Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.
O - O - O - O - O
Errol and Ace arrived at the top of the towering execution scaffold, cuffed with seastone scuff. After Errol and Ace kneeled down, executioners then slowly stepped up on each side of the platform and flanked Errol and Ace, pulling out their swords and forming an X in front of the two. Well known marines from all over the world had gathered for the execution. Over 100,000 elite marines lined up from the rear of the plaza to the front wall of the crescent moon-shape bay. One of the three powers, the Royal Warlords, lined up on the wall along with the marines. Among the Warlords were Gecko Moria, Bartholomew Kuma, Boa Hancock, and two others Errol had not met yet. Countless heavy cannons were lined up on the entire coast of the island, waiting to be fired. Fifty marine warships surrounded the bay and sides of the island. The marines' greatest military forces, the three Admirals, sat in front of the execution platform where Errol and Ace couldn't see, protecting it. At the back of the island, standing large, tall and proud was the Marine Headquarters building with the marines' symbol placed on it. Around the Headquarters's four cardinal corners were small mountains with small buildings on top of each with flags that bore the marines' symbol placed on top of the roofs.
The large city that occupied the majority of the island, where the families of the marines lived, had been evacuated to Sabaody Archipelago. There, the residents of the city would watch the execution live on monitors, along with the numerous reporters and cameraman that gathered from all over the world to standby, and report deliver the report of the execution at a moment's notice. Errol, former Cipher Pol 9 Agent and current lookout for the Straw Hat Pirates, and Ace, current head of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates, were at the center of the execution taking place at the mighty island of Marineford, awaiting their fates which were to arrive within three hours.
"At least our execution is taking place on a nice day, huh?" Errol said with a grin as he looked at the mostly sunny sky. A nice breeze blew on Errol's face, blowing his hair slightly back.
"Well… that's one nice way of looking at it," Ace quietly replied as he looked down with darkened eyes.
"Do you… really think that Whitebeard will show up… to rescue you?" Errol asked. Ace looked up again, sighed, and then responded.
"Yes, Whitebeard… my father will come rescue me, and the marines know this as well. Why do you think all of the forces of justice imaginable have gathered here...?" Ace asked rhetorically. Errol could tell from the tone of his voice that he truly didn't want Whitebeard and his entire crew to rescue.
"You really don't want them to come, do you? Is it because you don't want to see any of them die over you?" Errol asked.
"Smart man," Ace commented.
"Sigh, you don't need to patronize me," Errol said, then looked down, "but… don't you think you should be a little, happier? Happy that you have so many friends that are coming to rescue you? Happy that so many people are willing to put their lives on the line to make sure you escape this place?"
"I know, but… all of this was my fault…!" Ace quietly growled as he began tearing up. "Pops told me not to go after Teach, even though he committed the biggest sin of all! But in frustration and anger, I went after him anyway, and look what happened! Now a war will break out, and people are going to die! All because of me…!"
"Whitebeard's probably happy that you went after Blackbeard, to be frank. He is a man of honor and discipline after all… he was probably just worried about you like the good captain he is. As for the people that'll die part, well… they're the ones who are choosing to come here. These guys… you guys are part of Whitebeard's crew, you're not the typical asshole pirates that only care about themselves in the end. I've learned enough about the Whitebeard Pirates to know that you all consider each other family…! So buck up! The one you should be worried about is Luffy! Who the fuck knows what happening to him right now!" Errol said.
"Hehe… hahahahahaha!" Ace laughed. After a few more seconds of laughing, he calmed down and spoke. "You are the best at giving pep talks! Man, I should've asked you to join me all that time ago after all!"
"Nah, it's fine. I've had a lot of adventures with Luffy, and I'm happy that I got to be a part of his crew for the short time that I did. If I manage to get out of here alive, then I'm joining back with him!" Errol declared. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming up the staircase that led up to the execution scaffold.
"Step back for a moment," a voice said from behind as the footsteps made it to the top.
"Yes sir," the two executioners said in unison as they pulled away their swords and stepped aside.
"Give me the transponder snail," the voice said. One of the executioners then handed the voice a transponder snail, and the footsteps made its way to the left side of Errol, where he could see a tall marine standing right next him with a transponder snail in hand. He had black hair, A long braided goatee, and mustache, and wore a white cap with a life-sized seagull on top of it, black glasses, saw an old, yet muscular man with white hair, a white captains coat over his shoulders with yellow epaulette, a white suit that is adorned with medals, white pants, and white shoes.
This was the voice I heard through Kuma's transponder snail back at Thriller Bark… so it was Sengoku all along,Errol thought.
"Gentlemen, I have something to tell you. Portgas D. Ace and Wyatt Errol… these two men will die here. And there is great meaning in both of these men's deaths for different reasons…!" Sengoku said through the transponder snail, which allowed his voice to go through the speakers at Marineford. Everyone on the island could hear him, as well as those watching the live broadcast at Sabaody Archipelago.
Whatever he's going to say, it can't be good at all…! Errol thought.
"Ace, say the name of your father!" Sengoku demanded. Ace slowly tilted his head toward Sengoku and responded.
"My father… is Whitebeard!" Ace exclaimed.
"No!" Sengoku yelled.
"It's true! The only father I have is Whitebeard! Nobody else!" Ace exclaimed.
"A long time ago, we were desperately searching. Because on some island somewhere, that man's child might be alive! Cipher Pol could only give us the smallest bit of information. So we checked all of the newborn children, and all of the children who were born soon after, as well as their mothers, and we still found nothing. That should have been it… but your mother gave her life for your birth using sheer will power to perform a trick...! She deceived us… no, she deceived the entire world! In the South Blue, there's an island by the name of Batelira. Your mother's name was Portgas D. Rouge. We never even imagined what she was capable of. Out of love for her child, she carried him in her womb for over twenty months! And when she finally gave birth, her strength gave out, and she died right there. One year and three months had passed since the father died… a child was born with the blood of the greatest villain running through his veins. That child was you. There's no way you don't know! Your father… was Pirate King God D. Roger!" Sengoku explained.
What!? The Pirate King himself had a child!? And Ace is that child!? Man, what an adoptive brother Luffy has! Errol thought with wide open eyes and a wide open mouth. Ace turned to Errol with a neutral expression, and Errol calmed down.
"Hey… do you think… that I deserve to be born…? To be born as the son of the Pirate King?" Ace whispered.
"What…?" Errol mumbled as he turned towards Ace. He then turned looked down and spoke. "Heh... I don't know, that's beyond my pay grade to answer. I don't think of you any differently, if it's any consolation."
"That expression of yours says otherwise," Ace commented.
"Well normally I wouldn't care if you were the child of some big shot, but the Pirate King isn't just some big shot, you know what I mean?" Errol explained, then looked up to Sengoku, "It's not all bad, you'll get to learn some juicy information about me as well when Buddha Boy over here does me next, right?"
"In due time…!" Sengoku said, pointing the transponders snail away from his mouth so the speakers don't pick up on his voice. He then pointed the transponder snail toward his mouth and started speaking again. "Was it two years ago now…? You took your mother's name… as the captain of the Spades Pirates, you ascended through the pirate world with your superior strength… and we finally noticed… that Roger's blood has survived! But Whitebeard realized it at the same time we did. And in order to raise you to be the next Pirate King, he took his former rival's son onto his own ship…!"
"No! I joined his crew to make Whitebeard the next Pirate King…" Ace started, but Sengoku interrupted him.
"You're the only one who thinks that. We couldn't take any rash actions against you because you were protected by Whitebeard! If we left you alone, slowly but surely, you would start to gain the qualities to stand at the summit of the pirate world! That's why there's so much meaning in cutting you down today! Even if it means total war with Whitebeard!" Sengoku said. He then took a moment to compose himself before speaking again. "Now, we move on to Wyatt Errol! Errol, please say the name of your mother!"
"My mother's name… is Aileen!" Errol exclaimed.
"No! She is not the one who gave birth to you!" Sengoku yelled.
"I don't give a damn! Aileen is the one who had raised since I was a baby! And she had been raising me the best damn way a parent could ever raise a child, all the way until her murder!" Errol exclaimed.
"Years ago, an extremely villainous pirate on the likes of Roger and Whitebeard whose memory and name alone has been nearly lost to time, roamed the Grand Line. At one point along his journey, he formed an alliance with the pirate known as Big Mom! His father formed an alliance with Big Mom to further his own goals in becoming the next Pirate King, while Big Mom… merely agreed on the condition that he would have children with him, because of his immense strength! Big Mom would eventually bare this man a pair of twins! One would be named Charlotte Panna, and the other, Charlotte Burro…! Wyatt Errol… is Charlotte Burro, the long lost thirty-fourth son of Big Mom…!" Sengoku explained.
"Well… I guess that is some juicy information…!" Ace mumbled under his breath.
"Yup, and now the whole fucking world knows about it…" Errol sighed.
"Errol's father would soon disband not only the alliance with Big Mom, but his entire crew as well, and fled back to his home island that once existed in the West Blue known, as Laoghaire. Two years later, myself along with other high ranking marines traveled to Laoghaire and successfully arrested this dangerous pirate. Years after that point, a plague known as the Potato Blight began to spread throughout Laoghaire. Cipher Pol investigated the plague and how dangerous it was. In the process, they've discovered a huge secret. They've discovered that Big Moms long lost child, Charlotte Burro, was on Laoghaire under a different name, given by his father! They then put the pieces together, and realized that Errol's father quit being a pirate because of his love for his newborn children, something we've never even considered to be a possibility due to his very nature! For years, we've always assumed that he had killed his child out of disgust for them. Instead… it turned out that he attempted snatch both of his children from Big Mom, but he only managed to escape with one of them. Cipher Pol decided that he would be a great asset for the World Government, and that we would take custody of him as so he would not follow in his father's path. Unfortunately, we were forced to completely destroy Laoghaire, as it was determined that the plague would spread to other islands and eventually the entire West Blue..." Sengoku explained, but Errol interrupted him.
"That's enough! You're telling lies! Lies! Everyone! Average citizens, pirates, lower ranking marines, or even any potential survivors of the destruction of Laoghaire, you all need to listen to me, and listen to me good! I need to tell you the real reason why Laoghaire was destroyed!" Errol shouted.
"Silence! Now!" Sengoku ordered, but Errol continued.
"The Potato Blight was manageable! Many people did die from it, but the disease was infecting less and less people as time went on! Laoghaire wasn't a threat to any other place! The official story that the World Government has given to the world is a lie!" Errol shouted.
"Executioners! Kill him immediately!" Sengoku ordered. The executioners then pulled out their swords and attempted to stab Errol in the back, but the two executioners immediately fainted. "What…!? What's going on!?"
"The Potato Blight was not the reason Laoghaire was destroyed. It was the Celestial Dragons! St. Charlos and St. Roswald, the ones I killed! Those two got sick from the bad potatoes from our island, and they retaliated by placing a Buster Call on our island, which caused the death of thousands of innocent people! That's the true reason why our island was destroyed! All the high ranking members of the marines and government here today know this to be true, but they've been lying to the world for years now about the truth! The reason why there's so much meaning in cutting me down for the World Government is to remind the world a lesson about what happens when you kill a Celestial Dragon! However, I don't give a damn that I killed those two Celestial Dragons, and you shouldn't either! Those two, as well as all the other Celestial Dragons, have made the lives of countless people throughout the world a living hell! To any of you who've experienced immense traumatization in any way because of the Celestial Dragons, I understand how it feels! If you don't like the Celestial Dragon's as much as I do, then fight back against them! Whether it be by becoming a revolutionary, a pirate, a marine that refuses an order that benefits a Celestial Dragon, or even an average everyday citizen that actively opposes Celestial Dragons whenever they come to their country!" Errol shouted. Every single person on Marineford heard Errol's words ringing the speakers on Marineford, and all of the reporters watching the broadcast at Sabaody Archipelago took note of them. Whether the world would believe in what Errol would say or not, the truth of Laoghaire's downfall was finally out in the open blue.
"That's enough out of you! One more word and I'll execute you myself" Sengoku shouted.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! We have a report! The Gates of justice have begun to open without anybody's orders! We can't contact the control room…!" a marine called out from the bottom of the stairs. Sengoku turned his attention away from Errol and turned to the marine.
"What!?" Sengoku yelled. Sengoku then looked up ahead to find a gigantic fleet of pirate ships, all showing different symbols and flags. "They appeared out of nowhere! Where did they come from!?"
"Well I'll be damned! It's Whitebeard's alliance!" Errol said.
"You guys too…!" Ace said.
"Looks like the war is about to start… Whitebeard should be coming anytime now," Errol said.
"No… he already is here," Ace said. Suddenly, rumbling from the bay was heard as four shadows appeared.
"It can't be…!" Sengoku said.
"Pops…!" Ace mumbled.
"I see, all of their ships… had the coating applied to let them travel on the ocean floor...!" Sengoku said. Suddenly, four ships surfaced from the waters, forming a cross formation in the bay. The ship that faced directly at the island Was significantly larger than the other three ships that had surfaced, and the figurehead was a white whale.
"Well… I guess you finally do get to meet an Emperor…." Ace mumbled.
"Yeah, I guess I do," Errol responded.
"Whitebeard…!" Sengoku growled. An abnormally large man was then seen walking on the white whale figurehead. He had a white mustache, and wore a black bandanna around his head, a white captains coat which hung loosely from his broad shoulders and bore his Jolly Roger symbol, tan pants, black boots, and a dark purple sash around his waist.
"Gurarara… how many years has it been, Sengoku? My beloved son had better be unharmed…! Gurararara…! You wait right there… Ace!" Whitebeard said.
"Old man!" Ace called our time.
"To think that he would show up right under our noses at an instant…" Sengoku grumbled.
"Gurarararara…" Whitebeard laughed. Whitebeard then gets into a stance, and punches the air behind him with both fists, forming cracks in the air. Suddenly, a gigantic tremor occurred as the two explosions occurred. From the explosions, two large waves formed on both sides of the island.
"A seaquake!" Sengoku said.
"Jeez, calm the fuck down, Whitebard! Are you trying to get everyone killed!?" Errol complained as the two waves had subsided.
"Old man… guys… even after I ignored your warnings and ran out on my own… why couldn't you have just forgotten about me!? It's my own fault that I ended up like this…!" Ace called out.
"No… as I recall, it was I who told you to go after him, my son," Whitebeard said.
"You liar…! What the hell are you talking about!? I ran out back then even though you told me to-" Ace started, bug Whitebeard interrupted him.
"I told him to go, isn't that right, Marco?" Whitebeard said.
"Indeed, I heard it with my own ears! We're sorry for putting you through this trouble, Ace! I think everyone in the whole wide ocean ought to know… just what happens to any damned fool who lays a hand on our crew member!" Marco called out. Marco had blonde hair in the style of a mohawk, and wore an open purple jacket, a light blue sash adorned with a golden-yellow belt around his waist, dark gray pants black sandals, and a tattoo on his chest consisting of a cross and crescent moon mustache symbol that resembled a black silhouette of Whitebeard's Jolly Roger.
"See Ace, I told you Whitebeard was happy that you went after Blackbeard," Errol commented.
"We won't leave a single one of those bastards who hurt who alive, Ace!" a pirate called out.
"You just wait! We're coming to get you!" a pirate called out.
"You just wait, Marine Headquarters…!" a pirate called out. Ace started to contort his face, almost as if he was about to cry. Errol took notice of this and spoke up.
"Are you… going to cry…?" Errol asked. Before Ace could answer, he and Errol noticed that the entire island began to shake. "Ngh! What's up with all this rumbling!?"
"It's from Whitebeard…! That seaquake he made earlier… is going to cause a full tsunami! That's the power of his Quake Quake Fruit!" Ace explained.
"We may have the greater force, but we must not take this opponent lightly! It may well be us who will meet our end today… for that man… has the power to destroy the world! Indeed… the war… is beginning!" Sengoku said, as two tsunami near the height of the headquarters building itself formed on both sides of the island.
"We're going to die now…" Errol sighed. Suddenly, Aokiji jumped from his spot and quickly froze both tsunamis in place. He then dived toward Whitebeard and threw ice spears at him, but Whitebeard managed to stop them and smash Aokiji in half at the same time with his devil fruit powers. Aokiji crumbled into ice, but reformed near the bay. He then froze the entire bay and much of the sea further back just before he ended up submerging into the waters. While it gave the marines and pirates a footing to fight each other on, both the marine battleships and pirate ships were completely immobilized. "Well, I stand corrected."
"Whitebeard wouldn't do something that he thought would get us killed. He knew something like this would happen," Ace explained. With the icy battlefield now formed, the pirates jumped out of their ships and the marines lined up against the bay. The war had finally begun.
O - O - O - O - O
The sounds of yelling, swords clashing, gunshots, and explosions were heard clearly down below on the icy battlefield that was once a bay. Dust and debris flew around the entire battlefield, partially blocking the gruesome scene from Ace's and Errol's view. Beside Errol, Sengoku was seen talking on his transponder snail, but Errol couldn't make out what Sengoku was saying due the noise erupting from the war.
"Hey, Ace… I'm sorry about what happened to that giant green guy…" Errol said as he looked at a green giant with long orange hair and horns lying dead on the battlefield. The marines and pirates had since clashed.
"Oars…? No, it's fine. Don't worry about it," Ace sighed as he looked down at his knees. Garp suddenly showed up on the execution scaffold. Ace then titled his head up and turned it back. "Gramps…"
"What Are you doing up here, Garp? You have a complaint about my strategy?" Sengoku asked.
"No… those pirates were up against… I have no pity for them…" Garp said as he walked next to Ace and sat down crisscross.
"Well, then…" Sengoku started, but Garp interrupted him.
"Oh be quiet! I can at least… stay here, can't I!? I have no pity for these criminals…" Garp started, but took a moment to pause as he began to cry, "but I can't say the same for family…! What do you expect me to do!? Damn you, Ace…! Why did you not live as I wanted you to!?"
"Gramps…!" Ace muttered.
"If you try anything at this point, I will show no mercy, even for you, Garp," Sengoku warned.
"Hmph. If I meant to try anything, I would have done it long ago!" Garp retorted. He then sighed, and began speaking again. "Errol… your father was right."
"Huh…?" Errol said as he shot up and turned toward Garp.
"I… I should have done something to prevent as much destruction as I could at Laoghaire all those years ago. Even though I knew the real reason why it's destruction would occur beforehand, I still didn't do anything out of fear of losing my job and becoming a wanted fugitive. If that happened to me… then what kind of example would I have been for my grandkids…!?" Garp said.
"Eh, it's whatever at this poi-" Errol started, but Garp interrupted him.
"No, it's not…! I didn't do the right thing…! I've always hated those Celestial Dragons from the very moment I became marine, but it also meant that I would be serving them directly or indirectly. One of the reasons I still stayed as a marine, though, is because I wanted to somehow change the system of power they had over not only marines, but over the entire world from the inside out without direct confrontation, but… the moment I heard what those Celestial Dragons had ordered a Buster Call against Laoghaire, I should've stood up and done something…! I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… the world deserved to know the truth of Laoghaire, not the false cover-up story the World Government fabricated and I along with many others played along with. I hope what I did for you could atone for my sins," Garp said.
"Garp… what did you do…!?" Sengoku growled.
"Hey! What's that up in the sky!?" Ace yelled before Garp could respond. All three of them looked up in the sky to see what Ace was looking at. A marine warship, along with dozens of small figures were seen falling down from the sky. The war had stopped for just a brief moment, so everyone could look up to see this mysterious incident. "Eh…?"
"Could it… be falling debris from a sky island or something?" Errol pondered as shouting was ringing from the small figures. The warship eventually landed on the frozen tsunami to the left of Marineford with all of the small figures landing on the ship. Sengoku then pulled out his transponder snail and began giving orders.
"Objective Tottz! Change formation and prepare for general strategy 3! Preparations are to be executed flawlessly! Once preparations are made, we will be executioning Ace and Errol before the scheduled time!" Sengoku ordered. The war then resumed With everyone ignoring the warship on the tsunami.
"Can you at least wine and dine us before you decide to fuck us?" Errol joked, which caused Ace to start chuckling.
"Silence!" Sengoku yelled. Suddenly, the tip of the tsunami collapsed, and the warship fell down, miraculously landing into a part of the bay where there was no ice. The ship snapped in half, and the front half began to point upwards.
"Haa… haa… there…!" Luffy said as he climbed up to the tip of the first half of the ship.
"Luffy!" Ace called out.
"Why am I not surprised…?" Errol sighed.
"Ace! Errol! I've finally found you two!" Luffy called out with a smile. Jinbei, Buggy, Crocodile, Ivankov, a commander for the Revolutionary Army in the Grand Linr, and dozens of us prisoners that escaped from Impel Down. "We're here to save you!"
"Gyahahahahaha! Are you ready for me, world!?" Buggy cheered.
"So this is a battle of the great powers! Certainly a force to be reckoned with!" Ivankov said. Ivankov was a large man with indigo hair in the style of an afro, long eyelashes, and wearing makeup, reddish-purple women's garments, a king's crown on top of a queen's crown, and a tattoo of a Jolly Roger on his chest.
"Garp! Is that another member of your family!?" Sengoku yelled.
"Luffy!" Garp panicked.
"Sigh, I'm just glad that he's all right… and it seems that he's escaped along with a bunch of other prisoners as well," Errol said.
"What is Luffy doing here!? He's going to get himself killed!" Ace grumbled.
"Oh calm down. No matter what you say to him, he's going to try to save us anyway. The best you can do is just hope that he manages to get here in time," Errol said.
"That is if he can even get here alive…!" Ace added.
"So this is your answer, is it, Jinbei!?" Sengoku yelled.
"Indeed! I resign as a Warlord!" Jinbei yelled back.
"That's a screwed up team if I ever saw one… it barely seems possible that they all share a common objective… particularly on this battlefield…" Garp noted.
"Hm? Where is Crocoboy? Hm?" Ivankov asked himself as he looked around for Crocodile. Crocodile formed from sand just behind Whitebeard, and had his golden hook place near Whitebeard's neck.
"It's been a while, Whitebeard!" Crocodile greeted as he was about to attempt to kill Whitebeard. Out of nowhere, Luffy, in Gear 2, kicked Crocodile across the face with his leg coated in water and pushed him back. "We had an arrangement, did we not? Why do you defend Whitebeard?"
"So this guy really is Whitebeard, huh? Then you're not touching him! This is the one guy Ace really cares about!" Luffy yelled. Whitebeard looked down at Luffy, and noticed that he had a straw hat tied around his neck… the same straw hat that Shanks once wore.
"Boy… that straw hat you wear… it bears a strong resemblance to the one Red Hair once wore…" Whitebeard pointed out.
"Oh, hey! You know Shanks, huh? I'm borrowing this hat from him!" Luffy explained.
"Are you here to save your brother?" Whitebeard asked.
"That's right!" Luffy declared.
"I hope you understand who you're up against. You will simply be throwing your life away!" Whitebeard warned.
"Shut up! It's not your job to decide that! I've heard about you… you want to be the Pirate King, huh? Well the one who's gonna be Pirate King is me!" Luffy declared. The entire war once again stopped for just a brief moment, and stared down Luffy for talking back to Whitebeard for obvious reasons. While many of the pirates and marines who heard Luffy threw their hands up in shock, Whitebeard simply looked at Luffy and chuckled.
"Well I'll be damned…" Whitebeard smiled.
"Hey, brat...! Are you done fucking around…!?" Jones yelled as he jumped over from the warship to the Moby Dick where Luffy was at.
"Hm?" Luffy mumbled as he turned to Jones, "Oh, sorry! I'm ready!" Whitebeard looked down to see Jones' face, a face he had not seen for years.
"Wyatt Jones…! Whitebeard growled. Jones looked up to see Whitebeard's eyes staring down at him, filled with rage.
"Uh… sorry. I wasn't supposed to make my presence known this early," Jones apologized.
"Ah…! That's… Wyatt Jones…!" Sengoku muttered as sweat drops formed on his forehead.
"What…!? Damn it, Luffy! You let him of all people free!?" Garp panicked. The younger marines and pirates didn't know who Jones was, but the older matined and pirates were visibly frightened. Whitebeard then
"At least someone on the other side cares about me…" Errol mumbled.
"Long time no see, asshole…" Jones said to Whitebeard.
"Jones…!" Whitebeard growled. He then lifted up his large cleaver blade he wielded, spun it around in the air, and slammed it back down, sending a small gust of wind to fly through the vicinity.
"What's with the sour face…? I thought you'd be happy to see an old enemy?" Jones taunted.
"I should kill you where you stand… little brat!" Whitebeard threatened.
"You see, last time you called me a little brat, our crews started fighting, and we ended up killing five of your friends. How about I personally kill ten of your friends this time?" Jones rebutted. Once again, many of the pirates and marines threw their hands up in shock after hearing Jones talk to Whitebeard the way he was.
"I wouldn't be picking a fight with mf if I were you…! All of my crew are here, while you're alone…" Whitebeard.
"Aww! You got your wittle crew with you? You'd definitely need them to take me on! You'll probably get a fucking heart attack before I landed the first punch, old man! Hahahahaha!" Jones laughed.
"Hey! Whatever issues you two have, sort them out later! Right now, we gotta save Ace and Errol!" Luffy barked. Jones and Whitebeard then looked at Luffy.
"Little brat…! We can't just simply sort out our issues that easily!" Jones said.
"But unfortunately, he's right…! But after this day, I'll be coming after you, Jones! I still remember all of my sons that you've killed, and you're not going to get away with it, even after all these years!" Whitebeard threatened.
"Heh, good luck with that! But I agree, right now just want to save my son. My actual son by the way, not just some freeloader that I call son," Jones remarked. Garp, Sengoku, Ace, and Errol could hear their entire conversation from the execution scaffold for a bit, but the war had since continued, leaving the four to talk amongst themselves.
"If there's one person in this world who can get away with talking to Whitebeard like that, it's Jones…!" Sengoku said.
"Sigh… Errol… compared to your old man, you're a good kid," Garp admitted.
"I am…?" Errol asked.
"Pops told me some things about Jones… he said that Jones constantly raided his home island, Sphinx just to piss him off and get a good laugh..." Ace explained. While Errol didn't say anything or express any feelings on the outside, on the inside, he was laughing as hard as he could. One thing Errol and Jones had in common was a dark sense of humor. Back at the Moby Dick figurehead, Luffy explained to Whitebeard the transmission he and Jones heard on a transponder snail on the warship they landed at Marineford with.
"They mean to execute Ace and Jones' son ahead of schedule!? Are you certain that is what you heard!?" Whitebeard asked.
"They said they'd do it when they get some kind of preparation ready, but the rest was full of codes, so we didn't really get it. Since we both want to save Ace, I figure you should at least know that much!" Luffy said.
"I see… this is indeed valuable information. I must thank you!" Whitebeard thanked.
"Nah, don't worry about it!" Luffy said. He then turned towards the battlefield. "Ace! Errol! I'm coming for you two!" Luffy then attempted to jump off the Moby Dick, but Jones grabbed him by his collar, stopping him. "Hey! Let me go! I'm gonna save Ace and Errol!"
"No. My son likes you, so I'm not going to let you get killed so easily," Jones said as Luffy struggled to break free.
"I'm not gonna die though! You don't know how strong I am!" Luffy pouted as he stopped struggling.
"No, but I know how strong the marines are… especially the high ranking ones. You just follow me," Jones said.
"No! I'm going on my own!" Luffy declared.
"Sigh, if you're really going to be a little shit about this, then I'll just follow you and make sure you don't get hurt. Is that fine?" Jones asked.
"Yeah, I guess…" Luffy said, and Jones dropped beside him. Jones then walked forward and took a long breath.
"Errol! My beloved son! Can you hear me!? How're you doing!?" Jones shouted at the top of his lounges. Everyone on the battle then stopped and turned toward Jones.
"I've… had better days, I guess!?" Errol shouted back from the execution scaffold.
"You've avenged our homeland! You don't deserve to die on this day, and I'll make sure of that! After seventeen long years, daddy's finally here!" Jones shouted.
Oh god, this is so embarrassing! Hundreds of thousands of people are hearing this right now…!" Errol thought.
"Garp…! Sengoku…! How many years has it been since I last instilled fear in years eyes!? My son had better be unharmed by the time I get there! You sit right there, Errol, and enjoy the fireworks!" Jones shouted.
"Jones…!" Garp mumbled.
"Garp… you and I must go and take out Jones. That man is more dangerous than the current Emperors of today, including Whitebeard. If he's allowed on this battlefield, then-" Sengoku started, but Garp interrupted him.
"No, he won't cause that much damage. When he has a strict goal in mind, he won't waste any time on nobodies," Garp brushed off.
"Garp…! I don't care what you think! This is an order!" Sengoku stated.
"Quiet!" Garp yelled. Garp then took a heavy breath, and tears began forming in his eyes. "Can't... I just stay with my family for a bit longer…?"
O - O - O - O - O
A/N: Hey guys. It's been a while, and I'm sorry for the long wait. Also, I promised in the DM's with someone and in my bio that this chapter would be the chapter that sends off the pre-timeskip era of this story… well I guess that won't be the case. Sorry, life just hit next like a brick wall… as well as some laziness on my part. Originally, I was just going to push the release date for this chapter back further and wait until I had everything right now, but it's been so long since I've updated it, so I just wanted to give you this. Again, sorry for the long wait. Kind of a dick move on my part.
Truth be told, I don't know how many more chapters this will be. I'm thinking maybe two, one to finish up Marineford, and another to add in a small epilogue. I already know where he'll be going for the two year timeskip, so you'll find out in due time.
Another thing, I finish the epilogue chapter, I think I'm going to do a hiatus of this story for two reasons: the first reason is that I want to have a small break from writing this story. Like I've said before, I really want to do something Dragon Ball related, and I'm starting to solidify some of the ideas I've been having for a while. The second reason is that I want to wait and see how the rest of the Emperor Saga will go. I already have a couple ideas in mind of what I want Errol to do, but I just want to figure out the consequences of Errol's actions after WCI (For Errol, WCI will be an important arc for obvious reasons. Also, consequences in this case doesn't necessarily mean bad for Errol or Luffy's journey in becoming Pirate King, just a small hint).
One more thing… I've been thinking about this for a while, and I feel like I need to say this because I don't know why: Errol's an asshole, at least to me. I've intended for him to be one since the start, and he's staying like that. He'll get some character development definitely, but he'll probably still be an asshole in the end because I find it funny. Just like with Luffy, don't romanticize at least some of Errol's behavior. :P
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter despite the long wait! Thanks for reading!
