Chapter Text
Do we get what we deserve?
A simple question that holds the weight of the world behind it, crushing, all encompassing. Some may believe in karma, how your sins in a previous life effect how your current one goes. Some believe who your family is or where you were raised dictates how the world will treat you. Others believe that somewhere a benevolent creator god blesses those who do good deeds with a good life, but only for as long as you don‘t dare to step out of the lines of their many strict rules lest you burn for all eternity.
Who decided that was the best option?
Ace didn’t believe in that shit.
He believed you carved your own destiny, with your blood, sweat and tears.
Life was unfair, you just had to roll with the punches.
Speaking of punches.
Ace bent over backwards to avoid a marine swinging straight for his head, planting his hands firmly on the floor before pushing up and kicking the man in the chin with both feet. The man is launched up and slams his head into the top of the metal hallway, knocking the poor guy out before he even makes it back to the ground. Ace flips back onto his feet as he looked at the crumpled body on the ground and managed a short laugh as he felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins.
“Hah, damn. That was-“ The glass shattered next to his head as a bullet hole punched itself close to where his skull had been a second earlier, turning to see two more marines on the deck aiming their guns at his head
What was in this chest that was so important?
He gripped his bag tighter and jumped back as more bullets peppered the walls of the hallway, Ace quickly turning and rushing down the hall trying to keep ahead of the gunfire as he booked it around the corner. The pings and pops of bullets echoed behind him as Ace skidded around the bend and slid to a stop seeing more marines rushing towards him.
Ace gritted his teeth as he back-tracked and rushed down the metal hall, bullets whizzing by as he ducked and rolled getting really annoyed by the persistence of these marines. He reached for a pipe strapped on to his back as he rolled over the knocked out marine. He turned towards his pursuers as he used the body to hold the pipe steady, aiming at the men rushing at him, one eye closed as he stared down the length of the pipe.
The group of four or five men slid to a stop eyes wide at the barrel aimed straight for them.
One brave man stopped as he saw the strange looking weapon and glared as he realized the ruse. “You idiots that’s clearly a steel pip-“ An explosion sounded in the tight hallway, the man being struck in the shoulder as a round exited the spiraled pipe.
Ace smirked as he grabbed the trigger once more, the pipe containing a hidden gun inside of it. “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover…” Ace let loose another round, the man who had been clutching his shoulder getting struck in the side of his neck, stumbling back with a spray of blood and slamming into the guy behind him.
The rest of the squadron scrambled as Ace returned fire, the marines screaming as more rounds slammed into legs, arms, one unfortunate man hollering as a bullet slammed into one side of his butt cheek. Ace stood up, turning his attention to the men outside that continued trying to fill him full of lead.
It was about time he returned the kindness they had showed him.
Ace aimed the pipe out the window, hitting one of the shooters in the shoulder with a quick shot. He adjusted swiftly to shoot a second man when someone grabbed both ends of the pipe from behind him, pulling tight against Ace’s throat.
The knocked out man had woken up.
“Fuck-“ Ace gasped out, struggling and flailing against the marine. The man only pulling tighter as he attempted crush Ace’s windpipe, Ace starting to see spots in his vision.
Ace braced his feet on the wall and pushed back with all his strength slamming the already concussed man into the opposite wall behind them with a loud boom. The marine coughed and gasped, but kept clinging desperately to the weapon to further push Ace closer and closer to the sweet dark abyss that was threatening every second he couldn’t pull in air.
Ace gritted his teeth not really wanting to resort to this but the guy wasn’t giving him much of a choice in the matter.
He planted one foot on the ground and kicked backwards as hard as he could with his steel toe boot, striking his target.
Ace swore he heard two pops.
The grip was immediately released as the high pitched cry wheezed out of the slowly slipping marine clutching his family jewels.
Ace sucked in the delicious ocean air, the dark tunneling finally clearing up as he rubbed his sore throat, he looked back at the poor bastard behind him gapping on the ground like a fish out of water and clutching his crotch tightly as he tried to block out the agony rushing through his veins. The marine looked like he barely even know what was going on around him anymore with the concussion and the loss of his testicles eyes wide and staring ahead into nothingness.
Ace hated to see that.
He knew he sent any chances of this man having children out the window and grimaced at the sorry sight, “Sorry…” He hissed out before he grabbed his pipe off the ground and ran away from the horrific scene.
Ace’s boots pounded down the hallway and beamed as he finally found the exit door and swiftly kicked it open, the metal door slamming into some poor soul on the other side the man tumbling. Ace rushed past only for the downed man to grab his ankle and send Ace slamming to the ground. His bag flew off, the contents pouring infront of him. Ace sat up and looked around at the scattered mess and felt his body tense at the precious items strewn across the wooden deck.
A large red wood chest, bundles of bills from him converting a lot of his childhood stash into beri, a rolled up treasure map, and a old tattered letter spilled from the green and black bag. The furtherest thrown item, the old looking parchment was slowly heading for the end of the deck and threatened to jump into the sea at any moment.
The one thing he couldn’t lose.
Ace felt panic as he stumbled forward ripping out of the marine’s iron grip; past the chest, past the beri and straight for the very wrinkled piece of paper. He grasped it quickly to his chest as he turned around to grab the bag, stuffing it back into the waterproof satchel. He turned and grabbed multiple stacks of the cash and stuffed it quickly back in, reaching for the chest when a gun shot rang out.
The chest now had a sizable chunk taken out of the corner of it, Ace looking up as an entire group of marine’s had their guns aimed at him. He glowered as a high ranking marine stepped forward, smirking down at the scum sitting on the deck and clinging tightly to his bag.
“I’d step away from the chest if I were you, boy” The man sneered out, Ace clicking his tongue as he eyed all the marines with their guns trained.
Now Ace really wanted that chest.
“And if I don’t?” He asked, his hand still in his bag as he scanned the group for any weakness amongst them.
“Let’s not even entertain that thought…” The man narrows his eyes at Ace not wanting to play games with the young man before him.
Ace found his target.
As much as Ace hated to waste his hard earned money he needed a way to get to his pipe gun and find cover. Ace slipped his thumb under one of the pile of 20s still in his grasp, quickly breaking the rubber band wrapped around it.
One marine singled out.
The man had been twitching, sweat beading on his face as he looked wide eyed at Ace.
Ace could sense the fear.
A ticking time bomb.
He just needed to strike the match.
“I don’t know who sent you-“ Before the commanding officer could finish the words out of his mouth Ace quickly tossed the bundle into the air, the bulk of the beri heading right for the one marine he singled out as the weakest link.
The bundle exploded into fluttering bills, the terrified recruit shrieking as he let lose with a volley of bullets at the moving target. Ace used the curtain of beri to his advantage and shoved the chest back in his bag and tucked and rolled. The other marine’s reacted to the trigger happy man and bullets went everywhere as the formerly tightly-knit group became a volley of friendly fire.
Ace ducked behind a cannon as shots pinged and ricocheted off the thick metal object, clutching his pipe to his chest as he struggled to breathe and looked down to check himself for any wounds.
Ace was untouched.
He honestly couldn’t believe he managed that plan, the odds of him getting away unscathed were not in his favor. Thankfully Ace seemed to have rolled the proverbial dice and landed on seven despite it being loaded for snake eyes.
He gripped his pipe wondering how he was going to take out the multitude of marines with guns all trained at him. He reached into his pouch at his side and frowned, one bullet had managed to snag him. His blue pouch had a hole in it. The dozens of bullets he had painstakingly made dwindled down to around 10 as he turned to see the other rounded spheres spread around the deck, Ace cursing under his breath at the waste. He laid his head back on the metal surface behind him as he groaned before he paused.
Cannon.
Maybe my luck hasn’t run out yet.
Ace slipped the pipe back into the loops on the back of his shirt, shouldering the bag as he quickly turned around to assess the situation at hand. He could still hear the thunderous hail of bullets from the marines behind the cannon and knew there was possibly more coming from the other side. Ace could turn the cannon towards the group and mow them down like a strike in a game of bowling but risked others swarming him afterwards. He needed to cause the most damage he could the fastest way possible. Firing into the middle of the ship would probably work but he’d still have to deal with the marines swarming him from both directions.
A bullet barely missed his hat, Ace ducking down more as he had just got that hat as a goodbye gift from Luffy. He couldn’t let it get damaged already.
He looked down on the deck.
Down.
He took out a lighter and lit the fuse, a plan building in his head.
Ace had a wild smirk on his face as he grasped the heavy cannon and started to push it upwards, the heavy metal creaking and groaning as the young pirate stood up to make the almost 10 foot canon stand straight up. It towered over Ace, the weight and length of the cannon making it highly difficult to keep with the plan he had but he was determined to follow this through.
Let’s hope the universe has a little more luck to spare.
The gun fire slowed down as the group of marines scrambled at seeing the more than 1 ton device stand upwards, not expecting the small pirate to want to or be able to lift the heavy metal weapon like that.
But Ace was used to Garp’s fist of love, and that man was known for launching cannonballs with just his arms.
Ace had fought the tiger king of the forests near Goa kingdom at a young age.
This was feasible feat for Ace.
Ace wrapped arms around the middle of it as he could hear the terrified yells and commands from the marines frantically trying to figure out what this hotshot was going to do with the now armed cannon.
Ace was shaking and sweating bullets as he struggled to keep the device straight up, trying not to let it tilt in ether direction as he watched the fuse go into cannon.
A loud boom rocked through Ace, the large cannon slamming down into the deck as it threw the pirate off of it and onto the floor knocking the wind out of him. He blearily opened his eyes as he watched the cannon ball rush upwards, almost disappearing until it reached the apex of its climb and started to come come back down.
The marines were in a frenzy, not knowing where the heavy ball was going to land. Ace pushed himself up and took the opportunity to flee as the marines blindly ran trying to find cover from their own weapon, some slipping on his misplaced bullets from his pouch and falling down onto the deck.
He hadn’t asked for them to trip up the sailors but at least the bullet were helping Ace escape.
Ace felt a hand on his shoulder grip him tight before spinning him around to face the Commander, Ace getting punched right between the eyes. He grunted as he was sent tumbling across the deck, stars dancing across his vision at the solid blow. Nothing compared to Garp of course, but it was enough to stun him briefly.
The man grabbed Ace by the front of his yellow buttoned up shirt, Ace gripping him at the wrist as he fiercely glared at the Commander with hateful eyes that burned with fury.
“I don’t know what you expected to happen, but it appears your luck has run out kid.”
Ace could hear the cannonball whistling closer and smirked eagerly, “I still got one Ace up my sleeve…. Let’s see where the ball lands. Red or black!!” He kicked the commander in the chest as the ball slammed into the deck.
Ace had expected water to start filling the ship. He had thought the ball would more than likely miss the deck all together. The plan was to use the falling ball of metal as a distraction while the pirate himself ran off in the chaos.
What Ace hadn’t expected was a loud bang and flash of bright light blow the two men down to the deck. Ace was thrown into the railing of the ship as the explosion sent shards of metal and wood around. Ace curled up to avoid majority of the shrapnel, small cuts and bits hitting his arms and legs as he waited for the onslaught to calm down.
Ace peeked through his fingers and his eyes widened.
The roulette wheel spun and the ball had tumbled onto the green 0.
Ace could feel the heat from where he was, the entire hull was tore open and flames were pouring out from the erupted area. His eyes widened in terror as he stumbled up.
Fire.
He could feel goosebumps rise up from his lower spine to the top of his head as he pushed himself up, keeping his eyes locked onto the raging inferno.
He had to get out of here.
Ace felt like the blaze was surrounding him from all sides, it was under his feet it was rising into the sky. It was overwhelming. He hadn’t wanted this, he just wanted to slowly fill the ship up with water… but this amount of damage, the screams of sailors trying to get away from the fire.
It was all too much for the pirate with pyrophobia.
He climbed the railing and tried to leap into the water below. Fuck trying to find his small vessel from the main ship in this chaos.
I need to leave now.
Ace knew he could swim for it. He could hear the roaring behind him, feeling his vision swim as his world spun. Ace steadied himself to jump in but was snatched by the commander, Ace hanging in mid air as he struggled against the larger man.
He wasn't going back on that deck.
“How dare you!!!” The commander yelled out, Ace freaking out at being pulled back onto the ship. “You’re not going anywhere you fucking brat!!”
Ace frantically pulled his pipe off his back, and twisted around as he slammed it full force into the side of the commander’s head. He could see the man’s eyes roll into the back of his head as blood shot out of his nose. The young pirate clung tight to the pipe as the commander let go of his shirt and sent him tumbling head over heels into the water below.
Ace yelled as he hit the water, sinking below the waves and settling into cool calming sea away from the hellish scene on the deck of the marine ship. Ace looked around trying to pinpoint where his vessel was as he stayed under the water. If he was in the water the flames couldn’t touch him, which only eased his panic slightly. If the fire spread to his ship he’d have to rely on one of the lifeboats that would surely contain some very angry marines that would be more than happy to end this thief’s journey before it began.
He spied the small dark spot bobbing on the surface of the water knowing that was his small dingy and kicked through the ocean, easily closing the distance between him and his ship. All those years of rescuing Luffy from sinking to the bottom of the sea had paid off as Ace swam beneath the sinking marine ship making a bee line for his target.
Ace surfaced with a gasp, and his hands found the edge of his ship and tossed his pipe in before he hauled himself in after it landing on his back as he groaned out. He tensed remembering he had tied the ship to the railing of the much larger ship to keep it from floating away. The same marine vessel that was now currently burning down and quickly sinking, threatening to take him down with it. Ace pushed himself up and pulled his dagger out of its sheath and started sawing through the thick rope.
“Come on come on come on!!” Ace chanted out, his eyes darting back up at the fire getting closer and closer to grabbing ahold of the rope he was currently grasping tightly.
He could feel the goosebumps on his arm as he watched the flickering flames growing closer.
The blade went through the last fibers, freeing him from the the death trap. Ace still didn’t have time to sit around as he unfurled the sail knowing if he was too close the ship could pull him down with the undertow or another explosion could even engulf his small ship in the blast.
Ace frantically pulled at the sail, the sheet unfurling rapidly as Ace angled it to get away from the raging inferno. The wind was in his favor as the sheet caught the breeze and started to glide along the deep blue to get free from its radius.
The fire spread quickly, flooding the inside of the ship as the entire scene turned into hell. People running and screaming as the flames spread like a starving creature, latching onto whatever was close to keep itself going. Uncaring in what it grabbed next; wood, fabric, flesh. All was set ablaze as it spread deeper and deeper into the bowels of the ship. It reached a door, the wooden gate left ajar by some careless marine. The fire breached into the room, consuming the door and climbing to the the other side in its pursuit to grab more fuel.
The flames finally reached inside, revealing a bunch of crates and barrels.
Embers dropped further in, the roaring inferno getting ever closer to its target.
The light grew bright enough to show the lettering on the signs.
Flammable.
The massive ship is torn apart from the blast, the heat and wind pushing Ace’s little ship faster and further away. Ace looks back with wide eyes as the inferno reaches into the sky, the black smoke towering from behind him.
Ace gulped as he couldn’t tear his gaze off the scene, the blaze reflected in terrified hazel eyes. He felt his stomach twist as he wasn’t sure if anyone even escape from the ship alive. There was no life boats in the water, he couldn’t see anyone swimming around. If anyone was, there was no way they could’ve swam out enough to escape the blast radius.
Ace had only barely escaped from it using the blast.
He was lucky his sail hadn’t caught any embers.
Ace felt his throat tighten up at the thought how close he was to catching ablaze.
His worst nightmare.
Ace gripped the rope tightly in his hand, his body still shaking from the adrenaline coursing through. He jumped as his bag touched his leg, yanking the rope and yelling as the sail smacked him in the back of the head. Ace growled as he was snapped out of his frozen state, wanting to punch whoever hit him but he couldn’t… as it was his own doing. Ace looked down at his bag on the floor of the small ship, now leaning against his leg. What was in this chest that it was worth the death of that entire marine crew? Ace felt sick, not from the lives lost but the roaring flames still in the back of his mind.
Ace felt himself finally just sit down on the deck of the small fishing ship as he stared at the burning wreckage slowly starting to sink under the waves. The flames, the panic as the heat licked his back as he tried to escape.
The explosion.
Was that what Sabo felt before he died?
Sabo!
Ace frantically grabbed his bag and pulled it open worried about just how water proof this thing was. He dug through the Beri and pushed the chest aside as he grabbed the well worn letter in his hands and relaxed. It was slightly wet from his own hands but the majority of the old parchment was still dry.
He had over the years went through periods of balling up the letter in anger and then turning right around and carefully uncrumpling it. Majority of the words were almost illegible but one that always stayed was a large S with an X through it. But he stilled kept it with him, never wanting to ever forget his brother.
In this way Sabo could travel along side him, even if he was no longer here.
Ace may not believe in ghosts, but he still wanted to carry Sabo’s memory with him.
It’s why he had kept up Sabo’s pipe gun and even learned how to aim it. With his reservoir of lead bullets gone he would need to melt some more when he got the supplies. Ace was grumbling as he realized his hours of work were wasted because of a stray bullet tearing into his blue pouch.
Ace grabbed the bag in annoyance when the rolled up parchment fell out of the bag and brightened up. Right he still had this mystery map. Ace gently put the letter back making a note to sew it inside of the bag so it wont fly out again.
He unfurled the map and his eyes widen as he sees Dawn Island, where he grew up on the paper. He could see Goa Kingdom marked though was sad that the little Foosha village wasn’t listed on the map. But what interested Ace was the smaller island just south of Dawn and closer to the Calm Belt with an X on the center of it.
Ace’s eyes sparkled in recognition.
This was a treasure map.
Ace looked at the already thick stacks of cash inside his bag along with the chest and debated if it was worth it to check out this treasure island? He did lose 1 grand in the fight so it was only fair he try and replenish the funds. But with such a tiny island and so close to Dawn itself, the risk of the amount being small or already taken was very high.
Though he had never heard of Sixis… and he lived on Dawn Island most of his life.
Maybe it was worth the risk?
But there was also the small red chest he managed to grab from the locked room.
The same chest a few hundred marines probably just died over.
Ace’s dread was overshadowed as he was giddy with excitement of what this mystery chest could contain.
Gold?
Jewels?
Maybe a really cool cursed weapon?
He pockets the map and eagerly threw open the lid to the treasure chest and hopes to spy an array of valuable items but looked disappointed.
A bright orange cantaloupe?
Ace grimaced as he poked at the fruit, hoping it was china or even crystal but he knew from the smell and texture it was some type of cantaloupe.
Did these marines rob some poor pirates lunch box instead of their treasure and think it was worth more than it was?
Ace pulled the fruit out holding it up in one hand as he spun the curious fruit around, wondering if it was from the grand line or one of the other 3 seas as it looked different from any melon he’d seen before. He shrugged, and put it back and figured he’d eat it later for his trip towards Logue town. It was at least a 3 day trip and he had lost his food pack in the chaos of the marine ship heist.
Ace didn’t mind melons, though he preferred meat to fruit; plus he could use the chest for his own treasure storage after he ate it.
It was only a slight disappointment to find a fruit instead of treasure.
But Ace still had the map so the raid of the marine vessel wasn’t a total loss.
Ace pulls out his compass knowing he wasn’t too far away from Dawn Island but he was far north of it to head for Logue town as quickly as he could. This map said he needed to go south. Ace stares up at the morning sun judging where it was in the sky and looked back towards the compass as he studied the map.
He needed to go south-west to get anywhere near where Sixis was.
Ace stands up and pulls at the rope, pulling the sail as the ship turned back towards the smoke billowing skyward. He made sure to keep a wide berth around the scene as he didn’t want to chance any survivors grabbing ahold of his ship.
Though he doubted there was any as he could feel the heat from here, he was surprised the sea wasn’t boiling around it. Ace took one final glance at the wreckage he had caused and wondered if he’d even get credit for destroying the vessel. He almost wish there was someone left behind to tell the tale. He was sure with that stunt he’d have a large bounty before even getting to Logue Town. Most pirates got a wanted poster in the grand line so to get one on his first day would be a feat. Though he had never said his name while on board. What kind of alias would they give the mysterious new comer who destroyed a pretty large ship on his own.
Ace winced as a single thought plagued his mind.
I’d hate if it was something to do with fire.
If it wasn’t clear enough, Portgas D. Ace hated fire. Any kind of fire. Fireworks, Bonfires, even fire in a fireplace made him nervous. He used to stay up as a teen and keep his eye on the warm blaze to make sure it stayed in it proper place, not wanting the small fire take ahold and burn down the house. Often Ace sat all the way over in the opposite corner of the room, even in the dead of winter much to Dadan’s annoyance, just staring in horror at the flickering flames. It was only logical that Ace was terrified of the inferno. Him and Luffy had been left behind, tied up as a raging blaze narrowed in on them and threatened to end their short lives in the Gray Terminal.
He had also lost his brother and best friend in a violent explosion of fire…
If hearts could break, his broke that day.
The only type of flame that Ace could handle was candles.
Well that and now small campfires to cook with. Dadan had grown tired of Ace getting extremely ill from eating uncooked meat and knew he’d have to cook as a pirate so she practically tortured him with small campfires until he had grown desensitized to them. It had taken months and the bandits had to resort to tying up the 16 year old to trees to keep him still but eventually he was able to light it himself. Even tend to it without rushing away at the slightest ember jumping out of the circle of rocks.
His prize? A small zippo lighter and slightly less terror around fire.
He was thankful for her doing that but he didn’t like the process…
Maybe with more practice he’d be able to handle larger blazes, but this fight proved he still had a long way to go with overcoming his pyrophobia. There was going to be other fights around fire, and he couldn’t just run in a panic from them.
I almost blew myself up over a stupid fruit….
Ace knew Sabo would be disappointed at him almost kicking the bucket like he had. He had just started on his pirate journey only to almost blow himself up on some random marine ship with not even a single bounty poster to leave his mark on the world.
Ace wanted to change the world, much like Sabo had wanted.
Of course Ace wanted to see Sabo again one day but he wasn’t going to die so easily to his own dumb luck.
If Death wanted him, Ace was going to make it fight for him.
The ocean breeze finally caught a good angle and the small vessel started to cut through the crystal waters ahead of him, Ace clinging to the side of the ship as he looked straight ahead. He look down at the compass and recalls how Sabo used to get on him about learning some navigation skills. Ace didn’t really see a need for it since Sabo was studying that himself and had wanted to make Sabo his navigator. Sabo would always firmly remind him he was going to be his own captain, not Ace’s crew-mate.
‘Captains need to be able to know their way around the sea.’ Sabo would tell Ace. Ace would roll his eyes not taking Sabo that seriously.
Both knew they’d probably head out together anyway, even if they fought over the captain position.
They were a duo, inseparable.
Ace he been determined to have Sabo come with him so Ace himself could focus on captain stuff like fighting and stealing. Though... It was a rough learning curve after he lost Sabo, having to pour into the many tomes left behind when Sabo died. But Ace was successful, he practically knew the navigator book like the back of his hand at this point. If he wanted to he could navigate the globe all by himself with no one to slow him down. But Ace knew he needed a crew in order to stand out and to have a bigger ship than just a simple fishing boat.
Ace needed a crew to even have a chance to beat Whitebeard.
But what crew did he need? He often joked with Luffy that the most important crew member was the musicians but Ace wanted to do his own crew properly.
He needed only the best if he was going to surpass Rodger.
Ace didn’t need a navigator as he was pretty damn good at that, but he did need others. Ace wasn’t the best with the pipe gun as it had orginaly been Sabo‘s weapon, so he needed a better sharp shooter. Though, no one was allowed to touch Sabo’s pipe gun. That was one of the few things Ace still had left of his brother and he would fight to the death to protect it. So whoever he chose for his marksman would have to bring their own gun. To make a perfect pirate crew Ace realistically needed a cook, a doctor, a swordsman, maybe even a huge guy that could tank hits like he was a brick wall.
The first guy to join would be his first mate automatically of course but he wondered what kind of first mate he could get. It would suck if he met another navigator he liked as a first mate, but then maybe he could get his wish of just being the captain only.
But all those hours of studying would go to waste.
What else could Ace get for his crew? Maybe a pet?
He smirked as he chuckled, “Maybe a cat…. Luffy’s allergies can’t stop me now. Would keep the rodents from eating all the food.”
Ace focuses less on what ifs and more on the horizon again, standing at the front of ship as he watches the ocean part to his vessel. Ace thought he’d be more nervous about leaving his home island but over the last few yeas he’d felt the ocean calling to him. He didn’t want to be in one spot for too long but now seeing the wide blue horizon spread out before him; it felt right.
Ace only wished he could make his ship go faster, farther.
He wanted to reach the opposite horizon one day.
An impossible goal he knew, but it was pulling him.
That distant horizon urging him on like a siren’s call. Something instinctual inside of his very core. He wondered if it was a ’Portgas’ thing. Ace didn’t know much about his mother’s side of his family but he liked to think it was her side driving him towards adventure.
Ace glanced down at his compass making sure he was still heading in the correct direction as he smirked eagerly, excited about what the next island could bring. He’d only ever known Dawn Island and he was more than happy to leave most of it behind.
The people he’d miss but the island itself made him stir crazy.
Ace relaxed now that the last embers of the fire were gone from behind him.
The ocean spray, the seagulls calling and the calming wind guiding Ace’s path put him at ease.
Ace was scanning the horizon looking back from the map, to the compass and then the skyline wondering if he was off of his calculations. There was no way though, he was sure he’d be at least able to see the island by now. Sure Sixis was small but there was nothing there in the distance, Ace’s smile slightly failing.
Is this a fake map?
There’s no way, the marines fought too much for a piece of fruit in a chest and a fake map.
Ace stared up at the sun crawling higher in sky and grumbled, he’d already wasted so much time backtracking to come up empty handed for it. He rubbed his face as he he thought about tossing the map into the deep blue ocean around him.
This was just a waste of time.
A wild goose chase.
Ace felt his anger building before he stopped and squinted at the horizon. He scrambled to grab his binoculars as he stared off in the spot of green amongst the great wide blue around him. His vision adjusts and he felt himself beaming as he could see a dense jungle in the distance, not unlike the forests behind Goa Kingdom. Though this looked more wild, more over grown.
Perfect place to hopefully find a secret hidden treasure.
If it wasn’t for this map he would’ve never known about this island only a little bit away from Dawn Island. Ace knew other nearby islands were mentioned by bars as he heard drunk travelers talk about them throughout East Blue, but the name Sixis had never came up.
Ace smiled brightly as he scanned the area for any movement not seeing much.
The likelihood of the treasure being undisturbed rose higher and higher for the young pirate as he put the binoculars back up and angled the sail to catch the wind just right to send the ship right for the green blur on the horizon. Ace smirked as he pulled the rope tight and watched as the green dot started to grow in size. The young pirate rushed to the front of the fishing ship as he watched the waters ahead not seeing any sign of sea kings. He knew he was close to the calm belt and some younger sea kings liked to venture out near Goa Kingdom or even rarely near Foosha village but for the most part he didn’t see any signs.
Ace grabbed his binoculars and kept looking at Sixis feeling the excitement building up with every new glance of the tiny island.
Ace rested as he sat in the boat eager to get to the shoreline, looking up at the bright sunny sky. “First new island as a Pirate Captain. Shit it’s really happening…” His first heist on the open ocean, his first new ground, his first adventure away from the familiar temperate rainforests of his home.
The Spade Pirates start.
Sure it looked small, probably around the entire size of just Foosha village but it was new and exciting. The calls of the gulls drew Ace closer and closer knowing he was so close to breaking new ground on an unknown island.
He stopped as the sail no longer caught wind but the ship kept going with the current, feeling like the ship had been grabbed by something. Ace looked back at the slightly deflated sheet and felt goosebumps crawl up his arms as he stood up confused, looking around with growing concern.
The wind was still blowing, but a invisible force was pulling the small ship along. He could feel the breeze rush through his salt caked hair, Ace frantically looking around as he finally could hear it over the call of the gulls.
The roar of the sea.
He grabbed his binoculars and looked through at the ocean instead of the island in the distance. Ace felt the color leave his face as his eyes locked onto what was pulling him.
Whirlpools.
Tons of them.
Ace dropped the binoculars and rushed around and tugged the rope to angle the sail to catch the wind once more. The sail unfurled again but it did nothing to change the direction the ship was going towards.
The sea had ahold of him and wasn’t planning on letting go.
Ace was about to have a rough start to his first landfall.
“No no no come on!!” He rushed to the back and grabbed a oar to try and help row himself free. He stabbed the wooden oar into the waves and tried to redirect the flow, fighting against the current using the winds help to try and get out of the deadly grip. But after a few powerful bursts the sea ripped the oar from Ace’s grip, leaving him stunned.
He looked in horror at his empty hands, his only way of possibly fighting his way out of this situation was gone. “Oh fuck….”
Ace suddenly was lurched to the side, gripping tightly to the side of the ship as the vessel sped up. The ship was yanked into one of only the first whirlpools of this awakening hell for the young pirate.
Ace struggled to stand up as he stared at the twisting current he was approaching rapidly as he looked around for something, anything to stop this from happening. He rushed to grab a rope and felt the ship tilt to the side as he gripped it tight. He saw his bag start to roll for the edge his eyes widening in terror. He wasn’t going to lose all that he had to his name over some strong damned currents. Ace pushed off the ship, keeping ahold of the rope as he swung around, snagging the strap just before the bag was lost to the swirling waters.
Ace’s foot touched the water, feeling his leg getting pulled down by the waters, his steel toe shoe getting snatched off. He clambered back up the rope as he braced against the deck, the sea violently tossing him back and forth as he struggled to keep ahold of the rope. He just had to keep ahold and weather through this hungry maw of the ocean, Ace keeping his bag on his back as he gripped the side of the ship.
He never saw the rock coming.
The ship slammed hard and fast into the protruding land, sending Ace swinging up into the air as he screamed in terror. The rope pulled taunt, Ace feeling his shoulder pull in a bad direction before the rope snapped.
The pirate hit the water hard, feeling like he had hit a brick wall. The air he wasted in yelling was lost as he tried to kick to the surface but he quickly was sent down to the sandy floor. His back slammed down and Ace coughed out, bubbles escaping as he was violently dragged left and right along the bottom by the maelstrom of whirlpools. He clasped his hands over his mouth to keep what little air he had left as the deep blue threw him around.
Everytime he thought he’d be given mercy, feeling the ocean let him go back up Ace was forced back down with a slam.
He clung tightly to his bag, eyes shut as he tried to wait it out.
The ocean had to spit him out soon.
It couldn’t just keep him.
I can’t die here!
Was he doomed from the start?!
Sabo was lost in fire, was Ace to be lost in water?
A sharp pain exploded in his head, a flash of light behind his eyes made Ace’s body go limp. His eyes opened wide in shock and agony but he couldn’t see anything as the water rushed into his lungs and the abyss swallowed him up. The last feeling he felt was his body going upside down as he fully lost himself, the burn in his lungs ebbing away as his conscious drifted away.
The compass spun and twirled as the current took him.
Blackness.
Sabo.
I guess I’m meeting you soon.