And another chapter! This one is slightly...well, it's more serious than the others. My first attempt at such a thing, I do hope it meets your various levels of approval, random anonymous masses of the internet-lurking members One Piece/Fairy Tail fandoms.
It was mostly written after watching the final, dramtic episodes of the Whitebeard War Saga...and cemented Whitebeard, now and forever, as the most awesome man in Anime/Manga. There might be other characters of Dragon Ball level power, cosmic entities like the Lord of Nightmares (Slayers) and more, but nothing is as undeniably awesome as Whitebeard. And I will write a conflict between any character and Whitebeard to prove it! At least, characters I actually know. Can't write an informed character without actually knowing it, can I?
And yes, I will write Whitebeard's name in bold whenever not writing it in a story. He's just that awesome.
So yeah, hope you enjoy it.
As afterlives went, this one wasn't so bad. Sure, the fact it was just an endless white void was no great shakes, but he could live with that thanks to the pair of logs and the cosy fire burning away warmly in front of them. Not to mention the sake! It was some of the best he had ever tasted, and as far as he could tell the jug never ran out and kept the drink at the perfect temperature. He noted that for some reason there were two sake cups. He realised, quite sourly, after the first few hours – at least he thought it had been hours, it was hard to tell the passage of time in a white void where you didn't get hungry or tired – that no matter how much he drunk he could not get drunk, which rather ruined the point of drinking in the first place, didn't it? Nevertheless, he kept drinking in the hopes he could overcome this seemingly supernatural sobriety if he just stubbornly kept going.
The fact he was dead was a bit depressing, Ace was forced to admit.
When he first appeared here, he had been so worried about Luffy. His idiot of a little brother must feel so horrible right now. Ace had been there to share his grief when Sabo had...Ace had wiped his eyes at the thought, glad none of his nakama were there to see him now. Eventually though, he realised he could do nothing now, and that Luffy was not alone, not anymore. Jinbei had been there, at Luffy's side. Not to mention his little brother's wonderful crew. It was a shame he would miss out on seeing how they went, that "Pirate Hunter" Zoro had a dangerous look about him and Ace had been hoping to see if the guy would really one day match Hawk Eyes. He chuckled, thinking about the stories he had heard since Alabasta. If half of the rumours were true, Luffy had somehow recruited a cyborg shipwright of all things. He had to shake his head at the thought, knowing that only Luffy could end up with a crew that ranged from a bounty hunter, a lethal chef, a talking reindeer, a hardened criminal who had been hunted since her childhood –hadn't she been his enemy in Alabasta or something? – and a shipwright who was half-metal.
'He'll recruit a zombie next' Ace thought to himself.
"Is this seat taken?" a soft, demure voice broke him from his thoughts and Ace reacted without thinking, leaping to his feet as flames spiralled around him.
Staring at him, completely calm, a beautiful woman in an obviously expensive dress with long blonde hair raised a curious eyebrow at him. She had a small amused smile on her face, widening when Ace's cheeks went red. The pirate spluttered stupidly, dragging the flames back into his body with an air of embarrassment.
Rubbing the back of his head, Ace gave the mysterious woman a bashful grin. "Sorry about that ma'am, you caught me by surprise."
"Don't apologise, it was my fault for startling you." She replied calmly, eyes crinkling with amusement. "I'm Layla Heartfillia, a pleasure to meet you."
Ace gave a polite bow, those long ago lessons from Makino not forgotten in the least. "Portgas D. Ace, ma'am," He tipped his hat to her as well, a learned affection that came to him naturally in the presence of good looking women. For some reason it felt...natural.
"So, is it free?"
"Huh?" Ace stared at her, their eyes meeting for a moment as confusion ran over his face before comprehension broke through; "Oh, the log, yeah. Sorry." He grinned in an embarrassed way again.
Layla laughed; a pleasant sound. "The circumstances are rather unusual; I can't blame you for being a little out of it. And please, call me Layla." She sat next to him, controlling her long skirts with a grace from years of practice.
"Sure thing ma- Layla. You can call me Ace." He added, not entirely sure why. "What did you mean by the circumsta-...oh, right. So..." he searched for the right words before finally just blurting out. "So you're dead as well?"
Nodding, Layla reached down for one of the sake dishes and somehow returned with a wine glass. Taking a sip of the alcoholic drink, which happened to be her favourite red, Layla elaborated. "For some time now, I think. Its rather hard to tell here."
Ace agreed with her. "Have you just been wandering around the whole time?"
Layla tapped her chin delicately. "I think so. It was rather uninteresting, to be honest." She said with a laugh.
He laughed with her, glancing out at the white void. Of course, it mattered little where he was looking; the endless plain of white just went on forever in every direction. He could not not see it.
"So" he began, for lack of anything better to say after a minute of silence when the laughter faded. "How did you..." he trailed off, uncomfortable with asking the question.
"How did I die?" Layla finished for him without batting an eyelash. "I was ill."
"Ah." Ace nodded, not willing to push it any further. While there had been no specific lessons on the etiquette of asking someone how they died, Ace was fairly certain Makino would have told him it was rude.
They remained silent for a few minutes, simply enjoying the company of another person in this strange afterlife.
"A guy made of lava punched me." Ace confided, breaking the silence.
Layla stared at him for a moment, the strange statement processing in her brain. It was a little unusual, and she thought it would make an interesting obituary. Of course, she decided not to voice the thought.
"He was about to hit my little brother." He continued apparently unaware of the oddity of his statement. "And, well, I couldn't just let him do that!" his voice rose slightly.
A small frown came to Layla's face, and she considered the young man. He certainly looked like someone used to fighting going by the scars. The strange fire magic from earlier was indicative of an exciting life at the very least. "Of course not."
Ace nodded, some dam inside him breaking. "He...he...Luffy is an idiot, he can't think sensibly for five minutes. I've always looked out for him, y'know? I even asked Makino-chan to teach me proper manners and everything so I could thank Red-Hair for saving him. When I saw him falling into the harbour, so intent on saving me, the one who is meant to be looking after him, it felt like I was going to die then and there! That whole time, watching him fighting the Marines I don't think I've ever been so...proud of him. Proud, and scared." Ace buried his head in his hands, overcome with emotion. To be fair, he had died and as traumatic events go its pretty high up there.
He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Ace looked up into Layla's open, welcoming face. He felt safe talking to her, telling her these very personal things. It might have been the woman's air of kindness, or the fact he as dead so what harm could it do anyway, but he felt like he could say anything.
"I was so scared he would die, that one of the Admiral would get him." Ace continued quietly when he had collected himself some more. "We had to save him from crocodiles, me an' Sabo, and there he was standing up to three of the most powerful Marines in the world without fear. To save me! Because I wasn't strong enough! I wasn't strong enough to beat Teach; I wasn't strong enough to escape on my own! Because I wasn't strong enough, he had to come and save me." Ace fist came down on the log harshly, and Layla idly wondered if they could be hurt since they were already dead.
There was little she could say, and in any case the pirate was not finished. "He saved me, opened my chains with a wax key and we...we kicked arse!" stray tears leaked down his cheeks despite his best efforts. "Nothing could stop us, fire and rubber! Until Akainu" Ace hissed the name vehemently. "I saw it, and I had to stop it! I had already failed Sabo, failed to be a big brother. I couldn't, I just couldn't let it happen. Even though they would all miss me, pops and Marco and everyone, I just had to do something. Sabo would never have forgiven me if I had let our little brother die.
"God, I'm so...worthless." he spat the hated word, the word which had tormented him since he was a child.
The hand on his shoulder tightened, and an edge came to the woman's voice. "Don't say that. Don't ever say that." Startled by the strength in her voice, Ace stared into Layla's eyes. What looked at him was made of diamond. "No one is worthless. Your brothers valued you, your family, everyone. You say that you're worthless?" Her voice softened, but whatever it was in her eyes was still hard. "Your little brother loved you, and I'm sure it he would hate to see you like this. And love is always worth something – worth everything. You loved him, and he loved you. That is all that matters. You're so worried about him, aren't you?
Jose has nothing on her eyes, the pirate thought distantly as he nodded. "Yeah..."
"I left my daughter and my husband behind. Even now, after what feels like years, I worry for them. It's only natural. We fear for the things we care most about. But that fear...it just shows you how much your bond is worth." She smiled gently at him, and he noticed belatedly that something was shining in the strange light of this world as it ran down her cheek. "That bond...your fear is a wonderful thing, Ace. But you, and I, need to go past it. I didn't realise it until now, but all my time here has been worrying about those I left behind. I wonder how my sweet Lucy has grown, how my husband took my death. Are they still close? Is Lucy kind? Is he giving her the attention she needs? And my friends, Capricorn and Cancer and Aquarius, how are they? Have they returned to Lucy?" Layla let out a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. "I don't know, but listening you to Ace I realised something else. We need to trust them. Trust that they can live without us, grow without us. I trust Lucy to grow into a fine woman, to do the right thing. I trust my husband to care for her, even if it is in his own way. I trust my friends to protect my daughter. Capricorn, to be stern and formal but hiding a loving heart. Cancer, to be there whenever she needs someone. Aquarius..." the ends of her lips turned up in a slight smile "Aquarius to be rude and demanding, until Lucy takes her respect. Tell me, Ace, do you trust your little brother?"
Do I trust Luffy? He wondered, the immediate answer of no, he's an idiot jumping to the fore of his mind and prompting a snort of amusement. Colouring slightly at the break in the tension, he started to think about it, truly think about if he trusted his brother. It was a long time before he answered, voice heavy, "Yes."
Layla stayed silent, just looking at him. Some inner fire grew inside the pirate and he leapt to his feet.
"YES!" he roared, throwing his head back. "LUFFY!" unashamed, tears trickled down his cheeks. "LUFFY!" he called again to the white void. "I LOVE YOU! I TRUST YOU! LUFFY, REACH THE SUMMIT! WHEN WE MEET AGAIN, LUFFY, YOU'LL TELL ME THAT IT WAS YOU WHO FOUND ONE PIECE! YOU'LL BE...THE PIRATE KING!" his hands were iron knotted fists, skin tight with tension as he cried his will into the afterlife.
His voice filled the empty world, the only sound save the crackling of the fire. Turning to face his short-time companion, Ace smiled at Layla. She was becoming see-through, he noticed, and so was he when he looked down at his body.
"Thank you." Was all he said.
"No, Ace, thank you." They shared a private smile, a thing only the dead could truly understand.
But as he faded away, something that she couldn't see made the pirate's eyes widen.
"Sabo, he's..." tears sprung up in his eyes, and as they both disappeared, Ace laughed, a thing of joy. "Luffy...you'll see the truth too. I know it."
The fire crackled, the only sound in the white void. It would still be there, burning, until the stars had died. Someone would come to it very soon.
Everyone did, in time.
Well, that's that done. Hope you enjoyed it. Please comment, I do so enjoy getting that little addition to my inbox where it tells me I have a new review.
