63,072,000 seconds
1,051,200 minutes
17,520 hours
730 days
2 y e a r s
Not that he was counting. It was a rough estimate at best— no real way to measure the time. You'd be hard pressed to find something as simple as a clock here. He had probably missed a few days, possibly as much as a month of time left out. It was impossible to tell how long he had been stuck in that maze of glass, a web that stretched out around him, just waiting to catch him unaware so as to ensnare the raven in eternal nothingness.
L - I - M - B - O
What an adventure that had been. It was easy to slip back into the memories of that state— an expanse of white gray that hurt his eyes and made the horizon blur. How long he had walked only to never tire. No day. No night. There was only what was and what was not.
Time blurred, as did everything in that trapped state of time and reality. A day? A month? Tracking that period was an impossibility, and Ace had never been a fan of such things.
Such thoughts were pointless right now.
Besides, there was something far more interesting occurring below. Dark eyes narrowed only by a margin, the ever present storm boiling over the edges of his irises had met no change despite everything else. Quite similar to the unruly waves that Ace found himself blowing out of his face once again. Funny really, despite everything, he still felt the same.
Right, well, obviously there were a few additions to this…form he carried now. The scar was one. Most shed their wounds of life. It was a way of moving forwards, scratching out the wears of the past in favor of a clean state.
Ace didn't believe in such things, and so the scar remained— a ragged wound that stretched across his center and marred what had once been his pride and joy on his back. Yes, the tattoos were still there too. Call him sentimental, but they were a part of who he was.
Though the Whitebeard emblem upon his back may be torn and worn, a memory of what it had been in the beginning, it was his trophy to wear. Pop's had even laughed not long ago when he brought it up. But, well, Pop's never changed.
Even i h.
Odd to think of such things when they had already come to pass. Two years was a long time to come to terms with such things. How frightening death had seemed for so long, a dark shadow that waited in the darkness. A friend in disguise.
Though true death and the aftermath were far different things.
Death was cold and dark, an emptiness that pulled at his soul and injected lead into his limbs so that he may sink into the depths that called his name. Death was lonely and empty. A hollow shell that tore into his mind and soul and ripped them to pieces, tearing apart his very identity and ripping away the essence of his being.
An essence that now sat in an elaborate wooden chest, a prize awaiting a victor.
That spark of fire within his chest was one thing he now missed. Despite how convenient they may be, the pure wings at his back could not take the place of the fruit that had both cursed and blessed his being.
That very fruit now a deadly trap set to lure close those he loved.
Luffy had been expected. Of course that brat would drag everyone around in order to retrieve it. It's just a stupid fruit. Well, it would be better if it was.
Like it or not, the crimson swirls so familiar to him had become a symbol of something dear that had been lost. Someone that had been lost.
"Tch…"
Once again though, Luffy had been expected. His crew a given at his side. Sure, there were quite a few people there that had taken the raven by surprise. A pointless battle that the damn flamingo seemed to revel in…
They all reveled in the
p a i n
There was a near silent flutter of wings, Ace not bothering to pay a lone falling feather any thought as bare feet settled on the rim of what had become a stadium. It would fade out of existence soon anyway. Each feather always did. Not that anyone would notice anyway.
Ace had long become accustomed to the limitations.
Not to be seen
o d,
felt or
d
in any way…
And so he watched and he listened. Occasionally he would speak, words falling upon deaf ears. The hands he placed on shoulders were never felt. His tears, for ironically those he kept, faded before ever reaching the floor.
There were others to talk to of course, but Ace kept to himself. His actions were frowned upon after all. Angels weren't supposed to visit the world of the living as often as he. It was unnatural to split his time between where his soul belonged and where it ached to be.
An ache that could not be starved.
An ache that lead him once more, here.
The chaos of battle had yet to begin, Ace watching from where he sat with near detached boredom as the final four made their way forwards. Just like always, his dark gaze fell upon the youngest of the group, Lu—
The shock was nearly overpowering as it hit like a blow to his stomach, ripping fleeting air from his lungs and setting each nerve on fire, because that wasn't Luffy. Luffy was shorter, slimmer in stature.
Luffydidn't fight with a P I P E.
A pipe held so familiarly, as if it had always been there. If Ace had a heart left, it would have stopped. Wings spread without his conscious thought, carrying him closer so as to settle on the center of this forsaken arena.
No sound.
No sight.
That had never stopped Ace from seeing what lay before him now. The hint of blonde curls from just beneath the rim of a hat, the pipe so easily resembling one from years past. Had horrid glasses not been covering eyes, Ace would have hoped for blue.
And still there was nothing, for the one before him would never be able to see him, nor hear his choked breath. Ace did not dare reach out as the blonde passed. Another disappointment would be too much.
Anger, a white rage that boiled within.
Sadness, an inescapable sorrow.
Happiness, pure an s.
Another step, two and he was past, leaving Ace to stand ther once more. Two years spent searching for him where he was not only to finally solve the mystery.
Sabo was not in heaven or hell or any place in between.
Sabo was alive.
When Ace finally turned to track the form of his brother's back, his gaze was not met with what he expected to see. A single hand held up the the sky, the other gripping tightly to a token from the past. A choked sob raked Ace's form. A hand rose to cover his face though eyes still stared forwards.
Watch me Ace!
Words that echoed in his mind though nothing was said aloud.
"…You idiot—" White wings folded inwards, a shield only he could see, but a shield none the less. A tear, followed by another slid down freckled cheeks.
Silent sorrow.
Silent happiness.
Silent love.
"I was always watching…Sabo."
