Chapter Six
Luffy was not happy right now. First, he got a nightmare of Marineford just as he made it back to the Thousand Sunny. Next, he had to fight his way to Ace with a really weird body that moved and reacted all wrong. Then he still didn't make it out with Ace before being knocked out, by his own brother!
Now he was waking up, still in his nightmare. He hadn't opened his eyes it yet, but the feel of ice beneath him, the smells in the air, and the sounds of battle couldn't be anything else but Marineford's war. How could you wake up when you were dreaming? This was the second time he started consciousness with the battle around him. Was this the same dream or a new nightmare?
Blinking open his eyes, Luffy saw purple. "Iva?" the boy captain croaked.
"Straw Hat Boy!" Iva's face come into view quickly changing from happy to angry. "You voolish boy! Vighting an admiral in your condition. You could have been killed! How could ve vace Dragon again?"
Iva gave him no chance to answer, looking away as the Queen continued to run with Luffy in his arms. "Even iv you rescued your brother, you shortened our livespan vhen you vanished while vighting Mihawk! Ve thought you gone vor good. Vell, ve von't have to vorry about that again. My hormone injection has vorn off, and that vound in your side cannot be stretched vithout all the stitches tearing. There vill be no more vighting vor you today."
Luffy let the words wash over him, not really paying attention while he continued to wake up more. Luffy decided what ever Iva said, it didn't matter. This must be a mystery dream. Or nightmare. Mystery something. He'd ask Robin about it later.
If the nightmare was still going, then where was his brother? Weakly, Luffy reached up and grabbed Iva's shoulder, catching his attention mid-rant. "Ace-" Luffy chocked on a cough. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Where's Ace?" He demanded in a stronger voice.
"Do not vorry about Ace-boy. He's vighting vor his crew mates and doing just vine," Ivankov replied with a softer voice. Idly, the drag queen dodged another marine, sending a death wink towards a group that was getting too close. "Whitebeard has ordered a retreat and ve are heading to the ships with the other vounded."
A flash of light nearby caught Luffy's attention. The blue fire bird was still fighting the old light guy Admiral. The Straw Hat captain couldn't see more of the battle with Iva blocking most of his view.
If Ace was fighting, he'd be near the front lines. His big brother could never run away from a fight when his precious people were in trouble. Luffy frowned. The Revolutionary was headed towards the wall, but the rubber man couldn't leave without Ace.
"Stop." Luffy growled, lacing a bit of Conqueror's haki in the command. Iva slowed down but didn't stop. "I said, Stop." He added more haki and grunted when Ivankov suddenly obeyed.
Halfway hanging from Iva's frozen arms, Luffy noticed several pirates and Marines fall down nearby. He might have overdone it a little.
"Oi! Iva! Put me down!" He called up to his friend, not able to see Ivankov's face. The drag queen knelt and gently put Luffy on the ground.
"Straw hat-boy. Do you know what you've just done?" Iva said with a wavering voice.
Struggling to stand up, Luffy just grunted. His friend took that as a yes. "How- When-" The Revolutionary didn't get to finish as a huge explosion happened nearby. Part of the wall collapsed inward as a ship was shoved through, creating a new opening of escape from the Marineford bay.
The explosion didn't bother the rubber man much, nor did the few pieces of wall that bounced off him. He did have to hold on to Iva's arm to keep standing. Before the dust cleared enough to see the battlefield, an anxious call went out.
"Whitebeard's down!"
Gritting his teeth, Luffy started his way back to the battle. If the old man was hurt, Ace would never get out of here. He staggard. His legs shook with each step. It felt like his whole body was weighed down, just like when he fell in the ocean. The zapping weakness of sea water was missing, but the trembling in his limbs warned the pirate captain he didn't have much strength left. This was stupid. Had he taken 3 or 4 steps?
"Iva." Luffy hadn't been listening to his friend's current rant. Ivankov kind of sounded like Chopper when he was worried. But Luffy's quiet voice cut through it and silenced the Revolutionary. "I need another shot."
Luffy managed two more steps before his friend exploded. "Vat! Absolutely not! The last von could have killed you. The next von surely vill."
"I won't die." Luffy stated calmly, not letting the Revolutionary start another long rant. His quiet conviction made the Queen hesitate, but the purple-haired man still shook his head.
"No, Straw Hat-boy. Ve won't risk it." The determination in the hormone-man's eyes was firm.
Fire flared in front of them, bright enough to make Luffy squint even as far away as he was. "Ace." The rubber man picked up his paced. From a slow stagger to a normal one.
Through the clearing fog, a ring of fire could be seen. Whitebeard knelt, clutching his chest, just outside the ring.
Inside the ring, Ace was fighting Akainu.
There was no time to argue with Iva. Ace needed him.
Luffy stopped staggering. He ran, dodging the swipe of Ivankov's hands when his friend tried to hold him back. The shot wasn't supposed to heal him, right? Iva had made a big deal about how it just helped him ignore the pain his body was feeling. Luffy knew he had fought after a second shot last time. That meant his body could move this time too. He just had to focus.
Ace was knocked down and the ring of fire shrunk. But Akainu wasn't looking at Ace. The Red Dog was looking at Ace's captain. Deja vu. Except Whitebeard was where Luffy was last time. Luffy knew what came next.
"Gear, Second." The rubber man pumped both his arms for a quick activation. He put twice the power in his legs as he normally would to cover this distance. A slow, strange, and broken body would not stop him. Not this time.
The next few seconds slowed down as Luffy watched Akainu move towards Whitebeard. Ace jerked and then started sprinting after the Admiral. Coating his arm, from the elbow down, in armament haki, Luffy stretched it back the way he came.
Luffy closed the gap before Ace caught up to the lava man. Akainu was just beyond the halfway mark between Whitebeard and the start of the deadly race. Luffy didn't yell the attack name, just shouted in anger. His muscles screamed and pain burned throughout his body.
The slight turn the Admiral made when he heard Luffy's shout was perfect. The Red Hawk attack landed right in Akainu's gut. The lava man flew out of Ace's smoldering ring of fire, Luffy's fist pushing him as far away as possible.
The Straw Hat captain landed on his feet hard. He stumbled when his arm snapped back into place. It took all his will power to stay standing.
"Luffy!" Ace sound part mad, part happy, and part disbelieving.
"Shishishi." His laughter cut off as he choked on a cough that needed to happen but stuck in his chest. Grimacing, Luffy forced the over tight chest muscles to relax enough so he could cough. It took longer than he thought it should but having to bat Ace's arms away when his brother tried to grab him made it harder.
The fire man was panicking already, but it just got worse when Luffy hacked up a large glob of blood when the cough finally came. By the time he could talk again, Iva had caught up and Ace's fire circle was only a tall wall between them and the Marines. His big brother was arguing with the Revolutionary. Luffy couldn't make out the words between Ace's frantic voice and the dull ringing in his ears.
Not caring to get involved with that fight, Luffy looked around and noticed Whitebeard was on his feet again. The old man probably could have handled Akainu's attack just fine. Aokiji was getting closer, but three Whitebeard's were holding him back. The blue firebird guy was fighting the light old guy. Akainu was nowhere to be seen.
"Oi." Luffy's voice went unheard by his brother and friend. "Oi!" Still no response. Not wanting to move until needed to, Luffy glared at the two and pulsed his Conqueror's haki very carefully at just them. Both froze midargument and slowly turned to look at him. "Shouldn't we get going before lava-face gets back?"
They still didn't do more than look at him. Sighing, Luffy grit his teeth and forced his arms to stretch towards the railing of the boat that recently crashed through the wall. It took a second for Ace to register the arm stretching on either side of him, but it was already too late. His big brother started to protest and Luffy had to hold back another laugh. Then he rocketed them towards their escape. Smiling widely, Luffy happily listened to Iva and Ace yell at him instead of about him.
Then something slammed into him and sent them all crashing to the ice-covered ground. Ace blocked the next attack from the light old guy, but Luffy barely paid attention due to the blinding pain radiating from his side. Light old guy had pierced straight through the same spot Aokiji's ice lance did.
Ignoring the fight, Luffy focused on sitting up. Iva started to push him back down, but Luffy grabbed a wrist. Looking his friend straight I'm the eye, the pirate captain tried to convey how serious he was. "Don't stop me. Even if I don't have one of your shots to help, I won't let Ace die."
Luffy stood. Ace was keeping the Admiral's attention, but Luffy didn't think he could keep up for long. Based on the lack of taunts and the frustration showing on Ace's face, his brother thought the same. Wasn't the firebird guy fighting this Admiral?
Stretching his neck up, Luffy searched for the blue flames. Nothing. What did he look like when he wasn't a bird? Oh yeah! The rubber-man looked for a blonde pineapple shaped head. In only took a few moments when Luffy spotted the first commander.
He had to take a few steps to stay standing when his head recoiled back to his body. The firebird man wasn't far, but he had a sea-stone cuff on his arm. "Iva!" The revolutionary hadn't moved from where Luffy told Ivankov to stay out of his way. The purple-haired man shook his head like a dog when Straw Hat called his name. His friends were all a little strange, but that's what made them so great.
"Where's Candle-Head?" The question seemed so random it took a moment for Ivankov to answer.
"I haven't seen the candle-boy since ve landed. Vasn't he with the clown-boy?"
"Ah." Luffy confirmed. "But he helped me free Ace. Akainu got his arm, so the Whitebeard's took him to get help. Can you find him? We need him to make a key for Old Man Pineapple."
"Who?"
"Old Man Pineapple. The firebird man. He can fight the light old guy, but he's stuck in sea-stone over there," Luffy pointed. "Candle-Head can make a key for it. Can you find him?"
"He vill likely be with the medics. Ve vill be able to find him at the same place ve can get your side stitched up again."
"Great." Luffy only heard that Iva knew where the wax-man was. "I'll help Ace while you get Candle-Head." Luffy started forward but was stopped by Ivankov grabbing his arm.
"Straw Hat-boy! Do you not realize you cannot vin against Kizaru in your current condition? Ve are amazed you can move at all! Fighting an Admiral vill get you and your brother killed!"
"I won't die." Luffy repeated with total conviction. After all, how can you die when it's just another nightmare? "But I'd rather die than to lose Ace again! I won't let a stupid thing like my body to stop me from saving Ace."
He glared at Iva making sure his friend knew not to get in the way again. How could he save Ace if his friends kept distracting him for stupid stuff?
"Very vell. If you are so determined to get yourself killed, let it be on your head." The drag queen scowled but didn't let go of his wrist. The Revolutionary's free hand raised up, the purple glove bulging and the fingertips turning into needle sharp points. "Hormone shot!"
Luffy had little time to brace himself as the shots slammed into his good side. It took less than a second for Iva's shot, and only half a second more before the pain raced through his veins. Straw Hat's body went stiff as he screamed.
Author's Note:
A bit slower pace, but I couldn't figure out how to get through this without slowing it a bit. Vital, but not as interesting as past chapters in my own opinion. I'll try and get the next chapter out later this week.
Reader's Responses (1/31/2021):
Guest – "Ace ded again" – sorry to disappoint. But Ace certainly does ask for death, doesn't he?
Louve3 – You're welcome!
Rubyy – Luffy giving the smack down on Akainu would be completely amazing. He's not that good right now, but I'll see what I can do!
EmAshEs195 – I don't plan any romance. Unless you count Hancock's one-sided infatuation with Luffy.
Autumncat210 – Thanks!
Guest 16 – Ace is totally stubborn. He and Luffy have given me fits while I try and keep them both alive. Seriously, I have much greater respect for the original work with how crazy these two are.
Lolobugga1 – I'm very much the same way. I prefer waiting a year for the novel to come out than to read weekly updates. Sadly, my curiosity often wins out and I still follow the updates and then binge read when it's all out. I guess I get the full enjoyment of both methods, but binge read will be my first choice if it's available.
frightener-boy – I'm always open to new ideas. You seem to have good instincts. This chapter was already written before I got your PM, but it works pretty close to what you were thinking.