Ahhhh I'm finally done! Yay for chapter 16! Thank you so much for everyone who followed this story! Special thanks to TDI-Ryro-Eclares, DreamsoftheDamn, and to the three guests who reviewed! You motivated me to finish this! Thank you so much!
Enjoy!
disclaimer: One Piece is not mine.
Chapter 16
Marshall D. Teach
Stellar detested war.
As she wandered around the world, hiding and looking for a place to call home, there were things she learned humans should stop practicing.
One of them was war.
War became a norm to some countries. Those countries who chose war over the lives of the innocent people ended up on its knees, suffering and eventually dying from its consequences. Because of this, she was forced to participate, only to save the lives of the innocent who deserved to live.
People with power believed that war was a solution. Yet from the very beginning, it was already a mistake.
War brought nothing but more sorrow and hate. War, she understood, was always dreadful and painfully cold.
Except this war proved to be different from the wars she had participated in before. This time there was a purpose. There was hope.
And hope raged in each and every Whitebeard's men.
Cheers and tears of joy erupted from the hearts of the Whitebeard pirates. Their captain, though covered with sweat and blood, grinned so broadly at the sight of his son's familiar flame. Ace finally freed himself and his foolish, little brother raised havoc together with him, beating the marines to pulp with their fantastic teamwork.
Beside him, Stellar felt incredibly happy and relieved, her heart swelling with pride as she watched Luffy fight comfortably with his brother. She remembered how that boy persisted to the point of death and there he was, all smiles and full of radiating happiness.
Most of them speculated the strawhat captain would only cause trouble knowing he was simply a rookie, but who would have thought that he brought hope with him, spreading it generously to Whitebeard's men, including her who desperately craved it.
Thanking Luffy silently, Stellar grasped that hope tightly on her hands, securely keeping it inside her.
How beautiful hope is.
"What's your next plan, Edward?" Stellar glanced at her friend from the corner of her eyes.
Whitebeard titled his head back, stretching his neck side to side. "We're going all out."
The Admirals stiffened.
Smiling to herself, Stellar wiped the blood from her lips and neatly folded the sleeves of her sweater up to her elbows.
"Noted."
This is the taste of freedom.
His little brother saved him, his stupid, childish, immature, and reckless little brother, did what he thought was impossible and freed him from his shackles. He had pushed his brother away, cursed him to leave this damn place, but he never listened. He always never listened. And he was fucking grateful for it.
Never had he expected, not even in a million years, that this kid would be the one to save his ass.
"Thanks, Luffy."
"Shishishi. It's just 'cuz Uncle Whitebeard and his guys helped me out! Ah! And there's Stellar too!"
"Oho, so you've met her. Isn't she cool?"
"Yep! I would've died without her, you know? I like her!"
"Glad to know that. She's really important to me."
Whitebeard, a man of his words, seriously did not hold back from destroying half of Marineford. The marines were practically helpless, overwhelmed at the display of his raw power. No one dared to fight back, afraid that they might be the next victim.
Everything was going well. They have the upper hand. They could leave because they won. Ace was free.
But the captain of the Whitebeard pirates had other plans.
Edward had decided for Marineford to be his grave. He ordered his men to leave and to return to the New World without him. Of course, his children were against it. She was against it. But Edward ignored their pleas of going back together, explaining it was disobedient for a child to die before a parent.
Stellar was furious. No. Livid was the right word.
"Did you think I will allow you to die in this place, Edward?!"
"I don't need your permission, woman."
Stellar wanted to kill him.
Then Akainu appeared only to add fuel to the fire. The arrogant Admiral spouted nonsense about Whitebeard and his men being a coward. That he was a failure, and even called his family a bunch of scums. He insulted Whitebeard as if he knew everything about him.
Fury surged through her, and she knew then and there that she wanted to destroy that man. Stomping towards him, she could feel her power throbbed inside, waiting to lash out at every step she took.
She was about to give Akainu a piece of her mind but Ace beat her into it.
"Whitebeard is the one that opened this era of pirates! Don't insult our savior!"
Not far away from them, Stellar heard Ace's brothers screamed and begged for him to stop. However, the Second Division commander closed himself off, blinded by anger.
Enraged, he confronted Akainu alone.
His fire versus his magma.
He lost and got burned as a result.
Stellar watched, lost for words, as Ace stumbled on the ground and noticed Akainu's attention changed to somewhere else. It took her a second to realize that it was Luffy and he was on his knees, picking something on the floor.
Dread twisted her gut and she immediately pushed her legs in Luffy's direction. In her peripheral vision, she could see Ace scrambling on his feet and moved to place himself in front of his brother, ready to protect him with his own life.
Stellar felt nothing but complete horror at the sight of Ace offering himself for the sake of his little brother.
This was so wrong. So very wrong.
Aside from the fear and horror that boils inside her, she sensed someone coming towards the D. Brothers. She could not recognize the person but she felt no malice nor evil intentions.
Yet a disturbing, ominous aura was emitting somewhere distant.
'It's going to be okay.' Her instincts kicked in.
Everything happened so fast. Akainu pulled back his arms. Ace braced himself, turning himself into fire. Stellar appeared behind Akainu. A stranger tackled the D. brothers out of the Admiral's reach. And Stellar kicked the Admiral hard and solid on his head.
"Admiral Sakazuki!" The marines shouted.
Landing on her feet, she winced when the wound on her leg throbbed excruciatingly. Stellar slammed her eyes shut and hummed the pain. Dismissing the Admiral who crashed far away from them, she then faced the stranger who miraculously saved Luffy and Ace. She halted on her tracks, confused at the shock expressions of the two brothers.
"Y-you…" Ace stared speechless at the stranger dressed in a long black jacket, a blue shirt and vest, a frilled cravat, and a simple belt holding a pair of loose light-blue pants with black boots.
Luffy froze beside him, his eyes widening at every second. He raised a shaking finger and said, "B-b-b-but you're-"
The blonde man lifted himself from the ground and grinned. "I know you have lots of questions but this is not the best place to explain. We have to go," he said as he patted the dust off his coat.
"No-just what the fuck?!" Ace snarled. He stood up and backed away from him. "I-who-how?!"
Luffy wobbled on his feet and Stellar was instantly on his side to support him. "I got you, don't worry." She held him as she examined his body, touching a certain part of his neck. She asked, "How do you feel?" Luffy stared at her with unfocused eyes.
"Oh, I'm...I'm fine."
Frowning, Stellar turned her head to the former Warlord. "Carry him," she ordered and Jimbei nodded, lifting the strawhat captain with his arm. "You need to find a doctor as soon as possible. His breathing is not good and his heartbeat is irregular."
Luffy wriggled. "But I said I'm fine!" he protested.
Stellar glared at him. "No, you're not! You're beyond exhausted and even critically wounded. I don't know what's pushing your body to go past its limit but this time you need to rest!"
"I can help you get out of here," the blonde stated. Ace's expression hardened.
Stellar pressed her lips together as she eyed the stranger long and hard. She had no idea what his reasons were for saving them but he sounded sincere and honest. 'I'm sure Ace will take care of him if he did something funny.'
"I trust you," she finally said and the man brightened at her reply. Ace clenched his fists and he had this strained look on his face that only made her worry.
Sighing, she pushed him lightly at his back, urging Jimbei to do the same. "You all have to go."
"What about you?" Ace questioned.
"I will follow," she assured. "Protect your brother while I take care of your captain."
Ace held her hand, trembling. "Promise me you'll be fine."
"I promise," she whispered and met his eyes. He looked so scared and confused which actually did not suit his strong headed personality. She really wanted to hug him and wash away that look on his face but willed herself not to because it was not the right time. It honestly broke her heart to be apart from him again. Offering him the brightest smile she could give, she squeezed his hand and let it go.
"You damn witch!"
Across them, she saw Akainu trudged their way, leaving remnants of magma that dripped off from his hands, his head bloodied and bruised. The marines backed away from him, terrified.
"That son of a bitch," Ace growled.
"Jimbei!" Stellar called out and stepped forward. "Carry this stubborn man as well, and leave!"
"Wait-" The former Warlord cut him off and grabbed him with his other arm. "Damn it, Jimbei! Put me down!"
"Yeah! Put us down!" Luffy cried weakly.
"We should not waste the efforts of the Old man, Ace-kun, Luffy-kun," Jimbei pointed out. "Your recklessness will only cause more trouble."
They both shut up, looking guilty.
"Jeez, aren't they tough?" The stranger chuckled, his hands planted on his hips.
Frowning, she watched the two brothers open their mouths again only to complain about being able to walk and kicking a certain bastard's ass. It really amused her how alike they were.
"Get them out of here, please."
"Yes, ma'am!" The blonde saluted. "Let's go, Jimbei!"
"Can we trust him?" Jimbei eyed the man warily.
Stellar turned her back to them and with a wave of her hand, she answered, "Yes."
"I'm not letting those two brothers get out of here alive!" Akainu shot a fist of magma on their way. Stellar steeled herself.
"Get them out of here, Jimbei!" Marco came to their rescue, his body blazing a magnificent blue to shield them from the magma.
"Got it!" Jimbei ignored the sign of protests from the two brothers and followed Sabo.
"Akainu-san! Watch out!"
Stellar gawked as Whitebeard stealthily materialized behind the Admiral and with a quake bubble around his hand, he punched him straight to his head. Akainu was smashed to the ground, motionless. Stellar thought he passed out, or was dead but then Akainu leapt on his feet and threw another ball of magma on his way.
Whitebeard barely avoided it but he counterattacked by ramming his fist on the Admiral's side while still airborne. The space shattered and Akainu was thrown meters away from them. Stellar hastily grabbed Marco's arm, cursing Edward mentally for not restraining himself as the ground trembled.
When the earthquake stopped, Stellar sensed a sinister aura, this time much clearer than before. It felt disturbingly familiar. Out of the blue, darkness flashed through her eyes. Her heartbeat quickened, having a guess of the person that could emit such power. She gulped and raised her head to look at the source.
Among the mist of shadows, an enormous giant hid unsuccessfully behind the Marine Headquarters. It was notably taller and bigger than the building and the marines gasped in shock when they recognized who the giant was.
"Oops, they found me!" the giant said.
Stellar gnashed her teeth at this incredulous situation. Up there in the scaffold, four infamous and dangerous criminals stood before them. They were the Level 6 death row inmates from Impel Down, and they were known for the heinous crimes they committed. Not only that, Shiryuu of the Rain was here, and among them is their leader.
The leader who broke the one and only iron-clad rule of the Whitebeard pirates...
"Teach!"
Whitebeard ruthlessly punched the air to where the bastard stood. The scaffold got destroyed into pieces but Blackbeard was able to jump away and landed in front of his former captain.
"Zehahaha! You're not holding back at all!"
Whitebeard gripped his bisento tightly. "You'll pay for what you've done. I'll take your life and settle things myself!"
"Tha fucking bastard!" Marco growled. He was about to join the fight but his father stopped him.
"Don't you interfere, Marco!"
"Then is it okay if I take care of his crew, Edward?" Stellar butt in as she pulled her gloves securely. "I'll make sure they won't get in your way."
Whitebeard clicked his tongue. "Do as you wish."
"This will be messy, Marco. I suggest you leave and ensure your brothers' safety," Stellar said, not looking at him. "Knowing Ace, I think he will try to come back and beat Teach himself."
Marco contemplated, casting a look at Blackbeard then to the Impel Down escapees. He sighed and roughly threaded a hand through his hair. "Damn it," he uttered. "Make sure you beat the shit out of them for us, yoi!"
Stellar blinked owlishly then laughed. "I will try," she said and Marco left to take care of his siblings.
"Zehahahaha! My men won't back down to someone like you, sis!" Blackbear howled. "Come to think of it, your head will be a good apology gift to the World Government! The world does not need your kind anyway so you're better off dead! Right, Sengoku?"
The Fleet Admiral only shot him a disgusted look, obviously not amused.
"You've become so arrogant after you obtained that devil fruit, Marshall." Stellar smiled, cold and spine-chilling. "I will destroy that confidence of yours along with your crew."
Blackbeard smirked, his eyes gleaming in excitement. "Come and try, sis. Come and try."
I honestly do not know how to end this chapter lol
Who do you think saved Ace and Luffy?! I think you know who! I don't know if I did justice to their reunion but I hope it's okay? Are you happy that Ace is alive?! Well I'm happy! Super happy!
Thank you so much for reading this! Don't forget to review!