Surprise! I'm not dead! It just took... almost seven months?! Wow! Where does the time go? So sorry about taking so long to update, guys. I didn't intend for it to take MONTHS to get this chapter up. *sigh* When life gives you lemons, make grape juice and have everyone wonder how you did it. So I hope the wait was worth it!

I do not own One Piece.

"Luffy's on the fishmen's ship!" the long nosed kid's yell sent Marco into action.

He ignored Thatch's shout of disbelief, and immediately transformed into his phoenix form. It had been a while since the fishmen left, and he had to hurry. Every second he lost was a second Luffy was in imminent danger. He couldn't waste any time.

He flew into the sky with a speed he rarely ever used, and ascended higher and higher until he felt he was at an altitude where he could spot the ship easily. There was a ship off in the northeastern direction, and he took off after them. They were a good distance away now, but Marco knew he could catch up to them in no time flat.

He glared furiously at the ship. Words could not express how enraged he was with the fishmen. He had grown to love the small, straw hatted kid like a little brother. Marco could not, and would not, be held accountable for his actions if any of them even so much as looked at Luffy funny.

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUHHH!" came Luffy's scream when Marco got close enough to hear what was going on. His blood ran cold as he heard the cracking of a whip followed by more of Luffy's screaming. The fishmen did nothing more than laugh at the boy's torment.

Marco's rage went up to a new level, and he dive bombed once he was directly over the ship. He saw one fishman holding a whip while he stood over Luffy's small form. The poor kid was shirtless so his bare back could be exposed to the whip, and he had several lashes that were bleeding profusely. His wrist were tethered to the deck, forcing Luffy to hunch forward. His straw hat was being held by another fishman as he taunted the brat.

Marco narrowed his eyes in fury, and specifically aimed for the fishman holding the whip. He attacked with such force that he sent both of them crashing through the deck, and into the storage room below. He changed back into his human form, and glared daggers at the unconscious fishman under him.

"What the hell was that?!" he heard a shout from above.

"I don't know, but I really hope it's not what I think it is." Came the worried voice of one of the occupants above. Marco jumped through the hole, and landed on the deck.

All the fishmen went silent, and gaped at Marco. Marco felt his flames act up as he stared back at all of them. He wanted nothing more than to set each and every one of them on fire, and watch as they writhed in agony. Luffy's condition came first, however. He shifted his gaze over to the small, quivering child. His enraged expression changed to that of concern and sympathy, and he forced his flames to dissipate.

He walked over to Luffy's side. He placed a gentle hand on the kid's head, and the brat flinched at Marco's touch. It took all of Marco's will power to not go berserk on the ones that hurt him.

"Shhhh. It's okay, now. I'm here." Marco said in a soothing voice. Luffy slowly looked up at Marco in disbelief. His eyes were red and puffy, while tears were constantly streaming down his face. His bottom lip quivered as he continued to cry.

"M-M-Marco?" Luffy croaked out in a hoarse voice.

The constant screaming and crying had apparently taken a toll on his voice. Marco wanted to hold the brat tightly in his grip and never let go. He gave his best encouraging smile, and set about to untying Luffy's wrists. Luffy threw himself at the Whitebeard Commander once he was free, and cried into Marco's shirt. Marco wrapped his arms around the small boy. His sleeves were being soaked in blood, but he didn't care at the moment. Luffy needed comfort after the ordeal he went through.

Marco glared at the fishman that was holding the straw hat, causing the other pirate to flinch. He pointed to the hat then held his hand out as if he was receiving something. The fish pirate seemed to understand, and hesitantly placed Luffy's beloved hat in Marco's grasp. The fishman ran to a distance he deemed safe once the object was handed over. Marco put the headwear on Luffy's head, but the kid took no notice as he continued to bawl.

"M-Marco! I w-was so s-s-scared! I thought I-I-I would never s-see you o-or my brothers again!" Luffy blubbered, and Marco continued to hold the brat. He was relieved to have the boy in his arms, but felt unbridled anger towards the fishmen. He couldn't leave Luffy alone to attack the pirates, but that didn't mean they had to go unpunished for their crimes.

"Luffy, we need to get you back to the island so a doctor can look at you. Do you think you can hold onto me while I fly?" Marco asked in his most gentle voice. Luffy only nodded in response.

Marco changed back into his phoenix form, and Luffy unsteadily climbed onto his back. Once he was sure the brat was secure, he flew into the air. He circled around the ship, and flew down close to the water. He used the wing closest to the ship to set it on fire.

"Oh shit! Quick! The damned phoenix is burning our ship!" yelled one of the fishmen.

Marco ignored their panicked yells, and continued to circle back. Each time he would start a fire on a different part of the ship. He kept it up until he was satisfied that the ship would burn until it was nothing but ash. He really wanted to do more damage to the fishmen, but that would be impossible without putting Luffy in more danger.

He turned back towards the island. Luffy continued to cry as he buried his face in Marco's back. Marco didn't mind. The poor kid had a rough day, and needed to let all of his emotional turmoil out. They flew in silence as the frantic yells of the fishmen grew further and further away. Luffy's crying gradually turned into sniveling.

"Hey, Luffy. You know what I just noticed?" Marco asked.

"Mmm?" was Luffy's response.

"That was the first time you called me by name." Marco turned his head to look at Luffy. The kid raised himself up, and looked at Marco with watery eyes.

He gave a small smile and said, "Heh, I guess it was."

XxXxXxXxX

Sabo stood next to Thatch as they looked in the sky for a certain phoenix carrying a certain little brother. He had already spent his anger when he slapped some sense into Ace, and now he only felt worried stiff for his missing brother.

"They've been gone a while. Do you think they're okay?" Kaya asked in concern.

"Yeah, Marco can handle himself just fine, and he wouldn't let anything happen to Luffy while he's there." Thatch reassured the blonde girl.

"Hey, there they are!" Sabo yelled as he spotted a blue and yellow phoenix fly towards them. He felt relief sink into his bones when he saw a straw hatted boy on Marco's back. He landed in the midst of the crowd, and Sabo ran towards them. He had to see Luffy.

He got to the front of the crowd and stopped. Marco was human again with Luffy in his arms, but his little brother wasn't looking too good. He was missing his shirt, and his back was caked in blood. The redness of his blood was a stark contrast to his paling. He clung to Marco like a lifeline, and was sniveling like he had been crying pretty hard.

"Luffy?" Sabo asked and took a few steps forward.

"Sabo?" Luffy sniffled looking tired from blood loss.

"Is anyone a doctor? He needs treatment." Marco said suddenly, causing Sabo to jump. A man ran forward, and checked Luffy.

"I have good news, and bad news. The good news is: we can treat him easily. We just have to wash his wounds to prevent an infection, and give him a little extra blood to make up for what he lost." The doctor said after looking Luffy over.

"And the bad news?" Thatch asked as he took a step forward.

"The fishmen completely destroyed my office and medical supplies. I don't have a place or equipment to treat him with." The doctor shook his head sadly.

"Will our ship's cabin work as a doctor's office?" Marco asked.

"Does it have an actual bed, and not a hammock?" The doctor questioned.

"Yeah, it does."

"What about medical supplies? Do you have those?"

"We have some to help clean and bandage the wounds. However, we don't have anything to transfuse blood."

"That's fine. He didn't lose enough for it to be fatal, but it will take a bit longer for him to recover." The doctor waved his hand in dismissal, and Sabo breathed a sigh of relief. Luffy had survived worse when he was taken by Porchemy, but it was comforting to hear from a doctor that he was going to be okay.

"Lead the way." The doctor gestured, and Marco carried Luffy off toward their ship.

Sabo followed them. He wanted to be there for Luffy. His poor brother had been through a lot, and he needed the moral support. Sabo couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for Luffy's condition. If he had just stood his ground and told Ace "no" then they would have been there to stop Luffy from getting on that ship.

His thoughts traveled to his hot headed brother. Ace really was too stubborn for his own good. Sabo felt sorta bad for yelling like he did, but Ace had to be reached somehow. He did regret telling Ace to join the Whitebeard Pirates, though. While it was okay for them to tag along for safety, it wasn't right to force Ace to be somebody else's subordinate. Sabo was angry and on a roll, so he overstepped a boundary. Once Ace was done thinking things through, he would apologize.

They reached the ship, and Sabo snapped out of his musings as they walked up onto the deck. Marco led the doctor to the cabin with Luffy in his arms.

"I know you're concerned, but you should wait out here while Luffy gets treated." Thatch said, and Sabo nodded. He needed to be out of the way for them to properly work on Luffy. Satisfied, Thatch turned around, and went into the cabin as well.

Sabo plopped down next to the railing, and patiently waited. Luffy had a lot of wounds on his back. Sabo frowned deeply, and stared at the wall across from him. He hoped to never see Luffy like that ever again. His little brother was supposed to be cheerful, and annoying them with his endless energy. Not soaked in his own blood.

A noise brought Sabo back to reality. He looked to the side, and saw Ace standing there. He looked at Sabo with guilt filled eyes, and Sabo felt his own guilt grow.

Ace cleared his throat and said, "Usopp and Kaya said you guys were headed this way."

"Yeah, Luffy got beat up pretty badly so a doctor is looking at him." Sabo said, not meeting his gaze.

"Oh." Was all Ace said. An awkward silence filled the air as Ace looked around, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

"Look, Ace, I wanted to apologize." Sabo said after an uncomfortably long time.

"Why are you sorry? You were right. It's all my fault." Ace said, surprise evident in his voice.

"Well, yeah, but I wanted to apologize for trying to make you join a crew you didn't want to be a part of." Sabo drew circles on the ground with one of his fingers.

"But you were right on that part too. We can't sail the seas alone." Ace took a step closer.

"We can't sail the seas alone, but there's a big difference between sailing with people and joining a crew." Sabo said, and looked Ace in the eye. Ace seemed taken aback, and Sabo didn't blame him. He had pretty much laid out all of Ace's wrong doings no too long ago, and now he was apologizing for it.

"Okay, you have a point. And, I forgive you." Ace said, and sat next to Sabo. Things lapsed into silence again, but this time was a lot more comfortable than the last. Now they were enjoying each other's company as they waited for their little brother's treatment to be done with.

"So, how bad did Luffy look?" Ace asked.

Sabo was about to answer when the door opened up. Thatch was carrying a few bloody towels, and walked over to the kitchen. The door remained open, and Ace got to see Luffy's condition. Luffy was being held in an upright position while the doctor placed an ointment of some sort over the wounds, which appeared to have stopped bleeding. Sabo looked at Ace, and saw that his older brother had gone pale in the face. His eyes followed the doctor's hands as he worked.

"Ace?" Sabo asked trying to shake the freckled kid out of his trance.

"Did the fishmen do this to him?" Ace asked coldly. His fists were clenched, and he shook with rage.

"Yeah, they did." Sabo answered.

"I see." Ace said, and appeared to be pondering on something. He finally sighed, and relaxed his muscles.

"Did Marco kick their asses into next week?" Ace asked.

"I assume so. I haven't had the chance to ask him yet." Sabo looked back over to Luffy. The doctor was bandaging him up now. Thatch walked out of the kitchen empty handed, and stopped next to the two brothers.

"It looks like they're almost done. You can go in there if you want to." Thatch said. Ace and Sabo shared a glance, and nodded. They stood up and slowly walked into the room. Luffy had fallen asleep sometime during his treatment. He snored loudly while the doctor put the finishing touches on the bandages. Sabo didn't blame him for falling asleep so easily. He had an emotionally and physically taxing day. Anyone would be exhausted after that.

"He needs to stay off of his back for a while. We don't need these wounds to reopen." The doctor instructed, and put the medical equipment up.

"We can't thank you enough for treating him." Marco said, and carried Luffy over to the bed in the corner of the room. He laid him on his side, and pulled the blanket over his shoulder.

"Don't mention it. I just want to know if it's really okay to take the rest of your medical supplies to help out the town." The doctor turned to the Whitebeard Pirate. Sabo and Ace walked up to the bed, and watched Luffy as he slept.

Sabo tuned out the conversation between the three adults in the room. He reached out, and gently ruffled Luffy's hair underneath his hat. He couldn't believe how close they came to losing him today. He inwardly promised Luffy that something like this would never happen to him again.

"He looks pretty peaceful considering what happened today." Said a voice behind them. Sabo turned and saw the Whitebeard Commanders behind them. The doctor had just stepped out of the door with a handful of medical supplies.

"Yeah, he does." Sabo turned back to his brother. It didn't surprise Sabo that Luffy was sleeping so peacefully. Luffy had always been a heavy sleeper.

"Um…" Ace said in a hesitant voice. All attention was directed toward the hot headed kid. Sabo got a good look at his face, and saw that he was having an inward struggle. Sabo knew he was trying to find a way to apologize, and figured that he needed a push in the right direction.

"Do you have something to say, Ace?" Sabo asked, prompting his brother to continue. Ace took a deep breath, and turned to face the pirates.

"I'msorryformybehaviortowardsyouguys!" Ace yelled very quickly. The two adults looked at each other in confusion.

"I'm sorry, but we didn't quite catch that." Thatch said, and they looked down at Ace, who looked like he swallowed a ball of thumb tacks.

"Say it slower this time." Sabo encouraged, and Ace took another deep breath.

"I said, I'm sorry for my behavior towards you guys." Ace said without meeting Marco or Thatch's gaze. Sabo suppressed a laugh when he saw their astonished faces. He didn't think eyes could get so big.

"Did he just…" Thatch trailed off after a few seconds.

"Yeah, he did." Marco answered.

"Pinch me, I must be dreaming." Thatch said as if he was in a daze.

"I don't think you're dreaming, but I'm pretty sure pigs around the world have just learned how to fly." Marco said in the same daze.

"That's it! The world is ending!" Thatch threw his hands up, and Marco elbowed him.

"Ow! Can't you take a joke?" Thatch asked while he rubbed his ribs. Marco rolled his eyes, and squatted down to Ace's level.

"That was a very big step you took, Ace. We accept your apology." Marco said with a small smile. Ace didn't look at him, and Sabo frowned.

"Uh, Ace. Isn't there something else you would like to ask?" Sabo prompted once more.

Ace took a third deep breath, and asked, "Do you guys mind if we sail with you?"

Ace looked like he was slowly dying on the inside with each word he spoke, and the two adults looked like they were ready to faint. Sabo was barely able to hold back his mirth.

"I stand corrected. Not only is the world ending, but all of time and space too!" Thatch said, as he slumped into a nearby chair in disbelief.

"We don't want to join your crew or anything! We just realized that…" Ace trailed off, and everyone seemed to understand what was left unsaid. Marco blinked several times, and his smile returned.

"Of course. You were always welcome on our ship." Marco said, and ruffled Ace's hair. Ace flinched, but didn't do anything more. Sabo was impressed with his sudden self-control.

"I have to tell Pops the good news!" Thatch suddenly exclaimed, and he bolted out of the door.

Ace looked like he was ready to fight, but he held it back. Sabo smiled to himself. He was glad to see that he finally reached Ace. While it may take a while to completely suppress his fighting instinct, it was good to know that he was at least trying to be civil towards the people that helped them out the most on their adventures.

XxXxXxXxX

"So… the brats want to come aboard, huh?" Whitebeard asked while holding the transponder snail.

"Yeah, but only as guests. They have no intention of joining." Came Thatch's voice from said snail.

"And what about the youngest brat? Is he doing okay?" Jozu asked from the crowd that gathered to listen in on the news of the three kids.

"The doctor said he should be fine after some bedrest." Whitebeard felt a rush of relief when he heard Marco's reply. He was worried that the worst had become of the brat when he was taken away.

"Did you give the fishmen a good thrashing for us, Marco?" Izo asked.

"I wanted to smash all of their skulls open, but Luffy wasn't looking too good. So I settled for setting their ship on fire." Marco answered.

Whitebeard nodded and said, "Good job, my son. I will be sure to pay closer attention to the East Blue for the next few weeks just in case they make a comeback."

"By the way, Marco, Thatch, we just entered the East Blue a few hours ago." Vista said, bringing a lighter note to the conversation.

"That's great news! We plan on helping this village recover a little from the fishman's tyranny as well as giving Luffy some time to recoup. Do you want to meet up here, or somewhere else?" Thatch asked.

"How about the Baratie? I planned on giving that Red Leg brat a visit while I was here." Whitebeard answered.

"Then it's settled. We'll see you in about a week and a half." Thatch said.

"Be safe, my sons."

"You too, Pops."

Gacha