Hello and welcome my dear readers!

A little bit of info about my attitude towards this story:

It is an idea that has been in my head for a while, kind of swishing around and cooking. I feel like it's ready to finally greet the world.

This story is not my priority, so updating will be slow and random. Mostly it's a case of me reading a review and getting inspired.

This is also my first time writing for OP, I'm a bit nervous hehehe~

A little bit about the story:

Timeline is before Luffy sails, a few months after Ace and WB had a showdown.

I have a bit of a plot, but it is still in experimenting stages. I mostly want to see how my OC and Ace interact. I have no idea where I am going concerning Ace's death either. I figured, I'll deal with it when it comes.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the plot; also some headcannons I suppose

Chapter 1: Strange Waves Sailing – Mix by Kill mR DJ

It's been a few weeks since Ace has succumbed to the inevitable. The Spade Pirates were swallowed into the giant crew of the Yonko, Whitebeard, and he, their Captain, wasn't an exception. The young man was pissed to say the least. At first he had acted rashly, trying to take the Whitebeard's head. Many times. He wasn't one to give up. He sometimes wondered if his stubbornness was a fault or a value. Value, he had decided. It was most definitely a value. That's what has gotten him all the way. His stubborn head.

In spite of all doubts, of all the bad things, he had believed in both himself and his dream. His crew had become a part of that dream quickly. Spade Pirates were his dream. But then, this beast of a man, this monster full of power, swallowed them like nothing.

Ace wondered when he had been lulled into the sense of security. He thought that maybe, just maybe, when he denied the title of Shichibukai, his nose had lengthened a tad. Ok a lot. He had grown arrogant and reckless. He supposed that he was lucky that Whitebeard was the one he had gone after. Then again, his crew members were no pushovers. They could hold their own. But not against the Commanders. Even less against Whitebeard. He had seen that damn flaming chicken in action a few days back. Ace didn't want to admit it, but the first commander was impressive. And he had also seen that other guy, Vista, going berserk. Ace didn't want to admit it, but he was below their level. He needed more training. He needed to get stronger.

Ace has been stationed in the Second division. It was Commander-less, which was unfortunate for the members. That meant that they had to train on their own, or seek help from other Commanders and fellow division members. Not like a lot of them trained. Mostly they sang, drank and danced. Yes, the Whitebeard Pirates were big on parties. Ace couldn't believe it at first. He thought only Red Hair went all out on the booze, but he had been wrong. Shanks was so laid back, so relaxed at all times, with a great sense of humor, parties somehow suited him and his crazy crew. Whitebeard, on the other hand, he seemed serious. Too serious for the drunk insanity that pirate parties brought with them. But, Ace had misjudged the man. Maybe because he had fought him first, then partied with him? He couldn't imagine many of his enemies partying. That brought a bad image into his head.

But, the worst part about the Commander-less division was the thrice damned paperwork. Ace had been taught how to read and white, along with Luffy, mostly by Makino. That poor woman. The duo had been impossible to handle. He admired her patience and mental strength. And then Sabo had come. He, too, knew letters. After teasing Ace and Luffy a whole lot, the stubborn brothers had showed their guts and learned how to write. At times like these recent ones, Ace wished that he hadn't been that stubborn to learn to read and write.

Not many pirates were literate, so it fell to the ones who were to do the paperwork. The flaming chicken helped often, letting them ask questions, but the actual work was always on the division members. The Whitebeard pirates had a strict system. They were protectors of many territories and the divisions were responsible for their parts of the land. That required reading reports from said islands, calculating supplies, sending the proper amount of gold to them, assigning a group to go settle disputes and other things like that. It was almost like running a country. And man, Ace wasn't King material no matter how much he looked the part. He hated the paperwork. He had adopted a strategy; annoy the flaming chicken with as many questions as possible. The First Commander would then deem him unable to do the papers and dump them on another crew member or do them himself. Ace didn't mind looking a bit stupid if it meant being paper-free. Sooner or later, Marco would get suspicious, if he wasn't already. The Commander knew exactly how smart Ace was. And the youth found it annoying that the seemingly laid back man was figuring him out fast. He couldn't wriggle out of his chores these days because of the flaming chicken. He had thought that he was quite proficient in the chore-evasion-skill, but alas, the Commander had caught onto his game. Cramping his style.

Ace sighed, enjoying the night air. It was late, the party, one of many, had finally simmered down, leaving the raven in silence. The former Captain lay on his back, comfortable on the upper floors of the deck. He had figured out in the first couple of days aboard the Moby Dick that not many visited the roof of the Captain's quarters. He often lay there, unbothered, like tonight. There was a cup of sake next to him, almost empty. He hadn't drunk a lot. He usually does, but he didn't. Irrational. Uncharacteristic. Ace wasn't in too good of a mood. He felt nostalgic and melancholic. Almost like he missed Foosha Village. Keyword almost. He missed Luffy a lot. Mostly when they docked. He couldn't wait for his brother to join him at the seas. But he never regretted his choice to leave first. They each had their own adventure, wherever their path took them.

Ace took a sip of the sake, enjoying it. It was rare for the crew to drink sake, but Ace had been super sneaky and had snatched some from a very drunk Thatch. Who had probably gotten in from Whitebeard's stash. They would, without doubts, be sorry later, but it was worth it. The sake was great.

Ace opened his eyes, looking at the sky. It was huge, with thousands if little lights. Magical looking. He liked this. Laying on the roof, the planks still warm from all the sun during the day, good sake in his hand, wide starry skies above him and the sound of the ocean lulling him to sleep. This was how life was supposed to be.

~~~~~pb~~~~~

Ace awoke to the uncomfortable shaking of his shoulder. He tried to shove the person away, but they continued to bug him.

"Leamlone." He mumbled, rolling away from the offending hand. But the determined limb followed him and shook him once again, a distant voice calling his name.

"I said leave me alone." Ace clarified, rolling onto his back. He slightly opened his eyes, only to meet Marco's bored gaze.

"Get up, Pops is looking for you, yoi." The First Commander told him. That was an order. Ace disliked orders. That's why he had been Captain in the first place. The raven sat up and suddenly his head pounded angrily. His hand rose to rub his forehead. He heard Marco laughing at him. Stupid flaming chicken. Ace was tempted to fire a bird joke. He stopped himself in time, though. The First Commander had iron self-control, but when he let loose, he let loose. As in full-on rampage loose. It was cool, when it wasn't directed at Ace.

The raven stood, his head protesting again. He stumbled, only to get caught by the first mate. Marco helped him down onto the deck and left him there. "That's what you get for drinking Pop's sake, yoi." The Commander threw with a final laugh over his shoulder. Ace attempted to walk to the Captain's quarters with dignity. Which meant a straight line. Well, maybe not straight, but decently straightish. It failed. A couple of times he greeted the wall. He blamed the wall.

Finally, his destination was in front of him. He knocked on the huge door and entered, after hearing the approval.

"Morning, Pops." He greeted, the words still weird on his tongue. He saw Thatch sitting in front of the Yonko. The pompadour head looked as bad as Ace felt.

"Good morning, son." Whitebeard boomed, both of his currently present sons flinching. Ace wondered if the man was doing it on purpose. Highly probable. "Take a seat." The Yonko continued. Ace settled himself next to his partner in crime. Whitebeard stayed silent for a while, watching the troublemaking duo squirm.

"Gurarararara!" The mountain of a man laughed, his sons cringing again. "That's what you get for taking my stuff, you two." The old pirate didn't seem too mad. He seemed amused. "I suppose I need to give you a punishment, don't I?" Ace and Thatch exchanged glances. Ace didn't expect this conversation to go like this. He expected yelling. He expected anger. Not teasing and amusement.

"Well then." Whitebeard continued as his sons were silent. "You will be cleaning the lowest floor of the ship along with your usual chores." Thatch froze, his face expressing horror. Ace wasn't sure why the Commander looked that terrified. He had never been on the lowest level, though. He had heard that it was mostly used for storage, but other than that, no one really talked about it. Or went there, for that matter. "Also, on the nest island, you will be the ones running errands and watching the ship." Ace smirked. This wasn't a punishment at all. This was a normal day on his ship. Thatch, on the other hand, looked heartbroken. Obviously he had wanted to party and have fun with his brothers on the next island. Now those dreams were crushed. The pompadour was looking at the old man with a gaze that could only be described as puppy eyes. Ace watched in amusement as the Yonko didn't react to the silent pleading.

"Scram."

Ace and Thatch jumped up at the dismissal, grinning at each other while leaving. The raven could feel his new Captain's stare on his back. It didn't waver until the door closed after the duo. Marco was standing outside of the quarters, waiting for his turn to speak with the Captain. He smirked at Ace and Thatch, the latter sticking his tongue out to retort. The First Commander looked unusually smug, rather than bored. For the second time that day, Ace wondered what the lowest floor was all about. Obviously it was a bad punishment. He decided that he would ask Leo about it. Thatch and Ace split up, the Commander heading to his rooms and Ace targeting the cafeteria.

The glutinous raven was at the desired destination in a few minutes. He truly loved this ship, Ace realized. The layout was brilliant. And he admired the cafeteria. His ship had had only a small dining room. But this, this was a kingly cafeteria. Maybe it was due to Ace spending so much time in it, maybe it was just because he liked it, that the raven had memorized that room first.

It had a high ceiling, with a bit of the construction visible. Some of the crew members liked to lounge up there while eating and drinking. Ace didn't find the position too appealing. He couldn't get seconds easily from up there. The room had a few long tables in it, able to accommodate the large number of Whitebeard Pirates. There were windows on the opposite side of the door, allowing the ones sitting near them to look out to the sea while eating. Ace liked to sit at that table, the furthest from the door, but the closest to the round windows. The pirate greeted some of the rare awake members of the crew casually, only half-listening to the mumbled, sleepy responses. He walked over to the window where the cooks gave them their food and greeted the pirate on-duty.

It was a fairly older man, younger than Pops, but still old compared to the rest of the crew Ace associated with, maybe in his forties? He had practically adopted Ace, delighted with the young man's appetite. Thus, the raven had gained his reputation of a black hole for food fast. The old man was a horrible gossip, though.

"Morning, Kondor." The cook turned to him, lowering the wine bottle from his mouth.

"Ace, my boy!" A grin spread on Kondor's face. He looked rather tipsy. Hell, he looked drunk. Ace figured that the party never stopped for some of them. He wondered if he, too, would end up like this someday, drinking wildly in his forties. He smiled at the mental image of his old self hugging an older Luffy and chugging down booze.

"Will it be the usual?" Kondor brought Ace back to reality, and the younger nodded. By now, most of the cooks knew Ace's menu. He ate a lot, but he liked to eat the familiar food.

"A-aaah~ Delightful!" Kondor began preparing the food without looking. He was focused on the way Ace had cringed at the older pirate's volume. "Hungover, I suppose?"

"Yeah, I participated in Thatch's devious plan." This caused the old pirate to laugh out loud. Ace shushed him, holding his head gingerly. The man apologized, but kept grinning. His tone, however, lowered. Thatch was famous for his shenanigans. He was infamous for that time he had sabotaged the whole kitchen. Everyone had ended up with extremely hot chili in their food. The faces had been priceless. Ace had also heard that one story about when Thatch had first arrived on the crew. The lad had ended up stranding them in the Calm Belt white helping out with the navigation. From there on a series of mischief had started. And no one escaped Thatch.

"Yeah, we drank Pop's sake. I feel like I've been fired out of a cannon." Kondor gave Ace another smile. The older man was snickering.

"I'll mix something up for your head."

"Thanks." A comfortable silence ensued as Ace watched his food get ready. He liked hearing the sizzling of the fresh vegetables on the hot oil. The smell of the delicious food spread soon, the grilled garlic making Ace's mouth water. He couldn't wait to get something in his stomach.

"A-aaah~ We are almost out of pepper. I hope there's an island nearby." Kondor sighed while arranging food.

"I was assigned to navigation last week, I don't think we'll be docking in a while. Maybe two weeks." Ace informed the older pirate. Kondor sighed again, passing the raven some of his food.

"Maybe I'll ask Commander Marco or Commander Thatch to send some faster boats to get supplies." Kondor went back to preparing the rest of the food. "Pepper isn't the only thing we're low on. The problem is, that Commander Marco doesn't understand just how important pepper is. It is like the-" And that is where Ace tuned out. Sure, he liked the man enough, but when Kondor started talking about cooking supplies, he was unbearable. Ace preferred just to let him ramble and nod along.

"A-aaah~ Have you heard anything new about Vista's group, Ace, my boy?" The cook questioned. Vista had gone with a small group of his division members to calm some rampaging pirates near an island protected by Whitebeard. So far, they haven't reported any disturbances that Ace knew of. Then again, Ace was a new member, he was still under a mentor of sorts. Leo was a terrible mentor, but he was a good friend. The young man was a bit older than Ace, a member of the crew for two years already, and he had volunteered to show Ace the ropes after witnessing the raven's determination. Ace was willing to bet that Leo had had a pool going on how many attempts of Whitebeard's head would the former Captain have. Then again, that could've been Thatch, too. All Ace knew is that Marco had won a whole load of money. The flaming chicken had been smug for days.

"Sorry, Kondor. I don't know anything new. Ask one of Izo's. He was on communications last I checked." Ace had remembered all the Commanders just fine. He had known them even before attacking their captain. It was the constant changing of their duties that confused the lad. The Commanders had a deal of some sort. They would suddenly change their duties, just randomly swap them. When he had asked Thatch about it, the pompadour had told him how they liked to mix things up, and that Ace shouldn't worry his pretty, little head about it. That of course, caused the young pirate to argue back, the only word registering in his mind was the little part. And then it ended in a brawl, which Marco broke up. Flamingly broke up. It had been awesome.

Ace felt his focus slipping, the meat he had snatched from one of the already ready plates going down his throat just in time. The next thing that happened was completely expected of Ace by now. His head hit the tabletop, body slouching slightly forward. Kondor laughed and continued cooking, leaving the youth to his narcoleptic habits.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ace tuned back into the world, like he hadn't been asleep. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't in the same place as before. He was settled at a table, in his usual favorite spot, near the windows. There was a pile of food in front of him, too. Without asking questions the youth dug in.

"Awake, I see?" A voice came from Ace's left. He turned slightly to give Leo a nod and continued shoveling food into his mouth. The other pirate sat calmly, sipping a drink occasionally. He knew by now that one didn't separate Ace from his food.

"Kondor and I moved you here." Leo informed his charge. "More people were coming to eat, and you were kind of blocking the path." Truly, now that Ace was paying attention, more people were in the cafeteria than before. The raven felt his head pulse once again in protest of the noise. Leo saw him pause in his breakfast, if it could be called that, and passed him a glass of red, evil looking drink. Ace looked at his mentor, raising an eyebrow. He was not drinking that. Not even if it were a dare.

"Kondor said this would help." Leo smiled at the reluctant pirate. "Honest, it does. I've drank it several times." Ace inspected the liquid once again. He almost expected it to bubble and steam on its own. Leo pushed the glass closer to him and Ace caught it. He slowly tipped the thing, smelling it. Damn, it smelled as foul as it looked. It was evil. Straight from hell. He wasn't drinking that. Suddenly someone pinched his nose shut and the glass made contact with his lips, the liquid going down his throat. Ace managed to fight off his 'helper' after he got over the shock of drinking the so called medicine. Thatch was laughing, almost in tears, at the expressions and colors that passed the raven's face. He took a seat on Ace's other side, gulping the rest of the evil drink himself. Leo pushed his own drink to Ace now, the raven recovering a bit after washing down the red goo with sweet tea.

"Damn it, Thatch!" Were the first words that left Ace's mouth. The pompadour grabbed some food from the raven's many plates and ran away laughing. Ace yelled profanities after him, only causing the laughter to spread in the cafeteria.

"Whatever you do, don't ask what's in that drink." Leo told him once he calmed down. "Trust me." The youth assured him, eyes serious. Ace grunted and continued eating. The food was one thing that was good here. It wasn't the usual barely edible cafeteria food. The chefs made it at the spot, and there was a fixed group of them. For example Kondor, he had been permanently assigned to the kitchen. Ace still hadn't asked why. He had heard that Thatch had some skills in the kitchen, but still hadn't gotten the chance to try his cooking. It was strange, Ace hadn't been trying to be friendly at all. In fact, he had been very unpleasant and guarded, making attempts on the Whitebeard's head, too. Yet, he had gained friends already.

Like Leo. Leo was definitely his friend, Ace summarized. The man often reminded the raven of how Sabo might have turned out. It wasn't only the hair color. But Leo had that noble air around him. For the love of Calypso, he drank tea in the morning.

But, all in all, his mentor was cool. A little taller than Ace, and much more slender, almost like a scarecrow, which the raven had called him in the beginning. Leo had blonde hair, wavy after taking a dip in the ocean to pull his Logia friend out. He had left a long ponytail, as a sign of rebellion, Ace figured, at the nape of his neck, that went almost to the middle of the pirate's back. Whenever Ace saw the piece, he would imagine Leo's hair at that length and laugh like a maniac. Sometimes he even added Commander Izo's makeup to his mental image.

Commander Izo. Man that was a topic. Ace wasn't too sure if the guy was ok, or completely bonkers. One thing is for sure, Ace had never gotten set up with a man before Izo did it. The Commander was apparently a romantic, and a mischievous devil at heart, and he didn't really bother with genders. Talking to someone in Izo's presence was basically the same as professing your undying love for them. It was fun to watch the matchmaking, but not to be a part of the Commander's game.

"You done?" Leo asked, bringing Ace back to the real world. The latter looked to his plates. He had been eating on autopilot.

"Let's go." Ace stood, trying to carry all of his plates. Leo took almost half, laughing at the younger pirate. They dropped the dishes off at the kitchen and headed outside.

"Leo! Ace! Wait, you two!" Kondor's voice rang through the window between the kitchen and the cafeteria. The duo returned, to find the old man scribbling something in a hurry.

"Here, take this to Commander Marco." He shoved the piece of paper at them, Leo catching it. Ace leant over to see a list of ingredients along with quantity. The old cook was precise. "And this, too." And then a tray with food was pushed towards them. Ace picked it up easily, reassuring the cook that they will do it.

"The poor boy will make himself sick. He works too much, and all the time, too." Kondor kept complaining as Leo and Ace left the cafeteria, heading for the Commander's quarters.

Being a Commander had its perks. For starters, your own room. Then, a tub. Ace had seen it when he first arrived. He had been placed in the rooms of the Second division Commander. The room hadn't been designed or anything, because of the absence of its owner. It still had what the others did, though. A comfortable bed, a nice tub and windows overlooking the sea.

Leo knocked on Marco's door. After getting a bored sounding 'come in' they entered. The Commander had done well on anterior design, Ace decided. The bed was impressive at least. It had a bloody canopy. Marco was seated at his desk, back to them, writing.

"Marco-san, Kondor from the kitchen sent us." Leo began, catching the Commander's full attention. The flaming bird looked at the food, in what Ace deemed to be happiness. The Commander was really good at not showing his emotions on his face.

"Thank you, yoi." He said, standing. "Won't you take a seat?" Leo and Ace exchanged glances, wondering if they were in trouble. Ace felt his focus slipping once again, but he didn't have time to warn Leo or Marco, he just slouched forward. The two pirates realized what was happening and jumped into action fast enough. Leo caught Ace around the middle, stopping his fall and Marco saved the tray of food. The two looked at the lightly snoring pirate and laughed at the randomness of his narcolepsy.

~~~~pb~~~~

Marco closed the door of his room behind himself. The random way that Ace fell asleep was hilarious. The first Commander and Leo had ended up chatting while Marco was eating and Ace was out cold. The Commander had left the young pirates in his room, Leo waiting for the raven to wake up. They had been assigned to lookout this morning. That would keep Thatch away from Ace. When those two came together it never ended well. And Leo with Ace, he was like a safety blanket. The young pirate could do damage control on extreme levels. Marco was impressed.

The first mate headed towards his Captain's quarters. Whitebeard hadn't gone out to the deck yet. Most of the crew was still recovering from the party anyways. They have been sailing for a while and they were getting low on supplies. Marco had already gotten quite a few complaints from the other Commanders. One of the pirates passing him in the hall threw him a 'good morning' and the first mate returned it. He truly loved this crew.

The new additions weren't bad either. Marco had to admit that he had been skeptic at first. Fire Fist had seemed like a rookie going wild. Untamable and completely insane. One of those pirates. But, since Pops insisted, they had met the Spade Pirates. Marco had realized after a while that under that hotheaded, stubborn exterior that Ace liked to put on, under all that arrogance was a rather sweet and sensitive boy. He was ridiculously loyal for starters. Not to mention he felt so much and faced those feelings head on, without showing his burden on the outside. But there was also a side that worried Marco a bit. Ace had a rather dark part of him. Some kind of self-hatred or something. The Commander still hadn't figured it all out, but he knew that there was something. It bothered him.

On the other hand, the lad had proven himself to be a good sport. Thatch was already very fond of him. The pompadour had spoken in Ace's favor more than once to the Commanders. By now, Marco had to agree with Pops and Thatch. Ace was a good addition to the crew and so were his pirates. The first mate knocked on Whitebeard's door.

"Enter." The Captain grumbled from inside. It didn't sound like he was in a good mood. The doc had probably lectured him about alcohol intake once again. That woman was fearless. The Commander went into the Captain's quarters, closing the door behind him. The room wasn't too big. It was about the same size as Marco's. Their Captain didn't believe in distancing himself from his children in that way. True, he had quite a bit of fancy furniture in there, but those were mostly given to the old man by his sons as gifts.

"Pops, I've made a list, yoi." Marco cut to the chase. Neither of them had time to waste. "There are supplies needed in the kitchen and in the armory. Also, the doc supplied her own list of medicine that we are low on. It isn't too long, but it is rather urgent."

"We will be docking by the end of next week. Will we hold out?" The captain asked, reading over the necessary items.

"Some of the things are urgent. Especially the medicine." The Commander said, seating himself on the end of his leader's bed.

"I see." The captain nodded. "Get me my Den Den Mushi."

~~~~pb~~~~

The girl carefully switched her grip on the hot metal handles. She had been flying for hours and her glider had gotten unbearably warm. Her stomach protested the long flight and the teenager caved. She moved her body, feeling her joints pop at the movement. The shift of the weight caused her glider to gently lower itself downwards, leaving the strong wind current it had been using for a while.

Her glider wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it was one of the more comfortable open top ones. Not only did it allow a variety of positions, but it also could carry quite a bit, even if it was considered to be one of the smaller machines by the United Flyers Organization, more commonly known as UFO. The glider had been built out of scraps and some of the parts she had bought herself or been given out of charity. It was a unique machine, of her design, accommodating all her needs. The wings were rather wide, a little over three meters each, giving room for a rather small body of the glider, which had an impressive storage space for its size. The glider had two high handles on top that stretched all the way to the bottom of the machine, allowing her to fly on both sides. She had recently put a leather strap in the middle of those on top, so that she could lie down while flying or sit when resting. The glider used natural energy to propel itself, utilizing the impressive technology from the sky islands to collect reserves for the next takeoff while flying at great speeds. In the end, the machine had been painted like a bird, in bright colors, with many trinkets, bells, feathers and loose materials hanging from it. She liked to call it the Sparrow.

The hot metal sizzled as it touched the warm ocean surface. The pilot smiled, welcoming the stray drops that landed on her hot visor and pilot suit. She had started wearing the proper suit a few years back. At first, she had considered the bulky protective gear ridiculous and refused to use it, but after one too many sunburns and colds from the upper cool currents, she had changed her mind. It was a full-body suit, that shielded her from the cold and the sun rays. However, it didn't have a self-regulating heating system. In other words, in was like a portable sauna. So the teen still preferred to go suit-less on shorter flights.

The glider stopped finally, now just gently rolling with the waves. Time for a short break. The girl got up from her lying position on the machine, taking of her flying glasses and suit. A bikini top and shorts underneath the suit were the best after all. She liked the half of the long skirt she had tied on her left side, too. It really didn't do much, but it looked cool to her. Besides, it accented her many belts, pouches and keys better. She released her long chocolate colored hair from the cap of the suit and let it flow in the breeze. The air was heavy with salt, but not unpleasant. She took out a sandwich from one of the heat-regulating pouches attached to her belt. The teen sat on the cooling metal of her glider, enjoying her quick lunch and the peace of the ocean.

Purupurupuru!

Kacha!

"This is the Sparrow, how may I help you?" The girl answered her Den Den Mushi automatically, with the already well practiced phrase.

"Brat, where are you?" Whitebeard's booming voice sounded from the blue snail, making it jump funnily. The teen smiled.

"Currently I am very near the Sabaody Archipelago, heading into the New World. Would you like to place an order?"

"Yes." There was a slight commotion on the other end of the line.

"Ran, can you hear me, yoi?" The voice of the First Commander sounded.

"Receiving loud and clear." She replied.

"Take a pen and paper, it's a list, yoi."

"Please wait a moment." She told the Commander, hitting a button on her Den Den Mushi. For the next few minutes, Marco listened to a cheery radio song while she rummaged through her storage for the supplies.

"I'm ready to take down your order." And the Commander listed all the necessary things and quantities, especially the pepper. He could almost imagine Kondor's delighted face upon hearing about the package on the way.

"And where would you like this delivered?" The girl, Ran, asked once the list was complete.

"The Moby Dick. You can check in on our course after you have all the supplies, yoi." The commander told her. "And when you deliver we will estimate the price."

"Thank you for calling!" Ran ended the call, a smile on her face. Finally a job! The list wasn't too long, and she knew where to get all of these things. Also, Whitebeard was a great customer, he always paid the proper price, often giving her a generous tip, too. And, he often invited her to stay on his ship for the amazing parties and the free booze. She never could say no to the free booze. Or to all of the awesome, half naked, drunk, handsome, strong pirates. Those got to her every time.

Plucking off some of the leftover bread from her sandwich, Ran threw it to the fish that had gathered around her glider, curious at the intrusion. She shoved the remaining food in her mouth and gulped down some water from her glider storage. She was running low on water. Well, there was an island nearby, she could restock there. She looked at her Log Pose, which was on the tip of her glider, making a decision. The girl jumped into the ocean, joining the now startled fish. For a few minutes she swam with the small school, cooling herself down. Then she pushed herself back onto her glider and shoved the protective suit into the storage. She wouldn't need it for this short trip. Ran tied her long hair in a bun, putting her signature chopsticks in it, bells on the ends gently tinkling. She adjusted her pilot goggles back onto her face and prepared for take-off. And with a splash of salty droplets, the Migratory Bird headed upwards.

That's all folks!