It took me three months, but I finally got this continuation done! And what a monster of a chapter it is. More than 10,000 words, folks. This is a new record for me, that's for sure. Thank you for your patience, and for all your lovely reviews, favs and follows!
I proudly present to you here - the "World's Strongest" version of the Impel Down and Marineford arc.
Thanks to popular demand and the votes being pretty much equal, I have decided to write both the (semi) canon-compliant and escaped versions of Marineford. I won't spoil which one this is for you, so read on and I hope you enjoy!
A lone figure strode through the ghost town, teeth gritting around two thick cigars as a chill raised the hairs on his skin. There was something unsettling about the wreckage… Or perhaps the lack of wreckage in certain parts, as if whole buildings had been sucked away, leaving only an empty crater behind.
Booted feet came to a stop in front of a dusty object lying fallen on the ground. Bending, Smoker picked up the familiar straw hat, mouth twisted into a deep frown.
"Are they mad!? With this, we will be challenging not just Whitebeard, but the Revolutionary Army and possibly even Red Hair as well!" Tsuru snapped in a rare display of anger.
The Fleet Admiral frowned heavily as he sat behind his desk, the document that would seal their fates lying innocently against the wood. All that remained to be added was his signature, but they would be foolish to think that it was anything more than a mere formality. The Gorosei had spoken, and they had no power to disagree. "We can no longer have doubt, Tsuru. If even we are unsure, what will become of the Marines?"
Sengoku's grim gaze turned to the couch where his old friend sat, bent over with his face in his hands. "…Garp."
The Hero of the Marines closed his eyes, looking for all the world the weary old man that he was. They had grown old, all three of them, too old. "Do as you must."
With that, the Fleet Admiral of the Marines picked up his pen to sign authorization for the impending execution of the pirate Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy.
[6 weeks left till execution]
The figure in the dark cell lifted his head at the sound of footsteps, eyes lighting up with interest as he recognized his visitor.
"Shishishishi. This reminds me of a story Gramps told me, about how he visited Roger in his cell before his execution. I wonder if he looked as you do now, Smokey."
Smoker said nothing, puffing heavily on his cigars. The imprisoned pirate just chuckled again as he leant back against the cold stone wall. But his eyes were serious, bright orbs in the half shadow never leaving Smoker's hard grey ones. Silence fell between the two rivals, broken only by the scuffle of a small animal in the dark.
Finally Luffy's gaze went to the straw hat the Marine held under one arm, relief flooding his heart. He had thought it lost in the battle, vanished into the dark vortex of Teach's madness. But he couldn't keep it now; they would doubtlessly take it away from him.
"Hey, Smokey, hold on to that for me, alright?" He grinned, but it was a little tired. "And if I really die like this, give it to my little brother. I'll trust you with it."
Smoker let out a disgruntled noise, teeth gnashing irritably over his cigars, but gave no rejection, which made Luffy smile broadly.
Seemingly having finished what he had come for, the Vice Admiral turned on his heel to leave the dank prison that held his greatest nemesis. Just before the doorway he paused. "Don't you dare die like this, damn Straw Hat," he snapped. "I'm the only one who has the right to defeat you." With that he swept out of the room, leaving behind the faint whiff of tobacco smoke.
And for the first time since he had been captured, Straw Hat Luffy let out a loud, genuine laugh.
[5 weeks left till execution]
'On order by the World Government, we require your presence at the Marine Headquarters Marineford in four weeks to attend a Shichibukai meeting, to receive a briefing on roles during the execution of Monkey D. Luffy.'
"Elder Nyon, are you sure about this? Hebihime-sama would never agree to their summons, especially not in regards to this matter."
The Kuja elder frowned. "We shall cross that river when we reach it. But for now, we cannot let rashness endanger our people! Send this message to Marine Headquarters!"
As the girl left, letter in hand, the elder stared pensively at the grains of wood on the wall. How were they to get out of this muddle?
'I shall comply with the summons forthwith.'
Jinbe tore the summons to pieces and scattered the pieces to the floor. His dark eyes were cold like the blackest depths of the sea as he stared down the Marine Vice Admiral.
"I refuse."
[4 weeks left till execution]
Dragon steepled his fingers, sharp gaze sweeping across the room at the Revolutionary leaders gathered around the meeting table. The inner turmoil he was experiencing did not surface at all to mar the stoic expression he wore. For better or worse, this would be a turning point for all of them. He gave them all a moment to peruse the printed sheets of paper set before them before beginning to speak.
"Yesterday, we received yet-unreleased information from our contacts within the government. The execution of Straw Hat Luffy is scheduled three weeks from today, by order of the Gorosei themselves."
He slid another sheet of paper onto the center of the table. Murmurs rose at the sight of the wanted poster their leader displayed to them. The grinning youth in the photo looked barely more than a child.
"According to their sources, it is the government's intention to make it a public event, to be held at Marine Headquarters itself and broadcasted to the nearby islands."
Hack frowned. "But why? What's so special about this pirate, for the Marines to go to such lengths? I mean, his bounty is definitely an impressive one for his age, and he's been known to be sailing with Whitebeard of late, but otherwise he hardly stands out with the Golden Age of Pirates still going strong. It hardly seems logical for the Marines to openly declare war on Whitebeard for no apparent reason."
"No…" Terry looked thoughtful. "There must be more to this than meets the eye. Monkey D. Luffy… I remember hearing something a while back – isn't he the grandson of Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp?"
"The Hero of the Marines…" Joe frowned. "To send his own flesh and blood to the gallows…"
"It is true that Straw Hat Luffy is directly related to Garp. It is, however, not the reason for the government's actions." All eyes in the room turned to him at that. Dragon drew himself a little straighter in his seat. "There is one other connection that is not public knowledge, and in fact is only known to a handful of individuals in the world. That I was born Monkey D. Dragon, and this Monkey D. Luffy is my son."
Shocked silence fell across the room. Dragon's gaze swept through the room, seeing surprised faces and dawning comprehension on many as they quickly made the connections that it implied. And soon after that came the wide-eyed anticipation as they realized what this meant for him, for them.
He looked around seriously, meeting each gaze in turn. "I do not ask that you fight my wars for me. Perhaps this is born of my selfish desire to be a father. I do not deny it. But I believe that this is the opportunity we have been waiting for all these years. With this level of publicity, the Marines will have no chance to back off from our retaliation. We shall defeat them at their very own base which they have invited us into, before the eyes of the world. So I ask you this – will you take arms?"
The Revolutionary leaders glanced at each other. Finally Joe turned back to him and gave voice to everyone's feelings. "We go wherever you do, Dragon-san."
Dragon looked around, seeing no hesitation. "Thank you," he said sincerely, genuinely touched by his comrades' loyalty. "We will begin preparations at once. The world is waiting for our move, and this is where we shall take it!"
As the leaders dispersed to spread the plans to their respective teams, Dragon's gaze fell on a figure who had unexpectedly remained standing by the conference table, eyes locked unblinkingly on the bounty poster that had been left on its surface. He frowned. His young protégé was breathing heavily, face worryingly pale and pupils dilated as he scrunched up his eyes as if in response to a migraine. Concerned, Dragon strode around the table but the youth collapsed before he could reach him, drawing the shocked attention of everyone in the room.
"Sabo!?"
[3 weeks left till execution]
In the New World, a newspaper was crumpled in one hand as the captain ran his gaze disbelievingly over the headlines. Surrounding him loosely in a circle, the oldest crew members were pale-faced and furious.
Shanks stared out, instinctively, at the direction the Red Line laid. "…Luffy!"
Elsewhere in the New World, the Whitebeards prepared for war.
[2 weeks to execution]
"Where is Garp!?"
"The Vice Admiral has gone for a visit to Impel Down, sir!"
Sengoku stilled for a moment, clenching his fist. "Damn him! At a time like this! That free spirit…!" The men were already wavering in their trust of him regarding this matter, and he still does whatever he likes! But could they really blame him? The Fleet Admiral turned sharply, gritting his teeth. "…It's fine. Let him be."
It was at that moment that a lower ranked Marine sprinted into the office, purple-faced and panting as he saluted sharply.
"Sir! We've lost contact with the Marine fleet tailing Whitebeard, and the one following Red Hair as well!"
"Dear me… This is a fine state you've landed yourself into… Are you still breathing? Luffy..."
The bloodied figure in the dim cell lifted his head at the address. The youth's grin was visible even in the half-light. "Gramps!"
Garp sighed and sat down heavily before the bars. Honestly, this child. "…Why, Luffy? You could have become the world's strongest as a Marine. Why did you have to choose to be a pirate?"
A flash of white teeth. "Shishishi. Because I knew that only pirates are free."
Garp slammed his hand against the stone floor, the crack echoing around the prison cell. "Free! Would you call yourself free now!?"
"Yes." The shrewd light in the boy's eyes pierced Garp's heart. "Freer than you are, Gramps."
[10 days left till execution]
"What does a Government dog want with me?"
"I am Vice Admiral Momonga of the Marine Headquarters! Royal Shichibukai "Pirate Empress" Boa Hancock! I have come here to greet you!"
"I do not know nor care what you are here for. Return to where you came from." With that she whipped her hair back to return to her chambers.
Unwilling to give up with just a rebuke, the Vice Admiral threw something at them, which turned out to be a newspaper. "The time and place have been set for the public execution of Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy! There is no going back now!"
The Pirate Empress Boa Hancock froze mid-turn. Some would later swear that she shook as she took her next breath. "What did you say!?"
"The execution is to take place precisely one week from today. On that day, in the plaza of Marineford, Straw Hat Luffy's life shall come to an end. This compulsory assembly of the Shichibukai is an absolute order of the World Government! If you refuse to attend, the treaty is void! Your Shichibukai status will be revoked!"
"I ref-!"
"Sister!" Marigold hissed. "You must think of our people!"
Hancock took a deep breath, and stepped forward. Her inner turmoil was once again hidden completely behind the haughty sway of her hips. She landed lightly on the railings of the Marine ship, facing the Vice Admiral.
"I enjoy my position as Shichibukai. I would not want it revoked… However I detest the World Government. I refuse to comply with their orders. What say you to this…? The Marines who were sent to rendezvous with me… met a mysterious accident at sea, and were eliminated completely, their bodies turned to stone… Mero Mero Merrow!"
As the Kuja ship sailed away from the Marine ship whose crew had been reduced to one, Vice Admiral Momonga clutched the railings. "Boa Hancock! I will wait as long as I must. I will not go back empty-handed. If you do not return with the next two days, the treaty is void."
[7 days till execution]
"Hebihime-sama, we have discovered a man on the island!"
"Shall we kill him?"
Hancock stared down coldly at the dark-haired youth who had been cast at her feet, held down by her warriors. She raised her hand to tell them to dispose of him, yet there was something about him that nagged at her mind. She lowered her hand and stepped closer with narrowed eyes, much to the watching crowd's surprise.
"Oh, those snake-ladies are your little sisters? That's nice. I'm a big brother too!"
"You. Do you have any brothers?"
The youth glared up at her distrustfully.
Ran dug a heel into his back. "Hebihime-sama asked you a question."
The intruder remained stubbornly silent. As Ran pressed down harder in warning, instead of having blood well up fire licked the underside of her shoe, forcing her to let up the pressure or be burned. The atmosphere tensed at the sign of his ability, bows being instantly drawn in defense. Suddenly a figure pushed her way through the crowd.
"Please wait! This man, I do believe I know of him!"
"Marguerite, you idiot!" Sweetpea hissed under her breath, cursing her friend's ever-incurable rashness.
Hancock held up her hand as a sign for them to stay their attacks. The warriors lowered their bows obediently.
"Speak."
Marguerite bowed hastily. "Y-Yes, Hebihime-sama. I simply recalled a picture of his brother that Luffy showed us the last time he visited. The man in the picture resembles this person greatly."
"That would be correct. I do believe that this man is none other than the rookie pirate known as Fire Fist," a scratchy voice interrupted.
"Elder Nyon!"
The old woman hobbled to a stop in front of the youth, who was looking around at them with some confusion. "Your name is Ace, is it not? Brother to one Monkey D. Luffy."
"My little brother's name is Ace! See, this is his bounty poster! Fire Fist Ace… He's really grown up now, shishishishi."
Ace's eyes widened. "You know Luffy?" Well, it wasn't all that much a surprise, honestly. Luffy had a tendency of getting into all sort of scrapes and worming his way into your heart as a seemingly natural part of the process. He had personal experience with it himself. Still, what was with this weird place, why were there only women?
"Ah I see, you're Luffy's brother?"
Ace gaped as the formerly aloof Pirate Empress blushed profusely at the mention of his older brother. Girls were so weird. (He had long since learnt that if one found Kuina in an inexplicably homicidal mood, one would do well to watch one's way around her for the next few days as well. And don't even get him started on Kaya – that girl was usually the sweetest darling but when she got mad she was even scarier than Kuina. One did not want to find out what she could do with scalpels.)
On a bright note, the women warriors surrounding him were looking a lot less antagonistic now. Some were even smiling warmly at him. The circle around him loosened to let him stand. He immediately bowed, lessons drilled into him by Makino taking precedence. "I apologize for the trouble. My name is Portgas D. Ace."
The crowd tittered, a few giggles here and there. "What a polite young man," an older lady murmured with an approving smile. But after a while, several of them glanced at each other with concerned looks, recalling the event from two days ago.
Finally, it was Elder Nyon who voiced their thoughts. "Boy… Have you heard from your brother recently?"
Ace blinked. "I met him in Alabasta a few months back, but not since then." He took in their grim faces, heart sinking. "Is there something wrong?"
The Kuja warriors glanced at each other again. Marguerite sighed. "We were out at sea for quite a while, so we only found out recently ourselves, but Luffy was captured by the Marines about a month ago." She bit her lip. "His execution is to be held five days from now, at Marine Headquarters Marineford."
"WHAT!? Dammit, Luffy has always attracted trouble, but execution… That's a whole different matter altogether!"
Ace frantically dug around the brim of his hat until he found a small piece of paper, worryingly fraying at the edges. The elder's brows furrowed at the sight. "Does that vivre card belong to your brother? It is as I feared. The vivre card is also known as the "paper of life"… It indicates the direction and life-force of its owner. For it to be deteriorating like that…"
Ace cast his gaze around desperately, clutching the paper like a lifeline. "I need to save him! Please, lend me a ship!"
Ran shook her head. "You'll never reach there in time! It takes at least a week to reach the gaol by ship, and that's assuming smooth sailing! It'll be even longer to reach Marine Headquarters."
"I've still got to try! I can't just sit here and do nothing!"
The next interruption came from an unexpected source.
"No, there is one other way."
"Hebihime-sama!"
"By Marine battleship, the trip will take only four days." The Pirate Empress, who had stayed stonily silent until then, finally spoke in an unusually quiet voice. Clenching her fingers, she drew herself up. "I will bring you to Luffy."
[5 days left till execution]
"This is as far as I can bring you."
Ace hopped down and bowed politely. "It's already a lot further than I expected. I can't thank you enough for your help."
As he pressed his ear against the door to see if anyone was nearby, her voice stilled him.
"You will save him." It was phrased neither like an order nor a statement nor even a question… It told volumes about how uncertain they all felt about this situation, and the blind hope they were putting into it.
Ace swallowed. Did he dare give a promise? "I will," he told himself as much as her.
He slipped out of the room as Hancock removed the petrification on Domino and the snail, careful to avoid those in the corridor. He had gotten a fair bit down the hall before he heard footsteps that sounded way too near for comfort, making him shoot through the nearest door, fingers crossed for it to be empty. As the footsteps passed outside, his eyes swept the room and lit up with glee at his luck.
He had found the quartermaster's storeroom.
[30 hours till execution]
"A prisoner has escaped from his cell and is running loose in Level 1! Reports indicate that he is a Devil Fruit user, so stay on guard!"
"Yes, sir!"
Ace deftly joined the line of prison guards thundering down the hallway, blending in perfectly with his standard-issue grey uniform and cap. Another stroke of good luck! He could take advantage of this chaos to find Luffy. From what Elder Nyon had told him, a high profile prisoner like Luffy wouldn't be kept along with the masses, but he still gave the packed cells a cursory glance as he passed. A commotion from ahead told that the guards had found their target.
Wait a minute, he recognized that runaway.
"Psht, Buggy!"
The red-nose's yelp was muffled by a hand clamped over his mouth. He found his torso being unceremoniously dragged into a shadowed corner. Upon being released, he spun round indignantly to blast his unwitting captor to the high heavens, only to stop short at the unexpected sight that he encountered.
"You're…! Fire Fist! What, you got caught and sent here too!? Or wait, did you hear of the great me's capture and came to rescue me?"
"Like hell I did! I'm here to save my older brother! I need to get to Luffy before they take him away! Do you know where they would keep him?"
"Luffy? Wait, as in Straw Hat!?" Buggy's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Straw Hat is your brother!?"
"Oh, you know Luffy personally?"
"Your brother is one hell of an irritating guy, you know! Dammit, I knew you looked flashily familiar when I first met you, it must be because of that flashy bastard!"
"Anyway Buggy, you're going to help me find Luffy!"
"Whaaaaat!?"
Chief Magellan coughed, waving towards the cell. "This is the prisoner, Straw Hat Luffy."
It stabbed Hancock's heart to see her beloved hanging limply from those accursed seastone shackles that bound him. She was almost tempted to attack the guards around her and break Luffy out of there herself, but she had made a promise.
She was disgusted by the jeering and leering eyes of the prisoners, but knew that she could use it to her advantage. The Kuja empress cast her eyes innocently at the Chief Warden. "Oh, Chief Warden, I am so afraid!"
She hid her smirk behind a hand as the Chief Warden blew up in adoration and then rage. Men were so very predictable and even easier to manipulate, and the famed protector of Impel Down was no different.
At the sound of her voice, Luffy lifted his head, his eyes widening.
"Hancock?"
Using the pandemonium that erupted as a cover, Hancock leaned forward to hurriedly whisper. "Luffy, are you alright?"
Luffy brought a bright smile to his face. "Yeah, no problem! But what are you doing here? You can't break me out, you know. It'll be bad for you and everybody on the island."
'He's concerned about me! Could this be… marriage!?'
Luffy tilted his head. "Hancock?"
Seriousness returned to the Kuja empress' eyes. There were other matters at hand. "Luffy, darling, as much as I want to stay by your side, I am only here to give you a message."
"Sir, we've located the escapee Buggy the Clown! The guards are chasing him down in Sector B of Level 1! There're… two figures?"
"Sir, it would appear that aside from the prisoner Buggy the Clown, there is one other individual running loose in the hallways!"
"What!?"
[29 hours left till execution]
"GARP!" Sengoku raged.
The Marine Hero simply laughed until tears came to his eyes. "Bwahahaha! That boy! No matter what he says, he has his father's blood flowing in him, no doubt about it!"
As Sengoku stormed away, Garp's laughter quietened down as he stared out the window at the deceptively sunny day outside. But the tears still ran.
"Go, and do what I cannot," he whispered.
[27 hours left till execution]
Jinbe looked on upon his friend's pale-faced turmoil with worry. "Luffy-kun, can we really trust that that woman was telling the truth? What if it was a lie meant to unsettle you?"
Luffy shook his head without any doubt. "Hancock wouldn't lie to me! She's my friend! If she says Ace is here, then…" Luffy closed his eyes in frustration. "Dammit Ace! I'm supposed to be the one protecting you!"
"We have uncovered Fire Fist's motive! Fleet Admiral Sengoku says there's no doubt about it! The intruder Portgas D Ace and the prisoner we currently have in maximum security Monkey D Luffy are brothers! The intruder is here to free his brother, and has already breached Level 3!"
"Let them come, they will have no way to escape. I will personally be waiting for them here on Level 4."
"Chief Warden Magellan!"
"What was that explosion!?"
"Gyahhh, it hurts!"
"He set fire to the Chief Warden's poison and took the chance to escape! But he must have been hit as well! Send out a search party at once! He couldn't have gotten far!"
"The intruder Fire Fist Ace appears to have completely disappeared!"
"What!?"
"What's…with this…place?"
Ace's fading eyesight struggled to focus in the dim surroundings as he stumbled through the narrow passageway. Even the flame he had lit in his hand to guide his way didn't do much to dispel the pitch black that stretched on ahead. It was eerily silent in here, cut off from the bustle of Impel Down, and significantly cooler than the scorching heat of the prison level he had left behind.
He coughed, grimacing as warm dampness stained his hand. He had inhaled too much of Magellan's toxic fumes. The poison had hit him harder than he initially thought, and he hadn't been able to completely avoid the flaming projectiles his engineered explosion had caused. He'd used the mess to run, and had hit upon this location through an unseen door in the wall. The door had swung close automatically behind him, leaving him alone in the darkness.
Attention blurring for a moment, he yelped as he stubbed his toe on a slab of stone that sat higher than the floor. Lifting his torch up, he saw that it was a flight of stairs leading upwards. So this passageway was manmade after all. To the right of the stairs, the inky hallway continued on. It was strange that no guards appeared to be looking for him in here, however. Any sound of footsteps must surely echo through the passage from a great distance away, but he hadn't heard anything but his own movements since coming in here. But if the Impel Down staff didn't know of this, then who had made this?
Considering the passage, he decided to continue on to the right. He was trying to get down, after all, so there was no point heading up. There ought to be some stairs leading downwards at some point. His suspicions were proven correct a short while later as he found what he was looking for.
The passage got progressively colder as he winded down the long spiral staircase. Normally his fire would keep him warm against the chill, but he was finding it harder to control his powers with every passing moment. The flame in his hand flickered unstably every now and then, along with his vision.
Ace bit his lip. He couldn't pass out now, especially not when he was getting so close to his destination. He stumbled on the last step, cursing as his torch went out at the shock. Shakily he relit it and ploughed on to find either an exit or a way to go further down. Judging from the length of the stairs it was likely he had already reached Level 5, but it was hard to tell.
The fire in his hand flickered once, twice, and went out altogether. As his vision swam before blacking out altogether, his body slumping to the cold stone floor, he wondered if it was his imagination that he saw a faint light in the distance.
[25 hours till execution]
Ace awoke to the sound of chatter. As his vision slowly cleared, he blinked blearily at the rough stone ceiling that hung overhead. Where was he?
"He has awoken, Iva-sama."
Ace turned his head to come face to face with the most enormous face he had ever seen, standing right at his bedside. With a yelp he bolted upright and away, and would have fallen off the other side if not for a steadying hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he found that person to be quite as strange a sight as the other, with a clear color split of bright orange on one side and white on the other.
Shaking his head in bafflement, he turned his attention back to the oversized head (which he found to be connected to a disproportionately small body dressed in an open-neck leotard and fish-net stockings) when the vision started speaking with a little huff. (It was then he decided that this whole situation was part of a poison-induced hallucination. Wait, poison…?)
"That's no vay to treat your benefactors now, is it, candy-boy? Ve found you collapsed in our hallvays. That poison did quite a number on your body, you're lucky it didn't hit anyvhere nearer to the heart. You've been sleeping for twelve hours now."
Poison. Magellan. Impel Down. Twelve hours. Luffy.
"Twelve hours!?" Quick as a flash, he vaulted off the bed and streaked towards the door, heedless that he had no idea where he was, let alone how to get to where his brother was. "Luffy! I've got to find Luffy!"
Bursting through the wooden door, the sound of voices multiplied exponentially and he found himself in a bustling room filled with color. And okama. His jaw dropped at the dizzying sight, even as some of the crowd quietened and turned to look at him curiously. Was he even in Impel Down anymore? How had he gotten to this place?
"Vait, Ace-boy!" The strange head had caught up to him, squeezing through the doorway.
"I need to get to Luffy! How do I get to where he is?" he demanded.
The okama frowned. "I'm afraid I can't let you go to him just yet, Ace-boy."
Ace growled, flames flickering involuntarily in his impatience. "Why not?" he snapped. "Who the hell are you anyway?"
"How impertinent, speaking to Iva-sama in that manner!"
"Show some respect, you uncouth brat!"
The blue-haired man waved a hand at the crowd. "Be calm, my lovelies. His anger is understandable, since ve have yet to give him an explanation." Turning back to Ace, he fixed him with a serious look. "Ve have been vatching your actions vithin this gaol, Ace-boy. You vish to save your brother, who is being held here, do you not? Ve too have the same intention. My name is Emporio Ivankov, a commander of the Revolutionary Army. I am a comrade of your father, our leader Dragon! Ve have received instruction from Dragon, to break Monkey D. Luffy from Impel Down."
Ace frowned a little at the reference to his 'father', but didn't bother correcting them. They had obviously assumed that he and Luffy were blood-related. But did this mean that Luffy's father was The Revolutionary himself!? That must be why the Marines were so adamant about a public execution! Still, what did that matter in the present moment? Luffy's life was at stake, and they were just standing here talking.
"Then what are you waiting for!? We've got to get him out of here now!"
"You do not understand, Ace-boy. This is a matter of great delicacy. Right now, Impel Down is under strict surveillance by both its guards and the Marines. They are afraid of Whitebeard, and of our own forces. I have no doubt that they are avare of my disappearance from the cells they placed me in, and are even now vary of an attack. Seventeen Marine battleships sit outside this gaol, headed by no less than five Marine Vice Admirals, prepared for an attack from outside as much as the guards are prepared for an attack from vithin. Impel Down is a fortress, boy, even without this additional lockdown. I may have been able to create this land here vithin it, but even I cannot easily escape this place. Our only chance is to have a simultaneous infiltration from both inside and outside. And therefore I avait the sign of our comrades' arrival."
"So what do we do now?" Ace couldn't help the bite of impatience in his voice, even though he knew that what the older man had said made sense.
"Now, Ace-boy, ve vait."
[13 hours left till execution]
With a muffled gurgle the last officer dropped to the ground, leaving only four figures standing in the control room. Or at least three stood, with the last pressed against the wall.
"Yes, everything is fine here, sir!" the tallest figure barked into the receiver as his dark-haired companion surveyed the elaborate controls with scholarly interest, and their third comrade smiled sweetly at their shivering captive.
"Why don't you be a good boy and teach us how the controls work?"
[11 hours left till execution]
Ivankov's eyes were fixed on the monitors showing various parts of Impel Down. Suddenly his eyes snapped to one at the left, and following his gaze Ace saw a shadow flit over a corner. A small glint alerted him to something that fell to the ground within the viewing range of the monitor. It was a coin? Not quite, but a round piece of metal nevertheless. Squinting, he could make out a rough etching of a snake-like pattern on its surface, curling into a circle. No, it wasn't a snake, he realized with a jolt. It was a dragon. A dragon, the symbol of the Revolutionary Army.
Swiveling back to the large okama, he saw a vicious smirk blossom as Ivankov turned to the expectant crowd.
"Candies! The time has come! Do not worry about being seen, and trust that our comrades have disrupted surveillance from the path we vish to take. We must make our way downwards to Level 6 as swiftly as we can, and take out all guards before they can set up the alarm. Now," he paused, danger glinting in his eye. "Ve move."
[9 hours left till execution]
"Luffy!" Ace yelled as they burst into Level 6. "Luffy, we're here to save you!"
The older youth's eyes went impossibly wide. "A-Ace!?" his gaze darted around the room, sighting one unfamiliar face after another. "Who are-" Luffy paused to gape at the largest okama even as Inazuma stepped forward to remove his bonds. "Wow, your head's really huge, ossan!"
The surrounding Newkama-land residents almost fainted. "Ossan!?"
Ace couldn't help a weak chuckling laugh. Looks like Luffy was fine.
"So this is Luffy-kun's younger brother. But what a strange group of friends he has…" Jinbe murmured with interest.
"I am Emporio Ivankov, one of your father's comrades. Ve are here to free you, Straw Hat-boy."
Ace moved closer as the last of the chains fell away under Inazuma's scissors. He had intended to help his brother up, but the moment he came into reach, Luffy's fingers shot out to catch and pull mercilessly at Ace's cheeks, stretching them out.
"Ow, what the hell, Luffy!? I'm not rubber like you, that bloody hurts!" And for that matter, how was Luffy keeping a hold on him even despite his best attempts to escape using his powers?
The older male pouted disapprovingly, pulling a little harder. "That's for making me worry." The next moment, Luffy threw himself onto Ace in a tight hug. "But thanks for coming for me. Shishishishi, I never thought the day would come that I would get saved by my little brother."
"Hey, I'm strong now!" Ace protested, but he smiled and hugged back just as warmly.
Luffy perked up suddenly in thought. "Ah right, Jinbe! Iva-chan, can you free him as well? He got thrown in here because he didn't want to fight Oyaji, he's a really good guy!"
A shake of the Shichibukai's head stopped them. "No, Luffy-kun. I thank you for your concern, but it would be best if I stayed. I could not willingly go to battle against the old man, but with this turn of events, it is enough for me to know that you are safe. There are others protected by my position as Shichibukai, and so if I forfeit my position, I would be endangering more than myself and I could not do that to them. You need not worry about my wellbeing, Luffy-kun. The government will presently release me after the danger of war has passed."
Luffy nodded, expression uncharacteristically serious. "I understand. I'll see you in Fishman Island, then," he still insisted, eyes seeking out a promise.
Jinbe smiled, familiar with his friend's stubbornness. "Indeed. Now go, Luffy-kun."
Hands on hips, Ivankov drew himself up to his full height, determination glinting in his eyes. "Let us be on our vay! Ve'll leave this hell behind!"
"Iva-san! Over here!"
They dashed out of the front doors to be greeted by the sight of a smiling young woman seemingly floating on the surface of the water. A slight movement of the water however revealed that she was crouching on a large raft-like structure.
She waved. "It's good to see you, Iva-san!"
"Oh, you've become so beautiful, candy!" Koala smiled and hugged the okama. "Where is Sa-boy? He did not come vith you?"
"He did, he's just being silly. He's with the others preparing the ship. Anyway we've got to hurry, especially if we want to get everyone across onto the ship before the guards catch on to us," she urged as she waved them onto the raft. When everyone had scrambled aboard, the Revolutionary rapped a sharp rhythm onto the wood to signal to those below. "Take us away, Hack!"
She turned to the others, eyes bright and wearing a wide fearless grin. "Hold on tight, guys! It's gonna be a bit of a wild ride!"
That was all the warning they got before the raft started streaking its way across the water, powered by the fishmen pulling it along underneath. They reached the marine battleship in less than a minute, and immediately set upon the numerous ropes left hanging for them to use.
A cannon ball landing just to the side of the ship rocked the water, causing those waiting to climb the ropes to cry out in shock at the jarring motion. "They're onto us already!"
"The escaped prisoners are onboard that vessel! Open fire and corner them! As long as we do not open the Gates, they have nowhere to run!" Vice Admiral Onigumo yelled out to his subordinates, who immediately set off to carry out the order.
Koala bit her lip. This was what they had been worried about. The battleships packed an enormous amount of firepower by themselves, but the true danger was from the Vice Admirals who had been stationed here, each of them seasoned fighters. If any of them got within range of their ship, it may as well spell the end for them. Onigumo was the one currently nearest to them, but she had no doubt that the other four were fast on their way from their stations around the gaol.
Making up her mind, she tossed her post-boy cap to the nearest person. Good thing she had the forethought to wear her wetsuit today.
"You all get on the ship as fast as you can! I'm going in to help them!"
Before they had any chance to process what she meant, Koala dove straight into the water.
"What the hell is with that water spout!? It's like it's alive!" One Marine yelled as he and the surrounding sailors scrambled to get out of the way as it crashed into deck, causing a gaping hole in the wood.
"The gunpowder's getting soaked!"
"Watch out, they just keep coming!"
"Fishmen! There are fishmen attacking us from the water!"
"Incoming cannon ball!" someone yelled from above deck.
"No problem, I've got this!" Luffy returned before puffing up and bouncing the ball straight where it came from.
"Death Wink!"
"Hiken!" Ace yelled out as he set fire to the sails of the battleships on their tail. It caused some panic amongst the Marines onboard but he frowned as he realized it didn't do much against their approaching speed, as they were all utilizing the back-paddles in this windless sea. Turning to glance behind him, his eyes widened as a huge steel structure loomed before their vessel.
Several others had realized their impending problem as well, crying out. "The Gates!"
"Don't worry! We've got it covered!" one of the Revolutionaries who had been stationed on the ship yelled as he ran past. Several of them were preparing to release the sails, helped by a few of the former Newkama-land residents.
And crouched on the ground with her arms crossed and eyes closed in concentration was a familiar figure the fire-wielder had not expected to see.
"Miss All-Sunday!?" Ace yelped.
Nico Robin smiled secretively as she relaxed her hands and stood. "It's nice to see you again, Fire Fist-san."
In front of them, the Gates creaked open.
"What the hell!? Why are the Gates opening!?"
"Keep firing! Don't let them escape! They cannot be allowed to escape!"
"What are those damn guards playing at!? Connect me to the generator room at once!"
"Sir! We are unable to contact them at all! Chief Warden Magellan is heading there personally himself to check!"
Vice Admiral Onigumo gritted his teeth. "He won't make it in time!"
At the signal, the two fishmen and one girl shot up simultaneously from the water to land on the ship, spraying seawater across the deck. Koala shook her short wet hair out of her eyes, grinning victoriously.
"Alright, Robin-san, close the Gates now!"
Everyone watched with baited breath as the great steel doors slid close behind them, just before the first of their chasers reached it. The wind picked up the moment they entered the current, and it didn't take long for them to leave them Gates further and further behind.
Silence fell for a long moment as the reality of it registered in their brains, before one escapee sank to his knees in strength-sapping relief. "We made it," he whispered. "We actually did it! We've escaped from Impel Down!"
The former prisoners burst into excited murmurs that soon rose out into a full out celebration as they hugged and cried.
Luffy stood watching the Gates of Justice shrink slowly into the horizon. A warm hand curled around his and he squeezed back, knowing that it was his brother.
"I still can't believe that you saved me," he teased.
Ace made a face, equally playful. "I bet I could even beat you now!"
"Shishishi, in your dreams."
Footsteps sounded behind them, the slow click-tap of boots on wood, and he felt Ace turn but he still couldn't remove his gaze from the misty Gates. It was only when he heard Ace gasp and his hand slip from his in shock that he finally twisted around.
The man who stood before him was familiar yet unfamiliar.
He was tall now, no longer the gap-toothed child he remembered, already a little taller than Luffy and likely to grow taller. But even though the burn scar over one eye was foreign, the quiet firmness in those blue orbs was unmistakable.
Luffy took a half-step forward then paused, eyes raking over the other disbelievingly. To his left, Ace was in a similar state of speechlessness, working his jaw up and down until he finally managed to croak out, "S-Sabo?"
Sabo shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Hey guys…" A moment later he was knocked straight over by two uncontrollable projectiles, the three of them falling with a thump onto the wooden deck.
"SAAAABBBOOOOO!"
Sabo bit his lip to keep the emotions at bay, but finally gave in to the same tears that streamed down his brothers' faces, hugging back tightly.
"I'm sorry for not keeping contact."
Sabo spread a map on the deck in front of them, waving the other two to shift into a small circle. He glanced at them. "Have you heard of the Tarai Current?"
"That's where we are right now, aren't we? The Kujas explained it to me," Ace contributed. "It's a whirlpool current which connects Impel Down, Enies Lobby and Marine HQ that can only be used by the Marines?"
"That's correct."
Luffy nodded sagely. "So it's a mystery current."
"…Right." Sabo sweatdropped as Ace chuckled, but a fond smile quirked the corner of his mouth. His older brother didn't seem to have changed at all. "Anyway, the reason the Tarai current is classified as Marines-only is because it can only be accessed from three points – the Gates of Justice at the three respective locations it connects, which is both an advantage and a potential danger for us. We've bought some time by closing the Gates at Impel Down, so the Marine ships cannot immediately give chase. Ideally we want to exit at Enies Lobby, which ought to be the least guarded of the three locations in the present time. We have arranged for my comrades from the Revolutionary Army will meet us there."
Ace frowned, brow furrowing. "Wait… If I remember correctly though, doesn't the current from Impel Down send us past Marine Headquarters first? Isn't that dangerous?"
Sabo nodded. "That was exactly our biggest concern about using this route. Due to the predetermined route of the current, we have no choice but to pass by the Marineford Gates to reach Enies Lobby. This means that there's a very high possibility of an attack from Marineford as we near it. And that's why we've enlisted the help of a certain group with rather similar intentions to ours, to provide for us some protection against the Marines."
"That's right, so you don't have to worry. You can leave Marineford to us," a new voice added as he approached.
Luffy's eyes widened as they alighted upon the familiar figure of the shark fishman. "Namur!?"
"Namur-san was helping Hack with ferrying you guys over just now," Sabo clarified.
The Whitebeard commander grinned toothily. "It's good to see you, Luffy."
The youth's eyes enlarged further as he realized what this meant. "Then, Oyaji and the others too…?"
It was Sabo who answered, with a small, vicious smile. "The Marines won't know what hit them."
At Marineford, the tension was already running high even as the sun slowly moved across the sky. Suddenly a few of them jolted, watchful gazes sighting something.
"There's movement in the distance!"
"Stand at guard! They're here! It's a whole fleet!"
"It's the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"Dammit, where did they come from!?"
"Reporting, sir! In addition to Whitebeard's own fleet, we've counted a total of 43 pirate ships, all New World pirate captains with known affiliations to Whitebeard! They have surrounded us completely!"
"Fleet Admiral, sir! We have urgent correspondence from Impel Down! The prisoner Straw Hat Luffy has been broken out from prison and has entered the Tarai Current in a stole Marine ship! Reports indicate that this is the doings of the Revolutionaries! In addition to the imprisoned Revolutionary leader Emporio Ivankov, the intruder Fire Fist Ace was also spotted with them, along with Whitebeard's commander Namur!"
"Sir, he's not making any moves! Whitebeard is just waiting!"
Sengoku grit his teeth as the reports swept in one after another.
Tsuru's brow furrowed, lips twisting into a frustrated frown. "He knows," she said, and he already knew without a doubt that she was correct.
The Fleet Admiral's eyes swept across the pirate ships surrounding them. The Moby Dick sat proudly right at the mouth of the bay, their allies spread across in a circle around Marineford. This was not an offensive formation… It was a plan to seal them in, and prevent them from chasing after the escaped prisoners!
It had been a risky business since the beginning, inciting both Whitebeard and Dragon into action. But now that it had become clear that they were working together…
Things were looking very, very bad.
"Then we reached a sky island that had these huuuuge…"
The two brothers blinked as their third brother face-planted onto the deck. "Ace?"
Both Luffy and Sabo let out relieved sighs as the sound of slow steady breathing reached their ears. They looked at each other with fond grins.
"He's just sleeping. Here, I'll take him to the cabins. You should rest too, Luffy. It'll take another two hours to reach Marineford," Sabo told the older youth as he hoisted the now-snoring Ace onto his back.
"Yup, let's take a nap together!"
He really should have expected this as he felt his older brother's hand curl several times around his wrist. He hesitated, his mind and heart warring with each other. He really wanted to spend as much time as he could with them, but he had his duties as the leader of this mission.
"Luffy, I have-"
"Go with them, Sabo-kun. Like you said yourself, it'll be a few hours yet before we pass Marineford. You've hardly gotten any sleep yourself these past few days. Robin-san and I can deal with anything that comes in the meantime."
"But Koala…"
"No buts!" Koala crossed her arms resolutely.
"Oh, you're Sabo's nakama, aren't you? I like you!" Luffy said with a grin, his face extending in his rubbery fashion into her physical space. "My little brother has been in your care! I know that he can be stubborn and works himself too hard a lot of the time, so thanks for taking care of him!"
"O-Oi, Luffy!"
Koala grinned at the rubberman. "I expect to hear lots of stories about Sabo-kun as a kid later, mind!"
"Hey Koala, not you too!" Sabo spluttered as his older brother and best friend laughed together at his expense.
"Now shoo, we'll wake you guys when we're about to reach."
Over at Sabaody, unease and speculation were starting to disrupt the gathered crowd as they watched the live footage broadcasted from Marineford. More than one reporter chewed nervously on his bottom lip, checking his watch every other minute.
"It's Whitebeard!"
"Whitebeard has arrived…!"
Finally one person dared to voice what everyone was thinking. "But where is the prisoner?"
Rakuyo couldn't help the wild grin that spread across his lips. "We've got this. They're stuck, and they don't have Luffy."
Something stirred uneasily in Marco's mind, however, and he scanned the rows of Marines repeatedly, trying to pinpoint what was setting his instincts off. It was hard to tell from this distance, but he finally realized what was wrong and dread pooled in the pit of his stomach.
"No..." He was already pushing away from the railing, eyes wide as his body moved automatically. "Shit, they've one-upped us, yoi. The Admirals! The three Admirals are not there!"
The three brothers stumbled onto the deck, having been awakened by Robin. Or to be exact, several of Robin's limbs sprouting out of the wall. (To which Sabo was entirely too used to, Ace was slightly freaked out, and Luffy wanted to recruit the "mystery arms" until Sabo reminded him that they belonged to Robin and Robin was a Revolutionary. That said, he wasn't sure his brother had entirely given up yet).
"Koala, what's the situation?" the blond barked out, taking his place at the helm.
"We're approaching the Marineford Gates! Estimated to reach in ten minutes!"
The blond's expression was grim. "Everyone, stay on your guard. Whitebeard and his allies may be keeping the battleships in, but the Marines may surprise us yet." His worry deepened at the sight of the wide-open Gates.
"Shit! The water! The water beyond the Gates is freezing up!"
Sabo cursed. "Aokiji!" He raised his head to shout. "Watch out, they've sent the Admi-" An explosion overhead cut him off and almost threw him off-balance as the foremost mast burst into flames. The unseen projectile slammed through the other two masts as well, rendering them useless. "Kizaru…" he hissed. This was bad. And he knew it could only get worse…
"Ryusei Kazan."
"We've got to get off this ship, fast!" he yelled, heart thumping madly as he just managed to avoid a magma fist then another as he streaked across the deck. He had switched the ship's engine to full power and steered the course of the ship towards the Gates, but the ship was failing before their eyes and they were still too far…
"DEATH WINK!"
Sabo gasped as the entire battleship lurched forward out of the current into the calmer waters surrounding Marineford. They landed near to one of Whitebeard's allies' ships, whose crew immediately threw ropes to those who had dived overboard to escape the flames.
Sabo coughed, trying to find his brothers through the smoke. But even as he ducked between the flames, his body felt strangely cold. He was… No! It wasn't the same, it wasn't, he was supposed to be over this already, but he could feel pain lacing across his skin that had nothing to do with the fire that surrounded him now…
"SABO!" a hand shot out to grab his forearm through the flames and he raised his eyes to meet Ace's relieved ones. Something must have shown in his eyes, for his brother's grip tightened. "Come on, let's get out of here. Luffy, I've found him!"
Almost in a daze he followed Ace's guiding hand to where their eldest brother stood at the edge of the deck. They didn't bother slowing down even as they neared him, for the flames were already licking at their backs, and Luffy seamlessly wrapped one arm firmly around them, the other stretching out to the neighboring ship's mast.
With a twang the arm went taut and they shot across the sea even as the battleship with a final explosion sank to the bottom of the sea.
The captain of the ship immediately set up a cry to the others. "We've got Luffy-chan! Set sail!"
With victorious cheers the crew burst into motion, as did the surrounding pirate ships.
Luffy grinned widely as the captain turned to them. "Whitey!"
Whitey Bay smiled at the energetic youth. "You've stirred up quite a bit of trouble this time, Luffy-chan."
"Shishishishi…"
A crackling sound filled the air as the sea around them froze into ice. A martial light entered Whitey's eye. "Trying to lock us down with ice, are they? But they've underestimated us if they think this will work. My ship can cut through any ice, Admiral-made or not. Just wait, Luffy-chan, I'll get you to Oyaji in no time."
As the captain said, they made good progress, but glancing back Ace noticed that the other ally ships were still stuck in the ice. Suddenly, a boom resounded through the air and all the ice splintered as the sea rocked with waves. The sound of his older brother chuckling delightedly made him swivel his gaze back to the front. Ahead, an enormous whale-shaped white ship sat right in the center facing the Marines, and on its bow a tall man stood proudly.
His mouth went dry. So that was Whitebeard.
Beside him, his brother's grin was blinding as he dashed to the railing. Luffy sucked in a long breath. "OYAJI!" he yelled, the call bouncing over the waves.
Even from the distance, he saw the sunlight glint on the old man's smile.
Luffy turned back to his brothers, still beaming. "Come on, you're coming with me to meet Oyaji!" Luffy declared with cheerful absoluteness.
They barely had time to register the meaning of that sentence before he had looped his arm around both of them together, stretching the other out to the Moby Dick.
"O-Oi, Luffy!"
"Just wait a minute-"
"Shishishishishi!"
Any protests they would have made was cut off by the air rushing past their ears as they rocketed towards the Whitebeard Pirate's flagship.
A bright light to their right made Sabo squint his eyes, cursing the sun before he realized with a sinking heart that the sun ought to be in the other direction. Shit, Kizaru! They'd been too careless, thinking that they would be safe! Ace's curse and Luffy's arm tightening protectively around them told that they had also realized their problem.
A flash of blue streaked across their vision. The Admiral and Whitebeard's first division commander solidified in a clash that sent shockwaves across the field.
"Whoops," Luffy said as the wind sent them off course and they crashed straight into the mast.
Ace and Sabo swatted him simultaneously over the head. "What do you mean, 'whoops'!?"
Luffy pouted. "It's not my fault…"
"Like hell it isn't!"
Before Luffy could come out with any more ingenious excuses, a booming laugh swept over them. "Gurararara!"
Luffy's mouth split in a grin. "Oyaji!" he greeted as he bounced over. Rubbery arms towed the two of them along with him. "These are my little brothers!"
As the shrewd eyes of the old man swept over them, they both bowed in synchrony. "It's nice to meet you, sir."
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard chortled, very much amused by the display of politeness so unlike their brother. "You're very welcome on this ship. Any family of my sons is my family as well."
A crash reminded them of the fierce battle still ongoing nearby. The two fighters in the air were clashing at such speed that Ace had trouble following their movements. He bit back a tight grin. So this was the level of the New World, was it? Kizaru, who had defeated his whole crew so easily back at Sabaody, was being matched move for move by the blue-flamed phoenix.
"Oyaji, they're setting battleships after us!" someone yelled from the crow's nest, punctuated by the sound of multiple cannons firing.
Before the pirates could take action, a strong gust of wind swept the cannon balls off-course, the sea becoming choppy with rolling waves. The Marines cried out as they struggled to keep their balance.
In the distance, a ship approached through the mist. Murmurs erupted as many instantly recognized the infamous dragon-shaped ship, even before their gazes alighted on the cloaked figure standing upon the bow.
Upon on the empty platform, Sengoku gritted his teeth. "Dragon!"
A moment later, the heavens opened up to send a torrent of rain down on them, obscuring their vision and ruining their gunpowder.
By the time the rain let up, their targets were all long gone.
On this day, Impel Down suffered its most crippling defeat to date, with the escape of maximum security prisoner Monkey D. Luffy along with 26 other prisoners. Later in the day, they would be faced with another even more devastating breakout orchestrated by Blackbeard Teach. At Marineford, faced with the combined forces of Whitebeard and the Revolutionary Army, the Marines had been unable to recover the escaped prisoners.
For some it was a relief to come away from the event without the major casualties on both sides many had predicted. But to some others, whose hearts stewed with rage and wounded pride, it was quite simply put, a disaster of the worse kind.
A sharp gust of wind was all the warning they got, but it appeared to be enough for their older brother. Seemingly by reflex Luffy bent over backwards, just avoiding the sandaled foot that shot out in an arch towards him.
"Marco, he's injured dammit!" the doctor shrieked.
The blond responded by applying a punishing punch to the top of Luffy's head, this one which he took without dodging.
But instead of bouncing right back up again, the rubber man let his head hang the way it had fallen. His hair, a little longer than he usually wore it, draped over his face and shadowed it. Marco crossed his arms, expression unreadable as his eyes never left the younger man.
Even the incensed medic quietened to just watch the face-off between the two.
"Do you understand why I hit you, Luffy?" Marco asked in a firm yet gentle voice.
Still not looking up, the youth slowly shook his head, but they could see his teeth bite down on his lower lip in an effort to keep his emotions at bay.
Marco sighed, stepping closer. He placed a hand on the boy's head.
"You gave us a real scare back there. Don't do that again, alright?" Softly, he swept his hand across to lift Luffy's fringe away from his face, to reveal over-bright eyes that stared desperately at him.
Turning his head, Luffy looked around at all his friends and family who surrounded him, watching him with such kindness. They had come all the way here, not caring about the dangers they would face, just to save him.
"I…I'm sorry!" All his bottled-up emotions, all the uncertainty he had been feeling for the past few weeks, bubbled to the surface in tears that spilled down his cheeks. "And… And…A-and…" he rubbed at his face futilely, finally giving up as he dissolved into a blubbering mess. "THANK YOU, EVERYONE!"
Ace and Sabo traded helpless smiles, shrugging fondly as the crowd swept around their brother. Somehow they ended up in the center and a pair of rubbery arms came around to hold them tightly. And they held on just as tightly, because it still felt like he could disappear.
"Let's party!"
Ace grumbled, flopping backwards onto the wooden floor of the crow's nest. "Luffy was the one who wanted to watch the moon together, and he's the one who's late!"
"Well it wouldn't be Luffy if he didn't do things like this, would he?" Sabo returned with a soft laugh.
Ace chuckled. "Well that's true."
Sabo leaned back as well, staring up at the sparkling cloudless night sky. The merry-making still continued below them, likely to go on until daybreak and beyond, but Luffy had told them to meet him in the crow's nest before disappearing somewhere.
Sabo glanced sideways at his brother. "So, what are your plans after this?"
The fire user sighed. "I need to get back to my crew, we promised to meet in Sabaody, I'm a few days late already. As for after that…" Ace chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip. "After seeing what I have over the past couple of days, I think it would be better for us not to head to the New World so soon. There's just still so much out there that we can't even begin to imagine… I'm thinking that we should get stronger before crossing that border."
"You can come sail with us, you know," a familiar voice cut in.
The two brothers bolted upright. "Luffy!" "You're late," Ace added in a scolding tone.
"Shishishishi. Anyway, how about it, Ace? You can train with Marco! His Devil Fruit has flames just like yours."
Ace's eyes widened. Train with the Whitebeard Pirates?
"Oh, that's actually a pretty good idea, you know. And not just Marco the Phoenix, it'll be good for you to train with some other Logias too," Sabo, who had been listening interestedly until then, contributed.
"Yeah, like Jozu!"
"But my crew…"
Sabo gave a thoughtful hum. "About that, Dragon-san might be able to point you towards where each of them are." At his brothers' questioning looks, he clarified, "You said the Shichibukai Kuma was the one who separated you, right? It's not common knowledge, but Kuma is a member of the Revolutionary Army. It is likely he reported to Dragon-san after the incident."
"…EHHH?"
"Shishishishi, it's decided, then!"
"EHHHH!?"
Sabo started chuckling at Ace's baffled expression, which set Luffy off as well until even Ace couldn't keep up his sulky look and joined in.
Sabo glanced up at their older brother. "Anyway, Luffy, what took you so long?"
A bottle was set down with a thump between them in lieu of an answer. They turned to see Luffy's wide smile as he flopped down to sit between them, three sake cups held in his other hand.
"Hey, have you guys heard?" Luffy quipped as he poured the sake out into each cup.
"If you exchange drinks," Ace continued without missing a beat.
"You can become brothers," Sabo finished, eyes blurring a little.
Luffy grinned at them as they each took one cup. "Ten years ago, we exchanged drinks and became brothers. We may all be part of different crews now, but the bond of brotherhood we share will never die! No matter where we are, or what we do… This is one bond we can never break!"
Their eyes shone as they looked at each other. They clinked their cups together, identical goofy grins on their faces. "To freedom!"
As always, please do leave a review!
Notes:
1) Shanks - Some of you may be wondering, where is he? Just like in canon, he was held up by Kaidou. And while he was affected by the news of Luffy's impending execution, he resolved not to actively come participate in the war to honor his promise with Luffy.
2) Hancock is very obviously in love with Luffy, and helped Ace get to Impel Down entirely for Luffy's sake. Luffy ended up on Amazon Lily by chance about two years ago while he was sailing alone through the Grand Line. A similar sequence to the canon Amazon Lily arc occurred, resulting in the current situation. Luffy comes to visit once in a while, the most recent time being when he was chasing Blackbeard in Paradise, and it was also then that he showed off Ace's wanted posters to the Kujas. In this timeline, Marguerite has also started sailing with the Kuja Pirates, just like in post-timeskip.
3) Sabo is a member of the Revolutionary Army, but he is not yet at this point of time the Chief of Staff. He is also, while strong in his own right, by no means anywhere as powerful as his post-timeskip self. If I would make a comparison of power, Luffy would be at post-timeskip level, while Ace and Sabo would both be at a similar level to pre-timeskip Luffy. (PS - This fic was originally written before the information about Sabo's amnesia came out, but has since then been edited to account for that)
That's it for now!
You've probably guessed that the next chapter will feature the other ending to the Marineford. It's currently still in the making, but hopefully it won't be quite so long a wait this time. So stay tuned! Till next time!
