Small mistakes corrected. Beta'd partly (FOR NOW) by Kurapikababu and Mercyless

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Author notes:

I am sorry, I promised myself that I would not publish or write another fic until I felt more secure, and at least write more for my other Fic "Anchor and Compass."

But, noooooooooo, this idea would not leave me alone, and I couldn't focus on my work, sleep or my other Fic.

So here I am.

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ONLY if there is interest in this fic, will I continue writing it now. (At least that what I keep telling myself.)

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Again, I don't own one piece (I wish, Ace would still be with us), this is my Second Fic (YAY, the first is still being posted/wrote). And I still don't know what the hell I am doing (will I ever know, pleaseeeee tell me).

I have two beta now :), the wonderful Kurapikababu who checked, as much as she could, this chapter.

You totally should check her stories and arts, if you are OP fan you will appreciate it. (I know I do ^^)

And the amazing Mercyless, who did great work on editing, and making the whole chapter more presentable.

Go check her first fanfiction "Soldier Dream" (mercyless witness), gave some love and encouragement.

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Warnings:

English is my fourth language. That's all for now folks.

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Hope you enjoy,

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It was early morning; the moon had already disappeared, but the sun had yet to shine in all of its glory. The sound of waves crashing against the ship could be clearly heard.

Some would find the quiet eerie, but Marco preferred these kind of quiet mornings. That probably said something deep and meaningful about him, he pondered.

He hoped they weren't attacked today. The attacks were entertaining, and a big crew like the Whitebeards needed to be entertained. But supervision of the clean-up afterwards was his duty: repairs, taking care of the wounded, deciding on how to handle (dispose of, usually) the attacking pirates that were generous enough to provide the entertainment, any treasure they had on board of the ship, and the list goes on and on.

How to handle an attack and what to do afterwards was a routine that everyone was quick to learn after joining the crew. However, when he was the person in charge of making it happen, then it was annoying, and he wasn't in the mood. He would love to have a relaxing day.

He paid several Beli to the News Coo, and after putting several newspapers copies and wanted posters under his arm, headed to the mess hall.

It was early enough that the mess hall was still mostly empty, except for some early birds, those on night watch, the overnight mess hall staff, and some of his fellow commanders who were all having an early breakfast. Ace was eating with the commanders. No, not eating, considering his face was planted in a plate of yellow...something. Grits with butter? He wasn't sure what it was.

This was becoming a familiar sight; especially the face-planted Ace, Marco thought. Haruta was poking him with a spoon, and Jozu (God bless him) was trying to stop him, while Vista and Rakuyo were betting on when would he wake up this time and the reason (Haruta's poking?). Izo was shaking his head and eating his chocolate crepe, the one that only Thatch could make it to his liking.

The familiar sight was actually new one, less than five months old to be exact. He didn't mind it being a familiar sight.

Five months ago, who would have believed that Ace, the same Ace that vehemently refused to join their crew and tried to assassin their father three times a day (in average), would be eating (sleeping!) on the table, all relaxed, Whitebeard pirates all around him. It hadn't been an easy transition. For a while, he had been sure that Ace would leave them and try to begin anew.

But here he is, one of us, our brother, Marco couldn't help the small smile that adorned his face at this thought. And now (only after five months), they were considering appointing him a second division commander to fill the vacant post. It shows how well liked he is.

Thatch, bringing plates of food, full of meat, fruits, and pancakes, spotted him and shouted, "Good morning, Marco. Anything interesting in the news?" cutting his musings short.

"Good morning, yoi. See for yourself, didn't have the time to check yet."

Marco sat in the vacant seat beside Ace, Haruta, who was still poking him, said, "Morning, Marco."

He answered back, and handed some of the newspapers and wanted posters around, placing some in the table in front of Ace, which finally accomplished what all Haruta's poking couldn't achieve: Ace stirred, waking up.

"Damn you, Marco!" Rakuyo shouted.

"Pay up!" Vista laughed.

Marco gave them both his most unimpressed look.

Ace, still sleepy, was oblivious to the dispute happening around him (and because of him), and was still stretching his hands above his head. Rubbing his eyes, Ace glanced around, and spotted who was now filling the vacant seat beside him.

"Morning Marco."

"Good morning, Ace, yoi," he said, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"What... Oh, I have food all over my face, don't I?" he asked, taking the towel that Izo was handing him from across the table.

The snickering all around him was enough of an answer.

"Ooh, more food, thanks Thatch!" He dug into the food, unbothered.

His narcolepsy was as amusing as it was worrying in Marco's eyes. He tried several times talking about it with him. But Ace only shrugged, and said that he had made it this far, hadn't he? And Marco couldn't argue with that, but he was worried. At least he was taking the new medicine that the nurses gave him.

Jozu was already half through the newspaper, when he said, "New rookies from East blue, like you Ace."

Ace hummed not stopping in his self-appointed mission of inhaling the food in front of him. Thatch, coming from behind him with more plates of food, said, "No one is like our Ace, imagine another one with his appetite! I don't think the world could handle it."

Vista snorted. "Appetite…" He said mockingly, and added, "It looks more like black-hole to me."

"What page?" Marco asked.

Thatch, who was now reading from above Jozu shoulder, said, "They look cute," and then, frowning, he added, "young."

"26;" Jozu answered.

Hmmm, young indeed, Marco wondered, looking at the right page.

"They couldn't be older than 16," he said out loud.

"Actually 15 and barely 16," came the strained answer from Ace, (when had he stopped eating?) looking all tense, staring at the wanted posters accompanying the article like his life depended on it.

"Ace?" Marco tried.

Ace tensed some more, his hands were clutching the table. No, not tense, more like a volcano before its eruption.

"Ace…" he tried again, tensing himself.

"What, you know them or something?" Thatch asked, oblivious to the danger that was Ace. He tried to casually put his hand around Ace's shoulders.

Marco reacted in reflex, pushing Thatch out of the way and onto the floor.

"What the hell?!" Thatch shouted, when Ace lit up literally. Likely Marco wasn't the only one that felt the danger, both Jozu and Izo were able to get everyone out of harm's way, but not the table or the food.

Thatch opened his mouth, but a sharp look from Marco shut him up.

Marco approached Ace carefully, it was true that fire couldn't hurt him (almost nothing could, except those damn sea stones), but being careful never hurt.

"Ace… " he tried softly.

Ace was still looking at those wanted posters clutching them in his hands. The fact that they weren't burning was all the confirmation needed, to know that they were the origins of the situation at hand.

"Ace," he tried stronger this time.

Ace stirred and looked at him, still clutching the posters in his hands.

"Who are they?" he tried.

Ace opened his mouth and then closed it.

Tried again.

And again, finally he choked, "Luffy and Marcy."

As if those names were supposed to tell them everything they needed to know.

Marco looked around him at his siblings, seeing blank faces all around, looking similar to his own.

"Your siblings," Thatch suddenly said, while getting comfortable down on the floor.

"Yes," came the whispered answer. And, if it was possible, his fire shone brighter.

"They weren't supposed to set sail yet?" came the conclusion/question from Jozu.

"Damn right, they weren't supposed to!" Ace yelled heatedly.

"What the hell are they thinking?!" he raged. Now that he was talking he wasn't stopping.

"We promised to set sail at seventeen. I can't believe they broke their promise! I mean, Luffy is an idiot but he takes his promises really seriously and Marcy is smart, I mean really smart, she knows not to set sail with Luffy..." he trailed off, lost in his thoughts.

Silence filled the room. As he eyed the damage done to the table, Marco thought it was a good thing it was still early morning, and no one came running here. It could have been worse, much worse.

"You think they are in some kind of trouble?" the unexpected question was asked by Haruta, who was standing behind Jozu. With all eyes on him, including Ace's (who was still sitting), Haruta continued, "I mean, you said that they promised, and they take promises seriously, and at least one of them is smart, so to break that promise..." He didn't need to continue for the meaning of his words to sink in.

Ace's fire deflated, his whole body slumping. He almost fell from the bench in his hurry to stand up, while repeating, "You're right, you're right, you're right..." Marco helped him stay standing.

"They are definitely in trouble, what was I thinking, they would not break their promise, especially Luffy, for anything less than a disaster." His face changed from despair to urgency.

''I need to go." He glanced at the papers (the ones that didn't burn were scattered on the floor), and picked one, opening the right page.

"I need to go now," he said, trying to sprint while reading.

"Oi, Ace. Ace," Marco called, standing in his way.

"I will take Striker, the article said that they already entered Paradise."

"Ace!" louder this time

"Marco, please tell pops..."

Marco needed to physically put his hand on Ace's mouth to stop the torrent of words.

"Ace," he said gently. "You are not alone, yoi." Ace was paying attention to him now, so he let his arm drop.

Marco was almost sure he knew what Ace's answer would be...

"But they are my responsibility, I am their big brother."

He was right, Ace was begging them to understand.

And they did. They really did, more than Ace could ever imagine.

"No, they aren't."

Ace looked surprised, then furious, and was about to start shouting bloody murder, when Marco continued, "They are our responsibility, that what it means to be a part of our family."

"If they are important to you, then they are important to us," Izo added. He had started to help Jozu and Vista in the cleanup, after Ace had extinguished his fire earlier.

Ace seemed to wake from his trance, seeing the damage his fire did and hearing those words. Looking guilty, he said, "Sorry guys, I..." He didn't seem to know how to continue.

But he didn't need to. Thatch jumped up, brushing off some of the dirt on his pants, and said, "Don't worry about it," while putting his arm (successfully this time) around Ace's shoulders.

"Seriously, we needed a new table. But Marco here is stingy."

"Hey!" Marco shouted in indignation. He had a budget, and there were priorities.

"Now, he doesn't have choice!" He was steering Ace out of the dining area and onto the deck.

"Anyway, let's go talk to pops."

"Hey Thatch. Stop running away, and leaving us with cleanup!" Haruta shouted from behind him.

"Can't hear you!" Thatch singsang loudly.

"Let's go to his room, he wasn't on the deck 10 minutes ago," Marco said, trailing right behind them.

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...

Knock, knock.

Whitebeard stopped his conversation with Curiel about some repairs to Moby 3.

"Enter," he said.

It wasn't that surprising that people sought him in the early morning for private conversation, especially the nurses.

But to his surprise, three of his sons entered. Thatch had his arm slung over Ace's shoulders and was whispering to him. Marco was right behind them, observing them... No, observing Ace, his youngest son. Whitebeard's eyes narrowed.

Now that he eyed his youngest, he couldn't help but notice how pale he was, head lowered obscuring his face.

He gave Marco a questioning look, who in return gave him a pointed look and a shrug; he would know soon enough.

"Good morning pops! We aren't interrupting, are we?" Thatch said cheerily. His ability to stay cheerful under any circumstance was a blessing as much as it was a curse, depending on the situation. He would go with it being a blessing in this case, for now anyway.

"Not at all, my sons," Whitebeard bellowed, trying to be as cheerful as Thatch (and failing to reach that simple goal).

"Curiel and I here, were discussing some of the repairs..."

"Upgrades," Curiel had to correct.

"…to Moby 3," Whitebeard continued, ignoring him.

"Curiel, I have to discuss this with you. We have a budget, yoi," Marco said, relaxing against the wall near the door.

"What do you need?" Whitebeard asked, when none of them spoke.

Ace looked up to him, opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He looked so defeated, so lost; it broke his heart to see his youngest son looking like that. It reminded him of that night when Ace came to ask him that question.

"Ace," he said softly, "what is it?"

"Pops," he choked. "I need your help."

It took a lot out of him to admit that. He was so independent, so free; admitting needing help was foreign concept for him.

He would learn, being a family was all about depending on one another.

At that moment, Whitebeard vowed to do whatever in his power to help his son, so that he could learn how to depend on them. Small steps.

"My siblings," Ace whispered finally, his eyes drooping to the floor, and that was all he was able to say.

Both Marco and Thatch explained the situation as best as they could. Ace didn't raise his head once.

Hmmm, Whitebeard thought. He understood now: Ace was feeling guilty, scared, and very hopeless.

He turned to Curiel, who was still standing there, listening and observing the situation calmly.

"Curiel, go to the Communication room. Tell them to call all our allies, and find out who is in Paradise or close to it. And bring me a Den Den Mushi when you get back."

"Yes, pops," he answered, and patted Ace on the shoulder on his way out.

"Ace," he said, and waited until his son raised his head.

"Why don't you tell me little a bit about your siblings?" An expression of raw pain flashed in his eyes. Whitebeard continued, "So, we can understand how they think, and what will they do next?"

Ace hastily looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time, still unbelieving that he would really help, searching for an answer. Finding (or not finding) whatever he was looking for, he dropped his eyes.

Everybody waited for him to speak.

It took him some time to gather his disoriented thoughts, but Ace steeled himself and took deep breath. "Luffy and Marcy are troublemakers. Luffy is more of a trouble magnet than a troublemaker. He is a cheerful idiot. He can find amusement and laughter in everything..."

"Reminds me of someone," Marco muttered, as Thatch spluttered.

Ace ignored them both. "He is headstrong and really stubborn. He can be oblivious and trust anyone, but he has good instincts when it comes to people. He is a people person, he could make friends with anyone if he put his mind into it." He offered a small smile while saying that, his first smile since he entered.

There is a story here, Whitebeard mused, and wondered if he would ever hear it.

"His dream, you know, is to become the pirate king."

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, while Thatch snickered. Ace laughed a little. "I know, it's funny, but when you hear him say it, you can't help but believe him..." he trailed off.

"Marcy," Ace continued, "is more complicated. She is really smart, but as smart as she is, she can be stupid too. She has a fiery temper, even shitty-gramps and Dadan are afraid of it. She can be impulsive and stubborn too." He grimaced as if remembering something unpleasant.

"And manipulative too. I can't remember how many times she suckered us into doing things by crying... It's because of her upbringing." He looked angry, his shoulders hunched more, and he dropped his eyes back to the floor. It was a sore subject, a painful failure, Whitebeard noticed.

From hearing and watching Ace's reactions, he knew how important and precious those brats were to his son, and it did make him quite curious about them. He wanted to meet them and see if the affection they felt for their big brother was as great as the one Ace felt for them.

"Ace, to where would the brats go if they needed help? Do they know anyone, beside you, in Paradise or the New World?" Ace was shaking his head furiously when he suddenly stopped.

"Shanks," he blurted out.

"Red-Hair?" the exclamation came from Marco.

"Yeah, Luffy knows him. Apparently he stayed at our island for a year when he sailed to East Blue 8 years ago, and Luffy befriended him. He even saved Luffy's life at one point."

Another important story to learn from his son. He remembered Red-Hair telling him that he had waged his arm on the new era after he returned from East blue. He was getting more and more curious about those brats.

"So they may seek him?"

"Yeah," Ace began. "No," he corrected himself and began shaking his head furiously. "Definitely not, especially now that he broke one promise."

"Oh?"

Ace looked to be considering things deeply. "You see, Luffy and Shanks made a promise, to meet at the sea, when Luffy became a great pirate." He really wanted to meet this brat now.

Hmmm, not looking for the Red-Hair brat... It is either good or bad…

"Ace, if you are saying that one of your siblings is smart, could they have gotten the wanted posters deliberately?" Marco asked, finally getting over his shock after hearing Red-Hair name.

"Huh," came from Thatch, who turned to face Marco.

Ace, who seemed to be more and more like himself, finally understanding that he wasn't doing this alone, answered, "You mean, to let me know that they are at the sea, that they need help." He quieted for a while, considering this.

"Yeah, Marcy may use that, but it would mean that they are desperate." Ace deflated again.

"No, it means that they are fighting and hoping," Whitebeard said sharply. Ace quickly looked up at him, searching in his eyes for reassurance, and seemed to relax a bit.

"Marco, are there still some disruptions in the northeast island in our territory, near the marine base?"

The abrupt change of conversation was surprising and dizzying, and had his children eyeing him worriedly, even Ace.

Nonetheless, Marco answered, "Yeah, those small time pirates, and sometimes marines, are still making troubles, nothing major, but I was still considering sending some of the fourteenth division to handle it, I was gonna…"

Whitebeard cut him off. "You and Ace go, and take some of the first division with you. Teach them what it means to mess with us, all of them." Marco observed him and smiled. He seemed to finally understand. Well, he was his first mate, and knew him for the longest time.

"What pops? What about Ace's siblings? Didn't you hear anything we said..." Thatch looked quite distressed (his son could be so dense sometimes), while Ace was eyeing him in uncertainty.

Whitebeard chuckled and said, "If your siblings have gone through all the trouble of sending you a message, it's only polite and right to answer it." And then he added looking at Ace, "Your bounty need a little bit of increase, anyway."

Ace's eyes lit up, and his posture changed. "Thank you, pops." He bowed deeply, with his signature smile gracing his face. "Thank you."

He would love to meet whoever was able to install manners into this cheeky brat.

"Come on, Marco! No time to waste!" and he sprinted out of the door.

Thatch looked at him and back at the door and back again, still a little bit disoriented. "Go," he told him.

"Thanks pops!" he said and ran after Ace.

"Here goes my peaceful day," his eldest son said dejectedly. Whitebeard knew him enough to know that he didn't really mind.

"Let Jozu take care of your responsibilities while you are gone."

Marco looked amused at hearing this, and said, "He won't be happy."

No, he wouldn't. Marco's responsibilities and his as the third division commander were quite a load.

"I will have Thatch, Izo and the others help him," Whitebeard murmured. Marco nodded.

"Take a Den Den Mushi with you and keep me updated. And we will also inform Ace if we find anything else about those cheeky brats."

"Keep a close eye on him, Marco," Whitebeard said, giving his son a serious look.

"Of course, yoi," Marco answered, understanding the gravity of this order.

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This is getting out of hand! It was supposed to be 1,000 words. Seriously!

So did you like it? Should I continue?

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Beta'd partly by Kurapikababu and Mercyless