CHAPTER 24
Please don't kill me
(Merry late christmas...)
DISCLAIMER
Marco crashed through branches and bushes chasing Ace. Ace was several paces ahead of him, dodging all obstacles with ease due to his rock hard perseverance.
Marco heard the crashing and cursing of his friends behind him. He could identify several new voices and realized that the others had caught up with him.
As he ducked out of the way of another branch, he could feel the temperature rising with each step he took. He also noticed how easier it was to see around him with the bright orange glow emanating through the forest.
Ace couldn't push down the panic rising in his stomach the closer he got to the complex. He had no idea how his brothers could have escaped, much less survived.
'But I'll save them.' He thought with conviction. 'I won't stop until their both standing beside me.'
He hears the yells from Marco and his friends behind him, calling him back. Ace clicked his tongue in mild annoyance, their shouts would only fall to deaf ears and they knew that.
The sound of another small explosion startled Ace and he tripped over a root. Before he could hit the ground, a pair of strong arms grabbed him from behind and steadied him.
He turned around and his brown eyes met pissed blue ones.
"What do you think your doing-yoi?" Marco said annoyed. Ace pulled away and smoothed his hair back, hoping to get rid of some of the embarrassment he felt.
"I just tripped, and why did you stop me? I've got to go help them!" Ace shouted, his embarrassment turning into frustration. Marco lifted a hand to cuff him, but put it back down when he noticed the teen flinch.
"Ace, I completely understand that you want to do this. But what are you going to do when you get there-yoi? Run into the inferno and collapse within the first two seconds your in there?" Marco asks. Ace had his head down and his bangs are ominously covering his forehead and eyes.
Marco jumps back in surprise when they expose eyes filled with such pure anger and anguish.
"What are you suggesting exactly? I am not going to just go back to the van while my brothers are most likely dead. Why the fuck would I not go running as fast as I can to save them? Don't you get it Marco? If they're dead, I'm dead." Marco stares at Ace with a stunned expression and realizes he made a mistake. If he were in Ace's place he wouldn't even hesitate to rescue his friends, no matter what the sacrifice. Marco sighs deeply and jogs up ahead.
"What are you doing?" Ace asks as he jogs next to him.
"Getting you to your brothers." He states simply. Ace blinks in bewilderment then looks ahead with a ghost of a smile.
"Thanks." He says almost inaudibly, but Marco heard him.
"Anything for you." So they speed on through the undergrowth faster than ever. Ace silently hoped he was going on the same path as he took before.
Behind them their friends seemed to have caught up and after a swift look from Marco, they all complied and did not protest Ace's actions.
Ace's head suddenly perked up when he could make out the flat plain that stretched out in front of the building.
With new vigor, he sprinted past the group and into the vast stretch of land in front of him. The sight in front of him was so surreal he actually had to stop to process it all.
In short, it looked like an actual place from hell. The whole building appeared to be engulfed in flames that were growing taller and taller by the second. The roof was collapsing in on itself and once and awhile a small explosion would go off and create a giant cloud of black smoke. The treeless environments around the building made it seem barren and the center of attention.
All Ace can hear is the thump thump of his own heart as he's tearing through the grass towards the burning inferno that held his brothers captive.
He registers his friends' hands pulling him back, preventing him from running in, but he can barely feel them. Ace pulls himself away and they have no choice but to follow him to the entrance.
Ace stops at the double doors he had once used to escape and finds it ironic how much he wants to get back in. He takes a deep breath in and yells as loud as he can.
"SABO! LUFFY! ARE YOU IN THERE?!" Silence.
"SABOOO! LUFFY!" Only the crackling of the flames can be heard. Ace shakes his head miserably when he hears a small yell coming from the establishment.
Ace immediately pushes the door open and is met with the familiar musky and blazing atmosphere. He looks down the long hallway and sees Sabo laying on the ground and struggling to get up.
Despite his friends protests he runs head first into the building and to his ailing brother. Marco trails in quickly after him, lifting a hand to prevent the others from coming in.
Marco and Ace run about halfway down the long hallway and dodge falling debris on almost every step they take. They both lift their arms to their mouths to try and filter out the smoke, but it's basically useless.
"Sabo!" Ace yells as he crouched to his ailing brother. Sabo had his face hidden from their view and was gripping his left eye in pain. He was shaking quite a bit so they had a little trouble getting him up on his feet.
Sabo mumbled something through his hands and his shoulders shook a little more.
"He-he I tried to c-cover him b-but we got b-blown apart..." He stuttered quietly. Ace looked down at his brother but couldn't hear what he was saying. Ace assumed the shaking was from the pain and he placed Sabo in Marco's arms.
"Take Sabo out of here while I look for Lu!" He ordered Marco.
"You crazy idiot I can't let you do that by yourself!" Marco shouted back. Ace turned away from Marco with his back facing him.
"Remember what I said in the forest!" Marco stifled another protest and after a brief hesitation, led the injured D out of the building.
He carefully set Sabo on the ground where he merely sat on his knees and continued to clutch his face for dear life.
'Koala is going to have a heart attack when she gets here.' Marco thought as he noticed that she wasn't present in the current group which included Sanji, Brook, Franky and Robin.
Robin knelt next to the ailing Sabo and put a gentle hand on his arm.
"Sabo, I need to take a look at your eye so you have to remove your hand, okay?" She says in a persuasive voice. His shoulders shake a little more and Robin furrows her brows in worry.
"Sabo?" To their shock, Sabo finally showed his horribly burnt face, which was covered with...tears?
"Please...Lu...I don't know...please if he's alright..." He gasps out as he clutches Robin's shoulders. With that, he passes out and collapses into Robin's arms. Robin sighs and gently pets his head.
"Go on and rest, you deserve it. You all deserve it." She says gazing sympathetically at the blonde.
Marco forces himself to turn around from the scene to Ace, and he noticed that the building was starting to cave faster than usual. He swears under his breath and walks as close to the entrance as possible without getting burnt.
"Ace! This place is going down soon!" He yelled, bringing his hands up to make his voice louder. But Ace paid no attention to him, he was too busy kicking doors open trying to find his little brother. Flaming debris is falling around Ace's feet and he can feel them scorching his already raw soles.
As Ace ran down the center of the hallway, he thought he noticed something up ahead and missed the incoming piece of pipe that fell from the ceiling.
It hits him square on the head and he totters dangerously to the side. Just as he's about to fall on his face, he's caught.
Ace blearily looks up and sees Luffy grinning at him with a bloody face. At any other moment he would have looked like a character from a horror movie, but right now Ace thought it was the best thing he saw all day.
No words were exchanged; they were too tired for that. Instead Ace just smiled back as Luffy balanced him on his feet. They supported each other's weight as they both trudged from the complex.
Their friends are rooting them on from the entrance and keep telling them to hurry up, despite their condition. Luffy flinches to the side when a flame almost burns him and Ace nearly falls to the ground. Luffy weakly pulls him up and Ace barely manages to stand again.
This was, by far, the most exhausting moment of their lives. How they were still breathing was beyond them. But here they were-walking one agonizing step at a time from the hell that held them captive for so long. Luffy bursts into a coughing fit and stumbled a little bit.
'If Ace wasn't here I probably would've collapsed ages ago.' As Ace started coughing, Luffy assumed it was the same for his brother too.
They both see Sabo behind their friends, unable to move his arms and legs but is leaning on Robin as he yells their names in encouragement,
A clicking sound caught Luffy's attention and he craned his neck around to check the source. What he saw astounded him and brought a slight panic to his stomach.
The clicking sound was a loaded gun, and holding it was none other than Teach. Or what was left of him, the majority of his bottom half was burnt to a crisp from the explosion he was caught up in.
Teach had a maniacal grin and was pointing the weapon at the lab on the far end of the hallway that had not yet lit aflame. The man didn't look like he would last long and this would be his finishing act.
This man wanted to bring them down with him.
Eyes widening, Luffy turned around and urged Ace to run faster just as Teach pulled the trigger.
Immediately, a large flamethrower grew and enveloped Teach almost instantly, but it also headed full speed towards the running brothers.
They both pumped their legs as hard as they possibly could run. Their friends had all scattered from the door and yelled desperately from a distance. They all wanted to run in and get them out, but the flamethrower would easily take them by then.
As they were still a good ten meters away from the exit, Luffy realized they wouldn't make it in time. The flame was coming towards them fast and furiously, leaving nothing but charred debris in its wake.
Luffy looked sideways at Ace, who still had the belief they could escape before it got them. He smiled and admired his brother's badass attitude and bravery for what would be the last time. Luffy looked ahead at Sabo's horrified expression, as he knew what would come. He felt a warm glow of pride well in his stomach at how smart his brother was, and hoped it would take him far.
Still smiling, Luffy pushed Ace in front of him as he slung his rubber arms a little ways back. Ace looked at his brother confusedly before he was jolted forward at an alarming speed. Luffy pushed Ace through the door with his rubber powers and into the safety of the outdoors while he remained in the building.
Luffy felt an overwhelming sense of relief. His brothers were safe and had escaped. An elephant had been lifted off his chest and he felt like he could breathe again, even through the suffocating smoke.
Ace got up off the ground and him and Sabo look on in horror and scream their brother's name in vain. The crew joins in the chorus of desperate calls and Luffy feels a tear slip down his cheek. His rubber powers were gone; he could not stretch forward and out any longer.
Not bothering to run anymore, Luffy halts and everyone's breaths hitch in their throats. Luffy inhales deeply and smiles the largest smile he could muster. His eyes were apologetic and glazed with sadness.
"I love you!" Was the last thing he shouts before the flames engulfed him and the building explodes.
Thanks to those who followed and faved this story!
Phonenix: THE QUEEN OF CLIFFHANGERS HAS STRUCK AGAIN AND IT'S A BIGGIE THIS TIME. And I'm quite sad my nature is shitty, but my nature is my nature right?
q. feuille7: Honestly I was so happy when I heard you marathoned this, I couldn't stop smiling thank you so much for reading! And Burgess doesn't tie-in, he's just an extra villain I added in for spice. Sorry if that's disappointing but I do mention what happens to him next chapter.
Cotton Candy Lover- Chopper: I'm so happy this story makes you feel this way! And yes, it is quite weird that it makes you want to do that.
IMPORTANT PLEASE READ
Prepare your tissues next time folks. (Also since next chapter is the last, it is also the last time I will respond to reviews on the story. Ill PM y'all after that.)
Also, pretty sure I mentioned posting an extra chapter but...meh I never keep my promises do I? Sooooooo, I'm going to post the last chapter on WEDNESDAY! If you don't have an account and just look at this story on Sundays do not do so cause it will be posted on WEDNESDAY!
Next time: How can I move on? Last chapter...
~when the jingle bells ring