CHAPTER NINE

Ace didn't really register the cheers when he landed on deck. It took a lot of energy to move, Akainu was back there badmouthing his family, and his stupid little brother had been badly injured. All he wanted to do was go back and give the Red Dog a piece of his mind. But Lu needed help - fast. Seriously, if Jimbei hadn't been there, that attack would have punched straight through his little brother.

"Where are the medics?" he snapped to the nearest crewmate. Luck was with him. Tachi wasn't a Division Commander, but he often led groups in the 6th division. He likely knew what was going on.

"Follow me," Tachi called, already moving towards the center of the deck. It looked like the inside of the ship had already filled up, because there were a bunch of injured sitting and stretched out on deck surrounding the main mast. His crewmate went straight to a medic that was just finishing a dressing on a leg. With the splints on both sides, it was likely a broken bone, but the amount of blood still seeping through the layers of gauze said there was something more.

"Hey Tom. Ace's little bro needs help!" A small wave of cheers went up from the injured around them as they realized Ace was with them. Ace's attempt to smile back at them was more of a grimace. The medic paid no attention to the cheers, but moved to a slightly more open space and gestured to Ace to put Luffy down.

The Fire Fist sat down with Luffy still in his arms. There wasn't enough room for his little brother to lay out without him being propped up anyway. He tried to hold as still as possible as Tom started asking questions.

Besides the chest wound, was he injured anywhere else severely? Ace mentioned the Ice sword wound, but said he hadn't seen all of Lu's fights so there could be more.

Any allergies or medical history Tom needed to know? Nothing they knew of, but he did eat the rubber-rubber fruit, so his body was rubber and he couldn't handle water or sea stone.

Tom wasn't one of the nurses or doctors in the infirmary, but Ace worked with him on a joint division mission once. His family had been in the medical industry before he had turned to the life of piracy. He was one of the better non-medical field medics they had in the Whitebeards. It was maddening that Tom didn't actually look at the obviously huge burn on his little brother's chest, but Ace held in his frustration as his crewmate looked over Luffy's head, limbs, and the rest of his torso.

He noted a few areas that would need attention later, and Ace tried to remember them, but still was mostly focused on the large chunk of roasted flesh. When Tom finally started to examine it, it didn't take long for him to make a decision. "Good news is, he's not going to bleed out. It's all cauterized. Bad news is I can't do a thing for him. He needs a surgeon to get the bits of melted fabric out and likely graft some new skin over the worst of the area. He needs a doctor to make sure there isn't any internal injury I can't see from here."

Ace's heart sunk. Nothing? The medics could do nothing? How far away had Pops kept the nurses and doctors? Swallowing the panic, Ace tried to focus on the here and now. "What can we do until then?"

"I know there is plenty of ice around us, but don't use any on the kid. It's bad enough he should be in a warm area, not cold. Sticking near you is likely going to help him a lot because of the cold air around us. His body is likely in shock so keep his blood circulating and watch him to make sure it doesn't get worse. He probably can't feel pain in the center where it's the worst, but I'm sure the rest of it could do with a large dose of pain meds. I'll see what we have left."

Ace nodded to Tom's instructions. Okay, he was helping by keeping the temperature around Luffy warm instead of cold. Don't use ice. Keep his legs up and get him some pain meds.

Tom patted Ace on the shoulder. "When we get out to sea, I can see if we can try to clean out the wound, but we need a stable environment to even try that. Right now, it would just make it worse. Hold on tight until we get out of here and call us over if he suddenly takes a turn for the worse. He's a tough kid, so I think he'll make it. The nurses refused to stay far away, so they're all on the Moby 2 nearby. We should meet them within the day once we set sail."

One more pat and a quick squeeze of his hand and Tom was off to the next crewmember in need. Tachi had already left back to the rails.

Even if Tom said Luffy would make it, Ace could read between the lines. His little brother was in bad shape and most people wouldn't make it until they meet up with the medical division. Luffy wasn't most people, but that didn't change the face he needed every bit of help to keep his chances of making it high.

Ace planned to head back to help after getting Luffy treatment. His Whitebeard brothers needed to get back safely as well. But Tom just told him Lu needed his fire-fire fruit to keep warm. Was he supposed to just sit here after all they had done for him? No one would even be here if it wasn't for his stupid mistake of getting captured.

"Take cover!" The call came out, and Ace spun where he sat to see a volley of cannon balls flying towards the ship. Instinctively, Fire Fist clutched Luffy with one arm and pulled his other from under his little brother's leg. A quick tunnel of fire exploded the shells in the air before they hit the deck.

There were a few scattered cheers, but Ace heard way more relieved sighs from those around him. The wounded were sitting ducks. Orders were yelled out. A group of Whitebeards were going to go out and take out the new cannon that had been positioned near them.

Ace grit his teeth. More of his brother's going back out there in the chaos? No way. He couldn't do this.

He shifted Luffy so his arm would secure him to his side, his little brother's head nestled in his neck. He used his free arm to hold Luffy stable as he stood, grunting a bit with the effort. Weeks of being chained with Sea Stone wasn't doing him any favors right now.

Ace started back towards the rail. He might not be able to fight, but he could give cover fire from the rail, even if he needed to carry Lu with him. The Second Division Commander was running on fumes anyway. Not having to move his body would let him use his powers to protect his brothers for longer.

"Oi! Where's the cannon?" Ace demanded from a nearby pirate. His crewmate didn't even look at him before pointing in a direction and taking another shot at a Marine with his rifle. Ace nodded in thanks anyway and turned to where his own target would be.

Tapping another Whitebeard on the shoulder, Ace ordered him to move out of the way and took his place at the rail. Pulling his free arm back, Ace fired it up and charged it for a bit. Checking to make sure none of his Whitebeard brothers were near the group of enemy cannons, Fire Fist lobbed the fire ball towards the weapons. It was a beautiful explosion. This time the cheers weren't just scattered.

If he wasn't carrying Lu, his brothers probably would have slapped his back in thanks. Instead they all just called out, some joking insults and others heartfelt thanks. Ace grinned for real this time and found a different target to launch a fire bullet, blast, or ball at. He'd keep doing so until he didn't have any fire left to shoot.

Author's Note:

Well… that was a longer update period than ever expected. Had a laptop die and never did get any of the files back. Took a while to earn up enough for a new computer. Had 2 surgeries and somehow lost the handwritten story I had started while I had no computer. Got a new computer for Christmas and intermittently tried to write this for the 3rd time.

I'm stuck on the Law chapter. His point of view is way worse than Buggy and I can't remember how I managed it. But after getting a review today I realized I shouldn't leave you all hanging after 13 months and no update. Can't guarantee any update schedule (it's summer and kids are home), but hope this chapter helps with the wait!

Reader's Response (6/10/2022):

Kae Membrana – Hope google translate doesn't fail me - Esperemos que esto sea menos morderse las uñas para usted. ;)

N1cok – Thanks!

AngelFallenDemon – Karen Buggy! I love that thought. Buggy could be the ultimate Karen I bet.

MrBigBottoms – Thank you!

Curumevolf – Hope Google Translate worked - Извините, что обновление длилось так долго!

Guest 16 – You weren't too late since it took over a year for me to post this next chapter. Glad you could make it to the party. Yeah, Law should make it – I had that part written out at one point. He's a horrible point of view to write from. I thought Buggy was hard!

Clyfieqh – Hold onto your horses – it does get crazy from time to time!

BlackGryphon101 – Thanks for re-reading. You're review actually reminded me I should probably post an update at this point, even if I haven't finished writing the whole story. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!