Chapter Text
Ace was on the deck of the Moby Dick, sitting on the railing, feet dangling. He watched the clouds go by and remembered the time he and Luffy had fun finding shapes in the sky. Behind him, the chaos of his new family was unleashed, as usual, Sacha, the head nurse tried to convince Oyaji to keep his infusion helped by Marco while Tatch, their cook, had just thrown Vista and Namur out of his kitchens.
Normally, Ace would have accompanied them but today a strange nostalgia had taken hold of him. The day before, the News Coo had brought with the newspaper the first bounty of his little brother Luffy. He had rarely been so proud in his life and had shown the poster to the whole crew so much that Marco had threatened to throw him overboard. But, you know, 30 million berries! Starting bounties, especially on East Blue, were never so high! (He would make sure Luffy never found out that his first bounty was 25 million.) The whiny little boy from Mount Corvo was obviously on his way to becoming a great pirate.
But as Ace was about to get up to rescue his partners in crime from the clutches of the cook, the sky split open and a man landed on Ace dragging them both into the sea. He eard the sighs of his comrades and felt quickly someone bring him back to the ship. All eyes turned to the man who had mysteriously fallen from the sky and Pops grabbed his bisento to brandish it in front of the stranger.
“Wow, ok could you please lower your knife? It's like … super dangerous, you're going to hurt someone like that. And that someone will probably be me, so yeah could you, you know, put it away. Thanks”
Pops laughed and lowered his weapon before asking.“You got guts brat. What’s your name ?”
“Ron, Ron Weasley sir”, replied the stranger, looking around embarrassed. “And where are we ?”
“You're on Whitebeard's ship-yoi”, Marco replied, stepping forward. And we would like to know why did you fell from the sky, were you on a Sky Island?”
“Uh, yes exactly, uh, a sky island called … Hogwarts and I got separated from my friends and I, uh, fell off the island and poof I landed here.”
“ Hogwarts?” asked their navigator, Circino. “I've never heard of it.”
“It's because our island is hidden to avoid persecutions”, answered Ron
“Hidden where ?”
“In the sky”, replied the redhead confidently.
“Where in the sky?” asked Marco with his I’m-not-mad-yet-but-it-will-happen-soon look.
“If I tell you, it won't be hidden anymore.”
Marco huffed wearily and left, mumbling something about cheeky brats and retiring.
“And how did you survive ?” asked Sacha, intrigued. “Normal people don't normally survive such a fall.”
“It's because I have, uh, magical powers.”
“Did you eat a devil fruit ?” Ace asked as he walked over to Ron.
“A devil fruit? No it's a natural power, everyone on my island has it. That's why our island is hidden.”
“Oh yeah ? Show me”, asked Ace excitedly.
Ron sighed but took out a piece of wood hooked to his forearm and brandished it in front of Ace. He whispered strange words and Ace began to float in the air. Ron waved his stick again and Ace gently fell to the ground.
“I have to find my friends and go home,” Ron explained, turning to Whitebeard. “Do you have an owl ?”
“An owl?" asked Pops, puzzled. "To do what ?”
“ To send a letter to my friends.”
“With an owl ?”
“That's how we do it at Hogwarts,” Ron replied, the tip of his ears red.
Pops asked them to leave him alone with Ron and the pirates complied but not without protesting, unwilling to leave their captain and father with a stranger. He and Ron talked for a long time and after a lively debate, their father told them that Ron would stay on the Moby Dick while he found his friends and a way to return home.
***
It had been a few weeks since Ron had made a sensational entrance on the Moby Dick, and the young man seemed to have come to terms with life on the ship. He had joined Thatch’s fleet and regularly helped to cook for the whole crew. Ace had befriended the redhead and quickly discovered that Ron had a big family, a really big family and he could talk about it for hours. (Ace wondered if that was how Marco felt when he talked about Luffy.)
And one day when the two friends stood guard, Ace finally asked him the question that ran through his head every time Ron talked about his family and his friends.
“Don't you miss them?”
“Mmh, who?" Ron asked, snapping out of his thoughts.
“Your siblings, your parents, Harry, Hermione …”
“Every day,” Ron whispered softly, “and I'm sure Mom is worried sick. Since Fred …”
His voice choked and a few tears ran down his cheeks. He wiped them away angrily and continued in a more assertive voice.
“Since Fred died, she worries all the time for us, even for Harry and Mione. We normally eat together every Sunday for lunch normally but it might get complicated,” Ron finished in a strangled laugh. “It's been three years though, I should be used to it but every time I see fireworks, or a magpie, or go to the store to help George. I...I remember he's gone and that breaks my heart... every fucking time.”
Ace gaped at Ron's expression, so different from the one the redhead usually wore, so identical to the one he had whenever he thought of Sabo.
“I had another brother,” said Ace in a low voice. “Sabo, he…he died 10 years ago, killed by a celestial dragon and I … there is not a day that I don’t miss him.”
Ron turned to him in shock, Ace never talked about Sabo. He spent his days bragging about Luffy but he hadn't said his name out loud since he left Fushia.
“ He .. he loved to make fire and with Luffy we thought that one day he would burn the nobles of Upper Town and … god he hated them ! But he loved to read books about the outside world and he should have taken to the sea when he was 17 but …”
Ace didn't have the courage to finish his sentence and the memory of their lost brothers floated between them until Ron intervened.
“Mione would have loved him, she set fire to one of our teachers one day.”
“You'll definitely have to introduce her to me when we find a way to get back to your island,” Ace laughs, glad for the distraction.
And as they let the silence cover them once more, a scream ripped through the stillness of the night. They straightened up immediately and headed for the noise quickly. When they arrived there, they saw Teach with a knife in his hand and Thatch at his feet, his shirt full of blood. Ace threw a fireball at Teach who ran off while Ron rushed over to Thatch and pulled out his wand and started mumbling spells.
Ace sounded the alarm and went in pursuit of Teach but the bastard threw himself into the water as soon as he had the opportunity, Ace, unable to continue chasing him, went back to where he had left Ron and Thatch. When he arrived, he saw that the redhead had managed to stop the bleeding and that Marco had taken over.
“I'm sorry Ace, I don't know enough healing spells, Hermione is usually the specialist,” said Ron angrily. I'm a fucking auror, I should know more.”
“Don't beat yourself up-yoi,” said Maroc straightening up, “without you Tatch would have died before my arrival, you saved his life.”
“Thanks Merlin, I don't know what I would have done otherwise,” breathed Ron tired.
“All right, take Thatch to the infirmary and wake up Sasha, she'll know what to do. I'll go see Pops to tell him what happened. Ace, Ron come with me.”
And as Ace walked towards his father's room, he had only one thing on his mind.
Avenge his brother.
***
Ace checked around him that no one was following him and entered the infirmary, there beside Thatch was the person with whom he wanted to speak, Ron. He approached the injured man's bed and shook his friend to wake him up.
“Mmh, what's going on Ace ?”
“I need to talk to you.”
Ace's serious tone had the merit of waking up Ron who sat up to listen to his friend.
“I'll go find Teach and make him pay for what he did to Tatch. It's my duty as commander of the second fleet.”
“Are you really that stupid? Your grandfather must have beaten you too much when you were little and you lost all your neurons, that's the only explanation.”
“But,” tried to protest Ace.
“ How will a stupid revenge cure Tatch ? It won't help anyone at all . So is that it ? You're abandoning your family, the people who care about you to chase after that dirty traitor! Merlin's pants, what did I do to always run into impulsive idiots ?!”
“Look Ron, I don't want to leave and abandon you all. I have my whole life here, a family and a place to come back to, a real home . But I can't let Teach go free. He’s too dangerous.”
“And who will lead the second fleet if you leave? You can’t leave your men !”
“And that's where you come in. I need you to take my place Ron.”
“Are you crazy ? Why don't you ask Deuce instead? He's your second!”
“Because I gave him another mission, he must protect Thatch until I return.”
“Can you give me some time to think ?” Ron asked at a loss for argument.
“No problem,” Ace replied, getting up. “But give me your answer before tomorrow morning.”
Ace got out of the infirmary and left to prepare his things for his journey. When he was done, he went to Pops’ room to tell him of his project. He argued at length with his father who ended up granting him permission to leave, albeit reluctantly.
When he came out into the open, it was already dawn, so he bade farewell to his friends and jumped into his Striker to get ready to leave when Ron's voice stopped him.
“ Aaaaaaace! I agree to take your place! But you better come back in one piece! I already have my goons to get, I don't need a new one!” he shouted before adding in a tone of confidence. “I mean, especially Harry, Mione can manage on her own, she has surely already conquered a country as we speak.”
“ Thanks Ron, I'll make it up to you. And don't worry, I'll come back to help you find your friends, you still have to introduce me to your almost-fiancée after all,” Ace finished with a wink.
And with that, Ace activated his devil fruit and his boat rushed towards the ocean. When he was far enough away, he turned back to the Moby Dick one last time and raised his fist skyward to conjure his father's mark in great flames.