Chapter Five

That hit should not have knock Luffy out cold. Not even when the kid was 12 and rather pathetic. Ace kind of hoped it would knock some sense into the rubber brained idiot, but this proved his little brother really was in far worse shape than the fire man had thought.

Then again, Ace himself wasn't in the best shape. His entire body ached, a bone deep pain that radiated through his muscles. He swore even his hair hurt.

They never pulled him out for torture in prison. Too much risk when they wanted him for their execution, not information. But the guards worked him over every time they came to give him the daily sludge they called food. His stomach protested at the thought of eating. Ace felt like he could eat the entire pantry on the Moby Dick and at the same time he was fighting not to puke.

Being stuck in one position for weeks on end gave him a permanent crick in the neck. And the less said about his shoulders the better. His arms still tingled with that painful numbness which told him they still hadn't gotten used to a normal blood flow yet. But after being under Sea Stone for so long, having the cuffs off made a world of difference. Ace felt like he could take on the world with the energy boost being free gave him.

Of course, four Marines broke through the lines just as Ace handed his little brother over to the medics. In a way, it was good timing. Fire Fist needed to let off some of the anger boiling inside him. Too bad the Marines didn't last long.

A quick glance back showed the field medic had stripped off that ridiculous marine top and pants. Smirking, Ace wondered how the old geezer felt when he finally saw one of his grandsons in uniform. Thinking of Gramps was a lot better than dwelling on the sight of Luffy's bloody side and limp limbs. Then another marine broke through and the fire man focused back on the fight.

Three Marines down, pulling one of his Whitebeard brothers out from under a fatal strike, and one Vice-Admiral defeated later, Ace was in the thick of the fighting.

"It's good to see you so lively, son!" Stepping back from the body he just knocked out, Ace looked up. Pops was only a few paces away, a small calm from fighting surrounding the Emperor as his crewmates protected their father's back and the Marines regrouped in the front. Ace sent a thick wall of fire down that side, giving the Marines another hurdle to cross before they could attack the old man again.

With a barrier in place, Ace faced his captain and knelt. "Thank you so very much for everything!" Bowing to the ground, Ace yelled his gratitude in the politest manner Makino had taught him. With tears gathering in his eyes, Ace recalled just how much Edward Newgate had done for him - not just going to war for him. Nothing he could say would express just how much he was grateful to the only man he called Father.

"Ace. Have I been a good father?" Whitebeard's voice was soft but traveled over the battlefield with no difficulty.

Tears spilled down his face as he nodded, trying to answer through the lump in his throat. "The best!"

Cheers of agreement rose up around them. Ace glanced up at his captain, his heart warming at the gentle smile on his father's face. "That's all I could ask for," the living legend intoned.

"Whitebeard!" Ace leapt to his feet at the angry voice, watching as Admiral Akainu stepped through his fire barrier like it was a soft fabric curtain.

"Ace." His father's stern voice stopped him from taking more than a step in the Admiral's direction. Still, Fire Fist didn't let his gaze wander from the lava-man.

"Make sure that brother of yours makes it out of here." Whitebeard chuckled. "The cheeky brat's got spunk."

Ace knew a dismissal when he heard one. Finally taking his eyes off Akainu, the fire man protested. "Pops!"

Slamming his bisento into the ground Whitebeard yelled his command. "Men! It's time to go home!" Nothing more was said as the Emporer met Akainu's lava fist with a centralized quake.

Snarling, Ace pushed his fire wall out, disbursing it in a wide range attack. The would be reinforcements were knocked back, and several didn't move to get back up. He sent a thinner wall out to one side, forcing Marines to back off while the Whitebeard pirates retreated. Moving further into the front lines, the 2nd division commander focused on helping his brothers get away so he could ignore his father's battle. That's where he really wanted to be.

Most of the other commanders were doing the same as Fire Fist, even those engaging the Admirals. Ace watched Jozu slam the Ice Admiral away and dash towards the nearest cluster of Whitebeard pirates. Three jumped up as he swiped his arm around. With practiced ease, his brothers launched off Jozu's arm, retreating over the heads of several marine lines.

The third division commander turned back just in time to block another ice attack, deflecting the projectiles towards the Marines fighting the remaining two Whitebeard pirates. Pushing back against Aokiji, Jozu moved the battle away while Speedy Jiru appeared and used his spear as the next launching pad.

The Marines were ready for the overhead retreat this time and launched a barrage of weaponry at the two crewmates in the air. Ace burned clear the side closest to him while a jet of water drowned the other side.

"Ace!" A deep voice bellowed.

"Jinbei!" Seeing his friend appear earlier was a huge relief. Despite the Warlord's reassurances, Ace didn't quite believe the government would let the fishman leave Impel Down when this whole thing finished. "Got tired of waiting for the Marines to let you out, huh?"

"Your brother gave me a chance I could not pass by." Moving to cover Jinbei's flank, Fire Fist smiled. This is what he missed the most in prison: helping family and knowing they had your back too. "How is Luffy doing?"

Ace winced. He hadn't forgotten his brother, but the fire man did get distracted. "I left him with the field medics. He's exhausted and needed his side patched up but knowing Luffy he'll be fine once he wakes up and eats some meat." He chuckled at the thought of Luffy drooling over a huge plate of meat. Maybe they could catch a sea king just for him.

"He didn't tell you?" The Warlord's voice had an edge of panic Fire Fist didn't like.

"Tell me what?" Ace snapped.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Ace-san." Jinbei backtracked.

Knocking back another marine and spinning a fire blast around them for a breather, the fire man rounded on his friend. "Tell me what, Jinbei?" The fishman hesitated. "The purple-haired guy said something about an injection, but I didn't have time to get details. If you know something, I need you to tell me."

Jinbei replied with a water kick. Ace ducked under it and the attack took out the two Marines charging the 2nd Division Commander from behind. Then he set three other marines closing in on fire. Turning back to his friend, he watched The Son of the Sea send a tidal wave to wash a man away. It caught several others on its way out.

Still the fishman said nothing. Jinbei shifted from one foot to the other as the fire man stared him down. "Please." Ace finally plead. "If it's important, I need to know. So I can help Luffy."

With a sigh, Jinbei stated the tale. "I don't know everything, but while we were sailing, Ivankov said something." The Warlord explained what he knew as they fought their way back to where Ace last saw the medics. His little brother was on his last legs even before he left Impel Down. Ivankov gave Straw Hat something that let him ignore his wounds, but it would only last so long. When it wore off, Straw Hat would be out for the count for at least a week. Jinbei and the revolutionary lost track of Luffy when he was fighting Mihawk, and Ivankov had worried the hormones had worn off.

They both saw the boy rescue Ace and were shocked at the blast of Conqueror's haki. Ivankov believed that to be the end of the rookie pirate's strength. When Whitebeard revealed the hidden coated ship, both had used the chance to enter the courtyard. They rushed in, expecting Luffy to need a rescue himself, only to watch Straw Hat hold out against Akainu while carrying a comrade. Jinbei cleared the way and let Ivankov run ahead to help Luffy fight.

Jinbei hadn't seen the revolutionary again, but feared that if Luffy was down, the consequences must have caught up. While the injection allowed Straw Hat to ignore his wounds, they didn't disappear. All the pain would compound and hit harder when the hormones wore off.

All Ace could think was his brother really was a reckless, crazy, and foolish idiot. And Ace felt like the worse scum in the world because knowing how far Luffy went made him feel so happy he could burst.

Fighting was getting to be a bit more difficult with all these stupid tears getting in the way. But they just wouldn't stop. The tears just kept growing each time he passed another crewmate or ally and got a happy greeting or friendly "Glad to have you back!"

Another ship broke through the wall, Squardo standing tall on the deck, screaming his apologies while ordering his men to back up those withdrawing from the war. When he caught sight of Ace, Squardo's grin widened. "About time you started helping out. All of Whitebeard's sons are now here."

The fire man lost his fight with holding back his tears. Ace knew of Squardo's past. The allied pirate captain's hatred of Roger was legendary. If anyone in Whitebeard's crew or allies was going to have an issue with Ace's blood relations, Squardo was number one on Fire Fist's list. But his friend was telling him Whitebeard is the only father of Ace's that mattered. Nothing was going to keep these tears of happiness away.

"Whitebeard's down!"

Or not. That phrase cut through the tears easily. Fear jumped into his throat as he followed everyone's gaze and saw Pops down on one knee, a smoking crater in his chest. Akainu was fighting off three commanders as the rest of the battlefield froze a moment in disbelief.

Then the Marines rallied and the pirates who didn't recover fast enough were knocked back. Ace worked fast to save several around him from cowardly attacks while their attention was on the fallen Emperor.

Marco was still engaged with Kizaru. Jozu was half frozen as Izo and Vista fended off Aokiji. Haruta was running interference with a few allies to give Whitebeard time to recover. The Emperor was clutching his chest.

And the Red Dog was laughing. "Face it, Whitebeard. Your time is long past. You're nothing but a washed-up old man playing house."

Those words froze Ace. He forgot the retreat - forgot Luffy. The son of Edward Newgate could only see his pops, wounded and in pain, and hear his attacker's taunts.

Akainu knocked away the last commander. The admiral slowly advanced on Whitebeard. "Finally realized who you picked a fight with, eh? Running away like a mutt with its tail tuck is all a cowardly pirate crew like yours can do right now."

Fire flared between the two. "Take. That. Back."

Author's Note:

My daughter's class is stuck with online school for the next 10 days. She's autistic so I have to take time off to be on hand if she needs help and to keep her on track. Gave me extra time I didn't originally have to review this next chapter. Sucks for us but hope you guys like the perks of the school quarantine.

Reader Responses (1/28/2021 - AM):

frightener-boy – Thanks for the PM. You're right it wasn't a review, but you had some real good ideas there! I'm glad you took the time to share. I agree, it's hard to see Luffy recovering from Ace dying a second time. I don't think Jinbei would be enough to recover from that mental blow (maybe somehow sending him to one of his nakama – maybe Sanji on Iva's island). The challenge of making it work is what appeals to me.

The Goro Goro Fruit is also a really interesting idea I had never though of to replace Whitebeard's power Blackbeard steals. I'm not sure how to pull that off, but you gave me a new path to consider when I had just about written Whitebeard's rescue as a lost cause.

Guest 16 – "Couldn't stop reading" is really nice to hear. Thank you! Hope you enjoy the early release of this chapter.

Shion Lee – Luffy just going with the flow is what he does. It's actually going to be hard to figure out how to make him realize it's reality not a dream. Each time I write the scene I just see Luffy writing it all off as "Ah. It's a mystery dream." I forgot about the pain not being in dreams line of thinking. That might help. Thanks for the idea!

Mazzax Manacry – I laughed because I had already written this chapter where Ace had the same thought. He just needed a nap and some food! Leaving Ace's survival up to Ace is really tough. He's actually more reckless than Luffy I've decided. More aware of what is going around him? Sure. But Ace has no value on his life so he's willing to jump in, where as Luffy just jumps in believing he'll win and live to have more adventures. It's tricky!