text: Ace wondered why Marco had him come by for a mission so early in the morning. It was unusual, to say the least.
  
  As was Marco reading the newspaper. He usually just got the highlights from everyone else, too busy to deal with it personally. "Anything good, Marco?"
  
  "You'll love this. It's about your brother Luffy."
  
  "Luffy?" Ace asked, sitting on the desk.
  
  "Yep, kid made the headlines in a big way…for a lot of things."
  
  "Well don't leave me hanging, what happened?" Ace demanded.
  
  "So, as I understand it, here's what your brother's been up to," Marco said. "He's gotten both Big Mom and Kaido to declare him an enemy-"
  
  "What," Ace said.
  
  "Took out Doflamingo and liberated the island of Dressrosa from him-"
  
  "Okay that sounds more normal," Ace sighed.
  
  "Somehow gaining a fifty-six-hundred strong fleet in the process-"
  
  "What," Ace repeated.
  
  "And has spent at least the last month or so in an alliance with the Heart Pirates, and is apparently why Trafalgar Law is no longer a Warlord."
  
  "…What?" Ace demanded.
  
  "Your brother's been doing some serious legwork towards his Pirate King goal," Marco said patiently. Ace hated when Marco used that voice on him.
  
  "…Let's start with Trafalgar Law. Wasn't he the asshole who sent the Marines one hundred still beating hearts to become a Warlord?" Ace asked.
  
  "Yep. Guessing he got kicked out for working with your brother…looks like he helped with Dressrosa," Marco said. "And Punk Hazard. Marines are kind of vague on what went down there but it sounds like your brother's crew and Law saved a bunch of kids and took a guy who worked for Doflamingo hostage."
  
  "What the hell has Luffy gotten himself into?" Ace groaned.
  
  "A pretty sweet setup, if you ask me," Marco said. "Ace, we need an alliance anyway. Go check on your brother and offer a team up."
  
  "You want me to what?" Ace asked.
  
  "Go to your brother. Offer an alliance. His fleet apparently takes partners in addition to subordinates," Marco said. "And frankly it's either him or Shanks at this point, if not both. We need allies in this new era."
  
  "We might get Shanks anyway. There's rumors some of the others of the Worst Generation want to take him on," Ace said.
  
  "Ace. Go get an alliance from your brother," Marco said firmly. "That's an order."
  
  "I'm just trying to wrap my head around all this," Ace admitted. "Luffy's been in the New World for, what, two months?"
  
  "Yep," Marco said. "And frankly if I ran down to look at the betting pool I'd say the odds were being adjusted well in his favor over the whole Pirate King thing."
  
  "This is insane."
  
  "Ace-"
  
  "I didn't say I wouldn't do it, I just said this is insane," Ace defended himself. "I mean…he goes from barely surviving Marinford to…this?"
  
  "And staging the first ever breakout of Impel Down. Your brother's going places, Ace," Marco said, shrugging. "And we need that kind of power on our side. He's already taken Fishman Island under his protection, for crying out loud."
  
  Ace was pretty sure if he heard anymore his brain would grind to a halt, "Where was his crew last seen?"