A/N: Alright guys, I'm just gonna write a quick note here so you can get on with the VERY long awaited chapter. I know I've been gone a long time, but, to be frank, my life went to, excuse my french, complete and utter shit this past year. If you want a longer explanation as to what happened and where I've been, see the end of this chapter, but for now, just know that Im back, I got my inspiration again, and this story, as I've said before, has not been abandoned. I hope you enjoy this chapter, see you next week with another!
After the explosive argument between Monkey and Ace there was only silence. The two had made up it seemed, but there was still an uncomfortable air around everyone, everyone not quite sure what to do next, what to say after something like that. No one wanted to be the first to break the silence, but no one wanted to continue walking in the heavy silence either.
"Hey guys, why're you all so quiet?!" Monkey asks as he runs up from behind them, finishing his conversation with Ace. Just like that the silence had been broken as easily as a smile on Monkeys face, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, turning look at the rambunctious Captain, all smiling.
"Waiting on you Captain." Roronoa said with a small smirk. Monkey laughed.
"Shishishishi, you guys are weird!" Monkey said happily. With those words the tension was broken and everyone was starting up conversations once more, laughing and chatting happily.
Everyone walked for what felt like another half hour before they had reason to stop.
"Sannnjjjiii~! I'm hunnnngggrrrryyyyy~!" Luffy whined, practically sagging into the ground as he gave a pout to Sanji.
"Yeah, Black Leg, is it lunch time yet?" Monkey asked, his hunger suddenly brought to his attention by his double.
"I guess we can stop, it is almost lunchtime." Black Leg said thoughtfully, looking at the sun and determining it was almost noon already.
"Yosh! Meat!" Luffy and Monkey cheered excitedly, running around with bright smiles on their faces. Everyone else merely shook their heads, delegating the chores between themselves, Ace and Sabo getting the fire ready and started, Black Leg and Sanji getting ready to make lunch, Usopp, Sniper and Franky setting up some extra shade, and Roronoa and Brook keeping watch for anymore magically appearing marines. Chopper and Tony started talking, discussing new medical techniques and pondering Monkeys condition while the girls sat together in the shade and talked amongst themselves.
When the fire was lit Sabo sighed, glancing at Ace out of the corner of his eye.
"I guess the only one left to talk with you is me, huh?" Sabo asked softly, looking into the fire, Luffy and Monkeys light hearted laughter and cheering surrounding him, Sanji and Black Leg yelling at them as they prepared lunch.
"It would seem so." Ace said, crossing his legs, the two sitting in front of the fire, not bothered by the heat. It was silent between them for a moment before Sabo spoke up again.
"I was putting this off, I don't really know why though, I've always wanted to be able to talk to you at least one more time and now that I have the chance I can't figure out what to say." Sabo said, anger at himself beginning to take form. This is what he's always wished for, being able to see Ace one more time, to talk to him, and now that he's got the chance he's blowing it.
"You always thought too much." Ace said shortly, shrugging. Sabo sent a glare his way, though there was no malice behind it.
"Only because you and Luffy couldn't think about anything other than food! If it weren't for me you two would have probably gotten into more trouble then you could handle!" Sabo said sternly, yet there was a fondness hidden behind his words. Ace looked at Sabo, his mouth turning up slightly into a smile.
"Its not my fault, Luffy's the one who attracts trouble like a-"
"What are the odds of that being a good guy?" Usopps timid voice had the two brothers stopping in their conversation and turning to face the sharpshooter. Everyone was looking up to the sky, prompting the two to look up as well, curious.
"With our luck, not so good." Black Leg muttered, chewing the end of his cigarette, everyone waiting for the person to reach the ground, or at least become recognizable. The future members were getting into battle stances, Ace and Sabo standing to join them, while the past members watched in anticipation.
"Maybe we should help them, they could get hurt if they land from that height." Vivi said in worry.
"But what if it is a bad guy?" Sniper asked, no one really knowing what to do.
"We can't let them get hurt though!" Tony whined, his instincts telling him to help anyone, good or bad. Turns out, they didn't need to worry about the landing because, in a burst of blue light, the person was floating- no, flying, down to the ground gracefully, landing with a huff, the blue disappearing.
"Oh, its you!" Monkey exclaimed happily, smile on his face. This calmed the past members instantly, the future members relaxing as well, watching the two.
"And who is this?" Nami asked, curious about their future allies. Monkey spun to answer, smiling, but Ace spoke up instead.
"Marco huh? Out of all the people to come falling out of the sky next, I didn't expect it to be you." Aces words shocked more than a few people. The future members' eyes widened, recognizing the man as Whitebeards previous first division commander, while the past members noticed this must be a Whitebeard member, though not knowing for sure which one.
Marco, though, was the most shocked. He turned to face Ace, any previous confusion that had been showing on his face disappearing the second he saw the fire man.
"Ace?" He asked, eyes wide, skin pale, sounding almost breathless. Ace grinned widely at Marco, knowing this must be a shock to the usually stoic first commander. Under different circumstances Ace would probably relish in the fact that he got the man to do anything more than a bored, neutral look, but this time was different.
"In the flesh!" Ace announced proudly. Marco didn't look like he knew how to reply, going from looking at Ace, then to the future straw hats, then to the past members, groaning and rubbing his temple. The shock left his face and morphed to one of annoyance.
"I don't know what's going on, but someone better explain fast, yoi." Marco said impatiently. Monkey laughed loudly.
"We're in the past!" He exclaimed as if it were completely normal. Everyone watched as the man took a deep breath before opening his eyes and looking at Ace again, an unreadable look in his eyes.
"So Ace is really..." He trailed off, shoulders slumping. Monkey nodded.
"Yeah, he's alive." He said, a little more solemnly then before. Marco's lips thinned and he nodded, the straw hats, past and future, wondering how the man was going to take the news. They didn't know much, or anything at all really, about him.
"Come on Marco, lighten up, the moody look never suited you anyway!" Ace said, trying his best to lighten the mood as he walked up to Marco. He gave the first mate a small smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. The two stared at each other in silence a minute before Marco shook his head, smiling a little as well.
"Says you, yoi." Marco said, placing a hand on Ace's shoulder as well. Aces smile widened at this.
"Its good to see you." Marco said softly, Ace nodding his agreement. After another second they removed their hands, Marco turning to face the future strawhats.
"So what's happening, yoi?" He asked, looking to Monkeys crewmates, hoping they could better explain things for him.
"Well, that's kind of a long story." Cat Burglar said, rubbing the back of her head while Robin launched into another retelling of the legend. At the end Marco was nodding, everyone going back to what they had previously been doing before the arrival of their newest member.
"Its most likely that you were brought back because you are an ally to Monkey. You came after Law who didn't even know Ace. Maybe because you were at the war as well like Law was." Robin theorized, holding her chin in thought. Marco nodded, glancing back at Ace.
"And how much do you know, yoi?" Marco asks, raising an eyebrow while Ace smiles sheepishly.
"Basically all of it, but not in detail." He says. Marco sighs heavily at that, shaking his head.
"You always were a trouble maker." He says, Ace huffing.
"Hey, that's not true! Haruta causes just as much trouble as me! And Thatc-" Ace cut himself off, remembering what was happening in his present, having practically forgotten due to much more pressing matters. Marco frowned as well, the two falling silent. No one noticed it though, all busy with preparing lunch or keeping Monkey and Luffy from eating it.
"You're handling this well." Ace says suddenly, slightly shocking Marco. He turns to look at Ace, finding the freckled man to be looking at him. He raises an eyebrow.
"Should I not be, yoi?" He asks. Ace shrugs.
"I don't know, but almost everyone else that shows up looks at me like I'm a ghost, which I guess makes sense, and Monkey and Sabo cried, but you only looked shocked for all of two minutes." Ace says with a smile. Its not like he really expected the stoic man to burst into tears, but he would think he would show a little more expression. Marco smiled at him, laughing a little.
"Ace, its almost been three years now. I've had a lot of time to mourn you and everyone else we lost that day. Its gotten a little easier since then, and I definitely wasn't expecting to see you this soon again, but I may as well take advantage of it while I can, yoi. If I wasted time crying I would miss time that I could actually be talking to you." Marco says softly, staring into the fire in front of them.
"Luffy don't eat that- Monkey! That was supposed to mean you as well!"
"Ah, sorry!"
"At least sound like you mean it!"
Ace smiled, laughing loudly and catching everyone's attention, though they shrugged it off and went back to what they were doing, Marco continuing to watch him.
"I guess you're right, as always." Ace says, almost begrudgingly, though his smile never left his face.
"Lunch is ready." Black Leg announces, handing out plates of food to the ladies first.
After everyone had gotten their food they sat down around the fire that was now just ash and smoke, Cat Burglars clouds providing them with shade.
"So, you're Marco the Phoenix right?" Cat Burglar asked, curious. Marco nods, Ace smiling and slinging his arm around the man as well.
"Yup, this is good 'ol Marco! Don't worry if he seems a little stiff, that's just the stick." Ace says in a mock whisper, as if it were a secret. Marco sends a glare at the back of the mans head, shaking his head. Some of the straw hats smile at that, continuing to eat.
"Well I'm Nami, or as were calling me, Cat Burglar. Im the Navigator of the Straw Hats." Cat Burglar introduced with a smile. Marco nodded his acknowledgment. He knew of the Straw Hat crew, how could he not? But he didn't know them all personally, only Luffy for obvious reasons.
"And those two bickering idiots are Zoro and Sanji, or Roronoa and Black Leg, our first mate and chef." Cat Burglar introduced when she realized the two were too caught up in their own fighting to introduce themselves. Hearing their names, though, made them turn, Roronoa nodding to Marco, Black Leg fawning over Cat Burglar. Roronoa was interested in Marco, having heard a lot about him from people, one of them being Ace only a little while ago.
"Im Chopper, but were calling me Tony, Im the doctor!" Tony exclaimed happily. He was a little timid and shy, but he kept the smile up, continuing to eat.
"And I'm God Usopp! I rule over- Ow! Ok, fine, I'm Usopp, otherwise known as Sniper. Im the sharpshooter." Sniper grumbled, rubbing his head where Cat Burglar had punched him.
"And a notorious liar." Cat Burglar added, much to Sniper and Usopps chagrin.
"I believe Im next. Im Robin, the archeologist of the Straw Hats." Robin introduced herself coolly, reminding Marco of Izo. As they continued down the line of Straw Hats Marco learned all of their names and positions.
"Im Franky, the suu~per shipwright!" Franky said, puffing his chest out proudly, grinning.
"And Im Brook, the musician on the magnificent Sunny, Yohohoho~! Its a pleasure to meet you Marco-san." Brook said politely. Marco wasn't even fazed by the living skeleton, opting instead to just nod to him.
"Then there's Luffy, or Monkey, but you two already know each other." Cat Burglar said, gesturing to the straw hatted man who was shoveling the remains of his food down his throat, nabbing pieces of meat off of others' plates.
"We do." Marco said, a flash of emotion in his eyes as he looked at the young Captain, but it was gone as quickly as it was there.
"Mm! Margo helped me escape!" Monkey exclaimed over mouthfulls. There was a slight lapse of silence, everyone still slightly uncomfortable with the subject of the war.
"And were all very grateful for that." Robin said in a motherly tone, giving Monkey a fond look as everyone nodded their agreement.
"Well, lets not forget about everyone else. You know us, but these are our past selves, well some of us at least." Sniper announced, the past Straw Hats waving to Marco.
"And that's Vivi, the Princess of Alabasta. We were here helping her, when we took down Cr-" Sniper was cut off as Cat Burglar slapped her hand over his mouth.
"Past things shouldn't be discussed in front of our past selves, remember Sniper?!" Cat Burglar hissed out, glaring. Sniper nodded quickly, having forgotten. He sighed in relief when the red head removed her hand and turned back to Marco, laughing sheepishly.
"Uh, anyways, um... that's Law! You know, Trafalger Law. He's from our present... the future... not the past... whatever." Sniper said, confusing himself. Marco nodded, smiling slightly.
"I understand, yoi." He said, Sniper sighing again.
"Im Sabo, also from the future." Sabo introduced, taking off his top hat momentarily, nodding his head to the Commander. He would have bowed had he been standing, after all, this man was Ace's family, someone who had accepted his brother for who he was, past and all, it was the least he could do to show his respect.
"You're apart of..." Marco trailed off, not sure how much everyone knew. Sabo nodded.
"That's correct, I am apart of the- uh, organization." Sabo said with a smile, the past members still curious what this organization was if even Marco knew about it, Ace included.
"I don't see why its such a big deal, why don't you just tell us what it is?" Ace grumbled, crossing his arms. Everyone had finished eating by now, Monkey and Luffy licking their plates clean.
"Because, if I told you you would go chasing after me. That would ruin the past in ways we couldn't even imagine." Sabo said sternly, Ace still grumbling. Marco smiled, recognizing Sabo from the many papers he was on the front page of.
"Some brother you are. You'd think you'd want me to change the past." Ace said, Sabo and Monkey flinching at the words, Marco as well though he hid it better.
"Ace." Sabo said sternly. The freckled teen looked up, noticing the impact his words had, the past members as well as future straw hats growing tense at the frown Sabo wore, the downcast look in Monkeys eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like-"
"I would have been caught." It was like the breath was knocked out of everyone, even Law, who previously had been watching the entire exchange with a lazy look, straightened in interest.
"What?" Sabo asked, eyes wide as he turned to look at his little brother who was drawing circles in the sand, not looking up.
"Instead of Ace. I would have been the one that Blackbeard caught and handed in to the marines." Monkey said matter of factly, frowning deeply.
"W-what makes you say that?" Vivi squeaked out nervously. Monkey was silent a moment, not responding, and everyone began to wonder if he ever would.
"He told me. When I was in Impel Down and found out Ace was already at Marineford I saw Blackbeard on my way out. He was after me first, but then Ace stopped him." Monkey said softly, his voice cracking a little as emotion took over, tears filling his eyes. Luffy had much the same reaction, glancing at Ace, and then the ground.
"So instead of going after me he took Ace instead and that's why Ace was caught, because of me..." Monkey said, a sudden anger in his voice that shocked everyone. No one really knew how to respond to the words, Monkeys crewmembers, past and future, shifting uncomfortably, wanting to help but not knowing how, while Vivi, Law and Marco stared at the ground, not knowing any better than the Straw Hats in the matter.
"Its not your fault Lu." Sabo comforted quietly, moving to sit beside his brother, placing a hand on his back. Monkey continued playing in the sand, refusing to turn his attention away from it.
"Monkey." Ace said sternly, though there was no anger or malice behind his words, only concern. Monkey hesitated a minute before slowly meeting the eldests eyes, shifting uncomfortably.
"Sabos right, it wasn't your fault. I was going after Teach anyways, whether he was after you or not. Besides, I'm your older brother, Im supposed to keep my weak little brother safe." Ace said with a shrug, not looking away from Monkey's eyes. It was silent again, but Monkey seemed a little better, nodding to Ace and stopping his shifting, though the frown remained.
"Im not weak." Monkey mumbled, and Ace and Sabo grinned, the tension dissipating instantly, as if it hadn't been there in the first place. It went silent again, no one knowing how to start the conversation back up.
"The food was delicious Sanji, Black Leg!" Vivi piped up, an attempt at changing the subject. The two blondes immediately began fawning over Vivi and her praise, noodling around her while everyone cleaned up the remains of lunch.
"This sure has been an interesting experience so far." Law said, more to himself as he stood up off the ground. The others had almost forgotten about him with how silent he had been throughout lunch.
"Hey, hey, Zoro! Look at that cloud, doesn't it look like meat?!" Luffy asked his first mate, pointing at Cat Burglars dissipating clouds.
"Sure." Zoro said lazily, opening his eyes briefly, having closed them after the tense conversation.
"Man, it looks good... do you think I could eat it?!" Luffy asked happily. Nami immediately punched him.
"Of course not you idiot, its a cloud! Besides, we just finished lunch!" Nami scolded, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, and now I'm hungry again!" Luffy whined, looking longingly at the bag that contained their food supply. Before Nami could yell anymore Luffy ran off to Chopper.
"Ne, CHopper, doesn't that cloud look like meat?! Oh, Usopp, you agree with me right?!" Nami sighed, rubbing her temple while Cat Burglar walked up to her, placing a hand on her hip.
"Sorry to say, but it doesn't get any better. If anything, it gets worse." Cat Burglar said, giving her past self a pat on the back. Nami whined, tears filling her eyes.
"Why did I agree to join this crazy crew?!" Nami cried.
"Drama witch." Roronoa mumbled, eyes closed as he waited for everyone to be ready to walk again.
"What was that?!" Cat Burglar hissed, causing Roronoa to flinch.
"Yohohoho~! As feisty as ever Cat Burglar-san! Do you mind if I see your-"
"DON'T EVEN FINISH THAT QUESTION!" Cat Burglar roared, kicking Brook, knocking the skeleton to the ground.
"Ooh, nice kick Cat Burglar sis!" Franky cheered, wincing slightly.
"That looked like it hurt..." Vivi said softly, wincing as well when she finally got away from the two love sick cooks. Sniper and Tony seemed to discuss something between themselves, whispering quickly before turning and holding up signs.
"I give it a 10!" Tony exclaimed, holding his sign proudly.
"Good execution, could use more force, I give it a 9!" Sniper declared as if he were a judge, Cat Burglar groaning in annoyance.
"I believe its a 10." Robin piped up from where she stood, a little away from the three, holding up her own sign.
"Robin!" Cat Burglar whined, the older woman merely smiling and laughing. Monkey was watching the entire thing fondly, Sabo still sat beside him.
"This sure is one interesting crew, yoi." Marco said with interest, also watching the entire thing. Ace laughed.
"Yeah, Luffy attracts some strange people sometimes, but at least they're good people." Ace said, glancing at the entire crew. Marco nodded his agreement, even if he hadn't known the crew personally. He'd heard enough stories and could clearly see now how much the crew cared for each other, past and future. It reminded him of the good days on the Moby, before the war ever happened.
Marco glanced at Ace, flashes of the war coming to the forefront of his memory, remembered seeing Ace die, Luffy losing it, Oyaji sacrificing himself for his children's safety.
He shook himself out of those thoughts quickly, not wanting to fall into a hole he couldn't drag himself out of, but not before Ace noticed the look that had crossed his face.
"You can talk about it you know. I've had everyone here talk to me about the war, well, besides the obvious people from the past, or that Law guy. I don't mind hearing about it." Ace said gently. It wasn't often that the phoenix needed comforting, but when he did Ace wasn't going to let it go until he did everything he could to help. Marco shook his head, giving his plate to Sanji who thanked him, going to clean it and put it away.
"Not yet. Maybe later, yoi." Marco said, not quite ready to spill everything after only a few hours of seeing Ace alive beside him. Ace shrugged.
"That's fine, just make sure you do before you go back to being a brooding old man." Ace said with a grin, running off before the man could retaliate. Marco merely sighed, shaking his head and sending a glare to Aces retreating form, the fire user going to sit beside Monkey and Sabo. The phoenix narrowed his eyes at Sabo, knowing the man belonged with the Revolutionaries, and Ace had called him his brother. He defiantly seemed close to Ace and Monkey, but why hadn't Ace ever mentioned him before?
"He thought he was dead." The words shocked him, causing the blonde to turn and face Black Leg who had spoken.
"Excuse me, yoi?" Marco asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sabo. Ace thought Sabo was dead. Monkey too." Black Leg said simply, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag. Marco nodded, showing he was listening.
"So they're all brothers?" Marco asked. No one on the Moby had known much about the details of Ace's past, just that he had a trouble maker of a little brother and that he was the son of the Pirate King, and only a select few knew that much.
"Yup. Apparently they thought Sabo had died during they're childhood. Turns out he'd gotten amnesia after he was shot out at sea by a Tenryuubito and only got his memories back after the war." Black Leg explained. Marco watched the three brothers, the two oldest trying their best to cheer Monkey up. Marco sighed, shaking his head.
"I swear, if Ace would have just opened up I wouldn't get so many migraines, even after two years of him being gone, yoi." Marco complained, rubbing his forehead. Black Leg chuckled.
"So it runs in the family then, huh? Guess there's nothing we can do but complain about it." Black Leg said, dropping his cigarette to the ground and stomping it out, shaking his head and putting his hands in his pockets.
"You've definitely got that right, yoi."
And there we are! I tried making it a bit longer seeing as you all have been waiting for so long. Also, even though I updated today, on a Thursday, Im still gonna update this next Wednesday, despite the fact that it would'nt have been a full week by then. Take it, along with this chapter, as an apology becuase I truly am super sorry it took me nearly a year to get this out!
Now, for my explanation. Well, shortly after my last chapter the kindle I had been using broke. Shocker. So without any means of writing for that time I was stuck with writing it all down on paper because I was not going to even try doing it on my phone. This meant it was much more time consuming and pain staking and because of this I just lost the desire to continue writing.
When I did get another laptop about two months later I was ready and excited to write again, but by that time it was nearing the end of my senior year in high school. I was busy cramming for finals and getting ready for graduation. After I graduated I thought I would finally have time again, but then I ended up being busy with work and getting everything settled for college. Wouldn't you know, I lost the inspiration to write again.
My first semester started, and I was busy trying to pass classes that would actually have an impact on my life, and my wallet, and by the time the semester was ending I still hadn't even written a paragraph of this chapter. When the semester ended I would have a six week long break until the next semester, which I was determined to start writing again during, but, of course, life was ready with another curve ball.
The same week the semester was ending was the week I found out that my favorite dog, one I had grown up with, was dying. She had something wrong with her kidneys as well as a multitude of other problems and she got really sick, really fast. Although it was to be expected (she was nearly thirteen) I still wasn't ready to say goodbye. So now my first two weeks of break were solely focused on helping my dog, giving her medicine, making sure she ate, making sure she used the bathroom, etc. By the third week she died and it was really tough on me. I didn't really want to do anything, much less write.
Christmas came and went with its craziness as well, and slowly I began getting better, more motivated, and ready to write. Things have started going well again and Im back on track. That brings us to now, where I've finally finished this chapter and have already started the process of writing the next one.
I know I've made these promises before, but I truly mean it when I say I wont abandon this story, even if it takes me another year to get another chapter out. Lets hope it doesn't come down to that again, but just know that I'll always come back for this story. I love writing it and I love everyone who has taken the time to even glance at it.
So, to end this extremely long explanation, I'll leave you all with a thank you. Thank you for those of you who have stuck around this long and have come to read this chapter. Thanks to those of you who didn't even know this story existed and only read it because of this new chapter. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed either this story or myself. Thank you to those who read this story but thought I would never update again so abandoned it. Thank you to those who gave the first chapter a shot, even if you didn't like it and left.
Thank you.