Chapter 14
Facing the Unknown
Everywhere around him, there was darkness. Ace looked around, trying to make sense of what was happening or find his lover, but it was difficult as he could barely see in front of him. At best, he could only make out shapes and shifting shadows. He had no idea what this weird power was, and although it reminded him of Blackbeard's one, the feeling he got from it was different. Blackbeard's darkness was absolute; it was like an endless abyss that could drag you in and destroy you. This dark veil felt more like a moonless night, shielding rather than seeking to bring ruin to everything it touched.
Occasionally, he could feel Calypso around him, but she was gone before he could reach for her. Then, a moment later, he could hear a scream from somewhere nearby and he would run towards it, only to hear her chuckle or giggle swiftly passing next to him. It felt as if the being possessing her was taunting and messing with him.
"Cal! Please stop this and come here! I need to talk to you!"
Her laugh could be heard now from behind him, and so he turned around. Yet he saw only darkness and emptiness.
"I see you like my Night Dome…"
Her voice was now to his right and this time when he turned she was standing there, a smirk on her lips as she stared at him without blinking.
"I admit it can be quite fun. It gives me full control of everything and everyone inside it, and I can do with them as I please."
She raised a hand to move a curl away from her face, and Ace noticed that it was covered in blood.
"What have you done, Cal? Why is there blood in your hand?"
She looked down at her hand as if surprised, and then shrugged.
"It must be from someone I attacked. That woman's perhaps."
Ace shook his head and took a step to close the space between them so he could grab her arm.
"This can't be true! Cal, I know you. You'd never hurt anyone. You are too kind to do so."
The being in front of him laughed loudly and evaded his grasp with a familiar twirl, her eyes meeting his again with a glare.
"Don't get in my way. I don't want to hurt you. You have done nothing to me so far, but if you get in my way, I will have to stop you."
The pirate frowned and reached to take hold of her again, but she evaded him once more. This time her body dropped into a fighting stance as she squinted her eyes at him.
"Do you have a death wish, pirate?"
He smiled sadly at her reactions and words, knowing that his lover would never call him a pirate with such coldness. If she were to call him such, she would always add how he was her pirate and always make sure he noticed the teasing in her voice.
"I just wish to hold you, Cal. I don't really understand what's happening, but I know if you let me get closer, I can help you. We can stop this together."
A dark blade appeared in her hand and she sliced the air between them, managing to give him a deep cut on the hand that momentarily awakened his flames so they could heal him. Ace was surprised at how cold the blade felt when it touched his skin and how he could feel this coldness even through his flames.
"Cal, please, I don't want to fight you."
The woman in front of him growled when she noticed her original assault didn't faze him and prepared to attack again, her free hand enveloped by the dark smoke.
"Then you will die."
The darkness in her arm grew denser.
"You know, nighttime can be comforting, but it can also be frightening. In this Dome I can make your fears come true."
She released the darkness in her hand toward him with another smirk.
"Night Terrors! Succumb to your fears before you die!"
Ace prepared himself mentally for what was to come, yet the images he saw caused his resolve to waver a little. Still, he was quick to recover, and he summoned his flames on his hand just in time to reflect another attack from her. The sight of the flames seemed to catch the woman by surprise, and she jumped back with a hiss.
"How dare you bring fire in here? This is my domain!"
She summoned more darkness again and momentarily disappeared, only to reappear again behind him, her blade ready to strike.
"It matters not since you'll be dead soon!"
Ace covered his hand with Armament Haki and swiftly moved to grab her own, squeezing tightly until the blade dissolved into nothingness. The woman used her free hand to attack him with claws made of darkness, but he grabbed this hand too with his other one.
"That's enough, Cal. You can't defeat me. I can tell your power is strong, but you aren't a fighter. You are a thief and a witch, but you are not a fighter…"
She struggled to free herself from his grasp and attack him again, but his Haki made her unable to call on her power. Eventually, she looked into his eyes with hate in hers.
"How? How can you do this? You shouldn't be able to touch me!"
Ace smiled softly and pulled her closer, causing her to hiss and start struggling again.
"Let me go!"
Soon he had her standing so close to him that he could feel her breath on his face, and he shook his head.
"I am not letting you go. It's time we both go home so you can calm down."
She kept staring at him wide-eyed as they were standing so close that she could now see all the emotions in his eyes clearly. She could see his confusion and pain, but she could also see something warmer in his brown eyes. Something that scared and unnerved her.
"Why are you doing this? You have me at your mercy. You can kill me if you wish. Why are you just trying to stop me?"
His smile grew, and he changed his grip so he could hold both of her hands with one of his while he used the other to brush her cheek.
"You ask as if you don't already know why. I love you, Calypso. I could never do anything to hurt you, and I don't plan to let you hurt yourself either."
His words caused the eyes of the being in front of him to open wide with shock and surprise and, for a moment, he was sure he saw the green give way to red and purple. Soon, tears started running down her face and the color of her eyes shifted again.
"Ace…"
His hand moved to brush the tears away as he pulled her close enough to rest his forehead on hers, his eyes looking into hers that were changing color as if she and the being were fighting for control.
"Ace, please stop me. I don't wish to hurt anyone else anymore!"
The pirate shushed her and nodded before kissing her lips softly. His flames rose around him and started pushing against the veil of darkness, aiming to destroy it completely. He hoped that once it was gone, the hold the other being had on his lover would stop and he could safely take her away from this place.
"Just let go. I will take you home."
Her eyes shifted to green one last time, and she let out a loud scream before she lost consciousness just as the dome around them collapsed alongside his fire.
Ace carefully picked up the woman in his arms and brought her close to his chest, wanting her to feel his closeness and know she was safe. He was about to start walking towards Shakky's bar, his eyes avoiding looking at the bloody bodies around them, when he heard a raven cawing from somewhere to his left. He recognized the voice as Ebony's, and he looked towards where the sound came from, only to see the raven hopping around the terrified tiger cub that had curled in itself next to the body of the noble woman, its fur splattered with blood. Ace frowned and covered the distance to the two animals, looking down at the raven that was cawing loudly at him and pointing at the feline with his wing before pointing to the witch in his arms. The pirate frowned again and looked at the girl, who was now sleeping peacefully in his embrace.
"What do you mean? That she did all this…for the tiger?"
He looked around at the dead bodies, and his heart dropped at the thought that it was the woman he loved that could cause this. Ebony cawed again to get his attention and pointed to the tiger again before flying to peck the top of his head.
Ace cursed and finally relented, squatting down in front of the tiger cub that was giving him a wary look and hissing. Chuckling, he reached and pulled the tiger into his embrace too, ignoring its protests and threatening roars.
"I hope you are pleased now, bird."
Ebony cawed from above before flying ahead to scout, leaving the pirate to follow at his own pace. He only looked back once when he sensed some of the people on the ground regaining consciousness and calling for help. Hastening his pace, he stared at his lover again, hoping what happened today would not be traced back to her in any way that would put her in danger.
••••••
The barwoman looked up when the bell on her door chimed and gasped at the sight of the pirate carrying Calypso and a bloody tiger on his arms. Wasting no time, she ran to him and examined the girl, noticing the blood in her hands and on her clothes.
"What happened? Is she hurt? Did someone attack you?"
Ace shook his head and motioned for the woman to follow him to the witch's room. She did after she locked the front door.
"Ace, what happened? Please tell me so I can help."
The pirate placed the girl on her bed when they reached her room and the tiger on the floor, with the raven moving to land next to it to play with it. Ace sat next to his girlfriend and brushed some curls off her face before turning to Shakky.
"She is alright, I think. The blood, at least, is not hers."
The woman frowned and moved closer to look at the girl again, indeed finding no open wounds.
"Then whose is it? If it's not hers and not yours...then whose?"
The pirate looked at the sleeping witch again and clenched his fist.
"Something happened to her out there. One moment she was fine, and then suddenly she started twitching and acting weird. Then she saw a noblewoman hurting this cub and she tried to stop her."
Shakky was paying attention to his words, her expression darkening as he kept going.
"The woman slapped her and threatened her with her bodyguards, so I had to intervene to stop them from hurting her since I knew I'd expose myself if they did, but then she...changed."
The young man's expression grew solemn, and he reached to stroke the witch's hand, causing her to sigh softly.
"It's as if she was another person. Her hair and eyes changed, and her whole aura became cold and bloodthirsty. She attacked everyone and killed at least the woman and her bodyguards."
His frown returning he turned to the barwoman who was now lost deep in thoughts.
"Shakky, did you know she was a Devil Fruit user?"
The question caught the woman by surprise, and she stared at the boy in front of her.
"A Devil Fruit? No, she never mentioned having eaten one. Why? Do you think this change of hers you mentioned was a Fruit power?"
He shook his head.
"No. This was something else, and I have a feeling only she can explain what. Her fruit powers seem to be a Logia similar to Blackbeard's. Her body emitted a weird smoke and she was able to use it to create a dome and a blade. I was able to easily counter them with my powers, so I suspect they are related to darkness."
Shakky hummed and looked around the room, her eyes focusing on the curtains around them and the stars and lanterns on them. Letting out a gasp she turned to the pirate, her lips now curled into a small smile.
"I always wondered why she had decorated her room like this."
Ace frowned and felt slightly annoyed at the woman's random comment.
"I don't think this is a good time to discuss Cal's weird decorating, Shakky."
The barwoman's smile grew.
"We aren't. We are discussing her powers. Look around you and tell me what you see."
The boy did as instructed, with confusion in his eyes and a frown on his face.
"The same as always. Her curtains, her lanterns, the...stars…"
Realization was now evident all over his face as he turned to the woman, his eyes wide open.
"Something similar to darkness but different! Night! Her power is the Night!"
Ebony cawed his confirmation from in between their legs before he flew to rest next to his Mistress' head. He cawed some more while looking at the bar owner and then pointed at the cub that was now sniffing the two humans warily.
"I see…"
The older woman sighed deeply and looked at the pirate.
"It looks like your lover made quite the mess this time for us to handle…"
She reached to grab the tiger and bring it into her embrace, stroking its fur until it started purring softly, causing her to smile.
"Apparently Calypso doesn't like people who mistreat animals or anyone that can't fight back, so when she saw that woman hurting the tiger, she couldn't not do anything."
Her eyes fell on the witch who was now sleeping peacefully.
"Ebony says that what happened today wasn't planned and that he knows for sure Calypso wouldn't do it if she was herself, but that he himself can't tell us more."
Ace glared at the raven and stood up.
"Oi, bird! You can't just give half the information! What do you mean she wasn't herself?"
The bird cawed some more angrily and flapped his wings, causing Shakky to place a hand on the pirate's shoulder.
"He says this is not his secret to share. He told us about her Fruit because we figured it out ourselves, but the rest are for her to share when she wakes up."
Ace kept glaring at the raven before focusing his attention on his lover.
"Then let's wake her up."
The raven was instantly in front of him, pecking his head while cawing angrily, causing the pirate to curse loudly.
"What's gotten into him now? Is he picking a fight with me?"
Shakky shook her head.
"He wants you to let her sleep. He says she is exhausted and needs the rest."
She chuckled as the raven cawed some more before returning to his previous place next to the witch.
"He also wants you out of the room because he doesn't trust you not to wake her up."
"You damned bird, I'll-"
"Ace!"
The pirate's attention was on Shakky again; his eyes still showed his anger and annoyance.
"But this is also my room! He can't kick me out…"
"He can. You can have the sofa for a while until Calypso is awake and ready to talk to us."
She motioned to the tiger in her arms that was now playfully pawing at her face.
"After all, I'll need your help to care for this cub. You can go wash him while I prepare something for him to eat. He seems to be starving."
At the mention of food, the tiger mewled excitedly, causing the ex-pirate to smirk.
"It's a lot of meat for you, then."
She glanced at Ace and started pushing him out of the room.
"I will also prepare some food for you, as I'm sure you're hungry too."
The young pirate shook his head as he walked out the door, glaring at it when he heard the lock turning from inside and the distant caw of a raven.
"I'm not hungry."
The woman frowned and turned to look into his face.
"Ace, it will be alright. She will wake up soon, and she will explain everything. You don't need to worry."
He shook his head again and walked past the bar owner to sit on the sofa.
"Nothing will be alright, Shakky. She killed a noble, and we both know the World Government will not let a crime like this slide. If only she was open with me from the start and I knew what she could do..."
"Ace, you can't really think this is her fault."
The young man glared at the woman.
"It is. As much as it is mine. I couldn't make her trust me enough to talk to me sooner, and now she killed people. Even if it wasn't really her, any possible witness will blame her."
He raised his hands to hide his face as he felt tears in the corners of his eyes.
"Damn it! If I hadn't asked her to take me to Luffy's ship this wouldn't have happened!"
The older woman walked to sit next to him, her hand on his back to stroke it reassuringly.
"Ace, this is not your fault either. Sometimes things just happen in the wrong way. How many times did you try to do something good only to have it end up badly? This is one such situation. She tried to save this little animal from what she felt was a cruel fate, and it led to what it did. I'm sure there is an explanation for why it happened like this, and I am willing to wait for her to tell me. Are you?"
He remained silent for a while before he turned to the woman, tears running down his face.
"I feel like I failed her, Shakky. After everything she did for me, to protect me and keep me safe, I couldn't do the same. Now she will probably be hunted down like an animal."
He clenched his fists again until he felt blood dripping down his wrists.
"I had the power to stop her, but I didn't. I shouldn't have cared about exposing myself. I was always a hunted man, so it would be like before. And she would have been safe."
The barwoman slowly pulled him into an embrace.
"Ace, what do you really believe would have happened if you had used your powers? Do you believe she would have really been safe if you did?"
She broke the hug so he could look at her better as she waited for his reply.
"I…"
He looked down at the tiger cub that had now moved into his embrace and was licking the blood from his hands while staring up at his face.
"She wouldn't have killed anyone…"
"But would she have been safe?"
He frowned and, after a few moments of silence, shook his head.
"No. If they had figured out I was alive and she was someone important to me, they'd still hunt her down."
Shakky nodded and stood up to walk towards the kitchen.
"Then you understand there's no reason for you to beat yourself up about what happened today. Wait for her to wake up and talk to her. Then, once we have the full picture, we'll see how and what we can salvage."
She turned to glance at him once before fully disappearing into the kitchen.
"For now, go give our new friend a bath. Once he is all clean and warm, bring him to the kitchen. I'll make sure both of you sleep with a full belly tonight."