Ahhhhh! I hate this chapter letter thing! But I made myself a promise that I'd finish with this continued story on the 17th, on this fics birthday! I really had to force myself to type this, it took alot longer then some of the other letters that were twice as long as this. It disgust me!
The only thing I have to say about this chapter in a postive light is that I had a pretty easy time picking the actual word I was going to use -sometimes it takes me forever to pick a word that I can make something with-. I was inspired by a picture that I remembered from Deviantart, it was of a Zombie!Ace and Luffy. Luffy was confused and Ace was well all zombie-ish.
Summary: Revenge was his! Straw Hat had finally paid!
Vengeance
Luffy looked at his opponent in horror. It was Ace. His best friend, his sworn brother, his lover, the one who would keep his fears at bay when he was a child, the one who had his back in Gray Terminal, the one he had broken into Impel Down for, the one who he had failed to save, it was Ace. Ace who he had watched die in muted horror, Ace who had taken the attack meant for him, Ace who had died from that same attack.
"Kishishishi! Kishishishi! Now what will you do Straw Hat? Can you kill your beloved brother? Will you be responsible for his death again?" Luffy's horrified gaze flickered to the one responsible for what he was seeing; Gecko Moria. The Shichbukai who'd eaten the Kage Kage no Mi giving him the power to possess, control, manipulate, and capture shadows to do his bidding.
The shadow controller continued to laugh as Luffy's eyes changed adopting a furious light within, a light that Moria was sure was created because of what he had done to 'Fire Fist' Ace's body. He'd taken it after the battle of Whitebeard -as people had come to call it- was finished, he'd commissioned Hogback to salvage the burnt corpse into a usable puppet that he could inject a shadow into. Then, then he'd found someone who had no personality, no presence to them and stole their shadow. He'd put it into Ace's body and then he'd trained the blank shadow inside to be Portgas. He'd studied and collected all the information he could on the fire user and compiled all the information he could. He'd taught the shadow inside Portgas's body how to be 'Fire Fist' until the dummy Ace was perfect! It knew all of Portgas's attacks, it knew his mannerisms, and most of all Moria had taken special care to make sure that the copy Ace felt what Moria wanted it to towards Straw Hat.
Contempt, disdain, hate, loathing, and derision. Moria had made sure that was all the copy Ace would feel towards the rubber idiot who had destroyed his brilliant zombies.
He'd seen how the idiot had reacted in those few seconds before he passed out when Ace had died. He'd been broken. He was despairing over the death of his loved one and Moria loved it! It was as if nothing else existed to Straw Hat in those few moments except his brother, and Moria was struck with a brilliant idea. That he would use Ace to get to Straw Hat! And it'd been a fantastic idea for Straw Hat was now unable to do anything except glare at him in hatred.
"I hate you Luffy! I want you to die!" Ace's voice echoed off the ghostly buildings as the mist closed in once more. "It's your fault I'm dead Luffy! It's your fault!"
Moria looked on in maniacal glee as Straw Hat's eyes lost there fire and a dim haunting sorrow filled them, "I'm so sorry Ace. I'm so so sorry." Moria cackled once more, Straw Hat sounded so broken it was so lovely! It was music to his ears! And then the one thing that Moria had hoped, dreamed, and wished for with all his might happened! The Straw Hat idiot allowed his 'brother' to stab him through his heart! And he did it all with such a derelict expression!
Moria laughed, he cackled, he guffawed, and he screeched out his merriment at the scene in front of him. Straw Hat Luffy was dying! Killed by his own 'brother'! Straw Hat was dying believing that his brother hated him, that his love wanted him dead! It was priceless!
As the light in the rubber teen's eyes finally shuttered out completely Moria left with a final cackle and a kick to the dead teen's body all the while smiling widely. He dissipated the shadow inside Portgas's body as he left, he no longer needed the fire user, he'd gotten what he wanted.
~#~#~#~#~
While the moon forlornly shined down illuminating the pale corpses of 'Straw Hat' Luffy and 'Fire Fist' Ace a whisper on the wind could be heard. So softly that not even the keenest of ears could make out what was said. But one person knew for that person understood everything about the one who had voiced the heart filled words. And that person accepted what was said and answered back just as softly for the dead can only speak silently.
"I love you Ace, please forgive me."
"Of course Luffy, I could never blame you.."
