Chapter 14: Anne Sets Sail! The Beginning of the Airess Crew!

The next few months of prep went by quickly. During this time, I was gathering many different types of supplies and resources. It wasn't just me gathering everything, but Felix helped as well.

The first thing we focused on was getting a boat of some kind. This was probably the easiest of all the things we had to get, as Felix just went to the docks, used some of the large sum of money he took from his family's account before fleeing, and bought us a small sloop that could possibly hold up to at most five people. Felix said that it was small for now, but when we got to his kingdom, he could easily commandeer a larger ship, like a galleon that could hold at least 50 people. Then, we could eventually get a custom ship to hold over a hundred when we gather more people for our crew!

Next, we gathered water and supplies. For water, we spent a day at a spring in the forest and boiled a ton of water, enough to fill ten large barrels. Once we had the water, we put them in the cabin under the deck of our boat. Other supplies we gathered and put into the storage of our boat were first-aid supplies, cooking utensils, my map and compass, bedding, clothes, fishing equipment, and other essentials we could find. Since we did not have a way to preserve food yet besides making jerky, we did not stock up on food and we planned to make pit stops as we went to get food supplies when we could. If we ran out of provisions before the next stop, we would simply fish like we occasionally had to do while we were in the Marines.

Another way of preparing was money. This was a little more difficult than it used to be. Since I was having to somewhat lay low, as Marines would occasionally pop by to check if I had returned, I couldn't resort to my old tactics of stealing. If I used my powers like I used to, rumors would spread that the Airess of Goa was back, which would inevitably bring the Marines here to hunt Felix and I down before we were ready. So, instead, I would wear a hood and walk around the Central and Elite Districts. As I would, I would use a similar tactic that I used to, but more discreetly. I would use the air to gently pull wallets out of back pockets or purses in a crowd as I passed the targets, making it difficult to pinpoint who did it if the people happened to notice their wallets missing. I did this every noon, and at the end, I managed to get enough money to sustain Felix and I food-wise for about half a year, which wasn't bad at all.

Then, the fateful day arrived. It was finally June 15th, my 17th birthday. It was a bittersweet day for sure. The day started with Luffy waking me up by screaming "Happy birthday" in my ear, which I accidentally and instinctively blew him off of the platform, onto the ground next to Ace and Felix. "Morning, Anne," Felix said with one hand in his pants pocket and a slight wave of the other.

"Happy 17th birthday," Ace said with a smirk. "You know what that means! Hurry up and get ready! Dadan said she wanted to see you."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," I said, only half awake as I shut my curtain to change. I had already packed most of my clothes and put them into the boat, with the exception of today's clothes. I got out of my tattered, old pajamas and slipped into the clothes. I put on a black tank and white sleeveless sweatshirt with the armholes extending down the side that revealed the black tank, slipped into a pair of black shorts, pulled some black armbands up my arms to my biceps, and tied my mid-calf black boots. I decided to leave behind the pajamas as I opened the curtains, figuring I could always just get a new pair.

I floated down to the ground and saw the boys had already left to go hunt breakfast for us all. I shrugged it off, went towards the Dadan family's hut and walked in. As I did, I playfully called out, "Mom, I'm home!"

As I stepped in, I saw a few members crying, Dogra and Magra included. "Oh, Anne, you've grown up so much," Magra said as he came over, admiring the woman I had become.

"Thanks for always putting up with me," I said with a laugh. I looked around and didn't see Dadan. "Hey, where's Dadan? I thought she wanted to talk. Doesn't she know I'm leaving?"

"She's upstairs, in your guys' old room," Dogra told me, pointing up the ladder.

I thanked him for the directions and made my way up to the boys and my old room. Sure enough, I saw Dadan standing in the middle of the room with her back to me as she was looking at a small white dress I used to fly around the Goa Kingdom in. I noticed that she had a sentimental look on her face as she looked at the dress. Realizing she probably wouldn't want anyone to see her like this, I quietly went back down and went up the ladder with noisy steps, so that she heard someone approaching. Sure enough, when I reentered the room, she had scrambled to hide the dress and the fact that she was reminiscing. "A-Anne! Wh-What are you doing here," Dadan tried to act cool and indifferent.

"I thought you were the one that wanted to see me," I reminded her, climbing into the room and walked over to her.

"O-Oh yeah," she said as she scratched her forehead in remembrance. "I just wanted to say… happy birthday, Anne."

"Aw, thanks, Mama Dan," I teased with a playful grin.

"Like hell I'm your mama," Dadan said as she rolled her eyes with crossed arms. "It's not like you'll be missed or anything. Now we just gotta wait for the other two hellions to set sail and leave! After all, raising you brats was definitely a thankless job."

I took this opportunity to wrap my arms around Dadan and told her, "Thank you… for everything, Dadan."

Dadan got bashful at first, joking around saying it's about time she got a thanks for the hell we put her through. Since it was just us, she gave in and returned the hug as she told me, "You better stay safe out there, kid. The boys won't be the only ones to give you hell if you don't. Now, get going so everyone else can see you off. And not a word about this to anyone! I've got a reputation to uphold!"

I gave a nod as we separated. I gave her a farewell as I went over to the window and flew out, back over to the shacks. By the time I got there, the boys had already returned with a boar roasting over a fire. "Here you go," Ace said as he handed me a portion.

I took a seat at the fire and gladly accepted the food with a thanks. "So, did Dadan cry? I could so see that," Luffy asked with a snicker.

"I wish," I laughed. "She almost seemed like she would. I bet she would have if she didn't have to face the family right afterwards."

"It's to be expected," Ace said with a smirk. "She raised you since you were three. It's like she's sending her own daughter off into the dangerous world. Last time, you didn't even give her a chance to send you off to the Marines and she was crabby for a whole month."

"I still can't believe you were raised by bandits," Felix said with a chuckle. "What was Garp thinking, bringing you out here? If he really wanted you guys to grow up to be Marines or whatever, why leave you with criminals and not somewhere more… I don't know, more loving?"

"We can't all be born into a noble and loving family," Ace mocked with an eye roll.

"It's a little more… complicated than that, Felix," I told him with a sigh. "I'm sure Gramps hid us and did what he had to do in order to keep us safe."

"What do you mean by safe," Felix asked with a curious look on his face. "What in the world do you need to be kept safe from by hiding amongst a group of bandits?"

Ace stared at me hard as I began to sweat a little bit. "Uh, nothing major," I tried to wave the topic off. "I'll tell you another time…"

"Yeah, it's not like their dad is the King of the Pirates or anything," Luffy said awkwardly with a whistle, acting too nonchalantly.

Ace and I both glared daggers at Luffy, nonverbally telling him to shut his mouth. Luckily, Felix just gave a shrug and dropped the subject, writing off what Luffy said as a joke.

Once we finished up, we picked up our mess and put out the fire as it was about time for our departure. Felix and I had already packed everything into our boat and there weren't many people to say farewell to, since most people didn't know I was even back since I had to stay hidden. Luffy and Ace started walking us to our boat, but about halfway, Ace stopped me by grabbing my wrist. He told the other two to go ahead so that he could have a word with me, which they agreed to and continued on. Ace let go of my wrist as I turned around and asked, "What's up, little bro?"

"I want you to make me a promise," he told me with a serious demeanor. "Promise me you won't use the surname "Gol" while you're sailing. If the Marines find out that you're his daughter, they won't hesitate to make a public execution of you."

"Heh, they'd have to catch me first," I confidently said with crossed arms. "Besides, I still don't quite understand why you hate him so much when you never met him. I may not remember him well, but I've heard many stories about him from many different people, and I'm actually glad to have inherited the names Portgas and Gol!"

"Anne, I'm serious," Ace told me as he looked me in the eyes. "I just don't want to see you up on a scaffold as a publicity stunt for the World Government."

I took a deep breath and let it out as I told him, "How about this, as long as you or I aren't found out, I promise not to use the name "Gol" at all."

I never truly intended to use the name "Gol." I fully understood the dangers that would bring. However, if I made him believe I won't use it as long as he stays safe, I knew he wouldn't be as reckless. At least, that was my goal.

"No," Ace answered with a deadpan expression. He shook his head in disagreement and continued, "I see what you're trying to do, so I'll do you one better. As long as I'm alive, you will never use that name."

I gave a cheeky grin as I stuck my hand out towards him and said, "You got yourself a deal, Portgas D. Ace."

He took my hand in his and shook it as he gladly said, "Prepare to remain a Portgas, because I have no intention of dying and letting you use that name!"

I pulled his arm towards me and brought him into an embrace, telling him, "I'd rather have you than some silly ol' name, Ace."

We separated and continued walking until we reached the hidden bay Felix and I were keeping the boat. When we got there, Luffy and Felix were laughing about something Luffy had told him. We walked up to them and Luffy wiped a tear from his eye.

"So, this is it, huh," Ace said as Felix went ahead and hopped onto the boat to start prepping it. "I can't believe that the first person in our group is finally setting sail as an adult."

"Yeah, this is exciting," Luffy exclaimed with his arms in the air. "Before you know it, Ace and I will be setting out on our journeys as well!"

"Don't even speak such nonsense, you'll make me feel old," I teased, playfully putting both of them into a headlock in each arm. "Just so you know, I'll be back to see you guys off. Both of you. I'll drop whatever I am doing wherever I am to come see you take your first steps on your adventures."

"I'll hold you to that," Ace teased, trying to get out of my grip to no avail.

"Yeah! Even for me," Luffy laughed as he tried to yank his head out of my grip as his body backed up, only stretching his neck out. I released my grip on the boys, causing Luffy's head to fling back towards his body with the recoil. I then started going towards the edge of the cliff where the boat was as Luffy called, "Don't forget, I'm gonna be the King of Pirates, so don't you go aiming for that title!"

I spun around and continued walking backwards as I laughed, "Don't worry, that was never my goal. I'm just going to be a greater pirate than our father ever was!"

I went to the edge and gently floated down onto the boat as Felix was releasing the sails. "All of our supplies on our list have been double checked and sails are a go," Felix informed. "We're ready to go whenever you are."

I looked back up and saw both boys waving their arms with big grins as a farewell. I returned the gesture before glancing at the map and turning towards the sails, pushing air into them. As the ship began to sailed, the island with my brothers that I called my home got smaller and smaller, before it disappeared into the horizon. This was definitely bittersweet.

"They'll be fine," Felix reassured me as he gauged the compass and map for me. "If I learned anything about them these past few months, it was that they sure are strong, physically and mentally. But hey, I shouldn't have expected anything less from them, since they are your brothers, after all. So, where's our first destination?"

Felix held the map out next to me as I continued to push the sails. With one hand, I pointed to where we were and followed along a path as I explained, "As we head west, we'll keep sailing until evening, where we'll dock at this small island to rest for the night. It's mostly uninhabited, so we won't have to worry about any Marines this early on into our journey. While we're there, we can probably do some scavenging to get some fresh fruit or veggies or make some jerky to add to our storage."

"Sounds like a plan," Felix said, looking down at the compass. "We're heading a little too far south-west at the moment. Move your air streams over two inches and we'll be back on course, Captain Airess."

I couldn't help but laugh. Felix always outranked me back when we were in the Marines, so it's strange hearing him call me a captain, even if it was a tease. "Aye, aye, first mate Felix," I teased back, adjusting the stream of air to set us back on course.

We sailed like this for the next few hours until the island we were sailing to came into view a few hours earlier than expected. We decided to go ahead and hide the boat in some bluffs anyways. Dropping anchor, I floated Felix and I up the cliffs and into the dense woods nearby. "Alright, so our plan of action is this: gather firewood, gather edible fruits and veggies if possible, as well as animals for jerky. I'll slice up a tree, so you can go ahead and focus on the food for now. We'll meet back at the bluff sometime around dusk," I told him as I tossed him a sack for any food he might find. "Remember to stay vigilant, though. You never know what might be out there."

Felix gave a nod as we parted ways to make more ground. I looked around and found a tall tree that would work. Using razor-sharp blades of air, I made a single cut that went through the base of the tree, causing it to topple over. Using more blades of air, I sliced the tree into smaller, perfect pieces of firewood and timber. I even found a stalk that I could use for a bow drill to start a fire with. I used my air powers to help carry the wood pieces back to our meeting place and set up our temporary base that included a fire pit, two makeshift shelters out of wood, and even a drying rack for any fish or animals we could catch and make jerky out of. As I was just finishing up boiling some water to drink, Felix came back to camp early with his heavy, full sack slung over his shoulder. "Dang, you work fast," he said in awe as he saw all that I had already made.

I gave a shrug and reminded him of the fact that the boys and I basically survived on our own in the forest and made our own shelters, and even a hideout when we were children. "So, what'd you manage to get?"

Felix opened his bag for me to see and I saw he had apparently caught some kind of animal and had already stripped and dressed it with only slices of meat in the bag. "Well, you work quickly, as well," I said as I took the thin meat strips and hung them on the drying rack, meaning the jerky should be done sometime in the morning or midday.

"I learned from the best," Felix said with a chuckle, referring to how my brothers taught him how to properly dress an animal for jerky the very next day he came to the island.

He took some bigger pieces of meat and speared them before putting them over the fire. "So, we got our food, water, fire, and shelter. Sounds like we got everything we needed already. I say we kick back, relax, and think of our next course of action."

"Psh, you underestimate me," I cockily said, spreading the map out in front of us. "I've been planning this out for the last month. With this plan, we'll only need to stop at three islands, with two stops at some sea restaurants, which they should all be out of the way of the Marines. I've never been to the first restaurant we'll be stopping at, but the second one, the one we'll stop at before making our way to the Grand Line, is called the Baratie, and is pretty good. The staff is kind, too, and don't care if we're pirates. Anyway, after this stop, we'll actually be heading to the first sea restaurant."

"Man, what I would give for a professionally made meal," Felix said, holding his growling stomach.

"Tired of the roughing it lifestyle already," I laughed.

"Maybe a little," Felix pretended to weep jokingly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have an abundance of dried food, but I miss the seasoning and delicacy of food made by people who have dedicated their lives to studying and making great dishes, rather than amateur cooks like us!"

My stomach growled as my mouth started to water, thinking about the dishes I had on the Baratie. "Stop, now you're making me crave better food," I sobbed. "I also had a list of people I want to get to join us. We'll need a chef, musician, doctor, some swordsmen and gunners, and eventually a few carpenters, bosuns, and fishers. We shouldn't need a navigator or a watch leader, since the two of us should suffice, but if we find one, then cool."

"Wow, you really have planned this all out," Felix said in awe. "That's quite impressive!"

I gave a shrug and modestly told him, "Not really. I've always just been the planner growing up while my brothers did the grunt work. It's not that impressive."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short," Felix told me as he wagged his finger at me. "They may have done the heavy lifting then, but now you have the mind of a tactician and the powers to back it up. And, if you don't believe me right now, then you'll be a hell of a force to be reckoned with later for sure."

We continued our chat as we started to drink the cooled off boiled water and ate the roasted meat. After we finished our meal, we devised a schedule for lookout shifts during the night for the off chance that beasts, thugs or Marines show up. We decided to alternate shifts every three hours, with Felix taking the first shift.

All went well during the night, however, during my shift at the crack of dawn, there was suddenly a large, but short, earthquake that even woke Felix up, who sleeps through almost anything. "What in the world was that," Felix exclaimed as he shot up.

"I don't know, but I'll go recon," I told him as I started to float upwards. "While I do that, you get started on making sure our ship is ready to sail at a moment's notice, just in case."

Felix nodded as I flew up. I surveyed the tiny island from above and was surprised at what I saw. On the opposite side of the island from where we were camped, I noticed a single Marine ship and a tiny sloop anchored, and in the middle of the island was now a decently sized crater with rocks jutting out around the edge, obviously not naturally formed. I flew back down and told Felix what I saw as he finished up and he shouted, "Quick, we gotta head over to the crater! Looks like he's here, too!"

Seeing we shared a similar idea as to what was going on, Felix and I quickly flew over to the crater. Once it was in view, we noticed a group of probably ten people in Marine uniforms surrounding a teen. When we started to descend, we both noticed it wasn't just any teen, but rather it was River. I blew a large force of air at the Marine group, blowing them away as I shouted, "Get away from him!"

River was glad to see us and he relaxed a bit and called up, "I finally found you guys!"

I lowered Felix and I down into the crater where River was and I exclaimed, "What in the world are you doing out here and why were the Marines pointing rifles at you?! Don't tell me…"

River just gave a cheeky grin and nodded before saying, "Yup! I hunted you guys down and came to join you!"

Felix facepalmed with a sigh as he groaned, "You know this isn't a game, right?"

"You're one to talk," River snapped back. "I mean, who in their right mind comes into the barrack, tells us Anne was on the run due to crappy circumstances, and then proceeds to say they're leaving to do the same! You're lucky my brother or dad wasn't there! They would have apprehended you on the spot!"

I gave Felix an "are you serious" look before turning my attention back to River. "But that doesn't explain why you're here," I said, crossing my arms.

"A lot's been going on since you two left," River said as he twiddled his thumbs. "Since it was just Kai and I left in the Y-1 company, we were disbanded and just put directly under Cap-, er, I mean our dad as a separate unit. It wasn't so bad at first, but he saw that I was still struggling with my powers and turned most of his attention to Kai. He started giving most of his time into specifically training Kai to hunt you two down. It was obvious that my dad had little faith in me, and I got fed up trying to be the perfect Marine and living in their shadows."

"So, you're one of us now," Felix laughed as he slapped River on the back, causing him to almost stumble forward. "Welcome to the life of piracy, if the gracious captain agrees to it!"

"Yeah, sure. We should really get going before those guys come back," I told the two, levitating us up off the ground and toward our ship.

As I flew us as quickly as I could, River was trying to warn us, "Oh yeah! Those guys weren't the only ones that are on this island! We have to be careful, because someone else was on that ship! It was actually Ga-."

Before he could even finish, the cliff Felix and I had camped out at came into view, except now someone was standing there with their arms crossed, looking down at our sad little boat. "Oh my god," Felix said with frightened eyes.

"Gramps," I asked in disbelief as we landed about ten feet from him with his back to us.

Gramps looked over his shoulder. "Well, if it isn't my lovely granddaughter," Garp said happily with a hardy laugh as he turned around with his hands in his pockets. "I'm glad to see ya. I see you're building yourself a crew, but…"

Before he could continue, I clenched my fists and swallowed the lump in my throat, bracing myself for his disappointment. "Before you say anything, I know," I told him, unable to look him in the eye. "I'm a huge disappointment. I deserted the Marines and am now wanted by the World Government, which was one of your worst fears. I tried to be a Marine, I really did! I wanted to make you proud, but I guess… I just really do have wicked pirate's blood in me."

Gramps started walking towards me and I just looked away and shut my eyes tightly, expecting the impact of a sudden slap or punch of aggravation. However, rather than the impact of a punch, I felt the impact of Gramps wrapping his arms around me in an embrace.

"You idiot," Gramps softly said as he pulled back and cupped my face with his giant hand. "Anne, you could never be a disappointment in my eyes. I may be disappointed in some of the things you and the boys might have done that were questionable, but you three will never be a disappointment to me. I should have seen what was going on and helped, rather than letting you suffer through what you did... But I understand. I plan to go back and set things straight with the government! I'll convince them that they either got the wrong person, or it was all some sort of misunderstanding. Don't worry, yer Gramps has your back.

While I getting everything settled away, you can continue to sail. After all, you were born to be on a ship. Though, ships are safer in harbors, that's not what they were built for, were they? And just you wait, if I see that son of a bitch, Delta, I'll give him a what for! When you join the Marines again, I'll make sure you are under better leadership!"

"Thanks, Gramps," I told him as I hugged him back. I then pushed him away and asked, "Then what was with that 'but' earlier?"

"I was just going to say that you really needed to get more crew members without Devil Fruit Powers on your crew. Just in case something happens and one of you goes overboard," Gramps said with another one of his deep belly laughs.

"That's some good advice, Gramps," Felix jokingly said, bringing Gramp's attention to the two boys behind me. "We'll keep that in mind! But, I don't think we'll be going back to the Ma-."

I slapped a hand over Felix's mouth in a hurry. "We won't be going back to the... main island we had been staying at! Hahaha."

I was not ready to let Gramps know I didn't plan on joining the Marines again. Not yet, at least. He still seemed to have hope in me, and I was not ready for such a large target on my back. If Gramps was going to use his nepotism to help me grow at a better pace, all the better.

Gramps looked over towards Felix with a glare and also gave River a suspicious look. There was a hint of recognition seeing River, but it still wasn't a pleasant look. It was obvious he was not a fan of his granddaughter sailing around with two boys, alone. "Who the hell are you," Gramps growled. "I don't know you and you're sailing with my angel of a granddaughter, so that means I don't like you."

Gramps put a hand on each of their shoulders, leaned in close to them and threatened, "Don't you two even think of doing anything to my granddaughter, because whatever you do to her, I'll do to you. *Whatever* it is."

Both boys froze, so I pulled them away from Gramps, and floated them and myself to our boat. "Aaaaand that's our cue to leave," I told Gramps with an awkward sweat running down my face. "Thank you again, Gramps. You don't even know what kind of weight you just lifted off of me."

"And I meant every word," Gramps said with a wave as we landed on the boat. "You make sure to stay safe out there. But don't forget, I am a Marine. So, don't always expect to get off the hook so easily if you start causing trouble!"

"Aye, aye, Gramps," I told him with a wave as Felix and River unraveled the sails.

Once they were down and the anchor was up, I checked the compass and map one last time before using the air to sail off towards our next destination.