Ace frowned slightly as he read the newspaper, it seemed like the whitebeards were turning the whole grand line upside down looking for their commander, it didn't seem like they had understood that he was in the prison yet at least, which surprised Ace a little, but then again, Marco was a strong pirate with an extremely high bounty, being captured by the marines was probably not the first thought they got, they probably thought that he was injured at some island, or worse. Dead.

"It must feel horrible to lose someone and not knowing what happened to them" Ace thought, also he didn't question their frenetic search, if it was Luffy or Sabo, Ace would have done the exact same thing.

"I wonder how Marco feels about this, if he even knows…" Ace thought, he just couldn't help but wonder how it felt to have your family looking for you while you sat awaiting death.

Ace kept this thought's up as he walked the long way down to the block where Marco was at, he was planning on feeding him a bit and tend to his wounds, he still hadn't decided if he should tell him about what his crew was up to though…

After Sengoku had discovered that Ace had been the one to take care of Marco he had put him in charge of Marco's health, Ace had thought he was going to get a big ass punishment and was so surprised when Sengoku agreed with him about at least make sure he dosen't starve to death or bleed to death, he WAS a whitebeard commander after all and no one really wanted his wrath brought upon them only because they didn't feed a guy.

The amount given was not much, it was only enough to barley keep him from starvation, Ace didn't like it, he was starting to look thin.

As Ace walked up to the cell Marco was occupying he frowned, he looked REALLY thin, also he was starting to look unhealthy pale and the wounds seemed to refuse to heal ,Ace knew this was a bad sign, it could mean that Marco didn't eat enough nutrients which meant that his wounds couldn't heal as they should, also that his body would have a hard time making up for all the blood loss.

Ace opened the cell door and sat down next to Marco, Marco looked miserable and didn't even look Ace's way, neither did he show any sign of even noticing the man entering.

"Hey, I brought food" Ace said quietly, when Marco didn't answer Ace started to get a bit worried, maybe he was so weak by now that he had passed out?

Maybe the Marines had gone too far with the starvation and torture that they had actually killed him?

As Ace kept his panicked rambling continue in his head, Marco slowly opened his eyes, looking down at the dirty cell floor.

"Do you think they miss me"? he asked quietly

"….huh"? Ace, answered after a few seconds of using all the intelligence he could master coming up with a good answer.

"my family… do you think they miss me"?

"Ohh… well"

"They haven't found me yet, it's been 3 weeks" he whispered.

I felt a pang of unease at the tone his voice had, it sounded almost defeated, and I didn't like it. It didn't fit him, he was supposed to be strong, right?

RIGHT!?

I sighed deeply and hit him over the head.

"Shut up damn it!"

I said in an annoyed tone, and as Marco looked at me with a hurt expression, I sighed once again.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I told him.

"Your family is looking for you all over the grand line. They are practically tearing it apart to find you." I looked at him to see his eyes wide with tears in them, although I could not tell if it was from happiness or sorrow.

"I didn't want to tell you, because they won't find you. There is no clues that you are being held here, and even if they knew, it wouldn't be possible to break in here and get you out in one piece. You are too heavily guarded. Also, your execution is to be held a secret until the very last minute to avoid confrontation or interactions". I almost whispered out the last part as I saw the hope in Marco's eves die out. I didn't know why, but it pained me to see him like this.

I wished I could have seen him in his full power, in his glorious days with the whitebeards. It must have been quite the sight.

"Would you like to tell me about them"? I asked before I could stop myself, looking at him with curious eyes.

He looked surprised for a moment, but gave a small smile and nodded his head, starting to tell me about his life as a pirate.

I leaned back and listened, amazed by the stories.

After a few hours a was on my way to bed, I was thinking about the stories that Marco had told me about his family.

It sounded amazing to say the least, and they sounded like good people.

"Well they should be since Marco likes them so much" I thought.

Marco was a good person, even if he was a pirate, he had honor and pride. And just thinking about how his crew is tearing the grand line apart to find only one man…

If someone from the Marines disappeared they were to be thought of as dead. Maybe if it was a high rank Marine they would search for him or her, but a normal soldier? No.

"It seems like pirates have even more honor than the honorable marines" Ace thought in despise.

"I wish I have never even joined the damn marines, but it was for my brothers, not for me.

And come to think about it, as long as I'm here, i might even do some good." And with that thought, I walked up to my desk and began to write.

-OMAKE-

Whitebeard was sitting in his chair looking out over the ocean.

He was beyond worried, Marco, his strongest son had been missing for some time now, and he was starting to lose hope of ever finding him.

He knew it was a possibility that he was already dead considering what had happened that dreadful day, but he couldn't let that thought get to him.
Marco was strong. And he had to have faith in him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the voices of his children, they seemed excited about something.

He watched as Thatch ran up to him screaming words he didn't quite understood, but took the newspaper he was handed.

And as he read the article, he understood why they had such and reaction, and continued to read with wide eyes.

Marco the Phoenix Captured and awaiting execution

A few weeks ago today, Marco the Phoenix was successfully captured and is now awaiting execution at the prison Impel Down, where torture and starvation is just a regular day, says a reliable source.

"Yeah, torture is just as normal as breathing in impel down, sometimes you can almost hear him scream 2 levels up, not as much everyday thought since he is barley allowed to eat, but there is this guy that for some reason always tend to his wounds and makes sure that he gets something to eat. I don't understand why, we don't owe him anything really."

It was during a storm that the Marines managed to neutralize and capture the notorious pirate that is known to be Edward Newgate's, also known as Whitebeard, second in command.

Whitebeard is currently searching the entire grand line for his missing crew member, destroying everything in his path if needed.

Just how far will he go to get his commander back?

The execution is scheduled February 15th on Marine ford.

The article made whitebeards blood boil.

February 15th was a mere week away, and his eyes were black with hate and rage as he looked up.

"Set sail for Marine ford". He ordered, no one protested as they set sail.