Sengoku watched horrified as the body of Mugiwara no Luffy flew higher and higher, the beat of drums growing louder and louder. Manic laughter even louder than the drums, louder than the roaring downfall of Akainu's Meteor Volcano.

Pressure the likes Sengoku and Garp haven't felt since the downfall of Rocks, since the death of Roger slammed down upon them all with enough force that even they faltered. It screamed rage and fury, freedom, and joy but most of all, the one emotion that Sengoku could feel above all else and knew the true meaning of… liberation.

"ATTENTION ALL MARINES! EXTERMINATE MUGIWARA NO LUFFY AT ONCE! HE MUST NOT ESCAPE!" Sengoku roared over the DenDen, ignoring the sharp inhale from Garp and the panicked scream of Fire Fist.

Ace struggled against the sea stone cuffs at the announcement, he could feel them dig sharp into his wrist, tearing at the skin and causing blood to drip down upon the scaffolding. Yet, it was something he didn't care about, not when his eyes were locked on the spot his brother's body was floating – falling or was it rising – in the air.

Laughter was loud over the battlefield, Haki rippling out of him in supreme colours it crackled like fire to Ace's ears and reminded him of late winter nights by the fire with his brother curled up within his arms… could taste the freedom on his tongue like the sea salt that wafted up when they screamed their dreams to the sea… but most of all, he could feel that rage, that slow simmering boil that Luffy rarely showed.

Tears pooled in his eyes as he slumped forward, head pressing into the rough surface of the platform and prayed to gods he had never believed in for this to be a nightmare, that his baby brother didn't risk his life for his wretched self.

Whitebeard watched with wide eyes, the same wide eyes that reflected on all his son's faces as they caught sight of Luffy in the sky, his form desaturating, steam rising around as his Haki flared bright and strong… stronger than before, stronger than his claimed father and Newgate could admit that it was stronger than his own in his prime and that of Rocks.

But he knew, the moment he watched the Haki crackle out like a sun flare, watched this brat burn bright like a collapsing star. Demonic in the best of ways, he was the only one who could stare directly into those glowing red eyes and not flinch. Though deep down he would admit that they were unsettling, could see through to the soul…

His laugh boomed across the stilled battlefield, joining with that of Straw Hat Luffy's because what else could he do? How else could he celebrate the fact that his oldest friend and his stolen son's prophecy is coming true.

Joyboy is finally here…

Pirates abound couldn't help but tremble in fear at the sight and rejoice in the liberating feeling of joy washed over them.

Though the silence didn't last for long, the laughter though stayed as the roar of falling magma fists rained down upon them.

Whitebeard's power rippled as he raised Murakumogiri ready to defend his sons, the familiar cracking of his devil fruit loud in his ears to accompany the drums of liberation. He watched with bated breath as the child dropped from the sky like a meteor towards the sea, he took a running leap when he realised that he was closest, hand coming up to catch the falling god – a child he is but a mere child – only to miss him by a breadth.

Luffy laughed and laughed as he hit the ground, body twisting and impacting the ice and sea, feeling it give under his feet. His hands yanked the ground up and up and up till it was high enough for him to use. He watched with glee as the fists of lava caught in his blanket of ice and sea, laughed uproariously as he flicked his wrist, the earth snapping and sending the meteors back into the sky until they were a twinkle.

He could feel eyes on him, could hear the voices of those all around him but he didn't care, he was having too much fun, and his brother was still in chains. Still imprisoned when his soul screamed for freedom, for liberation.

Don-do-to-to… Don-do-to-to… Don-do-to-to…

Hazy images of his memories from the first time around flickered across his mind's eye. The walls, the screams of Ace's crew dying as the ice melted and their ship burned but mainly it was the cannons that sat on top of the walls.

"ACE I'M COMING JUST HOLD ON!" He screamed with all his might, laughter bubbling up the words.

The laughter never stopped, he couldn't stop, because if he stopped laughing then all he would do was scream and scream and scream. He would tear this land apart with his voice alone and everything and one with it. A Monkey Rage was not needed here, not yet… not till he knew his brother was safe.

"Giant-Ossan! The walls have canons, so I need you to throw me with your power okay!?" He giggled as he bounced and twisted towards Ace's captain. He had years to master his devil fruit, to master Gear 5 but this body was younger, the limbs awkward and he giggled loudly when his head twisted around too many times than he intended or when he had to flip again to right himself.

Newgate didn't hesitate, holding out Murakumogiri for the child to hop on and he pushed his power down into the blade along with his conquers, watched as it vibrated and skittered with his sparks. A grin pulled at his own lips, laugh booming louder and louder as he heard his son scream in terror and denial as he swung.

"WOOOOOO!" Luffy screamed with glee as his hands grasped around the Haki, around the ripple of air the Gura Gura no Mi.

Yes. Yes. Fly free. Save. Protect. Break. LIBERATE! The fruit within the giant-ossan's swing was loud and gleeful and Luffy twisted, spinning, and spinning as he gathered the force of it around him like a cloak and flung it out like a whip. The cannons exploded on the wall, marines flying back with terrified screams as he kept spinning and spinning towards them till he was near the walls.

They were in his way, in the way of those who wished to save his brother and that would not do. That wasn't fair, it wasn't fun.

Teeth pierced through the flesh of his thumbs as Luffy bit down, blowing loudly to expand the bones in his arms and hands. He laughed over the sound of a balloon inflating; he blew and blew until his hands were large enough and coated them with his strongest Armament and they pulsed with Ryou.

Clicks and the ticks of gears could be heard as Luffy wound up his arm, pulling it in and in till it took all his will to keep them wound back. A grin pulled at his lips, wider than his face as he let his fists free. "GOMU GOMU NO KING KONG GATLING!"

His power receded from the walls, his fists hitting them with loud rattling clangs as they dinted and bent inwards till they began to crumble under the repeated strikes. It was only three of them, two on each side of the fallen giant and the one beside the left one. It was enough to allow the pirates through, enough to join the plaza.

Already the tides have changed.

Already he had a better chance of saving his brother.

Laughter escaped his lips once more as he landed before the two remaining admirals, grin wide and smoke drifting around him. Aokiji's eyes were wide, and he staggered back a step at the look in the teen's eyes, manic and unsettling… glowing a bloody red… while Akainu gritted his teeth and let his magma flow free.

"Son of Dragon, I will end you here." Akainu snarled, anger igniting to a boiling rage as the child laughed further.

Luffy covered his face as he laughed, falling back, and letting the ground catch him softly as he kicked his feet up amused. Marines jerked back as they watched Akainu slam a magma fist towards Straw Hat, his eyes bugging out of his head like a cartoon, his body twisting in ways a body shouldn't to avoid the blow.

"Too slow!" Luffy giggled as he twisted and flipped till he was standing once again. "My turn!"

He grabbed the ground and pulled, and pulled till it was stretched in his hands and flicked like one would a blanket, watching as Akainu gets hurled up into the sky with spasming uncontrolled limbs with a shout. He didn't flick him up far, only enough to dash forward towards Ace.

It was then he noticed Aokiji had been flung too, right into Pineapple's path. Oops.

"ACE!" He yelled, stretching, and bouncing his way up the platform. "I found you!"

"Luffy!" Garp yelled as he stood and moved to stop his youngest grandson, heart hammering in his chest at the view before him. Eyes locked on the faded scar across Luffy's chest and wondered when, how… it looked old, but he knew it was not. "Stop this at once Pirate!"

Rage unlike anything filtered through Luffy, gear 5 immediately slipping away, the grin and laughter abruptly stopping as he glared darkly at his grandfather. He had only seen Garp once after Marineford, once on the Grand Line at Ace's grave when he finally became king and… and it ended in screaming and him disavowing his blood.

"Move," The word dripped with acid and washed with Conquerors shocking Ace and Garp, his head snapped around to face Sengoku who charged forward, stilling him. "Don't. I am already in trouble with Law as it is, he will be even more furious if I harm his grandfather."

Exhaustion crept up as Sengoku ignored him anyway, form changing and growing into his Budda form. A being of light, a thing that was under his domain. He tapped his chest in rhythm, urging his heart to beat Liberation once again, laughter spilling from his lips as they grew wide into a grin.

"I warned you!" He giggled as he twisted and twisted till he was wound tight and let himself spin free towards the half-transformed Sengoku. Fingers grasped the golden hue and pulled, stretching the body of the fleet admiral further, bending and twisting till he made a weird origami shape and tossed him off the scaffold.

Head ducking right to avoid the fist of his grandfather, sending an elbow back and meeting flesh, giggling wild as it pushed the skin and everything further back than supposed to. Luffy knew it caused extreme distress when people saw their bodies indented in ways it shouldn't giving him the advantage.

"Should have listened!" He giggled still, ducking under another fist. "Should have moved!"

"I'm a marine! What Marine would I be if I listened to the whims of a pirate!" Garp yelled back, shuddering as he felt the indent Luffy left snap back into place like rubber. "If you want me to move then you fight me! You fight me now or Ace dies, is that what you want?"

The smile widens and widens till his eyes squint close. "I'll save him either way!"

"You're a pirate Luffy! From here on out I will consider you, my enemy!" Garp snarled and bent his legs, preparing to fight.

Haki burst out of Luffy like a wave, sending those around the scaffold to stagger, to drop. Garp gritted his teeth as he tried to push through it but, even he couldn't hide the way his legs trembled and threatened to buckle. The clack of sandaled feet was all that could be heard between the three conscious people who were there as Luffy walked forward.

The metal dipped with each step, limbs moving gangly as if they were too big for the body, eyes glowing red and a sharp grin, the white faded to grey and in its place stood something out of Ace's nightmares and Garp's darkest memories. Luffy looked like Dragon the night he rampaged after the death of his wife, he looked like the demons that Ace dreamt his father and he used to be… Luffy still but old eyes in a youthful face, framed by wisps of white that scream unforeseen horrors.

"You stood in my way once and Ace died and with it so did my love and care for you," Luffy spoke in a bland whisper. "Once you may have let me pass easily but still chose them over us. Now I'm not giving you a choice because I know it is always going to be them. Dragon was right, you will never change."

Arms swung back and snapped forward with a speed Garp wasn't expecting, faster than his observation Haki could see and he flew back slamming through brick, wood and stone till he collided with the very far edge of Marineford and dipping into the sea. He dragged himself to the shore as unconsciousness threatened to take him, little stars floating around his head. The last thing he thought of as he succumbed was the throbbing pain and the heartbroken pride of how strong Luffy had become.

"Ace! Three! Time to go!" Luffy exclaimed as he dashed towards his brother, pulling the key Hancock gave him still intact and unlocked his brother's cuffs.

Ace shot up and pulled his little brother into a hug, hands roaming Luffy's torso and noting every nick and bump. His heart ached, body trembling as he thought of all the wounds his brother had received because of him, what horrors he had to have faced… A yelp escaped his lips as Luffy smacked him hard up the back of his head.

"Ace is thinking too much," Luffy scowled and frowned further as he felt the familiar pull of exhaustion pull at his skin, sagging it. He had used Gear 5 too much, too many in a row and Luffy could only transform once more without a serious risk to his health but… his eyes cut to Ace again… it would be worth it.

"Luffy I'm not… I don't…" Ace choked out, eyes watering before he jerked forward as he watched his little brother stagger, the one who was named Mister 3 doing the exact same.

Luffy shook his head and willed himself to stand and keep going. "We need to move, now. I can sense Dad and Torao and they're angry… Akainu is nearly upon us… Blackbeard is nearly here, and we can't risk the old man…"

Alarm shot through Ace at the slurred words, hands gripping Luffy tight with each uttered sentence. The only thing he felt relief about was that Shanks was almost here, that with him here things would be alright because if there was one thing Ace knew about Shanks was that he loved Luffy… and he would burn the world down around everyone if something were to happen. He'll have time to think about everything else that his brother has said later and how he knew… when they're all safe.

He grasped the other man, the one his brother called Three and pushed them all off the platform, his fire igniting around them as they plummeted towards the earth.

He could hear the cheers of his ship brothers, and the booming laugh of his Pops and couldn't help but tear up at it all, couldn't help but let the heat bloom in his chest at everything. Maybe, maybe I do deserve to live… to be loved…

"Let's split up for a moment! Stay alert!" Ace stated as he tossed Luffy and three back, eyes on the marines that waited for them at the bottom of the execution platform. He let his physical body go and his flames rose, body twisting. "FLAME COMANDMENT! FIRE PILLER!"

The roar of the fire was loud as it slammed into the ground, muffling the laughter of Luffy and screams of the Marines as it swept over them and blasting them away with scorching heat. The pirates yelled in victory as they watched their brother, his fire washing over those close enough harmlessly, their cheers growing louder still when the blaze died down to reveal Ace and Luffy in a fighting stance… free.

"Are you alright otōto, can you still fight?" Ace asked, eyes still locked on the marines coming in but ears straining to catch the raspy breaths of his little brother.

Luffy grinned wide, hair still wisping white. "Of course, Nii-chan…"

"CAPTAIN!" Jinbe's voice stretched over the din, catching Luffy's attention briefly.

"You have some explaining to do when this is over little brother… but thank you… thank you for coming for me…" Ace stated softly, risking a glance over his shoulder where his brother guarded his back. Always guarding his back like Ace always guarded his… like Sabo always guarded theirs.

Luffy spun, body twisting and catching every bullet sent their way that was shot at him and through Ace's logia body and sent them all back with a twang, his eyes blazing as he stared at his brother. "I will always come for you Ace; you're my big brother and I love you. Now. Let's show these Marines why we were called the Demons of Mount Corvo."

A wide feral D grin spread across Ace's face, an idea forming in his mind. "Hey Lu? That move you did before, like mine. What do you say we combine it, see who's is stronger."

"Three, go find Uncle Buggy, you don't want to be here for this!" Luffy giggled as he began to bounce, the beat of his heart growing louder and louder. He watched as Mister Three ran with the rest of the Pirates that heard them, retreating towards the Moby Dick and Pops.

Luffy threw his arm back, armament coating his skin and blood pumping hot in his veins as Ace prepared his own attack. The ground grew rubbery under their feet as Luffy began to bounce, sending both higher and higher. Ace rolled with the movement, adapting to the weirdness of his brothers' abilities like always and grinned menacingly side by side with Luffy.

"FIRE FIST"

"RED HAWK!"

The attacks flared forward, Luffy twisting his arm around Ace's attack like a corkscrew and letting his fire intermingle with his brother's fire. The attack roared and hissed, a hawk swirling around a snarling beast as it tore through the marines with ease and extreme prejudice.

The brothers were an unstoppable duo, Ace flickering and burning like his very fire as he spun, wove, and ducked under each attack his brother sent. Light bubbly laughter mingled with Aces' deep crackle, it sent chills down the spines of all who watched them play… because that's what it looked like, what it felt like. The D brothers were toying with everyone in their path to freedom.

Aokiji stepped in their path and Luffy cast his brother a look, eyes flickering around as his memories began to click back into place. It wasn't much longer after this that everything started to go downhill, wasn't long till Akainu taunted his brother and in doing so led to his death.

"Let me handle this, Lu," Ace stated, hand coming up to hold his brother back as he distractedly kept going, his eyes never leaving the Ice Logia.

Luffy threw out his observation wider, over the entire island and beyond to it's very limits. He could see Akainu near the old man, Pineapple with him but breaking off and headed towards them. His Uncle fighting with Crocy against Mihawk still… His dad and husband are only thirty minutes away and counting. He could feel Sengoku still recovering from his Origami attack and faintly hear the orders issued on the wind.

Protective panic welled within, eyes snapping from face to face as Ace and Aokiji fought.

He could feel the tock ticking away in his head like a bad omen.

More commanders of Whitebeard joined the fray with Ace, time was running out and Luffy was done, he was done with all of this. His heartbeat grew louder still, his anger bubbling under the surface and he wasn't going to waste a single second more. Legs wound and spun, faster and faster as he kept his body still to gain speed and momentum before finally letting them touch the ground.

The earth below winding up from the force as he shot forward, Haki-coated hand grabbing Ace as he passed and shot through everything on his way to safety. He could sense the commanders and pirates following, could see and hear Whitebeard and Pineapple following, the old man taking some damage but not as bad as before.

Loud booming laughter and the shatter of glass echoed in Luffy's ears as he felt Whitebeards Haki and Fruit crackle in the air, splitting Marineford. It wasn't enough, not to Luffy, if he had his way this island of his nightmares would be sunk to the bottom of the sea like he did with the Red Line and Mary Geoise.

Magma crackled as it blocked their path, but Luffy pulled his brother close and sprung over it, laughing all the while as Ace's eyes popped out of his head and snapped back like a reel. Hope blooming that what was to be said wouldn't be heard over it.

"Captain, we need to hurry!" Jinbe roared as he jumped through the cloying smoke to their side, hands clenching down on Ace's and Luffy's shoulders and pulled them forward. He too remembered what happened next and he didn't want to go through that again, didn't want to watch Sunshine incarnate breakdown and drop so low into a depressive episode that he would devastate an island…

He didn't want to watch his captain march off on another mission knowing the ending was his death.

"Whitebeard is a washed-up failure… no wonder his crew are a bunch of cowards, so much like their captain." Akainu taunted, his voice snapping out and catching Ace's ears.

His body erupted into flames, and he turned to face the admiral, fury vibrating under his skin and Luffy felt his world tip once more, ears ringing, heart beating deafening in his ears as his mind flashed back to the first time this happened. The world slowed as Ace began to charge, voices calling for him to leave it, could feel Jinbe leap towards his brother as Akainu raised his magma fist eyes flicking to Luffy and well… He knew what was about to happen and Luffy…

Luffy.

Just.

Snapped.

He won't lose another brother, not again, not ever.

Author Note: *Grumbles* so much for finishing this story on CH 5... now I need to write another SOMEONE STOP ME!