So, guys.
Here´s the last chapter for this story.
It was really fun writing in english, although I´m not pleased with how the ending turned out...
I had planed to give a more detailed fighting scene, but failed because of a too tiny vocabulary...
*slumps*
Mabe I´ll redo it, when I´m more experienced in this whole stuff.
Nevertheless, I hope all readers enjoyed this and my special thanks goes to azab and Mirre98 for commenting.
You really kept me going :D
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Marcos vision had blurred to the point, where he wasn´t even able to distinguish Aces paler skin color from the dark surroundings.
He closed his eyes fully, since it didn´t make much difference.
So this was what dying felt like...
It was oddly calming and less painful than he had imagined it to be.
Of course, he had received many wounds during the battles he had fought for his pops, but he´d never been as close to death as now.
'Must be due to the fact that I normally try to avoid injuries...'
Marco chuckled inwardly, too weak to produce any audible sound.
When the door was opened, his body sagged completely to the ground, only to be lifted up shortly afterwards.
So they had finally decided to get him out of that damn cell with its Kairoseki bars.
'Took them long enough...'
As Marco was placed on the barrow, he could already feel the fire trying to ascend and with a relieved sigh, he let his ability roam freely across his body, what drew a surprised scream from one of his enemies.
The pain vanished instantly as the flames licked at his wounds, leaving behind only a tickling sensation on his skin, where the cuts and stabs had been.
Eyes opening lazy, Marco sat up when he heard his name being called and took a closer look at his surroundings, fire still dancing on his body.
"Six..."
Including the girl with the patch, he was facing six marines, which he didn´t consider much of a threat since all were looking at him as if he just resurrected.
What he had kinda done.
A smile tugged at his lips and he pushed himself off the barrow, landing on his feet gently and forcing the marines to take a step backwards.
The shock seemed to wear off as a weapon was fired and Marco felt two new spots tingle, just above his heart and his eye.
He turned to face the marine, whose gun barrel was still smoking, tilting his head to one side and throwing him a casual look, until a maniac smile spread across his features, flames still covering the shot eye.
"Try again, yoi."
It was the girl who reacted first, starting to scream at the top of her lungs and turning on her heels to retreat as fast as she could.
Running for their dear lives, the remaining soldiers let go of their weapons, which clattered to the ground unvalued and useless.
The corridor was cleared in mere seconds.
"That was rather easy..."
He had expected at least some struggles and maybe even a fierce fight.
Ace was still sitting there, unable to believe his own eyes.
Was that really Marco in front of him?
The same Marco who was at the brink of death just one moment ago?
He stood up, almost tripping over his own feet as he made his way to the locked door, grabbing onto the Kairoseki bars and inspecting the blonde with wide eyes.
The other turned to him with a lazy smile on his lips, flames slowly fading from his face and body, revealing a totally unharmed eye and healed skin, although the blood remained.
Aces jaw dropped at the sight he was allowed to behold, feeling shaky to his knees.
"Marco Taicho..."
The older pirate laughed.
"What´s with that respectful tone, Ace? Something wrong, yoi?"
The freckled boy gulped dryly and forced himself to stop staring at Marco as if he was some kind of a caged animal.
Straightening his back, he tried to hide his highly visible admiration towards the commander.
"No, never mind. Just get me out."
"Promptly."
Ace watched his friend bend down and pick up a key, which must have been dropped by one of the marines.
It took less than a second to open the door and the raven haired jumped practically into freedom, stretching his arms high above his head and smiling like an idiot, still covered in by now mostly dried up blood.
"So, what´s next, Marco? Wanna have some fun? Just the two of us?"
"Yeah, sure. Let's sink this damn ship!"
"Fire!"
"Here too!"
"Put it out!"
"Water, quick!"
"They blew up the kitchen!"
"Get some buckets!"
"They destroyed all!"
"Restrain those goddamn Logias!"
"They threw the Kairoseki overboard!"
Ace chuckled under his breath about the scared and desperate shouts coming from their enemies.
His feet were dangling from one of the yards of the main mast, where he had retreated to, to have a better view of the whole situation below.
A few soldiers were aiming their guns at him, firing as if it would magically start working when enough shots had hit him.
So far, his body had always turned into flames, allowing the bullets to pass right through him.
"You know, I´m actually a Zoan type..."
The raven haired tilted his head slightly to his side.
Marco perched right next to him, balancing himself with a flaming tail, covered in blue and gold, which he had just grown.
"Figured that."
It was still a little disturbing to watch parts of his friends' body turn into blue fire, whenever he was hit.
"All by yourself, yoi?"
Ace turned around fully, now with a somewhat pissed expression on his freckled face.
"What do you mean, 'all by yourself', huh?"
A bullet went through his chest, turning part of his pectoral muscle into flames and illuminating his childish features.
Marco had to hold back his laughter at the more or less sweet sight, apart from all the blood, which at this point wasn´t only from their escape anymore.
The blondes´ leg engulfed in flames as a shot hit him.
"Nothing, nothing, really. Oi, Ace, mind to shoot that guy down?"
The older pirate pointed to a marine, who attempted to climb the mast.
"Sure. Higan."
A scream was heard and the enemy fell back onto the deck of the ship, where in the meantime hell had broken loose.
"Don´t let them chit-chat like that! Blow this goddamn chicken out of the sky!"
Ace saw a vein pop up on Marcos temple.
"I´M A FUCKING PHOENIX, YOI!"
"Pfffffffft! Hahahahaha!"
"WHAT´S SO FUNNY!?"
"What day of the week do chickens hate most?"
"No, you wouldn't-"
"Fry-day! Hahaha! Wait, I´ve got another one!"
"Don´t you dare, Ace!"
With these words, the flames spread across Marcos whole appearance, turning his feet into talons and reshaping his face into those of a bird, followed by the rest of his body.
He picked at his comrade with Haki, but not strong enough to actually hurt the boy and threw himself off the yard afterwards.
Ace watched the creature fly gently over the ship, clawing angry at unlucky marines here and there and throwing some overboard.
'A mythical Zoan, huh? That´s kinda cool, never met one before.'
Ace pushed himself off, falling towards the deck in a rapid speed and landing with a deep thump on the wood.
"Advance!"
A smile spread across his face as the marines approached.
This could turn out to be real fun.
"Hiken!"
The warship was nothing but a fuming wreckage in the distance.
Ace looked above, where he could see only blue feathers and flames, right and left, where Marcos wings flapped up and down in a steady pace and front, where the tail swayed from side to side.
The Phoenix had picked him up in the exact moment, where the younger pirate lost his patience and simply set the whole ship on fire to get rid of the damn marines all at once.
But nobody could say he hadn´t warned them previously.
The freckled boy was now carried by the talons, which clasped both his upper arms with Haki.
He tried to revolve to his friend, but was by far too immobile to do so.
"Oi, Marco! If you´re not letting me ride on your back, at least carry me forwards!"
It remained quiet.
"Marco!"
Silence.
"You listening, Marco?"
A piercing shriek sent shivers down Aces spine and the younger pirate threw his head back to catch a glimpse of his friend.
Dark-circled eyes watched him lazily and the raven haired understood.
"You can´t speak?"
Another screech, this time lower.
"Haha, but I guess better bird vocal cords than bird brain. Ow, Marco! Stop scratching me!"
"We´re under attack!"
"Stop screaming nonsense, Thatch!"
"But Haruta, look!"
"What the hell is that?"
"Isn´t it Ace?"
"Yeah, and the other thing?"
"Don´t know, looks like a bird carrying him or something like that..."
"Duck!"
"Haruta, that´s definitely not a duck..."
"No, DUCK!"
Both commanders managed to dodge Aces struggling feet in the last moment, as the weird thing crashed on the Moby Dick, sending their comrade tumbling across the deck in blue and red flames, until the bundle came to a halt at the railing near Whitebeard.
It was the freckled boy, who managed to sit up first.
"Are you too dumb to soft-land?"
Thatch, Haruta and some other pirates, including Whitebeard, watched wide-eyed, the last person to a lesser extent, as the flames wore off.
Only seconds later, Marco got up.
"You´re damn heavy, yoi!"
"What? Now you tell me I´m fat?"
"You have no idea how hard it is to fly for such a long period!"
"Oh, sorry for that!"
"Next time, try saving your own sorry ass! I´m still inexperienced!"
"That´s no excuse to slam me onto the deck!"
"You´re a fucking Logia! Stuff like this shouldn´t hurt you, yoi!"
"You used Haki!"
"Not a reason to set yourself on fire!"
"I thought I was going to die!"
Both men were grabbing at the others collar enraged - although Marco more likely grabbed at the strings of Aces hat - and looked like they were about to let loose, when a slight but deep coughing made them stop.
"Are you alright, my sons?"
The pirates let go off the other and turned to face their father, whose look showed a worried expression at all the blood, which covered his dear children.
Marco tried to adjust his jacket, which was already stiff from the dried fluid.
"Everything´s alright, yoi..."
Ace smiled up to the tall man, before he looked at his friend again, this time with a tender and warm expression on his face.
"Don´t worry, it´s not my blood, Pops."
Hope you enjoyed and leave a review.