A Ghost of the Past

Chapter Seven:

Ace

He stood on the Bondola, gazing out at the Red Port.  

"I think he noticed," Ace said, gaining no reaction from all the nobles gathered there.  "He moved a bit when I put that note into his pocket."

The nobles continued talking among themselves - but that was alright, since they couldn't hear him anyway.  Ace found himself taking a special liking to the mermaid princess; She talked about Luffy like she had met him.  Ace wasn't surprised, if Luffy wanted to go somewhere or meet someone, he did.  And if that meant royalty, then so be it.  

Which reminded him - that blue haired princess Luffy had traveled with would likely be at the Reverie too.  He toyed with the idea of revealing himself to her.

Ace mused the idea out-loud, though he knew his revolutionary brother wouldn't be able to answer him.  Standing off the the side, Sabo was dressed in the stolen armor of a Mariejois guard. 

"Eh, maybe later," he shrugged.  "I don't want to put your mission in jeopardy."

He heard a faint sigh from underneath the helmet.

Ace looked back out at the open sky, and down at the town.  Somewhere down there was his gramps.  "I wonder what he'll think about the letter I wrote him...."

At that moment, he heard one of the nobles scream, and Ace saw Morley's face poking out of the Red Wall.

"There was a giant in there!" he noble yelled.  "There was a giant in the Red Wall!"

One of the other nobles - Hamburger, or something? - told the noble tiredly that it was impossible.

Ace just laughed.  For a bunch of revolutionaries, they sure did know how to pull some pranks on the nobles, regardless if it was on purpose or not.

The noble again made a commotion when a bunch of crows flew right next to the Bondola.  Ace waved to Karasu, and the noble called one of the guards - conveniently, Sabo - over to shoot away the birds.

Sabo assured the noble that there was no reason to panic - which was very laughable, which also made him realize that if he wasn't a ghost, he'd be awful at these covert missions.  The noble was just too ridiculous and Ace couldn't stop chuckling at him.

The Bondola came to a stop, and Ace followed the royals as they exited the contraption.  And while the Neptunian family marveled at the belt (Sabo had informed him how, exactly, it worked, and it made Ace want to be sick - even though he was dead) they elected to walk to Mariejois instead.  While they couldn't have known the circumstances towards the belt, he still felt approval towards them.

Of course, they were friends of Pops, so of course they were good people.

Meanwhile, the noble named Stelly - whowas the one causing a panic on the Bondola - grated on his nerves.

"Those stupid fish, they probably don't even know that this is the science of the highest minds!" the child-like man boasted.  "What barbarians!"

"Can I hit him?" he asked Sabo, who marched along with the other guards.  "He's very annoying."

This time, he saw Sabo's shoulders shake.

"Hold on, are you laughing?"

Sabo's shoulders stilled a moment later, but Ace wasn't convinced.

"You were definitely laughing just now!"

Sabo made a minor motion with his right hand, and Ace drifted closer to his brother - it was part of a code they'd made up back when they were younger and hunting for treasure to fill their pirate fund.  "I would pay to see you hit him," Sabo murmured.  "He's an upstart little brat."