Hello everyone, here is the next chapter!

I am so so sorry this is so late. Life has been a bit of Hell lately as well as writers block on everything as everything is late now and I feel terrible

I hope you enjoy

Read and relax

Whitebeard sat out on deck, they had been back on the boat for a bit, when Ace started to head off, probably to his room, when Lance spoke up. "Where are you going?" Ace hummed and pointed toward this room. "My room." Lance hummed. "No, you can't. What if you suddenly react as the spell wears off and we don't know?" Ace blinked. "How long will this take?" Lance thought for a second. "At max, 24 hours, a day, just to be sure." Ace blinked. "So I can't be alone for a day?" Lance nodded. "Would be best if you weren't." Ace nodded slowly. "Okay…" Ace then stayed out and seemed to be normal and nothing changed, even when Lance checked in on him now and then. The next day, Ace was still fine, and they got a call from Aoba who asked where they were exactly, and when they told, he said they would be here in a few days, which was good. They would dock at an island about tomorrow, to try and restock. They hadn't been here for a while, so it would be interesting to see how it was as it was a very nice island.

As evening came, Lance came and said that he and Trevor would need to leave for a couple days, as someone called and asked for help, and they needed to leave now. Whitebeard said it was fine, and asked if they would be gotten by a boat or if they needed one. When he had, Lance chuckled. "No. Remember, we are witches. Pathways. We have on to where we are going, and we will leave one here, in my room. Please do not disturb it. We will return when we are done." Whitebeard nodded and he had forgotten about that, that they could travel very easily. He did try and ask what they needed to leave for, and if they could help, but Lance didn't say anything, just that they had control, and he trusted Lance. He then left and he hoped whatever they needed to do would go fine.

The next day, they saw the island and it seemed very… calm at the dock. No large boats there, as it used to be, just a few small ones and they looked sort of abandoned. This island's dock usually was full of life, but not now. He felt something was wrong, something in his stomach said to not dock, but they needed to see if something was wrong, and if yes, if they could help. They docked at the island and it did seem abandoned. Which he felt was odd. The last time he had been here, which to be fair, was 2 years ago, it was bustling with life. What happened? Maybe a sickness? They got a small group to go check the island out, which was just him and a few commanders. It was early as they had had good wind, so many were still asleep or resting. If something was wrong, they would return to the boat and figure out a plan more then.

They moved on the island a bit, and he heard some rustling from the bushes as they had walked a bit. Maybe someone was forgotten and left behind and they needed help to get somewhere safe. Something had to have happened. But he noticed Marco looking very uncomfortable as he walked closer to him. "Pops, something is behind there." Whitebeard nodded. "What?" Marco shook his head. "I don't know, but something that is very dangerous, yoi." Whitebeard nodded, but knew they needed to figure out what. But as the thought finished, 3 shapes came into view, looking like humans, but Marco backed more off and didn't look happy. He was about to speak with them, sure they were some sort of creature, when the one in the middle snarled and he saw fangs as well as red eyes. They were vampires.

Whitebeard moved his hand a bit to show he meant no harm. "We mean no harm. Are you stuck here?" The vampires snarled more, all having their fangs out and eyes red, taking a step towards them, seeming to prepare to attack. Maybe this was their territory? Whitebeard made a motion with his hand. "We will leave without bothering you. If you let us leave in peace, we will leave you in peace." The vampires snarled more and got closer, and he felt they were going to attack them. He tried to say they weren't here to harm them, but it didn't seem they even understood what he said.

He then heard a sound to his left and saw Ace coming towards them, and Whitebeard was about to speak, when Ace did. "Pops, just trust me, okay?" Whitebeard nodded. "Okay, son. I trust you." Ace nodded and walked up to him, before he opened his mouth so his fangs came, and he thought maybe the vampires could speak together in their own language, but felt more confused when Ace moved his hand to his mouth and bit in it, making blood drip down his hand, which he felt was odd. What was even odder, was how Ace moved the bloody hand to him and smeared some blood on his arm, and he was about to speak, when he saw the vampires seeming conflicted and sniffed the air, looking at him, before they snarled and growled, before they left, back into the woods and towards the city.

Ace swallowed. "We need to leave." Marco spoke. "Wha-" Ace shook his head. "Can we take this on the boat? Easier to see if they come back as they can't sneak up as easily." Thatch was on his way to speak, when Whitebeard nodded. "Okay, son. We will." They then went back to the boat, and as they boarded, the ones on it seemed confused. "You're back fast?" Thatch shrugged. "Yeah. We met some angry vampires or something, and Ace smeared some blood on Pops and they left." Everyone looked at Ace, who looked a bit uncomfortable. "I told them you're with me. Kind of put my smell on you." Thatch blinked. "That makes no sense! Pops said we came in peace and would leave in peace! I guess some vampires are just asholes then." Ace looked upset. "I am not them! They are not vampires!" Thatch blinked. "But they were? I mean, fangs and all."

Ace looked more upset, so Whitebeard moved his hand. "Thatch, please be quiet. Ace, son, what were they?" Thatch looked shocked. "Vampires! Ace just 'claimed' you!" Ace looked more upset, and Whitebeard moved his hand. "Thatch. Quiet. Let Ace explain." Thatch didn't look to agree and on his way to speak, so Whitebeard gave a look, which had Thatch stay silent, but not happy. Whitebeard then looked at Ace with a comforting look. "It is okay, son. What were they?"

Ace took a breath. "We call them Level Ds. They are… accidents." Thatch snorted. "How can a vampire be an accident? You need to feed them your blood to create a new vampire, right?" Ace looked upset again, and Whitebeard gave an annoyed look at Thatch. "I said quiet. Let Ace explain." Thatch rolled his eyes, but nodded. He then motioned for Ace to continue, which he did. "A Level D is made when a vampire feeds off a human, but at rare times, that person will wake up as a vampire. But they are not a full vampire yet, not until they feed from the one who turned them or a Lord. And if they don't within a week, they become a Level D. They have a bloodlust which can never be satisfied. They have no control, they have no humanity in them. And they don't just drink until they are satisfied, they take it all since they never can be satisfied, before they go to the next one, and next one, until there is no one left and then they die of thirst. They are the reason people hate vampires. They aren't vampires, they are Level D's. And a Level D can at rare times create more Level D's. And the only way for them to not turn to a Level D, is to feed off a Lord within a week, or you'll also become a Level D. They tear islands and villages apart. They have no control." Ace looked at Thatch. "I am not them!"

Thatch blinked. "I had no idea. I'm… sorry. So they just kill and kill? All those who are accidents are bad?" Ace shook his head. "No. They only are if they lose themselves to the bloodlust and become a Level D. They have a week to be saved." Thatch blinked. "But won't they always have a thirst that can't be satisfied? Even if they feed off a Lord?" Ace shook his head. "No. Aoba's entire family, his entire island, was killed by a Level D, and Aoba was the only one who woke. But Vincent was close by and saved him from becoming a Level D." Thatch blinked. "Wait. Aoba was bitten by a Level D? He could have turned into one?" Ace nodded. "Yes. Vincent kind of tries to fix it, you know, kill the Level Ds, since they aren't vampires, they are monsters. And usually he kills everyone who wakes, but Aoba was a child, he was 4. Vincent didn't want to kill a child if he could avoid it, and fed him his blood and took him in. Teached him what he needed to be taught."

Thatch blinked. "Oh. Aoba is awesome." Ace nodded. "Yeah, I like him. We should actually call him, so he can tell Vincent about this island and that we know there are 3 Level Ds here, might be more. It is dangerous. If another boat comes, they will die. Or worse, a vampire manages to come onto the boat and kill them all after they set sail and might get to another island and kill them all as well. We need to stop them." Whitebeard nodded. "We should. We should also set sail at once." Ace nodded. "Yeah."

Thatch then looked at Ace. "But why did smearing your blood on Pops make them back off?" Ace looked a bit uncomfortable. "Because I am a vampire. They can't feed off me properly, and if my blood is not something they see as food, it will make that person seem dangerous, as I am kind of dangerous to them. And vampire blood can be poisonous to a Level D, so they don't want it near them. And Pops is… Pops, he is the leader, so that made them go away from all of you. But that only works for a small bit, when the blood is fresh. It will fade, and they can hunt. They either go for the leader in a group, or corner the easier ones first and work their way around until they are all dead."

Thatch blinked. "Wow. I never knew this." Ace nodded. "Yeah. A lot of… creatures actually have the wrong reputation. Like mermaids and fairies." Thatch blinked. "What?" Ace nodded. "Yeah. Mermaids hunt in groups. Some are kind. But fairies are so mean." Thatch blinked. "That makes no sense! I mean, mermaids are said to bring sailors to their death with their song. But fairies? They are creatures that mean luck, right?" Ace shook his head. "No, they are mean. And they usually bite, and they have poisonous spit. And they are assholes." Thatch blinked. "That is… not cool." Ace shrugged. "Not everything is a fairytale." Thatch nodded. "But still. I feel like all I know is wrong." Ace shrugged. "Maybe it is. I mean, we create lies. Like how crosses harm vampires, a lie vampires made to make people feel safe. Another, which has started to be fazed out, is that a vampire can not enter a home without being invited. And we can. We create this to make people not be always afraid. Fairies did the same as they like to feast on humans or creatures at times."

Thatch blinked. "Okay, that is terrifying." Ace nodded. "I know. But then, all creatures have what are sort of 'accidents', like vampires have Level D, and werewolves have Wargs. And they make the reputation of the actual creature be messed up. I hate that they exist and I am not them." Ace looked upset again and Thatch moved up and hugged Ace. "I am so sorry I thought that they were vampires. I had no idea. I am dumb, okay. Please forgive me." Ace nodded. "It is okay. Many are afraid of us because of Level D's. They also only feed on blood, a real vampire feeds on flesh and organs as well. Ghouls are actually vampires. Ghouls don't exist, and a real vampire feeds on flesh and organs as well."

Thatch nodded and leaned back. "Does that mean you need organs to live?" Ace shook his head. "No, it just helps us feel fed longer and to change out what we eat. Even you would have gone insane if you could only drink and not eat. Even though we like different kinds of blood, it is kinda like different tastes, like different types of syrups." Thatch nodded. "Interesting. I will, in the future, never judge right away. I at times feel I am right since I think I am, but I am not. And I feel bad for upsetting you." Ace nodded. "It is okay. Can we set sail now?" Whitebeard nodded and they did. Ace then said they should call Aoba as he could contact Vincent fast, which they needed to do so more didn't die. He sent Marco to call Shanks' ship.

After a minute, Marco came with a Den Den and looked at Ace. "I am not sure how to deliver this to them, yoi." Ace nodded and took the Den Den, and Aoba picked up. "Red Haired Pirates, Aoba here." Ace hummed. "Hey! It's Ace!" The Den Den smiled. "Hey! What's up? You changed course?" Ace hummed. "No. But we're on an island, and it seems all are dead and we met 3 Level Ds. There might be more. We have left, so I think we're safe. But I'll do a quick search to be sure no one is here." The Den Den nodded. "Okay. What is the name of the island and its location? I will tell Vincent and he will go himself or send one of the other Lords." Ace nodded. "Yeah, thanks." Ace then said where they were and the name, and Aoba said he would deliver this, and that was good. Aoba then said they would most likely meet up in 2 days, which had Ace glad.

Ace then handed the Den Den back to Marco, before Ace said he would do a quick check, but felt no one was here, which was good. A bit later, Ace came back and said no one was here, which was good. When the next day came, Lance and Trevor came back, and when they found out they had met Level D's on the island they had been on and what had happened, Lance hummed. "Interesting. I would have liked to do some tests there." Trevor hummed. "We can probably still go there and do tests." Ace hummed. "Wouldn't suggest it. A Lord is heading there." Trevor gasped. "I would love to do tests on a Lord!" Lance gave a look, which had Trevor move a hand up. "But I would never." Lance nodded. "Good." Ace then hummed. "But if you want to, I can get you someone who is immortal." Trevor blinked. "Please don't be a joke!" Ace nodded. "No joke. He is a total ass, but he is immortal. You can decapitate him and he still talks. You just sew it back on and he is fine. I hate him, but kinda need him."

Lance blinked. "Why do you need him?" Ace blinked. "Or not need need, but he is my preference. I like his blood a bit better than other types. Or more like I love it. And he helps us, we help him. But please, do tests on him and make it hurt." Trevor looked at Ace. "I like you more and more." Ace nodded. "Same." Then the day went on.

The next one, Shanks' boat came close and they boarded and Ace was glad to see Aoba and Aoba was glad to see Ace. Then Ace went on and told about all that had happened, which had Aoba blink. "You beat them?!" Ace nodded. "Yes! Or, not me. Trevor did. He's a witch as well." Aoba looked at Trevor, who waved with a smile, and Aoba seemed uncertain. Ace hummed. "He is cool and helps a lot. But don't go too close or let him get too close. He stabbed me with a needle once, same with Marco. He is… odd. But very cool." Trevor nodded in approval.

Aoba then looked at Lance and Trevor. "Should I maybe tell Vincent to drop by? So you can tell him how you defeated them?" Lance nodded, on his way to talk, when Trevor did, who shook his head. "Should we share this?" Lance looked at the other witch. "Why shouldn't we? I mean, they are a huge problem, we should tell people how to defeat them." Trevor hummed. "I vote no." Lance blinked. "How can you vote no. We need to stop them." Trevor nodded. "And I agree, we should stop them. Not anyone else." Lance moved a hand to his face. "Trevor-" Trevor shook his head and cut Lance off. "No. We, you and I, should do it. Get the recognition we deserve." Lance gave a dumb look, and Trevor spoke again. "I know you don't want to be known, but guess what, I do. I want to be known as a great witch! A great Warlock!"

Lance sighed. "You know what, I don't want to be a part of that. But we can't let them go on." Trevor hummed. "Give me a week." Lance sighed. "Trev, I love you, I do. I get you want to be a Warlock. Many do. But you will still be if you share this. I will give you all the credit, I will." Trevor blinked. "But we can become Warlocks together!" Lance shook his head. "And I have no wish to be one. I want to remain a witch." Trevor rolled his eyes. "You're weird. You don't feel like you have a bigger purpose?" Lance hummed. "I feel I want to help people, I don't need to be a warlock for that." Trevor looked at Lance. "You have the power! Use it!" Lance sighed. "Trev, I won't. I will not be a warlock, I want to stay a witch, I want to help as a witch. Warlock sounds so… war-like. I fight for peace, I don't want to have a reputation to be able to fight, even though I do." Trevor sighed. "I kinda get it, but I also don't. But fine. If you deem it necessary, we will tell people how to fight the doctors from Hell. Who should we tell?" That was good, that he agreed.

Lance hummed. "I think we should start with this Vincent. A lord of the vampires." Trevor nodded. "Cool. How do we call him?" Lance moved a hand and motioned to Aoba. "He does." Aoba gave a small sound. "I am not sure how he will like there are two witches this time. He wasn't happy about you, Lance." Lance nodded. "Tell him before he shows up, so we don't blindside him. We will not go to war against him. Not worth it for us. Maybe this will create a new chapter." He hoped for so as well. He knew it was tense.

Aoba nodded and closed his eyes, and kept them closed for about a minute, before he opened them and looked at Lance. "Okay, he's on his way. Not at all happy that there are two witches, but thankfully he trusts me when I said you weren't going to be mean to him or us, and could tell how you fought the doctors. He is soon here, as he went to that island to handle the Level Ds." Lance nodded, before he looked at Trevor. "And you, keep quiet while he is here." Trevor blinked, on his way to speak, when Lance did with a glare. "You hate authority. You hate people in charge. You want to seem strong. You are, not saying that, but you're rash. Please just let me talk, okay?" Trevor gave a small huff, but nodded. "Fine. I'll be nice." Lance nodded. "Good, since he is close by I think, based on when he was called and that he can most likely fly." Trevor nodded. "Okay, I will do my best." That sounded good.

It was 4 hours later that they could see something flying towards them, and when it was closer, he could see it was Vincent, and when he landed, Vincent's large wings went away and seemed to just disappear, Lance bowed and said a welcome, before he went over how to make the device that made the Dread Doctors not able to glitch, and gave some blueprints to Vincent.

Vincent looked at Lance. "And this thing works? You just put it on the wall and they can't glitch?" Lance nodded. "Yes. Just follow the instructions there. I would have given you one, but I get that might seem dangerous as we could have cursed it. You are free to make it." Trevor opened his mouth to speak, when Lance gave a glare and pointed at Trevor "Quiet. We spoke about this." Trevor gave a huff and crossed his arms as he didn't look happy. Lance gave a breath and looked at Vincent. "I am sorry. He is rash and didn't want to tell you about how he did it, as he was the one to crack the code to this. But he wants to be a Warlock, and not a witch and to be known to be strong. But while he is very smart and strong, he is rash and has a huge thing against people with authority. But I managed to convince him to share this with you."

Vincent nodded. "I see. I am very glad you managed to convince him then. This will help a lot and many." Trevor then spoke. "But don't you dare take my credit for this!" Lance moved a hand to his nose. "I swear, Trevor!" Vincent moved a hand. "No issue. You will get all the credit. Trevor was it?" Trevor nodded. "Cage Trevor. Warlock." Lance rolled his eyes. "You suck." Trevor hummed. "To be known as one, I need to call myself one." Lance sighed, before he mentioned a couple few more things, to make sure they had it all covered.

As Lance had, Vincent nodded and said he would leave, when Lance stopped him. "I am sorry to keep you from leaving, but your right pocket," Lance sent a glare at Trevor, before he looked back at Vincent, "Has a coin. Could I get that back from when Trevor made a small origami bird that put it there. It is nothing very harmful, just brings bad luck." Trevor groaned, and Lance looked at him. "Stop cursing people!" Trevor huffed. "You and Stacy did it all the time to each other!" Lance sighed. "Me and my ex-wife did it half for fun, to see how long it took before the other one found out what and where. Vincent is not in on it." Trevor huffed.

Vincent had now moved a hand to his pocket and took out a small coin and handed it to Lance, who took it. "Thank you. I don't think there is anything else. If you do find or feel anything, please tell me so I can curse Trevor back, just 10 times worse." Trevor huffed. "You curse me, I curse you." Lance moved a hand to his face. "You are such a child at times, Trevor." Trevor gave a small shrug. "I like that about me."

Lance shook his head. "So glad Stacy and I never had children. I can barely deal with you." Trevor looked hurt. "Hey! I am amazing! I was an awesome kid! And still awesome!" Lance sighed, and looked at Vincent. "I think it would be best if you leave now, before Trevor tries to curse a vampire Lord." The last part was said with a glare to Trevor, who shrugged. "What is the difference between normal humans, witches, vampires, sirens, fairies? I don't care." Lance sighed. "There is a difference when the person is not only just someone regular, but someone who is a king, lord, coven witch. Do you have a death wish?" Trevor shrugged. "Not dead yet."

Lance rolled his eyes and looked at Vincent. "Thank you for stopping by, and don't pay any mind to Trevor's madness." Vincent shook his head a bit. "It is okay. I thank you for this, and maybe we can now try and get rid of these Dread Doctors for good." Lance nodded. "I hope so as well." VIncent then looked at Trevor. "And I will be sure to give the credit to you for this device, Cage Trevor, Warlock. And maybe this will turn a new stone for our differences." Trevor hummed. "With that attitude, it might." Lance turned and looked at Trevor with a glare. "I will kill you! Can you for once in your life, be respectful? What if you caused a war?!" Trevor hummed. "Worth it." Lance took a deep breath, and looked at Vincent. "I am sorry about him. He is mostly bark, no bite." Vincent nodded. "It is okay."

Vincent looked at Aoba and Ace. "Hopefully, you are no longer a target for them. Should there be any more issues, don't hesitate to reach out, Aoba." Aoba nodded and smiled. "I won't! Bye!" Ace gave a small laugh. "See you later!" Vincent gave a nod, before he walked towards the railing, his large wings came out, and he took off and flew away. Aoba and Ace then went and waved by the railing and yelled goodbye, seeming to be in very good moods. Trevor huffed. "Why can't you be so happy around me! I am awesome as well!" Shanks chuckled. "Don't take it to heart. It is something Lords can do, create this aura that makes the other vampires that are not Lords feel carefree and happy. They often do it when there is a stressful or serious situation that has happened. I find it very cute. They act so cutesy!" That was something new the captain didn't know, but did make sense. Vampires were interesting creatures, and he hoped things would be calm now and they were done with those doctors.

As Vincent was no longer visible, it seemed Aoba and Ace went back to themselves, and when Ace asked how long Aoba would stay, Aoba looked at Shanks, who gave a breath. "We can stay… I don't know how long." Aoba blinked. "Wait! Aren't we going towards Udo?!" Shanks nodded, which made Aoba look a bit pleading. "They are heading to Jindo! Why can't I stay here, and we meet up on Muuido?! So you and Newgate don't stay close for too long and cause suspicion! And if not, it is a bit over a week's travel, and in 10 days, is the next blood moon! So, I could just fly if we aren't there before one of us really needs to head on!" Shanks thought it over, before the red-haired captain looked at him. "What do you say, Newgate? Can Aoba stay a small bit? Ace and Aoba would love it." Whitebeard nodded. "Of course he can. We can get in touch in a week, to see if Aoba would need to fly or not."

Shanks nodded. "Perfect!" Shanks then looked at Aoba. "Have fun. Even though I know you will. And we will see you later." Aoba nodded. "Yes! Thank you, Shanks!" Shanks shook his head. "No issue." That sounded good, and Shanks then left with his crew, while Aoba stayed behind and this would be interesting. To have Aoba here for that long, to have Ace with Aoba that long. The two seemed to be really close.

-x-

Teach looked at the doctors. "You lost him? How do you lose one measly vampire! I thought you dealt with this kind of thing! I want him! And I want him now!" The Surgeon looked at him. "I told you, that witch got in the way and everyone was there and we had no chance. It is not our fault you went from wanting him dead to wanting him alive." The Pathologist spoke next. "We have some of his tissue, and we will try and refine the serum." Teach gave a huff. "And how do I know you're not just lying? Dragging the time out!"

The Geneticist spoke. "We already told you. Based on the first tests we too-" Teach growled. "I know! And those tests are why I want him alive!" Teach gave a look. "Take Laffitte, make his creature stronger again, and go get him! Kill everyone if you must! Get me that vampire alive!" The Pathologist spoke. "We have already altered and enhanced the kani-" Teach growled. "Just do it!" The Surgeon looked at the Pathologist. "Do it. We leave in 3 days, to make sure the enhancement works at the best, and we can use that blood moon in 9 days. We are not far away and will activate the tracking on the vampire just before we leave as it will alert him. Might take 2 days to reach the vampire." The Pathologist nodded and they left, heading away.

As they were gone, Teach gave a growl as he lifted his chair and smashed it against the wall. He needed that damn vampire!

And that's the chapter! Hope you enjoyed!

Things are happening! And I hope the new year won't be hectic like it has been now. But December is the worst month of the year in my mind, a lot happening all the time and so much that needs to be done, and hopefully I find more will to write as I've been lacking that as well for a reason I don't know

If you have any ideas, don't be afraid to share them!

I hope you enjoyed, and if you want to, I do love feedback, so don't be afraid to leave a review, or send a PM!

If you also want to, I have a Twitter, my name is Azuruko, and I have a discord, my tag/username is just azuruko, as well as a server (Instant invite: discord . gg / 6hzMhbR) where everyone is welcomed! Updates is also posted there, both on discord and on twitter