Of Flight and Fish

Chapter 11

ACE

Ace found himself daydreaming in the cyclone of colorful fish again while waiting on word from Zoro before the festivities...

~•~

The outcome of the name ceremony had not only bittered Ace's attitude but another's. Whitebeard had quickly brought Ace back to the palace to give him last minute instructions. The four had all been taught on running the kingdom for management reasons beneath the appointed Prince. This final training was reserved for the Prince, Ace.

They did not reemerge until late at night. Whitebeard stayed in his chambers to rest while Ace retired to the room he shared with Marco which was in line with Teach and Thatch's rooms. He was careful to not wake the other as he laid to rest, attempting to let go of his frustrations by enjoying the familiar presence.

The old man knew of their feelings on the matter, his 'sons'.. He had overlooked Ace's, though, to avoid a certain outcome the majority of them feared. Ace understood Pops' decision, but he still felt betrayed. One of the others would have done just fine.

His thoughts were interrupted by a strange hissing noise. He slowly flipped onto his stomach, tensely poised for defense. The room was too dark to see, but Ace didn't dare light up his scales and risk alerting the intruder. A moment later, a flash of metal arched sharply above him. Ace darted forwards with a shout to meet with the attacker.

They wrestled with the dagger. Marco awoke in confusion behind Ace, and someone appeared in the doorway to help out. Marco couldn't see, so he backed off to stay out of the way even though Ace's scales shone brightly to reveal the attacker. The shock and realization nearly had him hesitating. Before him was Teach, his face twisted with anger and murderous intent.

"Teach?!" Marco voiced everyone's surprise although he was still sleep weary.

The figure from the doorway darted forwards as the dagger was ripped from Ace's grip.

"Stay back!" Teach growled as he slashed at Ace, unaware of the other approaching yet.

Ace avoided the slashing dagger and spotted Thatch behind Teach. He was about to call out, but the catfish grabbed the dagger's blade that was falling upon Ace. It would not have missed that time. Blood clouded the room as the two fought.

Marco swam up to Ace to ensure he was alright, floating protectively in front of him. The other two fought viciously, they were no longer in practice, but they were still evenly matched. Ace watched with narrowed eyes while he continued to brightly light up the room.

Suddenly there was silence, the blood dispersed to show Thatch holding Teach. The dagger was in Thatch's bloody hand. The catfish offered them a reassuring smile before Marco could help him.

"I've got him, " Thatch tightened his grip on Teach and the dagger with a weary smile, trying to remain reassuring.

Marco nodded and stayed near Ace. Thatch turned to go and began swimming.

"You always forget."

Within a moment, Teach had whipped Thatch's back with his long tail, splitting the skin and scales. Thatch froze in pain which opened the opportunity for Teach to grab the dagger and slit his throat in one fluid motion. The blood that billowed out gave Teach cover to flee.

Ace lunged past Marco to reach Thatch. He steadied the catfish by his shoulders and stared down at his slit throat in horror. Ace let out a cry and dropped his head to Thatch's chest. He was already dead.

Marco hovered nearby. It was pointless to chase the murderer. He wouldn't dare attack Pops with so many guards alert from the scent of blood. Especially the sharks.

The Kingdom grieved and fell to darker times. Teach was on the loose and took the deep depths province with him. They would later be joined by the North Sea. That is where Law is from. But the reason he came to the palace is a mystery to the kingdom. Only those at the Palace and the leaders of the North Sea truly knew.

~•~

Ace heard a commotion outside the throne room which drew him from his memories. The fish around him sped up with unease before Usopp barged into the room out of breath.

"My Prince, they have arrived!!"

-

LAW

Law had been left on his own once more. He was still struggling with himself whether he should leave or not. Now he was laying awake again, he could feel a storm. The pool was restless as well. He wasn't sure if it was more dangerous or not on land. So he swam to the surface to see for himself.

Lightning cracked across the sky and the rain came down in heavy sheets. Law would have been excited to witness this if he wasn't seeing the trees around him getting torn down by the wind. He had to duck to avoid a falling branch. When he resurfaced he looked around frantically. Was Eustass okay?

Something landed heavily in front of Law and drew him partially from the water by his face. Another flash of lightning revealed Kidd drenched with rain and looking feral with his blazing yellow eyes and heavy breaths. His wings were so wet they looked weighed down and the feathers stuck up at wrong angles.

"What the hell are you still doing here?! You gotta get away!" Kidd had to yell over the sound of rain and wind but it still only sounded like a whisper, Law didn't understand so he shook his head.

Eustass looked livid, he quickly hauled Law from the water and began running along the stream and using his wings to counterbalance their weight. Law held tight to Kidd and stared around wide-eyed. He could have sworn that Eustass-ya's eyes had briefly flashed red again but was too distracted by the storm. Such terribly, beautiful destruction.

Kidd's footing was slipping from the mud and water. Law felt the grip on him tighten before Kidd brought them into the air and into the mercy of the storm. Law could see the ocean with its angry white caps heading for the island before a tree dropped down on the two of them. There was the sickening sound of bones breaking before Law's head was hit by a stray branch that knocked him out cold as the two plummeted towards the sea.

-