Marco felt like he was being physically dragged from consciousness as he tried to force his eyes open. He had only meant to rest his eyes for a moment. A tree was not the safest of places to just fall asleep after all. No matter how confident Ace seemed to be in them. But falling asleep did not come as a surprise to him. He was more exhausted then he can ever remember being. The kind of exhaustion that seeped into your bones and made it hard to move.

Slowly he opened his eyes and blinked away the blurry vision. As his senses all came into focus he shivered, noticing the cold breeze that swept over him. A rumble was heard in the distance and Marco looked to see a dark cloudy sky. He couldn't even tell the time of day anymore but it was no doubt getting late. "Well isn't this perfect?"

A warmth pushed into his side and he looked down over Ace, almost forgetting he was there. He shivered and curled up tighter against Marco. Looking down over Ace's body, it was no wonder he was cold. Normally the both of them could rely on their abilities, and this temperature wouldn't have even register in their minds. Normally their choice in light clothing, or minimal in Ace's case, was no bother. With a sigh, Marco reached over to gently wake Ace so they could seek better shelter.

However before Marco could even reach over himself the sky above them roared. Marco flinched, surprised by the sudden loudness of the thunder above. It was only luck he had been reaching over to Ace already to react in time. Ace had jolted up in a panic and would have tumbled off the side of the branch, dragging Marco with him if not for his arm being jerked back.

Ace had turned at the sudden touch, right fist raised to fight the sudden danger. Marco had let go and raised his hand in a placating motion. "It's alright, it's just me. It was just thunder." He spoke evenly, as Ace's harsh breaths calmed.

With a sigh, Ace released the tension held in his body and sunk against the tree. Before Marco could say anything he jerked back as a drop of cold hit his nose. He looked to the sky, Ace doing the same when he felt the cold droplets fall. "Shit." Ace growled, voicing Marco's thought.

"We need to get out of this tree and find better shelter." Somewhere they can rest properly and regain some energy.

"The tree was perfectly fine until it started to rain." Ace grumbled under his breath. Marco shook his head and took lead in their decent down the tree. Taking it slow, branch by branch while Ace held onto his wrist to minimize the tug on their joined hands. However things never were easy when the needed them to be. A bit more then half way down Marco slipped on the wettening bark.

He gasped and luckily the fall was short but a painful tug on his arm is what abruptly stopped his fall. Marco heard a small yelp above him and he scrambled to find footing on a branch close to him. He looked up at Ace.

Ace had his right arm stretched out, grasping a branch that was across and slightly up from him. His knees were drawn up as much as he could to prevent himself from slipping off the branch his midsection was strapped over. There were just two arm lengths away so Marco had no problem seeing Ace's face scrunched up in pain.

"Ace. Are you alright." A dumb question, he knew but he needed to hear something from the quiet commander above. He watched as Ace's face smoothed out and nodded.

"Yeah." It was a pained noise and not believable for a second but it served to show Marco he was okay enough to respond. Marco subtly twisted and moved his arm to assure himself nothing was out of place. He looked back up at Ace.

"Anything disconnected?" Ace was quiet. Marco waited and grew worried as every second ticked.

"No." Marco's chest tightened slightly. He believed Ace but the short responses and lack of movement had him worried. Nothing may be disconnected but it was obvious that Ace was still hurt. He didn't want to force Ace to move. Wanted to give him time to collect himself from whatever was hurting him but they needed to get down and out of this tree. They needed to find better cover. And Marco didn't forget the Marines that were probably still out there looking for them.

Marco was just about to say something when Ace shifted. He watched as he slowly uncurled himself around the branch. Marco climbed up a bit and waited for Ace to get on the same branch as he. "Ace, do you need a break?" He asked gently, moving his joined hand closer to Ace.

"What? Getting tired old man?" Even with the pain evident in his eyes, Ace smirked. Marco stared back unimpressed pointedly telling Ace he wasn't amused through his expression. With a sigh, Ace rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Okay, okay. My arm hurts like hell but it's not like there is much we can do about it. Let alone up here. Happy?" Carefully Ace began his descent down the tree without waiting for a reply. This time the duo managed to reach the ground without any more mishaps. However the rain poured over their already soaked bodies and making the ground around them mushy and hard to walk through.

"I think we should head over to the mountain base, I'm sure we'll be able to find a dip or a cave of some sorts to find shelter in." Marco said pointing towards the small range running along the island. Ace gave a short nod in agreement. As they began to walk, Marco reached his arm over allowing Ace to hold his own tighter to his body. The second commander smiled in thanks as his arm was allowed the small reprieve.

When they made it to the base, Ace groaned slightly pulling his arm away so he could walk behind Marco. The first commander looks back with an apologetic smile. As they walked along the base, the land had narrowed as they walked along the top of a ravine. It was not a particularly far drop but one they didn't want to risk falling down nonetheless. They walked along in silence, both keeping an eye out for suitable shelter. Marco's shirt was clinging, wet and heavy to him and Ace shook from the cold.

"You see anything?" Ace asked walking as close behind Marco as he could. His companion only shook his head. He was starting to think they were better off under the shelter of the trees. Not that they weren't wet enough under them but at least they weren't so entirely exposed. "Maybe" he was cut off by thunder echoing above them. "Maybe we should turn back Marco." The first commander sighed but did not stop.

"If we go back now we'll run a higher chance for running into the marines and -

"There they are!"

"The Whitebeard's have been spotted!"

Marco and Ace served their attention around behind them. Several marines back where their trail started were shouting out to notify their group. Marco cursed before they began to run, carefully trying to keep as far from the edge of the ravine as possible.

"What was that saying Jiru always says." Ace spoke up, tone lighter than Marco deemed appropriate. "The one about talking about the devil?" Marco would have rolled his eyes if he could spare it but he'd reprimand his companion later. For now the duo were forced to balance on a slim edge and search for a way out of their situation.

At the sound of gunshots they both ducked instinctively. Ace almost wanted to mention how funny it was at their quick adaptiveness over avoiding things that couldn't even hurt them just hours before. Instead, like Marco, his eyes darted around, looking for a possible escape route.

"There." Marco pointed forward. There was a small section where the slope wasn't as steep and the ravine opened into the thick forest. But before he could relay a plan to Ace he heard the man cry out behind him. A second later he was jerked right off the side. Both he and Ace tumbled down the steep slope, feeling the rocks scrape their skin and the painful tug on their joined wrists. And when they reached the bottom, Marco felt a solid, sharp smack against his head before everything blanked.