Here's chapter 3. This chapter is mostly Marco-centric because it's kind of a bridge so L won't be making an appearance.
And also, thank you to all you people who favourited and followed this story. Currently, this story has 32 favourites and 53 followers. I think it's quite a lot considering this is my first fanfiction so I'm really happy.
To Angel0940: Thanks for your reviews! I really enjoy reading them and so far you've reviewed every chapter for 'L', and I'm totally going "Oh my gosh, you're too kind!". And also, thanks for the feedback.^v^
Now, read and enjoy.
Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece and never will. But I do own L and everything about her.

For a day stained with bloodshed and memories best left forgotten, the sky that night was surprisingly clear.
The moon was out, white and full with no clouds to hide it, casting soft light onto the Moby Dick. Even the sea was calm, waves lapping softly against the ship's hull, as if she thought that they deserved a break after the day's events.
Silently stepping out onto the stern deck where the commander's quarters were located, Marco leaned against the railings and looked down at the sea foam that trailed behind the Moby, replaying a previous conversation in his mind.

"What's going on, Jinbei?" Marco asked, not for a moment taking his eyes off the marines gathered around them in case of sudden movement."We saw her talk to you. What did she want?"
"Observant as always, eh?" Straightening, Jinbe turned towards Whitebeard. "She told us to take Ace-kun and Luffy-kun and get out while she stalls Akainu. What do you think?"
"Gurarara, cheeky girl. Telling me what to do." Whitebeard laughed, drawing unimpressed looks from many of his sons. "Tell our allies to retreat. We're leaving."
"You're really gonna listen to her?"
"She can take care of herself."
"Whatever you say."

He frowned.
At the time, they had been in a hurry to get away and he had shoved it to the back of his mind as he had more pressing matters to think about, but now that he had time to actually think of stuff other than getting the hell out of marine territory, he noticed that Oyaji seemed to know something he didn't about the female assassin. He wonders if his captain knew that she would be there.

That's impossible. I would've known otherwise. He thought, ruling out that possibility.
Why would she help us then? He wondered. Last I checked, we don't exactly know her…

Lost in contemplation, Marco failed to notice the 'click-clack' sound of wooden getas as they grew closer until he felt a small pat on his shoulder.
"Marco."
"Izo? I thought you'd already went to bed." He asked, surprised that there were people still up at this time. It was, like three in the morning, and they'd had had a very trying day. Thus he had expected everyone to be asleep.
"I did. Couldn't fall asleep though, so I came up for some fresh air." The sixteenth commander shrugged, clad in a plain kosode with the sash tied loosely.
"You, unable to sleep? That's a first."
"So it would seem." He replied, leaning down next to him, long slender fingers drumming rhythmically on the sanded wood.
Marco noted that his brother's long hair had been pinned up neatly-though not in his usual style-instead of the low ponytail he sometimes wore in case of midnight emergencies.
He had been up for a while. Marco looked at him suspiciously. "Is that really all you're here for?"
The man gave him a look, one that said 'Are you seriously asking that?' and he felt a sudden urge to hit someone. Fortunately, Izo decided to speak up before he snapped.
"I'm rather…worried, you could say."
"About what?
"You know what."
Turning so that his back was against the railings, Izo let out a small sigh as he looked up at the night sky."No one's saying anything, but I'm pretty sure all of us-you included-are thinking about it."

"Well?" He prompted.
"I wouldn't jump to conclusions yet." Marco responded, lacing his fingers together.
"Your reason being?"
"…it's just a hunch, but I think Oyaji knows something."
"When doesn't he?"
"Point. But I just can't shake this weird feeling I've been having since we left Marineford."
"Feels like something's going to happen, right? I know. We all are."
Silence grew between them, neither knowing how to continue their conversation. Marco eventually broke the silence, directing the conversation to less serious matters.

"…how's Ace's little brother?"
"Last I heard, he was still unconscious. Ace refuses to budge until his brother wakes up."
"And when will that be?"
"Windry says probably sometime this week or the next. She can't say for sure."
"He's gonna hole up in the infirmary then?"
"At least he thought to bring a pillow and blanket."
Marco was skeptical.
Since when did Ace, that Ace, Phot-headed 2nd division commander Firefist Ace need a blanket? The idiot was a walking furnace who was literally immune to temperature.
"Are you just saying that?"
"Unfortunately, no. He really did bring a blanket. Namur ran into him on his way there." Izo sighed in exasperation. "To quote our dear 2nd commander: 'Of course I'm bringing a blanket. Luffy wouldn't be happy if he saw me sleeping without one regardless of whether I'm cold or not.' Tch, talk about a serious case of brother complex."
Marco chuckled.
In some way, he wasn't very surprised. He had half-expected something similar to happen, considering what he knew of Ace.
"Well, not that it matters. Now that I've spoken my mind, I can go back to sleep." Izo suddenly straightened and stretched his arms, a satisfied smile plastered on his face.
"You didn't get up just to 'speak your mind', did you?"
"Maybe."
"Go back to sleep already."
"I intend to."
Marco rolled his eyes as the sound of his brother's footsteps receded down the hall, eventually disappearing as the sound of a door closing was faintly heard.
He should probably go to sleep too. Tomorrow was sure to be a busy day and he needed all the sleep he could get.
-=v=-
Come morning, the crew of the Moby Dick set to work after a large breakfast, treating the wounded, repairing weapons, taking inventory of their food and weapons store, contacting their allies and plotting a course towards someplace without marine presence so they could recuperate in peace.

Or in Ivankov's case, borrowing a den-den mushi to call his subordinates for a pick up.

Anyone who wasn't too injured to move was busy somewhere with something, even the commanders. Marco, as deputy captain, spent the better half of the morning in the captain's quarters, discussing various matters with Whitebeard who had been forcibly confined to bed rest by the nurses the moment they finished dressing his wounds. He emerged onto deck around ten and headed towards the infirmary to check up on a certain logia-user, who may or may not have unintentionally caused mass panic within the crew's chefs and many others by not eating breakfast, or so he had been told.

On the way, he ran into Jinbei, Ivankov, Crocodile and several others who were sitting in a partially hidden corner where they wouldn't be in the way, playing cards. He greeted them with a simple nod and continued on his way.
"Commander Marco." A petite woman with hazelnut blonde hair braided down her back greeted him when he entered the infirmary. A few crew members waved at him from their beds, calling out greetings. He waved back and returned his focus to the woman in front of him.
"Windry. How's everything going?"
"Oh, just~ fine. Everyone's SO cooperative."
"Are they giving you a hard time?" He chuckled lightly, all too used to the diminutive head doctor's sarcasm.
The doctor waved her hand dismissively. "Aside from constantly complaining about staying in bed, not really."
She turned to retrieve a clipboard from the desk behind her.
"I take it you're here for Strawhat?"
"Ace, actually." She cocked an eyebrow, finding his answer a little unexpected.
"He's fine. A little malnourished with some minor wounds here and there but nothing too serious. He's in there." She said, pointing at a nearby door with her pen. "Idiot refuses to leave his brother's side until he wakes up."
"I've heard."
"Bring this in with you. Mike brought it earlier but apparently he wasn't hungry." She handed him a tray with a bowl of broth and some bread which he carefully took.

"By the way, how is he?" Marco asked, remembering someone else who was also in the infirmary.
"No changes yet, unfortunately."
-=v=-
He glared down at a straw hat-wearing boy who was tied to a tree. Smiling.
"Let's kill him."
"Right. Let's do that."
"EEHHH! Don't kill me!"
And then the sounds of the forest faded away. He looked up, expecting to see dense tree canopies, but found a dirty wooden ceiling.
"Here's dinner." A deer was thrown at an obese orange-haired woman.
"Roast it. Fast."
"Dinner!"
He walked past her, pipe in hand and suddenly he was flying through the air, the woman yelling at them to not come out until they counted to ten thousand before he landed in hot water.
Right. This was the bathroom. He remembered.

And then he felt heavy. Sinking.

A hand wrapped around his midsection, pulling him up above water.
"Oi! I've got him!" Who…?
"You guys…why do you call him your father anyway?"
"Because he calls us his sons."
A familiar voice. He lifts his head.
"It's just a word. But it makes us happy."
A familiar face.
Marco.
Whitebeard.
A sword sliced through skin and flesh, protruding from the giant man's back.
Traitor.
He wanted to scream.
He looked up, hearing numerous screams sounding through the air.
"Doesn't matter, we're gonna die! It's frozen all over down there!"
A familiar figure with a straw hat free fell from the sky and he felt his heart skip a beat.
Luffy!
"Sabo was such a kind elder brother." A childish voice sighed.
A second voice yelled angrily.
"What's that supposed to mean?! Would you rather I died instead?!"
The trees shifted, turning into a worn wooden hut.
"I heard that you were a naughty boy, Ace-kun…but you're surprisingly well-behaved." A woman's voice said and he felt his face grow red. "I-if you say so."
Snickering came from nearby.
"He's embarrassed."
"Ace, your face is all red!"
...
His hand was intertwined with Luffy's tightly as he slept, head pillowed on his other arm and lightly snoring.

This admittedly heartwarming scene was what greeted Marco when he entered the room.
He's asleep, huh?
Soundlessly making his way over, he placed the tray down on the nightstand.
"Ace, wake up." He said, raising his voice a little. When he didn't respond, Marco turned around to look at him. Only then did he noticed the many different emotions that were flashing across the younger man's freckled face. One moment he was smiling, and suddenly he started to frown. Sadness appeared soon followed by a low growl which quickly turned into a whimper.
"ACE. WAKE. UP." He repeated, stressing each word as if he could get the message across through sheer will. He stirred a little, but didn't wake.
Sighing resignedly, he reached out and shook him by his shoulders, effectively pulling him out of dreamland.
"Huh? Marco? Wha're you doin'ere?" Ace asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"I don't know. Babysitting you?"
Marco responded, taking the bowl of broth from the tray and handing it to him.
"Eat."
Ace looked down at the meal in his hands. The broth smelled nice, probably tastes nice too, but…
"I'm not hungry."
Growl.
"You sure?"
He sighed, sitting down in a chair opposite Ace. Blue eyes met grey ones, and suddenly Ace felt the need to avert his gaze. Not that he dared when Marco was clearly in lecture mode.
"Ace, you need to eat. You haven't eaten anything since last night, and I'm pretty sure you were only fed enough to stay alive before."
"Besides, Izo told me what you told Namur about the blanket. How do you think your brother would feel if he knew you weren't eating?" He added, gesturing at the sleeping form of the Strawhat captain.
"…he would get mad…"
"Exactly."
"Fine. I'll eat." Ace mumbled, reaching for the spoon.
Marco couldn't help but feel a bit guilty as he watched him slowly drink the broth, his usual vigor that was always present at meal times gone. He had played low, using Straw Hat's possible reaction to get Ace to eat.

But hey, at least it worked.

He regarded Luffy, taking in the copious amount of bandages covering what visible part of his body.
Thank Roger Ace has such a major soft spot for you, eh?
It may have been a trick of the light, but in the morning light that filtered in through the portholes, Marco swore he saw the corner of Straw Hat's mouth twitch upwards, though only slightly.
I guess the feeling's mutual.
-=v=-
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
In another room, a man lay unmoving, his auburn hair a stark contrast against the white sheets of the bed. He seemed to be asleep, the covers rising and falling in rhythm with his his side, a monitor glowed lightly in the dim lighting, multiple lines that zigzagged across the screen displayed the man's current condition.

Clipboard in hand, Windry wrote down the numbers displayed on the side before placing it back at the foot of the bed. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her lab coat, lips pursed as she watched him breathe.
"How long are you planning to stay in here?" She muttered under her breath. "It's already been months…"
And you're still here.

A sharp knock broke her from her thoughts.
"Windry!" On the other side of the door, one of the nurses called out. "Barry pulled his stitches again. Max tried to remove his cast and Otis, Sean and Toby are trying to escape."
She groaned inwardly. Great. More work. Taking a deep breath, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Those numskulls…" she scowled, reaching for the door, the irritation on her face as clear as day.
As she stepped out, she turned around to glare at the man.
"You better wake up soon, you hear me? I don't want you in my infirmary any longer than necessary."
The door closed none too quietly as the ship doctor stormed out, her snarling soon followed by a series of pained shrieking and cursing as the various escapee wannabes were forcefully returned to their beds.

Twitch.
The monitor beeped a little faster.
-=v=-
"Captain! The Moby Dick's in sight! Currently forty degrees off starboard."
Inside a well-lit room, a young man wearing a boiler suit called out towards a tall, dark-haired man who was reclining on a nearby couch reading.
Prying his gaze from the material text in his hands, the man grinned, a devious glint in his eyes.
"Is that so? Prepare to surface then." He ordered as he closed the book, placing it on a side table. Getting up, he grabbed a round spotted hat and shoved it onto his dark, messy hair. A nodachi found its spot in his hands, hilt resting against his shoulders.
"Let's go meet 'the strongest man in the world'."

Ah…somehow this chapter was a lot easier to write than the previous three chapters. I wonder why?
Read and review please. Thank you.
(I'm serious. PLEASE. REVIEW. I need to know what people think to make the story better.)
Syrisna.
=V= o