Chapter 11: Return of a Phoenix

(Guess who's back~ Back again~ Pyro's back~ Tell a friend~ Forgive my stupidity and my absence but I have an excuse! So, I think in my last chapter or the one before, I said it seemed like homework would be easy this year… Apparently not. I only have a Language Arts class (which is completely useless) and a government class that would give homework. I thought those would be the only troublesome classes but apparently they weren't. Didn't realize my art class would be the most annoying… So I've been drawing so much that I literally am on the edge of hating drawing. I fuckin hate that teacher…

On to my reason for my stupidity. I got a little review yesterday that lead to me accidently seeing all the faves, follows, and reviews. So I got curious and looked up some shit~ Went into One Piece fanfictions and set the filters to have Ace and Luffy with the language being english. There were about a thousand fics and I changed everything so it was sorting the stories by faves, follows, or reviews then started looking for myself. This whole time, I'm expecting to be towards the middle or the end. Imagine my shock when I saw that one (or more in some cases) of my stories were in the top 35! I wanted to scream in joy and ended up promising myself that I would update. I checked again today but with a slightly different search. I did literally nothing but change the Sort by follows rather than update date and (mind you there's 32.7K stories) one of mine was in the first five pages… Just outside the top 100… I seriously wanna hug EVERYBODY! Looks like I gotta get updating… I have three weeks off of school and hopefully that means I get to do more than this one chapter for this one story. Wish me luck! On to the crap!)

Warning: I'm human. I'm gonna fuck up words like I do on a daily basis. If there's any errors, please tell me. It just might make me update. (Mitsu81 found that one out without me even realizing...)

-x-x-x-

Previously:

The sound of crunching leaves could be heard coming from the direction opposite Law and Thatch came from. Ace readied his fists, not wanting to risk using his fire while Luffy and Thatch mimicked his actions. Sabo quickly pulled his collapsable staff out of his holster on his thigh as Law pulled out a pocket knife and held out his hand, ready to call out 'room' if necessary.

The crunching seemed to stop right at the edge of the trees where little to no light made it through. "No… way…" A voice whispered, sounding overall shocked.

"Who's there?" Ace questioned, his voice low and meaning business.

The person took a few extra steps into the light and towards the group. The blond tuft of hair on the top of their head was the first thing seen before their bright blue eyes that seemed to shimmer and dance like flames.

Ace and Thatch froze, they're stances slackening and turning almost relaxed. It was Thatch who broke the silence. "Marco…?"

-x-x-x-

There are upsides and downsides to everything in the world. Including some of the things we overlook or believe too good to be true. Power may give you near anything you wish, but it isn't perfect. Nothing is. So why would a Devil Fruit be any different? It's called a Devil Fruit for a reason. The warning is said to be in the name itself. Most believe the worst to come with the fruit is the inability to swim; practically becoming an anchor the moment you touched water. But only an experienced user could tell you the truth.

These fruits were all different and only a scant few held just one weakness. If it weren't a weakness, then it was a rather trying side effect. Not even the rarest Devil Fruits could avoid this. In actuality, the rarest fruits held the worst drawbacks and side effects, though few weaknesses. A certain man knew this more so than any other Fruit User. He no longer cared for the power, strength, and reputation it once gave him. Nothing was worth the pain and agony that came with watching everyone he ever cared for parish.

He watched as a ghost of sorts. A secret to the world. Never revealing his existence unless absolutely necessary and, so far, that occasion had yet to arrive. Nothing the world had to offer had managed to make him reveal his identity, let alone his pride and joy. Nothing over the centuries could make him show himself. Even the slightest reveal would cause an uproar. An uproar he'd rather live without. So he stayed hidden, allowing people to come up with their own stories as to what happened to him back then.

From time to time he would have his fun, though. Sometimes, he would overhear people talking about a certain myth. It always amused him to hear what people would say about the man, myth and legend. He rarely piped in, preferring to only listen. But when the myth was stated as a coward, someone who ran rather than fought, he would spout a few words, hardly more than a sentence. No matter how short the comment, the people would always leave with a different view on the myth.

The myth was no coward. The phoenix was brave and did everything he could and more. Though he would always defend the courageous and brave side of the phoenix, he would never argue with the presumptions that the phoenix was weak. He accused the same. Every day and every night he wished the phoenix could have been stronger. Even if only a little.

He didn't care how well regarded he was. Marco the Phoenix would always believe he was weak. Simply because he couldn't save his best friend, his latest brother, his chosen father, or anyone else he held dear and had lost. Being a phoenix meant immortality. Immortality meant never truly being injured, healing almost as soon as the injury was dealt with barely a speck of blood dropped. But that also meant never dying, never aging, and being forced to live eternity with every shred of guilt he held, every shred of pain and heartbreak that came with losing another friend, another family member. He wanted to end the cycle, but knew he couldn't. He'd tried enough to know it didn't work as he had always wished.

Marco didn't want the loneliness anymore. He just wanted to be with his family up in the Heavens. But the Heavens never accepted him. Not even for a moment.

-x-x-x-

A tall man walked off the ship in a long line of people, slowly being welcomed onto the island of Goa. He looked up at the island with eyes so blue they rivaled the color of the sky and the flames of his phoenix side. His gaze fell over the city that hadn't been so large the last time he had visited the heart wrenching island. The piercing blue orbs soon found the mountain behind the buildings and skyscrapers that littered this part of the island.

He momentarily glanced at the people in front of him, noticing there were only a few left until he could make his way onto the island freely and make it to his destination. His hands raised to the pockets of his purple, zip-up jacket before fiddling with the paperwork inside. Waiting for the people ahead of him slowly became irritating as one woman decided to argue with one of the customs officers while the other was taking care of an old man that didn't seem to understand any of what he was being told. When the woman was pulled aside by a police officer, he sighed in relief and handed over his passport and other papers.

The customs officer looked at the information with a nod and slight smile, seemingly happy that the woman was gone. "Do you mind stating your business here?" The officer asked, looking up from the paperwork.

"Visiting a few old friends." He said, lax blue eyes glancing up at the largest mountain for a split second.

"I see. Well enjoy your stay…" The officer paused to read the name on the passport before appearing surprised for a moment. "Marco…? As in…?"

"No. A mere coincidence." The man, Marco, said with a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"My apologies then." The officer said with a slight bow of his head. "Enjoy your stay Mr. Newgate."

"Thank you." Marco said as he took his papers back and stuffed them into his pockets again.

Walking around Goa had recently become painful for Marco. Even being near the island would bring pain to his heart. He had visited many times until one day, about a decade prior, he came across a painfully familiar face. It didn't matter how much time passed, Marco would never forget how he and Thatch had originally met.

A young Thatch, not paying attention to where he was running, ran straight into a young Marco and caused them both to fall. Thatch had apologized repeatedly but Marco had just brushed it off. Marco never figured out the real reason - always being told it was just a feeling - as to why Thatch had asked him to play and Marco could never figure out why he had agreed. He always thought it was because he had nothing to do but knew that wasn't the answer. Simply, it all happened in a blur with little to no understanding as to how it all happened. If asked what his favorite day, or favorite memory was, Marco would always answer with the day he met Thatch, even after he had joined Whitebeard's crew and became First Division Commander.

But now, the memory just brought pain. Especially when the day had been repeated centuries after the original date and a decade prior to the current date. A child, barely ten at most, had run into his leg and started apologizing. Marco went to brush it off but had frozen when he saw who had run into him. It was as if Thatch was the one frozen in time rather than himself. Marco had barely been able to tell the boy it was alright before he ran away, trying to hold back tears and calm the pain in his heart.

Since then, he hadn't returned to the island in fear of seeing his old friend that he knew wouldn't remember him. And that thought made it so much more painful. But - against his will and better judgement - Marco found himself on the island and heading up the mountain through a secret path.

He didn't know what made him return. All he knew was that it felt like the island was calling to him, telling him he needed to return as soon as possible. He hadn't thought anything through and, when everything cleared up, he had found himself on a boat to the painful island. During the trip, he had focused on the feeling he had gotten and had realized it was almost like anticipation. But he couldn't figure out much more than that before the island had come into view.

It hadn't taken him long to get to his destination, a hidden cliff facing the ocean with three gravestones standing side by side. They weren't all that decorated and were fairly worn. Simple like the ones they marked would have wanted and old like the memories. He silently read the names of the three most troublesome brothers in all of history with a sad smile.

Portgas D. Ace

Sabo

Monkey D. Luffy

Marco chuckled lightly at the short rush of memories he shared with each of the brothers, even a few of their memories they had shared with him. No matter how annoying the three would get, they were still his friends and, indirectly, family. He frowned at the thought, remembering just how many he had lost. He looked back to the stones, not realizing when he had started to look at the grass at his feet, with a sad and apologetic smile.

"If I had been stronger… Maybe the three of you could have seen each other again…" Marco spoke but so softly that the words left with the breeze that managed to remove his hood and reveal his short blonde hair that caused him to be called a pineapple on many occasions. He opened his mouth to speak again but a harsh breeze seemed to kick up and cut him off. Along with the breeze was a familiar scent, one he knew all too well. "A fire…? I thought nobody came up here…"

With one last glance at the engraved names, Marco seemed to chuckle. "Ace… You didn't come back from the dead just to cause me trouble, did you?" Shaking his head at the amusing yet impossible thoughts, Marco started his way towards the fire.

He ran towards the smell of burned grass and scorched trees but never once saw the glow of the flames. He slowed his running to a simple walk as he heard muffled voices grow closer.

"You aren't Lance Heart, are you? Not anymore, right?" A voice that sounded almost too familiar spoke. He couldn't place it exactly but it sounded like someone he once knew years ago.

"Correct. I regained Trafalgar Law's very last memory a few weeks ago. You've always been much smarter than Mugiwara-ya, Sabo-ya. I'm actually somewhat glad that still holds true."

Marco froze, his breath hitched in his throat and usually half-lidded eyes were now wide with shock. 'Sabo… and Trafalgar…?' He mentally questioned before shaking his head and painfully reminding himself of their gruesome deaths by the hand of Blackbeard. It was impossible for them to survive. Even he had neared death but was forcefully brought back to the land of the living by his phoenix side.

He heard the same two voices speak a tad bit more but could no longer understand the words they used. He was so focused on trying to get a better view of the people that he hadn't realized he had stepped on a particularly dried bunch of leaves until there was silence after the crunch at his feet. All that could be heard was the sound of the breeze swaying the leaves on the trees above. Even then, the breeze seemed to die and force upon him complete silence.

But it was too late. He could already see the figures in the clearing and was frozen again in shock. "No… way…"

"Who's there?" He heard an extremely familiar voice speak, but it was different somewhat. He couldn't remember Ace ever sounding so serious. Maybe when he was first brought on the Moby Dick but that was it. He had heard Ace angry, multiple times actually, but never so serious.

Unconsciously, Marco had taken the extra few steps towards the others and into the light of the clearing. He watched as the Thatch and Ace look-a-likes froze as he came into view before they seemed to relax. He thought the silence would stretch on forever until 'Thatch' opened his mouth.

"Marco…?" 'Thatch's voice seemed to hold so much hope that Marco was surprised the look-a-like could keep a calm face and not tackle him in one of Thatch's famous bear hugs then and there.

"...How…?" Marco could barely start a sentence before he was being lunged at. He tried to summon his flames in case the look-a-like intended to fight only for them to betray him - not for the first time. He wasn't surprised about this though, it was impossible for him to use his Devil Fruit against Thatch, real or not. He braced himself for any attack. Anything at all really. All except a hug. A bear hug he had been expecting mere seconds ago.

"You're alright!" 'Thatch' had shouted happily, practically screaming into Marco's ear. "I was so worried! Almost everybody's here but I couldn't find you no matter how hard I searched! Now all that's left is Izou and Jozu."

"Thatch." 'Ace' had called almost as a warning, trying to get said man off of the blonde. Barely a moment later, 'Thatch' was standing in between 'Ace' and Marco. 'Ace' looked back to Marco, looking him directly in the eyes and silently conveying the same hope as 'Thatch' had, only more maintained and concealed. "You are Marco, right?"

Marco didn't even nod. Didn't move or react other than composing himself. "Stop that. Ace was never one to be serious when he didn't have to be." Marco stated matter-of-factly, causing 'Ace' to gape at him as he turned his rare, sky blue gaze on Thatch. "And Thatch never listened to Ace. Hell, he didn't even listen to me. He only listened to Oyaji and even that was rare, yoi."

Marco paused and silently cursed himself for the verbal tick. This would have been his fiftieth year of not using it. Before he could try to figure out why it happened, he was tackled to the ground by two bodies, rather than one.

"The turkey's back!"

"We missed you Mama Pineapple!"

Marco's eyes widened again for what felt like the dozenth time that day. Nobody knew those nicknames except his family... Only the crew knew those names... And only Ace and Thatch were brave enough to call him by those names… Hell, even Haruta, who helped create the embarrassing yet amusing nicknames, never used them!

"Thatch…? Ace…?" Marco muttered, struggling to summon his voice due to the shock. "It's… really you…?"

Thatch grinned and laughed as he let go of Marco in favor of sitting up and getting off his best friend. "Who else would we be? And who else would tackle you and call you a pineapple, Pineapple?"

"He has a point there." Ace smirked as he sat next to Thatch, trying to hide his own grin before giving up and laughing. "What's with the look? You look like a deer caught in headlights."

"Wrong animal, Ace." Thatch said before looking at Marco's face. "Ya'know… He looks kinda like the time we got him wasted and made eggs in front of him…"

Ace couldn't stop himself from laughing at the memory and mental image of a grown man crying while cradling a bottle of booze and broken egg shells. "He was so traumatized…! He wouldn't eat eggs for a month...!"

"I still don't…" Marco muttered under his breath, trying to hide the slight tremble in his voice. "You're really back…"

Against Marco's hopes, the tremble was heard loud and clear by Thatch who instantly stopped his laughing. "Whoa… Marco… Are you crying…?" He asked, genuinely concerned for his friend.

Marco's arm was up and covering his eyes, wiping away any tears in an instant. "Shut up…!"

Thatch couldn't help the soft smile that crossed his face. Only Marco could make him smile in any way that was neither a grin nor a smirk. "Even after all these years… You're still the same old Marco…"

(Ey~ There it is. Not all that long but I started this late and have to be up early later… I'm fucked… By the way, in the middle of writing how Marco met Thatch, Pandora started playing the saddest, most heart clenching shit and I almost cried… Not even joking… But like I said at the top, I'm hoping to be able to update again soon, even if it isn't for this story. Also, I'm gonna need ideas here… All I had left was Marco appearing and here he is. So I'm gonna need some help with that… Anyways, it's almost three and I have to be up, showered, had breakfast, and ready to go by… 11:30? Yeah… So wish me luck~ Also, after writing and reading this over, I'm kinda tempted to write a one shot revolving around Marco. Didn't realise how much I like writing for him until this. Tell me what you think and what it should be about if you would like. Fave, follow, read my other stuff, and review! Bai~! c(X )

Start - 10:00 PM

End - 2:45 AM