Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay! I had writer's block for the longest time! I just couldn't get this chapter to flow properly. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

I do not own One Piece or any of it's characters. This fanfiction was created merely for amusement.

Chapter 10

(four months later)

I ducked under a blast from a canon. The air around me rippled from the heat. I gritted my teeth.

Fire...

I grabbed a notched sword from the deck of the ship, and charged the canon holder. I jumped, propelled myself towards him with Geppo, then slammed the flat of my blade against his mouth.

One of his teeth went flying out and bounced along the deck. He muttered something like 'I'm gonna have a nap now...' and crumpled like a sock puppet.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead. These battles were becoming more and more frequent as the months went by. I could expect to have someone try to blow my head off at least once a day.

I sprung over to the ally side of the ship, and fell to one knee.

"You okay, Zia?" Fossa called from the other end.

"I'm good." I said. "Or as good as a pirate at war can be..." I muttered to myself.

"You okay?"

I blinked hard. I smacked my cheeks with both hands. "C'mon, Zia. Quit it..." I couldn't drive that voice from my mind! I couldn't focus!

The thought that I'd been so close to someone who is made of fire...

"Zia!"

I was pulled back to reality with a start, by the collar.

Teech had grabbed me and pulled me away from a swordsman. "You alright? We can't afford for you to lose concentration in the middle of battle. Maybe you should get some rest."

I shook my head. "I'm fine, Teech." This was stupid. I needed to focus.

"You've been acting a bit distracted lately." Teech said, as we stood back to back. "What's bothering you?"

Oh, you know how a few months ago I got separated for a little while? Well, I ran into Fire Fist Ace, the one pirate I would rather not run into, and now I can't get his voice out of my head. I can't forget the heat that surrounded him. Fire... How the hell does one explain that? Teech would probably think the battles over the months had made me crack. Who knows. Maybe I had cracked, but it wasn't from the constant battles.

Suddenly, something flashed across my field of 'vision'. I shoved Teech out of the way, and ducked, as a huge wave of energy passed over our heads, and hit the mast. It cracked and tumbled, crushing an unsuspecting gunman. Not one of the family, fortunately.

I recognised that technique. "Careful!" I shouted. "It's that rokushiki user!"

That rokushiki user had been after me ever since he abducted me when I was on guard duty. He was big, buff, and had the capacity to hold a grudge for a very long time. On top of all that, he has a zoan type devil fruit. I'm not entirely sure what kind, but whatever it is, it's very fuzzy.

I stood up on deck, my hair whipping around in the sea wind. I turned to face our attacker head on.

There was a flash of movement in front of me. Before I could react, a fuzzy fist made contact with my jaw, and I went flying. I hit the mizenmast, and crumpled to the deck. "Ah!" My head felt fuzzy, and my ears rang. He got me really good that time. I struggled to sit up, but I felt something sharp, a claw, not a blade, against my throat.

"I must say, you're a lot more difficult to kill than I thought at first." he growled. I could feel his hot breath against my neck. Or more to the point, I could smell it too. Sardines, and... was that some kind of 'eau de cabbage'? Gross. "But now, you're going to go to hell the hard way."

I smirked. I could sense something barrelling towards us "Okay... but you're going to have to discuss it with my division commander first."

There was a great smash! and the pressure on my neck subsided. My attacker was flung right off the deck and into the sea.

I tilted my head up. "Hey, thanks Marco."

I could feel Marco's gaze on me. "Teech told me you were distracted. What the hell are you doing?"

I turned my head. If I could have stared at my shoes, I would have.

Marco transformed into a phoenix and took off. I got blasted by the hot air. This was humiliating. I had been in more battles in four months than years I'd been alive. I had gotten out of all of them with only minor injuries. Why the hell couldn't I concentrate this time?

Fire.

I sensed a presence behind me. And beside me. And in front. All around me. I mentally kicked myself. While I'd been mentally kicking myself, I'd allowed myself to get surrounded.

I swished some blood around in my mouth, then spat it on the deck. "Alright, guys. Let's go wild."

I used Geppo to launch myself in the air. "Teech!" I called.

"Yo!" I could just barely hear him over the roar of the wind in my ears.

"Get everyone off the boat!" I shouted. "I'm gonna try a little experiment!" I propelled myself higher and higher, until the warring ships below me were just... well, you would call them little specks on the water. I stopped, spread my arms, and then curled into a somersault. I pulled out as I started to drop. It felt great! Heading towards the ships in a freefall, the wind beating against my face and making my skirt beat against my legs. I pushed my fist forward, with some difficulty due to the wind, and shut my eyes. "Armament Haki..." I whispered. I felt a surge of power through my arm. I smirked. "Take this, Kaido."

I smashed into the main mast with the speed of a bullet. The wood splintered, and I hit the deck. There was a groan, and the ship was smashed into kindling. I landed in the sea in the middle of a large right of flotsam. I spat a little spout of water up into the air, then shook the water droplets off my hair. "Woo!" I said. "That was awesome!"

I grabbed onto a wooden board, and started kicking my way towards our little ship. Okay, our comparatively little ship. Everyone save one was there.

Suddenly, I felt talons grab me under the armpits, and I was hauled out of the water.

"You never think anything through, do you?" Marco sighed.

I grinned. "I'm insulted. It took some brains to think up that little victory."

"No," Marco said with a sigh. "It took luck for that to work. Imagine what could have happened if you had hit your head on a stray piece of wood. With your momentum, you would have been killed instantly."

I sighed. Leave it to the mother hen. I 'looked' up at Marco. "You do know what day tomorrow is." I said. There was a short pause.

"December 31st." he said.

"Right." I said. "I'll be fourteen tomorrow. I can take care of myself. You don't need to worry over me like I'm only five years old."

Marco clicked his beak. "It's not a matter of your age, Zia. It's your annoying habit of jumping into a dangerous situation without a second thought."

We came up close to our ship and Marco dropped me just a few feet off the deck. I landed on my feet like a cat.

I barely had time to stretch when Thatch caught me in a headlock and gave me a noogie. "That was freaking amazing!" he said. "Do that again!"

"Thatch..." Marco groaned. I knew he was rubbing his temples. Counterclockwise. That was what he always did when he was royally ticked off.

"Ze-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Teech laughed. "Next time, do that right off the bat!"

Marco walked up to Thatch and pried his arm off my neck. "That's enough, Thatch." he said.

Standing next to those two made me think of the nightmare I had had four months or more back. Now I couldn't think about Marco without thinking about that yellow haired, droopy-eyed guy, or Thatch without thinking about that guy with the weird hairdo and the goatee. Marco lying flat on his back. covered in blood, the rush of fierce pleasure that washed over me-

I blinked hard. No, don't think about it. It was just a dream. Nothing special, it's not like I can predict the future with my dreams.

"Boris!" Marco called, addressing one of the second division guys. "Take us back to the Moby Dick!"

"Dahahahaha!" Red-Hair laughed. "That was brilliant, kid!"

"See, that's what I thought, too, but Marco doesn't think so so much." I said. We were sitting on the deck of the Moby, him sitting on the rail, me on an empty barrel. I liked talking to Red-Hair after a battle. He told way better war stories than the guys in the first division. Not that he got way more action than them, it was just that he could dramatize a battle without making it sound exaggerated.

Red-Hair blew a stray bang out of his eyes. "Ah, Marco's having a hard time looking past the fact that you're a kid."

"Hardly." I said. "By the way. I'm gonna be fourteen tomorrow. I'm not a kid."

Red-Hair snorted. "Sorry to break it to you, but to everyone else around here, you're a kid."

"That's still no excuse for Marco to treat me like every move I make is stupid. He knows me really well."

"Exactly." Red-Hair said. "Marco's time spent with you as a little kid is why he worries. He's just having a hard time remembering that you're a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Just give him time and understanding."

"So, I have to be the grown up." I said, trying to make sense out of that.

Red-Hair nodded. "Exactly. Just be the grown up and humour him. But the most important part is that you don't let him know that you're being the grown up in the situation."

I nodded. "Right!"

We sat in silence for a second, then Marco walked up to us. "Red-Hair." he said. "We're about to start the meeting. Would you be so kind as to join us?"

I frowned. What's up with him lately?

Red-Hair got up and stretched. "Coming." he said. "See ya, kid."

I put up my hand in a half-wave. "Bye." I sniffed the air. Evening. Late evening. And I hadn't had dinner yet. I was looking forward to Thatch's cooking. I mean, Thatch's cooking is very very good. I hopped off the barrel and made my way to the galley.

I pushed open the door to the galley, and stopped short. It was jam packed with wounded in there. There were people on the tables, and on the floor. I had to dance around them to get to the counter, where Thatch was , talking to Cynthia. "What's going on here?" I asked. "Are there seriously no more beds in sickbay?"

Cynthia nodded grimly. "Our injured number in the high four hundreds. Thatch was kind enough to offer us galley space. Kaido's forces have all but destroyed our own out on the borders. We lost four ships today."

"Meaning we've only got fourteen left, if you don't count our allies." Thatch pointed out. I don't know how many ships they have, but there's one thing I know for sure. They do have more than we do." He winked. "Though, you did take care of one of them, Zia."

I blushed a bit.

Cynthia turned and faced me. She stepped towards me. "Zia, show me your arm!" She sounded deadly serious.

I raised an eyebrow, but showed her my arm all the same.

"Your other arm."

I showed her my right arm. Cynthia started poking and prodding my arm. I winced every time. "Look at this!" Cynthia said, okay, more like growled through her teeth. "Covered in cuts and scratches! Why didn't you come for first aid at once?!"

I sighed. "I didn't even notice."

"Didn't even notice!" Cynthia said, imitating my voice. "What am I going to do with you? Do you realize that you could get yourself killed doing something like that?"

I closed my eyes and sighed, praying for patience. "Marco has pointed that out a few times within the past hour or so, yeah." I winced as Cynthia stuck a needle in my arm. "Oi!" I snapped. "What was that for?"

"It's an antibiotic." Cynthia said crisply. "It should kill any bad bacteria that got into your bloodstream during the two or three hours that you refused to come to sickbay."

I frowned. "Cynthia..." I said. "Can I ask a question?"

"Yes?" She sounded like she was gritting her teeth.

"Did you not call it 'Pathogenic Bacteria' because you didn't think I'd know the term, or did you just forget?"

Cynthia stood up abruptly, turned on her heels, and stalked off. She threw open the galley doors, stepped out, and slammed them behind her.

There was a moment of stunned silence, where I could feel everyone's eyes on me.

"Wow..." Thatch said. He sounded like he'd been dumbstruck. "I think you touched a nerve, Zia."

"What?" I said. "I was just saying. Bad bacteria? Seriously?"

Argh... What was going on?

The entire crew was going weird during this war.

I slumped against the rail, and pulled my knees to my chest. I leaned my head back so it was resting on the side. I couldn't curl up when I was angry. It felt like all the anger in my system just bubbled and boiled, looking for a way out it didn't have.

There was a whoosh of hot air above me, making my hair toss around. "Hey-ho."

"Marco." I said, not making eye contact.

"What're you doing here?" Marco said. I could hear the smirk in his voice. He nudged my head with his foot.

I just let my head flop against my shoulder. Oddly enough, when I'm really angry, I don't tense up in the neck. It's like all my neck muscles just say 'Okay, screw this', and just give up. "Marco, will you do me a favour?" I asked.

Marco raised an eyebrow. "What?" I could tell he was scanning the cuts on my arms.

"There's something I need to do, and I need to get up in the air to do it."

"I don't think this is a good idea!" Marco shouted over the wind. "You'll break your neck!"

"Oh, don't be such a mother hen!" I called. "I know what I'm doing... I think!"

"Oh, that's comforting!" Dripping with sarcasm. "Pops is expecting us in ten minutes!"

"It might take a little longer!" I said. "A little more to the left!"

It had been so long since Marco had agreed to let me ride on his back in the air. We were gliding above the ocean, with nothing around us but the clouds and the wind.

Marco grumbled something under his breath and banked.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It felt so nice up here. Nothing to tie me down. I felt almost free enough up here. Only one more thing to do. "I'm ready!" I shouted.

I could just barely hear Marco shout "You're sure about this?!" over the roar of the wind.

How high up are we now...? A thousand feet? No only nine hundred and three... That should do. I took one more deep breath. Then, I put my hands on Marco's back between his wings. Then I hauled myself up.

"I am gonna catch you!" Marco shouted.

"Don't bother!" I shouted. "I know what I'm doing! Trust me!"

"I hate it when you say that..." he grumbled. "You're being reckless again."

Before he could continue, I spread my arms, and let myself fall off Marco's back.

What a feeling! Nothing underneath me but the wind, pressing against my body like a many handed entity, trying its best to keep me up. I opened my mouth, but my laughter was pushed right back into my mouth by the wind.

I curled into a ball, doing a somersault, until I was falling head first. Then I twisted in midair again, so I was feet first. I kicked against the barrier of wind with Geppo.

Instantly, I wished I had reconsidered that little idea. There was a crack that I could hear through my very bones. My left ankle flared with pain.

Damn. Guess I could've used both feet.

It worked, though. I was rocketed back up in the air. I did this three or four more times, before crashing into the ocean.

At first, all I felt was a whirlwind of bubbles, then, a rush of cold. Finally, the wet feeling. Holding my breath, I opened my eyes.

I had landed in the middle of a bait ball of fish. It had scattered into two equal halves, the fish eyeing me warily. Beneath me, a shark was emitting some very annoyed energy.

Probably the most spectacular thing was the neptunian right beside me. It was quite taken aback at the small pink thing that rocketed into the water, disturbing its hunting.

I raised my hand and waved at the neptunian.

I needed air. So, I started kicking up to the surface.

When my head broke the surface, I barely had time to catch my breath before Marco's talons caught me under the armpits and hoisted me out of the water.

The wind pierced my skin like a thousand knives. At least, my feet. My upper half was warm and toasty.

Marco flew us top speed towards the Moby Dick. When we were about five feet above the deck, he dropped me.

I landed on my feet, and stumbled forward to get rid of the momentum.

Marco landed beside me. "Never do that again." he said. "I thought you'd been eaten by a neptunian."

I grinned. "Well, I wasn't." I sighed. "Thanks, Marco."

He relaxed a bit. "No problem. Just don't scare me like that again."

"I can't keep that promise." I joked, poking him in the ribs. When his expression didn't change, I frowned. "Hey." I said. "We will win this war. We'll be alright in the end."

Marco turned to face me. "You think I'm worried we won't?" he said. He sounded testy.

I shook my head. "I know you're worried. Don't. We have good allies. You know Red-Hair isn't a bad guy. He won't break his promise."

Marco sighed. "We might win this. But at what cost?"

"As much as it takes." I said. "Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"

Marco didn't answer me. At the sound of feet clicking across the deck towards us, he looked up. "What do you want, Benn?" he said.

I turned towards Beckman and waved.

He nodded to me, then turned to Marco. "Kaido's made a huge miscalculation. Whitebeard has called a council of all the division commanders. Immediately."

I felt a balloon of anticipation swell in my chest until it was hard to breathe. "What's happened?"

"You'll learn soon enough. Be patient." Beckman said.

I rolled my eyes. "Not again..." I groaned.

There was a flash of heat and I flew backwards. I felt a crack as I hit a tree trunk. Of course, as is inevitable with such crashes, a stab of pain soon followed.

Izo passed me by, both guns blazing. "You alright, Zia?" he called.

I flashed him the thumbs up. Don't lose concentration. I chided myself. This could be the battle that ends the war!

(flashback starts)

"Seriously?" I asked, cocking my head. "On one archipelago?"

Marco nodded. "Kaido's forces have grouped around the Yume Archipelago on the border between our two territories."

One of the larger guys I'd never spoken to much, but was sitting next to me spoke up. "So, Kaido's gotten bolder, then."

I frowned. "Marco, didn't you guys..."

Marco turned his head to me. "Yes, Zia?"

"Well, I don't think Kaido is that stupid." I said.

There was a moment of stunned silence. I felt everyone's gaze on me. Then people started muttering amongst themselves.

"Zia?" Marco finally asked. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." I said. It was pretty obvious. "I met Kaido, remember? He was always calculating an advantage. He knew exactly what would push Pops' buttons. He instigated this war almost flawlessly, and it's almost like no matter how many of his ships we destroy there're more of them. Don't you think it's a bit odd that he would just suddenly decide this?"

"Zia," Marco explained coolly, "We've taken that into account. We have spies everywhere that confirm this." He waited for me to contradict him again. I didn't, though. I may not like it, but contradicting Marco at this point would be bad for team morale, and that was the last thing we needed. I still felt we were gonna die, though.

"So," he continued. "Red-Hair's crew will be split up into sections, and team up with one of each of our divisions. So, there are four islands on the Yume Archipelago. Division teams are as follows: One, Four, Sixteen, and Two; Three, Five, Ten, and Fifteen; Eight, Seven, Six, and fourteen; and Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, and Nine. The four teams will split up and take on Kaido's forces stationed on and around each island. I am the go-to for the first group. If you have any concerns, now's the time to voice them! Clear!?"

I could sense an overall air of comprehension. But there was something more powerful than that sense. It was a cold dark pit in my stomach. Dread.

(flashback ends)

Things weren't going very well. Kaido's men are no joke at the best of times. Our injured outnumbered our battle ready. This fight had gone on for days already.

It's December thirty-first... I'm fourteen now. I thought sadly. This is way too long for a fight... Over a year.

I stumbled out of the forest onto the beach. It was a war zone too, of course. A bigger hot zone than in the thick of the woods. There's just one problem about the Yume Archipelago. They don't call it the "Dream Archipelago" for nothing. There's a weird mist that surrounds the islands that interferes with the senses. I had gotten turned around more than once in this place. One second I was on one of our warships, the next I was right in the middle of the forest, with no idea as to how I'd got there, and fighting for my life. This was what was wreaking havoc on our forces.

Marco was fighting alongside Thatch and Red-Hair near the shoreline. He seemed exhausted. Just like Thatch.

I fought my way towards them. "Marco!" I shouted. "This isn't going well! Something isn't right!"

Marco grit his teeth. "Zia, you don't think I could have figured that out by now?"

"Any word from Pops?" I asked. Pops was fighting with the Second group on the western island.

"Nothing." Marco said. "Whatever's on these islands, it's interfering with our communications."

"Zia, duck!" Red-Hair's voice just hit me out of the blue. I ducked just in time, apparently. I hadn't noticed one of Kaido's men surge towards me. I slipped under his strike and concentrated. I used my colour of arms haki, and struck him in the nose full force.

"You alright?"

I nodded. "I owe you one, Red-Hair." I said. Then, I froze. Something had just appeared out of the mist. Or maybe it had been there the whole time and I just couldn't sense it.

"Marco." I said. "what's that?"

Marco and Thatch both turned. "Impossible." he said. "It can't be. He never shows himself."

Then it hit me. That presence. That beastlike fury. "Kaido." I said.

The Beast King leapt from the bow of a ship, concealed for days. The beast's ambush was finally in swing. He landed right in front of me. "Well," he growled. "Look who it is..."

Marco pushed me back, hard. I went flying backward. "Stay back!" he shouted.

I was about to shout back, but time slowed. Or, was it just my perception of time.

Kaido struck while Marco had his back turned. One slash, right down his back. I heard Marco gasp, and, torturingly slowly, his knees buckled, and he fell. He landed in the sand with a soft 'thud'.

Then time snapped back to normal. Panic spread through my veins like ice.

"MARCO!" A wave of nausea washed over me. Then, something in my brain snapped. Then all my senses blacked out.

Annnnnd... To be continued! If you liked this chapter, or you didn't, drop a review! I'm over my writer's block, for this story anyway, and the next chapter will probably be out soon.

See you next time!