Chapter Three

A/N: I finally got it posted! Yay! Even though it's so horribly late; Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope everybody's holidays were great and I'm so sorry I wasn't able to get this new chapter posted up in time for you, my little birdies. But as the saying goes, "better late than never," right? Anyways, here's chapter three! I'm terribly sorry it's late and I'm sorry if it seems rushed and/or boring, I wanted to get it posted in time for the holidays but failed. Plus, I kept running out of steam at parts.

I'll also admit that this chapter was a bit of a pain since I was technically working on two chapters at the same time because I couldn't figure out what order I wanted to put things in. The good news about that is chapter four shouldn't take too long so you should (hopefully) have that by the time my classes start for the Spring Semester around the middle to end of February. If not then I'll try to at least get that chapter posted before I get too busy again. If I can manage it you guys may even get up to chapter five so keep your fingers crossed and give lots of reviews! Hope all my little birdies enjoy chapter three!

Just For One Thing

"However far away, I will always love you

However long I stay, I will always love you"

Upon Marco's return to the Moby Dick the rest of the crew, aside from the division commanders, were blatantly relieved to have their captain back safe and sound. Few had asked where he was and what had happened but Marco didn't give them a very forthcoming response. How could he even begin to explain to them that he fought someone so like Ace that he could have been his soul reincarnated? As ironic and blasphemous as the thought was there was no denying that the young man had an uncanny resemblance to their beloved fire fist. Not necessarily in appearance, though that grin of his had been just like Ace's, but in his posture and body language.

The man named Sabo had held himself with an utmost air of confidence that seemed to almost borderline being cocky. Of course Ace tended to be a little more over confident on more than one occasion, which he had gotten him and some others in a good deal of trouble, but even without that fact the resemblance was uncanny. It struck a chord in Marco that had pushed him further toward the line he had been avoiding since the day he watched the larger part of his life fade away.

Even the way the younger blond fought had resembled Ace's fighting style so much that, for a moment, Marco had thought he had been looking at the younger fire user when he had the man pinned beneath him. When he had blinked, however, the image was gone and then he was sent flying through dimensions to place he had never even dreamed about. And that was something the pirate captain knew, without a doubt, he could never tell the rest of the crew, let alone anybody else for that matter.

Despite the fact that their world wasn't entirely logical, what with the cases of Devil Fruits and islands in the sky and such, the notion of another dimension, or even multiple dimensions, completely separate from their world seemed ludicrous. It still did to him which was why he couldn't say anything about it. Not only that, but Marco was smart enough to know that speaking even a single sentence about that place could have a disastrous affect.

If people knew about the existence of even just one world completely different from their own and went looking for ways to travel to such a place then there would undoubtedly be an offset to the balance of not only their own world but the whatever world people may try to travel to. There's no telling what an upset of balance something like that could cause; it could lead to the deaths of thousands, or more, of innocent people or it could cause the destruction of an entire world. The knowledge of something like that was definitely better off kept a secret.

That wasn't to say that Marco didn't trust his family, because he undoubtedly did, but knowing something so profound was real was not something he wanted to put on their shoulder; especially when he know the World Government would do anything to wipe pirates off the face of the Earth.

After reassuring the crew that he was perfectly fine, which took a little longer for some, Marco instructed them to set sail immediately before he went straight to the communications room where he tried to get a hold of the one person he had no choice but to trust.

Though it was a fairly decent hour Marco had a feeling that the other male was either still sleeping or suffering from one of his usual hangovers. More often than not the man seemed to be either drunk or hung-over and yet he could still defend himself well enough when intoxicated, though it was a pain in the ass trying to talk to him in such a state.

As he predicted, there was no answer the first few times he tried contacting the other pirate captain, a sure sign that not only the captain but most likely the rest of the crew was still passed out from whatever late night partying they had done. If he thought his own crew was bad with all the partying then that crew was by far the worst.

So as he stood there waiting, the receiver in one hand, he took the time to look at the oddly intriguing object the dark haired witch had given him. It was a small red orb that fit perfectly in the palm of his hand, flecks of blue and yellow swirling around each other with dashes of orange dancing through. Oddly enough it looked like a yin-yang but instead of black and white it swam with the varying colors of flames, something that looked very familiar.

The woman hadn't told him what to do with it after the strange boy with multi-colored eyes handed it to him. All she said to him was that it was only one of the pieces he needed which meant he had to find the other "puzzle pieces", as it were, before he could do anything else. Provided, of course, he figured out what pieces were even missing.

It wasn't until his fourth try that Marco finally received an answer that brought him out of his thoughts and back to the present. The voice that greeted him, though, was not one he had been expecting.

"What is it?" a deep and rather irritated voice practically growled through the Den-Den Mushi, a faint accent lacing the man's words.

For a moment the blond haired captain thought he might have had the wrong Den Den Mushi but looking it he realized that it was indeed the correct one. That left the question of why someone outside of the crew had answered instead of the captain or even the first mate.

"Why are you the one answering?" Marco asked as he closed his fingers around the strange orb in his hand, his eyes narrowing slightly at the wall.

He wasn't sure why he of all people was the one who answered him on someone else's Den Den Mushi but the Whitebeard pirates' captain was sure that it was not a good thing. Then again nothing was a good thing when that man is involved.

Rather than answering him the man on the other end asked, "What do you want?" sounding more irritated than he had when he first answered.

"Where is Red-Hair, yoi?" Marco asked carefully before a second voice sounded in the background. It wasn't quite as deep as the other male's but it wasn't so high that it sounded like a woman either.

"Who is it?" the familiar voiced asked groggily, as if the person had just woken up with a major hangover. Marco could practically see the man trying to rub the sleep from his eyes as he moved closer to the other male holding the receiver.

Sounding beyond irritated the man who first answered handed the receiver to the sleepy male as said simply, "For you."

There was a slight pause in which the sound of retreating footsteps were heard even through the Den Den Mushi before the voice came through more clearly, sounding more awake. "Who is this?" the Yonko asked a little apprehensively.

"It's Marco," the blond replied as he slipped the small orb back in to the chest pocket of his purple shirt. He'd have to remember to ask Izo to put it on a necklace for him later so he won't lose it, which would be the last thing he'd want to happen.

Upon hearing the name Red-Hair Shank seemed to perk up as he greeted him happily, no doubt smiling like an idiot; an idiot who seemed to miraculously cure himself of a hangover as he adamantly asked Marco the same question he always did.

"So, have you finally decided to join my crew?"

"Shut up, yoi!" the blond told the Yonko, a vein of annoyance throbbing in his temple.

Nearly every time Marco saw or even spoke to the red-headed captain he was always trying to convince him to join his crew. He even went so far as to blatantly ask him in front of Whitebeard himself, and every time still the blond commander would refuse him. Needless to say that was what brought on the hostility he held towards the man, seeing him as more of an enemy than a respected pirate captain. Even Ace came to have some mixed feelings towards the Yonko as part of him was grateful to him for apparently saving his little brother's life. The other part, however, was always weary of the man who kept trying to take his firebird from him regardless of how many times said bird had assured him that he would never leave him or the Whitebeard pirates.

However, after the events of Marineford, wherein Red Hair Shanks stopped the war and allowed them to bury their loved ones properly, Marco came to see the man as more of respectable captain and ally than he originally had. Though the other captain still tried to convince him to join his own crew it wasn't as serious or as forceful as it had been in the past.

"Aw, come on," Shanks all but pleaded. "You won't have to work so much, I promise."

At the mention of the man promising him less work Marco almost gave a sarcastic laugh. Knowing him it was probably more work being part of his crew than any other on the Grand Line, let alone those in the New World.

"I said to shut up, yoi," Marco told him, giving an exasperated sigh before turning serious. "That's not why I called."

Shanks, for his credit, quickly picked up on the change in Marco's voice, his own changing to a slightly deeper tone as he too grew just as serious. "It's almost that time, isn't it?" the red-headed captain asked.

"Yes," he replied, a little reluctant.

Truthfully, Marco had never been too comfortable with Shanks knowing the one secret that only Whitebeard, and eventually Ace, knew. It was a secret he considered the difference between life and death, a secret that he told no one else about because it was the one thing apart from his age that he was self-conscious about.

He had never really been sure how the crew would even react if they knew and if Ace's reaction had been anything to go by then he was sure that most, if not all, of them would be in an uproar. It was simply easier and less stressful on him to not say anything about the matter. Even if he didn't like keeping secrets from his own family it would do no one any good to be stressed and worried about it all, least of all Marco.

"When are you going to set sail for the island?" Shanks asked as it sounded like he was either cleaning a bunch of papers that had most likely been scattered in the room or he was actually making a mess of the papers.

"We're already heading in that direction now," Marco replied, leaning his back against the wall and crossing one ankle loosely over the other as the other captain asked him where they were coming from.

The noise of rustling paper seemed to get louder and Marco almost wanted to ask the man what the hell he was doing but thought better of it. What he did on his own ship was his business, not anyone else's. Besides, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know what the red-head was doing anyways so instead he simply told him they had left Whitebeard's and Ace's grave.

Said man, who seemed to have found what he was apparently looking for, gave a triumphant "ah ha" before spoke through the receiver once more. His voice was steady and surprisingly deep, a sign that something wasn't good.

"Did you read the newspaper the other day?" he asked, giving the blond pirate only enough time to admit he had only read where it mentioned the Straw Hats before Shanks was speaking again. "According to the front page Doflamingo withdrew from the Warlords," he told him with a hint of skepticism lacing his worlds.

For a moment Marco was left scowling at the wall opposite him as he recalled glancing over the picture of the Warlord, found something off about him withdrawing as well. Though he didn't know a single one of the Warlords personally he did know about them and of all seven of them Don Quixote Doflamingo seemed to be the one who had built his status higher than the others, possibly even higher than Dracule Mihawk. He was, after all, ruthless and enjoyed toying with people he considered lower than himself, a fact Marco witnessed firsthand in the war as he watched the want-to-be-birdman toy with his brothers and comrades while he could nothing to help. From what he could tell, Doflamingo was the epitome of the stereotypical pirates the Marines tried to make all pirates out to be.

"You don't believe it's true, yoi."

It wasn't a question but Shanks answered anyways as if it were. "No, I don't. I think there's something more going on here," he admitted.

He'd be lying if Marco said he didn't agree with the man, something was definitely not adding up. There had to have to be a damn good reason that would make Doflamingo withdraw from the Warlords after all he did to obtain the title, god only knew what he did to get it. Not to mention that fact that he was also an underground business partner with one of the Yonko and possibly the most dangerous man of the four.

Not everybody knew that the pink feather-wearing pirate was also known as Joker in the underground world but it came as little to no surprise to moth other pirates that he was; his demeanor and sadistic personality fit the role perfectly. By himself Doflamingo was a threat, which was most likely why the Marines had been quick to pull him in as one of the Seven Warlords.

"The question is," Shanks continued, pulling Marco from his own thoughts. "Is it the Marines or someone else?"

"You don't think Doflamingo is the one pulling the strings?" Marco asked, oblivious to the irony of his question.

"I have no doubt he probably is but he's not the one giving me this unsettling feeling," the red-headed pirate captain confessed, his voice low and unusually dark. It didn't fit the man at all; that dark, almost ominous voice. It was nothing like his strangely carefree and maybe a little too happy-go-lucky personality; at least until someone pissed the man off, and then there was no mercy.

"Anyways," he continued, suddenly losing the abnormal darkness in his voice. "That wasn't what I really wanted to tell you. A littler birdie, or rather a big birdie," he corrected with a sultry voice that made Marco believe that whatever informant he was referring to was more than just that.

"Told me that Ace's Devil Fruit has been reborn," he finished.

Immediately Marco's back straightened ever so slightly against the wall, uncrossing his ankles as Shanks had his full attention. It was the first time the phoenix had heard any news about Ace's Flame Flame fruit since the death of his lover. Over the past two years he had every Devil Fruit the crew came across checked before they did anything with them because even though he couldn't eat it himself Marco didn't want just anyone else eating the Devil Fruit. The crew never questioned him about it, they knew. There was no way they could ignore how much the man truly meant to their commander and now captain.

As selfish as it was he wanted to keep Ace's Devil Fruit locked away somewhere no one else could get it but even he knew that was being rather excessive. He couldn't help it though, that overprotective feeling he had that made him want to go out and get the Devil Fruit himself. The feeling was borderline possessive but Marco couldn't push the feeling away, it was too strong to ignore and rooted too deeply to get rid of because it wasn't just him as Marco that felt it; he, as a phoenix, felt it too and that made it all the more powerful.

"The problem is," he continued slowly in a normal, if yet serious, voice. "Doflamingo has it set as the grand prize for the winner in the Corrida Coliseum, or so I've been told. I don't know how much time is left to enter the tournament but you're heading from that direction Dressrosa isn't too far out of the way."

For a moment Marco stood quietly as he took in the new information, adding it to what he already knew. Though they weren't part of the underground world they did have a few allies who had connections, keeping them well enough informed.

The Corrida Coliseum in Dressrosa was owned by the Don Quixote family and often hosted fights to the death for various rewards. In addition, Doflamingo used it as part of his underground business since pirates and criminals of all degrees were allowed to enter but not a single Marine or police of any form was allowed in and couldn't so much as raise a gun at any of the criminals within the coliseum. No one seemed to be able to figure out why the Mrines actually obeyed that rule but several of them, Shanks and Whitebeard mostly, had the best theory.

"Why are you telling me this now, yoi?" the blond captain finally asked. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were telling me to go."

Marco could practically hear the guilty smile in the man's voice as he tried to sound innocent but failed as his own words gave him away. "I can't tell you what to do, Marco," he said. "But I doubt you'd just let Ace's Devil Fruit fall into someone else's hands, least of someone like Doflamingo."

There was no doubt that what Shanks said was true, Marco wasn't about to ignore the screaming possessiveness of his heart now that he knew. Try as he might, which wasn't actually very hard, he simply could not deny the strong pulsing of his own instincts. Or perhaps he didn't actually want to deny them. Either way, there was no way he was about to leave Ace's Devil Fruit in the hands of someone like Doflamingo.

"And how did you manage to get this information?" he asked skeptically.

Shanks was practically beaming with a sort of mischievousness as he replied, "My inside man of course!"

The silent blond was half tempted to ask who exactly that so called "inside man" was but decided that it didn't really matter to him, he knew were the Devil Fruit was and who had it; that was what matter most to him at the moment. Though he was still curious about who the poor bastard was that willingly involved themselves with Shanks, of all people, there was bound to be another chance he could ask, and maybe even thank the person too if he manages to get his hands on that Flame Flame fruit.

However, before Marco could even attempt to utter a single word of gratitude another voice came through the Den Den Mushi, deep and still irritated. With the accent seemingly more prominent there was less doubt as to who the other person was and quite honestly it surprised Marco a little. He never would have thought that

"I am not your inside man, Red Hair," the voice said, though more annoyed than irritated.

"That's not the way I saw it last night~" Shanks teased with an almost thick sultry voice that brought a faint tint of red to Marco's face as the blond shook the sudden and unwanted image of a seductive Red Hair Shanks with a dark and stern faced man from his mind. He honestly couldn't believe that someone who was the complete polar opposite would willingly involve himself with Shanks. Then again he and Ace didn't exactly share the same spectrum, and as the saying "opposites attract" went it held true for the strangest of couples.

"Quit spouting nonsense," the man told him, seemingly unfazed by the Yonko's behavior even as he told him he was leaving.

That seemed to upset the captain as he asked why he was leaving so early, and when it was such a fine morning. To Marco, who seemed to be momentarily forgotten, it almost sounded as though Shanks was actually pouting. The answer he received didn't seem to be what he wanted to hear as he started complaining about one night stands and the lack of care the other was showing. One could almost say he was throwing a bit of a tantrum, if one didn't know Red Hair Shanks.

"You're so cold," Shanks finally told him. "I don't even get a proper good-bye?"

There was a pause in which the other man seemed to either being regarding the pirate or thinking if he should give in to the complaints before asking when it ever actually bothered him. Despite his question, though, Marco could just make out the sound of footsteps drawing closer followed by a faint noise that couldn't be mistaken as anything other than what it truly was; a kiss.

He wasn't sure of the degree of the kiss but it brought a faint yet obviously happy hum from the red-head's throat, which in turn sent a wave of envy washing through the forgotten pirate. It swept over him like a tsunami, tossing around his aching heart like a lone boat out on the sea. He had never really thought that Shanks could be any happier than he was as a carefree pirate captain but listening to him, to the happy and playful tone of his voice as he finally replied to his partner, had the blue phoenix missing Ace that much more.

All those stolen glance the brat thought he was hiding, all those chaste kisses that brought that wonderfully happy smile to his lips, and all those loving words uttered in private that spread a light red across his freckled cheeks; Marco missed it all so much he wanted to cry and curse the world but he couldn't, he wouldn't. After the funeral he refused to let even a single tear slip through because Ace didn't love a weak man and his brothers didn't look up to an older brother who lost himself in his own pain, pain they all shared in various amounts.

But now, more than ever, there was a real he couldn't shed any tears. It wasn't because he needed to strong for the other or because two years had already passed, it was simply because he was going to bring Ace back. Even if he had to go to Hell and face the Devil himself Marco was going to get Ace back. Or so that was what he had told Yuuko he was going to do.

"Oi, you still there Marco?" Shanks called, bringing the man back from his thoughts and memories.

"Yeah," he replied simply before the Yonko asked if he was going to get Ace's Devil Fruit.

"Of course I am, yoi," Marco told him as if it wasn't already obvious.

The red-head gave an amused laugh, to which he was told to shut up, and wished the Whitebeard pirate good luck in getting the Devil Fruit.

For a moment, Marco almost thought about telling him the change of plans this year around, that he wasn't going to be performing his usual ritual and was instead going to do something that sounded crazy and impossible even to himself. Instead he decided to keep that a secret as well as they said their good-byes, surprisingly without Shanks trying to get him to join his crew again.

After finally hanging up, Marco headed back towards the deck to inform the crew of their new destination, as well as the reasoning behind it. He doubted it was going to be an easy conversation considering who they would most likely be facing but he was certain they would feel the same about Ace's Devil Fruit as he did. If anything else they may even run into Ace's little brother, provided he found out about his brother's Devil Fruit as well.

Somehow, though, Marco had a feeling that if he really was allied with Trafalgar Law then chance were they'd probably see him anyways, regardless of if he knew or not. He just hoped their next meeting with Straw Hat Luffy wasn't in yet another bad situation.

At what point things had turned bad no one was sure, it could have happened at any time from the beginning to now. Perhaps, then, it had been when their captain ran off on his own, though that was normal. Or maybe it had been when they first realized their original plan had failed. Whenever it had happened it wasn't going to change the fact that things had gone terribly wrong and now they were in the middle of a rebellion.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to any of them though, they all knew what they were getting themselves into the moment they stepped foot on the island. Eventually they had been given to go wild, and wild they went but at what cost? Some of them were upset beyond reason while others wanted nothing more than to kill the man responsible for it all; for the betrayals, the pain, and the death. Deaths of people who were wronged, of citizens who were innocent and knew nothing of what truly happened, and the deaths of those who had been at peace before he showed up. Most all, though, they wanted to kill him for what he did to their comrade and that was the very reason their captain had stood between them and that dangerous man as they rushed to either keep others from interfering or to get the injured to the ship while there was still time.

Even though none of them wanted to go, none of them wanted to leave him them, they had to. As much as they all wanted to stay they couldn't, they had to obey; it was their captain's orders. So all they could do now was have faith and believe in their captain just as he believed in all of them to always come back together, alive, to continue sailing and exploring together. And they knew, too, that he was trusting them to save their comrade while still had the chance, a chance that was growing slimmer the more they ran and the more blood the dying man lost.

As he had predicted nearly the entire crew had objected to even the thought of going against a Warlord like Doflamingo, going so far as to pointing out that the man was dangerous and they had no reason to needlessly risk their lives facing him. To say that Marco was disappointed was a bit of an understatement. Granted, he hadn't told them about Ace's Devil Fruit before mentioning Doflamingo but that was beside the point.

They had once been feared pirates of the Grand Line and the sons of the strongest man in the world. Even if their Oyaji was no longer alive they were still his sons and they were still one of the strongest pirate crews in the New World. After all, they had defended the islands under their father's protection even though they had just lost said father and even still they took back several more once they could finally stand on their own again.

The fact that Marco had had to explain all that to them, that 'Whitebeard' was more than just a name and they were more than just his sons, disappointed him more. They were his legacy and Marco knew for a fact that Whitebeard did not entrust his will to a bunch of weak-willed sons who were too afraid to be real pirates, never mind that Marco himself had had his own moments of weakness when faced with those words the Dimensional Witch uttered.

Being reminded of who they were, who they were still supposed to be, seemed to have had a positive effect as they all began to look at themselves. It was doubtful they liked what they finally saw as the crew had changed their attitude almost instantly, and when their captain finally told them the most important part they were all up in arms. Izo and Haruta even demanded to know why he hadn't mentioned it in the beginning as the ship had made a straight course for Dressrosa.

What they found when they finally drew closer to the island the next morning was not what they had expected to see. The island looked as though it had been hit by a raging storm. The once tall and visible Coliseum was partially torn in random areas, as if the fighting had gotten too out of hand to stop. Some of the other buildings looked like they had taken a bit of a beating but the one thing they all noticed first was that the single castle which had stood tallest on the island had been reduced to a crumbling pile of stones. And that was only what they could see from afar.

None of them could quite fathom what had possibly happened, whether a storm really did ravage the island or if there had been some other cause. Marco's bet was on another cause, and one that involved just one letter; a letter that was both feared and trusted in the name of chaos.

D.

No matter what the situation was it was always trusted that anyone with the initial of D. would bring more chaos into the equation. It was why the Marines feared it and the pirates seemed to applaud it, at least the pirates who were not on the receiving end. The war at Marineford had been the best example of the capabilities of someone with that initial and now the entire world was aware of the new carrier of D. who was sure to shake the world to its core. That was the cause that Marco was betting on for the state of Dressrosa.

"O-oi, Marco!" one of the look-outs called in panic from the crow's nest, gaining everybody's attention from on deck. "I can see a pirate ship heading away from the island. And Doflamingo is following it."

No one seemed to be as concerned about that fact as the man looking through the telescope was. It wasn't as if the Warlord, or former Warlord, was charging after them just for sailing close to the island and it was doubtful that the ship he was chasing was one of their allies. They hadn't sent any messages or contacted a single one of their allies when they had set their course, though they probably should have requested some form of back-up. If anything the given situation worked in their favor as it had Doflamingo's attention drawn away from the Whitebeard pirates, so long as the other ship didn't have what they wanted as well. The next words that came from the look-out, however, shot that thought straight to hell and had Marco immediately shouting orders.

"It's the Straw Hats," the man called from the crow's nest, sending a wave of stunned silence through the crew below.

In the next instant Marco ordered for the ship to intercept the former Warlord, calling for Izo and Curiel to shoot the man down which they both happily obliged. Canons and guns alike fired as the other members of the crew worked to get the ship between Doflamingo and the Straw Hats. Though they couldn't seem to shoot the feather-wearing man down they did succeed in catching his attention, giving Ace's little brother and his crew just enough time to burst forward through the sky at such a speed that their ship was out of sight just seconds after the Moby Dick's successor swiftly cut in front of Doflamingo.

It was an amazing sight that had the Whitebeards either staring after in amazement or laughing at the fact that only Ace's little brother would have a ship that could fly like that. Doflamingo, on the other hand, didn't seem to find it as amusing as he quickly set his enraged sight on the pirates below. The man didn't even utter a word upon spotting their flag as he shot himself straight toward the ship only to collide with a hardened leg several yards away, blue flames dancing around his vision just before he sent flying down toward the ocean below.

Not surprisingly the blond sadist wasn't about to go down easily as he managed to catch himself just before hitting the water's surface and swung over the deadly water, jumping back up in the sky. How, they weren't quite sure yet but had a feeling it was thanks to his Devil Fruit.

As the previous Warlord swung himself back into the sky, Marco hovering with an unreadable expression, he took in the sight before him with a sadistic grin. The pirates on the Moby Dick had ceased fire once they had caught sight of their captain in the sky. It was rather surprising how quickly the winged man had moved from the ship to meet Doflamingo mid-air just to send him flying. The puppet man, however, looked more pissed off than he did surprised as his sadistic grin stretched wider across his lips.

"So the Whitebeard pirates return as well," he said with slight amusement, letting out a cackle of a laugh that quickly changed to a mocking laugh. "But what's the Whitebeard pirates now without their precious Whitebeard?!"

Hearing the words from his mouth were like bullets to the heart that had the entire crew gritting their teeth and glaring murderously at the despicable man, his sinister laugh grating on their ears. The only one who didn't show any change in expression was Marco who still wore the same unreadable look from before; lazy looking eyes boring down on his opponent, lips set in a firm line, and surprisingly lax muscles keeping him high above the water. But underneath it all the phoenix was bubbling with his own anger, though no one present appeared to realize it. Only when he spoke in an unnaturally low and dark voice did the crew finally realize that Marco was pissed.

"I'm not letting you anywhere near the Straw Hats, yoi," Marco told him with a grin, effectively silencing the man before him as Doflamingo's lips set into a frown and veins were outlined on parts of his forehead.

With both men boiling with their own anger there was no doubt it was going to be a brutal fight, one in which Marco's own mercilessness was liable to appear though on one could say for sure. It was a wonder they hadn't seen that side of the blond in the war, although some were sure that if Ace's little brother hadn't broken down and needed protection then Marco might have actually snapped. He had been close enough to that point when he saw Ace dying in his own brother's arms.

Regardless, it was doubtful Marco was going to show any mercy to his opponent for three very simple reasons. First and foremost the man had openly mocked their father's death in front of them. That was already one world of hurt that was going to be unavoidable. Secondly, he had been chasing Ace's little brother and his crew with the distinct intent to maim and eradicate. And lastly, though possibly Doflamingo's worst offense against Marco, was the possession of what was already his. It was the only physically formed piece of Ace left behind and a part of him that Marco wasn't about to lose; his essence.