Hey guys, I'm so sorry for the long wait. I was not expecting that more than a year to go by before I got the next chapter up. I won't make excuses. But I will give you the next chapter.

-Disclaimer: You already know, but I don't own OnePiece. I do own one character though so please don't use her (you don't know her name yet though) without permission.

Chapter 8: So that's Luffy

For a while, nothing was said. The only sounds were from the crackling fire and the snores of Luffy's friends. A cool breeze blew around the camp, making it a little chilly and Luffy shivered a little as she tried to judge Ace's reaction.

At first, he said nothing, just stared at her with a clear look of confusion on his face. It was almost like he hadn't understood what Luffy had said to him at all. But at the same time, Luffy didn't want to see the look on his face. He's been quiet like this before and it usually indicated that he was thinking or very mad.

Luffy waited quietly, which was unusual for her to remain quiet for so long, waiting for anything that Ace did or said that could indicate how he was feeling.

Did he not think she was serious? Was she unclear? As a cloud moved out of the way and the moon light was slowly coming back, Luffy was about to say something when Ace just suddenly hugs her, shoving her face into his chest as he laid them both down to sleep.

"Sure Lu," Ace muttered, making sure she couldn't see his blushing face. Though he was pretty sure she meant that she loved him as a brother and nothing else but it was still embarrassing as his mind was wishing that it was more. He should behave and not have those kind of thoughts of his little sister. Damn light from the moon. Why did it have to come back while he was blushing up a storm? "Whatever you say. Just go to sleep."

Luffy wasn't happy with that answer. "But..." Luffy started to say before something was thrown into her face. "Ow…" she complained and looked to who threw it.

"Get to sleep already! We have a long day ahead of us!" Nami yelled sleepily, really not liking that talking is what woke her up. Of course if she'd realized the topic, she probably would've pretended to sleep to hear the rest of it.

So Luffy went to sleep, not realizing that Ace had too much on his mind now to sleep. The next day came, Luffy ran into Scorpion who was hunting Ace. Watched the fight between the two and then Ace had to go. But gave her that Vivre card before he left - not that she knew what it was back then.

Perhaps, Luffy should've tried harder to make sure that Ace understood her that night. Maybe then the pirates wouldn't be running towards Little Oar's body, trying to reach her condemned brother chained to a platform and looking as if he hated himself for being their reasons for fighting.

Dodging cannonballs, Luffy reached out for Ace again. "Ace! I'm almost there! Just hang on!" But as she screamed, a cannonball crashed in front of her - sending her flying and into the water.

Upon waking, Luffy asked Jimbei for a favor… they had to get over the wall at any cost.

- Just before the ships rise above water-

"Just remember to take care of yourself. It won't return right away and when it does return, you might not be used to having all your strength and energy back so you'll have to be careful." A determined feminine voice stated through a baby snail sitting on Whitebeard's hand, though the worry was clear in her voice.

"Don't worry. We'll take good care of Pop's. You just wait with that whiny crybaby of a cook over there. We'll call when we need you." Marco returned, smirking a bit at the sound of a certain someone complaining. Something about not being a whiny baby.

"Besides, when they see what we've got in store for them, the Marine's will be pissing their pants." Izo offered grinning at the image in his mind.

"Guarara, there you have it. I'll be fine. You two just be patient. A trump card is always used at the best moment. No one but us know about you two and we'll keep it that way for as long as possible." Whitebeard assured them with his signature grin. Trump card indeed. More like 4 trump cards were in store. One was delayed naturally. The other three will be used when the time came for it. "Now, let's go. We can't keep Ace waiting any longer."

With a war cry sounding, the ships began to rise one by one. First the allied forces rose while Whitebeard's crew went to the center of the bay before rising to the surface.

-The start of the war-

Fists met with the air and it looked as though the sky and air itself was cracked as a result. It's only natural that the Marines had no idea what was going on… well the less experienced ones anyway. Grinning like his Pirate mark, Whitebeard stared down the marines without blinking. He was going to make sure Ace lived to see the future, no matter the cost. As the ocean rumbled, he chuckled at the look on Sengoku's face. The marines would regret messing with his family.

Ace's words hurt… but not because of the words themselves. They hurt because Ace was hurting in more than just a physical sense, but Whitebeard was determined to see his son free and safe… even if it meant hurting Ace. So, to alleviate some of Ace's pain, Whitebeard grinned again and denied Ace's words. "I'm your captain and I told you to go." Of course Ace was shocked by Whitebeard's proclamation and surety that he was confident in his own words. When Ace didn't say anything, he continued. "Ace was only following my orders. Isn't that right Marco?"

"Yup, I heard it myself. Then you left, sorry for all the trouble – yoi. Teach broke the rules of our ship and you had to seek justice. Everyone in the world knows what happens when you mess with one of our crew mates, if you do, you're gonna pay the price-yoi." Marco nodded in agreement. Whitebeard wasn't the only one who felt Ace's pain, but he also wasn't the only one who wanted to save Ace either. He would help Pop's rescue Ace not just because he was a member of their crew, but because he too wanted to bring Ace back to their family. He wouldn't rest until Pop's and their family were back home and laughing again.

"That means if anyone lays a finger on you Ace, they're gonna have to deal with us!" Another crew member shouted with a vengeance. "Don't worry, Ace! We'll get you out of here!" Everyone agreed with a shout and Whitebeard grinned even wider. 'Well said, my sons.'

"Just sit tight, Ace. You'll be coming home with us in no time." With another cheer, the crew all seemed to still be waiting for something. A large shadow slowly rising gave the answer to the silent questions of the marines. Two humongous tsunami waves were rising on both sides of the island, aiming to drown many, if not nearly all, of the marines in its wake.

As the marines panicked, Whitebeard laughed in glee. He wanted them to panic and be disorganized and this was the perfect way to get the ball rolling. The war began as Admiral Aokiji froze the waves and even the water inside the bay. Well, at least the marines had some back bone to put up this much of a fight and as the war dragged on, Sengoku's plan was slowly revealed and the pirates were locked in combat, not retreating but not making too much headway in getting closer to Ace either. Little Oars helped immensely in creating a pathway to Ace until he was taken down by one of the War Lords… but not in vain. He provided a window of opportunity, at least for a moment. Whitebeard had taken notice of the marine activity and frowned. What was Sengoku planning this time?

It wasn't long after that that things began to get really interesting. A ship falling out of the sky into the convenient and only place with water and not the ice that surrounded them. Then the most unexpected person called out much to the surprise of Whitebeard and his crew, though it wasn't as much as a surprise that the person was there, but that the person turned out to be Ace's little sister that he liked to talk about so much. 'He always said that she was unpredictable. Guess she lives up to the title, hehee.' Whitebeard chuckled before looking towards Ace and then back to the rookie and the group she brought crashing down with her.

Ho boy how right he was too. She outright challenged him for the title of King of the Pirates, after getting Crocodile off his back, and didn't bat an eye when he tried to intimidate her, oh no, instead she decided to compete on who gets there first. "Alright fine, but don't come crying to me when you get a few booboos you spoiled brat." And from there, he watched her charge forward with the youthful vigor she possessed. He couldn't help but grin at the girl that Ace had bragged about since the day her Wanted Poster became public. 'Hehe, so that's the girl that Ace has his eye on.' Then Ace did something that no one expected, he tried to make her leave… said things that would make a normal person give up. But not Luffy…

"You're my brother, Ace! Say whatever mean stuff you want! I'm still gonna save you!" Luffy shouted, unhindered by anything Ace said. She even fought without a single step of hesitation, as if she had fully expected Ace to say something just like what he did. In the process, she gave hope and a moral boost to the Whitebeard pirates, plus she gave Ace something else. Something that no one could have predicted to come at this precise moment.

It was also at this time that, even though the marines were in confusion to their parentage, Luffy's true lineage became known as the daughter of Dragon the Revolutionary. But Luffy didn't care what they said or did, Ace would always be her brother. She continued to fight and she battled a giant as though it was a simple matter, she sped her way through the marines as quickly as she could. She promised Ace she'd get there soon.

"Marco, why don't you give her some back up. Don't want Ace complaining when he gets back home. Make sure she doesn't die, alright?"

Marco chuckled and smiled up at his father and nodded. "Good call. Alright, I'll keep an eye on her. You just take care of yourself until I come back." With that, his arms became blue fire wings and he went after Luffy. Just in time too because Akainu decided to make his move right then and there. He sent a massive fist of magma towards Luffy – from behind no less. Smirking, Marco dove right in and covered Luffy like he had done with Pops, taking the brunt of the attack and healing and regenerating throughout the entire attack. He watched her as she stared at him, seeing the surprise and panic of someone dying in order to protect her. To ease her worries, he gave her a smile which then caused her surprise to turn to awe as a result.

Now that he had a closer look, she was cute and her determination had only amplified that thought to the phoenix commander. He had to admire her for diving straight into a battlefield without a care for her own life. Yeah… he didn't feel like protecting her was that bad of a job right now, not with that look on her face.

Looking away from her, Marco looked to his best friend and brother. The fear and relief that passed through Ace's face was more than evident, even from this distance. 'Ace. You know it don't you…? You can't make us leave, and from what I've seen you can't make her leave either. Let us help you and bring a smile back to your face. Although, if you want to continue crying I don't mind rescuing you that way too.' The magma receded and Marco turned to Akainu with a smirk. "Go. I'll handle this bastard." He told Luffy quickly, his wings keeping him in the air and blocking any further attempts against her from said marine.

When she thanked him, Marco looked at her as she ran away from him and towards Ace. 'Heh, maybe I'll ask Ace to let me date her. That should be interesting.' His brief moment of distraction ended and he fought Akainu, distracting him long enough to let Luffy get away. That is until the marine suddenly retreated and then some pretty thick walls came up through the ice.

Surprised at the new events, Marco looked around in horror as he realized just what trap the Fleet Admiral had planned. "Everyone is trapped." He stated in disbelief to no one in particular. He looked to Whitebeard, who was safe for now, and then looked for Luffy and flew over to where she was. Akainu was on the attack again, but this time it was at everyone inside the bay.

Marco frowned and then landed beside Luffy. "Oi, don't just stand around or are you trying to get hit by magma-yoi?" he asked as he pushed her out of the way of one particular molten rock.

"Marco? What are you doing over here?" Jimbei called, running up to them as the ice was melting around the middle of the bay and slowly working its way out.

"Pops wants me to back her up-yoi." Marco stated easily enough, keeping the girl in the dark that really they didn't want to have a more depressed Ace if she died.

Jimbei looked at him and then nodded with a smile. "Perfect, we've got a plan to get Luffy over the wall, but would you mind going along as well?"

"What's the plan?" Marco asked, getting straight to the point. They had to dodge a few more Magma rocks as Akainu rained another batch down on them.

To say the least, it was a good plan. Though Marco felt it was a little too extravagant because he could do it a lot less flashier, but it was a way over the wall and it was a good distraction to allow Pops and the others to find a way to get to the plaza with moderate safety. Though he had a feeling that she wouldn't be too happy that Squard stabbed Pops. She'll have more than a few words to say about it and more than just a few punches to give to the man.

Again, I'm very sorry for the wait. I decided to focus more on the war from now on. The story was meant for the war mostly and then I got sidetracked with the love story side of it that started in my head. But I just finished Marineford again and I'm more than ready to save Ace for sure this time!

I want to take this time to thank everyone to favorited and followed this story! It means a lot to me and it's thanks to all of you that I got this chapter out today.

I look forward to any reviews that you have for me. I promise I won't give up on this story until it's done and I'll try not to make you wait another year.

Ja ne,

AceAyane