All Thatch remembers last was getting stabbed, whilst unarmed, in the silence of the night, on the peaceful empty deck of the Moby Dick. He woke up to chaos, the sound of people shouting, swords clashing and gun shots ringing out everywhere, standing in the middle of a war.
What the hell happened? And what's going on right now?
He checked himself, confused. Yup, no wounds. He felt around for his weapons. Yup, right where they usually are. He looked around. Yup, still no clue as to what's going on. But as he looked around, he saw a marine rushing straight for one of his brothers, whose back was turned as he fought to cover the back of another brother.
"Hey, watch it!" He drew his weapons instinctively, rushing to stop the marine in his tracks, taking him down easily. He turned to his two brothers, who were now staring at him, wide-eyed. "What the hell happened? Why are we in a war with the marines?" He asked. Instead of replying, his brothers just continued to stare, one of them rubbing his eyes and doing a double take, while the other straight up slapped himself.
"Thatch…?" They questioned dazedly, looking as if they saw a ghost, making Thatch raise a brow at them.
"Yeah…?" His attention was soon caught by the sight of something in the distance and he squinted to get a better look. "Hey… What the- Is that Ace up there? No way, he got captured by the marines?! No, seriously, someone tell me what's going on?!"
"He…He got turned in by Teach…" The pair of brothers before him kept their shocked gaze on him, but one slowly began his reply, with the other finishing it.
"…and the Marines wanted to publicly execute him for being the son of Roger." Thatch's eyes darkened.
"Just for that?" He seethed, his anger covering up his shock that woah, Ace is the son of the Pirate King? "And Teach betrayed us, huh?" He did remember hearing Teach's laughter when he was stabbed, saying something along the lines of the Yami Yami no Mi belonging to him now or whatever. It doesn't matter. What matters now is to save his brother who was being publicly executed for something he had absolutely no control over, he thought to himself as he charged into battle, leaving his two brothers sharing dazed looks of disbelief.
Ace could see the entire landscape in front of him quite well from where he was up on the execution platform, and he'd recognise that pompadour anywhere. He was left staring in shock at it, following the pompadour through the crowd.
"Heh…" His abrupt chuckle caught the attention of the Marine Fleet Admiral and the Marine Vice-Admiral near him. "Oh well, that's it! I'm dead! And you didn't even have to execute me!" Sengoku just gave him a curious look.
"What are you going about?" He shot a look to Garp. "Garp, did your grandson hit his head or something?" Garp just gave him a shrug, giving Ace a weird look too.
"Well, I may or may not have given him a Fist of Love to his head a few times when he was a kid..." He winced as Ace let out another chuckle even as his eyes remained glued onto something on the battlefield. "Maybe too many times, I'm starting to think."
Marco, flying around high above in the skies, has a clear line of sight from his bird's eye view. As he flew around the battlefield, silently observing the battle and keeping an eye on his many brothers, he soon saw a brother he completely didn't expect to see nor hear. He stared, unable to peel his eyes away from the figure, as if it might disappear if he even blinked.
And then white filled his vision as he crashed into the Moby Dick's sail. The loud startled squawk he let out on impact had everybody on the scene turning to stare at the sight of the blue flaming phoenix comedically sliding down the sail and landing on the deck with a thud. Even the ruthless Akainu stopped to look, his magma fist that had been heading straight for Whitebeard's torso freezing in its path. For a moment, the previously chaotic warzone was completely silent, nobody saying a word. And then, a loud laughter sounded out from the ever-happy-go-lucky Monkey D. Luffy, who laughed openly without a care in the world.
"Shishishi! What's with that? That's an interesting bird!" He turned to look at Ace, who was still staring at the bird sprawled over the deck of the Moby Dick at the foot of the sail. Another laughter soon joined him, and the sound of that laughter was so shockingly familiar to the Whitebeard Pirates that they all turned to look, causing the Marines to follow their gazes out of curiosity.
"GYAHAHAHA, THAT'S JUST PRICELESS! MARCO CRASH-LANDED! OH, I AM NEVER LETTING YOU LIVE THAT DOWN!" Thatch guffawed, clutching his stomach. If he could, he would've been rolling on the ground by now with how hard he was laughing, to the point of tears.
"Thatch…" Haruta murmured, before tears welled up in his eyes. "Thatch!" He cried out, making Thatch look over to him with a large grin.
"Haruta! Did you see that? That was hilarious!" He laughed again, but suddenly fell sombre when Haruta dashed towards him and wrapped his arms around him, sobbing. "Haruta? What's up?"
"You're here! You're not dead!" Haruta pulled away with a cheer. "You're really here!" His cheer set off the thundering cheer from the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies, garnering weird alarmed looks from the Marines all around them.
"Thatch!"
"He's really here? We're not seeing things!"
"Where did you come from, asshole? How are you even here?"
"Hey, slow down, one at a time, guys! I have literally no idea what you are saying!" Thatch said, confused at his family's reactions, only to grow even more confused when his words drew more tears and cheers.
"Shishishi! Hey, Ace! Your nakama sure are funny!" Luffy commented from beside Ace. At some point, he had begun his run towards Ace anew, easily slipping past everyone who were too shell-shocked to notice him, and freed him, unnoticed amidst the confusion. "C'mon, Ace! Let's get out of here!"
"Hey, look!"
"Ace is free!"
"His little brother did it!" That snapped them back to the war as the battle started again, though the Marines were shocked at the sudden viciousness the Whitebeard Pirates were now fighting back with.
"Hey, after this mess, someone tell me what happened, okay?! It's not fun to be kept in suspense like this!" Thatch's yell only made them fight back harder, pushing the Marines back. Aokiji moved to stop Ace, but Rakuyo blocked his path.
"Sorry, Ice Knight, but no can do." And Aokiji would have barely enough time to wonder, why the tears?, before a mace smashed into his leg which he had turned to ice. Kizaru was in the same situation, his beams of light reflecting off Jozu's diamond body. Akainu flew back as Whitebeard cracked the air right in front of him, ensuring the resulting shockwave was a direct hit. He gritted his teeth as he turned his attention to the escaping pair of brothers, both sons of world-renowned criminals.
"You won't escape! The both of you will die here today, Spawn of Roger, Spawn of Dragon!" He roared.
"Don't turn back." Whitebeard's command was heard even by Ace, Luffy and Jinbe across the battlefield, as he sent a powerful shockwave across nearly the entire Marineford, knocking most of the Marines to the ground and clearing a path for his sons back to the Moby Dick. "The order I'm about to give, is an order from me to you as your captain! All of you, make sure you survive no matter what!"
"No! I don't want to go back without you, Oyaji! Let's go back together!" Haruta cried out.
"Oyaji, don't do it!" Thatch added in tears. "Please, Oyaji! Don't do this to us!"
"OYAJI!" His sons screamed in protest, but upon seeing Whitebeard sending yet another shockwave across the field, clearly to buy them time, they could do nothing but obey his orders and run back to the Moby Dick in tears. "Get ready to set sail! Hurry!"
"Marco-taichou! Let's go!"
"Oyaji…!" Ace clenched his fists tightly as he sent a ball of fire towards Whitebeard, surrounding him with a wall of flames that temporarily shielded him from the never-ending mob of marines.
"Ace…" Whitebeard glanced back at him. "Just tell me one thing. Am I a good father?" Ace couldn't hold back his tears as he kowtowed, bringing his head to the ground as a sign of utmost respect for the man who had taken him in as his son.
"Of course you are!" Whitebeard let out his usual rumbling laughter, and Ace understood immediately. He stood up and continued to run towards the ship, his tears blurring his vision.
"Well, it's no surprise, with your captain being who he is." Akainu sneered as he stood up from where he landed. "A loser from a dead era, that is!" Ace froze, and turned back with a fierce glare.
"What…did you say?" He seethed.
"ACE!" He ignored the cries of his family behind him as he made his way towards the magma admiral, flaming fists clenched tightly.
"Don't you dare insult Oyaji… He gave us a place where we belonged… Don't make fun of the man who saved my life!" Ace roared as he drew his fist back. Fire and magma collided, and Ace was sent tumbling back.
"You are merely fire. I am magma, which will burn even flames! Now, take a good look, Spawn of Roger." Akainu said coldly and shot towards Luffy.
"You bastard, don't you-!" Ace followed after him, running into the path of the magma fist to shield Luffy with his body. The air cracked in that moment, and Akainu was sent flying all the way to the execution platform, which collapsed on top of him. All eyes turned to Whitebeard, who held his bisento in one hand, while the other was a fist held in the air.
"Watch your mouth, brat. My orders were for everyone to survive." Whitebeard growled. His gaze shifted to Ace, who was gaping at him. "Ace, I told you not to turn back. Now, what are you waiting for?"
"O-Oyaji?"
"Stop daydreaming and get your ass back onto the ship already, you idiot!" Thatch grabbed Ace, just as Jinbe grabbed Luffy, and the pair sprinted back to the Moby Dick, jumping aboard. "Oyaji, c'mon!" Whitebeard nodded and created a huge earthquake that cracked the ground and caused much of Marineford to collapse. The Whitebeard Pirates watched, perplexed, as Whitebeard climbed aboard the Moby Dick while the Marines were suffering the effects of the Gura Gura no Mi, and then at Thatch, who threw Ace down onto the deck and instantly started to unfurl the sails with Jinbe's help. "Oi, don't just stand there, help us!" Thatch's shout snapped them back to reality as they started to give out commands, and everyone quickly took their positions. Before long, the Moby Dick was quickly sailing after the Whitebeard Allies, who have all escaped earlier. As soon as they were far enough from Marineford, Whitebeard delivered another shockwave directed to the sea to cause a tsunami that would further hinder the Marines, while they sailed far away from Marineford.
AFTERMATH:
"Are they still coming?" Jinbe asked as Thatch leapt down from the crow nest.
"Nope. They've completely lost this war. Marineford is nearly destroyed, and all of their battle ships were wrecked in that tsunami Oyaji created." He grinned as Jinbe heaved a sigh of relief.
"What…the hell?" Ace jumped to his feet. "What's the meaning of this? I mean, I thought Oyaji was going to stay behind! We all thought Oyaji was going to stay behind!"
"Can't blame you." Thatch shrugged. "I thought that too, at first, until I realised he never really said he was gonna stay back. His only order was for us to survive." Ace's jaw dropped, as did several of the other Whitebeard Pirates.
"But-! He went and said something like 'Was I a good father?' that sounded so much like a farewell!"
"Am, not 'was', Ace." Thatch corrected. "Were you even listening to Oyaji?"
"Aww, what the hell, did you have to scare us like that, Oyaji? We were so freaked out!" Whines of complaint rang out from his sons all around Whitebeard, making him laugh.
"Gurarara! To fool your enemies, you must first fool your allies. I certainly didn't mean to do that, and I definitely didn't expect you to reply to me the way you did, Ace, but I'm glad to have witnessed it."
"Don't mention it, Oyaji! It's embarrassing! Damn it…" Ace flushed with embarrassment and he groaned, before dropping to the ground. "Oi, Luffy, how are you holding up?" Luffy, sprawled out on the ground beside him, just grinned.
"I'm sore all over, but it's fine since you're saved! Shishishi!" Ace smiled and laid down next to him.
"Yeah? Me too. I'm all beaten up." He chuckled. "I just wanna eat something now."
"Me too! Food!" Luffy's grin widened even more at the mention of food.
"That makes two of us then. Don't worry, Thatch will surely cook up a feast later."
"Food can come later, yoi. We need to treat your injuries first, yoi." Marco said as his First Division of doctors all walked back up onto deck with first aid kits, quickly beginning treatment for their injured brothers, while he walked up to Whitebeard. "Oyaji, I'll treat your wounds first, yoi."
"Marco, son, you're in no better shape." Whitebeard said as he regarded the bloody battered state of the Phoenix.
"Huh? Oh, yeah." Marco glanced to the seastone cuff around his wrist lazily before turning back to Whitebeard. "I'll heal when I get this off later, so it's no big deal, yoi."
"Now." Whitebeard frowned, making Marco sigh in exasperation.
"Vista." Vista walked up to Marco, rolling his eyes.
"You know I hate doing this, right? But since Oyaji does need treatment, I'll let you go just this once." He said as he drew his sword and sliced Marco's arm off cleanly. The seastone no longer in contact with him, Marco burst into blue flames, leaving his wounds healed and his arm regenerated in an instant.
"Thanks."
"Next time, make sure you get someone to pick the lock instead." Vista said as he walked off while Marco quickly began treating Whitebeard's wounds, ignoring the disapproving frown Whitebeard was giving him.
"Hey, that reminds me, now that the war's over, can somebody tell me what happened now?" Thatch suddenly asked from where he was standing against the railing. "The last thing I remember was getting stabbed. What the hell did I miss?"
"Oh right, Thatch, you…" Everybody gave sad looks to Thatch, which unnerved him greatly. Fossa shook his head. "How did you even managed to come back? You died."
"I…I died?" They nodded grimly.
"I found you in the kitchen the next morning. You bled out while we were all asleep." Ace said.
"The Yami Yami no Mi you found was the reason he attacked you. He stole it from you and escaped. Oyaji forbade us from going after him." Haruta said.
"And Ace went after him anyway and lost to him, because the Yami Yami no Mi allows its user to nullify other devil fruit abilities, yoi." Marco said. "From what we heard, Teach turned Ace in to the Marines for a Shichibukai position, yoi."
"They found out his lineage somehow, and announced his public execution." Vista said. "And so we went to war."
"Ace, you're an idiot." Thatch shook his head at Ace, only to notice the guilty looks on his family's face as they all averted their gaze, and frowned. "Hey! Blaming yourselves for something you can't control is a big no in my book! Heads up, and look me in the eyes!" He scolded, making sure they looked to him before continuing. "Teach is the only one to blame for this, okay? Everyone was sleeping, he was supposed to be on night watch, we all trusted him! None of us had any clue as to what he was planning, so it's not your fault you guys were unaware that I got attacked and couldn't get to me sooner! And besides, who knows how I got back or why I woke up in the middle of that war, but I'm here, we're all alive, we won that war and showed the world not to mess with us, so everything turned out fine, didn't it? And anyone who objects won't get dinner!" He threatened, making everyone make a zipping gesture over their mouths. Thatch grinned at that. "Good. Looks like everyone wants dinner."
"Not like you'll let us starve anyway, yoi." Marco smirked at him, receiving a glare in response.
"Shush, Marco. I wouldn't have to force you to eat if you didn't skip your meals so often." Marco rolled his eyes and continued treating his brothers' wounds with a fond smile.
"Food!" Luffy's loud cry made everyone look to him. Ace was the first to break the silence by laughing, before he joined in with a cry of his own.
"Food! Thatch! I'm hungry!" The Whitebeard Pirates shared grins with each other and Thatch only had a short moment to dread what was coming before a whole chorus of 'Food!' sounded out from his numerous brothers, alongside Whitebeard's amused laughter.
"ARGH! I GET IT, I'LL COOK A FEAST TONIGHT, ALRIGHT? NOW SHUT UP, YOU'RE ALL ANNOYING! Fourth Division, join me in the kitchen once your injuries have been treated!" He stormed below deck with a huff, followed by some members of the Fourth Division, as his family just laughed collectively at his reaction.
Meanwhile, at Marineford, a certain pirate crew sailed into Marineford with the intention of taking down the Whitebeard Pirates who have no doubt already been weakened in the war and should be small fry by now, only to find themselves face-to-face with an almost demolished Marineford, wrecked Marine battle ships, injured Marines everywhere, and one fuming Magma Admiral. Things did not end well for that crew, who didn't even get the chance to spread their name across the world before they were promptly captured and imprisoned by the Marines.
The result of my boredom and addiction to Fix-It fics (thanks to Marco)! I was just wondering if things would've been different if Thatch was at Marineford, but too many of my fics are heart-breakers already, so I decided to make this one more light-hearted and fun! Enjoy!
PS: Please suggest a name for this fic... I have no idea what to name it... T^T
