Warning: I try to stick to canon so this entire story is one huge spoiler up till Ch 568 of the manga. But it's totally AU from there on...
A/N: Merry Christmas! Thanks for your reviews. I'm glad some noticed that Luffy's going to Mariejois and not Impel Down. Reasons will become explicit in future chapters. Speculations and suggestions are welcomed. Apologies for all errors in advance.
Disclaimer: This is all respectfully borrowed from Oda's genius.
Chapter 1
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(Aboard the Sea Wolf)
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The first thing Ace sees when he opens his eyes is the ceiling. It is a wooden ceiling, illuminated only by speckles of sunlight leaking through flimsy curtains. The wood looks rough and unpolished, but sturdy and reliable, able to withstand wind and rain and high sea storms. It is dry at the moment, extremely plain and uninteresting, but Ace stares at it as if transfixed.
Who would have thought that the infamous Fire Fist Ace, 2nd division captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, could be so overwhelmed by the sight of a simple ceiling?
But here he is, looking up at the ceiling blankly, lost in the sensation of a warm bed, soft sheets and the familiar rocking of sea waves. Slowly, he nudges his arm out and reaches up towards the ceiling with his hand, marveling at the lightness of his wrist now that it is finally free of seastone restraints. Soft, clean bandages have replaced the heavy cuffs.
The hand is much like the ceiling, rough and unpolished but strong, with long, callused digits and well-defined knuckles. Ace lights his hand up and lets the flame dance from one fingertip to another. The naturalness with which he is able to perform these familiar motions sends a shiver down his arm.
This is the feeling of freedom. The feeling of being alive. The feeling he'd almost lost some time between when they first pushed him into the boiling waters of Impel Down and when he kneeled helplessly while watching his loved ones battle and fall around him at Marineford.
Clenching his hand into a fist and smothering the flame within it, Ace finally snaps out of his reverie and prepares to face the price paid to obtain this freedom. He was ready to atone for the injuries, even deaths, of numerous friends, nakama…and Whitebeard, his beloved oyaji. But the first thing his eyes alight upon when he sits up is the strawhat sitting placidly by his bedside.
He knows immediately that it is Luffy's strawhat.
Ace can recall those last few moments with uncanny clarity. The strawhat had been fastened securely around Luffy's neck when he landed on the execution platform beside Ace, grinning widely despite all his wounds. He then shoved a key into Ace's mouth and pushed him off the platform's edge without a moment's pause.
Ace remembers the taste of iron and copper in his mouth, both from the rust of the key and his own blood. He remembers free-falling until he was caught by Marco, swooping up in full phoenix form, followed almost immediately by Admiral Kizaru's attack.
Mostly, he remembers keeping his eyes fixed fiercely upon his little brother. He watched as Luffy wobbled on his feet, barely avoiding Admiral Akainu's blast of magma, and collapsed onto the ground. The last thing he remembers—just before Kizaru's kick landed squarely on his chest and everything went black—was the image of Luffy's dark, unmoving head and the bright yellow strawhat.
Now the strawhat's here, but Luffy is not. So why is it here and…where is Luffy?
Quashing down his rising unease and anxiety, Ace picked up the strawhat and hurries off in search of its owner. But the moment he steps out of the cabin door, he is surprised to see what seems to be half the 2nd division camped outside.
"Taichou! You're awake!"
"Finally! It's been 3 days!"
"You shouldn't be out of bed! Get back in, we'll call for a nurse!"
They leapt up eagerly when they saw him, loudly voicing their joy in his recovery and concern for his health. It is both strange and touching to see these men, all supposedly ruthless and uncouth pirates, being so caring…especially since they themselves are displaying a variety of injuries both big and small.
Ace has many words to say to them, both those of gratitude and of apology. However, there is something more pressing to be attended to, so instead he merely smiles and asks, "Does anyone know where my brother is? Luffy, I mean."
A sudden silence descended upon the group. The 2nd division members all looked at each other, not knowing what to say but hoping that someone else would be able to defuse the situation. Their reluctance to answer his simple question immediately triggered off an alarm in Ace's head. Abruptly, he pushes past them and sets off to find out the answer personally.
The other pirates he met along the way all greeted him with good cheer, but also answered with awkward silence when he asked about Luffy. Room by room, he combed the ship until he reached the deck. He did not find Luffy, but he found Marco, who was engaged in some furious discussion about what course the ship should take.
"Oh, Ace. You're up!" Marco greets him with casual ease upon spotting him, almost as if the war had not occurred, "How are you feeling?"
"Luffy's strawhat is with me, but he's not on this ship," Ace ignores his question and got straight to the point. "Where is he?"
Marco's previously cheerful face immediately darkened. "I'm sorry…that strawhat was all that I managed to get of him."
"W-what are you saying?" Ace asks, aghast, "Where is he?"
"The admirals went all out. They probably didn't want to lose another person…I wanted to keep trying, but the old man was in critical conditions and everything was in chaos so I had to...I had to…" Marco explained haltingly, but Ace was not listening.
"WHERE IS MY LITTLE BROTHER?" he demands a final time.
Marco sighs, full of weariness and regret. "I don't know. We left him at Marineford."
Ace froze, completely stunned by the admission despite having anticipated it. Then the implications began to sink in: Luffy had been left behind, abandoned, alone and defenceless, at the Marine Headquarters. And here he is, safe and free on the high seas. The situation could not be more cruel and abhorrent…he would gladly have died on that platform if it means that this reality can be reverse.
"I'm going back for him."
"Of course," Marco assures him. "We're already planning out the rescue mission. Our forces will be able to regroup and be ready for battle soon. A month, latest."
"No. I'm going back for him now."
"Don't be stupid! It doesn't matter if he's still in Marineford or sent to Impel Down, you're not going to be able to do anything by just being reckless," the 1st division captain snapped, "We didn't risk everything to save you just to have you throw your life away—" He stops short, realising what he had just said. Ace's face had gone pale and his fists are clenched so tight the knuckles flushed white.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way," Marco softened his tone. He has been under a tremendous amount of strain in the past few days and even his usually easy-going nature is becoming brittle.
"You don't have to apologise. You didn't say anything wrong."
It was an ambivalent moment that could have progressed in a number of different ways, but this was all interrupted by the frenzied arrival of Jozu.
"Marco! Ace! Come quick! Oyaji is awake and he wants to see all the captains immediately! He…he's not looking good!"
Without another word, they both dashed off after him.
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(Shakky's Rip-off Bar, Shabondy)
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"You demon! I've told you everything! Now give that back to me, it's mine!" Buggy the clown was glaring down Nami the Burglar cat.
"No, it's not. I don't know why Luffy gave it to a conniving bastard like you but he had no right to. This was on loan to him from me," she replied, holding the glass bracelet out of his reach.
"I already told you it was as thanks for my saving his ass back in Impel Down!"
"As if that could have happened! Tell me the truth!"
As she argued with their former foe, the rest of the strawhat crew loitered around the bar. Robin and Franky sat beside Nami, keeping watch over the heated exchange, ready to intervene should Buggy attempt escape or violence. Chopper and Usopp were enjoying a gigantic multi-coloured sundae at another table. Brook sat with them, leisurely sipping his tea. Zoro snoozed quietly away in a corner.
They'd all met up over the last few days, finding their way to the Sunny-go and each other via Rayleigh's biblicard. Only Sanji has yet to arrive.
"The truth? The truth is that I've got a hundred man crew awaiting my return and they're going to destroy you when they find out that you've been holding their captain hostage!"
"Your so-called crew dispersed the minute your ship touched shore, Mr. Clown," Robin informed him with a smile, "And your ship…seems to have sunk. I suggest it is to your benefit to cooperate with us."
"You…!!" Buggy's face turned red enough to match his nose, but then he caught himself and managed to calm down. "Heh, you haven't got much of a crew either. Since your captain's probably on his way to Impel Down right now, if not already in it! Sucker!"
"Hey, watch your mouth," Franky warned, holding up a huge fist.
Buggy looked like he had more to say, but then the doors of the bar suddenly slammed figure in the doorway was dressed in a tattered suit and looked like he'd just been spat out by a sea king. But there was no mistaking that blonde hair, long legs and curly eyebrow. Sanji had finally arrived.
His feverish eyes scanned the bar quickly and immediately zoomed in on Nami and Robin's table. Whilst everyone was waiting for him to say something, the cook fell to his knees and began to sob loudly, "Nami-swannnnn! Robin-channnn! I thought I would never see you again! Oh, such beauty! Oh, my angels! I must be in heaven! Oh, Mellorine heavennnnn~~~~ Mellorine! Mellorine! Mellorine~~~"
"Hi Sanji, welcome back!" Nami smiled, somehow more glad to see that he hadn't changed much than annoyed with his dramatics.
"Yohoho~ Everyone's here now!"
"Super! The ship is ready to set off at anytime!"
"You're late, Sanji," Usopp berated, still stuffing himself with mouthfuls of ice cream, "We've all been waiting for you. Cause Luffy's in trouble and we've got to go help him or something."
"Help him?" Buggy scoffed, "What, the 8 of you? A bunch of non-fruit users and a touring freak show? Ha!"
"Who're you calling a freak show, you stupid red-nose!" Chopper objected immediately.
"What's he doing here? Where's Luffy?" Sanji snapped out of his mellorine adoration and finally noticed their former enemy and missing captain.
"Oh, we ran into him while shopping for supplies…Have you seen the news yet?" Nami pushed a copy of the papers to Sanji. On the front page was a huge picture of the pirate fraction attacking Marineford, including Whitebeard, Luffy and also…Buggy. Beneath it was the bold headline '300 million beri Supernova Captured!'.
Sanji's eyes widened and the blood drained from his face. He'd been cut off from the world at large ever since he landed on that godforsaken island and this was the first time he was updated about everything that had taken place in the meanwhile.
"Shit."
"We chased Buggy down once we saw him to find out what happened," Nami continued, "He had Luffy's glass bracelet with him." She held up the little accessory Luffy had been wearing ever since they left Thriller Bark.
"Give that back!" Buggy raged, suddenly splitting his body and sending a hand flying towards her. Everybody reacted immediately, but Sanji was the fastest. He easily kicked the hand out of the air and pinned it to the ground with one foot.
"Don't be rude to ladies, you shitty clown," he sneered, grinding down with his heel and causing Buggy to hiss in pain, "Now tell me everything you know."
"I already told you people everything! I met him when he broke into Impel Down and he made a mess of my perfect escape plan. Then when we finally got out, he made us all sail to Marineford and join the bloody war because he wanted to save Fire fist Ace. Of all the dumb, crazy things to do!" the clown raged.
"And somehow, he managed to do it! But that's why he's been captured by the Marines! How can someone do something as mad and stupid as that and expect to get away with it? Of course he's been captured by the goddamn Marines!"
"Luffy saved Ace?" Sanji asked. It was just incredulous, saving a man from right under the blade of the Marine HQ.
"Yeah, but don't ask me how. It all happened too fast."
"Why are you here then?"
"I…I got the hell outta there the minute Whitebeard and his team left…"
"They. Left. Luffy. Behind?" Sanji's gritted the words out one by one. He's expression was calm, but inexplicably terrifying. Buggy quailed under his glare, "Well, eh, he was being guarded by like, 3 admirals and Whitebeard's forces were mostly depleted by that time um, yeah."
"We can't rely on others to protect our captain, after all," Robin cut in gently, "We'll have to do it ourselves."
"Heh. You've got that right," Zoro grinned. He had been awake and observing the situation ever since Buggy's attempt to snatch the glass bracelet from Nami. "We'll just break into Impel Down and get Luffy out. If our idiot captain can do it, so can we."
"Oi oi Zoro. You're in no position to call other people idiots," Chopper and Usopp chorused.
"Huhhhh." Zoro turned his glare upon them.
"We've very sorry. Please don't hurt us." They backed down immediately.
"You're insane! All of you! You think breaking into Impel Down is a walk in the park? Don't joke around, you fools!" Buggy snarled at them, "It's patrolled by a dozen ranks of grotesque creatures and demon guards, surrounded by sea kings in the middle of a calm belt. You won't even be able to make it there, let alone get someone out!"
The Strawhats crew merely looked at him, completely unfazed.
"There's a journey Luffy promised to take us on, and we're just half-way through it," Sanji said mildly, "We've still got a long way to go together, so we'll bring him back no matter what it takes."
"Wowww Sanji! You just said something really cool!" Chopper and Usopp looked up at him with glittery eyes.
"Stupid ero cook, speak for your own damn self," Zoro muttered, spoiling the effect of Sanji's 'cool' words.
"Damnit, Marimo! I'll waste you before those demon guards even get to you!"
"You can try, curly eyebrow!"
"Stop it, you two!" Nami knocked them both down with a punch, "I guess we're all set to go to Impel Down then."
"Yohoho, how exciting to finally visit the infamous 5 levels of Hell… Wait, I've already been to Hell!"
"Ok, Buggy, you lead us there."
"WHAT! No way I'm ever going back there! I just got out! Go by your own damn selves!!!"
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TBC
