A.n We own Nothing.

So we're not dead, gone or abandoning this story. It's just that we have had a lot of stuff on this year and have had very little time to work on this story. It also did not help that neither of us liked any of the previous 8 drafts of the chapter and could not agree on how it should go. But we finally set on this version...I think it's version 9 or 10...I lost count.

Anyway Please Review

A few days later Connor awoke to find Jack lying next to him, Jack was in a deep sleep causing Connor to question if he should wake the Rider or leave him in whatever subconscious vision a creature such as him could conjure.

'Maybe I should leave him be,' Connor thought to himself as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

'I don't want him to be mad at me and Jack doesn't seem like the type that sleeps enough….maybe that's why he's so uptight and stiff all the time,' Connor pondered.

The teen sat there in silence for a bit before he eventually gave in and gently nudged the Rider.

"Jack wake up," Connor said weakly.

Jacks eyes snapped open and he instantly Riderized he grabbed Connor by his arm and threw the boy off the bed; he then used his rider speed to get on top of him and pin Connor to the floor, the next thing Connor new Jack brandished a M1911 which he infused with hellfire and practically rammed the weapons muzzle under the boy's chin; the Rider had acted with such speed Connor didn't even registered the act before it was too late.

Once he was pinned Connor gazed into the empty flaming eye sockets that glared down on him, despite not having actually eyes at the moment Connor could still feel the type of look Jack was giving him, throughout his troubled life Connor had seen many looks in the eye's of his tormentors, including contempt, cruel, sadistic, and depraved but none of those matched the stare Jack was using.

It was cold, emotionless, dead and obvious that the only thing on Jack's mind was to put a bullet straight through Connor's skull.

"YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO TELL ME WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT YOU F***EN LITTLE PIECE OF S***!" Jack roared.

Connor was too terrified to move let alone speak and let out a small whimper.

"WELL AWNSER ME OR I'LL TEAR OUT YOUR SKULL AND FEED YOU YOUR OWN BRAIN!" Jack shouted demonically.

"I'm sorry….I'm sorry…" Connor said softly as he started to cry.

"Not as sorry as I am going to make you be," Jack hissed and he clicked the safety off his gun.

"J….Jack please don't, I'm sorry," Connor quietly sobbed fearfully.

Luckily for him Jack came crashing down back into reality, he then realized he had an innocent and frightened child pinned beneath him and a gun under his chin.

"Connor…oh shit Connor!" Jack shouted.

Jack instantly transformed back and let Connor go, Connor in a rush of panic quickly backed away from the Rider and stared at him; the pure terror was evident in the boy's eyes.

"Connor…..I'm sorry," Jack tired and moved to reach for him, however this made Connor back away even further his eyes going from Jack to the gun still in his hand.

Jack stopped and noticed what Connor was looking at. He mentally kicked himself as he put the gun away.

'Well Jack that was one hell of a wakeup call,' The Rider spirit said in Jack's head but Jack ignored him and kept his full attention on the terrified child in front of him.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Jack assured "Just…please come here,"

Connor however didn't look convinced but despite his fear he knew he could not disobey Jack. If he did it would be worse for him and Connor had seen firsthand at what demons and monsters do to humans and he had seen what Jack did to monsters. Connor did not want to know what the Rider would do to him if he didn't do as he was told.

Connor reluctantly and carefully walked over to Jack, he didn't look at the Rider though and kept his eyes trained on the floor. Once Connor was in front of Jack he instantly pulled the boy into a hug and he felt Connor stiffen and freeze up at the contact. He was relieved that Connor had woken up as he knew in his world coma patents very rarely woke up at all, Jack let Connor go and looked the boy over for any hidden injures.

"Connor you're awake…I'm so happy you're awake. How are you feeling?" Jack asked.

"Tired and soar," Connor answered softly tears of fear still coming out of his eyes.

"Ok buddy just give me a second," Jack said, he then got up and walked up to the door before opening it and sticking his head out into the hallway.

"HEY! THE GUY WHO HANGS OUT WITH THE TWINS! GET IN HERE!" Jack yelled out.

Connor flinched at the shouting, though it wasn't as scary as before.

Jack closed the door and made his way back to Connor, he picked the boy up and placed him on the bed and sat on the opposite side of him. Connor waited patiently for Jack to do whatever he was going to do and a few moments later Henry walked in with an annoyed look on his face.

He took a glance at Connor and Jack saw a flash of relief in his eyes but it was quickly replaced by concern at the boy's posture.

"Must you yell?" Henry asked Jack.

"Yes I absolutely must," Jack answered, Henry sighed.

"Your young friend is right; you and Jacob are very much a like," Henry claimed.

"Hey there's no need to be insulting pal," Jack said.

"Right I suppose you want me to look over him then," Henry said and gestured to Connor.

"Yes, yes I do," Jack agreed.

Henry walked over to the bed and bent down so he was eye level with Connor, he could tell the boy was very frightened. However he also remembered how Connor had reacted to his presence when Evie and Jacob had not been near him so he did not think too much of it.

"Hi Connor, do you remember me?" Henry asked gently.

Connor shook his head in response but did not look up at the man; keeping his eyes downcast.

"My name is Henry Green, I'm a friend of Jacob's and Evie's," Henry said "I have been helping them take care of you,"

At the mention of the Frye twins Connor instantly looked up at Henry.

"Really….are they here?" Connor asked.

"No they had to step out for a few days but they will be back soon," Henry smiled "They left you in my care,"

"I'm sorry if I was any trouble," Connor said softly and looked down again.

"You weren't, compared to what I have to put up with Jacob you were very good," Henry claimed.

"Jacob doesn't like doctors?" Connor asked.

"Oh No it's not that…he just doesn't like to sit still," Henry joked.

Connor chuckled at that.

"Do you mind if I check your injuries?" Henry asked.

Connor nodded his head and Henry began to look Connor over. The Rafqie asked various questions about how he was feeling and if anything hurt while he unwrapped the bandages. Henry was extremely surprised to find absolutely no trace of the injuries that the boy had received, there wasn't even any signs of scaring; it was like they were never there to begin with.

The entire time Jack kept a watchful and critical eye on Henry and Connor. Henry clearly knew what he was doing and Connor remained near frozen through the whole experience; although Henry's presence did seem to relax the boy a little bit. Once he was done he turned his attention to Jack.

"Can I have a word with you outside," Henry asked.

"Sure," Jack said and got up, as he did panic flashed across Connor's face.

"Wait…where are you going?" Connor asked fearfully.

"I just need a word with your friend," Henry said.

"But…" Connor said.

"It's alright, we're just going to be outside the door for a minute," Henry assured.

"Don't worry buddy, I'll be right back," Jack assured.

Connor watched them leave the room and once the door was closed he crawled under the blankets and curled up into a ball.

Outside in the Hall

"What's up, is something wrong?" Jack asked worriedly.

"No…there's nothing…his injuries are completely gone," Henry said surprised.

"What do you mean gone?" Jack asked.

"I mean they're gone…there is no trace of them, no scar no muscle damage….nothing. Even the internal damage has vanished," Henry claimed "It's like they were never there to begin with,"

"But…Connor said he was tired and sore," Jack pointed out.

"I suspect that is just from him sleeping in the same position too long, his body is just a bit stiff, it will pass in a few hours," Henry claimed.

Jack nodded.

"So you're sure there is no signs of any injury….what about his pneumonia and broken leg?" Jack asked.

Henry shook his head.

"There are no symptoms remaining or any signs of reflux or any lasting infections and the bone has completely repaired itself…I just can't explain it," Henry claimed.

Jack stared at Henry for a moment and then he remembered what Luffy had told him two days ago.

"Holy crap…Luffy was right…" Jack gasped.

Jack could not believe it; Connor's brand had actually healed him completely, though Jack was no stranger to quick healing as it was a common ability in his world to the point of being practically standard and that most heroes and villains had some form of advanced healing factor. But the fact Connor's healing powers came from his brand surprised him that something so horrid could heal life crippling injuries in a matter of days.

"I'm sorry?" Henry asked, drawing Jack from his thoughts.

"Nothing…..I'm just glad he's okay," Jack said "can I take him back to the ship now?"

"Despite his miraculous recovery…I'd like to keep him one more night just to be safe," Henry said.

"Is that really necessary?" Jack asked clearly wanting to get Connor back to the ship as soon as possible.

"I have never seen such a recovery before, so I think you'll agree it's better to be safe than sorry," Henry claimed.

Jack let out a sigh.

"Yeah ok you're right…I guess one more night won't hurt," Jack relented.

"I'll be around if you need anything, except this time please don't yell," Henry asked and he left.

Jack walked back into the room and once he closed the door Connor poked his head out from under the blankets.

"Told you it would only take a minute," Jack smiled.

Connor sat up and looked past Jack at the door, like he was expecting Henry to come back in.

"Where's Henry?" Connor asked.

"Probably heading back to his work," Jack shrugged.

"Oh….Where's Evie and Jacob?" Connor asked.

"Not sure probably taking care of their classified business," Jack said.

"Oh...what's classified mean?" Connor asked.

"In my experience Connor, classified is a fancy word for complete B.S," Jack said.

"What's B.S?" Connor asked.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Jack responded.

Jack walked back over to him and sat down next to the boy. He didn't notice Connor becoming a little tense.

"A...Are the others okay?" Connor asked "Adriana didn't hurt them did she?"

He did not want the rest of the crew to go through what he had gone through.

"No she didn't, they're fine, although they will probably be a lot better now that you're okay; we thought we lost you," Jack said.

Connor looked down.

"I'm sorry….I didn't mean to worry anyone," he apologized softly.

"Hey it's not your fault," Jack assured.

Connor then gave a yawn.

"What exactly happened?" he asked.

"A Shtriga fed on your life force, me and Jacob hunted it down and killed it," Jack explained.

"Is that the thing with rags that tried to eat me back at the Carnival Island?" Connor asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"A different one but yes, unfortunately it succeeded where the last one failed….but we killed it and everything it ate was returned to you," Jack claimed.

"Mmm….Thanks," Connor said happily.

"Don't thank me, Jacob was the one that did the witch in," Jack said.

"How'd he do that?" Connor asked through another bigger yawn.

"He used a demon knife he stole from the base," Jack said.

He noticed that Connor seemed to becoming more and more tired by the second.

"Connor are you okay?" Jack asked in concern.

"Mmm fine….just….sleep….y," Connor said as he lay down and got comfortable while still facing the Rider and closed his eyes.

Jack however was becoming concerned at how tired the boy seemed to be getting; the speed in which it was occurring set off the Rider's mental alarms as well. Jack watched and within seconds Connor fell back into a deep sleep.

Jack was a very concerned as it looked like something had forced the boy back into slumber, Jack hadn't seen Henry give him anything and this didn't match up with Henry's previous statement of Connor being completely recovered.

'This is not right,' Jack thought to himself 'If his brand really dose heal him then he should not be tired…or going back to sleep…if anything the brands healing factor should energize him,'

Jack watched Connor for bit longer trying to think of a reason as to why the boy had suddenly gone back to sleep even though he was completely healed. After ten minutes Connor still did not wake up Jack got off the bed, he gently tucked Connor in and then left the room to find Henry. The Rider eventually found Henry; he was in the reception area looking at some paper work.

"Excuse me," Jack interrupted.

Henry tuned around and looked at Jack.

"Yes?" he asked looking up from his work.

"I was wondering if I could borrow your phone to call Luffy," Jack requested.

Henry nodded and pulled out a phone and handed it to Jack. Jack took the phone and left the other man alone; once he was a fair distance away Jack dialed the number.

"This is the shity restaurant how may I take your order?" Sanji answered.

"Hey Sanji it's me," Jack asked.

"Hey flame brain how's Connor?" Sanji asked.

"He just woke up…but…." Jack trailed off.

"But?" Sanji asked.

Jack explained what had just happened and expressed his concerns about it; however Sanji did not sound worried at all.

"Oh that…that's normal and will pass fairly quickly. Have you checked his injuries?" the cook asked.

"No but...the man taking care of him said they were gone," Jack answered.

"Okay listen, if Connor woke up then that means his injuries are completely healed, there will be no sign of them," Sanji said.

"But he went back to sleep….he's not back in that coma again is he?" Jack asked with worry.

"No no…his brand has kept him in a healing coma so it just put him into a natural sleep for a bit….that's all," Sanji explained.

"But why? If he's healed why is his Brand forcing him back to sleep?" Jack asked.

"Well….it's so he's ready…." Sanji said "you know…to serve…us,"

"I really really don't want to know what that means, but the doctor here wants him to rest another day," Jack said.

"Well if he's already asleep you'll have to wait until he wakes up again…but it probably wouldn't hurt….I can tell you that everyone wants him back at the ship," Sanji said.

"Yeah I want him back there too but..." Jack trailed off; he sensed something dark in Connor's room.

"Shit!" Jack hissed.

"What? what's wrong?,"

"Forget staying another night we'll be back within the hour," Jack said and hung up the phone.

He instantly ran back to Connor's room, he could feel a demon in there. Jack burst through the door to see a man sitting next to Connor's sleeping form. The demon noticed Jack's presence.

"Well isn't he just the sweetest thing. No salt, no devils trap, you're losing your touch Jackie any nasty bugger could get in here," The demon said as he looked at Jack.

"Crowley," Jack hissed "Get away from him,"

Crowley got up and walked up to the Rider.

"Keep it in your pants I have no interest in the kid, I'm here for you," Crowley said and snapped his fingers causing a clipboard appear "Take a look at this,"

Jack grabbed the clipboard and read over it.

"It's the list you showed me before, what of it,"

"Actually that is the new arrivals list. My boys down stairs sent it to me because of how similar it was to the migration list. Your work I take it?"

"The Straw Hats helped," Jack claimed and handed the clipboard back.

"I'll bet, I heard what happened and I'm surprised that the kid survived," Crowley gestured to Connor, "But you didn't get everything,"

"No your dogs weren't at the base,"

"I know that's what I wanted to talk to you about. You and your little gang of puckish rogues got 90% of the nasties that migrated here last night, here's what's left," Cowley said handing Jack a piece of paper.

"Your hell hounds a pack of werewolves and a single demon. That doesn't sound too bad," Jack claimed.

"Oh it's bad all right, that demon is a cross roads demon and those hounds are under his command,"

"So call them back,"

"I've tried but they were assigned to his deals so they obey him now. I want you to take him out first,"

"Why?"

"Because this particular demon is very impatient and will not wait the standard ten year period before releasing the hounds. This one likes to change it to a shorter time,"

"How long are we talking here?"

"It depends on his mood but the longest he's ever given someone was 3 months,"

"What? that's insane,"

"I know and he's been busy since coming here, I've got contracts filling up my office and no ones been able to keep up with them all. So here's the deal you take out this guy and I null any and all contracts made in this world," Crowley offered.

"All of them?"

"Every last one,"

"What do you get out of this exactly?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"We can't have unauthorized contracts floating around, I have a reputation to keep. This guy gives hard working demons a bad name,"

"Okay what's the catch?" Jack asked.

"I'll only null contracts that haven't been collected," Crowley answered.

"So those that haven't been dragged to hell get off scot free,"

"Yep you and I both know that once a soul gets down there it doesn't leave. Of course the client will also lose what they gained as well, but at least they won't go to hell," Crowley said.

"Okay Crowley I'll do it but I want something in return," Jack requested.

"I'm giving the souls back what more do you want?"

"Those monsters that I sent to you last night, I want them to suffer the worst possible pain and torture you or any other pitch fork wielding creep can think of. I want them to know that it was me who organized it, I want them to suffer for all eternity for daring to harm my friends," Jack said.

"Oh I can do that, I was planning on making them suffer for their little migration but your method works too. I mean no one will try to come over here again when word gets round that a Ghost Rider lost his shit here," Crowley said.

"Good, can I keep this paper?"

"Sure, sure that's a copy. So do we have a deal?" Crowley asked and extended his hand.

"What no contract?"

"I'd have to null it," Crowley claimed, Jack extended his hand but stopped suddenly.

"Wait a minute… when monsters die they go to purgatory, how did you get them?" Jack asked.

"Simple answer really, I have a Reaper on payroll when you and your high sea fairing buddies slaughtered them he brought them downstairs," Crowley said.

"You have a Reaper on payroll?" Jack asked.

"Yes he's come in handy quite often," Crowley said

"Which one? Death keeps a pretty tight leash on the lower ranking ones, but the higher ranking ones are too proud to work for a demon," Jack said.

"Not all of them, I'll give you a hint long red hair and has a preference for chainsaws," Crowley said, Jack stared at the demon king before face palming extremely hard.

"You've got to be kidding me," Jack said.

"Are you really that surprised?" Crowley asked.

"Honestly no, but he's pushing it his boss isn't going to take much more of this," Jack said.

"Personally I think he only gets away with it because his boss doesn't want to deal with him," Crowley claimed.

"Oddly enough…that makes sense," Jack commented.

"Anyhow do we have a deal?" Crowley asked as he extended his hand.

"Deal," Jack said and shook the demon king's hand.

"Remember you have to kill everything on that list before I null the contracts and make our mutual friends pay," Crowley reminded.

"Just so long as you do. If you don't hold up your end..." Jack started.

"Yeah, yeah you'll redecorate hell with my insides. I got it," Crowley finished and disappeared.

Once Crowley was gone Jack let out a heavy sigh before sitting down in the chair next to Connor's bed and watched the young boy sleep.

'Real amateur move Jack, not demon proofing the room Crowley is right any boogie man could walk right in,' The Rider said.

'You know just as well as I do that boogie men go for kids a lot younger than Connor,' Jack said.

'That's not what I meant,' The Rider said.

'I know what you meant I'm just choosing to ignore you,' Jack said.

'That's it Jack show him who's boss,' The Merry chimed in.

'Oh great the termite riddled tub is back,' The Rider groaned.

'I don't have termites!' Merry yelled.

'Oh I'm so sorry I guess those wood eating bugs I keep seeing are ladybugs, how foolish of me I should of known no termite would dare eat your waterlogged ass,' The Rider said.

'GO TO HELL!' Merry yelled.

'I AM HELL!' The Rider yelled back.

'Merry ignore him, what's up?' Jack asked.

'I just wanted to check on you, Sanji freaked out when you hung up like you did,' Merry said.

'Sorry, you can tell them everything is fine,' Jack said.

'Jack I can't talk,' Merry pointed out.

'Oh… right I'll call them later' Jack said.

'So….is it true that Jacob is there?' Merry asked in a displeased tone of voice.

'Yeah he is,' Jack said.

'Oh,' Merry said dismissively.

'What's wrong?' Jack asked.

'What makes you think something is wrong?' Merry asked.

'I don't know much about women but I do know whenever a woman says 'oh' like you did there's more to it' Jack said.

'It's nothing….I just don't care for Jacob is all,' Merry said.

'Why not?' Jack asked.

'You've spent more than five minutes with him,' Merry said 'do you honestly need to ask that question?' Merry asked.

'I see your point,' Jack said.

Jack sat there for the next half hour watching Connor sleep, he was also thinking about the remaining monsters. As much as he hated Crowley and doing his dirty work, he really wanted to make those that had hurt Connor pay and if that meant working for the demon king then so be it.

Jack also tried to get the Merry to tell him why she hated Jacob but his new Ride was being very tight-lipped about it.

About ten minutes later Jacob and Evie walked into the room. Both of them instantly saw Connor sleeping soundly in bed and they smiled.

'Speak of the devil, they're back,' Jack said.

'Is Evie there too?' Merry asked.

'Yeah she is,' Jack claimed.

'Good I like her,' Merry said.

"Hi Jack, Henry told us what happened….is it true that Connor is fully healed?" Evie asked quietly so as not to wake Connor up.

"Yeah it is, there is no sign of his injuries," Jack claimed in an equally quite voice.

"Those injuries were pretty severe….do you know why he suddenly got better over night?" Jacob asked.

"Nope and quite frankly I don't care, I'm just glad he's alright," Jack said, he was not going to tell these two about Connor's brand.

"Huh you don't say," Jacob said as he looked over to Connor's sleeping form in deep thought. This was not the first time he and Evie had witnessed Connor make a miraculous recovery.

"What's that?" Evie asked as she pointed to Crowley's list.

"A list of new arrivals at a gated community I know down south," Jack said.

"So you're a real estate broker now?" Jacob asked looking back at the Rider.

"Not really Top Hat I just send them there," Jack said with a Cheshire grin "Not my fault that they don't leave,"

"That reminds me I have to make a call," Jack said as he stood up "But I don't want to leave Connor,"

"That's okay, I'll watch him," Jacob offered and he walked round the other side of bed and sat next to the boy.

'Jack whatever you do….do not leave Connor alone with Jacob,' the Merry suddenly said in a very worried voice.

'What?' Jack asked.

"Okay, come on Jack I'll get you a Den-Den Mushi," Evie said.

"Wait a minute…" Jack tired.

He didn't know why the Merry sounded worried or the reason for her sudden warning but he was more willing to trust her than these two… especially since Jack could sense quite a bit of fresh blood on both their souls.

Jack took one last look at Connor before following Evie out and she led him through the base to another room that looked similar to the one Jacob and Connor were in.

"Whose room is this?" Jack asked.

"Mine, unlike my brother I actually keep a Den-Den Mushi in here," Evie said.

"Oh, is Jacob supposed to keep one in his room?" Jack asked.

"He should yes, but he doesn't…he says he doesn't wasn't to be bothered while he is sleeping," Evie claimed.

"Okay what about when he's not sleeping?" Jack asked.

"He has one in his pocket," Evie claimed "he just leaves it in another room when he goes to bed,"

Jack nodded; Evie opened the desk drawer and pulled out her Den-Den Mushi. She left Jack alone to make his call, once she left Jack dialed the Straw Hat's number; Zoro was the one who answered the phone.

"Yeah who's this?" Zoro's voice asked.

"Boy don't you sound cheery," Jack said.

"Bone head? Are you and the kid on your way?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah there's been a change in plans," Jack said.

"Why? You said you'd be here within the hour," Zoro said.

"Yeah that's because there was a demon here," Jack said.

"WHAT?!" Zoro yelled.

"Don't worry it was just Crowley," Jack said.

"Did he hurt the kid?" Zoro asked seriously.

"No he knows better he just gave me an update on our pest problem," Jack said.

"What sort of update?"

"I'll explain when I get back I'm afraid our hunt isn't over, but I'm going to have Connor stay the night and leave the first thing in the morning," Jack said.

"You sure?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah he's been through a lot and it's already late, plus he's really cute when he's sleeping," Jack said.

"Alright Bone Head we'll see you tomorrow, stay safe," Zoro said.

"You too there's still things that go bump in the night," Jack said before hanging up, he left the room to find Evie waiting for him outside.

"Done?" She asked.

Jack nodded.

"Yeah thanks for that. This may sound like a weird question but…do you guys have some salt?" Jack asked.

"What for?" Evie asked.

"I'm going to temporarily demon proof Connor's room," Jack said.

"And how is salt going to do that?" Evie asked.

"Demons can't cross salt," Jack shrugged.

"Really…that seems like a very inconvenient and exploitable weakness," Evie stated.

"It is," Jack agreed.

"Well…come on then let's get you your salt Jack," Evie said as she left.

Jack followed Evie to the kitchen and she got a big bag of salt from a cupboard, Evie and Jack then made their way back to Jacob's room where they found him still watching over a sleeping Connor.

"There you two are, did you have an enjoyable chat?" Jacob asked.

"Sure more fun than a barrel full of monkeys," Jack grumbled, the Rider then got to work salting the door and any air vents in the room, Jacob watched Jack work with a decent amount of confusion.

"Why is he making a mess?" Jacob asked.

"I'm making it impossible for demons to get to Connor, I just wish I could draw a devils trap," Jack said.

"Uh-huh," Jacob said not believing the Rider.

"There," Jack said as he finished the salt line. "I'll stay here for the night and then we'll leave in the morning,"

"Nonsense, I believe we've gotten off on the wrong foot Jack I say we settle our differences like gentlemen," Jacob said.

"And how do you supposed we do that Top Hat?" Jack asked.

"With a friendly game of poker," Jacob said with a charming smile.

"I don't think I should leave Connor," Jack said worriedly "he got upset that I left him earlier,"

"Oh I'm sure Evie won't mind watching him for a bit, would you sis?" Jacob asked.

"I guess not, you sure you want to do this Jacob?" Evie asked.

"Of course I do, come on Jack let's get playing," Jacob said as he ushered Jack out.

Evie just shook her head and sat down next to Connor, after an hour Evie heard a loud crash followed by yelling, she ran into the room where it was coming from and found Jacob hanging upside down from the ceiling by chains and Jack standing over a broken poker table with cards and chips scattered everywhere.

"What's going on?" Evie asked but she had a pretty good idea of what had occurred.

"Top Hat was cheating," Jack said.

"Evie I have no idea what he's talking about, he just can't handle losing," Jacob said.

Jack walked up to the upside down assassin and began shaking him violently, eventually several aces and face cards fell out of his sleeves and landed on the floor, Evie just looked at her brother in annoyance.

"Where did those come from?!" Jacob asked in fake surprise.

"Well that's enough for one night, is it alright if I stand watch over Connor tonight?" Jack asked.

"Are you sure? You look like you could use some sleep yourself," Evie stated.

"I'll be fine, I've done a lot more on a lot less," Jack said.

"You do realize improper sleep schedules are a one way ticket to an early grave don't you?" Evie asked.

'Been there, done that,' Jack thought to himself as he reminisced on his extremely early demise.

"I'm sure, besides….I'd rather be close just incase some nasty critter stops by for a midnight snack," Jack said.

"I thought you said salt kept monsters away," Jacob said, from his inverted position.

"No I said demons couldn't cross it, but vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters and pretty much every other monsters can," Jack said.

"Right, because those things definitely exist," Jacob scoffed, Jack was use to people being ignorant to the never ending conflict between evil creatures and those either brave enough or suicidal enough to hunt them so the Rider didn't take Jacob's mocking too seriously, Evie however shot her brother a disapproving glare.

"I understand Jack I'll see you in the morning," Evie said as she started to leave.

"Sis wait! Aren't you going to make him let me go first?" Jacob asked.

"Jacob I warned you one day you were going to hustle the wrong guy, that guy just happened to be Jack," Evie said.

"But Evie…" Jacob whined.

"Good night Jacob," Evie said as she turned off the light and shut the door leaving Jacob hanging upside down in the dark.

"Evie! Jack! EVIE!" Jacob shouted.

Connor woke up later that night, he no longer felt tired or sore. He sat up and noticed that there was a salt ring around the bed and on the windows; Connor assumed Jack made it. Connor looked next to him too see Jack was sleeping on top of the covers with his back to the boy.

Connor had no desire to wake Jack, especially after what happened last time. In fact he had no desire to be in a room alone with the Rider; so he slipped out of bed and left the room. He wanted to find Henry, Evie or Jacob; he felt safer around them.

Connor walked through the hall past different doors and poked his head in all of them until he found Jacob upside down hanging from the ceiling.

"Jacob, how did you get up there?" Connor asked innocently as he came into the room.

"Oh hello Connor, Jack left me like this. I don't suppose you could help me down," Jacob requested.

"If they're Jack's chains then they won't break. Only he can let you down," Connor claimed.

"Damn it, surly there is some way to get these things off,"

"None that I know of…although they didn't seem to affect Marco too much,"

"As in Marco the Phoenix?"

"That's him,"

"Well damn, I don't have a devil fruit…this is humiliating," Jacob sighed in defeat he then looked at Connor who was trying not to laugh "What are you doing up anyway, shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I've slept for the last two days, I kind of wanted some exercise, plus I wanted to thank you for saving me twice,"

"Hey that's what friends are for right?" Jacob said with a smile.

Connor walked over to one of the chairs and sat down.

"So why'd Jack tie you up?" Connor asked looking up at his friend.

"I may have tried to cheat him at cards,"

"Wow okay I suppose I should warn Zoro not to cheat then,"

"Speaking of which how is the crew by the way?"

"Pretty good, do you remember Miss All Sunday?"

"Crocodiles No2 yeah what about her?"

"She joined us,"

"Huh and Luffy let her?"

"Yep, it took a while to warm up to her but we did. She's really nice and has a morbid sense of humor,"

"And she gets along with everyone?"

"Yep, though Jack looks at her kind of strange sometimes,"

"Maybe he has a crush on her,"

"No I don't think so; he looks at her sort of like how a wolf looks at a deer. It's almost like he's hunting her,"

"I see….Connor do you feel safe around Jack?" Jacob asked concerned.

"Well….sometimes he scares me but most of the time I do…as long as Luffy or one of the others is around," Connor responded "why do you ask?"

"No reason just wondering," Jacob said.

'I guess if Connor feels somewhat safe and Luffy let him join the crew he's fine. But Jack is defiantly a killer I can see it his eyes; even the way he moves screams predator,' Jacob thought to himself,

The assassin had been doing his job and working with other killers long enough to spot one such as himself, but in the back of his mind he couldn't help but feel that there was something weird and strange about Jack (besides the whole flaming skeleton thing) Jack did indeed have the icy cold glare and razor sharp focus that all predators had, Jacob saw it every time he looked in a mirror, but Jack's seemed older, a lot older and held more experience than someone his age should contain.

As the night dragged on Jacob and Connor continued to talk, Connor told Jacob about what the crew had been up to and Jacob made little comments about his life since Alabasta but it was in very little detail.

About 20 minutes later the chains holding Jacob disappeared and he crashed head first onto the broken table.

"OW! Bloody hell, what just happened?" Jacob moaned.

"Only Jack could have done that," Connor shrugged in response he had no idea why though.

"Oh well I'm sure it doesn't matter, let's get some hot chocolate," Jacob suggested.

"Okay," Connor agreed and the two made their way to the kitchen

With Jack

Jack had fallen asleep on the bed next to Connor, now that the boy had recovered he decided to get some much needed shut eye. Jack had been dreaming of hanging Jacob over an excessively large can of pink paint, Jacob was begging him not to drop him but in the end Jack had.

In real life Jack had snapped his fingers in his sleep and the chains holding Jacob had disappeared.

Jack was enjoying his dream of dropping Jacob into pink paint; however it was suddenly ended by a dark presence. Jack's eyes shot open and he sat up immediately. There in front of him was Adriana; she held Connor up by the throat. Jack looked at his salt lines and found that they had been broken.

"Hello Jack, looking for this?" Adriana asked and held onto Connor applying a bit more pressure to his throat.

"LET HIM GO!" Jack screamed.

"If you insist," Adriana said, there was a snap sound and Connor's body went limp before she let him fall to the floor.

"NNNNNOOOOOOO!" Jack screamed in rage but found that he could not turn into his Rider form.

"I should have done that from the start, oh well,"

"Why, why would you do that?"

"Because I can and because it's fair,"

"Fair? he was innocent, how is that fair?"

"You took something from me so now I've taken something from you," Adriana said and disappeared.

Jack went over to Connor, he could tell his neck was broken. Jack held the dead child in his arms as he wept.

"No, no CCOONNORRRRR!" Jack screamed and shot up.

Jack's chest heaved rapidly as pearls of ice cold sweat covered his body, it took him a second to realize that it was a nightmare, Jack quickly surveyed the room and the salt lines were intact. He slowly glanced over to where Connor was supposed to be sleeping next to him but found that he was missing.

"Connor?" Jack gasped upon finding the boy missing.

"Connor?!" Jack said as he frantically searched for the boy.

'Uh-oh looks like something grabbed a midnight snack, if only little Connor had some diligent and responsible guardian to watch over him as he slept….oh wait, wasn't that your job?' The Rider asked.

'Shut up he's around here somewhere' Jack shot back.

He then noticed that the door was slightly ajar indicating Connor had left or worse someone had come in and taken him while Jack had been asleep.

'What was that you were saying about him being here?' The Rider asked.

'Shut up,' Jack said.

'I hope whatever nasty critter that chewed the kid up practice good dental hygiene, children have that annoying trait of getting stuck between the teeth,' Rider said with a insane laugh.

Jack mentally kicked himself for letting his guard down and bolted out of the room.

Jack dashed down the hall as fast as he could, using his soul sense to track Connor. He eventually made it to the mess hall and he burst in, he found Jacob and Connor sitting at one of the tables and drinking something hot.

Connor and Jacob were laughing at something; Jack let out a sigh of relief at seeing Connor safe and came over to the two. Upon seeing Jack Connor instantly stopped laughing and became very focused on a singular spot on the table.

"Connor…you scared the crap out of me," Jack said and pulled the boy into a hug.

'You got lucky this time Jack, don't expect it to last,' The Rider said.

Connor froze until Jack let him go and the boy looked down in shame.

"I'm sorry," Connor apologized softly "I didn't mean too,"

"No it's alright I was just worried….what are you drinking?" Jack asked eyeing the drink.

"Hot chocolate, it's really good," Connor responded in the same voice.

Jacob was concerned about Connor's sudden change in demeanor. It sounded like the boy felt like he had done something wrong for drinking the hot drink.

"Sit down Flame Brain, let me fetch you a cup," Jacob said as he got up and headed to the kitchen.

"Uhm thanks, how did you get down?" Jack asked as he sat down next to Connor.

"Your chains just disappeared for some reason," Jacob said.

"Must have done it in my sleep," Jack figured.

"Oh well I just want you to know there's no hard feelings," Jacob said as he fixed Jack's cup.

"Really?" Jack asked a bit suspicious.

"Absolutely, I had that coming, it's all water under the bridge," Jacob said as he dropped a few drops of liquid from a flask he pulled out of his pocket into Jack's cup.

"And soon you'll be under the table," Jacob said quietly as he grinned like the cat that ate the canary.

"Here you go, drink up," Jacob said as he handed Jack the cup.

"Thanks Top Hat," Jack said as he took the hot chocolate.

"My pleasure entirely," Jacob said.

Jack drank some of the chocolate and he had to admit it was pretty good, he drank some more then sat the cup down.

"Not bad, so what have you guys been talking about?" Jack asked.

"I've been telling Jacob about what the crew has been up too since we parted ways in Alabaster," Connor said still using a barely audible voice.

"Spinning tales are you buddy, I thought that was Usopp's job," Jack joked.

"Sorry," Connor added.

"Yeah the crew have had quite the adventures," Jacob said trying to hide his concern for Connor's strange behavior.

The three continued talking for another hour; although it was really Jack and Jacob talking as Connor seemed to no longer want to contribute to the conversation. Jacob also noticed that the boy didn't even take another sip of his half drunken hot chocolate.

Jack on the other hand did most of the talking and had drank three cups of hot chocolate each time Jacob had added more and more sleeping drops, but Jack still hadn't gone down.

"I'll admit Top Hat this stuff isn't bad, you mind topping me off?" Jack asked Jacob just took the cup back to the kitchen.

'How the hell is he still conscious?!' Jacob thought to himself, he was starting to get agitated.

'I'll just add the whole bloody thing!' he thought to himself.

Jacob dumped the entire flask of sleeping drops into Jack's cup; he brought it back to the table and sat it in front of Jack before he took his seat, before Jack could drink any Evie walked in.

"What are you boys doing up?" she asked.

"Well sis Connor here woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so and I decided to keep him company and Flame Brain decided to join us," Jacob said as he turned to face his sister, while his back was turn Evie saw something flash over the table.

"What are you guys drinking?" Evie asked as she sat at the table.

"Hot chocolate your brother ain't half bad at making it," Jack said.

Jacob just shrugged his shoulders and took a gulp out of his cup, he looked at the mug and then at Jack who had a Cheshire grin spread across his face.

"Oh you wanker," Jacob said before his head hit the table and he began snoring loudly.

"Jacob!" Connor cried out in concern.

"Moron," Jack said as he drank from his own mug.

"Let me guess he tried drugging you didn't he?" Evie asked.

"He's been at it for an hour, I'm trying to figure out why he kept at it when the first two attempts didn't work" Jack said.

"I'm afraid my brother is a slow learner," Evie said as she shook her head.

"Is Jacob going to be ok?" Connor asked worriedly as he looked over the sleeping assassin.

"Don't worry Connor, he'll be fine our sleeping drops are powerful but not lethal," Evie assured.

She then turned her attention to Jack.

"You said he's tried multiple times why didn't it affect you?" Evie asked.

"I'm immune to drugs and alcohol, it's kind of annoying sometimes," Jack said.

"Well you boys have a nice night I'm going back to bed," Evie said as she got up.

"Wait Evie do you have any markers around here?" Jack asked With a Cheshire grin.

"Markers…what are markers?" Evie asked.

"Big thick colored pen like objects that are great for writing on a white board," Jack said.

"White…board?" Evie asked confused.

Jack blinked, he could not believe what he was hearing.

"Oh right. Pirate world…what do you have?" Jack asked.

"We have ink and quills," Evie answered "If you want to write something you can use those,"

"I don't think that will work…what do you have that leaves stuff on the skin?" Jack asked.

"Oh….um...hey are you going to prank my brother while he's unconscious?" Evie asked.

"Uh…Yeah, was that not obvious?" Jack answered.

"In that case I have just the thing," Evie said with her own mischievous grin.

Evie left to go get the supplies and Connor looked up at Jack.

"Umm…Jack…what are you going to do to Jacob?" Connor asked fearfully.

"Not me Connor us," Jack said with an evil grin.

"Us…you want me to help you?" Connor asked.

"Yes I do," Jack claimed "Once Evie gets back we'll start and depending on what she brings back you'll be having a late night arts and crafts lesson," Jack said as he looked at Jacob's snoring form.

Connor did not know what Arts and Crafts was but from the look Jack was giving Jacob he figured it would be something bad. He didn't understand why Jack was doing this to his friend and hoped Jacob would recover from whatever Jack did to him.

"Sweet dreams Top Hat," Jack said as he took another sip of his glass.

Evie returned with several pots of paint and brushes and Jack's grin just grew at all the different colors. Red, blue, green yellow and a few more. Evie knew she should probably go back to bed but she was Jacob's sister and it had been a very long time since she had pulled any jokes on him so a chance like this was too good to pass up. Jacob was an ass, but he was an extremely good Assassin and Evie was not going to let him get off easy.

"Can I help?" She asked Jack.

"Of course the more the merrier," Jack smiled "How long will he be out?"

"Well a single drop is enough to knock someone out for a few minutes so...probably an hour maybe just over," Evie answered.

"Really, who has sleeping drugs that last only a few minutes? Seems kind of unreliable to me,"

"You'd be surprised," Evie claimed and walked over to her brother, she grabbed the brush in the black paint can and began to draw on his face.

Jack, Connor and Evie spent the next ten minutes drawing on Jacob's face. Connor initially did not want to draw on his friends face, and he feared that this was some kind of punishment for something he had done and Jack was taking his anger out on Jacob. Even though Evie assured him that it was all in good fun Connor still felt that he had done something wrong and now Jacob was paying the price.

When Jack handed him a paint brush to use and told him to start Connor reluctantly obeyed and joined in Jack's art project.

Connor was not that good at drawing but Jack assured him it was the thought that counted. When they were done Jacob had a moustache, cat whiskers, a dick on his forehead, the word idiot and an arrow pointing to his mouth next to the words 'My brain fell out from here'.

"Well we've run out of space," Jack proclaimed as he marveled over the art piece.

Connor let out a sigh of relief that it was over.

"Well not quite, I have an Idea," Evie said and quickly left.

Connor frowned at this; he should have known there was more to come…there was always more to come. She came back a few minutes later holding a small satchel.

"What's that?" Jack asked.

"Green powder…we use it for making dyes and other things," Evie answered "once it gets into something it's very very difficult to get out,"

"Ohhhh I like the way you think," Jack grinned "does it come in other colors?"

"Yes but we only have green on hand," Evie claimed.

Within a minute Jacob was covered in brightly colored powder, it was in his hair and all over his clothes; Evie had removed his Assassin over coat and his weapons so they would not get damaged. Jack didn't think it was a good idea as having the powder on everything would add to the fun of the prank. Evie however refused to let Jack near the powder until everything she deemed important was removed and moved away well out of range of any lose powder in the air.

Once they were done Jack took a picture for blackmail purposes. Evie then took Connor back to his room and put the boy back to bed; she wanted to talk to Jack alone for a bit so she had Henry sit with Connor for a while as he still was afraid to be alone.

Evie came back to the mess hall and made some tea for her and Jack. Jack eyed the tea suspiciously and looked at up at Evie.

"Don't worry, there's no sleeping drops in this one," Evie assured.

"So what do you guys do exactly?" Jack asked Evie, once they were alone.

"Public relations," Evie answered.

"Uh-Huh and what kind of public relations require swords, knives, guns and other weapons?"

"We live in a world filled with pirates it's not a crime to defend yourself,"

"Jacob said that you were kidnappers,"

"We are among, other things,"

"So you kidnap children then?"

"Very rarely and only when necessary,"

"And what happens to those kids?"

"Classified,"

"Care to elaborate on the other things you mentioned?"

"No,"

"Why not?"

"Classified,"

"Ughhh you're as bad as your older brother," Jack groaned.

"Actually I'm the older one. By one minute,"

"One minute huh?" Jack asked.

"Yes, most peaceful minute of my life, oh how I miss it," Evie sighed, Jack chuckled at that.

"What about you?" Evie asked.

"What about me?" Jack asked in return, but it was clear he was dodging the questions.

"Who are you? Really?" Evie asked.

"I'm Jack, didn't we already do the whole introductions thing?" Jack asked.

"Yes, I remember the flaming skeleton part the most," Evie said.

"Yeah I get that a lot," Jack said.

"Care to explain that?" Evie asked, Jack made a face that suggests he was thinking long and hard on the question.

"Hmm…..Nah it's kind of a boring story I don't think you'd be interested, it usually puts people to sleep," Jack said.

"Okay, where are you from?" Evie asked.

"Here, there, everywhere, anywhere, nowhere, you know…like most people," Jack said with a shrug, Evie pinched the bridge of her nose.

"And exactly what is it that you do?" Evie asked.

"Oh a little of this, a little of that, a lot of that other thing, but not a whole lot of another thing," Jack said.

"You're not being very forthcoming," Evie said.

"Well it's a lot more information than classified," Jack said, Evie remained silent for several moments until Jack let out a sigh.

"Look, I'm not smart but I know killers when I see them, you want to play the super secret squirrel game fine I really don't care but don't expect me to tell you everything when you won't tell me anything," Jack said.

"That's fair I suppose," Evie said.

"Honestly you really don't want to know everything I know, and if I told you you'd either not believe me or have me locked up in the nuthouse," Jack said

"And I'd rather not stay in another one of those, the last one was absolutely dreadful," Jack said.

"Really?" Evie asked.

"Indeed, I mean all the strait jackets were knockoff brands, I understand they had a budget but still have a little pride in your establishment, where's the Armani the Gucci? Honestly it's disgraceful," Jack said, Evie stated at the Rider with a bewildered expression.

"You're absolutely bonkers aren't you?" Evie asked.

"Well they say ninety four percent of psychopaths think there's nothing wrong with them and that they're perfectly sane," Jack said.

"Are you saying you're perfectly sane?" Evie asked.

"No, I'm saying I'm part of the other six percent," Jack said.

They continued to chat for a bit, though it was really Evie evading answering any questions with anything other than "Classified"; after twenty minutes Evie headed off to bed. Jack headed back to Connor's room and saw that Henry was sitting with Connor and reading a story with him. Once they were done Henry advised Connor to get some more rest before leaving and once Henry was gone Jack re-checked the salt lines.

After his nightmare earlier he was not going to take any more chances. Connor had a hard time falling asleep with Jack in the room but he eventually drifted off.

Jacob groaned as he came back to conciseness, he felt very groggy. He looked around and noted that he was in the bureau's mess hall, Connor and Jack weren't around but there was a mirror left for him on the table, he took one look at his reflection before crushing the mirror in a fit of rage.

"Claymore, you will pay for this," he hissed dangerously.

Jacob didn't care if Jack could not die, that just meant that he could make him suffer for an eternity. Jacob stormed angrily to his room that Connor was staying in. the door was slightly a jar and when Jacob opened it a bucket of green slime fell on him.

Jacob tried desperately to smear the slime off of him but it stuck to him like glue, in fact he was pretty sure it was glue, he suddenly heard a clicking noise and looked to see Jack sitting in a chair with his phone out taking another picture of the assassin, and the Rider had a huge grin on his face.

"I think I'm going to start making an album of these, Jacob's greatest flops," Jack said.

"CLAYMORE!" Jacob yelled as he tackled Jack to the ground.

Connor moaned and woke up again; he sat up and saw Jack and Jacob rolling around on the floor like children. He made no move to get out of bed and simply watched the two men act like Zoro and Sanji. Eventually Jacob ended up on top of Jack and started strangling the Rider.

"Damn flaming skeleton!" Jacob yelled until Jack clocked him with a right hook, and then put him in a head lock.

"Over dressed peacock!" Jack yelled.

Jacob elbowed him in the gut then flung him onto his stomach he got on his back and started bending his leg backwards in an attempt to break it.

"Over grown candle stick!" Jacob responded.

Jack threw the assassin off him and flung him to the ground he then stood up and jumped on Jacob and started rubbing his face into the puddle of green slime.

"Self-absorbed wind bag!" Jack yelled back.

The two continued to wrestle with each other for thirty more minutes, eventually Evie came in to the room to investigate the noise she walked in to see Jack sitting on Jacob and hitting her brother with his own hand.

"Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!" Jack said every time he smacked Jacob with the assassin's own hand.

Evie blinked in confusion and looked to Connor for answers

"Don't look at me, they woke me up with they're fighting," Connor claimed "they've been at it for about thirty minutes now,"

"It's like dealing with children," Evie said with a sigh before walking up to the two squabbling man children and slamming her fists on both their heads.

"OUCH!" Jacob and Jack yelled as they rubbed the new bumps on their heads.

"That's enough you two!" Evie yelled.

"He started it!" Jack and Jacob said as each pointed at the other.

"You both need to grow up! Jacob you've had this coming for a long time I love you but you're an ass and Jack Connor is very influential at his age you need to set a better example," Evie scolded.

"Now you both are going to shake hands and give it a rest for the night," Evie said, but the two men just turned their backs on each other and pouted.

"I said shake hands," Evie repeated dangerously.

"Not a chance," Jack and Jacob said at the same time.

Evie glared at the two and then let out a sigh. She walked over to Connor and picked him up.

"Connor your coming with me," Evie declared "you're not staying in this room one moment longer,"

A small smile appeared on Connor's face and he let Evie pick him up, Evie turned towards the door taking Connor with her.

"Wait…what?" Jack asked.

"If you two are going to act like children…I will treat you as such," Evie said "Connor has just recovered from a horrible experience and even worse injuries,"

"And instead of giving him the rest he needs you two keep him up with your petty squabbles. So since you two are a bad influence on him and clearly incapable of understanding his basic needs I will be taking him somewhere where he will get the rest he needs," Evie said.

"So Connor will be in my room and sleep with sleep with me tonight,"

"Evie wait…that's not a good idea...it's not safe for him to be out of this room," Jack claimed.

He didn't want Connor out of his sight.

"He'll be perfectly safe with me. Since you two clearly can't get along and want to spend all night fighting I'm going to let you…but you will do it without him around," Evie said.

She then walked out of the room taking Connor with her, Connor looked back at Jack as she slammed the door.

"Great now look what you did Top Hat, Connor is no longer safe thanks to you," Jack said.

"Are you saying my sister is irresponsible?" Jacob growled.

"No that is clearly you," Jack shot back "But Connor is only safe when he's in this room….for the most part,"

"I'm sorry but which of us let him get kidnapped and which of us broke into a monster infested base and saved him?" Jacob asked.

Jack's eye twitched and he jumped on Jacob starting another fight.

The next morning, Jack woke up just after dawn in the same spot on the floor where he and Jacob had fallen asleep during their fight last night; they had eventually worn each other out. He noticed that Jacob was no longer in the room and wondered where he had gone. Jack didn't actually care he just wanted to get Connor back to the ship. He stood up and walked out the door, he was intending to find Connor and sneak out before Jacob could enact some kind of revenge or Evie could stop him.

He followed Connor's soul to the reception area where he found Evie and Jacob waiting for him on a long couch with Connor sitting between them with a plate of food on his lap, he was happily munching on some toast with Jam. Jacob was wearing a white hooded robe with a red sash, he glared at Jack.

"What are you two doing up?" Jack asked.

"We thought we'd walk you to the ship," Evie smiled.

"Plus Connor needed some breakfast," Jacob said "and we were not going to send him back without some breakfast,"

"Didn't you see the crew while Connor was recovering?" Jack asked.

"Yes but Jacob didn't," Evie said.

Once Connor had finished eating they left the bureau via roof top, Jacob gave Connor a piggy back ride as he climbed up and down the walls. Once they were all outside they started walking towards the Merry, Evie chatted with Connor while Jack and Jacob kept glaring at each other.

"Honestly they're worse than children," Evie sighed as she glanced over her shoulder at the two boys.

"I think it's a good thing, Jack worries way too much so maybe this will help him loosen up a bit," Connor claimed.

"And teach Jacob not to be so arrogant," Evie added, she then took another look at her brother and Jack who were still glaring at each other.

"Connor…..what do you know about Jack?" Evie asked.

"Not a lot, he doesn't talk much," Connor said.

"So Luffy just allowed a demon on his ship without question?" Evie asked.

"Are you surprised?" Connor asked.

"No I guess not…..do you trust him?" Evie asked, Connor remained quiet as he thought about the question.

"I….I don't know, he's nice most of the time but he gets really scary sometimes," Connor said.

"Has he hurt you?" Evie asked.

"No he hasn't done anything to me or the others…..but he's hurt other people and I've seen what he's done…..that's when he gets really scary," Connor said quietly.

"So you don't trust him?" Evie asked again.

"Luffy trusts him, that's all that matters," Connor said, Evie wasn't convinced by the boy's testament but like her brother she assumed that if Luffy trusted the monster on his ship then he couldn't be to horrible….hopefully.

When they approached the Merry Luffy was waiting for them, as soon as he saw them approach he stretched out his arms and pulled Connor onto the ship; the others had to walk.

"I hope Zoro's asleep," Jacob grumbled as they approached.

"Why?" Jack asked curiously.

"Let's just say he's not the forgiving type," Jacob claimed.

"I hear that, what did you do?"

"Classified," Jacob finished.

Jack rolled his eyes, he was getting sick of that word and he made a metal note to ask Zoro about it later. Jack and the twins got on board and saw Luffy hugging Connor and refusing to let go. He was surrounded by the Straw Hats who were just as grateful to see the boy alive.

"Luffy...can't breathe," Connor choked out and Luffy loosened his grip but he refused to let go.

"Hey guys," Jack greeted, as he and the twins approached.

'Jack did you have to bring him back here?' Merry asked; Jack could feel all the contempt his Ride had for Jacob.

'He and Evie insisted on walking us back to you, what do you have against him anyways?' Jack asked.

'I just don't like him is all,' Merry huffed.

Luffy let go of Connor and walked up to the twins. Robin stared at the twins frozen with fear. Jack noticed this and wondered why the archaeologist was afraid of the twins.

"Thank you for saving him, if there is anything I can do to repay you just let me know," Luffy offered.

"It was no trouble, Jacob did most of the saving though," Evie claimed.

"Still we really appreciate it," Luffy said.

"Just tell him to keep his blades to himself and we'll call it even," Jacob said pointing at Zoro.

"You're still on my list," Zoro glared at Jacob.

"I'm sorry but last time I checked, the score was me 1 you 0,"

"Things change," Zoro said and gripped his sword.

"Yeah this time he'll have back up," Jack warned.

"Please I could take you both on," Jacob scoffed.

"Oh really? The other night says otherwise," Jack reminded.

"I WAS HOLDING BACK!"

"SO WAS I!"

"BRING IT ON I'LL BREAK EVRY BONE IN YOUR BODY!"

"MY SENTIMEDTS EXATLY!"

Jacob and Jack then pounced on each other as they once again initiated their dramatic bickering, the rest of the crew watch as the two killers attempted to beat each other to a pulp; they also noticed neither of them were fighting with their full strength or skills.

"What the hell? Why are they acting like these two?" Nami asked and gestured to Zoro and Sanji.

"Don't lump me in the same group as this idiot," Zoro complained.

"I have no desire to be compared to a directionless moss head," Sanji stated.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"Brainless and deaf,"

"THAT'S IT YOU'RE DEAD COOK!" Zoro yelled and that started a second fight.

Nami sighed; she then walked over to the Zoro and Sanji and hit them both in the head ending the fight. Evie did the same to Jack and Jacob but also threw them in the ocean.

"Idiots," both women huffed.

Once Jack had gotten back on board the twins said their good byes and wished the pirates luck, the Merry then sailed off with both Jacob and Evie waving good bye on the shoreline.

"So what do you think?" Evie asked.

"I think Jack's alright; I mean after everything I did to him he still refused to hurt us,"

"I agree, even though he feels off and doesn't radiate a colour and he wasn't affected by our sea stone weapons,"

"The dead don't come back Evie, no matter how much we want them too,"

"I know, Still he one upped you,"

"I let him win,"

"Sure you did brother sure you did," Evie said.

"I'll have you know sister I still was able to keep that…" Jacob stopped talking as he patted down his robes.

"Something wrong?" Evie asked.

"The knife, the knife from the base I just had it on me," Jacob said as he searched his pockets.

"Are you sure you had it with you when we left the bureau?" Evie asked.

"Yes I'm sure, I remember feeling it right before Jack and I…." Jacob stopped talking as he realised what happened, he then looked at The Merry that was already almost out of sight.

"I hate him," Jacob said.

On the Merry.

Once the Merry was out of sight of the Island Jack went down to the men's quarters and stashed the demonic knife in his chest with the rest of the enchanted weapons.

"Well that's one problem less to worry about," Jack said as he locked up the chest.

Jack then returned to the deck, he was going to show the boy his surprise but Chopper pulled Connor off for a check-up but found no trace of injuries, he asked how Connor was dealing with what had happen to him but Connor did not want to talk about it.

When he came back on deck Jack showed Connor the surprise by riderizing the Merry. Connor was speechless but not because he loved it just as much as the others did, because he was actually quite terrified. The Merry now felt like the creatures that took him prisoner and the place where they had held him. Only it was much darker and far worse than the atmosphere in the Marine base he had just escaped from.

Connor did his best to push his fear aside but it was hard, Jack took his silence as a sign that he loved it like the others did. Nami informed Jack that the log was still set to the Island before they changed course to rescue Connor so Jack willed the Merry to go back in the direction that they had come from.

Jack also told Connor how Jacob and Evie snuck into a base crawling with monsters and demons, rescued him and stole a knife without anyone noticing. Connor was impressed and even Jack admitted he was impressed with what the twins had done as such a feat was uncommon back in his world.

Even the most seasoned Hunters would be find such a feat almost impossible to achieve as most Hunters and Riders would go in guns-a-blazing and kill everything first before the actual rescue part. Chopper asked if that made Jacob and Evie hunters, Jack admitted it did but they were not going to get a party like the crew had.

"So we took care of the monsters in the base….Do you think there are anymore?" Usopp asked nervously.

"Yeah there are…Crowley gave me a list of what's left. It's not much but even small groups can do a lot of damage," Jack claimed "especially since hellhounds are on the list,"

"Those are the demon pets aren't they?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah except sometimes I wonder which one's the pet and which one is the owner," Jack said.

"Hey, didn't you say some vampires turned one of White Beard's men when we met up with them?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah, that's another thing about a lot of monsters they tend to turn as many people as they can so their numbers stay up," Jack said.

"Sure hope they didn't follow that trend too much while they were here," Usopp said, Jack nodded in agreement.

While this conversation was going on Luffy seemed to be the only one to pick up on the boy's fear and dragged Connor up to the figure head to fully enjoy the full speed of the Merry's new form and look over the ocean. Connor clung onto Luffy for safety and comfort as he did not like the Merry's new form at all….in fact it scared him more than the conversation he had just been part of.

He kept his eyes closed the whole time and whimpered softly as the ship sped across the ocean and Luffy gave him constant reassurance that he was safe. The Captain made a mental note to tell Jack not to use this form very often as he did not wish to traumatize Connor any more than he already was.

Once Jack had finished talking with Chopper and Usopp about the demons he walked up to Zoro, the swords man was talking to Sanji on the deck; it was odd to see them get along.

"So…what did Jacob do to you exactly?" Jack asked Zoro.

"Me personally, nothing," Zoro answered.

"So why is he on your list?"

"He stabbed the kid in the gut just after we met him," Zoro hissed "and then he beat Me, Luffy and Sanji up the next day. Threw us around like rag dolls and there was nothing we could do to stop him,"

"Yeah, it wasn't till much later that we found out from Ace that Jacob and Evie Frye are two of the most talented and dangerous killers in the world," Sanji finished.

"He. Did. WHAT!" Jack yelled with a loud demonic roar that echoed across the ocean.

"Uh oh," Zoro said.

Jack and the Merry's flames turned blue as the ship made a sudden stop; Luffy and Connor who were sitting on the figure head were thrown off and landed in the ocean. Thankfully Connor was with Luffy so the captain didn't sink…though Sanji jumped into support Connor in keeping Luffy above the surface and help the devil fruit user back on the ship.

"OI WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Sanji yelled angrily.

Luffy was lying on the deck weakly and Connor started to ring the water out of his cloths, he would need to change them. But it appeared Jack was too enraged to notice, the Merry did 180 degree turn before heading back to the island at break neck speed.

"Jack what are you doing?" Nami asked.

"I'm going to test out the ship's new cannon," Jack said.

"What new cannon?" Usopp asked "We only have the one,"

Jack snapped his fingers and a compartment beneath the demonic ram skull that was now the Merry's figurehead opened, revealing a very large cannon made out of metal like bones, and had demonic looking skeletal creatures clinging to its barrel.

It was in the same place as the cannon would stick out normally.

'No…' Connor thought fearfully.

"Awesome we have a new cannon!" Luffy cheered as he suddenly recovered from being tossed into the ocean.

"You idiot he's going to kill Jacob with it!" Usopp yelled.

Connor's eyes widened in fear at that statement.

"Jack wouldn't do that would you Jack?" Luffy asked.

"Nope," Jack said.

"See," Luffy said.

Connor birthed a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to blow up that building of his, and then I'm going to beat him into a bloody pulp before dragging him down to hell myself and throwing him on the torture racks with the rest of the monsters we sent down there," Jack said.

"You can't, Jacob and Evie are friends," Luffy said "Besides there might be other people in the building,"

"No, no, no, no, no," Connor started to mutter but no one heard him.

"Tough, they can spend an eternity in damnation with Jacob for all I care," Jack declared.

Connor had had enough, he did not want his friends to suffer nor did he want Jacob to die for an accident. Unfortunately for him the fear and his recent experience at the hands of supernatural creatures became too much for him and he suddenly broke down on the deck.

"JACK STOP THE SHIP!" Luffy cried out.

The Merry stopped extremely suddenly which threw the crew to the ground except Jack who remained standing. Jack looked at Connor who was buried under Usopp and Chopper. The boy was struggling to get out from under them and he was clearly distressed.

"Get off me…let me go…let me go," Connor cried out in fear.

"What the hell…kid?" Zoro asked in shock.

"It looks like his panic attacks," Chopper said.

Usopp, Sanji and Zoro instantly ran to different parts of the ship and looked over the horizon for any sign of enemy ships but there were none, the Straw Hats were alone on the ocean.

"I'm not seeing anything….Usopp how about you?" Sanji called out.

"No…nothing on my side," the sniper responded "Zoro?

"Nothing here either," Zoro claimed.

"It appears we are alone on the ocean for the moment," Robin stated calmly.

"But there's no one around, then why is this happing?" Usopp asked as the three made their way back over to the others.

"Connor calm down we're alone out here," Chopper tired.

"What's going on?" Jack demanded in a demonic voice.

"NO STAY AWAY!" Connor screamed but he didn't move from his spot.

Jack froze and looked at the crew for answers, but the rest of the crew seemed just as confused as Jack.

Luffy however carefully approached Connor and bent down to his eye level.

"Connor…there is no one around," he assured "please tell me what's wrong,"

"No…no…I don't want this…I don't want this…." Connor cried.

The fact that Connor still recognized Luffy and that he was not fleeing from him was a good sign and meant that he was not in full blown panic mode yet.

"Don't want what?" Luffy asked gently.

"I don't want to be hurt….please don't hurt me anymore," Connor begged.

"No one is going to hurt you," Luffy claimed and pulled Connor into a hug "Your safe with us,"

"But…but the monsters will come back…they'll hurt me and take me back…" Connor cried softly while burring his face in Luffy's vest.

Luffy looked at Jack.

"Turn the ship back to normal," he ordered.

"What why?" Jack asked.

"Do it now," Luffy said seriously.

Jack snapped his fingers and the Merry reverted to it's normal form. Luffy looked over at Sanji.

"Sanji Connor needs some Hot Chocolate," Luffy ordered.

"Right," Sanji agreed and he headed off to the kitchen to make the drink.

Luffy then turned his attention back to Connor. He gently picked him up and headed towards the kitchen.

"Robin come with me," Luffy said as he walked past.

Robin followed Luffy into the kitchen and a few moments later Sanji and Luffy walked out.

"Better not go in there till he calms down," Sanji said to the rest of the crew.

The others nodded Sanji went to the port side and lit a cigarette. Nami checked the log and had Zoro and Chopper bring in the sails and drop the anchor. Since Jack had turned the ship around and Connor was in the kitchen calming down they would not be able to adjust their course; Usopp climbed the crow's nest and double checked for any other ships.

Once the ship was stopped and Zoro and Chopper came down Jack walked over to them.

"What the hell just happened?" Jack demanded.

"Don't worry about it," Zoro said waving him off, he then looked up at the crow's nest "Usopp you see anything you let us know right away...I don't care how far away they are,"

"Will do," Usopp called back.

Jack's mind started to spin, Connor had just broken down in complete terror and he didn't understand why, and no one was telling him anything.

"Connor just had a full blown panic attack...why isn't anyone worried?" Jack asked.

"That wasn't a full panic attack," Chopper said.

"What…yes it was," Jack argued back.

"No Chopper's right, if it was a full panic attack it would be much harder to calm the kid down," Zoro claimed.

Jack stared at the swordsman in shock, the fact that the crew were so casual about it told him that this was not the first time Connor had done this and it worried him greatly.

"Wait…has Connor…this has happened before?" Jack gasped.

"Yeah, it happens from time to time…usually there is a specific trigger for it but since we're alone out here we're not sure what caused it," Chopper explained "We always try to avoid that trigger,"

"What's the trigger?" Jack asked.

Zoro and Chopper looked at each other hesitantly before turning back to Jack.

"It's easily avoidable and that's all you need to know," Zoro said "so don't worry about it,"

"I think I should worry about it if it's going to make Connor go into a panic attack," Jack claimed.

"Jack…look Connor doesn't like talking about it. He didn't even tell us what it was and we only found out when it happened," Chopper claimed.

"And forcing him to talk about it would violate our one rule," Zoro warned seriously "so don't worry about it,"

Jack agreed to drop the issue but he would ask Luffy later, he wanted to know the trigger so he could avoid it if possible. Luffy came out five minutes later claiming that Connor had calmed down a bit but was going to sit with Robin for a while and advised the crew not to go into the kitchen until both of them had come out.

Jack also wanted to go into the kitchen to sit with Connor but Luffy told him to let Robin handle it. Robin had also placed an ear on Luffy's hand so Nami could tell her steering instructions and the Merry set off again.

It wasn't till late in the afternoon did both Robin and Connor come out, though Connor was clinging to Robin's leg and refused to leave the archaeologists side.

Robin approached Jack, but the Rider noticed Connor's fear grew as they got closer.

"Jack Connor want's to tell you something," Robin said.

Jack looked at her and then down at the boy who was still a bit distressed and clearly frightened.

"Hey buddy, feeling better?" Jack asked with smile.

Connor muttered something which Jack didn't quite hear.

"I'm sorry could you say that again?" Jack asked.

"I said you can't kill Jacob," Connor said louder. Although Jack could clearly hear the fear in his voice.

Jack was taken aback by this.

"Connor he stabbed you, he has to pay," Jack argued as he remembered what Zoro had told him. Plus the fact that Jacob was apparently one of the most dangerous killers in the world and Jack had let Connor near him was not helping the situation at all.

"It wasn't his fault," Connor said trying to push his fear aside.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"He was sleeping and I noticed he was having a nightmare, so I went up to check on him I accidentally woke him up, he thought I was an attacker and he stabbed me to defend himself," Connor said, Jack just continued to stare at him.

"It was an accident, he apologized and he more than made up for it," Connor continued.

"How so?" Jack asked.

"He and Evie helped us take down Crocodile," Connor claimed.

"You mean Robin's old boss?" Jack asked.

"That's right, if not for their contribution things may have gone differently at Alabasta," Robin agreed.

"You seem…oddly happy that your old boss was taken down," Jack stated.

"I'm not one to hold onto grudges," Robin claimed.

"See…he's really a good guy…and my friend…So please don't kill him," Connor begged.

Jack thought this over for a bit, he had to admit he really really wanted to kill Jacob but at the same time he did not want to upset Connor even more.

'I take it this is what you weren't telling me?' Jack asked Merry.

'Yes but I have my reasons, mainly I didn't want you destroying the island,' Merry said.

'Fair enough…so what do you think we should do?' Jack asked.

'Personally I think it's up to Connor don't you?' Merry asked, Jack returned his attention to Connor.

"Have you forgiven him?" Jack asked.

"Yes, the whole crew has," Connor said.

"Speak for yourself kid," Zoro said from his sleep.

"Well everyone but Zoro," Connor corrected himself.

Jack stayed silent for a while until he let out a sigh, Jack had been around Jacob for over 24hrs and in that time not once did he sense any innocent blood on the man's soul. If what Connor was saying was true then it had been an accident and not an internal attack and if Connor had truly forgiven Jacob then Jack had no need or cause to deliver vengeance.

"Alright fine…I won't kill him.," Jack said, Connor let out a sigh of relief "However next time I see him I'll defiantly let him know how I feel about the whole issue,"

"You're not going to kill him…right?" Connor asked nervously.

"No, he'll live," Jack assured.

"Thank you Jack," Connor said with a smile.

"See that wasn't so bad, now let's go back and finish that book," Robin encouraged.

Connor nodded and Robin led him back to the kitchen and Jack joined the rest of the crew on deck.

"Hey Jack will that cannon really work?" Luffy asked "the one in the Merry's demon form?"

"Not a demon and yes, they'll fire either chains or hell fire cannon balls, which will do a lot more damage than a regular cannon," Jack said.

"Will we have to stock up on extra cannon balls and gun powder?" Nami asked.

"We don't have to, they produce them infinitely, whenever I enchant a gun with hell fire it does the same thing," Jack said.

"Man that's so cool!" Luffy cheered.

"Congratulations Luffy, you have the fastest strongest and most deadly ship in the world," Jack said with a chuckle.

"Well now that the monster problem is dealt with for the most part we can focus on the other big issue," Zoro said.

"What issue is that?" Jack asked.

"Getting a girl to go on a date with you," Zoro claimed, Jack raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"But….I already went on a date." Jack said.

"That doesn't count," Zoro said.

"Why not?" Jack asked.

"Because Bone Head, a date is when two people spend time with each other in a romantic setting because they genuinely like each other," Zoro explained.

"So if a demon pretends to go out with you in order to kill both you and all your friends it's not a real date," Zoro continued.

"Oh…..well when you put it like that…yeah that's pretty bad," Jack said.

"Leave it to you bone head to go on a date with a demon," Sanji said.

"Don't listen to him Jack, and don't worry there's plenty of non demon girls out there," Zoro said.

"Zoro is right Jack, I'm sure you'll find a girl in the next island," Usopp said.

"Or we could just let the whole subject go and leave my love life alone," Jack said hopefully.

"Yeah that's not going to happen," Zoro said.

"Damn," Jack cursed.

"If you ask me I think Jack should lay off going on a date with random strangers for a while," Nami said.

"Who else do you go on a date with besides, random strangers?" Jack asked.

"Well some guys go out with a pretty girl that they friends with first," Nami said.

"That's not a bad idea, if only I had a pretty friend willing to date a monster," Jack said before walking off.

He went into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, he was still tired from last night, Nami just watch him walk off before pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head.

"For someone who can see souls, he's got to be the blindest person I've ever met," Zoro said as he faced palmed.

"Idiot," Nami added.

As the day went on the crew continued about their day, after dinner Connor had gone to bed early and the rest of the crew were in the process of preparing for an early night as well. However Jack remained on deck and had taken a seat at the back of the Merry to stare out at the night sky. After a while Luffy came over and took a seat next to him.

"Hi Jack," Luffy greeted with his normal smile.

"Hey," Jack responded.

"So I take it you have an idea why I'm here," Luffy said.

"Yeah…..Luffy…..I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…..I didn't mean to scare Connor," Jack said, the rubber Captain could feel the flood of remorse and shame in the Rider's voice.

"I know, but we probably should avoid the Merry's makeover from now on. For Connor's sake," Luffy said, Jack nodded and the two fell into a comfortable silence.

"Damn it….I hate saying this but Crowley is right," Jack sighed.

"Crowley?...oh yeah he visited you, what was he right about?" Luffy asked.

"He said I was slipping and he's right, I left Connor alone without salting the room, I literally scared him half to death and then I did it again as soon as I got back to the ship….it's just one big mess," Jack sighed.

"You're being too hard on yourself, Connor is okay and everything is okay," Luffy said.

"You don't understand, I'm acting like a damn rookie if Carter saw me like this back home he'd kick my ass up and down the Himalayas," Jack said.

"What's the Himalayas?" Luffy asked.

"Really big mountains…what the hell is wrong with me?" Jack asked.

'You're a poor excuse for a Rider and a constant shame and disappointment,' The Rider said.

'Hey asshole! Stay out of this they're having a moment!' The Merry said.

'I was here first you glamorize tugboat! So but out!' The Rider yelled back.

'I AM NOT A TUGBOAT!' Merry yelled.

'You're right that's too generous, YOU'RE BARLEY A DINGY!' The Rider said.

'YOU TAKE THAT BACK!' Merry yelled.

'MAKE ME!' The Rider challenged.

"I think it's because you think too much," Luffy said as Jack tuned out the voices in his head.

"I don't follow," Jack said.

"Well….bad stuff happens right?"

"Yeah,"

"But good stuff happens too, you can't predict what's going to happen so you just have to take it as it comes,"

"But Connor was scared and hurt for it,"

"I know but that is not important,"

"Yes it is, it should never have happened,"

"No the important thing is he is back with us alive and safe," Luffy said "Everything worked out so it's all fine,"

"No it's not, I let it happen," Jack said.

"Really….I don't recall you handing him over to Adriana or being the one who hurt him," Luffy said.

"No but…if I had been better…If I was better she never would have gotten him in the first place," Jack sighed.

Luffy tilted his head and looked at the Rider.

"You really believe that?" he asked.

"Yes," Jack answered.

"Well in that case your stupid," Luffy stated.

"Yes I'm…wait what?" Jack asked in surprise.

"You're really really stupid if you're blaming yourself for some one else's crime,"

"I'm not taking the blame for what Adriana and those monsters did to Connor,"

"Yes you are, you just said that you believed that if you had been better it wouldn't have happened. Remember that bloodied room with the alter?"

"How could I forget,"

"Well that happened after you got your powers back and you were with us so how can that be your fault?"

"It…It just is,"

"No it's not…now that I think about it Connor only went through that because he broke the ruby holding your powers. So technically it's his fault,"

"That…That doesn't make sense," Jack claimed.

"I should really tell Connor not to take unnecessary risks like that again," Luffy said thoughtfully.

"Still after everything he's been through Connor's pretty messed up and having a monster around won't help," Jack said sadly "So…it would be better if I left,"

"Well good thing for us there's no monster on board," Luffy said "Besides how will you leaving help?"

"What do you call the flaming skeleton of pure rage and vengeance from the ninth circle of hell?" Jack asked.

"My Nakama," Luffy said innocently, Jack looked at his Captain in stunned silence.

Luffy then turned to look up at the stars.

"You're right though…Connor is messed up," Luffy said "But he was like that long before me and you came along,"

"That doesn't make me feel better," Jack muttered.

"He spent his whole life around bad people and people who want nothing more than to hurt him," Luffy continued.

"Again not helping,"

"And I have little doubt that Connor will be terrified and scared of you for your actions over the last couple of days,"

"Please stop,"

"I mean you did threaten to kill him and our friends…twice,"

Jack groaned.

"Hey if you can sense people's soul how come you didn't notice Connors distress that you were causing him?" Luffy asked innocently.

"I'm sorry but how is this supposed to make me feel better?" Jack asked.

"Well you only caused today's stress…not a whole lifetimes worth," Luffy said "I mean I know he doesn't care about his own life and all…maybe I should get Zoro and Robin to talk to him about that,"

"Wait…Connor doesn't care about his own life?" Jack asked in surprise.

"Yeah he believes he's worthless and has no reason to live other than to serve his masters. It's sad but that is what how's he's been raised," Luffy sighed.

"But….but that's not right," Jack tried.

"Your right it's not, but like I said the damage was done long before I picked him up," Luffy shrugged "We can't change what happened to him, whether it's what Adria, Alvida or even the people who took him and put the brand on him in the first place. All we can do is try and show him a brighter future,"

"If we do that then he might find something to live for," Luffy said.

"And what if never finds it?" Jack asked "what happens then?"

"He keeps looking silly," Luffy said with a smile "he doesn't have to find it right away but with an endless ocean to search I'm sure he'll find something to live for eventually and until then…well he can stay with us for as long as he needs,"

"If Connor does find something to live for and it takes him away from you…will you let him go," Jack asked "Could you let him go?"

"Sure, I mean I'll be sad to see him go but if it's something he really wants then yes I will," Luffy answered.

"That's surprising, you don't come off as the kind of person who gives up," Jack claimed.

"Well I'll only let him go if he can't do whatever he finds with us. Even then I'll find a way he can do what he wants and be part of my Nakama at the same time,"

"Luffy, you're a truly good person," Jack said "Much better than me,"

"Well duh, I'm the Captain. Besides you're not that bad, I mean it's not like you scared him intentionally or was the cause of everything else he's been through,"

"Of course not,"

"Then there is no problem. Jack just give Connor a chance to process the last few days and he'll be back to his normal self in no time," Luffy said with a smile.

"I don't know Luffy, kids on my world…they never truly recover from trauma like this," Jack said regretfully "the fact that Connor has panic attacks at his age proves it,"

"But we're not on your world and Connor is way stronger than any kid on your world'," Luffy said.

"I sincerely doubt that," Jack scoffed.

"Nope he's part of the pirate kings crew and that makes him stronger than all the kids in your world by default," Luffy declared.

"That's not how it works," Jack moaned "Anyway it doesn't matter how strong you think Connor is… he is he's still a kid who has suffered greatly in the last few days,"

"I don't think Connor is strong I know he is and the fact that he is a kid is why he needs to be with people who care about him," Luffy asked.

"Well…..yeah but…."

"Wait….you mean you don't care about him?"

"Of course I do,"

"Then it's decided the best thing for Connor's recovery is for all of us to stay on this ship and you wouldn't want to let Connor down would you?" Luffy asked.

"This feels like extortion," Jack said.

"I don't know what that means but if it keeps you here then yep it's extortion," Luffy said before getting to his feet.

"Sure why not," Jack said. He stood up and followed Luffy to the men's quarters.

"Anyway we should be going to bed, I have a feeling Connor will be up here earlier than normal tonight and we don't want to be in his way…you coming?" Luffy asked.