Warnings: AU, Language, canon-typical violence, possible Out of Character moments, too many characters, OC's galore, implied sexual content, slow burn, mentions of non consensual drug use. This chapter in specific contains excessive violence, blood, friendly fire, and character death of OC's and main characters. Its war guys. War and it's associated dangers are not pretty. See end notes for more spoilery warnings.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners. I simply play with them for my, and your amusement.

Authors Note: This was beta'ed by the magnificent Ktwontwo and the artwork that you see in the cover is by Idaida on tumblr. Yall can find a much larger and better version of the magnificent stupendously phenomenal picture here! post/143364258999/one-piece-big-bang-2016-what-are-the-odds. More of the Author's note can be found at the end.

Chapter 19: Luck of the Draw

Light blossomed behind Marco as he jumped off the staircase bypassing the last few steps leading to the ground level where his men were waiting. It had to be Ace for the light was much to low in the sky and way to intense to be sunlight at this hour of the morning.

"Eyes forward," Marco said when he noticed some of his men staring up at the wall.

"Why haven't we gone yet?" A brash voice from the back demanded. Marco recognized it as belonging to a man named Teage.

The question was almost immediately followed by another person, Kristoff, wondering, "Isn't that the signal?"

Marco pinched the bridge of his nose. There wasn't a member of the enforcers who hadn't been looking forward to actually taking a bite out of the army at their gates. After so long being effectively trapped tempers had started to fray.

"No" Marco finally said, "That's not the signal, it's just prep for whatever the signal is. Ace assured me we'd know the signal when we heard it and since I'm not hearing anything it just means we've got to wait."

"I'm sick of waiting," A third voice, a blond dainty woman by the name of Sofia muttered. "We've let them think they've cowed us for too long already."

"I agree," Marco said and from the wince that appeared on Sofia's face he hadn't been supposed to hear that, "Which is why it's important that you keep your eyes forward. You wouldn't want to miss the start of the battle would you?"

That got some chuckles from the group and they fell silent once more simply waiting for whatever the signal was. Undercurrents of barely restrained patience ran through the assembled group reminding Marco of a group of scent hounds that had a trail to follow but were unable to do so. He couldn't say how long they waited there in silence before a rather loud boom that sounded remarkably like someone had set off an explosion in a bell, rang out. It was followed by a strange sounding thwump that brought a smile to Marco's face. That sound was undoubtedly the signal. Ace had said it was going to be distinct and it was, sure enough, distinct.

"Charge!" Marco called out but it was entirely unnecessary as the group surged forward as one.

The men manning the gates barely had time to get the gates open before the first division was pushing through. Directly behind them came a fire that moved over the ground despite the fact that there was nothing there to burn. The flames appeared to have a life of their own followed in the wake of the charging men. A deranged laugh echoed off the walls originating from the flames instead of the normal crackle of fire. The situation was rather eerie but the First Division did not falter and Marco was right on their tail following the fire. The laughing sound calmed slightly shifting from deranged to something more normal sounding the farther they went though it was still loud, free and unrestrained.

"Ace?" Marco asked as he kept pace with the last of the flames.

As he watched sharp grin formed in the nearest flame. It took less than a second for it to condense and then Ace was running alongside him, coat flaring dramatically. Marco blinked in wonder but pressed forwards allowing the surge to carry him forward. He realized he was passing bodies of those who had already fallen in battle. None of the ones he had seen so far had belonged to his division.

Marco had known Ace carried the ability of fire since the other had copped to occasionally being known as Spade. He hadn't realized that this was just how the ability manifested. Marco was aware that the last person who had the Ability of Fire had only been able to generate, direct, and convey emotion with it in small amounts. The person before that had only been able to muster up enough power to set things on fire. No one ever to Marco's knowledge had ever been able to literally turn himself or herself into flame. Someone took a swing at him and Marco realized that this really wasn't the time to be thinking about Ace's peculiar manifestation. He could wonder about the implications of this at a later date.

"Happy Hunting." Marco said for lack of anything else to say.

Ace grinned at him with a smile full of teeth that promised nothing but blood and pain before dissolving into another flash of fire which had an immediate and visceral impact on Marco causing blood to rush to places other than those needed for fighting.

This also wasn't the time to be obnoxiously attracted to his lover Marco reminded himself. He blinked and pressed on looking for any opponent that he could take. After a few minor engagements he paused and looked around. Ace had disappeared in the tide of the battle and the fire was nowhere in sight. He probably had headed towards his assigned spot Marco surmised. There was no time to worry about it, not that Marco was worried, Ace clearly could take care of himself.

Marco handily dispatched his next couple opponents then finally spotted something that only he could take care of. Luckily he was perfectly positioned to do so. Increasing his speed slightly, Marco launched himself at a man in a rather filthy Brass's uniform who had just come up behind Sofia. She hadn't seen him in the melee preoccupied as she was with her current opponent. Marco knew he had to get the timing just right on this and lashed out with one leg. The blade of his foot connected with the man's neck and he flew, impacting the ground with a loud bang. The Brass mook bounced once, then twice, hitting his head both times before he came to a full stop some several yards away on top of several other Brass agents who hadn't been expecting a flying body and thus were knocked over. Judging by the angle of the original attacker's neck he wouldn't be getting up again.

Marco realized that the people under the body might pose a problem as soon as they could regain their feet. Unfortunately before he could ensure that the knocked over mooks would be taken out of the action another man charged at him from his left side. Dispatching this new threat with the same sort of ease that he had taken care of his earlier opponents Marco found himself moving fluidly through the combat, methodically taking down anyone who had the misfortune of crossing his path. His enemies fell like leaves in autumn.

When he had a moment to catch his breath Marco took the time to think about the entire scope of the battle. For such a large force that had been sitting outside their gates for over a week, one would think that this army would have been a little more prepared for retaliation. This was especially true given that Whitebeard did not have a reputation for sitting around when he or any of his allies were rumored to be in danger.

He had no sooner finished that thought when an enraged scream tore through the air. It cut through the sounds of chaos from the battle and Marco's head snapped to see what had caused it. He knew that voice. He couldn't say that he had expected exactly what he saw but it wasn't entirely a surprise. They were in the midst of battle after all and death was inevitable. A spear-wielding figure stood silhouetted over the body of someone who had apparently just been slain. It took Marco a moment to recognize the spear wielder as Sofia and even less time to recognize the body beneath her as belonging to Teage. Once he did Marco absently broke the neck of the man whom he had been fighting almost on autopilot while he watched Sofia scream her grief to the sky. Suddenly the scream cut off and he saw her charge the man who had just slain her partner a merciless expression on her face.

That wasn't going to end well Marco knew but he had no time to worry about it as he dropped the body he was holding and sprinted to take out the man who was aiming a shot at Sofia's entirely unprotected back. A solid flying kick to the man's ribs had the shot flying wide. Marco grinned unrepentantly as he heard another unfamiliar voice cry out in pain from the direction the shot had carried. Apparently the idiot had hit one of his own men. Good. That made one less enemy to worry about.

"Ooouch" commented a very sarcastic and dry voice.

Marco glanced back to the man whom he had just attacked. Despite the force of the kick his opponent only appeared to have been pushed back a few feet. Either he had rolled with the kick or just taken it and stepped back. Marco didn't know which of the two would be more impressive.

"Ah, sorry" the man continued "Was that supposed to have hurt?"

Well, well, Marco thought as he suddenly recognized his opponent and his focus narrowed. This man had certainly not been present when Blackbeard had initially shown up. He must have come as part of the backup forces. Absently Marco wondered how many of the other top members of the Brass were present on this battlefield. If it was more than just this one then things were going to undoubtedly become very complicated very quickly. Marco shoved those thoughts away. He had to believe that only he had gotten unlucky enough to deal with a Vice Admiral. This would not be an easy fight and it would take all of his focus. He couldn't afford any distractions.

"Kizaru. What a surprise. They actually let you out to play," Marco replied conversationally.

"Ahhh they did indeed," Kizaru said slowly grinning.

Neither moved. They had met in battle on several previous occasions. Each time only extenuating circumstances had allowed both of them to survive. Marco wasn't going to make the mistake of committing to an all out attack against this caliber of opponent.

"What are you doing here?" Marco asked "I thought the Brass wasn't officially sanctioning this attack."

Kizaru batted his eyes and put on his most innocent face, "Officially I'm not; here that is."

Marco nearly groaned aloud. He had forgotten about the man's utterly incomprehensible and absolutely disgusting personality. He decided not to reply. If he remembered correctly Kizaru would be unable to resist explaining himself if Marco refrained from excessive conversation.

"I'm sure that the upper echelons would have something to say if they knew but they don't so who cares? I certainly don't. Besides I'm sure they will forgive me when I tell them of our success," Kizaru continued without really stopping.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but you're currently loosing," Marco pointed out.

Kizaru actually had the nerve to pout. "Mou, how scary. I'm shaking," he said doing absolutely nothing of the sort.

"I thought you might be concerned about the numbers. You'll find it hard to remain officially not present when your side loses enough people."

Kizaru shrugged, "I haven't lost anything that the world couldn't do without anyways."

Marco shook his head in disgust at the people were just an expendable resource, like ammunition or armaments attitude. It was typical of the upper echelon in the ranks of the Brass. They did in fact openly refer to the line soldiers as cannon fodder.

Kizaru noted the grimace and continued, "You're all too soft anyways. So come my friend Commander of the First Division. Let us settle this once and for all." Kizaru grinned, "Oh what fun I shall have at the end of the day when I am dancing on your grave."

"Are you sure you're not going to need to have someone come and save your sorry ass again?" Marco asked rhetorically .

Kizaru's mouth pressed together tightly. Marco dropped to the floor letting the beam of light that Kizaru had just shot at him sail far above his head. Another yell of pain from somewhere behind him announced that that energy blast had found a target. Marco couldn't be bothered to figure out who it had hit as he kicked around low with his legs hoping to sweep the other man off his feet. It didn't work but Marco didn't give Kizaru any time to counter by using the momentum of the kick to quickly stand and lunge forwards in one smooth movement.

Marco knew that he needed to keep Kizaru fully focused on him. If the other man bothered to direct his attention elsewhere there would be problems. Only one of the other Division Commanders would stand a chance against this caliber of an opponent. When last Marco had looked none of them were anywhere nearby.

Marco used the lunge to feint a punch with one hand following up with an elbow to the diaphragm as he went by. Kizaru retaliated with a flurry of blows. Marco dipped and turned blocking a blow that, if it had hit, would have most definitely killed anyone else. Marco kept blocking and dodging punches, circling but always keeping in motion. Kizaru followed closely behind his blows unrelenting but getting wilder as he failed to connect. Marco patiently waited for an opening. Once he found one it was his turn to attack. Unfortunately, Kizaru was just as canny and able to avoid all but the most minor of blows.

They persisted like this for some time neither man able to gain and keep the upper hand. Brass and Enforcers alike strove to stay out of the way as their battle wandered all over the field. More than one person who had the misfortune of not being quick enough to get out of the way had been dispatched with ruthless efficiency by one of the other of them. They were so focused on each other that Marco couldn't even tell if the unfortunates who had been in the way were friend or foe. Luckily after the first couple casualties people tended to avoid the fight.

After a good twenty minutes both Marco and Kizaru were bleeding from numerous wounds. Marco's were definitely more visible because he'd been unable to completely avoid a couple of Kizaru's energy beams. Despite the lack of obvious wounds Kizaru had to be smarting though. Marco knew that his blows had connected several times and Marco had seen the man casually spit out a bit of blood earlier in their fight. No banter had been exchanged between the pair after that first conversation. Marco was slightly surprised when Kizaru spoke up after Marco had successfully parried one of his attacks.

"As entertaining as this has been I find myself growing bored with our encounter."

Marco's eyes widened as Kizaru's words registered. That could mean either one of two things. Either Kizaru was going to withdraw from the battle completely or he was going to make an attempt to turn the tide. Marco had no clue as to the state of the battle at the moment nor could he afford to spare a glance to figure it out. He could only attempt to prevent the man from doing either, though that alone would probably not be enough in the long run.

"What a shame." Marco said, taking advantage of Kizaru's open side to land a rather powerful roundhouse kick to the other man's ribs. "I was rather enjoying myself." He said keeping his voice as devoid of emotion as Kizaru's was.

"Oh?" Was all Kizaru said as he redoubled his efforts.

At that point the battle between them increased in intensity. Kicks and punches flew. Kizaru attempted to land a direct hit with his energy beams while Marco ducked, swerved and countered. Yells of pain echoed as the shots hit other combatants but Marco had no time to worry about any of that until he heard something that made his blood run cold. That sound had been Whitebeard's enraged bellow.

Marco couldn't help himself. He threw a flurry of blows then turned to look quickly to see where he was and what was happening. To Marco's surprise he was not where he expected to be. Somehow during the course of the battle they had managed to cover enough ground to be two gates down from where they had initially started. In fact this was the gate that Whitebeard himself had elected to lead his charge from. Marco's quick glance told him that while the Enforcers seemed to have a handle on their individual battles their father was struggling. Marco didn't didn't think twice. He completely disregarded Kizaru, his current opponent, and headed to his adopted father's aid. He was very glad he did when he recognized just who exactly Whitebeard was fighting.

It was Blackbeard. The man had probably waited to find out where Whitebeard was after the attack had started before revealing himself. A sword glinted in the sunlight and Marco gasped as it started its decent. He knew he wouldn't make it in time and watched as he caught sight of a rather nasty looking shoulder wound. It looked as if it was inhibiting Whitebeard's movements. There was no way his father would be able to get his Bisento up in time to block either. Marco watched in horror as he sprinted across the battlefield. He couldn't loose Pops. Not like this.

Suddenly a pained shout sounded from somewhere on the other side of Whitebeard and Blackbeard's fight and Marco watched dumbfounded as a flickering form flew through the space between the two men. It was Ace! The sword strike passed harmlessly through Ace who had apparently enough sense to turn himself completely into flames. The flame form bent with the force of the blow causing a splash against the ground and setting some of the surroundings on fire. Ace's reconstitution of his original was almost instantaneous.

Ace didn't appear to notice that he'd just interrupted a fight as he turned and yelled, "Is that all you've got asshole?!" back in the direction that he'd just come from.

Fortunately, Whitebeard recovered first. Ace had inadvertently provided the distraction that his father had needed. Whitebeard's Bisento came up blocking the counterstrike from Blackbeard's sword with a loud clang. It was, however, no longer necessary. Blackbeard had stopped his sword mid swing after it had gone through Ace. It was clear that his attention now was focused solely on Ace.

Blackbeard twitched and Marco could see the indecision on his face as clear as day. The man just couldn't decide whether or not to continue fighting his arch nemesis, the man who's death would grant him whatever he wanted with The World Collective or go after the newcomer. It was clear at least to Marco the Blackbeard now knew exactly who had been foiling his plans for months.

Ace for his part had now noticed exactly whose battle he had just interrupted. His expression was hard as he casually nodded at Whitebeard and glared at the man who by all accounts had been making Ace's life hell for years. It was easy to see the hate playing across Ace's features even from this distance. Though to the surprise of everyone present Ace dismissed Blackbeard outright. He merely glowered at him but his focus was partly elsewhere.

A moment later Marco saw why as a loud screaming whistle pierced the air. Blackbeard had hesitated too long and his choice was made for him as something red, hot, viscous and bubbling flew through the air and splashed down exactly where Ace had been standing only moments before. Screams sounded as the splatter caught the other combatants by surprise and the smell of burning meat permeated the air.

"Lava." Marco hissed as he realized what exactly the substance was and what that meant. The silhouette of a rather large and buff man approaching from the same direction as the lava only confirmed his suspicions. They had not been lucky in the slightest. Marco knew that since Kizaru and Akainu were here then Aokiji was as well. The three were either deployed as one unit or by themselves, never in any other combination.

"Awful lot of firepower for an 'unofficial' mission" Marco muttered to himself as he continued his run towards his father.

He could see that battle between the two had resumed only this time Marco was rather thankful to see that it was Blackbeard who was now struggling.

"Indeed. I wonder just exactly what it is that he's doing here. He shouldn't be here any more than I should." Came a rather nonchalant voice from right beside him startling Marco.

"Kizaru," Marco commented, "I thought you were bored."

"Oh I was," Kizaru said with a shrug. "That doesn't mean I'm going to let you run off in the middle of our fight. Besides," the man continued as Marco huffed in annoyance and struck out with a sidekick that was quickly dodged, "Things have just gotten interesting. Too bad you won't get to see it."

"What?" Marco asked.

A sharp pain in his back was his answer to that question and Marco craned his neck to see that a young man clad in the uniform of the Brass had just stabbed him in the back. That would be easy enough to deal with once the knife was removed from his back. Making the mistake of healing with a weapon in him was something that he never wanted to repeat. Taking a step forward Marco felt the knife slip out of the young officer's hand. Unfortunately it appeared to be in a place that he would not be able to reach easily. The knife would be easy enough to deal with once he wasn't in danger of bleeding out.

"Ow!" he said.

Kizaru's pleased face at his attempts to move was rather annoying. Marco ignored it as he relaxed and waited for his powers to heal him. He blinked in surprise when no brilliant blue flame appeared.

"Oh, Shit!" Marco muttered taking a rather labored breath as he realized what was happening. Sabo had warned them about this new weapon that the Brass had developed. Apparently he had just been stabbed with one. As he could now attest it effectively shut down Abilities.

"Seastone," he said matter of factly to no one in particular.

"Oh?" Kizaru actually had the gall to look curious. "You know what this is? Interesting. I wasn't aware that the First Division Commander had an Ability?"

Marco didn't quite understand the point of Kizaru's last statement. It was probably to get some sort of dying confession as to what his ability was so that they could be on the look out for it when he died. Was this what dying felt like? It had been a long time since he was last truly in danger of dying but it certainly appeared so. Damn. That was highly inconvenient. Well, he certainly wasn't going to go out helping the Brass with anything. He tuned out the rest of whatever it was that Kizaru was saying and instead looked at the two rather intense battles that were taking place right in front of him. It was sort of a penance, he thought. Watching when he was helpless to do anything. Serves me right for being stupid enough to get stabbed in the back he mused to himself. Spots appeared at the edges of his vision but Marco forced his eyes to stay open as he took in what he knew would be his final look at his father who happened to be still pushing Blackbeard back. His gaze wandered over slightly and to his surprise he met Ace's silver grey eyes that were studying him in concern.

"I'm sorry," Marco whispered though he knew Ace couldn't hear it. "I wasn't careful enough. I lo…"

Ace's eyes widened in horror, as he appeared to realize what was happening and Marco struggled to finish his sentence and apologize again. Ace shouldn't have that sort of expression on his face and this one was his fault. There was nothing he could do however as he swayed slightly and collapsed, the darkness pulling him down.

Warnings: This chapter in specific contains excessive violence, blood, friendly fire, and character death of OC's and main characters. Also contains fairly detailed fight sequences, broken necks, back stabbings, explosions, fire and swearing, courtesy of Ace. Again Ill repeat that they're at war guys. War and all of it's associated dangers are not pretty. If there end up being other things that people need me to tag, please let me know.

AN: Hey guys! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa to those who are celebrating said holidays this year! Happy Winter Solstice to those who are not! Regardless of what you're celebrating, here's your present! Its a cliffhanger! Dont y'all just love me? This is gonna be it for a little bit because Ive got massive edits that I need to make to the next chapter but hopefully it wont be too terribly long. So yeahhh... let me know what you think?