Here it is, I decided to make it weekly, or every some days... Least my patience runs out eheheh... I'm not used to this, normally it would be on a daily basis... Well, duh xD First of all, thank you for all your support! Seriously, three reviews in the first hour after publishing... You're wonderful, guys! Love you!

I hope you like this and sorry for any mistakes! :D

Insanity: Miracle? Oh gosh xD I don't think this is so important and unusual xD Yeah, Luffy is adorable *^* Well, here is the second chap :D Hope you enjoy it :) Thanks!

Kurama: Let's see, uhm? :D Thanks!

rose: I'm glad you found this interesting :) Yeah, that's one warning. Of course he is, Ace is his big bro :D Thanks for the review!

Dar'ska: Thank you :) The sequel, more and more people are asking for it xD I'll use this chance to make an announcement eheheh A new dream, a new adventure will get a sequel, guys. When? Well... I'm waiting that Whole Cake Island arch ends, then I'll gather all the material till that arch and start on the sequel. Honestly, I'm already thinking about it... How to begin, how to... No spoilers :P I hope the news makes you eager readers happy :)

doppleganger: Oh my, I hope not xD Thank you :) See here ;D

ReiRei: So be it, weekly :D Or something like that xD Of course they are, I just didn't make them meet, for the story's sake ehehe See here xD I have another unfinished one in store (MaLu), where things are slightly different, but it's a bit hard to unfold because of the important differences. Plus, the idea is quite innovative, so far I haven't seen it anywhere, so... Yeah, I hope to finish it. Let me know if you like that one ;) The other R27 I'm writing is being rewritten all over again, because I changed things and some still don't convince me... I've read it... countless times already (damn, 66k words...) to make sure it stands. Well, hope you like this, too, see ya!

Words: 4312.

Enjoy!


02 – Saving a brother


Marco sighed. For the twelfth time. He was sitting on a roof of the Moby Dick, reflecting upon the latest events. And… what a mess…

Eight months had passed since his encounter with the black dragon. Luffy.

After he'd left, Whitebeard had asked him to be careful around one of his new brother. He had said that the dragon had warned him of a possible betrayal. Marco had not wanted to believe such a thing, but, at the same time, he'd been ready to take action against the one. Maybe it was his instinct kicking in… or some unexplainable trust towards Luffy... He honestly didn't know.

However, a month or so after, Thatch had found a devil fruit on a mission. While his brother bragged about it to everyone, Marco had felt a chill run down his spine, watching the man, Teach, smile in a sinister way. He had decided he didn't like that behaviour at all, so kept careful eyes trained on him. And luckily, too.

The phoenix couldn't watch Teach without being discovered, so he had chosen to look after the cook, instead. Fortunately. The damned one had tried to stab Thatch during the night of the same day, in his cabin. Marco stopped him in time but the man took away the fruit and disappeared with some others.

Ace had been furious. He had been appointed as Second Division Commander for only six months, so he felt responsible. They couldn't stop him, not even Whitebeard. Marco was happy that his brother took seriously his duties, it meant he was deeply attached to the crew, but… He was still away with Striker and the phoenix couldn't shrug away the bad feeling about the whole mess.

Not counting the dragon was right, they had been betrayed. So easily, too. That irked him to no end… And increased his trust in Luffy. He sighed again, massaging his temples to get rid of the headache. Mulling over things wasn't going to help, so he turned off his mind and looked at the horizon, taking a long breath.

His attempt was short-lived, Marco began wondering again how Ace was doing. He'd gone away to chase Teach the day after the betrayal. But the Captain had stolen a promise to report back every month, and it was well-kept. So, he should be back the day after, at most.

After another sigh, the pirate noticed Izo coming towards him. The man sat next to him with a smile.

"Being the usual mother-hen won't help." He said.

Marco grunted at the hellish nickname. "I know, yoi."

"Then don't."

A sigh was the answer.

"I know it's hard, ever harder for you, but try thinking of something else."

"Like?"

"Uhm… The little dragon, maybe?"

Marco's facial features relaxed a bit.

"Yeah, that's better."

The phoenix laid his back on the roof, looking now at the sky. Frankly, he had thought about him a lot. He was a good mystery, after all. He knew only his name, his devil fruit ability and his strong will. He had come and gone so fast that he thought about the events as a dream, sometimes. But, then, his palm still felt the lines drawn by Luffy. He was also puzzled, because he was sure he'd heard the name already, but couldn't remember where, nor when.

It was strange. He'd known the guy for two days, even less. Yet, he had left a burning mark in his mind. Maybe this was the studying eyes' fault. Or the prideful air around him. Or the surprises he continuously showed.

"I'm curious, too." Izo stopped his reverie. "I wonder if we'll meet him again."

"I have a feeling that we will, yoi." He said before controlling his tongue.

"You think so?"

Marco nodded, arms crossed behind his head.

"Thatch said the same, some time ago. And pops, too." Izo smirked. "I want to fight him."

"That's strange coming from you, yoi. I'd understand Vista, or Fossa..."

"They feel the same. Being on the receiving end of that sight is…" He shivered. "… really uncomfortable. But, to be repetitive, it speaks of strength, the kind that I like to test."

"Such predatory words." Marco said, closing his eyes. "But I agree." He smiled, feeling the sun on his skin. "He is interesting."

Izo arched a brow, ready to say something, but closed his mouth when the news coo landed near him. He gave it the money and took the newspaper, unfolding it on the roof. And froze.

In capital letters, on the first page, a dreadful title towered on the photo of his brother, chained to a stone wall behind metal bars.

"Marco…" He whispered.

The pirate stirred and looked over his shoulder, worried. His eyes widened as those words echoed in his mind.

PIRATE PORTGAS D ACE AWAITING DEATH SENTENCE IN IMPEL DOWN!

Luffy took a long breath, trying to calm down. His fists unclenched on the paper and let it slip on the wooden table. His hands fell to his knees, eyes shadowed by the brim of his hat.

He had woken up that morning with a feeling of unrest, of dread and alarm. But to think his brother would end up in Impel Down… Waiting for his execution, in a month. The situation was heavenly fucked up, no doubts.

Ace had promised him he wouldn't die, but how was he going to escape that… No, he probably didn't even think of fleeing… If Luffy knew well enough that empty head, he was going to accept his death, thinking that he deserves it.

Yeah, true Ace's fashion, his old demons were far from gone. But, at the same time, he had a family now. Brothers, sisters, a father. They weren't going to sit and watch quietly as one of them was executed. Luffy had seen with his own eyes their behaviour, their wills, their souls. They were kind, enough to help a completely unknown person.

Surely, they would do something. Not at Impel Down, too risky. They were going to appear in Marineford, all fleet present. A war. So, what about him?

Luffy placed his elbows on the table and his chin on his left fist, holding the newspaper again with his free hand. Sanji was in the kitchen, too, cleaning dishes. The others were scattered on the Sunny.

He sighed. The captain had his own crew to think about. He didn't want to pull them in his personal problem and end up in a pinch. They had their own dreams to achieve and this was too dangerous. He had to do this alone. Plus, his crew mates knew his brother, they had met him in Alabasta.

"Sanji." He called.

"Aye, captain?" The cook turned, towel in hands.

"Ace has been captured by the marines."

"What…?" He got near and read the article. "How the hell…"

"Probably Teach's fault. Please, call everyone."

The cook nodded and vanished outside on deck. He could hear his voice. Luffy sighed, wondering how he could tell them what he was going to do.

One by one, the kitchen was full and the table filled with Nami, Robin, Usopp, Brook and Chopper. Zoro was leaning on the doorframe, Franky sat cross-legged on the floor and Sanji was back behind the counter. Everyone wore a sad expression, looking back and forth from the newspaper to their captain.

"What are you going to do?" Zoro said, breaking the silence.

"I won't leave him in their hands." Luffy whispered after a sigh. "I'm going to Impel Down. Me, alone."

"No, you are not." Nami said harshly.

"Captain." Robin called. "That prison is underwater, armoured, with hundreds of marines keeping watch on the captives."

"That's beyond your usual craziness." Sanji added.

"Yeah, even crazier than when you've gone to sink the bandits' fleet some months ago." Usopp nodded.

"It's exactly what I have to do, though."

"Luffy-san, you want to use your powers, in the end?" Brook asked.

"And say goodbye to this job. You know well the only reason why I joined the marines."

Silence fell again. Nami was biting her lower lip while looking at the side. Sanji was exhaling his cigarette's smoke. Zoro was piercing Luffy with surrender written all over his face. Brook was unreadable. Usopp, Franky and Chopper were sad. Robin had lost her smile.

"Luffy." She said. "I want to help."

"Robin, you aren't marines, none of you can enter the prison."

"She didn't say that." Nami scoffed. "I want to help, too. Just tell us what we can do."

Luffy sighed. "I plan to enter officially for a visit to Crocodile."

"The ex-Shichibukai? Why?" Sanji asked.

"Because no one knows of my relationship with Ace. The gator is sure to be in the last level of the prison, my brother will be there, too."

"The question, answer." Zoro stated.

"I was thinking of involving the Whitebeard's pirates."

A chorus of 'what' mixed with a 'huh' roared in the kitchen.

"Ace is the Second Division Commander, right?" The swordsman gripped his chin. "And they helped you when wounded, that time."

Luffy nodded. "I must head to Impel Down as soon as possible. If you want to help me, search for them."

"How?" Nami asked.

"They were last sighted in Paradise." The captain took a map handed to him by the cook. He circled an area with his index. "Search here, I'll bring with me a Den Den Mushi, let me know how everything goes. When you meet them, Zoro, ask for Marco the Phoenix and tell him my name. You'll probably find them before I get to enter."

"Do you need a ship, Luffy?" Franky said.

"No, I'll fly to the marine post nearest to Impel Down. Thanks, anyway." He smiled. "Now, guys, thread carefully. They're fine people, but strong."

"Aye, captain." The vice said.

"Ok, then." Luffy stood and went on the deck.

His white cape fluttered in the wind. He took the snail from Brook's hands and sighed.

"I'm sorry for this mess. I'll make sure Ace is, too. Be careful and call me whenever you need or want."

The smiles of his crew members made his limbs relax. He trusted them. They were going to be safe. His instincts told him so. Luffy jumped high in the sky and morphed to the medium size of his dragon form. He flew away with his tail swinging in the air, disappearing over the clouds.


"Pops, everyone is coming." Izo sat cross-legged on the captain's knee.

"Good, good." He didn't have his sake. "Marco, how many days?"

"Eleven, yoi." The pirate slumped against the chair and sighed. "This is going to be war."

"Of course. They took one of my sons." The shadow of a smirk lit for a bit Whitebeard's face. "They asked for it."

"And we're answering." Thatch emerged from the inside of the ship. "I hope Ace is fine."

"He's though, damn cook, stop worrying, you're starting to resemble this mother-hen."

"I'm not a mother-hen, yoi."

"Marco, face the truth." His father joked.

The phoenix felt like sulking. "Pops, you too…."

The signature laughter filled the air, a lot smaller than usual. He was going to pout inwardly, but Namur's yell caught their attention.

"SHIP ON THE HORIZON!"

Marco morphed and flew up on the crow's nest. On the line of the sea, a big ship was sailing, apparently coming right their way. He took the spyglass. The flag was one of the World Government.

"They're marines, yoi." He said, jumping down.

"Already?" Izo went to the railing.

"Strange. Maybe they're only passing by." Thatch gripped his chin.

"Let's wait and see." Whitebeard ordered.

Anyway, the ship, whose figurehead was a lion, got near and stopped far enough, facing the Moby Dick. Without warnings, a swordsman appeared on the deck, right in front of their captain. Marco was jumping to attack the green-haired man, but a blonde appeared out of nowhere, kicking his head. The man was sent flying out of the ship and in the sea.

The other one, that was smoking a cigarette, looked around with an annoyed expression and sighed soundly. Then, surprising everyone, he bowed.

"I'm deeply sorry for marimo's behaviour. He knows no manners. My name's Sanji, who here is Marco the Phoenix?"

Marco blinked twice before talking, still in an offensive stance. "I am, yoi."

Sanji looked at him with a nod. "Luffy."

The pirate narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Why were marines asking him of the dragon?

"What about him, yoi?"

Maybe his tone was a bit angry, because the man lifted his hands in surrender. "Oh, no, I'm not searching for him. He sent us here." He pointed at the ship, on which deck some people were watching the exchange. "He wanted us to search for you." He nodded at Whitebeard.

In the meanwhile, the so-called marimo was climbing back on the Moby Dick, cursing loudly against a shitty cook.

"Why?" Marco asked.

"Because he is our captain." The swordsman was checking his weapons with a bored look.

"Captain?" Izo asked in a whisper. "He is a marine captain?"

"Truthfully, he is higher, and we're not marines." Sanji puffed some smoke. "Wait, how did you understand that?"

Izo arched an unimpressed brow and pointed his thumb in the ship's direction. The blonde flinched.

"USOPP! I TOLD YOU TO PUT THAT FLAG AWAY!" The man jumped there and started kicking some long-nosed, afro boy around.

"Craziness aside..." The swordsman looked at Marco. "We're not here to engage battle. Luffy is right now waiting his permission to enter Impel Down."

"And why's that?" Whitebeard thundered from his seat, taking the man's gaze.

"He wants to avoid a war and save Ace."

"Ace?" Thatch tilted his head.

"Ah, you don't know, right… Ace is Luffy's brother."


Luffy sighed. The whole thing was going to be a huge, massive, hellish mess. Not that he didn't like it, fights were entertaining. But escaping the prison with that level of security was a dangerous bet. And he wasn't considering the damn fact that the execution was to take place in three hours or so.

At the moment, he was being escorted by Hannyabal, the vice warden, and Sadi-chan, the chief guard, to level 6. Fortunately, Magellan had his usual stomach diseases.

He felt comforted by the presence of the Whitebeard's men, at least. Though, Sanji had told him they were damn hard to convince. The old man, even after hearing the plan about the escape, had wanted to still go at war. Granted, what a Yonko wants, he gets. But Luffy had managed to gain a bargain. After Sanji and Robin politely, against Zoro's behaviour, talked them into, at least damnit!, hear his Captain's idea. Stubborn pirates.

Diplomacy aside… He'd had a rather talkative session over the Den Den Mushi with him and a few of his Commanders, Marco, Izo, Fossa, Vista and Thatch. They had agreed only after the part of them as a battle distraction. God… He was trying to evade that! Was it so hard to understand? Escape from a battlefield, one that the Marines had wanted, totally easy, right.

He shook his head and held back a sigh. Strangely, Marco, even if being present, had been awfully quiet. Well, he hadn't struck Luffy as the talkative type, but… It was unsettling. Just a feeling. He knew he was probably at fault, for the whole marine thing, but seriously… What could he have done?... Why the hell did this little thing make him so sad, anyway?

"Is there a problem, Rear Admiral?" The vice asked with that pride of fake power.

"I don't like being caged." He lied through gritted teeth.

"Oh, when the visit is over, you'll be free again." He cheered.

'Not only me.'

The elevator stopped and they entered the stone corridor. A lot of known prisoners sat behind strong bars, some with seawater handcuffs. He mentally thanked being promoted the month prior, it freed him of the cuffs for the visit.

They walked through the alleyway for some minutes, among insults thrown by the prisoners and whistles. Luffy suppressed a snort as Crocodile came in sight.

"You have half an hour, we'll come back to fetch you then."

With that, the two walked away. When the boy heard the elevator's hinges, he turned from the heated glare of the gator and searched frantically. From what he knew, the prisoners waiting for execution were kept at the corner farthest from the entrance.

Luffy ignored the prisoners' calls and used his haki to locate Ace. After some moments, he started running to the left, passing by several cells. The last in the corridor had two man. One was Jinbe, the fishman with the title of Shichibukai, that seemed flabbergasted by his presence. The other was his brother, the dumb head, that was hanging low, arms chained to the wall.

"I don't even want to start my reprimand, I'll leave the pleasure to that family of yours." He said, looking around to assess there weren't any witnesses.

Ace flinched at the ire saturating the air and looked up abruptly. His eyes widened. Luffy scoffed and morphed his hand, striking the bars with his claws. The metal made a loud sound and bended horribly, making a hole in which the marine could pass.

Being in front of his brother, Luffy punched his head and nodded to Jinbe. "Why are you here?" He ignored the whine.

"Luffy-kun. You really came…" He glanced at Ace. "I refused to join the war… They stripped me of my title."

The marine nodded and punched his brother again. "You'll come with me, then. Yours are normal cuffs, right?"

With Jinbe's nod, Luffy armoured his fists with haki and destroyed the metal. "Take Ace and follow me."

"What the hell, Luffy!"

The fishman did as told and asked: "How do you plan to escape?"

"We have 17 minutes of peace left. I want to see if legends are true."


Marco had always thought to be a patient man. He put up with his brother's pranks, looked after them, after pops' insane alcohol addiction, took care of his Division with diligence, skipped sleep to help around the ship.

He couldn't have imagined to not be patient enough to wait a signal. He was waiting, for three hours he's been, a bell. The one warning about emergencies. The pirate was lying in his devil fruit form in one of the crow's nest surrounding the prison, hidden.

No, it wasn't a problem of nerves or tension. He was worried, sure, but not enough to be so restless. The question remained, then… Why was this so stressful?

Maybe it wasn't the waiting itself, as much as the situation. Turned out the dragon he'd saved was a marine, a Rear Admiral, to be exact. That arose so many questions that his mind buzzed and shut down. To begin with, what was a marine of that calibre doing in the New World, wounded and alone? Why had the news not reached even once the paper? How strong was he really to have that title? Why didn't he try to capture them?

No, wait, that had an answer, actually. The dragon had noticed Marco's identity when he was already on the Moby Dick, surrounded by the crew and on Whitebeard's presence. Of course he wouldn't have done anything, damn it. He was feverish and alone.

So, going on… Why did he trust them after noticing where he was? Why help them with Teach's betrayal? He understood finally how the hell the dragon had known about it. And, the most puzzling, why did he give out his name to Marco? This was way beyond simple understanding of not having escape's way. It was dangerous. If he had succeeded in keeping his own identity far from reporter's ears, he surely was smart and careful. Giving out that info was…

Marco groaned, feeling his head buzz from thinking too hard. Really, when was the last time he had so many problems with unveiling one's personality? He could not remember, makes one wonder how old he really was… Or maybe it hadn't ever happened before. More like it.

Regaining his thinking ability… Ok, he was a marine, he was in a dangerous situation, surrounded by pirates, and everything, lalala… So, he didn't even try to say he was Ace's brother. He must have known of him being in Whitebeard's crew. This spoke of honesty and wisdom, something he didn't really expect from one that had lived with Ace during childhood. Moreover, the fire user did talk about his brother. That was when Marco had heard the name Luffy before, from his mouth.

According to Ace, he was a happy-go-lucky, cocky, scared of nothing brat that acted on instincts and didn't think. Surely, something must have changed him drastically, else things would have gone oh so differently.

And what about that call on the Den Den Mushi? Only some of the crew and pops had heard the determined voice telling them the plan to rescue Ace. Marco had felt tiredness through it but kept the notion to himself. Though, Luffy's crew had worn a strange expression.

And, seriously, what a crew… A pirate hunter, a cook that had a fire leg when fighting but without any devil fruit's ability, a woman thief, a woman wanted from the World Government since 9, a racoon… no, scratch that, he was a reindeer, a long-nosed boy that shot seeds, a robot… and a skeleton. A fucking, moving skeleton. With an afro. That played the violin. And was a renown superstar. Half of the ship had fainted at his sight, not that he blamed them. Frankly, was it not for his Phoenix, he would have paled. Even pops had choked on his sake.

A loud ringing alarm took his attention away from his musings. Life on the ships turned on and marines began squirming like ants towards the closed gate of the outer wall circle. He looked at the clock, one hour until the execution, half until the arrival of the transportation ship.

He morphed into his biggest form, blue flames catching instantly the attention of everyone. A lot of gasps and yells filled the air, probably Brook, Zoro and Jozu were doing the same. He flew on deck and started kicking the men outside the ship, in the sea. They needed to take control of at least one ship to escape, while Moby Dick stalled Marineford's army to not arise suspicions and Sunny waited for them.

Turned out that, in less than ten minutes, they had four ships at their disposal. Zoro and Jozu sank one and brought the others in front of the main gate just as it was opening.

Now, Marco wasn't stupid, he knew possibilities of escaping were low, if not inexistent. So, don't blame him if he almost let his chin fall to the floor when he saw an army of Okama lead by Jinbe, Ace, Emporio Ivankov and a midget with raven hair running like mad towards them. And was that Magellan?

He rapidly went to the wheel and ordered the others to set sail. They took only two ships and sank the other. While they were starting to get away, a horde of men and women landed on the two decks. The Chief Warden was left speechless and breathless on the gate, looking at the lost ships.

"Luffy, damn you!"

"What was that coming from the damsel in danger?"

The midget punched Ace as Marco was getting near him to check his wounds.

"Ouch! Who's the damsel?!"

"You, shithead, were going to accept the sentence! Don't you dare deny it!" An index poked in accusation Ace's nose.

The fire user blushed slightly and looked at the side, when he noticed the pirate. "Marco?" He gazed at his brother and then back. "With Luffy?"

"Yeah, dumb head, you thought I would come and save you without a plan to escape?"

Marco finished looking for wounds, finding only scratches, and observed the other boy. He was short, though muscular, with a moon-shaped scar below his left eye. His raven hair was covered by a strangely familiar straw hat. The white marine cape fluttered around a black half-opened shirt and black leather pants.

"In fact, yes. I thought that." Ace said, earning another punch. "Stop it!"

"Even though I keep hitting you, I don't feel satisfied…" Luffy shook his head and looked finally at Marco with a smirk. "Nice to meet you, Marco. Thanks for the help." As if remembering his anger, he hit again his brother, that whined.

"Nice to meet you, too, yoi. Maybe you should stop."

"Ah, no, I'll faint soon, anyway."

Marco arched a brow. "Why?"

"Iva gave me some shots after a rough encounter with Magellan, the adrenaline rush should subside in some minutes. Zoro." The swordsman made his way towards the captain through the mass of okamas. "Have you called Nami?"

"Yes, they're on their way."

"Okay, keep this route, and you should call Whitebeard."

"Jozu's already doing so, yoi."

"Well, then…" Luffy sighed with half-lidded eyes. " …goodnight."

Marco propped forward in time to catch the boy.

"About time." He turned to see the huge head of Ivankov, Commander of the Revolutionary Army, blinking in bewilderment. "You should bving him to a bed and let him vest."

"Strange, in a normal situation, he wouldn't sleep until on his ship." Zoro commented.

"Gveen-boy, you're his vice, vight?" The swordsman nodded. "Ve'll take one ship and go back to ouv island, this vay they'll have a havdev time finding us."

"That's okay for us, Marco?"

The phoenix nodded, walking to the inside of the ship with Luffy cradled in his arms. It was a strangely familiar situation, he found himself thinking with a slight smile.

"Say hi and thanks fov me to hat-boy."


Aaaaand yes, done with the second chapter, hope you all liked it :) Thank for reading and.. leave a review? Please? xD If you want ;) See ya!