A/N: I just want to reiterate that this is an AU. In order for some parts of the story to make sense, THERE WILL BE discrepancies between canon and this fiction. I already had someone comment on toki's power,I think they missed the a/n from the last chapter but Marco's chapter will prob bring more questions regarding canon/ timeline. I'm trying to stick roughly to the timeline but There will be times where things are gonna be different, so just go with the flow and enjoy the ride. Honestly this was a hard chapter to write because of the whole time travel mess and the whole brother thing but I didn't want to go back and change things and I liked the brother thing so hopefully my explanation in the story is totally unbelievable lmao. This is from Marco's POV. Sorry for the delay!
Marco was the first to arrive in the past. He went back to when he was a teen around the time he joined Oyaji. He resolved himself to life on the streets yet again. He wanted to build up his strength before meeting Oyaji, last time he was swatted like a fly. So he was determined to change that.
It was a good thing he did because he spent weeks having nightmares. He really missed his brothers. He didn't even know if the time travel worked since they technically weren't born yet. He dreamed all about Kaido's destruction, their torture, capture, and time in prison. There were days he did not sleep, preferring to keep awake than dream of the future past. It would've been too suspicious if he went back when he was already part of the crew.
It was extremely lonely, the only thing keeping him grounded was the thought of his brothers and the changes they were going to make. I thought of seeing Oyaji again,shy Jozu, proud Izo, Thatch, oh Enel, especially Thatch. The damned yami yami fruit, he would throw it back into the sea if he ever saw it again. He meditated to soothe his emotions and calm the dreams. It took a long time but finally he managed some form of peace. He would train constantly, tiring himself to exhaustion every night. He made sure to steal plenty of money for food, it was the biggest part of his budget, hah, he reminded himself of Luffy but in order to train like he wanted he needed the nutrients. Lu was just a glutton.
When the time to meet Pops arrived, he was nervous as hell. But logically he knew he had nothing to worry about but when the day came, he prepared himself thoroughly. The last time he tried to pick-pocketing Pops but instead of being swatted, this time around he would dodge and get away.
When he spotted the Old Man's ship at the port, he said goodbye to the other street kids and left them some of his money stash, they needed it more than him. He stalked the pirates from the rooftops. Then when he thought he saw an opening, he went for Oyaji's pockets and before he could grab him, he side stepped him but was too slow to do it again now that Whitebeard gave him his full attention. He tried to keep up but was beaten by him and then asked to join like last time.
When he joined, Whitebeard was impressed with his skill, but he still held back, he didn't want to raise too many suspicions. He just revealed he knew observation haki and some armament. He told Pops that he ate his fruit a long time ago to explain how adept he was at using it. He told him he got strong dodging slavers who wanted him for his mythical zoan type. Because there was no way he would limit his Phoenix.
He said he had family but they were scattered around the world so part of his dream was to one day find them. He never gave specifics and Oyaji respected that, like he knew he would. The day came when Law and the rest of his brothers would be born. It was a pity he couldn't just grab them but their early childhood experiences shaped them too much to change things. And Law actually had decent parents. It was then he spoke more about his family, dropping hints of a brother until eventually he mentioned all four. Most were confused since he joined the crew young, and over 10 years passed since they heard mention of Marco's family. Most had forgotten except for White Beard. Marco sometimes had a pained face when speaking of his family so most eventually stopped asking until a call came from a Trafalgar Law and then a Sabo the same week.
The years before reuniting with his Wano brothers, Marco did not spend idly. Since he was already a skilled fighter, he focused on medicine for a few years. Last time it took him almost a decade to become interested in medicine and this time he was determined to change that. His brother Law and Luffy's crew mate Chopper were at the forefront of their fields without a doubt back then. Case in point- Chopper found an antidote for Queen's bioweapon in record time and under duress. He recalled being awestruck at the little tanuki. Enough said about Law and the Ope Ope Fruit. While he was a great doctor back then, he was always more of a fighter. But we needed healers too and he couldn't possibly let Law or his brother's nakama leave him in the dust. Hmm, what was that island Chopper visited for two years, he thought at the time.
A few years after he joined, the dreaded day came and part of the reason he was all alone in the past. Marshall D. Teach. A fake D., if he ever saw one. But he couldn't kill him now, it would be too out of character, afterall Teach hadn't done anything yet. All he could do was warn Pops and pray that was enough. It was. Let it be known that Pops trusted his sons above all else.
It was hard hiding the past from my ship brothers. They were his first family but the past was too painful a burden to bring upon them. Especially since it wouldn't come to pass. It absolutely fucking wouldn't. Sometimes the nightmares would get too much, his dark circles too deep to wave away, Izo would keep shooting him glances, too scared to even ask no matter that Izo was the boldest of them all. He would tell them it was about life before. Before Pops, his brothers and sisters and the Moby, and technically it was true. While they assumed my dreams and sleepless nights were regarding my street life and Enel , I really wish it were. I couldn't possibly tell them about getting tortured for days on end, that at some point it stopped hurting and at another it became a reminder he was still alive. He could still feel. Because back then he was numb, he was drowning, no, drowning would be preferable compared to what he experienced. Those were the days he mostly spent in his Phoenix form, he felt the freest in this form. Oyaji would be a silent support, sometimes he would stare at him until somehow Marco would speak in bits and pieces in the middle of night, small things, nothing that would give too much away, things that could happen to someone living on the streets with a priceless devil fruit. His Pops would hug him when it got too much, and he would feel like a small child instead of the grown man well into his 50s, though in this timeline he was in his 20s, though he always looked to be perpetually in his 20s no matter how much time had passed, something to think about, hmmm.Queen experimented on him but he didn't want to go down that road.
He also set up connections in the underworld. Last time, Izo was more of the information agent on the crew but Marco sidled right up to him and learned the ropes as well. Who better to learn about infiltration from Izo, a samurai who was smuggled out of his country and had lived under the radar of the World Government for years. The underworld always had the real pulse of the current world events and he needed to keep an ear out for the Joker, that pink bastard, and Blackbeard. Just because the bastard couldn't get passage on the Moby didn't mean his ambitions would stop, Marco knew well that a man like him was like a cockroach.
So the years passed with Marco studying hard, visiting the Torino Kingdom for their medical knowledge and even went to Drum to ask for some tips, she charged an absurd amount but it was well worth it.
Marco rose through the ranks quickly. He was a fierce protector, he was always looking out for his siblings on the ship, he was almost as bad as Pops.
When Marco ment Oden again, he nearly cried in relief. When Toki came aboard, things got a little weird. She kept giving him strange looks, asking if they had met before. Marco's eyes nearly bugged out, time travel was strange and her memory problems were just as bad as he remembered. He firmly said no and made himself scarce the next few weeks. After a while, the looks stopped, and he was able to breathe peacefully again. It wouldn't do to give things away just yet or ever. He gave Oden a warning before they headed back to Wano, to beware Orochi, but only time would tell if he listened. Marco told him, "Just, I can't say much, but just trust me on this," Oden gave him a strange look and chuckled, Marco sighed thinking maybe he should have said something more but Toki said it was always Wano's fate to be subjugated by a dragon. Ugh, sometimes he wondered if he should just say things anyways but Toki was adamant about the less people knew where they came from, the better, that is one of the things she remembered with clarity, dangerous things could happen to those that messed with time. That's why she was always destined to die, she said sadly at the end. He shivered just thinking about it.
Months after he received those calls from his brothers he went on leave and came back brighter than they had ever seen him. It was like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. His brothers on the Moby were slightly jealous not that he knew but so happy that their brother's attitude was much more upbeat and playful. He could be such a serious character at times, members were doing double takes in the hallway, swearing they had seen him skipping.
A/N: Let me know what you think. Was it confusing? You will get more of Marco next chapter or perhaps the others. Not sure yet. But worry not, there will be dialogue shown of Marco with the White Beards throughout the years,but I wanted to write this introduction/ general timeline of marco's experience in this timeline. There are gonna be sooo many questions when the Whitebeards meet Marco's brothers lol ... I'll do my best to update soon. It wasn't the length I quite wanted but I wanted to post a chapter sooner than later. Thank you :)
