Hello everyone, here is another chapter!

This is a bit early out, but I am having so much fun with this story. Many ideas and people have ideas, which I love! And I really hope you are enjoying reading it!

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Whitebeard sat out on deck, enjoying a good morning, when Claus came with a Den Den, and looked at him. "Pops, some man called Daisuke is calling for you." Whitebeard blinked. That was the leader of the Red Cloud. Luffy and Sabo were thankfully not out yet, this would cause them to worry, he was worried now as well. He nodded. "Does he want to talk in private?" He most likely did. Claus nodded, and Whitebeard went to the meeting room with it, Marco and Thatch, who were up, joined. When they got there, he looked at the Den Den he placed on the table. "Daisuke, to what do I owe this?" He heard a hum. "I do not mean to disrupt anything, but Ace has gotten rather injured on an assignment." Not good, was he close to dying? That wouldn't be good and the two brothers would take that really bad.

He nodded. "I see. Why are you calling us?" The Den Den sighed. "He is rather unfond of the infirmary or sickbay, making him stay while he is conscious is not easy, at least without his brothers around." Ah, he might have gotten why he called. "You want to send him here?" The Den Den nodded. "Yes. You have a skilled crew and doctor, and you are not too far away from our base." He nodded, he wanted to help. "It is okay. You can bring him. How long would it take?" The Den Den hummed. "Maybe 2 days, might be one and a half." With that, he looked at the map. Nothing was that close to them, making him wonder where this was. But he was sure he wouldn't get an answer to that. He nodded. "We will be ready for you." The Den Den nodded. "Thank you, Newgate. Please try and have as few as possible out, Ace is not fond of showing he is injured." That he could get.

He nodded. "I will. See you then." The Den Den nodded and said the same, before going back to sleep. He then went outside and handed the Den Den back to Claus, who went away, back to the communication room. He could see Marco and Thatch looking a bit worried, but he was sure Ace would make a full recovery. He then tried to enjoy the morning, and after an hour, Sabo and Luffy came out, and he looked at the two. "Luffy, Sabo, Ace are coming by in a day or two." Luffy smiled at that, while Sabo frowned. "Why?" Asked the blond kid, knowing something had to be wrong, seeing as Ace had not sent Dust to them. Whitebeard took a breath. "He is a bit injured. Daisuke called."

That had Sabo nodding. "I see. He can be a bad patient, I've heard he is a better one around us." Made sense in his mind. Ace was calm around his brothers, probably more so than usual. They then waited and after a day and half, they noticed a boat heading for them, with a red cloud in their flag. He then sent everyone inside beside a few. The boat came close, and he could see a few out on it, he guessed Daisuke was the one with Ace in his arms. Ace looking to be still unconscious. When they were close enough to board, Marco went up and met them. "Want me to take Ace, yoi?" Daisuke hummed. "No. Not to be difficult, but my hands are in favorable places. If you could lead the way, it would be the best." Marco nodded and did, Whitebeard waiting out on deck, before Daisuke came back and gave a small bow. "Thank you, for taking him. Spares me a headache by keeping him in the sickbay against his will." Whitebeard shook his head. "No, it is no trouble. What happened?" Daisuke hummed. "I do not know the finer details. A burning building and an explosion is what I know, he was close to it. He will recover fully, he just needs some time." Whitebeard nodded. He was sure Bay would be able to handle this.

Daisuke then left, and as he was a bit away, Marco came back out, and looked at him. "Luffy and Sabo can see him in a bit, yoi. Bay wants to do a quick check. Give her an hour." He nodded, the two would probably be happy to see their brother again, even though he was hurt, but he would be fine after a bit.

As the boat was gone, the others were allowed to come out, and that included Sabo and Luffy, the latter running up to him. "Is Ace here!" Whitebeard nodded. "Yes. But Bay needs a bit of time, give her 45 minutes, okay?" Luffy nodded. "Okay." Sabo looked at him. "How is he?" Whitebeard gave a breath. "Unconscious, but will make a full recovery." Sabo gave a relieved breath, before he went to try and relax until they were allowed to see Ace.

After about half an hour, a nurse came out and looked at Luffy and Sabo, giving a smile. "You can see your brother now." Luffy gave an excited sound and ran ahead, Sabo following after, just not running. Whitebeard decided to follow after, to see how Ace was. When he got there, Sabo and Luffy sat in each of their chairs, Ace on a bed, behind some half drawn curtains. He got a chair of his own and sat down, before he took Ace in. He had bandages around his entire torso, something wet on top of it, looking like a wet towel, some cuts on his face and one of his hands were also bandaged. He also had an oxygen mask on, but even so, his breathing sounded a bit strained.

Bay then came by and gave a smile to Luffy and Sabo. "He will be fine. But be sure to call for me if he wakes, okay?" Both of the brothers nodded, before Sabo looked at her worriedly. "Why is his breath so strained?" Bay clicked her tongue. "He breathed in a lot of smoke, its smoke particles. They are obstructing his lungs a bit, but it will get better once he wakes. So he can cough them up." Sabo nodded, seeming happy with that. And he was as well. Ace would be fine. Bay then left, and things were calm. Ace was unconscious for the entirety of the day and night.

When the next day came, while he was there visiting, he saw a sign of Ace waking up. Ace's breath got somehow shallower, before he saw Ace half moving his hand a bit, before it stilled. He did ask for Bay, who said he would most likely wake soon, and to call for her then. Then time went on, and after about half an hour, he saw Ace's hand moving, before he saw eyes opening slowly, the hand moving to his face and feeling the mask. He was about to speak, to ask for Bay, when Ace tried to sit up, but only managed to move a bit, before a hand came to his side as his face twisted in pain, breathing through his teeth as he fell back down on his stomach.

He then called for Bay, and Bay came over. "Ah, Ace, you're up, Look at me." Ace did, and Bay did some small checks, before she nodded. "You seem okay enough. You just need to heal now. Tell me if you feel worse." Ace nodded and Bay helped Ace sit up the best he could. When he was up, Bay left, and Luffy moved to sit in Ace's lap. "Ne, you slept long." Ace gave a low chuckle. "Called being tired, Lu." He said in a half weak voice. Luffy chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. It was boring without you." Ace hummed. "You need to be able to do without me." Luffy gave a pout at that, but it was true.

The next days were spent with Ace healing, coughing up a lot of blood at times, and before every time he did, he sent Luffy and Sabo away. He knew how it went as Marco had decided to be with Ace through this so he had some company, but Whitebeard tried to be there when he could. When Ace had stopped coughing and was upright, he stayed for another day, before he left, saying he would come back in about 3 weeks, but they always could call on him if they needed it.

The next week, when the morning came, he sat out on deck and spoke with Marco about where they were headed and which island they were close to, and Luffy, who was out, blinked. "Wait, if we're close to that island, we're close to another island! Eh, it is a bit hidden in fog, but the ones who live there are so awesome!" Whitebeard blinked. He didn't know of any other islands, but believed Luffy. Sabo nodded to it as well. Whitebeard nodded as well. "How many lives there?" Sabo hummed. "Just 2 right now. From what I have gathered, there was an outbreak of some sort of sickness. It is gone now, this was years ago. But those two just… stayed. They are so awesome and so good with Luffy." That sounded nice, so he nodded. "We can head there." That made Sabo seem glad. "Thank you! I am sure you will get along. They are awesome. A bit odd, but awesome." That made him nod, and he was curious to meet these two. To stay behind when everyone else left, was something special. They must be really connected to the place.

They then headed on, Sabo doing his best to point on the map, but wasn't a hundred percent sure where, but they should see it soon. And after a bit, they did see the island, and they docked at the dock, and the island seemed to be… abandoned. Which made sense if most had left. They then docked and went off the boat and Sabo and Luffy showed the way to a white house, a larger house, but not the largest here, but it was enough so he could walk in it. But there did seem like there had lived larger people here. Which was good for him.

They then walked into the house, and Sabo moved his hands to his mouth as he yelled. "Calle! Gustav!" No answer, making Sabo frown. "They usually know when we come, they have a lot of surveillance around." That did seem odd then. They hadn't seen anything, but he believed Sabo. Luffy looked at Sabo. "I'll check upstairs!" Sabo nodded, and as Luffy ran up, Sabo spoke. "Remember to knock before opening doors!" Luffy nodded. "I will!" Sabo then looked more around, before he seemed to find an envelope, and he looked at it with a frown, making him wonder what it was. "What is it?" Sabo shook his head. "I don't know. It's addressed to Ace." Said Sabo as he opened it, and that made him frown. "Should you read it?" Sabo hummed. "Maybe they left and didn't have a chance to tell us. Can't be that bad." Made sense, and he hoped they were okay.

As Sabo had opened the letter and was reading it, his eyes went wide before he looked towards the staircase. "Luffy! Stop!" He yelled as he took a running step, and just as he had spoken, he heard a scream from Luffy, which had them all reacting and running up the stairs. And when they came upstairs and to the room Luffy was standing in with his eyes wide in shock and hands over his mouth. Sabo ran over and hugged him, turning him away from whatever he was looking at. They then headed into the room as well, and in the bed, laid two men, old men, dead. Their bodies had already started decomposing, the air smelled rotten even, but the windows in the room were open, so it aired the smell out of the house.

As they were there, Sabo looked down at Luffy. "Hey, Lu, we should head out. You shouldn't be here." Luffy gave a sniffle. "They're… dead?" Sabo gave a breath. "I'm sorry, Lu." Luffy then started to cry, and Sabo did his best to comfort him, before they left the room, Sabo doing his best to shield Luffy, although he had already seen. He didn't need to see more.

When they got downstairs, Sabo moved his hands to Luffy's shoulders and looked at him. "Luffy, I am so sorry you saw that." Luffy sniffled and nodded. "I want Ace." Sabo nodded. "I know, I do too. Let's go back to the boat and we can call him. If he can't show up. someone else will. I am sure of it. Okay?" Luffy nodded, seeming happy with that, and they headed back to the boat.

They then called for Ace, Sabo burning a feather, before there was a large cloud of smoke, and when it faded, it was Ann who stood there, Dust on her shoulder. And she looked at the two kids. "What is it? You rarely burn Dust's feathers." Luffy, who was still somewhat crying, spoke. "Calle and Gustav are dead…" Ann opened her arms and Luffy ran straight into them as she looked at Sabo, who nodded and took the envelope out. "They left this." He said as he handed it over, and Ann read it, before she gave a breath. Before Ann could speak, Sabo did again. "And, it was Luffy who found them." Ann moved a hand to her face. "Oh God." Sabo quickly shook his head. "I didn't mean for him to see, I didn't mean to sen-" Ann shook her head and looked at the blond. "No, I don't blame you, or anyone. It happened. You didn't mean for this to happen."

Ann then moved her hand and invited Sabo to the hug, which he took, and Ann closed her eyes as she hugged the two kids. "It's going to be okay." She said in a comforting voice. She then hugged them tight. "Ace will come later. I promise. But I am here. I am here." Both Luffy and Sabo nodded, taking the comfort. When they parted, Ann looked at the two kids. "I am so sorry, you had to see that." Sabo nodded, before he let out a breath, and they hugged for a bit, before they parted. Luffy did seem down, but in a somewhat better mood.

After a bit, Luffy went to get some food, and Ann gave a breath. "It was so long ago too, the date in the letter, they must have started decomposing." Sabo nodded. "They had…" Ann moved a hand to her face. "Oh God." Sabo nodded and looked upset. "They were so nice to us… Why didn't they call and tell anyone?" Ann sighed. "I couldn't tell you, since I don't know. Maybe something happened to their Den Den? Or maybe it happened fast? Although it did seem planned." Sabo shook his head a bit. "I think planned… The house was so clean and amazing. Nothing amiss. But the letter, and… the bedroom. It… smelled so bad." Ann nodded. "It has a distinctive smell. Not going to lie, but you'll never forget it." Sabo sighed. "I thought so. How long can you stay?" Ann hummed. "I can stay for a few more hours, and then I need to change with Ace, unless you want him here now? I can go get him." Sabo shook his head and smiled. "Don't rush it." Ann smiled and hugged Sabo again. "You'll be fine." Whitebeard then looked at the two. "Why were they dead? Were they sick?" Ann sighed. "I knew Calle was sick, not as in he would die quickly, got sick 2 years ago. This was mutual suicide. They didn't want to go on. Claus didn't want to die slowly, Gustav didn't want to live on alone." That was bad. He felt bad for Luffy and Sabo.

Luffy then came back, and had some food he ate, before things calmed down. And it seemed like Luffy went in and out of moods, but when they did decide they needed to leave, Sabo gave a small hum. "We can also loot the island. We are allowed." Whitebeard blinked. "We are?" Sabo and Ann nodded, the latter speaking. "Yes. It was said in the letter." That made Luffy seem down again, but Whitebeard did send a few to gather supplies. Ann did say to not head in the room they had been to, to not disturb the two, even though they were dead. Which he agreed on. It was about respect.

As those who were going to gather supplies left, Luffy really seemed down, and he got it. They would soon leave, and it probably reminded him of what he had seen and that they were dead. After a bit, it ended with Ann sitting on the deck with Luffy in her lap, crying. As he had cried for a bit, Ann gave a hum, before he moved to stroke Luffy's hair, before she started to sing. "You're alone, you're on your own, so what? Have you gone blind? Have you forgotten what you have and what is yours? Glass half empty, glass half full. Well either way you won't be going thirsty. Count your blessings not your flaws. You've got it all, You lost your mind in the sound. There's so much more, You can reclaim your crown. You're in control, Rid of the monsters inside your head, Put all your faults to bed, You can be king again." Whitebeard smiled. This seemed like a nice song. Luffy had stopped crying by now and had closed his eyes, just listening to the lyrics, and he did the same.

"You don't get what all this is about, You're too wrapped up in your self doubt. You've got that young blood, set it free. You've got it all. You lost your mind in the sound. There's so much more, You can reclaim your crown. You're in control, Rid of the monsters inside your head. Put all your faults to bed. You can be king. There's method in my madness. There's no logic in your sadness. You don't gain a single thing from misery, Take it from me. You've got it all, You lost your mind in the sound. There's so much more, You can reclaim your crown. You're in control. Rid of the monsters inside your head, Put all your faults to bed. You can be king. You've got it all You lost your mind in the sound. There's so much more You can reclaim your crown. You're in control, Rid of the monsters inside your head, Put all your faults to bed. You can be king again." (King, by Lauren Aquilina)

Ann moved her hand and caressed Luffy's head. "I know you're sad, but try not to be. Things will work out, Lu." She said, before she gave him a kiss on the head. Ann really did seem to care for Luffy and Sabo. And he had liked the song, it was a nice one. Luffy then fell asleep after a bit, still in Ann's lap. And Ann decided to put him to bed to sleep for a bit, and she headed there with him, and also said she would stay, not wanting to leave Luffy alone, and Sabo was of course welcomed. But he didn't want to join, not now at least, so Ann headed away with Luffy.

As the two were gone, Thatch looked at Sabo. "Ann seems to really care for you." Sabo nodded. "As we said, basically our sister. She is awesome." Thatch nodded. "And that song, was something." Sabo nodded. "Yeah. Made to get us into better moods. Ace also knows it. But Ann does it better. It was made some years ago. I really like it." Whitebeard nodded, he got that. It was an amazing song. They then set sail after a bit, when the ones who were gathering supplies came back. When they headed away, Sabo watched the island as they sailed away, a sad look on his face. Which he got. Those two were probably good people. He did try and comfort him a bit, which seemed to work, and then he seemed to get into a better mood.

After about two hours, Ann and Luffy came back, Luffy also seeming to be in a better mood, which was good. When they came out, Ann hummed. "I need to leave soon, but still want me to send Ace this way?" Sabo nodded. "Could you?" Ann nodded. "Sure. We just have a meeting, and then I will cover for him while he heads here. See you two later." She said as she hugged the two brothers, before she left with the help of Dust. And after a bit over an hour, Ace came and when he showed up, he looked at Luffy and Sabo. "I just heard what happened. I am so sorry." Sabo nodded. "I know. They were so nice." Ace nodded. "I know. You okay?" Both Sabo and Luffy nodded and said they were. Which was good. Ace then stated a bit, before he also needed to leave, but would come back in a bit over 2 weeks, which seemed good.

The day then went on, and after a bit, he sat one evening and spoke with Sabo and they got on the topic of Ace, which Sabo gave a small hum to and looked at him. "Everyone we know, who has some type of authority, and others actually, has tried to make Ace stop being an assassin, besides one; you." Whitebeard blinked. "Me?" Sabo nodded. "Yes, you. Everyone else has tried." Whitebeard blinked again. "Who's everyone?" Sabo nodded. "We have Rayleigh, Shanks, Garp, and even Daisuke have tried somewhat. Everyone. But you." Whitebeard gave a small nod. "Even Shanks? He seems so okay with it." Sabo shook his head. "He is not. Yes, he helps us and him, but he always tries to make him stop. He even outright denied Ace joining him since Ace was an assassin, he could only join if he stopped. Then you come around and just… embrace it. Hell, even I have tried to make him stop."

Whitebeard blinked. "I don't want him to change, he is who he is." Sabo sighed. "Yeah, he is. But still, I wished he would stop and settle down. He takes so many risks, he puts his life at stake, he helps everyone he can, even if that means not helping himself. But yes, it is who he is, so I have let a bit off, but I wished he would work a bit less." He could get it, it was a dangerous line or work. Sabo sighed. "Anyhow, I just wanted to thank you for it. Ace needs more people rooting for him. I am rooting for him all the way now, same with Luffy, but he needs more." That did make sense. Everyone needed people who believed in them and accepted them. And he had believed Shanks, even Rayleigh, was with him, but that wasn't the case. He would be sure to let Ace know he supported him in everything, even his work.

When Ace visited two weeks later, nothing special happening, he went out when the clock was a bit past midnight, and found Ace by his usual spot and headed over. Good evening, Ace." Ace hummed. "Evening, Whitebeard. How are you this night?" Whitebeard gave a small chuckle. "Just fine. How are you? How have things been with your work? I am sure you know of everything that has happened with us." Ace chuckled. "Just fine, and I do keep my ear and eye out, in case something happens. I want to know if my brothers are in danger." Whitebeard nodded. "I understand that. I would do the same, or am doing the same, with my children." Ace nodded. "I know. Luffy and Sabo are my everything. I can't lose them." Whitebeard nodded. "And I am sure you won't. I will never let anything happen to them on purpose." Ace nodded. "I know. And I appreciate it. I know they are as safe as they can be out to sea here." That was good.

He then spoke a bit more with Ace, before he went to bed, and Ace then stayed for a one more day, before he left, and it was nice to have him over, even though he did know some of his children, or most, were still wary of him, especially those who knew who he was. But Whitebeard was sure he wouldn't hurt them. He would always have a place in his crew for Ace, and he would always support him in his work. Ace was an amazing person.

And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed!

This was just some small things

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