"Ac...Ace! Wa..it... wait, ACE!"
Tears rolled down her cheeks as her brother gently put her on the ground and patted her cheek. An ominous cloud had already shrouded the battlefield; and all she could do was watch her brother slowly walk into Akainu's trap. All her energy had been spent over the last hour; her body refused to move, her eyes were heavy. For some unfathomable reason she felt a stinging burn on her abdomen; and she felt helplessly restless.
"Ace...", she heard Luffy call out. 'Please Ace', she used her telepathic skills with the last strength remaining. 'He's trying to lure you out. Come back, Ace! I..I don't feel good... let's get out of here,please!'
Ace stopped and turned to look at her with a sad smile on his face. He'd been infuriated just a moment ago; but when it came to her he could not even glare. He'd never said one rude word to her all through his life, however annoying she might act. He'd never ignored a single of her requests, however unreasonable they might be. Maybe because once upon a time she was all he had. They had each other when they had no one else. The bond between twins is undeniably strong, and she knew exactly what he had in mind when he smiled at her. He was already prepared to die.
Her sense organs had long been dulled out; and she could only faintly hear Ace say "Take back what you said."
Akainu relentlessly blabbered on about how Whitebeard was a loser and how her dad was unsurpassable. Even under these dire circumstances, the mere mention of her father's name calmed her heart. Unlike Ace, she'd never hated him for who he was. Her father was unsurpassable; and it made her proud.
But the burning sensation on her abdomen was getting worse. Ace lost his cool and charged at Akainu. Akainu striked back with his overflowing magma. She closed her eyes. She could feel Ace's anger running through her veins, but at the same time her chest pummeled restlessly with fear. Ace had been burnt; and tears formed in her eyes subconsciously.
She looked at Luffy who was at the limit of his strength. Her precious little brother had valiantly fought every battle thrown his way; and compared to him, she felt she could do nothing. She could barely move, her ribs were broken, her skin smelled fire. Even Sengoku had no idea about Portgas D. Ace having a twin sister. Most of them did not know who she was, for she had no bounty and she always maintained a low profile, as per Ace's request. All they could see was a random woman aboard Whitebeard's ship who cried tears of blood at the sight of the convict. She fought her way all through to the execution platform, but the three admirals were too much for her to handle, specifically Akainu. And now the bastard burnt Ace with his magma, and the pain on her abdomen worsened.
She knew the disaster was close. She didn't need a Vivre Card to determine her twin's lifeline. The constant pummeling in her heart which paralyzed her very being with the fear of losing the one dearest to her told her all she needed to know.
"Stop it!", she mentally screamed.
Akainu was overflowing with magma.
"ACE!"
To everyone's surprise Akainu charged at Luffy.
"NO! STOP! LUFFY!"
Her soul screamed and her eyes widened.
Akainu dashed with his magma-fist at luffy who could not even stand by then. Right when she thought it was over; she saw someone else get penetrated.
"Ace..."
For a mili-second she felt she was dreaming. Then she felt her insides burn, as though she was on fire.
Ace burned inside Anne.
She had no energy left to scream. All her head screamed was Ace. All her heart pummeled was Ace. All her insides burned was Ace.
"A...Ace... Ace... ACE!"
...
She woke up,panting. Sweatdrops formed all over her body, and her abdomen burned again. Even after two long years she was having the same nightmare.
"Is...is it al...always going to...to burn thi.. this bad?"
She recalled asking this question over and over again to the man who treated her. She had been frozen for a long time after Ace was gone. And she could not remember anything that happened during that period. When she finally came to her senses she was with Boa Hancock, who, in due course of time had become her best friend, primarily due to her being Luffy's elder sister.
She could hear her crewmates from inside her room. Brook was singing his signature "Bink's sake" and the others chorused along. They had long left Fishman Island behind; and she could already say a lot had happened while she had been asleep.
Luffy was ecstatic getting his crew back. He had become undeniably stronger in the past two years, just like everyone else in the crew. She herself has trained hard, not only as a scientist but also as a sister who's promised to protect her little brother with all she has. She smiled as she recalled her last promise to Ace...
"I promise, I'll always watch over him..."