The Ocean Never Ends

And neither will we.

Chapter 3

Nico wakes to the rather unbelievable sight of a giant cow-headed sea monster looming over their boat.

"What the –"

"I'm not sharing my food! Gum-Gum Pistol!"

Luffy punches it in the face, his arm stretching far further than it should, and Sanji joins in the one-sided beat down after almost being eaten.

It's too early for this nonsense, Nico thinks, stubbornly ignoring the fact that it's early afternoon as he rolls over to continue sleeping.

He's awoken again when the boat is sent flying –crashing into Zoro on the way – across the island and through rice fields, getting smashed into an unsalvageable wreck in the process.

Somehow, Nico isn't even surprised anymore.

-x- -x- -x-

They leave the island after a large breakfast - fruit and pancakes, and in Ace's case, enough bacon to make up half a pig.

It's a lot like the trips they took before the whole kidnapping slavers thing, except now that Ace has decided they're great friends, Penny realizes he has a tendency to ramble.

"… and then Luffy was all like, 'My punch is as strong as a pistol!', but then he hit himself in the face and rolled down the hill into a wild boar so we cooked it for dinner and …"

"… but Marco told Haruta, and Haruta told everyone else, so when everyone woke up the next morning Thatch was strung up in the rigging butt naked, because Izo said he was a 'Neanderthal who couldn't appreciate fine fashion if it stripped him and kicked him in the ass', and I have so much blackmail from that day it was awesome!..."

"…Oyaji is super great, you know. He's the strongest man in the world, and he's going to find One Piece, I just know it!..."

It's honestly rather endearing. Penny settles further into the bottom of their boat, carefully filing away names and asking questions whenever Ace seems like he's about to run out of steam.

When he asks, she shares some of her own memories; how Nico was so obsessed with a game that he decided to make his own 'demigod card series' - including her and himself - for accuracy's sake, the time Annabeth dragged them on a country-wide architectural expedition and ended up having a catfight with Clarisse that leveled a school building, the way mum always found a way to make or buy blue food because someone told her they didn't exist –

It's cathartic. It's only been a couple of days, but she misses them so fiercely that her chest aches and her eyes burn, voice tapering off in the middle of a story about Grover and his terrible pipe-playing skills. Ace doesn't push, filling in the silence with more stories about his little brother, and putting his hat on her head in a quiet show of support.

He's a good friend, and Penny is suddenly terribly, unspeakably glad she met him.

-x- -x- -x-

"Big Bro Usopp is dead!" Johnny yells, tears and snot dripping down his face. "Big Sis Nami killed him!"

Nico hadn't thought Nami a bad person – especially one so far gone as to murder her friend in cold blood. A quick check proves him right.

"Actually, Usopp's not dead." Nico's not really one for shouting, so his statement gets buried under everyone else's panic.

…Never mind. They'll find out soon enough.

"I saw it with my own eyes!" Johnny insists, even as Luffy shakes him like a ragdoll.

"Nami's our navigator! She would never do that!"

Realizing this could take awhile, Nico leans against a tree to wait, though he sits up when he realizes no one else has noticed the approaching figure.

"Oh? You're all here," she drawls, "what a nuisance." With her arms crossed over her chest and apathy painted on her face, only Nico seems to notice the tension in the line of her shoulders and limbs. A second glance shows him that she's trying to conceal her left hand with a black glove, though the patchy discoloration tells him she was bleeding there, and likely still is.

" – she was rotten all along! She was part of Arlong's crew from the start! And… and I watched her stab Big Bro Usopp to death!"

Nami slaps Johnny's finger away, forcing a smirk. "Are you going to kill me? Right now, Arlong's out to kill Zoro and the rest of you because Zoro had to do something stupid. You might have monstrous powers, but against a real monster… you have no chance."

As someone who has met and fought monsters, and even befriended a few, Nico isn't particularly impressed. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji don't seem put off either, though the latter two start fighting over Sanji's ridiculous – to Nico, at least – code of chivalry.

Luffy has a more interesting reaction. Lying on his back and resting his head on crossed arms, he looks ready to fall asleep right then and there. Knowing him, Nico wouldn't be surprised if he did, though everyone else seems comically shocked.

"I don't wanna leave this island and the fish-heads don't scare me. I'm tired now, so I'm gonna take a nap." Luffy ignores anything anyone else is saying, and soon enough his snores fill the air.

Nami storms off after failing to make them leave, and the 'Super Bounty Hunters' bid everyone else farewell soon after. As Zoro and Sanji settle down to wait, Nico decides that it is the perfect time to try out his shadow-travelling again, and maybe do something to hurry things along.

Stepping into the shadow of a palm tree, his second attempt to travel back to Camp fails again. Nico hadn't really expected it to work, but is mildly disgruntled anyway. Finally giving up on getting home for the time being, Nico steps back into the shadow with the aim of fetching Usopp… and emerges a few hundred feet away as a screeching figure races past him screeching for Zoro.

"… What a waste of energy."

-x- -x- -x-

"We're here!" Ace announces cheerfully as he leaps off Striker and, in an impressive feat of strength, tows his boat up the shore to the tree line with Penny still clinging to the mast.

"Ace…Where exactly is 'here'?" Unlike the past few obviously populated islands, this particular island has nothing but towering trees and dense shrubbery as far as the eye could see.

"Huh? I told you I was looking for someone, didn't I?" He flings his arm out in a grand gesture. "He's here on this island. Oh, and don't worry – he's a nice guy."

"I guess I'll take your word for it." Penny shrugs, eyeing the densely forested hill in front of her doubtfully. "Let me guess. He lives on the top of that hill."

"Yup."

"And it's a dangerous climb."

"What's fun without a little danger?"

"We'll probably get eaten by some giant animal."

"Haha! Are you sure you haven't been here before?"

Yes, Penny is quite sure she has never come here before. No, she is not a scaredy-cat who needs to grow a spine. Yes, she is sure she is following him to meet the mystery man, so please get going before she stuffs him in a meat-flavored sack and leaves him to the giant animals lurking in the forest.

Ace gets going.

-x- -x- -x-

Penny, Ace has decided, is definitely a good sort. She's fished him out of the ocean in a storm, helped him rescue those kids under Oyaji's protection, saved him from a giant wave, and they've even escaped the Marines together! Obviously they're friends now.

Sure, she's pretty clueless and doesn't seem to know anything before he tells her – it's like she's some alien or something – but hey, everyone has their faults. It's not like anyone would call Luffy a genius, and at least Penny seems to pick things up quickly.

It doesn't seem like she's about to leave him alone either, and Oyaji would definitely want to meet her, so that all works out great too! A new friend and possible shipmate? Score. He's so wrapped up in dreams of a grand Welcome-to-the-ship feast and Thatch's cooking that he doesn't realise he's slowed to a stop halfway up the hill until someone jabs him in the side.

"Wipe your mouth, you're drooling." Green eyes roll as their owner brushes past him, and Ace swipes frantically at his face before jogging to catch up with her.

"Sorry. I was hungry." He grins and she snorts, but gamely enters into a discussion on the best foods as they continue to make their way to the hut on top of the hill.

It's a small building, just a couple of rooms and an attached shed where the magic happens. The magic being one of Oyaji's favorite palm wines, of course.

"Tod! It's Ace! Toooodddd!" Ace calls, strolling to the door and pushing it open. Smoke rises lazily from the chimney, a pretty sure sign he's home. A good thing too, since Oyaji'd told him not to go back without the goods; Tod tends to wander off for days to trade at the nearest market, so if Ace had missed him he would have to hang around until the old man returned.

"Shed!" Comes the reply; Tod is a man of few words, but his palm wine is to die for. Almost literally – Oyaji has thrown many devil-fruit users overboard for trying to filch his alcohol, and Marco had threatened to disembowel anyone who touched the bottle he won off Oyaji.

Luckily for Ace, he's often sent to pick up alcohol due to Striker's speed, so he gets the opportunity to sample the goods and doesn't have to risk drowning for a taste. Whistling and almost drooling in anticipation, he makes his way around the house and through the open doorway, Penny trailing after him curiously.

"Tod! It's great to see you! Did you do something with your hair? Cause I'm telling you, it looks great." Ace is greeted with another eye roll and vague gesture towards a barrel with empty glasses stacked beside it. The best kind of welcome, in his opinion.

"Fresh today," comes the mutter as Ace fills two glasses with the milky liquid and hands one to Penny.

"Fresh? Tod, I knew you loved me." Finally completing their usual greeting, Ace raises his glass in a silent toast before downing half of it in one mouthful. "Great stuff as always, Oyaji wants his usual. I've got your payment here." He'd retrieved the bag of beli from Striker's storage compartment after they docked, and had to lug it up the hill, so he finally sets it down on the wooden table with no small amount of relief.

Tod sniffs and finally deigns to stand up. "Four barrels." He points them out, as well as a coil of rope, before finally seeming to notice Ace isn't alone. "Brought your girl with you, eh?"

Ace and Penny exchange looks. "Nah, 's just Penny. Just met her yesterday, but she's cool."

"Hah, not his girl he says. Tryna pull the wool over old Tod's eyes," he mutters, but both of them hear him loud and clear. "You, Girly, Ace is a good boy, you take care of him." He claps her on the shoulder as he walks past her and out of the shed without a goodbye, those few sentences seemingly depleting his speech and interaction quotas for the day.

"Friendly guy." Penny quirks a brow, shuffling awkwardly and placing her finally-empty glass on the table next to Ace's.

"Yeah. Hey, since he told you to take care of me, you wanna carry the barrels back to Striker?"

"… No."

-x- -x- -x-

"He's alive!"

"Not unless you killed him."

"No, you!"

"No, you!"

Zoro and Sanji start bickering, ignoring Usopp's prone body and now-bruised face between them. Nico trails over, sure he is alive but figuring it would be good to make sure he doesn't have a concussion.

"Ehhh? Usopp, did Nami beat you up?" Luffy is by his side in a flash, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him like a ragdoll.

"Nah, that was us," Sanji admits shamelessly.

"You mean, it was you." Zoro can't seem to stop himself from interjecting, and naturally, they descend into petty squabbling again as Usopp announces that Nami has an ulterior motive for being with the fishmen.

"It's no use," a stern female voice enters the conversation, "you'll never defeat Arlong."

"Nojiko." Usopp seems to recognize her, though no one else does from their reactions. "Nami's sister," he clarifies, though everyone seems to be focused on different things. Zoro on the fight with Arlong, Sanji on the female in question, and Luffy being just generally clueless. This is, Nico thinks to himself, very characteristic and not at all surprising, though both amusing and frustrating in equal measures.

Nojiko plants herself firmly in front of them, arms on her hips and head held high. "I'll tell you everything," she announces, eyes boring into each of them in turn. "But you must leave."

Honestly, Nico thinks she sounds about ready to punt them and their boat off the island herself if she has to, and he's not completely certain that whatever story she's about to tell them would be worth it.

"I'm not interested in her past." Apparently without any such doubts, Luffy turns and strolls off, despite Usopp's frantic calling. "I'm going for a walk."

"What's with him?" Nojiko frowns, but Nico thinks he sees a glimmer of respect in her eyes, though it's buried deep. He gets it – there's something admirable about Luffy's straightforwardness and the way his eyes are always turned to the future and never the past.

"Don't worry about him. He's quirky." By now, Zoro has made himself comfortable, sitting on the ground and leaning against a tree with his arms cushioning his head. "We'll listen to your story, but I don't think we'll learn much." Then he promptly falls asleep, even before Nojiko can start speaking.

-x- -x- -x-

"So cruel." Ace sniffs, mock crying into his elbow. He's barely visible beneath the four barrels he tied together and threw over his shoulders, though he hasn't hesitated at all and it doesn't seem to take him any effort whatsoever.

"You're ridiculous," Penny informs him, rolling her eyes again even if he can't see her. She's been doing a lot of that lately, but she can't help it when her travel buddy is someone like Ace: ridiculous, and also ridiculously strong; she'd tried lifting one of the barrels when Ace was distracted by a second helping of the palm wine, and while she could possibly manage two barrels in a pinch, lugging four around with no visible trouble is way beyond her.

They travel back to Striker, where Ace, with the air of someone who has done it dozens of times before, is somehow able to fit all four barrels comfortably in his dinky little boat.

"What next?" Penny asks, clambering onto the barrels for lack of a better place to sit. The wood is, fortunately, sturdy, and doesn't so much as creak beneath her weight – a very good thing, since there's no other space and she doesn't plan on taking an alcoholic bath, no matter how delicious.

The sun is high in the sky when Ace glances up from whatever he is extracting from the inner lining of his hat. "We're heading back to the Moby Dick. It's pretty far though, so we'll have to stop for food along the way. We'll probably reach the ship late tonight, so you can meet Oyaji tomorrow instead."

He doesn't seem as reluctant to bring her along anymore, sounding even eager to introduce her to his much-loved crew and captain. "They won't mind if I come along?" She can't help but ask, not particularly wanting to annoy what sounds like one of the most powerful crews on the seas. And now that she knows Nico is safe and can find her easily, the ever-present feeling of desperation and fear has started to abate as well.

It would be a lot easier to continue her search if she doesn't annoy incredibly powerful people along the way.

"Nah. You saved me and helped get the kids back. They'll love you, really. And besides, we're friends, aren't we?" Ace's smile is blinding.

"Yeah. We're friends." Penny's returning smile is no less radiant.

-x- -x- -x-

Nojiko is long gone, running off like she was chasing a signal only she recognized. The rest of them sit in silence for a moment, before Zoro of all people gets to his feet.

"Let's go," he grumbles, turning to walk.

"Go? Go where?" Usopp cries, jumping to his feet and chasing after him.

"Luffy's gonna pick a fight with Arlong. He's going to need backup. That's us," Zoro drawls, like he is explaining something to a particularly slow child.

Usopp grabs his shoulder, but doesn't have the strength to stop him in his tracks. "You're going the wrong way!" He yells, and Zoro freezes before turning to stomp in the opposite direction.

"Morons." Sanji grinds the stub of his cigarette out beneath his shoe, before standing and brushing the dust off his suit. But he doesn't say anything else, oddly silent after hearing Nami's life story, and his long strides make Nico jog a little just to keep pace.

Usopp leads them through the village and down a large road. The gates of Arlong Park loom in the distance, but it is clear from the silence that Luffy hasn't arrived, so they settle in to wait.

A furious crowd storms past them, intent on waging war. Behind them, Nami screams in anger, then breaks down into sobs. And still, none of them turn their heads or take their eyes off Arlong Park.

Then Luffy is there, hatless and incandescent with rage, though his voice is cold as ice.

"Let's go."

-x- -x- -x-

Despite everything, Nico still isn't sure what he's supposed to do. Are they aiming to kill or incapacitate? How much of his powers should he reveal? Showing too much of his strength would definitely bring trouble, he knows, but could he really just stand back if they need his help?

He is the son of Hades, a leader at the Battle of Manhattan, a hero, and perhaps the title he is proudest of, one of Penelope Jackson's best friends. He's survived quests, wars, and countless fights, but now he tenses beneath his leather jacket, Stygian iron sword still sheathed, though easily accessible.

His first fight in a new world. He's killed monsters before, and if he has to, he thinks he won't have a problem ending the lives of these pirates who enslaved Nami's village and killed her mother.

Yet beneath it all, Mihawk's voice whispers, "This is not your fight… They are fighting for things greater than themselves, and so they will win."

That doesn't mean he can't lend a hand. Nico very firmly tells the voice to go stuff itself, before refocusing on what is happening in front of him.

The gates fly off their hinges with a deafening crash as Luffy leads them into the Park, making a beeline for the largest, ugliest fishman of all. An impressive feat, considering they generally all look like eighties-beach-musicians turned thugs. Two fishmen step in his way, but are promptly knocked out and stomped on, and Luffy doesn't even pause before punching the one who admitted he was Arlong in the face.

"Gah! Lord Arlong!"

Luffy ignores them all, laser focus trained only on his target. When some of Arlong's crew launch themselves at him, they're halted very violently by well-shined shoes to the face, courtesy of Sanji.

Nico doesn't pay much attention to Sanji's nagging at Luffy for being reckless, his attention drawn by a very normal looking, non-Stygian iron sword that clatters to the ground beside him. Scooping it up and testing the balance, he finds that it's nothing special, but still much better than his own ominously glowy purple blade if he wants to blend in while still kicking villain ass.

The frantic trumpeting by an octopus fishman heralds the arrival of that cow-headed sea monster that Nico saw Luffy and Sanji beat up on the way to the island. Now that he has a closer look, it kind of reminds him of the Ophiotaurus Penny named Bessie, though bigger and much more cow-like in its coloring and appearance. It doesn't look like it particularly wants to fight them either, though it charges on Arlong's order – and ends up getting swung around in Luffy's windmill attack and flung back into the ocean after.

"I'm not here to fight small fry," Luffy growls, "I came here to clobber you!" He either doesn't notice or care that his feet are still stuck in the ground from when he was bracing himself to use the cow-creature as a wrecking ball, though Nico supposes he's not familiar enough with Luffy's Beat-Everything-Up fighting style to say if that's part of his battle plan or not.

"Well that works out perfectly. I was just thinking about clobbering you, too." Arlong does a barely acceptable menacing face – Nico gives it a Four on a scale of terror from angry Grover to Tartarus, about the same level as a mildly-annoyed-but-not-about-to-shove-your-head-down-the-toilet Clarisse.

Three fishmen who Nico assumes are Arlong's top henchmen line up beside their boss: the octopus dude who called Momoo, someone that looks half manta ray or something, and another guy with giant kissy lips.

Facing them are Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and a quivering Usopp. Nico himself stands a little further back, both to better protect the townspeople and to not interrupt the four-against-four dynamic they have going.

It's all very dramatic. Something that Nico, a connoisseur of rock bands and thriller movies, is perfectly capable of appreciating.

-x- -x- -x-

Ace's estimate is pretty accurate.

They had to stop at the nearest island when his stomach began making increasingly embarrassing sounds, but not even the lack of human civilization could stop them for long, since Ace is somehow annoyingly competent at everything. Within fifteen minutes of stepping ashore, he's disappeared into the woods and reappeared first with a wild boar, then with two rabbits and an armful of plants, and finally with a heap of firewood, which he promptly sets up on the beach and lights on fire with his magical devil-fruit powers.

Penny joins him there and tries not to feel useless when he waves off her offer of help. Just as well, since she isn't that great a chef, but still.

In fine gentlemanly form, he offers her first pick, though after she selects a rabbit he somehow manages to put away the rest in his black hole of a stomach and disappear in search of coconuts. Still halfway through her own meal, Penny gapes at the stack of bones; Ace had just eaten as much as the entire Ares cabin combined.

One day she will learn not to underestimate his appetite.

That meal lasts them a few more hours before they stop again, this time at an island with a town and marine base. The sky is dark by now, though the streets and shops are well lit and still bustling. Sniffing the air, Ace follows his nose, and Penny follows him, all the way to a secluded ramen shop where they put away fifteen bowls between them.

Most of them – all except two, really – belong to Ace.

"Do you have money?" Penny finds herself asking, though not particularly optimistically. She doesn't have any money with her, let alone in this world's currency and in large enough amounts to feed Ace's appetite. Ace is a pirate, and he definitely didn't pay for their lunch before marines interrupted them.

"Money?" Ace snickers, noodles dangling past his chin as he finishes his last bowl. "What do I need money for?"

Penny resolutely avoids the storeowner's sudden glare. "Uh, you exchange it for stuff. Like food."

"Oh, yeah." Ace freezes for a moment, then grins and grabs her by the arm, practically flying off his seat and out the door. "Let's go! Thanks for the food, old man!"

Unfortunately, the storeowner is surprisingly fit for his age. And loud. "You brats! Get back here! Hey, stop them, they didn't pay!"

Hands reach out to stop them, but they brush past easily, large strides eating up the ground between them and Striker. "Almost there!" Ace laughs, so of course that's when the Marines appear.

"Stop right there! Fire-fist Ace, you're under arrest!" Then, as an afterthought, "You too, girl."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Penny is incredibly unimpressed. So is Ace, though he seems to be looking forward to some post-dinner brawling, judging from the way he grins and his fists catch fire.

"You don't have a choice," the marine in charge sneers, and Penny has the sudden violent urge to punch him in the face. Ace seems to share the same urge, though he gives in and actually does it.

The sight of the marine flying away is an immensely satisfying one.

Somehow, one thing leads to another, and they end up speeding away on Striker as the marine base explodes behind them, orange tongues of flame stark against the starry skies.

Hours later, just past midnight, the silhouette of a massive ship looms in the horizon.

-x- -x- -x-

Luffy's feet are still stuck in the ground. Usopp had tried to drag him out, but it was useless and he'd had to make a quick exit, kissy-face fishman on his heels.

"I don't suppose you'd like my help getting out?" Nico offers placidly.

"Eh? Shadow-guy, you're here! Get me out!"

"It's Nico." He grumbles, but stabs the tip of his stolen sword into the ground. It splits open, a small fissure extending to where Luffy is standing before the earth there cracks even further.

"I'm free! Thanks, shadow-guy!" Luffy doesn't waste time, leaping out of the miniature sinkhole and shaking the dirt off his sandals. "Now," he glares at Arlong, "I'm gonna beat you up for making my navigator cry."

"Fool," Arlong catches Luffy's thrown fist effortlessly, "do you really think you can beat us?"

"Darn right!" Well. One thing Nico can say he admires about Luffy is his boundless confidence.

Arlong smiles. It is not a very nice smile - downright ugly, if Nico wants to be honest. "I think you should take a swim to cool off." He's all teeth and cruel mocking as he bends to grab both of Luffy's ankles in his other massive hand. "Though of course since you've eaten a devil fruit, you'll sink." Then he promptly flings Luffy into the water.

"Luffy!"

"You… Luffy, I'm coming!" Sanji makes a mad dash for the water, but finds himself dragged back.

"Jumping in is exactly what they want us to do! There's only one way to save him now!"

"Finish these morons off, then drag him out? Excellent plan. Let's do it!"

While Sanji and Zoro face off against the ray and octopus, Nico twists his skull ring around his finger and wonders, whose fault is it that no one remembers he's there? His, or theirs?

He's tired of just standing around. But he doesn't particularly want to jump in the sea – that's Penny's domain, not his, and even though he's fine on boats and this is a different world, voluntarily taking a swim in the ocean isn't exactly high on his to-do list. That leaves … "Hey Sanji, go get Luffy. I'll take this guy on instead."

Sanji spares him a considering glance and nod before diving into the lagoon. When the ray fishman moves to follow him, Nico is in front of him before he can take a second step.

"Weren't you listening? I'm your opponent now."

-x- -x- -x-

There's something wrong, and from his furrowed brows, Ace feels it too.

"It's too quiet," he says, slowing down as they near the ship.

"It's past midnight." Penny doesn't often play devil's advocate, but if something really is wrong then charging headfirst might not be the best idea.

"Well, yeah, but there's usually a night watch, especially on this side of the boat. It's where the docking areas are, so they'll be keeping an eye out for returning boats. Like Striker."

They finally pull up alongside the Moby Dick, but one glance at the docking area and the boats there – dismantled just enough to make setting sail dangerous, Penny notes – makes Ace fling his arm around her waist and propel them both up the sides of the ship and onto the deck.

The faint scent of iron taints the air. Blood. Ace breaks into a run towards the bow, and they end up travelling a ridiculous distance due to the size of the ship before Ace freezes at the sight of a body.

"Thatch," he whispers, agony coloring his voice as he falls to his knees. A shaky hand reaches out, but stops short of the bloodstained figure.

Crouching down and bending over Ace's friend, Penny grabs at his wrist desperately and heaves a sigh of relief when she barely makes out a heartbeat; incredibly faint and fluttery, but still there.

"Ace, he's alive!"

"Thatch… he's…" Ace is shaking, but Penny doesn't have time to coddle him.

"Go get help," she orders, but he doesn't move, still rooted to the spot. "Ace? Ace!" A moment, then she slaps him across the face, then grabs him by the shoulders and shakes. "Ace, you need to get a grip. He's not dead, and we want to make sure he stays that way, so go to your infirmary and get. Help."

He flinches, but seems to come back to himself. "I'll make sure he stays alive until you get back. I swear. Now go," she tells him, already turning back to Thatch as Ace leaps to his feet and takes off.

She keeps one hand on his pulse as she looks him over. He's unconscious, blood pooling on the flour and knife sticking out his back – she doesn't want to move it, or him, so throwing him into the ocean, while the most effective, would not be a great idea especially since Ace is heading back with help.

With a sigh and twist of her wrist, a massive pillar of water rises from the sea, then bends to fully surround her and Thatch, though she is careful to make sure he can breathe.

She's no child of Apollo, but water is the element of healing, and Penny has healed people this way before. Thatch's wound is too serious for her to cure completely, but fully submerged in seawater, she is at her strongest and has no trouble helping it along.

Minutes pass, and she wonders with mild annoyance exactly how big the ship is. She's not too terribly put out though, since the Moby Dick is massive, and Ace had to fetch the doctors, let them get their equipment, and bring them back.

By the time lights start flickering on and she can feel the thumping of running through the floorboards, Thatch's heartbeat is steadier and the bleeding from his back has slowed to a stop.

Ace comes back into sight, followed closely by a handful of medical personnel wheeling a stretcher and various machines, so Penny lets the water pour itself back into the ocean and makes sure Thatch is dry by the time the group reaches them.

The doctors take over, strapping Thatch into the stretcher and rushing off, barely sparing her a glance. Standing and stretching, she braces herself for Ace's inevitable questioning, but he just folds her into the warmest, tightest hug she's had in a long time.

"Thank you," he breathes, face squashed against the top of her head. Penny makes a face at the thought of his snot in her hair, but decides to let him have a moment to cry.

"Anytime," she says instead, valiantly ignoring the tears dripping on her. He squeezes tighter, then lets her go with a sigh.

-x- -x- -x-

One hand holding hers, he tows her into the ship after the doctors then stops. He'd planned on going to the infirmary, but Thatch will be in surgery and he doesn't want to interrupt.

Penny yawns widely, body drooping and eyes at half-mast.

Patting her head fondly, he starts walking again, this time towards his room. She can take his bed – he'll sleep on the floor or go bug Marco, maybe camp outside the infirmary doors.

It's been a long day. He's not sure what exactly she did, but Penny might just have saved Thatch's life.

After all that, letting her have a good night's sleep on a proper bed really is the least he can do.

-x- -x- -x-

A/N:

I Liiiiiiiive! It's been two years omg. I'm so sorry it took so long but ahaaa. Better late than never?

Thank you so much to everyone who kept reading and reviewing and following over the past few years. I'm super glad people like this story and it's really heartening to see a new follow/fave in my email every once in a while. I hope you enjoy this new chapter! It's a little wonky here and there because it's been years since I've written, but I tried to make up for it with a longer chapter – past 5k, which is reaaallly long for my usual chapters.

I just really want to say thanks again for following this story. It is definitely not abandoned – promise! I just procrastinate a lot. But I will definitely make sure my next update comes sooner than uhhh two years.

It's almost 4am and I need to wake up in less than three hours but. So worth it. But also I should go to sleep now, so that's all for now! See you guys again next chapter :]