Whumptober 2021
Summary: Whumptober 2021: Day Sixteen: Recovery/Aftermath. The aftermath of Marineford in which in his sacrifice to save Luffy, Ace's Devil Fruit powers awakened.
Author's Note: Hey everyone and welcome back to Whumptober 2021! I do hope to finish these before the end of the year. I hope you enjoy! On with the fic!
Warnings: Near Death Experiences, Temporary Character Death
Whumptober 2021: Recovery/Aftermath (Marco/Ace)
It felt like his own world was falling apart. Ace was dead. Whitebeard was barely hanging on by a thread. If it hadn't been for Red-Haired Shanks, they would still be in Marineford. Whitebeard would probably be dead. But that wasn't what was on his mind.
His eyes lingered on the deceased form of his former lover. Ace was covered by a sheet, his body laying on a table that the Red Hair Pirates had brought out. Shanks was oddly silent. Not saying a word as they sat side by side. Shanks' eyes were glued to Ace, almost calculating.
They were on their way to bury Ace. An island that was near Sphnix.
Marco never wanted to see this day.
The day that he had lost the life that meant most to him.
He couldn't blame Ace for leaving against orders. They all wanted too. Thatch had barely made it out alive from the stabbing he had faced. Ace didn't even know he was alive until they had arrived at Marineford prepared to take him home.
But they never got the chance.
Ace had given his life to protect his brother's. Make sure that his brother was able to make it out of Marineford alive and fulfill his own dream.
Marco wanted to feel selfish. He wanted to scream at anyone who would listen to bring Ace back to him.
But that wasn't the case.
Ace was gone and there was nothing any one of them could do.
The deck was completely tense. Dead quiet. No one could utter a word. They all felt absolutely defeated. Marco didn't even have any tears left to even cry anymore. All he did was feel completely numb. A part of him wished he had been the one who had sacrificed himself. That he was able to get over to Ace in time to either get him out of the way or even cast himself between Akainu and Ace.
A choked sound came from next to him as he looked over to Shanks, seeing the red head's eyes widening and mouth dropping over. "Impossible." Shanks whispered.
Marco followed Shanks' gaze, freezing completely as he saw the flickers of fire coming out from underneath the sheet. The sheet starting to burn in the middle. The blonde was up onto his feet in seconds. Fists balled as the air caught in his throat. He couldn't even move. No matter how hard he tried.
Eyes were slowly starting to turn towards Ace's body. Each of them getting to their feet. "What is going on?" Thatch questioned.
"That's…" Izou whispered.
With seconds, the entire sheet was on fire, the wood underneath his body started to burn and crackle. It had only taken a moment before his entire body had been engulfed in flames. Marco could only hold his breath the entire time. He wasn't even sure if anyone was breathing in the slightest as he stared. Mesmerized at what he was seeing.
This shouldn't be happening.
This can't be real.
It felt all too real.
He could feel the heat coming from those flames. All too familiar flames raging right in front of him. It was almost as if the flames were dancing. Twirling around each other in whisps into the air. The crackling continuing as it stared to move.
A figure standing within in.
Standing right before them.
The first thing he had seen were the fierce eyes. The fond look within them as the flames moved, revealing what was hidden within.
Standing before them was Portgas D. Ace.
Eyes open, smile on his face. Flames licking over his skin.
Marco felt like he was dreaming. This couldn't be real. He had watched Ace die. Ace had no pulse. Fatal injuries.
What was happening?
Marco took a step forward, finally being able to move, reaching forward as he held his hand out. Hand touching the very real flames that had his own combusting into blue to combat the burns he would receive. Ace's eyes moved but he didn't say a word.
"Ace?" Marco whispered.
Ace didn't reply, rather his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he was slumping. Marco reached out, grabbing him before he could hit the deck. The body he was touching was solid. Completely real. The heat back into the skin. The color returning. The rise and fall of his chest. This was reality.
Ace was… alive.
X
I used to live my life one day at a time. Taking it moment by moment. In search of the answer to one question. If it was good that I was born. If I deserved my life with just bad blood flowing throughout my veins. I never expected the way that I would get that answer was a war for my very life. Just moments after learning that the reason for my life was a good one, I had given my all to ensure the safety and wellbeing of my little brother. Luffy's life had meant far more than mine had. I had no regrets with anything I had ever done within my life. Meeting the people I would call family. Creating a bond with my brothers. Finding a father that I cherished. Finding love even when I felt like I didn't deserve it. It had been in front of me the entire time, and I had been blind to it all. I still will never regret being the shield that kept Luffy alive. It was my final wish that he could continue on with his life. One I will forever ensure happened. I had left the rest to my family. The final words to my brother as I gave my dying breath. The one statement that rang through among anything else, "Thank you for loving me."
Ace blinked. The world dark around him as he pushed himself up. The heat of the magma that had gone through him gone. He had been in so much pain that he had been numb to it. No longer feeling anything from his internal organs being destroyed. Taking everything. It had been worth it. Luffy was worth it. He would do it all over again if it meant that Luffy would one day fulfill that dream of being the Pirate King. It was his only regret. That he wouldn't be there to see Luffy make that promise a reality.
He shivered as he looked around within the pitch black.
This was what the after life was?
It was this?
A purgatory of darkness?
Fitting apparently.
"Fire is many things." Ace froze at the sound of his own voice, but his mouth wasn't moving. He spoke no words in that moment. He tried to call out, ask who was saying that too him. But no noise came out. Instead, he received, "Fire is passion. It's death and destruction. It's rebirth and resurrection. Hope… eternity… desire… purification. It can mean many things, but you have the choice of what it stands for, for you."
He brought his arm over his eyes as fire erupted around him, the heat returning back into his body as he looked within the flames. The flickers of those within his life that gave him meaning.
Sabo. Luffy. Dadan. Shanks. Makino. Garp. Rouge. Marco. Thatch. Deuce. Whitebeard. Izou. Haruta. Jozu. Vista. The Whitebeard Pirates. The Spade Pirates. So many more coming before his eyes as the moments of his life passed before his eyes. In each direction that he looked, it continued on, showing him everything. Every moment that he had ever lived through.
"Your desire was to have a purpose to live. A reason to know why you had been brought into this world. Why your mother had put her very life on the line to make sure you could live yours…"
It kept going. The swirls of fire that danced over his body. The moments of Marineford showing up within seconds of his voice.
"Your life had meaning. Your life had reason. A purpose. Even knowing who you were, they still loved you. Fought for you. Spilled blood for you."
"The bonds you have created cry out for you. The love that they hold for you screaming out."
"They are still fighting for you. Even in death."
"Do you want me to live?"
"Of course, I do!" Luffy's young voice rang out.
"From this moment on, we're brothers."
"Ace, you're my brother!"
"Ace, you are not alone. My sister… my sister gave her life for you because you meant everything to her." Shanks' voice came next.
"Your sister? That means…"
"Your brother speaks for all of us, Ace!"
"The world knows what happens when they mess with our crewmate." Marco.
"If you're going to join us, I'm a good friend to have." Thatch.
"I must ensure the future for my sons. That includes you, Ace." Oyaji.
"I don't have sympathy for criminals, but family… family is different. Ace, you fool… why couldn't you just have listened to what I said?!" Garp.
"Ace, my sweet boy."
"I love you, Ace. More than whatever this world could ever offer." He felt like he couldn't breathe as he heard Marco's voice again. His smile coming before his eyes.
He wanted to go home.
He wanted to be with his family again.
"What does life mean to you, Portgas D. Ace?"
"Everything." He whispered.
He was engulfed in his flames a second later. The world turning dark around him.
X
The sky. Clouds. The wind. The smell of the ocean. The sun. All things he never thought he would feel again. He cracked his eyes open, the haze slowly starting to leave as he blinked. The world slowly starting to come back into clarity. The ringing in his ears starting to disappear. The rise and fall of his chest.
The first thing he saw were the concerned faces above him. The disbelief etched on their faces. The tears in their eyes.
This wasn't an afterlife.
There was no way. He looked around. Eyes moving from each person.
Marco. Shanks. Thatch. Izou. Jozu. Haruta. Deuce. Benn. Yasopp. Whitebeard. So many more. All of them looking at him as if the world had stopped completely.
The heat of the magma returned for just a split second. Luffy's terrified and stunned face flashing before his mind. His pleas for Ace to live.
He was dead. He was sure of it. He felt his life slip away.
It was like he was reborn.
"Ace?" Marco's voice came through his ears. His gaze moved over to where Marco was. Marco had tears in his eyes, starting to spill over as Ace felt his own pool into his eyes.
"Marco?" His voice felt weak, but by the look the came to Marco's face, this was real.
He pushed himself up, grimacing as he reached for his chest. His intact chest, feeling the skin underneath. "Oh my God…" Deuce whispered. "It's literally a miracle."
Ace's eyes were only glued to Marco as he felt the hands on either side of his face, fingers curling into his hair. "You scared the hell out of us. I'm never letting you out of my sight again." Marco whispered, surging forward, and pressing their lips together. The heat that came with it as Ace reached up. Placing his hands over Marco's and letting them light up in his flames. Marco's joining as second later as he pulled away. "You're real. This is actually happening."
"What the hell happened?" Ace questioned. "I was dead. I know I was."
Marco shook his head. "I don't know."
"It could be possible…" Shanks said, the disbelief in his voice as Ace turned to look at him. "But… his Devil Fruit."
"You think it awakened?" Whitebeard questioned.
Shanks hummed in confirmation. "Fire can mean…"
"Rebirth." Ace whispered. "Resurrection…"
Marco laughed as he leaned in again, placing a desperate kiss to his lips as he continued to laugh. Choking on the cries that had came through him before arms were wrapping around him. "I don't even care how it happened. Just that you are here."
Ace let his own tears fall as he wrapped his arms around Marco's shoulders, pulling him as close as possible.
He could only peer over Marco's shoulder as he heard, "Welcome back, son."
Luffy flashed before his mind again as he gasped, pulling back as he exclaimed, "Luffy! Where is he?! Is he okay?!"
"He's with Trafalgar Law." Shanks said. "I believe they were going to Amazon Lily."
Ace looked over to Shanks, the plea within his eyes. "Please, take me to Amazon Lily. I have to see him. He saw me die." He muttered. "I have to tell him I'm alive."
Shanks smiled and nodded. "Alright."
"Let's patch you up first." Marco whispered. Ace nodded, allowing Marco to stand and pull him up as he bit down on his lip from the pain his body was screaming at him for. The First Division Commander added, "I've got you." As he scooped him up within his arms. Arm hooked under his legs, the other under his shoulder as Shanks told him to head straight for the Medical Bay. Hongo offering to show them there.
Ace let the smile slip on his face.
He wasn't even sure how this happened, but he was here, and he was alive.
He had a second chance at life.
X
It had taken them over a week to get to Amazon Lily. Shanks had no difficulty getting through the Calm Belt much to his surprise. Ace's entire torso was covered in bandages, his arm that had been originally burnt in a sling. His body still screamed at him no matter how much rest he had, but he was actually here.
Marco had clung to him the entire time. The others staying close by. Ace had taken to sitting with Whitebeard while they waited. Even taking time to spend with Shanks.
He had so many people who loved him.
They had shown it.
It was good that he was born.
That he deserved the life that his parents had given to him.
He could hear the rampaging the second he got off the Red Force. The sound of the island being destroyed. Luffy's screams of anguish.
He had ignored Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates as he passed by. His mind only on one thing. Luffy.
He let his feet carry him in the direction of the noise. Watching the rampage happen as Luffy screamed out for him.
He rushed forward, pushing his body to its limits. Getting step by step closer until he was next to his brother. Hand reaching out to grab Luffy by the wrist. His brother was alive. He was fine. Covered almost head to toe in bandages but alive.
"Luffy…"
Luffy froze completely. His head slowly turning to look at him, eyes wide and mouth dropped open. "Ace…"
The time around them had stopped for the moment, but Ace placed a smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Luffy. It's alright."
"This isn't real." Luffy whispered.
"It's real." Ace replied.
Tears came to Luffy's eyes before he was turning and throwing his arms around Ace's shoulders. The cries following quickly. Ace smiled, his own tears forming again as he wrapped his good arm around his brother.
"ACE!"
He still didn't know how this was possible, but he was forever grateful to whatever it was.
The fire burned harder within him. Pleased. Satisfied.
Fire was rebirth.
Ace had been reborn. A second chance to live his life.
One that he would continue on with no regrets. Living the life he deserved.