Mother's Love || One Piece ||

Chapter 16

Pax Island, a day before Ace's execution and a day before Luffy invaded Impel Down.

In a field of dandelions, a tall tree was planted in the middle of it. Carina always visits this place whenever she is in trouble; this is her solace. As the wind blows, the flowers dance as the petals join the wind.

"Hey there." Carina caresses the cold tombstone where the name of her dead lover is carved.

"I'm sorry." She started with a pained smile on her lips. "This may or may not be my last visit."

"What might be your reaction in this situation? Will you get mad? Will you join me?" She chuckled, and then suddenly a feeling of serenity engulfed her as if she were being hugged by his arms. An assurance that no matter what path she walks, he will always be by her side. "Thank you," she whispered before kneeling down.

"I love you." Planting a kiss on the tombstone, Carina gives a last smile before leaving.

The time has come.

The announcement of the unwanted past brought pain to Ace. He doesn't want to be called Gol D. Roger's son. The things he wants to bury forever have been dug up and revealed to the world. He is not the son of a pirate king; he is the son of Whitebeard! He wants to yell it; he wants to correct them, but his origin says otherwise. No matter how much he pushed away the fact that he was Roger's son, the bad blood of that man still runs in his veins.

With that revelation, most of the population howled, "Execute him." They wanted to execute the boy who had the bad blood of the Pirate King.

Garp stared at Ace as his and Carina's conversation rang in the back of his head.

"Execution?! Garp-san!"

"Don't let your emotions get into you, Carina. Ace is a pirate; you know the law."

"Ace is my son!"

"Carina!"

"Tell me. Are you really going to execute Ace because he is a pirate, or are you executing him because he is the son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, or are you using him as a bite to terminate Whitebeard!? Which one!?"

"Ah! No. Sengoku-san believes that Ace wants to be a pirate king and that my boy wants to follow Roger's footsteps." A laugh of disbelief left her lips as she swept her hair up due to frustration.

"My son doesn't even want the idea of him being a son of Roger. You know Ace well, Garp-san. He seeks freedom; he seeks—" She stops herself from uttering another word as she takes a deep breath. No matter how much she convinces Garp, Ace will still be executed.

"Ace might be a pirate and the son of a pirate king, but he is my son. There's no law for a mother who wants to save her son.

Carina was the first one to come.

"A boat was seen coming in full speed!" A navy officer announced, making all eyes turn to the vast blue sea. Only one, but before they knew it, the marine's ship exploded one by one, causing water to splash and fire to ignite.

"Carina," Sengoku whispered as the said woman maneuvered her speed boat; the long jacket cape with "Justice" on it could no longer be seen on her shoulder.

"Kaasan." Ace couldn't believe what he was seeing. He immediately looked at Garp as if he were begging for him to stop his mother. Ace doesn't want his mother to be seen as a traitor just because of him.

Carina halted her boat.

"This is an act of treason, Carina," Sengoku announced.

Whispers and debates happen as the citizens watch the screen. Why does the Vice Admiral act that way? What is his connection to the pirate king's son?

"Going against the government for my son is not treason for a mother," she replied, and Ace's eyes watered as he sought his mother's gaze. Carina's eyes meet his, and through them she conveys what she wants to say: "Don't worry, we'll go home soon."

"The gate of justice is opening without command!" and the next thing they know, ships from Whitebeard's allies show up. All the big-time captains from the New World came to save Ace.

"Carina." Sengoku gritted his teeth, knowing damn well this wouldn't happen if the said woman just did her job like Garp.

The loud roar of the alarm rings, cannons preparing to bomb the pirates ship, and marines on their stations. Everything was set; they were ready to fire, but Sengoku ordered them to wait since the Whitebeard's Moby Dick had still not shown up.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, right below Carina, the water started to bubble, and her grip on the wheel tightened. "Way to show up, Edward-san." Before she was fully blown away by the water, a large bird showed up in the sky and fetched her.

That bird. Ace has seen that bird. "Eerie," he softly called as the ruby orbs of the giant peregrine met his black ones.

The bird named "Eerie" soars in the sky while Carina stands on his giant claw. They can't believe what they are seeing. That peregrine is no ordinary bird; it was a shapeshifter. Given from its eyes, ruby.

Once the moby dick settled on the water, Carina jumped from the Eerie's claw before landing on the ship right beside Whitebeard.

"I wasn't informed that you have an extravagant entrance, Edward-san." Whitebead released a loud laugh. Eerie soon followed her on the ship, landing on her feet as a human. She had short, dark purple hair and ruby eyes. She stood beside Marco.

"You better tell me that my beloved son is all right."

(A/n: Eerie was the bird in chapter 12.)