My Own One Piece.

Scorpion.

After camping for the night, we had breakfast. I was sitting by Nami and Vivi as Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro all argued about breakfast.

"Ace is so refined. You'd never guess he has a bounty on his head." Nami said.

"Ace has a bounty on his head?" Vivi asked.

"Yup. One so high that bounty hunters are always after us." I said.

"You too, Aoi-chan?" Vivi asked. I nodded.

"Hey, I'm the head doctor of the Whitebeard Pirates. You think I've been sliding under the radar this whole time?" I asked. Nami nodded.

"Fire Fist Ace and Water Knight Aoi of the Whitebeard Pirates. There's not a pirate alive that doesn't shake in fear of their names." Nami said.

"If Ace and Aoi are this intimidating to their peers, this Blackbeard they're chasing must be terrifying." Vivi said. I coughed.

"Yeah... Terrifying." I scoffed.

"Aoi? Are you saying he's not?" Nami asked.

"Oh, no. The man is terrifying. He's the ugliest thing to walk the planet." I said.

"And his strength?" Vivi asked. My eyes drifted to Ace, then back to the ground.

"To be honest... We don't even know now. Before, he wasn't that strong. He was one of the weakest in the 2nd division. Hell, I beat the shit out of him constantly with out even using my devil fruit powers. But now... Well... Ace and I have reason to believe he's much stronger now. To the point where I feel inclined to ask this..." I started.

"Hm?" Nami asked.

"If, by chance, you guys happen to encounter him before us... Don't fight him. Don't even try. Just pass through and hope you're not well known enough to catch his attention." I said. My eyes floated back up to Ace.

"Ace is too proud to admit it... But while he is proud of Luffy for everything he's done, he's also scared." I said.

"Ace? Scared?" Nami asked. I nodded.

"If this whole thing with Blackbeard wasn't happening, then I'm sure Ace would be much more relaxed. But.... Ace is worried about his brother. He's worried that he's gonna end up in a fight with our guy, and it won't end well for Luffy, given that we're certain that Blackbeard has eatten a rather powerful devil fruit." I said. I saw Ace glance down over at the guys.

"He's scared of losing his little brother." I said.

"I'll bet that you guys are gonna chase him for as long as it takes." Nami said. I nodded, remembering Thatch lying in a pool of his own blood. I clentched my fists, trying not to shake.

"You can count on that." I said. We decided it was time to move on. Nami ended the fight by giving Zoro and Luffy a nice lump on the head. I couldn't help but laugh.

Luffy suddenly took off after some "floating meat." Ace ended up finding the "floating meat" as two starving kids. And of course he scared the shit out of them.

One of the kids showed a picture.

"Please! Find this man! I'll pay you 1 million berris as soon as I grow up! I promise!" The kid said. Ace and I looked at the picture.

"His name is Scorpion. He's a bounty hunter." The kid said. Zoro and Nami questioned it.

"I have business with him, as well. A man who defeated Blackbeard is somewhere in Yuba. His name is Scorpion. My whole buisness in Yuba is to meet this man." Ace said.

"Are you sure Ace? Aoi? He doesn't look the type." Usopp said.

"The only way to know is to meet him." Ace said.

"Wait... Ace... Aoi? As in... The real Fire Fist Ace and Water Knight Aoi?" The kids asked. Ace and I looked at them. Ace stood up.

"Ace?" Nami asked.

"There's two. Maybe a bird." Ace said. I looked in the direction Ace looked.

"They're here." Chopper said. I felt my water start to swirl around my wrist.

"Aoi. Only step in if you feel it necessary." Ace said. I nodded. A man on a bird with Luffy behind him rode over a dune. He announced himself as Scorpion and the two kids hid behind the rock.

"This is a real fight Ace! Don't pull any punches!" Luffy said.

"I won't! But first there's something I need to ask!" Ace called.

"He's not listening." I said. Scorpion ran at us. Ace jumped forward as Luffy jumped off the bird. Scorpion shot a net at Ace. Ace blew it back on to Scorpion with his flames. I sighed, feeling my heart drop.

"I guess we won't be home soon." I thought. Scorpion began to shoot extinguished foam at Ace. Which Ace dodged skillfully. Though it did break the rocks. And I had to deflect it once.

"Aoi, are you okay?" Vivi asked. My water shield dropped.

"It will take more than that to waver me." I said. Ace landed a solid punch on Scorpion's gut.

"He never stood a chance." Usopp said. I scowled.

"As I thought. You lied about Blackbeard. You used his name to draw Aoi and I out in to the open, didn't you?" Ace asked. I walked out to stand by Ace. Scorpion made a move to attack us again.

"Stooooop! You can't beat them, father!" One of the kids yelled.

"Did he say father?" Luffy asked. The kids ran out to Scorpion. Ace and I stayed where we were. We listened as Scorpion reminded his kids that dream were everything.

"Even the most insignificant person can rise above. I did this to show you boys what it means to follow your heart's desire." Scorpion grinned at his sons. "Men need dreams. Goals that burn inside the heart like an eternal flame. That is what sustains us all. Ambition. Believe and life with deliver paradise! Ahahaha! Forgive me, but the only way to make you see this truth was to put my life on the line. My sons, always follow your heart!"

Scorpion stood, looking up and me and Ace. He pulled a bazooka on us. Ace moved to stand in front of me. Scorpion's sons hugged him and begged him to stop. Scorpion dropped the bazooka and hugged his sons.

The bazooka rolled back to the rock. It hit the rock and discharged. The rock blew up. I shoved Ace out of the way and ran down to them.

"Ace!" I yelled.

"I got it!" He yelled back.

"Water Umbrella!" I yelled and summoned a giant umbrella of water to protect myself and the small family.

"Fire Fist!" Ace yelled and punched away what rocks he could. I dropped my umbrella when it was clear.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Of course I'm alive! You think I'd leave my sons behind? Scorpion isn't defeated that easily!" Scorpion said. His sons tackled him in a hug. I smiled. Ace helped me out of the small rock pit I was in.

"Are you okay?" He asked me quietly.

"Come on, Ace, you know better. I'm fine." I said. Ace kissed my cheek.

"Don't scare me like that. I don't want anything to happen to you." He said.

"Let's focus on the mission right now, Ace. I want to see my brothers again." I said. Ace nodded.

We gathered up our things and prepared to head west to see if we could catch Teach.

"You're not really leaving us, Are you, Ace, Aoi?" Chopper asked.

"Well, now that we've learned that Blackbeard isn't here, there's really no more of a reason for us to be in Alabasta." I said. Ace gave his Vivre Card to Luffy.

"Hey, I know he may be a bit much to handle, but take care of him for me." Ace said. We bowed to them. They all turned to wave goodbye to Scorpion and his kids and Ace and I took that moment to slip away.

"We'll meet again, Luffy. Let's just hope that it won't be at Marineford." I thought.