Woelful

You both finally stopped in front of a large door. Marco knocked loudly before entering the room with you in tow. The Whitebeard was sitting at a desk over by the wall. He was huge, you felt like a mere ant with his sheer height. You knew he was massive compared to a normal human, but it was still jarring to see in person. The sound of the door closing and a cough caused him to turn your way and he raised an eyebrow while looking you over.

“Marco? Who’s the brat?” 

The mentioned pushed you forward and crossed his arms as he leaned against the door. “Don’t know. A stowaway is my guess. Found them in Ace’s room with a handful of berries from his bag. They look harmless, but Ace was out cold on the floor when I walked in. They said they could explain so here we are.”

Whitebeard’s face hardened at the thought of harm coming to one of his sons. His gaze pierced through you. “Explain yourself or you’ll be sleeping with the sea kings.”

You felt like you were going to throw up, but it would do you no good here so you pushed your anxiety aside for the moment. “It’s kinda complicated but I promise you I didn’t do anything to Ace. We were messing around and he just fell asleep, I swear on my life. Just wait until he wakes up and he’ll back me up.”

The tension in the room was suffocating. They had no reason to believe you and if you told them where you were from, they’d probably toss you overboard anyways. You feared for your life if Ace didn’t wake soon. 

“That doesn’t answer the question as to why you were going through his stuff or how you got here, yoi.” 

You bit your lip as you thought of what to say. “As I said, it’s complicated. I’m not sure you’ll believe me if I tell you. And I admit that I was snooping, but I should’ve known better. My curiosity got the better of me, but it wasn’t my intention to steal. Honest.” 

Whitebeard’s gaze never left you as he spoke to Marco. “Go check on Ace and see if he’ll wake up to verify.” You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the hulking figure before you, so you assumed Marco nodded. The door shut behind him as he left the room. “Now, I want you to tell me how you got on my ship undetected. None of this ‘complicated’ crap.”

So you told him. Well, about the mirror, not the being from a different world. Finding it hidden away, befriending Ace and going through it, you told him everything. He studied your face as if looking for something. Whatever it was, he found it as he nodded. “Yes, I know all about that mirror.” 

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Wait, you know about it?”

He let out a barking laugh. “It was on my ship was it not? I’ll admit though, it’s been a long time since it was last used.”

“Last used? Does that mean someone from my side came here?”

“It was a long time ago, but yes someone came through. In the end though, she made the choice to return to her home to her family.”

You were trying to wrap your head around it. You weren't the first? Then who was? 

“In fact, you look like her spitting image.” His words caused your thoughts to come to a halt. Your grandmother used to say that you reminded her of herself in her youth. There was no way he was talking about your sweet, old granny though, right?

“Wait. Whitebeard, sir, what exactly are you implying? That my grandmother came here and never told me?”

He let out a sigh. “We both agreed that it would be better for less people to know about the mirrors. It was too dangerous for people from her side to come here. So we hid them and I guess neither of us had the heart to get rid of it. Which is why it was so easy for you and Ace to stumble upon them.”

Everything he was saying made sense. You had never seen the mirror before you found it in the attic. Now that you thought about it, you could recall her wistful face, eyes longing for a place far from home when she thought you weren’t paying attention. You just thought it was for your absent parents, not a fictional pirate world.

This was a lot to take in. One thought occurred to you though. “You’re not gonna like tell me that you’re my grandpa are you? There’s only so much I can handle in a short amount of time.”

Whitebeard let out another chuckle and shook his head. “No, we were just good friends. I offered her a spot on my crew even. If she didn’t have people relying on her then I think she would have taken my offer. That’s why we were such good friends, we shared a love for family.”

You nodded along with what he was saying, that did sound like her. It would have been cool if you were actually related to Whitebeard though. Insane, but cool. Who would have thought that you’d be talking about your dead grandma with an emperor of the sea. 

“Do you also know about-”

You were interrupted by the door opening and a face full of freckles.

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The first thing Ace became aware of was a sharp stinging in his nose. He abruptly sat up and furiously rubbed at his nose, nearly colliding with Marco. He didn’t even remember falling asleep. One minute he was goofing with you and the next he was being woken up. Speaking of you, his gaze drifted to the mirror. You weren’t in it but it still reflected your bedroom.

“If you’re looking for your little friend, they're with Pops.” His attention was pulled over to the blond. 

“Wait, they’re here?! Can you take me to them?” Ace practically jumped to his feet. Marco stopped him before he could rush to you.

“Slow down hotshot, I need you to verify that they aren’t a threat.”

“A threat? Did they look like a threat? C’mon Marco they were unarmed and in pajamas. No, they aren’t a threat….except maybe to pillows.”

Marco huffed and threw up his hands in exasperation. “How was I supposed to know?! You were passed out and they were snooping through your stuff,” He gestured to the fallen bag with berries surrounding it. “And you should know in this world that appearances can be deceiving.”

Ace rolled his eyes and adjusted his hat. “You can tell me all about deceiving appearances or whatever later. Can you take me to see them now?”

Marco nodded and led the way to Pop’s room. The night sky was clear, stars twinkling around the full moon. There was a soft breeze that ruffled through Marco’s hair and pulled at Ace’s stampede strap from his hat. The deck was void of life, save for the people on watch. 

They made their way to Pop’s door where they could make out the faint conversation on the other side. Marco suddenly stopped in front of the door and smirked. “You know, Thatch is gonna be ecstatic when he finds out what you’ve been up to.”

Ace groaned and ran his hands down his face. “He’s gonna be so annoying and a pain in my ass.”

“Now you know how we feel.”

“Yeah-hey!”

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Bickering entered your ears as the duo walked in. Your conversation with Whitebeard would have to resume later. If there was a later for you here. Warm brown eyes met yours and Ace’s face lit up. “You really are here!”

Marco rolled his eyes as he shut the door behind them. “I wasn’t lying.”

Ace immediately came to your side. Concern flashed across his face. “You’re not in trouble right?” Then he turned to Whitebeard. “They didn’t do anything to me, it was just my narcolepsy. 

“Ace, I’m not in trouble. He knows about the thing.”

“He knows?!”

Marco butted in. “Wait, what did I miss? What thing?”

Whitebeard waved his hand and cleared his throat. “Alright Alright, no one is in trouble and I understand the situation now. Marco, I’ll discuss this with you and the other commanders in the morning. For now, let’s all get some rest.”

Marco sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to get any real answers tonight. On his way out, he reminded Ace of the meeting. If Ace missed the first half of another meeting because he slept in, Marco was gonna skin him alive.

Only the three of you remained. You still had a question though. “Wait, one more thing. Why was tonight the only time I could pass through? Any other time we tried it, nothing went through.”

Whitebeard brought his fist to his chin in thought. “I don’t know much, but for some reason, it only fully works during a full moon.”

The mysterious workings of the mirror would have to remain a mystery for now as you let out a loud yawn. You didn't mean to, but the events of the night were starting to catch up to you. You slapped your hands over your mouth and muttered a “Sorry.”

You got a chuckle from both of them. Whitebeard waved you both off. “We can discuss more at a later date. You two go get some rest.”

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As you both made your way to Ace’s room, you stopped to admire the night sky. It took Ace a moment to realise you weren't right behind him and he shot you a questioning look over his shoulder. “You okay?”

You nodded as you breathed in the scent of the ocean. “You know, this is the first time I've ever been on a ship. And I haven’t seen this many stars in a long time. Let me soak it in for a minute, who knows when I'll get another chance when I go back.”

Ace thought for a second. “You don’t have to go back.”

“I can’t just stay here, Ace. I have a life back home.”

He scoffed. “What life? You always complain about work and you have no friends, no offense.”

“Offense taken! I have friends….I just don’t see them often.”

“Whatever you say,” He raised his hands in defense. “I’m just saying you have a choice.”

Did you? Sure, it sounded appealing, but you weren’t made for this world. Sailing the seas with an Emperor? It was a death sentence for you. Not to mention what you knew of their fates. You were brought out of your thoughts by Ace’s hand on your shoulder.

“Just think about it, okay?”

You absentmindedly nodded. You couldn’t bring yourself to say no to him. A smile tugged at his lips and his hand drifted down to yours. Your cheeks darkened but you didn’t have time to ponder as he firmly gripped your hand and started dragging you. “Wha-Ace!’

“C’mon, we’re supposed to be getting rest. Weren't you yawning like five minutes ago? We can stargaze another night.”

“Stargaze?” You laughed. “You wish I’d stargaze with you. And that's if i come back”

“Blah blah blah can’t hear you.”

“You’re such an idiot.”

“Can I be your idiot?”

“Ace!”

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You never made it to your bed. Once you and Ace had gotten back to his room, you had realized what a mess you had made earlier. A bunch of random things were sprawled across the floor. After cleaning that up, your eyes could barely stay open. You had both collapsed on his bed and it was oh so comfortable. You knew that all you had to do was to cross a couple of feet to get to your bed, but it was like your body was made of lead. Surely you could just close your eyes for just a few minutes. You didn’t even realise that you fell asleep until the next morning.

The next thing you were aware of was sunlight streaming in. Oh no. You sat up in a rush, blanket falling from your figure. Wait, you don’t remember covering up last night. Ace must have draped it over you. Ace. He wasn’t in the room after a quick survey. Didn’t Marco say something about a meeting?

Panic was starting to creep in. Whitebeard had said that you could only pass through the mirror during a full moon and the next one wouldn’t be for a month. You were now officially stuck here. You were so getting fired when you got back. Sighing, you ran your hands through your hair. You could handle this.

Knocking caught your attention. It must have been Ace. Well you hoped it was Ace or this was going to be awkward. Should you respond? Before you could decide, the door opened just a bit

A wave of messy black hair peeked out from the door. Ace had his hand covering his eyes. “Are you decent?”

 You deadpanned. “No, I’m naked.”

“Even better….wait, are you actually?”

Laughing, you got up and made your way over to him and moved his hand from his face. “You really thought I’d be waiting for you naked? In your dreams, Portgas.”

He pouted. “Why do you have to be so mean to me? I could leave you to fend for yourself, you know.”

“You wouldn’t and you know it.”

“I guess you’re right,” He sighed dramatically. “On to a more important matter….Are you hungry?”

That’s how you found yourself in the mess hall. Curious glances were thrown your way. You’d be shocked too if a newcomer showed up while you were literally in the middle of the ocean. You tried to ignore the prying eyes as you followed behind Ace. Whatever was being served smelled delicious. Your stomach growled. 

Ace laughed. Then his stomach growled and he stopped. He cleared his throat. “You’re gonna love this food, Thatch is a god in the kitchen.”

A large pompadour popped into your vision. “Oh so now you’re singing my praises, you’re lucky if I gave you anything after you used the ‘O’ word.”

“You’re still mad about that? You can’t ignore the truth that you’re getting old-“

Ace was suddenly pulled into a headlock. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence or I’m giving you the scraps for a month.” Ace managed to make a thumbs up with his hand before he was released. The arm that was around his neck moved to his shoulders “Now, why don’t you introduce me to your friend.”

“Oh right,” he introduced you. “And this here is Thatch, fourth division commander and our cook. We don’t know what we’d do without him.”

Oh, this was Thatch. His death would become the catalyst to the horrors of the future. It was an odd feeling being around so many people who you knew would die for the sake of the main storyline. You managed to muster up a smile. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

“Only good things I hope, now why don’t we get you two something to eat.”

Breakfast with the Whitebeard Pirates was oddly domestic. They were like a giant, loud, family. Despite Ace’s wishes, Thatch decided that he was going to tell you embarrassing stories about Ace from the past year. Including the time he tried to use his devil fruit to bake cookies and he burned all of them, Thatch had made him eat the whole batch after. Every. Last. Crumb. Which had gotten Ace a lifetime ban from the kitchen.

As Thatch rambled on, you sat back and admired the scene in front of you. You had only ever had your grandmother for breakfasts like this.  After weeks of lonely meals, it was a nice feeling to have again. A figure on the other side of the mess hall caught your eye and a shiver ran down your spine.

Marshall D. Teach or as you better know him, Blackbeard.

He was just sitting there, having a conversation with his table mates. Nothing that looked out of the ordinary as he laughed obnoxiously. You knew however that it was just a facade. A hand suddenly waved in your face, bringing your focus back to your own table mates. Both Thatch and Ace had concerned looks on their faces, but Thatch was the one to speak up first. “You okay, kid? You totally zoned out on us.”

You shook your head and pushed your plate over to Ace. “I’m fine I uh….I’m just not hungry anymore.” 

Thatch shrugged it off. Ace, however, had followed your gaze over to Teach’s table. He knew Teach wasn’t the prettiest pirate, but he wasn’t a bad guy... well, as far as being a pirate went. So what had caused you to freeze up? He would have to ask you later.

You were feeling conflicted now. You had told yourself you wouldn’t interfere but it wasn’t that easy anymore. Now, you were in the story. If you got your calculations right, you might still be here when it happens. Could you really just stand on the sidelines and not do anything?

No you couldn’t. Maybe if you warned Whitebeard then Teach would never get the chance to kill Thatch for that devil fruit. Ace wouldn’t go on a manhunt that would result in defeat, imprisonment and death. The Whitebeard pirates would remain as one instead of losing their captain. Screw the storyline Sorry Luffy. Right now, these were real people and not characters on a screen or page.

One thing was for certain, you needed to talk to Whitebeard again.

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