, making it so that he didn't have time to sleep before the day started. And, as the day ticked by, Ace felt more tired. As they headed to do their usual commander's meeting, which they had every other week,. Ace hoped that he would manage to stay awake.

-x-

Whitebeard sat in the meeting room with his commanders, talking of any issues on board the ship and other matters which needed to be sorted. As the meeting was nearing its end, Marco suddenly stood up. Before the captain could ask him what he was doing, Marco had grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch. Before he moved back to the table, putting the blanket over Ace's back, who was asleep at the table, head lying on his arms, breathing slowly. Ace was probably tired and needed a small nap. Trevor chuckled. "Been a long night for him. The assignment went overtime." That made sense and meant Ace hadn't slept, so he needed the energy boost. "Should we let him sleep?" Asked Izou, and Whitebeard nodded. "We should. The things he's needed for are over. Now it's just easy planning." As they were moving the meeting along without Ace, Dust suddenly came in a window with a letter, and when he landed, the bird handed the letter to Trevor instead, who opened it with a hum. "I can handle this. Ace can sleep. Just information that's needed now." Trevor then stood up and left, leaving them to finish the meeting. Mika did stay though. It was when the meeting was ending that Ace woke up, giving a breath as he sat up, noticing the blanket and gave a sheepish look. "You can wake me when I fall asleep." Whitebeard chuckled. "You needed the sleep, son. It's fine." Ace nodded and frowned when he saw Trevor was gone. "Where is Trevor?" Whitebeard hummed. "He got an assignment, or you did, but he took it. He said it was only information." Ace nodded and stretched a bit. "That's fine. He can handle it. Did anything special happen while I slept?" Marco shook his head. "No, yoi. Just the normal." Ace nodded. "Good. Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?" Whitebeard shook his head. "No, there's just some small navigational planning left, which is easy." They then wrapped the meeting up and decided they would head to familiar waters again, but they would most likely visit a couple of new islands before they were back to the familiar waters. When that was done, they headed out of the meeting room and continued their day. It was an hour later that Dust came with a request for Ace, which he took and would need to leave at once for. The captain gave him a 'be careful' before he left. It would most likely go fine as most other assignments did.

-x-

Ace moved to grab a hammer, placing a nail over the knuckle of one of his victim's fingers, hammering it through the joint. The man, a noble named Udwon, screamed. Udwon was another sick bastard who tortured his victims and prisoners, so Ace decided to have his fun with thim. Ace loved it when he could have fun with his victims, not having had a victim for a while. Ace repeated the motion 9 more times, until he had a nail through every finger. Udwon was tied to a chair and his fingers were now nailed to the arms of the chair. What should Ace do next? He could go with a colombian necktie, but it would most likely kill him, and Ace didn't want that yet. But, he could still do something with his tongue, so he pulled the man's tongue out before he used his dagger to carefully and slowly cut it in half, Udwon screaming the entire time. Ace loved to hear his victims scream, especially when they deserved it. When he was done with his tongue, Ace moved to open Udwon's shirt, making a long incision on his abdomen , his organs slowly sliding out. There wasn't much of a scream that came from Udwon's mouth, being more of a gurgled whimper. Ace then carefully removed his organs so as not to damage them, making sure Udwon was alive and awake for the entire ordeal. When this process was done, Ace dragged his intestine out and pinned it to the walls and ceiling around them with nails. Udwon's body was still functioning, even though most of his organs were outside his body by now, whimpers gurgled out from his blood-filled mouth. Ace wondered how long a person could remain alive like this, maybe a day or two. Ace used his powers to brand his mark into Udwon's body, before leaving. The man's body would continue to function, keeping him alive for as long as it could. It would be a slow and painful death. That is unless infection and sepsis occurred. There was no saving him, no one could fix what Ace had done to him, which was what Ace was going for. He was dead no matter what.

Ace loved his work at times.

-x-

"Come in," Ace called out. When the door opened a second later, he was somewhat shocked to see it was Thatch. "Thatch, what may I do for you?" Thatch took a breath. "I think we need to talk about the brand." Ace nodded, he was okay with that. The thing with Sabo had probably brought this back up. "Okay. What do you want to know?" Thatch blinked. "Just like that? No issues with it?" Ace shrugged. "I have no issues with it. It's there, but that's it." Thatch nodded. "Can I see it?" Ace hummed. "Why? Why do you want to see it?" Thatch shrugged. "I don't know. Just… I don't know, to see that it's fine. I need to get over it, somehow." Ace nodded. "Okay. But no touching." Thatch nodded, which had Ace move to take his shirt off, before turning around so Thatch could see his back. He then stood like that for a minute, before turning around.

"That enough?" Thatch nodded slowly. "Yeah… I think. How are you so okay with me?" Ace chuckled as he put his shirt back on. "Well, I don't remember seeing you there." Thatch blinked, before he frowned. "I wasn't there." Ace nodded. "Exactly. You had nothing to do with it. Why would someone who has nothing to do with it bother me? You didn't do anything." Thatch blinked. "I don't get that. It's my family!" Ace shook his head. "No, it was your family. You have a new one. The things your old family does is not on you, but on them. By your logic, I should be mad at Sabo since his father branded Luffy." Thatch blinked at that. "You can't be mad at Sabo for that. It wasn't his fault." Ace nodded. "Just like this isn't your fault. It's not your family anymore. Don't blame yourself for what your old family does or has done, because no one else is blaming you." Thatch nodded slowly. "I still don't get how you don't blame me. I've seen my uncle, we look alike..." Ace hummed. "He might have had the same hairstyle, but you are very different. Especially in the way you hold yourself. If it helps, he did not get a painless death, it was very painful for him." Thatch blinked. "Wha- what did you do?" Ace chuckled. "Turned the game on him. He had to choose whether I should gouge out his eye or cut out his tongue, or if I should take a finger or a toe. It was fun." Thatch nodded. "That… actually makes me feel a bit better. He really was a bad man." Ace hummed again. "I wouldn't label him as a man, but a monster." Thatch nodded. "I agree with that. Are my parents still alive?" Ace nodded. "They are. They've been quiet lately." Thatch nodded. "Do you know why?" Ace shrugged. "They're scared, basically." Thatch nodded slowly. "Scared of you?" Ace nodded. "Me and others. Nobles often go incognito for a while, every now and then." Thatch nodded. "If they are killed, will you tell me?" Ace nodded. "I can. Why would you want to know that?" Thatch shrugged. "So that I know if they are alive or not. My family are not nice people. None of them." Ace nodded. "I know. But then there's you. There are a few nobles who see reason, and you're one of them. You left your family." Thatch nodded. "I know. But, I still don't get how you don't blame me." Ace hummed. "If I were to blame you, it would be like me blaming Sabo for Luffy's brand. It's wrong. The only one responsible is the one who held the branding iron." Thatch nodded slowly. "I will try and repeat that to myself." Ace nodded. "You should. You're not to blame, and you need to accept that." Thatch nodded. "I will try to. Thanks for speaking with me." Ace waved his hand. "It's nothing." Thatch gave a nod and they shared a few more words before Thatch left, and Ace hoped the conversation had helped him.

-x-

Whitebeard sat in his room, Marco with him, both of them just enjoying the night in peace. And as he had Marco alone, it brought up something he wanted to speak about. "Marco, you're good with riddles. I have one I'm having issues with." Marco nodded. "Sure, I can try. Where did you hear it, yoi?" That made the captain glad. "I heard it from Ace." That had Marco chuckle. "I can imagine he's good with riddles, yoi. What is the riddle?" Whitebeard tried to think back to it. "Let's see, I think it was something like; 'It can not be seen whenever it's there. It fills up a room, it's much like the air. It can not be touched, there's nothing to hear. It is quite harmless, there's nothing to fear.'" Marco nodded, a hand moving to his chin. "Can not be seen, nothing to fear. Ah, I think I got it. It can be two things, I think. It's either cold, or darkness. What was the connection to the riddle?" That had Whitebeard blink. Marco was quick. But as he thought the answer over, he felt himself floored. Darkness. He knew what Ace's powers were now. It was a common thing, just like Ace had said. He just never thought about it. Darkness could mean shadows, which fit perfectly. But now, should he tell Marco it was Ace's powers? "The answer is darkness. I think you should ask Ace, son. Tell him you solved the riddle for me."

Marco frowned as he nodded, before he looked shocked. "Oh my God, it's his powers!" Whitebeard chuckled. "You are quick, son. Yes, it's his powers." Marco nodded. "It makes sense. He doesn't teleport, he simply travels fast. Darkness, or shadows, move as fast, if not faster, than the speed of light. That's why it feels so rough, it's just your body moving increasingly fast. There is no smoke, just darkness, yoi." Whitebeard nodded. "Yes, son. It's quite amazing. Everything needs light to live, that's how he can make things disappear, he kills the cells one by one." Marco nodded. "Wow, that's amazing. I didn't know darkness could be its own power." Whitebeard chuckled. "Both you and I know there's more to it than that. It's not a regular devil fruit." Marco nodded. "I wonder, if Moira is in the same class, she can do amazing things too." Whitebeard nodded. "Maybe. It would make sense. The powers would help her to be an amazing assassin, as it has with Ace." Marco chuckled. "From what I've seen, Ace would have been an amazing assassin either way." That was true. Ace was an amazing person who knew how to fight, and how to sneak, and everything that came with being an assassin. "Also," continued Marco, "on second thought, it can't be cold. Cold is something you should fear as it can kill, and is not harmless, yoi." That was true when Whitebeard thought it over. "You're right. It is quite magnificent. I have a feeling everything Ace does is amazing." Marco chuckled. "He's a man of many talents." Ace was.

He sat and spoke with Marco for a small while long before Marco left. Whitebeard sat alone, thinking of the riddle and the answer they had come to. Darkness was a common thing and he would never have guessed it on his own. Next time he had Ace alone, he would bring it up, wanting to speak more about it. He hoped Ace would share more as he now knew what his powers were.

-x-

The next day went calmly, and when evening came, Whitebeard blinked when an unknown man appeared on the deck, but he also looked familiar in a way. "Soul!" Said Trevor out loud, making the captain nod to himself. It was Soul, the man who had warned them about Raquel. He should remember him. "Whatcha doing here?" Continued Trevor, making Soul hold a set of papers out. "From Daisuke, he wanted it delivered personally, to you." Trevor took the papers, looking them quickly over, before he looked at Soul. "You staying for long?" Soul shook his head. "No, I should head on." Trevor made a small face. "Aw, stay for tonight, Soul, it's already so late and we rarely see you or anyone. How is everyone?" Soul blinked. "I- I can stay?" Trevor nodded. "Sure, no one would mind it." Soul made a motion to him. "You're not even going to ask the captain?" Trevor hummed. "Hmm, no. I know he will agree. He is a nice person." Mika chuckled. "It's Trevor, he does this." The woman then looked at Whitebeard, "I am sure it would be okay if Soul stayed a day, right?" Whitebeard nodded, "He can." Trevor smiled, "See?" Soul shook his head. "Where is Ace, by the way?" Trevor hummed. "He's on an assignment now and will be training afterward, then he's heading off on a mission - information run, before a meeting at the base. He'll be back tomorrow, sometime around morning."

They stayed out and enjoyed the day, Soul speaking with Mika and Trevor. When the clock neared 10, they headed in for supper, which was a broth of a kind, like a combination of leftover meats and vegetables. After, small desserts were served. They stayed in the galley for the reminder of the evening, as it was starting to get cold outside, before heading to their rooms for the night. The next day, at breakfast,, Soul came out late, his cheeks tinted red for some reason, making Trevor speak up."What's with you?" Soul looked to be uncomfortable, maybe even in pain. "'y 'isom teef' hur'." Whitebeard didn't really understand what hurt, but Trevor did as he laughed. "No! Your wisdom teeth?! You said you removed them last year!" Soul was on his way to answer, when he moved a hand to his right jaw, and Mika moved a glass towards him. "Here, vodka. It will ease the worst of it." Soul took a chug, and let it stay in his mouth for a couple seconds, before swallowing and trying again. "I was supposed to. But I freaked. I don't like doctors, much less people touching my teeth! Hell no!" Trevor chuckled. "Oh, just you wait until Ace sees this." Soul shook his head, holding a hand up as the other moved to his jaw. "No! No! No! You can't tell him! I promised last year I would pull them, but I just waited the pain out." Trevor let a satisfied breath out. "Ah! I love it when it's not me who's gonna face an angry Bunny! I won't tell, but believe me, you can't hide this for even 5 seconds. It's Bunny." Soul shrugged. "I just won't speak much. The pain will ease." Trevor shook his head. "Nope, not before Bunny notices." Soul just waved his hand at Trevor, looking to be confident. The captain didn't really know how Ace would react, and if he would be able to notice it, especially if he didn't speak much. Trevor hummed, looking at Mika. "Bet you a thousand belli it takes less than 10 seconds." Mika hummed to herself as she looked at Soul. "I bet less than 5. And not 5 seconds from coming in the door, but 5 seconds after taking a single glance at Soul." Trevor moved his hand out. "Deal!" The two then shook on it, and Soul just shook his head at them, obviously feeling certain that he could manage to fool him.

Nothing special happened for a while after that, them staying in the galley as the weather wasn't the best. And after an hour, Whitebeard saw Ace come through the door, looking at some papers. "Bunny!" Started Trevor, sounding jolly. "How's everyone back at the base?" Ace hummed. "Fine, nothing big is happening, ju-" Ace stopped his words as he lifted his head and looked at the room's occupants. His calm face getting a more annoyed look as he put the papers down and stalked past them, heading straight for Soul, who tried to remain calm. When Ace was close enough, he moved a hand out and grasped Soul by his jaw, pressing down on each side where the wisdom teeth were located. Soul almost fell down to the ground in pain, and the captain was certain he would have if Ace hadn't been holding his head so high up. "I knew it!" Started Ace, letting go of Soul who cradled his jaw with a small whimper as he crumpled to the floor. "I knew you didn't pull them!" Soul tried to get some words out, but Ace spoke first. "You have 2 hours. Go to Bay, get her to arrange a surgery, and pull them. You got that? 2 hours. If not, believe me, you will wish a toothache was the least of your problems." Soul nodded as he tried to stand back up, his face clearly showing how painful that action had been. Ace just walked over to the table where he put his papers and went back to reading them.

Mika then held her hand out to Trevor. "Told you, less than 5 seconds." Trevor sighed, handing the amount over, obviously losing. Ace hummed as he looked at Trevor. "What did you bet?" Trevor sighed. "Less than 10 seconds." Ace gave a look to Trevor as if he was stupid. "If it took me over 5 seconds, I would quit." Trevor moved to hold his glass up. "Noted. You staying?" Ace shook his head. "Not for long. I'm heading to a meeting with some informant guy from Germa 66." Trevor frowned. "Our guy or their guy?" Ace hummed. "Neutral, works for both sides. All shared info is agreed upon by Garuda before he speaks to us, and agreed upon by either Daisuke, Moira, or myself before giving info back." Trevor blinked. "Wait, we have that? We actually have some common ground?" Ace nodded. "Yes. It's just to be sure neither side gains information on targets, prisoners or individuals on the protection list. The arrangement is sort of the only thing keeping us from going to war." That had the captain worried, and Trevor just hummed. "Still tense?" Ace nodded. "Yup. They know that they will most likely lose, but there would still be many casualties on our side as well. But, you know them. You saw them during the Adam incident, they just ran and hid." Trevor snorted. "I know. They suck. Do you think we're going to go to war?" Ace hummed. "No, not as long as both sides respect the agreement. Although, I did threaten them with war not long ago."

Ace had what? Trevor looked shocked too. "Wait! What?! Why didn't I hear about this?! And why!?" Ace shrugged. "You weren't high enough in our ranks to get that information. It was just between Daisuke, Moira, Hanzo, and I. One of his people got close to Luffy and Sabo, and I didn't like that." Trevor whistled. "Willing to go to war just because they were close to your brothers, now that's dedication and love." Ace chuckled. "You touch either of them wrong, and you're dead." Trevor chuckled. "How did they respond? Letter or Den Den?" Ace hummed. "Neither. I went and spoke to Garuda face to face." That had Trevor's face fall to a shocked, and worried one again. "Are you telling me you went alone into their base, and threatened them with war?" Ace nodded. "Yes, I did. And don't give me that look. You know I could have just gone 'snap' and disappeared to somewhere safe." Trevor grumbled. "I still don't like it." Ace shrugged. "Neither did Daisuke when he found out." Trevor blinked. "You didn't tell him?!" Ace shrugged again. "Better to ask for forgiveness than permission." Trevor looked flabbergasted as he shook his head. "You are insane! You could have been killed! We could have gone to war!" Ace just shrugged, not looking worried. "But we didn't. I had control." Trevor shook his head. "Nah, don't believe it, not there." Ace hummed. "And Garuda would never outright attack me; I would end him." Trevor took a breath as he gave a nod. "Yeah, you're right. Not many want to take you head on." Ace chuckled. "None do. I enjoy being able to look at someone and make them tremble, or pass out." Before any of them could respond, Ace hummed as he looked at his watch. "Got to head off. Shouldn't be gone for more than two hours. And I am serious, Soul. Get those teeth out." Soul just nodded, and Ace left.

After Ace had left, Trevor let out a sigh. "Ace takes way too many risks at times. Not many people would dare to take him on, but damn, he threatened them with war!" The pirates nodded, Thatch speaking first. "Well, I get that many are scared of him. His eyes and posture are just… strong." Trevor nodded. "Yeah, many even say evil. But it's just a look, it can't hurt you." Whitebeard hummed. "You don't seem to mind his stares too much." Trevor snorted. "'Course not. Have you ever seen him angry? Have you heard him raise his voice?" Whitebeard tried to think, but came up blank. He shook his head, same with his children, making Trevor let out a breath. "Be glad you haven't. Even when he raises his voice at someone else, I wanna hide. It is as if the air itself is affected. My God, that is scary. A rare occurrence- thankfully- but yeah." Whitebeard could understand that, and hoped they never would see, or hear, that. Trevor never faltered around Ace, and for him to just want to hide, must be a lot. Mika nodded as she took a breath. "I still remember last year with Hugh. I was on the other end of the base- every wall is made of solid stone- and I felt the anger. I was scared and I was so damn far away. Ace can be hella scary." Mika then looked at Soul. "So, you better go to Bay." Soul shrugged. "Nah, I can handle a raised voice." Trevor shook his head. "No, you can't. But, Ace won't raise his voice with you, and believe me, that will be worse." Soul just snorted. "What can he do? Punch me? Might even get the teeth out." Mika shook her head. "Your choice, we warned you. Don't come crying to us when he keeps his promise." Soul shrugged. "He won't kill me for not pulling my teeth. Right?" Soul did seem a bit unsure at the end, but Trevor shook his head. "He won't." And it had Soul seem confident again, before Trevor continued. "But, you'll wish you were dead." Soul shrugged. "Gonna take my chances! I don't like doctors, nothing against Bay."

Trevor sighed dramatically. "Goodbye, innocent Soul! Everyone meets Ace's wrath once, and they are never the same again! We should hold a ceremony." Soul gave a look to Trevor. "You're kidding, right?" Trevor shook his head, same with Mika, who spoke. "He's serious. We've all pissed him off and met the consequences. Practically every person who has been promoted to a Level 2 has experienced Ace's anger, and have never been the same again." Soul blinked. "Oh yeah, what did he do to you two then? You're both Level 1." Trevor let out a slow breath as he shook his head. "Well, let's see. Threw a steak knife at me- and it hit me, still got a scar. Didn't help me when I got a straw through my eye, don't ask. Broke my hand 3 times. Tried to suffocate me with a pillow. Set me on fire. Pushed me down some flights of stairs and over cliffs. Broke my eye socket- but then again. so has Mika." Mika sighed. "I said I was sorry! You scared me!" Trevor shrugged and Mika looked at Soul. "But, when you're not Trevor - who loves to annoy Ace, you usually only experience it once or twice.. For me, he threw- not pushed, threw- me off a cliff. I broke 4 of my fingers, my right arm in 5 places, several ribs, and my cheekbone and eye socket. I also had a moderate concussion Was bedridden for almost two weeks." Soul blinked. "Surely it wasn't that bad. Plus, he's older now? He's got more responsibilities? He doesn't act like that anymore." Trevor raised his glass. "Your funeral, your pain. If I say run, you should run." Whitebeard had a feeling Trevor spoke the truth, even though Soul didn't seem to agree.

The next couple of hours were calm, Trevor dropped a few warnings which Soul waved off. When two hours had passed, Soul looked at Trevor. "See, Trevor. Two hours passed, and nothing yet!" Trevor took a sip of his glass. "Two hours after he returns. He can't injure you without being here. You still have a small chance to get out of this without getting injured." Soul just shrugged. "I'll take my chances!" Trevor let out a breath. "Ah! To be so foolish and self-confident! Miss that. I don't mess with Ace, ever. I have fun, and push his buttons a bit but I don't truly mess with him, and listen to what he says." Soul hummed. "Well, I'm still standing." Both of the other assassins just shook their heads, and Whitebeard had a feeling Trevor and Mika were telling the truth. Ace doesn't seem like the kind of person someone should mess with, or not follow orders from.

They went into the galley when breakfast was due, Soul chose soup as his teeth were still hurting. As most had settled down and some chatter started up, it wasn't long before the door opening and Ace came through. The meeting had just finished but he was still looking over some papers. As he walked inside, he sent a look to Soul, who remained smug, even with his cheeks still red. Ace just gave a small sigh and walked calmly on as he read his papers, not at all seeming fazed. But Trevor and Mika did seem like they knew something was about to happen as they moved a bit away from Soul, who just shrugged at them.

When Ace was by the table next to them, he stopped behind Tifa, moving a hand to her shoulder to get her attention. "I'm sorry to interrupt your meal, Tifa. But, could you go and get Bay? She's needed here urgently. Tell her to bring morphine, one she can administer intravenously, and gauze, lots of gauze. Have a bed ready and prepare for an emergency surgery to remove the remains of some wisdom teeth. Potentially, she may also need to sew the gum and replace the joint of the jaw bone, stapling it in place for a period of time. Can you remember all that?" The nurse seemed uncertain,as far as she was aware, nothing had happened to anyone, but she knew Ace didn't fool around and hurried out to get the doctor. When the captain looked over to Soul, he could see he had become pale as a sheet. He obviously understood what Tifa hadn't. "Soul," Started Trevor, "This is the point where you run." Soul didn't seem to be able to move as he sat there terrified, and when Ace moved in his direction, Trevor held his hands up. "Nobody help Soul! This is his own fault!" As it was said, Soul tried to stand up and run, but as soon as he turned, Ace was already next to him, having moved a hand to his jaw and pressing him down on the floor. His left hand grabbed a knife, as the right held his mouth open, most likely dislocating his jaw. Ace had his knees on Soul's forearms, so he couldn't get away. Ace then moved the knife into Soul's mouth, prying the wisdom teeth out, Soul screeching in pain as Ace did it. It wasn't long before a tooth came flying out, blood trickling down Soul's face and jaw, some of it mixing with his tears. None of the pirates dared to move, especially as Trevor had specifically said not to help. The process was done three more times, each time accompanied by scream, half choked out because of all the blood. Whitebeard could have sworn that more than one tooth came out along with a wisdom tooth. It looked, and sounded, horrific, Ace was literally using a dagger to pry the teeth forcefully out of Soul's mouth. As all the wisdom teeth were out, Ace moved to stand up and wipe the blood away from his hands. Soul rolled over onto his hands and knees, wheezing for air as he coughed blood up.

It was exactly then that Bay appeared, looking shocked at the current state of Soul. "What the hell happened?!" Asked the doctor as she moved to check on Soul. "Just some infected wisdom teeth," said Ace calmly as he moved to pick one tooth up. "And my, what long roots." And it was, the root was almost twice the size of the actual tooth itself. Bay gave him a withering look to Ace, but before she could scold him, Soul pleaded for help. She turned her attention back to him, administering morphine and putting small cotton pellets in his mouth and using the gauze to try and stop the bleeding, before Soul was moved to the infirmary by members from Curiel's division. Bay and Soul were both still wary of Ace, but he just waved at them to go.

Ace then picked up the remains of teeth from the ground, making Trevor hum as he leaned over to look. "How many?" Ace chuckled. "I got six. Two to many, but it was his choice." Trevor nodded as he looked at the 6 teeth, all of them having extraordinarily long roots. "Yeah, we even warned him. Damn that must have hurt; look at the roots!" Ace nodded and handed the teeth to Trevor for him to look at. When Thatch gestured for someone to clean the blood away, before it dried and became even harder to remove, Ace waved his hand at the fourth commander. "Ah, no. We are civilized people, and clean up after ourselves. That is Soul's mess, so he will clean it himself." Thatch blinked. "You're going to make him clean it up himself?" Ace nodded. "Yeah. I have a feeling he won't disagree with me." Trevor chuckled as he looked at the shocked chef. "Every time I bled, I had to clean up after myself, too. Didn't matter if I had a knife in my back, but I needed to clean it up." Thatch just nodded, shocked. Ace chuckled. "Soul still has a lot to learn." Trevor and Mika chuckled at that, not saying anything further.

Whitebeard was still shocked that Ace had done what he had. But he understood it, Ace had warned the man, so had Trevor and Mika, but it was still gruesome and horrific to witness - how Ace had pried the teeth out. And he was sure Soul's jaw was dislocated. After two hours, Bay came stalking back into the galley. When the doctor was close to them, she spoke in a raised trone. "What the hell happened?! Who in their right mind would do something like that to another person! I had to staple the jaw! He could have died if he had swallowed his tongue! The shards could have caused major damage! He's lucky we only had to staple his jaw!" Whitebeard was a bit afraid to speak up, knowing Bay's wrath. Ace however, just waved his hand. "It went fine. He knew what he was walking into. We warned him. He chose his fate. You know very well how this works." It had Bay nod silently, before she left. Baffled by Bay stepping down, Whitebeard asked "How did you know she would let it go?" Ace hummed. "Her mentor taught her the rules. You don't go against what we say, you might get injured if you do." Whitebeard nodded. Trevor nodded as well. "Yeah, her mentor has given me treatment after I had met Ace's wrath. When I got the straw through my eye. We have rules, and one rule is to never ignore Ace's advice, unless you have a very good reason." Ace chuckled. "I like that rule. Many don't believe it is a rule before they either meet my wrath, or see someone else meet my wrath." Trevor nodded. "Yeah. And I believe everyone here now knows to always listen to Ace." Everyone who heard it nodded, and Whitebeard was sure everyone would listen to Ace, scared to meet the same fate as Soul. But it was as the others said, Soul had gotten a warning, more than one actually, and they would get a warning too.

Trevor then moved to stand up. "I'll go see how he is. And tell him to be prepared to clean up his mess. He should be able to walk and somewhat talk by now. Bay's a good doctor. And if the surgery has been done well, it should heal quickly. Quicker than one would think." That was good to know. It was 2 hours later when the door opened and Trevor and Soul came into the room. Soul had some bandages around his jaw, which was swollen and badly discoloured, but he looked fine aside from that. He gave Ace an unsure look, but quietly moved to start cleaning, getting a little help from someone from Thatch's division. As Soul was cleaning the floor, doing it very quietly, Ace hummed, before he looked at the man. "Soul?" Soul instantly sat up scared. "Yes, sir?" His voice sounded normal, so his jaw must be stapled back correctly. Bay really was a good doctor. Ace chuckled. "Drop the 'sir'. Would you like to join my team?" Soul blinked. "T-team?" Ace nodded. "Yes, I have my own assassin team, want to join it?" Soul swallowed. "I- I don't know." Ace chuckled. "I won't drag more of your teeth out, so relax. Just next time, listen." Soul nodded. "I- I probably can… If Daisuke says yes." Ace nodded. "He will say yes, he approved of my idea to form my own team." That had Soul swallow again, probably thinking Daisuke might say no. Ace chuckled as Soul seemed to grow pale. "If you listen to me, nothing bad will happen." Mika nodded. "He's right. He's only thrown me off a cliff once, nothing else." Ace laughed. "I forgot about that. You wouldn't move fast enough for me. Slowpoke." Mika sighed. "Well, I was the first one down." "How," Started Soul. "How did you know it wouldn't kill her?" Ace hummed. "I didn't. I took a guess"

Soul opened his mouth a few times. "Wh- what does Daisuke think of this?" Ace lifted an eyebrow. "You think he's above my wrath? I bedrid him for a month. He pissed me off so badly that I beat him up. He's not scared of me as he knows he was wrong, he just wanted to test the waters. And he learned." Soul looked shocked. "You- you beat up Daisuke?" Ace nodded. "I did. He learned. Back to the matter at hand, my team. Want to join? You can say no." Soul looked to be thinking, the captain was sure he would say no... "I think- I think I want to join. What kind of work will it be?" Ace chuckled. "Just the regular. You're a good informant, so be a permanent informant. I know you don't like field work." Soul blinked. "You can do that? Just let me do informant's work?" Ace nodded. "I am the leader, and you're a good informant. You still work for Daisuke, but more for me than him. You don't have to worry about it, as we speak a lot. I am your main boss, I rule over Daisuke, and he knows this. Any more questions?" Soul nodded. "Do I stay on the boat?" Ace hummed. "You don't like to be in a place for a long time, Travel, have fun, do your work. Drop by when you have the time or information. Otherwise, Mika Trevor, or I will come and see you. Aside from that, we speak through letters or Dust." Soul nodded. "I like the sound of this team thing. Daisuke wants me to do field work." Ace nodded. "Because he wants you to be a proper assassin, and not just an informant, but you don't wish to be that. I won't force you to be an assassin. You have the potential, but you don't want to." Soul nodded. "I enjoy being an informant. I can do small work, but that's it. Assassin jobs are hard and just too much, all the risks. I don't like it." Ace nodded. "Which is fine. Now, you should head back to Amegakure when you're finished, so your jaw can heal completely. Should take about a week." Mika chuckled. "You got off lucky, Soul. I was bedridden for two weeks. You're not even bedridden. Took me weeks, almost months, to heal." Soul nodded, looking uncomfortably at Ace, who sighed. "You pissed me off since you were so slow." Soul swallowed. "That's it? She was slow?" Ace nodded. "Yes, she was walking really slow to annoy me. We had a deadline." Mika chuckled. "And that's how we learned to always listen to Ace. If he says speed up, you speed up, unless you have a good reason." Soul nodded and finished cleaning up. When he was finished, Ace sent him away with Dust, Soul seeming glad to get away. But he had joined Ace's team, so he would see Ace again soon, probably.

Things were calm after that, everyone excited for the island they were heading to as it looked to be a sizable one, meaning they could enjoy themselves. But, for now, they were still in the galley as the weather was still bad. Izou spoke up, looking at the assassins. "Is Level 1 the highest? Soul mentioned Mika and Trevor are Level 1 now." Ace shook his head. "It's not. It may sound strange, but the highest is Level S5. At first, the system was Level 5 up to Level 1. But, eventually people were promoted up to Level 1 but those who were Level 1 had also gotten stronger and more skilled, which caused a problem. We couldn't demote anyone, it didn't seem fair, so we created more levels. Originally, it was just level S1, and then S2 was added, and so forth. Currently, the highest level is S5." Izou nodded. "It makes sense. Which level are you?" Ace held a hand out to Mika and Trevor. "Well, they are level 1, as Soul said," Ace then held a hand to his chest, "And I am level S5. The levels also have internal ranking. From lowest to highest. I am on the second level." All of them blinked. "Wait," Started Thatch. "There is a person above you?!" Ace nodded. "There is." "Who?!" Asked Thatch, looking shocked and excited. Ace shook his head. "I won't tell." Thatch groaned at that. "Come on!" Ace shook his head again. "Nope, won't tell. Secret." Thatch let out another groan, but let it go. The rest of the day went by fine, and when evening came, the captain made his way out on deck, not feeling like sleeping. When he got out on deck, he saw Ace was out and headed over to the other, standing beside him. They spoke about this and that, and after an hour, Ace hummed. "Bay is heading over. Want to stay out?" Whitebeard nodded. "I would." Ace nodded and used his hand to snap his fingers, and a minute later, Bay appeared, giving a sigh when she saw Ace. "Out alone again?" Ace nodded. "I enjoy it." Bay nodded. "That's fine. As long as Pops is not out." Ace nodded. "Well, he's not. See you later, Bay." Bay gave a goodbye, and then she left. As she was gone, the captain spoke up. "Why do you sometimes snap your fingers and sometimes not?" Ace hummed. "It's based on how I feel. Sometimes I need to snap them to make things happen, at other times I don't need to." The captain nodded.

Ace's powers were still amazing and extraordinary. But, this brought up a theme he wanted to speak about. "By the way, the riddle of your powers, I managed to figure it out. I did get some help from Marco though." Ace nodded. "What answer did you come to?" Whitebeard hummed. "Darkness." Ace nodded. "Correct." Whitebeard hummed. "I find it amazing it can be a power of its own." Ace chuckled. "Many are, the reason no one thinks of it. It gives the opportunity for many interesting things." Whitebeard nodded. "I can believe that. From what I have seen, you are able to do many incredible things. I always thought it was smoke that you emit when you teleport." Ace chuckled. "Everyone does. It's just dense shadows. I can manipulate shadows and create what I want to, as well as kill or destroy cells." The captain nodded. It made sense, he had a feeling he would still think of the shadows as smoke though. "It is quite extraordinary." Ace nodded. "It is, I am quite fond of my powers." The captain nodded. "I get that. You are able to do so many different things. I, along with everyone else, are curious about what training you are doing." Ace chuckled. "I get that, and that I won't tell. I am still unsure if I can do what i'm attempting." The captain chuckled. "I am sure you'll manage whatever it is. You are quite a skilled person." Ace chuckled. "People say that. I've learned a lot through the years." The captain chuckled. "You are a skilled and talented person, you will probably get more skilled too." Ace chuckled. "Hopefully, yes. As I mentioned before, there is a person above me, and he is much older than me. How old? I won't say." The captain got that. "He must be an amazing person. Do you think you'll manage to surpass him?" Ace hummed. "Right now, no. He is quite skilled. Maybe if I'm lucky, in some years time, I might." The captain wondered who this person was, he must be an amazingly skilled man.

"When you travel," Started the captain. "Is it just fast movement?" Ace nodded. "It is. It is a bit rough on your system, but you get used to it." The captain nodded, he had never traveled with Ace before, so he wouldn't know that, but Marco had also mentioned it was rough. "Marco has mentioned it is rough, but it looks so smooth." Ace chuckled. "I am used to it. The few who travel with me, for the first time, they usually fall over, a few puke. It is just how it is." Whitebeard nodded. He could understand that reaction, if it was rough. Before he could say anything, Dust landed on the railing in front of Ace, handing an envelope to Ace, who opened it with a hum. "Back to work. Shouldn't be gone for more than 4 hours, maybe 6, if unlucky." Whitebeard nodded. "Okay, son. Be careful." Ace nodded. "I will. Goodnight, Whitebeard." Whitebeard gave a goodnight himself, before Ace left to change his clothes. The captain stayed out for a bit more, before he headed back to his room for the evening. It wasn't that late yet, just past midnight.

-x-

Ace ran. His assignment had gone foul, he had just gotten hit with a seastone needle, and it went through his clothing, so he couldn't remove it easily. If he could put some distance between himself and the threat, a group of people chasing after him with weapons, he could manage. He just needed to get a bit further away. It was thankfully a weak seastone needle, but it took away his powers. He couldn't fight everyone like this, and therefore ran. There were too many people, and they were strong. But, in his haste, he didn't look too closely at where he was running to, leaves were everywhere. Suddenly, he stepped in a modified bear trap, the teeth clamping around his leg, making him fall down with a swear. Just perfect. Now he was stuck. He needed to do damage control. He would be captured and need to escape. He was soon swarmed with people and a few lifted him up to securely capture him, Ace just went with the flow. He was soon chained in a dungeon. They got the modified bear trap away from his leg, leaving it mangled, so Ace pretended he was weaker than normal. He was in seastone chains after all. When he was left alone, or alone enough, there was a guard by his door. Ace sighed, this would be boring, another Noble who thought he could tame him and get information, but he wouldn't. All he needed to do was pretend he was weak from the seastone, and when he was led to another room to be 'tortured', Ace would escape. Normally, he would have escaped now, but there was a guard, and he would see if Ace tried anything, and call for more help, and his leg was still bad. He could barely walk on it. It hurt like hell, but it worked with some limping. He still needed to decide if he could walk enough for when he was transported. It was either, use a lot of his strength to walk, or to be dragged by his hands. He would decide when they came for him, it would be some time before the noble returned. If he felt he could, he would limp his way slowly through. He might still be dragged by his hands if he was too slow, but he would see.

When the next day came, Ace managed to keep a steady pace, enough so he wasn't dragged by his hands. He was moving slowly, still pretending to be weaker than he was. When he was led into a room, the door was closed and locked behind him. It was good, no one would come into the room after he had done away with everyone. The noble was thankfully in the room, so he would die too. That was his mission, to kill the noble. Ace sighed when he was hung up by the roof. It was a high roof too, and the only way out of the chains was to pick the lock from the roof. He would hopefully manage, he just needed to kill everyone in the room first. The door was closed, locked even, so it shouldn't be a problem. His leg might be mangled, but it was still usable. It could have been worse. As he was hung up, the noble went over to him. "The great Ace of Spades, nice to see you. Ready to spill?" Ace just stared at him, lifting an eyebrow. It seemed to anger the noble, who repeated the sentence, sounding more annoyed, and Ace still didn't say anything. The noble then gave a growl, before he moved his hand and punched him, hard, coating his hand in haki. Not many nobles knew how to fight, so that was rare. He also punched him directly on his jaw, Ace hearing it pop and break, leaving his mouth slightly open from it's dislocation. He thankfully still had his mask on, so it wasn't visible. They still didn't unmask him, so they either wanted it to be a big reveal or they wanted to hand him over to the marines for his bounty and let them take it off. Either way, he could manage.

When the noble walked away, one of the guards approached, Ace trying to play out his plan in his head. It should go fine, even with his leg mangled. So when the guard moved even closer, Ace shifted to the side, before he lunged at the guard, knocking him out. He quickly grabbed his gun with his legs, before throwing it up and catching it with his hands. He would normally manage to fire it with his legs, but one was mangled and it hurt from what he just did, so he would use his hands. When he held the gun, he quickly shot everyone, saving the noble for last, who tried to run for the door, only to find it locked. Oh, how Ace loved it when they got trapped in their own trap. When the noble turned to him, probably to plead for his life out, Ace shot him, making him fall down to the floor dead. There were only 3 people in the room, not counting the noble, so it was easy work. Now that he was alone in the room, he sighed and moved his hand under his clothing, removing the seastone needle, before he started the climb up to the lock. It took some time, almost two hours, but he made it. His leg didn't make it any easier, neither did his broken and dislocated jaw. It really pulsated in pain with every movement. When he was at the top, he wrapped his good leg inside the chains to help keep himself prone, allowing him the use of both his hands. Ace then moved to take a few pins out, but all of them quickly broke as it was a harder type of safety lock. It had Ace sighing again. Those were rare and almost impossible to pick, even with how good Ace was at it. They had a sliding mechanism too, and Ace couldn't maneuver that well while he lock-picked. He was stuck until someone came. Dust should be heading to Shanks, he wasn't as far away as the pirates, and he knew what to do.

Ace just needed to wait. He would still try and pick the lock and get his way out, he had many lockpicks on him.

-x-

The next day, when Whitebeard got out on deck, he was surprised to not see Ace. He was usually up early. When Marco appeared, he said he hadn't seen Ace and Ace wasn't in his room. That was worrisome, he should have been back some hours ago. So when he saw Trevor, he spoke up. "Ace should be back by now." Trevor nodded. "He should, but let's give him a bit more time, before I make any calls." Whitebeard nodded, he would listen to Trevor, he knew more about these things than he did. After a couple more hours, Trevor said he would make some calls, and invited him, which he would take. So they headed to the media room, Trevor moving to dial something before a familiar voice answered. "Yes?" Said Daisuke, and Trevor sighed. "Ace is late, know anything?" The Den Den hummed. "No, but ask Shanks, he's closer than you to the place." Trevor nodded . "I will. Thanks though." The Den Den nodded, before it went to sleep, and Trevor dialed another number, Shanks answering after a few rings. "Yello! You've reached Shanks!" Trevor sighed. "Too happy. Have you heard from Ace?" The Den Den blinked. "Eh- You se- ow!" The Den Den cut off, before Benn was heard. "You told me you told them!" The Den Den whined. "I forgot!" Said Shanks, and they heard Benn sigh. "Dust is here, Ace met some trouble and we're headed to help. You aren't too far away either, so come join us. We're headed to Imjado." Trevor nodded, holding a hand up to stop him from speaking, Trevor spoke. "How is Dust?" Benn let out a breath. "Fine, just tired. So Ace is in seastone, but fine otherwise." Trevor nodded. "Good good." Trevor then looked at the small map they had in the media room. "We should be there in a few days, hopefully only 2, if the wind agrees." The Den Den nodded. "We'll arrive around the same time. The wind is against us, so it should be kind to you." Trevor nodded. "Why did Dust come to you and not us?" The Den Den shrugged. "We are a bit closer in distance, and he knew where we were. He may not have known exactly where you were. Ace visited us before he left for the assignment. And, he's used to coming to us." Trevor nodded. "True. We'll see you soon." The Den Den nodded. "We will."

The Den Den then went back to sleep, and Trevor sighed. "Well, things happen. We should change course and head towards Imjado." They should, and Whitebeard sent Marco to do so, the man looking worried. He just hoped Ace was alright. But according to Benn, Ace was fine, but in seastone chains. He hoped the other was right and that Ace wasn't injured. They then changed course and after 2 days, they were at the island, Shanks and his crew were already there. Shanks then told them the plan he had formed, which was a good one, before they charged at the mansion. It was big enough so Whitebeard could walk inside unhindered, so they were on the outlook for other people his size. Trevor did mention that many nobles just had huge mansions because they could, so they could relax about that, but it never hurt to be on the alert. They did meet some people as they were searching the mansion, and they were quickly dealt with. One mentioning a prisoner in the torture room, so they headed towards there. When they got to what was most likely the right door he became worried. There was blood pooling under the door. That couldn't be good.

Shanks however, just waved his hand. "Nah, don't worry. If there's blood under the door, it means Ace is fine." Whitebeard blinked. "How does that make sense?" Shanks hummed. "Ace is amazing, you can't capture him. I am 99.9 percent sure that it's not Ace's blood." Okay, that was reassuring. And as Izou was done lockpicking, he blinked when the door opened to reveal a huge room with chains and tables. He didn't see Ace at first glance, and felt his spirit fall a bit. "Well, look at you." said Shanks, looking upwards. And when the captain followed his gaze, he saw Ace close to the roof, trying to pry the lock open with a knife, or some other item. Ace looked at Shanks with a stupid look, his mouth looking swollen and half open for some reason. It had Shanks give a hiss. "They broke your jaw?" Ace nodded. "Yeh. They did." Whitebeard didn't know you could speak with a broken jaw, but apparently that wasn't the case. Ace sounded a bit strained, but he still managed to speak. "Who has the key?" Asked Shanks, and Ace pointed to a body on the ground. Trevor went over and found the key, then moved to be under Ace, throwing the key up. Ace then let go of the chain, making the captain give a shocked sound as he expected Ace to fall, but he just swayed back and forth as he had fastened the chain to his leg. He grabbed the key and held it in one hand, using the other to hold onto the chain, unlock it before grabbing onto a hook in the ceiling. "You should move." He said to Trevor, who did, just before one of the chains fell down to the ground, the other soon following. Trevor then moved under Ace and held his hands out. "I'll catch you!" which had Shanks whine. "I wanna catch him!"

Trevor just shrugged, before he could speak, Ace took a breath and he disappeared and appeared on the ground. When he appeared, it was clear his leg was in bad shape. "What's with your leg?" Ace sighed. "They put seastone in the modified bear trap." Trevor hissed at that. "Ouch." Ace nodded, and managed to limp over to Benn, before the captain could wonder why, the older man had moved his hands to Ace's jaw, checking it out. "It's both broken and dislocated. What did they use? A bat?" Ace shook his head. "No, he used his hands. Ever heard of Haki?" It was somewhat muffled as Benn had placed a couple fingers in his mouth. "Okay, this might work." He said before he moved to jerk his hand a bit, and a loud popping sound was heard.. Ace moved a hand to cradle his jaw. "Ouch, but it feels better." Benn nodded. "But it's still broken. You should have Bay check it out." Ace just gave a sigh, not saying anything, obviously not wanting that. But Ace should.

"So," Started Trevor, "What happened? You kill your target?" Ace nodded, pointing to a body. "Yeah, he's there." Trevor nodded. "Good. Need any help to get back to the boat?" Ace nodded and Trevor made his way over, to his left side, sliding Ace's arm over his shoulder, before starting the slow journey back to the ship, all of them following. "So," Started Shanks. "How did this happen?" Ace sighed. "Stepped wrong as I was being chased. They hit me with a seastone needle, the modified bear trap was worse as it was actually a strong seastone." Shanks nodded. "I see. But you managed." Ace nodded. "Thankfully." Ace then moved a hand to his jaw. "But damn, my jaw hurts." Trevor shrugged. "But you can speak, so it's not that bad." That was true, it couldn't be too bad since Ace could speak fine, or mostly fine, It was a bit mumbled, but not very much. Ace nodded. "But it still hurts." Trevor waved his hand. "It will be healed in a bit. Right?" Ace sighed. "Maybe a little more than a bit. It will be healed by tomorrow, I think." Trevor then chuckled. "Maybe this is karma. You broke Soul's jaw, so they broke yours." Ace gave a tired look to Trevor. "Are you done? I am sick of you." Trevor lifted an eyebrow. "My, you really are annoyed." Ace deadpanned. "And you're not helping." Trevor shrugged. "Not trying to help." They then reached the ship and Trevor helped Ace get to Bay. They came back half an hour later, Ace having a cane he was leaning on as he walked. He did have bandages around his leg, but his jaw didn't have anything on it, but he guessed it would be fine in a bit. They then set sail again, Shanks joining them for a while, before they went their own ways.

Ace was fine for now, he would just need to use the cane for a day or two. Many did givet Ace worried glances, as he was very rarely injured, but he just waved it off, saying it would be fine.

-x-

Marco entered his room, Ace following him inside as they were thinking of relaxing for a while. Ace was probably tired from being taken prisoner and then needing to try and get out, as well as being injured. Ace was moving along in a normal fashion, save for the cane. It was obvious he had used one before as he had no issues walking at his regular speed. Ace moved to sit on the bed, Marco sitting beside him. "How are you? Your leg, yoi." Ace chuckled. "It's fine, it just hurts a bit when I move." Marco nodded, glad it wasn't worse. "How long will you take to heal?" Ace hummed. "Maybe a day, two tops." That was quite a long time for Ace, he had a feeling it was since he had been imprisoned and then needed to try and get himself out, making himself tired. "Want to relax for a bit, yoi?" Ace nodded. "Yeah, I would like that." They then moved to lie down in bed, having taken off their shoes and such, and when they were lying, Ace moved a hand to his chest. "By the way, Whitebeard mentioned you helped him solve a certain riddle." Marco nodded. "Yeah, I did. I didn't know what the riddle was about at first. But I figured it out, yoi." Ace nodded. "I'm not surprised. You're a smart man, Marco." Marco chuckled. "I find it amazing that darkness can be its own power." Ace chuckled. "Everyone usually is, it's the reason no one thinks of it. I can do many interesting things." Marco nodded. "I can imagine. I would like to see more of your powers, yoi." Ace chuckled. "Everyone does, just wait until I'm done with my training." Marco nodded, he could do that. "I will, yoi." Ace nodded a bit, closing his eyes. "Mhm, let's relax for now." Marco nodded, bringing a hand to be over Ace's back, stroking it. It didn't take long for Ace to fall asleep. He had been away for a few days and most likely hadn't slept much, or at all, during that time, so it was no wonder he was tired. Marco decided to sleep a bit himself, he could do with an hour in bed, he had the night shift anyway so it would be best to get some sleep now.

When he woke up a bit later, Ace was still asleep, and Marco turned to look at the clock. He had slept for an hour and kept his hand on Ace's back and stroked it, hoping Ace would sleep for a while. Marco would stay as long as he could, which was a few more hours, he didn't need to do anything until the clock was closer to 10pm, and it was only 4pm now. Ace slept for two more before he woke up with a breath, seeming relaxed. They then headed out on deck, wanting to enjoy the rest of the day.

-x-

Whitebeard sat out on deck, glad to see Ace was doing fine when he appeared again around 6. He was still leaning on the cane as he walked, but he was doing fine. The rest of the day went by without any issues, and when the weather turned grey as evening came, they headed into the galley, and as they were there, some chatter started up, Haruta asking a question to everybody. "What was a fun game you played when you were young?" Thatch hummed. "Hide and seek was the funnest." A few others on the table nodded. "Yeah, it was amazing. That or hopscotch." Said Izou, and more nodded with that. "How about you, Ace?" Asked Curiel, looking at the young assassin, who gave a hum. "Ah, 30 seconds." All of them blinked, aside from Trevor, who nodded. "It was fun. But you were always the best, you even handled 60 seconds." Thatch raised a hand. "What game is that? Can we play it?" Trevor nodded. "You can. You just need a stopwatch, and then you close your eyes-" Ace chuckled. "Or just keep them open." Trevor waved at Ace. "Easier with your eyes closed. And then you start the stopwatch, count 'till 30, and press stop. If it hits the mark, you win!" All of them blinked. "That," Started Thatch. "That is a game for kids? Sounds like work. Boring." Ace shrugged. "We liked it. I've played it since I was like 11." Trevor nodded. "And Ace is the best at it. He can count seconds perfectly. It was used as a game to teach us how to count right, but it was fun in our eyes. Better than other kinds of training." Ace nodded. "Training was hell. Literally hell. I don't know how many teeth I lost or how many times I broke a bone. I detested training for so long, until I started getting it right." Trevor chuckled. "I liked watching you get beat up. It meant it wasn't me." Mika nodded. "Same. But it was needed." Both the other assassins nodded. It was clear they had been through some hard training, but it was needed so they knew how to defend themselves and how to fight. They hadn't gotten to where they were by luck, it was a lot of training, and hard work.

Izou then frowned as he looked at Mika and Trevor. "Did you never lose any teeth? Didn't you have the same training?" Trevor blinked. "Oh, you don't know." Izou frowned, as well as them. "Know what?" Trevor opened his mouth and moved a hand to his front tooth, before he took it out, more teeth following. Trevor had a prosthesis for his teeth, seeming to be 5 that were missing. Trevor then took out another prothessis from the bottom teeth, which was 3 teeth. "We lost teeth too. We just have these prostheses." Mika nodded, stating that she had them as well. Everyone looked at the pair in shoc, Haruta finding her words first. "You both have missing teeth?" Trevor nodded. "We all do. Ace can regenerate teeth, so he doesn't miss any. But all assassins have missing teeth. Comes with the work." It probably did. Trevor then put the prosthetic teeth inside his mouth again, seemingly unfazed by their reaction. Everyone understood that it was normal for them, and normal chatter started back up.

The rest of the evening went by fine, same with supper. When the next day came, he was glad to see Ace without the cane, seeming to walk just fine. He did probably have some wounds left, but it was obviously healed. As morning moved by, they got to a small island with a huge mansion on it. Both Trevor and Ace seemed interested in the place, so when they docked, they all headed to the mansion, where a fight quickly started. It was a house belonging to some blue blooded patrician, so Ace and Trevor joined the fight and fought their way inside the mansion, killing everyone they met. Ace and Trevor were the best fighters and got ahead of them, seeming to head for a specific target, most likely the leader, and the captain let them do their thing. It was still amazing to see them in action, to see how good they were at fighting. After they had fought everyone, they soon started to recover and gather supplies. Ace and Trevor joined them, and as they were searching, they soon stumbled upon a small room that smelled bad. When they got inside the room, Ace crouched next to the mass of what looked to be burned wood, a hand touching it before he sighed. "Charred remains. Let's search for survivors. Only Mika and Trevor are allowed to come." The captain understood why, and would listen to Ace. "We will search for supplies here." Ace nodded and the assassins headed through a door, most likely heading to a dungeon of some kind. They continued to search for supplies, and it was an hour later before the assassins came up again, three small children in tow. They all looked to be in a bad shape, but not as bad as some of the other children they had helped. These also seemed to be older, maybe around 5-7, but they might be older, looking younger from malnourishment due to having been here for so long. He hoped that wasn't the case, but they would need to see.

So when they had gathered all the supplies and transported them back to the boat, they headed to the meeting room, to hear how the children were. So when the assassins appeared, no one spoke as they sat down. "Okay," Ace began. "We have Abigail, the oldest at 9, then we have Maria, 6, and Felix, 7, who are siblings it seems. They have suffered only minor physical damage ." Whitebeard frowned. But before he could speak, Ace continued. "There were many dead ones, so there might have been psychological tortured. Very normal for a Blue blooded patrician. They do have some scarring and wounds, but nothing bad. Just some whip marks, cigarette burns, and things like it." Thatch blinked. "Just? How is that just?! That's horrible! Call it horrible! Don't be so calm!" Whitebeard had to agree with Thatch, but he also knew what Ace saw at times, so this was nothing bad in comparison. He remembers the other children they had saved, and they had much more damage. Ace gave a sigh. "What do you want me to do? Yell? Scream? Cry?" Thatch looked lost for a few seconds, before he spoke. "I- I don't know! But react!" Ace sighed again. "This is just another day, just another day where we help people." That had Thatch bite his teeth together, being reminded what Ace's work was and how horrible it could be. This was just another day for Ace, another day where they saw the horrors of the world.

They sat and waited in the meeting room for Bay, wanting to hear how bad the damage was. After an hour had passed, Bay finally came in, "Well, they aren't too hurt, but they are small for their age. They have been there since they were young; it seems like, and Maria and Felix since they were born. Abigail wouldn't say when she got there. Abigail is the most injured, she shows signs of sexual abuse, and physical abuse. There are burns and wounds on her body from whips, knives, and other instruments which I can't identify. Maria and Felix have the same kinds of wounds, but neither show signs of sexual abuse, thankfully. But some of the wounds are bad, mostly from a whip, a bit from burning and knives, and have a lot of bruises from being tossed and beaten around. It could have been a lot worse, so they seem to be lucky in a way. It is still bad, but it's manageable. Any questions?" Whitebeard had at least one. "Did you find out where they previously lived?" Bay sighed, shaking her head. "No, they wouldn't say. But it seems like Maria and Felix were born in captivity, so they might need to be taught how to use the toilet." Everyone frowned at that, Thatch speaking up. "But they are like 6 and 7? They know how to go to the bathroom; they learn that at like 2." Ace sighed with Bay, Ace first speaking. "One of the more deplorable aspects of being imprisoned or being a slave. You think you're going to be shown to a toilet when you need to go? No, you don't, you need to hope you find a good place to go, which is rare, especially if you're in cuffs." Everyone blinked, taking that information in. Ace was right, the captain had never really thought about that aspect of imprisonment. Ace knew this more than most, not only since he helped people that were in situations like that, but he might have been in a situation like that himself. The risks Ace took were enormous, and Ace knew more than most what it meant to be imprisoned, probably one of the reasons he was such a huge help for those who came from a background like it. When you have been in a situation like that yourself and know what they needed more than most. Mika snorted. "Try having your period while imprisoned, that sucks." Whitebeard nodded in understanding. Haruta shuddered, knowing what it was like to have a period. "Wait," Started Izou, "They were born in imprisonment? Who would have children in prison?!" Trevor gave a look to Izou. "You think their mother had a choice? You think they are the outcome of a willing act?" Izou opened his mouth a few times, before he shook his head. "No, or I didn't think of that." Trevor let out a breath. "Next time, think. Sometimes I feel as if I need to explain every little thing." Izou nodded, feeling bad for his thoughtlessness. Izou should have used a second to think, they all needed to.

Bay sighed. "For now, they are doing okay, and I hope they will improve while they are with us. We should try and head to islands close by." They were close to familiar waters, so they knew which islands they could avoid. They even had a few controlled islands close by, around a week or two away. Bay headed out, and they spoke about where to head first, choosing a neutral island close by. Ace did say he would try and find out where the kids were from, or where their parents were from. Apparently, none of the deceased at the mansion were old enough to be their parents. There were some charred remains, as well as some skeletons, which could have been, but they would need to see what the children said. As they continued their regular activities, they didn't see much of the children, only the back of their heads during meals, when they ate in the kitchen. Ace was with them, along with some nurses. When evening came, the captain was out with Marco, they eventually got to the topic of the children, the captain wanted to voice a thought he had. "I was thinking,, if we're close to places like that island, we can dock and try to find anyone who needs help. Like those children." Marco nodded, before he sighed, giving a look to the captain. "Yeah, we can, yoi. But, if we do, I don't want Ace to have responsibility for them." Whitebeard nodded as he frowned, sure there must be a reason for that. "Why do you say that, son?" Marco exhaled. "It's just... I know he seems fine, but honestly, he isn't. Ace really isn't fine, yoi. When those kids were here, the other ones, it really affected Ace… badly. It brought up unwanted memories. I am sure he barely slept those days. The few times he slept, he had really bad night terrors." Whitebeard sighed, fearing that was the reason. Ace was a kid with a lot of issues and seeing those children probably didn't help. "I see, son. I'll try to, but I can't stop him if he wants to help." "I know. And he probably wants to help, but it really affects him, badly." Whitebeard nodded. He hasn't seen any signs of Ace having issues with them, but Marco saw Ace more, especially during the night-time. "For now," Continued the captain. "We will help these kids get to a safe place, hopefully their homes." The captain really hoped they would find out where the kids lived and take them there. Their parents were probably worried, or Abigail's, at least, she was taken captive at an early age. Perhaps they could locate some relatives of the siblings.

When the next day came, the children ate breakfast in the galley with them. The captain was glad to see the children were doing fine and ate calmly. When breakfast was over, the children sat close to the deck's railing. They seemed to be trying to enjoy the sun, but seemed a little scared and unsure, which he understood. Ace was also close to them. His presence seemed to calm them. He had been the one to save them, along with Trevor and Mika. But Ace seemed to handle the kids best. Overall, the day progressed without incident. However, when dinner time came, they were all served beef which caused the children to suddenly burst out crying, shocking everyone and leaving them feeling concerned for the children. They were uncertain of what triggered that reaction. Ace calmly lifted both Maria and Felix and left the galley, Tifa moving to carry Abigail. They were most likely headed to the infirmary or the room the kids had been given, taking them away from whatever had upset them. It had happened when the food was served, so the captain had a feeling it had to do with that.

They saw neither Ace, the children, Tifa or any of the other nurses for the rest of the meal. Individuals who had left the infirmary were unable to update them on the children. After an hour more, Ace appeared, asking to speak with everyone in private, so they headed to the meeting room. When they were all seated, Ace finally spoke. "I got out of Abigail why the meat had them upset." Whitebeard nodded, curious to know why, but patiently waiting for Ace to continue."They were starved- both their parents along with them. But they needed something to eat. So, the Blue-Blooded Patricians took their parents, bound them, and severed each toe, offering it as food. They were starved, they had to. When no more fingers or toes were available, the parents were lit on fire. Burned alive. Abigail said, and I quote, 'I remember the smell and their screams.' They were left alone with the dead bodies for days. They were made to eat their own parents in order to survive." Whitebeard moved a hand to his face. That was horrible, and no wonder they had reacted to the meat, it probably reminded them of their parents. These Blue-Blooded Patricians were horrible people, and they deserved to die. To think Ace worked with them regularly was horrible, and the knowledge that there were so many of them still around.

Thatch sat still, looking sick. "You're kidding, right? This is some horrid joke? They were forced to eat their parents?!" Ace nodded. "They were. That's why they have nowhere to go to, they have no one left. So now comes the question: where should we put them? They need an island to go to." Whitebeard nodded. The kids needed a new home. "How about one of our islands close by? There are many children there and I am sure someone will take them in." Ace nodded. "We can do that. You're thinking of this island, right?" Said Ace as he pointed to the map. "The one that's around 5 days away?" Whitebeard nodded. "Yes." Ace then looked at Trevor. "What do you think?" Trevor shrugged. "Sounds good. The kids need somewhere to go." Thatch made a motion. "How are you so calm?! Why do you never react?!" Ace sighed. "Again, what do you want me to do? Cry?" Thatch moved his hands to his head, looking worked up and at a loss for words. "Maybe!? I don't know… But you never react! How bad must it be for you to react! Please react!" Ace shook his head. "Just because I don't cry, or scream and shout, doesn't mean I don't react. This is just another day, another day where we help people. This might be horrible, but it's just another day for us." Ace then folded the paper he had, and left, most likely heading to Bay to hear how the kids were. And as the door closed, Trevor sighed. "I said it before, and I will say it again. Smile, because it confuses people. Because it's easier than explaining what's killing you inside." Whitebeard let out a breath, knowing both Ace and Trevor were right. This was a normal day for them, probably an easy day for them. And as Trevor said, Ace often had a neutral look upon his face, but he was conflicted on the inside, that's what Marco saw, more than anyone, being there to see his nightmares. He knew Marco was worried for Ace, worried about him helping these kids as it brought unwanted memories back to him. Ace had a lot of issues, and the captain hoped one day, Ace would be open enough to share them with him, so he could try and help too.

"Also," Started Trevor, looking at Thatch, "You don't want Ace to cry, or react like that. The times he does, things have really gone to hell. You want him to handle it calmly, because that means it's not as bad as it could have been." Thatch blinked. "Wait, so he does react at times?" Trevor sighed. "He always reacts, just different than you. He usually reacts by drinking, but he has reacted by throwing things, crying, screaming, you name it. I don't want Ace to react because that means it's really bad. I want him to be calm." That was true. The captain still remembers the one time he had seen Ace cry, when he had killed a small young boy and was thanked for it. He had seen Ace drinking many times and would probably be drinking tonight. The captain hoped he could be with Ace, if he was out, or that Marco could be with him. "Have," Started Thatch. "Have you ever eaten…" Trevor lifted an eyebrow. "Human?" Thatch nodded, making Trevor sigh. "I haven't personally, but I know Ace has." Trevor then looked at Mika. "Have you?" Mika let out a breath, hands raising up to hold around herself. "I have. I- I don't like to think back to that." Trevor nodded, moving a hand to be around Mika, giving her a small hug. "It's okay." Sometimes, Thatch asked questions that weren't always the best to ask, but he thankfully didn't ask more questions, just swallowing at the response. Eating humans was bad, but they had probably needed to, being in difficult situations. It was probably a bad memory for Mika, and for Ace as well, and he hoped Thatch wouldn't ask more about it. For now, he hoped the children would be alright, and that Ace would be fine as well. He might be out drinking, and the captain would be sure to see if Ace was outside. They stayed in the meeting room for a while, before Mika left stating that she needed to do something, and when she was gone, Thatch asked. "I wonder what human meat tastes like. Eating iit sounds so unthinkable, but I guess sometimes you just need to." Trevor let out a breath. "If you have to either starve to death or eat a dead person, what would you choose?" Thatch swallowed. "I- I don't know." Trevor sighed. "Believe me, you would eat a human to survive if he was already dead. Some kill others to survive. And no, Ace has never killed to eat someone, I know that much." Thatch nodded and accepted it. Light chatter started up, everyone trying to unwind from the prior discovery, before they headed out of the meeting room and continued their day.

When night came, Whitebeard made his way outside, walking to the back of the ship, where he saw Ace standing close to the railing, a bottle in hand. The captain made his way over, offering a smile when he was next to Ace, who was relaxing with his eyes closed. "Good evening, son." The young assassin gave a small nod in return, and the captain asked. "How are you feeling?" Ace sighed. "Okay. Could have been better, could have been worse. This just reminds me of something I don't want to remember." Whitebeard nodded. Things could have been worse, and it probably reminded Ace about the time he needed to eat human meat, an unpleasant mission all over. Ace stood in silence after that, and the captain guessed he could stand with Ace as company. Ace did take a swig of the booze now and then, the contents slowly getting less and less. "What are you drinking?" Ace frowned a bit, lifting the bottle to look at it. "I forget. Either 88 or 92 percent." Whitebeard nodded. "Why doesn't it have a label?" Ace let out a breath. "I take it off. It upsets people if I don't." Whitebeard understood that. It would be upsetting to see someone drowning their sorrows and pains with alcohol that strong. He understood that it was a habit Ace had, but he wished he wouldn't hide it. "You don't need to hide it." Ace gave a small chuckle. "I am used to doing it. It just comes naturally to me now." Whitebeard nodded. "When did you start drinking?" Ace sighed. "Around 15, I believe. When I started to go on my own assignments." It must be hard being an assassin. It was a cruel world, so when he saw the horrors of the world on his own, it would be too much to handle without having an outlet. Ace's outlet is drinking, even though the captain doesn't like it. He wished Ace had a different outlet, a healthier one. He didn't know what, but one that didn't involve drinking. "Have you ever tried a different method?" Ace chuckled. "Aside from drugs?" The captain nodded, and Ace hummed. "I did fight for a while, it helped, but it just made things worse in the end." Whitebeard frowned. "How so?" Ace shook his head at that, and the captain nodded, accepting that.

They stood in silence for a while, and after half an hour, Marco came from around a corner, moving to stand beside Ace. "Hi, yoi." Ace gave a smile to the other. "Hi." Whitebeard gave a chuckle to the first commander. "Not going to ask me to go to my room, Marco?" Marco shook his head. "I guess you have either slept or will later. It's not that late, just past midnight." That had the captain nod, he thought it was much later than that. Ace sighed at that. "I wish it was later." Marco moved a hand to Ace's. The captain understood why. If it was later, it meant the next day was close by. The assassin probably wanted this day to finally be over. Ace would hopefully sleep in later, since he was drinking, quite heavily too, the bottle was almost empty. It had been half empty when he came out with Ace. They then stood and spoke about different things, enjoying the night. When Ace had finished the bottle, he used his powers to destroy the bottle. As they continued speaking, Ace moved to lean against Marco, head coming to rest upon the first commander's shoulder, Marco moving a hand out to hold Ace steady. It made the captain smile, he always enjoyed seeing Ace and Marco being close. He stood and spoke with Marco after that untilMarco let out a sigh. "We should head inside, Ace has fallen asleep, yoi." The captain nodded. "We should. Have a good night, son." Marco nodded. "You too, Pops." Marco then moved to lift Ace up in his arms and began walking back to their room. The captain also headed to his room, wanting to relax a bit before the day started.

-x-

Marco moved into his room, placing Ace down on his bed, Ace made a small motion with his head before he relaxed. He was probably really drunk, this whole ordeal was hard for Ace. Marco then moved to lie down in the bed himself, sliding a hand over Ace's middle, before he relaxed. Ace would be asleep for a small while. It wasn't long before Marco fell asleep as well. When he woke up later, he was alone in bed. When he looked at the clock, he saw he had been asleep for almost 5 hours. Ace had hopefully only woken up a little before him. Marco hoped he had gotten a good night's sleep. He knew Ace slept longer when drunk, but not by much. Marco then made his way outside, glad to see Ace looking fine when he saw him out on deck. The children were already out, and they were close to Ace, or Ace was close to them. Tifa was the nurse with them today, as they had a rule to always have a nurse out with them, just in case. The last children had needed that, these seemed to be in better condition, but it never hurt to be on the lookout for anything wrong.

When it was nearing breakfast time, they all headed to the galley, the kids sitting and speaking with each other, seeming to enjoy themselves. There wouldn't be any, or at least, very little meat during the next few days. At least while the children were with them, seeing as it upset them. Eating human meat to survive was obviously a painful memory for them and forAce and Mika too. He at least seemed to have slept well, and without experiencing a nightmare. But there had been times when Ace had managed to hide it and sneak outside, but the first commander hoped that hadn't happened last night, and that it wouldn't happen in the next few days either.

The next few days went by fine, and the kids seemed to be doing well, all things considered. From what Ace had said, making the two children learn to use the toilet was easy as they were old enough to understand it. They also hadn't had any meat, Thatch being inventive and finding other kinds of food they could eat. The closest to meat they had had was mashed potatoes with sausage. They were nearing the island the kids would stay on and Ace had said so to the kids about them staying there. They were nervous about it, which he got. The kids hadn't been in a safe place for a long time. They were about a day away, so they would arrive tomorrow, hopefully around noon. When evening came, they all headed to bed. Ace was sleeping with him in his bed tonight, having slept the other night in the kid's room. But for tonight, Ace was sleeping with him and Marco always enjoyed that.

Marco woke up when he felt movement, opening his eyes. Ace was sitting up in bed, a hand on his chest, breathing hard. Marco moved to sit up as well. "Hey, how are you?" Ace nodded, trying to take deep breaths. "Okay, I'm okay." Marco had a feeling Ace was trying to convince himself more than him. "Did you have a nightmare, yoi?" Ace nodded as he continued taking deep breaths, Marco moving a hand to Ace's back and stroked it, hoping it would help. It did seem to help as Ace looked to be calming down. Ace abruptly stood up, moving over to his desk, taking something out, some kind of pill, taking two dry. Marco frowned at that. "What are they, yoi?" He was scared it was some kind of drug. Ace shook his head. "Sleeping pills, I am not getting up now." Marco looked at his clock, seeing it was barely past midnight. He got why Ace wouldn't wake up now and wanted to continue sleeping instead. Marco moved to sit up more, swinging his legs off the bed. Marco patted the space beside him on the bed. "Come sit, Ace." Ace did, and when he was seated, Marco moved a hand to Ace's. "Do you want to talk about it, yoi?" Ace was on his way to answer when Marco continued. "Please don't say no. You need to talk about it." Ace sighed. "What do you want me to say?" Marco squeezed Ace's hand. "The truth. No matter how horrific, I want the truth. How are you, really, yoi?" Ace sighed again, moving his hands to his face. "I don't know. Honestly, I don't know." Marco nodded. "Okay, I can work with that, yoi. What about this is the worst? Which memories were brought forward?" Ace sighed again, hands moving down to Marco's. "It's a mix of just being imprisoned and eating humans." Marco nodded. He understood that. There was a lot about being imprisoned Marco couldn't imagine, and that one forgot to consider, like how one would use the toilet. And there were probably many other aspects he didn't know about. "How often have you eaten humans?" Ace gave a breath. "Five…yeah, five times, 6 people." Marco nodded. "What situation was it? What happened, yoi?" Ace sighed, looking at him with a compassionate look. "You really want to hear this?" Marco nodded. "I do, I really do. I want to know what's going on in your head." Ace sighed, before he nodded. "Fine, okay."

Ace took a breath. "It was during an imprisonment down south. I had been there for 5 days and I had nothing to eat. Then this woman was brought in, she was kind, really kind and I felt so bad she was there. She was really kind to me and helped heal my wounds- nothing bad, just some broken bones- and she didn't even know me. She had 2 children with her, which she had tried to save, but it didn't go as planned and she was captured. Then the noble came and took her. They could have taken me, but she went up to them and just punched one of the guys and they took her instead. I couldn't move much, so I couldn't go instead of her. She gave me this warm smile, telling me it would be fine. And when she was returned, she was in so much pain. They had torn the tendons in her legs, cut out her tongue, raped her repeatedly until she was just a bleeding mess. She was in so much pain, and the children were crying and wanting her to move and get up and be fine, but she just couldn't. We didn't have anything, but there were rocks around." Marco nodded, having a feeling where this was headed and squeezed Ace's hand as he continued. "I couldn't let her suffer anymore, so I grabbed a rock," Marco saw Ace's eyes well up with tears, "And I smashed her head in. The kids, I told them to not watch, but they did, and-" A couple tears fell from Ace's eyes. "-And when I was done, they blamed me. They thought I was the one that killed her- I was, but they only blamed me, not the nobles- and after 15 more days, we got hungry, so hungry, and we ate her. The children were so opposed to it, but I couldn't let them die too, I needed to save someone. So, I tricked them into eating her. The other times I've eaten humans, they were just dead humans in the prisons. I've rarely met someone as kind, some who just sacrificed herself so selflessly, for someone she didn't know. And I needed to trick the children she saved into eating her."

Marco nodded, bringing Ace into a hug. Ace moved to hug him back, speaking with a shaky breath. "I never got over it, that I had to kill her and then trick the children into eating her." Marco nodded, stroking Ace's back. "Did she have a name?" Ace nodded and used a second before he spoke. "Leyla. She was only 30 years old. I never like to think about it. I wish I could just forget." Marco got that, it was a horrible thing, that Ace was in a situation like that. "How old were you?" Ace sighed. "18." That was young, and the woman, Leyla, had probably wanted to help Ace because he was so young. Marco held Ace for a few minutes, before he moved away, giving a smile to Ace, who had red eyes. "I know it won't help, but you did the right thing, you did. How did you get out?" Ace sighed. "I healed and managed to take out a guard and use his weapons.. We fought our way out. I returned the next day and killed the noble." Marco nodded. He was glad this noble was dead; he didn't deserve to live. "You did right by her. She probably would have died anyway." Marco hoped it would help, and Ace nodded. "I know, and I try to tell myself that, but it's just so hard." Marco got that;it was a tough situation for Ace to have been in. Marco then gave a small frown. "Trevor said you'd never killed to eat someone. Thatch asked about it." Ace nodded. "I always lied about that night, both to others and myself." Marco nodded. It was gruesome and Ace probably didn't want to think about it at all, so had lied to Trevor and the others. But it meant a lot to Marco that Ace told him the truth.

Marco was on his way to ask something else when Ace spoke instead. "Can we discuss this later? These sleeping pills work fast." Marco nodded, moving to lie down in bed again, moving a hand to be on Ace's back when he also laid down, stroking it. He was glad Ace had spoken with him about this, Ace was opening up and trusting him more.

-x-

Izou was standing out on deck, enjoying the day when Ace moved over to him, leaving the children with Tifa. "Izou, I have a question." Izou nodded, looking at Ace. "Sure, what is it?" Ace chuckled. "Could you make an assassin outfit for me?" Izou blinked. "Isn't the one you have pretty new?" Izou believed it was, just some months old. Ace nodded. "It is, but I would like one that's more… sleek. I miss my original one. You know, the red one." Izou nodded, thinking back to the time he had seen it. "Yeah, that was a nice outfit." Ace nodded. "It was, and it was much easier to put on. The one I have now has so many components." Izou nodded. "I can see that. It may take some time, but I will do my best." Ace nodded. "That is all I ask. Tell me if you need anything for it." Izou nodded. "I will." Ace then moved away and izou headed to his room, dragging out his best red fabric, getting started on it right away. He was going to make Ace's next assassin outfit! This was big! He wouldn't tell anyone about it whilst he was working on it, he wasn't sure if it would be usable.

-x-

Whitebeard sat out on deck, looking at the island they were heading for, glad they had good wind, so the ride was smooth. When they docked a couple of hours later, they asked to see the mayor, knowing he was a kind man. When the mayor appeared, he looked worried, probably since he had never been asked for. When he was on the boat, Whitebeard spoke. "We found 3 small children in a bad place, and they need a new home. Would they be welcomed here?" The mayor nodded. "Of course they will be. Where are they from?" Whitebeard sighed. "They come from a bad place." The mayor nodded. "Let me just," He then turned to look at the dock. "Ingrid, could you come up here?" A woman nodded and moved to board the boat. When she was beside him, the mayor spoke. "I am sure Ingrid could take a child in; she is a good mother." Ingrid blinked, before she smiled, seeing the three small kids. "I would love to help." That was good, he was glad they wanted to help.

As Whitebeard was about to speak again, Ingrid turned to look at the island. "Johannes! Kom deg inn! Nå!" Whitebeard knew they spoke another language here, and it always sounded so strange. It was the same language they spoke up north, or so he was told. Whitebeard turned to see where Ingrid was looking and saw a kid on the dock, who nodded. "Okay, mamma." Then the kid ran inside what was most likely their house. But the small exchange had Abigail looking shocked. "Du kan snakke?" Ingrid nodded. "Jeg kan. Overrasket over at du kan. Hvor er du fra?" Abigail seemed to think. "Jeg… jeg husker ikke. Jeg husker en høy statue av en fugl." Ingrid nodded; Whitebeard was shocked that Abigail knew this language too. "Det er noen øyer til Øst. Har du familie der?" Abigail shook her head, a sad look on her face. "Nei… de er døde." Ingrid gave a kind look. "Jeg forstår. Vil du bo hos meg? Jeg har en unge fra før, Johannes, han er 9." Abigail blinked. "Jeg er også ni!" Ingrid smiled. "Perfekt. Dere vil helt sikkert bli venner. Og dine to andre venner vil også bo her." Whatever she said seemed to make Abigail glad as she nodded. Ace then moved his hand a bit. "Det er veldig snilt at du vil ta henne inn. Men det er noen ting vi må snakke om først." Ingrid nodded, making a motion to her house. "Vi kan gjøre det hjemme hos meg. Jeg kan sende Johannes ut. Jeg vet om et par som kan ta de to andre inn, de har alltid ønsket seg barn. Så koselig å møte en pirat som kan snakke med oss." Ace chuckled. "Jeg kan mange språk. Jeg sliter litt med grammatikken noen ganger." Ingrid waved her hand. "Det går fint. Hva om du går til huset mitt mens jeg henter resten? Jeg er sikker på at de vil ta inn barna."

Ace nodded, before he looked at Whitebeard. "I will head with Ingrid to her house and have a chat with her about the kids. She knows someone who can take the other two in." The mayor nodded. "I know who she's speaking about and I agree. Could I join this meeting?" Ace nodded. "You can. Let's head over." The three then headed off the boat heading to her home. A kid came outside, moving toward the ship,asking for Abigail. The two kids started a conversation in the other language, he didn't know what they were speaking but he was glad that the kids would have a place to go. He was also worried about the conversation Ace would have with them. He wasn't worried for the people, but for Ace. This was all hard for him too, but there was nothing they could do to help. He also noticed Mika moving to speak with the two children, also speaking the language, which had him look at Trevor, who shook his head, "No, I don't speak this language. I know the grammar is hell though." Whitebeard nodded. "I also know Ace will be fine." That was good to know, but the captain would still ask Ace if he was fine later, hoping he could do it as privately as they could. Maybe when evening came, him having a feeling Ace would be out tonight.

It was an hour later that Ace came back on board the ship, a group of people in tow: Ingrid. the mayor and one unknown person. Ace made a motion to the people. "These here will take the children in. They will be neighbors." That was good to know, and Ace then faced the children. "Abigail, you will go with Ingrid. Maria and Felix, you will go with Øyvind and Jane." The kids nodded, Abigail seeming happy, the two others more reluctant, but also seemed glad to be at a place that seemed safe. And the fact that Ace said it was safe meant a lot to the kids. They stayed at the island for the rest of the day, just to make sure the kids were doing okay before they set sail again. They would be sure to visit the island next time they were close and see how the children were faring.

For now, things were fine.

---

And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed it

I know a lot happened in this chapter but I hope you enjoyed everything

As for the other language, I really wanted to try and get my native language in somewhere, but also to show that Ace can speak more languages.

Also, come check out the one shot series to this story! It contains one shots about missing scenes: past events, and alternatives to scenes

If you have any scenes you would like to see, don't be afraid to leave a comment, or send a PM

And I love feedback too; it is what keeps me going!

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-x-

Johannes! Kom deg inn nå! = Johannes! Get inside! Now!

Okay, mamma.= Okay, mom.

Du kan snakke? = You can speak?

Jeg kan. Overrasket over at du kan. Hvor er du fra? = I can. Surprised you can. Where are you from?

Jeg… jeg husker ikke. Jeg husker en høy statue av en fugl. = I… I don't remember. I remember a tall statue of a bird.

Det er noen øyer til Øst. Har du familie der? = That's some islands to the east. Do you have family there?

Nei… de er døde. = No… they are dead.

Jeg forstår. Vil du bo hos meg? Jeg har en unge fra før, Johannes, han er 9. = I understand. Would you like to stay with me? I have another child Johannes, he's 9.

Jeg er også ni! = I am also nine!

Perfekt. Dere vil helt sikkert bli venner. Og dine to andre venner vil også bo her. = Perfect. You will surely become friends. And your other friends will also stay here.

Det er veldig snilt at du vil ta henne inn. Men det er noen ting vi må snakke om først. = It is very kind that you would like to take her in. But there are a few things we need to talk about first.

Vi kan gjøre det hjemme hos meg. Jeg kan sende Johannes ut. Jeg vet om et par som kan ta de to andre inn, de har alltid ønsket seg barn. Så koselig å møte en pirat som kan snakke med oss. = We can do it at my house. I can send Johannes out. I know about a couple that would take the other two in, they've always wanted children. How nice to meet a pirate that can speak with us.

Jeg kan mange språk. Jeg sliter litt med grammatikken noen ganger. = I know many languages. I have issues with the grammar at times.

Det går fint Hva om du går til huset mitt mens jeg henter resten? Jeg er sikker på at de vil ta inn barna. = It is fine. How about I go get the rest? I am sure they would take the children in.