Hope you'd enjoy!
The strongest man in the world, the Pirate King's rival, the man who can shake the earth. These were the examples of the names that were associated with Edward Newgate, more known by the name Whitebeard, and the captain of Whitebeard Pirates.
Ace had never seen him in person, but he had heard of stories about the man and his battles with Roger, how their fight could destroy an entire island and take out an entire ecosystem and part of the sea. One of the Yonkos, the 4 most infamous pirates in the New World - including the Pirate King - he was the closest in terms of power and exploit to the Roger himself, with the only reason Roger coming on top being the discovery of the ever mysterious land of Raftel and the great treasure of One Piece.
(He was Roger's biggest rival and threat, and yet from the way Rayleigh tells it, he was also the one his father respected the most our of every other pirates. Though it doesn't mean that they won't be wary of him and his crew, if there is a genuine lesson his father ever taught him, is that one can be your biggest enemy and can still earn your respect)
Under Whitebeard's command were a large amount of men split into 16 division, all of them who were loyal to a fault towards their captain. A few in particular stood out, especially the commanders of those 16 divisions, known to be some of the most powerful men even on New World, and this person in front of him right now, with that infuriating smile, light gaze and disarming posture was the strongest, and most notorious amongst them all.
It made sense now why Shanks and the others were sent out for a little port town like this, and why both him and his dad forbids him from coming along. They're hunting down Whitebeard's right hand man, after all, and while he was no Whitebeard, he was still dangerous on his own rights. Even Ace, in all of his recklessness against unknown enemy can tell, and right now, Marco's eyes and entire attention are zeroed in on him.
Ace never flees from a fight, but right now, he's pretty sure it's more about whether or not he can flee.
Marco the Phoenix chuckled lightly, "Now what's with that look, hm?" he asked, removing his talons from on top of the now dead man's mangled body and let it transform back into a human leg with a burst of blue flame, "I did just save you, you know, there's no need to—"
To avoid being attacked, he has to attack first; it was something Ace learned as a method of survival, and it had never failed him before. The palm sized fireball that he managed to produce in the short time the man had been talking sailed through the air and towards its target, exploding right on his face and should've distracted him well enough to allow Ace to turn around and make his escape.
He didn't get very far away, when there was a suddenly gust of wind behind his back and he found himself slammed against a wall, both hands held up high by his wrists and a larger body between his legs, effectively trapping him.
In reflex, Ace lit his entire body on fire in hopes to deter the blonde off from him, but the heavy weight over him didn't falter and the hand holding his wrists only held on tighter. Through the raging blaze, another engulfed him, cool like the breeze from a spring wind, "Impressive, but i'm afraid that doesn't work on me," a voice broke through his quiet burning, a calm and still infuriatingly amused face so close to his partially framed by blue wisps of fire. A fire that defeated his own, healing faster than his could harm.
He didn't relent, increasing the intensity of the fire surrounding him in hope that at one point he'll heat up enough to push him away. Marco's eyes lit up, almost like he wanted to laugh mockingly at him, and Ace tried so hard to kept focusing on his determination to get this man off from him and not to the sight of their mingled flames, a reminiscence of twilight skies, with the shadows around them as the remaining brushing of dusk that was slowly chased away by their lights.
All of the sudden, Marco's expression changed, slowly losing the amused edge on his face. Ace was just about to celebrate in his persistence and especially as the hands around his wrist began to go slack, yet instead of jumping away from him, the older man grabbed one of his hands and pushed him to a small alleyway, smaller than the one they had been standing on. Startled, Ace lost his concentration and his fire died down, leaving the entire road unlit once more.
Ace wanted to protest and struggle some more, but he was pushed once again against the wall, a hand clamped over his mouth in such force it hurts. He didn't have time to be angry when Marco shushed him, his voice so close to his ears that he can feel the breath that came out with the gesture against his nape and ear, "Don't make a noise," the man murmured, pressing even more against him, "They're here,"
Who, he wanted to ask, and if he could ask. As it is, however, the fire logia felt his chest stuttering and his breath hitching when he can feel Marco's body heat against his own, naked chest against partially naked chest.
The sound of hurried footsteps entered his hearing, immediately making him stiffen for a very different reason. He could hear men - plenty of them, in fact - approaching to where they were hiding, and as soon as they stopped near where Ace would've guess they had been earlier, he heard cursing and outrage, "That fucking bastard must've been the one who did this!" a man said with an angry growl, followed with a murmur of agreement, just as equally incensed, "Shit, i told Presto this plan won't work, what the hell was he thinking?! Now we got both Roger and Whitebeard up our asses, and Whitebeard is a no show! He sent his fucking parrot at us instead!"
There's a grunt right next to Ace's ear, clearly a muffled sound of displeasure, and even in the current situation, he can't help but snort at the fact that apparently, Marco the Phoenix hated being referred to as any other avian type.
Marco lifted his head, putting himself back to Ace's periphery with one eyebrow raised. Ace bit his lower lips, a gesture that the man obviously felt, but did little to hide his own amusement, even narrowing his eyes, daring Marco to forbid him to find humour at those men's words. Ha, serves him right. He should've been glad that it's very obvious that they cannot get caught by these men or else, Ace would've implemented Luffy's ingenious escaping tactic and lick his palm to have the blonde let him go.
"We better report this to the boss so we can plan our next move soon," another voice murmured, a lot more nervous than the angry voice before, "The guys saw Red Haired Shanks patrolling around the area earlier, and that mark on Cisco's body could only mean Marco the Phoenix got to him. We're doomed if we got ambushed by both,"
"He's still warm, one of them has got to be close by,"
"Hey, check this out,"
As the footsteps moved even closer to their hiding spot, Ace felt himself tensing along. In front of him, Marco was staring at the alley's entrance, eyes fully focused and patient. Why he didn't attack these men like they thought he would was beyond him, but it's getting harder to breathe right now with how hard the man was pressing against the lower part of his face.
"What's that? Burn marks?"
"It is, mighty big too. What about it?"
"It's new, that's what. Did the patrol guys also said they saw some kids walking around town with Roger's tattoo on his back?" he heard some rustling of cloths, and from the entrance of the alley, Ace can see the men's shadow shuffling about, getting closer to where they hid, "Roger's kid a fire logia, he must've been sent out too. As if our problem isn't big enough right now,"
Another man scoffed, and even though Ace felt like doing the same - him, being allowed to get involved in anything as exciting as this? Joke of the century - the urge died down the moment he heard what the man said, "That kid? Yeah right, as if anyone didn't know he got that bounty because he's daddy's little princess," the man let out an insulting bark of laughter, "Probably got his devil fruit for a birthday present or some crap like that. Precious darling 'Prince of Pirates' probably didn't know the first thing about fighting,"
Different men in that group voiced something else, but whether they were agreeing or disagreeing for him Ace couldn't tell on account of all voices being muffled by the sound of his own blood rushing to his ears. He knows there are people who still think that, who thinks he's nothing more than his dad's tailcoat rider and thought of him as sheltered because of how well known Roger's type of parenting was. It slowly died down lately, after he showed himself capable, but every time he comes across someone who was ignorant of this, he can't help but wanting to show them.
And show them he will indeed.
With flaming hands, Ace pushed Marco away - and the man was obviously distracted enough that he can do this - before running towards the moth of the alley way, arms already forming a massive ball of flames on both sides by the time he jumped out and surprised them. He saw one of the man, a burly one with an ugly sneer became as shocked as the rest of them, and as he pulled one of his fist back, preparing to launch the move that earned him his nickname, Ace growled, "Think again, asswipe,"
With a single blow, fire burst with so much intensity that they covered an entire 3 blocks, burning everything that wasn't a stone or metal structure on its path. The screech of terror and the smell of burning flesh was incredibly satisfying, and even more when he finally let his fire died down seconds later and saw nothing but charred remains on the floor, including the one man who had invoked his wrath in the first place, all of them barely distinguishable from the ashen ground that marks where his fire had been before.
Ace grinned smugly, but the pride didn't last long when he suddenly heard noises coming from all different directions, the sound of men alerting one another and the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps, even more than the group he had just killed.
Before he can react, he was yanked back by his upper arm, and turned around to see Marco looking at the direction where the noises came from with a frown, before tightening his grip. When the sound of approaching army became closer, Ace lit up his other free arm, planning to execute yet another burst of fire to take care of them when said arm was also grabbed and pulled back, effectively trapping him, "Let me go!"
"No," he was yanked back again, this time none too gently, and Marco's voice held a hint of impatience, "Don't kill them off,"
"Don't tell me what to do! Let me go!"
His struggle, once again, was in vain, when Marco seems unbothered by the massive flame on his arms and kept holding on with a grip harder than steel. Soon, the men from earlier gathered, at least 5 times more than the group he just dealt with, all with their weapons drawn and approaching from all different sides. They're surrounded.
Not that it means anything, Ace thought, gritting his teeth at the sneers and cocky faces around him, as if they thought they had him trapped. He doesn't even need his hands, all he had to do was just lit up his legs and make the ground burn—
"Hold on tight,"
"Wha— Aah!"
But before he can commence with his idea, without warning, the freckled youth was spun around and had his previously bound arms looped around muscled shoulders. He didn't even have time to react when blue flames once again rose around him, and he was airborne. So surprised by this outcome, Ace held on tighter, yelping in panic and clambering up against a solid form that does not feel like they belong to a human any longer.
And rightfully so, because he turned to find a beak attached to a bird-like head instead of a human's face, ringed eyes glancing at him with the same half lidded look that Marco perpetually had on as they glided over even the town's tallest building. The Phoenix suddenly dived down, ripping another gasp from Ace at the abrupt plummeting and churning in his stomach and when he opened his eyes again, panting heavily, the young pirate found himself laying on his front on the bird's back, still holding on to slender neck as tightly as he could.
He wanted to shout, berating the zoan for scaring him like that but the moment he opened his eyes, Ace can't help but feel amazed by the sensation of flying. Strong wind was blowing against his face, the sight around him had changed from the alleyway and the men who had trapped them to the starry night sky and he could even see Oro Jackson on the distance.
"Wow," he muttered low under his breath, unable to hold it back.
The avian form beneath him quivers, followed by a melodious chortling sound, vibrating nearby and it took him a while to realize that the Phoenix - well, Marco - was laughing. The dark haired logia could feel his face reddening at being caught, throwing his face away from the face at the end of the long neck that had craned backward to meet his, "Shut up,"
After a while, they slowly descended down, until they landed on top of a flat roof of what seems to be a residential building. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Ace rounded Marco, mid transformation and hissed, "I could've taken them,"
"I know you could," the blonde man said, and unlike before, there wasn't a trace of amusement or signs that he was only humouring Ace. He's not sure if that's a good sign or not, but at the very least, his slowly flaring temper was not provoked further and that's enough for him right now, "But then that'll be 2 days worth of recon out of the window for me, and i can't have that,"
"Recon?"
"Reconnaissance, you know, observation," the teasing tone was back, and to show that he did not appreciate the humour, Ace crossed his arms and scowled deeply. Marco only chuckled at his reaction, and at that point, whatever good graces he may have had with Ace was gone. If he realized that, he doesn't seem to care, the amusement back on his eyes and tone, "Long story short, they're pirates, they took something from my captain, i'm here to take it back. I know they're based somewhere on the edge of the town, near the forest lines, but there's no guarantee they also kept the item i need there as well,"
Ace wasn't really expecting him to share that, but now that he did, he can't help but comment, "Well, why don't you just take one of them and have them spit it out? Pretty sure since they're already so scared of you, they'd talk,"
Why is he even exchanging this near civil conversation? It's not like Marco's holding him hostage or anything, he can just leave now and tell Shanks and his dad that he found the guy they're looking for. So he can't take credit for defeating Marco but that had been why he was out here in the first place. If he run fast enough, he should be able to reach Oro Jackson before the zoan caught him again.
But then, he knew now that it won't be that easy to escape from him.
Marco laughed again, light and almost condescending, "Good idea, but sadly, brute force is… not my thing,"
"Said the guy who killed a man by skewering him with talons," Ace scoffed.
"May i remind you that it was to help you?"
"I don't need your help," the younger replied bitingly, his frown deepening and volume rising, "I could take care of him just fine, he was close enough that i can burn him,"
"And you were close enough he could stab you with his sword,"
"I'm a logia,"
Marco took a step closer, and despite his posturing, Ace found himself taking a step back in return. He did not like the smiles and laughter directed at him, but Ace found that he disliked the serious and almost stern expression on Marco's face even more. It reminded him that he had spent the last few seconds talking to one of the strongest men in New World, and if Marco took offense in anything he said, then right now, there's no one around to help him, "Logias can't deflect swords encased with seastone gems," he said gravely, "And based on what i saw earlier, he would've put it straight through you before you can finish burning his sleeve,"
Ace fell silent, unable to think of a rebuttal. He crossed his arms even further, almost hugging himself and threw his face away from facing Marco.
In the silence that ensues, he heard Marco sighed, "This is as close as i can get without being spotted by any of your crew member," he said finally, "And we should be far enough not to get pursued. Head back to your ship and g—"
"There they are!"
Almost simultaneously, the two of them turned to where the voice had come from, somewhere on the grounds underneath where the roof they had been standing on. And not just on the grounds, there are multitude more of them approaching, some already climbing to the rooftops, and there are far more of them than there had been on the alley before.
A familiar hand grabbed his upper arm again, making the younger turn to see grave blue eyes looking down at him, "Jump over to the rooftop on your left and once you reached the grounds, you'll find an alley with several abandoned carts. Just keep running through that, take every right turns and you'll be back on the docks without any of them spotting you. It'll be too dark for any of them to see so don't fight, don't use your fire, and you'll be fine,"
Ace wanted to tell him that he doesn't want to flee, but the urgency in Marco's voice made him falter, and he found himself nodding, "What about you?"
"Don't worry about me, i'm going to distract the— Ggh!"
A distant and familiar sound of gunshot was heard and Marco lurched forward all of the sudden, almost bumping to Ace. When the older man's hand immediately flew down to his waist, with wide eyes, Ace watched as red began to seep through the blue fabric of the man's belt and the trimming of his pants, injuring him in a way that not even his fire had been able to earlier.
Seastone, his mind shouted at him, remembering what Marco had told him earlier as well. These guys chasing after them has seastones at their disposal.
Another gunshot was heard again and Marco's knees buckled, which would've sent him falling down if he hadn't been holding on to Ace's arm and if Ace had been too slow in catching him, "Marco!" he called out in panic, trying to help the blonde to stand up only to be pushed away and was left staggering backward.
"Don't worry about me," the zoan hissed, gesturing with his chin to the direction of the other rooftop near them, "I'll be fine. Leave, take the route that i told you to and keep running until you reached the docks. Don't even think about fighting back, there's too many of them," when Ace was still rooted on the ground, unsure, he frowned and barked loud enough to pierce through the sound of distantly approaching pursuers, "Go!"
Ace ran without looking back, down the rooftop, to the grounds and before long, finding the alley way that he was supposed to go through. No one was around, just as Marco said, and he could see the alley that he was supposed to take and could even see parts of the docks. All he needed to do was run through it and Oro Jackson would be there, a safe haven, and he can tell his father about his discovery like he had planned to.
But instead of doing so, he turned at the sound of rising commotion behind him, glancing up to the rooftop where he had been a while ago. He watched, vision partially hidden by the edge of the flat roof as three men held down Marco, who barely seemed to fight back, when a fourth approached and suddenly whacked him on the side of the head, so hard that even from where he was, Ace could hear the sickening crack sound of metal meeting bone.
Marco fell, disappearing out of his vision, and Ace felt his stomach churning.
"That was easier than expected," one of the men said, voice distant but still audible enough in the night's silence, "That's also one problem down, at least. The boss wants us to take him back to the hideout, so get to it. We already made too much noise tonight, if Roger Pirates caught us too, then we'd really be in trouble,"
As the men began to leave one by one, with heavy feet and even heavier heart that he ran as fast as he could back to Oro Jackson.
He wasn't even surprised to see that Roger was waiting in his, Luffy and Sabo's bedroom, arms crossed and face red in anger and worry. Behind him, Sabo and Luffy knelt down with Rayleigh standing next to them, both wearing a sheepish expression and obviously having received scolding and berating, and both winced when Ace entered the room in a hurry and he shouted, "Where have you been the whole night, young man?!"
Roger was rarely angry at them, and the times when he did, the three of them would take it seriously. But right now, Ace couldn't find it in himself to muster a smidgen of regret for being found out for sneaking out of the ship as he hurriedly blurted out with wide eyes full of urgency, "I found him!"
The captain frowned, sharing a look with his first mate, "Found who?"
"The guy you're looking for," he said in a rush, heart still beating fast inside of his chest, "I found him and he—"
He saved him, he got captured by another group of pirates because of him, and now, even though Marco is his father's rival's men and therefore an enemy, Ace couldn't leave him like that. His conscience wouldn't let him, not when the sight of Marco's falling body after his head was struck kept playing over and over in his mind all the way here. Marco, who distracted those men long enough that he could escape, who killed the man who almost killed him…
Ace may be a pirate, but he's one who knows how to repay his debts, damnit. Even to his enemies.
His train of thought was interrupted as he was pulled into a bone-cracking hug, "Oh, my little brave and reckless ray of sunshine, why would you risk that?! I told you, it's dangerous! Why do you never listen to me, Ace? I was so worried,"
"Dad—"
His protest was stopped by the sloppy kisses peppered all over his face, Roger's moustache tickling and scratching all over his skin, "You have to promise me you'd never do this again, Ace, my fiery baby lapin, if anything were to happen to the three of you, my three colourful and lively jellybeans, i'd be absolutely devastated, i won't know what to do with myself,"
"Dad, he—"
"The Dagroot Pirates are dangerous and there's many of them, i don't want you to ever go near them and yet you still go and found where they're hiding, i don't know if i should be angry or—"
"Wait," with wide eyes, Ace pushed his father away, just enough that he could look at him in the eyes, "Who?"
Roger looked briefly confused, as he spoke, "Why, the men i had Shanks looking for in this port town, the Dagroot Pirates. We had some unfinished business with them, and they are extremely dangerous, too dangerous for three little boys to take on their own,"
He began to launch into a story about a kingdom three islands away, whose king was a good friend and ally to the Roger Pirates. Said king was assassinated 3 nights ago, leaving the kingdom in chaos and sparking an internal civil war amongst the nobles for the throne's succession, while the king's son, the rightful heir and prince had used the chance to immediately contact Roger about the situation.
But instead of requesting for assistance in winning the war to gain the throne that was rightfully his, the prince had instead asked the Roger pirates to hunt down the pirate crew who had a hand in his father's murder, the same pirate crew who had gained notoriety as of the late in purposefully attacking territories belonging to other pirates. What their end goal is, no one knows quite yet, but every pirate crew jealously protected their territories and it was with this determination did they ended up docking here, where the pirates were last seen.
In other words, Ace was woefully mistaken.
Marco the Phoenix was not the one his dad had been looking for.
*Narrator voice* It was at this moment that she knew, she doesn't have any fucking idea how to write a slow-burn.
In my defence about the whole flying thing though, i watched Howl's moving castle during break and while writing this. it just kinda stuck around in my head now.
Thank you so much for reading and for all of your kind words, i'm so glad you also liked this new story! Updates may be shorter than usual due to irl and i want to keep my semi-regular updates, but we'll see how that goes.
Let me know what you think and i hoped you liked it!
