Thank you all so much for your nice reviews. I had a lot of fun writing the last chapter and I am glad you guys liked it/ it resonated with you. I feel like the only thing Ace really got wrong was just ditching out on Sabo and assuming he would be fine. Like, that was super mean, and he wouldn't have just up and left Luffy. He was just assuming that since Sabo spent so much time not remembering them, he could just go back to that. But as we saw in the main story, Sabo really didn't take the news all that well.
Wow, I can't believe this chapter came out three days after the last one just like I promised. No! Nobody go look to see if that is true. Take my word on it. I did it in Three days!
XXX
Ace was in front. He always put himself between them and the threat whenever he could. Luffy's tiny hands were clutching Sabo's shirt even as Sabo raised his staff.
It was never much of a battle. They were outnumbered, and overpowered, they had metal pipes and a crew of huge men had guns, swords, and knives. And they seemed to be targeting him. At first, Sabo didn't understand. Then he saw his father slink out from behind the men and everything fell into place.
This was never a fight. His father did not fight. His father 'leveraged' the situation. His father won every time, otherwise, he wouldn't bother playing.
His fate was sealed since the man had seen him.
And still, they never gave up. Ace and Luffy fight back with everything they had. And when it wasn't enough the man held them back at gunpoint. Ace screaming his head off for the guards not to touch them.
And when someone grabbed Luffy intent on ripping him away, he held on to Sabo's shirt. Tears already forming on his crybaby face along with so many bruises. Sabo tried to stop them, grabbing Luffy's hand as they tried to separate them. Acutely aware of all the weapons trained on them, someone grabbed him around the neck, trying to haul him away. But Luffy refused to let go, his little hands shaking.
Sabo knew it was pointless. He knew they would lose. He knew there was no point. They couldn't fight their way out. Not this time. But Luffy didn't know that. So, they held on to each other.
The two men had to pull them apart. Swearing in horror as Luffy's arms began to stretch.
"Christ! Their children, pull harder!" Sabo's father was screaming, fighting to be heard over the hoarse threats of Ace.
Sabo felt the world tip as the man hit Luffy. His grubby hands slipped in Sabos. The man holding him gave a vicious yank and they were ripped away from each other.
"You got to learn how to let go," his father told him later. "Somethings aren't worth holding on to."
XXX
Sabo was up and moving, hardly giving any thought to his ankle, even as the bone gave out underneath him when he put weight on it.
This- this- monster- complete and total demon of a human had destroyed it in their fight earlier. He was targeting Ace, always, always Ace. For the hundredth time, Sabo wondered how they were the bad guys. Sabo had left to help Marco in trying to hold back the rabid marine. Which they did, but only temporarily. The admiral had managed to catch hold of Sabo's ankle when he went to kick the man. Sabo had kept his foot thanks only to the haki that had coated it at the time. But it had still been badly crushed using the heat from the magma that bled from between his fingers to weaken it until it began to shatter throwing Sabo against the ground so hard his vision swam, and he heard something crack.
Sabo was broken from all the fighting, even before the hit. But laying there, against the rocks, feeling the pain of broken ribs grinding together, and the agony of a shattered bone in his ankle, trying to remember how to breathe as Marco fought on, Sabo had tilted his head back, to look for Ace. And he found him, but only him. Sabo couldn't feel Luffy. Maybe it was that his head had taken too many hits, or he had overused his haki, or maybe he just wasn't as strong as he thought.
-Or maybe he didn't feel anything because there was nothing to find. Maybe Luffy was just gone.
So distracted and lost in that moment, Sabo had laid there, at the base of the rocks, covered in blood, unaware of the rest of the world as the marine, Akainu (Sabo had read about him in the revolutionary's files), had ripped away from Marco and swept down to strike him again. Marco managed to block him, yelling at Sabo to go.
Usually, Sabo wouldn't have listened. It wasn't like him to abandon people in the middle of a fight- whether he was actively bleeding out or not. But he hardly heard the man as he pulled himself up, forcing his ankle to take his weight, crawling a couple of steps when it gave out again.
Like a fish at the end of its life, exhausted and ragged, returning to the stream it was reared in, Sabo collapsed next to Ace. Regretting having left them. Maybe if he had stayed, he could have done more, done something. But there was nothing to do. Sabo wasn't a doctor. He wasn't even much of a revolutionary anymore. He had given up his whole life to be a good big brother, and he might not even be that anymore.
He let Ace stop him from checking on Luffy. He let Ace pull him into his arms. Let Ace keep him there. He let Ace set him on fire. Hardly noticing until it was covering him. And even then, it took him a long moment to realize that it wasn't just him that couldn't feel anything. Ace wasn't imploding like a bomb. He was trying to protect them- all of them.
It felt like a dream, nothing felt real anymore like they had slid out of time. It might just be the concussion he no doubt had or the blood loss. It took him a long time, too long, to realize that Ace was burning himself out. And even longer to realize that he was doing it on purpose.
It had to be one of the largest, most intricate shows of powers Sabo had seen before. But at that moment, none of that mattered to him. Just like Luffy had done before him, he felt Ace begin to fade away.
Sabo tried to stop him. But if there was one thing he had learned from his childhood, it was that you couldn't force Ace to live. And Sabo begging him to stay had never been enough to keep him here.
Even as the marine admiral turned his attention to Ace once more, his brother refused to let him go. And for a split second, transfixed by the fire that seemed to spring up from the ground, flaring with Ace's own heartbeat, Sabo stayed there. Maybe he had lost too much blood, maybe he had blacked out for a second, or maybe he was just in shock. It wasn't until he saw the blood spill that the spell was broken.
He moved as one with Marco, pulling a shard of his broken pipe from his belt as he ducked down, stabbing it through Akainu's heavy boots. The metal glinting black from armament, now glossy with blood.
At the same moment Marco went high, wings around him he clawed at the man's head, forcing him back a step, pulled off balance by his impaled foot, pinning him to the spot. He nearly toppled, catching himself just in time to block Marco's counterstrike. Using his distraction Sabo lashed out, smashing his foot into the man's trapped leg.
Not fully processing what was happening, or anything, Sabo focused on letting the heat travel up his arm as his skin hardened. He lashed, his armored hand targeting the man's heart. Even against the two of them, the admiral wasn't an easy target.
The man moved fast, really fast for someone of his size. Black smoke rose from him as they tested his temper. The Admiral pulled his foot free with a jerking motion, the blood beginning to pool underneath his heel. He dodged Marco, catching Sabo's wrist as it came for him, and he yanked him closer.
Sabo's teeth sunk into his lip, trying to keep from crying out as he felt lava flow from the man's hand, spilling down his stone wrist and onto the unprotected skin underneath.
"You-," Akainu began. But that was as far as he got as Marco interrupted, talon-like claws slamming into the man's head and sending him stumbling back a ways. Blood dripped down the side of his face from long gashes in his temple.
It happened almost too quickly for Sabo's hazy mind to keep up with. He felt himself be wrenched back and heard Marco's voice. Probably scolding him. But Sabo didn't catch the words, too numb with shock. The second the man let go of him his ankle gave out and he crashed back to the ground, landing painfully on bruised knees.
Sabo's eyes met Marco's for a split second. Just long enough to see the shimmer in the corner of his eye, before the sense of violence peaked once more as the man came again and Marco turned to block him, blue flames rising up around him. He looked like some kind of guardian demon.
Marco was crying?
It didn't seem to fit with what Sabo knew of the man. -Ace
Forgetting the pain for the moment Sabo turned, crawling on his knees the couple of meters where his brothers lay, blood pooling around them.
Sabo forced himself to move, kneeling in front of them. His hands hovering desperately over Ace, scared to touch and unsure of what to do. Ace was a mess. The skin of his back was destroyed. Whitebeard's mark had been eviscerated, the surrounding skin burnt beyond recognition. The full extent of the injury was impossible to see through the blood.
The area was too large, too inflamed, too butchered. He didn't even begin to know how to stop the bleeding.
Sabo made a noise, partway between a sob, sinking his teeth into his lip to stop himself. He was going to cry? While his brother lay there dying…dead? He would just sit there and watch and cry? What was the point of him then? Why did he even bother finding them if he couldn't do anything for them? All this time and he was still as useful as someone else's chess pawn. Everything Sabo had been trying to stop had happened. And he had been Right there! If he had been better, stronger, Something! He could have helped them. He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand, only managing to smear the blood that was running freely down his face. He felt it stream down his temple, dripping into the spilled blood of his brothers. He remembered back when they were kids, holding Ace's hand as their blood ran together, watching the fear in Ace's eyes like he expected it to somehow poison Sabo.
It was so weird, that everyone was so obsessed over this. How dirty Luffy's and Ace's were supposed to be. How inhuman they were. And how 'pure' and 'chosen' Sabo's was.
And even with a world of differences between them, all blood was the same when it spilled onto the ground.
For the first time in his life, Sabo wished it wasn't true. He wished Ace's blood really was cursed, he wished it would poison anyone who spilled it. He wished it would sizzle and snap like cyanide. But it didn't, it just kept flowing.
There really was no place for them in this world.
Ace was lying on top of Luffy, shielding him from view.
"You're okay," Sabo promised Ace. "You're okay-, you're okay," his voice broke as he tried to untangle their hands. Ace's felt cold against Sabo's skin. Not as cold as Luffy's but…
"I'm sorry," Sabo told him, not really sure which horrible grievance he was apologizing for. Maybe it was pulling them apart when they had just wanted to stay together.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Hold on," Sabo kept repeating. As gently as he could he moved Ace off their little brother. Laying him on the ground so he could look over Luffy.
The bleeding had stopped at least. Ace had done that at some point when he decided to set everything on fire. He had been careful and gentle, slowly cauterizing the skin around the wound like had done for Sabo just hours ago.
But the burn was nearly unrecognizable now. Luffy's chest was an absolute mess. Even more so than it had been before. Just hurting Ace hadn't been enough for Akainu. Some of the magma that had destroyed Ace had spilled onto Luffy, pooling in the hollow of his sternum. Like they hadn't managed to hurt him enough already.
It would never be enough for them, would it? They would never be satisfied until they ripped them to pieces.
Enough already. Even if it didn't matter anymore… Sabo couldn't let them do any more harm. He still wanted to save them, take them far away from here. But his ankle was quite broken. And even if he wanted to, he didn't think he could anymore.
XXX
Jinbe held his ground, Oars at his side as they kept their promise. Holding off Doflamingo. Even though something about the warlord's smile disturbed Jinbe. As if he knew something they did not. As if the fight was already lost.
…
"Whatever happens, Portgas D. Ace cannot be allowed to escape. The blood of a criminal runs through his veins." Sengoku addressed the marines, although he knew his words would reach the warring pirates, and the revolutionaries beyond. Let them know the type of person they were helping. Let their own biases bleed into their decisions.
"He is the flesh and blood son of the late king of the pirates, Gol D. Rodger. If allowed to escape, he could try to continue his father's legacy, and lead about the destruction of the world."
He let the words seep into them, heard the outrage of the marines, the disbelief, saw the pirates slow, their anger turned to confusion. How quickly criminals would turn on themselves. They would eat each other alive if given the chance, their loyalty lasting as far as their own ambition.
Whitebeard was a fool for trying to find family in people like this. People who lived in the shadows and on the fringes of society. People like Rodger.
…
Thatch cried out in pain as Teach struck, the cold hopeless feeling of his powers familiar now. Besides him, his brothers bristle, their fury all but tangible. They hadn't wanted him to fight- not against Teach. But Marco had to save Luffy and… and the only place Thatch wanted to be right now was here, paying the man back for everything he had done.
He felt Jozu grab him around the arms, hauling him back. "Thatch stop, you're going to!-"
Teach saw his weakness, and as he always did exploited it, moving to strike. But before he got the change the air in front of them seemed to shimmer and crack, splintering apart between Thatch and Teach. Both of the men froze for a moment, and Thatch could see the sweat forming on the man's brow as he slowly turned his head.
Whitebeard was watching him, amber eyes fixed on Teach from across the field, staff raised to slice through reality itself.
His children backed up instinctually until only Teach remained, his form nearly engulfed by the shadow of his former captain.
…
Koala and Hack held off Aokiji, their entire division backing them as they did. Even with half an army, they were still fairing quite poorly against the man. The strength of an Admiral was a fearsome thing. Koala had lost sight of Sabo a while ago. Ever since he went off with… Fire fist Ace, and Marco the Phoenix. Two of Whitebeard's top commanders. He hadn't returned. Their alliance wasn't so flimsy that she thought the Whitebeard pirates were a bunch of backstabbing murderers. But… you had to be careful around pirates. And Sabo wasn't looking good. Not at all. Months after leaving without a word, and by the time he came back he was beaten half to hell. And now… it wasn't like him to disappear on them.
No, that wasn't true. It was exactly like him to ditch out whenever he felt like it. But this? Leaving his friends on their own to fight the largest threats the military had. No, something had happened to him. Something like…
…
"You'll lose everything if you do this," Sengoku said.
"Don't let go," Garp's voice was strained with anger and warning. "Or I'll kill him."
XXX
Marco was tired, far too tired. He felt his siblings in the fighting below. Knew that Whitebeard would be able to tell what was happening here. And sooner than later he would send them to come help. Even now he felt their sense of urgency grow.
But that thought did nothing to comfort his panic. Or the absolute pain in his chest. Beyond the marine admiral, he could see Sabo kneeling between his brothers. But Sabo wasn't Marco. There was only so much he could do for Ace.
And, with a flash of unbearable pain, Marco had to accept that- he himself wasn't much of anything right now either. Marco hadn't healed Luffy, and he wouldn't be able to help Ace. Not now, drained as he was, his phoenix fire was weak and sickly compared to its normal strength. For someone who had an immortal devil fruit, he felt pathetically human.
And as his attention turned away from his opponent, he saw the blood, Ace's blood… or most of it. There was so much of it. Too much.
In the split second of Marco's distraction, his guard was dropped.
Akainu struck without mercy. His fist lashed out, infused with haki and magma. Marco reacted instinctively veering to the side. Enough to redirect the blow meant for his heart into his shoulder instead. It didn't kill him, but it did hurt.
Quicker than he could cry out the man attacked again, sending magma oozing from his skin straight towards Marco. His phoenix fire acted instinctively rearing up to protect him. The reaction was explosive as Marco was flung back a distance.
He landed roughly on his back, the wind knocked out of him as he clutched his arm, bleeding profusely. The skin burned nearly black. The instant the blow hit his cells had already begun repairing themselves. Slowly and painfully stitching him back together with the efficiency and ease Marco just wasn't capable of when it came to healing others. Even still, when he tried to rise his legs gave out from underneath him and he fell back once more, feeling blood stain his shirt.
With a scoff the admiral turned his back to Marco, turning back to his true target. Marco screamed out in warning. But it wasn't the noise, but rather the intense aura of hatred and murder that caught Sabo's attention.
Even from his fuzzy vision, Marco saw the teenager turn, placing himself in front of the other two, just as Ace had done before him.
Determined to protect them. Even if it was the last thing he would do.
XXX
They were on the cliffs, close to the edge. Sabo could see the ocean below them, the waves furiously smashing against the rocky walls of the island.
Someone would come and help them. He wasn't alone. But even so, Sabo had never felt so alone in his entire life. And now, as he faced off against the smoke-breathing demon in front of him he knew he couldn't let him have them. Anything but that.
"You were a fool to go against justice," Akainu growled, a tide of fire rising up behind him. "And you will get what you deserve."
Worse than a fool- Sabo was a failure. Total and completely. And he had already gotten what he deserved.
He heard voices calling to him, heard Marco's pained calls. Any second they would arrive. But they didn't have a second, all they had was Sabo. And he was tired.
The three of us will have to become the freest pirates ever. And we will meet again on the big and open sea. Definitely Someday.
That promise he would keep.
As he had done so many times he steeled his hand, blocking out the rest of the world. The man was still talking. But Sabo didn't care what he had to say. Even as the magma swelled around them, threatening to engulf them.
He grabbed Luffy with his broken hand, keeping him close.
And as the wave of magma came down around them, and the voices reached them, Sabo brought down his own hand, sinking it deep into the ground, feeling the bones in his hand break. But the pain was distant.
Even in the darkness of the eerily glowing red that blocked out the sky, blue fire holding it back. The sounds of fighting carried over even as the stone splintered underneath his hand. For a second the world was still.
And then something gave, and the world shifted. Sabo's form was off, his hand was an absolute mess. He was pretty sure it was done for. But even still he forced it to move, forced the cracked bones to obey, for the muscles to move as he grabbed Ace's hand right as the cliff side gave way. Like the splintering of a glacier, there was a tremendous crack that shook the air, as the side of the stone cliff gave way. And then the solid stone beneath him gave way and he was falling.
Sabo closed his eyes, holding on to the two of them tightly. When they hit the water, he felt the air leave his mouth. It was cold as ever, and dark. The force of the waves threatened to tear his brothers away from him. But he held on to them tightly.
He could feel the slabs of stone crashing into the water, the force of their descent pulling him deeper even as Sabo tried to kick to the surface.
But his ankle was broken, and Ace and Luffy were dead weight in the water. Maybe if Sabo let them go he would be able to swim back to the surface. But he was never going to do that. There was no real plan, Sabo just couldn't let the government hurt them anymore. And… and his lungs were burning.
Unlike before, when they were kids, and his father caught them, Sabo wouldn't let anyone pull them apart this time.
And this time would end exactly the same as it had when he was ten. Sabo sinking below the surface. Sabo desperate for help. Sabo so full of anger for the world that treated people like less than human. Only this time he wouldn't hold his hand out for help. Because that would mean letting go.
And he wasn't going to let go of them, even as they dragged him to the bottom of the ocean.
One way or another Sabo would keep his promise. And on the open ocean- they would be free.
XXX
On the rocky shores of the hold, with the ship anchored in the harbor. A red-haired man stepped onto the ground greeting by the sounds of fighting.
XXX
Believe it or not, even though it doesn't seem like it. We did it, you guys. This is the last chapter of the war arc. Starting with chapter 74, the boys will be free and reunited. Everything won't instantly be fixed, but it will be better. If you count Luffy hiding underneath a bed as better. At the very least he will have Ace to crawl under there after him. I know there are still a lot of unanswered questions, and I kind of rushed through what everyone else was doing. But we have ASL fluffs to save. So I am going to take a page out of Oda's book, and jump around a little bit. It will make sense next time I promise. But until then! Luffy deserves happiness after everything!
So, I am kind of a bad person. Like a year and a half ago, the wonderful Aquarica sent me beautiful art for this story where Sabo is comforting Luffy and falls asleep on him (chapter 48). Like I am obsessed with it. I showed it to my mom, and my friends, and my roommate, and then my mom again. And I got their permission to use it as the story art. But at the time I was working on some story art of Luffy and Lizard that took place next chapter. So I figured I would hold off a second to share it until I finished coloring so I could show you all what Lizard looks like. And of course, me being me still haven't finished it. All this to say, I am so sorry Aquarica, if you are out there, I adore the artwork. I posted it as this story's art so you guys can check it out, and I will upload all the artwork I have of this story to the AO3 (same name, same author). And if anyone ever did even a quick sketch of this story and would be willing to share it with me. I will be thrilled, and it will most certainly be proudly presented to my parents.
So, some chapter notes: The scene that took place in Luffy's head where he asked Nika where his brothers are, and Nika took his hand and told him they were there. In the real world, Ace was holding it. And when Luffy's hand burst into flames, that was when Ace awakened his fruit and lit everything up.
Sengoku didn't reveal Luffy's heritage because 1) he figured he was already dead and there was no point. And 2) It just isn't a great look for the government. Even if he's Dragon's son they kidnapped and tortured a kid without a bounty for blackmail which resulted in a huge catastrophic war between the revolutionaries and the Whitebeards which was not going well for anyone. They can villainize Dragon a lot more if they gloss over the blackmail part and say that he attacked them completely unprovoked.
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eri1325 I won't kill Ace I promise. I will never get over him dying the first time.
Akuma no Hono: Aww, I'm sorry. I know this is the hill I will lie on. But next chapter things start to get fixed with the rescue and reunion, even if it's a bit sad. They're not dead! Just very sad bois.
Zahadacem: Oh no! I hate it when crazy far right men win stuff. Like seriously I am so sorry. When that happened in my country my dad all but lost his job, and his whole job is making sure ground water is safe for people to drink. I really hope you will be able to continue studying. The only way to fight crazy people with with free ducation for everyone!
Sorry to disappoint, but Luffy is down for the count for a little while. But he will be back up next chapter! Although not really as Nika. Although that would be awesome. (I looked it up after I said that, and I'm safe haha. I am not going to be the longest running fanfic, thanks to some very dedicated fans out there, so I can keep writing in piece for another fifty chapters at least before I start to worry again.)
I really hope everything is okay for you.
Mirai HitsugayaKurosaki: Thanks! I will have the next chapter out soon.
Firefiststrawhat: Wow, that was probably quie the marathon. It it makes any difference. I too though the rescue would be like 50 chapters ago. But the story kind of got away from me. Although I mean it when I say next chapter. I'm glad you still liked it though!
Magic Morgana: Things are getting kind of intense. But everything reached it's peak boiling point this time! Everything will start to lighten up a bit now. But that is so nice to hear. Wow, I am really glad you liked it. I am so happy people liked the chapter. It was near and dear to my heart.
iiMeshls: Hold on, a little longer and then you can kill me.
Merry Gallehl: Thanks :)
Eternal She-Wolf: Poor Ace, he's had a tough life. I am so happy to hear people liked the chapter. It was very sad (but also fun) to write. Ace is such an interesting character. I promise things are about to get a whole lot better. Hearing from you guys always makes the time I spend writing this story worth it : ) I would love to do some fanart of that scene, right now my drawing schedule is a bit booked, ( I am actually getting paid for once!) but I will add it to my list. Shanks is on it.
(Also I have never heard the word tenterhooks before and you and the next reviewer both used it! Is some kind of conspiracy a foot?)
Pause143: Aww, thanks for sharing. Last chapter was really special to me so I am so glad you enjoyed it. I think Ace turning rage into acceptance and finally understanding was what caused his real power to come out, like realizing fire wasn't the embodiment of rage rather love. And thank you for the compliments, aww, you guys are too nice to me.
Miqila: Ironically enough! That is Luffy's exact strategy starting next chapter. He will legit be under a bed until people start being nice to him. Which will also start next chapter.
Aimforthedogstar: Haha, I got you covered. I needed to tie back to Sabo's acceptance of ace by mixing their blood. But I like your idea more. It's really beautiful. Now they just need to show the world all their blood is the same. The world has officially run out of bad.
Wishfull-star: Yes, Luffy, and now all of the have a long recovery ahead of them now. Marco's not doing so hot. I hope you stay safe as well.
Moonlight38: Ace is alive! Just kind of burnt out. And thank you!
evelynromano0808: NO! They are all still alive.
AshRiver13: That is so sweet. I always love to hear people enjoying it. I am just sorry it's such a sad story. I hope things get better for you.