A/N: I FINALLY FINISHED A LONG FIC YOU GUYS LOOK AT IT LOOK AT IT I'M GONNA DIE.

So, soooo many thanks to lollessss, and susie-d-applesauce, and silmil-of-erebor, who did plotting things and editing things and fixing things, and also thank you to lunarshores (even if you did say that having this turn into a monster was my fault for writing so much angst /tuts at you) and loofahlover and babblebuzz for encouragement!

AND LAST OF ALL THANKS TO MY GORGEOUS BIG BANG PARTNER KYYHKY FOR DRAWING THE MOST AMAZING ART MY HEART COULD EVER HAVE WISHED FOR! ;u;

It is linked on my profile and you should all go check it out on tumblr post so you may all reblog it/stare at it in high def. (I know I did.)

I hope you enjoy, and I also hope that you guys find some parts to love in this jimbly-jambly fic-of-mine (hint hint please tell me if you do, the review button is all pretty down there, and the tag system on tumblr is great for ranting, yeah? ;3)

" Oxygen level critical. Please attach to nearest refill station immediately. Energy levels critical. Please attach to nearest recharge station immediately- "

"Oh, don't you think I'm fucking trying?" Ace growled, his hands skimming the glowing panels in front of him, and he could see his freckles flicker an angry red beneath the thin layer of his holoprojector, the colour rolling up his arms in a way that made his skin shift before he could tamp it down.

It was already hard to breathe, and he'd been scanning the nearby space for any sort of refill system, but so far he'd come up with nothing. His scanners hadn't picked up any signs of life, either, and though asking for help hadn't been his preferred course of action, it was still better than nothing.

As the beeping from his onboard navigation system increased in frequency, Ace could feel his heart start to sink.

He was going to die here, robbed of air and light as the computer's systems shut down, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Breath shallow, Ace stumbled from the computer. His fingers fumbled for one of the spare oxygen tanks that his crew had hopefully left before he'd forced them to go, knowing the damaged air recycling system would kill faster if there were more people. The plan had been for him to find a station where he could refill, or for his crew to return with some help, but there was no help in sight and the oxygen levels had dropped below critical two minutes ago.

He somehow managed to find an oxygen tank in the pitiful emergency lights and with a silent prayer he grabbed it, slipping the mask over his face. Nanotech rippled over his arms, encasing him in a protective suit and allowing him to breathe in a desperate gasp of air.

Relief made him almost heady, but at most he had twenty minutes, and couldn't hang around. The rotorscope had stopped working a while back, and he'd turned off gravity to try and save power, but now it meant that if he ended up away from one of the walls he'd be stuck floating around, even more helpless and in trouble than he was.

Taking another deep breath, Ace carefully let it out, controlling his breathing as much as possible. He had to keep breathing, lest he cause lung overexpansion and kill himself due to the pressure that'd started to build now most of his ship's systems were off.

Pushing himself back to the control panel, he locked his knees underneath the bench and surveyed the panel, trying to figure out if there was any way to flush the system and get himself just a little more oxygen, or a little more fuel.

A dot pulsed to life on the far edge of his scanner, and Ace felt his heart leap. Scrabbling for the radar, he slammed his hand down on the comm. "Space sector three point nine, this is the Ace of Spades , requesting immediate assistance. Please. I'm four clicks from you and running out of air and the emergency shuttles are both gone."

The comm. crackled, static filling his ship, and for a second, Ace was afraid that he wouldn't get an answer. Then, a cool voice spoke. "Hello, Ace of Spades , this is the Leyza . We're coming your way."

Ace gave a quiet sob of relief, his head falling forwards. He could feel his thankful smile grow into a grin, and stood from the control panel, eyes tracking the Leyza' s quick progress on his scanner. Seeing it flicker into range, he looked up, watching her come closer through the wide windows set into the cockpit.

The ship drew closer, engines still powered, and Ace frowned, slowly moving away from the large screens. Why weren't they slowing down-?

The ships crashed together with a sound that made Ace's head ring, and he was sent flying backwards, skull cracking against the hull of his ship. Dizziness clouded his senses, and he began to float away, unattached to anything.

His hands fumbled desperately for something to grab, but he was too late to reach the rungs set into the side of his ship. Set adrift by the crash, Ace struggled to turn around, hearing the swish of an opening air lock depressurising the main cabin.

The long nose of a gun barrel poked through the door, and soon after came the sleek body of what almost resembled a lizard. Raiders, he thought with a sneer of disgust, taking note of the magnetic boots that kept the large creatures stuck to the floor while he was stuck drifting.

Several more followed the first, and Ace couldn't help but swallow a knot in his throat, knowing his chances of survival kept shrinking. Even if gravity had been on to help him, he was still only (mostly) human, and against five heavily armed Komadi Raiders, he had no chance.

Unless-

Ace shook his head viciously, driving the thought from his mind. He couldn't.

It'd kill him, through lack of oxygen or just as it ate away at his body, but-

But right now, he didn't have much of a choice.

One of the Komadi started to look up, and Ace gritted his teeth, hands curling into fists. His legs bunched beneath him, and then a burst of fire sent him straight to the floor, sending two of the Raiders sprawling. They weren't going to touch his ship, and as long as he got this over with fast, he'd be able to save some of the pitiful oxygen still left in his mask.

His body, on the other hand…

Ace shoved the thought from his head, using fire to drive extra force into his kick, and another Komadi hit the ground. Their feet were torn from the metal and it was sent floating away.

He didn't stay to watch his efforts pay off, however, already lashing out again, and this time he managed to pull away the third Komadi's gun, melting it in his bare hands.

"Don't blow up my ship, you goddamn scavengers," he growled angrily, feeling metal drip down his palm and onto the floor as the gun melted. Fire flared between his fingertips, and he surged forwards, the stunned Komadi no match for his speed.

Half-human though he may have been, Ace had trained his strength till it could almost match his mother's, and his father's genes (loathe though he was to admit it,) gave Ace more than a few advantages while fighting as well.

The Komadi were sent flying backwards, a few sent straight into their ship while others littered the floor around Ace's cockpit, but before Ace could even feel satisfaction, Spade rocked to the side, sending him floating off again. He only barely managed to grab a Komadi and used it to push off to the ceiling, latching an arm around one of the rungs.

The ear-splitting screech of his computer's alarm made Ace wince in pain, and the Komadi – those still conscious at least – let out whining sounds, the loud alert deafening to their sensitive hearing. Some gathered up their fallen comrades, dragging them from Ace's ship, while others merely sprinted for the door, ignoring Ace entirely.

Good to know they hate that, he thought, but was more distracted by the pain of the alarm echoing in his ringing ears.

Sudden, terrified realisation hit him a second later, however, and he pushed off the ceiling, trying to grab one of the fleeing Komadi. They were going to leave him. That alarm was screaming at him because he had no more time; he was going to die unless they took him with them-

Ace was kicked in the face, his desperation making him sloppy, and was sent reeling backwards, clutching his cracked mask. A panicked prayer to the stars flew through his head, but Ace had little time to vocalise it, trying to scramble to his ship's airlock.

It slid closed with a quiet click, too quiet for the death sentence it had handed him.

"No," he breathed, trying to figure out how everything had gone to shit in such a short amount of time. He could see the Komadi begin to pull away, their engine backlash making Spade rock, and couldn't help but pull himself to the windows, watching their ship leave him for dead.

A slow shadow crept over his control panel.

Ace's eyes followed it, brow knitting in confusion, and then he slowly tilted his head up, gulping. That ship-

That ship was huge.

The white underside alone was easily ten or twenty times Spade's length, and Ace stared in absolute amazement, unable to comprehend how he hadn't seen this whale of a cruiser with his scanner.

She slowed to an idle stop, and Ace finally noticed that her cannons were prepped. Horror filled his chest, and he dived for another oxygen mask, taking a deep breath from the one currently over his face that was leaking. He started to let it slowly out, fumbling for another unused mask, and finally grabbed one, pulling it over his head frantically. His lungs ached, just barely, but if what he suspected was about to happen actually happened-

Well, lung overexpansion would be the least of his worries.

Ace heard the quietest popping sound, and screwed his eyes shut.

The Komadi ship exploded brilliantly, turning from a black metal monstrosity to a fireball in less than a second, but Ace hadn't stayed to watch; he threw himself backwards, forearms crossed in a feeble attempt to protect himself.

The backlash of the fiery explosion rocked through the Spade , and then the surge of displaced energy hit her exterior and the glass shattered. With the sudden pressure change, the rest of the Spade crumpled like a dying star, metal twisted and torn into a hulking mess.

Recoil sent Ace flying even further backwards, faster than he'd wanted to go, and though his fire melted the glass shards and the metal that threatened to pierce his skin or bodysuit, he'd forgotten to protect his head.

With a sharp crack, everything went dark.

The ruined husk of his Spade swam into vision as he slowly awoke, and the silence rung in his ears almost worse than the computer's alarm had.

"T-minus two point five and counting down. It is highly recommended that you seek immediate tank refill. "

So he hadn't been unconscious for too long, then. Only two or three minutes, at the very most, especially when Ace took into account that his crew always forgot to completely fill up the oxygen tanks. He tried to move his head, but his neck ached from whiplash, and he was only able to turn enough to see that his arm, while caught, was the only thing that had prevented him from floating away from the Spade 's wreckage .

"T-minus two point four and counting down. It is highly recommended that you seek immediate tank refill. "

"Shut up," Ace slurred, resisting the urge to rub at his eyes. He knew from experience that his hands would still be burning hot, and placing them against the glass was just a sure-fire way to have the glass explode.

"That's no way to talk to a would-be rescuer, yoi."

Ace's eyes snapped open completely, adrenaline coursing through him like a sudden shot of lightning, and his gaze caught on a figure hovering in front of him.

They were obviously alien, body long and sleek and elegant, and Ace watched as they drifted to land in front of him, the subtle wrongness of how they bent their knees screaming at him that this was a creature he should fear. A predator of the sky, with all the cunning that evolution had offered humanity.

"You're the one who wrecked my ship," he growled, fighting to pull his hand free. He couldn't be caught stuck while someone potentially dangerous was free.

"That was a mistake. We were chasing down the others who tried to attack us, yoi."

"Yeah, Komadi do that," Ace grumbled, and finally managed to pull his hand free, latching onto the thin metal that was all that separated him from the looming expanse of space. His feet drifted to the side before he could pull them back against the thin piece of scarred metal.

"You need to come with me," the stranger continued, and Ace bristled, paranoia tracing cold fingers down his spine.

"No," he said. "No way in hell."

"You'll die," the stranger said, and Ace caught the brief flicker of feathers atop their head, flared in what seemed something like worry. "Let us repay you for accidentally destroying your ship."

His survival instinct warred against life-long fear, but the choice was suddenly taken away with a click that he barely heard. The oxygen in his mask started to thin, and Ace felt his heart skip a beat as he barely managed to wheeze in a breath.

"I swear to you, I don't want to hurt you," the stranger said desperately, moving closer with hands outstretched, "But please , yoi . If you don't come with me, you'll die."

"Why should I trust you?" Ace managed to get out, gasping for air like a fire starved of all fuel, and the stranger paused, before tracing their hands along their arms.

Nanotech disguised as cloth rippled behind their touch, revealing the smooth expanse of almost human-like skin, flushed a too-bright orange. Ace had never seen a species with skin like this stranger's, fluctuating between subtle shades.

"My heart is literally shown on my sleeve," the stranger bit out, hands poised at the crook of their elbow. "And this is the colour of my fear. I don't want you to die out here."

Ace swallowed, trying to breathe slowly and feeling his oxygen slip away with every inhale. "This doesn't mean I trust you," he said, before stretching his hand out.

The stranger finally gave a smile filled with relief, but Ace was more preoccupied with watching their skin flicker to a water-like blue. It certainly looked more natural on this alien's skin than the colour before, but Ace still couldn't help regard them warily. Just because it seemed as though they were telling the truth, didn't mean they could be trusted; Ace had learnt that lesson from long practice.

Long digits grasped his outstretched hand, wrapping around his wrist with a gentle, deceiving strength. They were obviously aware of their own power, but were likely unaware of Ace's own abilities.

That's gonna come in handy later, Ace thought in the back of his head, watching his vision darken and trying not to feel fear thrum in his chest. The stranger, sensing his growing distress, started to move a bit faster, tugging Ace closer and shifting their shoulders to reveal a pair of ethereal wings that made Ace's breath catch.

Their wings flickered almost as though they were made from the flames of a sun, but the blue colour only reminded Ace of the glory of a planet-side sky. He could see each individual lick of blue fire as though it were a glossy feather, and in a seemingly effortless movement the stranger had launched both himself and Ace into the stars.

He couldn't help yelping, eyes squeezed shut as he latched onto the stranger's nanotech-covered arm, regardless of the knowledge that if the stranger chose, it could quite easily read his DNA even through the spacesuit Ace wore. A more pressing concern happened to be the fact that Ace could be dropped into the depths of space on the whims of this stranger.

Ace felt more than he saw when they entered the ship's gravity rig, feeling his clothes start to weigh on him and the almost imperceptible jolt as the stranger switched from flying to gliding. Praying that his head wasn't about to explode, he quickly tugged off his mask one-handed, and breathed in a thankful gasp of fresh air.

It even smelled fresh, so these guys either had just been planetside, or were rich enough to have a proper recycling system instead of the piece of shit Ace had used. Just his luck – being picked up by a leisure cruise. He'd never live this down when his crew got back.

If they got back and didn't assume him dead, that was.

Ace sobered at the thought, his earlier giddy relief fading, and forced his eyes open. Wood – real wood, he thought in amazement – was coming up beneath his booted feet, and he and the stranger landed with a thump. He almost fell on his ass, limbs cramping from the sudden shift, but managed to push past the pain, refusing to be seen weak.

Though these people may have saved him, Ace wasn't sure of their intentions, and he refused to be caught off-guard just because of assumptions made on his part.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight that met his eyes as he looked around, however. Every single being aboard the ship carried Whitebeard's insignia.

Ace felt fear coil in his belly, heart jumping to his throat, but couldn't stop himself from looking around, drinking in the sight of the enemies all around him. They were busy congratulating their friend – Ace's rescuer (though really, were they his rescuer?) – and hadn't seemed to notice him yet.

Ace noticed them, however. Noticed the weapons they all carried, noticed the fierce grins they wore, noticed the unhidden bulge of muscle, and, most damning of all, the giant that towered above them all.

Whitebeard, Ace thought, and before he could even think of what he was doing – and how stupid a plan it was – he'd grabbed the closest weapon and leapt at Whitebeard. A battle cry was half out his lips when he suddenly found himself flying backwards, pain blossoming in his stomach.

He hit the wall with a dull thunk that made his headache, and rocked unsteadily to his feet, holding out the knife he'd grabbed and refusing to be cowed by the curious gazes of Whitebeard's crew.

As the world swam in front of him, the alien who'd kidnapped him landed in front of the crowd, face drawn into a tight, angry frown. Ace snarled at him, hand tightening around his knife.

"What in the heavens do you think you're doing, yoi?" the stranger asked, and Ace could tell they were attempting to keep their tone balanced. However, he could see their eyes narrow and red slowly slide across their exposed cheekbones.

He almost staggered while he tried to take a threatening step forwards, and rested his palm on the wood behind him, trying to balance. The crowd stepped forwards in his moment of weakness, likely to try and take advantage of it, and Ace growled, brandishing his knife again. "Back off! I won't- you won't-"

The world gave another dizzying tip, and Ace realised too late that it wasn't his body adjusting to oxygen again. He'd passed out before his head hit the floor.

"Wake up…hours, maybe? He…shock and trauma, likely…Shouldn't have…probably unstable too…"

A tiny spark of long held paranoia flared in the back of Ace's drowsy head. There were people around him, in a place that smelled like an infirmary-

People who weren't his crew.

It took more effort than he wanted to force his eyes open, and when he did he suddenly wished he'd kept them closed. The groan he let out when his eyes adjusted to the light meant everyone's attention was on him, and he could feel his muscles tense.

"Sleeping beauty's awake, then," a brunet with black patches on their skin remarked, giving him a wide grin, and Ace felt his lip curl. Judging from what he knew of Whitebeard's crew, the man in front of him looked to be Thatch, commander of the fourth division. He was said to be a master swordsman, and there had been rumours for years of him being able to cut down even the most fluid Molecular with little trouble.

As Ace tried to move away from the people crowding his bed, however, he heard a clanking sound and felt his wrist jolt to a stop.

They'd handcuffed him.

Ace's lip curled further, and he manoeuvred around his cuffed wrist, giving the people of Whitebeard's crew hovering around his bedside the worst glare he could manage.

"Didn't want you attempting to murder anyone again," a slight figure said from his left, arms crossed over their chest, and Ace couldn't help but let his glare abate in confusion. By the stars, what were they wearing? What was that stupid puffy thing? They looked human enough, but Ace was definitely questioning their fashion sense. It looked like something he'd only seen in museums, not on a person's body.

"Ah, Haruta, have some faith in our guest, c'mon!"

"Guest?" Ace parroted, unable to understand the audacity of this crew. " Guest? " he could feel sparks grow by his fingertips, and curled his hands into fists to stop them, instead rattling the handcuffs. "I'm handcuffed to a bed!"

"We have very good reason for that."

"For blowing up my ship, kidnapping me, and then holding me prisoner?"

Thatch looked insulted, and pressed a hand to his chest."We rescued you!"

"You blew up my ship!" Ace repeated, and tried to ignore the ache in his heart that came with those words. "You're the reason I needed a rescue!"

Both of them paused, and the one he'd heard been called Haruta shifted awkwardly before mumbling, "You'know, he does have a point, Thatch."

"He tried to kill pops!" Thatch said indignantly, but Haruta only shrugged.

"And we blew up his ship. Your point?"

"Murder is slightly different in comparison to destruction of property."

"It's not murder if he'll return the favour," Ace growled, "this was just pre-emptive self-defence."

"We don't even know who you are ," Thatch said, leaning forwards and gripping the rail of Ace's bed, and Ace barely resisted the urge to kick out.

Instead, he sneered. "I'd like to keep it that way."

Thatch groaned in frustration, rocking back on his heels, and Haruta laid their hand on his shoulder.

"Would it kill you to give us your name?" Thatch complained.

Yes, Ace thought, but kept his mouth shut this time and refused to give them the satisfaction of an answer.

Before they could continue their questioning – or decide to change how they tried to get information from him – someone stepped inside the room. He was about Thatch's height, with dark hair tied back in a bandana and missing teeth. Ace narrowed his eyes distrustfully, already hating that there were two Whitebeard pirates in the room; why was there a need to add a third?

"Hey, Thatch," the man said, grinning, and Ace tried to pull his shackled wrist closer so he could curl up further on the bed. He refused to give them his attention, only watching them warily from the corner of his eye. "Oyaji was lookin' for you."

Oyaji? Ace thought, giving an internal snort. They take their 'family' thing too far.

He'd heard tales of the Whitebeard pirates – when one was hunting them, it was for the best to keep abreast of all rumours – but the most common was how Whitebeard and his crew considered themselves a family. In such a large crew, with so many allies, how on earth could everyone consider Whitebeard their 'father'?

He hadn't expected to actually run into them so quickly, though. Ace had only just recently finished upgrading the Spade for his eventual attack on Whitebeard, and he'd been travelling for a year and a half. He'd wanted more experience and knowledge before he attacked the damnable Whitebeard pirates, and proved that he could take down even the "man stronger than the stars". Then the Starfleet would have to leave him alone, and he'd be free to travel without fear.

He'd wanted more answers before he attacked Whitebeard.

He'd wanted a cure.

Ace shook his head, banishing the sick feeling in his throat and refusing to seek out what part of his body had started to deteriorate when he'd used his fire to fight back the Komadi and protect himself from the Spades' explosion.

"Oy, you lot!" someone snapped, and Ace turned his attention towards an ambiguously gendered alien with four arms and squishy looking skin. His brow knit at the sight of their almost see-through purple skin, and he mentally made a note to stay away from them. They were probably flammable, and he'd had enough accidents while learning to properly control his powers. "Doc says get out – unless you want to be put on one of these beds!"

Thatch gave a yelp, and the other one laughed, patting Thatch on the back. "C'mon Thatch, I don't wanna end up like him." The stranger inclined their head at Ace, and Ace only just barely resisted the urge to growl, instead glaring at them as they left.

"Hello, honey," the other alien said when they were left alone, giving him a soft smile. They folded one set of their arms into long sleeves and disguised their extra limbs as they continued, and Ace couldn't deny his quiet fascination when they were almost completely hidden, "How're you feeling?"

"Do you want an honest answer or are you gonna hurt me until the answer is "I feel like shit"?"

The alien looked taken aback, their long lashes fluttering in surprise. "What?" they said, "What in all the stars would make you think that I'd-?" they shook their head, banishing the thought, and pulled their smile on again. "My name is Izo. You're currently on the Moby Dick, in the Andromeda system. Do you remember what happened to-"

"Yeah, I remember," Ace said, tugging again on the handcuff and trying to see if he could wriggle his wrist free. If all else failed, he was just going to break the damn bed and get back to his earlier attempt at attacking Whitebeard. "Komadi ship went kaboom, my ship went kaboom, asshole that looked like a bird kidnapped me, brought me here, I tried to kill Whitebeard, went down thanks to," my stupid narcolepsy, Ace thought with an angry curse, "the oxygen shift, and then woke up here. That good enough for you to check that I don't have amnesia, or am crazy?"

"I'm not sure I can get rid of the 'crazy' part," Izo said with a small, teasing smile, "I mean, you did just confess to trying to attack my captain."

"And as soon as I get free, I'm going to do it again," Ace spat, feeling the bed frame finally shift as a screw got worked loose. He had to hide a grin, instead directing a cocky smirk at Izo.

"You shall not ," said someone from behind him, hitting him upside the head, and Ace began to splutter, looking around for this new arrival. With bright red hair and lipstick, she probably wouldn't have looked out of place in an asteroid race. As it was, her outfit of choice appeared to be a white labcoat, splattered with what looked like soot. "You're lucky to be alive, brat. Don't think I'm going to just let you go running around."

"Don't call me that," Ace mumbled, glaring at her. "Besides, what makes you think you can stop me?" she laughed at him then, and Ace bristled, glaring at her back as she waved at Izo and then left the room.

"You shouldn't try to fight Analise," Izo said, grinning slightly, "She'll blow you to smithereens."

As if, Ace thought. If there was one good thing about his stupid abilities, it was that he rarely got any sort of grievous injury. It drained his energy, and usually left him spattered with holes that wouldn't heal, but as he began to explore the recess of space, he found that such an ability had started to come in more and more handy.

Even if he still couldn't control the automatic shift into his more intangible form when he was attacked.

"Why am I here?" he asked cautiously, "Why are you here?"

Izo held up a small key with a smile, as though he'd been waiting for the question. "As long as you promise not to attack anyone, I came to let you out so you can talk to Pops. And, just in case you get any ideas – that warning is because if you attack anyone, they won't hesitate to throw you overboard, and this time Marco won't fly out and save you."

Ace scoffed, nose crinkling into a sneer. "Fine," he said, holding his wrist out. "I promise not to attack anyone." For today, at least.

The key gave a quiet click, and then the handcuff fell from his wrist. He rubbed his arm reflexively, feeling the familiar dips under his jacket and the holoprojector where his body had been eaten away by his abilities.

It sucked sometimes, being molecularly unstable. As if his slowly deteriorating body wasn't reason enough for despondency, he also ran the risk of potentially imploding. His crew were more than brave, to fly on a ship with someone always a few steps away from blowing up like a star.

Obviously they'd only done a rudimentary check, or Ace likely wouldn't have woken up so pleasantly. If they'd seen the marks of his power-

Ace shook his head to get rid of the thought, swinging his legs off the bed and silently thanking the doctor for leaving his stuff alone – though, he promised himself, that would be the only thanks he'd give them. He grabbed his boots from beneath the bed and laced them on. One of his knives was still hidden in the heel, but he'd left his large one on the Spade, so that was likely gone forever.

Izo stood to the side, waiting with a patient smile, and Ace scowled further at the sight of it. This guy was just going to piss him off, he could tell. When Izo could see that Ace was ready to go he set off through the door, obviously expecting Ace to follow. For half a second, Ace considered going through one of the other doors in their medbay, but Izo cast a glance behind him and Ace heaved a mental sigh, promising to scope out good places to attack from later.

They were stupid enough to trust an enemy on their ship, and Ace was going to make sure they regretted it.

If, of course, he could even find his way around.

His head was spinning when they finally came to the main deck, corridors a confusing map in his head. They'd built their ship almost like a maze, and while Ace had seen good places to launch an attack from, he'd also noted that more than a few had disguised second entrances that they could trap him with.

A sun was drifting past them on the left, and Ace had to squint even with the sunshields raised, trying to adjust to the sudden shift in light. That was his only excuse for not noticing the slobbery beast making a steady trot in their direction.

"What is that? " Ace shrieked, scrambling backwards and hitting the door behind him. The creature began to wag it's tail, slobbery mouth stretched wide, and Ace felt his heart hammer at the sight of the sharp teeth. He may have been almost invincible, but he didn't want to try seeing if he could survive a bite from those fangs.

"Stefan?" Izo asked, looking at him curiously, and reached out his arms to pet the thing on its furry head.

Oh Stars, it was a piece of their attacking weaponry, Ace thought, trying to figure out if he could escape the presence of this creature. It looked highly unlikely, especially as the thing began to amble towards him, long pink tongue outstretched. He was doomed.

Doomed.

The warm, slobbery spit of the creature lathered itself over his shirt and the arm he raised to protect himself, and he shoved the creature away, hearing it whine. "Did you just poison me?" he growled, shooting Izo a glare. "Was this your plan, to make me believe that I wasn't going to be attacked and then take me out without having to lift a finger?"

Izo's expression grew bemused.

"Honey, Stefan couldn't hurt you even if he tried. I mean, sure his teeth may leave a bit of a mark, but he's a big softie!" he gave a low whistle, and the creature – Stefan , if Ace could believe such a name – trotted over to Izo to get it's ears fondled and fur played with. "Hmm? You're just a big wuss, aren't you Stefan?"

Ace stared in absolutely horrified confusion, trying to wipe the slobber off his arm before it dried and potentially killed him. No matter what Izo said, he wasn't going to take any chances with these people.

They'd probably set plans in place as soon as they found out who he was or what he could do, anyway – he was dangerous to all of them, no matter how many powerful aliens and people they kept on this ship.

He was dangerous, and worst of all, no-one could trust him; he couldn't even trust himself, for the fear that one day he'd go supernova and wipe out a whole star system in the process. All he had to prove he wouldn't end up killing everyone he loved in the process was a vague promise in a glitchy message that his father had given him, that he'd justknow when the time came and be able to control the explosion of energy.

But Ace had never given Roger's words any respect, and he'd be damned if he started now. Roger had also told him that Ace wouldn't die from his destabilisation and look where he was now - slowly wasting away, his abilities over fire both a gift and a curse.

They'd started crossing the top half of the ship while Ace was reminiscing,and Ace tried to concentrate on the ship's design, and the simple elegance of an earth-based sailing ship with oxygen filters and a gravity rig, but everywhere he looked he was met with curious gazes. He bit the inside of his cheek, hands bunching into fists as he tucked them into his pockets and stubbornly stared forwards. He could feel their stares on his back like an itch, and he hated the feeling of being watched like some strange carnival creature.

Izo stopped in front of a large door, and unfolded one of his lower sets of arms to knock upon the door. "Oyaji," he called through the wood, "I brought our castaway."

Castaway, Ace thought with a quiet snort, expression souring. Through no fault of your own, of course.

Dick.

"Come in, Izo!" a booming voice called cheerily, and Izo opened the door, motioning for Ace to step forwards. Though hesitant to expose his back, Ace grit his teeth and forced his feet forwards. If everything went to hell, he at least had his powers to help him out; none of them knew of his affinity with fire, after all.

Whitebeard sat in the middle of the room, beaming down at Ace and Izo with a large grin. To his side stood Thatch and the alien who'd saved Ace from a potential death via asphyxiation. Blue cloth lay draped around his frame, but Ace could still see the faint shimmer of nanotech over the visible patches of his skin.

He couldn't see the glimmering wings from before, though, and though he quashed it quickly, disappointment still surged in his chest. In an effort to distract himself he squinted and tried to run through his mental list of Whitebeard crew bounties and photos, trying to place the alien in front of him.

However, the only bounty picture Ace could think of that matched the alien in front of him, was-

Marco the Phoenix. Whitebeard's first mate.

Marco's gaze flicked up to him quickly, and then down to a holopad he held cradled in one arm, ignoring the proceedings completely. Ace bristled but held his tongue, staring Whitebeard down with a glare that promised him pain if he tried to make fun of Ace.

"This is our captain, Whitebeard." Izo said, giving a sweeping gesture in Whitebeard's direction.

"I know who he is," Ace grumbled, glaring. "Who wouldn't?"

"Then would you do us the favour of telling us who you are?" Thatch asked, blinking at him innocently, but Ace only snapped out,

"None of your business, asshole."

"Portgas D. Ace."

Ace felt his body jolt in surprise, and narrowed his eyes, pinning Marco with a glare that would've curdled the guts of any ordinary man but only had Marco staring back at him impassively.

Whitebeard looked down at Marco, curiosity in his gaze. " Portgas D. Ace?"

Without answering Marco turned his holopad towards Whitebeard's gaze, letting Ace see a glimpse of his bounty poster before Marco pulled it away.

Stars, he cursed to himself, knowing now that if they chose to dig a little further they'd easily find hints of his powers. Nothing more than that, though - Ace was too careful.

"What of it, old man?" Ace growled, eyes narrowed as he rocked back on his heels, but Whitebeard only grinned at him.

"Nothing, brat. An interesting name for an interesting face, at most."

Ace could feel his freckles glow, heating on his face, and gritted his teeth, almost snarling. "Fuck you," he growled, "I'll take your head, old man! I'll prove you're not the strongest man in the stars!"

Whitebeard had the audacity to laugh at him, shoulders shaking and head thrown back. "I'd like to see you try brat!"

Ace snarled, launching himself forwards, and though he could see the three commanders in the room tense, none of them moved a muscle to stop him. Instead it was the back of Whitebeard's hand that hit his body and sent him crashing through the walls.

"Are you okay?" Thatch called, peering through the hole Ace had made. With a groan Ace grabbed the banister to help him to his feet and flipped them off.

"Fuck you," he growled lowly, teeth bared. Thatch started clambering through the hole, jumping to the deck next to him and then grinning like an idiot.

Ace thought he'd like to rephrase his earlier thought about Izo being the most irritating person on board this ship. Thatch was easily coming up a very very close contender.

"How's about a tour?" Thatch said, leaning on the balcony next to Ace and acting like the very epitome of a ray of sunshine, grinning so brightly Ace was almost afraid he'd go blind.

"Fuck off," he growled again, and Thatch drooped, giving him a pout. Ace shied away from him, staring at Thatch with no small amount of confusion. What was wrong with this man? Ace'd thought Luffy was a bit thick, but this guy-

He heaved an angry sigh, making a short gesture with his hand, and Thatch seemed to perk again, excitedly moving forwards and chattering. Most of it went in one ear and out the other, but Ace hadn't agreed so he could listen to a Whitebeard pirate blather about their ship's weaponry in an attempt to intimidate him. He was going to find the best places to attack Whitebeard from, and the best places to hide; Thatch would be a good helper in figuring out where some of those places were, even if he didn't know it.

"Why's no-one strapped down?" Ace interrupted, in the middle of Thatch's attempt at describing the large amphitheatre set in the middle of the deck where Whitebeard apparently usually sat so he could talk to his "sons". Even if he already suspected the answer, he didn't want to hear Thatch go on about Whitebeard like he was trying to sell the idea of a father to Ace. "Do you lot have localised gravity disrupters or somethin'?"

"We've got gravity rigs on the ship," Thatch explained, recovering quickly for someone who'd been cut off in the middle of a sentence. "It's a bit easier, when some of your crewmates are potentially unstable."

Ace's head snapped to him in an automatic move that almost gave him whiplash. "What do you mean 'unstable'?"

Thatch laughed, seeming to take his jumpy reaction as worry. "Chill, man! We got a few moleculars aboard, if that's what you're worried about, but I was talkin' more about guys like Izo. Few of 'em have grav. disrupters and our own gravity rigs, because they're used to gravity being so much heavier on their planets. If they didn't, they'd probably turn to goo and float off. Well, I mean, Izo wouldn't float off per say, but Izo likes having a form." Thatch's smile turned wicked and teasing. "You should try poking him some time. He's squishy, it's hilarious. He gets pissed that Marco's got abs, even though their species are from the same solar system and everything."

So no-one like me, then. Ace thought to himself with a bitter internal laugh, and let Thatch's words fade out again as they made their way through the ship. Nothing else caught his interest until they were deep in the ship, and a low purring rumble met his ears. He frowned, and Thatch's grin seemed to widen.

They stepped through a door Thatch opened with a flourish, and Ace was left speechless, devoid of the insulting remark he'd been about to make.

In front of him stretched a series of turbines and complex machines, built into the very ship and reinforcing her defenses even while they kept her running. He had some knowledge of engineering, considering how many repairs the Spade needed after they got into fights, but he'd never seen anything like this before. He knew that it would likely be incredibly complicated, but he just didn't know what it was all for.

"Like 'em?" Thatch asked from over Ace's shoulder, grinning with pride. "These babies were Marco's design! Well, okay, not completely Marco's design, but close enough. He reverse engineered his Phoenix suit to fix 'em up so that Moby could run pretty much without fuel. Takes all the background radiation from stars or comets we pass and cycles it through the system, and ba-bam! Immediate energy!"

Thatch's voice was bursting with pride, but all Ace could think about was the phrasing of what he'd said. ' Phoenix suit' , as though what gave Marco his abilities and his epithet wasn't based on his species but rather what he wore. He'd seen Marco's wings, and that hadn't looked like any 'suit' he'd ever seen before.

"This is part of the workshop," Thatch was explaining, waving at one of the figures far away, and Ace took a hesitant step forwards, fingertips brushing the well-kept machinery.

"It's nice," he said, feeling as though the words were drawn out of him unwillingly and gritting his teeth against the admittance.

"Feel free to come back if you want. Albia can give you some work if you're bored!"

Thatch was already moving away, intent on continuing his 'tour', and Ace cast one last longing glance at the hiding places he could see hidden amongst the constantly turning machines before he turned and followed after Thatch.

At least he knew where this place was now, and that it existed - he could easily find it again, with the map he'd started to build in his head.

The rest of their tour didn't last very long, with Thatch showing him the last of the rooms he hadn't seen and telling him where to find Whitebeard if he needed help (hah, as if Ace was going to use that information for anything other than trying to kill him) before showing him to the barracks.

"I'm always more than willing to help out," Thatch said, as he gestured Ace to a spare bed and then stepped from the room. "So just ask if you need anything, yeah?"

Ace snorted, giving Thatch a look from under his drawn eyebrows. "Don't count on it," he said, before slamming the door shut in Thatch's face.

'Dinner's in an hour!" Thatch called through the door, but Ace shook his head and ignored the words. As if he'd show up and eat their food - the chance was way to high that they'd take the chance and drug him, to dump him in an escape pod somewhere and have him out of their hair with very little fuss.

It was that very reason that also had Ace scanning the ceiling until he picked out the oxygen filter in the middle of the room. He'd already tested the side tables, and most were bolted down and locked shut, so he couldn't just drag them over to where he needed them. Eyeing the bunk beds, Ace shimmied up the nearest ladder and haphazardly reached for the filter's grate, trying to see if he could get to it from the bed. His fingertips only barely grazed it, and with an angry growl and a quick glance around he leaned back on his haunches.

He glared at it, but the need for privacy and protection outweighed the cost of using his powers. If he didn't use them, the Whitebeard pirates could easily have him cornered or trapped in this room, and he'd be screwed even faster. His fingertips flickered to flame, and with a soft sigh he let warmth overwhelm him.

Ace's body dissolved into fire with ease, and though it took him a moment to gather his head, unused to being in this form, he easily floated upwards to fit through the grate. Once on the other side he shifted back to normal, glad that he'd never had compunctions about small spaces.

He only had a few inches of room to squirm through, but he'd spent more than a few years repairing Masrilan fire tunnels as a child and compared to that these passages were practically spacious.

Finding himself in a cross-section with more space than the room had held, Ace let a soft sigh escape him, curling up and screwing his eyes shut. All his emotions seemed to hit him at once, sped by the silence, and he latched his hands around his shins, burying his face in his knees. Ace's breathing sounded ragged in his ears, but then again it probably matched his torn apart heart, and his torn apart ship.

His precious Spade ...torn to pieces because Ace's oxygen filter had malfunctioned and the computer hadn't alerted them to the break until they were too far away from a spaceport. Torn apart because Ace hadn't realised the ship he'd hailed was a Komadi one.

Torn apart by the Whitebeard pirates, and now here he was - essentially their prisoner.

He heaved another ragged breath, screwing his eyes shut and trying to get his emotions tightly lashed under control again. His nails had left imprints in his flesh by the time he uncurled slightly, and Ace gently ran his palm over the marks, trying to erase them.

His necklace swayed into his vision, and Ace blinked at the bright colour before grabbing it in his hand. The beads slipped slowly through his fingers, smooth edges a comfort against his palm like they always were when he remembered who'd given them to him.

Ace pulled them over his head and his holoprojector fizzled, the solid-seeming illusion of his skin fading to what he really looked like - a mess of human body parts and flickering fire-gaps where he'd been forced to use his body.

"You're not a mess!" echoed in his head, long held sense memory, and Ace's fingertips brushed the largest indent along his forearm. " No more than I am, no more than Luffy is! You're our brother, Ace, and if this hurts you then please- please, stop! "

How was he ever meant to explain that using his abilities had felt nothing less than absolutely freeing as a child? There'd been no signs of his deterioration until after the fire, after-

After he and Luffy had tried, and failed, to rescue Sabo from his parents.

Gramps had always talked about a catalyst that would start his deterioration, just like it'd started Roger's, but Ace had never thought that Sabo betraying them could ever be one of them.

How wrong he'd been.

About his brazen promise to Luffy, that he wouldn't die from his unstable core, about all vows of brotherhood, about all his bold exclamations that he'd take Whitebeard's head.

Ace pried his nail into an invisible seam along one of the red beads, lifting part of it away from the rest, and a wavering blue glow filled the tunnel. It flickered ominously, but then stabilised, and Roger grinned at him.

"Hey kiddo!" the hologram greeted, in words that Ace could practically recite by this point, and he grit his teeth. "Now I ain't got a lot of time, so I'll make this quick - I probably fucked up a little. Molecular instability and all that stuff is apparently genetic, so you're gonna end up a little like your old man, even if you don't want to. Sorry, my little brat. Lucky for us, though, your-"

Luffy had always asked why Ace would rewatch it, if he knew everything by rote memory, but Ace had never answered. He hadn't wanted to say that he was searching for something - anything - that would prove Roger had cared even a little bit about finding a cure for Ace, and had just left it somewhere to find. That he was still searching for that smidgen of a second that would unglitch the nth time he watched it, and reveal just that tiny bit more.

"and you'll know it. Anyway, even if you don't ever figure that out, when you go too far and you start destabilising, you'll be able to feel when they're-"

Sabo had always quietly mused that Ace was punishing himself, for never figuring out what his father's cryptic last words had meant.

"-coming. It'll come, no matter what you do. But it'll come on faster if you use your powers, and you probably won't be able to stop yourself from imploding-"

Another glitch, where Roger's form seemed to flicker just like Ace's did when he was upset, and Ace grit his teeth.

"-but we don't know. Just know you can stop it from hurting anyone else. Can't talk for much longer, but you've got to know that I-"

The hologram glitched, smoke and fire flickering across the projection, and Ace mouthed along as Roger's form went completely soundless. He'd never been able to figure out what Roger had been saying, because the words had been narrowed and rushed and Roger kept moving, eyes darting to the corner of the frame and then back to the recording device he'd been using. The sound finally flickered back on, in a burst that still always made Ace jump, even though he knew it was coming.

"- alright , Rayleigh. I know the marines are outside! How? Well, the explosions sure ain't a dead giveaway now, huh?" Roger's attention turned back to the hologram, and he grinned, eyes softening as though he could look through the years and was staring at Ace's face. Ace only scowled further. "Be safe, Ace. You'll be strong enough to figure this out, I know. I mean, you've got your mother's genes in you! And remember - "

The hologram finally gave up, collapsing in on itself, and Ace sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. He ran the beads through his fingers, flicking the hidden compartment closed and trying to convince himself that it'd been worth it watching the short video again, and that it hadn't sent his feelings reeling and turned them into a tangled mess.

His mother...a woman he'd never heard of, never seen, and yet Ace still probably adored her more than he'd ever liked Roger. She'd given up her life to protect him, according to Garp, and had fought to the very end. Roger had handed himself over as soon as he'd heard he was dying because of the stupid mistake he'd made while attacking the marine's scientific headquarters, trying to investigate rumours of a self-renewing power source.

He slipped the necklace over his head again, and the illusion of normality settled back into place, his skin looking as smooth as it had twelve years ago, before he'd started to fall apart.

Now, how to find that large turbine room again… He'd spotted more than a few hiding places there, and they were probably going to be heaps safer than sleeping in the dorm Thatch had shown him. Even if Thatch himself was overly friendly, not everyone would be as receptive to someone trying to kill their Captain.

Ace set off along the tunnel, intent on finding a place to hide and form his first attack against the man 'stronger than the stars'.