The crew had shown their concerns when Whitebeard and his Commanders exited the meeting room with unreadable expressions on their faces. It was clear that F!Marco had delivered his final words and vanished just as F!Whitebeard did, but the witnesses were keeping tight-lipped on what was said. The crew had simply chosen not to pry, instead choosing to gossip among themselves about the doppelgangers.
The Whitebeard Pirates were ready when a pillar of flames appeared on the deck. They had been prepared to see a second, older Ace. They had not been prepared to see a similar aged Ace with a gaping hole in his chest, and were very disturbed to actually be able to see through the hole. F!Ace seemed unbothered by the horrified stares of his brothers though, and just made his way over to Whitebeard. He kowtowed, just as F!Marco had done, tears streaming down his face.
"Whatever you did, son, I forgive you. I do not blame you, and I will not reject you. I still love you no less than any of my sons." Whitebeard knew what needed to be said the instant he saw the grief and guilt on F!Ace's face. And he had an idea of what his son from the future could be apologising for, given the hole in his chest. He walked over and bent down, pulling F!Ace into a one-armed hug. "And I'm sorry for not being able to save you, son."
Whitebeard couldn't believe his eyes. One of his sons from the future stood before him, likely dead where he came from, and judging from looks, his death happened in the near future. The hole in his chest reminded him of the holes in F!Whitebeard's torso, and he couldn't help but wonder if they had died to the same enemy. Had they been in the same battle? Had he fallen, which was why he hadn't managed to save his son?
"Watch your health."
Remembering F!Whitebeard's words, it must have been due to his health. He cursed under his breath. He should really start taking his health seriously. F!Ace pulled away, wiping his tears with a sniffle. And then he turned to Thatch and Marco, expression unchanging, and pulled the two into a bone-crushing hug. And a sudden thought sprang into Whitebeard's mind.
So far, all of the future travellers reacted the most to himself, Marco, Ace and Thatch. Of the three that had appeared, it was clear that F!Whitebeard and F!Ace were dead in the timeline they came from. F!Marco didn't look wounded, but he had clearly been burdened by something. As for Thatch… What if Ace wasn't the only son he'd failed to save?
He could not dwell on the uneasy thought longer for F!Ace pulled away from the embrace and began walking away. When F!Ace waved them over to the meeting room, they understood immediately and followed him in. Inside the room, F!Ace surprised them by punching Ace.
"Why do I always get punched? What did I do?" Ace complained, holding his bruised cheek. F!Ace just crossed his arms and huffed, before kneeling down to the fallen Commander's eye level.
"Don't chase Teach." He hissed, and then he was gone before they could register his words.
Teach.
Again.
F!Jozu showed up not long after F!Ace disappeared, missing his right arm. They hadn't left the meeting room, still pondering Teach's involvement with the state of their visitors from the future, which worked out in his favor.
"What happened to your arm, Jozu?" Vista managed to ask. F!Jozu just turned to him, but remained silent.
"D-Did Teach do that to you?" Thatch asked, still thinking of F!Marco's and F!Ace's warnings. F!Jozu gave him a sad look and shook his head, before moving to wrap his remaining arm around the chef, tears pricking the corner of his eyes.
"Does it have anything to do with how Oyaji and Ace look like when they appeared then?" Surprise, and then grief, flashed through F!Jozu's face at Namur's question as he pulled away. It was as if he hadn't expected F!Whitebeard and F!Ace to drop by, and considering the pair were likely dead in the future that they came from, it made sense.
"Was there a battle?" Whitebeard questioned. F!Jozu paused for a while before answering, but Whitebeard doesn't need to hear it to know the answer. He could already tell from the glazed look in F!Jozu's eyes, evidently still haunted by unpleasant memories. But Whitebeard asked, so F!Jozu nodded in reply. Then, he turned to meet Ace's gaze, slowly making his way over to the teen.
"Are you gonna punch me too?" Ace cracked a wry smile at F!Jozu, who gave him a fleeting smile and shook his head 'no'. "Good, 'cause my jaw still hurts from getting punched by Marco and myself." Ace chuckled. F!Jozu's smile lingered for a bit before it was dropped.
"Don't confront Akainu." And then he was gone. The silence loomed over the occupants of the room, all thinking of the same thing.
Akainu. An Admiral who ate the Magu Magu No Mi, becoming a Logia magma man.
F!Whitebeard and F!Ace, who both sported holes with melted edges in their torsos.
"Why were we fighting an Admiral?" Thatch asked, bewildered. He didn't receive an answer.
They predicted that Thatch would be the next to arrive, following their ranks, and they were not wrong. When F!Thatch arrived in the meeting room, Whitebeard felt his heart sink at the proof that his earlier thought was not wrong. F!Thatch's back was covered in blood. Marco and Ace seemed to have come to the same realisation, the horror on their faces more pronounced than it was on the rest of their brothers'.
"Thatch, you… Did you die too?" Haruta asked, the tears already welling up in his eyes. F!Thatch looked to him sadly and nodded. They took in the sight of F!Thatch, realising that unlike the battered forms of F!Whitebeard and F!Ace, F!Thatch was relatively free of injuries except the one on his back, signifying that he died from bleeding out rather than in a battle. Recalling F!Marco's and F!Ace's warning, a feeling of dread filled them.
"Don't trust Teach."
"Don't chase Teach."
"Was it…Was it Teach?" Jiru asked. The anger and betrayal in F!Thatch's eyes served as their answer before he even nodded.
"So…What Marco and Ace said… It was true?" Namur seemed to be in a daze as he spoke with disbelief. "Teach… He really betrayed us?"
"…So that's why Jozu reacted like that when I asked him that question." Thatch murmured. "Because the one Teach attacked wasn't him, but me." F!Thatch only turned to Whitebeard with a sad guilty look, sending him a silent apology that the disheartened father understood immediately.
"No, I am the one who should be sorry, my son, for not having been able to protect you like I should as your father." He said as he pulled another of his sons from the future into a hug. "Forgive me, son." F!Thatch accepted the embrace wholeheartedly, making no effort to stop his tears. When F!Thatch pulled away after a few minutes and turned to face Thatch, Thatch's eyes widened and he backed away.
"Hang on! You're not gonna punch me, are you?" He squeaked, making F!Thatch grin with a shake of his head. Thatch heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, we're good then." Everyone cracked a smile at the scene, but soon turned solemn when F!Thatch began to speak.
"Watch your back." From the sight of F!Thatch's back, the reason was clear. It seemed that they would all have to keep their guards up for a while.
For the next chapter, the future travellers will be arriving one after another to tell the story of what happened to them, so that the current Whitebeards can prevent the same fate from befalling them. For now, enjoy this chapter, and reviews are always welcomed!