I think the previous chapter kind of drained me, but I hope you like it! We'll be having more Whitebeard ASL interaction later on.
SpadianTimeMage- Thanks! And I'm glad you enjoyed it. And I'll be dishing out pretty equal servings of pain, so…
Strange-Moonlight-Charm- Thanks a lot! And yeah, hopefully the Whitebeards and the trio will get to know each other better, especially since for the need for Luffy secrecy has kind of been wasted.
BlackthornAshe- Marco to the rescue! And I really seem to like hurting Sabo, don't I?
Yuzukikuran476- Don't we all.
Caraline Fisher- Thank you!
Flowerbelle- Give me your opinion on this nickname, will you? I'm not very good with names. :)
Arxhaelogist- That first part was extremely satisfying to read, let me just tell you that. And yep, the pressure will always be there. But I hope you like it!
Considering their past experiences with the fickle creature called luck, Ace likes to think they did pretty well. Basically, they got through approximately half the forest before a large group of marines attempts to ambush them.
"Phoenix." Ace shifts uncomfortably. "I'll deal with them." He hesitates a second, visibly swallowing down his pride. "Could you- " The Phoenix rolls his eyes.
"I'll take care of it, yoi," he says. Ace has to bite down on his surprise. He would have expected at least a promise of debt, or…Ace shares a glance with Luffy, who nods surreptitiously in his direction. Ace and Luffy have never had the same eye for deceit and mind for plans that Sabo does, but they have their own brand of instincts, slightly sharper honed than Sabo's because of the fact that they have less common sense. Or so Sabo said.
Luffy flashes him a thumbs up, and Ace nods back. Keep an eye on him, he almost says, but then he mentally kicks himself. Of course Luffy would. It simply went against his nature to not. He turns to face his attackers and Marco and Luffy's footsteps fade, one set significantly heavier sounding than the other.
The marines do not look like the embodiment of Absolute Justice right now, and he reckons if Akainu were here, they would have been drowning in a pit of magma right now. He smirks at the terrified marines, who upon arriving on the agreed on location, don't find the ASL trio trussed up and ready to be escorted to their deaths, but instead roaming free as "a blot upon the innocence of the pure land." Direct quote from Admiral Akainu. He assesses the marines, concluding that he could take them all down in fifty seconds. A flick of his finger sends a stream of fire among the group, instantly torching almost half of their weapons. Unfortunately, they have plenty left.
A bullet whizzes past his ear, and he feels it even if it never actually touched him, the draining of power just by being in close vicinity, his instincts screaming danger. Seastone.
He scowls as he sees that the marines are relatively experienced, a few having managed to block the fire with a combination of haki and their own attacks. He readies his fire, and the tips of his fingers melt into flame. Ace cracks his knuckles, and reflects on how he must seem to the marines right now. Ruthless. Brutal. A true monster, just like his father was.
He doesn't care.
As long as his brothers are safe.
A flaming fist of fire smashes down on the marines, creating a shockwave that tears out dirt and pebbles, sending them flying.
The birdie's arms are tufts of blue fire, yellow streaks running through them like lit candles smearing bands of light across the azure sky. Each individual feather flickers and whispers, each one different. Luffy is forcibly reminded- not Ace. He looks at Sabo, who is breathing heavily in the bird's wings, and Luffy wants very badly to tell him to wake up. Sabo could never refuse him, after all.
He carries Sabo's pipe under his arm, the metal heavy and unbalanced, and it's not just the weight difference and the physical differences between him and Sabo. Blades ring the edge of the pipe, clever mechanisms allowing them to be slid out at the push of a button or a flick of a switch. Sabo trained a long time to be able to use this, and sometimes Luffy would see him in their room, spinning it over and under and over again, experimenting on how best to compensate for the adaptations made to it.
He can see the coastline in the distance. The ocean glitters blue, a fierce juxtaposition with the orange-red sky and the chunks of magma raining down from it. The Moby Dick jolts back as a piece of burning rock narrowly misses the deck, and Luffy sees pirates fighting against the blue and white clad marines.
"Let's go," the birdie says, and Luffy nods, running faster. They burst out of the forest, and as if in slow motion, the red suited man standing on the battleship turns, and looks straight at Luffy and Marco holding Sabo. He assesses them for a moment, sharp eyes raking down them, gnawing on a cigar. His right hand clenches down on a den den mushi.
Luffy hears birdie curse under his breath and give him a shove.
"Go," he murmurs under his breath. Luffy doesn't tear his eyes away from Sabo. The red suited man jumps off the ship, only barely losing his balance as the ground rumbles underneath him, and Luffy looks up to see- what did Sabo call him again- Whitebeard glowering at the man, standing on the deck of his own ship, a soft bubble of white light pulsing around his hand.
The man glowers back. Whitebeard raises his weapon.
"Go!" And Luffy oofs in surprise as Sabo's sudden weight comes down on his arms. Luffy looks at the birdie, and nods determinedly, diving into the fray. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the birdie disappear back into the forest.
Akainu strains to see the red blur weaving its way through the forces, and from his vantage point, he can see the Whitebeard forces making a slow but steady retreat to their ship. Another chunk of magma falls close to the pirates he's after, but misses by a hair's breadth. Resisting the urge to curse Cipher Pol, he lets his gaze wander, hoping to catch a glimpse of Fire Fist, but so far, the pirate has been eluding him.
There. A burst of fire in the woods. Should he go after Roger's son or the Leviathan? Two against one, with the injured Bloody Gentleman in the Ghost's arms. Besides, he had official orders. Sighing, he focuses his attention on the Leviathan. There would be time enough for Fire Fist later. He strides in their direction, trailing thick magma behind him, and his most trusted subordinates follow him, ready to block any escape the pirates may see fit to make. His arm hisses as it melts and melds into the shape of a fist, and he holds it up, preparing to strike. Absolute Justice, after all.
Ace claps his hands together in a gesture of finality, sweeping a glance over the carnage. The smoke is still thick, wafting through the air, but Ace is relatively sure that they're all at least incapacitated. So he isn't prepared when a figure shoots out of the smoke, with closed eyes and charred hair and uniform.
The marine's arm leaps forward, a gleaming, though slightly dulled sword grasped so tightly in his hand that his knuckles turn white. An obvious intention to stab him. Ace uses the marine's shoulders as a springboard, vaulting over his head to land on his back, pinning him too the ground. Simultaneously, they make noises of discomfort, Ace because of his shoulder and unfortunately broken leg, and the marine from some rather nasty burn marks. Ace's mouth twists into wry amusement.
His captive is squirming, but the sword has skittered away too far out of reach, and with blazing eyes, twists his head around to glare at Ace.
"Do it then, Fire Fist."
Ace wonders if he's ever done something to this marine- he racks his memory the same face and draws a blank, but even for a marine, the sheer hate in those eyes, directed at him, cannot be just because of the fact he just defeated him. It can't have been because of his father, such a low ranking marine should not know about his heritage. But maybe…
The Phoenix appears on the edge of his vision, sprinting towards him. Ace rolls off the marine.
"My brothers had better be okay," he glares. The Phoenix nods, gestures, impatient. The marine bites his lip, preventing accusations from bubbling out.
"They're fine, yoi," he says. "We need to go."
Ace nods, although he can't escape the disconcerting feeling of eyes boring into the back of his head.
Sabo can barely see, but he can recognize the feeling of being carried, and despite everything, he just can't get over the feeling of embarrassment. Unfortunately, the embarrassment was currently being overlaid by overwhelming panic. He could make out the traces of a straw hat and sandals, so Luffy was awake and fine, but where was Ace, and why was there magma everywhere?
The Moby Dick is just ahead, grooved ridges prominent against the smooth wood, and Sabo figures they can make a clean escape. There's a clear path right there. But nope. Because they were born under the unluckiest star in the world, Akainu just happens to land in front of them, mere metres away from the ship. Sabo resists the urge to groan.
No! Idiot! Run! He thinks as he feels Luffy skid to a stop. Luckily, his brother doesn't seem particularly inclined to fight the Admiral, and is currently scanning for escape routes. In front of him, he can already see some of the Whitebeard pirates heading up the gangplank onto the ship, fights beginning to reach their conclusions.
His vision swims very unhelpfully, accompanied with a feeling of nausea. Akainu advances threateningly towards Luffy, a fist raised high. Luffy makes a break for it, diving for a gap that opens between the marines encircling them, but an explosion nearly takes his limbs off, and he stops in his tracks.
The magma comes down.
A Whitebeard, Diamond Jozu, blocks it, half his body crystalline. Luffy flashes a grateful smile at him and sprints to the ship, leaping on the deck in a single swift motion, and Akainu glares, unable to move due to the shifting, splitting ground and the onslaught of a Commander. Luffy turns on his heel and points to him, gesturing animatedly. Pirates are beginning to head back to the ship, and he can see them jumping up in dozens. Where was Ace?
"Let's go, yoi," The Phoenix says as they make their way to the edge of the forest. He scans the rapidly thinning crowd, grimacing. "Okay. We're going to have to make a break for it, because I sense Cipher Pol behind us- they've managed to escape the defenses we set up."
Ace scowls. "I would've thought the double wall of fire and flaming pit I set up would have been enough," he says.
"This is Cipher Pol," the Phoenix notes. "Anyways. Ready?"
Ace nods, and they plunge into the open.
Akainu sees them immediately, and the magma hisses as it crashes into the ground, tearing up clods of dirt.
"Get Fire Fist!" he hears Akainu shout, and the marines all rush towards them. His vision wavers, heart pounding in his ears. The front of his shirt is sticky with blood. The Phoenix groans.
"I'm sick of this, yoi," he says, and looks at Ace. "I hope you won't mind this later."
Ace is just about to ask him what in the world he's going on about when the Phoenix grabs him by the collar and takes off into the sky.
"PUT ME DOWN!" he flails, and the Phoenix swerves right as a clump of magma shoots into the sky. The Moby Dick has pulled out of the harbor, and the Phoenix puts on a burst of speed, carving an arc through the sky until they're directly over the mast of the ship. Ace can't deny that flying feels good, although his senses are somewhat numbed by a combination of blood loss, fatigue, and suppressing his narcolepsy.
To his great regret, Ace definitely feels it when the Phoenix tosses him onto the deck before landing next to him, limbs shrinking back into humanoid form.
"OW!" he shouts, cursing the Phoenix. He stops short as he feels the hazy fuzziness of narcolepsy taking over, desperately hoping the Whitebeards will chalk it up to blood loss. Don't fall asleep, don't fall asleep, don't fall asleep, he chants in his head.
He falls asleep.