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Thatch is stubborn. That's why he's the first friend on the Moby Dick (aside from the cats) that Ace has. Thatch is stubborn and he doesn't give up on Ace, no matter what he does. And he doesn't berate Ace, like that damn blue pigeon does.
Thatch also argues with him. It can be about the smallest things, really. But they also fight about the big questions in life. Ace even asked Thatch the Roger's-Kid question. "What if Gol D. Roger had a kid?"
The cook ensures himself a place in Ace's heart, unknowingly, by responding, "Yeah, so what?"
So when Thatch asks Ace if he wants to join the pranking war Thatch is always waging on the entire crew, Ace agrees.
They spend so much time planning and discussing pranks that Ace forgets to try and kill Newgate for almost a week.
It has most of the crew thinking that he's about to join them and Thatch and Ace thorougly enjoy the downtrodden expressions after Ace goes flying into the ocean again.
But they may be right. Maybe Ace really is going to join them soon. Because the assassination attempt was not a real assassination attempt, something Newgate most likely noticed - the yonko has grown to know Ace and his attitude quite a bit through their almost daily debates.
It wasn't a real assassination attempt because Thatch had been in on it. It was a distraction which allowed the chef to put blue hair die into the first division's shampoo.
The blue hair the entire first division sports after that prank (commander included) is fabulous, even Izo says so, but the division still does not appreciate the sentiment, as they hunt Thatch and Ace down and throw them into the sea.
After that, the two troublemakers avoid the still furious mob and volunteer for night shift.
That's when it happens.
They patrol the deck together, not paying attention to their surroundings apart from the occasional flare of observation haki, and argue quietly.
"I'm not saying that your argument is bullshit, but damn, it's bullshit!", Thatch pointed out.
"And that's not a legitimate argument.", Ace chides as they turn around a corner. "If done at the right time, that's entirely possible! They even offer rides up there! Tourism and shit like that. If you disguise yourself well enough and know how to hide your voice from observation haki, then you can go in there and assassinate all of those Celestial Dragons and get the fuck outta there before anyone can notice and call the marines."
"But... But!", Thatch mumbles, struggling to find an argument but he can't and he knows that Ace is right. He just refuses to accept it, because he's seen the injustice those people commit and he doesn't want to realize that they can, in fact, be stopped.
The cook has always perceived them as beings that are above humans, untouchable. Immortal, even, but what he never saw was just how fragile they are. The Celestial Dragons are just as fragile as humans, maybe even more so because of inbreeding.
A single, well-placed bomb can finish all of them. Forever. All it takes is a single bomb.
He looks up and immediately regrets it because his partner in crime looks so incredibly smug at his beliefs and world view being shattered and put together again in a different way.
With a pout, Thatch punches Ace's shoulder and complains, "Wipe that look off your face! I admit it, I lost this one, too! Now-"
Fire Fist suddenly stiffens and his hand darts to his dagger. His eyes dart to the corner they are just a few feet away from.
The fourth division commander releases a burst of observation haki and immediately notices what has Ace uncomfortable. Malicious intent comes from around the corner and a voice that Thatch knows but also doesn't because he can't remember who it belongs to hides there.
He grabs the hilts of his swords and searches the environment for voices, his guard up. Is it an intruder? It has to be, because who else would leak such amounts of malicious intent, all directed at them. It can't be one of the crew, he is sure of that. Even the pranked first division isn't as bloodthirsty. If only Thatch could remember who that voice belongs to...
Suddenly, his haki screams at him to dodge to the right, but that would mean exposing Ace behind him and Thatch will not allow his friend to die. This is the New World. Nearly everyone here has Armament Haki.
So he draws his swords as quickly as possible - he wouldn't have been quick enough if Ace hadn't warned him and his guard hadn't been up - and coats them in Armament. He's had his Twinblades for a long time, and he isn't risking them shattering. It might be overkill but there are some things he doesn't joke about.
His blades intercept a dagger coming from above, weighing down heavily on Thatch. His arms start to tremble, even more so when he can actually see who the person that attacked him is. Marshall D. Teach. The giant of a man sports a maniacal grin, bloodthirsty. His eyes have a crazed glint to them and portray outright loathing for Thatch.
Thatch can't believe it. Teach is his friend, his brother! Why is he doing this?! Why is he looking at Thatch with those eyes, so different from the ones he used to look at Thatch with. They are friends, brothers, even if only under the flag, Teach is a Whitebeard, brought into the crew by Oyaji himself! How can he betray them?!
Thatch is overcome by the waves of emotions, all kinds of negatives drowning him, making him weak.
“Zehahaha! This is the day you die, commander!”, the bearded devil laughs as he presses the dagger down and Thatch's arms offer close to no resistance because he is still in shock and- oh. He's dying today, isn't he?
He feels Ace behind him turn around, can feel the sheer distress his young friend is radiating, can feel the crew's calm and sleeping voices and can see the dagger in all sharpness as it descends on him.
Then, a wave of heat hits him as fire travels around him in record speed and a familiar person becomes tangible in front of him, pushing them back but not quickly enough and suddenly there's blood, blood, blood and he's kneeling on the ground and holding Ace and there's blood, blood, blood on his hands and Thatch can hear his pulse thundering in his ears, drowning out the words Teach says but he doesn't care because there is liquid fire in his veins, burning with the familiar heat of his mindless fury. Before he knows it, he has one of his blades that had fallen to the ground back in his hand- no, flying from his hand, nailing Teach in the stomach, hopefully destroying a few organs. The bigger man makes a startled sound and dark satisfaction briefly flashes up in Thatch. The bastard should have never underestimated him. A cook he may be but he isn't the fourth division commander for nothing.
Then, his panic takes over and he's running down the stairs, into the ship and he hopes that Teach won't follow them as Ace swears and groans between clenched teeth and the slash across his chest bleeds.
At least Ace is conscious, he finds it in himself to think, because that wound probably is worse than it loo- he sees a speck of white in the wound and realizes that it's a rip, fuck, it is even worse than he feared. Hopefully, the lungs and the heart weren't damaged because that would lessen Ace's survival chances even more and Thatch won't loose him, he can't.
He doesn't think that he's hearing footsteps, but then again, there's his frantic pulse in his ears, thundering. He rushes into the infirmary as if there is a devil on his heels and the nurse doing the night shift jumps with wide eyes, scared of his noisy entrance. Her eyes dart around with the skill of someone who's been assessing patients and dealing with chaos and death for years. First, her gaze falls onto Thatch's face, distressed and panicked like the cook rarely is. Then, her eyes wander on to the body limply hanging in Thatch's arms, and she moves before she has even gotten a look at the person's face.
With strong and steady hands, she takes the body from the cook, who stammers out, "Teach - dagger - tried to stab me - Ace - Ace took it", white as a sheet. That's all the information she needs and she immediately heaves the teen - Fire Fist, their brother to-be - onto and operation table and tells her brother to go and wake up the rest of the nurses. The commander is gone in the blink of an eye.
Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for operation, she takes out a seastone bracelet and puts it around the teen's wrist. She really can't have him bursting into flames whenever someone tried to cut him during the operation.
Jerking open a cupboard, she takes one of the prepared syringes with pain medication and sedatives and injects it into a vein. She throws on gloves and a mask and prepares the beginning of the operation, carefully cleaning the surrounding area of the wound. It's bad, but she's seen worse.
She is glad Thatch left the door open on his quest to wake up the others because she isn't as startled when they quickly barge in, putting on gloves and masks. Verta also brings the IV stander and the blood bags and Zora has never been more glad about Ace trying to assassinate Oyaji because if he hadn't they wouldn't have though it necessary to demand his health profile from the Spades' former doctor.
Amelia slams the door closed after Henrick tells Thatch that yes, they will do their best and yes, they will immediately notify him about any news and that he should report to Marco.
Marco is woken up by someone trying to open his door but failing because after the prank Ace and Thatch pulled, he had taken to locking it. Then, that person starts banging on his door, which would have brought him such a headache if he hadn't had his regenerative abilities.
Aggravated, he rips the door open, taking with it the doorframe because he forgot that he locked it. "What?!", he hisses, even more pissed off.
Thatch is standing there, his face white and shock still fresh in his eyes. Something that looks like blood is on his clothes and Marco considers the possibility of him pulling another prank on him.
“Teach has gone traitor”, Thatch says and yes, Marco really doesn't doubt that it's a prank.
“Thatch, that's going too far, yoi”, he snaps, causing his brother to flinch, which he feels a speck of guilt for, that immediately fanishes as he sees his blue hair. Marco is just so fucking done. It doesn't happen often, but when Marco gets angry, there is no calming him down for weeks.
Thatch doesn't take his bullshit though, as he snaps back, "I'm not joking! He tried to kill me, but Ace took the hit instead and now he's in surgery! Go look for yourself if you doubt me!"
And now Marco is serious. Thatch doesn't joke about injuries. He takes another look at his brother and decides that he can't possibly be acting. His hair is disheveled, his eyes are wide open and bloodshot from held in tears and his clothes are full of what he now realizes is actual blood. Ace's blood. And if that doesn't unnerve him! For all that Ace is a brat, prone to aggressions, he is also supposed to become their new brother. Marco doesn't want Ace to die, he really doesn't.
His fury dissipates for the most part and he tells his brother, “Let's go tell Oyaji. He has to decide what to do about Teach then, yoi.”
His belief of it being a prank is even more shattered as Thatch just nods shakily, trying to calm down his breath and doing everything in his might to keep from crying. Now Marco feels like an ass for snapping at him earlier and he realizes - he (and his division) are the ones that got so worked up over a harmless prank and drove Ace and Thatch to volunteer for watch. They are guilty of Ace's injury, too. He shoves the thought aside and forces himself to be rational. Who knows what would have happened if things had been different. It's no use thinking of could-have-beens, he needs to focus on the situation on hand.
Thatch and Marco walk to Oyaji's room, the phoenix all the while questioning Thatch. "Where is Teach now, yoi?", is the first question he asks.
His brother - that still seems so out of it - replies, “I don't know, I was busy with getting Ace to the infirmary. He didn't follow me though and I also managed to throw one of my blades at him.” There is a haunted expression on Thatch's face as he whispers, "Why would he do that? We were brothers, Marco. Did that mean nothing to him?"
Marco doesn't know how to deal with this, so he says what he figures would be best. "I don't know. But once we get him, we'll find out. How bad is Ace's injury, yoi?"
The cook looks at his still bloodstained hands and says in a flat voice that shouldn't ever come out of his mouth, Thatch is supposed to be the joyful and lively brother, damn it, “I could see his ribs, Marco. There was so much blood...” A violent shiver runs through Thatch and Marco can relate; while they are both strong pirates and have seen their fair share of gore and death, the betrayal of Teach in the mix and the closeness between Thatch and Ace worsens the situation for him. They have lost brothers and sisters before, sure, but most of the times, they aren't as close with them. Ace, Thatch knows better than 90% of their siblings.
So Marco does his best to comfort his brother, the fury he felt over the prank forgotten. They make haste to Oyaji, who immediately wakes up when he feels then enter his room. His eyes catch on Thatch's figure, a miserable view with the blood staining his clothes, drying, (if that is his son's, Thatch's blood, Newgate will give the attacker a painful death, that he swears) and his expression. He almost has a heart attack as a wave of concern overcomes him.
“What happened, my sons?”, Newgate asks. He's a bit groggy and sleepy, but he has the suspicion that that will quickly go away. "Are you hurt?", he asks Thatch, who quickly shakes his head.
“That's not my blood”, he answers and Whitebeard can tell that it isn't the blood of an enemy either. If it was, Thatch wouldn't look so torn, so guilty.
“Teach has betrayed us and tried to kill Thatch, yoi”, his oldest son explains. “Ace saved him, he's now in surgery, yoi.” The bored expression Marco usually wears isn't completely there, there are feelings of fury and worry mingling with it.
“We don't know where Teach is right now”, Marco continues as Newgate takes in the words with seriousness, anger and fright creeping up in him as he thinks about how Thatch could have been killed, how Ace could die even though he is on the brink of giving in and joining. “I sent Haruta to check on the boats, there will probably be one missing. Thatch nailed him in the stomach though, I doubt Teach is going to get far.”
His sons stand there, waiting for him to decide what to do and once again, Newgate feels so old. With feelings he can't describe (a mix of regret, grief, anger, fear and other emotions), he tells them, “Now that one of us has become a monster... It is our responsibility to put it down.” He thinks for a second. Marco, he didn't know Teach much, he wouldn't feel too bad if he had to get rid of the rat. Izou and Vista weren't close with the traitor either... “Marco, you are going to go after him. Take Izou and Vista with you. For the moment, we'll stop our pirating acts until the situation has stabilized.”, he orders, voice as hard as steel. He is a captain and responsible for the wellbeing of his crew. With that traitor running free, things will be heating up until he is put down. Eliminating Teach as quickly as possible is the optimal way to restore peace - even if it hasn't been broken yet - as quickly as possible.
Things are hectic the rest of the night. Newgate was right and there is a boat missing, so his three sons decide to act fast and deal with Teach before the news can spread to the world. Thatch is pacing up and down in front of the infirmary, waiting for updates on Ace, and the crew that has noticed the commotion is up and about for the most part, wildly discussing on the events, some cursing Teach to hell and back, others reluctant to believe his betrayal.
Everything is in chaos and will continue to be so for the next few weeks.
“But they don't even get a chance to redeem himself!”, Izou hears his Oyaji say and he feels the weight that has been weighing down on him these past few weeks dissappear as a smile forms on his face.
As he expects, a familiar voice shoots back, “Well, there are some things that you can't redeem yourself for!”
“Such as?”, Oyaji asks.
“Oh, I don't know. Unprovoked Genocide and mass murder. Slavery. Yeah. Those are totally things that are perfectly acceptable.”
Izou can almost hear the person rolling their eyes. He feels one of his brothers approaching and turns away to the door to smirk at Thatch.
"Ace is alive then, I presume?", he teasingly asks the cook, who looks way better than three weeks ago. But then again, Izou had only seen him for a mere second. Thatch had looked like a ghost, blood on his clothes and panicked. The gunner is glad that Thatch is better, as is Ace.
Thatch nods with a weak grin. “Yeah. He almost didn't make it but he's going to be fine.”
They just stand there a bit, basking in comfortable silence. Izou yawns and that promps Thatch to ask the question that is burning on his soul. “Did you... you know... kill him?” Thatch looks uncomfortable and guilty asking the question and Izou briefly feels pity for the fourth division commander. He and Teach, they'd been kind-of friends, after all.
He decides not to sugarcoat it. “Yes.”, he confirms. “The bastard deserved it, too. What a fake D he was.” Izou can't help but be angry when he thinks of Marshall D. Teach's death. The guy begged them to let him live, like a disgusting roach. In the end, that's all he was for Izou. He finished him off with a clear shot through the brain, not willing to listen to his inane blabbering any longer. After all, he almost killed Ace. But not only that - not that it isn't grave enough - but he also intended to kill Thatch. Thatch! Izou would have never forgiven Teach, even if he had survived.
Thatch just nods, expression thoughtful.
“The death sentence is just lowering yourself to the criminal's level.”, they hear Oyaji say.
They give each other a wait-what-now look that confirms that no, they aren't having auditory hallucinations. Then there's just the question why Oyaji and Ace are arguing about the death sentence. Couldn't they find better topics to debate? Also, if Oyaji is against it, does that mean Ace is for it?
“Now I share your opinion but your arguments are crap. Sometimes, you have to lower yourself to the criminal's level and if they're insane, there is no curing them anyway! It would be kinder to just let them die.”, Ace answers and it doesn't solve the question. Is Ace for the death sentence? Or is he against but arguing for the death sentence for the sake of the argument? Or both?
“But the death sentence is inhumane!”
“It's cheaper than prison though!”
“No, it isn't!”
“Well, that depends on the type of execution. But beheading is the most common one and that is cheaper than prison.”
“It's against the morals.”
“Whose morals?”
“You're making this very difficult, son.”
“Why yes of course.”
“So you agree to become my son?”
“Yeah sure”
Thatch chokes on his saliva and Izou makes an inhuman noise of surprise. What?!
“But we aren't done with this debate yet!”, Ace stubbornly insists.