Author's Notes: No shoutouts this time. I wasn't sure about which clip to post, but I think I want Figarland and Nesi's scene up as part of the ending chapters. I don't know much about his character, but his design is by far one of the wackiest I've seen for a villain type of character and that's generous considering One Piece's art style. I am curious about him, though. He gives me Lord Castamere vibes as in I hear that song cue up when I look at him. So far, I've seen speculation that he's Shanks's actual father. I don't know if that's true but it's interesting. I won't assume that he is here, but I like his presence and attitude so I'm using him as simply the leader of the Holy Knights and new mentor to Nesi for a short period of time. Anyways, in this scene, Figarland asks Nesi about times when she went against her leaders including Ace. This is probably the first clip out of all the bonus clips that's in order. It happens directly after Nesi speaks to Shanks.

~ ... Vespa Virgin ... ~

"My lord. The girl requests time for prayer," the escort informed.

Figarland turned to him as acknowledgement before returning his attention to his view of the approaching night. He entertained the idea that the redheaded boy came to him out of concern instead of apprehension like before, but it was quickly put out of his mind from that humble request from the little girl. He decided to test Llandala once more if she confessed to a few things from her past. She worked quietly in public and lived a very private life. Only the people she worked with knew her extensively. Those she disliked or had little opinion of didn't even know of her existence. She was awfully black and white through this privateering business. Such a thing could be useful as his messenger.

"I've no temple here. What god must the heathen pray to in my valley? She is training under the only god of judgement on this land and across the entirety of the earth," Figarland boasted with an inelegant harrumph.

"She did not say. If his lordship denies, she will simply retire later," the escort added methodically.

He snapped to the man quickly at that and demanded, "Bring the little wench to the meeting hall! I'll have no pagan tradition sully my domain!"

"Oh, you are just a treat," Nesi joked, standing behind the doorframe patiently.

Figarland was ready to confront the little welp and stomped towards her. She was unmoved by his towering form and merely locked eyes with the elder until he stood maybe a few inches from her. When he suddenly snatched her up and lifted her off the floor, she let out a grunt and then a smirk. She wasn't sure what the man hated more: her amusement or the air she breathed. There was no reason to be so hard on his trainees, but Nesi had studied under the marines before this. They weren't the nicest of gents either.

"What is the meaning of this ridiculous request, whelp?" Figarland questioned.

Nesi was slow to answer, but she looked to her side first before turning her gaze back to the angered elder. She then said, "I merely request a moment of prayer before I retire. Your restraints can remain on my person."

"Why is it that none of your other men have requested such a thing but you seem to want to?" the elder asked, narrowing his eyes.

"This, I do not know, my lord," Nesi replied respectfully, shaking her head lightly. "My practices do not involve them. This is what I do to develop my relationship with a higher power or confess to my actions."

"You are a priestess then?" Figarland asked, lowering Nesi to the floor. His interest had been gained.

"No, just a girl who honors her father's traditions," Nesi replied honestly and rather humbly. "You are within your right to reject my request. I take no offense to it. I do, however, find it odd that the leader of the Holy Knights has no temple space for prayer."

"The meeting hall would serve as such," the elder answered calmly.

"I do not mix business with my devotional practices. It is distracting and was forbidden in my home. May I use a smaller or more intimate space, my lord? A closet will do," Nesi requested.

"As appealing as shoving you in a wardrobe trunk is, I'll have no maiden locked away in such an enclosed hole. The lounging room just outside of the gardens will suffice. Need you a text?" Figarland asked, raising a brow.

"No, I brought mine when you returned me to the harbor. If you have a hymnal, I may have use for it. A small bit of bread as well. Nothing more beyond these two small things," Nesi answered softly.

"... I will bring you to your requested space. Don't dawdle," Figarland said over his shoulder as he led the way.

Nesi and the escort followed him without another word.

Figarland may have fibbed a bit at not having a temple space. The piratess was surprised by the intimate setting that she was allowed to use but said nothing. She expected the elder to flat-out say no to her in the beginning, yet here they were. She also expected the elder to be sitting on the pedestal in front of her, waiting for her to pray to him or something. If his suggestion of the meeting hall wasn't a clue to his god complex, Nesi didn't know what else would give it away. Regardless, she opened her large bible to her devotional for the night and lit candles to begin. Figarland observed what he would consider her service and silently prayed or sang with her. He didn't join her physically or verbally, just mentally. The elder would never admit it aloud, but her whispers and low tones were calming as she did communion. He didn't realize that an hour had passed once she was complete.

Just before she started confessions, he interrupted Nesi and asked, "How often do you perform this service?"

"Usually on slow or stressful days. Ideally, and maybe one day I'll commit to it, I would like to do this daily with exception to communion. Realistically, I am busy and can't always devote the time I'd like to prayer, but I make time when I can. I've prayed in the nights, though. Most people are asleep during the hours I choose. I think I've only been caught praying maybe three times," Nesi replied.

She closed her eyes and let herself be open and honest for the confessional. Figarland interrupted again with another question, "As a holy knight, should you pass these trials, you will be required to do much in your day to day. I expect you and the other men to be efficient executioners. Death violates the commandments. Do you see your actions as a will of God?"

"Not always," Nesi replied honestly. "That's why I pray and confess. I don't like having to kill because I ethically see no benefit to it. It's not a matter of honor. I never set out to be honorable. I set out to do what was best for the people. If I must kill, I would want it to be because I genuinely had no other choice. Looking through all of my options and calculating when or where my resources could be exhausted are details that I look at when making that decision. I believe serving in the military on battlefronts has shaped me for this belief in a proper manner, whereas piracy has its flaws in such refinement. The moral compass can shift drastically on the seas. The coasts have a more finite direction because the laws are firmer on land."

"I have read through your records, Llandala. There are accounts of you going against authoritative figures while on active duty such as your so-called kings and ship captains. Of all the candidates for the position of holy knight, you I trust the least," Figarland admitted, narrowing his eyes at her. "Under what pretext was such rebellion justified?"

"Slavery is punishable by death, according to the book of law, Deuteronomy 24:7, and such a mode of income is inefficient for the economy as long as machinery is able to perform the same amount of labor. I went against Lord Hawkins and the corsairs led by Redbeard because I found that there was a way for a town to be more productive and lucrative without the use of slaves. I was not aware that the war I participated in was for abolishment. I only wished to share my knowledge of a better life and to show that it was achievable. I knew full well just how lucrative slavery was. I couldn't argue against it through words or presentation of ethics. Slave masters don't see slaves as humans and have built laws surrounding this philosophe. They can't give such mercies to laborers; otherwise, there is an emotional investment that interferes with the income meant to circulate throughout the country. I had to fight that battle with numbers and results. That's what a privateer does. That's how we function. Our voices are not strong because of our abilities in combat or our reputation. We are strong because we have substantial evidence backing us," Nesi explained. "That's why I went against my own people."

"And the red-haired boy?" Figarland asked.

"A misunderstanding. He employed me to apprehend another crew planning to attack the Red Force. The privateers use sleeper bullets, or slumps, to attack prize ships. We are not allowed to harm opposing crews during an enemy ship capture mission, but he didn't know that. He just saw me shooting a bunch of people in what would've been 'cold blood'. That pissed him off, so he dismissed me from the mission. To prove that the crew was fine, I forcibly took control of the ship to steer it closer for him to see. My actions further angered him, so he dismissed me from the ship entirely. I was hurt by that, but I understood where he was coming from so I didn't argue my point anymore. The uninformed man can easily mistake me for a killer," Nesi explained. "I dunno if he would believe me or not, but I do miss hearing him and his crew laugh sometimes. I just don't trust them around ale anymore... or really big rat traps. They will break them."

"That's filthy! Your former captain, Portgas D. Ace? You both created the sea floor spread pirates are calling the Ends of the Earth," the elder said, raising a brow at Nesi's sudden silence.

Nesi smirked before saying softly, "That was just me expressing my feelings for him, I guess. The only reason why I'm next to you at all is because that bright, troublemaking boy gave me a chance. I hauled ass to prove myself to him and to earn my status as a pirate of his crew. He never gave me a rank. I was only ever his deckhand! I told him that I'd follow him to the ends of the earth until I was officially a Spade pirate, but... he lied to me. He became a Whitebeard without telling me, so, the next time I saw him, he had a brand-new crew of men I didn't recognize at all. They were after the privateer ships. I treated him kindly and let him board my ship, but he still didn't tell me the truth. So, I gave him a choice. Either he turned over the Spades to me since I built a base at my harbor for them already, or he dismisses me from the crew because I had no intention of being a Whitebeard. That was the roughest fight I had ever been in! I cried like a girl! Truly! Hehehe! I would've never fought him like that before, but I wanted to know how badly he wanted to stay with Whitebeard. What made that opportunity so much better than him being our captain? He befriended some amazing people. He had his own fleet! I didn't understand it, but...! He was clinging onto the fact that he was Gol D. Roger's son so much I... I was just never going to understand it, so I accepted my loss. I was never a Spade. I served my captain until the ends of the earth as promised. I didn't know other people called our bit of destruction that. I was dismissed from my post within a few weeks on the grounds that my relationship with a pirate crew was rendered invalid because I was never a pirate."

"Tch! Should've known you'd fall for a pirate!" Figarland remarked, rising to stand. "You can't be trusted with this role."

"He doesn't feel anything for me," Nesi said quietly. She scoffed before chuckling, "It doesn't matter. He's better off with someone else anyway. Didn't I fail your test, though? You weren't going to give me this role anyway!"

"Are you quite done here?" Figarland responded with a snippy tone.

"I'll be another thirty minutes. Confession is half the time of the devotional," Nesi answered, sighing with a smile. Guess the nice side of the elder left the building.

"Guards! Escort the whelp to her chambers when she is through."

"Sir!" the guards acknowledged, waiting at a distance while Nesi returned to her bible.

She thought about her words, turned the pages of her bible to a certain scripture, and simply let words flow out. "Heaven above, my Father who sits on the throne of grace, I humbly ask that You give me healing. Not for wounds of the flesh or sickness or disease, but... for my impure thoughts and the heartbreak I've yet to overcome. I open up my heart to You, O Father, and claim dependency on Your strength and wisdom. For my knowledge of this world is limited and I have much to learn until it is my time to see You 'pon judgement day. The truth is I... still have doubts about my place here. I am both humbled and honored that Lord Figarland wanted to test my abilities for such a precious opportunity. While I have been accused of being a government dog or worse among the pirates, I do not fault anyone for such a claim. I am a servant to the countries, and, as such, it is only natural that I be viewed as an enemy to a way of life that promises freedom. I, however, made my position clear that it is the people that I serve. The public I wish to defend. With Your guidance, I pray that You continue to lead me down the righteous path so that I may serve Your will in the way that pleases You.

Keep watch over my mother and father, O Lord. I know they are happiest with You. For they loved You on this natural plane and trained me up to worship You in all things I do. Please render Your tender mercies so that I may continue forward in my endeavors. As much as I loved my captain, our paths have parted. I only ask that You watch over him as he pursues the life he always wanted, even if that means I won't be there to see it. I do wish that I had told him how I felt sooner, but... I'm not the person he needs in life. He is very sweet, cheerful, intelligent, and well-spoken. He might like to cause trouble, but his passion to help others is just as strong as his desire for adventure. Right now, that's the type of people who satisfy him. Help him find the friends he does need and the love he deserves. I ask that you give me the capacity to love his new family and friends as though they were an extension of him and help me respect them as I respected him. 'Til the ends of the earth, I have followed him. My heart... is broken, but my love... is not gone.

I am grateful for the times we did have together and the teachings he did give me. I am equally as grateful that I was his wife, even if it was by accident! Hehehe! I didn't mean to push him away so much. In truth, I did want the marriage to be real, but... not if it took away what he wanted to do in life. Our dreams are different. His life revolves around the One Piece and the man who created it. Mine doesn't. That's what I understood from our last fight, but I don't know if that interpretation was right. Give me the wisdom I need to understand him. Give me the strength I need to move on. I accept that I loved Ace as a man. That I still do. I only ask that my heart be released from his hold, so that he may live his life freely and that I may live mine dutifully. I believe I am healed, and it is done.

Amen."

Plop. She gasped when felt tears on her hands. Heartbreak wasn't easy to overcome. There had to be a way to get over her beloved captain and the crush she had on him. She was sure there was. Perhaps on her return home from Godland Valley, she'd use that time to let go of her feelings. Above all else, she'd rather Ace be happy and free to live his life. She would find her happiness elsewhere.

Figarland decided to send Nesi home for a few days to make his decision. She didn't oppose to it. She was sure the man was going to simply label her as a reject, but he surprised the privateer greatly. He even gave her his hymnal, believing it to be filthy because of the fabled "rat trap handling". Ha! Nesi greeted everyone at her harbor before reporting to her station to evaluate villager complaints. There were next to none so far. Development was going swimmingly. The horn to end the day's labor sounded just as she was sitting down at her throne. She, personally, didn't like having one, but all privateers had one in their meeting halls. After ordering her papers by priority, she responded to complaints very carefully and quickly. Once done, she started locking up and made her way to the Spades' fort and then home.

Nothing was out of the ordinary at first until she spotted lights coming from the kitchen. Someone was inside? Checking for signs of theft or breaking and entering, Nesi didn't spot anything out of place. She did smell food, though. Something that didn't require many ingredients on top of that. Slurping then sounded and a tall figure walked out with a towel on his head. The freckles gave his identity away. Ace was eating cup noodles. No way he cooked it from scratch. Someone in town must have given him the proper ingredients to just reheat or unpackage the delicacy.

"Huh?" Ace hummed, finally spotting a smaller figure in his fort. "Oh, hey, Ness. Thought you'd be gone for a while."

Nesi just smiled warmly and said, "Nice to see you, too, Noodles n' Bones. It's not like you to eat alone. Something wrong?"

"Meh, I needed the vacation," Ace replied, waving a hand nonchalantly before returning to his bowl of ramen. Yeah, he didn't make that. Too perfect.

"Want a sandwich with your soup?" Nesi asked, nodding at him as he approached her.

"You makin' it?" Ace asked, eyes sparkling at the idea.

"It'll be a couple of minutes, but I can. You still didn't tell me why you're here. Why would you come here for a vacation? This ain't a resort," Nesi nagged.

"Yeah, but I have my own bed, cannons, berries to spend, and a best friend about to make me a sandwich because she cares about her captain," Ace said, wiggling his brows with a big grin.

I had a crush on this dude, though...? Nesi thought.

"Perfect place to vacay to me!" Ace cheered.

Nesi sighed before laughing at her captain's antics and scratching her head before she yawned and stretched. She didn't notice Ace fixing his gaze on her since her eyes were closed. By the time she opened them, he was going to work on his ramen. She went into the kitchen to inspect the food he had to have scrounged up from her personal restaurant or the marketplace being developed. She got busy making two sandwiches. She was beyond peckish. Ace had asked her questions about where she disappeared to and if it was safe to leave her harbor at any time. She replied casually per usual, but something about this visit was... unusual. Nesi couldn't tell if it was the conversation, her emotions from her last prayer session, or the atmosphere in the kitchen, but sharing dinner with her captain seemed more intense like there was an important question coming. Her chest was moving uncomfortably as she ate. What was this about?

The question didn't seem to be coming, and the conversation wasn't evolving into anything serious. Why the tension then? Ace had pulled out a map at some point to ask for an opinion on a voyage, and Nesi gave him her honest thoughts. Together, they formed a safe route until Nesi yawned again.

"Well, thanks for calling me boring, floor scrubber," Ace complained, smirking.

"You're not boring, captain. I am tired," Nesi said, placing a hand on her chest.

She went to suck off some pickle juice and mustard from her fingers, but Ace playfully bit them. His game turned into a power struggle to get Nesi's hand back as their arms shook and some mild laughter before the atmosphere changed again. Something was different about this visit. Ace pulled Nesi close during their bout of play, and his smile dropped to something quieter like he had a question to ask but couldn't find the words to verbalize it. Looking into his face and seeing this expression, Nesi tried to lighten the mood with light chuckling, but Ace was unmoved by her attempt. She cleared her throat and tried to move, but Ace trapped her where she sat and the question in his eyes was much stronger. Nesi didn't understand him or the question. She searched his eyes for some semblance of a clue. When his eyelids lowered and a blush creeped onto his cheeks, Nesi smiled sweetly at him before trying to move again to avoid the question entirely. There was no way he felt anything for her. She accepted that.

Before she could move, Ace pressed his lips against hers quickly and finally released a breath he seemed to have held for a while. Nesi gasped before jumping and trying to turn her head, but Ace kept her still and continued to kiss her. The tension, frustration, passion, and anger accumulated in this joined response. When the two released each other to breathe, Nesi tried to speak first but Ace shook his head to quiet whatever protest or remark she was going to say. He licked his lips quickly before kissing Nesi again. This time, Nesi didn't fight it. Instead, she let out some tears and started to shake. Ace wiped her tears away before trapping her in his embrace.

"Welcome home, captain," Nesi said through tears.

"... Welcome home, captain," Ace said in return. "... I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"... I'm sorry if I ignored you," Nesi replied, placing a hand and her cheek on Ace's shoulder.

"Are you happier... without me?" Ace asked, placing his chin on Nesi's shoulder.

"Are you?" Nesi asked, sniffing up her cries as silent as they were.

Ace didn't reply to her verbally, but he did kiss her again. Nesi didn't fight him. She was tired of fighting him, tired of telling herself that he didn't care about her, tired of walking into the backburner of his mind and hoping that he'd forget about her. She let herself be selfish for once... and deepened their kiss first...