Author's Note: And here it is, the fast update I promised! I hope ya'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :) Merry Christmas!

To Irene Sharda: Yep, it's always Teach. He's a trouble maker no matter the world. I'm so glad you're enjoying this story so much! It's one of my favorites too XD The political situation is definitely similar to the setting of To Be Human and is very fascinating to write. I feel like it makes for an interesting story ;) Thank you so much for the review and I hope you enjoy the update!

To clipboardfox22: Thank you so much! Haha I worked hard to get these updates out as quickly as possible XD I love Lu and Ace so much.

To too addicted to fiction: I am also glad that Enel got owned lol. You shall have to read and see what happens between Luffy and Ace ;) As always, thank you so much for the review and I hope you enjoy the update!

To BlueHeartNina: Lol Kidd can be unexpectedly cute sometimes XD It is indeed about to get lit!

WARNINGS:

- Violence/gore

- Questionable science *shrugs*

- Bio-engineering loosely based on stuff from Fullmetal Alchemist

- Luffy finally gets his chance to shine

Marco rushed through the citadel, desperately trying to keep an eye on Ace through what windows they passed. The beast that used to be his fledgling had broken through the wall in the meeting room not long after killing Enel and was slowly making his way down to the courtyard.

"Thatch, take Law to the infirmary and make sure he stays asleep."

"Aye!" His brother affirmed, readjusting the unconscious doctor on his back as he ran. Marco grit his teeth as he looked over his shoulder to his many followers. The commanders who were present at the meeting all looked to him for guidance while Kidd and Sabo appeared equally distressed. He felt bad that this happened during Eustass' first presentation as Lord but no one could've predicted Enel's interference.

Yes, right now it was better for Marco to take charge.

"Blenheim, Jozu, go secure the humans. Evacuate them into the main building if you have to." The two commanders nodded and began to talk into their earpieces, no doubt to Law's keepers to coordinate a group effort. In his natural state, Ace would never harm their humans, but as he was now, there was no telling what he'd do. "Vista, escort our guests, Lord, and Second to the library and create a barricade-"

"No way!" Kidd interrupted, stopping on the stairs, "I'm not going to run and hide, Phoenix!"

"It is for the best, yoi." Marco shot back, pointing out the window at Ace's massive, fiery body, "You are our Lord and we cannot afford to let Ace kill you!"

"We can help." Sabo put in, stepping forward, "Just tell us what to do."

Marco frowned at the group before him, inwardly cursing them for their courage. This wasn't the time for false bravado. If something went wrong…people were going to die.

"I for one intend to see this through with my own eyes." Crocodile stated before taking a drag from his cigar, "It's been a long time since I've seen a D run wild…"

"I wouldn't recommend trying to fight him." Katakuri interjected, earning an annoyed frown from Crocodile, "In his current state, his power is far beyond what it was…or should be."

"So that's a D, huh?" Sanji added, eyeing Ace with apprehension, "I can't say I have any experience in this area, but I can fight. If we all work together, we should be able to stop him."

'I'm not so sure about that.' Marco mused, picturing Ace's almost instant kill of Enel. Though there were quite a few powerful fighters in the citadel, not many of them were at the level of a vampire Lord. Unfortunately, he doubted anyone below the level of a commander would last before the demonic beast.

But…how was he supposed to say no to their earnest faces.

"All right if that's what you want. Stay close, yoi!" He exclaimed, continuing their sprint through the citadel. While they ran, Marco sent a citadel wide order for all soldiers who were ranked below commander to focus on protecting the humans and other non-combative personnel. Hopefully it wouldn't take long for the remaining commanders to gather in the courtyard where they could face Ace head-on and corral him away from-

"Look out!" Sanji yelled, prompting the group to stop just in time to avoid a large part of the ceiling falling on them. Ace was almost too the ground.

"Come on!" Marco ordered, leaping over the debris, "We have to contain him before he does any more damage, yoi!"

When they all exited the building into the courtyard, a roar sounded above them, followed swiftly by a shadow that swept across the group, eventually reuniting with its owner. Ace had leapt from the main building and cracked the ground with the weight of his landing. The grass surrounding his flaming body caught fire almost immediately and began to spread dangerously close to the nearby stables. The beast didn't seem to notice (or care) and swiped his tail around behind him, barring his teeth at their group.

Marco flinched when Ace scraped his claws along the ground and straightened up to his full height, wings beating in a display of dominance. His poor fledgling had been reduced to beast of instinct and feral nature.

"Ok, what's the plan?" Kidd asked, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Marco hummed, taking in the situation as quickly as he could.

"We'll attack him all at once, yoi. If we can just knock him unconscious, that should release him from whatever spell Enel placed him under." Marco commanded, praying his hypothesis was correct. The group collectively agreed to his plan and quickly spread out, each brandishing a different weapon.

Katakuri had his trident, which Marco knew he never went anywhere without, while Crocodile simply held out his hook. The vampiress who traveled with him was there as well and apparently didn't find it necessary to utilize a weapon. Sanji tapped his feet on the ground and moved into a stance that suggested he would attack using his legs.

Beside him, Kidd pulled out his pistols and Sabo clutched a broken piece of pipe in his hands, having snagged it from the debris pile in anticipation of the fight. The commands present all had their weapons of choice but looks of hesitation flashed across their faces. Marco knew the feeling. He didn't want to have to hurt Ace…but they really didn't have much of a choice.

"Let's go! Don't give him a moment to rest, yoi!"

Ace felt like he was floating.

Wherever he was, it was dark, and very, very warm for some reason. He tried to open his eyes but found that he couldn't. When he attempted to move his arms, they wouldn't move either.

'What happened…why am I…?' Ace thought, unable to feel anything except the intense sensation that he was being attacked. Though nothing reached him in the dark place, he followed his instincts, willing his body to repel his enemies so he could sleep.

The vampire exhaled slowly as the warmth and darkness wrapped more securely around him.

'I'll just…rest for a while.'

Marco grunted in pain as he body was flung back against the citadel's inner wall yet again, smashed out of the air by one of Ace's massive claws. Thankfully, he'd managed to avoid serious damage, but he was starting to lose stamina. No matter what angle they attacked him at, Ace seemed to know they were coming and would move to counter them.

So far, none of them had managed to land a hit on the beast.

Katakuri came the closest, but even the elder vampire was blocked by a wall of flames that sprouted from the ground. It seemed that the longer Ace stayed in one place, the more the environment around him became molten and molded to his will.

"Marco, are you okay!?" Sabo exclaimed, rushing to his side. Marco nodded and pushed himself up onto one knee, breathing heavily. It felt like one of his ribs might've cracked after that last attack.

'This is ridiculous…' Marco thought, watching Sanji barely avoid being roasted alive. They had gathered a powerful group of vampires and yet they were being swatted like flies! Had Enel's device made Ace too powerful?

What if…they couldn't beat him?

His gaze swept the smoldering courtyard, taking in the fleeing forms of some of their humans. If nothing else, at least his men were following his orders to take the humans further inside the citadel. Re-focusing his attention on Ace, Marco attempted to formulate a strategy based on what they'd seen of the D's new form.

'We need to get him out of this area, he's drawing strength from the fire around him.'

Suddenly, a cry of pain drew their attention and Marco's blood went cold. Killer had been hit by a violent attack and was currently moaning on the ground, unable to move.

"Killer!?" Kidd yelled, immediately scrambling to his feet in an attempt to save his friend from the raised claw above him. Marco felt his heart sink, immediately recognizing that they wouldn't make it in time. Ace was going to kill him.

However, just before the claw made contact and tore Killer in half, something darted out of the main building. Marco was forced to cover his face when Ace's claw hit, sending a cloud of dust and debris flying into their eyes. Coughing, he stood to his feet alongside Sabo, craning his neck in an attempt to see what happened.

He expected the worst but instead, a very unexpected scene unfolded before him.

There, holding Ace's claw with one hand, was Luffy.

Sabo felt his jaw drop at the sight of Luffy standing over Killer, his much smaller body trembling slightly from the strain of blocking Ace's attack.

With everything that happened, he'd completely forgotten that they had three D's in the citadel and he hadn't even thought to go check on the boy. Had he lost control as well? Were they going to have to fight two Denali at the same time!?

'No…something's different about him.' Sabo thought, taking a moment to examine the human. He wore his off-white shirt and shorts, no shoes as usual, but the chain that linked his shackles together was broken, hanging loosely behind each foot. It was then that he noticed the monkey clinging to Luffy's neck for dear life and Doma's unconscious body slung over the human's shoulder.

He'd managed to protect Killer while holding those two!?

'Okay, that's not normal.' Sabo's thoughts raced as the other vampires joined him in staring at the young D in shock. The Luffy he knew was meek, easily scared, and certainly not capable of fighting off anybody. Was this the effect of Enel's device?

When Ace snarled down at Luffy and attempted to dislodge his claw from the boy's grip, Sabo couldn't stop the gasp of fear from escaping his lips. The human was going to die! However, instead of being impaled, Luffy let go of the claw, causing Ace stumble for a split second. Taking advance of the loss of balance, the young boy jumped and performed an impressive round-house kick that just barely nicked the beast's horns, the force of the attack sending Ace skidding backwards across the scorched grass.

Luffy huffed and glanced to Killer worriedly before meeting Sabo's gaze across the yard. The pureblood was struck by how different he appeared. Instead of his usual lowered countenance, Luffy's big, dark eyes met his with a confidence he'd never seen in the human before.

"Sabo!" The boy called, making him jolt in surprise at being addressed, "Catch!"

Suddenly, the bodies of both Doma and Killer were flying through the air, straight at Sabo's face. The pureblood yelped in surprise but moved to catch them, just barely managing to buffer their fall with his own body. Thankfully, Marco was there to pry the dead weight off him so he could sit up.

"Oi, what-"

He stopped short when he caught sight of the determination on Luffy's face. His fist was clenched and his messy hair billowed in the wind as he stood before Ace's demonic form. The beast had recovered from whatever the boy had done and wasted no time roaring and gnashing his teeth at the boy.

"L-Luffy you have to get out of there!" Sabo managed, finally finding his voice again. Now was not the time to stare in awe. His favorite human was going to get killed. If vampires were no match for Ace, there was no way Luffy was, even if he utilized whatever D 'magic' was coursing through his veins right now.

"Shishishi, it's okay, Sabo." Luffy answered, flashing him a soft smile. He then said something to the monkey, prompting it to scurry down his arm and race across the grounds to Doma's side. "I'll get Ace back no matter what."

Luffy inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, the wind picking up with each passing second. At first, Sabo hadn't noticed it as much, but now, it was clear that there was something unnatural about the air spiraling through the citadel. When the boy exhaled, the fire along the ground flickered like a candle about to be blown out.

With each breath, the wind became more and more visible, laying upon Luffy like a protective cloak. Across the yard, Ace snarled at his new opponent, pawed up another clump of dirt, and leapt into the sky. The beast spread his wings and flapped until he was a good distance up in the air before diving straight at Luffy's head.

"Oi, kid, you better move!" Sanji called, showing concern for the young D that was just standing there…breathing.

For his part, Sabo thought his heart was going to stop (which honestly wouldn't be a huge deal because he was a vampire…but still). He cared about Luffy and would never forgive himself if something happened to him on his watch.

"I have to help him-" Sabo was held back by a hand on his arm. He swiveled around and was surprised to see it was Marco who'd stopped him. The elder vampire shook his head.

"I…don't think he needs our help, yoi."

Before he could completely process what Marco meant, Luffy moved. In a split second, he joined Ace in the sky, rocketed off the ground by a burst of wind. As his small body flew through the air, his single arm was swiftly encased in a black substance, one that glinted slightly in the sunlight.

When the two collided, a shock wave swept through the citadel, shattering any nearby glass and even knocking over trees. Sabo grunted and fell to his knees, knocked off his feet by the sheer force of the collision. Another look at the fight above them revealed that Luffy's fist was currently buried in Ace's cheek, his small body able to bypass the tearing claws of the beast.

Seconds later, he followed through with the hit, sending Ace's massive form crashing through their outer wall like it was paper. Sabo's jaw dropped in shock when the beast kept going, eventually smashing into the ground and creating a large crater in the sandy wastes beyond their front gate.

His sweet little Luffy who loved pancakes, stuffed animals, and petting puppies, had just punched a fiery demon monster in the face.

If that wasn't the most awesome thing he'd ever had the pleasure to witness, he wasn't sure what was.

Luffy's heart raced as he floated in the air, suspended by a power he didn't yet fully understand. The second he'd bitten into his pendant, the wind had blanketed his body, surrounding him completely. It'd surprised him so much that he accidently sent Doma flying through his cell door, knocking the vampire unconscious and flattening the guards stationed there.

He felt bad about it since the vampire had always been so nice to him.

Strangely enough, the armor that coated his hand came to him easier than controlling the wind. Luffy wasn't sure what it was but it was tough and fit his preferred fighting style perfectly.

Haki.

The word just…came to him, though he wasn't sure from where.

'Haki…is that what this is called?' Luffy thought, bringing his hand up closer to his face. It didn't feel complete to him, but he really didn't have time to think it through, not when Ace had already recovered from his previous attack and, honestly, he wasn't sure how long he could keep this up.

His body already ached from the strain he was putting it through and it'd only been a few minutes.

Steeling himself, Luffy shot through the hole Ace had made in the wall and emerged in the wastes. As expected it was hot and dusty, but thankfully, the weather wasn't too bad. He could see his big brother just fine. The beast roared and slammed his tail against the cracked and dry dirt around him, obviously pissed off.

"Ace!" Luffy exclaimed, landing in front of the creature and doing his best to ignore the heat singing his feet, "This isn't you! You've gotta stop!"

As expected, the beast completely ignored him and prepared to attack again. Luffy huffed and raised his fist, a grin appearing on his face. Despite all the pain and difficulty he'd no doubt face after going head to head with his brother, he found himself enjoying the freedom of the fight.

No chains, no walls. Just him and Ace.

"Come on then." Luffy called, widening his stance, "If the only way to snap you out of it is to beat your ass…that's what I'm going to do."

Kidd joined the other vampires standing on the outer wall so he could witness the intense fight occurring beyond the gate. With all the sand and dust kicked up in the skirmish, it was difficult to see what was going on. Swallowing hard, he glanced behind him to where Killer was resting with the other injured.

Had the human not stepped in…his brother would probably be dead.

'Why did he do it?' Kidd mused, turning back to the battle in the distance. As far as he knew, the young D had never met Killer and certainly didn't have any reason to save a vampire. During his time in the citadel, he'd had his freedom taken in every possible way. For lack of a better word, he'd been treated like a pet, and yet-

"KICK HIS ASS, LUFFY!" Sabo yelled, startling Kidd out of his thoughts. For whatever reason, his old friend was really getting into the fight. For a moment, the dust cleared just in time for them to witness Luffy wrapping his legs around Ace's neck and smashing the much larger being into the ground. "YEAH, GO FOR THE FACE!"

"He's…doing surprisingly well." Sanji put in, lighting a new cigarette, "But he's another D, right? Why didn't he go out of control like the other two?"

"I'm not sure, yoi." Marco answered, watching the duel with a frown, "Even Law, who's been sealed for years was affected. Perhaps it's because he's a half-breed, and not from just one tribe?"

"Regardless, we should remain vigilant." Katakuri said seriously, arms crossed, "Though the boy is holding his own at the moment, it's clear his body is having a difficult time keeping up with its new abilities."

At the statement, they all looked back into the desert and focused on Luffy. Kidd bit the inside of his cheek when he saw the claw marks seared down the boy's back and blood coming out of one side of his mouth. He was breathing hard and just…not moving quite right. It was definitely related to fatigue, but-

Kidd's eyes widened in realization.

"I fear it has to do with his youth." Katakuri continued, "His body is just not ready for this kind of power."

"That's not all." Kidd interjected, earning the attention of the gathered vampires, "He's off balance." Sabo inhaled sharply.

"His arm. Luffy's not used to fighting without it."

Just as he spoke, the boy stumbled, accidently attempting to use his residual limb to brace himself, giving Ace the chance to latch onto his shoulder with his fangs. Kidd grimaced when Luffy screamed, blood now flowing down both his back and torso. The young D grit his teeth and used his left hand to grab one of Ace's horns, cracking it in half and hitting the beast across the snout with it.

Thankfully, that caused the creature to release Luffy with a bellow of pain, allowing him to skip backwards and catch his breath. If nothing was done…

"I'm gonna go get something!" Kidd announced, preparing to rush back into the citadel, "I'll be right back-"

"You mean this?" The vampiress, Nico Robin, interrupted, holding up a familiar box. Kidd just stared at it, unsure how she'd known it existed, let alone where to find it. "Forgive me, my curiosity got the better of me and I thought it might be useful."

Kidd was 100% sure she was full of crap but took the box anyway, wasting no time opening it up. Inside was his newest creation, Punk Pippa, a prosthetic arm made of a mixture of carbon fiber and aluminum alloy. She was light-weight, durable, and had the ability to connect directly to the nerves in the residual limb of her host body.

Though…there was a problem he'd hoped to address before handing it over.

"I…I didn't get a chance to really make her shine." Kidd mumbled, bemoaning Pippa's lack of luster. Normally he would never give someone something he saw as 'incomplete' but-

"Okay, great! How does it work?" Sabo asked, looking over the arm, "Can we just…I don't know, toss it to him?"

"Uh, no. We cannot just 'toss it'." Kidd replied with a huff, "Honestly, no one should be completing the neural circuit unless they have experience in bio-engineering, otherwise they could really mess the brat up. I was gonna ask Law to do it in an operating room but-"

"I'll do it, yoi." Marco stated, grabbing the prosthetic out of Kidd's hands, "How many actuators does it have?" The red-haired Lord blinked, taken aback by the question. Had the Phoenix done this before?

"Uh…a lot."

Marco sighed and slipped the sleeves of his kimono off his shoulders, exposing his chest.

"In that case, I'll need about ten minutes, yoi. Someone will need to keep Ace off me while I do it."

"T-Ten minutes!?" Kidd spluttered, "You sure it's safe to do it that fast?"

"We don't have any more time to spare." The Phoenix continued, "You forget, Eustass, I was a combat medic back in the day and fought in many battles under Pops' banner. I can amputate a man's leg and replace it with a fully functional automotive prosthesis in fifteen minutes, tops."

Kidd wasn't sure how to respond to that but he figured it was better to take the vampire's word for it.

"Sabo, I need you to go get me a first aid kit, medical gloves, a scalpel, and a clamp. Anyone who's well enough to keep fighting, prepare yourselves."

Kidd swallowed nervously, once again looking out at the battle. The ground beneath them was dead and smoldering while the clouds above were swirling from whatever ability Luffy was utilizing on top of the thing with his arm. To intervene in a fight between two awakened D's…this was not going to be easy.

Luffy growled as Ace clawed at him, using his tail as an extra limb. He was really starting to get tired and his body wasn't doing well. His head pulsed with pain and he was fairly certain there was blood dripping from his nose. Were his new powers too much for it to handle?

'I can't think about that right now. I just have to fight!'

"Luffy! Over here!" A voice called, prompting him to forego his next attack in surprise. Currently running towards him waving his arms like a crazy person, was Sabo. Next to him was Marco, Ace's sire, whose arms were full of boxes and other things Luffy didn't recognize. What were they doing?

"Go to them, boy." An unfamiliar vampire ordered, stepping in front of Luffy to block Ace's next attack with his golden hook, "They have something that will aid you in this fight."

Severely confused, Luffy watched as three other vampires entered the fray, successfully drawing Ace's attention away from him. Why were they-

"Come on!" Sabo hissed, grabbing Luffy around the waist and throwing him over his shoulder, "We'll do it over here!" So shocked at the sudden action, he didn't resist. Instead, he watched the other vampires struggle against Ace's attacks. It was clear they wouldn't be able to hold him back for long.

"Uh, what're you guys doing?" Luffy questioned when Sabo finally put him down on the sand and Marco began to pull things out of what looked like a box of medical supplies, "I need to get back to Ace-"

"Not without this you're not." Marco stated, holding up what could only be described as a robotic arm. Luffy immediately made a sound of wonder and leaned forward to get a better look.

"Wow, is that mine!?"

"Yeah, and I'm going to help you put it on, yoi." The vampire explained, swiftly pulling on gloves, "I'll warn you now, this is going to hurt like hell." Luffy nodded and rolled up the sleeve on his right side, exposing the bandaged limb. Marco worked fast and had the skin exposed in just a few minutes.

"What should I do?"

"Hold him still, yoi." Marco ordered Sabo, cleaning the area with cold wipes, "Listen Luffy, if you move during this procedure, you could cause serious damage to your nerves that we won't be able to fix. No matter how painful it is, you cannot move, understand?"

"Okay." Luffy replied, steadying himself against the sand. Having another arm would really help in the fight against Ace and he seriously doubted it would hurt more than when he'd lost it. "Go ahead."

With that, Marco wrapped a tourniquet around his upper arm and wasted no time cutting into the flesh of the limb, making Luffy bite his lip to keep a whine from escaping. Suddenly, Sabo snapped his fingers, drawing his attention away from the vampire's work.

"Hey, don't watch him, watch me."

"S-Sabo?" Luffy whispered, wincing at the pain, "D-Distract me?"

"Of course. So listen, I'll be honest, watching you kick Ace's butt is seriously entertaining, even if he is currently a giant rage monster."

Luffy held easy conversation with Sabo while Marco did who knows what to his arm. Whatever he was doing definitely hurt and sent pulses of pain straight to his head. He was tempted to turn around and check how the fight was going, but based on the vampires' cries of frustration, it wasn't going terribly well.

"Done." Marco announced after what felt like hours, "Try it out and tell me how it feels, yoi."

Luffy turned back to his right side, mouth curling up into an amazed smile at the metal hand now attached to his body. Everything from the elbow joint down was synthetic but it felt real. If he willed it, the fingers would move just like his other hand. Some of the skin on his residual limb was covered by metal, but it didn't impede the motion at all. If anything, it felt like it gave him more support.

He chose to ignore the blood dripping onto the sand, not really wanting to think about what Marco had to do to give him feeling in a metal arm.

"Thank you." Luffy said, standing to his feet. While it felt weird to thank the very vampires responsible for his imprisonment, right now, that wasn't important. What mattered was getting Ace back and protecting the innocent people inside the citadel. "Tell your friends to stand back, I'm going to finish this."

Sabo and Marco nodded before rushing back to the citadel, calling for the others as they ran. Luffy opened and closed his new fist over and over as he approached Ace, feeling both extremely tired and excited at the same time. Now he could fight without any limitations.

As if he felt his determination, Ace turned towards him and howled, causing his animal-like body to burst into flames. Picking up the pace, Luffy sprinted towards the monster that was his brother, willing 'Haki' (or whatever it was) to spread to both arms. As he did so, he felt the wind at his back, causing him to move even faster.

Luffy agilely dodged Ace's first swipe and punched him across the jaw with his new hand, the impact painful but oh so satisfying. He finally had two arms again and the feeling was wonderful.

They exchanged blows for a while, but Ace's fire simply wouldn't go out. No matter how many times Luffy hit him, he refused to go down.

The boy wheezed, feeling his body quickly reaching its limit. He needed to get rid of the flames…if he could do that, Ace wouldn't be as protected. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. It was something of a crazy idea, and he had no clue where it came from, but it just might work.

Sabo tilted his head in confusion when Luffy stopped moving all of a sudden. What was he doing? If he didn't dodge-

"Oi, look at that!" Kidd exclaimed, pointing at the sky. Sabo followed his gaze and was amazed to see a funnel of wind and sand descending from the agitated sky, the once white clouds now a dark gray. A glance back to Luffy revealed subtle green swirls appearing all over his body as he tapped into his heritage, literally bring a storm down upon Ace.

The monster roared in anger when the funnel touched down, capturing him in a windy prison. Luffy slowly moved his hands around, willing the wind to move faster and faster, creating what could only be described as a deadly tornado.

Sabo squinted, trying to see inside the funnel. He could just barely make out Ace struggling to escape, his movements slowing down and fire struggling to survive in the swirling tunnel of wind.

'Wait a minute…this is…' Sabo's jaw dropped when he finally realized what Luffy was attempting to do. He was trying to put the fire out by creating a vacuum! Using his abilities, he'd closed off the top of the vortex, eliminating the oxygen inside. It was brilliant!

After a few minutes, Luffy released the wind, revealing a smoldering lump that could only be Ace. The beast coughed lightly, trying to get air to reinvigorate his flames. Still sporting some emerald specks in his eyes, the young D shot forward and picked up Ace's broken horn.

With impressive agility, Luffy swung up onto the beast's shoulders and held the horn against his neck with both hands, cutting off the rest of Ace's air supply.

The demon tried to knock him off, but he was too weak. It seemed like he was finally feeling the combined damage from all of Luffy's attacks.

"Come on, come on…" Sabo whispered to himself, willing Ace to fall. Finally, after putting up a hell of a fight, the mutated vampire collapsed, prompting the spectators to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

It was over.

Luffy felt lightheaded as he threw the horn aside and stumbled off Ace's now limp body. He staggered and almost fell over himself as the adrenaline wore off.

'I…I need to make sure he's okay.' The boy thought, jerkily lowering himself to his knees in front of Ace's head. He placed his new arm against the beast's forehead, rubbing the metal fingers gently into the surprisingly soft fur located there.

"Hey…Ace…it's okay, you're okay now." Luffy whispered, sending a pulse of his own energy into his brother. He admittedly wasn't too sure if that would do anything, but it just felt right. The boy looked up in surprise when the animalistic façade began to crumble before his eyes, turning to ash under his fingertips until only a humanoid body remained.

Luffy leaned forward and caught Ace before he face-planted into the sand, cradling the unconscious (but thankfully alive) vampire to his bloody chest. He exhaled slowly, placing his chin on the vampire's shoulder and hugging him gently.

"W-Welcome back…big brother."

It was then that his body decided to give out and both of them collapsed sideways onto the sand. Luffy figured he should be concerned about the blood pouring out of him and the pain that just wouldn't go away, but right now, he didn't care about that.

He'd saved Ace. His Dad would be so proud of him.

With that, Luffy lost consciousness, and the last thing he remembered was someone kneeling before him, placing a gloved hand over his eyes as if to say…

Rest. You've earned it.